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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.
In this week's episode of Mama June: From Not to Hot, June Shannon, 40, is selling her daughter's possessions - and even her own bed.

'Mama looks rough' says Lauryn 'Pumpkin' of the video of her mother, shown to her by husband Josh. 'You can't understand anything she's saying, she's all over the place'.

'I would not buy their bed'.

Rock bottom: In this week's episode of Mama June: From Not to Hot, June Shannon, 40, is selling her daughter's possessions - and even her own bed

Shannon and boyfriend Geno Doak were arrested in 2019 for cocaine possession - and Friday's episode dealt largely with her arraignment for that crime.

In a previous episode, the star refused to attend rehab for her drug dependency issues.

'Selling your daughter's bed - is that how broke you really are?' wonders Lauryn of the viral video of an unintelligible June holding a fistful of money earned from selling her daughter and granddaughter's things.

Meanwhile June's niece Amber debriefs with Mama's sister Doe Doe.

'If this isn't rock bottom, I'm afraid to know what is,' says Amber.

Heartbroken: Pumpkin admits she doesn't want to go to the court date, because she's angry Mama is 'breaking Alana's [pictured] heart'

Troubled: 'Mama looks rough' says Lauryn 'Pumpkin' of the video of her mother [above], shown to her by husband Josh. 'You can't understand anything she's saying, she's all over the place'

Elsewhere, Alana's stepmom Jennifer pushes husband Mike "Sugar Bear' to apply for custody of his young daughter, but he's reluctant.

'I told you, I don't wanna rock the boat right now' says the family patriarch.

Sheriff Brunson from Macon calls Doe Doe with an update on June, telling her that her sister's arraignment is on Friday.

And she has to be there at 9 o'clock, or a judge could issue a warrant for her arrest - a prospect that worries June's big sister.

Her rock: Pumpkin [pictured] understands and tells Alana she can always come to her with her problems, no matter where she lives

Big sis: June's niece Amber debriefs with Mama's sister Doe Doe [pictured]

However, Pumpkin admits she doesn't want to go to the court date, because she's angry Mama is 'breaking Alana's heart'.

Then, over donuts, Alana tells her big sister that if Mama does clean up, she wants to go back to live with her.

But to her surprise, Pumpkin understands and tells Alana she can always come to her with her problems, no matter where she lives.

However a sleepover with friends that night goes awry when one of Alana's friends calls to say she can't come over because of the scandal in the reality TV's life involving mama.

But a pep talk from Pumpkin inspires Alana to salvage the night.

Disaster: However a sleepover with friends that night goes awry when one of Alana's friends calls to say she can't come over because of the scandal in the reality TV's life involving mama

All good: But a pep talk from Pumpkin inspires Alana to salvage the night

In the episode's final scene, Doe Doe goes to Alabama to support June - but will she show?

8am rolls around - one hour before her 9am deadline and potential imprisonment - but Mama June still has not shown.

'She would be an absolute idiot not to show up today,' says the reality TV star's sibling in a confessional.

However the episode ends with the troubled star apparently arriving - just in the nick of time.

Tense moments: In the episode's final scene, Doe Doe goes to Alabama to support June - but will she show?

Phew: However the episode ends with the troubled star apparently arriving - just in the nick of time

In another story, Sugar Bear says he's been lying to wife Jennifer by telling her he was going fishing with buddies, when he's really going to see a doctor.

'I can't eat, I can't sleep,' he says as he walks into Solutions Surgical Center.

It turns out he's suffering from erectile dysfunction, for which the doctor prescribes a 'P-shot' - essentially an injection directly into the penis.

But he confesses all to Jennifer, who kicks the crew out while she and Sugar Bear get it on.

The lying game: In another story, Sugar Bear says he's been lying to wife Jennifer by telling her he was going fishing with buddies, when he's really going to see a doctor

Ouch: It turns out he's suffering from erectile dysfunction, for which the doctor prescribes a 'P-shot' - essentially an injection directly into the penis
The underlying health and social disparities that drive inequality in health and life expectancy have been there all along, and this virus has just laid them bare, said Dr. Riyaz Patel, an associate professor of cardiology at University College London. This pandemic has not been the great leveler. Its been the great magnifier, as it were.
CHANDIGARH/HISAR: In a major catch, Punjab Police chief Dinkar Gupta on Saturday said Ranjeet Rana, alias Cheetah, who was wanted in the 532-kg heroin haul from Attari on the Indo-Pakistan border in June last year, was arrested in Haryanas Sirsa town.

He was one of the biggest drug smugglers of India.

Following up further on arrests of Hizbul operatives in J&K and Punjab, Punjab Police juggernaut moved further to nab Ranjeet of Amritsar, one of the biggest drug smugglers of India from Sirsa today, Gupta tweeted.

Ranjeet Rana & his brother Gagandeep@Bhola arrested from Begu village in Sirsa, Haryana.



Ranjit Rana@Cheeta, suspected to have smuggled in heroin & other drugs from Pakistan, camouflaged in as many as 6 rock salt consignments through ICP Amritsar between 2018-2019. @CMOPb pic.twitter.com/2xcyl2VgkN  DGP Punjab Police (@DGPPunjabPolice) May 9, 2020

Cheetah was wanted in the 532-kg heroin haul from Attari in June 2019.

In a joint operation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Punjab Police and their Haryana counterpart, Rana, the kingpin of the racket, and his brother Gagandeep were arrested from their hideout at Begu village in Sirsa.

STAYED AT BEGU VILLAGE FOR 8 MONTHS

Sirsa senior superintendent of police Arun Nehra said that Rana had links with the Hizbul Mujahideen and was involved in terror funding.

Acting on a tip-off, the police swooped on a house at Begu village where he has been living with his family for the past eight months. He rented a room on the identification provided by his relative who belongs to Vaidwala village and has been identified as Gurmeet Singh, who is also wanted under the NDPS Act, Nehra added.

HEROIN HIDDEN IN ROCK SALT CONSIGNMENTS

Ranjeet is suspected to have smuggled heroin and other drugs from Pakistan, camouflaged them in six rock salt consignments through the integrated check post at the Attari border, 30 km from Amritsar, he said.

In the biggest seizure of narcotics coming from Pakistan in recent years, the Customs department on June 30, 2019, seized 532 kg of heroin from the Attari border.

The heroin was concealed in gunny bags of a rock salt consignment from Pakistan.

Rana was caught following recent arrest of Hizbul Mujahideen operatives in Amritsar.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan held a briefing via videoconference on Turkmenistans international cooperation in healthcare.

Representatives of a number of Turkmenistans ministries and departments, foreign diplomatic missions and international organizations accredited in Ashgabat, political scientists, heads of medical universities from Belarus, Azerbaijan and Georgia, as well as representatives of local and foreign mass media participated in the online meeting.

As was noted during the briefing, Turkmenistan systematically works on upgrading the material and technical base of healthcare, introducing innovative methods and advanced technologies. Turkmenistan continues actively networking both with medical centers and big scientific and educational institutions of other countries.

It was emphasized that Turkmenistan conducts large-scale work to prevent dangerous infectious diseases and new coronavirus infection COVID-19 in particular.

The online meeting participants noted the effectiveness of measures taken by Turkmenistan to improve healthcare and train highly qualified personnel. They also exchanged views on the prospects for international cooperation in healthcare.

 TURKMENISTAN.RU, 2022
Heading into Friday when he unveiled the first phase of his administrations plan for many Connecticut businesses to resume commerce, Gov. Ned Lamont noted the target reopening date of May 20 was just that  a target  and that if businesses need more time to get ready, they should set a later date.

Proprietors and managers statewide are eager to get going  and some want to know why the governors advisers could not get them the rules for opening sooner so they could ramp up preparation.

With the exception of salons, which are subject to intensified safeguards beyond most other businesses, Lamonts Reopening Connecticut committee for the most part is adopting procedures for businesses that already have been suggested by the Centers for Disease Control and other agencies. Malls will be allowed to reopen, with gyms, hotels and resorts to remain shuttered until a later phase.

For businesses that can resume May 20, a Wednesday, managers and proprietors are being given less than 12 days to crank their workplaces back into gear in compliance with the rules announced Friday and Saturday. Many are desperate to do so to rebuild revenues on which their survival depends.

Organizations are faced with any number of challenges, including rehiring and training employees in new operating procedures for premises and interactions. Human resources policies must be re-calibrated, reliable sources established for protective gear, perishable inventories restocked, and a coherent set of rules relayed to customers and vendors.

Even as Lamont introduced the plan Friday afternoon, the commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development said that the written rules would not go online until later that night or Saturday morning. On a Friday conference call sponsored by Hearst Connecticut Media, Lamont said his administration expects to get additional feedback from businesses after letting the initial guidance simmer for a few days before issuing a final set of protocols.

May 20 is just a date that you can open up, not a day that you should open up  until youre ready, Lamont said the day before. Its an art as well as a science. ... I think weve got it right.

Establishments werent waiting

With 48,000 Connecticut businesses having tapped Paycheck Protection Program loans covering eight weeks of payroll  forgiven only if they do not lay off employees  getting cash flowing is critical. The first set of 18,000-plus PPP recipients have only until mid-June to decide on any staffing decisions going forward.

In early April, Lamont issued a Safe Stores executive order for retail outlets deemed essential. The order set expectations that will be duplicated in many workplaces. Lamont reiterated on Friday that the Reopen Connecticut committee has been consulting closely with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in drawing up its guidelines.

Still, questions among the business community are numerous. During a Thursday news conference, Lamont let slip a few details of the final plan  for instance, the likelihood of salons being asked to create clear barriers between stations  raising the question of why details were not put out sooner to allow businesses more time to prepare.

Thousands of businesses want to open, said David Lewis, CEO of the Norwalk-based human resources training and consultancy firm OperationsInc and a board member of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association. None have have a clear idea of what we will be receiving from the state.

Lamont is leaving some decisions up to municipalities, including how to handle outdoor seating for restaurants. Some places have indicated they might extend permits to restaurants that havent previously had them and/or allow for expanded seating areas for those that do, whether on sidewalks or in designated parking areas. Lamont said from the states perspective, restaurants will have the green light but that he would not interfere with local decisions.

We are certainly hearing from restaurants in particular that they need clarity so that they can prepare, David Kooris, president of the Stamford Downtown Special Services District, said in advance of Lamonts Friday afternoon review. I expect that well see that detail, ... and while that only leaves about 10 days until the 20th, the good news is that establishments and organizations like ours werent waiting to think about it until today.

Theyve telegraphed the broad outlines of the rules and have demonstrated an openness to evolve as new information becomes available, Kooris added. Thats a great start.

Indra Nooyi, the former CEO of PepsiCo, and co-chair of the Reopen Connecticut committee, said she expects overall restaurant patronage to rebound slowly, based on observations of other states such as Georgia that have allowed a resumption of dining with suburban venues trailing those in downtown areas.

Its a new way of life, but our hope is that over two, three, four weeks after May 20th, people will start to get a little more comfortable, Nooyi said Thursday. Were taking baby steps to start getting businesses ready and consumers comfortable with frequenting these businesses, whether its retail or restaurants, so this is going to be a slow process.

Includes prior reporting by Joe Amarante and Ken Dixon. Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman
On the eve of the 75th anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet people in World War II, historians again spoke of the danger of attempts to distort the truth about that war and the glorification of fascist criminals. Recently, the Federal Security Service of Russia in the Krasnodar Territory declassified documents on the work of the Kuban security officers during the war. According to Krasnodar Izvestia, with the outbreak of war, the Soviet government demanded that the Chekists restructure their work in relation to wartime conditions.

The main task of the NKVD workers was the fight against intelligence and counterintelligence agents of fascist Germany and its satellites, the fight against betrayal and treason. Here is one of the declassified stories. When the Nazis occupied Ukraine and Crimea, the Azov coast - Mariupol, Taganrog, Rostov-on-Don, and the enemy had the opportunity to throw agents in the Kuban. In the forest-mountainous zone of the region, gangs from among the deserters of the Red Army traded. They robbed collective farms, stole cattle, food, killed workers who tried to resist them.

Of particular danger was the so-called Kuban-Armenian gang led by Abyan. In November 1941, the leader, who emigrated from Turkey, proceeded to unite all the bandit groups and individuals to fight the Soviet regime. Abyan united all the Armenian groups operating in the forests of the region into one. And this is 30 people with a permanent base. The gang members were tasked with: attracting new members and getting weapons. It was planned, as the front line approached, to strike the Red Army from the rear and go over to the side of the Nazi troops. The gang's plans were to destroy the Soviet asset, establish contacts with the German command, as well as receive weapons and further instructions from Germany. The bandits wrote a letter to the Germans asking for help. At that time, they themselves attacked policemen and foresters and took away weapons and ammunition.

Given that the Germans were actively attacking the North Caucasus, the continued existence of such a gang in the rear of the Soviet troops threatened with serious consequences. The task was set to eliminate the gang.

On January 18, 1942, the task force, together with naval pilots, conducted an operation to surround the criminals. But Abyan was warned by someone. He pulled his "colleagues" out of attack. Soviet officers were also killed in the shootout. Further to February, a lot of work was done to decompose the gang through agents and relatives. 14 people surrendered voluntarily, and five - were caught and arrested. On February 26, the remains of the gang were surrounded and destroyed. However, Abyan again managed to escape. Considering his active anti-Soviet activity, it was decided to use one of the members of his gang in the capture of Abyan, who realized his criminal activity and helped the investigation under the pseudonym "Leonid". He was sent to the mountains with the task of finding the leader of the gang. In the summer of 1942, an agent destroyed Abyan.

More and more speculation is being heard about the war. And such documents allow us to convey the events of those years as they actually were, says Vladimir Kosyakov, a specialist in the archive of the FSB of Russia in the Krasnodar Territory.
- A microbe discovered by researchers in Kenya may provide a safe biological way of fighting malaria

- It is believed the microbe, or bug, which is found in mosquitoes, can stop the transmission of the diseases that kills thousands annually

- They studied mosquitoes infected with the microbe and found that none of them carried the parasite responsible for malaria

- Microsporidia MB is a single-cell bug that lives in a mosquito's gut and genitals, where it produces spores

- It is found in 5% of mosquitoes in a high-risk region around Kenya's Lake Victoria, where the researchers focused their work

- Our manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

A team of scientists in Kenya has discovered a novel method with significant potential to completely stop mosquitos from transmitting the parasites which cause malaria in humans.

The scientists, most of whom are from Kenya, the UK, and one from South Africa were biologists at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) in Nairobi.

READ ALSO: Most MPs dont understand legislative work of parliament - Majority Leader laments

Mosquitoes inject their saliva into the skin to facilitate blood-feeding. Their saliva contains plasmodium, which is injected together with the saliva resulting in malaria transmission. Photo: CNN

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Ghana joins list of countries blacklisted over money laundering by EU

They discovered Microsporidia MB, a microorganism that lives in a mosquitos reproductive tract and gut and completely protects the mosquito from being infected with plasmodium, the parasite that causes malaria.

According to a report by Quartz Africa, the study showed the Microsporidia MB reduces the establishment of the Plasmodium falciparum parasite in the guts of the mosquitoes.

The researchers published their findings in the science journal, Nature Communications showing the microbe also impairs the colonization of the salivary glands by the parasite.

READ ALSO: Coronavirus: Ghanas case jumps to 4,012 from 3,091

Microsporidia are fungi, or at least closely related to them. Like plasmodium, which is protozoans, they are also known to live inside mosquitoes as parasites.

Mosquitoes inject their saliva into the skin to facilitate blood-feeding. Their saliva contains plasmodium, which is usually injected together with the saliva resulting in malaria transmission.

Scientists believe this makes the Microsporidia MB a realistic candidate as an eco-friendly and sustainable strategy to replace harmful mosquito population with harmless ones.

The hope is that by infecting mosquitoes in a region with Microsporidia they will no longer be able to infect humans with malaria parasites.

"Step two is increasing the levels of the microbe in mosquitoes, which will be the hard part, but it is very encouraging to see how infectious this microbe is," one of the researchers Jeremy Herren said

"Its ability to be spread from a mother mosquito to her offspring is an incredibly powerful feature,' he added.

READ ALSO: Lt. Charles Bailey Snr: The fighter pilot who was saved by a Bible in his flight suit (photo)

Herren said the scientists are studying other ways the microbe could spread through the mosquito population, such as releasing spores.

The team of scientists had been studying mosquitoes on the shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya.

This strategy has been demonstrated before in a city in northern Australia where mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia, a bacterium, were deployed on a large scale.

That effectively stopped all outbreaks of dengue fever for more than four years.

In April 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that progress in the fight against malaria, which kills 400,000 people annually, had stalled.

There had been reports of drug resistance, such as Artemisinin resistance, in several regions and insecticide resistance in 73 countries in 2019.

The new RTS,S malaria vaccine approved in 2015 has low efficacy and only decreased malaria cases by 39% and severe cases by 29% in clinical trials.

READ ALSO: 5 likely candidates for NDC's VEEP position

The vaccine could only decrease malaria cases by 39% and severe cases by 29% in clinical trials.

This efficacy of the vaccine is low compared to 85% to 95% for most routine vaccines for children. There has been no significant reduction in the annual numbers of malaria cases since 2014.

These have led to concerns that if better methods are not developed to control the disease, the progress that has been achieved so far may be revered.

"If you want to die, please die alone"  Health Minister to uncooperative Ghanaians | #Yencomgh(opens in new tab)

Use the comments section below to share your views on this story. Do you have a story to share or you have information for us? Get featured on YEN.com.gh. Message us on Facebook or Instagram.

Source: YEN.com.gh
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 17:05:35|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 9 (Xinhua) -- China's new ocean-monitoring satellite HY-1D has passed factory tests, paving way for its launch at a suitable time, the Ministry of National Resources said Saturday.

It is the country's fourth satellite for monitoring ocean color and an operational satellite for China's civil space infrastructure system, according to the National Satellite Ocean Application Center under the ministry.

Satellite HY-1C, launched in 2019, and HY-1D will form China's first civil-use satellite constellation for ocean monitoring to increase its global observation coverage, said a source of the center.

Once in orbit, it will provide data on ocean color and water temperature for the resource and environment surveys in China's offshore waters, islands and coastal areas.

The data may also be used to facilitate marine disaster prevention and mitigation, sustainable utilization of marine resources, marine ecological early warning and environmental protection, the center source said. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 03:24:39|Editor: huaxia

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UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock calls for "swift and determined action" to avoid the most destabilizing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

by Xinhua writer Wang Jiangang

UNITED NATIONS, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The United Nation's humanitarian chief on Thursday said that he was greatly concerned about the "spillover effects" of the COVID-19 pandemic on the poorest countries where the pandemic peak's is set to arrive in three to six months.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock has called for "swift and determined action" to avoid the most destabilizing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He released a 6.7 billion U.S. dollars appeal and an updated global plan to fight coronavirus in fragile countries, which is the second gigantic UN response plan following the 2 billion U.S. dollars global humanitarian response plan on March 25 to fight COVID-19 in some of the world's most vulnerable countries.

"One of the consequences of having such a big economic contraction and such big growth in hunger and all the associated diseases that go with it is that you tend to get instability and social unrest in lots of countries and that can spill over from one country to another," Lowcock told Xinhua in a virtual interview.

A military officer arranges bags of maize flour during the relief food distribution in Kampala, capital of Uganda, April 4, 2020. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua)

The UN humanitarian chief warned that extremist and terrorist groups might seize the chance to "occupy land" and create other chaos.

"We know from past experience that the best and cheapest way to respond to those kinds of problems is quickly and generously. Otherwise, things will get out of control," said the UN humanitarian chief.

"They last longer, and it's harder to deal with them," he said, adding that the updated response plan needs a lot of money.

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 world's 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," it said.

Noting that the most devastating and destabilizing impacts of the pandemic will be felt in the world's poorest countries, Lowcock said that these countries face "a double whammy," namely, the direct health impact and the impact of the global recession and the domestic measures taken to contain the virus.

A fruit seller waits for customers in Sanaa, Yemen, May 7, 2020. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)

"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 said.

"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," he said.

Lowcock said that there are humanitarian operations in about 50 countries already and spoke highly of the great devotions of aid workers.

"The aid workers are willing to put their lives at risk by going to these places and working to save other people," he said.

However, he said humanitarian operations are facing "big challenges" in countries like Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia.

"So, we are setting up a number of field hospitals and special facilities for aid workers to make it possible for them realistically to do the important work they do," the UN humanitarian chief noted. 
Lesotho Prime Minister Agrees to Process for Resignation

By VOA News May 08, 2020

The timetable for Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane's departure from office is in the hands of the government and his political party, despite his intentions to retire by the end of July.

Under a Lesotho law, if a vote of no confidence against 80-year-old Thabane passes, he would essentially have no choice but to leave office.

Thabane says his age and energy level were factors in deferring to the law to decide the process for him stepping down as leader of the small South African country.

Thabane's remaining time in office may also depend on whether he is prosecuted for his alleged involvement in the murder of his estranged wife in 2017.

The prime minister and his former wife, Lipolelo Thabane, were in the midst of a divorce when she was shot dead in front of her house in the capital, Maseru.

Thabane's current wife, Maesaiah Thabane, whom he married a few months after Lipolelo's death, is charged with her murder.

Thabane's request for immunity from prosecution after leaving office was rejected last week by the governing party.

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Its called the state Assemblys Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee. Yet after last weeks shameful debacle, it ought to change its name. It was working for neither your privacy nor your consumer protection. However, it was doing the bidding of businesses large and small.

How large? How about Microsoft large.

Rare is the legislation that can attract an opposition list as long and diverse as AB2261, by Assemblyman Ed Chau, a Democrat representing the San Gabriel Valley and chair of the so-called privacy committee, which called for unduly light regulation of facial recognition technology. Critics worried about everything from potential discrimination against people of color to interference with legitimate law enforcement to the impracticality of relying on the state attorney general (rather than empowering citizen lawsuits) for enforcement.

It isnt every day that the American Civil Liberties Union and the California State Sheriffs Association are on the same side against a bill. Yet there they were, lined up against AB2261, along with a very long list of consumer and civil rights organizations.

And it certainly isnt every day that a bill makes it out of committee with just one entity listed in support. Yet there it was: Microsoft.

Perhaps the most anti-privacy bill of the session advanced on an 8-3 vote. (Peninsula residents take note: Among the yes voters were Democrats Marc Berman and Kevin Mullin. To her credit, Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, voted no).

Why should you care?

AB2261 would create a world where your daily life could be continuously tracked by facial recognition systems, and you could be turned away from health care, businesses, housing and employment opportunities  based solely on the scan of your face, the ACLU warned. It added that such technology has been used by law enforcement to target people of color, and its accuracy of identifying black and brown faces has proved dubious.

It gets worse.

The committee chair did not even allow a hearing on the two most consequential privacy bills before it. AB3119, by Wicks, would have tightened the Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 to substitute the term share for sell in the law prohibiting the use of a consumers personal information beyond what is reasonably necessary to provide a service or activity that the consumer has requested.

The relevance and urgency of Wicks bill is underscored in a lawsuit filed against Zoom Video Communications for allegedy sharing users personal data with outside companies, including Facebook, without permission. Zoom has insisted it ended the practice.

Were relying on technology more than ever, Wicks said. I think theres going to be an increase of working from home, which has its benefits of course  certainly from a public health perspective  but we have to keep consumer privacy on the forefront of these changes.

Chaus defense for refusing to hold a hearing was that he was prioritizing pandemic-related bills this year and had to make some difficult decisions. Its certainly a reasonable-sounding standard, if only it were followed. Hasnt Chau heard that Zoom has become such the format of choice for everything from business meetings to family gatherings during shelter-in-place that it has become both a noun and a verb?

Wake up, Mr. Chairman. Look around at what is happening in homes throughout the state.

One of the most inescapable realities of the home-centered world is that children are spending significantly more time online. Theyre not only taking classes online but  lets face it  theyre often surfing alone while mom or dad is on that Zoom call with clients or colleagues.

Were kind of in this wild, wild west of online access for kids, said Wicks, mother of a 3-year-old. You have millions of children who are literally on screens all day long now, with parents trying to work at the same time and cant look over their shoulders every second of the day to monitor what theyre doing.

However, advertisers certainly want to know what theyre doing  and exploit the interests they reveal.

Facebook once established an absurdly low bar for parental consent for a program in which third-party advertisers paid to have product likes of child users spread to their friends. It merely asked a child to agree: If you are under the age of 18, you represent that a parent or legal guardian also agrees to this section on your behalf.

Facebook ultimately ended that program, but its language has become the template for many other companies throughout the internet.

AB3212, by Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham, R-Templeton (San Luis Obispo County), with Wicks as co-author, would require an app or social media site to actually obtain parental permission before selling a minors personal information. As the Childrens Advocacy Institute wrote in a letter to the committee: Imagine if parental permission slips, instead of asking a parent to sign, asked the child to sign saying, I promise I asked my parents and they said it was OK.

Such a system is obviously not OK for most parents.

Yet AB3212 died without a hearing that would have given advocates a chance to make their case.

So what did pass in that so-called privacy committee last week?

Oh, there was AB3116, (by Jacqui Irwin, D-Thousand Oaks [Ventura County]) to allow state or local governments to obtain greater information (albeit not traceable to an individual) from rented scooters, electric bicycles and other mobility devices. And there was AB2149 (by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego) to facilitate the ability of restaurants to obtain customer information from food delivery platforms such as DoorDash.

Either bill may be worth doing, but its hard to argue that either of those issues rates among the priorities for a state now facing a $54 billion budget shortfall. And neither is more important than protecting our children from advertiser exploitation.

During a crisis when children are online more than ever in history, even for their schooling, the Legislatures only committee with the word privacy in its name passed bills to protect restaurant owners and scooter drivers, and a bill opposed by over 40 groups and supported by Microsoft ... but would not grant even a hearing to a three-sentence bill (AB3212) written by the committee with no opposition that would have offered our children privacy protection, said Ed Howard, senior counsel for the Childrens Advocacy Institute.

I speak for a living, and I just dont know what to say, he added. It is just so, so sad.

And whatever happened to the Legislatures pledge to narrow its focus to wildfires and the coronavirus?

Theres a randomness to it, said Robert Herrell, executive director of the Consumer Federation of California.

When Microsoft gets its way and our childrens interest does not, its not random. Its about the influence of money in politics  and it is unacceptable.

John Diaz is The San Francisco Chronicles editorial page editor. Email: jdiaz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JohnDiazChron
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The Jigawa State government on Friday confirmed that two health workers, and 24 additional almajiris repatriated from Kano State tested positive for COVID-19.

The states commissioner for health, Abba Zakari, told reporters late Friday that the health workers contracted the disease at Federal Medical Centre, Birnin-Kudu and Rasheed Shekoni Specialist Hospital in Dutse.

He said more health workers may have contracted the disease as more test results are being awaited.

Almajiris

Mr Zakari, who is also the chairman Jigawa taskforce on COVID-19, said an additional 24 samples of the returning almajiris tested positive. The state had earlier announced that 16 of the recently expelled almajiris tested positive.

The development is terrifying because only 148 out of 607 samples of the returning almajiris have so far been tested while 40 are already positive, Mr Zakari said.

There are over 1000 almajiris been quarantined at the Yakubu Gowon NYSC orientation camp.

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Their samples have been taken for testing to ascertain their health status before they would be released to their respective homes or isolation centres.

The almajiris are from Kano, Kaduna, Gombe, Nasarawa, Plateau among others. Those that test positive have been transferred to isolation centres, the official said.

Jigawa now has a total of 85 confirmed cases with two deaths.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration is contemplating a move to suspend mobile internet connectivity for a few more days, though prepaid mobile phones were restored late on Friday night.

Authorities had snapped mobile internet across Kashmir as an operation to nab Hizbul Mujahideen operational commander Riyaz Naikoo was underway at Gulzapora Beighpora on Wednesday, and only broadband connectivity through fixed line telephones was available in the region.

The police have apprehensions that Naikoos killing could trigger massive clashes like those witnessed after the killing of Burhan Wani in 2016, and believe it would be better for mobile internet services to remain suspended for some more time.

Police officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they didnt want to take any chances this time. After the killing of Naikoo, there were clashes at some places. To prevent the spread of the clashes in different parts of South Kashmir, the internet was snapped. It could be restored with a few days, said a senior police officer.

People familiar with developments said the government had decided to restore mobile phone services on Friday night. However, a high-level meeting decided that mobile internet connectivity would remain suspended till the 17th day of the holy month of Ramzan (May 11). The day coincides with Badr, the first and decisive battle in the history of Islam when the first few hundred adherents of the religion took on their powerful opponents in Arabia and won, according to historical accounts.

There are also inputs from intelligence agencies that militants might try to target security force installations on the day of Badr.

The intelligence agencies had earlier issued warnings about attacks on this particular day. Last year too, there were similar reports about possible attacks on the 17th of Ramzan.

Already, 3G and 4G services have been barred in Kashmir despite numerous appeals from mainstream political leaders and only 2G services were restored, resulting in very slow internet connectivity.

Officials in Jammu and Kashmir contend that restoration of 4G services could give rise to anti-national activities and militancy.

Kashmirs divisional commissioner Pandurang K Pole described the suspension of mobile internet connectivity as a temporary measure and said services would be restored very soon.

Director general of police Dilbag Singh told Hindustan Times that after the killing of Naikoo, the Hizb had become headless and this was a setback for the group. Now it has to be seen how long Pakistan will keep this group headless, he said.
(Newser)  More bad news for Jim Bakker, just two months after he was sued for offering a supposed coronavirus cure. On Friday, the 80-year-old televangelist's wife, Lori Bakker, announced he'd had a stroke and would be on hiatus from his Christian program The Jim Bakker Show, CNN reports. "We are thankful that Jim is okay, and that he is now at home with our family," Lori Bakker, who co-hosts the show with him, wrote in a Facebook post, promising that he "will be back!" It's not clear when he had the stroke. Lori Bakker notes that her husband "has been working non-stop" of late, but that that workload, in addition to "the most vicious attack that he has ever experienced" from "evil forces," had "taken a huge toll on [his] health."

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Per the Charlotte Observer, Bakker had stirred up recent controversy after a guest plugged "Silver Solution" to get rid of the virus that causes COVID-19, leading to a cease-and-desist letter from New York state's attorney general and a request from AT&T to multiple channels on its DirecTV platform to stop airing the Bakkers' show. Son Jay Bakker, who has become an outspoken progressive pastor advocating for LGBT rights and against Christian fundamentalism, said in his own Facebook post that his father's stroke had been a "minor" one. "I know some of you struggle with humanizing my father, but he is also a good grandpa and my dad," the younger Bakker wrote. "We have a complicated relationship like a lot of folks." He added, "Your thoughts are appreciated." (Read more Jim Bakker stories.)
Sure, it might be warm Wednesday, but what about the rest of the week?
Several of the presidents favorite news outlets also began running segments on the obscure board and its investment strategy, including Fox News. Sinclair Broadcast Group ran a report on April 30 that said the president had instructed top aides to rein in the retirement savings plan before it expanded its investment portfolio to include Chinese-held entities that U.S. officials believe are tied directly to the Chinese military and to the countrys global intelligence apparatus.
The West Bengal government has



asked the heads of all hospitals to ensure that immunisation programmes against vaccine-preventable diseases continue in full steam amid the Covid-19 outbreak.

Immunisation should go on during COVID-19 outbreak to protect children and pregnant women from 'vaccine-preventable diseases' (VPD), the health and family welfare department said in a notification.

It was addressed to the superintendents of all medical colleges and hospitals and the chief medical officer of health of all districts.

Copy of the notification issued on May 6 was made available on Saturday.

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

CHENNAI: The first evacuation flight of Air India Express to Chennai from Dubai landed at Chennai International Airport with 179 passengers on Saturday at about 1.10 a.m.

According to an official of Air India Express, the flight IX 612 passengers include three infants.

One more repatriation flight (IX 540) with 177 passengers is expected to land at the airport later.

The flights are being operated as a part of Indian's government's plan to bring back Indian's who were stranded in foreign countries due to COVID-19 lockdown called Vande Bharat Mission.

According to an official of Tamil Nadu Health Department about 10 flights carrying stranded Indians are expected to land in Chennai - one or two flights daily with a total of about 400 passengers.

He said the passengers will be screened at the airport and they would be advised to be quarantined. There will be about 60 health department officials deployed at the airport.

An airport official had earlier said the passengers will deboard the plane in small batches.
A pharmacist-cum-production manager of a Chennai-based Ayurvedic product company died after consuming a corrosive chemical he had prepared as cure for coronavirus.

The 47-year-old, who was a qualified ophthamologist and worked with Sujatha Biotech, an Ayurvedic and herbal products company, was rushed to a hospital when he fainted soon after ingesting the chemical component.

The pharmacist, K.Sivanesan, 47, of Perungudi, was with Chennai-based Sujatha Biotech, an Ayurvedic and herbal products company which was founded 30 years ago. It has a plant in Kashipur, Uttarakhand, where Sivanesan was working. Sivanesan had devised formulas of various products and used to visit his managing director Dr. Rajkumar frequently in the city.

The managing director and owner of the company, Dr Raj Kumar, 67, also consumed the chemical formula. Both the employee and the owner consumed the mixture and developed health problems. The owners condition is stable now, an officer probing the case was quoted as telling Indian Express.

They seem to have had a belief that the mixture may be used for COVID-19 treatment and to improve platelet count in the body. As both of them developed problems, they were rushed to a private hospital where Sivanesan died around 8 pm on Thursday, the officer said.

According to police, Sivanesan and Raj Kumar met on Thursday in order to make a medicine using Nitric Oxide and Sodium Nitrate as a possible treatment for Covid-19. They hoped that the company would make huge profits if they succeeded. During the experiment, both of them reportedly consumed Sodium Hydrate which used in soaps and petroleum refining.

Sivanesan was rushed to a private hospital in T.Nagar but declared dead on arrival. His body was later sent for post-mortem.
Camila Mendes called it quits with her ex-boyfriend and Riverdale co-star Charles Melton last year.

But the Teen Choice Awards winner is not lonely while she quarantines amid COVID-19.

She stepped out Friday for a stroll with a mystery male friend in Los Angeles as they enjoyed some iced tea during a break from isolation.

Mystery man: Camila Mendes stepped out Friday for a stroll with a mystery man in Los Angeles as they enjoyed some iced tea during a break from isolation

The 25-year-old sported a white printed t-shirt, tucked into high-waisted mom jeans with white Reebok flip flops.

She had a chat with her tall companion as they took off their face masks to enjoy their drinks.

The outing comes six months after it was reported that she and Melton, 29, were 'taking a break.'

A source told E! News in December: 'Cami and Charles have been separated for a few months now. They are taking a break from their relationship.

Mom jeans: The 25-year-old sported a white printed t-shirt, tucked into high-waisted mom jeans with white Reebok flip flops

Calling quits: The outing comes six months after it was reported that she and Melton, 29, were 'taking a break'

On a break: A source said in December: 'Cami and Charles have been separated for a few months now. They are taking a break from their relationship'

'Their relationship escalated very quickly and they are taking time now to focus on their work and themselves.'

They added: 'They both have movie projects separately and it's been a lot on both their plates. Nothing in particular happened, they just both felt busy and overwhelmed and it was a lot of pressure on them.'

The couple began dating in August of 2018 after they met on the set of the CW teen drama, in which they shared some romantic scenes.

Onscreen romance: The couple began dating in August of 2018 after they met on the set of the CW teen drama, in which they shared some romantic scenes

Love triangle: Season four of the show recently ended after a curveball, as Archie cheated on her character Veronica with Betty (a love triangle as old as time)

Season four of the show recently ended after a curveball, as Archie cheated on her character Veronica with Betty.

Mendes told ET: 'Oh my god. That was a really tough thing to read, but also I think it adds a lot of complexity to the story.

'I think, you know, it'd be a perfect world if every relationship was perfect all the time. And I think, especially as teenagers, they make mistakes - and Betty's not immune to that either.'
New quarantine rules are set to crush the UK travel industry for many more weeks, wrecking overseas holiday plans for millions.

The Independent understands the prime minister will announce on Sunday that travellers arriving in the UK by air, sea or rail will be obliged to self-isolate in stringent conditions for 14 days.

The aim is to reduce the rate of coronavirus infection. Covid-19 has been spread worldwide by international air travel.

The transport secretary hinted about the policy when interviewed by the BBCs Andrew Marr Show on 3 May. Grant Shapps said: I think it is important that [the sacrifices] we are asking the British people to make are matched by anybody who comes to this country.

I am actively looking at these issues right now so that when we have infection rates within the country under control we are not importing.

The move will wipe out almost all international travel for tourism and business to and from the UK for as long as it remains in force  which is likely to be at least until July.

Already, the pilots union has demanded that the government pays compensation for the financial damage the move will cause, while British Airways says it may ground all flights.

These are the key issues.

Define quarantine

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), quarantine is: The restriction of activities of, or the separation of, persons who are not ill but who may have been exposed to an infectious agent or disease, with the objective of monitoring their symptoms and ensuring the early detection of cases.

Quarantine is different from isolation, which is the separation of ill or infected persons from others to prevent the spread of infection or contamination.

How many people are coming into the UK?

At present, fewer than 10,000 people arrive each day  compared with around 300,000 daily arrivals before Covid-19.

Most are passengers flying into Heathrow  which handles between 40 and 50 arrivals a day  with a handful arriving at Stansted, Luton, Gatwick and Manchester.

A few dozen people turn up on the single daily Eurostar trains from Brussels and Paris to London St Pancras. And several hundred more arrive at British ports by ferry.

What is being proposed?

Almost everyone arriving from abroad at a UK airport, seaport or international rail station will be told that they must self-isolate for two weeks under stringent conditions. The rule is likely to be brought in at the end of May.

The only exceptions are expected to be arrivals from Ireland; some key workers; lorry drivers; flight, train and ship crew; and international transit passengers, the vast majority of whom will be connecting at Heathrow.

What is the process?

Inbound travellers will effectively be treated as though they have symptoms of coronavirus. They will fill in a form with their personal particulars, including passport data, stating where they intended to self-isolate, and providing contact details. They will be given a stay-at-home notice (SHN) telling them to stay indoors and avoid contact with other people.

After 14 days, if they do not develop symptoms, they will be allowed to join the general population.

Arrivals with no address in the UK will be told to stay in a hotel room, at their own expense  although very few people are likely to fall into this category.

How will quarantine be enforced?

Haphazardly. The authorities may maintain some sort of telephone contact, but mobile phones render that pointless for enforcement.

A system of random spot checks by inspectors is likely; they will call unannounced at the stated address. If the individual is not at home, they will be sought and prosecuted.

Will it work?

Even though almost all countries of origin have a lower incidence of coronavirus than the UK, it is possible that a small proportion of the arrivals from abroad may be carrying coronavirus and will be identified through the quarantine process.

But the World Health Organisation does not recommend quarantine for the infection phase in which the UK finds itself.

WHO says: Introducing quarantine measures early in an outbreak may delay the introduction of the disease to a country or area or may delay the peak of an epidemic in an area where local transmission is ongoing, or both.

In other words, if quarantine is to be used, it must be deployed early. Introducing mandatory self-isolation at this stage has been described as too much, too late.

So why is it happening now?

Downing Street believes that introducing quarantine at the same time as other measures are being eased will send a message that the government is not lightening up too much or too fast.

The British public appears to be strongly in favour of the measures. Some high-profile figures, including Piers Morgan of ITVs Good Morning Britain, have described the fact that there are no controls on arriving travellers as an outrage.

Mr Morgan tweeted: So were doing this now, three months after the WHO declared Covid-19 a global health emergency, after weve let 100s of 1,000s fly in from corona-ravaged countries with no checks & after 55k+ people have already died in the UK? What a sick joke.

In a Twitter poll conducted on behalf of The Independent with more than 2,000 self-selecting respondents, a very large majority  78 per cent  were in favour of controls.

What will the effect be?

Quarantine will scupper the plans that airlines, airports, rail operators, ferry lines and travel firms have prepared for a gradual resumption of foreign holidays and international business travel.

A trickle of passengers  typically those returning from being stuck abroad  might endure a 14-day quarantine in order to be reunited with loved ones. But it is difficult to see that anyone would plan to travel abroad if they knew they faced two weeks in a far tougher lockdown than currently in force in the UK when they return. So the vast majority of planned trips will be cancelled.

Leading tour operators such as Jet2 Holidays and Tui were hoping to start offering package holidays at scale as early as mid-June.

Most big airlines, including British Airways, easyJet, Jet2 and Ryanair, were aiming to resume operations to and from the UK at or around the start of July. They now fear that Project Lift-Off will be put on hold indefinitely, further damaging future bookings.

What are the implications for travellers with flights or holidays booked?

Standard rules apply for now: from a consumer rights perspective, they must assume that the trip will go ahead unless and until it is officially cancelled by the operator.

Once a cancellation is notified, package holiday firms are supposed to refund within two weeks. Airlines must pay back passengers cash no more than a week after the non-departure.

Given the backlog of millions of cancellations, and the many more that the quarantine move will trigger, repayments are unlikely for several months.

How is the travel industry responding?

With astonishment and fury at the damage mandatory quarantine will cause to airlines, airports and holiday companies.

"This ludicrous step is surely one that should have been considered three months ago," said Paul Goldstein, co-owner of Kicheche Safari Camp in Kenya.

"We should be weaning off it now, not introducing quarantine. It shows, yet again an almost derisory level of concern the government has for the travel industry.

The travel industry has been gravely wounded by coronavirus, and now the government seems determined to kill it off completely.

Abta, the trade association representing tour operators and travel agents, used more restrained language. A spokesperson said: Travel and tourism has been severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Abta believes strongly that any new measures should be proportionate, led by the best possible medical and scientific advice and able to swiftly adapt to take into account any changes in this advice.

Willie Walsh, chief executive of BAs parent company, IAG, had previously warned: If there is a 14-day quarantine, I would not expect us to be doing any flying, or very little flying.

Karen Dee, chief executive of the Airport Operators Association, said: Quarantine would not only have a devastating impact on the UK aviation industry, but also on the wider economy.

Airports cannot survive a further protracted period without passengers that would be the result of quarantine measures.

She called for a weekly review of the policy, saying: If the government believe quarantine is medically necessary, then it should be applied on a selective basis following the science. There should be a clear exit strategy.

The British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa) says tens of thousands of jobs in aviation have already been lost since the coronavirus pandemic began, and that mandatory quarantine will destroy many more. The pilots union has demanded that firms are compensated to help them save jobs.

Brian Strutton, the general secretary, said: It cant be right that aviation employees should get sacked to pay for government safety restrictions.

Government imposed restrictions should be compensated for by government. Otherwise airlines will be forced to carry out their threats of redundancies.

Inbound tourism to the UK will be written off. One tourism figure said: Even if the measures are lifted after a week or two, incredible damage will have been done.

"The message to all tourists will simply be, We do not want you, even if this action adds a million or two to the dole and leaves London as a ghost town.

Is there any alternative to quarantine for identifying carriers?

Yes, at least according to the Austrian authorities, which are already operating a 14-day quarantine policy. Passengers arriving at Vienna airport can avoid it by attending a medical centre near the terminal and undergoing a test for coronavirus.

Participants must pay 190 (166) and wait for three hours for the results, but if they pass they have a get out of jail free card and need not self-isolate.
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India has taken the first step in developing the first make-in-India vaccine against coronavirus disease (Covid-19), with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Bharat Biotech partnering to develop a vaccine candidate, the research body announced on Saturday.

 ICMR and Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) have partnered to develop a fully indigenous vaccine for COVID-19 using the virus strain isolated at ICMRs National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, the apex research body said in a statement.

 ICMR has shared one of the 11 virus strains that it managed to culture with Bharat Biotech. The industry partnership is to develop the vaccine candidate and ICMR has transferred the technology to them, explained Dr Raman R Gangakhedkar, head, department of epidemiology and communicable disease, ICMR.

ICMRs apex laboratory, NIV, managed to isolate the virus as early as February, using the swab samples of the initial Covid-19 positive cases reported from the state of Kerala.

Coronavirus is a difficult virus to isolate; however, scientists at NIV managed to isolate and culture 11 strains -- the basic requirement to develop a vaccine in future or any research related to the viruses.

One of the strains has now been successfully transferred from NIV to Bharat Biotech International Ltd. (BBIL) in Hyderabad as part of the partnership.

The work on vaccine development has been initiated between the two partners. ICMR-NIV will provide continuous support to BBIL for vaccine development. ICMR and BBIL will seek fast-track approvals to expedite vaccine development, subsequent animal studies and clinical evaluation of the candidate vaccine, said the ICMR statement.

Dr Krishna Ella, chairman and managing director, Bharat Biotech, confirmed the development.

We are very proud to participate in this project of national importance with ICMR and NIV. We will do everything to make this programme successful in our endeavour to combat Covid-19 pandemic. We also take pride being the only company in the developing world having Biosafety Level 3 production manufacturing facility, he said.

Bharat Biotech announced early last month that it was working on a unique intranasal vaccine for Coronavirus CoroFlu in collaboration with the University of WisconsinMadison and the vaccine companies FluGen in the US.

It will take a few months before the vaccine candidate is ready.

It normally takes about two-three months for the vaccine candidate to be ready, and then different studies are undertaken to test the vaccine candidate, said Dr Gangakhedkar.

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Local county health officials say Tesla Inc "must not reopen" its vehicle factory in the San Francisco Bay area, as local lockdown measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus remain in effect.

The comments on Friday came after Tesla's chief executive, Elon Musk, told employees Thursday that limited production would restart Friday afternoon at the factory in Fremont, Tesla's only U.S. vehicle factory.

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday afternoon said that manufacturers in the state would be allowed to reopen. But Alameda County, where the factory is located, is scheduled to remain shut until the end of May.

A spokeswoman for the Alameda County Public Health Department in a statement referred to the county's coronavirus lockdown order that only permits essential businesses to reopen.

"Tesla has been informed that they do not meet those criteria and must not reopen," the spokeswoman said.

Earlier on Friday, Erica Pan, a health officer for the county, said the department has had many discussions with the company and recommended that Tesla wait at least another week to monitor infection rates and discuss safe ways to resume production.

Pan, speaking during a virtual townhall with the mayor of the city of Alameda, called Tesla a "very hot topic."

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Vehicle manufacturing operations are not allowed to operate regularly, according to the Alameda County order.

Musk has been bluntly criticizing the lockdown and stay-at-home orders, calling them a "serious risk" to U.S. business and tagging them "unconstitutional," saying they would not hold up before the U.S. Supreme Court if challenged.

Tesla, in an internal mail seen by Reuters, had said that starting Friday, limited operation would resume at the Fremont factory with 30% of normal headcount per shift.

"Our Gigafactories in Nevada and New York have also begun limited operations as approved by their respective states," the mail said.

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However, Musk said employees who feel uncomfortable coming back to work were not obligated to do so.

Tesla had sparred with officials in California in March Tesla over whether it had to halt production at the Fremont factory under lockdown orders that allowed only essential businesses to continue to operate. It ended the stand-off in mid-March and said it would suspend production.

The lockdown order was imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19, which has infected over 3.8 million people globally.
Ground to a halt

Other projects delayed

Columbia Street saga

(TNS)  A controversial project that would see protected bike lanes installed in downtown Vancouver along Columbia Street has been postponed by a year.The Westside Bike Mobility Project was the source of fierce and sustained debate, led by residents along the roadway who worried how losing street parking in front of their homes and businesses would impact their lives.But the cause of the delay stems from a much simpler problem: money.The city of Vancouvers transportation budget has been stripped to the studs, a combination of coronavirus fallout and last years voter-approved restriction on car tab fees, Initiative 976. In the original 2020 budget, Vancouver had planned to spend $37 million on transportation projects. Although the initiative is currently awaiting review by the state Supreme Court, city leaders now expect to spend just $23.2 million on transportation this year. That is a reduction of about 37 percent.The passage of I-976 this past fall resulted in approximately a $5.9 million reduction in revenue, Ryan Lopossa, Vancouvers streets and transportation manager, told the city council on Monday. With the anticipated shortfalls stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, were projecting as much as a $7.9 million revenue reduction.To help make up the difference, the citys 2020 paving resurfacing project has been postponed until 2021, including the scheduled repaving of Columbia Street that would have coincided with the striping work and barrier installation to create the new bike lanes.The deferment of all the years pavement projects will save the city an estimated $2.4 million, just one piece of the puzzle that will help make up the budgeted shortfall. If the city council had decided to move forward with the project, it would have come at the cost of other lane preservation projects  48 lane-miles worth.As we move forward, especially in this first year, were going to be making a lot of tough decisions, Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle said.I wanted to start Columbia Street, she continued. But I cannot take away 48 lane-miles across this city to preserve the asset, because I dont know what our revenue is going to be.Vancouvers transportation budget comes from a handful of different sources: A car tab fee, a real estate excise tax, state fuel tax and the citys business license surcharge. The citys streets and transportation department leverages those dollars to gain state and federal grants for capital projects.Over the last three years, funds collected through Vancouvers $40 car license fee amounted to around half of the budget for its Transportation Benefit District. The passage of I-976, which removes the authority of cities and counties to collect their own fees on top of the $30 state tabs, effectively eliminated that pot of money City leaders were still looking for options to navigate that fallout when COVID-19 hit, which in turn blew a crater in the states fuel tax revenue.In this last month theres been at least a 50 percent reduction in the miles driven, so its very likely this revenue is going to be diminished, Natasha Ramras, Vancouvers chief financial officer, told the city council.Additionally, pursuant to an emergency order issued last month by City Manager Eric Holmes , Vancouvers business license surcharges are currently suspended in an attempt to ease some of the virus financial impact on local companies.The only source of transportation funding so far left relatively unscathed is the real estate excise tax. Ramras is not optimistic it will stay that way.With such high unemployment numbers, it is likely that there will be negative impacts to that area as well, Ramras said.Several capital projects and some ongoing maintenance will need to be postponed by at least a year. In addition to pushing the repaving of Columbia Street, the city plans to delay: An update to the Transportation Systems Plan ($750,000). Two traffic signal sustainability projects: A signal rebuild at St. Johns and 54th Street, and a pedestrian signal at Southeast Columbia Way and Southeast Columbia Shores Boulevard ($449,000). A traffic signal replacement at Columbia and 13th streets ($450,000). Miscellaneous minor safety improvements ($200,000). 2019 contributions to the Traffic Calming Projects fund ($265,000). 2020 contributions to the Traffic Calming Projects fund ($270,000). Purchasing supplies and equipment, and hiring contractors, for street maintenance ($1.1 million). Hiring a contractor for the Sidewalk Management Program ($700,000). Hiring a contractor for traffic operations ($300,000).Some councilors said Monday that they did not feel confident about the possibility of those projects resuming next year.Where does money come from in 2021, based on what weve heard so far? Councilor Ty Stober asked.The full scope of the COVID-19 recession, including how long it might last, remains unknown  Ramras is tentatively planning for a $45 million citywide budget deficit this year. The plan is to draw $15 million from the citys emergency reserve fund, which would nearly drain it.Im more concerned about savings in year two and three after this, Councilor Bart Hansen said.The Westside Bike Mobility Project sprung from a desire to make the citys streets safer and more convenient for people who travel by modes of transportation other than cars  cyclists and pedestrians, as well as micro-mobility units like electric scooters.The plan established three north-south routes in west Vancouver where protected lanes could be installed. It would mostly eliminate street parking along those roads.By far the most controversial proposed route was Columbia Street, densely packed on either side with businesses and historic residential neighborhoods. Moving forward with the project would eliminate about 400 parking spaces, from Eighth Street to 45th Street.In February 2019, residents and business owners along Columbia turned out en masse to a city council meeting to protest the loss of street parking. Councilors decided then to postpone the project, citing an insufficient outreach process.Almost exactly a year later, after more outreach, the fundamental divide remained. The city council elected to move forward with the project on Feb. 24 despite the controversy  Vancouver has the highest vehicle vs. pedestrian and vehicle vs. bicycle accident rate in the state.This, to me, comes down to a choice between safety and parking. When it comes to that, safety is always going to win, Councilor Erik Paulsen said at the February meeting.On Monday, the 4-3 vote recanting that decision was a glum one. Councilors Paulsen, Hansen and Sarah Fox, as well as McEnerny-Ogle, voted to postpone the project. Councilors Stober, Laurie Lebowsky and Linda Glover voted to move forward.This is the hard part, McEnerny-Ogle said. Unfortunately, these are the types of conversations were going to be having probably for the next year.
Chennai, May 9 : A Shramik special train chugged off from Chennai with 1,038 passengers for Jagannathpur in Odisha on Saturday night.

These stranded passengers were registered and nominated by the Tamil Nadu government. The passengers were subjected to thermal screening before they boarded the train at Dr MGR Chennai Central station, said an official.

Earlier, another Shramik train left for Akbarpur in Uttar Pradesh from the Coimbatore railway station with 1,140 stuck migrant workers.

On Friday night, two special trains carrying migrant workers and others left for Bihar's Saharsa and Jharkhand's Hatia from Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore and Katpadi respectively.

According to the official, the train to Saharsa had 1,140 passengers.

Similarly, the train to Hatia carried patients and their caregivers who had come for treatment at the Christian Medical College Hospital, Vellore, but got stranded after the nationwide lockdown was enforced in March.

On Wednesday night, a special train carrying 1,136 passengers had left Katpadi for Ranchi.

The passengers -- patients at the Christian Medical College and their attendants -- were brought to the Katpadi railway junction in 16 buses by the Vellore district administration.
President Trump speaks at a campaign rally Aug. 1, 2019, in Cincinnati. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press )

Maybe for the first time in decades we should begin worrying about what others are saying about us.

Jeremy K.B. Kinsman, a veteran Canadian diplomat, speaks of continental drift and Americas evacuation of world leadership. Swedish former Prime Minister Carl Bildt says theres not been even a hint of an aspiration of American leadership in the global fight against the novel coronavirus. The distinguished Irish columnist and critic Fintan OToole, referring to the American response to COVID-19, asks: Will American prestige ever recover from this shameful episode?

Washington, we have a problem, and it goes beyond the virus and the million-plus Americans who have contracted the disease.

And as a result the globe has a problem  with America and its indecision and indiscretion, with the prospects for an ordered world, perhaps even with a world leadership vacuum unlike any since the decline of the Spanish empire at the beginning of the 17th century.

For three-quarters of a century the United States has been a world leader  in finance, science, education, popular culture, military capacity and, often but not always, moral power.

This country created a consumer culture without parallel in human history. It financed the rebuilding of the ancient states and famous cities of war-wrecked Europe. It sent researchers to laboratories to defeat polio and astronauts to the moon to realize an ancient yearning. Its songs were sung by billions, its films were viewed by millions, its political system set forth in its Constitution was copied by scores of nations. It dominated international councils  all while flourishing economically at home and addressing though not resolving long-festering questions of race and inequality.

Now, for the first time in living memory, it is possible to read a passage like this, from OToole in the Irish Times: There is one emotion that has never been directed towards the U.S. until now: pity.

The study of imperial decline is a hardy perennial in academic study carrels and university seminar rooms, occasionally bursting into broad popular debate; a prime example of the latter was the publication in 1987 of The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000 by Paul Kennedy, a Yale professor.

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But only now has the notion become more than an academic question.

Indeed, it is a question of great consequence, and not only internationally.

At home, President Trump may like the trappings of empire but he also believes that the American role sculpted by Franklin Delano Roosevelt during World War II and burnished by his successors, beginning with Harry S. Truman and extending all the way to Barack Obama, is a trap  or at least a money pit.

The 45th president pays little heed to the prattling about American decline internationally even though his signature red ball-cap reads "Make America Great Again." His vision for America is for less rather than greater international involvement and, by extension, less rather than greater American leadership. To him, less is more  more freedom from international obligation, more ability for America to go its own way, more license to walk the streets without a mask or enter commercial spaces without restraint, and above all more support from a political base suspicious, if not contemptuous, of globalization.

At the same time, however, there are theorists at home who are skeptical of the entire notion of American decline.

Writing in Foreign Affairs, the journal of the uber-establishment Council of Foreign Relations, Morgan Stanley Investment Management chief global strategist Ruchir Sharma expresses doubt that the country is in eclipse after all, especially in economics. "During the 2010s," he argues, the United States not only staged a comeback as an economic superpower but reached new heights as a financial empire, driven by its relatively young population, its open door to immigration, and investment pouring into Silicon Valley."

The United States, moreover, is a remarkably resilient nation with an economic and social culture capable of rally and rehabilitation. Though Jimmy Carter never used the word malaise in his 1979 crisis of confidence speech, the country was in a funk; its spirit, and then its economy, recovered in the Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton years, and it is arguable that the Persian Gulf War, under George H.W. Bush, revitalized the esprit of the nations military after the Vietnam debacle. A decade ago the U.S., still suffering from the effects of the Great Recession, accounted for 42% of global stock market capitalization. By last year that figure had risen to 56%.

Even so, it is unsettling that some of the greatest doubts about the United States in the era of the coronavirus come not from Vladimir Putins Russia (once a rival for great-power status) nor from Xi Jinpings China (now a legitimate economic and perhaps even military rival).

Instead, the gravest doubts come from Ireland, with its sentimental attachment to America growing out of the flood that in some years accounted for half the emigres to the U.S., and from Canada, which in ordinary times sends a quarter of a million travelers a day across its southern border.

The most astonishing reexamination of contemporary U.S. leadership may be occurring in Canada, which has depended on American military protection since FDR extended the American security umbrella to Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King in a stirring 1938 joint appearance in Kingston, Ontario.

Mackenzie King spoke of the bridge the two leaders dedicated that August day as a monument of international cooperation and goodwill." But Kinsman, who was Canadian ambassador to Moscow, Rome and the European Union, now is arguing that his country should no longer shelter in place diplomatically, and Sergio Marchi, who was Canadas ambassador to the World Trade Organization and United Nations agencies in Geneva, believes the U.S. is now looking tired and uncertain, arguing:

Their politics is a mess, and their global leadership is in serious jeopardy. And that was before the coronavirus pandemic. If Trump is reelected, theres little room for renewal, which has been a long-standing hallmark of Americans society.... Conversely, with a Democrat in the White House, can the situation be salvaged?"

He, and many other Canadians, now doubts that it can, and he urges: I believe it would be prudent for the Canadian government to weigh the continued decline of the U.S. as a real option, and what this would mean for our national and global issues."

Power vacuums such as the one some American allies fear have been rare in global history.

Spains 17th century eclipse came amid domestic and colonial revolts, deficit spending, population decline and growing dependence upon imported grain, producing a power vacuum that persisted until after the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia. Then it looked as if the French under Louis XIV would fill the gap, but Britain and its broadening empire intervened for more than two centuries, followed by the United States after World War II.

It may simply be that, as former U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson said of Britain in 1962, the contemporary United States has lost an empire  or at least an imperial profile  but has not yet found a role. The coronavirus crisis has laid that bare, and the world awaits Americas response.

Shribman is a special correspondent.
FWP worked with the landowner to develop a grazing system designed to protect and enhance native grasslands, while sustaining a viable, traditional livestock operation.

We spent months developing and revising a plan that will guide management of the property going forward, Foster said.

The conservation easement deeds are recorded and run with the land in perpetuity, Ensign explained. The land will remain on property tax rolls and will continue to be taxed as agricultural property. Having the easement in place will not reduce revenues to either county.

This land may change hands in the future; the landowner can sell it or will it to heirs, but the conservation easement will remain in place, he said.

The easement will offer hunters opportunity to pursue mule deer, white-tailed deer, pronghorn, and upland game birds.
West Bengal government is not supporting central government's efforts to help migrant workers return to their home state , Union Home Minister Amit Shah told state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today.

In a letter to Banerjee, Shah accused the Bengal government of not allowing "shramik (worker)" trains to reach Bengal and warned that non-cooperation would create hardship for state's migrants.

Coronavirus India Live Updates: Delhi ropes in 4 more private hospital for COVID cases; total cases-59,662

Shah said while the Centre has facilitated more than two lakh migrants to return home, it is not getting expected support from the state. "We are not getting expected support from West Bengal. The state government is not allowing trains to reach. This is injustice for West Bengal migrant labourers. This will create further hardship for them," Shah wrote.

Till now, centre has helped two lakh migrants return home amid the coronavirus lockdown, Shah pointed out.

Reacting to the letter, Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and a member of the ruling Trinamool Congress said Amit Shah should apologise or prove his allegations that the West Bengal government was not allowing trains with migrant workers. "Mr Amit Shah, prove your fake allegations or apologise," he tweeted.

Banerjee said the home minister was spreading a "bundle of lies" after staying silent for weeks over the matter.

Amid the ongoing slugfest between the centre and state over transportation of stranded migrants, another TMC member and MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar asked, "The Centre is lying, eight trains ready to ferry passengers to Bengal from different states: It is not right to say CM Mamata Banerjee not allowing migrants to come back.16 migrants died on your watch, will rail minister take responsibility."

Soon after Dastidar's statement, Indian Railways said they did not even have the proposal yet for the train, which the TMC claimed has been scheduled from Hyderabad to Malda on Saturday at 3 pm.

The Indian Railways has so far run only two trains to West Bengal, one from Rajasthan and the other from Kerala.

According to the guidelines issued by the railways for these trains, the proposal has to be received from both the states along with the number of passengers for these trains to run. The officials said the railways have planned 47 trains for Saturday so far and none of them were bound for West Bengal.
OAKLAND (BCN)

Three cruise ships without any passengers will idle at the Port of Oakland starting this weekend while the U.S. embargoes cruise operations, the port said on Friday.

The first two ships are scheduled to arrive on Saturday and the third is expected on Sunday.

The Port of Oakland said two Norwegian Cruise Line vessels would tie up at Oakland's Outer Harbor Terminal, which currently isn't in use for the port's contained shipper business.

Another Norwegian Cruise Line vessel will dock at the Howard Terminal at the Oakland Estuary.

The port said that terminal is no longer considered to be large enough for container operations.

The three ships could remain at berth for two to three months, according to the cruise line.

The port said it is making berth space available because about 100 cruise line ships worldwide are seeking safe harbor during the new coronavirus pandemic and an estimated 80,000 crew members are on board passenger liners at sea that are waiting to tie up somewhere.

Port of Oakland Executive Director Danny Wan said in a statement, "These ships are under federal requirements to report health concerns and we understand they haven't had a history of coronavirus, so we'll do what we can to help."

The U.S. Coast Guard and Norwegian Cruise Lines haven't reported any cases of coronavirus aboard the three vessels, according to the port.

In addition, there are no plans for crew members to disembark in Oakland, the port said.

The U.S. government has banned cruise operations in U.S. ports during the coronavirus pandemic and most cruise lines globally have suspended operations.

The Port of Oakland doesn't serve passenger liners, but in March it provided an emergency berth to the cruise ship the Grand Princess.

Hundreds of passengers, including some who had tested positive for COVID-19, disembarked from that ship.

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.
Microsoft has just launched the Bing wallpaper app for Android. The app comes with beautiful wallpapers that change every day. The app will also give users info on where the image was taken

It looks like Microsoft has just rolled out a Bing wallpapers app. The app essentially features backgrounds and wallpapers that will change each day. At first glance, some of the wallpapers that have been featured look beautiful. Users can browse through a ton of images on the app but the great thing about the app is that you dont need to manually change the images as the app will change images all by itself each day. Users will have to manually allow the app to change images daily. They will also have to grant the app the ability to update images using mobile data as well.

The app also has information about the images used, giving users a deeper look at where the image was taken and more. This helps users learn something new every day using a fun and innovative method. As of now, the app is free and can be downloaded from the Google store. If you arent able to access the Google Play Store, you can download the app from APK Mirror, here. As weve said, the app is free and has no ads or in-app purchases.

Bing is seen as an alternative to Google search and has seen a lot of growth in the last few years. The Bing wallpapers app also sources a set of wallpapers from the search engine itself and updates daily with a new set of wallpapers every day. The app also displays a gallery of older images that you can browse through.

In other Microsoft news, the company has just announced the Surface Book 3, Surface Go 2 and more. You can read about that here. The company has also revealed the Xbox 20/20 roadmap and showed off a couple of new games on the next-gen console as well. You can find out more about that, right here. And, if youre interested in Microsoft 365, it is now available in India for Rs 420 a month. You can read more about that here.
Volunteer Andrew Matzen receives a trial Ebola vaccine at the Centre for Clinical Vaccinology and Tropical Medicine in Oxford.

In April, Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), said a coronavirus vaccine was on track to be distributed to the public in 12 to 18 months.

Compared to typical vaccine timelines, that estimate looks laughable. The rotavirus vaccine was approved after 26 years of testing, offers Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia and co-creator of that vaccine. Did it feel like a long time? No, he says. I thought we were going through the process as you should go through it.

Even after a company submits evidence from years of clinical trials, it usually takes the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about a year to approve a vaccine. So to meet Faucis timeline, a vaccine would likely have to be released to the general public before it is formally approved.

The FDAs approval process has already been circumvented in the rush to combat coronavirus. Both treatments and tests for Covid-19 have been granted emergency use authorization (EUA), which allow companies to distribute their products to patients based on the submission of limited validation data. And the FDA tells Quartz it would consider this authorization process for a coronavirus vaccine, too.

Offit, who is on the FDA vaccine advisory committee, is unequivocal: He does not expect a coronavirus vaccine to go through a traditional approval process before its widely used. But in order to balance safety with speed, an emergency-authorized vaccine will have to be deployed carefully. For guidance, researchers can look to another unapproved vaccine that was deployed in an emergency.

Emergency use

In 2014, as Ebola killed thousands of people across West Africa, an experimental vaccine was given to healthcare workers and their families in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea as part of phase two and three studies. In other words, the vaccine was being tested for efficacy as it was used in an emergency situation. On the basis of those studies, the vaccine was formally approved five years later, in 2019.

Story continues

That strategy was considered a success. And some of the challenges faced in the Ebola trials execution could inform the deployment of an unapproved coronavirus vaccine.

Most of the Ebola vaccine studies were abandoned along the way: The epidemic died out before researchers could recruit enough participants. The one trial that did finish, in Guinea, used contact tracing among healthcare workers to identify people who were exposed, which allowed researchers to quickly recruit participants who were at high risk of infection. This allowed them to compare infection rates between those who got the vaccine versus placebo.

It is not clear that we could use this strategy for Covid-19, says Alex John London, director of the Center for Ethics and Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, since so many people with coronavirus are asymptomatic and spread it unknowingly. But several researchers believe a related strategy could work to test a coronavirus vaccine.

Stanley Plotkin, whose research contributed to the development of vaccines for rubella, rabies, and polio, says the FDA could allow a vaccine to be tested in the field among groups at high risk of exposure. Emergency use authorization could allow a vaccine to be distributed to healthcare workers, for example, and the use of vaccines within this population could be studied as part of a phase three trial.

This real-world testing could allow researchers to continue building up data as the vaccine is used. As evidence strengthens, the FDA could authorize the vaccine to be used on larger populations, until theres eventually enough evidence for formal approval.

Unintended harms

Still, there are many differences between the response to the coronavirus crisis and the Ebola outbreak. Researchers already had evidence that the Ebola vaccine was protective in humans, says London, and there was considerable safety data from phase one studies. Ebola vaccines had been in development for decades, whereas scientists first saw SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, last year.

Thats why, before a coronavirus vaccine can be distributed to at-risk populations, it first has to go through safety trialsalbeit, much faster than normal.

Most vaccine trials would start with testing on animals, but standard lab mice arent susceptible to coronavirus. So several Covid-19 studies have proceeded straight to human trials, occasionally running mice studies in parallel. The first coronavirus vaccine study to start human testing injected the vaccine into mice on the same day it began enrolling human subjects.

Boston biotech company Moderna, which created the first coronavirus vaccine to begin human testing, doesnt even have full phase one safety results yet, but today the FDA granted approval to move ahead to a phase two efficacy trial. Moderna now aims to start a phase three trial this summer. Everything as a company were able to do, weve tried to do at lightning speed while keeping safety in mind, says Ray Jordan, head of corporate affairs at Moderna.

Meanwhile, Oxford University researchers in the UK have launched an unusually huge phase one safety trial with 1,000 participants. They plan to launch a combined phase two and phase three trial next month with 5,000 participants. The scientists say their vaccine could be available by September, as long as it gets emergency authorization from British regulators.

These accelerated safety trials will be critical to control the distribution of a vaccine thats given emergency authorization. The FDA has already authorized the use of Covid-19 treatments, but the tradeoffs are different when talking about someone whos infected versus someone whos never been infected, says Holly Fernandez Lynch, a medical ethics professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Its one thing to give a dying patient an unapproved drug to try and save them, and very different to give an unapproved vaccine to a healthy person.

History provides plenty of reasons to be wary. In 1955, a hastily-approved polio vaccine contained live polio virus, which killed 10 children and created 200 cases of paralysis. In 1976, a swine flu vaccine created 10 cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome per million people vaccinated, killing 25 people. And occasionally, vaccines can create a more intense form of the illness theyre intended to protect against: In 2017, a vaccine against dengue fever was suspended in the Philippines, after it was discovered that, in rare cases, it increased the risk of severe infection among those who hadnt been previously infected.

Catch and release

But compared to the death toll of Covid-19, those risks may be acceptable to regulators.

The FDA will only issue an emergency use authorization if several statutory requirements are met, including an assessment that the known and potential benefits of a product outweigh the known and potential risks, FDA spokesperson Michael Felberbaum wrote in an email to Quartz. In the case of investigational vaccines being developed for the prevention of Covid-19, this assessment will be made on a case by case basis depending on the characteristics of the product, the preclinical and human clinical study data on the product, and the totality of the available scientific evidence relevant to the product.

Jordan says Moderna knows its vaccine could be released under EUA. Thats a tool within the regulatory framework, he says. We expect the FDA to look at risk-benefit tradeoffs. We have confidence that the regulators are very aware of the urgency and risks.

Even after a vaccine has been formally approved, it still carries risks. Theres no such thing as something thats objectively safe, says Lynch. I challenge you to find any FDA product that doesnt have warnings on its label. Instead, she says, regulators have to decide whether a vaccine is safe enough.

Now, safe enough is relative to the thousands of people dying from the virus every week. Given that trend, Offit says it makes sense to distribute a vaccine ahead of approval. As long as people are aware theyre now taking a product that has not been tested in the typical way, he says.

In the Ebola trial in Guinea, participants signed informed consent documents after the researchers explained the vaccines potential risks, benefits, or lack thereof. Any distribution of an unapproved coronavirus vaccine would have to include similar transparency.

Then, the only thing to do is wait and hope for the best. As the father of modern vaccination Maurice Hilleman, who created dozens of vaccines for viruses including measles, mumps, meningitis, pneumonia, and rubella, used to say, I never breathe a sigh of relief until the first 3 million doses are out there.

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Justice Muslim Hassan of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Friday ordered the final forfeiture of N426.7 million belonging to John Onimisi Ozigi, a retired brigadier general, to the Federal Government.

The judge had earlier ordered the interim forfeiture of the money following an exparte application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

Joined as respondents are Diamond Head Ventures and Dev. Company Ltd.

In granting the interim forfeiture order, the judge directed interested parties to show cause why the sum of money should not be permanently forfeited to the government.

The commission, in an affidavit deposed to by one of its operatives, Clever Ibrahim, stated that the first respondent, Mr Ozigi was an officer of the Nigerian Army, while the second respondent, Diamond Head Venture, was a business name owned and incorporated by the first respondent.

The commission, in the application, also stated that the first respondent was a salary earner and a public officer with an estimated monthly salary of about N750, 000.

The EFCC, through its lawyer, Nkereuwem Anana, further stated that the money was found in an account opened in the name of the first and second respondents.

Mr Anana, while moving the application for final forfeiture of the money, stated that the first respondent, in his statement to the commission, indicated willingness to refund the money to the Federal Government, adding that the said statement was attached as exhibit 3.

The EFCC counsel, therefore, urged the court to grant the final forfeiture of the money, saying that  if made, it will serve the course of justice, as same is sought in good faith and in accordance with the Oaths Act.

READ ALSO:

Delivering his judgement on Friday, Justice Hassan granted the motion for final forfeiture as prayed by the commission.

The judge held that the respondent failed to satisfy the court with concrete evidence why the money suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities should not be forfeited to the Federal Government.

The application has met the conditions stipulated in Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Related Offences Act, the judge was quoted as saying.

The application is meritorious and it is hereby granted as prayed.
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(Photo : REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan ) A Muslim student wearing a face mask practices social distancing while reading Koran at Daarul Qur'an Al Kautsar boarding school mosque, amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Bogor, West Java province, Indonesia, May 9, 2020.

People are flushing some personal protective equipment (PPEs) down the toilet amid the COVID-19 pandemic. These bad flushing habits caused water utility officials to remove gloves, masks, and other items that clogged sewers more than usual.

Service providers in Texas say they have been dealing with the problem of coronavirus-associated blocked pipes and damaged systems since the pandemic took hold.

In March, the provider asked residents to prevent contributing to clogs caused by flushing used disinfectant wipes and paper towels. The latest round of damage has prompted officials to warn that locals will ultimately emerge as procuring repairs.

"It may not be affecting you today, but it could be tomorrow," El Paso Water spokesman Carlos Briano told KVIA on Thursday.

"[Everything] the utility does paid by the ratepayer; every nickel workers have to go through, every replaced machine is all 100 percent paid by the ratepayer."

ALSO READ: COVID-19 Update: Don't Buy These 'False' Coronavirus Treatment Claims, FTC Warns

Utilities unclog more than 20 times, 24 hours a week

Water officials said people were continuing to flush PPE resulted in workers unclogging pumps more than 20 times in 24 hours, despite the facility using the latest gadget in two years.

Briano told Newsweek the Montwood Lift Station in Texas has not had this problem before the pandemic. "All the problems we've had at this lift station have started since everybody started working and practicing safe practices at home," he said.

The official then encouraged the residents to stay at home and continue to go to school at home amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "Just don't flush anything down the system that is not toilet paper or something your body made," added Briano.

pic.twitter.com/o3pgZCSY3l Before flushing wipes, face coverings or latex gloves, El Paso Water urges residents to consider the consequences. Click here to read and see a video all about it. https://t.co/xczrS31N6E  El Paso Water (@EPWater) May 1, 2020

El Paso isn't always the only city that has seen a boom in clogged pipes due to flushing PPE down the toilet throughout the pandemic. The Philadelphia Water Department suggested in late April that they had seen 12 times as a great deal clogging as normal due to PPE waste.

"We are seeing a large increase in the amount of PPE and other items being discarded through people flushing these items down the toilet," Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said. He added the situation is taking a toll on their water treatment infrastructure and residents' private property.

According to Kenney, 19 of the Philadelphia department's pumping stations are also affected by PPE waste, including gloves, masks, and wipes.

He said the Water Department has seen 12 times more infrastructure clogging waste at facilities than usual. That is equivalent to 100 pounds a month versus the typical 100 pounds a year.

ALSO READ: Why Do People Panic Buy Over Toilet Papers That Do Not Protect Against Coronavirus? Psychology Behind Explained

Only flush the three Ps down the toilet

Residents are being told only to flush the 3Ps and forestall flushing PPEs and disinfectant wipes in the toilet.

The City of Ottawa in Canada posted an advert on YouTube this March saying, "Your toilet is not a green bin or a garbage can."

The message is "there is no such thing as a flushable wipe," and residents should "only flush the 3 Ps - Pee, Poo and Toilet Paper."

Manager of Canada's Wastewater Collection Hasnaa Zaknoun encourages residents not to flush wipes and make-up remover cloths. Zaknoun said these items do not decompose in the sanitary sewer system.

"Flushing this material causes damage to the sewer system, and every pump blockage requires extra effort and cost," Zaknoun told CTV News Ottawa.

The official said the items might also cause sewer backups in residences, leading to expensive plumbing costs." All the goods need to be placed in the garbage bin, Zaknoun added.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Chikwe Ihekweazu, director-general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), says Kogi rejected the help offered by the agency to ascertain the COVID-19 situation in the state.

Kogi and Cross River are the two states yet to confirm a single case of the disease in the country.

The Kogi state government had alleged that there are attempts to declare fake COVID-19 cases in the state.

When a delegation from the NCDC visited the state on Thursday night, Yahaya Bello, the governor, asked the team to go on 14-day isolation or leave the state immediately. The team then returned to Abuja.

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Speaking at the presidential task force briefing on Friday, the NCDC boss said they can only offer help when it is needed.

We can only offer help where it is wanted. Yesterday, we offered that help but it wasnt in a place where the help could be accepted. Unfortunately, that was what happened last night, Ihekweazu said.

We have supported Kogi in every possible way, one of the first states that had an emergency operation centre supported by NCDC.

In the long term, the purpose of our existence is to support the state, they have the primary responsibility for health security. Our role is to support, its a role I take seriously.

Read Also: Yahaya Bello Asks NCDC Officials To Go On 14-Day Isolation Or Leave Kogi Immediately
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: In a major relief for those whose vehicles were seized during the lockdown in the State, the police department has taken a decision to release all of them. Director-General of Police M Mahendar Reddy on Friday issued instructions to all Superintendents of Police and Commissioners of Police to implement the decision with immediate effect.

However, he asked them to collect compounding fee from the owners before releasing the vehicles and registering cases under relevant sections of law. Several vehicles have been seized as a part of enforcement of lockdown in the State.

We have decided to release them as they are huge in number. They cannot be transported to courts and it was also becoming difficult to safeguard them, the DGP said. In cases registered under Section 188 of IPC, vehicles can be released after obtaining an undertaking from the vehicle owner to produce it before the court as and when the court orders. Bond for Rs 1,000 for two and three-wheeler vehicles and Rs 2,000 for four-wheeler vehicles had to be executed by the owners, the DGPs order said.
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.
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In a televised address on Thursday afternoon, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and five other ministers confirmed that President Emmanuel Macron had given the order for an end to confinement and the reopening of the economy on May 11. The governments reckless decision, taken in the defence council in line with similar measures underway across Europe and the US, puts countless lives at risk.

In the United States, senior Trump administration officials declare that ending confinement means Americans must get used to 3,000 people in the country dying every day.

While the lockdown that began in France on March 17 is still reducing the number of new cases and deaths, the first wave of the pandemic is not over, neither in France nor in Europe. On Wednesday, 3,640 new cases of COVID-19 were announced in France. On the day of Philippes speech, there were 28,490 new cases throughout Europe, including more than 17,000 outside Russia. Philippe announced the end to lockdown while admitting that he expected many new cases and did not know what the consequences of the deconfinement would be.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe (second left) presents his plan to exit from the lockdown at the National Assembly in Paris, April 28, 2020 [Credit: David Niviere, Pool via AP]

In three weeks, at the end of May, we will know exactly where we stand, he said. We will know whether or not we have managed to contain the epidemic. We will know the rate of contamination and hospital and intensive care unit entries If these numbers and figures remain low, we will be able to congratulate ourselves and move into the next phase, expanding our freedom in many areas that are particularly important for the coming summer. If not, we will draw the consequences and adapt.

Philippes cynical argument that the government would blindly embark on a deconfinement imposed by fate not only displays indifference to human lives; it is also false. It is precisely in such circumstances that epidemic models are used to inform decisions. Yet multiple studies show that deconfinement will lead to a massive rebound of the epidemic in the best of cases.

A study by the Assistance Publique-Hopitaux de Paris (AP-HP) modelled the spread of the virus in a population with the protection envisaged by Macron: masks, screening of patients, and social distancing. While approximately 25,000 deaths from COVID-19 have been recorded in France, the study predicts between 33,500 and 87,100 new deaths in France from May to December 2020.

The study concluded that even in an optimistic scenario in which social distancing measures are effective, the influx of new cases would be so strong that serious cases would overflow the emergency room as early as July. In this scenario, further containment would be inevitable, said Nicolas Hoertel, a psychiatrist at AP-HP and a co-author of the study.

Another study by INSERM and the Sorbonne predicts that a resumption of classes by all students would provoke an epidemic wave that would overwhelm the intensive care units, taking up 138 percent of hospital capacity. If only 25 per cent of students resumed classes, this wave could rise to only 72 percent of capacity. It is unclear how workers could return to work if three-quarters of their children stayed home.

One of the authors of the study, Vittoria Colizza, pointed to the risk that we may have to face a second wave that would be more intense than the first beginning at the end of June, with hospital reanimation resources overwhelmed until August.

The indifference and contempt of the government for the lives of the workers are obvious. The ruling class is, moreover, aware of its own criminality. That is why the Senate voted a preventive amnesty for any health crime committed during the pandemic.

This indifference is so blatant that it has provoked criticism even within the state apparatus. The government announced this Thursday afternoon that it wants to end the lockdown in departments classified as red, where the virus is strongest. This is sheer madness, said Frederick Bierry, president of the Bas-Rhin Departmental Council in Alsace, a region hard hit by the disease. He cited an epidemiological study that shows that the risk is to suffer another health catastrophe with more deaths.

However, Bierry refused to call for collective opposition to deconfinement, limiting himself to proposing health security measures already proposed by the government: wearing masks, protection of the elderly or people at risk, and personal protective actions such as coughing into ones elbow.

The only consistent and viable opposition to Macrons policy comes from the working class. Already widely hated before the pandemic as president of the rich, Macron is imposing a murderous policy on workers who, although subject to a constant barrage of media propaganda supporting the end to the lockdown, are largely suspicious of it.

The governments assertions that the resumption of classes and the intermixing of students will not propagate the virus, or that social distancing will be possible in crowded public transport, are not credible. According to a YouGov poll, 76 per cent of the French population believe classes should not resume before September. Another 59 per cent say they are worried about the May 11 deconfinement deadline.

The endangerment of tens of thousands of lives in France, and millions of lives in America and Europe, is not an economic and social necessity, but a political decision dictated by the selfish concerns of the financial aristocracy. The central banks of the US and eurozone are showering states and large companies with trillions of dollars and euros. However, apart from the small portions of this money being allocated to unemployment payments, almost all this money does not reach workers or small businesses.

Workers and small businesses are being driven to hunger or bankruptcy by the drastic shutdown of the economy, while the banks and the super-rich are lining their pockets and refusing to help workers or provide support to small business.

Speaking before the Senate on Monday, Philippe claimed that deconfinement was dictated by the need to protect France: This situation cannot continue. The flagships of our industry are under threat: aeronautics, the automobile industry and electronics. Small business, medium-sized businesses and start-ups are on the verge of suffocation. Everything that contributes to France's influencetourism, art, gastronomyis at a standstill.

If the economic situation for broad sections of workers is catastrophic, it is because the Macron government, like its counterparts in Europe, has done virtually nothing to improve the conditions for the working class.

As for the statements by other ministers speaking alongside Philippe, they merely underscored the massive contradictions underlying the governments policy. They proposed the mass use of masks, even though the government had previously maintainedwhile it had a complete lack of mask stockpilesthat masks served no purpose for the general population. They proposed to limit virus transmission by reducing public transport use to 15 per cent of its normal level, without explaining how workers would go to work or their shops.

Perhaps the greatest cynicism came from the Minister of Labour, Muriel Penicaud, who praised the collaboration of the state and employers with the trade union movement. The health of workers has never been and will never be a negotiable variable, she said, before adding that social dialogue [was] essential to implement these measures.

The conditions for deconfinement and a safe return to work are not in place. Workers have every right to refuse to return to work, to thwart government policy and the ruling class blatant disregard for their lives. This requires the organisation of struggles independently of the trade union apparatuses and a perspective for a socialist struggle to transfer political power to the working class in Europe and the world.
Hundreds of locals of RR Venkatapuram and other villages protested at the LG Polymers plant with three victim dead bodies, demanding justice and shifting of the hazardous unit away from their habitations.

The deadly Styrene vapour leakage from the Polystyrene unit of the South Korean MNC on Thursdays wee hours has killed 12 people and hospitalized about 500.

On Saturday morning, locals brought the dead bodies returned from the hospital after postmortem including that of a girl child who died inhaling the toxic vapour, to the company gates. Villagers tried to block Andhra Pradesh DGP Gautam Sawang who came to inspect the plant. Police controlled those who tried to enter inside the factory.

The mishap cause is under investigation, Sawang said. Experts had sought 48 hours, as per the protocol, to bring everything to normalcy which should be by tomorrow.

While announcing a high-level committee to probe the incident, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Jaganmohan Reddy announced Rs one crore compensation for each of the families which suffered the loss of life. Rs 10 lakh ex-gratia is for those treated with ventilator support, while Rs one lakh would be given for those who are hospitalized for two or more days.

Primary treatment receivers will get Rs 25,000 while Rs 10,000 would be given for each person in the affected five villages. Livestock loss will also be compensated.

A job to one family member will also be looked into, the CM said, while indicating that the LG unit might have to shift away from the large human habitation area, based on the committee's findings. Thousands of people were sheltered in function halls etc. with food arrangements.

While all this is from the government side, agitated locals accused LG of doing nothing to their rescue  including not warning with an alarm  or rehabilitation since the mishap occurred.

Following public anger, LG Polymers issued a statement assuring all possible support to the locals and safety security settings to prevent such event recurrence.

We would like to assure everyone that the company is committed to work closely with the concerned authorities in India to investigate the cause of this incident, prevent recurrence in the future, and secure the foundation for care and treatment, LG said, while offering sincere condolences and apologies to all the affected.

Company officials stated their teams as working day and night with the government to assess the impact of the damage caused and create concrete measures to deliver an effective care package that can be implemented immediately.

A Special task force has been set up to help victims and families to resolve any issues and provide every assistance to the bereaved families. All families will be contacted shortly. This team has the responsibility to provide every support for the deceased, medical supplies and household goods, and emotional management for psychological stability to all injured and victims. We will also actively develop and promote mid-to-long term support programs that can contribute to the local communities, LG Polymers release further said.
Vector Group Ltd (NYSE:VGR)

Q1 2020 Earnings Call

, 8:30 a.m. ET

Contents:

Prepared Remarks

Questions and Answers

Call Participants

Prepared Remarks:

Operator

Welcome to Vector Group Ltd.'s First Quarter 2020 Earnings Conference Call. During this call, the terms adjusted operating income, adjusted net income, adjusted EBITDA and tobacco adjusted operating income will be used. These terms are non-GAAP financial measures and others should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute, for other measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Reconciliations to adjusted operating income, adjusted net income, adjusted EBITDA and tobacco adjusted operating income are contained in the company's earnings release, which has been posted to the Investor Relations section of the company's website located at www.vectorgroupltd.com. Before the call begins, I'd like to read a safe harbor statement. The statements made during this conference call that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties and that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in or implied by forward-looking statements.

In particular, the extent, duration and severity of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic consequences stemming from the COVD-19 crisis, including a potential significant economic contraction as well as related risk and the impact of any of the foregoing on our business results of operations and liquidity could affect our future results and cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. These risks are described in more detail in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Now I'd like to turn the call over to President and Chief Executive Officer of Vector Group, Howard Lorber. Please go ahead.

Howard M. Lorber -- President And Chief Executive Officer

Thank you. Good morning, and welcome to Vector Group's First Quarter 2020 Earnings Conference Call. To begin, I'd like to thank you for joining us this morning, and we hope that you and your families are safe. The past two months have been challenging, and it has changed the way we live and work. And during this time, our exceptional organization has risen to the challenge and demonstrated resilience and compassion. With me today are Nick Anson, the President and Chief Operating Officer of Liggett Vector Brands; and Bryant Kirkland, Vector Group's Chief Financial Officer. Ron Bernstein, Senior Adviser to Liggett Vector Brands, will join us during the Q&A.

As you know, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected virtually every business in the United States, and we are no exception. While real estate transactions have slowed throughout most of the country, New York City has been particularly hard hit, and this has impacted our real estate segment. During this time, we have connected with our teams and their families. I remain impressed by the dedication and initiative of our employees and agents who are balancing significant work responsibilities with many personal commitments and challenges. We will work through this time together.

And later on in the call, I will discuss initiatives already taken at Douglas Elliman. And I'm pleased to report that our tobacco business remained strong and had an excellent first quarter with substantial year-over-year gains in tobacco adjusted operating income and higher unit volume. I will now turn to a review of our business for the first quarter of 2020. Nick will then summarize the performance of the tobacco business. Related to Vector Group's operations, I will first discuss our liquidity and capital structure and update you about recent events. I will then review our operations for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020.

As of March 31, 2020, Vector Group maintained significant liquidity with cash and cash equivalents of $467 million, including cash of $49 million at Douglas Elliman and $69 million at Liggett and investment securities and investment partnership interests with a fair market value of $153 million. In April, we used $170 million of cash to retire our convertible notes upon their maturity. Now turning to Vector Group's operations for the first quarter. Vector Group's revenues for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020, were $454.5 million compared to $420.9 million in the 2019 period.

The company recorded adjusted EBITDA of $60.2 million compared to $49.7 million in the 2019 period. Adjusted net income was $39.9 million or $0.27 per diluted share compared to $13 million or $0.07 per diluted share in the 2019 period. The company recorded adjusted operating income of $53.3 million compared to $42.6 million in the 2019 period. For the first quarter of 2020, Douglas Elliman reported $165.6 million in revenues and adjusted EBITDA loss of $7.7 million compared to $161.9 million in revenues and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $9.0 million in the 2019 period.

The COVID-19 pandemic is having a profound effect on the global economy and financial, and especially in markets and especially in the New York real estate market where approximately 70% of Doulas Elliman's brokerage revenues are derived. In response to the pandemic, various governmental agencies in the New York metropolitan area and other markets where Douglas Elliman operates have instituted restrictions on individuals and on the types of businesses that can operate, which impacted Douglas Elliman's ability to do business.

Douglas Elliman began to experience a severe decline in closed sales volume in mid-March, and this continued in April and May. We anticipate that this sales volume will continue to be slow until the fall, and possibly longer. Consequently, in April 2020, we made significant operating adjustments at Douglas Elliman, including reduction of staff by approximately 25% and reducing all other salaries by approximately 15%. We are also consolidating some office locations, and we're in discussions with our landlords regarding rent reductions, deferrals or holidays and are hopeful we can reach a fair and reasonable resolution with our landlords across the country. Because of these factors, we will continue to evaluate the impact of the rapid development of the COVID-19 pandemic on our real estate segment.

Now I will turn the call over to Nick to discuss our Tobacco business. Nick?

Nicholas P. Anson -- President And Chief Operating Officer

Thank you, Howard, and good morning, everyone. Firstly, I'd like to echo Howard's earlier words and hope that you and your families are all safe and well. While these are undoubtedly difficult times, I'm very proud of the way our organization has responded to this challenge. Our employees have remained focused on the task at hand and embraced a tremendous team spirit, and I have no doubt these qualities will help see us through this crisis. As Howard indicated, despite the many difficulties associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, Liggett performed well in the first quarter.

Year-over-year volume and market share increased during the period, which contributed to a 50% increase in tobacco adjusted operating income. On an operating basis, we made various adjustments during the quarter to address health and safety issues for our employees as well as those with whom we do business. As we continue to work to maximize our business performance and ensure business continuity, we will follow applicable statewide orders and regulations as well as ongoing CDC guidance. As the COVID-19 situation unfolded in March, there were some anticipatory wholesaler, retailer and consumer buying related to initial concerns of the ongoing availability of cigarettes.

These concerns have proven unfounded thus far, and we have continued to ship products as usual. However, we estimate that approximately 60% of Liggett's year-over-year earnings increase was the result of this buying pattern. It should be noted that as a volume in the second quarter, Liggett's underlying shipments remained stable. As noted on previous calls, we are in the income growth phase of our Eagle 20's business strategy and remain pleased with the results we have achieved thus far. We began increasing prices on the brand in late 2018 and have grown volume, share and profit since then. Our market programs and promotions have proven successful, and we remain optimistic about Eagle 20's continued growth going forward.

I will now turn to the combined tobacco financials of Liggett Group and Vector Tobacco. For the three months ended March 31, 2020, Liggett revenues were $287.1 million compared to $256.8 million for the corresponding 2019 period. Tobacco adjusted operating income for the three months ended March 31, 2020, was $69.2 million compared to $60.1 million for the corresponding period a year ago. In addition to the inventory adjustment tailwind previously mentioned, Liggett's higher earnings resulted from increased pricing, strong underlying product demand, efficiencies and promotional spending and Master Settlement Agreement benefits.

According to management science associates, overall industry wholesale shipments for the first quarter were up 7%, while Liggett's wholesale shipments increased 8.2% versus the prior year quarter. The increase in wholesale shipments are a reflection of the buying patterns previously mentioned. As we regularly note, we believe retail shipments are a better indicator of industry trends as various actions by manufacturers and wholesalers can impact trade volumes, these effects are typically less pronounced with retail shipments.

While retail shipments in the first quarter were somewhat affected by the accelerated buying pattern, the effect was much less than at the wholesale level. For the first quarter, Liggett's retail shipments increased 2.2% over the prior year quarter, while industry retail shipments decreased 0.4%. As of March 31, 2020, Liggett's retail share increased 11 basis points to 4.3%. Eagle 20's retail volume for the first quarter grew by more than 10% compared to the prior year period, and it remains the third largest discount brand in the U.S. Eagle 20's is now sold in approximately 77,000 stores nationwide, and its growth continues to provide an effective volume and profit complement to Pyramid and other Liggett brands.

Despite managed and anticipated volume declines, we remain pleased with the performance of Pyramid. The brand continues to deliver substantial profit and market presence of the company, has strong distribution and is currently sold in approximately 100,000 stores nationwide. We continue to see little impact from premium economy brands, such as Marlboro Special blend, Newport Red and various Camel line extensions. While our first quarter 2020 results had limited impact from smaller deep discount-focused companies, this market segment remains the industry's most active. Various smaller companies create pricing pressure as they seek to undercut the market in targeted geographic markets.

Liggett has marketplace advantages relative to these companies, including our strategic approach, the broad base of our distribution, our consumer-focused promotional programs and the technological and executional capabilities of our sales force. As you're all aware, there continues to be a range of negative developments in the vapor category, and we remain pleased to have no exposure to that segment. Today, we have not seen any material impact to our business from vapor or other noncombustible products.

We are very pleased with our first quarter 2020 performance, particularly in light of the current macroeconomic environment. Our results continue to validate our market strategy. And as we look ahead, we remain focused on generating operating income from the strong sales and distribution base of Pyramid, while delivering volume, share and profit growth from Eagle 20's. As mentioned earlier, we have implemented workplace protocols that meet or exceed state and federal guidelines.

Factory protocols, among other things, require employee health evaluations and physical distancing. We have made arrangement for rapid mitigation of any issues that may arise and are confident that we are well equipped to manage contingencies. In addition, we are always subject to industry and general market risk and remain confident that we have an effective program to keep our business operating while supporting market share and profit growth.

Thanks for your attention, and back to you, Howard.

Howard M. Lorber -- President And Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Nick. We continue to believe that Vector Group is well positioned to generate long-term value for stockholders. We have strong cash reserves, have consistently increased our tobacco unit volumes and profits and have taken the necessary steps to position our real estate business for continued success. As previously noted, effective in the first quarter of 2020, we adjusted our quarterly cash dividend target from $0.40 per share to $0.20 per share. We are pleased with our long-standing history of paying a quarterly cash dividend. It remains an important component of our capital allocation strategy. While we will continue to evaluate our dividend policy each quarter, it is our expectation that our policy will continue well into the future.

Now, operator, would you please open the call for questions?

Questions and Answers:

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Ian Zaffino with Oppenheimer.

Mark -- Oppenheimer -- Analyst

Hey, good morning guys. This is this is Mark [Phonetic] on for Ian. So good to see continued performance on tobacco. Can you guys just give a sense of the pricing trends in tobacco for the quarter? And then what sort of the expectations are going forward, just given the impact of COVID and the outbreak? And then sort of what the customer sort of sentiment is in the market?

Nicholas P. Anson -- President And Chief Operating Officer

Sure. So with respect to pricing trends, during the year the first quarter, industry did take a $0.80 per carton price increase mid-February. And looking forward, I think it's hard to tell at the moment what the industry is going to do. Obviously, these are uncertain times, and the expectation of continuing to deliver profit is very high. So I think that it's uncertain what the various companies are going to do at the moment. But we're staying focused on our brands, on Pyramid and Eagle 20's. And we're hoping to continue to deliver profit, as we have done in the past.

Mark -- Oppenheimer -- Analyst

Okay. Great. That's very helpful. And then, I guess, any sort of insight on shipments aside from just pricing? And then any shifts in terms of your strategy, just given where the market is?

Nicholas P. Anson -- President And Chief Operating Officer

Yes. Well, just to I mean, obviously, to reiterate what we talked about, we had a very strong quarter here in the first quarter. Certainly seeing some payback in the second quarter. But the good news is we're very happy with the underlying trends that have continued here in the second quarter. Basically both Pyramid and Eagle 20's volumes remain very stable. And as a company, we've always been very focused on providing the consumer with value. And based on the current economic environment, we believe we're well positioned in the marketplace at the moment.

Mark -- Oppenheimer -- Analyst

Okay, terrific. And then just quickly shifting over to real estate, if I could. Thanks for all the details on New York City and the trends here, but can you guys share any colors on the trends outside of New York, maybe like Florida and other markets?

Howard M. Lorber -- President And Chief Executive Officer

Yes. I mean, Florida, it's been a little easy to do business. California, it's been easy to do business. New York has been toughest as it relates to not being able to show anyone's apartment. So we've gone to electronic showing, OK, which is a little difficult. But having said that, it surprises me. We've actually done a few pretty nice-sized sales that way. So people are starting to get used to it. And I'm imagining that New York will open up by, probably the latest, the middle of June where the brokers can really get back to showing the apartments.

And also, the industry makes they sort of make a big deal about the fact that listings are down a lot. Well, listings are down a lot because we are not encouraging people to put their places on the market now. We don't think it really makes sense. If they want us to, we'll do it. But we're really looking to the when we can really go back to work. And then I think you'll see a surge in listings. And generally speaking, the surge of listings will be good for us because there are will be a lot of people in the marketplace.

Mark -- Oppenheimer -- Analyst

Okay. That's very helpful. And then just a quick one on the liquidity profile. Can you guys just give a sense of any access to liquidity, whether it's on the revolver or any sources of funding aside from cash on hand? And then also, can you just give a pro forma liquidity picture, pro forma for the debt retirement recently?

Howard M. Lorber -- President And Chief Executive Officer

B.K. you want to handle that?

J. Bryant Kirkland -- Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer And Treasurer

Yes. Okay. So as Howard mentioned, total cash plus investments was $620 million at March 31. Of that number, $69 million was at Liggett and $49 million at Douglas Elliman. So our liquidity now on a consolidated basis, using those numbers after $170 million of payment, would be $450 million. In addition to that, currently, we have about $130 million of cash and availability under the revolver at Liggett, which is up significantly. And the largest piece of that relates to we're not we can defer excise tax payments until July.

Mark -- Oppenheimer -- Analyst

Great. And then, I guess, having you on the line, just another quick housekeeping. Can you guys just give us the shares outstanding for the quarter?

J. Bryant Kirkland -- Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer And Treasurer

Sure. For computing EPS, it was 147.1 million, and for computing equity, it was 148.1 million.

Mark -- Oppenheimer -- Analyst

Thank you guys very much.

J. Bryant Kirkland -- Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer And Treasurer

Okay.

Operator

Our next question comes from Jacqueline Crawford with Jefferies.

Jacqueline Crawford -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Hi, Congratulations on the strong quarter, especially here in tobacco. But just I was more concerned about the economy, and I realize that you said that you feel that you're positioned well in the discount category. But I was just wondering if you could provide a little bit more information here. If you would expect to see more smokers stray down into the discount category or deep discount category within your products? And if so, if you're seeing any additional competition with any of your peers fighting for these consumers here? And any impact on price that you have seen or might expect to see moving forward?

Nicholas P. Anson -- President And Chief Operating Officer

Thanks for your question. So I would say in answer to that, we've been talking about down-trading on our calls for a number of years now. Within the discount segment itself, our focus with Eagle 20's has primarily been on the low end. And that's a segment that's been a source of growth within the cigarette market for a number of years. Yes, there's, obviously, a fierce competition down there. But again, I think we are well positioned strategically and with our sales force to compete very strongly in that particular market. So we're certainly continuing to see that segment of the market grow. But I think, also, over the last few weeks, we're also seeing some very preliminary signs of a broader discount market increasing as a whole as well.

Jacqueline Crawford -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Okay. And then I appreciate you providing the additional information on the cost savings at Douglas Elliman, but I was wondering if, just more broadly, could you provide any more information as to what's the fixed versus variable cost there at both real estate and tobacco?

Howard M. Lorber -- President And Chief Executive Officer

I didn't hear the end of your question, you were breaking up.

Jacqueline Crawford -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Sorry about that. I was just saying, could you please provide the fixed versus variable cost breakout at both real estate and tobacco?

Howard M. Lorber -- President And Chief Executive Officer

Go ahead, Nick. Tobacco.

Nicholas P. Anson -- President And Chief Operating Officer

We certainly don't have that information to hand. I mean could we maybe follow-up with that information a little later date?

Jacqueline Crawford -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Yes. Yes, that would be just fine.

Nicholas P. Anson -- President And Chief Operating Officer

Okay.

Jacqueline Crawford -- Jefferies -- Analyst

And then just finally, do you have any channel breakdowns just among whether it be grocers or convenience stores where your tobacco products are sold? And what your what any impact you would expect traffic at those various retailers to be having on you moving that forward?

Nicholas P. Anson -- President And Chief Operating Officer

Sure. So I don't want to go into too much specifics about the channel. But the good news is that for the last few weeks, we really haven't seen a huge impact to those stores that we're doing business in. As I mentioned in my script, we've probably got distribution about 127,000 stores. And anecdotally, we were hearing that maybe 1,500 to 2,000 stores tobacco stores were impacted where we called on. So it was a very small percentage of our business. So the good news is the distribution chain actually, the supply chain and the distribution chain has remained open and really hasn't had any significant impact on our sales business.

Ronald J. Bernstein -- Non-Executive Chairman Of Liggett Vector Brands And Senior Advisor

If I could add, this is Ron. Initially, there were a number of tobacco outlets that were not food sellers that needed to shut down. As Nick said, it was a small percentage of our business. But virtually, all of those are coming back online or are back online now. And just looking at the arc of the situation since the pandemic became part of our reality.is that the worst of it from the standpoint of the flow in the cigarette marketplace, it looks to be passed. So the anticipation is that the market will only get stronger and broader as we go forward.

Jacqueline Crawford -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Okay. Well, thank you for that.

Operator

Our next question comes from Ed Brucker with Barclays.

Ed Brucker -- Barclays -- Analyst

Hey, thanks for taking the question. First of all, I was wondering what the kind of dynamics you've seen around, I guess, what seemed to be pantry loading, first? And then also did you see any positive benefit from the stimulus checks that started hitting accounts in mid-April? And when those did hit, do you think the discounts that are in market benefited? Or do you think there was maybe a trade up effect there?

Nicholas P. Anson -- President And Chief Operating Officer

Sure. Well, again, just to reiterate, we certainly saw significant pantry loading in the back half of the last two weeks of March, and we have seen some payback of that. And again, that pantry loading was at both the wholesale and the retail level. It's very difficult to tell whether all that has been paid back. I think there's so many competing variables going on in the marketplace at the moment that it's very tough to see, like, true consumer underlying trends at the moment.

So trying to parse out the effect of the additional stimulus checks and the increased unemployment benefits really the honest answer is it's too early to tell. We're going to need to get a little bit more data over the course of Q2 to really get an understanding as to how those that additional money within the economy, and specific to the discount segment, is impacting the business.

Ed Brucker -- Barclays -- Analyst

Great. And then given maybe what could be a potential recession upcoming, does that change your ability to come to market and kind of playbook to bring new products to market? And do you have any new products in the boat that you're looking to get out in the near term?

Nicholas P. Anson -- President And Chief Operating Officer

Well, I'm certainly not going to go into any specifics with respect to new products. But obviously, we're looking at the market, and we're always looking at opportunities. I mean, yes, honestly, at the moment, with limited sales people out in the field, the ability to execute a new brand launch is limited. But again, at the moment, though, we're very, very happy with our 2-brand strategy. Eagle 20's and Pyramid are performing very well. So those are the brands that we're focused on at the moment. And again, we think they're well positioned in the marketplace based on the current economic situation.

Ed Brucker -- Barclays -- Analyst

My last question, going to the real estate market. I was wondering how we should think about the real estate market over the next six months. Do we think about it like an '08, '09 recession kind of playbook? Or is that completely off base, and this is completely new? How are you thinking about it going forward?

Howard M. Lorber -- President And Chief Executive Officer

Well, because this is something that really none of us have experienced, it's hard to predict. But having said that, we feel that we'll know a lot more when we're able to actually show apartments and try to sell them, and houses. It's hard to base it on what we're seeing today because we're not seeing that much today. I would say that the markets will rebound, can't tell you how quick it's going to rebound. But in certain markets, you're pretty sure.

People are looking for second homes in a lot of our markets, the ones that are in the city now, they work in the city or live in the city. And so there is a that market is pretty strong. The suburbs around New York City has picked up pretty well. So that one is pretty strong. And what remains to be seen is how the city does because in the city, it's been attacked besides from the COVID, it's been attacked from the political part of the city side with by putting in taxes and so forth that have hurt the market. Like last June, they put in this increase in what they call the mansion tax, which added quite a big bill to high-priced apartments.

But June last year was like our biggest month that we've ever had in business because everyone bought before the time that they would have to pay the increased mansion tax. So that will be a bad comp and we'll never meet that comp again. That was a huge, huge month. So besides the I would say two things, besides the pandemic we're in now, we also have to concern ourselves about the state of the places where markets are like the city, OK, especially on the financial end. Because if they start talking right away to with tax increases and stuff, obviously, that will make it more difficult.

Operator

Our next question comes from Robert Sullivan with MidOcean.

Robert Sullivan -- MidOcean -- Analyst

Of the real estate operating selling G&A expense, which was roughly at $260 million in 2019, I was wondering if you could break that out into just some broad categories for us just in trying to model kind of cash burn within real estate going forward.

Howard M. Lorber -- President And Chief Executive Officer

B.K., do you want to do that?

J. Bryant Kirkland -- Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer And Treasurer

Yes. So Robert, about $34 million of that related to property management subsidiary we own. Advertising was another $25 million. Vector does charge a management fee of $2 million, and then depreciation and that number is about $8.6 million. So you're left with about $193.6 million after that. And then as we said in our earlier conference call, about $4 million last year was spent on the ERP system. So of that $189 million, that's comprised primarily of rent and salaries.

I mean they're just cost to run the offices. Now although that number may look fixed, we can go into that number. And by consolidating offices, by reducing our workforce, by what we what appears to be about 40% of salaries, and we can make part of that number variable. And then, obviously, on the cost of sales number, that's all commissions, so that's all variable. Does that answer your question?

Robert Sullivan -- MidOcean -- Analyst

It does. And assuming you were to have no revenues for some time within real estate, I guess, what is your plan around increasing liquidity for that division?

J. Bryant Kirkland -- Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer And Treasurer

Well, Robert, as you know, we have significant liquidity at Vector, and of course, we always evaluate the capital markets on an ongoing basis.

Robert Sullivan -- MidOcean -- Analyst

Okay, thank you.

Operator

Our next question comes from Chris Colvin with BICM.

Chris Colvin -- BICM -- Analyst

Thanks for taking my questions. Sorry to ask you to repeat this again. So cash and investments was $620 million. Does that include the fair value of the investments? Like, what's the breakout of that again?

J. Bryant Kirkland -- Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer And Treasurer

Sure. It does. And of the $153 million of investments, about $10 million was in equity securities, $95 million was in investment-grade debt and $49 million was in hedge funds.

Chris Colvin -- BICM -- Analyst

And do you all worry about any type of markdowns? Or did you see any markdowns in those? And do you worry about that, especially if the market turns again?

J. Bryant Kirkland -- Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer And Treasurer

Under generally accepted accounting principles, they are carried at market value, those investments.

Chris Colvin -- BICM -- Analyst

Okay. And then net distributions from real estate this year, any sense of what those will be?

J. Bryant Kirkland -- Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer And Treasurer

As far as the first and obviously, I will let Howard speak to the year, as far as our first quarter, it was a very slow quarter, net distributions were about $650 million. There was only and those were primarily three projects that we're just receiving distributions as they liquidate, and we only made one tack-on investment during the quarter.

Howard M. Lorber -- President And Chief Executive Officer

B.K., you said $650 million. I think you misspoke.

J. Bryant Kirkland -- Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer And Treasurer

$650,000, excuse me.

Howard M. Lorber -- President And Chief Executive Officer

Yes. $650,000.

J. Bryant Kirkland -- Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer And Treasurer

Goodness gracious. Thanks, Howard.

Howard M. Lorber -- President And Chief Executive Officer

Everything is going to be delayed. Projects which we were hoping we'd be starting to do the sales and starting to get some money back from them, all delayed. So can't really guess as to what's going to happen this year.

Chris Colvin -- BICM -- Analyst

Makes sense. And then two questions on the Tobacco segment. I didn't quite follow, in the beginning of the call, you said there was it sounded like a 60% boost whether, it was from retailers stocking or consumers? Can you go back to that basic benefit?

Nicholas P. Anson -- President And Chief Operating Officer

So just in relation to our year-over-year increase, so year-over-year earnings increase was about $9 million. And we estimate that just over about $5 million of that related to the pantry loading with respect to the wholesale and retail.

Chris Colvin -- BICM -- Analyst

Okay. And is there any kind of seasonality in that business?

Nicholas P. Anson -- President And Chief Operating Officer

Well, historically, seasonality for the cigarette business is in the middle of the year, right around June. That's when it peaks at the high season during the summer months, and then falls back in the fall and the winter months. So there's normally a gradual seasonality build around the March-April time frame up to midyear around June. But seasonality would not have impacted the specific inventory adjustments that we saw in those last few weeks in March.

Chris Colvin -- BICM -- Analyst

Got it. And then last question. Just thinking longer term, do you have any concerns about COVID, just people being more health-conscious and not wanting to smoke cigarettes? I mean is there any concerns about that?

Nicholas P. Anson -- President And Chief Operating Officer

Well, we're not seeing that at the moment. As I say, the industry is performing strongly. And within the industry, our sales are extremely stable. So I know there's been a lot of press about that. But at this point in time, we're not seeing any negative effects whatsoever.

Ronald J. Bernstein -- Non-Executive Chairman Of Liggett Vector Brands And Senior Advisor

Where you are seeing some negative effects is on the vapor side because the association of the problems that we're developing prior to COVID, have just been reinforced. And I think that it's put a heavy burden on the vapor category. If you look at where things are with cigarettes, I think that, generally speaking, in the course of a crisis, people typically don't smoke less and they don't drink less and they don't eat less. So the short-term looks solid, and there's no reason to really believe that anything is going to change afterwards.

Chris Colvin -- BICM -- Analyst

Yeah. Great. All right. Well, thanks for the color.

Operator

[Operator Closing Remarks]

Duration: 38 minutes

Call participants:

Howard M. Lorber -- President And Chief Executive Officer

Nicholas P. Anson -- President And Chief Operating Officer

J. Bryant Kirkland -- Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer And Treasurer

Ronald J. Bernstein -- Non-Executive Chairman Of Liggett Vector Brands And Senior Advisor

Mark -- Oppenheimer -- Analyst

Jacqueline Crawford -- Jefferies -- Analyst

Ed Brucker -- Barclays -- Analyst

Robert Sullivan -- MidOcean -- Analyst

Chris Colvin -- BICM -- Analyst

More VGR analysis

All earnings call transcripts
Minority communities are contributing equally in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic along with others in the society, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Saturday.

He also announced that the Minority Affairs Ministry will launch 'Jaan Bhi, Jahan Bhi' nationwide awareness campaign soon to make people aware of social distancing and other guidelines for safety from coronavirus.

More than 1,500 healthcare assistants, who have been trained under the skill development programme of the Minority Affairs Ministry, are assisting in treatment and wellbeing of COVID-19 patients.

Naqvi said these healthcare assistants include 50 per cent girls who are helping in treatment of coronavirus patients in various hospitals and healthcare centres across the country.

This year, more than 2,000 other healthcare assistants will be trained by the Minority Affairs Ministry, he said in a statement.

The ministry is providing one-year training to healthcare assistants through various health organisations and reputed hospitals of the country, Naqvi said.

Various waqf boards across the country have contributed Rs 51 crore to the prime minister and chief minister relief funds for the coronavirus pandemic with the support of various religious, social and educational organisations, the minister said.

These waqf boards are also distributing food and other essential commodities among the needy, Naqvi said.

He said 16 Haj Houses across the country have been given to state governments for quarantine and isolation facilities for COVID-19-affected people. Various state governments are utilising the facilities at these Haj Houses according to their needs, he added.

Naqvi said masks have been prepared on a large scale under the ministry's 'Seekho Aur Kamao' skill development programme and these are being distributed among the needy.

All people of the country are working unitedly and strongly to defeat the challenge being posed by the COVID-19 pandemic on the appeal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Naqvi asserted that the people belonging to the minority communities are contributing equally in this fight along with other people of the society.

Naqvi also informed that Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has contributed Rs 1.40 crore in PM-CARES fund and AMU Medical College has also arranged 100 beds for treatment of coronavirus patients.

AMU has also arranged COVID-19 tests and more than 9,000 tests have been done till now, he said.

Quarantine and isolation facilities were arranged at Khwaja Model School and Kayad Vishramsthali at Ajmer Sharif Dargah for COVID-19-affected people, the minister said.

More than 4,500 'zayarin' belonging to all religions from across the country were provided food, accommodation and health facilities during lockdown, Naqvi said, adding that these facilities were arranged by Dargah Committee, Dargah Khadims and Sajjada-nashin.

The Dargah Committee and its other associated organisations provided facilities worth about Rs 1 crore, which also included arrangements to send people back to their states, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A white former police officer and his son were arrested in Brunswick, Georgia, and charged with murder in the shooting death of an unarmed black man, an incident that touched off a bitter divide in the community and among civil rights activists across the United States.

Gregory McMichael (64) and his son Travis (34) were taken into custody by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) and charged with aggravated assault as well as murder in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery in the town of Brunswick, the agency said in a statement.

The February 23 shooting death of Mr Arbery (25), as he ran unarmed through the small town, was captured on video by an unnamed witness in a vehicle near the scene.

The video's wide broadcast in recent days ignited outrage among activists, politicians and celebrities who saw the incident as the latest case of white perpetrators killing a black man and going unpunished.

A county grand jury will decide if the two men should face charges.

The men's arrest by the GBI, one day after the agency opened an investigation into the case, appears to have sidelined any grand jury probe.

The video footage shows Mr Arbery jogging down a narrow two-lane road and around the McMichaels' white pickup truck, which had stopped in the right lane with its driver's door open.

As Mr Arbery crosses back in front of the truck, a gunshot is fired. Mr Arbery is then seen struggling with a man holding a long gun as a second man stands in the bed of the truck brandishing a revolver. Two more shots are heard before Mr Arbery stumbles and falls face down on to the ground.

According to a police report obtained by the 'New York Times', Gregory McMichael, a former Glynn County police officer and district attorney's investigator, told detectives the incident began when he spotted Mr Arbery from his front yard "hauling ass" down the street.

Mr McMichael told police that, because he suspected Mr Arbery in a string of recent neighbourhood break-ins, he and his son gave chase in the truck, with Gregory McMichael carrying a .357 magnum revolver and Travis armed with a shotgun.

Gregory McMichael said Mr Arbery began to "violently attack" his son, fighting him for the shotgun, prompting Travis to open fire.

According to a letter obtained by the 'New York Times', the prosecutor in Brunswick argued there was not probable cause to arrest the McMichaels because they were legally carrying firearms, had a right to pursue a burglary suspect, and to use deadly force to protect themselves.
U.S. Coast Guard Houston-Galveston Sector Facebook page

The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for the owner of an unmanned kayak found adrift about 100 yards off El Jardin Beach.

The search began on Friday morning after Harris County Sheriffs Office deputies reported the unattended orange kayak found near Seabrook south of the Bayport Channel to the Houston-Galveston watchstanders.
Union chiefs have threatened to derail plans to reopen schools on June 1 unless the government accept a range of 'essential' safety demands for teachers - including a national 'test and trace' system.

The re-opening of schools in June is expected to form part of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's address to the nation on Sunday evening.

Much of the content of the address is believed to have been briefed to Westminster Lobby correspondents, causing concern among unions.

Government sources have indicated Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants schools to begin to reopen on June 1, although unions have expressed concern about the safety of staff and pupils

The unions have written to Education Secretary Gavin WIlliamson ahead of Boris Johnson's address to the nation on Sunday night

Among the demands made by teaching unions, is a commitment to provide cash for the deep cleaning of schools as well as adequate supplies of PPE.

Also, unions want the power to close schools delegated to a local level in case of further isolated Covid-19 outbreaks.

Teachers will 'vote with their feet' and not show up to work if they are not convinced by the plans, said Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders.

Writing in the Times Educational Supplement, Mr Barton said unless the plans are thorough, teachers - as well as pupils - 'simply won't turn up'.

And according to the National Association of Head Teachers just 10 per cent of heads think it is safe to open in the coming weeks.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has said schools are set to reopen in a 'phased manner' but has not set a date. The Department for Education said this date will be based on 'scientific advice'.

Last week, an NHS chief warned the Government it should be wary about reopening schools too early as scientists do not fully understand the extent of coronavirus transmission between children.

Meanwhile, Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford yesterday confirmed that schools in Wales would not be opening on June 1.

The joint statement was sent to Mr Williamson on Friday by bodies including the NAHT school leaders union and the National Education Union (NEU).

Published by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), it called for 'clear scientific published evidence that trends in transmission of Covid-19 will not be adversely impacted by the reopening phase and that schools are also safe to reopen'.

The tests that the school workforce unions said were 'essential' to have in place before pupils return include.

Safety and welfare of pupils and staff as the paramount principle.

No increase in pupil numbers until full rollout of a national test and trace scheme.

A national Covid-19 education taskforce with Government, unions and education stakeholders to agree statutory guidance for safe reopening.

Consideration of the specific needs of vulnerable students and families facing financial hardship.

Additional resources for enhanced school cleaning, PPE and risk assessments.

Local autonomy to close schools where testing indicates clusters of new Covid-19 cases.

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: 'Parents and staff need full confidence that schools will be safe before any pupils return.

'The Government must work closely with unions to agree a plan that meets the tests we have set out.

'Those discussions must include unions representing all school workers, not just teachers.

'The best way to do this is through a national taskforce for safe schools, with Government, unions and education stakeholders.'

A poll by charity Parentkind found just one in ten parents would be happy for their children to return once lockdown ends.

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: 'Parents and staff need full confidence that schools will be safe before any pupils return

Labour's shadow education secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey called on the Government to 'take heed of the tests set out today by trade unions and commit to not opening schools unless they have been met'.

She said: 'The primary consideration before opening schools has to be the safety of pupils, their families and staff.

'Schools should not open until it is safe to do so and the Government must commit to work with trade unions and others to agree a set of principles and tests to put safety systems in place in advance of any planned reopening.'

Last week at the Downing Street daily news conference, NHS England's national medical director Professor Stephen Powis said the 'science is still evolving' on how much children contribute toward virus spread.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has vowed the Government would only allow pupils to return when it was safe to do so.

The statement was authored by the unions GMB, NAHT, NASUWT, NEU, Unison and Unite.
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Alex Brandon / Associated Press

The coronavirus pandemic is a horrible natural experiment in which every world leaders competence may be gauged against the same crisis.

Guess how our guy is doing.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Eugene Amoah Sampa, the second in command at the Volta Regional Police Training School has appealed to Zoomlion Ghana Limited to sustain the fumigation of institutions across the country.



He said the exercise was necessary for the control of pests in public and commercial environments and must be regularised.



Mr Sampa appealed when Zoomlion took its fumigation of institutions to the Ho Police Training School in a bid to contain the Coronavirus disease and also control pests.



He said the Training School had been battling bedbugs for ages and commended Zoomlion for the exercise, stressing the need for regular fumigation of institutions.



"This is what we should be doing regularly to control pests and viruses so we are appealing to Zoomlion to come here often and visit other institutions too.



"Our 115 recruits will come back for training in a good environment. We are extremely happy and grateful," Mr Sampa said.



The Zoomlion team fumigated the Training School's classrooms, dormitories, and administration block.



Mr Solomon Denyo, Volta Regional General Manager, Zoomlion Ghana Limited said the exercise would be extended to all police posts, police stations, and barracks in the Region.

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
Wisconsin Supreme Court justice Patience D. Roggensack listens to state deputy attorney general Kevin St. John during arguments in Madison Teachers Inc. vs. Scott Walker, in the Wisconsin Supreme Court at the state Capitol in Madison, Wis., Monday, Nov. 11, 2013.

AP Photo/Wisconsin State Journal, M.P. King, Pool

Wisconsin Chief Justice Patience Roggensack was blasted for her remarks saying the uptick in coronavirus cases in Brown County was due to meatpacking employees testing positive and not "regular folks."

Brown County, Wisconsin  where a JBS meatpacking plant is located  saw a rise in coronavirus cases after reported cases at the plant increased ten fold, from 60 cases to more than 800 in the span of two weeks, The Washington Post reported.

Some people said it was "elitist" for separating meatpacking workers from "regular folks" of a state county.

Others came to defense of Roggensack, noting that her comment was simply referring to the way the coronavirus spread.

A Wisconsin Supreme Court justice was condemned for her offhand comment blaming a state county's coronavirus case flare-up on meatpacking employees and not "regular folks."

Brown County, Wisconsin  where a JBS meatpacking plant is located  saw an uptick in coronavirus cases after reported cases at the plant increased ten fold, from 60 cases to more than 800 in the span of two weeks, The Washington Post reported.

Related Video: How Viruses Like the Coronavirus Mutate

An attorney for Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers defended the need for the state's stay-at-home orders, citing the JBS plant as an example of the rapid spread of the coronavirus during oral arguments discussing the legality of the orders.

Chief Justice Patience Roggensack interjected in response, saying the cases "were due to the meatpacking, though. That's where Brown County got the flare. It wasn't just the regular folks in Brown County."

Roggensack faced backlash for the comment, with some people calling it "elitist" and "classist" to separate meatpackers from "regular" folk of the county. Melanie Bartholf, political director of the local union of United Food and Commercial Workers, said, "Regular folks work in meatpacking plants."

Story continues

"Our members who work at these packing plants, who work at JBS and other plants across the state, are literally putting their lives one the line every single day so you and I can have food on our tables, and they deserve every possible protection," she told The Post.

Christine Neumann-Ortiz, director of Voces de la Frontera and workers' advocate, told WISN that she considers the remark racist.

"That it was a racist comment and an elitist comment," Neumann-Ortiz told WISN. "She was saying the lives of black and brown workers in these meatpacking facilities were less worthy than the lives of others."

Some came to defense of Roggensack, noting that her comment was simply referring to the way the coronavirus spread.

"She used the term 'regular folks.' I don't think that's exactly what she meant," Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty President Rick Esenberg told WISN. "She wasn't making any type of racist, or elitist or classist comments about the people who worked at the meatpacking plant."

Claire Paprocki, a spokeswoman for the county health department, said during a daily briefing, "It's extremely important to note that COVID-19 is not an industry-specific issue, nor is one facility in Brown County to blame for the outbreak, "according to The Post report.

"We can't point fingers or point to one source that caused the type of numbers that we're seeing in Brown County," she continued, adding that it is "just as likely" for the virus to spread if "you go over to your neighbor's house and have an adult beverage in their driveway as if you were working at a meat plant."

Business Insider
A vast majority of California voters have shown support for the work protections for farmworkers, including illegal immigrants. Such protections include medical benefits, replacement wages, and paid sick leave should they contract COVID-19.

Based on the latest survey conducted statewide, about 80 percent of the voters in California back companies that provide "full replacement wages for farmworkers" so they can stay home when the virus infects them.

The same survey which the UC Berkeley Institute Governmental Studies also indicated that 79 percent support reasonable pay for workers whether they are holding a gest or legal worker status.

Based on the poll conducted, just more than seven 10 participants believed that both legal and illegal workers should have fair paid and medical sick leave should they get infected by COVID-19.

The said belief of the majority of the survey participants has the backing strongest among the voters in the Bay Area and Los Angeles County.

Relatively, over nine in 10 voters back providing stations for hand-washing, personal protective equipment of PPE and work situations enabling "the farmworkers to practice social distancing."

How the Survey was Conducted

Essentially, the survey was conducted through the distribution of email invitations to ramble individuals, specifically of the registered voters of the state whose email address, as indicated in the voter registration rolls of the state.

Moreover, the Political Data, Inc. provided the sample to IGS. Political Data is a leading registered voters' lists provider in the whole of California.

In an effort to enhance the representativeness of the "Latinos who are non-English speakers," the sample was amplified with added "listings of foreign-born Latinos."

Then, upon finalization of the email invitations and questionnaire, they got translated to the Spanish language and evaluated for cultural suitability. Each email invited the California voters to take part in a non-partisan poll that the IGS conducted.

Meanwhile, a link to the website of the IGS where the poll was initially housed was also provided. Reminder emails were also delivered to voters who were on-respondent, plus an opt-out link was also provided for the voters wishing to take part but preferred not to receive emails from the IGS about the

Deserving to Receive Full Wage Replacement

According to the survey, more than 50 percent of the respondents have strongly agreed that farmworkers, as well as the designated essential workers, deserve to be given "full replacement wages from their employers" should they contract the virus.

Nevertheless, only 30 percent of the Republicans in the state back paying full income to ill farm workers, compared to the Democrats comprising of 73 percent.

Of the voters who think that Trump is fully responsible for the COVID-19 crisis and the lack of medical supplies and tests, more than 70 percent strongly believe that undocumented farmworkers deserve to get the same benefits documented ones are getting should they fall ill with the virus. This number is high compared to voters who comprise 17 percent of those who do not agree that Trump is accountable.

Check these out!
WASHINGTON  Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. on Friday turned down a request from the chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to designate another court to conduct an ethics inquiry into the circumstances surrounding a retirement from what is widely viewed as the second-most important court in the nation.

In response to the request from Judge Sri Srinivasan, the circuits chief judge, a legal adviser to Chief Justice Roberts said the request from last Friday did not meet the standards for transferring the inquiry to another judicial circuit to pursue.

The issue arose from a March complaint filed by the progressive advocacy group Demand Justice, which asked the appeals court to determine whether political influence had inappropriately figured into the decision by Judge Thomas B. Griffith to retire, creating an election-year slot on the influential appeals court.

The complaint noted that Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, had been encouraging eligible appeals court judges to retire so they could be replaced this year while Republicans still held the White House and Senate. In Judge Griffiths case, his decision to step down opened the way for President Trump to nominate Judge Justin Walker, 37, a federal district court judge in Kentucky who is a protege of Mr. McConnells. Judge Walkers confirmation hearing was Wednesday, a month after Mr. Trump named him.
Hong Kong, May 9 : Hong Kong recorded no new COVID-19 case on Saturday, a day after the city eased restrictions amid the pandemic.

A handful of imported cases over the past week took the city's tally to 1,044 with four related deaths, reports the South China Morning Post newspaper.

Saturday was also the 20th day in a row with no local infections.

Health experts earlier suggested that Hong Kong could be considered to be free of local transmission if there were no such cases after 28 days, or two incubation cycles for the coronavirus.

On Friday, Hong Kong residents were able to go to gyms, beauty parlours, bars, restaurants, and other public venues which were closed for more than a month after city officials allowed a partial reopening of eight types of businesses, but with conditions.

Speaking to the South China Morning Post on Saturday, executive councillor Lam Ching-choi said it could be time to explore lifting border restrictions between the city and Macau if the local coronavirus threat eased further.

"Both places have experienced a long period of zero local cases, and soon after we lift some social-distancing measures, it's time to prepare for a certain extent of border reopening - such as a 'travel bubble' that some countries are attempting," he said, referring to a controlled flow of people between places considered to be safe, without the need for quarantine.

Lam said Hong Kong should consider lifting quarantine measures with Macau, not only because of tourism and economic needs, but for the day-to-day lives of people.

A government source told the South China Morning Post on Saturday that Lam's suggestion was on the agenda, but success centred on mutual agreement between both sides, and Macau would have its own concerns.

There was no timetable at present, the source added.

Currently, all travel permit holders arriving in Hong Kong from mainland China and Macau have to be quarantined at home for 14 days.

Guangdong and Macau in March adopted similar measures requiring that all arrivals be quarantined for the same duration, among other restrictions.
He is a Hollywood legend with an impressive career spanning six decades.

And Anthony Hopkins proved age is just a number when he busted a move and joined in on the popular TikTok 'Toosie Slide' challenge on Friday.

The 82-year-old actor shared a video to his Instagram where he danced to Drake's hit song and tagged the rapper in the video.

Groovy: Anthony Hopkins, 82, proved age is just a number when he busted a move and joined in on the popular TikTok 'Toosie Slide' challenge on Friday

He penned: '@champagnepapi I'm late to the party... but better late than never. @officialslystallone @schwarzenegger #toosieslidechallenge'

The dance routine involves lifting up each foot to the lyrics of the song while shuffling side to side.

The actor demonstrated his moves while stood in front of an impressive display of art while at home isolating.

After showcasing his moves, Anthony decided to challenge his superstar pals to do the same.

Legend: The actor shared a video to his Instagram where he danced to Drake's hit song and tagged the rapper in the video

He penned: '@champagnepapi I'm late to the party... but better late than never. @officialslystallone @schwarzenegger #toosieslidechallenge'

He said to the camera: 'Hey, Mr. Stallone, keep writing!'

He hilariously impersonated Sylvester Stallone's iconic part of Rocky while challenging him to take part in the viral challenge.

Anthony then shouted out Arnold Schwarzenegger's pet donkey, Lulu, before reciting the famous Terminator line: 'I'll be back.'

Got the moves: The dance routine involves lifting up each foot to the lyrics of the song while shuffling side to side

Looking good: The actor demonstrated his moves while stood in front of an impressive display of art while at home isolating

Praise: Fans of the star were quick to share their praise and adoration in the comment section, one said 'Anthony you give me another reason to love you every day!'

The acting legend then laughed while he shared: 'I couldn't even skip when I was a kid,' before continuing to dance.

Fans of the star were quick to share their praise and adoration in the comment section, one said: 'Anthony you give me another reason to love you every day!'

Another penned: 'This is the best thing I've seen all day.'

While another shared: 'Did Anthony Hopkins just challenge Stallone and Arnold to a dance-off? #Whatatimetobealive'
Tara Catapano, left, alongside her father, Anthony Catapano. Tara discovered a nurse was allegedly stealing from her dad. (Photo courtesy of Tara Catapano)

Nurse accused of stealing from dying patient at Staten Island University Hospital

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.

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.

Click here for the story.

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Flamethrower, IEDs, guns: Off-duty Sanitation worker from Great Kills had stash of weapons, say cops

Police this week seized a cache of weapons, including improvised explosive devices (IED), a flamethrower, guns, knives and ammo from the car and Great Kills home of an off-duty city Sanitation worker, according to a criminal complaint and a law enforcement source.

Andrew Fiore, 39, of the 400 block of OGorman Avenue, was busted on Tuesday after cops, armed with a warrant, searched his car, the complaint said.

Click here for the story.

Don't Edit

Man, 29, accused of hitting man with cane in robbery in New Dorp

A 29-year-old man allegedly was involved in a robbery in New Dorp where the victim was struck with a metal walking cane.

Paul Marques participated in the robbery last Thursday around 4 a.m. in the vicinity of his home on the 600 block of Tysens Lane, according to the criminal complaint and police.

Officers were informed by a 25-year-old male that he was approached by an individual in the lobby of a residential building at Tysens Lane near Primrose Place.

Click here for the full story.

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Shooting suspect arrested in Delaware; he feared retaliation, lawyer says

A New Brighton felon apparently was bent on revenge when, prosecutors allege, he shot a man inside a Stapleton apartment building over two months ago.

Sean Whitted, 39, fired a bullet that struck the victim in the groin inside the lobby of 180 Broad St. late on the afternoon of Feb. 24, said a law enforcement source.

The incident was the third in the series of violent events that unfolded over about a half hour and began with Whitted being knocked out by the shooting victim in a fight, prosecutors said at Whitteds arraignment on Tuesday, according to his lawyer Mark J. Fonte.

Click here for the story.

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Man, 24, accused of robbery in New Brighton apartment

A 24-year-old man participated in a knife-point robbery in an apartment in New Brighton, authorities allege.

Ricky Rivera, of Oxford Place in Tompkinsville, and another suspect still at large committed the robbery inside the Cassidy-Lafayette Houses on Cassidy Place on March 22 at about 4 p.m., according to the criminal complaint and police.

Click here for more details.

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Man wanted for questioning in connection with burglary in Meiers Corners

Police are asking the publics help in identifying a man wanted for questioning in connection with a burglary in Meiers Corners at the end of April.

On April 29 at around 9:30 p.m., a 59-year-old man who worked at a gas station in the vicinity of Perry Avenue and Victory Boulevard returned to work and noticed property damage, according to a statement from the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

A police investigation revealed that an individual entered the gas station after breaking through a secured window, according to the statement.

Click here for more details.

Don't Edit

18-year-old man accused of cutting victim with knife during robbery

An 18-year-old man stabbed another man with a knife during a robbery in Mariners Harbor, authorities allege.

Majsh Ray, of Wright Avenue in Elm Park, was arrested on Monday for the incident which occurred on April 26 at about 9:05 p.m. near the corner of Continental Place and Andros Avenue, according to the criminal complaint and police.

Click here for the full story.
China continues to hide and obfuscate COVID-19 data from the world, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said, asserting that he has seen a significant amount of evidence suggesting that a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan was "underperforming" and the virus may well have emanated from there. By Friday, more than 78,000 Americans had died and 13 lakh tested positive for the coronavirus. Globally, more than 274,000 people have died and 39 lakh have tested positive for the disease, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

"I have seen a significant amount of evidence that suggests that the lab was underperforming, that there were security risks at the lab and that the virus could well have emanated from there," Pompeo told Ben Shapiro in an interview on Friday. "But I am happy to suspend the decision about that. What we need are answers. There are still people dying," he said. The American economy and that of the rest of the world have come to a standstill.

"We have got an economy now that is really struggling and it is all a direct result of the Chinese Communist Party covering up, hiding information, having doctors who wanted to tell the story about where this began, how patient zero was formed and how it emanated from that person, and yet we cannot get those answers," Pompeo said.

"Even now, 120-plus days on from the Chinese Communist Party knowing about this virus, they continue to hide and obfuscate the data from the American people and from the world's best scientists," he said. It is pretty astounding, Pompeo said, when asked if the Chinese government is attempting to stymie any sort of investigation into what happened in the country.

"Whether it was the Australians who simply said, 'Boy, we need an investigation,' the ambassador there - the Chinese ambassador to Australia - said, 'Well, we are going to threaten you economically.' We have seen them do the same thing to the EU, when they were about to put out a statement, began to put economic pressure on them," he said. "This is the worst of Chinese adventurism. We have seen this. We have seen the Chinese Communist Party do this before, threaten small countries, use economic power to exert their influence," Pompeo said.

"It is not how nations that want to truly be transparent, truly be part of the international system -- it is not how they behave. I regret that they have done it because we still have an ongoing crisis. We still do not know where this virus began other than to say we know it came out of Wuhan," he said. "It is not how nations that want to truly be transparent, truly be part of the international system -- it is not how they behave. I regret that they have done it because we still have an ongoing crisis. We still do not know where this virus began other than to say we know it came out of Wuhan," he said.

China has denied covering up the extent of its coronavirus outbreak and accused the US of attempting to divert public attention by insinuating that the virus originated from a virology laboratory in Wuhan. "China was the first country to report the COVID-19 to the World Health Organisation (WHO), (and) that doesn't mean the virus originated from Wuhan," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said last month, dismissing US Pompeo's charge that China was hiding the COVID-19 data.

"Epidemic may break out first anywhere in the world. But its origin is a matter of science and we should leave it to science and medical community," said Zhao, who earlier created a storm by alleging on March 12 that the US Army may have brought the virus to Wuhan, leading to a diplomatic protest by Washington.

Also read: Coronavirus India Live Updates: Noida factories resume limited operations; country's cases-59,662; toll-1,981

Also read: Coronavirus: US Secy Pompeo pins blame for hundreds of deaths on China
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Cairo/Sputnik: Two civilian jetliners in Libya were damaged in Saturday shelling of a Tripoli airport by forces loyal to eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar, the UN-backed administration said.

"Two planes, Airbus 320 and 330, were hit by shrapnel and made inoperative," the military command with the Libyan Government of National Accord said in a statement.

The rocket strike on the Mitiga airport, the only operational aid hub in the Libyan capital, caused a blast at a jet fuel storage facility. The National Oil Corporation posted photos of thick black smoke coming from the burning tanks.

Haftar's forces have been laying siege on Tripoli since April last year. The commander said in January his army considered Mitiga part of a "no-fly zone" and warned airlines against putting aircraft in danger.

(Image Credit: Unsplash)
The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday partially attached a nine-storey building in Bandra (Mumbai) worth 16.38 crore, in connection with its money laundering probe involving Associated Journals Limited (AJL), a company controlled by the Gandhi family and the publishers of the National Herald newspaper.

ED said it has attached a part of the building, which has been established as proceeds of crime and notices regarding the attachment under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) have been issued to AJL and veteran Congress leader Moti Lal Vora, who happens to be the chairman and managing director of the company.

The nine-floor building, located at plot number 2, Survey number 341, near Kala Nagar in Bandra (East), has two basements and a total built up area of 15,000 square meters and its total value is around 120 crore.

Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has been named as an accused in the case and both Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and ED have chargesheeted him in 2018 and 2019 respectively, along with Vora.

Also Read: ED files charges against senior Congress leaders in National Herald case

The ED has alleged that Hooda and Vora used proceeds of crime in the form of a plot  number C-17, Sector 6, Panchkula, allotted illegally to AJL and pledged it to avail loan from the Syndicate Bank branch on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg in Delhi to construct this building in Bandra.

Thus, the said asset at Mumbai that germinated out of the proceeds of crime has been attached to the extent of 16.38 crore. Further investigation is going on, the agency said in a statement. The Panchkula plot has already been attached by the agency.

The money laundering probe was based on allegations that the property was allotted to AJL in the year 1982 but was withdrawn by the Estate Officer, Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) a decade later on October 30, 1992, since AJL did not comply with the conditions of allotment.

However, Hooda blatantly misused his official position and dishonestly allotted the said plot afresh in the guise of re-allotment to the AJL at original rates plus interest in violation of necessary conditions and policy of HUDA by an order of August 28, 2005, for 59,39,200, ED has claimed. The actual value of the property (Panchkula) is about 64.93 crore, it said.

The anti money laundering probe agency has further stated that Hooda, as the then CM, caused wrongful loss to HUDA and wrongful gain to AJL by ignoring legal opinion and recommendations of HUDA officers and financial commissioner and principal secretary, Town and Country Planning.

The agency also said it found that Hooda, thrice granted undue extensions to AJL for construction on the said plot, and after acquisition projected it as untainted property and further acquired loans from the bank by way of mortgaging the same from time to time.

Reacting to the development, senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, This is a part of the continuing governmental tirade against National Herald. Since the primary allegations against National Herald are baseless, such attachment orders are equally baseless and untenable. They will be suitably challenged by proper legal recourse. There is also a continuing process of spreading misinformation by authorities in this regard. The government would be far better advised to use its energies to battle Covid instead of such wasteful exercises.

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President Trump speaks during a meeting with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds in the Oval Office of the White House on May 6. (Associated Press)

It's an affliction diagnosed most often by the president's supporters: Trump Derangement Syndrome, and apparently, it's an epidemic among those who write unflatteringly of the commander in chief.

The most recent diagnosis came on the May 6 letters page, from a reader reacting to a news article on the president's "empathy deficit" who said the L.A. Times "can't give the guy a break." Letter writers who criticize the president have long been responding dismissively to claims they suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome (recent examples of which can also be found here and here), and the May 6 example drew particularly pointed replies.

Yorba Linda resident Carl Falletta recommends a defense against Trump Derangement Syndrome:

Although I'm not an attorney, I'd like to offer some legal advice to the Los Angeles Times regarding the persistent allegation that it engages in the crime of expressing its Trump Derangement Syndrome. In order to pacify many of your readers, some of whom have complained about feeling nauseous reading the paper, I suggest the following:

First, throw journalistic integrity out the highest window of the L.A. Times building and stop printing factual information about Trump and his administration.

Second, stop reporting on all the bizarre, incompetent and dangerous things Trump himself says and does.

Third, report only on the good things Trump has accomplished during his presidency. This third suggestion will no doubt result in real cost savings for The Times, as there will be little or nothing to print.

You're welcome.

William Elmelund of West Hollywood wonders who's really deranged:

If someone would say, "That person is deranged  he says I can't fly by flapping my arms, but I can," we know which of the two is deranged.

So with that in mind, I do believe Trump Derangement Syndrome is real, just not the way that those who bandy it about believe.

Story continues

Not being a psychiatrist or a psychologist, I cannot address the pathology of why some Trump supporters believe he is doing a great job and are desperate to have people say he is doing a great job when the factual evidence says otherwise.

Kim Hemphill of South Riding, Va., accepts the finding of Trump Derangement Syndrome:

I have several issues with the letter about giving Trump a break on his lack of empathy.

First, I don't think anyone is expecting the president to travel around the country to show empathy. He could do that by sitting in the Oval Office if he were so inclined, which he clearly is not.

Second, the right wing loves to trot out the "Trump Derangement Syndrome" meme. Well, I confess, I absolutely do have that syndrome as it is completely justified by this man's deplorable incompetence and morally reprehensible behavior.

As for this president "leading" a federal response to this pandemic, don't get me started.
About two dozen students from Alabamas Tuskegee Institute, now Tuskegee University, boarded a bus in 1980 at the end of the school year.

They were headed home on a Greyhound bus traveling to Florida.

They never made it.

Those students were among the 35 people killed when a freighter, Summit Venture, caught in hurricane-force wind and rain slammed into the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay.

It has been 40 years since May 9, 1980, when United Press International story reported in The Patriot that the bus, three cars and a pickup truck were sent hurtling into Tampa Bay 150 feet below.

Rush-hour motorists who saw the southbound span collapse leaped from their cars in the blinding rain to try to warn those behind them. One screamed over his CB radio that the bridge was gone.

But the Chicago-to-Miami bus carrying 22 passengers and its driver, the three cars and the truck drove past them and toppled off the ragged end of the towering interstate highway span. All nine persons in the three cars died. Only the driver of the pickup truck survived.

Debris from Sunshine Skyway Bridge between St. Petersburg and Bradenton, Fla. covers the bow of the freighter Summit Venture after it hit the bridge during a thundershower early Friday, May 9, 1980. (AP Photo)ASSOCIATED PRESS

The truck driver said he got out of his sinking truck then was pulled from the water by the crew of Summit Venture.

Diver Michael Betz had only been working for the DOT for five days when the Skyway collapsed.



"Its like joining the fire department on September 6," his dive partner said. "And then 9/11 comes in, you're climbing up the steps in the Twin Towers.https://t.co/gPw8ce0oH2  Gabrielle Calise (@gabriellecalise) May 6, 2020

Capt. Marshall Gilbert, Coast Guard commander at St. Petersburg, said divers working in the 50-foot-deep bay recovered 18 bodies, then suspended the search at dusk, but had sighted other victims trapped in the underwater rubble of twisted girders and concrete slabs.

According to UPI, The bus had left Chicago on a regular run Wednesday night, due in Miami Friday afternoon. It had stopped in Indianapolis, Ind., Louisville, Ky., Birmingham and Montgomery, Ala., and Tallahassee, Fla.

The St. Pete Catalyst this week has been featuring stores about the tragedy for the 40th anniversary including interviews with survivors.

Debris from the Sunshine Skyway Bridge perched on the bow of the freighter 'Summit Venture' after the vessel rammed the bridge during a thunderstorm at Tampa Bay, Florida, May 9, 1980. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)Getty Images

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Loading The Auslan interpreters, and there are about 30 across Australia working with leaders through the pandemic, are performing vital work, particularly in a year with horrific bushfires raging for weeks before anyone had ever heard of COVID-19. While there are no firm figures, the Deaf Society chief executive Leonie Jackson says about one in six Australians have hearing loss, and tens of thousands are relying on television interpreters for information in emergencies. She recalls one story from the bushfires in which a deaf family on holiday in a remote Australian town without interpretation services noticed other people packing up in haste and getting away. The family approached someone to explain into a phone and sent the video to a friend for translating. A video message came back telling them in sign language to get out, now.

Loading "The family got out just in time," Ms Jackson says. If there is something of a silver lining to 2020, it is that sign language is becoming mainstream, she says; a vast change even since the outbreak of the bushfires late last year, when they had to push the networks to feature interpreters on screen. "The attitude is changing out in the community now and I think people are demanding an interpreter," she tells The Sunday Age through an interpreter of her own. "If they don't see one now, they're like, 'Where are they? I wonder what's happening. There must be a technical problem'. We're in 2020 now and it's amazing what has happened since December last year to now.

The change in attitudes shows in facts. Ms Jacksons says the societys beginner Auslan course had a 400 per cent increase in enrolments for April, while its accreditation course had 500 enrolments in NSW alone, by far the most ever for a month. While you wont know their names, the faces of interpreters have become as ubiquitous as the nations leaders. Some even get recognised on the streets. "People at the cafe, sometimes," says Paula Bun, who has just come off a nine-day swing in Canberra translating for Mr Morrison and Professor Murphy, among many others. "Or years ago Ive met someone and they connect on Facebook, Is this you? "But were just supporting the deaf community. Its their language and I've been honoured to be handed this language and legacy. My parents gave it to me, and I get to perform it."

Paula Bun interpreting for Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Credit:Nine News In sharing the importance of Auslan and the critical need for more interpreters, this is the message the media-shy interpreters want to impress: the work is for, and because of, the deaf community. Like Ms Emerson, Ms Buns parents are profoundly deaf. Her friends are deaf. Colleagues are deaf. English is her second language, behind Auslan, and when not working with the nations leaders she is interpreting for deaf people in more everyday settings like job interviews, doctors appointments and weddings. Ms Bun has even interpreted for students through entire courses of panel beating and horticulture. She regrets to say she cannot remember any of the material. The interpreters are not translating word-for-word, but rather the meaning beneath the words, they say.

Their expressive faces, captivating on television, are doing much of the work: raised eyebrows for a question, for example, or furrowed brows for seriousness of 'stay home, save lives' mantra. The coronavirus pandemic and its myriad medical terms and acronyms has posed a unique challenge for the Auslan teams. "We're sharing every news article, were reading every Facebook post, were researching everything so that when you turn up you have in your mind what road (the leaders) might go down," Ms Bun says. "Are they going to say 'created in a lab in Wuhan' or 'herd immunity'? Are they going to say 'epidemiological testing'? These are all these concepts that we don't talk about in day-to-day life. Then you have to do it on camera, calm and focused." The interpreters will sometimes finger spell a concept or word. Other times they will unpack it more loosely.

"Trans-Tasman bubble is the latest one," Ms Bun says. "Before I went on to interpret for ScoMo the other day, (New Zealand Prime Minister) Jacinda Ardern had just come out of cabinet. I'm in my hotel room ... and her amazing interpreters set it up as: Australia. New Zealand. Fly, fly, fly. And I was like, thank you, I'm taking that. That's what we do as a team, talk about these concepts." Ms Bun describes "time lag" and "strategic omission" of ideas, hanging on to them to "plop" in later when they would better fit with a leaders broader point. "And that's why you see us switch in and out, because after 15 minutes our brains are fried," she says. Mr Bun and Ms Emerson agree question time from journalists is "a whole other level". The difficulty, Ms Emerson says, is unpacking the meaning beneath sometimes-garbled or gotcha questions. "You ask: What is their underlying question? What are they getting at?" she says. "The Prime Minister is often aware of their underlying question. As interpreters, sometimes were not."

Ms Emersons advice to other interpreters is get to the press conferences early to ask the reporters what they will be raising with the person at the podium. But so fast are coronavirus press conferences scheduled and rescheduled, there often isnt time. "The other day I got a call at 10am saying be at Parliament at 10.30. And you just walk in with nothing," Ms Bun says. "Other days youll get Brendan Murphys Power Point showing the graphs and whatever per cent of people are catching coronavirus. Its hit and miss." Ms Jackson, the Deaf Society chief executive, is proud of the way the teams have stepped up in crisis to help their community. They think on their feet. Theyre calm and accurate. Their work is not only saving lives, she says, but putting an often-neglected culture and language in front of millions of people every day.
The 360 shows you diverse perspectives on the days top stories and debates.

Whats happening

Social distancing guidelines to prevent the spread of coronavirus have been in place in various forms across the U.S. for nearly two months. Such public health measures have led to the emergence of a new social phenomenon: harsh public criticism of people who are perceived as not following the rules.

While shaming has been a feature of online discourse for many years, it has become something of a national pastime since the early days of the outbreak. Whether its Gen Z-ers on spring break, baby boomers being chided by their children or celebrities spotted without masks, just about every demographic has been the target of public disapproval.

Social media platforms are filled with posts finger-pointing at so-called #Covidiots for behavior seen as violating safety rules. Some police departments have been flooded with calls about breaches of safety protocols.

Why theres debate

The motivation behind distance shaming is pretty simple to understand. The coronavirus poses a threat to everyone, and safety measures like social distancing and masks are only effective if followed by society at large. Flouting these rules means making others less safe and can be perceived as an insult to those who have made major personal sacrifices for the greater good. Anyone who acts in that way deserves to be shamed, some argue.

Social pressure can be an effective way to get people who may not be convinced by health warnings to fall in line, experts say. Mitigation methods can be seen as a new form of social etiquette that needs to be enforced by the public to become fully engrained, some argue.

Others say shaming is counterproductive. Being publicly criticized can cause people to feel attacked and actually become more committed to their behavior. The impulse to shame others for minor indiscretions may be a way of exerting a measure of control at a time when so much is uncertain and trust in leaders is low. While it may be momentarily cathartic, shaming others is not a healthy form of self care.

Story continues

Online shaming can be emotionally damaging, especially in small towns where everyone knows each other. Involving the police can be especially problematic because of an imbalance in how police enforce distancing guidelines in various neighborhoods.

Many instances of shaming are aimed at people who are in fact following health guidelines. Several viral photos that appeared to show packed beaches or parks were taken from angles that make them seem more crowded than they really were.

Perspectives

Shaming is helpful

Shaming forces people to consider their impact on others

Shaming is most effective when it is addressing collective problems, meaning we are each a potential victim of that bad behavior. Its hard to imagine a bigger and more collective problem than a global pandemic thats killing people every day, all over the globe.  Jennifer Jacquet, Gen

People might forgo risky behavior to avoid being shamed

If the fear of getting infected isnt powerful enough, the possibility of having your photo taken and shared publicly is one more reason to stay home  or resist the urge to buy all the toilet paper and cans of soup.  Jennifer Brown, Colorado Sun

Shaming helps establish important social norms

The judgement we are feeling when we are in public now, whether directed at others or ourselves, is nothing more than the necessary process of a new etiquette establishing itself.  While it can be intimidating, trying to navigate the new system of manners and protocols, its ultimately crucial to making social distancing work. So bring on the shame.  Calum Marsh, National Post (Canada)

Shame can be effective when aimed at decision makers, not individuals

Instead of posting a picture of a grocery store clerk without a mask, tweet at the companys chief executive and urge him or her to make sure the employees are safe. Instead of railing at the kids on the beach, use social media to ask mayors and governors why the beaches are still open.  Jennifer Weiner, New York Times

Shaming is harmful

Shaming only makes things worse

By shaming people, were actually encouraging the opposite. When people feel shamed, they tend to get very defensive, they tend to blame other people, theyre disinclined to take responsibility, and theyre not any more likely to change their behaviour.  Psychologist June Tangney to the Guardian

Dont blame individuals for the failures our leaders

Some of them, maybe even most of them, are misguided manifestations of fear and confusion in the face of a very real vacuum of authority. Because we know so little  and have so little faith in so many of our leaders  we are scrambling to assemble some sense of order in our lives. And a lot of times, that means leveling judgment on others as we desperately try to convince ourselves that were doing the right thing, even as the right thing often remains unclear.  Anne Helen Petersen, BuzzFeed News

Shaming is a harmful coping mechanism

It would be the same if someone feels better by having five drinks after work. It might make them feel better for a while, but its maladaptive. Its not sustainable. But they feel justified, because in their mind theyre going to save everyone on the block.  Mental health counselor Ann Witt to the Tampa Bay Times

People of color face disproportionate harm from public criticism

When theres a mandate to snitch or to shame, thats going to disproportionately affect black people. When you call the police on a group of black people, you are threatening their lives.  Writer Damon Young to the New York Times

Coercion isnt an effective way to get people to buy in

In general theres a concern that that shaming approach erodes public trust and widespread cooperation. People will comply out of a sense of fear of getting caught or fear of social approbation or judgment, but you may be sacrificing long-term cooperation by doing that.  Health law expert Lindsay Wiley to the Atlantic

A photo may not give a full picture of the measure people are taking to stay safe

Be skeptical of the photo or video posted to social media purporting to be evidence of widespread social distancing violations, because it may not be showing what you think it is. It might just be a bunch of responsible people trying to make the best of a bad situation.  Aaron Gordon, Vice

Is there a topic youd like to see covered in The 360? Send your suggestions to the360@yahoonews.com.

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Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Getty Images
CHENNAI: The decision of shifting Koyambedu market to Thiriumazhisai, Thiruvalluar district, outskirt of the city, raises concerns among the people on the further spread of virus in the city. The people demand for decentralization of vegetable market instead of the setting up the market in a single place.

It was on April 27 the first talks on shifting Asias largest market to a separate place started with a view to avoiding another spike of virus in the city. But, the local people and rights activist want to ensure the virus will not be spread further as the people converge there to buy vegetables.

According to the merchants, at least 1900 shops including 270 wholesalers are currently in the market. Once all shops will be shifted to the proposed the site, it will be a cause of another concern on the spread of virus.

Arul Viswasam, a merchant at the Koyambedu, says that the authorities have allotted at least 200 sqft space for each wholesale vegetable shop in the proposed site. "Its not enough for vegetable-laden trucks to take turn. A shop needs to have at least 700sqft for conducting smooth business. Hence, many of the shop owners have not yet taken a call in shifting their shops to the proposed site. We are told the market would be made operational at the Thiriumazhisai by Sunday," he said.

The team of the officials from Corporation administration and Chennai Metro Development Authority (CMDA) which run the Market, had initiated talks with vendors since April 27 and raised the point that physical distancing was going for a toss in the cramped, tiny shops where wholesaling and retailing of vegetables were selling their wares.

The same Koyambedu tale will repeat in Thirumazhisai as well if all shops will be shifted to there without providing enough space for sale. The main reason of spreading the virus in Koyambedu was the congested selling place, says S. Radhakrishnan, a consumer rights activist.

V. Rama Rao, Secretary, Peoples Awareness Forum, has echoed the same concern asking for decentralisation of market. He wants to decentralise the vegetable market to all 15 Zones of the corporation, making use of vacant private or public grounds and spaces.

"Small lorry instead of heavy duty vehicles has to be allowed to transport item to these markets. The retailers at the respected areas will have to use small vans and disburse it to local vegetable shops or sell in play grounds with necessary precautions. If a zone is found to be infected by virus only that particular zone is required to be closed. The rest zones can be made functional," he says.

J. Radhakrishnan , who has been appointed as nodal officer to control the virus in Chennai, said that they were looking into all options to decentralise the market in order avoid overcrowding. "The people need not fear about the spread of the virus once the market would be shifted to the Thirumazhisai. The flower sellers have been asked to shift their business to Madhavaram. Now the wholesalers have been instructed to the shift Thirumazhisai," he said.
The United Kingdom on May 6 surpassed Italy to record the most number of Covid-19-related deaths in Europe and became the country with the second-highest number of deaths globally after the United States.

According to the Johns Hopkins database, the UK reported a total of 207,977 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and witnessed 30,689 deaths at one of the highest mortality rates of 14.75 per cent at last count on May 7.

At the same time, the overall recoveries have remained negligible and, therefore, a cause of concern for the country. At a mere 0.46 per cent, the UK has registered the worst recovery rate among the top 10 worst-affected countries in Europe. Only Netherlands, which has recorded a fifth of the total confirmed cases in the UK, has a worse recovery rate than the UK among these countries.

In absolute numbers, only 970 of the total 207, 977 Covid-19 patients have recovered from the infection, including the Prime Minister Boris Johnson himself, as on May 7.

Many countries have recently revised their Covid-19 numbers, particularly the death toll. For instance, China revised its death toll for Hubei province, the epicentre of the SARS-COV-2 virus, by over 40 per cent or nearly 1,300 deaths on April 17, after countries such as the US raised doubts over Chinas reported figures.

However, this was not limited to China. Other countries including the US, Italy, Spain, and the UK too said that the real figures could be much higher than the actual reported deaths and cases.

For the most part of the past couple of months, the UK death toll, too, had remained underestimated as the country did not include deaths at nursing homes and private residences into its official count.

In mid-April, the Office for National Statistics said that the actual death toll in the UK could be at least 15 per cent higher than the reported figures due to the same reason.

It was only last week on April 29 that the country revised its methodology and started including deaths at nursing homes and private residences in daily updates. It also revised its total death toll to reflect such deaths since the start of the outbreak.

As the pandemic continues to unfold, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that many other countries may need to revise their Covid-19 numbers eventually.

Like several other countries, which now are counted amongst the worst-affected, the UK too had failed to take significant measures in the initial stages of the outbreak.

The country had confirmed its first couple of cases on January 31 after which it took an entire month before the country passed the 100 cases on March 3.

In the meantime, experts and officials said that the country did not have a concrete strategy to combat the virus. This lead to delays in purchasing essential equipment and tests, uncertain messages about public health practices, and a delay in implementing social distancing measure and other restrictions.

The country reported its first Covid-19-related casualty on March 6. The number breached the 100 cases-mark in less than two weeks and continued to grow further.

Cases began to grow at a rapid pace from mid-March onwards but still remained much lower than neighbouring countries like Italy, France, Germany, Spain, and even Switzerland by the end of March.

A poor early response meant resulted in confirmed cases crossing the 100,000 mark by mid-April, while total deaths were in excess of 15,000. Both of these have almost doubled since then. Amid all this, the recovery rate has continued to remain at an abysmal 970.

Whats worse is that most of these recoveries have been reported in British territories overseas, a fact that does not reflect in overall figures.

Roughly 65 per cent or 626 of the total 970 recoveries in the UK have been reported in its overseas territories or other dependent islands and territories, even as they account for a mere 0.6 per cent of the total recorded cases.

In the case of mainland UK, there has not been any recovery in the past 20 days, according to the Johns Hopkins database.

As its neighbouring countries inch towards improving their numbers with a decline in new cases, deaths, and a rise in overall recoveries, the UK has a lot that needs to be taken care of in the coming days as far as the outbreak is concerned.
Evans Tire and Service Centers is hosting a Face Mask Contest on social media! Four entrants will be chosen to receive prizes, while the grand prize winner will get a set of four Goodyear tires!* The contest is open May 5th - 15th, 2020, so enter-to-win now!

The prizes of the giveaway are tiered, as follows:

1st Place winner gets a set of 4 Goodyear tires

2nd Place winner gets a $100 Evans Tire gift certificate

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4th Place winner gets a $50 Evans Tire gift certificate

For those who want to enter-to-win, simply post a picture of yourself with your most creative mask on to your social feed on Facebook or Instagram and use the hashtags #evanstiresd and #evanstiregivesback. For more details about the giveaway, visit evanstire.com/giveaway.

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*Restrictions apply. See dealer or evanstire.com/giveaway for details. This giveaway is not endorsed, administered by, or associated with Facebook/Instagram.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-10 00:55:03|Editor: huaxia

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NEW YORK, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Expert, senator and former official have criticized the U.S. administration for stepping back from the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic just as it is needed most, The New York Times reported on Saturday.

"Whether that means halting funding to the World Health Organization (WHO), skipping a vaccine donor conference in Europe or barring foreign health workers in poor nations from buying masks and gloves with American aid, the Trump administration's retrenchment has alarmed allies," said the report.

Ilona Kickbusch, the founding director and chairwoman of the global health program at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, said that "our experience in the past is that no matter what the geopolitical tensions were, it was possible to bring countries together around health - particularly when there was an outbreak and a real crisis."

"At present, we see that health is used as a proxy for all kinds of conflicts that are there at the geopolitical level," she said. "And that is destructive."

Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said that it was necessary to be part of global decisions to curb the coronavirus if there was any hope of stopping its spread in the United States.

That is how the country has dealt with other worldwide threats over the last 100 years, he added.

Gayle E. Smith, who ran the American aid agency during the Obama administration, said that sending U.S. funding abroad and supporting relief programs was only one element of leading the global response to the virus.

It's also important, she said, to be visibly active in international organizations like the WHO to ensure the United States remains a guiding force.

"There needs to be a place where all of this comes together in some international institution... If there is an issue or a concern, then we should work with the organization to solve it," she was quoted as saying by the newspaper. Enditem
Police enforcement of the lockdown has plummeted in line with the dwindling number of new coronavirus cases, but there are concerns some communities are taking an unfair burden.

A Sun-Herald analysis of NSW Police media releases shows the number of fines or charges issued under the public health order fell from at least 116 on Easter Saturday to an average of five a day last week. On Saturday, NSW Health reported five new cases of COVID-19, down from 199 on March 26.

A spokesperson for NSW Police declined to explain whether the number of fines and charges had fallen because the police were focusing on other operations now that the pandemic threat had abated or because members of the public were getting better at following the lockdown restrictions.

"Police are continuing to use discretion in these matters and can seek further advice through chain of command, if required," the spokesperson said. "Police across the state are continuing to conduct proactive, highly visible operations to target any activity or behaviour which could put people at risk of harm."
Coronavirus respects no borders and does not discriminate.People of the world must work together to conquer COVID-19, says Chinese Ambassador
Radio amateurs gather to support the Hamburger Factory

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports the Poway Amateur Radio Society rallied to support the Hamburger Factory restaurant on Saturday, May 2, holding a take-out food rally in the parking lot



The restaurant has hosted the weekly PARS Saturday breakfast for over 30 years. At the meetings, ham radio operators discuss technologies, radio communications procedures and plans to support the local community during declared emergencies.

Vice President Charlie Ristorcelli NN3V said appreciating the financial challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, the members decided to hold a take-out rally that followed all personal protective guidelines to give the restaurants employees business and support.

After receiving their food, the plan was to eat in the parking lot and converse via their vehicles ham radios.

According to Ristorcelli, of the 45 PARS members, 32 participated, resulting in good business and $325 in tips for the employees.



Source with pictures at

https://www.sandiego

uniontribune.com/pomerado-news/news/story/2020-05-06/ham-radio-fans-gather-to-support-the-hamburger-factory
Australians desperate to go on holiday to New Zealand could soon have their wish, but would need to adhere to strict travel safety protocols.

Opening up a trans-Tasman travel bubble could see stringent pre-travel health checks, an on-arrival test, no physical forms and social distancing on flights.

This would mean flights would eventually rocket in price once the airlines recover financially, as they would only be able to fill half of their seats.

Earlier this week, the Trans-Tasman Safe Border Group were set up to assess whether such a travel bubble is possible, with some hoping it could open within months.

But Prime Minister Scott Morrison has warned such travel is still a long way off, with worldwide international trips unlikely to resume until next year.

Chair of the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum, Ann Sherry, said as both nations had handled the outbreak well, it put them in a good position to start travel.

A couple are seen returning to Australia on a flight from India on May 8 (pictured), with international flights of the future likely to involve health checks and socially distanced seating

'Some of the things that will be done will be about public confidence,' she told the Sydney Morning Herald.

'While temperature testing is an imperfect way of knowing if people are unwell, it's at least a screen.'

Travellers' temperatures are likely to be checked at the airport before departure, and also at their destination.

They may also have to complete pre-travel checks, and immigration checks are likely to be touch-less to prevent the transferring of germs.

A 'checkboard' style seating pattern on planes could also ensure people were properly socially distanced in case someone was unknowingly infected.

A woman has her temperature checked at the Apple Store at Bondi Junction on May 7 (pictured) with similar checks likely at airports to allow trans-Tasman travel

A man gets his temperature checked before entering Sydney's Fish Market on April 9 (pictured)m a measure likely to be introduced at airports to allow trans-Tasman travel

It would mean passengers had no other person sat either directly in front or behind them.

The panel meets for the first time on Tuesday to discuss measures that could be put in place.

With airlines wanting to recoup the millions of dollars lost during the pandemic, prices could initially be low.

But they are likely to rise quickly, as profit margins will be tighter due to socially distanced seating, meaning planes flying half empty.

'I have heard mixed views on this,' Ms Sherry admitted.

The idea of the 'trans-Tasman bubble' is that the movement of people and free trade would once again flow normally, while the rest of the world remains in COVID-19 lockdown.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said both countries would need to be confident they would neither import or export cases before travel between them is allowed.

Australians do not know when they will be allowed to travel overseas for a holiday (pictured, Australians returning from India on May 8)

Customers are seen having their temperatures checked before being allowed into the Apple Store at Bondi Junction on May 7 (pictured)

Ms Ardern joined 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.

Following the meeting Ms Ardern said the logistics of how the 'travel bubble' would work were still being discussed.

She said the 'trans-Tasman bubble' would likely not include a quarantine period.

'People wouldn't travel if they had to stay on either side in quarantine for a two-week period and have to do the same when you return,' she said.

'But there is still a lot of work to be done before we can progress an idea like that.'

New Zealand's prime minister Jacinda Ardern (pictured on May 7) has revealed that trans-Tasman travel talks are underway

Both countries have a COVID-19 mortality rate of just 1 per cent and have boosted their medical equipment reserves as they plan to slowly reopen their economies, including restarting travel across the Tasman sea.

Federal Liberal MP Dave Sharma, a former ambassador, said that trade and travel to the Pacific Islands should also be considered, as their governments had done a 'good job' in limiting the COVID-19 spread.

'By allowing normal air links and tourism to resume, we would provide a lifeline for many of these small economies,' he wrote in The Australian.

'The Pacific Islands could once more begin to access their biggest tourism markets, Australia and New Zealand.

An Australian family waits to go into quarantine after landing at Adelaide airport on April 21 (pictured)

'And it would provide an opportunity for many Aussies and Kiwis to take a holiday in our region, rather than further abroad, and get to know our own neighbourhood a little better.'

Ahead of the meeting on Tuesday, New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian, said she was hopeful that a travel 'hub' could be formed between the two countries.

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

'We know that unfortunately international travel is a mid to long term vision, so if can establish a hub between New Zealand and Australia I think that would be a very positive move,' Berejiklian said.

'I'm hoping that we'll get to a stage where our state borders can be relaxed and then we can potentially have a phenomenal New Zealand and Australia cooperation.

'It would allow us to pull our economic resources, pull our trade opportunities but also move together into the future.'

The move would give the tourism industry a much-needed boost as international tourism is likely to remain banned for many months.

Both countries closed their borders to travellers in March as the coronavirus crisis escalated.

It is a move which experts say likely saved thousands of lives.
As Covid19 cases accelerate, the country has decided to use scale up testing capacity to 100,000 tests per day in the coming days

In a major step to counter the coronavirus crisis, Promega India is supporting government agencies through its automated instruments. The Maxwell RSC instrument is a compact, automated RNA extraction platform that processes up to 48 samples of Corona Virus simultaneously in less than 35 minutes . The automated Promega solution allows laboratories to process up to 400 samples in a typical 8-hour shift

Forensic Science Laboratory-Jaipur and SMS Hospital Jaipur join hands together to use Promega Maxwell RSC 48 to increase COVID-19 testing capacity. COVID-19 pandemic situation labs are experiencing unprecedented need for reagents to perform viral testing. This urgency has led many scientists & communities to make new connections and build creative, collaborative solutions.

Forensic Science Laboratory-Jaipur has recently procured two Maxwell RSC 48 instruments from Promega for extracting DNA from casework samples . The government firm has now decided to support SMS Hospital Jaipur in this pandemic situation by providing the procured instruments to the renowned hospital for RNA extraction for Corona Virus testing.

The Promega team supported with its Maxwell unit at AIIMS Rishikesh .The team also conducted the virtual training so the labs can use the instrument in this pandemic situation.

Promega also offered a Maxwell unit at Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC) Mumbai for emergency use. Mumbai has the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in India so far.

Promega Maxwell units are also used by few other labs across the India as for COVID testing .

We are grateful that leading communities across the globe are supporting each other during this COVID-19 pandemic and that Promega products can be of use to combat against the difficult times the world is facing. Promega began scaling up reagent manufacturing in January to address global needs and has maintained accelerated production since then. Operations teams continue to work on ways to expand production to further meet unprecedented demand, said Dr Rajnish Bharti, General Manager Promega Biotech India Pvt Ltd.

Promega manufactures reagents used for COVID-19 testing. The companys components currently support approximately 28 COVID-19 test kits around the world, and Promega provides RNA extraction reagents for more than 500 clinical labs globally.

Promega remains committed to supporting scientists around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bishop Bernard Nyarko

08.05.2020 LISTEN

The one-week remembrance ceremony of the late Kumawood actor, Bishop Bernard Nyarko, will be held at their family house at Ashaley Botwe-Lakeside near the Police Station and Pakoso  Asokore Mampong in Kumasi tomorrow Saturday.

The brother of the late actor, Isaac Nyarko, who made this known, said the date and venue for the final funeral rites for the late actor, who joined his ancestors last Saturday after a short illness, would be announced.

He mentioned that the ceremony would be used to celebrate the late actor's achievement in the Ghanaian movie industry.

In other not to flout the ban on social gatherings, the ceremony was strictly by invitation, he said.

In an interview with SVTV, Isaac Darko mentioned that the one-week remembrance ceremony would be a gathering of only family members and few invited guests.

We would love everyone to come, especially Bishop Nyarko's fans, but because of the ban on social gatherings, we are forced to do it privately and strictly by invitation. We should not break the law, because we are all under the law. We are not preventing anyone from attending the one-week observation but we have to respect the law and the President's directives, he said.

The late Kumawood actor died of cancer on Saturday, May 2 at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital  Ridge Hospital.

He was a member and associate pastor of Grace Redemption Chapel.

Some of the movie icons such as Abraham Davis, aka Salinko, Nana Ama MacBrown, Mercy Asiedu, Kwadwo Nkansah aka Lilwin, Yaw Dabo and a host of others broke into tears when the death of Bishop Bernard Nyarko was announced.

Many others took to social media to pay tribute to the actor and shared some of their fondest memories of him.

---Daily Guide
May 09 : As India prepares to get back to business in a slow and planned manner, the smartphone market is also making its way into the world of more exciting smartphone launches in the month of May 2020. Amid COVID  19, and the summer rains, make sure that you do not lose track of gadgets and smartphones with more features at exciting prices. This week, smartphones will be launched on online platforms like Flipkart. This launch will include Mi 10 5G, Realme Narzo 10, Motorola Razr, Samsung Galaxy M21, and Honor 9X Pro. The dates, specs, and prices are also detailed out below.

Mi 10 5G

Image Source: mi.com/in/

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi on Friday launched its latest flagship smartphone 'Mi 10 5G' with a 108MP quad-camera setup, UHD 8K video recording and fastest 30W wireless charging in India. Read more

Realme Narzo 10

Image Source: IANS Realme X2 Pro.

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Realme on Thursday announced to launch its much-anticipated Narzo smartphone series on May 11. Read more

Honor 9X Pro

Image Source: IANS Honor 9X.

Chinese smartphone maker Honor is all set to launch Honor 9X Pro in India on May 12 that will be available on Flipkart. Read more

Samsung Galaxy M21

Image Source: IANS Samsung Galaxy M21.

Samsung on Monday announced that its budget smartphone 'Galaxy M21' 4/64GB variant is now available for Rs 12,699 and the 6/128 GB variant for Rs 14,999 on Amazon.in. Read more

Motorola Razr

Image Source: IANS Motorola Razr listed with May 8 tentative release date on Flipkart.

Lenovo-owned smartphone brand Motorola launched its foldable flagship Moto Razr in March this year and the device has now been listed with May 8 tentative release date on Flipkart. Read more
Health care workers accounted for nearly one in five of the confirmed coronavirus cases in Bexar County, according to Metro Health data covering the past eight weeks.

More than 320 people who work in San Antonio-area health care facilities have contracted the highly contagious coronavirus, the city statistics show. City spokeswoman Laura Mayes said some of the health care workers infections are linked to the outbreak in late March at the Southeast Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

Nearly all of the facilitys residents were infected and 18 died, and 29 employees tested positive for the virus.

At University Health System, which operates the publicly funded University Hospital, at least 60 employees have tested positive for the virus since March, said spokeswoman Leni Kirkman. Most have recovered. The remaining are convalescing at home.

UHSs workforce totals 8,000, which includes everyone from janitors to administrators.

The South Texas Veterans Health Care System, which includes Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans' Hospital, said 14 employees had tested positive as of May 5. Most have returned to work.

The regional Veterans Administration network employs a total of 4,300 workers.

The coronavirus has infected at least 1.2 million people in the U.S., resulting in 76,032 deaths since January. In Bexar County, officials have reported 1,805 confirmed coronavirus cases as of Thursday, and 54 deaths from the disease.

Bob Owen, Staff-photographer / San Antonio Express-News

Health care personnel  doctors, nurses, medical technicians and others  are among the most at risk of catching the coronavirus.

Certainly medical personnel, whether in offices, hospitals or nursing homes, wherever they are, are going to be at increased risk because they are seeing people who are more likely to have the disease, said Dr. David Fleeger, an Austin surgeon and president of Texas Medical Association.

In mid-April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

estimated that between Feb. 12 and April 9, more than 9,200 U.S. health care workers were sickened by the coronavirus, and at least 27 of them died. The CDC data showed that 73 percent of the personnel getting sick were women with a median age of 42.

CDC officials said the numbers probably understate the infection level, and urged more surveillance to better understand the risks of the pandemic to health care workers.

When it comes to our health care workers, they are our most valuable resource in stopping the spread of COVID-19. We are doing everything we can to protect them, said a spokesman for the Chicago-based American Hospital Association. At the top of that list is making sure they have the personal protective equipment that keeps them safe, and gives them peace of mind.

In the early weeks of the pandemic, San Antonio health care workers  like their counterparts around the world  experienced shortages of masks, goggles, gowns and gloves. Many hospitals and clinics rationed medical supplies, preparing for a surge of infected patients that largely failed to materialize locally.

In the midst of the crisis, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health issued guidelines directing workers to re-use N95 respirator masks to conserve supplies. Those are tightly-fitting masks designed to filter out 95 percent of airborne particles.

Manufacturers often label N95 respirators for single-use only, said Lisa Campbell, a San Antonio-based public health nurse with a doctorate in nursing practice.

In late March, Texas Nurses Association said its members were told to re-use masks for up to seven days or until they were visibly soiled. Were hearing recommendations we never thought wed hear, Campbell said in a March 24 interview.

Hospital officials have devised ways to improve the safety of masks.

University Hospital developed a method for sterilizing its N95 masks using a hydrogen peroxide process, which allowed a mask to be used four times. Methodist Healthcare System uses UV light to disinfect its N95 masks so that they can be reused up to five times.

Metro Health says risks to hospital workers have been reduced because proper protective gear is more readily available than it was early in the crisis.

The public health agency has tracked local cases since March 13, but officials said details about the positions held by affected health care workers are not available.

Mayes, the city spokesperson, said 18 percent of Bexar County cases are people who work in health care settings. More than half have recovered, and none have died.

Its unclear from the Metro Health data whether the infected employees worked in close proximity to COVID-19 patients.

A maintenance worker or loading dock worker is not clinical but we couldnt see patients without them, UHSs Kirkman said, Anyone working inside their building, she added, is considered an essential health care worker  not just doctors and nurses.

The county hospital system relies on housekeeping, billing and other office staff, as well as lab techs, scientists, therapists and social workers to keep the hospital running.

Health care practitioners and technical support staff made up 6.3 percent of the San Antonio areas total employment as of May 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

While some businesses are starting to reopen across the city, UHS has ramped up its safety protocols and continues to severely limit visitors on its campus.

The systems safety measures include mandatory screening at every buildings entrance, banning in-person meetings of more than two people and strictly enforced social distancing, with tape on the floors to mark spacing.

Staff members also have a designated hotline to immediately speak to a medical provider if they have symptoms, Kirkman said.

If they are sent to be tested, they go to a dedicated lane at the drive-thru testing site at Freeman Coliseum. Results come back the next day.

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
Cancer June 22-July 22 You feel rushed, but time is not of the essence. Besides, if you race into a situation youll miss out on better things unfolding behind the scenes. Be patient. Leo July 23-August 22

Youve been taking certain people for granted. Long-standing friendships in particular will come into focus. If theres someone youve neglected, now is the time to make amends. Virgo August 23-September 22 Everyone has a definition of success. Whats yours? Think about it and youll realise your priorities have changed and youll seek to identify them. Libra

September 23-October 22 Less is more. Recently, its been quite a task to satisfy your appetite, but now you have a much clearer idea of what you do and dont want  and will find lifes simpler things are more fulfilling. Scorpio October 23  November 22 Dont rely on anyone for a loan or favour over the next few weeks. Try to be as self-reliant as possible. People might accidentally let you down by not coming through with the goods.

Sagittarius November 23-December 20 Mercury has moved into your relationship sector, promoting harmony for those in established twosomes. But with retrograde Venus also in the picture, singles may be hot and cold. Capricorn December 21-January 19

Its the little things. Details come into sharp focus this week, particularly with regard to work and the daily grind. Make sure you dont skimp on seemingly trivial steps or you could find yourself back at square one. Aquarius January 20-February 18 Energy in your sector of creativity encourages you to step things up. Youll source a muse for a masterpiece, not simply amusement. When it comes to love, your all-or-nothing attitude will bring contenders to the fore. Pisces
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Miguel Espinoza holds arraignments in his courtroom via video at Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center on April 21 in Los Angeles. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

All Los Angeles County Superior Court bench officers, which include judges, will be required to wear face coverings while on the bench or inside courthouse public areas, the court announced Saturday.

The Court is committed to protecting the health and safety of the public, attorneys, justice partners, judicial officers and employees, Presiding Judge Kevin C. Brazile said in a statement.

Each judicial officer has been provided with two face masks, as have court employees, who also are required to wear face coverings, the court said in a news release.

By mandating that bench officers wear face coverings, we will also decrease the chances of an asymptomatic Judge or Commissioner spreading the virus to others, Brazile said.

The court is exempt from the countys order requiring people to wear face masks in public but has strongly encouraged their use, according to the news release. Paper masks are provided at courthouse entrances for members of the public who dont have one, the release said.

The effort is the latest aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus as officials try to balance the need to maintain essential court functions with the safety of attorneys, judges, prosecutors and defendants.

Last month, county courts launched a program to conduct arraignments via video in a bid to reduce courthouse traffic by cutting down on prisoner transfers. In March, Brazile barred public access to the courts and delayed for 90 days all misdemeanor hearings for defendants who are out of custody. Marquee trials, including the murder trial prosecution of New York real estate scion Robert Durst, have also been delayed.

Times staff writer James Queally contributed to this report.
Migrant workers returning from Rajkot to Ballia on a special train on Saturday claimed that Gujarat Police charged them Rs 725 fare.

Authorities here, however, said they had no information about it.

The train carrying 1,170 migrant workers from parts of UP reached Ballia in the morning, following which they were screened and provided food packets, District Magistrate Hari Pratap Shahi said.

"The migrants were then sent to their states. As many as 420 are from Ballia, while rest of them are from Prayagraj, Fatehpur, Hardoi, Maharajganj, Kushingar, Etawah and other districts," he said.

Some passengers claimed that they had to pay Rs 725 train fare to Gujarat Police, the district magistrate said, adding that he had no information on this.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Former President Barack Obama.

AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Former President Barack Obama excoriated Justice Department over its decision to drop its case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn, during a private call with the Obama Alumni Association, Yahoo News reported.

"There is no precedent that anybody can find for someone who has been charged with perjury just getting off scot-free," Obama said, though he misstated the crime Flynn pleaded guilty to.

The former national security adviser pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to the FBI as part of the Russia probe. After initially cooperating with prosecutors, Flynn hired a more combative defense team that called for a judge to dismiss the case after alleging prosecutorial misconduct.

"That's the kind of stuff where you begin to get worried that basic  not just institutional norms  but our basic understanding of rule of law is at risk," Obama reportedly said during the call.

He added that the Flynn news was one reason why he is "pretty darn invested" in helping former Vice President Joe Biden win the 2020 election. "We got to make it happen," he said.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Former President Barack Obama said in a private call that the "rule of law is at risk" after the Justice Department abruptly dropped its case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn, Yahoo News reported.

Flynn pleaded guilty in December 2017 to one count of making false statements to the FBI during an interview on January 24, 2017, as part of the bureau's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election, and whether members of the Trump campaign conspired with Moscow.

The Justice Department filed a motion Thursday to drop the charges against Flynn, saying 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."

Story continues

Obama said in a private call with members of the Obama Alumni Association that he believed the Flynn news had been "somewhat downplayed."

"There is no precedent that anybody can find for someone who has been charged with perjury just getting off scot-free," Obama said, though he incorrectly stated Flynn had been charged with perjury, when in fact he was charged with and pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.

"That's the kind of stuff where you begin to get worried that basic  not just institutional norms  but our basic understanding of rule of law is at risk," he added. "And when you start moving in those directions, it can accelerate pretty quickly as we've seen in other places."

Obama reportedly brought up Flynn's case to emphasize the importance of former Vice President Joe Biden winning the November election.

"So I am hoping that all of you feel the same sense of urgency that I do," Obama said during the call. "Whenever I campaign, I've always said, 'Ah, this is the most important election.' Especially obviously when I was on the ballot, that always feels like it's the most important election."

"This one  I'm not on the ballot  but I am pretty darn invested," he added. "We got to make this happen."

The Justice Department's sudden decision to drop the Flynn case stunned law enforcement veterans and former intelligence officials, while Trump and his allies rejoiced at the news.

The move came after Attorney General William Barr  who critics have described as acting more as Trump's personal defense lawyer than as the nation's chief law enforcement officer  tapped an independent prosecutor to review the case against Flynn.

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."

Shortly before the Justice Department made its filing seeking to drop the case against Flynn, Brandon Van Grack, one of Mueller's prosecutors who was assigned to the case since it was opened, withdrew as counsel for the government.

DOJ veterans told Business Insider that although Van Grack didn't submit a reason for the withdrawal, its timing indicates that he likely withdrew because he sharply disagreed with Barr's and the department's decision to dismiss the case.

In a similar instance in February, all four prosecutors who were tasked with handling the department's case against Roger Stone, another Trump loyalist who was charged in the Russia probe, withdrew from the case after being overruled by Justice Department leadership regarding Stone's sentencing.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The first images from her new Netflix film The Old Guard were released on Friday.

And Charlize Theron was looking every inch the mysterious femme fatale warrior as she covered her entire face while grabbing sushi in West Hollywood.

The actress, 44, pulled a black baker boy hat over her eyes and wore a black face mask to protect herself from coronavirus.

Cautious: Charlize Theron wore a black face mask and pulled down her hat as she stepped out for sushi on Friday evening

The large mask covered her nose and mouth, leaving only a small gap between the hat for her eyes.

The South African star looked summery in a loose black and white patterned blouse and jeans for the outing.

She was visiting her favourite sushi bar with her adopted children Jackson, eight, and August, four, who were also wearing face masks, for a takeaway treat during the lockdown.

It comes after the first images from the actress's new film The Old Guard were released by Netflix, based on a comic book by the same name.

Takeaway treat: The actress, 44, took her children Jackson and August to her favourite sushi bar while making sure to keep safe during the pandemic

The actress stars in the high-octane movie as Andromache of Scythia (aka Andy), the leader of a group of mercenaries who mysteriously never die.

They had fought in secret to protect the mortal world for centuries, until their abilities are suddenly exposed.

With the help of their newest soldier Nile (Kiki Layne), she has to eliminate the threat of those intent on grasping their power for nefarious means.

She stars alongside Marwan Kenzari, Luca Marinelli, Harry Melling, Van Veronica Ngo, Matthias Schoenaerts and Chiwetel Ejiofor in the film, which premieres July 10.

Femme fatale: Charlize kicks butt as an immortal warrior in the first images from her new Netflix film The Old Guard, based on the comic book of the same name

Gang's all here: The actress stars in the high-octane movie as Andromache of Scythia (aka Andy), the leader of a group of mercenaries who mysteriously never die

Last week, Charlize revealed how she's been keeping busy at home while isolating amid the coronavirus pandemic.

She shared a photo of three rainbows she and her children painted posed against her lush, tree-filled yard, while tagging Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi, who inspired the pastime.

'@taikawaititi told me to paint rainbows so damn it I painted rainbows!' she wrote in the caption, before tagging Chelsea Handler, actor and director Mark Duplass and stylist Leslie Fremar to post their own rainbows.

The Long Shot actress's post also helped those suffering from food insecurity, as the baby food company Yumi would donate a month's worth of meals to Feeding America's network of food banks.

For a good cause: Last week, she participated in a rainbow drawing campaign to donate meals to food banks across the country

Incredible: The Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project announced last week that under an initiative called Together For Her, $500K would go to domestic violence shelters and community-based programs fighting gender-based violence; shown in February

Charlize has boosted her philanthropy since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, and last week she and her foundation committed to donating $1 million to coronavirus relief efforts.

The Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project announced on April 22 that $500,000 of the money would go to the Together For Her initiative, which funds domestic violence shelters and community-based programs fighting gender-based violence.

Experts have warned that the prevalence of quarantining at home could increase the prevalence of domestic violence while also making it harder to spot.

Earlier last month, Angelina Jolie published an op-ed in Time magazine warning of the trend, as well as an increase in child abuse.

Close to home: Domestic violence is personal for the actress, whose mother had a deadly confrontation with her abusive father; pictured in 2018

The subject of domestic abuse is personal for Charlize, who suffered from it along with her mother.

Last year, she recounted to NPR how her father drunkenly threatened her mother in 1991, with deadly consequences.

'My father was so drunk that he shouldnt have been able to walk when he came into the house with a gun,' Charlize said. 'My mom and I were in my bedroom leaning against the door because he was trying to push through the door.

'So both of us were leaning against the door from the inside to have him not be able to push through. He took a step back and just shot through the door three times,' she recounted.

'None of the bullets ever hit us, which is just a miracle,' Charlize added.

Gerda shot and killed her husband with her own handgun in self defense and no charges were filed against her.
An Egyptian doctor died after contracting the novel coronavirus, becoming the country's ninth physician to die from the highly contagious disease, Ihab Taher, secretary-general of the Doctors' Syndicate announced on his Facebook page late on Friday.

Taher mourned the death of Ahmed Ezzat, deputy manager of a health directorate in Egypt's Sharqiya governorate, without providing further details about his infection.

The syndicate said earlier that it did not have a tally of the number of doctors who contracted the virus and that its request to the health ministry for an update on the figure has gone unanswered.

According to a tally provided by the syndicates affiliates nationwide, the number of infected physicians until Thursday had reached 90, it said, adding that the number is likely to increase.

The World Health Organisation said earlier this month that infections among medical staff make up around 13 percent of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Egypt.

Health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said in phone interview with a state television channel on 3 April that 12 percent of infected medical staff members contracted the virus while on duty at hospitals, while the rest were infected outside medical facilities.

A set of financial incentives has been adopted recently for Egyptian medical staff as part of the government's efforts to support members of the healthcare sector amid the coronavirus crisis.

Egypt has so far recorded 8,476 infections, including 503 fatalities.

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Twenty-two migrant workers who returned to Jharkhand have tested positive for the coronavirus disease in the highest single-day tally of Covid-19 cases in the eastern state. According to a bulletin issued by the states health department, 20 cases were reported in Garhwa and two in Koderma districts on Friday evening.

The 20 who tested positive for the Sars-CoV-2 virus in Garwha had returned from Surat in Gujarat and have been quarantined in an under-construction prison. The new cases took 27 the number of migrant workers who have been detected with Covid-19 after returning to Jharkhand. On Thursday, five had tested positive in Palamu district.

All the 20 migrant labourers, aged between 18-40 years, had arrived in Garhwa district on Tuesday. Theyre among 51 passengers, who arrived by a bus from Surat, a Covid-19 hotspot in Gujarat. Theyve been lodged at a makeshift isolation centre, an under-construction jail, in Nagar Uttari. Though 20 have tested Coivid-19 positive, the rest 31 passengers havent been infected, said Kamleshwar Narayan, sub-divisional officer (SDO), Nagar Uttari.

The SDO said the return of migrant workers from other states had added a new dimension to the viral outbreak in Jharkhand.

Batches of migrant labourers had arrived on Wednesday and Thursday and 158 of them have been quarantined at the makeshift isolation centre. The test results of swab samples, collected on Wednesday and Thursday, are still pending. Weve shifted the 20 Covid-19 positive patients to the district hospital, he said.

Koderma district, which had been declared a green zone after its lone Covid-19 patient recovered, is back in the orange zone after the two new cases were detected on Friday evening. The two migrants workers had come back from Surat and Varanasi.; The district had last reported a Covid-19 case on April 11.

The two labourers have been quarantined at an isolation centre in Domchanch. Weve started tracing their contacts. One of the patients reportedly sneaked home from Varanasi by an oil tanker, said Dr Parvati Kumari Nag, civil surgeon at the Koderma district hospital.

Jharkhand has reported 154 Covid-19 positive cases from 13 districts in the state. The state capital Ranchi is in the red zone, while 11 and 12 districts are in orange and green zones, respectively.

So far, three Covid-19 related deaths, including two in Ranchi and one in Bokaro, have been recorded in the state.

According to the state government, 52 Covid-19 patients have recovered to date.

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Strengthening its ties with Kabul, New Delhi meanwhile dispatched a consignment of 10,000 tonnes of wheat on Thursday to Afghanistan

Afghan security personnel stand guard at the site of a suicide bomber attack on the southern outskirts of Kabul. (AP)

New Delhi: The United States is understood to have reiterated its desire for India to play a key role in the Afghan peace process, given New Delhis strong relationship with the Afghan Government.

Strengthening its ties with Kabul amid the Coronavirus pandemic, New Delhi meanwhile has dispatched a consignment of 10,000 tonnes of wheat on Thursday to Afghanistan through the Iranian port of Chabahar and this brings the total to a whopping 75,000 tonnes of wheat sent to that country, sources said on Friday.

The Iranian port of Chabahar is crucial for India as it provides sea-land connectivity to Afghanistan thereby bypassing the land route through Pakistan.

Just on Thursday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval had conveyed Indias continued support for strengthening ... the democratic and inclusive polity and protection of rights of all sections of the Afghan society, including Afghan Hindus and Sikhs to visiting United States Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad who had landed in New Delhi for a few hours.

New Delhi had also conveyed that it is deeply concerned at the upsurge in violence and supports call for immediate ceasefire in Afghanistan and that putting an end to terrorist safe havens and sanctuaries is necessary for enduring and sustainable peace and stability in Afghanistan. This was seen as a veiled reference to Pakistan which backs the Taliban.

But the US is apparently looking to India to play a greater role in the Afghan peace process.

Khalilzad is also travelling to Qatar to meet Taliban representatives to press for full implementation of the US-Taliban Agreement.

Indian Government sources on Friday also said there had been a comprehensive exchange of views with the US official on Thursday and that the impact of the US-Taliban Agreement, the issue of terrorism and attacks by the Taliban in Afghanistan had been discussed with him.

It may be recalled that India had last month welcomed the announcement by the Afghan Government on formation of a team for intra-Afghan negotiations with the Taliban.

It may be recalled that prime minister Narendra Modi has been in constant touch with Afghan, with India currently having extremely close ties with Afghanistan under president Ghani.

New Delhi has also successfully undertaken vast development projects in Afghanistan in the past few years, earning much goodwill from the Afghan people. India has also been supplying essential life-saving drugs and medicines to help Afghanistan battle the Coronavirus pandemic.
Despite having a valid official pass to move between Jammu and Kashmir, hundreds of travellers have ended up at administrative quarantine centres set up by the government on the outskirts of the winter capital as part of its efforts to combat the coronavirus.

The move is agitating the people who questioned the logic behind sending them to an institutional quarantine when they are given the passes in extremely exceptional situations, like a medical emergency or joining their duties after completing the formalities due to a lockdown.

One such quarantine centre is set up at Excise and Taxation Training institute in Nagrota, 15 km from Jammu city, where 35 persons, including women and a seven-year-old girl, are anxiously waiting for their sample reports the outcome of which will decide their future at the sprawling facility.

While a majority of them are expected to be released after their test reports are negative, four labourers from Amritsar in Punjab who had travelled from Srinagar to Jammu in a truck without permission will have to wait till the government decides to send them to their hometown.

"I have been given a pass under medical emergency and diverted to this centre on the pretext of taking samples after almost a day-long hectic travel. If this was to happen, then why did they entertain my request for a pass in the first place. They should have first conducted COVID-19 test before giving me a pass for travel from Srinagar to Jammu," an agitated Sikh youth from Srinagar said.

The travellers are also concerned about their well-being at the centre.

"I have taken so much precaution and followed the general guidelines and medical advisories religiously since the lockdown came into force about two months ago. I am perturbed since landing at the centre because you don't know the other people camping here or the fresh arrivals, Tawseef Ahmad Mir, a resident of Budgam district of central Kashmir, told PTI.

Mir was accompanying his seven-year-old daughter Manhaa Tawseef in a private vehicle to Jammu when he was stopped at Nagrota Toll plaza and diverted to the centre on May 7. Tawseef studies at a school in Jammu and was returning to join online classes.

I have no complaint about the facilities being provided by the government. My concern is my child who is unaware of the threat perception. I am sharing a 10-bed dormitory with four others from Amritsar and another relative. Luckily for us, these labourers have already tested negative a few days back, which gave me some relief, he said.

Mir, his daughter and 23 others were taken to GMC hospital in a State Road Transport Corporation bus on Friday without maintaining the much-publicized social distancing and their samples were taken. The samples of nine others were taken a day earlier and all of them are now waiting for their reports.

Three occupants, hailing from Uri township of north Kashmir's Baramulla district, were discharged from the centre on Friday night, five days after their samples were taken which came negative.

"I failed to understand the logic behind shifting us here. Wasn't it better to allow us to reach our destination and call us for testing on the next available slot which would have saved the government all the expenditure on our lodging, boarding and transportation to and fro the hospital," a Srinagar resident, who wished not to be named, said.

He said all the commuters moving on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway are being screened and registered at nearly a dozen places on either side with full details including residential address and phone numbers.

"It is simply a waste of public money. We are fortunate that none of the occupants at this centre have tested positive for the coronavirus till date," he said, alleging that the people with influence are getting away without screening, testing or spending time at the quarantine centres.

Sharing similar views, a Sikh woman said she is praying for an early release from the centre.

"I have had sleepless nights since reaching here two days ago. I want to return to the safety of my house," she said.

The occupants, however, hailed the incharge of the centre, Sunit Singh, for his cooperative nature and effort to ensure that all facilities are provided to them.

"I am doing my job. I know this is Ramzan and my guests are mostly Muslim. I am making sure they get fruit and juice at the dusk for breaking their fast," Singh, a tehsildar, said adding the centre was activated early this week and so far nearly 100 people have been accommodated here.

For those fasting, Singh said he delivers extra meals to them at dinner time so that they can use it for 'Sehri' to start their fast. He himself distributes water bottles, toothbrushes and toothpaste among them.

Sweeper Subash Chander is the busiest person at the centre and keeps the place clean and safe.

However, not everyone at quarantine centres is lucky as complaints of lack of facilities and mismanagement are pouring from various centres across Jammu region.

Several videos, purportedly showing hundreds of labourers brought from outside Jammu and Kashmir and put up at Dalwas, Dharmound and Mangat-Khari quarantine centres in Ramban district, are being provided prepared meals and tea in polythene bags.

These people are agitated over the treatment and demand that they be allowed to go to their homes if the government is not in a position to give them proper lodging and boarding facilities.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Indian agencies have been engaged in countering Pakistani cyber-attacks on social media platforms for a very long time.

But just like the fight against the coronavirus, only through the active participation of ordinary citizens can this war on fake news be won, suggests Colonel S Dinny (retd).

'Bleed India with a thousand cuts' has been a State policy of Pakistan against India, implemented with unwavering resolve for almost five decades now.

It was in 1965 during a speech at the United Nations by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, then Pakistan's foreign minister, that he declared a 'thousand years war against India'.

After the comprehensive defeat of Pakistan's armed forces in the 1971 War and dismemberment of Pakistan, this 'thought process' was studied and conceptualised into a military doctrine at the Pakistan Staff College, Quetta (external link).

The basic premise of this doctrine was that Pakistan cannot defeat India in a conventional war and therefore a covert, low-cost, low intensity warfare in the form of terrorism will be effective to degrade India.

This strategy was employed by Pakistan in the most effective manner in Punjab, Kashmir and also in various other parts of India.

For a very long time, Pakistan was successful in achieving its strategic aim of draining out vast resources of India to counter these nefarious activities of Pakistan.

However, as the world itself became a victim of violent terrorist actions, Pakistan started to feel the heat.

Pakistan soon was globally isolated and branded as the 'epicentre of global terror'. The Indian response against Pakistani terror operations also saw a paradigm shift with the changed political leadership in India in 2014.

The successful Balakot air strikes launched immediately by India in response to a gruesome terror strike in Jammu and Kashmir busted the perpetual Pakistani nuclear threat as a cover for its terror activities.

Against the backdrop of these activities, Pakistan faced tremendous international pressure including from global organisations like FATF.

The 'low-cost' decades old strategy of thousand cuts was no more a low-cost option for them.

It was time to devise a new 'low-cost' strategy. It was time to 'bleed India with a thousand tweets'!

As part of the Pakistani policy against India, cyber space was long being exploited.

However, it was after the Balakot air strike and the apparent helplessness thereinafter, that forced them to launch a full-scale cyber-attack on India.

In this cyber warfare, the most engaged platforms were Twitter and WhatsApp.

The cyber offensive was so effective that they were successful to create doubts in the minds of many about the exact nature of the air strikes, as also about the veracity of a Pakistani F-16 being shot down by an Indian MIG-21 aircraft.

The real manifestation of Pakistani cyber offensive was to be seen months after the Balakot strike.

Soon after the air strikes, there were many other sensitive events which were being unfolded in India that gave the Pakistani cyber warriors an ideal platform to launch their attacks.

First, it was the fiercely fought 2019 general election in India.

Then the newly elected Modi government repealed Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and followed it up with the introduction of the CAA.

This was also the period when the long awaited Ram Janambhoomi verdict was delivered by the Supreme Court.

All these controversial issues were such that there were sharp, differing opinions and perspectives in India.

Therefore, they were bound to be protests and acrimony as can be expected in any democracy.

Amidst these muddy waters, the Pakistani cyber warfare machinery singularly focused on exploiting the political and religious fissures in India.

While these issues were yet to be settled, the aftermath of the COVID-19 virus pandemic emerged.

The Pakistani cyber offensive during this ongoing crisis indicates the shaping of two false narratives by them.

These include, 'Muslims are spreading the virus' and there is 'Rising Islamophobia in India'.

As part of these narratives, fake videos were circulated of Muslim vegetable vendors spitting on vegetables, a Muslim vendor sprinkling urine on vegetables and also a series of footage showing Muslim people being beaten up by policemen after they were seen congregating in mosques.

The videos of the brutal killings of two Hindu sadhus in Maharashtra were widely circulated.

Also, a systematic campaign was launched to dig out old tweets made by politicians and Non-Resident Indians indicating their 'apparent' Islamophobia.

There was also a tweet by a fake handle of the Omani Princess Mona (external link) warning Indians in Oman which was later traced to a user name called @pak_fauj.

For all the strategic outcomes of these cyber operations, the Pakistani ISI modus operandi is a relatively simple one.

They first create thousands of fake accounts on social media especially on Twitter. These accounts are made with both Hindu and Muslim names.

They then take pains to ensure that the Hindu name handles invariably show a distinctive 'hyper nationalist'/ identity and the Muslim name handles show a distinctive 'hyper religious' identity.

Apart from these, there are a number of Twitter handles created to propagate extreme left and right wing political views.

These Twitter handles then start propagating fake inflammatory messages, audio, video clippings to build a narrative.

These tweets are then picked up, commented and shared by many of enthusiastic Indian social media users who identify themselves as 'nationalists', 'liberals', 'awakened Hindus' and 'supressed Muslims'.

Soon these fake messages find their way into WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok messaging apps and the building block of a narrative is complete.

A recent internal assessment (external link) submitted by the security agencies to the Government of India reveals that such Twitter handles have been classified into four categories: Aggregators, feeders, spreaders and influencers.

The feeders collect the photos, videos and voice messages from the aggregators and forward it to the spreaders.

These spreaders are located in India, Pakistan and even abroad including the Gulf countries.

There are many influencers with sizeable followers who are easily available on Twitter.

They just form a medium for creation of these narratives without them not even realising it.

According to an article published in the New York Times last year (external link) titled, 'India has a health crisis and that is called fake news', a study conducted by Microsoft indicated that 64 per cent Indians faced fake news online, the highest in the 22 countries surveyed.

Indian agencies have been engaged in countering these Pakistani cyber-attacks on social media platforms for a very long time.

But just like the fight against the xoronavirus, only through the active participation of ordinary citizens that this war on fake news can be won.

'Break the chain' is the most effective strategy to counter both the spread of the virus and fake news. India can no longer afford to bleed either through cuts or through tweets!

Colonel S Dinny (retd) took voluntary retirement from the Indian Army on October 1, 2019 after serving as an infantry officer for about 22 years in which time he did multiple tenures in the Kashmir Valley, the north east and along the Line of Actual Control. He has also served as a military observer with the United Nations in Congo.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 16:03:29|Editor: huaxia

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Deputies to the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) queue to enter the Great Hall of the People for the opening meeting of the second session of the 13th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2019. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)

BEIJING, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Ministries and departments under China's State Council finished handling over 85 percent of suggestions and proposals submitted by national legislators and political advisers respectively in 2019, said a spokesperson on Saturday.

The central authorities had responded to 7,162 suggestions, or 87.8 percent of the total raised by deputies to the National People's Congress (NPC) and 3,281 proposals, or 85 percent of the total put forward by members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference during the annual sessions of the two bodies held in March 2019, said Xi Yanchun, a spokesperson with the State Council Information Office, at a press conference.

More than 3,000 suggestions and proposals had been adopted by the State Council departments and over 1,500 policies and measures had been introduced accordingly, Xi said.

She noted that legislators and political advisers put forth more than 400 useful suggestions and proposals amid the COVID-19 epidemic for improving the public health system, giving full play to the role of traditional Chinese medicine, and applying digital information among other areas.

Competent departments had introduced effective targeted measures to curb the epidemic based on the suggestions and proposals, which will also be helpful in decision making regarding the improvement of the public health system, she added. 
Dr. Paul Nassif appeared on Australia's The Morning Show on Saturday and he had some plastic surgery predictions for a post-coronavirus world.

The celebrity plastic surgeon, best known for appearing on the reality show Botched, told the hosts that less will me more.

'I think it's going to me more simpler things, less invasive things,' the 57-year-old said.

Ideas! Dr. Paul Nassif (left) appeared on Australia's The Morning Show on Saturday and he had some plastic surgery predictions for a post-coronavirus world. Pictured on the E! reality series Botched with Dr. Terry Dubrow

He added that simpler therapies can actually achieve more than ever before, without the need for surgery.

The doctor explained: 'We have more and more laser therapy that's actually doing procedures that can almost - not quite - mimic the knife.

'The technology is getting better - so it can help with complexion, wrinkles, brown spots, red spots, maybe a little bit of lift. We are going to see more of that.'

New world: 'I think it's going to me more simpler things, more less invasive things,' the 57-year-old said. 'We have more and more laser therapy that's actually doing procedures that can almost - not quite - mimic the knife'

He added, 'Better technology is right across [it], it just keeps coming up, keeps getting better.'

Dr. Nassif announced in April that he and his wife Brittany Nassif, 29, are expecting their first child together, a girl.

And The Morning Show hosts asked the surgeon if he would allow his daughter to have surgery - for instance a nose job - when she turns 18.

Baby on the way! In April, Dr. Nassif announced he and his wife Brittany Nassif are expecting their first child together. Pictured together in 2020

Congratulations! They shared a sonogram to Instagram to announce the good news

'Obviously if my daughter needs it, and I have a conversation with her,' he said. 'I would want to be the one to perform it.'

Then he added: 'Actually could I perform surgery on my daughter? You will have to ask me in 18 years!'

Dr. Nassif is also the father of three young sons from his previous marriage.

Tune into Botched Season 6B on E! on Tuesdays at 7:30pm and get ready for the next installment of Botched Season 6C premiering Tuesday July 7, also available to stream on hayu.
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Scientists have always tried to gather new information on planets, stars and other celestial bodies. Recently, astronomers obtained some of the highest resolution images of Jupiter ever captured from the ground.

The photos were taken using a technique called lucky imaging with the Gemini North telescope on Hawaiis Maunakea. This technique helps remove the blurring effect while looking through Earths turbulent atmosphere.

Basically, in this method, a large number of very short exposure images are obtained, and only the sharpest images are used. It is applied when the turbulence in the atmosphere is minimum.

The researchers produced these images as a part of a multi-year joint observing program with the Hubble Space Telescope in support of NASAs Juno mission".

During the observation, the scientists probed deep into Jupiters cloud tops. The images showed the warm, deep layers of Jupiters atmosphere glowing through gaps in thick cloud cover. The pictures, when seen in combination with the Hubble and Juno observations, disclosed that that lightning strikes and largest storm systems are created in and around large convective cells over clouds of ice and water.

The astronomers also got to know that dark spots in the famous Great Red Spot, a giant storm vortex wider than Earth, are nothing but gaps in the cloud cover. They earlier believed that dark spots were due to cloud colour variations. The Gemini data were critical because they allowed us to probe deeply into Jupiters clouds on a regular schedule, said Michael Wong of UC Berkeley who led the research team.
Experts from the All India



Institute of Medical Sciences visited the civil hospital in Gujarat's Ahmedabad city on Saturday and interacted with frontline staff amid concerns over the rise in COVID-19 fatalities.

The city's COVID-19 mortality rate stands at 6.5 per cent, which is almost double that of the country's death rate of 3.3 per cent.

AIIMS director and pulmonologist Dr Randeep Guleria and Dr Manish Soneja of AIIMS' department of medicine, flew in on a special Indian Air Force plane on Friday, an official said.

The duo visited the civil hospital and met doctors and staff, who were attending to COVID-19 patients and offered them guidance, the release stated.

Principal secretary (health) Jayanti Ravi also interacted with frontline medical staff at the hospital, which has the highest number COVID-19 patients in the city.

The AIIMS doctors were also scheduled to visit Sardar Vallabhai Patel Hospital in the city.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani had urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to arrange for the visit from experts who could guide doctors involved in treating coronavirus patients.

As of Friday, Gujarat's COVID-19 count stood at 7,403 cases, of which 5,260 were from Ahmedabad district alone, while of the 449 deaths in the state, 343 were from the city.

At least 204 patients have died in the city's civil hospital, while 92 succumbed to the infection at Sardar Vallabhbhai Hospital.

The state government has also roped in private intensive care experts in the state to guide the civil hospital staff about ways to bring down the mortality rate.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Tyra Banks has responded to criticism over controversial moments on Americas Next Top Model after clips from the show resurfaced on Twitter.

Recently, ANTM, which ended two years ago, began trending on social media after people began pointing out questionable segments from the modelling show.

One tweet, in particular, which showed a moment from season six in which Banks and the fellow judges can be seen pressuring cycle six contestant Danielle Evans to have dental surgery to close her gap, was liked more than 111,000 times.

Why was this allowed to air wtf Tyra Banks is going straight to hell, the caption read.

The tweet prompted others to share examples of body-shaming, blackface, and bullying on the show at the hands of Banks, who has since been accused of problematic behaviour.

Tyra Banks had a whole television show for bullying people, one person tweeted.

Another said: We dont talk about how toxic Tyra Banks was in ANTM. Shed make a girl get a buzz cut after her hair is down her back from growing it out since she was nine, just to send her home in the 5th week and get mad when the girls didnt cry when they got eliminated.

On Friday, Banks responded to the backlash on Twitter, where she acknowledged that some of the moments were really off choices.

Been seeing the posts about the insensitivity of some past ANTM moments and I agree with you, the supermodel tweeted. Looking back, those were some really off choices.

Appreciate your honest feedback and am sending you so much love and virtual hugs.

While some people appreciated Banks acknowledging the insensitivity of the show, others accused the model of not offering a genuine apology.

Say more about this. Which choices were off? What was off about them? Mere acknowledgement and genuine apology are not the same thing, one person wrote in response.

Another said: Perhaps apologies to the women who were belittled would be more appropriate. Aspiring young models saw those clips, too, and it just reinforced the idea that women have to be perfect. Acknowledge it was wrong but apologise to the right people.

Earlier this week, Evans, who won her season, addressed the viral clip of her undergoing dental surgery on Instagram, where she said: It wasnt about copping out, it was about understanding what really carries weight and holds value in my life  and teeth wasnt one of them.

In the video, Evans also said she wanted to take this time to build up and to speak to all my little young queens that saw that episode that were truly affected by Tyras words, telling viewers: Youre beautiful, and Im not talking about a physical feature. It doesnt matter if you have a gap, stacked teeth, straight teeth, it matters not. It doesnt matter if youre black, brown, white, indifferent, other, it doesnt matter. What makes you beautiful is in here.
New Delhi on Saturday rejected Kathmandus protest against the construction of a road to Lipulekh on the border with China, saying the region is completely within the territory of India and both sides can resolve boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue.

Earlier in the day, Nepal expressed regret at the inauguration of the route from Dharchula in Uttarakhand to Lipulekh, with a statement from the foreign ministry contending the road passes through Nepali territory.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the 80-km road on Friday to curtail the time taken for the pilgrimage to Kailash-Mansarovar. The road ends at Lipulekh Pass, and will help pilgrims avoid dangerous high-altitude routes through Sikkim and Nepal.

The recently inaugurated road section in Pithoragarh district in the state of Uttarakhand lies completely within the territory of India. The road follows the pre-existing route used by the pilgrims of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, external affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said.

India had improved the road for the ease and convenience of pilgrims, local residents and traders, he said.

India and Nepal have an established mechanism for boundary issues, and the delineation of the border with Nepal is ongoing, Srivastava said. India is also committed to resolving outstanding boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue, he added.

The two countries are in the process of scheduling talks between their foreign secretaries, which will be held after they have dealt with the Covid-19 crisis, Srivastava said.

Nepals foreign ministry emphasised the countrys claim on Lipulekh. It said in a statement: The government of Nepal has consistently maintained that as per the Sugauli Treaty (1816), all the territories east of Kali (Mahakali) River, including Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipu Lekh, belong to Nepal.

The development comes at a time when Nepal has also been irked by the depiction of Kalapani as part of Uttarakhand in new Indian maps showing the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Nepal had sought talks to address the Kalapani issue but New Delhi rejected Kathmandus protest, saying the new maps accurately depict Indian territory.

The statement from Nepals foreign ministry said Kathmandu had reiterated its claim to all territories east of the Mahakali river several times, most recently through a diplomatic note sent to New Delhi on November 20 last year.

The unilateral act of opening the new road runs against the understanding reached between the two countries, including at the level of Prime Ministers, that a solution to boundary issues would be sought through negotiation, the statement said.

Nepal also said it is committed to a diplomatic solution to boundary issues on the basis of the historical treaty, documents, facts and maps. The Nepal government called on India to refrain from any activity inside the territory of Nepal, and pointed out Kathmandu had expressed its disagreement in 2015, through separate diplomatic notes sent to New Delhi and Beijing, when India and China agreed to include Lipulekh Pass as a bilateral trade route.

Nepals foreign ministry also brought up the issue of a report prepared by the Eminent Persons Group of the two sides to recommend measures to elevate existing relations, and said the document should be made public.

The Group has concluded its task and prepared a consensus report. The government of Nepal is ready to receive the report and believes that it will be in the interest of the two countries to implement its recommendations which will also help address the outstanding issues left by the history..., the statement said.
The Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Mr Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, has urged the government to pay compensation to property owners who would be affected by the construction of the N-8 highway before the demolishing of their property.



Property owners were expected to relocate to pave the way for the road construction by Friday, May 01.



The N-8 project is from Yamoransa in the Central Region to Ahwiankwanta in the Ashanti Region.



The portion from Assin Praso through to Assin Fosu will end at Assin Atonsu.



However, some owners of temporary structures have removed them but owners of permanent structures are yet to adhere to the guidelines by the Fosu Municipal Assembly.



During a dialogue between the Assembly and the property owners, the Assembly maintained that the demolition exercise would start before the government released funds for the payment of compensation.



However, in a telephone interview with the Assin Central Lawmaker, he opined that government settled the compensation to affected property owners before it carried out the exercise.



That, he said, was to avoid the possible difficulties the delay in payment might cause the owners, which maybe three years or more after demolition.



Mr Agyepong said the effects of the exercise could be dire as it would affect people who had their daily bread where the demolition would take place.

Source: GNA









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Case against club in Mumbai for defying lockdown

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Mumbai, May 09: A case has been registered against office-bearers of Bandra Gymkhana in the city for violation of lockdown after a video purportedly showed members celebrating its completion of 85 years despite the lockdown restrictions.

A lawyer filed a complaint saying that a video on social media showed Gymkhana members singing and dancing during the celebration of completion of 85 years of the club, a police officer said.

A case under IPC sections 188 (defying public servant's order) and 269 (act which may spread infection) was registered against office-bearers and some members, he said, adding that probe was on.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 9, 2020, 9:32 [IST]
There's been a veritable flood of revelations about wrongful acts that Obama administration officials and Deep State operatives committed, all in a concerted and sustained effort to destroy the Trump presidency. This post is a potpourri that tries to put in one place the many things the newly produced documents and transcripts have revealed.

Mollie Hemingway has written a must-read article slamming Obama and Biden for originating the anti-Trump operation during the January 5 meeting at which Comey, Yates, and Susan Rice (among others) were present. Here's the first paragraph, in which Hemingway promises to the reader that she will prove Obama was up to his neck in the Russia hoax:

Information released in the Justice Department's motion to dismiss the case it brought against Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn confirms the significance of a January 5, 2017, meeting at the Obama White House. It was at this meeting that Obama gave guidance to key officials who would be tasked with protecting his administration's utilization of secretly funded Clinton campaign research, which alleged Trump was involved in a treasonous plot to collude with Russia, from being discovered or stopped by the incoming administration.

The rest of the article makes good on that promise.

Mollie's husband, Mark Hemingway, has written his own damning article about the FBI. He focuses on the FBI's chicanery when it came to the 302 form about Michael Flynn's interview. Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, and other high-level FBI officials violated every standard operating procedure there was when it came to notes from an FBI interview, including either losing or destroying the original notes from the interview. The same people who tried to destroy General Michael Flynn over a process crime when there was no underlying crime were very cavalier about their own rules.

Outside the FBI, the missing DNC emails are in the news again. When testifying before House members, a CrowdStrike representative admitted that it had no direct evidence that Russia stole the emails:

I want to stress what a pretty big revelation this is. Crowdstrike, the firm behind the accusation that Russia hacked & stole DNC emails, admitted to Congress that it has no direct evidence Russia actually stole/exfiltrated the emails. More from Crowdstrike president Shaun Henry: pic.twitter.com/UCGSyO2rLt  Aaron Mate (@aaronjmate) May 8, 2020

You can read more about the CrowdStrike testimony here.

Two interesting things flow from this revelation. First, it rips out one of the underpinnings of the Russia collusion hoax. Second, it brings back into play the mystery of Seth Rich's death. It certainly could have been a botched robbery, but it's still worth noting that someone connected to a major con game run against Trump and the American people died mysteriously.

James Clapper, who once said Trump's alleged collusion with Russia was worse than Watergate said something different in private, under oath. Once under oath, he admitted, "I never saw any direct empirical evidence that the Trump campaign or someone in it was plotting/conspiring with the Russians to meddle with the election."

NEW: former DNI James Clapper says : "I never saw any direct empirical evidence that the Trump campaign or someone in it was plotting/ conspiring with the Russians to meddle with the election." -- in transcript of interview with House Intel during its Russia probe.  Brooke Singman (@BrookeSingman) May 7, 2020

James Clapper was willfully lying to our faces.



The left was in public from June 7, 2017. The right was under oath from his hearing on July 17, 2017. pic.twitter.com/pbe8lkcmtq  Greg Price (@greg_price11) May 8, 2020

During a press conference on Friday, NPR's Yamiche Alcindor, instead of trying to get useful information for the American people, thought it would be more fun to play "gotcha" with White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. Alcindor pointed out that when CNN first attacked then-candidate Trump over his comment that Mexico, via illegal alien, was not sending its best people to America, McEnany said Trump's words were hateful and racist.

McEnany was more than ready. First, she explained that she was wrong about Trump but only because back then, she still took CNN seriously. Then McEnany got down to business and started reciting the way in which Obama officials said one thing to Americans while on the news and another thing entirely to Congress when under oath, in a secret chamber:

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany criticizes CNN after being asked about her past comments calling Pres. Trump "racist" and "hateful":



""I was watching CNN and I was naively believing some of the headlines."pic.twitter.com/0190wOYoer  Alex Salvi (@alexsalvinews) May 8, 2020

That is a star turn.
Churches sue Ill. Gov. Pritzker for restricting in-person worship to 10 people

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A federal judge has ruled that Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker's religious freedom add-on makes the state's stay-at-home order constitutional, but a new lawsuit has emerged.

Pritzker announced this week that his "Restore Illinois" plan to reopen the state will be implemented in five phases. The plan divides the state into four regions and the degree of reopening allowed will be based on COVID-19 infection rates, hospitalizations, and intensive-care units.

In phase three, only gatherings of 10 people or fewer will be allowed. In phase four, gatherings of up to 50 people will be allowed. And gatherings of more than 50 people won't be allowed until phase five, when there has been "a vaccine or highly effective treatment widely available or the elimination of any new cases over a sustained period," which is expected to take up to a year or longer.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said a vaccine is 12 to 18 months away from being available to the public.

Banning church gatherings of more than 50 people for a year or longer is unacceptable for many churches and some are now taking legal action against the governor.

Christian legal firm Liberty Counsel has filed a lawsuit against Pritzker on behalf of Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church and Logos Baptist Ministries, two Illinois churches whose complaint points out that in other jurisdictions, such as Louisville, Kentucky, "the government threatened to use police to impose criminal sanctions on those individuals found in violation of similar COVID-19 orders and threatened to impose various sanctions on individuals found in violation of such orders."

The judge's decision last Sunday that Pritzker's stay-at-home order is constitutional came the same day that an evangelical church, The Beloved Church of Lena, welcomed more than 100 worshipers for a Sunday service in defiance of the state order.

Given the continuing threat posed by COVID-19, the [stay-at-home] Order preserves relatively robust avenues for praise, prayer and fellowship and passes constitutional muster, Judge John Z. Lee of the U.S. district court for the Northern District of Illinois, ruled in his 37-page decision.

Pritzker's revised version of the state stay-at-home order deems some worship services as essential, provided that Religious organizations and houses of worship are encouraged to use online or drive-in services to protect the health and safety of their congregants.



Peter Breen of the Thomas More Society represented The Beloved Church of Lena.

"Today, when we started the day, we couldn't even drive on a church parking lot, Breen said in an April 30 interview with CBS affiliate WIFR.

In fact, you couldn't even leave your house to go to a church service. Now you can do that. And in fact, the executive order now encourages people to have drive-in services; which is a great recommendation, I'm glad that they added it," he said.

The federal judge cited in his ruling precedent in two cases  Jacobson v. Massachusetts (1905) and Prince v. Massachusetts (1944)  which held that a community has the right to protect itself against an epidemic of disease and the right to practice religion freely does not include liberty to expose the community...to communicable disease, according to The Chicago Sun-Times.

Since state-issued lockdown orders began in March in an attempt to reduce the number of coronavirus hospitalizations at any one time, a much-debated topic has been how much authority government officials have to restrict religious freedoms to safeguard public health.

Commenting on its clients lawsuit against the governor of Illinois' order banning worship gathering of more than 50 people for up to a year or longer, Liberty Counsel said on its website Friday: "The Romanian pastors, and many who attend these churches, are all too familiar with the heavy hand of government against churches and Christians. Pastors living in the former Communist Romania were arrested and jailed for preaching off the approved script of the Communist regime, or for meeting in places forbidden by the government. Many pastors who fled to America endured arrests, and some even beatings and torture. The Communists banned missionary activity and confiscated smuggled Bibles as contraband."

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver added: Governor Pritzker has clearly discriminated against churches by limiting in-person services to only 10 people while allowing other commercial and secular businesses to operate with large gatherings of people. In addition, the governor states it may be more than a year until this limit on churches can be lifted. This is unconstitutional as churches have the First Amendment right to exist, but businesses do not. In the land of the free, these Romanian pastors and church members should never have to fear arrest or sanction for attending worship services in church.
A Royal Navy veteran who spent nearly a month battling coronavirus said he was 'treated like a leper' when he was finally discharged from hospital.

After successfully beating the killer bug in Derriford Hospital, 79-year old Robert Embleton was driven by ambulance to his retirement home in Portsmouth.

But instead of receiving a welcoming return from neighbours, the former Lieutenant Commander, who spent 34 years serving in the British Royal Navy, was left devastated by residents' response to his recovery.

'I was regarded as a sort of leper, a plague carrier. Some people when they spotted me, they recoiled,' he said.

British Navy veteran Robert Embleton is pictured above left in February 1971 showing schoolchildren around HMS Danae. He can be seen pausing during a gym workout (right) in Plymouth in February 2018. After beating coronavirus in hospital, the veteran said he said he considered buying a bell to warn others of his presence because 'I was particularly regarded as a menace.'

Embleton said even he considered buying a bell to warn others of his presence because 'I was particularly regarded as a menace'.

Charities warn they have heard many similar stories which are leaving the elderly 'feeling isolated and ostracized.'

The veteran's frosty reception from fellow residents was a stark contrast to his final moments in hospital, when he received a round of applause from frontline staff cheering his recovery.

Robert Embleton, rear left, on HMS Danae in Singapore can be seen presenting his supply and secretariat division to Vice Admiral Sir David Williams, left, during inspection in 1971

Embleton, who received an MBE from the Queen for his outstanding service in the Royal Navy in 1993, said he understands the need to shield elderly people with underlying conditions, but that those without serious health issues should be treated with much more 'common sense.'

He warned that lockdown is 'sapping the equanimity and self-confidence' of most elderly people and is 'increasingly intolerable' for those who, like him, have no underlying health conditions and are active members of their local communities.

'It is not right to treat all old people as children, incapable of assessing risk', he said.

British charities for the elderly have reported many similar tales of hostile receptions among care home residents. They hope that a ramped-up testing program will provide some reassurance for retirement and care home residents.

Ruthe Isden, head of health influencing at Age UK, said: 'It just adds another layer of tragedy to the situation that residents who recover - something that should be celebrated as a much-needed piece of good news - are feeling isolated and ostracized as a result'.

When Embleton returned home he was taken immediately into self-isolation with his wife of 55 years Jean, who has shown no symptoms of the virus.

The quarantine reminded him his time aboard the HMS Galatea near the Arctic Circle during the 1976 Cod War between Britain and Iceland over North Atlantic fishing rights.

'Doing things like a best part of the year in the Arctic, just you and your ship, it's rather like being in the over-70s lockdown for COVID-19,' he said.

'You start thinking differently, you've got to get on with it, you won't be going home, you won't be seeing your family.'

In this image taken June 29, 1977, Lt. Cmdr. Robert Embleton is pictured during Queen Elizabeth II's review of the fleet at Portsmouth, southern England for her Silver Jubilee

The same applies for Jean, who endured her husband's brush with death in self-isolation at home.

'It's not pleasant but as a serviceman's wife, particularly a naval wife, then you get used to these periods of time that you are on your own so I probably weathered it rather better than some people,' she said.

'I was brought up to think that husbands went away and that they came back.'

During his time in hospital Embleton shared a ward with three other patients battling the virus.

They discussed their fears of being stigmatised by members of the public for having had coronavirus.

An image from video taken in 1977 showing HMS Galatea, a a Leander-class frigate, which Lt. Cmdr. Robert Embleton served on near the Arctic Circle, during the Cod War of 1976

Poorna Gunasekera, 57, shared a ward with Embleton and spoke of the 'dreadful fear' at the idea of infecting others with the bug.

'We expected to be somewhat stigmatized, and that would be normal because I suppose I would do the same if the roles were reversed,' he said.

The situation at Embleton's retirement home has since improved - but only after he offered a glass of wine to a 79-year-old lady living next door.

It was enough to incite a change, however, and 'all along the top floor, the others came out with their glasses filled and gave all a wave and a smile,' he said.
Another church sues Ky. over ban on in-person services; AG requests to join

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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."
In broadcasting, technical difficulties happen. Thats especially true when youre live. At least when issues arise while broadcasting live, theres an understanding that things happen and everyone is doing their best to fix it as soon as possible.

However, when this kind of thing happens on a 25-year-old broadcast, the result can be much worse.

Thats what happened with FS1 on Saturday morning as they were airing the 1995 Racing Champions 200 NASCAR Truck race. As the trucks were about to begin the second half of the race, the audio and video went out of sync. The audio kept going and stayed that way throughout but the video reset to the beginning of the broadcast, which remained out of sync for the final hour of the two-hour showing.

FS1 accidentally reset the video to start at the beginning and screwed up the audio/video for half the broadcast. pic.twitter.com/QY5ew64AcW  Phillip Bupp (@phillipbupp) May 9, 2020

The original broadcast can be found on YouTube and there were no audio/video issues, so this appears to have been an FS1 problem. It also wouldve been strange for FS1 to choose a race broadcast that had known technical difficulties for half the race, so whatever happened had to have been on FS1s end.

Those watching noticed and mentioned the discrepancy on social media but it was to no avail. The issue was never fixed and, while the audio ended perfectly, the video cut in the middle of a driver interview during the halfway break.

@FS1 dont know if anyone at FS1 is watching 1995 Tucson Truck Race playing audio with non matching video from a whole different race  Chris L. Memmott (@memmott_999) May 9, 2020

@FS1 please fix the broadcast. The audio sounds exciting but the video is from earlier. What the heck guys!!!!! Ron Hornaday just took the lead and your interviewing the pole sitter on the video  Robin Ervin (@robinervin21) May 9, 2020

@FS1 somebody is asleep at the switch. U r messing up the truck race  Gene Armstrong (@Machine1964) May 9, 2020

What is going on @FS1 This is crazy!  Redfish Runner (@mathewtdm) May 9, 2020

There's some big time technical issues with this Racing Champions 200 broadcast on @FS1. The audio is correct (I guess), but the pictures are way behind. This is a 2 hour slot and the race is on Lap 48.  Phil Allaway (@Critic84) May 9, 2020

We're watching "NASCAR'S Greatest Races" on @NASCARONFOX FS1. It's a truck race. The audio is correct (around lap 160) but the video is a replay of earlier in the race (around lap 54). Who's minding the broadcast? #whoops  CawsnJaws (@CawsnJaws) May 9, 2020

Watching this old truck race on FS1 and it's all messed up lol. The audio is off. I just seen the same wreck twice. They're under caution but the audio is still under green.  Jake Finch (@Jak3Finch) May 9, 2020

@FS1 What the hell are you doing with that Truck race? Video from one race and audio from another? Got me tripping.  John Sullivan (@ncironjohn) May 9, 2020

Lol, super glad I found the 1995 Truck Series race at Tucson on @FS1 right about the time the video restarted but the audio stayed the same. The race just ended on audio, but the video is still the first half of the race. Nailed it, guys. ???? #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/Vew03bqiD2  Jordan Anders (@justjanders) May 9, 2020

This same race will be shown Saturday night at 11:30 ET on FS2. Itll be interesting to see if the issue is fixed. Having problems on a 25-year-old broadcast is bad enough but broadcasting the same mistake 12 hours later would be a whole other level of bad.
On today's 70th anniversary of the European Union's beginnings with the Schuman Declaration, the project that was launched to end centuries of war is in an existential struggle with a pathogen that knows no borders.

COVID-19 has won the opening rounds  challenging the economic solidarity, the political common cause and public confidence on which the EU's future relies. Some consider this week's landmark decision by Germany's Constitutional Court, casting doubt on the European Central Bank's authority for its public sector bond buying, as just another nail in that supranational coffin following the United Kingdom's departure.

As always in EU matters, however, the truth is more complicated. The European Union remains a heavyweight economic force with 22% of global GDP in 2018, which falls to some 18.5 % after Brexit. It maintains its uncontested role as the world's regulatory superpower. Beyond that, EU countries through a host of government-supported schemes have kept their pandemic-era unemployment at the far lower rate of 6.6% in March than in the United States, where it is 14.7% and rising. The real Covid-19 threat to the European Union isn't one of its impending collapse but rather one of its perceived irrelevance as a public defender and global actor. The danger is that the coronavirus period could so seriously dent public confidence in the EU's value and so damage its international ability to act cohesively that its relevance to its own citizens and the world could suffer a stunning blow.

What is not well enough understood even by Europeans, let alone by Americans, are the global perils in a weaker and more vulnerable European Union. With a major power competition heating up between the United States and China, alongside a systemic struggle between authoritarian and democratic forms of government, how the European Union emerges from its Covid-19 challenges could be of decisive significance for world democracies.

While the coronavirus reach is global, nowhere is a common cause more crucial than among European countries. Their coming together after World War II ended conflict, expanded democracy, and contributed to Soviet Communism's collapse. The EU's enlargement after the Cold War sealed its position as one of history's great democratizing forces  and as well as one of the United States' greatest foreign policy accomplishments.

The timing of this historic test could not be more auspicious.

Today marks the 70th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration of May 9, 1950, when French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman proposed to place French and West German production of coal and steel under a common High Authority, open to participation of other West European countries.

"Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan," said the declaration with its modest language and extraordinary ambition to pacify a continent that had produced two world wars. "It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity. The coming together of the nations of Europe requires the elimination of the age-old opposition of France and Germany."

It was a cruel irony that in this anniversary week the German Constitutional Court would conjure up a new, fundamental challenge to the European Union. The judges put the European Central Bank on notice, arguing that the ECB had failed to conduct a "proportionality assessment" of bond buying to ensure "economic and fiscal effects" didn't exceed the bank's mandate and outweigh other policy objectives.

The ticking time bomb is that the court told the Bundesbank, by far the most significant central bank for eurozone monetary operations, to stop buying any more bonds within three months if the ECB didn't comply.

ECB President Christine Lagarde, a lawyer herself, didn't flinch from the challenge. "We are an independent institution, answerable to the European Parliament, and driven by our mandate," she told Bloomberg in a webinar. "We will continue to do whatever is needed, whatever is necessary, to deliver on that mandate. Undeterred."

However, the specifics of the German court's ruling aren't as significant as the signal they send to other European countries looking to challenge the authority of EU institutions. The decision comes against the current European background music, heard particularly in Italy and Spain, where European solidarity has been lacking in the virus fight.

The economic numbers don't help.

The European Commission said this week in its spring forecast that the pandemic-triggered economic slump "could ultimately threaten the stability of the economic and monetary union."

It pointed to "severe distortions within the single market and to entrenched economic, financial and social divergences between euro area member states" as primary risks.

Those, in term, could feed growth gaps among the European states that could exacerbate tensions. It forecasts more than 9% GDP declines in 2020 for Greece, Italy and Spain. Germany would suffer less, with a 6.5% fall in growth.

Although the European Union has been slow to move, this week brought encouraging news of new momentum, including what The Economist called the welcome emergence of a "genuinely European debate."

The EU confirmed a $3.3 billion commitment to help countries of the Western Balkans fight the pandemic, at a time when concerns were growing several countries were more closely aligning themselves with Russia and an increasingly assertive and generous China.

The move came after a virtual EU-Western Balkans summit, where the 27 leaders of EU member states said "this support and cooperation goes far beyond what any other partner has provided to the region and deserves public acknowledgment."

What China can't offer states in the Western Balkans is the prospect of EU membership, and that's what Brussels did in March for Albania and North Macedonia. Accession talks could start within a year. But the road ahead will be a long one for them and four other aspiring countries of the Western Balkans, all of which "belong in the European Union," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Last Monday, the EU-led fundraising campaign for Covid-19 vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics reached some $7.5 billion euros, including 1.4 billion from the EU. French President Emmanuel Macron, who has warned that the EU faces "a moment of truth" for its political project, kicked in 500 million euros.

It's not too late for the EU to demonstrate its resilience and relevance at this time of crisis. On this 70th anniversary, it's also worth remembering the common global and transatlantic interest in European stability and success.

Frederick Kempe is a best-selling author, prize-winning journalist and president & CEO of the Atlantic Council, one of the United States' most influential think tanks on global affairs. He worked at The Wall Street Journal for more than 25 years as a foreign correspondent, assistant managing editor and as the longest-serving editor of the paper's European edition. His latest book  "Berlin 1961: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and the Most Dangerous Place on Earth"  was a New York Times best-seller and has been published in more than a dozen languages. Follow him on Twitter @FredKempe and subscribe here to Inflection Points, his look each Saturday at the past week's top stories and trends.

For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter.
Wrexham factory employees donate food to causes close to their hearts

This article is old - Published: Saturday, May 9th, 2020

A factory in Wrexham is supporting local charities by allowing employees to donate foods to a cause that is special to them.

The Portable Foods Manufacturing Company, which operates from the same site as Kelloggs Wrexham factory on Bryn Lane, produces a range of Kelloggs foods such as Kelloggs cereal bars and fruit winders. The factory has donated food to local causes in support of the Kelloggs commitment to help people during this difficult time.

Last month Kelloggs announced it would be distributing a minimum of three million servings of food to its charity partners, to reach food banks, schools and community groups supporting the most vulnerable people.

The business is also donating a further 1.2 million servings of food direct to NHS workers on the front line.

Donations of Kelloggs cereal bars and Pringles have been taken to 23 local causes which were personally selected by the employees at the factory.

Lee Evans, operator at Wrexham Portable Foods said: I have chosen the Rhos Community Cafe as one of the charities to receive the Kelloggs donations. I decided to choose this particular charity as after spending two weeks in isolation myself, I realised how difficult it can be for people to get what they need.

This charity is committed to getting food to those who need it, especially the elderly and those at a high risk. I have been delivering parcels to the community for a couple of weeks now and it is great that I am also able to help by nominating the Rhos Community Cafe as my chosen charity.

Over 8,000 items of Kelloggs food have been split between the following charities:

 Caia Park Partnership Foodbank (a Portable Foods employees step daughter currently works there)

 Caia Park Health Visitors (an employees wife is a health visitor here)

 Borras Park Junior School (employees children attend this school, which has remained open for vulnerable children and families of keyworkers)

  Rhos Community Cafe (an employee currently volunteers here)

 Wrexham Ambulance Centre (a previous employees partner is now a paramedic here)

 Wrexham Maelor Hospital Heddfan  Adults Metal Health service, who are also dealing with Covid 19 (an ex-employee who worked for Portable Foods for 12 years is beginning her 3rd year as a student nurse here)

 Wrexham Maelor Hospital Pharmacy (two employees have siblings that work here)

 Tapley Avenue Childrens Centre (an employees partner works here)

 Leave No One Behind  community support group in Lymm (chosen as the Plant Directors local cause)

 Nightingale House Hospice (previous fundraising activity at Portable Foods has been in aid of this hospice, so it is close to everyone at the factory)

Other donations include to Liverpool Womens Trust, Rhos Food bank, Llangollen zero food waste and Food Share, Penley Community Hospital and Penley Rainbow Centre, Meifod and Vicarage Court Care Home, Overton NHS Clinic, Countess of Chester Hospital Midwifery, Gobowen Orthopeadic Hospital, Sycamore Lodge Dementia Nursing Home, Borras Park School and the Salvation Army.

Portable Foods Manufacturing Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Kellogg Company. The factory was set up in 1998 and has grown over the last 22 years. It now consists of three plants and manufactures cereal bars and Winders for Kellogg. The factory has just over 180 employees  95% are from the local Wrexham community.

More broadly across Wrexham, Kelloggs factory colleagues have been providing donations of cereals and snacks to Wrexham Maelor Hospital, Gobowen Hospital, Ty Derbyn, Y Heddfan, Grove Road Health Centre, Wrexham food bank at the Salvation Army and Hafod Y Wern Primary School.
The Morning Show

KENOSHA  WGTD (91.1 FM) is owned and operated as a public service of Gateway Technical College and is an affiliate of Wisconsin Public Radio. For an updated schedule, go to wgtd.org.

The Morning Show airs every weekday morning between 8:10 and 9 a.m. Following is a schedule of show topics for the coming week:

Today: The guest is author Fern Schumer Chapman. She has written a new childrens book titled Happy Harper Thursdays: A Grandmothers Love for her Granddaughter during the Corona Virus. Her previous books include Motherland: Beyond the Holocaust: a Mother-Daughter Journey to Reclaim the Past.

Tuesday, May 12: The guests are three art professors at Carthage College: Kimberly Greene, Ryan Miller, and Jojin Van Winkle, about teaching courses like ceramics, drawing, sculpture and 3-D design in online virtual format.

Wednesday, May 13: The guest is Beth Dugan, division chair and instructor for the Hospitality Management Program at Gateway Technical College, talks about the challenges being faced by the hospitality industry during the COVID-19 and the kind of adjustments that will be made for the future.

Thursday, May 14: Jody Sekas, a member of the theater arts faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, talks about teaching classes like Scenic Painting online. Also participating is Lynsey Gallagher, a sophomore theater major at UW-Parkside.

Friday, May 15: Nan Calvert pays her monthly visit to the program. With her will be Kevin Doyle, a Rare Plant Botanist with the Wisconsin DNR.

The Morning Show Podcast is available from all major podcast platforms, including Spotify, Google Podcasts and Apple Podcasts. Be sure to search for The Morning Show with Greg Berg.

WGTDs Saturday programming includes Financial Overview at 9 a.m., Breakfast Bytes at 9:45 a.m., Education Matters at 10:30 a.m. and Community Matters at 11:15 a.m.

Parkside Today

SOMERS  Parkside Today airs on WIPZ (101.5 FM) and streams live at WIPZ.org Tuesday and Sunday beginning at 4 p.m. Following is a schedule for the next few weeks:

Sunday, May 10 (4 p.m.): The guest is Dr. Peggy James, Dean of the College of Social Sciences and Professional Studies, and Dr. Christopher Hudspeth, associate professor in philosophy, to talk about the upcoming 2020 Election Experience course at UW-Parkside this fall semester.

Tuesday, May 12 and Sunday, May 17 (4 p.m.): The guests are UW-Parkside Library Director Anna Stadick, Kenosha Public Library Director Barbara Brattin and Racine Public Library Director Jessica MacPhail to talk about how libraries are still offering content online, about curbside service, and what strategies they have been developing to help people in this ongoing health situation. Host: John Mielke.

Tuesday, May 19, and Sunday, May 24 (4 p.m.): The guest is Kenosha Community Outreach Coordinator Katherine Marks and M.T. Boyle of the Racine County executives office to talk about the importance of the census, their efforts in promoting the census, and what challenges they have faced. Host: John Mielke.

Listen to previous Parkside Today shows at uwp.edu/parksidetoday. WIPZ (101.5 FM) is a student-run organization at UW-Parkside.

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U.S. President Donald Trump meets with China's President Xi Jinping at the start of their bilateral meeting at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, in this June 29, 2019, file photo. Reuters




Unorthodox, released recently on Netflix, stars Shira Haas, an actress from Israel. Haas depicts the lead role, Esty, a young woman who grows up in a Hasidic Jewish community. Her co-star, actor Amit Rahav, plays Estys husband Yanky. Haas shared in recent interviews that she and her fellow Unorthodox castmate have actually been friends for years.

Unorthodox lead cast members Shira Haas and Amit Rahav have known each other for years

Amit Rahav and Shira Haas in Unorthodox | Anika Molnar/Netflix

Beanie Feldstein is an actress known for American Crime Story and Lady Bird, to name just a few projects. Recently, Feldstein discussed Unorthodox with the Netflix series star, Shira Haas, for Vogue magazine.

Unorthodoxs other stand-out performance comes from Amit Rahav, who plays Estys husband Yanky. Haas told Feldstein that Rahav  also an Israeli actor  are actually old friends.

Amit and I have known each other for 10 years already, Haas explained. It is a fun fact. They even sort-of-manifested their experience on Unorthodox. Haas told Vogue: We had mutual friends and we knew each other for 10 years and we joked that we should work together one day.

She went on to emphasize that her long friendship with Rahav allowed her to feel comfortable while shooting Unorthodox. Haas shared:

I have had roles that I had intimate scenes and crucial scenes with people I didnt know, but you do need to build something with someone to trust them, not only to feel comfortable with, but so you can see that from the camera. But if you have a good connection with someoneIm talking about Booksmart!you can really see it. I really trust him.

Unorthodox lead says it was nice to have a friend

The Unorthodox star also talked about her relationship with Rahav in an interview with the publication IndieWire.

It really felt like a mishpocha, as you say in Yiddish, kind of like a family in a way, Haas explained about knowing Rahav beforehand. It helped the actress deal with portraying the intense emotional journey of her character. The Unorthodox lead said about her time with her co-star Rahav on set:

We had our humor during every hard scene; we always had our laughs in between takes and our inside jokes. it was nice to know that I can really trust him to feel very, very free, so it was nice to have a friend.

Shira Haas shares which scene she had to film first

Maria Schrader, the director of the Unorthodox series, sat Haas down early on in production and told her the news. The head-shaving scene would be the first shooting day.

Gefen Barkai, Shira Haas, and Lior Ashkenazi at the 74th Venice Film Festival for the movie Foxtrot in 2017 | Matteo Chinellato/NurPhoto via Getty Images

I remember that I was shocked for a second, the Israeli actress told Feldstein. However, she found that filming the emotional scene so early in the process was very unifying. Haas shared in Vogue:
As Canadian cities recover and rebuild their economies post-pandemic, there will be increasing need to deliver social and community planning measures to address widening income inequalities.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 9/5/2020 (620 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

As Canadian cities recover and rebuild their economies post-pandemic, there will be increasing need to deliver social and community planning measures to address widening income inequalities.

As well, as joblessness worsens, the ordinary lives and well-being of Canadians will undoubtedly suffer further harm. Much of this pain will be felt in neighbourhoods where many are struggling from the impact of isolation.

As bleak as this forecast may sound, we must look for hope and leverage community resiliency to rebuild our cities and neighbourhoods. To do this well, we will need to harness the right set of tools for what can only be described as a generational undertaking in social and community development.

Can we look for hope in times of despair?

Over the past 30 years, income inequality in Canada has deepened and is being felt most acutely in our neighbourhoods, where economic and social change have been dramatic. Using measures such as income inequality allows us to describe the distribution of wealth within a country or city.

Ideally, having wealth more evenly distributed among the population can help address the economic gap between the wealthiest Canadians and the poorest. But in Canada, the highest-earning households have increased their wealth dramatically while middle- and low-income earners have fallen further behind.

For the better part of a decade, I have been part of a group of academics from across Canada working to understand how these complex changes have affected neighbourhoods. Most recently, the aptly titled "Changing Canadian Neighbourhoods" examined economic and social trends over the past 40 years.

This work has revealed that income distribution has shifted, with the wealthiest one per cent ending up with a bigger share of the economic pie. On the ground, this has altered the social-spatial structure of cities, meaning urban centres are now more spatially divided, with rich and poor neighbourhoods becoming more visible and all too common.

Another way we have explained this is by applying the term income polarization. For cities, this polarizing effect is resulting in class separation, with clusters or concentrations of poorer neighbourhoods at one end and rich enclaves at the other.

While the incomes of the rich and poor have grown further apart, there has been an almost silent disappearance of the middle-income Canadian. Perhaps this is why neighbourhoods tend to be clustering at the higher or lower end of the income spectrum.

The disappearing middle-income household

The loss of the middle-income neighbourhood has hurt our cities and our economies. Its evident today as many Canadians financially succumb quickly to the economic downturn. The eroding middle class has also pushed many more into the ranks of the working poor, where livelihoods are being measured between paycheques and via temporary jobs that have replaced the economic stability that was the hallmark of the baby boomer generation.

Boomers were much more likely to have longer-term employment and perhaps even a pension. Both now seem like a pipe dream for most.

There is a collective sense of profound anguish for the current health crisis. First and foremost, our attention must remain on the front lines, with a resolve to continue to support measures aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19 and treating those hardest hit.

Cities have fought equally tough pandemics and plagues for generations. In each of these historic periods, amid the grief and despair, there emerged a resolution to never again tolerate conditions that fuelled those pandemics.

Over the past 100 years, cities and communities responded by enacting tougher health measures to improve livability of cities, to design better and safer buildings and to address root causes, including how poor living conditions and poverty played a significant role.

As we move into the summer and perhaps into the fall and coming winter, we will need to roll up our sleeves with the same fervour that helped us take on the influenza epidemic 100 years ago and countless outbreaks of cholera. Well truly beat COVID-19 by coming out stronger and more resilient.

Focus on rebuilding communities

Today, we can worry less about building standards and sewage treatment, and focus more on helping citizens rebuild their communities and social infrastructure. This will require us to get back to the basics of community and social planning so that we can help empower local community organizations to begin the long road back to community recovery.

We focused previously on bricks-and-mortar approaches to stimulate the economy, but coming out of this pandemic, well need to be mindful of addressing the mental health of citizens as much as the economy.

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.

In our neighbourhoods, community-based organizations must have the support of government to deliver grassroots solutions that fuel positive changes. The city of Winnipeg is a good example of how community-based solutions are addressing decades of deep poverty and stagnant growth.

In Winnipegs inner city, organizations such as West Broadway have spent more than 25 years working on social and community initiatives that bring residents together on such projects as growing and sharing food, offering small grants for local beautification projects, promoting well-being and community resilience.

At the heart of this type of social and community planning are the community members whose lives have been impacted and who will need a range of post-pandemic supports.

For Canada to shift into recovery mode, we must take a more holistic view of how to rebuild economies and cities. The work of organizations such as the Neighbourhood Change project envisions that this rebuilding will begin with strong communities empowered by the local capacity to build resiliency and hope  one person at a time.

Jino Distasio is a professor of geography and vice-president of research and innovation at the University of Winnipeg.

This article was first published at The Conversation Canada: theconversation.com/ca.
After six weeks of negotiating, the UN Security Council was close to agreeing on a resolution for a global ceasefire during the Covid-19 pandemic. Seems fair, right? Let's agree to stop killing each other for a while, so we can focus on the virus that's killing us instead?

China proposed that the text explicitly mention a commitment by member nations to support the efforts of the World Health Organization  who Donald Trump has blamed (without evidence) for withholding information on the coronavirus outbreak.

So the US looked at the resolution and said "LOL no," despite last minute efforts to reach a compromise. As The Guardian reports:

On Thursday night, French diplomats thought they had engineered a compromise in which the resolution would mention UN "specialized health agencies" (an indirect, if clear, reference to the WHO). The Russian mission signaled that it wanted a clause calling for the lifting of sanctions that affected the delivery of medical supplies, a reference to US punitive measures imposed on Iran and Venezuela. However, most security council diplomats believed Moscow would withdraw the objection or abstain in a vote rather than risk isolation as the sole veto on the ceasefire resolution.

While everyone else seemed game to go along with these compromises, the US insisted it was one big Chinese trick. As one diplomat told CNN: "This discussion has been taken hostage by issues that do not have to do with the real issues at stake. Instead it has been transformed into a fight between the US and China. We are back to square one."

A spokesperson for the US State Department offered this as an explanation:

In our view, the goal should be to support the Secretary-General's call for a global ceasefire. Unfortunately, the PRC has been determined to use this resolution to advance false narratives about its response to the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan. In our view, the Council should either proceed with a resolution limited to support for a ceasefire, or a broadened resolution that fully addresses the need for renewed member state commitment to transparency and accountability in the context of COVID-19.

Which still, to me, sounds like the Trump administration would rather millions of people die to stroke Trump's ego and his petty need for revenge.

US blocks vote on UN's bid for global ceasefire over reference to WHO [Julian Borger / The Guardian]

US blocks UN resolution on global coronavirus ceasefire after China pushes WHO mention [Kylie Atwood / CNN]

Image: Public Domain via the Obama White House
New Delhi, May 9 : "Mere paas Ma Hain", the iconic dialogue from 1975 blockbuster that catapulted actors Shashi Kapoor to stardom and gave Indian cinema the angry, young man it's megastar Amitabh Bachhan was more than just a story of two brothers on the opposite spectrum of ethics. It centered around the narrative of undying love for mother of two brothers- a crime lord and a police officer fighting it out haunted by their past, riddled in the web of the present, egos.

Indian cinema has portrayed the character of mothers in various shades, be it the eternally suffering archetype Nirupa Roy in Deewaar and host of other films to coming to terms with reinforcing one's self-identity played by Sridevi in "English Vinglish". This Mother's Day while we celebrate motherhood in every form, let's us relive some moments of the spirit on celluloid to make it a larger than life experience. Flipkart Video shares with us some shows that you can watch with your mother, spend some quality time together, and tell her just how much she means to you.

Pinni

Sudha is a woman in her sixties. A happy, diligent homemaker who is abreast with the current affairs, much against the general stereotype of a homemaker. She is nearly taken for granted by everybody in life until she rebels against it. The movie ends with a subtle message that reminds us of knowing the importance of a mother in our lives.

Nil Battey Sannata

A thought-provoking tale of Chanda, whose only dream in life is to provide her daughter an education and a respectable life even if it means that she herself must finish her education first. A reminder to all of us of the selfless and undying spirit of a mother who will go to any extent to nurture and provide the best life for her children.

English Vinglish

A story about a woman, a wife, and a mother who is constantly made to feel insecure for not knowing how to speak and understand English by her family until she decides to learn the language. The film captures the journey of a mother who rises above the challenge, despite being ridiculed and teaches her family the importance of a being human over a mere language.

Mother India

An ode to all the mothers out there, Mother India is a heart-wrenching tale of a virtuous lady (aka all the mummies). Overcoming all hurdles and confronting her moneylender, she nurtures her children through a lot of hardship.

Farm Life

Watch Chef Shagun Mehta travel across farms in the country to learn about the freshest produce that our farmers grow. She uses the produce to cook up a storm right on the farm. Learn about homegrown, most organic fruits, and veggies along with your mum as well as get inspired to try out the new recipes in your own kitchen.

(Aditi Roy can be contacted at aditi.r@ians.in)

-- Syndicated from IANS
MANISTEE  There aren't many parts of people's lives that haven't been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the way Americans cast a ballot in elections.

The May 5 special education millage renewal for the Manistee Intermediate School District was a perfect example when all voters were encouraged to cast absentee ballots instead of traditional voting at polling locations around the county. However, Manistee County clerk Jill Nowak was surprised at the way voters responded to the challenge.

"Overall it went fine, and we had 29.15 percent (5,682 of 19,489) of the registered voters vote, which is more than double what we normally have for a May election at about 12 percent," said Nowak. "I am sure that the applications to vote that went out to all voters from the state and the postage paid return envelopes did contribute to the increase in voter turnout. That is still great because we love to see the turnout increasing."

The only issue on the ballot was the request from the ISD for a five-year renewal of a 0.2104 special education millage for a Emotionally Impaired room. That measure passed by a 4,517-1,149 vote of the people.

Nowak said there were a lot of changes form the state election bureau for this election because of the COVID-19 situation that the clerks had to remember.

"For example if someone registered to vote within the last 14 days before the election, that application to vote was considered an absentee ballot application and they were issued a ballot," said Nowak. "The weekend before there was a lawsuit from a voter who was blind where we were notified we could now issue electronic ballots to voters who are visually impaired voters and treat it like a military overseas voter ballot, where they would send it in and then we would duplicate it in the precinct and tabulate it. There was just a lot of little tweaks on how we proceeded with that election."

Nowak praised the local clerks, election workers and her staff for adjusting to all the changes, including the ones that came in during the last few days of the election.

"It all worked out and we had to have a polling location in each jurisdiction that was available to voters who needed assistance," said Nowak. "We had some voters who just don't want to put their ballots in the mail, and they went to the precinct anyway. There weren't a lot who did that, but every polling location had someone. We did have some voters who were upset because they had to vote the absent voter ballot when they did show up and had to seal it and give it to the worker."

Nowak said she understands that some people like to actually put their ballot in the tabulator, but they had to work with what they could do considering the COVID-19 situation.

"I think 99.99% of the voters understood, but there were some who said they didn't hope this would become the norm because they didn't like doing it," said Nowak.

Clerks are not required to keep a permanent absentee voter list, but the ones that do said this style of voting could be more popular with the voters both in August and November.

"The clerks that do keep a list told me their permanent requests for absentee ballots doubled and tripled," said Nowak. "If the clerk doesn't have that permanent list, they have to notify the voter that they need to apply for an absentee ballot for each election. So we will have more absentee ballots going out in in the future."

Another first for an election was the way the board of canvassers met to certify the election.

"I put the board of canvassers in the county board room because it is a bigger area than where they normally meet and we could keep our six foot social distancing," said Nowak. "Since the courthouse building is closed, that meeting is still under the Open Meetings Act which means we had to put it on Zoom so people could either call in or come in to watch as we did it."

Nowak said they all wore masks and it took a little longer than normal as everyone had their own report and usually they share them.

"Usually one Democrat and Republican share one, but they each had their own," said Nowak. "So it it took a little longer, but worked out OK."

Whether or not the August or November elections will be impacted by COVID-19 remains to be seen.

SEE ALSO:

Absent voter requests running high for May 5 election

Voters OK special education services in Manistee County
Boris Johnson has been accused of turning a blind eye to threats facing Britain after cancelling yet another meeting of his top secret National Security Council.

The group of senior Ministers and security officials was due to meet on Thursday but did not, meaning a full NSC meeting has not been convened since February.

Previous Prime Ministers David Cameron and Theresa May would hold a weekly meeting of the powerful council.

No 10 sources blamed the pandemic, but critics warned 'national security cannot be postponed'. Last night, Labour and Tory MPs slammed the latest cancellation, as security experts warned the lack of meetings was 'concerning'.

Professor Anthony Glees, of Buckingham University, told The Mail on Sunday: 'It is very surprising and deeply concerning that the NSC is not meeting.'

Boris Johnson has been accused of turning a blind eye to threats facing Britain after cancelling yet another meeting of his top secret National Security Council

Commons Defence Committee Chairman Tobias Ellwood said: 'The NSC greatly assists the Government in cross-Whitehall co-ordination of responses to acute and ongoing challenges and raises awareness of wider national security threats which otherwise might be overlooked.

'If it does not meet, these core decision-making functions are not guaranteed to take place to the same effect.'

And Labour's Shadow Security Minister Conor McGinn added: 'The defence of the realm isn't something that can be postponed, and the Prime Minister should urgently convene the NSC and ensure it meets regularly.'

Last night, Downing Street sources insisted that no formal meeting had been in the diary for Thursday.

No 10 declined to comment on security matters.
For the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak, consumer investigators in Alberta have charged a Calgary company with price gouging, alleging it was marking up prices on masks and other protective gear by up to 400 per cent.

But Yan Gong, the owner of CCA Logistics Ltd., was defiant Friday, insisting to the Star his prices were reasonable and that he planned to fight the allegations in court.

According to a press release, Service Albertas consumer investigations unit received an anonymous tip to its rip off line about CCA Logistics Ltd.

An investigator went to the companys storefront on April 1 and found several pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) being sold at prices that grossly exceeded their normal selling prices, the release said.

Officials said the store was, for instance, selling 3M masks for $120 (a 400 per cent markup), hand sanitizer for $39 (a 200 per cent markup) and Lysol spray for $25 (a 250 per cent markup).

The company received a provincial order on April 15 to stop charging those rates for goods, but did not comply, officials said.

Gong said that the $39 he charged for sanitizer was for a one-litre bottle. He insisted that the governments claims of exorbitant markups were exaggerated too much and dont take into account the logistics and transportation costs he has had to incur.

Asked to clarify the size, Tricia Velthuizen, a spokesperson for the minister of Service Alberta, said she didnt have that information and could not provide more specifics as the matter is before the courts.

We have been very clear that taking advantage of Albertans is unacceptable and reprehensible, especially during a public health emergency, Nate Glubish, minister of Service Alberta, said in a statement. As customers, Albertans should be able to shop with confidence, without needing to worry about businesses engaging in acts of piracy.

Velthuizen confirmed that this was the first price gouging charge to be laid in the province since the COVID-19 public health emergency was declared.

Gong, a Calgary real estate agent, told the Star he had done nothing wrong.

Were going to stand in court and speak loudly to the judge, he said.

I want to fight for justice.

Gong said hes been operating CCA Logistics as a side business since the beginning of the year.

The first couple of months, he said, were devoted to sending essential goods to China during its battle with the coronavirus.

In more recent months, the company has been focused on getting supplies  masks, sanitizers and disinfectants  from the global market to Canadian consumers.

The majority, 99.9 per cent, they thank us a lot, appreciate us a lot, because we can get stuff for them when they want it, he said.

Gong said most of his customers are commercial companies and that because of word-of-mouth, he hasnt had to advertise his products online.

Gong, whose LinkedIn profile shows he is president of the Chinese Real Estate Professionals Association, said he has also donated many supplies to charity.

The province says it has received 458 complaints about price gouging on a range of products, such as toilet paper, masks, wipes and gloves, and that 351 have been forwarded to investigators for follow-up.

Companies can face fines of up to $300,000 if found guilty.

Asked why there havent been more charges, Velthuizen said most businesses usually comply after getting an order or a warning.

In Ontario in late March, Premier Doug Ford announced new penalties for COVID-19-related price gouging, including fines up to $500,000. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services said Friday that more than 22,500 complaints had been received.

Ontario consumer investigators have forwarded 200 of the most egregious cases to law enforcement and more than 500 businesses have received notifications.

Gong is scheduled to appear in provincial court in Calgary in August.

Read more about:
The NIA said that the agency along with Punjab and Haryana police arrested Ranjit Singh, allegedly a notorious narco-terrorist, from Sirsa on Saturday as he was acting as a conduit for Pakistan-based groups to push drugs into India and the money generated was used for terror activities.

In a statement, National Investigation Agency (NIA) spokesman said that the probe into a drug case led to the fact that Pakistan-based terrorist organisations were using narcotic trade to generate funds for terror activities in India.

The proceeds of narcotic trade were transferred to Kashmir valley through couriers and hawala channels for terrorist purposes, it said.

Singh, who has been on the run for nearly a year, was arrested from Sirsa, the statement said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The U.S. Space Force, is scheduled to launch the sixth mission of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-6) on May 16 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory will transform solar power into radio frequency microwave energy which could then be transmitted to the ground.

Patrick Tucker reports:

A 1-square-foot solar panel will try to convert solar radiation to regular DC current and then into microwaves and sent via cable to a box to measure, a first in space, said Paul Jaffe, an electronics engineer at the Naval Research Lab. The experiment could pave the way for much larger solar arrays that might someday generate enough power to send useful amounts to the ground (if funding continues.)

The mission will deploy the FalconSat-8, a small satellite developed by the U.S. Air Force Academy and sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory to conduct several experiments on orbit. The FalconSat-8 is an educational platform that will carry five experimental payloads for USAFA to operate.

Two National Aeronautics and Space Administration experiments will be included to study the results of radiation and other space effects on a materials sample plate and seeds used to grow food.

The X-37B program completed its fifth mission in October 2019, landing after 780 days on orbit, extending the total number of days spent on orbit for the spacecraft to 2,865  or seven years and 10 months.

SOURCES- Defense One, Space Force

Written By Brian Wang, Nextbigfuture.com
IRISH Water has warned almost 400 customers in East Limerick not to consume their water after elevated nitrate levels were discovered in the supply.

After talks with the HSE, Irish Water has issued a do not consume notice to approximately 370 customers supplied by the Carrigmore scheme. This area covers homes on the Limerick/Tipperary border. Bottled water is being delivered to the properties of people impacted.

In a statement this Saturday tea-time, Irish Water said: It is especially important that mains drinking water is not given to bottle fed infants.

Mains water can continue to be used for personal hygiene, bathing, flushing toilets, laundry and washing of utensils. Customers should continue to follow HSE guidance on handwashing at this time, they added.

The state utility also pointed out that boiling the water will not make a difference in terms of reducing nitrate levels, and is therefore not a suitable measure to make the water safe to consume.

As a consequence of this, the Carrigmore scheme was deactivated and customers were instead supplied by the scheme in nearby Oola.

But due to the dry weather spell, the Oola scheme has now come under increasing pressure and water levels are no longer sufficient to continue to supply customers on the Carrigmore scheme.

The Carrigmore Water Supply Scheme is being reactivated this evening to ensure that customers will have water for personal hygiene and sanitation purposes, however a Do Not Consume notice is also being put in place to protect public health. Irish Water drinking water compliance and operational experts are working with colleagues in Limerick City and County Council to resolve this situation as soon as possible. These measures are being performed to safeguard the drinking water on this supply for the future.

Ian OMahony, regional operations lead in Irish Water said: We acknowledge the impact of this notice on the local community in Carrigmore. Bottled water is being delivered to the households impacted this afternoon.

He asked vulnerable customers who are concerned to contact 1850 278 278, and reminded people the water should not be used for drinking, drinks made with water, the preparation, washing or cooking of food.

Customers were also warned not to brush their teeth or make water with the supply.

In particular, children under 12 months old should not drink this water. This water should not be used for making up infant formula for bottled fed infants. An alternative source of water should be used. Bottled water can also be used to make up infant formula. All bottled water, with the exception of natural mineral water, is regulated to the same standard as drinking water. It is best not to use bottled water labelled as Natural Mineral Water as it can have high levels of sodium (salt) and other minerals, although it rarely does. Natural Mineral Water can be used if no other water is available, for as short a time as possible, as it is important to keep babies hydrated, Ian added.

And, he pointed out, that domestic water filters will not render water safe to drink

Updates will be available on Irish Waters water supply updates section, on Twitter @IWCare , via the 24-hour customer care helpline 1850 278 278, or online at www.water.ie
The son of the Oyo State head of service has been caught in a job scandal.

Ayobami Agboola, whose mother, Amidat Agboola, was appointed in 2019, was criticised on social media on Saturday after a user said he promised to use his mums influence to secure him a slot.

Sulaimon Adesola said Mr Agboola promised to include his name in a list of ghost workers in Oyo State.

It is a fairly common practice in some states and the federal service for corrupt officials to use names of non-workers, widely known as ghost workers, to receive illegal pay.

The allegations against Mr Agboola came up after he and his accuser disagreed online over the response of the Oyo government to the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Agboola said his friends criticism against the Seyi Makinde administration was because he could not secure a ghost job under the government.

Mr Adesola, however, said it was Mr Agboola who promised to use his mothers influence to secure him a slot. He posted screenshots of their chats, compelling Mr Agboola to admit.

Although Mr Agboola confessed having the conversation, he said he never assured his then friend of any slot. He said he was only joking and that Mr Adesolas aim was to blackmail his mother.

I want to state categorically that I know nothing about any racketeering scheme, I only egged someone I assumed was a friend on because he was doing pro bono work and I admit I should have been clearer to him as he started pestering, he wrote on Twitter.

Many Nigerians online criticised Mr Agboola for his conduct.

Mr Agboolas father, Hosea Agboola, is a former Senate deputy chief whip, and was recently appointed chairman of Governor Seyi Makindes advisory committee.

Why I promised to offer ghost work  Agboola

Mr Agboola later told PREMIUM TIMES in a telephone interview that he truly promised Mr Adesola a ghost worker slot to keep him in his team.

He approached me and I held him on because he was working for me. He was doing a pro-bono job for me and I wanted to keep his hope alive which he was never going to get, he said.

READ ALSO:

When asked about the nature of the pro-bono job, Mr Agboola said: He worked on social media campaigns for me and I felt the best way to keep him happy is to promise him a job.

Mr Agboola accused Mr Adesola of being a political jobber who helped to campaign in the last Oyo State governorship election. He said he made him a promise because he did not want to lose the man to another political party.

Mr Adesola did not respond to this newspapers phone calls and a text message seeking comments.
New Delhi, May 9 : The Congress slammed the central government, here on Saturday, over differences of opinion in the government over the coronavirus situation, and said it should tell the people clearly and prepare them accordingly.

Addressing the media through video link, former Union Minister Ajay Maken said there was confusion in the government over the Covid-19 situation. "How will India fight the pandemic if officials speak in different voices." Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his first address to nation on March 23 before the nationwide lockdown said "the battle of Mahabharat ended in 18 days, I need 21 days to combat the spread of Covid-19", Maken said.

But Niti Aayog member V.K. Paul and AIIMS Director Sandeep Guleria were saying something different on the situation, he said. Substantiating the claim, Maken played a video clip of the Prime Minister and the Niti Aayog member.

"The government should tell people about exact Covid-19 situation to enable them to prepare accordingly," Maken said.

Slamming the Delhi government over the mismatch in Covid-19 death toll in the national capital, he said, "The Delhi government needs to ensure transparency in reporting coronavirus cases and deaths." A political row has erupted on the Covid-19 toll in Delhi as several hospitals have accused the city government of fudging the data.
Hungary - Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles Extended Range (AMRAAM-ER)

Media/Public Contact: pm-cpa@state.gov

Transmittal No: 19-73

WASHINGTON, May 8, 2020 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Hungary of sixty (60) AIM-120C-7/C-8 AMRAAMER missiles, and two (2) spare AIM-120C-7/C-8 AMRAAM-ER guidance sections and related equipment for an estimated cost of $230 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.

The Government of Hungary has requested to buy sixty (60) AIM-120C-7/C-8 AMRAAMER missiles, and two (2) spare AIM-120C-7/C-8 AMRAAM-ER guidance sections. Also included are four (4) AMRAAM-ER training missiles (CATM-120C); missile containers; spare and repair parts; cryptographic and communication security devices; precision navigation equipment; software, site surveys; weapons system equipment and computer software support; publications and technical documentation; common munitions and test equipment; repair and return services and equipment; personnel training and training equipment; integration support and test equipment; and U.S. Government and contractor, engineering, technical and logistics support services; and other related elements of logistical and program support. The total estimated cost is $230 million.

This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the security of a NATO ally. This sale is consistent with U.S. initiatives to provide key allies in the region with modern systems that will enhance interoperability with U.S forces and increase security.

This proposed sale improves Hungary's defense capability to deter regional threats and strengthen its homeland defense. The sale is in support of Hungary's acquisition of the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS) air defense system and would provide a full range of protection from imminent hostile cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, rotary wing and fixed wing threats. This sale will contribute to Hungary's interoperability with the United States and other allies. Hungary should not have any difficulties absorbing this equipment into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support does not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The prime contractor and integrator will be Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, AZ. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of additional U.S. Government and contractor representatives to Hungary.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

All questions regarding this proposed Foreign Military Sale should be directed to the State Department's Bureau of Political Military Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, pm-cpa@state.gov.

-30-

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An aspiring presidential candidate Jacob Osei Yeboah (JOY) is optimistic that he will win this years election because the two leading political parties have failed Ghanaians.

JOY who has already declared his intention to contest in this years elections said both former president Mahama and president Akufo-Addo have failed Ghanaians incredibly and do not deserve to be given the nod again.

If you look at the three candidates contesting for the third time, I am the only one who has not been tried and tested. Both Mahama and Akufo-Addo have failed us and must not be voted back into power  He said on the Salt Morning show

The presidential hopeful said he is the right candidate with the right policies to put Ghana back on track.

Speaking to Kwasi Osei Charles (Dr.K) on Salt 95.9 FM, JOY accused former president Mahama and president Akufo-Addo of stealing his campaign theme in the 2012 and 2016 elections.

According to him even though they stole his theme, they underperformed because they did not know how he planned to implement his working Ghana Agenda policies.

The independent candidate has urged Ghanaians to vote for him to put Ghana back on its track in terms of economic growth and development.
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WASHINGTON  The call in early February from the White House Situation Room came as a surprise to Rick Bright: Peter Navarro, President Trumps trade adviser, wanted him to come present his ideas for fighting the coronavirus, alone.

Dr. Bright, whose tiny federal research agency was pursuing a coronavirus vaccine, had long been at odds with his boss at the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert Kadlec. His White House visits, twice in a single weekend, only exacerbated those tensions. Weekend at Peters, Dr. Kadlec quipped in the subject line of an email that expressed his displeasure.

The hostility between these two key officials in the governments response to a pandemic that has claimed more than 75,000 American lives burst into public view Tuesday when Dr. Bright  who was abruptly dismissed last month as head of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority  filed a formal whistle-blower complaint. The document accuses Dr. Kadlec and other top administration officials of cronyism and putting politics ahead of science.

Whether or not the charges are ultimately proven, the 89-page complaint along with other documents and interviews expose troubling infighting at the Health and Human Services Department, the sprawling agency that includes BARDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and other arms of government, as officials there struggled to combat the worst public health crisis in a century.
Dauphin County Board Chairman Jeff Haste said in a letter to all Pennsylvanians on Friday that enough is enough and that its time to reopen the state amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Now, Dauphin County vice-chairman Mike Pries has taken things a step further.

Dauphin County will be joining Lebanon County and move to Phase Yellow of #COVID19 Phased Reopening Plan on May 15, 2020, Pries wrote on Twitter Friday night.

It was not immediately clear if county commissioners could actually move their area into a different phase of the color-coded reopening plan laid out by Wolf that he says aims to help the economy start to recover while keeping citizens as healthy and safe as possible.

Only 37 of the states 67 counties have either reached or been given a date for when they will enter the yellow phase, and Dauphin and Lebanon were not on the latest list released by Wolf Friday.

As Pries noted, however, Lebanon county officials sent a similar message to Wolf on Friday, as they, too, plan to move into the yellow phase next week.

Both moves mark the latest political posturing as critics claim Wolf is reopening the state at random and without adhering to the criteria he and Health Department Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine announced. His backers, however, say that the reopening plan will ensure that hospitals do not become overrun and that only areas with adequate testing and the ability to perform contact tracing will reach the yellow stage, which is features aggressive mitigation instead of a complete stay at home order.

"Since Gov. Wolf closed the state to minimize the 54,238 positive cases, more than 1,793,200 Pennsylvanians have lost their jobs," Haste wrote in his letter.

This decision has ruined the livelihood of millions of hard-working Pennsylvanians in exchange for 0.4% of our population. I have great sympathy for those who have lost loved ones to COVID-19. I also have great concern for the families that now have to struggle with financial concerns, mental health stress, addiction and more because of the shutdown. Again, our governor has pitted groups of Pennsylvanians against one another.
While there are plans to expand the number of student volunteer tracers this summer  such as 40 UMSL students from its summer community health nursing courses  the health department wanted more consistency.

Two weeks ago, the county announced it would hire 100 contact tracers, funded by the $173.5 million relief funding from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES, Act.

We are really trying to be proactive with this, Traver said. Volunteers are amazing and continue to support us, but we also want to make sure we are adequately staffed to be able to respond to this.

About 1,000 people have applied for the temporary jobs, which pay $15 an hour, she said.

Previously, tracers were required to work at the health department, which limited the number who could work safely together. Last week, they started working remotely with the help of a computer program that allows supervisors to guide them and immediately answer questions.

Dr. Carole Baskin, the countys director of communicable disease control, said she hopes the new hires will allow other employees to be able to get back to their regular job duties such as disease education and pest control.
The TMC on Saturday accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of "lying" about the West Bengal government not allowing trains to reach the state, and said they have already planned eight trains to ferry migrants from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Telangana.

The first train will be leaving on Saturday from Hyderabad to Malda, the TMC said.

Shah on Saturday wrote to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, saying while the Centre has facilitated more than two lakh migrants to return home, it is not getting expected support from the state.

"The Centre is lying, eight trains ready to ferry passengers to Bengal from different states: It is no right to say CM Mamata Banerjee not allowing migrants to come back.16 migrants died on your watch, will rail minister take responsibility," asked TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar.

In a zoom meeting with several TMC MPs, including Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien, said West Bengal is running 711 camps for migrants in the state and were taking good care of them.

According to the plan so far, 31,224 people will return to West Bengal, 17,211 among them from Hyderabad alone.

"The Centre wants to embarrass our CM and gain politically in the state. They cannot tolerate her and that is why they are targeting us singularly," Dastidar said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Louisiana Fish Fry is a Baton Rouge-based company that makes Cajun and Creole products. It was not sold to China, as some have claimed.

The claim: Louisiana Fish Fry, a Baton Rouge company that makes and sells cooking products, was bought by a Chinese corporation.

A posting on Facebook claimed that Louisiana Fish Fry, which makes and sells Cajun and Creole cooking products in Baton Rogue, was bought by a Chinese corporation.

Facebook user Mark Abney posted on April 29 that Louisiana Fish Fry had "sold out" to a Chinese company last year, adding: "If Americans do not wake up, we will be controlled by the Chinese government."

He later learned that news was fake. Yet the original claim still circulates on social media.

Company was indeed sold in 2018

The local company, started by the Pizzalto family in 1982, was sold in 2018 to an affiliate of Peak Rock Capital, a Texas-based private equity firm founded in 2012.

Michael Morse, president and CEO of Louisiana Fish Fry, tells USA TODAY that "the claims on Facebook are false. Louisiana Fish was purchased by an Austin based private equity firm in October of 2018. All of our operations remain in Baton Rouge, LA."

Earlier, Morse had responded to another Facebook user, Cathy Groeger, who had inquired about the report of a Chinese purchase: "We are definitely US-owned and US-made. In fact, our plant and headquarters are still located right where we started, in Baton Rouge. Thanks for checking in with us to get the right information!"

Peak Rock, the private-equity firm tells USA TODAY: "That claim is so ridiculous, it sounds like something a malicious competitor must have made up. We are a U.S. business, based in Austin, Texas, owned by our senior team members who are all U.S. citizens (living in Texas). We are proud Texans with ties to Louisiana. A simple internet search would identify that for folks who wanted to know."

We asked Abney for a comment through his Facebook page, but he did not immediately respond. However, on May 5, he had already reposted on his Facebook page Groeger's post knocking down the initial report.

Story continues

Groeger, who describes herself as a retired nurse practitioner, said, in posting Morse's response: "Lesson - before posting a commit (sic) that hurts local business, lets be responsible & check sources first."

Our fact-checking effort did turn up one spicy angle to the story: Louisiana Fish Fry's Morse says the company for several years no longer sells Chinese Red Pepper in 50-pound containers, rather it sells "Chinese-Style" Red Pepper, but assures us that "the pepper was not sourced in China."

Our Ruling: False

There is no evidence to support the claim that Louisiana Fish Fry was purchased by a Chinese corporation.

Our fact-check sources:

Business Report

Louisiana Fish Fry President and CEO Michael Morse

Peak Rock Capital

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Louisiana Fish Fry was not purchased by a Chinese company
The conservation director with the Bayou Land Conservancy spoke with members of the North Houston Association Thursday, informing them of the groups conservation plan and strategy moving forward.

Becky Martinez, the conservation director with BLC, said the group started doing strategic planning last year, keeping in mind the groups values of conserving land and water quality. The group itself has been around since 1996 as a land trust, focused on preserving land along streams for flood control, clean water and wildlife.

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Texas State Parks allowing limited overnight camping starting May 18

What were trying to do when were preserving land is to give places for our bayous and creeks to move, places for that water to go, Martinez said. Those benefits of land preservation add up to real money as well. For every dollar we spend on land conservation, it saves $4 in construction replacement costs due to flooding.

Much of the land they preserve is around Lake Houston, Lake Livingston and Lake Conroe, Martinez said, which provide most of the drinking water in the area. Preserving the land also gives the wildlife in the area a place to live.

About 30% of BLCs preserves have public access, and 75% of their lands are wetland mitigation. More than 14,000 acres are preserved by the group, she said, and they just added an additional 38 acres last week.

More Information Learn more about the Bayou Land Conservatory's strategic plan here. See More Collapse

GETTING OUT IN NATURE: Yes, Texas rivers and lakes are open. Here are 8 worth a day trip.

For the groups strategic plan, Martinez said they looked at available geographic information system data related to their valuesflooding data, water quality data, general property data.

In looking at a property, we want to know are these large enough to support conservation work, are they next to parks or other preserves? Martinez said.

The group identified more than 100,000 acres of high priority land, Martinez said, worth preserving. Over the next 20 years, she said the lands committee would work toward preserving 15,000 of those acres adjacent to streams that would be most impactful to the region.

What I see for the next 20 years is a shift towards more private landowners, toward working with more developers and working even more with local government to preserve greenspace, Martinez said.

Just in the last couple of years, Martinez said they completed their Spring Creek Nature Trail, a 14-mile trail built with the help of volunteers. The trail also comes with an audio tour through the TravelStorys app, letting listeners known about watersheds, wildlife and native communities in the area as they walk the trail.

Volunteers had been working on expanding the trail before the pandemic began. The trail is walkable for anyone at Burroughs Park, 9738 Hufsmith Road in Tomball.

Since youre under the cover of trees, its not so hot, Martinez said. So, its doable in the warmer months.

The group typically has an event every month, but Martinez said this hasnt been the case recently due to the coronavirus pandemic. Usually, they have a film festival every year, but the one this year will have to be virtual. The festival will be showing various short films between five and 20 minutes in length talking about topics from monarch butterflies to Patagonia. The festival is from May 11 through May 15, with links to the films available by signing up for BLCs newsletter at www.bayoulandconservatory.org.

paul.wedding@hcnonline.com
Louth Councillor Erin McGreehan has called for an EU office to be located in Dundalk, as a solution to the current disagreements between the UK Government and the European Commission on the interpretation of the Protocol on Northern Ireland.

'This office, whether it is in Belfast or Dundalk would be used to ensure the Protocol on Northern Ireland, which is designed to avoid any hard border but protect the EU single market following the UK's decision to leave the EU, is being appropriately implemented.'

She added: 'It is hugely encouraging that the possibility of Dundalk as a location for the office has entered the negotiations. Only time will tell but Dundalk may well end up being the solution that is required and one the UK may in the end be happy with as it allows them to save face and also permits the proper functioning of the Protocol. It is also potentially a very positive thing for Dundalk, and I am delighted to have been in my capacity as a Member of the Committee of Regions to lobby and highlight Dundalk as a fantastic location.'
MUSKEGON, MI  Add the Miss Michigan pageant to the growing list of Michigan events that have been canceled this summer due to the coronavirus pandemic.

After the national Miss America 2020 competition was canceled Friday, Michigans organizers say they will follow suit by canceling the Miss Michigan 2020 pageant and its teen program.

The Miss Michigan Board of Directors voted Friday to postpone this years competition to June 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, Miss Michigan Director Paula DeWall told MLive.

It was a tough decision to make, but we thought this would be best for all, DeWall said. We just have to look at the health and safety of our candidates, families and volunteers because that has to be our top priority.

Last month, Miss Michigan organizers announced that the 2020 competition, scheduled from June 18-20 in Muskegons Frauenthal Theater, would be pushed back to Aug. 16-20 to curb the spread of the virus.

But DeWall said after the Miss America competition was canceled this week, most states followed by canceling their 2020 pageants too.

Miss Michigan 2019 Mallory Rivard, who was crowned at the Frauenthal on June 15, 2019, will be given the option to wear the crown for another year, DeWall said. If Rivard declines, pageant organizers will ask one of last years runner-ups to act as Miss Michigan for the upcoming year.

The statewide competition will not host any local pageants in the upcoming year, DeWall said. All contestants currently holding local titles who were scheduled to compete in this summers competition will be allowed to participate in the 2021 pageant.

Organizers will grandfather in this years contestants who would have aged out of the 2021 competition.

The Miss Michigan 2021 pageant is scheduled for June 13-19.

The annual competition brings dozens of contestants to Muskegon for one week every summer for rehearsals and community engagement, and then the pageant.

RELATED: See the best visuals, biggest winners from Miss Michigan 2019

For the first time last year, the Miss Michigan pageant did not include a swimsuit competition after it was removed from the national Miss America pageant in 2018.

In its place, the candidates performed an un-judged fitness routine. Additions included more on-stage questions and a social impact statement during the evening wear portion.

The Miss America pageant began as a bathing beauties revue in 1921 with women in swimsuits as the focus. The new program is intended to focus more on contestants interview skills rather than their appearance.

There have been 354 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Muskegon County as of Saturday, May 9, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Twenty people have died with the virus in Muskegon County.

More on MLive:

Muskegon tourism hit by coronavirus uncertainty amid cruise ship cancellations

Unity Christian Music Festival canceled this year due to coronavirus

Electric Forest 2020 canceled due to coronavirus pandemic

Jeep invasion of Silver Lake Sand Dunes postponed due to coronavirus
Patna (Bihar) [India], May 9 (ANI): Bihar Minister Sanjay Kumar Jha on Saturday said the Delhi government was asking for money that it had spent on the train tickets of migrant labourers.



Speaking to ANI Jha said, "On one hand you are taking credit saying you are sending them back on your money and on the other hand you are asking Bihar government to return the money."

He further said that the Delhi government had sent a letter to the Bihar government asking for reimbursement.

"I saw a tweet by a Delhi minister saying they are paying for the tickets of 1,200 migrants who are travelling from Delhi to Muzaffarpur. I have a letter here sent by their government asking for the reimbursement of money from the Bihar government," Jha told ANI.

Meanwhile, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said that the matter should not be politicised.

"It is not fair to take money from them (migrant labourers), they have been staying in shelter homes for the last two months. From where will they get money to pay for tickets, so the Delhi government paid for it. One shouldn't do politics over it," Jain said. (ANI)


Federal officials stressed the dangers to long-term-care residents and Indigenous communities if COVID-19 restrictions are lifted too quickly after projections in Quebec painted a dire picture of the potential cost.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday he is very worried about residents of Montreal  the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada  where the province is preparing to loosen confinement measures despite a rash of fatal outbreaks at nursing homes.

We must make sure that we are ensuring protection of our older citizens as an absolute priority, Trudeau told reporters.

I understand the economic pressures were all under and I understand people do want to go outside. But we need to do it in ways that we are sure are going to keep people safe, because the last thing that people want is a few weeks from now being told, OK, we loosened the rules and now COVIDs spreading again and youre all going to have go inside for the rest of the summer.

The comments came less than 24 hours after Quebecs public health institute said deaths could soar to 150 a day in the greater Montreal area if physical distancing measures are lifted. New cases could mushroom to 10,000 by June amid a potential surge in hospitalizations.

Premier Francois Legault said this week that elementary schools, daycares and retail stores with outdoor entrances in Montreal can reopen May 25  the second time he has pushed back the date, but ahead of other large cities.

Federal officials remain concerned about a rising death toll.

Im afraid of more people dying and more outbreaks, said Dr. Howard Njoo, the countrys deputy chief public health officer.

Long-term-care residents account for more than 80 per cent of deaths caused by the virus across Canada despite making up only one in five cases, chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam said Saturday.

Stricter measures may have to be reinstated if controls ease up too soon, she said, calling the impact on seniors a national tragedy.

The virus has not disappeared from the face of the Earth, Tam said.

Questions about access to supplies are emerging among other vulnerable populations as health officials and community leaders work to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Saskatchewans far north.

The region has seen a spike in cases in and around the remote Dene village of La Loche, a community of 2,800 about 600 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon where an outbreak has affected more than 100 residents.

Leonard Montgrand, the regional representative of Metis Nation-Saskatchewan, said Friday the situation is getting scary because infrastructure isnt set up to respond to the crisis.

Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said outbreaks of COVID-19 in First Nations communities may have been delayed because of their remoteness, but the government needs to remain vigilant in the future.

You could see languages disappear, he said, referring to elders who make up the last generation to speak some Indigenous dialects.

Miller cited a need for more resources and better data collection to help protect the communities and understand the spread of the virus among Indigenous people, and called on provincial governments to help in that area.

The full scope of the outbreak among Indigenous populations remains unknown because federal data collection is carried out mainly among on-reserve and northern communities, he said.

NDP MP Niki Ashton criticized Miller after the government sent medical tents to the First Nations community of Pukatawagan in northern Manitoba that werent requested, calling the move paternalistic.

Rather than listening to the community and respecting their request to retrofit their youth centre into a temporary quarantine space, your department decided to impose an outside solution that was unwanted, unneeded, dangerous and simply wrong, Ashton said in a public letter Friday.

Canadas case count climbed past 67,000 on Saturday. Quebecers make up more than half of the total cases, with 36,986  about half of which are in Montreal.

On top of sustained community transmission in pockets of the city, long-term-care homes have come under such strain that 1,350 Canadian Forces soldiers will be deployed to 25 facilities by mid-May to help residents, the federal government says.

Theyre dying in indignity in vast numbers. And that will continue if there are measures that are relaxed too soon. That is the scientific conclusion, Miller said.

The news Saturday was a bit better in Ontario, where Premier Doug Ford announced provincial parks will reopen Monday after one of the lowest daily case counts in recent weeks  346 new confirmed cases for a total of 19,944, including 1,599 deaths.

Meanwhile, Trudeau said Canada will not pay the full price for medical masks that do not meet medical standards.

On Friday, the federal government suspended shipments of N95 respirators from a Montreal-based supplier after about eight million of the masks made in China failed to meet specifications.

There are ongoing discussions with them about whether there are alternative uses for these masks, but we will not be paying for masks that do not hit the standards that we expect to give to our front-line workers, he said.

Trudeau said the discovery speaks to the rigorous verification system administered by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

NDP procurement critic Matthew Green questioned the governments purchasing process for personal protective equipment, saying officials had skirted the question of quality control and, ultimately, the bottom-line cost of PPE orders.

Trudeau declined to specify on Saturday the per-unit cost of N95 masks, which federal officials have previously pegged at anywhere from $1.20 to $6 apiece.

Last month, the Public Health Agency of Canada announced the government had bought around one million faulty KN95 respirators from a China-based supplier, which Ottawa said has pledged to replace them.

Read more about:
Dead to Me You Dont Have To Season 2 Episode 6 Editors Rating 5 stars * * * * *  Previous Next  Photo: Courtesy of Netflix

Theres so much joy in the final scenes of this episode that it almost doesnt look like Dead to Me. Wheres the crying, panic, and criminal activity? Most of the major characters of this season  Jen, Judy, Michelle, Ben, Henry, and Charlie  are smiling, laughing, and playing at an arcade that looks like a total blast. Of course, with four episodes to go in the excellent second season, the happiness cant last long, but the final scene of You Dont Have To offers a truly unexpected twist that would arguably destroy the thin suspension of disbelief on another show. But this season has been so strong on every level that it likely just produces laughs. Lets just say that if anyone thought the existence of Steves semi-identical twin was the soapiest turn of the story this year, they were wrong.

Long before then, Jen and Judy are playing good cop bad cop with Charlie about his joy ride in Steves car. Jen wants to ground the kid forever and take off his bedroom door; Judy suggests a little more understanding. Much of the first season was about Jens journey to be a better mother to her kids, but its been derailed by the events of the last season finale. This episode illustrates the impact of that. Henrys giving himself an ulcer because he thinks mom is going to be mad at him and Charlie is smoking because its safer than vaping. Last season it felt like Jen could get closer to her kids, but covering up murder can derail the best of intentions.

A good example of that comes when Jen spots photos of Steves car on Instagram, including the license plate! She goes to Charlies girlfriend Harper, who posted the photo, and tries to bribe her with cupcakes to take it down. While Judy and Charlie talk about STDs in the car, Jen learns that this Insta-influencer doesnt want cupcakesshell take cash. Jokes about generation gaps are often cheap, but the one in which Harper literally doesnt recognize the behavior of Jen writing a check was pretty funny. Applegate sells it perfectly.

While talking genital warts with her makeshift family, Judy gets a call from Detective Perez, who knows that Steve called Judy nine times the night he disappeared. Judy actually plays the messages for Perez and theyre so abusive and awful that one almost wonders if Judy even listened to all of them. It also leads to the best cut of the year where Steves you fucking bitch jumps to a goofy-looking Ben, who looks like hes literally never put those words together in that order. More importantly, Perez gets suspicious about why Judy isnt scared of a man whos literally threatening her life. Is it because she knows the threat is buried in Los Angeles National Forest?

The rest of the episode continues the new pairings from the last chapter, sending Ben/Jen and Judy/Michelle on parallel tracks before bringing them back together in an arcade. Jen gets the scarier arc after Ben tells her that the police have found remains (although where they found them and why they thought they were Steves is strangely vague). The look on Perezs face when she sees Jen with Ben at the station is priceless. Shes just exhausted by everything Hale, Harding, and Wood (which really sounds like a law firm). They havent found the car (yet) and the remains end up being that of a woman. Crisis avoided, for now.

Meanwhile, Michelle and Judy are having tacos on the beach on a sunny day (and nothing you could watch on Netflix will make you more jealous during quarantine than this scene at least until the arcade). Michelle places an amazing order (Mexican Cokes! Guacamole!) and then they run into Nick! Maybe Jen was right at the station about this really being a small town (more on that later). Anyway, Nick has barely left his house and still harbors a lot of resentment for Judy. He mentions Steve and is generally just seething with unhappiness. Nice to have Nick back, but lets hope he finds some purpose or closure beyond a beach taco truck.

Everyone comes together at Henrys Holy Harmonies concert. First, Ben reveals that he was in the group as a child (of course) and seems to really be enjoying the show. (He remembers the moves!) Judy is the one who invites Michelle to the show, and they all end up in the same row, listening to children sing about how theyre Signed, Sealed, Delivered to Jesus. But it turns out that Henry doesnt want to go on stage. Its too much for him.

And so they all go to an arcade! (Again, stay-at-home jealousy kicking in.) Everyone is having fundrinking, playing, laughing, and getting along better than ever, which we all know will collapse  and soon, based on the episodes final beats. First, we see Nick at the scene of the burned-out Benz across town. Then, Michelle and Judy start making out in the photo booth and take the action back to Michelles bedroom. Just as the door closes, the front one opens and in walks Detective Perez! What was Jen saying about Laguna Beach being a small town?

Extra Counseling

 Did anyone else consider that Steve kind of fell in love with a version of his brother and that Jen is replacing Judy with the same? Like Judy, Ben seems to honestly love things like Holy Harmonies and says things like My cup of tizzle. That should be a crime.

 The look on James Marsdens face when he says Yours doesnt have to be mock, it can be cock is amazing. Emmy clip!

 Mexican cokes are so much better. Just had to say that.

 So, Perez is what exactly to Michelle? Well find out soon enough, but follow the coincidence here. Abe has to die and Michelle has to pick that nursing home and Judy has to be there that day cry-eating pudding for them to even meet. For someone like Judy, who believes strongly in forces beyond human control, it has to feel like someone on high is just fucking with her.
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.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 8)  Few COVID-19 cases have so far been reported in Libya, but a Philippine diplomat expressed concern over having possible casualties among Filipino workers there due to the explosive attacks in the country's capital.

"There's a possibility that because of this indiscriminate shelling, magka-casualties tayo," Philippine Ambassador to Libya Elmer Cato said in a virtual briefing on Friday.

[Translation: There's a possibility that we will have casualties because of this indiscriminate shelling.]

Cato disclosed that there was another rocket barrage in Tripoli late Thursday night, which nearly hit the Italian and Turkey embassies. Two were killed, he said, citing reports.

"That [brings the number of casualties] due to the random shelling in the past two days [to 12]," the ambassador said.

Aside from the attacks, Libya is fighting another enemy: COVID-19.

"Also, we're worried about COVID," Cato said. "We have about 1,000 health workers here in Tripoli and in the rest of Libya, and we're expected to be also doing frontline work; kaya medyo wary rin tayo [rito] for possible infections."

[Translation: Also, we're worried about COVID. We have about 1,000 health workers here in Tripoli and in the rest of Libya, and we're expected to also be doing frontline work; so we're wary of possible infections.]

Region-wide, Libya ranks the lowest in the number of coronavirus cases, according to Cato. He said there are only 64 infections in the North African country, with three deaths.

This number is much lower, as compared to its neighbors  Nigeria with 5,182 confirmed cases; Tunisia with 1,025; and Niger with 781.

"We think this has something to do with the fact na hindi marami 'yung pumupunta [rito] dahil sa kaguluhan," said Cato. "So nakatulong kahit paano 'yung pagka-isolate ng Libya... But I think they're trying to do everything they can to prevent the spread of the disease."

[Translation: We think this has something to do with the fact that not a lot of people come here due to the clashes, which helped, somehow... But I think they're trying to do everything they can to prevent the spread of the disease.]

He said they were worried at first, as the World Health Organization predicted that there will be a "massive outbreak" in Libya.

"Eh, talagang hindi makakayanan ['yun] nung healthcare system; but fortunately, hindi pa gano'n..." he said. "So sana, it remains that way."

[Translation: The local healthcare system will not be able to respond to that; but fortunately, that is not the case... I hope it remains that way.]

Cato said they are coordinating with certain agencies to help provide sets of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other support for the health frontliners.

The envoy, likewise, expressed apprehension about the economic displacement of Filipino workers caused by the conflict and the coronavirus pandemic. He said some OFWs were left jobless, particularly those working in the oil industry.

About half of the Filipino workers in Libya were affected, Cato pointed out.

Of the 2,300 OFWs there, 1,000 are working for the oil sector, while another 1,000 are in the healthcare industry. The remaining 300 are employees of the service sector, like hotels.

Cato said they have already extended assistance to some of the displaced OFWs. The embassy, however, cannot reach out to the oil workers in Eastern Libya because of the strikes, he emphasized.

Despite the ongoing crises, Cato said the Filipino migrant workers there continue to "maintain a positive outlook."

The ambassador added that they are working with other local offices for the repatriation of some OFWs.

"We have more or less 300 Filipinos from North Africa [whom] we [would] bring home in the next two weeks," he said.

A civil war began in Libya in 2011, with clashes between the government and the rebel forces. This fueled a second fight, which is still ongoing.

There has long been a conflict between the administration of General Khalifa Haftar in the east of Libya, and the Western-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli. Several tribes and militant groups, including the Islamic State in Iraq and Syrian (ISIS), are also competing for control of the country's dwindling oil wealth.

Meanwhile, across the globe, there are now over 3.8 million cases of COVID-19, with 269,000 fatalities.
On Thursday, 16 migrant workers were crushed by a train in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. They were sleeping on the rail tracks after a long journey on foot in a desperate attempt to get back to their home towns hundreds of kilometres away in Madhya Pradesh. While the government has failed to make adequate arrangements for migrant workers, who power our economy, aircraft are being arranged for those coming from abroad.

It is not just a matter of emotion that migrants want to get home, though that should be enough. It is not just a matter of their right to move about within their own country, subject to reasonable restrictions designed to ensure public healths. The idea should have been to maximise their mobility while minimising restrictions. It is a matter of their survival. Sadly, the Supreme Court and high courts are silent. They could have asked the central government to operationalise the return of the migrants from their host states to home states on these simple principles.

But they have not.

The impact is there for all to see. Every day, there are stories of migrant workers and their families, bereft of food and money, making desperate attempts to reach their homes. How many must have gone to an early grave not because of Covid-19 but because of callousness and disorganisation of the State?

People act on common sense. The migrants in Surat, Bandra, Noida, and Karnataka know their families will starve and they will be prey to predators if they dont return to safety or to look after those they have left behind. They had left all that was familiar and loved for a better life. Now they are opting for a life of subsistence among their own rather than with strangers in cities who have used them and then let them go.

It is now six weeks into a lengthening national lockdown, albeit with some easing of restrictions. The most visible presence of the armed forces has been to shower petals on hospitals and engage in fly pasts from north to south and east to west.

The Indian Army does many laudable things. There were reports that in the early days of the lockdown it contributed medical equipment and manpower. The Army has the mandate to come to the aid of the civilian authority whenever there is a national need. It is stationed everywhere across the country; it has tents, rations, and water supplies. It has transport vehicles to move people and food. Its men and resources are available at a very short distance from all arterial roads and highways used by the poor workers. It has managerial capabilities and an organised and disciplined force to move into action at a moments notice.

None of the assistance they can offer would reduce their operational capabilities. If the risk of infection is a concern, the State can put in place adequate precautionary measures that do not hinder the work but minimise the risk. The Army knows how to minimise casualties. Even now, food water and resting halts can be arranged at regular distances as can isolation camps en route. The workers will understand if they are tested to see if they can go on or must rest in a quarantine area along the way. They will submit to quarantines where needed, if only they know that eventually they will be assisted to get home.

Its been six weeks. People are still walking. People are still thirsty. People are near starving. These are not ordinary people; they have built the country. They will build the country in the future. No favour is being done to them by providing them assistance to get to where they feel they belong. There is still time to save lives and win back trust. Galvanising the Army or even the paramilitary to assist these long marches will transform the everyday images of sorrow into those of joyful reunion. This is the right thing to do.

Maja Daruwala is former director, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative

The views expressed are personal
CARBONDALE  In todays information-heavy society, balancing the handy tools technology provides with the need for privacy is a constant concern. A health crisis such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic puts that tension in stark relief, as health authorities struggle with keeping the public informed while also protecting private health information.

A faculty member at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, however, believes he and his students have developed an application that will not only provide the public with the latest data on COVID-19 case locations locally, but also protect the identity of those diagnosed or exposed to the virus. Once populated with the proper data and synced with common GPS information, the Virus Contact Map (VCM) would provide an important tool for avoiding exposure and tracking the virus spread.

Koushik Sinha, assistant professor in the School of Computing, is working on an approach that uses Google timeline history to visualize whether individuals have come within dangerous proximity to the locations of known COVID-19 cases. The application, when fully operational, would give health officials and individuals the ability to see how the virus progresses over time locally and regionally. Health officials might further use it to identify areas as hot spots and issue warnings to the general public to avoid such areas, as well as designate them for decontamination.

An emerging crisis

Sinha and his team began working on the tool during spring break, just as the COVID-19 threat was becoming apparent. The idea emerged from Sinhas ongoing research interest in crisis computing and crowdsourcing, wherein large numbers of people are enlisted to help solve a problem with resources or information. One of his previous projects, a tool called Artificial Intelligence for Disaster Response, used machine learning-based analytics of tweets and texts in real-time during humanitarian crises. AIDR has been extensively used by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The main information needed to bring the VCM online now is data from local health departments on COVID-19 cases.

This is by far the most critical requirement as without it, the utility for general public will be greatly reduced, Sinha said. The tool will provide functionalities that we believe will be useful to both private individuals as well health officials.

The system relies on smartphone GPS history gathered by Google when that option is enabled. Plans call to include other data sources such locations identified by WiFi access points.

The ability of the tool to use GPS data to identify hazards is well established. But importantly, the tool also would accomplish the sometimes more elusive goal of protecting individual privacy, despite relying partly on data gathered from private smartphone accounts.

No names or other identifying information will be associated with the location and diagnosis data it relies on, for instance, while other features and functions will protect data sources. Through an easy-to-use interface, users also will have the option to delete certain information  such as a home or work address  from the data set they provide in order to use the tool.

There are multiple techniques that we will implement to ensure privacy, Sinha said. Our goal is to make the tool HIPAA-compliant.

Seeing is believing

The tool will offer three ways to visualize or see the interaction between the virus spread and individual locations and movement. First, it will allow a user to see the number of COVID-19 cases, including fatalities, over time using a slidebar to control the time frame. Doing so might give a county health official the ability to visualize how the virus has progressed over time not only in their own counties, but in neighboring ones, as well, Sinha said Such information also might lead individuals to make safer shopping choices, for example.

If I were to see my county has a considerable number of infections while neighboring counties do not, then I might feel safer doing my grocery shopping there rather than my home county, he said.

The second visualization option would provide a color-coded map of all locations visited by individuals known to have COVID-19 during the last 48 hours. The visualization would use a function that combines both the number of COVID-19 cases to visit the location, but also how recently they did so before color-coding it.

As the virus is known to remain viable for a certain number of hours, such a map might again allow individuals to minimize their risk, Sinha said.

For example, an individual might decide to avoid a store in a local county that has had a significant footfall of COVID-19 positive people in the recent past, and instead shop somewhere with a lighter footfall, he said. Another example could be, say in New York City, a person could use this information to determine if it would currently be safe to go for a walk or jog in Central Park as opposed to a Queens neighborhood.

Health officials might also find this visualization helpful in designating local hot spots and issuing warnings.

Individuals can opt in

The third visualization would allow individual users to upload their Google timeline history data to the website, where an analytics engine would general a list of locations where they might have been exposed to a COVID-19 case in the recent past. The information would be presented again in a color-coded map with each visited location colored by the tools computed risk of exposure shown as high, moderate or low.

Although the VCM might warn of risk if needed, it also would prevent panic when risk is low.

Providing a risk assessment of every contact and visited location would be a very useful feature to not only individuals who want to assess their chances of infection, but also to health officials in allocating resources for managing the COVID-19 crisis, Sinha said. As more users opt in and more data is available to the analytics engine for modeling risk, the accuracy of the risk assessment engine will improve.

The user would then be able to hover the mouse pointer over each point to get additional information, such as the exact address of the location, when the contact happened and how long it lasted.

Combining certain visualizations for further analysis would give both health officials and the general public further insight into not only understanding the virus reach but also how to better minimize the risk of exposure on a personal level.

For example, lets say I first use a visualization that determines a certain grocery store is a safer place to go shopping on a certain day. Unfortunately, I unknowingly happen to come in close proximity with an asymptomatic COVID-19 person who later tests positive. Then this feature would allow me to determine if I was exposed to any such individual, Sinha said. The visualization of this map also allows users to control how far back in time and what sort of proximity distance would she like to use for generating the contact tracing map.

Using GPS information in this way opens many questions on privacy, as well. Sinha said his team kept privacy  especially medical information privacy required by law  in the forefront of their minds when designing the tool.

For starters, the tools database requires only two pieces of information about individuals infected with COVID-19: their GPS location history and the time at which the individual tested positive. No other identifying information is needed.

Second, all location data is stored and displayed completely anonymously, thereby making it difficult to tie one hot spot location to a specific patient. Also, in cases where an individual chooses to upload his or her Google timeline history to assess risk of exposure, the system only requires the last 48 hours of data, which is stored only temporarily.

We delete the uploaded file immediately after the results are displayed in order to maintain privacy of the users, Sinha said.

Other restrictions also are built into the system, and the team also is developing a new type of encryption that will allow patients to maintain complete control over their data, while the tools analytic engine does the computations directly on the encrypted data.

Addressing privacy concerns has been at the core of our innovation, Sinha said. So we have taken a very different approach than that being taken by most of the proposed contact tracing apps being developed around the world, some of which have already begun to raise a lot of concerns about privacy.

Joining the fight

Sinha said he hopes to gain support and feedback from health officials on what features they would find useful on the tool and how it might be improved or modified. His ultimate goal is to develop a mobile-friendly version of the VCM tool that will serve the needs of both health officials and general public.

We need support from the general public in contributing their data to this tool for the greater good, he said. As more people use it, the better will become our ability to provide accurate contact tracing and risk assessment results.
US President, Donald J. Trump, on Friday struck an optimistic tone urging Americans to stay calm despite the US economy losing a staggering 20.5 million jobs in April with the unemployment rate spiking to 14.7 percent due to the COVID-19 pandemic- the largest unemployment rate since World War II.



Trump said the job losses were expected and promised to bring them back as he hopes to restart the economy, his major bragging point before the Coronavirus pandemic struck, shattering businesses, killing thousands, crashing oil prices and burdening the healthcare industry.



'It's fully expected, there's no surprise,' Trump told Fox & Friends just moments after the report was released.



'Somebody said: "Oh, look at this". Even the Democrats aren't blaming me for that. What I can do is I can bring it back. Those jobs will all be back, and they'll be back very soon. And next year we'll have a phenomenal year.'



Trump's comments come after nearly 3.2 million laid-off workers applied for jobless benefits in the week ending May 2 and after the US Labor Department released a report on Friday showing the 14.7% unemployement rate, the steepest plunge since the 1930s Great Depression .



The latest figures by the Labor Department do not account for people who lost their jobs in April and didn't look for another one and would actually be 20 percent if people, including many who have been furloughed workers, are included in the figures.



Larry Kudlow, the White House's national economic council director, suggested employment figures could get worse as the pandemic continues. and said Trump had tried all he could to lessen the economic effects felt by citizens.



'I don't know if it's as bad as it gets,' Kudlow told Fox Business Network's Varney & Co on Friday. 'I don't think this pandemic contraction has yet fully run its course.



'This is a number full of heartbreak and hardship. There's no way to get around it.'



'My model's no better than anybody else's model. Regarding the next month or two, which are really going to transition into the reopening of the economy, who's to say the numbers will not get worse,' he said.



During the Great Depression in the 1930s, the jobless rate reached 25 percent., and now nearly all the job growth achieved during the 11-year recovery from the Great Recession has now been lost April.



The largest monthly job loss prior to April was about 2 million in September 1945 after WWII. In March 2009,during Obama's tenure, 800,000 jobs were lost during the Great Recession.









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signed off on a report detailing guidelines for the nation's reopening  despite White House officials' insistence it was not cleared  according to emails obtained by the AP.

Why it matters: The mixed messaging is more evidence of the struggle between the CDC, which typically handles public health crises, and the White House coronavirus task force, which the president has made clear will shift its focus to reopening the country.

"The re-opening guidance shared prematurely was in draft form and had not been vetted through the interagency review process," CDC Director Robert Redfield said in a statement.

"This is an iterative effort to ensure effective, clear guidance is presented to the American people. I had not seen a version of the guidance incorporating interagency and task force input and therefore was not yet comfortable releasing a final work product, he added.

Background: As Axios and several other media outlets reported on Thursday, the White House shelved a CDC report including new guidance for reopening schools, restaurants, bars and other organizations.

A task force official had told Axios that the guidance, which the White House felt was "overly prescriptive," was never cleared by CDC leadership, and that the task force first saw the CDC report when it was leaked to the press.

The official said the White House asked the CDC to "revise" its guidance, but never received an amended copy.

On Friday, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany reiterated to reporters that CDC leadership, including Redfield, did not approve the report.

"I would ask you, you know, whats the definition of CDC guidelines? Is it something that the CDC director has actually seen? ... No, those arent CDC guidelines; those are guidelines in draft form that a rogue employee has given you," McEnany said.

Driving the news: The emails obtained by the AP reveal that Redfield had in fact cleared the guidance, and that as early as April 10, Redfield, who is also a member of the White House coronavirus task force, shared the guidelines with top White House advisers  including Jared Kushner, Kellyanne Conway and Joseph Grogan.

Deborah Birx, Anthony Fauci and other members of the task force also received the guidance, per the AP.

The emails also show that, following reporting that the CDC guidance had been shelved, "the Trump administration ordered key parts of it to be fast-tracked for approval," the AP writes.

The AP notes that the 17-page CDC document obtained by several media outlets, including Axios, was just a smaller preview of the more comprehensive 60-page report, which was ultimately sent to the White House's Office of Management and Budget for review  a step that is normally only taken when a document is close to final approval.

One email, written by Redfield and sent to Birx and Grogan, said: "We plan to post these to CDCs website once approved. Peace, God bless r3. (Redfields initials are R.R.R., the AP notes).

The latest: The documents show that the CDC inquired for several days about the status of the guidance, but it was ultimately killed. An OMB official told the CDC that the administration had "given strict and explicit direction that these documents are not yet cleared and cannot go out as of right now," per the AP.

On Friday, McEnany said the guidelines are in the editing process.

This story has been updated to reflect a new statement from CDC Director Robert Redfield.
Grains by the lb can generally be had for a reasonable price. They also generally qualify for free and flat rate shipping when a retailer offers that. Full 50 or 55 lb sacks of malt are another story altogether. The per lb price of sacks can be tempting, but shipping charges can be confiscatory.

Bulk Malt Deal Tips and Tricks

Look at Total Cost

Price per lb delivered to your door is the most important thing when it comes to value. Biting on a low cost sack of grain with high shipping is equally as bad as biting on a high cost sack of grain with free shipping. Compare total cost. If free or flat rate shipping is an option always makes sure to put together an order that qualifies for discounted shipping.

Deals can periodically found on Amazon

Offerings and prices can vary wildly, but its worth a quick look when it comes time to buying grain.

Buy Local-ish

Look for a shop in the same general geographic location. It makes sense that shipping from one state away would cost less than shipping across the country. This isnt always the case, but its a good place to start.

Try the following shops, each has general geographic area to help

Wunder Grain

AIHs Wunder grain offering is a mix and match of grains. Wunder = I wonder what it is. Availability is touch and go, but when its available its one of the best deals out there if youre not picky and just wanting to brew. Its sold in 10 lb bags and typically qualifies for free shipping to many US addresses. Buy 5 to get the equivalent of a sack and qualify for free shipping.

Wunder Grain  10 lb bag

10 lb Bags at Williams Brewing

Williams Brewing has select malt available in 10 lb bags. These qualify for their free or flat shipping. Buy 5 x 10 lb bags and you have the equivalent of a sack of grain.

Base Malt in 10 Pound Bags

Deal on All Grain Kits

Adventures in Homebrewing discounts seasonal homebrew beer recipe kits by 20%. Selections include both all grain and extract options. Shipping is free to many US addresses with a qualifying order.

20% Off Seasonal All Grain Kits | 20% Off Seasonal Extract Kits

Make a Friend, Get a Great Deal on Grain

Make friends with your local brewery or brew pub and they just might let you purchase grain from them a great price.

Bulk Grain Storage Options

Vittles Vault Review!

Grain Mill Reviews

All Grain-Related Reviews:

A collection of reviews that weve tagged as directly or indirectly related to all grain brewing





Hands on Review: Vittles Vault Stackable Storage Bins for Homebrew Grain Storage!





Make sure the components you use are compatible and rated for your intended application. Contact manufacturer with questions about suitability or a specific application. Always read and follow manufacturer directions. top:bulkgrain tag:itsapage tag:tpr
Shanghai Fudan Microelectronics Group Company Limited (HKG:1385) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 16% in the last month. But that doesn't change the reality of under-performance over the last twelve months. In fact, the price has declined 44% in a year, falling short of the returns you could get by investing in an index fund.

Check out our latest analysis for Shanghai Fudan Microelectronics Group

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

Shanghai Fudan Microelectronics Group fell to a loss making position during the year. Buyers no doubt think it's a temporary situation, but those with a nose for quality have low tolerance for losses. However, there may be an opportunity for investors if the company can recover.

You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

SEHK:1385 Past and Future Earnings May 9th 2020

This free interactive report on Shanghai Fudan Microelectronics Group's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

We regret to report that Shanghai Fudan Microelectronics Group shareholders are down 44% for the year. Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 9.2%. 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 7.8% 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. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Shanghai Fudan Microelectronics Group better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Shanghai Fudan Microelectronics Group you should know about.

Story continues

But note: Shanghai Fudan Microelectronics Group 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 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.
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.
But this new strategy doesnt seem to be so much about the administration changing course; it is about changing how the rest of us regard the Middle Kingdom. A top administration official with whom I recently spoke said this attitudinal reset will require both a reeducation of the public, which sounds slightly Chinese-ish, as well as a mind-set shift at universities and corporations, many of which are deeply invested in China and, therefore, in the success of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Some universities, for example, are heavily dependent upon Chinese students who pay full tuition. Many schools dont realize, the official said, that theyre helping Chinas Communist Party.
Predicting downturns in his bow tie, he could well earn the moniker prophet of doom with an avuncular expression. As a market prognosticator, his track record is not great. But as an investor, he weaves fascinating tales.

Jim Rogers and George Soros teamed up in the 1970s to form one of historys most storied investing teams (Quantum Fund).

Here is one anecdote that is so intrinsic to his swashbuckling contrarian style.

The story that should have been made into a movie.

In October 1973, the Yom Kippur War took place when a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel.

Being the holiest day in Judaism, it is a national holiday. Everything shuts, including the airport. So while it was natural for Israel to be caught on the wrong foot, it was revealing to see the apparently technologically superior Israeli forces get defeated.

Young, enthusiastic and insatiably curious about the world, Jim Rogers set to find out how the Egyptian Air Force succeeded in shooting Israeli jets out of the sky.

The Egyptians were deploying advanced electronic-warfare equipment sourced from USSR. The SA-6 was the one inflicting great damage. The latter was a self-propelled, low-to-medium altitude, surface-to-air missile, known as SAM. It would fly out parallel to the desert floor then very accurately pitch up at the target without leaving a smoke trail.

He began to connect the dots. If some of Israels military technology was antiquated, what did that say about the U.S., Israels prime supplier of weapons? Should the Pentagon not be spending millions to ensure that its hardware was not obsolete?

Rogers travelled across the country to converse with Pentagon officials and defense contractors. The U.S. Defense Science Board conducted a study of the war and concluded that in any future conflict, American planes would have a real challenge getting through air defenses. The board recommended development of a new kind of bomber that would evade the SA-6, by being essentially invisible to its supporting radar.

Soros and Rogers knew that defense companies had major contracts that, when renewed, would provide fresh earnings over the years. They also noted that the modern battlefield had undergone a fundamental transformation, and the new arsenal would be sensors, laser-directed artillery shells and smart bombs (which were guided to their target by laser beams). It would only be a matter of time before defense spending took a dramatic upswing.

Based on this thesis, the two began scooping up defense stocks going really cheap. The focus was on United Aircraft (now United Technologies Corporation), Northrop and Lockheed Corporation (later merged with Martin Marietta to become Lockheed Martin.)

Around this time, a group of hot-shot investors in New York got together once a month to discuss investments and share their views on the world. Jim Rogers was pleased as punch when invited to hobnob with this elite bunch of males over dinner.

As each of these young guns mentioned the stock they were betting on, Rogers put forth his bet on Lockheed.

His thesis held scant appeal because the Vietnam war was coming to an end, spending on defense was being curtailed and defense firms were not on solid ground. To top it all, the firm he was betting on was in bankruptcy, having overextended as it failed to compete successfully with Boeing.

Rogers explained that though Lockheed was bleeding profusely, the management was cutting off a huge money-losing division and starting to focus on new technologies. The company was famous for its Advanced Development Projects division, where its engineers came up with sophisticated weaponry for the Pentagon. And there were plenty in Congress who were in favour of Pentagon spending on advanced electronic warfare. The stock, in the vicinity of $2, had tremendous upside potential.

One pompous plebe smirked and stage-whispered (loud enough for Rogers to hear) his disdain for that strategy and what an absurd buy that was.

Rogers was understandably embarrassed. It was his first dinner with this group, and it was Bruce Waterfall who passed that comment; one of the few who ran a hedge fund, he had iconic status.

The best revenge is being proved right. And making obscene amounts of money in the bargain. The Lockheed stock appreciated 4,000% from 1973 to 1983.

President Ronald Reagan initiated a programme to revitalise U.S. defenses. The spending was not to be financed with tax increases but by borrowings and running a budget deficit. As a lesson from the Yom Kippur war, the U.S. began to develop radar stealth technology. The result was the Lockheed F-117, the worlds first stealth aircraft.

In 1980, after a decade in which the S&P 500 rose 47%, the Quantum portfolio was up 4,200%. He referred to that period as the glorious and exciting years; we had gains every year.

Besides betting on defense stocks, they shorted the Nifty-Fifty when banks and mutual funds were scrambling for them, even though some stocks were trading at 100x or 200x earnings. (The Nifty Fifty refers to the 50 popular large-cap stocks on the New York Stock Exchange in the 60s and 70s. They were regarded as solid buy-and-hold stocks and are credited with propelling the bull market of the early 1970s.)

They even shorted the pound sterling and gold. Back in the late 70s, geo-political crisis across the globe, including the Russian invasion of Afghanistan and the Iranian hostage crisis, pushed the price of gold to amazing highs. After touching $850/ounce in January 1980 it began to tumble and stayed in the $300-500 range for most of the 80s.

There is a lot we can learn from Jim Rogers, but for lack of space, lets focus on three.

#1: Never underestimate the top-down.

Before you get down to picking your winners, come to grips with the broad social, economic, and political factors that could potentially alter the path of an industry.

In Street Smarts, he says that he found it fascinating how markets were driven by world events, and world events were driven by markets. Everything is connected. A revolution in Chile would affect the price of copper, and thus the price of electricity, and the price of houses, and so on  across various countries. So if you could figure out a revolution in Chile was on the anvil, you could make a lot of money.

#2: Invest knowing that nothing lasts forever.

Invest with your eyes on the future. As he explains in this interview, paradigms change; its inevitable.

No matter what we think today, it is not going to be true in 15 years. Pick any year in history, and look at what everybody was convinced was correct and then look 15 years later, and youd be shocked and astonished. Look at 1920, then 15 years later. Look at 1930, then 15 years later. Pick any year, and 15 years later everything is going to be different.

In Hot Commodities, he wrote that both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were scandals-in-waiting and on the verge of collapse. He shorted, and made money when proved right in 2008.

#3: A contrarian philosophy is never built out of thin air.

Rogers was known for contrarian investing and went on to become an outlandish and colourful practitioner of this art. The trick was not to focus on the cheap price, but to get the fundamentals right.

In A Gift To My Children, he cautions that a cheap price alone is not sufficient reason to invest. If something is forever cheap, then it has no recognized value, and its stock may very well remain a worthless piece of paper. For a bargain to soar in price, there has to be a catalyst, and from an investment perspective, that catalyst is change. Whatever the change may be, it must have a significant impact within a country or an industry, and it must also be recognized as significant externally within a few years. If the change is real, others will notice the improvement, and prices will rise to reflect the new circumstances. New investors will catch on and prices can rise considerably for years.

Investment Involves Risk of Loss
Trumps new battle with China: CCP fights back on push for virus investigations

The world economy could be very different once the pandemic ends, and major shifts are already taking place. Japan has launched a $220 million subsidy program to move businesses out of China and into Southeast Asia, India is setting aside over 460,000 hectares of land and is looking to lure more than 1,000 US companies out of China, and other markets are moving away from China in similar ways.

As businesses move abroad, new jobs will be created in countries from India to the United States, and manufacturing will return to the world outside China. The change could lead to new economies growing, while the Chinese regime declines.

And as the United States and other nations continue to push for investigations into China for the coverup of the virus outbreak, and to search for the origin of the virus, the Chinese regime is pushing back with a large-scale disinformation campaign.

These stories and more in this episode of Crossroads.

Crossroads is an Epoch Times show available on Facebook and YouTube.
The statement appeared to rule out what had seemed to be a promising lead in the case of Zywicki, who was abducted after experiencing car troubles on Interstate 80 near La Salle, Illinois in 1992. She was returning from Evanston, Illinois, to Grinnell College in Iowa. Her body was found in Missouri days later, with evidence of stabbing and sexual assault.
Union home minister Amit Shah has written to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee that the Centre was not receiving the expected support from her government in helping migrant workers reach home, an allegation the Trinamool Congress (TMC) rubbished as outright lies.

The state government is doing injustice to Bengali migrant workers stranded across the country by not allowing Shramik (worker) trains run by the railways to reach the state, Shah wrote in the letter,according to ministry of home affairs (MHA) officials.

Shah said the Centre had already facilitated the return home of more than 200,000 workers, adding that migrants from West Bengal employed elsewhere too were eager to go back home.

West Bengal government is not allowing trains with migrants reaching the state. This is injustice with WB migrant labourers. This will create further hardship for them,Shah wrote.

States with large migrant populations such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have received the maximum number of workers returning home on Shramik trains.West Bengal, senior officials said, has received only two special trains so far and hasnt cleared any more trains.

Until Friday, more than 250,000 migrants had been sent home on 251 Shramik trains.

The TMC hit back at Shah.

Amit Shahs letter is full of outright lies. Two trains have already reached and eight more are expected to reach Bengal in the coming three days. Overall, 80,000 people have been brought back using various means of transport. Amit Shah just woke up from his 40-day sleep but when one writes a letter still in his sleep, the person gets the facts all wrong, TMC Rajya Sabha leader and national spokesperson Derek OBrien said on Saturday.

OBrien presented a document showing that two trains each from Punjab and Tamil Nadu and three from Karnataka are in the draft schedule of special trains, as of May 8, for reaching seven districts of Bengal between May 10 and 12, carrying 12,714 passengers altogether. Another train is scheduled to arrive in Malda district on May 10, carrying 1,7 21 passengers from Telangana.

We have a seven-stage plan to bring back the migrants. We are doing it in a staggered manner. We did not announce a lockdown without an iota of planning. We dont want to bring the migrant workers without a proper plan as we are considering all possible implications to find the best way to do it, OBrien said.

Shortly after the TMC leaders remarks, the railway ministry tweeted: Indian Railways has so far run more then 300 trains mainly for states like UP, Bihar, Odisha, MP etc. But for WB till today morning we had received approval for only 2 Shramik special trains, 1 from Ajmer Sharif & other from Ernakulam. After request of Honble HM, today afternoon WB has approved 2 trains from Punjab, 2 from TN, 3 from Karnataka & 1 from Telangana, which are being arranged. However, WB has not approved any train from Maharashtra, while there is a requirement of 16 trains to WB and presently 6 requests are pending for which approval is still awaited from WB.

The issue of migrant workers is the latest flashpoint between the Centre and the West Bengal government amid a row over the states efforts to control the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). The two sides have clashed over a visit by interministerial central teams (IMCTs) for an assessment of the situation in seven West Bengal districts. While the teams claimed that they didnt get any support from the state government in assessing measures put in place to control Covid-19, the state government accused the Centre of politicising a public health crisis.

Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla had on Thursday slammed the West Bengal government for a low rate of testing and high rate of mortality  13.2%, by far the highest for any state. The Centre has also accused the Trinamool Congress government of not allowing cross-border movement of goods trucks to Bangladesh, potentially jeopardising trade commitments made to the neighbour.

Mamata Banerjees nephew and TMC youth wing chief Abhishek Banerjee wrote on Twitter that the Union home minister should apologise if he failed to substantiate the charges in his letter with facts. The Congress added another political twist.

The chief minister has given permission to eight more trains after Shah wrote to the state, alleged Congress leader in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who is an MP from Berhampore in West Bengal. OBrien denied the allegation.

Bengal has reported 1,786 Covid-19 positive cases and 99 deaths until Saturday.
Captured American Says Venezuelan President Was Target of Foiled Attack

By VOA News May 08, 2020

Venezuela has aired a video in which captured American ex-serviceman Airon Berry said Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was a target of a foiled raid.

This is the second video released by the Venezuelan government purporting to show the questioning of Berry and fellow American Luke Denman, both former members of the U.S. Special Forces.

In a video aired Thursday, Berry said the Venezuelan Intelligence Services and the airport tower were also targets.

Maduro insists the men were operating under the direction of the White House.

President Donald Trump has denied any U.S. involvement in the raid.

"I know nothing about it," Trump said in an interview Friday on Fox News. "I think the government has nothing to do with it all, and I have to find out what happened."

"If we ever did anything with Venezuela, it would be slightly different," Trump added. "It would be called an invasion."

Trump maintained "a rogue group" that included Venezuelans and "people from other countries" carried out the incursion.

Jordan Goudreau, operator of a Florida-based security contracting company implicated in the botched mission, has said he was unable to convince the Trump administration to support his plan for a private coup.

Maduro announced Thursday the government will attempt to extradite Goudreau for allegedly participating in the Sunday (May 3) raid.

Authorities claim the men traveled by speedboat from neighboring Colombia to the Venezuelan port city of La Guaira. Eight people were killed in the foiled attack.

Venezuela authorities said Thursday that they have captured 23 people involved in the botched attack.

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The number of Covid-19 cases in Gujarat climbed to 7,697 after 394 more people tested positive while 23 deaths took the casualties to 472 on Saturday as a central team led by All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) director Randeep Guleria visited the state.

Following the request made by Gujarats chief minister Vijay Rupani to the Centre, Guleria and Dr. Manish Suneja visited the Ahmedabad civil hospital on Saturday and issued several directions.

The AIIMS director interacted with government and private doctors in the state and also guided the frontline warriors on ground fighting against coronavirus, a government statement said.

People do not need to be afraid of it (Covid), but precautions are must. One should consult a doctor as soon as they notice any symptom of Covid-19. Elders and patients with co-morbid conditions could be in trouble if there is delay in reporting the symptoms, Guleria said.

He said that it is difficult to win this battle without public awareness and public co-operation, adding that social distancing, strict implementation of lockdown and protective measures are essential.

The statement said that additional chief secretary, Pankaj Kumar and other dedicated officers for Covid -19 appointed across the state had extensive discussions with the two senior doctors. They discussed the treatment being provided to the patients while the two AIIMS doctors discussed in detail their experiences and knowledge regarding Covid-19, the statement said.

Of the 394 new cases, Ahmedabad recorded the highest with 280, followed by Surat (30) and Vadodra (27). Out of 23 deaths, 20 were reported from Ahmedabad and one each from Banaskantha, Jamnagar and Panchamahal.

Jayanti Ravi, principal secretary (health) said the least number of deaths in the past week was reported on Saturday. The recovery rate in the past 15 days has improved by 450%. So far, 2,019 people have been discharged, she said.

In another development, the government on Saturday announced relief for gas based industries. Secretary to CM, Ashwani Kumar said that the deadline for payment of gas bills, which was due in the second week of March, has been extended till May 10 for all the industries which run on Gujarat Gas. The bills which are due on 10th May,2020 can be paid till 23rd June, 2020

The secretary to CM also said the new industrial units in Gujarat will be provided with relief from all the related acts and norms for 1,200 days. However, they will be bound to follow Minimum Wages, Act, Industrial Safety Rules and The Employee Compensation Act.

Meanwhile, flights from Singapore, Philippines, USA, U.K, and Kuwait, carrying a total of 1,099 people, will land in a phased manner at Ahmedabad airport from May 10.

All the passengers will undergo thermal screening and necessary medical checkup followed by institutional quarantine, said Kumar.

Director General of Police (DGP) Shivanand Jha said attacks on corona warriors will not be tolerated at any cost and the attackers will face strict actions.

During the lockdown, some people are making efforts to mislead the citizens of the state to protest against the lockdown while the lockdown is for the benefit of the citizens. Such individuals will be traced and subjected to legal action, Jha said in a statement.
As fashion editors, viewing and working with collections seasons ahead leaves plenty of time to marvel (and often obsess) over the pieces we loved most on a personal style level, until the possibility of owning them comes. Right now, its interesting to think about where we would be, what we would be planning, and of course what we would like to be wearing if we werent in the midst of a global pandemic.

These summer fashion fantasies have become more of a treasured vision than a tangible reality. As the joys of the season ahead become uncertain, Vogue editors are looking to a more hopeful future, one where our summer style moods and inspiration can exist in reality, whether its something as lovely as dressing for a dinner with friends (remember that feeling?) or deciding to dress like youre on permanent holiday, even when youre not. Theres pleasure to be found simply by staying inspired while we stay at home. Below, 7 Vogue editors made their own vision boards for much happier places and the outfits theyd wear in this alternate reality.

Photographed by Arthur Elgort, Vogue, April 1996. All Others: Courtesy Brands/Websites.

Alexandra Gurvitch, Market Editor

I have given up right now. By that I mean I havent been in a semblance of clothes that arent lounge / workout / pajamas since we have been inside. What I have been mapping out is my post-isolation look: a vision of the future where I would be traveling, going to the office and shopping with brands I believe in. I figured if I made my own dream board maybe that world and that look would come true and I can be as beautiful as Shalom Harlow in Morocco wearing a demure Loewe dress with chunky dries platforms and an onyx choker from Sophie Buhai. Or maybe I am in a flared plaid Khaite pant topped with a prim Prada jacket and a Medea tote, that would take me from the office to cocktails, boy do I miss waiting for a table these days! A girl can dream.

Toteme Villeton knit tank

$240.00, GOOP

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Story continues

Khaite plaid flare trousers

$820.00, SAKS FIFTH AVENUE

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Prada contrast-collar mohair-and-wool-blend jacket

$1660.00, SELFRIDGES

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Medea wrinkled tote

$504.00, FARFETCH

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Loewe cut-out dress with pearl buttons

$3990.00, LOEWE

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Sophie Buhai black onyx collar choker

$425.00, SSENSE

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Dries Van Noten leather platform sandals

$745.00, MYTHERESA

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Photographed by Arthur Elgort, Vogue, December 1992. All Others: Courtesy Brands/Websites.

Madeline Fass, Associate Market Editor

After spending all of this time at home Ive come to enjoy the comforts of wearing clothes with little structure. I find myself craving my favorite staple silhouettes, like blazers and oversized blouses in versions made from soft, breezy linens and ultra fine ribbed knits. No matter what our future holds, Ill be dressing with a more carefree-chic attitude and vacation mindset from now on, like a pair of loose jeans and slipper-like summer moccasins. I miss having somewhere to be, with an impractically small bag and wobbly heeled sandals in tow. Until then, Ill fantasize over this spectacularly speckled calf hair baguette and juicy citrus mules.

Gimaguas retro blouse

$65.00, GIMAGUAS

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Paris Georgia cowboy high-rise slim-leg jeans

$455.00, MODA OPERANDI

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By Far suede sandals

$359.00, MYTHERESA

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Joanna Laura Constantine feminine waves hoop earrings

$268.00, MODA OPERANDI

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Paloma Wool Dallas linen blazer

$220.00, LIBERTY LONDON

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Paloma Wool Fantasia leather baguette bag

$180.00, LIBERTY LONDON

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Hereu Forada cut-out leather loafers

$395.00, MATCHES FASHION

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Peter Do knit asymmetric-neck tank top

$450.00, BERGDORF GOODMAN

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Photo: Conde Nast Archive. All Others: Courtesy Brands/Websites.

Zoe Ruffner, Beauty Editor

As much as Id love to be somewhere tropical right now, theres nothing I fantasize about more than being out to a silly, sloppy, delicious dinner with my best friends. Id wear Khaites breezy gauze button up, a modern-day spin on Pradas spring 1994 whites, with a thick layer of khol around my eyes and, because the mood would surely be festive, a coat of Chanels red nail polish. Heres to hoping that night comes soon!

Khaite Elliot top

$1180.00, KHAITE

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Prada leather and macrame tote

$1690.00, MODA OPERANDI

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Maryam Nassir Zadeh scrunchie

$85.00, SSENSE

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Guerlain Terracotta Khol Loose Powder Eyeliner

$41.00, GUERLAIN

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Gianvito Rossi Calypso leather sandals

$545.00, MYTHERESA

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Sophie Buhai 18-karat gold vermeil hoop earrings

$450.00, MODA OPERANDI

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Joseph mid-rise straight-leg pants

$50.00, THE REALREAL

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Chanel Le Vernis in 08 Pirate

$28.00, NORDSTROM

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Photography by Arthur Elgort, Vogue, April 2001; Courtesy Brands/Websites.

Steff Yotka, Fashion News & Emerging Platforms Editor

I really cant wait to see my friends again, and I know when I do, well all be ready to rave and wearing our wildest outfits. My dream wardrobe has adjusted accordingly!

Collina Strada True Romance top

$250.00, COLLINA STRADA

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Balenciaga Obsidian collar necklace

$695.00, THE REALREAL

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Kiko Kostadinov grey corno bag

$460.00, SSENSE

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Marine Serre multicolor contrast skirt

$625.00, SSENSE

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Panconesi gold crystal Sola ring set

$370.00, SSENSE

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Sun Buddies Junior Wine Bottle sunglasses

$165.00, SUN BUDDIES EYEWEAR

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Rick Owens Tecuatl Tractor sandals

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Photo: GoRunway. All Other: Courtesy of Brands/Websites.

Christian Allaire, Fashion & Style Writer

This June, I was planning on traveling to Portugal with friends. We were to celebrate our birthdays by the beach. Sadly, such isnt the case now, but Im still dreaming of the summery clothes I would get to wear on our getaway. Im still lusting for Jacquemuss board shorts with an oil painting print on them. A floral Prada shirt is also something I would wear all summer long. Ive decided my summer wardrobe will be all about dressing like Im on vacation, even if Im not.

Prada hibiscus-pattern bowling shirt

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Jacquemus La Casquette hat

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Jacquemus Les Lunettes Yauco sunglasses

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Jacquemus suit shorts

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Loewe Paulas Ibiza denim pants

$650.00, MYTHERESA

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Loewe basket bag

$490.00, SAKS FIFTH AVENUE

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Missoni patterned strap sandals

$760.00, FARFETCH

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Photo: Patrick Lichfield / Getty Images; All Others: Courtesy Brands/Websites.

Allie Michler, Director, Fashion Development

I love this image of Talitha Getty in Marrakech. Not only does it give me wanderlust, but makes me long for being with my friends again and to dress up in a colorful, exotic setting!

Missoni silk knit midi-dress

$1295.00, MYTHERESA

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Dodo Bar Or flower-print towel

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Cala de la Cruz Carla bikini

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Dodo Bar Or buckle beach dress

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Loren Stewart metallic diamond anklet

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Neous Calpa spherical-heel sandals

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Photo: Bert Stern / Getty Images; All Others: Courtesy Brands/Websites.

Willow Lindley, Accessories Director

It makes sense given my job as Accessories Director at Vogue but I cant help but dream of those finishing fashion touches that Ive missed during this period  makeup, hair, jewelry, a handbag, and shoes instead of socks! Yes, I know I could put makeup on for Zoom but there is nothing like putting together a complete look top to bottom, even if its minimal which is what I find myself attracted to these days. Nothing beats a well-made knit, great jeans, beautiful jewelry, and simple but effective makeup. Look how beautiful the inimitable Twiggy looks here in a red sweater and gold charm bracelet. The classic Vuitton bag only helps to make the point timeless classics are forever in fashion.

Proenza Schouler White Label knit top

$375.00, PROENZA SCHOULER

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Valet Greta hair clip

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DeMellier The Florence bag

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Citizens of Humanity Flavie jeans

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Ilia Multi-Stick

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Mejuri drawn cable bracelet

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Scosha Marina ring

$2815.00, SCOSHA

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Grenson Constance loafers

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Westman Atelier Eye Love You mascara

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Agmes Rita bracelet

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Originally Appeared on Vogue
Video screenshot of a woman using abusive language while not wearing a face mask at Sun Plaza. (PHOTO: Screenshot/Facebook)

UPDATE: Kasturi Govindasamy Retnamsamy was charged on Saturday.

SINGAPORE  A 40-year-old Singaporean woman was charged on Saturday (9 May) for not wearing her face mask properly, assaulting a police officer and insulting staff at the Sun Plaza mall.

Kasturi Govindasamy Retnamsamy was handed five charges for the offences, which include using abusive words such as COVID-19 is because of you Chinese and scan the IC b***h at police officers and mall staff.

She has been remanded at Institute of Mental Health for psychiatric observation. Her next hearing will be on 22 May.

Refused to wear mask properly at mall

In a post put on up on the Singapore Police Force Facebook page on Friday, police said that they received a request for assistance from a crowd management staff deployed by Sun Plaza at about 2.10pm on Thursday.

The staff said that a woman was uncooperative and refused to wear her mask properly at the mall. Despite repeated requests made by the staff to wear her mask properly, she refused to do so.

The woman also insulted the staff and hurled vulgarities at a security officer who came to assist. Her actions were filmed and circulated around online social media platforms, showing her taunting a mall employee, asking him to remove his face mask to speak to her.

When the police officers arrived and requested for her identity, the woman started peeling off the address sticker on her identity card. When one of the police officers tried to stop her, the woman assaulted the officer and remained uncooperative. She was subsequently arrested.

Already fined before for not wearing mask

The woman will be charged in court on Saturday for voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from carrying out his or her duty, and for using insulting or abusive language with an intention to cause harassment to another person.

If found guilty of the first offence, she can be jailed up to seven years, and shall also be liable to a fine or to caning. If she is found guilty of the second offence, she can be jailed up to six months and/or fined up to $5,000.

Story continues

The woman will also be investigated for not wearing her mask properly under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations 2020. She has already been fined $300 for not wearing a mask at the same mall on 29 April.

Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore

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Hackers linked to Iran have targeted staff at U.S. drugmaker Gilead Sciences Inc in recent weeks, according to publicly-available web archives reviewed by Reuters and three cybersecurity researchers, as the company races to deploy a treatment for the COVID-19 virus.

In one case, a fake email login page designed to steal passwords was sent in April to a top Gilead executive involved in legal and corporate affairs, according to an archived version on a website used to scan for malicious web addresses. Reuters was not able to determine whether the attack was successful.

Ohad Zaidenberg, lead intelligence researcher at Israeli cybersecurity firm ClearSky, who closely tracks Iranian hacking activity and has investigated the attacks, said the attempt was part of an effort by an Iranian group to compromise email accounts of staff at the company using messages that impersonated journalists.

Two other cybersecurity researchers, who were not authorized to speak publicly about their analysis, confirmed that the web domains and hosting servers used in the hacking attempts were linked to Iran.

Iran's mission to the United Nations denied any involvement in the attacks. "The Iranian government does not engage in cyber warfare," said spokesman Alireza Miryousefi. "Cyber activities Iran engages in are purely defensive and to protect against further attacks on Iranian infrastructure."

A spokesman for Gilead declined to comment, citing a company policy not to discuss cybersecurity matters. Reuters could not determine if any of the attempts were successful, on whose behalf the Iranian hackers were working or their motivation.

Still, the hacking attempts show how cyber spies around the world are focusing their intelligence-gathering efforts on information about COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

Reuters has reported in recent weeks that hackers with links to Iran and other groups have also attempted to break into the World Health Organization, and that attackers linked to Vietnam targeted the Chinese government over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

Britain and the United States warned this week that state-backed hackers are attacking pharmaceutical companies and research institutions working on treatments for the new disease.

The joint statement did not name any of the attacked organizations, but two people familiar with the matter said one of the targets was Gilead, whose antiviral drug remdesivir is the only treatment so far proven to help patients infected with COVID-19.

The hacking infrastructure used in the attempt to compromise the Gilead executive's email account has previously been used in cyberattacks by a group of suspected Iranian hackers known as "Charming Kitten," said Priscilla Moriuchi, director of strategic threat development at U.S. cybersecurity firm Recorded Future, who reviewed the web archives identified by Reuters.

"Access to even just the email of staff at a cutting-edge Western pharmaceutical company could give ... the Iranian government an advantage in developing treatments and countering the disease," said Moriuchi, a former analyst with the U.S. National Security Agency.

Iran has suffered acutely from the COVID-19, recording the highest death toll in the Middle East. The disease has so far killed more than 260,000 people worldwide, triggering a global race between governments, private pharmaceutical companies and researchers to develop a cure.

Gilead is at the forefront of that race and has been lauded by U.S. President Donald Trump, who met the California company's CEO Daniel O'Day at the White House in March and May to discuss its work on COVID-19.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week gave emergency use authorization to Gilead's remdesivir for patients with severe COVID-19, clearing the way for broader use in more hospitals around the United States.

An official at one European biotech company said the industry was on "red alert" and taking extra precautions to guard against attempts to steal COVID-19 research, such as conducting all work related to vaccine trials on "air-gapped" computers that are disconnected from the internet.
A war of words erupted between the JD(U) and the AAP on Saturday over train fares of 1,200 Bihar-bound migrant workers, with the Arvind Kejriwal dispensation saying that it bore the cost of ferrying the migrants, a claim rejected by the JD(U) which said the party was speaking half-truth on the issue.

The ruling Janata Dal (United) in Bihar said the AAP-led Delhi government has sought reimbursement of the payment.

The JD(U) also accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of resorting to "cheap politics to gain popularity".

The Nitish Kumar-led party also came down heavily on Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav for lapping up the issue to attack the NDA dispensation, asking him to stop the rhetoric and do something good for the people of Bihar.

Reacting to the controversy, Delhi Labour Minister Gopal Rai said the AAP dispensation had written to the Bihar government on the issue of train fare of migrants, but there was no response from the JD(U)-led government.

"It is true that the Delhi government had written to the Bihar government. It is also true that yesterday, Delhi government paid the fare of 1,200 migrant workers to the railways and sent them to Muzzaffarpur.

"But it is also true that there was no response from the Bihar government," Rai tweeted in Hindi.

JD(U) spokesman Rajiv Ranjan Prasad said on Saturday, First of all, they (Delhi government) paid the fare and later its minister Gopal Rai posted it on Twitter.

"Subsequently the Delhi government sent a letter to Bihar government asking it to reimburse the fare incurred by them... Gopal Rai just told the half-truth to the people through his post, he said.

Such gimmicks are meant to gain cheap popularity," Prasad told PTI.

The Bihar government has unequivocally made it clear that people after completing 21 days at quarantine centre will be reimbursed the full expenses and get an additional assistance of Rs 500 each, he said, adding each person will be getting a minimum assistance of Rs 1,000.

Joining issue with the AAP, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav slammed the Bihar government for showing insensitivity by not paying the train fare of the migrant labourers who boarded a Muzaffarpur-bound train from New Delhi on Friday.

Showing gratitude towards the Delhi chief minister, Yadav tweeted, Thank you so much @ArvindKejriwal Ji. We are sorry for the insensitivity shown by Bihar govt. As a responsible opposition we offer our support in terms of financial contribution in taking back migrant Bihari workforce. Pls let us know the modalities of transferring the money.

Dear @NitishKumar Ji!Stop acting like a Pvt Ltd Co. We are a welfare state & therefore its our responsibility to look after people. As per MHAs directive, do send us the list of passengers so that we can directly pay to the sending state. Our party is committed to serve poor, he said in another tweet.

The JD(U) spokesman, however, termed Yadav's comments as rhetoric.

"First, you (Yadav) talked about giving 50 buses (for ferrying stranded students from Kota to Bihar), then paying fare for 200 trains... your list of promises is becoming endless. First of all, you should appear before the people in this hour of crisis," Prasad said.

The NDA leaders have been ridiculing the senior RJD leader for staying in the national capital and resorting to "Twitter politics" to register his presence in Bihar.

The assembly polls in Bihar are slated at the end of this year.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Queensland's Deputy Premier Jackie Trad has stood down from ministerial duties over a probe into the appointment of a Brisbane principal.

The Crime and Corruption Commission is investigating the recruitment and selection process of the principal of the Inner City South Secondary College in Brisbane.

Opposition education spokesman Jarrod Bleijie complained to the CCC in December that Ms Trad interfered in the hunt for a principal at a new school in her South Brisbane seat.

A foundation principal role was publicised in January and a five-person panel was set up to select a candidate.

Queensland's Deputy Premier Jackie Trad stepped away from ministerial duties following probe over the appointment of a principal. Source: Getty

An order of merit was established through that initial recruitment process, with the department setting up a meeting with Ms Trad and the highest-ranked candidate.

The panel signed off on the appointment, but new modelling then showed the school would be bigger and require an executive principal, so no job offer was made.

The position was advertised again, and the department once again arranged for Ms Trad to meet a candidate before they were then hired.

However, Mr Bleijie says it was inappropriate, and referred allegations Ms Trad interfered to the CCC.

Ms Trad was told on Friday that the matter had progressed from an assessment to an investigation, and says she will stand down from ministerial duties.

Queensland Deputy Premier Jackie Trad claims the applicant for the role was not known to her. Source: AAP

"I will co-operate fully with this investigation. It will provide me with the opportunity to set the record straight," Ms Trad said on Saturday.

"Let me be clear, no applicant to the principal position was known to me in any capacity - personal, political or professional.

"Further I have never expressed a view to anyone on who should fill that role."

Ms Trad refused to take questions but said she would still contest her seat of South Brisbane in the October state election.

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An employee at a Saputo Dairy Products facility in Vaughan has died after contracting COVID-19, according to York Region Public Health.

The health authority confirmed that 23 other workers have also tested positive for coronavirus at the dairy distribution plant.

Six of the confirmed cases, including the deceased, are York Region residents, according to a media release. Public Health officials are following up with close contacts of the infected employees.

Saputo Dairy Products Canada, located near Highway 7 and Highway 427, is not open to the public and does not produce food, according to the media release.

Public Health was notified of the confirmed cases on April 29 and conducted an on-site inspection on April 30.

All COVID-19 prevention precautions are in place including PPE for staff, staff screening, hand sanitizer, physical distancing throughout the warehouse, reduced staff complement, updated stick policy and enhanced cleaning of high touch surfaces, York Region says in a media release.

The Ministry of Labour has been in contact with the company as per standard procedure.
Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Republic President-elect Arayik Harutyunyan made a post on his Facebook page on the occasion of the Triple Holiday of May 9.

"Dear compatriots!

The message of the Triple Holiday has a special meaning in the life of our people, as it sums up in itself the most precious paymentthousands of innocent livesfor our national victories and peace, for our dignified existence.

Today, I bow my head before the undeniable contribution left by the brave children of our people, who have won a glorious victory in the Great Patriotic War and the battle for the liberation of Shushi.

I am proud to have been one of the soldiers of freedom, who has finally turned the Armenian fortress city of Shushi into ours, where the best fell with the death of the hero. Hail to all the martyrs!

My heartfelt congratulations to the keeper of the borders of our united homeland inviolable and the real guarantor of peace in the region: the Defense Army and its entire staff, on the occasion of the 28th anniversary of the establishment of the army.

Dear Armenians living in the homeland and the Diaspora,

At this binding moment, I declare that, in commemoration of the victories of the Armenian people, on May 21, I will address to my people my solemn oath on the occasion of assuming the post of the President of the Artsakh Republic from historic Shushias a testament to faith in a bright future.

Glory to the Armenian people!

Long live its heroic children! Harutyunyan wrote.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 19:22:39|Editor: huaxia

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BANGKOK, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Despite adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Thailand's fishing industry is currently looking to hire as many as 50,000 men to go out to sea aboard trawlers, said a senior government official on Saturday.

Phithoon Damsakhon, chief of the Department of Employment's provincial branch of Ranong in southern Thailand, quoted the National Fisheries Association of Thailand as reporting some 50,000 men are currently being sought for hire as skippers, mechanics and other crewmembers aboard fishing boats based in several coastal provinces of the country.

Tens of thousands of Myanmar migrant workers, earlier employed by the fishing industry either on shore or offshore, have already left for their home country and many others are believed to follow suit, thus aggravating labor shortages in Thailand's fishing sector, Phithoon said.

Many of those migrant workers had been gradually upgraded from being unskilled employees to skilled ones until they have called it quits over the last several years, he said.

He suggested the Thais, who might be currently jobless due to the pandemic situation, to go for such fishing occupations available aboard seagoing trawlers, many of which are being anchored off idly in Ranong and other coastal provinces. Enditem
SCHENECTADY - Efforts to claw back some of the millions lost in the collapse of St. Clares Hospital Pension Fund will continue with a court recently ruling it could not be dissolved, state Sen. James Tedisco said Friday.

Attorney General Letitia James, the AARP and some retirees from the former St. Clares Hospital in Schenectady are suing St. Clares Corp. and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany - which operated the hospital - to reinstate the pensions or get paid for their years of service.

The pension fund collapsed in 2018, leaving more than 1,100 retirees with greatly reduced or completely depleted pensions.

St. Clares Corp., which oversaw the takeover of St. Clares Hospital that merged with Ellis Hospital over a decade ago, has withheld emails and transcripts of board meetings dealing with the takeover, all evidence the attorney general and pensioners attorney David Pentkowski have fought to access.

Tedisco said he was notified by James office that the state Supreme Court in Schenectady County blocked the corporations efforts to thwart the release of documents, opening up the opportunity for attorneys to review more than 100 pieces of evidence on the fund and its collapse and depose the funds board president and attorney.

We are pleased with the courts decision to allow us to access these critical documents and the information central to the matter at hand," said a statement from the Attorney General's office. "The pensioners deserve a full accounting of how this happened, and we will continue to fight to do just that.

St. Clares closed following work by the Berger Commission, a 2006 initiative to reduce overcapacity of costly unneeded hospital beds by closing or merging facilities. St. Clares merged with the larger Ellis Hospital as a result. As part of the consolidation, the state paid $58.7 million to cover transition costs, $28 million of which was allocated to the pension fund.

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

In the formal request to the state for money to facilitate St. Clare's closure, officials noted that even $28 million wasn't enough to fully cover the pensions.

Then in December, Tedisco shared a document from an anonymous source with James office that revealed the pension had a $47 million deficit as early as 2006 and that hospital officials knew at the time. This has left many unanswered questions, not the least of which is whether state officials knew how serious the deficit was and, if so, why more money wasnt provided.

The latest ruling on the St. Clares Corp. efforts to dissolve also ensures pensioners will have a seat at the table during deliberations in the disillusionment hearing, Tedisco said.
The first-of-its-kind, technology-based enforcement will be rolled out soon in Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Rachakonda commisionerates.

Hyderabad: The police are working on using artificial intelligence (AI) to enforce the governments order making masks mandatory in public. The government has ordered a penalty of Rs 1000 on those found outside their homes without face masks.

The first-of-its-kind, technology-based enforcement will be rolled out soon in Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Rachakonda commisionerates.

The new software is linked to CCTV cameras installed across the city to identify face mask rule violators. Cameras will flag those not wearing the masks and an alert will be sent to the central command control centre at the state police headquarters. This will be passed on to patrolling personnel to immediately check the violators.

Though the technology is able to identify violators, there are some discrepancies which are being rectified. With the help of machine learning, the detection of various kinds of masks is being instilled into the system as some people use towels and handkerchiefs and masks of different colours and with designs. Unlike registration number plates, identifying a particular mask is difficult. The technology is able to detect people without masks, but some additions are made to it, as people are using different colours and models of masks, said a senior police official at the state police headquarters.

Responding to a query, the senior official said, The idea is to create awareness among the public on the necessity of using a mask. The enforcement may take some time. The software will send the details of a place that includes the street name where the violation is observed.

Director general of police, M. Mahendar Reddy, on Friday tweeted informing the same. AI-based face mask violation enforcement is being rolled out by the Telangana police.

Leveraging computer vision and deep learning techniques being implemented on surveillance CCTVs across the cities is the first of its kind in India. Shall be enabled across the three commissionerates, Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Rachakonda.

Asked about privacy concerns, a police official said, The machine does not recognise any person. It is not a facial recognition software. There are already surveillance cameras installed across the city, the machine uses the same live video feed. The software is to meant to spot whether or not an individual is wearing a mask, it is not designed to identify the person.

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NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE T here are only two opinions people have of anything anymore, Jerry Seinfeld notes in his latest Netflix standup set, 23 Hours to Kill: Its great! or It sucks. Seinfeld himself is great! Hes the most successful comic in the entire history of laughs. Hell soon be the worlds first comedy billionaire (and one of only a handful of performing artists of any kind ever to reach that level). All of this is well deserved. But stretches of Jerrys new special are . . . lets just say, not great.

Forty years ago the man was making jokes about breakfast cereal. Today hes making jokes about . . . Pop-Tarts. People who say It is what it is. Portable restrooms (I dont know how theyre even allowed to call it a bathroom). Cup holders. Some of this stuff is so bland it deserves to be shipped out to Vegas.

Pop-Tarts, Jerry notes, can never go stale because they were never fresh in the first place. Every person in the audience has to be shifting in his seat. Er, were Cookie Crisp jokes ever fresh in the first place, Jer? When they invented the Pop-Tart, the back of my head blew right off, he says. We couldnt comprehend the Pop-Tart, it was too advanced! Thats how Jerry launches an ode to shelf-stable pastry that lasts about as long as Seinfeld was on the air.

Bringing things into this century, Seinfeld does a so-so bit on cell phones (When that battery gets low, you feel like your whole body is out of power) that culminates with Jerry hurling himself flat on the stage of the Beacon Theater in Manhattan. Jerry is 66. He shouldnt have to throw himself on the floor to get a laugh. At another point he does some business that involves twisting himself into his mic cord. Grueling stuff.

Seinfeld does deliver a few quotable lines, such as when he marvels at how phones managed to kill conversation: When they gave you the option to talk or to type, talking ended that day. Hes also got the number of how the camera function caused human civilization to revert to pictograph-based communication. He wishes someone had asked, Are you sure this is a good idea? You dont think this one feature, all by itself, could result in so many pictures, videos, posting, comments, and clapbacks that the entire life force of the human race just drains out like a piss puddle by the side of the road?

Story continues

Venturing into the dark like that doesnt come easily to Seinfeld, though hed be more interesting if it did. Thats the main reason why his pal Larry David has become by far the more important and on-target comic talent, in ten genius seasons of his curmudgeon odyssey Curb Your Enthusiasm. Seinfeld gets enticingly mean when it comes to the post office, though: This dazed and confused distant branch of the Cub Scouts bumbling around the streets in embarrassing shorts . . . They always have this emotional, financial meltdown every three and a half years that their business model from 1630 isnt working anymore. Sharp.

One bit is more cutting than it was when Seinfeld recorded the special last year. Flying outside of New York City, he notes that the country is mostly empty. So why are so many of us here? Lets pack in here tonight, uncomfortable, on top of each other, traffic, congestion, he says in disbelief. This city might be a lot less congested next year than it was last year, though. Seinfeld argues that we live here out of spite: Human beings like to be close together because it makes it easier to judge and criticize the personalities and activities of these humans. Either that or our jobs are here, but it turns out that a lot of them can be done remotely. Iowa, get ready, were coming over.

Seinfeld continues to shy away from getting personal, but in some of his best bits he delves into the frustrations of his marriage. Apparently he argues with his wife a lot: A family vacation is what I like to call Lets pay a lot of money to go fight in a hotel, he says. He marvels at how a person who could give birth to three children without anesthesia seems to suffer if the temperature is three degrees shy of the optimal level, and hes exasperated with the female habit of laying speech traps. Ladies, your husband wants to make you happy. Hes workin on it, he says, almost screaming. He does not know how to do it. At least marriage gives you something to talk about. When he was single he found married people to be pathetic and depressing. Today, married for 19 years, I have no single friends. I find their lives to be meaningless and trivial experiences. . . . Whichever side of marriage youre on, you dont get what the other people are doing. I cant hang out with single guys, you dont have a wife, we have nothing to talk about.

Having kids is another dividing line, and though he doesnt talk about his three children much, they do inspire one of his most inventive lines. Raising a kid, he says, is a bit like raising a baby alligator. Its cute when its small, but at some point you say, I think we gotta get this thing the hell outta here! Maybe in a few more years Seinfelds act will turn as grouchy, petty, and misanthropic as Davids. If so, Jerry might revert to being one of the best standups instead of merely the richest.

More from National Review
Over a week after a civil hospital nurse was robbed of her two-wheeler and mobile phone, police have arrested a man and recovered the stolen items from him. Cops have also found seven other stolen scooters, two motorcycles and a sharp-edged weapon in his possession.

The accused has been identified as Arun Kumar alias Soni Sharma of Dehlon. His accomplice, Dinesh Bhardwaj of Samrala, is yet to be arrested.

Additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP, City 2) Jaskiranjit Singh Teja said the police arrested him from Dehlon during a special checking on Friday. The accused was passing by on a scooter when police stopped him for checking. When we asked him for the documents of the vehicle, he was unable to do produce it. Upon persistent questioning, the accused confessed that he had stolen the vehicle from a woman, the ADCP revealed.

The ADCP said that the accused told the police that he, along with his accomplice, used to steal vehicles from different parts of the city to meet their need for drugs.

He was produced in the court and remanded to four-day police custody.

The accused is already facing trial in five cases, including vehicle lifting and drug peddling. A hunt is on for his accomplice, police said.
People arriving in the UK will face a 14 day quarantine period (Getty)

Players in the aviation industry are facing fresh setbacks, as the UK government plans to introduce a 14-day quarantine period for people arriving in the UK.

It follows several other countries in their attempts to stem the spread of coronavirus.

But airlines and airports have warned it would crush hopes of a resumption in travel and compound damage.

Industry body Airlines UK previously said the move would effectively kill international travel and cause immeasurable damage to the industry and wider UK economy.

It also said it would put people off travelling when lockdowns are lifted.

The policy, first reported by The Times, is expected to be announced on Sunday. Prime Minister Boris Johnsons Downing Street office declined comment.

READ MORE: People arriving in the UK from abroad could be quarantined for 14 days

Airlines UK said: Nobody is going to go on holiday if theyre not able to resume normal life for 14 days, and business travel would be severely restricted.

The Times report said lorry drivers bringing crucial supplies would be exempt from the quarantine. Travellers from Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man would also dodge the restrictions.



Big players in the industry such as IAG (IAG), the owner of British Airways, Vueling and Aer Lingus, have said they must cut costs across the board to weather the coronavirus crisis.

Air travel won't return to normal until at least 2023, its chief executive Willie Walsh said on Thursday.

Under the measures, which are likely to come into force in early June, travellers will have to provide the address at which they will self-isolate on arrival. Those found to be breaking the rules face fines of up to 1,000 or even deportation.
Congressional Democrats emphasized their demand for more federal funding for state and local governments by tapping U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez to deliver their weekly radio address on Saturday

Menendez, D-N.J., is the lead Democratic sponsor of bipartisan legislation providing $500 billion in federal funding for states to make up for revenue lost when they shut their economies to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Democrats who control the U.S. House and can block legislation in the Senate have said the next stimulus bill must contain state and local aid.

This isnt a blue state or red state issue, this is an American issue," Menendez said in his address.

If we ever want to get back to normal, to see businesses thrive, we need to ensure that our police officers and firefighters have the resources they need, we need to keep the lights on at city hall, our public workers on the job, our kids in school, our streets safe, the trash picked up, and the buses and trains running on time.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

Gov. Phil Murphy has been pushing for the aid almost daily, including during a face-to-face meeting with President Donald Trump April 30, saying New Jersey was on the brink of having to make very tough and, quite frankly, very unpalatable decisions.

Still, National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow told reporters at the White House Friday that formal negotiations on a new stimulus bill were kind of paused."

We just had another big infusion," Kudlow said. We put all this money in, which is fine. Its well worth it. Lets see what happens. As we move into the reopening phase this month, maybe spillover to June, lets have a look at it before we decide who, what, where when.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com.
Paris, France (PANA) - Amnesty International on Friday called on Nigerien authorities not to use the provisions of the cybercrime law to violate freedom of expression or for the arbitrary arrest and detention of dissidents and urged Niamey to criminalize all messages criticizing the measures against the Covid-19 pandemic
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2020 > Important Role of Public Sector in Vaccine Production in Developing (...)

Vaccines have been widely recognized as an important part of health programs of various countries. Now vaccine development and production has in fact become the most discussed aspect in the times of COVID-19 when there is a worldwide rush foe developing and then manufacturing vaccine for COVID 19. However in the prevailing situation of domination of international vaccine scene by networks of multinational companies, private billionaires with strong interests disguised as philanthropists and organizations supposed to protect health but controlled by donors driven by narrow interests, where is the guarantee that the interests of people of developing countries will be protected?

By now it is well-recognized that government authorities who come under the influence of imperialism and big business do not hesitate to kill their own invaluable institutions. Several public sector institutions and organisations of great value have been destroyed in this way, with the willing participation of international organisations which too are sadly, frequently under the sway of multinational companies and developed countries. This crime becomes all the more unpardonable when it takes place in the area of health, threatening the life of many people particularly children.

The health sector of developing countries like India functions in a situation of severe fund constraints. Even if the demands for significantly increasing the health budget are met, so immense is the task of providing satisfactory health care to all that we need maximum efforts to keep costs (particularly costs of medicines and equipment) low. The tendency of most drug companies to keep medicine prices high and fleece even poor countries is well-known. Therefore self-reliance in the production of low-cost medicines and vaccines is extremely important for these countries. What is more, some critical areas and certain levels of production of medicines have to be retained in the public sector, so that the country is capable of meeting critical and emergency needs as well as retain the ability to keep the costs of essential medicines within reasonable limits.

However what we have seen in recent times is the decline and decay of public sector units producing medicines while the private sectors ability to charge high prices which have no relation to costs has been increasing. This did not happen suddenly and did not happen on its own - deliberate efforts were made by vested interests with the collusion of important people within the government to achieve this result.

It is in this framework that the decision of the government to cancel the licences of three vaccine-manufacturing public enterprises in 2008 must be seen. The three institutions affected by this decision at that time were - The over-100-year-old Central Research Institute (CRI), Kasauli; the 100-year-old Pasteur Institute of India (PII), Coonoor; and the 60-year-old BCG Vaccine Laboratory (BCGVL) in Chennai.

The All-India Drug Action Network (AIDAN), a national network of organisations that have been working on pharmaceutical policy issues, issued the following statement at that time and this is still useful to understand the forces at work, "While there should be no compromise on the quality of medicines and vaccines produced, the cancellation of the licenses for the three vaccine-manufacturing public enterprises under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare smacks of arbitrariness, and a planned attempt to kill these institutions and clear the way for private companies to operate in a segment which serves a critical national need - the production of vaccines for the large Expanded Program of Immunization. Recent newspaper reports of alleged nexus between the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and a private vaccine manufacturing company in blatant disregard of the public responsibilities of their role, use of coercion to effect closure of vaccine production units with a proven record of safety and quality, and the comments in the preliminary audit report of the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) point to an unprecedented disregard for public good."

Responding to the government claim that these enterprises were ordered to suspend production for non-compliance with good manufacturing practice (GMP), this statement by AIDAN asked, "Since the public enterprises were under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and had been requesting for assistance to upgrade their facilities since the past many years , what did the Minister of Health and Family Welfare do over the past 4 years to ensure their compliance with newer norms?

Further this important statement by AIDAN said, "The entire sequence of events over the past few years, with allegations of purchase of raw material for measles vaccines at inflated cost from private companies, providing them raw material from these 3 units at either free or at ridiculously low prices, and further agreeing to give 70 per cent of the profit from vaccine manufacturing to the private company needs an enquiry at the highest level.

"The harm to public health in India due to this malafide closure of public sector units is already being seen. many states are now facing dangerous shortages of vaccines like DPT and Tetanus toxoid, which were only to be expected. Shall the Minister assume the responsibility if any child dies of tetanus or diptheria? The All India Drug Action Network (AIDAN) calls on the Government to stop playing games with the health and lives of innocent children and with the pharmaceutical security of the nation, in its attempts to pave the way for private enterprise."

Although later some efforts were made under strong public pressure to repair some of the damage caused by this step, it is still important to learn from this experience as even temporary closure of some important institutions can do a lot of damage to national efforts for self-reliance in this important field.

If we look at the past experience of how public health enterprises are destroyed to benefit big business, then generally the following pattern can be seen :

1. Suddenly develop new criteria and norms which will be difficult for public sector enterprises to satisfy under existing conditions. Rope in international experts and institutions to push for these norms.

2. Use governments powers to deny funds and facilities which would enable public enterprises to meet these norms.

3. Then use this as an excuse to take action against public health enterprises, all the time hiding behind so-called public health and quality concerns.

This was precisely the pattern behind the closure of the vaccines manufacturing facilities of these three units. Otherwise how can we explain the curious phenomenon of the government taking action against its own units while denying them funds and facilities to improve?

Learning from these experiences and recognizing the fast increasing importance of the vaccines sector strong steps should be taken immediately to strengthen the production of vaccines in the public sector in India to meet the real needs of the country at reasonable cost ( as opposed to inflated and distorted supplies imposed by foreign or multinational suppliers at high cost). Other developing countries should also take this path. Cooperation among various developing countries in this sector should be promoted widely and strongly.

The writer is a freelance journalist who has been involved with several social movements.
New Delhi, May 9 : The Delhi Police on Saturday arrested Aam Aadmi Party legislator Prakash Jarwal and his associate, accused in an abetment to suicide case.

"We have arrested Prakash Narwal and one of his associates, Kapil Nagar, in an alleged suicide case. We are questioning them and have formally arrested them," Atul Kumar Thakur, Deputy Commissioner of Police, said.

Both legislator and his associate joined the investigation on Saturday evening and thereafter they were questioned.

"As they were evasive during questioning, they were placed under arrest for further interrogation," said the officer.

The investigators will seek custody of the accused to gather evidence in the case.

On Friday, a Delhi court had issued non-bailable warrants (NBWs) against Jarwal and Kapil Nagar.

Jarwal's family was also questioned, but he along with Nagar didn't join the probe. The police then approached the court for issuance of the NBWs.

Dr Rajinder Singh (52) committed suicide by hanging himself on April 18. He was a private practitioner in Durgapuri area in south Delhi and was also involved in supply of Delhi Jal Board water through tankers since 2007.

The family had claimed that the accused had got Rajinder's tankers removed from water supply service and also prevented clearance of dues from the Jal Board.

The lawmaker's legal team has claimed that their client was ready to surrender, if the police required.

Speaking to IANS over phone, a senior member from Jarwal's legal team said, "If the police ask my client to surrender, we are ready for it. A bail application will be filed soon." The lawmaker has already moved an anticipatory bail in a Delhi court in connection with the case. The Rouse Avenue court will hear the matter on May 11.

In his application for anticipatory bail, Jarwal submitted that he would cooperate with the police in the investigation. He also pleaded that there was no reason to subject him to custodial interrogation.
SPRINGFIELD  The citys tent triage area, erected and equipped at a cost of nearly $400,000 to test and lodge homeless people during the coronavirus pandemic, was mostly quiet heading into the weekend.

Helen R. Caulton-Harris, the citys commissioner of health and human services, said as of Friday she believes just three people were staying at the tents under self quarantine. The tents continue to stand ready for any surge in COVID-19 numbers, she said.

There were 131 homeless individuals tested for COVID-19 over a three-day period at the tents during the past week, with no cases of the virus found, Caulton-Harris said. Those tested were from the Friends of the Homeless shelter across Worthington Street from the tents.

With testing of that group now complete, those who show symptoms in the future will be referred for testing at community sites or the tents, officials said.

Testing was also done at the Springfield Rescue Mission shelter on Taylor Street, with one case of COVID-19 detected among 38 homeless people tested, Caulton-Harris said.

The three people who were staying in the tents were believed to be in the midst of a 14-day quarantine due to coming into close contact with the person who tested positive at the Rescue Mission, Caullton-Harris said.

I think that the city of Springfield should be extremely encouraged by the results of the tests of the homeless population, Caulton-Harris said. Because it means that there is limited community spread among the homeless population that was tested.

A maximum of 12 people have been using the tents on any given day or night, said Bill Miller, vice president of housing and shelter services for Clinical & Support Options Inc., which oversees the Friends of the Homeless shelter.

As most people have said, even while the tents were under construction, if were wrong about needing the maximum capacity over there, Id rather be wrong on the side of having too much capacity rather than too little, he said.

The tents were erected and equipped in early April, costing the city $398,276, said Timothy J. Plante, the citys chief administrative and financial officer. The monthly operating cost is estimated at $165,000, he said. The city will seek reimbursement of all tent costs from federal grants and disaster aid, Plante said.

The tents, described as state of the art, have heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems; protective equipment; and staff from Friends of the Homeless. Testing was conducted by Baystate Health medical workers in partnership with the city, officials said.

The first tent is 20 feet by 40 feet and has been used for testing.

The second tent is to isolate those showing symptoms of COVID-19, and the third tent is for those in quarantine. Both are 40 feet by 135 feet.

Caulton-Harris said it is not yet known how long the tents will operate at the Worthington Street site, which was provided by Springfield Technical Community College on a temporary basis, possibly until July 30.

Mayor Domenic Sarno said the establishment of the triage tents, which he authorized through deficit spending allowed under the state of emergency, was done due to the vulnerability of the homeless population and in case there was a surge in coronovirus cases.

So far, there have been few cases of COVID-19 among the homeless in Western Massachusetts. Testing last week at the Craigs Doors shelter in Amherst found no positive cases, and there were relatively few at a shelter established at Northampton High School.

Testing at a homeless shelter in Worcester in mid-April found 43% of those tested had the virus. Out of 114 tested there, 49 had COVID-19, WBUR reported. COVID-19 has also been prevalent among homeless people tested in Boston and San Francisco.

In Springfield, the testing is designed for homeless people with symptoms and without symptoms, in order to evaluate the prevalence of the virus, Caulton-Harris said.

The early results are promising, but the city knows that cases of homeless infection can arise, Caulton-Harris said. The city is planning to to expand the testing of homeless individuals to the Rescue Mission site on Mill Street, with testing at both Rescue Mission sites conducted by Mercy Medical Center staff.

Caulton-Harris and Miller said the city must be on guard for potential new cases.

Miller praised Friends of the Homeless shelter staff for strongly following and encouraging guests to follow precautions including use of hand sanitizer, social distancing, and extensive cleaning in the facility.

At the time the city set up the tents, it had no idea of the virus penetration in the homeless population, Caulton-Harris said.

It was our goal to ensure that the vulnerable, underserved and marginalized population had a structure that they could quarantine and isolate in, she said.

The citys intention is to keep the tents in operation as the pandemic continues, Caulton-Harris said.

This virus is going to circulate in our community for, potentially, at least a year, she said. And so we have no idea what we might need to be able to use the tent structure for in the future. While the news is good as far as the testing results is concerned ... there is the potential we could have a need to use the tent structures for homeless individuals, who may in the future test positive.
Anyone home-quarantined for suspected coronavirus infection but found breaching the seclusion rules will invite home confinement for all his family members, the Kangra police warned on Friday. Kangra's Senior Superintendent of Police Vimukt Ranjan said the new provisions have been made on Friday.

As per the fresh orders issued today, any person who has come to the district from other districts of Himachal Predesh or other states of India and placed on home quarantine for 28 days from the date of his entry in district Kangra will be shall be dealt more strictly for its violations, said Ranjan

He added that if a home-quarantined person with his other family members not confined along with him is found violating the seclusion rules, in any form, then his entire family members would be put in home0confinement along with him, he said.

In Himachal around 90,000 persons returned home from other states on passes issued by state government in the past one week and another 20,000 plus are waiting to enter the state.

So far 47 persons have been found corona-positive in the state and all of then brought the infection from other states, he said, adding in these circumstances, it is now difficult for the administration to keep an eye on the newly entered people who are breaking home quarantine norms and spreading a sense of fear of being a corona career.

Also read: Coronavirus India Live Updates: Learn to live with COVID-19, says govt; total cases-59,662, death toll-1,981

Also read: Coronavirus: Himachal govt says entire family will be home-quarantined if one violates rules
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The U.S. government has awarded a $275 million border wall contract for construction that would begin in South Texas in January, at the start of President Donald Trump's second term if he is re-elected.

Caddell Construction Company, based in Montgomery, Alabama, won the contract to build 14 miles (22.5 kilometers) of barriers in and around Laredo, Texas, a city of 260,000 people on the Rio Grande, the river that runs between Texas and Mexico.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced the contract award Friday night using funds it had previously received from Congress rather than military funding re-directed to the wall.

The CBP said construction would begin in January 2021 pending availability of real estate. There is little existing wall separating Laredo and its sister city of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.

Much of the planned construction would cut through private land in neighborhoods close to the edge of the Rio Grande, requiring the government to take property through its power of eminent domain.

U.S. government lawyers have filed lawsuits against South Texas landowners including homes, businesses, and a Catholic orphanage to seize part of their property or gain access to survey it. In the adjacent Rio Grande Valley, federal courts have allowed the government to immediately seize some land to expedite construction.

Trump has pressed forward with the border wall during the coronavirus pandemic, with construction ongoing at different parts of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Since Trump took office three years ago, 162 miles (261 kilometers) of new barriers have been built along the border, according to CBP.

That's still well short of the 500 miles (804 kilometers) Trump has promised to build by the end of this year.

Caddell Construction did not return a phone message left Friday seeking comment on the contract. Caddell was one of four companies chosen to build prototype wall designs in 2017.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Officers responded to the 3100 block of Hewitt Avenue in Aspen Hill about 11:35 p.m. for a reported shooting, county police said in a statement. They found the 19-year-old suffering from an apparent gunshot wound, the statement said. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 21:12:02|Editor: huaxia

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LISBON, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said Saturday that a small minority of European Union (EU) member states is blocking the decision-making process on EU financial support to combat the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an interview with Portuguese national television SIC, Costa said that there is "a large majority" of EU member states which have a very clear idea of what needs to be done, and another part is available for compromise.

"Then there is a small minority which is blocking the decision-making process," Costa told SIC, without naming any EU member states.

What is needed is "to overcome the position of these countries, because without a common effort, we will not move forward," Costa said.

"Sometimes, some colleagues of mine seem to have the illusion that they will solve their problems alone -- and they are wrong," he told SIC.

Costa reiterated that the crisis can be overcome without applying "austerity" measures, such as wage cuts and tax increases. However, he predicted that the next two years will see a "deep economic crisis."

"We know that companies are paying a high price for being closed, and that workers are losing an important part of their income or all of it, because they were fired," he admitted.

As of Saturday, Portugal recorded 1,126 deaths from COVID-19 and 27,406 cases of infection, with 2,499 recovered, health authorities said. Enditem
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Friday that the state will send every voter a mail-in ballot for the November presidential election.

The decision sets up a potential legal showdown over California's presidential election, as the move has been criticized by national Republicans as a pathway to possible large-scale abuse.

With the state still under stay-at-home orders and facing a future of unknowns from the coronavirus outbreak, the Democratic governor said sending postage-paid ballots to every registered voter was the best solution to addressing the anxiety felt by many people about gathering in large groups that are breeding grounds for the virus.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (on April 14) said Friday that all registered voters in the state will be sent postage-paid ballots for the November presidential election

In-person voting places will remain available for those who might need them. Strict social distancing measures would be used at those locations.

It wasn't immediately clear how many would be available or where they would be located.

'Theres a lot of excitement around this Novembers election in terms of making sure that you can conduct yourself in a safe way, and make sure your health is protected,' Newsom said, according to SF Gate.

Newsom's decision was praised by Democratic Secretary of State Alex Padilla, who said there is 'no safer ... way to exercise your right to vote than from the safety and convenience of your own home.'

But the prospect of mailing more than 20 million ballots to voters was already raising the possibility of a courtroom fight: The Republican National Committee said its reviewing its 'legal options to ensure the integrity of the election.'

President Donald Trump has been among the skeptics and has said that 'a lot of people cheat with mail-in voting.'

The mail-in ballots were an effort to help assuage anxiety voter feel about large gatherings as the state is still under coronavirus lockdown. Mail-in ballots are shown being sorted in Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters in San Jose, California in 2016 (file image)

Jessica Millan Patterson, who heads the California Republican Party, pointed to problems with voting rolls and the so-called 'motor voter' program to register new voters.

A state audit last year identified technical difficulties that led to hundreds of thousands of discrepancies in voter registrations sent to the Secretary of State.

None of the discrepancies in roughly 3million voter records reviewed by auditors resulted in major voter registration errors, such as allowing someone to vote who should not have been allowed to cast a ballot.

But the audit only examined a set of registrations between April and September 2018 and did not rule out the possibility of major errors in other registrations.

'To mail out millions of ballots to voter rolls have proven to contain alarming errors throughout the state is not a task that these Democrats can adequately manage or safely execute,' she said in a statement.

Historically, there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud through mail-in voting. In the state's March primary, more than 75 per cent of California voters received a vote-by-mail ballot.

With the move to statewide mail-in ballots, California hopes to avoid the problems that plagued last months Wisconsin presidential primary, where thousands of voters without protective gear were forced to wait for hours in long lines, while thousands more stayed home to avoid the potential health risks.

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 vast majority of people recover.

Newsom said in a statement that mail-in ballots 'arent a perfect solution for every person' and he hoped election officials and health experts would continue to 'create safer in-person opportunities for Californians who arent able to vote by mail.'

California is the first state to create a widespread mail-in ballot plan for the presidential election.

Health officials have warned that there could be a coronavirus resurgence around the time when voters would be heading to the polls.
In this Monday Feb. 11, 2019 file photo Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom answers questions at a Capitol news conference, in Sacramento, Calif. Newsom is expected to sign a moratorium on the death penalty in California Wednesday, March 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

Associated Press

Registered voters in California will now get mail-in-ballots for the November elections, Governor Gavin Newsom announced.

California is now a vote by mail state.

The measure comes in light of safety concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Friday that all registered voters will be able to vote by mail for the upcoming November election.

Newsom signed an executive order on Friday, aimed at protecting public health: Wvery registered voter in the state will get a mail-in-ballot for the upcoming election, in light of coronavirus concerns.

"The right to vote is foundational to our democracy. No one should be forced to risk their health to exercise that right," Newsom wrote in a tweet.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Newsom also imposed "strict new rules" for voters heading to polling places.

California has 20.6 million registered voters, the LA Times reported. The measure would only be applicable for the November elections.

The state already had "generous rules for absentee voting since 2002, allowing voters to opt for permanent voting by mail regardless of the reason," the outlet reported.

The LA Times also added that health officials don't believe the coronavirus outbreak would "subside enough" for traditional elections to move forward safely.

"There's a lot of excitement around this November's election in terms of making sure that you can conduct yourself in a safe way, and make sure your health is protected," Newsom said during a midday event, according to the LA Times.

California's Secretary of State Alex Padilla said the move makes the state the first to make mail-in-voting for the November elections an option due to the pandemic, CNN reported.

Story continues

Padilla said the postage on ballots will be pre-paid.

"This election is slated to be the most consequential election of our lifetime," Padilla said, according to CNN.

According to the LA Times, Newsom is allowing some in-person voting and cited the concerns of people with disabilities who may need assistance to vote.

"We still want to have the appropriate number of physical sites for people to vote as well," Newsom said.

CNN reported that Republicans were critical of Newsom's decision and said it could allow for voter fraud.

"Everyone is concerned about the safety of voters, but jeopardizing election security is the wrong way to go about it," Trump campaign Communications Director Tim Murtaugh said in a statement.

Murtaugh also said the move is "a thinly-veiled political tactic by Gov. Newsom to undermine election security"

Trump on multiple occasions has inaccurately and without evidence linked mail-in voting with voter fraud.

Last month, Ohio held its primary through mail-in ballots. The decision came after people who tested positive for COVID-19 in Wisconsin said they were at a polling place for that state's primary.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Johnny Depp remains one of the most loved actors in Hollywood, and no matter what he might be going through in his personal life, his fans' love for him and his talents stay true.

Depp and Amber Heard decided to put an end to their relationship some time ago, but are still fighting an ugly legal battle. The former Hollywood couple reached a divorce settlement in 2016. Three years later, the 56-year-old actor filed a USD 50 million defamation lawsuit against Heard after the actress accused him of domestic abuse in 2018.

The Pirates Of The Caribbean star joined Instagram in April and has been connecting with his fans on the social media platform. In his latest post, the actor thanked his fans for staying by his side and supporting him during his legal battle with his ex-wife.

Depp shared a video in which he can be seen playing the guitar in his home studio. "Sending you all my love and thank you for staying on this long road with me. JD," he wrote.

Several celebrities sent messages to the star including legendary rocker Patti Smith, who wrote, "Always happy to track though the joyous mire with you ." 'That's So Raven' star Rayven Symone said, "And a corona hug for you! "Even, Mandy Moore's ex-husband, Ryan Adams reacted to the music posting "."

Read: Johnny Depp Accuses Ex-wife Amber Heard of Slicing His Finger During an Ugly Spat
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2020 > We will never know how many people died of starvation, because no state (...)

by P Chidambaram

The war against COVID-19 and its social and economic consequences is being led by the Central and state governments and we the people are mere followers. But as followers, we can imagine many things.

First, imagine that the virus can be defeated without a vaccine. That will lead us to imagine that a lockdown is a cure and, until the cure is complete, a lockdown will stop the spread of the virus. The reality is that a lockdown is not a cure, nor does it stop the spread of the virus. A lockdown is a pause, it may slow the spread of the virus, and it will buy us valuable time to build our medical and health infrastructure, spread awareness and be prepared to deal with the peak number of infected persons who will require hospitalisation. Those who had demanded a lockdown had understood the reality. On May 3, the governments would have got 40 days time to do those things; the question is, do governments need more time?

Second, imagine that the migrant workers who were prevented from going back to their homes are happy to be in their shelter homes, quarantines or camps, are content with the living conditions, and are satisfied with the food. The reality is what the Delhi Police found after inspecting the shelter homes as reported in The Indian Express (April 28). Fans not working, and no power back-up; sanitisation of toilets rarely done; most migrants want to leave as their families cannot survive; rude behaviour of civil defence staff; food quality not good; no hand wash and sanitizers; foul smell in toilets; water supply in the toilets only between 7 am and 11 am; one soap for bathing and no detergent for washing clothes; mosquito bites. If those are the conditions of shelter homes (where the stay is voluntary), dont imagine what they will be in quarantines and camps (where the stay is involuntary).

Third, imagine that the migrant worker (e.g. in Mumbai or Surat) is happy to remain in his one-room tenement with six-10 others, without a job or work, without money, and without making any remittance to support his family. The reality is that the vast majority of such workers got no assistance from the governments  no cash transfer, no rations. Their only desire is to go home. Uttar Pradesh and some other states took an enlightened approach and sent buses to ferry them to their home states, Bihar refused, and the Central government was non-committal until April 29. Now, Bihar has joined others to demand non-stop trains!

Migrant workers queue at Bhartiya Kamla Nagar in Wadala to collect an application form so that they can return to their native places. (Express photo by Prashant Nadkar)

Fourth, imagine that there are no job losses, and that the jobs will continue to be there until the workers are able to return to their workplaces. The reality is what CMIE reported on April 27: that the unemployment rate stood at 21.1% even while labour force participation had fallen to 35.4%. The reality is that once an MSME is shut down, it is not easy to re-start it. The few workers  two to 10  in the unit may have found other ways to earn a wage or migrated and, even if they are willing to come back, there will be arrears of wages. The unit would have bills to be collected and bills to be paid, and neither is easy after a prolonged shutdown. The unit would have run out of working capital and no bank or NBFC will lend without a credit guarantee. The supply chain would have been interrupted: what is the use of re-opening a dealership if the manufacturer has not resumed production? No one who has never invested his own money to start a business will understand the problems of running a business or the pain of closing it down.

Fifth, imagine that the Central government will keep its promise, made on March 25, that it will soon come out with Financial Action Plan II to help businesses, especially the MSMEs. The reality is that nothing has been done until the time of this writing. We dont know if the Financial Task Force has made any recommendation. A new committee (if you believe the buzz) to think Big and Bold is still thinking. The reality is that banks are flush with funds but they prefer to park them with the RBI than lend to NBFCs or SMEs. NBFCs are fast becoming illiquid and cannot on-lend.

Sixth, imagine that big industries will somehow survive and flourish as before. The reality is that big industries have realised that the old normal is out forever and are in search of a new normal. They are looking for conserving cash, curtailing capital expenditure, optimising capacity utilisation, downsizing their workforce, becoming debt-free, and expanding work-from-home. Big industries will also consolidate, which will result in less competition (e.g. telecom).

Seventh, imagine that the economy will bounce back smartly after the lockdown is lifted and we will see the V-curve. The reality is that the Indian economy did not recover after the demonetisation blunder, it did not recover after the botched-up GST, and will not recover easily after the lockdown is lifted. Even a tick-shaped (3 ) recovery will require hard work, plans, meticulous implementation, money, open markets, smart alliances and international co-operation.

Recall Lewis Carroll: Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality.

(Courtesy: The Indian Express, May 4, 2020 - This article appeared in the print edition of May 3, 2020, under the name Imagination is everything.)
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Armenias Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday issued a message on 75th anniversary of victory in World War II, Shushi liberation Day, and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Defense Army formation day. The message reads as follows:

Dear compatriots,

Congratulations to all of us on Victory Day. This very day 75 years ago, our people joined other peoples of the former Soviet Union to celebrate the victory over fascism, one of the greatest evils in human history. The victory was achieved through enormous human suffering, sacrifice, unprecedented courage and perseverance.

The Armenian nation played a significant role in bringing about that victory and, as a result, in liberating Europe from the scourge of fascism. More than half a million Armenians were involved in the war as part of the Soviet army. Thousands of Armenians fought in the squads of resistance movements in European countries.

The Armenian people sacrificed about 300,000 lives on the altar of victory. For a nation that had survived the Genocide just a quarter of a century ago, it was an incredibly large number comparable to the human losses suffered by the great powers. While no hostilities had taken place on our soil, the population of Soviet Armenia fell by more than 13 percent at the end of the war.

Today, as we bow to the memory of our martyrs, we are proud of our ancestors heroism.

During the war, 107 Armenians were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the highest award given for exceptional heroism. The significant contribution made to mankinds victory by the Armenians living in Armenia and the Diaspora and especially the valuable material contribution of the Armenian Apostolic Church deserve special praise.

We have fully paid off our debt for all the wars in the 20th century. And now we are well aware of the cost of peace more than anyone else. Our identity is best expressed through creative work we do in peacetime. At the same time, knowing the price of peace, we are ready to defend it at all costs and to stand up again for our freedom and dignity, where necessary.

Whether a coincidence, or perhaps a deed of Providence, on this very day we are celebrating the liberation of Shushi and the establishment of the Artsakh Defense Army, exceptional events that crowned Armenias modern history.

The liberation of Shushi ushered in the liberation of Artsakh. Followed up with a brilliant victory, it became the pledge for our peoples security and peace. We are firmly determined to ensure the security of the people of the Artsakh Republic: their right to self-determination is not subject to bargaining. Both are absolute values for us.

Let us commemorate and pay tribute to our heroes who died for the liberation of Shushi and Artsakh. They stood just as strong as their ancestors did about half a century ago in World War II.

Let us commemorate those brave guys who fell in the Four-Day April War - our modern-day heroes who sacrificed their lives to prove our peoples unbreakable will for freedom.

Glory to all our heroes who fought for the freedom of the Armenian people!

Long live Armenia and Artsakh!
Less than 24 hours after the antigraft agency(EFCC) announced plans to re-arraign former governor of Abia state, Orji Uzor Kalu, the Enugu state chapter of the All Progressive Congress has said that is supposed to be the next line of action.

According to a statement by the state chairman of the Party, Dr Ben Nwoye, he said rather, the former governor should have been issued a letter of apology.

We the good people of Enugu State APC celebrate with our Leader, an Igbo icon, His Excellency, Distinguished Senator Orji Uzor Kalu on his victory today and the nullification of his conviction by the Supreme Court.

Today, more than ever before, our trust in the Nigerian judicial system has deepened. It took the court to right the wrong of another courts. This victory stands as a testimony that the court is indeed the last hope for both a common man and uncommon man.

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Injustice to a common man is equally as painful as injustice to an uncommon man. We are happy to know that your determination has pulled you through. We are comforted by your exemplary determination to change the criminal justice system to ensure that no innocent person shall suffer unlawful incarceration in our nation.

God has used five months of your productive and youthful life to expose over half a century decay in our criminal justice system. We thank God and we thank the learned jurists for giving you back your freedom.

We respectfully demand that the EFCC should render an apology to you for wrongful prosecution. It is a time for deep reflection on the part of EFCC and not a time to make puffy statement regarding further prosecution. One wrong prosecution has already resulted in five months of unlawful incarceration.

Read Also: Justice Has Prevailed  Orji Kalu Reacts To Supreme Court Judgement

H.E Senator Kalu deserves an apology from EFCC, not a re-prosecution. We respectfully request that EFCC should channel its resources to the prosecution of backlogs of other cases instead of engaging in vindictive repeat prosecution of an Igbo Icon.

We are calling on the Senate and House Committee on Judiciary to investigate the facts and circumstances that led to the malicious prosecution and unlawful incarceration of Distinguished Senator Orji Uzo Kalu.

The good people of Enugu State and indeed the entire Nigerian people would like to know how an Appeal Court Justice stepped down from his upper chambers and sneaked into a lower courtroom and handed out an unlawful criminal conviction against a serving Distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The key question that begs the answer is, was it a mistake or was it a political witchhunt?. We fear that it is the later.

Once again, I and on behalf of the good people of Enugu State APC welcome back our hero. Congratulation Distinguished Senator Orji Kalu. You are the Mandela of our time. Nigerian people look forward to enjoying the quality representation you brought in the red chamber.
Heavy rains and the melting of the snow have given new life to the reservoir. The Sea of Galilee supplies the inhabited centers and allows the irrigation of many crops. In the critical period it had dropped to 214 meters below sea level. The waters lap the Capernaum convent. The work of the friars committed to clearing the banks.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews) - The level of the Sea of Galilee, Israel's main source of fresh water, has been steadily rising for a few months, so much so that it has reached a height that has not been recorded for over 16 years. As the friars of the Custody confirm on terrasanta.net, this is information of primary importance for a water reserve of strategic importance, because it supplies the centers of the region and allows the irrigation of many crops.

Brother Luca Panza, Franciscan of the Custody of the Holy Land, guardian of the Capernaum convent, confirms "the abundant rains and the fact that the connecting dam has not been opened" with the Jordan River. He continues: "Days of heavy storms have damaged the banks, part of the work of this period is to bring new land and rebuild them. This year the level of the lake has increased by four meters, and we have to reckon with it. "

Located in Galilee, the basin is 160 km2 large and is a religious symbol for Christians and a place of pilgrimage for Jews. In recent years the waters had recorded a retreat, so much so that between 2017 and 2018 the "Sea of Galilee" touched the lowest point at minus 214 meters.

The agricultural production of bananas, which requires huge quantities of water, are among the causes of the decline. The crisis is compounded by the constant draining by Israeli authorities, which has touched 400 million cubic meters per year, and the low levels of precipitation over the past decade.

Population growth is also a factor, which has led to a decrease of one centimeter per day. The drop in water has alarmed environmentalists and experts, because it directly affects the natural environment and causes an increase in salinity, endangering flora and fauna.

Today the state of Israel has limited the drawdown to 40 million cubic meters per year. After all, water is a very precious asset and only a prudent management policy and a collaboration between entities and nations will be able to save the Middle East region, still at risk of crisis.

The last two rainy winters and the melting of the snow on the Golan peaks should contribute to raising the water levels even more which, for the first time since 1992, has exceeded less than 209 meters, with the water (in the photos) having reached the edges and banks.

The rising of the lake waters, however, puts at risk the sanctuaries of the Capernaum area, especially that of the primacy of Peter in Tabga (see photo), one of the most loved and visited places in the Holy Land seen in the past two years by an average of 5 thousand tourists a day, with peaks of 6500.

Today the place of worship is closed to visitors, in the context of the rules for the containment of the new coronavirus pandemic. Not having to deal with "the large numbers of pilgrims", underlines friar Luca, "our service is now to safeguard and protect the place". We are, however, continuing to work on improving the site. We will be ready - he concludes - for the arrival of new pilgrims, which we hope will happen soon ".
With the news of a Texas sheriff from Ector County using an armored military vehicle to SWAT-raid a peaceful, albeit armed, protest and arrest bar-owner Gabrielle Ellison, who dared to defy a business shutdown order, a public consensus on the use of executive orders is greatly needed.

What's in the Texas water?

Shelly Luther, a business-owner from Dallas, was recently sentenced to seven days in jail for opening her salon  and refusing to apologize to the court  in defiance of Governor Greg Abbott's executive shutdown order. At sentencing, Judge Eric Moye accused Luther of being "selfish" even though the White House guidelines were followed at her workplace. Ms. Luther is quoted saying, "You have rights to feed your children and make income. And anyone that wants to take away those rights is wrong." Those words ring true.

In fairness to Gov. Abbott, he apparently didn't realize the manner in which violation of his executive orders would be enforced and punished. The governor immediately called for Luther's release and made statements condemning the judge for jailing Luther:

As I have made clear through prior pronouncements, 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.

There are also less restrictive means to protect Texans from the virus than business shutdown orders.

Gov. Abbott's attorney general, Ken Paxton, was equally outraged. He sent a letter to the judge and reproved him for his "shameful abuse of judicial discretion."

What the jailing of Luther illustrates, however, is not a problem with the Judiciary, but a problem with arbitrary edicts (executive orders) being imposed on citizens without due process, legislative representation, or consent. As unfair and slanted as this particular judge may be, it's highly unlikely that the Texas Supreme Court would rule that he had abused his discretion because he had up to 180 days of jail time under Texas law to work with.

We had a revolution against the British Crown a few centuries ago precisely because the American colonists didn't care much for being governed without their consent.

Since we don't have kings in America who issue decrees, executive orders started as directives to manage the Executive Branch of government. George Washington's first executive order (of the eight issued in his two terms) was a directive to the department heads of the Executive Branch to produce reports on the affairs within their respective areas of responsibilities.

The U.S. Constitution makes the president the commander-in-chief and states that the president has executive power, but it does not mention "executive orders." The closest language we have is Article II, Section 3, which gives the president the duty to faithfully execute the laws.

It is safe to say the executive does not make laws for the general population, but executes them.

President Abraham Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus by executive order in 1861, citing exigent circumstances. Though Lincoln's order was ruled unconstitutional by Chief Justice Roger Taney, the president at least relied on the Constitution's language: "The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it." The problem was that only Congress has the power to suspend it. Congress went on to pass a law in 1863 authorizing Lincoln to suspend the writ during the Civil War.

The guiding principles of executive orders apply equally to the governors of the individual states.

The initial question when assessing a gubernatorial executive order is whether the particular state Legislature has passed law defining the power of the governor in context of executive orders.

A cursory Texas search brings up "Government Code, Title 4. Executive Branch, Subtitle B. Law Enforcement and Public Protection, Chapter 418. Emergency Management, Subchapter A. General Provisions."

Among other things, Sec. 418.002 says: "The purposes of this chapter are to: (1) reduce vulnerability of people and communities of this state to damage, injury, and loss of life and property resulting from natural or man-made catastrophes, riots, or hostile military or paramilitary action[.]"

Section 418.012 says, "Under this chapter, the governor may issue executive orders, proclamations, and regulations and amend or rescind them. Executive orders, proclamations, and regulations have the force and effect of law." In the context of executive orders, the law gives the governor the responsibility "for meeting the dangers to the state and people presented by disasters."

In our context, the governor's authority is based upon dangers presented by disasters and catastrophes. The question of whether the state is currently experiencing a statewide disaster or catastrophe under Texas law is merely the threshold; the answer, even in the affirmative, doesn't resolve the question of whether the business lockdown order proclaimed by Greg Abbott is valid.

Interestingly, the Texas governor may "commandeer" private property, if necessary, to "cope with a disaster," but that power is subject to compensation of the citizens harmed. A shutdown order is effectively the government commandeering the relevant businesses without just compensation.

It turns out that the Texas law specifically protects property rights and Second Amendment rights. Section 418.003 prohibits the "seizure or confiscation of any firearm or ammunition from an individual who is lawfully carrying or possessing the firearm or ammunition[.]"

The right to bear arms is a constitutional right and arguably an unalienable right.

The right to work to earn a livelihood is without question an unalienable right. The government cannot take away that right. Many in government want to take away the right to bear arms, but their efforts against the Second Amendment have led to conditions, not elimination. Likewise, the government has no power to suspend or eliminate the right to earn a living. With regard to the right to bear arms, the Second Amendment could, at least in theory, be abolished. On the contrary, prior to lawfully suspending the right to produce income to survive, the government would have to first repeal the "Laws of Nature and of Nature's God."

A silver lining may be that the COVID-19 pandemic has provided us the opportunity to consider the lawful reach of executive orders. It is one thing to impose reasonable conditions of employment (masking, sanitizing, etc.) in perilous circumstances. It is quite another to announce complete shutdown decrees from on high.

The use of police seizure and arrest force in context of enforcing economic and ambient lockdown orders will lead to mistrust and hostility toward law enforcement. Sentencing people to jail for exercising an unalienable right will cause the same sentiments toward the Judiciary. Based on much of the commentary from social media, several state and local governments are currently doing irreparable damage to the essential element of public trust.

Monte Kuligowski is a Virginia attorney.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr.
Egypt detected 488 new coronavirus cases on Saturday as the tally continues to rise despite restrictions during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, the health ministry announced.

The health ministrys announcement brings the total number of infections from the pandemic to 8964 nationwide.

The ministry also reported 11 new fatalities, bringing the total deaths from the virus to 514.

The statement said that 57 cases have been discharged on Saturday from the 17 operating quarantine hospitals, bringing the total number of recoveries to 2002 thus far.

Health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said the number of people whose test results turned from positive to negative, including the 2002 recoveries, has now reached 2476.

Egypt has so far conducted over 1 million coronavirus tests to detect the coronavirus, Presidential Adviser for Health and Prevention Affairs Mohamed Awad Tag El-Din said on Thursday.

While on Saturday, Egypts State Information Service (SIS) said that the 1 million coronavirus tests mentioned by Tag El-Din include over 105,000 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests.

Saturdays toll comes one day after Egypt detected 495 new infections on Friday, its highest toll in a single day since the first case was detected in the country in mid-February.

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 8pm.

On Thursday, Egypt extended the night-time curfew, in place since 25 March, until the end of Ramadan, maintaining the current restrictions to stem the spread of the virus in the populous country.

Despite lockdown measures imposed in March to contain the spread of the virus, Egypt had reported more than 8,000 coronavirus cases by Friday 8 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 three days to move from 7,000 to 8,000 cases.

Health Minister Hala Zayed attributed the 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 percent immediately after the crisis erupted, but the fall had been reduced to just 11 percent during the two weeks before Ramadan.

However, in recent days, some restrictions have been relaxed. Car licensing sections at traffic departments, real estate registry offices and some court services have now reopened.

Egypt has signalled recently that it is looking to lift some of its heavy restrictions by next month, and has urged people to maintain social distancing and other preventive measures when these changes take place.

Egypt will have to coexist with the coronavirus pandemic starting from June, cabinet spokesman Nader Saad said on Thursday, as the country continues to push forward with efforts to open the economy after the end of Ramadan.

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VICTORIABritish Columbias health minister and provincial health officer are urging people to save their Mothers Day hugs for Mom until later, unless she lives in the same household.

Adrian Dix and Dr. Bonnie Henry say its important to avoid physical contact to reduce the spread of COVID-19 while still celebrating the special day in other ways.

They say in a joint statement that the best gift for an older mother in particular is to keep a safe distance so she remains healthy.

B.C. reported 29 new cases on Friday, along with one death, bringing the total to 127 fatalities.

No new long-term care homes or assisted-living facilities are currently experiencing outbreaks but 16 facilities and five acute-care units have active cases.

The province is to relax some restrictions in mid-May, but businesses including restaurants, hair salons and retail stores must meet safety, distancing and hygiene guidelines.

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As many as 17 residents of Dealgan House Nursing Home are believed to who have died after contracting COVID-19, according to Louth TD Ruairi O Murchu who has written to Health Minister Simon Harris calling for an investigation into the nursing home sector.

The Sinn Fein TD states: 'While there are no official figures available, estimates put the death toll at between 12 and 17 from Covid-19 in Dealgan House alone. Staff here have also tested positive for Covid-19 and some are off sick.'

Describing the situation at the privately owned nursing home as 'dire', he said that while the intervention of the RCSI Hospital Group was welcome, he was aware of 'serious problems and concerns' which he wanted to bring to the Minister's attention.

'The most pressing concern at the moment is the belief that the RCSI Hospital Group may hand back control to the owners of Dealgan House, 'in the coming days', despite the clear intention of the RCSI that they would 'review' their involvement at the end of May,' he states. 'This was revealed in a communication to a staff member from Dealgan House owner, Eoin Farrelly, on April 24 2020,' he continues.

Urging that the issue be clarified as ' quickly as possible', he says that 'the lack of clear communication with families and staff is adding to an already fraught and traumatic situation at the home'.

Calling for a investigation into the 'what has gone on the nursing home sector during the Covid-19 crisis,' he said he believed 'there should be an immediate, speedy, preliminary examination of what has happened at Dealgan House, and other affected nursing homes across the State, in order to ensure that difficulties have been arrested and best practice is firmly in place.'

He also wants an investigation into the wider issues in the sector including what protocols were in place regarding patients being transferred out of acute hospitals into nursing homes like Dealgan at the start of the crisis; how decisions around not banning visits to facilities were made; and the availability and use of PPE.'

'It is difficult to see how operational control can be confidently handed back to the owners of Dealgan House until these matters have been investigated and staff levels are at their optimum,' he says, revealing that 'since the end of March, I have been contacted, almost on daily basis, by staff, nurses and families of residents, who have raised a number of very serious concerns.'

Deputy O Murchu says that staff told him that had asked to be allowed wear PPE when Covid-19 first became an issue. However, Management at the home told them they were not to wear PPE as this would 'frighten and upset' patients.

'There is no doubt in their minds that this decision, which was repeatedly made despite numerous staff raising concerns about not wearing PPE, helped spread the virus in Dealgan House, with devastating consequences,' he says.

Sourcing PPE then became a problem when they were later told to use it.

He says that one family who contacted him told how they became so concerned about their elderly mother, who has dementia, that they had to insist that she be taken to hospital or they were going to the nursing home to take her out.

'It was only when they insisted, in strong terms, that she be given medical care or they were coming down to Dealgan themselves, was an ambulance was called and the lady was taken to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda for treatment for Covid-19. Thankfully, she is making a recovery from the virus and the family are now trying their best to ensure that she is not returned to Dealgan House,' he says.

He outlines how another family had contacted him with concerns about their father who tested negative for COVID-19 and was being cared for in a ward on a corridor where other residents had tested positive.

Deputy O Murchu also complains about the lack of communication from the RCSI Hospital Group Chief Executive, Ian Carter, regarding these issues.

'Rumours and conjecture are thriving around Dealgan House, generating fear and deep concern for families whose loved ones are in there and whom they cannot visit. Many have turned to me and other TDs in the area as a last resort to seek answers and reassurance, which, unfortunately, we have not been able to provide.'

He added that when he sought answers from the owner of Dealgan House, Eoin Farrelly, he was referred to the RCSI.

'In the current crisis, which is more pronounced in Dealgan House than it is anywhere else in North Louth, communication should have been a priority. It hasn't been and that is shocking and deeply, deeply concerning,' he continues.

In conclusion asked Minister Harris to request, as a matter of urgency, that the RCSI Hospital Group appoints a person to communicate with families, public representatives and the media; and that clarity is brought to the question of if, when and under what conditions the RCSI Hospital Group will hand back operational control of Dealgan House to the owners.

Management at Dealgan House indicated to The Argus that the withdrawal of the RCSI Hospital Group is being done gradually as their

own staff return from illness or isolation. 'The ongoing support is invaluable to us as we work towards returning to some form of normality within the nursing home.'
It is no longer a breaking news that the Supreme Court of Nigetia on Friday, the 8th of May, 2020, voided the conviction of a former Abia State Governor, Senator Orji Uzor-Kalu, who had been jailed for corruption by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos presided over by Justice Muhammed Idris. Justice Mohammed Idris had on December 5, 2019, sentenced the former Governor to 12 years in prison for allegedly stealing public funds while in office.

Dissatisfied with the judgment of the Federal High Court, Mr Kalu challenged his conviction and sentencing up to the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Delivering judgment on Friday, a seven-member panel of the apex Court in a unanimous decision set aside the judgment of Justice Mohammed Idris which convicted and sentenced Mr. Kalu to 12 years imprisonment. The apex courts judgment delivered by Justice Ejembi Eko, declared the conviction of Mr. Kalu as null and void on the ground that Justice Muhammed Idris was already a Justice of the Court of Appeal as at the time he delivered the judgment sentencing Mr. Kalu and his co-defendants. Justice Eko held that a Justice of the Court of Appeal cannot operate as a Judge of the Federal High Court, and further ordered the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to reassign the case to another Judge for trial.

As expected, the verdict of the apex Court has elicited several arguments, criticisms and condemnations from lawyers and the general public. By this decision, many have come to the conclusion that the judiciary serves as an obstacle to the "fight against corruption". Many lawyers have also classified the verdict of the apex court as technical justice which shouldn't have found its way in the present dispensation of our criminal justice system.

The condemnation of the apex Court's verdict is further strengthened by the fact that the procedure adopted by Justice Muhammed Idris (in sitting to deliver judgment in Kalu's trial after he was already elevated to the Court of Appeal) is statutorily backed up under section 396(7) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, which is an Act of the National Assembly. The said section provides:

Notwithstanding the provision of any other law to the contrary, a Judge of the High Court, who has been elevated to the Court of Appeal, shall have dispensation to continue to sit as a High Court Judge only for the purpose of concluding any partly-heard criminal matter pending before him at the time of his elevation; and shall conclude the same within a reasonable time, provided that this section shall not prevent him from assuming duty as a Justice of the Court of Appeal.

Relying on the above provision, many analysts and lawyers are of the view that the apex Court ought not to have voided Kalu's trial. Giving more strenght to their contention is the fact that based on a document (a letter) that surfaced on the social media after the apex Court's judgment, it was Kalu's Lawyer that even wrote to the President of the Court of Appeal to allow Justice Muhammed Idris to conclude Kalu's case which was already partly-heard before his elevation to the Court of Appeal, in line with section 396(7) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015. Their contention here is that by virtue of the said letter written by Kalu's lawyer requesting that Justice Muhammed Idris be allowed to conclude Kalu's case, Kalu is deemed to have consented to the procedure and as such there is no basis to void the entire proceedings of Justice Muhammed Idris based on that singular point.

Well, while the above highlighted points may be good arguments in attacking the Supreme Court's verdict, the truth is that they do not find solace in what our grundnorm says. It is trite that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended) is the grundnorm and every other law must trace its validity to it, otherwise, it will be null and void. See Abacha v. Fawehinmi (2000) 6 NWLR (Pt.660) 228.

The framers of the Nigerian Constitution thought it wise to make the provisions of our Constitution supreme and binding over and above all persons and authorities throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Thus, by section 1(3) of the Constitution, any other law that conflicts with the provisions of the Constitution shall, to the extent of its inconsistency, be null and void. See A. G. Abia State v. A. G. Federation (2006) 16 NWLR (Part 265) p. 38.

It is elementary to remind us in this article that the primary duty of the Court (the Judiciary) is to interpret laws. In other words, Judges are to interpret the laws of the land as enacted by the Legislature. See section 6 of the Constitution. In its function and duty of interpreting laws, Judges are under oath to uphold the provisions of the Constitution always and to guard it jealously. Hence, once any law appears as an affront to the Constitution, such law must be sacrificed on the altar of constitutional supremacy by declaring same null and void. The supremacy of the constitution is invoked not only when another law is inconsistent with it but also when another law seeks to compete with it in an area already covered by the constitution. See Oloyede Ishola v. Ajiboye (1994) 7-8 SCNJ 1.

On the other hand, the duty and function of making laws is that of the Legislature. However, in the course of discharging this duty or function, the Legislature or Lawmakers are likely to enact laws that may be inconsistent with constitutional provisions. In such instance, the court must rise up to the challenge by nullifying such enactments.

Now, the crucial question here is: Is section 396 (7) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 actually inconsistent with the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution so as to justify the Supreme Court's verdict which nullified Kalu's trial? Again, does the fact that it was Kalu's Counsel that requested in writing for the conclusion of the trial by Justice Muhammed Idris who was already a Justice of the Court of Appeal, make any difference? We shall answer all these questions in a moment.

For clarity, we shall once more, reproduce the provision of section 396(7) of the said Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, to wit:

Notwithstanding the provision of any other law to the contrary, a Judge of the High Court, who has been elevated to the Court of Appeal, shall have dispensation to continue to sit as a High Court Judge only for the purpose of concluding any partly-heard criminal matter pending before him at the time of his elevation; and shall conclude the same within a reasonable time, provided that this section shall not prevent him from assuming duty as a Justice of the Court of Appeal.

This provision expressly permits a Judge of a High Court who has been elevated to the Court of Appeal to continue to sit as an High Court Judge for the purpose of concluding any partly-heard criminal matter before his elevation. The provision further states that this arrangement shall not prevent such Judge from assuming duty as a Justice of the Court of Appeal. While the purpose of this provision is to fastrack criminal trials and to ensure that elevation of Judges handling partly-heard criminal matters do not frustrate or delay criminal cases in Nigeria, the implication of the provision is that it tends to confer two status (i.e. a Judge of the High Court on one hand and a Justice of the Court of Appeal on the other hand) on one "Judge" of two different Courts at the same time!

Now, the question is: Can a single Judge assume two status as an High Court Judge and a Justice of the Court of Appeal at the same time under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria? I do not hesitate to answer this question in the negative, as it is not the intendment of the Nigerian Constitution. Thus, it is very obvious that the intendment of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 which is aimed at speedy dispensation of criminal justice, does not find support in the Constitution as far as the issue of an elevated Judge assuming dual status of an High Court Judge and a Justice of the Court of Appeal at the same time is concerned. For section 396(7) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 to be valid, it must find life in the Constitution otherwise it is eternally dead. Having not found its root in the grundnorm, the apex Court did the right thing by declaring the section void. It is now a legal cliche that you cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stand; per Lord Denning of blessed memory in UAC v. McFoy (1962) AC 152.

Thus, a Judge of an High Court is under oath to dispense justice as a Judge of that Court and no other, and likewise, a Justice of the Court of Appeal is under oath to operate as a Justice of the Court of Appeal and no other. In this regard, I find very correct, convincing, and compelling the arguments of Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN) in his article entitled, "Is Section 396(7) of ACJA Constitutional?", published by the Nigerialawyers.com on 8th May, 2020, where the learned Silk inter alia, argued thus:

"The intendment of the provisions of the constitution is that judicial officers appointed by the President and sworn in by the Chief Justice of Nigeria can only perform the judicial powers or jurisdiction constitutionally assigned to each of the courts under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 with which the judicial officer took their judicial oath. For the Federal High Court, specifically, and independent of other sections, the constitution, in sections 249-254, provide for the appointment of the judicial officers of that court whose duty includes the right to exercise the judicial powers under the provision of sections 251 and 252 of the constitution. The powers conferred upon judicial officers, under the provision of each category of court is immutable. It cannot be altered by any person or authority referred to under Section 1 of the constitution. The National Assemblys legislative powers to alter the provisions of the constitution can only be by an Act of the National Assembly to amend or alter the provisions of the constitution with the concurrence of two-thirds of the states of the federation  Section 9 of the constitution...

Section 253 of the constitution provides that: The Federal High Court shall be dully constituted if it consists of at least one judge of that court. The intendments of this provision, in our humble view, is that the jurisdiction conferred on the Federal High Court by virtue of Section 251 (1), (2) and (3) and 252 of the constitution shall be by, at least, one judge of that court  the Federal High Court only. Unless this provision is amended, no judge of the state high court, National Industrial Court or any judge of any other court of coordinate jurisdiction can constitutionally exercise the powers under Section 253, not being a judge of that court. The constitution specifically identified the judge as one of that court. With respect, no Act of the National Assembly alone can amend, expand, alter or substitute judge of that court with any judge or Justice of the other courts established under Section 6 of the constitution...

It is important to note that the constitution referred to judicial officers of the Federal High Court as judges of that court, whereas it referred to judicial officers of the Court of Appeal as Justices of the Court of Appeal.

We hold the view, respectfully, that the hierarchy of superior courts of records in Nigeria is not made separate in the constitution for nothing. Indeed, the making and separation of the provision in respect of each hierarchy of court from high courts and terminated at the Supreme Court is deliberate. The distinct qualification and the procedure for appointment and swearing-in of such judicial official is to establish the importance of each level, having regard to the responsibility that the constitution ascribed to each level. A judicial officer, elevated from the rank of the high court to the Court of Appeal is not and cannot be equated with other judicial officers not elevated or considered and rejected for elevation. The makers of the constitution are presumed to have memory and cannot be pressured to have made the mistake in the separation of the mode of

addresses, judicial duties and responsibilities of each level of the court. It is clearly a contradiction of the judicial oath for the Honourable Justices of the Court of Appeal to descend to the lower court to hear uncompleted cases. It is invalid, null and void..."

Going further, the Learned Silk queried: "On a lighter note, how would the Justice sign the judgment? If he signs as a judge of the Federal High Court, he lies; and if he signs as a Justice of the Court of Appeal, it is unlawful. How then does he sign?".

It must be emphasized here that the issue that the apex Court was called upon to decide in Kalu's case has to do with jurisdiction. In other words, the question as to whether Justice Muhammed Idris was right in law to have concluded Kalu's trial after his elevation to the Court of Appeal, is a jurisdictional question which goes to the root of the whole exercise. And this takes us back to an earlier question which is: Does the fact that it was Kalu's Counsel that requested in writing for the conclusion of the trial by Justice Muhammed Idris who was already a Justice of the Court of Appeal, make any difference? My simple answer is No! The law is settled that parties cannot by consent or waiver confer jurisdiction on a court which by any legal impediment, lacks jurisdiction to determine a case. See Lala & Ors. V. Akala & Ors. (2018) LPELR-46470 (CA) at page 7. In Standard Cleaning Services Company v. Council of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife (2019) LPELR-47050 (CA) at page 7, the Court of Appeal per Danjuma, J.C.A., held that:

"Neither the Court nor any of the parties can confer jurisdiction on the Court by conduct, consent or inference and cannot be enlarged by estoppel or waiver. It is the forerunner of the judicial process, cannot by acquiescence, collusion, compromise or waiver confer jurisdiction on a Court that lacks it. Parties do not have the legal right to donate jurisdiction on a Court that lacks it..."

Thus, constitutionally, the elevation of Justice Muhammed Idris to the Court of Appeal constituted a legal or constitutional impediment to the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court he presided over to continue to sit over Kalu's trial until judgment was delivered. It is unfortunate that EFCC's lawyers played into the hands of Kalu's Counsel and fell into his "trap" by consenting to his (Kalu's Counsel) request for Justice Muhammed Idris to be released by the President of the Court of Appeal to have concluded Kalu's trial. Kalu's Counsel smartly initiated the whole arrangement and having secured the consent of the Prosecution Counsel, Justice Muhammed Idris concluded the case as requested. The judgment went against his client who was convicted and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment but he found solace on the same "arrangement" he initiated as a valid ground of appeal that eventually helped his client (Kalu) to regain his freedom! Advocacy cannot be divorced from the nuances of outsmarting one another in the course of judicial proceedings. It is good to know the law but it is more gainful to be smart in one's knowledge of the law. A good lawyer may know all the laws but a smart lawyer will always carry the day!

Unfortunately, when cases are won or lost in courts, people attach sentiments to same. Why we understand the usual fears or reservations, we must know that law is not built on sentiments. Law is law and sentiments have no place in judicial deliberation. One misconception must be cleared as far as Kalu's case is concerned, and that is the fact that the apex Court did not acquit him of the corruption charges for which he was earlier convicted. The Court rather ordered the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to assign the case to another Judge of that Court for a fresh trial. The apex Court in a way, is saying though Orji Uzor Kalu may be guilty as earlier found by Justice Muhammed Idris, nevertheless, let the saying that whatever is worth doing is worth doing well be manifested in this case! To this extent, the apex Court is not to blame. If there is any body or institution to blame at all, then it is the National Assembly who enacted section 396(7) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, without amending the Constitution to back it up constitutionally. Thus, instead of condemning the Supreme Court' verdict, energy should be channeled on mounting pressures on the current National Assembly to amend the Nigerian Constitution in such a way that section 396(7) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, can find life and validity in its provisions. Once such amendment is done, the apex Court's decision in Orji Uzor Kalu's trial will no longer stand as it would be overtaken by the said constitutional amendment. See Adigun v. Gov. of Osun State (1995) 3 SCNJ 1 at 20; A. G. Abia State v. A. G. Federation (2006) 16 NWLR (Pt. 1005) 265 at 374-375, per Niki Tobi, JSC.

Thus, until such amendment is done, it is humbly recommended that High Court Judges handling partly-heard criminal matters (especially corruption cases that have gone far), should not be fully appointed and sworn in as Justice of the Court of Appeal after their nomination/recommendation unless and until the said criminal matters they are handling are concluded.

Conclusion

It therefore, goes without saying that the nullification of Kalu's trial by the trial court was not based on technicalities as argued by many senior members of the Bar. A constitutional issue especially one that touches on jurisdiction cannot be regarded as a matter of technicality. We cannot under the guise of discouraging technicalities or technical justice, feign blindness to the extent of allowing laws that are inconsistent with the Constitution to hold sway in the administration of our justice system. Hence, while trial de novo as ordered by the apex Court in Kalu's case might cause grave inconveniences to all stakeholders that are involved in the matter, I do not, in the final analysis, think that the Court was wrong to have declared the law as they found it. See Johnson v. Lawanson 1971 1 ALL NLR 56.

(S.O. Akobe, Esq. writes from Abuja, and can be reached via akobe4onu
With unemployment at the highest rate since the Great Depression, a new plan seeks to offer monthly payments to Americans.

Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and California Sen. Kamala Harris introduced a bill, titled the Monthly Economic Crisis Support Act, on Friday to provide monthly checks to most Americans.

Individuals with incomes up to $100,000 would receive $2,000 a month. Those who file as head of household are eligible up to $150,000.

Married couples who make up to $200,000 would receive a combined $4,000 monthly.

For families with children, they would receive $2,000 per child up to three children.

The bill would allow for payments throughout and three months after the pandemic ends. Payments would be retroactive to March.

The $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed by President Donald Trump in late March, gave millions of Americans $1,200 stimulus checks.

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, in an editorial board meeting with The Republican and MassLive Thursday, said lawmakers are considering a second round of direct payments for Americans in the latest coronavirus stimulus package, which House Democrats plan to unveil in coming days.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently signaled support for monthly relief checks, The Hill reported Saturday, citing sources with knowledge of a recent call with Democrats.

Pelosi said on MSNBC last month looking at universal basic income is worthy of attention.

A single check is not sufficient for households that are struggling during this health and economic crisis. Americans need more than just one payment," Markey said. I am proud to join Senators Sanders and Harris in calling for recurring direct cash assistance so that Americans have the reassurance that this critical support will continue and that their government will support them. Providing recurring monthly payments is the most direct and efficient mechanism for delivering economic relief to those most vulnerable in this crisis, particularly low-income families, immigrant communities, and our gig and service workers.

The median income for the average American family $63,179 in 2018, according to the most recent figures available from the U.S. Census.

The median income in Massachusetts is significantly higher than the national average, as is the cost of living in the Bay State. The average household income in Massachusetts was $77,378 in 2018, according to Census figures.

For a family of five with a household income of up to $200,000, the bill as written would give them $10,000 a month.

For a single parent of two children making up to $100,000 a year, the legislation would provide a monthly $6,000 check.

An additional 3.2 million Americans filed for unemployment last week, the weekly report released by the Department of Labor on Thursday shows.

More than 33 million Americans have applied for benefits in the past seven weeks amid the coronavirus outbreak that has shutdown businesses across the country.

As a result of this horrific pandemic, tens of millions of Americans are living in economic desperation not knowing where their next meal or paycheck will come from, said Sanders. The one-time $1,200 check that many Americans recently received is not nearly enough to pay the rent, put food on the table and make ends meet. During this unprecedented crisis, Congress has a responsibility to make sure that every working-class household in America receives a $2,000 emergency payment a month for each family member. I am proud to be introducing legislation with Senators Harris and Markey to do exactly that. If we can bail out large corporations, we can make sure that everyone in this country has enough income to pay for the basic necessities of life.

The surge of job losses in the past seven weeks marks the fastest rate reported since the nation began tracking unemployment in 1948.

The total number of new unemployment claims filed in Massachusetts since March is 780,000, the Department of Labor said Thursday.

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By David Lawder and Roxanne Liu WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) - Top U.S.

By David Lawder and Roxanne Liu

WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) - Top U.S. and Chinese trade representatives played down deep differences over the economic wreckage of the coronavirus pandemic and said they would press ahead with implementing their "Phase 1" trade deal after an overnight phone call.

U.S. President Donald Trump, critical of China's early handling of the coronavirus outbreak in the city of Wuhan in late 2019, told Fox News Channel on Friday that he was "very torn" about whether to end the trade deal.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer discussed the deal with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on the phone call. The U.S. officials said in a joint statement that both sides agreed the obligations would be met.

China's Commerce Ministry said the two sides agreed to improve the atmosphere for implementation of the trade deal, which calls for Beijing to boost its purchases of American farm and manufactured goods, energy and services by $200 billion over two years compared to a 2017 baseline.

While China has made some purchases, some observers say these are running far behind the pace needed to meet the first-year goal of a $77 billion increase as China's economy is just now beginning to recover from shutdowns imposed during the pandemic.

On the call, the two sides "agreed that in spite of the current global health emergency, both countries fully expect to meet their obligations under the agreement in a timely manner," Lighthizer and Mnuchin said in their statement.

FEELING DIFFERENTLY

Trump and other top officials have blamed China for the deaths of hundreds of thousands from the outbreak and have threatened punitive action, including possible tariffs and shifting supply chains away from China.

Trump has said he would terminate the trade deal if China fails to meet its purchase commitments. He said on Wednesday that he would know within a week or two whether that was possible.

The U.S. statement suggested that more time may be needed and that the two sides would continue calls on a "regular basis."

Calling into Fox News Channel just before the Labor Department announced that 20.5 million non-farm jobs were lost during April amid coronavirus business closures, Trump said the overnight phone call indicated that the deal "moves along."

But he said that while he was initially "very excited" about the trade deal, the pandemic had changed his views about it.

"Look, I feel differently than I did. I was the most - I was very tough with China. They have to buy $250 billion worth of product, et cetera, et cetera," Trump said.

Asked if he was "breaking up" the Phase 1 trade deal, Trump said: "I'm very - I'm very torn as to - I have not decided yet, if you want to know the truth."

The U.S.-China Business Council, which represents U.S. companies doing business in China, said it was too soon to assess China's compliance with the trade deal, given that it only took effect on Feb. 15 as a global health crisis was unfolding.

"It would be extremely destabilizing if the president pulled out of the agreement without giving the Chinese a chance to meet their commitments," USCBC president Craig Allen said in a statement. "So far, China seems to be operating in good faith and has sought no modifications to its purchase commitments despite its ability to request them."

A clause in the agreement allows for either party to seek consultations in the event a natural disaster or other unforeseen circumstances prevent compliance. The clause has not been invoked.

(Reporting by Roxanne Liu, Huizhong Wu and Lusha Zhang in Beijing, Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru ; writing by Se Young Lee; Editing by Murali Anantharaman and Grant McCool)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Oregon public employee unions are finding creative ways to both support Democrats in the May 19 primary and punish a few of them.

Its a novel approach for the powerful political alliances and requires a delicate balance: They must heed the desire of their members to make lawmakers who voted to trim pensions last year pay a price  but avoid endangering Democrats supermajorities and powerful longtime allies.

In many Democratic legislative primaries, the upshot is zero public employee union spending.

They have been eerily quiet for sure, said Rep. Andrea Salinas, a Democrat from Lake Oswego who previously worked as a contract lobbyist for a trio of public employee and private sector unions. Salinas, who has advocated for some of the unions top priorities as a lawmaker and is running unopposed in the primary, said some of that might be due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But she heard the same thing from union officials as other lawmakers who voted for the pension changes: They could not support me in a primary run, at least financially.

Rep. Andrea Salinas, D-Lake Oswego, at the Capitol in February. Beth Nakamura/Staff

In some other races pitting Democrats against Democrats, meanwhile, the unions have gone into overdrive to try to make sure their favored candidate wins  and that even once-favored incumbents who supported a pension-trimming compromise dont.

Since the Legislature passed those pension reforms last year as part of a deal to secure the biggest corporate tax increase in state history, the states largest public employee unions all decided not to endorse, campaign for or give money to lawmakers who voted for the pension reforms. Strikingly, that was the case even when it meant opposing powerful longtime incumbents with histories of supporting unions priorities in the Capitol.

Public employee powerhouse SEIU Local 503, the statewide and local teachers unions, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the Oregon School Employees Association and the Oregon AFL-CIO all landed on that as their favored strategy.

Early in the election cycle, it appeared that might lead the unions to step up and give new candidates for the Legislature a fighting chance in the primary against Democrats who voted for the pension law. That largely failed to happen, with the exception of Tigard-Tualatin School Board member Ben Bowman running against Senate Majority Leader Ginny Burdick and military veteran and activist Paige Kreisman running against Rep. Rob Nosse.

That does not mean the public employee unions are sitting out the election.

A huge amount of their spending is focused on the three-candidate Democratic primary for secretary of state, in which the largest public employee unions have all lined up behind late entrant Sen. Shemia Fagan of Portland. Her campaign had reported raising the most of the three candidates by Friday afternoon, with nearly $560,000 in contributions. More than 80 percent of her money comes from public employee unions.

Democrats are keen to retake the secretary of states office after losing it to Republican Dennis Richardson in 2016. That year, Democratic nominee Brad Avakian also emerged from a three-way primary in which total fundraising hovered close to $2 million, according to state campaign finance records. In Oregon, the office is considered an ideal stepping-stone to run for governor and as Oregonians were reminded in 2015 when it happened to Kate Brown, the secretary of state takes over if the governor resigns.

The other two Democrats in this years secretary of state primary are former 2nd Congressional District candidate Jamie McLeod-Skinner and Sen. Mark Hass of Beaverton. Hass says the unions are supporting Fagan over him because of his 2019 vote for the pension reform bill, which he and others say was a package deal with the $1 billion-a-year business tax he championed to boost education spending. Senate Bill 1049 redirected 0.75% to 2.5% of employees retirement contributions from their 401(k)-like savings plan to the state pension fund to help address a deficit that stood around $25 billion before the coronavirus crisis.

State Sen. Shemia Fagan, from left, former congressional candidate Jamie McLeod-Skinner and state Sen. Mark Hass are competing for their party's nomination in the May primary.

It all has to do with the (Public Employees Retirement System reform) vote that I made in 2019, which is how I sort of lost support from the public sector unions, Hass, who received public sector union contributions in previous elections, said during an endorsement interview with Willamette Week that was posted online. At the Oregon Education Association endorsement convention, I looked them in the eye and I said, Heres why we had to do this, we wouldnt have had the Student Success Act without it. And I know that youre not going to support me because of that. But I told them the truth.

Fagan responded in the Willamette Week interview that public sector unions have supported her throughout her political career, not because of one vote that took place in 2019, but rather because of her overall voting record.

Not all the unions political spending this year has been easy to track. A political action committee with the mysterious name Oregonians for Ballot Access this week launched a website that appears to be independent of the three Democrats but exists solely to help elect Fagan. Funded by public employee unions and Planned Parenthood, whose volunteers are also working to elect Fagan, the political action committee drew a rebuke for its shadowy tactics from longtime lawmaker and McLeod-Skinner ally Rep. Alissa Keny-Guyer, as Willamette Week reported Thursday.

Public employee unions are also behind the No Fake Democrats political action committee, which was formed to attack House District 36 candidate Lisa Reynolds, a pediatrician and gun safety activist. Her opponents are Portland State University IT specialist Rob Fullmer, a union leader who has the endorsement of SEIU Local 503, and longtime Oregon teachers union lobbyist Laurie Wimmer, who has the support of the statewide and Portland teachers unions and the school employees union.

Lisa Reynolds, a pediatrician, is a Democratic candidate for Oregon House District 36. Photo courtesy of Lisa Reynolds.

Marc Abrams, the committees treasurer and an assistant attorney general at the Oregon Department of Justice, said it was established to support the idea that Democrats support unions, support workers, and voters should reject Reynolds because she supported former Republican secretary of state and gubernatorial candidate Knute Buehler both financially and in an op-ed. Oregon campaign finance records show Reynolds gave Buehler $10,500, most of it when he was running for secretary of state in 2012.

Our concern is more making sure someone whos a true democrat wins, Abrams said Friday.

The committee, which has not reported spending any money, has paid for an online ad against Reynolds, and Abrams suggested it might support or attack candidates in other races in the remaining days before the May 19 election deadline.

I do believe we will branch out, Abrams said. With many undecided voters waiting until the final days, You still can have an influence.

Reynolds, whose support for Buehler has been previously reported, explained again Friday evening that shes been close friends with his wife Patty since the first day of kindergarten.

I grew up with Patty Buehler, Reynolds said. I was at her wedding. I was at the birth of her son. And Im an incredibly loyal friend.

Reynolds said her campaign has already responded with its own ad and she listed her Democratic bonafides. Ive been an activist with Moms Demand Action, I was a cofounder of Indivisible Oregon whose whole purpose of existing is to fight the Trump agenda.

The unions have also focused on other strategies to shape Oregon politics this year: providing the majority of funding for an effort to recall Hood River Republican Sen. Chuck Thomsen, support for a ballot measure referred by the Legislature that would raise money for Medicaid via tobacco taxes and an initiative to decriminalize the personal possession of most drugs that still has a chance to make the ballot.

Oregon state Sen. Chuck Thomsen, R-Hood River, is sworn in at the state Capitol on Jan. 14, 2019. Dave Killen / StaffDave Killen

Unions were funding two ballot initiatives in response to multiple Republican walkouts in the last year that would punish missing lawmakers, either financially or by disqualifying them from holding office in the future. Its unclear whether those will move ahead since coronavirus has made it difficult to gather signatures.

Finally, there are legislative races in which unions have provided typical direct donations to Democratic incumbents who voted no on the pension reform bill, such as Rep. Brian Clem, Rep. Paul Evans, Rep. Diego Hernandez, Rep. Rachel Prusak and Sen. Kathleen Taylor. In the northwest corner of the state, they are playing a major role supporting candidate Debbie Boothe-Schmidt who is running for an open seat.

In the case of Salinas, the Lake Oswego lawmaker and former labor union lobbyist, she is working to maintain her relationship with the unions and says shes proud of her record of successfully advocating for legislation public employees want, such as a 2019 law that allowed government workers to maintain the ability to double up on health insurance. The benefit was slated to end under a 2017 cost saving plan.

As for the pension law, on which Salinas initially voted no but changed to yes after meeting with House Speaker Tina Kotek, it was and still is something that I think about, she said. It did not really comport with my own values and how I think about PERS  But I feel things could have started to unravel in terms of the agreement with the Senate in terms of funding the Student Success bill.

Clarification: This article has been updated to list the specific education unions that have donated money to legislative candidate Laurie Wimmer. Her opponent, Rob Fullmer, received support from the American Federation of Teachers. It was also updated to correctly report the total amount of Lisa Reynolds campaign contributions to Knute Buehler.

-- Hillary Borrud: hborrud@oregonian.com; @hborrud

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HAMILTON  Peggy J Paul Smith, age 85 passed away in the early morning of May 6, 2020 from natural causes at the Discovery Care Center in Hamilton.

She was born on March 1, 1935 in Butte to Joseph A Paul and Isabelle Crane Paul. A true Butte girl with Manx heritage, she attended school in Butte and graduated from Butte High School in 1953. She married Walter Sam Smith in Butte on Aug. 21, 1954. As a home maker and mother, she raised two daughters and two sons in Butte during her familys early years.

Peggy was truly an avid outdoors woman who genuinely enjoyed many camping, fishing, hunting and snowmobile outings around Montana. They moved from Butte to the Bitterroot Valley in 1972 where she and Sam built a new home in the country, on the westside of Victor. She was active in the Catholic Church at St. Anns in Butte and worked as a secretary for St. Marys Catholic Church in Stevensville where she also published the weekly bulletin. Once the kids were raised, she started work as a travel agent which she did for over 25 overs. A perk of being a travel agent, Peggy and other family members made many trips throughout the U.S. and beyond to Hawaii, Europe, England, Ireland, Mexico, Canada, and China. A highlight of her trips was visiting ancestry family in the Isle of Man. She loved to plan fun travel adventures for all her clients. Sam and Peggy sold their Victor property in 1986, lived a few years in Missoula and then moved to Seattle until 1996 when they returned to Butte.

During her retirement years in Butte, Peggy looked after her parents and helped many other senior citizens as a senior companion thru the Sisters of Charity at St. Pats by running errands, providing local travel assistance and in-home friendship to those in need. They moved once again from Butte in August of 2018 to Hamilton where she resided until her passing. She will always be remembered for being a patient and wonderful wife, mother and grandmother.

Her father and mother preceded her in death in 2001 and 2009.

She is survived by her husband Walter Sam Smith, residing in Hamilton, oldest daughter Pam Johnson of Helena, son Walter Butch Smith and wife Cheryl of Hamilton, youngest daughter Vicki Smith of Seattle, estranged son William Smith and wife Pam, brother Richard Paul of Butte and Palm Springs, eight grandchildren, numerous great grandchildren and one great great grandson.

She touched many peoples lives and will be remembered by all for her beautiful smile and love of family and friends. Rest in peace. We love you! A private burial will take place at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Butte with a Memorial service for later in the year. Condolences may be left for the family at dalyleachchapel.com.

Memorials may be made to Lady of the Rockies in Butte or St. Anns Catholic Church.
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Screen New Deal Intercept (David L, resilc). Todays must read.

One of the creepiest and most dystopian things Ive seen since the pandemic began: a terrifying camera-equipped remote-controlled robot patrols Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park in Singapore to  for now  warn about social distancing. Look at the fear. Story: https://t.co/12QfT1mcyZ pic.twitter.com/hBGUhmC7N7  Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) May 8, 2020

China?

Exclusive: OPCW chief made false claims to denigrate Douma whistleblower, documents reveal Grayzone

Silvercorp mercenaries Venezuela captured following this weeks failed invasion face charges including terrorism, conspiracy, & illicit arms trafficking. They face 25-30 yrs in prison US citizens Luke Denman & Airan Berry are among them pic.twitter.com/1o3cGstd6a  Anya Parampil (@anyaparampil) May 9, 2020

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2020
The Lagos State Government has expressed concern over the increasing number of runaway patients who tested positive for Covid-19 in the state, describing it as disturbing.

Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, made the remark on Friday, during a media briefing on the update of Covid-19 situation in the state, held in Alausa, Ikeja.

Responding to questions on discrepancy over bed capacity and the number of cases, Abayomi said:

Speaking on the discrepancy in the number of active cases and the amount of occupancy of our isolation facilities, two factors are responsible.



One, we just opened Gbagada General Hospital Isolation Facility and yet to admit most of the patients and as soon as we fill-up the Gbagada facility our occupancy capacity will increase from 45 per cent to about 80 per cent.

Other factor, is a situation we (Lagos government/officials) are experiencing. When we test people, sometimes we find put very difficult to locate them thereafter.

The ambulances will go into communities and people will flee their homes, thereby, making it difficult for us to find them.

They shut their doors and switched off their phones. I think this is because people are afraid to come to Isolation centres. And we dont have the type of leverage yo start hunting people down.

We are relying on community cooperation to work with. Because when you are tested positive we expect you to cooperate with us and be accessible to us in your own interest so that we can access if you are mild or Asymptomatic. If you are we discharge you in few days.

And if you are moderate or severe, at least you have the opportunity to give you the treatment that will stop you from getting into a critical state. Our isolation centres are very comfortable. We have made a lot of improvement since the Ebola outbreak.

And from the testimonies of those who have been to our facilities will bear us witness. There is nothing to be afraid of because our staff are highly professional. I have implicit confidence in their abilities.

Members of the executive and senior people in government have been admitted into those facilities. If I test positive, I will go to one of those facilities.

It is better to come out for treatment than hiding yourself. We dont want to see a high record of fatalities in our beloved Lagos State. If you are tested positive to COVID-19, please dont run away from our authorities. Its not a death sentence. You can call our emergency line on 08000corona, 08000267662 for help and assistance.

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At night, Carolyn Sterling knows she can hear him outside her tent. So she keeps quiet and keeps to herself.

If he comes around during the day, shell walk through the gathering of homeless campers who line one end of Couch Park in Northwest Portland as if she doesnt have a care in the world, just to send him a message that he cant get to her.

But she is also scared. Because he has before.

Its just hell, Sterling said. Its bad, and Im scared and theres nothing to protect me right now.

Sterling is one of dozens of people experiencing domestic violence -- or rightfully fearing they might -- who have become more visible in food lines but harder for social service workers to track amid the pandemic. Victim advocates say it is more daunting than ever for affected Portlanders find to find safety and security from abusers.

Services are still available. Crisis hot lines are still answering calls. Advocates have adapted as best they can to get those in domestic violence situations the help they need even when they cant contact them in person.

But its gotten more difficult to provide victims and potential victims, mostly financially strapped women, an exit from a bad situation, and nonprofit and agency budgets are strained by the effort.

The Oregon Legislatures Emergency Board allocated $2 million in extra funding to the domestic violence services system in April, a welcome infusion of cash. But it wont go very far, according to workers in the system.

We will go through it all so quickly, said Fay Schuler, executive director of Portland-based crisis line Call to Safety.

Even before the stay-home order in mid-March, she struggled to find enough room in shelters or affordable housing for women needing to relocate to safety and funding for staff to assist them, Schuler said. The pandemic is just thrusting the problem into the spotlight.

The system is broken. Theres just never been enough resources and weve never had a solution for domestic violence thats survivor-centered, Schuler said.

CALLS INCREASE AMID PANDEMIC

Call to Safety helps Oregonians experiencing domestic abuse. An advocate picks up the phone or responds to a text and helps create a plan for the person at the other end to stay safe or get out of a violent situation. That work is still happening -- in fact, the organization extended its hours when people can call or text for help.

But these days staffers sometimes have little to offer other than a voucher to pay for a night in a motel or a train ride to relatives.

Schuler said people are tapping those funds more than ever.

The transportation offer was usually not a first choice before, but now people are agreeing to stay with family in Texas or California at a rate she hasnt seen before. And they are blowing through the motel vouchers.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Call to Safety has used its entire annual budget for motel vouchers, and the need is only increasing. Thats about $300,000 worth of nights in motels.

Rose Haven WomenOs Day Center Thursday, April 30, 2020. Mark Graves/Staff Mark GravesMark Graves

Calls to the crisis line increased 10% in April over the year before, Schuler said. The lethality of circumstances -- the chances of death if a person must stay in an abusive situation -- has also increased.

Guns are in the home. Abusers are more consistently violent. Schuler and her colleagues judge those rates by the reports of people who call in.

Police data appears to back up their assertions.

For instance, Clark County Sheriffs Office Sgt. Brent Waddell said that harassment calls, a measure the sheriffs office uses to measure domestic violence reports, have increased by about 40% over the former highest average for this time period. Calls about restraining order violations have also skyrocketed, mostly due to abusers who leverage the governors stay-home orders to convince the person who obtained the restraining order to let them back home.

Waddell is also serving as a case manager right now, so he is going through every newly filed arrest report and said it appears that domestic violence assaults have also increased.

The Multnomah County District Attorneys Office shows a 40% increase in felony domestic violence cases referred for prosecution from local law enforcement in April. While some of those cases might be older than the pandemic, there were more cases received than the past three Aprils.

And Clackamas Countys district attorneys office saw a 47% increase in domestic violence cases last month over its April average.

Thats partly why Schuler must blow so much of her budget on motel vouchers. Before the pandemic, she said, her organization determined about one person a month seemed at high risk of death and needed to be in a motel right now.

Now, the average is seven.

STUCK ON THE STREET

Sterling, 66, lived in a motel room after leaving a homeless shelter, where she had been staying with her ex-husband. She acknowledges she had returned to her ex-husband in the past, a cycle experienced by many abuse survivors.

She was on track to get an apartment in an affordable housing complex.

She has a restraining order.

But agencies cant put victims up in hotels for unlimited amounts of time, even when they think its best. Sterling said she left the motel because her ex-husband found her there and she felt unsafe. The apartment fell through because of the wreck her ex made of her finances, she said.

In March, just as the city was shutting down, Sterling got a tent from Rose Haven, a day center for cisgender and transgender women, and set it up just a block and a half away.

She said that its clear her ex-husband doesnt mind ignoring her restraining order, but at least she can be close to the one place she feels safe and comfortable right now.

The community at Rose Haven is a small luxury for the women who gather outside of First Immanuel Luther Church in Northwest Portland. Rose Haven, housed at the church but not affiliated with its ministry, used to allow women to come inside and hang out for most of the day, but social distancing protocols have moved their operations outside and reduced the hours to 9 a.m. to noon.

The women can get a meal, pick up tents and sleeping bags and spend time with other women who are homeless or on the edge of it. Nearly all of them have also experienced some form of emotional, physical or sexual abuse either while living on the street or as the cause for why they are on the street now.

Dorothy Pepper walked out of her apartment one day in September after years of abuse by several partners. She had to leave everything, she said. Since then, she has received some medical help but the camping supplies and emotional support she gets from Rose Haven are about all she has.

She is frustrated that her only source of income now is what she can gather from holding up a sign asking for change while she waits for space in shelters or other services. Even with a cane, a painful hip injury makes it hard for her to traverse town and stand outside in lines at the places that are offering food or other services.

Christine Keery, a Rose Haven social worker who helps women experiencing domestic violence, tries to connect Pepper to as many places to get money, food and help as possible. But she feels she can offer little more than a sympathetic ear these days.

Its frustrating to see ladies not being able to find a safe place, because now theyre stuck in the loop of homelessness and poverty, Keery said. What got them here in the first place is domestic violence.

Before coronavirus, she could at least reliably send women to one or two empty beds at a publicly funded homeless shelter that remained open at the end of the day. Now, she can almost never find a place inside, even when the circumstances seem dire.

Often, she all she can do is provides a phone for the women to dial Call to Safety.

They come to us and what?, Keery said with a defeated lift of her shoulders. We give them a tent?

Dorothy Pepper became homeless when she left an abusive partner. She is now frustrated that she must ask for money on the street to survive, and is especially frustrated that the services she could receive for her medical and psychological needs are paused during coronavirus. Photo by Mark Graves/The Oregonian Mark GravesMark Graves

ALMOST AT A STANDSTILL

El Programa Hispano Catolico runs the only domestic violence program specifically designed for the Latinx community in Portland. It is so tapped out that people who call its crisis line are most often referred to other nonprofits that dont have many Spanish-speaking staff.

That program, UNICA, is serving its clients virtually and has adapted as much as possible to the pandemic restrictions. But calls are coming at the same pace as always while shelters are either shut to new arrivals or slow to move people out, forcing those who cant stay in an untenable situation into homelessness.

Our communities of color especially have already been disproportionately impacted by homelessness, said El Programa Deputy Director Brigitte Rodriguez. When you add to that domestic violence or sexual assault, the pandemic -- its a little more challenging.

So the staff who answer the phone spend a lot of time triaging callers, connecting them to the services available in the meantime, moving them into motels and talking through back-up plans if the caller decides to stay with an abuser for the time being.

While the call load hasnt gone through the roof, the severity of the circumstances has ratcheted up, Rodriguez said.

That indicates to her that when the stay-home orders lift, UNICA will receive an avalanche of calls from people who havent had an opportunity to get away from a controlling partner.

Alexxis Robinson-Woods, program and services director for domestic violence shelter operator Bradley-Angle, is preparing for that. Bradley-Angles shelter is technically admitting new residents, but as one of the only domestic violence shelters doing so, the unmet demand is stacking up.

The nonprofits staff are desperately trying to move people into housing from the shelter to open more beds, but that is as tough for the domestic violence system as it is for the homelessness system. Advocates struggle to meet with landlords and process paperwork fast enough. The flow in and out of the shelter has nearly stopped.

The problem is not so much whether or not were open, but whether or not were able to have the space, Robinson-Woods said. Now, its almost at a standstill.

A DOOR TO LOCK

Carolyn Sterling bought a phone at the end of April because she had a telephonic court date. She had to testify against her ex-husband in a case in which he was accused of beating her.

Dressed in all black and white, complemented by her tiny white companion dog Aft, she rustled out of her tent on the morning of the court date and marched her phone down to Rose Haven to charge.

Sterling talks confidently and fast, she makes no bones about how much marijuana she has turned to smoking to manage the stress of her daily life. She admits that she has gotten into conflict with some domestic violence service providers and feels let down by the system.

She apologizes for swearing when saying that she wont be messed with anymore but means it that much. Shes gotten tough, she said.

But having a cellphone  which can let people she doesnt want to talk to reach her -- makes her a little anxious. And preparing to testify against someone she said has broken her arm, cracked her pelvis and punched her in the head felt a little bit more nerve-wracking as a disembodied voice than in person.

Sterling hopes that her case is successful but expects her ex will be back once he is released from jail.

She likely wont feel safe until she has a door to lock, she said, but she hasnt gotten to touch a doorknob much since the pandemic started, so that feels far away.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, here are resources mentioned in the story:

Call to Safety: 1-888-235-5333 or 503-235-5333

El Programa Hispano Catolicos UNICA program: 503-232-4448

Rose Haven: open 9 a.m. to noon, Monday through Friday, at 627 N.W. 18th Ave. in Portland

Bradley Angle

-- Molly Harbarger

mharbarger@oregonian.com | 503-294-5923 | @MollyHarbarger

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Alabama lawmakers today passed a scaled-down education budget for next year as they wound down a legislative session limited in scope by the coronavirus pandemic.

The education budget increases spending from the Education Trust Fund to $7.2 billion, about $90 million more than this year. Before the pandemic arrived, Gov. Kay Ivey had proposed an increase of $411 million.

Income taxes and sales taxes, the largest sources for the ETF, will decline because of the pandemic. A proposal for a 3% pay raise for education employees was dropped.

The Senate approved the budget by a vote of 31-0 this morning, sending it back to the House with minor changes. The House voted 73-1 to agree with the changes. That sends the bill to Ivey, who could sign it into law.

Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, chairman of the education budget committee, said it was prudent to cut about three-fourths of the increase that Ivey initially sought.

We had to make changes, Orr said. And the revenues are going to be affected by the virus. One of my concerns is what if we have a relapse in October, November, in this coming year. And thats the reason we believe that decreasing about 75% from the governors (recommendation) down to what we recommended year over year was the prudent thing to do.

K-12 schools received an increase of $73 million over this year, or 1.5%.

Community colleges got an increase of $11 million. That includes a $4 million increase for programs offering dual enrollment for high school students and a $1 million increase for prison education.

Universities and colleges got an overall increase of $38 million, with each four-year institution receiving at least 2% more than this year.

Lawmakers passed the General Fund budget Thursday and sent it to Ivey. It distributes $2.4 billion from the General Fund, which is $169 million more than this year. Before the pandemic, Ivey had proposed a $340 million increase. Lawmakers dropped plans for a 2% pay raise for state employees.

The governor has not decided whether to sign the General Fund budget, Press Secretary Gina Maiola said today in an email. Lawmakers can override an executive veto or executive amendments with votes by a majority of representatives and senators.

After finishing the education budget and related bills, as well as local bills, the House and Senate adjourned this afternoon. Lawmakers will return on May 18, the last day allowed for the session, to take care of unfinished business, including any potential vetoes or amendments.

The difference in the original budgets, which the governor proposed when state employment levels were at record highs, and the ones passed by the Legislature this week totaled about a half-billion dollars. More than than 400,000 Alabamians have lost their jobs since mid-March.

Big decisions remain about how the state can and should spend about $1.8 billion in federal CARES Act money for the COVID-19 outbreak. Those decisions are expected to come in a special session later this year.

Lawmakers resumed the session on Monday after a pause of almost eight weeks caused by the pandemic. They met for six straight days in a State House that was essentially closed to the public, although press was allowed.

House members wore masks and sat farther apart. Some moved to the gallery to allow social distancing. Senators wore masks, too, but not as uniformly as the House. Few were wearing masks today.

Only one of the 28 members of the House Democratic caucus attended regularly this week -- Rep. Rod Scott of Fairfield. The caucus took the position that it was too soon to pass state budgets because of uncertainty about how much revenues will decline because of the pandemic. Ivey said she was surprised at the move to pass budgets now for the same reason. Most of the Senate Democrats attended this week.

Besides decisions about the use of CARES Act funds, lawmakers will end the session with other major issues unsettled. They did not consider some of the major legislation that was possible before the pandemic, including reforms intended to improve a prison system in crisis, a bill to allow medical marijuana, and a proposal for a state lottery.

This story will be updated.
Family Claims Cambodian Detainee Was Tortured to Death in Prison, Despite Suicide Ruling

2020-05-08 -- A Cambodian man suffering from mental illness who died in detention in Battambang province last month was tortured and murdered by prison guards, his aunt said Friday, as a local rights group demanded a probe into his death.

On April 19, 38-year-old Orn Tith stole a car and damaged it after driving it onto private property. When his family was unable to pay for the damages, police arrested him and sent him to the Battambang Provincial Correction Center.

On April 30, prison authorities transported Orn Tithwho has been medically certified as having a mental health conditionto the Battambang Provincial Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. Prison officials ruled his death a suicide.

Orn Tith's aunt, Yorn Kim, told RFA's Khmer Service Friday that her nephew's hands, legs, back, and waist were covered in bruises when his family went to retrieve his body, saying it appeared as if he had been beaten with a baton or thick cable while handcuffed and shackled.

She said she believes he was tortured to death and demanded that the provincial court bring his murderers to justice, adding that she filed a complaint with court authorities on Thursday.

"I can assure you that this is a torture case, because there is no way my nephew committed suicide," she said.

"He is mentally ill. He could not kill himself. I could believe if he died by drowning or hanging, but what weapons did he use to kill himself?"

Yorn Kim called her nephew's case an example of how Cambodia's justice system is "very biased against the poor, who don't have any power."

Ministry of Justice spokesman Chin Malin could not be reached for comment Friday, but earlier told RFA that Orn Tith died of "self-inflicted wounds," not torture or acts of violence.

"If the family members are not satisfied with the explanation, they can file a complaint according to the lawif they have evidence to prove their argument," he said at the time.

On Friday, Yin Mengly, Battambang provincial coordinator for local rights group Adhoc, called for a "thorough investigation" of Orn Tith's case, adding that he never should have been arrested and jailed in the first place because of his mental health condition.

"There are suspicious circumstances surrounding the death and [Orn Tith] did not simply die from an illness," he said.

Yin Mengly said that if it is proven that Orn Tith died as a result of torture, the court is obligated to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Call to expedite case

Yorn Kim's claims come shortly after the wife of a man who died from torture while detained for joining a land-rights protest called on the Banteay Meanchey Provincial Court to speed up its investigation into his case and provide her with compensation for his death.

Tuy Sros, a resident of the Ou Chrov district of Banteay Meanchey province, died in police custody on Jan. 1 after being held from Dec. 28 to Dec. 31 following the protest, in which four other villagers were also detained.

His wife, Kim Lak, told RFA that a group of military officers came to her house on April 18 to convince her to drop the court case in exchange for compensation, but said she refused.

"They came and wanted to settle the case," she said. "I don't know much about them, but they said they wanted to compromise and asked how much they would have to pay."

Kim Lak said she is afraid that she will be no longer be able to earn enough money to take care of herself and her 14-year-old daughter.

"It's very hard nowI don't have money to pay back our debts," she said. "I haven't been able to find a job since I lost my husband."

'It was too late'

Another villager who was detained with Tuy Sros and survived the torture named Nouv Noeun said he had filed a complaint to request compensation but has yet to be summoned by the court to give testimony.

"It has been a few months already and the case went cold," he said.

Nouv Noeun said he was also approached by a group of people on April 18 who asked him to name a price to resolve his case outside of the courts, but he refused.

"It was too late," he said, adding that he would have considered doing so when he needed treatment for his injuries, but by mid-April had "already suffered greatly."

"I want a solution that complies with the law," he said.

Banteay Meanchey provincial governor Um Reatrey could not be reached for comment about the torture cases at the time of publishing.

Soeung Senkarona, spokesman for Adhoc, told RFA that criminal offenses cannot be resolved outside the court system, although the victims can accept compensation.

"The cases should not be delayed, lest the family members lose their trust in the judicial system," he said.

"They are understandably worried that the court will never resolve their issues."

Reported by RFA's Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

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.

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Florida-native Kailah Casillas first appeared on Real World: Go Big or Go Home before becoming a regular competitor on MTVs longstanding reality competition series, The Challenge. She also made an unforgettable appearance on Lindsay Lohans Beach Club as an ambassador before butting heads with the child star herself, resulting in her dismissal from the short-lived series.

Additionally, Casillas was in a high-profile relationship with fellow reality star Mikey Pericoloso, and they appeared in a May 2019 episode of MTVs How Far is Tattoo Far. The beautiful reality star has gained fame through her several television appearances, which has resulted in a successful OnlyFans account. The Challenge co-star and veteran Wes Bergmann revealed how much she makes from the platform in a recent interview.

Kailah Casillas | Jason Kempin

Kailah Casillas The Challenge and MTV career

In 2016, then 22-year-old recent college graduate Kailah Casillas made her reality television debut on MTVs The Real World: Go Big or Go Home. Even though she hooked up with castmate Dione Mariani, it didnt lead to anything outside of the house.

Shortly after her appearance, the Florida-native competed on MTV reality competition series, The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions, where she eliminated veteran Marie Roda.

Casillas returned for the following season, Dirty 30, and sent two formidable competitors packing but barely missed the finals. The reality star came back for Vendettas, where she finished fourth, winning $25,625.

She then competed on spinoff Champs vs. Stars alongside childhood crush Drake Bell, and they raised $1,450 for their respective charities. Seeking her first win, Casillas came back for the following season but got into a physical fight with UK-native Melissa Reeves, resulting in her disqualification on the first day.

After her elimination, she took a break from Challenges and appeared on Lindsay Lohans Beach Club as an ambassador. However, the Florida-native clashed with the child star herself and was eliminated from the competition.

Note to self: When trying to put together a romantic surprise, don't ask Wes and Bananas to spearhead it. #TheChallenge35 pic.twitter.com/rx3oF0aPHO  challengemtv (@ChallengeMTV) May 9, 2020

The now 27-year-old returned to The Challenge three seasons later for Total Madness, where she cheated on her longtime boyfriend, Mikey Pericoloso, with castmate Stephen Bear.

Around December 2019, shortly after she finished filming Total Madness, Casillas created an OnlyFans account, which has since gotten extremely popular.

How much Kailah Casillas makes from OnlyFans

OnlyFans is a subscription-based social media platform where a user can post exclusive content, typically of pornographic nature, for subscribers who pay monthly subscription fees set by the user, which range from $4.99 to around $44.99.

The MTV star currently charges $35 a month and has over 9,000 likes. Presently, Casillas, her boyfriend Ex on the Beach star Sam Bird, Challenge competitors Dee Nguyen, Devin Walker, and Nany Gonzalez are all staying with veteran Wes Bergmanns Kansas City-based home.

In an interview with former Challenge star Sarah Rice, Bergmann revealed Casillas makes around $300,000 a year, or $25,000 monthly from her OnlyFans account.

He also claimed Are You the One? star Walker brings in approximately $125,000 annually or $11,000 monthly. Based on this, Casillas has a little over 700 monthly subscribers.

Walker does not have a set price as he offers many deals for his followers, so its difficult to estimate how many monthly subscribers he has. The Challenge 35: Total Madness airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST on MTV.
At least 11 U.S. Secret Service employees were reported to be infected with the coronavirus and about 60 other staffers were in self-quarantine, a person familiar with the matter said Friday.

The person who is not authorized to comment publicly declined to breakdown the numbers of civilian versus agent infections. The assignment locations of the sick employees also were not identified.

The service, which safeguards the country's financial systems and provides personal protection for the president, vice president and their families, along with visiting heads of state, has 7,600 employees. Some of the more than 3,000 agents work in close proximity to those they protect.

The development, first disclosed by Yahoo News, comes as the pandemic has crept closer to the inner circle of the White House.

The revelations come after two White House employees tested positive for the virus this week.

Pence in Iowa: Pence aimed to project normalcy during his trip to Iowa, but coronavirus got in the way

A member of Vice President Mike Pences staff, press secretary Katie Miller, tested positive for coronavirus just as Pence was preparing to depart on a trip to Iowa Friday to promote efforts to reopen the economy, delaying takeoff for an hour.

Members of the US Secret Service Uniformed Division patrol outside of the White House in Washington, DC, Jan. 9, 2019, on the 18th day of the partial government shutdown.

On Thursday, the White House disclosed that a military valet to President Donald Trump also tested positive for the virus.

The developments involving the valet and Pence staffer prompted the White House to put in place additional protective measures.

Trump said White House aides will be tested for the virus daily instead of weekly. He said the valet was in the room with him on Tuesday, the day he began exhibiting symptoms, but that he did not recall any direct contact with him.

The president said he has been tested twice in recent days and that both tests came back negative.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coronavirus: Secret Service employees infected with COVID-19
Islamabad: Pakistan on Saturday began easing the month-long lockdown despite a steady rise in the number of the coronavirus cases which rose to 27,474 after health authorities reported a big jump of 1,637 infections and 24 deaths in a single day.

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that Pakistan would begin easing its nationwide lockdown in a phase-wise manner by allowing various businesses to open up from Saturday, citing the economic crisis due to the shutdown, which was enforced in the country in March end.

The first phase of easing lockdown began as the government announced removing restrictions by allowing more business to open and operate from dawn to 5 pm.

The federal government was trying to provide maximum relief to the people but due to the current economic conditions of the country, the lockdown must be eased, the Express Tribune quoted Khan as saying.

Sindh chief minister Murad Ali Shah and Adviser to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Ajmal Wazir said the provincial government is on board with Khan's plan.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Friday announced the easing of lockdown enforced on March 21. According to it, shops and selected businesses will open four days a week and that all businesses will be closed at 4pm.

Also, the government has allowed congregational prayers in mosques during the month of Ramzan after the clerics agreed to follow the government guidelines on social distancing while praying in mosques.

However, doctors and the Opposition expressed reservations about the decisions. Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said "this government has no policy on lockdown or coronavirus."

Although several economic sectors and business activities are allowed to reopen, schools in Pakistan will remain closed until July 15.

According to the Ministry of National Health Services, Pakistan reported a total of 27,474 coronavirus cases after 1,637 new patients were diagnosed in one day. Another 24 patients died taking the death toll to 618.

The Punjab province reported 10,471 cases, Sindh 9,691, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 4,327, Balochistan 1,876, Islamabad 609, Gilgit-Baltistan 421 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 79 cases.

So far 7,756 patients have recovered. The authorities have conducted 270,025 tests including 12,982 in the last 24 hours.

Separately, prime minister Khan appreciated the 'Made in Pakistan' initiative of the Ministry of Science and Technology focusing on boosting indigenous productivity in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
DEAL OF THE WEEK

S&S Ponies Up for the Good Life After a 12-publisher auction, psychiatrist Robert Waldinger and psychologist Marc Schulz sold, in a seven-figure deal, The Good Life: Lessons from the Worlds Longest Study on Happiness. Bob Bender at Simon & Schuster won North American rights to the book from Doug Abrams and Lara Love Hardin at Idea Architects. The Good Life, the agents said, distills 80 years of research and ancient wisdom to answer eternal questions about the keys to happiness and well-being. Waldinger, a professor at Harvard Medical School and director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development (which launched in 1938 and is considered the longest-running study of its kind), did a TED Talk that inspired the book. What Makes a Good Life? is, the agents added, one of TEDs top 10 most watched and shared talks to date, with more than 30 million views.

FROM THE U.S.

MacLean Closes Quartet at Avon

In a four-book, high-six-figure deal, Sarah MacLean re-upped with Avon Books. Through the agreement, brokered by Avons Carrie Feron and Holly Root at Root Literary, MacLean will pen a series titled Hells Belles, about a gang of women in the Victorian era who, the publisher said, are hell-bent on smashing the patriarchy in all corners of London, from glittering ballrooms to dark alleys. Book one, which is currently untitled, is set for summer 2021.

FSG Examines Osnoss Wildland

For Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Eric Chinski took U.S., Canadian, and open market rights to Evan Osnoss Wildland. The book, subtitled The Making of Americas Fury and slated for fall 2021, examines the origins of Americas political and ideological dissolution, according to the publisher. Osnos is a staff writer for the New Yorker who won the National Book Award for 2014s Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China (also published by FSG). In his upcoming work, Osnos looks closely at three cities he has lived inGreenwich, Conn.; Clarksburg, W.Va.; and Chicagoto find, FSG elaborated, a deeper explanation of the United Statess growing political divisions, and where they will lead. Jennifer Joel at ICM Partners represented Osnos in the deal.

Dey Street Takes Book on Harry and Meghan

Carrie Thornton at Dey Street has nabbed a book that parent company HarperCollins is touting as the true story of Harry and Meghan. Thornton took world rights to Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family from Albert Lee at the United Talent Agency. The authors, Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, are U.K.-based reporters who, per HC, have unique access to the pair and are writing the book with the participation of those closest to the couple. The book, set for summer 2020, will, HC said, go beyond the headlines to reveal unknown details of Harry and Meghans life together, dispelling the many rumors and misconceptions that plague the couple on both sides of the pond.

'Stockholm Sven Retreats to Little, Brown

In a preempt, Ben George at Little, Brown took world rights to the debut novel The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven. Author Nathaniel Ian Miller, a graduate of the University of Montanas MFA program, was represented by Esmond Harmsworth at Aevitas Creative Management. George said the novel was inspired by a mysterious real-life hermit; in the book, the hero is horribly disfigured in a mining accident and thereafter lives for years alone in a remote fjord on Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic. The character, George went on, has occasional adventures with other miners and fur trappers, until his enduring love for a wayward niece forces a renewed connection with humanity.

Grandes Glory Celebrated at Atria

Reyna Grande (The Distance Between Us) sold a historical novel, The Color of Glory, to Michelle Herrera Mulligan at Atria. The North American rights agreement was brokered by Johanna V. Castillo at Writers House, who called Grande a notable voice for the Latinx community during the American Dirt controversy, when she wrote a New York Times op-ed on the subject and appeared on an episode of the Apple TV+ series Oprahs Book Club to discuss the scandal. The Color of Glory, Castillo said, follows an Irish soldier in the U.S. Army who swims across the Rio Grande to defend Mexico against the American invasion of 1846 and meets a headstrong nurse who steals his heart.

Morrow Buys Belonging

For William Morrow, Rachel Kahan bought world rights to Walter Thompson-Hernandezs memoir Belonging: A Story of Family, Migration, and Homecoming. Chad Luibl at Janklow & Nesbit Associates brokered the deal. In the book, the publisher said, Thompson-Hernandez (The Compton Cowboys) writes about his mother, who fled violence in her native Mexico at age 16 and journeyed to Los Angeles, where the author was born in secret, and where he grew up struggling to embrace his multiracial identity.

SMP Backs Beard Book

Graham Boyntons biography of recently deceased wildlife photographer Peter Beard was acquired, for six figures, by Charles Spicer at St. Martins Press. Boynton (Last Days in Cloud Cuckooland) is a conservationist and was represented by Laura Yorke at the Carol Mann Agency, who called the currently untitled book the definitive take on Beard. The subject was as famous for his playboy lifestyle as he was for his photographs, and the book, Yorke said, will convey Beard as a force of naturea trust-fund kid who led the life of a poet, a conservationist, an explorer, and an artist, and who got all the girls.

Lindgrens River Runs Through Random House

Kayaker Scott Lindgren and Outside magazine correspondent Thayer Walker sold The River Runner to Mark Warren at Random House. The book, RH said, is an account of Lindgrens quest to become the first person to attempt to kayak the four great rivers that flow from Tibets sacred Mt. Kailash and survive. Susan Canavan at Waxman Literary Agency brokered the North American rights agreement.

Correction: An earlier version of this story listed the incorrect title for Sarah MacLean's forthcoming series; it's called Hell's Belles, not Hell's Bells.
A father tossed his toddler over a cliff after a dramatic domestic violence episode, the baby girl died instantly. According to KTLA, a Palm Desert man is now in custody after he stabbed a woman who tried to stop him, he then threw his 1-year-old daughter off a cliff.

History of domestic violence

The suspect, Adam Slater, was involved in a domestic violence incident in Indian Wells on May 6, according to KESQ. The responding officers told investigators that they found a female victim with multiple injuries that were caused by a domestic violence incident, according to a Palm Desert Sheriff's press release that was obtained by KESQ.

The stabbing victim was transported to the hospital and was last listed in stable condition. Deputies later found the 49-year-old suspect's overturned car on Highway 74 on Vista Point. Witnesses told the police that multiple bystanders approached to help, and a man pulled Slater's toddler from the vehicle.

According to a statement from law enforcement officials, the suspect allegedly stabbed that man, making him the second stabbing victim. He then took the baby out of his arms and then tossed the child over the edge of the cliff before fleeing the scene and hiding into a canyon nearby.

Also Read: Suspect in Utah Murder-Suicide Posts Graphic Video on Snapchat Before Killing Himself

The child was identified in the report as Maddie, and she was found dead. The deputies at the scene apprehended Slater after they chased him. The toddler is believed to be the daughter of Slater and the woman that he allegedly stabbed, the woman is reportedly six months pregnant.

According to the Palm Desert Patch, Slater was arrested on suspicion of murder, he was also taken to a hospital. The man who he stabbed reportedly sought medical attention on his own.

Similar incident

A father fro Illinois went on a rampage in 2019. He beat his wife and their 9-year-old daughter and he shot his toddler to death before turning the gun on himself. The toddler, Colton Miller, was just 18 months old, he was shot several times and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The suspect, Christopher Miller, died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds. The attack happened after Cassandra Tanner-Miller, had put the toddler down for a nap. She said that she was in the kitchen, unloading groceries when her estranged husband burst through the back door.

Cassandra told NBC Chicago that she was separated from Miller and she was no longer living with him. She said that he was smiling and shouting "Are you all ready to die today? We're all dying today!". She also said that Miller started hitting her over and over.

According to Cassandra, they separated after he started abusing drugs as he became unstable after serving in the National Guard. She encouraged him to seek help but those efforts were for naught and she moved out of their home and took their children, Camryn and Colton, with her.

Miller left Cassandra with a broken knee, bruises and a black eye. He also chocked her until she was unconscious. Christopher then went upstairs and beat and chocked Camryn until she slipped free and ran down the stairs. That was when Miller pulled a gun and shot Colton, and then himself.

Related Article: Rotting Body of Missing Woman Discovered in Refrigerator Near Boyfriend's Apartment

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 9

By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:

Issues of rational, equitable water use will be solved in close cooperation with Uzbekistan, Kazakhstans President Kassym Jomart Tokayev said, Trend reports with reference to presidents Twitter.

Residents of the Turkestan regions Maktaaral district who were affected by the flooding will be provided with new or renovated housing. Each of them will receive 100,000 tenge ($237) from the republican budget. The situation is under control, Tokayev said.

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 the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh
Another 346 coronavirus deaths have been recorded in the UK, bringing the total to 31,587, according to official government figures.

But the figure, from the Department of Health and Social Care, is thought to be an underestimate, and the real total is at least 36,500.

NHS England said earlier the number of registered deaths involving Covid-19 had increased to 33,021, but new figures show that a further 3,610 hospital patients who had tested positive for Covid-19 died up to yesterday. Added together, they suggest the overall death toll for the UK has now passed 36,600.

The deaths in hospitals, care homes and the wider community were announced by transport secretary Grant Shapps.

He said 11,809 people were still in hospital with the virus, down from 12,284 in the previous 24 hours.

It came as the number of frontline NHS and care workers who have now died during the coronavirus pandemic passed 150.

Another four Covid-19 deaths have been reported in Northern Ireland, the department of health said, bringing total fatalities there to 430.

At least 1.7 million coronavirus tests in all have now been carried out in the UK, and 3,896 more people have tested positive for coronavirus since Friday, Mr Shapps said.

Deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Van Tam said it was difficult to interpret the several thousand new cases each day because there were many more tests now so there would obviously be more cases.

The number of daily coronavirus tests fell below health secretary Matt Hancocks 100,000 target for a seventh day in a row. Mr Shapps said 96,878 tests were conducted in the 24 hours to 9am on Saturday, down from 97,029 the day before.

Mr Shapps said that before Boris Johnson sets out a plan for the UK to exit lockdown on Sunday, he would outline an ambitious programme for the transport network.

Even if the UK transport network was running at full capacity the two-metre social-distancing rule would mean only one in 10 passengers could travel, he said.
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.
ZURICH (Reuters) - Countries must return to 'basic principles' of public health surveillance if they are to bring the coronavirus outbreak under control, the World Health Organization's (WHO) top emergency health expert said on Friday. The WHO, which said it is facing a $1.3 billion funding deficit for its effort to tackle COVID-19, issued the call for more surveillance as many countries including the United States, Switzerland, Mexico and Germany have turned their efforts toward re-opening economies battered by the pandemic

ZURICH (Reuters) - Countries must return to "basic principles" of public health surveillance if they are to bring the coronavirus outbreak under control, the World Health Organization's (WHO) top emergency health expert said on Friday.

The WHO, which said it is facing a $1.3 billion funding deficit for its effort to tackle COVID-19, issued the call for more surveillance as many countries including the United States, Switzerland, Mexico and Germany have turned their efforts toward re-opening economies battered by the pandemic.

Mike Ryan, head of the WHO's health emergencies programme, said during a media briefing from Geneva that all nations should focus on the fundamentals of the global coronavirus fight: scouting potential new infections, hunting them down, confirming them and then separating those afflicted, to save others from the disease.

"We seem...to be avoiding the uncomfortable reality that we need to get back to public health surveillance," Mike Ryan, the head of the WHO's health emergencies programme, said during a media briefing. "We need to go back to where we should have been months ago -- finding cases, tracking cases, testing cases, isolating people who are tested positive, doing quarantine for contacts."

WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus' concerns over a funding crunch come after U.S. President Donald Trump last month told his administration to temporarily halt funding to the United Nations health agency. U.S. officials are demanding a WHO overhaul, saying it mishandled the coronavirus crisis.

WHO's Ryan on Friday urged nations to stick together as the disease spreads from country to country, sometimes at different rates and with wide swings in death tolls. Ryan highlighted how Russia appears to be dealing with a "delayed epidemic" as a spike in confirmed new infections in recent days has catapulted it past France and Germany in total number of cases.

"Through solidarity we will win the fight and nobody is safe until everybody is safe", Ryan said. "There is a path out, but we must remain ever-vigilant, and we may have to have a significant alteration of our lifestyles until we get to a point where we have an effective vaccine."

There has been a slew of news in recent days about vaccine candidates, including announcements that tests in humans have begun with some trials expected by summer, though experts have warned a successful preventative treatment may still be many months away.

(Reporting by Michael Shields and Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi, editing by John Miller)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
As many as 359 people arrived here



early from Dubai in two Air India flights as part of the government's Vande Bharat Mission to bring home Indian nationals stranded in various countries.

Among the passengers was a Madurai based woman whose husband died in Dubai. The body was also brought in the aircraft and she headed to the southern temple town on road from here with her spouse's body.

While the first flight saw arrival of 182 people -151 men, 28 women and 3 children- there were 177 people in the second aircraft (138 men and 39 women) and the flights arrived in the wee hours of today, airport officials and Greater Chennai Corporation said.

The stranded people hail from Tamil Nadu and they were working in the United Arab Emirates.

On Friday night, a flight from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia arrived at Tiruchirappalli airport with about 200 passengers.

On their arrival, nasal and throat swab samples were taken for coronavirus testing at the specially set up COVID-19 kiosks at the airport.

Authorities deputed several teams of health workers attired in protective suits to screen and take samples from the returnees.

While one group of people was lodged in the premises of an educational institution in suburban Melakottayur, two other groups of men and women got accommodated in two hotels here at Periyamet and Ekkaduthangal respectively.

They would be in their respective places of stay for about 14 days, the authorities said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
There's been a further fall in the number of people being admitted to intensive care with Covid-19.

72 patients are being treated in ICUs today - down from 99 this day last week.
Mariam Apaokagi, popularly known as Taaooma, is a popular Nigerian Instagram comedienne and skit maker.

Asides producing comical skits, she is undoubtedly the most popular Nigerian female skit maker on Instagram and YouTube.

In this interview with PREMIUM TIMES, she speaks about her journey and fast-rising career.

PT: what inspired you to start skit making?

Taaooma: My fiance (Abula) inspired me to start; he taught me how to use the camera, and an editing software called premiere pro. He would make comedy visual effects skits then, so I got interested too and glory be to Almighty Allah everything is going smoothly. Skit making means everything to me, thats my official business.

PT: If you werent introduced to skit making, what would you be doing now?

Taaooma: I studied Tourism, Hospitality, and Hotel Management. So if I wasnt shooting skits, I will surely practise what I studied at the university. I am currently running a food business called Chop Tao. It is strictly finger foods where people order and I deliver to them.

PT: Youre currently a corps member, has fame afforded you the opportunity to enjoy your service year?

Taaooma: I am totally enjoying my time as a youth corps member, especially when I was in camp. Its an experience I am definitely not going to forget. I made a lot of friends and I loved it.

PT: If given the opportunity to star alongside a Nollywood actor, who would you choose?

Taaooma: Omotola Jolade Ekeinde (Omo sexy), I love that mummy with all of my heart.

PT: When you eventually join the movies, would you be acting as Tao or Iya Tao?

Taaooma: Iya Tao. Im sure she is everyones favourite character.

PT: You always cover your head. Have you ever had to reconsider it?

Taaooma: No its not challenging to me, I am a Muslim so covering my head is the norm for me.

PT: When did you land your first big job? How was the feeling like?

Taaooma: 2019 I guess. The feeling was surprising, I was very happy and grateful to God.

PT: How do you combine both roles as a small chops business owner and a skit maker? Do you think your fame has made your small chops business thrive?

Taaooma: Allahmdulilah, small chops business, and skit making are both doing well. I have a team I work with which makes the whole business easier. Yes, you have to order chop Tao because its owned by Taaooma, so Taaooma brand is helping the business.

PT: What do you think makes you different from the rest of your contemporaries?

Taaooma: We all have different signatures. Everybodys signature makes them different. I believe my signature is what makes people look forward to watching my skits.

PT: Can you tell us a bit about your nationality? Some people say youre Namibian.

Taaooma: I am Nigerian, from Kwara State to be precise. I spent my formative years in Namibia. I attended secondary school in Namibia. I returned to Nigeria to attend university. I went to Kwara State University. I have fans everywhere though and I love my fans so much.

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PT: Some people say that skit makers have taken business from Nigerian stand-up comedians, do you agree?

Taaooma: No I disagree. We all have our specialty. I, for example, am also good at stand-up comedy.

PT: Youre known for the slapping in your skit. Does that have anything to do with your upbringing? Were your parents strict?

Taaooma: My parents are not strict at-all. I can count the number of times my mum actually beats me. Most African parents train their kids like that but without the slaps.

A lot of people think this is how my mum slaps me all the time but they do not know that the slap is just a SIGNATURE I have created for myself to always add to the skits. Trust me, its that slap part everybody waits for when watching any of my skits.

My mum does not slap me like this. I just added the slap to exaggerate the humour. Some people talk about my skits supporting child abuse, but they do not know that the slaps are just for humour and has nothing to do with child abuse.

PT: At what point do you realise that you had become a household name?

Taaooma: There was a time I travelled home and I went shopping with my mummy and the family. A fan recognised me and offered to pay for what we bought. I was super surprised and it dawned on me that I was a household brand.
WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will make a brief visit to Israel on Wednesday, ignoring his own coronavirus travel advisory at a time when Israel is laying the groundwork to unilaterally annex large parts of the West Bank.

The State Department on Friday confirmed Pompeo's travel plan, which had been widely reported earlier this week in the Israeli news media. It will be Pompeo's second trip abroad since the World Health Organization declared coronavirus a pandemic on March 11.

Pompeo will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Knesset Speaker Benny Gantz, who are expected to form a coalition government, to discuss joint efforts to fight the covid-19 pandemic and regional security issues related to Iran, according to a statement Friday from State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus.

The meetings also are expected to focus on Israel's annexation plans. The U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, told an Israeli interviewer last week that the Trump administration is prepared to recognize the country's application of sovereignty over the West Bank "within weeks."

Pompeo announced last year that the United States had determined that Israel's West Bank settlements do not violate international law.

David Schenker, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, declined to say how much time would be spent discussing Israel's annexation plans or the work of a joint U.S.-Israeli "mapping committee" sketching out borders.

Pompeo is unlikely to talk to Palestinian officials, who severed contacts with Trump administration after the United States recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moved the U.S. Embassy there from Tel Aviv.

"The Palestinian leadership has not spoken with U.S. officials in quite a long time," Schenker said. "We'll look forward to the day the Palestinian leadership talks to the U.S. government again."

Under the White House peace plan unveiled in January, the United States would recognize as Israel about 30% of the West Bank, on the condition that Israel accept a four-year freeze of settlement building in areas set aside for a future Palestinian state and commit to negotiating with the Palestinians. On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett announced the approval of a plan to build 7,000 housing units in the town of Efrat, which could triple the town's population.

It was unclear why Pompeo decided to visit Israel now, since the State Department has elevated the entire world to a Level 4 "Do Not Travel" warning but is hoping to lift at least some locales in the near future. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises travelers arriving from overseas to self-quarantine for 14 days after returning. Israel has more than 16,000 confirmed cases of covid-19, though most who have been ill have recovered. It also imposes a quarantine on arriving travelers.

Pompeo is unlikely to be quarantined on either end.

William Walters, the State Department's deputy chief medical officer for operations, described the trip as "highly choreographed" to mitigate the threat of infection for Pompeo and his traveling party. Pompeo already is monitored daily for potential virus infection, and all who accompany him will be tested a day or two before they get on the aircraft, Walters said.

Pompeo's official physician, who will be on the plane, will test everyone before embarking. Masks will be used, and no one whose condition is unknown will be permitted within a "bubble" of at least six feet, Walters said.

Similar precautions were taken when the secretary visited Afghanistan on March 23 to jump-start peace talks between the government in Kabul and the Taliban.

Pompeo has been eager to get himself, and his diplomatic corps, back in the field since broadly invoking telework and pared-down services during the pandemic. State Department officials last week said they are rolling out an initiative called "Diplomacy Strong" in which employees will stop working from home and return to their desks, depending on local conditions and the trendline for the coronavirus.

"We're hoping to get back out and be on the ground to do the things the State Department needs to do - that we need to physically be located in those places for," he told reporters this week. "We're hoping we can get that started up before too long. It'll start off smaller, but we're hoping to get back at it."
The picture shows veteran Zhang Minghong and his tricycle.

Narrated by Zhang Minghong

I walked into the studio of the Beijing TV on October 30, 2019 and participated in the recording of a TV program to talk about my life after retirement from the Chinese military over 30 years ago.

In fact, I am a very ordinary Chinese veteran. I have been retired from the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) for nearly 30 years and have been earning a living by loading and unloading and riding a tricycle in Ya'an, a city in the western part of Chinas Sichuan Province. During this time, I haven't done anything incredible. I think the reason why the TV station invited me to participate in the show has to do with the belief that I have persisted for so many years. That is, I always remember that I am a veteran. No matter what you do for a living, it is always graceful as long as you work hard.

In 1991, I retired and returned home after serving in the military for two years. As the saying goes, it is difficult to make a living with soil. So, I thought about going out to work and earn some money. But my education level is not high, and I don't have any skills or specialties.

I tried to carry steel bars in construction sites. But I am short and thin and the workers there said that I could not do this job. When I saw someone riding a tricycle on the street, I thought I can do this job. At the end of the month when I retired, I took the money I borrowed from my relatives and friends and bought my first tricycle. This is how I started my job.

At first, I felt that riding a tricycle was a bit embarrassing. Especially compared to those comrade-in-arms and acquaintances who have good jobs or have a better family background. When I met them on the street, I pretended not to hear them and quickly accelerated to pedal away with my head down.

After a long time, I thought, can pride support my family? Work maybe hard and dirty, but there is no distinction between noble and humble jobs. My capability is limited. Every penny I earn by pedaling a tricycle is hard-earned and there is nothing to be embarrassed about.

To give my family a good life, I go out early and return home late every day. Sometimes, I even work all night. I laid in my tricycle and squinted for a while if I felt sleepy at night. Sometimes I dreamed of military training, but when I opened my eyes, I found myself still on the deserted street at night.

I always miss my time as a soldier. Since I could no longer return to the fiery barracks, I simply used the force of the soldier to work hard and live my life to the fullest after retirement. With this kind of thinking, my days of riding a tricycle started to have a purpose. I smile all day long although the work is very bitter and tiring.

Later, more people started riding tricycles, and the passenger-carrying business was gradually shrinking. So, I found another job: help people load and unload cargo in addition to tricycle riding. It was tiring at first. The cargo being loaded and unloaded included more than 50 kilograms of rapeseed and dirty and heavy bagged cement. Sometimes I did not even have the strength to eat after work. But I still clenched my teeth and persisted. I told myself that although these tasks were tiring, I would get an energy refresh.

I pedaled to pick my son up every day after he started to go to school. Seeing that some parents drove their children to school, my son asked me, "Dad, why did they come in a car, and you came on a tricycle?" I told him that no matter a car or a tricycle, a father always loves his children equally. We could not afford a car now. If you were not satisfied, you should study hard and strive for a better life in the future.

My wife and I worked hard and saved on food and expense. As a result, we intermittently built a new house for our family after three years. Our son also did not fail us. After graduating from college, he received an offer from a TV station. Not long ago, he held a grand wedding in our hometown. When he and his wife served us tea at the wedding, my wife cried. I know that those were tears of happiness. It is said that life is not easy, and finally, I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

In fact, while working hard for my family, I still have a knot in heartI always feel that my life as a soldier is not enough. So, I registered for the reserve forces. As long as I am notified, I would immediately put down my work and participate in the training on time even if it would delay making money. Over the years, I have participated in the "Tianfu Mission-2014" military exercise, the "Protection of Mother River" and other activities. That is not only because I like to wear camouflage uniform again, but also because I am a veteran. I like to do something that can contribute to the construction of my motherland.

Someone told me that you are almost 50 years old, and you were not given any job. You were doing manual work after you retired so your service was in vain. I told him that being a soldier is an obligation, and I cannot ask my country and the government to take care of me because I have been a soldier for two years. There are tens of thousands of jobs in the world. Someone has to do manual work. I dont feel embarrassed because I work hard and support my family by my own hands!
Olamilekan Adegbite, minister of mines and steel development, says the federal government has been under pressure from influential Nigerians to free Chinese nationals arrested for illegal mining.

The Osun government had announced on Monday that 27 persons have been arrested for illegal mining of gold.

According to Osun government, 17 out of those arrested were Chinese nationals.

However, speaking with journalists in Abuja, the minister said the government would not tolerate any form of illegal mining  adding that the COVID-19 pandemic is responsible for the surge in illegal gold mining activities in the country.

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Nigerians in high positions of authority [are behind them]. The Chinese are the main culprits in the illegal mining activities and we are going to meet with the Chinese embassy. We are going to present all the facts to them so that it will not appear as if we are targeting them unfairly, he said.

These godfathers were operating with impunity before, but they are now scared because the arrested illegal miners are naming names but they (godfathers) are denying. The law is on our side and we must prosecute these people to serve as a deterrent.
Mounting a strong defence of the ruling Communist Party of China, President Xi Jinping has said the COVID-19 fight has once again shown that the CPC leadership and the country's socialist political system can overcome any challenge.

Xi's comments came as China faced global criticism for its initial inaction to act against the novel coronavirus, which according to Chinese officials emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year.

Pressure is also mounting on Beijing to agree for an international probe on the origins of the vicious virus, including from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), as claimed by the US leadership.

China curbed the spread of the coronavirus in over a month and brought COVID-19 under control at its first epicentre in Wuhan in about three months, Xi, also the General Secretary of the CPC, said at a symposium held on Friday to get suggestions from non-ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) parties on COVID-19 prevention and control.

He termed the curbing of the COVID-19 pandemic as "hard-won achievements" for the world's most populous country and the second-biggest economy.

The COVID-19 fight has once again shown that the CPC leadership, China's socialist system and its governance system can overcome any challenge and make big contributions to the progress of human civilisation, he said.

Xi said China had basically curbed the spread of the virus in over one month, managed to bring the daily number of new domestically-transmitted cases down to single digits in about two months, and secured decisive achievements in protecting epicentres Wuhan and Hubei province in about three months.

"For a huge country with 1.4 billion people, these are hard-won achievements," he said



Besides the top CPC officials, the symposium was attended by members of the central committees of non-CPC parties in China, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and persons without party affiliation.

The speakers at the symposium praised the Chinese leadership in handling the crisis, saying it fully demonstrated the political advantage of China's socialist system and showed that China was a major responsible country.

Xi, who is also the head of the People's Liberation Army, praised China's one-party political system governed by the CPC.

His comments on the country's political system came as Beijing is also defending the role of the CPC as US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have blamed the ruling party for not being transparent in the fight against the pandemic.

Both Trump and Pompeo have been pressing Beijing to allow American experts for a probe on whether the virus emerged from the WIV, China's premier research lab where viruses of different types are reportedly researched.

At the symposium attended by the top CPC officials, Xi's leadership came for praise for successfully handling the situation, the state-run Xinhua agency reported.

"Attendees noted the major strategic achievements in the COVID-19 fight under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core," the report said.

The meeting was held amid reports of murmurs of internal criticism within the CPC about Xi's handling of the coronavirus crisis.

While China's move of handling the coronavirus from January 23 by locking down Hubei province and its capital Wuhan to prevent the spread of the virus and curbing it by deploying 42000 medical personnel has been praised, Beijing is criticised for its slow reaction after it emerged in December last year.

China used less than a week to identify the full genome sequence of the novel coronavirus and isolate the virus strain, produced various testing kits and swiftly selected a number of effective drugs and treatments. Different types of vaccines have also entered clinical trials.

President Xi said during the COVID-19 fight, China upheld the centralised and unified leadership of the CPC and concentrated the nation's best doctors, the most advanced equipment and the most needed resources to treat patients, with all treatment expenses covered by the state.

It managed to maximise the testing and cure rates while minimising the infection and fatality rates.

As of Friday, the COVID-19 death toll in China remained at 4,633 with no new fatalities reported for several days while the total number of cases stood at 82,887. In contrast, Chinese officials point out the death toll in the US which has crossed 75,000 with over 1.2 million cases, besides the mounting global toll.

Almost all countries in the world have been under lockdown for weeks to control the spread of the virus.

Xi called for mobilising the whole society, leveraging the institutional strength of concentrating resources to get things done and tapping the composite national strength as well as closely relying on science and technology.

On international cooperation, Xi said China had helped countries and international organisations to the best of its ability, demonstrating the nation's sense of responsibility as a major and responsible country.

Xi also stressed fixing the shortcomings in the country's major epidemic prevention and control mechanism and for the national public health system to raise the ability to deal with major public health emergencies.

He emphasised on targeted and effective measures to guard against the importation of cases and prevent a resurgence of the epidemic.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
"In view of the World Health Organisation calling a pandemic in relation to the current virus crisis, is it sensible or wise to be having up to 200 people on a modestly sized cruise ship? Would it not be sensible to postpone?" the passenger from Perth asked. An Aurora Expeditions representative insisted the company had taken "extreme precautions to protect our passengers", before warning: "If you were to cancel, please note that our standard terms and conditions would apply and we would not be able to refund or transfer your payment." A cabin on the Greg Mortimer cruise ship. Melbourne lawyer Lee Flanagan from Arnold Thomas and Becker said he expected to file a statement of claim in the Supreme Court of Victoria this week. "The actions of Aurora Expeditions have jeopardised the health, safety and lives of all passengers and crew on board. On behalf of all of our clients, we now seek that Aurora take responsibility for their failures and make account for our clients loss and damage," Mr Flanagan said.

On March 15, the Greg Mortimer was the last boat to set sail for Antarctica before Argentina closed its borders, with other South American-based operators cancelling tours the previous day. Loading At the time, almost 150,000 people around the globe were infected with the virus. The Morrison government had banned flights from China and recommended Australians avoid non-essential travel. But there had only been a handful of confirmed coronavirus cases in the province of Tierra del Fuego, in southern Argentina, where the boat left from. Within days of leaving port, passengers were advised that the itinerary had changed and the cruise would not visit the island of South Georgia in the southern Atlantic Ocean.

On March 22, the ships chief medical officer Dr Mauricio Usme discovered a passenger was suffering from a fever, which prompted the Greg Mortimer to change course and head towards Uruguay. Passengers were instructed to stay in their cabins. Loading But as the ship neared the coast of Uruguay, Dr Usme allegedly faced intense pressure from the senior ship staff and operators, including Aurora Expeditions, to downplay the severity of the outbreak. An Aurora executive allegedly urged Dr Usme to make changes to a maritime declaration form to downplay to Uruguayan authorities the risk of potentially infectious diseases on the vessel. The risk we carry is public outcry and wharf side workers refusing to allow the ship to berth and allow passengers to disembark, the executive wrote in an email dated March 26.

Please bear in mind that how you write the health declaration will influence the way that this is viewed. We dont know we have Covid-19. The executive added: Give limited information truthfully. Dr Usme responded: For ethics, for morality, for responsibility with ourselves and with the health of those who are not affected, the health declaration must reflect the reality that we currently have. On March 27, Uruguay authorities allowed the ship to anchor in its waters.

It was not until April 10 that most passengers disembarked the stranded ship before catching a medivac flight on April 12 from Montevideo to Melbourne. Seventy per cent of the 112 passengers who stepped off the repatriation flight at Melbourne Airport tested positive for COVID-19. But unlike the Ruby Princess in Sydney, one passenger was immediately taken to hospital while the others were transferred to a 14-day quarantine in hotels, where they received daily medical checks. Australia health critics slammed the decision by Aurora Expeditions to allow the cruise to leave Argentina on March 15  four days after the World Health Organisation declared the coronavirus a global pandemic. The University of New South Wales' epidemiology expert, Professor Mary-Louise McLaws , who is a technical adviser to the World Health Organisation, told The Age and the SMH last month that significant warnings had been ignored.

On March 15, we knew globally that we were in a pandemic and WHO had called it a global emergency in January. So it doesnt make sense to assume that passengers entering a cruise ship would be safe," Professor McLaws said. The decision to continue with the cruise to Antarctica was unfair and it seems irresponsible, she said. It beggars belief, it lacks a duty of care and it fails the logic test." An Aurora Expeditions spokeswoman did not respond to specific questions from The Sunday Age and The Sun-Herald about the pending case but said: While we are yet to receive notification of the potential action, Aurora Expeditions rejects the characterisation of the situation and will, if and as required, vigorously defend the matter. The company has since offered passengers a replacement tour in November 2021.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The city will open a free coronavirus (COVID-19) antibody test site at the former St. John Villa Academy, Arrochar on Wednesday.

The city Health Department site, at 57 Cleveland Pl., will be operated by BioReference Laboratories, and will test people who are at least 18-years-old, according to the citys website.

Getting started is easy. Simply click the button below to answer a few screening questions to determine if you are eligible to participate. If you are eligible, we will help you schedule an appointment at the nearest location, says the website.

Residents interested in a test need to fill out a few screening questions before being led to an appointment page.

Answering these questions is a condition of receiving the test without charge. If you do not wish to answer these questions, or if you are not eligible for participation in the NYC Testing Program based on your answers, the NYC Testing Program cannot schedule a blood draw for you at this time. You can contact your health care provider if you want to discuss testing, says the website.

HOW TO SIGN UP

COVID-19 antibody survey sign ups are available via telephone at (888) 279-0967. Hours of Operation are Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

You can also sign up at nyc.bioreference.com/antibodysurvey.

1 OF 5 NEW NYC SITES

The Arrochar-based antibody testing site is one of five free coronavirus antibody test facilities opening across the city. De Blasio announced Thursday that the new site is part of a larger effort to test a total of 280,000 New Yorkers for antibodies through June.

The city plans to test 140,000 New Yorkers free of charge 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.

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK***

Beginning next week, antibody testing will be offered on an appointment-only basis for approximately two weeks," according to a release issued by de Blasios office earlier this week.

De Blasio said the antibody survey testing will be open to the general public, though people who live near the sites will be prioritized for testing.

FOLLOW TRACEY PORPORA ON FACEBOOK and TWITTER
BJP corporators in the Thane



Municipal Corporation (TMC) have refused to contribute to the COVID-19 relief fund, citing lack of transparency in the affairs of the civic body in Maharashtra's Thane city.

Corporators from other parties have contributed Rs 5 lakh to the fund, following an appeal from Mayor Naresh Mhaske.

In a letter to the Mayor, BJP leader Sanjay Waghule alleged that there was no transparency in the civic body's COVID-19 relief activities, which is why party corporators would not make any contribution to the TMC's COVID-19 fund.

He further claimed that BJP corporators were not invited to the meeting called by Guardian Minister Eknath Shinde to discuss a 1,000-bed COVID-19 treatment facility.

Meanwhile, the Mayor in a written communication pointed out that the BJP had welcomed the idea of a relief fund for COVID-19 and now it was backing away from it.

There are 23 BJP corporators in the house of 131 corporators in the TMC.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
GARY  Roman Catholics in the Diocese of Gary can look ahead to public celebrations of the Mass, but with predetermined attendance, social distancing and other gathering precautions.

Bishop Robert J. McClory released a letter Friday outlining a gradual reopening of Masses on a limited basis. This announcement marks the first notice of reopening since McClory announced in mid-March the shuttering of all public celebrations of the Mass and other faith-based gatherings.

We will all need to be patient and understanding as we adjust to these safety parameters, the bishop wrote. Charity requires that we remain committed to the protection of vulnerable persons and the whole community.

As to public Masses resuming, McClory said, each parish has to ensure that it is complying with various safety guidelines. In the meantime, parishioners are encouraged to continue livestreamed Masses during this time.

From May 11-15, parishes may begin opening Masses to no more than 10 predetermined participants.

From May 16 through at least May 31, parishes may begin opening Masses to a larger  but still very limited  number of predetermined participants.
The 75th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War is approaching. This year, the pandemic made adjustments to the celebration of May 9, in particular, the parade on the occasion of Victory Day was postponed. Nevertheless, the current conditions do not prevent us from talking about the Victory, remembering the feat of grandfathers and great-grandfathers. Visiting the Bulletin of the Caucasus, a member of the board of the Russian Historical Society, president of the Russian State Humanitarian University, chairman of the board of the Russian Society of Historian Archivists, member of the board of the Russian Union of Rectors Efim Pivovar and lead researcher at the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, author of Fuel of Victory: Azerbaijan during the Great World War II "Mikhail Mukhin.

- Yefim Iosifovich, the question is for you as an expert on the post-Soviet space. What is the role of the Caspian region in the Victory? Has the scientific approach to the analysis of this problem changed?

Yefim Pivovar: The Caspian region played an important role in the strategy of World War II. The Tehran Conference was the first meeting of the leaders of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition, which recorded their allied commitments. Since that time, Northern Iran was controlled by Soviet troops, so the Caspian was completely anti-Hitler. But it could have been different, for example, if Turkey had entered the war. Hitler was not in vain eager for the Caucasus. This was one of his strategic goals. The battle of Stalingrad was caused precisely by the fact that the Nazi forces decided to cut off the Caspian from the central regions of the Soviet Union and in this way decide the outcome of the war. Strategically, the Caspian is a very important region, and the battle for the Caucasus is one of the most important pages in the history of that war. In this territory, the front and rear used to change places: here there was a front line, then a strip of active hostilities.

Mikhail Mukhin: Let me give you an illustrative example of the fact that the concepts of front and rear were blurred. In 1942, the Germans broke through to Stalingrad, and although the Soviet troops held a few spots there, by and large, the Volga in this place was shot by the Germans even with machine guns. Therefore, Absheron oil could not be transported in tankers along the Volga. The Germans sank a lot of Soviet tankers. In the winter of 1942-1943, Baku oil became virtually impossible to export. Under these conditions, Baku seafarers began to fill railroad tanks with oil, which were then removed from the platforms and immersed in water. Due to the fact that oil is lighter than water, the tank kept afloat, several dozen such tanks connected, clung to a tug, and this tug dragged such a garland of tanks across the entire Caspian Sea to Krasnovodsk. There, these tanks were caught, installed back on railway platforms and transported by rail through Dagestan to the central regions of the USSR. The Germans bombed these tanks, and the tug continued to drag them to Krasnovodsk.

In such circumstances, where was it worse - at the front or in the rear? It must be understood that in those years the concept of labor feat is not a rhetorical form, but a dry, clear, objective statement of facts. It was a feat. But the feat is not with a machine gun in hand, but in the mine, at the oil rig, at the helm of a tugboat.

- Mikhail Yurievich, in the introduction to the book you give a short excursion on the bilateral relations between Russia and Azerbaijan, in particular, you say that the Azerbaijani elite was incorporated into the Russian Empire. Explain why?

Mikhail Mukhin: The question is very complex, polyphonic. At first, I was not going to consider it. But reeling back where it all came from, he suddenly ran into this problem. With a careful analysis, it turned out that Russia in the Caucasus did not have such forces to force the Azerbaijanis to join the empire. In the 1804-1850s, at first there was a Georgian, then a Caucasian corps  less than 9 thousand people: from the Black Sea to the Caspian, this is from Yekaterinodar to Baku.

The Azerbaijani elite at that time resolved the issue of civilizational choice. Three projects were simultaneously considered - to focus on Iran, on Turkey (at that time the sultan was officially the patron saint of all the faithful) or on Russia. I am firmly convinced that if a significant part of the Azerbaijani establishment would not have made an absolutely conscious choice in favor of Russia, then Russia would not have achieved anything there.

In 1805, the reserve command of the Georgian corps was a detachment of Colonel Karyagin numbering 490 people with, scary to say, two guns. Of course, if a significant part of the Azerbaijani elite had not come out in favor of an alliance with Russia, with all its merits, Colonel Karyagin would not have done anything there.

I want to note that this choice was very tight and prepared ahead of time. Empress Catherine the Great was in personal correspondence with the Karabakh khan, considering him one of the most intelligent correspondents. Already in the 1830s, not only in Baku, but in Shusha and Shamakhi, balls and theatrical performances were held in a European manner. In 1837, the Azerbaijani poet Akhundov wrote a poem in Persian on the death of Pushkin, the next year this poem is translated into Russian and published. This is to the question of whether the Azerbaijanis felt themselves to be a colonized country. Could an Indian poet in the XIX century write a poem in Hindi on the death of Byron. Who is Byron for an Indian !? But who Pushkin was, Akhundov knew and had his own opinion.

Therefore, during the years of World War II, Azerbaijanis perceived the attack of the USSR as an attack on themselves. This is rooted in from those times when the Azerbaijanis made a well-informed choice, united with Russia, feeling a spiritual relationship with Russia.

Yefim Pivovar: This is generally a feature of the colonial policy of the Russian Empire: it has always incorporated part of the elite into its composition. This applied to the Caucasus and Central Asia.

- Yefim Iosifovich, awareness of the significance of the Great Victory is a question not only of science, but also of education. How do you assess the level of presentation of this issue in Azerbaijani schools?

Yefim Pivovar: The result that we are seeing now is ensured to some extent thanks to the tradition laid down by the founder of present-day Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyevich Aliyev. The Russian sector has remained intact in the educational system of Azerbaijan. Regardless of the number and proportion of the Russian-speaking population, Russian-language kindergartens and schools of all levels operate in Azerbaijan. There is a Russian sector in higher education, it is possible to defend a dissertation in Russian, candidate and doctoral. Azerbaijanis are mostly employed in this system, since the Russian-speaking diaspora in the country is small. It actively uses educational materials in Russian, including those created in the Russian Federation. I personally read Russian-language textbooks for higher education and for secondary schools of Azerbaijani authors. All this facilitates the task of exchanging information, obtaining an adequate idea of what is written with us about certain events. Of course, there are differences, however, we still have more general trends, traits and approaches. This is undeniably a positive moment.

Azerbaijan relies quite effectively on the achievements of the Soviet period. There is no nihilism, complete rejection. There is a critical assessment, but reliance is on achievements. Over the past years, many documents have been discovered, especially related to events that were hushed up in the Soviet era. For example, the whole history of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR). In the Soviet era, we actually did not have materials about ADR, that its leaders participated in the Versailles Conference. Now the process of exchanging information is just beginning. It needs to be intensified. We already have successful attempts to create joint work, but further efforts are needed.
An improvised explosive device hit a Pakistani security forces vehicle in the restive southwestern province of Balochistan on Friday, killing six soldiers and wounding one other, the army said.

The incident took place in the treacherous highlands of Kech district, some 14 kilometres (eight miles) from the Pakistan-Iran border, where soldiers from the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) were on a routine patrol.

"FC South Balochistan troops were moving back to their base after assigned patrolling duty, reconnaissance vehicle of FC troops was targeted with remote controlled IED. Resultantly, 1 officer & 5 soldiers embraced Shahadat (martyrdom)," the military said in a statement.

A Baloch separatist group, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), claimed responsibility for the attack in an email to AFP.

Baloch separatists demanding greater autonomy have for years been waging an insurgency in the province, which is also riven by sectarian and Islamist violence.

Mineral-rich Balochistan, bordering Afghanistan and Iran, is the largest of Pakistan's four provinces, but its roughly seven million inhabitants have long complained they do not receive a fair share of its gas and mineral wealth.

China is investing in the area under a $54-billion project known as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), upgrading infrastructure, power and transport links between its far-western Xinjiang region and Pakistan's Gwadar port.

It has been targeted previously by the BLA. Thousands of paramilitary troops are deployed in troubled areas of the country to carry out security checks and to help police in maintaining law and order.
The direction of ocean currents can determine the direction of gene flow in rafting species, but this depends on species traits that allow for rafting propensity. This is according to a City College of New York study focusing on seahorse and pipefish species. And it could explain how high genetic diversity can contribute to extinction in small populations.

Published in the British-based journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the paper by City College scientists led by Michael Hickerson and Laura Bertola is entitled: "Asymmetrical gene flow in five co-distributed syngnathids explained by ocean currents and rafting propensity."

It reveals that ocean circulation driving macro-algal rafting is believed to serve as an important mode of dispersal for many marine organisms. This leads to predictions on population-level genetic connectivity and the directionality of effective dispersal.

The CCNY Division of Sciences researchers used genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism data to investigate whether gene flow directionality in two seahorses (Hippocampus) and three pipefishes (Syngnathus) follows the predominant ocean circulation patterns in the Gulf of Mexico and northwestern Atlantic. They also explored whether gene flow magnitudes are predicted by traits related to active dispersal ability and habitat preference.

"We inferred demographic histories of these co-distributed syngnathid species, and coalescent model-based estimates indicate that gene flow directionality is in agreement with ocean circulation data that predicts eastward and northward macro-algal transport," said Hickerson. "However, the magnitude to which ocean currents influence this pattern appears strongly dependent on the species-specific traits related to rafting propensity and habitat preferences."

The study, he said, highlights how the combination of population genomic inference together with ocean circulation data can help explain patterns of population structure and diversity in marine ecosystems.
Nigerian cyber gang SilverTerrier, specialized in BEC attacks, used COVID-19 lures in recent attacks on healthcare and government organizations.

Researchers at Palo Alto Networks observed a Nigerian cyber gang, tracked as SilverTerrier and specialized in BEC attacks, using COVID-19 lures in a recent wave of attacks on healthcare and government organizations.

SilverTerrier has been active since at least 2014, it is a collective of over hundreds of individual threat actors.

BEC attacks continue to threaten organizations worldwide, according to the last Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) report, the FBI recorded 23,775 BEC attacks in 2019 that resulted in an estimated US$1.77 billion in global losses.

Over the past 90 days (Jan. 30  Apr. 30), we have observed three SilverTerrier actors/groups launch a series of 10 COVID-19 themed malware campaigns. reads the analysis published by Palo Alto Networks. Specifically, we find it alarming that several of these campaigns recklessly included targets at government healthcare agencies, local and regional governments, large universities with medical programs/centers, regional utilities, medical publishing firms, and insurance companies across the United States, Australia, Canada, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

Between January 30 and April 30, 2020, the researchers observed three SilverTerrier groups launching ten COVID-19-themed malware campaigns, some of them also targeted organizations involved in the COVID-19 response.

The good news is that none of the attacks carried out by the SilverTerrier groups using COVID-19 lures has been successful in compromising the victims.

A first campaign was launched on January 30, 2020, experts observed with variations of the email subject sent in both English and Indonesian.

The email messages used an attachment disguised as an Indonesian health department document to deliver a variant of the Lokibot malware.

A few weeks later, threat actors launched multiple attacks that attempted to exploit the CVE 2017-11882 Office flaw to run a malicious executable.

The attacks targeted a major utility provider, a university, and a government agency in the United States, a health agency in Canada, a health insurance provider, an energy company in Australia, and a European medical publishing company to deliver various malware families.

Other campaigns observed in March and April targeted US organizations (government health agencies, universities with medical programs, state infrastructure, and a health insurance company), a Canadian health insurer, a university and regional government in Italy, and various government institutions in Australia.

On April 8, 2020, we witnessed the most recent campaign by this actor. Distributed broadly, targets of this campaign included a government health agency, state infrastructure, and a health insurance company in the United States, in addition to a university and regional government in Italy, and various government institutions in Australia. continues the report. Disguised as COVID-19 relief materials coming from a Thai Medical Department, these phishing emails were delivered with one of two samples of Lokibot malware designed to call out to 185[.]126[.]202[.]111 for command and control. 

In the second half of March, a second SilverTerrier actor sent phishing emails to several organizations, including a government health agency in the United States, attempting to deliver the Lokibot malware to the intended victims.

On March 23 and 24, a third actor tracked as Black Emeka launched a series of attacks using emails disguised as COVID-19 information. The attached malware samples use PowerShell to download malicious payloads from the domain goldenlion[.]sg.

SilverTerrier attackers will continue to use COVID-19 lures to infect the systems of the victims.

Given the global impacts of COVID-19, SilverTerrier actors have begun adapting their phishing campaigns and will likely continue to use COVID-19-themed emails to deliver commodity malware broadly in support of their objectives. Palo Alto Networks concludes.

In light of this trend, we encourage government agencies, healthcare and insurance organizations, public utilities, and universities with medical programs to apply extra scrutiny to COVID-19-related emails containing attachments.

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(SecurityAffairs  BEC, COVID-19)

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COVID-19 PANDEMIC KEEPING MOHALI BUREAUCRATS ON THEIR TOES

Mohali deputy commissioner Girish Dayalan and additional deputy commissioner Aashika Jain have been rushing from one site to another, overseeing arrangements made for the return of migrant workers to their native places. Even before the Shramik Special trains started, people from Uttarakhand, who were stranded in Punjab, were sent home in buses. The DC ensured the operation went off smoothly by camping at the site. He was at the railway station when the first train with migrant labourers left for Hardoi in Uttar Pradesh last week. From making announcements to asking people to maintain social distancing, the officials are busy doing their bit to battle Covid-19.

UT CHEERS ON GETTING PAT FOR 100% FREE RATION DISTRIBUTION

UT officials were all smiles after Union minister of consumer affairs, food and public distribution Ram Vilas Paswan tweeted that the Chandigarh Administration has distributed 100% free ration for April to 2.75 lakh beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Grameen Kalyan Yojana. A senior UT police official retweeted, saying, Great initiative by honble PM and meticulously implemented in Chandigarh.

LOOKING FOR BREATHER, DGP PEDALS ACROSS TOWN WITH SON

With the surge in Covid-19 cases in Chandigarh, the police are beginning to feel the pressure and the soaring mercury has only added to their woes. The force, including director general of police (DGP) Sanjay Baniwal, are looking for a breather from their routine. In a recent tweet Baniwal said that happiness is exploring City Beautiful on bicycle with my son. A much deserved short break from the regimental police routine. Baniwal surely is making the most of the good and clean air that the city residents are breathing thanks to the lockdown.

DGP Sanjay Baniwal and his son pedalling down Chandigarh roads amid the lockdown. (HT PHOTO)

WHEN MOHALI POLICE WENT INCOMMUNICADO

After the registration of a case against former Punjab DGP Sumedh Singh Saini at Mataur police station of Mohali district, police officials in the district have become suddenly become inaccessible. Most police officials switched off their mobile phones, while a few who answered the call, refused to comment. Out of syllabus, was the reply of the station house officer (SHO) posted in Kharar sub division when asked about the case.

LONG QUEUES FOR LIQUOR A THING OF THE PAST

The first day after the sale of liquor was allowed last week saw long lines outside vends in Sectors 9, 21 and 38 of Chandigarh. Over the days, the queues have gradually disappeared and the rush in markets has decreased considerably. Shopkeepers running non-essential businesses said that only liquor vends drew most customers, while their sales have remained dismal ever since the curfew was opened up from May 3. Even liquor vend owners admit sales have come down after the first day of the rush.

DOCTORS OPPOSED TO EASING LOCKDOWN CURBS

The decision to partially open the lockdown amid the rising Covid-19 cases has not gone well with a few members of the doctors community. Few doctors in the city are upset with the fact the Chandigarh administration has not put across a message that categorically states what prompted them to ease the restrictions and that the public should not venture out unnecessarily.

RENT ORDER LEAVES UT ADMINISTRATION IN A FIX

Amid the Covid-19 lockdown, the UT administration is issuing so many orders everyday that it has failed to keep a track of them. On top of that, there are fresh directions from home ministry, time and again. This time, the UT was clueless about an order regarding the payment of rent by tenants. The home ministry order of March 29 said that one month rent is not to be asked for by landlords. If this skipped the UT administrations attention, the orders silence on the rents for April and May is adding to the chaos.

PHARMACISTS HOLIDAY PLANS DURING QUARANTINE

Hoping to get some time off, a pharmacist at the Panchkula civil hospital and a resident of Zirakpur cooked up a story, telling the hospital administration that he had come in contact with an acquaintance of one of his friends who has now tested positive for Covid-19 in Uttar Pradesh. Being a suspected contact, he was tested for Covid-19 but the hospital administration was in for a surprise when the pharmacist disappeared after being tested. A complaint was put up before the hospital administration and local police. However, the next day, he surfaced and tested negative. Sources said the pharmacist was hoping to be home quarantined for 14 days, but his sudden disappearance brought out the truth.

Inputs by Hillary Victor, Munieshwer A Sagar, Shailee Dogra, Shub Karman Dhaliwal, Rajanbir Singh, Amanjeet Singh, Yuvraj Kaushal and Srishti Jaswal
Could Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (HKG:2238) 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. 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 Guangzhou Automobile Group's 3.0% dividend yield is not the highest, we think its lengthy payment history is quite interesting. Some simple analysis can reduce the risk of holding Guangzhou Automobile Group for its dividend, and we'll focus on the most important aspects below.

Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on Guangzhou Automobile Group!

SEHK:2238 Historical Dividend Yield May 9th 2020

Payout ratios

Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. As a result, we should always investigate whether a company can afford its dividend, measured as a percentage of a company's net income after tax. In the last year, Guangzhou Automobile Group paid out 54% of its profit as dividends. This is a fairly normal payout ratio among most businesses. It allows a higher dividend to be paid to shareholders, but does limit the capital retained in the business - which could be good or bad.

Another important check we do is to see if the free cash flow generated is sufficient to pay the dividend. Last year, Guangzhou Automobile Group paid a dividend while reporting negative free cash flow. While there may be an explanation, we think this behaviour is generally not sustainable.

With a strong net cash balance, Guangzhou Automobile Group investors may not have much to worry about in the near term from a dividend perspective.

We update our data on Guangzhou Automobile Group every 24 hours, so you can always get our latest analysis of its financial health, 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. Guangzhou Automobile Group has been paying dividends for a long time, but for the purpose of this analysis, we only examine the past 10 years of payments. The dividend has been cut on at least one occasion historically. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was CN0.092 in 2010, compared to CN0.20 last year. Dividends per share have grown at approximately 8.1% per year over this time. Guangzhou Automobile Group's dividend payments have fluctuated, so it hasn't grown 8.1% every year, but the CAGR is a useful rule of thumb for approximating the historical growth.

Story continues

It's good to see the dividend growing at a decent rate, but the dividend has been cut at least once in the past. Guangzhou Automobile Group might have put its house in order since then, but we remain cautious.

Dividend Growth Potential

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to evaluate if earnings per share (EPS) are growing - it's not worth taking the risk on a dividend getting cut, unless you might be rewarded with larger dividends in future. Guangzhou Automobile Group has grown its earnings per share at 7.9% per annum over the past five years. Earnings per share are growing at an acceptable rate, although the company is paying out more than half of its profits, which we think could constrain its ability to reinvest in its business.

Conclusion

To summarise, shareholders should always check that Guangzhou Automobile Group'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 Guangzhou Automobile Group has an acceptable payout ratio, although its dividend was not well covered by cashflow. Unfortunately, earnings growth has also been mediocre, and the company has cut its dividend at least once in the past. Overall, Guangzhou Automobile Group falls short in several key areas here. Unless the investor has strong grounds for an alternative conclusion, we find it hard to get interested in a dividend stock with these characteristics.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. Taking the debate a bit further, we've identified 4 warning signs for Guangzhou Automobile Group that investors need to be conscious of moving forward.

We have also put together a list of global stocks with a market capitalisation above $1bn and yielding more 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.
During his annual New Years address to the nation, Russian President Vladimir Putin touted the 75th anniversary of the allied victory over Nazi Germany as the countrys main event in 2020. The celebrations were supposed to culminate in a pompous military parade in the Red Square and the opening of a new Christian Orthodox cathedral dedicated to the Russian army on May 9.

But this year is turning out not nearly as victorious for Putin as he had hoped. Having to postpone the parade and the grand opening of the church due to a major outbreak of the novel coronavirus is a major blow. Both were a precious opportunity for the Kremlin to rekindle nationalist sentiment among Russians and try to regain some public support, as the presidents approval rating continues to slump. It is currently at 59 percent  a historical low.

The construction of the armed forces cathedral took 17 months and cost around 6bn rubles ($82m). It was funded by the defence ministry as well as donations from citizens and large corporations.

Anniversary-related numerology was built into its architecture  the bell tower is 75 metres tall (to mark the anniversary), the main dome is 19.45 metres wide (as a reference to 1945) and a smaller one is 14.18 metres high, with 1418 being the number of days the USSR was at war with Nazi Germany.

The complex around the cathedral boasts a 1418-step path made of plexiglass with Nazi insignia exhibited underneath so that visitors could tramp on them the way Soviet soldiers did during the historical victory parade in 1945.

Paradoxically, it also contains war-themed mosaics of Stalin and various communist symbols despite the fact that he, like all other communist leaders, opposed religion and the Orthodox Church was severely persecuted under his rule, with thousands of priests killed.

The complex was also supposed to feature a mosaic of Putin and Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu at a rally celebrating the annexation of Crimea but it was removed after public outcry.

These designs of the cathedral and its adjoining complex may sound bizarre, but it is part of the Kremlins decades-long ideological project to rally political support for its rule by shoring up various nationalistic albeit disparate symbols to build a war cult that almost amounts to a state religion.

Indeed, it may sound strange to position the image of Stalin in a church complex, but the Kremlins spin doctors know exactly what they are doing when they marry the veneration of World War II victory, which started in earnest under communist leader Leonid Brezhnev in the 1970s, with Christian orthodoxy and vicious nationalism.

This ideology portrays the current Kremlin leadership as facilitators of symbolic reconciliation between Russias imperial monarchical past and the communist era.

Some communist symbols are already being trampled upon, like the Nazi insignia at the new cathedral. Putin has long held Lenin and the Bolsheviks responsible for destroying the Russian empire, deceiving people with anti-war rhetoric and turning Russia into a losing side in World War I.

The regimes attitude to Stalin is more nuanced. Although Putin and his supporters publicly condemn Stalins terror and, to a limited extent, encourage its memorisation in monuments and films on state-run TV, they give credit to the Soviet dictator for rapid industrialisation and especially for winning World War II.

Portraying himself as a reconciler who is healing historical wounds allows Putin to frame all those who want him to go, namely the liberal pro-democracy opposition, as extremists sowing civil discord and preparing revolutionary bloodshed. Speaking to his young supporters in 2014, for example, Putin compared what he calls non-systemic opposition, that is liberal politicians like Alexei Navalny whom he bars from getting elected into parliament, with the Bolsheviks who openly advocated Russias defeat in World War I, thus precipitating the 1917 revolution.

At the same time, the original Brezhnev-era World War II cult, permeated as it was with the spirit of communist internationalism and anti-fascism, is being gradually transformed into a modern far-right product, bringing Russia in line with a major trend in Eastern and Central Europe. It is increasingly embellished with nationalistic symbolism which focuses on the ethnic Russian majority.

Of course it is difficult for Putin and his entourage to reconcile their natural far-right leanings with their own personal histories as junior Soviet bureaucrats or KGB agents and to circumvent the fact that Russia is after all a multi-ethnic federation, but the far-right political product is in high demand.

Unsurprisingly, the war cult, with all its contradictions, played a key role in selling the annexation of Crimea to the Russians as an act of protecting its Russian-speaking population from fascist-leaning Ukrainian nationalists and defending the legacy of 1945 victory.

As the Kremlin unrolled its nationalist ideology over the past two decades, it also started embedding it in Russian law, beginning with a 2013 law which criminalises insulting believers. More recently, Putin put forward constitutional amendments, which would allow him to stay in power beyond 2024, when his current term expires. They also contain a reference to the ethnic Russians as the nations founding people, affirm the duty of the state to honour the memory of defenders of the Motherland and the defence of historical truth and mention our faith in God in the preamble, despite the country being officially secular.

The amendments were supposed to be voted on in a plebiscite strategically scheduled two weeks ahead of the Victory Day parade  April 22. But the COVID-19 pandemic ruined this plan as well.

These amendments, assuming they get passed at the referendum, are bringing Russia more in line with other East European neighbours who have sought to build their own ethnic nation states after the fall of the USSR.

Russia might often be politically at odds with its East European neighbours, but the convergence of their political cultures is in full swing. As countries like Hungary and Poland embrace elements of Putins authoritarianism, Russia is slowly reformatting itself as an ethnocentric nation state.

The existing mishmash of lingering communist-era iconography and modern far-rights trends have created a messy ideological landscape in Russia, but the general direction is evident from the work of state propagandists whose job is to probe and steer public opinion.

In recent years, ideological operatives have started airing even more radical far-right views that may seem to contradict the official narrative of Russia as an anti-fascist hero nation. One of the loudest Kremlin TV propagandists, Dmitriy Kiselev, has recently proposed erecting a monument to Russian imperial general Pyotr Krasnov who served under the Nazis and hailed Hitlers onslaught on the USSR as a liberation war against the communists and the Jews.

Another notorious TV propagandist Vladimir Solovyev made a film that feels like an apology of Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.

In 2016, the now-retired culture minister, Vladimir Medinsky, prompted an outcry in St Petersburg when he unveiled a memorial plaque to Finnish war-time leader Carl Gustaf Mannerheim whose troops helped maintain the Nazi blockade on Leningrad, which cost at least 600,000 lives and immense suffering for survivors.

The Kremlins complacency with regards to such escapades by its own ideological workers contrasts sharply with its aggressive reaction to East European countries challenging its view on World War II history. But this is part of another game, in which regular spats over history nurture a fruitful symbiosis between Russian leadership and its ideological relatives in neighbouring countries  both sides benefit from such public clashes because they feed nationalist fervour at home.

As in the rest of the region, there is no left-wing force in Russia to balance out this sharp turn to the right. Russias Communist Party pays only lip service to its origins by sporting red banners at public gatherings and bringing flowers to Lenins mausoleum in the Red Square.

In reality, it was an ultra-nationalist and imperialist organisation from the moment of its conception after the disintegration of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Its leadership is on friendly terms with the Russian Orthodox Church, while its presidential candidate in the last election was a rich businessman.

The liberal opposition used to be disturbingly elitist, prone to extreme forms of libertarian social Darwinism and sympathetic to nationalist populism. It is only in the last few years that its leader, Navalny, has started systematically addressing the issues of social justice and workers rights and supporting independent trade unions.

It is high time because only a highly modernised left-wing force that campaigns on pressing issues of social inequality can turn back authoritarian trends facilitated by the nationalist heirs of East European communist regimes.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
- A group of researchers in Canada has come up with a way to use modified dialysis to treat coronavirus patients

- In its first treatment phase, the group succeeded to drastically reduce the dying rate of a patient from 98% to 30%

- The head of the research team, Chris Mcintyre, said that the method is a way of treating the patient's blood outside of their body

- Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

A team of medical researchers based in London Ontario, Canada, has found a new way to manage a coronavirus patient through a new form of dialysis.

Based at the Lawson Health Research Institute and led by Dr Chirs Mcintyre, the team came up with the modified method after they saw that a new kind of treatment is necessary, especially for patients needing intensive care, CTV News reports.

This led to the idea of treating a patients blood outside of the body. We could reprogram white blood cells associated with inflammation to alter the immune response, McIntyre said.

The team was able to successfully treat a patient with his new method last week as the person struggled with multiple organ failure.

READ ALSO: Coronavirus: 6 ways COVID-19 changed planned marriages

Macintyre said that before treating the person, there was a 98% dying chance but after the treatment was concluded, that reduced to 30%.

Though the patient is still very much in intensive care and needing organ support, it was obvious that his condition relatively improved.

A picture showing Chris Mcintyre in a hospital. Photo source: CTV News

Source: UGC

The head doctor said the use of a dialysis machine is a way of making use of readily available resources to combat the deadly virus.

READ ALSO: Coronavirus: Israeli disinfectant kills 100% of viruses, bacteria including COVID-19

The ultimate goal is to improve patient survival and lessen their dependency on oxygen and ventilation, said McIntyre

It should be noted that the normal form of dialysis is the process of getting out excess water and toxins from the blood in a situation where the kidneys are too weak to perform the function.

The trial method reportedly got to his treatment phase 40 days after the idea was first conceived.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that a group of Indonesian engineers did not leaving any stone unturned as they were able to create an affordable ventilator in two months, hoping it would go a long way in winning the war against coronavirus.

The country is facing a shortage of equipment like many nations of the world are as cases of the pandemic rise.

The ventilator was made with local household materials such as plastic drinking cups. The team leader of the 40 engineers from the Bandung Institute of Technology, Syarif Hidayat, confirmed so.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the best news on Ghana #1 news app. Install our latest app for Android and read the best news about Ghana

The institute is working on selling the ventilators for $1000, which according to Syarif will be less than the usual $20,000 to $25,000 of the device.

He also spoke about how the ventilator is simply built to be different from the ones seen in the intensive care unit. It should be noted that the country cases of infection have passed 12,000 as it rations 8,413 ventilators in 2,867 hospitals.

The team of engineers will be working with the state-owned aircraft manufacturer, Dirgantara Indonesia, to produce 500 of the ventilators every week.

"I've recovered from COVID-19 but my barber doesn't want to shave me" - Fred Drah | #Yencomgh

READ ALSO: 16-year-old African girl bags presidential scholarship in the US

Get interactive via our Facebook page.

Source: YEN.com.gh
Pattaya beach in Chon Buri province is sealed off for the Covid-19 crisis. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said the gradual reopening of businesses and resumption of tourism will set the economy back in motion. (Pattaya City photo)



He made the statement when answering questions about the next step in relaxing the nationwide lockdown imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease.

"If workplaces reopen, there will be employment and salaries... If factories reopen and employ people, rehabilitation will start, the PM said.

"Tourism, tourist destinations and hotels will be improved so that tourists will have confidence and return to Thailand. We will take special care of public health," he added.

He said that during relaxation of disease control measures, resumption of activities would be gradual. Otherwise, things would get out of control.

He pledged that the government will do its best to take care of everyone, as far as it can, with existing laws and budgets and it will use money efficiently, calling on the people to stay patient and helpful.

We do not know how long the COVID-19 pandemic will last. The key is to make our country a safe place as soon as possible," Gen Prayut said.

As of May 8th, Thailand had a total of 3,000 COVID-19 patients in 68 out of 77 provinces, including 55 deaths. The capital city of Bangkok had the highest number of 1,699 cases, followed by the southern region with 716 patients, the central delta with 380 patients, the northeast with 111 patients and northern region with 94 patients. The country has successfully cured 2,784 COVID-19 patients, accounting for 92.8 percent./.
The family of a 12-year-old girl allegedly defiled in Tamale in the Northern Region, who is the latest victim of sexual assault, fears they may not get justice as they're unable to raise 800 cedis for a medical doctor at the Tamale Teaching Hospital to endorse the form.

The girl was allegedly defiled three weeks ago by an unemployed man believed to be in his 30s, but due to lack of money to pay the Medical Doctor at the Tamale Teaching Hospital for the endorsement of the form, the family is worried they might not get justice for their daughter, although medical examination has confirmed there was penetration.

The victim could not walk normally when Citi News visited her at home.

Speaking to Citi News with her mothers permission, she said He [Abuser] told me to follow him to his house for something. Without any doubt, I followed him. He then sent me inside and locked the door and forcefully removed my cloth and penetrated me. He then told me that if I tell anyone I will die.

The man, who allegedly defiled her, is known as Abdul Latif, popularly referred to as A.A in the Vittin neighborhood, but he is yet to be arrested.

The girl's mother, told Citi News she is helpless.

For two weeks, I have struggled with her health, until we realized that she had been defiled by a man. I initially thought it was (tahaga) nappy rashes. Her private part swelled with mucus coming out later.

A Medical Doctor at the Tamale Teaching Hospital indicated in the victim's folder that there was forced penetration  causing internal damage as a result. But he demanded for the 800 cedis before the form could be endorsed; an amount the poor family cannot afford.

They said we should take the form to the hospital for a doctor to endorse it. And when we went, they told us to pay 800 cedis which we can't afford.

Payment for endorsement of forms

It is an accepted norm in Ghana that victims of sexual abuse pay for the endorsement of police forms by medical doctors, although that is not statutory.

The Domestic Violence and Victim's Support Unit of the Ghana Police Service, which issued the medical form said it is waiting for the family to bring the endorsed form before they can take up the case.

The victim's parents are now seeking the public of benevolent Ghanaians to seek justice for their daughter. 7

They said we should take the form to the hospital for a doctor to endorse it. And when we went, they told us to pay 800 cedis which we can't afford. Now we are appealing to the public to come to our aid, the victim's mother noted.

Citi News could not access data on how prevalent sexual violence affects young girls in the Northern Region from the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit in Tamale.

Here we don't get data from across the region; only the people of the Tamale Metropolis report to this Unit, according to the Northern Regional Coordinator of DOVVSU, DSP Emmanuel Horlatu.

DOVVSU says it cannot offer any help to the family without the endorsed form.

It is reported that 14% of girls in Ghana experience sexual violence, but the figure is likely to be more as some families for various reasons shelve these cases. Many offenders are mostly close associates just like this one.

The victims neighbours say they're surprised about the conduct of the alleged offender in the case.

We live here every day and night. The man too comes here to play with the children anytime he is passing by. I didn't know he has those intentions.

---citinewsroom
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) says its Interim Management Committee (IMC) is ready to appear before the National Assembly following an allegation it squandered N40 billion.

The Senate and House of Representatives had resolved to invite the commission for allegedly squandering N40 billion within three months.

The motion was sponsored by Thompson Sekibo a senator representing Rivers East under the Peoples Democratic Party.

Mr Sekibo had said the IMC which was set up by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, to oversee a forensic audit of financial transactions has been bedevilled with financial misuse, misapplication, misappropriation or outright fraud in the management of the commissions funds.

But in a statement on Friday, the NDDCs director, corporate affairs, Charles Odili, dismissed the allegations.

He said the IMC and the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, were ready to attend any public hearing on the matter, according to a report published by the Nation newspaper.

Mr Odili also said the total amount received by the IMC is N33 billion, out of which it has since spent a total of N22 billion.

He added that the amount has been used to fund expenditures such as payment of salaries and contractual debts.

The detractors of the commission are now hiding under the resolution of the National Assembly to trash the reputation of the Interim Management Committee, IMC. We wish to state that there is no N40 billion fraud in NDDC.

As stated last week, the total sum received by the IMC is N33 billion, out of which it has spent N22 billion. The expenditure includes payment of staff salaries, service providers debts and contractual debts of N50 million and below.

Can N40 billion be stolen when it did not exist? Is the payment of staff salaries and benefits, an act of corruption? Should poor helpless contractors who worked for the commission and were being owed for more than five years not be paid sums as low as N1 million?

The commission concedes that the National Assembly has a constitutional right to investigate its operations, if and when it deems it necessary. However, we find allegations, which have no substance and serve no purpose other than generating adverse newspaper headlines unhelpful.

These baseless allegations pose grave threat to the success of the forensic audit of the NDDC, directed by President Muhammadu Buhari, following widespread request by stakeholders, including Governors of the Niger Delta States.

Last month, the NDDC had also invited the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to audit its operations.

The commission said its action followed a directive by President Buhari for a forensic audit of its operations from 2001 to 2019.
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump cast fresh doubt Friday on the future of his FBI director as federal law enforcement officials privately wrestled with fallout from the Justice Department's move to throw out the guilty plea of former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

The president's comments in a phone interview with Fox News highlight the ongoing distrust between the White House and some law enforcement officials in the wake of a nearly two-year investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller III into Russia's 2016 election interference and the Trump campaign.

"It's disappointing," Trump said when asked about Christopher Wray's role in ongoing reviews of the FBI's handling of the Russia investigation. "Let's see what happens with him. Look, the jury's still out."

Trump faulted the FBI director for "skirting" the debate surrounding the Russia investigation, although the agency and the Justice Department have insisted it has cooperated fully with those reviewing the case. He said more developments could come in the next two weeks but declined to elaborate.

While the president continued to criticize the FBI's conduct, multiple federal law enforcement officials interviewed Friday expressed varying degrees of anger, resignation and alarm over the decision by Attorney General William Barr to abandon the prosecution of Flynn for lying to the FBI about his conversations with Russia's ambassador to the U.S. before Trump took office.

"The attorney general is supposed to be above reproach and apolitical in terms of how the department operates and how he or she as an individual operates, and he's just completely lost that," said one veteran Justice Department lawyer who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. "He's Trump's attorney. He's not the country's attorney."

A day after the Flynn reversal, more than a half dozen Justice Department employees expressed similar displeasure with the move, saying they did not agree with Barr's legal rationale and that they worried about what it might portend for the agency going forward. A smaller number of law enforcement officials contacted Friday said they were basically pleased with the outcome, and were critical of decisions made by former FBI director James Comey, who launched the Flynn investigation.

Several current lawyers in the department said they were disturbed by Barr's personal intervention in cases involving Trump's friends, and a few said they or their colleagues were updating their resumes and considering leaving.

Some described being torn between wanting to leave because they feel the institution's reputation is being ruined, and wanting to stay to stem the spread of what they see as political corruption. Most cases, the employees noted, do not attract the attorney general's attention, though they still require competent management.

"It's exhausting," said one department lawyer. "You feel like it's a constant battle of you against the leadership of your country, and that's a horrible feeling."

A spokeswoman for Barr said any talk of people contemplating leaving in the wake of the Flynn decision "is not what we are hearing. In fact, we have received significant positive feedback from Department lawyers who are applauding the recommendation of U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen."

Jensen, the U.S. attorney from St. Louis, was brought in by Barr to review the Flynn case, which had been turned over to the District of Columbia U.S. Attorney's Office after Mueller closed the special counsel's office last year. Jensen concluded Flynn's guilty plea to lying to the FBI should be dismissed because agents did not have a valid reason to be investigating him. Barr agreed.

Within the FBI, there was growing concern among employees that Wray's long-term tenure may be in jeopardy, given the president's comments.

Brian O'Hare, president of the FBI Agents Association, defended Wray in a statement Friday.

Wray "continues to lead through unprecedented challenges with a steady hand," said O'Hare, who credited the FBI director for making "the changes needed to ensure that the FBI is best positioned to deal with threats to the American people."

Barr, in an interview with CBS News on Thursday, also defended the FBI director, saying Wray "has always supported and been very helpful in various investigations we've been running." He called Wray "a great partner to me in our effort to restore the American people's confidence in both the Department of Justice and the FBI."

People close to the president, however, said Trump has complained privately that Wray has not spoken out forcefully against former officials like Comey, but they added that the president does not seem to be inclined to act on that dissatisfaction, at least not now.

"Wray is not going to be fired because there is a sense of realism, because we are in a pandemic, and it's in an election year," predicted one official, who added that Trump has little love for Wray but is not preparing to fire him.

A spokesman for Wray declined to comment on the president's remarks.

After firing Comey in May 2017, Trump nominated Wray to serve a 10-year term as FBI director, but on Friday, sought to shift the responsibility for his appointment to former deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein, a frequent target of Trump's ire.

A former colleague of Wray's complimented Trump's decision to put him in charge of the bureau.

"I think the president made a very wise choice when he chose Chris Wray to be the next FBI director, and in my view, the director's been - since he came aboard - he's been earnestly focused on fixing and helping the department work through some very tough situations that were not of his making," said John Richter, a former U.S. Attorney who worked with Wray in the Justice Department. "So far as I can tell, he's acutely focused to getting the right outcomes, but getting them in the right way, and I expect to see more."

In a statement earlier this week, the FBI went further than it has in the past to criticize previous officials' conduct, saying 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."

The president's comments Friday suggest the FBI's statement did not assuage his concerns. But he heaped praise on Barr for reversing course on Flynn's case.

"These are dirty politicians and dirty cops and some horrible people, and hopefully they're going to pay a price some day in the not too distant future," Trump told Fox News.

Trump said Americans "owe a lot to Attorney General Barr," and praised his top law enforcement official as "a man of unbelievable credibility and courage." Had Barr been attorney general when the special counsel investigation began, Trump said, "he would have stopped it immediately."

"He's going to go down in the history books," Trump said.

Trump suggested he and Barr had discussed the Flynn matter at some point - though the president said he took a hands-off approach.

"I told Bill Barr, 'you handle it,' " Trump said. "I would be absolutely entitled, in theory, the chief law enforcement officer, in theory, but I said you know what, I want Bill Barr to handle it."

Trump suggested he would be vindicated further in the coming days.

"A lot of things are going to be told over the next couple of weeks," the president said, again without elaborating. Jensen's review of cases in the District's U.S. attorney's office is ongoing, and Connecticut U.S. Attorney John Durham is conducting a broad review of the Russia investigation - though there are no indications of imminent major developments in their probes.

On Thursday, Timothy Shea, a former adviser to Barr who in January was named U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, filed court papers seeking to dismiss the case against Flynn. Shea wrote 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 cannot unilaterally dismiss the Flynn case. Its filing seeks U.S. District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan's approval to do so, and it remains to be seen how the judge will respond. In 2009, when faced with allegations of FBI wrongdoing in an investigation of the late senator Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, Sullivan appointed an outside lawyer to investigate the matter. The legal and factual basis for that move was different than in the Flynn case, but Sullivan could press Justice Department lawyers to further explain their decisions.

Trump forced out 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 pleaded guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!"

It is highly unusual for the Justice Department to seek to undo a guilty plea, and comes just months after 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.

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. Only Shea, a political appointee, signed the filing.

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. The retired three-star Army general was forced to resign 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 Washington Post's Spencer S. Hsu contributed to this report.
By Marcelo Rochabrun and Anthony Esposito SAO PAULO/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Auto production in Mexico and Brazil, Latin America's top producers, plunged by an unprecedented 99% in April as a result of the coronavirus crisis, with the two countries building a total of just 5,569 vehicles. In normal times, Mexico and Brazil produce over half a million cars a month combined. The industry accounts for hundreds of thousands of jobs and several percentage points of their respective countries' gross domestic products.

By Marcelo Rochabrun and Anthony Esposito

SAO PAULO/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Auto production in Mexico and Brazil, Latin America's top producers, plunged by an unprecedented 99% in April as a result of the coronavirus crisis, with the two countries building a total of just 5,569 vehicles.

In normal times, Mexico and Brazil produce over half a million cars a month combined. The industry accounts for hundreds of thousands of jobs and several percentage points of their respective countries' gross domestic products.

"The situation is difficult and dramatic," Luiz Carlos Moraes, president of Brazil's automakers association, told reporters.

The statements on production, made on Friday by Mexico's Inegi statistics association and Brazil's Anfavea automakers association, are the first available window into the sheer extent of the crisis for automakers in Latin America.

The coronavirus pandemic is putting jobs in peril and raising questions about the sustainability of the industry's international supply chains, much of which go back to China. The poor results may also be used by auto executives to obtain government aid.

Both countries have so far avoided layoffs but much hinges on when production can restart and whether there will be any demand for cars once that happens. Mexico could tentatively restart production on May 18, while Brazil's top automakers are eyeing a June restart.

Industry sources say the restart date in Mexico will ultimately depend on President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador giving the green light.

Mexico and Brazil are key bases for global automakers, including General Motors Co , Ford Motor Co , Volkswagen AG and Fiat Chrysler .

April shipments from Mexico, which is more dependent on exports to the United States, fell by 90% compared with March to just 27,889 vehicles, Mexico's Inegi said.

Brazil is more focused on its domestic market but is a significant exporter to Argentina. Exports fell by 77%, Anfavea said, to 7,200 units.

Sales overall plummeted by two-thirds in Brazil to 55,700 units. Mexico did not disclose sales numbers.

BRAZIL LOOKING FOR AID

In Brazil, the coronavirus pandemic is deepening a years-long crisis from which the industry was already struggling to recover.

Brazil has the capacity to produce more than 400,000 cars per month, due to expensive bets made just before the country underwent its worst economic crisis on record in 2016.

The coronavirus crisis may well exceed the damages caused then, from which the auto industry never fully recovered.

Automakers there are negotiating a government aid package that was initially expected to have been resolved by now.

One pending issue is what will be used as collateral for any loans.

Moraes told reporters that automakers are proposing to use as collateral some 25 billion reais' ($4.34 billion) worth of tax credits the automakers have not been able to take advantage of.

The loans would be issued by private banks, Moraes said, but secured by Brazilian state bank BNDES, which would itself be secured by those tax credits.

"The federal government would have as collateral a sum from the federal government," Moraes said, noting such a structure has never been used.

The proposal was presented on Wednesday, he said, and the automakers are still awaiting a reply from the government.

(Reporting by Marcelo Rochabrun in Sao Paulo and Anthony Esposito in Mexico City; Editing by Dan Grebler and Matthew Lewis)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Kallisto Pischke, who works at the churchs food court, said theyre required to wear masks and gloves while working.

The church declined to talk about the services, saying its pastors were too busy.

This past weekend BCC (Bridge Christian Church) did reopen its campuses and all went well, the church said Wednesday in an email in response to an interview request. We had many on campus and many watching live on YouTube.

In a video posted April 29 on the churchs Facebook page, David McAllister, founder and senior pastor of the church, told viewers they can choose to attend church in person or continue to watch services online, but the choice should be up to each individual.

We really are trying to do something that we believe is appropriate. In our country, its always been the case, and that is that youre supposed to be the adult. Youre supposed to be able to make those decisions for yourself, he says in the video. Its unclear why our nation continues to act like were children and that we cant make informed decisions for ourselves, but they do continue to do that. So please understand we want this to be completely up to you.
Addressing the inequalities in the United States exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic served as a major motivational force for Democrats running for Congress in central Virginia.

Political campaigns have had to adjust how they get the word out to voters while maintaining social distancing. So instead of a forum held at a high school or community center before a crowd of voters, the four Democrats participated in an online forum on Saturday.

The candidates all brought the issues they discussed, from health care to voting rights, back to the coronavirus pandemic as a reason to make bold improvements to policy at the federal level.

The four candidates are:

 Roger Dean Huffstetler, Marine veteran and Charlottesville entrepreneur who lost the Democratic nomination for the same seat two years ago

 John Lesinski, Marine veteran and former Rappahannock County supervisor who works in commercial real estate

 Claire Russo, Marine veteran and Albemarle County resident

 Cameron Webb, director of health policy and equity at University of Virginia

Voters will choose their nominee June 23. The Democrat will face Rep. Denver Riggleman, R-Nelson, or Bob Good, who are competing in a heated convention that will take place in the next several weeks at a date still to be determined. While the district is favorable to Republicans, House Democrats are targeting the seat.

The 5th Congressional District is Virginias largest district, stretching from Fauquier County to the North Carolina border and including Franklin County and part of Bedford County.

Health care and economic inequality emerged as two of the most pressing issues during the forum, moderated by Del. Elizabeth Guzman, D-Prince William.

This coronavirus pandemic has told us one thing: 2020 will be the health care election, said Webb, who has made fixing the health care system the main focus of his campaign.

Webb, an internal medicine doctor, said making sure people can access affordable health care is more complicated than a three-word slogan. He worked on a White House health care team during the Obama administration to help implement the Affordable Care Act. He said the country can do better than having health insurance tied to employers, and there should be a public option.

Weve got to fix private insurance so were putting people over profits, Webb said.

Huffstetler and Russo both supported a proposal U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., has reintroduced before called Medicare X, which would create a new public option for health insurance. Lesinksi also supported a public option.

This pandemic has clearly demonstrated to all of us that every American must have access to health care, Russo said.

The candidates said the pandemic has fueled a large growth in telemedicine. But Lesinski said people in rural areas dont have that same access because they lack broadband.

He said that as the country emerges from the coronavirus crisis and tries to rebuild its economy, rural America will fall behind unless it has the broadband needed to attract employers and to allow for people to work from home.

Its the rural electrification issue of our time, Lesinski said.

Huffstetler emphasized his familys working class roots and said his campaign is focused addressing economic inequality. He said the economy has been changing, and people dont always keep the same job for more than 30 years, and workers need to upgrade their skills. Hed like to work on developing a program so community colleges and industries partner together to maintain a skilled workforce.

My legislative priorities are making sure that when people work hard in this country, the country has their back, Huffstetler said.

Russo said the federal government did not prepare for the pandemic as it should have done. Citing her own background as a Marine officer training Marines and an intelligence officer learning lessons from past wars and applying them to the future, she said shes equipped to work on steering the country out of the crisis and preparing for future ones.

Its never been more clear that its going to take bold leadership to guide this country out of this crisis in a fair and just manner, Russo said.

Lesinski connected the poor planning for a viral outbreak to the lack of bold action on climate change. Climate change is a legislative priority for Lesinski, who said reducing the countrys carbon footprint and shifting to renewable energy will create new jobs.

Its a canary in the coal mine for fighting climate change, because if we dont get on this now, were going to lose a lot more lives, he said.

The candidates all agreed that the pandemic has highlighted the need to expand voting rights. Huffstetler said there should be automatic voter registration when people get their drivers license. He said working people cant always make it to the polls on Election Day, so he said being able to vote absentee without providing an excuse is essential.

There is no reason under the sun we should be making it harder to vote, Huffstetler said.

Lesinki said that even though states are making progress in expanding voting rights, more needs to be done at the federal level. He referenced the federal court decision this week to waive the witness requirement to cast absentee ballots in the June primaries in Virginia.

Republicans tried to retain the witness requirement, citing the risk of voter fraud. There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud with voting by mail.

The strategy here clearly is voter suppression, voter suppression of those individuals the Republican Party feels is going to be a continued threat to them winning or gaining a majority, Lesinski said.

During the last election, Riggleman defeated Democrat Leslie Cockburn by about 20,000 votes. Webb raised the issue of 38,000 black residents who arent registered to vote in the district, and more than 30,000 registered black voters didnt vote in the last election.

I think when we field the full team as Democrats, when we expand the electorate, we win, Webb said.

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A small business in Central New York is playing a big role in the Middle East as the United Arab Emirates opens field hospitals to handle a potential surge in coronavirus patients.

The HealthWay Family of Brands of Pulaski is supplying about 3,000 medical-grade air cleaning systems to temporary field hospitals the UAE has opened in the cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Its the largest single order in the history of the company, said Vinny Lobdell, president of the family-owned business.

HealthWay, which has stayed open as an essential business in New York, has doubled its workforce at its Oswego County plant from 34 in January to more than 60 to keep up with soaring demand during the pandemic, Lobdell said.

HealthWays patented air purifiers have not been certified by U.S. regulators to remove the virus that causes COVID-19.

But the UAE Ministry of Health and other buyers are encouraged by previous tests that show the equipments filters remove 99.99% of the H1N1 virus, which is smaller than the new coronavirus, Lobdell said.

About half of the portable air cleaners for the UAE have been manufactured at the Pulaski plant, which is operating at full capacity. Additional units are made at a HealthWay plant in China. The air purifiers are sold under the Intellipure and HealthWay brand names.

Lobdell declined to disclose financial details of the transaction with the UAE, saying only that it was multi-million-dollar order.

The United Arab Emirates had more than 11,300 confirmed cases of coronavirus infections and 89 deaths by the end of April, according to the Associated Press.

Workers in the United Arab Emirates unpack air purifiers made by HealthWay in Pulaski, N.Y., preparing the portable units for installation in field hospitals in the cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.Provide photo

The federation of seven sheikdoms has slowly re-opened shopping malls and restaurants in an attempt to restore its economy while battling the pandemic.

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Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Mark Weiner anytime by: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751
North Korea slams South's 'provocative' drills, congratulates China for victory over pandemic

Iran Press TV

Friday, 08 May 2020 5:54 AM

North Korea has lashed out at the South over recent "provocative" military drills, while leader Kim Jong-un sends a message of congratulation to China's president for his success in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic.

A North Korean military representative said on Friday that Seoul's war games, conducted on Wednesday, were a "grave provocation" that demands an appropriate response from Pyongyang, according to a statement carried by Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"The recent drill served as an opportunity which awakened us once again to the obvious fact that the enemies remain enemies all the time," it said.

"Such reckless move of the military warmongers of the south side is the height of the military confrontation which would leave tongue-tied even their master," it added.

It said that the relations were "now going back to the starting point before the north-south summit meeting in 2018."

North Korea has been involved in diplomacy with the South since 2018. The rapprochement between the long-time rivals led to diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang, with Seoul acting as a broker.

Pyongyang has accused Seoul of failing to carry out agreements reached between the two Koreas and harming relations by depending on the United States in resolving inter-Korean issues.

The South's President Moon Jae-in and Kim had already pledged to work toward peace and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

However, the North and South involved in a new wave of tensions after the exchange of gunfire on the border on Sunday.

Pyongyang started diplomacy with the US as well in 2018. But negotiations have ground to a halt since the collapse of a second summit between US President Donald Trump and Kim 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  previously agreed upon in talks with the US.

He made the decision after months of repeated calls on Washington to ease the sanctions imposed on his country over the missile and nuclear programs.

A Washington-based think tank said in a report on Tuesday that the North has a facility big enough for its "ballistic missile operations."

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said the facility, along with an underground structure built near it, have the capacity to accommodate North Korea's largest intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

Kim congratulates Xi for victory in virus fight

In a separate development, KCNA said Kim had sent a verbal message to the Chinese president Xi Jinping.

The North Korean leader, "in his message extended his warm greetings to Xi Jinping and congratulated him, highly appreciating that he is seizing a chance of victory in the war against the unprecedented epidemic," it added.

Kim wished Xi good health adding that relations between Pyongyang and Beijing were "firmly consolidated".

The development came after Kim's temporary disappearance, which had triggered a series of rumors about his health.

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The Most Dangerous Man In America

Bill Minutaglio and Steven L. Davis John Murray 14.99

Rating:

Dr Timothy Leary was the godfather of the psychedelic 1960s. Turn on, tune in, drop out: that was his catchphrase. If everyone took LSD, he said, there would be no more wars. As if that werent reason enough, it was the most powerful aphrodisiac ever discovered.

Between September 1970 and January 1973, he was also an international fugitive. This book describes a madly careering 28-month global hunt for one man, as the authors put it in characteristically breathless style.

The chase began with his escape from the Californian jail where he was serving a ten-year sentence for possession of cannabis  two burnt-out joints found in his car ashtray. The imbalance between punishment and crime shows how desperate the authorities were for any excuse, however piffling, to put the high priest of LSD out of circulation.

This book tells the story of the time spent on the run by Dr Timothy Leary, the godfather of the psychedelic 1960s, once dubbed 'the most dangerous man in America' by President Nixon

The jailbreak was possible only because he had wangled a transfer to a low-security prison by scoring perfect marks on personality tests. Leary knew how to make himself appear as docile as possible: he had designed many of the questions himself, in his previous incarnation as a Harvard psychologist.

His academic career had ended in 1963 after he discovered the joys of LSD, then a little-known chemical. Sacked by Harvard for urging students to join him on acid trips, he spread the hallucinatory gospel more widely. His 1970 prison escape was financed by the Brotherhood of Eternal Love, a group of hippies, bikers and surfers who had made a fortune producing a form of LSD called Orange Sunshine.

This book, told mostly in the present tense, is also suitably head-spinning. As Leary cartwheels across four continents  from Chicago to Paris, Algiers to Cairo, Geneva to Vienna, Beirut to Kabul  he seldom tries to hide his whereabouts, not least because he is usually out of his mind on drugs. Yet somehow he evades his pursuers from the FBI and the CIA.

When penury looms, a cheque arrives in the nick of time from John and Yoko. And wherever in the world he fetches up, there is usually a rich hippy to provide a safe house  and drugs galore. The dizzying odyssey ends when a US agent kidnaps Leary in Afghanistan and escorts him back to Los Angeles.

In Folsom State Prison, an unseen convict in the neighbouring cell whispers through the air shaft: I knew youd end up here. It is Charles Manson, another 1960s burn-out.

We were all your students, you know, the psychopath reveals. But he disagrees with Learys assertion that life is all love. It is, Manson says, all death.

At Learys own deathbed, in May 1996, his final words were: Why? Why not? Beautiful. A year later seven grams of his ashes were blasted into space aboard a Pegasus rocket.

Once described by President Nixon as the most dangerous man in America, Dr Timothy Leary remained in orbit for six years until the rocket burned up on re-entry to Earths atmosphere, scattering his ashes around the planet. In death as in life, he was high as a kite.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Prakash Jarwal was arrested on Saturday in connection with the suicide of a private practitioner in the Neb Sarai area of the national capital last week. A Delhi court had on May 8 issued a non-bailable warrant against Jarwal and his close aide Kapil Nagar.

Jarwal, who was booked on abetment charges in the doctor's suicide case, had also moved an anticipatory bail in Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court. The court had fixed the hearing on May 11 on the MLA's plea. He has submitted that he shall be co-operating with the police authorities in the investigation.

The body of Dr Rajinder Singh, a private practitioner in Durgapuri area in south Delhi, was found on the roof of his house on April 17 morning by his tenant. He was also involved in the supply of Delhi Jal Board water through tankers since 2007. The bereaved family claimed that the accused had got Dr Rajinder's tankers removed from water supply service and also prevented clearance of dues of a large sum of money from the Jal Board.

In a statement issued to the media, Jarwal claimed that he was innocent and had not talked to or met the deceased in the last 8-10 months. Jarwal said that after a sting operation by two TV channels in 2017 against the tanker mafia, the name of Dr Rajinder had also cropped up. Dr Rajinder was blacklisted and his tankers removed from water supply thereafter, he alleged.

The Aam Aadmi Party leader said that he was ready for any probe into the matter, adding that his political rivals had earlier too tried to embroil him in controversy but he had come out clean.
On Europe Day, the President of the European Commission speaks with Vatican Media regarding the importance of the spirit of the founding fathers, which even Pope Francis has recalled. In the most difficult moment since World War II, Ursula von der Leyen recommends the relaunching of the European values of solidarity and multilateralism.

Alessandro Gisotti

By reinforcing Europes foundation built on solidarity, Robert Schumans dream, as well as that of the European Unions Founding Fathers, is still alive and can help the European people overcome the crisis provoked by the pandemic. On the eve of Europe Day, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, speaks with LOsservatore Romano and Vatican News regarding the major issues of the moment, of the commitment to find a vaccine for Covid-19, and the measures needed to sustain the continents economy. In addition, Von der Leyen reflects on Pope Franciss appeal regarding the unity of the European peoples against nationalistic selfishness and the role that the European Union can have at the international level after the pandemic is over.

President Ursula von der Leyen, just months after your election to head the European Commission, you find yourself facing an unprecedented crisis for Europe. How are you personally coping during this difficult moment?

This crisis is testing all of us to the limit. For two month now, I have been spending most of my time in the Berlaymont, the Commission's building in Brussels. Because of the risk of infection, there is currently only a core team of about a dozen close staff working there. I talk to the Commissioners every day by video, even if they are in the same building. At least once a day, I try to get some fresh air and to see the sun. And sometimes I manage to go jogging somewhere green. That's what the soul needs. I talk as well to my husband and adult children on video every night. Im glad, that theyre all well. I also think of the many families who are not so lucky and have to worry a lot about their loved ones. This is what motivates me in my work as President of the Commission to help countries and people around the world to cope with this deep crisis in the best possible way. Many people currently have to stay at home. I have the chance to do a lot. This helps me.



We will celebrate Europe Day on the 9th of May. What can this day mean today for European citizens in the throes of the gravest crisis since the Second World War?

The European Union has changed the fate of our continent for the better. It was born on the ashes of a crisis which devastated the continent. And it is in times of crisis like the one we go through that we can appreciate its true value. For my parents, Europe was peace. For my generation it is freedom and rule of law. For the generation of my children, it is future and openness towards the world. Sometimes we take Europe for granted. We forget how precious it is to live in economic prosperity, social cohesion, in the respect of human rights. Like freedom and good health, we appreciate their real value only when we fear losing them. The current pandemic is a painful reminder of this. As Alcide De Gasperi said: "Solo se saremo uniti saremo forti, solo se saremo forti saremo liberi" (Only if we are united will we be strong, only if we are strong will we be free). We must continue to work for a closer, more united Europe. This year, Europe Day will be a little different. But I hope it can still be a moment of celebration for all Europeans, a celebration of friendship, unity and solidarity among countries and people.



In this moment of the pandemic, Pope Francis has urged Europe several times to return to the Founding Fathers' dream, a dream of solidarity and peace. Is it possible to attain that dream? How can it be made concrete?

On 9 May, we will mark the 70th anniversary of the declaration of Robert Schuman, which turned out to be the starting point of our journey towards the European Union. Schuman's declaration changed the fate of our continent. His demands for a united and solidary Europe are more valid than ever. Today, I see no greater tribute to Schumans words than the solidarity between EU countries. The Romanian and Norwegian doctors and nurses going to Bergamo to tend to the sick, Germany offering its intensive care capacities to patients from Italy, France, the Netherlands and the Czechia is delivering masks to Spain. The Corona shock also carries a salutary message in a broader sense: those who look only to themselves will not get far. We can only overcome major crises, conflicts and reforms together. That also applies to the recovery plan or our European Union. It must be powerful and draw Europe's path into the future in broad brushstrokes. I am fighting for a Europe based on solidarity, which courageously embraces the green and digital opportunities and is more robustly prepared for future crises.



The pandemic is bringing into the open new nationalistic selfishness. Even Pope Francis has sounded the alarm about this. Do you fear that the European peoples might move further away from its continent-wide institutions? What can Europe's leaders do to avoid this from happening?

We have to be vigilant. But as we see now nationalistic governments around the globe have no answers in a pandemic, which knows neither borders, nor religions, nor skin colour. At the beginning of the crisis, some EU Member States had the reflex to withdraw onto themselves and take measures in an isolated way. But in the end, it was not effective and it created problems. So governments remembered rapidly that we can only protect our citizens if we work together, help each other and share. Together, we have taken hundreds of measures in the EU to ensure that hospitals in Italy or Spain have the equipment that they need, that essential goods, such as medicines or food can rapidly reach pharmacies or shops, that workers in border regions could cross the border to reach their workplace, and that people are kept in employment. Acting concretely to protect peoples health and their jobs is what we have to continue doing.

During the financial crisis of 2012, Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank at the time, sustained that the Euro needed to be preserved at any cost. "Whatever it takes", he said. In your opinion, is the European Union today ready to do whatever it takes to save the Continent's economy?

We will do all we can to keep people in jobs and to support companies threatened by the collapse of economic activity. We have already taken many steps to support. We have changed the state aid rules to enable governments to support companies that struggle because of the crisis. We are using the full flexibility of our budgetary rules to allow governments to fight the crisis. The European Union has mobilised so far more than three trillion euros to support people, companies and the economy in our Member States. This is the most impressive economic response in the world. To give you just one tangible example: the EU will help keep people in jobs, by supporting short-time work. We are making 100 billion available for this scheme, similar to the cassa integrazione. Now we need to agree on a recovery plan, built around a strong EU budget, which enables our economies to bounce back. I am confident that all EU governments understand the magnitude of the challenge and that we will rise up to the task.



After this crisis, what role can Europe play on an international level? What will multilateralism look like after this crisis, in your opinion?

This virus shows how interconnected the world is. We are faced with a global pandemic and the only way to defeat this virus is through international cooperation and solidarity.



This was precisely the aim of the Coronavirus Global Response pledging event that I convened on 4 May, jointly with several EU governments and other partners. More than 50 heads of state and of governments, health organisations and business leaders from around the world joined us to raise money and kick-start unprecedented work on vaccines and treatments against the coronavirus. We pledged 7,4 billion euros  more than half of it from the European Union and its governments. And we brought under the same roof global organisations working to develop vaccines, treatments and diagnostic, and to make them available, at affordable prices, to the whole world. The success of this event has shown us, once more, the power of working together.
When Emily LaCosse gave birth to twins, she knew her world had changed. What she didnt expect was that at the same time, the coronavirus pandemic would alter everyone elses, too.

LaCosse, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, had her babies March 9. When she went to the hospital to deliver them, the coronavirus still felt like a vague threat: A nurse downplayed the health risks of it, and her hospital had no restrictions on visitors.

But during the five days that LaCosse and her newborns were in the hospital, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency to fight the growing outbreak. Schools shuttered and grocery stores began running low on essentials.

Soon, there was a statewide lockdown, too.

When Emily LaCosse went into the hospital to deliver her twins, Cecelia and Theo, few people were wearing face masks. When she left five days later,

We went into the hospital while everything was normal. When we got home, everything changed: No toilet paper, no visitors, no help, LaCosse said. All of our plans went out the window.

Bringing home a newborn is always an adjustment. But the pandemic has made it unusually complex, and has new parents wondering when they can safely introduce their babies to family, friends and life beyond their own four walls.

LaCosse was one of 14 parents who spoke to NBC News about the challenges of welcoming a baby during the coronavirus crisis. For most, it has been bittersweet: Their joy has been tinged with the sadness of not being able to share their excitement with others in person.

While there have been some benefits, including unexpected time with both parents home in many households, the pandemic has complicated even the most routine activities  which can already feel intimidating for sleep-deprived mothers and fathers.

I want to take him to the park. I want him to smell things, I want him to hear the birds and feel the sun, said Jamal Gathers Sr., of Newton, Massachusetts, whose second son, Henry, was born March 14. With social distancing, its just not the same. I stand at the patio door with him and we just peer outside like a sad puppy, waiting for our owner to come home.

Story continues

Even errands and appointments, instead of being an excuse to get out of the house, feel risky.

I had all these plans to take my child everywhere, and you cant take her anywhere, said Farrah Kokkosis, of Ronkonkoma, New York, whose daughter, Ridley, was born March 4. Now, its like life is on hold  everything is on hold.

A lot of unknowns  and a lot of anxiety

While children, including infants, generally appear to have more mild symptoms of the coronavirus, there have been severe or fatal pediatric cases. Researchers do not have a clear answer why.

With so many unknowns and no vaccine or cure, some parents of newborns are wrestling with depression and anxiety  even if they did not experience that after prior pregnancies.

Kristen, a mother of three in the Tacoma, Washington, area who asked that her last name not be used to protect her family's privacy, was diagnosed with the coronavirus in March, three weeks after she had her son, Valentine.

She isolated in her bedroom with the baby, wearing a mask whenever she breastfed him, while her husband took care of their two older children. When Kristen's fever spiked, she panicked.

Oh man, am I going to be around for my kids? Is Valentine going to catch this? Is he going to have to be hospitalized, are we going to be separated? she recalled thinking.

She recovered and no other family members got sick. But the experience, plus other difficulties such as not being able to meet up with close friends during the pandemic, prompted her to start antidepressants.

Its been hard to pinpoint: Is it postpartum depression? Or is it just because everything is insane right now? she said.

She is far from the only mom asking herself that question.

In the first two weeks after Brittany Culbertson of Beaufort, South Carolina, had her daughter, Gwen, she found herself crying often.

While filling out a postpartum depression screening from Gwens pediatrician, she said she was stumped by a question that asked whether she had been anxious or worried for no reason.

I was like, well, I have been extremely anxious, but I dont know that its for no reason. I think its heightened because of the very real fear of coronavirus, Culbertson, who gave birth on March 27, said.

While the pandemic could have mental health ramifications for anyone, experts say exhausted new parents may be particularly vulnerable to depression and anxiety, especially with no one around to give them a break.

Dr. Kimberly Yonkers, a professor of psychiatry, epidemiology and obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the Yale School of Medicine, urged overwhelmed parents to find help through virtual therapy, online support groups or medication. She said overpowering anxiety or depression  whether its for seemingly no reason or because of the pandemic  is a reason to get support.

If you are anxious for a very good reason, you are still in distress, she said.

Some second-time parents say life with a newborn now has highlighted how easy they had it the first time around, even if it did not feel that way then.

Andrea Foran, of Long Island, New York, has a 2-year-old and an infant, born March 3. Her husband is an officer with the New York City Police Department who has been self-isolating in a hotel since mid-April to avoid bringing home the virus, should he get exposed through work. Her mother is helping out with the kids, but Foran said it is hard not having her husband home.

Atticus Svoboda holds his sister, Violet.

With the first one, I had a lot of anxiety because it was my first time, and now, thinking back, Im like, Wow, you idiot! Everything was fine, you worried about nothing, she said. We had visitors. We had people who could help. I wish I savored the peacefulness of the first time now.

Leann Svoboda, of Nashville, Tennessee, has the same mindset. She used to take her first child, now 6, to playdates with other new moms and to baby exercise classes. Now, with her daughter Violet, who was born March 6, even a walk down the street feels frightening.

Were holed up, waiting for it to pass, she said. I just dont trust other people to stay away from me. Its terrifying for me.

The doctor is in (via telemedicine in some cases)

Sometimes, going out with a newborn is unavoidable.

Visits to the pediatrician have been the only outings that Mariel Prince of Sellersburg, Indiana, has made since she came home after giving birth to her son, Declan, on March 20.

Mariel and Josh Prince with their son, Declan. Josh's father personally delivers roses whenever there is a new baby in the family, a tradition started by his father; because of social distancing, he could not do that to welcome Declan, and had to order some from a local florist instead. (Courtesy Mariel Prince)

The appointments are anything but ordinary: Instead of going into the waiting room, she checks in at a drive-through out front, then waits with Declan in her car until the pediatricians office calls her on her cellphone. Newborns are only seen in the morning, and every single persons temperature is taken at the door, she said.

Theres so many more steps involved in everything now, and all the steps involved in taking him anywhere  its a lot, she said. I joked with my husband, if we do decide to have a second, were kind of prepared for everything at this point.

Princes husband, Josh, said besides not being able to have his parents meet his son, his biggest issue since Declan arrived has been trying to help his wife cope with cabin fever.

She was planning on going to a zoo and all these other things where she could go out, he said. But those places are all closed, or she just doesnt feel safe going.

Elsewhere, parents are being told to stay at home, even for some doctor appointments.

Lindsay Preseau lives in Cincinnati and gave birth to her son, Ludo, on March 16. Right after Ludo was born, she took him to the pediatrician twice to check if he was gaining enough weight. But his one-month well-visit was canceled to avoid unnecessarily exposing him to any illnesses, and the pediatricians office said the two-month one might be, too.

Lindsay Preseau with her husband, Ritwik Banerji, and son, Ludo. When she went into labor, lockdowns and other measures were being implemented.

I wasnt upset about the one-month visit because I know not much happens, but Im nervous about the two-month, because I want him to get the vaccinations, she said.

In Cleveland, Sierra Heiskell had a virtual pediatrician visit for her daughter, Gianna, who was born April 10. A nurse came to her house to weigh Gianna a few days before and then Heiskell did a telemedicine consultation with the pediatrician for the rest of the appointment. While the doctor watched through the phone, Heiskell did things the pediatrician normally would  like pressing on Giannas belly to make sure it felt soft.

Sierra Heiskell had hoped to have her partner, her mother and a close friend with her when she gave birth to Gianna. But hospital restrictions put into place due to COVID-19 meant she could only have one person, Gianna's father, there. (Sierra Heiskell)

Heiskell was also told by her obstetrician-gynecologist that her own six-week postpartum follow-up appointment will be virtual. Such appointments typically involve a physical exam to see how a woman is healing after birth and a discussion of how she is feeling, physically and mentally. Others who have had their OB-GYN follow-ups via telemedicine said the virtual meetings omitted exams and just consisted of questions.

I have no idea how thats going to go, Heiskell said. I dont like it.

Great that we all got stuck together

Despite the obstacles, new parents say there have been some unexpected silver linings.

Gathers wife, Sarah Cohan, was excited to be a part of a new mom support group. The group cant meet face-to-face, so it meets over Zoom. While its not the same as sitting in a room with other new moms, Cohan found another member whom she could relate with, and the two exchanged numbers so they could text one-on-one.

Between that and a couple mom groups on Facebook, including one of about 400 women who were all due in March, Cohan has found a community  even if its not the one she pictured.

Its been so nice to have a bunch of women from across the world who can commiserate, and post funny things, and who I can ask for recommendations, she said.

LaCosse, the Michigan mother of twins, has figured out a way to have relatives see the babies, even though she does not feel comfortable having visitors over. Family comes  but only as far as her front porch. Her in-laws have stopped by a few times to say hi to the twins from the safety of outside, gazing at the twins through the living room window.

Randy LaCosse normally would be back at work now. Because of the lockdowns, he is working from home and able to see his twins much more  an unexpected silver lining. (Courtesy Emily LaCosse)

Their reaction is, I think, bittersweet, LaCosse said, adding that because it was hard for her to get pregnant, relatives, especially her mother-in-law, were extra eager to spend time with the twins. There was all this excitement  and now she cant hold the babies, hold her grandchildren.

On the other hand, LaCosses husband, Randy, is getting much more time with the babies: Had the pandemic not happened, he would have been in his office, working up to 12-hour days as a project manager. With shelter-in-place orders, he is working from home instead.

Its kind of great that we all got stuck together, LaCosse said. Were spending time together like we never have before, and he gets to have an insane amount of time with them.
The American economy plunged deeper into crisis last month, losing 20.5 million jobs as the unemployment rate jumped to 14.7 per cent, the worst devastation since the Great Depression.

The Labor Departments monthly report Friday provided the clearest picture yet of the breadth and depth of the economic damage  and how swiftly it spread  as the coronavirus pandemic swept the country.

Job losses have encompassed the entire economy, affecting every major industry. Areas like leisure and hospitality had the biggest losses in April, but even health care shed more than one million jobs. Low-wage workers, including many women and members of racial and ethnic minorities, have been hit especially hard.

Its literally off the charts, said Michelle Meyer, head of U.S. economics at Bank of America. What would typically take months or quarters to play out in a recession happened in a matter of weeks this time.

From almost any vantage point, it was a bleak report. The share of the adult population with a job, at 51.3 per cent, was the lowest on record. Nearly 11 million people reported working part time because they couldnt find full-time work, up from about 4 million before the pandemic.

If anything, the numbers probably understate the economic distress.

Millions more Americans have filed unemployment claims since the data was collected in mid-April. Whats more, because of issues with the way workers are classified, the Labor Department said the actual unemployment rate last month might have been closer to 20 per cent.

It remains possible that the recovery, too, will be swift, and that as the pandemic retreats, businesses that were fundamentally healthy before the virus will reopen, rehire and return more or less to normal. The one bright spot in Fridays report was that nearly 80 per cent of the unemployed said they had been temporarily laid off and expected to return to their jobs in the coming months.

President Donald Trump endorsed this view in an interview Friday morning on Fox News. Those jobs will all be back, and theyll be back very soon, Trump said, and next year were going to have a phenomenal year.

But Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton, said that such optimism was misplaced, and that many of the jobs could not be recovered.

This is going to be a hard reality, Swonk said. These furloughs are permanent, not temporary.

Many businesses have indicated that employees can work from home throughout the summer, hurting sales at downtown restaurants. Meetings and conferences have been put off as well, reducing demand at hotels and other gathering places. And the longer the pandemic lasts, the more businesses will fail, deepening the downturn.

The broad nature of the job cuts, too, means it will take longer for the labour market to recover than if the losses were confined to one or two areas.

There is no safe place in the labour market right now, said Martha Gimbel, an economist and labour market expert at Schmidt Futures, a philanthropic initiative. Once people are unemployed, once theyve lost their jobs, once their spending has been sucked out of the economy, it takes so long to come back from that.

Carrie Hines, a managing director at an advertising firm in Austin, Texas, had the kind of professional job  adaptable to working from home  that seemed insulated from the pandemics effects. But her firm worked closely with companies in the airline, hotel and amusement park industries. When their business evaporated as a result of the outbreak, it was only a matter of time before Hines firm felt the impact. She was laid off April 20.

I was shocked, she said. Ive never had a gap in work since college.

Hines and her husband are cutting back where they can, and they have cancelled plans to send their three children to summer camp. I never imagined this kind of job market where the entire advertising industry has been crushed, she said.

The scale of the job losses last month alone far exceed the 8.7 million lost in the last recession, when unemployment peaked at 10 per cent in October 2009.

I thought the Great Recession was once in a lifetime, but this is much worse, said Beth Ann Bovino, chief U.S. economist at S&P Global.

The only comparable period is when unemployment reached about 25 per cent in 1933, before the government began publishing official statistics. Then, as now, workers from a variety of backgrounds found themselves with few prospects for quickly landing a new job.

The governments official definition of unemployment typically requires people to be actively looking for work, making the measure ill-suited to a crisis in which the government is encouraging people to stay home. Some 6.4 million people left the labour force entirely in April, meaning they were neither working nor looking for work.

Joblessness  by any measure  could be even higher in the report for May, which will reflect conditions next week. Some economists say the unemployment rate should fall over the summer as people begin to return to work. Several states have begun to reopen their economies, and others are expected to do so in coming weeks.

But with the virus untamed, its not clear how quickly customers will return to businesses. And epidemiologists and economists warn that if states move too quickly, they could risk a second wave of infections, imperiling public health and the economy.

That would stop people from shopping and cause austerity, Bovino said.

For businesses, the uncertainty about the path of the pandemic and about consumers response to it is making planning difficult.

When Austin Ramirez heard about the coronavirus earlier this year, his initial concern was for his supply chain. Ramirez runs Husco International, a manufacturer of hydraulic and electromechanical components for cars and other equipment. The company has a factory in China and receives parts from suppliers there and around the world.

By April, virtually the entire U.S. auto industry was shut down, Husco included. (The companys nonautomotive production continued at a reduced rate.) Ramirez said he didnt know when business would bounce back. His goal is to weather the storm.

Theres no visibility or certainty on what the future demand is going to look like, he said. We cant build a business model that relies on there being a big recovery six months from now.

While most of Huscos roughly 750 North American workers have been furloughed during the crisis, the company has mostly avoided large-scale, permanent job cuts. Ramirez said he expected that most of his workers would come back when he needs them.

But particularly in industries like retail and hospitality, layoffs that were initially temporary might not remain so as bankruptcies mount and business owners confront shifts in consumer behaviour.

Most forecasters expect the unemployment rate to remain elevated at least through 2021, and probably longer. That means that it will be years before workers enjoy the bargaining power that was beginning to bring them faster wage gains and better benefits before the crisis.

Job seekers are going to have less leverage, said Julia Pollak, a labour economist at the employment marketplace ZipRecruiter. Were no longer going to see mostly employed job seekers browsing and looking for better matches and higher pay. Youre going to see job seekers desperate to pay the bills.

Research this week from economists at the ADP Research Institute, the University of Chicago and the Federal Reserve found that low-wage workers have suffered a disproportionate share of job losses in the crisis so far.

Recessions always tend to affect employment for low-wage, low-skilled workers, but the magnitude of the difference between low-wage and high-wage workers, thats remarkable, said Ahu Yildirmaz, an economist at the ADP Research Institute and an author of the study.

Ibelis Gonzalez worked as a server for Ruths Chris Steak House in Jersey City, New Jersey, until she was let go in March. She is hoping her job will return when the chain reopens, but she knows there are no guarantees, as patrons may be hesitant to dine out at first.

We dont know if they will have a skeleton staff, said Gonzalez, who earned $600 (U.S.) to $800 a week, nearly all of it from tips. People may not have the money to go out and have a $100 steak.

She has been trying to file for unemployment insurance but hasnt been able to reach the states Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Im not looking for a handout; Im just looking for these benefits, she said. I dont have a dollar to my name.
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.

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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".
"The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting." Sun Tzu, The Art of War

In the mid-1990s, it was extensively reported that the Clinton-Gore Administration transferred our missile and nuclear technologies to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for campaign contributions. Think about that as the CCP flexes its military muscle and runs through the world buying up companies diminished by the Wuhan Flu pandemic. The very progenitors of the China Lung Rot seek to achieve a competitive advantage because they are by definition communists, and good old boy Democrat Bill Clinton and his hench-wife are by definition corrupt.

As a reminder for those too young to remember or who were subject to only the fake news of the time, a walk down Memory Lane of "Chinagate" reminds us how during the investigation by the Department of Justice, about 120 people connected to Chinagate either fled the country or pleaded the Fifth to prevent testifying.

The Clinton-Gore administration voluntarily released the secrets of America's nuclear tests to the CCP. This combined with the systematic theft of the secrets that were left as a result of lax security controls effectively wiped out America's technological edge over the CCP and provided them with the rocket and nuclear capability to target the U.S. The then CEO of Loral Space & Communications Ltd. gave $1.5 million to various Democrat party functionaries, including good old boy Clinton's 1996 re-election campaign.

Purely coincidentally, of course, the Clinton administration transferred technology export licensing authority from the State Department to the politically influenced Commerce Department. Loral then obtained licenses from the Commerce Department that were needed to launch Loral-manufactured communications satellites into orbit from China, a win-win-win-lose for Loral-Clinton-CCP-Americans. Of course, the CCP would never think to steal this technology delivered to its homeland courtesy of Mr. Clinton's allowances.

Good old boy Clinton's friend Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie pleaded guilty to charges of violating campaign finance rules. The origin of Mr. Trie's campaign contributions are self-explanatory within the context of Chinagate.

Clinton donor Johnny Chung received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Bank of China, three days before he handed then-First Lady Hillary Clinton's chief of staff a $50,000 check. Johnny Chung visited the White House 49 times over the course of two years. Nearly half of those visits were authorized by the office of the first lady. In one visit, Hillary met with Chung and his visiting delegation of Chinese businessmen from CCP state-run companies.

Liu Chaoying was the daughter of CCP military General Liu Huaging. She arranged to give Johnny Chung, a businessman and ally of the Clintons, $300,000, which was then donated to the DNC.

Not to be outdone on the campaign fund's collections activities, thenvice president Al Gore received political donations from Buddhist nuns who had taken a vow of poverty. This gave rise the "iced tea defense" by V.P. Gore. He had a lot of iced tea during the meeting and must have been in the bathroom when any untoward campaign contribution activities actually occurred.

The list of instances of corruption and selling out our country by the Clintons is extensive. These are only a few of the nefarious dealings perpetrated by the Arkansas grifters. Never mind more recent corruption perpetrated by the Clinton Foundation's selling of indulgences by good old boy Clinton's hench-wife as the former secretary of state, or the transfer of one quarter of our stockpile of uranium to the Russians after a lucrative half-million-dollar speaking engagement for Mr. Clinton provided by the Russians.

It is unfair to lay our current tense situation with the CCP at the feet of the Clinton and DNC cabal. Unfortunately, we the people have been sold out by our political leaders in Washington and their globalist elite big business cronies for decades...numerous senators, representatives, Bush and Obama administration leaders. We can only hope that making America great again can overcome the decades-long head start provided to the CCP's art of war.
09.05.2020 LISTEN

When the novel coronavirus started to get stroppy and make its now global impression, one theme seemed to be common. Facemasks were, at least initially, a conceit, a sort of fashion or extra-medical accessory. To use it was a mark of vanity. Rushing out to stock up on such masks was also selfish: you were taking them from the medical profession who needed it more than you.

From vanity and selfishness, masking up has become a necessity. Whole countries have been given the spanking of a lockdown, with consequential economic contractions. With the details of opening up and easing restrictions being put to paper, the collective, public use of facemasks is being encouraged and, in some cases, mandated.

Many of Germanys federal regions have made wearing masks mandatory on public transport and when shopping, though the regulations vary. Austria has decided to make them compulsory when shopping. But confusion and inconsistency reigns in some quarters. Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann of Baden-Wurttemberg has suggested the use of scarves and cloth covers for the general citizenry while reserving medical masks for health workers.

Kretschmanns qualification revisits old concerns about hogging the necessary equipment and taking from the health warriors who are engaged in the battle. This is a concern facing those in Britains National Health Service. Will such encouragement incite a stampede that will outstrip supply?

The science behind wearing a mask remains a question of dispute. Then again, much of the policy weapons deployed against COVID-19 could be bracketed that way. Hilda Bastian spouts irritably in Wired against the double standard on wearing face masks, which receive a scholarly, hyper-rigorous attentiveness. We dont see op-eds that ask whether people really need to keep 6 feet away from each other on the street, as opposed to 3 feet, or that cast doubt on whether its such a good idea to promote bouts of handwashing that are 20 seconds long. Infectious diseases consultant Babak Javid says much the same thing, claiming that the results from laboratory tests on handwashing are, at best, disappointing, while there have been none to speak of regarding physical distancing.

The trials on facemasks have, for the most part, been unrewarding in their results. There are issues about adherence, problems about whether the masks are even worn properly and even whether wearing such masks conveys a false sense of security. Consider, for instance, a recent letter of waning by ear, nose and throat surgeon Guy A. Vernham to the editor of the BMJ. I would argue that incorrect mask wearing in particular, is a serious concern which might result in an increased risk of spread: Incorrect fitting and removal, failure to understand associated hand hygiene and touching/adjusting the mask during use do run a risk of contagion which could outweigh any benefits.

When teased out, the existing complement of trials suffer from methodological pitfalls. A US study examining 1437 young adults in university residence halls during the 2006-7 influenza season found that the use of facemasks and an attentiveness to hand hygiene may reduce respiratory illnesses in shared living settings and mitigate the impact of the influenza A(H1N1) pandemic. Despite this effort being commended, the findings had to be seen in light of the following: that the trial took place during a mild flu season; there was a chance that some students were infected prior to the trials commencement; and the study was not designed, according to Titus L. Daniels and Thomas R. Talbot, to detect small differences that may be demonstrated by the incremental use of face masks to hand hygiene.

Reviews on the published studies throw up similar methodological problems. A survey of 31 eligible studies, including 12 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) on the use of facemasks, found that the latter often suffered from poor compliance and controls. Such RCTs were expected to under-estimate the protective effect of the masks, with observational studies having an opposite, exaggerating effect. Participants who were tasked with wearing masks often did not; those who should not have, did.

According to Julii Brainard, a senior researcher in modelling public health threats, Part of the reason why the research has been so difficult is that what should be our best-quality experiments arent very good. So were stuck with what are called observational studies where researchers ask what people did.

The argument for facemasks has now pivoted away from the healthy wearer who is concerned about infection; the current focus is on the one who is already infected, exhibiting asymptomatic or mild symptoms. This chimes with the message that you are doing your bit to prevent transmission, while injecting a moral sting into matters. And if all else fails to convince, the precautionary principle  that such masks be worn, according to a study in the BMJ, on the grounds that we have little to lose and potentially something to gain from this measure, comes into play.

As with much in the realm of public health, policy is often made on the hop, done to cope with panic and calm troubled waters. With interest now on returning some blood into the arterial streams of the global economy, the scientific equivocality behind the length of time one washes hands to the nature of mask one wears, will take second place to the expediency of reassurance.

Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He lectures at RMIT University, Melbourne. Email: [email protected]
Russia's hybrid military forces mounted seven attacks on Ukrainian army positions in Donbas in past 24 hours, with four Ukrainian soldiers reported as wounded in action, the press centre of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) has reported.

"The Russian Federation's armed formations violated the ceasefire seven times in the past day. The enemy opened fire from proscribed 120mm and 82mm mortars, an anti-tank missile system, grenade launchers of various types, UAVs, heavy machine guns, and rifles. As a result, four servicemen of the Joint Forces were wounded in enemy shelling," the JFO staff said in its update on Facebook on Saturday morning.

Ukrainian positions near the towns of Maryinka and Avdiyivka, and the villages of Shyrokyne, Kamianka, Pisky, Orikhove, and Krymske came under attacks.

According to Ukrainian intelligence, Ukrainian servicemen killed one Russian mercenary and injured at least two mercenaries from illegal armed groups.

More
Shocking revelations emerged, over the week, that the sum of N100 million found in the bank account of the wife of late billionaire kidnapper, Collins Ezenwa, popularly known as E-money, which was suspected to be proceed of crime and was ordered to be seized and forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria, by the Federal High Court, Owerri, Imo state has disappeared.

The account which has a net balance of N105million at the time it was confiscated and a lien placed on it currently has a balance of N6,800 in it.

At present it was learned that detectives at the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team, IRT, were working to unravel the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the huge sum from the bank and arrest the culprits.



Recall that 13 buildings, located around choice areas within Enugu, Abia and Imo states, including a hotel valued at about N220million in Enugu State, were discovered to have been purchased by the late billionaire kidnapper within the space of two years.

He was also said to have bought 13 expensive vehicles including tippers and trailer trucks, while the sum of N100million was found in a bank account belonging to his wife, within the same period.

The source, while speaking with Vanguards Crime Guard said; We received intelligence reports about E-moneys criminal activities in October 2017, while he was a policeman, after one Emmanuel and David Ofong were abducted along Nsukka-Kogi Road, Enugu by a gang of kidnappers and a ransom of $2 million was paid for the release of one of the victims, David Ofong while the kidnappers held on to Emmanuel Ofong, demanding additional money.

We went into the case and through the aid of advanced technology, we were able to establish that E-money was the man behind the kidnapping but we had difficulty arresting him then because he was always moving in and out of the country.

How he operated the gang

Shockingly, we heard, in 2018 that he had been killed alongside two members of his gang. But since Chief Emmanuel Ofong, who he kidnapped was still missing; we continued our case with the hope of arresting other members of his gang. In the process, we arrested a banker working for him and he informed us that his wife had a fixed deposit account credited with N100 million.

We also arrested a property agent, who assisted him in buying his property. We looked further into his activities and discovered that he was operating a gang so sophisticated that his gang members were not close to themselves and none of them knew where he kept his victims after he had kidnapped them.

He also conducted negotiations for ransom of his victims by himself which was usually in foreign currencies. We discovered that he gave his gang members whatever he liked as he had succeeded in preventing them from knowing how much he got for the operations.

We also discovered that E-money used, to a large extent, his police exposure in coordinating his criminal enterprise and he ended up acquiring so much money within a short period.

Despite the October 2019 interim order of forfeiture, issued by the Federal High Court Owerri, to the Nigeria Police Force to confiscate all properties belonging to E-money, which included vehicles, buildings and the sum of N100million found in his wife, Gift Ezenwas account, the said N100million has been withdrawn completely, the source lamented.

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Berlin: China is open to an independent investigation to determine the origins of the coronavirus now sweeping the world, its ambassador to Berlin told a German magazine on Friday, amid US allegations that it came from a laboratory.

China has dismissed as groundless US and Australian questioning of how it had handled the coronavirus pandemic, saying it had been open and transparent, despite growing scepticism about the accuracy of its official death toll.

"We are open to an international investigation," Wu Ken told Der Spiegel magazine in an interview. "We support the exchange of research among scientists.

Senior students study in a Wuhan classroom with shields on each desk as a protection against coronavirus. About 57,800 students in their final year went back to school on Wednesday in Wuhan. Credit:Getty Images

"... But we reject putting China in the dock without evidence, assuming its guilt and then trying to search for evidence through a so-called international investigation."
The Manitoba government will speed up its municipal funding payments to help address the financial fallout from COVID-19.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 8/5/2020 (620 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba government will speed up its municipal funding payments to help address the financial fallout from COVID-19.

The province will ensure 75 per cent of municipal operating grants are doled out to municipalities within the next few days, with the rest paid in September, Municipal Relations Minister Rochelle Squires said.

The payments are typically made each financial quarter, but the 75 per cent share should be provided by Monday, if not earlier, Squires said, noting the funding should help cities maintain essential services as they cope with massive revenue losses.

Winnipeg expects to lose about $78 million if pandemic-related restrictions persist through the end of August.

The capital citys advance payment will provide $90.9 million of its $121.2-million unconditional provincial operating grant, Squires said.

The expedited payment was announced one day after Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman publicly lobbied the province for a new financial partnership. The mayor asked the province to commit set operating and capital funding levels until 2023; speed up capital and operating payments; support federal transit funding requests; and immediately back a provincial/federal funding application for part of a $1.8-billion north end sewage treatment plant upgrade.

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The mayor called on the province to create a growth funding model for Winnipeg. He noted that passing on a portion of provincial sales tax revenue could be one example of that type of funding.

Squires said the province will provide stable infrastructure and operating grants to the city for the rest of her governments term of office and noted its invested $56 million as an "initial down payment" for upgrades to the north end sewage plant.

She said her government is "open" to considering the mayors remaining requests.

Bowman was not available for comment. His office said he "looks forward" to discussing economic recovery plans with Squires at a meeting Tuesday.

Joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga
MAY 09, 2020 -- SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, may be present in the semen of patients with COVID-19, both those recovering and those with acute disease, according to a small study published online today in JAMA Network Open.

However, several experts caution that the researchers only tested for viral components and that the findings do not demonstrate infectivity. "I am not aware of any reports of infection transmitting sexually, so the risk here, even if the study is verified at a larger scale, is very limited," said Ian Jones, PhD, professor of virology, University of Reading, United Kingdom.

Other experts note that the published article is short on information about methodology and context. "I'm not saying they are wrong, but they are shy on details," said Maureen Ferran, PhD, associate professor of biology, Rochester Institute of Technology, New York. She notes that although the authors say they used reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to detect viral RNA from nasal swabs to confirm infection, they don't say what they did to detect virus in semen, leaving readers to assume they also used RT-PCR to test those samples.

A spokesperson from the JAMA press office has clarified that the authors did use RT-PCR to detect viral RNA in semen; the authors did not respond to multiple email requests for comment.

"It is peer-reviewed, but everyone is trying to get everything out so fast that some things are suffering," Ferran continued. She noted that she was surprised the authors did not mention other studies that have shown conflicting results.

In the newly reported study, SARS-CoV-2 was detected in semen from 6 (15.8%) of 38 patients tested. All of the patients had confirmed COVID-19.

The finding may have implications for the prevention and control of COVID-19, note the study authors, led by Diangeng Li, PhD, from the Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing, China.

"Owing to the imperfect blood-testes/deferens/epididymis barriers, SARS-CoV-2 might be seeded to the male reproductive tract, especially in the presence of systemic local inflammation," the authors write.

"Even if the virus cannot replicate in the male reproductive system, it may persist, possibly resulting from the privileged immunity of testes," Li and colleagues write.

If further research shows that SARS-CoV-2 is sexually transmitted, then this may be critical in the prevention of transmission, they note. "Abstinence or condom use might be considered as a preventive means for these patients," they suggest.

Commenting on the study, Allan Pacey, PhD, FRCOG, professor of andrology at the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom, acknowledges that this opens up the possibility that one route of infection may be through sexual contact, although this has not been confirmed.

He told Medscape Medical News that although the findings appear robust, they are at odds with a recent study published in Fertility and Sterility that found no evidence of the virus in semen in a similar number of men (n = 34), suggesting a need for more research. "From my own experience ... I can confirm that there are a number of methodological challenges to overcome in order to truly establish the source of an infection with virus or bacteria within the male reproductive tract, and moreover that any DNA/RNA represents enough virus or bacteria which are sufficient to cause infection by sexual contact."

However, he added, "We should not be surprised if the virus which causes COVID-19 is found in the semen of some men, since this has been shown with many other viruses, such as Ebola and Zika."

That point was echoed by Walter D. Cardona Maya, PhD, microbiologist and expert in semen evaluation at the University of Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia. "[T]his infection with SARS-CoV-2 is very similar to other viral infections that could be transmitted by semen and therefore during sexual intercourse," he told Medscape Medical News.

He added that similar results were reported in 2003 for SARS-CoV, the virus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome. On the basis of that study and other articles, as a whole, "the evidence shows that with regards to COVID-19 asymptomatic patients, it is very important to consider this alternative infection route. The possibility of transferring the virus via couples, and perhaps with an effect on fertility and offspring, should be evaluated," he said. Cardona Maya recently wrote a commentary, SARS-CoV-2 and the Testis: Similarity With Other Viruses and Routes of Infection, which discusses this in more detail.
Seven people have been displaced after a fire burned out the top floor of a home in the North Side of Syracuse, according to the Syracuse Fire Department.

About 50 firefighters responded to 1516 Spring St. at 7:29 p.m. for a reported fire, Syracuse Fire Department Captain David Ellis said.

When firefighters arrived, they saw smoke and fire coming from the Spring Street homes second floor, Ellis said. Power lines had been burned through and lay on a chain-link fence when firefighters arrived, according to Ellis.

A member of a National Grid crew who helped at the scene of the fire had to climb a utility pole to manually shut off power, Ellis said. A back portion of the home had two roofs, including a rain roof, which made fighting the fire more difficult, according to Ellis.

The four people who lived in the bottom floor were home when the fire started and escaped uninjured, Ellis said. The three people who lived on the second floor were not home when the fire started, according to Ellis.

The cause and origin of the fire are still being investigated.

Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Chris Libonati via the Signal app for encrypted messaging at 585-290-0718, by phone at the same number, by email or on Twitter.
Veteran journalist and broadcaster Frank Crook, a former editor of TV Week, has died aged 81.

The Age reports he died from a heart attack in St Vincents Hospital.

Crook had been a journalist at The Sun & Mirror papers and 2GB broadcaster and editor of TV Week in the early 1970s.

During that time he brought out big name international stars for the Logie Awards including John Wayne, Michael Caine, Glenn Ford and Michael Cole.

I left him alone and he was on the grog all day, turned up drunk, tipped the waiter $20, which was a lot of money in 1973, to keep the grog flowing and then said shit on air, Crook once told news.com.au. But it was the best thing that happened to the Logies because it got us on to the front page.

As TelevisionAU recalls Crook also championed Australian TV, once saying of Laugh-In clone Ready When You Are CB,

There are times when a person feels like sitting down and having a good cry about Australian television. One day, if we all live long enough, we may see a dead-set, sure-fire, gold-plated original Australian show. Until that day comes, we have to sit, slack-jawed, through specials like Ready When You Are CB. Mr Chris Beard, the eminent expatriate writer, did most of the pencilling for the show and it would seem he brought over much of the material rejected by Laugh-In.

When I was a kid growing up in Melbourne I used to spend a fortune buying interstate newspapers.(hard copies then and yes a sad admission) Certain bylines always struck me as fascinating & their work usually reflected that. Frank and Jim Oram always stood out in Sydney.  Peter Ford (@mrpford) May 9, 2020
African countries require a two-year debt standstill to provide governments with the fiscal space to fight the coronavirus pandemic, according to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The continent needs an immediate emergency economic stimulus of $100 billion to combat the impact of the disease and almost half of that could come from waiving interest payments, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

While the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have supported a debt standstill for nine months, we believe that  given the extent of the anticipated damage  we will need a debt standstill for two years, said Ramaphosa. The South African leader, who chairs the African Union, made the comment in a meeting with the heads of state of neighbouring countries, according to a statement published on the Presidency website Friday.

African finance ministers are discussing debt-relief proposals, including a special-purpose vehicle to exchange their sovereign debt for new concessional paper to avoid having to use funds needed to battle the virus to pay private creditors.

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Over the past two years, Jennifer Garners Pretend Cooking Show has rapidly been picking up followers. Her array of English muffins, bagels, soft pretzels, and various types of bread are enough to make your mouth water. The best part is that the videos are short,  under four minutes  easy, and include great tips along with the recipe.

Garners hilarious commentary helps, too. So, where did the actress get the inspiration for all of her recipes? Are Ina Garten and Martha Stewart the secret sauce behind the Pretend Cooking Show?

Jennifer Garner at the Frigidaire Kids Cooking Academy | Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Frigidaire

Ina Garten was the original inspiration for Garners Pretend Cooking Show

The inspiration for Garners Pretend Cooking Show looks like it came straight from Ina Garten and The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook series. In her very first video, the actress tagged the author and gave her a loving hashtag, #barefootforever. That first two-and-a-half-minute clip detailed the Peppermint star making Gartens honey white bread.

Garner loves the chicken chili from Gartens cookbook, Barefoot Parties, as a great super bowl snack. One of her absolute favorites by Garten is her Beef Bourguignon, which the actress has been making for years.

I love her videos so much, Garten told People Magazine when she was asked about the actresses cooking show. She is adorable and smart and not at all performingthats just who she is. I just think shes really special.

Garten also said that she is not helping Garner with her cooking shows at all. The actress can take all of the credit, even if the inspiration was originally from the cooking show host.

Garner often channels Martha Stewart recipes for her Pretend Cooking Show

Garten is not the only person who influenced the actresss cooking skills. Garner also loves to share a tried and true recipe from Martha Stewart during her Pretend Cooking Show.

Ive been making this @marthastewart recipe for yearsthe roast lemon chicken alone is enough to make you sing, Garner wrote in an Instagram post. You can dress it up (homemade stock) or make it in a hurry (broth from a boxdont tell @inagarten!), whatever you do, this recipe is a sure thing.

Garner loves to point out the fact that she is not cheating on her original influencer. However, everyone needs a classic Martha Stewart recipe sometimes.

Garners recipes arent always from Martha Stewart and Ina Garten

The actress sometimes comes up with recipes on her own. Early on in her Pretend Cooking Show, Garner tried to replicate a bagel recipe she made for her family for the holidays. It was an epic fail, so she continued until she got it right. Garner told viewers she would share the recipe when she figured out what it was.

She likes to share recipes from Zoe Nathan, the author of Huckleberry. Garner supports The Huckleberry Cafe in Santa Monica, California, which is family owned and operated. She always tags the cafe owner and author, Nathan, in her videos sharing the Huckleberry recipes.

The actress supports many other businesses with her cooking show videos, including a pizzeria owner, a local farm, and other online recipe websites. While Garten and Stewart might have given Garner the original inspiration for her show, it looks like the actress is her own secret sauce. She finds recipes that work from a massive array of sources and makes them look quick and easy. Keep on cooking Jennifer Garner  we love your secret sauce.
UPDATE (5/10): 1,295 new cases put Pa. at 56K with 3,700 dead

As the second wave of Pennsylvania counties prepares to reopen from the coronavirus shutdown, the number of new cases continues to increase by more than 1,000 people per day and the Lehigh Valley has recorded more than 300 deaths.

On Saturday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported the state passed the 55,000-person benchmark after adding 1,078 new positive cases.

The 72 new reported deaths brought the statewide death toll to 3,688 people. Based on county reports, the Lehigh Valley has had 301 deaths from COVID-19; it was 218 people a week ago.

To date, 221,791 people tested negative for the virus across the state.

In the Lehigh Valley, Lehigh County has more positive cases and is reporting more deaths.

The death tolls reported by the counties differ from the state, which has been working to reconcile its data with that of county coroners and other medical sources.

Lehigh County reported Friday 155 county residents have died from the virus, while the state reported 120 deaths. Northampton County reported 146 deaths, while the state reported 158 deaths in the county.

Out of the states 67 counties, 24 counties moved to yellow on Friday, and 13 more will join them on May 15. Some legislators are pushing for their counties to reopen now.

In the letter sent Friday, State Sen. Lisa Boscola asked Wolf that Northampton and Lehigh counties be moved to the yellow phase of reopening.

Boscola said she was making the move after speaking with infectious disease doctors at Lehigh Valley and St. Lukes University health networks. The doctors have a firm understanding of the devastation the virus causes to some patients, Boscola wrote, but the vast majority of patients do not require hospitalizations.

Obviously, the decision of when to re-open any county or geographic area is not easy. So, I do not make this request lightly. I recognize a great deal goes into your determination, however, it is my belief that the expert opinions of the infectious disease specialists from the largest health care providers in the Lehigh Valley that state our region should be moved to the yellow phase of reopening should not be ignored, Boscola, D-Lehigh/Northampton, said in the letter.

State Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon, called for Carbon County to also be reopened.

I think the governor really needs to take a hard look at our metrics. Weve had 30 new COVID-19 cases in the last 14 days and our hospitalization rates are down. We have plenty of capacity in our local health care networks, Heffley said in a news release. I have spoken with our health care networks, business community and a lot of local residents who feel Carbon County is ready to take that next step, and our numbers show it. We can go from red to yellow and start to safely reopen parts of our economy."

Meanwhile, sheriffs in Cumberland and Perry counties made statements that they will not cite businesses that operate in defiance of Wolfs shutdown order, Pennlive.com reported.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com.
The federal government Friday directed the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) to fully resume its export certification duties at all ports immediately, so as to cushion the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Nigerias agricultural sector.

This was disclosed in a statement signed by Gozie Nwodo, head of communications and strategies, NAQS. He said the federal government had granted the agency (NAQS) authorisation to make agro-export functional again, so as to revive all functions related to agricultural export on both the public and private sectors.

NAQS is the agency under the federal ministry of agriculture and rural development with the mandate to provide an effective science-based regulatory services for the quality assurance of agricultural products.

This is done through the consistent enforcement of sanitary and phytosanitary measures for plants, animal and aquatic resources.

In his remarks, Vincent Isegbe, NAQS director-general, said, Export of agricultural produce will soon pick up and gather pace as a result.

He said the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) also issued directives instructing ministries, departments, agencies as well as state governments to cooperate with NAQS to enable a well choreographed restoration of export traffic for the benefit of all Nigerians.

This directive is coming amidst the efforts by the government to curtail the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic threatening economic activities in the country.

Mr Isegbe said following the federal governments directive, producers and state governments are expected to grant free passage to consignments along designated corridors mapped by NAQS with best logistics-support arrangement.

He also called on all relevant entities in the agricultural export environment to play their respective roles to foster the quick return of businesses to its normal pace.

The NAQS boss further noted that agricultural export accounted for a large volume of Nigerias non-oil export, adding that it has become more critical for Nigerian agricultural export to stand to its full height as one of the twin pillars of the Nigerian economy following the drastic slump in global oil prices and spike in job losses.

In addition, he said, as a responsible public service provider, NAQS has creatively adapted to the challenge of the current context, adding that the agency will balance the consideration of professional protocols and adhere to all recommended COVID-19 safety precautions in the discharge of its statutory mandate of inspection and certification of agricultural products.

According to the statement, agencies such as the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Nigerian Aviation Handling Company PLC (NAHCO Aviance), Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO), the Nigerian Police and other security agencies are now under obligation to work in concert with NAQS and stakeholders to reinvigorate agricultural export in the country
Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below.

Ms J.F. writes: In 2013, the Royal Bank of Scotland said we had to reduce our Virgin One mortgage immediately by nearly 7,000. To do this, we sold shares and borrowed money.

However, we recently received a letter from RBS, enquiring about our recollections of the event.

The bank asked for proof of the investment sales, but this was over six years ago and we no longer have those records, so RBS says it has closed its file.

Bailout: Fred 'The Shred' Goodwin took the bank to the point of collapse

Tony replies: This is a scandal which RBS has worked hard to keep under wraps. The scheme was originally a successful joint venture with Virgin, but RBS took control in 2003.

The idea was a good one, treating customers' mortgages as part of the same picture as their savings and current account  only charging interest on the reduced overall figure.

The rules were flexible, but the bedrock condition explained: 'You will be free to draw on your account for any purpose you chooseprovided the borrowing is repaid by the time you retire.'

A handy guide showed how mortgages could be gradually reduced over years, but there were no compulsory repayments ahead of retirement.

However, in 2013, RBS wrote to One account customers, telling them they had not kept to the figures shown in its guide, and ordering them to hand over a lump sum to get back on track.

This caused enormous upsets as customers were forced to raise large sums.

This was totally wrong. The bank broke its own rules. Exactly when it realised its mistake is a secret, but by the end of 2017, it had begun to write to customers, admitting: 'We recognise we did not get it right.' Some customers have been compensated.

So where does this leave you? According to RBS, it leaves you as the loser and the bank as the winner.

Why? Because the bank took so long to contact you and admit its mistakes that you could no longer produce paperwork to prove you had lost a penny.

RBS has tried to portray its 2013 mistake as a misguided attempt to help its customers.

It told me: 'For some customers, this meant reducing their facility gradually over the term remaining to support repayment.'

But the bank admitted: 'There may have been instances where this action could have caused distress and inconvenience, and so we have sought to understand whether it may have had an adverse impact for any of our customers.

'Where we have found any evidence of such an impact, we have looked to put things right.'

Why, then, did the bank wait until the end of 2019 to contact you? This was more than six years since it got things so badly wrong.

Could it be that this was because six years is a commonly accepted maximum legal time limit for records to be kept? And when you could not produce those records, this let the bank off the hook.

I asked RBS why it failed to contact you earlier. It refused to say.

I asked why the bank seems to be laying down a rule for its customers to keep records longer than the bank itself is legally required to keep records. Again, it refused to say.

I asked RBS how many One account customers have been affected by the bank's 2013 error. It refused to say.

And I asked how many such customers have been contacted so far. RBS refused to say.

This is just one in a long list of scandals that have made the very name of the bank toxic  including being fined 3.9billion for selling dodgy investments in the US.

And, of course, RBS gave us Fred 'The Shred' Goodwin, the boss who steered it so close to collapse it needed a massive taxpayer bailout.

The poor chap was forced to retire with just a pension of around half a million pounds a year.

We're watching you! The Financial Conduct Authority has won High Court orders forcing four individuals and one company to repay investors who were persuaded to buy shares in an illegal offering. Last Wednesday's judgment orders Lee Skinner to pay 3.61million, while Karen Ferreira must hand over 2.79million. The pair were directors of Our Price Records, whose shares were marketed to the public with false claims. The shares were promoted through sales agents Clive Mongelard, Tyrone Miller and Venor Associates Limited, who must pay back a total of 1.2million. The City watchdog has won High Court orders forcing four individuals and one company to repay investors who were persuaded to buy shares in an illegal offering Hertford-based Venor is run by Mongelard, who has also used the names Clive Harris, John Harris and Chris Harris in earlier scams. The court found that Venor and Mongelard offered investment advice without authorisation, as well as making false or misleading statements to investors, who were told that Skinner was a personal friend of Richard Branson. Shares were marketed for over a year, from October 2014, but investors were not told that half their money went in commission to sales agents. A large part of the balance was funnelled to Skinner through two companies that fronted for him. Mongelard has been involved in a series of investment scams and dodgy broking firms. I first warned against him in May 2014, when he had been a salesman with Green Planet Investment, raising funds for leisure projects in Brazil. Investors lost millions of pounds, and the projects never materialised. A year later, I warned Mongelard had opened his own company to sell investments in rare earth metals. Again investors lost heavily. Marketing shares and offering investment advice without authorisation by the FCA is a criminal offence punishable by up to two years in prison. However, the FCA has not prosecuted any of the offenders. Mongelard and Miller remain on the FCA's public register of advisers, without a stain on their character. Both are described as no longer needing regulatory approval, allowing them to tell victims the watchdog is happy with whatever they are doing  further evidence the FCA register has been downgraded to being not only feeble but actually dangerous.

If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk.

Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.
BRUSSELS  With the global paralysis induced by the coronavirus, levels of pollution and carbon emission are dropping everywhere  leaving bluer skies, visible mountains, splendid wildflowers. Even Venices famously murky canals are running clear.

After decades of industry and government slow-walking the climate issue, for some it is proof that effective action can be achieved.

But natures revival has come at enormous cost, with Europes economy projected to decline 7.4 percent this year. So for many, like the suddenly unemployed, concerns about climate  which seemed urgent just a few months ago  can seem less so now.

Those competing camps are now locked in debate over how and what to rebuild  between those who want to get the economy moving again, no matter how, and those who argue that the crisis is a chance to accelerate the transition to a cleaner economy.
The Akwa Ibom government said it has intercepted a corpse smuggled into the state in contravention of the lockdown order.

The Commissioner for Health in Akwa Ibom, Dominic Ukpong, who disclosed this on Friday in Uyo at a meeting of the COVID-19 Incident Management Committee, said the corpse has been buried in accordance with the protocol for burial of infected corpse.

Mr Ukpong said six persons who transported the body have been quarantined, pending when the result of their COVID-19 test would come out.

But for the alertness of the police officers posted to our borders, the corpse would have successfully made it to its destination in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area, the commissioner said.

It is unclear how the corpse was driven from Lagos, through other states, to Akwa Ibom despite a ban on inter-state transportation across Nigeria.

Akwa Ibom, like most Nigerian states, has barred people and vehicles from entering the state from other states in order to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The state has made it mandatory for residents to wear face mask in public and has extended the ban on religious and social gatherings and funerals. Markets in the state are opened only three times a week  Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.

There are 17 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Akwa Ibom as of April 8.
LOUISVILLE, Ky.  When former Vice President Joe Biden traveled to Kentucky in 2018 to stump for fellow Democrat Amy McGrath, he challenged voters to look in the mirror.

"The question isnt who Donald Trump is," Biden told the crowd. "We know who he is. The question is: Who are we?"

Now, Democrats  including McGrath as a would-be challenger to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell  are being forced to gaze at their own reflection as Biden, the party's presumptive 2020 presidential nominee, is being hit with allegations of sexual assault by a former Senate staffer.

Tara Reade, who once worked in the Delaware Democrat's office, is alleging that in 1993 the then-senator pinned her against a wall, groped her and digitally penetrated her without consent. Biden has denied the accusation, but it has ignited a firestorm for his 2020 presidential bid.

The McGrath campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment on Thursday or Friday about Biden's troubles. She did, however, make clear during her 2018 race that the "affliction" of sexual harassment wasn't a partisan issue.

"We have to resist the natural impulse to give the benefit of the doubt for those we tend to like, but not those on the other side," McGrath said on her 2018 campaign page.

"Bad behavior by Democrats should not be viewed as less detrimental to us than by those we disagree with politically."

Tara Reade: Ex-husband of Biden accuser said she told him of being sexual harassed: report

McGrath stood by Biden in the past during similar scandals, such as when he was criticized for the way he touched women in public.

Biden took to Twitter on April 3, 2019, to acknowledge how "social norms" were changing. He said he would be "more mindful about respecting personal space in the future."

McGrath, in response, said she felt Biden "was enormously sincere, but also professional" during their interactions.

Story continues

"He looks you in the eye and makes a real connection with people," McGrath said in an April 3, 2019, tweet of her own. "I believe he is honest, humble, and cares deeply about our country."

When I met @JoeBiden , I felt he was enormously sincere, but also professional. He looks you in the eye and makes a real connection with people. I believe he is honest, humble, and cares deeply about our country. #Leadership https://t.co/yVugqPrv30  Amy McGrath (@AmyMcGrathKY) April 3, 2019

In January, McGrath endorsed Biden for president long before he took hold as the presumptive Democratic nominee. She said the former vice president was a candidate "respected and beloved" across party lines, who could "return honor and integrity to the Oval Office."

Throughout the 2020 campaign, McGrath, a retired Marine fighter pilot, has touted how she stands with women whether it is about equal pay, stronger domestic violence protections or accessible health care.

But Democratic women are having an open conversation as Reade is receiving more of a spotlight after going one-on-one in an interview with former Fox News and NBC television host Megyn Kelly.

Some have argued, such as author Linda Hirshman, that they believe Reade's account but plan to support Biden, anyway. "Suck it up and make the utilitarian bargain," she said in a recent New York Times op-ed.

Kentucky political activist Honi Goldman took a bigger-picture view, saying because of the countrys political polarization, both Republicans and Democrats have created a double standard for their candidates.

"Whether it's ignoring President (Donald) Trump's continual harassment of women versus whoever the Democratic candidate is, we're going to believe whichever candidate we want to support, and that's a problem we're going to have to get over," she said.

Political experts have opined that the allegation could complicate Biden's candidacy, which is still seeking to gel among progressives who backed U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary.

The thinking is Biden will need to put this controversy to rest soon given the need for strong support among suburban white women to beat Trump in November.

A USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll last week found Biden ahead of Trump 50% to 40% in a head-to-head race. But the same poll found 22% of Democrats who supported Sanders in the Democratic primary don't necessarily plan to support Biden in November.

Democrat Virginia Woodward is a former director of Kentucky's commission on women and briefly served in the state Legislature. She said the claims against Biden are troubling, but that she doesn't believe this will railroad the former vice president among Democratic or independent women.

"It's a concern, but I don't know that it's deeply concerning when I take into account his lifetime of public service and responsibility," Woodward said.

"Women are not one-issue people," she added. "I believe even independent women will take it as a piece of information given the totality of any candidate, and I don't think it's going to be an impact."

Biden's statement: Read Joe Biden's full statement on Tara Reade's sexual assault allegation

Marcia Roth, a former executive director of The Mary Byron Project, an anti-domestic violence group, said it's unfair to throw Biden into the same camp as others. She said the former vice president, unlike Trump or Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, has been at the forefront of crafting legislation that has protected women.

"From what I've read, I don't believe (Reade's) accusation is credible," Roth said. "I have no issues wholeheartedly supporting a man who has led on making laws and encouraging regulations that protect women, and that is Joe Biden, so I have no moral conundrum at all."

Biden has been a champion who for years has spoken out against sexual harassment and assault. He was among those who defended Christine Blasey Ford when she accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when the two were in high school.

Other women, however, point out Biden's record with women isn't mixed and the new allegation merits a further investigation.

"I do think there needs to be an investigation to make sure this woman's claim is taken serious and then investigate whether Biden did this," University of Louisville Pan-African Studies professor Kaila Story told The Courier Journal. "I don't think his record with feminism or women's rights should somehow dissuade folks from investigating. ... It does not give him a pass."

Story mentioned how one of the first issues Biden faced when he entered the 2020 presidential campaign was his handling of Anita Hills testimony during the 1991 Supreme Court confirmation of Justice Clarence Thomas.

Many African American women, even those who backed Biden's campaign in the primary, resent how Hill, who is black, was given little support when she alleged harassment by Thomas, who went on to become the second African American justice on the high court.

"It was a disgrace, and black women view (Biden) with anger and suspicion," Story said. "Just because black women resurrected his campaign, that has more to do with getting 45 out of the White House rather than viewing him as a righteous or above-the-board guy."

Trump is usually quick to attack adversaries at a moment of weakness, but he has largely refrained from going on the attack himself, telling reporters on Thursday that Reade's accusation could be untrue.

"I know about false accusations," the president said. "Ive been falsely charged numerous times  and there is such a thing."

The president's allies, such as McConnell, have not avoided the issue, which could be part of a larger strategy to soften Biden up over the summer.

One of Biden's strengths is trust, with 47% of voters saying they look at him as trustworthy and honest compared with 31% who view Trump that way, according to a USA TODAY/Suffolk poll.

McConnell has eagerly jabbed at Democrats over the issue in the past several weeks. He called it "jaw-dropping hypocrisy" how Democrats have responded to Biden compared with the explosive sexual assault allegations during Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings in 2018.

"McGrath owes everybody a detailed explanation for her disturbing hypocrisy on this matter," McConnell campaign spokeswoman Katharine Cooksey said Friday.

McGrath, for instance, said during an appearance on MSNBC in July 2019 how a deeper investigation into Kavanaugh should have been conducted by the Senate. She compared it to her sitting on Marine Corp. promotion or disciplinary board.

"Whenever theres a serious allegation the way that there was in this case, you stop the board," McGrath said in July 2019. "You have an investigation, you look at all the evidence."

But McConnell and other Republicans also run a risk by going after Biden on this issue, because it can bring up the president's own past controversies.

Such a dig will likely renew scrutiny among Democrats of the numerous allegations leveled against Trump, as well conjure up the Access Hollywood tape that emerged in 2016 in which he bragged about groping women.

The McConnell campaign, for instance, avoided questions Friday when asked how the GOP leader makes any distinction with what Biden is being accused of now versus the multiple allegations against Trump.

Goldman, the Kentucky political activist, said female voters will have to individually weigh Biden and Trump's alleged transgressions separately. She said women must be open and honest when speaking up against this sort of behavior.

"On the other hand it is not a political issue," she said. "If you're going to make it one, then it has to be treated the same across the board for all candidates."

Follow Phillip M. Bailey on Twitter: @phillipmbailey.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Joe Biden's sexual assault allegation puts Amy McGrath in a tough spot
Mario Tama/Getty ImagesBy: WILLIAM MANSELL, ELLA TORRES AND CHRISTINA CARREGA, ABC News

(NEW YORK) -- A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 275,000 people worldwide.



Over 3.9 million people across the world have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The actual numbers are believed to be much higher due to testing shortages, many unreported cases and suspicions that some governments are hiding the scope of their nations' outbreaks.



Since the first cases were detected in China in December, the United States has become the worst-affected country, with more than 1.2 million diagnosed cases and at least 77,180 deaths.



Today's biggest developments:

Global death toll surpasses 275,00

US coronavirus death toll surpasses 77,000

FDA authorizes 1st test with rapid results

Here's how the news is developing today. All times Eastern. Please refresh this page for updates.

3:17 p.m.: Governor Cuomo's office releases some details of kids who died from COVID-19-like illness



There have been 73 reported cases in New York where children -- predominantly school-aged -- are experiencing symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease and toxic shock-like syndrome possibly due to COVID-19.



The illness has taken the lives of three young New Yorkers including a 5-year-old in New York City, a 7-year-old in Westchester County and a teenager in Suffolk County.



The State Department of Health is now working with the CDC to develop national criteria for identifying and responding to the syndrome.



3:16 p.m.: Government to purchase $3 million of products from farmers



As a part of the USDA's Farmers to Families Food Box Program, next week the government will purchase $3 million worth of products, President Trump announced on Twitter.



President Donald Trump tweeted that the government will make an immense purchase of dairy, meat and produce from the country's farmers, ranchers and specialty crop growers for food lines and kitchens as part of the USDA's Farmers to Families Food Box Program.



3:06 p.m.: California's coronavirus cases continue to increase



As of Saturday, California has reported 2,049 more positive coronavirus cases bringing the state's total to 64,561.



The death toll has also increased Friday as 93 more people have died.



Almost 2,700 people have died from the coronavirus in California.



3:00 p.m.: Texas reports its third-highest daily total of coronavirus cases



Texas reported 1,251 new coronavirus cases on Saturday bringing the state's total to 37,860.



Of the over 37,000 cases, 16,680 are active, 1,735 are hospitalized and 20,141 recovered.



Texas' daily death toll is the second highest in a day since 50 died in one day on April 30. Total fatalities are 1,049, up 45 from Friday.



As Texas' stay-at-home orders are slowly lifting, residents have are hitting the beaches in Galveston, KTRK-TV reported.

1:30 p.m.: Nursing homes deaths now one-third of US fatalities

Nursing home residents have accounted for more than one-third of the 26,000 COVID-19 deaths in the United States, according to an ABC News analysis. There have been more than 77,400 deaths.



The grim figure was compiled from public reporting by health departments in 35 states plus Washington, D.C. The number indicates both the threat elderly people face in crowded buildings and the role that institutional settings have played in the spread of the virus.



The states with the highest percentage of deaths inside nursing homes were Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, the analysis showed.



Massachusetts has recorded 4,552 total deaths, with 2,739, or 60.2%, inside a nursing home. In Pennsylvania, of the 3,416 total deaths so far, 2,355, or 68.9%, were in a nursing home. Rhode Island has recorded fewer total deaths but a higher percentage -- 280 of 388, about 72% -- in a nursing home.



If the number of total nursing home deaths were adjusted to account for only the states reporting their nursing home data, the deaths would make up 40% of the total U.S. fatalities.



1:12 p.m.: More than 2,500 new cases in Florida since reopening Monday

There have been more than 2,500 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Florida since Monday, when the state began to reopen, according to a count by ABC News. There were also 316 new deaths in that same time frame.



Florida now has reported 40,001 confirmed cases, with deaths reaching 1,715, the state's health department said.



Gov. Ron DeSantis allowed most counties in the state to reopen starting Monday, but three -- Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach -- had to wait.

12:22 p.m.: 3 children have died in New York: Cuomo

Three children in New York have died as a result of a syndrome associated with COVID-19, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.



There are at least 73 cases related to the syndrome in children in the state, according to the governor. The majority affected were infants or elementary school-aged children.



Cuomo said that children have come into hospitals with symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease, a rare inflammatory syndrome typically affecting those younger than 5. The children did not present typical COVID-19 symptoms, such as respiratory distress, but they did test positive for either the virus or the antibodies, meaning they had the virus at some time.



He said the situation was still developing and that health experts are continuing to investigate, calling the matter "truly disturbing."



The New York State Department of Health is working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to understand the syndrome in children and will develop national criteria so other states can investigate their own possible cases, the governor said.



The state's health department will also work with the Genome Center and Rockefeller University to conduct a genome and RNA study to better understand who is affected.



"This is the last thing we need.  We still have a lot to learn about this virus and every day is another eye-opening situation," Cuomo said.



He also updated the public on the rate of positive antibodies among frontline workers



Of the FDNY and EMT workers that were part of an antibody study, 17% tested positive, according to Cuomo. It was the highest positive rate among frontline workers. The rate was 14% for transit workers, 12% for healthcare workers and 10% for the NYPD, according to Cuomo.



All of the positive antibody rates in frontline workers fell below the city's overall positive antibody rate, which is 19%.



11:54 a.m.: Air France to require passengers wear masks

Air France is the latest airline to require passengers to wear face masks on flights, a policy that's effective on May 11.



"We recommend that you bring several masks for your travel comfort," the airline said in a statement.



Air France also said that checking passengers' body temperatures will be gradually implemented with a non-contact infrared thermometer.



Delta, American, United, Frontier and JetBlue previously announced they'd require passengers to wear face coverings.



11:19 a.m.: Ivanka Trump's personal aide tests positive, sources say

A personal aide to Ivanka Trump has tested positive for COVID-19, multiple sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.



However, the sources said the aide is not a White House employee, has not been in contact with her for well over a month and has not been near the West Wing.



The news comes after Katie Miller, press secretary to Vice President Mike Pence, and a member of President Donald Trump's personal valet each tested positive.



10:50 a.m.: HHS announces delivery of remdesivir



The Department of Health and Human Services announced the agency is sending out more remdesivir to hospitalized patients after a week of frustration from doctors who said they couldn't access it.



Remdesivir will be used to treat patients with COVID-19 and has been touted by both President Donald Trump and infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci as promising, based on early data. The drug was donated by Gilead, which developed it, and will be delivered to Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan and New Jersey, according to the HHS.



Illinois and New Jersey will receive the biggest shipments, with 140 cases and 110 cases respectively, according to the agency. Each case contains 40 vials of the drug.



The shipments, which began Thursday evening, come after doctors said they could not access the drug and it was not being delivered to the hospitals that needed it most.



Remdesivir initially was developed by Gilead to treat Ebola. Although initially promising, it didn't prove as effective as other Ebola treatments, so research was halted. Early data from the drug used for COVID-19 patients has been promising, but experts warned that data is still limited.



10:15 a.m.: FDA authorizes 1st antigen test with rapid results

The Food and Drug Administration has authorized the first test that can rapidly detect if a person has the virus that causes COVID-19, and has the ability to test millions of Americans per day.



The antigen test can produce results within minutes, according to the FDA, and some experts believe it is better for mass testing than the PCR test, which is the current diagnostic test that can detect an active COVID-19 infection.



The agency described the antigen test as "important in the overall response against COVID-19" because they can generally be produced at a lower cost and "once multiple manufacturers enter the market, can potentially scale to test millions of Americans per day due to their simpler design, helping our country better identify infection rates closer to real time."



However, the FDA also noted downfalls of the antigen tests. While the tests produce highly accurate positive results, there is also a higher chance they produce false negatives than PCR tests.



The FDA said a negative results from an antigen test does not rule out an infection and may need to be confirmed with a PCR test.



This is the first antigen test to be authorized, but more will follow, according to the FDA.



7:40 a.m.: FDA head self-quarantines after exposure reportedly to Pence aid



Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn will self-quarantine for 14 days after he came into contact with an individual who tested positive for COVID-19, a statement from the FDA confirmed.



"As Dr. Hahn wrote in a note to staff yesterday, he recently came into contact with an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19. Per CDC guidelines, he is now in self-quarantine for the next two weeks. He immediately took a diagnostic test and tested negative for the virus," the statement read.



Hahn is believed to have come into contact with Vice President Pence's top spokesperson Katie Miller, who tested positive for COVID-19, reported Politico.



The FDA did not confirm whether Miller was the individual with whom Hahn came into contact.



6:07 a.m.: Gig workers, self-employed still shut out of unemployment benefits in 11 states



For the first time, Uber drivers, personal trainers, babysitters  all non-traditional wage earners that the government estimates to be at least a third of the American workforce  could apply for unemployment benefits after the CARES Act signed into law on March 27.



But in at least 11 states as of Friday, these Americans hadnt received any kind of unemployment payments. In nine states, they hadnt even been able to apply for it.



This news comes on the heels of record-breaking unemployment for April, with at least 20.5 million jobs lost.



In New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Arkansas, its unclear if any gig workers or independent contractors have received unemployment benefits, even though tens of thousands of applications have been accepted.



And in Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Nevada and Ohio, there is no way for these self-employed Americans to even for unemployment. More than a month after the CARES Act passed, these states do not have the online portals up and running.



States have had to build new systems to approve people for this federally-funded unemployment  known as Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, or PUA  and theres a slew of reasons theyve been bogged down. Some were waiting for federal guidance, while others were waiting on tech infrastructure.



5:32 a.m.: Sen. Ted Cruz gets haircut from previously jailed salon owner



Texas Sen. Ted Cruz revealed Friday that he got a fresh new haircut from the salon owner who recently made national headlines when she was jailed for refusing to close her store.



"Thank you to Shelley Luther and the team at Salon a la Mode for giving me my first haircut in 3 months & more importantly for standing up for liberty and common sense," Cruz tweeted Friday evening. "Your courage helped pave the way for more #TX businesses to re-open & for more people to get back to work today."



Luther defied an executive order to shut down her business and kept her salon open despite a citation, a cease-and-desist letter and a restraining order.



"The rule of law governs us. People cannot take it upon themselves to determine what they will and will not do," Dallas Civil District Judge Eric Moye said during her hearing on Tuesday.



Luther, who was ordered to serve seven days in jail for contempt of court, was released Thursday after a decision by the Supreme Court of Texas.



Following the court's decision, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order to eliminate jail time for those who violate similar orders, calling such actions "excessive."



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
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The vicious oppression of the Muslim population in China is known the world over. Today, there are about 1.8 million Weegers in internment/concentration camps in China.

With such an oppressive policy toward its Muslim population, it begs the question why the Chinese government, for weeks prior to making the news of its COVID-19 epidemic public, had been sending convoys of Shiite Muslim clerical students (whose job it is to spread the same religion the Chinese government is suppressing so violently within China  Islam) to seminary schools in the city of Qom in Iran. Shortly after, it was conclusively proven that these Chinese clerics were the source of COVID-19 in Iran and that the city of Qom was the initial site and subsequently the epicenter of COVID-19 infections in Iran.

It is interesting to note the parallels between the Chinese government and the regime in Iran in manipulating COVID-19 to their fullest advantage: China to further its economic and geopolitical influence across the globe, and Khamenei to ensure the survival of his regime.

China, by intentionally not warning the international community of the true destructive potential of COVID-19 and by persistently providing misinformation and misleading data, has created an enormous advantage for itself. The Chinese government knew full well that in open and democratic societies such as Europe and the U.S., where individual liberties are respected and protected, it would be much harder to contain the spread of the virus. They also knew how rapidly and destructively the virus could spread merely by casual contact. Yet they deliberately withheld the truth from the rest of the world. And now they enjoy a tremendous advantage over the global community by being well ahead of the curve in both containment and economic recovery, thereby increasing their geopolitical and financial influence.

With respect to Iran, a similar approach has been applied, but most tragically against the countrys own population. One has only to examine the regimes role in creating this epidemic disaster in Iran and how Khamenei and his administration have addressed it.

At first, Khamenei denied the existence of the contagion in Iran and insisted that Iranians partake in the annual comical circus called the celebration of the anniversary of the revolution. Next, he encouraged the population to pour into polling stations and participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections. Both events  the so-called anniversary celebration and the elections  failed miserably in terms of public support and were a humiliating defeat for Khamenei and his regime. When it became impossible to hide the truth, Khamenei personally forbade quarantining the city of Qom and the shutting down of shrines, mosques, and public places. The regime also dealt harshly with the whistleblowers who exposed the grim reality of the virus in Iran.

Despite the overwhelming and irrefutable evidence identifying China as the source of this pandemic, Khamenei accused the U.S. of waging a biological war against Iran by bioengineering COVID-19 and spreading it throughout Iran. He also refused to allow the team of physicians from Doctors Without Borders to enter Iran, claiming that they could be carrying specially engineered vaccines by the U.S. to specifically harm the Iranian population based on their genetic traits.

Analyzing the pattern of misinformation, mismanagement, and intentional lack of efforts to confront and contain this humanitarian disaster, one can only conclude that Khamenei and his regime are utilizing this epidemic disaster to their full advantage in three ways:

1. COVID-19 is a powerful deterrent against the assembly of people in large masses to protest against the government. Prior to this pandemic, Iran was a hotbed of unrest and revolt against the ruling regime. Protesters were rising daily in every corner of the land demanding change and it seemed that Khameneis regime was doomed. Since the COVID-19 epidemic disaster in Iran, Iranians are fighting for their lives, fighting to survive this virus both biologically and economically. The notion of a mass uprising seems to be a distant fantasy. The previously nascent uprising has been effectively diffused.

2. The regime is exploiting COVID-19 to eliminate its opposition, especially the prisoners of conscience and religious minorities whose ideologies pose the most serious threat to the regime. Ultimately, the regime can claim that, like the rest of the general population, a certain percentage of the prisoners inevitably perished from the natural course of the epidemic, rather than from the regimes deliberate and criminal negligence toward their health and safety.

3. Finally, the regime is using COVID-19 as a form of bioterrorism and international political manipulation. Javad Zarif, the foreign minister, has been actively trying to use the fight against COVID-19 as a cover to obtain hefty loans from the IMF ($5 billion) and to lift the sanctions imposed on the regime. At the same time, he has obliquely threatened the international community by stating that if COVID-19 is not contained in Iran, it can become a much bigger international problem by the inevitable spread of the virus to other parts of the world. A preponderance of evidence demonstrates that the Islamic Republics policies were the primary cause of the spread of COVID-19 in the region as well as in parts of Europe. The regime has achieved this proliferation by regularly sending infected dual citizens and dual residents to their host countries. Currently, all neighboring countries, as well as most countries of the world, have closed their borders to Iran.

As U.S. officials have stated repeatedly, humanitarian and medical aid is available to Iranians. The problem is that, so far, all supplies and donations have been confiscated by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC); the most promising drugs and equipment are kept for the heads of the regime and the rest are sold to the general population at a substantial premium, thereby creating a lucrative source of income for the IRGC. Additionally, U.S. officials have consistently declared that if Khamenei is sincere in his claim of hoping to provide assistance to the general population, he and his regime can tap into the almost half a trillion dollars of funds in their private accounts to purchase the sorely needed medical supplies, which they have yet to do.

Unfortunately, many prominent politicians in the West such as Chancellor Merkel of Germany and Senator Feinstein and Ms. Clinton in the U.S. have been advocating for the lifting of the sanctions against Iran. Chancellor Merkel recently reissued permits for Bank Melli (the regimes bank, which is tied to terrorist funding activities) to operate in Germany. The reality is that these sanctions effectively target only the regime and its apparatus, and do not harm the general Iranian population. Any easing of the sanctions will be to the advantage of the regime and the direct detriment of the Iranian population. The loan that Mr. Zarif is seeking and the flow of funds from easing the sanctions will be used to fund the regimes terrorist activities around the world and to conduct proxy wars in the region, thereby buying time for the regime to develop its atomic bomb.

I ask the international community to stand united in holding these two governments  the ruling party of China and the regime occupying Iran  accountable for this pandemic and the immeasurable suffering they have caused. We are all well aware that under such extraordinarily dire circumstances, the most vulnerable segments of society, such as religious minorities, prisoners of conscience, civil and human rights activists and the impoverished, are the first to bear the brunt of abuse. Holding the Chinese government and the occupying regime in Iran accountable is the very first step to prevent this subsequent and imminent disaster.
Wilbur Shares Final Online Chapel Devotion of Spring Semester May 6 May 6, 2020

Dr. Lyda Wilbur, assistant professor of Spanish, shared the online chapel devotion Wednesday, May 6. The message was the seventh and final online chapel devotion since the University moved to fully online learning for the remainder of the spring 2020 semester.

Wilbur earned a Bachelor of Science in business administration with a major in marketing and a minor in Spanish from Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma. She then earned a Master of Arts in Spanish from Millersville University in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She also earned a Master of Science in educational leadership studies from Oklahoma State University. She most recently completed a Doctor of Education in curriculum and instruction from the University of Oklahoma. She has many years of experience teaching Spanish in Oklahoma. She has also served as principal of Mitchell Elementary School and Will Rogers High School, both in Tulsa.
Counter terrorism police are investigating whether sleepers from Islamic State have been reactivated to carry out attacks around Europe.

Spanish police have made two terror arrests in the past two weeks. The first was Britain's most wanted IS fugitive, Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary.

This week police in Barcelona arrested an unnamed Moroccan who, according to The Mirror, was suspected of plotting to carry out a 'lone wolf' attack this weekend.

Spanish National Police released a picture of Abdel Majed Abdel Bary being led away by officers

The Mirror quoted Spain's Civil guard as saying the suspect was seen moving around Barcelona and 'appearing to search for possible objectives'.

Bary, who has been linked to dead British ISIS executioner Jihadi John, is thought to have reached Spain by boat from Algeria and come ashore unnoticed just five days before his arrest.

The 29-year-old once shared sickening social media images of himself holding a decapitated head in Syria in 2014 after becoming a Muslim extremist and leaving his London home.

Since British terrorist Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary (pictured) was arrested two weeks ago, police in Barcelona have made a second terror arrest

It has been reported Bary took advantage of Spain's coronavirus lockdown to hide behind a face mask on the rare occasions he left the property.

On Friday Spain's Civil Guard said: 'The arrested man's radicalisation and affinity for Daesh (ISIS) dates back at least four years.

'During the current state of emergency that process of radicalisation culminated became highly noticeable and worrying.'
Cases such as bois locker room could be a collective failure of society, of teachers and parents, in not making safe spaces for discussing cyber hygiene or netiquette.

In 2016, a clip of the then US presidential candidate Donald Trump went viral. In it, he was heard bragging about forcibly kissing and groping women. Following the cascade of censure, rage and shock across the world, Trump dismissed the swaggering braggadocio as nothing but locker-room talk.

The internet exploded with explanations on what this phrase that had now sprung into our living rooms meant. Urban Dictionary defines locker-room talk as any manner of conversation that polite society dictates be held privately  with small groups of like-minded, similarly gendered peers  due to its sexually charged language, situations or innuendos.

The term has, since, so seamlessly permeated into our lives that when the bois locker room scandal broke out last week, we knew instinctively what it might have entailed even without knowing the details. In December last year, a WhatsApp group made by boys from an IB school in Mumbai came to light. This group, too, was littered with demeaning and denigrating language about girls. The two incidents have, once again, highlighted one question:

What is the place of technology in the universe of patriarchy and rape culture?

We have long been sitting on a powder keg of a deeply misogynistic society that predates social media. Technology may have democratised gender-based violence but has certainly not created it.

The content of what people are saying is not new. People spoke like this even before the internet, said filmmaker and writer Paromita Vohra, who created Agents of Ishq, a website that aims to give sex a good name. Technology and society have a dynamic relationship. Human beings bring all good and bad qualities while using it, she said.

What were seeing enhanced today, is a kind of language that has been the fulcrum of misogynistic media, both in India and abroad, and which is freely available. This is what makes us react with shock and sadness when we see children engage in what we think is unimaginable. Youre seeing a profanity that is a mixture of misogyny in Indian and western media. We know children can be cruel. We know about bullying and so on. But now, these are dimensions that are dystopic. We need to focus on the violence, not the sexual content in the group chats, said Vohra.

***

Even though technology is not responsible per se for these attitudes, social media platforms do play an insidious role in perpetuating them. Social media websites currently claim that they are nothing but platforms, without control on the content posted by users. But they routinely monitor and delete photos they deem inappropriate. These include photos of fat women, queer people, people with disabilities.

This only reflects the systemic beliefs of misogyny held by the people in power who make company policies, said Richa Kaul Padte, author of Cyber Sexy, a book that rethinks pornography.

There is a scene in Sally Rooneys novel Normal People where Connell, the charming, intelligent high schooler, is sitting with his two buddies, Rob and Eric. Rob whisks out his phone and shows photos of his naked girlfriend to the other two. Eric taps parts of her body on the screen with his fingers. Connell takes one look at the phone and says: Bit fucked up showing these to people, isnt it?

Women recognise in this betrayal a certain kind of violence that curdles any idea of intimacy or consent. This violence is everywhere  on television, in films, on pornography sites.

Consent is an ongoing conversation that needs to happen. But we are just not talking about it, said Kaul Padte. Porn is just one type of media which is being consumed with fewer restrictions. Mainstream porn is teaching young people things that are not representative of sex or consent. But were not creating a healthy context in which kids are accessing porn, she added.

And the context is sex education, an acceptance of the fact that kids will be curious about sexuality and will watch porn. This doesnt mean that all of this would ensure that violence against women would not occur. But at least, we will provide a context in which we could hope that it would not occur, said Kaul Padte.

Dr Avinash De Sousa, a visiting psychiatrist in three Mumbai schools highlighted the importance of this. He said it was imperative to start sex education, which includes cyber bullying, stalking, rational digital usage, as early as classes five and six.

Thanks to the internet and easy access to information, kids know everything about sexuality at the ages of 10,11 or 12. Children are far ahead in these matters than we were, said De Sousa.

***

Cyber experts said that cyber crime was a tricky territory, all things considered. Crime is a product of victim, opportunity and offender. Now the triad has moved online. While the victim and offender dynamics remain the same, the opportunity provided by technology leads to the perception that it is okay to do certain things. Anonymity, end-to-end encryption, safety about a closed group give a false sense of superiority and invincibility. But in reality, youre leaving breadcrumbs everywhere, said Brijesh Singh, former cybersecurity head of Maharashtra. Boundaries get blurred and children often dont even know they are venturing into cyber-crime, he added.

But criminal jurisprudence has an abiding, underlying doctrine  ignorantia juris non excusat, or ignorance of the law is not an excuse. Groups such as bois locker room then, could be a collective failure of society, of teachers and parents, in not making safe spaces for discussing cyber hygiene or netiquette.

In the absence of these spaces and nebulous boundaries, young victims dont even know how and whether to report a crime. In the Delhi case, the girls spoke out. But often, they dont come forward because there is some amount of shame attached to it. Also, they are afraid that their internet freedoms would be curtailed, said De Sousa.

These discussions, he said, can be had without intruding upon childrens privacy. When you give your child a phone, you should at least be aware of what is on it. Parents should sit with their kids and ask them to show the apps that are on their phone, without asking to read the chats or messages.

Supreme court advocate Khushbu Jain regularly gets cases  many sexual in nature  where conversations or photos shared between friend in private make their way through screenshots to others. She has mediated between kids, in front of their families, police and NGOs where the victim and offender were made to delete things on their phones.

Jain, who specialises in criminal and cyber law, said that the Delhi incident was a wake-up call for bringing about awareness of laws and safety measures around the internet and social media platforms. Think of it this way, she said, From the moment you learn to drive, you have to also learn what happens when you drive wrongly, what the road and traffic safety laws are and what the punishment is when you break the law. This is required at a nascent age, she said.

Both Singh and Jain highlighted a problem that makes evidence gathering in cyber crime a tardy process. Companies have privacy policies which stops them from sharing data and content. So, law enforcement doesnt move in real time. When you examine anything post facto, there are barriers. Stuff is deleted. A pseudonym comes up. Device address are changed and so on, Singh said. What has happened is, a countrys sovereignty has become subordinate to the privacy policies of these companies, he added.

To curtail such incidents, platforms too, need to be held accountable. Jain had another analogy to elucidate this point: Imagine a bar that has served alcohol to those under 21 years of age, she said. If the police find a bunch of teenagers drinking, who do you think will be arrested?
Visakhapatnam, May 9 : Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police Gautam Sawang on Saturday said that the gas leakage from LG Polymers has been plugged and the situation is absolutely under control.

Twelve people were killed and over 400 taken ill following leakage of toxic Styrene gas from one of the storage tanks of LG Polymers in the early hours of Thursday.

Sawang told reporters after a visit to the chemical plant that more technical teams from Delhi will be reaching here later in the day to have further look into the situation and decide the way forward.

"The situation is absolutely under control. All that reactions and leakages have been plugged. There is no matter of concern anymore," he said.

More technical teams from the areas of chemical and petroleum industry will be arriving to have further look into the situation.

DGP said he reviewed the situation and had discussions with the technical teams on the ground. The police chief said he had a meeting with technical experts, scientists and the special team from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), personally visited the site and found everything completely under control.

Stating that there is no need for panic, he said the experts on Friday asked people of the five villages near the plant to remain in the relief camps and wait for another 48 hours. "Experts yesterday sought 48 hours as per protocol to bring everything under control and to meet all parameters. Everything is under control but to be on the safer side they have sought the time,a he said.

Asked about the investigation, the DGP said it was still on. "The committee has been set up. It will come here and take all expert and technical inputs. We will wait as they are more technically competent to say how, why and under what circumstances this happened." The police chief said it was not correct to say that only simple sections were invoked in the case against the company. "What sections had to be applied were all applied. The investigations are still on. We have to wait. There are a lot of technical elements in this. At this stage all must come together to overcome this challenge to bring normalcy. This is more important." Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Avanthi Srinivas said the situation had improved a lot in three days and was totally under control. He said the temperature in the leaked tank had come down to 90 degrees Centigrade from 150 degrees on Friday.

Stating that there was nothing to panic, the minister appealed to people not to believe the rumours. He said the government was committed to ensure public safety and public health and was taking care of the people of five villages currently living in relief camps and 400 people undergoing treatment in hospitals.

He said seven ministers, chief secretary and several other officials were working to restore normalcy while Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy was regularly monitoring the situation.

Asked about the delay in bringing the normalcy, the minister said the experts had to move with caution to handle the situation. "Styrene is aggressive gas and any hasty step in dealing with could have resulted in another disaster," he said.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Photograph: Adegoke Atunbi/AP

African Americans in parts of New York City are being arrested for violating social distancing rules at a far higher rate than white people, according to data from the Brooklyn district attorney.

Data showed that between 17 March and 4 May, 40 people were arrested in Brooklyn for breaking social distancing rules. One was white, four were Hispanic and 35 were black.

The figures lend weight to anecdotal evidence which suggests that whiter and more affluent areas of the city are less likely to be targeted by police. More than a third of the arrests were made in the predominantly black neighbourhood of Brownsville, while no arrests were made in the predominantly white neighbourhood of Park Slope.

People have been sharing images showing how police are apparently altering their approaches to enforcing social distancing, depending on the neighbourhood.

One widely shared tweet juxtaposed officers handing masks out to a group of non-socially distancing white people in a park with the actions of an officer in the East Village in Manhattan. Video footage showed the officer approaching and punching a person of color, following a dispute over social distancing.

After the New York Times reported the disparity in arrest numbers on Thursday, Mayor Bill de Blasio responded in a tweet.

The disparity in the numbers does NOT reflect our values, De Blasio said. We HAVE TO do better and we WILL.

Hakeem Jeffries, who represents New Yorks predominantly African American eighth congressional district, told the Times police tactics were similar to stop and frisk  the widely condemned practice which disproportionately targeted black and Latino people.

We cant unleash a new era of overly aggressive policing of communities of color in the name of social distancing, Jeffries said.
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China has taken advantage of the worlds struggle with Covid-19 to mount a disturbing display of military firepower and push its illegal claims to land and oilfields in a two-million-square-mile area in the South China Sea.

The moves have triggered an immediate response from US President Donald Trump.

Deeply worried about Beijings insatiable desire for land and the way its military has occupied areas by stealth, Washington has sent three warships to the region.

Chinas escalation of war games in the region follows decades of aggression by the Communist government.

China has taken advantage of the worlds struggle with Covid-19 to mount a disturbing display of military firepower and push its illegal claims to land and oilfields in a two-million-square-mile area in the South China Sea

It is ignoring international law as it militarises islands and reefs, plans to exploit oil and mineral fields, and hopes to build nuclear reactors in the area.

No wonder experts fear the South China Sea is where a war involving China, the United States and Russia could begin. Chinas defence minister, General Wei Fenghe, has said his country would fight at all costs if a war occurred with America.

Neighbouring nations Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan and Brunei have all become embroiled in the crisis.

The South China Sea is vital to the global economy. It contains the worlds most lucrative shipping lanes, carrying trade worth about 3.4 trillion a year. An estimated 12 per cent of Britains seaborne trade  97 billion of imports and exports a year  passes through the region.

The dispute over the region dates back to 1947 when, in the wake of Japans surrender in 1945, Beijing drew up a so-called Nine-Dash line, marking out the 90 per cent of the South China Sea over which it claims sovereignty.

The moves have triggered an immediate response from US President Donald Trump. Deeply worried about Beijings insatiable desire for land and the way its military has occupied areas by stealth, Washington has sent three warships to the region

This infuriated other countries  they complain that the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea is being flouted.

Central to the dispute are nations rival claims to ownership of the Spratly and Paracel archipelagos. Whichever country owns these islands can lay claim to the waters and resources around them.

China has transformed three disputed tidal reefs into military bases. Satellite pictures show substantial infrastructure on the Big Three reefs  Subi, Mischief and Fiery Cross.

Another airfield on Woody Island is equipped with missiles, while fighter jets and radar systems have also been stationed there.

With a furious President Trump saying the Covid-19 virus has hit the US harder than the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and blaming China for the pandemic, the situation can only get worse...
There's been plenty of head-scratching over at Omega Diagnostics, one of the biotech minnows whose share price has shot up on the back of its efforts to tackle the pandemic.

The company has formed a consortium with the University of Oxford and other firms to develop a Covid-19 antibody test for the Government.

The shares have risen seven-fold since the start of April, turning the stock into a favourite among AIM punters who enjoy the wild swings the market offers.

A certain M K O'Leary owns 620,000 shares in Omega Diagnostics, which are now worth 350,000., but Ryanair said this is not its boss

A look down the Omega shareholder register on Bloomberg throws out an interesting name. A certain M K O'Leary owns 620,000 shares in the company, which are now worth 350,000.

Asked whether this is Michael Kevin O'Leary, the outspoken boss of Ryanair, the low-cost airline says it is not.

In a bizarre coincidence, there is also a different Michael Kevin O'Leary in the business world. This O'Leary chairs AIM-listed dotdigital, but he does not think the shares are his.

Even Omega says it doesn't know who Mr O'Leary is as it has no contact with him. Whoever Mr O'Leary is, he has made a small fortune in the space of a few weeks.

Vodafone

So Philip Jansen, chief executive of BT, decided last week that the time was right to cut the dividend  as this column warned that he might.

Now attentions turn to Nick Read, the boss of rival Vodafone, who is set to unveil the telecoms giant's annual results on Tuesday.

Will Read follow suit? He already cut Vodafone's dividend last year, which was then one of the UK's biggest.

Number crunchers at UBS think the dividend is safe this time around and reckon the company will look to cut costs in other ways to see it through the pandemic.

But we've learned in recent weeks that nothing's out of the question.

Tour operator Tui will reveal how much cash it is burning through every month on Wednesday

Tui

Tour operator Tui will reveal how much cash it is burning through every month when it announces its second quarter results for the first three months of 2020 on Wednesday.

The Anglo-German tour operator has secured a 1.6billion loan from the German government to help it navigate the crisis.

But with non-essential travel on hold and concern over whether people will want to jet off at all this summer, the amount of cash it is losing is crucial.

Analysts reckon the company is getting through 300million to 400million (260million to 350million) every month without any money coming in.

Refunds for trips that didn't happen could cost it as much as 500million, they say.

Hargreaves Lansdown

Shares in fund supermarket Hargreaves Lansdown have fallen, but far less than most in the corona crisis.

On Thursday, investors in the FTSE 100 company will get an idea of how its customers are reacting when it updates on trading for the first four months of the year.

Many customers have undoubtedly been furloughed and will be facing a very worrying few months ahead.

Perhaps some of them will have used money stashed away on the online investment site to fund their spending needs.

Scribblers at Credit Suisse estimate that assets under administration have tumbled 10 per cent to 95billion. Not too bad, all things considered.
System protects incumbents

To the editor,

I'm writing to discuss an issue that has been bothering me for some time now and I thought I needed to write.

While we have all heard about the difficulty of taking on an incumbent, it wasn't until I heard the interviews on SDPB and KOTA with sitting Senator Mike Rounds that I realized just how difficult it is. This system protects career politicians who have forgotten their constituents.

Technically, television stations must give equal airtime to all candidates. However, to sidestep this rule if the incumbent does not mention their campaign or election, in this case, Senator Rounds, stations are not required to give equal airtime to Republican US Senate challenger, Scyller Borglum. Although newspapers provide ample column inches for the incumbent, they are not required to give equal space to challengers. This has the compounded effect of continuing showcasing the incumbent (for free) and not making space at all for a challenger. Now, despite Borglum repeatedly asking for live, public debate, Senator Rounds refuses to participate. You read that correctly: Mike Rounds won't participate so stations will not schedule one. Rather than scheduling a debate and letting the candidates know so that they can show up or, leave an empty seat, the television stations on both sides of the state seem to be bowing to the incumbent! This is exactly backward from what it should be!

If we voters cannot know Borglum through the media, at least let us compare her and Rounds in a debate. Borglum is eager to debate and give the voters an opportunity to weigh the candidates.

Senator Rounds refuses to answer the call! He is either afraid or thinks he is above South Dakota constituents!

Sincerely,

Bill Casper, Rapid City

Far from over

To the editor,

The Covid-19 pandemic is over! Stay-at-home orders are being relaxed, businesses are planning to reopen and those pesky masks and gloves will soon be just memories. The Pandemic Task Force is apparently going to be dismantled soon. Everything will be back to normal in short order. But don't start celebrating just yet.

Donald Trump has basically thrown the entire country under the bus. The reality is that the death toll and confirmed cases of Covid-19 is increasing daily. He has made it painfully clear that since he can't control the narrative about the pandemic, and can't stop it, his approach is classic Trump: Ignore the facts and call it a win!

Apparently it's much more important to start campaigning for re-election than to worry about minor things like a lack of PPEs, a shortage of Covid-19 tests and testing facilities as promised (remember "everyone who wants a test can get one"), an overwhelmed medical community, record high unemployment and a country begging for leadership in terribly uncertain times. Americans deserve much more than they are getting from Trump's "Amateur Hour" approach to the presidency.

Bruce Oberlander, Deadwood

Rich get richer

To the editor,

The worst unemployment since the great depression and the stock market goes up. Now Trump and the GOP want to lower taxes to solve all of our problems. Lets us borrow more and more trillions and push the stock market even higher so the rich and get a lot richer while good jobs disappear.

Who will pay for the $60 or 70 trillion debt?

Who cares lets party till the Nation collapses. President Donald Trump is taking advantage of the virus and deaths of thousands to push for the borrowing of more money to pay for lower taxes so the stock market will rise. The rich get richer off the debt imposed on our children and grandchildren.

This will be economic Armageddon and will give Putin and China total control of our nation from top to bottom. We will be like Russia a few billionaires and a nation of poverty stricken souls. If you think your going to be helped by what Trump and the GOP are doing, then you need to separate yourself from FOX News and find the truth.

Brent Cox, Sturgis

Small business versus big business

To the editor,

Now days we are continually hearing in commercials to support our local businesses which Im all for, however during a recent visit to two local businesses in Spearfish I noticed no one in the stores had masks or gloves on. These included people who were both owners of their stores.

I asked one owner why no masks or gloves and their reply was that they didnt feel threatened by the virus. I wondered to myself but what about how your customers feel? On the other hand I frequent the local Walmart which since the start of all this has done a progressive and intelligent approach to the situation. They have implemented several policies to protect not only their employees but also the public by employees wearing masks and gloves, sanitizing carts for patrons, stressing six foot separation, signs on floors to remind people to keep social distances, and limits to purchases to prevent hoarding.

Local commercials may say support our local businesses but if they dont care about their customers why should we care about them. Thank you Walmart for caring and protecting your customers and workers even though you are big business.

Tim Robison, Spearfish

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Popular Yoruba actress, Funmi Awelewa has described as worrisome the notion that most actresses are promiscuous.

Speaking in an interview with Saturday beat, she stated that promiscuity is a function of personality irrespective of being an actresss or not.

She said:

Its not true that actresses are promiscuous. Its a function of who one is and what one was engaged in before becoming an actor. If one was wayward before joining the movie industry, one would easily continue it and if one is not, being an actress would not automatically make one that way.

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Read Also: Stop Doing Eye Service  Actress Funmi Awelewa Sends Warning To Senior Colleagues

Actresses are always conscious of their dealings with the opposite sex because they dont want to be trolled on blogs. Our busy schedules dont permit us to even have time for relationships sometimes. People should stop tagging actresses as bad eggs in society. Actresses are sometimes judged from afar but when you move closer to us, you would discover that we are not bad but just misrepresented by some elements.

A lot of us cant do half of what some big society ladies do, though there might be some exceptions. People should appreciate what we do as actors because of the risks we face at times.

Morili also said that fame had earned her more than she ever dreamt of though she didnt have a godfather to lean on when she started acting and producing films. She added, Acting is worth the sacrifices that I have made for it. Acting has made me sit and socialise with great people beyond my imagination.

When I started acting, I got a lot of rejection and discouraging words from people. Some persons even told me that acting was not my calling. I also begged one of my senior colleagues to feature me in his movie but he turned me down and asked for sex.

I came to Nollywood as a total stranger. Everything that I am today is by Gods grace; nobody can take glory for my success. If I relied on the help of a godfather, I wouldnt be as hard-working as I am because I would have depended so much on the person.

Many celebrated actors who attained enviable heights did so with the help of hard work. However, having godfathers made it easy for some people.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 9, 2020 10:04 620 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd6e1d8a 4 National COVID-19,coronavirus,migrant-workers,Italy,virus-corona,virus-korona-indonesia,Soekarno-Hatta-International-Airport,TKI,rapid-testing Free

Eleven inbound travelers from Italy tested positive for the coronavirus through rapid testing at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, on Friday.

They were subsequently admitted to the COVID-19 emergency hospital at the former Asian Games athletes village in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.

Soekarno-Hatta Airport Health Office head Anas Maruf confirmed that the inbound travelers were "Indonesian migrant workers who worked as fishing vessel crewmen in Italy", as reported by tribunnews.com.

He said 579 people arrived at the airport from abroad on the same day, most of whom were migrant workers.

Read also: New regulation allows businesspeople, officials to travel despite mudik ban

As many as 351 of the total passengers came from Italy using a chartered plane while 62 came from Singapore using Garuda Airlines, 116 from Malaysia using Garuda Airlines and 60 from Qatar using Qatar Airways, Anas said.

The large number of inbound travelers eventually resulted in a buildup of passengers at the airport's international arrival terminals, as they had to undergo tests before being allowed to leave the facility.

"We only have 24 medical staff and five doctors at the location to help with the testing," Anas said as quoted by tribunnews.com. (vny)
For growth investors, the Canadian pot market has been one of the most appealing investment opportunities in the world, but it's also one of the most frustrating. It presents a whole lot of opportunity because it's the only country other than Uruguay that's legalized recreational marijuana.

However, the rollout since legalization has been less than ideal as supply issues have plagued the industry from the start and high pot prices have made black market products more attractive to price-conscious consumers. Analysts have been downgrading their expectations for the market due to these challenges, and a top Canadian is just the latest to cut its projections.

CIBC slashes projections for the recreational market by 26%

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE:CM) Capital Markets previously estimated the recreational pot market in Canada to be worth 3.4 billion Canadian dollars in 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and an insufficient number of stores open, the bank now expects that segment of the market to be worth CA$2.5 billion. Last year, recreational sales in Canada totaled CA$1.2 billion.

CIBC adjusted its forecast for 2021 as well. From a previous forecast of CA$5.5 billion, the bank now expects next year's sales to come in at CA$4.1 billion, for a 25% reduction. The key items that are dragging the forecasts down are related to COVID-19. While sales have been strong during the early stages of the pandemic, the real concern for analysts is that the pandemic will slow the opening of additional stores and discourage new store license applications.

Not a new problem for the Canadian pot market

In April 2019, cannabis research company BDS Analytics downgraded its forecast for the Canadian pot market as well. Its forecast included both recreational and medical segments of the market, but the result was the same -- less growth in the years ahead. In January 2019, the Colorado-based company was projecting the Canadian market to be worth $5.9 billion as early as 2022.

But just months later it revised its forecast down to $5.2 billion, and it also wouldn't expect the market to reach that level until 2024. It's still a solid annual growth rate of about 44% and well up from the $569 million that the market was worth in 2018.

Should you invest in Canadian pot stocks?

The Canadian cannabis market is still in its early growth stages and there's plenty of potential ahead, but investors may be wondering if it's worth investing in. After all, BDS projected in 2019 that the legal market for cannabis in California alone could reach $7.2 billion by 2024. From a growth perspective, there's no doubt that the U.S. legal market has higher growth prospects -- in 2019 it was already worth $12.4 billion, and that's with pot still illegal at the federal level.

However, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, growth may now be on the back burner. Many cannabis companies are struggling to operate and that's why investing in a top Canadian pot stock like Ontario-based Aphria (NASDAQ:APHA) may be an enticing option. Unlike their U.S. counterparts, Canadian pot stocks are getting support from their federal government during the pandemic. And it's also much easier for them to access banking since pot is legal federally. That puts them in a much better position to get through the pandemic in one piece.

As of February 29, Aphria had CA$515.1 million in cash and cash equivalents on its books. And over the trailing nine months, it used up CA$124.4 million to fund its day-to-day operating activities. Cash is not an issue for Aphria today and with the support of the federal government, it likely won't be during the pandemic. That's why it's one of the safer pot stocks to invest in today. It's also still been generating nice growth. Aphria released its third-quarter results on April 14 which showed quarter-over-quarter net revenue growth of 20% from the second quarter. It was also the fourth straight period that the company recorded positive adjusted earnings before income taxes depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).

Over the past year, Aphria's also been one of the best pot stocks to invest in, outperforming the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF and many other big-name cannabis producers:

While no investor's going to brag about a 45% loss, Aphria is still ahead of the pack in Canada and in a good position to recover. The pot stock has the potential to generate some strong returns for investors as the Canadian cannabis market continues to evolve and grow.
The remarkable life of Kirsty Sword Gusmao, the Australian human rights activist once married to the first president of East Timor, former militant Xanana Gusmao, is told mostly by herself, with input from journalists, diplomats and former East Timor president Jose Ramos-Horta. The love story is underplayed, but the archives betray a giddy romance  love letters and paintings from the then political prisoner, balletic selfie videos from his infatuated supporter. All this against the backdrop of revolution.

The Next Step Credit:

THE NEXT STEP

Series return 

5.05pm, ABC ME
David Jubb, a longtime member of Linfield Colleges board of trustees, faces a felony indictment stemming from allegations that he sexually abused a student on the board as they were leaving a faculty-trustee dinner last year.

Yamhill County District Attorney Brad Berry confirmed Friday that a grand jury has returned an indictment against Jubb, who resigned from the board last June. Jubb is scheduled to make his first appearance in Circuit Court on Wednesday afternoon.

Berry said the indictment remains sealed so he cant disclose the charges until Jubbs court appearance.

Stephen A. Houze, Jubbs criminal defense lawyer, said Jubb will challenge the allegations, although he doesnt know what the specific charges are yet.

We will be entering a not guilty plea and we will be contesting the allegations mightily, Houze said.

Jubb, 71, resigned as a board trustee last June. Hes a 1971 Linfield College graduate and had served on the board since 1994, chairing its financial affairs committee, according to a college magazine. Hes a retired partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers and served on the board of The Reser Family Foundation.

AnnaMarie Motis, an undergraduate student, filed a federal civil suit in December against Jubb, alleging he put his hands up her dress twice on the evening of Feb. 15, 2019, and touched her buttocks and genitalia. She also filed suit against the college.

The Oregonian/OregonLive generally doesnt identify alleged victims of sexual abuse but Motis said she wanted to be named after filing the suit.

She was a student representative on the board when she attended a faculty-trustees dinner that night at Michelbook Country Club after a board meeting.

After the dinner, Jubb grabbed her and pulled her body to his in the foyer of the club as they waited for a ride to join other trustees at a bar, Motis said. When she objected, Jubb reached under her skirt and grabbed her bare buttocks, the suit alleges.

At the bar, she sat across from Jubb and he aggressively bumped her legs under the table, according to the suit. She moved her chair, but Jubb pulled it closer to him, then thrust his hand under her dress and touched her genitalia, the suit says.

Motis reported Jubbs behavior to the boards chair, David Baca, and to the college within a week and made a police report in March 2019, her lawyers said.

This past February, Motis civil claims against the college were dismissed under a joint agreement, according to court records. The college reportedly paid $500,000 to the student in a settlement.

The suit alleged the college was aware of a prior allegation of sexual harassment involving Jubb but failed to investigate. Court records showed that the college responded to Motis suit by alleging that any injury to Motis was the sole fault of a third-party.

Linfield officials Friday declined to discuss in any details about Jubb or the allegations against him. College spokesman Scott Nelson would say only that Linfield has cooperated with the investigation and will continue to cooperate with the judicial process.

After a story ran last year in The Oregonian/OregonLive about the civil suit against Jubb, Linfield faculty, students and alumni drafted and distributed a petition calling for the resignation of Baca.

Baca had written to board trustees last year that Jubb was resigning due to health concerns and praised Jubbs contributions.

The petition, signed by 84 people, said:

Chairman Baca has failed repeatedly in his leadership role to protect Linfield College and its reputation and has tremendously compromised the health and safety of our institution by putting the dignity and safety of the individuals assaulted at great risk, the petition reads.

We do not demand this resignation lightly. Chairman Baca has seriously compromised the safety of our students, staff and faculty as a result of his failure to inform the Linfield community that a Linfield student trustee was sexually assaulted by a senior member of the Board of Trustees at a February 2019 trustee social event.

According to Linfield Colleges lawyer Paula A. Barran, when Motis informed board chair Baca of the allegations, he asked Motis for her input on her thoughts whether the college should remove Mr. Jubb from the Board, told Jubb he was not to attend the May board meeting and asked Jubb for his resignation. Baca also asked Motis what she needed in terms of support, and the colleges Title IX sexual harassment complaint coordinator talked to Motis about her options to go to the police or have the college investigate Barran wrote in a court filing.

According to the college, Motis initially said she wished to make a police report but didnt seek an internal college investigation. Later, through her attorney, she participated in an internal college inquiry. The college hired an outside investigator to interview Motis, according to court records.

Jubb is a long-time Portland accountant and lawyer with connections in the corporate and philanthropic world. After several years working for big accounting firms, he went out on his own as a tax lawyer and business consultant. He got involved with the Reser family, owner of Resers Fine Foods in Beaverton. When family patriarch Al Reser died in 2010, Jubb served as the personal representative of the estate.

He staked out an important presence in the philanthropic world. He served on the board of the Reser Family Foundation, according to the organizations tax filings. He also was secretary and chief financial officer of the William G. Gilmour Foundation, a San Francisco non-profit with Portland connections.

Oregonian Staff Writer Jeff Manning contributed to this story.

-- Maxine Bernstein

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

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian

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If you've not heard of Mpac, you might remember Molins, a tobacco-packaging business founded by a cigar-maker in Havana.

In a wise, but ironic, pivot, the company, which was well known for its sophisticated packaging machines and robots, sold off its tobacco arm, and now parcels up asthma inhalers instead of cigarettes.

Its machines are to be found in factories used by AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Unilever and a host of other consumer goods and pharmaceutical businesses.

Mpac sold off its tobacco arm, and now parcels up asthma inhalers instead of cigarettes

Mpac is valued for its innovation  this is the company that worked out how to make pyramid-shaped teabags  so it was a relief to see this week that it has now managed to apply that ingenuity in the Covid-19 pandemic, establishing effective social distancing and hygiene practices across its factories, with employees 'working effectively within the new rules'.

The company's presentation at its annual meeting this Wednesday was particularly welcome after a bleaker assessment on March 26, when chief executive Tony Steels cancelled the final dividend of the financial year to December 31, 2019, 'to protect the business and conserve cash during this period'.

The company's shares dropped to 1.75, but they have since bounced back considerably, rising 5 per cent on the day of that statement alone, and now stand at 2.55. So why the optimism?

The company's clients are large and demand for their products continues despite the pandemic.

Big pharmaceutical companies are particularly valuable at present  and no one has stopped drinking tea.

Midas tipped Mpac in July last year, when the shares stood at 2.03

Mpac is fiscally conservative too. The company is debt-free and reported a 5.4 million pre-tax profit for 2019, up from a 7.4 million loss in 2018.

On a price-to-earnings ratio of six, Mpac still doesn't look expensive, and investors can be hopeful that the dividend policy will be reinstated when the coronavirus crisis recedes.

Midas Verdict: Midas tipped Mpac in July last year, when the shares stood at 2.03. It's been a bumpy ride since then, but the shares are already far above that level at 2.55.

Last week's announcement shows that the company has the financial firepower to make it through the next few months.

With Steels at the helm, there's little danger of the company running out of steam. Worth packing away in your portfolio.
Today, Russia's ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, responded to the White Houses provocative statement that only the United States and Great Britain won in the World War II.

Today, not everyone is satisfied with our victory. Some people want to review the lessons of history, but we will not let anyone to forget them, he said.

The ambassador emphasized that attempts to delete the USSR from the list of victors over fascism are unacceptable. I cant even imagine how people can say such blasphemous words today, knowing that 27 million of Soviet people died. I believe that we should not be silent,  he said.

We should discuss this topic and try to convey to the ordinary Americans, to ordinary people in Europe, that the Soviet soldier liberated Europe, defended the independence of Europe and the Soviet Union, Anatoly Antonov concluded.
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) London  Sat, May 9, 2020 09:46 620 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd6e187b 2 People Queen-Elizabeth,World-War-II,coronavirus,COVID-19,VE-Day Free

Queen Elizabeth II on Friday invoked the wartime spirit to "never despair" as Britain marked 75 years since the end of World War II in Europe under the shadow of coronavirus.

The 94-year-old delivered a televised address to the nation designed to echo that of her father, king George VI, who gave his own speech on the radio on the evening of May 8, 1945.

"At the start, the outlook seemed bleak, the end distant, the outcome uncertain," the queen said of the war, in which she served as a driver in the army.

"But we kept faith that the cause was right, and this belief, as my father noted in his broadcast, carried us through.

"Never give up, never despair -- that was the message of VE Day."

She recalled the millions of people who died "so we could live as free people in a world of free nations", saying: "We should, and will, remember them."

The monarch added: "The greatest tribute to their sacrifice is that countries who were once sworn enemies are now friends, working side by side for the peace, health and prosperity of us all."

Her message was filmed at Windsor Castle, where she and her husband Prince Philip have been staying since the coronavirus outbreak began.

Plans for street parties and military parades for VE Day were cancelled after the British government ordered a nationwide lockdown in late March to slow the spread of COVID-19.

But it encouraged people to hold 1940s tea-parties at home, and to join in a mass sing-a-long of wartime classic "We'll Meet Again" from their doorsteps after the queen's speech.

"Our streets are not empty; they are filled with the love and the care that we have for each other," the monarch said.

"And when I look at our country today and see what we are willing to do to protect and support one another, I see with pride that we are still a nation that those brave soldiers, sailors and airmen would recognize and admire.

"I send my warmest good wishes to you all."

Read also: Queen Elizabeth II marks 94th birthday with no fanfare

'Tide of happiness'

In 1945, the queen -- then a 19-year-old princess -- left Buckingham Palace to join the celebrations on the streets of London with her younger sister Margaret and a group of friends.

In a 1985 BBC interview, re-released for this year's anniversary, she described it as "one of the most memorable nights of my life".

"I remember lines of unknown people linking arms and walking down Whitehall, all of us just swept along on a tide of happiness and relief," she recalled.

The young princess wore her uniform -- she was a member of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) -- but "I remember we were terrified of being recognized".
Editors note: The following Midland Remembers was published June 1, 2016. The Daily News will be reprinting Sanford-area Midland Remembers in a weekly series in observance for the areas sesquicentennial, which will be celebrated this year.

Gary Briggs ancestors have been property owners in the Averill area since the mid 1800s when George and Carrie Briggs bought property in a village that was noted chiefly for its lumber camps. The lumber camps have long been gone as a part of history. And so are George and Carrie Briggs and their six sons. But their great grandson carries on the tradition of land ownership and today the name Briggs Landscaping and Contracting sets prominently between the village of Averill and the small town of Sanford. But lets begin at the beginning.

George and Carrie Briggs bought property in the lumbering area of Averill when they were first married and proceeded to have six sons born in the family homestead. At one time, they lived in a log cabin before the clapboard farmhouse was built. Earl was born April 11, 1892, followed by Floyd born on Aug. 19, 1894. Joe Hazen (always called Hazen) and a twin brother were born on Oct. 19, 1896. Herbert was born June 6, 1904, and soon was nicknamed Herb. The baby of the family was named George Arthur, Jr. and always went by the nickname Art.

George and Carrie Briggs lost two sons. The twin baby born with Joe Hazen died shortly after birth in 1896 and their oldest son Earl drowned in the Tittabawassee River in Averill on May 29, 1909, at the age of 17.

Garys line of descent is from Floyd Briggs who was born in 1894. Floyd married Lorena Knoop (born Sept. 20, 1896) on Aug. 4, 1915, and their first child was a daughter they named Eola. On Aug. 28, 1919, their first son Robert was born followed by Bill born on Aug. 13, 1921. (Bill would become Gary s dad). A daughter named Gene followed, and on June 14, 1930, the baby of the family was born and named Gail.

Shortly after Gail entered school, Lorena began working as a telephone operator at The Dow Chemical Co. Lorena was following in the footsteps of her mom Carolyn Knoop who was a telephone operator for the small telephone company operating in Sanford. Floyd continued working the family farm while working full-time at The Dow Chemical Co. Its evident that Garys penchant for hard work at a young age was a Briggs family trait.

On Feb. 3, 1942, Bill Briggs married Edna (Toni) Perry. World War II was in progress and Bill and his brother, Bob, were both in the service. Garys Uncle Bob made the service his career.

Gary was born on Feb. 5, 1943, in the Floyd and Lorena Briggs home on Sanford Road. Toni, their daughter-in-law was living with them while her husband, Bill, was away in the service. Gary has been told that Dr. Wilbur Towsley was the doctor who brought him into the world. Dr. Towsleys car got stuck in the deep February snow and he had to walk the rest of the way to the Briggs home. The Briggs farmhouse on Sanford Road saw three generations of Briggs born there: Floyd, Bill and Gary.

Toni Briggs mom and dad were Jack and Elsie Perry, and Jack Perry owned property in Averill reaching from the banks of the Tittabawassee River to north Price Road. Jack owned a white house just before the curve on the sliver of Wackerly Road that went from U.S. 10 at Averill to U.S. 10 close to Sanford. The county drain that went under Saginaw Road by Clarence Varners house to the Hazen Briggs farm on Wackerly Road was named the Perry Drain after Jack.

Years later, Gary would buy the Hazen Briggs farm to extend his construction and landscaping business.

Bill, Garys dad, was in Pattons Third Army during World War II, and a photos of Bill in a tank with EDNA painted on the side of it appeared on a Time magazine cover. Bill was in the first tank to enter the liberated city of Paris, France.

The first tank named EDNA was blown up and Bill was wounded. The second tank Bill named GARY. Bill received two Purple Hearts during the war.

When Bill came home from the war, Gary remembers that he hid behind his mother because he had no idea who the strange man was that walked in the front door.

Gary began Kindergarten in the Averill country school and one of his most vivid memories is being held over the chemical toilet by Denny Finney holding him by his jacket. Eventually, the old Averill school was torn down and a new school was constructed. This time with flush toilets. Today, the former school has become the town hall and fire station in Averill.

Garys grandfather, Jack Perry, opened up Jacks Log Cabin in 1938, the same day that the new U.S.-10 went through. Later, Jack gave the tavern to his son, Don, and his son-in-law, Bill Briggs. The partnership didnt work out, and eventually Jacks Log Cabin came under new management. Today, Jacks Log Cabin has been remodeled and renovated inside and outside and the familiar log cabin on the corner of U.S. 10 and M-30 no longer exists.

Sharon, Garys first sister, was born with the family continuing to live in the white house on the curve of Wackerly Road. Sharon was followed by Carol, Beth, Mike, Jeff and Mark.

The Sanford that Gary remembers no longer exists.

I remember when steam engines ran through Sanford with hobos sitting in the boxcars with their feet hanging out, he said.

On Railroad Street (U.S.-10) running through Sanford was Olsons Party Store, Dancers Department Store, Sanford Hardware then owned by Bill Argyle, J & D Plumbing and Heating, Coles Garage, Enders Grocery, Maticka Construction and Budges Drug Store.

When Mom took Sharon and me to the drug store for ice cream she always said we had to take the same flavor ice cream, Gary said.

One wanted chocolate. One wanted vanilla.
The Delhi High Court on Saturday extended the interim bail of 2,177 under-trial prisoners by 45 days to de-congest jails in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

A bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Talwant Singh passed the order in view of a high-power committee's recommendation that it would be dangerous to put the prisoners back in jail as the risk still remains high.

The committee, headed by Justice Hima Kohli, on May 5 opined that since there was a paucity of space in jail premises to create sufficient number of isolation wards for the prisoners returning after expiry of their interim bail, the relief should be extended by another 45 days.

During the hearing, Delhi government standing counsel Rahul Mehra and advocate Chaitanya Gosain, appearing for the prison authorities, said they have no objection to the extension of bail.

"Accordingly, it is ordered that the interim bails for a period of 45 days granted to 2,177 UTPs, in view of the recommendations of HPC...are hereby extended by another period of 45 days from the date of their respective expiry of interim bails on the same terms and conditions," the bench said.

It also directed the Director General (Prisons) to ensure that the order was conveyed to all 2,177 under-trial prisoners (UTPs) by telephone and other available modes and listed the matter for hearing on June 22.

The committee, which was formed on the order of the Supreme Court to lay down guidelines to decongest jails and prevent spread of the coronavirus, was also of the view that moving a separate application on behalf of each of the 2,177 UTPs would be "cumbersome" and lead to wastage of judicial time.

Therefore, it had recommended that the high court be requested to pass a judicial order to extend the interim bail of the prisoners by 45 days.

The matter was placed before Chief Justice D N Patel, who on May7 issued verbal directions to set up the bench on Saturday, May 9.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had on Wednesday reiterated his appeal to migrant workers not to leave the state and instead start working in manufacturing units which have been allowed to resume operations, saying the coronavirus situation in the state was much better

Chandigarh: In a bright sign for resumption of economic activities amid the Covid-led lockdown across the country, the migrant workers, who left various states for their native places amid the shutdown, have begun expressing willingness to return to work, indicate developments in Haryana.

Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij on Saturday said over 1.5 lakh migrant workers have applied on government portal, expressing their willingness to return back to work in the state.

Vij said most of these 1.5 lakh workers, who have registered themselves to return, belong to Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

He also said on the same portal nearly 8 lakh migrant workers, however, have registered themselves for leaving the state.

Nearly 1.5 lakh migrant workers want to return to Haryana while 8 lakh of them have registered themselves for leaving the state for their native states, Vij said.

Most of the 1.5 lakh who want to come back are from Bihar, UP and MP. They want to come here as commercial activities have started and they are hopeful that they can find a job, he said.

Asked how Haryana can facilitate those migrants willing to come back during the lockdown, Vij said, We are talking to the states to which they belong.

Most of the migrants who want to return have applied to come to industrial towns of Gurgaon, Sonipat, Jhajjar, Rewari, Faridabad and Panipat, said officials.

They said that most of these who have applied to return may have left before the lockdown or during its initial few days.

Asked if the resumption of the state's industry and economic activities would not be affected due to more workers seeking to leave the state and than those willing to return, Vij said, We and the rest of the country and the world is facing a situation that we are bound to face some difficulties.

But we cannot stop those migrant workers who want to go back with their states too being ready to have them back. We can only persuade these workers and we are already doing that. We are seeking to assure them that the Haryana government will take care of all their needs, but we cannot force them to stay back, he said.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had on Wednesday reiterated his appeal to migrant workers not to leave the state and instead start working in manufacturing units which have been allowed to resume operations, saying the coronavirus situation in the state was much better.

He had said migrants must compare the situation in their native places with that in Haryana before taking a decision.

The chief minister, however, had said if anyone still wanted to leave, the state government has already made arrangements for their return as per the Centre's guidelines.

On Wednesday, the first special train from Hisar carrying 1,200 migrant workers left for Katihar in Bihar.

More such migrants wanting to go back will be sent back within the next seven days through 5,000 buses and 100 trains, with the state government being ready to bear the entire cost of their transportation.

As many as 23,452 migrant labourers have so far been sent to their home states free of cost by various trains and buses arranged by the state government during the past three days, a statement had said here on Friday.

Meanwhile, Vij said 66 persons from Haryana were among the stranded Indians, who were brought back home on Friday as part of the Centre's mega repatriation mission Vande Bharat.

As many as 66 persons from Haryana returned from abroad and they have been quarantined in a facility in Gurgaon, he said.
On Saturday, 394 more Covid-19 positive cases and 23 deaths were reported from Gujarat taking the toll of infected people to 7797 and deaths to 472.

A central team led by All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) director Randeep Guleria visited the state on Saturday. following a request made by Gujarats chief minister Vijay Rupani to the Centre.

The AIIMS director interacted with government and private doctors in the state and also spoke to health care workers at the frontline of the fight against the disease, the Gujarat government said in a statement.

People do not need to be afraid of it (Covid), but precautions are a must. One should consult a doctor as soon as they notice any symptom of Covid-19. Elders and patients with co-morbid conditions could be in trouble if there is delay in reporting the symptoms, Guleria said.

He said that it is difficult to win this battle without public awareness and co-operation, adding that social distancing and protective measures are essential.

The statement said that additional chief secretary, Pankaj Kumar and other officers on Covid -19 duty across the state had extensive discussions with Dr Guleria.

Of the 394 cases on Saturday, the most are from Ahmedabad, 280, followed by Surat, 30, and Vadodra, 27. Out of 23 deaths, 20 were reported from Ahmedabad and one each from Banaskantha, Jamnagar and Panchamahal.

Jayanti Ravi, principal secretary (health) said the least number of deaths in the past week was reported on Saturday. The recovery rate in past 15 days has improved by 450%. So far, 2019 people have been discharged, she said.

Flights from Singapore, Philippines, USA, U.K, and Kuwait , carrying a total of 1099 people, will land in a phase wise manner at Ahmedabad airport from 10th May, 2020 . All the passengers will undergo thermal screening and necessary medical checkup followed by institutional quarantine, said Kumar.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has urged the country to be vigilant against a 'return of evil in a new guise' as the nation marks the 75th anniversary of the fall of the Third Reich.

The German head of state, accompanied by Chancellor Angela Merkel, stuck to social distancing guidelines at they laid down their wreaths yesterday at the Neue Wache Memorial in Berlin.

In his speech, Steinmeier noted that a 'new brand of nationalism' was on the rise in Germany and that his countrymen had a duty to 'liberate' themselves from the shadow of Nazi rule.

The 64-year-old said: 'Our country, from which evil once emanated, has over the years changed from being a threat to the international order to being its champion.

A projection reading 'Thank You' in Russian, English, French and German is projected on Berlin's Brandenburg Gate yesterday, on the 75th anniversary of the end of World War Two

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier speaks after the wreath laying ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War Two, at the Neue Wache Memorial in Berlin, Germany yesterday

Merkel and other prominent politicians lay wreaths in front of an enlarged replica of Kathe Kollwitz's sculpture Mother with her Dead Son at the monument to the victims of war and dictatorship in Berlin, Germany, on VE-Day

'And so we must not allow this peaceful order to disintegrate before our eyes.'

Germany does not usually mark the anniversary of the Nazis' unconditional surrender to the Allies with much fanfare.

This year however the city of Berlin declared a one-off public holiday on Friday.

President Steinmeier urged Germans to see 8 May as 'a day of gratitude' because it freed Germany from the terror of the Nazis and brought peace to Europe.

'For us Germans, 'never again' means 'never again alone',' he said.

'We want more, not less cooperation in the world - also in the fight against the pandemic.'

POLAND: A Polish veteran attends a wreath-laying ceremony to mark victory over Nazi Germany at the Monument of the Unknown Soldier in Lublin, eastern Poland

Two people walk among the headstones of some 8,000 American troops who died fighting in Europe at Belgium's Henri Chapelle World War II cemetery on VE Day

RUSSIA: Officials take part in a wreath-laying ceremony at a monument to Field Marshal Gregory Zhukov, who led the Red Army during the Second World War, in the city of Yekaterinburg, Russia

His words recalled a watershed speech by former president Richard von Weizsaecker who in 1985 urged Germans to view 8 May not as a day of defeat, but of liberation from the Nazi terror.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas also expressed 'immense gratitude' to the countries that 'accepted Germany back into the family of peaceful nations' despite its responsibility for the Holocaust, in which six million Jews were killed.

But not everyone agreed with the tone of the commemorations in Germany.

Alexander Gauland, a top figure in the far-right AfD party, slammed a suggestion to make 8 May a permanent public holiday, describing it as a 'day of complete defeat' for Germany.

FRANCE: Emmanuel Macron led a toned-down ceremony marking VE-Day in Paris on Friday, first by laying a wreath at a statue of General Charles de Gaulle and then another at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider at the Arc du Triomphe (pictured)

Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews, said Gauland's view of the anniversary was typical of 'neo-Nazis'.

'The intention is to portray the Germans primarily as victims. I find this distortion of history and relativisation of Nazi crimes irresponsible,' he said.

Other European countries joined Germany in marking the victory over the Nazis yesterday.

Parades and public celebrations were scaled back or cancelled altogether on a continent that has borne the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic, with 1.6million cases and more than 150,000 deaths reported there.

French President Emmanuel Macron led the celebrations in Paris by laying a wreath in front of a statue of General Charles de Gaulle before making his way to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier underneath the Arc du Triomphe.

Accompanied by former presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande, alongside military leaders and other politicians who kept their distance from each-other, he listened to an acapella version of La Marseillaise before laying a tricolore wreath.

Veterans hold the French national flag as they take part in the ceremony for the 75th anniversary of World War II victory in Europe at the Monument to the Dead in the French Riviera city of Nice

Macron had earlier urged the French public not to attend public celebrations but instead to put up flags and decorate their windows and balconies in tribute instead.

Large-scale parades across Europe were scrapped, drastically downsized or moved online, as the continent grapples with its biggest crisis since World War II - this time an invisible enemy that has sickened more than 3.7 million worldwide.

With veterans already at an advanced age, organisers of marches had deemed it too risky for them to attend events even in countries which have begun to ease lockdown measures.

Russia had originally planned a huge military display on its May 9 Victory Day, with world leaders including France's President Emmanuel Macron on the guest list.

But now only a flypast will take place over the Red Square, as the country becomes Europe's new hotspot of coronavirus infections.

President Vladimir Putin laid flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier memorial, before making a TV address which will not only touch on the war.

In the US, President Donald Trump and his wife Melania joined a wreath-laying ceremony at the World War II memorial in Washington, DC.

The US Department of Defense held an online commemoration thank WWII veterans that was streamed on Facebook and Twitter.

In the Czech Republic, where a lockdown has been completely lifted, politicians arrived at 10-minute intervals to lay wreaths on Prague's Vitkov Hill, to minimise contact.
As Thailands capital cautiously reopens many restaurants shuttered over coronavirus fears, the feline employees of the Caturday Cafe are back at work.

The few dozen friendly cats typically lounge around the cafe, breaking up naptime to saunter over to human customers for snuggles and belly rubs.

The friendly furballs give some much-needed outside contact for Thais who have mostly been confined to home during weeks of semi-lockdown with most non-essential businesses closed.

Earlier, we could not go out anywhere which makes us a bit stressed out. But since we can come to meet the cats, we feel more at ease and relaxed, said regular customer Pantip Keeseeree, who said she came as soon as she heard the cafe had reopened.

Customers play with cats to find comfort at the Caturday Cat cafe. (REUTERS)

Like other businesses across Thailand, the cafe has new rules aimed at curbing the spread of the virus. Before entering, customers must have their temperature checked and wash their hands, and once inside must wear a mask at all times.

Actually, the number of customers is nothing like it used to be. Over 50% have decreased for both Thai and foreign customers, said cafe owner Arisa Limpanawongsanon.

Arisa has a total of 50 cats, of several different breeds, and around 35 of them rotate between her home and the cafe every now and then.

As an extra precaution, the cats have dry baths, their fur brushed and eyes cleaned every day.
Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

The US has blocked a vote on a UN security council resolution calling for a global ceasefire during the Covid-19 pandemic, because the Trump administration objected to an indirect reference to the World Health Organization.

The security council has been wrangling for more than six weeks over the resolution, which was intended to demonstrate global support for the call for a ceasefire by the UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres. The main source for the delay was the US refusal to endorse a resolution that urged support for the WHOs operations during the coronavirus pandemic.

Donald Trump has blamed the WHO for the pandemic, claiming (without any supporting evidence) that it withheld information in the early days of the outbreak.

Related: Trump scapegoating of WHO obscures its key role in tackling pandemic

China insisted that the resolution should include mention and endorsement of the WHO.

On Thursday night, French diplomats thought they had engineered a compromise in which the resolution would mention UN specialized health agencies (an indirect, if clear, reference to the WHO).

The Russian mission signaled that it wanted a clause calling for the lifting of sanctions that affected the delivery of medical supplies, a reference to US punitive measures imposed on Iran and Venezuela. However, most security council diplomats believed Moscow would withdraw the objection or abstain in a vote rather than risk isolation as the sole veto on the ceasefire resolution.

On Thursday night, it appeared that the compromise resolution had the support of the US mission, but on Friday morning, that position switched and the US broke silence on the resolution, raising objection to the phrase specialist health agencies, and blocking movement towards a vote.

We understood that there was an agreement on this thing but it seems that they changed their mind, a western security council diplomat said.

Obviously they have changed their mind within the American system so that wording is still not good enough for them, another diplomat close to the discussions said. It might be that they just need a bit more time to settle it amongst themselves, or it might be that someone very high up has made a decision they dont want it, and therefore it wont happen. It is unclear at this moment, which one it is.

Story continues

A spokesperson for the US mission at the UN suggested that if the resolution was to mention the work of the WHO, it would have to include critical language about how China and the WHO have handled the pandemic.

In our view, the council should either proceed with a resolution limited to support for a ceasefire, or a broadened resolution that fully addresses the need for renewed member state commitment to transparency and accountability in the context of Covid-19. Transparency and reliable data are essential to helping the world combat this ongoing pandemic, and the next one, the spokesperson said.

While the force of the resolution would be primarily symbolic, it would have been symbolism at a crucial moment. Since Guterres made his call for a global ceasefire, armed factions in more than a dozen countries had observed a temporary truce. The absence of a resolution from the worlds most powerful nations, however, undermines the secretary generals clout in his efforts to maintain those fragile ceasefires.

Talks will continue next week at the security council to explore whether some other way around the impasse can be found.
MISMATCHED MUMS TO BE  BABY MAMA (2008) This is not the best team-up of comic comrades Tina Fey and Amy Poehler (that would be 2015's Sisters or any of their Golden Globes hosting monologues) but they're still a goofy delight in this comedy about a successful but single corporate executive (Fey) who hires a fertile but fickle bogan (Poehler) as her surrogate mother. With some overqualified supporting players  Steve Martin does a very droll five-minute turn  the film is episodic and quick to embrace the sentimental but the two leads riff off each other instinctively and there are some telling digs at the pregnancy industry that scares mothers-to-be for profit. Netflix, 98 minutes Tina Fey plays a successful businesswoman Kate Holbrook who attends a birth class with her surrogate, working girl Angie Ostrowiski (played by Amy Poehler) in Baby Mama. MUMS WHO MAKE A SCENE ... THE BIRDCAGE (1996) The politics of this uproarious Hollywood farce where a son asks his flamboyant gay fathers to play it straight when his fiancee and her conservative parents come to visit are  hopefully  redundant, leaving you to enjoy the screwball delight that is Elaine May and Mike Nichols adaptation of the 1978 French classic Le Cage aux Folles. Robin Williams is the Miami drag club owner struggling to butch up, with Gene Hackman as the stiff-necked guest, but the movie is stolen by Nathan Lane as Williams outrageous partner, who instead of being hidden away decides to play the familys fake matriarch in drag. Screwball circumstances ensue, with outrageous entrances and escalating misdeeds. Stan, 120 minutes

MUMS WHO GET REVENGE  FIRST WIVES CLUB (1996) How's this for a supergroup? Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn and Diane Keaton play a trio of Manhattan wives who join together for poetic retribution when their husbands cast them aside in favour of younger women (played by a pre-Sex and the City Sarah Jessica Parker and a post-Showgirls Elizabeth Berkley). Snippy insults and bumbling scams frame the jaunty plot but the movie always lets a note of anger linger as the three middle-aged women refuse to accept their husband's decree of obsolescence and impoverishment. Netflix, 102 minutes Sarah Jessica Parker and Bette Midler in the classic First Wives Club. A MUM PULLED IN EVERY DIRECTION  INCREDIBLES 2 (2018) Her superhero name may be Elastigirl but in this Pixar hit Helen Parr, the very long-limbed character voiced by Holly Hunter, is definitely a career woman. With the cape industry going through a government crackdown, Helen has to earn a living in a new job she finds exciting but excludes her husband, Bob. Instead, Mr Incredible is a stay-at-home dad, with three children who want the domestic status quo restored. Director Brad Bird juggles these themes with joyous action sequences but the triumphant Helen is always stretched in more ways than one. Disney+, 118 minutes

A MOTHER'S MISUNDERSTANDINGS  JULIETA (2016) Whether as a memory or a mea culpa, mothers are a recurring element in the work of Spanish master Pedro Almodovar but few explore the relationship between mother and daughter the way this underappreciated late-career film does. Bathed in rich, roiled reds, the story follows a mother, Julieta (Emma Suarez), who is plunged back into the past she shared with her estranged daughter. In this maternal mystery guilt turns to grief, circulating through successive female generations like lungs drawing deep breaths of air. SBS on Demand, 95 minutes Uma Thurman's sword-wielding former assassin just wants to reconnect with her child in Kill Bill: Vol 1. A SWORD-WIELDING MUM  KILL BILL: VOLUME 1 (2003) Quentin Tarantino's martial-arts odyssey, a stylish update of the Shaw Brothers kung fu movies the filmmaker consumed in his cinematic youth, is full of headline moments, including a mass swordfight in a restaurant with seemingly an ocean of fake movie blood and Daryl Hannah in an eye-patch. But while Uma Thurman's former assassin, the Bride, is hungry for vivid revenge against the former associates who left her for dead years prior: it's her need to reconnect with her child that ultimately drives the movie and its askew sequel. Amazon, 110 minutes

A MUM AND HER DAUGHTER  LADY BIRD (2017) Greta Gerwig's acclaimed directorial debut is a coming-of-age tale, with a terrific lead performance by Saoirse Ronan as the 17-year-old high school student Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson, whose expectations hide her insecurities. But as good as Ronan is, spiky and immune to easy sympathy, she's augmented by the nuanced performance of Laurie Metcalf as Christine's mother, Marion, whose love for her rebellious daughter takes the form of straight talk and realistic verdicts. The bittersweet complexities of the mother-daughter relationship are encapsulated in passing exchanges and sudden skirmishes, which are intertwined now and forever more. Netflix, 94 minutes Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf in Lady Bird. MUMS WHO STAND THEIR GROUND ... FENCES (2016) Denzel Washington stars in and directs this adaptation of August Wilsons celebrated 1983 play about a working class black family in 1950s Pittsburgh, where the fathers failings are visited on their hopeful son. Its a touch ostentatious visually but the dialogue is rich and Washington cast it so well that his formidable talents are overshadowed. As Washingtons wife, Viola Davis is immense: decades of inequity and tolerance slowly rise to the surface in her visceral performance. Shes the mother as judgment day. SBS On Demand, 139 minutes

A HAUNTED MUM  THE OTHERS (2001) Big Nic Energy was running strong at the turn of the century, when Nicole Kidman was the arresting spark in Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, went full golden age Hollywood star in Moulin Rouge and then headlined this chilly period horror film. Updating Gothic dread, Spanish director Alejandro Amenabar has Kidman as a widowed mother whose sealed house rattles with inexplicable sounds and strange presences  the feeling of literally being haunted acquires a physical unease in Kidman's performance, which holds like a spell. Stan, 105 minutes Nicole Kidman is a haunted mother in The Others. A DEFIANT MUM  ROOM (2015) Seen through the eyes of Jack (Jacob Tremblay), a cloistered five-year-old, the maternal will to nurture and survive is desperate and all-encompassing in this independent drama. Captain Marvel's Brie Larson won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her fiercely frayed portrayal of Joy, who was kidnapped, imprisoned and raped as a teenager and now has a child to raise in captivity. Details are revealed through their distorted existence and the connection between mother and child is so complete that it takes in great risk and vast trauma. Netflix, 117 minutes
A supermarket shelf-stacker took terrible revenge on his former employer after he was fired during the coronavirus lockdown in Russia.

The 37-year-old man smashed dozens of bottles of alcohol in a crazed attack on the store in Tashtagol, Siberia, with the angry rampage all caught on the stores CCTV.

A river of wine, vodka and brandy flowed across the floor as he kicked out at the packed shelves.

The supermarket is now calculating the cost of the mayhem.

The man didn't take his firing with equanimity. Source: East2West/australscope

The man, named by local media as Vitalya, was told to calm down by staff who also used an emergency alarm to summon police during the outburst.

As the disgruntled took his anger out on the store shelves, onlookers could be heard screaming: What are you doing?

In a foul-mouthed response, the fired worker made clear he was taking revenge for being sacked during Russias five week lockdown.

Heres your firing, he shouted.

The dismissed worker solemnly congratulated the store owner after the rampage. Source: East2West/australscope

Police arrived at the store in industrial Kemerovo region and detained the man. A decision on charges will reportedly be made once the value of the damage is determined.

The exact circumstances of his dismissal were not disclosed.

Coronavirus case numbers are surging upwards in Russia and the country struggles to control the spread of the virus.

Russia now has the world's second-fastest rate of new infections behind the United States, the Moscow Times reported, as the number of official cases nears 200,000.

 Australscope

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Today, Azerbaijan celebrates the victory in the World War II and honors the memory of 600,000 Azerbaijanis who fought fascism.

Anyone wondering how the Soviet troops won a victory must take a look at the lives of the incredible and courageous people who sacrificed their lives for the common good.

One of such heroes was Qedemshah Sadygov who was able to save the lives of thousands of people.

Sadygov enlisted to the military service during the hard years of the war. He was appointed to the 974th regiment of the 261st division. He would replace the doctor of the regiment killed during fights for Ukraine. Young doctor Sadygov performed first aid to the wounded. The 974th regiment suffered heavy losses during one of the attacks, with seven tanks and the entire being destroyed. After a while, all of commanders were killed. Qedemshah took over the leadership of the division and started the fight with what was left of the soldiers and sergeants. Qedemshah led the soldiers in to the fight, forcing the German troops retreat for 8 km. Qedemshah was severely wounded but continued the fight regardless. For that, he received Gizil Bayrag (Golden Flag) award. He was awarded with Gizil Ulduz (Golden Star) for saving lives of 32 wounded in the battle for Belgorod to Kursk. Afterwards, the young doctor participated in the battles for Kharkiv, bank of Don and Volga rivers, Smolensk, Belorussia, Germany and the Far East. In all circumstances, he was able to save lives of thousands without losing control over the situation.

Our brave heroes show incredible courage in the battles. One of them is military doctor Qedemshah Sadygov, the Communist newspaper wrote in its Doctor with three awards article in November 6,1943 edition.

The 24-year-old medical service major Sadygov returned to his homeland Azerbaijan after the long-awaited victory. He received five medals and ten awards.

Now that the war was over, Sadygov concentrated on the academic work. After graduating from the Azerbaijan State University he started teaching at the same university. At the same time, he was a head teacher and director of education department at the Azerbaijan State Institute for the Improvement of Physicians.

Sadygovs scientific activities were multi-faceted. He obtained a doctoral degree in philosophy and medicine and authored the books Logics and Ethics that are being used by the students of higher and secondary schools to this date. His works for obtaining Phd degree in philosophy The elements of theory of logics in Azerbaijan and in medicine The vision of Abu Ibn Sina to medicine were published posthumously.

He passed away at 45 years old in a very fruitful period of his life. By the time of his death, he had written 48 scientific works, numerous articles on philosophy, medicine and warfare. Among them, his 220 paged and 360 paged works on warfare are kept in the top secret archive. Mirze Feteli, Aida, Birleshmish yeni kolkhoz (New joint kolkhoz), Demirchi Gave (Blacksmith Gave), Akhtarish ve ekskeshfiyyat (The research and counterintelligence) plays, Akhtaran tapar (The one who searches will find) comedy, Shahin, Anacan, ag sachin (Mom, your grey hair), and Fuzuli narrative poetries and Rahib ve Rena (Rahib and Rena) novel have been mentioned in Akhtarishlarla kechen omur (Life passed in researches) article in Teshviqatchi (The propagandist) journal in 1968.
In a major catch, Ranjeet Singh Rana, alias Cheetah, who was wanted in the 532-kg heroin haul from Attari on the Indo-Pakistan border in June last year, was arrested in Haryanas Sirsa town on Saturday.

In a joint operation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Punjab Police and their Haryana counterpart, Rana, the kingpin of the drug racket, and his brother Gagandeep Singh, alias Bhola, were arrested from their hideout at Begu village in Sirsa.

Punjab Police chief Dinkar Gupta said Ranjeet is one of the biggest drug smugglers of India.

Following up further on arrests of Hizbul operatives in J&K and Punjab, Punjab Police juggernaut moved further to nab Ranjeet of Amritsar, one of the biggest drug smugglers of India from Sirsa today, Gupta tweeted.

The Punjab Police said Ranjeet is a big fish in the ISI-controlled network linked with Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riaz Naikoo who was killed by security forces in Kashmir recently.

With more than 10 criminal cases against him, Ranjeet was one of the key links in the network engaged in smuggling of large number of consignments of drugs and illegal weapons through the India-Pakistan border through the legal land route of Attari and also across the border fencing in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

He had been convicted in 2008, 2009 and 2011 for heroin smuggling. He was awarded 12-year rigorous imprisonment for smuggling of 5 kg heroin, but was acquitted by the Supreme Court in March 2018 by giving him benefit of doubt.

Giving details of the Sirsa operations, DGP Dinkar Gupta said he spoke to his Haryana counterpart Manoj Yadav at around 9 pm on Friday, and thereafter coordination was established by CP Amritsar with Sirsa SP Arun Nehra.

HEROIN HIDDEN IN ROCK SALT CONSIGNMENTS

Ranjeet was wanted in smuggling of in 532kg heroin and 52 kg of mixed narcotics, worth over Rs 2700 crore, from Pakistan in a consignment of 600 bags of rock salt, through integrated checkpost (ICP), Attari (Amritsar) on June 29, 2019. The customs department had nabbed Tariq Ahmed Lone of Handwara (J&K) and Gurpinder Singh of Amritsar in this connection.

Announcing Ranjeet and Gagandeeps arrest, chief minister Captain Amarinder also congratulated the police force for the arrest of Hilal Ahmed Wagay, an overground worker of the Hizbul Mujahideen, who was arrested on April 25.

Police said Ranjeet and Gagandeep were nabbed following interrogation of their cousins -- Bikram Singh, alias Vicky, and his brother Maninder Singh Mani -- who were arrested recently for allegedly handing over money to Hilal in Amritsar.

According to the chief minister, Ranjeet is one of the most active nodal operatives of the extensive network of drug smugglers/couriers set up by the Pakistan spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to push in composite consignments of drugs and weapons from Pakistan into Punjab through various means, including drones.

STAYED AT BEGU VILLAGE FOR 8 MONTHS

Sirsa senior superintendent of police (SSP) Arun Nehra said, Ranjeet has been living with his family in Begu village for the past eight months. He rented a room on the identification provided by his relative who belongs to Vaidwala village and has been identified as Gurmeet Singh, who is also wanted under the NDPS Act.

REMANDED IN 5-DAY POLICE CUSTODY

Ranjeet and Gagandeep were later brought to Amritsar, where they were presented before duty magistrate Arjun Singh by the police. The duty magistrate remanded them in five-day police custody.

A day before Ranjeets arrest, the authorities of Amritsar central jail recovered two mobile phones from his brother Kuldeep Singh, alias Babbu, of Havelian village. Babbu is an undertrial in the 15-kg heroin haul case of 2016.

Davinder Singh, assistant superintendent of the jail, said during a checking of barrack number 7, they recovered two mobile phones and two SIM card from Kuldeeps possession.
Despite constant appeals from the UN Secretary-General and the international community for a ceasefire, the security and humanitarian situation in Libya remains complicated. A report of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) shows that more than 100 civilians were killed or injured in conflicts in Libya in the first quarter of 2020, an increase of 45% over the same period last year. The nation, which has been divided by the coexistence of two governments, became even more chaotic after General Khalifa Haftar, commander of the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA), announced the abolition of the political agreement with the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA). The deal stipulated truce compliance aiming to facilitate the formation of a united government, towards putting an end to the political divisions since the wave of rebellion to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

One of the reasons for the prolonged war in Libya is the deep factional division, as well as outside intervention. The GNA operating in the capital city of Tripoli has been supported by Turkey, Qatar and Italy. Meanwhile, LNA leader Haftar is backed by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) together with political support from the United States, Russia and France. After months of launching campaigns, the LNA forces took control of many areas, while the GNA controlled only a small part of Libyas territory. Tensions escalated after General Haftar claimed to have a popular mandate to govern the country. However, the international community, including the supposedly pro-LNA countries, responded cautiously to this unilateral claim and recommended that all issues in Libya should be resolved through political dialogue.

The import of weapons into Libya is said to be one of the reasons that ignite new fighting in the North African nation. During an international peace conference on Libya in Germany in January, world leaders agreed to maintain an arms embargo against the conflicting parties in Libya. But in fact, illegal weapons have still entered the country in secret. In an effort to cut off the source of weapons that is adding fire to the fighting in Libya, the European Union (EU) declared that it was ready to deploy a naval force to monitor the implementation of the arms embargo against Libya. EU countries agreed to equip warships, aircraft and satellites for campaigns to stop the flow of weapons from penetrating into the country across the Mediterranean coast.

In the context of COVID-19 threatening to make the humanitarian situation worse, the UNSC member countries emphasised their concern about the risks from attacks on civilians and civilian bases, including the poor healthcare infrastructure in Libya. The international community called on stakeholders in Libya to stop fighting, comply with a humanitarian armistice, ensure the right to adequate aid access, and work towards a political solution on the basis of respecting Libyas independence and sovereignty, which should be led and owned by the Libyan people. The parties early resumption of negotiations through political, military and economic channels, and on the basis of the UNSCs Resolution 2510, is a comprehensive and long-term solution.

Libyan people are experiencing the Islamic holy month of Ramadan with a lot of anxiety, due to conflicts as well as the pandemic. After nearly 10 years engulfed in division and violence, since the Arab Spring in 2011, outside interference and violations of the arms embargo have again sparked violence in the North African country. A ceasefire and the resumption of negotiations remains the only way for Libya to open the door to peace.
Calaveras County Seal View Photo

San Andreas, CA  Calaveras County residents and businesses are getting new guidance on the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions that includes newly rescinded local health orders.

On Friday, Calaveras County Public Health Officer Dr. Dean Kelaita rescinded his May 1, April 29 and March 27 orders and emergency regulations to remain in step with Governor Gavin Newsoms Thursday announcement that the state will be entering Stage 2 of its reopening plan beginning May 8.

As already reported, Stage 2 authorizes some low risk business activities as long as they comply with the state-mandated conditions. Low-risk businesses such as clothing stores, florists, bookstores, and sporting goods retailers may reopen for curbside pick-up as long as they operate under specific adaptations that allow for increased social distancing, safeguards for their employees, and increased sanitation.

Kelaita emphasizes while the order rescinded and certain businesses are allowed to reopen in a modified way, the Stay-At-Home Order by the State of California remains in place. He cautions residents that it is key to keep the COVID-19 numbers down for the county to continue moving forward through Phase 2 into Phase 3. To that end, social distancing and enhanced sanitation measures remain important. Also still in place is Kelaitas March 26 order clarifying that lodging remains closed unless housing essential workers or isolating COVID-19 impacted individuals.

Following Newsoms Thursday announcement, the City of Angels Camp, Calaveras County Economic & Community Development, Public Health, and Calaveras County Chamber of Commerce Business Leadership Collaborative staff began helping disseminate the Phase 2 business reopening guidelines as part of the states four-phase program. The States Business Resilience Roadmap, which contains industry specific guidance and checklists for businesses reopening safely, can be found by clicking here.

The Business Leadership Collaborative partnership is continuing to direct the countys ReThink, ReOpen and ReBound campaign that includes sharing and showcasing business strategies aimed at successfully re-opening with creative and adaptive mitigation procedures.

Input, Sick Leave Policies, Recovery Resources

Local businesses, workers and customers are asked to fill out the state survey that will help the state develop future industry guidance with regard to physical and environmental adaptations that can make workplaces safer and more protective of local communities. To fill out the survey, click here.

According to Economic Development Director Kathy Gallino, it remains critical to remember that employees needing to self-isolate because of COVID-19 should be encouraged to stay at home with sick leave policies to support that in order to prevent further infection in employers workplaces. For more information on government programs supporting sick leave and workers compensation regarding COVID-19, click here.

As part of their ReThink, ReOpen and ReBound campaign, Angels Camp and Calaveras County, including Economic & Community Development, Public Health, and Chamber of Commerce staff are developing a tool kit to help businesses reopen safely when appropriate. It will be a living, evolving document that remains current with changing regulatory circumstances.

The campaign will include a comprehensive guide for small businesses that focuses on re-opening guidelines; adaptive mitigation procedures; planning for a safe reopening, and printable posters.

The efforts, as part of the countys Business Leadership Collaborative, is also working on a cooperative business recovery message that engages county-wide business leaders to promote operating criteria and provide educational opportunities. Other goals include having an information dissemination process that meets community expectations and resolves business concerns.

Gallino adds that Tea Break Designs, a local small business, has established an e-Commerce website for local businesses who dont have the resources to showcase and sell their wares or services online. Tea Break Designs is not currently charging businesses for this service. To watch an interview with the company about the new website click here.
YEREVAN, MAY 9, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan sent congratulatory messages to the leaders of CIS-member States: President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, President Sooronbay Zheenbekov of Kyrgyzstan, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan, President Igor Dodon of Moldova, and President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan.

In turn, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian Premier Mikhail Mishustin and the leaders of CIS-member States have sent congratulatory messages to the Prime Minister of Armenia on the 75th Anniversary of Victory in World War II.

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated in his congratulatory message:

Dear Nikol Vovayevich,

I cordially congratulate you and all citizens of Armenia on the 75th Anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

Our peoples hold sacred and piously revere the memory of our heroes whose bravery on the frontline and selfless work in rear helped us celebrate victory over Nazism and reinstate peace for future generations.

I am convinced that the strong ties of friendship forged in wartime will continue to serve as a reliable basis for the furtherance of Russian-Armenian allied relations, strengthening multilateral partnership, and will help us defy through joint efforts modern challenges, including the coronavirus pandemic.



I would like to convey to Armenian Great Patriotic War veterans and all those who served in rear my best wishes for good health, happiness, wellbeing and long life.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustins congratulatory message reads:

Dear Nikol Vovayevich,



I cordially congratulate you on the 75th Anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.



On this solemn day, we pay tribute to all those Russians and Armenians who fought side by side against the fascist invaders for the sake of future generations peaceful life.

I am confident that the war-tested friendship will serve as a reliable basis for the strengthening of Russian-Armenian cooperation and partnership, as well as for the furtherance integration within the Eurasian Economic Union.

Dear Nikol Vovayevich,

I would like to convey to the veterans living in Armenia words of deep gratitude, my best wishes for well-being, robust health and longevity.
A group of cannabis industry representatives is slated to meet with Gov. Charlie Bakers reopening advisory board on Saturday to pitch how recreational marijuana stores can reopen safely amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recreational shops have been shuttered since March 24 after being deemed non-essential by Baker. Massachusetts is the only state with legal marijuana that has shut down recreational businesses during the pandemic. Medical marijuana, however, has been deemed essential.

The representatives meeting with the 17-member advisory board include the Commonwealth Dispensary Association, Amanda Rositano, the president of NETA, Kobie Evans, a co-owner of Pure Oasis, Joseph Lusardi, the Chief Executive Officer of Curaleaf, and Jay Youmans, a principal at Smith, Costello & Crawford, according to a person with knowledge of the meeting.

Baker mentioned earlier this week that representatives from the industry would be coming in to speak with the board, which has been tasked with creating a plan to reopen the economy and delivering a report by May 18.

The Cannabis Control Commission is not among the representatives meeting with the advisory board on Saturday, officials said.

Since recreational marijuana stores have been closed, the CCC has reported a spike in new registrations of medical patients.

An increase in medical patients led to concern about the medical supply chain. The commission last month decided to allow the recreational market to support the medical market with wholesale transfers.

During the pandemic, the CCC has allowed medical dispensaries to offer curbside pickup to patients and has said patient renewal certifications can be submitted after a phone consultation.

Related Content:
Customs and Border Protection on Friday evening announced it had awarded a construction contract to an Alabama company called Caddell to build 14 miles of the border wall in Webb County for over $275 million.

This is the first contract awarded to build the wall in the Laredo area; it is funded by Congress 2020 appropriations.

Construction would begin in January 2021, pending the availability of property, according to CBP. The government did not detail exactly where in the county this construction would occur.

When members of the governments border wall team visited Laredo City Council in January, they mentioned that they had been granted the right of entry by about 40% of the affected landowners they have reached out to in the Laredo area. That number has likely increased.

This right of entry is for the government to be able to get onto private land in order to conduct surveys and see where the wall would be best aligned.

So far several local landowners, including individuals and families, the City of Laredo and organizations like Sacred Heart Childrens Home have been sued by the government for not granting this right of entry.

Caddell was one of four companies chosen to build prototype wall designs in 2017, the Associated Press reported.
The Akwa Ibom State government has disclosed that its task force has intercepted a corpse of a COVID-19 victim being smuggled into the...





The Akwa Ibom State government has disclosed that its task force has intercepted a corpse of a COVID-19 victim being smuggled into the State from Lagos State.





The Commissioner of Health in the State, Dr. Dominic Ukpong, made the revelation, adding that the corpse has been buried in accordance with the COVID-19 regulations.





Ukpong spoke at a meeting of the State Incidence Management Committee held at the Ibom Specialist Hospital, Uyo yesterday.





According to the Commissioner, the 6 persons who transported the corpse into the State have been kept in 14 days isolation as they await the outcome of their test for COVID-19.





Dr. Ukpong lauded the security agents in the state for efficiency in the discharge of their duties, especially in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.





He maintained that the deceased was transported in an ambulance from Lagos State on the night of Wednesday 6th May, 2020 and arrived Akwa Ibom State borders at the early hours of the next day.





Ukpong cried out that despite the interstate lockdown, the culprits were able to transport the body through seven states, beating the security formations in those States.





But for the alertness of the police officers posted to our borders, the corpse would have successfully made it to its destination in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area, he said.





He was alarmed that six (6) men bearing a corpse made it past other State borders without being intercepted.




Deciding to live a different life during this pandemic is so difficult, especially on Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's part. They moved across the Atlantic to launch careers in Hollywood as soon as they can to be financially stable.

However, with the coronavirus happening, it looks like the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will have to postpone their plans until next year because, according to a PR expert, film and TV production across Hollywood has been put on hold.

Howard Bragman, CEO of PR firm LaBrea Media that for any A-list work, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are at the way back of the line.

Bragman said, "The newbies - and Harry and Meghan are certainly the newbies - are not going to get first dibs at the good jobs."

This is because a risk-averse Hollywood would rather pay on proven veteran actors, rather than two untested commodities, regardless of their current popularity.

"If you're living next door to Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Aniston or Brad Pitt or Clint Eastwood, you might be famous. But you're probably not as famous as your next-door neighbor."

Experts believe that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's stay in Vancouver Island was just a "stopgap," since they think neither of them can run their new lives in Vancouver Island.

"I think the intention was always for Harry and Meghan to head to California," as per Nick Bullen of True Royalty.

Meghan Markle Waits for Her Time to Shine

For someone like Meghan Markle, who grew up in California, she is just waiting for her chance to shine once again in Tinseltown.

According to Eric Schiffer, chairman of Reputation Management Consultants, "When you have someone who's starry-eyed with respect to Hollywood and the immense opportunities that exist - the people, the relationships they have - it makes a lot of sense that they would come to Los Angeles."

As per his sources, the Sussexes are being shopped for projects with hefty talent fee price tags.

What Could Be the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's Roles?

Prince Harry is currently in unfamiliar territory, so his role may be less well-defined than Meghan.

"It's going to be interesting to see how Harry's brand as an independent person evolves."

As for Meghan Markle, it was reported that the duchess wants to play a superhero in a Marvel movie.

Schiffer said, "I think you could see her in a superhero movie. There will be many colors of characters that I envision her stepping into over the next 24 months."

It is also worth mentioning that Bragman said that the Duchess of Sussex is working with Gersh Agency, who were her previous agents.

Meghan is also working with PR firm Sunshine Saks, one of the biggest PR firms in the US.

"I think a lot of the plans are being driven through them," said Bragman.

Sussex's Bio 'Finding Freedom'

Bragman believes that their upcoming biography will mark a successful attempt to relaunch the couple.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are already telling their story before somebody else will tell their story.

"Somebody was going to write a book on them anyway, so what they probably are doing is a preemptive book."

"Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family" was written by journalists Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand.

"The number one thing you want to do in PR is define yourself, particularly before someone else defines you," said Bragman.

READ MORE: Meghan Markle Selfish: Duchess Prioritizes THIS Over Prince Harry's Mental Health
The Mail on Sunday today launches a 3million support package to help Britain's legion of small firms beat the coronavirus crisis.

The owner of The MoS, Daily Mail, the i and Metro is giving away 3,000 of free advertising in its newspapers to each of 1,000 small businesses as they prepare to do everything they possibly can to bounce back from lockdown.

Our campaign is supported by organisations representing hundreds of thousands of local firms which are the lifeblood of the economy.

The owner of The MoS, Daily Mail, the i and Metro is giving away 3,000 of free advertising in its newspapers to each of 1,000 small businesses

It also aims to raise awareness of the part we can all play in supporting local businesses as the lockdown restrictions begin to be lifted.

The advertising giveaway, which is being launched in tandem with the Federation of Small Businesses, will be open for applications from Wednesday.

It is The Mail on Sunday's way of doing our bit to help family firms that provide incomes for millions of local people in towns across the country, as well as assist start-ups that could turn into the behemoths of tomorrow.

Small companies, which have been battling bravely to keep going with little or no sales, employ 17million people. This represents a huge 60 per cent of the private sector workforce.

Our free advertising offer comes hot on the heels of the Mail Force initiative by MoS owner DMGT and its partners, which has raised more than 6 million to fly in millions of items of vital protective equipment for medical staff and care sector workers amid a global shortage.

The 3million advertising aid package is launched at a critical moment for many businesses. Two major studies today reveal that swathes of small firms face an uphill struggle to reboot their businesses after lockdown.

A survey by Sage  the FTSE 100 giant that supplies small companies with accounting software  found one in three firms expect sales to be 50 per cent lower after lockdown is eased.

A survey by Sage  the FTSE 100 giant that supplies small companies with accounting software  found one in three firms expect sales to be 50 per cent lower after lockdown is eased

Separate research from specialist legal firm Buckworths found a quarter of small firms do not think the Government's existing support measures will be enough for them to survive the economic crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Almost half of the 500 businesses polled are not optimistic about their future and 35 per cent of small firms in the retail, leisure and hospitality industries think it will be a whole year before they fully recover.

There are also concerns that small companies are slipping through the Government's financial safety net. Much of the help provided through banks has been loans as opposed to grants. Small operators are known to be reluctant to take on extra debt.

Kirsty McGregor, founder of consultancy The Corporate Finance Network, said its research suggested that fewer than two per cent of small businesses have made inquiries about applying for the Government-backed loans. McGregor said: 'Some of the Government loans have been great, but some have been really difficult to get and very few people have shown an interest.'

Last night, national organisations working with small firms and self-employed traders said those suffering will need much more Government support.

British Chambers of Commerce director general Adam Marshall says small businesses have driven prosperity in communities

UK Hospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said the lockdown had been particularly 'painful' for leisure and hospitality firms which could face another six months of hardship.

'It's hugely important that people support companies within the community and continue this habit of using local firms as we come out of this.' She said it would be extremely helpful if members of the public could do their bit to back small hospitality firms by postponing rather than cancelling their bookings.

British Chambers of Commerce director general Adam Marshall said: 'The resilience and innovation of small businesses have driven prosperity in communities the length and breadth of the country for decades.'

Mike Cherry, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: 'Our members will be hugely grateful to The Mail on Sunday for this generous offer of support. It's fantastic to see you getting behind them.

'The pandemic is likely to have an impact on businesses for months  if not years  to come.

'Easing the lockdown won't mark the end of the challenges they face and they'll need a lot of help to get back on their feet.

'It won't be enough to rely on word of mouth to attract new customers. A lot of small firms won't have the funds they need to get the word out there. We urge every eligible member to apply to be part of this advertising giveaway.'
The Assam government has decided to increase the excise duty on Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) by 25 per cent, state Industry Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said after a Cabinet meeting on Friday

This will generate an additional income of Rs 1,000 crore for the state to meet the unexpected financial burden and expenditure arising out of the COVID-19 crisis, he said. Many states, such as Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Delhi have already hiked liquor prices to give a boost to their fledging revenue income.

The Cabinet also decided that the tea industry will start operation in full strength maintaining social distancing norms as against the 50 per cent work force deployed since April 13.

At meeting the Cabinet also decided to give nod to the Assam Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020, and repeal the Assam Agricultural Produce Marketing Act 1972. It further decided that the government will release fund for salary of Assam Agriculture Marketing Board if required.

The cabinet introduced fixed term employment, increase in minimum numbers of workers for implementation of Factories Act from 10 to 20 (with power) and 20 to 40 (without power), increase in minimum number of workers for implementation of Contract labour Act from 20 to 50, besides increase in shift hours from 8 to 12 hours during COVID-19 period.

Also read: Consider home delivery of liquor to maintain social distancing, says Supreme Court to states

Also read: Country needs to know when lockdown will be lifted; it's not on, off switch: Rahul tells govt
A Nagpur municipal corporation



(NMC) health official was attacked on Saturday by two men after he clicked photos of a woman who was roaming on a road with two children without wearing face masks, police said.

The injured official is identified as Sanjay Karihar (47), a police official said.

He said the woman called up two men, who came to the spot in Seminary Hills area and attacked Karihar.

The accused are identified as Vinod Shahi (42) and Rajesh Shahi (37), the official said.

A case was registered against them under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

No arrest is made yet.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Travelers flying Frontier Airlines will have their temperature checked before boarding beginning June 1.

The discount airline is the first U.S. carrier to announce the coronavirus safety measure and the second in North America after Air Canada.

The health and safety of everyone flying Frontier is paramount and temperature screenings add an additional layer of protection for everyone onboard, Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle said in a statement late Thursday.

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 and we are taking every measure to help them travel comfortably and safely.

Frontier will be the first U.S. airline to check passengers' temperatures. The policy goes into effect June 1.

All airlines have called for increased health screening to help convince travelers it's safe to fly again. Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly earlier this week said the Transportation Security Administration should add temperature scans at the security checkpoint. The TSA said no decisions have been made.

Biffle said Frontier believes the TSA should handle screenings and that the agency and airport authorities "may be working to lay that groundwork.''

Until then, Frontier wants to do its own screenings of passengers. Employees will be subject to the same standard, Frontier said.

How will Frontier's new temperature scans work?

If the touchless thermometer finds a passenger's temperature to be over 100.4, that person will be given a few minutes to rest. If the second scan is still over that temperature, the passenger won't be allowed to board the aircraft that day.

Frontier said passengers will be screened with touchless thermometers prior to boarding. If a traveler's temperature reading exceeds 100.4, they will be given time to rest before receiving a second check if there is time before boarding.

If the second reading exceeds 100.4, the passenger will not be able to board that day. Frontier said it will work with passengers to rebook traveler on a later date or "otherwise accommodate the travelers preferences with respect to their reservation.''

Frontier passengers already must fill out a health acknowledgement form on the airline's website or mobile app prior to check-in saying that neither they nor anyone in their household has had COVID-19 related symptoms in the last 14 days, that they will not head to the airport if they have a fever and that they acknowledge the airline's new face mask requirement.

Story continues

The face mask requirement begins Friday.

The new normal? US airlines announce requirements for passengers to wear face masks

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coronavirus: Frontier Airlines to start checking fliers' temperatures
State announces safety precautions for congressional runoff voting

In the first North Carolina election since the pandemic, people voting in the 11th Congressional District runoff next month will encounter numerous safety precautions at the polls.

The only runoff in the state, the election will take place on June 23. The state Board of Elections on Friday announced a series of safeguards for Election Day.

All three voting options in North Carolina  absentee by-mail, in-person early voting and in-person voting on Election Day  will be available to eligible Republican and unaffiliated voters in the district.

County boards of elections in the 17 counties that make up the district began mailing absentee ballots to voters who request them on May 8. The last day to request a ballot by mail is Tuesday, June 16. The in-person early voting period runs from June 4 to June 20. On Election Day polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The contest is between Republicans Lynda Bennett and Madison Cawthorn, who are vying for the GOP nomination for 11th Congressional District. The winner will face Democrat Moe Davis, Green Party candidate Tamara Zwinak and Libertarian Tracey DeBruhl in the Nov. 3 general election.

Significant precautions will be taken to protect in-person voters and poll workers at early voting sites and Election Day precincts. They include:

 Masks available for all poll workers and voters who do not bring their own.

 Single-use pens for voters to mark their ballots.

 Single-use cotton swabs for voters using touchscreen voting machines.

 Enforced social distancing for all poll workers and voters, including markings or barriers to

prevent voters in line from standing too close together.

 Hand sanitizer for voters and poll workers.

 Face shields and gloves for poll workers.

 Protective barriers between poll workers and voters at check-in tables.

 Special sanitation kits at each precinct to ensure poll worker protection and clean tables, voting

booths and voting machines throughout the voting process.

 Thorough cleaning of voting sites before and after the election.



Voters should not fear disease when they cast their ballot," said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections. We want them to know that elections officials are taking many steps to protect them and their fundamental right to vote in this second primary. Efforts during this second primary will help us better prepare for any disease pandemic we may face in November.

All registered Republicans who live in the 11th Congressional District may vote in the second primary. Also eligible to vote in the election are unaffiliated voters who live in the 11th District who either did not vote in the March primary, or voted a Republican ballot style in the primary.

Unaffiliated voters who voted a nonpartisan, Democratic, or Libertarian ballot style in the first primary may not participate in the second primary.

Eligible voters can access their sample ballot through the voter lookup tool here.

Absentee by-mail voting: Any eligible voter may request an absentee ballot through June 16, 2020. No excuse is needed. Any voter eligible to vote in the second primary who indicated on their absentee application for the March 3 primary that he or she would like an absentee ballot for the second primary will automatically be sent an absentee ballot. To request a ballot, eligible voters must complete an absentee ballot request form and return it by mail or in-person to their county board of elections. To find your county board of elections click here.

Click here to learn more about how to vote by mail.

In-person early voting: The early voting period for the June 23 second primary is June 4 to June 20. Sites and hours are available here: https://vt.ncsbe.gov/ossite/.

Any registered voter may cast their ballot at any one-stop site in the county. Under state law, voter registration is not permitted between the first and second primaries. This means same-day registration is not available during early voting for the second primary. Voters may make name and address changes during the early voting period but may not change their party affiliation.

Note: These registration restrictions apply only to voters in the 11th Congressional District. Voters outside of the district may register and update their registrations without these limitations.

Election Day voting: Many counties in the district are modifying Election Day polling locations for this election. They will mail notices to all voters affected by the changes.
A man who allegedly threatened police officers he would put bombs under their cars and blow them up and spat all over a PSNI van was freed on bail on Saturday.

Lurgan man James Brady appeared at Lisburn Magistrates Court via video-link from police custody to confirm he understood the seven charges against him.

Brady (22) was charged with causing criminal damage to a police cell van and handcuffs, and threatening to kill police officers intending they would fear it would be carried out. He was also charged with resisting, assaulting and obstructing police and with being disorderly.

Opposing bail, a police constable told the court how officers were called to an ongoing fight at Lime Grove in Lurgan at around 11.30pm on May 8.

When they arrived, Brady was the only person there but was shouting and swearing and being aggressive. The constable added officers were trying to treat his injuries but he became very aggressive to police.

Brady, of Kilvoragh Park, refused to name the people he had been fighting. He also refused to calm down, despite being told to numerous times, and shoved an officer in the chest and tried to head-butt another. He shouted at police that he knew where they lived and would place bombs under their cars and blow them up, said the officer.

When an ambulance arrived to treat him, Brady grabbed scissors from the paramedics pocket and was subsequently put into the back of a cell van. The court heard, however, that Brady spat all over the cell van and the handcuffs which will all need to be deep-cleaned due to these actions.

Defence counsel David McKeown said Brady had been attacked, submitting that while that doesnt excuse his behaviour, it may go some way to explain what happened in that he had reacted badly to that.

He certainly didnt cover himself in glory, said Mr McKeown.

Freeing Brady on his own bail of 500, District Judge Nigel Broderick imposed a complete prohibition on alcohol, and ordered Brady to reside at home, observe a curfew and to be electronically tagged.

Adjourning the case to July 2, Judge Broderick said: This is a clear warning Mr Brady  breach this order and the likelihood is that you will not get bail the next time.
A woman who suffered a miscarriage in quarantine was forced to stay in her hotel room for five more days after she was refused an early release.

The Melbourne woman was undergoing a 14-day mandatory COVID-19 quarantine at the Mercure hotel after returning from overseas when she miscarried on April 15.

She was taken to the Royal Women's Hospital but had to return to the room immediately after she had finished receiving medical treatment.

Soon after she returned, her husband emailed the Victorian Department of Health requesting the couple and their three-year-old son be permitted to carry out the remainder of their mandatory isolation at their Tarneit home in the city's west.

A Melbourne woman who had a miscarriage in a hotel during mandatory quarantine was forced to stay in the room for five more days after the Victorian Department of health bungled her case (stock)

'Since having the miscarriage, she has been struggling to hide her emotions from our three-year-old,' her husband wrote to the department, ABC News reports.

'My three-year-old has been asking why Mum is bleeding and 'why is Mum crying?' It's very hard for us to grieve in quarantine in [a] one-room hotel.

'I am worried about the after-effects, specially [sic] in this situation where she can't even open the door to breathe  I am more worried about the long-term impact on her mental wellbeing.'

In a reply later that evening, the department apologised for the family's loss and said their application would be considered.

As they waited, the couple made regular failed requests to medical staff working at the hotel for permission to leave.

Five days later the family had still not received an answer from the government.

The husband sent the department another email, but when an official replied six hours later to confirm the family could leave the next day, he made a startling admission.

He said the request had been granted the day after her miscarriage, but he had neglected to tell them because he was dealing with an 'extreme number of emails' and had missed the one relating to the family's exemption.

The regulator apologised for his mistake and said her case had led to improvements in procedures to ensure it does not happen to anyone else.

While the woman praised the treatment she received from doctors nurses and hotel staff, she said she was unsettled by the inaction of the DHHS.

The case is one of several identified in an investigation by the broadcaster that indicates the mental health needs of those in quarantine were inadequately addressed.

People held in quarantine have complained of struggling to get help for mental health issues while serving 14-day mandatory quarantine in hotel rooms (stock)

Across multiple states, people held in quarantine said they struggled to get help for mental health issues, which lead to episodes of extreme anxiety, panic attacks and concerns about self-harm.

In April, a Queensland man held in quarantine in Sydney had a panic attack induced by a lack of communication from health officials.

The man had tested positive to COVID-19, and was in his third week of quarantine, but was struggling to get information about what steps he needed to take to be released.

After three days of confusion, he was began experiencing a panic attack but was told by hotel staff there was nothing they could do to help.

He spent three hours shaking and crying in his room before calling the COVID-19 helpline for assistance, to be finally be connected with a nurse and offered access to a psychologist after a two to three day wait.

The man, who has now completely recovered and returned to his Noosa home, has since received an apology from the Sydney Local Health district.

Similarly, a Melbourne man reported a mental health episode during his stay at the Novotel South Wharf on April 22.

He had complained of chest pain from a panic attack caused by being separated from his wife, but had received no response from hotel staff.

The couple had been separated following an argument but their later request to be reunited back in one room was denied.

Once paramedics arrived, he said he was extremely worked up and not in his normal state, driving him to scream and yell in the presence of police officers which could have easily led to his arrest.

A Victorian DHHS spokesperson would not comment on the case but said they knew quarantine could be 'challenging and distressing'.

Inquiries are set to be conducted in multiple states over the mental health treatment available to people in mandatory quarantine. Pictured are passengers disembarking a flight at Melbourne airport to enter mandatory isolation on April 12, 2020

Dr Julie Manasseh said it was clear mental health needs were not considered in the rush to establish secure facilities that could contain COVID-19.

As a GP, she worked at two quarantine hotels in Perth on behalf of a contractor hired by the West Australian Health Department and often consulted distressed guests over the phone.

She said issues often related to mental distress and the situation of isolation, rather than medical problem, as nobody was telling them anything about what was happening and they were stuck in a room for 14 days straight.

It comes as inquiries are set to be held in multiple states over the mental health treatment available to those in mandatory quarantine.

In Victoria, the coroner is investigating the case of a man who is believed to have died by suicide while in quarantine in a Melbourne hotel on April 11.

Meanwhile, the WA Ombudsman is examining multiple complaints about the treatment of a Navy veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder who suffered an extreme relapse in a quarantine hotel.
WASHINGTON  If a Supreme Court vacancy opens up this year, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn says, the Senate has a responsibility to consider a nomination from President Donald Trump. But in 2016, Cornyn joined the GOP in refusing to consider any Obama nominees because the presidential election is well underway.

With 87-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg hospitalized for gallbladder treatment this week and the high courts term ending next month, the prospect of a possible opening has again been raised on Capitol Hill.

TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

Senate Republicans say theyll fill it, despite denying even a hearing for Merrick Garland, whom former President Barack Obama nominated in March 2016, Politico reported Friday.

Among them is Cornyn, who told Politico that if you thought the Kavanaugh hearing was contentious, this would probably be that on steroids.

Nevertheless, Cornyn said, if the president makes a nomination, then its our responsibility to take it up.

But in February 2016, Cornyn signed a letter with other GOP members of the Senate Judiciary Committee refusing to hold any hearings on Obama nominees to fill the vacancy left by the death of Antonin Scalia.

The presidential election is well underway, the letter said. The American people are presented with an exceedingly rare opportunity to decide, in a very real and concrete way, the direction the Court will take over the next generation. We believe The People should have this opportunity.

The president may nominate judges of the Supreme Court, the letter said. But the power to grant, or withhold, consent to such nominees rests exclusively with the United States Senate.

EXPOSED TO COVID-19? Trump valet tested positive before Gov. Abbotts Oval Office meeting

A Cornyn aide said Friday that this election is different and that the senators views have not actually changed. Obama couldnt run again in 2016, and the Senate was controlled by a different party than the White House. It has been more than a century since the Senate confirmed an election-year nominee by a president from a different party.

Since 1900, there were only six times a Supreme Court vacancy popped up in a presidential election year before 2016: in 1968, 1956, 1940, 1932, 1916 and 1912, according to the New York Times. In four of those years, the presidents party also controlled the Senate, which successfully confirmed the nominee, according to the Times.

Youd have to go back to the 1880s to find the last time a vacancy on the Supreme Court occurring during a presidential election year was confirmed by a Senate of a different party than the president, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in a Fox News interview in February. McConnell has said blocking Garlands nomination was one of his proudest moments.

That was the situation in 2016, McConnell said. That would not be the situation in 2020.

ben.wermund@chron.com
A frontline activist, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN, has accused the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike of turning into a dictator. ...





A frontline activist, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN, has accused the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike of turning into a dictator.





He listed some attributes of dictatorship being displayed by the Governor to include the arbitrary arrest of pilots and oil workers; the closure of State boundaries and now an executive order to auction all vehicles impounded for allegedly violating the States lockdown rules.





Wike on Friday arrested 14 persons hidden in two trailers conveying cattle from Adamawa State to Port Harcourt, the States capital





He ordered that the two truck-load of cows and the vehicles be auctioned today.





In a terse statement he entitled, The Emerging Dictatorship in Rivers State and made available on Saturday, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria noted that Wike should know better being a lawyer.





The Governor of Rivers State, His Excellency Mr. Nyesom Wike, is a lawyer, which should be an added advantage to birth good governance, he said.





The Governor also has a reliable partner as a judicial officer, so that both in the office and at home, law is following the Governor and it is written all over him.





But the story of Rivers State in recent times has become a major worry for all lovers of the rule of law and democracy.





From the arbitrary arrest of pilots and oil workers, to the closure of State boundaries and now an executive order to auction all vehicles alleged to have violated the lockdown order of the Governor, it has been one case of illegality to another.





The Constitution grants unfettered right to property and it cannot be circumscribed without following the due process of law.





The Rivers State Governor has no legal right in law to confiscate the property of citizens by executive fiat. Surely, two wrongs cannot make a right.





I urge the good people of Rivers State to stand up to every form of lawlessness and arbitrariness and defend their rights under the Constitution.





The Peoples Democratic Party will be living in condemnable hypocrisy, if it claims to be in opposition to the ruling party but cannot correct the excesses of its own leaders, he added.




The latest:



Three members of the White House coronavirus task force, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, placed themselves in quarantine after contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, another stark reminder that not even one of the nations most secure buildings is immune from the virus.

Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a leading member of the task force, has become nationally known for his simple and direct explanations to the public about the coronavirus and COVID-19, the disease it causes. Also quarantining are Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Stephen Hahn.

Fauci's institute said that he has tested negative for COVID-19 and will continue to be tested regularly. It added that he is considered at relatively low risk based on the degree of his exposure, and that he would be taking appropriate precautions" to mitigate the risk to personal contacts while still carrying out his duties. While he will stay at home and telework, Fauci will go to the White House if called and take every precaution, the institute said.

Redfield will be teleworking for the next two weeks" after it was determined he had a low risk exposure" to a person at the White House, the CDC said in a statement Saturday evening. The statement said he felt fine and has no symptoms.

Just a few hours earlier, the Food and Drug Administration confirmed that Hahn had come in contact with someone who tested positive and was in self-quarantine for the next two weeks. He tested negative for the virus.

All three men are scheduled to testify before a Senate committee on Tuesday. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the chairman of the panel, said the White House will allow Redfield and Hahn to testify by videoconference, a one-time exception to the administration's policies on hearing testimony. The statement was issued before Fauci's quarantine was announced.

Reopenings bring new cases in S. Korea, virus concerns in Italy

South Korea's capital closed down more than 2,100 bars and other nightspots Saturday because of a new cluster of coronavirus infections, Germany scrambled to contain fresh outbreaks at slaughterhouses, and Italian authorities worried that people were getting too friendly at cocktail hour during the country's first weekend of eased restrictions.



The new flareups  and fears of a second wave of contagion  underscored the dilemma authorities face as they try to reopen their economies.

Around the world, the U.S. and other hard-hit countries are wrestling with how to ease curbs on business and public activity without causing the virus to come surging back.



Germany and South Korea have both carried out extensive testing and contact tracing and have been hailed for avoiding the mass deaths that have overwhelmed other countries. But even there, authorities have struggled to find the balance between saving lives and salvaging jobs.

Seoul shut down nightclubs, hostess bars and discos after dozens of infections were linked to people who went out last weekend as the country relaxed its social-distancing guidelines. Many of the infections were connected to a 29-year-old man who visited three nightclubs before testing positive.

Mayor Park Won-soon said health workers were trying to contact some 1,940 people who had been at the three clubs and other places nearby. The mayor said gains made against the virus are now threatened because of a few careless people.

Health officials in Germany faced outbreaks at three slaughterhouses in what was seen as a test of the governments strategy for dealing with any resurgence of the virus during the easing of the restrictions. At one slaughterhouse, in Coesfeld, 180 workers tested positive.

US to buy $3 billion worth of food from farms to provide to food banks

President Donald Trump tweeted that beginning next week, the U.S. will purchase $3 billion worth of food from farms to provide to food banks.



Trump called the initiative Farmers to Family Food Box.

CNN previously reported this program is part of the $19 billion in aid to farmers the U.S. Department of Agriculture that was announced on April 17.

About the program: The USDA is partnering with private distributors who will buy a variety of food and package it into boxes that it will deliver to food banks. The USDA said it will spend $100 million a month on fruits and vegetables, $100 million on dairy products and a $100 million on meat products.

The other $16 billion will be distributed in payments directly to farmers, though that system is not expected to be up and running until the end of May.

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall applauded the USDAs moved on Friday.

We applaud the USDA for its quick action and flexibility in finding a way to get food from Americas farms to the dinner tables of those who need it most. These food purchases will help the hungry while providing income to farmers and ranchers who have seen some markets for their food disappear during the COVID-19 pandemic, Duvall said in a statement.

This news comes as food banks across the country face immense pressure with Americans out of work at historic rates.

A food distribution site with Women Giving Back in Sterling, Virginia, gave away almost 11,000 pounds of food on Saturday to nearly 400 households, according to statistics provided by the group.

The organization was forced to turn five carloads of people away after running out of food.

Federal government sending remdesivir supplies to six states

The federal government is sending supplies of the first drug that appears to help speed the recovery of some COVID-19 patients to six states, where it will be distributed by health departments.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Saturday that it is delivering 140 cases of the drug remdesivir to Illinois, 110 cases to New Jersey, 40 cases to Michigan, 30 cases each to Connecticut and Maryland and 10 cases to Iowa. Each case contains 40 vials of the drug, the department said in a statement.

State and local health departments have the greatest insights into community-level needs in the COVID-19 response, the statement said.

The company that makes the antiviral drug, California-based Gilead Sciences, has said it is donating its entire current stockpile to help in the U.S. pandemic response.

Remdesivir was cleared for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration last week.

The department says the doses have to go to more critical patients including those on ventilators or in need of supplemental oxygen.

FDA grants emergency use for antigen test



The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted the first emergency use authorization for an antigen test for the coronavirus, according to a statement from the agency on Saturday.

This test can detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein antigen, according to the product details outlined in a letter sent by the FDA to the manufacturer.

Often used to check for the flu and strep, antigen tests look for pieces of a virus. That differs from most coronavirus tests, which look for the virus' genetic material and require a number of chemicals to operate, many of which are in short supply.

These diagnostic tests quickly detect fragments of proteins found on or within the virus by testing samples collected from the nasal cavity using swabs, according to a statement from FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen M. Hahn and Dr. Jeff Shuren, director of FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health.

However, they note the tests are not as sensitive as PCR-type of diagnostic tests already authorized by the FDA, and theres a higher chance of false negatives.

One of the main advantages of an antigen test is the speed of the test, which can provide results in minutes. However, antigen tests may not detect all active infections, as they do not work the same way as a PCR test, Hahn and Shuren said in their statement.

Antigen tests are very specific for the virus, but are not as sensitive as molecular PCR tests. This means that positive results from antigen tests are highly accurate, but there is a higher chance of false negatives, so negative results do not rule out infection. With this in mind, negative results from an antigen test may need to be confirmed with a PCR test prior to making treatment decisions or to prevent the possible spread of the virus due to a false negative," the statement continued.



The Associated Press and CNN contributed to this report.


A controversial abortion charity has accepted millions of pounds of funding from a pornography tycoon, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Marie Stopes International (MSI) has received more than 7.5million from sex-toy salesman Phil Harvey, prompting critics to accuse the charity of betraying its stated aim of 'empowering women and girls to take control of their futures'.

Mr Harvey's business, Adam & Eve, was established as a mailorder firm in 1971 and it has become one of America's leading suppliers of erotica, with 60million of adult film and sex-toy sales last year.

Adam & Eve gives away 25 per cent of its profits through Mr Harvey's charitable foundation, DKT International.

According to accounts seen by this newspaper, this includes at least 7.5million in cash and supplies to MSI since 1995.

Philip Harvey, the president of Adam & Eve porn company has given at least 7.5million in cash and supplies to MSI since 1995

Mr Harvey, 82, is a trustee of MSI, but the charity makes barely any mention of him on its website.

London-based MSI, which arranged about five million abortions last year and received 48million of British foreign aid funding, was recently reprimanded by the Charity Commission after chief executive Simon Cooke had his pay doubled to 434,000.

The charity was established by British doctor Tim Black after he saved the Marie Stopes abortion clinic in London from bankruptcy.

He studied at University of North Carolina with Mr Harvey in the late 1960s and they went into business selling condoms through the post, which was illegal at the time.

In 1986, Mr Harvey was charged with distributing obscene material.

The Marie Stopes International clinic in Leeds. Mr Harvey, 82, is a trustee of MSI, but the charity makes barely any mention of him on its website

After an eight-year legal battle, he cleared his name and successfully sued the government.

Meanwhile, Dr Black  the pioneer of the so-called 'lunchtime abortion'  was building MSI into an organisation that now operates in 37 countries.

Andrea Williams, chief executive of Christian Concern, which opposes abortions, said: 'Serious questions need to be asked about why MSI, an organisation which says it is dedicated to empowering women, has received millions in funding from an industry that achieves the opposite.'

MSI said: 'Phil Harvey has spent his life defending sexual and reproductive health and rights, and has played a significant role in expanding access for women across the world. We are proud that he continues to contribute to the organisation.'

Mr Harvey did not respond to requests for a comment.
Canada lost 2 million jobs in April as a result of pandemic-related shutdowns, by far the biggest decline on record but only about half what economists had expected. The drop in employment adds to the 1 million decline in March. The jobless rate jumped to 13 percent in April, the government said Friday. Economists were anticipating a loss of 4 million jobs last month, with the unemployment rate rising to 18 percent. The data provide the most complete picture yet of how nationwide lockdowns are affecting the Canadian economy, which has been hammered by the covid-19 pandemic and tumbling oil prices that have devastated the energy sector.
San Francisco, May 9 : As video calls among families and friends become the new normal in social distancing times, Google has announced fresh features on its video calling app Google Duo, including group calls on the web soon.

In the coming weeks, you'll be able to make group calls with Duo on the web, starting as a preview on Chrome, alongside a new layout that lets you see more people at the same time.

"To make getting together easier, you'll also be able to invite anyone with a Google account to join a group call with just a link," Google said on Friday.

Another new Family Mode feature will let users doodle on video calls for everyone to see and surprise them with fun effects and masks.

The Duo users do not have to worry about accidental mutes or hang-ups because Google has hidden those buttons as people play together.

"This new family mode is available when signed into Duo with your Google account," the company said on Friday.

In addition to bringing masks and effects to the Family Mode, Google said it is also bringing them to any one-on-one video calls on Android and iOS - starting this week.

"We're also rolling out more effects and masks that help you express yourself, from wearing heart glasses to transforming into a flower," said Google.

Last month, the search engine giant rolled out a new video codec technology to improve video call quality and reliability, even on very low-bandwidth connections.

The company also allowed users to click a photo during a video calling.

Google has increased its participant limit on video calls to 12 users and will further increase the limit.

Google is also adding a feature that will now automatically save video and voice messages that previously expired after 24 hours.

Every week, over 10 million new people are signing up for Duo, and in many countries, call minutes have increased by more than ten-fold, according to the company.
While Nickys News covered such juvenile topics as losing a tooth, it also interviewed highfliers including Secretary of War Harry Woodring. It no doubt helped that the Arundels father, Russell, was well connected. He was a former journalist who had worked on Capitol Hill before turning to lobbying, eventually representing the sugar industry. The elder Arundel earned a fortune as one of the largest Pepsi-Cola bottlers on the East Coast.
New Delhi, May 9 : After more than five-year wait, the government may finally throw open the doors of the regulated coal sector for commercial mining by the private sector comprising both Indian and overseas miners in July.

Government sources said that draft rules, bid documents and agreements for commercial mining has been prepared and finalised and it would be approved by Cabinet soon before auctions start. In the first phase a total of about 80 large and small mines would be put up auction for commercial mining.

Government was looking to start auctions in April but lockdown due to Covid-19 outbreak has delayed the process. Government is also reaching out to potential investors including milti-national corporations to ensure the success of its reform initiative. Indian missions abroad have also been activated to identify and get investors on board for possible participation in the auctions.

The decision to permit commercial coal mining would allow domestic mining firms like Essel Mining, Sesa Goa, JSW Energy, Vedanta, Adani and global giants like Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, PesBody, Glencore and Vale to mine and sell and help ramp up output from the country''s huge reserves -- the world's fifth biggest. It will also offer an additional source of fuel for power producers, some of whom often face low coal stocks at their plants.

In order to address the concerns of the potential bidders, the coal ministry conducted pre-bid consultations stakeholders in Kolkata and Mumbai in February. Based on the suggestions received, the government has now agreed to ease bidding conditions that would form part of the document that would go for cabinet approval.

Source said that government is considering allowing composite route for potential bidders of commercial coal mine and offer simultaneous prospecting and mining lease to bidders to ensure certainty on the investments made by the bidders. This would also prevent companies from making aggressive bids that puts the company in a difficult financial situation at production stage.

The bidding document may also offer larger flexibility to prospective companies in terms of revenue share commitment. Draft auction guidelines have proposed a floor price of 4% of revenue share for the auction and bids are to be accepted in multiples of 1% of the revenue share till the percentage of revenue share is up to 10% and thereafter bids would be accepted in multiples of 0.50% of the revenue share. This may be reduced to facilitate ease of bidding and true price discovery.

Also, the bid document may incentivise companies who also offer to undertake coal gasification from mines won by them. The revenue share for coal gasification would be kept low to active participation of companies.

The success of the first bidding round for commercial mines would have to be weighted against lack of investor interest in some of the recent coal auctions for end user plants. Also, the existing slowdown in power demand and disruptions in economic activity may also result in lower interest for the commercial mining rights. Government is this working overtime to see through the success of its initiative.

"It is tough time to get investment commitment from investors even for commercial mining. However, the location of mines and quality and reserve of coal could change investment decisions," said a coal ministry official, adding that size of coal blocks Inder commercial mining route would be substantially large.

The commercial mining auctions could see in all 15 large coal blocks with annual production potential of 5-10 million tonnes being put up for bidding in phases. The reserves in five of these mines could be in excess of 500 million tonnes. These could fetch anywhere between Rs 5,000 and 6,000 crore to the state government. However, in all 80 blocks would be put under the hammer in phases that would also include smaller mines.

If the pilot auctions are successful all future blocks could be considered to be offered for commercial mining with permission even for captive use by end use plants.

As of now, power, steel and cement companies can mine coal but for their own consumption after getting blocks through auction. State-owned Coal India (CIL) dominates commercial mining in India.

Government in January issued ordinance that lifted end use restrictions and opens coal sector for commercial mining. A legislation relating to opening up of coal mining has already been passed by Parliament.

The methodology for auction is expected ask bidders to submit upfront payment and bank guarantees. While the government will not regulate price, marketing or sale of coal, minimum production from the commercial coal mines will be specified. Bank guarantees will be linked to production schedule. Overseas companies bidding for mines would have to get themselves register in India.

Sources said price of coal to be sold by new entrants in mining may be determined on the basis of a formula that would fix prices by taking a mean of weighted average price of global benchmarks as well as prevailing Coal India prices. It would be akin to the gas sector where prices are not market-determined but fixed by the government based on global indices.

Opening of coal sector is a long over due reform initiative that successive governments failed to take forward due to strong opposition from CIL unions.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue testifies during a House Agriculture Committee hearing in the Longworth House Office Building in Washington on March 4, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

USDA Approves $1.2 Billion in Contracts for Farmers to Supply Food to Needy

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on May 8 announced $1.2 billion in contracts to help American producers and communities hit by the pandemic.

The new initiative pairs suppliers of agricultural goods with food banks, community and faith-based organizations, and other nonprofits serving Americans in need, under the USDAs Families Food Box program.

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue characterized the initiative as a new, innovative approach to provide critical support to American farmers and families, in a news release.

The move is part of the USDAs authority under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to buy up to $3 billion of agricultural products from suppliers and deliver them to those in need.

We were pleased to see the abundance of interest from both food distributors and nonprofit organizations, Perdue said. Within days, the Farmers to Families Food Box Program will begin distributing surplus food, while safeguarding food safety techniques, to communities across the country where its needed most.

Under the new program, USDA will issue a call via a solicitation website for proposals to supply commodity boxes to nonprofits. The contracts, awarded by USDA, will be for the purchase of the agricultural products, the assembly of commodity boxes, and delivery to nonprofit organizations, which will distribute the food.

USDA moved as expeditiously as federal procurement rules allow to stand up the program and solicit offers, Perdue said.

President Donald Trump, in a May 9 tweet, wrote: Starting early next week, at my order, the USA will be purchasing, from our Farmers, Ranchers & Specialty Crop Growers, 3 Billion Dollars worth of Dairy, Meat & Produce for Food Lines & Kitchens.

FARMERS TO FAMILY FOOD BOX Great news for all, he said, tagging Perdue and American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall.

Trump on April 17 announced the $19 billion Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, developed to help farmers, ranchers, and consumers in response to the COVID-19 emergency. The program includes $16 billion in direct payments to producers and mass purchases of meat, dairy, vegetables, and other products.

American agriculture has been hard-hit, like most of America, with the coronavirus, and President Trump is standing with our farmers and all Americans to make sure that we all get through this national emergency, Perdue said at a White House news conference.

Farmers and ranchers have struggled to get their goods to market because of disruption caused by the pandemic, forcing some to throw out food and call for government help.

Having to dump milk or plow under vegetables ready to market is not only financially distressing but its heartbreaking as well for those that produce them, Perdue said.

Direct payments will be sent as quickly as possible as farm commodity producers have experienced unprecedented losses, Perdue said, adding that checks could be sent by the end of May.

The $16 billion in direct payments to farmers and ranchers will include $9.6 billion for the livestock industrywith $5.1 billion for cattle, $2.9 billion for dairy, and $1.6 billion for hogs, according to a statement released May 8 by U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee.

In addition, $3.9 billion will be paid to row crop producers, $2.1 billion for specialty crop farmers, and $500 million for other crops, according to the statement. The payments are capped at $250,000 per individual farmer or entity.

The American food supply chain had to adapt, and it remains safe, secure, and strong, and we all know that starts with Americas farmers and ranchers, Perdue said in an April 17 release. This program will not only provide immediate relief for our farmers and ranchers, but it will also allow for the purchase and distribution of our agricultural abundance to help our fellow Americans in need.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Tesla sues California county in virus factory closure fight, threatens to leave FILE PHOTO: Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk speaks at an opening ceremony for Tesla China-made Model Y program in Shanghai

By Tina Bellon and Sinead Carew

(Reuters) - Tesla Inc sued local authorities in California on Saturday as the electric carmaker pushed to re-open its factory there and Chief Executive Elon Musk threatened to move Tesla's headquarters and future programs from the state to Texas or Nevada.

Musk has been pushing to re-open Tesla's Fremont, California, factory after Alameda County's health department said the carmaker must not reopen because local lockdown measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus remain in effect.

In a blog post on Saturday, Tesla said the county's position left it no choice but to take legal action to ensure Tesla and its employees can go back to work.

The company said it had worked out a thorough return-to-work plan that includes online video training for personnel, work zone partition areas, temperature screening, requirements to wear protective equipment and rigorous cleaning and disinfecting protocols.

The company said it had informed health authorities in Alameda County, where the Fremont factory is located, about its restart plans, but claimed the acting official did not return calls or emails.

Alameda County's Public Health Department, which earlier on Saturday said it had been "communicating directly and working closely with the Tesla team," did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tesla filed a lawsuit against the county in San Francisco federal court on Saturday, calling the continued restrictions a "power-grab" by the county since California's governor had said on Thursday that manufacturers in the state would be allowed to reopen.

The company said Alameda was going against the federal and California constitutions, as well as defying the governor's order, the lawsuit said.

Alameda County is scheduled to remain shut until the end of May, with only essential businesses allowed to reopen. The county said it does not consider Tesla an essential business. County officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.

The outspoken Musk also took to Twitter on Saturday to complain and threatened to leave the state.

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"If we even retain Fremont manufacturing activity at all, it will be dependen (sp) on how Tesla is treated in the future," he tweeted, referring to the San Francisco Bay area facility that is Tesla's only U.S. vehicle factory.

Alameda County said on Saturday that it has been working with Tesla to develop a safety plan that "allows for reopening while protecting the health and well-being of the thousands of employees" that work at the factory and that it looks forward to coming to an agreement on a safety plan very soon.

Fremont Mayor Lily Mei expressed concern about the potential economic implications of continuing the shelter-in-place order without provisions for manufacturers such as Tesla to resume. Mei on Saturday urged the county to work with businesses on "acceptable guidelines for re-opening."

Musk had told employees on Thursday that limited production would restart at Fremont on Friday afternoon.

Tesla last year built nearly half a million vehicles at the Fremont plant and moving the entire production facility would be a massive undertaking.

Dan Ives, a Wedbush analyst, on Saturday estimated it could take the company 12 to 18 months to relocate production.

The threat to relocate the facility comes as Tesla aims to ramp up production at Fremont of its Model Y sport utility vehicle, which it expects to generate record demand and profit margins.

Musk, who sparred with California officials in March over whether Tesla had to halt production at Fremont, had criticized the lockdown and stay-at-home orders, calling them a "serious risk" to U.S. business and "unconstitutional."

Tesla shares have risen 127% since March 18, their recent closing low, including a 16.8% gain in the last trading week to close at $819.42 on Friday.

(Reporting by Sabahatjahan Contractor and Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru, Tina Bellon and Sinead Carew in New York; Editing by Daniel Wallis, Chris Reese and Dan Grebler)
US lawmakers have introduced a legislation in Congress to give unused green cards or permanent legal residency status to thousands of foreign nurses and doctors to meet the urgent needs of the overstretched healthcare sector in the country.

The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act would allow for recapturing green cards that were approved by Congress but unused in past years, allowing thousands of additional medical professionals to serve permanently in the United States.

The legislation would send green cards to 25,000 nurses and 15,000 doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure that places like Iowa have the professionals they need to serve patients for years to come, a media release said.

The move is likely to benefit a large number of Indian nurses and doctors, who are either on H-1B or J2 visas.

In the House of Representatives, it has been introduced by lawmakers Abby Finkenauer, Brad Schneider, Tom Cole and Don Bacon. The bipartisan Senate companion bill is led by Senators David Perdue, Dick Durbin, Todd Young and Chris Coons.

"We need all hands on deck to address this generational crisis," Congresswoman Finkenauer said.

"We know this virus will not magically disappear and experts like Dr Anthony Fauci are warning of a second wave this fall. Rural areas, which make up much of my district, remain especially vulnerable and are already experiencing a shortage of medical professionals," she said.

The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act is endorsed by organisations such as the American Medical Association, the Healthcare Leadership Council, the US Chamber of Commerce, the American Association of International Healthcare Recruitment, the American Hospital Association, the American Organization for Nursing Leadership, the Bipartisan Policy Center, the America's Essential Hospitals and the Physicians for American Healthcare Access.

"Physicians fighting COVID-19 are eager to hear these words: reinforcements are on the way. Recapturing 15,000 unused immigrant visas for physicians through the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act would ease the burden on frontline physicians, who are risking their lives in understaffed hospitals," said Patrice A Harris, president of the American Medical Association.

The American Hospital Association (AHA) and the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) said there has never been a more urgent need for the care that foreign-born physicians and foreign-trained nurses provide than during the current COVID-19 pandemic. These professionals play a critical role in ensuring the health of our communities, they said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 12:10:18|Editor: huaxia

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NEW DELHI, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Police personnel gunned down as many as four armed rebels called "Naxals" in India's central state of Chhattisgarh, confirmed a local police official to Xinhua over phone on Saturday morning.

One policeman was also killed in the encounter that began last night and continued till Saturday morning, added the police official.

The incident took place in Madanwara area of the state's Rajnandgaon district. The cop who died was identified as Sub-Inspector Shyam Kishore Sharma.

State Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel tweeted "Four Naxals were killed in the encounter that happened in Rajnandgaon, in Pardhoni village near Madanwara area. One police personnel was also killed in the encounter, I respect his sacrifice." Enditem
PM Gakharia noted that although Georgia recalls its Ambassador to Ukraine Teimuraz Sharashenidze to Tbilisi for consultations, this does not threaten diplomatic relations with Ukraine.

Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia stated today that the strategic partnership between Georgia and Ukraine will not be put under a question mark due to "certain irresponsible politicians."

Gakharia made the remarks amid the former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's recent appointment as the chair of the executive committee of the Ukrainian National Reforms Council, Agenda.ge wrote.

Read alsoSaakashvili outlines main tasks in new position in Ukraine

PM Gakharia noted that although Georgia recalls its Ambassador to Ukraine Teimuraz Sharashenidze to Tbilisi for consultations, this does not threaten diplomatic relations with Ukraine.

"We will recall the ambassador only to consult on how to protect our strategic, brotherly relations with Ukrainian people from avanturist politicians, who, unfortunately, put at risk many things for their unclear personal ambitions and egoism," Gakharia told journalists at Vake Park in central Tbilisi, where he paid tribute to the heroes of the World War II.

He further underscored that now it would be important how the Ukrainian authorities, who consider Saakashvili's appointment as their country's internal affair, will manage to keep him away "from interfering into Georgia's internal affairs."
By Express News Service

The much-awaited Netflix feature film Da 5 Bloods by Oscar-winning filmmaker Spike Lee will premiere on the streaming platform on June 12. The announcement was made by the director in a Twitter post. He also unveiled the first poster of the film. The project is Lees follow-up to BlacKkKlansman (2018). He won an Oscar for best-adapted screenplay at the 91st Academy Awards for this film.

Lee has co-written the film with Danny Bilson, Paul Demeo and Kevin Willmott.The new Spike Lee Joint will drop globally on NetflixFriday June 12th, Lee tweeted.The cast members include Chadwick Boseman, Delroy Lindo, Clarke Peters, Norm Lewis, Isiah Whitlock Jr, Paul Walter Hauser, Jean Reno and Jonathan Majors. The film follows the journey of four African American war veterans who return to Vietnam to search for their dead squad leaders body and a buried treasure.
She has continued to promote her new show Katy Keene online, even while cooped up inside her house.

But Lucy Hale was able to find time away from work on Saturday for a quarantine coffee break with a friend.

The actress, 30, took her mind off her day-to-day routine as she grabbed a cold cup of Joe from Alfred Coffee in Studio City.

Pep in her step: Lucy Hale was able to find time away from work on Saturday for a quarantine coffee break with a friend

Armed with a face mask, Lucy was spotted leaving the trendy cafe with a revitalizing iced coffee in hand.

The former Pretty Little Lies actress wore leggings, a T-shirt, trainers, and a Los Angeles Dodgers hat over her shoulder-length hair.

Lucy's friend got her day started with a warmer beverage, however she was coolly dressed in a tank top and leggings.

Later, Lucy enjoyed some quiet time with her maltipoo Elvis.

Gal pal: Lucy's friend got her day started with a warmer beverage, however she was coolly dressed in a tank top and leggings

Cup of Joe: Armed with a face mask, Lucy was spotted leaving the trendy cafe with a revitalizing iced coffee in hand

The fluffy white dog scampered happily beside his owner, who guided him down the street on a red leash.

In between self-isolating and raising awareness towards healthcare workers, Lucy has been promoting her new CW series Katy Keene on Instagram.

A Riverdale spin-off, the show follows the adventures of Katy (played by Lucy) and her friends trying to make it in New York City.

The musical comedy-drama is about an Archie Comics character of the same name, who originated in 1945 as the brainchild of cartoonist Bill Woggon.
Nitaidas Mukherjee, a resident of south Kolkata, may well be one among the over 17,800 persons cured of Covid-19 till date in the country, but his doctors term his recovery a miracle. The 52-year-old was kept on a ventilator for 38 days before he returned home on Friday, free of the coronavirus.

Doctors at AMRI in Dhakuria where Mukherjee was admitted, said that it was a remarkable feat, as a Covid-19 patient on a ventilator is not considered to have a high chance of survival.

This is my second life you can say. Without the doctors I would have been dead by now. They are the actual heroes, Mukherjee, who is still frail and felt too weak to speak over phone, said.

Mukherjee first began to exhibit symptoms of lower respiratory tract infection in mid-March. Having suffered a bout of pneumonia in 2017, his family comprising his wife, Aparajita, his 75-year-old mother and septuagenarian aunt thought that his bouts of cough were par for the course. However, its when he developed fever that his family decided to have him tested for Covid-19.

One of the guidelines for testing issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) at the time was that a person could only be tested if they had travelled abroad. We didnt have any travel history. But as the symptoms were similar to that of Covid-19, so we decided to take him to a private hospital on March 29. As his condition deteriorated he was put on ventilator the same night. The next day his test results came positive and his battle with death started, said Aparajita (39).

As his condition worsened doctors performed a procedure called tracheostomy, which involves making an incision in the throat to open a direct airway to the trachea for ease of breathing.

Coronavirus disease is a type of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). Normally, ARDS is something that happens over time, but with Sars-Cov-2, its faster: the lungs get inflamed, and fluid leaks into the alveoli. Doctors typically put patients on ventilators to help them re-oxygenate the bloodstream. In a worst case scenario, a cytokine storm is possible: thats when the bodys white blood cells and other antibodies, produced to fight the viral infection, end up attacking the bodys own cells.

Doctors had told me that his condition was extremely precarious. But they never lost hope and continued to fight. I was not sure whether I would be able to see him anymore and prayed to God. He is a social worker and runs a NGO. I believe the prayers of all those he had helped in the past worked and helped him to survive,

A statement issued by AMRI hospital on Friday said: [Mukherjee] has created a record of sorts in India by being the first patient of COVID-19, to have defeated the virus despite being on ventilator for 38 days.

This is indeed a remarkable feat. Staying on ventilation and then returning home is something uncommon, said Sukumar Mukherjee, one of the doctors in the advisory panel set up chief minister Mamata Banerjee to tackle the states response to the pandemic.

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CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat has approached the Delhi High Court seeking an early hearing in her plea for directions to police to make public the list of people arrested in connection with communal violence in northeast Delhi in February this year.

The application for preponing the date of hearing of the petition is likely to be listed on May 12.

The main petition, which has sought that a list of those arrested be put up outside police control room and police stations in the district, should be updated on a case-by-case basis. It is listed for hearing on June 16.

The application for early hearing said the country is suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has declared nationwide lockdown due to which people are not allowed to go out except for essential services.

However, Delhi Police has continued its probe in connection with certain FIRs related to the Delhi violence and as per media reports, the MHA has directed police to ensure that the probe does not slow down and insisted that arrests should continue, resulting in around 50 arrests in the first two weeks of the lockdown itself, it said.

"Therefore, in this situation when there is limited access to courts, unavailability of lawyers, it is more important on the part of Delhi Police to follow the law of the land, to comply with the provisions of CrPC with due regard for health, safety and fundamental rights of the concerned people," the plea, filed through advocate Tara Narula, said.

It said during the investigation, people are unable to avail their rights and the family members are given proper information about those arrested or detained by police.

The application sought directions that copies of FIR, remand application, orders of remand, grounds of arrest and charge sheets be supplied through e-mail/WhatsApp/ post to the families and counsel of accused people.

It also sought that a status report be called from police disclosing the names and numbers of people detained and arrested by the probe agency in relation to the violence in the duration of the lockdown, that is, since March 24.

The high court had earlier sought responses from the Delhi government and the police on Karat's petition.

The petition has also urged the court to direct that "all complaints alleging acts, offences and atrocities by members of the police, Rapid Action Force or state functionaries in relation to the widespread attacks in northeast Delhi be investigated by an independent investigating agency/team".

In February, clashes broke out in northeast Delhi between the groups supporting and opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) last week reported its latest first-quarter results, which makes it a good time for investors to dive in and see if the business is performing in line with expectations. It looks to have been a decent result overall - while revenue fell marginally short of analyst estimates at US$16b, statutory earnings beat expectations by a notable 268%, coming in at US$4.75 per share. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on MetLife after the latest results.

See our latest analysis for MetLife

NYSE:MET Past and Future Earnings May 9th 2020

Taking into account the latest results, the eight analysts covering MetLife provided consensus estimates of US$64.2b revenue in 2020, which would reflect a chunky 10% decline on its sales over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are expected to drop 17% to US$7.81 in the same period. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$65.9b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$4.96 in 2020. While revenue forecasts have been revised downwards, the analysts look to have become more optimistic on the company's cost base, given the massive increase in to the earnings per share numbers.

The consensus has made no major changes to the price target of US$43.44, suggesting the forecast improvement in earnings is expected to offset the decline in revenues next year. That's not the only conclusion we can draw from this data however, as some investors also like to consider the spread in estimates when evaluating analyst price targets. The most optimistic MetLife analyst has a price target of US$59.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$32.00. This is a fairly broad spread of estimates, suggesting that analysts are forecasting a wide range of possible outcomes for the business.

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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. Over the past five years, revenues have declined around 0.08% annually. Worse, forecasts are essentially predicting the decline to accelerate, with the estimate for a 10% decline in revenue next year. Compare this against analyst estimates for companies in the wider industry, which suggest that revenues (in aggregate) are expected to grow 3.2% next year. So it's pretty clear that, while it does have declining revenues, the analysts also expect MetLife to suffer worse than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The biggest takeaway for us is the consensus earnings per share upgrade, which suggests a clear improvement in sentiment around MetLife's earnings potential next year. 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. Still, earnings 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.

Keeping that in mind, we still think that the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for investors to consider. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for MetLife going out to 2022, and you can see them free on our platform here..

Plus, you should also learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with MetLife (including 1 which is significant) .

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.
Professor Joseph Osafo, Head of Pschology Department of the University of Ghana, has called on government to engage religious leaders in giving public education on the novel Coronavirus pandemic.



According to the professional Psychologist, many Ghanaians have reposed confidence in their Pastors and take their word as finality of an issue.



He recounted ridiculous spiritual directions by some Pastors to their congregants and followers which have no scientific basis and not proven to be efficacious medication for the treatment of Coronavirus or any disease.



He alluded to a recent spiritual directive by a Pastor that people should search their bibles and will find a feather that will miraculously cure Coronavirus and other unsubstantiated claims given by some religious leaders to have medicinal properties.



Professor Joseph Osafo, speaking on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo', noted that Pastors and churches have a major influence on their members to the extent that the members turn to them for all medical advice instead of consulting health Professionals.



In one city in Accra in Ghana, over 25% of them called their Pastors and asked them for prayer, and even asked their Pastors what they should do. So, you can imagine if the Pastor who believes in taking medicine, he will tell you to stay home and pray. The role they play is a critical role. Some Pastors even tell their members not to undergo surgery for reason being that they will die if they do and directs them to rely on his prayer meanwhile the person is deteriorating, he recounted.



He apppealed to government to enlist some genuine faith-based institutions to help in educating Ghanaians on the impact of the pandemic and the seriousness in strictly adhering to the health instructions to prevent the spread of Coronavirus in the country.



He believed the religious leaders are a part of frontline workers and their role is crucial to the fight against the pandemic.



. . In fact, they're a major source of health information now . . . And under pandemics, what you want to avoid is miscommunication, rumors, unvalidated claims. You want to avoid that because it can make people react towards health workers. They will not even disclose if someone is infected. They will keep it. So, some of them are calling on their Pastors . . . people were calling their Pastors. They never called medical Doctors. So, they're major tools for health information and the government should look at very organized churches and resource the Pastors. It is even a WHO policy recommendation that you work with faith-based organizations, he told host Kwami Sefa Kayi.







Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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China's President Xi Jinping (R) shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (L) before their meeting in Dalian, northeastern China's Liaoning province, May 7, 2018.

North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un sent a "verbal message" to Chinese President Xi Jinping, praising Chinas effectiveness in stopping the spread of the coronavirus, according to state media, in what analysts said was a strategic move to shore up Pyongyangs relations with Beijing.

Kim congratulated [Xi], highly appreciating that he is seizing a chance of victory in the war against the unprecedented epidemic, the Korean Central News Agency said Friday.

"Kim Jong Un wished Xi Jinping good health, expressing conviction that the Chinese party and people would cement the successes made so far and steadily expand them and thus win a final victory under the wise guidance of Xi Jinping," the report said.

It was not immediately clear when the message was sent or how it was delivered. But it was the second time this year that Kim communicated with Xi about COVID-19.

The North Korean leader in late January said he supported Chinas efforts against the deadly virus, even sending an aid fund to Beijing.

North Korea officially claims that there is not a single confirmed case of COVID-19 inside the country. But public lectures in towns across the country in late March told residents the disease had spread to three parts of the country. Pyongyangs measures to stem its spread, including closing off the Sino-Korean border, have hurt the livelihoods of residents who rely on trade with its northern neighbor.

On top of the pandemic, Pyongyang has been hurting economically due to U.S. and U.N. sanctions aimed at depriving Pyongyang of cash and resources that could be funneled into its nuclear and missile programs.

Strategic pandering

North Korea experts in South Korea saw the messages of support from Kim as a strategic move, pinning the countrys hopes of economic revival on improved relations with China as Sino-American relations have hit a stumbling block of late, with the U.S. blaming the Chinese government for its lack of transparency in the beginning stages of the pandemic.

China would be happy to see a North Korea eager to get behind it at a time when tensions with the U.S. are on the rise. He predicted that trade between the northeast Asian neighbors would resume in full once the coronavirus situation dies down.

As negotiations with the U.S. over Pyongyangs denuclearization have stalled, North Korea is turning to China to bail it out of its current economic malaise, according to the Korea Institute of National Unifications Cho Han-bum.

Kim Jong Un seems like he must be having various difficulties, Cho told RFA.

In fact, China is the only country that can help immediately because the North Korean economy is having very difficult time in the wake of the coronavirus crisis and sanctions.

Chung Jae-hung of the Sejong Institute said North Koras offer of aid was clearly a friendly gesture to China.

For North Korea, this is aimed at laying the groundwork for future negotiations with the U.S. by strengthening ties with countries that are friendly to North Korea such as China and Russia, Chung added.

Customs official banished

In one measure of the economic fallout from the closure of North Koreas border with China, customs officials have been caught smuggling goods across the border or collecting bribes to look the other way for other smugglers.

In the middle of last month, the customs office chairman in Wonjong-ri, Rason was caught by the Security Department trying to smuggle goods into China, a resident from North Hamgyong province, who requested anonymity to speak freely, told RFA on Tuesday.

They found out that he took bribes to send more than 500 kilograms [1,100 pounds] of dried pollack to China using a secret passageway in the customs building, the source said.

The source said that under normal circumstances the customs official would have gotten away with the illicit transfer.

Customs officials regularly conspire with smugglers, and they share their bribes with security agents, the source said.

But now with the coronavirus situation, customs duties have been completely suspended and the number of people working [in the customs offices] was kept to a minimum, the source added.

[This is why] he was caught trying to smuggle the goods to China all by himself.

According to the source, the chairman was fired in late April and deported to a remote region of the country as punishment, after the Security Departments investigation revealed he had often taken bribes and smuggled goods.

Another North Hamgyong resident who requested anonymity confirmed that the customs chairman got caught and was punished.

Customs officers, including the high-ranking customs officials, were hard-hit when the customs door was slammed shut by the coronavirus crisis, the second source told RFA.

The second source confirmed the chairman was banished to a remote area.

Though trade between China and North Korea grinded to a halt in late January due to COVID-19, North Korea has been receiving emergency supplies from China, including food and medical supplies.

Reported by Seungwook Hong and Jieun Kim for RFAs Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
Foremost human rights lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), on Saturday said Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has no right under the law to confiscate property of citizens who allegedly flouted the lockdown order in the state.

The Rivers State Government had directed its Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice to auction all vehicles that were impounded for violating the states lockdown directive.

But in a statement titled: The Emerging Dictatorship in Rivers State Adegboruwa said the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria grants unfettered access to property which cannot be taken with Executive fiat as being done by the governor.

The statement reads: The Governor of Rivers State, His Excellency Mr. Nyesom Wike, is a lawyer, which should be an added advantage to birth good governance.

The Governor also has a reliable partner as a judicial officer, so that both in the office and at home, law is following the Governor and it is written all over him.

But the story of Rivers State in recent times has become a major worry for all lovers of the rule of law and democracy. From the arbitrary arrest of pilots and oil workers, to the closure of State boundaries and now an executive order to auction all vehicles alleged to have violated the lockdown order of the Governor, it has been one case of illegality to another.

The Constitution grants unfettered right to property and it cannot be circumscribed without following the due process of law. The Rivers State Governor has no legal right in law to confiscate the property of citizens by executive fiat. Surely, two wrongs cannot make a right.

I urge the good people of Rivers State to stand up to every form of lawlessness and arbitrariness and defend their rights under the Constitution.

The Peoples Democratic Party will be living in condemnable hypocrisy, if it claims to be in opposition to the ruling party but cannot correct the excesses of its own leaders, he said
New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks as he departs his daily press briefing in Albany, New York, on May 1, 2020. (Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images)

Rare Syndrome Tied to COVID-19 Kills Three Children in New York: Cuomo

Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Saturday that three children in New York have died from a rare inflammatory syndrome believed to be linked to the COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP virus.

Calling it a truly disturbing development, the governor said he was increasingly worried that the new syndrome posed a newly emerging risk for children, who had previously been thought to be largely immune to severe illness from COVID-19.

Doctors describe the mysterious condition as pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome, and note that it has elements of toxic shock and Kawasaki disease, a disorder that causes swelling of arteries throughout the body and can cause heart problems.

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, in which he said that the the full spectrum of disease is not yet known.

The same condition 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, Daskalakis noted.

Cuomo on Friday disclosed the death of a 5-year old linked to COVID-19 and the rare new inflammatory syndrome, noting that it was the first such known fatality in New York. On Saturday, Cuomo told a daily briefing that the new illness had now taken the lives of at least three young people across the state.

He said state health officials were reviewing 73 cases where children exposed to COVID-19 also exhibited symptoms of the syndrome.

Cuomo said New Yorks health department had partnered with the New York Genome Center and the Rockefeller University to look at whether there is a genetic basis for the new condition, adding that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had asked New York to develop national criteria for identifying and responding to the unknown disease.

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.

Kawasaki disease, with symptoms that can include high fever and peeling skin, causes swelling in the walls of medium-sized arteries throughout the body, according to the Mayo Clinic. The disease, sometimes called mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome, primarily affects children. The inflammation it causes tends to affect the coronary arteries, which supply blood to the heart.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Gardai at the scene of the attack in Darndale yesterday

A 38-year-old man who was stabbed multiple times in both legs and suffered a broken nose was accused by a gang of thugs of attending the funeral of slain hitman Robbie Lawlor.

The victim, who is well known to gardai and from Darndale, was being treated at Beaumont Hospital last night for his non-life threatening injuries.

The shocking attack happened at Marigold Park in Darndale shortly before 1pm yesterday.

Sources said last night that a gang of ruthless teenage crack cocaine dealers, led by a thug with close links to murdered gun victim David 'Fred' Lynch, were behind the vile attack.

Parties

"A lot of this crew openly celebrated the death of Robbie Lawlor last month. They hated him. They held street parties after he was shot dead," a source said last night.

"In fact they are the same gang who robbed a pair of flip flops from Lawlor in an incident last December and then goaded him on social media.

"Now they have taken it upon themselves to attack anyone they think was associated with Lawlor and that man was stabbed and beaten yesterday after they accused him of attending Lawlor's funeral in Laytown."

A garda spokesman told the Herald: "Shortly before 1pm a male in his 30s sustained injuries during an altercation with a number of other males in the Marigold Park, Darndale.

"He was taken by ambulance to Beaumont Hospital for treatment to apparent leg injuries. It's understood he sustained a stab wound to his leg.

"His injuries are not thought to be life-threatening."

There have been no arrests in the case but officers believe that the prolific young gang who were feuding with Lawlor before he was murdered in Belfast were behind the attack.

One of the main players in the mob is a teenager who was closely linked to David 'Fred' Lynch, who gardai believe was shot dead by reputed gangland hitman Lawlor in 2009.

The volatile teenager was shot twice in the stomach as he sat in a car on Fairlawn Road in Finglas at 10pm on Saturday, March 14.

No arrests have been made so far in that case and sources say the teenager, who has multiple gangland enemies, is refusing to co-operate with gardai.

The young criminal spent a number of weeks being treated at St Vincent's Hospital for horrific injuries, including to his liver, but was discharged in time to celebrate the murder of Lawlor with his thug pals.

He cannot be named because he is facing serious criminal charges before the courts.

The teenage suspect from Darndale has been investigated but not arrested in relation to two gangland murders that happened in his locality last summer.

One of these cannot be outlined here for legal reasons but the other is the fatal shooting of Iranian national Hamid Sanambar (41), who was shot dead outside the family home of slain Sean Little last May.

Brutal

He is also being investigated for the gangland murder of Lawlor's key ally and brother-in-law Richie Carberry (39) in Bettystown, Co Meath, in November.

The man who was attacked yesterday has a number of previous convictions and is known to gardai. It is unclear whether he actually attended Lawlor's funeral last month.

The stabbing happened just hours after PSNI detectives carried out further searches in the Ardoyne area of Belfast in relation to the brutal gun murder of Lawlor (36) on the morning of April 4.

There have been no charges but five arrests in the PSNI probe into the brutal gun murder of the notorious gangland hitman.
The Isle of Wight is being used as a site to test launch the app (Steve Parsons/PA)

Residents of the Isle of Wight have shared mixed feelings about the Governments decision to use the island as a testbed for a new Covid-19 contact-tracing app.

The app was made available to NHS and council staff on Tuesday before being widened to the general Isle of Wight public on Thursday.

A nurse living on the island, who wished to remain anonymous and whose wife is seriously ill with Covid-19, told the PA news agency he intends to download the app in the absence of an alternative but worries it could prove a gimmick.

The idea of using technology to support public health is an excellent idea, he said.

The issue for me isnt about privacy  what good is that if were bankrupt or dead? Its about effectiveness and competence.

The nurse said the NHS doesnt have a strong history of effective IT systems, noting that his own practice still uses paper records, referrals and clinical requests.

Expand Close The app is being tested on the Isle of Wight (Department of Health and Social Care) PA / Facebook

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He said he also feels the Governments handling of the coronavirus crisis has been incompetent and many decisions have been political or for public image.

I think this government wants to stamp a made in Britain sticker on a final success, he said.

My wife has been seriously ill with Covid. We were tested on Friday and still dont have the results.

This is because the Government wanted to get that 100,000 headline, but didnt have the capacity to actually do the testing. Our test results are thus now obsolete and out of date.

The app needs to be part of an effective strategy, otherwise its a gimmick.

Another resident, Shaun Davis, from Newport, said he is all for the app and felt there has generally been a lot of positivity locally.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step and all going well will lead to the eventual easing of lockdown and strict social distancing, the 36-year-old told PA.

I had to chuckle at Matt Hancocks comment, where the Isle of Wight leads, the rest of Britain will follow, because it has been joked that the Isle of Wight has always been a generation behind the rest of the country  so theres a first for everything!

Mr Davis, who works for a wholesaler providing materials to organisations including the NHS and Ministry of Defence, said he does not share other peoples data security concerns.

Smartphones are traceable even without the app we have to do something  the virus isnt going anywhere and we cant all remain in our homes indefinitely, he said.

But local parish councillor Daryll Pitcher, who says he is also the Covid-19 response coordinator for the islands Wootton village, did not welcome the opportunity to become a guinea pig, and doesnt intend to download the app.

I am greatly concerned that this trial has been imposed on the Isle of Wight and I believe that the final say should have been local, Mr Pitcher said.

Can you imagine the reaction if they had tried to impose this on Scotland?

Mr Pitcher, a former Ukip parliamentary candidate for the Isle of Wight in 2017 and 2019, also said he has concerns regarding his civil liberties and data security.

He said he feels the island is not a suitable testing area due to its demographics and geography, both of which vary from the UKs national average.

There is no point testing in an area you can be reasonably certain it will never work, he added.
With the Congress announcing a second candidate, contest is likely for nine seats of Maharashtra Legislative Council for which Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is among those in the fray.

Contest will become inevitable if no candidate withdrew nomination by May 14.

As the Congress had earlier decided to field only one candidate for the May 21 election, there were nine candidates in the fray for as many seats.

But on Saturday evening, state Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat tweeted that Rajkishore alias Papa Modi will be party's second candidate besides Rajesh Rathod, Jalna zilla parishad member whose name was announced from Delhi. He was confident that both will win, Thorat added.

Modi is the party's Beed district unit chief.

The 288-member Maharashtra Assembly forms electoral college for the polls, and a candidate needs 29 votes to win.

The Congress has 44 MLAs.

The last day of filing nomination is May 11, scrutiny of nominations will take place on May 12 and the last date of withdrawal of papers is May 14.

The nine seats fell vacant on April 24 after terms of the sitting MLCs ended.

The Shiv Sena and NCP, other two ruling alliance partners, have so far announced two candidates each, while the opposition BJP has announced four candidates.

Thackeray, who is not a member of either Houses of the state legislature, and incumbent deputy Chairperson of the Legislative Council Neelam Gorhe are the nominees of the Sena while Shashikant Shinde and Amol Mitkari are the candidates of the NCP.

Former NCP MP Ranjitsinh Mohite Patil, Gopichand Padalkar, Praveen Datke and Ajit Gopchhade are the nominees of the BJP, which has the highest 105 MLAs.

The BJP nominees filed their nominations on Friday.

Thackeray will be filing his papers on May 11.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The IFJ has joined the National Union of Journalists in the UK and Ireland in demanding sickening death threats against Sunday World and Sunday Life newspaper workers be lifted.

The threats, issued by the dissident loyalist group, the South East Antrim Ulster Defence Association (UDA), is being taken seriously by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and by the media company, which also publishes the Belfast Telegraph, Sunday Independent, Irish Independent, the Herald and a range of regional titles.

Seamus Dooley, NUJ assistant general secretary, said:

"This is a vile attempt to intimidate editors, journalists and publishers.

"It is the latest in a series of threats in Northern Ireland against journalists but is all the more sinister because it is a blanket threat against two newspapers, titles which have served the people of Northern Ireland fearlessly and often in the face of threats.

"In a week in which we marked World Press Freedom Day this is a grim reminder of the threats faced by many journalists across the globe by those who have reason to fear a free, independent and questioning press.

IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: At a time when key workers such as journalists are working extra hours and in incredibly stressful situations this blanket threat against newspaper workers is sickening.

The threat should be lifted immediately and unconditionally.

The current threats are the latest in years of intimidation of the Sunday World and its journalists by loyalist paramilitaries. Sunday World journalist Martin O'Hagan, who was Secretary of Belfast and District branch of the NUJ, was killed in 2001.

He was shot dead by a gunman as he and his wife Marie walked home from a night out in a local pub in Lurgan on September 28, 2001. The shots were fired from a passing car, which drove away at high speed.
Thats a pretty serious omission. The states bars and restaurants employed upward of 500,000 people at the time of the shutdown. To her credit, Mayor Lori Lightfoot has set up working groups with representatives of various sectors, including the food and beverage business, to provide recommendations. But even her slow reopening plan for the city of Chicago could end up strangling a once-thriving food and dining scene.
A couple who made up a batch of home-brew beer to get round South Africa's tough alcohol ban during lockdown died in agony after drinking one bottle of the ale each.

Tony Hilliar, 54, and Alida Fouche, 42, had run out of their own supplies of alcohol and decided to make their own brew with no end of the controversial restrictions in sight.

It is believed both collapsed at their home in Port Nolloth in Northern Cape province after sampling the homebrew and that estate agent Tony made a desperate call for help.

South African couple Tony Hilliar, 54, and Alida Fouche, 42,died after making their own illicit supply of beer to get around their country's strict alcohol ban

After drinking some of the home brew, Ms Fouche collapsed. Mr Hilliar called for an ambulance and collapsed holding his stomach in agony. He died a short time later in hospital

Emergency services who arrived at the scene found secretary Alida already dead on the floor and her fiance Tony writhing in agony nearby clutching his stomach in pain.

He was rushed to hospital but died and police investigators sent two empty bottles of home brew beer for forensic testing fearing that they died from alcohol poisoning.

The rest of the batch which had not been drunk was also seized and taken away for laboratory testing.

Close friend Tommy Cockcroft, 52, said: 'They both liked a drink at the end of the day which is typically South African but thanks to this poorly thought out government ban there is no alcohol.

'Everyone is making their own beer so Tony did as well but it seems something went terribly wrong with the brew and that they both collapsed and died very senseless deaths.

'This alcohol ban is just beyond total belief and there is no sense whatsoever in it and the sooner people are treated like grown ups the better' he said.

Friends of , Ms Fouche, pictured, and Mr Hilliar claimed the alcohol ban was responsible for their deaths

Pastor Bertus de Jager who knew the couple well said: 'They were very much in love and you would always see them around the town or on the beach hand in hand together.

'They were lovely people and had been together about six years and were engaged to be married two years ago. This is so so tragic' he said.

South African Police spokesperson Brigadier Mohale Ramatseba confirmed that Alida was found dead at the flat and that her partner died in intensive care in the local hospital several days later.

He said: 'A 42-year-old woman was found dead in a flat and 54-year-old man was found in extreme pain and subsequently died in hospital and an inquest docket has been opened for both.

'Two empty bottles of homemade brew have been seized for forensic tests' he said.

South Africa went into Covid-19 lockdown six weeks ago on March 26 and among the many restrictions was the total ban on the sale or purchase or transportation of alcohol.

Now there is growing anger amongst the 58 million strong population at the ban on alcohol sales after President Cyril Ramaphosa said it would only last three weeks but has been rolled over twice.

He has also banned the sale or purchase of cigarettes nationwide as part of his strict coronavirus lockdown which only a week ago allowed people to exercise within 5km of their homes.

The illicit production of home brewed alcoholic pineapple beer has gone through the roof with 10 times as many pineapples now being bought than when the alcohol ban was brought in.

Google announced that 'how to brew homemade alcohol' was amongst their top internet searches in South Africa and it is almost impossible due to demand to find brewing yeast in supermarkets.

South African Breweries have also just announced that it will have to pour 400 million bottles of beer down the drain as they are not allowed to transport it to their bottling plants.

President Ramaphosa however is refusing all calls to relax the hugely unpopular alcohol or cigarette bans despite the colossal loss to the struggling country in taxation revenue.

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said earlier this week: 'I don't like the ban on alcohol and tobacco. I lost the debate in Cabinet and therefore I must toe the line or I must leave the Cabinet'.

Parliament's Finance & Appropriation Committee was also told that the tax lost by the alcohol ban for just April alone was the equivalent of 29.5m for beer, 13.3m for wine and 17.7m for spirits.

That does not include 13 days of lockdown outside April and with no end in sight of the ban being lifted there is growing anger amongst the population at off-licences staying shut.

The South African Liquor Brandowners Association called for the ban to be lifted stating that the revenue loss to the nation was enormous and that the industry was deeply affected.
As coronavirus cases continue to rise, the Centre has said that the country must learn to live with the virus.

We will have to learn to live with the virus, for which it is important to make critical behavioural changes and incorporate all the preventive guidelines that the health ministry has been issuing on following hand hygiene, cough etiquette and social distancing measures, as part of our daily routine. It is an everyday battle for us to keep the infection at bay, Union health ministry joint secretary Lav Agarwal said on Friday.

The Covid-19 national tally inches toward the 60,000 mark with over 16,000 patients who have recovered from the deadly contagion and have been discharged from hospitals. More than 1,800 people have lost their lives in the battle against coronavirus.

Heres taking a quick look at top developments:

1. Five hospitals, two from Ahmedabad and one each from Chennai, Jodhpur and Bhopal, have so far been approved to conduct randomised controlled clinical trials under WHOs Solidarity Trial to find an effective treatment for Covid-19.

2. Anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine has failed another test to check its efficacy in treating the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), a new study has revealed, with patients admitted to hospitals showing no change in their conditions after being administered the medicine.

3. Under its repatriation programme for nationals stranded abroad in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak, flights carrying Indian nationals will be arriving today from Dhaka, Kuwait, Muscat, Sharjah, Kaula Lampur, London and Doha under the Vande Bharat Mission, news agency ANI reported. Two flights carrying a total of 335 people from the Gulf countries landed in Keralas two airports on Friday night.

Under #VandeBharatMission, four flights carrying Indian nationals will be arriving  Kuwait to Cochin (arrival at 2115 hrs), Kaula Lampur to Trichy (arrival at 2140 hrs), London to Mumbai (arrival at 0130 hrs of 10th May) & Doha to Cochin (arrival at 0140 hrs of 10th May). (2/2)  ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

4. The Union health ministry on Friday revised its discharge guidelines for coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patients, requiring only patients who had developed a severe illness or have compromised immunity to test negative through a swab test before they are allowed to leave the hospital or a care centre.

5. Kerala on Friday completed 100 days since the first coronavirus case was reported on January 30. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the Covid-19 curve in the state had flattened marked by high recovery and low mortality rate. The CM, however, said that the time was not to lower the guard against the deadly contagion as cases continue to rise rapidly across the country.
Kadhimis vote of confidence

The vote of confidence in Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi by Iraqs Council of Representatives (the Iraqi parliament) this week has the feel of change.

His Cabinet is composed of technocrats and professionals, as Ali Mamouri explains. There is no sense of entitlement in Kadhimi and his team; they are there to do the business of Iraq.

Kadhimis priorities, also approved by the parliament, include dramatic and urgent economic reforms; implementation of a new electoral law; settling outstanding issues with the Kurdistan Regional Government (Dana Taib Menmy has the story); and restricting weapons to state and military institutions, meaning that all armed groups or Popular Mobilization Units must fall under authority of the state.

Iraqs power brokers have gotten the message that a system that often appeared to be a division of the spoils wont cut it anymore. The protests that began in October signaled what we called here the beginning of the end of the post-Saddam Hussein era. The mostly young and diverse protesters were no longer giving Iraqs leaders a pass on governance, whatever their bona fides may have been in the struggle against the dictator decades ago.

Kadhimi benefits from strong ties with all of Iraq's constituencies and power centers, as well as the goodwill of Washington, Tehran, the Gulf and all key regional capitals. The protesters seem to be giving him space, for now, to implement his program. The new prime ministers partnerships with Iraqi President Barham Salih and parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi  the so-called "three presidents"  are expected to be smooth and harmonious. All three know the immensity of the challenges and the stakes for Iraq.

US deft diplomacy during transition

The Trump administration played this transition as well as it can be played. The State Department offered a "strategic dialogue" with Iraq on April 7, two days before Salih designated Kadhimi to form a government, as Adnan Abu Zeed reported. In discussing Iraq last month, US officials praised Kadhimi, but steered short of an endorsement, making clear this was an Iraqi process. In the meantime, Kadhimi received the backing of Iran and the United Arab Emirates, among others, to form his government.

On April 27, as Kadhimis candidacy seemed to stall, the United States renewed a sanctions waiver for Iraq on Iranian electricity imports for only 30 days, another kind of signal that Iran was still front and center in US priorities in Iraq.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was among the first to congratulate Kadhimi on May 6, extending the waiver to four months, through Iraqs hot summer, and giving the prime minister some breathing room on a vexing issue.

Iraq has been seeking to lessen its dependency on Iranian electricity, including through an arrangement with the Gulf Cooperation Council via Kuwait, but this is a long term process, as Ali Hashem explains.

Five priorities for US-Iraq strategic dialogue

Despite the hopeful signs around Kadhimis transition, Iraqs economic crisis is dire, its political institutions fragile and its security situation perilous. The risk of state collapse remains real. The US-Iraq strategic dialogue next month is as urgent as ever, and can and should be considered in regional context, along with Iraqs own objectives.

Any good strategy involves some priority setting, so here are five:

First, in the realm of security, the Islamic State has launched a spate of attacks in regions it previously held, as well as in areas relatively close to Baghdad. The US-led coalition needs to intensify its engagement with Iraq to prevent a repeat of 2014. US troops will be essential, perhaps with NATO cover, to mitigate concerns among some Iraqis. The United States and Iraq cant give IS any quarter. The conversation needs to start here.

Second, the United States is best placed to continue to assist Iraq in reforming its security institutions and training of its military forces, as outlined in this report by Ben Conable at RAND. US-Iraq military-to-military ties are well established and a strong foundation.

Third, the United States should consider Iraq a regional security hub and partner. Kadhimis program calls for an integrated system of common and shared interests  to contribute effectively to resolving regional and international crises, combating terrorism, money laundering, and organized crime. This type of regional security arrangement, focusing on counterterrorism and border security issues, and building on the work with the anti-IS coalition, can be part of the US-Iraq conversation.

Fourth, like the rest of the world, Iraq is reeling from the impact of COVID-19. Compounding that is the steep drop in oil prices, which amplified already dire economic conditions in Iraq. There is no forthcoming bailout, as the United States, Europe, and the Gulf oil producers are all going through the same thing.

Kadhimis governance plan includes dramatic steps for reform and diversification of Iraqs economy away from oil, and developing other sectors, including agriculture. The United States can assist, including in facilitating Iraqs engagement with the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other international organizations. The long-term remedy for Iraq will require the types of public sector reforms  cuts in government employees, salaries and subsidies  that in the short run cause even more pain for citizens already experiencing hardship. The demands for transparency to battle corruption wont be easy. The World Bank proposes shifting Iraq to a digitally based economy, and the United States can help, although this is a long game, involving partnerships to build Iraqs educational and technological capacity.

Here, too, the United States can back an essential regional role for Iraq in meeting the economic crisis. In March 2019, Salih described his vision of an integrated region, both in the battle against extremism and as part of a network of interrelated interests such as regional railways, pipelines and free trade zones across Iraqs borders with all of its neighbors.

Iraqs Arab relations will likely see further evolution under the new government. Kadhimi has already received calls from King Abdullah of Jordan, Kuwait Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other Arab leaders. The Arab world is invested in Iraqs success, and Iraq is invested in deepening its Arab ties. Last year, Iraq enacted trade and economic arrangements with Jordan and Egypt, and began expansive talks with the Gulf, to implement that vision.

In an interview with Al-Monitor in September 2019, just days before the protests started, Salih spoke of the urgency for a regional dialogue on youth unemployment, job creation and reform of the health and education sectors. Now that is more true than ever.

Fifth, the United States and Iraq will of course talk about Iran. While Iraq knows that its future depends on weakening Irans hold on its political and economic life, it also knows that it cannot be a battlefield involving the United States and Iran. Kadhimi, Salih and other Iraqi leaders are not just giving lip service to "sovereignty." There is a post-sectarian, nationally focused Iraqi identity that is taking form. This distinctly Iraqi trend, which is a work in progress, is inclusive, mostly secular and often anti-Iranian. Iraq as a battlefield is among those outcomes that would facilitate state collapse.

For Iraq, at least in the short term, the challenge of Iran is managed, not solved. Iraq cannot and wont put itself in conflict with Iran, and prefers good relations with its larger neighbor. The United States can and should understand that, keeping the conversation and pressure in confidence with Iraqs leaders, rather than in public, and working with and through Iraq on how best to deal with Iran. Iraq, for its part, knows it is on notice that the United States wont tolerate a threat to its interests or forces in Iraq. There is already a meeting of the minds on this.
The Massachusetts Senate plans to take up a bill next week that would require the state to publish additional data on coronavirus cases and deaths, including data from nursing homes and correction centers.

The Senate drafted its version of a data collection bill passed by the House in April that similarly establishes reporting requirements from the state and launches a task force to examine disparities in barriers to testing and care and access to medical supplies, such as personal protective equipment.

The legislation comes as Massachusetts officials try to limit the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 4,000 residents and infected more than 75,000 people statewide.

Both the Senate and the House bill would require the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to compile and share data daily that includes the total number of people tested for COVID-19, who tested positive, how many were hospitalized and how many died. The bills require both daily updates and the totals since the state of emergency was declared on March 10.

The Senate bill, S.2695, requires a breakdown of the data by gender, race, ethnicity, primary municipality of residence, age, disability, primary language, job and any other demographic information that the department deems important to understand the disparate impact of COVID-19 on certain populations.

The House bill, H.4672, requires a breakdown by gender, race, ethnicity, primary municipality of residence, age and, when it comes to hospitalizations, whether the patient speaks English as a second language.

Both bills require data on cases and deaths at long-term care facilities, including assisted-living residences, and county and state correctional facilities.

Under the Senate bill, the daily reporting requirements would remain in effect until the governor certifies that DPH has gone 30 days without a positive COVID-19 test in Massachusetts.

The Senate bill also requires that long-term care facilities notify residents and their representatives within 12 hours if there is a confirmed COVID-19 case or death among residents or the staff or if three or more people show respiratory symptoms over 72 hours.

Since the governor declared a state of emergency nearly two months ago, various advocates and lawmakers have raised concerns about potential disparities in prevention, testing and treatment of COVID-19. Black and brown residents were among the hardest hit, particularly essential workers and people living in dense cities such as Chelsea.

Western Massachusetts lawmakers raised concerns that there might not be enough testing or protective gear available across the state, including rural areas, and called on the state to release more data.

DPH started requiring labs to share race and ethnicity data with the state in April. After initially resisting calls to produce town-by-town data, DPH started producing weekly reports of COVID-19 cases by community.

Civil rights advocates have raised the alarm about county jails and state prisons in Massachusetts that did not immediately issue masks to staff or prisoners, calling for the release of prisoners. They warned prisoners could not properly distance themselves from each other and that those with pre-existing conditions were at heightened risk of contracting the coronavirus.

After advocates and attorneys sued the state, the state Supreme Judicial Court ruled some pretrial detainees could be released because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The court rejected requests to for a mass release of prisoners during the pandemic.

One of the worst outbreaks started in a nursing home where information about COVID-19 cases was not made public until days after the first death. At least 12 veterans had died in the Holyoke Soldiers Home by the time lawmakers, who struggled to get information themselves, confirmed that the coronavirus was spreading in the facility.

FILE - This May 2018 file photo ,shows an aerial view of the Holyoke Soldiers' Home in Holyoke, Mass. Nearly 70 residents have died from the coronavirus at the central Massachusetts home for aging veterans, as state and federal officials try to figure out what went wrong in the deadliest outbreak at a long-term care facility in the U.S.Patrick Johnson | The Republican via AP

As of Friday, 78 veteran residents have tested positive, and 73 of them have died, according to the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. Eighty-three employees have tested positive.

Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse said spent multiple days trying to confirm rumors of coronavirus cases at the facility but didnt get answers. He ended up seeking help from the Baker administration on March 29, a Sunday, saying he didnt hear much urgency from the Soldiers Home, according to communications obtained by the Springfield Republican / MassLive.com.

Superintendent Bennet Walsh, who denies ever keeping officials in the dark about the cases, was suspended shortly after. The matter is now under investigation by the U.S. Attorneys Office and the Massachusetts Attorney Generals Office. The state appointed an independent investigator to look into what happened.

Under the bills, the Legislature would launch a task force to look into possible disparities. According to the Senate bill, the task force would come up with policy recommendations that address health disparities for underrepresented populations based on culture, race, ethnicity, language, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, geographical location and age.

Among other things, the task force would look at ways to improve safety for essential workers, residents and staff of group homes and other facilities licensed by the state, prisoners and staff at county jails and state prisons, people with pre-existing conditions who are considered to be high-risk and people living in communities hit hardest by COVID-19.

The task force would include a coalition of legislators or designees who would be expected to have health care or public health backgrounds. They would be expect to represent diverse areas of the state population.

The House bill calls for a 13-member task force, including 5 members appointed by the Senate president, 5 members appointed by the House speaker, 1 members appointed by the minority leader in each body and the chair or a designee of the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus.

The Senate bill calls for a 16-member task force with 6 members appointed by the Senate president, 6 members appointed by the House speaker, 1 members appointed by each minority leader, the chair or a designee of the Massachusetts Asian-American Legislative Caucus and the chair or a designee of the BLLC.

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BURLINGTON  Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos received dog waste in the mail on Thursday. The next day, Robert Prailes, a self-described centrist who had announced he was running as a Democrat against Vos to represent Wisconsins 63rd Assembly District, dropped out of the race because his family had become the target of some really ugly and personal attacks.

These are signs that animosity and anger can reach extremes on both sides of the aisle.

Im not going to say any side is guiltier than the other. We are all guilty, said Vos, who added that he has already received numerous death threats after he led the effort not to postpone the April 7 election.

Feces, death threats and Twitter

The vitriol didnt come from either candidate in the 63rd District election directly.

Vos described Prailes as a good person (who) wants whats best for his community. The two men have known each other for decades and grew up together in the same Burlington neighborhood; their fathers were friends.

Prailes  a lifetime Burlington resident, former alderman and contractor  announced on April 30 that he was running to represent District 63, which stretches from Burlington to Mount Pleasant.

That day, Prailes said that most of his friends (even the more conservative ones) were supportive of his choice and told him they would be voting for him. But he also told The Journal Times that he was immediately met with criticism from some who he had considered friends who chastised him for trying to unseat one of Wisconsins top conservatives.

We are more separated than we have ever been before, Prailes said on April 30, adding that he wanted to run because he believes he has an ability to unite people rather than an ability to divide people.

But just eight days later, the things people were saying to Prailes and his family had become too much. In a statement Friday, Prailes said: I quickly realized that I am not the type of person who thrives in this type of situation, and that I had not adequately prepared my family for the consequences that would arise from my candidacy  I wasnt going to be able to be myself on the campaign trail knowing that my familys health and happiness could be jeopardized.

He continued, I feel it is the best course of action for my family for me to step aside today, before things get worse. The statement did not say from whom the ugly and personal attacks came.

Vos has dealt with criticism since being elected to the Assembly in 2004, and thats only ramped up since becoming the face of Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly. But the dog poop that arrived in the mail on Thursday stood out.

We can respectfully disagree. We can argue. We can even yell on occasion. But if yelling, swearing, accusing others is your go to response, you need to seriously think about your anger and how to resolve that issue, Vos said in a Facebook post with a picture of the canine feces inside an envelope. Can we just get back to debating the issues civilly and stop the name calling?

When Vos first joined the state Legislature, he said that fewer than 1% of the constituents who spoke with him were rude, even when they disagreed. In recent years, the majority of people are still polite, but more and more will swear at him or flip him off.

But trying to quiet supposed name-callers led to a lawsuit against Vos. The speaker said he started blocking people who swore at him on Twitter, but U.S. District Judge William Conley ruled in 2019 that public figures cant block accounts on social media because it violates free speech rights; social media is considered to be a public forum by the Supreme Court of the United States. Conley also wrote that Vos and two other Republicans had chosen to block accounts because of their liberal views, not because of profanity.

Despite the uniqueness of the mailed feces, Vos said it wasnt the most concerning thing hes received in the mail. In the days surrounding last months statewide election, Vos said he received five death threats after he was instrumental in preventing in-person voting from being postponed.

We reported that to the police and we had squad cars outside my house. But the fact that someone in the state Legislature has to have police protection because people are threatening your life just goes to show that our country is losing it, he told The Journal Times Friday. These are important issues, but theyre not worth the anger and the vitriol that people have.

Shared blame

Vos blamed two things for the rise in vitriol over the past decade: social media and national news television.

Social media is a cancer and it is destructive to our body politic, Vos said. Its harder to be rude to somebody when youre interacting with them on the phone or in person vs. through an email or through a Facebook post. Thats part of the problem. A lot of the rudeness is social media; some has bled over into peoples personal relationships.

He added that Most people get their political information from television and they tend to watch a station that agrees with what they believe, and because of alleged bias from those outlets, people are driven further apart depending on which station they tune into most often.

Vos used two people at the national stage to illustrate the problem: Democratic-Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Republican President Donald Trump.

The fact that Bernie Sanders says that Republicans hate the working guy and were all bought by big business and all that stuff. And Donald Trump says Democrats dont like working and dont want to help business and all these other kinds of things and theyre evil too. Neither of them are doing us any favors.

Vos rebuked some of the more extreme opinions coming from Wisconsins right wing during Reopen Wisconsin protests.

Youve never heard me say he (Gov. Tony Evers) is a Communist or hes a fascist, because I dont believe he is. He just has a different opinion that I dont agree with, Vos said, referring to some comparing the Democratic governor to Adolf Hitler. We can have a difference of opinion and that doesnt mean Im a Nazi or a Communist. Everybody goes to extremes.

The election goes on

The Prailes campaign said that it has already started the process to refund donations.

Prailes concluded by stating that he hopes someone else will choose to run, based on the positive feedback he did receive during his short campaign.

I think the overwhelmingly positive response of the last week shows that there is a thirst for civility and service before self-interest that has been sorely lacking from our politics, he said.

District 63 includes Burlington, Dover, Rochester, Union Grove and Yorkville, as well as portions of the Town of Burlington, Mount Pleasant and Sturtevant.

Vos won the 2018 election 16,775 votes to 10,705 against Joel Jacobsen, a Democrat and former Burlington alderman.

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Sophie Monk sparked rumours that something is brewing in the Bardot camp as she and fellow bandmate Sally Polihronas shared friendly photos to social media on Friday and Saturday.

Sally, 43, started the love-fest, posting a number of photos to Instagram on Friday of the pair together.

Alongside the retro photos, Sally penned: 'Looking through the archives and I'm so grateful to have had @sophiemonk to live through my Bardot days with.

It's on? Sophie Monk sparked rumours that something is brewing in the Bardot camp as she and fellow bandmate Sally Polihronas shared friendly photos on Friday and Saturday. Both pictured in a throwback photo

'Some of the best memories are with her and we have quite a few. Love ya Soph. What a ride!

'Sometimes time when you catch up with old friends it like no time has passed. Tag your soul friends!' she added.

In the replies, Sophie, 40, commented: 'Love you Sal!!!! I can't wait to cuddle you again when we're out of this'.

Sweet: Sally, 43, started the love-fest, posting a number of photos to Instagram on Friday of the pair together

Alongside the retro snaps, Sally penned: 'Looking through the archives and I'm so grateful to have had @sophiemonk to live through my Bardot days with. Some of the best memories are with her and we have quite a few. Love ya Soph. What a ride!

Close: 'Sometimes time when you catch up with old friends it like no time has passed. Tag your soul friends!' she added

In the replies, Sophie, 40, commented: 'Love you Sal!!!! I can't wait to cuddle you again when we're out of this'.

Fans were quick to comment, with one writing: 'Join the reunion!!! PLEEAASSEEE and tell Sophie too as well!' while another said: 'The fans miss you guys!'

Sophie then shared one of the photos of the pair together to her own Instagram Stories.

It comes after the Love Island Australia host apparently blocked her old Bardot bandmate Tiffani Wood on Instagram after the group began discussing a possible 20-year reunion last month.

Wanted: Fans were quick to comment, with one writing: 'Join the reunion!!! PLEERAASSEEE and tell Sophie too as well!' while another said: 'The fans miss you guys!' Pictured: Katie Underwood, Sally Polihronas, Sophie Monk, Tiffani Wood and Belinda Chapple pose in a Bardot group shot from 2000

Sophie is also reportedly deleting references to Bardot from her social media page.

Tiffani, 42, told The Courier-Mail: 'Sophie doesn't like the association with Bardot. Anything that's tagged with Bardot on her page she deletes.

'A fan pointed that out to me, I've been blocked by Sophie on Instagram, so I used another profile and had a look and she's deleted most references to Bardot, which is where she came from.'

Ouch: It comes after the Love Island host apparently blocked her old Bardot bandmate Tiffani Wood (pictured) on Instagram after the group began discussing a possible 20-year reunion last month

Tiffani pointed out that Sophie's efforts to distance herself from the girl band, which formed on Popstars in the year 2000, didn't make any sense.

'Chris Hemsworth still talks about starting on Home And Away. Kylie Minogue honours Neighbours and Charlene.

'She may not have the same career without that. To me, it's just logical to be grateful about how you got your start,' she said.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has resumed work on a project to rehabilitate eight bridges over Interstate 95 and CSX Railroad in the City of Chester. Initial work will not impact I-95 traffic, but work next will include ramp closures with detours.

Beginning May 18 through June 26, the ramp from Chestnut Street to northbound I-95 will be closed and detoured 24/7 for sign structure installation. During the closure, passenger vehicles will be directed to use 12th Street, U.S. 13 (Morton Avenue/Chester Pike/West Chester Pike) and Stewart Avenue to access northbound I-95. Large trucks will be directed to use 12th Street, Edgmont Avenue, Providence Avenue and 22nd Street to access northbound I-95.

Under this $28.6 million improvement project, PennDOT is rehabilitating the multi-span, steel girder bridges on Potter Street, Madison Street, Upland Street, Melrose Avenue, Chestnut Street, Edgmont Avenue, and the Crosby Street and Walnut Street pedestrian structures. The contractor is also improving the I-95 south exit ramp at Chestnut Street.

PennDOT owns the Edgmont Avenue and Madison Street bridges, and the City of Chester owns the remaining six structures.

In addition to the bridge and ramp improvements, PennDOTs contractor is repairing Chestnut Street and Morton Avenue from 12th Street to 4th Street; reconstructing curbs and sidewalks; milling and resurfacing the streets; installing a new traffic signal at Chestnut Street and Morton Avenue; upgrading the traffic signal at Morton Avenue and 7th Street; and reconstructing Morton Avenue from 7th Street to 4th Street to lower the road under the Amtrak overpass to increase vertical clearance.

South State, Inc. of Bridgeton, N.J. is the general contractor on this project which is financed with 100 percent state funds. The entire project is expected to finish this summer.

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There will also be overnight lane and shoulder closures on several state highways in Delaware County this week, including Interstate 95, Interstate 476 and U.S. 1, for guide rail repairs. Weather permitting, these operations are scheduled to take place Sundays through Fridays, from 9:00 PM to 5:00 AM, through Friday, June 5.

The work schedule is:

* Northbound and southbound I-95 between the Delaware State Line and Bartram Avenue Interchange in Chester, Chichester, Lower Chichester, Ridley, Upper Tinicum, Upland, Ridley Park and the City of Chester;

* Northbound and southbound I-476 between I-95 and Montgomery County Line in Ridley, Nether Providence, Marple, Haverford and Radnor; and

* Northbound and southbound Township Line Road/Media Bypass between the Chester County Line and the Montgomery County Line in Upper Darby, Haverford, Springfield, Marple, Upper Providence, Middletown, Birmingham, Concord and Chester Heights.

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Southbound I-95 motorists will also encounter single lane closures at two locations in Delaware County next week for barrier removal and other construction activities in Lower Chichester, Upper Chichester, Chester, Ridley, Tinicum, the City of Chester, Upland and Ridley.

The work schedule is:

* May 14, 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., single lane closure on southbound I-95 between the Naamans Creek Bridge and the Delaware state line for barrier removal; and

*May 156 a.m. to 6 p.m., single lane closure on southbound I-95 approaching the Market Street Interchange for moment slab construction.

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PennDOT has also scheduled resurfacing operations on King of Prussia Road between Eagle Road and Biddulph Road in Radnor this week. Motorists will encounter lane restrictions from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 11 through May 15.

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Gradyville Road in Concord Township will be closed in two different locations over the next two weeks for tree trimming operations. The work will take place weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The work schedule is:

* May 13 through May 15 between Middletown Road and Valley Road. During the closure, Gradyville Road motorists will be detoured over Middletown Road and Valley Road.

* May 18 and May 19 between Valley Road and Springwater Lane. Gradyville Road motorists will be detoured over Old Gradyville Road/Creek Road, Sweetwater Road and Valley Road.

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Construction activities continue this week on the project to replace the bridge that carries Palmers Mill Road over the Springton Reservoir in Upper Providence and Marple.

Palmers Mill Road will be reduced to a single lane with flagging between Lakeview Drive and Newtown Street Road weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through the end of October.

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WVPP Town Center LP is planning a single lane closure weekdays on Baltimore Pike between Valley Road and Pennell Road in Middletown, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. from May 13 through May 29 for paving operations.

*

Aqua Pennsylvania is planning lane closures with flagging on West Chester Pike between Media Line Road and Sproul Road in Marple weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through early July for water main installation.

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For information on projects occurring or being bid this year, those made possible by or accelerated by Act 89, or those on the departments Four and Twelve Year Plans, visit www.projects.penndot.gov

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 860 traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.

For PennDOT information, visit www.penndot.gov. Follow local PennDOT information on Twitter at www.twitter.com/511PAPhilly, and follow the department on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pennsylvaniadepartmentoftransportation and Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennsylvaniadot
Megyn Kelly says she became curious about Tara Reade from the intermittent and irregular bursts of news coverage about her accusations against Joe Biden. Kelly wondered about the personal side of the story: How was Reade holding up amid the doubters, the death threats and Biden's categorical denial of her allegations?

So the former Fox News and NBC host decided to call Reade last week and ask her herself. A conversation grew from it. A relationship formed. And though Kelly says she hadn't planned on it, an interview did, too.

On Friday, Kelly presented the result - the first on-camera interview with the woman who claims Biden sexually assaulted her when she was an aide in his Senate office in 1993. The 42-minute video is a concise encapsulation of Reade's specific claims against Biden, her background, and her reaction to the backlash that has swirled around her since she first came forward in a podcast interview a month ago.

Yet instead of airing on one of the many networks that sought to interview Reade, the sit-down debuted on an oddly low-profile venue - Kelly's YouTube channel, her primary platform since her most recent television job ended 18 months ago.

Reade was set to speak to Chris Wallace of Fox News last weekend, but canceled, citing unspecified concerns about her safety after Biden's May 1 appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." She also canceled on CNN's Don Lemon at the same time. CBS, MSNBC and NBC pitched Reade, with no luck.

Reade's attorney, Douglas Wigdor, said Reade chose Kelly because she had a "comfort level" with her and the producer Kelly hired, Rich McHugh, formerly with NBC News.

Reade's story has taken a circuitous path through the media, in part because her public accusations against the former vice president have evolved.

Last year, she was one of several women who told reporters that Biden had made them uncomfortable with his physical closeness; Reade described the then-senator once putting his hand on her neck during a meeting but did not suggest that he had made a sexual advance.

But in the podcast interview in March, she said that Biden pinned her against a wall in a Senate corridor and groped her under her skirt, an allegation she repeated to Kelly. She later gave interviews about this accusation to The Washington Post and the New York Times, among other outlets.

Biden has strenuously denied her accusation, first via statements from his campaign and then last week in the interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

Kelly said it was during a conversation with Reade last week that Reade suggested Kelly interview her. "I think she thought I was the perfect person for this. She knew I would ask tough questions and, as she put it, that I am 'trauma-informed.' She knew my [background] and knew that I have often found myself in the crosshairs of powerful men."

Indeed, at Fox News, Kelly rose to stardom during the reign of Roger Ailes, and later alleged that Ailes had harassed her early in her TV career. She was part of an uprising by women at the network that ended Ailes' career in 2016 (an episode portrayed in the movie "Bombshell," with Charlize Theron playing Kelly in an Oscar-nominated role). Kelly also famously challenged candidate Donald Trump during the first Republican primary debate in 2015 about his misogynist comments, which elicited a hostile backlash and more abuse from Trump.

Kelly also said that Reade "seemed to be having difficulty getting her story out," especially on television. But she said that began to change last week after McHugh added some important elements to the story, reporting in Business Insider that two friends said Reade disclosed details about the alleged assault to them a few years later. One of the women, Lynda LaCasse, who was Reade's next-door neighbor at the time, said she remains a Biden supporter.

Kelly agreed to question her, and flew from Montana, where she has been staying since the coronavirus pandemic began, to Northern California to conduct the interview on Wednesday in a hotel suite. She declined to disclose the exact location, citing concerns for Reade's safety.

As it happens, Kelly and Reade also have an attorney in common: Wigdor, who just started representing Reade and previously represented Kelly in her dealings with former employer NBC. Kelly and Wigdor, however, said there was otherwise no connection between Wigdor and the interview. (Wigdor was a Trump donor and supporter in 2016, though he has also represented many of the female Fox employees alleging sexual harassment by Trump allies Ailes and Bill O'Reilly.)

Kelly maintained that she did not land the interview with promises of going soft on Reade. "I'm not one of those people who 'believe all women.' I'm a lawyer at heart. I like due process, and I want to hear all the facts. . . . I hate partisanship. I know people will laugh at that because I worked at Fox for 13 years, but I do. I'm on the side of the truth."

To help her produce the Reade interview, Kelly hired McHugh, a highly regarded news producer who has previously reported on Reade's allegations.

McHugh and Kelly both had stormy departures from NBC. On her short-lived morning show, Kelly alienated some colleagues by spotlighting sexual misconduct allegations against anchors Matt Lauer and Tom Brokaw and for calling for an independent investigation of the network's decision to spike its reporting about Harvey Weinstein, the Hollywood producer convicted in February of assault and rape. Ultimately, her show was canceled in late 2018 because of low ratings and amid a mini-controversy over Kelly's tone-deaf comments about wearing blackface, and NBC bought out her reported $23 million-per-year contract early last year.

McHugh, the producer of Ronan Farrow's investigation of Weinstein at NBC, left the network along with Farrow after a dispute over their reporting in 2017 with NBC News resident Noah Oppenheim, prompting Farrow to publish it in the New Yorker, winning the Pulitzer Prize and helping to spark the #MeToo movement. Both Kelly and McHugh have reportedly cooperated in an investigation of alleged sexual harassment, gender discrimination and retaliation at NBC News by the New York attorney general's office.

In an interview, McHugh said Reade "was looking for someone who brings an understanding of sexual harassment and is empathetic to sexual assault victims," and felt comfortable with Kelly.

Kelly said she takes "no position" on Reade's accusations. "I'm 100 percent nonpartisan about this," she said. "I really don't want to take a position on it."

Kelly said she intends to make clips of the interview available to the networks she beat to get it. "What makes me happy," she said, "is that I don't need corporate overlords standing over me to report the news."

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The Washington Post's Elahe Izadi contributed to this report.
By Lucia Mutikani

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy likely lost a staggering 22 million jobs in April, in what would be the steepest plunge in payrolls since the Great Depression and the starkest sign yet of how the novel coronavirus pandemic is battering the world's biggest economy.

A report that is closely watched in any given month but especially so now with non-essential businesses in mandatory shutdowns nationwide to contain the coronavirus, the Labor Department's monthly employment report on Friday is also expected to show the jobless rate surging to at least 16% last month. That would shatter the post-World War Two record of 10.8% touched in November 1982.

The numbers will likely strengthen analysts' expectations of a slow recovery from the recession caused by the pandemic. It would add to a pile of bleak data on consumer spending, business investment, trade, productivity and the housing market in underscoring the devastation unleashed by lockdowns imposed by states and local governments in mid-March to slow the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the virus.

The economic crisis spells trouble for President Donald Trump's bid for a second term in the White House in November's election. After the Trump administration was criticized for its initial reaction to the pandemic, Trump is eager to reopen the economy, despite a continued rise in COVID-19 infections and dire projections of deaths.

"Our economy is on life support now," said Erica Groshen, a former commissioner of the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics. "We will be testing the waters in the next few months to see if it can emerge safely from our policy-induced coma," added Groshen, who is now a senior extension faculty member at the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

The historic dive in April nonfarm payrolls predicted in a Reuters survey anticipates job losses in nearly all sectors of the economy, with larger layoffs in the leisure and hospitality industry - mainly restaurants and bars. It would follow the shedding of 701,000 jobs in March, which ended a record streak of employment gains dating to October 2010.

Story continues

Estimates in the survey ranged to as much as a loss of 35 million. Forecasts for April's unemployment rate, which was at 4.4% in March, were as high as 22%.

There is great uncertainty surrounding last month's estimates because of the nature and speed of the job losses.

A total of 26.5 million people had filed claims for jobless benefits and 16.2 million were on unemployment rolls through the week of April 12, when the government canvassed establishments and households for payrolls and the unemployment rate.

Eligibility for unemployment benefits has been greatly expanded to include contractors and gig workers among others, overwhelming local employment offices with applications and leading to backlogs. Economists believe the numbers of people applying for unemployment aid and those continuing to receive benefits are understated.

Meanwhile, some people might be filing more than one claim, and workers whose hours have been cut because of COVID-19 can also seek unemployment benefits.

GREAT UNCERTAINTY

Some workers who have filed claims have likely since found employment, with companies like Walmart <WMT.N> and Amazon <AMZN.O> hiring workers to meet huge demand in online shopping. Truck drivers are also in demand, while supermarkets, pharmacies and courier companies need workers.

According to the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, which compiles the employment report, a person has to be looking for work and available to do it to be considered unemployed.

"This means many workers who lose their job as a result of the virus will be counted as dropping out of the labor force instead of as unemployed because they are unable to search for work due to the lockdown, or because they are not available to work because they are, for example, caring for children whose school has closed," said Heidi Shierholz, a former chief economist at the Labor Department.

Furloughed workers and others who expect to return to their jobs within 6 months are counted as unemployed on temporary layoff.

A drop in the labor force participation rate, or the proportion of working-age Americans who have a job or are looking for one, could blunt some of the anticipated surge in the unemployment rate in April.

To get a clearer picture, economists will focus on a broader measure of unemployment, which includes people who want to work but have given up searching and those working part-time because they cannot find full-time employment.

April could, however, mark the trough in job losses as more small businesses access their portion of an almost $3 trillion fiscal package, which made provisions for them to get loans that could be partially forgiven if they were used for employee salaries. The Federal Reserve has also thrown businesses credit lifelines and many states are also partially reopening.

Still, economists do not expected a quick rebound in the labor market.

"Given the expected shift in consumer behavior reflecting insecurities regarding health, wealth, income, and employment, many of these firms will not reopen or, if they do reopen, hire fewer people," said Steve Blitz, chief economist at TS Lombard in New York. "This is one reason why we see the underlying recession extending through the third quarter."

Economists say the economy entered recession in late March, when nearly the whole country went into COVID-19 lockdowns.

The National Bureau of Economic Research, the private research institute regarded as the arbiter of U.S. recessions, does not define a recession as two consecutive quarters of decline in real gross domestic product, as is the rule of thumb in many countries. Instead, it looks for a drop in activity, spread across the economy and lasting more than a few months.

(Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
WASHINGTON, May 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Crowdfunding platform Crowdpac announced today that it launched a fundraising campaign to support the family of slain Georgian Ahmaud Arbery. Arbery was shot and killed on February 23 while jogging in Brunswick, GA.

Video released on May 4 appeared to show Arbery running innocently down a quiet street in the Satilla Shores neighborhood of Brunswick, GA, the county seat of Glynn County. In the video, shot by a passerby, Arbery attempted to run around a white pickup truck occupied by two armed men, father and son, Greg and Travis McMichael. At the end of the video, Arbery is shown falling to the ground with blood on his shirt. He died shortly thereafter.

Before retiring, Greg McMichael worked the Glynn County Police Department. According to a police report, McMichael told police that his son Travis shot Arbery, whom they suspected in a string of burglaries, after Arbery attacked him as he stood in the road with a shotgun. There are no reports on record of such burglaries, and the video released Tuesday indicates no such struggle occurred. Local prosecutors declined to file charges in the case.

"We are launching this fund to support Ahmaud's family. They are fighting for justice for Ahmaud and all the other families that have been victimized under the same horrifying circumstances," said the leaders of Crowdpac. "We are sending out this plea to our four million members to support the Arbery family. Crowdpac is waiving all of its fees to make sure 100% of the money our members donate goes directly to the family should they chose to accept it." The fund can be found here: https://www.crowdpac.com/campaigns/395160/supporting-ahmaud-arberys-family.

Late in the evening on May 7, the Georgia Bureau of Investigations arrested Greg and Travis McMichael, more than two months after the killing. Tom Durden, the district attorney in Hinesville, GA is overseeing the case alongside the Bureau.

Today, Crowdpac also launched a petition on the site calling for justice for Arbery and pressing District Attorney Durden to fully prosecute the case. According to the leaders of Crowdpac, "It is unconscionable to think that these arrests would never have been made without the release of the video earlier this week. We owe it to Ahmaud and so many others to keep the pressure on prosecutors to see this case to the end." The petition can be found here: https://www.crowdpac.com/petitions/6.

Crowdpac was launched in 2014 to support progressive candidates and causes and to date has raised $16 million. To learn more, visit www.crowdpac.com.

Crowdpac does not endorse any statements, candidates, political action committees, petitions, opinions or other messages sent or hosted by Crowdpac. Such statements, candidates, political action committees, petitions, opinions or other messages are those of the author, creator or organizer and do not necessarily represent the views of Crowdpac.

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Mother nature is forcing Staten Island University Hospital Souths nurses and Patient Care Assistants to wait a few more days before they get a well-deserved thank you.

Go In Your Purse For a Nurse (GIYPFN), which has raised over $21,000 over the last month in an effort to reward SIUH Souths aforementioned healthcare workers, postponed Saturdays gift-card distribution at the hospital because of inclement weather.

Although there is still a possibility of rain showers on Saturday, GIYPFN organizers ultimately pushed back the distribution to over 400 nurses and PCAs because of forecasted high winds. In addition to having a DJ (E-Squared Productions), several tents will be put up to host the event.

The good news is, the make-up date is not too far away. It will take place Wednesday between 5:30-7:30 p.m. at SIUH South.

GIYPFN, which was founded by Loreen and Dr. Sal Indelicato, is encouraging people to drive by with signs, waves, cheers and honks in support of the healthcare heroes it is honoring. It also emphasized that social distancing will be practiced and everyone that attends should be wearing a mask.

If you wish to make a donation, its not too late. Please search Facebook.com/Go-In-Your-Purse-For-A-Nurse or visit GIYPFNs new website (www.purseforanurse.org).
Days after the gas leak incident in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam, former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has requested the Centre to form a panel of scientific experts to probe the incident which left atleast 11 dead and more than a 1000 affected.

Naidu wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to constitute a 'Scientific Experts` Committee' to investigate the gas leak incident and the circumstances that led to the release of toxic vapours/gases.

The letter states: "The company claims that the gas leaked out was Styrene, however, there were conflicting reports of other toxic gases being present there, it needs to be investigated to understand the enduring health impacts."

The TDP chief urged that national and international health experts be brought in to check for a thorough assessment of the affected so that appropriate measures are taken and a suitable compensation is handed out.

On Thursday, a gas leak from the plant of LG Polymers in RR Venkatapuram village in Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh was reported.

Within hours of the matter being reported, PM Modi had called a meeting of National Disaster Management Authority officials at his residence to hold discussions over the incident with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in attendance.

Meanwhile, taking note of the matter, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) issued notices to LG Polymers, Union Environment Ministry, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and others. It also directed the company to deposit an initial amount of Rs 50 crore as compensation for the damages.
It forms where the mighty Indus river flows into the Arabian Sea, creating a complex system of swamps, streams and mangrove forests. A triangular piece of fertile land is created when the fast-flowing river deposits rich sediment as it empties into the sea.

Known as the vertebra of Pakistans ecology and economy, the Indus delta is the fifth largest in the world and home to the seventh biggest mangrove forest. In recognition of its international importance, the wetland was designated as a Ramsar site in 2002.

What you dont see, you cannot feel. This phrase was used by Tanzeela Qambrani, Pakistans first lawmaker of African descent, to encapsulate the plight of the impoverished communities living in the once-flourishing Indus delta. Qambrani, whose Sheedi community is concentrated in the coastal regions of Makran in Balochistan province and Sindh, said the level of poverty is incredible.

For years, the communities in the delta have reported the loss of livelihood, an increase in disease and forced migration to cities which are already densely populated. Almost everyone you know has tested positive for Hepatitis C, said Qambrani.

Last year, The Third Pole reported that around 1.2 million people from the delta have already migrated to Karachi.

However, dam construction and mismanagement of water by the government have significantly reduced river flows, causing the delta to shrink, and threatening both human life and its ecology. The absence of flowing freshwater allows seawater into the delta, destroying the soil and the aquifers, making it unfit for humans, animals or crops.

Altaf Siyal, a professor at the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (MUET) in Jamshoro which led the study, was its lead author. When the delta was a flourishing ecosystem, it had 17 creeks, he told thethirdpole.net . Today, there are just two active ones left.

With the help of remote sensing and geospatial tools, the 15-month long study conducted by five university researchers found that nearly 60 percent of the tidal floodplain was barren, while 32 percent was under water. Satellite images revealed that from 16 percent in 1990, the floodplain covered by mangroves had been reduced to 10 percent. By 2017, even with the concerted efforts of the government and conservationists, it increased to just 13 percent.

The study made some startling revelations. Among the most shocking discoveries is evidence that, over the last two centuries, the delta has shrunk by 92 percent.

Yet, despite pleas from the communities and compelling recommendations made by experts in a first-of-its-kind study published in 2018 , not much has changed.

There are acres of land where nothing can grow, and people are forced to remain only because they do not have the resources to migrate. To understand the extent of their despondency, she said, Pakistans Prime Minister Imran Khan must visit the delta himself.

For years the disadvantaged communities living in the delta have been largely ignored. Image via The Third Pole/ Altaf Siyal

Floodplains covered by mangroves are fast disappearing. Image via The Third Pole/ Altaf Siyal

The evidence pointed to the following reasons: decreased river flow to the delta resulted in reduced sediment deposits; surface and subsurface seawater intrusion; land subsidence, sea level rise, climate change, and anthropogenic activities  all of which have contributed to the shrinkage and degradation of one of the largest ecosystems in the world.

A glacier fed system

As the glaciers of the Hindu Kush Himalayas which make up 80 percent of the Indus flow  melt at a faster rate, there should be more water to sustain a sizable population in the short term, but in an increasingly unpredictable manner. However, detrimental policies and ill-informed projects have destroyed both the delta and the groundwater.

The findings mirror the experiences of the residents. Gulab Shah, who lives near the village of Kharo Chan in Thatta district, said his family has 6,500 acres of land that they want to sell and move to the city but there are no buyers. Even if he wanted to cultivate crops, he is unable to find farmhands as people have migrated from his village due to the acute shortage of drinking water. It is giving me sleepless nights, he said.

The study also found that 88.4 percent of the population of the delta lived below the poverty line, of which 31.4 percent were the poorest of the poor.

Economy over ecology

Many experts feel that taming the mighty Indus through dams and barrages was perhaps the biggest mistake.

Nasir Panhwar, an environmentalist and former coordinator for WWFs Indus for All Programme, said the reservoirs on the Indus and its tributaries were constructed to serve the needs of expanding agriculture as well as the subsequent industrial development. He said that today the delta is starved of sediment because economic priorities overruled the ecological consequences that will haunt us for years to come. He blamed the severe degradation of the delta on the upstream diversions of the river. It is one of the worst examples of human interventions in nature.

Another factor, he added, is the intricate system of canals, barrages and reservoirs which transferred supplies from the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab rivers to the areas formerly fed by the eastern rivers. This was done in order to compensate for water lost to India under the Indus Waters Treaty signed between India and Pakistan in September 1960, he said.

The irrigation system was developed in the British era to increase crop production, which turned the basin into a densely populated area. Extensive human interventions since then have led to adverse ecological consequences.

Siyal added that a series of dams were erected: the Warsak dam in 1965, followed by the Mangla dam in 1967, and the Tarbela from 1968-76.

He warned that construction of more dams might result in no flow, to the detriment of the delta. If electricity is needed, maybe run-of-the-river plants maybe considered, as they do not obstruct water as much. Still, he emphasised that wind and solar are better options, especially when both the resources are found in abundance.

A blow to biodiversity

According to Siyal, deltas need to be kept alive as they are biologically the most productive places in the world, due to their rich biodiversity which provides shelter and a natural breeding ground to migratory birds and animals. In addition, he said they provide livelihood to millions of people both in and around the delta, especially those working in agriculture.

The construction of dams upstream, however, led to a decline in sediment which has translated to a massive loss in agriculture for the inhabitants of the Indus delta. Panwhar cited a 2019 World Bank study which noted that from an estimated 270 million tonnes per year at pre-development levels, the sediment that reaches the delta today is a mere 13 million tonnes.

Flow reductions have led to significant salinity in the delta, leading to a reduction in plant diversity. He added that four out of eight plant species that thrived in the delta have disappeared in recent years.

In addition, the MUETs United States-Pakistan Centre for Advanced Studies in Water which conducted the study found that up to 78 percent of the water available is unfit for either drinking or farming.

The groundwater is as bad, if not worse. Evidence showed that up to 94% of groundwater samples had chloride concentration higher than the safe limit.

We even found arsenic beyond the permissible limit prescribed by the WHO in water samples collected from installed reverse osmosis (RO) plants, said Ghulam Shabbir Solangi, a member of the research team that went by boat to collect samples of water and soil from the creeks.

Despite the significant degradation, Siyal said, the most imperilled part of Pakistan fails to draw public attention.

Poor understanding of water systems

There is little understanding among the public or policymakers about why the flow of the river is important for the sea. The delta is considered a wasteland. The release of freshwater from the Indus is also termed wastage, said Panhwar. It is imperative to educate and sensitise everyone about the significance of the Indus delta.

If the delta fails to get fresh water from the Indus, Siyal said it may die. He shared the example of central Asias Aral Sea which dramatically shrank because of the damming of the Syr Darya river upstream.

Recommendations

The reports lead author said that for surface seawater intrusion, the construction of dykes and levees is very important. He added that this was among the demands of the local communities in the delta as it will provide them quick and easy access to the markets of Karachi.

Water resources expert, Hassan Abbas, however, said dykes interfere with tidal action necessary for mangrove forests and roads on dykes can block high floods from draining out to the sea, trapping the communities in un-drained floodplains for months to come.

A coastal highway through the delta is a good idea as long as it does not interfere both with the tidal action as well as natural flood flows, he concluded. The study recommended the expansion of the 38 kilometre coastal highways to up to 200 kilometres in length.

Some work had already started long before Siyals report. Qambrani pointed to the 87 kilometre Sindh Coastal Highway terming it a good initiative but added it would take a decade to complete.

Siyal further said there was field evidence that whenever levees were built in the delta, there was minimum surface seawater intrusion. He gave the example of the Netherlands, where levees have been built to protect seawater flooding.

Other recommendations included the promotion of biosaline agriculture; encouraging shrimp and crab farming in natural water bodies; imposing a ban on overgrazing and cutting of mangroves for wood; restoring dried up river channels like Ochito and Old Pinyari; ensuring water availability at the tail end of canals, such as Pinyari and Phuleli; and reviving saline lakes by adding freshwater.

But the most important thing, the study noted, is ensuring 8.6 million acre feet (MAF) of water flows annually below Kotri barrage as recommended by an international panel of experts.

Sadly, almost three years since the report was made public, none of the recommendations has been taken up by the government.

We were approached by the Ministry of Planning Development and Special Initiatives a year back. They had seen our study and wanted to carry out a discussion with us on how to improve the delta conditions, but nothing concrete has happened based on the report so far, said Bakhshal Lashari, Project Director at the USPCAS-W.

Lawmaker Qambrani had not read or heard about Siyals report. But as someone who hails from the coastal town of Badin, she was well aware of the issues of sea intrusion, waterlogging and salinity.

We have been crying ourselves hoarse to bring this to the notice of the federal and provincial governments. If they do not take the plight of the delta seriously, the map of Pakistan will change in the coming 50 years, when all of the delta will be submerged in the Arabian Sea.

***

Banner image: As the Indus delta is slowly lost to the sea, the communities dependent on it for livelihood will be worst hit. Image via The Third Pole/ Altaf Siyal]

The Third Pole is a multilingual platform dedicated to promoting information and discussion about the Himalayan watershed and the rivers that originate there. This report was originally published on thethirdpole.net and has been reproduced here with permission.
Even after the World Health Organization (WHO) scientist Dr. Peter Ben Embarek, on Friday, stated that the Wuhan market had a role in the novel coronavirus outbreak, he opined such markets should not be shut globally.

In a press briefing, WHO food safety and animal diseases expert Peter Ben Embarek said live animal markets are critical to providing food and livelihoods for millions of people globally and that authorities should focus on improving them rather than outlawing them -- even though they can sometimes spark epidemics in humans.

He said reducing the risk of disease transmission from animals to humans in these often overcrowded markets could be addressed in many cases by improving hygiene and food safety standards, including separating live animals from humans. He added that it is still unclear whether the market in Wuhan linked to the first several dozens of coronavirus cases in China was the actual source of the virus or merely played a role in spreading the disease further.

READ | WHO expert comments on wet markets

WHO on Wuhan market's role

WHO scientist Dr. Peter Ben Embarek, on Friday, stated that the Wuhan market had a role in virus outbreak, but more research is needed. Dr. Embarek - who is a WHO expert on food safety and zoonotic viruses, has stated that while the role was clear, its exact role is not clear yet. This is the first statement in which WHO has openly admitted the role of China's Wuhan market in the spread of the pandemic.

The market played a role in the event, thats clear. But what role we dont know. Whether it was the source or amplifying setting or just a coincidence that some cases were detected in and around that market, said Dr Peter Ben Embarek in a press briefing.

READ | US, China trade envoys promise 'favorable conditions'

He added, "Food safety in these environments is rather difficult and therefore it's not surprising that sometimes we also have these events happening within markets". According to Ben Embarek, it might take considerable time to identify the original animal source for the new coronavirus. Embarek said while China likely has the necessary expertise to conduct such studies and has not noted any problems in China's willingness to collaborate with others.

READ | On COVID-19, China either made a terrible mistake or probably it was incompetence: Trump

China supports pandemic response review

Earlier in the day, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that China supports the review of the global response to the coronavirus outbreak, led by the World Health Organisation (WHO), but only after the pandemic is over. He added that the review should be conducted in an open, transparent and inclusive manner under the leadership of WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Several countries including France and the UK have urged for greater transparency over Chinas handling of the virus outbreak while the United States and Australia have demanded an independent investigation into it.

READ | WHO concedes 'Wuhan market had clear role in virus outbreak' as China agrees to probe

US President Donald Trump has slammed the WHO and China claiming that the World Health Organisation (WHO) really blew it. He also slashed the funding to WHO and has hinted at retaliatory tariffs on China. In response, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged the United States to join with China in combating the disease rather than indulging in a blame game. Currently, the global Coronavirus cases stand at 3,967,808 with 273,534 deaths.

(with PTI inputs)
Nana Akosua Frimpomaa-Sarpong, the Election 2012 Vice Presidential Candidate of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP), on Friday called for broader stakeholder engagement to chart the way forward on Election 2020 amidst COVID-19 uncertainties.



She said civil society activists, democratic institutions, political think tanks, religious and traditional leaders as well as political parties needed to create a platform for engagement on the December general election.



Nana Frimpomaa-Sarpong told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that COVID-19 was not only health, economic, religious and social problem but also threatened the countrys democratic dispensation.



We must collectively begin to dialogue to ensure that we are all on the same platform to develop a strategic way forward, we need COVID-19 Marshall Plan for Election 2020, she said.



Am particularly calling on the Institute for Democratic Governance, Ghana Centre for Democratic Development, Institute of Economic Affairs, and the Christian Council to join forces and lead the process towards developing a roadmap for the December polls should the pandemic continue beyond August.



Nana Frimpomaa-Sarpong, who is contesting for the CPP National Chairmanship slot, explained that Ghana must unite to protect the democratic credentials.



We need to work together for the interest of Ghana, the Electoral Commission cannot handle the situation alone; already their Election 2020 activity calendar is seriously under stress.



She said the nation must come to terms with the truth and marshal political governance plan towards supporting institutions like the EC to succeed.



Nana Frimpomaa-Sarpong appealed to the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress to put aside their political antagonism and accommodate each other for the sake of Ghana.



We cannot all share the same ideology but we can reduce the tension created by our actions.



She called on the rank and file of the CPP to work together towards the national interest and for development, stressing that the CPP holds the key for the economic emancipation of the country.



We can only emancipate the nation economically if we as members are emancipated and liberated from destructive politicking. We need a new crop of leadership to run affairs of the Party to create room for winning political power.



Nana Frimpomaa-Sarpong called for all hands-on-deck to build the weak structures of the CPP adding; The sleeping giant of Ghana and African politics must wake up and complete the national and continental liberation, initiated by Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah.



On the fight against COVID-19, she commended the frontline health workers, media practitioners, and government among other stakeholders for their roles in protecting the lives of the populace.



She advised the public to adhere to the World Health Organisation and Ghana Health Services preventive protocols.



Protect yourself, do not endanger others with any reckless behaviour, COVID-19 has no known cure, the only cure is prevention.

Source: GNA









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RAIPUR : Chhattisgarhs first chief minister Ajit Jogi is reportedly in an extremely critical condition after suffering a cardiac arrest at his residence in Raipur on Saturday. The supremo of regional outfit Janta Congress Chhattisgarh-J, was rushed to the private nursing home Shree Narayana Hospital.

According to the hospitals medical bulletin, the former CM suffered cardiac arrest at his residence after a tamarind seed got stuck in his wind pipe and he collapsed on his wheel chair. There was short cessation of breathing followed by abrupt loss of heart functioning and consciousness.

ALSO READ | GM of top Chennai biotech firm consumes drug he invented to cure COVID-19, dies

"He was administered with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)an essential basic life support through manual application of chest compression and ventilation under the supervision of doctor, while being taken to the hospital. His ECG and pulse rate have resumed but the respiration is yet to become normal," the bulletin stated

"He has been put on ventilator support and his condition remains critical. All through his life only the prayers have worked for him," his son Amit Jogi told The New Indian Express. His wife Renu Jogi, who is an MLA, and son Amit Jogi are in the hospital.
Editorials represent the institutional view of the newspaper. They are written and edited by the editorial staff, which operates separately from the news department. Editorial writers are not involved in newsroom operations.
A man wears goggles and a mask as he walks a dog along Waikiki Beach in Honolulu on March 28, 2020. (Caleb Jones/AP Photo)

Hawaii Reports First Day With No New Virus Cases Since March

No new cases of the CCP virus were reported in Hawaii for the first time since mid-March on Friday. Authorities have called it a positive development but said it doesnt mean the pandemic has ended in the state and asked people not to become complacent.

We have seen a steady decline in new cases over the past several weeks, although today were at zero, we want to maintain these declines, State Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park said in a statement.

The state health officials said they will use this pause to reassess response capacity, preparedness plans, and prepare for a possible second wave of the pandemic.

The Governors office said in a statement that the state is flattening the curve, as its cases of infection are far below the national average and it ranks as one of the best performing states in dealing with the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic.

Gov. David Ige speaks to reporters at the state Department of Healths laboratory in Pearl City, Hawaii, on March 3, 2020. (Audrey McAvoy/AP Photo)

As of Saturday, the state had 631 cases of infection, with 81 requiring hospitalization and 17 deaths407 cases of infection and 11 deaths were reported from Honolulu county aloneaccording to the Hawaii Department of Health. There were 3 new infections reported.

We have that extraordinary protection right now, but we cant continue it forever, State Department of Health director Bruce Anderson said. When we do open for travel, the disease can be introduced again, and we need to be ready to respond quickly.

The decline in the number of cases is significant since the state and counties have started to gradually reopen the economy and limited public places while cautioning people to maintain social distancing and keep using masks.

As businesses reopen, as people become more active and travel more freely, we will inevitably see an increase in cases, said Park, adding that a main concern for the administration is people traveling from Hawaii to the mainland, particularly to CCP virus hotspots.

Park said to protect the community, it is important for visitors and residents to observe mandatory traveler 14-day self-quarantines. Stay-at-home orders and traveler quarantines have already been extended by Gov. Ige till May 31.

Shoppers at a Costco store buy toilet paper after the Hawaii Department of Health advised residents they should stock up on supplies for the potential risks of novel CCP virus in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Feb. 28, 2020. (Courtesy of Duane Tanouye/Reuters)

Travel continues to pose a risk for the spread and reintroduction of the coronavirus. This risk is not just posed by visitors. Residents can actually pose a greater risk by unknowingly infecting others, said Park.

When people travel for entirely appropriate and necessary reasons (work, healthcare, or significant family events) they can inadvertently bring the infection home.

These statements come at a time when the state declared that itll reopen in three phases. Alan Oshima, the state economic recovery and resiliency navigatorappointed by Gov. Igeannounced in late April that first, the number of cases of infection must stabilize.

The second phase will involve gradually and sequentially allowing some activities and the third phase will aim at supporting businesses and job growth, reported the Honolulu Civil Beat.

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly described the period of time with no new cases of the virus. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
ELSAH  Daily news updates during the ongoing pandemic are an essential service. Young journalists are making sure that service is provided to the students, faculty and staff of Principia College in Elsah.

Although Principia has been physically closed since mid-March, the school newspaper  The Pilot  has provided fresh, online news stories about the college every day through the efforts of a small but dedicated staff of editors and reporters. These student journalists attend the colleges virtual meetings and gatherings, conduct online and phone interviews, and write and publish stories to keep the remote-learning Principia community fully informed.

Sophie Hills is a 20-year-old Principia sophomore from Orleans, Massachusetts. Involved in The Pilot since her freshman year, she was named co-editor in May 2019 and has been editor-in-chief since March.

The news in The Pilot is a way to process all of the negative stuff going on and a way to point toward the bright spots and solutions as well, Hills said. In our small way we are able to do that for the campus.

Hills said The Pilot has three regular student newspaper staff, three additional writers, and 10 occasional contributors. The newspaper went from a print-only version before the pandemic to a currently much more focused, active and relevant daily online news source.

Hills said part of the reason for the papers recent rejuvenation is the fact that traditional campus extra-curricular activities arent available now to students, and The Pilot gives newspaper staff and readers a way to stay involved and connected.

I think if we continue to show the student body that we are really relevant and doing good things, then more and more people will be interested, Hills said. Our plan is to continue to post a couple of days per week over the summer.

This is a new rhythm for us and its working really well, she said. But over the summer well have to see whats feasible. Id love to be posting daily during the fall semester.

Although the young people who produce The Pilot every day are students, they are also working journalists whose writing is periodically published in The Telegraph.

Its not just an information download; its actual reporting, said Clara Germani, faculty adviser to The Pilot and a visiting faculty member in journalism at Principia. They ask questions and they get answers. The Pilot is covering those online campus sessions, synthesizing it into stories, and picking what is the newsworthy information.

Germani said the blossoming of The Pilot during the past two months has been remarkable. She said the campus newspaper waxed and waned over the years and was a real rabble-rouser during administrative upheaval at the school a decade or so ago, but it took COVID-19 to raise the daily on-line news source to a higher level.

We started finding a story a day and all of the students who are participating have upped their game, Germani said. In a certain sense, the stay-at-home order and the campus closure has made the paper better. Its online, its regular, and people are looking to it. The journalism program is developing into something thats really quite special, and the blossoming of The Pilot is really the positive aspect of the pandemic closure.

Germani said there has not been a real focus at Principia in the recent past on journalism, but there is a renewed effort to improve the program, and a permanent faculty member is being hired as a journalism professor in the fall.

Germani said The Christian Science Monitor has a very active journalism internship recruiting program that includes a journalism boot camp. The internship is free to any Principia student who wants to go to Boston and learn about national and international-level journalism.

Editor-in-chief Hills hopes to take part in that internship this summer.

I love covering politics, and my mom was a journalist so Ive grown up with this appreciation, Hills said. An editor told me once that journalism is an education every day and that really appealed to me, getting to learn about something new and then share that with other people.

If Hills follows her current career path she will be in a profession that has been under attack recently, as those with an agenda try to portray impartial journalists as purveyors of fake news. Hills has definite feelings about that subject.

When I hear that, it makes me think that person is under-informed, Hills said. If you understand the role of journalism in a democracy, then you would focus on finding the good journalism rather than vilifying the whole.

Read the Principia Pilot at www.principiapilot.org.
A rare revolt by a Saudi tribe has spelt fresh trouble for a planned Red Sea megacity, a linchpin of the crown prince's economic vision already beset by low oil prices. The $500 billion NEOM project, set to be built from scratch along the kingdom's picturesque western coast, is billed as a futuristic cityscape evocative of a sci-fi blockbuster -- with everything from flying taxis to robot-maids. Economic analysts have long questioned its viability in the era of cheap oil. But Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's dream project hit a new roadblock last month when a member of the local Huwaitat tribe was gunned down after he refused to give up his land for the project. Before the shootout, Abdulraheem al-Huwaiti posted a series of scathing videos in which he likened the forced displacement of his sprawling tribe, based in the northwestern Tabuk province for generations, to "state terrorism". He presciently claimed his opposition would get him killed. Saudi Arabia's state security agency said the "wanted" man died in an exchange of fire with state forces after he resisted arrest, adding that a cache of weapons had been recovered from his house. Many other members of the Bedouin tribe, who commonly own guns, were detained for spreading anti-displacement slogans and refusing to sign relocation documents, multiple activists said. It exposes a rare domestic clash with the government that has a reputation for crushing dissent, while it grapples with the twin economic blow of historic low crude prices and a coronavirus-led shutdown. NEOM has said 20,000 people would need to be relocated to clear room for construction as it presses ahead with its target to complete its first sites by 2023. - 'Deep cuts' - The government is preparing emergency plans to slash spending as crude prices drop, with Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan warning of "painful" measures and an "extremely long" list of affected budget items. He did not specify whether NEOM will be among them. Even before the crisis, the project -- first announced in 2017 -- has struggled to attract investment. "I will be surprised if cuts are not made -- deep cuts in capital expenditure for NEOM," a Saudi source associated with the project told AFP. "Given the sums required, it cannot but be delayed in many aspects." The source added that the government is offering "generous compensation in cash" to those displaced by the project in addition to "new properties" within the kingdom. In a bid to placate the community, NEOM has also launched "social responsibility programmes" including university scholarships and vocational training programmes, the source said. Several Huwaitat tribesmen have rejected what they call "vague" compensation offers, activists told AFP, even as state-run media have published a pledge of loyalty by the tribe to Saudi rulers. The campaigners say NEOM is designed to be a liberal expat enclave in a conservative nation that is unlikely to benefit local residents. - 'Crown jewel' - "What happened in NEOM was the tragic death of a resident of a village that is being relocated," Ali Shihabi, a member of the NEOM advisory board, said on Twitter. "Similar to the concept of 'eminent domain' used in Western law, the government is taking ownership of private land to use for the project... This happens all the time, all over the world when roads, train tracks or dams are built." But forced evictions could backfire as economic pressures grow, observers warn. "The combination of record-low oil prices and mounting demographic pressures poses significant challenges to Prince Mohammed's (MBS) future plans in Saudi Arabia," said the Soufan Center, a think tank. "The high-tech city in NEOM is the crown jewel of MBS' future vision for Saudi Arabia, but it remains unclear how a prince's pet project will help the kingdom deal with its youth bulge. "The government will have less cash to dispense as patronage to assuage Saudi citizens. The erosion of the social contract between the rulers and the ruled will lead to serious problems, especially in a tribal society." But as part of his grand ambition to pivot the economy away from oil, Prince Mohammed looks set to press ahead with NEOM, billed as a regional Silicon Valley whose marketing slogan is a "bold and audacious dream". "The economic fundamentals have turned further against this fantastical project, but I don't expect MBS to give it up," said Kristin Diwan of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. "It's the touchstone for everything he wants to achieve."
In February, PREMIUM TIMES exclusively spoke with Chris Elias, the President of the Global Development Division of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Paulin Basinga, the foundations country director, on the role the foundation played in the eradication of wild polio in Nigeria and a range of other developmental issues.

PT: What role did the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation play in the eradication of polio in Nigeria and what is your assessment of the campaign against polio?

Chris Elias: Finishing the job on polio eradication globally is one of the priorities of Bill and Melinda Foundation  has been really from out start. The Bill and Melinda Foundation has been around for about 20 years. The global effort to eradicate polio started in 1988 when the world health assembly  all governments of the world  committed to eradicating polio. They made very fast progress in many places. By 2000, only five countries were left with polio. The last 20 years have been challenging because the last mile, as we call it, is the most difficult.

The last cases here in Africa have been in Nigeria. In the last five and a half years, there have only been four cases in Africa, in Borno in 2016. We went two years without any cases then we had these four cases pop up in 2016. How did we know we were vulnerable? At that time, we were missing, because of the conflict in the North-east, probably half a million kids. Over the last three years, its been 40 months since the last cases of wild polio in Nigeria or anywhere else in Africa. Extraordinary efforts are being made by the government of Nigeria, particularly the governors of the northern states to reach the unreached children so as to ensure that everybody is immunised against polio.

To give you a sense of the progress, in 2016 we are missing probably a million kids. Today, our estimate is about 34,000 kids that have not been immunised in Borno. The efforts of Governor Shettima (immediate past governor of the state) and now Governor Zulum have been extraordinary in putting a partnership together with UNICEF, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Dangote Foundations and importantly, the vaccinators. The army protects the vaccinators to have access to most of the children and as a consequence, we havent seen any wild poliovirus in 40 months. Weve increased our environmental surveillance, increasing the confidence that we have, in fact, and interrupted wild polio in the North-east, in Nigeria and in the continent.

The way it works is that World Health Organisation has an African Regional Certification Commission, an independent body; they will make recommendations to the World Health Organisation about whether the fact they are confident that Africa is free of polio and we expect them to make the recommendation by June of this year. The longer we go without the risk of polio and the stronger our surveillances, the more confident we are. So, we are anticipating a favourable recommendation from the certification commission as early as June of 2020.

PT: Can you tell Nigerians some of the most effective strategies your organisations used and what sort of help was provided by the federal and state governments?

Chris Elias: The Gates Foundation is a significant funder of the Global Initiative for Polio Eradication. We provide about a third of the funding for that global initiative here in Nigeria and other places like Afghanistan, Pakistan and many other vulnerable countries. We provide funding, but also provide technical assistance. One of the thing about the 30 plus years journey of polio eradication is we have learned how to do it in other places. We brought some of the innovations that helped us succeed in India which is one of the countries that recently eradicated polio. We brought some of the innovations here, particularly, using the Emergency Operation Centres. Weve supported Emergency Operation Centres at the federal level in Abuja and at the state level in northern states. The Emergency Operation Centre here is a place where all the partners have come together as one team  the government, the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, everybody working on this  with real-time information and data on surveillance, on the quality of the campaign, outreach, etc. That teamwork combined with the use of data to continually improve the quality of the outreach and the campaign, knowing which children you are missing and innovative ways of reaching them have been critical to the success. It worked in India, its now working in Nigeria and we are using same approaches that have succeeded here in Nigeria to work in the final frontiers of polio eradication, which is in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Everywhere we work, we have to work with the local traditional and religious leaders and community leaders in general. That has been particularly important here in Nigeria, in the north, where 15 years ago we heard rumours about the vaccines that were incorrect, causing people to hesitate about the vaccines. We and the World Health Organisation committee members in Northern Nigeria are not as effective as having their local imams, their local traditional leaders  people they trust, people who they go to every day for advice  to tell them it is a safe vaccine that protects them from paralysis and death. You can trust the government in a partnership to give those vaccines to children. The participation of the Sultan of Sokoto, the Emir of Kano, the Emir of Zauzau have been critical in helping us reach the final mile and get every child vaccinated.

PT: After taking polio down, what other big challenge in the country are you planning to take on?

Chris Elias: About winning the polio battle, the battle is not won until its gone everywhere. Even if we succeed as I think we will in certifying Africa polio-free, as long as there is wild poliovirus circulating in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Africa remains vulnerable. To protect against that, we have to keep at it until we are done globally to make sure children are immunised. One of the reasons its been so hard to fight the last battle against polio in Africa is the overall immunisation rates for children are persistently low, particularly in the north. In Sokoto for instance, less than 10 per cent of the children received the first suite of vaccines. Vaccines are lifesaving against, not just polio but pneumonia, diarrhoea and other infectious diseases. The natural progression from finishing the job of polio eradication is to strengthen the routine immunisation system, make sure that Nigerian children are benefiting from the first suite of thirteen different vaccines that protect them against a wide array of illnesses and to ensure that should someone travel from here to polio-endemic areas like Pakistan, that the children wont get infected and have polio reintroduced into Africa.

The certification of Africa as wild poliovirus free will be an important milestone, one hard-fought for four decades. Africa will remain vulnerable as long as there is polio circulating in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The way that continues to protect African children is to make sure that they get all of the vaccines. A natural extension of our work on polio eradication is that we are working with the governors in the north, as well as the national governors forum, to talk about the importance of routine immunisation, to talk about how to protect women and children against all of the vaccine-preventable illnesses.

The natural extension of that is we need to focus on the primary healthcare system. The primary healthcare system is the first line of the healthcare system where people can go to get 80-90 per cent of their healthcare needs met. A well-functioning primary healthcare system delivers vaccines, provides women with contraceptive choices, it treats children who are sick quickly so that they dont need more advance care, it provides nutritional supplements to keep children healthy. Strengthening the primary healthcare system has become the main focus of our health work in Nigeria. Its a natural progression for winning the fight on polio, to expanding to broad immunisation to looking at how we can comprehensively address the health needs of women and children in all the communities in Nigeria.

PT: hat do you think NGOs, government and Nigerians generally should do to roll back the frightening statistics of infant and maternal mortality in Nigeria?

Chris Elias: As you said, the primary healthcare system in Nigeria is pretty weak. It is characterised by a couple of things. One is under-investment by the government, which leaves people dependent and getting cured primarily by paying from their pockets, which is very difficult for poor people to do. As a consequence, the system lacks sufficient trained health workers. What I am encouraged by, however, is WHO has recognised that in trying to address the healthcare needs of Nigeria, we need to focus more on primary healthcare system.

This is not a unique problem in Nigeria. Most poor countries now spend too much money on tertiary care and not enough on the primary care system. On average, poor countries spend only about a third of their budget on the primary healthcare system even though the primary health care system can address 80-90 per cent of the problem.

Making more informed decisions about how to allocate, I guess the simple way to put it is that governments, including Nigeria, should spend more on health, and the more they have should be spent on where it is most effective, which is the primary healthcare system. One of the things weve been doing together with the Aliko Dangote Foundation is working in a number of states to understand their primary healthcare system, their weaknesses and how to strengthen it.

You mentioned your perception of the primary health care facilities. Facilities are important parts of the primary health care system, but a building is a building. In addition to having facilities and having them in the right places, you also need healthcare workers in sufficient numbers and with sufficient training. You need the medicines, the vaccines and you need the supply chain of medical commodities that dont stick out. If I walk 10 kilometres to a medical facility that doesnt have medicine, I am not likely to walk there again especially if it is hot.

In addition to that, you need funds. The system has to have enough money. I have visited some primary healthcare centres where they have no budget. without the budget, they cant get the medicine, they cant pay the workers, etc.

You also need information, you need to know who you are reaching and who you are not reaching. Finally, you need patients to show up. If you have a system, this is a problem they face particularly common in rural areas, the system is not functional for some time. People dont go there because they have no expectations. If they go there, there is no one there, they have no medicines, there is no money. What they do is, go to the traditional healers, they use money out of pocket to pay for things that may or may not work. So there is a chicken and egg problem where the system has to become functional enough to earn the credibility of the community. So, the community knows I can go there, there will be a nurse, there will be medicine if my child is ill. You have to get all of those things right. You have to have the facilities, the money, the medicine, the workers and the patients. And then you need to use the information to know this patient is coming, we have this problem, we have to adjust our training, we have to adjust our supplies. It is a challenge because its a very complex system. So, a lot of the partnerships we have with the governors forum, with specific governors of specific states and the Aliko Dangote Foundation, is understanding that complex system, and how to improve all those dimensions so ultimately we are providing effective primary healthcare to the large population of Nigeria.

PT: Lets talk about something at the core of what the Gate Foundation does  family planning. In 2050, the population of Nigeria is projected to grow larger than the population of the United States to become one of the top three most populated countries in the world. We are growing faster than our GDP, what is your foundation doing in this area?

Chris Elias: People everywhere believe that children are a gift and all the religion I know think we have an obligation to keep children healthy. The discussion around family planning and birth spacing is how to make sure women and children are healthy. Women can have as many children as they want but if they have them too soon, one after the other, its bad for their health, they become anaemic, they could die in childbirth and its bad for their childrens health  they become stunted and dont achieve their potentials, physically or cognitively. Ive had discussions in the north with traditional and religious leaders and say they want women to make their choices. Mostly, we want children to remain healthy and to be healthy, I and the traditional leaders in the north said that if children are not to be malnourished, they have to increase the time between each birth.

You can still have eight children but space them. If you have them too soon they wont be that healthy. So, providing women the opportunity to decide how many children to have, when to have them and means to space them so that she and the children are healthy is consistent with the beliefs of most religions.

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The second thing is that there have been a lot of interests in population growth. If you look carefully today, there are three things that increase population growth; the first is families that want to have many children  more than five. They are relatively few and they live in places where child mortality is now very high. Most of these children are dying before their fifth birthday. We know from development experience around the world that we cant bring down the fertility rate without bringing down first, child mortality rate. In those places with very high child mortality, the first step is to improve the childrens health; improve the confidence that parents have that their children are going to survive. So, the basic immunisation, nutritional requirements are quite critical. If child mortality stays high, fertility will stay high. That is pretty clear. That is actually, however, the smallest driver of population growth.

The second driver, and is easily addressed is to provide women who want to space children with the means to do so. Right now, we estimate that there are over 210,000,000 women who want to either space their birth or limit their birth but dont have the means to do so. That is easily addressed by making available contraceptive services. Contraceptive methods are relatively inexpensive, they can be readily provided by a functional primary healthcare system, The quickest thing to do is to meet the already expressed interests in limiting births for women who already want to space their children.

The third and most interesting pieces that usually get missed, has to do with the age structure of the population. The fact that half of Nigerians are under the age of 25. And they have long reproductive lives ahead of them. Given the shape of that population, even if each family has 2 children, the population will continue to grow because were such a young population. So what do we do? There are two things that are quite critical. One is to work on youth employment, to give people meaningful livelihoods.

The second, and this is the most critical, is that the only way you can slow population growth is to space generations as opposed to spacing births. How do you space generations? You educate them. If you provide strong education for women and girl and ensure gender quality, what happens naturally is women start having families later in life instead of having first births at15 as against first births at 25. That shift in the age of the first births essentially spaces the generation and slows population momentum. The biggest driver of population growth is actually the age structure of the Nigerian population and the best way to slow that is to invest in women empowerment, growth and education.

PT: Lets take a trip to Borno State. Nearly a million children there are malnourished. The conflict there has helped to fuel malnourishment. What is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation doing to address malnourishment in the region?

Chris Elias: The biggest challenge in Borno is the conflict. They are extraordinary circumstances, the insecurity that disrupts the primary healthcare system, disrupt agriculture productivity. It is very hard to achieve the easily achievable gains of primary healthcare in places that are suffering from conflict and displacement. We see that in Syria today, we see it in Yemen, and we see it in north-eastern Nigeria. In spite of that, some gains are being made.

A big part of our partnership with the Aliko Dangote Foundation is focused on nutrition. We work with them on polio and primary healthcare but we also work specifically on nutrition and to improve the quality of food, their fortification with micronutrients, etc. Delivering ready to use therapeutic foods to treat several cases in the effort to improve the severe case of acute malnutrition and improving the micronutrient content of the food is important.

Part of the efforts of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in Nigeria has been working on improving agricultural productivity. We have, through the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Ibadan, quite a broad range of activities in Nigeria on improving yields and productivity of smallholder farmers, which are a very large proportion of Nigerias population.

Weve seen successes of that, even in the north-east and in places that we dont have as much conflict like Adamawa and Taraba, you see significant gains in productivity from a better seed system and agricultural inputs. Those things can help in Borno as well. The Gates Foundation is investing in the agricultural sector in Nigeria as well as to provide more relief to curb malnutrition through our partnership with the Aliko Dangote Foundation.

PT: Affter the huge amount is spent of developmental programmes and people like you dedicate time away from family and loved ones working to achieve these goals, dont you get frustrated sometimes that these problems have seemingly refused to go away?

Chris Elias: Well, if you got a magic wand, I will take it (laughs). One of the challenges I think we have is that the people dont appreciate how much success stories weve recorded. If you step back and look at the progress in the last one year, weve seen child mortality worldwide coming down. In 2000, over 10 million kids died before their fifth birthday. Today, just about 5 million. The progress in reducing child mortality is not as much as we like because there are still kids who die, who shouldnt. Weve made tremendous progress, look at the case with the HIV/AIDS, 15 to 20 years ago, HIV/AIDS was a death sentence. Most people had no antiretroviral therapy, most people now live a long reproductive life. Malaria deaths have been cut in half in the last year. Yes, there are days where I feel frustrated but if you step back and look at the success of the lives saved, and the productivity gain, and the economic impact in the communities and countries in Africa, youll get up and do it again.

Paulin Basinga:lll like to speak specifically about Nigeria. If you look at the past few years despite all the problems, I think we are seeing some progress. The trajectory is becoming more and more positive. Just to give you a number. five years ago, only 30 per cent of Nigerian kids were vaccinated. Now, the number went up to 51per cent. We need to get to 80 per cent and plus. But that positive trend is amazing. As a development actor, when you go to the villages, you meet the people, you see the resilience in people, you see how much people are demanding change. Their voices are coming out more and more. They know what they need. I think theres a chance that one day, state after state, LGAs after LGAs, you can see some change.

There are some amazing leaders we work with that personally inspire me. When you see the work that Dr Chikwe is doing at NCDC, Nigeria is more prepared now than when Ebola came. Chris talked about how we supported the EOCs (Emergency Operation Centres) in six states, the small amount of money we put into NCDC, Dr Chikwe has been able to put EOC in almost all of the states. They are operating now. When you see the work that Dr Faizal is doing at NPHCDA, you see the change that is happening within that organisation. That gives us hope that there are possibilities to really change this country and when Nigeria will change, it will change all Africa.

No one could imagine that wed be here for more than three years without a case of one polio bias, even though we still have some derived polioviruses going out there. When you look at the quality of surveillance that the government and partners have put here, to really detect and the fact that we are not detecting any wild polio shows that the severance that we have put in place is strong and many people are learning here. Let me just close by saying millions of health workers are working in very hard situations, in Borno, Yobe. Every day, they wake in the morning, go to the facilities and try to do their bests. That gives us hope.
On Thursday, April 2, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar took to the podium in the Government Press Centre to provide an update on the Governments response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Only a small number of reporters were present because strict social distancing rules prevented the normal large number of journalists from attending.

When it came to my question, I pressed him about the concern growing around the lack of clarity relating to the State exams.

He was speaking following a meeting of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Covid-19, and said that Minister for Education Joe McHugh and the State Examinations Commission were drawing up options to allow the State exams to be held.

Mr Varadkar said there were a "number of options" and Minister McHugh was working to ensure that "by hook or by crook" the exams took place.

The Taoiseach said the Government did not want people who were hoping to enter third-level education later this year "to lose a year ... or half a year" of their lives.

Despite his promise, yesterday Varadkar and his embattled education minister bowed to the inevitable and cancelled the Leaving Certificate.

The climb-down from the promise to hold the examinations no matter what, is, of course, being driven by the public health medical advice, but it does represent a major political failure by McHugh, a man who is about to lose his job as minister whenever a new government is formed.

Normally, I am loath to run with the mob and criticise the government or a particular minister for the sake of it. And for the record, I like Joe McHugh personally. He is a gentleman and a decent fellow.

But in this instance, the Governments mishandling and McHughs role in how this debacle was allowed to play out is absolutely fair game.

There were concerns being expressed about the fate of the State examinations from the moment Varadkar announced the commencement of restrictions on the steps of Blair House in Washington DC in mid-March.

By the time I asked that question of the Taoiseach in early April, the confusion and the anxiety over the exams among the 60,000 pupils affected  and their teachers and their parents  had well and truly taken hold.

While the cancellation of the State examinations is not ideal, what has occurred over the past seven to eight weeks has been a nightmare of uncertainty and confusion unnecessarily caused by a minister and his officials.

On foot of the Taoiseachs comments and McHughs failure to provide clarity as to what was happening, a major information vacuum opened up as to what might or might not happen.

Pupils were told to keep studying but the whole time a maelstrom of speculation and rumour swirled over their heads as they tried to work from home.

On April 10, we were told that the Leaving Cert exams scheduled in June were to be postponed and would instead run from late July until August.

In a sign of things to come, we were told on that day too that the Junior Cycle, meanwhile, was cancelled and was set to be replaced by school-based exams in the new academic year.

Rather than bring clarity to the issue, the new start date of April 29 brought only more questions?

When would pupils be allowed back into class?

What would happen with practical elements of the exam which were due to take place at the end of May?

Most importantly, would the powerful teachers unions play ball?

All of these questions played themselves out over the following weeks to the palpable agony of the pupils who now faced having their summers ruined.

Any time McHugh did appear in public, it was the same old guff.

The utterances were rehashed over and over again: We will be guided by the advice ... we will have a plan... any time now we will tell you what the plan is and so on and so on.

The truth is that McHugh, a former teacher himself, and those around him abandoned that key skill necessary to make it at the top of politics  basic cop on.

He, like many before him, allowed himself to become captured by officialdom. Rather than owning the process and leading from the front, McHugh became a reactionary player in the whole saga. A slave to the advice.

Then last weekend, amid visible signs of strain relating to the nationwide lockdown, Varadkar in dubious circumstances, announced the Governments roadmap to unlocking the country.

The absence of any mention of the Leaving Cert in last weekends roadmap was the glaring omission from the comprehensive document.

Such an omission merely fuelled the sense of bewilderment and concern throughout the country and prompted Fianna Fails education spokesman, Thomas Byrne, to call for the cancellation of the examinations.

Such a call had a dramatic impact because students who had diligently being doing their work amid such confusion stopped working, sensing their efforts would come to nothing.

During the week, it was clear a plan was afoot but even at that point, the Government and McHugh decided to drag it out unnecessarily.

On Thursday in the Dail, came justified stinging criticism.

Fianna Fail leader, Micheal Martin, said the position regarding the leaving certificate was 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."

The fact that the reopening document published last week failed to address it is remarkable. We are now beyond the stage where clarity must be provided and the Government must be honest about the ability to complete the leaving certificate in the coming months, he added.

Labour leader, Alan Kelly, described the handling of the Leaving Certificate as an unmitigated disaster.

He said: I put it to the Taoiseach that the handling of the leaving certificate has been an unmitigated disaster and I ask that he would please intervene. The stress these students have been put under is intolerable. This needs to be finished. We need a plan B and it needs to be out there this week. It needs to be agreed. This situation cannot go beyond this seek. It is unfair and completely wrong. The handling of it, from the Department of Education and Skills, shows a dysfunctionality that has not been seen in some while."

In response, Varadkar said he totally appreciates that the uncertainty was causing enormous stress for sixth years.

It is an issue we want to resolve. We know it is possible to carry out the leaving certificate within existing public health guidelines but it would not be the leaving certificate as we know it, he said.

It is an issue we want to bring to a conclusion this week", Varadkar said.

Several hours later, the news broke that the Cabinet was to be asked yesterday to approve the cancellation of the exams.

The relief was instant and palpable.

One student, Molly Gordon-Boles, writing in todays Irish Examiner, said: When I read the news of the expected cancellation of the Leaving Certificate exams, I felt a wave of immense relief. For weeks, students have been left in the dark. The uncertainty has been detrimental to the mental health of 61,000 Leaving Cert students, their teachers and their families. It has been a rollercoaster of emotions, ups and downs, during a time when the nations mental health and wellbeing is already at a fragile state.

At last, the right thing has been done  but it never should have come to this.
Bondi Beach, middle of May, sun so bright it's leading to a few unseasonal burns as it bounces off the stark white walls of an empty Icebergs swimming pool. Add a booming soundtrack, one of the country's coolest fashion labels and just the right amount of sea spray.

As far as photo opportunities go, they don't get much better than the Ten Pieces runway at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia (MBFWA), held a year ago this week. But what the myriad editors, buyers and influencers who had descended on Australia's most famous beach didn't know at the time was that two hours earlier, the pool was teeming with seaweed and sand. Not very fashionable at all.

From seaweed to spectacular ... the Ten Pieces show at Bondi Icebergs. Credit:Getty Images

While it's difficult to rank the best shows in fashion week's 25-year history, most agree the 2001 "rats on the runway" presentation by then up-and-coming denim rebels tsubi (later ksubi after a legal kerfuffle) is one of the most notorious.

One of the brand's co-founders, George Gorrow, says the stunt was borne from a late-night exchange in a Melbourne nightclub with then business partner Dan Single. Single asked Gorrow which model should open the show, to which he replied: "Id rather have a bloody plague of rats running out."
How is our community and county seen from a regional perspective? I spoke with two regional leaders and asked what they thought about us and their comments were glowing. Tom Chulick is President and CEO of the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association that represents the business community across 15 counties in Southern Illinois and Eastern Missouri, with the City of St. Louis in the center.

Dr. Ronda Sauget is Executive Director and CEO of the Southwestern Illinois Leadership Council, serving nine Illinois counties, which includes Madison, St. Clair, Macoupin, Clinton, Monroe, Jersey, Bond, Washington and Calhoun.

Chulick mentioned AllianceSTL, an independent economic development subsidiary of the RCGA that focuses on economic development promotion of the St. Louis region. It coordinates visits by area leaders to other cities, such as Chicago, Atlanta, the state of Texas and the west coast to educate business site selectors about the assets in the region including Gateway Commerce Center, North Point, World Wide Technologies and SIUE. In terms of the specific assets of the Madison County area, he noted the strong workforce, highly educated and relatively short commute time, mobility and quality-of-life assets, such as schools, arts and housing.

He specifically paid the Madison County Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler a compliment, saying, Kurt has kept Madison County connected to the regional chamber. Noting they have a solid relationship, Chulick said Prenzler has made it clear that Madison County is open for business.

Adding that, Madison County is recognized as a major player in the RCGA and regionally. He said AllianceSTL has worked closely with Madison and St. Clair counties in Illinois, as well as the Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois.

Sauget echoed Chulicks accolades specifically noting the tremendous value of Edwardsville/Glen Carbons excellent quality of life, schools, recreational trails and logistics as part of the mix in promoting the region.

She mentioned that the Leadership Council has devoted a lot of attention to marketing and attracting international business interest in the area. She has plans to visit Japan to meet with the Japanese Consul General, which was postponed due to the COVID-19 crisis.

The Leadership Council will be debuting a new website and a new video about Southwestern Illinois which will be an important part of the organizations international and national marketing efforts.

Jim Grandone is a long-time resident of Edwardsville. He was the architect of the East CountyIf You Only Knew marketing campaign promoting Metro East to businesses in St. Louis in the 1990s. Grandone holds a BA in political science from the University of Illinois at Springfield and was a Coro Fellow and serves on a variety of boards. He lives in Leclaire with his wife, Mary
Kerala on Saturday



continued to maintain that it flattened the coronavirus curve, with just two fresh cases of expatriates being reported and 16 active cases remaining in hospitals.

"On the 100th day of confirmation of the first case of COVID, Kerala flattened the curve.

Only 16 active cases remain in hospitals.

We are bracing ourselves for the 3rd wave," state Finance Minister Isaac had tweeted earlier in the day.

The two cases were those who returned from Dubai and Abu Dhabi on May 7 and were among expatriates airlifted by the Centre as part of its mission to bring back stranded Indians abroad.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had on Friday said that Kerala had flattened the curve, but cautioned that the state needed to be careful to avoid another wave of the deadly virus, but asserted it was ready to fight it in such an event.

Vijayan on Saturday told reporters after the daily evaluation meet on COVID-19 that with the two new patients, the total number of cases in the state has gone up to 505 and there are currently 17 under treatment.

"One patient from Idukki, who was under treatment, has been cured today. The two new cases are now under treatment in Kochi and Kozhikode.

They reached the state on May 7 in the Abu Dhabi-Kochi and Dubai-Kozhikode flights respectively," Vijayan said.

With the return of expatriates and also Keralites from other states, the number of people under surveillance has gone up to 23,930, of whom 334 are isolated at hospitals, he said.

The Chief Minister said 485 of the total of 505 infected people in the state had been cured.

"The new cases being reported is a warning to those coming back from abroad and other states to be on the alert. We need to strengthen our mitigation efforts and preventive measures," Vijayan said.

The Chief Minister reiterated that entry passes are mandatory to enter Kerala through check posts bordering neigbouring states and those without it would be sent back.

Those wishing to come to Kerala shouldregister through the Covid Jagratha Portal and start their journey only after getting the pass, he said.

"The pass is mandatory. Based on logistics and for crowd control,there is a limit on the number of people who can cross the border every day and passes are being issued according to that, Vijayan said.

He said there were some people who had reached the borders without necessary documents and it was not acceptable.

Till now, 54,262 passes have been issued and so far, 21,812 Keralites from other states have reached back home through five border check posts



Vijayan also said that special non-stop trains would be run from Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai to the State, to bring back the stranded Keralites.

"We hope that the first train will be from Delhi to bring back the stranded students there. The date will be announced soon," Vijayan said.

The Chief Minister also said 152 expatriates from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia arrived at Kozhikode on Friday. Apart from 142 Keralites, there were eight from Karnataka and two from Tamil Nadu.

"There were 128 adults and 24 children, including 78 pregnant women. Of these, 114 were sent home and the rest were transferred to various Covid Care Centres," Vijayan said.

He said another flight from Bahrain to Kochi arrived on Friday with 181 passengers, in which there were 25 pregnant women and 28 children under the age of 10.

Three flights from Muscat to Kochi, Kuwait to Kochi and Doha to Kochi are expected to arrive in Kerala tonight.

The chief minister also said that as per the recommendations of an expert committee, people coming from other states would first undergo a medical check-up and those without any symptoms will be sent home for 14 days quarantine.

"If they show any symptoms, a PCR test will be done and they would be transferred to Covid hospitals," Vijayan said.

So far, 36,648 samples have been sent for testing, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The NCP is likely to field its



Maharashtra unit vice president Shashikant Shinde and another leader Amol Mitkari as its candidates for the upcoming state Legislative Council election, party sources said on Saturday.

The election for the nine legislative council seats is due on May 21 and the last date for filing of nominations is May 11.

The electoral college (for the election) is 288-member Maharashtra Assembly.

The sources said that the NCP and ally Shiv Sena, which have 54 and 56 seats respectively, will contest two seats each in the election, where securing 29 votes (of MLAs) can see a candidate sail through.

The Congress (44 MLAs) is in a position to bag one seat, but is insisting on consisting one more seat with the help of the NCP and Shiv Sena.

"The NCP has finalised the names of former state minister Shinde and Mitkari, who had campaigned hard for the party in the Assembly election held last year," the sources said.

They said that Shinde and Mitkari may file their nominations on coming Monday, which is the last day to do so.

At 54, the NCP is short of four votes, but the party is relying on the support of smaller allies and independents for support for victory, the sources said.

Asked about the Congress being keen on contesting one more seat, the sources said the Sonia Gandhi-led party is falling short of 14 votes to secure victories in both the seats.

"If it can manage to get these additional 14 votes, it can proceed with contesting the second seat too," the sources said.

The BJP, which has 105 seats, has already announced the names of its four candidates for the election.

The Shiv Sena is set to contest two seats, including the one for Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who is the party president.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
After spanning the United States and some parts of Canada for months, in a search operation that involved the local police, community members, and even the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the body of an Iowa teenager who was missing since January has been found.

On May 2, police were responded to a call from a kayaker who reported seeing a body in the Des Moines River at Prospect Park. The body was then identified as Abdullahi "Abdi" Sharif, an 18-year-old boy who has been missing for more than four months.

According to the statement that the police shared on Facebook, Sharif's body was found submerged near the north bank of the river. In order to recover the victim's body, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources worked together with the Des Moines Fore Department during the water rescue.

Read also: Riot in Venezuela Prison Results in 46 Casualties

As of the moment, the cause of Sharif's death is still undetermined. However, the police noted that during the autopsy there was no traumatic injury that was observed. Moreover, they noted that they will reveal the victim's cause of death when they receive the full findings of the autopsy.

What happened to Sharif?

The teenager first vanished on the 17th of January. He was working part-time at Target in the Merle Hay Mall. However, on the day of his disappearance it was noted that he did not have a shift, but his famly said that he usually would still hang out there.

Around 5 o'clock in the afternoon on the same day, Sharif posted a cryptic post on Snapchat which read, "bad bad news." When asked, his family said that they do not have any idea what the post meant. Around 9:30 PM, Sharif sent his mom a text message asking her to pick him up, but when she arrived, her son was nowhere to be found.

Based on the security footage from the establishment, Sharif left the store on his own volition. Moreover, Sergeant Paul Parizek told WHO-TV that the boy's phone was then powered off only a few minutes after he left the store.

Whilst Parizek said that it is not uncommon for teenagers to make sudden plan changes they noticed that the cat was out of the teen's character. Thus, they put in hundreds of investigative hours into the search for Sharif, however, every lead they get just opened up another question.

Finding Abdi Sharif

According to Parizek, Sharif's body was found near the last location that his phone pinged. Parizek also expressed sadness and said that this was not the ending that everyone involved wanted. He also added that as time passed by in the investigation they believed that they had a greater chance of finding him alive with an explanation on his disappearance.

Moreover, he said that while finding the body gives sharif's family a certain form of "closure," there are still many unanswered questions left. He also stressed that the case is far from closed.

A memorial will be held in honor of Sharif's life on Wednesday as announced by his family.

Related article: Researcher With Significant COVID-19 Studies Killed in a Murder-Suicide

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Over 277,000 have died worldwide while more than 1.3 million have recovered as countries weigh easing of lockdown rules.

Barack Obama has launched a scathing attack on Donald Trumps handling of the coronavirus pandemic, calling it an absolute chaotic disaster.

Authorities in the South Korean capital, Seoul, shut down more than 2,100 nightclubs, hostess bars and discos after a cluster of cases linked to a popular entertainment district.

Globally, more than 277,000 have died from the COVID-19 disease caused by the coronavirus, with the number of confirmed infections surpassed four million. More than 1.3 million people have recovered.

Here are the latest updates:

Saturday, May 9

20:30 GMT  Blow for Bundesliga as Dynamo Dresden squad put in quarantine

Germanys plans to restart competitive football on May 16 suffered an early setback after the entire team of second tier Dynamo Dresden were placed in a two-week quarantine following two positive coronavirus tests.

The Bundesliga 2 club announced on their website that tests taken on Friday had revealed two new positive cases and local health authorities had ordered the team into quarantine.

After an intensive analysis of the situation, the health authority in Dresden decided on Saturday that the entire second division squad, including the coaching and support team, must now go into a 14-day quarantine at home, the club said.

Dresden were scheduled to play Hannover 96 next Sunday in their first game back following the stoppage that was caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

19:30 GMT  Trump says US to buy $3 bn worth of agricultural goods from farmers

President Donald Trump said the United States would buy $3 bn worth of dairy, meat and produce from farmers as unemployment soars and the prices that slaughterhouses pay farmers for animals have fallen in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Starting early next week, at my order, the USA will be purchasing, from our Farmers, Ranchers & Specialty Crop Growers, 3 Billion Dollars worth of Dairy, Meat & Produce for Food Lines & Kitchens, Trump wrote in a post on Twitter on Saturday.

18:00 GMT  Obama calls Trumps handling of pandemic a chaotic disaster

Former president Barack Obama has launched a scathing attack on Donald Trumps handling of the coronavirus pandemic, calling it an absolute chaotic disaster.

In a leaked web call Friday night with former members of his administration, first obtained by Yahoo News, Obama urges former staffers to join him in rallying behind Joe Biden as he prepares to take on Trump in the November presidential election.

What were fighting against is these long-term trends in which being selfish, being tribal, being divided, and seeing others as an enemy  that has become a stronger impulse in American life, Obama said.

Its part of the reason why the response to this global crisis has been so anemic and spotty. It would have been bad even with the best of governments. It has been an absolute chaotic disaster when that mindset  of whats in it for me and to heck with everybody else  when that mindset is operationalised in our government.

Read more here

17:45 GMT  France records lowest death toll in a month

French health officials announced another 80 coronavirus deaths, the lowest figure recorded over 24 hours since early April. The total death toll stands at 26,310, according to the health ministry.

France will start lifting its almost two-month-old national lockdown from Monday [Thomas Coex/AFP]

The number of people in intensive care units  a key measure of a health systems ability to deal with the epidemic  fell by 56, or about two percent, to 2,812. That is less than half the peak of 7,148 seen on April 8.

The number of people in hospital with the virus also fell, to 22,614 from 22,724, continuing an uninterrupted three-week fall, and down 30 percent from an April 14 peak of 32,292.

France will start lifting its almost two-month-old national lockdown from Monday.

17:20 GMT  Latest from Canada

Canadas coronavirus deaths increased by 157 on Saturday, taking the total to 4,628. Confirmed cases jumped by 1,381 to 66,780.

Separately, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned that if provinces move too quickly to reopen their economies, a flare-up of the pandemic could send Canada back into confinement this summer.





16:25 GMT  Italy reports 194 new coronavirus deaths

Italy announced 194 new coronavirus fatalities on Saturday, increasing the total death toll to 30,395.

The total number of confirmed cases increased by 1,083 to 218,268.

There were 1,034 people in intensive care on Saturday, down from 1,168 on Friday, maintaining a long-running decline, the Civil Protection Agency said.

16:00 GMT  New York children die from rare illness linked to COVID-19: Governor

Three children in New York have died from a rare inflammatory syndrome believed to be linked to the novel coronavirus, Governor Andrew Cuomo told a daily briefing on Saturday.

Cuomo had on Friday disclosed the death of a five-year-old linked to the coronavirus and a syndrome that shares symptoms with toxic shock and Kawasaki disease, which was the first known fatality tied to the rare illness in New York.

15:55 GMT  UK death toll jumps by 346

The death toll from coronavirus in Britain has risen to 31,587, an increase of 346 in a 24-hour period, Transport Minister Grant Shapps said at the governments daily news briefing.

UK has the second-highest death toll from COVID-19 after the United States [Kate Green/Anadolu]

Also on Saturday, Britains deputy chief medical officer said he was confident the coronavirus R number, a measure of the rate of contagion, was below 1 across the United Kingdom.

I am confident that our R is less than 1 overall, Jonathan Van-Tam said at the governments daily news briefing.

The R number, or effective reproduction number, measures the average number of people that one infected person will pass the virus on to. An R number above 1 can lead very rapidly to exponential growth.

15:30 GMT  Virus has not disappeared, Spains PM warns

Spains Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez says loosening the nearly two-month lockdown will be for naught if people dont obey social distancing rules.

He reminded Spaniards on Saturday, two days before 51 percent of the nation of 47 million will be allowed to sit at outdoor cafes, the virus has not disappeared.

On Monday, many regions not as hard hit by the virus will permit gatherings of up to 10 people and reopen churches, theaters, outdoor markets and other establishments with limits on occupancy.

The struggle goes on and will last until we find a vaccine, Sanchez said. Meanwhile, we have to live with the virus, that is why we must reinforce our healthcare system and strengthen its capabilities. 

14:45 GMT- Latest figures from Qatar

Qatar reported 1130 new cases of COVID-19, taking the total number of cases in the country to 21,331.

The ministry of health also reported one fatality, raising the death toll to 13.

Separately, Qatar Petroleum (QP) announced a price drop of more than 51 percent for Qatar land and marine crudes for April, compared to March.

14:15 GMT  Decline in oil and investment asset prices hit Kuwait economy

The decline in oil prices and the value of investment assets since the start of the coronavirus outbreak will have an adverse impact on the financial solvency of Kuwait, Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah said.

Kuwait is facing the big and unprecedented challenge of shielding our economy from the external shocks caused by this virus, specifically the decline in oil prices and the value of investments and assets, which will have a negative impact on the financial solvency of the state, the emir was cited as saying by the state news agency KUNA.

It was not clear if the comment meant that Kuwait could delay the payment of government dues, or whether it was a general statement about the deterioration of the states finances as a result of the economic impact of the health crisis.

14:00 GMT  Sierra Leone president accuses opposition of inciting COVID-19 violence

Meanwhile in Sierra Leone, President Julius Maada Bio accused the opposition of inciting terrorist violence after deadly disturbances linked to the COVID-19 outbreak in the West African nation.

In a televised address on Friday evening, Bio said that the opposition All Peoples Congress (APC) party was involved in violent flare-ups across the country.

President Bio said opposition members were involved in violent flare-ups across the country [Cooper Inveen /Reuters]

He said the partys silence over its members who allegedly took part in acts of terrorist violence, senseless loss of lives, injuries and wanton destruction of public and personal property is truly disconcerting.

At least 11 people died in an attempted jail break and ensuing riot in the capital Freetown last month.

13:30 GMT  Spain COVID-19 death toll falls to 179

Spains daily death toll from the coronavirus fell to 179 on Saturday, down from 229 on the previous day, the health ministry reported. The figure is the second-lowest reported since mid-March.

Overall deaths rose to 26,478 from 26,299 on Friday and the number of diagnosed cases rose to 223,578 from 222,857 the day before, the ministry said.

12:49 GMT  Thousands attend parade in Belarus despite outbreak

Belarus has held a military parade to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, drawing a crowd of thousands of people despite fears about the spread of coronavirus.

The country has recorded a sharp increase in the number of confirmed infections in recent weeks.

According to its latest tally, Belarus has registered 21,101 coronavirus cases and 126 related deaths.

Read more here

Family members of veterans gather to watch a military parade to mark the 75th anniversary of the Soviet Unions victory over Nazi Germany in World War II in Minsk [Sergei Gapon/AFP]

12:14 GMT  UK to quarantine travellers for 14 days

The UK government has told airlines it will introduce a 14-day quarantine period for most people arriving from abroad, an association representing the carriers said.

Airlines UK said the move required a credible exit plan and called for a weekly review. Airport operators said it could have a devastating impact on the aviation industry and the broader economy.





The plan was first reported by The Times newspaper, which said Prime Minister Boris Johnson would on Sunday announce that passengers arriving at airports and ports, including Britons returning from abroad, will have to self-isolate for a fortnight.

Under measures that are likely to come into force in early June, travellers will have to provide the address at which they will self-isolate on arrival, The Times said.

11:54 GMT  Iran reports more than 1,500 cases

Irans health ministry expressed concern over the number of coronavirus cases reported in the southwestern province of Khuzestan as it confirmed 1,529 new infections nationwide.

All provinces are showing a gradual drop in new infections  except for Khuzestan, where the situation is still concerning, spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said in televised remarks.

In the past 24 hours, the total number of registered infections rose to 106,220, while the death toll increased by 48 to 6,589.

11:37 GMT  Protesters killed in Afghanistan over food distribution

At least six people were killed in Afghanistans western province of Ghor as clashes broke out between police and protesters during a demonstration against alleged mismanagement of aid to alleviate the effects of the pandemic.

The dead included two police officers, a journalist and three protesters. Those wounded included 10 police officers and nine demonstrators.

The city is in a military situation now, provincial councillor Abdul Basir Qaderi said. There are tanks on the roads.

Read more here

Afghan youths stand on social distancing markers as they buy bread from a bakery amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Jalalabad, Afghanistan [Parwiz/Reuters]

11:20 GMT  Kenya drivers struggle to make ends meet during lockdown

Coronavirus restrictions are creating a boom in online and home delivery services.

But in Kenyas capital, some drivers going door-to-door say they are seeing few benefits and are struggling to make ends meet.

Al Jazeeras Malcolm Webb reports from Nairobi.





10:54 GMT  What are serology tests and do they work?

Some countries are using serological, or antibody, tests to check past infections and immune status.

Read our latest Doctors Note here.

Medical staff test for COVID-19 using a rapid antibody testing kit in Manila, Philippines [Ezra Acayan/Getty Images]

10:32 GMT  Triple anti-viral drug shows COVID-19 promise

Researchers in Hong Kong have found that patients suffering milder illness caused by the new coronavirus recover more quickly if they are treated with a three-drug antiviral cocktail soon after symptoms appear.

The small trial, which involved 127 patients, compared those given the combination drug  made up of the anti-HIV therapy lopinavir-ritonavir, the hepatitis drug ribavirin and the multiple sclerosis treatment interferon-beta  with a control group given just lopinavir-ritonavir.

Read more here.

09:20 GMT  Countries report new total figures

Indonesia: 13,645 cases (+533), 959 deaths (+16)

Philippines: 10,610 cases (+147), 704 deaths (+8)

Malaysia: 6,589 cases (+54), 108 deaths (+1)

08:39 GMT  Russias latest figures

The number of confirmed infections in Russia surged by 10,817 to 198,676 in the past 24 hours.

The coronavirus taskforce said that 104 people had died overnight, bringing the national death toll to 1,827.

Russia is quickly becoming a hotspot for the pandemic as this week its number of infections surpassed France and Germany, turning it into the fifth worst-hit country in the world.





08:07 GMT  Seoul shuts down nightclubs, bars due to a new cluster of cases

No more clubbing for people in Seoul as authorities in the South Korea capital shut down more than 2,100 nightclubs, hostess bars and discos.





The move came after all but one of 18 new cases were linked to a 29-year-old clubgoer who went out last weekend in the popular neighborhood of Itaewon as the country relaxed physical distancing guidelines.

We are put to the test, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said, vowing to mobilise all resources to contain a further spread of the new coronavirus.

He said South Koreas quarantine success or failure will depend on whether the country can stop a further spread of infections linked to clubs in Seoul.

07:36 GMT  Latest figures by Singapore

Singapores health ministry reported 753 new coronavirus infections, taking the city-states total to 22,460.

The vast majority of the newly infected people are migrant workers living in dormitories, the ministry said in a statement. Nine are permanent residents.

07:23 GMT  Sudan extends Khartoum curfew to slow virus

The state of Khartoum in Sudan extended for 10 more days a curfew that has been in place since April 18.

The state, the smallest but also the most populous, is the hardest hit in the country. To date, it has recorded 1,111 confirmed infections and 59 related deaths.

Travel between the capital, Khartoum, and other Sudanese states will be banned, the official SUNA news agency reported.





06:46 GMT  Bolsonaro the biggest threat to Brazils coronavirus response

The Lancet, a leading medical journal, has described President Jair Bolsonaro as perhaps the biggest threat to Brazils ability to successfully fight the coronavirus pandemic as the country is quickly emerging as a hotspot for COVID-19.

On Friday, Brazils Ministry of Health registered 10,222 new confirmed coronavirus cases and 751 related deaths, a daily high. That brought the total of confirmed cases in the country to 145,328 and deaths to 9,897.

Read the full story here.

Gravediggers wearing protective garments work as relatives of a victim who died of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), attend her burial at a cemetery in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil [Pilar Olivares/Reuters]

06:14 GMT  China willing to help North Korea in fight against virus

Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, offering Beijings support in the fight against the coronavirus.

Quoting Xis letter, Chinese state television said the Chinese president was very concerned about the situation in North Korea and the health of its people.

The supportive message came a day after Kim congratulated Xi for his handling of the pandemic and highly appreciating that he is seizing a chance of victory in the war against the unprecedented epidemic.

05:33 GMT  Coronavirus forces Russia to scale down Victory Day in blow to Putin

Russia marks 75 years since the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two on Saturday, but the coronavirus outbreak has forced it to scale back celebrations seen as boosting support for the Kremlin.

With coronavirus infections rising, President Vladimir Putin last month postponed the highlight of Victory Day celebrations, a massive parade on Red Square that showcases Moscows most sophisticated military hardware, to an unspecified date.

Putin has described Victory Day celebrations as sacred to Russians but said a big public event was too risky during the pandemic. As of Friday, Russia had reported 187,859 coronavirus cases and 1,723 deaths.

05:04 GMT  Thailand reports four new coronavirus cases, one new death

Thailand reported four new coronavirus cases and one more death on Saturday, bringing the total to 3,004 cases and 56 deaths since the outbreak started in January, according to Reuters news agency.

A 68-year-old man from Bangkok died, said Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesman for the governments Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration.

Of the new cases, two are from the southern province of Yala, where the authorities are aggressively testing people due to high infection rates. One was linked with previous cases and one had a risk history from public places, he said.

An airline staff member instructs passengers how to check in at Hanoi airport while observing social distancing [Hau Dinh/AP]

04:32 GMT  South Korea reports 18 new cases

South Korea on Saturday reported 18 fresh cases of the new coronavirus, including 12 in Seoul, as health workers scrambled to trace contacts following a slew of transmissions linked to clubgoers.

The latest infections brought national totals to 10,840 cases and 256 deaths.

Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip told a virus briefing that officials were mapping out plans to share hospital capacities between the capital and nearby towns to ensure swift transport of patients so that a spike of infections in one area did not overwhelm the health care system. He said the plans will go into effect if the daily jump in infections exceeds 100, which has not happened since April 1.

04:01 GMT  Australias biggest states hold off relaxing COVID-19 lockdowns

Australias most populous states held back from easing COVID-19 restrictions on Saturday even as some states allowed small gatherings and got ready to open restaurants in line with the federal governments three-stage plan for reopening businesses.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday outlined plans to remove most curbs by July in a three-step process to get nearly 1 million people back to work, as the country has reined in new COVID-19 infections to less than 20 a day with strict lockdowns.

Australias total deaths from COVID-19 remain just below 100, while the number of cases were close to 7,000.

03:09 GMT  China reports one new coronavirus case, 15 asymptomatic cases

China reported one new coronavirus case at the end of Friday, unchanged from the day before, data from the national health authority showed on Saturday.

One new imported case was recorded on May 8, the National Health Commission said in a statement.

The commission also reported 15 new asymptomatic cases for Friday, versus 16 the previous day.

Chinas total number of coronavirus cases now stands at 82,887, although 78,000 cases have recovered, while the official death toll remains unchanged at 4,633.

02:50 GMT  Brazils Supreme Court asked to roll back restrictions

Brazils economy minister warns there could soon be product shortages in supermarkets if state quarantine measures are allowed to continue.

Paulo Guedes told an audience at the Supreme Court, including its chief justice, that Latin Americas largest market is at risk of collapse similar to what happened in neighbouring Venezuela.

Guedes was joined by President Jair Bolsonaro and a group of industry leaders, who together walked to the top court to make their case for a rollback of restrictions even as Brazils coronavirus cases continue to surge.

Relatives attend the burial of 71-year-old Neide Rodrigues Rosa, who died from the new coronavirus according to her son Sergio Rodrigues, in Rio de Janeiro on Friday [Leo Correa/AP]

02:26 GMT  US military official close to Trump, Pence positive of coronavirus

A military member working in close proximity to President Donald Trump tested positive for the new coronavirus. The White House said Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have since tested negative for the virus and remain in good health.

Spokesman Hogan Gidley says in a statement the military member works on the White House campus and tested positive on Wednesday.

02:01 GMT  Germanys confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 1,251 to 168,551

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 1,251 to 168,551, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Saturday.

The reported death toll rose by 147 to 7,369, the tally showed.

01:45 GMT  Argentina extends quarantine for capital, relaxes elsewhere

Argentinian President Alberto Fernandez has extended until May 24 a quarantine for its capital Buenos Aires but relaxed the restriction aimed at slowing the spread of the new coronavirus elsewhere in the country.

The lockdown, which was in place since March 20 and is due to expire on Sunday, will remain in place in the capital and its outskirts, Fernandez said in a televised address.

Fernandez said he was extremely proud of Argentines for observing the strict social isolation measures. As of Friday, the country had registered 5,611 confirmed cases of the virus and 293 deaths.

01:15 GMT  US politicians urge support for Taiwan at WHO, amid COVID-19 fight

The leaders of US congressional foreign affairs committees have written to more than 50 countries asking them to support Taiwans inclusion in the World Health Organization, citing the need for the broadest effort possible to fight the coronavirus pandemic, congressional sources told Reuters.

Taiwan, which is not a member of the United Nations, has been excluded from the WHO, which is a UN agency, due to objections from China.

As the world works to combat the spread of the COVID-19, a novel coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, China, it has never been more important to ensure all countries prioritise global health and safety over politics, the politicians said in their letter, sent on Friday, and seen by Reuters.

People wear face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus as they visit a night market in Taipei, Taiwan [Chiang Ying-ying/The Associated Press]

00:10 GMT  Three nurses murdered in Mexico as coronavirus reaches peak transmission

Three nurses, all sisters, were found dead with signs of strangulation in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila, officials said on Friday, an apparent triple murder that follows a series of assaults on health workers amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Officials said they were investigating the crime but that the motive was not clear. Health workers have faced increased aggression in Mexico in recent weeks over fears of contagion.

Javier Guerrero, a top official for Mexicos main public health service IMSS in Coahuila, described the deaths of the three nurses as murders. They happened at a moment when our health workers are the most important element to face the health crisis, he said.

Gravediggers walk toward a hearse carrying the body of a woman, who died of COVID-19 before her funeral at a cemetery in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on May 8, 2020 REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez [Reuters]

00:01 GMT  Germanys Merkel, Pope Francis discuss coronavirus pandemic

Chancellor Angela Merkels office says the German leader has discussed the coronavirus pandemic with Pope Francis in a phone conversation, AP news agency reported on Saturday.

Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert says that during the call, the chancellor and the pontiff advocated support for poor countries in the virus crisis. He says it centred on the global humanitarian and political situation in view of the corona pandemic and on the significance of solidarity in Europe and the world.

Merkel invited Francis to visit Germany when that is possible again.

____________________________________________________________________

Hello and welcome to Al Jazeeras continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. Im Ted Regencia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

For key developments from yesterday, May 8, go here.
A Mobile nursing home continues to grapple with COVID-19, reporting an additional four deaths in the last week from the disease.

The deaths of three more residents of the Crowne Health Care facility on Navco Road were attributed to the disease, bringing that total to 20. A third employee also died, bringing the overall total to 23. According to the latest numbers provided by the facility, 52 employees have tested positive. Among residents, 33 have tested positive and 11 of those were hospitalized as of Friday.

Nationwide, nursing homes and similar care facilities have raised concern as sites where inevitable close contact between patients and caregivers can facilitate rapid transmission of the disease. Care facilities in Alabama have been a significant source of COVID-19 cases since at least mid-April. On Friday, a top Mobile County health official said Crowne is far from the only one to have residents test positive.

Among long-term care facilities, we have 22 sites that have reported no cases or symptoms, Rendi Murphree, an epidemiologist with the Mobile County Health Department, said during a Friday update on the epidemic. So thats 22 out of 37 long-term care facilities that have no cases or symptoms. That left 15 that officials are monitoring because theyve had at least one case, she said.

Several of our long-term care facilities have many, many residents and employees that have contracted COVID disease, Murphree said.

Murphree said that as of Friday, the death toll in Mobile County strongly reflected the pattern of elderly patients being the hardest hit. She said of those who had died in the county, 99% were over age 50 and nearly 75% were 65 or older.

The 23 deaths related to Crowne account for nearly a third of the 82 COVID-19 deaths reported by the Mobile County Health Department as of Saturday.

Murphree said officials were testing in all nursing homes with suspected cases and had taken additional measures at the others.

Even in the nursing homes that do not have any cases, weve been working really hard over the past month, six weeks to make sure that they had capacity for testing in house, so that when they suspected someone as a COVID carrier, that they could test them right away," she said. "So we have a lot of testing that is going on in nursing homes, both of employees and residents.

Efforts to combat the outbreak at Crowne have included an intensive disinfecting effort conducted by National Guard personnel.
More chimney fires than normal for this time of year have occurred in Laois due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

However, with most people complying with the stay at home rules there have been less road collisions according to Laois Fire Service Assistant Chief Fire Officer Anthony Tynan.

It has been relatively quiet, there were a couple of fires in derelict houses, and some minor crashes. Traffic volume is down but there has been a few minor crashes. Most incidents are chimney fires. Normally they have tapered off by this time of year but it seems to be extending I suppose with more people at home, he said.

I would ask people to check if their chimneys are ok. Check their smoke alarms are working and close the door of bedrooms at night, these all help to save lives in a fire, he said.

Meanwhile, all controlled burning of vegetation or land has been banned in Laois and Ireland during the Covid-19 pandemic, to avoid extra work on emergency services. This includes the burning of cut vegetation which is normally done with a permit from local authorities.

Breaking the ban can incur hefty charges.

Mr Tynan said the ban on burning from March 1 to August 31 is largely being respected.

We are very fortunate that people are respecting the requests, that is very welcome. There have been very few, one or two small gorse fires. The request has been very well respected and we ask landowners to continue that, he said.

Laois County Council confirmed that controlled burning of land is suspended until further notice.

In light of the on-going Covid-19 Emergency, as a measure to reduce non-emergency calls to Fire Service calls centres, controlled burning by the agricultural community is not permitted in County Laois from 1pm, March 27 until further notice, it said.

Please note that all notices informing Laois County Council of controlled burning will not be accepted for the duration of this emergency and persons must refrain from all forms of controlled burning at this time, they say.

Any reports of burning made will result in a visit by the fire service and a fee.

If a 999/112 call is received relating to any controlled burning event on property, the fire service will attend. All the costs will be invoiced to the property owner.

The Cathaoirleach Cllr Willie Aird emphasised the need to make farmers aware.

It is critically important that we tell farmers on our website that there is no controlled burning, he said.
Barr Defends FBI Director Amid Flynn Case Controversy

Attorney General William Barr said he still has confidence in FBI Director Christopher Wray, amid fallout from the case against retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn.

Flynn, former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty in 2017 to one count of lying to the FBI. But in a January filing, Flynn asked the court to let him withdraw his guilty plea, citing the governments bad faith, vindictiveness, and breach of the plea agreement.

On May 7, the Department of Justice (DOJ) dropped the case against the former adviser, saying that when the FBI interviewed him on Jan. 24, 2017, the investigation into Flynn was no longer justifiably predicated and seems to have been undertaken only to elicit those very false statements and thereby criminalize Mr. Flynn.

Wray has faced mounting criticism in recent weeks for his handling of the case against Flynn, centering chiefly on claims that he either suppressed or slow-walked documents in the FBIs investigation of the former adviser.

Many of these records should have been provided to Flynns defense team long ago, said CBS reporter Catherine Herridge in a May 7 interview with Barr, before asking the DOJ chief if, as a consequence, he had lost confidence in Wray.

Well, you know, Chris Wray has always supported and been very helpful in various investigations weve been running, Barr said, adding that the FBI chief cooperated fully with both the inquiry into the Flynn case and the DOJ inquiry into the FBIs handling of the investigation into allegations of a criminal conspiracy, often referred to as collusion, between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the 2016 election.

But, you know, there are a lot of cases in the Department of Justice, and I dont consider it the directors responsibility to make sure that all the documents are produced in each case, Barr said. So I dontI wouldnt say that this has affected my confidence in Director Wray.

Trump, in a May 8 interview on Fox & Friends, called revelations about the FBIs handling of the Flynn case disappointing, but said he would defer to Barr on what repercussions Wray should face, if any.

In the interview with CBS, Barr said he believes Wray has what it takes to reform the FBI.

You know, hes been a great partner to me in our effort to restore the American peoples confidence in both the Department of Justice and the FBI, Barr said. And we work very well together. And I think both of us know that we have to step up. That its very important to restore the American peoples confidence.

Peter Svab contributed to this report.
The person who was not authorised to comment publicly declined to breakdown the numbers of civilian versus agent infections. The assignment locations of the sick employees also were not identified. The service, which provides personal protection for the President, Vice-President and their families, along with visiting heads of state, has 7600 employees, including more than 3000 agents who work closely with those they protect. Trump, who this week visited mask manufacturing facility in Phoenix without a mask said "I don't worry about things. I do what I have to do. "We're dealing with an invisible situation. Nobody knows. All you can do is take precaution and do the best that you can." The discovery of the virus within the heavily fortified White House complex has sent shock waves through the staff and prompted renewed scrutiny of the safety measures around a commander-in-chief who has personally flouted social distancing policies and other best practices recommended by the Centres for Disease Control during the pandemic.

Loading Several security officials with executive branch experience said the White House has taken a lax and risky approach that, in their view, reflected Trump's consistent efforts to minimise the threat from the virus. The President has pushed to reopen parts of the country as more than 30 million people have filed for unemployment benefits, upending his plans to tout a strong economy as a core of his reelection message. The unemployment rate surged to 14.7 per cent, a level last seen when the country was in the throes of the Depression. The US Labour Department said 20.5 million jobs vanished in April in the worst monthly loss on record, triggered by the coast-to-coast shutdowns of factories, stores, offices and other businesses. Unemployment is now at its highest point since 1939. Like Trump, most of his aides, including Pence and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, have not worn face masks, and the president has huddled with guests at the White House for photo-ops that undermine the efforts at social distancing that do take place, such as seats placed more than six feet apart. "This is a show of bravado. This is a show of 'I got this. I'm in control'," said one former security official familiar with White House security planning during past administrations.

Loading "He's tried to minimise this threat from day one. It's the only way he can laugh in the face of this disease," said this person, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to frankly address sensitive security matters. "If he backtracks now, and starts wearing a mask, it will contradict the red meat he's feeding to his base constantly. This is the first health crisis that has been politicised." The White House has defended the efforts to keep Trump and Pence safe, which includes requiring visitors who meet with either to undergo rapid tests for the novel coronavirus. Meadows said on Friday that new protocols had been put in place to secure the campus over the past two days. Long lines of staff members and security personnel filed into the Old Executive Office Building, across the street from the White House, to get tested for the virus late into Thursday night and throughout Friday following the news about the military officer and Miller being infected.

But critics warned that proper security precautions are not being taken to protect the President from a lethal threat despite the assurances from the White House. "Normally the White House would defer to the medical unit on safety. They would defer to the Secret Service on security," said one former Trump White House official who has heard complaints from current staff about the lack of protocols. "But in this White House, everybody seems to be just doing their own thing." Traditionally, the White House medical unit, run by the Navy and led by the White House physician, has been in charge of dictating health safety protocols for the staff on the 18-acre White House complex. During past epidemics, including the SARS outbreak in the early 2000s, that unit had examined precautions for White House staff, and it developed a set of protocols to protect the president and his staff, as well as the rest of the government, as the swine flu, known as H1N1, arrived in the country in 2009, officials said.

Loading But as the novel coronavirus spread in January, said an official involved in those efforts, "it was stunning that they weren't taking those measures." Yet Katie Miller's positive test raised questions over who else she might have been in contact with. She has attended nearly all the White House coronavirus taskforce meetings, led by Pence, in the Situation Room, aides said. No aides wore masks in those meetings, except occasionally Matthew Pottinger, the deputy national security adviser. Following guidelines from medical experts, the White House medical staff has begun a contact tracing process on Miller to determine who she interacted with recently and whether she and the military valet might have passed the virus to one another, officials said. One official said Stephen Miller is "an ultimate germaphobe" who scrupulously sanitises his hands and maintains social distancing. White House aides said they were not releasing Katie Miller's name publicly but were forced to confirm it to reporters after Trump identified her during his meeting with the Republican representatives.

Less than an hour after Pence's plane had departed Washington, the President and first lady Melania Trump took a motorcade to the World War II Memorial on the National Mall to participate in a commemoration with seven veterans, all in their 90s, to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe. Asked by a reporter whether he considered wearing a mask around a group of elderly people who are at a higher risk of the virus, Trump said no. "I was very far away," he said. "I would have loved to have gone up and hugged them because they're great. I had a conversation with everyone but we were very far away. And the wind was blowing hard in such a direction that if the plague ever reached them, I'd be very surprised." Veterans talk with President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump during a ceremony at the World War II Memorial to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day. Credit:AP Since early April, those who visit Trump or Pence have been required to undergo rapid coronavirus tests from Abbott Laboratories, which can deliver results within 15 minutes, officials said. The two men, along with aides, have been tested regularly, at least once or more per week. Officials have said the new protocols could require them to be tested daily.

But close aides have been lax around Trump on other counts. On Thursday, the President met with close advisers, including son-in-law Jared Kushner, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and campaign manager Brad Parscale, who brought with him five prototype masks featuring the Trump-Pence reelection logo. Trump was delighted with the campaign swag and approved its distribution for public sale, officials said, and Parscale posted a photo on Twitter of himself wearing the mask. But that was the only time anyone involved in the meeting had worn any sort of face covering, the officials said. Three visitors to the White House on Thursday said that few officials inside the whole complex were wearing masks, and Trump and senior aides did not bring up the positive tests or express safety concerns. It's not just the President's political advisers who have flouted the protocols. Secret Service agents on Trump's protective detail, and officers who are taking the temperatures of all visitors to the White House grounds, also have routinely gone without masks, bewildering some of their former colleagues.

Loading He used the event to project confidence on a day when the unemployment rate spiked dramatically to 14.7 percent as vast sectors of society remain shuttered, and he rolled out a new slogan for his push to ease lockdown restrictions - "Transition to Greatness". Trump dismissed the notion that the virus spreading among White House staff was a warning sign about his push to reopen the country, where death toll continued to surge, approaching 77,000. "It could happen anywhere, whether you did go back to work or you didn't go back to work," Trump said. "It's a vicious enemy and an elusive enemy. It's probably the most contagious enemy anybody's ever seen." The Washington Post, AP
Seoul, May 9 : South Korea was on alert Saturday as more than a dozen people infected with the coronavirus from clubs in Seoul could spread the virus across the country amid eased social distancing.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 17 out of 18 new COVID-19 cases were linked to a person who visited clubs and bars in Seoul's popular multicultural neighbourhood of Itaewon last weekend, reports Yonhap News Agency.

The 29-year-old whom health authorities consider to be the first patient in the cluster infection, visited five clubs and bars in Itaewon from the night of May 1 to the early hours of the following morning.

On Saturday, Vice Health Minister Kim Ganglip said the health authorities are in the process of identifying people who visited the clubs, and family members and acquaintances of those who have been infected with the virus from the clubs, to make sure the virus does not spread in local communities.

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun instructed officials to find those who visited clubs in Itaewon last week and test them for the novel coronavirus.

Also Saturday, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon imposed an administrative order to effectively suspend business at clubs, bars and other night-life establishments in the capital city, said the Yonhap News Agency report.

The precautionary measure will remain in place until further notice, without specifying a date.

On Saturday, South Korea reported 18 more cases, raising the country's total to 10,840.

The nation's death toll remained unchanged at 256, according to the KCDC.
Born in Italy, Carla migrated to Western Australia in 1950, before moving to Sydney at just 19. At 22 she married businessman Leo Schuman, with whom she had her son, Alexander. (Her daughters are from her second marriage, to politician John Spender; they divorced in 2010.) But the marriage was, in her words, terrible and, despite a new business and nine-month-old baby, Carla summoned the strength to leave. It was possibly the most rewarding thing I did. I was at the right age and I found an inner strength I didnt realise I had, she says. Despite finding herself something of an outcast as a working single mother in the early 1970s, Carla had the determination to start over. Its such a short time we are on this earth and if you dont maximise it, what are you doing? she says. Ive been fortunate enough to have a lot of energy. If I am in a corner and find myself unhappy, I fight to get out of that corner. She says the other mothers at Alexanders preschool probably thought she was crazy.

Carla Zampatti: Its such a short time we are on this earth and if you dont maximise it, what are you doing? Credit:Hugh Stewart There were no other women, completely alone, starting or restarting a business, she says. I felt a bit of an outsider, which I have always felt in my life, which is not such a bad thing. Being an outsider makes you try harder. If Carla Zampatti is an outsider, her career at the centre of Australias fashion industry has been anything but. Her accolades include a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2009 and the Australian Fashion Laureate in 2008. She has starred at the countrys major fashion weeks alongside designers one-third her age. And in 2018, she launched an annual scholarship to help graduates from UTS in Sydney further their studies at some of the worlds top fashion schools. To mark her 50th anniversary in the industry, Carla penned her autobiography and held a celebration at the Sydney Opera House. And this year, to mark 55 years in fashion, she collaborated with former Harpers Bazaar editor Kellie Hush to produce a one-off magazine, called Carla, to celebrate the women who have helped her enjoy an enchanting career.

When I started in 1965, women were in a different place, she says. They were not working, certainly not leading mining or banking or building companies. They were all hoping to get a job but were being discouraged by society or their families and pressured to stay home. Loading Over the decades, Carla has dressed many of Australias most accomplished women, some of whom penned tributes for the magazine. They include former governor-general Quentin Bryce, ABC chair Ita Buttrose and various stars of the arts, which have been the focus of so many of Carlas philanthropic initiatives. Her designs have also been beamed around the world by the likes of Princess Mary of Denmark, celebrity chef Nigella Lawson and Scott Morrisons wife, Jenny, who chose a navy gown for the couples first trip to the White House, in 2019.

But she gets just as much of a boost from the emails she regularly receives from everyday women, aged 17 to 80, who thank her for the outfit that gave them that extra boost to get that job, or to stand out at their event.

I try on the first, second and third sample and I wear my own product, she says. Thats key to my success. My clients understand the love and care I put into each piece. Yet even someone as accomplished as Carla still feels uncomfortable being the centre of attention. I find it exhausting, she says. I am an introvert  you would not believe it. I love theatre, I love plays, I love movies. I love watching rather than performing. When I have to perform, I am terrified. Carla with Allegra and Bianca in the early 1980s. Credit:Courtesy of Carla Zampatti Carlas youngest child, Allegra, says she and older brother Alex share their mothers tendency to introspection, whereas her sister, fashion designer Bianca, is more of an extrovert. Weve all got Mum [in us], but differently, says Allegra, who spent nine years running Carlas business and now heads a not-for-profit linking disadvantaged students with business mentors.

Mums very flexible and doesnt mind change, in both how she designs and the way she sees the world. In my job, I dont mind change at all  were not perfectionists. In this time of great change, Carla has been pondering what women may want from her as a designer once the pandemic threat eases and life returns to some semblance of normality. Will they want something ultra glam or more casual wear? I think the former because we will get fed up with what were wearing all the time, she says, likening it to a pregnant woman who can no longer stand her maternity clothes. This period, she says, is fashions own pregnant pause. In difficult times like this, you learn a lot about yourself, she says. "If you have a good imagination you find ways and means. I think its important to think it will make a change. It will make us more understanding of each other, more compassionate, more giving, more generous.

Allegra says that spending school holidays in their mothers business exposed the three siblings to Carla, the hard-working businesswoman who had enormous respect for her staff, rather than the celebrity designer. Dressing a model at her first boutique, in Sydneys Surry Hills, in 1975. Credit:Greg Lee It wasnt about Mum in fancy photo shoots, Allegra says. We had incredible benefits from Mums position [in society] but we saw the reality of running a fashion business. Although Carla never pushed her children into the family business, all three have had a stint working for or alongside her as adults (Alex is the current chief executive). Setting boundaries between work and parental relationships  even simple things such as signing professional emails with a C and personal ones with M for Mum  has been crucial. Bianca and I developed a much stronger relationship as a result of working together, she says. Bianca shares her mothers passion for dance, and the arts in general, and says separating their businesses in 2018 was like coming back to being [just] mother and daughter, which I really cherish.

She adds, You always know if you go to work with your parent or partner theres this part of the relationship that always shifts. But theres this new joy when you get it back and you can share simple pleasures and you dont have to say, I was thinking about these accounts. I got my mum back, it was a very special thing. But I got a version of my mum where we really appreciated the day-to-day, the struggles, the wins, the challenges, the successes. It was a much deeper appreciation and connection. Both daughters say their mother has taught them many valuable lessons about business and life. Mum has an allergic reaction to entitlement, explains Allegra. Her message really strongly to us was that to be successful you need to work really hard, and you have to be lucky. Shed often say she was very lucky. Adds Bianca: Mum takes every day on like it counts, like today she could make it or break it. She has this kind of postwar immigrant tenacity and determination, and a sense of everything being an opportunity.
The health care sector lost a record 1.4 million jobs in April led by more than half a million job cuts at dentist offices according to the Labor Department, as the coronavirus pandemic kept most non-emergency health care services on hold nationally.

The staggering jobs losses mark a 53% decline in dental practice employment over two months. All but 3% of dental offices nationally were shut down except for emergency appointments last month, according to the American Dental Association, and nearly 9 out of 10 had laid off staff.

Most of the jobs could come back online over the next few weeks. The first week of May saw nearly half of dental practices bringing workers back, according to the ADA.

"This week 28 states have reopened in those states we're finding 48% of dentists have fully hired back their staff, which is a considerable jump from two weeks ago," said Marko Vujicic, the ADA's chief economist.

Dr. Paul Giotopoulos and his partners in New Rochelle, New York furloughed a dozen employees last month. They'll be bringing them back next week, with the moratorium on routine dental care scheduled to be lifted on May 15th in the state.

It will be anything but business as usual.

"We're going to be doing a lot of different things--taking some of the seats out of the waiting room we've put up barriers for the receptionists at the front desk," as well as doing pre-screening of patients for Covid symptoms, Giotopoulos said.
Mumbai, May 9 : The first three repatriation flights, including from London, Singapore and the Philippines, ferrying Indians stranded there will land at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on Sunday morning, officials said on Saturday.

This will kick off the weeklong repatriation schedule of a total 16 flights, including six transit services, bringing in around 2,350 Indians from various countries such as the US, Malaysia and Bangladesh, besides the UK, Singapore and the Philippines.

For this, the CSMIA has made full preparations right from the time they disembark the aircraft till they leave the terminal building.

Two dedicated aerobridges will be deployed for them along with other infrastructure to screen the passengers before they enter the immigration area, where 30 counters have been set up for quick clearance.

All passengers would be required to maintain a physical distance of 2 metres, wear face masks and gloves all through.

The CSMIA is also making special arrangements for food and beverages for the passengers, disinfecting their baggage before loading on conveyor belts, providing sanitized trolleys and hand sanitizers at various touch points at the airport.

Functioning with one-third staff with all personal protective equipment, all arriving passengers will be escorted by CISF personnel till they are handed over to the state authorities.

The airport will also open a few foreign exchange and mobile SIM card outlets for the passengers to enable them to install the 'Aarogya Setu' app on their phones before proceeding to quarantine.

In case any passenger is identified as symptomatic, he/she would be immediately isolated in a separate area and later shifted in special airport ambulances to the designated isolation centre.

The BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said on Thursday that it has booked 3,343 rooms in 88 city hotels to accommodate the stranded Indians here.

Around 1,900 Indians will be brought back to Mumbai, in seven special flights to and from various destinations worldwide, and the incoming passengers would be sent for compulsory 14-day quarantine.

The flights to Mumbai will be arriving from Bangladesh, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and US, said BMC spokesperson Vijay Khabale-Patil.

As a precaution, all the passengers would be sent to quarantine where they will undergo COVID-19 tests and if found positive, they will be admitted to hospitals for treatment.

Among the hotels booked for them are 2, 3, 4 and 5 star categories, besides serviced apartments, and budget hotels, he said.

On its part, the CSMIA has operated 51 outbound evacuation flights carrying 8,500 passengers between March 25 and May 9 to various global destinations, for foreign nationals stranded here during the ongoing lockdown.
On April 1, Georgia District Attorney George Barnhill finally received the autopsy report for a 25-year-old black jogger killed during a Feb. 23 confrontation with three white Glynn County men. A day later, Barnhill laid out the case for why he didnt believe the men should be arrested for the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery.

It appears Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael, and [William Bryan] were following, in hot pursuit, a burglary suspect, with solid firsthand probable cause, Barnhill wrote to a Glynn County police captain in a three-page letter. Given the fact Arbery initiated the fight, at the point Arbery grabbed the shotgun [that Travis McMichael was holding], under Georgia law, McMichael was allowed to use deadly force to protect himself.

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As we all now know, Arbery wasnt the burglar, and there was no good reason to think he was, but Barnhills letter provided the foundation of the argument against charging the McMichaels until just a few days ago, when a grisly cellphone video of Arberys death went viral and brought national outrage and renewed attention to the case.

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The Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the investigation Wednesday and charged the McMichaels with murder and aggravated assault Thursday. A day later, the agency couldnt help but take a swipe at the local investigation.

Probable cause was clear to our agents pretty quickly, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vic Reynolds said during a press conference Friday, implying that it should have been just as clear to George Barnhill.

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Barnhill, 63, has worked in relative obscurity as a small-town prosecutor for 36 years. He was assigned the case only after another prosecutor recused herself because Greg McMichael used to work in her office. In the letter to the police captain, Barnhill noted Greg McMichael also worked in a district attorneys office where his son is a prosecutor.

The victims mother has clearly expressed she wants myself and my office off the case, Barnhill wrote. She believes there are kinships between the parties (there are not) and has made other unfounded allegations of bias(es).

A few weeks later, Barnhill requested the state assign another prosecutor to the case, but only after making clear that he saw no grounds for arrest.

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Barnhills role in the Arbery shooting is his first real brush with national scrutiny. But I recalled Barnhill from an assignment in 2017, when he was doggedly pursuing Olivia Pearson on charges of felony voter fraud. Pearson, a 58-year-old black activist and city commissioner in the South Georgia town of Douglas, stood accused of improperly helping a woman voteshowing a young, first-time, black voter how to use a voting machine when she didnt know howin October 2012.

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Barnhill had worked as a prosecutor in this rural corner of Georgia since graduating from Samford Universitys Cumberland School of Law in 1983. In 2014, he was elected district attorney of a six-county region. Criminal prosecution is what I do, Barnhill told the Waycross Journal-Herald in 2014. I enjoy trying cases. This has always been my profession, what I chose to do.

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Barnhills prosecution of Pearson was part of a larger campaign by thenSecretary of State (and now Gov.) Brian Kemp, Georgias top elections official, to make vigilance against voter fraud a priority. I was alerted to the case while reporting on voter suppression efforts heading into the 2016 presidential election. Voting rights groups flagged Barnhills prosecution as part of an obvious and well-orchestrated attempt to intimidate black voters. After all, Pearson was accused of simply showing a young woman how to use a voting machine, not of influencing her vote.

It was an especially uncommon prosecution: At the time, only 10 of the 154 illegal voter assistance investigations in the previous three years in Georgia had been referred to a prosecutor. Most were closed without a ruling or dismissed. But Barnhills office was relentless in pursuing what they saw as an important case, and Pearsons prosecution spanned two trials and two years.

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I covered Pearsons first trial in April 2017. It ended in a mistrial due to a 29-year-old black female juror named Lenecia Armour, the only juror to stand between Pearson and a felony conviction and a possible 15-year prison sentence. It was torture, Armour said at the time of disagreeing with the rest of the jury.

I still have days when that wears on me, Pearson told me this week. Because I think aboutwhat if that young juror had given in to their pressure, you know?

Barnhills office quickly refiled the case and the second trial was held in February 2018. This time, Pearsons prosecution had earned more attention around the state, and a number of local voters rights groups helped with her defense. That case ended with much less drama; Pearson was acquitted of all charges after less than 30 minutes of jury deliberations.

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Ms. Pearson did absolutely nothing wrong, and her life was in turmoil for years because DA Barnhill would not back down, Sara Totonchi, executive director of the Southern Center for Human Rights, said earlier this week. This old tactic of Southern oppression sent palpable waves of fear throughout her community.

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I called Pearson last week after seeing Barnhills name in the news again. She told me she has tried to forget about him and move on with her life. She was reelected to the city commission last fall and has continued her work in the community, a place mired in poverty and inequality. But it wasnt lost on herand others who worked on her casethat Barnhill showed much more vigor in prosecuting her than in working to convict Ahmaud Arberys killers.

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Its deeply disturbing to stack the so-called crime pattern in Olivia Pearsons case against the actions that extinguished Mr. Arberys life, and see which actions warranted prosecution in DA Barnhills judgment, Totonchi said. In her view, this only confirms the racial animus in Barnhills decisions around prosecutions. (Don Samuel, a longtime defense attorney in Atlanta who was part of Pearsons legal team for the second trial was reluctant to criticize Barnhill in those terms when I called him this week, saying there are a lot of really shitty DAs in this state, but, for a country [DA], hes a pretty decent guy.)

Back in Douglas, Pearson has been working with organizers and civil rights groups to support Arberys family. Before I spoke with her Thursday night, Pearson had spent a couple of hours on a Zoom conference call discussing the arrests earlier that day of Greg and Travis McMichael. There were plans for a 4-mile walk and ride-along in Arberys honor.

Pearson told me she hoped Barnhills role in the case wouldnt be forgotten.

Its not his first time doing something contrary to sound judgment and legal process, Pearson said. Thats why Ive been speaking out as long as I have.

But she also knows its not just Barnhill. Justice in South Georgia is hard to achieve for African Americans, she said when we talked. South Georgia is so prejudiced and racist, its just sad.
Somrita Ghosh By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Confusion prevailed over the death tally in the national capital as hospital authorities and the Delhi government appeared to be on different pages when it came to the numbers.

According to the Delhi government's health bulletin, only 68 patients have succumbed to the novel coronavirus. However, authorities from hospitals insist the numbers are comparatively more.

As per the bulletin, 26 patients have died so far at the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital, a centrally operated hospital which is also one of the nodal hospitals for COVID-19. Hospital sources insist the really tally here is 52.



When contacted Dr Minakshi Bharadwaj, the Medical Superintendent of the hospital who appeared to be a bit agitated by the questioning insisted her hospital's data was right.

"It is difficult for me to repeat the same figures and facts to every media house. But yes, the figures of RML shown by the Delhi government is not correct. The matter has been conveyed over time to the state authorities and I have no idea who is publishing the daily health bulletin that is showing different figures," Dr Bharadwaj said.

When asked if the Delhi officials had cross-checked with RML, the Medical Superintendent said they haven't yet.

The New Indian Express tried to reach out to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) too but the calls went unanswered.

ALSO READ | Mild, moderate Covid-19 patients won't be tested for virus before discharge from hospitals: Centre

Sources at the Lok Nayak Hospital, a designated COVID-19 hospital under the state government, also said that the death toll is much higher than is being reflected in the bulletin. While the state government data shows only five deaths, hospital sources claim it is 47. Calls were made to the Medical Director to confirm this, but there was no response.

"The administration is checking the bulletin daily. Even if they are sending correct data, why didn't they object to this alleged fudging by the government before," said a source.

Dr Nutan Mundeja, DGHS, Delhi Health Department, could not be reached for comments.

The state bulletin issued on Saturday had figures from data collected between 4pm till the midnight of May 8. Figures will be released on mornings from Sunday.

Health Minister Satyendar Jain, for his part, asserted that there is no reason to hide anything and not a single case will go unaccounted for in the national capital.

"Hospitals have not sent detailed death reports of patients which have information such as reason of death, name, age and so on. It is on the basis of this that the COVID-19 health bulletin is updated. Hospitals have been told to send the death reports and summaries at the earliest so that the data can be promptly added to the bulletin," Jain added.

BJP Delhi head and MP Manoj Tiwari was among those who was not convinced. He pointed that 86 bodies have been buried by the Delhi government at the cemetery for coronavirus victims near ITO but the toll only shows 68.


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.
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
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and made a demand of a package worth Rs 30,000 crore to help the state battle the economic crisis staged by the coronavirus pandemic, news agency ANI reported.

CM Baghel wrote to PM Modi on Friday and demanded the release of the package in the coming three months. The chief minister, however, pressed for an immediate release Rs 10,000 crore in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

The number of coronavirus cases in Chhattisgarh is relatively lower as compared to the rest of the country. As per the Union Ministry of Health figures updated on Friday, the state has witnessed nearly 60 Covid-19 patients so far while 38 have been cured or discharged from hospitals. The state has seen no coronavirus fatalities.

Also read: Industry says Rs 15 lakh crore package required for economic revival

Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel wrote to PM Modi yesterday demanding Rs 30,000 crore package in coming 3 months for the state to curb economic crisis due to #COVID19 outbreak. He has urged the PM to release Rs 10,000 crore immediately out of Rs 30,000 crore. (File pics) pic.twitter.com/9N2S6UDvxP  ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

This is when Covid-19 cases rise unabated across the country. The national tally now nears the 60,000-mark. Maharashtra is the worst-hit state with over 17,000 coronavirus cases. In Gujarat, Covid-19 patients have crossed the 7,000-mark.

The national capital is also struggling to contain the rise in cases. Delhi has reported nearly 6,000 Covid-19 cases.

In a press briefing on Friday, Union health ministry joint secretary Lav Agarwal said the country must learn to live with the virus.

We will have to learn to live with the virus, for which it is important to make critical behavioural changes and incorporate all the preventive guidelines that the health ministry has been issuing on following hand hygiene, cough etiquette and social distancing measures, as part of our daily routine. It is an everyday battle for us to keep the infection at bay, Agarwal said.
Asylum seekers who say they are "trapped" in Covid-19 infested direct provision centres can isolate at a Dublin hotel instead, the National Public Health Emergency Team said.

Anyone who could not isolate where they lived could instead go to a hotel in Citywest in Dublin, including asylum seekers, Dr Siobhan Ni Bhriain, Lead in Integrated Care with the HSE announced at the public health press briefing last night.

The Department of Justice later confirmed that asylum seekers may be accommodated at the hotel, or at its four dedicated off-site self-isolation facilities and that the HSE would decide on the appropriate location based on an individuals medical need.

The expanded Covid-19 testing capacity created for nursing homes could soon be extended to asylum seekers, Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohon said.

The announcements came hours after the the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission questioned the Minister for Equality, Immigration, and Integration David Stanton about how a COVID-19 outbreak in a Kerry direct provision centre was being managed.

A major coronavirus outbreak at the the Skellig Star hotel Direct Provision centre in Caherciveen has sparked protests and pleas for help from both asylum seekers and local residents.

At least 23 Covid-19 cases have been confirmed at the centre - approximately one quarter of all residents - who say that self-isolating at the centre is impossible.

Nationally, 164 Covid-19 cases have been reported in nineteen Direct Provision centres.

A statement from the IHREC said that while affected residents at the Kerry centre have reportedly been moved to isolation facilities, the situation has caused "considerable fears" among the remaining residents and those who live nearby.

The IHREC has asked Minister Stanton to clarify what public health guidance has been provided to residents and management of the Cahersiveen Direct Provision centre.

It also requested clarification on how that guidance is being implemented and what is being done to protect the residents health and wellbeing.

The IHREC said that it was "particularly concerned" by media reports that residents who may have come into contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case face more onerous restrictions on their movements outside the centre than the population at large.

The COVID pandemic has highlighted the urgent need for a new approach to providing for those seeking asylum in Ireland, the body said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said that Minister Stanton will carefully consider the IHRECs correspondence.
By Express News Service

GUWAHATI: The World Hindu Federation, Bangladesh chapter, has alleged that the persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh increased during the COVID-19 lockdown.



Giving an account of alleged atrocities, the federation said there had been a series of incidents in last month like shops being looted, businessmen being killed, land being grabbed, temples being demolished and idols vandalized, families being forced to leave the country and girls and women being abducted and raped.



"In April, 12 business shops of Hindu owners were looted, 2 Hindu businessmen were killed, 307 acres of Hindu land were occupied by local criminals, 2 temples were demolished and idols vandalized. 21 Hindu families were evicted from their settlements and 14 Hindu families forced to leave the country," the federation said in a statement on Saturday.



It also said that during that month, four Hindu girls were abducted, six other Hindu girls and women were raped, ten were attempted to being raped and three Hindu girls were forced to convert to Islam.



"The human rights situation is becoming worse day by day in Bangladesh but unfortunately no one has been arrested yet," the federation lamented.



It demanded exemplary punishment to the criminals for the atrocities unleashed on the minorities in the country.



The federation listed a series of incidents of atrocities on the Hindus. They are as follows:



April 4: A land grabber occupied the ancestral property of one Narayan Sarkar in Puran Mahipur Union of Mahipur Police Station in Patuakhali district.



April 6: A local land grabber and his two sons grabbed 100 bighas of land belonging to 50 Hindu families in three villages under Chaugachha police station in Jessore district.



April 7: The Islamic fundamentalists vandalized the idol of a Hindu temple located in Dashmina upazila of Patuakhali district.



April 8: Police arrested a school teacher, Indrajith Hazari (35), on the false allegation of posting "abusive" words about a prophet.



April 9: The miscreants vandalized the idols of Sri Sri Radha Gobind and Lakshmi of Shiva temple in Kuki Kalidas village of Shibganj upazila of Bogra district.



April 10: A man grabbed the 6 bighas of ancestral land of Jobon Mridha in Morelganj of Bagerhat district.



April 11: A local goon demanded 5 lakhs taka from a Hindu businessman Asit Kumar Sarkar, who is a resident of Titukandi village in Alamdanga upazilla in Faridpur district. Later, the goon and 30 of his associates attacked and seriously injured Sarkar.



April 12: A man and his sons looted the house of Sudhanshu Das of Nazirpur village in Nasirnagar upazila of Brahmanbaria district and cut down valuable trees worth more than three lakh taka.



April 13: A helpless widow Basna Rani Das and her son and daughter were brutally beaten up and injured by local criminals who also grabbed her house and other properties.

April 14: A local goon threatened to kill a retired Hindu teacher, Dipak Kumar Raha, when he wanted to return to his house after a long time from Narail district. The goon captured Rahas house and property and forced him out of his house.



April 15: One Dhaneshwar Roys daughter Pratima Rani was forcibly taken away and converted to Islam in Dimla upazilla in Nilphamari district.



April 16: A man and his two sons carried out an attack on a Hindu family in Paschim Sujankathi (Mallikpur) village under Agailjhara police station in Barisal district. Four Hindus were admitted to the hospital with serious injuries.



April 17: Ashtami Sarkar (14), daughter of Nimai Sarkar of Rajshahi district, committed suicide in her room as she was regularly harassed by a man and his associates.



April 18: Police arrested Paritosh Kumar Sarkar, a Hindu college student, on the false allegation of making objectionable comments on Facebook.



April 19: Police arrested one Madhu Kundu (32) of Fakirhat in Bagerhat for writing about mass gathering during the performance of last rites of a man at Nasirnagar in Brahmanbaria district.



April 21: Thirty Hindu families were attacked in Satkania by a local group of 60 people. 25 Hindus, including children, were seriously injured.



April 22: The criminals vandalized a temple and attacked several Hindu houses at Akkelpur municipal area of Joypurhat district for obstructing gambling at the Parghati temple.



April 23: The miscreants killed a Hindu man Subrata Mandal (30) at Dakop upazila in Khulna district.



April 24: The goons attacked a Hindu family at Mongla in Bagerhat district with the intention of evicting them from their homes. Six members of the family, including a pregnant woman, were injured.



April 25: A local group attacked and vandalized the house of Rabidas and grabbed property at Sariyakandi in Bogra district.



April 26: The miscreants vandalized idols and set fire to two temples in Laxmipur municipal town.



April 27: A local and his two sons beat up and injured Narendra Moktar to grab his properties at Begumganj upazila in Noakhali district.



April 28: The miscreants attacked a Durga temple and its adjoining Bankali temple at Maheshail Bazar under Ishania Union No. 2 of Bochaganj Upazila in Dinajpur and vandalized the Shiva and Kali idols of the two temples.



April 29: Bikash Chandra Ghosh in Satkhira district was attacked by 35-40 people with the intention of grabbing his five bighas of land.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Coronavirus cases in Ohio rose to 23,697 with 1,331 deaths, according to statistics released Saturday by the Ohio Department of Health.

The number includes 117 probable deaths and 1,137 probable infections.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine did not hold a daily briefing on Saturday. The next briefing is planned for Monday, when DeWine is expected to announce news about the reopening of daycares.

On Friday, Ohio reported 1,306 deaths and 23,016 infections.

At least 3.99 million people across the globe have had coronavirus, and 276,000 people have died by Saturday afternoon, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University. That includes at least 1.29 million Americans infected and 77,000 U.S. deaths.

Read more from cleveland.com:

Ohio hopes to begin coronavirus antibody testing next week

Cleveland records 40th death to COVID-19 coronavirus, 21 new confirmed cases

Ohio coronavirus cases up to 23,016, with 1,306 deaths: Friday update

Ohios Catholic churches prep for return of in-person mass in May

Coronavirus timeline: May 2-8
Carolina Vasquez lost track of days and nights, unable to see the sunlight while stuck for two weeks in a windowless cruise ship cabin as a fever took hold of her body.

On the worst night of her encounter with COVID-19, the Chilean woman, a line cook on the Greg Mortimer ship, summoned the strength to take a cold shower fearing the worst: losing consciousness while isolated from others.

Vasquez, 36, and tens of thousands of other crew members have been trapped for weeks aboard dozens of cruise ships around the world long after governments and cruise lines negotiated their passengers' disembarkation. Some have gotten ill and died; others have survived but are no longer getting paid.

Both national and local governments have stopped crews from disembarking in order to prevent new cases of COVID-19 in their territories. Some of the ships, including 20 in US waters, have seen infections and deaths among the crew. But most ships have had no confirmed cases.

"I never thought this would turn into a tragic and terrifying horror story, Vsquez told The Associated Press in an interview through a cellphone app from the Greg Mortimer, an Antarctic cruise ship floating off Uruguay. Thirty-six crew members have fallen ill on the ship.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last month that about 80,000 crew members remained on board ships off the US coast after most passengers had disembarked. The Coast Guard said Friday that there were still 70,000 crew members in 102 ships either anchored near or at US ports or underway in U.S. waters.

The total number of crew members stranded worldwide was not immediately available. But thousands more are trapped on ships outside the U.S., including in Uruguay and the Manila Bay, where 16 cruise ships are waiting to test about 5,000 crew members before they will be allowed to disembark.

As coronavirus cases and deaths have risen worldwide, the CDC and health officials in other countries have expanded the list of conditions that must be met before crews may disembark.

Cruise companies must take each crew member straight home via charter plane or private car without using rental vehicles or taxis. Complicating that mission, the CDC requires company executives to agree to criminal penalties if crew members fail to obey health authorities' orders to steer clear of public transportation and restaurants on their way home.

"The criminal penalties gave us (and our lawyers) pause, Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley wrote in a letter to crew members earlier this week, but he added that company executives ultimately agreed to sign.

Melinda Mann, 25, a youth program manager for Holland America, spent more than 50 days without stepping on dry land before finally disembarking from the Koningsdam ship Friday in Los Angeles. Before she was transferred to the Koningsdam, she tried to walk off another ship with other US crew members last week but the ship's security guards stopped them.

For 21 hours a day, Mann remained isolated in a 150-square-foot (14-square- meter) cruise cabin that is smaller than her bedroom in her Midland, Georgia, home.

She read 30 books and was only able to leave her room three times a day to walk around the ship. Her contract ended April 18, so she was not paid for weeks. Keeping me in close captivity for so long is absolutely ridiculous, Mann said in a telephone interview.

Earlier this week in Nassau, Bahamas, crew members from Canada aboard the Emerald Princess were told to prepare to be flown home in a charter plane. But the Bahamian government did not allow the ship to dock in the end.

Leah Prasad's husband is among the stranded crew members. Prasad said she has spent hours tracking down government agencies to help her husband, a Maitre D'Hotel for Carnival.

He is getting discouraged. He is stuck in a cabin, Prasad said. It is not good for his mental health. Angela Savard, a spokeswoman for Canada's foreign affairs, said the government was continuing to explore options to bring Canadians home.

For those aboard the Greg Mortimer in Montevideo, desperation is setting in, crew members told the AP.

The Antarctic cruise set sail from Argentina on March 15, after a pandemic had already been declared. The ship's physician, Dr. Mauricio Usme, said that when the first passenger fell ill, on March 22, he was pressured by the captain, the cruise operator and owners to modify the health conditions that had to be met for the ship to be admitted into ports.

Dr. Usme refused. The boat anchored in the port of Montevideo on March 27.

More than half of its passengers and crew tested positive for COVID-19. Finally, on April 10, 127 passengers, including some who were infected, were allowed to disembark and fly home to Australia, New Zealand, the U.S., Canada and Europe. Crew members were told to stay on board.

The doctor was hospitalized in an intensive care unit in Montevideo, along with a Filipino crew member, who later died.

"People are exhausted and mentally drained, said Dr. Usme, now recovered and back on the Greg Mortimer. It's a complex situation. You feel very vulnerable and at imminent risk of death. CMI, the Miami-based company that manages the boat, said it has been unable to get the necessary permissions to let crew members of 22 nationalities go home, but said they were all still under contract receiving pay.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
15-Year-Old Boy Hailed a Hero After He Dived Into a Canal to Save a Drowning Toddler

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WASHINGTON  Janice Hagigal pulled on latex gloves, then placed canned corn, salad dressing, potted meat, cranberry sauce and frozen chicken leg quarters in a plastic bag. By noon Tuesday, there wasnt much left on the shelves at the Emory Beacon of Lights food pantry.

Still, Hagigal wanted to make sure everyone in line  mostly brown and black people like she and her coworkers -- got something to eat that day.

Theyre more in need now than ever, said Hagigal, an assistant who has worked at the nonprofit's pantry since 2006.

As the coronavirus outbreak continues to take its toll on black and Latino communities, black and Latino churches, advocacy groups and civil rights activists have ramped up efforts to help their own, filling in gaps where they say the federal government and even some local governments have fallen short.

Janice Hagigal speaks to a man collecting a bag of food from the Emory Beacon of Light, Inc. food pantry on Tuesday, May 5, 2020. The number of people the weekly pantry serves, who are mostly black and Latino, has more than doubled since the coronavirus pandemic started.

Some have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to help people buy food and diapers. Others have given out masks and hand sanitizer. Some have set up coronavirus testing sites in communities where there were none.

The pandemic has put more focus on health care and income disparities in those communities. But while some officials have pledged to address those inequities, advocates said their communities cant wait.

More: Coronavirus spares one neighborhood but ravages the next. Race and class spell the difference.

Its clear that we had to step up to fill in the gap, said Joseph W. Daniels, Jr., lead pastor of Emory Fellowship, a predominately black church in Washington, D.C., and founder of the Emory Beacon of Light. We had to fill in places where typically and traditionally you would think that (the federal) government would step in.

A survey in April by the Pew Research Center, found 61 percent of Hispanics and 44 percent of blacks said they or someone in their household had lost a job or had their wages reduced because of the outbreak compared to 38 percent of whites.

Centuries of institutionalized racism are a main driver behind the many economic and health care disparities that have fueled high rates of unemployment and positive cases in black and Latinos communities during the outbreak, according to experts.

Story continues

At the same time, the federal government has a history of neglecting communities of color during crises, said Silas Lee, a sociology professor at Xavier University, a historically black university in New Orleans. As one of many examples, he and others point to the government's slow response in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina, which devastated black communities in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi.

They also point to the response after Hurricane Maria decimated Puerto Rico in 2017 and government policy toward the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, in 2014, which heavily affected black communities.

Community groups and churches have long served as resources for people of color to help fill the void, Lee said.

When the challenges arise, they do not run away from them, Lee said. They will find a way to have an impact."

Joseph W. Daniels, Jr. is lead pastor of Emory Fellowship in Washington, D.C., and a founder of the Emory Beacon of Light, Inc., which runs a weekly food pantry that feeds mostly black and Latino community members. Daniels stopped by the food pantry May 5, 2020.

Food insecurity grows as black and Latino Americans lose jobs

Outside the food pantry at Emory Fellowship, a steady stream of people walked up, each stopping at blue tape on the ground marking the recommended six feet of social distancing. They came pushing carts and carrying shopping bags. Some came alone, others with small children. At one point, about a dozen people waited.

It was the first visit for Ralphie Avix Vincent. She saw someone with a bag and they directed her to the pantry.

Its so kind, said the 73-year-old as she walked away with a plastic bag.

Teshaun Moore, left, and Janice Hagigal help sort and pack bags of food and sundries at Emory Beacon of Light, on Tuesday, May 5, 2020.

For more than 20 years, the pantry has served people in the neighborhood, which until gentrification crept in over the past decade, was mostly black and Latino. Each Tuesday, the pantry served about 80 clients. Since the outbreak, that number has more than doubled, reaching a high last week of 215 people in need.

The only time we have that may people is Thanksgiving, said Hagigal.

The center has been scrambling to get more donations as more people have been laid off and furloughed, with more than 33 million Americans filing unemployment claims since March as of this week. The non-profit relies on church members, local businesses and other faith organizations. It also partners with the Capital Area Food Bank.

Helping the community is at the heart of Emory's mission, said Daniels. But problems facing communities of color, including food insecurity, the lack of affordable housing and access to quality health care and education, cant be addressed without government intervention.

The federal government is looking for churches to step up and help, which it should. As a church, thats our responsibility to community, Daniels said. However, with the realities of what people in the margins are going through  We cant sustain it. We dont have the resources.

More: Historic layoffs take biggest toll on Blacks, Latinos, women and the young

Many Hispanics, African Americans have little in savings

In California, Canal Alliance has been giving out food and masks every Tuesday to about 500 families in Marin County since March. Before the outbreak, it distributed food to about 250 families on Tuesdays.

Omar Carrera, CEO of the nonprofit community-based organization, said the need was clear. People the group served -- mostly low-income Latino families and immigrants -- needed money to buy basics like medicine, food and diapers. Many worked in lower-paying jobs, including landscaping, childcare, construction, restaurants and retail.

So Canal Alliance launched a fundraising drive aiming to collect $50,000. It raised more than $2 million. Throughout April, the group distributed the first $500,00 to more than 1,500 families. Most got a check for $350. The next distribution of $800,000 is expected this month, with each family getting $600.

We were really giving the power to people to make that decision about what they needed, Carrera said. The gap in our community was access to cash.

Omar Carrera, CEO of the Canal Alliance, a nonprofit community-based organization in Marin County, California, distributed food May 6, 2020, to those in need. The group serves mostly low-income Latinos and immigrants and their families. Photo courtesy of Susan Adler.

In contrast, much of the help from local officials was earmarked for rent payments, said Carrera.

Lee, the professor at Xavier, said churches and community groups often customize their efforts to meet the needs of communities unlike the cookie-cutter approach of governments. About 73 percent of African Americans and 70 percent of Hispanic said they didnt have emergency funds to cover three months of expenses, compared to about 47 percent of white, according to the Pew survey.

Lee said those groups are trusted institutions in their communities.

People know them, Lee said. Its very important to have a level of trust when youre providing services especially in the environment were in now. People are emotionally fragile, financially fragile, spiritually malnourished. 

Bassey Etuk, an organizer with Project South, a community-based organization, (right) and others helped set up a coronavirus testing site in Atlanta. The testing site opened May 4, 2020.

Making sure people of color can get tested for coronavirus

In Atlanta, community groups are also working to ensure black and Latino residents have equal access to health care.

More than 40 cars drove up to the testing site Monday at the Project South parking lot in south Atlanta. Some lined up before testing for the coronavirus began at 10 a.m., while others walked up to get the free test. It was the first day for the new site.

It was slow and steady and sort of a good day to get into our groove, said Emery Wright, co-director of Project South, a community organizing group.

As the outbreak spread, Project South teamed with Hunger Coalition of Atlanta to hand out food, hand sanitizers and toilet paper in the African American neighborhood in Atlanta where the groups are based.

The group's leaders also decided they needed a stepped-up public health response. In early April, Project South and the Hunger Coalition partnered with the Community Organized Relief Effort, a non-profit founded by actor Sean Penn, to set up the community's first testing site.

Community activists and civil rights leaders have called for federal health officials to track and release racial data of people testing positive for the coronavirus and those who died from it. President Donald Trump vowed weeks ago that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would do just that, but so far only a few states have released racial information. Data from these states shows black and Latino people are dying at a disproportionately higher rate compared with whites.

Actor Sean Penn, founder of CORE, and Carolyn Pittman, executive director of Hunger Coalition of Atlanta, at a testing site in Atlanta. The groups, along with Project South, teamed up to set up a site in the predominately black neighborhood.

Wright said groups learned they would have to take care of their own from Hurricane Katrina, when government and private contractors failed to help communities of color in the predominately African American city of New Orleans and others in Alabama and Mississippi. In 2011, eight community groups across the Southeast formed a coalition to respond to disasters. The groups, including Project South, have kicked into action to help during the pandemic.

When it hit we just knew that this was going to be up to us, both here locally and then coordinating a response across the region, Wright said.

More: 'Tuskegee always looms in our minds': Some fear black Americans, hardest hit by coronavirus, may not get vaccine

'They are the forgotten ones'

In Florida, staff from the Redlands Christian Migrant Association went to bus stops in Collier County last month to hand out masks and bandanas to farm workers headed to the fields to pick fruit and vegetables.

Yoly Lopez, a farmer worker in Florida, wears a bandana provided by Redlands Christian Migrant Association. The group recently distributed masks and bandanas to farm workers to help during the coronavirus outbreak. Photo courtesy of Yoly Lopez.

The non-profit provides childcare and runs charter schools, but with the outbreak its mission has expanded to raise money to help its clients -- mostly Latino farm workers and migrants -- buy food and cleaning supplies and pay for rent and utilities.

Many dont qualify for federal stimulus checks or food stamps because they are undocumented immigrants. And with the outbreak, many now work just one day a week instead of five or six days.

Theyre really struggling to make ends meet, said Isabel Garcia, the organization's executive director.

Elina Amaguer and Javier Leal recently loaded the van for the Redlands Christian Migrant Association, which distributed food to farm workers and others in communities in Florida. The association, which serves mostly farm workers, immigrants and poor families in rural communities, has stepped up its services during the coronavirus outbreak. Photo courtesy of Edelmira Valle.

The last time the organization launched a massive fundraising effort was after Hurricane Irma in 2017 when it distributed food and supplies for a week. This time its different, said Garcia. The health care crisis will require a longer recovery time. They dont know when childcare centers or schools will open.

Were not ready and set up to be able to serve families," during a pandemic, Garcia said. "Its emotionally draining, but weve never stopped.

In recent weeks, the group has also handed out staples such as rice and beans to needy families.

They are often the forgotten ones," Garcia said.

Canal Alliance, a nonprofit community-based organization, distributed food recently to families in Marin County, California. Photos courtesy of Canal Alliance.

'It was scary to see'

In southwest Chicago, officials at the Esperanza Health Centers started seeing more patients show up in early March with COVID-19 symptoms. So workers there starting testing their mostly Latino patients. Initially, there were about 25 people a day. Now, its up to 150. Of those tested, about 55 percent test positive.

It was scary to see, said Carmen Vergara, the centers CEO. Thats alarming.

When the pandemic hit, the community health center formed an internal task force and expanded testing space at two of its four sites. There werent enough testing sites in the community, Vergara said.

It was our role to make sure we were taking care of the patients that we serve, she said. We knew we had to stay on top of developments.

Vergara said the state and city are helping more now, including providing more testing supplies.

But theres still a lag of testing, she said. Theres still work to be done.

Nearby, Enlace Chicago, a community-based organization, started raising money to help its most vulnerable clients, including seniors, single parents and those ineligible for federal aid because of their immigration status.

You have to be able to mobilize on your own, said Katya Nuques, the group's executive director. Last month, the group started giving families $500 each from the $300,000 it had raised.

People are really suffering during the crisis, said Nuques. We dont think were going to recover easily from this one.

More: Health issues for blacks, Latinos and Native Americans may cause coronavirus to ravage communities

More: Health issues for blacks, Latinos and Native Americans may cause coronavirus to ravage communities

Project South, Hunger Coalition of Atlanta and Community Organized Relief Effort set up a coronavirus testing site in a predominately African American community in Atlanta. The first day of the site was May 4, 2020.

Heart wrenching to see the need'

In Maryland, Grainger Browning, Jr., and his wife, Jo Ann, both pastors at Ebenezer A.M.E. Church in Fort Washington, watched on Easter as the line of cars waiting to get gift cards grew to three miles long. Some drove up with all their belongings inside. Some came with their children.

It was heart wrenching to see the need, recalled Grainger Browning. But we were happy that we were able to assist  and just seeing people so happy that somebody was reaching out to them because government money had not come in yet.

The church is in a predominately affluent black county, but there are pockets of poverty among its black and Latino residents, and the pandemic has hit Prince Georges County hard.

The crisis is hitting every area of our community, said Grainger Browning.

With donations from the congregation, the church has given away $150,000 since March to help nearly 5,000 people buy food. On Thursday, it teamed with the World Central Kitchen founded by chef Jose Andres to distribute 1,000 meals.

On Mothers Day, it plans to give $50 gift cards to mothers.

Jo Ann Browning said giving is not foreign to Ebenezer, but called it a blessing during the pandemic to see church members ''stepping up to the plate and hitting a home run in terms of their giving.

The last time the church launched a massive relief effort was when it raised $120,000 to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. Its important, the Brownings said, to help their brown and black communities.

There's never been a case where everything was okay. The church is always there to fill the gap, said Grainger Browning. The church was never there just on SundayIts really what we did Monday through Saturday that made the difference.

Follow Deborah Berry on Twitter @dberrygannett

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coronavirus data: black, Latino people hit hard, charities try to help
TV actor Sayantani Ghosh has said everyone is facing inconvenience amid the lockdown that has stalled all shoots amid the Covid-19 pandemic. She added that EMIs may have been deferred but everyone needs to run their houses and there are many regular expenses that need to be met.

Sayantani told The Times of India in an interview, Crisis is such that they are not denying payment but how will they make the payments. Offices are also closed. We all are facing inconvenience. Payments are stuck in my case also. I have my standing expenditures. I have my house EMI and car EMI. Though the Government has relaxed it that for 2-3 months it will be deferred but I have to run our houses as well. It is starting to create inconvenience for us. My heart goes out to people who are daily wage earners and also actors, who have just started out or not in a better position right now. It is a difficult time for everyone irrespective of their professions.

Also read: SS Rajamoulis son Karthikeya opts out of maiden production Aakasavani

She also expressed doubts over the safety of crew members once shoots resume. The economics is taking a toll on us now as so many workers are involved. We all are at home. One needs to get back to work. We are targeting reopening but it seems ok on a paper but on a practical level one needs to see how much can be done. Everybodys safety is involved. Even if you limit the number of people, there are still x number of people involved in a shoot. In such times, social distancing is going to be a challenge. There are also talks that the actors need not require to travel back home after shoot as there can be at a risk. Risk element will also increase in travelling from sets to shoot. A lot of permutation combination is involved. But practically, I dont know when we are actually going to resume shoots, she told the daily.

Recently, TV producer Binaifer Kohli had said that producers are ready to resume shoot as their episodes are ready. About the safety measures and health risks, Binaifer had said, There will be a lot of things I will take care of, like having a doctor and nurse on the set every day. I will also have a thermal testing machine so that everyone can be checked on a daily basis. I will follow all the rules, because my conscience will not allow me to put anybodys life on risk. I am the captain of the ship and I will make sure that everyone is healthy and hearty. The whole unit will stay on the set itself even the actors have agreed to stay on the set so that no one carries any kind of infection home. We will appoint a cook to whip up amazing food for the unit members.

Sayantani, who joined Naagin franchise in the current season, had to exit as her character was killed off. Confirming the same, she had said in an interview, Yes, my character is winding up. As a show, Naagin has to keep the audience on the edge of their seats and hence, the team has to introduce high points and shockers at every stage. The creative team has decided that killing my character would serve as a big high point.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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PATNA

A day after the Delhi government claimed to have paid the train travel of 1,200 migrant workers to Muzaffarpur district, Bihars minister Sanjay Jha Saturday slammed the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government for politicking over the matter saying they had already shot off a letter to Bihar government seeking immediate reimbursement of the amount involved.

Reacting to a tweet by Delhi minister Gopal Rai, Jha said it was resorting to white lies over the return of hapless labourers stranded in national capital due to the nationwide lockdown.

I saw a tweet by a Delhi minister saying they are paying for the tickets of 1,200 migrants who are travelling from Delhi to Muzaffarpur (but) I have a letter here sent by their government asking for the reimbursement of the money from the Bihar government, the minister for water resources said.

As soon as the Shramik Special train left for Muzaffarpur on Friday, AAPs Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh was quick to take credit for facilitating their return back home, while implying that Bihar government had failed to come to the aid of its workers.

Jha also released copy of the letter and said, On one hand you are taking credit, saying you are sending them back with your own money. On the other hand, you are requesting not to reimburse passengers but to reimburse the amount to the Delhi government.

What kind of optics are you trying to create. See your minister Gopal Rai is lying on Twitter that your government will pay the fare, then (you) send a letter asking for money from us, Jha tweeted.

Union minister Giriraj Singh also attacked the Delhi government for taking recourse to cheap publicity.

Later, Delhis health minister Satyendra Jain stepped in. It is not fair to take money from them (migrant labourers), they have been staying in shelter homes for last two months. From where will they get money to pay for tickets, so the Delhi government paid for it. One shouldnt do politics over it.

Earlier, the Bihar government had announced that the travel fare from originating station would be reimbursed by it after the completion of the mandatory 21-day quarantine, besides an additional sum of Rs 500 each. Railways is bearing 85% of the ticket fare, while the state governments concerned will have to pay the remaining 15%, as per Union health ministry.

Meanwhile, another special train left Delhi for Muzaffarpur on Saturday.

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CAIRO - Egypts President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has approved amendments to the countrys state of emergency that grant him and security agencies additional powers, which the government says are needed to combat the coronavirus outbreak.

An international rights group condemned the amendments, saying the government has used the global pandemic to expand, not reform, Egypts abusive Emergency Law.

The new amendments allow the president to to take measures to contain the virus, such as suspending classes at schools and universities and quarantining those returning from abroad. But they also include expanded powers to ban public and private meetings, protests, celebrations and other forms of assembly.

The government has waged an unprecedented crackdown on dissent since 2013, when el-Sissi rose to power, and unauthorized protests have been banned for years.

The amendments, which el-Sissi signed off on Friday, also allow military prosecutors to investigate incidents when army officers are tasked with law enforcement or when the president orders it. The countrys chief civilian prosecutor would have the final decision on whether to bring matters to trial.

The amended law would also allow the president to postpone taxes and utility payments as well as provide economic support for affected sectors.

Parliament, which is packed with el-Sissi supporters, approved the measure last month.

Egypt has been under a state of emergency since April 2017, and the government extended it late last month for another three months. The law was originally passed to give the president broader powers to combat terrorism and drug trafficking.

The government said the amendments were needed to address a legal vacuum revealed by the coronavirus outbreak. Egypt, with a population of 100 million, has reported at least 514 deaths among around 9,000 confirmed cases.

However, only five of the 18 amendments are clearly related to public health, and the new powers can be used whenever a state of emergency is declared, Human Rights Watch said.

Some of these measures could be needed in public health emergencies, but they should not be open to abuse as part of an unreformed emergency law, said Joe Stork, the New York-based groups Middle East and North Africa director.

Resorting to national security and public order as a justification reflects the security mentality that governs Sissis Egypt.

In response the pandemic, Egypt has halted international air travel and shuttered schools, universities, mosques, churches and archaeological sites, including the famed Giza pyramids. A curfew is in place from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. The partial lockdown is to continue for another two weeks, until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
A central team headed by Union health ministrys additional deputy director general Sudhir Gupta has advised health authorities in Pune to take steps to prevent the spread of Covid-19 out of the red zone areas and follow the containment strategy to bring the pandemic under control in Pune.

The team took the review of the situation in Pune city and division. The team members advised concentration of efforts to prevent the spread of Covid-19 from the red zone to other zones in the city. Emphasis was laid on house-to-house survey, contact tracing and, if needed, quarantine of suspected cases, Pune divisional commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar said.

The team met with Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporation officials on Friday and Saturday to take a review of the citys response to the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the prominent red zones in Maharashtra, Pune district has seen more than 130 deaths and 2,400 positive cases as of May 8.

The team headed by Gupta on Saturday visited the Pune Smart City Development Corporation Limited. Meetings were scheduled with top civic officials, Pune Zilla Parishad officials and hospitals engaged in the treatment of Covid-19 patients in Pune. On Friday evening, Gupta met with Pune divisional commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar to discuss the situation.
[May 08, 2020] NORWEGIAN CRUISE 72 HOUR DEADLINE ALERT: Former Louisiana Attorney General and Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Remind Investors With Losses in Excess of $100,000 of Deadline in Class Action Lawsuits Against Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. - NCLH

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, the former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have only until May 11, 2020 to file lead plaintiff applications in securities class action lawsuits against Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH), if they purchased the Company's securities between February 20, 2020 and March 12, 2020, inclusive (the "Class Period"). These actions are pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. What You May Do If you purchased securities of Norwegian Cruise Line and would like to discuss your legal rights and how these cases might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-nclh/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in these class actions by overseeing lead counsel with the goal of obtaining a fair and just resolution, you must request this position by application to the Court by May 11, 2020.



About the Lawsuits Norwegian Cruise Line and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

Between March 11-12, 2020, news outlets reported that leaked emails from the Company revealed a broad scheme to pressure its sales people into misleading customers regarding the nature and extent of the COVID-19 virus in order to preserve cruise bookings. On this news, the price of Norwegian Cruise Line's shares plummeted approximately 26.7% on March 11th and another approximately 35.8% on March 12, 2020. The first-filed case is Douglas v. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., et al., 20-cv-21107. About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients - including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, California and Louisiana. To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200508005555/en/

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Last Friday marked the first day that Oregons 36 counties could submit plans to gradually reopen in the the wake of Gov. Kate Browns March 23 stay-home order by demonstrating they can meet seven public health criteria.

By Wednesday, 33 counties had applied. Oregons largest counties -- Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington -- are the only three yet to apply.

Benchmarks counties must meet include declining levels of COVID-19 hospital admissions over a 14-day period; minimum levels of testing and contact tracing capacity; adequate hospital surge capacity, quarantine facilities and personal protection equipment; and finalized sector guidelines from the state to communicate to individual businesses.

Here are the county plans that Browns office reports it has received and is reviewing (COVID-19 statistics are as of Friday, May 8):

Baker County

Population 16,134

COVID-19 cases: 1 positive, 96 negative, 0 deaths

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Benton County

Population 49,962

COVID-19 cases: 49 positive, 2,361 negative, 5 deaths

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Clatsop County

Population 40,224

COVID-19 cases: 33 positive, 829 negative, 0 deaths

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Columbia County

Population 52,354

COVID-19 cases: 5 positive, 942 negative, 0 deaths

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Coos County

Population

COVID-19 cases: 30 positive, 780 negative, 0 deaths

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Crook County

Population 24,404

COVID-19 cases: 1 positive, 275 negative, 0 deaths

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Curry County

Population 22,925

COVID-19 cases: 4 positive, 201 negative, 0 deaths

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Deschutes County

Population 197,692

COVID-19 cases: 84 positive, 2,453 negative, 0 deaths

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Douglas County

Population 110,980

COVID-19 cases: 24 positive, 1,324 negative, 0 deaths

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Gilliam County

Population 1,894

COVID-19 cases: 0 positive, 29 negative, 0 deaths

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Grant County

Population 7,360

COVID-19 cases: 1 positive, 64 negative, 0 deaths

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Harney County

Population: 7,360

COVID-19 cases: 1 positive, 82 negative, 0 deaths

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Harney County applied to reopen some businesses and other activities, citing a partnership with local hospitals, the Burns Paiute Tribe and others.

Hood River County

Population 23,382

COVID-19 cases: 11 positive, 666 negative, 0 deaths

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Jackson County

Population 220,944

COVID-19 cases: 49 positive, 4,582 negative, 0 deaths

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Jefferson County

Population 24,192

COVID-19 cases: 22 positive, 404 negative, 0 deaths

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Josephine County

Population 87,487

COVID-19 cases: 24 positive, 1,245 negative, 1 death

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Klamath County

Population 68,238

COVID-19 cases: 40 positive, 2,492 negative, 1 death

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Lake County

Population 7895

COVID-19 cases: 0 positive, 80 negative, 0 deaths.

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Lane County

Population 382,067

COVID-19 cases: 59 positive, 5,123 negative, 2 deaths

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Lincoln County

Population 49,962

COVID-19 cases: 6 positive, 919 negative, 0 deaths

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Linn County

Population 129,749

COVID-19 cases: 100 positive, 2, 401 negative, 7 deaths

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

The Edward C. Allworth Veterans' Home in Linn County where seven residents have died of COVID-19 and 38 residents and workers have fallen ill. The Oregonian

Malheur County

Population 30,725

COVID-19 cases: 14 positive, 344 negative, 0 deaths

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Marion County

Population 347,818

COVID-19 cases: 694 positive, 5,540 negative, 23 deaths

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Morrow County

Population 11,603

COVID-19 cases: 12 positive, 114 negative, 0 deaths

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Polk County

Population 86,085

COVID-19 cases: 87 positive, 1,125 negative, 6 deaths

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Sherman County

Population 1,750

COVID-19 cases: 1 positive, 46 negative, 0 deaths

Read the countys phase 1 reopening plan

Tillamook County

Population 5,311

COVID-19 cases: 6 positive, 383 negative, 0 deaths

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Tillamook County

Umatilla County

Population 77,950

COVID-19 cases: 80 positive, 858 negative, 1 death

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Union County

Population 26,000

COVID-19 cases: 4 positive, 158 negative, 0 deaths

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Wallowa County

Population 7,081

COVID-19 cases: 1 positive, 46 negative, 0 deaths

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Wallowa County

Wasco County

Population 26,682

COVID-19 cases: 15 positive, 779 negative, 1 deaths

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Wheeler County

Population 1,366

COVID-19 cases: 0 positive, 14 negative, 0 deaths

Read the countys Phase 1 reopening plan

Yamhill County

Population 107,100

COVID-19 cases: 49 positive, 1,855 negative, 7 deaths

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Visakhapatnam, May 9 : Two days after gas leakage from LG Polymers claimed 12 lives and affected hundreds of others, people of Venkatapuram village staged a protest on Saturday with three dead bodies at the chemical plant, demanding justice.

Tension prevailed at the plant as the villagers staged a sit-in at the plant's gate with three dead bodies when Director General of Police Gautam Sawang was visiting the plant.

The DGP, Police Commissioner R.K. Meena and other officials were inside the plant when the protesters blocked the main gate, raising slogans demanding the plant's closure and re-location.

Some protesters barged into the plant premises. The police had a tough time in clearing them and providing safe passage to the top officials.

Some local police officials were trying to pacify the protesters and persuade them to end the sit-in agitation.

Earlier, residents of Gopalapuram, the worst affected among five villages surrounding the plant, staged a sit-in, raising slogans against the company. Police detained and removed them from there.

Several other villagers including women also reached there and demanded that the government come to their rescue by shutting down the plant.

They voiced apprehensions over the long-term impact of Styrene leaked from the plant on the environment and on their health. "The government should immediately shut down the plant and shift it to some other place," demanded a protester.

The villagers also demanded that a high-power committee constituted by the government to probe the gas leak should hold talks with the people of the five villages surrounding the plant and not the company's management.

They also wanted the authorities to improve the oxygen level in the villages to ensure their early return. They said the government should come out with the details about the level of Styrene in the air and whether it is safe for their return to the villages.

"The gas leak has badly affected the health of many of us. There could be long-term impact. The government should conduct regular health camps to check our health status," demanded another villager.

Many protesters demanded strong action against the company management for not following the safety norms. They said had the siren blared from the plant many lives could have been saved.

Styrene had leaked from the plant around 3.45 a.m. on Thursday. The incident claimed 12 lives while over 400 were taken ill and had to be hospitalized.

District officials said 10,000 people from five villages were shifted to relief camps. They have been asked to stay in the camps till they are declared safe for return to the villages.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Irans foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has sent a letter to the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres saying the Islamic Republic is ready for talks at any level to ensure the full implementation of the 2015 nuclear agreement.

In the letter dated May 8, Zarif attacks the unilateral actions of the United States, both in withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Actions (JCPOA) and pursuing the extension of the current arms embargo, due to expire in October.

When the JCPOA was finalized in 2015, the United Nations Security Council put its seal on the deal agreeing to resolution 2231, which among other things approved a five-year embargo on arms trade for Iran.

President Donald Trumps administration in recent weeks has launched a campaign to extend the arms embargo, arguing that Irans destabilizing actions in the region will be bolstered if Tehran was allowed to import and export weapons. But Washington withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 and now it is not clear how it could ask the UN Security Council to extend a clause of resolution 2231.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has argued that the U.S. can still be considered a party to the resolution and will push for the extension of the arms embargo.

Zarif in his letter has criticized the American position regarding 2231 and has voiced deep concern. He has also warned that Washingtons policies could bring the situation to an uncontrollable state.

Zarif has also argued that the U.S. withdrawal from JCPOA has effectively ended any claims Washington might have in regard with the implementation of the Security Council resolution.

China and Russia are expected to veto any proposal to extend the arms embargo, in which case the U.S. would need to argue it is still a party to the implementation of JCPOA and try to use the automatic snap-back mechanism for sanctions, which was part of the original agreement with Iran.
At 7pm on Friday, a two-year-old boy tested Covid-19 positive in Delhis Kalawati Saran Childrens Hospital. The child was immediately moved to an isolation ward, away from his parents who are awaiting their own test results.

Doctors are unsure how the child caught the virus and the health care workers will begin their contact tracing programme once the parents results too are in.

So far, the youngest casualty of the virus in the Capital was a 45-day-old infant.

Doctors and nurses of Kalawati Saran Childrens Hospital, who were on duty on Friday night, narrated how the child spent the night away from his parents, who are isolated in Lady Hardinge Hospital, while the staff tried everything to keep the him comfortable.

The child was admitted to the hospital on Thursday and his test results came out on Friday. He was in the hospitals severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) ward but after the results came, he was shifted to the Covid ward, said a senior doctor, who was with the child through Friday night.

The doctor said that while the child was playful for the first few hours after being shifted to the coronavirus wing. But as time went by, he started becoming restless. Since the childs parents were yet to get their results, he was left with the medicos for his care, he said.

Taking care of infants, especially when they are forced to stay in isolation without their parents, is very difficult, said a nurse in the hospital, who did not wish to be identified.

The task became all the more challenging because the child is still dependent on breast milk and had to be fed in regular intervals. In such cases, when a mother is unable to feed the baby directly the hospital relies on expressed breast milk where the milk from the mother is collected and fed to the child by a nurse using a bowl and a spoon.

By 8.30pm, we did the first feeding after which he played for a while and took a nap. But as the night passed and the child did not see any familiar face around, he started panicking, the nurse said.

She said that the baby may have gotten scared of the hospital staff entering the ward to check his health status wearing in the personal protective equipment (PPE), which covers from head to toe. The child kept waking up through the night and around 4am on Saturday woke up again, crying.

We were checking for any physical discomforts and changed the diaper also, just to be sure. He was largely irritable all night, another nurse in the ward said.

The health care professionals who are tending to the baby said that in the coming days if the tests of the babys parents come out negative, they will be allowed to come and see the child, but only after they are fully geared with safety equipment.

Dr. N N Mathur, director, Lady Hardinge Medical College, under which the Kalawati Saran Childrens Hospital is associated, said that the situation was tricky but the hospital was prepared to take up the challenge.

When we see such young children get infected, it is heart-breaking. But our primary aim as a childrens hospital is to give our best and cure them at the earliest, Dr Mathur said.

Dr. Anjali Prabhakaran, a paediatrician who is researching on the effects and treatment possibilities for Covid-19 infected children, said that though symptoms of the infection in younger children is not very severe when compared to adults, it is imperative that extreme care be taken while caring for them. There is no separate global protocol for children infected with the infectious virus.

Many children show signs of fatigue, nasal congestion, runny nose, diarrhoea and head ache along with fever. What is even more challenging in paediatric cases is the isolation, so looking at familiar faces of family member really boosts their spirits, Dr Prabhakaran.

Until Saturday night, Delhi had reported 6542 Covid-19 positive cases with 68 deaths and 2,020 recoveries.

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BJP leaders on Saturday reacted strongly to rumours about Home Minister Amit Shah's health, with party president J P Nadda terming these as "inhuman" comments which are "extremely condemnable".

Several leaders of the ruling party took to Twitter to express their anguish at the rumours on social media after Shah put out a statement to assert that he was "totally healthy" and rejected speculation of his ill-health.

They also wished Shah, Nadda's predecessor as party president, a long and healthy life.

BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said spreading such rumours could be a "political ploy" of those who are rattled by Shah's working style and decisions.

Party spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain claimed that people behind them are "enemies of the nation".

In his tweet, Nadda said, "Making inhuman comments about the health of Home Minister Amit Shah is extremely condemnable. Spreading such misleading remarks about anyone's health shows the mindset of people doing so. I strongly condemn it and pray to God to grant them good sense."



Senior party leader and Union minister Prakash Javadekar said the comments about Shah's health shows the "distorted mindset" of people making them.

Another Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "Amit Shah Ji you are safe and sound and will remain so because you have to serve Maa Bharati with courage and conviction for a long time."



Hussain tweeted, "It's really shameful how a handful of people are spreading rumours about the health of India's Home Minister Amit Shah. These people are enemies of the nation who dislike leaders devoted to the motherland.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The United States recorded its steepest job losses in history over the coronavirus pandemic as Europe moved to keep its borders shut for another month.

Hopes have been rising that the worst of the global catastrophe, which has killed more than 270,000 people, has passed, and the United States on Friday approved a new at-home saliva test to speed up diagnosis for Covid-19.

But after weeks of lockdown across the world, the effects have been painfully visible, with the global economy suffering its most acute downturn in nearly a century.

In the United States, 20.5 million jobs were wiped out in April -- the most ever reported -- with unemployment rising to 14.7 percent, the highest since the Great Depression.

The worlds largest economy has suffered the deadliest coronavirus outbreak, with more than 77,000 fatalities and nearly 1.3 million cases.

Mindful of elections in November, President Donald Trump has nonetheless vowed to reopen the country, and a growing number of state governors have already let business resume with precautions.

Trump played down the unemployment numbers, pointing to substantial gains Friday on global stock markets as proof that better times were ahead.

Were going to have a phenomenal year next year, Trump told reporters. I think its going to come back blazing.

His optimism came even as the virus spread within the White House, with the press secretary of Vice President Mike Pence testing positive.

Neighbouring Canada also shed three million jobs, bringing its unemployment rate up to 13.1 percent, two days after the European Union forecast a massive recession in the bloc.

Disinfecting drones

In India, drones sprayed disinfectant on the streets of Ahmedabad on Saturday, hours after security forces clashed with residents who flouted a toughened lockdown.

The western city has become a coronavirus hotspot and a major concern for authorities as they battle a surge in deaths and infections.

The tougher measures in India come as a number of governments around the world are moving to ease restrictions.

Germany, Europes biggest economy, took decisive early action that stemmed the virus and Chancellor Angela Merkel plans an almost complete return to normal within the month.

Italy, where deaths on Friday passed 30,000, plans to allow worshippers to return to church, while Denmark said cinemas, museums and zoos would reopen on June 8.

In Britain, which has suffered the highest death toll after the United States, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to offer a roadmap out of lockdown on Sunday.

The European Commission meanwhile recommended that the 27-nation bloc extend its ban on the non-essential entry of visitors until June 15.

The situation remains fragile both in Europe and in the world, it said in a statement.

The virus that has infected 3.9 million people worldwide overshadowed one of the most important dates on the European calendar -- the anniversary of the end of World War II on the continent.

Parades and commemorations to mark 75 years since Nazi Germanys surrender were canceled or scaled down Friday.

Russia, which marks the occasion a day later than western Europe, Saturday held muted celebrations after becoming Europes hotspot in the coronavirus pandemic.

A Red Square parade was postponed and President Vladimir Putin instead gave a speech at a war memorial inside the Kremlin walls.

He made no mention of the coronavirus but hinted at the struggle Russians are facing against the pandemic.

Our veterans fought for life, against death. And we will always be equal to their unity and endurance, Putin said.

No unity at UN

Far from bringing the world together, the crisis has triggered a war of words between China, where the virus first appeared in the metropolis of Wuhan, and the United States, where Trump has battled criticism over his handling of the epidemic.

The Trump administration has brought into the mainstream a theory that the virus came from a Wuhan laboratory, despite the World Health Organization and the top US epidemiologist saying there is no evidence.

China rejects the charge, and Americas allies are not convinced.

The feud spread Friday to the UN Security Council, where the US, stunning other members, prevented a vote on a resolution that called for a ceasefire in various conflicts around the world to allow governments to better address the pandemic among those suffering most.

Diplomats said Washington was concerned about language in the resolution on the role of the World Health Organization, which has been at the forefront of confronting Covid-19.

Trump has vowed to freeze the more than $400 million in annual US funding for the UN body, saying it did not act quickly enough when the mysterious respiratory disease emerged in Wuhan and blindly took the word of China.

The US State Department on Friday also accused China and Russia of sharply escalating disinformation online about the virus, including promoting conspiracy theories that it was cooked up by US scientists.

Home tests

Researchers in Hong Kong have found that patients suffering milder illness caused by the coronavirus recover more quickly if they are treated with a three-drug antiviral cocktail soon after symptoms appear.

Authors of the study, published in the Lancet on Friday, called for larger-scale research to ascertain if the drug combo could be a viable treatment for critically-ill patients.

With the US death toll and infections still climbing, regulators on Friday offered a way to ramp up testing -- a significantly simpler home diagnostic kit that uses saliva.

Public health workers warn that a complete return to normal is impossible until the development of a vaccine, which could take months if not longer.

Trump, however, has suggested that a vaccine is not a prerequisite to ending the pandemic.

At some point it will probably go away by itself, he told reporters, while adding: If we had a vaccine, that would be very helpful.
Australia Post has been unable to explain how a letter with a $50 note from grandma was delivered with water damage, rips and serious burn marks

Australia Post has been unable to explain how a letter with a $50 note from a grandmother was delivered with water damage, rips and serious burn marks.

The letter travelled 416km from Perth to Albany in Western Australia and contained an Easter gift for a woman's two grandchildren.

When it arrived, however, it was waterlogged and the money inside was shrivelled and unusable because of fire damage.

The angry customer posted images of the letter on Friday to a Facebook page centred around complaints for the national mail service.

'So my 90 yo Nan posted this before Easter for my kids to buy Easter presents from Perth WA to Albany WA. It arrived yesterday,' she wrote.

'How does this happen? It's water logged, torn and burnt!

'When I phoned them I was informed there is nothing that can be done as it wasn't registered.'

The letter travelled 416 kilometres from Perth to Albany in Western Australia as an Easter Gift for a woman's two grandchildren

Many were critical of the 90-year-old woman's decision to send cash in the mail, while others offered suggestions she should be able to have the cash replaced by a bank.

Others speculated how the letter arrived so damaged - including one man who suggested it got caught in the sorting machine because of the note inside.

'It got jammed and spun on the belts, heat and friction caused it to melt,' he wrote.

Another suggested it may have been on board an postal truck which caught on fire several weeks ago.

The Reserve Bank of Australia will typically honour a refund on damaged currency based on their own discretionary assessment

A Spokesperson for Australia Post told Daily Mail Australia something must have gone wrong and advised the customer to get in contact directly with more information.

'While the vast majority of our mail arrives safely and on time, something has clearly gone wrong here and we apologise to the customer,' an Australia Post spokesperson said.

'We ask that they contact us on 13POST so we can look into it further for them.'

The Reserve Bank of Australia will typically honour a refund on damaged currency based on their own discretionary assessment.

'Subject to the Reserve Bank's claim requirements, the Reserve Bank pays value for badly damaged/contaminated banknotes based on the visual assessment of a banknote,' the website reads.

'If part of a banknote remains, the value is determined on the same basis as for incomplete banknotes.'
Sudhir Suryawanshi By

Express News Service

MUMBAI: Hundreds of migrant workers clashed with the police at a village in Surat district of Gujarat on Saturday to demand that they either be sent back to their home states or allowed to resume work at local industrial units to earn money, police said. The police resorted to lathicharge and fired tear gas to disperse the mob. Over a 100 workers were arrested in this connection, an official said.

The incident took place at Mora village near industrial town of Hazira. "At around 8 am on Saturday, around 500-1000 people gathered on the streets demanding they be sent back to their respective states. Around 60 of them were arrested, and nearly 60 others were detained," Joint Commissioner of Police (Sector-II) DN Patel said.

This is the sixth time the migrants have come out on the streets and clashed with the police. Most of them were engaged in diamond, textiles and other small industries in Surat. Protesting workers came out of their homes in the workers' colony at Mora village and started walking in a large group towards Hazira industrial area, he said.

Patel said that the migrants demanded that the district administration should arrange for their return to their hometowns in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and other states. "Some workers hurled stones at the police, after which four tear gas shells were lobbed and we had to resort to baton charge to control the unruly mob," Patel said.

Cases were being registered on the basis on CCTV footage from the area, the senior official said, adding that the situation was currently under control.

Sixth clash with police

This is the sixth time the migrants have come out on the streets and clashed with the police. Most of them were engaged in diamond, textiles and other small industries in Surat. The migrants demanded that the district administration should arrange for their return to their hometowns
The Trump administration is imposing new restrictions on Chinese journalists working in the United States, escalating its conflict with China over the news media as the two countries battle for economic, geopolitical and messaging dominance worldwide.

The Department of Homeland Security said on Friday that Chinese journalists working for non-American news outlets would be limited to 90-day work visas  a significant reduction from the open-ended, single-entry stays that the agency previously granted to most journalists with Chinese passports and a valid entry visa. They will be allowed to apply for extensions, although those will also be limited to 90 days.

The latest action is part of a monthslong clash between the United States and China over each others media presence abroad  fueled by deteriorating diplomatic relations. Tensions between Washington and Beijing have escalated during the coronavirus pandemic, which began in China.

Chinese journalists in the United States who try to do independent journalism privately expressed worries about the future of their work, and said they did not want to be caught in the middle of such a conflict. American journalists in China have voiced similar concerns.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 9

By Elchin Mehdiyev  Trend:

The creation of artificial agiotage in connection with the construction of the Khudaferin and Giz Galasi hydro-junctions and hydroelectric power plants (HPPs) on the Araz River between Azerbaijan and Iran is purposeful, Deputy Chairman of the Popular Front Party of Whole Azerbaijan Elchin Mirzabayli told Trend.

Some people deliberately do not refer to the agreement on cooperation between the Azerbaijani and Iranian governments in the field of continuing the construction and operation of the Khudaferin and Giz Galasi hydro-junctions and hydroelectric power plants on the Araz River, as well as in the field of using energy and water resources, signed on February 23, 2016, deputy chairman said.

Some of them deliberately do not mention that the agreement emphasizes the inviolability of Azerbaijans territorial integrity and thereby, trifle with the patriotic feelings of people, incite them against the state, Mirzabayli said.

Having no information on the essence of the issue, taking the statements in which the facts are intentionally distorted as a basis, some people who consider themselves 'experts' are trying to impose their 'talents and skills' and their understanding of 'love towards Motherland' on people, Mirzabayli said.

As part of the agreement, in connection with the continued construction and operation of the Khudaferin and Giz Galasi hydro-junctions and hydroelectric power plants and the use of energy and water resources, the sides carry out joint activity and the ownership rights to these structures belong to both Azerbaijan and Iran, the deputy chairman said.

The Iranian side continues the construction of hydro-junctions and hydroelectric power plants on the basis of the agreement, Mirzabayli added. A joint technical commission has been created to implement this agreement. It is forbidden to transfer the protection and operation of these hydroelectric facilities on a temporary or permanent basis to the individuals or legal entities of a third country.

The hydroelectric facilities will use water resources on the principle of equality and the electricity generated at the stations of each side will belong to that side, Mirzabayli stressed.

The dams will be jointly used and managed on the site by a team formed by Azerbaijan and Iran on a parity basis, Mirzabayli said. This means that, until Azerbaijans territorial integrity is ensured, Iran will only fulfill its part of the agreement and inform the Azerbaijani side of the conducted work.

That is, the process will be jointly controlled, deputy chairman said. The agreement signed with Iran in 2016 also means that Azerbaijan is confident in the rapid liberation of its territories from occupation, after which it will fulfill its part of the agreement.

Those who voice the opposite views not only are trying to impose a defeatist spirit on people, but are also striving to convey the lie expressed by the Armenians as truth, deputy chairman said. This is real betrayal."
The Janata Dal United (JD-U) on Saturday slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for claiming that it bore the cost of ferrying migrant workers from Delhi to their home in Bihar, saying the party was speaking "half-truth" as the Arvind Kejriwal government has sought reimbursement of the payment.

The JD(U), headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, accused the AAP of resorting to "cheap politics to gain popularity".

The JD(U) also came down heavily on Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav for lapping up the issue to attack the NDA dispensation, asking him to "stop the rhetoric and do something good for the people of Bihar".

The AAP had on Friday claimed that the Kejriwal government paid for the migrant labourers travelling home after the Bihar government left them in the lurch.

"The train carrying 1,200 migrant labourers left for Muzaffarpur, Bihar today. The Arvind Kejriwal government will bear their full travel cost," Delhi minister Gopal Rai had tweeted on Friday.

In a sharp retort to the AAP, JD(U) spokesman Rajiv Ranjan Prasad said on Saturday, "First of all, they (Delhi government) paid the fare and later its minister Gopal Rai posted it on Twitter.

"Subsequently the Delhi government sent a letter to Bihar government asking it to reimburse the fare incurred by them... Gopal Rai just told the half-truth to the people through his post," he said, adding such gimmicks are meant to gain cheap popularity.

The Bihar government has unequivocally made it clear that people after completing 21 days at quarantine centre will be reimbursed the full expenses and get an additional assistance of Rs 500 each, he said, adding each person will be getting a minimum assistance of Rs 1,000.

Joining issue with the AAP, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav slammed the Bihar government for showing "insensitivity" by not paying the train fare of the migrant labourers who boarded a Muzaffarpur-bound train from New Delhi on Friday.

Showing gratitude towards the Delhi chief minister, Yadav tweeted, "Thank you so much @ArvindKejriwal Ji. We are sorry for the insensitivity shown by Bihar govt. As a responsible opposition we offer our support in terms of financial contribution in taking back migrant Bihari workforce. Pls let us know the modalities of transferring the money."

"Dear @NitishKumar Ji!Stop acting like a Pvt Ltd Co. We are a welfare state & therefore its our responsibility to look after people. As per MHAs directive, do send us the list of passengers so that we can directly pay to the sending state. Our party is committed to serve poor," he said in another tweet.

The JD(U) spokesman, however, termed Yadav's comments as "rhetoric".

"First, you (Yadav) talked about giving 50 buses (for ferrying stranded students from Kota to Bihar), then paying fare for 200 trains... your list of promises is becoming endless. First of all, you should appear before the people in this hour of crisis," Prasad said.

The NDA leaders have been ridiculing the senior RJD leader for staying in the national capital and resorting to "Twitter politics" to register his presence in Bihar. The Assembly polls in Bihar are slated at the end of this year.
Students residing in Delhi Universitys North Eastern Students House for Women in Dhaka complex, North Campus say that they are being pressurised to vacate the premises by May 31, which is the last day of the contract for mess operations under the present caretaker. The impending building maintenance work in July is another reason why the authorities are demanding students to vacate the hostel. But, the hostellers claim that the Provost has been asking them to pack their bags and leave for good, even before the lockdown was announced. As a result, many from the 100 students residing here had left, but 13 girls are still inside the premises, and are clueless as to how to safely reach their homes in remote areas.

The provost has been mentally torturing us since the very beginning of the lockdown. She told us that the mess would stop functioning due to the shortage of payment for the mess workers. But, we feel its the responsibility of the hostel to provide us with all the basic amenities at a time like this when it is so difficult to go back to our home without any proper availability of transport services, says a hosteller, on condition of anonymity.









Another hosteller informs that while she did make an arrangement for her local guardian to pick her up, it wasnt a smooth affair. On May 7, I sought permission to leave the hostel premises on account of my local guardian willing to take me to their place; to this I had received an affirmation. The next morning, I was called up by the Provost, who then asked me to submit my room keys to the house keeper and vacate the room by keeping my belongings in a separate room. I subtly replied that it wasnt possible to vacate in such short notice. This went on for a good 45 minutes. Finally, I was forced to submit my keys to the guard in charge on the agreement with my guardian that the Provost would be in full responsibility lest anything happens to my belongings in my absence, says Garima Rathi, a hosteller.

Administrative issues is liye aa rahe hai kyunki mujhe subah pata chala ki mere guard ke gali main kisi ko cornoavirus ho gaya hai, toh mere chaaro guard jo aas paas rehte hai woh nahi aa sakte.

 Rita Singh, provost of North Eastern Students House for Women, DU

The hostel authorities maintain that they are facing administrative problems in hosting the girls during the pandemic. Rita Singh, provost of North Eastern Students House for Women, says, Administrative issues is liye aa rahe hai kyunki mujhe subah pata chala ki mere guard ke gali main kisi ko cornoavirus ho gaya hai, toh mere chaaro guard jo aas paas rehte hai woh nahi aa sakte. Maine bachho ko advisory ja ri ki hai ki Delhi ke halat thik nahi hai, toh agar kuch halfto main flight chalne lage toh aap apne safe jagah par chale jaaye. Mujhe safai walo ko bhi ho sakta hai band karna pade, toh phir bina guard ke, bina mess ki functioning ke, kaam kaise chalega? 13 logo ke liye hume itni badi building ka tension laga rehta hai.

Christina Ering, president, student welfare association of the hostel, says, Many states in the North East have completely shut down and are not letting any outsider come in. How do the hostel authorities expect us to go back when all the modes of transportation are barred by the Government of India? How do we travel during such times? Delhi University and the HRD ministry has clearly given out notices asking the students to stay put where they are and not to travel... Other hostels like the Rajiv Gandhi Hostel for Girls, which has around 50 students, hasnt given any such notice, and the same goes for International Students House For Women. The mess getting shut is Provosts way of indirectly asking the girls to vacate the hostel. The girls have nowhere to go and they are panicking! Many are preparing for their assignments and exams but in such circumstances, no student is able to focus on studies.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-10 02:54:12|Editor: huaxia

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Video: Former U.S. President Barack Obama in a recent private conversation blasts the response to the coronavirus pandemic by the current administration of President Donald Trump as "absolute chaotic disaster." (Xinhua/Hu Yousong)

"What we're fighting against is these long-term trends in which being tribal, being divided, and seeing others as an enemy - that has become a stronger impulse in American life," Obama said.



WASHINGTON, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. President Barack Obama in a recent private conversation blasted the response to the coronavirus pandemic by the current administration of President Donald Trump as "absolute chaotic disaster," vowing to tirelessly help unseat the incumbent president in the upcoming general election.

A tape recording of Obama's remarks, rendered during a chat with members of the Obama Alumni Association on Friday and obtained and first reported by Yahoo News, showed that the former president said the current occupant of the White House has made selfishness, tribalism, division and animosity "a stronger impulse in American life," which has impeded the containment of the coronavirus pandemic globally.

"What we're fighting against is these long-term trends in which being tribal, being divided, and seeing others as an enemy - that has become a stronger impulse in American life," Obama said. "And by the way, we're seeing that internationally as well. It's part of the reason why the response to this global crisis has been so anemic and spotty."

Obama continued: "It would have been bad even with the best of governments. It has been an absolute chaotic disaster when that mindset - of 'what's in it for me' and 'to heck with everybody else' - when that mindset is operationalized in our government."

"That's why, I, by the way, am going to be spending as much time as necessary and campaigning as hard as I can for Joe Biden," he added, referring to the former Vice President serving during his presidency who now is the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

Photo taken on Jan. 20, 2017, shows U.S. President Donald Trump(L, front) greeted by former U.S. President Barack Obama after delivering his inaugural address during the presidential inauguration ceremony at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

Obama has criticized his successor over the COVID-19 outbreak in the past, but seemed to have shown more restraint, saying the current administration lacked a "coherent national plan" to address the crisis.

"While we continue to wait for a coherent national plan to navigate this pandemic, states like Massachusetts are beginning to adopt their own public health plans to combat this virus -- before it's too late," the former president tweeted last month.

The much more combative criticism of the Trump administration's handling of the public health crisis came only during the latter part of the conversation, in which Obama first slammed the Justice Department's decision Thursday to drop the criminal charges against Michael Flynn, Trump's first national security adviser who was fired after the revelation of his lies to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) about his contacts with Russia during Trump's presidential transition period.

"The news over the last 24 hours I think has been somewhat downplayed - about the Justice Department dropping charges against Michael Flynn," Obama said, adding that "the fact that there is no precedent that anybody can find for someone who has been charged with perjury just getting off scot-free."

Photo taken on Jan. 20, 2017, shows former U.S. President Barack Obama (R, second row) and newly-inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump (L, second row) walking down the steps of U.S. Capitol prior to Obama's departure after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States in Washington D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Bao Dandan)

The former president misstated Flynn's charge, though. The former national security adviser, whom Obama had warned Trump not to hire, was not charged with perjury, but with lying to the FBI.

The charges against Flynn led to his ouster by Trump in February 2017 and became part of the U.S. investigation led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into Moscow's alleged meddling to help Trump win the presidency in 2016.

Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 to his lying to the FBI about his conversations with then Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak, but the 61-year-old retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General withdrew his guilty plea earlier this year, alleging prosecutorial misconduct.

"That's the kind of stuff where you begin to get worried that basic - not just institutional norms - but our basic understanding of rule of law is at risk. And when you start moving in those directions, it can accelerate pretty quickly as we've seen in other places," said Obama, who made the dismissal of the Flynn case the principal reason Democrats should make sure Biden will defeat Trump in the election.

Photo taken on Jan. 4, 2017, shows U.S. President Barack Obama (2nd R), Vice President Joe Biden (2nd L), Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford (1st L), and Defense Secretary Ash Carter (1st R), attending an Armed Forces Full Honor Farewell Ceremony for the president at Joint Base Myer-Henderson in Washington D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

"So I am hoping that all of you feel the same sense of urgency that I do," Obama said. "Whenever I campaign, I've always said, 'Ah, this is the most important election.' Especially obviously when I was on the ballot, that always feels like it's the most important election. This one - I'm not on the ballot - but I am pretty darn invested. We got to make this happen." 
Michael T. Flynn, 61, grew up in Middletown, R.I., the sixth of nine children. His father was an Army sergeant who became a banker. His mother ran a secretarial school before earning a law degree at age 63.

The family was squeezed into a three-bedroom, one-bathroom oceanfront cottage. Finances were tight.

I was one of those nasty tough kids hellbent on breaking rules for the adrenaline high and hard-wired just enough not to care about the consequences, Mr. Flynn wrote in his 2016 book, The Field of Fight. Some serious and unlawful activity, he wrote, led to his arrest.

He nearly flunked out of his freshman year at the University of Rhode Island, earning a 1.2 grade-point average. But the R.O.T.C. awarded him a three-year scholarship, and he found his calling in the military.

For much of Mr. Flynns career, former colleagues said, his mentors and superior officers let his talents flourish and kept his disruptive tendencies in check. In his book, he described himself as a rebel at heart. Im a maverick, an atypical square peg in a round hole, he wrote.

As a young officer in 1983, he talked his way onto the military force that invaded Grenada. There, he dove off a 40-foot cliff to rescue two soldiers foundering in waters off the coast. He was scolded for the unauthorized rescue but also earned respect.

His boldness later translated into strategies that seemed fresh and welcome when the military was mired in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In Afghanistan, he championed new ways to fuse intelligence gathering and military operations.

His partnership with Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the commander of American-led forces in Afghanistan at the time, shielded him from critics. General McChrystal also acted as a brake, ensuring that Mr. Flynns most outlandish ideas were confined to brainstorming sessions.
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Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan  Sat, May 9, 2020 16:48 620 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd6f2013 1 National North-Sumatra,birds,protected-species,Mount-Lauser-National-Park,Mount-Leuser-National-Park,Environment-and-Forestry-Ministry Free

The Environment and Forestry Ministrys rapid response team for the environment, the Leopards, has thwarted alleged attempts to smuggle hundreds of protected typical white-eyes that were illegal caught in Mount Leuser National Park in Aceh.

The team, under the North Sumatra Environment and Forestry Protection and Law Enforcement Agency, secured 1,266 birds that are locally known as pleci as they were allegedly being smuggled in a public bus heading to Medan, North Sumatra.

Leopard team chief Agus Siswoyo said the authorities received a tip from local residents on the alleged transportation of protected wild animals using a public bus from Takengon, Banda Aceh, to Medan.

The team members then combed busses heading to Medan, finally stopping one that carried packages filled with the protected small passerine birds in Babalan district, Langkat regency in North Sumatra on Thursday.

We found hundreds of birds inside 30 cardboard boxes that do not have official documents. We seized all the birds, Agus told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

Read also: Mt. Leuser park rangers save two young orangutans from smuggler

Of the 1,266 birds, 556 had died inside the sealed boxes. The team released the remaining birds into the wild in the Sibolangit area in Deli Serdang regency on Friday.

Agus said the birds were caught by illegal hunters and were about to be sold in birds market in Medan. The team also arrested two men allegedly involved in the smuggling.

The executive director of bird conservation group FLIGHT Protecting Indonesias Birds, Marison Guciano, said bird poaching remained rampant in Mount Leuser National Park's protected areas.

The group has recorded more than 14 million bird smuggling attempts from Sumatra, including Mount Leuser, to various bird markets in the country, especially in Java.

If we let the illicit practices take place, it can bring harm to the ecosystem and the bird population in Mount Leuser, Marison said, adding that birds played a pivotal role in their natural habitat by helping the regeneration of plants and balancing the food chain.
Stolen Dog Found In this photo provided by Emilie Talermo, she is shown after being reunited with her six-year-old dog Jackson in San Francisco, on Tuesday, April 21, 2020. Back in December, a distraught Talermo hired a plane to fly a search banner for her stolen dog. On Monday, the dog was found 370 miles (600 kilometers) away in Southern California. Talermo, 31, said Tuesday she received a call from an animal shelter in Palmdale telling her someone had just dropped off a blue-eyed mini Australian shepherd and that a scan of the dog's microchip had turned up her phone number. (Courtesy of Emilie Talermo via AP)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP)  Four months after a distraught San Francisco woman hired a plane to fly a search banner for her stolen dog, the blue-eyed mini Australian shepherd has been found and the two were reunited Tuesday.

Emilie Talermo, 31, said she received a call Monday from an animal shelter in Palmdale, which is about 370 miles (600 kilometres) away in Southern California, telling her someone had just dropped off a dog with a microchip connected to her phone number.

To be sure it was her 6-year-old dog, Jackson, Talermo asked the shelter to send her photos.

As soon as I saw them, I burst into tears. It was him! Talermo said.

Talermo launched a search on Dec. 14, when the dog with white, black, and gray fur and bright blue eyes was stolen from outside a grocery store in San Franciscos Bernal Heights neighborhood.

She set up a website, www.bringjacksonhome.com, where she offered a $7,000 reward, no questions asked, and even opened an account for the sweet-faced dog on Tinder. She also hired a plane to fly a banner with the search website over San Francisco and Oakland.

Friends and strangers helped by sharing on social media her pleas to find her dog, distributing thousands of flyers with the dogs photo and sending emails to veterinarians across the country asking them to be in the lookout.

On Monday, friends in Santa Monica drove to Palmdale to pick up Jackson. Talermo was unable to drive herself to Southern California, but the San Francisco Police Department detective assigned to her case offered to drive to Santa Monica and bring Jackson back home.

The officer arrived in San Francisco with Jackson early Tuesday and let the dog out of a crate for a reunion with Talermo full of laughter, squeals and wiggles, a video of their encounter after four months apart showed.

The shelter didnt say who dropped Jackson off but whoever had him fed him well because he returned home a little chunkier and doesnt seem too traumatized, Talermo said.

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Their reunion came at the perfect time: Talermo is moving out of San Francisco this weekend and will go home to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Once its safe to travel again, she plans to live in Portugal, she said.

For now, she is enjoying having Jackson home.

He slept great, he was snoring. He has been basking in the sun in our backyard," Talermo said.

I didnt sleep at all, I was with my eyes closed, smiling. Im just so happy to have him back in my life, she said.
But in the podcast interview in March, she said that Biden pinned her against a wall in a Senate corridor and groped her under her skirt, an allegation she repeated to Kelly. She later gave interviews about this accusation to The Washington Post and the New York Times, among other outlets. (She also made one previous on-camera appearance, in a March video-conferenced interview with Rising, a YouTube show produced by the Hill newspaper, days after she first went public with her claims.)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  North Korea threatened Friday to retaliate against South Korea for reckless military drills near their disputed sea boundary, but the South denied any training in the immediate area, the scene of several bloody naval skirmishes in recent years.

The wrangling came five days after South Korea accused the North of initiating an exchange of gunfire along their land border. No casualties were reported, but the incident was a reminder of persistent tensions on the peninsula.

North Korea's Ministry of the Peoples Armed Forces accused South Korea of mobilizing fighter jets and warships for drills on their western sea boundary on Wednesday.

Such reckless move of the military warmongers of the south side is the height of the military confrontation, it said in a statement carried by North Korean state media. This is a grave provocation which can never be overlooked and this situation demands a necessary reaction from us.

North Korea said the South Korean drills violated 2018 agreements that require both countries to halt firing exercises along their land and sea borders to lower front-line tensions.

South Koreas Defense Ministry said the drills didnt break the agreements because they took place in its western waters about 300 kilometres (185 miles) from the sea boundary. A ministry official, requesting anonymity because of department rules, said South Korea has been maintaining military readiness without violating the 2018 agreements.

On Sunday, South Korea said several bullets fired from North Korea struck one of its front-line guard posts and South Korean soldiers fired 20 warning shots in return. South Korea sent a message asking North Korea to explain the incident, but the North has yet to reply, the Defense Ministry said.

Relations between the two Koreas improved significantly in 2018 as their leaders held three rounds of talks. But much of the rapprochement stalled as broader diplomacy between North Korea and the United States came to a standstill because of disputes over the North's nuclear disarmament.

The Koreas have been divided along the worlds most heavily fortified land border since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. Their poorly marked western sea boundary witnessed naval clashes in 1999, 2002 and 2009. Attacks blamed on North Korea in the area in 2010 killed 50 South Koreans  46 on a warship and four on a border island.

The United States stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea to help deter potential aggression from North Korea.
On May 1, the day Ohio started reopening its economy, an NBC-TV reporter leaving the Statehouse after Gov. Mike DeWines coronavirus briefing was accosted by an angry demonstrator, one among many protesting Ohios corona restrictions. Attempting to adjust her own face mask after the protester, who was not masked, would not back away, yelled at her and spit in her face, the reporter accidentally knocked off her own glasses, breaking them. Cleveland.com reporter Laura Hancock, who witnessed the confrontation, says that, with the Statehouse largely closed, reporters arriving and leaving the building are essentially on their own.

The Statehouse protesters are known to include a number of extremist groups, including some who Hancock has photographed waving anti-Semitic signs.

Cleveland.com Editor Chris Quinn recently highlighted Hancocks experience in an editors note; at one point, she described to him how protesters, including some with open-carry guns, were pressing against the Statehouse glass behind which reporters were then working. Security staff tried to build a barricade with tables in case bullets started flying. Eventually, the reporters were moved into the basement.

Some of the demonstrators recent ire has been aimed at Health Director Dr. Amy Acton, who is Jewish. The Cleveland Jewish News quoted a tweet from Karen Forbes, an independent photographer who was present at a May 2 protest outside Actons home, that said, in part, "Neighbors report several men walking up and down the street with assault weapons stating that there will be no violence. For now.

Gov. DeWine reacted to the two incidents by saying that he was the elected official who calls the shots and that protesters should be targeting him, not reporters and not his health director. He added that, by going after reporters, protesters go after the very people who uphold the First Amendment that confers on them their constitutional right of protest, a right he, DeWine, holds dear. And he added that Acton and her family, were not fair game.

So at the Statehouse, does security need to impose some rules on protesters to force them to keep their distance from reporters and others entering and leaving the building? And after what could be construed as threats toward Acton, should the Ohio State Patrol extend the security they now provide the governor and his family to Amy Acton and her family?

What more can or should the state do to keep a tragedy from happening at one of these protests? Our editorial board roundtable offers some thoughts.

Ted Diadiun, cleveland.com columnist:

In his attempt to urge New Jerseyans toward their collective civic duty during the current pandemic, Gov. Phil Murphy ordered the states electronic traffic signs to post the following gentle reminder: DONT BE A KNUCKLEHEAD. Good advice. Perhaps we need a few signs like that around Ohio for people who cant tell the difference between registering dissent and obnoxious behavior.

Thomas Suddes, editorial writer:

The Statehouses interior is extremely secure. Banning outdoor protests would likely breach the First Amendment. In the end, alls well that ended well. But the State Highway Patrol should consider banning crowds from the north and south plinths of the Statehouse Atrium. They lead to the atriums window walls, site of the demonstrators antics.

Lisa Garvin, editorial board member:

The fact that its necessary to protect public health officials and the news media from protesters says it all. Emboldened by President Donald Trump, they are threatening anyone who doesnt square with his version of events, and I fear it will turn violent. Dr. Acton needs a security detail, and intimidation of journalists and public officials must be dealt with aggressively.

Victor Ruiz, editorial board member:

This type of violence and intimidation is engrained in Americas history. It is disguised as patriotism, and only some can exercise this right in this manner. Unfortunately, these types of protesters are viewed as defenders of free speech, and even martyrs. We need to protect the innocent and true law-abiding citizens, not the peddlers of hate, racism, and intolerance.

Eric Foster, editorial board member:

Actions speak louder than words on this one, governor. The right of the people to assemble has an important qualifier: peaceably. The proper response is not to move reporters to different areas of the building or put tables against windows. The proper response, at a minimum, should be moving the protesters a safe distance away from the doors of the Statehouse.

Mary Cay Doherty, editorial board member:

We knew this was coming. Federal CDC pandemic mitigation strategies didnt adequately account for the scorched earth economic devastation created by shutdown policies. Suffering Ohioans have a right to protest, and Gov. DeWine upholds this right. But the First Amendment isnt license to harass and intimidate. Police should protect lawful protesters and innocents from those who misuse constitutional liberties.

Elizabeth Sullivan, director of opinion, cleveland.com:

The ire aimed at Acton seems to have accelerated after she discussed her Jewish roots and faith during a state coronavirus briefing. The possibility that unreasoning anti-Semitic prejudice is inflaming the protests against her should prompt DeWine and local authorities to step up security around Actons home - now.

Have something to say about this topic?

* Send a letter to the editor, which will be considered for print publication.

* Email general questions about our editorial board or comments or corrections on this editorial board roundtable to Elizabeth Sullivan, director of opinion, at esullivan@cleveland.com.
Delhi labour minister Gopal Rai on Friday said the city government paid for the tickets of around 1,200 migrants who left for Bihar in a special train earlier in the day.

Under the Centres guidelines, either the destination or the origin state of the concerned train has to bear 15% of the ticket cost  85% is taken care of by the Centre. The tickets are to be charged by the railways at sleeper class rates, and an additional 50.

If the home states do not respond the Delhi government will bear the travel cost of these stranded workers, said a statement issued by Rais office.
With a discovery that could rewrite the immunology textbooks, an international group of scientists, including the teams of Bart Lambrecht, Martin Guilliams, Hamida Hammad, and Charlotte Scott (all from the VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research) identified a new type of antigen-presenting immune cell. These cells, that are part of an expanding family of dendritic cells, play a crucial role presenting antigens to other immune cells during respiratory virus infections, and could explain how convalescent plasma helps to boost immune responses in virus-infected patients.

Inflammation and immunity

When our body faces an infection, it responds with inflammation and fever. This is a sign that the immune system does its work, and leads to the activation of many cells, like soldiers in an army. Dendritic cells (DCs) are the generals of that army. They can precisely activate and instruct the soldiers to kill infected cells by presenting antigens derived from the 'invaders' to cells of the immune system.

Mistaken identity

There are several types of DCs that perform antigen-presenting functions in the body. A first type of conventional DCs continuously scan the body for dangerous invaders, even when there is no infection. When there is inflammation triggered by infection, another subset of DCs emerges from inflammatory monocytes. Because monocyte-derived DCs are easily prepared in vitro from monocytes isolated form human blood, it was always assumed these cells were very important antigen-presenting cells. Clinical trials using monocyte-derived DCs in cancer therapy have however been disappointing.

A study by the teams of Bart Lambrecht, Martin Guilliams, Hamida Hammad, and Charlotte Scott (all from the VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research) and international colleagues, shows that monocyte-derived DCs are poor antigen-presenting cells, but have wrongly been assumed to have these functions because of a case of mistaken identity.

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The scientists studied mice with a viral respiratory infection (pneumonia virus of mice and influenza virus) with single-cell technologies. This single-cell resolution allowed them to finely separate the monocyte-derived cells from other DCs during their response to the infection. They found that monocyte-derived DCs do exist, but actually do not present antigens. The reason for all the confusion in the past is that a look-alike new DC emerges -- called inflammatory type 2 conventional DC, or inf-cDC2 -- that combines some of the best characteristics of monocytes, macrophages, and conventional DCs, to induce the best form of immunity.

Bart Lambrecht: "This was a big surprise for us. We've all been taught that monocyte-derived cells are excellent antigen presenting cells, certainly when there's inflammation. Now, we show that it's actually a new hybrid DC type that's doing all the work. This really changes what we know about the immune system and is very important knowledge for understanding respiratory viral infections and other inflammatory diseases."

Martin Guilliams: "It took a massive team effort but the strength of single-cell sequencing has finally cracked the complex DC code. Many contradicting findings from the last two decades now make much more sense. This also opens tremendous therapeutic opportunities, since vaccination strategies can now be designed to trigger formation of inf-cDC2s and thus generate a stronger antiviral immune response."

Charlotte Scott: "Through the use of single cell technologies we have been able to align all the findings from the past few years and identify the distinct cell types involved. Moving forward it will be very interesting to see under what other inflammatory conditions these inf-cDC2s are generated and how they can potentially be targeted therapeutically."

Convalescent plasma and COVID-19

The findings of the researchers also have a direct relevance for the current COVID-19 pandemic, caused by another respiratory virus. An emergency treatment that is currently being explored is the use of convalescent plasma, or the blood plasma of recovered patients.

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Cedric Bosteels, lead author of the new paper: "One of the unique features of the new DCs is that they express functional Fc receptors for antibodies that are found in the plasma of patients who have recovered from COVID-19"

This study is the first to show that one of the mechanisms through which convalescent plasma and the virus-specific antibodies in it work, is via boosting of inf-cDC2. Since boosted DCs induce a much stronger immune response, this study reveals a new target for therapeutic intervention for viral infections and other inflammatory diseases.

Funding

This study was funded by the European Research Council, University Ghent, Research Foundation Flanders (FWO), and the Health Research Council New Zealand.
As employers plan to ramp up or reopen, some are realizing that low- to middle-wage workers might not want to be called back because they are making more money on unemployment than they did working, thanks to the extra $600 per week everyone on unemployment is getting from April through the end of July from the federal government under the Cares Act.

A handful of Republican senators, including South Carolinas Lindsey Graham, threatened to hold up the Cares Act, saying that giving people more than 100% of their wages could create a strong incentive for employees to be laid off instead of going to work. They all ended up voting for the bill.

Dr. S. William Chang has an ophthalmology practice in Modesto. Because he stopped seeing patients except for emergencies, his business fell by about 60%. A couple of technicians left earlier this year, but he still had to reduce two technicians from 35 to 20 hours a week. One of them, he said, is collecting $80 a week of regular unemployment, plus $600 in federal benefits, for a total of $680. Her regular salary is about $22 an hour.

Before the pandemic, she was making about $770 a week, but now with her 20 hours of work plus unemployment shes making $1,120 or 45% more. The other technician, who earns about the same salary, has also applied for benefits.

A technician who left at the end of March filed for unemployment. He was making $18 an hour for 30 hours a week or about $540. Chang is not sure how much, if any, unemployment he might get, but if its around $250 a week plus $600, hed be getting $850 a week not working until July 31.

Now his business is coming back and in two or three weeks Ill probably need more help, he said. But the rescue package is so generous Im afraid my employees are better off staying unemployed, at least through July.

Andrew Harnik/Associated Press

Many small businesses who received loans from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, including Chang, need to hire back staff within eight weeks of funding to get the loans forgiven. But so many are finding employees reluctant to return that the U.S. Treasury Department added this question to its FAQs on Wednesday:

Will a borrowers PPP loan forgiveness amount be reduced if the borrower laid off an employee, offered to rehire the same employee, but the employee declined the offer? The answer is no. It said it will issue a rule excluding laid-off employees whom the borrower offered to rehire (for the same salary and number of hours) from the Cares Acts loan forgiveness reduction calculation. To qualify for this exception, the borrower must have made a good faith, written offer of rehire, and the employees rejection of that offer must be documented by the borrower. Employees and employers should be aware that employees who reject offers of re-employment may forfeit eligibility for continued unemployment compensation.

The $600 payment works out to $15 an hour for a 40-hour week. Self-employed people who lost work as a result of the coronavirus are also receiving $600 on top of their pandemic unemployment benefits, which in California range from $167 to $450 a week. Unemployment benefits, including the $600, are taxable for federal but not California income taxes.

When added to the average unemployment benefit nationwide, $600 was meant to replace 100% of the average workers wage. But that means people making less than the average wage could get more than they previously earned  and those above the average wage could get less.

Whether it should be extended has become a hot topic in Washington. On April 29, Graham said he and Republican Sen. Tim Scott would allow an extension over our dead bodies.

Josh Bivens and Heidi Shierholz of the Economic Policy Institute wrote that the extra $600 has been by far the most effective part our economic policy response to the coronavirus shock. It would have been better to cap the benefit at 100% of pre-crisis wages up to a quite generous maximum benefit, but decades of disinvestment in the administrative capacity of state unemployment offices left them incapable of calculating a flexible amount with a 100% replacement rate.

The $600 is direct relief precisely to people who need it the most, Shierholz said in an interview. And because they need it the most, it will get funneled right back into the economy. Its where the economy and humanity totally intersect.

Maurice Emsellem of the National Employment Law Project said the $600 is especially important in California. The states maximum unemployment benefit, $450 a week, hasnt changed since 2005. The average benefit, $338 a week, is below the national average of $378.

To give unemployed people enough to buy necessities without discouraging work, unemployment should replace at least half of the average weekly wage, with a maximum benefit equal to two-thirds of the average wage, according to a federal advisory council report.

Our average $338 benefit replaces only 25% of the average weekly wage, which was $1,340 in last years second quarter, Emsellem said. The average weekly benefit plus $600 is $938, or 70% of average. Thats barely where the federal commission says you should be in normal times, Emsellem says. Now we are in a crisis situation. The $600 is critically important to keeping the economy going and keeping low-income people afloat.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

Courtesy S. William Chang

To maintain benefits, every two weeks unemployed people must fill out a certification that asks if they looked for work, were able to work and refused any work. The Employment Development Department temporarily suspended the certification requirement from March 14 through Saturday to ease strain on its computer system. It indefinitely suspended the job search requirement because of the coronavirus.

Unemployed people who turn down suitable work lose their unemployment benefits. However, a job could be unsuitable if there are health and safety concerns. We would say, and I hope EDD would agree, that older and immune-compromised workers should not be denied unemployment if they reject a job for valid health reasons.

EDD said it is developing guidance on this issue.

Shierholz said she hopes Congress will extend the $600 past July. With the national unemployment rate hitting almost 15% in April, the hand-wringing over some people getting more than they should is stunning, Shierholz said. Her best guess is that Congress extends it, but for less than $600.

To help employers and employees, Congress could say, Come back to work, and you can keep part of your unemployment, said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist with the Leuthold Group.

Sung Won Sohn, an economic professor at Loyola Marymount University, said he would phase it out after July 31, but give states funding to increase unemployment benefits in a way that meets their individual needs.

Kathleen Pender is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: kpender@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kathpender
NCP chief Sharad Pawar has



requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to talk to chief ministers of those states who are not allowing migrant workers to come back home.

Pawar spoke over phone to Railways Minister Piyush Goyal and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on the issue of repatriation of migrant workers to their home states during the coronavirus-induced lokdown period.

"I humbly request our @PMOIndia Shri. Narendra Modi ji to intervene in this matter by talking to the CMs of the respective states who are not allowing these people to come back home," the NCP chief tweeted.

Though he did not name any specific state, the NCP had recently accused the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka of not wanting to take back labourers hailing from the two states.

"Had a telephonic conversation with Shri @OfficeofUT - Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Shri @PiyushGoyal - the Union Railway Minister regarding the issue of migrant workers," Pawar twitted.

He said Thackeray has assured him of making arrangements for the transportation of workers desirous of returning to their home states.

"State Transport buses will be used for their travel," Pawar added.

On his part, Goyal also assured of making arrangements for the journeys of the workers by trains, Pawar said.

On Friday, 16 migrant workers sleeping on railway tracks in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra were mowed down by a goods train.

They were part of a group of workers who were walking from Jalna to Bhusawal from where they were hoping to board trains for their onward journey to Madhya Pradesh.

Separately, hundreds of workers have undertaken journy on foot to their home states in view of the loss of livelihood amidst the lockdown.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Darren Grimes leaving court - Jeff Gilbert

The election watchdog has revealed that it is pressing ahead with plans to hand itself powers to prosecute campaigners and political parties, putting itself on a collision course with ministers.

The Electoral Commission is planning to publish a consultation setting out proposals to hand itself a "prosecutions capability", despite senior Tories insisting that the body is "not trusted to be impartial".

The disclosure comes after the Metropolitan Police confirmed that it had ended investigations into Darren Grimes and Alan Halsall, two pro-Brexit campaign figures, two years after a referral by the commission for alleged breaches of spending rules. The move prompted calls for the commission to be "overhauled", with Mr Grimes describing the body as a "kangaroo court" that was not "fit for purpose".

Separately, the National Crime Agency found no evidence that any criminal offences were committed by Arron Banks, another prominent Brexiteer, after another referral by the watchdog.

Last night Matthew Elliott, who was chief executive of the official Vote Leave campaign, claimed that the commission's record showed that if it acquired the new powers, "there will be countless travesties of justice, and democracy will be undermined.

Sir Bernard Jenkin, the former chairman of the Commons public administration committee, said: "These proposals appear to be doubling down on a failed system. Parliament should change it."

Another Conservative MP said: "I can't think of any public body that is less deserving of prosecuting powers than the Electoral Commission, who have shown themselves to be biased and, frankly, vindictive."

Last year Jacob Rees-Mogg, now the leader of the Commons, and Brandon Lewis, who has also been appointed to Boris Johnson's cabinet, both expressed alarm at the watchdog's plans to hand itself powers currently exercised by the police and Crown Prosecution Service - after the move was revealed by this newspaper.

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The watchdog has faced repeated accusations of bias against bodies that campaigned for Brexit in 2016, which it strongly denies.

The commission claims it could hand itself the powers without ministers bringing forward legislation, by altering its enforcement policy following a public consultation - due to open in the coming weeks.

But MPs warned that some groups could be unfairly targeted.

Speaking last year, while Tory chairman, Mr Lewis pointed out that one senior figure at the commission - the same official spearheading the proposals - had previously said that she would "not want to live under a Tory government". He suggested the body was not seen as a "fair" arbiter.

As a backbencher, Mr Rees-Mogg called for the Conservatives to formally oppose the move, saying: "The Electoral Commission is not trusted to be impartial and a number of its leading figures have said very prejudicial things about Brexit."

The commission's corporate plan for the period from 2020 to 2025 states: "To deter people from committing offences, and to make sure we can respond proportionally if they do, we will continue to build the capacity to prosecute suspected offences. We will consult on the way we approach the use of prosecutions."

An Electoral Commission spokesman said: Later this year we will be consulting with political parties, the police and the CPS on changes to our enforcement policy, which includes a prosecutions capability, and will bring our regulatory work in line with a wide range of other regulators.

Extending our work in this direction would enable us to bring lower order offences before the courts in a way which is swift and proportionate, freeing up the resources of the police and prosecutors and delivering more effective regulation of political finance to support public confidence.

Mr Elliott said: The Electoral Commissions track record at conducting investigations is woeful.

"In the case of Leave campaigners ... they assumed that we were guilty until proven innocent ... Thankfully, the Metropolitan Police and Crown Prosecution Service looked at the evidence thoroughly, and saw through the conspiracy theories that the Electoral Commission had believed without question."

The commission insisted it was "right that potential electoral offences are properly investigated by the appropriate authority". A spokesman said there was "no substance to allegations that the Commission is biased", saying the organisation had investigated campaigners and parties across the political spectrum.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-10 02:24:14|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. President Barack Obama in a recent private conversation blasted the response to the coronavirus pandemic by the current administration of President Donald Trump as "absolute chaotic disaster," vowing to tirelessly help unseat the incumbent president in the upcoming general election.

A tape recording of Obama's remarks, rendered during a chat with members of the Obama Alumni Association on Friday and obtained and first reported by Yahoo News, showed that the former president said the current occupant of the White House has made selfishness, tribalism, division and animosity "a stronger impulse in American life," which has impeded the containment of the coronavirus pandemic globally.

"What we're fighting against is these long-term trends in which being tribal, being divided, and seeing others as an enemy - that has become a stronger impulse in American life," Obama said. "And by the way, we're seeing that internationally as well. It's part of the reason why the response to this global crisis has been so anemic and spotty."

Obama continued: "It would have been bad even with the best of governments. It has been an absolute chaotic disaster when that mindset - of 'what's in it for me' and 'to heck with everybody else' - when that mindset is operationalized in our government."

"That's why, I, by the way, am going to be spending as much time as necessary and campaigning as hard as I can for Joe Biden," he added, referring to the former Vice President serving during his presidency who now is the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

Obama has criticized his successor over the COVID-19 outbreak in the past, but seemed to have shown more restraint, saying the current administration lacked a "coherent national plan" to address the crisis.

"While we continue to wait for a coherent national plan to navigate this pandemic, states like Massachusetts are beginning to adopt their own public health plans to combat this virus -- before it's too late," the former president tweeted last month.

The much more combative criticism of the Trump administration's handling of the public health crisis came only during the latter part of the conversation, in which Obama first slammed the Justice Department's decision Thursday to drop the criminal charges against Michael Flynn, Trump's first national security adviser who was fired after the revelation of his lies to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) about his contacts with Russia during Trump's presidential transition period.

"The news over the last 24 hours I think has been somewhat downplayed - about the Justice Department dropping charges against Michael Flynn," Obama said, adding that "the fact that there is no precedent that anybody can find for someone who has been charged with perjury just getting off scot-free."

The former president misstated Flynn's charge, though. The former national security adviser, whom Obama had warned Trump not to hire, was not charged with perjury, but with lying to the FBI.

The charges against Flynn led to his ouster by Trump in February 2017 and became part of the U.S. investigation led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into Moscow's alleged meddling to help Trump win the presidency in 2016.

Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 to his lying to the FBI about his conversations with then Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak, but the 61-year-old retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General withdrew his guilty plea earlier this year, alleging prosecutorial misconduct.

"That's the kind of stuff where you begin to get worried that basic - not just institutional norms - but our basic understanding of rule of law is at risk. And when you start moving in those directions, it can accelerate pretty quickly as we've seen in other places," said Obama, who made the dismissal of the Flynn case the principal reason Democrats should make sure Biden will defeat Trump in the election.

"So I am hoping that all of you feel the same sense of urgency that I do," Obama said. "Whenever I campaign, I've always said, 'Ah, this is the most important election.' Especially obviously when I was on the ballot, that always feels like it's the most important election. This one - I'm not on the ballot - but I am pretty darn invested. We got to make this happen." Enditem
An elaborate catfish named 'Ruby' stood up 16 queer women at a gig - but the bachelorettes turned their dumping into an unforgettable group date.

Ruby, 28, told each of her Tinder matches she would meet them for a single date at Cafe Lounge in inner city Sydney on June 5 last year.

But as the tiny Surry Hills establishment began to fill up, Ruby advised her prospective partners she was 'getting cash out' or 'running late'.

Minutes continued to pass and Ruby's prospective partners began to get the feeling that something wasn't quite right.

Nervous eyes locked across the room and chatter echoed through the bar as a group of strangers realised they had all been stood up by a catfish.

Instead of allowing the cruel prank to dampen their evening, the women banded together for a night of laughter, friendship and even flirtation.

Three of Ruby's victims, Jessica, Acadia and Isabelle, told Daily Mail Australia how they learned they matched with a catfish.

An elaborate catfish named 'Ruby' stood up 16 queer women at a Sydney gig - but the bachelorettes turned their dumping into an unforgettable group date (stock image)

JESS, 28

Jess explained she came across Ruby while she was 'half-a**' swiping on Tinder.

'I matched with this girl, her name was Ruby. 28 years old, kinda cute, a bit artsy looking,' Jess said.

WHAT IS CATFISHING? Catfishing is when a person pretends to be someone else on social media. They typically use false information or pictures belonging to someone else in the creation of an online persona. The fake profile is used for dishonest purposes, usually to defraud or scam another person. Advertisement

'I mentioned that I go to a lot of live gigs and she said ''I'm going to a gig next Wednesday if you'd like to come'' and I was like ''sweet, here's my number, give me the details'',' Jess said.

'It was a very short exchange and normally its very rare to be asked out that quickly.'

Ruby advised Jess she would be at the gig from 6.45pm to ensure she got a good seat. Jess was running late after work and told Ruby she'd probably get to the venue at 7pm.

Jess locked eyes with a woman called Candela upon entering the bar and felt an inkling to approach her - despite not looking like her Tinder date.

She asked the stranger if she was Ruby and Candela replied 'no', allowing Jess to made a joke about being on first dates.

Jess sat down and continued to wait for her date, where she happened to overhear a conversation between what she thought was two friends.

One of the women then turned around to face Jess and said: 'Man the craziest thing has just happened to us and I just feel like I need to tell you.'

'We've both just been catfished by the same person.'

Jess responded: 'I think us as well'.

Ruby, 27, told her Tinder matches she would meet them for a single date at Cafe Lounge in Surry Hills (pictured) for a live music gig at 7pm on Wednesday June 5

As the women banded together to discuss their shock, one of the catfish victim's began to question how many others were tricked into a date.

'She starts walking around the bar, approaching any girl that's on her own. Next minute, it's like four, six, eight [women who have been catfished],' Jess recalled.

'People are coming and we're like ''cheers babe'' and then next minute there's over 15 queer women in Cafe Lounge that have all been catfished by the same account.'

'So we have this big group of girls. We're finding it kind of funny at this point.'

The group posed for a photo and created a Facebook group called 'F*** You Ruby'.

'All this chaos is kind of erupting. As this is happening, we all get a text from Ruby and it says: ''say hi to the group of girls for us, lol soz'',' Jess said.

Before anyone could get onto the catfish, Ruby's Tinder profile had been deleted.

'At this time, the music starts playing and the artist goes ''I'd like to dedicate this next song to Ruby'',' Jess said.

'We're like ''f*** this''. So I'm like ''c'mon girls, let's go, let's not support this venue, everyone's taking the piss out of us''.'

Jess said the women received a message from Ruby after they all realised what had happened

The group went to nearby venue The Beresford, where they made the best out of an awful situation and enjoyed tequila shots.

'We're just exchanging stories. There were some girls that were like 18, 19 all the way up to 30. Some were travelling, some just broke up with their girlfriends, some were bi-curious.'

Despite being tricked by Ruby, Jess speaks highly of her night out and even ended up briefly dating another one of the victims.

'I went on a date, got stood up and then went on a date on the same night,' she said.

'Three lots of couples hooked up that night, so six people out of 15. So it was really successful really.'

Jess hopes that she will be able to get to the bottom of the mastermind behind catfish profile by sharing her story, but is suspicious that Ruby was watching the drama unfold.

'Whoever is doing it is obviously in the room, seeing when the girls come in, seeing where they're sitting,' Jess said.

The group of women are not sure what possessed 'Ruby' to lead on at least 16 single women (stock image)

ACADIA, 21

Acadia, a 21-year-old university student, was embarking on her second Tinder date when she agreed to meet with Ruby.

'I walked into this bar and just noticed there was an odd number of single girls just standing around,' she recalled.

'I walked up to someone who kind of looked like the pictures from Tinder... and I was like ''hey Ruby'' and she said ''no'' and gave me a really odd look.'

'[A group of girls] called me over and said they heard me asking for a Ruby and asked if I was here on a date,' Acadia said.

The women then advised Acadia they were also at the gig on a date - with the same prospective partner.

'As we went to sit down again, we noticed all these girls pairing up and forming groups and we were like ''oh no'',' Acadia said.

'We were getting these tiny hints of what was happening and were like ''oh no, this is bigger than we thought''.'

ISABELLE, 28

Isabelle, a student from the Netherlands, treated Tinder as a place where she could meet people while living in Sydney for one-year during her PhD.

The 28-year-old said arrived at the venue early, about 6.30pm, and took a seat right across from the door so she was easily recognisable.

'Nothing happened and nothing happened,' Isabelle recalled. 'The gig was starting so I started to realise I was being stood up.'

'All of a sudden, someone walks up to me and says: ''Are you waiting for a Ruby?'''

Isabelle - who originally thought the stranger would be a friend of Ruby's - was then told to follow the women.

'I went around the corner and there were seven or eight girls and she said: ''We're all waiting for Ruby'',' Isabelle said.

Isabelle admitted that she had never seen so many single women, with their phones in their hands enter a venue over such a short time period.

'We filled the whole place,' she said.

Isabelle said a number of the women began to pair off during the evening and she even ended up dating one of the others for about two months after the Ruby ordeal.

The PhD student said some of the women felt 'betrayed' by Ruby but she found the situation humorous.

'Some were really angry and p***ed off at the situation, others went with the flow,' she explained.

'Everyone kind of bonded.'
New Delhi, May 9 : The Delhi Police on Saturday arrested a couple, who got inspired from the Bollywood film 'Bunty and Babli', and were involved in a number of snatching cases in the national capital.

According to the Delhi Police, the couple has been identified as Arjun and Seema, who got married three months ago. Sanjay Bhatia, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central District, said that in the last few days, reports were received that a couple on a white Scooty was involved in snatching cases.

Subsequently, a team was formed to nab the snatchers. "After probing the matter, the police team found that a woman used to snatch phones from people riding as a pillion," the officer said. However, the dossier of the woman did not matched with any of the suspects in the district.

"After that, the team started to collect and analyse CCTV footages of the crime scenes as well as the escaping route used by the criminals. The couple was framed in one such footage," the DCP said, adding that the footage's resolution was too poor to identify the faces.

"After detecting the couple's physical structure, the police launched a search. Soon we received information that a couple, who were residents of Pahar Ganj, was involved in the snatchings and both were apprehended from the Kishanganj Railway Colony area with stolen property," he said.

The officer said that Arjun is a declared bad character of the area and has been involved in over 31 cases and is a drug addict, while Seema is a tattoo artist and a drug addict too. Bhatia said the couple performed snatching to fulfill their requirement to drugs.

"They first stole the Scooty from Raghubir Nagar and started snatching. Most of the time, Arjun rode the vehicle while Seema snatched phones from the passersby," he said.

The police also recovered four stolen mobile phones and the Scooty from their possession.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS

RIL subsidiary Jio Platform has raised Rs 60,596 crore in three transactions with Facebook, Silver Lake and Vista

A large chunk of the proceeds from Jio Platforms' investments will go into reducing RIL's debt

Two of the RIL's largest transactions -- Saudi Aramco and fiber InvIT -- are still to be finalised

Reliance Industries (RIL) announced on Friday that global investment firm Vista Equity Partners is investing Rs 11,367 crore for 2.32 per cent stake in subsidiary Jio Platforms. This is the third investment in Jio Platforms in the past 16 days that has brought in Rs 60,596 crore. Along with the Vista deal, the previous two investments by social media giant Facebook (of Rs 43,574 crore) and US private equity firm Silver Lake (of Rs 5,656 crore) have resulted in equity sale of 13.46 per cent in Jio Platforms so far.

Also read: Mukesh Ambani's Jio Platforms scores hat-trick; bags Rs 11,367 cr investment from Vista after FB, Silver Lake

Analysts say that these deals have helped RIL reposition itself as a consumer and technology-focussed company. "By focusing on 'consumer + technology' in a less digitalised economy like India, RIL is augmenting its consumer business growth with global tech major partnerships. While partnership with Facebook can help Jio monetise customers through non-telco revenue stream, investments by Vista and Silver Lake will provide further cash for deleveraging," said Axis Capital in a recent report.

But that's not all. There are more such deals in the pipeline. In the last earnings call, RIL joint CFO Srikanth Venkatachari had said that the Facebook deal was 50 per cent of the target value unlocking that RIL has planned for Jio Platforms. "We have also mentioned that we have received interest from other global investors for a similar-sized additional stake," Venkatachari said.

Also read: US, Saudi companies set eyes on buying stakes in Reliance's Jio, says Bloomberg report

In April last year, some reports suggested that Masayoshi Son-backed SoftBank was eyeing a stake in Jio; since then, there has been no word on that. But nothing can be ruled out as the current deals are non-exclusive in nature. "RIL and Facebook would be free to do similar deals with any other player," says Mahesh Uppal, director at consultancy firm ComFirst.

Going back to RIL's finances -- As per Hong Kong-based investment firm CLSA, RIL is currently pursuing eight asset sales worth Rs 3.4 lakh crore. These include three Jio Platforms deals (which are yet to get regulatory approvals), BP's Rs 7,000 crore investment in RIL's fuel retailing business, Saudi Aramco's Rs 1.11-lakh crore investment in oil-to-chemicals segment, and Brookfield's Rs 25,215 crore investment in tower InvIT (infrastructure investment trust). Then, there are at least two more deals in the works - stake sale in fibre InvIT and potential transaction/s of similar size as the recently-announced Facebook deal.

At the 42nd annual general meeting of RIL, its chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani had set a target to become a 'zero net debt company' by March 2021. Some analysts say that going by the pace at which RIL is getting new investments, it's quite likely that RIL would reach that goal much before the deadline. In fact, Mumbai-based Antique Stock Broking says that there's a high likelihood of RIL turning net-debt positive by March 2021. Fair enough!

Also read: BT BUZZ: Don't be naive! Reliance Jio-Facebook deal is a partnership of unequals

However, some analysts call Ambani's mission challenging. Why? Let's look at RIL's current debt position: At the end of March 2020, RIL reported gross debt of Rs 3.36 lakh crore, with cash and equivalents of Rs 1.75 lakh crore. As per JP Morgan, this gross debt numbers don't include Rs 70,000 crore of debt transferred to InvIT, Rs 50,000 crore of capex creditors, and spectrum liabilities of over Rs 20,000 crore. These (additional) liabilities add up to Rs 1.4 lakh crore.

As a standard practice, telecom companies take into account spectrum liabilities as part of their gross debt. For instance, Vodafone Idea's gross debt stood at 1.16 lakh crore on December 31, 2019, which included deferred spectrum payment of Rs 88,530 crore. Despite a series of investments in Jio Platforms, RIL's deleveraging plan hinges largely on three transactions -- deal with Saudi Aramco, potential investment in fiber InvIT, and the Rs 53,125-crore rights issues.

Also read: Mukesh Ambani surpasses Jack Ma as Asia's richest man after Reliance Jio-Facebook deal

Just around the time Brookfield deal was signed last July, RIL was actively looking for an equity partner in the fiber InvIT. So far, it has not made any headway. Though in the recent earnings call, joint CFO Venkatachari said that the negotiations are at an advanced stage with potential investors for the fibre assets. Industry experts say that the Jio Fiber business has not picked up pace (like its wireless business) due to not-so-disruptive price points, lack of aggression to fight out with well-entrenched competitors and longer gestation period in the fiber business. CLSA estimates potential investment of Rs 91,400 crore in the fiber InvIT which could make it the second biggest deal after the Saudi Aramco deal.

RIL is reportedly finalising the offer documents for the rights issues -- the biggest ever for any corporate -- for which it will try to get fast-track approvals from SEBI. The proceeds from the issue are likely to be used for reducing debt. Analysts say that the stake sale to Aramco is the centerpiece of RIL's de-leveraging strategy. But even that deal seems to have been questioned after the global crash in crude oil prices. The coronavirus outbreak has hugely impacted the demand for refining and petrochemicals which could potentially jeopardise the transaction. As such, the government has reportedly asked a court to restrain the Aramco deal. Again, RIL recently said that the due diligence on the Aramco deal is progressing well and that gave a sense of hope to investors.

"While the Saudi Aramco due diligence is ongoing, clearly with Covid-19 disruptions, the transaction would likely get pushed out. The key investor concern is whether the collapse in crude would lead to deal cancellation," says an April 22 report by J.P. Morgan. With two big transactions -- Saudi Aramco and fiber InvIT -- still in limbo, the deleveraging plans could hit a brick wall.
Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne responds to a question during a news conference in Ottawa on March 9, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld)

Canada Backs U.S.-Led Effort for Taiwan at WHO Over Chinas Objections

OTTAWACanada has backed an Americanled effort to allow Taiwan to be granted observer status at the World Health Organization because of its early success in containing COVID19.

Beijing says Taiwan is a Chinese province and should be under its rule, while pressuring other countries to not recognize the self-ruled island and preventing its membership at WHO.

Taiwan is also squarely in the centre of the Trump administrations dispute with China and the WHO. The U.S. has temporarily halted funding to the organization over its allegedly inadequate assessment of COVID19s early threat when the novel coronavirus was breaking out in the Chinese city of Wuhan. U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized WHO for being too China-centric.

An Australian newspaper, the Sydney Morning Herald, first mentioned Canada as a country involved in the proTaiwan coalition, and Foreign Affairs Minister FrancoisPhilippe Champagne confirmed that when asked.

Canada continues to support Taiwans meaningful participation in international multilateral fora where its presence provides important contributions to the public good, Champagne said in an email to The Canadian Press.

We believe that Taiwans role as a nonstate observer in the World Health Assembly meetings is in the interest of the international health community and is important to the global fight against the COVID19 pandemic.

Canada encourages the WHO to engage with experts from Taiwan and to support Taiwans meaningful inclusion in global discussions on health.

Canada approved a verbal demarche to two senior WHO executives during a meeting Thursday that urged them to allow Taiwan to be admitted as an observer to an upcoming meeting because its input would be meaningful and important.

A senior government official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said the demarche was issued jointly on Thursday by the Genevabased ambassadors of Canada, Australia, France, Germany, New Zealand, Britain, Japan, and the U.S.with the envoys from Washington and Tokyo taking the lead.

The World Health Assembly meets on May 18 in Geneva.

WHO

In Canada, a Geneva-based Canadian doctor has come under the spotlight amid the TaiwanWHO issue: Dr. Bruce Aylward, the epidemiologist who led a team of WHO experts to China to study the COVID19 outbreak in February.

Aylward has repeatedly turned down invitations to testify via video before the House of Commons health committee. Last month, the committee issued a summons for Aylward to testifyafter he twice snubbed itbut it is only enforceable if he returns to Canada.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer has raised concerns about the accuracy of the WHOs data on the pandemic, and Chinas influence on the international bodys decisions.

Conservative committee member Matt Jeneroux, an Edmonton MP, has said he wants to be able to question Aylward about the effusive praise he has had for Chinas viruscontrol efforts.

In fact, the WHO has gone above and beyond to congratulate and thank China for their response which has been to mislead the world on the gravity of the virus, Jeneroux told the committee last month.

Jeneroux said Taiwan has managed to flatten the curve of the virus but the WHO wont acknowledge its accomplishments because it doesnt want to anger China.

The Trudeau government has appeared reluctant to speak about Taiwan or wade into the U.S. dispute with the WHO and China. Champagne and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have said that fingerpointing and lessonslearned exercises can come later, after the pandemic has been controlled.

But Trudeau praised Taiwan by name during his Friday briefing after a report that it had donated 500,000 surgical masks to Canada.

Im happy to thank Taiwan for its generous donation, Trudeau said. It is important at this point that Canadians and all people around the world pull together to be there for each other because this is a global challenge that is going to face a global response.
A College Station man was arrested Thursday afternoon after 42 THC cartridges were found in his car, authorities said.

According to police reports, at 3 p.m. Thursday, a College Station Police officer conducted a traffic stop on a car traveling northbound on Harvey Mitchell Parkway South. As the officer spoke to the cars driver, 20-year-old Alberto Gomez, the odor of marijuana and alcohol was coming from the vehicle. Gomez admitted to the officer that he had both marijuana and beer in the car.

A probable cause search was conducted, and throughout the car police found marijuana, $1,000 in cash and 42 one-gram cartridges of THC oil. Officers believed that, considering the amount of cash present with the cartridges, Gomez was potentially selling the drugs.

Gomez was arrested and charged with delivery of more than four grams of THC, a first-degree felony punishable by up to 99 years in prison and $10,000 in fines; as well as misdemeanor marijuana possession. He was released from the Brazos County Jail on $14,000 bond.
in the face of the clear defeat of Facebook in the summary proceedings before the Federal court of justice (BGH) on Tuesday, antitrust lawyers and consumer advocates of a Bang to speak. After the Supreme court confirmed the allegation, the dominant position of Facebook controlling Andreas Mundt, President of Bundeskartellamt, stated: "data are a critical factor for economic Power and for the assessment of market power in the Internet." The decision will give important clues as to how the topic of data and competition to deal should be.

Marcus Young

editor in the economy.

F. A. Z.

a Facebook spokesman stressed that the main proceedings before the higher regional court in Dusseldorf is not yet complete. "We will defend the Position of our that there is no antitrust law abuse, more." There will be no immediate changes for the people or companies, the products and services of Facebook in Germany.

the cartel office is in a stronger position in the dispute

in any case, the Federal cartel office is strengthened in the years-long dispute that is for the entire digital economy is relevance. In February 2019, under the competition authority said the merging of user data from different sources to the so-called "Super-profiles". On the basis of websites visited and the use of the "Like Button" can Facebook control targeted advertising and earn a lot of money. Who uses popular services like Messenger, Whatsapp or stories on Instagram shares, is also affected. Against the arrangement, Facebook pulled up in front of the Supreme court. However, in the opinion of the competent cartel Senate, the users need to have in the future, they have a choice in the collection and linking of data from other Internet services.

The decision is from the point of view of the consumer centres is an important stage victory against Facebook. "For the protection of the consumers, therefore, we think it is right to respond to the data collection of the company with the resources of the antitrust laws," said Heiko conceit, who headed the Team law enforcement at the Federal Association of consumer centers. "The more we are pleased that the Antitrust division of the Federal court of justice, has joined the already fast-tracked significantly and unexpectedly."

importance for the company

Sebastian Louven, lawyer for antitrust in the affirmative, that now are no more doubts as to the decision of the competition authority. "The Senate is not but it is clear also that it depends on the violation of the DSGVO, a violation of the antitrust abuse to accept the ban." Instead, a balancing of interests, which is related to the actual goal of the antitrust law, namely, the keeping open of the competitive process and the protection of the oriented freedoms. "That can mean for businesses, the security that the privacy right is not set on the lever of the antitrust law," concludes the lawyer.

Updated Date: 24 June 2020, 13:20
A day after the U.S. Supreme Court threw out his conviction in the infamous Bridgegate case, Bill Baroni filed to get his suspension from the practice of law lifted.

Attorneys for the former Republican state senator filed motions with the New Jersey Supreme Court, the federal District Court and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals on Friday, seeking to reinstate Baroni.

Within hours, the Court of Appeals in Washington lifted its previously imposed interim suspension, acknowledging the high court ruling that overturned Baronis criminal conviction. At the same time, it ordered that a disciplinary proceeding be dismissed.

This is the final chapter in this long, tragic story, said Baronis attorney, Stephen M. Orlofsky of BlankRome. By doing this, were hoping to restore Mr. Baronis good name in the community."

Baroni, who had served as deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and Jersey, and Bridget Anne Kelly, a former deputy chief of staff to Gov. Chris Christie, had been charged with fraud and conspiracy in connection with a plan to purposely tie up traffic around the George Washington Bridge. Prosecutors said it was all part of a bizarre scheme of political retribution against a mayor who had backed away from an expected endorsement of Christie in his 2013 bid for re-election as governor.

In its unanimous decision, the high court found that the two did not violate federal law. The courts opinion, though, was not without sharp criticism.

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, wrote Justice Elena Kagan for the full court.

In the two filings in New Jersey on Friday and the separate one in Washington, Baroni cited the reversal of his criminal conviction, and sought that his suspensions in the state and federal courts be vacated. The New Jersey Supreme Court had temporarily suspended Baroni from the practice of law a week after he was sentenced, pending ethics proceedings against him.

A graduate of the University of Virginia Law School and a former Republican state senator from Mercer County, Baroni had been an adjunct law professor at Seton Hall School of Law before his conviction.

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Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky believes that on May 9, it is necessary to sincerely and without unnecessary pathos commemorate all the Ukrainians and other peoples of the anti-Hitler coalition who contributed to the victory over Nazism in World War II.

"We will never forget the terrible price of this victory. According to various estimates, this is at least 50 million victims, of which more than 8 million are killed and tortured Ukrainians. Remembering all the horrors of that period, we do not make the war a cult. And this important day is not an advertising campaign, not a slogan competition, not a pompous dance on the bones competition. Because to honor the feat of everyone who brought the victory closer, the main thing is not loudness, but sincerity. And our victory is in everyone's heart [saying these words Zelensky had a hand on his heart]," he said in a video address to Ukrainians on the occasion of Victory Day over Nazism in World War II.

Zelensky thinks that it is a shame that we mention veterans, who are very few today, mostly on these May days, but we must thank them every day instead since "they gave their youth to the war so that we could have our youth."

"More than seven million Ukrainians in the Anti-Hitler Coalition opposed Nazism both in their homeland and on different continents of the planet. Undoubtedly, a human feat does not have a passport. But the contribution of Ukrainians to the victory over Nazism is enormous. And today no one can privatize victory. No one can say that it could have happened without Ukrainians. We must not forget this, we must not be ashamed and give up the feats of our Ukrainian heroes to anyone else," the head of state noted.

Zelensky recalled the names that Ukraine can and should be proud of: "This is Ivan Kozhedub, three times Hero of the Soviet Union, the best pilot of World War II, who shot down more than 60 enemy aircraft; Nicholas Oresko, the recipient of the Medal of Honor and the Purple Heart - the highest military decorations in the United States, who was personally awarded by President Harry Truman in the White House; Yevdokia Zavaliy - the first and only woman - commander of a platoon of marines that took part in the battles for Kerch and Sevastopol; Olena Witter, who saved dozens of Jewish children in the Holocaust and became the first Ukrainian to receive the title of Righteous Among the Nations; Crimean Tatar Amet-Khan Sultan, who destroyed 30 German aircraft, received two Golden Stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union, and at the time of the deportation of the Crimean Tatars did not renounce his people and fought for their rights; Tetiana Marcus, an underground representative who killed several dozen Nazi soldiers and officers at the age of 21 during the occupation of Kyiv and was awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine; workers of the Kharkiv Machine Building Design Bureau, who created the legendary T-34, and Ihor Pobirchenko, who was the first to break the gate of the Auschwitz concentration camp on this tank; academician Oleksandr Bohomolets, whose blood collection and transfusion system saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of wounded soldiers; poet Olena Teliha executed by the Nazis in Babyn Yar; Vasyl Kurka, who became a sniper at the age of 16 and killed a total of 179 enemies; Maria Shcherbachenko, who carried 112 wounded off the battlefield; Alex Diachenko, after whom the destroyer of the U.S. Navy was named; Oleksiy Berest, a native of the Sumy region, who hoisted the USSR flag over the Reichstag; and Michael Strank, a native of the Ukrainian Lemko family, who raised the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima."

"These and hundreds of thousands of other names today inspire the current generation of Ukrainian defenders. With their courage, self-sacrifice and the main truth: 'Ukrainians will definitely win,'" Zelensky stressed.
New Delhi: In what could be the begining of yet another showdown between the BJP-led Centre and the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has written a letter to the West Bengal Chief Minister, criticising her government for not allowing trains with migrant workers to reach the state.

In a letter to her, Shah said not allowing trains to reach West Bengal is "injustice" to the migrant workers from the state.

Referring to the 'Shramik Special', the trains being run by the central government to facilitate transport of migrant workers from different parts of the country to various destinations, the Home Minister wrote: "But we are not getting expected support from the West Bengal. The state government of West Bengal is not allowing the trains reaching to West Bengal. This is injustice with West Bengal migrant labourers. This will create further hardship for them."

However, Shah's letter caused a lot of heartburn among Trinamul supporters, with senior leader Abhishek Banerjee challenging the Home Minister to prove his allegations or apologise.

Banerjee, who is Mamata's nephew, alleged that the Home Minister was spreading a "bundle of lies" after staying silent for weeks.

"A HM failing to discharge his duties during this crisis speaks after weeks of silence, only to mislead people with bundle of lies! Ironically he's talking about the very ppl whove been literally left to fate by his own Govt. Mr @AmitShah, prove your fake allegations or apologise (sic)," he tweeted.
New Delhi: With Gujarat reporting a large number of coronavirus COVID-19 cases and fatalities, medical experts from AIIMS, including its director Dr Randeep Guleria, have rushed to Ahmedabad to provide expert guidance to doctors there on COVID-19 management.

Following directions from the Centre, Dr Guleria, who is a pulmonologist, and Dr Manish Soneja from the AIIMS Department of Medicine left for Ahmedabad on special Indian Air Force flight on Friday evening.

Official sources said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had instructed AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria to leave for Ahmedabad along with his team by a special IAF and visit Civil Hospital and SVP hospital to give expert advice to doctors there on COVID19 treatment:

With 390 more people testing positive for COVID-19 and 24 fatalities, the total number of cases in Gujarat climbed to 7,403 and the death toll reached 449 on Friday.

Of the total coronavirus cases in the state, 5,260 have been reported from Ahmedabad district alone.

"They will visit the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital and SVP hospital on Saturday to provide expert guidance and advice to the doctors on treatment for coronavirus-infected patients there," a source said.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani had earlier made a formal request to Home Minister Amit Shah for sending a team of highly-experienced medical experts to the state.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 14:30:06|Editor: huaxia

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Entrusted by President Xi Jinping, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) visits Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni in Beijing, capital of China, May 8, 2020. King Norodom Sihamoni is in Beijing for a physical examination. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

BEIJING, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Entrusted by President Xi Jinping, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday visited King Norodom Sihamoni of Cambodia, who came to Beijing for a physical examination.

Wang conveyed the cordial greetings from President Xi and his wife Professor Peng Liyuan to King Sihamoni and his mother, former Queen Norodom Monineath Sihanouk.

Wang said China will bear in mind that Cambodia offered China firm support at a crucial moment in China's fight against the COVID-19 epidemic.

Following the outbreak of the epidemic in Cambodia, China sent medical teams to the country and provided urgently needed anti-epidemic supplies, Wang said, stressing that this fully embodies the friendly tradition of mutual support and assistance between the two nations.

Sihamoni asked Wang to convey his sincere greetings and high respect to President Xi and his wife. He congratulated China on its significant achievements in fighting the epidemic under the leadership of President Xi.

The King sincerely thanked China for supporting Cambodia in fighting COVID-19 and expressed Cambodia's willingness to enhance the exchange of epidemic prevention and control experience with China. Enditem
After nearly two months in the bunker cutting off all social contacts, we are told 3,506,924 people (at the time of writing) got infected with coronavirus worldwide. This has claimed the lives of 247,473 including those of 65,000 in the USA alone. Nearly 1,125,255 patients (32%) recovered, but the pandemic has taken a huge toll on all aspects of peoples lives.

What have we learnt from this new deadly virus COVIDd-19 - at least, so far?

When a killer virus like this surfaces, we must note, it renders even the mightiest country on earth clueless: the USA had one coronavirus death every 44 seconds in the month of April and, during that period, she had to deny treatment to numerous non-coronavirus patients. She had to move from heaven to earth for help.

Yes, coronavirus had a particular place where it took birth. Whether it originated from the exotic wild animal meat market, called the Wet market or leaked from a virology lab, the virus did come from China. Its also clear now that the Chinese did hide the initial information about the virus from the world and allowed international travels from the city of Wuhan, the ground zero of the pandemic.

International anger was obviously expected. The Trump administration insists on calling this virus a Chinese or Wuhan virus. Its reportedly planning to ask China to pay (as compensation) ten million dollars for each coronavirus-related death in the USA.

The Chinese are responding with their own arrogance. They know the world couldnt inflict any considerable damage on them since many countries have deep stakes in the second biggest economy of the world.

Ironically, during the critical months of March and April, every affected country had to depend on China for the essential medical supplies. In fact, at one time all fifty US states had to outbid each other to buy the Chinese ventilator at unreasonably inflated prices.



This pandemic has, thus, taught a lesson to all the affluent countries who had turned China into their remote sweatshop and warehouse all in one. Little did they anticipate the dangerous consequences of handing over to China critical control over their life-line.

Its a warning to all nations to be self-dependent, swadeshi and swawlambi, in the matters of essential services. Large countries like India and the USA must be self-reliant.



As for the virus, there are a number of lessons for the people across the globe to know about. People belonging to the younger generation must not think they were invincible, the virus could attack a person of any age, nationality, gender or race.

When this virus hits, it incapacitates such organs as are vital in helping do basic physical activities; it surely renders certain critical hormones ineffective that in turn lowers your immune system. All this happens in such a quick succession and in a short time that there's very little window for the medical paraphernalia to catch up.

After such a long and widespread lockdown in countries of continental sizes like the USA and India, there were differences of opinion on how to reopen the economy. In the USA, what may be applicable to Maine may be unsuited to Utah or Arkansas. Likewise, in India, Kerala will be different from, say, Meghalaya.

In a federal pluralistic and diverse country, it may be difficult and time consuming to arrive at a consensus. For example, in the state of Georgia and other states, the Governors were in favor of opening, but the businesses said no. Likewise, Chief Ministers in India and the Prime Minister had diverse views, but they worked on a consensus.

The people of color in the USA, like the poor in India, were particularly vulnerable to going back to work as the incidence of fatality in the wake of Covid-19 was higher in their group in proportion to their population. But they also had to depend on their everyday earnings to make both ends meet. The challenge is there for all nations to find a way to restore normalcy.

At least one European country, Sweden, claims to have found a better way to isolate and shield their senior citizens from the virus while keeping their working population in place and the country running normally. It will have to be seen if the incidence of Covid-19 increases in Sweden or other countries follow the Swedish model: the country is imperceptibly but deliberately training its population to develop adequate immunity against the virus.

In all lockdown countries, the reopening couldn't be all at once. The scariest segment of the population seemed to be the parents of the young kids: they had to go into a crowded environment where they could hardly take care of themselves. The parents also fear the kids couldn't be experimented upon with brand new medicines/vaccines or any other novel therapy. Students who are asked to take the only option of online courses have begun to realize that their resource constraints will not allow them to have complete education and training. Every business, every government bureau is forced to go back to the drawing board and map out everything anew.

It looks like when things reopen, social relationships, workplaces or the work culture will not be the same. There will be the advent of a new era where everyone will have an equal stake in living together healthy.

And against that global co-existence, the infection caused by viruses could be as lethal as the water-borne diseases or acute encephalitis syndrome which appear in Bihar every year.
Coronavirus Outbreak Updates: The samples of an assistant sub inspector attached to Vinoba Bhave Nagar police station in Mumbai who died on Friday have tested positive for novel coronavirus.

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The officers have been directed to submit a detailed report within four weeks. "It should also include details of the steps taken by the state and the district authorities to provide food, shelter and other basic amenities to the poor people, especially migrant labourers, who are facing extreme difficulties from every angle during the coronavirus-triggered lockdown," it said.

The NHRC has taken suo motu cognisance of media reports about mowing down of 16 migrant workers by the goods train in the early hours of Friday, it said in a statement.

The National Human Rights Commission on Friday issued notices to the Maharashtra Chief Secretary and the District Magistrate of Aurangabad over 16 migrant workers being mowed down by a goods train. The incident happened between Badnapur and Karmad stations in Nanded Division.

Though the WHO will release a version on app stores globally, any government will be able to take the apps underlying technology, add features and release its own version on app stores, Mariano said in a phone interview.

The app will ask people about their symptoms and offer guidance on whether they may have Covid-19, the potentially lethal illness caused by the coronavirus, said Bernardo Mariano, chief information officer for the WHO. Other information, such as how to get tested, will be personalized according to the users country.

The World Health Organization (WHO) plans to launch an app this month to enable people in under-resourced countries to assess whether they may have the novel coronavirus, and is considering a Bluetooth-based contact tracing feature too, an official told Reuters on Friday.

Karnataka has been among the few states that has wanted to restart economic activities and have the revenue come in for the state.

The alcohol can be bought only as takeaways from 9 am to 7 pm from Saturday till 17 May.

The Karnataka government has permitted the sale of liquor in standalone clubs, boarding hotels and bars, where the existing stock of alcohol can be sold at MRP, reported News18.

Even after the imposition of 70 percent corona-fee on alcohol in the National Capital by the Arvind Kejriwal-led government, customers did not deter from buying.

The chaos has prompted the Delhi government to launch an e-token system for customers. They can now log into - www.qtoken.in to select an outlet and book a time slot to buy liquor. Only 50 tokens will be issued per hour to keep the rush in check.

In a bid to maintain social distancing rules and prevent chaos, the Delhi government has launched an e-token portal for liquor sale, News18 reported.

With 3,320 more people testing positive in the past 24 hours across the nation, the total number of confirmed cases climbed to 59,662 on Saturday. Of the total, there were 39,834 active cases.

As many 17,847 COVID-19 patients have been discharged, taking the rate to 30 percent.

The COVID-19 toll in India rose to 1,981 after 95 more succumbed to the viral infection in the past 24 hours, according to the latest data released by the health ministry on Saturday.

Rajasthan registered a total of 3,636 COVID-19 positive cases after 57 more individuals tested positive for the infectious disease on Saturday. According to the state health department, the toll remained at 103 with no new deaths recorded in the past 24 hours.

So far, the toll in Rajasthan stood at 103.

Of the total 3,531 COVID-19 cases in Rajasthan, Jaipur reported the maximum with 1,160 patients being infected. The city has recorded more than half of the total number of deaths in the state with 53 people losing their lives to the viral disease.

For severe cases, patients will be discharged after they test negative by RT-PCR.

For moderate cases, patients will be discharged only after resolution of clinical symptoms and ability to maintain oxygen saturation above 95 percent for three consecutive days without support.

According to the health ministry's latest notice on discharge policy for COVID-19 patients, for mild and pre-symptomatic cases, patients can be discharged after after 10 days of symptom onset and no fever for three days.

He further pointed out that the Centre has facilitated the return of more than 200,000 migrant labourers to reach home and that workers from West Bengal are also eager to go back.

"West Bengal government is not allowing trains with migrants reaching the state. This is injustice with West Bengal migrant labourers. This will create further hardship for them," Shah said in his letter to Mamata.

With the issue of migrant labourers being the latest flashpoint between Centre and West Bengal government, Home Minister Amit Shah took a potshot at chief minister Mamata Banerjee for not getting "expected support" help migrant workers reach home.

The video went viral after BJP MLA Nitesh Rane on 6 May uploaded it on social media. Rane identified the location as the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital in Sion.

In a disturbing video that was reportedly recorded inside a civic hospital in Mumbai, patients undergoing treatment for coronavirus can be seen lying in beds, hardly few feet away from beds that have corpses on them.

The Maharashtra Education Department said that no fee hike in schools can be imposed for academic year 2020-21. "Parents should not be forced to pay the remaining fee of academic year 2019-20 and the fee for 2020-21 in one go, they must be given monthly/quarterly payment options," said the state Education Department.

The press conference will be hosted by Sudip Bandyopadhyay, AITC Parliamentary Party Leader in the Lok Sabha, Derek OBrien, AITC Parliamentary Party Leader in Rajya Sabha and Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Member of Parliament.They will take questions from you after their statements.

The All India Trinamool Congress will conduct a press meet via video conference on Saturday at 1 pm. The meeting can be expected to be on the COVID-19 situation in West Bengal.

Among the passengers was a Madurai-based woman whose husband died in Dubai. The body was also brought in the aircraft and she headed to the southern temple town on road with her spouse's body, News18 reported.

Under Centre's Vande Bharat Mission, close to 359 Indian nationals arrived from Dubai in two Air India flights early on Saturday.

India's current doubling rate of COVID-19 cases improved to 11 days as against 9.9 days in the last week, while the mortality rate has been recorded at 3.3 percent, said Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday.

"Our fatality rate in the country continues to be around 3.3% and the recovery rate has climbed up to 29.9%, these are very good indicators," he said.

After a total of 17,847 COVID-19 patients were discharged across the nation, the recovery rate climbed to 29.9 percent, said Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday.

Newly-appointed Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) chief Iqbal Chahal will visit the control room at the civic body's headquarters, follwed by Nair Hospital today to take account of the situation in the city worst affected by coronavirus, News18 reported. He will also visit Dharavi, which has reported a high number of cases since the beginning of the outbreak.

"Epidemiologists say it is wrong to compare regions at different points of the virus cycle because each of these regions in countries and states are all in different period of cycle," said Derek.

Responding to the allegations against the West Bengal government over mismanagement of identifying COVID-19 hot spots and containing them, Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien on Saturday said that the data comparing COVID-19 growth rate of different states is "misleading".

"A letter by the Home Minister first reached Delhi before it reached the West Bengal Govt. You sent doctors to Gujarat but a IMCT to Bengal, why are you messing around?" said the TMC leader.

In response to Amit Shah's letter to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee alleging that migrants were not permitted to enter the state on trains, TMC's Derek O'brien was quoted by News18 as saying, "Home Minister of India has finally woken up from a deep sleep. We were wondering if you have helped any migrants."

He further alleged that the Centre was responsible for the rail mishap in Maharashtra's Aurangabad.

"The Home Minister is writing so many letters to Bengal but nothing was done in Karnataka when the CM stopped the movement of migrant labourers. Later he had to revoke the decision. The Uttar Pradesh government has waived off all labour laws but, no letters were written to them," said O'Brien.

TMC leader Derek O'Brien on Saturday accused Amit Shah of being biased with the BJP-ruled states with regard to stopping the movement of migrant labourers.

West Bengal is running 711 camps for the migrants in state, we are taking good care of them, said TMC leader Derek O'Brien, reacting sharply to the allegations made by the Centre over the failure of the West Bengal government to implement standard operating procedures in bringing back stranded migrants.

Thirteen more personnel in the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) have tested positive for the nove coronavirus on Saturday, thereby taking the confirmed cases to 48 among the security force officials, according to ANI.

Officials believe the state's low coronavirus numbers is a factor for the workers seeking return. Till Friday, Haryana had 647 positive cases,

According to the report, around 79.29 percent of migrant labourers have applied to come to Gurgaon, Faridabad, Panipat, Sonipat, Jhajjar, Yamunanagar and Rewari. Little over 50,000 of them want to come to Gurgaon district.

As the Centre has started running special trains to send stranded migrant workers back to their states, close to 1.09 lakh migrant workers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have applied on a Haryana government web portal to come to the state, Indian Express reported.

"The state government has trained 1,72,499 health officials to deal with the novel coronavirus outbreak," Chief Secretary AK Tripathy said while launching the 'COVID-19 workforce portal' in Bhubaneswar on Friday.

The Odisha government has trained 1.72 lakh healthcare officials to fight COVID-19 pandemic in the state, where a spike in the number of positive cases was recently witnessed following the return of Odia migrant workers from other parts of the country, a senior official said.

After four more individuals test positive for the novel coronavirus in Uttarakhand, the total number of confirmed cases in the state climbed to 67 on Saturday, news agency ANI reported.

The Indian Railways reaction came minutes after the TMC said they have already planned to run eight trains to ferry migrants from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Telangana. The railway said they did not even have the proposal yet for the train, which the TMC claimed has been scheduled from Hyderabad to Malda on Saturday at 3 pm.

In a slugfest over the transportation of stranded migrants to West Bengal, railway officials on Saturday said there were no proposal on record so far with the national transporter to run any more 'Shramik Special' trains to the state.

An Air India flight carrying at least 129 Indian nationals from Dhaka in Bangladesh has landed at Delhi Airport on Saturday.

However, the Delhi Police said that the report "is not only factually incorrect but seems to be based on wholly unverified sources and purely conjectural imagination."

The report, quoting sources, claimed that an initial probe suggested that the clip appeared to have been curated from multiple files, and hence its veracity needed to be confirmed by the forensic lab.

In the clip in question, Saad could be heard telling Jamaat attendees to ignore government directives and social distancing norms.

The Delhi Police on Saturday rubbished a media report suggesting that a purported audio clip of Markaz Nizamuddin head Maulana Saad Kandhalvi may have been doctored.

25 new cases, one death due to the viral infection were reported in Mumbai's Dharavi today, ANI quotes the BMC as saying.A total of 833 positive cases and 27 deaths have been reported from the largest slum in the world.

Number of coronavirus positive cases in Punjab climbed to 1,762 as 31 more people tested positive on Saturday. The total number of active cases stands at 1574 while 31 persons have died due to the disease, according to the Punjab Health Department

Tamil Nadu recorded 526 fresh cases in the last 24 hours and Chennai recorded 279 cases with four deaths, reports News18. The total number of coronavirus has infections in the state has reached 6,535. Four deaths were also reported today, taking the toll in the state to 44. Acoording to the report, as many as 1,867 cases are linked to the Koyembedu market cluster.

Aarogya Setu app alerted the government about more than 650 hotspots across the country and over 300 emerging hotspots, said NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant.

23 deaths and 394 new cases were reported in Gujarat in the past 24 hours, reported the Times of India. The total number of cases in the in the state reached 7,797 including 472 deaths. 2,091 persons have been cured and discharged till date.

A total of 280 new COVID-19 cases were reported from hotspot Ahmedabad along with 20 more deaths on Saturday, taking the total case count to 5,540 in the district and fatalities to 363, PTI quotes a health department official as saying. Principal Secretary (Health) Jayanti Ravi said that the number of the discharged patients from various hospitals in Ahmedabad after recovery mounted by 106 to 1,107 in the last 24 hours.

West Bengal Home Secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay on Saturday termed as misleading and incorrect a Railway ministry tweet which claimed that the West Bengal govt had approved eight special Shramik trains from various states after Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday alleged that the state was not allowing such trains. "All 8 trains were approved, communicated to states concerned on Friday," PTI quotes him as saying.

ALERT ! 17 persons found #COVID19 POSITIVE in Tripura today from 86th-Bn #BSF , Ambassa. No Civilian found POSITIVE among them. Total #COVID19 active cases in Tripura now stands: 132  Transferred out: 02 Recovered: 02 Updated at : 10:00 pm, 9th May. #TripuraCovid19Count

Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Saturday said that 17 more personnel from the Border Security Force's 86th Battalion have tested positive in Ambassa. Tripura now has 132 active cases and none of them are among civilians.

The #PmCares fund has received huge contributions from PSUs & major public utilities like the Railways. Its important that PM ensures the fund is audited & that the record of money received and spent is available to the public.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday demanded audit of PM CARES Fund and said the account of money received and spent be made public. The Centre had set up the Prime Minister''s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund on 28 March, with the primary objective to deal with any kind of emergency situation like the one currently posed by the COVID-19 outbreak and provide relief to those affected. The Congress has questioned the government over setting up of a separate PM CARES Fund by the prime minister for fighting coronavirus, demanding that the same be merged with the PM National Relief Fund.

An Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police (ASI) thrashed a doctor of a primary health centre for allegedly refusing to conduct medical examination of four accused of a rape case who were without face masks and also tied with a single rope against the social distancing norms in Bihar's Darbhanga district on Saturday, reports PTI. The incident took place in the Jalle Primary Health Centre this morning. Doctors and other staff of the Jaale PHC went on strike to protest against the incident.

I have tested NEGATIVE for COVID-19 Will rejoin the #FightAgainstCOVID19 ASAP Thank you everyone for your wishes and prayers #AmdavadFightsCorona

Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner Vijay Nehra on Saturday took to Twitter to announce that he had tested negative for the coronavirus. Nehra was placed under quarantine on 5 May after he came into contact with a COVID-19 patient and CEO of Gujarat Maritime Board Mukesh Kumar had taken over the charge.

coronavirus, PTI quotes officials as saying. He died in the early hours of Friday after being admitted in a civic hospital on Wednesday with COVID-19-likesymptoms, an official said. "He was also a diabetic. His samples returned positive on Friday evening. This is the fourth COVID-19 death in Mumbai police. Some 350 personnel in the metropolis' force have tested positive for the virus so far," he added.

The samples of an assistant sub inspector attached to Vinoba Bhave Nagar police station in Mumbai who died on Friday have tested positive for novel

Pune district reported 160 new coronavirus cases since Friday night, taking the tally of cases to 2,732, PTI quotes health officials as saying. The death toll reached 148 with five COVID-19 patients succumbing to the infection, an official said.

Hackers linked to Iran have targeted staff at US drugmaker Gilead Sciences Inc in recent weeks, according to publicly-available web archives reviewed by Reuters and three cybersecurity researchers, as the company races to deploy a treatment for the COVID-19 virus. In one case, a fake email login page designed to steal passwords was sent in April to a top Gilead executive involved in legal and corporate affairs, according to an archived version on a website used to scan for malicious web addresses. News agency Reuters said it was not able to determine whether the attack was successful.

West Bengal Home Secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay on Saturday termed as misleading and incorrect a Railway ministry tweet which claimed that the West Bengal govt had approved eight special Shramik trains from various states after Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday alleged that the state was not allowing such trains. "All 8 trains were approved, communicated to states concerned on Friday," PTI quotes him as saying.

Three migrant workers who were on their way to Utttar Pradesh from Maharashtra, mostly walking, died in Barwani district of Madhya Pradesh on Saturday, officials said. The trio were among thousands of migrant workers who have set out on foot for their home states from Maharashtra in the last few weeks amid lockdown on account for coronavirus.While autopsy reports were yet to be available, doctors said the possible cause of deaths was fatigue and

Coronavirus Outbreak Updates: The samples of an assistant sub inspector attached to Vinoba Bhave Nagar police station in Mumbai who died on Friday have tested positive for novel coronavirus.

Confirmed cases in Rajasthan climbed to 3,708, including 106 fatalities as the state registered 129 fresh infections and three deaths on Satuday, said the state health department.

The Union health ministry has decided to deploy Central teams to 10 states that have a high case load and are recording a high spurt of cases, in addition to the twenty teams deployed to districts with a high number of cases.

1,165 new cases, 48 deaths were reported in Maharashtra. The total number of positive cases in the state rises to 20,228, while the toll reaches 779, according to the evening bulletin issued by the state health department.

In a series of tweets, the ministry of railways said that the West Bengal government today approved eight special trains to bring back migrant labourers stranded in various states, however, no trains have been approved from Maharashtra, it said.

The country's largest paramilitary force CRPF reported 62 fresh coronavirus infections on Saturday from a single Delhi-based unit, officials said. The total number of active cases in the 3.25 lakh-strong force now stands at 231, they said. Two personnel have recovered from coronavirus while one succumbed to the infection.

23 deaths and 394 new cases were reported in Gujarat in the past 24 hours, according to reports. The total number of cases in the in the state reached 7,797 including 472 deaths.

Tamil Nadu recorded 526 fresh cases in the last 24 hours and Chennai recorded 279 cases with four deaths, reports News18. The total number of coronavirus has infections in the state has reached 6,535.

The testing capacity for COVID-19 has been scaled up to around 95,000 tests per day and a total of 15,25,631 tests have been conducted so far across 332 government and 121 private laboratories, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.

The number of confirmed cases in Delhi climbed to 6,542 as 224 new infections were reported between 4 pm on Friday to midnight. According to data released by the Chief Minister's Office, no new deaths were recorded and the toll stands at 68

Karnataka on Saturday registered 41 fresh infections, pushing the total in the state to 794, including 30 deaths and 386 recoveries, according to the 5 pm bulletin issued by the state health department.

Two persons who were brought back to Kerala on an evacuation flight on 7 May have tested positive, taking the number of active cases in the state to 17, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

The Tamil Nadu govt announced major relaxations in lockdown guidelines in non-containment zones from Monday. Essential shops can function from 6am to 7pm while standalone and neigbourhood shops to open from 10 am to 6 pm and from 10.30 am to 6 pm in Chennai.

"Number of active cases of COVID-19 stands at 1800 in Uttar Pradesh and 1399 patients have recovered. Our average recovery rate stands at around 43 percent as against national average of 30 percent," ANI quotes Principal Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad as saying.

In a slugfest over the transportation of stranded migrants to West Bengal, railway officials on Saturday said there were no proposal on record so far with the national transporter to run any more 'Shramik Special' trains to the state.

The Indian Railways reaction came minutes after the TMC said they have already planned to run eight trains to ferry migrants from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Telangana. The railway said they did not even have the proposal yet for the train, which the TMC claimed has been scheduled from Hyderabad to Malda on Saturday at 3 pm

As the Centre has started running special trains to send stranded migrant workers back to their states, close to 1.09 lakh migrant workers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have applied on a Haryana government web portal to come to the state, Indian Express reported.

According to the report, around 79.29 percent of migrant labourers have applied to come to Gurgaon, Faridabad, Panipat, Sonipat, Jhajjar, Yamunanagar and Rewari. Little over 50,000 of them want to come to Gurgaon district.

Officials believe the state's low coronavirus numbers is a factor for the workers seeking return. Till Friday, Haryana had 647 positive cases,

West Bengal is running 711 camps for the migrants in state, we are taking good care of them, said TMC leader Derek O'Brien, reacting sharply to the allegations made by the Centre over the failure of the West Bengal government to implement standard operating procedures in bringing back stranded migrants.

TMC leader Derek O'Brien on Saturday accused Amit Shah of being biased with the BJP-ruled states with regard to stopping the movement of migrant labourers.

"The Home Minister is writing so many letters to Bengal but nothing was done in Karnataka when the CM stopped the movement of migrant labourers. Later he had to revoke the decision. The Uttar Pradesh government has waived off all labour laws but, no letters were written to them," said O'Brien.

He further alleged that the Centre was responsible for the rail mishap in Maharashtra's Aurangabad.

In response to Amit Shah's letter to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee alleging that migrants were not permitted to enter the state on trains, TMC's Derek O'brien was quoted by News18 as saying, "Home Minister of India has finally woken up from a deep sleep. We were wondering if you have helped any migrants."

A letter by the Home Minister first reached Delhi before it reached the West Bengal Govt. You sent doctors to Gujarat but a IMCT to Bengal, why are you messing around?

India's current doubling rate of COVID-19 cases improved to 11 days as against 9.9 days in the last week, while the mortality rate has been recorded at 3.3 percent, said Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday.

The Maharashtra Education Department said that no fee hike in schools can be imposed for academic year 2020-21. "Parents should not be forced to pay the remaining fee of academic year 2019-20 and the fee for 2020-21 in one go, they must be given monthly/quarterly payment options," said the state Education Department.

With the issue of migrant labourers being the latest flashpoint between Centre and West Bengal government, Home Minister Amit Shah took a potshot at chief minister Mamata Banerjee for not getting "expected support" help migrant workers reach home.

"West Bengal government is not allowing trains with migrants reaching the state. This is injustice with West Bengal migrant labourers. This will create further hardship for them," Shah said in his letter to Mamata.

He further pointed out that the Centre has facilitated the return of more than 200,000 migrant labourers to reach home and that workers from West Bengal are also eager to go back.

According to the health ministry's latest notice on discharge policy for COVID-19 patients, for mild and pre-symptomatic cases, patients can be discharged after after 10 days of symptom onset and no fever for three days.

For moderate cases, patients will be discharged only after resolution of clinical symptoms and ability to maintain oxygen saturation above 95 percent for three consecutive days without support.

For severe cases, patients will be discharged after they test negative by RT-PCR.

Rajasthan registered a total of 3,636 COVID-19 positive cases after 57 more individuals tested positive for the infectious disease on Saturday. According to the state health department, the toll remained at 103 with no new deaths recorded in the past 24 hours.

With 3,320 more people testing positive in the past 24 hours across the nation, the total number of confirmed cases climbed to 59,662 on Saturday. Of the total, there were 39,834 active cases.

The Karnataka government has permitted the sale of liquor in standalone clubs, boarding hotels and bars, where the existing stock of alcohol can be sold at MRP, reported News18.

The alcohol can be bought only as takeaways from 9 am to 7 pm from Saturday till 17 May.

Karnataka has been among the few states that has wanted to restart economic activities and have the revenue come in for the state.

The National Human Rights Commission on Friday issued notices to the Maharashtra Chief Secretary and the District Magistrate of Aurangabad over 16 migrant workers being mowed down by a goods train. The incident happened between Badnapur and Karmad stations in Nanded Division.

The NHRC has taken suo motu cognisance of media reports about mowing down of 16 migrant workers by the goods train in the early hours of Friday, it said in a statement.

The officers have been directed to submit a detailed report within four weeks. "It should also include details of the steps taken by the state and the district authorities to provide food, shelter and other basic amenities to the poor people, especially migrant labourers, who are facing extreme difficulties from every angle during the coronavirus-triggered lockdown," it said.

The nationwide tally of COVID-19 cases reached 56,342 on Friday with more people testing positive for the deadly virus infection in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan among other states.

India registered an increase of 103 fatalities and 3,390 infections in the last 24 hours, on Friday while the number of those having recovered from the infection crossedg the 16,000 mark and the toll neared 1,900.

Meanwhile, the situation in Maharashtra's Mumbai and Pune remained worrisome with both cities reporting 748 and 111 cases, respectively. The massive spike in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region was reported along with the news that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation chief was replaced by the Maharashtra government on Friday.

BMC commissioner Pravin Pardeshi will swap offices with Iqbal S Chahal, currently additional chief secretary (urban development).

Delhi, Chennai and Ahmedabad emerged as other major hotspots in the country, with the National Capital reporting 338 new cases, while the other two cities registered 399 and 269 cases, respectively.

Spike in cases continue despite extended lockdown

A large number of new cases were reported during the day from various cities in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, while Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha also reported rise in their tallies.

The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 37,916. While 16,539 people have recovered, one patient has migrated, it said. "Thus, around 29.35 percent patients have recovered so far," a senior health ministry official said.

The total cases include 111 foreign nationals.

The total of 103 deaths reported since Thursday morning include 43 in Maharashtra; 29 in Gujarat; eight in Madhya Pradesh; seven in West Bengal; five in Rajasthan; two each in Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh; and one each in Bihar, Delhi, Karnataka, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.

Of the 1,886 fatalities, Maharashtra tops the tally with 694 patients dying of COVID-19, Gujarat comes second with 425 deaths, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 193, West Bengal at 151, Rajasthan at 97, Delhi at 66, Uttar Pradesh at 62 and Andhra Pradesh at 38.

The death toll reached 37 in Tamil Nadu, 30 in Karnataka while Telangana has reported 29 fatalities. Punjab has registered 28 COVID-19 deaths, Jammu and Kashmir nine, Haryana seven, Bihar five and Kerala four.

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.

According to the health ministry data updated in the morning, the highest number of confirmed cases in the country is from Maharashtra at 17,974 followed by Gujarat at 7,012, Delhi at 5,980, Tamil Nadu at 5,409, Rajasthan at 3,427, Madhya Pradesh at 3,252 and Uttar Pradesh at 3,071.

The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 1,847 in Andhra Pradesh and 1,644 in Punjab.

The tally has risen to 1,548 in West Bengal, 1,123 in Telangana, 793 in Jammu and Kashmir, 705 in Karnataka, 625 in Haryana and 550 in Bihar.

Kerala has reported 503 coronavirus cases so far, while Odisha has 219. A total of 135 people have been infected with the virus in Chandigarh and 132 in Jharkhand.

Tripura has reported 65 cases, Uttarakhand has 61, Chhattisgarh has 59, Assam has 54, Himachal Pradesh has 46 and Ladakh has 42.

Thirty-three COVID-19 cases have been reported from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Meghalaya has registered 12 cases, Puducherry has nine, while Goa has seven. Manipur has two cases. Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Dadar and Nagar Haveli have reported one case each.

"Our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research)," the ministry said on its website.

State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation, it said.

MHA says 'learn to live with virus'

During a press briefing on the COVID-19 situation, Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said, "As we talk of relaxations to the lockdown and of migrant workers returning back to their respective homes, there is a big challenge in front of us that we also have to learn to live with the virus."

"And when we are talking about learning to live with the virus then it is very important that the guidelines that are there on saving oneself from the virus are adopted in the community as a behavioural change," he added.

It is a big challenge and the government needs the community support for it, Agarwal added.

The ministry also reeled off various datasets, including those showing a rising number of infection-free districts and an increasing recovery rate, to suggest the success of the government's strategy in the COVID-19 fight, even as it sought "a behavioural change" and everyone's support in this massive challenge.

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, however, admitted there has been no success yet in breaking the virus chain, and said his government may seek deployment of central forces, if needed, to allow police personnel to take rest in phases. The state tops the nationwide tally for confirmed cases as well as deaths.

Ugly side of migrant crisis

Sixteen migrant workers sleeping on rail tracks while returning to Madhya Pradesh were crushed to death by a goods train in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra. The migrant workers, rendered jobless due to the coronavirus-enforced lockdown and desperate to go to their native places, were walking along the rail tracks apparently to escape police attention.

Those killed and the four other migrant workers who survived were all male, officials said. A viral video clip from the scene of the tragedy shows the bodies of migrant workers lying on the tracks and nearby with their meagre personal belongings scattered around.

Aurangabad SP Mokshada Patil told PTI that three of the four survivors had tried in vain to wake up their colleagues who had slept on the track after an overnight walk from Jalna, around 40 kilometres from the accident spot. The workers were walking to Bhusawal from Jalna along rail tracks, while returning to their home state Madhya Pradesh, an official at the Karmad police station said.

Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh governments announced financial aid of Rs 10 lakh to Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the deceased.

Separately in Karnataka, hundreds of migrant workers gathered on Mangaluru station in protest. They told the local police that they were stuck in the city without jobs, money and adequate food and that they were even willing to walk to their home states if the special trains were not operated immediately.

Meanwhile, a plea has been filed in the Supreme Court on Friday seeking a direction to the Centre to ask all district magistrates in the country to identify stranded migrant workers and provide shelter and food to them before ensuring their free transportation to native places in view of the Aurangabad tragedy.

Economic costs of lockdown causes worry

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 25 March, which was first imposed for 21 days but got extended first for another 14 days till 3 May and then for further 14 days in the third phase, with considerable relaxations, till 17 May.

The economic cost of the COVID-19 fight and the ongoing nationwide lockdown also appeared rising manifold with Moody's Investors Service projecting India's economic growth at zero percent for the current fiscal. It also said that a high government debt, weak social and physical infrastructure, and a fragile financial sector face further pressures due to the coronavirus outbreak.

According to experts, industrial and other business establishments may also face a huge labour shortage once they resume operations after the lockdown, which has been in place since 25 March and is scheduled to continue till 17 May. Lakhs of migrant workers have either left for their native places or are in the process of doing so, including by trains and buses arranged by state governments.

There are also worries that the virus spread may grow further in newer areas following these movements, while a large number of Indians stranded abroad have also begun returning home in special flights.

Since its outbreak in China last December, more than 38.6 lakh people have been found to be infected with this virus, while over 2.7 lakh people have lost their lives. Nearly 13 lakh people have recovered so far, including about 2 lakh in the US.

Separately, a panel of experts, formed to suggest ways to revive Maharashtra's economy, hit by the COVID-19 crisis and the resultant lockdown, submitted its report to the government during the day.

Several states have been taking steps to shore up their resources, including by levying higher taxes on fuel and liquor.

After Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and several others, Himachal Pradesh government has now decided to impose a 'corona cess' on liquor sales, while Puducherry chief minister V Narayanasamy also said the territorial administration was mulling imposition of special COVID-19 tax on liquor to wriggle out of the current fiscal crisis.

The Madras High Court, however, ordered closure of liquor shops in Tamil Nadu a day after they were reopened, but allowed sale of liquor through online and door delivery till the end of the lockdown.

The Supreme Court too asked states to consider non-direct contact or online sales and home delivery of liquor during the lockdown period to prevent the spread of coronavirus on account of crowding at the shops.

Liquor shops were allowed to be opened in the third phase of the lockdown, which began on 4 May, subject to compliance to social distancing and other guidelines issued by the government.

With inputs from PTI
Mazoon Electricity Company, a leading electricity provider in Oman, said it has joined hands with a range of companies such as National Energy Center (NEC), Anwar Almajid United Company for Trading and Constructions, Oman Investment and Finance Compamy (OIFC), Oman National Engineering and Investment Company (ONEIC) to provide a variety of services.

The contract with NEC and Anwar Almajid United Company for Trading and Constructions is for carrying out meter reading and bill delivery operations, while OIFC will be responsible for collection operations in branches across Mazoon Electricity service governorates and through electronic collections.

Additionally, Mazoon Electricity has also signed up ONEIC for electronic collections services, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2020 > Lockdown and Crackdown

Musings

May 6, 2020

Together with stating what activities are to be allowed or disallowed in the red and orange and the hot spot zones of the country, its best if the establishment also puts forth whats to be spoken out and what all is to be camouflaged or throttled!

If a student or an activist or a scholar speaks out beyond the unwritten dictates or against the unwanted political ploys of the day, theres that possibility of getting slapped with FIRs! Unfortunate and undemocratic, that instead of holding discussions and meetings, and dialoguing with the students and scholars, their voice is getting all too throttled. Why?

Even in this ongoing lockdown state, when the entire atmosphere has begun to unnerve and suffocate, theres begun that unwarranted crackdown on not just the university students who were naive enough to have thought that healthy democracy still prevails and with that they could raise their voice, but even scholars are not getting spared. In fact, this weekend I was shocked to read news reports stating that sedition charges have been slapped on the countrys leading scholar- academic- publisher, who is presently heading the Delhi Minorities Commission, Dr Zafarul Islam Khan.

Already much dissection has been done on that one particular tweet of his tweet, which he himself introspects upon and says that it was, ill-timed and insensitive in the midst of a medical emergency faced by our country. He also goes on to stress and reiterate  I stand by my views and convictions. I will continue, now and in future, the fight against hate politics in the country. FIRs, arrests and imprisonments do not change this path which I have chosen for myself consciously years ago to save my country, my people, the Indian secular polity and the Constitution.

Perhaps, it gets significant to ask: is it that one tweet thats got the wrath of the Right-Wing or is it because this scholar has been absolutely forthright and brave to be taking on the Right Wing moves, ever so strongly and persistently. As a committed earnest citizen, he has been vetoing the Right- Wing ploys, with facts and more facts. Braving all possible odds, trying his utmost to see to it that the democratic fabric remains intact.

Along the expected strain, this is not the first time that the establishment has tried to break Zafarul Islam Khans spirit and put hurdles in his scholarly work and publishing pursuits. Correct me if Im wrong but to the best of my knowledge his published newspaper, The Milli Gazette, was one of those few English medium publications focusing on the ground realities faced by the minority communities. He started publishing The Milli Gazette around 2000 but around the start of 2017, had to close the print edition ( the last print edition came out in the last week of December 2016 ). Keeping the online edition on and ongoing, against all possible threats and challenges, continuing to focus on the current realities of the day.

In fact, around the start 2017, when I had asked him to comment on the why he was closing the print edition of The Milli Gazette, he had detailed, During the 17 years of our existence, The Milli Gazette has faced many threats and challenges. I myself have received numerous death threats. MGs continued losses, dwindling subscriptions due to our own website and a disinterest by the community too have been our problems which forced us twice to think of closing down MG though on second and third thoughts we refrained from taking such a drastic step knowing very well that, however feeble, our community needs this voice in English more than at any time in the past  since 12 March 2016 , we are facing an existential threat from the Modi government following our publication of a report on discrimination against Muslims in the Ayush ministry recruitments based on an RTI reply which the said ministry denied. It could have sent a rejoinder or, at worst, could have complained to the concerned regulatory authority, the Press Council of India in case we refused to publish its rejoinder. We were all-along ready to publish a rejoinder, statement or clarification should the ministry send it to us. Instead, it chose to file a police complaint. As a result, the journalist (Pushp Sharma), who wrote that story, was mercilessly interrogated for days and later arrested and jailed for around two weeks. Now he is out on bail while the case takes its normal slow course in courts. Soon, on 21 April, the Press Council of India took suo motu cognizance and opened a case against The Milli Gazette. This action was unprecedented as an authority supposedly created to protect the freedom of Press, was in fact throttling that same cherished freedom. We have replied to PCIs letter and the case continues. Our next hearing at the PCI is on 12 JulyA third bolt came from the Delhi Police (directly controlled by the Union Home Ministry) when DCP Licensing wrote to us on 30 May as to why our newspaper declaration should not be cancelled. Cancellation of the declaration means the newspaper will become illegal. We replied without fail to this show-cause notice and are still waiting for further clarifications from the DCP Licensing despite the passage of over three weeks on our hand-delivered replyThis three-pronged attack on MG simply shows the desperation of the Modi government to silence this little nagging bird. We are fighting and will continue to fight against this injustice through all legal venues open to us. But should the Modi Govt succeed in silencing this feeble voice, we will call it a day and will leave it to history to remember this as yet another colossal injustice to the freedom of Press the like of which was inflicted by the colonial rulers on Maulana Azads Al-Balagh and Muhammad Alis Hamdard and Comrade.

In fact, challenges have been accelerating for Zafarul Islam Khan. In the last few months he has been extremely vocal on the various issues faced by the minority community in the capital city  harassment and arrests of the Jamia Millia Islamia students, the killings and carnage and destruction in the pogrom in North East Delhi in 2020 , the targeted destruction of mosques in this capital city, the absolute ill-treatment meted out to Tablighi men hit not just by the corona virus but also by the communal virus.

He is indeed one of those scholars who has always spoken out. He is also one of those respected authorities on Islamic teachings and writings. Not to overlook the fact that his father is the well-known Islamic scholar, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan.I have interviewed Maulana sahib on more than one occasion and even before he spoke, his eyes shone with sheer noorani brightness which gets difficult to describe  I also do recall one of my Tamilian Brahmin friends a former vice chancellor, who had gone to meet Maulana sahib, tell me, After meeting Maulana sahib I have understood Islam and its true essence. This academic had also told me that all along she carried a different notion of Islam, along the strain that its a violent religion, till shed met Maulana Wahiduddin Khan and he told her that it cannot be so, because the very word Islam means peace.

WHY YOU EVER WONDERED THE BEST KNOWN LITERARY PERSONALITIES ARE BORN UNDEE THE  TAURUS SUN SIGN!

There are several best - known writers and literary personalities who are born under the Taurus sun sign --- William Shakespeare, Rabindranath Tagore, Saadat Hasan Manto, Ruskin Bond.

Let Linda Goodman comment on the connect, if theres any, between the writing prowess and the sun signs!
By PTI

LUCKNOW: An Air India flight with 182 Indians from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates arrived in Lucknow on Saturday evening, officials said.

This is the first flight reaching Lucknow with Indians stuck abroad due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown.

"An Air India flight IX184 arrived in Lucknow from Sharjah on Saturday at around 9.00 pm. The tentative number of passengers arriving in Lucknow is over 180. This is the first flight arriving in Lucknow during lockdown bringing back Indians stranded abroad due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown," Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport Director AK Sharma told PTI.

The passengers were screened at the airport and then sent to quarantine.

As a team,we assure our determination in helping out INDIANS in the critical time of this epidemic outbreak

Mission Vande Bharat

Flight bring Indian citizens from the UAE.

180+2 passengers from Sharjah to Lucknow

State govt will now arrange for their mandatory 14 day quarantine. pic.twitter.com/bewLBAdlzd  Nand Gopal Gupta Nandi (@NandiGuptaBJP) May 9, 2020

Lucknow DM Abhishek Prakash told PTI, "The passengers who have arrived today have been placed underpaid quarantine in Lucknow. We have identified ESI Hospital (a government hospital in Sarojininagar area of Lucknow), and any passenger found symptomatic will be admitted to that hospital. The rest of those will book a paid quarantine facility after arrival, and spend the next 14 days there."

Senior officials of the police and district administration were present at the airport when the flight landed.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Sarojininagar Praful Tripathi, who was present at the airport, said 182 passengers arrived on Saturday evening.

The Indian government had on Monday announced plans to begin 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.

India imposed a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of 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.

The evacuation flights are expected to land at 14 airports across India including Delhi (10 flights), Hyderabad and Kochi nine each, Kozhikode (four), Trivandrum (one), Kannur (one), Chennai (nine), Trichy (one), Ahmadabad (five), Mumbai (four), Srinagar (three), Bengaluru (four), Lucknow (one) and Amritsar (one).

Kerala tops the list of the state-wise break-up of repatriation requests with 25,246, followed by 6,617 from Tamil Nadu and 4,341 from Maharashtra.

A total of 3,715 people from Uttar Pradesh requested evacuation, 3,320 from Rajasthan, 2,796 from Telangana and, 2,786 from Karnataka, sources said.
The District 5 seat on the Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners is before voters for the third straight election cycle, and this time the primary election matters.

Dennis Henderson was re-elected to represent the district, which covers mostly rural parts of southern and southeastern Butte-Silver Bow, in November 2016. But Henderson died a few months later, in February 2017, so commissioners had to appoint a successor.

Out of eight candidates who applied, they tapped Dan Olsen, who runs a computer network and support business in Butte.

Terms on the 12-member council usually run four years, but because he was appointed, Olsen had to run again in 2018 to retain his seat. He did that, unopposed, and must win again this year for a full, four-year term.

One of the other applicants in 2017, Justin Fortune, is also running for the seat, as is Brian Wilkins. The top two vote-getters in the June 2 primary will advance to the November general election.

Here is a look at the candidates:

Justin Fortune

Fortune was raised in Butte and after graduating from Butte High in 2011, he earned a bachelors degree in construction engineering at Montana State University and is now a project manager and lead estimator for family-owned Jay Fortune Construction.

He and his wife, Alison, are parents to a 6-month old son, Axel, and hes one of the reasons Fortune, 27, is running for council.

I dont have any intention of moving, I just had a new baby and I would like to do my part in making Butte the best it can be for him so he will want to stay here, too, Fortune said.

The district includes suburban and rural areas and many residents dont have county water and sewer service and other infrastructure. He wants to change that.

It is crazy to me that some of them dont have paved roads, he said. (Some) dont have internet service and there are so many houses out that way, there should be more services."

Fortune said his education and professional background gives him a good understanding of economic development as far as building goes and what I would like to see in Butte from that aspect.

He also knows a lot about public works, he said, and believes county crews should work primarily on road, sewer and water maintenance and have private contractors do bigger projects. There are many to choose from, he said.

The overhaul of Dewey Boulevard has been an in-house operation, he said, and is going into its third year.

There are probably 10 private contractors in Butte who could have done that work in two months, he said.

Fortune said the consent decree mine pollution cleanup plan is a pressing issue, and with oil prices tanking, Atlantic Richfield Co.  now owned by BP  is probably looking to cut costs.

It might be worth considering what they are offering now, he said.

But even if the plan is approved, commissioners must keep a close eye on how cleanup decisions and developments are carried out. The plan initially said the Timber Butte area was a possible repository site for contaminated mine waste, which was taken off the table after residents protested.

Fortune is wary of that.

With it (the repository site) still up in the air, I would say they are probably still considering it, he said.

Dan Olsen

Olsen has been busy during this three-and-a-half years on council and is now chairman of the Public Works and Economic Development committees. He also has been deeply involved in negotiations on the consent decree.

Its probably the most important thing I am going to see as a commissioner thats going to benefit Butte, he said. We need to get that to the finish line here and get it signed.

If it is not, Olsen said, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will likely issue a unilateral cleanup plan that is not going to be pretty because it will be without protections and park amenities Butte-Silver Bow got in negotiations.

The amenities are really the icing on the cake but it (the decree) really does get to removing a lot of the waste that a unilateral order would not remove, he said.

On the economic front, Olsen said the focus must be on helping existing businesses in Butte survive hits from the COVID-19 pandemic. But hes looking longer term, too, and wants see about $65,000 from an economic development mill levy steered toward job creation.

Commissioners dole much of it out to festivals, sporting events and other economic activities, Olsen said, and those are very important. But the county should find other sources of funding for those and invest the mill levy into longer-term ventures that create jobs, he said.

Olsen helped establish a new road-fee structure for maintenance that he says is heading in the right direction, and he pushed for new equipment for firefighters. But he says volunteer fire departments need help recruiting new members.

They are a valuable response team, especially out in the rural areas, he said.

Much of District 5 is rural and Olsen said hes been working on resolving open range boundary conflicts between the state and the county in the Beef Trail area.

Olsen said the pandemic will present numerous challenges to local government, including a tighter budget, but that comes with the job.

When I signed up for this I didnt think it was going to be as much work as it is, but it was, and I dont mind doing that, he said. Ive got to say that I spend a lot of time out of council chambers working on these tasks, but I enjoy the challenge.

Brian Wilkins

Wilkins is an engineer who has worked on water operations and management in Butte and Montana since 2004, including Superfund-related stints with Atlantic Richfield and Pioneer Technical before he joined Butte-Silver Bows Public Works Department in 2015.

He oversaw the countys Water Division for four years, including treatment and construction, before joining NorthWestern Energys hydro division last year.

When he was with the county, he said he witnessed a local and state regulatory process that is cumbersome and difficult for prospective builders and developers to cut through. He wants to change that.

I really feel there are ways to streamline that process, simplify the process, and get information out to the people who are trying to do something in Butte ahead of time so there arent a lot of questions after the fact, said Wilkins, 39.

He also didnt see much interaction between local government and the public and said there are ways to improve communications.

As an example, citizens who want to report a pot hole have to fill out information on the countys website and then describe the location.

With technology today, a person should be able to click on map right where the pot hole is and thats it, he said. It should be that simple.

Software programs could also walk people through a checklist of steps needed to, say, build a house or start a business, and tell them precisely who to contact along the way.

That was a big complaint I got, that So and so said come talk to you, then someone said go talk to them, Wilkins said. It seemed like it was pass the person around.

Wilkins said he has worked on Superfund from the private and public side and has a good understanding of the issues involved, including those related to the consent decree.

It would probably move forward, he said, but public input is important and he would work to ensure that Butte gets the protections and amenities it was promised, the money is allocated properly and everything is maintained.

Wilkins wants to see more infrastructure in District 5 and says its residents, including those in rural areas, should get more snow plowing and other road maintenance now that everyone in Butte is paying county road fees.

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The district administration on Saturday sent back home 262 persons, including their contacts, who had returned to Amritsar after a pilgrimage to Takht Hazur Sahib at Nanded in Maharashtra. All of them had tested negative for covid-19, but had been quarantined for 21 days at the governments four centres.

Overall, 609 pilgrims had returned to the district starting April 24. There are 362 others, who continue to be in quarantine; reports of five are awaited.

Since most Nanded returnees have been tested and positive patients are in hospital, we have decided to send back those in quarantine centres to their homes. The health department has put up stickers outside their houses and directed them to stay isolated for at least a week, said ADC Himanshu Aggarwal. He added, We have installed COVA app on their mobile phones. By Sunday, every covid-19 negative Nanded pilgrim will be sent home.
Details have emerged about a new class of amphibious warships that Navy and Marine Corps leaders say will be essential to competing with near-peer adversaries at sea.

The Navy has released details on a proposed new class of light amphibious warships. The ships will be necessary as the sea services rise to meet growing challenges at sea, according to slides from a recent Navy-led industry day during which leaders met with two dozen companies to discuss the idea.

The lighter ships, according to the slides, will help the Navy and Marine Corps "meet new challenges," including sea-control-and-denial operations. The light amphibious warships, the slides add, will serve as "maneuver and sustainment vessels to confront the changing character of warfare."

Related: Top Marine General Wants a New Class of 'Light' Amphibious Warship

The Drive, which first reported on the new slides, said the Navy plans to buy between 28 and 30 of the new ships. That could significantly change the look of the Navy's fleet as it augments big, expensive platforms that can take years to field with a smaller class of warships.

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger introduced the idea for a new fleet of "smaller, more lethal and more risk-worthy platforms" in his planning guidance. In January, he said the sea services will need "a lot of small" ships to compete with near-peer adversaries across a lot of space, such as China in the Asia-Pacific region.

"We need a distributed maritime force," he said. "... That drives you toward more. Smaller, but capable."

The ships will likely be built rapidly, with the Navy saying it will adapt or alter commercial designs. The service, according to the Drive, is looking to award at least one preliminary design contract by the end of 2020, with plans to begin buying the ships as early as 2022.

Here's a look at what the Navy and Marine Corps want to see from a new fleet of light amphibious warships, or LAWs.

Length. Some of the Navy's future unmanned vessels could end up being longer than the LAW.

The LAWs overall length would be about 200 feet, according to the Navy's slides. That's about one-fourth of the length of the service's current amphibious assault ships, which run close to 850 feet.

The ships should be capable of beaching on sand, gravel, other materials and manmade ramps. That will allow Marines to move their gear ashore.

Manning. The LAW won't be going to sea with a 2,200-person Marine expeditionary unit. The maximum manning accommodations the Navy wants for this ship are 40 crew and 75 Marines.

The ship must also be able to accommodate the Marine Corps' "rolling stock" inventory, including vehicles and weapons systems such as 7-ton trucks and Howitzers. The LAW will have at least 8,000 square feet of cargo space.

The ships won't have well decks. "Open deck stowage is desirable/preferred," the slides state.

Speed. The Navy wants the LAW to be able to operate at 14 knots for a minimum of 3,500 nautical miles. That's slower than the 20 knots the landing helicopter assault amphib can travel now.

The LAW should also be able to transit in the open ocean in Sea State 5 while fully loaded. Sea State 5 can bring white-capped waves upward of eight feet high. The LAW should also be capable of "enduring up to several weeks-long deployments and trans-oceanic transits," the slides state.

Service life. Though the Navy plans to extend the service life of some of its current ships well beyond their planned time frames, the service has different plans for the LAW.

The LAW should last at least 10 years, according to the slides. That matches Berger's call for more risk-worthy platforms that may not remain operational as long as other ships currently in the fleet.

Weapons and other tech. LAWs, according to the slides, must be able to operate within fleet groups or deploy independently.

To keep the cost of the ships down, its communications suite will be made up of existing programs of records, the slides state, a 25mm or 30mm gun system, a global positioning system, and crew-served weapons, such as .50-caliber machine guns.

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.

Read more: China's Antics Are a 'Game-Changer' for the Navy and Marine Corps, 4-Star Says
Except for laws pertaining to the payment of minimum wages, following safety norms and adequate compensation for workers in case of industrial accidents, no other provisions of the labour law would apply to all new companies that wish to operate in the state for at least 1,200 days, and for those that have already been operational for that period.

Image used for representational purpose. Photograph: Reuters

Following in the footsteps of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat on Friday announced that it was exempting projects from all but three labour laws in the state in an attempt to attract investment after the lockdown.

Except for laws pertaining to the payment of minimum wages, following safety norms and adequate compensation for workers in case of industrial accidents, no other provisions of the labour law would apply to all new companies that wish to operate in the state for at least 1,200 days, and for those that have already been operational for that period, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said.

The state government also offered land and infrastructure for companies and projects that were looking to shift base from China.

For all new projects that seek to operate for at least 1,200 days or are operational for 1,200 days, they would be exempt from all the provisions of labour laws, except three. The state government has also identified over 33,000 hectares of land for global companies seeking to relocate their projects from China, said Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in his address via social media.

They would get approval online and the provisions would be applicable from the day they begin operations. A new ordinance would be brought in to bring this into effect, Rupani said. The move is aimed at not only providing employment in the state but also providing business opportunities for ancillary services as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the chief minister added.

In a bid to attract global firms looking to relocate from China, plug and production facilities will be provided.

There are many Japanese, Korean and other companies that want to shift. To facilitate plug and production, several locations in Sanand, Dahej, Gujarat Industrial Development Corporations (GIDCs) industrial estates and Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR) have already been identified, Rupani said.

The state government has also reached out to relevant ministries in the Centre, including the Ministry of External Affairs, and embassies of several foreign governments along with the said companies inviting them to consider Gujarat as an alternative destination.

Meanwhile, the Dholera SIR Developers Association (DSDA), too, has reached out to the state government, extending support to any global company looking to relocate from China.

We are committed in our to support the government for any local requirement, including affordable labour sourcing, residential facility, safety and security as well as other works related to government requirements, said Rajdipsinh D Chudasama, vice-president of DSDA.

Gujarats competitiveness in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) can be seen from the fact that it had received Rs 24,012 crore worth of FDI in the first half of fiscal 2019-20 (FY20), which was almost double the Rs 12,612 crore received in FY19.

Moreover, out of the 2,574 large industries set up across India in the past three years, 734 units were set up in Gujarat, which Rupani attributed to transparent, pro-people and pro-industry policies of the government.
Richard Grenell, nominee to be U.S. ambassador to Germany, testifies during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 27, 2017. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Richard Grenell, a True Hero of Our Times

Commentary

You may have noticed, as a mere citizen of this country, there are many things you are not supposed to know.

You are not mature enough or intelligent enough to handle certain information. You are, in effect, a child in a supposedly democratic republic.

When Congress wishes to interview key players on a matter of significance, they first, and often only, do it in camera so you infants arent allowed to hear the truth as it emerges under oath.

The result? In public, you are lied to, repeatedly, until you are constrained to believe the lie that is being echoed endlessly by the media.

Most of us, therefore, regard our nations capital as the epicenter of obfuscation and prevarication, a place where you cant find an honest man, and if you need a friend, as Harry Truman said, you should get a dog.

This is nothing new. It goes back at least to Ancient Greece when Diogenes of Sinope wandered the Peloponnese looking for that honest man. (He, in reality, was it.)

America in 2020, in the midst of a pandemic and a fateful presidential election season that may determine whether our future is free-market capitalism or socialism, has found its Diogenes just in the nick of time.

His name is Richard Grenell, formerly U.S. ambassador to Germany and, before that, spokesperson for various U.N. ambassadors and now acting director of national intelligence.

Grenell, that ingrate, decided that we werent so stupid after all and were able to determine the truth for ourselves if given access to the facts. So he marched testimony, heretofore hidden, due to the restrictions of one Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), regarding the TrumpRussia probe over to another potential Diogenes (William Barrtwo for the price of one), and the rest is emerging history.

What are we discovering so far? That the aforementioned Mr. Schiff is a serial liar verging on the pathological is something of a yawner at this point.

Much more importantwedged between a slew of leaders who apparently said one thing in public and something entirely different under oathis the following, well explained by Zachary Stieber on this outlet:

Outgoing President Barack Obama revealed in early 2017 that he knew details from phone calls incoming Trump administration National Security Adviser Michael Flynn made, surprising one of the Department of Justices top officials, according to newly released documents.

What? The nascent Trump administration was being spied on by 

Cutting to the chase, we are already in the land of what did the president know and when did he know it for a scandal that far exceeds Watergate because it involves a potential coup. More is certainly to come, with the reputation of the Obama administration hanging by a thread.

But back to the man who forced the truth to come out after three years of purposeful delayRichard Grenell.

I am proud to say Ric is a friend of mine from L.A. days and can assure readers hes a great guy, funny, very knowledgeable about the arts, and generally intellectually brilliant.

He is also the first openly gay person to serve in a cabinet-level position, which is totally immaterial, but I add admittedly to get the goat of our liberal friends for whom such tawdry identity politics has tremendous importance for reasons that are at heart completely reactionary.

Far more important is that Ric had cancer and bravely beat it. Yet more important than that are the terrific, courageous, and unprecedented things he did as ambassador to Germany, confronting German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the bureaucrats of the European Union and getting amazing results.

Among those achievements was Grenells role in banning Hezbollah in Germany, also in blocking Germany from sending $400 million to Irans mullahs. Theres much more from the Jerusalem Posts man in Berlin, Benjamin Weinthal, who has done an admirable job of covering Rics activities before President Donald Trump brought him back to Washington to serve as acting director of national intelligence.

The president must have known it was time for a Diogenes, an honest man to open the books, be transparent, and reveal the truth of whats been going on in the last few years. Thats something to celebrate. But dont just say it, sing it!

Roger L. Simon is The Epoch Times senior political analyst. He is also the author, among other books, of I Know Best: How Moral Narcissism Is Destroying Our Republic, If It Hasnt Already, published in 2016 but just featured on The Rush Limbaugh Show. Its still available on Amazon.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
New Delhi, May 9 (UNI) In a major joint operation with Haryana and Punjab police, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday arrested a wanted and notorious narco-terrorist Ranjit Singh, also known as Rana and Cheeta, following raids in Sirsa.

The aniti- terror agency in an official statement said, NIA along with teams of Punjab Police and Haryana Police carried out intelligence-based raids in Sirsa, Haryana and arrested notorious narco-terrorist Ranjit Singh@ Rana @ Cheeta son of Harbhajan Singh, resident of Ram Tirath Road, Amritsar.

The the central probing agency also said that Ranjit Singh and his accomplice Iqbal Singh, who is also known as Shera, are the prime accused in a case registered by the NIA in connection with the seizure of 532 kgs of heroin at Attari border. The narcotic substance was hidden in a consignment of rock salt imported from Pakistan.
The number of coronavirus cases in the country inches toward the 60,000-mark. According to the latest figures updated by the Ministry of Health, the Covid-19 national tally stands at 59,662. There are 39,834 active coronavirus cases in the country, 17,846 patients have been cured or discharged while 1,981 people have died from the deadly contagion.

Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra have breached the 19,000-mark while Gujarat, the second worst-affected state has nearly 7,500 Covid-19 cases.

Heres the statewise breakup of the number of coronavirus cases, deaths, and recoveries.

Also read: From anti-malarial drug trial to Centres message - Top Covid-19 updates

Maharashtra

With 19063 Covid-19 active cases, Maharashtra continues to lead the state tally. The state has recorded 731 deaths so far while 3470 patients have recovered.

Gujarat

The state is second in terms of number of Covid-19 cases. The tally in the state, as per the Ministry of Health, stands at 7402. While 449 people have died due to the coronavirus disease, Gujarat has seen 1872 recoveries so far.

Delhi

As many as 6318 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the national capital. 68 people have died from the infection while 2020 have made a recovery, as per the health ministrys data.

Tamil Nadu

The southern state has 6009 coronavirus cases. Tamil Nadu has seen 1605 recoveries and 40 Covid-19 deaths.

Rajasthan

Coronavirus cases in Rajasthan touched 3579 on Saturday. The state has reported 101 fatalities, and 1916 patients have recovered from the infection.

Madhya Pradesh

The state has reported 3341 positive cases of coronavirus. 200 people have died from Covid-19 here while 1349 have recovered.

Uttar Pradesh

The number of Covid-19 positive cases reaches 3214 in Uttar Pradesh. While 1387 people have recovered from coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh, 66 have died from the infection here.

Andhra Pradesh

The state has witnessed 1887 positive Covid-19 patients and 842 cases of recovery. 41 people have died.

West Bengal

The number of infected cases in West Bengal reached 1678 on Saturday. There have been 160 deaths and 364 recoveries in the state.

Telangana

The number of Covid-19 positive cases reaches 1133 in state so far. 700 people have made a recovery from the virus while 29 people have died from Covid-19.

Jammu and Kashmir

The union territory of Jammu and Kashmir has seen the number of Covid-19 patients rising to 823. 9 people have died from the infection while 364 were cured.

Karnataka

The state has recorded 753 Covid-19 cases and 30 deaths. 376 people have been cured and discharged.

Haryana and Punjab

The neighbouring states have 647 and 1731 Covid-19 cases respectively. While 29 people have died in Punjab, Haryana has seen 8 deaths. 279 people have recovered from Covid-19 in Haryana, 152 in Punjab.

Kerala

As per the health ministry, Kerala reported 503 coronavirus cases on Saturday. Kerala has witnessed four deaths due to Covid-19 while 484 people have successfully recovered.

In Bihar, 571 people have tested positive for coronavirus, 5 people have died while 297 patients have recovered. Odisha has 271 Covid-19 positive patients, 63 have recovered while two people have died. Jharkhand has 132 Covid-19 cases, three patients have died and 52

have recovered.

Uttarakhand has 63 coronavirus patients, 46 patients have recovered from the infection, one patient has died. Himachal Pradesh has 50 cases, 2 patients have died and 38 have recovered. Assam has reported 59 Covid-19 cases, one person has died while 34 people have recovered.

Chhattisgarh has recorded 59 cases of coronavirus and 38 people have recovered. In Chandigarh, 150 people have contracted the Covid-19 disease and 21 have recovered, one patient has died. Andaman has recorded 33 coronavirus cases, all patients have recovered.

Ladakh has 42 patients, 17 people have recovered. Goa reported seven cases of Covid-19 disease, all patients have recovered. Puducherry has reported 9 cases, 6 have recovered. Meghalaya has reported 12 cases and one death, 10 patients have recovered. One patient has died.

Manipur had two coronavirus cases, and those have recovered. Tripura, meanwhile, has 118 cases, two patients have recovered.

States and Union territories with just one positive Covid-19 case include Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram, the Arunachal patient has recovered. Sikkim has not reported any Covid-19 case yet.

Note: Figures are from official data released by the Ministry of Health, and may differ from realtime numbers released by various state governments subject to confirmation from the Centre.
The position of the PTF was made known by its National Coordinator, Dr. Sani Aliyu, on Friday in Abuja during its daily briefing.

This came on a day Nigeria back to back recorded its highest single-day infection of the disease.

The country on Friday recorded 386 fresh cases. On Thursday, the country recorded 381 cases, which was then the highest.

Aliyu advised that safety should be the watchword of every Nigerian going forward. The coordinator appealed to Nigerians to stay within their communities to limit transmission of the virus.

The same position was also echoed by the Chairman of the PTF and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, who said physical distancing and other preventive measures were designed to save Nigerians from the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Mustapha reiterated that the measures were not punitive, but meant to save lives and prevent uncontrolled spread of the COVID-19 within the communities.

We recognise the existence of multi-faceted challenges and shall keep emphasising these in our daily briefings and through our information, education and communication media, he said.

He called on the mass media and other key stakeholders to step up awareness creation efforts.

According to him, Nigeria is at the community transmission phase of the pandemic at the moment.

He noted that the country on Thursday recorded 381 confirmed COVID-19 cases, the highest number so far in a day.

Mustapha said: This can be considered worrisome, but for the fact that this rise is associated with increase testing capacity, which has provided opportunity to detect hitherto hidden cases.

This increased testing does not translate to higher fatality rates.

As in the last few days, we have witnessed a good number of discharges and continually reduce daily fatality rate.

Mustapha disclosed that the PTF had also received reports from states suggesting that treatment centres were running out of bed spaces.

He said: As we assess the situation, the PTF shall also begin to examine peculiar circumstances, modify the strategies for care management and consider viable alternatives, where necessary.

At the appropriate time, the guidelines and protocols shall be unfolded.

Mustapha further said the PTF had been consulting with security agencies and concluded that strict enforcement shall be adopted in other to curtail the COVID-19 spread.

He said: As part of the conclusion of the meeting with Security Chiefs, the following were also agreed to strengthen enforcement in collaboration with the states:

All exempted persons, including journalists and medical personnel, should always carry verifiable and authentic means of identification.

Security agencies should improve monitoring of their personnel and interaction with the citizenry.

Citizens should respect the sacrificial role of security agencies and desist from assaulting personnel and damaging security infrastructure.

Appropriate PPE and related protective gears will be provided for security personnel; security agencies should always respect the fundamental rights of citizens during enforcement.

Enlightenment and awareness should be intensified.

Meanwhile, Mustapha has announced that the PTF is liaising with the Task Force on Movement of Agricultural Produce under the leadership of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to ensure that food scarcity is not experienced in any part of the country.

He said another objective of the collaboration was also to minimise abuse of the exemption granted for movement of goods.
As India's biggest repatriation exercise 'Vande Bharat' Mission kick-started on Thursday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that all those people who are coming from the red zones will have to be in a mandatory institutional quarantine for 14 days directly from the check-post.

Speaking to the media, the Chief Minister informed that two flights from the UAE and one flight from Saudi Arabia reached Kerala on Friday. According to him, while the flight from Abu Dhabi to Kochi came with 181 passengers including four infants, 15 children under the age of 10 and 49 pregnant women, the flight from Dubai to Kozhikode had 182 passengers including five children. Another flight from Riyadh to Kozhikode had 149 expatriates. He further added that a flight from Doha is expected to arrive in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday with people from Thiruvanthapuram, Kanyakumari, Kollam, Alappuzha, and Pathanamthitta districts.

According to the CM, around 86,679 Malayalees stranded in other states due to lockdown have registered for passes. Out of these, 37,891 are from red zones. Further, till date, 16,385 people have come back to Kerala, out of which 8,912 are from red zones. Meanwhile, he also informed that around 24,088 migrant labourers have gone to their native states from Kerala in 21 special non-stop trains till May 7.

Read: Mumbai: BMC arranges over 3,000 rooms in 88 hotels to quarantine evacuees

'Vande Bharat' Mission

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. The Ministry of Home Affairs also issued the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the movement of the returnees. The mission will go on for 7 days and will rescue stranded Indians from over 11 countries in 64 Air India flights carrying over 14,800 people. The flights will take off for 12 countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Maldives, Singapore and the US.

Read: BMC amends another order on closure of non-essentials, now allows hardware shops to reopen

COVID-19 in India

According to the latest update from the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, the number of total Coronavirus cases in the country has climbed to 56,342, including 37,916 active cases. While 1,886 deaths have been reported overall, around 16,540 people have been cured/discharged/migrated. Meanwhile, Maharashtra and Gujarat have the highest number of cases in the country.

Read: Kerala launches 'Ente Sweet Challenge' campaign to energise teens amid COVID-19 lockdown

Read: Kerala: Plea in High Court challenges move to make Aarogya Setu app mandatory

(With ANI Inputs)
The worlds biggest brewer says things are going to get worse before they get better.

AB InBev on Thursday (May 7) predicted a materially worse second quarter.

That as lockdowns interrupt some production and keep bars and restaurants closed.

South Africa has even banned sales of alcohol, while Peru shut down beer production.

But the maker of Stella Artois, Corona and other brands sees signs of hope in China.

The volume of its drinks consumed there fell by almost a half in the first three months of the year - but was down just 17% in April.

The improvement comes as lockdowns start to ease and bars reopen.

Overall, first quarter core profit came in at just under 4 billion dollars.

That was down nearly 14% on the year, but better than forecast.

AB InBev saw a surge in store sales, but seemingly not enough to compensate for shut bars.

The firm confirmed that the ten billion dollar sale of its Australian unit to Asahi Group of Japan would go ahead.

The deal should close on June 1.

AB InBev shares were up over 3% in morning trade.
Rupee rises 14 paise to close at 74.44 (provisional) against US dollar.

Sensex plunges 656 pts to end at 60,098.82, Nifty tanks about 175 pts to end below 18,000-level.
Another election year is here with us and every credible political party is gearing itself to contest the highest office of the land as well as parliamentary seats. Ghana is riddled with many political parties but two main political parties stand out: NPP and NDC.

These two political parties had dominated our political discourse for over two decades and there is no immediate sign of a third force. The likes of CPP, PNC, NDP, PPP, and others are just auxiliary political parties supporting the two major parties.

In December 2016, the ruling NDC suffered a monumental defeat of a historical record. They lost heavily to then the opposition NPP, now incumbent, having lost more parliamentary seats, their leader John Dramani Mahama falling to over one million votes to Akuffo Addo, the then the opposition leader. It will interest you to know that the level of confidence that NDC approached the 2016 elections with was 'a damn deal'.

The Onaapo story was popular among many Ghanaians and it was clear on the walls that NPP might be slipped the third time into opposition. Unfortunately, the NDC touted the development agenda and the handsomeness of their leader fell short with Ghanaians and were shown a painful exit.

It was one of the shocking moments in our electoral history since the onset of the fourth republic. An opposition party defeating an incumbent government, with such a record margin, became the first in history: a record that might take decades to break.

Now the NDC is set to contest the 2020 elections with no stone unturned. Despite the whooping defeat in 2016, they still believe NPP lied their way through to power and that Ghanaians had clearly seen the difference and will surely apologise to Mahama by reelecting him into office. This spirit of hope had resonated with many NDC party faithful and they are campaigning vigorously towards winning. We have seen their flag bearer engaged in a series of digital conversations trying to solve the problems Ghana on social media; hoping to justify his credibility with Ghanaians. It will interest you also to know that many NDC die-hards had confidently maintained that NPP will descend into opposition come December 2020. Indeed, the ONAAPO Spirit had been rekindled among the NDC and are somewhat convinced that the coming elections is a cool chop for them.

Well, no one will grudge them for having such level of confidence. At least, no political party will enter into a competitive election with the mindset of losing. Unfortunately, NDC claims of winning this years election must be scrutinized to bring out any form of possibilities in the claims.

One, a *herculean task* awaits the NDC as they enter into an election short of 69 parliamentarians. This means that NDC will need to add up 69 additional seats to their current seats all things being equal and even go ahead to win additional seats before they can hold the majority in parliament. In short, NDC will need over 70 seats, provided they are able to maintain the current seats that belong to them.

Another herculean task is that the NDC lost the 2016 elections with close to 1 million votes.

They will have to regain not less than seven hundred thousand (700,000) votes in order to win the 2020 elections provided they will maintain the votes they won in the 2016 elections. These two herculean tasks might haunt the NDC in their close door meetings because it is a reality they cannot pretend about. It is certain that all things being equal too, the NPP might maintain most of the 69 seats they hold now and even regain additional seats. This indeed will affect the fortunes of the NDC.

The people of Ghana are used to expecting miracles in many things that they do. Perhaps, the NDC is counting on some divine intervention to win the 2020 elections and not the realities on the ground. Despite they continue to chastise the NPP government of improprieties, they know very that some policies that had been introduced by the government will cost them their sweat. The Free SHS is a monumental breakthrough for many parents and families and NPP will reap a huge capital from the move.

Besides, Ghanaians are used to 8 years for every party that comes to power, and this historical trend might not change easily in this years election. So clearly, NDC is counting on some miracle as part of their winning plans. Perhaps, some luck somewhere will play out for them for Ghanaians to pity them and grant them marginal victory over NPP.

It is certain that the 2020 elections will not favour the opposition NDC. They are doing their best but their best might not be enough to wrestle power from the NPP. They will have to cross the most difficult hurdles ever or had to counts on some miracles as part of their many hopes before winning this year's election.
As the criminal justice system is set in motion in the #boislockerroom case, it is important that we keenly focus on how notions of masculinity  especially amongst adolescents  contribute to sexual violence, and how societal responses, including legal action against the accused, need to account for these factors

The outing of bois locker room, an Instagram group allegedly consisting of boys from Delhis prominent schools, who reportedly used the platform to sexually objectify young women (including minor girls and classmates of the boys), recently sparked off a row.

The police have since registered an FIR, confiscated the mobile devices of the offenders and have even taken one of the boys into custody. As the criminal justice system is set in motion, it is important that we keenly focus on how notions of masculinity  especially amongst adolescents  contribute to sexual violence, and how societal responses, including legal action against the accused, need to account for these factors.

#MeToo and the inadequate attention to masculinity

The bois locker room incident brings to mind the reverberations from Indias #MeToo movement, which brought widespread attention to the systemic violence that women face on a regular basis. The movement highlighted how entrenched structures of power perpetuate inequality and condone dehumanising treatment. The #MeToo movement thus established that violence against women is not spontaneous or the result of individual aberrations, but is often a result of the deeply internalised inequalities in gender relations.

The movement also brought to attention the need for fixing legal responses. For instance, it highlighted how problems with due process make the course of seeking justice a punishment in itself. It also emphasised the need for greater empathy and belief in survivors due to the entrenched constraints which women face in talking about their experiences. What perhaps did not get enough attention in the discourse were questions about the causal factors which sustain the systemic violence that women face. Societal notions of masculinity which impose high behavioural expectations on men constitute one such factor.

The link between the performance of masculinity and sexual violence

Violence against women is widely understood by scholars as not being about sexual desire but as being an expression of patriarchal power. The need to express such power however may often come from the need to express ones masculinity. An alternative branch of scholarship suggests that sexual violence is used for maintaining power hierarchies between men as much as it is used for reinforcing hierarchies between men and women. Masculinity scholars thus draw links between the performance of hegemonic masculinity and sexual violence/harassment.

The terms masculinity and femininity refer to the set of patterns and practices through which gender norms (i.e. what it means to be a man or a woman) are reinforced in society. There can be multiple masculinities, depending upon the specific cultural setting and socio-economic background of individuals therein. Socialisation into norms of masculinity begins from childhood and leads to the imposition of behavioural codes that many men spend their lives trying to conform to. To use a film-based example, men may simultaneously aspire to be like Amitabh Bachchan from Deewaar (angry working class man) or Rishi Kapoor from Bobby (romantic hero). However, some notions of masculinity are more associated with social authority and status than others. Scholars use the term hegemonic masculinity to refer to the most culturally honoured conception of being a man at a given point of time. In a patriarchal society, the hegemonic masculinity is inevitably one which legitimises the subordination of women to men (Connell and Messerschmidt, 2005).

Common behavioural tropes associated with hegemonic masculinity include the need to be aggressive, unemotional, and hyper-sexual. This is reinforced by the glorification of such traits by ones family, literature, media, movies, etc. Of course, an important caveat is that hegemonic masculinity refers to a system of ordering gender relations, not to maleness per se, and hence does not reflect the universal experience of all men. Rather, women may also imitate ideals of hegemonic masculinity in order to assert power (Connell and Messerschmidt, 2005)  which explains #girlslockerroom.

However the fact remains that it is disproportionately men who perceive that the best way of proving themselves as real men/asli mard is to assert their dominance over women through acts of sexual violence. Particularly in the context of #boislockerroom the reason adolescent boys often derive pleasure in talking in derogatory ways about womens bodies or fantasising about raping them is because it serves as a device for grappling with their anxieties about manhood and their performance of compulsory heterosexuality (i.e. proving they are not gay/feminine) (Pascoe, 2007). This explains why parents and schools rarely take such behaviour seriously, as they believe that this is naturally expected from heterosexual young men who are just gaining awareness of the opposite sex (Robinson, 2006). Hegemonic masculinity also explains sexual and verbal violence against the LGBT community, as homosexual and transgender persons are perceived as threats to the hegemonic status quo of gender relations.

This behaviour gets exacerbated in the company of male peers because men rely upon other men to judge whether they are performing masculinity correctly. In fact, men often lie about being sexually experienced or attracted to women not because they actually desire such experiences but to avoid judgement by their peers. Many men are compelled into joining locker-room talk out of fear of harassment and accusations of being womanly/queer if they do not participate. This explains why some men are willing to acknowledge sexist behaviour by their friends in private, but are hesitant to call out such behaviour when it actually occurs in a group setting (Pascoe, 2007; Robinson, 2006).

Rethinking responses

The existence of hegemonic ideals of manhood certainly does not exonerate culpability for the crimes committed by the #boislockerroom group and others. However, mere retributive punishment cannot completely reform the offenders or deter similar crimes until and unless we promote alternative ideals of masculinity. Unfortunately, current criminal justice solutions for crimes against girls and women, particularly those committed by adolescents, do not factor in methods for remodeling the performance of hegemonic masculinity by offenders. In the #boislockerroom case, it is mostly probable that the offenders, if tried and convicted, will be sentenced under juvenile justice law. There is no legal framework for specifically dealing with children accused of committing sexual offences. The offenders may be released on probation, directed to perform community service or attend general therapeutic services which may not include gender sensitisation therapy. Even if they are imprisoned or committed to observation homes (which often resemble jails) they will most likely be made to undergo vocational training which does nothing to address the factors motivating them to commit violence against women.

It is necessary that the State evolves multi-systemic methods for treating juvenile sex offenders, particularly those which encourage the exploration and construction of alternate masculine identities. Outside of the legal framework, it is necessary to have conversations about deconstructing gender norms at homes, schools and workplaces. Sex education programmes should not be limited to explaining themes of safe sex and consent, but should also involve discussing stereotypes and anxieties about the impact of gender roles on sexual interactions. We often condone misogyny in films and literature on the ground that these do not influence people, but the fact that these serve as reference points for idealised notions of masculinity and femininity, particularly for adolescents, can no longer be denied. It is only when the culture around us changes that a new hegemony of equity between genders can be achieved.

Megha Mehta is a judicial clerk at the Supreme Court of India and Akshat Agarwal is a research fellow at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. Views expressed are personal.
US selects Los Angeles to host Summit of the Americas in summer 2022

Karabakh Foreign Minister: Return of refugees can only be like mirror

Iranian president arrives on official visit to Moscow

Artsakh Foreign Minister: Unacceptable to bracket NKAO and NKR together

Karabakh FM: Format of OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs' visits needs to be restored

Media: Air communication between Turkey and Armenia will start on February 2

Artsakh FM: Azerbaijan attack on Karabakh will mean attack on Russia

American professor angers Erdogan's son-in-law

15 years pass since Hrant Dink assassination

563 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Guterres offers Merkel job at UN

Armenian church revamped in Iran

World oil prices going up

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

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Xi Jinping: Confrontation between major powers can have disastrous consequences
Colombo, May 9 (IANS) The Sri Lankan government aims at total relaxation of the curfew restrictions imposed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic by June, a Minister said.

The Minister said on Friday that the government was targeting the total lifting of all restrictions by early June depending on the progress after May 11 when it will partially relax few curbs, reports the Daily Mirror newspaper/

Basic guidelines were now being worked out for people to follow when carrying out their routine activities, despite the pandemic, once such the restrictions werelifted partially on May 11.

The government imposed curfew restrictions in March after the corona cases escalated.

The first Sri Lankan national infected with the disease was reported on March 11.

As of Saturday, there were 835 COVID-19 cases in the country, with nine deaths.

--IANS

ksk/
The Youth Wing of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has exposed former President John Dramani Mahama and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) over the establishment of the Stabilization and Heritage Funds aimed at cushioning Ghanaians.



The youth wing claims the former President cannot be credited for the funds stating the facts rather show conclusively that the NDC government was never interested in social accountability and thus was lackadaisical in enacting the Petroleum Revenue Management Act, impliedly the Stabilization Fund and Heritage Fund.



According to a press release issued by the NPP Youth Wing and copied to Peacefmonline.com, the assertion by the NDC that Mr. Mahama needs an applause because its his foresight thats aided the current administration to institute relief packages for Ghanaians is simply false and smacks of juvenile propaganda. The facts as contained in events leading to the development and enactment of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act 2011, ACT 893, that established both the Stabilization Fund and Heritage Fund do not support the NDCs claim.



The group further claims that President Akufo-Addo, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, "has implemented a good number of programs and initiatives that have significantly cushion Ghanaians and ameliorated the economic challenges confronting them as a result of the pandemic. These measures by the Government were greeted with loud cheers and commendation from Ghanaians. The NDC realizing this high performance ratings from Ghanaians to the Government and its potential electoral benefits, has cunningly positioned themselves to share the accruing credit with the government.



The NDC, acting through John Abdulai Jinapor, has argued that Mr. Mahama must be equally commended for making monies available through the Stabilization Fund for President Akufo-Addo to use to cushion Ghanaians against the concomitant economic challenges of COVID-19. They contend that, it was through the ingenuity of Mr. Mahama and the NDC that both the Stabilization Fund and Heritage Fund were created.



... If the NPP government had not lost the 2008 elections, Ghana would have still enacted the PRMA with both the Stabilization Fund and Heritage Fund, would have done that even much earlier. It must be reiterated that it is not correct for the NDC to suggest that the establishment of the Stabilization Fund and Heritage Fund was the brainchild of Mr. Mahama. The fact that the bill was passed under an NDC regime doesnt make Mahama the brain behind it, the statement further read.



Read full statement below;



President Akufo-Addo, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, has implemented a good number of programs and initiatives that have significantly cushion Ghanaians and ameliorated the economic challenges confronting them as a result of the pandemic. These measures by the Government were greeted with loud cheers and commendation from Ghanaians.



The NDC realizing this high performance ratings from Ghanaians to the Government and its potential electoral benefits, has cunningly positioned themselves to share the accruing credit with the government.



The NDC, acting through John Abdulai Jonapor, has argued that Mr. Mahama must be equally commended for making monies available through the Stabilization Fund for President Akufo-Addo to use to cushion Ghanaians against the concomitant economic challenges of COVID-19. They contend that, it was through the ingenuity of Mr. Mahama and the NDC that both the Stabilization Fund and Heritage Fund were created.



This assertion is simply false and smacks of juvenile propaganda. The facts as contained in events leading to the development and enactment of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act 2011, ACT 893, that established both the Stabilization Fund and Heritage Fund do not support the NDCs claim.



The facts rather show conclusively that the NDC government was never interested in social accountability and thus was lackadaisical in enacting the Petroleum Revenue Management Act, impliedly the Stabilization Fund and Heritage Fund.



For the avoidance of doubt and to set the records straight, it must be stated:



1. That the Petroleum Revenue Management Act 2011, ACT 893 was not enacted under the Mahama Administration (2012-2016).



2. That the process of establishing an effective and relevant legislative and regulatory Framework to manage the Oil Sector, including oil revenue, started in 2008, under Fmr. President Kuffours Administration. With the aim of ensuring social accountability and to avoid Ghana being a victim of the resource/ Oil curse, the Kuffour led NPP government, in February 2008, organized the first national conference on oil and gas management and invited representatives from civil society and relevant stakeholders to assist in drafting a working Petroleum Revenue Management Policy (PRMP).



3. That the NPP Government prior to this (point 1) had commenced engagements with external experts and governments ostensibly to design a robust PRMP. This is evident in paragraph 170 of the 2008 budget that states that in anticipation of increase in the production of petroleum products in the near future, as well as management ancillary businesss that would emerge from the exploration of the discovered petroleum fields, the Government is collaborating with the Norwegian Government to build capacity and develop policy framework to deal with issues of petroleum revenue and resource management, as well as environmental, security and related issues.



4. That upon assumption of office in 2009, the NDC abandoned the all processes and initiatives set in motion by the Kuffour Administration, including the construction of a Gas Plant. They were simply not interested in social accountability for the obvious reason of mismanaging, misappropriating and stealing the oil monies. This is evident in the fact that when oil production began in 2010, there was no revenue-management law and no independent regulator for the oil and gas sector. The existing law then, passed in 1984, governing the upstream segment of the industryexploration, development, and productionwas a legislative holdover from the early years of the last military-backed regime.



5. That, outraged by the staggering legislative and regulatory weaknesses and gaps, several civil society groups called for a moratorium on the issuance of new exploration licenses until a new legal and regulatory regime could be developed. In March 2010, more than 110 civil society groups, including policy and governance think tanks and research organizations, human-rights and environmental groups, and community-based organizations from coastal districts near the Jubilee field, joined with local oil-policy experts and activists to formed a group called the Civil Society Platform on Oil and Gas with the sole aim of pressurizing the NDC Government to consider and present to Parliament for passage, a proposed bill on Petroleum Revenue Management and related policies.

6. That the Minority (NPP MPs) in Parliament then was also vociferous and constructively loud in advocating for such a bill to be passed. This patriotic act of the Minority in Parliament was acknowledged by E. Gyimah-Boadi and Prof. H. Kwesi Prempeh in their journal tilted Oil, Politics and Ghanas Democracy, published by the Journal of Democracy in July, 2012. They asserted that the presence in Parliament of a strong opposition party has added exceptional vibrancy to legislative deliberations and ensured that government actions will not escape scrutiny...civil society, working with Parliament, has been able to make significant contributions to the development of petroleum policy and legislation.



7. That radio and television programs across the country featured regular, often impassioned, debates and commentary on the legislation, particularly the PRMA, which addressed how the governments share of oil proceeds would be managed and monitored.



8. That the Civil Society Platform on Oil and Gas with technical support from Oxfam America, the Revenue Watch Institute, and the World Bank, collaborated with Parliament, government and the media to design the oil-management framework that underpinned the enactment of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act.



9. That the clear procedures for the custody and transfer of petroleum receipts between the central bank, as designated custodian, and the government; the mandatory annual transfer of 30 percent of total petroleum revenues into separate stabilization and future savings funds are the brainchild or sole ingenuity of the Oil and Gas Platform (Civil Society).



Conclusion



If the NPP government had not lost the 2008 elections, Ghana would have still enacted the PRMA with both the Stabilization Fund and Heritage Fund, would have done that even much earlier.



It must be reiterated that it is not correct for the NDC to suggest that the establishment of the Stabilization Fund and Heritage Fund was the brainchild of Mr. Mahama. The fact that the bill was passed under an NDC regime doesnt make Mahama the brain behind it.



For emphasis, it was the sole ingenuity of a group called Civil Society Platform on Oil and Gas that got the Stabilization Fund and Heritage Fund enshrined in the existing Petroleum Revenue Management Act.



Thank you.



Issued by NPP YOUTH WING



_THE YOUTH MUST KNOW SERIES _

Source: peacefmonline.com









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From hunting murder hornets to the occupational diseases killing Canadas workers, weve selected some of the best long reads of the week from thestar.com.

Want to dive into more long features? Sign up for the Weekend Long Reads newsletter to get them delivered straight to your inbox every Saturday morning.

1. They are the uncounted: Canadian workers struck by occupational disease  and Canada has no plan to help

Job-related illness kills more Canadians every year than any other work-related injury, accident or disorder. And Canada's compensation system for occupational disease ignores thousands of invisible cases.

2. Why did Canada drag its feet on N95 advice? Some experts say its because we had none to spare

Public health agencies in Canada have told health-care workers that N95 respirator masks arent necessary for routine care of patients during the pandemic  a policy that contrasts with advice provided to their colleagues in the U.S., Europe, Australia and China, a Star analysis has found.

3. They said there was no playbook for dealing with COVID-19 outbreak at nursing homes. There were several

Provincial and federal officials lamented how the viruss devastation of frail seniors was unprecedented, and the country simply did not have a playbook for handling COVID-19 in nursing homes.

But there were several playbooks  federal and provincial pandemic plans, post-SARS reports and infection prevention and control guidelines  all painstakingly developed in preparation for the inevitable next pandemic.

4. They hunted and destroyed a nest of murder hornets. This B.C. couple says the buzz  and the threat  is real

When John and Moufida Holubeshen heard that a nightmarish insect known for its poisonous sting and voracious appetite had arrived in their neck of the woods, they did what almost no one would have done. They went looking for it.

The Nanaimo, B.C. residents made up half the foursome that ultimately tracked and destroyed the first Asian giant hornet nest discovered in North America.

5. She stopped work on a Monday at a Toronto long-term-care centre. By Friday, she died at home, alone

Sharon Roberts heard the words she dreaded: COVID-19 positive.

This time, it was her test  not the results for residents she cared for as a personal support worker at the Downsview Long Term Care Centre in Toronto. She didnt have a fever, but aching and exhausted, Roberts stopped work after her diagnosis on a Monday.

On Thursday night, she ate soup that a friend delivered, with a cup of tea and an orange. At 8 p.m., Robertss cousin called from New York state, hoping to check in and have a good chat, but Roberts told her she had to lie down for a rest.

By the next day, she was dead.

6. The workplace you return to wont be the one you left  five experts describe what post-pandemic offices, shops and restaurants will look like

The days of offices teeming with people are over, at least for the short term, says one expert. And trends toward hoteling and hot desking  where workers are made to share rooms, offices and cubicles to pack even more people into expensive square footages  almost are certainly gone, he adds.

7. He needed a ventilator. His wife had lung cancer. When they both got COVID-19, their family feared the worst

Aty and Dirk Meeder are the mama and papa to four grown children and the oma and opa to 15 grandkids; in the Meeder family solar system, they are the sun around which everyone circles. So when COVID came for them both, the family braced for dark days. The virus has proven ruthless for people over 70, especially those who need mechanical ventilation, like Dirk, 72, or have serious medical conditions, like Aty, 71.

8. Immunity passports: A key to economic recovery, or a flawed idea ripe for abuse?

Testing for antibodies produced by the virus gives a truer picture of its spread, a more accurate mortality rate, and a better idea of how close we might be to the Holy Grail of herd immunity, often estimated as 60 to 70 per cent of the population. In other words, antibody tests could help determine how quickly to loosen physical contact restrictions and get back to normal.

They could also determine how long immunity might last and the effectiveness of proposed immunity documents.

9. They lived through WWII. What they learned can help us during COVID-19 battle

May 8 marked the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe. Most of the people who remember that conflict are in their 90s and older  a demographic especially vulnerable to COVID-19. Some dealt with the struggle on the home front, while others were overseas. They have stories to tell about how they got though that grim uncertainty all those years ago, and advice for how we might do the same as the world finds itself in a different kind of battle.

10. Sleepless nights. Postponed surgeries. Infection fears. What life is like for health workers on the front lines of a pandemic

Six weeks after Ontario declared a state of emergency, the Star checked in with three health-care workers on the front lines at Torontos Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre: A surgical oncologist, who has postponed most of his patients surgeries, a nurse practitioner at the hospitals COVID-19 Assessment Centre and the emergency rooms supervisor of equipment and supplies who lies awake at night worrying about his stock of personal protective equipment (PPE).

My worst fear is not having enough of what the clinicians need to preserve a life, to do what they are trained to do. Im always worried about PPE, says one.

11. Rosie DiManno: She died in front of my eyes: How the COVID-19 death of one personal support worker devastated her family

Arlene Reid gasped her final breaths, in distress and fear, at home. When paramedics arrived, responding to a daughters 911 call, they were unable to revive her. Reid was left where her daughter had dragged her off the bed and futilely attempted CPR.

12. Coronavirus means endangered orcas are experiencing a quieter ocean for the first time. Heres what that sounds like

For decades, scientists have asserted that a quieter ocean could help take the Salish Seas southern resident killer whales off the endangered species list. But they lacked enough data to quantify this theory  until now.
The Delhi government has initiated an inquiry against a private pathological laboratory, Dr Lal PathLab, over alleged discrepancies in Covid-19 test reports. The laboratory accounts for three of the 13 approved private labs for Covid-19 testing in Delhi.

Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain on Saturday confirmed that an inquiry committee, headed by the special secretary (health and family welfare), has been constituted to investigate the alleged discrepancies.

There was a mismatch in some test data provided by Dr Lal PathLab. So, an inquiry committee has been set up to find out the issues and to fix accountability. The committee comprises of doctors, Jain said, in an address to media persons on Saturday.

Responding to the Delhi governments inquiry, Dr Arvind Lal, owner, Lal PathLabs said, We have received a communication from the Delhi government and we are providing full cooperation.

Among the private labs, Dr Lal PathLab has the highest capacity to test Covid-19 samples, according to the governments assessment. The company has three testing facilities for performing real-time RT-PCR Covid-19 tests, which together have a capacity of testing 4,000 samples a day. These three labs are located in north, northeast and northwest Delhi.

The inquiry comes at a time when the Delhi government is facing a problem of delayed test results. As per government reports, which was last updated on Friday, results of as many as 4,262 tests were still awaited till May 7.

It was only from Friday that the Delhi government began tightening the screw on testing laboratories. The government issued orders to all private testing labs to release test results within 24 hours of collecting the samples. In case results are not submitted within 48 hours, then the payment for the samples tested will not be made, the order stated.

The Delhi government pays the private Covid-19 labs either Rs 4,500 per test (if both sample collection and test kits are provided by them) or 3,500 (if the sample is collected by the government and test kit is provided by the private lab). This amount is paid from the Covid funds released by the Central government to Delhi.

It also mandated that no testing lab shall collect sample more than 10% of its declared capacity, as overcrowding of samples leads to inordinate delays.

Earlier in the day, the health minister has said that his department will soon start issuing notices to testing facilities over delays in report submission and discrepancies, if any.

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Two days after the states face coverings mandate took effect, the Holbrook Board of Health said it issued $3,300 in fines to people who violated the executive order issued to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

The citations will be submitted for board review, according to a Facebook post on Thursday. Anyone who wants to appeal the fine will have to contact the clerk magistrate in Quincy.

Retailers who do not comply with the executive order may see their local permits reviewed upon renewal, the board said.

Making an effort to reduce our virus exposure will make a significant difference, the board wrote on Facebook.

Under Gov. Charlie Bakers executive order, the mask mandate can be enforced by local boards of health with assistance from local and state law enforcement.

In a separate statement published Friday, Police Chief William J. Smith said police officers have not issued any fines for non-compliance. He said officers are carrying extra face coverings in their cruisers and give one to anyone they see not wearing a mask. Those officers will also advise people of the importance of wearing a mask to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Residents who continue violate the executive order may face a civil fine of up to $300 per violation, Smith wrote. It was not immediately clear whether everyone who was fined by the board had initially encountered police and received a warning.

We want residents to understand the importance of covering their face in public in order to keep themselves and others safe, which is why our first step is to stop to remind residents who are not wearing masks about the importance of masks, as well as give them a mask if they need one, Smith said in a statement. We also want residents to understand that though issuing fines is not our first priority, residents who continue to violate the order can be fined, as this is an essential public health mandate.

Baker first announced the mandate last week, calling the order a common sense move in the response to the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 4,000 people in Massachusetts alone.

When the mandate took effect Wednesday, Baker urged people to heed the executive order, as well as distancing guidelines.

We have heard time and time again from people who work in the public transportation system, people who work in pharmacies, people who work in grocery stores and people who face customers as essential businesses during this pandemic have thanked us, time and time again, for putting mechanisms in place to ensure the safety not just of their customers but also of themselves and their families, he said. That face mask worn by both people is one of the primary ways we can stop the spread of COVID-19 from one person to another.

The order does not apply to children under the age of 2 and anyone who has difficulty breathing or is unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.

Related Content:
The isolation, grief and economic hardship related to Covid-19 are creating a mental health crisis in the U.S. that researchers warn could make the already-rising suicide rate worse.

A study released Friday tried to quantify the toll. The paper, which was not peer-reviewed, found that over the next decade as many as 75,000 additional people could die from deaths of despair as a result of the coronavirus crisis, a term that refers to suicides and substance-abuse-related deaths. The research was done by the Well Being Trust and researchers affiliated with the American Academy of Family Physicians.

I hope in 10 years people look back and say, Wow, they way overestimated it, said John Westfall, director of the Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies in Family Medicine and Primary Care, who co-wrote the report.

Even as the American economy rebounded after the last recession, suicides and overdoses cut into Americans life expectancy. Mental health experts worry that the economic uncertainty and social isolation of the pandemic will make things worse at a time when the health care system is already overwhelmed. The suicide rate in the U.S. has been rising for two decades, and in 2018 hit its highest level since 1941, according to a viewpoint piece in JAMA Psychiatry in April called Suicide Mortality and Coronavirus Disease 2019  A Perfect Storm? Author Mark Reger argued social distancing could hamper suicide prevention efforts and said ensuring that doesnt happen is a national public health priority.

Theres a paradox, said Jeffrey Reynolds, president of a Long Island-based nonprofit social services agency, the Family and Childrens Association. Social isolation protects us from a contagious, life-threatening virus, but at the same time it puts people at risk for things that are the biggest killers in the United States: suicide, overdose and diseases related to alcohol abuse.

Since the middle of March, the number of people filing for unemployment benefits has reached around 33 million. Americans life satisfaction has eroded rapidly throughout that same period, according to a poll released Friday by Gallup. The percentage of U.S. adults who are very content with their current lives and optimistic about their future outlook has dropped to a low not seen since November 2008 during the Great Recession, showed the analysis of more than 4,000 surveys.

One of the main things people should take away from this paper is that employment matters, said Benjamin Miller, chief strategy officer at the Well Being Trust and a clinical psychologist who worked on the paper. It matters for our economic livelihood, and for our mental and emotional health.

The financial uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, coupled with the pervasive sense of isolation exacerbated by stay-at-home orders, makes this moment unprecedenteddifferent from any other economic downturn in recent historyand thus, potentially difficult to model based on past events.

Its useful to have a wake-up call, said Ken Duckworth, chief medical officer at the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Unemployment is going to have a very important impact on deaths of despair.

Already data is showing lower-income Americans are more impacted by coronavirus-related stress than their wealthier counterparts: A Kaiser Family Foundation study that showed 26% of people making less than $40,000 a year said the virus had a major negative impact on their mental health; only 14% of people making $90,000 or more a year said the same held true for them.

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health started measuring mental distress starting in March drawing on studies from the SARS epidemic of 2003. Early in the month, hotspots like California, Washington, New York and Massachusetts reported mental distress significantly increased  even when adjusting for variables like age and income. Distress was higher among people who used alcohol or marijuana more frequently in the past week or whod consumed more media or social media. It was also higher in younger people, perhaps surprising given that Covid-19 is more lethal for older people.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said his state is seeing a rise in drug use, alcohol consumption and domestic violence. It has caused serious mental health issues, he said in a public briefing last week. He encouraged New Yorkers to take advantage of a hotline set up for those in emotional distress. Meanwhile, on the national level, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported an 891% increase in calls to its Disaster Distress Hotline in March compared with a year earlier.

Weve seen from past work that policies play a really important role in shaping peoples experience and well-being, Julia Raifman, assistant professor of health law at Boston University School of Public Health, said. New York, for example, asked psychologists and psychiatrists to volunteer to provide some free mental health care, which she said was a positive step. I hope well see other states start to do that. I think theres a lot of room for innovation here. States that had more generous unemployment benefits during the last recession saw fewer suicides, Raifman said.

Millers paper this week proposes long-term solutions like helping unemployed people find meaningful work or training the armies of contact tracers who will be sent out into communities to identify people at risk of a mental health crisis. He sees building up community-based mental health care services as a way to serve more people in need. Congress granted $425 million for mental health and substance use disorder initiatives in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES, but Miller called that almost an embarrassment considering airlines got $25 billion in aid. We are not taking this seriously as a nation, he said.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed. )

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A simple congratulations wouldnt have done it. Not this year. Not for this class.

High school seniors across the state have been robbed of their last weeks at school and many of the formalities that mark their accomplishment, now that schools will not reopen due to the coronavirus. So Old Bridge School Superintendent David Cittadino knew he had to come up with something special for the Class of 2020.

The 42-square-mile town has about 750 graduating seniors and roughly 8,500 students who attend its more than a dozen schools, but Cittadino figured out a way to reach all of them with his message.

He hired Fly Sky Ads LLC in Manalapan, which does the flyover messages and ads that you see at the beaches along the Jersey Shore. The banner said, in red letters, "OB Schools We Miss Our Kids and (heart) the 2020 Class. Stay well.

The banner planes at the New Jersey shore are iconic symbols of the Jersey Shore experience, Cittadino said. "For me, the concept of a banner plane sending a positive message to our students and the Class of 2020 is more symbolic than anything else.

The plane crisscrossed over the town Saturday around 11 a.m. Students from the district posted selfies and other pictures of it with the hashtag #OBBannerDay.

#obbannerday Nice to see families gathered on their front lawns keeping their heads up high with OB PRIDE! pic.twitter.com/ZlLaut6hzg  David Cittadino (@OBSupCittadino) May 9, 2020

The Superintendent paid the majority of the costs, with some help from the Old Bridge Education Foundation.

Cittadino said he hopes the flyover creates a 'remember when moment for students in the class of 2020 who have had so much taken away from them."

Dozens of students, teachers and parents took to Twitter to share their view of the banner after it went airborne.

Such a nice idea for the Board of Education to show us a token of appreciation during this difficult time, said AIdan Aisenberg, a member of the senior class. "We miss OBHS too! Stay well!

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com.
New Delhi, May 9 : Even as politics between the governments of Delhi and Bihar over train fares of migrants heated up, the Delhi Congress on Saturday again wrote to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and gave a list of over 7,299 migrants who wanted to be sent back to their native places.

Addressing the media through videoconference here, Delhi Congress President Chaudhary Anil Kumar said: "I have once again written to Kejriwal and forwarded to him the list of 7,299 migrant labourers, who have sent requests to the party for train tickets for going back to their native states." He said the party had urged the Delhi government to make proper arrangements for their safe and secure journey. He said the Congress was ready to pay the train fares of these people.

On Monday, Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi had announced her party would bear the travel cost of migrants stranded across the country amid the nationwide lockdown.

Kumar said that he had forwarded a list of 2,106 migrants to the Delhi government on Friday.

"I told the Delhi government that if they are not footing expenditure on their train fares, the Delhi Congress was ready to foot the bill." The Delhi government has sent a Shramik special train to Bihar's Muzaffarpur with 1,200 people on Friday from New Delhi.

AAP Minister Gopal Rai later took to Twitter: "With 1,200 migrant workers a Shramik train leaves from New Delhi for Muzaffarpur." Earlier in the day, Bihar Minister Sanjay Kumar Jha said that he saw a tweet by a Delhi Minister saying they are paying for the tickets of 1,200 migrants travelling from Delhi to Muzaffarpur.

"I have a letter here sent by their government asking for the reimbursement of money from the Bihar government," he said.

Following Jha's remarks, Rai again took to Twitter: "It is true that the Delhi government wrote a letter to the Bihar government. It is also true that yesterday the Delhi government paid the fares of 1,200 workers to the Railways and sent them to Muzaffarpur. But it is also true that there was no response from the Bihar government." Commenting on the development, Congress leader Kumar said: "It is shocking that the Kejriwal government, which takes false credit of paying for the train fares of the migrants, has demanded reimbursement from the receiving states." The Congress leader maintained that there was "no need to indulge in such a charade" by the Delhi government as the Congress had already written to Kejriwal and the Chief Secretary about its readiness to pay for the train fares of the migrants.
THINK ABOUT IT

The sooner the court overturns Roe vs. Wade, the sooner the vaccine for the coronavirus will be found!

DELCO FOR LIFE

GREED = STUPIDITY

The greedy in this country are just as stupid as the anti-government morons protesting the state rules. In fact these people want to open up their businesses when every medical expert  not some  has said if we open up the country too early it will be even worse the second time around than it was the first. But these people are so anxious to get their businesses open. Apparently, they dont realize that maybe theyll get sick. Three weeks of good business and then theyll be shut down for an even longer period of time the second time around. Thats why these greedy people are so stupid.

JOE MUST GO

Nobody believes the new poll numbers saying Biden is ahead of Trump in some key states. Wasnt Hillary Clinton ahead of Trump in some polls? And look how that turned out. I dont think Biden has a snowballs chance in hell to be beat Trump. Hes too confused and his wife cant be by his side 24/7. Its not normal. He should walk away with the little dignity that he has left.

SO SAD

CASE STUDY

A new study shows 66 percent of the new cases are people sheltered at home. So it makes no sense to stay locked up in your house. Lets all go back to work and start living our lives.

TRUMP 2020

WE NEED ANSWERS

Well, we keep hearing the Democrats criticizing Trump like our Rep. Scanlon. But hey, how about the illegal immigration? How about overpopulation? We got to get this country down to 250 million people. Wheres all the food coming from? The food banks aint going to make it. Whats your answer to that? How much more money are we going to print to get out of this? Britains broke, Germanys broke. So what are their plans for opening up the economy to get people back to work? Poverty, alcoholism, drug overdoses, suicides. What is Scanlons answer? We want to hear, Rep. Scanlon.

FESS UP

OPENING DAY

I guess Delaware County wants to act like that moron judge in Texas and arrest at the barber shop owner for opening her store. I want to urge Giovannis Media Barber Shop to open. Dont let the Democrats put you out of business. The time is now . Open your store.

FED UP

SLEEPWALKING IN THE USA

I find Wake Up America a strange choice for a sign off for someone who clearly has been asleep for the last 3-1/2 years and their son has been asleep for the 30 years of his life. Anybody whos been paying attention for the last 3-1/2 years knows the Trump is the worst thing that could have ever happened to our country. None of the people who have been paying attention can actually believe that Trump has done anything good for our country.

NEW YORK STATE OF MIND

Just like to know why nothings mentioned about all the New York people down here in Delaware County when theyre wondering why were having a lot of illness. I think this should be addressed. Why are they all down here? Ive never seen so many New York plates. So are they shutting the place down here?

WONDERING

WHO CARES?

The report from the coronavirus task force with guidelines for a reopening the country was supposed to be out Monday, but its not going to be released at all now. And the reason is because there were severe disagreements between business leaders and those who want to help people. Of course the disagreements are that the greedy scabs who call themselves business leaders dont care how many lives will be lost by reopening the country and of course the medical people do care about how many lives will be lost by the opening the country. There was a difference. We have greedy scabs and we have professionals who care about people.

FRIEND OF A FRIEND OF A COMMITTEEMAN
According to news published by the South Korean press agency Yonhap, South Korea has conducted last month, the first test-firing of a new ballistic missile named Hyunmoo-4 with a longer range and higher payload capability, a South Korean government source said Thursday, May 7, 2020.



Hyunmoo-2 ballistic missile is fired during a military exercise at an undisclosed location in South Korea. (Picture source South Korean Defense Ministry)

The test-firing of the Hyunmoo-4 took place at the Anheung test site run by the state-run Agency for Defense Development in Taean on South Korea's west coast, but one of two projectiles that were tested reportedly misfired.

The Hyunmoo is a family of ballistic missiles fully designed and developed by South Korea that was actually deployed. The first variant, the Hyunmoo-1 was test launch in 1986 with a payload of 480 kg and at a range of 180 km.

The Hyunmoo-2A was the first of South Korea's attempts to develop a newer indigenous ballistic missile with an increased range, over Hyunmoo-1. This version can reach a target at a maximum range of 300 km. The upgraded version of Hyunmoo-2B, named Hyunmoo-2C, was unveiled in 2017. The ballistic missile has an increased range of 800 km

In 2006, the South Korean defense ministry released a statement that it had been testing several cruise missiles under the series of Hyunmoo-3 which were similar to the American Tomahawk. The first official model, Hyunmoo-3B, was unveiled in 2009 with a maximum range of 1,000 km

According to South Korean information, the new Hyunmoo IV ballistic missile is fitted with a new 1,000-kilogram (2,200-pound) warhead capable of destroying North Koreas underground military facilities, command centers, and its leadership and is probably a variant of the extended-range Hyunmoo-2C missile. The new Hyunmoo IV has a maximum firing range of 800 km.
However, in a world in the throes of a pandemic, there are hundreds of mothers out there who are healthcare professionals or first responders who would have to wait probably until next year to celebrate the day with their children.With many of them choosing to stay away from families, or sealing off sections of their houses so as not to expose their loved ones to the threat of the virus, even a hug would be an impossibility.ANI spoke to a few such COVID-warriors who have been battling it out on the professional front and have also been trying to keep their families safe in these trying times.Sharing her experience as a mother and a first responder, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) of North-West Delhi, Vijayanta Arya, who is a mother to two sons, both below the age of 10, said: "Given the extraordinary nature of my job, I never get to spend a lot of time with my children. But now I feel I spend far less time with them than ever before.""Following the sanitization protocols and health advisory, I have distanced myself from my children in a way that bothers a mother emotionally but at the same time the need of the hour is to serve the nation when it needs us the most" she added.Speaking further about how the COVID-19 has changed the dynamics of her relationship with her children, the officer said, "On a normal day at whatever time I would get back home, they would just rush to me and I would be waiting for that warm enthusiastic hug full of love as a mother.""But now the first thing that happens when I go home is either I try to sneak in secretly so they don't get to know or if they do get to know they are the ones who are running towards me and I am running away from them," she adds.As the country deals with the pandemic, the police officer feels that it is the time for all mothers to not just be responsible mothers but be responsible citizens as well and understand their responsibility towards the nation."I think that given the scenario around us it is incumbent on all the mothers to be not just responsible mothers but also responsible citizens and teach children to be responsible citizens too and do their bit for the nation," she adds.Besides police officials, others that are the most exposed to the threat of contracting the highly contagious virus are the healthcare workers.Neha Singh who is a healthcare worker at the Delhi Jal Board Dispensary has a 2.5-year-old toddler waiting for her at home when she goes to work."Sometimes I feel like if I wasn't in the medical line then I could have stayed more with my child but the first day I started my corona duty I felt delighted. I felt that I have an opportunity to do something for the nation," says Neha."I was truly feeling like a warrior. I feel like we are all fighting and instead of guns we are all holding stethoscopes, pens, and other medical equipment," she adds.Sharing about the struggles that she faces as a mother while working during the pandemic scenario, Neha says, "When we are on duty, it feels like we have to serve the patients. My family, my home everything is out of the mind then. But when I am home, I am a mother and I realise that I have been in contact with affected people, so I take precautions.""When I return home and my daughter sees me at the door she gets excited and wants to run to me for a hug and I am the one who is pulling away and asking her to stay away. I don't feel good doing this to my child," she adds.While it is true that the pandemic is distancing mother frontline workers from their children, it has also been a matter of pride to the children of COVID warriors.Speaking about her eleven-year-old son's opinion about her long working hours as a nurse in the Lady Hardinge Hospital, Nanda Temburne says, "He is very proud of me as I am working at this crucial time when everybody else is staying at their homes.""Every time frontline workers get lauded my son feels very proud," she adds.When asked if she feels that she is missing out on family time unlike many others, Temburne says that her main focus at this time is to treat as many patients as possible keeping everything else aside.While these feisty mothers have taken it upon themselves to stand for the nation and nurture it with their care, it is incumbent on all the others to honour these frontline warriors who are giving it all to the society. (ANI)
Two more children may have died from a coronavirus-related illness that affects young kids, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced.

At least 73 children have been diagnosed with symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease  a rare inflammatory condition that often impacts children aged five years or younger  and toxic shock syndrome, and it could be related to Covid-19.

The illness has taken the lives of three young New Yorkers. This is new, and its developing, Mr Cuomo said at his daily coronavirus press briefing on Saturday.

The news of the two additional deaths came after the governor said a five-year-old boy from New York City had died on Thursday, and he called it truly disturbing.

One of the few rays of good news was young people werent affected. Were not so sure that is the fact anymore, Mr Cuomo said. Toddlers, elementary school children are presenting symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease or toxic shock-like syndrome. Its an inflammation of the blood vessels (that affects) the heart.

These are children who come in who dont present the symptoms that we normally are familiar with with Covid. Its not a respiratory illness, theyre not in respiratory distress. I think thats one of the reasons why this may be getting discovered this far into the process, he added.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has now asked New York to develop national criteria for other states and hospital systems to assist them in recognising similar patients.

The New York State Department of Health has officials also investigating the coronavirus further to determine its impact on younger communities. Previously, health officials believed children were largely unaffected by severe symptoms of Covid-19. People ages 60 or over and those with comorbidities are more at risk.

Based on available evidence, children do not appear to be at higher risk for Covid-19 than adults, the CDCs site says. While some children and infants have been sick with Covid-19, adults make up most of the known cases to date.

The department still noted, though, that severe outcomes have been reported in children, including three deaths.

Children across the US have been diagnosed with symptoms relating to Kawasaki disease during the pandemic, and it was also spotted in parts of Europe  such as the UK, Spain, and Italy  raising alarms.

No research has yet indicated if Covid-19 could cause Kawasaki disease. About 3,000 children are diagnosed with disease each year in the US.

New York hospital systems are now required to notify the New York State Department of Health immediately if any young patients exhibit symptoms related to the rare disease.
The Government and People of Palestine, through their Embassy in Accra, has presented raw food packages to Muslim communities in Nima and New Legon in Adenta in the wake of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the Ramadan fasting.

The beneficiaries of New Legon in Adenta were led by Alhaji Mohammed Mufta Seidu of the Al-Hisan Mosque.

Presenting the packages at the Embassy in Accra on Thursday, May 7, 2020, His Excellency Abdulfattah Ahmed Khali Alsattari, Ambassador of the State of Palestine in Ghana, noted that the Ramadan fasting period was a difficult one, more particularly as nations of the world were overwhelmed by the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Ambassador Alsattari said it was also necessary for the Palestinian people to show gratitude to the Government and people of Ghana for their solidarity with them in their quest for self-determination and the rejection of settlements on Palestinian lands.

He stressed the need for Muslims throughout the world to live and remain together as one family.

Present at the occasion was Mr. Kwesi Pratt Jnr., Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper and a member of the Socialist Forum of Ghana.

Mr. Pratt expressed gratitude to the Palestinian people for the gesture, which he described as a special demonstration of love by people who were hated, oppressed, killed, and pushed out of their homelands.

Earlier, on Saturday, April 18, 2020, the Embassy of Palestine in Ghana had distributed six hundred (600) packages of food items to vulnerable groups within the Accra Metropolis as part of efforts to reduce the impact COVID-19 on the people.
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The iconic Ribblehead viaduct is at risk of collapsing unless major repairs are carried out amid increasing reports of falling rubble hitting people below.

The 145-year-old grade II structure has developed dangerous defects which are causing masonry to plunge off the edge.

Engineers have also discovered fractures along many of its 24 arches, which tower 100ft above ground, surrounded by the three peaks of Ingleborough, Whernside and Pen-y-ghent in the Yorkshire Dales.

On several occasions tourists walking below the 1,318ft-long bridge, part of the Settle-Carlisle line, have been hit by falling debris.

Network Rail has now applied for extensive repair work to be carried out on the historic attraction.

Network Rail said minimising the risk to workers during repairs is a priority. Restitching masonry fractures, inserting anchors, reinforcing stone and repainting metalwork are included in the proposed plans.

The Ribblehead Viaduct is the longest and the third tallest structure on the Settle-Carlisle line

The application to the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority reads: 'It is clear that there will be a degree of intrusive works, most notably the concealed cintec anchors proposed.

The proposed stitching repair 'is specified in order to prevent these large cracked masonry blocks shearing and falling onto the public below, which is something that has already happened at this structure recently', it adds.

The application continued that the works are 'considered to be in the best interests of the ongoing conservation of this historic structure' and will help 'preserve this iconic structure whilst ensuring the safe running of the Settle and Carlisle line and the safety of the public'.

Network Rail said minimising the risk to workers during repairs is a priority. Restitching masonry fractures, inserting anchors, reinforcing stone and repainting metalwork are included in the proposed plans.

Other proposed repairs include reinforcing stone repair mortar, repointing faulty mortar joints and repairing rainwater systems.

The major tourist attraction has a 'particular value... in terms of the visitors it brings to the area', the application adds.

Plans submitted to Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority reveal that restitching will be needed along many of the viaduct's arches

History of the Ribblehead viaduct The viaduct was It was designed by John Sydney Crossley, regarded as one of the most significant and important railway architects of the Victorian era. He oversaw the engineering of the entire line before its official opening in 1875 Construction began in late 1869, with more than 2,000 men who lived in shanty towns set up near its base. The first stone was laid by William Henry Ashwell on 12 October 1870. It was originally intended to have just 18 arches, though this was changed to 24 in December 1872. By the end of 1874, the last stone of the structure had been laid and on 1 May 1876 the Settle-Carlise line was opened for passenger services. During the 1980s, British Rail proposed closing the line. In 1989, after lobbying by the public against closure, it was announced that the line would be retained. Since the 1980s, the viaduct has had multiple repairs and restorations and the lines relaid as a single track. The land underneath and around the viaduct is a scheduled ancient monument and includes the remains of the construction camp and worker settlements. Advertisement

The repairs are vital because the viaduct 'tells the on-going story of generations of people', the application states.

It was designed by John Sydney Crossley, regarded as one of the most significant and important railway architects of the Victorian era. He oversaw the engineering of the entire line before its official opening in 1875.

The construction was not beset without tragedy, however, and hundreds of workers died while building the line from a combination of accidents, fights and smallpox outbreaks. It caused such a loss of life that the railway paid for an expansion of the local graveyard.

Steam train heading north across the Ribblehead Viaduct on the Settle to Carlisle line is pictured above.

Network Rail said minimising the risk to workers during repairs is a priority. Hundreds of workers died while building the line in the 19th century

Proposed repair works include restitching masonry along the viaduct's 24 arches

Its idyllic setting in the Dales means it is often a first choice for TV series and films, and a highlight of one of the UK's most scenic rail journeys in the UK

Films which have featured the viaduct include No Blade of Grass in 1970, starring Nigel Davenport, and the 2012 British comedy Sightseers.

Its idyllic setting in the Dales means it is often a first choice for TV series and films, and a highlight of one of the UK's most scenic rail journeys in the UK.

The 2,000 workers who built it lived in a shanty town in the valley below which was used as the inspiration for the ITV's 2016 drama Jericho.

The viaduct was previously earmarked for closure in the 1980s because of a lack of passengers, but rail enthusiasts successfully campaigned to save it.

As well as being used for passenger journeys, many freight trains travel along the viaduct as they transfer thousands of tonnes of quarry product from road to rail to avoid congestion on the West Coast Main Line.

A spokesman added: 'The interventions are consistent with the sympathetic ongoing maintenance of this structure.'
Beijing Media Calls for Quadrupling China's Nuclear Weapons as US Continues Encirclement

Sputnik News

19:22 GMT 08.05.2020

In a Friday op-ed, Global Times editor-in-chief Hu Xijin called for China to quadruple its nuclear weapons stockpile from 260 to 1,000 weapons amid unprecedented pressure by the United States. In recent years, Washington has declared reversing China's rise and undermining the Chinese Communist Party its primary geostrategic goals.

'Peaceful Coexistence Cannot be Begged For'

"China needs to expand the number of its nuclear warheads to 1,000 in a relatively short time," Hu wrote in a Friday op-ed in the Global Times. "It needs to have at least 100 Dongfeng-41 strategic missiles. We are a peace-loving nation and have committed to never being the first to use nuclear weapons, but we need a larger nuclear arsenal to curb US strategic ambitions and impulses toward China."

The journalist urged Beijing not to be indifferent toward the strategic value of simply possessing nuclear bombs, which can serve as deterrents. The Federation of American Scientists estimated in 2015 that the People's Republic of China has 260 nuclear weapons.

"Don't be naive. Don't assume that nuclear warheads are useless. In fact, they are being used every day as a deterrent to shape the attitudes of US elites toward China. Some Chinese experts say we don't need more nuclear weapons, I think they are as naive as children," Hu said.

Hu urged that contrary to critics of his suggestion, the label of "warmonger" should instead be applied to US politicians "who are openly hostile to China."

"Peaceful coexistence between the two countries is not a thing that can be begged for; it's shaped by strategic tools. This is particularly true as we are facing an increasingly irrational US, which only believes in strength. We don't have much time debating the need for increased nuclear warheads, we just need to accelerate the steps that make it happen," Hu said.

US Aims to Hem China In

Hu's words come as the US moves to station missiles and bombers just off the East Asian coast, near a string of islands Beijing calls the First Island Chain. The formation includes not only hotly contested Taiwan and nearby islands, but also Japan, Borneo, the Philippines, and Kuril Islands.

In March, the US Marine Corps pitched a reprioritization toward long-range missiles to the Senate Armed Services Committee, with the intention of combining them with rapidly deployed expeditionary forces to set up "no-go zones" on islands early in a military campaign against China.

"A ground-based anti-ship missile capability will provide anti-ship fires from land as part of an integrated naval anti-surface warfare campaign," the Corps said in a letter to lawmakers obtained by Defense News. "This forward-deployed and survivable capability will enhance the lethality of our naval forces and will help to deny our adversaries the use of key maritime terrain."

While some of those weapons include anti-ship missiles launched by air and sea, they also include a new development of the Tomahawk cruise missiles modified for surface launch, which have a roughly 1,000-mile range and would be fired by the Aegis Ashore radar system. The land-based "Maritime Strike Tomahawk" isn't expected to be operational until 2023, but Russia especially has expressed ire at the mere development of the weapon.

Defense Department conducts a flight test of a ground-launched cruise missile at San Nicolas Island, California, 18 August 2019

However, one of the Aegis Ashore sites intended for construction in the Japanese city of Akita was dropped by the Defense Ministry on Wednesday due to heavy opposition by locals, according to Kyodo News Agency. It's unclear when Tokyo will select another site or where that will be.

Until last August, such ground-based missiles were banned by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty the US signed with Russia, but within weeks of that treaty being allowed to lapse by Washington, the Pentagon was testing missiles that violated the treaty's prescriptions.

This is in line with the Pentagon's conclusions in the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review, which argued the rise of China and return of Russia as world powers capable of challenging American hegemony heralded a "return to Great Power competition."

The INF Treaty was drawn up in 1987 to address the severe danger of war created by the US basing Pershing II intermediate-range ballistic missiles in Europe with the ability to reach Moscow in just six to eight minutes. With such little time to react, the possibility of misreading a false alarm and ordering a nuclear response was palpable - as very nearly happened during the hyper-realistic Able Archer NATO war games in 1983.

The basing of such missiles close to China revives this eminent danger.

'Peace on More Favorable Terms'

Chinese military experts quoted in another article by the Global Times on Friday noted that US policy toward nuclear weapons differs greatly from China's. While Beijing has just a few hundred weapons and maintains a "no first use" pledge, Washington has more than 5,000 nuclear weapons and has never held to that logic. Indeed, the US is the only country to have ever used nuclear weapons in war, when it killed hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians in the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.

But more than that, the Trump administration has developed a new type of nuclear weapon with a smaller explosive yield, the W76-2, which nuclear deterrence scholar Andrew Facini called in an article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists a "low-yield, high risk" device.

Last June, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff accidentally published an unclassified document that made the case for using nuclear weapons in an otherwise-conventional war if they "could create conditions for decisive results and the restoration of strategic stability."

"Employment of nuclear weapons can radically alter or accelerate the course of a campaign," the military leaders argued. "A nuclear weapon could be brought into the campaign as a result of perceived failure in a conventional campaign, potential loss of control or regime, or to escalate the conflict to sue for peace on more-favorable terms. The potential consequences of using nuclear weapons will greatly influence military operations and vastly increase the complexity of the operational environment."

Chasing the Nuclear Triad

"The complete development of a nuclear triad - nuclear weapon launch capabilities from sea, land and air - is necessary for China as the US' strategic weapons are a threat to China, and China needs to continuously upgrade its nuclear arsenal," the Global Times paraphrased Chinese military expert Song Zhongping as saying.

An oblique image of China's Xian H-6N bomber carrying an air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM) in "Modern Ships" magazine

The ability to guarantee a nuclear response strike by land, air and sea is held by only a handful of nations: the US, Russia and India. However, in recent years China has made headway toward the achievement, which promises an effective deterrent to an attempted nuclear decapitation strike.

On the one hand, the modification of a DF-15 ballistic missile into an air-launched version capable of being fired by a Xi'an H-6N bomber would give Beijing a third - if unconventional - method of nuclear reach. However, a more typical air delivery could also come via the H-20 stealth bomber, which Sputnik reported could debut at the Zhuhai Air Show later this year. China already possesses submarine-launched ballistic missiles and land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, the other two arms of the triad.

A Sputnik

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To celebrate Archie Harrison's very first birthday, Meghan Markle posted a super-cute video to Instagram where she read Duck! Rabbit! to her son and, well, anyone who wanted to watch the clip. While some people took issue with the sentiment, Jennifer Garner thanked the former senior royals for their partnership with Save the Children, a charity that works to "create lasting, positive change in the lives of children in more than 120 countries worldwide, including the United States."

The charity's U.K. branch, Save the Children UK, also shared Markle's video to get the message to even more people. Garner, who also works with the charity, posted a thank-you note to Meghan and Prince Harry on her Instagram feed, letting her followers know that she appreciated the gesture and was more than happy to celebrate Archie's birthday with the family.

Jean Baptiste Lacroix/Getty Images

RELATED: Here's What The Hidden Detail In Archie's First Birthday Video Could Mean

Dear Meghan and Harry,

Thank you for sharing your gorgeous son with the world and allowing us to join you in celebrating his first birthday.

We are humbled and grateful that you chose @savewithstories to mark this special day and in so doing  have raised the visibility of @savethechildrens work in the US and UK and have helped feed and educate children in desperate need of both.

More than anything  watching you lovingly talk through the pictures while your clever Archie turns the pages  lifts all of us up and reminds us that what may seem like a duck just might turn out to be a rabbit. Thank you for this joyful and meaningful shift in perspective.

Best,

Jen

RELATED: Author Emily Giffin Apologized After Calling Meghan Markle "Unmaternal" and "Phony"

Garner, along with fellow actor Amy Adams, launched the #SaveWithStories campaign with Save the Children to bring attention to the needs of children during quarantine and the pandemic.

"Committed to meeting the most urgent needs of children during the global pandemic, Save the Children and No Kid Hungry are providing books, learning materials and nutritious meals to children in Americas most impoverished communities, as 57 million students across the country depend on school for learning and development and some 30 million children rely on meals served at school," the charity site reads.

A spokesperson for Harry and Meghan notes that they're working with Save the Children on both sides of the Atlantic and wanted to share Archie's milestone and also shine a light on how children everywhere are being impacted by COVID-19.

"The family is participating in the campaign across both the U.S. and UK to help bring much-needed support to children who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic," a statement reads. "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."
WASHINGTON -- The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the inherent weaknesses of the World Health Organization, which has no authority to force foreign governments to divulge medical information or open doors to its hospitals and labs, public health experts and foreign diplomats say.

The Trump administration and Republican lawmakers have lashed out at the U.N. agency for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, accusing it of helping China conceal the extent of the outbreak at a critical early stage by relaying information from Beijing without sufficient caveats.

But public health experts and foreign diplomats said that although the WHO has often displayed a deferential tone to China during the outbreak, it is misleading to suggest it has the power or the leverage to force Beijing or any other foreign government to share information or grant access to medical facilities.

"There's no power that WHO has that would have enabled it to uncover any lack of transparency on the part of China," said Lawrence Gostin, director of the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University.

Related: Experts say animal-to-human transmission is far more likely, but some circumstantial evidence suggests it's possible it was accidentally released by a lab.

"That's been the case ever since WHO's founding in 1948. They are always subject to the powers of sovereign states, to be invited to their territories or excluded from their territory, and whether that country's going to be opened or closed."

China's failure to share relevant information about the virus from the outset meant that the world was put at much greater risk, but the blame lies with Beijing not a U.N. agency with a broad mandate and no authority to enforce it, he added.

The WHO, constrained by rules that rely on the goodwill of its 194 member states, faced a dilemma. Instead of confronting Beijing and losing any prospect of cooperation, it sought to coax Beijing into granting access, public health experts and diplomats said.

Story continues

"It was a tactical decision, and it was probably the only way to get access. But the optics are uncomfortable," said one European diplomat.

The organization's effusive praise of China and its apparent reluctance to criticize Beijing publicly has triggered fierce criticism from Trump and others, who accuse the U.N. organization of being an accomplice to an alleged cover-up.

Image: SWITZERLAND-HEALTH-EPIDEMIC-VIRUS-WHO (Fabrice Coffrini / AFP - Getty Images file)

The WHO's director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the former Ethiopian foreign minister and health minister, has become a lightning rod for the organization's critics, who portray him as a mouthpiece for the Chinese regime.

During his time in government, he was credited with reducing infant and maternal mortality. While he was health minister, however, a senior U.N. official accused Ethiopia of trying to downplay a cholera outbreak in 2007, a charge Tedros has vehemently denied. As Ethiopia's top diplomat, he oversaw increasingly friendly ties with China, which built highways and a new African Union headquarters in the nation's capital.

Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

"They 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," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the Jack Heath Radio Show on Thursday. "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."

Democrats say President Donald Trump's WHO bashing is all about domestic politics and deflecting attention from what they say is his administration's slow and botched response to the pandemic at home. White House critics argue that even when WHO did ring the alarm in late January, the Trump administration did not take urgent action to stockpile medical equipment, prepare hospitals and plan for large-scale diagnostic testing.

China has vehemently denied it concealed details about the outbreak, and the WHO has strongly defended its response, saying it took urgent action at the first signs of the epidemic in Wuhan.

"From the beginning, WHO has acted quickly and decisively to respond and to warn the world. We sounded the alarm early and we sounded it often," Director General Ghebreyesus said at a briefing last week.

The International Health Regulations that govern the WHO, which the U.S. helped draft, have no enforcement mechanism to override a country's sovereignty. One provision allows WHO to consider reports from a non-state source, and another permits the organization to share information without the consent of a government under exceptional circumstances -- when a member state fails completely to cooperate.

Last September, the WHO learned of possible Ebola virus cases in Tanzania, but the government repeatedly refused requests to provide laboratory test results or other details about the suspected infections. As a result, WHO publicly shared the information it had from other sources, a rare move only taken when a government stonewalls the organization. But beyond that, the WHO had no recourse, and Tanzania refused to budge.

Related: "This gives us a whole new picture on everything," a World Health Organization spokesperson said.

In the case of China, there was at least some level of cooperation from the outset, so the WHO could not invoke its regulations to share non-state information without consent from Beijing. But it took weeks before a full-fledged WHO delegation was allowed to travel to the country.

The WHO and its director have come under scrutiny for their response in the early weeks of the outbreak, after China reported a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan on Dec. 31. The WHO initially asked for more information from China and put itself on an emergency footing.

For the next three weeks, China maintained there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission. But Chinese health officials and doctors had come to the conclusion there was such transmission by Jan 14, almost a week before it was first publicly announced, according to the Associated Press. Chinese doctors who tried to alert their colleagues about the gravity of the virus were reprimanded and some were detained.

Taiwan's skepticism

Taiwan said it wrote to the WHO on Dec. 31 about media reports of several patients with atypical pneumonia in China who were under isolation, asking the organization to share any "relevant information." The WHO ignored its query, according to Taiwan.

The WHO said it has been in regular contact with scientists in Taiwan, that it never concealed crucial information about the virus and that the email made no mention of human-to-human transmission.

Taiwan argues even though it did not use the phrase human transmission in its email, the point of the note was clear as it referred to patients placed under isolation. Under U.N. rules, Taiwan is not a member of the WHO, due to China's objections as it considers the island one of its provinces.

Skeptical of China's official accounts of the outbreak, Taiwan began screening arrivals from Wuhan as early as Dec. 31.

On Jan. 14, WHO posted a tweet repeating China's official stance that authorities "have found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the novel #coronavirus."

For the Trump White House and critics of the WHO, that tweet has been cited repeatedly as proof of the organization's supposed favoritism to China.

But on the same day, Maria Van Kerkhove, an American doctor serving as acting head of WHO's emerging diseases unit, offered a different assessment. She told a press briefing in Geneva that there was "limited" human-to-human transmission of the virus and warned of the risk of a wider spread.

"This is something on our radar, it is possible, we need to prepare ourselves," she said.

On Jan. 20, China confirmed human-to-human transmission of the virus, raising fears of a potential pandemic in the making. At the same time, a WHO expert team conducted a field visit to Wuhan, issuing a statement two days later citing evidence showing human-to-human transmission and that further analysis was needed to determine the full extent of the outbreak.

Image: Medical staff members carry a patient into the Jinyintan hospital, where patients infected by a mysterious SARS-like virus are being treated, in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province (AFP - Getty Images file)

The WHO praised China's "rapid identification of the virus and sharing of the genetic sequence" and convened a meeting of its emergency committee, composed of scientists from different countries. The United States was represented at the Jan. 23 meeting by Martin Cetron from the Center for Disease Control's division on Global Migration and Quarantine.

The WHO committee failed to reach an agreement that the coronavirus outbreak constitutes a "health emergency of international concern."

Although President Donald Trump now castigates the WHO and China, he repeatedly praised China's efforts and WHO officials throughout January and February and into March. The day after the emergency committee session, Trump thanked China in a tweet for its work to prevent the spread of the virus, saying the "United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well."

As Trump dismissed the virus as no major risk to Americans, the WHO's tone grew more urgent in the coming days and weeks.

"The whole world needs to be on alert now," Dr. Mike Ryan, head of the WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, said on Jan. 29.

The scientists on the WHO's advisory emergency committee met again on Jan. 30 and this time agreed the outbreak represented an international emergency, urging countries to prepare to take measures to detect and isolate infected patients and prevent the spread of the illness.

'Caught in a bind'

Could the WHO have adopted a tougher stance in those early weeks that might have alerted the world earlier to the threat? Public health experts disagree, but some argue the WHO should have issued warnings earlier that the virus posed a global threat beyond China, and pushed Beijing harder for information.

Yanzhong Huang, a global health fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and director of Seton Hall's Global Health Studies, said the WHO was too willing to accept what they were told by Chinese authorities.

"Recognizing the concern to make China happy in order to get cooperation, they could have done a better job in pressing China," Huang said.

During the 2003 SARS epidemic, the WHO took a more critical tone with China, calling on the government to give it access to look at outbreaks in Beijing and other infected areas.

Image: A SARS patient receives treatment behind double-layer glass windows at a hospital in Beijing on April 13, 2003. (Ng Han Guan / AP file)

For COVID-19, the WHO could have chosen to add caveats to the information they were getting from China instead of passing it along with the organization's implicit endorsement, Gostin said.

"The only thing WHO might've done differently is at the time to say these are the data that China's reporting, but we have no means to independently verify it," Gostin said.

"If WHO had done that it would have been honest and straightforward and transparent, but it would have angered China and probably pushed them even further from international cooperation and transparency," he said. "So WHO was caught in a bind."

The WHO, along with China, has become a favorite target for Republican lawmakers. The National Republican Senatorial Committee sent a memo last month encouraging candidates to slam China's response to the outbreak and "hit" the World Health Organization, instead of trying to defend the Trump administration's handling of the pandemic, Politico reported.

An American scientist in China

It took nearly a month before China allowed a WHO delegation to visit the country after it acknowledged the human-to-human transmission. Beijing approved a joint WHO-China mission, composed of international scientists and Chinese experts.

Two Americans were part of the WHO-China joint mission, including Dr. Clifford Lane, from the National Institutes of Health.

Lane, who oversees clinical research at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at no point did he sense Chinese authorities were providing evasive answers or blocking inquiry into certain topics.

He told NBC News the Chinese scientists and doctors he spoke to were well-informed and working in ultra-modern facilities, and ready to discuss key scientific questions that needed to be addressed. "I could have been visiting a lab at NIH," Lane said.

"I'm sure there are things we didn't see or learn about, but I thought what we did get, I thought was quite reliable," Lane said.

Initially, however, China did not invite the WHO delegation to visit Wuhan, the center of the epidemic.

"Originally, there were no plans for anyone to visit Wuhan. Everyone felt that was not good, that the credibility of the mission would be compromised if there was no visit to Wuhan," Lane said. Wuhan was then added to the itinerary, with a smaller group traveling to the city and reporting their findings.

Lane visited the cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen but was not part of the smaller team that traveled to Wuhan. "I would like to have gotten to Wuhan, I would like to have heard more about what was going on," he said.

The WHO-China mission issued a 40-page report, drafted jointly by WHO and Chinese officials. Under the WHO's rules, the organization did not have the authority to write its own report and instead had to work out language with the consent of the host government.

The reported included glowing praise for China's management of the crisis: "In the face of a previously unknown virus, China has rolled out perhaps the most ambitious, agile and aggressive disease containment effort in history."

As for criticism that the joint WHO-China report painted an overly positive picture, Lane said he distinguishes between the more subjective passages and sections with clinical data and details of how patients were being treated or isolated. Some language should be taken "with a grain of salt," but he said "the data in the report was quite solid and, I thought, quite informative."

The WHO also has come under criticism for discouraging travel restrictions such as the ban imposed by the U.S. and by other governments in early February, prompting accusations the U.N. body was allegedly promoting China's agenda.

Image: Women wear protective masks in the midst of a coronavirus outbreak in Beijing on Jan. 28, 2020. (Kevin Frayer / Getty Images file)

Trump administration officials say the travel restrictions on non-U.S. citizens coming from China were a crucial step that helped stem the spread of the virus in the United States. Public health experts say such measures are only effective in the short-term and have to be accompanied by other action -- including large-scale diagnostic testing -- to have a lasting impact. Trump falsely claimed the WHO "fought" the United States over the travel ban but the WHO never directly criticized the United States over the travel restrictions.

The Trump administration, which has halted U.S. funding for the WHO, has struggled to rally international support for its stance on the U.N. organization, with only Australia joining calls for an independent inquiry into how the agency responded to the epidemic. Other U.S. allies favor a review and possible reforms of the WHO but not until the emergency has passed, foreign diplomats said. "Now is not the time," said one Western diplomat.

Download the NBC News app for full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

Despite its criticisms of the WHO, the United States has arguably exerted more influence over the Geneva-based organization over decades than any other country, former public health officials said. The United States has more of its citizens working at the agency than any other government, with more than 200 on the payroll, and Washington is the single biggest donor to the organization. The annual U.S. contribution to the WHO last year came to $400 million, roughly 15 percent of the agency's budget, while China's contribution is far less - at about $43 million.

In 2018, the Trump administration at one point threatened to cut U.S. contributions to the WHO if other member states proceeded with a resolution to encourage breastfeeding.

Founded in 1948 as part of the United Nations, the WHO for years focused on sharing technical advice with health ministries and leading vaccination programs. But after coming under scathing criticism for moving too slowly during the Ebola virus crisis in West Africa in 2014, the United States and other countries backed reforms to help WHO better respond to epidemics.

Some of the attacks from Republicans have focused directly on the WHO's director, Tedros, painting him as an apologist for China's leadership.

"Director General Tedros is a puppet of the Chinese Communist Party," Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told USA Today. "He used the WHO to trumpet their lies about the virus."

Related: A specific "tasking" seeking information about the outbreak's early days was sent last week to the Defense Intelligence Agency. The CIA got similar instructions.

As foreign minister of Ethiopia from 2012-2016, Tedros presided over a blossoming of relations with China, which has financed major infrastructure projects and become the country's biggest trading partner. After his trip to Beijing in February, Tedros said China had set "a new standard for outbreak control" and he told the Munich Security Conference that Beijing's actions had "bought the world time."

Tedros' unreserved praise for China has raised eyebrows even among WHO's supporters, who fear his tone could damage the organization's role as an impartial platform for sharing scientific information on pressing global health problems.

Tedros drew criticism early in his tenure at the WHO in 2017 when he proposed Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's president at the time, as a WHO goodwill ambassador, praising his efforts to promote universal health coverage.

Tedros has fiercely defended his performance, saying the WHO showed no bias in favor of one country over another. "We are close to every nation, we are color-blind."
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 11:36:59|Editor: huaxia

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NEW DELHI, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Police personnel gunned down as many as four armed rebels called "Naxals" in India's central state of Chhattisgarh on Saturday morning, confirmed a local police official.

One policeman was also killed in the encounter that began last night and continued till Saturday morning, added the police official. Enditem
The first Air India flight from the UK, scheduled as part of the Vande Bharat Mission to repatriate Indians stranded overseas due to the coronavirus lockdown, took off from London's Heathrow Airport on Saturday and will land in Mumbai in the early hours of Sunday.

Around 250 Indian students and tourists were seen queuing with their luggage at the airport from early on Saturday as they prepared for the journey home.

Each one of them underwent temperature tests before boarding and could face 14 days of quarantine at a hotel or other location designated by the Maharashtra government on landing, with those details to be made available on arrival in Mumbai.

"Finally going back to India! Although it was at the last moment but I was lucky enough to get the ticket of the first flight to India under Vande Bharat Mission," said a relieved Indian student, who was part of a group of seafarers who came to the UK for an examination.

"We got continuous updates from NISAU (National Indian Students and Alumni Union) and ISWAN (International Seafarers' Welfare Assistance Network) looking after seafarers stuck in the UK. Thanks to all the representatives who worked tirelessly in coordination with the Indian High Commission, said the student, who did not wish to be named.

Air India is providing a kit for all passengers confirmed to fly, with meals, snacks, sanitizer, mask and gloves.

The flight marks the first of seven Air India routes organised by the Indian government from London Heathrow Airport to six Indian cities over the next week Mumbai (Saturday and Tuesday), Bengaluru (Sunday), Hyderabad (Monday), Ahmedabad (Wednesday), Chennai (Thursday) and New Delhi (Friday).

"So far people travelling to Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Mumbai have received calls. And there are a lot of other guys who are waiting for flight schedules to their own states, said Akhil Dharmaraj, a marine engineer from Kerala enrolled at the South Tyneside College in Tyne and Wear in north-east England who was due to fly back to India after giving a management level exam in March.

"A group of students from our group have already departed to Mumbai today. People from other states are not allowed to board the flights to a particular destination, added Dharmaraj, who is waiting for his turn to fly back to Cochin.

Organisers have said that further flights are planned from the UK to other cities of India as well in phase two of the Vande Bharat Mission.

"We are delighted that the #VandeBharatMission has been launched for allowing stranded Indians who are in distress to go back to India and thank the Indian government for this, who we have been closely working with ever since the situation started to emerge, said NISAU UK Chair Sanam Arora.

"We have a dedicated 20-member COVID-19 volunteer response team that is working night and day and all over the UK to help our fellow Indians in need, she said.

The first Air India flight will land at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport at 1.30 am IST on Sunday, when the passengers are expected to be screened and allotted quarantine locations based on affordability.

"I am delighted to be going back, said Vedant Anil Sharma, a first-year International Business Management student at Royal Agricultural University in south-west England, who is on the first flight back to India.

The schedule is being coordinated by the Indian High Commission in London, with payments made directly to Air India by confirmed passengers.

The first set of seven flights to India will prioritise Indian passport holders on vulnerability and health grounds.

"The flight is 100 per cent booked as Indian citizens depart for Mumbai from London by the first evacuation flight today. Also, following the mantra of the Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Do Gaj Doori, Bahut Hair Zaroori, the High Commission said in its safety message on social distancing.

The Air India flights landing at London Heathrow will also be bringing back some expatriates and UK visa holders wanting to fly back to the UK.

"This is the biggest-ever repatriation operation anywhere in the world at any time. Flights will be scheduled until the last Indian has been flown back home, no one will be left behind, said Kuldeep Shekhawat, the President of the Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP) diaspora group who is helping with the coordination efforts.

"The flight schedule in subsequent phases from the UK will depend on demand and if there are enough passengers, direct flights will be organised to other Indian cities which have an international airport, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Initially set to expire in August, the Child Victims Act look back provision will now remain in place until Jan. 14, extending the window that sex abuse survivors have to file civil suits against alleged abusers without statute of limitations restrictions.

The extension, announced by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday, is due to the statewide closure of courts amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. On Staten Island, non-essential court services were postponed on March 15, only remaining open to address essential functions.

Cuomo said the extension is to ensure COVID-19 does not stand in the way of justice.

The Child Victims Act sent shockwaves across Staten Island when litigations were filed moments after the law went into effect at midnight on Feb. 14, 2019, changing the statute of limitations rules for sex abuse civil actions.

It allows victims under age 55 to sue their abusers; previously, survivors only had until age 23 to file a lawsuit.

An additional provision that started last August was a one-time, one-year window to file lawsuits against alleged abusers, no matter how old the victim currently is or how long ago the alleged attack happened.

It is commonly called a look back window.

One of the first lawsuits filed in state Supreme Court in Manhattan alleged 19 victims, who were not fully named, were abused at facilities overseen by the Archdiocese of New York.

At least six of those 19 victims said they were abused on Staten Island.

St. Anthony of Padua R.C. Church in Travis, Our Lady Star of the Sea R.C. Church in Huguenot, Monsignor Farrell High School in Oakwood and St. Clares R.C. Church in Great Kills are named in the suit.

The Archdiocese of New York has been anticipating the filing of law suits since the Child Victims Act passed earlier this year, even as we continue to invite people to consider our successful program to bring compensation quickly to qualified claimants through the archdiocesan Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program, Joseph Zwilling, the director of communication for the Archdiocese, said at the time.

At least one New York state parish has declared bankruptcy due to the Child Victim Acts look back window.

On Staten Island, many more claims of abuse have followed the early filings, including suits connected to disturbing allegations over 40 years at the former orphanage at Mount Loretto, several suits against Babe Ruth Little League, additional suits against some of the boroughs Catholic Schools and a filing against Staten Islands Boy Scouts council.
PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-09 15:30:52

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May 9, 2020 - Shenzhen's Nanshan District has launched "2020 Global Cloud Shopping Festival, Trip to Nanshan", from April 25 to June 30, to revitalize consumption and boost the district's economy. The festival is issuing benefits to consumers in the form of discounts, coupons and raffles, delivered via online platforms. This event is organized by Shenzhen Nanshan District Industrial and Commercial Bureau (Bureau of Commerce) along with domestic internet giant Tencent and Chinese online lender Lexin.Hotels, restaurants, travel agents and other businesses in Nanshan are boosting their sales with collected coupons and discounts available via a WeChat mini-program named 'Yungou Nanshan', or 'Cloud Purchase Nanshan', while high-tech companies are on a special raffle page at 'Fenqile', by Lexin. Raffle entrants have the chance to win various brand items including drones and intelligent robots provided by local companies DJI and UBTECH, among others.The district not only gathers retail, accommodation, catering, tourism and technology companies to propose deals and discounts to the festivals shoppers, but it helps participating businesses with preferred displays and media communications during the event.As a strong economic and technological district, Nanshan is committed to innovation and strives to provide an international first-class business environment for local enterprise. Nanshan has successfully nurtured world-renowned technology companies such as Tencent, Huawei, DJI, and many others.As a win-win event which brings benefits to enterprises and the public, the 2020 Global Cloud Shopping Festival, Trip to Nanshan, is warmly welcomed by the citizens of the district. Nanshan looks forward to people from around the world learning about it and coming online to join in!Media Contact:Shenzhen Nanshan District Industrial and Commercial Bureau (Bureau of Commerce)Phone: +86 755 26667554ACN Newswire supports Asian companies and organizations with press release distribution to stakeholders in Asia and worldwide -- institutional investors and analysts, individual stakeholders, financial & trade media and the Internet. Today, ACN Newswire is the globally recognized press release distributor from the region, in simplified & traditional Chinese, Korean and Japanese as well as English.ACN distributes press releases in XML format for direct, real-time delivery to financial terminals, syndication partners, news databases and services, and websites around the world. In all, ACN Newswire delivers press releases to more than 3,500 websites, 8,000 media organizations & publications and 1.5 million professional desktops in 70 countries.
Companies will have to give face masks to those who return to work as Boris Johnson is set to endorse them from tomorrow.

The PM is expected to recommend people wear them in the office, on public transport and when shopping despite not making them compulsory in England.

The Government is providing them direct to firms after the Cabinet Office paid for machines to make them.

'Non surgical' face masks will be the priority so better quality coverings are saved for frontline workers such as NHS staff.

Britain is out of step in its guidance, with the US and European countries including Germany, Italy and Spain recommending their use.

The Department of Health is expected to set out guidelines including material the items should be made from next week.

The PM (pictured celebrating VE Day yesterday) is expected to recommend people wear them in the office, on public transport and when shopping despite not making them compulsory

'Non surgical' face masks will be the priority so better quality coverings are saved for frontline workers such as NHS staff. Pictured: A commuter wearing one on the Tube last month

A Government source told the Telegraph: 'What we do not want is people to go on to websites and try to order clinical stuff which takes away from the NHS supply.'

A Cabinet minister said: 'There is a theory that wearing masks might make people less vigilant, but this is about giving people confidence to return to work.

'If it makes people feel safer using public transport then it is a good thing, so we are leaning towards it.'

And another added if this guidance comes into effect it will be for bosses to provide masks.

The Department of Health is expected to set out guidelines including material the items should be made from next week (pictured, a volunteer from Brixton People's Kitchen in Vauxhall)

Britain is out of step in its guidance, with the US and European countries including Germany, Italy (pictured in Milan last week) and Spain recommending their use

Top experts from the prestigious Royal Society concluded the coverings - even home-made ones - can reduce the transmission of the deadly infection.

In evidence given to Number 10's Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (SAGE), the experts described them as an 'important tool' for fighting COVID-19.

DELVE, made up of 14 leading experts from the country's top universities, analysed the evidence on face masks and COVID-19.

It said infected people can spread the virus through talking or breathing, and up to 80 per cent of cases come from asymptomatic carriers.

Therefore, it said face masks may be important in situations where social distancing is 'not possible or unpredictable', such as on public transport.

The move comes after local government leaders warned more than half a million substandard face masks have been reported to one council amid a rise in Covid-19-related scams.

More fraudsters are exploiting coronavirus fears by selling fake and unsafe products, according to the Local Government Association (LGA), with some councils recording a 40 per cent increase since the start of the outbreak.

The public are being warned to stay vigilant as criminals seek to trick consumers into buying fake testing kits, hand sanitisers and bogus medical products claiming to treat or prevent Covid-19.

The move comes after local government leaders warned more than half a million substandard face masks have been reported to one council amid a rise in Covid-19-related scams (file photo)

More than 500,000 substandard face masks and 2,600 bottles of illegal hand sanitiser were taken off the market by Ealing Council, according to the LGA.

A car repair garage was reported to Havering Council after allegedly trying to sell coronavirus testing kits to customers, and a telephone conman is being investigated after posing as a Swindon Council worker sorting lockdown food parcels, in a bid to obtain a pensioner's personal details.

Buckinghamshire and Surrey Trading Standards said the total number of complaints it has received has increased by 40 per cent since the beginning of March.

These include a woman in her 80s who answered the door to a man who tried to demand 220 to complete a health and safety check, and scammers trying to take bank details to cover payments for school meals while schools are closed.

Top experts from the prestigious Royal Society concluded the coverings - even home-made ones - can reduce the transmission of the deadly infection (file photo)

Residents are being tricked into buying goods online, door-to-door, by phone, text and email, the LGA said, with councils advising people not to accept services from strangers or cold callers.

Simon Blackburn, chairman of the LGA's Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said: 'Some councils have seen a significant surge in reports of scams by criminals exploiting coronavirus fears to prey on vulnerable and older people self-isolating.

'People need to be cautious. If something doesn't seem right or sounds too good to be true, don't hesitate to end a phone call, bin a letter, delete an email or shut the door.

'It's important that victims don't suffer in silence or feel embarrassed. By reporting a scam, people can help someone else avoid being a victim of these despicable crimes and help councils track down the fraudsters, bring them to justice and recover their money.

'Councils will continue to prosecute and seek the toughest penalties for these criminals. During this unprecedented time, it's important that everybody - relevant businesses such as banks, family, friends and neighbours - plays their role in preventing fraud from happening in the first place.'
It turns out that President Trump was right to call the Russian collusion affair a hoax.

This is clear when you read this interview with Attorney General William Barr:

"What should Americans take away from your actions in the Flynn case today?" Herridge said. "Well, as I said in my confirmation hearing, one of the reasons I came back is because I was concerned that people were feeling there were two standards of justice in this country," Barr said. "I wanted to make sure that we restore confidence in the system. 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." "When the special counsel report was released last year, you were accused by critics of putting your thumb on the scale in the president's favor. Are you doing the president's bidding in General Flynn's case?" O'Donnell asked. "No, I'm doing the law's bidding," Barr responded. "I'm doing my duty under the law, as I see it." "I made clear during my confirmation hearing that I was gonna look into what happened in 2016 and '17," Barr said. "I made that crystal clear. I was very concerned about what happened. I was gonna get to the bottom of it. And that included the treatment of General Flynn."

Thank God for A.G. Barr.

What amazes me is the response from some in the left. They are attacking A.G. Barr rather than discussing what was done to General Flynn.

It's obvious that General Flynn was trapped, and that's not acceptable, whether you work for this president or any other.

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
As the South African telecommunications sector becomes increasingly saturated and network infrastructure is optimised and shared, mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) are poised for rapid growth.

This is according to MVN-X CEO Valde Ferradaz, who said that MVNOs are a natural extension that occur in typically saturated markets like South Africa.

MVN-X is a leading mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE) in South Africa, providing infrastructure services, business support systems, operational support, and more to MVNOs in the country.

There is a clear need to unlock opportunities through MVNOs, who are well-positioned to provide added value and competitive offerings which will secure their share of wallet, drive loyalty, and increase brand trust, Ferradaz said.

As the networks start to open their wholesale platforms, more companies will start marketing data under their own brand names. Existing MVNOs have proven this works, and they are doing very well.

Ferradaz told MyBroadband the reach of South African businesses into rural areas and the demand for basic telecommunications services in these areas could be a big driver for the growth of MVNOs locally.

In these communities, where there is a significant distribution of basic commodities such as rice, fuel and water, companies should view their reach as an opportunity.

There is an essential need for access to basic services, and through MVNOs customers can be rewarded with a commodity that is absolutely essential in modern times, Ferradaz said. That commodity is data.

If businesses are able to make it easier, less expensive, and more convenient for their customers to acquire data, they would see a significant return.

Ferradaz added there are clear indicators of substantial, anticipated growth in the South African market.

MVN-X has experienced a surge of interest from businesses and operators alike, who have recognised the opportunity to connect their customer base by playing a role in the MVNO space.

Sharing resources at scale

Ferradaz noted that mobile network infrastructure in South Africa is solid, with a large fibre backbone and world-class data centres.

As an enabler, we have already begun to see network infrastructure optimisation consolidation, which is very positive, he said. The roaming agreements between the network operators are a clear indication that vital infrastructure is being shared.

This means the network operators can begin to significantly reduce infrastructure operating costs and the benefits of such, including better coverage, lower costs, and increased capacity can now be passed onto the consumer and business.

The expansion and consolidation of fibre and broadband networks in the country, as well the introduction of new technologies, such as satellite communications  which is a viable option to connect our remote areas  is going to make connectivity more affordable and continue to boost market reach and penetration.

Going forward, I anticipate that government, private enterprise and the telecom networks will shape the industry further around the needs of the economy and the consumer, and we are starting to see the beginnings of this unfolding particularly with regards to regulation, he said.

He said that MVNOs, mobile network operators, and ICASA also need to work together to reduce data prices while maintaining the profitability of the sector in South Africas strained economy.

Ferradaz applauded the recent allocation of temporary spectrum, as well as the reduction in data prices implemented by local mobile operators, including MVNOs.

The networks and significant MVNOs such as Standard Bank and FNB have done well in announcing the reduction in data prices as well as initiating data promotions and zero-rated data services, he said.

This demonstrates a trend and a need to support the consumer and business given the current stresses on the economy.

Together with the regulator engaging more with private enterprise and government to ensure an economical balance, these tactics demonstrate the pattern of sharing networks, resources, and synergies of scale, Ferradaz said.

Now read: Vodacom CEO donates a third of his salary to fight coronavirus
Chinese military Y-8 transporter expelled from Taiwan's ADIZ

ROC Central News Agency

05/08/2020 08:57 PM

Taipei, May 8 (CNA) A Chinese military Y-8 transport aircraft entered Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ) while flying over waters southwest of the country Friday, shortly before being chased away by Taiwanese fighter jets, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said.

The ministry said in a statement that the brief intrusion occurred at around noon. The transporter was soon driven out of the ADIZ by radio warnings issued by the fighters, it said.

According to the MND, it is the seventh time this year that Chinese military aircraft have been spotted flying near Taiwan. They were spotted on Jan. 23, Feb. 9, Feb. 10, Feb. 28, March 16 and April 10.

The aircraft included KJ-500 airborne early warning and control aircraft, H-6 bombers and J-11 fighter jets, according to MND data.

The ministry reiterated that air activity over the waters surrounding Taiwan are closely monitored by the military.

"At present, there is no cause for alarm," it said.

(By Chen Chun-yu and Elizabeth Hsu)

Enditem/J

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[May 08, 2020]

SHAREHOLDER ALERT: CLAIMSFILER REMINDS BBBY, BIDU, GRPN, IQ INVESTORS of Lead Plaintiff Deadline in Class Action Lawsuits

NEW ORLEANS, May 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors of pending deadlines in the following securities class action lawsuits:



Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY)

Class Period: 10/2/2019 - 2/11/2020

Lead Plaintiff Motion Deadline: June 15, 2020

SECURITIES FRAUD

To learn more, visit https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/view-bed-bath-amp-beyond-inc-securities-litigation

iQIYI, Inc. (IQ)

Class Period: 3/29/2018 - 4/7/2020 or securities issued either in or after the March 2018 Initial Public Offering.

Lead Plaintiff Motion Deadline: June 15, 2020

SECURITIES FRAUD, MISLEADING PROSPECTUS

To learn more, visit https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/view-iqiyi-inc-american-depositary-shares-securities-litigation







Baidu, Inc. (BIDU)

Class Period: 3/16/2019 - 4/7/2020

Lead Plaintiff Motion Deadline: June 22, 2020

SECURITIES FRAUD

To learn more, visit https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/view-baidu-inc-securities-litigation

Groupon, Inc. (GRPN)

Class Period: 11/4/2019 - 2/18/2020

Lead Plaintiff Motion Deadline: June 29, 2020

SECURITIES FRAUD

To learn more, visit https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/view-groupon-inc-securities-litigation-3

If you purchased shares of the above companies and would like to discuss your legal rights and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact us toll-free (844) 367-9658 or visit the case links above.

If you wish to serve as a Lead Plaintiff in the class action, you must petition the Court on or before the Lead Plaintiff Motion deadline.

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ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. At ClaimsFiler.com, investors can: (1) register for free to gain access to information and settlement websites for various securities class action cases so they can timely submit their own claims; (2) upload their portfolio transactional data to be notified about relevant securities cases in which they may have a financial interest; and (3) submit inquiries to the Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC law firm for free case evaluations.

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Algiers, 9 May 2020 (SPS) - The European Union (EU) has recently donated 5.3 million to the United Nations (UN) World Food Programme (WFP) to meet the food needs of thousands of Sahrawi refugees, fight hunger and ensure their food security.



The European Union stands with the Saharawi refugees who have been in exile for 44 years and should not be forgotten. Our support to WFP is vital as it allows thousands of the most vulnerable refugees to receive their required daily intake of calories. Preventing under nutrition, especially among the young children and mothers, demands continuous efforts and support, said Patrick Barbier, Head of European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) in Algiers.



The EU, through its Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations department (ECHO), is the largest donor to WFPs work in support of Sahrawi refugees in Algeria. So far, the EU has covered over 30 percent of WFPs funding requirements for this operation in 2020.



WFP Representative and Country Director in Algeria Imed Khanfir welcomed this initiative.



As we are facing an unprecedented worldwide pandemic, WFP would like to thank the EU for their ongoing support to Sahrawi refugee families especially at this critical time, said Khanfir.



Most Sahrawi refugees rely primarily on WFP assistance for their food needs, and families need our support now more than ever. This timely donation allowed WFP to procure and preposition the required quantities of assorted food to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, he continued.



This latest contribution from the EU will help cover the basic food needs of thousands of men, women, girls and boys in the Tindouf refugee camps in the coming months.



WFP provides each refugee with a monthly food ration that includes cereals (rice, barley and wheat flour), pulses, vegetable oil, sugar and fortified blended foods. (SPS)



062/SPS/APS
This article originally appeared in The Inquirer on Jan. 7, 1991.

By Kristin E. Holmes, Inquirer Staff Writer

Kim Scibilia and Lee Roy Murphy got married yesterday the way they wanted to get married  in a small ceremony attended by only a few family members and friends.

But they exchanged vows at a judges house, not a church. She was in a three-year-old cotton dress, not a gown. And he was in combat fatigues, not a tux.

Murphy, 22, a medic in the Army Reserves, is scheduled to fly out to Saudi Arabia on Saturday or Sunday. The couple couldnt get married Jan. 26 as they had planned, so they tied the knot yesterday at the Northeast Philadelphia home of Municipal Court President Judge Alan K. Silberstein.

We decided we should just do it before he leaves. I dont want to wait, and weve been together for three years, Scibilia said before the wedding as she put on blue eye shadow in the Kensington apartment she shares with Murphy.

Sandy McDevitt, Scibilias matron of honor, added what Scibilia herself had been thinking but was afraid to say.

It would be heartbreaking if something happened to him, McDevitt said. At least this way, she can feel like she has a part of him.

Murphy, a stock clerk at a New Jersey appliance store, was called to active duty in early December. Since then, he has been in training at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa., and is scheduled to fly out from McGuire Air Force Base in Burlington County this weekend. He said he was looking forward to the assignment and would covet the active-duty patch he would receive. He also quickly added that he was nervous and scared.

When the couple learned of Murphys departure date, they began a frantic week of wedding preparations. They got the license on Wednesday, but a plan to have a priest do the ceremony near Fort Indiantown Gap fell through.

On Saturday, Scibilia, who is 22 and a billing clerk, called City Hall. She needed to find a judge and asked the telephone operator for help.

The operator found city Bail Commissioner Abraham Polokoff. The commissioner called Silberstein, who was in the middle of a party celebrating his 25th anniversary. The judge said no problem.

I feel bad with the crisis going on in the world, Silberstein said yesterday. The least I could do is marry them.

So in the library of Silbersteins ranch home, in front of a warm fireplace, Scibilia and Murphy said, I will. Scibilia carried silk flowers borrowed from an aunt. The rings didnt fit. Murphys mother, Dee; her boyfriend, Larry Wagner Jr.; Silbersteins wife, Dveral; and McDevitt looked on.

May this marriage be blessed with long years, health, and happiness and be a source of pride to your friends and family, Silberstein said at the end of the ceremony.

The group toasted the new Mr. and Mrs. Murphy, who received their first wedding gift of salt-and-pepper shakers from the judge and his wife.

Then the couple got into a car for the two-hour ride to Fort Indiantown Gap, where Murphy had to return to duty. But, he assured his new wife, he will be back in a couple a months, ready for their new life together and a honeymoon cruise to someplace without sand.




SCHOOLS must not charge extra money for conducting online lessons or increase their fees for Term Two without seeking approval from the Government and those that will ignore the directive risk being de-registered, a Cabinet Minister has warned.





Addressing a media briefing in Bulawayo yesterday, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Ambassador Cain Mathema said schools that have demanded that parents pay for online fees and pay for Term Two fees were extortionist and would be de-registered.





The warning comes at a time when most private schools have gone on an overdrive demanding that parents either pay for online lessons or start paying fees for Term Two, which have been reviewed upwards from the first term. Minister Mathema said while his ministry appreciates that online and distance learning have become necessary owing to the closure of schools due to the coronavirus pandemic, there were concerns over how schools were using the initiative to extort money from parents.





What the nation has experienced recently where such school initiatives appear to be construed as the start of the second term, with schools giving deadlines to parents and guardians for the payment of unapproved fees or levies is unacceptable.





Some high fees and levies that have been brought to my attention, including foreign currency, appear extortionist and we should not have this in education. Section 17 of the Education Act provides for cancellation of registration by the Secretary. This is not an issue that was ever considered necessary given the cooperation that existed in the education sector, he said.





The Education Act [25:04] applies to all Government and non-Government schools and correspondence and independent colleges. Minister Mathema said some private schools have broken the trust the Government had in them.





However, the spirit of some of the non-State players in the sector is no longer clear. Some non-Government schools charge fees and levies that are initially affordable to many but in due course the fees and levies are hiked so much that the ministry struggles to cope with the relocation of some learners to new schools. I cannot emphasise enough the need for all schools to abide by the law and culture of consultation. We have a responsibility to be fair to our learners, parents and guardians. No school should attract our attention by doing wrong things, he said.





Private schools in the city such as Petra and Whitestone gave parents up to 15 May to make partial school fees payments while they wait for Government approval. Deposits were ranging between $10 000 and $27 000. Parents with children at Masiyephambili said they had been told that Term Two fees were due last Friday, raising the ire of most parents.

While the ministry is developing online and distance learning programmes, school initiatives are welcome. However, such initiatives by schools must receive the necessary approvals from the ministry before any implementation takes place, he said.





Minister Mathema said any fee that is charged for online or distance learning programmes must receive approval first before schools can implement them.





I would want us all to work as a team for the good of our children. His Excellency, the President has introduced a culture of dialogue, let us all please live by it because we belong, we all have one country, Zimbabwe. We therefore have no alternative but to dialogue with each other, he stressed.





However, some private schools have defended their stance saying they were demanding school fees so as to meet salaries for teachers and support staff, and also to take care of other running costs in SCHOOLS must not charge extra money for conducting online lessons or increase their fees for Term Two without seeking approval from the Government and those that will ignore the directive risk being de-registered, a Cabinet Minister has warned.





Addressing a media briefing in Bulawayo yesterday, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Ambassador Cain Mathema said schools that have demanded that parents pay for online fees and pay for Term Two fees were extortionist and would be de-registered.





The warning comes at a time when most private schools have gone on an overdrive demanding that parents either pay for online lessons or start paying fees for Term Two, which have been reviewed upwards from the first term. Minister Mathema said while his ministry appreciates that online and distance learning have become necessary owing to the closure of schools due to the coronavirus pandemic, there were concerns over how schools were using the initiative to extort money from parents.





What the nation has experienced recently where such school initiatives appear to be construed as the start of the second term, with schools giving deadlines to parents and guardians for the payment of unapproved fees or levies is unacceptable.





Some high fees and levies that have been brought to my attention, including foreign currency, appear extortionist and we should not have this in education. Section 17 of the Education Act provides for cancellation of registration by the Secretary. This is not an issue that was ever considered necessary given the cooperation that existed in the education sector, he said.





The Education Act [25:04] applies to all Government and non-Government schools and correspondence and independent colleges. Minister Mathema said some private schools have broken the trust the Government had in them.





However, the spirit of some of the non-State players in the sector is no longer clear. Some non-Government schools charge fees and levies that are initially affordable to many but in due course the fees and levies are hiked so much that the ministry struggles to cope with the relocation of some learners to new schools. I cannot emphasise enough the need for all schools to abide by the law and culture of consultation. We have a responsibility to be fair to our learners, parents and guardians. No school should attract our attention by doing wrong things, he said.





Private schools in the city such as Petra and Whitestone gave parents up to 15 May to make partial school fees payments while they wait for Government approval. Deposits were ranging between $10 000 and $27 000. Parents with children at Masiyephambili said they had been told that Term Two fees were due last Friday, raising the ire of most parents.





While the ministry is developing online and distance learning programmes, school initiatives are welcome. However, such initiatives by schools must receive the necessary approvals from the ministry before any implementation takes place, he said.





Minister Mathema said any fee that is charged for online or distance learning programmes must receive approval first before schools can implement them.





I would want us all to work as a team for the good of our children. His Excellency, the President has introduced a culture of dialogue, let us all please live by it because we belong, we all have one country, Zimbabwe. We therefore have no alternative but to dialogue with each other, he stressed.




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Barack Obama congratulates US President Donald Trump after he took the oath of office: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Barack Obama said the rule of law is at risk following the justice departments decision to drop charges against former Trump advisor Mike Flynn, as he issued a stark warning about the long-term impact on the American way of life by his successor.

Mr Obama, who has largely stayed out of the public spotlight since leaving office, said there was no precedent for the move to drop charges against Mr Flynn, as he gave some of his harshest criticism of the Trump administration to date.

The news over the last 24 hours I think has been somewhat downplayed  about the Justice Department dropping charges against Michael Flynn, Mr Obama said in a web talk with members of the Obama Alumni Association, a recording of which was leaked.

And the fact that there is no precedent that anybody can find for someone who has been charged with perjury just getting off scot-free. Thats the kind of stuff where you begin to get worried that basic  not just institutional norms  but our basic understanding of rule of law is at risk.

"When you start moving in those directions, it can accelerate pretty quickly as weve seen in other places, he added in the recording, which was obtained by Yahoo News.

The US justice department dropped its criminal case against Mr Flynn, Donald Trump's first national security advisor, whom prosecutors accused of lying to the FBI during an investigation into ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign.

In court documents 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 decision represents a dramatic turnaround in the long-running case, which was one of the central prosecutions to be brought by special counsel Robert Mueller as part of his investigation into Russia meddling in the 2016 election.

Mr Obama also spoke of his determination to unseat Mr Trump in November's election, characterising the 2020 vote as crucial in defeating Trump's impact on political life.

This election thats coming up on every level is so important because what were going to be battling is not just a particular individual or a political party," he said.

"What were fighting against is these long-term trends in which being selfish, being tribal, being divided, and seeing others as an enemy  that has become a stronger impulse in American life."
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 06:37:43|Editor: huaxia

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SANAA, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The Iran-allied Houthi militia late Friday announced a new case of coronavirus in the capital Sanaa, raising the total number in the country's rebel-held northern provinces to two.

"The confirmed case of COVID-19 is undergoing treatment in a hospital in Sanaa," the Houthi-controlled health ministry said in a statement carried by the Houthi-controlled Saba news agency.

On May 5, the Houthi-controlled health authorities announced the first confirmed case of COVID-19, a Somali national found dead in a hotel in Sanaa.

Earlier in the day, the internationally-recognized Yemeni government reported nine new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the war-ravaged Arab country to 34, including seven deaths.

On April 10, the Yemeni government Health Ministry recorded the first case of COVID-19 in Hadramout Province.

The World Health Organization has said Yemen's fragile health system is facing catastrophic shortages after five years of civil war, while COVID-19 supplies in the country are grossly insufficient. Enditem
As of Saturday afternoon, the coronavirus had taken the lives of 967 Coloradans, up 23 from the previous day, and 19,375 others have tested po
Ethiopian Opposition, Prime Minister Accuse Each Other of Power Grab

By Simon Marks May 08, 2020

Ethiopian opposition parties have accused Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of using the coronavirus pandemic to delay elections and stay in power beyond his constitutional mandate.

Abiy responded this week, accusing members of the opposition of using the COVID-19 pandemic to increase their own power and seed unrest in Africa's second most populous country.

The core issue is when Ethiopia will hold national elections. They were supposed to take place August 29, but have been delayed because of COVID-19. The government's mandate expires at the end of September.

Many opposition groups want to see a transitional government put in place after the mandate ends. That would grant them more decision-making power until the government holds elections and a state of emergency related to the pandemic has been lifted.

Ethiopia has 194 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with four deaths.

Making matters more complicated, the Tigray People's Liberation Front, which ran the country until Abiy came to power in 2018, has threatened to hold its own regional election in an attempt to consolidate its power at a regional level. The TPLF split from the national Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition last year when the coalition's three other parties merged to form the new Prosperity Party.

Yilkal Getnet, the leader of the opposition Ethiopian National Movement, spoke to VOA on a messaging app.

"Who's trying to grab power? It's the government, who dismissed all the opposition first and who wants to stay in power without any constitutional rights or the Ethiopian opposition political parties that are asking for dialogue [and] negotiation to have a common road map for our country," Getnet said. "Who is trying to grab power? It's the prime minister obviously."

On Tuesday, Ethiopia's House of People's Representatives, the parliament's lower chamber, approved a measure that would allow elections to be rescheduled after the pandemic is under control. However, that has left the opposition fuming because parliament is largely made up of members of the ruling Prosperity Party.

William Davison, the International Crisis Group's senior analyst for Ethiopia, told VOA that the coronavirus had left the opposition in a weaker position because its candidates are unable to campaign.

But, he explained, the government is also looking weak because the constitution does not explicitly provide ways to extend the government's term.

"This is an opportunity for the opposition, because the government is looking weak potentially, because it's on these kind of shaky, unprecedented constitutional legal grounds," Davison said. "Yes, there's a constitutional conundrum here. Yes, there's a creative legal solution needed. Ultimately, whether that legal solution leads to more peace or less peace is going to depend on the amount of political support it has."

Ethiopia is no stranger to political unrest. In October, 86 people died in two days of clashes after security forces allegedly tried to arrest Jawar Mohammed, one of Ethiopia's most prominent political activists, and his supporters came out to protest in several towns and cities.

In a televised speech Thursday, Abiy said calls for a transitional government were not legal and accused opposition parties of trying to grab power themselves. "Young people," he said, "should not die, mothers should not cry and houses should not be demolished just so politicians can take power."

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ANN ARBOR, MI -- Several intersections in Ann Arbor will get new signal systems for enhanced traffic monitoring later this year.

City Council on Monday approved a $1.3 million Split Cycle Offset Optimization Technique project to install traffic signals and adaptive control systems at 29 intersections along the Maple Road, West Stadium Boulevard, Glen Avenue, Fuller Road and Huron Parkway corridors, according to the council resolution.

The technology measures traffic flow in real time and automatically adjusts signal timing "to promote smooth flow of traffic along arterial streets, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation. Its also expected to improve travel time reliability to produce smoother flow by reducing congestion and delay.

The budget breakdown includes using $302,500 from the major street fund, and about $1 million in federal funds, according to the resolution.

Work is expected to run between June 30 and Dec. 18.

Other planned construction this year includes sidewalk installations along Jackson and Washtenaw avenues, Nixon Road and Fuller Court, and road resurfacing.

Ann Arbor moves forward with sidewalk gap filling, street resurfacing projects

$100,000 Google donation to go to 100 Southeast Michigan families affected by coronavirus outbreak

Ann Arbor Art Fair canceled due to coronavirus
The fiscal revenue of Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region increased 5.7 percent in the first quarter of this year despite the novel coronavirus outbreak, Sina Finance reported on Saturday.

As of May 8 about 28 regions in China reported negative increase in fiscal revenue in Q1 with only Tibet recording positive increase in the same period.

The fiscal revenue data of North China's Hebei province and Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has not been released yet.

Thanks to the contribution of internet economy, fiscal revenue in East China's Zhejiang province rose in the first two months of this year but fell 5.1 percent overall, the lowest in the nation, in the first quarter due to COVID-19.

Digital economy, including e-commerce, online working, telemedicine and online education, has surged rapidly during the epidemic.

With developed platform economy, Zhejiang's corporate income tax increased by 13.6 percent year-on-year from January to February, with information transmission and software and information technology service industry rising 311.3 percent on a yearly basis.

The situation in Southwest China's Yunnan province was similar to Zhejiang province, with 5.3 percent fiscal revenue decline in the first quarter.

Southwest China's Chongqing witnessed 6.5 percent GDP drop, better than national level, despite its fiscal revenue decreasing 23.2 percent year-on-year in Q1.

China's GDP shrank by 6.8 percent in the first quarter of this year and the country's fiscal revenue went down 14.3 percent year-on-year to 4.6 trillion yuan ($650.4 billion) in the same period, official data showed.

As the resumption of work has accelerated since March, China's micro economic indicators have improved significantly. The decline in fiscal revenue is expected to narrow in the second quarter of this year, the 21st Century Business Herald reported.

A country's fiscal revenue is closely related to economic situation and it is expected to return to positive growth in the long run as China's economic development recovers, the report said.




A New Jersey state trooper removes items from an ambulance at Cooper University Hospital in Camden on April 25 after a fellow trooper was shot in the leg during an ambush at a Salem County trailer park. Read more

New Jersey State Police on Friday arrested 10 additional suspects in the violent ambush of a state trooper at a South Jersey trailer park.

They join four other members of a lawless caravan that traveled to the Harding Woods trailer park in Pittsgrove, Salem County, on April 25 to allegedly attack a woman who had been robbed earlier that day, according to State Attorney General Gubir Grewal.

When the group arrived, they confronted State Police Detective Richard Hershey, who was there investigating the earlier home invasion. They started a gunfight with Hershey, hitting him in the leg and causing serious injury, Grewal said.

The suspects arrested Friday are: Markese Rogers, 25, of Pittsgrove; Aisha McArthur, 25, and Rovell L. McArthur Jr., 26, both from Vineland; and Jenislen Quiles, 19, Shakeem Waters, 31, Thomas Nieves III, 30, Chayana Diaz, 22, Ashley Diaz-Acevedo, 22, Melissa Romero, 22, and Noel Lazu, 20, all of Bridgeton.

All have been charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and rioting.

"We made a promise to our citizens and fellow law enforcement officers that we would apprehend every last member of the cowardly mob that nearly killed Detective Richard Hershey, and I am pleased to announce today that we are making good on that promise, said Col. Patrick J. Callahan, superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. We will not rest until every suspect is brought to justice and held accountable for their actions.

Authorities said the incident began around 6 p.m., when five women forced their way into a home in the park on Route 40, assaulted a woman, and stole her iPhone.

The victim was treated for a broken rib and a lacerated lung. Authorities said she had a dispute with the women, and was familiar with at least two of her assailants and was able to identify them.

Grewal said one of the women, identified as Iramari Lazu, 22, allegedly returned to the trailer park with the caravan and planned to continue the assault. A motive for the attack was not disclosed.

The three alleged shooters  Najzeir Naz Hutchings, 21, Tremaine M. Hadden, 27, and Kareen Kai Warner Jr., 19, all of Bridgeton  were arrested after the incident and charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault of a police officer, and weapons offenses. A fourth suspect, Colby Opperman, 18, also of Bridgeton, was arrested days later, and charged with weapons offenses.
Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ahunna Eziakonwa, talks to Africa Renewals Kingsley Ighobor on COVID-19: the sectors that need urgent interventions and how women are disproportionately affected. Excerpts:

Which sectors in Africa will need urgent intervention post-COVID-19?

First, strengthening the health system is crucial. This crisis is revealing deep structural deficiencies in our health infrastructure. We should conceive programmes in healthcare as part of the public good. It cannot be that only the elite, the rich, can get the best health services where they are offered. Currently, if you're poor and are not able to access those expensive services or to travel out of your country, your fate is determined by poor services at home. This pandemic has shown us that if the poor people are not safe, even the rich are not safe.

Secondly, this pandemic will shatter economies. In tourism, for example, African countries will be affected differently, for example, the small island developing states such as Mauritius, the Seychelles and Comoros will be affected differently from landlocked countries. Therefore, countries that depend heavily on transport and tourism will need help to recover.

Thirdly, it is important to also look at issues related to debt. Africa was already saddled with rising debt. This crisis will lead to additional debt if alternative resources are not found to help countries address the impact of COVID-19. Debt relief options such as grants, as opposed to expensive borrowing, are crucial.

We need to look at how Africa's money can work for Africa's development and recovery. Where are the resources parked? Where is the money parked? For instance, pension funds or sovereign wealth funds. Africa needs to leverage its own financial resources.

We can add education in the mix. In East Africa alone, for example, more than 100 million children are now out of school. Some parents may be able to home-school their children, or some schools may have online learning possibilities, but we know that for most people on the continent, if children are taken out of school, there's no schooling for them. Yet we don't know how long this pandemic is going to last.

So, we need to invest in tele-education that includes poor households, not just for those who can afford computers at home. This is very critical because if it is not addressed, we will deepen the inequality that already exists on the continent because it means some children will not learn for the next six to nine months while others do.

How are women disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic?

We know that gender-based violence has increased in the lockdown, which is a period of anxiety, and the courts are not functioning at the level that is required. So where do people get justice, especially women who are facing domestic violence or gender-based violence? UN Womens work on this is now informing the response plans that countries are making. Through an advocacy campaign, we are highlighting the disproportionate impact on women by COVID-19 and making sure that there is access to justice.

On the economy, 70 per cent of women are involved in cross-border trade. With the borders shutting down, their livelihoods are also affected. We need to ensure that policies adopted by countries and by sub-regions, whether it's ECOWAS [Economic Community of West African States] or EAC [East African Community], or SADC [Southern African Development Community], that they consider the need to open corridors to enable cross-border livelihood opportunities for women.

On education for girls, online platforms and other methods being used should ensure that girls are not left out. Often when hardship hits the family, it is the girls who are pulled out of school to do the work to keep families afloat and so many of them are likely to miss out on critical education during this period.

Are countries making progress?

In any crisis, there are opportunities and I think these are starting to be leveraged in Africa. I was very heartened to hear of Ethiopian startups being unleashed to produce 500,000 face masks. A lot of these startups are led by young people. We are a youthful continent. If we dont factor young people and their talents, creativity, knowledge and livelihoods into the response to COVID-19 then we lose the fight. So, we have these islands of hope emerging where countries are creating conducive regulatory frameworks for young people to come in and produce some of the essential materials that are needed to fight this pandemic.

In my country Nigeria, I was very happy to see one of the state governments invest in tailorsnot a lot of money, but enough to create momentumand have them start to sew protective gear for health workers. With the importation bans, Africa cannot afford to wait. Local production, tapping into the young talent and the SMEs, have given us hope.

In the digital world, many startups are developing apps that help with contact tracing. In Senegal, a company is producing affordable test kits that can give results in less than 10 minutes. Countries are starting to look at the vulnerability of their populations and to understand how strict social distancing measures can be applied in ways that offer protection to those populations. We see some good things coming out of South Africa and Cameroon. Governments taking action to ensure that the most vulnerable are registered and that relief materials are distributed to them. In Uganda women traders in the markets have capitalized on existing mobile tools to help vendors in safely delivering and selling their fruits and vegetables. A lot of creativity in that way is good.

We also see regional leadership taking hold with the African Union establishing the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and empowering it to coordinate the response on the continent. And they are having a unified voice on financing that is required to help Africa get through this period.

For more information on COVID-19, visit www.un.org/coronavirus

Africa Renewal
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Pakistan has said that water discharge in Chenab river has come down significantly, a claim that has been termed by India as "baseless narrative".

In a letter to Indian Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Saxena sent on Wednesday, his Pakistani counterpart Syed Mohammed Meher Ali Shah stated that the discharge at Marala Headworks on Chenab, which flows into Pakistan from the Indian side, has unexpectedly reduced to 18,700 cusecs from 31,853 cusecs.

He also asked Saxena to look into the situation and apprise him.

The Indian Commissioner for Indus Waters termed the claim as "another baseless narrative" by Pakistan and said the matter has been examined.

"The discharges at Akhnoor and Sidhra which are the last gauge and discharge sites on Chenab and Tawi rivers respectively in India have been found consistent and show no significant variation during the stated period," Saxena told PTI on Friday.

He added the same response has been conveyed to Pakistan advising it to get the matter examined instead.

The Permanent Indus Commission, formed under the Indus Waters Treaty was signed between India and Pakistan in 1960.

Indus commissioners of both the countries act as representatives of the respective governments for the treaty matters.

The treaty provides for both the commissioners to meet at least once every year, alternately in India and Pakistan.

It specifies that the waters of three eastern rivers namely Ravi, Beas and Sutlej, have been allocated exclusively to India.

Of the total 168 million acre-feet, India's share of water from the three allotted rivers is 33 million acre-feet, which constitutes nearly 20 per cent.

India uses 93-94 per cent of water.

The western rivers, namely Indus, Chenab and Jhelum, are allocated to Pakistan with India given some rights like agriculture, navigation, domestic use and also the unrestricted rights to develop hydroelectric power projects within the specified parameters of design and operations.

In March, the annual meeting between Indus Commissioners was postponed after New Delhi proposed deferment of consultations due to the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown.

The Indus Commissioners are supposed to hold a meeting by March 31 every year, according to the Indus Waters Treaty.
A woman who allegedly bit a doctor on the hand has been refused bail by a Judge who said the defendant could control her behaviour if she chose to.

Before Sligo District Court last Thursday via video link from Mountjoy Women's Prison, Dochas, was Nicole Chambers (24) with an address in Collooney.

She is charged with assault causing harm to Dr Richard Herridge who had been treating her in Sligo University Hospital's Emergency Department on Saturday, April 11th.

She is further charged with committing criminal damage and engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour at the hospital.

Chambers was arrested at the Emergency Department at 7.30am with Gardai having been called on three separate occasions to the hospital to deal with her, the court heard.

She has been remanded in custody since a special sitting held on the evening of the alleged incidents and on Thursday last defending solicitor, Mr Tom MacSharry spoke with the defendant about the possibility of the court granting her bail.

The defendant stated that she had wrote a letter which she proceeded to read out.

She said that she was now in a dfferent place and frame of mind than she was three weeks ago.

"It took for me to hit rock bottom," she said.

She told Mr MacSharry that she would undertake to attend all medical appointments and also suggested she would volunteer to work with a charity.

She would stay with an aunt and obey any curfew imposed by the court, to take her prescribed medication, stay off alcohol and consult with the Sligo Mental Health Services.

Before the court was psychiatric report prepared while the defendant has been on remand.

Judge Kevin Kilrane asked the defendant did she find the mental health services in Sligo, helpful or unhelpful.

"Not in the past but I'm willing to try again," she replied.

The Judge told the defendant that she was to be released it would be on strict condictions.

"Up to now you've shown nothing but contempt for the mental health services in Sligo," said the Judge.

Reading from the psychiatric report, the Judge noted how over an extended period she had failed to attend numerous appointments and was discharged from the services because of her lack of commitment to therapy and inconsistent attendance.

The Judge said that if the defendant was released she would not receive treatment.

"You have a number of personality disorders which require treatment," he said.

He told the defendant that unfortunately he could not grant her bail.

The report stated the defendant had some control over her behaviour and is responsible for her criminal behaviour.

"Effectively, you are able to control your behaviour if there is a credible threat of imprisonment," said the Judge.

He added that her lack of engagement meant the services locally was worse than useless for her.

"You are in a state of semi-rebellion of them," said Judge Kilrane, who told the defendant she would receive treatment in prison.

He added that while the defendant could not be kept in prison because she would be better off there, he was not refusing bail on this ground.

The Judge said he believed the defendant would revert to her past re-offending if released.

The offences she was charged with were also very serious.

He noted that on three occasions the Gardai were called to the hospital to deal with the defendant and there was also an alleged assault on a doctor.

It was also alleged the defendant had set off a fire alarm in the hospital "causing mayhem and panic all over the hospital."

Judge Kilrane said the defendant was deemed fit to plead and was not suffering from any positive psychiatric condition but a number of personality disorders.

"But, you can control them," he said.

If granted bail she would not receive treatment and there was a very high risk of her re-offending.

Chambers was remanded in custody to May 21st and another psychiatric report was ordered for then.

The question of bail would be re-visited then if there was a positive report regarding her treatment, said the Judge.
KOLKATA: West Bengals ruling party Trinamool Congress on Saturday hit back at Union Home Minister Amit Shah for writing a letter to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleging that her government was not allowing trains with migrants to enter the state.

Abhishek, the nephew of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, alleged that the Home Minister was spreading a "bundle of lies" after staying silent for weeks. Home Minister Amit Shah speaks after weeks of silence only to mislead people with lies, the senior TMC leader said.

Abhishek said Shah was talking about the very people who have been left to fate by the Centre. The TMC leader even asked the Home Minister to either prove allegations which he had made against the Bengal government or apologise for the same.

"A HM failing to discharge his duties during this crisis speaks after weeks of silence, only to mislead people with a bundle of lies! Ironically he's talking about the very ppl who've been literally left to fate by his own Govt. Mr @AmitShah, prove your fake allegations or apologise (sic)," he said in a tweet.

Extremely critical comments from the ruling TMC came shortly after it was reported that Shah has written a letter to Mamata alleging that her regime was not cooperating over migrant workers issue.

In his letter to Mamata, the Union Home Minister stated that the West Bengal government is not allowing trains carrying migrant workers to reach the state, which may further create hardship for the labourers.

In his letter, Shah said not allowing trains to reach West Bengal is "injustice" to the migrant workers from the state.

Referring to the 'Shramik Special' trains being run by the central government to facilitate transportation of migrant workers from different parts of the country to various destinations, Shah said that the Centre has facilitated more than two lakh migrants workers to reach home.

The Home Minister said migrant workers from West Bengal are also eager to reach home and the central government is also facilitating the train services.

"But we are not getting expected support from the West Bengal. The state government of West Bengal is not allowing the trains reaching to West Bengal. This is injustice with West Bengal migrant labourers. This will create further hardship for them," Shah wrote in his letter to the Trinamool Congress chief.

It may be noted that the Centre and the Bengal government have clashed frequently amid the coronavirus outbreak in the country, with an IMCT (inter-ministerial central team), which visited the state to review its handling of the crisis, this week accusing Banerjee's administration of taking an "antagonistic view" of the COVID-19 crisis.

In its observations on Monday, the central team said the high mortality rate in the state was a "clear indication of low testing and weak surveillance, tracking". The Centre has also accused the state of violating lockdown guidelines and failing to ensure critical measures like social distancing.

Last week, reportedly fearing a political backlash over the migrants' crisis, the centre permitted travel of stranded people, providing they displayed no COVID-19 symptoms and underwent a mandatory quarantine period on arrival. The first such "special" train to Bengal set off from Rajasthan's Ajmer this week - bound for Durgapur via Asansol - carrying 1,200 migrant workers.

Shortly after the first train was announced Banerjee tweeted that a second would bring back a similar number of people stranded in Kerala.
Despite promises that all homeless people would be provided with accommodation during the COVID-19 pandemic, rough sleepers face increasing challenges on Londons streets.

The governments response to the homeless during the crisis has mirrored their reaction to the disease as a wholetoo little and too late. By the end of March, when Prime Minister Boris Johnson decided to order all councils to furnish emergency accommodation for the homeless within 48 hours, local governments and charities had already been stretched to the limit with the existing crisis, worsened by successive governments through austerity budgets and gutting of public services.

Months before the appearance of the coronavirus, national figures on those sleeping rough had reached record levels. Last October, the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) found 3,985 people sleeping outside in London between July and September 2019. This represented a 28 percent increase from the same period in 2018. Some 2,069 were new rough sleepers, an increase of 50 percent in a year, adding 22 unfortunate people every day.

Jon Sparkes, chief executive of the charity Crisis, described the statistics as simply unforgivable and called for the scrapping of the Vagrancy Act, which criminalizes begging and rough sleeping. Chief executive of St. Mungos, Howard Sinclair, said it was a national scandal and called on the government to take bold action and a longer-term view. Reform researcher Imogene Farnham blamed the lack of long-term funding for council services and the high cost of renting for the failure of the Homelessness Reductions Act and Rough Sleeping Strategy.

Even these appalling numbers have been found to be undercounted. Data from councils retrieved under the Freedom of Information Act at the end of February found nearly 25,000 people in the UK slept rough in 2019, about five times higher than official estimates drawn up in Whitehall. The London boroughs of Westminster and Camden were among the highest in Britain.

Sparkes said, We still do not have a clear picture of how many people are forced to sleep on our streets throughout the year. The councils gather figures of those who slept rough at least one night of the year, whilst the government count is simply based on a snapshot survey taken on a single night. As long as a year ago in April 2019, UK Statistics Authority chairman Sir David Norgrove wrote the housing ministry, telling them to stop using their homeless data to bolster arguments about the success of their rough sleeping initiative.

By the first week in March, charities like Crisis expressed concern at the lack of coronavirus guidance for handling and helping homeless people, many of whom were already suffering from a range of health conditions. Charities voiced worries at the absence of ongoing advice about how to communicate information about the virus to the thousands crowded into homeless hostels, temporary accommodation and unregulated supported housing. The charity Glass Door, one of Londons largest night shelter operators, reported refusing to house one man they suspected of carrying the virus. They had been asking the government for guidance for three weeks without success.

Megan Preston, the charitys coronavirus lead, pleaded, We urge the government to offer a solutionsuch as some form of safe temporary accommodation where a homeless person can self-isolate. Chief executive of Housing Justice Kathy Mohan called for Public Health England to provide advice, but they said nothing would be forthcoming until it was coordinated by the Ministry of Housing.

The lack of coordination has had a dangerous impact. On March 24, a day after the government issued physical distancing guidelines to tackle the virus, the Travelodge hotel chain slipped letters under the doors of its homeless families and key worker guests, giving them two hours to vacate the rooms in 360 hotels. The action provoked widespread chaos across the country, panicking guests and forcing local authorities to find alternative housing with no notice whatever.

Although the governments own regulations exempted those hosting the homeless or key workers such as NHS staff, Travelodge pressed on with its evictions, ignoring the request of Homeless Minister Luke Hall to reverse their actions. Other hotel chains such as Premier Inn and Jurys Inn, who have made millions through emergency accommodation arrangements, also evicted guests. This meant councils had to find hotels or blocks to house those expelled. London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced he had made 300 rooms available, but Crisis said this represented nowhere near the scale it needs to be.

Gbolagade Ibukun-Oluwa was thrown out of the Premier Inn near Heathrow Airport, where his bills had been subsidized by Guardian readers. Another Windrush victim, he has lived in the UK since 1980 but has been homeless for a decade after being labelled as an illegal immigrant by the Home Office. He had rung Hillingdon Council housing department but had not been offered help. I havent a clue as yet where Ill be sleeping, he admitted.

With Prince William, patron of the homeless charity The Passage, calling on March 26 for another 600 people to be removed from the streets by Friday March 27, the Johnson government felt obliged to be seen doing somethinggiving councils 48 hours to find emergency accommodation for all homeless. Although charities and councils welcomed the decision, they observed extra funding would be necessary to meet the deadline, especially under the absurd situation where the same government had ordered hotels to close!

Even Louise Casey, the governments new COVID-19 and rough sleeper coordinator, stressed the importance of closing street encampments and night shelters to slow the spread of the disease, and Luke Hall instructed local authorities to set up a COVID-19 rough sleeper coordination cell.

But no new funding or guidelines were forthcoming. However, Hall announced that asylum seekers and those with limited immigration status who had formerly been classified as no recourse to public funds (NRPF), would now be allowed housing support and accommodation. Again, no additional monies or direction was proffered, as local authorities were told in a letter to utilise alternative powers and funding to assist those with no recourse to public funds who require shelter and other forms of support due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Jon Sparkes observed, The government has committed to ending rough sleeping by 2025. This proves it can also be done in 2020 if we make it the priority it deserves to be.

Others were not so encouraged. Jessie Seal of Naccom, which housed 1,300 poor migrants in 2019, noted, Without change from the Home Office, people will continue to be turned away from homelessness support services on the ground.

Paul Atherton, a homeless filmmaker living at Heathrows Terminal 5 commented, The likelihood of anyone being housed before the weekend is infinitesimally small. He observed the government request would have more success if it had ordered councils to comply.

Reports on March 30 found thousands continued to suffer in the streets. Crisis estimated that some 4,200 had been rehoused over the weekend, but that there remained thousands more sheltering next to each other in church hall floors, night shelters, and hotels with shared washing and cooking spaces.

Those remaining on Londons streets face increased deprivation, as normal sources of food from distributors and food kitchens have gone. Those failing to supply address histories continue to fall through the bureaucratic gaps, as do migrants categorised as NRPF. Last October CHAIN reported that 52 percent of UK rough sleepers were migrants, and with even Mayor Khan observing that thousands of them work as National Health Service staff and delivery drivers across London.

Crisis, supported by other charities, sent an open letter to the prime minister on April 2 listing issues needing resolution, including: removal of all legal barriers such as NRPF, a dedicated funding stream for local authorities, COVID-19 care and personal protective equipment for staff working in the front lines, and advanced non-repayable grants for people claiming punitive Universal Credit welfare payments.

Despite Boris Johnsons own brush with death, funding for the homeless remains a pittance. Adding an additional 1.6 million brings the total to 3.2 million. When council data show that 25,000 people slept rough in 2019, the figures work out to just 128 per person!

Even those brought into housing remain at risk. At least six people in London homeless hostels have died since March. The Guardian estimates that up to 35,000 people may still be crowded together in hostels with shared facilities where physical distancing is impossible. University College London epidemiologist Andrew Hayward describes hostels as risky as care homes and prisons and having the perfect conditions for coronavirus attacks.

Now, facing huge job losses and an economic crisis, many experts are warning about new waves of homelessness caused by increased poverty. The newly unemployed pose a humanitarian and health crisis but face a capitalist class incapable and unwilling to meet fundamental human needs.
Protesters crowded the streets of Indianapolis this week after officers shot and killed two men and fatally struck a pregnant pedestrian in three separate incidents just hours apart.

Officials said both men exchanged gunfire with officers, adding that the second shooting early Thursday morning could have been an ambush on police.

Police did not have body camera or dash camera footage of either shooting. Both of the men were black, as were most of the protesters.

The pregnant woman, who was white, was walking along an expressway ramp when an officer driving to work struck her with his vehicle.



Events surrounding the first shooting were livestreamed on Facebook, including comments by a responding detective who is heard saying: I think its going to be a closed casket, homie, an apparent reference to a closed-casket funeral.

Let me be clear, these comments are unacceptable and unbecoming of our police department, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Chief Randal Taylor told reporters during a news conference.

Well be pursing immediate disciplinary action against that officer, Taylor added, going to great lengths to assure the investigations into all of the deaths will be thorough and transparent.

I hope you understand that Im one that is willing to acknowledge that if we made mistakes here, we will address them, he said.

But let the investigation run its course before we jump to conclusions  either on our side or on the communitys side.

Protesters converged on the first shooting scene Wednesday night, and dozens more gathered Thursday at the City County Building in downtown Indianapolis.

Many wore face masks aimed at reducing the spread of the coronavirus and at times shouted, No justice, no peace.

Several carried Black Lives Matter flags and signs.

The Marion County coroners office identified the man killed in the first shooting as Dreasjon Sean Reed, 21, and the man killed later as McHale Rose, 19.

The pregnant woman was identified as Ashlynn Lisby, 23. Her fetus also did not survive.

Protests began after video of the events leading up to Reeds shooting appeared on Facebook.

The video, which appears to have been recorded by Reed, shows him being pursued by police both in his car and on foot before incoherent shouting and popping sounds are heard.

Later came the detectives comment, which also was broadcast live on social media.

Taylor said Thursday that the detective was not present when the shooting happened.

Reeds father, Jamie Reed, said he had seen the video and was crushed by its contents.

It just shows me that were not really being protected and served. Were being hunted, he told reporters at Thursdays protest.

My son was a great son. I love him to death. He was just a typical young adult like anybody else. He didnt deserve to die like that.

Relatives said Reed, whose nickname was Sean, had recently left the United States Air Force.

Military records show he served less than a year, in 2017. Details of separations cannot be released under privacy rules.

Reeds shooting happened around 6pm on Wednesday after a pursuit that began when officers, including Taylor, observed someone driving recklessly on Interstate 65, police said.

Video shows that at one point after police stop pursuing him, Reed laughs and cheers.

Im not going to jail today! he shouts.

Moments later, he appears unsure where he has driven and says in the recording, Please come get me. Please come get me!

Supervisors ordered an end to that pursuit because the vehicle was going nearly 90 mph, police said.

An officer later spotted the car on a city street before being parked, then chased Reed on foot, Assistant Chief Chris Bailey said.

According to police, the officer first tried to use a stun gun, then shot Reed as they exchanged gunfire.

Bailey said it appears that a gun found near Reed had been fired at least twice.

Taylor called the gun distinct-looking with an orange slide and elongated grip and said photos on social media show Reed holding a similar weapon.

The officer who shot Reed is black, The Indianapolis Star reported, and he has been placed on administrative leave.

The second shooting happened about eight hours later, as police investigated a burglary at an apartment complex.

Police said a man armed with a rifle shot at four officers as they approached the apartment about 1.30am on Thursday.

Taylor said the initial investigation suggests that Rose may have made the call with the intention of initiating an ambush-style attack on the officers when they arrived.

Between the shootings, Officer Jonathon Henderson, a 22-year veteran, struck Lisby with his vehicle.

Police said Henderson requested help and rendered first aid to the woman. Lisby was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The Greater Indianapolis NAACP said in a statement that it was monitoring information about the shootings.

All of us are trying to make a new normal in an un-normal time. Incidents like these do not help restore normalcy to our community, said Chrystal Ratcliffe, president of the NAACP branch.

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3 1 of 3 National Center for Missing & Exploited Children Show More Show Less 2 of 3 National Center for Missing & Exploited Children Show More Show Less 3 of 3





Police are asking for the public's help locating a Spring girl who has been missing for over a month.

Lauren O'leary, 15, disappeared on April 7 and is thought to be in the company in a juvenile male, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
India in Bangladesh Video Grab from twitter

New Delhi/IBNS: The first batch of 168 Indian students hailing from Kashmir, who were stranded in Bangladesh amid COVID-19 imposed travel restrictions, arrived in India on Friday.

The flight reportedly landed in Srinagar city of Jammu and Kashmir directly.

The move was a part of India's massive evacuation drive named as Operation Vande Bharat - A homecoming. It was launched to bring back nationals stranded in different corners of the globe.

@DrSJaishankar Thank you for the encouragement. Happy to note that our students have reached safely. Onwards to our next flight now! @meaindia & @ihcdhaka will continue to propel #VandeBharatMission forward https://t.co/InSni5AVeE  Riva Ganguly Das (@rivagdas) May 8, 2020

After the landing of the flight, India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted: "AI flight 1242 from Dhaka carrying Indian students just landed in Srinagar. Thank @airindiain, @MOCA_GOI, Bureau of Immigration and J&K Government for cooperation and support. Kudos to HC @rivagdas and her Team @ihcdhaka. #VandeBharatMisssion."

In Bangladesh, the stranded Indians will be evacuated in a phased manner with the first phase, starting from 8 May 2020. In the first phase, 7 flights of Air India will carry Indian nationals to Srinagar (8, 12, 13 May), Delhi (9 & 11 May), Mumbai (10 May) Chennai (14 May) in a span of a week with each flight carrying approximately 170 passengers, read an official statement.

High Commissioner Riva Ganguly Das was present at the airport to see-off the first batch of Indians leaving Bangladesh and interacted with them.

Wishing the students a safe journey back home, the High Commissioner reiterated the Indian Governments commitment to the welfare of its citizens abroad.

The High Commissioner said that she was particularly pleased that the young students would be able to go home before Eid. She advised the students to follow the health protocols after reaching India.

Meanwhile, thanking the Indian government, she tweeted: "@DrSJaishankar Thank you for the encouragement. Happy to note that our students have reached safely. Onwards to our next flight now! @meaindia & @ihcdhaka will continue to propel #VandeBharatMission forward."

What is Vande Bharat Mission:

Vande Bharat Mission is a mammoth logistical exercise for evacuation of Indians abroad, that involves integrated approach, meticulous planning, complex coordination and implementation between Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of External Affairs and the State governments.

The Ministry of External Affairs has deputed nodal officers for most of the states for the evacuation exercise.
Ali Amin-Javaheri grew up in the chemicals business.

His father had worked for Iran's state-owned chemical company and when the family fled the country in the nineteen eighties during the Iran-Iraq war, they first settled in Houston where employers welcomed the senior Amin-Jahaveri's experience.

Houston in the 80s was dominated by the petrochemicals industry and by the time the family later relocated to Washington State, Amin-Jahaveri was already deeply steeped in a world of covalent bonds, chemical cracking, and the molecular coupling and decoupling of matter.

For the former Texas chemical kid, moving to tech-heavy, rain-soaked Washington, dominated at the time by Microsoft, was a bit of a shock, the founder recalled. But it was the 2000s and everyone was in tech so Amin-Jahaveri figured that'd be his path too.

Those two worlds collided for the young University of Washington graduate in his very first job -- his only job before launching his first startup -- as a programmer and developer at Chempoint.

"Completely through happenstance I was walking around a certain part of Seattle and I walked by this building and it had all these logos outside the office. I saw this logo for a company called Chempoint and I was instantly intrigued," Amin-Jahaveri said. "I walked up to the receptionist and asked what they were doing."

In the summer of 2001, Amazon was an online bookseller a little over seven years old, the dot-com boom hadn't gone completely bust quite yet and business-to-business marketplaces were a hot investment.

"It was a startup with just a handful of folks," said Amin-Jahaveri. "There wasn't a business model in place, but the intent was to build a marketplace for chemicals... The dot-com boom was happening and everything was moving on line and the chemicals industry likely will as well."

Fifteen years later, Chempoint is one of the last remaining companies in a market that once boasted at least fifteen competitors -- and the chemicals industry still doesn't have a true online marketplace. Until (potentially) now, with the launch of Amin-Jahaveri's first startup -- Knowde.

Story continues

A volumetric flask, used during the process of determining phosphorus content in crude edible oil, sits in a laboratory of the quality assurance department at the Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd. edible oil refinery plant in Patalganga, India, on Tuesday, June 18, 2013. Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg via Getty Images

For the vast majority of Americans, the chemicals industry remains a ubiquitous abstraction. Consumers have a direct relationship with the energy business through the movements of prices at the pump, but the ways in which barrels of oil get converted into the plastics, coatings, films, flavors, fillings, soaps, toothpastes, enamels and unguents that touch everyone's daily life are a little bit less obvious.

It's a massive industry. The U.S. accounted for 17% of the global chemicals market in 2017 and that percentage amounted to a staggering $765 billion in sales. Worldwide there are thousands of chemicals companies selling hundreds of different specialty chemicals each and all contributing to a total market worth trillions of dollars.

"The market is $5 trillion," said Amin-Jahaveri. "Just to be super clear about that.. Its $5 trillion worth of transactions happening every year."

It's no secret that venture capitalists love marketplaces. Replacing physical middlemen with electronic ones offers efficiencies and economies of scale that have a cold logic and avoid the messiness of human contact. For the past twenty years, different entrepreneurs have cropped to tackle creating systems that could connect buyers on one side with sellers on another -- and the chemicals industry has been investors' holy grail since Chempoint made its pitch to the market in 2001.

"The chemicals industry is the most interesting of all of them. Its the biggest. Its also the most fragmented," said Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire. "There were three companies in the world that all did about $90 billion in sales and none of those three companies did more than 1.6% of sales of the entire industry."

Those kinds of numbers would make any investor's jaw drop. And several firms tried to make a pitch for the hotly contested financing round for Knowde. Maguire first heard that there was a company looking for funds to pursue the creation of the first true marketplace business for the chemicals industry through a finance associate at Sequoia, Spencer Hemphill.

Hemphill knew an early Knowde investor named Ian Rountree at Cantos Ventures and had heard Rountree talk about the new company. He flagged the potential deal to Maguire and another Sequoia partner. It only took one hour for Maguire to be blown away by Amin-Jahaveri's pedigree in the industry and his vision for Knowde.

From that initial meeting in September to the close of the company's $14 million Series A round on March 11 (the day the markets suffered their worst COVID-19-related losses), Maguire was tracking the company's progress. Other firms in the running for the Knowde deal included big names like General Catalyst, according to people with knowledge of the process.

Sequoia wound up leading the Series A deal for Knowde, which also included previous investors Refactor Capital, Bee Partners, and Cantos Ventures.*

The tipping point for Maguire was the rapid adoption and buy-in from the industry when Knowde flipped the switch on sales in early January.

An employee of International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) picks up perfume components on December 8, 2016 at the company's laboratory in Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris. / AFP / PATRICK KOVARIK (Photo credit should read PATRICK KOVARIK/AFP via Getty Images)

For at least the past fifty years, the modern chemicals industry has been defined -- and in some ways constrained -- by its sales pitches. There are specialty manufacturers who have hundreds of chemicals that they've made, but the knowledge of what those chemicals can do is often locked inside research labs. The companies rely on distributors, middlemen, and internal sales teams to get the word out, according to Maguire and Amin-Jahaveri.

"The way that things are done is still through field sales teams and product catalogs and brochures and face to face meetings and all that stuff," said Amin-Jahaveri. "This industry has not evolved as quickly as the rest of the world And we always knew that something has got to give."

One selling point for Knowde is that it breaks that logjam, according to investors like Maguire.

"One of the references said that they had a bunch of legacy flavors from the seventies," Maguire said. "It was a Madagascar Vanilla that none of their sales people had tried to sell for 25 years... By putting them on Knowde the sales numbers had gone up over 1,000%... That company does over $5 billion a year in sales through flavors."

The change happened as the old guard of executives began aging out of the business, according to Amin-Jahaveri. "Between 2002 and 2012 nothing happened.. There was no VC money thrown at any type chemical company and then it started changing a little bit," he said. "The first domino was the changing age demographic these consumer product companies kept getting younger."

Amin-Jahaveri's previous company grew to $400 million in revenue selling technology and services to the chemicals industry. It was back-end software and customer relationship tools that the industry had never had and needed if it were to begin the process of joining the digital world. Knowde, according to Amin-Jahaveri, is the next phase of that transition.

"Our plan is to connect the chemical producers directly with the buyers," Amin-Jahaveri said. "And provide all the plumbing and storefronts necessary to manage these things themselves."

All that Knowde needed to do was collate the disparate data about what chemicals small manufacturers were making and had in stock and begin listing that information online. That transparency of information used to be more difficult to capture, since companies viewed their product catalog as an extension of their intellectual property -- almost a trade secret, according to Amin-Jahaveri.

Once companies began listing products online, Amin-Jahaveri and his team could go to work creating a single, searchable taxonomy that would allow outsiders to find the materials they needed without having to worry about differences in descriptions.

Knowde has broken down the chemicals industry into ten different verticals including: food, pharmaceuticals, personal care, houseware goods, industrial chemicals. The company currently operates in three different verticals and plans to extend into all ten within the year.

Amin-Jahaveri knows that he's not going to get a meaningful chunk of business from the huge chemical manufacturers like BASF or Dow Chemical that pump out thousands of tons of commodity chemicals, those deals only represent $2 trillion of the total addressable market.

That means another $3 trillion in sales are up for grabs for the company Amin-Jahaveri founded with his partner Wojciech Krupa.

While the opportunity is huge, the company -- like every other new business launching in 2020 -- is still trying to do business in the middle of the worst economic collapse in American history. However, Amin-Jahaveri thinks the new economic reality could actually work in Knowde's favor.

"It's going to be one more trigger event for these chemical companies that they have to go online," he said. The personal relationships that drove much of the sales for the chemicals business before have dried up. No more conferences and events means no more opportunities to glad-hand, backslap, and chat over drinks at the hotel bar. So these companies need to find a new way to sell.

Maguire sees another benefit to the movement of chemical catalogs into an online marketplace, and that's internal transparency within chemical companies.

"Even the biggest companies in the world do not have an internal search feature even for their own chemicals," said Maguire. "I talked to two of the biggest companies in the world. In the case of one chemist who is a friend of mine. If you are trying to formulate some new concoction how do you find what chemicals you have in the company? If its in my division its pretty easy.. If I need chemicals from another division theres no way to search it right now."

*This article has been updated to indicate that Bee Partners, a previous investor in Knowde, participated in the company's Series A round. 8VC, another seed investor, did not.
Bengaluru, May 10 : The Central government has allotted 2.1 lakh tonnes of food grains a month to Karnataka for three months to be distributed at free of cost to National Food Security Act (NFSA) beneficiaries, said an official on Saturday.

"A quantity of 2.1 lakh tonnes of food grains per month has been allotted under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) for three months from April to June, to be distributed free of cost to 4.01 crore National Food Security Act beneficiaries," said Food Corporation of India (FCI) Chairman D.V. Prasad.

The Central government will bear the total cost of Rs 2,351 crore for supplying the free food grains for the three months.

So far, the state has lifted 4.45 lakh tonnes of food grains valued at Rs 1,735 crore under PMGKAY.

"Karnataka has so far received 302 train loads of food grains carrying a quantity of 8.03 lakh tonnes which is roughly 1.60 crore bags of 50 kg packing since lockdown, with another 6 lakh tonnes planned to be received during this month," said Prasad.

In Karnataka, FCI has already handled 7.48 lakh bags daily to meet the requirements of PMGKAY and the usual National Food Security Act.

During the same time, the state government has also lifted 2.54 lakh tonnes of food grains under the NFSA.

"The total quantity of food grains supplied by Government of India in Karnataka during the lockdown period for distribution under various schemes is 8.51 lakh tonnes, 1.70 crores bags of 50 kg food grains," he said.

Prasad said FCI is closely monitoring food grains procurement, movement and storage, including state governments receiving their share under the PMGKAY to ensure sufficient food grains availability to everybody to guarantee food security.
LOCKPORT, N.Y. -- State Police have charged a Lockport man with a misdemeanor assault charge today following an early morning turkey hunting accident in Niagara County that left two hunters injured.

Scott Brown, 59, of Lockport, has been charged with third-degree assault and reckless endangerment, second degree, another misdemeanor.

Troopers responded to reports of hunting accident on a field off Raymond Road in Lockport at about 6:20 a.m.

Upon arriving, troopers found two hunters  ages 44 and 37 -- who had been hit by turkey shot pellets. One had been shot in the face; the other, his back. Both injuries were not life-threatening.

Scott was charged for allegedly firing at the two men with his a 12-gauge black powder gun with turkey shot.

The 44-year-old man who had pellets lodged in his face was taken to Erie County Medical Center for treatment. The other hunter remained at the scene was treated by the Rapid Fire Company. He was also interviewed by troopers and conservation officers from the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

The two men, whose names were not released, told investigators they had permission to hunt the property. They said they came across some turkey decoys and turned to leave, believing someone was already hunting there.

Thats when they were shot, they told troopers. Scott reportedly approached the two men after the incident. He spoke to them, apologized and then left before troopers arrived, reported wgrz.com.

Scott was later located by troopers and arrested. He was issued an appearance ticket and is due back in Niagara Court later this month.

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LG Polymers has expressed condolences for the death of 11 people due to the gas leak at its Visakhapatnam chemical factory. Another 1,000 exposed were exposed to the leak.

In a statement on May 9, the company said: At the onset, LG Polymers India would like to express sincere condolences and apologies to all who have been affected by this incident. We would like to assure everyone that the company is committed to work closely with the concerned authorities in India to investigate the cause of this incident, prevent recurrence in the future, and secure the foundation for care and treatment.

The company said that investigations showed cause of the leak as vapour from the Styrene Monomer (SM) storage tank near the General Purpose Poly Styrene (GPPS).

We are happy to confirm that the status-quo at the plant is brought under control this morning, it added.

The company also assured of all possible support to ensure people and families affected by the incident are taken care of.

Our teams are working day and night with the government to assess the impact of the damage caused and create concrete measures to deliver an effective care package that can be implemented immediately, it said.

The company has set up a special task force to help victims and families to resolve issues and provide assistance to the bereaved families.

Adding: All families will be contacted shortly. This team has the responsibility to provide every support for the deceased, medical supplies and household goods, and emotional management for psychological stability to all injured and victims.

We will also actively develop and promote mid-to-long term support programs that can contribute to the local communities, it added.

The company also thanked authorities, the police and government officials who rescued the victims.

Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) DG Sawang on May 7 had said that the chemical gas leakage occurred at around 3.30 am in LG Polymers industry in Visakhapatnam.

People were taken to King George Hospital, Visakhapatnam after complaints of burning sensation in eyes and breathing difficulties.

On May 8, the National Green Tribunal issued notices to the Centre, LG Polymers India, the Central Pollution Control Board and others in relation to the case. It also directed LG Polymers India to submit Rs 50 crore, an interim amount, for damage to life.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel also formed a five-member committee comprising Justice B Seshasayana Reddy to probe the incident and submit a report before May 18.

"Having regard to the prima facie material regarding the extent of damage to life, public health and environment, we direct LG Polymers to forthwith deposit an initial amount of Rs 50 crore, with the District Magistrate, Vishakhapatnam, which will abide by further orders of this Tribunal. The amount is being fixed having regard to the financial worth of the company and the extent of the damage caused," the bench said.
KITCHENER  The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will attempt a flyover of Waterloo Region on Sunday after Saturdays flight was cancelled due to low visibility east of Toronto.

The planes were originally scheduled to fly over the region Saturday afternoon, part of their cross-country tour to salute Canadians helping to fight the spread of COVID-19.

The nine-plane formation was forced to turn back to Trenton Saturday morning after encountering snow and hail. For precautionary reasons, they were grounded for 24 hours.

SUNDAY: Lets try this again shall we? the CF Snowbirds wrote on Twitter Saturday night.

The trek, dubbed Operation Inspiration, first left the Maritimes last week, and will be continuing over different parts of Canada through the days to come.

The planes are expected to take off from Trenton at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, flying over Bowmanville and Oshawa en route to Toronto. At 12:45 p.m., they will take off again, scheduled to land in London an hour later at 1:45 p.m.

They will depart from London for their last flight of the day at 4:15 p.m., flying over Kitchener and Guelph before continuing on to Barrie.

The Canadian Forces are urging Canadians to practice physical distancing, and to observe the flyovers from the safety of their homes.

Interested viewers are asked to track their progress on Twitter or Facebook.
By Trend

Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 27 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 districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
The number of people quarantined at homes and institutions in Maharashtra has more than doubled in the last 17 days as the states coronavirus disease (Covid-19) tally inched closer to the bleak 20,000-mark, according to the state health department data.

As of April 21, there were around 107,000 citizens quarantined in the state of which around 99,569 were home quarantined and 7,808 were institutionally quarantined.

This increased to 2,39,531 citizens under home quarantined and 13,494 under institutional quarantine, as of Friday. However, in this period the number of cases and tests both increased drastically.

The state health department has added a disclaimer to the data it released, saying that 146 patients from Mumbai have been added to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) number of cases on its portal on Thursday, but the reconciliation of that figure is yet to be done.

It has also stated that since the collection of data is a progressive process, the numbers could vary.

Maharashtra reported 1,089 new infections, taking the tally to 19,063 on Friday. The state also reported 37 deaths, taking the toll to 731. While on April 21, the state had 3,451 positive cases and reported 151 fatalities.

Mumbai reported 748 infections and 25 deaths on Friday, bringing its case count to 12,142 and toll to 462.

Of the days other deaths, 10 were in Pune and one each in Jalgaon and Amravati. Seventeen of the patients who died on Friday were above 60 years of age, while 16 were in the age group of 40-59 years. The remaining were below 40 years of age. Twenty-seven of them had high-risk comorbidities.

It is expected that Maharashtra may cross the bleak 20,000-mark on Saturday. If this happens, it would mean the state went from 10,000 Covid-19 cases to 20,000 cases in just nine days, after taking 53 days for the first 10,000.

Maharashtra breached the 10,000-mark on April 30, 53 days after the first case was reported on March 9. The state took five days to cross the next 5,000.

The mortality rate in the state stood at 3.86%, down from 7.21% on April 12, but the number of deaths is increasing, with 362 deaths in the past 10 days. The countrys mortality rate hovers around 3.35%.

In the past 24 hours, the state has carried out 10,245 Covid-19 tests and 1,089 or 10.62% of the people have tested positive. The number of tests in the state touched 212,350 on Friday192,197 of them were negative.

The 13,552 teams of health workers have screened 526,400 people for suspected infection after they came in contact with patients. Out of which 3,470 patients have fully recovered, after testing positive in the past six weeks.

Maharashtra has 1,139 containment zones earmarked for the strict lockdown owing to the high number of patients. In Mumbai, the municipal corporation has broken the zones into smaller ones for better monitoring.

After Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday transferred Mumbai municipal commissioner Praveen Pardeshi to the Urban Development Department (UDD), Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer IS Chahal took charge as the new chief of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) late on Friday.

On Friday, Chahal met senior officials to discuss the way ahead for handling the coronavirus pandemic in the city. On Saturday, Chahal is expected to hold a series of review meetings with several ward officers via video conferencing.

An expert committee of bureaucrats, including retired IAS officers, constituted to suggest the steps for the revival of the state economy, submitted its report to the state government on Friday.

The committee said it will help boost business activities. It has suggested a list to be based on activities precluding social distancing and the activities that are not very critical for the economy.

The demarcation of containment zones should be done in a granular manner. Sector and activities must be opened to a maximum across non-containment zones. A robust web-based monitoring mechanism must be enabled to ensure adherence to these guidelines of lockdown, the report states.

The committee has recommended emphasis on Mumbai by launching a special project to re-start the states economy and has asp suggested a special programme to support vulnerable groups like street vendors, drivers, self-employed service providers.

It has also recommended addressing individual sectors and activities and new business classes.

Ajit Pawar, Maharashtras deputy chief minister who also holds the finance portfolio, said the report will now be present before the state cabinet for a final nod.
With the country witnessing the third phase of the lockdown and the Centre announcing gradual relaxation, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has stated that the preparations to restart domestic flights are in place. Domestic air travel was restricted in March amid the rising number of Coronavirus cases. Since then, the date of resumption has been deferred regularly with respect to the extension of lockdown.

The Civil Aviation Minister has also stated that as soon as the Centre gives its nod to resume domestic flights, the industry will be able to take off immediately. The industry has been severely hit with the lockdown as several airlines have announced pay cuts for employees. With no flights, certain airlines have also sent their staff on forced leaves.

READ | Coronavirus Live Updates: India's Cases Rise To 59,662; 17,846 Recoveries, 1,981 Deaths

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri says the preparations to restart domestic flight operations are in place and as soon as a decision is taken in this regard the industry will be able to take off immediately. pic.twitter.com/RKmepZ3gBg  All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) May 9, 2020

READ | DGCA Extends Suspension Of Domestic And International Flight Operations Till May 17

Coronavirus outbreak

India has so far reported 59,662 cases of COVID-19, of which 17,847 patients have recovered while 1,981 have died. The recovery rate has reached 30% while the fatality rate stands at around 3%. In the Northeast, Tripura has the highest number of cases with 118 patients or which only two have recovered. While Assam has reported 59 cases of which 34 have recovered while one patient has died, the only COVID death in the region.

READ | Amit Shah Dismisses Rumours On Health, Issues Statement Saying have No Disease

Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan on Saturday met with health ministers and other officials from eight Northeast States to take stock of the situation on COVID-19 response. Speaking to the media after almost three hours of discussions, Harsh Vardhan lauded the States for their response to the outbreak and noted that only two of the eight states in the region have active patients of COVID-19.

"We held detailed discussions with authorities in eight Northeast States lasting almost 2.45 hours on COVID response and also non-COVID issues. They have performed really well. The region has a total of 194 cases of COVID-19 and the two States with most cases are Tripura  where 2-3 camps of a BSF battalion reported infections, and Assam which has reported around 60 cases," Harsh Vardhan said.

READ | SC Issues Notice To Centre & DGCA Over PIL Filed For Full Refund Of Airline Flight Tickets
Prince Boyeong admitted to Court Lady Noh that the dead body of Prince Imperial Geum they discovered 24 years ago is not the real traitor. He is alive somewhere that no one from the Royal Court knows, and is a threat to King Gon.

King Gon made his conviction that his presence to the people that surround him are endangered, especially Jong Tae Eul. He made all the palace commitments finish as he plans to leave and visit Korea. Prime Minister Koo is still disappointed to learn about Tae Eul's presence. Lady Noh is on the search for any palace staff who provide malicious rumors to the public.

The Republic of Korea

Tae Eul and Shin Jae are on to a new murder case. They try to look for the murderer. Shin Jae is on the search for the suspect, but one of Lee Rim's men is on tail following him.

Shin Jae and Tae Eul are partners. Hence, they go out on a lookout for the suspect together. Tae Eul talked about her eyelids and got her face near Shin Jae. He got off-guard whenever he gets a closer look with Tae Eul.

Na-ri got a new haircut, which surprised Tae Eul. She looked the same with Seung-ah of Corea. Tae Eul then asked her what she'd feel if someone looks the same as her. Na-ri then talked about "doppelganger," and that one person needs to die to balance the world they live in. Tae Eul shared her experience meeting someone special and staying in his big house.

The Kingdom of Corea

King Gon prepared Maximus to take his ride to the forest, though he decided to leave Maximus behind. On his way to the woods, he stopped on track seeing Captain Jeong waiting for him. Captain Jeong demanded to follow and protect King Gon wherever he goes. Jeong informed the King that another woman has the same face of Tae Eul that exists in Corea. Her name is "Luna," and she is an offender of the law for illegal activities. King Gon agreed to bring Jeong to the other world to make him realize and believe what he was saying for the past week.

As King Gon opened the portal with the "obelisk," Captain Jeong looked shocked with the features. They were entering another world.

The guards and the palace were briefed that King Gon and Captain Jeong were away for a short vacation.

The Republic of Korea

Lee Rim met his men, which served him back in Corea. When he travels, he brings people from the Kingdom to work for him in the republic.

When the portal opens, time stops moving except the one who holds the magic flute. Lee Rim witnessed the world stops for a few seconds. He realized that King Gon entered the parallel world again.

Lee Rim is in control of a big company with his people from Corea. He killed the real owner and changed them from their similar faces who exist in Corea to follow his plans.

King Gon and Tae Eul met in front of the Alley cafe. They chose to stay at the Taekwondo center to talk. Tae Eul was shocked to discover that Captain Jeong came along with him. She planned to keep Jeong away from Eun-sup, but it was too late. Eun-sup arrived and saw Jeong, who has the same face as him. He fainted a few minutes, and Tae Eul tried to wake him up. They all transferred to Eun-sup's house to be safe.

Tae Eul and King Gon left both men while they spent more time together.

Jeong was troubled staying with Eun-sup because of their different personalities, which he finds disappointing.

Tae Eul gave King Gon a new cell phone to contact her whenever he is in Korea. They went to play the shooting game, Tae Eul showed King Gon her skills and received the price in one set only. Tae Eul brought King Gon to her house and showed him what she discovered on the net - a news story recorded in Corea, which is present in the republic. King Gon wondered who brought the recording as it's only Tae Eul who knew about it. He shared about Prince Geum's death certificate and asked her help to investigate any records that he might be living in the republic. He also informed Tae Eul about Luna and how it will affect her presence.

King Gon talked with Jeong at the hotel they got as their place to stay. The time stopped again, and King Gon got anxious to know that Lee Lim traveled to the kingdom without his presence to protect the people. He informed Jeong to stay in the republic while he returns to Corea.

The Kingdom of Corea

Prime Minister Koo got the records about Luna, which indicates her date of discharge from prison. She also received a newspaper from the present world Korea. She looked at it but perceived it as fake news.

Luna stepped out of prison after being detained for a while due to illegal activities. Koo stopped her car in front of Luna and introduced herself. Luna displayed her disappointment at Koo's presence and took out her hood, showing her face.
Its hard to remember when I last had physical contact with another human. Thats how normal it used to be  I wouldnt even think about hugging a friend or brushing past someone in the office, or shaking hands with someone.

Stephanie*, a writer in Singapore, has lived alone for years. Independent and sociable, it never really bothered her before now. Company was found elsewhere: at work; over dinner with friends; during drinks with a date. But when the coronavirus pandemic struck and lockdown ensued, all human contact came to a cruelly abrupt halt. Stephanie estimates its now been about two months since she touched someone.

Ive been surprised by how badly its affected me, she says. Touch has become such a huge absence in my life. I feel it constantly, ironically. Its not sexual contact Im missing really, but the quick hug you give your friend when you meet for a coffee or the friendly pat on the arm that resolves a difficult work conversation. So much is normally communicated in those moments.

Shes found, too, that the lack is impacting on her mental wellbeing. I feel slightly hollow all the time, and profoundly lonely. I find that I am questioning myself so much more  I have no confidence in my decisions. Maybe thats just the general stress of a pandemic, but Im sure that someone just holding my hand and saying hey, its fine, would make it go away.

Stephanies grief at the loss of touch is not just a feeling  it is a real, neurological issue, according to scientists. Her body wants touch because thats how were physically programmed, along with every other type of mammal. All human primates are wired for touch, whether we like or not, says Francis McGlone, a professor of neuroscience at Liverpool John Moores University.

Skin hunger is a laymans term for what, in research, is known as affection deprivation, which is associated with a range of psychological and even physical health detriments, adds Kory Floyd, a professor of communication at the University of Arizona who has written extensively on how a dearth of tactile affection can be linked to stress, depression, loneliness and anxiety. People who live alone are certainly more susceptible and, right now, I think its reasonable to argue that almost anyone is more susceptible than normal to the lack of touch and other forms of affectionate behaviour.

When we talk about touch, most of us think of the immediate feeling  the nerve in the skin that informs the brain of the sensation quick-sharp. But McGlones area of interest lies in a different nerve altogether  the C-tactile afferent.

This touch-hungry nerve fibre responds specifically to gentle stroking and, unlike its counterpart, does not send this information to the brain straight away  it takes several seconds to arrive.

I feel slightly hollow all the time, and profoundly lonely

That nerve clearly evolved differently, says McGlone. The nerve fibre fires up areas of the brain that connect to reward. Theres a release of oxytocin, a hormone that plays a fundamental role in our social behaviour. It has an effect on our dopamine levels, which is the brains reward system; it impacts on the release of serotonin, which is connected to our happiness and wellbeing; it has an impact on our stress system; and it helps lower our heart rate.

Not bad for a bit of gentle stroking.

The effects of touch are physiological, bioelectrical and biochemical, agrees Tiffany Field, founder of the Touch Research Institute at Miami Medical School. Moving the skin (as, for example, in hugging, massaging and exercise) stimulates pressure receptors which are transmitted to the vagus nerve, the largest cranial nerve that has many branches in the body. Increased vagal activity calms the nervous system (eg slows heart rate and leads to EEG patterns that accompany relaxation). It also reduces cortisol  the culprit stress hormone  that then saves natural killer cells that kill viral, bacterial and cancer cells.

Words at the window: Social isolation and the Coronavirus Show all 12 1 /12 Words at the window: Social isolation and the Coronavirus Words at the window: Social isolation and the Coronavirus Agnetha Septimus, Matthew Septimus, and children Ezra and Nora Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock Words at the window: Social isolation and the Coronavirus Husband and wife filmmakers, Claire Ince and Ancil McKain pose for a portrait for the series by Shutterstock Staff Photographer, Stephen Lovekin, shot around the Ditmas Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock Words at the window: Social isolation and the Coronavirus Khadijah Silver and son Eliot Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock Words at the window: Social isolation and the Coronavirus Anna Beth Rousakis and daughter Mary Rousakis Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock Words at the window: Social isolation and the Coronavirus Mike Pergola and Denise Pergola with children Henry, Jack, and Will Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock Words at the window: Social isolation and the Coronavirus Artist Shirley Fuerst Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock Words at the window: Social isolation and the Coronavirus Jean Davis and Danny Rosenthal, with children Simone, Naomi, and Leah Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock Words at the window: Social isolation and the Coronavirus Robert E Clark Jr Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock Words at the window: Social isolation and the Coronavirus Lisa Draho and Josh Zuckerman, with children Ruby and Ava Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock Words at the window: Social isolation and the Coronavirus Professor and activist Dr Kristin Lawler Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock Words at the window: Social isolation and the Coronavirus Tom Smith and Laura Ross, with daughters Caroline, Elizabeth, and Abigail Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock Words at the window: Social isolation and the Coronavirus Callie Lovekin and Lucas Lovekin Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock

After 20 years of in-depth research, experts know almost everything there is to know about the C-tactile afferent. For example, it has an optimum speed at which it likes to be touched (3-5cm per second) and an optimal temperature (the same as body temperature, meaning skin on skin works best).

We know that this nerve has evolved over millions of years and that its very important, says McGlone. Whats happening now is that, for the first time in evolution, people are not able to experience this thing we usually take for granted. You dont miss something until its gone  but when touch is removed, people will notice that theres something missing, even if they cant pin down what it is.

Its part of why, despite being more technologically connected than ever before, many of us are feeling bereft. The number of voice and video calls on WhatsApp doubled compared to pre-lockdown, while Zoom, Skype, Facebook Messenger, Microsoft Teams and Houseparty all reported a massive spike in usage. So its not human faces or voices were unconsciously longing for, then; its human touch. If, like Stephanie, you live alone and keep thinking all I want is a cuddle, thats down to your nerve fibre screaming out, according to McGlone. Brains are good, he says, If theyre lacking something, theyll tell you to take action. An obvious example is hunger  when you need to eat, your brain lets you know. With the lack of social touch mandated by Covid-19, your brain may well be telling you that you desperately need a hug.

Recommended People with chronic illness on spending lots of time at home alone

Im sure touch deprivation is a strong trauma for folks who are used to being touched a lot and are now separated, like new romantic relationships or people who are hospitalised, says Field. In a survey of 260 adults conducted from 25 March to 5 May, her department found that 43 per cent of respondents had experienced loneliness, 58 per cent were feeling isolated and 42 per cent complained of feeling touch deprived.

The effects of a lack of touch, particularly in babies and children, can be heartbreaking. The most widely known example is that of Romanian orphanages, whose abuses were revealed in the early 1990s after the fall of the communist regime. Children were largely neglected in these institutions and received no affectionate physical contact. The result? Most were severely developmentally delayed, both physically and mentally, with many misdiagnosed as having mental disabilities due to physical tics. MRI studies even showed that children who grew up in Romanian orphanages had physically smaller brains than their healthy counterparts. Their experience proved that basic human contact is just as important to a childs development as nutrition.

Fields team has also done studies on the impact of touch on children and young people, finding that increased contact leads to less aggressive behaviour. We studied preschool children on playgrounds in Paris and Mami, she explains. The parents were more physically affectionate on the Paris playgrounds and their preschoolers in turn were less physically and verbally aggressive towards their peers.

Whats happening now is that, for the first time in evolution, people are not able to experience this thing we usually take for granted

Our responses are mirrored by other mammals in the animal kingdom, too. Despite owners frequent calls of good boy, one study found that dogs were pretty much immune to verbal praise, while they loved physical touch and petting. In the lab, an experiment conducted by Doctor Michael Meaney compared rats that had had mothers who licked and groomed them regularly as babies with those that didnt. The former were far more social animals with lower stress levels than those in the latter group, who tended to be anxious and aggressive  displaying similar behaviours to children from abused homes.

Even in adults, the consequences of touch deprivation are stark. When youre not touched, theres no overt lockdown of the system, but the role of the C-tactile afferent has far more long-term effects on our physical and mental wellbeing, says McGlone. Physical touch moderates our stress and helps us feel contented. Going without may well impact on a persons resilience to stress.

Knowing the science behind it may not solve the problem, but it does at least explain why those living alone may have been feeling the loss of something they couldnt quite put their finger on. McGlone even recommends replicating the feel-good effects by giving yourself a stroke on your upper arms, neck, back and shoulders where there is a higher concentration of the nerve fibre  guaranteed it will help lower your heart rate and cortisol levels, he says.

For Stephanie, its a matter of counting down the days until normality can be resumed, a semblance of which could well happen on Monday 17 May, when Boris Johnson is expected to announce that family and friends can hug each other again. Ive joked to friends that Im going to be hotfooting it to the bars as soon as this is over, she says, but what I really want is the long hug from someone whos been missing you. I am hoping very much I have lots of those stored up.

*Name has been changed
Local members of Alcoholics Anonymous are still supporting each other, even without handshakes or hugs.

"Some would prefer face to face, but you take what you can get," said the public information chairwoman for the Glens Falls area district, who was (of course) remaining anonymous.

About 28 meetings are being held in the district, using online meeting software such as Zoom, and they're going well, she said.

"We started almost immediately when the churches started closing," she said. Many AA meetings are held in basements or other rooms in churches.

Virtual meetings sometimes get a larger attendance than in-person meetings, because people can join from any location.

"Most meetings usually would have about 25 people. Now we can have more than 100," she said.

Doug, a longtime AA member from South Glens Falls, has not been able to go to online meetings, but his sobriety is so ingrained, the lack of support hasn't been a problem, he said.

"I have my routine  prayers and stuff," he said.

The lack of human contact might be a problem for new members, he said: "Meetings are a must in the early days." But phone calls to sponsors (every new member gets a more experienced sponsor) can fill that void.

"I'm sure people are calling their sponsors, probably every day," he said.

Keeping a connection

People in various sorts of groups, from book clubs to art classes to support groups, are staying connected through the telephone or more modern technology that allows us to see as well as hear each other, without risk of spreading infection.

On Thursday, Keri Dudek, assistant educator for The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, led a group of preschoolers in an online yoga class as part of her Tour for Tots class.

Before the pandemic, they would look at artwork, and she would read them a story that connected to the art. Copyright rules prohibit her from reading stories over video, so instead she has been recommending books to the children and their parents and looking at and talking about artworks. Or doing yoga.

"We can share and communicate online, but we also want to give people opportunities to get off screens and create. A lot of the art lessons are outside, so they don't have to feel tied to the computer," she said.

Dudek also has continued her Wednesday class  Artful Afternoons, for all ages  and is a leader of the museum's reading group, in which books are selected that have some tie to the Hyde's current exhibit.

Jonathan Canning, the museum's director of curatorial affairs and programming, has done a blog post on the current exhibition  "Images of the People: Russian Lacquer Painting"  and the staff has put together videos on it.

Jenny Hutchinson, the curator for education, runs creative challenges on Facebook  the latest was asking people to respond artistically to a Grace Hartigan painting ("White") from the museum's collection. The staff also runs another game on Facebook  "Fill the Frame"  where they put up an empty picture frame and provide clues for participants to guess which artwork goes inside.

Meanwhile, Canning has been busy with final judging for the annual high school juried art show, which attracts hundreds of submissions from area teenagers, whittled down to a final 100 for the exhibition. That show, and the awards given to a handful of teens each year, will for the first time be unveiled online this year.

The sound of music

Last Wednesday evening on the Golden Era Recorded Music project  direct from Sally Strasser's living room on Cherry Street in Glens Falls  the playlist included Vido Musso, an American saxophonist; the Beatles (an early album and a late one); a British comedy interlude; a couple of unlikely Bob Dylan interpreters; ancient Greek music reconstructed from a scrap of papyrus; a song by Fritz Wunderlich and a piece by Mozart.

All of it had been recorded on vinyl LP's and was played on high quality audio equipment, including speakers of Strasser's own making, and broadcast through the magic of modern software to other music-lovers in the local area and outside it.

Strasser, 72, has been acquiring vinyl records for more than 50 years from what she calls "the golden era"  1948-1988, the heyday of the 33 1/3 LP.

She has about 10,000 records in her collection, with music from many genres in many parts of the world, from which she makes an idiosyncratic selection for the weekly listening sessions.

Prior to the pandemic, the gatherings were held in her shop on Glens Falls' Thomson Avenue. Now they're held online with help from the Zoom app, a compromise for someone dedicated to reproducing as nearly as possible the live music experience.

"It's the supreme and absolute best way to play recorded music," Strasser said, of vinyl LP's. "It's far superior to anything digital. It's a superior technology."

Also, the 50 years after World War II was a "golden era" for recorded music "because great number of superb artists trained early in the century, using that medium. And also because it was a common technology all over the world."

She has been buying records since the '60s, when she was a teenager. In recent decades, she has been getting donations, too.

"Sometimes, I come to my shop and find the equivalent of the baby left on the church doorstep," she said.

The seclusion forced by the pandemic has given her time to explore her own collection.

"I've been finding records among the 10,000 that I never knew I had," she said.

She emails notices to about 150 people in the Glens Falls area and "up and down the Hudson Valley," with the schedule for the next listening session and information about the Fibhorn speakers she designs (using measurements based on the Fibonacci sequence) and makes by hand.

The compact, elegant wooden speakers come in several models and sizes, with prices for a pair ranging from about $200 to $3,700.

Despite her embrace of science and math in making her speakers, she follows Duke Ellington in saying that music is "beyond category," and the listening experience is always subjective.

"The human ear is the ultimate arbiter," she said.

Support of all sorts

Elizabeth Smith-Boivin, executive director of the Alzheimer's Association Northeastern New York, took Friday off to attend the wedding of her niece in Florida.

Smith-Boivin wasn't leaving her house in the Capital District  just as she hasn't been leaving for work in her Albany office in recent weeks  but she was getting dressed up.

"We will all be watching by Zoom, around the country," she said of her family. "We're happy to be connected in some way."

Clients of the Alzheimer's Association, too, have been happy to have a way to stay connected, whether in one-on-one consultations or support groups, all of which have continued online.

"This is not the ideal. But thankfully, with this technology, we're at least able to stay connected and stay in sight. The telephone is not quite the same as being able to see somebody," she said.

At the association's most recent staff meeting, attendees wore their favorite spring attire  she wore a Yankees jersey  to "enhance the virtual experience," she said.

At work, staffers were in the habit of having lunch together, so they virtually share lunch now, twice a week.

Using the new technology was overwhelming at first to people unaccustomed to it, and attendance at support groups and educational sessions fell very low, she said. Some sessions had no attendees, others a couple.

But people are getting used to the new norms, and participation is up to 10 or 12 people a session, she said.

"One of the positive impacts of all this, if there is a silver lining, is, to some extent, it's more available to people," she said.

Attendees don't have to drive to meetings, and when they have scheduling conflicts, they can virtually attend a meeting far out of town at a better time.

Some sessions have drawn greater participation than they ever would have in-person, and Smith-Boivin is convinced that changes being made now will last beyond the end of the pandemic.

"The association will retain a blend of live and virtual programming, "when COVID is in the rearview mirror," she said.

"It's friendlier than it seems," she said, of software that allows for online gatherings. "Once you get the hang of it, you will enjoy it ."

Will Doolittle is projects editor at The Post-Star. He may be reached at will@poststar.com and followed on his blog, I think not, and on Twitter at @trafficstatic.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 04:11:01|Editor: huaxia

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KHARTOUM, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Sudan on Friday recorded 181 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 1,111.

Meanwhile, the death toll from coronavirus climbed to 59 after seven new deaths were recorded, while 10 more patients have recovered, taking the recoveries to 102, said Sudan's health ministry in a statement.

So far, 16 out of Sudan's 18 states have registered coronavirus cases, according to the ministry.

Earlier in the day, the Sudanese government decided to extend the full curfew in Khartoum State for 10 more days from May 9 amid coronavirus spread.

On April 18, the Sudanese government imposed a three-week curfew on Khartoum State which should have ended on May 9. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-10 00:20:53|Editor: huaxia

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DAR ES SALAAM, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The government of Tanzania said on Saturday the COVID-19 herbal "remedy" CovidOrganics that has been donated by Madagascar to the east African nation were for clinical trials and not for prescriptions to patients.

Palamagamba Kabudi, Tanzania's Minister for Foreign Affairs and the East African Cooperation, said the herbal concoction CovidOrganics which the country received from Madagascar on Friday will undergo local clinical trials by the National Institute for Medical Research and other experts.

"I want to make it clear among Tanzanians that we haven't come with medicines to prescribe to COVID-19 patients. We have brought a consignment for research and analysis," Kabudi who led a team of experts to the Madagascar capital Antananarivo to collect the herbal concoction told a news conference in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam.

He reiterated that the CovidOrganics was for preliminary research and analysis will be done by a team of Tanzanian experts with assistance of other experts on President John Magufuli's instructions. Enditem
The FBI coordinated very closely with the Obama White House on the investigation of Michael Flynn, while the Obama Justice Department was asleep at the switch. That is among the most revealing takeaways from Thursdays decision by Attorney General Bill Barr to pull the plug on the prosecution of Flynn, who fleetingly served as President Trumps first National Security Advisor. Flynn had been seeking to withdraw his guilty plea to a false-statements charge brought in late 2017 by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

While working on the Trump transition team in December 2016, Flynn spoke with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, in conversations that were intercepted by our government (because Russian-government operatives, such as Kislyak, are routinely monitored by the FBI and other U.S. intelligence agencies). Among the topics Flynn and Kislyak discussed was the imposition of sanctions against Russia, which President Obama had just announced.

That these conversations took place has been known for over three years  ever since a still-unidentified government official leaked that classified information to the Washington Post. For almost as long, it has been known that the FBI became aware of the FlynnKislyak discussions very shortly after they happened. What was not known until this week was that thenacting attorney general Yates was out of the loop. She found out about the discussions nearly a week afterwards  from President Obama, of all people.

This was at a White House pow-wow on January 5, 2017. That was the day when the chiefs of key intelligence agencies briefed top Obama White House officials on their assessment of Russias meddling in the campaign. After the main briefing, the president asked Yates and FBI director James Comey to stick around to meet with him, along with Vice President Biden and National Security Adviser Susan Rice. Yates was taken aback when Obama explained that he had learned of the information about Flynn and his conversation with Kislyak. She was startled because, she later told investigators, she had no idea what the president was talking about.

Story continues

Yates had to figure things out by listening to the exchanges between President Obama and FBI director Comey. The latter was not only fully up to speed, he was even prepared to suggest a potential crime  a violation of the moribund Logan Act  that might fit the facts.

According to an FBI report, which was appended (as Exhibit 4) to the Justice Departments motion to dismiss the Flynn case, Yates later said she was so surprised by the information she was hearing that she was having a hard time processing it and listening to the conversation at the same time.

Ill bet.

That Yates was in the dark was not the FBIs fault. Two days earlier, the bureaus thendeputy director, Andrew McCabe, had briefed Assistant Attorney General Mary McCord, the head of DOJs National Security Division, about the FlynnKislyak discussions. Evidently not appreciating what the FBI regarded as the urgency of the matter, McCord did not pass the information along to the acting AG before her White House meeting.

Ms. Yatess astonishment at how well-informed the bureau was keeping the president calls for revisiting something to which Ive called attention before. It now seems even more significant.

When General Flynn was forced to resign as national-security adviser after just three weeks on the job, the New York Times did its customary deep dive, in which seven of its best reporters pressed their well-placed sources for details. It was a remarkable report, which recounted  as if it were totally matter-of-fact  that Flynns communications with Kislyak had been investigated by the FBI in real-time consultation with President Obamas aides. For example (my italics):

Obama advisers heard separately from the F.B.I. about Mr. Flynns conversation with Mr. Kislyak, whose calls were routinely monitored by American intelligence agencies that track Russian diplomats. The Obama advisers grew suspicious that perhaps there had been a secret deal between the incoming [Trump] team and Moscow, which could violate the rarely enforced, two-century-old Logan Act barring private citizens from negotiating with foreign powers in disputes with the United States.

Interesting. The FBI tells Obama advisers about Flynns discussions with Kislyak. Between this and their surprise that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin did not retaliate when Obama imposed sanctions, the Obama advisers dream up a non-existent pact between Trump and the Kremlin  collusion! And theyre already thinking about nailing Flynn on the Logan Act . . . an obsolete, unconstitutional vestige of the President John Adams administration that has never, ever been prosecuted in the history of the Justice Department (the last case appears to have been in 1852; DOJ was established 18 years later).

Who came up with that? Well, Ms. McCord (whose interview is Exhibit 3 in the DOJs Flynn dismissal motion) later told investigators that the Logan Act flyer originated in the office of Obamas director of national intelligence, James Clapper  specifically proposed by ODNIs general counsel, Bob Litt. Obviously, by January 5, Comey was already discussing it with Obama.

Lets look at some more of that Times report on Flynns downfall. For the legal analysis of Flynns exchanges with Kislyak, the presidents aides consulted the FBI, not DOJ:

The Obama officials asked the F.B.I. if a quid pro quo had been discussed on the call, and the answer came back no, according to one of the officials, who like others asked not to be named discussing delicate communications. The topic of sanctions came up, they were told, but there was no deal.

So no misconduct. To the contrary, the incoming national-security adviser asked a Russian counterpart to discourage his government from escalating tensions, which is what we would want any American diplomat to do. There was no deal. Sanctions were merely mentioned, as one would expect since theyd just been imposed, but Flynn made no agreement to accommodate the Kremlin in any way.

But see, those are the actual facts. Who cares what actually happened? What matters, it turns out, is what Obama advisers and their FBI co-creators could imagine it into: There must be Trump collusion with Russia because weve concluded Putin would otherwise have retaliated.

This was nothing new for the FBI. Remember, at that point, they are already in the FISA court (and at that time, were about to go back for a renewal warrant) telling the judges they suspect members of Donald Trumps campaign are in a conspiracy of cooperation with the Putin regime. Their proof of that? The Steele dossier  uncorroborated Democratic Partyand Clinton-campaign-sponsored propaganda that they already have immense reason to know is claptrap.

Meanwhile, with Yates at the helm, the Justice Department had major reservations about the FISA warrants reliance on the Steele dossier, but swallowed hard and went along with it. The Justice Department had major reservations about the Logan Act as a predicate for investigating Flynn, but Yates was too startled to speak up at the White House meeting. The Justice Department wanted Comey to alert the Trump White House about the FlynnKislyak discussions, but the FBI refused . . . and Yates did nothing. By the time, after days of temporizing, she finally decided to put her foot down, Comey told her he had already dispatched agents to do an unauthorized ambush interview of Flynn. Yates was dumbfounded, McCord recalled.

The Justice Department appears to have spent much of its time flabbergasted, to quote McCord again. But in the end, it would always go with the collusion flow. Meanwhile, empowered and emboldened, the FBI ran rings around its nominal superiors.

So what did President Obama make of all this theorizing from the FBI and his advisers? Well, intriguingly, as she was leaving her office for the last time, Obamas top adviser, Susan Rice, decided that her last official act, moments after Trump was inaugurated, would be to craft  15 days after the fact  an email memorializing Obamas directive at the January 5 meeting:

President Obama said he wants to be sure that, as we engage with the incoming [Trump] team, we are mindful to ascertain if there is any reason that we cannot share information fully as it relates to Russia.

Hmm, you mean a reason like Trump and his minions just might be colluding with the Kremlin?

Youd almost think the Obama White House and its intelligence apparatus were weaving a political narrative out of . . . nothing.

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Maduro Accuses US Charge d'Affaires Story of Being Behind Boat Incursion From Colombia

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MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Friday that the US Charge d' Affaires, for the Venezuela Affairs Unit, James Story, played a part in Sunday's boat incursion from Colombia.

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Saturday, May 9th, 2020 (12:01 am) - Score 5,706

The Programme Director for the Scottish Governments 600m R100 (Reaching 100%) programme, Clive Downing, has kindly provided ISPreview.co.uk with some insight into their approach toward the planned extension of superfast broadband into some of the hardest to reach premises across Scotland.

At the end of 2019 nearly 94% of Scotland were able to order a fixed superfast broadband network (30Mbps+) and gigabit-capable full fibre (FTTP) services reached almost 8% of premises (here). Much of the improvement seen in superfast connectivity over the past few years has stemmed from the previous public and privately funded 442m Digital Scotland (DSSB) project with BT (Openreach).

By contrast the R100 project was first established as a follow-on programme to DSSB in 2017 (here), which originally aspired to extend superfast broadband connectivity to 100% of Scotland by the end of 2021 (March 2022 as a financial year). Naturally this focused on the final 5-6% of premises, which mostly reflected those in harder to reach rural areas where commercial investment alone cannot reach.

Sadly R100 suffered a number of delays during its procurement phase and the first of three contracts  for Central (LOT 2) and Southern (LOT 3) Scotland  were only awarded to BT (Openreach) last autumn (here). The project then suffered another blow after UK full fibre ISP Gigaclear lodged an unspecified legal challenge against the planned award of LOT 1 (North Scotland) to BT (here), which remains on-going.

On top of that an initial roll-out plan for LOT 2 and 3 has revealed, perhaps unsurprisingly, that the project will not achieve its original completion target of 2021 and is instead likely to continue building until the end of 2023 (here). But on the positive side, most of what is now built will be 1Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) technology and so the longer wait should be worth it.

One other thing that Scotland has got right is to give new fibre optic lines a 10 year holiday (relief) from business rates (here), which is significantly better than the 5 year relief given by the UK Government. Crucially this is much closer to the long-term investment models that most full fibre operators need to follow (payback assumptions can be up to 15-20 years).

Enter Clive Downing

The man appointed to oversee the R100 programme is Clive Downing, who is also a Director of Independent Intelligence Limited. Downing has been designing public sector broadband initiatives since before Building Digital UK was created and has worked with the Scottish Government supporting Digital activity since 2012.

NOTE: Clives interview answers are his personal views and may not necessarily be those of the Scottish Government.

Clives background is in engineering and hes also been involved with NYnet, the EU B3 programme, Bristol is open and IXScotland. So, am I fibre purist? No, not as the only solution for good, usable broadband. However I firmly believe fibre is the future because investment is predicated on the low [operational expenditure] it enjoys, particularly for GPON, said Clive to ISPreview.co.uk while discussing the future of R100.

According to Clive, there are now about 2.9 million premises in Scotland and about 250,000 of those cannot currently receive a superfast service. Of these, there are about 100,000 that have commercial plans from a range of operators, large and small. This leaves 150,000 for the main intervention, added Clive. R100 is expected to fill most of this and then Clive envisages the UKs future 5bn scheme (here) as helping to do the rest.

We should point out that broadband is technically still the responsibility of Westminster (UK Government), although its not unusual for local and devolved authorities to contribute their own public funding to help major investment schemes to achieve a better result (this is true for most BDUK schemes across the UK too).

Otherwise you can read our full interview below, which touches on various issues from the Gigaclear case to overbuild and engineer shortages.

NOTE: The following interview was conducted just before the COVID-19 situation became a national crisis.

The R100 Interview

1. The Scottish government recently introduced a 10 year relief on business rates for new fibre optic lines, which goes beyond the UK Governments previous 5 year relief and has been welcomed by broadband operators.

However, despite the improvement, many operators are still calling for a longer relief that would match their expected 15-20 payback forecasts for full fibre investment. Do you think Scotland has struck the right balance here and, if so, why?

ANSWER: Yes, I believe it has. The Scottish Government was careful to engage with industry about what the right approach is  and 10 years is a long time as part of any business case. Also there is a quid pro quo in that operators were asked to sign up to the Scottish Governments Full Fibre Charter. The scheme has had successes already with some new market entrants starting their deployment in Scotland and existing operators citing the scheme (in part) for allowing additional commercial expansion.

2. The Scottish Government has previously committed to invest 600 million into their Reaching 100% (R100) broadband roll-out programme. Can you tell us where all of this money is coming from by breaking the figure down by its sources (e.g. we know that 21m is from BDUK etc.)?

ANSWER: Thats quite straightforward  21m from BDUK, the rest from Scottish Government. As an investment gap funding initiative the operator will add to that amount also.

3. At around the same time as the R100 programme was starting to award its first contracts to BT (Openreach), the new UK Government under Prime Minister Boris Johnson was proposing an additional 5bn to help the final 20% of hardest to reach premises (mostly rural) gain access to gigabit-capable broadband.

The PMs investment formed part of an overall aim to get every home covered by gigabit connectivity in time for the end of 2025. Arguably the existing 600m investment via R100 is already enough to do the vast majority of the job, although Scotland still seems set to gain a slice of the new 5bn fund.

How much of that 5bn do you think Scotland should receive and, once received, could it be used to replace some of the existing R100 funding sources or be put toward separate complementary projects?

ANSWER: There is some nuance here  R100 is a superfast programme and its intervention area is comprised of premises currently not receiving superfast. The 20% Gigabit intervention will sit on both sides of R100 i.e. addressing premises that are both more and less remote. We are pleased that the outcomes of the two contracts we have awarded thus far for R100 have primarily been a full fibre deployment  which aligns with both governments forward looking policies. This goes way beyond original ambitions. But isnt able to deliver 100% full fibre and contracts wont get to all premises. There will be large number of premises that can already access superfast but where there will be no commercial plans for full fibre. That is where new UKG investment will be important. As the R100 outcome was primarily FTTP, thats job done for both Governments objectives. As to how much to do the rest? Crudely as much as it takes. The UK government is currently designing the procurement approach and state aid regime which will channel the 5Bn as subsidy into the market. We (Scotland) are inputting into that process with our experiences of reaching 100% and, as youd expect, designing an optimal scheme for Scotland. Thats not just about commercial approach but also about tactical, potentially demand-led interventions that take over where gap subsidy no longer works.

Please flick over to page 2 for the rest of this interview..
WASHINGTON (AP)  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 didn't 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. He's launched internal probes to investigate the investigators.

Trump is emphatically welcoming the Flynn action. He has relentlessly railed against the special counsel's inquiry into his 2016 campaign's 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 administration's 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 Trump's 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."

FILE - In this Feb. 1, 2017 file photo, then National Security Adviser Michael Flynn speaks during the daily news briefing at the White House, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)AP

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. Jensen's 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 counsel's findings in the Trump-Russia investigation in Barr's 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.

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)AP

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 wasn't 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.
The US will reportedly put a temporary ban on the issuance of some work-based visas like the H-1B, which is popular among highly-skilled Indian IT professionals, as well as visas for students and work authorisation that accompanies them, due to the high level of unemployment caused by the coronavirus COVID-19 spread.

The H-1B, which is a non-immigrant visa, allows companies in the US to hire foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. As many as 500,000 migrant workers are employed in the US on an H-1B visa status.

"The president's immigration advisers are drawing up plans for an upcoming executive order, likely this month, that would ban the issuance of some new temporary, work-based visas," The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

"The order is expected to focus on visa categories including H-1B, designed for highly skilled workers, and H-2B, for seasonal migrant workers, as well as student visas and the work authorization that accompanies them," it said.

However, administration officials have not reached a collective decison yet, it could range from suspensions of entire visa categories to the creation of incentives to hire Americans in industries hardest-hit by layoffs, the WSJ further reported.

The report by The Wall Street Journal comes a day after some Republican Senators wrote a letter to Trump, urging him to suspend all new guest worker visas for 60 days and some of its categories, including the H-1B visa, for at least the next year or until unemployment figures return to normal levels in the country.

More than 33 million Americans have lost their jobs in the past two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has brought the US economy to a standstill. The White House officials predict that the country's economy is likely to grow at negative 15 to 20 per cent in the second quarter.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the latest monthly jobs report released on Friday (May 8) put the unemployment rate in the US for the month of April at 14.7 per cent which was the highest rate and the largest over-the-month increase in Amercian history.

(With inputs from agencies)
Nellienomad.com 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 6 Feb 2015, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.

This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the nellienomad homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if nellienomad has a Facebook fan page). This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the nellienomad homepage on Twitter + the total number of nellienomad followers (if nellienomad has a Twitter account). The total number of people who shared the nellienomad homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. The total number of people who shared the nellienomad homepage on StumbleUpon. The total number of people who shared the nellienomad homepage on Delicious.

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PAGE TITLE NELLIE NOMAD - HOME DESCRIPTION Nellie Nomad Affordable Bohemian Style Clothing KEYWORDS bohemian, fashion, clothing, fashion online, affordable, boho, gypsy, indie, unique fashion, unique clothing, women' s fashion, OTHER KEYWORDS nellie nomad, nellie, nomad, nellie nomad home, nomad home, free website, google



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Domain and Server

DOCTYPE HTML 5.0 CHARSET AND LANGUAGE UTF-8 DETECTED LANGUAGE English English SERVER Apache OPERATIVE SYSTEM Linux Linux

Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) Operative System running on the server. The language of nellienomad.com as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Character set and language of the site. Type of server and offered services.

Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world.

Referring domains for nellienomad.com by MajesticSeo. High values are a sign of site importance over the web and on web engines.

Facebook link

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A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. The URL of the found Facebook page. The type of Facebook page. The total number of people who like website Facebook page.

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Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

Windy with snow this morning giving way to a mixture of rain and snow this afternoon. Some sleet may mix in. High 36F. Winds SSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of precip 80%. Snowfall around one inch..

Tonight

Cloudy. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 4F. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph.
Religious leaders and state officials are squaring off in court over how to worship during the coronavirus pandemic.

Numerous churches around the country have filed lawsuits claiming that banning religious gatherings is a violation of the First Amendment, a fight that presses the question of what limits officials can place on religious practices in the name of public safety.

So far, lawsuits claiming that state restrictions on religious gatherings infringe on freedom of religion have been filed in Kentucky, California, Louisiana, Virginia and elsewhere. Now, the Trump administration is weighing in.

The Department of Justice filed a statement of support this week  its second such intervention  for a rural Virginia church's lawsuit that claims the state improperly discriminated by insisting the church permit no more than 10 people to attend services while allowing businesses to accommodate larger groups.

Asked about Attorney General William Barr's pledge to get involved when government social-distancing restrictions discriminate against houses of worship, Vice President Mike Pence voiced strong support for such intervention and said he "couldnt be more proud" of the department.

The liberties enshrined in the Constitution still apply to every American, even in the middle of a national emergency, Pence told conservative radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt on Wednesday.

Referring to Lighthouse Fellowship Church in Virginia  which claimed only 16 people who were properly socially distanced were attending the Palm Sunday service that resulted in a criminal citation against its pastor  the vice president said he had "every confidence" that as states start to reopen, Americans would convene for religious services in responsible ways.

"We can do the social distancing," Pence said. "People can, you know, sit a couple of seats apart. Im sure churches and synagogues may consider adding additional services to be able to spread people out." He added, "The compassion and care of communities of faith through the course of this epidemic have been incredibly inspiring."

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As in several of the cases, a federal judge in Virginia ruled against the church earlier this month, saying Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam's social-distancing order did not single out religious practices for discriminatory treatment but instead prohibits "all social gatherings of more than 10 individuals, secular and religious. The church is seeking an appeal.

Image: (Gerald Herbert / AP)

In a win for houses of worship fighting against emergency restrictions, however, two churches in Kansas reached a settlement with Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly after they sued over her 10-person limit for religious services and a federal judge had ruled the state appeared to have "singled out" religious activities for "stricter treatment." Now, the churches can hold those services so long as they abide by protocols for businesses and other establishments, such as providing hand sanitizer and face masks and requiring proper social distancing.

Meanwhile, numerous states allow exemptions to social-distancing rules, even though places of worship have been linked to the spread of the coronavirus in California, Kentucky and Arkansas.

While some houses of worship are voluntarily choosing to stay closed, others say they shouldn't be limited to online or drive-in services, especially if they adhere to social-distancing measures.

In Kentucky, Pastor Jack Roberts of Maryville Baptist Church, outside of Louisville, sued Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear over his ban on mass gatherings after vowing not to abide by the order  a refusal the governor had said would likely cause "the death of Kentuckians." Roberts filed the lawsuit after defying the governor's mandate on Easter Sunday and, along with congregants, ripping up notices to self-isolate that state police left on churchgoers windshields.

A federal appeals court partially blocked Beshear's order last weekend, upholding the prohibition on in-person gatherings but saying congregants could attend drive-in services  something Beshear has claimed his order allows despite the actions of the state police toward cars parked at the church.

In the ruling, the three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals expressed support for the church's argument that it wasn't being treated fairly, noting "hundreds" of cars were parked in the lot of a nearby grocery store on the same day the police informed the churchgoers they were violating the law.

The breadth of the ban on religious services, together with a haven for numerous secular exceptions, should give pause to anyone who prizes religious freedom," the judges wrote. "But its not always easy to decide what is Caesars and what is Gods  and thats assuredly true in the context of a pandemic."

Kentucky Church Offers Drive-In Sunday Service During Pandemic (Andy Lyons / Getty Images file)

Then, in separate rulings Friday, one U.S. district judge granted an injunction to Maryville Baptist Church specifically and another district judge to churches across the state, allowing in-person services to proceed provided the churches abide by public health requirements.

Harmeet Dhillon, who represents three churches in a lawsuit over Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsoms ban on mass gatherings, told NBC News shes received dozens of calls from other places of worship that want to file similar lawsuits. She argued the order cuts off social services to vulnerable members of society, noting in one case, a Sikh temple handing out food on Easter was told to stop by local police, despite the fact that all volunteers were wearing face masks and practicing social distancing.

Faith organizations are centers of community activity, reinforcement and support in times of need, Dhillon said, adding, People need faith more than ever in difficult times.

John Inazu, a professor of law and religion at Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, said the public health crisis should take precedence over religious liberties. He added that he believes it's perfectly legal for state governments to keep houses of worship closed so long as they are not singling them out, and most states have banned mass gatherings because they are a clear public health risk to the community, he said.

There's no such thing as an absolute right, whether it be religion, speech or even the Bill of Rights, Inazu said. Every right can be limited in some way, under some circumstance.

Still, he said, the argument for closing houses of worship will get more complicated as states ease stay-at-home orders and retail stores and other businesses are allowed to reopen.

As the government starts allowing other nonreligious institutions to operate, they need to have a very clear reason as to why those are allowed and churches arent, Inazu said. And the key is that most churches want to open with social distancing, which has been allowed for other seemingly nonessential businesses.

Image: (Peter Gerber / AP)

Social-distancing orders are also running into criticism that they need to be handled sensitively to avoid any appearance of laying blame for the actions of some members of a religion on the broader religious community.

After the funeral of Rabbi Chaim Mertz drew a crowd of thousands in Brooklyn, New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio took heat for showing up in person to disperse the crowd and decrying the lack of social distancing on Twitter.

In response, the synagogue that held the funeral said it had planned to enforce social distancing protocols, but too many people showed up. While online reaction to the mayor's actions were split, with some supporting his moves, the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council slammed de Blasio for generalizing about "the Jewish community" in his tweets.

"There are plenty of photos of people in ethnic groups violating the rules but how often do you mention them by name as done tonight to Jews?" the group tweeted.

Still, the potentially fatal consequences of religious gatherings have prompted some groups that otherwise could hold them to reconsider.

Prominent members of the Muslim community in Georgia have decided not to reopen mosques despite getting the green light to do so. The director of the Georgia chapter of theCouncil of American-Islamic Relations, Abdullah Jaber, said the decision was made after looking at medical and religious opinion, which pointed to the protection of life before worship.

But it was an especially hard decision to make during the month of Ramadan, which is rooted in community gathering, as Muslims usually break their daily fast together, Jaber said.

We've also had Muslims in the greater community who have passed away fighting in the front lines, he said. We know that this isnt just about us  it's about endangering someone else.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan congratulated President of Russia Vladimir Putin on the 75th anniversary of the Great Victory in the telegram, the Office of the President of Turkey reported.

With the most sincere feelings, I congratulate you on the 75th anniversary of the Victory. May 9 is one of the days determining the end of World War II, which brought great suffering to humanity and cost the lives of millions of Soviet citizens. This anniversary gives us an opportunity to most vividly recall the value of world peace, he said.
Michael Flynn was fired by Donald Trump for lying to his vice president, Mike Pence, about discussing sanctions against Russia with the countrys ambassador.

Trumps national security advisor admitted lying about the meeting to the FBI as well, and about paid lobbying work on behalf of the Turkish government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He was also accused of lying about who paid for a trip to Moscow where he sat beside Vladimir Putin.

The obvious question is that why should Trump, a serial liar, fire Flynn for lying? Especially over Russia when he himself is still facing investigations over his Kremlin links and may yet be impeached if he loses the coming election.

The dismissal, however, took place when the full extent of the investigations into Trump and Russia were yet to emerge, and , it was said, the White House hoped that jettisoning Flynn at that stage may head off a line of inquiry. It also took place before untruths in an industrial scale became the hallmark of this administration and thus the national security advisors transgression not so unusual.

Flynn, of course, was also going to face serious criminal charges. Prudently, on the advice of his lawyers, he agreed to a plea bargain, admitting to a charge of lying to the FBI to get off any others , and agreed to cooperate with the authorities. The sentence he would have received was expected to be minimal, with possibly no jail time.

That is where it would have rested in a normal judicial system. But with Trumps appointment of William Barr as attorney general, and the subsequent replacing of senior, experienced public servants with pliant Trump loyalists and Trumps regular castigating of the FBI, Flynn and his lawyers saw a chance to free him from legal worries and sought to withdraw his guilty plea.

That is now what has happened with the Justice Department moving to drop all charges against him.

The retired Lieutenant-General Flynn, who had previously been fired from his role as head of the Defence Intelligence Agency and who used to lead chants of lock her up against Hillary Clinton, will now escape any penalties for the crimes he has confessed to. This is as well as avoiding other charges via his initial confession and working with authorities.

 Sarah Sanders says the FBI broke protocol when interviewing Michael Flynn

The scenario is risible, but not unexpected, given the current state of affairs under the Trump US administration. Flynn had agreed to plead guilty to a felony count of  wilfully and knowingly making  false, fictitious and fraudulent statement. Asked about Flynns lying, the response from Barr, the attorney general, was: People sometimes plead to things that turn out not to be crimes.

Barr maintains that he is doing the laws bidding and not that of the president. He insists that the White House had not been briefed before the charges were dropped. There are doubts about that. When asked last week whether he would pardon his former national security advisor Trump responded that he no longer had to do so :  it looks to me like Michael Flynn would be exonerated based on everything I see.

After the charges were dropped Trump described the man he had once fired for lying to his Vice President as a  great gentleman and a  great warrior before going on a rant about those who had prosecuted him as  human scum and threatening that they would pay a  big price.

There has been angry criticism of the charges being dropped. Democrat Congressman Jerry Nadler, chair of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, condemned it as outrageous. He would, he said, be rescheduling a meeting with Barr as soon as possible and ask the Justice Departments Inspector General to investigate what happened.

Neither of these moves are likely to result in the case against Flynn being reopened.

Andrew McCabe, who took over as acting director of the FBI in 2017, after Trump fired James Comey  before being driven out himself a year later by Trump  described the dropping of charges as pure politics designed to please the president.

The FBI, he wanted to stress, had received incontrovertible evidence that Flynn spoke to the Russian ambassador multiple times and tried to influence Russian officials. The [Justice] Department's position that the FBI had no reason to interview Mr Flynn pursuant to its counterintelligence investigation is patently false, and ignores the considerable national security risk his contacts raised, said McCabe.

James Comey tweeted: The DoJ has lost its way. But, career people: please stay because America needs you. The country is hungry for honest, competent leadership.

It is perhaps worth remembering the part that Comey had played in the US getting the leadership it has now. It was he who, while clearing Hillary Clinton of any illegal acts over the use of emails, gave the flagging Trump campaign a huge boost by scathingly criticising her over the affair.

This was in breach of FBI protocol, ignoring a Justice Department warning that it will look like interference in the election, and will be against established bureau practice. At the same time Comey did not disclose the investigation into the Russian hacking of Democratic party emails, the contents of which had helped the Trump campaign.

Trump himself, facing defeat according to the polls until Comeys intervention over Clinton, was exultant. We have fantastic people at the Justice Department, fantastic people at the FBI, he cried at a rally. A senior security officials bemused view at the time was that for Trump it was manna from the FBI. He must feel this has been a tremendous stroke of luck. Except it wasnt luck, it was James Comey.

Barr, asked on a TV interview about how history would remember his actions on Flynn, paraphrased a Churchill quote: History is written by the winners, so it largely depends on who is writing the history with a sly smile.

What has happened with Michael Flynn is yet another reminder of just how important the coming presidential election is for the future of governance in the United States.
Former Senate aide Tara Reade said that Joe Biden's alleged sexual assault traumatized her so much that she sometimes wakes up yelling 'stop' after having bad dreams about what she claims happened in 1993.

In a newly-released interview with former Fox News and NBC News host Megyn Kelly, Reade, 56, said that the alleged attack 'shattered' her.

Reade has alleged that when she was 29, the then 50-year-old Biden - who she worked for as a staff assistant at the time - sexually harassed and assaulted her. Biden and his spokespeople have denied the claims.

Tara Reade (pictured) spoke of how 'shattering' her alleged sexual abuse by Joe Biden was in a newly-released interview with former Fox News host Megyn Kelly

Reade (left) told Kelly (right) about how she suffers from bad dreams about the alleged incident with Biden and that she wakes up yelling 'stop'

'I wanted to say "stop," and I thought it,' Reade told Kelly in the interview which was released in full on Friday.

'I dont know if I said it,' Reade said, 'But sometimes, when Ive had a couple bad dreams or a few bad dreams about it, I wake up yelling that and I wake up yelling "stop."'

She told Kelly that one incident took place in the hallway of a Capitol Hill building in Spring 1993, following previous sexual harassment incidents.

Reade said that she had been told to go and give Biden, now 77, a gym bag and that was when he allegedly kissed and then assaulted her.

'He said I want to f*** you,' Reade said. '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 (pictured April 4) told Kelly she wants Biden to withdraw from his presidential bid

Reade (in undated pictures) said that Biden had kissed her and assaulted her in the hallway of a Capitol Hill building in 1993 when she was 29 and a Biden staff assistant

Biden has denied Reade's claims, saying that the assault 'unequivocally' did not happen

Reade added that 'His fingers were inside of my private area, my vagina.'

She said that afterwards, 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,' Reade 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.'

During the interview, Reade said that 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.

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.

Reade's interview with Kelly comes a week after Biden 'unequivocally' denied the allegations during an on-air Morning Joe interview.

'Im saying it unequivocally: It never, never happened. And it didnt. It never happened,' Biden said.

After clips from Kelly's interview with Reade began being released Thursday, Bidens spokeswoman Kate Bedingfield said, according to People: 'Women must receive the benefit of the doubt. 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.'
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 16:59:49|Editor: huaxia

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by Raheela Nazir

ISLAMABAD, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The announcement of the Pakistani government to employ tens of thousands of out-of-work laborers in the tree plantation campaign was like charcoal in the snowy weather for Muhammad Hafeez, who has been struggling to get by after losing his job due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown in Pakistan.

"I am a daily wage worker and used to earn a meagre amount for the sustenance of my family. Although my family always finds difficulty to make both ends meet with that amount, we would manage to live within our means," Hafeez, a resident of Pakistan's eastern district of Rawalpindi, told Xinhua.

"I work as a mason and when the construction work was in full bloom, it was somehow convenient to find work with a decent wage. Since the imposition of the lockdown in the country to stem the spread of the coronavirus, the situation has gone from bad to worse for me," the 39-year-old man said.

Thanks to the recently launched "Green Stimulus" program by the Pakistani government, Hafeez could now make some 800 rupees (about 5 U.S. dollars) a day, enough to feed his 4-member family.

Considering the influence of the lockdown, the government introduced the green program as part of its efforts to extend green cover in the country and to create job opportunities in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

The newly designed green program is a part of the country's ambitious "10 Billion Tree Tsunami" project launched to fight climate change-related adverse phenomena by planting hundreds of millions of trees in the next few years.

"The decision of providing employment through the tree plantation campaign is indeed a happy news for all those poor families like mine. It would prove a great solace in this crisis-like situation," Hafeez said.

"In my village, thousands of saplings were planted during the previous tree plantation drive which greatly helped the local population to remain safe from frequent landslides which is a common phenomenon due to massive deforestation. I am pretty hopeful that the recently announced campaign would reduce the miseries of many poor families in multiple ways," he said.

The government in April gave an exemption to the forestry department to restart the all-important planting project and create job opportunities for laborers who lost their jobs in the coronavirus-triggered lockdown. Some 65,000 jobs have been created initially, and according to government officials, millions more will be targeted in later stages.

This is the perfect example of how countries can keep their economies running by providing job opportunities during the pandemic and prepare themselves for the looming threat of climate change as well, Talat Anwar, a renowned economist and former advisor on macroeconomic policy at the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, told Xinhua.

He said according to an assessment by the Planning Commission of Pakistan, 12.3 to 18.5 million people will lose their jobs, and millions more will fall below the poverty line due to the coronavirus outbreak.

"Under such scenario, this is an excellent initiative which can help a number of unemployed laborers struck by the virus, and at the same time help mitigate the adverse effects of climate change on the livelihoods of the people in the country," the economist said.

Anwar said that Pakistan should engage with international donors, particularly the UN agencies and other international development partners who are working to tackle climate change to convert part of the country's debt into grant to promote plantation and environment protection activities.

"We owe more than 100 billion U.S. dollars to international lenders in external debts, and the government's green program has a great potential to reduce the debt burden of Pakistan besides protecting the environment and providing employment opportunities to locals," he said.

The World Economic Forum has also acknowledged the government's efforts to create green jobs and get people employed in the wake of the pandemic, calling it "a win-win for the environment and the unemployed."

Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Climate Change of Pakistan Rukhsana Naveed said that the government has rolled out standard operating procedures for tree planters to follow.

"Workers have to wear a face mask while maintaining a safe distance of at least six-feet at work place," Naveed told Xinhua, adding that most of the jobs have been created in rural areas of the country with an aim to provide work to women and daily wagers.

In a conversation with Xinhua, Farzana Yasmin, a Pakistani scholar undertaking environmental and urbanism research at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, said that the government's efforts to extend green cover in the county is definitely an appreciable and most needed initiative as the country is already in emergency situation with low forest cover.

Pakistan has been hit hard by rising temperatures, droughts, flooding, all linked to climate change. According to Germanwatch, a Bonn-based environmental think tank, Pakistan reported 152 extreme weather events between 1999 and 2018, with total losses of 3.8 billion U.S. dollars.

"The program will help regulate the Pakistan's weather system, rain pattern, ground water retention and soil protection for agriculture, as a result the incidents of droughts, flash flooding, and land sliding will be minimized," Yasmin said.

The scholar said the program also provides an opportunity to unemployed youth to start their own forest-based businesses. "It would make them able to take part in plantation of fruits, olives, medicinal plants, non-timber forest products, and other value-added products to be exported to other countries to earn money."
Afghanistan suffers upsurge in fighting and in coronavirus An Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier stands guard at a check point near the Bagram Airbase north of Kabul, Afghanistan

KABUL (Reuters) - Clashes between Taliban fighters and Afghan forces intensified in northern Balkh and southern Logar province as warring sides fought to control checkpoints and the number of coronavirus cases in Afghanistan rises, officials said on Friday.

In recent weeks, the Taliban has attacked several provinces, ignoring a pledge to reduce violence as part of a peace deal signed with the U.S. government on Feb. 29.

The fighting also defies an appeal from international aid agencies for a ceasefire on humanitarian grounds to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

At least 14 members of the Afghan forces were killed and more than 20 injured during the Taliban's attack on a district centre in the Zare district of Balkh province, Shamsurrahman Rahmani, the governor of Zare, said.

"The district centre is on the brink of collapse and Afghan forces may suffer more casualties if reinforcements are not deployed soon," Rahmani said.

Taliban spokesmen have so far not commented on the clashes in Balkh that shares a border with Uzbekistan. The province has reported 173 positive cases of the coronavirus and 10 deaths.

As of May 1, Afghanistan reported 2,335 cases of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, and 68 deaths, but international observers and medics on the ground believe the real number of infections could be much higher.

Afghan forces said they killed Qari Momen, a Taliban commander along with eight other fighters during an airstrike in the Khanabad district of north eastern Kunduz province on Thursday night.

A Taliban spokesman could not be contacted immediately to confirm the airstrike.

In southern Logar province, Afghan forces quelled Taliban fighters from a checkpoint of the National Defense and Security Forces in the Baraki Barak district on Thursday night.

"Afghan forces repulsed the Taliban's attack as part of an active defence operation...killed 15 Taliban fighters, wounded six others, and destroyed large quantities of weapons and ammunition," the federal defence ministry said in a statement.

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At least four members of the Afghan forces were killed and five were injured in the clashes, it stated.

The Taliban's spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said 10 Taliban fighters and 14 members of the Afghan forces were killed in Logar.

(Reporting by Abdul Matin Sahak in Mazar-i-Sharif, Abdul Qadir Sediqi, Orooj Hakimi in Kabul; writing by Rupam Jain; editing by Barbara Lewis)
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.
Iran is being linked to an attempted cyberattack last month that authorities believe was aimed at disrupting water supplies in at least two locations in Israel as that country was seeking to contain a covid-19 outbreak, according to foreign intelligence officials familiar with the matter.

The incident, which occurred on April 24 and 25, was quickly detected and thwarted before it could cause damage. But Israeli officials and analysts fear it could signal a further escalation in hostilities between the two countries and that Iran is getting bolder in its efforts to sabotage key systems.

"Cyberattacks that intentionally damage critical infrastructure shouldn't be condoned," said a senior Trump administration official, who declined to discuss any specific incident and who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the topic's sensitivity. "We think they're very destabilizing."

The hackers sought to cripple computers that control water flow and wastewater treatment for a pair of rural districts in Israel, according to two officials of a foreign government that monitored the attack in real time.

Investigators found that the hackers routed their attempted attack through computer servers in the United States and Europe - a common tactic used by adversaries of the West.

Officials at the White House, National Security Agency and multiple other agencies declined to comment.

The alleged Iranian link to the attack was first reported by Fox News. Spokesmen for the Israeli government and Israel Defense Forces would neither confirm nor deny the report. An Iranian official denied that his country was involved in that attack. "The Iranian government does not engage in cyberwarfare," said Alireza Miryousefi, spokesman for Iran's Mission to the United Nations in New York.

The foreign intelligence officials described the attack as coordinated, but not particularly sophisticated. The intruders targeted "programmable logic" controllers that operate valves for water distribution networks. The two affected districts serve a variety of residential, medical and commercial customers, providing fresh water as well as wastewater removal and treatment. At the time, much of the population was under lockdown because of the pandemic.

The attack was initially detected by employees of the Israel Water Authority, who alerted Israel's cybersecurity agency. Israeli government officials said the attack was quickly detected and defeated, causing no damage or harm to water supplies. Employees were instructed to change operational system passwords, the officials said.

If Iran's involvement is verified, it would not be the first time Tehran has been linked to cyberattacks in Israel and other Middle East adversaries. Saudi Arabia blamed Iran for a 2012 cyberattack that knocked out computers for the oil giant Saudi Aramco, though not its operational systems.

In January, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli security officials are constantly detecting and foiling Iranian attempts to penetrate the country's computer networks. "Israel has been a priority target for Iran for years," said John Hultquist, director of intelligence analysis for FireEye, a U.S. cybersecurity firm.

Israel has engaged in cyber-sabotage against Iran as well. U.S. and Israeli intelligence agencies created the computer worm called Stuxnet, which crippled 1,000 centrifuge machines made by Iran to enrich uranium. Neither country has officially confirmed its role. U.S. officials believe the attack, discovered in 2010, set back Iran's nuclear program by months.

Iran to date has not successfully carried out a cyberattack sabotaging industrial equipment. Iranian hackers penetrated controllers at a small dam in New York in 2013, but did no damage. They have also gained access to U.S. electric systems, but have not caused disruptions.

"The fact is they're getting more aggressive," said Robert Lee, a former NSA operator who co-founded Dragos, a cybersecurity firm specializing in defending industrial control systems. "And they're getting better. The public should not freak out, because the asset owners are taking steps to shore up their systems, but they must do more."

- - -

The Washington Post's Steve Hendrix in Jerusalem and Souad Mekhennet in Washington contributed to this report.
West Bengals ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Saturday rubbished Union home minister Amit Shahs allegations that the state isnt helping the Centre in bringing back migrant workers and accused him of spreading lies and playing politics amid an epidemic.

Amit Shahs letter is full of outright lies. Two trains have already reached and eight more are expected to reach West Bengal in the coming three days. Overall, 80,000 people have been brought back using various means of transport, said TMC national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Derek OBrien.

Amit Shah just woke up from his 40-day sleep but when one writes a letter still in his sleep, the person gets the facts all wrong, he said, adding the Union home minister was playing politics on the issue.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjees nephew and TMC youth wing chief Abhishek Banerjee tweeted that Shah should apologise if he fails to substantiate the charges in his letter with facts.

Shah told Banerjee in a letter that West Bengal was meting out injustice to Bengali migrant workers stranded across the country by not allowing shramik (worker) trains run by the railways to reach the state.

In his communication, Shah also pointed out the Centre has facilitated more than 200,000 migrant workers to reach home and that workers from West Bengal are eager to return.

OBrien presented a document showing two trains each from Punjab and Tamil Nadu and three from Karnataka are in the draft schedule of special trains as of May 8, and they will reach seven districts of West Bengal with 12,714 passengers between May 10 and 12. Another train is scheduled to arrive in Malda district on May 10 with 1,721 passengers from Telangana.

We have a seven-stage plan to bring back migrants. We are doing it in a staggered manner. We did not announce a lockdown without an iota of planning. We dont want to bring back the migrant workers without a proper plan as we are considering all possible implications to find the best way to do it, OBrien said.

The opposition Congress, however, contended the West Bengal government gave the green light to the eight trains only after receiving Shahs letter.

The chief minister has given permission to eight more trains after Shah wrote to the state, said Congress leader in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who is the MP from Berhampore in West Bengal.

Chowdhury earlier said he had spoken with Shah and railway minister Piyush Goyal to ensure the safe return of migrant workers but his efforts hit a roadblock due to West Bengals lack of interest.

OBrien rubbished Chowdhurys charge and said, Our government gave permission to these trains before Shahs letter, as is evident from the date in the document I presented.

Shahs letter to the West Bengal chief minister stated, Migrants from West Bengal are also eager to reach home. Central govt is facilitating but we are not getting expected support from W.B. State Government, which is not allowing the trains to reach W.B. This is injustice with W.B. migrant labourers. This will create further hardship for them.

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Daniel O'Day, CEO of Gilead Sciences during a meeting with President Donald Trump.

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

The federal government on Saturday announced initial plans for distributing a promising coronavirus drug, remdesivir.

The drug, manufactured by Gilead Sciences, was authorized for emergency use last week, but doctors and hospitals weren't sure how they were going to get it.

The Department of Health and Human Services now say the drug is first being distributed to health departments in some hard-hit states, and the departments can distribute it to hospitals as they see fit.

Eventually, HHS expects the drug to be delivered to all 50 states, terrorities, the Veterans Health Administration and the Indian Health Service.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The federal government released its initial distribution plans today for the promising coronavirus drug, remdesivir, which was approved for emergency use last week.

The drug, donated by manufacturer Gilead Sciences, "will be used to treat hospitalized COVID-19 patients in areas of the country hardest hit by the pandemic," the US Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) said in a press release.

On May 7, ASPR started the process of delivering cases of the drug, which contain 40 vials each, to Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, and New Jersey. Cases have already been sent to Indiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Virginia.

How many cases of the drug each state gets varies, with New York receiving 565 cases, for example, and Iowa receiving 10. The government's press release contains a full list of how much of the drug each state is getting.

A vial of the drug remdesivir.

Associated Press

It's up to state health departments to distribute the doses to hospitals "because state and local health departments have the greatest insight into community-level needs in the COVID-19 response, including appropriate distribution of a treatment in limited supply," according to the press release.

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Eventually, ASPR said it expects to deliver remdesivir to all 50 states, territories, the Veterans Health Administration and the Indian Health Services. The government didn't provide a timeline for the shipments, or say how it decided how much of the drug each state will get.

Days after remdesivir was approved for emergency use, frontline doctors still had little information about how and when the drug would actually get into their hands in order to treat patients who urgently needed it, Business Insider first reported on Wednesday.

"There is currently significant confusion and lack of information regarding the criteria the federal government is using to allocate this limited supply of donated remdesivir," Dr. Julie Ann Justo, an infectious-disease physician at Prisma Health-Midlands, a health system headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina, previously told Business Insider.

Read more: The FDA raced to let doctors use the promising coronavirus treatment remdesivir. Now, hospitals are stuck waiting for supplies to show up.

All told, Gilead Sciences said it will supply approximately 607,000 vials of the drug to the US over the next six weeks, enough to treat an estimated 78,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients under emergency use. The donation to the US is part of 1.5 million vials of remdesivir the company is donating worldwide, the press release stated.

medical coronavirus flu virus covid19 hospital doctor nurse tools stethoscope blood pressure pills vitamins medicine pharmacy pharmaceutical lab vaccine cox 15

Crystal Cox/Business Insider

Remdesivir seems to shorten how long it takes to recover from COVID-19

There are still no FDA-approved treatments for coronavirus, but the World Health Organization has called remdesivir "the most promising" COVID-19 treatment.

The antiviral was found to be safe  though not entirely effective  for people with Ebola, and research in test tubes and monkeys has suggested it might help fight COVID-19. The first known person with COVID-19 in the US also began to improve the day after receiving remdesivir.

Most recently, a critical trial out of the National Institutes of Health of more than 1,000 hospitalized patients found that those taking the antiviral recovered in 11 days, on average, compared to 15 days among those who took a placebo. It's not clear if the drug lowers the chances of dying from COVID-19, though.

The preliminary research prompted US regulators to approve the drug for emergency use, meaning healthcare professionals could use it to treat severe cases of suspected or known COVID-19 long before it becomes an FDA-approved treatment.

"Severe disease," in this case, means COVID-19 patients have low blood oxygen levels, need oxygen therapy, or need breathing support like a ventilator.

The only other way to access the drug is to enroll in a clinical trial.

Questions remain about remdesivir distribution

Saturday's announcement still leaves big questions about the government's plan to distribute remdesivir.

Rachel Sachs, an associate professor of law at Washington University, criticized HHS on Twitter for "abdicating its own responsibility" for doling out the drug and placing the burden on state health departments.

She also said today's announcement contradicts previous reports that remdesivir shipments went directly to hospitals, didn't clarify who made past decisions, and didn't indicate why certain states are receiving cases first or in larger quantities.

Ultimately, she pressed someone to own up to these decisions. "The refusal to take responsibility for the rollout is disappointing," she wrote.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening. First of all, Id like to welcome all Hindi-speaking journalists, and we look forward to your questions. In total, WHO press conferences are now available in eight languages  all six United Nations languages, plus Portuguese and Hindi, plus closed captions for people with hearing loss.

More than 3.5 million cases of Covid-19 and almost 250,000 deaths have now been reported to WHO. Since the beginning of April, an average of around 80,000 new cases have been reported to WHO every day. But these are not just ...
The heads of the police forces in Northern Ireland and the Republic have agreed the terms of reference for a joint review into the policing approach to the Covid-19 pandemic.

PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris met on Saturday morning to formally sign the terms of reference for the joint review of the PSNI and An Garda Siochana response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Both men later conducted a joint patrol with local officers on the border between Co Monaghan and Co Tyrone.

Positive meeting with @GardaTraffic Commissioner on the Tyrone/Monaghan border this morning. We agreed the TOR for the joint review of the #Covid19 response & discussed our continued joint approach. Also good to get out on patrol together, a strong partnership #StayHomeSaveLives pic.twitter.com/S2giiXoOhI  Simon Byrne (@ChiefConPSNI) May 9, 2020

Last month, Irelands Justice Minister Charles Flanagan and Northern Ireland Justice Minister Naomi Long held a teleconference to discuss the close cooperation in place between the police forces on both sides of the border in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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 Delhi High Court has sought response of the Centre and the Medical Council of India (MCI) on a plea by a woman doctor seeking direction to the authorities to consider her for the second round of NEET PG counselling in the physical disability category without insisting on a certificate as she is unable to obtain one due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

Justice Rekha Palli, who conducted the hearing through videoconferencing, issued notice to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Medical Counselling Committee and MCI on the petition by the doctor.

The petitioner is presently working as a medical officer with the Uttarakhand government and suffers from 45 per cent locomotor disability. She has qualified for NEET postgraduate (PG) counselling.

Advocate Rituparn Uniyal, who is representing the doctor, said the woman is attached to a quarantine centre in Haldwani and owing to the nationwide lockdown, she is unable to get her disability certificate. Due to this, a Pune college which was allotted to her for post-graduation under the disability quota denied her admission.

The plea, which was filed through advocates Abhijay Negi and Abhishek Kumar, said the doctor is not in a position to travel to Delhi at this time to get her disability certificate.

She made an alternate prayer to direct the medical board of Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi to examine her for issuance of a disability certificate immediately after the lockdown is lifted.

The court allowed the oral prayer to implead Safdarjung Hospital as a party to the petition and sought response from the state-run institute on the plea.

The court listed the matter for further hearing on May 18.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 20:47:18|Editor: huaxia

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HAIKOU/SHANGHAI, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the University of Edinburgh on Friday signed a cooperation framework agreement online on the establishment of a "One-Health" research center.

Representatives from the two universities pledged to jointly develop the One-Health disciplinary system, with focuses on developing a disciplinary system concerning major healthcare governance of humans, animals and the environment.

The concept of One Health considers the health of humans, animals and the environment as a whole, stressing multi-disciplinary and global cooperation, according to Chen Guoqiang, vice president of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and dean of its School of Medicine.

The center is committed to serving as an inter-disciplinary and cross-regional research platform, setting up practice and training bases in Shanghai and south China's Hainan Province, cultivating talent and strengthening international exchanges and cooperation, Chen said.

The two universities and the research center also signed an MOU with the management bureau of the Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone in Hainan's Bo'ao, leveraging the pilot zone's favorable policies and resources to promote a trial run of the One-Health system in Hainan. Enditem
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Ahmaud Arberys heartbroken mom has said she hopes her son's killers spend the rest of their lives behind bars and revealed he was born on Mother's Day in 1994 so this weekend will be 'especially hard' without him.

Wanda Cooper, the mother of the 25-year-old unarmed black jogger who was shot and killed by a white father and son 'vigilante' team, spoke out over her son's brutal slaying on what would have been his 26th birthday and slammed law enforcement for failing to bring his killers to justice for months.

Today was a very emotional day as it was his birthday, she told CNN Tonight Friday.

I felt better after the arrests last evening. But the weekend is going to be especially hard as I had Ahmaud back in 1994 on Mothers Day.

Ahmaud Arberys heartbroken mom Wanda Cooper (above) has said she hopes her son's killers spend the rest of their lives behind bars and revealed he was born on Mother's Day in 1994 so this weekend will be 'especially hard' without him

Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son Travis McMichael, 34, were finally arrested Thursday and charged with murder and aggravated assault for the shooting death of Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia, back in February after footage of the attack leaked online Tuesday and sparked outrage across America.

Cooper blasted the authorities for letting her son's killers walk free for a staggering 74 days after his death, saying they simply took the 'words from the actual murderers'.

I think that they were actually taking the words from the actual murderers,' she told CNN.

'They took their word, they believed what they said and they had not planned to make an arrest.

Cooper said she wanted to thank everyone who had shown support for her and her family at this time and said she now hopes justice will be served to the McMichaels.

'What Im seeking is those guys - all the guys who were involved in the murder of my son - go to prison possibly for the rest of their lives,' she said.

Wanda Cooper (left) and attorney Lee Merritt (right) spoke on CNN Tonight Friday on what would have been Arbery's 26th birthday

Ahmaud Arbery pictured. Cooper blasted the authorities for letting her son's killers walk free for a staggering 74 days after his death, saying they simply took the 'words from the actual murderers'

The family's attorney Lee Merritt, also speaking on the show, called for justice to also be handed to the district attorneys who failed to prosecute the killers.

'We have to get those DAs out that made a decision not to prosecute the case - we have to go after them,' he said.

Merritt said it was only through public pressure that the McMichaels had finally faced murder charges this week.

'The video already existed, it was part of the investigation it was the public seeing the video and allowing us to add common sense to it and raise our voice and demand these men be arrested' that led to action against the suspects, he said.

'We have been asking the DA's office for this video for months since this happened and we were not given a copy of it,' he added.

The Brunswick DA's office has come under fire for its handling of the case.

The first two DA's recused themselves from the case and the third passed it onto a grand jury before the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) stepped in and took over the investigation - leading to the subsequent arrests of the McMichaels.

Two Glynn County commissioners have claimed that Brunswick DA Jackie Johnson - the first DA on the case - blocked police from arresting the suspects because she was friends with Gregory McMichael.

Gregory McMichael, 64, (left) and his son Travis McMichael, 34, (right) were finally arrested Thursday and charged with murder and aggravated assault for the shooting death of Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia, back in February after footage of the attack leaked online Tuesday and sparked outrage across America

William 'Roddie' Bryan (left with his attorney Kevin Gough), a neighbor of Gregory and Travis McMichael, filmed the attack and calls are growing for his prosecution in the case

Officers investigating the scene of the fatal shooting told Johnson's office they had cause to arrest the father and son at the time but the DA shut them down, they said.

Gregory McMichael had worked as an investigator in Johnson's office until his retirement in 2019 causing Johnson to recused herself from the case a few days after the shooting.

'She shut them down to protect her friend McMichael,' Glynn County Commissioner Allen Booker told The Atlanta Journal Constition.

DailyMail.com reached out to the DA's office for comment but a representative was not available.

It has also emerged that Gregory, who worked as an investigator in the Brunswick DA's office, helped prosecute Arbery in the past, Barnhill revealed.

In a letter to Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr recusing himself from the case, Barnhill said his son and Gregory 'both helped with the previous prosecution of (Ahmaud) Arbery'.

Gregory, who retired from the DA's office in 2019, had not mentioned his involvement in the case to police.

At a press conference Friday, GBI Director Vic Reynolds said 'there is more than sufficient probable cause in this case for felony murder.'

Ahmaud Arbery and his mother Wanda Cooper Jones. Bryan may also face arrest for his part in the murder after he watched and shot the footage of the attack, authorities said Friday

Reynolds declined to explicitly criticize local police, but admitted 'there were things that needed to be done and have been done yesterday.'

'Considering the fact that we hit the ground running Wednesday morning and within 36 hours we had secured warrants for two individuals for murder - I think that speaks volumes in itself,' he said.

Reynolds also said the man who filmed the shocking footage may also face arrest in connection to Arbery's shooting.

William 'Roddie' Bryan, a neighbor of Gregory and Travis McMichael, filmed the attack and calls are growing for his prosecution in the case.

Bryan broke his silence Friday saying he followed Arbery because there had been 'a number of crimes in the neighborhood' - despite cops saying there were no burglaries reported in the two months leading up to the jogger's murder.

He was pictured Friday for the first time since his cellphone footage exposing the brutal slaying of the innocent jogger was leaked this week, as his lawyer protested his innocence.

Bryan finally broke his silence over the murder of the black jogger at the hands of the white ex-cop and son, claiming he was only a 'witness' and not an accomplice to the shocking attack.

His attorney Kevin Gough denied claims Bryan was armed at the time of the killing and insisted he is 'not a vigilante'.

Gough also said the shooting simply 'start[ed] happening in front of him' and Bryan had handed over the footage to police 'immediately' after the incident.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation director Vic Reynolds (pictured center) said authorities are 'investigating everyone involved in the case including the individual who shot that video'

Gough told Weekend TODAY Bryan had arrived at the scene after he saw Arbery running through the neighborhood and being pursued by the McMichaels in their truck.

'He was in his yard and this just starts happening in front of him,' said Gough.

'He gets in his car and is trying to document that.'

When asked why Bryan followed and filmed the attack, his attorney said 'he was trying to get [Arbery's] picture... because there had been a number of crimes in this neighborhood and he didn't recognize him and a vehicle that he did recognize was following him.'

However, Glynn County Police Lt. Cheri Bashlor confirmed Friday that no burglaries had been reported in the neighborhood in the seven weeks leading up to Arbery's death.

Bashlor told CNN there had only been one incident reported back on January 1, when someone had stolen a firearm from an unlocked truck outside the McMichaels home.

Claims of Bryan's innocence also contradict a memo from one of the former district attorneys on the case which said Bryan had joined in the pursuit of the innocent jogger.

Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney George E. Barnhill said in the memo, obtained by USA Today, that all three men had been in 'hot pursuit of a burglary suspect'.

Exclusive photos show the moment Gregory McMichael (pictured) and his son Travis McMichael were arrested at their home in Brunswick, Georgia, on Thursday

An officer with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is seen leading 34-year-old Travis McMichael out of the home in handcuffs

The attorney who leaked Bryan's footage revealed Friday he did it because he believed it would clear the McMichaels of any crime.

Attorney Alan Tucker told Inside Edition Friday that he was a close friend of the two men charged with Arbery's murder.

'I really thought releasing the video would put the truth out to the public,' Tucker stated.

'If he [Arbery] had just froze and hadn't done anything, then he wouldn't have been shot.'

However after the video was uploaded to the internet Tuesday it quickly went viral and sparked nationwide outrage.

The father and son were subsequently arrested Thursday and charged with murder and aggravated assault.

Many Americans are outraged that it has taken more than two months for the assailants to be arrested.

Protesters gathered outside the courthouse in Brunswick Friday - what would have been the victim's 26th birthday.

A crowd of several hundred people, most wearing masks, sang 'Happy Birthday' in his honor outside the Glynn County Courthouse.

President Donald Trump broke his silence over the killing that has shaken America, calling the video showing Arbery's murder 'disturbing'.

'I looked at a picture of that young man. He was in a tuxedo  I will say that that looks like a really good young guy,' Trump said on Fox & Friends Friday.

'My heart goes out to the parents and the families and friends,' he added while stating that he believed Georgia governor Brian Kemp would investigate the matter 'strongly'.

People react during a rally Friday morning outside the courthouse in Brunswick, Georgia, to protest the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed black man what would have been his 26th birthday

Protesters gathered for a march through Brunswick on Tuesday - the same day shocking footage of Arbery's death went viral

'[Brian Kemp] is going to do what's right. It's a heartbreaking thing. That was very rough, rough stuff.

'Justice getting done is the thing that solves the [racial problem]. Again, it is in the hands of the governor and I'm sure he'll do the right thing. It could be something that we didn't see on tape. If you saw, things went off tape and then back on tape.'

The McMichaels made their first court appearance individually Friday afternoon via a video link from inside the Glynn County jail.

Magistrate Judge Wallace Harrell ruled that bond on both charges would have to be set by a superior court judge. Both men were read their rights and spoke only to confirm their names. Neither had attorneys representing them in court and no further hearing dates were scheduled.

Arbery was shot dead while out jogging on February 23 by the McMichaels.

The killers evaded prosecution for more than two months, after the father and son team initially claimed they thought Arbery was a burglar after a spate of thefts in the area, and that he attacked them when they tried to make a citizen's arrest.

But shocking cellphone footage - taken by Bryan - was leaked this week, showing the two men chasing and gunning down the victim in the street.

The video showed the men 'ambushing' Arbery as he tried to run past their pickup truck.

In the harrowing footage, Arbery is seen running at a jogging pace on the left side of a road.

A truck is parked in the road ahead of him. Gregory is inside the pickup's bed, while Travis is standing beside the open driver's side door.

Arbery 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 Arbery grappling with Travis in the street over what appears to be a shotgun or rifle.

A second shot can be heard, and Arbery can be seen punching Travis. A third shot is fired at point-blank range. Arbery staggers a few feet and falls face down.

The leak of the video sparked outrage across the nation with LeBron James, Justin Bieber and Kendall Jenner all leading cries for the McMichaels to be charged with murder.

The GBI took over the investigation on Tuesday after the video emerged and the McMichaels were finally arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault Thursday.

Arbery can be seen stumbling to the ground as the clip comes to a close

Shocking cellphone video captured the moment the McMichaels confronted Arbery in the street. In the footage Travis is seen engaging in a physical fight with Arbery before shooting him with a shotgun
Coronavirus outbreak: Eight flights from several countries to fly back stranded Indians today

India

oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P

New Delhi, May 09: Several Indians, who are stranded in at least seven countries due to coronavirus outbreak, is all set to fly back to their home country on Saturday in special flights under Vande Bharat Mission.

According to officials, four flights carrying Indian nationals would arrive in Delhi from Bangladesh's Dhaka at 3 pm, Kuwait to Hyderabad 6:30 pm, Oman's Muscat to Cochin at 8:50 pm and the United Arab Emirates' Sharjah to Lucknow 8:50 pm.

Coronavirus outbreak: Another White House staffer tests positive for COVID-19

Another four will come from Kuwait and land in Cochin 9:15 pm, Malaysia's Kaula Lampur to Trichy 9:40 pm, the United Kingdom's London to Mumbai 1:30 am of May 20 and Qatar's Doha to Cochin at 1:40 am.

This move can be seen as the first phase of the massive Vande Bharat mission. The mission began on May 7 and will run till May 13 and involves the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Bangladesh, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, the UK and the United States.

According to reports, it is said that 64 flights under Vande Bharat mission are expected to bring 15,000 Indian citizens home from 12 countries.

It is also said that all the international passengers would be charged for the journey and fares from Gulf countries to Kerala ranges from Rs 15,000 to Rs 16,000.

All those who travel back will have to undergo strict screening processes and download the Aarogya Setu app on the mobile phones. The evacuated citizens will then be sent to institutional quarantine facilities set up by various state governments.
On Thursday, a 5-year-old boy passed away from complications believed to be caused by COVID-19, Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York, has said.

The governor who disclosed this on his official twitter account Friday said New York is investigating how COVID-19 impacts children after a 5-year-old boy in New York City died this week from coronavirus-related complications.

There have been 73 reported cases in NY of children getting severely ill with symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease and toxic shock-like syndrome. On Thursday, a 5-year-old boy passed away from these complications, believed to be caused by COVID-19. DOH is investigating.  Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) May 8, 2020

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

The state Department of Health is investigating, the tweet reads.

This is every parents nightmare, right? That your child may actually be affected by this virus. But its something that we have to consider seriously now.

READ ALSO:

While rare, were seeing some cases where children affected with the Covid virus can become ill with symptoms similar to the Kawasaki disease or the toxic shock-like syndrome.

According to the United Kingdoms National Health Service (NHS), Kawasaki is explained as a disease that causes swelling of the hearts blood vessels and mainly affects children under the age of 5. Symptoms include a rash, swollen glands in the neck, dry or cracked lips and red fingers or toes.

Mr Cuomo said there have been 73 cases in the state of children falling severely ill with the symptoms, noting that the state health data shows at least three children under the ages of 10 have died from the coronavirus in New York.

The governor said parents should seek care immediately if a child has these symptoms; prolonged fever (more than 5 days); difficulty feeding (infants) or is too sick to drink fluids; severe abdominal pains, diarrhoea or vomiting.

He also urged parents to watch out for children exhibiting a change in skin colour  colour becoming pale, patchy or blue; trouble breathing or is breathing very quickly; racing heart or chest pain; decreased amount or frequency of urine as well as lethargy, irritability, or confusion.

Caution to all people who again may have believed that their child couldnt be affected by Covid. This information suggests we may want to revisit that quote-unquote fact, that assumption, and if you see any of the symptoms that are on the chart that your child is evidencing, caution should be taken, he said.

New York has recorded over 330,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease. Of these, over 182,000 have recovered with over 21,000 fatalities so far.
May 8, 2020

News

By David Vergun

Defense.gov

DOD, Private Sector Leaders See Danger to GPS Due to FCC Licensing Ruling

The Federal Communications Commission's granting of a license to a private company threatens to undermine the Defense Department's Global Positioning System capabilities, as well as that of the civilian sector, which also relies on GPS, DOD officials told Congress.

GPS is used for such things as precision timing and navigation for aircraft, cellphone coverage, precision weapons targeting and much more.

DOD Chief Information Officer Dana S. Deasy; Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Michael D. Griffin; Space Force Gen. John W. "Jay" Raymond, chief of space operations and commander of U.S. Space Command; and retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad W. Allen spoke at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on DOD spectrum policy and the impact of the FCC's Ligado Networks decision on national security.

Ligado is a U.S. satellite communications company formerly known as LightSquared.

Griffin noted that GPS was designed and developed by DOD, but is now used commercially for first responders, civil aircraft and commercial shipping, among many other vital usages.

"It's all at risk now," he said, and he explained why.

GPS relies on picking up very weak signals transmitted from GPS satellites to ground-based receivers. Ligado's loud signals from a spectrum would effectively drown out those weak signals, he said. This would force the department to redesign and rebuild its infrastructure, which would cost billions of dollars and would take decades to accomplish, he added.

Allies and partners, seeing the damage that was done to U.S. GPS, would then possibly turn to competitors Russia and China for their systems, Griffin said.

Deasy said DOD fully supports the United States being a leader of 5G technology, but that Ligado's actions, if allowed, would not support that effort. DOD is preparing to do a number of experiments to get the nation to 5G, he added.

DOD and Transportation Department studies have shown that Ligado's ambitions will be harmful to military and civilian GPS receivers and that there's no way to protect millions of mobile GPS devices that would be disrupted, he said.

"GPS must always be a reliable service, particularly for first responders," Deasy said.

Raymond said satellite signals have to arrive in a noise pristine environment. "We must preserve this spectrum. We should not cede our operational advantage to Russia and China."

GPS receivers enable warriors to shoot, move and communicate with great precision at great distances, the general told the Senate panel.

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Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill has criticised Taoiseach Leo Varadkar following a row over Sinn Fein ministers delivering food packages to vulnerable and elderly people.

Mr Varadkar rebuked republicans for delivering food parcels and posting pictures on Facebook during a heated debate on the Covid-19 unemployment payment in the Dail on Thursday.

Mr Varadkar said he would be "ashamed to boast" about giving out food parcels. He said his 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.

Mrs O'Neill, on a visit to Dungannon yesterday, accused Mr Varadkar of engaging in party politics.

"Leo Varadkar's policy and Fine Gael's policy will always be akin to a Tory policy," she said.

"I believe that his comments were unbefitting of even a caretaker Taioseach.

"I'll make no apology for any Sinn Fein minister, or any minister for that matter, looking after those people who need them right now, people who are shielding, people who can't get out to buy their own food. So Leo's comments are more about party politics and the fact that he wants to try and form a government at the exclusion of Sinn Fein."

Earlier Sinn Fein Stormont Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey said the Taoiseach's comments were "ill-judged".

"I think he is rattled from the last election and the success of the Sinn Fein vote there," she told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster. "I think this is part of his continued pursuit of excluding Sinn Fein from government formation and I think it has to be put into context of government formation talks are going on at the moment.

"What Leo doesn't add, because he shares the same politics as the Tories, is 10 years of Tory austerity and the impact that has had on our health service in responding to this pandemic."

Ms Hargey said that she was "very proud" as Communities Minister to be involved in giving out more than 18,000 food parcels to those in need during the pandemic.

In the Dail the Taoiseach and Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald clashed over the 350-per-week Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment.

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 Leo Varadkar

Mr Varadkar responded to Ms McDonald by highlighting that payments for the unemployed are far lower in Northern Ireland, where Sinn Fein is in power.

He suggested the rates were so low 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.

In response Sinn Fein highlighted pictures on Twitter showing Irish Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy delivering meals on wheels to his constituents. Mr Murphy retweeted the images to his own Twitter account.

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.
An Iranian family seeks safety on the streets of Tehran after a 4.6 magnitude quake rocks a city already struggling with the Middle East's deadliest coronavirus outbreak. (Photo: AFP/Amir Kholousi)

The shallow 4.6 magnitude quake hit at 12.48am (2018 GMT) near the city of Damavand, about 55km east of Tehran, the US Geological Survey said.

It saw scores of residents of Tehran flee buildings for the safety of the capital's streets and parks, AFP journalists reported.

Many spent the rest of the night sleeping in their cars on the side of the road, apparently too fearful to return to their homes.

Some wore face masks, a sign of the times in a country already struggling to contain the Middle East's deadliest outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The temblor struck as Iranians were either sleeping or resting after iftar, the meal breaking the daytime fast observed by Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan.

"We were sitting down when the earthquake struck," said 45-year-old Tehran resident Ahmad.

"We felt it completely shaking (the building), and then we all went out of the house together to be outside and not to be in danger if an aftershock struck," he said.

His wife Maryam, who like him was wrapped in a blanket, said they escaped the apartment using the stairwell.

"We quickly took the children by their hands and got out," said the 37-year-old housewife.

COVID-19 CRISIS

Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said on Twitter that the tremor claimed the life of one person.

He called on people to "keep calm" and to follow safety guidelines.

Iran's national emergency services said the person who died was a 60-year-old man in Damavand county.

Twenty-three people were injured in Tehran and Alborz provinces, a spokesman for the organisation told AFP.

The Iranian Red Crescent said its staff were on standby but that so far there were no reports of any collapsed buildings in which to carry out search and rescue operations.

"The situation is now stable, but we are still completely on alert" in the provinces of Tehran, Alborz, Mazandaran, Qom and Semnan, said Hamed Sajjadi, head of the organisation's rescue operations.

Six people were hospitalised, he told AFP.

"We were ready to accommodate people in stadiums with respect to social distancing, but it was not necessary," he said, referring to health guidelines aimed at stemming the spread of the coronavirus.

The USGS said the quake struck at a depth of 10km. Its epicentre was south of Mount Damavand, a largely inactive volcano which at 5,671m is Iran's highest peak.

Tehran University's Seismological Centre said the quake had a magnitude of 5.1 magnitude and was at a depth of seven kilometres.

It reported a series of aftershocks, the most powerful measuring 4.0.

DEADLY HISTORY

Iran sits on top of major tectonic plates and experiences frequent seismic activity.

A 5.7 magnitude earthquake that rattled the western village of Habash-e Olya on Feb 23 killed at least nine people over the border in neighbouring Turkey.

In November 2017, a 7.3-magnitude quake in Iran's western province of Kermanshah killed 620 people.

In 2003, a 6.6-magnitude quake in southeastern Iran levelled the ancient mud-brick city of Bam and killed at least 31,000 people.

Iran's deadliest quake was a 7.4-magnitude tremor in 1990 that killed 40,000 people in northern Iran, injured 300,000 and left half a million homeless.

In December and January, two earthquakes struck near Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant.

Iran's Gulf Arab neighbours have raised concerns about the reliability of the country's sole nuclear power facility, and the risk of radioactive leaks in case of a major earthquake.
Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly visited on Saturday the terminals at Cairo International Airport to follow up on the efforts made by all concerned authorities and agencies to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

According to a statement by the cabinet, Madbouly was accompanied during his tour by Minister of Civil Aviation Mohamed Manar Enaba and Minister of State for Information Osama Heikal.

Madbouly said that the visit comes in the context of ensuring the implementation of the various precautionary and preventive measures announced by the government.

"The visit aims at ensuring the safety and health of citizens, and to ensure the non-proliferation of the virus, in accordance with the health ministry's and World Health Organization's (WHO) regulations in this regard," the prime minister said.

The statement said that Madbouly reviewed the precautionary measures applied by the Ministry of Aviation inside Egyptian airports and on board aircraft.

"Among the measures reviewed were keeping a safe distance of no less than two metres between each passenger as well as how the flight crews operate during flights," the statement said.

Madbouly's inspection tour came on the same day of his visit to Qalioubiya, where he toured a number of developmental and service projects in the governorate.

On Saturday, Egypt's health ministry reported 488 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total infection tally up to 8,964 nationwide.

Despite lockdown measures imposed since March to contain the spread of the virus, Egypt had reported more than 8,000 coronavirus cases by Friday 8 May. The first case of COVID-19 in Egypt was confirmed on 14 February, and although it took seven weeks to reach the milestone of 1,000 infections on 4 April, it has taken just three days to move from 7,000 to 8,000 cases.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 9) The decision of Metro Manila mayors on the scheduled easing of restrictions will have weight on the recommendation of the task force dealing with the coronavirus and the final decision of President Rodrigo Duterte, a Cabinet official said on Saturday.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano told CNN Philippines in an interview, "Malaking factor ang ating local government units, ang ating local chief executives dahil sila yung mag iimplement, kanilang responsibility din yan. So napakalaking factor yung anuman yung kanilang posisyon at yun naman ay sisiguraduhin natin ay i-haharmoninze naman natin sa parameters na nai-set ng ating IATF."

[Translation: The local government units, the local chie executives are a big factor because they wll be the ones implementing (the rules), that's their responsibility. So whatever their position may be, it's a very big factor and we will make sure to harmonize these with the parameters to be set by the IATF.]

Metro Manila mayors are scheduled to meet Saturday afternoon to come up with a common stand on whether or not to extend the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the region after May 15.

Ano said the inter-agency task force will consider the mayors' recommendation for discussion and evaluation on Monday, ahead of the final recommendation to the President.

"Tinitignan din natin yung pag punta sa tinatawag natin na localized area ECQ kung saan yung isang siyudad pupwuwede mong hindi ilagay sa buong ECQ kundi yung mga areas lang na tinatawag nating critical areas or critical zones, containment zones, buffer zones. Yun yung tinitignan natin. Parang kumbaga surgical intervention na yung ginagawa natin, yung kung saan yung affected area, liliitan natin yung pag ECQ doon," he said.

[Translation: We are looking at heading toward what we call a localized area ECQ where an area may not be included in the ECQ, except for areas which are called critical areas or critical zones, containment zones; buffer zones. That's what we're looking at. This would be like a surgical invtervention, where the affected areas, the ECQ areas would be made smaller.]

In a separate Palace briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said, "Wala pang napapag-agreehan, wala pa yung final recommendation ng IATF sa Presidente para sa anong mangyayari sa May 16. Pero uulitin ko lang kung anong sinabi ni Kalihim Ano, bagama't maraming lugar siguro sa Metro Manila ay magiging GCQ na, siyempre yung matataas na kaso po hindi yan magiging GCQ."

[Translation: Nothing has been agreed upon, there is no final recommendation from the IATF to the President on what will happen on May 16. But I will repeat what Secretary Ano said, while there may be many places in Metro Manila that will be under GCQ, those places with a high number of cases will not be put in GCQ.]

Roque said he expects the IATF to submit its recommendations after the meeting on Monday.

A number of Metro Manila mayors said they lean towards extending for another 15 days the ECQ as the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise.

They said Metro Manila should have one quarantine policy after May 15.

In an interview with CNN Philippines News Night on Friday, Metro Manila Council Chairperson and Paranaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez said most mayors want to extend the ECQ. The council is the regions policy-making body.

He said a selective implementation of strict quarantine rules is not an option.

QC looking at GCQ transition period

Meanwhile, the Quezon City government is proposing a transition period to a general community quarantine should the current strict lockdown lapse on May 15.

"If the QC local government were to have its way, it plans to implement [a] transition period to GCQ (general community quarantine) until May 31. This will allow business establishments to adapt to localized guidelines currently being developed in anticipation of a 'new normal' setting due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic," the city administration said in a statement Friday night.

In the statement, the city govrnment acknowledged that the final decision rests with the inter-agency task force.

Mayor Joy Belmonte said the transition period would boost the city's economy and at the same time protect the health of local residents and workers while preventing the further spread of the highly contagious virus.

Under the planned guidelines, business establishments are required to report their production capacities and commensurate workforce requirements, as well a check on the health of workers before being allowed back to work among other safety measures.

Assistant City Administrator for Operations Alberto Kimpo said those who would not follow the guidelines would be penalized.

Larger business establishments, meanwhile, are encouraged to have their staff tested and to have quarantine facilities ready for them, as well as implement mandatory body temperature checks at all entry points, and have dividers "installed between work stations."

No 24-hour businesses will also be allowed so that regular dinsinfection procedures on work areas can be done.

There is also the option to "re-implement ECQ in Barangays or portions thereof that are found to continue having high COVID infection rates, subject to the approval of the IATF-NCR," said Kimpo.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 16:21:25|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 9 (Xinhua) -- A "space 3D printer" developed independently by China and two samples it printed in orbit successfully returned to Earth Friday, according to the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST).

They came back in the return capsule of China's new-generation manned spaceship for testing, which was launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern China's island province of Hainan on Tuesday and touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Friday.

It is China's first in-orbit 3D printing test, which has realized space 3D printing of continuous carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites for the first time in the world.

Developed by a research institute of the CAST, the 3D printing system completed the scheduled tasks in orbit at 1:58 a.m. on Thursday. The images transmitted by the experimental spaceship showed that the two samples were printed successfully and could be distinguished clearly.

Researchers will further check the performance of the returned printer and printed samples and give a comprehensive evaluation.

Carbon fiber has been widely applied in aerospace as a lightweight and high-strength material. Continuous carbon fiber is of great significance in improving the performance of composite materials.

The two samples in the test are both printed out of continuous carbon fiber filament materials, which will lay an important technical foundation for the application of 3D printing of composite materials in the future.

The printing system has also realized the automatic control of the whole process, according to the CAST.

The previous 3D printing experiments in microgravity all involved people, who could intervene when errors occurred in either activating, heating up the equipment or printing. This time, the system has completed all the scheduled tasks unattended, providing an important technical reference for the follow-up space 3D printing tasks in its structure, motion control, lighting and camera monitoring, the CAST said.

The system has also been tested more comprehensively than previous ones, as the new spaceship could provide a relatively longer microgravity environment after entering orbit.

Previous experiments were mostly conducted in weightless flights. A weightless flight usually includes dozens of parabolic maneuvers, each creating only about 20 seconds of microgravity.

This test can not only examine the material forming process, but also test the reliability, movement accuracy and material quality of the printing system, the CAST said.

The returned samples can directly show the influence of microgravity on materials, structural mechanism, movement control and shape forming, with the experience more suitable to be applied in extra-vehicular activities and in-orbit construction of large structures, it said.

The experimental spaceship also carried a CubeSat deployer based on the metal 3D printing technology.

A deployer connects a CubeSat, a type of miniaturized satellite, and its transport vehicle. Whether a deployer can reduce vibration in launching, release a CubeSat and transmit the separation signal accurately is the key to a successful CubeSat launch.

The in-orbit flight has helped test the structural strength, material performance and space environment adaptability of the 3D printed deployer, which is developed by Beijing CoSats Space Technology Co., Ltd., a commercial aerospace company.

"The 3D printed deployer is half the weight of a traditionally manufactured one, and the production cycle is shortened from the past few months to one week. The 3D printing technology will have a more and more attractive prospect in aerospace applications," said Bai Ruixue, COO of CoSats. Enditem
The HCM City Department of Education and Training has directed all schools in the city to apply online enrollment for the next school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Schools in HCM City will apply online enrollment for the next school year.  Photo nld.com.vn

Schools must update admission forms on their website, and all procedures related to admission must be done online.

This is not the first time the city has applied online enrollment.

Tran Khac Huy, head of the Department of Education and Training of Tan Binh District, told Lao ong (Labour) newspaper that all schools in his district have used online enrollment since last year.

Last year, the district directed some schools to pilot online enrollment so that all schools in the district would be ready for this new kind of enrollment.

According to Huy, online enrollment for the next school year will be more favorable compared to previous years because all schools in the district now have their own websites.

This year, parent of students only need to download all register forms on the website, fill in forms, and send them to the website.

Tran Trong Khiem, deputy chief of the Department of Education and Training of Tan Phu District, said some agencies had offered advanced software to help schools implement online enrollment.

However, the price of the software is still high compared to the schools budget. Therefore, schools in the district are still using their websites to publish admission forms. VNS

VN universities prepare plans to ensure enrollment quality Amid the complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, many universities are preparing backup plans in case the results of the high school exams are not available for enrollment procedures.
A man made a deliberate effort to attack as many nurses as possible at a major hospital, a court has heard.

Alan Campbell is accused of lashing out at five female staff on Thursday night and using disorderly behaviour at the Ulster Hospital.

Though no bail application was made on behalf of the 28-year-old at Belfast Magistrates Court on Saturday, a prosecution lawyer told the court it was a carefully conceived attempt to assault as many people as possible.

He added that the file may be sent to the deputy director of the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland to decide which court should deal with the case given the serious nature.

Campbell, of Cooks Brae in Kircubbin, Co Down,  who is facing five charges of assault  was remanded in custody to appear again via videolink on June 6
We are Americans and we are committed to preserving our democracy. As in other times in our great nations history we can face serious challenges, be it war, economic crisis, or pandemic, and still conduct elections to ensure that the peoples voices are heard.

The May 5, 2020 election in Macomb County saw only one issue on the ballot, a bond proposal for Warren Woods Public Schools. Encompassing eight precincts in the eastern part of the City of Warren, the school district contains 16,468 registered voters. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, voters ultimately stood with the Titans of Warren Woods, passing the bond by a margin of 62% for and 32% against.

It was the first election in Macomb County conducted almost entirely by mail as every registered voter in the district was mailed an application to vote an absentee ballot in an effort to maximize social distancing and protect the health of voters and election personnel alike. Voters who completed the one-page application and returned to the Warren City Clerk received their ballot in the mail. Since 2019 and the constitutional amendment known as Prop 18-3 every eligible voter in Michigan now has the option to vote an absentee ballot  a mail-in ballot  in any election.

The May 5 Warren Woods election saw 4,608 ballots issued and 3,543 ballots cast. There were 17 voters who cast an in-person ballot on Election Day at Warren City Hall, meaning 99.5% of ballots cast were by mail.

The voter participation amounted to 21.6% turnout. Compare this with 12.2% turnout in the 2019 May election and 10.6% in May 2018. As reported by the Secretary of State, 99% of voters statewide cast absentee ballots with a turnout of 25%. A total of 1,775 people voted in-person statewide with approximately 180,000 voters participating in total.

Local jurisdictions across the state were given the choice to postpone their regularly-scheduled May 5 elections until August and many did just that. However local leaders in over 200 jurisdictions, including Warren Woods Schools, chose to move forward as planned. As such, a process for conducting the May 5th election was specially and carefully designed to protect the health of voters and election workers alike and still make sure voters voices are heard.

In addition to registered voters in the district automatically receiving an application to vote an absentee ballot by mail, one in-person location in each jurisdiction was open on Election Day for any citizen who chose to vote in person. In Macomb County, the site was Warren City Hall.

I salute Warren City Clerk Sonja Buffa and her team of office staff and election inspectors from the community who conducted a safe, accurate, and accessible election in the face of these unprecedented circumstances. It is an important reminder that clerks throughout Macomb County and the state  Republican and Democratc, elected and appointed  have the proven ability, technology and hands-on experience to process and verify ballots submitted by mail and conduct fair, accurate, and secure elections.

May 5 was a useful testing ground for clerks and election administrators around the state to organize and prepare for the anticipated record voter participation, and associated challenges, that lie ahead in August and even more so in November.

Maintaining our democracy in the midst of the pandemic is among many challenges facing our state and nation. Just as together we work to re-open businesses, sporting events, public institutions, and public spaces, there will be risks. But with planning and practice we wont be taken by surprise and risks can be mitigated. And the even bigger risk associated with shuttering our democracy and stifling the peoples voice will be averted.

Fred Miller is Macomb County Clerk and Register of Deeds.
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Lawmakers on Capitol Hill formed new battle lines this week over legislation to shield businesses from pandemic liability claims, said Siobhan Hughes and Jacob Gershman at The Wall Street Journal. As some parts of the economy begin to emerge from lockdown, companies fear "a wave of litigation" as workers return to factories and stores and potentially fall sick from Covid-19. Many businesses are "emphasizing the steps they are taking to protect workers, from disinfecting facilities and setting up plexiglass dividers" to staggering shifts for better social distancing. But Republicans and trade groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce argue that many employers "might be deterred from reopening" without an added legal buffer. Beyond raising the bar for proving a company is at fault for a workplace illness, business advocates argue for protection from privacy suits if a company discloses a worker's illness for safety reasons, and a legal shield for companies that are manufacturing products during the crisis that are new to them, such as personal protective equipment.

This is "abhorrent," said Leah Garces at New York Daily News. Stripping employees of the right to sue over an unsafe working environment  during a pandemic, no less  means workers or their loved ones "may never receive due compensation." President Trump has already signaled to workers in meat-processing plants that they don't matter. His Defense Production Act order to meat packers promised the industry new liability protections, rewarding companies that have already let the virus spread thanks to their "failure to protect workers." Republicans are pushing the same tort reform agenda they've been trying to move forward for years, said The Washington Post in an editorial. Existing tort law already "requires proof of a causal link between company conduct and worker injury," a high standard. Additional "safe harbor" protections for law-abiding companies only "for the duration of the crisis" might be negotiated, but Congress shouldn't be "helping companies make excuses for deadly failures."

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It's not just reckless companies that need this protection, said Bradley Blakeman at The Hill. States and cities are ending lockdowns in different ways, "opening the door to second-guessing, disagreements, and, yes, lawsuits." The coronavirus is a "breeding ground of opportunity" for litigants with frivolous claims. Leaving businesses vulnerable to punishment for hard decisions made in good faith increases uncertainty and adds "further harm to our fragile economy." Covid-19related lawsuits are already here, said James Copland at City-Journal. Walmart is facing a wrongful-death suit from the family of a deceased worker, while workers at Smithfield Foods have sued the meat company over the viral outbreaks in its plants. Businesses can't operate under the constant threat of such litigation. There are ways to compensate those who suffer real injuries without relying on the broken tort system. Congress provided a fund for families of victims of the attacks on Sept. 11, "precluding potentially ruinous lawsuits against airlines and companies involved in disaster response." There are ways to shield business from liability without hanging workers out to dry.

This article was first published in the latest issue of The Week magazine. If you want to read more like it, you can try six risk-free issues of the magazine here.

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As the coronavirus continues its spread through the impoverished West Bank and Gaza Strip, the United Nations refugee agency for Palestinians is seeking emergency funding to help with what it calls the worst financial crisis in the organizations 70-year history.

The UN Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, announced a $93.4 million urgent appeal Friday to help cover the cost of food aid, cash assistance and other vital services to Palestinians suffering financially as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

The agency provides humanitarian assistance to 5.6 million Palestinian refugees and their descendants living in the Palestinian territories, as well as Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

The renewed plea to donors comes as a funding crunch has forced UNRWA, which runs 144 clinics staffed by 3,200 health care workers, to scale back or shutter programs entirely.

Why it matters: We have been facing chronic financial challenges with the loss of our biggest donor in 2018, Elizabeth Campbell, UNRWA's director in Washington, told Al-Monitor. That has meant that weve had to sort of operate financially on a month-to-month basis.

The Donald Trump administration announced it would halt US funding  some $360 million  to the agency in 2018, labeling UNRWA an irredeemably flawed operation that it would no longer support.

It has had a corrosive impact on our institutions, Campbell said of cuts from the United States, once the agencys biggest donor.

In mid-April, the administration announced it would be providing $5 million in disaster assistance for the Palestinian territories, far short of the hundreds of millions the Trump administration slashed in 2018 and just 7% of the Palestinian aid Congress appropriated for this fiscal year.

Whats next: Earlier this week, the Palestinian Authority announced a one-month extension of its partial lockdown intended to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The total number of confirmed cases across the West Bank and Gaza stands at 547, with four recorded deaths.

Health experts are particularly concerned about the potential for a wider outbreak in Gaza, a besieged territory of some 2 million people, many of whom live in crowded refugee camps. Military conflict with Israel, internal political instability and a 13-year Israeli-Egyptian blockade have left hospitals overburdened and understaffed.

UNRWAs coronavirus work in both the West Bank and Gaza ranges from quarantining possible cases to coordinating telemedicine to providing health care workers with personal protective equipment Without additional funding, the agency could be forced to discontinue those services.

Know more: Daoud Kuttab takes a look at the praise directed at a potential Mahmoud Abbas successor, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, for his response to the coronavirus outbreak. Ahmad Abu Amer describes life in Gaza as restaurants begin opening their doors to fearful citizens.
India coronavirus news and lockdown highlights: The total COVID-19 cases in the country spiked to 59,662, including 39,834 active cases, 17,846 recoveries, 1 migrated patient and 1,981 deaths, with 3,320 new cases and 95 deaths in 24 hours. The Union Health Ministry in its daily briefing on coronavirus in the country, said that around 216 districts in India have not recorded any COVID-19 positive case till date. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has said that the doubling rate of COVID-19 cases has risen from 11 days from 9.9 days. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray refuted rumours that the Army will take over Mumbai to tackle the coronavirus crisis. Although, Thackeray acknowledged that the virus "chain" has not been broken in the state yet, but he also assured that adequate medical infrastructure was made available by his government, especially in Mumbai.

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Follow BusinessToday.in for live updates on coronavirus in India and world:

9.30 pm: Delhi coronavirus latest updates

Delhi government has issued orders to all Deputy Commissioners, government of Delhi on the release and inter-state movement of stranded persons related to Tablighi Jamaat from Delhi.

Government of Delhi issues orders to all Deputy Commissioners, Govt of Delhi on the release and inter-state movement of stranded persons related to Tablighi Jamaat from Delhi.#COVID19pic.twitter.com/O0GEh3nsqz  ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

9.28 pm: Kerala coronavirus latest updates

Kerala Government has issued Standard Operating Protocol (SOP) to observe complete shut down across the state on Sundays until further notice.

Kerala Government has issued Standard Operating Protocol to observe complete shut down across the State on Sundays until further notice. pic.twitter.com/C9iRmTTGVw  ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

8.57 pm: Shimla Police has booked a person for sharing a false post on social media claiming that a chemist at Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital in Shimla had tested positive for COVID-19, informed Deputy Commissioner Amit Kashyap.

8.30 pm: Madhya Pradesh coronavirus cases

Madhya Pradesh Health Department reported 116 new COVID-19 cases in the state today. With this, the total number of coronavirus cases in Madhya Pradesh has reached 3,457. Out of the total cases, 1,480 patients have recovered while 211 others succumbed to the virus. There are 625 containment areas in the state, the Health Department said.

8.21 pm: Coronavirus cases in India

62 CRPF personnel tested positve for coronavirus today. The total number of infected CRPF officials has reached 234, of which 231 are active cases.

8.13 pm: Gujarat coronavirus latest updates: 394 fresh coronavirus cases in Gujarat, state's tally rises to 7,797

In last 24 hours, Gujarat has reported 394 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, said the State Health Department. This takes the total number of COVID-19 cases in the state to 7,797 including 2,091 recoveries and 472 deaths.

7.51 pm: Haryana coroanvirus cases

Number of coroanvirus cases in Haryana reached 675, including 376 active cases, 290 recoveries and 9 deaths. Doubling rate of cases in the state is 9 days said Haryana Health Department.

7.38 pm: Coroanvirus prevention

Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba will hold a video conference over containing COVID-19 with all states and union territories tomorrow at 10 am. Chief Secretaries and Principal Secretaries (Health) from states will join the meeting. Niti Aayog Member, Health Secretary, I&B Secretary, Member Secretary of NDMA will also be present.

7.28 pm: Tamil Nadu coronavirus latest updates: With 526 new cases, Tamil Nadu's coronavirus count reaches 6,535

Tamul Nadu reported 526 new cases of coronavirus and 4 deaths today, taking the total number of cases to 6,535 and death toll to 44. Number of active cases in the state stands at 4,664 in the state. Of total cases, 1,867 cases are linked to Koyambedu market.

Number of #COVID19 cases reaches 675 Haryana, including 290 recoveries & 9 deaths. Number of active cases stands at 376. Doubling rate of cases in the state is 9 days: Haryana Health Department pic.twitter.com/DidJDHLLbE  ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

7.19 pm: Coronavirus lockdown

A special flight under Vande Bharat Mission carrying 177 Indians takes off from Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur for Trichy, Tamil Nadu.

526 new cases of #Coronavirus & 4 deaths have been reported in Tamil Nadu today, taking total number of cases to 6535 & death toll to 44. Of total cases, 1867 cases are linked to Koyambedu market. Number of active cases stands at 4,664 in the state: Tamil Nadu Health Department pic.twitter.com/AtX5DMJ4jD  ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

7.10 pm: Coronavirus vaccine

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) partners with Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) for developing indigenous COVID-19 vaccine.

#VandeBharatMission: A special flight carrying 177 Indians takes off from Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur for Trichy, Tamil Nadu.#COVID19lockdownpic.twitter.com/WI86ly0TnL  ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

6.04 pm: Karnataka total cases, deaths

Karnataka Health Department reported 41 new coronavirus cases today. The total number of cases now stands at 794 including, 377 active cases, 30 deaths and 386 discharges.

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) partners with Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) for developing indigenous COVID-19 vaccine. pic.twitter.com/exLP7p0sTB  ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

5.48 pm: Coronavirus Mumbai updates

Vicky Nagpal, a car accessories shop owner in Mumbai has started manufacturing 'isolation covers' for taxis as a precautionary measure against the spread of COVID-19. He says it takes 2 hours to make and they are making 25 pieces everyday.

5.45 pm: CBSE board exams: Copy evaluation in 3,000 centres to take 50 days

3,000 CBSE schools in the country have been selected as evaluation centres, informed HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal. From these centres, more than 1.5 crore answer sheets will be sent for evaluation to the homes of teachers. This process will be completed in approx 50 days.

5.37 pm: Mumbai coronavirus lockdown

Migrant workers queue outside Samta Nagar Police Station in Mumbai for submitting their applications to return to their home states.

41 new cases of #COVID19 have been reported in Karnataka today, taking total number of cases to 794 including 30 deaths & 386 discharges. Number of active cases stands at 377: Karnataka Health Department pic.twitter.com/wVwINZz6EH  ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

5.28 pm: Kerala COVID-19 cases

Two foreign returnees have tested positive for coronavirus in Kerala today, informed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. This takes total number of active cases in the state to 17.

5.04 pm: West Bengal coronavirus updates

West Bengal government has given green signal to 10 trains carrying migrant workers to enter the state, said State Home Secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay. A train will reach Malda from Telangana tomorrow. Government has also approved 6,000 inbound passes for small cars, he added.

5.02 pm: Andhra Pradesh coronavirus cases

Number of COVID-19 cases in Andhra Pradesh rose to 1,930, even as number of active cases declined below the 1,000-mark to 999. The death toll in Andhra Pradesh stands at 44. The state saw 43 new cases and 3 deaths in the past 24 hours.

4.52 pm: West Bengal coronavirus cases

West Bengal reported 108 COVID-19 cases and 11 deaths in the last 24 hours. This takes the total number of cases in the state to 1,786 and death toll to 99 in the state. Number of active COVID-19 cases stands at 1,243.

4.48 pm: Delhi coronavirus cases

Delhi High Court extends the interim bails granted to 2,177 under trial prisoners by another 45 days from the date of expiry of their interim bail period, in view of the prevailing coronavirus pandemic.

4.44 pm: Coronavirus lockdown

Since March 2020, 9.13 crore farmers have been paid Rs 18,253 crore under PM-KISAN during the coroanvirius lockdown, stated Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. About 3 crore farmers with agri loans amounting to Rs 4.22 lakh crore availed the benefit of the 3-month loan moratorium, the FM further said.

Maharashtra: Migrant workers were seen queuing up outside Samta Nagar Police Station in Mumbai for submitting their applications to return to their home states, earlier today. #lockdownpic.twitter.com/SK9NOxUUZu  ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

4.41 pm: Odisha coroanvirus cases

Odisha Health Department reported 2 new cases in Ganjam and Nayagarh. This takes the total number of coronavirus cases in Odisha to 289.

4.33 pm: Coronavirus updates: Vande Bharat flight ready to leave Muskat

All 177 passengers and 4 infants have checked in and are ready to fly back home in the Vande Bharat Mission flight, informed Embassy of India in Muscat, Oman. Three mortal remains are also being sent back in today's repatriation flight to Kochi, the Embassy added.

Since March 2020, 9.13 crore farmers have been paid Rs 18,253 crore under PM-KISAN during the #lockdown. About three crore farmers with agri loans totaling Rs 4,22,113 crore availed the benefit of the 3-month loan moratorium. @RBI@FinMinIndia@DFS_India@PIB_India  NSitharamanOffice (@nsitharamanoffc) May 9, 2020

4.18 pm: Delhi coronavirus news

Delhi government declares Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh; Saroj Medical Institute, Rohini Sector-19; and Khushi Hospital, Dwarka as dedicated COVID-19 hospitals. The government roped in these hospitals due to shortage of isolation beds in private hospitals in Delhi.

All 177 passengers & 4 infants checked in and ready to fly back home. Three mortal remains are also being sent back in today's repatriation flight to Kochi: Embassy of India in Muscat, Oman#VandeBharatMissionpic.twitter.com/pTM3ZSTEts  ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

4.12 pm: Bengaluru lockdown updates

Migrant workers reach Chikkabanavara Railway Station in Bengaluru to take a Shramik train for Darbhanga in Bihar.

Delhi Government declares Fortis hospital, Shalimar Bagh, Saroj Medical Institute, Rohini Sector-19 and Khushi Hospital, Dwarka as COVID19 hospitals, in view of shortage of isolation beds in private hospitals in Delhi. pic.twitter.com/vLhDmXHXAq  ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

4.06 pm: Uttar Pradesh coronavirus cases, total recoveries

Uttar Pradesh reported the total number of active coroanvirus cases in the state, as of today, at 1,800 and 1,399 recoveries. Our average recovery rate stands at around 43 per cent as against national average of 30 per cent, said Principal Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad.

4.01 pm: Amit Shah clarifies on rumours about his health

Karnataka: Migrant workers reach Chikkabanavara Railway Station in Bengaluru to board a 'Shramik Special' train for Darbhanga in Bihar. #lockdownpic.twitter.com/DkSgVnHJvk  ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

3.58 pm: Nodia coronavirus updates

Oppo's manufacturing facility in Greater Noida resumed operations today with around 200 workers who were brought to factory in buses. Maintenance work has begun before resuming complete operations. Government has allowed factories to operate with reduced workforce.

3.47 pm: Coronavirus treatment

Government will conduct a clinical trial to assess the efficacy of Ayurvedic drug Ashwagandha as a preventive drug among healthcare professionals and high-risk coronavirus individuals in comparison to hydroxychloroquine. This will undertaken as a joint initiative by 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).

3.45 pm: Vande Bharat Mission: Air India flight from Dhaka lands in Delhi

An Air India flight from Dhaka, Bangladesh under the Vande Bharat Mission has landed at the Delhi airport. The flight brought back 129 Indians.

#VandeBharatMission: An Air India flight carrying 129 passengers from Dhaka, Bangladesh has landed at Delhi airport pic.twitter.com/jMvGMpXlV1  ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

3.42 pm: Coronavirus news

Two software engineers in Patan, Gujarat have developed 'Dhar-Bot', a mechanised trolley. It has been deployed at GMERS Medical College and Hospital as a precautionary measure to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 to the hospital staff.

3.33 pm: Coronavirus cases in India

Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) reported 13 fresh cases of novel coronavirus among its personnel on Saturday, taking the number of infected CISF personnel to 48. Of them, 31 CISF personnel were working in Delhi Metro protection unit.

3.28 pm: Coronavirus news: No proposal to run Shramik trains to West Bengal

Amid a slugfest over transportation of stranded migrants to West Bengal, Indian Railways on Saturday said there was no proposal on record so far with it to run any more 'Shramik Special' trains to the state. The reaction came shortly after the TMC said they have already planned to run eight trains to ferry migrants from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Telangana. The party had claimed that the trains will run from Hyderabad to Malda on Saturday at 3 pm.

3.25 pm: Coroanvirus Lockdown: West Bengal circle higest grosser in small savings

West Bengal circle has emerged as the highest grosser in small savings mobilisation during the coroanvirus lockdown, acting Chief Post Master General (CPMG) Niraj Kumar said. The West Bengal circle also includes Sikkim and Andaman and Nicobar.

3.18 pm: Liquor home delivery in Punjab

"Home delivery of liquor will create a bad impact on women, elderly people and children. We fought our 2017 elections on the promise that we will make a 'Nasha Mukt' Punjab. I believe that CM will also look into it," Mamta Ashu, Congress Councillor and wife of Punjab Minister BB Ashu, told ANI.

3.16 pm: Coroanvirus Lockdown: Crime rate goes down in Goa

Crime rate has gone down as much as 67 per cent in Goa during the coronavirus lockdown, Shobit Saxena, SP Special Branch, told ANI. During the lockdown period, drug seizure has also gone down completely as tourists have gone out and there is no demand, he added.

3.10 pm: Kerala coroanvirus latest updates

We have arranged institutional quarantine facilities for 5,000 people who will be repatriated and come from red zone areas of other states, said Thiruvanathapuram District Collector K Gopalakrishnan. People returning to the state will be kept in quarantine for 14 days, he added.

We have arranged institutional quarantine facilities for 5,000 people who will come from abroad and red zone areas of other states. They will be kept in quarantine for 14 days: K. Gopalakrishnan, Thiruvanathapuram District Collector #Keralapic.twitter.com/BjDANhsO9F  ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

2.51 pm: Liquor sales in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu government has filed moved the Supreme Court challenging Madras High Court's order that directed the closure of all state-run liquor shops. In its order yesterday, the Madras High Court had directed all liquor shops in the state to close and recommended online sale during coronavirus lockdown.

2.35 pm: India coronavirus

Air India's first evacuation flight to bring back stranded Indians from abroad will take off from London for Mumbai on Saturday. Screening of passengers underway.

Air India's first evacuation flight from London will be taking off for Mumbai today. Screening of passengers underway.#VandeBharatMissionpic.twitter.com/U6km8IKvmK - ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

2.25 pm: Uttarakhand coronavirus cases: 4 more people infected

Uttarakhand recorded 4 fresh COVID-19 positive cases on Saturday, taking the total count of positive cases to 67, the state health department said.

4 new #COVID19 positive cases have been reported in Uttarakhand today; taking the total number of positive cases to 67: State Health Department pic.twitter.com/5VAQ4detIk - ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

2.18 pm: Coronavirus latest updates

13 more CISF personnel test COVID-19 positive in the last 24 hours, taking the total count to 48, CISF said on Saturday. (ANI reports)

2.13 pm: Punjab coronavirus latest updates

Restaurants and eateries opened in Ludhiana on Saturday after district magistrate allowed the opening of restaurants, eateries, ice cream shops, sweet shops and juice shops in the district from 7am to 7pm only for home delivery.

Punjab: Restaurants and eateries opened in Ludhiana today after district magistrate allowed the opening of restaurants, eateries, ice cream shops, sweet shops and juice shops in the district from 7am to 7pm only for home delivery. pic.twitter.com/PbRZevo7xR - ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

1.58 pm: Coronavirus live updates: Indigo announces pay cuts beginning May

Indigo CEO Ronojoy Dutta said in a mail to the airline's employees that their salaries will be cut under a "limited, graded leave without pay programme" for 3 months beginning May.

1.49 pm: Coronavirus in India: COVID-19 cases to peak inJune-July, says AIIMS Director

AIIMS Director Dr. Randeep Gulleria said on Thursday thatthe coronavirus cases will likely peak in the months of June and July adding that the rise in cases will come because of more testing across states.

1.39 pm: Coronavirus vaccine: Italian scientists claim to have developed world's first COVID-19 vaccine

A team of Italian scientists has claimed to have developed world's first vaccine to treat coronavirus patients. The scientists at Rome's Spallanzani Hospital have claimed that they are the first in the world to neutralise the virus with the drug they have developed and that the initial results were "encouraging and beyond expectations." The vaccine is currently in is an advanced stage of testing and the human trials will begin after the summer gets over

1.26 pm: Coronavirus live updates: Doubling rate of corona cases jump to 11 days against 9.9 days last week, says Harsh Vardhan

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Saturday that India's doubling rate of COVID-19 cases has risen to 11 days against 9.9 days last week. He added that the country's recovery rate has jumped to 29.9%, while fatality rate is at 3.3%, which are good indicators.

1.16 pm: Delhi coronavirus updates

COVID-19 positive Delhi government officials and their families will get "exclusive" treatment at the Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital (RGHHS), as per a notice issued by hospital.

1.08 pm: Coronavirus deaths in Delhi

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Saturday that the total death toll in the national capital stands at 68 so far. He added that there is no point of fudging or hiding data related to coronavirus.

1.03 pm: Assam Coronavirus cases: 15 more people test COVID-19 positive in last 48 hours

Assam registered 15 fresh coronavirus cases in last 48 hours, taking the total count of positive cases in the state to 59. Out of these 15 new cases, 10 are reported from Cachar district and 5 from Guwahati.

12.55 pm: Bengaluru coronavirus lockdown update: Karnataka allows liquor sale

Karnataka government has allowed restaurants, pubs & bars to sell liquor at retail prices, only in takeaway form till May 17. Venkatesh Babu, a bar owner says, "We welcome this move, from last 2 months our shop was closed due to #coronavirus & we were suffering losses".

Bengaluru: Karnataka government has allowed restaurants, pubs & bars to sell liquor at retail prices, only in takeaway form till May 17. Venkatesh Babu, a bar owner says,"We welcome this move, from last 2 months our shop was closed due to #coronavirus & we were suffering losses". pic.twitter.com/Ifkku8LdHJ - ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

12.45 pm: Chandigarh coronavirus news

11 fresh COVID-19 cases reported in Chandigarh on Saturday, taking the total count of positive cases to 159.

12.39 pm: Coronavirus cases latest updates

Nearly 500 Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) officials tested COVID-19 positive.

12.29 pm: Rajasthan coronavirus cases

57 fresh infection cases reported in the state till 9 am on Saturday

Here is the city wise tally list:-

Jaipur: 15

Udaipur: 20

Pali: 3

Kota: 1

Ajmer: 11

Churu: 2

Barmer: 1

Rajsamand: 2

Jalore: 1

Dausa: 1

12.17 pm: Coronavirus live updates

Day-3 of Vande Bharat Mission, see full schedule

Dubai to Chennai

Chennai arrival: 12:25 am

London to Mumbai

Mumbai arrival: 1:30 am (10th May)

Dhaka to Delhi

Delhi arrival: 3 pm

Kuwait to Hyderabad

Hyderabad arrival: 6:30 pm

Kuwait to Cochin

Cochin arrival: 9:15 pm

Kaula Lampur to Trichy

Trichy arrival: 9:40 pm.

Muscat to Cochin

Cochin arrival: 8:50 pm

Doha to Cochin

Cochin arrival: 1:40 am (10th May)

Sharjah to Lucknow

Lucknow arrival: 8:50 pm

12.09 am: Coronavirus cases worldwide

The total count of COVID-19 cases has crossed the 4 million-mark, while the death toll stands at 2.76 lakh.

12.03 pm: Kanpur coronavirus update

Construction work for Kanpur Metro Project has resumed amid corona lockdown. Jaidi, Kanpur Joint Metro Manager says, "For now work has started only inside our barricaded casting yard. All precautions are being taken".

Kanpur: Construction work for Kanpur Metro Project has resumed amid #CoronaLockdown. Jaidi, Kanpur Joint Metro Manager says, "For now work has started only inside our barricaded casting yard. All precautions are being taken". pic.twitter.com/2we7uiwWuD - ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 9, 2020

11.59: Coronavirus India cases live updates: Check state-wise tally here:

Maharashtra is the worst-affected state in India with 19,063 COVID-19 cases and 731 deaths

Gujarat follows suit with 7,402 cases and 449 deaths

Delhi is the third worst-hit state with 6,318 cases and 68 deaths.

Madhya Pradesh with 3,341 cases, 200 deaths

Rajasthan 3,579 cases, 101 deaths

Tamil Nadu-6,009 cases, 40 deaths

Uttar Pradesh (UP)-3,214 cases, 66 deaths

Andhra Pradesh-1,887 cases, 41 deaths

Telangana 1,133 cases, 29 deaths

West Bengal-1,678 cases, 160 deaths

Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)- 823 cases, 9 deaths

Karnataka- 753 cases, 30 deaths

Kerala- 503 cases, 4 deaths

Bihar-571 cases, 5 deaths

Punjab-1,731 cases, 29 deaths

Haryana-647 cases, 8 deaths

11.49 am: Maharashtra coronavirus latest updates: 714 cops test positive

Maharashtra Police said on Saturday that 714 police personnel have tested positive for COVID-19 in the state, of which 648 are active cases, 61 recovered & 5 deaths. There have been 194 incidents of assault on police personnel during the lockdown period and 689 accused have been arrested for the same.

714 police personnel have tested positive for #COVID19 in the state, of which 648 are active cases, 61 recovered & 5 deaths. There have been 194 incidents of assault on police personnel during the lockdown period & 689 accused have been arrested for the same: Maharashtra Police pic.twitter.com/1xcxfUiXze - ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

11.39 am: Coronavirus in India: State-wise status

Top 5 states in the country by recovery:

Maharashtra (3,470)

Delhi (2,020)

Gujarat (1,872)

Rajasthan (1,916)

Tamil Nadu (1,605)

11.28 am: India coronavirus updates

High Commission of India in Bangladesh said on Saturday the citizens bound for Delhi have reached the airport in Dhaka to board the Air India flight to return home. 129 passengers are booked for the flight.

Our citizens bound for Delhi have reached the airport in Dhaka. #VandeBharatMission will be taking them home today. 129 Passengers are booked for the Air India flight: High Commission of India in Bangladesh pic.twitter.com/YkppZo0Zi5 - ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

11.18 am: Jharkhand coronavirus updates: 21 cases reported on Friday; highest 1-day jump

Jharkhand recorded 21 fresh COVID-19 cases on Friday, the biggest single-day spike in its coronavirus infections. Out of the 455f swab samples tested during the day, 21 came out positive for the COVID-19 infection, Dr. D K Singh, Director, Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) said. The total count of positive cases now stands at 153 in the state, officials said. (PTI)

11.08 am: India coronavirus live updates: State-wise status

Five worst-affected states in India by deaths:

Maharashtra (731)

Gujarat (449)

Madhya Pradesh (200)

West Bengal (160)

Rajasthan (101)

10.59 am: Gujrat coronavirus latest updates: AIIMS director heads for Ahmedabad following jump in COVID-19 cases

With the mounting number of novel coronavirus cases and deaths in Gujarat, AIIMS Director, Dr. Randeep Guleria along with medical experts from the facility have rushed to Ahmedabad to provide expert guidance to medicos there on COVID-19 management.

Read more here: Coronavirus in Gujarat: AIIMS director heads for Ahmedabad following sharp spike in COVID-19 cases, deaths

10.49 am: 600 new coronavirus cases, 3 deaths in Tamil Nadu in 24 hours

The total count of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state now stand at 6,009 along with 40 deaths, as per the latest data by the Union Health Ministry.

10.39 am: Gujarat coronavirus cases

390 new cases, 24 deaths reported in 24 hours in Gujarat. Total count of confirmed cases jumps to 7,402, with death toll at 449, as per the latest data by the Union Health Ministry.

10.28 am: Coronavirus in India: Learn to live with COVID-19, says Health Ministry

The Union Health Ministry said on Friday that people have to learn to live with coronavirus infection. Addressing the media at the government's routine daily briefing, Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry said that the preventive guidelines against the COVID-19 pandemic "need to be implemented as behaviroal changes." He added, "If we follow the dos and don'ts, we may not reach peak in number of COVID-19 cases and our curve may remain flat."

10.22 am: Delhi lockdown news

Police personnel check IDs and passes of people as they commute through Delhi-Ghazipur border, amid coronavirus lockdown.

Delhi: Police personnel check IDs and passes of people as they commute through Delhi-Ghazipur border, amid #CoronavirusLockdown. pic.twitter.com/lWL85t12al - ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

10.14 am: Mumbai coronavirus cases: 748 more people test positive

Mumbai which is the worst-affected city not only in Maharashtra, but in India recorded 748 fresh COVID-19 cases and 25 deaths in the last 24 hours. Out of the 25 deaths, 18 coronavirus patients had co-morbidities, 13 are male, 12 female.

10.09 am: Maharashtra coronavirus cases

With 1,089 new COVID-19 cases and 37 deaths, Maharashtra's total count of confirmed cases jumped to 19,063 on Saturday, while the death toll climbed to 731 in the state, according to latest update by the Union Health Ministry.

9.59: Noida coronavirus lockdown: 800 factories reopen, but with limited operations

Noida authority has allowed 800 factories to begin operations but with limited operations in line with strict guidelines by the state government. Samsung said on Friday that it has been allowed to open its Noida Sector 81 factory.

9.49 am: Rajasthan coronavirus cases

Rajasthan recorded 57 fresh COVID-19 cases on Saturday taking the total count of positive cases to 3,636, while death toll stands at 101, said the state health department.

57 new #COVID19 positive cases have been reported today taking the total number of positive cases to 3636. Death toll is at 103: Rajasthan Health Department pic.twitter.com/AOjNLT7H7q - ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

9.39 am: Coronavirus live updates

Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) issues revised discharge policy for #COVID19 patients.

Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) issues revised discharge policy for #COVID19 patients. pic.twitter.com/6GpWbnAFFB - ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

9.29 am: Delhi coronavirus cases jump to 6,318 on Saturday along with 68 deaths,

Delhi recorded 338 fresh COVID-19 cases and 2 deaths in 24 hours taking the total count to 6,318 in the national capital, according to latest update by the Union Health Ministry. 448 new COVID-19 cases were recorded in the national capital on Thursday, the single spike in one day.

Also Read: Delhi's coronavirus tally jumps to 6,318; 338 new cases reported in 24 hours

9.19 am: Coronavirus in India: Cases will peak in June-July, says AIIMS Director

The COVID-19 cases will peak between June and July, AIIMS Director Dr. Randeep Gulleria said on Thursday adding that the rise in the number of cases will come due to more testing across states

9.10 am: Liquor shops i.n Assam: Alcohol to get costlier as state govt hikes excise duty by 25%

The Assam government has taken the decision to hike the excise duty on Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) by 25%, state Industry Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said after a cabinet meet on Friday. The decision has been taken to increase the state government's revenues in the wake of economic crisis due to COVID-19 induced lockdown. This will help the Assam government mop up an addition income of Rs 1,000 crore.

Read more here: Lockdown 3.0: Alcohol to cost more in Assam; state govt hikes excise duty by 25 per cent

9.02 am: Totola coronavirus deaths in India

The country reported 95 new deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 1,981. Maharashtra is the worst-hit state with 731 deaths.

8.55 am: Total coronavirus cases in India in 24 hours

India recorded 3,320 fresh COVID-19 cases and 95 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the total count of confirmed cases to 59,662 on Saturday, according to latest update by the Union Health Ministry.

8.45 am: Coronavirus cases in India approach 60,000-mark

The total COVID-19 cases in the country spiked to 59,662, including 39,834 active cases, 17,846 recoveries, 1 migrated and 1,981 deaths. The Union Health Ministry in its daily briefing on coronavirus in the country, said that around 216 districts in India have not recorded any COVID-19 positive case till date.

8.30 am: Maharashtra coronavirus latest updates: CM Uddhav Thackeray refutes rumours of Army taking over Mumbai

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray refuted rumours that the Army will take over Mumbai to tackle the coronavirus crisis. Although, Thackeray acknowledged that the virus "chain" has not been broken in the state yet, but he also assured that adequate medical infrastructure was made available by his government, especially in Mumbai.
By Jacob V. Hudnut and Vishnu Khemraj

There has been an unexpected side effect of the COVID-19 pandemic: a rise in domestic violence. Mandatory lockdowns across the United States have left domestic violence victims trapped with abusers. The consequences  including physical abuse, mental illness, post-traumatic stress disorder, and even murder  are as dangerous as the pandemic itself.

Jersey City has not been spared. In March, WomenRising, a community-based organization for women in Hudson County, reported an increased demand in sheltering because of the pandemic. In April, there was startling news when a young business owner, Garima Kothari, died in an alleged murder-suicide at the hands of her husband.

Fortunately, Jersey City has the most aggressive municipal court domestic violence program in the state. We are one of a handful of New Jerseys 565 municipalities with full-time judges and prosecutors at the local level. We have a dedicated domestic violence court, which means our judge and prosecutors assigned there develop a deep understanding of the complexities of domestic violence. Additionally, as a dedicated court, the judge and prosecutors can easily identify repeat offenders and victims.

The resources a municipality puts into its court system are crucial in fighting domestic violence. Nearly 75% of the states domestic violence prosecutions occur in municipal courts according to a 2014 study commissioned by the New Jersey Supreme Court. The fact that the most severe cases are instead heard in county courts is of no moment. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have found that a woman is far more likely to be killed by a partner who has committed non-fatal domestic violence in the past. For this reason, there is no room for value judgments about the severity of a particular victims injuries or where a case is heard. All domestic violence must be taken seriously.

As far as our Jersey City prosecutors, a full-time office with support staff means a more thorough review of each case and its evidence. We can arrive at just and fair outcomes. It also means that if a case cant resolve through the agreement of all parties, we have the time and the necessary resources to take the case to trial. This may seem like a no-brainer for a prosecutors office, but it is rare at the municipal-level in New Jersey.

Conviction isnt the only tool in a Jersey City prosecutors kit. Many victims remain in abusive relationships because they feel as if there are no other options. This is a mistaken belief. In response, we educate our victims. We have partnered with WomenRising and another strong organization, Sarahs Daughter, to offer in court referrals to victim services. These organizations send volunteer victim advocates to court, and we require all victims to meet in private with these advocates. Information on sheltering, counseling, relocation assistance, victim compensation is shared. Victims are free to ask questions, and many of the advocates are survivors themselves. Through conversation, victims learn there are options to start a safer and happier life free from abuse.

When it comes to defendants, our focus is not always punishment. Our prosecutors are problem-solvers, not case processors. Many defendants are referred to counseling programs. Above all else, our aim is to correct behavior, break cycles, and stop escalation.

Recently we have partnered with the Jersey City Department of Health and Human Services to provide defendant counseling based on the nationally recognized Duluth Model. This intense multi-disciplinary program provides group-facilitated exercises that challenge ones perception of entitlement to control and dominate ones partner. It has been successful in jurisdictions across the United States, and later this year we will be rolling it out in Jersey City as both a means of diversion from tradition prosecution and a component of sentencing. Best of all: the program is offered for free as a city service, so a defendants ability to pay or access to health insurance is not a consideration.

These commitments and programs will not slow in the face of the pandemic and the stay-at-home orders. Our Municipal Court was among the first municipal courts in New Jersey to respond by rolling out virtual court. We will keep hearing cases and our prosecutors will keep standing up for victims.

In Jersey City, we have too many public health challenges ahead of us as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. And while we will rise to meet these challenges, we cannot let an increase in domestic violence be among them. Fighting domestic violence requires measured but aggressive responses, and Jersey City will stand ready to meet these challenges during the pandemic and beyond.

If you are a victim in immediate danger, please call 911. For non-emergency support services, please call the Jersey City Health and Human Services Division of Injury Prevention at 201-547-6560.

Jacob V. (Jake) Hudnut is the municipal prosecutor of Jersey City. Vishnu Khemraj is an assistant prosecutor assigned to the domestic violence court.

Send letters to the editor and guest columns for The Jersey Journal to jjletters@jjournal.com.
Queensland's Deputy Premier and Treasurer Jackie Trad has stood aside from her ministerial duties after the states corruption watchdog launched an investigation into her alleged role in the appointment of a school principal.

Ms Trad announced on Saturday she was standing down from her ministerial duties, which Brisbane Times understands includes all her roles as Deputy Premier, Treasurer and Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, pending the outcome of the investigation.

Jackie Trad says she is standing down from her ministerial duties amid a CCC probe. Credit:Dan Peled/AAP

To ensure that this is not a distraction for the Premier and for the Labor government, I advised the Premier last night I would be standing aside from my ministerial duties until the investigation is completed, she said

I fully intend on running for the seat of South Brisbane and ensuring strong progressive leadership for our community.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 07:06:13|Editor: huaxia

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A pedestrian wearing a face mask walks at Brooklyn Bridge Park in New York, the United States, on April 28, 2020. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)

The U.S. unemployment rate jumped to 14.7 percent in April, the highest level since the Great Depression. Analysts, however, believe the worst is yet to come.



WASHINGTON, May 8 (Xinhua) -- New data showed that U.S. employers cut a staggering 20.5 million jobs in April, erasing a decade of job gains since the global financial crisis and pushing the unemployment rate to a record 14.7 percent.

While this marks the highest level of unemployment since the Great Depression, analysts said the figure does not capture the full scale of the COVID-19-induced job crisis, and the worst is yet to come.





LABOR MARKET "IN FREE FALL"

In April, the unemployment rate surged by 10.3 percentage points to 14.7 percent, the largest over-the-month increase in the history of the series dating back to January 1948, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday.

"As tragic as this number is, it comes as little surprise as more than 26 million individuals had filed for unemployment benefits between the March employment survey and the April survey," Jay H. Bryson, acting chief economist at Wells Fargo Securities, wrote in an analysis.

Since mid-March, numerous U.S. states have rolled out "stay-at-home" policies and shut down nonessential businesses in a bid to slow the spread of the virus, leading companies to cut millions of jobs in weeks.

"There was no sub-category that was spared from the carnage," Bryson said.

Employment in leisure and hospitality plummeted by 7.7 million, or 47 percent, the report showed. Almost three-quarters of the decrease, or 5.5 million, occurred in food services and drinking places.

Photo taken on May 8, 2020 shows the building of U.S. Department of Labor in Washington D.C., the United States. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

The manufacturing sector shed 1.3 million workers, and employment in retail trade was down 2.1 million jobs. The education and health sector, which is a reliable job creator during "normal" times, lost 2.5 million jobs, Bryson noted.

Government employment also dropped by 980,000 in April, according to the bureau. Employment in local government was down by 801,000, in part reflecting school closures.

"Today's devastating jobs report confirms that the labor market is in free fall, undoing years of economic progress," said Shai Akabas, director of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center. "Unfortunately, we already know it gets worse from here."

Hispanics and African-Americans have been hit the hardest in the job crisis. Data showed that the unemployment rate in April jumped to 18.9 percent for Hispanics, 16.7 percent for African-Americans, 14.5 percent for Asians and 14.2 percent for whites.

Average hourly earnings in April increased by 1.34, or 4.7 percent, to 30.01 dollars, the report showed. Noting that average hourly earnings have been rising by 0.2 percent to 0.3 percent on average for the past few years, Bryson said the sudden surge is "hardly a sign of strength."

"Because job losses in April fell disproportionally among low-wage workers, the average wage jumped," Bryson said. "If, as we expect, the unemployment rate remains elevated in coming months, then growth in hourly earnings should weaken considerably."





UNEMPLOYMENT COULD BE HIGHER

The record unemployment figure, however, might not capture the full scale of job loss amid the COVID-19 fallout, due to the survey's timing and the traditional definition of unemployment, among other things.

Photo taken on May 7, 2020 shows a temporarily closed shopping mall in Washington D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

"Because of the survey's timing, these data give a snapshot of the labor market from three weeks ago," Akabas said. The BLS's household survey reference period is generally the calendar week that contains the 12th day of the month, in this case April 12 through April 18.

"Since then, millions more have lost their jobs, as evidenced by the ongoing streak of record-setting unemployment insurance claims," Akabas said.

The new unemployment data came one day after the bureau reported that the number of initial jobless claims totaled nearly 3.2 million last week. In the prior week, the figure reached 3.8 million.

Besides, the BLS said that if the workers who were recorded as employed but absent from work due to "other reasons," which is over and above the number in a typical April, had been classified as unemployed on temporary layoff, the overall unemployment rate would have been almost 5 percentage points higher than reported.

Former BLS Commissioner Erica Groshen noted that millions have been laid off or left a job and are not hunting for a new one amid the pandemic, and they might not be defined as unemployed, the Marketplace reported.

The BLS report also showed that the labor force participation rate dropped by 2.5 percentage points over the month to 60.2 percent, the lowest rate since January 1973, when it was 60 percent.

"The unemployment rate would have jumped even higher had not 6.4 million individuals left the labor force," Bryson said.

Considering these factors, Chicago Fed economists Jason Faberman and Aastha Rajan said in a blog earlier this week that the official data for April could vastly understate job destruction from the pandemic.

"To count as unemployed, one must be out of work and either on temporary layoff or actively looking and available for new work. This leaves out many people who want to work but did not look for work in the period covered by the data, as well as people who may remain employed but at substantially reduced hours," they argued.

The Chicago Fed economists estimated a 'U-Cov' rate in April of somewhere between 25.1 percent and 34.6 percent.





CAN REOPENING SAVE JOBS?

As the U.S. economy witnesses its biggest slump since the global financial crisis, with 33 million jobless claims filed within seven weeks, the potential economic recovery following the reopening could be welcoming news for many.

Photo taken on May 7, 2020 shows the window of a temporarily closed shopping mall in Washington D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

According to a recent projection from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, partially reopening would increase GDP on June 30 by 1 percent year-on-year, to a 10.7 percent contraction. About 4.4 million jobs would be saved, though 14 million jobs will still be lost between May 1 and June 30.

White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett recently said that every U.S. state will mostly reopen by the end of May, and most forecasters predict an economic rebound in the second half of the year.

President Donald Trump said Friday on Fox News that with the reopening of the economy, lost jobs will come back. "Those jobs will all be back, and they'll be back very soon," the president said.

Economists, however, seem to believe otherwise. Michael Hicks, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University in Indiana, said that "the bulk of job losses fall in sectors which will continue to suffer low demand after shelter in place orders have been loosened."

"Regardless of state action to relax shelter in place rules, the economy will continue to experience Great Depression levels of stress until COVID-19 vaccinations or treatments are available," Hicks said.

Hicks, however, said the good news is that of the 20.5 million workers unemployed over the month, 18 million reported they were experiencing a temporary layoff. "This signals the expectation that they may regain their jobs as conditions improve," Hicks said.

According to Bryson, the unemployment rate "will still be in excess of 6 percent at the end of next year."

Jason Furman, a professor at Harvard University and former economic adviser to President Barack Obama, said on Twitter that "I don't know what unemployment will be in 2 years. I fear still very high but could get lucky."

"Either way the right policy is the same: include triggers that make future assistant contingent on what actually happens. If unemployment rate is high continue it automatically," Furman said, referring to the COVID-19 relief package passed by the U.S. Congress.

Analysts said it could take years to return to the historically low 3.5 percent unemployment rate the country experienced before the COVID-19 outbreak. Since September last year, the unemployment rate had been hovering around 3.5 percent to 3.6 percent until February. 
Driving responsible individual behaviour to achieve collective well-being through public policy is not new to governments. During the coronavirus disease (Covid-19)-sparked crisis, the debate on what constitutes the realm of personal choice vis-a-vis collective responsibility is evolving faster than ever before. Governments are using behavioural change and nudge theory to address myriad development and governance challenges.

The idea gained traction after the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) mainstreamed it by establishing nudge units. In India, behavioural change has been woven into programmes such as the Swachh Bharat Mission, Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojna, and the PM Ujjwala Yojana. The governments think-tank, NITI Aayog, also plans on setting up a formal nudge unit.

The Covid-19 pandemic is unique in many ways: There are varying levels of risks for different age groups; there is an all-pervading threat to different socio-economic groups; and there is a need for individual-level impositions on the part of the government. These three are testing two vital elements of human behaviour. First, personal risk-seeking behaviours, and second, the degree to which an individual behaves in the benefit of society.

The critical challenge here is to turn the situation around to implement reforms in behavioural change theory that were difficult so far. For example, now is the time to reinforce one of the key messages of the Swachh Bharat Mission: To encourage citizens to wash hands regularly. Children can be made champions of more hygienic behaviour in their families. The 20-second hand wash rule, complemented by a turn the tap off message, can propel water-use optimisation behaviour.

Similarly, to maintain social distance, the idea of using toilets constructed under the mission can be reiterated. In urban areas, the possibility of delays in doorstep waste collection can be used to drive home the point that there is an urgent need to improve waste management and begin segregation at home. A my neighborhood, my hygiene campaign can nudge urban citizens to care for their localities sustainably.

On the economic front, learnings from give up LPG subsidy can be used to change the way such programmes work. The idea of market-based utility pricing can be piloted in the distribution companies and passenger services of Indian Railways by eliminating populist cross-subsidies. A nudge to pay taxes timely and rightfully this year can set a new benchmark for compliance, as people become more willing to contribute despite their economic hardships.

As communities work closely with local health care cadre, focused messaging on reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health can improve health-seeking attitudes. With people experiencing stress and anxiety, authorities can encourage them to look at their lifestyles holistically by practising wellness guidelines of the National AYUSH Mission.

With nurses and female doctors emerging as the heroes in the fight against the coronavirus, a renewed Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign, highlighting womens critical role in the countrys success can improve gender outcomes. Similarly, a systematic behavioural change to arrest the flow of misinformation through social media can be achieved by nudging citizens to think about information accuracy before taking any action. With governments going online, many procedures can either be eliminated or digitised with minimal resistance from employees and citizens alike.

This is also an opportune moment to promote digital payments. Given the changing role of police officers from law- enforcers to social collaborators, a systematic change in their public perception can improve civic-safety outcomes. With the young voluntarily helping the old procure, essential commodities, the concept of community-led geriatric care can also be promoted.

Such top-down measures complemented by bottom-up initiatives can ensure that change becomes permanent. In this context, the role of panchayati raj institutions becomes critical. Integrating behavioural change in gram panchayat development plans can be a step in the direction towards leveraging these grassroots capacities.

However, we must keep in mind the fallout of soft paternalism and typical impediments such as dragons of inaction, and behavioural fatigue while attempting to use the theory of behavioural change. One must use the idea of nudging and behavioural public policy cautiously.

If correctly utilised and well executed, it has the potential to drastically alter the level of trust among citizens, thereby changing the nature of the governmentcitizen relationship forever. It can upgrade citizenry, improve democratic outcomes, and enhance the public services efficiency in the longer run.

Sanyukta Samaddar is adviser, and Sumitra K. and Anand Trivedi are monitoring and evaluation lead and specialist, Niti Aayog respectively.

The views expressed are personal
At least two people were killed and more were injured in western Afghanistan on May 9 when police clashed with hundreds of protesters angry over what they insisted was unfair distribution of food aid during the COVID-19 pandemic, a local lawmaker said.

Protesters in the western Ghor Province were claiming the humanitarian assistance was being given mainly to people with political connections.

Gulzaman Nayeb, a lawmaker from Ghor Province, said seven people had been killed and 14 injured.

Mohammad Arif Aber, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said two people had been killed and five injured after police opened fire in response to some of the 300 or so protesters throwing stones and firing weapons and trying to storm the governor's residence.

Aber denied that aid was being handed out unfairly.

Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) Chairwoman Shaharzad Akbar said that group is probing "worrying reports of police firing on protesters."

Reuters said Akbar told it earlier this week that his commission had received numerous complaints from Afghans about the unfair distribution of supplies and other aid meant to help some of the country's 37 million or so people cope with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

"We hear repeated complaints from people that the ones who are receiving the limited aid that is there are not the ones that are most deserving, they are the ones who have connections to local authorities or local officials," it quoted her as saying.

Afghanistan has 3,778 confirmed cases of coronavirus infections and 109 deaths, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally, although testing is sparse and those figures are thought to be unreliable.

The executive director of the Afghanistan Journalists Center said the dead on May 9 included a local volunteer radio presenter who was sitting in his nearby shop when a stray bullet struck him in the head.

Based on reporting by Reuters
Millions of Canadians have been doggedly working from home through the pandemic. Its inspired endless memes and laments on social media: Zoom meetings in pyjamas, kids running amok with office papers, supersized data and electricity bills.

To be sure, there are many economic benefits of home work. It maintains at least partial production while respecting physical distancing and flattening the curve. On one hand, those who can work from home are lucky. They keep earning, but without the risks of infection facing those who must go out to work. But there are also many challenges and risks associated with home work. And if, as many expect, working from home remains common after the pandemic, employers, unions and policy-makers must address those challenges and make home work better.

Who gets to work at home? Not everyone can do their jobs from home. I estimate only around 30 per cent of Canadian workers can work largely or wholly from home. And that group is not randomly distributed. Managers, professionals and specialists  people who work mostly on computers  are most likely to be able to do their jobs remotely. That creates a double injustice: many of them earned higher salaries before the pandemic hit and now they get to keep working. That inequality reinforces the need for stronger income protections for those who lose work in the pandemic. Not all home workers are high earners; many earn lower pay, including many clerical, sales and call centre jobs.

Shifting costs: Some employers are enthusiastic about potential savings from downsizing offices and other workplaces. More home work means less costs for buildings, utilities and office equipment, potentially padding profit margins after the recession. But its unfair to simply shift workplace costs onto workers. Home workers should be compensated fairly for the expenses they incur  including utilities, data, equipment and space. Decent home work allowances should be specified in employment contracts and labour standards.

On the clock: Even before the pandemic, it was already hard to turn off work. With smartphones, email and Wi-Fi, work follows us everywhere  even on vacation. With home work, the boundaries between work and life become even fuzzier. Employers are tempted to assume home workers are always on the job, with the laptop just an arms length away. Many expect workers to make up for inevitable interruptions associated with home work by staying on the job well into the evening. Clear expectations need to be established and defended, that the working day still ends at a normal time.

Caring labour: Another burden shifted to workers in home work arrangements is child care and family responsibilities. For much or all of the day, home workers (especially women) are unfairly expected to manage households and child care while still performing their paid duties. The expansion of home work cannot become another excuse to delay necessary improvements in public child care.

Space and safety: Few home workers have a spare room or den to dedicate to an efficient, quiet work space. More of us work from kitchen tables and other makeshift places. In the long run, careful attention must be paid to organizing safe, ergonomic home work spaces: with good lighting, safe wiring, quality furnishings, and free of trip and fall hazards. Another priority must be safety in the family environment, again especially critical for women. Preventing and stopping violence at home (with measures like paid domestic violence leave) is essential for safe home work.

Privacy: Some employers complain working from home is a licence to slack off. Many are already rolling out new ways to monitor employee attention and productivity in their own homes. Webcam snooping, digital productivity trackers, GPS surveillance and other strategies could convert our homes into digital glass houses. This surveillance is intrusive and dangerous, and should be outlawed. Bosses need to use carrots, not sticks, in supporting their home workers to do their best.

Working from home will likely retain some of its current popularity, even once we can safely get back to work. But employment practices and labour standards must evolve to make sure home work is done right: safely, sustainably and fairly.

And at the end of the day, workers will need to defend their right to return to regular workplaces  because working in pyjamas will quickly lose its novelty. For most of us, interaction with colleagues, escaping from household stresses and duties, and working in a real workplace (not the kitchen table) all enhance job quality and productivity. Employers cost-cutting dreams shouldnt supersede our right to get back to normal work.

Jim Stanford is a Hamilton-based economist and a freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @jimbostanford
Union home minister Amit Shah has written to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee that the Centre was not receiving the expected support from her government in helping migrant workers reach home.

The state government is doing injustice to Bengali migrant workers stranded across the country by not allowing Shramik (worker) trains run by the railways to reach the state, Shah wrote in the letter, according to MHA officials.

Shah said the Centre had already facilitated the return home of more than 200,000 workers, adding that migrants from West Bengal employed elsewhere too were eager to go back home.

West Bengal government is not allowing trains with migrants reaching the state. This is injustice with WB migrant labourers. This will create further hardship for them,Shah wrote.

States with large migrant populations like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have received the maximum number of workers returning home on Shramik trains.West Bengal, senior officials said, has received only two special of the special trains so far and hasnt cleared any more trains. Until Friday, more than 250,000 migrants had been sent home on 251 Shramik trains.

The issue of migrant workers is the latest flashpoint between the Centre and the West Bengal government amid a row over the states efforts to control the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). The two sides have clashed over a visit by interministerial central teams (IMCTs) for an assessment of the situation in seven West Bengal districts. While the teams claimed that they didnt get any support from the state government in assessing measures put in place to control Covid-19, the state government accused the Centre of politicising a public health crisis.

Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla also on Thursday slammed the West Bengal government for a very low rate of testing and high rate of mortality  13.2%, - by far the highest for any state. The Centre has also accused the Trinamool Congress government of not allowing cross-border movement of goods trucks to Bangladesh, potentially jeoparadising trade commitments made to the neighbour..

Bengal has reported 1,678 Covid-19 positive cases and 160 deaths until Saturday morning.

The ministry of home affairs has told all the states that inter-state movement of only distressed migrant workers, students, pilgrims and tourists, who had moved from their home towns or workplaces before the coronavirus lockdown took effect on March 25, and could not return on account of restrictions, is allowed.
Don Wood observes a new growing homeless encampment outside the Los Angeles National Veterans Park. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Every morning in West Los Angeles, 73-year-old Don Wood circles his neighborhood in a Chevy Spark, checking out homeless encampments and taking an occasional photograph. When he gets home, he sends a photo or two to local officials and to members of a Westside task force looking for solutions to homelessness.

Simultaneously beautiful and dangerous, Wood messaged one day, attaching a stark image in which he had turned nine separate shots into a panorama of tents under the 405 Freeway on Venice Boulevard.

I joined Wood on his 36th straight day of monitoring, and then hooked up again with him last Thursday, Day 43 of the Don Patrol.

Why does he do this?

At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, when he feared the disease would spread through homeless encampments and beyond, making it more critical than ever to get people safely indoors as soon as possible, he noticed that a lot of people on the streets werent social distancing or wearing masks.

Don Wood, left, talks with Tim Walker, a veteran who is homeless, on his morning tour of homeless encampments on the Los Angeles Westside. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

I took the governor and mayor at their word when they said it was dangerous  and we had to do something about it, Wood said. I started going around to watch that metamorphosis happen. And it hasnt.

The first time I met up with Wood, we started on Sepulveda Boulevard under the 10 Freeway. At 7 a.m., a dozen or so tents lined the east side of Sepulveda, and Wood said the population had been constant for months, no more tents and no fewer tents.

I followed behind him in my car as we talked by phone about what he was seeing. When we got to his second stop, under the freeway on Military Avenue, he reported good news.

Thats much cleaner, he said, spotting only three tents instead of the usual dozen or so. They were in here cheek to jowl.

But there was little change on the rest of his route, which takes him about 45 minutes each day and concludes with stops at the West Los Angeles VA and the Westwood Rec Center.

Don Wood checks on a homeless encampment next to the 405 Freeway on his morning tour of Westside encampments. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

On Day 34, he explained that more tents had been set up on the fringe of the VA and just inside the fence, with toilets available and case managers on site. On Day 43, roughly 25 trailers were parked at the Westwood Rec Center and homeless people were being moved into them.

Story continues

But otherwise, Wood estimated, the population of people living in the encampments he checks on daily is virtually unchanged. And thats consistent with recent news about slow going on countywide efforts to move people indoors.

L.A. County officials set a goal of moving 15,000 of the county's 60,000 or so homeless people into largely empty hotels and motels through local implementation of the states Project Roomkey. Thats the rough number of homeless people 65 and older who have health conditions making them more likely to die if infected with the virus.

But as of last week, one month into the project, tracking by The Times found that fewer than 2,000 people had been moved inside. The effort has been sabotaged by NIMBY resistance from some cities, lack of cooperation by many hotel managers even though their rooms are empty, and complications in working out contract, insurance and liability details. Homeless advocates have been so ticked off that theyve lashed out at local officials and waged protests threatening to seize hotels.

Heidi Marston, interim director of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, acknowledged the complications but tried to put a positive spin on things. She said that as of Thursday, 1,776 people had moved into hotels and motels (a number that has climbed a bit since then), with hundreds more new leases being finalized, and roughly 1,000 more had been moved into rec centers  such as the Westwood Rec Center  and trailers.

Don Wood took nine photos of tents on Venice Boulevard under the 405 Freeway and put them together in a panorama. (Don Woods)

Its more than we could have dreamed of doing in 30 days, she said, but we have to keep going.

Marston said that getting people indoors is just one goal. Another is trying to connect them to long-term housing options before 90-day contracts with hotels run out at the end of June.

We cant open the doors to the hotels and motels and say OK, go back out on the street and well work with you later, Marston said.

With tens of thousands of empty hotel rooms in greater Los Angeles, its hard to imagine why more properties in more cities havent either stepped up voluntarily or been coerced or shamed into doing so. Participating hotels are being compensated, theyre able to bring furloughed employees back to work, and theyre aiding some of the most vulnerable people in society while also helping limit the spread of the virus.

And what about other housing options? While talking to Marston, I noted that tens of thousands of dorm rooms are vacant now because college campuses have been shut down and might not reopen in the fall. Why not recruit college leaders  especially those at taxpayer-funded public universities  to open their doors for temporary homeless housing?

Marston said the idea has come up but hasnt yet been pursued.

Don Wood, right, talks with Lameisha Randall, who works for an L.A. service and maintenance crew that provides portable toilets and hand washing stations for homeless encampments. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Wood, a Canadian who moved south 20 years ago, said hes long been the kind of guy who gets involved in civic causes. Frustration, impatience and a refusal to accept that massive numbers of homeless encampments should exist in such a wealthy country motivated him to try to be a part of the solution.

He signed on early this year to a fledgling task force that was spun off from the Westside Neighborhood Council to work with local officials and possibly contract with a service provider. He knows that some homeless people, due to mental illness or addiction, can be difficult to help. But he hasnt personally seen the level of effort he thinks is necessary, and he wonders about things such as why some encampments have bathrooms and hand-washing stations while others dont.

Mary Williams, another member of the task force, said the West Side has its NIMBYs and its YIMBYs, and their group is trying to inject fact-based data into the conversation. Wood has taken it upon himself to monitor and record developments on the streets.

On Day 43, Wood stopped on Venice under the 405, where about 100 people are living. Lameisha Randall, who works for an L.A. service and maintenance crew called Pit Stop, was scrubbing and setting up portable toilets and wash basins when I asked her about Woods daily visits.

I think he comes because hes concerned and hes trying to help the community, Randall said, adding that Wood sometimes delivers clothing or personal hygiene supplies.

At another encampment, Tim Walker, wearing a U.S. Marine shirt and repairing a bicycle outside his tent, said hed been the recipient of breakfast sandwiches handed out by Wood. Walker said social workers came by recently, asking if anyone had underlying health issues.

Pretty much everyone out heres got underlying health issues, said Walker, who told me he has severe PTSD and multiple physical problems. He added that he and others wouldnt necessarily trust offers of temporary hotel rooms, or consider them any safer than their tents, although hed be ready to talk about a more permanent housing solution.

I told Walker that several months ago, just around the corner from his tent, Id watched the coroner remove the body of a homeless man who died on the street.

I cant even tell you how many dead bodies Ive seen in sleeping bags over the years, Walker said.

Wood shudders to think, as do I, about whether the situation on the streets will get worse rather than better. With so many people thrown out of work, and government service budgets sure to be severely slashed, theres no telling how many more people will end up homeless.

Wood said hed like to relax at home in the morning, but as long as neighbors all around him sleep on the pavement, hell keep up his daily rounds and continue to send out emails, whether anyone responds to them or not. He said he lives by two philosophies.

One is do unto others, the golden rule, he said. The other is that Id rather be damned for doing than damned for not.

steve.lopez@latimes.com




Days after United States President Donald Trump's valet and vice President Mike Pence's Press Secretary tested positive for COVID-19, Ivanka Trump's personal assistant has now tested positive for the virus

As per a report in CNN, the assistant had been working from home for two months before being tested for the virus.

The worrying news comes after Trump's cross-country visit after isolating at the White House, which was meant as a signal that United States was recovering from the pandemic. Instead, it seems, the pandemic came to the White House.

As per reports, 34 members of the US Secret Service have also tested positive, though they do not physically work at the White House.

Amid a falling economy and several protests by "covidiots" across the country against state-imposed lockdowns, the Trump administration had been trying to downplay the crisis with the President pushing states to lift restrictions and resume normal life.

But neither Trump's nonchalance, nor the nightly cleanings of the Whir House or intermittent testing could keep COVID-19 at bay.

As news of Ivanka's assistant teting positive spread, social media was full of reactions with many slamming Trump for advocating the lifting of restrictions and claiming that testing was not necessary, even as three White House employees were tested positive.

Many mocked the President for previously suggesting unscientific cures for COVID-19 including disinfectants and bleach and claiming in February that coronavirus was a politicised hoax by Democrats.

Some even claimed that the White House was now a "hot-spot" for the spread of the virus.

Just so we're clear, at the same time Trump has decided that testing isn't necessary for the American people, Trump's valet and 2 of Pence's aides and Ivanka's personal assistant all tested positive, which was discovered immediately thanks to - you guessed it - daily testing. Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) May 9, 2020

First Trumps aide, then Pences aide, and now Ivankas aide. All have tested positive for coronavirus. Im sure glad I dont work for the Trump White House  how about you? Jon Cooper  (@joncoopertweets) May 9, 2020

So Trumps valet...Pences spokeswoman...Ivankas assistant. In the military we call this bracketing. It means the big booms are getting closer to their target. Its a bad thing if youre in the middle. https://t.co/IYZDrEcpEK Fred Wellman (@FPWellman) May 9, 2020

Dont worry Ivanka. It's a Dem hoax. You're fine. Go hug your assistant and show her you care. CountessofNambia (@theClaudiaInez) May 9, 2020

Karma karma karma Mar (@Mar31690472) May 9, 2020

As per reports, Ivanka and husband as well as Trump advisor Jared Kushner both tested negative for coronavirus on Friday.
Today's 70th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration, which set in motion the most ambitious and successful plan for peace, cooperation and Democracy in modern history, stands out from all previous anniversaries.



On our continent and throughout the world, we are experiencing the impact of Covid-19. A crisis of historic dimensions that will, to a significant extent, shape all aspects of our global geopolitical, social and economic reality. A crisis that will be yet another difficult test for our common European endeavour, but also an opportunity to reflect on how we want to define the community of values that we comprise.



Today, after 70 years of European integration and 39 years after our accession to the European communities, Greece and the Greek people embody and promote the idea of a Europe of principles and values in its political and social dimensions. Through painful sacrifices and unfaltering determination, our country emerged from its decade-long crisis and regained its position at the core of Europe.



Greece is now in a position to contribute actively to the Unions effort to create a new political narrative. A new proposal for the Europe of growth, employment and social achievements  for a Europe with prospects for its citizens and an example for its partners.



The European perspective of the Western Balkans remains the best guarantee of stability, prosperity and consolidation of democratic institutions in our immediate neighbourhood. European integration is much more than a space of free movement of people, goods and capital. It is an outlook on a common future based on shared values. The Thessaloniki Agenda remains relevant, and as the oldest EU member in the Balkans, we continue to work towards its implementation.



But in spite of significant achievements, challenges remain. The European Union still has much to do if it wants to meet the expectations of its peoples.



First, internally, where it will be called upon to respond to the coming economic crisis. All of our countries, and especially the most powerful ones in this community of values, have to function as members of a family. They must contribute boldly to our response to the economic repercussions of the crisis, guided by our common European destiny.



But also in its wider neighbourhood.



The protracted and new crises in Europes eastern and southern neighbourhoods require vigilance and resolve. Europe must rise to the very complex circumstances that characterize our globalized world. Today, more than everbefore, we need a unified and strong European voice on the regional and global stage.



This year, Europe Day virtually coincides with Greeces assumption of the six-month Chairmanship of our continents oldest political organization: the Council of Europe. The Hellenic Chairmanship will focus on the functional coexistence of our democratic way of life with the restrictions on fundamental freedoms that we are all experiencing. Our responses to these unprecedented issues are founded on the fundamental values of European political culture  values that we are being called upon to promote convincingly.



As citizens of Europe, it is our duty today to reflect on all that unites us.

To ignore the Sirens of populism.

To promote our common European values  especially solidarity, Democracy, pluralism and dialogue.



Using everything that unites us, we must prove that the vision of those who launched our European endeavour continues to inspire and thrive.
The Immortal Regiment procession was held at the A.S.Pushkin Turkmen-Russian School in Ashgabat in celebration of the 75th anniversary of Victory Day.

School children carrying portraits of their relatives  grandfathers, great-grandfathers, and even great-great-grandfathers who participated in the Great Patriotic War  marched in solemn procession initiated by the Russian Embassy in Turkmenistan. Speaking at the meeting before the start of procession, Minister-Counsellor of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Turkmenistan Konstantin Shlykov congratulated the war veterans, school teachers, parents and participants of the Immortal Regiment on the 75th anniversary of Victory Day.

The diplomat noted that inadmissibility of the repetition of horrors of the bloodies war in the history of mankind that ended 75 years ago was the main lesson learned by mankind in the World War II. The Minister-Counsellor also reminded the meeting participants that it was this lesson that led to the establishment of the United Nations 75 years ago, within the framework of which Russia and neutral Turkmenistan successfully cooperate.

 TURKMENISTAN.RU, 2022
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 03:36:28|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on May 6, 2020 shows a temporarily closed pizza restaurant in Washington D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

"The less optimistic scenario is that we open too quickly and see a significant second wave of the virus. Not only would this be a health catastrophe, but it would reverse the recovery as well," a senior U.S. Federal Reserve official warned.

WASHINGTON, May 8 (Xinhua) -- A senior U.S. Federal Reserve official warned on Thursday that the United States could fall into recession again in 2021 if reopening the economy too quickly with a resurgence of the coronavirus.

"The less optimistic scenario is that we open too quickly and see a significant second wave of the virus. Not only would this be a health catastrophe, but it would reverse the recovery as well," Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker told the Chicago Council on Global Affairs via Zoom.

"In this less hopeful scenario, I project a similar growth path to the baseline for 2020, followed by a painful economic contraction of GDP (gross domestic product) in 2021 as shutdowns are reintroduced," he said.

If the economy largely opens in June and there is no second wave of the virus in the fall, Harker expected a significant economic rebound in the second half of the year following a severe contraction in the second quarter.

"However, the second half rebound is not enough to fully offset the contraction in Q1 and Q2; 2021 would then show above-trend annual GDP growth," he said.

"Until the virus itself is under control, even as more states gradually open up, we can expect the economy to underperform relative to where it was just a couple of months ago," added the Fed official.

U.S. real GDP in the first quarter contracted at an annual rate of 4.8 percent amid COVID-19 fallout, the biggest quarterly decline since the 2008 financial crisis, the Commerce Department reported last week.

As of Thursday night, over 1.2 million people have been infected with the coronavirus across the country, with the death toll surpassing 75,000, according to Johns Hopkins University. 
The Hudson County freeholders are expected to vote on a resolution next week authorizing a county agency to use eminent domain to seize three CarePoint Health hospital properties.

The future of all three CarePoint hospitals  Hoboken University Medical Center, Bayonne Medical Center, and Christ Hospital in Jersey City  has been in question for months. CarePoint has been in negotiations to sell both Christ Hospital and HUMC to RWJBarnabas Health since October, and partners of the for-profit surgical center chain Surgicore have signed a letter of intent to buy Bayonne Medical Center.

Avery Eisenreich, the owner of nursing home chain Alaris Health, has thrown a wrench in both deals, according to local elected officials. Eisenreich owns a 25 percent stake in both Christ Hospital and HUMC, as well as 70 percent of the HUMC property and 25 percent of the Christ property. Eisenreich also owns the entirety of the Bayonne Medical Center land.

In March, Hudson County officials accused Eisenreich of holding up negotiations for the sale of Christ Hospital and HUMC. A source told The Jersey Journal that Alaris ownership of the Bayonne property is a sticking point in negotiations that are otherwise nearing a deal.

Through his attorney, Eisenreich has denied allegations that he is holding up the sales.

The Hudson County freeholders resolution, if passed, would allow the Hudson County Improvement Authority to buy out Eisenreichs stakes in all three CarePoint properties, clearing the way for the hospitals to be sold.

The County of Hudson and the Hudson County Improvement Authority have been asked by three County communities (Bayonne, Hoboken and Jersey City) to assist them in preserving and enhancing hospital services for the residents in these communities, a resolution fact sheet reads. Specifically, these communities have requested that the County and the HCIA help them in acquiring the properties and exercise the power of eminent domain.

Freeholder Bill ODea said that eminent domain would be a last resort.

Its the first step of a long process that, if every other option fails, allows the county to move forward on behalf of those cities with eminent domain, ODea said.

Hoboken spokesman Vijay Chaudhuri welcomed the resolution.

Mayor (Ravi) Bhalla supports any and all action to save Hobokens hospital for emergency care, which is even more important now given the critical care it is providing during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said in an email. He appreciates Hudson Countys partnership on this issue, including its potential use of condemnation if no other option is available.

CarePoint fully supports the city of Bayonnes effort to ensure that the Bayonne Medical Center remains as an acute care hospital," said Eric Bloom, a CarePoint spokesman. "Avery Eisenreichs stated intent to repurpose Bayonne Medical Center is immoral and a blatant attempt to profit at the expense of Bayonne Medical Centers staff and employees and the citizens of Bayonne.

Hank Sheinkopf, a spokesman for the companies that control Eisenreichs stakes in the hospitals, declined to comment on the resolution, saying only, We want to work out a long-term plan to keep the hospitals open.
Elon Musk is mad. And he made sure everyone knew it on Saturday as he lashed out on Twitter after California health officials said he could not open his Tesla production plant in Fremont. As a response, Musk said he would sue and move the companys headquarters to Texas or Nevada immediately. The companys California plant produces almost all of the vehicles that it sells.

The fight began when Tesla announced that it planned to resume limited operations at the Fremont plant yesterday. Musk had informed staff about his plans in an email, citing California Gov. Gavin Newsoms announcement that manufacturers in certain parts of the state could resume operations. But Musk seemed to ignore the fact that Newsom had also said local authorities would have the final say. Alameda County health officials warned they had not given the green light for Tesla to reopen. We have not said that its appropriate to move forward, Erica Pan, Alameda Countys health officer, said Friday during a web conference.

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The county later said in a statement that it informed the company it didnt meet criteria to reopen, although it didnt specify which criteria it was referring to that the company failed to meet. Restoring all daily activities too soon risks a rapid spike in cases and would jeopardize the relative stability weve seen in our health and hospital system, read the statement.

Tesla is filing a lawsuit against Alameda County immediately. The unelected & ignorant Interim Health Officer of Alameda is acting contrary to the Governor, the President, our Constitutional freedoms & just plain common sense!  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2020

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On Saturday, Musk said he would file a lawsuit against Alameda County immediately because unelected & ignorant official who is preventing the company from reopening is acting contrary to the Governor, the President, our Constitutional freedoms & just plain common sense! The ignorant official Musk lashed out against appears to be Elaine Pan who is a physician with decades of experience in infectious disease, notes the Los Angeles Times.

Frankly, this is the final straw. Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately. If we even retain Fremont manufacturing activity at all, it will be dependen on how Tesla is treated in the future. Tesla is the last carmaker left in CA.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2020

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This is not the first time Musk has openly criticized Alameda County officials because of their actions to try to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. After a stay-at-home order was issued on March 16, Musk kept the plant open for a week. He tried to claim that manufacturing electric cars was essential to national security. The plant was finally closed March 23. Musk has also repeatedly criticized measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus, even calling stay-at-home orders fascist during a call with investors. On April 29 he wrote an all-caps Trumpian message on Twitter, FREE AMERICA NOW. Musk seems to think he know whats best even though he severely underestimated the severity of the virus before, claiming in January that the coronavirus will turn out to be comparable to the cold.

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Local TD, Fergus O'Dowd, has called on Irish Water to finally put an end to the persistent malodour emanating from the Waste Water Treatment Plant on the Marsh Road in Drogheda.

"Following my campaign with Irish Water to address the malodour, Irish Water finally agreed to investing significantly (approx 100k) in the plant during the summer of 2019 which was very welcome, but I believe we are now running into similar problems once again.

"I have received dozens of complaints in recent weeks from very upset residents. It is evident that much more needs to be done to finally put an end to the malodour situation. I wrote to Irish Water this week to report the worsening situation and I remain deeply concerned notwithstanding their response.

"I have now requested that a further independent odour audit be carried out on the plant to assess the level of malodour present and if further improvements are required. I have separately written to the EPA to request that they also carry out their own inspections in regard to air quality in the area and on site if possible.

"Separately and just as importantly we are awaiting the decision on the Site Selection Methodology Report for the East Midlands Region Sludge Hub Centre. Last year I campaigned and held a public forum in Drogheda to garner support from the general public to object to the Drogheda plant being selected as a regional hub centre. Irish Water have confirmed to me this week that the preferred sites will be identified this year."

Irish Water say that the operator at the treatment plant is undertaking regular odour monitoring and has reported that there are no reported odour issues at the site.

'However, given the prolonged dry spell and warmer weather, Irish Water will carry out jetting of the network in order to alleviate any potential odour issues in the network.

'The best way for members of the public to report odours is via our customer call centre that operates 24/7. This means that reported odours can be investigated as close to the time that they are noted by the public and an investigation can be carried out to determine the cause.'
A bipartisan group of US senators have introduced a legislation to grant 40,000 unused Green Cards to foreign nurses and physicians to fight the coronavirus epidemic.

They have proposed granting 25,000 of the Green Cards to nurses and the rest 15,000 to physicians, which include both those hired abroad or those already in the United States.

The US grants around 1 million Green Cards a year, which are subject to a per country-limit of 7%.

Medical professionals from India may stand to benefit as those from other parts of the world. But the queue of applicants from India for employment-based Green Cards is already very long, with waiting periods of more than 100 years at the current rate of disposal of cases, and it could not be ascertained if Indian medial professionals will be able circumvent this queue.

Consider this: One-sixth of our health care workforce is foreign-born. Immigrant nurses and doctors play a vital role in our healthcare system, and their contributions are now more crucial than ever. Where would we be in this pandemic without them? said Senator Richard Durbin, the Democratic who cosponsored the legislation, in a statement. This bipartisan, targeted, and timely legislation will strengthen our health care workforce and improve health care access for Americans in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

This proposal would simply reallocate a limited number of unused visas from prior years for doctors and nurses who are qualified to help in our fight against Covid-19, said Senator David Perdue, a Republican, in a statement.

Democrat Chris Coons and Republican Tod Young were the other two senators backing the bill.

The Trump administration has suspended all immigrant visas for 60 days to ensure Americans hit by record layoffs caused by the Covid-19 lockdown get the first shot at remaining jobs or those that become available as businesses reopen. But physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals were among those exempted from the temporary ban.
San Francisco General Hospital is shifting more mentally unstable and sometimes violent patients to its emergency department as a result of policy changes meant to protect employees in other units during the pandemic. But some nurses fear the move will worsen problems in a department already cited for safety violations.

They say the hospitals decision last month to funnel more psychiatric patients to the emergency department for coronavirus testing  after two patients in the psychiatric ward exposed staff to the virus  exacerbates problems in the ER cited by the states workplace safety agency after a six-month investigation concluded in April. The agency found that sometimes dangerous psychiatric patients at times overwhelmed the emergency unit, creating an unsafe workplace.

We dont have resources to monitor them long term in the emergency department if we are faced with other patients who need medical attention, said Heather Bollinger, an emergency room nurse. Everyone acknowledges that an emergency department is a wrong place for these types of patients.

The agency, Cal/OSHA, fined the hospital $26,660 on April 23, citing four violations. These included understaffing the ER, failing to provide violence-prevention training, and retaliating against ER staff who wanted to take legal action against violent patients. The hospital has until May 14 to appeal and May 18 to file a correction plan.

Days before the agency issued the fine, on April 18, San Francisco General reduced the number of patients permitted in the psychiatric unit and began sending the overflow to the ER, where they would be tested for the coronavirus.

I understand the concern nurses are expressing, said hospital spokesman Brent Andrew. Its not like anyone at the hospital is unaware of those concerns, and we are planning to deal with them.

A second agency, the California Department of Public Health, also investigated after workers complained, but it has not released its report.

San Francisco General Hospitals Emergency Department has a history of patient-inflicted violence. In October, a patient punched a nurse to the ground, triggering multiple safety complaints from workers and prompting the dual investigations.

In response to the October incident, hospital administrators posted signs condemning violence. They created a faster emergency response system, and trained staff in safety plans, Andrew said. The hospital also created an emergency department violence prevention task force to push for reforms that still meets monthly.

On April 23, the watchdog agency issued a 20-page citation describing unsafe conditions for staff members in the emergency department.

Investigators found that when the unit overflowed, nurses put two patients in one room. Nurses said patients would hurt or even threaten to kill each other. Staff also restrained more patients on gurneys in the hallway.

Cal/OSHA found that patients slipped through security with knives. And although nurses red-flagged violent patients in hospital records, the red flag disappeared after six weeks. When patients assaulted nurses, the hospital failed to provide first aid or trauma counseling and debrief the incident.

The citation said hospital managers have made harassing statements and taken retaliatory actions against the staff for wanting to press charges against violent patients. One employee wasnt allowed to get a restraining order against a patient with a history of biting. Hospital leadership also failed to communicate corrective actions after administrators closed a workplace violence incident investigation.

The report was right on the money, said Corinna Heyn-Jones, the nurse who was attacked in October. She went on to press charges.

Although Cal/OSHA didnt identify the subject of its retaliation finding, Heyn-Jones, who works on contract, believes it was about her. She said the hospital had verbally offered her a part-time job before the attack. Afterward, she said, she never heard back, although she contacted hospital administration multiple times. When her contract expired, she returned to her native Canada.

I felt like (the citation) was really acknowledging most of the systemic major safety issues that myself and all my colleagues have echoed for many years, she told The Chronicle. Im really hopeful for change before someone gets critically injured or killed.

Andrew declined to respond to the agencys actions before the hospital files a corrective plan or appeals the citation.

Depending on the materials provided by the hospital, a judge could decide to withdraw the fines, said Frank Polizzi, spokesman for the California Department of Industrial Relations, which oversees Cal/OSHA.

Meanwhile, the hospital began sending more psychiatric patients directly to the emergency department last month. There they could be tested for the coronavirus amid safer conditions, Andrew said, because the emergency unit not only had more personal protective equipment than the psych unit, but it was emptier, thanks to shelter-in-place restrictions that kept many patients home.

In fact, the average daily number of ER patients plummeted by 38% between January and mid-April, to 134 from 216, the hospital reported. Emergency room visits continued to drop in late April, even though nearly 10 patients a day were coming in from the psych unit, Andrew said.

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.

All psychiatric patients who arrive in the ER are tested for the coronavirus, he added.

The ER staff then monitors the patients for up to six hours to ensure they dont hurt themselves or others, until a negative test result clears the patient for admission to the psych unit. While most of the patients sleep or watch TV while in the ER, some scream or threaten violence, requiring sedation or restraints, said Bollinger, the ER nurse.

Five nurses who spoke with The Chronicle said they can manage the load now  but fear what will happen when patient numbers rise as shelter-in-place restrictions ease.

If youre overcrowding psych patients, theres a higher likelihood for a psych patient to be aggressive, said ER nurse Christa Duran.

Andrew said two additional doctors and a psychiatric technician have joined the ER to handle the influx, and trouble has been minimal: just four incidents of patient-to-staff or self-directed aggression.

Nurse Katie Aschero said she feels safer than six months ago, but more reform is needed.

I feel like theres always a risk, anytime I go to work, that I could become assaulted either verbally and physically, Aschero said. We cant give up, we cant let go, we have to continue to fight against staff becoming assaulted.

San Francisco Chronicle

staff writer Trisha Thadani contributed to this report.

Mallory Moench is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mallorymoench

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly described the type of job that contract worker Corinna Heyn-Jones was offered by San Francisco General Hospital before she was attacked by a patient in October. It was a part-time job.
These days hospitals in Ontario are scrambling to cope with the spread of the coronavirus. But in recent years Toronto chef and activist Joshna Maharaj had a chance to observe one often-neglected aspect of the health-care system: food.

In her new book, Take Back the Tray: Revolutionizing Food in Hospitals, Schools, and Other Institutions, Maharaj reflects on her experiences. This chapter looks at The Scarborough Hospital.

Picture it: its 1980, and youve just woken up from surgery. Youre a bit achy and dopey, and once youve spent a bit of time with your eyes open, you get a message from your stomach. Youre hungry. Youve been hungry since yesterday, and now, you need something to eat.

The smell of cooking wafts through the hallway as lunch trays get delivered to patients. A friendly face enters your room and places a tray in front of you, and as soon as that dome gets lifted, the first thing that hits you is the smell of a toasty fresh roll, still warm from the oven.

The roll is soft, and the perfect thing to dip into the rich gravy of a beef stew, which sits atop a pile of fragrant, fluffy rice. The beef in that stew was butchered on-site, and the stew was made with a beef broth that simmered in a kettle for hours to achieve maximum flavour and nutrition. Beside the stew there are crisp, lemony green beans and a fresh tomato salad.

A small bowl holds a piece of apple cake topped with a little hit of custard, and later this afternoon someone will come by offering tea or coffee. Youre moving slowly, but you cannot resist the urge to start eating.

The food is simple and seasoned and portioned conservatively. But it is real, made from whole ingredients, and, perhaps most importantly, it tastes good. There is life in the food, and once you place your fork down on an empty plate, you feel full and restored.

Now, lets fast-forward 32 years to 2012: Im visiting a hospital in Toronto that has just invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in new retherm units used to heat up patient meals.

We enter one room with tiled walls and about 15 electric plugs on cords, evenly spaced out, hanging from the ceiling. I ask if this room is still under construction, but no  this is a finished space, where the retherm boxes get plugged in to do their job. This isnt the beginning of something, this is the end of it.

My tour continues through a labyrinth of cold hallways, each heavy, industrial door opening to a walk-in fridge or freezer the size of a room. In here, staff work with winter gear on, their hands in fingerless gloves that get covered by disposable gloves, to plate up patient meals. If all this feels dystopian, thats because it is.

Lets take a minute to review what that meal from 1980 looks like now: that beef stew is prepared somewhere off-site, portioned and frozen into pucks. Same thing with the rice. And the gravy on the stew is so full of powdered base and cornstarch that youre likely not that interested in mopping any of it up with your bun, which has one pretty flat texture, no crusty outside, and minimal flavour.

It is also made beforehand and frozen, and then brought back to life in a steamer or oven. The tomato salad arrives with a foil seal and a bunch of preservatives to keep it shelf stable. Dessert is some kind of apple cake that is baked off-site, portioned into a cup, frozen, and then thawed out  or, mostly thawed, because you inevitably find an icy core. Theres certainly no custard.

Theres a lukewarm cup of tea or coffee already on your tray and a cup of water, again sealed with foil.

Beyond the flavour and textural differences, you can tell that one of these two meals is made just a few floors below you, and the other is distinctly from somewhere else  nobody has any information about where, it all just arrived in a cardboard box on a skid a couple of days ago.

If patient trays reflect the values of the institution serving them, what does this plummeting service standard tell vulnerable folks in hospital? That ease and affordability are more important than their health and dignity.

The average patient stay in Ontario is four to six days, so patients get told a minimum of 12 times during their stay in the hospital that theyre not worth any more effort than that miserable tray of industrial, processed, overpackaged food.

So how did we get from freshly baked rolls to frozen pucks of stew?

Ill focus on Ontario, which is where I do most of my work, but youll see similar themes and patterns elsewhere. From 1995 to 2002 Ontarios Progressive Conservative Party, led by Mike Harris, implemented what they called a Common Sense Revolution. In an attempt to reduce both a deficit and personal income taxes, the Harris conservatives slashed and burned budgets, notably in health care, education and social services.

These short-sighted austerity measures are familiar moves from the government playbook. The health-care sector was not told specifically where the cuts should happen, and because food in hospitals is considered little more than an irritating necessity, food and nutrition services budgets took some of the biggest hits.

We started letting accountants make decisions about how we feed patients, often forcing nutrition staff to accept a standard of food that was nutritionally adequate for patients and tossing aside any notion of foods therapeutic role in patient care.

We also decided that paying a human to prepare fresh food in hospitals was inefficient and expensive  most kitchens lost some staff, and some hospitals completely outsourced their food service to a third-party operator.

When things still needed to get leaner and meaner, snacks were taken off of the menus or portions were reduced. Menu cycles were pared back, offering less choice and variety. Canada Bread was asked to squeeze 14 slices out of a loaf instead of 12, and the three-cent packet of Mrs. Dash, a sodium-free seasoning, was removed from trays.

It is fair to say that scratch cooking patient meals is a thing of the past in the vast majority of hospitals and long-term-care facilities in the country today. The budgets for both labour and ingredients have been hollowed out, with help from the industrial food system.

Some administrators continue to think there is fat to trim from food service budgets, but the truth is there is little to no fat on those menus anymore. Any budget cuts will mean scraping bone.

One day in 2011, I got an email from Paul DeCampo, a dear friend and colleague who was on the steering committee at Slow Food Toronto.

He told me that they had received a request from a hospital in Scarborough that wanted to make some changes to their food service and were looking for some support and guidance. The folks at The Scarborough Hospital wanted to improve the patient experience and smartly realized that food was a big part of that.

In fact, a brief by HealthCareCAN and the McConnell Foundation on the state of hospital food in Canada reported that patients were four times as likely to rate their whole hospital stay with a perfect score when their rating of the food was excellent. Basically, the more patients like the food, the better they feel about their whole stay.

Ive chatted with some hospital administrators who tell me that the patients rate their food on the low end of satisfied. (Keep in mind: these surveys are usually given at discharge, when youll say anything to get out of there or dont see any immediate benefit from negative feedback. What if we offered surveys on day two or three?)

And while these scores highlight a big opportunity to do things differently, theyre also (if you can believe it) not bad enough to really motivate much change. I even heard one hospital administrator say, If theyre well enough to complain about the food, theyre well enough to go home.

Needless to say, I was excited to hear about a hospital that was looking to improve the patient experience and I jumped at the opportunity and met with Anne-Marie Males, the then-vice-president of patient experience, and Susan Bull, the director of nutrition services.

Both of these women were full of ideas and questions about how I could help them elevate the patient food experience. What was scheduled for a 90-minute meeting actually ended up lasting about three hours, and we were all bursting with excited possibility at the end of it.

Fortunately for us, there was some newly available grant money via the provincial Greenbelt Fund to put more local food into public sector institutions. This grant money could pay for a consultant to manage the project, training for staff and new equipment for the kitchen.

Although the focus was local food, I took this rare opportunity to jam my foot in the door and talk about other aspects of the food service too, like scratch cooking and more cultural diversity on the menus.

In my first days at the hospital, I spent a lot of time observing the operation. While the space may have looked like any other kitchen, with tiled walls, stainless steel counters and walk-in fridges, it actually functioned in a very different way.

For instance, there were no knives, oil and salt. Not much is cooked without these three things.

No knives meant that no raw ingredients were being broken down. The vast majority of produce was already chopped and frozen, and when staff started prepping meals, they would put on a parka and pull frozen bags of whatever they needed from the walk-in.

No oil meant that the meals were not being built on a base of sauteed aromatics. Nothing was being browned  there was no conscious building of flavour happening here at all. Frozen ingredients were combined in a giant soup kettle and simply warmed up for service.

And finally, the absence of salt shouldnt have been too much of a surprise, in a health-care context, meals were all intended to be low-sodium. But no salt in the kitchen told me two things: there was no focus on flavour and the processed food that was being served already contained enough sodium, usually as a preservative.

As long as the nutritional data was where it needed to be, that was enough. The whole did not need to be any greater than the sum of the parts.

(Editors note: Despite the successes during this project, the author later writes that making changes stick in the long term proved a much different challenge, and would require changing the ethos of the institution and the system itself.)Excerpted from Take Back the Tray: Revolutionizing Food in Hospitals, Schools, and Other Institutions by Joshna Maharaj.  by Joshna Maharaj. Published by ECW Press Ltd.

www.ecwpress.com
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 9

Trend:

The cases of the coronavirus infection have been revealed among compatriots in Azerbaijan who recently arrived from Russia, Ramin Bayramli, Chairman of the Management Union of Medical Territorial Units (TABIB), said at a briefing of the Operational Headquarters under the Cabinets Cabinet on May 9, Trend reports.

Bayramli noted that according to the statistics for Baku city, the majority of infection cases has again accounted for Yasamal district with 19.8 percent. COVID-19 cases in Nasimi district has increased as compared to the last week standing at 16.7 percent. Nasimi district accounts for the majority of COVID-19 cases recorded today. Around 14.3 percent of the infection cases account for Binagadi and 11.8 percent is in Sabunchu district.

He went on to add that 22 percent of those infected belong to the age group of 50-59 years, while 18 percent accounts

for the age group of 30-39 years. Around 43 percent of those who died from COVID-19 are from the age group of 60-69 years. One of those died belongs to the age group of 40-49. The patient was also suffering from a long-term chronic illness.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh warned Pakistan on Saturday against its "persistent attempts" to spread narco-terrorism in India, asserting that the police force was "keeping a close watch" on anti-national activities across the border even during a crisis.

Our eyes are open to what Pakistan is doing, Singh said, hours after the NIA arrested a "notorious narco-terrorist" who acted as a conduit for Pakistan-based terror groups.

The central agency said in a statement that it, along with the Punjab and Haryana police, arrested Ranjit Singh alias Cheeta, a resident of Amritsar, from Haryana. It said investigation in a drug case against Singh showed Pakistan-based outfits were using narcotic trade to generate funds for terror activities in India.

Assuring people that no matter how much the force has been busy with Covid duties, the Punjab chief minister said, the police was keeping a watch on the borders.

"Pakistan is not letting up on its attempts to push drugs, weapons and drug money despite the Covid crisis, clearly in an attempt to destabilise the state and disturb its peace, but we will not allow that to happen," he said.

He congratulated the Punjab police, led by DGP Dinkar Gupta, for the arrest and the role played by his personnel in operations against Hizbul Mujahideen in Kashmir.

He referred to the arrest of Hilal, a close associate of the banned group's operations commander Reyaz Naikoo, who was killed by security forces in Kashmir.

From Punjab police to BSF, everyone was on their toes to defeat the nefarious designs of Pakistan, said the chief minister, adding the state police force was working in a sustained manner to ensure that terrorists do not get away with their wicked plans.

Terrorists and gangsters had "probably thought they could use the gap created by the diversion of resources and police manpower to Covid duties to smuggle drugs and weapons to spread mayhem" in Punjab, but the Punjab police personnel were keeping a close eye on what was happening along the borders.

"We will ensure that such anti-national elements are caught and put behind the bars, where they belong, he said, as per an official release here.
Dateline How Can the Myanmar Govt Help Businesses and Workers Weather COVID-19?

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Kyaw Zwa Moe: Like every other economy in the world, Myanmars economy has been affected by the COVID-19 global pandemic and has seen large-scale redundancies. The government recently released the COVID-19 Economic Relief Plan (CERP) to mitigate economic impacts. We will discuss to what extent the government can assist businesses and tackle unemployment, the strengths and weaknesses of the CERP and the potential for economic recovery after COVID-19 is over. Im joined by economic researcher Dr. Zaw Oo and Executive Director of the Sandhi Governance Institute Ko Khine Win. Im The Irrawaddy English editor Kyaw Zwa Moe.

The COVID-19 has seriously impacted the entire world. It is fundamentally a health crisis, but has also affected economies. Many countries, including rich ones, have experienced economic turmoil. Even countries like the US and European countries have seen millions of redundancies. The governments therefore have to provide a lot of assistance.

So far, our country is fortunate to some extent regarding COVID-19. [An outbreak] has been occurring in Myanmar but it is still not that serious. But we have already seen its economic impacts. Workers have lost their jobs over recent months and the situation could get worse. The government is taking remedial measures. Recently, it issued the CERP to ease the economic impacts of COVID-19. It has seven goals as well as action plans. To what extent do you think it can be helpful to businesses badly hit by COVID-19 and their employees?

Zaw Oo: As the plan is mainly about remedial measures, it appears that there will also be a rehabilitation plan in the near future. Talking of economic impacts, previously, the economic shocks came mainly from outside the country. We can assume that COVID-19 control measures such as curfews and travel restrictions have worsened economic impacts. According to economists from other countries, the impacts from preventative measures taken by their countries governments are far more serious than impacts caused by external factors. For example, it is said that the economic impacts caused by the lockdown in the US are four or five times higher than the impacts caused by disruptions to supply chains.

KZM: In our country, the workforce accounts for over 30 million [people] while the national population is over 50 million. Farmers and growers make up the majority of the workforce. There are also many people who work at factories and companies and there are also many street vendors. How swiftly do you think the governments remedial measures can benefit them? As some have to work daily to eke out a living, if they cant work for a day, they dont have food for that day. To what extent do you think the governments remedial measures are helpful to them? What else do you think needs to be done to help them?

Khine Win: The government distributed basic foods for the needy before the Thingyan [New Year] holidays. It saved the situation for them to some extent. According to World Bank reports, there are only around 1.7 million professional company employees in Myanmar, accounting for only 8 percent of the countrys workforce. The majority of the workforce is engaged in the agricultural sector and there are many tenant farmersthey are the most vulnerable people.

There are also many micro-scale and small-scale businesses. Many doubt the economic relief plan will reach them. Loans were lent at 1 percent interest to hotels and tourism businesses and clothing factories that are hit hardest. Many businesses want the loans. But the contact numbers [to enquire about loans] were turned off. If businesses lose trust, they will not rely on the governments support plans. As the existing bureaucracy has shortcomings, Im afraid it cant handle further challenges to give assistance to those who are badly in need.

Again, it said it would provide financial assistance to the needy, including to the IDPs [internally displaced persons]. It should be given to them immediately as they are in real trouble. I heard that six types of necessities will be provided to them. As their families are big and they live in crowded conditions, once there is a COVID-19 infection, it could spread rapidly. But when the government imposes a lockdown to prevent this, those people suffer from financial hardship. It is very important for the government to strike a balance.

KZM: It is very good that the CERP also focuses on the IDPs. There might be shortcomings on the ground, and there are problems like contact people who cant be contactedin other words, problems with implementation of the CERP. Deputy Planning Minister U Hset Aung, who is one of those who designed the CERP, said they developed the plan in the shortest time possible, and set seven goals to be implemented as soon as possible. Ko Zaw Oo, what do you think the government officials who implement the CERP need to overcome the weaknesses pointed out by Ko Khine Win?

ZO: The government should adopt specific measures depending on location and business sector. I mean the magnitude of COVID-19 in Yangon is different from in Mandalay. The Labor Ministry should focus its efforts [to inspect factories before allowing them to reopen] on Yangon. But the ministry is overstretched as it has to inspect factories across the country. This is attributable to the weakness in the upper echelons of the management.

KZM: Ko Khine Win, the EU is considering providing cash to garment factory employees. The Thai government is starting to provide 5,000 baht (US$155) for millions of its people who have lost their jobs. It appears that it will provide [the relief funds] for more than one month. We can say that goal four in the CERP is similar to that, as it aims to ease the impacts on households. What is your assessment of it? We havent seen many efforts on it so far, though the government has provided some basic foods, including rice. But if it will take a few more months before the coronavirus can be controlled, what do you think the government should do in response?

KW: The CERP includes cash for work and cash transfers. One of the weaknesses of our country is that the existing social security mechanism is very poor and only reaches a few people. This plan is new and there are time limits, and the government is also burdened with the health crisis. The question is how long the government can provide aid for the people. The CERP doesnt mention the amount of cash transfers and for how many months cash transfers will be provided. The government needs to take swift actions to re-create jobs for people. People have concerns.

The CERP includes establishing an assessment management committee to handle non-performing loans, to give breathing space for banks and for the government to guarantee 50 percent of new loans. Some have concerns about it and I dont think those services are within the reach of micro-scale and small businesses. But systematic surveys have not yet been conducted. It would be better if surveys are conducted. We are considering conducting surveys. Many of the loan applicants could not obtain loans. The government should address this in consultation with all the stakeholders.

KZM: Myanmar is one of the poorest countries in the world, and is poor in all aspects, including administration and infrastructure though the current government appears to have some political will. What advantage do you think the government can take out of the COVID-19 crisis? Do you think the government, while taking remedial measures, can think outside the box and take a holistic approach to fix some economic and administrative problems around the end of this year or in next year? What are your recommendations?

ZO: It is a point of pride for Myanmar that the EU launched the Myan Ku Emergency Cash Fund for Myanmar factory employees. This is partly due to efforts of trade union leaders, committed assistance by employers and the cooperation of the Labor Ministry. As the EU granted a 5million euro emergency fund, many workers will receive at least a months salary. This will help improve industrial relations in our country, and the [EU] has plans to encourage reforms to the social security mechanism in Myanmar.

I also have high hopes for the agricultural, meat and fishery sectors. There will be high demand for food due to food insecurity. Among our neighbors, Indias food demand will be high. Its clear that meat and fish products are staple foods around the world. We should not simply sell these foods in this time. The government should roll out reforms to fix structural faults in the agricultural sector while tackling the impacts of COVID-19 on the sector, and prepare to enter new markets that will emerge after COVID-19 is over.

KZM: Ko Khine Win, do you think Myanmar will be able to take any opportunities out of the COVID-19 crisis?

KW: Our country has many businesses that cant compete with other countries. For example, in the agricultural sector, we have not been able to enter new markets. In the hotel and tourism sector, since the time of the Myanmar Socialist Programme Party, Myanmar customers have been charged in Myanmar kyats and foreigners are charged in US dollars. Only if such things can be fixed in the process of economic recovery will businesses be more successful. Similarly, in the agricultural sector, the government needs to provide effective support for the agricultural sector to be incorporated into the regional value chainthis will yield improvements in the long-term.

KZM: So, the government needs to fix all the persistent faults once and for all and move forward.

KW: Yes, it does.

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Damascus, May 9 : The US forces have created a new base in Syria's eastern province of Deir al-Zour after bringing in military supplies, a war monitor reported.

The base was created in the al-Jazrat area in the western countryside of Deir al-Zour after "massive" supplies and reinforcement reached that area, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The UK-based watchdog group said 300 military shipments of the US reached al-Jazrat over the past few days.

It said the US forces are also expanding their base in the al-Omar oil field in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour.

The US has several bases in Syria, mainly in northern and eastern regions where the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are located.

The Syrian government has for long demanded the withdrawal of the US forces from Syria, branding them as forces of occupation.

However, the US is consolidating its positions in Syria, mainly in areas where oil fields are located in eastern Syria.
NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP >> In the wake of several pedestrian fatalities, the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors is moving forward with a multi-pronged plan to improve safety along Sycamore Street, the townships downtown commercial corridor. At its Jan. 13 meeting, the board voted unanimously to follow the short term and long term recommendations of its traffic engineer, Derek Kennedy, who was...
A Germany company's antibody test can show within 10 minutes whether a person is immune to the coronavirus. (Associated Press )

Antibody tests that aim to show whether a person has been exposed to the coronavirus and presumably has immunity are expected to flood the market very soon. Such tests, if accurate, could help us understand the spread of the virus and the extent of immunity in the society as well as determine who can safely go back to work.

Much is still unknown about the level of antibodies needed to make a person immune and most blood tests have not been reviewed by the government for accuracy. But once reliable tests are broadly available, this public health breakthrough could trigger some difficult legal questions. The country may soon have to deal with a new concept of bias: antibody or immunity-based discrimination.

Economic recovery in this pandemic will occur only to the degree that people feel safe if they venture into public spaces like airplanes, trains, restaurants and shopping malls. With a vaccine still at least a year away, antibody tests could be used to divide the population into those who are presumed to have immunity and the potentially contagious. If you are in the latter group, the question is whether you can be denied certain services.

It is not as far-fetched as you might think. Take the airlines. Social distancing on an airplane is not economically viable. One solution is to require an antibody blood test before boarding a flight. Last week, Emirates Airline, based in Dubai, said it screened passengers flying to Tunisia from Dubai International Airport with rapid antibody tests for the coronavirus infection before departure. Germany and Italy are considering issuing certificates to people who have immunity after their lockdowns are relaxed.

Our legal system is poorly suited for discrimination based on antibodies. Constitutional and statutory protections against discrimination have focused on characteristics like race, religion and national origin as well as gender, sexual orientation and other classifications. The changeable status of a persons immunity from a virus doesnt fit legal tests that prohibit discrimination based on more immutable characteristics.

Story continues

The other area of relevant law covers quarantine powers in a pandemic. Those laws and cases, however, focus on confining the contagious, not the susceptible population.

The issue could become more acute once we have a coronavirus vaccine. Putting aside the logistics of making a vaccine available to more than 300 million people, some people will fail to get vaccinated. The virus will be able to take hold in that population until herd immunity is achieved and keeps the disease in check.

There are three ways to maximize immunization. First, make it mandatory. Second, convince people that they need it. Third, give them an incentive to comply with or a disincentive to opt out of vaccination.

State mandatory vaccination laws were upheld by the Supreme Court in a 1905 case, Jacobsen vs. Massachusetts, involving a smallpox vaccination program. The court ruled that such a mandate was fully within the states power to protect public health and the safety of its residents. In the coronavirus crisis, Congress could fund a national vaccinations program but leave mandatory compliance orders to the states.

The second option, voluntary compliance, is likely to bring in a great majority of the public. A deadly pandemic helps. Of course, there will continue to be a percentage of people who simply do not believe the virus will touch them or that faith or youth will protect them.

That leaves the third option. If people face government-imposed limitations on travel, employment or schooling, they would have an incentive to choose vaccination.

Some may raise religious or other constitutional rights to refuse a vaccine. But the states have a strong argument that this situation is not the same as exercising a religious decision that does not harm others. By not complying, individuals are fueling the spread of the disease to others, particularly more vulnerable populations.

The Supreme Court ruled in 1922 that a city does not violate equal protection under the Constitution by denying school to students who refused to be vaccinated. And in 1944 in Prince vs. Massachusetts, the court ruled that a parent cannot make a religious liberty claim in refusing compulsory vaccination for his child, because the right to practice religion freely does not include liberty to expose the community or the child to communicable disease or the latter to ill health or death.

A state coronavirus vaccination program would be able to rely on these well-established legal precedents. At the federal level, Congress could encourage state mandates by tying federal funds to stricter state laws so long as they are not so coercive as to commandeer the states. Whether private businesses like airlines could also make vaccination or immunity a condition for customers remains a question. Airlines, for example, are part of a regulated industry and could face difficulty in unilaterally imposing such conditions without federal approval.

Congress could set limits on interstate travel and the Transportation Security Administration could impose entry requirements through security gates. But the impact on individuals could be significant, and to make such a system work, there would have to be easy proof of immunization or vaccination, perhaps something like an immunization passport.

In the end, the federal and state governments may decide to accept a certain level of noncompliance. If this is a slowly mutating virus, a second wave may be manageable with therapeutics and ramped up testing and contact tracing. However, if the country wants to impose a mandatory program, it will have to figure out whether it wants to divide the population between the immune and non-immune.

Jonathan Turley is a constitutional law professor at George Washington University.




With more than half of Spains residents due to enter Phase 1 of the governments coronavirus deescalation plan on Monday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez made a televised address on Saturday to discuss the ongoing crisis and also to call for caution among citizens when confinement conditions are relaxed in some areas during the coming week.

We have saved lives, but we have also lost many others. Each fatality hurts us. These lives that we have lost weigh heavily on us Prime Minister Sanchez

In these two months, Spain has demonstrated many things, its huge strengths, he began by saying. What has set it apart has been the magnificent response of the people, thanks to exceptional responsibility and social discipline. The state of alarm works and it is proving to be very efficient, he said, in reference to the conditions imposed by the government on March 14, when confinement across Spain began.

In these eight weeks, Spain has proved itself to be a humane community, the prime minister continued. All of society has acted like a community joined together by bonds of affection and care. We have saved lives, but we have also lost many others. Each fatality hurts us. These lives that we have lost weigh heavily on us.

Sanchez went on to address a measure that the main opposition Popular Party (PP) has been calling for for some time: a period of national mourning. Society as a whole should mourn, he said. As such, when the whole country is at least in Phase 1 [of the deescalation process] we will approve an official period of mourning. Flags will fly at half mast when mobility returns to the streets. We will hold a major event [to honor the victims], which will be presided over by the king of Spain.

The deescalation will be guided by these principles of scientific advice and prudence PM Sanchez

The Socialist Party (PSOE) prime minister went on to reiterate that the deescalation process will be asymmetrical, gradual and coordinated by the government and co-governed by the regions. The virus does not end at the provincial borders. The deescalation will be guided by these principles of scientific advice and prudence. That is what the [World Health Organization] has recommended.

More than half of the Spanish population will get back a major part of their lives, he said. But the virus has not disappeared. The fight will continue, and will not end until there is a vaccine. He also called on those who are about to enter Phase 1 of the plan not to let down their guards. In the meantime, we will have to live alongside the virus, which is why the healthcare system must be reinforced and its capacities strengthened, he continued. All of this will count for little without the responsible efforts of the people.

Sanchez went on to discuss the other crises now facing Spain: The social and economic ones. Until now, the efforts of the government have been focused on reducing the impact on employment and helping those who found themselves in a situation of helplessness. Our country is suffering levels of destruction of employment similar to those seen in the Great Recession. Rebuilding means driving the creation of employment as soon as possible. We can achieve this together.

The prime minister, who heads a coalition government with junior partner Unidas Podemos, once again called on the European Union to play its part to support member states who have suffered due to the coronavirus crisis.

We have a tough job ahead of us, but I am convinced that we will emerge from this stronger, he said. We need to protect the families who have been left without an upkeep, young people, the self-employed. We need to strengthen our public services, which are what have saved us all as a community. The pandemic has reminded all of us that we are very fragile. Part of Spain is protected, but there are many more people who are not sleeping easily, who dont know what is going to happen with their jobs. All of the administrations have to take care of these people.

The prime minister confirmed that people will be able to travel to their second residences if they are in the same province

The prime minister went on to say that the most vulnerable would be supported by the governments planned guaranteed minimum income scheme, which will seek to benefit around a million households  some three million people  and will be means tested according to the type of family, the number of children in the household, and the family units level of poverty.

Responding to questions from reporters, the prime minister also confirmed that under Phase 1 of the deescalation plan, residents of Spain will be able to travel to their second residences and stay in hotels provided that they are within the same province.

According to the latest figures released by the Health Ministry on Saturday, the total number of fatalities in Spain related to the Covid-19 disease now stand at 26,478, with 223,578 confirmed infections and 133,952 patients who have recovered and have been discharged from hospital.

New extension to state of alarm The government will request a further extension to the state of alarm, which was first implemented on March 14 in a bid to halt the spread of the coronavirus. The state of alarm is not a political instrument, it is a necessity, said Pedro Sanchez on Saturday during his press conference.



Sanchez secured support for the fourth two-week extension to the state of alarm in Congress on Wednesday, but ahead of the debate and vote in Spains lower house of parliament it was unclear whether he could count on the votes he needed from other parties to extend the measure further.



During the debate, at which he was eventually successful, he was warned by all opposition groups that the government should come up with a plan B that would allow for an alternative legal framework that would allow the confinement to continue, but without using the exceptional measure.



Sanchez admitted that the state of alarm should be limited in time, but argued that it was still necessary given that the government's four-stage deescalation plan requires restrictions on fundamental rights such as movement and assembly.

English version by Simon Hunter.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday rejected the nullification of the conviction of Senator Uzor Orii Kalu by the Supreme Court. Although, the Supreme Court returned the case to the Federal high Court for re-trial, the EFCC protested that there are overwhelming evidence to justify the conviction of the former Governor of Abia State.

The Supreme Court had on Friday upturned the conviction of Orji Kalu by the Federal High Court which was upheld by the Court of Appeal.

A seven-man panel of the Supreme Court also set aside the judgment which convicted Ude Udeogu, a former Director of Finance and Account at the Abia State Government House.

They were convicted of corruption allegations brought against them by the EFCC.

Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court in Lagos had sentenced Senator Kalu to 12 years imprisonment in December 2019.

He had also sentenced Udeogu to 10 years imprisonment on the same day.

Kalu and Udeogu filed an appeal to challenge their sentencing at the Supreme Court.

The Court, in a unanimous judgment read by Justice Ejembi Eko, declared that the conviction of the appellants was null and void.

Justice Eko explained that the declaration was on the ground that Justice Mohammed Idris was already a Justice of the Court of Appeal, as at the time he delivered the judgment sentencing the appellants.

He held that a Justice of the Court of Appeal cannot operate as a judge of the Federal High Court.

The apex court, therefore, ordered the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to reassign the case for trial.

The Federal High Court had sentenced Senator Kalu on December 5, 2019, after finding him guilty of fraud to the tune of N7.56 billion.

The assets of Slok Nigeria Limited, his company, were also forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Similarly, the court sentenced Udeogu in an amended 39-count.

The EFCC indicated preparedness to meet Orji Kalu again at the Federal High Court.




LG Polymers India, an affiliate of South Korean chemical giant LG Chem Ltd., expressed condolences Saturday over a gas leak that killed 12 people and vowed to provide an effective care package for the victims.







LG Polymers India said it has created a special taskforce to help victims and families resolve any issues and provide assistance to the bereaved.







"LG Polymers India would like to express our deepest condolences to everyone who has been affected and hurt by this incident," the company said in a statement.







The company also said its team is working day and night with the government to assess the impact of the damage and create concrete measures to deliver effective care packages that can be implemented immediately.







The accident took place Thursday ahead of the resumption of the plant after a lockdown imposed over the coronavirus pandemic.







The company said it was committed to working closely with the authorities in India to investigate the cause of the accident and prevent any recurrence.







It added, "Our initial investigations suggest that the cause of the incident was prima facie by the leaking vapor from the styrene monomer storage tank" at the plant in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.







The LG Polymers plant, which LG Chem acquired from Hindustan Polymers in 1996, produces a wide range of polystyrene, including engineering plastic, an industrial raw material for automobiles and electronic parts. (Yonhap)


Sydney :

A Jetstar flight from Tokyo to Australias Gold Coast was diverted to Guam and an engine was shut down today after a warning light came on.

The twin-engine JQ12 Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight from Narita international airport to the Gold Coast landed on the US island territory of Guam in the Pacific today morning after an oil pressure warning light came on, Jetstar said.

A flight from Narita to the Gold Coast was diverted this morning after the aircraft displayed an indicator message regarding oil pressure, the carrier said in a statement.

After receiving the indicator message the captain elected to shut down one engine as a precaution. Boeing 787s can fly safely on one engine.

The passengers, which the Australian Broadcasting Corporation said numbered some 320, would be taken to Australia on a flight arriving tomorrow. Jetstar said the jet landed safely on Guam and was being inspected by engineers.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
TORONTO - Justin Trudeau says there will be more support from the federal government to help certain sectors of the economy reeling from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The prime minister made the promise yesterday, without getting into specifics, as he announced an extension to Ottawas emergency wage-subsidy program beyond its early-June endpoint. He said hed have more to say about that next week.

The pledges followed the unsettling news that nearly two million jobs were lost in April, adding to the one million lost in March, pushing Canadas unemployment rate to a staggering 13 per cent.

Some new signs of both economic and social life appeared in many parts of the country this week as various provinces took more tentative steps to loosen lockdown restrictions.

But Trudeau warned the reopening of the economy and the lifting of restrictions will happen very, very gradually and transmission of the disease will have to be carefully monitored.

Though the COVID-19 curve has been flattening in many regions, the disease continues to take a terrible toll, especially in the epicentres of Quebec and Ontario.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa on Tuesday. Trudeau promised more federal support during the new coronavirus pandemic on Friday.





Another 161 deaths were reported yesterday, raising the countrys total to 4,569. And the number of new coronavirus cases rose by 1,512 to 66,434.

Meanwhile, the federal government revealed Friday that it suspended shipments of N95 respirators from a Montreal-based supplier after about eight million of the masks made in China failed to meet specifications.

The office of Procurement Minister Anita Anand said that of the nearly 11 million masks received from the distributor, about one million met federal standards and another 1.6 million are still being tested.

The Public Health Agency of Canada noted that while Canada gets a lot of protective equipment from international manufacturers, domestic manufacturers also provide gowns, face shields and hand sanitizer, among other products.

This includes an agreement with Medicom, based in Pointe-Claire, Que., for production of 20 million N95 respirator masks and 24 million surgical masks per year for the next 10 years, starting this summer.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 9, 2020.
09.05.2020 LISTEN

In Anyaa-sowutuom constituency, all the five candidates who filed their nominations to contest Anyaa-Sowutuom parliamentary seat after the sitting MP, Mrs. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey pulled out of the race were all cleared to face off at the partys primaries.

The five candidates comprise Dr. Emmanuel Lamptey, the Municipal Chief Executive of the area, Mr. Emmanuel Tobin, Madam Edna Sackey, Dr. Adomako Kissi and Nana Ama Asafo Boakye.

But the legality of the qualification of the MCE to contest in the yet-to-be decided parliamentary primaries is likely to face fierce opposition as some party executives and staunch supporters within the constituency plan to challenge his qualification to contest.

Just recently, the ruling New Patriotic Party in their bid to strengthen its constitution for better administration of the party, held series of delegates conferences to solicit views from party members.

As a result, the party, on 17th December 2017, held an extraordinary delegates conference in Kumasi to consider all proposals and deliberate on the amendment of the constitution.

After everything was said and done, it came out that MMDCES from non-orphan constituencies who may want to contest for NPP parliamentary primaries, are not qualified to do so except otherwise such persons step down three years ahead of time.

It was therefore not surprising at all when Mrs Henrietta Mary Eyison, the MCE for Ahanta West in debunking rumours to contest NPP parliamentary primaries, made reference to a portion of the NPP's Constitution and an order from the President, Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo-Addo that any MMDCE who wished to contest for a parliamentary seat must resign three years ahead of the contest.

Mrs Eyison said this in an interview with GNA on February 2, 2020 upon hearing the rumours about her decision to contest in the upcoming primaries of the Party contrary to the presidential order.

She added that all MMDCEs within constituencies with sitting NPP Members of Parliament cannot contest in the parliamentary primaries which were initially slated for April 25, 2020.

This is a clear indication that no MCE or DCE is qualified to contest in the upcoming NPP parliamentary primaries. Despite that, Anyaa Sowutuom though not an orphan constituency, has approved the candidature of Hon. Dr Emmanuel Lamptey in the recently held vetting to approve Parliamentary Candidates.

Some party apparatchiks from Sowutuom don't understand the reason why Dr Emmanuel Lamptey was not disqualified despite the fact that the order which mandates any MCE or DCE who may want to contest in the NPP parliamentary race to step down three years ahead of time in constituencies with sitting MPs still being in force.

As a result, some fraction of the party executives and staunch supporters within the constituency considering the illegalities surrounding the Candidature of the MCE and the threat it poses to the party has hint of resisting what they describe as forceful imposition of the MCE on them by some strong hands at the party headquarters.

This revelation was sourced from Apostle Joseph Archibald Adjei a businessman, and some party executives from the constituency whose names for some reasons have been withheld.

The dream of Dr Emmanuel Lamptey, the MCE for Ga Central Municipality to become the parliamentary Candidate for Anyaa Sowutuom constituency on the ticket of NPP is likely to come to a deadlock should thE provision in the party's constitution is upheld.

The situation of skirt and blouse or independent candidature is also likely to occur if NPP NEC or any other person or authority attempt to impose the candidature of Mr Edward Lamptey on the people, Mr Achibald said.

This situation falls directly in line with the stance of one of the founding members of the New Patriotic Party, Dr. Kwame Amoako Tuffour's. He has kicked against the party's decision to "handpick" some of their parliamentary candidates should the COVID-19 pandemic persist.

According to Dr Tuffour, the party should not attempt to repeat the mistakes that led them to opposition in the 2008 general election.

He said this on Okay FM's Ade3 Akye Abia show hosted by Kwame Nkrumah Tikese on 6th May 2020.
KYODO NEWS - May 9, 2020 - 08:20 | All, Japan, Coronavirus

Locals in northeastern Japan have been stepping up efforts to boost sales of high-quality chicken that have dropped significantly in the wake of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

The falling sales of Hinai chicken, a specialty of Akita Prefecture, reflects fewer consumers dining out in Akita and other parts of the country since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a state of emergency last month to curb a further increase in infection cases across the country.

Akita Prefecture has seen only 16 infections, far below Tokyo's about 4,800 and Osaka Prefecture's some 1,700.

But the sales slump is so severe that a breeder in Odate, northern Akita Prefecture, a major production site for the brand chicken, said he cannot see how the situation will improve.

"I'm just worried," said Koji Takahashi, 60, who breeds 10,000 chickens a year.

Hinai chicken is one of three delicious breeds of Japanese poultry, along with Satsuma chicken from Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, and Nagoya Cochin from Aichi Prefecture, central Japan.

Breeders say it is difficult to sell Hinai chicken at a reduced price because its feeding period lasts about 150 days -- four times longer than that of other chickens bred for meat.

Breeders have no choice but to cut production because three major distributors had a total stock of about 80 tons of the chicken at the end of March, four times higher than a year earlier.

To help increase consumption of Hinai chicken, the Akita prefectural government has earmarked 55.19 million yen ($520,000) in a supplementary budget for fiscal 2020 through March next year.

The outlay will increase the use of the chicken in school lunches, as well as meals in company cafeterias and facilities for the elderly.

"The (Hinai chicken) brand might vanish unless we take measures," an Akita government official said.

With his April 7 declaration of a state of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka and five other prefectures over the pneumonia-causing virus, Abe allowed the seven prefectural governors to urge residents to stay at home and instruct businesses, schools and facilities to suspend operations.

Abe expanded the declaration to the entire nation on April 16 before extending it until the end of May.

Besides the fiscal measure, the private sector played its part in soliciting funds to preserve the premium chicken brand.

An Akita tourism promotion group achieved its goal of collecting 1 million yen in just two days after launching a crowdfunding project for Hinai chicken in April.

With donors receiving gifts containing chicken meat in exchange for each 10,000 yen contributed, the initiative has raised more than 5 million yen so far, according to the website of the project.

A group of local businesspeople launched a delivery service for roast chicken in Odate last month, given that people are reluctant to dine out during the emergency period.

They sold a total of 495 chickens, each priced at 5,000 yen, during five operating days, including chicken shipped outside the prefecture.

Speaking at a meeting in mid-April, Hinai chicken breeders and Akita government officials affirmed close coordination in overcoming the challenges posed by the coronavirus.

"We have a history that our seniors have built with their hard work," Takahashi said. "We cannot bring it to an end at this point."
President Donald Trump is facing mounting pressure to react more forcefully to the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

US Patriot missile batteries are being removed from Saudi Arabia, and the greater Middle East, several news outlets reported Thursday night.

The move could be in retaliation over Saudi Arabia's oil production or it could be due to officials no longer seeing Iran as a direct threat at the moment.

Two Patriot missile batteries will be removed from Saudi Arabia, and two more will be removed from the rest of the region.

The missiles in Saudi Arabia used to guard oil fields.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Two Patriot missile batteries that used to guard oil facilities in Saudi Arabia will be removed after disputes between the Trump administration and the country over oil production, The Associated Press reported Thursday night.

According to the AP, a US official said some fighter aircraft and around 300 troops who staff the two batteries will also leave the country. But two Patriot batteries at Prince Sultan Air Base in the Saudi desert, along with other air defense systems and jet fighters, will remain in the country.

Republicans accused Saudi Arabia of "exacerbating instability in the oil market," earlier this year when they ramped up oil production and slashed prices amid the coronavirus pandemic, the AP reported.

Saudi Arabia's move led to layoffs in some Republican-led states, and in March some Republican senators said if the country did not change it could lose US American defense support.

The Wall Street Journal also reported Thursday night that President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Saudi oil imports, and then said the issue had been resolved.

WSJ also reported that officials said the US is considering reducing other military capabilities, "marking the end, for now, of a large-scale military buildup to counter Iran."

Additionally, two other Patriot missile batteries will be sent back to the US from the greater Middle East region for "planned redeployment for maintenance and upgrades," the AP reported.

Story continues

WSJ reported that the redeployment wasn't previously disclosed, but the AP added that the US has a limited supply of these systems that have to come back to the US for maintenance and upgrades.

Officials told the WSJ that the US was also considering reducing the US Navy presence in the Persian Gulf.

"Dozens of military personnel" were sent to the region after attacks on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, which the Trump administration blamed on Iran, according to WSJ.

According to the AP, it's not exactly clear to what degree the US decision to remove the missile system was because of the oil disputes or the struggle to parcel out the much-coveted Patriot systems.

"We're making a lot of moves in the Middle East and elsewhere. We do a lot of things all over the world, militarily we've been taken advantage of all over the world," Trump said about the move on Thursday, according to the AP.

The commander-in-chief added: "This has nothing to do with Saudi Arabia. This has to do with other countries, frankly, much more."

The Pentagon told WSJ after the report was published that they regularly move troops in and out of the region and reassess their forces. According to WSJ, some officials don't see Iran as an immediate threat at the moment.

Navy Cmdr. Sean Robertson, a Pentagon spokesman, told WSJ that "the Pentagon is engaged in a long-term effort to strengthen air defenses in the region."

Read the original article on Business Insider
President Donald Trump spent a portion of his Saturday focused on a special election in the suburbs of northern Los Angeles County, attacking a decision to add an in-person voting center there in a series of misleading tweets.

The race is between Democratic state Assemblywoman Christy Smith and Republican businessman and ex-Navy pilot Mike Garcia. They are seeking to fill a seat left vacant by former congresswoman Katie Hill, a Democrat, who resigned in the fall. Whoever wins on Tuesday will hold the California seat through the end of the year. Regardless of the outcome, the two will face each other again in November for a full two-year term.

Because of the coronavirus, voters were encouraged to mail in ballots, with every voter receiving a prestamped ballot to fill out and return. But a limited number of in-person polling places were long planned to be open, and one was added recently in Lancaster.

"Governor @GavinNewsom of California won't let restaurants, beaches and stores open, but he installs a voting both system in a highly Democrat area (supposed to be mail in ballots only) because our great candidate, @MikeGarcia2020, is winning by a lot. CA25 Rigged Election!" Trump tweeted Saturday.

He also tweeted: "So in California, the Democrats, who fought like crazy to get all mail in only ballots, and succeeded, have just opened a voting booth in the most Democrat area in the State. They are trying to steal another election. It's all rigged out there. These votes must not count. SCAM!"

Lancaster, like the rest of the 25th district. has been trending more Democratic. However, it is not the most Democratic area in California, as Trump suggests. In the state legislature, Lancaster is represented by two Republicans, and the mayor, Rex Parris, is a Republican.

Democrats had raised concerns that Lancaster, which has a large African-American population, didn't have an in-person voting place, arguing it disenfranchised voters who were more likely to vote in person on Election Day. Parris supported opening the voting center in Lancaster.

In a normal election, California's 25th district would have around 1,000 polling locations available, a spokesman for Smith's campaign told The Washington Post. On Tuesday, because of the coronavirus, there will be 13, including Lancaster, he said.

On Saturday, Smith released a statement commending the decision to add a polling place in Lancaster. She also responded to Trump's tweets, writing, "In CA we believe in expansive voting rights. We also believe in states' rights. Why don't you Mr. President?"

Garcia echoed the president's rhetoric on Twitter, accusing Smith and "her liberal Dem allies" of being "desperate and trying to change the rules to steal an election. We can't let them succeed!!"

Mail-in ballots have been an option in California elections long before the threat of spreading the coronavirus, so that is not unique to this special election. Republicans in the district have historically been more likely than Democrats to mail in ballots, while Democrats have tended to vote more heavily on Election Day.

More than one in four ballots have been returned, which is high for a special election. Of all registered Republicans, 39 percent have turned in ballots, of registered Democrats, 25 percent and of registered independents 19 percent, according to a tracker of ballot returns in California.

During the coronavirus outbreak, most election officials of both parties across the country have recommended keeping in-person polling places open in addition to expanded mail balloting to accommodate those unable or unaccustomed to voting by mail.

Trump has previously criticized the expansion of mailing ballots.

"I think that mail-in voting is a terrible thing," Trump said in early April. "I think if you vote, you should go. ... There's a lot of dishonesty going on with mail-in voting, mail-in ballots."

- - -

The Washington Post's Amy Gardner contributed to this report.
Medical workers pose for photos after seeing cured patients off at the Wuchang temporary hospital in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, March 10, 2020. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

BEIJING, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Friday presided over a symposium to hear comments and suggestions from non-CPC members on COVID-19 prevention and control.

Xi delivered a speech at the symposium, which was held by the CPC Central Committee and attended by members of the central committees of non-CPC parties in China, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and persons without party affiliation.

Through arduous efforts, decisive results have been secured in the battle to protect the hard-hit Hubei Province and its capital city Wuhan, Xi said, noting that major strategic achievements have been made in stemming the spread of the virus, with positive results in coordinating the epidemic control and economic and social development.

Xi demanded no relaxation in epidemic response and further resumption of production, work and schools to ensure a decisive victory in eradicating poverty and building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

Li Keqiang, Wang Yang and Wang Huning, all members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, were present at the symposium. Li gave a briefing on COVID-19 prevention and control work.

Symposium attendees noted the major strategic achievements in the COVID-19 fight under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core.

Photo taken with a mobile phone shows cured patients waving goodbye to medical workers before leaving the Leishenshan hospital in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, April 4, 2020. (Xinhua/Gao Xiang)

China has put the domestic epidemic under control and the rising trend of imported COVID-19 cases has waned, while the order of work and life has resumed at a faster pace, they said.

This fully demonstrated the political advantage of China's socialist system and showed that China is a major and responsible country, they added.

Delivering the speech, Xi said facing the sudden epidemic outbreak, the CPC Central Committee put people's life and health first and acted with resolute measures.

China had basically curbed the spread of the virus in over one month, managed to bring the daily number of new domestically-transmitted cases down to single digits in about two months, and secured decisive achievements in protecting Wuhan and Hubei in about three months, Xi noted.

"For a huge country with 1.4 billion people, these are hard-won achievements," he said.

At the critical moment of fighting COVID-19, non-CPC members have unswervingly stood with the CPC, Xi said. He expressed gratitude on behalf of the CPC Central Committee and said the comments and suggestions offered by the non-CPC members at the symposium will be earnestly studied.

National emergency medical rescue team members gather in front of a temporary hospital in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, March 17, 2020. Members of 15 national emergency medical rescue teams departed Hubei Province on March 17 as the epidemic outbreak in the hard-hit province has been subdued. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

Xi said during the COVID-19 fight, China upheld the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC and concentrated the nation's best doctors, the most advanced equipment and the most needed resources to treat patients, with all treatment expenses covered by the state. It managed to maximize the testing and cure rates while minimizing the infection and fatality rates.

Xi emphasized mobilizing the whole society, leveraging the institutional strength of concentrating resources to get things done and tapping the composite national strength as well as closely relying on science and technology.

He said China used less than a week to identify the full genome sequence of the novel coronavirus and isolate the virus strain, produced various testing kits and swiftly selected a number of effective drugs and treatments. Different types of vaccines have also entered clinical trials.

Patriotism, collectivism and socialism were promoted during the COVID-19 fight, a large number of role models emerged and the sense of national unity was enhanced, he said.

Chinese medical experts pose for a photo before boarding a plane at an airport in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, April 11, 2020. A team of 10 Chinese medical experts departed from Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, for Russia on April 11 to help with its fight against the COVID-19. (Xinhua/Xu Xu)

On international cooperation, Xi said China has helped countries and international organizations to the best of its ability, demonstrating the nation's sense of responsibility as a major and responsible country.

The COVID-19 fight has once again shown that the CPC leadership, China's socialist system and its governance system can overcome any challenge and make big contributions to the progress of human civilization.

Xi also stressed fixing the shortcomings in the country's major epidemic prevention and control mechanism and the national public health system to raise the ability to deal with major public health emergencies.

He urged targeted and effective measures to guard against the importation of cases and prevent a resurgence of the epidemic.

Xi urged non-CPC members to unswervingly stick to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, continue to play their role in containing the epidemic and promoting development, and help create a good atmosphere for public opinion.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said Rs 18,253 crore has been disbursed to 9.13 crore farmers under the PM-KISAN scheme during the ongoing nationwide lockdown.

Under the PM-KISAN (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi) scheme, each farmer gets Rs 6,000 in a year in three equal installments directly in bank account.

Front-loading the release of the first installment under the PM-KISAN scheme was part of the Rs 1.70 lakh crore Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) announced on March 26 to protect the poor from the impact of the coronavirus lockdown.

The lockdown was imposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 25 to curb the spread of COVID-19, and since then it has been extended twice.

With regard to further assistance to farmers, the finance minister said that 3 crore farm loan borrowers have opted for a three-month moratorium.

"Since March 2020, 9.13 crore farmers have been paid Rs 18,253 crore under PM-KISAN during the #lockdown. About three crore farmers with agri loans totaling Rs 4,22,113 crore availed the benefit of the 3-month loan moratorium," Sitharaman said in a tweet.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on March 27 allowed banks to grant moratorium on installments of term loans, scheduled to be paid between March 1 and May 31.

In order to ease burden on loan borrowers, she said, "PSBs contacted more than 95% of borrowers eligible for emergency credit lines & working capital enhancements between March 20 - May 6. The amount sanctioned jumped to Rs 54,544 crore, more than double the amount 2 days ago. Number of cases covered more than tripled."



In an effort to promote rural employment through infra projects, the government has rendered support to states under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF).

"Support of Rs 4224 cr was provided to states under RIDF during Mar, 2020 for promoting rural employment through infra projects. Working capital limit of Rs 6700 cr has been sanctioned for procurement of agriculture commodities to State Govt entities since Mar, 2020," she said in another tweet.

The RIDF is a pool created by shortfall of specified priority sector lending of banks. The fund is managed by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is thus utilised for development of rural infrastructure in the country.

Domestic commercial banks contribute to the fund to the extent of their shortfall in stipulated priority sector lending to agriculture.

The main objective of the fund is to provide loans to state governments and state-owned corporations to enable them to complete ongoing rural infrastructure projects.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Andre Harrell, the Uptown Records founder who helped launch the career of Sean Puffy Combs, has died at 59.

According to Variety, DJ D-Nice announced the news on Instagram Live on Friday night, and the outlet confirmed the news of Harrells death, though the cause is unknown.

Harrell, a native New Yorker, began his music career as an artist before he began working with Def Jam Records founder Russell Simmons in the early 1980s. Harrell left the label to begin his own in 1986.

From Variety:

Stylish, sophisticated and fashion-forward, the label played a key role in the development of the New Jack Swing style of R&B, courtesy of acts like Guy (featuring the hugely influential producer-performer Teddy Riley), Al B. Sure and Jodeci, as well as crossover hip-hop via Heavy D and the Boyz and Father MC. Harrell also signed the teenage Mary J. Blige in the late 80s, though her career at the label didnt fully take off until the early 90s, with help from Harrells enterprising former intern, Sean Puffy Combs, who was quickly elevated to an A&R position at Uptown.

Harrell later began developing projects for television and film, and he also had a stint as the president and CEO of Motown Records.

Musician Mariah Carey and actress Viola Davis were among those who remembered Harrell on social media after news of his death spread.

Why Andre  My heart is breaking and I can't stop crying. He was an amazing friend and I will miss him forever.   Mariah Carey (@MariahCarey) May 9, 2020

RIP Andre Harrell...thank you for the gift of so many incredible artists. Gone too soon. pic.twitter.com/DRcxWJFFIy  Viola Davis (@violadavis) May 9, 2020

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School staff have called for time to prepare - and possibly a staged return - to get Victorian students back in their classrooms.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews will make an announcement on Monday which is expected to detail how pupils will get back to learning within weeks.

Premier Daniel Andrews speaks on coronavirus restrictions on Friday. Credit:Eddie Jim

News Corp reported on Sunday that students would head back to school in two weeks but Australian Principals Federation head Julie Podbury told radio station 3AW it was "not true".

Teachers and advocacy groups have called for a careful plan for the return to on-site schooling, if it occurred before the end of term two on June 26.
Mumbai: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, who has been very critical about the Centres response to coronavirus COVID-19, has yet again taken a dig at the Narendra Modi government for allowing just 20 people to attend a funeral.

Referring to the Centres decision to ease restrictions on the sale of alcohol, Raut quipped that only 20 people are allowed to attend a funeral, but 1,000 people can gather near an alcohol shop.

Taking to Twitter, the Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP said, "Only 20 people allowed to gather for a funeral - because the spirit has already left the body. 1000`s allowed to gather near an alcohol shop because the shops have spirits in them."

Only 20 people allowed to gather for a funeral -

because the spirit has already left the body. 1000's allowed to gather near an alcohol shop,

because the shops have spirits in them.  Sanjay Raut (@rautsanjay61) May 8, 2020

It may be noted that Punya Salila Srivastava, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had earlier announced, "To maintain social distancing, gathering of not more than 50 persons are allowed at wedding functions and not more than 20 persons at last rites of deceased persons."

Raut had earlier taken a dig at PM Narendra Modis light up lamps message asking what the government is doing to improve the COVID-19 situation.

While the resumption of liquor sales in the country has been welcomed by the people and the state governments, it has triggered concerns over the rise in COVID-19 cases as people were seen flouting social distancing norms to buy liquor.

Last month, MNS chief Raj Thackeray had urged his estranged cousin and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to allow wine shops to open, saying it will ensure revenue inflow during these hard times.

It has also been reported that the Uddhav Thackeray government is mulling on allowing home delivery of alcohol to avoid people from gathering at wine shops. Maharashtras Health Minister Rajesh Tope had earlier said that the state government is not in favour of opening liquor shops.

The state had earlier closed all the liquor outlets in Mumbai and the rest of metropolitan region after opening them for a day after the MHA in its new guidelines allowed sale of liquor, paan, tobacco after ensuring minimum six-feet social distancing; not over 5 persons at one time at the shop.

However, with people flouting the social distancing norms, the Supreme Court on Friday asked states to consider online sales and home delivery of liquor during the lockdown period to prevent the spread of coronavirus due to crowding at the shops.

Maharashtra is one of the worst-hit states due to coronavirus with a total of 17,974 cases and 694 deaths.
Having absorbed the lessons of Watergate, mainstream Republicans once balked at the politicization of the Justice Department  even by Republican presidents. When President George W. Bushs attorney general Alberto Gonzales fired eight United States attorneys because they were not aggressive enough in prosecuting Democrats, the outrage was bipartisan, and he was forced to resign.

But todays Republicans, who could be most effective in defending the integrity of American justice, appear either too afraid of Mr. Trump or too eager for short-term partisan advantage to confront the danger to the country.

Mr. Barrs decision to drop the charges against Mr. Flynn may be his most egregious abandonment of his role as the publics lawyer, but its certainly not the first. Last year, barely a month after he was confirmed to his post, he stood before the American people and misrepresented the contents of the long-awaited report by Robert Mueller, the special counsel who investigated ties between the Trump campaign and the Russian government in 2016.

The report itself, at 448 pages, documented extensive evidence of those ties, as well as multiple instances of lying and obstruction of justice by Mr. Trump and other top government officials. Mr. Barrs four-page summary claimed the opposite  that Mr. Mueller had found no collusion or obstruction of justice. Mr. Mueller protested, and yet weeks passed before Americans could see the report themselves and discover just how much Mr. Barr had twisted its findings to benefit Mr. Trump.

In March, a federal judge called Mr. Barrs characterization of the report distorted and misleading, and said his lack of candor called his credibility into doubt.

But Mr. Barr didnt stop there. He also rejected a report by the Justice Department inspector general finding that there was sufficient evidence to open the Russia investigation. He referred to the investigation as spying and ordered a criminal inquiry into its origins. He intervened in the prosecutions of two of Mr. Trumps top advisers, Mr. Flynn and Roger Stone, for whom he recommended a lighter sentence than his own prosecutors had sought. And he declined to open a criminal investigation into last falls whistle-blower complaint against Mr. Trump, saying it did not qualify as an urgent concern. The complaint ultimately led to Mr. Trumps impeachment.

Last month, Mr. Barr went on Fox News and called the Russia investigation one of the greatest travesties in American history, and said, Were not dealing with just mistakes or sloppiness, there was something far more troubling here; and were going to get to the bottom of it.
U.S. delivers specialized vehicles to Moroccan Special Operations Forces

The United States transferred ownership of 21 specialized vehicles to the Moroccan Forces Armees Royale Special Operations Company (MSOF) valued at over $1 million on May 6.

By U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs, United States Africa CommandStuttgart, Germany May 08, 2020

RABAT, Morocco -- The United States transferred ownership of 21 specialized vehicles to the Moroccan Forces Armees Royale Special Operations Company (MSOF) valued at over $1 million on May 6.

The transfer culminates three years of close cooperation to train and equip the MSOF company through an $18 million grant.

"It's never lost on us that in 1777, as the United States fought for independence, Morocco emerged as the first country to recognize our new nation," said U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Steven deMilliano, Deputy Director, Strategy, Engagement, and Programs Directorate, United States Africa Command. "Our friendship, established over two centuries ago, remains strong with Morocco, a premiere security partner, providing regional leadership through exercises, training programs, and counterterrorism cooperation. This vehicle transfer demonstrates our mutual commitment and shared values."

This delivery of vehicles marks a critical step to enhance the company's capacity to conduct special operations and internal company command and control by the end of this year. The U.S. Embassy's Office of Security Cooperation and the Utah National Guard have established an exceptional relationship with the MSOF since training first began in 2017, with numerous combined training events occurring each year in Tifnit as well as other locations.

Col. Abderrahim Maddah, Post Commander of the FAR Southern Zone Training Center in Tifnit, met with the Senior Defense Official of the U.S. Embassy, Col. Kenneth Gjone, to complete the transfer.

"While this delivery marks the completion of this multi-year security cooperation project with Morocco, the military-military relationship between our two great countries is already strong and will continue to grow over the coming years," said Gjone.

The MSOF has extensive training experience with multiple U.S. Special Operations units. The MSOF operators have earned an outstanding reputation through numerous training exercises. Most recently, the Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command Africa, U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Dagvin Anderson, lauded their exceptional performance during the multinational Exercise Flintlock 2020 in Mauritania.

The FAR and the Utah National Guard have been strong partners through the U.S. Department of Defense State Partnership Program since 2003, and the operators and support personnel of the 19th Special Forces Group of the Utah National Guard are proud brothers in arms with Moroccan Special Forces.

"We applaud the professionalism, discipline, and dedication of the Moroccan Royal Armed Forces under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI and Inspector General Abdelfatah Louarak," said U.S. Ambassador to Morocco David T. Fischer, "and we are proud to partner with Morocco in the development of the Moroccan Special Operations Company."

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Denis Daniel Guiney, pictured lighting his pipe while working in the Bog at his home in Knocknenaugh, Ballydesmond, (circa 1940s). Denis Daniel is the subject of Sean Keatings painting The Fenian.

Last October, Newmarket historian Sheila O' Sullivan was delighted to be invited to Collins Barracks, Cork to attend a presentation by Dr Eimear O' Connor, HRHA, on Artist Sean Keating's 'Republican Court' painting.

The event was hosted by retired Colonel Jim Long and was attended by a diverse guest list including art historians and collectors.

Dr O' Connor is a noted authority on Keating's work and has curated many exhibitions and published many books on the subject.

Renowned Irish artist Sean Keating's work is gaining a new popularity and interest following the use of one of his paintings for the cover of the very successful 'Atlas of the Irish Revolution'.

This image is, of course 'Men of the South', the original of which is on permanent display at the Crawford Gallery in Cork City.

This work was begun by Keating during the truce of 1922.

During the Presentation Dr Eimear was asked about the possible location of another of his works called 'The Fenian'.

It is the location of this painting, believed to be in some private collection, that is the subject of a search by Keating enthusiasts for an art exhibition in 2022.

The search has so far proved fruitless, but it is hoped that word will spread around the art world and that the painting may yet be located.

A mutual respect and friendship endured over the years, between Sean Keating and Sean Moylan, which included visits to Newmarket and Kiskeam.

It was at the suggestion of Moylan that Keating should record in paint a representation of a Republican Court which in Moylan's mind were pivotal to breaking the stranglehold of the British Empire over the population.

Sean Keating arrived in Kiskeam in the summer of 1946 to source a suitable location and subjects for his proposed endeavour.

The location was Jack Culloty's kitchen in Knockavorheen and the subjects were Timothy Moynihan, Meens; Michael T Cronin, Dromscarra; Michael Cronin, Knockeenacurrig; Jim Riordan, Knockavorheen and Timothy J. Cronin of West End, Kiskeam.

Two sentries of the court are Paddy and Sean Culloty.

This wonderful painting is displayed in the Officer's Mess at Collins' Barracks, Cork .

While painting the Republican Court in Knockavorheen, Keating did not confine himself to that alone.

Among his other works was a portrait of Denis-Daniel Guiney of Knocknenaugh, Kiskeam, locally known as 'The Old Fenian'. Denis Daniel's strong face and flowing beard made him a fine model for the artist.

While descendants of the leaders of the 1916 Rebellion are justifiably proud of their ancestors, equal pride is held by those who can trace their lineage to a Fenian.

The Fenian movement was founded on March 17, 1858 by James Stephens and John O' Mahony, veterans of the 1848 rising.

It was an oath- bound secret society whose aim was the freedom and independence of Ireland from British rule by force of arms.

"Given that every town and village in North Cork has its own Fenian Roll of Honour, one can conclude that there was considerable sympathy for the movement throughout the region. This in itself is extraordinary given the political and social climate of the time - a mere decade after the famine," Sheila O' Sullivan said.

The secret oath of the association put it in immediate conflict with the Catholic Church, and particularly with its leader Cardinal Paul Cullen.

"The Church took every opportunity to condemn the movement even to the extent of excommunication. The penalties for membership carried serious consequences as attested by the arrest of John Kenneally of Glenlara in 1866 who was sentenced to transportation to Van Diemen's Land for 10-years" Sheila noted.

"In more modern times we have all seen film footage of the enormous crowds, estimated at 20,000 people, marching through Dublin following the funeral cortege of the Fenian, Jeremiah O' Donovan Rossa to Glasnevin in August 1915" Sheila added.

The physical appearance of a Fenian, in most people's imagination, is informed by the image of O' Donovan Rossa and James Stephens, male, bearded, with a countenance honed by a harsh and difficult life.

And so the search for 'The Fenian' continues, because this painting is of great artistic, historic and sentimental value to the people of Duhallow, and to Denis Daniel's descendants around the Kiskeam and Ballydesmond area.
(CNN)  The novel coronavirus has destroyed lives and livelihoods in both the United States and China. But instead of bonding the two nations together to fight the pandemic, it has sent their already strained relations on a rapid downward spiral  and fanned the flames of a potentially dangerous strain of nationalism.

China has been criticized at home and abroad over its handling of the virus, especially during the initial outbreak. Pushing back such criticism with increasingly fierce rhetoric, Beijing says it is merely "responding" to false accusations, particularly from the US.

In March, as the pandemic raged across the globe, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian publicly promoted an unfounded conspiracy theory that the virus might have been brought to China by the US military. A few days later, US President Donald Trump called the coronavirus the "Chinese virus," pinning the blame on China as the outbreak began to take hold in major American cities.

Trump dropped the term a week later  but the finger pointing did not stop there.

In recent weeks, the Trump administration has repeatedly lashed out at China over its handling of the outbreak, questioning its death toll and criticizing its early response to the virus. Last week, Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed  without providing evidence  that the virus originated from a Chinese lab. Beijing pushed back in response, dubbing the claim a reelection tactic aimed at boosting Trump's standing among Republican voters  while China's government-controlled media attacked Pompeo with unusually vicious language, calling him "evil," "insane" and an "enemy of mankind."

But the acrimony goes deeper than a mere war of words. The Trump administration is reportedly drawing up plans to punish China for the pandemic -- retaliation options include sanctions, canceling US debt obligations and drawing up new trade policies. Trump and several administration officials are also enlisting foreign allies to join the pressure campaign against China.

"Lowest point" in decades

The dramatic deterioration of relations comes on the heels of a two-year trade war between the world's two largest economies  a trade war that had already pushed tensions to new heights and spurred talk of decoupling.

Yet while Trump's approach to China is not necessarily new, the situation he now faces is "much more dramatic and dangerous," said David Zweig, professor emeritus at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and director of Transnational China Consulting Limited.

"The stakes are much higher," Zweig said. "In 2016, it was people's jobs. In 2020, it's people's lives."

First detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan last December, the coronavirus has since spread far beyond the country's borders, infecting 3.9 million people and killing at least 276,000 across the globe.

The US reported its first coronavirus case in January -- a man who had returned to Washington state from Wuhan days prior. Initially, the situation seemed under control, with one death and 22 cases reported throughout the country by the end of February. But the number of new infections exploded in March, and the US now accounts for more than a quarter of reported deaths worldwide.

The Chinese government has been casting doubt on the origins of the pandemic, claiming the earliest cases may not have occurred in Wuhan.

Shi Yinhong, an adviser to the Chinese government and international relations professor at China's Renmin University, said US-China relations have now "reached the lowest point since 1972," when former US President Richard Nixon made his historic visit to Beijing to normalize bilateral relations with China, which for years had been diplomatically isolated from the West.

Shi's assessment is especially grim when taking into consideration the number of major crises the two countries have faced in the intervening decades: China's deadly Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989, the American bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1999, the mid-air collision of a US spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet near Hainan Island in 2001, and the 2008 financial crisis.

"Since the start of 2018, China-US relations have already entered a state of comprehensive competition and rivalry. Since the pandemic, however, the relations have suffered a major blow," Shi said.

The rivalry and antagonism between the two countries has now extended to trade, technology, geopolitics and political ideology, and signs of decoupling are also expanding under the pandemic as lockdown measures disrupt flights, international travel and global supply chains, Shi said.

Rising nationalism

As bilateral ties plummet during the pandemic, US public opinion on China has also hit a new low. A recent Pew poll found that 66% of Americans held an unfavorable view of China, the highest percentage recorded since the annual survey began in 2005. Only about a quarter in the US report a favorable attitude towards China.

Similarly, in China, nationalism and anti-foreign sentiment is running high. Backed by state media and officials, there is also a growing sense of bitterness that Chinese people, especially the people of Wuhan, have made huge sacrifices to contain the virus and suffered great loss, yet their country is still being criticized for not doing enough -- and taking the blame for other governments' inadequate response in handling the pandemic.

"It's very clear when there's external hostility towards China, the people do tend to become more nationalistic. And the (Chinese Communist) Party plays on that," Zweig said.

"People feel the Chinese ethnicity is under attack. They get very defensive. And it makes it very hard for more rational voices to speak out."

Economic growth and nationalism have for decades been the two wellsprings of the Chinese Communist Party's political legitimacy. The country's economy has taken a huge hit from the coronavirus outbreak, contracting 6.8% in the first quarter this year -- the worst plunge since quarterly records began in 1992. And with economic growth more difficult to sustain than ever, the party is likely to turn even more to nationalism to cement its hold on power.

As the number of new infections dropped in China and surged abroad, state media has touted China's success in defeating the virus while highlighting the failures of other governments to contain its spread -- particularly the United States.

On April 30, China's state-run news agency Xinhua posted an animated video featuring Lego-like figures that mocked the US response to the pandemic. It has been viewed 2 million times on Twitter.

"Despite some mistakes in the early days in Wuhan, the Chinese people are highly satisfied with the overall actions. The incompetence of US (government) is like a mirror, reflecting the reliability of Chinese (government)," said Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the nationalist state-run Global Times tabloid, in a Tweet on Thursday.

In a commentary late last month, state broadcaster CCTV hailed China's political system as its "biggest advantage" in overcoming the outbreak. "The firm leadership of the Chinese Communist Party is the most important reason for China to defeat the epidemic," it said.

Last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech to the country's youth marking the 101st anniversary of the May Four Movement, a student-led political movement sparked by angry protests towards the government's failure to stop foreign aggression and defend China's interests. It later grew into broader calls for modernity, democracy and science.

In his speech, Xi praised young people for their part in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak, and urged them to "work hard for the realization of the Chinese dream for national rejuvenation," state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Under Xi's vision of the "Chinese dream" and push for "national rejuvenation," Beijing has grown increasingly more assertive in its foreign policy, eager to project its influence in the world and staunchly defend its "core" national interests, including disputed territorial claims. That approach has already drawn criticism at home and abroad for alienating the US and other members of the international community.

International backlash

Under the pandemic, Beijing is finding itself in the midst of a growing global backlash that extends well beyond the US.

Outside China, criticism is growing over its handling of the outbreak and pressure is mounting for an independent international inquiry to look into its origins. There are also calls for economic compensation from China for the damage caused. In Europe, China has been accused of spreading misinformation. And in Africa, Beijing faced a diplomatic crisis after reports of alleged coronavirus-related discrimination against African nationals in China sparked anger across the continent.

Shi, the Chinese government adviser, said some Western powers have aligned with the US in blaming China for allegedly mishandling the outbreak  and that is a serious foreign relations issue for Beijing.

"From China's point of view, this is closely related to the prestige of the Chinese regime and potential stability," he said.

As well as via state media, China has tried to defend its image through diplomatic envoys. Known as "wolf warrior" diplomacy, it references a popular Chinese action movie series in which the country's military enacts daring operations around the world. However the increasingly combative tone of some Chinese diplomats has itself fueled tensions and sparked criticism.

China has also sent masks, test kits and other supplies and medical experts to countries hit hard by the pandemic  and even then, critics have questioned the motives of Beijing's so-called "mask diplomacy."

"Even if after the pandemic has passed, these problems will remain. They might be less emotionally charged by then, but they'll be there all the same," said Shi.

"The memory (of the pandemic and its devastation) is so deep that I'm afraid (the scars) will remain in the hearts of a whole generation."

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Coronavirus has created a rift between the US and China that may take a generation to heal."
Maharashtra Home Minister Anil



Deshmukh on Saturday expressed gratitude to policemen in the frontline in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak by keeping the state police logo as the display picture or DP of his social media accounts.

He asked people to do so in large numbers to encourage the men in khakhi who have been working round the clock, with several of them having got infected, and six losing their lives.

In a Facebook post, Deshmukh said, "There is a need to highlight that the brothers in my police family are not alone. The people care for the police as much I do as home minister."



"I will keep the logo of Maharashtra Police as the DP of all my social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in the honour of our brave police. You too should use the logo (as the DP) to participate in big numbers to honour the police brothers," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The cruise industry has taken a beating during the coronavirus crisis -- on-board outbreaks, refusal of port access and now no clear idea of when ships can sail once again. While the passengers have headed home, the journey drags on for tens of thousands of crew members who are stranded at sea aboard their vessels, with no end in sight. Many are no longer being paid because their contracts ended; some have no internet access; tensions are flaring; and some have even filed suit against their employers. "We are prisoners. I need help. We need help," said Caio Saldanha, a Brazilian DJ who works on the Celebrity Infinity, which is in limbo somewhere between Florida and the Bahamas. "We need to fight to go home," the 31-year-old musician told AFP. Saldanha shares a cabin with his 29-year-old girlfriend Jessica Furlan, who hosted on-board activities for passengers. On March 13, US authorities issued a no-sail order as the virus crisis ramped up. Ships with passengers offloaded them -- some more easily than others. But most crew members were required to remain on board. And now they're stuck. There are more than 100 ships carrying over 70,000 crew in or near US territorial waters or ports, the US Coast Guard says. "We are desperate to get home," said Furlan, who noted that they spent three weeks confined to their cabin, and then stopped getting paid on April 24. - No free internet for some crew - Those who keep the ships running -- sailors, cleaners and cooks, for example -- are still getting paid, but anyone whose job was to entertain passengers is out of luck. Other employees had completed their contracts, so they are not getting paid, either. The cruise lines provide room and board, but crew must pay for anything else -- even toothpaste and soap. Some have to pay for WiFi. "We do not have free internet -- from one point of view, I do understand, but from the human point of view, I cannot," said Verica Brcic, who manages the spa on the Maasdam, operated by Carnival subsidiary Holland America. Brcic was transferred on March 29 to the Koningsdam, which is meandering along the US West Coast with 1,100 personnel from eight different ships. "Humans need to stay in contact" with family and get news from home, said the 55-year-old, who is from Serbia. Brcic has no idea when she might get home. She hasn't been on dry land since early March. A 52-year-old musician who works for Princess Cruises (also a Carnival subsidiary) says he too has to pay for WiFi. He also says there is not enough food to go around. "I feel like I'm in forced confinement," said the musician, who asked not to be named, or for AFP to even say which ship he works on, for fear that his employer would retaliate. - 'Roller-coaster of emotions' - The major cruise lines stand accused of failing to do enough to get their staff home, ostensibly to save money on pricey charter flights -- a claim the companies deny. Royal Caribbean says the issue stems from the fine print of their agreement with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That agreement says cruise companies are liable -- in both criminal and civil court -- if the crew fails to follow the rules of disembarkation to the letter. "We are happy to do all the things they requested, but the criminal penalties gave us (and our lawyers) pause," Royal Caribbean CEO Michael Bayley said in a May 3 letter to crew seen by AFP. Bayley then wrote that Royal Caribbean would sign anyway, because "the importance of getting you home is so great." Lauren Carrick, a British dancer on the Infinity who shares a cabin with her boyfriend, wants to know why the process is taking so long for Royal Caribbean, which owns Celebrity Cruises. "It's just a roller-coaster of emotions," the 29-year-old Carrick told AFP. "It's really tiring and exhausting. At nighttime, I can't sleep. My mind is constantly going to like, 'When am I going to get home?'" But not everyone is in a huge rush. Some crew members feel safer at sea and fear that all the publicity is going to hurt the companies that pay their bills. "It is complex and very frustrating for those of us that love our jobs," said a 42-year-old South African food and beverage manager for Carnival. He said keeping the crew on board was costing more than the charter flights would, and that it was simply "very difficult to repatriate certain people to certain destinations." "That fault cannot lie with the cruise lines -- it lies with bodies like the CDC," he said on condition of anonymity. - It's complicated - Bayley says that of its 25,000 employees on board ships, more than 1,000 of them say they want to stay. For those who want to get home, he says, it's complicated. "Our crew come to us from more than 60 countries. Each country has rules and regulations for who can travel home, and how, and when," Bayley wrote in his letter. Some countries are not even accepting their own nationals, he said. Carnival is making "strong progress" in getting its employees home "via air charters and our own ships," spokesman Roger Frizzell told AFP. The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) told AFP that so far, there have been a total of 2,789 confirmed cases of COVID-19 onboard 33 cruise ships, among passengers and crew. Last month, employees of Celebrity Cruises filed a class action lawsuit accusing the company of negligence. This week, the family of an Indonesian crew member filed a wrongful death suit against Royal Caribbean.
Former Governor of Abia State, in reaction to the Supreme Courts decision to nullify his 12-year jail term said his case was a story of initial injustice that was caught and ultimately corrected, a story of restoration, and how justice and truth prevailed in the end.

The supreme court today Friday May 8, nullified Kalus conviction and ordered a fresh trial.

Read his full statement below;

STATEMENT BY SENATOR (DR.) ORJI UZOR KALU

Abuja, May 8, 2020

Today, the Supreme Court of Nigeria gave a judgment in my favor, quashing the conviction which the lower court had entered against me. By todays judgment, the Apex court of our dear country affirmed my right to fair hearing and equal protection of the law.

The past five months have been quite a profound period for me. As challenging as that period has been, it has provided me an opportunity to learn invaluable lessons about our country, our peoples, our justice system and the true meaning of love. I mean love for family, love for our country and love for humanity.

I want to use this moment to thank my family, my colleagues, my friends, my supporters, the people of Abia State, and all Nigerians for their unflinching and unwavering confidence and trust in me through the very testing period. We all know today that their prayers have not been in vain. I also use this opportunity to express my gratitude to the Nigerian Correctional Service for the unalloyed professionalism and sincere humanity extended to me by its staff while I was in their custody.

I must accord a special mention to the Justices of our Supreme Court for their unwavering commitment to rule of law. We all stand reminded of the consistent and strategic relevance of the Nigerian Supreme Court in holding this country together, even in moments of great peril. As far back as in the 1971 case of LAKANMI V. ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE FEDERATION, (the Ademola Adetokumbo-led Court) the Nigerian Supreme Court has severally rescued this country from the precipice. Also throughout the dark era of military rule in Nigeria, the Supreme Court neither wavered nor flinched in its commitment to justice and fairness. And despite some moments of distraction and mass hysteria, the Nigerian Supreme Court has remained the veritable compass to the highest ideals of justice attainable in this country. This long tradition of the court was exemplified in todays judgment. I was humbled by the courts boldness and sense of justice as shown in my case.

Overall, my experience tested and reaffirmed my belief and confidence in our country, Nigeria. My case is a true Nigerian story with a bold MADE-IN-NIGERIA stamp on it. It is a story of initial injustice that was caught and ultimately corrected. It is a story of restoration. It is a story of how a wrong was righted and how justice and truth prevailed in the end. It is a story of the power of hope. My case should teach us all that even though we may not get things right at the first attempt, with patience and dedication, we shall get them right eventually. That is the lesson of my case and that is the lesson of our country  that with dedication and patience, we shall place Nigeria in its rightful place eventually.

Before I end, I would like to let it be known that the events of the past five months gave me an added perspective on matters of justice and injustice in Nigeria. I have come to know that the course of justice will not be complete if it stopped at my case. It must continue until it touches the lives of millions of Nigerians who face injustice anywhere in this world. I shall be dedicating my time henceforth to ensuring there will be justice for all Nigerians whether they are in Sokoto or Akwa Ibom or in Lagos or Maiduguri or in Jos or Enugu, or wherever they may be. Justice for one man or for a few people will no longer be enough in this country. A system whereby over 70% of all prison inmates population is made up of people awaiting trial cannot be allowed to continue. Situations where innocent people are falsely charged with murder just to get them out of the way does not dignify our country and cannot continue. Justice must now mean justice for all. That is my pledge to Nigerians.

I look forward to rejoining my colleagues in the Senate as soon as possible.

Thank you and God bless all of you.

Signed by:

SENATOR (DR) ORJI UZOR KALU.
Director: Abhishek Sharma Director: Abhishek Sharma

Journalists are mostly idolised in our films. Our filmmakers have been making films on the media and media persons since the black and white era. The films mostly portray the hard-working reporter overcoming all sorts of hurdles and pressures and managing to put the unstained truth in front of the masses. Whether the masses have the ability to handle the truth is another matter. Though some films have been satires as well, portraying the seamier side of the noble profession. They do make for interesting viewing, though in truth they are nothing but highly glamorised versions of the actual life of media people. We bring you a list of Hindi films from the last two decades which have brought the press and reporters in the limelight. We hope itll add a novelty to your movie-watching experience this quarantine.Director: Aziz MirzaCast: Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, Johnny Lever, Paresh RawalThe film was a satire on the callous nature of the TV news media. Ajay Bakshi (Shahrukh Khan) is a successful loudmouthed TV news reporter. Ria Banerjee (Juhi Chawla) is another ace reporter belonging to a rival channel. The two are forever entwined in a game of one-upmanship. Both want to be the one to get the story first. While Ajay is willing to cut corners, Ria is more sincere. While they are attracted to each other, they dont acknowledge the attraction, preferring to be rivals. Mohan Joshi (Paresh Rawal) guns down the brother-in-law of a minister. Hes framed as a terrorist but Ajay and Ria come to know of his true story. It transpires that his daughter was brutally raped by the man he had killed and later lost his life. He took the drastic step because the police were unwilling to act because of the mans powerful connection. Moved by this narrative, they both agree to investigate it together and bring Mohan justice. Their investigation exposes the rot in the political, judiciary and police circles. They come close together during the investigation and finally are able to procure Mohans release by turning the public opinion against his death penalty.Director: Madhur BhandarkarCast: Konkona Sen Sharma, Atul Kulkarni, Boman IraniThe film brought out the seedier side of both page 3 journalism as well as the mainstream reporting. Madhavi Sharma (Konkona Sen Sharma) is a young journalist, who arrives in Mumbai looking for a job. She is hired by newspaper editor Deepak Suri (Boman Irani), and is assigned the task of reporting on celebrity news, writing articles for Page 3. Disillusioned with her beat. Reputed crime journalist, Vinayak Mane (Atul Kulkarni) is told to mentor her. They witness a bomb blast in the city, and Madhavi is shocked by the antipathy shown by the authorities on the whole thing. She later uncovers a story that kids are being abducted from an orphanage. And that a rich industrialist is molesting these children at his farmhouse. The story is squashed through political pressure but using her page 3 connections, Madhavi sees to it that justice gets done. The film told us that real news never gets written. Konkona and Atul Kulkarni were both praised for their acting.Director: Kabir KhanCast: John Abraham, Arshad Warsi, Salman Shahid, Hanif Hum Ghum, Linda ArsenioThe film was based on director Kabir Khans own experiences as a documentary filmmaker. It was shot on location in Afghanistan and chronicles the misadventures of two rookie journalists from India on their first tour of Afghanistan. Suhel Khan (John Abraham) and Jai Kapoor (Arshad Warsi) are Indian journalists who are sent into Afghanistan to create a report on what life is like in the country following the US Invasion of the country. They hire Taxi Driver Khyber (Hanif Humghum) for their journey. Along the way, they meet American journalist Jessica Beckham (Linda Arsenio) who wants to report on the US side of the War in Afghanistan. She joins them on their tour but the three journos are in for a shock when a Taliban official, Imran Khan (Salman Shahid), takes them hostage and persuades them to take him towards the Pakistan border. They later come to know that hes actually a member of the Pakistani army named Wassim Chaudrey who joined the Taliban but now wants to go back to his homeland, Pakistan. They get to see the real face of the conflict, as also how war has adversely affected the Afghan landscape. Its a sobering experience for all three and for the viewers as well.Director: Anusha RizviCast: Omkar Das Manikpuri, Raghubir Yadav, Shalini Vatsa, Malaika Shenoy, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Naseeruddin ShahFarmer suicides are a grim reality and the film showcased the systems apathy to such happenings. It also sheds light about how the media manipulates a situation in search of higher TRPs. While the agenda of the media gets served, the issue they focus their limelight on seldom gets resolved. Brothers Natha (Omkar Das Manikpuri) and Budhiya (Raghubir Yadav) are slackers and drunkards who have a large loan on their heads. They are without means to pay the loan and spend all their free time getting drunk. They come to know that the government pays huge compensation to the family if a farmer commits suicide. As they are discussing this, a local reporter overhears them and reports it. It soon becomes national news and two rival news channels descend on their village to cover the suicide. It becomes a media circus of sorts. The political parties too get involved. Everyone tries to take advantage of the situation and Natha, who has become an unwilling celebrity, starts to fear for his life. The government does find a dead body in the end but no compensation gets given as a case of accidental death is made out. Worse, the bank takes away their land as well. One felt as if one was watching real events unfold and not fiction.Cast: Ali Zafar, Sugandha Garg, Pradhuman SinghThe film was a black comedy which pointed out how the craze of breaking news makes the media forego editorial protocols. The film may have come years before we woke up to the very real danger of fake news, but it did point towards its flaws. Ali Hassan (Ali Zafar) is an ambitious reporter with Danka TV, a downmarket local TV channel in Karachi, Pakistan. His dream is to make it big so he can earn enough money to settle in the USA. Through his own foolishness, he gets deported out of America. Later, he chances upon a Bin Laden lookalike, Noora (Pradhuman Singh). He makes a plan to make a fake video of Bin Laden. With help from his travel agent's assistant Zoya (Sugandha Garg) and a local radio jockey Qureshi (Rahul Singh) and his assistant Gul (Nikhil Ratnaparkhi), he fools Noora into dressing up like Bin Laden and makes a fake video. When he leaks it, it creates a sensation among the American and Pakistani intelligence circles. The defence agencies of both countries hound Ali and Noora. After a long set of misadventures, they are both captured. To save the face of the Americans, Ali proposes to make another fake video where Bin Laden proposes a ceasefire. As a result, the American in charge of the operation gets promoted, and even Ali realises his American dream. Noora, meanwhile, finds love in Zoya.Director: Ram Gopal VarmaCast: Amitabh Bachchan, Sudeep, Paresh Rawal, Rajat Kapoor, Mohnish Behl, Riteish DeshmukhRann was a political thriller that exposed how the media can act as an influencer and be used as a tool for political advancement by powerful politicians. It also showed us how truth can easily be manipulated. Vijay Harshwardhan Malik (Amitabh Bachchan), the ethical CEO of struggling television channel India 24/7, is losing the rating battle with a rival channel headed by Amrish Kakkar (Mohnish Behl). So when he gets a tape showing the Prime Minister (KK Raina) as being complicit in a terror attack, he decides to run it post haste, thinking he has got a scoop. The news creates a political turmoil, as a result of which fresh elections are held and a corrupt politician, Mohan Pandey (Paresh Rawal), comes to power. Malik later comes to know that the tape was fake and the whole thing was manipulated by Pandey with the help of his own son Jai (Sudeep) and his son-in-law Naveen (Rajat Kapoor). He comes in front of the audience for the last time, exposes the culprits, asks for forgiveness and gives the reins of his channel to the young reporter Purab (Riteish Deshmukh).Director: Raj Kumar GuptaCast: Rani Mukerji, Vidya BalanThis hard-hitting movie is based on the murder case of Jessica Lal. It stars Vidya Balan as Jessicas sister Sabrina, whereas Rani Mukerjis character of Meera Gaity is inspired from the various TV news reporters following the case. Jessica (Myra Karn) refuses to serve three men after the last call. One of the men, Manish (Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub), who's the son of a big-time politician, shoots her in the head in anger. Though there are dozens of eyewitnesses, no one comes forward as a witness as everyone is afraid of Manishs political clout. In what could have been an open and shut case gets botched by the police and the judiciary. While Sabrina loses all hope of ever getting justice for her sister, a news reporter Meera Gaity picks up the gauntlet. She starts investigating and is helped by Inspector N.K. (Rajesh Sharma), to gather evidence. Her reports start a mass outrage and the public demands a retrial. The case is fast-tracked, the police do their job properly this time and the accused gets sent to life imprisonment. Both Rani and Viya were highly praised for their performances and so were Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub and Rajesh Sharma,Director: Sunhil SippyCast: Sonakshi Sinha, Kanan Gill, Shibani Dandekar, Purab KohliThe film is based on Pakistani author Saba Imtiaz's novel Karachi, You're Killing Me! The novel was about a young reporter working in Karachi who has a set of misadventures as she learns about life. The film was set in Mumbai and not Karachi, however. Noor (Sonakshi Sinha) would love to do a serious story but is assigned to chase fluff pieces instead. While shes editing a feel-good story about a doctor, her maid informs her that the doctor, in fact, is a criminal engaged in the organ harvesting business. She even introduces her to one of the victims. Unfortunately, her story is pilfered by her boyfriend Ayan (Purab Kohli). The life of both her maid and the primary witness is now in danger. When the witness is killed, she launches her own investigation and comes up with enough evidence to convict the doctor.
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Traditionally, bear markets have lasted for a minimum of 18 months and this time it isnt expected to be different, Umesh Mehta, Head of Research, Samco Securities, says in an interview to Moneycontrols Kshitij Anand.

Edited excerpts:

Q) It seems markets have witnessed profit-taking at higher levels. What led to the sharp selloff on D-Street and then some recovery towards the close of the week?

A) As per statistics, Indian markets and the US have shown the highest correlation in the past month compared to the last decade. Hence, Monday was no different when Indian markets reacted in line with its global peers and witnessed crack in prices.

However, the latter half was comparatively buoyant since heavyweights such as Reliance Industries managed to keep markets afloat.

Additionally, sentiments were guided by the opening of factories in certain states, which helped recovery on D-Street towards the end of the week.

Q) Any factors that investors should watch out for in the coming week?

A) Until the lockdown ends, the situation at the ground will not be known, till then markets are expected to continue in a narrow range. Indices should take another 2-3 months to show significant cracks once again.

Markets will continue to be lackluster unless there is a fiscal stimulus announced which will indeed be accepted by the Street with open arms.

Q) Another mega deal for RILs Jio platform. What are your views and estimates on the stock and what should investors do?

A) Reliance Industries is playing its cards very smartly as it has single-handedly formed its own bull path. When the entire market is in a state of chaos, (Mukesh) Ambani announced three back-to-back deals along with a rights issue.

The future of Reliance Jio will depend on how effectively these deals help the platform to grow and achieve the scale it plans. However, for now, investors can hold the stock until the rights issue and dividend record date to capitalise on the gains.

A) Broader markets have substantially recovered but not all stocks would prove to be outstanding wealth-creators in the long run. A crack in the larger weights will eventually trickle down to the small and midcaps, taking them lower in times to come.

Traditionally, bear markets have lasted for a minimum of 18 months and this time isnt expected to be different. Hence, there is still more pain left.

Investors should, therefore, patiently wait and get into sectoral leaders to prevent wealth erosion in the coming months.

Q) Moody's says India's negative rating outlook reflects a rising risk of slower GDP growth. Do you think this is factored in or will it weigh on markets and investors?

A) Markets seem to have factored in the pain, for now, given that despite the rise in daily COVID cases or negative outlook markets moved higher.

Post the lockdown, the ground-level pain will be a key data point that might lead investors to react in the markets. These reactions will be negative and ugly if the lockdown lasts longer.

Q) Do you think the lockdown will be extended beyond May 17? If yes, what will it do to the market?

A) An extension of the lockdown seems unlikely since the economy is bleeding. Currently, markets are expecting the lockdown to be lifted on May 17, however, any further extension will cause a downward movement.

Even if Mumbai and other metro cities remain in extended lockdown, the effect will be extremely negative for the economy.

Q) Specialty chemicals and pharma sectors are best placed do ride out the COVID-19 storm but, after a swift rally, are they still a good buy?

A) The pharmaceutical sector was in a long-term downtrend and faced massive pressure for the past few years. Since this is a health hazard, any positive news will take the pharma stocks zooming.

However, they can turn out to be bull traps, which we witnessed last week. Hence, investors should wait for the earnings to assess the impact of the situation on these companies.

Specialty chemicals, on the other hand, can be good from a long-term perspective since the supply from China may be shifted and Indian players are expected to gain a place in the specialty space on the world map.

However, only investors who are aggressive risk-takers should buy fundamentally stronger specialty chemical stocks.

Though current valuations are lower and they have remained so for quite sometime, only a rerating of earnings multiple will bring excellent gains in the specialty sector, which, in turn, depends on the actual bargaining power of Indian companies in the global spectrum.

: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
Since the Covid 19 pandemic started, Drogheda Chamber have been hosting weekly webinars every Thursday at 12.15pm which is open to all businesses, members and non members, to attend.

The conversations are primarily based around business updates relating to government guidelines and supports available, discussing the challenges and concerns for local business from cashflows, rates, insurance, employment, operational issues, etc.

This week also sees the launch of the new Retail development programme funded by the Drogheda Chamber M1 Skillnet, developed and led by Miriam Simon titled 'Creating Your Retail Battle Plan', there are still a small number of spaces available so for further information and to join this free programme contact Linda on M1skillnet@droghedachamber.ie.

Shona McManus (pictured), President of Drogheda & District Chamber commented 'Over the past 8 weeks or so health, safety and flattening the curve have been top priority for everyone during the current phase of Covid-19 restrictions and guidelines.

'As a result however, we have seen the doors of many of our local business close, our unemployment rates rise significantly as employees have been let go or put on temporary lay off with typical weekly trade, sales and cashflows levels significantly in decline or drying up.

'However, during these tough times we have also witnessed our local entrepreneurial spirit and resilience kick in with many business finding opportunity wherever possible in these times by pivoting, re-inventing, creating new products and services and finding new ways to conduct business under current guidelines either online or through carefully crafted social distancing methods.

'Key challenges reported by local business right now, which are echoed in the Chambers Ireland survey results are primarily centred around running costs of the business from tax, rents, rates, insurance, salaries all of which feed into the liquidity and cashflow of business and the ability to either operate into the future if the business remains open right now or indeed to simply reopen the doors and restock the shelves when the time comes.

'Whilst grateful for the quick measures government took initially with financial supports and funding mechanisms such as loans, the temporary wage subsidy programme and the pandemic unemployment benefit there is now a strong call for government to review and implement additional financial, cashflow and liquidity supports.

'Timelines, framework and H&S guidelines into reopening business have been patiently awaited and the 1st outline of these timeframes we gratefully received on Friday evening by An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar,' she stated.

'Business can now start to plan their reopening and work out the financial costs associated, ensuring social distancing and relevant guidelines are met whilst re employing our workforces and keeping Covid 19 at bay.

'As we start to navigate our way forward and plan the Reboot of business in Drogheda together, the Drogheda Chamber Council and I would encourage and ask all business owners and mangers to engage with us and the wider business community at this time as we continue to lobby, engage and inform conversations directly and via Chambers Ireland with Government and relevant bodies during the Covid-19 Pandemic. '


Pray for Leah Sharibu



14 May will mark Leahs third birthday as a captive of the Islamic States West Africa Province, an offshoot of the notorious Boko Haram terrorist group.



Christian Solidarity Worldwide and others continue to call on the Nigerian government to do everything in its power to ensure Leahs immediate and unconditional release. CSW calls on Christians to pray for Leah's release



As the world continues to contend with the coronavirus, there are many for whom COVID-19 is just one more threat on top of many others they have faced for years, and for whom threats to their lives and livelihoods are likely to continue long after the pandemic has passed.



This is indeed the case for many Christians in northern and central Nigeria. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) receives news of attacks, abductions and intimidations from these areas on a near daily basis. Church leaders are particularly vulnerable. A Christian girl called Leah Sharibu has come to represent the plight of many in her country.





Pray for Leah



On 14 May Leah turns 17 years old, but there will be no celebrations. The date will mark Leahs third birthday as a captive of the Islamic States West Africa Province (ISWAP), an offshoot of the notorious Boko Haram terrorist group.



Leah was one of 110 girls abducted from their school in Dapchi, Nigeria, on 19 February 2018. Five of them died in captivity. The following month the surviving girls were put into vehicles and returned to their families following government negotiations, but Leah was not among them.



The sole Christian in the group, Leah, who was just 14 at the time, was told she would be freed only if she renounced her faith and converted to Islam. However, in a show of inspiring and unwavering bravery, Leah refused. She has remained the terrorists captive ever since.



Leah shares her captivity with another Christian, nurse Alice Ngaddah, who was abducted with two other humanitarian workers in March 2018. In October 2018, following the execution of both of Alices Muslim colleagues for alleged apostasy, ISWAP declared that Leah and Alice would be their slaves for life.





Leah is still alive



In July 2019 ISWAP released a video in which an abducted aid worker implied both Leah and Alice had been executed. However, this was quickly discounted. Instead, reports indicate that both Leah and Alice are alive and well in spite of their circumstances. In an interview with Nigerian media in January 2020, another aid worker released by the terrorists reported that she had met Alice during her captivity, who confirmed that Leah is still alive and is currently being held at an undisclosed location.



It is in light of this knowledge that CSW and others continue to call on the Nigerian government to do everything in its power to ensure Leahs immediate and unconditional release, as well as that of all those held by terrorist factions. Earlier this year Leahs mother Rebecca joined a CSW-organised protest outside the Nigerian High Commission in London to mark the second anniversary of her abduction.







Mrs Sharibu delivered a petition signed by over 12,000 people to the High Commission, which called on the Nigerian government to take action. Addressing protesters gathered outside the High Commission, Mrs Sharibu urged them to continue praying until Leah is freed, and said that she was pleading with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari to fulfil his promises that he has made to me personally, that he is going to rescue Leah and ensure that she is released, and not just Leah, all the others in captivity.





Keep praying



Although current circumstances mean it is not possible to gather once again outside the High Commission to mark Leahs 17th birthday, CSW and others will be doing everything they can to act on Mrs Sharibus encouragements, including by holding an online prayer event on the evening of 14 May, as well as encouraging churches to pray on Sunday 17 May.



Please join us in praying the words of Psalm 142:7 over Leah and her fellow captives: Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me.



It is difficult to imagine what Leah has been through over the past two years, but her brave refusal to renounce her faith is a powerful inspiration to us all. Even at such a young age she has shown the same steadfast faith as that of those listed in Hebrews 11. As we continue to pray for Leahs release, we must do so with that same faith, confident that she will one day be free to tell her story all over the world and inspire many more.



This article was written by Christian Solidarity Worldwide. Find out more about the online prayer event at 7.30pm on 14 May for Leah here.

Baptist Times, 08/05/2020
Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a statement on Friday criticized Iran for sentencing at least 13 people to prison terms for peacefully protesting the missile attack on a Ukrainian airliner in January and the initial denial of the responsibility for downing the plane.

"The authorities should halt all prosecutions that violate the right to peaceful assembly and protest," the statement said.

The peaceful protests started on January 9 in several cities and lasted for several days during which tens of protesters including several university students were arrested by security forces.

Mostafa Hashemizadeh, a civil engineering student of Tehran University, and Amir Mohammad Sharifi, another student of Tehran University, have in recent days announced on social media that they have been sentenced to five years and six months in prison, respectively, on national security charges and propaganda against the state.

Eleven others have been sentenced by the Revolutionary Court in Amol, Mazandaran Province, on similar charges for participation in a vigil for the victims of the downing of the plane and the protests in the following days.

Iranian authorities are following their usual playbook of dodging accountability, said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. While refusing to provide details about any investigation of culpability for the deadly mistake, judicial officials are wasting no time in sentencing people who protested the loss of 176 lives.

For three days the authorities denied having anything to do with the crash and when the Armed Forces Central Command finally admitted that the plane had been shot down with missiles, it was attributed to "mistake" and "human error". The Head of the Judicial Organization of the Armed Forces, Shokrollah Bahrami, on April 4 said one person, allegedly for firing the missiles, was detained and under investigation.

Iranian authorities have so far declined to send the flight recorders of the Ukrainian plane abroad to be decoded despite not having the technology to extract the data in Iran.
Prior to the declaration of the novel coronavirus, Covid-19 as a global health emergency by the World Health Organization, Ghanas economy and the tourism industry, in particular, were reaping from the dividends after a successful implementation of the Year of Return in 2019. The success of the project led to the launch of Beyond the Return, a 10 year (2020-2030) initiative as part of the governments efforts to project its Ghana Beyond Aid agenda. However, as global institutional giants and governments across the globe contend with the Covid-19 disease outbreak, does it spell the doom and an end in the short term, and a possible underachievement in the long-run for a project that carried prodigious promise?

The Year of Return (YoR) 2019, officially launched in September 2018 in Washington, D.C was an initiative of the Government of Ghana in partnership with the U.S based Adinkra Group intended to encourage African Diasporas to come to Africa, particularly Ghana to settle and invest in the continent. It was a program for Africans in the diaspora to unite with Africans, in commemoration of 400 years since the first enslaved Africans touched down in Jamestown, Virginia in the United States of America. The objectives as outlined were; a) to make Ghana a key travel destination for African Americans and the rest of the African diaspora, b) to rebuild the lost past of these 400 years, and c) to promote investment in Ghana and foster relationships with African Americans and the African diaspora.

Assessing the aftermath dividends reveal that the Year of Return celebration in 2019 indubitably yielded mammoth returns for the tourism industry and its interconnected hospitality businesses, at least based on reports from the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture. These earnings occasioned by steady flows in visitor numbers skyrocketed to a crescendo in December, causing businesses across the industry value chain (airlines, hotels, restaurants, car rentals and other ancillary services) to record good-sized growth to stimulate economic progression.

These dividends, translated in terms of employment, foreign exchange and revenue generation from taxation, engendered expected growth of the tourism industry in excess as returns of $2.2 billion outstripped the $1.9 billion pre-celebration figures envisioned. This tremendous development bore an 18% growth in international arrivals from the Americas, Britain, Caribbean and other key source markets, 45% upscale of total airport arrivals for the year and 39% increase in spending per tourist compared to 2017 figures. These figures are expected to double by 2027 from its current based on pronouncements by the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Barbara Oteng-Gyasi.

The success of this initiative birthed Beyond the Return, a 10-year project under the theme, A decade of African Renaissance, 2020-2030 was launched in December 2019 by the President Nana Akufo-Addo. With its objective pillars supposed to have been launched in February 2020, the aim according to the government is not only to promote tourism and homecoming of Africans and Ghanaians in the diaspora but to foster economic relations and investment from the diaspora in Africa and Ghana. However, 5 months after its launch, the dreams, hopes and exuberance that accompanied its launch have been greatly curtailed by a global pandemic, Covid-19. An unprecedented public health crisis that has taken world economies by storm, with Ghana not spared the economic exigencies and prevalence it exudes.

In the words of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili this (Covid-19) unprecedented public health emergency has already become an economic crisis which will come at a social cost. He adds that tourism is the hardest hit sector and all our best estimates have been overtaken by the changing reality. Also, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva has warned that the coronavirus pandemic will turn global economic growth sharply negative this year.

What we have seen so far: Lessons learnt

Ghana, a sub-Saharan country is recognized among the only 8 out of the 47 countries categorized under the consolidating typology in terms of tourism development performance in the sub-region based on a classification developed by the African Finance and Private Sector Development. This means that the tourism industry in Ghana characteristically has a deepening and sustaining tourism success, relatively mature sectors, a high level of commitment to tourism development coupled with the management quality and capability of private sector participation.

Consequently, the tourism industry and its yearly dividend contribution to the Ghanaian economy stands highly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic all round. This development, unfortunately, has affected every sector of the economy with the tourism industry highly vulnerable. Therefore, future plans for the industry in the foreseeable future hangs in the balance and Beyond the Return program is not spared the gruesomeness of the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to an account by Rashad McCrorey, (an African American Entrepreneur and travel influencer) the brain behind a number of trips to Africa to help Black Americans connect with their culture especially during the celebrations in 2019, his arrival in Ghana since 27th February, 2020 has been one he never anticipated.

Just 3 months after the conclusion of the Year of Return festivities, who would have thought on the 15th of March, Ghana President, Nana Akufo-Addo would announce that at least temporarily, no one could return.

As part of his promotional visit to Ghana, his itinerary included 6th March events, Accra Fashion Week, the Kwahu Festival, networking events, meeting with Ghanaian influencers, inter alia as reported by ghananewsoline.com

Rashads account typifies the realities and times we are facing now (definitely not normal). In times of disease outbreaks, mass cancellations dominate the industry with critical downturns on demand for attractions (tourist sites), accommodation (hotels), amenities, accessibility (air travel and other forms), and activities (5As that define successful tourism) in the short run.

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council report in 2018, travel and tourism in Sierra Leone following the Ebola disease outbreak in 2014 experienced a 50% decline and to date, pre-epidemic numbers for tourism and expenditures have yet to be achieved. Instances from the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003 and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 2015, the first two recorded coronavirus outbreaks resulted in an estimated US$4.83-7.24 billion tourism income reduction and $2.1 million losses in visitor arrivals and corresponding $2.6 billion tourism revenue losses respectively.

Beginning of the end

Evidence from these instances demonstrates that it takes a considerable time for trade and tourism businesses to recover after infectious disease outbreaks. However, as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to blow the wind of unpredictability in the global landscape, coupled with high incidence of the Covid-19 outbreak in the United States of America, The United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, France, China etc., (Ghanas primary source of international tourists) plans for the tourism industry in whatever form and wherever it may be standing on the brink of failure, at least in the foreseeable future.

More specifically, with Beyond the Return program aiming to attract African Americans (generally from the USA) and the rest of the African diaspora, and the United States of America being the leading nation in terms of confirmed cases of Covid-19 (1.26 million with over 74,665 recorded deaths) as of 7th May 2020, the implementation of and or success of the program looks implausible. This, however, cannot be the end of this worthwhile initiative (Beyond the Return), even in the midst of a bleak, unpredictable, and dream-crushing era of the Covid-19 pandemic.

As such, Ghanaian officials who basked in glory and ecstasy following a very successful marketing and branding campaign for the Year of Return, would need to consider aggressive approaches to marketing and promotion, at least in the early years of this decade long project, if half of the projected returns or anything at all could be accrued from the project. Otherwise, a revision of the projects implementation is recommended after travel fears have been allayed and tourist confidence in destinations such as Ghana has been built. This can be built against the backdrop of the successes and network dividends the Year of Return effectuated. Thus, Beyond the Covid-19 pandemic, the project will surely Return!

About the author

Mr. Goodlet Owusu Ansah is an Executive Masters programme in International Business student at the KNUST School of Business. He has over 7 years career experience in research, consultancy and management in Hospitality and Tourism businesses. He is also a G20 Research Analyst with the G20 Research Group of Munk Institute of Global Affairs, University of Toronto-Canada. He is also the National Research Committee Director.
As state governments across the country are lifting restriction and restarting economic activitydespite warnings from public health officials that relaxing social distancing will result in a spike in COVID-19 cases and deathsemployers are moving forward aggressively with plans to resume production and business operations.

Well aware that government policy is being shifted to protect corporate interests, employers are moving rapidly to implement workplace procedures and technologies that would have been very difficult, if not impossible, to put into place prior to the coronavirus crisis.

A thermal camera monitor shows the body temperature of passengers at the domestic flight terminal of Gimpo airport in Seoul, South Korea, April 29, 2020 [Credit: AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon]

The recent utilization of the Defense Production Act by the Trump administration, classifying meatpacking plants as essential infrastructure and forcing workers back to work in these dangerous facilities, demonstrates that the fundamental rights of the working class are under unprecedented attack.

Despite viral outbreaks among thousands of meatpacking workersincluding at least 17 deathsthe US government is protecting the corporations from any liability for the sickness or death of workers. Meanwhile, states such Iowa are denying unemployment benefits to meatpacking workers who refuse to return to work because of the threat to their health.

For workplaces that have remained open throughout the pandemicsuch as hospitals, major grocery stores and transportation systemsemployers have been scanning workers with forehead thermometers as they arrive on the job to see if they have an elevated body temperature.

In the case of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York City, a team of medically trained employeesthe so-called Temperature Brigadeare scanning the temperatures of 3,500 employees at 70 roving locations around the city each day. Transit workers with a temperature of 100.4 degrees or more are being sent home and told to see a doctor before they can return to work.

Non-contact forehead thermometers are held between one and six inches away from the subjects head and utilize active infrared light to illuminate the temporal artery and measure body temperature. Sometimes referred to as temperature guns, some of the devices can measure body temperature in as little as one second.

Since the use of handheld thermometers is time consuming and labor intensive, some of the largest US corporations have begun implementing automated thermal imaging systems in workplaces. For example, the Associated Press reported on April 18 that Amazon had begun using thermal cameras at its warehouses to accelerate the screening of workers as they enter the facilities.

The AP report notes, Amazon set up the hardware for the thermal cameras in at least six warehouses outside Los Angeles and Seattle, where the company is based, according to employees and posts on social media.

Thermal cameras will also replace thermometers at worker entrances to many of Amazons Whole Foods stores, according to a recent staff note seen by Reuters and previously reported by Business Insider.

The company performs a second, forehead thermometer check on anyone flagged by the cameras to determine an exact temperature, one of the workers said. An international standard requires the extra check, though one camera system maker said the infrared (IR) scan is more accurate than a thermometer.

According to another report, Amazon has spent $10 million on the thermal cameras to use in its warehouses to scan employees and in its store to scan customers.

The AP also reports that other firms such as Tyson Foods, Inc. are exploring the use of the systems which can cost between $5,000 and $20,000 per unit. In the case of Tyson, the company has installed walk-through IR scannerssimilar to metal detectorsthat allow for a mass temperature reading that is extremely accurate. CNBC also reported that Ford Motor Company had purchased the walkthrough devices.

Meanwhile, employees who have not been working due to the shutdown of their workplaces during state of emergency declarations have made it clear that they support continued isolation at home until the danger of the pandemic has passed. As one public poll after another across the US has shown, the working class is opposedin some cases by more than 80 percentto returning to work under conditions where they may become ill or die from COVID-19, even if it means further economic hardship.

But scanning everyone for the presence of a fevera highly invasive practice with minimal ability to stop the spread of the coronavirusis not what workers have been demanding. Frontline and essential workers have been demanding adequate personal protection equipment (PPE) and sufficient staffing along with rigorous sanitation and social distancing practices.

Based on the well-known fact that individuals with coronavirus infection often show no symptoms and can spread the contagion to those around themaccording to one study, 50 percent of those with COVID-19 have no symptomsit is clear that scanning employees for a fever is not going to stop the virus from entering workplaces.

While thermal imaging and other technologies, including smartphones apps for contact tracing, can play a role in a public health response, left in the hands of capitalist governments they can also be used to expand state surveillance and suppress opposition to the rush back to work and squandering of trillions to prop up the stock markets while millions face joblessness and destitution.

Thermal imaging cameras translate heat or thermal energy into visible light. Since living things and mechanical, electrical and digital equipment all put out heat, they can be seen with thermal devices, even in the dark. Thermal devices are able to detect small differences in heat radiation from objects and convert the different values of heat into colors on a digital display. The amount of heat emitted by an object is called its heat signature and the variation of heat measurements within an object constitutes its heat map.

Thermal imaging devices have differing levels of sensitivity to variations in temperature. Some devices are able to detect temperature differences of 1/100 of a degree. Thermal cameras have limitations in that they cannot see through windows because of the reflective properties of glass. While they cannot see through walls, thermal cameras can detect objects inside of a wall causing the surface temperature of the wall to go up or down in a particular location.

Thermal and IR devices use similar technology. Thermal cameras are passivemeaning they do not project any lightand measure long wavelengths of infrared radiation being emitted by objects. Dust, smoke and other sources of light do not interfere with the infrared energy being measured by thermal devices.

IR devices, on the other hand, project short infrared wavelengths onto the objects being measured and capture the light that is reflected back to the reader.

The first practical thermal and IR imaging systems were developed by the US military for battlefield, air force and naval purposes during World War II. Scanning systems were developed by military contractors such as Texas Instruments, Hughes Aircraft and Honeywell in the post-war era. The expensive systems were then extended for use by law enforcement for surveillance and fire departments for diagnosis purposes.

In recent decades, with the cost of equipment coming down dramatically along with the development of microprocessors, the Internet and wireless technologies, thermal devices are used at every level of police and military operations. The Department of Homeland Security has deployed the devices at US border crossings.

In the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, the global market for thermal scanning devices is growing rapidly. FLIR Systems, a leading manufacturer of thermal cameras for military, commercial and consumer uses, has seen as rapid increase in its stock value in recent weeks after it was reported that Amazon was buying equipment from the firm. A market study by ReportLinker.com says that the thermal scanner market is expected to grow to $6.7 billion by 2025.

When companies manufacturing and selling surveillance equipment began promoting the use of thermal cameras for the purpose of combating the coronavirus, organizations such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) raised concerns about the threat posed to basic rights.

On April 7, EFF wrote, Thermal cameras are still surveillance cameras. Spending money to acquire and install infrastructure like so-called fever detection cameras increases the likelihood that the hardware will long outlive its usefulness during this public health crisis. Surveillance cameras in public places can chill free expression, movement, and association; aid in the targeted harassment and over-policing of vulnerable populations; and open the door to face recognition at a time when cities and states are attempting to ban it.

It is significant that the thermal imaging devices are first being implemented at workplaces where workers have walked off the job in protest over unsafe working conditions connected with the expanding coronavirus. Autoworkers and workers at both Amazon warehouses and Tyson meatpacking plants have engaged in strike action to demand protections from COVID-19 in their workplaces.

There is a powerful political and class logic behind the rush to place thermal imaging devices in workplaces across the US and around the world. In the same way that the ruling elite is utilizing the coronavirus pandemic as a means of enriching itself with trillions of dollars in government stimulus money and intensifying exploitation through mass layoffs, if not stopped by the working class it will also use the crisis to expand the structure of state repression.
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'Don't Forget Chen Qiushi,' Friend of Chinese Journalist Says

By Xiao Yu, Lin Yang May 08, 2020

A friend of Chen Qiushi, who reported on Hong Kong democracy protests and COVID-19 before going missing February 6, has urged the world to not forget the citizen journalist's plight.

Chen had been reporting on the epidemic from Wuhan, and uploading videos to YouTube and Twitter, which are banned in China.

The friend told VOA no one knows where Chen is. On Twitter, Chen's friend tweeted that the journalist and lawyer was likely being held under "residential surveillance."

"Chen Qiushi has been out of contact for 86 days after covering coronavirus in Wuhan. Please save him!" the friend posted on Chen's Twitter account on May 3, World Press Freedom Day.

The post included a picture of Chen and a "prayer for citizen journalists" in Chinese that read, "Knowing empowers us, knowing helps us decide, knowing keeps us free."

At least six citizen journalists and activists have been detained, gone missing or been held in "enforced quarantine" in recent months.

In an interview with VOA, Cedric Alviani, East Asia bureau director for Reporters Without Borders, urged citizen journalists to not give up their efforts to reveal information China is trying to hide.

"After the pandemic, no one in the world can say that the problem of censorship in China only concerns Chinese citizens," Alviani said.

China ranks 177 out of 180 countries in the media watchdog's 2020 Press Freedom Index, where 1 is the most free.

Chen previously told VOA that his social media account was set up "outside the firewall" and trusted friends would manage it if anything happened to him.

The journalist's friend, who spoke with VOA and who asked to remain anonymous to avoid retaliation, said the theme of this year's World Press Freedom Day  "Journalism Without Fear or Favor"  described Chen perfectly.

Chen Qiushi: Lawyer, activist, journalist

Chen, a 34-year-old lawyer, activist and popular citizen journalist from China, became widely known globally for providing firsthand coverage of the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement in 2019.

He posted videos on his then Weibo account about the protests, and he criticized the government for characterizing protesters as rioters. His Weibo account had 740,000 followers before authorities deleted it.

The journalist told VOA in November 2019 that the account and his WeChat were deleted when he returned from Hong Kong. A month earlier, another of his social media accounts was deleted after the journalist returned from covering flood damage in Jiangxi province, Chen said.

When COVID-19 broke out in Wuhan, Chen caught a train into the city on January 24, before a strict lockdown was enforced.

For the next two weeks he posted videos online of his visits to overrun hospitals, funeral homes, and the deserted Huanan Seafood Market where China said early cases of the virus were traced.

"I'm a citizen reporter, this is my responsibility," he said in his first video from Wuhan, "What kind of reporter are you if you don't rush over to Ground Zero?"

While in Wuhan, Chen mentioned multiple times between January 21 and January 30 that the Chinese state police were on him and that he had received warnings. "I'm ready to be taken away at any time," he said in one video.

On February 6, after visiting a newly built hospital, Chen lost contact with the outside world.

Crackdown on citizen journalists

Other citizen journalists and bloggers also have been detained or gone offline  a sign that many observers believe means they were arrested or under an "enforced disappearance."

Authorities on February 1 arrested Wuhan resident Fang Bin, who had documented the epidemic. His whereabouts remain unknown.

Another citizen journalist, Li Zehua appeared in a video April 22, two months after he livestreamed security officials coming into the Wuhan apartment where he was staying.

In a video posted to YouTube, Li said he had been in "quarantine" because he visited sensitive areas, the BBC reported.

On April 19, three activists lost contact with their families: Chen Mei, Cai Wei and his girlfriend, named in reports as Tang, volunteer with the Terminus 2049 website. The website has been backing articles related to the COVID-19 outbreak online that were deleted by authorities.

Authorities sent letters to the families of two of them saying they had been detained on charges of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble," the rights group Committee to Protect Journalists said.

On April 24, authorities in the central Chinese province of Hubei sentenced prominent blogger Liu Yanli to four years in prison for insulting the country's leader Xi Jinping and Mao Zedong. Liu was arrested in 2016 and released on bail. Police took her back into custody for breaking her bail restrictions by communicating with "the outside world."

When asked about Chen Qiushi, China's ambassador to the U.S. Cui Tiankai repeatedly said he has not heard of this person, according to reports.

China's embassy in Washington did not respond to VOA's emailed request for comment.

Safety in truth

"As a citizen reporter, Chen Qiushi did nothing wrong, he just recorded what he saw and heard. We should continue to pay attention to his case and call for his freedom," Chen's friend, who has been handling his Twitter account, told VOA.

The friend recalled one of the journalist's Weibo posts in which Chen said people had warned him to be careful.

"If everyone dares to tell the truth, I WILL be safe," Chen said in the post. "It is precisely because Chinese people care so much about their own safety that China has become what it is like today, and things have become more and more dangerous for me."

Chen's friend said he was impressed by this post, because "it's all too real."

In an interview with VOA in November, Chen had said he did not care if he was being monitored.

If state security officials watched his videos, Chen said, they would find out he "loves his country more than they do."

In the interview, Chen said he once was asked how much he would sacrifice for his country. His answer: "My life."

This story originated in VOA's Mandarin Service.

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Burundi Opposition Leader Says Party Members Attacked in Run-up to Elections

By VOA News May 08, 2020

Burundi's main opposition leader and presidential candidate Agathon Rwasa says supporters of his CNL party are being arrested, attacked and in some cases killed ahead of the country's May 20 elections.

"We are experiencing some behaviors which are meant to destabilize mainly the CNL where our people are attacked and there is no judiciary or police prosecution which could be conducted against the perpetrators," Rwasa said this week in an exclusive interview with VOA News.

According to the CNL, one party member was attacked and two others went missing in Ruyigi province on Thursday.

The party says a local CNL leader in Mwaro province was kidnapped Monday and his body was found floating in a river.

Rwasa said his members are being targeted specifically because they are candidates or electoral observers for his party.

"We can say all of this is meant to intimidate the opposition so as to guarantee the victory of the ruling party," he added.

Campaigning for the presidential and parliamentary elections officially kicked off on April 27 and is expected to last for 21 days as the seven presidential candidates compete for voters' support.

Confrontations between the opposition members and ruling party's youth wing, the Imbonerakure, have been reported countrywide during the political rallies, specifically in the provinces of Ngozi, Kirundo, Kayanza, Bujumbura and Gitega.

According to the Burundian government, at least two people were killed in the first week of the campaigns, and 26 were injured.

"We call on all party members to stay away from hate speeches, inciting violence and words that create hatred, because when the political leaders tell these kind of words to their supporters, the next day they implement, as we have witnessed recently," said Pierre Nkurikiye, spokesman for Burundi's public security minister.

Earlier this week, one of the CNL legislative candidates, Kathy Kezimana, was arrested by Burundian police and accused of spreading hate speech.

Ruling CNND-FDD party

The ruling CNND-FDD party, led by presidential nominee Evariste Ndayishimiye, is expected to win the elections.

Ndayishimiye is the handpicked successor of President Pierre Nkurunziza, who is stepping aside after 15 years. The president's controversial decision to seek a third term in 2015 sparked violent protests that killed hundreds of people and prompted hundreds of thousands to flee the country. A 2018 referendum scrapped the previous two-term limit in the constitution.

For this year's election, opposition members have raised concern about the Independent Electoral Commission because the members of the commission are allied to the ruling party.

There will be no international observer mission for the vote. The East African Community expressed interest in deploying a mission, but plans never materialized because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Burundian officials have recorded 19 cases of coronavirus and one death.

Most Bujumbura residents prefer not to comment on the current political situation for fear of their own security.

"We pray that the campaigns are conducted well and whoever will lose or win should accept the outcome. For us citizens, the most important thing is peace. We need peace," said one Bujumbura resident.

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By AFP

MINSK: Thousands of troops paraded before crowds of spectators in Minsk Saturday to mark 75 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany as Belarus held a celebration of Victory Day despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Neighbouring Russia cancelled its Victory Day parade over the pandemic and Belarus was the only ex-Soviet country with reported cases to hold the annual event.

President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been dismissive of the pandemic and the "psychosis" around the virus, watched in military uniform with top brass as some 4,000 troops marched past and planes and helicopters flew overhead.

Belarus has registered more than 20,000 cases of the coronavirus and 121 deaths. The World Health Organization had appealed to Minsk to find "alternative solutions" to mark the anniversary.

But the Belarusian strongman, in charge since 1994, said that "even the thought of changing the tradition... is inadmissible", and televised parade footage showed rows of elderly veterans watching the parade, many without face masks.

"We had no choice" but to mark the anniversary, as "the eyes of those Soviet soldiers who perished for our freedom are watching," Lukashenko said.

His children and grandchildren however were conspicuously absent, while normally his son Nikolai, rumoured as a potential successor, stands by his side.

Belarus was one of the first Soviet territories to be invaded by Germany on June 22, 1941, and was under occupation until August 1944, although large parts were under the control of its strong Soviet partisan resistance movement.

The country suffered huge losses, with hundreds of thousands of its Jews also killed in the Holocaust.

Central Asia's Turkmenistan was the only other ex-Soviet country to say it would mark Victory Day this year with a parade -- but it has not officially reported any coronavirus cases.
For more than a century, Chelsea has been a crucial repository for successive waves of immigrants arriving in the United States from across the globe. The city is a living storehouse of global history and migration; its decennial census can be read like a rock layer in demographic time, showing influxes of Jews, eastern Europeans, Puerto Ricans and Central Americans across the 20th century. In the 1990s, Chelsea became much more heavily Latino as waves of Central Americans arrived in the United States amid intense violence and economic turmoil in their countries of origin. Today, about 70 percent of families in Chelsea do not speak English at home, and about 60 percent speak Spanish instead.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 20:51:53|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

KUNMING, May 9 (Xinhua) -- A forest fire broke out Saturday afternoon in Anning, a county-level city some 30 km to the west of Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province.

Billowing dark smoke can be seen from urban areas in Kunming. Firefighters from the provincial forest fire brigade are heading to the site.

Details of the fire and the extent of the damage are still unknown. Enditem
There is now an outbreak of COVID-19 linked to Canada Post's main plant in Calgary, Alberta Health Services officials said Friday.

Alberta's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, said six cases have now been linked to the facility. The main sorting facility for Canada Post in Calgary is located near the airport, at 1100 49th Ave. N.E.

"What happens in any outbreak  the cases are identified and asked questions when they start to have symptoms," Hinshaw said during a press conference. "Anyone who is a close contact would be required to be home in self-isolation for 14 days."

A spokesperson with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) said the announcement would make this the first outbreak at a Canada Post facility.

"There have been confirmed cases of COVID-19 amongst postal workers in other areas of the country, some at the same Canada Post facilities," said Btihal Yaaqoubi with CUPW in an email to CBC News.

"However, this is the first instance where public health authorities have described the situation as a 'confirmed outbreak.'

Hala Ghonaim/CBC

"We are investigating this claim by public health as we have not received any evidence that there is a spread within the Canada Post facility."

Canada Post said the cases occurred at separate times over a three-week period dating back to April 20, adding that some employees have not been in the building since early April.

"In working with Alberta [health officials], they've informed us they do not believe these cases occurred in the workplace but rather that exposure occurred externally and all cases were unrelated," spokesperson Jon Hamilton said in an email to CBC News. "The employees were also showing no symptoms when last in the workplace."

Hamilton said those who health officials identify at risk through contact tracing are currently being tested.

Mail safety

Craig Jenne, who studies infectious diseases at the University of Calgary, said although there's always a theoretical risk of catching COVID-19 if you interact with someone who is infected, the risk of catching the virus through mail is "very, very low."

Story continues

"We haven't seen, to my knowledge, any viral transmission through the post, for example," he said. "On paper, on cardboard, it will only survive for up to a maximum of 24 hours."

University of Calgary

Jenne said Canada Post has taken "very proactive decisions" during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as sanitizing its facility and instructing letter carriers to wear gloves.

"You can still maintain a physical distance to the letter carrier  if it can [stay in the mailbox] for a day, the [virus will die] on paper and cardboard," he said.

"There's no need to panic or worry about this as a method of viral transmission to the public."

Pam Earl, a letter carrier with Canada Post, said the company has held safety meetings whenever new cases were confirmed.

"They've been fantastic. We have deep cleans anytime there's someone who has been tested positive," she said. "We send home people all the time for 14 days with symptoms."

Hala Ghonaim/CBC

Hinshaw said work site outbreaks are handled by local Alberta Health Services officials, who work to determine timelines, trace contacts and determine if specific work needs to be done.

Testing for all staff  even those without symptoms  can be ordered at work sites with outbreaks, Hinshaw said, but added it's up to local health officials to make those decisions.

In a statement, a spokesperson with AHS said an investigation was underway.

"AHS has completed an inspection of the facility and has made recommendations on social distancing, enhanced cleaning, infection prevention and control measures as well as staff wellness screenings," the statement reads.

The facility remains open at this time.
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.
The Queen has defiantly insisted that the United Kingdom remains "a nation those brave soldiers, sailors and airmen would recognise and admire".

Alluding to the coronavirus pandemic and how many national events planned for the day had to be cancelled due to social distancing, Her Majesty said: "Today it may seem hard that we cannot mark this special anniversary as we would wish.

"Instead we remember from our homes and our doorsteps.

"But our streets are not empty; they are filled with the love and the care that we have for each other.

"And when I look at our country today, and see what we are willing to do to protect and support one another, I say with pride that we are still a nation those brave soldiers, sailors and airmen would recognise and admire."

The message was played at 9pm - the same time that her father King George VI addressed the nation with a broadcast 75 years ago, marking Victory in Europe Day.

A clip of her father's message was shown as part of his daughter's own tribute.

In her televised address the Queen recalled her own memories of being alongside her parents that day, saying: "I vividly remember the jubilant scenes my sister and I witnessed with our parents and Winston Churchill from the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

"The sense of joy in the crowds who gathered outside and across the country was profound, though while we celebrated the victory in Europe, we knew there would be further sacrifice. It was not until August that fighting in the Far East ceased and the war finally ended."

Recalling the famous line "we will remember them" from Laurence Binyon's First World War poem "For the Fallen", the Queen paid tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

She said: "Many people laid down their lives in that terrible conflict.

"They fought so we could live in peace, at home and abroad.

"They died so we could live as free people in a world of free nations.

Story continues

"They risked all so our families and neighbourhoods could be safe. We should and will remember them."

She added: "The wartime generation knew that the best way to honour those who did not come back from the war, was to ensure that it didn't happen again.

"The greatest tribute to their sacrifice is that countries who were once sworn enemies are now friends, working side by side for the peace, health and prosperity of us all."

The 94-year-old monarch recorded her message at Windsor Castle last week, where she is in isolation with her husband Prince Philip due to the pandemic.

On the table alongside her were photos of her father, and the family on the balcony with Sir Winston Churchill in 1945. The cap she wore as a member of the Auxiliary Territorial service was also on the desk, highlighting her own service during the Second World War.

She was the first female member of the Royal Family to join the armed forces as a full-time active member.

This is the second televised address that the Queen has recorded since lockdown measures were introduced due to COVID-19.

In this message she again appeared to evoke the wartime spirit to encourage people across the country to once again support each other at this difficult time, listen to the guidance, and do what is right.

Talking about the war, the Queen said: "At the start, the outlook seemed bleak, the end distant, the outcome uncertain.

"But we kept faith that the cause was right - and this belief, as my father noted in his broadcast, carried us through.

"Never give up, never despair - that was the message of VE Day."
WASHINGTON  Former President Barack Obama, talking privately to ex-members of his administration, said Friday that the rule of law is at risk in the wake of what he called an unprecedented move by the Justice Department to drop charges against former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn.

In the same chat, a tape of which was obtained by Yahoo News, Obama also lashed out at the Trump administrations handling of the coronavirus pandemic as an absolute chaotic disaster.

The news over the last 24 hours I think has been somewhat downplayed  about the Justice Department dropping charges against Michael Flynn, Obama said in a web talk with members of the Obama Alumni Association.

And the fact that there is no precedent that anybody can find for someone who has been charged with perjury just getting off scot-free. Thats the kind of stuff where you begin to get worried that basic  not just institutional norms  but our basic understanding of rule of law is at risk. And when you start moving in those directions, it can accelerate pretty quickly as weve seen in other places.

The Flynn case was invoked by Obama as a principal reason that his former administration officials needed to make sure former Vice President Joe Biden wins the November election against President Trump. So I am hoping that all of you feel the same sense of urgency that I do, he said. Whenever I campaign, Ive always said, Ah, this is the most important election. Especially obviously when I was on the ballot, that always feels like it's the most important election. This one  Im not on the ballot  but I am pretty darn invested. We got to make this happen.

Obama misstated the charge to which Flynn had previously pleaded guilty. He was charged with false statements to the FBI, not perjury. But the Justice Department, in a filing with a federal judge on Thursday, asked that the case brought by special counsel Robert Mueller be dismissed, arguing that FBI agents did not have a justifiable reason to question the then national security adviser about his conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak  talks FBI agents and Muellers prosecutors concluded he had lied about.

Story continues

Still, Obamas unvarnished remarks were some of his sharpest yet about the Trump administration and appeared to forecast a dramatically stepped-up political role he intends to play in this years election. The comments came during a lengthy chat in which he also sharply criticized the response to the coronavirus pandemic, blaming it on the tribal trends that have been stoked by the president and his allies.

Former President Barack Obama, from a Joe Biden campaign video. (Olivier Douliery/BidenForPresident/AFP via Getty Images)

This election thats coming up on every level is so important because what were going to be battling is not just a particular individual or a political party. What were fighting against is these long-term trends in which being selfish, being tribal, being divided, and seeing others as an enemy  that has become a stronger impulse in American life. And by the way, were seeing that internationally as well. Its part of the reason why the response to this global crisis has been so anemic and spotty. It would have been bad even with the best of governments. It has been an absolute chaotic disaster when that mindset  of whats in it for me and to heck with everybody else  when that mindset is operationalized in our government.

Thats why, I, by the way, am going to be spending as much time as necessary and campaigning as hard as I can for Joe Biden, he added.

Obamas remarks about Flynn seemed especially pointed in light of the fact that the former Army general had served in his administration as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency  until he was forced out by administration officials who viewed him as a chaotic, insubordinate manager. During the transition, Obama even warned Trump not to hire Flynn  advice that Trump ignored.

Obama also gave some insights into his life during the pandemic. The lack of sports, he said, is driving me nuts. But there was a bright side, he added. His daughters, Malia and Sasha, are stuck having dinner with me at home.

_____

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:
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, not many phones are launching in the near future but that does not mean we do not look back at our past.

Some of the most iconic phones were launched in the 2000s which we, at some point, owned or knew somebody who had these phones.

Many of these phones look entirely different from each other and some looked absolutely futuristic. Today, we can hardly differentiate our phones from other phones because they all seemed to use the same design.

Whether you are using a phone that costs Rs 5,000 or Rs 50,000; more or less they look identical to each other.

Here are some of the phones we all owned back in the day that not only looked different from each other but also looked cool:

1. Nokia 6600

 Youtube/Where to Buy

When this phone launched all over the world, it sold like hotcakes, thanks to the way it looked.



The phone was launched in 2003 and it had a 2.1-inch colour display. It had a joystick at the centre for easier navigation and call/end buttons on either side of the body.

The phone even had a colour VGA camera which was unheard of on phones at the time.

The phone was also known for having polyphonic ringtones that gave users a bit more to show off over other phones with monophonic ringtones.

2. Sony Ericsson T610

 Youtube/MassMadeSoul

Launched shortly after the Nokia 6600, the smaller Sony Ericsson T610 also came with a joystick, a colour screen and a single CIF camera.



While the phone was not as popular as the Nokia 6600, it sold well, thanks to its small size and iconic two-tone design. We later saw phones with other colour combinations as well.

The phone had a metal body with subtle curves that were separated with aluminium halves.

3. Nokia N95

 Flickr/NRKBeta

The Nokia N95 launched a year before the iPhone and was generally considered a smartphone as it ran the third edition of S60 Symbian OS v9.2.



The phone came with a two-way sliding mechanism which was used to access the keypad and the music playback buttons.

The Nokia N95 was a high point for Symbian based phones and was one of our favourite phones by the company till date.

4. Motorola V70

 Motorola

Motorola V70 was one of the most expensive phones at the time of its launch that features a unique rotary system instead of the classic flip design.



The keypad cover could be rotated in a full circle and could also be worn around the neck by inserting a lanyard. The circular bezels could also be customised with gold, silver, or white accessories.

5. Nokia 8210

 Ali-Express

This was one of the smallest phones ever created by Nokia as it was only 10cm tall and weighed only 79 grams. The phone had enough memory to store 250 numbers, four games and hand 75 hours of standby time.



You could even interchange the covers for a more personalised look.

6. Blackberry Pearl 8100

 Blackberry

Launched in 2006, the Blackberry Pearl 8100 made the company a lot of money as it was one of the most popular phones launched that year.



Blackberry was the number one mobile company at the time and the smaller design was very popular amongst users thanks to its SureType keyboard. It even had a trackball in the middle which would often stop working after a while.

It had a 1.3MP camera and a 2.2-inch colour display.

7. Nokia 8850

 YouTube/Mbez Channel

This is still, in my opinion, the hottest phone Nokia has ever made as the entire body was encased in chrome. Since the metal used in the body was not widely available, it was quite expensive to buy this phone due to limited stock.



It was also the first phone to have an in-built antenna which caused the battery to drain faster. However, since the manufacturing process for this phone was quite difficult and complex, Nokia could not make them quick enough to keep up with the demand.

The phone was also considered to be unrepairable due to the couples design and scarce spare parts.

Weve already picked five other phones with cool designs previously and you can have a look at them here. Of course, there were plenty more phones that people bought and it is impossible to fit them all in one article.

We would love to hear your suggestions in the comments section. We may just include your suggestions in the next feature we plan on doing.
KAMPALA  Opposition lynchpin Dr Kizza Besigye has blamed the Masaka shooting incident involving an LDU officer on President Museveni whom he accused of continuing to arm ill-trained militia to kill Ugandans.

Muyaga Robert, an LDU soldier deployed in Masaka, but hailing from Lwengo District, shot and killed Winfred Asasira and Godfrey Musasizi at point blank range in Masaka town today afternoon.

Its said that Asasira had been a Muyagas girlfriend before she befriended Musasizi, whos an LC1 Chairman of Lutovu village in Kigenyi Parish, Lwengo District.

These three people have been killed by a reckless policy of arming ill-trained, poorly controlled LDUs, that have proved to be a menace all over the country, Dr Besigye said in a statement posted on his social media platforms.

The four-time presidential candidate wondered why the President continues to arm militia groups when the country is not having any war.

Uganda isnt at war. Why would we have thousands of such LDUs everywhere armed with automatic rifles? Recently, Mr Museveni, whos the maker of these policies, wasnt even sure whether LDUs were under Police or UPDF, he said.

Earlier, wed a similarly marauding militia known as CRIME PREVENTERS, under the Uganda Police Force. When the long-serving Police Chief, Gen Kaiyihura, under whom the militia was formed fell out with Mr Museveni, that force was also transferred to be under UPDF, though largely disbanded. These militia are poorly documented, poorly paid and poorly controlled, he added.

According to Dr Besigye, the purpose of these militia isnt, primarily, to improve security and ensure law and order. Their primary role is regime protection, through attacking and brutalising political opposition groups or helping in rigging elections.

Huge amounts of money are spent in maintaining these groups. Thats partly why Uganda is choking with debts and essential services are in a very sorry state, he said.

Dr Besigye said more than half of the recently borrowed 600 million, supposedly to help deal with COVID19 pandemic has been diverted to Defence and State House!

Yet, frontline healthcare workers arent getting their allowances; they still lack Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and essential equipment & supplies; the health infrastructure is shambolic etc.

Its now clear that COVID19 is quickly becoming an Industry for the NRM Mafia to loot public resources and to entrench their regime further, he said.

Ugandans must quickly take steps to end militarisation of our governance. We must struggle to achieve a transition to democratic and accountable government. That remains the purpose of the Peoples Government.

Related
by Biju Veticad

According to Nobel laureate Abhijit Banarjee, a stimulus package large enough to increase spending and boost demand is needed. The revival of the economy will come from putting money in people's hands and the revival of demand. The Church in India is also very concerned about society and has done its part in collaboration with the authorities to reach out to the poor.

Cochin (AsiaNews) - Redefining the business strategy in the post covid era is the need of the hour, according to a group of experts who participated in a Business Webinar on 6th May from the different corners in India.

The webinar was conducted by the most circulated daily in India  Malayala Manorama, with the participation of entrepreneurs, bankers, economists, investment experts. The event was organized to analyze the current scenario of small and medium scale industries (MSME) in India and to identify the novel plans for reinforcing those industrial sectors who are mostly affected due to the lockdown.

Recently The Reserve bank of India had issued guidelines to the banks for supporting small and medium scale industries. Unfortunately, not even the entrepreneurs of small size industries are aware of those guidelines and the Industry department of the state has to disseminate the facilities created by the banks, said the moderator of the webinar Mr. Muhammad Hanish, Secretary of Kerala State Industry.

According to Mr. T S Chandran, an investment trainer Kerala is one of the most vulnerable state in depending all other states and countries for the raw materials as well as the guest workers in production sector. Due to the scarsity of both imported raw materials and the personnel, the industrial sector in the state has to redefine its conventional policy by adopting other measures to resurge from the fall of the industry.

Mr. Kochausep Chittilappaly, the founder of V-Guard Industries, major electrical appliances manufacturing company proposes that banks shall not limit with moratorium for a short term period, but even the interest rebate has to applied for the industrialists during lockdown period.

The people must have money in hand to vibrate the economy of the country. India, the country of haves and have nots, creates an abyss between the rich and the poor. Covid lockdown will affect mostly the poor and the middle class families. India needs, suggested two days back Nobel laureate Abhijit Banarjee in an interview, large enough stimulus package to increase spending and revive demand to face covid challenge. From putting money in peoples hands to reviving demand will move the economy.

Indias covid package was just limited to 1% of GDP whereas US has gone for 10% of GDP, Japan and the Europe have also adopted bigger measures to revive its economy.. According to Banerjee, giving money in the hands of everybody, so that they can buy in stores or they they buy consumer goods, thus spending is the easiest way to move the economy. Because then the MSME people get money and they spend it.

In the webinar session, MSME President in Kerala, informed that more than then thousand small scale industry unit have been closed since more than 40 days and it will be difficult for many of these companies to reopen after the lockdown. At the same time, the Goverment has warned all employers to pay the salary to all the employees in spite of stopped activities. The central government in the initial packages have not offered anything to the small and medium scale industries.

"Government of India, Prime Minister's Office and the department of economic affairs are already working on a package which includes not only MSME but also the industry. All sectors of the Indian industry will be assisted in the upcoming comprehensive package. said Giridhar Aramane, secretary in the ministry of road transport and Highways. The whole industry has its eye on the upcoming package from the finance minister Nirmala Sitharam.

Church in India also is very much concern about the society and has been doing its part in cooperation with authorities to reach out to the poor. Card. Oswald Gracias, President of Catholic Bishops Conference of India, has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, extending the support of Catholic Church in India in different spheres of Covid affected society. The cardinal urged churches not to terminate any staff and ensure that salaries are paid, even if they do not work during the emergency. Across India various catholic parishes initiated the projects to reach the people, distributing small amount of money, to survive during lock down period
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 9

By Ilkin Seyfaddini - Trend:

The total number of coronavirus-infected people in Uzbekistan has reached 2,336, Trend reports on May 9 with reference to the Ministry of Health.

To date, 1,775 patients have fully recovered in the country, 10 have died.

Uzbekistan recently declared Jizzakh, Kashkadarya and Navoi regions were declared free from COVID-19.

Uzbekistan has divided the country's regions and cities into "zones" of red, yellow and green colors, depending on the coronavirus infection level in the given area.

The "red" zones include Karakalpakstan, Andijan, Namangan, Fergana, Samarkand, Tashkent region (also divided into "zones"), Bukhara, Syrdarya.

The "yellow" zones include Surkhandarya, Khorezm, Tashkent city.

The "green" zones include Navoi, Jizzak, Kashkadarya.

In the "green" zones, free movement of cars and motor vehicles without special stickers is allowed. In "red" and "yellow" zones personal transport movement is allowed in certain hours (from 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM and from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM, GMT+5).

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
The Missouri Supreme Court Building across from Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City, Mo., on Sept. 19, 2007. Missouri became the first U.S. state to sue the Chinese government over its handling of the coronavirus. (Americasroof via Wikimedia Commons)

The Pandemic Spawns a Litany of Litigation

Commentary

It is a sure bet that lots of lawyers have not stopped working during the quarantine. Judging from the number of COVID-19-related lawsuits that have been filed, lawyers may be the most fully employed of all the occupations, excluding health care workers.

The number of lawsuits stemming from the pandemic increases every day. Some of the suits seem legit, while others appear far-reaching, and some just make you mad.

Cities and towns are suing their governors for either not acting fast enough to issue a call for quarantine or for not acting quickly enough to lift business restrictions so communities can try to get back to normal again.

Two states, Missouri and Mississippi, are suing China for unleashing the viral scourge and failing to warn the global population.

Students are suing their universities for either remaining open too long, thus potentially exposing them to the COVID-19 virus, or for closing promptly and refusing to quickly offer tuition and room-and-board refunds.

Airlines and ticket brokers have been sued for canceling flights or events. Amusement parks, ski resorts, and gyms have been sued for failure to refund customers on prepaid passes or memberships. There are lawsuits against nursing homes alleging the wrongful deaths of elderly residents. Other suits decry the initial lack of protective gear for health care workers. Litigation has commenced against banks that first helped existing customers apply for federal loans ahead of others. Cruise lines have been sued, and so has Fox News after a host called the pandemic a hoax. A strip club sued for the right to get federal pandemic recovery money. Target Corp. was sued for misleading claims about the germ-killing ability of its hand sanitizer.

Countless workers across the country are suing employers for allowing them to be exposed to the virus. Business owners are suing insurance companies for refusing to make them whole following mandatory government closures. But insurance carriers have been quick to point out that a majority of business interruption insurance covers loss of income due to fire, flood, or other disasters, but not loss of income because of viruses or bacteria.

However, take the case of the Houston-based Star Cinema Grill theater chain. It paid some $40,000 in premiums for a $1 million pandemic event insurance policy, which, reportedly, promised to vaccinate your bottom line during an outbreak. Yet when the chain tried to collect, their attorney says, they were told COVID-19 losses were not covered because it is not a named disease. Well see how that plays out.

The sheer number of these lawsuits is out of control. And unless wise judges quash the questionable suits, attorneys will be busy litigating them for years.

We have adopted a philosophy in the United States that some person or entity must be held responsible for every act of nature, accident, random crime, or malady that befalls us. It is hard to say if the lawyers interjected this idea upon the citizenry or if the professional victims among us went crying to clever lawyers who saw a lucrative opening. But there it is, the new American motto: When something bad happens, someone must pay.

Trillions in federal money has been doled out to keep businesses afloat so American workers have jobs to go back to. But think about it. Will shuttered business owners take the risk of reopening if they are worried that an employee who contracts the virus might then file a costly lawsuit blaming them for resuming operations too soon or for not being vigilant enough? Where does the personal responsibility of the worker to keep himself or herself safe come into play? Will some of the taxpayer-provided rescue money somehow be diverted to pay off such lawsuits?

This pandemic will pass, but it will leave many of us with lingering fears. In the meantime, it will continue to attract those who view this crisis as an opportunity to make money.

Yes, lawyers provide a valuable service. But, like any profession, there are the unscrupulous who manufacture reasons to file grievances, deliberately target deep-pocket businesses both large and small, and file opportunistic claims with dollar signs in their eyes. These predatory practices are not new, but when they happen in times of national crisis, the perpetrators should be ashamed.

Diane Dimond is an author and investigative journalist. Her latest book is Thinking Outside the Crime and Justice Box.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
The Sandoval County Commission is calling for the state to allow local businesses to reopen before May 15, with pandemic safety rules.

Commissioners approved the resolution along party lines Thursday night. Chairman David Heil said resolutions can establish policy or communicate a position.

In this case, it is a position many of our constituents would like us to share, he said.

Commissioners are requesting the governor allow a phased reopening of businesses that can comply with state occupancy and social-distancing standards. The resolution includes non-profits closed by executive and public-health orders.

The resolution passed on a 3-2 vote, with Commissioners Katherine Bruch and Kenneth Eichwald, the two Democrats on the commission, voting no.

This is not about swinging the doors open with wild abandonment, Heil said. This is about sharing opinions of many small businesses and constituents that many small businesses can be as effective, maybe even more effective, at applying those safeguards that would further support the health secretarys position that social distancing is the way New Mexicans can minimize the spread of COVID-19.

According to the resolution, safeguards include:

 Limiting the number of people per square foot permitted to occupy an office or business,

 Limiting the number of persons who may gather,

 Establishing social-distance requirements, and

 Requiring the use of face masks and gloves.

The resolution recognizes small business as the backbone of the economy and says that in rural areas, small businesses and non-profits perform essential services.

I think it is disingenuous to say the governor is picking winners and losers with her health orders. Essential businesses are defined by what they do, sell and provide, not by how large they are or whether they are local or national, Bruch said.

Commissioner Jay Block said he believes all business and their employees are essential.

The people of this county and of the state are economically scared to have the ability to pay their bills, their employees, their business expenses, to support their families, attend medical appointments and other day-to-day functions to quality of life, Block said.

There are over 400 cases of COVID-19 in Sandoval County as of press time, but Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull said last week in a radio interview that only 65 of them are in the City of Vision.

Most cases are consolidated in the countys seven pueblos and three tribes, Heil said.

We must all be concerned with the health emergency mandates to best protect and serve Native Americans health and welfare, Heil said. I understand that some of the Native American residents have been denied entry into stores, which is a terrible discrimination that cannot be tolerated.

Eichwald said that as of Thursday night, the commission was eight days away from learning what the governor would do.

I dont know how many other counties have taken this initiative, but why do we need to do that? he said.

Eichwald added he was against opening non-essential business in the county early.

By opening now, for those who go to open, you are saying, Some of you people will die, but that is OK because you are willing to do that for me,' he said.

COVID-19 will infect people no matter what their political beliefs are, said Bruch and Eichwald.

Block said a blanket policy of shutdown and regulations does not work for every county and municipality.

These are peoples lives we are talking about, Block said. It is not just Sandoval County asking; this it is the entire state of New Mexico asking this.

At the end of the meeting, Heil thanked his fellow commissioners for a civilized discussion.

It is good to have a discussion with different opinions on an issue and to be able to do it civilly, knowing that tomorrow or the next issue we deal with, we may not all agree but the discussion will be civil, Heil said.

The next Sandoval County Commission meeting will be at 4 p.m. May 21 via live stream.
Department of Medical Education

Chandigarh: Contributing in the Punjab CM COVID Relief Fund, staff members of different wings of Medical Education department handed over a cheque of Rs.2 Crores to Mr. O.P. Soni, Minister of Medical Education of Research, Punjab in the presence of Mr. D.K. Tiwari, Principal Secretary and Director Dr. Avnish Kumar.

Applauding the efforts of medical fraternity and other frontline workers of the Punjab Medical Council, Board of Ayurveda & Unani, Punjab Dental Council, Punjab Pharmacy Council and Punjab Nurses Council, Mr. Soni said that the staff members have wholeheartedly contributed the amount to the COVID Relief Fund for management and containment of the pandemic.

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It is a great and another step taken by the entire staff as the Captain Amarinder led state government is already doing it's best to contain the spreading of this pandemic due to the tireless efforts of medical fraternity.
Unnao (UP):

Congress chief ministerial candidate for Uttar Pradesh Assembly Polls Sheila Dikshit on Sunday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his foreign tours, saying these did not benefit the country in any way.

Most of the time our Prime Minister lives in foreign countries and makes news. But his visits do not benefit the country in any way...He has made a lot of promises during polls but they were not fulfilled, Dikshit told Congress Seva Dal workers here.

Assembly elections in the state are due early next year and Congress has projected 78-year-old Dikshit, a Brahmin, as its Chief Minister face hoping to cash in on the community votes.

The Brahmin community, a traditional vote bank of Congress, had shifted allegiance to BJP in the aftermath of the Mandir-Mandal politics and a section in the party feels it should make efforts to win back the support of the community.

A large chunk of Brahmin votes had also gone to Mayawatis BSP in the past when she gave tickets to many candidates belonging to the community.

The Brahmins support determines the poll outcome in several seats in central and eastern UP. Clarifying that she was born in Punjab but belonged to Unnao, as it was the place of her in-laws, the three-time Delhi Chief Minister said she had started her politics from Kannauj.

Highlighting her achievements as when she was the Chief Minister of Delhi, Dikshit said in her 15 years in power she tried to solve problems of Delhi and now she has came to UP with the same vision.

Congress will deal with backwardness of the state during the past 27 years. When Congress used to rule UP, the state used to grab first and second slot and now the situation is well known to everyone, she said.

Congress has been out of power for 27 years in Uttar Pradesh and is projecting that the state has gone from bad to worse in these years through a campaign, called 27 Saal, UP Behaal.

Asked at a press conference later about the possibility of striking a pre or post-poll alliance, party leader Sanjay Singh said his party would ally only with the people and added that there were no talks on those lines.

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May 9 marks the 75th anniversary of historic victory over fascism in World War Two.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva visited the grave of twice Hero of the Soviet Union Hazi Aslanov, put flowers at his statue and paid tribute to all Azerbaijanis killed during the war, Trend reports.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 18:40:48|Editor: huaxia

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NANNING, May 9 (Xinhua) -- A batch of medical supplies donated by south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to aid anti-epidemic efforts in its sister county of Dambovita in Romania has been transported on Saturday from Nanning, capital of the autonomous region.

The supplies donated by the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Regional Branch of the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) include 20,000 surgical masks and 1,000 N95 masks.

"It is a hard fight that we can only win together. The friendship between our people will last forever," read the thank-you note from Raul Pavelescu, the executive director of the Dambovita Branch of the Red Cross Society of Romania.

Guangxi and Dambovita established friendly relations in 2016.

"As non-governmental organizations, the Red Cross societies are helping each other in the fight against the pandemic, which is conducive to the cooperations and exchanges between China and Romania in other fields," said Feng Guoping, the standing vice president of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Regional Branch of the RCSC. Enditem
Russia registered more than 10,000 new coronavirus cases for the sixth day in a row -- an indication the spread of the virus inside the country remains serious despite a stringent lockdown -- as the Communist party leader called for the release of nonviolent criminals from prison.



Russias coronavirus crisis response center reported 10,669 new coronavirus cases on May 8, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 187,859, the fifth highest in the world. The May 8 increase was below the national record set the previous day of 11,231.



Moscow, which has the lion's share of the nations cases and deaths, announced on May 7 that a citywide lockdown would be extended until the end of the month as new cases continued to rise. The city has handed out more than 35,000 violations of the quarantine as it seeks to encourage people to stay home.



Moscow Deputy Mayor Anastasia Rakova said May 8 that city residents will be required to wear masks in public places starting May 12. Residents not wearing masks inside public transport will be fined 5,000 rubles ($68).



Gennady Zyuganov, the leader of Russia's Communist Party and a member of the lower house of parliament, sent a letter to President Vladimir Putin requesting he give amnesty to some prisoners serving their first sentence for minor, nonviolent crimes that are not corruption-related. Zyuganov cited the pandemic as a reason.



Russian activists have warned that the roughly 875,000 people held in the nations prisons and pretrial-detention facilities -- and the hundreds of thousands of people who work in them -- could be in particular danger from the spread of the virus.



Although Russia has significantly reduced the number of prisoners in recent years, many facilities remain overcrowded. Disproportionate numbers of prisoners suffer from chronic illnesses, including tuberculosis, hepatitis, and HIV infection. COVID-19 is particularly deadly for those with preexisting conditions.



Russias coronavirus crisis response center reported 98 new fatalities on May 8 from COVID-19, bringing the nation's death toll to 1,723. The death tally in Moscow surpassed 1,000.



Russias death rate from COVID-19 remains relatively low, triggering 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.



Russian officials say the outbreak in their country started later than in parts of the world, allowing authorities to better prepare for the pandemic.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, and TASS
JSC RZD Logistics, a subsidiary of Russian Railways, said it will organise trains from Russia to Vietnams Yen Vien station through China.

Vietnamese and Russian partners discuss the launch of the rail route between Russia and Vietnam's Yen Vien station.

In its press release, the company said the demand for rail transportation of exports from Russia to Vietnam has begun to increase since 2019, adding that rail service has further thrived with the cancellation of flights due to COVID-19, .

The demand for the transportation of milk power and food expanded by four times as compared with the previous time, it noted.

RZD Logistics Director General Dmitry Murev said transportation services on the route between Vietnam and Russia proposed by the company have drawn the attention of producers.

Exports will be transported by train from Vorsino station in Kaluga province through Zabaikalsk, Siberia and China to Yen Vien station in Hanoi, from where they are transported on road to shops around the country. The average transportation time from Vorsino to Yen Vien is 24 days.

RZD Logistics is responsible for organising the entire supply chain, while FELB, its subsidiary, forwards freight across China. The quality of logistics in Vietnam is ensured by logistics company Ratraco.

The rail route between Vietnam and Russia was launched in December 2017 in accordance with the bilateral cooperation agreement signed between Vietnam Railways and its Russian counterpart./.VNA
MANILA, Philippines  Malacanang said it respects the ABS-CBN Corporations appeal to the Supreme Court (SC) against the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

Presidential Spokesperson Secretary Harry Roque said it is the right of the network to seek legal remedies for its case.

Thats their right. Lets await the decision of the Court, Roque said when asked about the petition filed by ABS-CBN which seeks for a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the cease and desist order issued by the NTC.

On the petition, the media network is questioning the NTCs alleged grave abuse of discretion when it issued the order.

The NTC also allegedly violated the equal protection of the law and due process as well as the publics right to information.

Meanwhile, law expert Atty. George Erwin Garcia believes such a legal remedy is the best way to resolve the shutdown order.

Through this, ABS-CBN can resume operation of its television and radio stations.

The TRO is more effective than a political remedy which is Congress approval of the ABS-CBN franchise renewal bill

Dahil ang issue ay legal, hindi siya factual issue, therefore, sa aking paniniwala, papasok ang discretion ng Kataas-taasang Hukuman. At dahil mayroong constitutional rights na involved, at dahil wala pa siyang interpretation before, then tama lamang, just to protect the rights and interest of everyone, na makapag-issue siya ng TRO, he added.

(Because the issue here is legal and not a factual issue, therefore, I believe the Supreme Courts discretion will come in. And since it involves constitutional rights and because the SC has no prior interpretation, its only right  to protect the rights and interest of everyone  for SC to issue a TRO). MNP (with inputs from Rosalie Coz),

The post Malacanang respects ABS-CBNs appeal to Supreme Court against NTC appeared first on UNTV News.
Around 224 Indians stranded in the US due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown are preparing to board the first repatriation flight from San Francisco to Mumbai and Hyderabad on Saturday.

In the first phase of the US-India segment of the 'Operation Vande Bharat- A homecoming', flights have been planned from San Francisco, Chicago, New York and Washington DC to New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Bengaluru.

As many as 1,961 Indians are likely to be repatriated through seven flights from the four cities in the first phase, officials said.

More than 24,000 Indians stranded in the US have expressed their interest in travelling back home abroad the special Air India flights.

The first of the series of special Air India flight carrying 224 Indian nationals is scheduled to fly from San Francisco on Saturday night.

Over the next one week, as many as 1,961 Indians are likely to be repatriated through seven flights from four different cities.

According to Indian Embassy officials, priority is being given to those Indian nationals who were laid off from work, have medical emergencies or visa expiry issue, pregnant women, senior citizens, death in the family and students.

The tickets in the first phase are being decided through an electronic random selection method.

So far, the largest number of repatriation registration (6,600) has been from the New York Consulate area, followed by San Francisco (5,600), Chicago (3,500), Houston (3,300), Atlanta (2,500) and the Indian Embassy in Washington DC (2,300).

Given the large number of registrations, officials are also gearing up for the second phase of the evacuation.

We are also ready for another week (of flights). The number (of those who have registered for repatriation) are staggering, a senior Indian Embassy official said, hours before the departure of the flight from San Francisco.

The destination Indian cities might change in the second phase, officials said, adding that the details of the second phase of the 'Vande Bharat' mission is likely to be announced next week.

Officials said in the next phase, other categories like people of Indian origin and other nationalities might also be considered.

US has one of the largest numbers of Indian nationals in the western world. The Indian population in the US is estimated to be around one million, including over 200,000 students, 600,000 Green Card holders, 155,000 on H-1B visas and thousands of on tourist and business visas.

The last of the series of the special Air India flight in the first phase is scheduled to fly from Chicago on May 15 to Delhi and Hyderabad.

Other flights are on May 10 from Newark to Mumbai and Ahmedabad; May 11 from Chicago to Mumbai and Chennai; May 12 from Washington DC to Delhi and Hyderabad; May 13 from San Francisco to Delhi and Bengaluru; and on May 14 from Newark to Delhi and Hyderabad.

"The cost of travel from designated airport in the USA to the designated airport in India will be borne by the passengers," the Indian Embassy said in a travel advisory this week.

The embassy and consulates will share the details of passengers identified with Air India Offices that will contact them directly regarding booking of tickets and mode of payment.

The pre-paid price for economy class ticket on these repatriation flights from the US costs USD 1,362 and that for Business Class is USD 3,722 and USD 5,612 for First Class passengers.

External Affairs Ministry and Ministry of Home Affairs have issued detailed guidelines for passengers and protocol to be followed during the flight and immediately after their arrival in India.

"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 Arogya Setu app," the embassy said.

"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.

The passengers are will also be required to sign an undertaking, which will be collected from them at the airport before boarding the flight.

Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, India is conducting 'Vande Bharat' Mission -- its biggest ever repatriation exercise -- to bring back stranded Indians from abroad, including from the US, the UAE and the UK.

Nearly 15,000 Indians are expected to return on special Air India flights from 12 countries in the coming days.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Is adultery a crime in Nigeria? With the rise in the number of cases of violence due to adultery in recent times, one has to wond...





Is adultery a crime in Nigeria? With the rise in the number of cases of violence due to adultery in recent times, one has to wonder.





Daily Star, a 36-year old man, Mumo, in the southern Kenyan county of Kitui tried to glue his wifes vagina after finding text messages and nude photos on her phone. According to, a 36-year old man, Mumo, in the southern Kenyan county of Kitui tried to glue his wifes vagina after finding text messages and nude photos on her phone.





Cornell Law school defines it as a crime committed while in the throes of passion, with no opportunity to reflect on what is happening and what the person is about to do. An example given on the site is when a man finds his wife in bed with her lover, and out of rage, he kills the lover. In law, there are crimes we call crimes of passion.defines it as a crime committed while in the throes of passion, with no opportunity to reflect on what is happening and what the person is about to do. An example given on the site is when a man finds his wife in bed with her lover, and out of rage, he kills the lover.





So, does a crime of passion excuse this man who tried to glue his wifes vagina? Lets see what the law in Nigeria says about adultery.

Should adultery be a crime in Nigeria?





To put it simply, adultery is when two persons, one of whom is married to a different person, have sexual intercourse. In Mumos case, he was angry and in shock to find out she was cheating on him after ten years of marriage.





However, outrage led to something else and he tied her up with the help of his neighbour and covered her vagina with superglue. Other neighbours soon came to her rescue while Mumo was arrested and charged with domestic violence and assault.





Gazelle News reported that she was in severe pain before the operation and was unable to use the toilet. Due to the damages, she had to undergo surgery at the hospital. Thereported that she was in severe pain before the operation and was unable to use the toilet.





While Mumo is facing charges for damaging his wifes reproductive system, his wife will face charges of adultery. Her husbands lawyer is asking the court to sentence the woman to 100 lashes if shes found guilty of adultery.





What does the law in Nigeria say about adultery?





Marriage Act gives the party in question the power to ask a court for a divorce and claim damages. However, the law only considers adultery a criminal offence in Northern Nigeria where the Penal Code applies. However, some states adopted Sharia law. In Nigeria, marriage is recognised and respected by the law. Which is why it steps in when one of the partys rights is violated. Thegives the party in question the power to ask a court for a divorce and claim damages. However, the law only considers adultery a criminal offence in Northern Nigeria where the Penal Code applies. However, some states adopted Sharia law.





In these states, adultery is punishable with 2 years imprisonment and/or with an option of fine. While in the Southern and Eastern part of Nigeria where the Criminal Code Act applies, adultery is not a criminal offence.





The law sees adultery as a matrimonial wrong which can entitle a person to divorce if they find that they cant live with the party who committed the adultery. Although the law requires that the accusation of adultery not be based on suspicion, emotion or speculation.





Also, the third-party with whom the adultery was committed must be included in the petition for divorce. This will enable the party thats asking the court for divorce to be able to claim damages against the third party.





Usually, damages for adultery are compensatory. The court considers the following in awarding damages for adultery:





The loss suffered by the petitioner

Injury to petitioners honour and feelings.

Hurt to family life.

Value of the adulterous spouse to the claimant

The pain of your spouse breaking your marriage vows is not measurable. However, we do not support violence in any form. We believe there are many ways to reach a resolution. Going for marriage counselling can heal your marriage. Also, if you both do not see any chances of reconciliation, taking it to court is the next best option.









This article was first published on AfricaParent.com








Iqbal Singh Chahal, a 1989 batch Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer, who took charge as the chief of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) late on Friday, said his priorities are clear minimising the number of coronavirus cases in the city and preparing for the upcoming monsoon. His predecessor Parveen Pardeshi has been transferred to the urban development department.

On Saturday, Chahal held review meetings as well as visited a civic hospital and also one of the worst- affected areas in the city, Dharavi. He told all ward officers that he would be visiting their areas unannounced to take stock of the situation on ground.

Speaking to the media from the BMC headquarters, Chahal said, I have only two priorities for now. They are fighting the coronavirus and making the city ready for the monsoon. I am prepared to tackle the situation. I request you to wait for the next two-three weeks.

In the first half of Saturday, Chahal visited Nair Hospital in south Mumbai, which has been converted into a dedicated Covid-19 hospital. He interacted with the staff members who explained the situation to him through a powerpoint presentation. Further, he visited the hospital premises, and also interacted with patients wearing personal protective equipment (PPE).

Later in the day, Chahal visited Dharavi in G-North ward and interacted with the officials. He met those admitted to the quarantine facility in Dharavi, surveyed the containment zones and interacted with a few residents.

He also held a series of meetings with the BMC officials. A civic official who attended the meeting said, No major decisions or changes were discussed, but the commissioner reviewed the coronavirus situation and pre-monsoon readiness in all wards. Further, he also asked us to ensure proper contact tracing and aggressive sealing.

Meanwhile, former managing director of the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation, Ashwini Bhide, and former Thane civic commissioner Sanjeev Jaiswal also took charge as the two new additional municipal commissioners replacing Jaishree Bhoj and Abbasaheb Jarhad, who were also transferred by Thackeray on Friday.

Pardeshi goes on leave

Additional chief secretary Praveen Pardeshi, who is believed to be upset over his sudden transfer from the post of Mumbai municipal commissioner, proceeded on leave immediately after taking charge as the chief of the urban development department. He applied for the 14-day leave after taking charge on Saturday, said Sitaram Kunte, additional chief secretary, general administration department.

Pardeshi cited his fathers health and submitted a medical certificate with the application. According to government officials, he is not happy with the way he was ousted and may extend his leave. He also skipped the formality to hand over the charge to his successor in the BMC, IS Chahal, on Friday.

The state government has also put Kishorraje Nimbalkars appointment as the secretary of the public works department on hold.
Yves here. I am old enough to have read the Wall Street Journal op-ed where Juanita Broaddrick gave a detailed account of Bill Clintons rape in the print edition. It was so credibly detailed, and Broaddrick had contemporaneous witnesses, that I was convinced it would spur lots of follow-on coverage. Boy, was I wrong.

BTW, this account skips over a detail I remember from the Broaddricks Wall Street Journal account (which I not only read several times, but discussed with quite a few friends ): Clinton grabbed, her, spun her to face him, pulled her close, and bit her lip to prevent her from pulling away as he pushed her on the bed. This is the sort of move that no woman would think to make up, and also shows how practiced Clinton was at sexual abuse. The op-ed, under Broaddricks name, is peculiarly not findable in an internet search (the search function on the WSJ site itself goes back only four years). That version contained the detail that Clinton lay on top of her for close to 20 minutes, and came a second time, but it was a shudder, more the sexual version of an afterthought.

One line victim-trashers often take is Why didnt she scream? Why didnt she fight him off? If you listen to the Tara Reade account, it was clear it happened very quickly and Biden backed off when he realized Reade was uncooperative. With Broaddrick, she was in a hotel room, with no one in earshot (and how well can you holler if some has your lip between his teeth?), with Clinton having hurt her to get his way and clearly capable of doing so again. And they were both their bosses, figures they regarded with esteem and probably fear.

Another big issue is women get extraordinarily strong cultural programming against using violence. That usually makes a lot of sense; men generally have a size and strength advantage over women and can usually beat the shit out of them in a fight. But now that I am in the room trying to work while crime shows are on (usually with the sound off), I too often see women, even supposed cop women, acting like fragile flowers when a gun or knife is pulled on them (the convention is only a tiny number of ninja fighter women, usually but not always Asian but always trim and capable of wearing a catsuit, get to be physically aggressive). There have been too many scenes Ive witnessed where the law enforcement woman was not physically restrained (not pinned, hands free), where the attacker was at arms length, and in the cases with a gun, trigger not cocked. They are clearly about to be killed but instead of doing something sensible, like lunging to gouge out the perps eyes, they go all weep-y and plead-y, which per convention buys them enough time for their rescuers to come and save them.

By Thomas Neuburger. Originally published at DownWithTyranny!

Juanita Broaddrick, right, with residents of her Arkansas retirement home and Bill Clinton in April 1978, the same month she alleges that Clinton assaulted her (source)

Hid among the grease and grime of the Tara Reade rape discussion  Should we believe her? To what extent? Would Biden really do such a thing? But what if a public discussion leads to Trumps reelection?  lies the shadow of another rape accusation.

Undiscussed, rarely brought up, as carefully hid or moreso by the Democratic Partysupporting media as the Tara Reade story was, stands the rape charge by Juanita Broaddrick against 32-year-old Arkansas Attorney General Bill Clinton, a rape said to have occurred in 1978.

The facts are these (source: a nicely researched 2017 piece by Dylan Mathews at Vox). First, this is what Broaddrick says happened:

In 1978, Broaddrick was volunteering for Clintons gubernatorial campaign, and claims she met him when he visited his campaign office in her home town of Van Buren, Arkansas, that April. She says he then invited her to visit his office in Little Rock, which Broaddrick agreed to do a week later, when she was in the state Capitol anyway for a conference of nursing home administrators. Once she was at a hotel in Little Rock, she claims Clinton told her that he wasnt going to the campaign headquarters and offered to meet her in her hotel lobby coffee shop instead. Once he arrived, she says he called her room and suggested that they have coffee there, since the lobby had too many reporters. Broaddrick says she agreed.

Then according to a 1999 Washington Post story:

As she tells the story, they spent only a few minutes chatting by the window  Clinton pointed to an old jail he wanted to renovate if he became governor  before he began kissing her. She resisted his advances, she said, but soon he pulled her back onto the bed and forcibly had sex with her. She said she did not scream because everything happened so quickly. Her upper lip was bruised and swollen after the encounter because, she said, he had grabbed onto it with his mouth. The last thing he said to me was, You better get some ice for that. And he put on his sunglasses and walked out the door, she recalled.

Broaddricks story has no third-party witness, but quite a lot of contemporaneous corroboration:

 The director at the nursing home where Broaddrick worked told reporters that she entered the hotel room shortly after the assault allegedly took place, and found Mrs. Broaddrick crying and in a state of shock. Her upper lip was puffed out and blue, and appeared to have been hit. Kelsey elaborated to the New York Times, She told me he forced himself on her, forced her to have intercourse.

 In 1999, three of Broaddricks friends told NBC News on camera that Broaddrick told them at the time that Bill Clinton had raped her.

 In addition, David Broaddrick with whom Broaddrick was having an affair  also NBC that Broaddricks top lip was black after the alleged incident, and that she told him, that she had been raped by Bill Clinton.'

The Other Side

Opposed to this evidence lie the usual adversarial questions about why Broaddrick delayed so long to say something, why she chose the time she did to come forward, and what her underlying motives might have been. Bill Clinton was being impeached for the Monica Lewinski affair  pilloried, really, by Ken Starrs special prosecutors office  when Broaddricks story was leaked to the public.

The response to this has been that Broaddrick, according to Vox, had been courted to come forward about the allegations by Clinton enemies for years, and refused many pleas that she speak out.

She only came forward after she was interviewed by Independent Counsel Kenneth Starrs office and her allegation leaked. Broaddrick told the [Wall Street] Journal [here] that NBC News reporter Lisa Myers pursued her for nearly a year before she agreed to an interview, and that she came forward because she wanted to rebut false rumors circulating after her statements to prosecutors (like that David Broaddrick had accepted hush money from the Clintons in exchange for silence).

In short, if Voxs account is correct, Broaddrick was almost literally the most reluctant of reluctant witnesses at a time when Bill Clinton was beset on all sides with eager ones.

Did Hillary Clinton Weigh In?

Its an ugly story, both in the context in which it occurred  the dubiously moral, hypocritical Republican Party assaulting a presidency it never considered legitimate using charges they themselves were guilty of at the time  and in the Broaddrick story itself.

And the ugliness continued, according to Broaddrick, shortly after the event. In a 1999 interview she gave to the Drudge Report and quoted by Vox, Broaddrick said that mere weeks after the alleged [1978] assault, Hillary Clinton had tried to thank her for her silence on the matter at a political rally. Broaddrick:

She came directly to me as soon as she hit the door. I had been there only a few minutes, I only wanted to make an appearance and leave. She caught me and took my hand and said I am so happy to meet you. I want you to know that we appreciate everything you do for Bill. Here her husband had just done this to me, and she was coming up to thank me? It was scaryI started to turn away and she held onto my hand and reiterated her phrase  looking less friendly and repeated her statement-Everything you do for Bill. I said nothing. She wasnt letting me get away until she made her point. She talked low, the smile faded on the second thank you. I just released her hand from mine and left the gathering.

No one knows for sure what happened between Broaddrick and Bill Clinton in the hotel room save Broaddrick and Clinton himself, just as no one but Broaddrick and Hillary Clinton knows for sure what passed between them at the rally just a few weeks later  and only Clinton herself knows for sure what she meant to convey, regardless of how Broaddrick took it.

But if Christine Blasey Ford is credible (in my opinion, eminently so), then Tara Reade is credible at the very least  and so is Juanita Broaddrick.

The #MeToo Era: The Briefest of Lights in 40 Years of Darkness

Why bring this up? Because the alleged Broaddrick rape occurred in 1978  and here we are, in 2020, with many of the same actors, all with the same loyalties, using much the same tactics to silence and sidestep the consequences of almost the same (alleged) crime, the forceable rape of a low-level female political associate by a high-level male with a history of intruding on women.

Juanita Broaddrick, 1978

Cover-up continuing, 2020

Tara Reade, 1993

Cover-up continuing, 2020

Has nothing changed for Democratic Party leaders in those 42 years?

Its almost as though the #MeToo era, two and a half years at most, the briefest of lights in two dark generations, never occurred at all.
On May 9, 2013, motorists were stunned when a fireball exploded over Interstate-81 in Susquehanna Twp.

That morning, a fuel tanker truck overturned on the northbound ramp to Route 322 west and exploded in flames.

Traffic was paralyzed for hours as commuters tried to get work. Some never did  they turned back and went home. Some made it, hours late.

The accident closed parts of Interstate-81 for four days and the ramp for seven months  along with the ramp above it - because they had to be replaced.

The accident also caused environmental damage when 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel leaked into Paxton Creek and Wildwood Lake.

The cost of the repairs was $12,434,537.

The truck was owned by Tameric Enterprises of Carlisle.

The driver, Thomas Uecker, 55, of Dover, who reportedly escaped the accident with minor burns, pleaded guilty in July 2014 to three summary charges of disregarding traffic lanes, driving at a safe speed and accidents/overturned vehicles. He paid fines and costs totaling about $800, court records state.

Uecker also pleaded guilty in January 2015 to 11 counts of unlawful taking or possession of game or wildlife relating to the death of eight Canada goslings and three Mallard ducklings that were recovered by a Game Commission officer but died 12 hours later. He paid fines and costs totaling about $5,300, according to court records.

A tanker truck loaded with diesel fuel burns after it overturned along Interstate 81, shutting down the heavily traveled artery near Harrisburg, Pa. on Thursday, May 9, 2013. The truck was headed northbound from Carlisle shortly after 6 a.m. when it flipped over on a ramp to Route 22-322 westbound, near the I-81 bridge over the Susquehanna River. (AP Photo/TV27-David Tristan)AP

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For most of us, activewear in the workplace has never been an appropriate dress code  until now.

The exercise-intended staple has become the undisputed working from home uniform during the enforced coronavirus restrictions. Even the most preened and polished workers are donning leggings and T-shirts to sit at their computers.

Katia Santilli and Vera Yan in their work from home leisurewear. Credit:Steven Siewert

"People are wearing activewear all day because they can work in comfort, and then train in comfort and don't have to get changed," Pip Edwards, co-founder of the PE Nation activewear label, said.

"It can see you through your day of working from home, relaxing at home and training from home."
Intel Corp. makes processors, Mobileye makes sensors, and Moovit has mobility data. Now all three are under Intels roof, collaborating on technology for autonomous vehicles.Intel acquired Moovit for $900 million, according to a news release this week, for the purpose of using Moovits proprietary data to improve sensors and algorithms being developed by Mobileye, an Israeli company that Intel bought for $15.3 billion in 2017. Moovit, also an Israeli company, was founded in 2012 as a mobility-as-a-service provider, a trip planner that combines information from public transit authorities with live information from users of mobility services to tell people, in real time, their fastest options to get where theyre going. It suggests routes that combine public transportation, bicycle and scooter services, ride-hailing and car-sharing, depending on traffic and availability.One of the obstacles for governments working with mobility software has been a responsible handling of data, and Moovit has made that a selling point. Yovav Meydad, the companys chief growth and marketing officer, toldlast year that Moovit had the worlds largest transit data repository , but it only stores analytics related to transit usage and doesnt collect private information such as age or gender. Intels news release said that with access to this database, amassed over years of working with more than 7,500 agencies and operators, Mobileye will be able to improve its predictive algorithms for self-driving vehicles.The addition of Moovit brings Intels Mobileye closer to achieving its plan to become a complete mobility provider, including robotaxi services, which is forecast to be an estimated $160-billion opportunity by 2030, the news release said.Moovit, with approximately 200 employees and more than 800 million users and services in 3,100 cities across 102 countries worldwide, will join the Mobileye business while retaining its brand, consumer applications and existing partnerships. Those include Microsoft, Uber and other ride-sharing operators and mobility ecosystem companies that share analytics, routing and other support for their MaaS.Moovits massive global user base, proprietary transportation data, global editors community, strong partnerships with key transit and mobility ecosystem partners and highly skilled team is what makes them a great investment, Mobileyes CEO Amnon Shashua said in a statement. Together, with Mobileyes extensive capabilities in mapping and self-driving technology, we will be able to accelerate our timeline to transform the future of mobility.Moovits CEO Nir Erez said in a statement that mobility is a basic human right, and autonomous vehicles are part of its future.As cities become more crowded, urban mobility becomes more difficult, he said. Combining the daily mobility habits and needs of millions of Moovit users with the state-of-the-art, safe, affordable and eco-friendly transportation enabled by self-driving vehicles, we will be able to make cities better places to live in.That Intel spent almost $1 billion on a company to strengthen Mobileyes work reinforces how important that subsidiary is to Intels business model going forward. Since its acquisition three years ago, according to Intels news release, Mobileye has seen its revenues more than double on the increased adoption of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), which it has deployed on almost 60 million vehicles with more than 25 automaker partners.As the PC market shrank with the rise of smartphones, tablets and cloud computing, Intel has been investing and expanding into other markets, including ADAS, data and MaaS technologies. It also announced last month that it would be focusing more on public-sector sales than in the past.
Bihar Information and Public



Relations Minister Niraj Kumar on Saturday hit back at the Congress for demanding his resignation due to the expiry of his MLC tenure, asserting he is holding his ministerial post as per constitutional provisions.

Congress national spokesperson and Bihar MLC Prem Chandra Mishra Mishra had on Friday termed as "unethical and against constitutional norms" the continuance of Bihar ministers Niraj Kumar and Ashok Choudhary in their posts despite the expiry of their tenures in the legislative council earlier this week.

Both the JD(U) leaders were sworn-in as ministers a year ago, during a Cabinet expansion by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar shortly after the NDA's stupendous victory in the Lok Sabha elections.

They are among 17 members of the 75-strong legislative council whose tenure ended on Wednesday. The Election Commission is yet to announce a poll schedule for the Upper House.

Building Construction Minister Ashok Choudhary and IPRD Minister Niraj Kumar have not yet tendered their resignations, Mishra had said.

Kumar retorted to Mishra's demands saying, "I am holding the post of a minister as per the provisions of Article 164(4) of the Constitution which says that any person can remain minister for six months even if he/she is not the member of any house... The person will have to get elected to the state legislature within six months."



To buttress his argument, Kumar cited a 1971 judgment of the Supreme Court, in which the apex court had ruled that any person, who is not a member of any House, can hold the post of a minister under Article 164(4) of the Constitution.

Kumar came down heavily on Mishra for raising the issues of morality and honesty in politics, saying that "Congress has been mired in corruption cases like 2G and Coalgate".

"Besides, people reckoning prisoner number 3351 (referring to Lalu Prasad Yadav's identification number in Ranchi Jail, where he is presently lodged) as their leader are now giving lectures on morality," Kumar said.

Choudhary, however, refused to comment on the issue.

Mishra had also advised the two ministers to follow the example of their party colleague Haroon Rashid who vacated the post of acting chairperson of the legislative council after his MLC tenure ended on Wednesday.

"The two ministers should step down for the sake of constitutional propriety. Of course, the state government can re-appoint them," Mishra had said.

Choudhary was a former Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee president before being sacked from the post in September 2017.

He joined the JD(U) a few months later along with two other MLCs of the Congress.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Icons of WeChat and Weibo apps are seen on a smartphone on Dec. 5, 2013. (Petar Kujundzic/Reuters)

Chinas WeChat Monitors Overseas Users to Bolster Censorship at Home, Report Says

International users of Chinese messaging app WeChat could be helping the platform tighten its censorship system for users inside China, according to the latest report by digital watchdog Citizen Lab.

The app, with over 1 billion monthly active users worldwide, is known to censor its users in China to ensure content falls within topics deemed acceptable by the Chinese Communist Party.

The report, however, found that communications between users outside of China are also monitored to help refine the apps censorship algorithm for its users in China.

The findings revealed that overseas users are subject to pervasive content surveillance that was previously thought to be exclusively reserved for China-registered accounts, Citizen Lab said.

Around 100 million people hold WeChat accounts registered outside of China, according to Munich firm Messenger People.

Inside China, the app offers a multitude of services ranging from chatting, shopping, marketing, banking to booking movie tickets and taxis.

Feeding a Censorship Apparatus

The report found that WeChat will screen images and documents that overseas users share with each other to build up a database it uses to censor its China-based accounts.

The researchers reached these finds based on experiments conducted between November 2019 and January. They set up two group chats: one containing only overseas users, and another containing overseas users and one China-registered account.

They found that when they sent politically sensitive images and documents in the chat solely containing overseas users, shortly after those files would be censored for China-registered users.

A user with a China account (L) attempts to send a politically sensitive image in a WeChat group Chat from Citizen Lab testing conducted in January 2017. (Courtesy of Citizen Lab)

WeChat also retains data of the files that users delete in the app and therefore never received by the other party, the researchers found.

[N]one of the information WeChat makes available to users explains the rationales for such surveillance, the report concluded, noting that WeChats data protection staff never fully addressed the researchers questions regarding the companys data handling practices.

Tencent, Shenzhen-based tech giant that owns the app, said in a statement on Friday that with regard to the suggestion that we engage in content surveillance of international users, we can confirm that all content shared among international users of WeChat is private.

While further technical analysis is necessary to determine if the same red flags are present among other Chinese firms, its plausible that other platforms use surveillance similarly, according to Jeffrey Knockel, a postdoctoral fellow at the institute who co-authored the report.

He suggested that privacy regulators could issue fines to companies for misleading users. In Canada, residents could also complain to federal privacy regulators who could provide non-binding recommendations for how the company must modify its services, Knockel told The Epoch Times.

A logo of Chinese instant messaging platform called WeChat on a mobile device on March 12, 2014. (Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images)

Concerns Around Chinese Apps

The report adds to a growing chorus of criticism over the censorship and data handling practices by Chinese social media platforms.

In a March report, Citizen Lab found that WeChat in China actively censored discussion on the outbreak from January. It identified 516 keyword combinations directly related to the virus on a WeChat blacklist, including references to the whistleblower doctor Li Wenliang, who died of the disease.

In late April, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced a bill, titled Countering Chinese Attempts at Snooping, which aims to ban federal employees from using tech platforms that are subject to control of the Chinese Communist Party. Tencent is one of the Chinese companies on the list.

Companies like Tencent and Huawei are espionage operations for the Chinese Communist Party, masquerading as telecom companies for the 21st century, Cruz said in a press release. He added that stopping taxpayers dollars from contributing to these platforms are common sense measures to protect American national security.

Rep Jim Banks (R-Ind.) recently also introduced a resolution to warn about the national security threats posed by popular Chinese video-sharing app TikTok, saying Americans should know which is which before they hit the download button. The U.S. military had banned its personnel from using the mobile app on government-issued phones in January.

Zoom, which exploded in popularity as a convenient conferencing tool as millions of Americans work from home, has also drawn scrutiny over privacy and security concerns in recent weeks. The company is based in the United States, but owns three companies in China that develop its software.

On April 3, a group of 19 House lawmakers collectively signed a letter raising concerns over the companys data collection practices. Zoom also faces a class-action lawsuit from its shareholder for overstating its privacy standards and failing to disclose its lack of end-to-end encryption.

During multiple test calls in North America in April, Citizen Lab researchers also observed the app to be sending data to servers in Beijing, raising security concerns about whether such data might fall into the hands of nation-state attackers such as the Chinese regime, the report noted. The company, however, said the data was mistakenly routed through China.

Beijing theoretically could demand that the encryption keys for those calls be handed over for decryption by Chinese authorities, allowing them full access to the contents of those calls and the ability to listen in on supposedly private conversations, Attila Tomaschek, data privacy expert at ProPrivacy, told The Epoch Times in a recent interview.
"Is Greta Thunberg a hypocrite? Google that phrase and you will get thousands of results. It just goes to show that, to a large extent, the "Q&A model is broken on the internet. Where once Yahoo Answers and Quora were considered the bright young things of Web 2.0s Read/Write Web, today there is only the chaos of myriad search results. Lets face it, many have tried to really crack Q&A (remember Mahalo?), but few ever got very far -- and most became zombie sites.

But look again and you will notice something. A site called Parlia sits at No. 3 on that search result for "Is Greta Thunberg a hypocrite." But Parlia only launched (in stealth mode) in October last year.

So how can this be?

Well, this upstart in the Q&A space has now closed a pre-seed round of funding from Bloomberg Beta, Tiny VC and others (amount undisclosed).

And as founder, and former journalist, Turi Munthe tells me, the idea here is Parlia will become an "encyclopedia of opinion."

"We're a wiki: mapping out all the perspectives on both the breaking stories and controversies of the day, as well as the big evergreen questions: does God exist? Is Messi really better than Ronaldo? The way we're building is to also help fix today's polarisation, outrage and information silo-ing, he tells me.

While most Q&A sites are geared around X versus Y, and focused on rational debate, Parlia is trying to map ALL the opinions out there: flat earthers' included. Its aiming to be descriptive not prescriptive, and is closer to a wiki, unlike Quora, where the authors are often selling "something" as well as themselves as experts.

The site is already on a tear. And also highly appropriate for this era.

Right now top subjects include "How to stay healthy during quarantine at home? or "What are the effects of spending long periods in coronavirus isolation? or "Will the coronavirus crisis bring society together? The list goes on. Users see the arguments calmly, dispassionately laid out, alongside counter-arguments and all the other arguments and positions.

Story continues

Says Munthe: "In 2016, I realized the age of political consensus was over. I watched as Britain spilt maybe a trillion words of argument in the build-up to the Brexit Referendum and thought: there are no more than a half-dozen reasons why people will vote either way.

He realized that if there's a finite number of arguments around something as huge and divisive as Brexit, then this would be true for everything. Thus, you could theoretically map the arguments around gun control, abortion, responses to the coronavirus, the threat of AI and pretty much everything.

So why would anyone want to do that? Its, of course, a good thing in itself and would help people understand what they think as well as help them understand how the rest of the world thinks.

Luckily, there is also a business model. It will potentially carry ads, sponsorships, membership and user donations. Another is data. If they get it right, they will have surfaced foundational information about the very ways we think.

Munthe thinks all the users will come through Search. "The media opportunity, we think, is 100 million-plus pageviews/month, he says.

Munthes co-founder is J. Paul Neeley, former professor of the Royal College of Art, and a service designer who's worked with Unilever and the U.K.s Cabinet Office. Munthe himself has been exploring the systemic issues of the media ecosystem for some time. From founding a small magazine in Lebanon, reporting in Iraq in 2003, then starting and exiting Demotix, to launching North Base Media (a media-focused VC).

The temptation, of course, is to allow bias to creep in return for commercial deals. But, says Menthe: "We will never work with political parties, and we will set up our own ethics advisory board. But that understanding should be of value to market researchers and institutions everywhere.

So now you can find out how coronavirus will change the world.
We are drowning in a sea of suspect statistics, many being used selectively by power-hungry politicians  especially COVID statistics.

Suppose an obese alcoholic 80-year-old with hips replaced, diabetes, heart bypass, inflammation, and high blood pressure gets the flu, then pneumonia; tests positive for COVID; and dies. What is recorded as the cause of death?

It depends on who wants the figures and why.

Too often, politics and economics determine the outcome.

Does the hospital or physician get paid more for COVID patients? He will find more.

Are politicians pushing their Orwellian tracking devices or industrialists pushing universal compulsory vaccinations? Do politicians who control the health industry want a declining trend to prove their competence or a rising trend to get more funds or to embarrass other politicians?

At least some medicos in Queensland, Australia have been instructed to put the primary cause of death as COVID-19 and then list contributory causes (diabetes, heart disease, etc.) as second, third, etc. And in places in the U.S., hospitals get a bonus payment for each COVID diagnosis and a bigger one for patients on ventilators. Guess where the trends are rising.

Should we ignore the increase in family violence and suicides and the surge in consumption of alcohol and junk food in locked down homes? What about the excess deaths caused when hospitals were emptied and non-essential surgery canceled to prepare for a COVID surge that never came? That surge was predicted by...computer models.

Now we find that some imported COVID test kits are suspect, making the statistics even more suspect.

Like heat waves and cold snaps, COVID-19 tends kill those about to die and will almost certainly be followed by a reduced mortality rate. Politicians will claim the credit for this.

This daily flood of statistics and COVID-news is designed to keep us alarmed and obedient as politicians and government media destroy our freedoms, our privacy, our industries, our jobs, our independence, and our currency. The depression that will follow the lockdown may kill more people than all the flu viruses would have done.

Doubts on death statistics:

https://www.projectveritas.com/news/breaking-funeral-directors-in-COVID-19-epicenter-doubt-legitimacy-of-deaths/

Hospitals Pressured to list COVID-19 on death Certificates:

https://fee.org/articles/physicians-say-hospitals-are-pressuring-er-docs-to-list-COVID-19-on-death-certificates-here-s-why/

COVID Deaths vs normal deaths by age: https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/695/cpsprodpb/E96A/production/_111545795_optimised-mortality_rates-nc.png

Health Passports may be here in Months:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/may/03/coronavirus-health-passports-for-uk-possible-in-months

COVID deaths exaggeration hotspots:

https://canadafreepress.com/article/five-epicentres-of-official-COVID-19-deaths-exaggeration

Canada let dozens die to prepare for a COVID surge:

https://www.westernjournal.com/left-envies-health-system-canada-just-let-dozens-die-prepare-COVID-surge/

COVID numbers Game:

https://blog.nomorefakenews.com/2020/05/05/COVID-the-numbers-game-the-fraud-and-the-final-answer/

Time to shut down academic modellers:

https://realclimatescience.com/2020/05/shutting-down-incompetent-academic-modelers/

The Virus Modelling Scandal:

https://www.gingrich360.com/2020/05/the-virus-modeling-scandal-and-the-years-of-living-hysterically/

Some COVID test kits now suspect:

https://principia-scientific.org/farce-some-fruit-and-a-goat-now-test-COVID-19-positive/

Thousands died in 1957 Asian flu epidemic. Nothing was shut down and few people noticed:

https://www.aier.org/article/elvis-was-king-ike-was-president-and-116000-americans-died-in-a-pandemic

The World-wide Lockdown may be the greatest mistake in human history: https://townhall.com/columnists/dennisprager/2020/05/05/the-worldwide-lockdown-may-be-the-greatest-mistake-in-history-n2568180
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) exits the chamber at the U.S. Capitol during President Donald Trump's Senate impeachment trial in Washington on Jan. 31, 2020. (Amanda Voisard/File Photo/Reuters)

US Lawmakers Urge Support for Taiwan at WHO, as US Criticizes China

WASHINGTONThe leaders of U.S. congressional foreign affairs committees wrote to nearly 60 countries on May 8 asking them to support Taiwans participation in the World Health Organization (WHO), citing the need for the broadest effort possible to fight the CCP virus pandemic.

Taiwan, which is not a member of the United Nations, has been excluded from the WHO, which is a U.N. agency, due to objections from China.

As the world works to combat the spread of the COVID-19, a novel coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, China, it has never been more important to ensure all countries prioritize global health and safety over politics, the lawmakers said in their letter, sent on Friday and first reported by Reuters.

It was signed by Reps. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, and Michael McCaul (R-Texas), as well as Sens. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.).

Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) arrives to hear testimony from U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland in Washington, on Oct. 17, 2019. (Erin Scott/File Photo/Reuters)

The letter was sent to like-minded countries, large and small, seen as friends and allies of Taiwan, including Canada, Thailand, Japan, Germany, Britain, Saudi Arabia, and Australia.

It was sent as President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials have ramped up criticism of China over the spread of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes the respiratory illness COVID-19. The Trump administration has accused China of making the pandemic worse by hiding information.

Last month, Trump announced that he was suspending aid to the WHO, accusing it of being China-centric and promoting Chinas disinformation about the outbreak, assertions the WHO denies.

Some of Trumps fellow Republicans in Congress have echoed the presidents criticisms. Democrats have criticized Trump for attacking the WHO during a global health crisis, while saying it needs reforms.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) speaks at the Capitol Hill National Security Forum at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on June 21, 2018. (Aaron P. Bernstein/File Photo/Reuters)

Taiwan has been seeking to join a ministerial meeting this month of the WHOs decision-making body, the World Health Assembly (WHA), with backing from Washington and several U.S. allies.

But China, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province under its one China policy, said Taiwans effort to join the meeting will fail, insisting its efforts are based on politics, not health concerns.

Taiwan has argued that its exclusion from the WHO has created a dangerous gap in the global fight against the CCP virus.

In their letter, the U.S. lawmakers said Taiwans resources and expertise are assets that could benefit the world as it struggles with the pandemic. They noted that Taiwan was invited to participate in WHA meetings from 2009 to 2016.

Diseases know no borders. We urge your government to join u.s. in addressing the pressing issue of Taiwans inclusion in global health and safety organizations. Given what the world has endured as a result of COVID-19, U.N. Member States joining together to insist Taiwan be invited to the upcoming virtual WHA session in May 2020 is the right place to start, the letter said.

By Patricia Zengerle

Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.
India's third Covid wave likely to peak on Jan 23, daily cases to stay below 4 lakh: IIT Kanpur scientist

COVID-19: India's tally crosses 62,000; Fresh outbreaks abroad raises concern

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, May 09: The nationwide tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases crossed 62,700 on Saturday and the death toll topped the 2,000-mark after hundreds more tested positive for the infection in several states, while worries mounted globally about re-emergence of the outbreak after reopening of locked down economies.

Adding to the concerns, the fresh cases included at least two foreign returnees who had reached Kerala on May 7 in two separate first-day flights -- one from Dubai and another from Abu Dhabi -- under a massive ongoing evacuation plan of the central government to bring back stranded Indians abroad.

While large numbers of cases continued to be detected in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Delhi, experts have warned the numbers may rise in the coming days due to the ongoing movement of lakhs of migrant workers being facilitated by trains and buses to help them reach their native places and because of a large number of Indians stranded abroad, along with expatriates, being brought back in special flights.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the two new cases in his state is a warning for all states to be on an alert to strengthen their "mitigation efforts and preventive measures."

Many more similar flights from abroad are reaching Kerala and several other states over the next few days under what is being called the 'Vande Bharat' mission.

In its daily update, the Union Health Ministry said the death toll has risen to 1,981 and the number of cases to 59,662, registering an increase of 95 deaths and 3,320 cases in 24 hours till Saturday morning.

The number of active cases stood at 39,834, while 17,846 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, it said.

However, a PTI tally of numbers reported by different states and Union Territories, as of 10.45 pm on Saturday, showed at least 62,761 confirmed cases across the country, 19,000 recoveries and 2,028 deaths. This showed an increase of over 6,000 confirmed cases since Friday morning.

Fresh cases were also reported on Saturday from Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Punjab, Bihar and Assam.

OneIndia news (with PTI inputs)

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Saturday, May 9, 2020, 23:46 [IST]
Telangana:

Keeping up his attack on cow vigilantes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today asked people to beware of fake cow protectors as they were trying to create tension in the society.

He also asked the state governments to take stringent action against them.

Modi, while addressing a public meeting after inaugurating a host of development projects here, accused the cow vigilantes of trying to create tension in the society and said they should be exposed and punished.

I want to tell everybody beware of these fake cow protectors. These handful of vigilantes have nothing to do with cow protection, but want to create tanaav (tension) in the society, Modi said.

In the name of cow protection, these fake cow protectors are trying to disturb the peace and harmony of the nation. I want the real cow protectors to expose them (fake ones) and the state governments should take stringent action against them, he added.

Describing cattle as countrys wealth and not burden, the Prime Minister made a mention of a Himachal Pradesh Governors campaign of protecting abandoned cows and handing them over to farmers to use them for agricultural activity.

Cow will never become a burden. Cow urine and dung are used in agriculture, he said, adding that cow should be linked to the countrys economic development.

India is a land of diversity, he said, adding protecting our countrys unity and integrity is our primary responsibility. To fulfil it all countrymen should protect and serve cows (gau raksha and gau seva karein). Such service enhances national wealth.... it does not create problem for the nation.

But fake (cow protectors) destroy society and country. We need to beware of these people. There is a need to punish these people. Then alone can we take the nation to great heights, the Prime Minister said after inaugurating a host of development projects.

Modis comments come at a time when his government and BJP are facing flak over incidents of violence against Dalits and Muslims by cow vigilantes in various states including Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

Earlier, Modi launched Phase-1 of Mission Bhagiratha, a flagship project of Telangana government aimed at providing piped drinking water to every household in the state.

Modi unveiled a plaque in Medak districts Komatibanda village in Gajwel constituency, represented in the Assembly by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, and formally turned on a water tap on the premises to mark the occasion.

This is Prime Ministers maiden visit to Telangana after formation of the state in June 2014.

Modi unveiled plaques to mark the laying of the foundation stone for the 152-km Manoharabad-Kothapalli new railway line (connecting Hyderabad and Karimnagar), NTPCs Telangana Super Thermal Power Project Stage-1 (2x800 MW), Ramagundam, Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences, Warangal and revival of Ramagundam fertiliser plant (Karimnagar district).

He also dedicated to the nation the Singareni Thermal Power Project (2X600 MW) at Jaipur in Adilabad district.

Governor of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh E S L Narasimhan, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, Union Ministers M Venkaiah Naidu, H N Ananth Kumar, Suresh Prabhu, Piyush Goyal and Bandaru Dattatreya were among those present.

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MECOSTA COUNTY  While many townships and cities continue to see an impact from the coronavirus, that didn't stop area voters from letting their voices be heard at the May election.

Mecosta County Clerk Marcee Purcell said the voter turnout for a May election was "definitely higher" than the normal turnout for a school special election.

"A school special election is 8-11%, this election was 23.4%," Purcell said. "Some individual precincts were as high as 30%."

According to Purcell, residents were voting on the Big Rapids Public School Millage Renewal Proposal, a millage which ensures the district maintains its operating millage rate for the following school year, and would allow BRPS to collect an estimated revenue of approximately $3.8 million in 2020.

Those who were interested in voting, however, had to do things a little differently this year because of the executive order declared by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

"The idea was an all-mail election," Purcell said. "If people appeared at the polls to vote, they were given a ballot and it was processed as an absentee ballot."

Utilizing absentee ballots this year, Big Rapids City Clerk Tamyra Gillis said she also noticed an increase in voter turnout this May election, saying there was an increase from the usual 5% participation to 17%.

With 854 absentee ballots sent in, Gillis said she believes the increase in voter turnout was in large part due to every resident receiving an absentee ballot this year, as a reminder the May election would soon be taking place.

While Gillis said she believes the increase was due to the way elections took place this year, Purcell said she was surprised turnout wasn't higher because everyone was mailed an application with a postage-paid envelope.

Under the unique turn of events, however, Purcell said she believes all the township and cities handled the election exceptionally.

"I'm very proud of the city and township clerks  Tammy Gillis, Hannah Saez, Dawn Baker, Brenda Peterson, Janet Clark and Linda Randall  who had to work through all the new and changing details that came with this election during these difficult and trying times," Purcell said. "Excellent work."
The World Health Organization has thrown its support behind controversial trials in which healthy volunteers are infected with coronavirus and risk falling badly unwell.

Bosses at the global health body claim the approach could rapidly accelerate vaccine development, which they say make it ethically justified.

The WHO has set out eight criteria that would need to be met for the trials to go ahead, including only accepting participants aged between 18 and 30.

These 'challenge trials' are commonly deployed by scientists trying to develop a vaccine and have been used in malaria, typhoid and flu.

But, unlike those illnesses, there is no proven treatment for coronavirus, so there is nothing to stop the participants falling seriously ill.

Vaccines are normally tested using two groups of people, both of which are already infected - one of which are given the vaccine and the other used as a control.

Two studies in Britain are using this method, at the University of Oxford and Imperial College London.

However, waiting for enough people to be exposed to the coronavirus can take months, particularly as COVID-19 infections fall globally.

Scientists are now starting to come round to the idea of using challenge trials for the coronavirus, which can be set up in weeks.

The World Health Organization has thrown its support behind controversial trials in which healthy volunteers are infected with coronavirus and risk falling badly unwell. Picturde: A volunteer is injected with a vaccine in Oxford University's vaccine trial

Professor Nir Eyal, the director of Rutgers University's Center for Population-Level Bioethics in the US, told The Guardian: 'There's this emerging consensus among everyone who has thought about this seriously.

'Once you give it thought, it is surprisingly easier to approve than dispatching volunteers as part-time medical workers and other practices that we've already accepted.

'The big news is that WHO doesn't say challenge trials are forbidden. It specifies reasonable steps on how they can be deployed.'

Professor Eyal said the chance of a person in their 20s dying from coronavirus is the same as someone donating a kidney  around one in 3,000.

He said the potential benefit of finding a cure for potentially millions of patients around the world outweighed the small risk to an individual.

The WHO also says in its guidelines that a safe dose for the virus would need to be established.

Researchers need to give patients enough of the disease to cause very mild illness - which could be difficult becsause this is not universally agreed upon.

The trials would also need to be conducted in quarantined facilities with proper infection control measures to ensure no staff are infected.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VACCINES CREATED BY OXFORD AND IMPERIAL COLLEGE? The science behind both vaccine attempts hinges on recreating the 'spike' proteins that are found all over the outside of the COVID-19 viruses. Both will attempt to recreate or mimic these spikes inside the body. The difference between the two is how they achieve this effect. Imperial College London will try to deliver genetic material (RNA) from the coronavirus which programs cells inside the patient's body to recreate the spike proteins. It will transport the RNA inside liquid droplets injected into the bloodstream. The team at the University of Oxford, on the other hand, will genetically engineer a virus to look like the coronavirus - to have the same spike proteins on the outside - but be unable to cause any infection inside a person. This virus, weakened by genetic engineering, is a type of virus called an adenovirus, the same as those which cause common colds, that has been taken from chimpanzees. If the vaccines can successfully mimic the spikes inside a person's bloodstream, and stimulate the immune system to create special antibodies to attack it, this could train the body to destroy the real coronavirus if they get infected with it in future. The same process is thought to happen in people who catch COVID-19 for real, but this is far more dangerous - a vaccine will have the same end-point but without causing illness in the process. Advertisement

Developing vaccinations usually takes many months or years but researchers around the world are racing towards human trial - including two teams in the UK.

They say the process has been made easier because the virus is not mutating and is similar to other viruses seen in the past.

Researchers from Oxford University, started human trials last month, while a separate team from Imperial College London are due to start testing the jabs on humans in June.

While the Oxford vaccine will try to stimulate the immune system using a common cold virus taken from chimps, the researchers at Imperial are using droplets of liquid to carry the genetic material they need to get into the bloodstream.

Both will then work, in theory, by recreating parts of the coronavirus inside the patient and forcing their immune system to learn how to fight it.

Professor Andrew Pollard, who is leading the trial of the vaccine developed by the team at the University of Oxford's Jenner Institute, said there is 'huge interest' in the possibility of challenge trials.

He told The Guardian: 'At the moment, because we don't have a rescue therapy we have to approach challenge studies extremely cautiously.

'But I don't think it should be ruled out because, particularly in a situation where it's very difficult to assess some of the new vaccines coming along because there's not much disease around, it could be one of the ways we could get that answer more quickly.'

The Oxford vaccine, known as ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 will be trialled on up to 510 people out of a group of 1,112, all of whom will be aged 18 to 55.

It is already recruiting volunteers in London, Bristol and Southampton. The Oxford Vaccine Centre is taking part but is not currently recruiting volunteers.

The Imperial College Hospital in London is involved in the trial of the Oxford vaccine - it is not yet trialling the vaccine made by the university with which it shares its name.

Oxford's effort will take six months and is limited to a small number of people so scientists can assess whether it is safe and effective without using huge amounts of resources - each patient must return for between four and 11 visits after the jab - and without the risk of large numbers of people being affected if something goes wrong.
Pennsylvania State Police have issued more than 300 warnings and one citation to business owners deemed non-essential who kept their doors open during the coronavirus pandemic since March 23.

Now that some counties are entering a reopening phase following the states efforts to flatten the curve, businesses still stand a chance to either be warned, cited, or have their license revoked by the Pennsylvania Department of State.

"While the process to permanently revoke a license can take many months to play out because of due process considerations, the Departments licensing boards have the authority to immediately suspend a license temporarily as disciplinary action is pending, said department spokeswoman Laura Weis. "Licensees should be aware that continuing their practice or opening a business contrary to the emergency order does put their license in jeopardy.

State Department officials havent revoked any business owners licenses during the governors stay-at-home order," Weis said.

"When we receive complaints related to licensees practicing despite that order, we are referring them to the Department of Health and to local law enforcement agencies, she said.

Ryan Tarkowski, communications director for state police, said there are two different lanes at work. Troopers, deputies, and police have been given the authority to warn or cite a business owner who defied the orders.

"We only gave out a handful of warnings, he said.

Twenty-four counties reopened Friday in what Wolf calls the yellow phase. The counties where some businesses can resume operations are Bradford, Cameron, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, Jefferson, Lawrence, Lycoming, McKean, Mercer, Montour, Northumberland, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga, Union, Venango, and Warren.

The yellow phase is considered aggressive mitigation. It allows for gatherings of up to 25 people, child care centers that were closed can reopen, restaurants and bars can continuing serving customers through takeout or delivery orders, and retail shops can reopen but are encouraged to provide curbside or delivery options.

Gyms and casinos cannot reopen in the yellow phase. Social distancing is expected to still be in effect.

The red phase, which envelops all of central Pennsylvania, means only life-sustaining travel is allowed, face coverings must be worn to enter any life-sustaining business, large gatherings are not permitted and social distancing is required.

More

Two central Pa. counties say they plan to reopen ahead of Gov. Wolfs schedule

Commissioner says Dauphin County will move to yellow phase May 15; Wolf hasnt said they can yet, though

Many see little change with Lycoming County going yellow in COVID-19 reopening plan
BERLIN  China is open to an independent investigation to determine the origins of the coronavirus now sweeping the world, its ambassador to Berlin told a German magazine on Friday, amid U.S. allegations that it came from a laboratory.

China has dismissed as groundless U.S. and Australian questioning of how it had handled the coronavirus pandemic, saying it had been open and transparent, despite growing skepticism about the accuracy of its official death toll.

We are open to an international investigation, Wu Ken told Der Spiegel magazine in an interview.

We support the exchange of research among scientists.

...But we reject putting China in the dock without evidence, assuming its guilt and then trying to search for evidence through a so-called international investigation.

Australia has called for an international investigation into the origins and spread of the virus that emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo say there is evidence it originated in a Wuhan laboratory, without saying what the evidence is.

A German intelligence report cast doubts on their accusation.

Some 3.86 million people have been reported to be infected around the world and 268,620 have died, according to Reuters tally.

Responding to Australias efforts to establish support for an international inquiry, France and Britain have said their focus is fighting the virus, not apportioning blame.

Trump has been fiercely critical of China and the World Health Organization and has announced the United States will withdraw funding from the UN agency.

Many scientists and politicians say now is the time to increase, not cut, funding to the WHO so that it can help find a vaccine.
New visa restrictions seen as a retaliatory measure after China expelled American journalists from three US newspapers.

The United States has issued a new rule tightening visa guidelines for Chinese journalists, saying it was in response to the treatment of US journalists in China, a shift that comes amid tensions between the two nations.

In issuing the new regulation on Friday, the Department of Homeland Security cited what it called Chinas suppression of independent journalism.

The US and China have been engaged in a series of retaliatory actions involving journalists in recent months.

In March, China expelled American journalists from three US newspapers, a month after the US said it would begin to treat five Chinese state-run media entities with US operations the same as foreign embassies.

One day after the US verdict on the state-run entities, Beijing expelled three Wall Street Journal correspondents, two Americans and an Australian, following the publication of an opinion column that China denounced as racist.

The regulation, which will take effect on Monday, will limit visas for Chinese reporters to 90 days, with the option for extension. Such visas are typically open-ended and do not need to be extended unless the employee moves to a different company or medium.





A senior DHS official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the new rules would allow the department to review Chinese journalist visa applications more frequently, and would likely reduce the overall number of Chinese journalists in the US.

Its going to create greater national security protections, the official said.

The new rules will not apply to journalists with passports from Hong Kong or Macau, Chinas two semi-autonomous territories, according to DHS.

Tensions between the US and China have increased in recent months as the novel coronavirus has swept across the globe, killing more than 275,000 people worldwide to date.

President Donald Trump said in late April he was confident the coronavirus may have originated in a Chinese virology lab, but declined to describe the evidence, ratcheting up tensions with Beijing over the origins of the deadly outbreak.

The Chinese state-backed Wuhan Institute of Virology has dismissed the allegations. Most experts believe the virus originated in a market selling wildlife in Wuhan, where the first coronavirus cases were reported.
As hundreds of thousands are displaced, experts worry about the implications in the response to coronavirus pandemic.

Torrential rains have triggered devastating floods and landslides across East Africa in recent weeks, aggravating an already challenging situation as countries in the region battle the coronavirus pandemic.

The destruction caused by the heavy rainfall has killed hundreds of people in Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Rwanda and Ethiopia and has also forced hundreds of thousands from their homes.

This week, officials in Kenya and Rwanda said nearly 200 and 65 people had died in both countries, respectively, with floodwaters and mudslides destroying houses, washing away bridges and straining critical infrastructure.

On Saturday, Kenyan and Uganda suffered nationwide electricity outages, leaving tens of millions of people without power.

Health experts are worried about the implications of the flooding on the countries response to the coronavirus pandemic.

This is compounding the COVID-19 response, Kenya Health Ministry Chief Administrative Secretary Rashid Aman said.

The displaced people have been forced to congregate in makeshift camps with the risk of banding together exposing them to the possibility of contracting the virus.

Floodwaters also recently swept away most parts of an entire small town in Somalia and swept away roads, bridges and a hospital in Uganda.

Heavy rains flooded areas around Mountain Rwenzori in western Uganda after Nyamwamba River burst its banks, forcing people to seek refuge in nearby schools and destroying roads and bridges, according to officials.

What complicates the matter is that this is the era of COVID. People are expected to maintain social distance, but how do you maintain distance in such a situation? Julius Mucunguzi, spokesman for the prime ministers office, was quoted as saying by the Reuters News Agency.

One of the hospitals in the area, Kilembe, was also washed away despite being built on a raised bank and reinforced with sandbags.

There are wards which were completely washed away. The mortuary was swept away. You wouldnt know that once upon a time there was a mortuary there. The drugs and drug stores were washed away, Mucunguzi said.

A displaced Ethiopian woman carries her youngest son in her wheat field that was damaged by heavy rains and desert locusts in the outskirts of Tuli Guled, Somali Region, Ethiopia [File: Giulia Paravicini/Reuters]

The Somali region in eastern Ethiopia has also been hard hit by the floods, with more than 100,000 people displaced, the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

Meanwhile, an unspecified number of people were killed in the semi-autonomous Puntland region in Somalia when flash floods swept away most buildings in Qardho town, officials said.

The heavy rains stem from moisture dumped in the region by winds coming in from the Indian Ocean where temperatures have risen in recent months, said Chris Shisanya, a professor of climatology at Kenyatta University in Kenyas capital, Nairobi.

This is a carry-over of what we had last year, he said, referring to floods and landslides in the region.

The floods are coming as swarms of locusts are wreaking havoc across East Africa where millions of people struggle for food.

Billions of desert locusts have already chomped their way through Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti, Eritrea, Tanzania, Sudan and Uganda.

Their breeding has been spurred by one of the wettest rainy seasons in the region in four decades.
This election thats coming up on every level is so important because what were going to be battling is not just a particular individual or a political party, Mr. Obama said, according to a brief audio excerpt posted online by Yahoo.

What were fighting against is these long term trends where being selfish, being tribal, being divided and seeing others as an enemy. That has become a stronger impulse in American life. And by the way were seeing that internationally as well.

Its part of the reason why the response to this global crisis has been so anemic and spotty, Mr. Obama continued. It would have been bad even with the best of governments. It has been an absolute chaotic disaster when that mind-set  of whats in it for me and to heck with everybody else  when that mind-set is operationalized in our government.

Former aides stressed that the call did not signal the beginning of a more sustained public involvement by the former president, although that will clearly come later in the year.

Mr. Obama has adopted a public posture of muted disapproval of his successor during his post-presidency, although he has spoken out at moments calculated to have high impact. In the weeks before the 2018 midterm elections, Mr. Obama decried crazy stuff happening at the Justice Department under Mr. Trump and warned that our democracy is at stake.

He has told friends he is deeply concerned that Mr. Trump, despite his recent stumbles, will be able to successfully leverage the bully pulpit of the presidency at a time when Mr. Biden is confined to campaigning from his basement in Delaware.

That anxiety has now spurred Mr. Obama to take a more active advisory role with Mr. Biden campaign, according to former aides. Mr. Obama has been in regular communication with his former vice president, discussing matters ranging from policy issues to the question of when Mr. Biden and eventually Mr. Obama can hit the campaign trail in person.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- They dreamt of the moment their babies were born; family members coming to visit, the oohs and ahs at the tiny new additions and endless baby snuggles.

There is often a massive amount of preparing before childbirth, but one thing that women on Staten Island -- and across the city, state, and nation -- didnt plan for as part of welcoming a baby was the COVID-19 global pandemic.

The coronavirus crisis immediately changed childbirth, upending birth plans as doctors and hospitals now had strict guidelines they needed to follow to ensure the safety of mom and baby.

Some women told the Advance/SILive.com they felt they were treated as criminals during their stay in the hospital before their COVID-19 status was known. Others said they felt robbed of a birth experience.

Many women said they were treated with respect and dignity during a highly stressful time for both patients and healthcare providers.

All women agreed they never imagined this happening.

FIRST-TIME MOM SAID THIS WASNT HOW SHE PLANNED HER FIRST PREGNANCY

Loryn Sullivan is expecting her first child, a baby girl, on May 12. The little girl will also be the familys first grandchild.

Sullivan, 30, said the experience of being pregnant during a pandemic has been scary and not at all how she imagined her first pregnancy would be.

Its been very scary, Im very nervous right now, the Grant City resident told the Advance/SILive.com.

One thing that has eased her anxiety is Gov. Andrew Cuomos most recent Executive Order stating that support persons -- in Sullivans case her husband James -- are allowed to stay in the hospital for the duration of the inpatient stay.

Previously, some private hospitals, including on Staten Island, barred partners and other support persons for laboring moms.

Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH) suspended visitation in labor and delivery to mothers only in early March before relaxing the policy and allowing one person; Richmond University Medical Center (RUMC) always allowed one support person.

I didnt want to think about not having my husband there at all and also not having his help for the postpartum period, she said.

Soon-to-be-mother Jodi also said surviving a pandemic wasnt how she imagined her first pregnancy going.

Jodi wasnt able to have her maternity photos taken and missed out on her last scheduled 4-D sonogram.

I was really looking forward to that sonogram, Jodi said, but I have other sonograms."

She said shes trying to stay away from news as much as possible before she goes into labor; her due date is May 19.

Ive already made myself so nervous, I dont want to make it worse. Im just listening to what my doctor is telling me and hoping for the best.

MAINTAINING PATIENT COMFORT DURING LABOR AND A PANDEMIC

Victoria Orleman, assistant vice president for women and childrens services at RUMC, said the hospital was bombarded with emails, phone calls, and social media messages from frightened women.

This was most challenging because this was something new for all of us, because we had to manage the care of our patients with all of the unknowns and make sure that we maintain control and give patients comfort, Orleman said.

The expectations of birth were forced to change, she said. I hope that our staff were all able to provide the support and that they left here fulfilled.

Dr. Michael Cabbad, chair of RUMCs department of obstetrics and director of maternal fetal medicine, said giving birth during the COVID-19 pandemic has taken an experience from mothers that cant be recovered.

Theres sometimes up to 12 family members here [to see the baby] and its a loss not being able to share those moments, Cabbad said.

Several women the Advance/SILive.com spoke with said that mother and baby were separated shortly after birth, and in some cases, mothers werent reunited with their newborns until discharge.

RUMC said mother and baby are only separated for clinical reasons.

Weve never separated mom and baby unless there was a clinical discussion with mom, Orelaman said.

Cabbad said that mothers were always given the choice whether or not they wanted to have their baby room-in and it was never a forced decision.

It didnt happen here, Cabbad said.

A RUMC spokesman said RUMC is the boroughs only hospital to receive the baby friendly designation from the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF.

I DIDNT GET THE CARE I WOULD USUALLY GET

Things began to shut down because of COVID-19 as Libby Elias hit the 37-week mark in her pregnancy. At the time she asked her doctor about the coronavirus and didnt get much information.

It wasnt much of a conversation at that point. I wasnt that worried yet; it was so new that we didnt know what to expect, Elias said.

Immediately after that appointment her husband, Michael, came down with COVID-19 symptoms. One week later she had symptoms. Thats when panic set in.

Elias, a Travis resident, tested positive but Michael was never able to get tested. Everything after that went downhill. She started having contractions on March 30, one day before her due date. Her plan for a natural birth went out the window.

After her daughter, Ruby, was born via C-section, Libby said she didnt see her daughter again until she was discharged.

Other women who spoke to the Advance/SILive.com on the condition of anonymity also said they were separated from their babies.

On one hand [the hospital] didnt want to get other patients sick but Im still a patient. It really made me feel like I did something wrong and I didnt get the care I would usually get, she said.

One little ray of sunshine, she said, was her and Ruby were discharged one day early.

Women, were pretty badass, she said.

WE CANT DO THINGS THE WAY WE WERE DOING IT BEFORE THE PANDEMIC'

Dr. Adi Davidov, associate chair of the department of obstetrics at SIUH, said the hospital faced tremendous challenges but ultimately found ways to provide the best possible care, making its labor and delivery and maternity units as safe as they could be.

One of the biggest challenges was that the data wasnt  and still isnt  100% clear on how COVID-19 impacts maternity patients.

I think that everybody understood that we couldnt do things the way that we were doing it before the pandemic, Davidov said.

The guiding principal, he said, is determining what is best for patients, babies, and the staff.

SIUH did have a handful of women who were pregnant and positive for COVID-19, however, Davidov said the hospital didnt have any bad outcomes.

Davidov said SIUH is following all of Gov. Andrew Cuomos executive orders, including the most recent, which permits a support person and a certified doula in labor and delivery, as well as a support person staying for the remainder of the mothers stay on the maternity floor.

It sometimes takes us a couple of days to operationalize [the executive orders]. Our challenge is that we have double bedded rooms, he said, adding the hospital cannot allow people to be in and out of rooms without knowing their COVID-19 status.

EVERYBODY DID THE BEST THEY COULD

Maria said looking back, the worst part of her experience was before she got to the hospital to deliver her son via planned C-section.

I just, I worked myself up so much. There was so much information but also so much unknown. I really freaked myself out, said Maria, who asked that only her first name be used.

After what she described as an uncomfortable COVID-19 test -- a nasal swab inserted up into the nasal cavity -- she was admitted and reunited with her husband. Within a few hours she was wheeled into the operating room and after receiving a spinal anesthesia injection, her husband was brought into the room and sat at her head.

He was pre-screened for COVID-19 before entering the hospital.

After their son was born, Marias husband had to leave at 10 p.m. Both hospitals asked support persons to leave at 10 p.m. prior to Cuomos newest executive order permitting them to stay overnight.

Sometimes it took a while for a nurse to come into the room if I needed something, Maria said. They had to put on new gowns, masks, and stuff so it took a bit.

Still, she said she was treated with respect.

The staff, they did the best they could with everything going on. I appreciate them for being so kind to me, she said.
Cumberland County Sheriff Ronny Anderson has gained some social media attention for a Facebook post stating that his department would not be forcing businesses to close or acting on any order that violates our constitutional rights in reference to Pennsylvania's COVID-19 restrictions.

The message, posted to the Cumberland County Sheriffs Department page on Friday afternoon, gained a great deal of praise from those critical of Gov. Tom Wolfs ongoing shutdown order, which is intended to stem the spread of the pandemic.

The post had more than 1,000 comments on it and more than 5,000 shares as of 8:30 p.m. Friday.

In an interview with The Sentinel, Anderson cautioned that he was not currently being asked to do anything that he thought was legally unsound, but wanted to reassure residents that county sheriffs deputies would not step over the line if it came to it.

Im just making the statement that if I get called to do it, I will not be doing it, Anderson said.

Wolfs order to close certain non-essential businesses became enforceable March 23. However, the governor has stressed voluntary compliance, and the Pennsylvania State Police  which have served as the primary enforcement arm  have only issued a single citation for non-compliance statewide, according to the agency. Troopers have issued 312 warnings, according to PSP figures.

During a news briefing Friday, Wolf continued to stress that his closure order was designed to be self-enforcing and told Pennsylvanians to reject the framing that businesses were fighting against him moreso than the virus.

"The regulation is not the enemy. The virus is the enemy," Wolf said. "The real enforcement here is, 'do we want to jeopardize those we care about?'"

The county sheriffs office has not been asked to assist in this enforcement, but Anderson said he would not take punitive measures if asked.

Were not going to be pushed into going after our citizens and small business people, Anderson said. Im just saying, in my position as the Cumberland County Sheriff, I have no anticipation of going out and forcing it.

Several challenges have been fielded in state and federal courts regarding the legality of Wolfs order under pursuant to the state and federal constitutions; none have so far been successful.

On Friday, Anderson said that a hypothetical future action by Wolf would need to be blatantly unconstitutional for the sheriff to unilaterally decide to not enforce it, but wanted to assure residents that he would not follow such an edict, were it to arise.

Doing the right thing is doing the right thing, Anderson said. Thats a decision I would have to make if it came to that point.

Cumberland County District Attorney Skip Ebert issued a memo to law enforcement in the county shortly after Wolfs closure order came down in March, advising them to avoid any subjectivity on their part by giving non-compliant businesses 48 hours to close.

If they do not, officers should submit an affidavit to Ebert and a court hearing will be scheduled, so that a judge can make the determination on Wolfs life-sustaining businesses rule.

Anderson said he made the Facebook statement after being inundated with queries from Facebook users who had seen other law enforcement officials express similar concerns or sentiments.

However, social media users expressing fear that pandemic restrictions will become more draconian appear to be a vocal minority; multiple national polls indicate that most Americans are more fearful of authorities pulling back restrictions too quickly and causing another spike in the outbreak.

A Pew Research Center poll of 4,917 American adults found 66 percent were more fearful of restrictions being lifted too fast rather than too slowly; 73 percent of those polled said they believed the worst of the pandemic was yet to come.

The attitudes exhibit a notable political divide, according to Pew and other studies. Of those who identify as liberal Democrats, 85 percent were more concerned about restrictions being lifted too rapidly, compared to only 46 percent of conservative Republicans.

That gap has been visible in Pennsylvania, with GOP lawmakers having filed dozens of bills to compel Wolf to pull back on his shutdown order. Many Republican state legislators also appeared at an April 20 rally in Harrisburg to demand a rapid re-opening of Pennsylvania, an event which featured armed demonstrators.

In Lebanon County  where residents are still contracting the virus at a rate more than three times above the states threshold to be considered for shutdown relief  GOP state lawmakers notified Wolf on Friday of the countys intention to lift pandemic restrictions on its own beginning next week.

In Dauphin County, home of the state Capitol, the Republican chairman of the Board of Commissioners called Wolf a dictator in an online message savaging the governors handling of the pandemic. The county made plans to reopen on its own next week  without the governor's blessing.

Most of Pennsylvania, including the heavily populated Philadelphia area and hard-hit eastern Pennsylvania, remains under Wolf's strictest shutdown orders, with no timeline to emerge. There, Wolf's stay-at-home orders extend until June 4.

While promising to reopen more counties soon, Wolf warned that his reopening plan is not a one-way route and that restrictions can be reimposed if his administration feels the virus is resurgent.

Email Zack at zhoopes@cumberlink.com.

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LOS ANGELES  As soon as she began planning to work from home, Saba Lurie knew she would need to make major adjustments in how she operates her private psychotherapy practice, from counseling patients through a screen to managing her staff remotely.

She also quickly realized that, because her husband earns a higher salary, the bulk of the domestic work would fall on her.

The aggravations added up quickly: Her bathroom became an emergency office.

Its the one place I can close the door and lock it, she said.

Her husband, unaccustomed to balancing his workday schedule with hers, forgot to tell her about some of his conference calls, leaving Lurie scrambling to figure out how to tend to their two daughters, ages 4 and 1.

Her practice, which she spent years building, has been pushed aside.

The responsibility to deal is on me, Lurie said.

And many of her clients have told her the same thing.

What I am hearing is that we as women are going to be the ones to set boundaries or establish a plan, Lurie said.

Lurie and her clients are part of a generation of professional women who had arranged their domestic lives, however precariously, to enable full-time careers and parenthood. They are facing this crisis in the midst of high-intensity parenting years, and a crucial moment for growing and establishing their work. Now, able to set up shop remotely, but with schools closed and child care gone, the pandemic is forcing them to confront the bruising reality of gender dynamics as the country is trapped at home.

Even before the coronavirus crisis, women spent about four hours a day on unpaid work, like laundry, grocery shopping and cleaning, compared with about 2.5 hours for men, according to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. That labor has expanded exponentially in recent weeks, as Americans home-school their children and help older family members and friends more vulnerable to the virus.

In interviews with more than a dozen women who work as lawyers, writers, architects, teachers, nurses and nonprofit administrators, many said that they were grateful to have some child care help pre-quarantine, and that they could work from home. But they have been slightly stunned to learn that they are expected to organize and manage every domestic need for their family, while maintaining a full-time professional career as part of a dual career couple.

It was feminism of earlier generations, after all, that declared the personal is political. So the fact that the crisis hit after stinging political defeats for female presidential candidates adds to the uncomfortable reckoning for many Democratic women  even if they had decided themselves that the most viable way to defeat President Donald Trump was to support a male candidate.

When Elizabeth Warren dropped out of the presidential race, Gretchen Newsom sat in her car and burst into tears. Six weeks later, Warren backed her onetime political rival Joe Biden, and Newsom is working, parenting and teaching as a single mother. And, as the political director for the San Diego chapter of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, she is struggling around the clock to answer fearful questions from union members.

It is kind of a slap in the face; were doing all of this and yet we have so little representation, she said.

While the political disappointment may be most acute among liberal women, the bargain is bipartisan. Indeed, it is the kind of lean in feminism embraced by people like Ivanka Trump, the presidents daughter  whose 2017 book Women Who Work essentially told women to get enough help to do it all  that is facing perhaps one of the most jarring shifts. Its also an economic struggle, long clear in the lives of women who earn lower wages, that feminist political leaders have criticized for years.

Its like our economy is this house of cards for women and it is just toppling down, said Cecile Richards, a founder of SuperMajority, a new political organization aimed at energizing female voters. All of the structural problems that weve all known intellectually you can now see in pretty much every womans daily life.

Now, those who are able to work from home have created new offices in cars, spare closets and, like Lurie, bathrooms. Millions of others, like nurses and home health aides, find themselves on the front lines of battling the virus, facing serious health risks. And with women making up nearly two-thirds of minimum-wage jobs, a majority in the service industry, many have lost their income entirely.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than one-third of working women, compared with just 15.7% of working men, are employed in two industries that have been significantly affected by the virus: the health care and social assistance industry and the leisure and hospitality industry. In both fields, women are paid less than their male peers, according to research by the Economic Policy Institute.

I hope we rethink a lot of structures after this, said Candace Valenzuela, a Democratic congressional candidate from the suburbs of Dallas. My hope is that coming out of this crisis we rethink compensation for both women and for people who traditionally get minimum-wage work.

Until March, Valenzuela spent hours calling donors from her campaign headquarters. Now, she is at home caring for her sons, ages 4 and 1. Her mother-in-law, who lives with the family and often helps with the children, has fallen ill, and although it is uncertain if the coronavirus is the culprit, she is quarantined in a different part of the house. With space at a premium, Valenzuela cleared her curling iron off the counter, brought in a yoga ball and turned her bathroom into a makeshift office for the foreseeable future.

Valenzuela considers herself lucky because her children are young enough that she is avoiding home-school. And her husband had already taken on much of the household duties since she began her campaign last year. Still, she said: The way weve been able to MacGyver a career as a woman is completely under attack by a global pandemic.

The crisis has become a moment for some to reconsider how much progress has taken place on a societal level.

Lurie, the therapist, recalled the day she voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, holding her year-old daughter. Since then, she said, it has just been having to recalibrate, recalibrate and recalibrate. What I promised my daughters isnt something I can deliver and thats such a painful thing to consider.

Dori Howard, who helps run a womens coworking space in Los Angeles, said she viewed the pandemic as sending feminism back to the 1950s with women stuck at home.

Many friends and colleagues, she said, have put professional projects on hold because their husbands have the higher income. Indeed, research shows that women with children often face a significant drop in earnings after having a child, but there is no similar drop for men.

Of course their husbands make more money than they do  because of the wage gap, Howard said. Its a cycle of despair.

The new set of challenges comes as more American families are likely to be dependent on a female breadwinner. Mothers are the primary or sole earners for 40% of households with children younger than 18 today, compared with 18% in 1987. Nearly a quarter of families are headed by a single mother, the second most common family arrangement in America after living with two parents.

Aireka Muse, a television writer in Los Angeles who gave birth to her first child six months ago, has taken to working on her latest project from her parked car. The other day, she said, when she walked back up to the familys one-bedroom apartment, her husband asked, When are you going to be done?

For him there was a limit to the time and a box for being more responsible for our child, she said. But me taking care of my son is not circumstantial. Im never going to be done  theres always going to be another project and there is always going to be my son.

Muse has some hope that the quarantine experience  and the up-close look at parenting, professional work and keeping everyone fed and healthy  could shift some mens perspectives, especially those who identify as feminist but might not be first in line to call the pediatrician.

At least for my husband, they are more hyperaware of the work that their wives have been doing, and something has got to give, she said. Instead of just running on automatic pilot, I wonder if it is eye-opening for them?

Late last month, Rep. Katie Porter, a freshman Democrat from California, found herself trying to self-quarantine in her bedroom after exposure to the virus, while spending around seven hours each day on conference calls. At the same time, Porter, a single mother to three school-aged children, was trying to keep up with the distance learning requirements for three different grades.

When the email says, Make sure your student does A, I dont even know which student theyre talking about, she said. It was overwhelming.

Porter is trying to channel some of her personal frustration into political action, raising alarms about the level of stimulus payments disbursed to single parents and pushing for legislation that would expand the amount employees can put in tax-free dependent care accounts.

Amy Pompeii, 46, has managed to juggle working as a nurse at Ohio States Wexner Medical Center with being a single mother since her husband died nearly a decade ago. With her daughter, a college sophomore, now at home, Pompeii has help to care for her 10-year-old son.

A lot of my co-workers do not have that luxury, she said.

So far, the hospital where she works has not been inundated with patients battling the virus, but her children still worry.

We are all under a very stressful situation, but the men I work with, for the most part, they go home and decompress, do something to clear their mind, Pompeii said. We dont get to do that.

In therapy sessions with his clients over the past few weeks, Avi Klein has heard all sorts of domestic frustrations  a divorced father desperate to see more of his children, a high-salaried husband who is trying to carve out time for his wifes graduate studies, and women whose less flexible jobs are taking precedence over their partners. But among heterosexual couples, the most common scenario is that women are taking on the emotional and care-taking labor, according to Klein, whose client base is male and whose own wife takes care of their three children while he runs his practice out of the familys home in New Paltz, New York.

Mostly, Klein said, people remain in survival mode: What everyone is doing is impossible and crazy. But whenever the chaos subsides, he said, this has to reshape our views of gender in a meaningful way.

To spend this much time at home, to have this experience of taking care of a family will change us, he added. We will have to all have a better sense of what we are asking our partners to do.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
People walk along a street at Itaewon in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap



At least 18 cases of the novel coronavirus associated with a person who visited clubs and bars in Seoul's popular multicultural neighborhood of Itaewon over the weekend have been confirmed, the health authorities said Friday.



The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said additional people have been confirmed with COVID-19, including three foreign nationals and one Army officer, up by three from 15 tallied earlier in the day, with all aged between 19 and 37.



The 29-year-old, whom health authorities consider the first patient in the infection cluster, visited five clubs and bars in Itaewon from Friday night to the early hours of Saturday last week



More than a dozen of the new cases involved those who had visited the Itaewon clubs, with the number feared to rise considering that at least 1,510 people were estimated to have visited the five nightlife establishments that included King Club, Trunk Club and Club Queen. Other cases were suspected to be people who got sick after coming into contact with clubbers.



"It is highly likely that there are going to be more cases down the road," Vice Health Minister Kim Ganglip said during a briefing. Health authorities said that besides those they have verified to have been at the bars, hundreds more may have to be screened for infections.



In a separate press briefing, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said a lot of the new patients were Seoul residents, with others living in nearby Gyeonggi Province.



Park said the latest virus screening results showed that 97 people have tested negative, while tests for a handful of others are under way.



City officials said they plan to track down visitors to the clubs through CCTV footage and credit card transactions, citing possible errors in the entry logs.






Carol Campbell, the principal at Northeast Portlands Grant High School, arrived on campus one morning this week with a mission to complete.

After getting out of her car, she slipped on a graduation gown. Behind her, the building remained dark, the doors locked, a pre-COVID-19-time capsule, with everything left as it was the day officials ordered all Oregon schools closed.

Campbell, 62, is retiring at the end of the school year, a 36-year-career in education ending at a time when nothing remains the same as it was just three months ago. Her two children graduated from this school in 2003 and 2004. She taught here for nine years. After serving as a principal at other area high schools she returned in 2013 as the principal. Officially, she did not have to be on campus this sunny morning.

Yet the school holds a special place in her heart.

So, after getting out of her car, she slipped on her gown and walked through the north parking lot, ready to say goodbye and offer best wishes to the seniors under her care.

The 400 seniors were coming to receive their caps and gowns. The commencement had been scheduled for June 7 at Memorial Coliseum, but no one knows what will now happen. It might take place a later date or might be a virtual ceremony.

But the seniors had paid for their caps and gowns. The supplier had arranged to be at the parking lot to distribute them. A car, with the senior inside, would pull into the circle, the name checked off and someone from the company, maintaining social distancing, would give the senior the package.

And then the student would drive away from Grant High School. The last image theyd see would be Campbell. She waved and spoke to each student, congratulating them and wishing them good luck. Using a selfie stick, she used her iPhone to take a picture of herself and the student.

One car pulled away.

This is not how I thought it would end, said Campbell. Not at all.

Another car approached.

She began waving.

The car stopped.

***

After nearly 40 years as an educator, Carol Campbell is retiring as principal of Grant High School in Northeast Portland.Mark Graves/Staff

At the beginning of the school year, Campbell began planning for the end, for the commencement address she always gives at the event. For her, it was never routine.

Commencement is a big deal, she said. Ive been to them as a parent, as a teacher and administrator. Its the happiest time of the year. For the students, their friends and their family. Its a rite of passage, drawing to a close 13 years of education that began in kindergarten.

When the year began, Campbell created a folder on her computer, and an old-fashioned paper file, both places to gather material for the commencement address.

I think about it during the course of the year, she said. I collect anecdotes and reflections. I dont give the same address each year. As we get closer to graduation, I start to put together a speech about what makes this class unique, and something that will help them move forward.

This year, plans changed.

The virus forced all of us to adapt, said Campbell. Its sad for any senior to end school life this way.

Campbell said the senior class will occupy a special place in the history of Grant High School.

This class was in the fifth grade when I came back to Grant, she said. I went around to all the schools to talk about the big remodel, how we were going to do it and how we were going to have to relocate to Marshall High School for two years during the project.

Campbell calls the class of 2020 the bookends."

They started at Grant as freshman, went to Marshall, and opened the new building as seniors, she said. They will be the first class to ever graduate from the modern building.

If her seniors are the first, it is a last for Campbell.

24 The first day of school at Grant High School

This is not how I pictured my last semester, she said. Everyone working remotely. Weve missed out on all the spring activities. I showed up at all of them. The PTA meetings, the staff celebration. We cant recreate that. Its simply gone. Im sad I wont get to say goodbye to them in person.

Instead, she wrote each senior a letter.

I understand that this does not make up for the sadness and sense of loss you are feeling due to the school closures. You are missing traditions and events that you have worked for and anticipated for 13 years.

She explained her philosophy, about the seniors being bookends, class accomplishments and her retirement.

One thing I want you to know, is that I am proud of you and grateful that our paths crossed. I will remember the class of 2020 as resilient, courageous, and extraordinary leaders. I am inspired by your compassion and care for others, and your tenacity when facing challenges. I would be honored to be remembered as the principal of the class of 2020.

The world the seniors now move into, she said, will be different because of the pandemic.

Grant High was once, to these young men and women, a second home.

In these rooms and in the hallways, they were educated not just in standard subjects  math, science, English and art  but in something deeper  themselves, learning their strengths and weaknesses, and getting glimmers of their hopes and their dreams.

It is a story that repeats annually in every high school.

So, too, the natural cycle that is life.

People retire.

The next generation prepares for their future.

This class will be well served by what they have gone through these months, she said. These are the young people who will draw on that to make a difference in our communities.

Carol Campbell, principal of Grant High School in Northeast Portland, greets students and takes selfies during a cap and gown pickup at the school on May 6, 2020.Brooke Herbert/Staff

-- Tom Hallman Jr; thallman@oregonian.com; 503-221-8224; @thallmanjr

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
A Cambodian motor-taxi man, left, transports meats of pig to the main market of Orussey, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, May 18, 2017.

The Cambodian National Police Commission said Friday it would ease a crackdown on traffic violations after a public uproar about arbitrary and excessive fines at a time when the population is struggling economically during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A new traffic law allows police to fine the driver of any noncommercial vehicle without license plates U.S. $300. Those driving unlicensed commercial vehicles can be fined $600, more than the monthly wage of many drivers.

It has been relatively common in Cambodia for drivers to purchase and use vehicles without registering them and acquiring plates, especially motorcycles and other small vehicles.

Under the relaxation announced Friday, police in Phnom Penh will not levy fines against vehicles without license plates if drivers can prove they are in the process of applying for tags, the commission said.

The move was welcomed by motorists and the drivers of the locally popular three-wheeled motor taxi called the Pass App, whose drivers were being hit with fines.

Police have been arbitrarily fining people, especially those who drive their cars without plates, a Pass App driver named Sok Heng told RFAs Khmer Service.

He said that it takes about a week to get license plates, but the police never give motorists enough time.

The Pass App driver said he wished authorities would not require motor taxi drivers like him to have licenses during for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic because many of the drivers are afraid to provide their services because they might get caught.

I dont have a taxi license, said Sok Heng.

How can I get one? Im illiterate. How can I learn the regulations [to pass the test]? I cant, he said.

The police decision to ease up on fines was welcomed by Vorn Pov, the president of the Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association (IDEA).

He argued though, that the police should also stop fining drivers of vehicles without plates until Phnom Penhs public works department is able to manufacture license plates fast enough to meet demand that has surged since the new law came into effect.

The police should consult with the Ministry of Public Works on issuing license plates and increase the number of locations where customers can go to apply for drivers licenses so that motorists can comply with the law, he said.

Vorn Pov said that motor taxi drivers for pass app and other companies are having a difficult time acquiring drivers licenses because they are illiterate and application costs are high. He called on the police to resolve these issues, as taxi drivers and pass app drivers are low-risk for traffic accidents.

They dont drive fast. They drive on community roads so I think they should be given a break, he said.

According to police reports, on Friday, more than 1,300 motorists were fined in Phnom Penh.

Common offenses included driving without a helmet, driving without a seat belt, speeding, no license plates, and too many riders on motorcycles.

Since the beginning of May, motorists in the city were fined 16,000 times. More than the coronavirus, excessive fines is why Phnom Penh roads are empty these days, a resident of the city, Phun Kuychheang, told RFA.

Those of us who drive motorcycles are all afraid to go out, he said, adding, Were afraid of the heavy fines.

Right now there is no traffic congestion because we are afraid the police will fine us, he said.

RFA attempted to contact National Police spokesman Chhay Kim Khouen for comment but were unable to reach him, but he told local media that the crackdown on traffic violations went smoothly. He said the heavy fines were successful in making people realize they need to comply with traffic laws.

Kong Ratanak, a road safety official, said that the heavy fines have definitely made the roads safer, but that the excessive crackdown on traffic violations was inappropriate right now because of the ongoing pandemic.

The fines have forced people to change their behavior, and we want them to continue to [drive safely], he said, but argued that the authorities should listen to the will of the people and choose to implement the law only after the crisis has passed.

The police have arrested three people on charges that they disseminated disinformation about the vehicle crackdown. The three were set free after they were asked to make public videos apologizing to police for wrongfully criticizing them.

Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
Today, by the order of the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, Rafig Bayramov and Zakir Sultanov were dismissed from the posts of deputy minister of culture and head of the State Service for the Protection, Development and Restoration of Cultural Heritage, and arrested for 4 months.

The relevant verdict was issued by the Sabailskiy district court at the request of the investigators, Trend informs.
McCabe Said FBI Was Unable to Prove the Accuracy of All of the Information in Steele Dossier

Former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe said in a 2017 interview released on Thursday that the FBI was unable to prove the accuracy of all of the information contained in the Steele dossierthe material that the FBI used to help obtain surveillance warrants to spy on former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.

McCabe was interviewed by the House Intelligence Committee on Dec. 19, 2017 as part of its investigation into allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections, including possible links between Russia and any political campaigns. His closed-door interview (pdf) was among the dozens that were released to the public on Thursday after a protracted classification review of the transcripts.

What is the most damning or important piece of evidence in the [Steele] dossier that you now know is true? McCabe was asked.

Well, as I tried to explain before, there is a lot of information in the Steele reporting. We have not been able to prove the accuracy of all the information, McCabe replied.

The interviewer later asked McCabe about an FBI assessment regarding Carter Pagethe details of which was redacted in the interviewhow McCabe knew that the assessment was true.

How do you know that thats true? the interviewer asked, a short while later adding, You dont know if its true or not?

Thats correct, replied McCabe. McCabe said that the assessment was an educated guess based on evidence.

McCabe also told the interviewer, I will not sit here and tell you that I can vouch for all the content of the Steele reporting. We cant prove all of it. But nevertheless, with appropriate caveats  I think it was appropriate to put it in the FISA package.

Carter Page, petroleum industry consultant and former foreign-policy adviser to Donald Trump during his 2016 presidential election campaign, in Washington on May 28, 2019. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Information from the Steele dossier formed part of the evidence that the FBI used to obtain Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants to surveil Pagethe surveillance formed part of the FBIs Crossfire Hurricane investigation into then-presidential candidate Donald Trumps election campaign. The FISA warrant application described Page as an agent of Russia.

Inspector General Michael Horowitz in late December 2019 found that the Crossfire Hurricane teams receipt of Steeles election reporting on Sept. 19, 2016, played a central and essential role in the FBIs and Departments decision to seek the FISA order against Page. Horowitzs report (pdf) also stated that the charge that Page allegedly coordinated with the Russian government was one that relied entirely on information from Steele.

The dossier, which comprises several reports compiled by Fusion GPS and former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, claimed that the Trumps presidential campaign colluded with the Russian government to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee through the Perkins Coie law firm funded the dossier.

Then-special counsel Robert Mueller took over the FBIs investigation in May 2017 after President Trump fired then-FBI Director James Comey. Mueller concluded in April 2019 that the investigation found no evidence for any of the main 103 claims contained in the dossier. Muellers report stated that while Russia did attempt to interfere in the election, there was no evidence to establish that either Trump or any U.S. citizen knowingly conspired or coordinated with the Russian government ahead of the election. Mueller also did not establish that Page was an agent of Russia.

Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz prepares to testify in a Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing on Dec. 18, 2019. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Horowitz in December 2019 concluded that the FISA warrant applications on Page contained 17 significant errors. Among the stated errors, the FBI did not tell the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) that it knew that Page was reporting his contacts with Russian intelligence officers to another U.S. government agency.

Footnotes from Horowitzs report (pdf) declassified in April showed that a portion of the dossier likely was the product of a Russian disinformation campaign.

A declassified summary of a Department of Justice (DOJ) assessment in January (pdf) said that at least two of the FBIs applications to surveil on Page lacked probable cause to believe that [Carter] Page was acting as an agent of a foreign power. Two of Pages surveillance warrants were not valid, the FISC court wrote. The admission was made in response to Horowitzs report.

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)

McCabe was also asked in his December 2017 interview about Comeys remarks regarding the dossier.

What do you think when Mr. Comey describes the [Steele] dossier as unsubstantiated? How do you respond to that? the interviewer asked.

I cant speak to why he referred to it that way, McCabe said.

Director Comey was very familiar with the Steele reporting and was involved in not only our assessments that led to its inclusion in the FISA package, but also how we broached the issue of including it in the Intelligence Community assessment, McCabe also said.

Why would he describe it [the Steele dossier] as unverified? the interviewer asked, to which McCabe responded, I dont know.

A congressional testimony from Comey in December 2018 (pdf) appears to indicate that the Steele dossier was not verified as of May 2017.

What I understand by verified is we then try to replicate the source information, so that it becomes FBI investigation and our conclusions rather than a reliable sources. Thats what I understand it, the difference to be, Comey said at the time.

And that work wasnt completed by the time I left in May of 2017, to my knowledge.
Long before Alia Bhatt became one of the top actors in Bollywood, she had joined her parents -- actor Soni Razdan and filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt -- on a reality show, Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai. When actor-host Suresh Oberoi asked her what she wants to do in the future, she had said, Actress banungi.

Soni and Mahesh were joined by Pooja Bhatt, Shaheen Bhatt and Alia on stage, followed by a formal introduction. While introducing an 8-year-old Alia, Mahesh said, Alia is aspiring to be an actress. While introducing Shaheen, Pooja said, I am sure she is not remotely interested in being an actress, to which Shaheen replied, Not at all. On being asked if she wanted to become a director like Mahesh, she said she wanted to become a writer, which she did.

Talking about Maheshs alcoholic past, Soni had said that he gave it all up after the birth of Shaheen. Sharing an incident from the day of her birth, he said, I picked her in arms and she turned her face away due to the smell of alcohol coming from me. I couldnt bear this rejection and I pledged to never touch even a drop of alcohol. Todays shes 13 years old and I havent touched alcohol since 13 years, she saved me.

Alia had made her Bollywood debut with Karan Johars Student of the Year, opposite Varun Dhawan and Sidharth Malhotra. Since then, she has delivered several successful films including Highway, Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, Badrinath Ki Dulhania, Raazi and many more.

Also read: When Aishwarya Rai-Abhishek Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor-Alia Bhatt joined Rishi Kapoor in New York, spot Aaradhya in his lap

Wishing Alia on her birthday in 2017, Mahesh had called her his masterpiece in a social media post. She will now be seen in his film, Sadak 2, which will also mark the return of her half-sister Pooja as an actor. The film also stars Aditya Roy Kapur and Sanjay Dutt.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
Its gonna be a little chilly in Central New York this weekend, but theres still good news out there. Weve decided to end each week by sharing some of the stories that will put a smile on your face. Some are about coronavirus and some arent, and some will just make you laugh.

Dustin Klinger took an old jet ski, did some some carpentry work for frame that sits on its exterior, and turned it into a mini-pirate ship that he recently took out of a successful maiden voyage on Oneida Lake.

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. Dustin Kringer 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. (By David Figura)

From 8:45 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, a caravan of Marcellus High School administrators in a short yellow bus along with the schools mascot mustang, a Marcellus police cruiser and dozens of honking cars full of teachers visited the home of every senior. Yes, going to school like this is awful, but this made me realize how lucky I am to have grown up where I did, said senior Jack McAuliff. (By Charlie Miller)

Travis Duffy was placed on a ventilator after developing a severe case of COVID-19. He also developed pneumonia. At times, hospital staff flipped him on his belly to help him breathe. His family and friends were worried at times he would not survive his battle with the virus. But on Thursday, Duffy was released from the hospital amidst cheers and whoops of joy. (By Elizabeth Doran)

Firefighter and Centro bus mechanic Dan Hogan was put on a ventilator Easter Sunday, and his fiancee Lachell Duval worried hed never come home. But after 26 days in the hospital, Hogan was escorted home by fire trucks with lights flashing all the way to Warners. (By Elizabeth Doran)

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Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Jason Murray anytime: 315-282-8563 | Email | Twitter
Manipur on Saturday decided to make 14 day quarantine compulsory for everyone arriving in the state by train.

The decision was taken at the meeting of the state consultative committee on Covid-19 chaired by chief minister N Biren Singh where the issue of arrival of people from outside Manipur was discussed.

In a tweet, the CM said, Each and every person arriving by train shall undergo compulsory quarantine for 14 days at government & community quarantine centres.

Meeting of State Consultative Committee for COVID-19 held today to discuss the arrival of stranded and distressed Manipuris from other parts of the country.

Each & every person arriving by train shall undergo 14 days compulsory quarantine at govt. & community quarantine centres. pic.twitter.com/53mq8cZgBL  N.Biren Singh (@NBirenSingh) May 9, 2020

The meeting was attended by opposition MLAs, chief secretary, DGP, Directors of RIMS and JNIMS and other health experts. It was held ahead of the reported arrival of 1200 stranded people of the state at Jiribam railway station next week.

The chief minister also sanctioned a sum of Rs 12.36 lakh from the CMs Covid-19 Relief fund for payment of rail fare for Shramik Special train to be operated from Bengaluru area to Jiribam, 220 km west of capital Imphal, at the rate of Rs 1,030 per passenger for 1200 passengers, according to an official order.

On May 7, a team of senior officials of the state led by the chief secretary J Suresh Babu had inspected the Jiribam railway station and the other preparations in connection with the return of the residents of the state.

Later the chief secretary informed that the state government had established 92 institutional quarantine centres with 3,225 bed capacity. In addition, 102 more centres have been identified as standby with a capacity of 5,187 beds. Two Covid treatment blocks have been established at JNIMS and RIMS hospitals in Imphal with a total bed capacity of 100 including 20 for Intensive Care Units.

According to the chief secretary, 34,000 people from Manipur out of 45,000 who have registered in the state website (www.tengbang.in) have shown their interest to return to the state. But the government of the originating state has to make most of the arrangements in consultation with the railways.
A group led by former Circuit Court Judge Neil Thomas is planning a major make-over for the reworked section of U.S. 27 between I-24 and the Olgiati Bridge.

The Tennessee Interstate Conservancy plans a "Gateway to Chattanooga" project that will include the installation of over 1,000 trees, 1,300 day lilies, 1,200 blue iris and over four acres of wildflowers.

The project area spans more than 22 acres of landscape installing, featuring 100 species of plants.

The local project is serving as a pilot for the beautification of the Interstate Highway System by the state of Tennessee.

The Chattanooga Department of Public Works is entering into an agreement with the state of Tennessee, Hamilton County, and the Thomas group to maintain the landscaping.

The citys annual contribution will be $62,500.

Ragan + Smith Associates drew up the plans for the ambitious local project.

Gene Hyde, city forester, said, "I believe that the project will serve both residents and visitors alike in terms of speedier travel, safer connections and unparalleled landscaping enhancements, all of which were shepherded along by the newly created Tennessee Interstate Conservancy. TIC has been instrumental in guiding the development of the landscape plan, as well as reaching out to other communities across the state with the message that a new day of landscaping has dawned and, yes, you too can follow our paradigm and be successful."

Judge Thomas is president of the group and Jane Hampton Bowen is executive director. The board also includes Carol Berz, Dan Jacobsen and Virginia Ann Sharber.

Judge Thomas said earlier that he became interested in freeway beautification after driving through Western North Carolina and seeing masses of wildflowers there.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 23:18:33|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

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BELGRADE -- Serbia confirmed 89 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the overall number of infected to 10,032.

In the past 24 hours, Serbia tested 5,728 people, of which 1.55 percent were positive, according to information released Saturday afternoon by the country's Institute for Public Health.

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BUCHAREST -- Romania has reported 320 new cases of COVID-19 infection and three new deaths in the past 24 hours, raising the total confirmed cases to 15,131 and 926 dead, fresh figures showed on Saturday.

As many as 10,776 tests have been carried out in the past 24 hours, the largest number of tests per day so far, with the total number of tests performed in the country reaching 248,056, according to the Strategic Communication Group (GCS), the government agency authorized to publish information on COVID-19.

- - - -

MANILA -- The Philippines launched on Saturday a COVID-19 testing lab that China's biotech company BGI Group helped set up to ramp up the country's testing capacity.

The Asian Development Bank-funded pandemic sub-national reference laboratory Huo-Yan at the Jose B. Lingad Memorial Regional Hospital in San Fernando City in Pampanga Province, north of Manila, will begin operating on Sunday.

- - - -

MINSK -- Belarus reported 951 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, taking its total to 22,052, according to the country's health ministry.

Of all the confirmed cases, 6,050 people have recovered so far, while 126 people with chronic diseases have died.

- - - -

ISLAMABAD -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has surged to 27,474 in Pakistan, the health ministry of the country said on Saturday morning.

A total of 618 patients died while 7,756 recovered. So far, a total of 270,025 tests have been conducted by health authorities across the country, the official statistics showed.

- - - -

KUWAIT CITY -- Kuwait on Saturday reported 415 new cases of COVID-19 and two more deaths, bringing the total infections in the country to 7,623 and the death toll to 49, the health ministry said in a statement.

Currently, 4,952 patients are receiving treatment, including 95 in ICU, according to the statement. Enditem
Even as President Trump has said we have to get our country open again, much of corporate America is in no rush to return employees to their campuses and skyscrapers. The companies are racing not to be the first back, but the last. An increasing number of them, which mostly have white-collar employees, have recently extended work-from-home policies far beyond the shelter-in-place timelines mandated by state and local authorities. Google and Facebook employees were told Thursday that they could stay home until next year. Capital One informed 40,000 workers that they ...
Patna:

The flood situation in Bihar remained critical today with four more deaths reported from Katihar district, taking the toll to 95.

The State Disaster Management department said 33 lakh people have been hit by the flood in 14 districts.

District list with number of deaths:

Purnia (28), Araria (21), Katihar (19), Supaul (8), Kishanganj (5), Gopalganj and Madhepura (4 each), Darbhanga (3) and Muzaffarpur, Saran and Saharsa (1 each).

The swollen Mahananda, Bakhra, Kankai, Parmar, Koshi rivers have inundated parts of Purnia, Kishanganj, Araria, Darbhanga, Madhepura, Bhagalpur, Katihar, Saharsa, Supual, Gopalganj, East Champaran, West Champaran, Muzaffarpur and Saran districts affecting a staggering 33 lakh people.

The water level in the Ganga and Ghaghra river has crossed the danger mark in Bhagalpur and Siwan districts, and that in Koshi river in Katihar and Khagaria districts. While the flood has inundated six lakh hectare area, crops were damaged in two lakh hectare and the authorities are assessing the quantum of losses, DMD said.

As many as 16,361 houses and hutments have been damaged in the deluge causing a loss of Rs 3.52 crore to the residents, while the loss to public properties was being assessed.

The state government has pressed into service 1,490 boats for evacuation of the marooned people.

6.41 lakh have been shifted from flooded areas and 3.86 lakh of them brought to 464 relief camps set up for displaced people.

Altogether 224 medical teams have been deployed to treat sick people at relief camps and around flooded areas. Elaborate arrangements have been made so that food and other relief materials reach the affected people.

NDRF and SDRF have been pressed into service for rescue and relief works.

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Steve Hare is the chief executive of Sage

The Covid-19 pandemic is, first and foremost, a human crisis.

We are seeing a profound effect on people and communities around the world. The pandemic has clearly also introduced considerable economic uncertainty.

While we cannot predict the long-term impact, we do know that the survival of small and medium businesses will be critical to the recovery.

They are at the heart of communities and make up 60 per cent of the UK's private-sector workforce  that's 17million individuals who rely on these companies for their livelihood.

At the moment, the small business community is effectively being propped up. Our data suggests that more than a quarter of the UK's small and medium businesses have furloughed more than half their staff under the Government's Job Retention Scheme.

These businesses are leaning heavily on emergency funding, and one of the most crucial challenges facing Britain's leaders over the coming weeks is how to evolve this to offer sustainable and practical longer-term solutions.

The lifting of lockdown does not indicate a light at the end of the tunnel for smaller firms. Many still expect to suffer from enormous contractions in sales well into the summer. It is critical that the Government recognises this and offers flexible support for the community well into the future.

Smaller firms want the Government's furlough scheme to continue, but with more flexibility in how and when they bring staff back to work. Top-up payments to enable a gradual return at reduced hours is the most popular option, along with shorter furlough periods.

Suggestions from the Chancellor that there will not be a 'cliff edge' end to the scheme are welcome. We simply cannot afford to pull the rug from under the feet of these businesses, and withdraw what has become a lifeline for a major part of our economy.

Small and medium businesses will be critical to the recovery, says Steve Hare

But a nuanced and sophisticated approach is needed  recognising the incredible diversity of small firms  rather than broad-brush guidance that is likely to harm more businesses than it helps.

As the UK takes meaningful steps towards a return to work, half of the firms in this community still feel unprepared to return safely and half again have not even started to plan for a lifting of restrictions.

Also, 50 per cent acknowledge that their business will need to change for the long term when they return to trading. Smaller firms are naturally agile and can adjust quickly  and those using technology and data are armed with valuable tools to help them adapt faster  but we must take every possible step to help support this shift.

The winners of this crisis will be those that recognise and adapt to the fundamental change we are facing. The losers will be those that try to return to 'business as usual' in an environment that has changed beyond recognition.

The Queen's recent speech echoed wartime slogans and called on UK citizens to show solidarity and strength in the face of adversity.

If there are comparisons to be drawn with wartime, there is no doubt that the UK's key workers are firmly on the real front line of the battle  but smaller firms are drawing the most fire in the economic fight. I believe this crisis has brought out the best in people. We are leaning in, pulling together, and being there for each other and our communities.

But I see how much the current context is hurting small firms; they feel the impact profoundly. As individuals, we must commit to helping these businesses and our local communities to survive this shock.

Coupling decisive and targeted Government action with grassroots community support will provide our small firms will the best chance of weathering the storm.

We will be poorer as a country if we do not take action now to support our small firm champions.

Steve Hare is chief executive of FTSE 100 software giant Sage.
OpenDoors recently introduced Hea Woo, a North Korean believer, who went through persecution her whole life, but still kept her faith and served Jesus Christ even while tortured in a prison camp.

Hea Woo, had undergone a life journey full of trauma. The great famine in 1997 made her watch her daughter, who was in her mid-twenties, starve to death. And her husband, who became Christian after escaping to China, was caught by the secret police, and was killed in a prison camp years later.

"I was shocked to hear that my husband had become a Christian," Hea Woo told OpenDoors, "but instinctively, I knew he had found the truth."

She, too, escaped to China shortly and found Jesus Christ in her life through the series of events that had influenced the faith of her husband. Like her husband, she was caught and repatriated to North Korea and was forced into a prison camp.

Hea recalls the horror experiences in the prison camp. "death so rampant that bodies would lay on the ground for three or four days without being cleaned up; mental and physical abuse that would make you sick in the pit of your stomach."

Even when she had to endure torture every day in prison, she decided to do something dangerous, but very Christ-like, spreading the Word of God to the other prisoners. God gave her the heart to tell her fellow prisoners about Jesus, and this marked the beginning of the secret church fellowship in the middle of the labor camp in North Korea.

"The Bible verses that I'd recall from memory gave the others hope. They also saw the Spirit at work in me. I stood out among the other prisoners because I helped them. Sometimes I shared my rice with the sick. Occasionally I washed their clothes, too."

"God used me to lead five people to faith. I tried to teach them the little I knew about Jesus. I didn't have access to a Bible in the camp. But on Sundays and at Christmas, we met together out of the view of the guards. Usually, that was in the toilet. There we held a short service. I taught them the Bible verses and songs that I knew. We sang almost inaudibly so that no one would hear us," she shared.

She planted the Church where nobody would have expected, in the middle of the prison, where She could have easily been tortured and persecuted to death. She showed the world the true faith that every Christian should strive to possess.
These sex offenders were indicted for different crimes that range from child molestation to public lewdness.

The California state law indicates that everyone was supposed to render service for at least six months in prison for the violation of the terms of their parole by eluding the monitoring of law enforcement.

Now, they are free from imprisonment and a locally elected prosecutor is furious, while several criminal justice reform supporters are accusing him of unsuitably fueling public fear.

In what was considered an uncommon public statement released last week, Orange County District Attorney, Todd Spitzer, sent the community a warning saying about seven sex offenders considered "high risk" were released from prison before they served their full sentences.

The district attorney criticized a local county commissioner too, who had the release orders approved. While the public warning of Spitzer did not specify the reason for the seven sex offenders' release, a spokesperson for the attorney said, "Their understanding from the court is that, Joseph Dane," the commissioner gave the early releases a go signal.

The said approval of the release was over the growing concerns crowded prisons could function as incubators for the spread of the fatal COVID-19.

Addressing Concern over Spread of COVID-19 in Overcrowded Jails

The conflict in how the inmates are handled in Southern California is the most recent instance of a national argument on the spread of COVID-19 among the prisoners.

According to a report, prisons remain among the most powerful settings for sickness and fatality for both the prisoners and those who are guarding them.

Relatively, dealing with issues about conditions in jails, Don Barnes, the Orange County Sheriff, doubted and disputed the idea the county jails might not be safe.

He said in a statement, they have accountably created the capacity required in jail to accommodate sex offenders, as well as the other criminals who are considered dangerous.

The county sheriff also added, he opposes initiatives excusing criminal behavior, not to mention jeopardizing the community's safety and Spitzer echoed this sentiment in the said public warning he issued.

Proper Steps in Place

Writing Barnes has assured Spitzer that proper steps which include masks, quarantine, and social distancing of new prisoners are in place.

However, despite the guarantees from the district attorney and the sheriff when it comes to the detention facilities' safety, the Orange County prisons like correctional institutions across the nation, have perceived an uptick in the number of cases of the COVID-19.

Present figures in the county specify more than 250 prisoners "have tested positive for COVID-19," up over 80 cases since the start of the month. In addition, an Orange County Sheriff's Office spokesperson said, five prison employees have tested positive too, for the virus.

Essentially, in his public statement, the district attorney warned that the seven defendants remain dangerous to the public because of their previous criminal background.

The newly-released "sex offenders" had been indicted too, of tampering with, or unsuccessful properly charging GPS devices which the parole officials monitored.

These kinds of sex offenders who are considered "high risk," Spitzer said, are the most dangerous criminals and most probable to commit criminal acts again especially that they are doing all the things they can to get rid of the parole officers' detection.

Check these out!
SHANGHAI, May 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- United Imaging, an innovation solution provider for advanced medical imaging and radiotherapy equipment, confirmed that the first batch of 12 mobile digital radiography (DR) systems has arrived in Ukraine and is now being installed in 11 hospitals across 9 cities, where they will be used for COVID-19 patients.

"In the fight against COVID-19, our DR systems, as well as intelligent CT scanners and AI-assisted diagnostic system, have been immensely helpful to a large number of hospitals around the world to improve diagnosis and treatment process for patients," said Dr. Jusong Xia, senior vice president and president of international business (outside the U.S.), of United Imaging.

As of May 9, Ukraine had more than 14,195 confirmed cases of COVID-19, roughly 19% of which were medical workers.

With an innovative remote vision and control feature, uDR 370i provides effective protection for healthcare provider. A unique remote tablet is equipped to monitor patients in real time, preview images, and adjust exposure at a distance of 33 feet, thus minimizing cross-infection between physicians and patients. It can also fully meet the needs of ICU, emergency, and bedside radiography in isolation areas. Additionally, the system enables continuous travel for more than 60 miles on a single battery charge.

Jusong Xia said, "We will continue providing our cutting-edge innovations to support our customers across the globe during this difficult period."

Currently, United Imaging is fully adapting its R&D, manufacturing, and logistic resources across the whole value chain to secure supplies for global pandemic control. In the near future, United Imaging will ship more DR systems to the front lines to fight COVID-19 in Ukraine and other countries.

ABOUT UNITED IMAGING



At United Imaging, we develop and produce advanced medical products, digital healthcare solutions, and intelligent solutions that cover the entire process of imaging diagnosis and treatment. Founded in 2011 with global headquarters in Shanghai, our company has subsidiaries and R&D centers across China, the United States, and other parts of the world. Our U.S. R&D facility opened in 2013 in Houston and was further established as the U.S. headquarters in 2018 with our service team and commercial organization in place. With a cutting-edge digital portfolio and a mission of broader access to healthcare for all, we help drive industry progress and bold change.



To learn more, visit http://www.united-imaging.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

SOURCE United Imaging Healthcare Co., Ltd.

Related Links

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Rameswaram:

Hundreds of fishermen from this island were on Sunday forced to return without catch after Sri Lankan Naval personnel allegedly snapped the fishing nets of ten mechanised boats near Katchatheevu.

The fishermen had put out to sea in 641 mechanised boats yesterday and were fishing near Katchatheevu in the Palk Strait when Sri Lankan Naval men rounded up ten boats last night, Rameswaram Fishermen Association President P Sesuraja told reporters here.

The Lankan Naval personnel cut the fishing nets of the ten boats and asked them to go back, following which all the boats returned to the shores this morning, he said.

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'Da 5 Bloods' will premiere on the streaming platform next month, featuring Vietnamese actress and film producer Ngo Thanh Van.

The American director announced Friday his new film "Da 5 Bloods" would be released globally on June 12.

The movie stars a host of Hollywood actors including Chadwick Boseman, Jean Reno, Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors and Paul Walter Hauser. It was filmed in Vietnam last summer, when Lee posted a photo of himself and Ngo Thanh Van, or Veronica Ngo, online, saying she would play Hanoi Hannah.

Ngo Thanh Van and Spike Lee on set. Photo courtesy of Spike Lee.

As Hanoi Hannah, a Vietnamese radio presenter known for her work during the war, Van portrays a real character for the first time.

"Da 5 Bloods" depicts four veterans returning to Vietnam searching for the remains of their fallen squad leader, amid the lure of buried treasure. Battling forces of humanity and nature, they are confronted by the eternal ravages of the Vietnam War. The film is currently one of Netflixs most high profile summer releases.

Spike Lee is well-known for his directorial work in "Do the Right Thing" [1989], "Jungle Fever" [1991], "Malcolm X" [1992], "He Got Game" [1998], and especially "BlacKkKlansman" [2018], which earned him an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Ngo Thanh Van is an A-list Vietnamese actress and producer, appearing in Hollywood films like "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" [2017], "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny" [2016] and the upcoming American superhero film "The Old Guard."
May 09 : Mothers Day is coming around the corner and how have you planned to make your mother feel loved? If you are still figuring out the options to show your love, we would suggest that you surprise with her with a cute Mothers Day greeting card, and also a few films that can be watched over the weekend. Grab your popcorn bowl, and enjoy some movie time with her!

Bird Box

Surely, if your mom loves adventure, horror, and thriller films, then this English film Bird Box could be your pick! The story is about a strong-willed mother (Sandra Bullock) who faces unidentified forces that attack the Earth. This trailer will surely give the goosebumps and also show the courage she took to drive her children to safety. Women are often known to be quiet survivors of life, and this story shows how strategically she escapes death.

Mother's Day

This is a 2016 Hollywood film that would show the life of a single mother and her children. The film is named Mother's Day and the main star cast included Kate Hudson and Jennifer Anniston. This hilarious movie includes all the moments of fun, love, compassion, anger, sadness that would surpass in a ladys life if she has a great set of friends.

Lady Bird

The new age 2017 Hollywood film Lady Bird is all about comedy and love drama. This was a fantastic director debut by Greta Gerwig. It revolves around the story a loving mother and her teenage daughter. This is an everyday situation that over concerned mothers of teenage children will face in todays generation. It is emotional and surely will send you through a whirlpool of emotions.

Tully

Tully is a comedy film that will be enjoyed by the entire family of all ages. Tully is a nanny who helps, inspires, and develops a lovely bond with a mother of three young children. She helps the mother to spring back from her overtired self and rise to live her dreams in life. The story is beautiful and connects very well with mothers who have struggled day and night with toddlers. It could be inspirational for women whose mothers have entered retirement and are finding inspirational ways to live their dreams.

Boyhood

This is a cute groundbreaking story that showcases life through the eyes of a young boy Mason. It has captured unnoticed phases of childhood, motherhood, and life as a family in a very natural setting. Right from the toddler age, to adolescence, to family dinner and happy graduation moments, this film shows what stayed as beautiful memories in the eyes of a boy. It is all about nostalgia and love. A person who sees this will surely think about how their childhood and family life has been over the years.
The Week In Russia: Up In The Air -- The Future's Uncertain And So Is The Past

By Steve Gutterman May 08, 2020

As Russia prepared for scaled-down Victory Day ceremonies, coronavirus infections rose fast and Moscow's mayor suggested the real numbers may be much higher than the official case count. Opinion polls and grim economic forecasts clouded President Vladimir Putin's prospects for choreographing his own political future and reshaping the country's past.

An ambulance doctor became the third medical professional to plunge from a window since late April, underscoring the severe strains the pandemic is putting on health-care providers.

Here are some of the key developments in Russia over the past week and some of the takeaways going forward.

No Red Square military parade on this Victory Day, and no Immortal Regiment march on the streets a bit further from the Kremlin to put a civilian stamp on state-dominated World War II commemorations: just warplanes cruising over Moscow, and a fireworks display that the mayor has asked Russians not to attend.

The toned-down ceremonies, with most of the action occurring in the sky, are a result of the coronavirus, of course, and the lockdown measures it has led to in Russia and around the world. But they may be fitting for a president who commentators say is increasingly at a remove from the people even as he engineers constitutional changes designed to ensure he has the option of remaining their president until 2036.

As factions in the disunited Russian elite pursue their own interests, Putin "is getting bored with many day-to-day responsibilities, and is distancing himself," Tatiana Stanovaya, a political analyst and head of the think tank R.Politik, wrote in a thread on Twitter on May 7.

Putin has arguably been aloof from day-to-day governance for years, swooping in at key moments such as his supposedly spontaneous but seemingly choreographed visit to the lower house of parliament on March 10 to give his public seal of approval to the abruptly announced amendment that would exempt him -- and him alone -- from the two-term limit that would have forced him from the Kremlin four years from now, on May 7, 2024.

Leader In Lockdown?

Putin set the stage for this sense of separation eight years ago -- on May 7, 2012 -- when he returned to the Kremlin to start his third presidential term after serving as prime minister for four years to avoid violating -- or changing -- the constitution. He had just weathered a series of street protests held by Russians dismayed at his return, including one the previous day, at Bolotnaya Square, that resulted in hundreds of arrests.

As Putin rode to the Kremlin from his residence west of Moscow to be sworn in, the main avenue was blocked off by police vehicles and law enforcement officers were detaining more protesters and dragging people from parks and cafes near the convoy's route.

On this May 9, of course, there's a good reason for Putin to be remote -- literally -- and he has apparently found a way to try to dispel the sense of distance from the people, or at least from the memory of the war and millions of Soviet soldiers and civilians who died in it. He is expected to lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin wall, and to deliver an address from there.

But Putin has made the most of the military parade in the past -- part of his strategy of using the most positive moments in the history of tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union, of which the defeat of Nazi Germany is the proudest, to bolster his legitimacy and seek to encourage unity among Russians, even if it means suggesting that a World War II ally such as the United States is now the one bent on world domination.

Missiles And Memory

The Cold War practice of putting weapons on display at the Victory Day parade was revived in 2008, two days after Putin handed the Kremlin keys to placeholder President Dmitry Medvedev and two months before Russian tanks entered Georgia in Moscow's first foreign war since the Soviet era.

Paradoxically, perhaps, Putin may view the Russian people more as an instrument in such efforts than as their intended beneficiary.

With military parades, patriotic war movies, and "grand projects" such as a massive Russian Orthodox church being built in a military theme park outside Moscow, Putin and his government "aim to legitimize their authoritarian practices by sacralizing the power of the state," wrote Andrei Kolesnikov, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Center.

"They limit history to the accomplishments of czars and political and military leaders, and treat people as expendable resources in the sweep of history," Kolesnikov wrote in an article published on May 5 and titled Our Dark Past Is Our Bright Future: How The Kremlin Uses And Abuses History.

"In the process, even personal memories must be co-opted to fit a prearranged historical discourse," he wrote, adding that "the state has taken control over" the Immortal Regiment marches, initially a politics-free grassroots initiative in which Russians carry portraits of relatives killed in the war: A way to commemorate them without honoring leaders past or present.

The Immortal Regiment is online this year, and the Red Square military parade -- like the nationwide vote in which the people, Kremlin critics say, will be instruments of Putin's plan to potentially remain in the Kremlin past 2024 -- are to be held later in 2020.

Meanwhile, the absence of goose-stepping soldiers on the cobblestones may, for many, signify the state of Russia today and the predicament that Putin is suddenly facing just two months after the announcement of plans to enable him to remain president long after 2024.

Many of the things Putin does to boost his image at home -- or even Russia's influence abroad -- rely more on show than substance. In addition to the Victory Day parade, that goes for other annual events like his yearly "big" press conference and the televised Q+A with Russians nationwide.

It also goes, to some extent, for his handling of bad news such as terror attacks and natural disaster: a televised display of decisiveness and resolve.

In the coronavirus, Putin is confronted with a large and persistent problem whose effects may be impossible to mitigate through propaganda or public relations.

That seems to make it the biggest challenge he has faced over more than 20 years in power, and one that brings clouds obscuring Russia's future dramatically forward from the horizon.

But some observers suggest that developments have passed a point of no return, even if what lies beyond that point remains unknown.

Point Of No Return?

Last month, a headline from journalist and commentator Oleg Kashin declared that "the relationship between the authorities and society" -- Putin and the people -- "will never be what it was before."

In an article published on May 4, Bloomberg Opinion columnist Clara Ferreira Marques seemed to take that argument a step further, saying that Putin's self-isolation at his residence outside Moscow "has echoes of Mikhail Gorbachev's Crimean stay in 1991."

That was a startling reference to the attempted coup that August, when the Soviet leader was held captive at a vacation dacha on the Black Sea peninsula as hard-liners attempted to seize power in Moscow. When the putsch collapsed, Gorbachev returned to the capital -- but he never really recovered and was quickly eclipsed by Russian President Boris Yeltsin.

Four months later, Gorbachev resigned as president of a country that had effectively ceased to exist.

There are many obvious differences between the two situations, and Ferreira Marques did not suggest that Putin is doomed. She wrote that with few perceived alternatives, the "immediate risk for the leader is different this time," but that "there may be implications for his long-term ambitions."

"Putin will no doubt hope to be seen as riding to Russia's rescue. He can dole out cash eventually, while dismissing early mistakes as bungling by ministers and local officials," she wrote. "After two decades of concentrating power, however, it won't be easy to deflect the blame -- especially if Russia's convalescence is long and painful and his spending promises come to little."

The power of those promises has been undermined badly by the recent oil-price collapse, in which Russia played a part by rejecting a Saudi proposal to cut production right around the time the spreading coronavirus crisis was depressing demand by drastically curbing travel and closing industries.

It's The Economy

With the IMF predicting that Russia's GDP will contract by 5.5 percent this year and some economists making grimmer forecasts, "the $150 billion of oil revenues Russia has funnelled into a rainy-day National Wealth Fundcould end up being spent much more quickly than expected," the Financial Times said in an editorial on April 27.

Small- and medium-sized business activity in April was cut in half compared to the same period in 2019, state-run RIA Novosti reported, slamming a sector that has always struggled under the weight of red tape and law enforcement pressure.

Unemployment could double to 10 percent, some predict, further fraying what was once Putin's unwritten contract with the Russian people: I provide relative prosperity, you stay out of politics -- aside from voting for me and the Kremlin-controlled United Russia party.

Putin got some bad news about his relationship with Russian voters this week, when the independent Levada polling agency said a survey showed his job-approval rating had fallen to 59 percent in April -- the lowest level since he was prime minister and just emerging from obscurity in 1999.

A separate Levada poll showed that support for the constitutional changes -- including the one enabling him to potentially remain in the Kremlin until 2036 -- was at 47 percent, up from 40 percent in March, and 58 percent among those who said they would definitely vote.

State-run polling agency VTsIOM, meanwhile, put support for the constitutional changes at 50 percent --- and said that the figure it reported in March, 64 percent, was the result of a "technical error" and should have been 46 percent.

If Putin was hoping for good news on the march of the coronavirus in Russia ahead of the diminished Victory Day, he was disappointed.

Record Numbers

On May 7 -- 20 years to the day since he was first inaugurated as president -- authorities said over 11,000 new infections had been confirmed in the previous 24 hours, the highest daily total to date.

That official nationwide total was nearly 188,000 on May 8  more, now, than in France or Germany -- but Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin suggested this week that the actual number of cases in the capital alone could be as high as 300,000. The official death toll was at 1,723, but there are questions about the accuracy of that relative low number as well.

In a breathtakingly grim indication of the pressure on medical personnel in a health-care system that was struggling before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, an ambulance-unit physician in the western Voronezh region became the third doctor to plunge from window since late April.

The other two died of their injuries, one of them a doctor in Star City, the cosmonaut training center outside Moscow, who herself contracted COVID-19 and whom superiors reportedly blamed for its spread locally.

Health-care personnel in other countries have committed suicide since the coronavirus crisis took hold. But in Russia, the British newspaper The Independent put it, "a cocktail of guilt, secrecy and scapegoating seems to be exacerbating the stresses and strains of working through the pandemic.

In Moscow, Sobyanin extended the lockdown until May 31 and warned residents that police would be out to make sure crowd do not gather to watch the fireworks on May 9.

"Please, watch the planes go by and the fireworks display from the balcony if possible  even better, watch them on TV," he said.

Past And Future

When Yeltsin stepped down suddenly on New Year's Eve in 1999, he made Putin acting president  and the rest is history.

But history is malleable in Putin's hands, critics and analysts say, particularly when it comes to World War II.

Now "Russia's national historian," Putin is "assisting a revision of key episodes in modern history, starting with the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact" between Adolf Hitler's Germany and Josef Stalin's Soviet Union, Thomas de Waal, a senior fellow at Carnegie Europe, put it in a tweet introducing Kolesnikov's article.

Before the coronavirus pandemic broke out, at least a few world leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping were planning to be in Moscow for Victory Day. The ceremonies could have contributed to what governments of countries that were in Moscow's thrall for decades after World War II say is Putin's campaign to rewrite history -- from the secret protocol in the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact in which Hitler and Stalin carved up parts of Eastern Europe, helping unleash the conflict, to its long and bitter aftermath.

If COVID-19 has hampered Putin's alleged efforts to revise the past, it may also hurt his chances of authoring his own future and Russia's next two decades, after a setback in which the delivery of a key chapter  the constitutional amendments allowing him to rule for years to come -- has been delayed.

His grip is arguably loosening amid what Stanovaya suggested is a long-developing leadership problem that has been aggravated by COVID-19.

"More and more important political decisions are being taken spontaneously, with Putin himself being informed post-factum," the analyst wrote. "The system has been unravelling, and the current crisis has had a double impact: accelerating that unravelling and using up resources."

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/the-week- in-russia-up-in-the-air---- the-future-s-uncertain-and-so -is-the-past/30601140.html

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

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Earlier this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) virtual summit for the first time since assuming office in 2014. Calling COVID-19 the most serious crisis humanity has faced in decades and underlining the need for NAM to help promote global solidarity, Modi argued that NAM has often been the worlds moral voice and in order to retain this role, NAM must remain inclusive. Arguing that COVID-19 has shown limitations of the existing international system, he made a case for a new template of globalisation, based on fairness, equality, and humanity as well as international institutions more representative of todays world in the post-COVID-19 era. Making a veiled reference to Pakistan, he flagged the issues of terrorism and fake news, calling them deadly viruses at a time when the world is busy fighting coronavirus.

Curious Case of PM Modi's NAM Participation

Modi had skipped the two NAM summits during his term so far in 2016 and 2019, making this his first participation in the groupings summitry. And this has generated some curious reactions about how Modi might now be recognising the relevance of NAM and its importance for India. This is, however, a serious misreading of why Modi decided to address the virtual NAM summit. NAMs contemporary irrelevance has nothing to do with Modis lack of interest in NAM. The grouping is increasingly irrelevant because the world has changed dramatically from the time it was conceived. Modi may have ideological reasons for shunning previous NAM summits but if we know anything about him, it is that his natural inclination is towards pragmatism when it comes to foreign policy.

Ever since the coronavirus pandemic started revealing its true scale and scope, Modi has tried to position India carefully as a nation that can speak of global concerns with the widest possible range of stakeholders. And the first platform he used was SAARC, a grouping which he has tried to marginalise over the last six years. Just because he used the SAARC platform to reach out to Indias neighbours doesnt mean that he or his government has had change of heart with regard to the utility or lack thereof of the regional grouping.

Using NAM to Shape Global Discourse

At a time of grave worldwide crisis, Modi has effectively used all the instruments and platforms available to India to make a case that instead of nations becoming more and more inward looking, global engagement should be the norm. This is also an attempt to fill the leadership vacuum in the global order when both China and the US have exposed their vulnerabilities. India has shown that a nation with limited capabilities can also emerge as a leader by outlining the concerns of like-minded countries and working with them to build capacities in smaller states.

Indian diplomacy during the time of COVID-19 pandemic has been pro-active and has tried to shape the global discourse. Towards this, existing platforms like NAM and SAARC has been used by Modi in the same way in which he has used newer groupings like the G20. In his address at the NAM summit, Modi showcased Indias efforts towards global cooperation by underlining the supply of critical drugs and medical devices to 123 countries, including 59 members of NAM. At the regional level, India was the first nation to propose setting up of a $10 million SAARC COVID-19 emergency fund to help combat the pandemic in the region.

It must be disappointing for those who hold an ideological predisposition that a BJP government should have nothing to do with NAM and also for those who believe that Modi has shunned NAM because of his ideological differences with Nehru. But clearly, for Modi any and every platform that helps in projecting Indias leadership capabilities at a time of a dire global crisis is to be used pragmatically.

But No Change of Heart Over NAM

This doesnt mean that non-alignment is back as many ideologues in India desperately want. In fact, for a nation like India this is an infantile debate to have. Given Indias current security predicament, India cannot afford to be non-aligned in the traditional sense of the term as it will have to build partnerships with like-minded countries to build its capacities. Indias security rationale and its leadership ability means that India will always need its own voice to project itself on the global stage. And despite Indias growing engagement with the US, New Delhi has shown that it is quite capable of standing up to Washington where its core interests are concerned.

There was a time for non-alignment. New Delhi has been there and done that. Todays India and its aspirations demand much more from its leadership. In his own way, Modi is responding to that challenge. Dont be taken in by his recent address to the NAM summit. He has buried NAM for good. International institutions rarely disappear. NAM will also continue with its mothballed existence. Modi has nothing to lose by using it instrumentally if it serves Indias immediate needs. But to construe this as Modis embrace of a now redundant philosophy of global engagement would be a big fallacy.
Hindi News

No fake news

Home Minister Amit Shah Not Battling Bone Cancer, Fake News Getting Viral On Social Media; 4 Arrested For Spreading Rumors

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Friends should not call friends who plan for long-term health care crazy. That is a message delivered to Missouri tax preparers by a nationally known expert on long-term care planning. On a Zoom meeting, Matt McCann said one of the common things his clients mention is some of their friends thought they were crazy for purchasing Long-Term Care Insurance.

"It reminds me of the old sayings many Moms have told their kids over the years, 'if all your friends jumped off a cliff, would you?' While more people today than ever before understand the issues surrounding the costs and burdens that come with long-term health care, too many people just assume this isn't an issue. Those friends are uninformed, and besides, why do you care what they think in the first place?" McCann said.

McCann said there are still many Americans you believe their health insurance, or Medicare or Medicare supplements pay for long-term care services and supports. They pay very little toward skilled services and nothing for custodial care, the most common type of care we need as we get older or required when we suffer from a chronic health issue.

The cost of long-term care is expensive. Depending on where you live, the cost can even exceed $100,000 a year for ongoing skilled services in a nursing home to over $50,000 a year for care at home. These costs often drain savings and income, forcing families to depend on their family, usually a daughter or daughter-in-law, to provide this care. The stress and burden on family caregivers are tremendous.

"Unless your friends will pay for your future long-term health care or will provide the care themselves, why do you care what they think in the first place? It is also not limited to friends. Even some professionals who should know better, including financial advisors, lawyers, accountants, and even insurance agents are not aware of the facts," McCann added.

McCann said in addition to the available tax incentives, 45 states offer affordable Partnership Long-Term Care Insurance plans. These special partnership policies provide additional dollar-for-dollar asset protection. He says these policies shelter your assets as it eases the stress on family members.

"Unfortunately, too many financial advisors and other professionals are unaware of these benefits. Most consumers are also unaware of these benefits. Those who understand the power of these guaranteed tax-free benefits will be the ones who will be smiling as they get older," McCann said.

Longevity brings a higher risk of needing long-term care. As we get older, the risk of cognitive decline also increases. So, McCann asks, "who are the crazy ones?"

"Would you rather have your family provide your future care or help manage it? Would you rather see your life savings disappear, or would you like to see a legacy for your children and grandchildren? Would you rather have a choice of the quality and type of care you receive or be dependent on others? These are the questions all of us need to consider. My clients are not crazy; they are saving money and giving their family the time to be family," McCann explained.

McCann told the Zoom conference that Long-Term Care Insurance is custom designed. Plan design is critical, which is why consumers should work with an experienced specialist, like himself.

"I am reminded often from clients that they are often told Long-Term Care Insurance is expensive or very difficult to obtain. Then they speak with a specialist and find out how easy and affordable these policies can be, especially when you plan before retirement. The key, however, is working with a qualified Long-Term Care specialist, and there are very few of those nationwide. But now you all know one," McCann said.

He says with a specialist, consumers are able to obtain accurate quotes and professional recommendations. Both are crucial to researching Long-Term Care Insurance options.

McCann suggests several online resources to help with planning. The Long-Term Care Tax Guide is an outstanding resource for both tax professionals and consumers: https://www.ltcnews.com/resources/guides/long-term-care-tax-benefits-guide

His website has many resources, as well: https://mccannltc.net/resources. McCann's site also features a link to obtain free and accurate quotes from all the major companies.

McCann also works with financial advisors, insurance agents, and professionals like accountants to help their clients plan for longevity.

"Let others think you are crazy. In the end, you will enjoy peace-of-mind knowing you have a plan that will make sure you get quality care, provides you with asset protection, and allows your family the time to be family, he said.

As a Long-Term Care Insurance specialist, McCann is licensed nationwide and represents the major insurance companies. His unique method gives you the ability to talk with him on the phone as you view his computer screen on your computer. It allows you the ability to safely shop all the major companies at one time with a recognized specialist assisting you design an appropriate and affordable plan.
- Pauleen Luna took to Instagram to greet her stepdaughter Danica Sotto who just turned 37 on Saturday, May 9

- The "Eat Bulaga" host posted a photo and a video clip of her and Danica together

- Along with her posts came sweet and touching messages for the birthday celebrant

- She also expressed how thankful she is for having someone like Danica in her life

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Pauleen Luna took to social media to express how grateful she is for having someone like Danica Sotto in her life.

Danica is the daughter of Vic Sotto with his ex-wife Dina Bonnevie. She just turned 37 on May 9, Saturday.

KAMI learned that Pauleen, 31, posted a photo of herself together with Danica and Paulina Sotto, Vic's daughter with former partner Angela Luz, through Instagram Stories.

Pauleen wrote, "One of the people I will hold in my heart forever @danicaspingris."

Instagram @pauleenlunasotto

Source: Instagram

Meanwhile, she also posted on IG Stories a short video clip of Danica while showing her cute dance moves with brother Oyo Sotto and wife Kristine Hermosa seen laughing at the background.

The caption reads, "@danicaspingris I know I can count on you anytime and for that, I'm forever grateful."

Instagram @pauleenlunasotto

Source: Instagram

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As reported earlier by KAMI, Vic Sotto turned 66 years old yesterday, Tuesday, April 28, in his house amid the enhanced community quarantine. His wife, Pauleen Luna-Sotto, shared photos of the setup she prepared for Vics birthday celebration. Pauleens Instagram photos show a blue-themed party for the 66-year-old showbiz legend, complete with balloons, lanterns, and a printed birthday greeting. Vics birthday party might have been simple but the comedian seemed to be filled with joy nonetheless.

Vic Sotto is a famous comedian and TV host in the Philippines. He is married to his Eat Bulaga co-host Pauleen Luna. Vic has a daughter named Talitha with his wife Pauleen.

POPULAR: Read more news about Pauleen Luna

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An OFW in Dubai narrates how he ended up bedridden in a critical condition due to COVID-19. At some point, Ruffy Niedo felt he wouldn't make it. Now he shares his story with us. Check out all of the exciting videos and celebrity interviews on our KAMI HumanMeter YouTube channel!

Source: KAMI.com.gh
As fast and sharp as a cut from a scalpel, the coronavirus pandemic forced hospitals across America to slash elective surgical cases in March and April, to slow the risk of infection and make room for surges of patients.

The pandemic disrupted or diverted the supply of resources that surgery cases need -- from protective gear and blood to intensive care beds and ventilators. And the virus started to hit the skilled nursing facilities and home health companies that many post-operative patients need to recover.

Now, as hospitals across the country start to return to doing non-emergency operations that keep their beds full and their books balanced, they need to think carefully about what resources each of those procedures will need as the pandemic continues.

A new guide, which was published April 20, could help them prioritize and plan.

Created by poring over seven years' worth of data from 17 common operations in dozens of hospitals, it's available for free for any hospital to use.

A treasure trove of data

The team that created it is based in the Michigan Value Collaborative, which pools and shares data from hospitals across Michigan in order to find opportunities to reduce variation and spend healthcare dollars more wisely.

Based at the University of Michigan, and funded by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, MVC has a treasure trove of years of data from 87 hospitals and 40 physician groups across the state.

When COVID-19 struck, MVC director Hari Nathan, M.D., Ph.D., and his colleagues realized that these data could help hospitals understand which operations are most resource-intensive, from incision to post-hospital care.

They started by creating customized reports for each of the hospitals that take part in MVC, to help them see patterns in their own data.

Then they made the public report, based on statewide averages. They hope it will help hospitals everywhere as they balance resource constraints with the need to get "back to business" to stay financially viable.

"This is important information, because it shows you can't do all of your backed up CABGs in one week," says Nathan, referring to coronary artery bypass graft surgery, which the review shows required intensive care unit beds in 91% of cases. They also had an average hospital stay of nine days - during which staff might have to don and discard a large amount of scarce personal protective equipment to protect against COVID-19 transmission.

Then there's the question of where the patient goes after the hospital. The guide shows that only 12% of CABG patients were discharged directly to home with no health aides; the majority of the rest needed in-home help while a sizable number went to nursing or rehabilitation facilities.

COVID-19 clusters in nursing facilities may affect bed availability - or the desire of patients to enter one if their family can't visit. And home health aides need PPE and may be in shorter supply due if recovering COVID-19 patients need their care.

Resources as a key part of the restart equation

"Of course, resource use is one piece of the decision for restarting elective operations. We also have to consider the urgency for patients based on their clinical status," says Nathan, a cancer surgeon at Michigan Medicine, U-M's academic medical center, whose own practice has been reduced to the most urgent cases since Michigan's COVID-19 spike began in mid-March.

But we suspect that the scarcity of resources imposed by COVID-19 will actually help hospitals and health systems focus on rationalizing the way they deliver surgical care in a way they haven't before, matching resources to the complexity of the patient and procedure, or even changing the locations where certain procedures are done, including outpatient centers." Hari Nathan, M.D., Ph.D., MVC director

Data analyst Chelsea Abshire, MPH, and statistician Jessica Yaser, MPH, led the creation of the customized reports and the broad-based ones. They looked at data from insurance claims to a broad range of commercial BCBSM plans and both types of Medicare plans.

Yaser notes that the patients studied represent 60% of Michigan's insured population during the years they studied, and that the mix of patients and hospital types makes the data somewhat nationally representative.

U-M Department of Surgery residents J.R. Montgomery, M.D., and Craig Brown, M.D., also worked on the project.

"We hope this will help hospitals decide what they should restart first," says Montgomery. "It also showed us how much variability there is between hospitals in resource use for the same operation, well before COVID-19 arrived."

"The power of the guide we've published is the aggregated format," adds Brown. "It would be possible to pull most of these metrics by digging through the published literature on each of these types of procedure, but it's hard to compare across studies and know if they are generalizable. We tried to put it together in one single source."

The MVC team knows that other teams across the country are working to help hospitals understand what personnel with different types of training will need to be brought back to work for different types of care, and to guide the "triage" process of determining which patients whose procedures were delayed, or who have a new need for surgery, should go first and which can wait a bit longer.

But resource use is just as important, and most hospitals don't routinely compare resource use across different types of operations.

Scarcities can change during a pandemic, too - for instance, blood was in extremely short supply in March, but the supply eased in April as donors stepped up for rescheduled drives. And ventilators and ICU beds may be less scarce now in Michigan, but as pent-up cases begin to fill beds, it will be important to look at which operations may lead to emergency care and repeat hospitalizations within 30 days. For example, the new report shows that nearly half of patients having a pancreatectomy needed emergency care, and 20% ended up back in the hospital.

Long-term implications

Nathan notes that he and the team will continue to monitor resource use and surgical patterns as time goes on, and look for any patterns of change spurred by COVID-19. Beyond surgical care, it will be important to see what strategies physicians and patients used during the time when non-emergency surgery was shut down, and what the outcomes were - for instance, additional chemotherapy sessions for cancer patients.

Nathan, a member of the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, hopes that the data they're sharing with MVC member hospitals will inform care over the long term, not just during the ramp-up to post-shutdown operations.

"COVID's not going away anytime soon," he says. "We need to figure out a typical COVID census, and what that means for how many resource-intensive operations we can still do in a week and maintain our capacity to care for those who need ICUs and other limited resources. As we move forward, we also have to take care of patients who have less urgent, but still very important, surgical needs."
Roy Horn, half of the famed Las Vegas magic and entertainment duo Siegfried & Roy, has died of complications related to the coronavirus, partner Siegfried Fischbacher said in a statement Friday. He was 75.

Last month, Horn tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19, a spokesperson for the duo said. He was being treated at a Las Vegas hospital and was said to be responding well to treatment.

"Today, the world has lost one of the greats of magic, but I have lost my best friend," Fischbacher said. "From the moment we met, I knew Roy and I, together, would change the world. There could be no Siegfried without Roy, and no Roy without Siegfried."

They put on shows in Las Vegas for decades, and their work with big cats became a staple of entertainment on the Strip.

In 2003, a 380-pound tiger, Mantecore, bit Horn's neck during a show at the Mirage Las Vegas. It dragged him off stage. The attack crushed his windpipe and left the then-60-year-old partially paralyzed, ending the long-running "Siegfried & Roy" production.

Horn was born in wartime Germany as "bombs were exploding all around" his mother, according to the pair's website.

The duo met more than 60 years ago when they worked on a cruise ship, Horn as a steward and Siegfriend as a magician, according to a statement from the act's publicity firm. Horn ended up helping with the act.

Image: HORN FISCHBACHER (Wayne Seale / NBC file)

They hit Vegas in 1967 and, in 1989, started a 14-year run at the Mirage that transformed the duo into a singular tourism draw. Their $30 million production at the hotel sold out nightly, according to the statement.

The pair used a collection of animals onstage that included white tigers, white lions, leopards, jaguars and an elephant.

"Roy was a fighter his whole life including during these final days," Fischbacher said. "I give my heartfelt appreciation to the team of doctors, nurses and staff at Mountain View Hospital who worked heroically against this insidious virus that ultimately took Roys life."

Horn is survived by his brother, Werner Horn.
vaccine syringe

Reuters/Karoly Arvai

A nurse at a Staten Island hospital is suspected of stealing a credit card from a patient who ultimately died of COVID-19, according to multiple reports.

Danielle Conti, 43, was arrested on suspicion of stealing 70-year-old Anthony Catapano's credit card while making rounds in the hospital, the New York Daily News reported Thursday.

Tara Catapano, the patient's daughter, reportedly called the police on April 28 after noticing charges totaling $60.23 on her father's card earlier in the month before his death.

Conti is facing charges of grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, and petit larceny, according to the New York outlet WABC.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

A nurse at a Staten Island hospital is suspected of stealing a credit card from a patient who ultimately died of COVID-19, according to multiple reports.

Danielle Conti, 43, is facing charges of grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, and petit larceny, according to the New York outlet WABC.

The 70-year-old patient, Anthony Catapano, died April 12 after being hospitalized with COVID-19, WABC said. A family member, however, reportedly later noticed suspicious charges totaling $60.23 on his credit card. Tara Catapano, the patient's daughter, called the police on April 28.

Catapano told the New York Daily News that a payment for gas was odd because her father always paid with cash when filling his car. She also reportedly determined that the payment was made on the same day he was moved into the hospital's ventilator unit.

"A total of $60.23," she told the outlet. "That's what she risked her job for. She took total advantage of my father's condition. I'm sure she assumed he wasn't going to make it, and his family wouldn't notice."

Conti has worked at Staten Island University Hospital since 2007, according to a statement reported by WABC, and she has been temporarily suspended.

"Danielle Conti has been temporarily suspended and faces termination in response to the felony charges," the hospital said in the statement. "We are working closely with the law enforcement authorities and the hospital is conducting its own investigation."

Read the original article on Insider
Coupled with plummeting oil prices that have crippled Russias energy-dependent economy, the coronavirus foiled not just what was supposed to be an extravagant Victory Day but Putins agenda for the year. A vote on constitutional changes that was scheduled for last month and would allow Putin to seek two more presidential terms, keeping him in power until 2036, was postponed. Even though those amendments have already been passed in parliament, Putin had been insistent on a national vote, which would offer greater validation.
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- A series of dispatches from America in the age of Covid-19.

Word got out here that nasal swabs were the only thing standing between Northern California and a lot of coronavirus testing, and people with a talent for figuring out things began to figure things out. Marc Benioff, the chief executive of Salesforce, flew a plane full of medical supplies from China to the University of California at San Francisco Medical Center, and some functional though less-than-ideal nasal swabs were happily among them.

Chris Kawaja, the owner of a chemical company with dealings in China, found another off-brand Chinese nasal swab supplier, and messaged them. I said, Hey, do you have these things? says Kawaja. And this woman came right back and said, Yeah, I have 250,000. These swabs were the real deal, but before Kawaja could nab them the Chinese woman sent another message to say, Some guy in Houston just took 200,000 of them. Kawaja charged the rest to his credit card  at 70 cents a pop, triple the old market price  and had them shipped to San Francisco in small batches, to evade the notice of Chinese customs officials. It did occur to me: Why did I need to find this stuff? says Kawaja. Why did some random dude in Marin need to read some random newspaper article about how Joe DeRisi needed swabs, and go and find the swabs?

DeRisi is an infectious disease specialist and co-president of the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub in San Francisco. Ive been following his work and have already written about how, in the first three weeks of March, he used a volunteer labor force of 200 graduate students to build the fastest big coronavirus testing lab in the country from scratch  only to find that an absence of nasal swabs left him little to test. The swabs are no longer a problem, and the Biohub suddenly has a magic flashlight, with the power to see both where the virus hides and how it moves.

Theres now the question of where to point it. Not, DeRisi thought, at people turning up at hospitals with coughs and fevers: Their tests didnt tell you much that you didnt already know about where the disease might next travel. Random sampling of some community, obvious as it sounds, might not be the best idea either. Just testing anyone may not be the right strategy, says DeRisi. You want to get the most bang for your buck. You want to go out and find the virus, so you can isolate it. Weve been playing defense. Now we can start playing offense.

Story continues

The first swabs the Biohub received that hinted at any sort of strategy came, oddly enough, from the weird and remote beach town of Bolinas, just north of San Francisco. The bookstore in Bolinas has no cash register but a sign telling customers to take whatever book they want and to stick however much they think it is worth into a collection box. The whole town is like that. A local entrepreneur named Cyrus Harmon, frustrated by his inability to get himself and his family tested, had gotten in touch with UCSF researchers and offered to pay to test all the towns 1,400 residents. Hed read the story of Vo, a village in Northern Italy, that has escaped the worst of the pandemic by testing all its residents and isolating the infected. It took Harmon and a venture capitalist also living in Bolinas three weeks to do for 1,400 California communists what the U.S. government and the big lab testing companies say they still cant do for 100 U.S. senators: Test everyone, fast.

There were some glitches. The first batch of Bolinas samples arrived at the Biohub in a garbage bag. Ten percent of the tubes had leaked, says DeRisi. Because theyd used shitty swabs that didnt fit inside the tubes. Even then it took DeRisis graduate students less than two days to hand the entire town of Bolinas its results: No one had the virus.

Bolinas had never struck DeRisi, or anyone else, as the best place to go virus hunting. Rich people with lots of space and a preference for isolation were not the most likely hosts. But the idea of testing everyone in some town or neighborhood struck DeRisi as a good one, maybe even a great one. You just needed to go looking in places the virus was more likely to be hiding. One of them happened to be right around the corner.

*****

Last Sunday, my college sophomore daughter and I marched up and down every street in four square blocks in San Franciscos Mission District. These four square blocks constituted just another tract in the U.S. Census but were of special interest to a virus hunter: Less a typical American community than a place with aspects of many different American communities. It was as if someone had thrown the pieces to seven different jigsaw puzzles into one box. It has charming Victorian houses, less charming housing developments, and brutalist, densely packed apartment buildings. It has people living on the streets. It has upper middle class and really poor people. It has teleworkers and construction workers. It has four churches, a street of retail shops and a park. It holds a big working-class Latino population but also, like chips in a cookie, hipsters and tech bros  though when I told my daughter this she said, Hipsters would never live anywhere near tech bros.

Well, now they did and they had something else in common: Theyd all been tested for the coronavirus. Or, at any rate, most of them. Over the previous week a team of 450 volunteers, supervised by a UCSF medical researcher named Diane Havlir, had drawn blood and swabbed the noses and throats of several thousand Mission residents, then sent the samples to DeRisi. In three days theyd taken nearly a third of the test samples collected in the greater San Francisco area since the pandemics start.

Havlir, an AIDS researcher, had earned the trust of the locals over many years of working with them to control that disease. Walking around you got a sense of the wariness shed had to overcome. The lower floor windows of most every building had bars, like jail cells. Signs everywhere told strangers to keep out, and murals and graffiti had unkind words for ICE. Men without masks walked dogs without collars and both eyed you a bit as you passed them on the street. Even the sweet aspects of street life felt vaguely threatening: children, clearly from different households, playing together in the street; a card game in the park; seven men without masks, seated along a wall beside the park, too close to each other. What once seemed commonplace now left you wondering if you should call the department of public health.

The researchers announced the initial results of the Mission study on Monday. Just the positives and the negatives, not what is likely to be the more revealing data from the genetic analysis. But even those crude results paint a picture of how the virus might be getting around  one that is clearer than just about any that the city, or for that matter, the country has had until now. The departments of public health are operating in a permanent mindset of scarcity, says DeRisi. They arent doing any of this sort of sampling. Which is a great pity as it is amazing what it can reveal. Slightly more than 2% of the people tested in the four square blocks currently have the coronavirus, for instance. Only 1 in 10 of them has a fever and most have no symptoms at all  which is to say that, absent the testing, theyd probably still be walking around and infecting people without knowing it.

There was more. Of the 981 white people tested, zero have the virus. Latinos are only 44% of the study but 95% of the positives. Men are a bit more than half of the sample but 75% of the positives. Just over half of the people tested say theyre unable to work from home  but that group registers 90% positive. Being in a crowded house appears to be a problem: nearly 30% of the positives come from households of more than five people, though those households make up only 15% of the population. Being poor is a bigger problem: people earning less than $50,000 a year are 89% of the positives, though only 39% of the group studied. Only a quarter of the people with the virus have a primary care doctor. Six of the people with the virus still havent been located by the researchers, and informed that theyre ill.

The data you get when you go out and test people without symptoms is different from the data you get when you only test those who show up in a hospital. You learn some of the same things  for instance that the people most susceptible to the virus, and maybe also most likely to spread it, are the people who cant afford to isolate themselves. But the outside data might also tell us a whole bunch of stuff that the hospital data wont.

Joe DeRisi and his volunteer army of grad students are now busy in their labs studying the genetic markings of the viruses theyve found. And asking the questions that need to be answered, to reopen the society without lots more sickness and death. For example: Hows this virus moving through society? There are all kinds of rumors, says DeRisi. Are kids the hidden vector? Or can you get it from a handrail? Those guys sitting along the wall beside the park  are they the problem? Or is it the guys playing cards in the park? By studying the genomes of the samples, he may be able to answer those questions, and others. Hell be able to see, for instance, if parents are infecting their children or if its the children infecting their parents. Theres so much we dont know, says DeRisi. We honestly dont know what were going to find. Thats whats cool about it. Its science!

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Michael Lewis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. His books include Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, Liars Poker and The Fifth Risk. He also has a podcast called Against the Rules.

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion

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Editors note: Todays guest editorial originally appeared in The Columbian. Editorial content from other publications and authors is provided to give readers a sampling of regional and national opinion and does not necessarily reflect positions endorsed by the Editorial Board of The Daily News.

The impact of the wind energy industry is impossible to miss for anybody who drives Highway 14 through Vancouver.

Turbine blades, measuring 200-plus feet and looking like something out of a science-fiction movie, can frequently be seen on elongated trucks traversing the highway. The same goes for sections of wind-farm towers, being carried from the Port of Vancouver to destinations near and far.

We are reminded of those scenes with news that the port has welcomed a shipment of 220-foot-long blades that eventually will be sent to a wind farm in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. We also are reminded of the need for Congress to aggressively bolster the renewable energy industry as it formulates legislation related to the coronavirus pandemic.

A year ago, according to Forbes, the renewable energy industry employed three times as many Americans as fossil fuel industries. And the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has forecast solar installer and wind technician to be the two fastest-growing jobs through 2026. As more states work to limit carbon emissions and as more coal-fired plants close, the future of energy employment is in renewable industries.

The renewable energy industry, like others, has been hit hard by COVID-19. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 106,000 clean-energy workers filed for unemployment in March, ranging from construction workers to those who assemble electric cars or install energy-efficient appliances. Major projects have been put on hold because of investor uneasiness, and small projects have been delayed because of social-distancing rules.

As Bob Keefe, executive director of Environmental Entrepreneurs, recently told The Washington Post: These arent left-wing coastal hippies. These are construction workers who get up every day and lace up their boots and pull on their gloves and go to work putting insulation in our attics.

Despite this, President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have been reluctant to pay attention. Trump has promised lifelines for airlines and oil companies. He has met with oil executives and has said, We dont want to lose our great oil companies.

Fossil fuel companies are, indeed, an important sector of the economy, but the United States should focus on the future of energy production rather than languishing in the past. Climate change demands that we seek and promote changes in how we charge our cellphones and run our dishwashers.

The current climate in Washington, D.C., marks a sharp contrast from the last economic downturn. During the Great Recession a decade ago, Congress and the Obama administration used a stimulus bill to earmark unprecedented funding for renewable energy and fuel-efficient vehicles. The United States spent $112 billion to boost green energy projects, and the results have been witnessed over the past decade in sharp employment growth.

Congressional Democrats attempted to insert funds for renewable energy into the first coronavirus relief package. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., rejected that and accused Democrats of trying to dust off the Green New Deal. Rep. A. Donald McEachin, D-Va., seems to have a more forward-thinking view: Relief and recovery legislation will shape our society for years to come. We must use these bills to build in a climate-smart way.

We hope that members of Congress can develop a clear view of the worlds energy future. Maybe they should come take a look at Vancouver.

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NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said he understands its tough, but the community has to keep abiding by the social distancing restrictions.

Currently in NSW two people are allowed to visit another house, as the state has not yet brought in the stage-1 plans set out by the federal government on Friday that would allow visits of up to five people.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard addresses the media at St Leonards on Saturday. Credit:James Alcock

"It's really tough to not be able to hug your mum or kiss your mum, but it would be the wisest course to not do that," Mr Hazzard said.

Mr Hazzard's message comes as a record number of coronavirus tests were conducted on Friday.
A high drama was witnessed at Tarn Taran civil hospital on Saturday when a 34-year-old coronavirus patient fled the isolation ward sending the authorities and the policemen present there into a tizzy.

The man, who along with his 32-year-old wife and a 5-year-old son had recently returned from Hazur Sahib in Nanded district of Maharashtra, was caught by the police outside the civil hospital and brought back to the isolation ward.

He was admitted to the ward on April 3 after he tested positive for Covid-19. However, his wife and son tested negative. The family had returned from Nanded on March 28 and had been kept in Mai Bhago College, which has been converted into a quarantine centre.

My wife and son have been quarantined even as they tested negative. My wife informed me over phone that our sons condition is not well and he has been crying for the past two days. I wanted to meet my son. My wife and son should be allowed to go home? said the man, who hails from Thakarpura village of Patti subdivision in the district, while talking to HT over phone.

The incident took place at around 1 pm, according to the hospital authorities. He was caught by two cops on the Amritsar-Tarn Taran road outside the hospital. After 30-minute persuasion by health officials, the man agreed to go back to the isolation ward.

Tarn Taran civil surgeon Dr Anoop Kumar said the man managed to flee the hospital by dodging the security men and the health staff deployed in and outside the isolation ward.

Senior medical officer (SMO) of the hospital Dr Inder Mohan Gupta said, If even a single person under observation goes out, its a public hazard. The health authorities will have to identify and isolate people who came in contact with the patient after he left the hospital.
Authoritiesworldwide face the formidable challenge of returning millions of children to classrooms shut due to the coronavirus outbreak, weighing the need to limit the educational damage against the risks of fuelling a surge in new cases. Although young people appear less vulnerable to COVID-19, experts say they could still be a vector for contagion, a major worry for both parents and teachers. "Some are impatient to renew the contact with students, but others are scared," said Xavier Toussaint, a secondary school teacher in Waterloo, Belgium. And even if the crisis eases, social distancing measures will drastically change how classrooms look -- and how children interact with their teachers and each other -- for months, if not years. At Toussaint's school of 800 pupils, only 10 classes consisting of small groups will resume from May 18, meaning officials will have to choose who can come. "The requirement is a maximum of 10 per class, with four square metres (43 square feet) of space per student, plus eight square metres for the teacher," he said. Similar restrictions are planned across Europe: France is ordering continual hand-washings throughout the day, no group play at recess, one-way hallways to avoid mingling, and face masks for all but the youngest students. Parents are also being urged to take their children's temperature each morning when the country begins its staggered returns next week. In Paris, schools will be able to accomodate just 15 percent of students, Mayor Anne Hidalgo said this week. She and more than 300 other mayors in the greater Paris region have called to push back the returns, echoing worries in other countries keeping most schools shut for now. Italy and Spain, hit hard by the coronavirus, have cancelled class until September, as have Bulgaria, Ireland, Portugal, Tunisia, and the state of New York. In China's Wuhan, where the outbreak erupted in December, students began returning to class only this week, wearing masks and walking in single file past thermal scanners, after being shut out since January. - 'Immense effort' - At the height of the crisis, an estimated 1.5 billion learners from kindergarten to university were stuck at home in 195 countries, a number that stood at 1.3 billion as of May 7, the UN education agency UNESCO said. It has warned the lockdowns could further widen education gaps between rich and poor since half the world's students lack access to computers for home schooling. "The decision on when and how to reopen schools is far from simple," UN chief Audrey Azoulay said this week. "But as numerous students fall behind in their learning... reopening must be a priority," she said. Even in developed countries, officials are racing for students to have at least a few weeks in the classroom before the summer break, a tacit admission that "distance learning" cannot make up for the educational deficit from two months or more of home confinement. "It's not bad that they do it in this way," said Alice Laval, a French teacher in Vienna who agreed home schooling had increased disparities between students with good support networks and those without. "At first it will be all about checking how the kids are doing," she said of the return. Laval said preparing Austrian schools for the strict sanitary rules, dividing classes and reworking schedules, had been "an immense effort." Other teachers have been less sanguine, many taking to social media to mock decrees such as cleaning every crayon before it is shared, or making sure five-year-olds respect a safe social distance of one metre from their classmates. "It's broadly accepted that this pandemic is far from under control, and everyone is worried about a second wave" of cases, France's FSU teachers' union said in a statement. "As of now, there is no guarantee that the conditions for health safety will be met in France for public servants, children or their families by May 11," it said. - Risk-free? - As the virus continues to exact heavy tolls, authorities will be closely watching those countries reopening schools to see if there is a flare-up in new cases that could overwhelm hospitals. Scandinavian countries in particular have moved quickly to reopen schools or, in the case of Sweden, avoided closures altogether. "Students are happy to be back and are following the rules to stay in small groups and limit contacts. And they've become expert hand-washers," said Kathrine Wilsher Lohre, principal at a school outside Oslo in Norway. "From what we've seen so far, respecting the safety distances in groups has been hardest for the children, but I think good hand hygiene will help to stop any spread of infections," she said. Some parents were wary -- A Norwegian Facebook group called "My child should not be a guinea pig for COVID-19" garnered some 27,000 members. Officials have tried to play down the risks, while emphasising the need to revive economies battered by the business closures and stay-at-home orders to combat the outbreak. "The share of children with the disease is small. The risk of a child infecting an adult is not realistic. Opening schools is risk-free," said Finland's top public health official, Mika Salminen. France's Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has also rejected claims that the government is moving too fast, warning this week that the lockdown has been a "catastrophe for the most vulnerable children and adolescents." "Reopening schools is a priority for us," he said.
Vande Bharat Mission day 2: Two special flights from United Arab Emirates (UAE), Dubai landed in Chennai midnight on Friday with 356 Indians including three infants

Vande Bharat Mission day 2: Two special flights from United Arab Emirates(UAE), Dubai landed in Chennai midnight on Friday. The first flight from Dubai brought 182 Indians including three children and the second Air India IX540  POB 177 brought 177 Indians back to the nation. All the passengers were screened and tested for coronavirus after the arrival at Chennai International Airport. Further, the government has given the passengers two options for quarantine. The passengers can eighter opt for free government quarantine or can also go for paid hotel quarantine.

Due to coronavirus pandemic, India opted for a massive evacuation plan which is named Vande Bharat. In the mission, India will operate 64 flights to bring back 14,800 citizens in 7 days in 12 countries. The mission began on May 7 and will end on May 13. On its second day, four flights landed in India. 182 Indians returned from Bahrains Manama and landed at Cochin International Airport. Air India flight AI 381, with 234 passengers landed in New Delhi from Singapore. AI 1241 from Dhaka Srinagar and another from Riyadh also reached Kozhikode, Kerala.

Reports reveal that the returnees have been shortlisted from a database of more than 2,00,000 people who included 6,500 pregnant women. Under the repatriation plan, the Indian government will be ensuring the return of Indians stranded aboard.

Also Read: CBSE class 10 and 12 board exams to be conducted in first two weeks of July

Tamil Nadu: Another special flight from United Arab Emirates (UAE)'s Dubai, carrying around 177 Indian nationals, has arrived at Chennai International Airport. #VandeBharatMission https://t.co/E94ORsRakb  ANI (@ANI) May 8, 2020

Further, the Indian government is also working on Operation Samudra Setu where Indian Navy will evacuate Indians stranded abroad using naval ships. Moreover, INS Jalashwa, the ship of Eastern Naval Command is scheduled to reach Kochi, Kerala by Sunday.

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Over the past day, Boryspil Airport has accepted five flights with passengers - from Hamburg, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Sharjah and London. About 700 people returned to Ukraine, according to the State Border Guard Service."The border guards of the Kyiv separate checkpoint met almost 700 Ukrainian citizens who arrived by these airplanes. The guards carried out temperature screening of each passenger. No persons with fever were found. Also, none of the passengers complained about their health", the message said.All passengers, without exception, installed the Act at home mobile application and pledged to be self-isolated at the addresses indicated in it. In total, over the past day, border guards worked with 13500 citizens for entry and exit.

As we reported earlier, according to Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine will not send its citizens to work abroad during the coronavirus pandemic.

There is a request from the international partners but the government of Ukraine is guided by, first of all, security reasons and health of our citizens. In terms of the pandemic, any travel is the exposure to infection, especially, when it is a plane journey, he said.

However, it was noted that the Ukrainian government was ready to work constructively and it was ready to reconsider the ban for leaving the country.


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WASHINGTON  Amy Lappos, the Connecticut woman who a year ago alleged unwanted physical contact by former vice president Joe Biden, says she has been attacked on social media by individuals falsely suggesting she is hiding additional allegations against Biden.

The attacks started after Lappos tweeted about an interview in which another woman, Tara Reade, came forward with a sexual assault allegation against Biden. The online commenters have suggested Lappos is withholding part of her story because she backs Bidens 2020 presidential campaign.

Pinned at the collision of the #MeToo movement and the hyper-partisan 2020 election, the onslaught of tweets, Facebook messages and text messages have left Lappos, 44, traumatized and scared, she said. For Lappos, who says she is a survivor of unrelated sexual violence, the attacks open deeply painful wounds.

I want to make sure that the message I tried to send last year about bodily autonomy and survivorship - I wanted to make sure that that story is preserved, Lappos said in an exclusive interview with Hearst Connecticut Media. And I dont want to be weaponized. I support Joe Biden right now.

Lappos was never sexually assaulted or harassed by Biden, she said. Her story is unchanged from when she first told it in early 2019: Biden pulled her head toward his and rubbed noses with her at a Greenwich fundraiser in 2009, where she was working as a congressional aide to U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn.

Lappos is one of eight women who have alleged that Biden initiated unwanted or inappropriate physical contact with them. After their allegations emerged, Biden promised on April 3, 2019 to be more respectful of peoples personal space. The Biden campaign did not respond to requests for further comment Saturday.

Reade, who last year accused Biden of inappropriate touching, expanded her claim in late March to include an allegation of sexual assault against Biden dating to when Reade worked in Bidens Senate office in 1993. Reade called for Biden to drop out of the presidential race in an interview with journalist Megyn Kelly, part of which was released this week.

Biden said the alleged assault of Reade never happened in a statement and interview on May 1. He requested the Senate and National Archives find and release any complaint from Reade from his offices personnel records.

Despite all the allegations, Lappos, a Democrat, said she plans to vote for Biden in the Connecticut primary and general election.

Did I want to end up with Joe Biden, two white males in the election? Not really. I dont see it being so progressive, said Lappos. However, Joe Biden is the obvious choice to beat [President Donald] Trump right now and therefore, I support him.

Lappos also said she believes something did happen to Reade, but has some skepticism about the exact details.

I believe and support Tara Reade. I give her the benefit of doubt, said Lappos. I will not participate in any of the bashing of her because I do believe that she speaks from a place of trauma.

Lappos first publicly disclosed the unwanted contact she says she experienced from Biden in 2019 on Facebook and then, in interviews with the Hartford Courant and Hearst Connecticut Media. When the news broke, her front lawn in Milford was flooded with reporters and her phone started ringing and buzzing incessantly, she said. Online messages poured in from people who applauded her for speaking up or dismissed her as a liar, she said.

I wasnt expecting the amount of push back that I got - push back, from primarily older male Democrats, said Lappos. It was all social media. Some of them were so disgusting.

The outpouring of attention - much of it negative - forced her to rebrand her business as a grant writer for non-profits, Lappos said. Democrats ended friendships with her. Eventually, things quieted down.

Then, on March 25, 2020, a self-described socialist and podcaster Katie Halper released a podcast interview in which Reade described her sexual assault allegation against Biden publicly for the first time. Lapposs name surged in the news media again and online. Lappos spoke to the New York Times, the Washington Post and USA Today as they vetted Reades claims.

People began tweeting lists of the women who had made allegations against Biden, some inaccurately stating that all the women had accused Biden of sexual harassment or assault. Lappos said she tweeted at some asking them to remove her from the list or use different language. Sometimes, they blocked Lappos and continued tweeting, she said.

On May 2, someone tagged Lappos in a Twitter thread about the Reade claims. Lappos had not read Halpers social media posts but did listen to the podcast interview with Reade, she said.

Lappos decided to tweet: Katie Halper also chose only to speak to Biden accusers who support Bernie for her article. I never heard from her because I support our nominee and loathe Bernie [Sanders, senator from Vermont and presidential candidate]... Thats a smear campaign posing as journalism.

That afternoon, Halper retweeted Lapposs comment adding: Youre a Biden supporter accusing him of something? By all means, I will speak to you. Did you reach out? A screenshot of Halpers tweet was shared with Hearst Connecticut Media. The tweet appears to have been deleted from Twitter.

Halper retweeted Lapposs message a few more times on May 2. Halper tweeted, A Biden supporter is publicly tweeting that she has an accusation against Biden. Someone may want to talk to her. Halper suggested Lappos message her at one point and later said Lappos would not talk to her.

Halper and Lappos never spoke, Lappos said. She noted that Halper did not tag Lappos in her tweets about her.

Attempts to reach Halper went unanswered Saturday.

The exchange unleashed a wave of people who began suggesting that Lappos was hiding an assault, with some suggesting shed been raped, to protect Biden. Lappos called herself a survivor in one tweet.

Thousands of people tweeted at Lappos with comments like: So Biden raped you too? Now you dont want to speak up because it doesnt suit you politically? and mocked her saying Biden raped me but I am still way more into Biden than loathsome Bernie. Facebook messages piled on, too, private messages shared with Hearst Connecticut Media show.

Lappos grew particularly worried when she received a random text message describing alleged examples of presidential infidelity and urging her you should not be cover [sic] this up today. Lappos showed the text message to Hearst Connecticut Media.

Its retraumatizing to keep hearing the word rape thrown at me and that Im protecting rapists. Thats been a nightmare, said Lappos. As it was escalating, there is definitely a fear. You hear a noise and youre like s***. The mailman comes and youre Oh god did somebody mail me something weird.

I want to make sure there is no belief that I was raped by Biden, Lappos said.

Lappos spoke up in the first place, she said, because she wanted to support Lucy Flores, a Democratic politician from Nevada who said Biden made her feel uneasy by kissing her on the back of the head at a campaign rally in 2014. Biden said in response he never believed he acted inappropriately.

Lappos was working at a Democratic fundraiser at a home in Greenwich in 2009, when then-vice President Joe Biden grabbed her head and pulled her close to rub noses with her, Lappos has told numerous media outlets. She was standing in the kitchen with a group of other volunteers when Biden stopped to talk to them.

It was so weird, said Lappos. I remember when he grabbed my face and was pulling me forward, I remember thinking Is he going to kiss me? I had no idea what the hell he was doing he was talking to me while he had his forehead against mine and was rubbing my nose. He was saying something to me. And to this day I have no idea what it was because I just kept thinking Oh my god, his face is pressed against mine.

Lappos said the interaction was witnessed by three Himes staffers and was discussed among the low-level staff after the fact. Among the staff, jokes were made that Biden tried to make out with me, Lappos said. Hearst Connecticut Media tried to contact the staffers Lappos said witnessed the interaction, but did not hear back.

Lappos never filed a complaint of any kind about the interaction, she said. She does not remember meeting Biden on any other occasion.

Lappos never told Himes about the interaction, she said. In an interview, Himes confirmed he never discussed the alleged nose rub with Lappos after the event in 2009, nor after she spoke about it publicly in 2019. Lappos worked for Himes from July 2008 until Nov. 2016, she said and a Himes spokesman confirmed.

As Lappos has reflected on the interaction with Biden over the years, she has come to view it as an uncomfortable violation of her personal space by a powerful individual in a professional environment.

As a woman whose background includes previous sexual violence and abuse, she said, she was particularly alarmed by the invasion. Lappos was raped twice while a minor, once by someone she knew in high school, she said.

The #MeToo movement has highlighted not only that sexual harassment and misconduct are unacceptable, she believes, but consent is necessary for physical contact between individuals.

I think this discussion - this bodily autonomy discussion - is so overlooked, she said. An 18-inch radius around myself, that is my space. When that is space is respected and understood that that is your space to decide how you interact within that space I think that uplifts the understanding of rape and molestation.

Lappos said she does not regret speaking up about her experience with Biden in 2019. She knows continuing to speak to the press about her story may further fuel her harassment.

I have the right to my voice, said Lappos. I will not feel ready to let this go or heal from this until my voice is heard.

emilie.munson@hearstdc.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson
It's just a matter of time before the stars in Ben Baillargeon's stable can once again shine.

While the question of How much time before harness racing resumes in Ontario? remains unanswered, the likes of reigning William Wellwood Memorial winner HP Royal Theo are not far at all from being ready to resume competition.

"I trained a bunch of them in 2:00 on Wednesday," Baillargeon informed Trot Insider, indicating that HP Royal Theo "trained in 2:00, last half in :57. He's ready to go."

The son of Royalty For Life and Mikas Mazurka has been out of action since the $225,000 Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final on Oct. 12, when he broke stride at the half-mile pole as the odds-on favourite. Four weeks before that costly misstep, HP Royal Theo bailed off stalled cover, chased down Beyond Kronos, and held off Marcus Melander trainee Capricornus for a 1:54.2 score in the $370,000 William Wellwood Memorial at Woodbine Mohawk Park. The win helped propel HP Royal Theo to divisional honours as Canada's Two-Year-Old Trotting Colt of the Year in 2019.

HP Royal Theo has matured in his seven months away from the races, and Baillargeon is hopeful that his star sophomore will live up to his expectations.

"He got a little -- I wouldn't say bigger -- but more wide, more bulk," said Baillargeon. "He's a little bit more mature. I trained him all winter with another horse and I made him sit in a hole. He does what I want him to do.

"He was ready to go the third week of April," Baillargeon continued. "When they cancelled, I just slowed him down. The last three weeks, I just trained him once a week -- around 2:10 just to keep him tight. But this week, I trained him in 2:00, and he was real good. When they say 'go,' he'll qualify and he'll be ready to go."



Left to right: Jean Tourigny, Sara Baillargeon, Ben Baillargeon, Guylaine Picard, Jeff Baillargeon, Claude Hamel, Standardbred Canada Director Andrea Rennison (presenting), Celine Paquin, Gitane Bernard, Louis-Philippe Roy. Left to right: Jean Tourigny, Sara Baillargeon, Ben Baillargeon, Guylaine Picard, Jeff Baillargeon, Claude Hamel, Standardbred Canada Director Andrea Rennison (presenting), Celine Paquin, Gitane Bernard, Louis-Philippe Roy.

The maturity and versatility HP Royal Theo gained in the off-season have surfaced in recent training miles, according to his veteran Quebecois trainer who now calls Guelph, Ont., home.

"He was awesome Wednesday," said Baillargeon. "I stretched him out a little bit and I was really pleased. Right now, I could take him to Mohawk and train him in 1:55 or 1:56 easily. He's pretty handy."

Given that the May 18 Ontario Sires Stakes Gold event at Woodbine Mohawk Park (the second leg for sophomore trotting colts is not until June 28) is the only one of five preliminary events in jeopardy of abandonment, the stakes schedule that Baillargeon -- along with owners Claude Hamel and Michel Damphousse -- mapped out for HP Royal Theo seems mostly intact.

"I don't know if the Goodtimes (at Woodbine Mohawk Park) will go, but if they go with the Goodtimes in June, I'll be ready," said Baillargeon of HP Royal Theo's three-year-old campaign. "After that, I have the Earl Beal at Pocono, whether they go or not, and then after that, we're back here for the rest of the year  the Canadian Trotting Classic, the Simcoe and all the OSS."

HP Royal Theo is not eligible to the Hambletonian or the Breeders Crown, but Baillargeon didn't rule out a Breeders Crown supplement if the colt puts himself at that level.

On the pacing side, Rhythm In Motion will look to ramp up as a three-year-old after an hard-luck rookie campaign.

"I trained him in 1:57 on Wednesday," Baillargeon said of the son of Big Jim he trains for Santo and Nunzio Vena. "He was a nice two-year-old last year -- he made $50,000 -- but he was sick all year."

Despite that sickness, he posted a 1:55.2 maiden-breaking win in September, was timed in 1:52.1 in a subsequent runner-up effort, and paced closing sectionals faster than :27 on two separate occasions.

While the 12 two-year-olds and 10 three-year-olds under Baillargeon's care are "all ready to qualify," his older horses are pointed for a June return.

"All the racehorses that I raced all winter had a month off," he said. "They were turned out for one month without a harness. Every day, they were out in the field for two or three hours depending on the weather, but they didn't see a harness. I started them all back on April 20 to have them ready for June. They've all been trained a couple times so far, last Friday and then Tuesday."

Among them are a pair of top trotters: Tom and Elizabeth Rankin's Kadabra homebred Run Director, and Musical Rhythm, the 2019 O'Brien Award winner Baillargeon co-owns with the Venas and Hamel.

"It's a good problem to have," Baillargeon said of the amount of older trotting talent in his stable that also includes P L Jill and R First Class. "I can manage them a little better; I don't have to rush into anything.

"I put Run Director in all the big dances this year," he continued. "I expect a good year out of him. I qualified him twice -- in 1:56 the last time -- and I kept him tight. I trained him in 1:57 last week and in 2:00 this week. He's ready to go.

"Last year was a tough year for him. He made over $100,000, but it wasn't a good year for him  I don't know why. He still won in 1:51(.2), but I wasn't happy with his year. This year, he's a five-year-old. He had a good winter, he looks real good, and we're ready to tackle all the big ones."

The son of Kadabra won five of his 15 starts in 2019, including the aforementioned 1:51.2 win against Preferred company at Mohawk on July 1, but he remained just a hair slower than the continent's top older trotters after banking over $300,000 on the Ontario Sires Stakes circuit as a three-year-old.

Run Director's stablemate, Musical Rhythm, may have a bit longer to go to get back to action, but the mere prospect of the eight-year-old being able to race again is enough to delight Baillargeon.

"We didn't even know if he was going to come back!" Baillargeon explained. "His last race, July 9, he broke his cannon bone."

Remarkably enough, Musical Rhythm still trotted a 1:51.1 mile and held onto second place behind Dancer Hall in that fateful race. Eight months later, on March 19, he qualified in 1:56.4, only for his return to the races to be postponed once again.

"He had a bad infection in one leg," said Baillargeon of the conditions surrounding his veteran trotter being sidelined. "The disease was eating his bone away from inside; that's why we couldn't see it. We had to put screws in his leg, and once again he beat the odds. He qualified easily just before they shut down."

Still, when Musical Rhythm is in peak form, he is as good as any top-calibre trotter. He reeled off six consecutive Preferred wins at Mohawk last spring, capped by a dazzling Canadian record-equalling 1:50.4 performance on June 17.

"Santo and I talk about this horse, and he puts a smile on our faces all the time," Baillargeon said of the son of Cantab Hall who has won 36 races and banked over $800,000. "When things go bad, I just have to go jog him...Everything this horse does is a bonus for us."

Since the older horses aren't able to maintain their typical racing schedule, keeping them in shape and ready for a return to action has made for more work than usual for Baillargeon and his staff.

"It's a lot of work right now because we aren't racing," he said. "When we race, it's not as much work. Right now, the two- and three-year-olds, and now I've got to get the racehorses ready on top of it. We have lots of work. We work and we go home."

Despite the increased workload, Baillargeon reports that everyone in his circle is safe and healthy, and that the protocols being followed by horsepeople throughout the province should go a long way toward a potential return to racing sooner than later.

"Everybody in the barn is healthy, around here anyway," Baillargeon concluded. "I haven't heard of anyone who is sick. Let's hope it stays like that; it will help our return."
NOTE: This story and its headline have been updated to reflect how the state is classifying coronavirus deaths at longterm care facilities.

Nine weeks into New Jerseys coronavirus outbreak  the second-largest among American states  more than a third of the states deaths officially attributed to the disease have come at long-term care facilities.

That doesnt account for another 1,400 deaths at the facilities that officials say are probably linked to COVID-19.

The state has reported 3,440 of its 9,116 lab-confirmed COVID-19-related deaths  or about 38%  have come at the facilities, which include nursing homes and veterans homes.

Meanwhile, officials say there are 1,385 deaths that were probably related to the virus, though the victim wasnt tested. Those are not included in the states total deaths, a metric that uses only lab-confirmed fatalities.

Adding the two together, there are 4,825 confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths at the facilities as of Saturday afternoon, according to the states coronavirus tracking website. Thats 134 more than Friday.

Overall, there have been 26,031 positive tests at 515 of the states long-term care facilities, according to the site. Its unclear whether that includes only residents or workers at the facilities, as well.

The number of deaths and cases at the facilities have risen almost every day for weeks, even though nursing homes account for about only 61,000 of New Jerseys 9 million residents.

The number of positive cases and deaths connected to our long-term care facilities continues to grow.



Weve put in place significant new levels of oversight, and the @NJNationalGuard is deploying some of its members this weekend to assist in mitigation at several facilities. pic.twitter.com/fZeqGlS2Am  Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) May 9, 2020

The numbers follow a national trend. About one-third of all coronavirus deaths in the U.S. have come at nursing homes, according to a report by the New York Times.

Its not just New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy told NBCs Today during an interview Friday morning. Its a national tragedy. Its like dry wood in a forest fire.

Still, state Sen. Joseph Pennachio, R-Morris, has accused Murphy, a Democrat, of not doing enough to prepare and protect "the most vulnerable people in our population, our elderly residents living in the close quarters of nursing homes. The Republican lawmaker said the state was aware that an outbreak had swept through a nursing home in Washington in January and had weeks to prepare before New Jerseys outbreak started Mach 4.

Asked Saturday during his daily coronavirus briefing in Trenton if he felt the state could have done more, Murphy said: I dont know any place in America that would wish upon reflection that if only ...

You see the loss of life, the governor said. The performance by the operators has been extremely disappointing  not in every case, but in too many cases. Uneven, lacking in communication.

Murphy also said the state has now thrown an enormous amount at this.

The issue came into sharp focus in mid-April, after reports of bodies being piled up in a makeshift morgue at a nursing home in Andover. Murphy said he was outraged" and the state Attorney Generals Office launched an investigation into how longterm care facilities have responded to the pandemic.

On Wednesday, Murphy announced the state is bringing in outside consultants to help with the outbreak at the facilities and will now test all residents and employees.

And on Thursday, the governor announced the state was sending 120 National Guard soldiers to the facilities to serve as backup.

When we do our own postmortem in New Jersey, a huge focus will be on longterm care, Murphy said Saturday.

Overall, New Jersey officials Saturday reported 166 new deaths attributed to the coronavirus and 1,759 new positive teats. That brings the state total to at least 137,085 cases so far. Only New York has more deaths and cases among U.S. states.

More than half of New Jerseys known deaths have had underlying conditions, according to the state tracking website. The state on Friday reported a 4-year-old girl with an underlying condition was the first child to die from complications related to COVID-19.

Though officials say the daily number of cases and hospitalizations keep dropping, Murphy has yet to give a definitive timeline for gradually peeling back his the stay-at-home and business-closing orders he put in place seven weeks ago to help fight the virus. He said the state risks the numbers jumping again if reopening is rushed and has called on residents to keep social distancing.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com.
Shopping centre giant Hammerson may tap investors for up to 500million to cope with the coronavirus crisis.

Analysts are predicting that the company, which owns the Bullring in Birmingham, will be forced to raise money in a rights issue after a major deal to offload retail parks fell through.

Short-sellers have swooped in expectation of a cash call that could be at a discount to the current share price, which closed on Thursday at just 53.5p.

Hammerson, which owns Bullring in Birmingham (pictured) has debts of 2.4billion

That values the FTSE 250 company, which has debts of 2.4billion, at just 410million and means any fundraise of hundreds of millions of pounds would mean a drastic restructuring.

The company's plan to sell seven retail parks for 400million collapsed last week after private equity buyer Orion pulled out due to the pandemic.

Hammerson will get to keep the 21million deposit paid by the bidder, but analysts think it will need far more so that it does not default on bank loans.

Liberum's Tom Musson told clients: 'We think Hammerson requires an equity cure potentially in excess of 500million.

'Given the near freeze in investment markets we think opportunities for disposals are limited, which is highlighted by Orion not proceeding with the transaction today.

'Management may need to act sooner rather than later to protect against covenant breaches in the current market.'

Hammerson's shopping centres and retail parks have been shut since the lockdown began. The company, which has scrapped its dividend to conserve cash, said at the end of March that it had only received around one third of the rent due by the end of the quarter.

Rival Intu Properties, which owns the Trafford Centre in Manchester and Lakeside in Essex, failed in its own attempts to raise money, which has left its future looking very uncertain.

Hedge funds are betting large sums that Hammerson will launch a cash call in the coming days, traders said. The company is now the second most-shorted stock in the UK, according to data from the Financial Conduct Authority. It comes after short-sellers doubled down on bets against the firm and now account for at least 10.5 per cent of its shares.

Short-sellers, normally hedge funds, make money by borrowing shares, selling them, buying them back at a lower price, and then returning them to the lender, pocketing the difference.

Rival Intu Properties, which owns the Trafford Centre in Manchester (pictured), failed in its own attempts to raise money

Hedge fund Caxton, which moved headquarters from New York to London last year, has the largest short position in Hammerson with 4.33 per cent of its shares in what is one of the largest single short positions by percentage of a company's shares.

Like Caxton, New York hedge fund Woodson Capital Management increased its bet against Hammerson on Wednesday after news of the collapse of the deal for its retail parks. Woodson now has a 2.34 per cent short position.

Caxton's short position is worth about 18million, while Woodson's is worth around 10million.

Hammerson turned down a 5billion takeover approach from France's Klepierre in 2018 in favour of a bid for rival Intu, which it later dropped.

Hammerson declined to comment.
Ravi Zacharias health update: Cancer metastasized, doctors say theres nothing more they can do

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Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias has been battling a rare form of bone cancer since March and was recently informed by doctors that his cancer has spread and theres nothing more they can do medically.

On Friday, Ravi Zacharias International Ministries shared a health update from Sarah Davis, CEO of RZIM and Zacharias' daughter, who informed the ministry's global staff about her father's condition. We have just learned that while the tumor in my dads sacrum has been responding to the chemotherapy, the area where the cancer metastasized has actually worsened, Davis wrote.

His oncologist informed us that this cancer is very rare in its aggression and that no options for further treatment remain. Medically speaking, they have done all they are able, she added.

Zacharias and his wife, Margaret, were in Houston, Texas, during the duration of his treatment. According to Davis, they will be returning home to Atlanta, where our family can be together for whatever time the Lord gives us.

The announcement comes just a day after Zacharias shared a picture of him and his wife on Instagram to celebrate their 48th wedding anniversary. He captioned the photo, In sickness and in health.

Our 48th wedding anniversary looked different than the others, but three things remain the same: our love for each other, the gift of family and friends who shower us with kindness, and the abiding faithfulness of our great God, he wrote.

Thanks to everyone who sent greetings and words of encouragement to Margie and me on this occasion. Please keep us in your prayers as I battle cancer, and accept our heartfelt gratitude for your love and friendship."

Zacharias first revealed he had bone cancer in Facebook post back in March where he announced that doctors had discovered a cancerous tumor on the sacrum, a cancer called sarcoma. The sacrum is a shield-shaped bony structure located at the base of the lumbar vertebrae and is connected to the pelvis.

"We are trusting the Lord in this, and we believe we have already seen evidence of His hand, he said at the time.

"We received literally thousands of messages from people all over the world saying you were praying. I have every belief God directed and prompted my surgeon to his discovery of this tumor. Margie and I and our family are so grateful for your continued prayers for the journey that lies ahead.

"We are trusting the Lord for His purpose. Please do also pray that God will take away this horrific night pain, which is the most difficult part of waiting."
On May 7 and 8, Vietnamese authorities and representative agencies in the US, Vietnam Airlines and relevant US agencies worked together to bring back home the citizens from San Francisco Airport.

The passengers included many children under 18 years old, overseas students who dont have accommodation due to dormitory closures, the elderly, the sick and those living in difficult circumstances.

Upon arriving at Van Don Airport in the northern province of Quang Ninh, the passengers and cabin crew members were quarantined in line with regulations.

To conduct the flight, the Vietnamese Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Transport, the Vietnamese Embassy and representative agencies in the US worked with domestic agencies and US authorities to assist the airline in completing procedures to bring home the citizens.

Many of the citizens had reportedly been stranded in San Francisco International Airport in recent times as they awaited flights to return home, with some stranded since March 22.

The Vietnamese Consulate General in San Francisco and other Vietnamese representative agencies in the US tried to assist stranded Vietnamese citizens in terms of accommodation, travelling and pandemic prevention measures.

In the coming days, more flights from other countries will bring back Vietnamese citizens home depending on the pandemic's developments, quarantine capacity of Vietnamese localities, and the demand of Vietnamese citizens living overseas.
Punjab ministers on Saturday walked out of a pre-cabinet meeting on the excise policy with senior state officials over an unacceptable behaviour' of the chief secretary with one of their colleagues.

The development led to the deferment of the cabinet meeting which was scheduled for Saturday. Now, it will be held on Monday.

Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh had allegedly misbehaved with Technical Education Minister Charanjit Singh Channi.

Several ministers objected to the 'unacceptable behaviour', a minister said.

Upset over it, Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal and Channi walked out of the meeting.

Later, all ministers left, claimed the minister.

The Punjab cabinet was to discuss a revision in the excise policy after poor response from contractors on the opening of liquor vends in the state.

Later, a government release said the cabinet meeting will take place on Monday.

The statement said the ministers of the state government met officials of the Department of Excise and Taxation to deliberate upon suggested changes in the excise policy for 2020-21.

The discussions were inconclusive. Accordingly, the chief minister asked them to complete their deliberations over the weekend and convey their views in the meeting of the Council of Ministers to be held now on Monday, said the statement.

Meanwhile, Congress' Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu said the ministers' reaction was similar to a judge walking out of a court after an argument with an advocate.

He attacked the ministers, saying they should also resign for their incompetent behavior.

During the coronavirus pandemic, the coordination between the ministers and bureaucrats should be strong. The ministers walking out of the pre-cabinet meeting should resign for their incompetent behavior as many others capable of handling work pressure are ready to replace them, the Ludhiana MP tweeted.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Driftwoods activity was part of campaigns launched by the parent company Vinamilk to support the community amidst the impact of the pandemic.

Los Angeles is one of the most populous localities of the US. About two million people in the city have suffered from food shortages.

So far, Los Angeles recorded 781 cases of Covid-19 and an increasing number of people who are living in difficult circumstances due to a sudden loss of income.

In response to the call from the L.A Food Bank, the Driftwood diary firm has donated over 12,000 half-gallon milk bottles (equivalent to 23,000 litres) worth a total of US$21,000 to local people affected by the epidemic, especially children and the elderly.

Over the past few years, Driftwood has joined hands with the L.A Food Bank to donate food to around 300,000 American citizens per month.

Once the foods are gathered at the L.A Food Bank's headquarters, they are delivered to needy people through free food supply stations.

Vinamilk acquired the Driftwood Dairy Holding Corporation in 2013 and now holds 100% ownership of the company which has a history of 100 years of formation and development (1920-2020).

In September 2019, Vinamilk invested an additional US$10 million to expand the scale and productivity of Driftwood, which has been a supplier of milk to nearly 100 schools in southern California over the past 50 years.

Since Covid-19 emerged in Vietnam, Vinamilk has donated nearly VND30 billion to supportive activities for the front line and community in the country during its fight against the epidemic.

A milk production line at the Driftwood Diary Corporation
STEPANAKERT.  From May 3 to 9, the adversary violated the ceasefire more than 100 times at the zone of contact between the Artsakh-Azerbaijani opposing forces.

During that time Azerbaijan fired about 700shots at Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) military positions, and from various-caliber weapons, the Artsakh Ministry of Defense (MOD) informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

But the Artsakh Defense Army frontline units are adhering to the ceasefire and continuing to take the necessary steps to reliably maintain their combat positions.
She was ready for us, red gloves, white mask, gates and doors open so we wouldnt have to touch them.

Social distancing was still the order of the day at the home of Marianne Hamilton, but it was social distancing of more than 5,130 miles that had brought us together.

Thats how far it is from Hamiltons Albuquerque home to her sisters home in Vinkeveen, a small village south of Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

Hamilton, 82 and a native of the Netherlands, was supposed to be there. She would have been partway through a six-week visit. But COVID-19 dashed those travel plans.

That was a bitter disappointment.

I worry for my sister, Hamilton said. Shes had many medical issues.

Truusje De Fouw, 80, has overcome three bouts of cancer. She struggles with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Three times a week, she undergoes dialysis because of a congenital kidney disease that has been less merciful to her than to her older sister.

She has been in and out of hospital this year and misses her sister a lot, Dutch acquaintance Simone Borgstede wrote in an email.

Borgstede works as a planner of outings for seniors in the Netherlands. She met both sisters a couple of years ago after Hamilton contacted her to arrange social activities for De Fouw that didnt overtax her health.

Now under Dutch COVID-19 restrictions, those activities are on hold.

But after Borgstede heard that the sisters visit was called off, she came up with a special activity for De Fouw:

I would like to enable a connection via Skype to her sister in Albuquerque, she wrote. They havent seen each other for more than a year.

Technology and communication programs like Skype, however, were foreign to both sisters  Hamilton, for example, still has an AOL email.

Borgstede was willing to download the Skype app on De Fouws computer, show her how to work the program, set her up with a new email address and set up WiFi at her home.

But helping Hamilton do the same was another matter.

So Borgstede sent an email to the Albuquerque Journal.

And thats how we ended up in the home of a gracious woman with red gloves and a white mask.

On Thursday morning  Thursday evening in the Netherlands  two sisters who had not seen each other in more than a year, whose plans to visit were thwarted by a virus that knows no international boundaries, saw each other through the magic of technology and the mercy of a kind woman who reached out to a newspaper thousands of miles away.

And oh, how those sisters laughed. Deep, hearty guffaws punctuating the clickety-clack chatter of their Dutch language. You didnt have to understand what they were saying to know it was a great conversation.

While we in Albuquerque sat across the room from each other in our masks and our hand sanitizers, De Fouw and Borgstede sat close and without masks. The Netherlands is on the downward side of the pandemic since peaking around mid-April, their country of just over 17 million tallying 5,288 deaths and 41,774 cases earlier this week.

They are in what their prime minister calls intelligent lockdown, with most businesses still closed but with leaving homes to enjoy the outdoors allowed as long as social distancing measures are followed.

Hair salons are expected to open next week, Borgstede said. It is better there now, they said.

Depending on the wiles of COVID-19, Hamilton said she is hopeful she can travel to see her sister in person in August. Like everything these days, nothing is certain.

But now they can see each other across the miles.

Hamilton sent us off with homemade Dutch coconut cookies and her thanks for helping her make that connection with her sister.

I still cant believe that people are so kind to help complete strangers, she said.

But in this new now of our COVID-19 world, kindness works both ways. Helping each other through these strange times makes us feel more human, more together, no matter how far away we are, when it is so easy to feel so alone. Do that, and were not strangers anymore.

UpFront is a front-page news and opinion column. Reach Joline at 730-2793, jkrueger@abqjournal.com, Facebook or @jolinegkg on Twitter.
Its been a Vancouver institution since 1919, and home of the legendary annual shoe sale, but it was announced today that Army & Navy is closing permanently.

1960s Cordova & Carrall. Archives #CVA 780-768

Army & Navy is Closing Permanently

From The Province this morning:

In a statement Saturday, owner Jacqui Cohen said she has made the difficult decision to permanently close after they were forced to shutter all five of their stores and temporarily layoff their staff.



We had hoped to re-open but the economic challenges of COVID-19 have proven insurmountable, she said.



I am full of gratitude for our staff and their years of service, our suppliers with whom we forged decades-long relationships, and of course our loyal customers who were at the heart of our business.



Cohen noted that at this time last year they were celebrating the centenary of Army & Navy  a company her grandfather started in 1919  and they were looking forward to the years ahead.

Army & Navy has operated in eight communities in Western Canada for the last 101 years.

Canadas Original Discount Store

Founder Samuel Joseph Cohen was born in San Francisco in 1897. He came to BC and at 19, he acquired his first stock by buying out a mens clothing store in Kamloops. He founded Army & Navy as a surplus store on West Hastings in 1919 with his father Jacob Solomon Cohen and brothers Joseph and Henry, eventually owning five stores. Cohen shunned the limelight, telling a reporter, If I want any advertising, Ill pay for it. Army & Navy was cash only, offering no credit cards, deliveries or fancy store fixtures. His motto was Get the goods soldtheres always more to follow.

[Source: History of Metropolitan Vancouver by Chuck Davis]

Cohen opened a second store in Regina in the 1800 block of Scarth Street in 1920 and, in 1925, the mail-order headquarters. The first Army and Navy store in Edmonton opened in 1928, north of Jasper Avenue on the west side of 101 Street. Cohens brothers, Joseph Cohen of Vancouver and Harry Cohen from Edmonton, joined him in the business.

[Source: Canadian Museum of History]

The New Westminster, BC, store opened in 1939.

During the Depression in Saskatchewan

Cohen was sensitive to the situation of prairie farmers and their need for practical, inexpensive goods. On retiring as manager of the Regina store, Cec Keiser was quoted in The Leader-Post, April 30, 1977: Sammy was always concerned with the poor people and many of our customers in the 1930s were farm families and those on relief.

[Source: Canadian Museum of History]

Self-Serve Shoe Department

During the Second World War, Army and Navy was the first store in Western Canada to introduce self-serve shoe departments, with tables dedicated to individual sizes. The retailer became famous for its shoe sales, for which people would line up around an entire city block. Following the war, Army and Navy again carried army surplus goods.

[Source: Canadian Museum of History]

1942 Army and Navy Annex. Archives #CVA 1184-330

Cohen said she will be spending the weeks ahead ensuring the women and men who have worked for Army & Navy have their support, and will focus on the philanthropic work of Face the World, an organization she created 30 years ago to support the citys most vulnerable.
For more coverage, visit our complete coronavirus section here.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter Saturday morning to announce his company will file a lawsuit against Alameda County over its shelter-in-place order that does not allow for the return of manufacturing along with the rest of the state.

"Tesla is filing a lawsuit against Alameda County immediately," he tweeted. "The unelected & ignorant 'Interim Health Officer' of Alameda is acting contrary to the Governor, the President, our Constitutional freedoms & just plain common sense!"

Musk is referring to county health officer Dr. Erica Pan, who signed on to the order spearheaded by Santa Clara County's Dr. Sara Cody that is in effect in six Bay Area counties. The local order is stricter than Governor Gavin Newsom's state order, which allowed for the return of retail and manufacturing on Friday. Local officials have declined to soften the order to be in line with the rest of the state.

"Frankly, this is the final straw," Musk tweeted. "Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately. If we even retain Fremont manufacturing activity at all, it will be dependen (sic) on how Tesla is treated in the future. Tesla is the last carmaker left in CA."

Musk then responded to a Twitter follower from San Joaquin County, a locality following the state order.

"San Joaquin County, right next door to Alameda, has been sensible & reasonable, whereas Alameda has been irrational & detached from reality," Musk tweeted. "Our castings foundry and other faculties in San Joaquin have been working 24/7 this entire time with no ill effects."

On Thursday night, Musk sent an email to employees announcing he intended to follow the state's move to Stage 2 of its reopening plan and defy the local order.

"In light of Gov. Gavin Newsoms statement earlier today approving manufacturing in California, we will aim to restart production in Fremont tomorrow afternoon," he wrote.

He added that if employees did not feel comfortable coming to work, they could stay at home.

A number of Bay Area businesses have expressed frustration in recent days that Bay Area counties are continuing to enforce a stricter order when the rest of the state  including Los Angeles County, the part of the state hardest hit by the virus  is moving into Stage 2.

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
Two more people tested positive for Covid-19 in Himachal Pradesh on Saturday, taking the states tally to 52. The number of active cases in the state is now 11.

Additional chief secretary (health) RD Dhiman said the new cases include a 32-year-old youth, a resident of Gheena panchayat in Nagorta Bagwan sub-division of Kangra district.

He had returned from Delhi on April 26, where he lived with a man from Badsar of Hamirpur district, who tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday. The youth was under home quarantine and his sample was sent for testing after Hamirpur authorities alerted the Kangra counterparts. The district authorities have now started his contact mapping.

The other patient is a 52-year-old man from Galod area of Hamirpur district. He also returned from Delhi three days ago and had symptoms of infection.

Himachal Pradesh has seen 12 cases, including a fatality, in the past six days.

A youngster from Jogindernagar of Mandi district, who had returned from Delhi on April 29, tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday. Next, a 21-year-old man from Sarkaghat in Mandi who had also travelled back from Delhi after undergoing treatment for a kidney ailment, died of the contagion at Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla. His mother also tested positive for coronavirus.

On Wednesday two people from Chamba and one from Kangra had tested positive for Covid-19. Chamba patients had a travel history to Baddi while Kangra man returned from Delhi.

On Friday, four people had tested positive for Covid-19. They included a man from Hamirpur and another from Kangra. A two-year-old girl from Chamba had also tested positive. She is the daughter of one of the two Covid patients who tested positive on Wednesday. Apart from it, a 30-year-old woman also tested positive.

So far 51 cases have been reported in the state, Una is the worst affected district with a total of 17 cases followed by nine each in Solan and Chamba. Eight cases have been reported in Kangra, three in Hamirpur, two each in Sirmaur and Mandi and one in Shimla.
Born last month to organize a 50-state free-for-all, regional coalitions to combat the coronavirus have so far been more ornamental than operational.

Seven Northeastern states said they will purchase masks, ventilators and sanitizer as a team, but officials provided few details about how the system will work or how goods will be apportioned. Western state officials confer regularly but aren't organizing supply orders, and states are operating on their own timelines. And in the South, where many politicians resisted restrictions on commerce, governors discussed a coalition but never actually formed one.

Now, as the federal government pushes for an economic reopening despite signs that virus cases could still soar, coalitions are under pressure to present more concrete plans -- and fill a void left by a White House ready to move forward whether states are ready or not.

"In the absence of federal leadership, states have been required to step up, not only individually but to coordinate regionally," said Harry Heiman, a professor of public health at Georgia State University. "I'm not seeing any tangible production coming out of that yet."

In the past week, estimates of the pandemic's death toll surged even as more states reopen at President Donald Trump's behest. As many as 135,000 could die, according to University of Washington modeling, but the president has said Americans should think of themselves as "warriors."

The Trump administration maintains that state executives have the main responsibility for fighting the pandemic. "We want the governors to call those shots," the president said April 29.

Since then, the White House shelved a detailed document meant to guide states back to safety, according to the Associated Press, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency is discussing moving on from its lead role in securing supplies.

Even governors who have avoided criticizing the president are expressing frustration. "I would love to have a national strategy other than 'You do it,' " Minnesota's Tim Walz said during a news conference Thursday.

Coalitions on the coasts and in the Midwest -- together, encompassing 19 states and more than 50% of the U.S. population -- are meant to fill the void. When they were formed, governors said a unified approach was crucial to end ferocious competition for supplies and to protect citizens from a disease that doesn't respect political or geographic boundaries.

Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, said the coalitions aren't the best way to fight the pandemic, but that they are "the best we can do." He predicted every state will eventually join one. "They have to figure this stuff out on their own, and the federal government is not likely to do much to be helpful," he said. "A group of states working in a coordinated way is better than every state doing it on their own. But this is not born out of the ideal situation."

The most tangible action so far has been the Northeastern group's purchasing consortium. The states, which include New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Delaware, are also exploring ways to produce their own protective products.

But specifics about how the arrangement will work remain unclear, including how supplies will be ordered or divided. Spokespeople for governors in the coalition either declined to share details or didn't reply to requests for comment.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf in a Wednesday news conference described a loose structure, with staff members from different offices talking regularly by phone or Zoom. "By combining all the seven states we have more buying power, more brain power," he said.

Federal officials know that states lack protective equipment and are predicting a new surge of cases that could create another shortage of ventilators, Politico reported this week. But top FEMA officials privately suggest the biggest part of their job, providing PPE, is done. They believe that Project Airbridge -- a program created by the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner -- has stopped shortages by flying in at least 746 million pairs of gloves, 71 million surgical masks and 10 million surgical gowns.

However, FEMA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are still regularly seeking contractors to supply personal protective equipment like nitrile gloves, Tyvek coveralls, surgical gowns, and face shields. This increases competition with the states. And FEMA regional offices are putting out their own requests for proposals, a sign some areas still lack supplies.

The Western States Pact isn't unifying around equipment. Instead, members are mostly communicating about reopening. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis described the pact as a "strong information-sharing platform."

California's Gavin Newsom said there are weekly phone calls among governors' chiefs of staff. Representatives from Oregon and Colorado recently presented plans that would allow rural counties to open more quickly than urban places. Newsom called those drafts "very very helpful" in creating his own guidelines, some of which will be announced this week. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is also using them as a guide, according to a spokesperson.

But a telltale piece of vague management-speak recurs: A spokesperson for Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak said pact members were sharing "best practices."

The pact "could be more collaborative in the PPE space and sharing best practices on antibody tests," Newsom said.

Midwestern states "are continuing to communicate and we are continuing to talk about best practices," said Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who cast his lot with Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Indiana.

But all those best practices haven't stopped states from moving on divergent timelines. Colorado partially reopened in late April, almost two full weeks before California will ease some restrictions. Indiana, Michigan and Ohio have had partial reopenings as well, while the rest of the coalition remains in lockdown.

"We all make our individual nuanced decisions based on the culture within our states, but it has been very helpful," Beshear said during a Wednesday news conference in Frankfort.

Geoffrey Heal, an economics professor at Columbia Business School, said that acting alone defeats the purpose of the regional groups, particularly in areas like the Northeast where states are small and travel is easy.

"It really doesn't make much sense to try and close down one part and not the other, or to open up one part and not the other," Heal said.

The true benefits, though, may be as much about politics as anything else, he said. Having the cover of a group helps governors ensure they "don't do something that makes them look like a total outlier."
Harrisburg University of Science and Technology awarded 998 degrees to its largest graduating class to date during the universitys 2020 Commencement on Thursday night.

Harrisburg University President Dr. Eric Darr was joined by Provost and Chief Academic Officer Dr. Bilita Mattes, and Board of Trustees member and former Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Mark Singel to confer degrees to the universitys newest alumni. Tiffany Smith, president of the universitys Student Government Association, also addressed the class of 2020, according to a press release.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, commencement exercises were live-streamed online and a virtual dance party celebrating the end of the year and commencement took place afterward. More than 1,900 viewers watched the commencement online from more than 18 countries, the release said. More than 600 viewers tuned in to participate in the dance party. Initially, more than 900 people tried to log into the virtual party, causing the web page that was hosting it to momentarily crash, according to the release.

Darr told the class of 2020 that the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the true grit and resolve of the university and its students. This is a moment youve worked so hard for. Some of you have waited 10 years for this day. This is not what you expected, nor what Harrisburg University wanted to give you, he said.

I miss the excitement and pure emotion of commencement. I miss the balloons, the flowers, and the screams of joy from friends and family. I miss seeing a sea of mortarboard caps in front of me. But I bet that many of you are wearing them anyway, that cap and gown that signify one of the most significant milestones of life. For that reason  for that irrepressible hope in every one of you  we couldnt be prouder.

Singel, a contributing columnist to PennLive, congratulated the graduating class for its fortitude amid trying circumstances. You were able to complete your studies under unusual conditions. In the process, you have helped stabilize Harrisburg University for generations of students to come, he said. You will face your own mortal trials in the future, but it doesnt matter  you have come out on the other shore.

While addressing her classmates, Smith said her class represents the year of adapting and overcoming what the world has thrown at us. And because of this, Smith said there is nothing that can stand in the way of the Class of 2020.

There is no stopping us now. As we move on, we must set bigger and better goals for us to strive for and I have no doubt in my mind that we will be seeing each other in the future, Smith said. Whether through scientific papers, graphic designs, or new businesses and brands. But there is still one thing left to do here today.

Smith attended and contributed to several of PennLives award-winning reader panels.

I humbly accept this diploma on behalf of all the of the HU class of 2020, she said Thursday night. This may not have been the way we all wanted to end our time here, but after everything our professors and staff have done to help finish out our final year, I think we all should be #HUProud.
FLINT, MI -- Two men suspected in the slaying of a Family Dollar security guard have been taken into custody following a week-long search, Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton announced late Friday, May 8.

Ramonyea Travon Bishop, 23, and his stepfather, Larry Edward Teague, 44 -- suspects in the the shooting death of Calvin James Munerlyn -- have been taken into custody. The U.S. Marshals on Wednesday offered a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to their arrest.

Leyton is seeking murder and felony firearm charges against Ramonyea Bishop and Larry Teague Jr. They also face a charge for violating the governors order which calls for people to wear masks while inside an enclosed building.

Bishop was found in a three-unit house in Bay City, Prosecutor David Leyton said during a Friday news conference. He was taken into custody without incident and is charged with first-degree premeditated murder, felony firearm and carrying a concealed weapon.

Larry Teague is charged with first-degree premeditated murder, two counts of felony firearm, felon possession of a firearm and carrying a concealed weapon.

Flint Family Dollar security guard remembered as a gift to life at visitation

Larry Teague was arrested near the Studio Six Hotel in West Houston early Thursday, May 7, when he was returning to his room. Flint police officers developed information locally that Larry Teague had fled to Texas with two individuals.

He is currently in custody at Harris County Jail.

Two people who drove Larry Teague to Texas, a 44-year-old woman and 43-year-old man, have been taken into custody on charges of obstruction of justice, a five-year felony, lying to police during the investigation of a violent crime, a four-year felony, harboring a felon, a four-year felony and accessory after the fact to a felony, a five-year felony.

The District Attorneys in Harris County also charged the two with hindering apprehension of a murder suspect. They are believed to have rented a vehicle in Michigan to drive Larry Teague to Texas, Leyton said. Once in Texas, it is believed they bought him clothing at a Houston-area Walmart and rented him a room.

Leyton said his office has sent detainer letters and started the extradition process for all three charged in Texas.

A court appearance in regard to the extradition is scheduled for Monday, May 11.

I have not seen such an effort in our community since the Abuelazam serial stabber homicides back in 2010," Leyton said. "We literally have pulled together a great team of men and women from all the agencies... everybody played a critical role in this with respect to finding these individuals. It was a real team effort. Flint police developed the information, the U.S. Marshals were able to get information the Michigan State Police and its fugitive team were dogged in the pursuit. Im very very proud to be a part of the law enforcement community here.

Elias Abuelazam was accused of 14 Flint area stabbings, five of them deadly, part of a spree of attacks that spread to Ohio and Virginia that captivated the nation. On June 25, 2012, Abuelazam was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Catching a serial killer: How they got Elias Abuelazam

Munerlyn, 43, of Flint was shot at the Family Dollar store off East Fifth Avenue following an alleged verbal altercation with 45-year-old Sharmel Teague. Munerlyn reportedly told the womans daughter, Brya Bishop, she needed to wear a mask while inside.

On the day of the shooting, Munerlyn told Sharmel Teague to leave the store and instructed a cashier not to serve her, according to Leyton.

Sharmel Teague fled in a red GMC Envoy, but Leyton said she returned 20 minutes later with her husband, 44-year-old Larry Teague Jr., who accused Munerlyn of disrespecting his wife. Their son Ramonyea Bishop also traveled to the store, where he allegedly shot Munerlyn.

Sister of man accused of fatally shooting Flint security guard arraigned on charges

Following the altercation, Larry Teague Jr. and Ramonyea Bishop, Teagues husband and their son, returned to the store and were in an altercation with Munerlyn.

Bishop and Larry Teague managed to make a getaway from the store on foot after the shooting.

Sharmel Teague was arraigned Tuesday, May 5 in Genesee District Court on first-degree murder and felony firearm charges. She is being held in the Genesee County Jail without bond and faces life in prison on the murder charge. She has a court hearing date set for May 14.

Brya Shatonia Bishop, 24, was arraigned Friday, May 8, on three felonies related to her actions following the shooting.

According to the police, Brya Bishop engaged in activities that interfered with ongoing efforts to locate and apprehend Larry Teague Jr. and Ramonyea Bishop. She is charged with tampering with evidence, a 10-year felony, lying to police investigating a violent crime, a 4-year felony and accessory after the fact to a felony, a 5-year felony.
On May 8, 2020, AAI Corp., doing business as Textron Systems, Hunt Valley, Maryland, is awarded a $20,720,170 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract for engineering and technical services for the U.S. Navy Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS) and Unmanned Surface Vehicle program.

On May 8, 2020, AAI Corp., doing business as Textron Systems, Hunt Valley, Maryland, is awarded a $20,720,170 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract for engineering and technical services for the U.S. Navy Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS) and Unmanned Surface Vehicle program.

Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link

The US Navys Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS) program, based on Textron Systems Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle CUSV. (Picture source Textron Systems)

Work will be performed in Hunt Valley, Maryland (70%) and Slidell, Louisiana (30%). The UISS will allow the Littoral combat ship to perform its mine countermeasure sweep mission and targets acoustic, magnetic and magnetic/acoustic combination mine types.

The UISS program will satisfy the Navy's need for a rapid, wide-area coverage mine clearance capability which are required to neutralize magnetic/acoustic influence mines. The UISS also seeks to provide a high-area coverage rate in a small, lightweight package with minimal impact on the host platform.



The system is designed to operate as part of the littoral combat ship (LCS) mine countermeasure (MCM) package. UISS consists of a mine countermeasure unmanned surface vessel (USV) and a towed minesweeping package that can detect magnetic, acoustic and combination mines. Although being designed for the LCS the systems can operate from other vessels or be launched from the shore.



The US Navys Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS) program, based on Textron Systems Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle (CUSV).

Work is expected to be complete by September 2021. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,193,864 will be obligated at time of award and not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
One of Nigerias largest cities, Lagos, is likely to record between 90,000 to 120,000 cases of coronavirus by July or August 2020.

This is according to the Lagos State Commissioner of Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi.

He made this known on Friday, May 8.

According to him, with the current trend, the coronavirus situation in Lagos is expected to reach its peak by the above stated period.

He was speaking during a media briefing on the update of COVID-19 in the state, held in Alausa, Ikeja.

He says the state is yet to reach the virus peak, which will likely be around July and August.

According to him, Lagos has expanded its testing capacity to reach large number of people aimed at flattening the curve.

The Commissioner attributed the sharp rise in cases being recorded to the decentralisation of sample collection across the 20 Local Governments Areas of the state.

---Daily Guide
When John Damianoss cellphone began buzzing on the Dartmouth campus in September 2015, he realized he was being FaceTimed by Vungelia Glyptis, a fellow student whom he had not talked to in two years.

Before answering the phone, Mr. Damianos was in a panic.

We hadnt spoken in quite a while, and I knew she was studying abroad in Copenhagen, he said. My first thought was Oh my gosh, she must be in trouble.

As it turned out, Ms. Glyptis wasnt in trouble. She was merely bored.

I FaceTimed about 25 people that day, she said. Only two of them got back to me, my mom and John Damianos.

Ms. Glyptis, 25, a retail consultant in Secaucus, N.J., for Ashley Stewart, and Mr. Damianos, also 25, met at Dartmouth in September 2013, when she was a freshman and he a sophomore. (Mr. Damianos, an incoming internal medicine resident at Yale, is to receive a medical degree from Dartmouth in June.)
Aurangabad: The mortal remains of the 16 migrant labourers, who were killed after a goods train ran over them in Maharashtras Aurangabad on Friday, had been sent to their native state Madhya Pradesh on a special train.

Confirming the development, Mokshada Patil, Aurangabad Rural SP, said, ''An accidental death case has been lodged. An inquiry is being done, Aurangabad Collector has also ordered an inquiry into the matter.''

"The mortal remains of the 16 migrant labourers, who died after they were run over by a freight train near Aurangabad yesterday, had been sent to Madhya Pradesh on a special train - carrying migrant labourers to the state - on Friday night," an official was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

As many as 16 migrant labourers were killed and five others injured after a freight train ran over them between Jalna and Aurangabad.

According to Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of South Central Railway (SCR), the injured are getting treatment in Aurangabad civil hospital.

The mishap occurred on Friday in the Nanded Division of South Central Railway in Karmad police station area of the Aurangabad district.

As per Railways officials, the migrant labourers hailed from Madhya Pradesh and were walking home from Maharashtras Jalna and after walking for about 36 km, they had stopped to take rest when they fell asleep.

Maharashtra Chief Minister's Office (CMO) had on Friday announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of those who were killed in the Aurangabad train accident. "Rupees five lakhs each has been announced as ex gratia to families of the deceased in the Karmad (Aurangabad) train accident," said Maharashtra CMO.

The Ministry of Railways also ordered a comprehensive probe into the Aurangabad accident in which 16 migrants workers who were sleeping on the tracks were mowed down by a freight train in the early hours.

Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter, the Ministry of Railways tweeted, "Ram Kripal, Commissioner of Railway Safety, South Central circle will hold an independent inquiry in today's labourers runover incident in Parbhani-Manmad section of Nanded Railway division of South Central Railway."
Air Force officer faces backlash for leading worship services from apartment balcony

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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.
Warm weather does not kill off the coronavirus or hamper its ability to spread, two separate studies have found.

US and Canadian researchers said the transmission risk was only reduced by about 1.5 per cent for every degree Fahrenheit above 77F (25C).

They analysed more than 370,000 cases in thousands of different cities in North America to come to the conclusion 'summer is not going to make this go away.'

It dashes hopes of the global pandemic petering out in the coming months  a theory that has been touted by the US Government.

President Donald Trump said last month that research had suggested a combination of ultraviolet (UV) light and warmer temperatures killed off the virus in minutes.

Warm weather does not kill off the coronavirus or hamper its ability to spread, two separate studies have found (a man runs in New York City)

In one of the latest studies, researchers from the University of Toronto looked at a total of more than 375,600 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the US and Canada in March.

They compared the effect of temperature, humidity, school closures, restrictions of mass gatherings, and social distancing on the spread of the disease.

The results showed no link between temperature with a rise in infections and a negligible difference between humidity and cases.

DO OTHER STUDIES SHOW SUN CAN KILL THE VIRUS? It has long been known that UV light has a sterilizing effect because the radiation damages the genetic material of viruses and their ability to replicate. Most viruses - such as SARS-CoV-2 - are covered with a thin membrane that is easily broken apart by UV rays. A Columbia University study published in Scientific Reports two years ago showed the light can kill more than 95 per cent of pathogens like the coronavirus. Germicidal UV light is used in hospitals in the US as well as ones run by the NHS in the UK to clean rooms and equipment. The World Health Organization warns that you can catch COVID-19, 'no matter how sunny or hot the weather is'. Cases of the deadly virus have been recorded all over the globe, including in West Africa and the Middle-East. Scientists agree that you are always at risk of catching the virus in the middle of an outbreak because it is indiscriminate and never sleeps. Conventional germicidal UV light kills microbes but also penetrates the skin, raising the risk of various forms of skin cancer as well as cataracts. Advertisement

Professor Dionne Gesink, an epidemiologist at the Canadian university, said: 'Summer is not going to make this go away, it's important people know that.

'On the other hand, the more public health interventions an area had in place, the bigger the impact on slowing the epidemic growth.

'These public health interventions are really important because they're the only thing working right now to slow the epidemic.'

Co-author Dr. Peter Juni added: 'We had conducted a preliminary study that suggested both latitude and temperature could play a role.

'But when we repeated the study under much more rigorous conditions, we got the opposite result.' Their study was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

American researchers came to a similar conclusion in a paper that has not yet been published in a journal or scrutinised by other scientists.

Lead researcher Hazhir Rahmandad, an associate professor of system dynamics at MIT Sloan School of Management, and his team analysed data on virus transmission and weather statistics across more than 3,700 locations between last December and April 22.

They found only a slightly lower transmission risk, about a 1.7 per cent reduction per 1 degree Fahrenheit, once temperatures rose above 77 degrees F.

'Even though high temperatures and humidity can moderately reduce the transmission rates of coronavirus, the pandemic is not likely to diminish solely due to summer weather,' Rahmandad said in an MIT news release.

'Policymakers and the public should remain vigilant in their responses to the health emergency, rather than assuming that the summer climate naturally prevents transmission,' he said. '

At best, weather plays only a secondary role in the control of the pandemic.'

Commenting on the findings, Dr Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore, said the results were not surprising.

He said: 'Because this is a novel virus, without population immunity, we can't expect to see a full suppression of transmission based on seasonalit.

'Though certain environmental conditions might be less conducive to spread from surfaces during summer months, the sheer fact that so many people are susceptible may not make as much of a difference because person-to-person spread will continue.

'It will be important that even in the summer months, states remain vigilant regarding the number of cases that are occurring with full situational awareness of the rate of hospitalizations, to prevent hospitals from going into a stress mode of functioning,' Adalja noted.

'Sunlight won't magic its way into your lungs to fight coronavirus': Scientists rubbish Donald Trump's claim hitting the body with UV rays could cure the illness after President rolled out unscrutinised Homeland Security study claiming they kill the virus

Sunlight may kill the coronavirus on surfaces within minutes, according to an unpublished study carried out by US Department of Homeland Security scientists that has not been reviewed by independent experts.

Their results suggest radiation given off by UV rays can damage the virus' genetic material and hamper its ability to replicate on surfaces. There is no evidence UV rays can kill the coronavirus in the body.

The 'evidence' was unveiled at last night's White House press briefing by DHS offical Bill Bryan, who has no scientific background - and triggered a bizarre outburst by Donald Trump.

On the back of the claims, Trump proposed two dangerous new treatments, which included injecting cleaning agents in the body and the use of ultraviolet lights.

Leading scientists today rubbished the use of UV rays as a therapeutic, and begged the public to not expose themselves to harmful radiation, proven to cause skin cancer. Makers of disinfectants rushed out emergency statements warning people not to consume them in any way.

One virologist said that sitting in the sun will not stop any pathogen replicating in an individual patient's internal organs because it cannot penetrate the body.

Others told MailOnline it will not able to make its way 'by some magic' into the lungs to stop the infection in its tracks.

But they agreed that UV rays, which are used by hospitals in the US and UK for decontamination of areas, can kill viruses on surfaces - something which has long been well known.

The DHS 'study', first leaked last week, was carried out by the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center. The laboratory in Frederick, Maryland, was set up following the 9/11 terrorist attacks to address biological threats.

A graphic on 'best practices' called for moving activities outside, and noted that heat and humidity hurt the virus. President Donald Trump listens to William Bryan, science and technology advisor to the Department of Homeland Security secretary

The original report was leaked last week (an excerpt of the paper is shown). It suggests the virus cannot survive in high temperatures and humidity

The DHS found that simulated sunlight 'rapidly killed the virus in aerosols,' while without that treatment, 'no significant loss of virus was detected in 60 minutes

The results suggests the coronavirus is most stable in lower humidity than compared to higher temperatures. However, the unpublished documents also state that the results have yet to be proven nor does this not mean the world will see a drop in new cases if they are

WHAT DID THE 'STUDY' FIND? Bryan shared a slide summarizing major findings of the experiment that was carried out at the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center in Maryland. It showed that the virus's half-life - the time taken for it to reduce to half its amount -was 18 hours when the temperature was 70-75F (21-24C). That was based on a 20 per cent humidity on a non-porous surface, which includes things like door handles and stainless steel. But the half-life dropped to six hours when humidity rose to 80 per cent - and to just two minutes when sunlight was added to the equation. When the virus was aerosolized - suspended in the air - the half-life was one hour when the temperature was 70-75F with 20 per cent humidity. In the presence of sunlight, this dropped to just one and a half minutes, according to the slides. Advertisement

'Our most striking observation to date is the powerful effect that solar light appears to have on killing the virus, both surfaces and in the air,' Mr Bryan said. 'We've seen a similar effect with both temperature and humidity as well.'

Bryan shared a slide summarizing major findings of the experiment that was carried out at the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center in Maryland.

It showed that the virus's half-life outside the body - the time taken for it to reduce to half its amount -was 18 hours when the temperature was 70-75F (21-24C).

That was based on a 20 per cent humidity on a non-porous surface, which includes things like door handles and stainless steel.

But the half-life dropped to six hours when humidity rose to 80 per cent - and to just two minutes when sunlight was added to the equation.

When the virus was aerosolized - suspended in the air - the half-life was one hour when the temperature was 70-75F with 20 per cent humidity.

In the presence of sunlight, this dropped to just one and a half minutes, according to the slides.

The paper itself was not immediately released for review, making it difficult for other experts to comment on how robust its methodology was.

Mr Bryan confirmed scientists had found ultraviolet rays had a potent impact on the pathogen, offering hope that its spread may ease over the summer

He explained increased temperature, humidity and sunlight were detrimental to the killer virus

Professor Ian Jones, a virologist at the University of Reading, England, told MailOnline: 'It's been known for years that UV can lead to a loss of infectivity of many enveloped viruses so this is not really new. However it is good to see it formally confirmed for COVID-19.'

Professor Jones said it cannot be used as a treatment because UV light cannot penetrate the body, adding: 'It's not any sort of therapeutic, more a useful way of sanitizing clothes or surfaces when other options are not available.'

Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline: 'COVID-19 is predominantly droplet spread so the time for the droplets to get from one person to another is probably seconds rather than minutes.

'Seasonality of such droplet spread infections is probably more to do with people being less cramped together when able to go outside than anything to do with the sterilising effect of UV from sunlight, though it will help a little.

'But this does not mean that UV can in any way be used to treat someone who is infected. The sunlight does not make its way by some magic into the lungs where this virus replicates.'

Dr Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, was quick to challenge the presentation.

'Everything that this scientist talked about from Homeland Security was basically incoherent, nonsensical, not really supported by evidence and really quite contrary to a lot of things we do know,' Redlener said on MSNBC.

WHY IS THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY DOING SCIENTIFIC TRIALS? Following the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001, the DHS set up a facility dedicated to defending the US against biological threats. The National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC) works in assessing and preparing responses to acts of terror. Its 150 staff work with Government agencies including the FBI and CIA, conducting biological research in their lab in Fredrick, Maryland. But when the US declared COVID-19 a national emergency, the team became pivoted its research efforts to tackling the crisis. Advertisement

A key question will be what the intensity and wavelength of the UV light used in the experiment was, scientists say.

For instance, it may have been under a setting that did not accurately mimic natural light conditions in summer.

Dr Benjamin Neuman, chair of biological sciences, Texas A&M University-Texarkana, said: 'It would be good to know how the test was done.

'Not that it would be done badly, just that there are several different ways to count viruses, depending on what aspect you are interested in studying.'

Scientists across the world also disagree over whether the deadly virus really will ease off in the warmer weather. Infectious disease experts believe transmission rates will drop off in the summer, like seen for flu.

But a Chinese study earlier this month dashed hopes that the pandemic will start to die down in the northern hemisphere after finding no evidence that the infection rate dropped in areas with more sunlight.

Speaking at the White House press conference last night, Mr Bryan concluded that summer-like conditions 'will create an environment (where) transmission can be decreased'.

He added, though, reduced spread did not mean the pathogen would be eliminated entirely and social distancing guidelines cannot be fully lifted.

A separate study looked at the cases in 100 Chinese cities last month and found transmission rates fell as the weather grew warmer or more humid. Each blue dot signifies the average number of transmissions per infected person at a given humidity level, meaning that on days when humidity was 100%, the transmission rate hovered mostly below two per infected person

As temperatures rose in 100 Chinese cities, the average number of people who those infected with coronavirus passed it to fell from 2.5 to less than 1.5, Chinese researchers found

WHO IS BILL BRYAN? William Bryan is an army veteran with 17 years of active military service and three years in the Virginia National Guard - but he is not a scientist William Bryan is an army veteran with 17 years of active military service and three years in the Virginia National Guard - but he is not a scientist. He was appointed science and technology advisor to the Department of Homeland Security Secretary in May 30, 2017. Bryan was given the job on the back of a three-year stint as president of ValueBridge International's Energy Group, a sustainable energy firm. Before that, he held a number of leadership roles at the Department of Energy and Department of Defense. However, his years as a civil servant did not come without controversy. A New York Times article in 2018 reported that US and Ukrainian officials had expressed concern about whether Mr Bryan had been working for a Ukrainian company seen as aligned with a prominent oligarch while working for the US Government. The Times reported that concerns were heightened when Mr Bryan later joined ValueBridge and pursued business with the company. Mr Bryan told the newspaper at the time he 'never made a dime off any of the people I knew from the Ukraine, deliberately, because I didn't want to violate any of the ethics rules.' During the nomination process to become science and technology advisor to the DHS, he said: 'I believe the mission of (Science and Technology) is to deliver results,' Bryan testified in the Senate during his nomination process. 'To do this, we must enable effective, efficient, and secure operations across all homeland security missions by applying timely scientific, engineering and innovative solutions through research, design, test and evaluation, and acquisition support.' Advertisement

Bryan said: 'It would be irresponsible for us to say that we feel that the summer is just going to totally kill the virus.'

But US health authorities believe that even if COVID-19 cases slow over summer, the rate of infection is likely to increase again as winter approaches.

Transmission of flu and the common cold both drop in the summer, partly because people spend less time indoors and in close contact with others.

One Chinese study earlier this month dashed hopes that warmer weather will halt the pandemic in the northern hemisphere.

Fudan University researchers analysed the spread of coronavirus in 224 Chinese cities  including 17 in Hubei province, where the outbreak began.

The study then compared this information with daily weather data over the period between January and early March 2020.

The team found there was no significant association between either the temperature or the levels of UV exposure from sunlight and the total infection rate.

But some scientific work has also agreed that the virus fares better in cold and dry weather than it does in hot and humid conditions.

Studies from both Beihang and Tsinghua Universities found the transmission rate of COVID-19 in China fell in as the temperature grew warmer.

And the lower rate of spread in southern hemisphere countries - which were hit by outbreaks in their summer - offers proof of the theory.

Australia, for example, has had just under 7,000 confirmed cases and 77 deaths - well below many northern hemisphere nations.

The reasons are thought to include that respiratory droplets can remain airborne for longer in colder weather.

Studies also show that viruses degrade more quickly on hotter surfaces because a protective layer of fat that envelops them dries out faster.

It has long been known that UV light has a sterilizing effect because the radiation damages the genetic material of viruses and their ability to replicate.

Most viruses - such as SARS-CoV-2 - are covered with a thin membrane that is easily broken apart by UV rays.
The invoice scam involves tricking companies to change the bank details they use to pay a supplier. Photo posed

Fraud squad detectives have seized a number of electronic devices and documentation as part of a massive international probe into a 1m invoice redirect fraud.

Officers from the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) raided a property in the Finglas area where the target was a Nigerian national who is the subject of a major Europol alert.

The suspect, who is aged in his mid-20s, was not arrested in the raid but multiple devices were seized which will now be forensically examined by specialist officers.

Gardai have been assisting Dutch police in an investigation by an organised crime gang in relation to the theft of 1m from a company in Holland last month.

Invoice redirection fraud happens when a business falls prey to requests, purporting to come from trusted suppliers or service providers, to update the details of the bank account into which their invoices are paid.

As a result, funds that are due to be paid out are transferred to a fraudulent account.

Gardai have made a number of arrests in the past year of organised criminals who are suspected of being directly involved in invoice redirection frauds - a crime that has cost Irish companies millions of euro in recent years.

Freeze

It has been an extremely busy week for the GNECB who yesterday obtained court permission to freeze 40,000 in a bank account controlled by a 37-year-old Romanian national who was has been charged with possession of false passports in a completely separate international investigation.

Last month Irish firms were warned to watch out for supplier and invoice scams during the global Coronavirus pandemic.

It followed a Europol warning about fraudulent new supplier websites and domain names coming online.

FraudSMART, the anti-fraud initiative from the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI), said the risk to businesses has increased as more of them have moved their activities online and staff are working remotely due to the Covid-19 emergency.

Last November gardai warned business owners here about the internet email scam with which fraudsters stole 650,000 from two firms just weeks earlier.

The companies lost the money after responding to what looked like legitimate invoices from suppliers.

One company lost 200,000 and the other 453,000.

In many instances the business does not know it is a victim of this scam until the legitimate supplier sends a reminder invoice seeking payment, gardai said.

In a statement, Detective Chief Superintendent Pat Lordan had the following advice for business: "Victims of Invoice Redirect Fraud range from very small businesses to large companies and the consequences of falling for a scam of this nature can be catastrophic and result in the closure of businesses and redundancies.

"If you are not sure, pick up the phone and speak to someone in the invoicing company."
Prabhu Chawla By

There is no greater virus than terrorism in the laboratory of political history for which no vaccine or cure has been found. The more you try to contain it with force, the larger its subversive spread. Like in antigenic shifts when two germs bind to create a more lethal strain, the coronavirus and the terror pathogen have combined to cause an atmosphere of fear in Kashmir.

The objective of both is death and disability. As West Asia reels under the COVID-19 rampage, Islamist terrorists have targeted Kashmir even as their minders and mentors in Pakistan are cavalier about saving the lives of its own citizens.

The zealots believe that killing Indian soldiers guarantee a more exalted position in jannat  than by saving Pakistanis from viral death. For the past few weeks, Pakistans covert agencies are focused on attacking Indian defence forces at the Kashmir Valley, which is gripped by the COVID-19 wave. In one of the worst tragedies in recent years, ISI-sponsored mercenaries killed five Indian soldiers, including a Commanding Officer (CO), in a fierce 18-hour battle in Handwara area last week.

The murder of the CO hit home hard. It enraged the Army only more, which has been losing more and more brave hearts to terror bullets. It mounted a focused multi-agency operation and neutralised Riyaz Naikoo, Hizbul Mujahideens operational commander. He was the poster boy of Kashmir terrorism ever since Burhan Wani was killed three years ago.

The killing of our soldiers and the bloody retaliation reflect the revival of Pakistan-backed terror in the border areas. The burgeoning cases of incursions and LoC violations in the past few months is a clear indication of Pakistans resolve to keep the business of terror alive even as bodies pile up in its own graveyards. Since January, the Army has killed over 70 terrorists in the Valley; almost half of them during the last month. Active infiltration is rising.

Over 250 insurgents are currently active in Kashmir. The government was expecting a major drop in terror activities after it abolished Article 370 and converted the state into an Union Territory in August 2019. It had imposed a complete lockdown and detained prominent netas, including leaders with suspected links with anti-national elements. Between August and December 2019, there was a significant fall in attacks on army men and civilians. Yet, as the snow began to melt in the beginning of the year, local youth began crossing the border in large numbers to be trained in terror camps.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his recent interactions with world leaders, had referred to the obsession of Pakistan (without naming it) with terror over healthcare. But Islamabad remains blase about its COVID-19 death toll. Most terror outfits are in a full action mode, as Pakistan premier Imran Khan is conspicuous by his absence. Its military commanders are busy saving themselves and their families and acquaintances from COVID-19s fatal embrace.

By all indications, the countrys civilian governance has completely collapsed and the Army has taken over decision making. The frequency of terror attacks and the quality of arms at the disposal of terrorists indicate the terrifying torque of ISIs direct logistic support.

Moreover, diplomats, liberals, peaceniks and tycoons have insulated their monetary and physical assets by hunkering down in luxurious bunkers. Hardly has an India Gate-like transient torch or cantankerous candle bearer spoken against the fresh suppuration of the Pakistani canker.

The militant attacks had escalated after Modi assumed power in 2014. According to official records, there was a whopping 93 per cent rise in the death toll of security personnel between 2014 and 2018 and a 175 per cent spurt in attacks.

In the last five years, the average number of strikes in the Valley was 30 per month, with over a dozen infiltrators sneaking in. Pakistan expresses freedom of action only through its bombs and bullets.

More worrisome are the large crowds at the funerals of terrorists despite the administrations restrictions on gatherings like at Jaish-e-Mohammad commander Sajad Nawab Dars burial in Sopore. Apart up from stepping up its local indoctrination, Pakistan Army has ramped up covering fire for terrorists crossing the LoC and the international border over 1,600 ceasefire violations already as against 3,200 in 2019.

Kashmir watchers think that ISIs revival of terrorism and unprovoked bombardment are aimed at neutralising the positive impact of Indias efficient handling of Coronavirus in the Valley. The Valley is the worst affected in terms of active cases. Yet, only eight persons have died. Of the total 850 cases in J&K, the Valley with just over 60 per cent of the state population has about 750 cases, i.e., around 90 per cent.

Still the local administration has been able to not only contain fatalities but also punch up the number of daily tests to 3,000 in May from just less than 60 in March. It has ensured total social distancing and added dedicated health facilities. The Centre has deputed special medical teams. Its in a calamity that the strength of human bonding is tested.

Pakistan is worried that if the new administration connects emotionally with locals by offering good health and a better economy, the toxic slogan of Azadi will become a rotting apple in the orchards of death. The resurgent patriotic local youth would any day choose to live by enjoying national advantages over spilling blood in the name of a mirage.

Only the plundered plasma of innocents, which will turn red the tides of the River Jhelum, can satiate the thirst of dialogue dealers and Azadi Angels. Modi has altered the geographical contours of the former state. Now is the time to fumigate its highly polluted emotional quotient. By incubating deadlier strains of terror germs, Pakistan is ignoring corona deaths at home. To disinfect hostilitys hysterical history, it is vital to decontaminate the minds of both friends and foes first.

(The author can be contacted at prabhuchawla@newindianexpress.com)

Twitter: @PrabhuChawla
Hugs and visits to mums across New Zealand have been banned this Mother's Day by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, seeking a final push from Kiwis to end the country's lockdown.

Sunday could be the final day of New Zealand's tough but effective lockdown, credited as one part of a world-leading response to the spread of COVID-19.

On Monday, Ms Ardern's government will plot a path back to something close to normality, meeting to decide a timetable for the removal of the social and business restrictions.

Hugs and visits to mums across New Zealand have been banned this Mother's Day by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, seeking a final push from Kiwis to end the country's lockdown

New Zealand has recorded just five new cases in the past five days

The prime minister has already released what level two restrictions will look like, including the re-opening of restaurants, hairdressers, gyms, cinemas and public facilities like museums and libraries.

Social restrictions could end immediately, with provisions for schools, business and personal movement more likely to be phased in.

Any decision will come too late for Kiwi mums to enjoy visits from sons and daughters not already in their household bubbles.

Ms Ardern has banned socialising outside of existing households, with few exceptions, and told Kiwis this week to 'stick to the plan' ahead of Monday's review.

'I know it's Mother's Day this weekend and the urge to reach out will be strong,' she said.

'But we remain at level three. And so if your mum is not in your bubble, then reach out over the phone or video.

'Send a wee local present, and make plans to catch up when it's safe to do so.'

Passenger are seen wearing face masks at Auckland airport in New Zealand

New Zealand has recorded just five new cases in the past five days.

While the bubble restrictions will be removed when New Zealand makes the jump, a ban on gatherings over 100 people will be retained.

'We are still requiring people to play it safe,' Ms Ardern said.

'That means not having large gatherings, cramming people into your home, and dispensing of all of the advice we've had over this period of time.

'Yes, do catch up with your family, do catch up with your friends, but large gatherings are still a no-no.'
As country reports record number of daily deaths, The Lancet urges president to drastically change course on COVID-19.

A leading medical journal has described President Jair Bolsonaro as perhaps the biggest threat to Brazils ability to successfully fight the coronavirus pandemic, just as the country reported its highest daily death toll.

In an editorial, The Lancet said Bolsonaros disregard for and flouting of lockdown measures is sowing confusion across Brazil, which is quickly emerging as a hotspot for COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus.

On Friday, Brazils Ministry of Health registered 10,222 new confirmed coronavirus cases and 751 related deaths, a daily high. That brought the total of confirmed cases in the country to 145,328 and deaths to 9,897.

The Lancet said Bolsonaro was becoming increasingly hamstrung by political crisis following his sacking last month of popular Minister of Health Luiz Henrique Mandetta after a disagreement over measures to tackle the pandemic and the resignation of Minister of Justice Sergio Moro.

The challenge is ultimately political, requiring continuous engagement by Brazilian society as a whole. Brazil as a country must come together to give a clear answer to the So what? by its President. He needs to drastically change course or must be the next to go, the editorial by the British medical journal said.

In response to a journalists question last week about the record number of deaths from coronavirus, the far-right president said: So what? Im sorry, but what do you want me to do?

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Bolsonaros press office declined to comment on the Lancet editorial.

On Friday, the president said he planned to have 30 friends over to the presidential palace for a barbecue. Later in the day, he joked that he may extend the invitation to thousands more, including political supporters and members of the press.

The president, who has referred to the coronavirus as the little flu and interacted with supporters without a face mask, has argued that the economic fallout of lockdown measures would be deadlier than the virus itself.

He has also actively encouraged people to defy physical distancing measures put in place by state governors, calling on people to return to work and take part in large gatherings despite the growing number of known infections and deaths.





A report by Imperial College London published on Friday showed that the epidemic is not yet controlled and will continue to grow in Brazil, in stark contrast to parts of Europe and Asia, where enforced lockdowns have had success.

While the Brazilian epidemic is still relatively nascent on a national scale, our results suggest that further action is needed to limit spread and prevent health system overload, the Imperial College report said.

In its editorial, The Lancet outlined challenges faced by Brazil. About 13 million Brazilians live in shanty towns where hygiene recommendations and physical distancing are near impossible to follow.

The countrys Indigenous population was also under severe threat even before the COVID-19 outbreak due to the government turning a blind eye to or even encouraging illegal mining and logging in the Amazon rainforest.

These loggers and miners now risk bringing COVID-19 to remote populations, it said. Most of Brazils 27 state and district governments are taking the threat of the virus more seriously than Bolsonaro.

On Friday, the government of Sao Paulo, Brazils most populous state, extended mandatory quarantine orders through to May 31. They had been scheduled to expire on May 11.
Western Australia is on track for the easing of some pandemic restrictions after the state recorded no new cases of COVID-19 since Friday.

Although this brings the number of active cases to just seven, Health Minister Roger Cook warned the encouraging result was no guarantee the virus was not lurking out in the community.

Zero new cases: Health Minister Roger Cook announces no new infections a day before the government announces how restrictions will be eased. Credit:AAP

There has only been one new case recorded in the past 10 days.

Premier Mark McGowan is set to release details of how WA's restrictions will be eased on Sunday.
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Market Reports on India Provides the Trending Market Research Report on India Utensil Cleaning Market By Value, By Type, By Company, By Brand, By Sales Channel, By Demographics Outlook 2025 India Utensil Cleaning Market 2025under Consumer Goods Category. The report offers a collection of superior market research, market analysis, competitive intelligence and Market reports.

The report Titled India Utensil Cleaning Market By Value, By Type ( Bar, Liquid, Powder, Paste ), By Company, By Brand( Vim, Exo, Xpert, Prill, Pitambari, Finish, Dettol etc. ), By Sales Channel ( General Retail, Modern Retail, Online ), By Demographics ( Urban, Rural ), Outlook ( Trends & Forecast ), 2025 provides the detailed analysis of the utensil cleaning market of India and its performance. Household cleaning has become a significant segment of this sector now. Dishes and utensils cleaning products are available in almost every house in one form or the other In India, utensil cleaner market is up against fierce competition from ash which is a by-product of cooking.

Coming as it does free; ash was commonly used across India to clean utensils and is seen as a superb degreaser with the added quality of being hygienic. The latter belief stems from the fact that ash is created by the process of burning, which in Hindu mythology is the ultimate cleanser. However, Indian consumer slowly started migrating from ash to powder, powder to bar and now bar to liquid. With increasing disposable incomes and the increase in double income households, the Indian FMCG sector has become extremely lucrative. The report gives the all-round analysis of the insight of Indian utensil market various segments, its performance with historical and forecasted values, on-going trends, challenges and the profile of top performing companies present in the market.

Request a free sample copy of India Utensil Cleaning Market Report

http://www.marketreportsonindia.com/marketreports/sample/reports/2051693

Market developments:

Utensil cleaners are sold in different formats and penetration for all these formats is also different Utensil cleaning market comprises of the products such as bar cleaner, powder cleaner, liquid cleaner and paste cleaner. The market has been dominating the overall household cleaning market since years with its wide range of products and flexibility in its prising that attracts huge consumer base. Bar enjoys highest penetration in the country and is the major contributor in the development of utensil cleaner category in India. The bar utensil cleaners have grown at a substantial rate with a CAGR of around 15% in the last couple of years. Bar utensil cleaners comes at various price range starting from INR 5/piece , INR 10/piece, INR 30/piece and plus ranges which allows consumers from various section to opt for such products.

On the other hand, penetration levels as well as per capita consumption of liquid and powder cleaners are considered in the premium category products in Indian market which has just started gaining consumer attention. The products are widely available in tier 1 and some of the tier 2 cities because of presence of such products mostly through modern retails. The increase urbanization and consumers potential to purchase such products is driving the market. The growing Indian population, particularly the middle class, presents an opportunity to makers of utensil cleaners to convert consumers to branded products and increase their daily consumption. Multinationals face intense competition from local vendors and counterfeit products. There are innumerable manufacturers of household cleaning products operating in every state of the country. Products from these local manufacturers are priced cheaper than the branded ones; hence they outpace the sales of branded products in their respective areas or states

Major Companies with their brands

Organized dishwashing players and brands face intense competition in this category, not only from other brands but also from the traditional methods. There are various small players in the rural and semi-urban areas who sell cheap and unbranded dishwashing bars.

Companies present in this competitive market with their products are as follows.

Reckitt Benckiser (India) Ltd  Finish

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) Ltd- Vim

Dabur India Limited  Odopic

Jyothy Laboratories Limited  Prill , Exo

Venkys (India) Limited  All Kleen

Fena Private Limited  Nip

Pitambari Products Pvt. Ltd  Pitambari

Rohit Surfactants Private Limited  Xpert

Patanjali Ayurved Limited  Patanjali

Colgate and Palmolive (India) Ltd  Ajax, Axion

Considered in this report:

Geography: India & Global

Base Year: FY 2018-19

Estimated Year: FY 2019-20

Forecast Year: FY 2024-25

Aspects covered in the report:

Global utensil cleaning market

India utensil cleaning market, with analysed historical and forecasted value.

Product price & variant analyses of each segment

Information regarding the raw material used in cleaners

Market penetration, policies and future development of each segment

Trade analysis

Opportunities and challenges observed in the market

Ongoing trends

Five forces

Profiles of top performing companies

Market recommendations

Segments covered in the report:

Bar Utensil cleaner

Liquid Utensil cleaner

Powder Utensil cleaner

Paste Utensil cleaner

Approach of the report:

The information contained in the reportIndia Utensil Cleaning Market By Value, By Type ( Bar, Liquid, Powder, Paste ), By Company, By Brand( Vim, Exo, Xpert, Prill, Pitambari, Finish, Dettol etc. ), By Sales Channel ( General Retail, Modern Retail, Online ), By Demographics ( Urban, Rural ), Outlook ( Trends & Forecast ), 2025 are obtained from complete analysis through secondary and primary research. Secondary research includes the information obtained from third party source, various press releases, government generated reports, datas from government databases, company annual reports and listing down the major companies present into the market. After gathering the datas from secondary sources primary research was conducted by making telephonic interviews to the local players about how the market is functioning at the ground level and verifying the details obtained from secondary sources. After completion of all the research process value data of the market were analysed and forecasted for the future years.

Intended audience:

This report can be useful to Industry consultants, manufacturers, suppliers, associations & organizations related to utencil cleaning industry, government bodies and other stakeholders to align their market-centric strategies. In addition to marketing & presentations, it will also increase competitive knowledge about the industry.

Please get in touch with our sales team in order to find out more.

Key words: Global, India, Household, Cleaning, utensil, bar, powder, paste, Lizol, Dettol, Easy Off, Finish, Vim, Cif, Domex, Odopic, Dazzl, Sani Fresh, Mr Muscle, Pledge, pril, exo, Xpert, Clean Mate, Pitambari, Sanit All, Clorox, Pine-Sol, Tilex, Skrubble, Sparkle, Giffy, All Kleen, Nip, Patanjali.

Browse our full report with Table of Content : http://www.marketreportsonindia.com/marketreports/india-utensil-cleaning-market-by-value-by-type-by-company-by-brand-by-sales-channel-by-demographics-outlook-2025/2051693

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Market Reports on India is an excellent source to obtain top quality market research reports that helps you to understand the business in the Indian market. We cover various industries, identifying and understanding key macro and micro-economic trends, insights and futuristic growth opportunities. To help achieve all this and more, Market Reports on India is the answer to all your business needs.

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The governor of South Dakota has issued ultimatums to two Sioux Native American tribes to remove travel checkpoints on state and US highways aimed at protecting themselves from the coronavirus.

Governor Kristi Noem sent letters to the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe on Friday requesting that they remove the checkpoints surrounding their reservations within 48 hours or the state will take necessary legal action.

We are strongest when we work together; this includes our battle against Covid-19, the governor said. I request that the tribes immediately cease interfering with or regulating traffic on US and State Highways and remove all travel checkpoints.

But the letters prompted a stern response Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Chairman Harold Frazier, who declined the request. In a statement, he said he absolutely agreed it was necessary for everyone to work together.

However, you continuing to interfere in our efforts to do what science and facts dictate seriously undermines our ability to protect everyone on the reservation, he said. Ignorant statements and fiery rhetoric encourage individuals already under stress from this situation to carry out irrational actions.

He cited Article 16 of the 1868 Ft. Laramie Treaty for why his tribe could issue travel restrictions onto the reservation.

I stand with our elder Councilman Ed Widow the purpose of our action is to, save lives rather than save face, he said, declining the governor's request to remove checkpoints.

The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe said on its Facebook page that the checkpoints were aimed at protecting all residents from the virus.

The checkpoints do not stop residents on the reservation travelling to other parts of South Dakota as long as theyre not Covid-19 hotspots, it said. Travel is also allowed for essential activity like getting medical supplies and other necessary items. Everyone must fill out a health questionnaire before leaving and upon their return.

South Dakota residents who dont live on the reservation are only allowed to visit if it is for essential activity and they are not coming from a hotspot. They, too, must fill out a health questionnaire.

If someone from a South Dakota hotspot wants to travel to the reservation for essential travel, they must first fill out a travel permit on the tribes website.

Ms Noem claimed the tribes are required to consult the state government and reach an agreement before closing and restricting travel on state and US highways, citing a US Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) memorandum.

Native Americans are more susceptible to Covid-19 because they have disproportionately higher rates of asthma, heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes.

They also have a difficult history with deadly viruses. An estimated 90 percent of tribal people were wiped out by smallpox and other viruses brought to the Americas by European settlers. Native Americans being hit four times harder than the general public during the 1918 Spanish Flu, according to a 2014 study in the American Indian Quarterly.

One member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe has reportedly died from Covid-19 while in federal prison. South Dakota has more than 3,100 confirmed cases and 31 people have died.
Google and Facebook employees have been told they can stay at home until 2021 (Getty)

Tech giants Facebook (FB) and Google (GOOG) have told employees they do not have to return to work in the office until 2021.

The moves mean employees can continue working from home for the rest of the year amid worries from staff over safety about returning to the office during the coronavirus pandemic.

A spokesman for Facebook said: Facebook has taken the next step in its return to work philosophy. Today, we announced anyone who can do their work remotely can choose to do so through the end of the year.

As you can imagine this is an evolving situation as employees and their families make important decisions about returning to work.

READ MORE: Goldman Sachs staff to social distance upon return to office

Google chief executive Sundar Pichai said that employees who need to return to the office will start being able to do so from July with enhanced safety measures in place.

But the majority of employees who can carry out their jobs from home can do so until the end of the year, he added.

Both Google and Facebook employees were advised to start working from home in March.

At the time Facebook gave employees $1,000 (807) bonuses for their work-from-home and childcare costs. Google only recently asked employees to take a day off on 22 May, to address work-from-home-related burnout during the coronavirus pandemic. Pichai announced the move in a memo to employees on late Thursday.

READ MORE: How economic crisis could scar a generation of young people

Companies could ask employees to stay at home and work for longer as they redesign their office spaces to cater to new social distancing guidelines.

Some employees are nervous about returning to work in the middle of a global pandemic. Deaths in zones like New York City have come down, but there are many new outbreaks across the country.

Other tech giants have not been so generous. Amazon (AMZN) has extended its work from home policy until October as has Microsoft (MSFT). Slack (WORK) employees can work from home through to September.

The moves come as President Donald Trump has said we have to get our country open again, but much of corporate America appears in no rush.

Outside of the tech sector credit card company Capital One (COF) told its 40,000 workers that they will be out until September and possibly longer.
Some notable actors, including, Kunle Afolayan, on Saturday took to their Instagram handles to celebrate a veteran actor, Adebayo Salami, popularly known as Oga Bello who clocked 67 years.

They celebrated Oga Bello for his mentorship and fatherly guidance in the profession.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Oga Bello was born May 9, 1953.

He began his acting career in 1964, and produced his first movie Ogun Ajaye in 1985.

Since then, he had produced, directed and featured in several Yoruba movies.

He is a pioneer member of the Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners and also served as President of the association.

Afolayan, on his instagram page said: Happy birthday to one of the most blessed fathers that ever lived. I wish you many more years in good health and plenty money daddy.

Also, an actress, Foluke Daramola-Salako, celebrated the veteran actor saying: Happy birthday to a wonderful father in every ramification.

May God bless you, increase you for us and be with you in all you do sir. We love and truly appreciate you sir.

READ ALSO:

In her comments, Fathia Williams wrote: Happy birthday Daddy. You are a wonderful boss, father and role model.

On your birthday, I wish you all the best as always sir. Enjoy your day and stay safe sir.

Another actress, Ronke Odusanya, said: Happy birthday Daddy. The grace of God on your life shall always multiply.

Thank you for always being an inspiration, source of encouragement and advice.

(NAN)
In the space of a few weeks the world was turned upside down for most people as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Even as the U.S. tentatively begins to emerge from the lockdown, many challenges lie ahead as the economic impact becomes more fully felt. Much is unknown. However, one thing is certain: community financial institutions must continue to be the banking alternative that consistently delivers the financial support that consumers and small businesses need now and in the face of an uncertain future.

The Wall Street Journal pointed out how the countrys smallest institutions were the ones that got the job done in the first round of Paycheck Protection Program, while the megabanks stumbled. Thousands of small business owners voiced their anger on social media after being denied or ignored by the big banks. In fact several of the biggest are being sued by businesses over how their PPP applications were handled.

Bank of America stated early on that it would only offer relief to customers that had an existing credit card or lending relationship with the bank. While it later reversed its decision, in our view the initial policy demonstrates the connection large institutions draw between payments and the lending side of their business in other words, these decisions are transactional for them.

Community financial institutions on the other hand leverage payments to support consumers and businesses immediate financial needs while building long-term relationships with them. Community institutions payments portfolios are a powerful means of maintaining regular interaction with and support for members and customers. This gives the institutions an opportunity to demonstrate their strengths compared with the giants.
The Ector County Health Department website reported one new positive case Friday, making the total 95. There are three probable cases at this time. ECHD reported that 70 people have recovered. There have been 1,566 tests taken with 1,359 negative results and 112 pending results. ECHD has contacted 1,194 people during contact tracing.

The drive-thru at the Ector County Coliseum received seven positive cases. Of the 87 tests done, 45 are negative and 35 are pending. In Ector County, 226 people have called the triage center for testing.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 16:19:23|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 9 (Xinhua) -- China has been promoting artificial intelligence (AI) innovative development pilot zones at local levels, a Chinese official said on Saturday.

Last year, China started to build a new generation of national AI innovative development pilot zones, relying on local governments to carry out technology demonstration, policy pilot and social experiments, said Vice Minister of Science and Technology Li Meng at a press conference.

Li said along with the pilot zones in cities like Beijing and Shanghai, China has launched the country's first county-level AI pilot zone in Deqing County, Zhejiang Province last year.

According to a document last November, Deqing County is expected to rely its advantages on automatic driving, smart farming and smart governance, improve its AI infrastructure and promote the establishment of AI ethical norms, providing a county-level example for AI governance.

He added that leading universities, research institutions and enterprises in Beijing have started to jointly sponsor a new type of R&D research institutions, aiming at drawing together high-end talents around the world and boost original AI innovation. Enditem
Tesla "must not reopen" its only US car factory as the coronavirus lockdown remains in force, the local county health department has said.

It will come as a blow to the electric vehicle firm's boss Elon Musk , who had told employees limited production would restart at the Fremont plant in California.

The state's governor Gavin Newsom had earlier said manufacturers in the state would be allowed to reopen.

But Alameda County, where the Tesla factory is located, is due to remain shut until the end of May.

A spokeswoman for the county's public health department said the local coronavirus lockdown order only allowed essential businesses to reopen.

"Tesla has been informed that they do not meet those criteria and must not reopen," the spokeswoman said.

Mr Musk has been strongly critical of the COVID-19 lockdown and stay-at-home orders, calling them a "serious risk" to US business and branding them "unconstitutional," arguing they would be overturned by the US Supreme Court if challenged.

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Tesla had planned to restart limited operations on Friday with 30% of normal headcount per shift.

It pointed out limited operations had started at its so-called gigafactories in Nevada and New York, which make battery packs for its vehicles, after securing state approval.

Mr Musk has said employees who feel uncomfortable returning to work would not be forced to do so.

Tesla had been in dispute with officials in California in March over whether it had to halt production at the factory under lockdown orders that allowed only essential businesses to continue to operate.

The stand-off ended in the middle of that month when the firm said it would suspend production.
Delta Governor, Sen. (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa, on Saturday warned that unauthorized vehicles entering the state in violation of restriction in inter-state movement ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari to stem spread of COVID-19 around the country would be impounded.

Besides, the governor, who gave the warning while monitoring compliance of the order at some boundaries between Delta and neighbouring states, said that operators of such vehicles risked prosecution.

He told newsmen after monitoring situations at Niger Bridge boundary between Delta and Anambra and at Alifikede, the boundary community between the state and Edo on the Benin-Asaba highway, that he was satisfied with the level of compliance with the regulation.

Okowa reminded security agents and members of the states Task Force at the boundaries that only vehicles carrying agricultural products and those on essential duties should be allowed into the state.

He restated the state governments seriousness at implementing the inter-state lockdown order, saying that he was aware that some persons were being moved from one part of the country to the other.

He charged the security operatives and members of the task force to be vigilant so as to detect unauthorized movements and stop them from gaining entrance into the state.

The governor said: ``we have gone round to see the work the Committee and some of our youths are doing in enforcing the inter-state lockdown to ensure that it is being done properly the way it ought to be done.

"There are certain protocols that have been allowed; inter-state movement of goods and services has been restricted to agricultural products and in that respect, only such vehicles are supposed to be moving from one state to another.

"But, most Nigerians will always want to do whatever they wished; so, we have had to ensure that our 13 boundaries with other states are well secured.

"We have various security agencies at every boundary and we have decided to add to them our community youths to help ensure that the processes set in place allow only those who are permitted by the order of the President or by the order of the state government to go through the state.

"Every other vehicle is supposed to be turned back. We have come out today at the Head Bridge and the junction between Edo and Delta at the Alifikede boundaries.

"A lot of work is being done by the task force set up in these two places and I am hopeful that this is same thing going on in the other eleven places.

"The reason behind the inter-state lockdown is because we want to limit the number of persons moving across states so that we try as much as possible to limit the spread of the Coronavirus.

"The numbers are already going up in Nigeria and there is the need for us to limit the spread and that's the reason for the inter-state lockdown in terms of movement and I believe that it has been achieved at both sites that we visited today."

The governor commended the officials at the boundaries for their efforts at controlling movement at the boundary points and urged them to do more as the fight against COVID-19 needed the input of all.

On the observed free movement of people from Asaba to Onitsha and others from Onitsha into Asaba on foot and motorcycles, he urged the security agencies and task force members to do more to avoid more cases of infection by COVID-19 due to unregulated movements.

Okowa stressed the need for residents of the state to sustain the use of face mask, saying that it would help to reduce the level of infection.

He affirmed that anyone caught without face mask in a public place would be quarantined in an isolation centre.

He called on well-spirited Nigerians to assist the state government in the provision of more face masks for the people as government could not do it alone.

The governor also reiterated the call on residents to practise physical distancing, regular wearing of face mask, routine washing of hands with running water and soap or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer, and other precautionary measures that would keep the pandemic at bay.

He dismissed reports of alleged influx of almajiris into the state, adding that the taskforce had been directed to check every vehicle coming into the state.

"We have given instructions to those manning the boundaries to ensure that every vehicle is checked and anyone carrying more than the authorised number of passengers, especially the motor boy and the driver should be turned back.

"Only the driver and possibly two other persons should be inside such vehicles conveying approved goods into the state.

``Any number beyond that should be turned back and I can see that they have been doing that and I haven't been briefed of the influx of almajiris into the state," he explained.
By Sudarshan Varadhan

VISAKHAPATNAM (Reuters) - Villagers placed the bodies of three victims of a deadly gas leak from an LG Polymers plant in Andhra Pradesh at the gates of the site on Saturday, and demanded the factory be shut down immediately and its top management arrested.

Toxic styrene gas spewed out of the plant near the city of Visakhapatnam on Thursday, killing at least 11 people and forcing 800 more to be hospitalized for treatment. Hundreds of victims remain in hospital.

On Saturday, villagers staged a sit-in at the plant's gate with three bodies of victims as the Director General of Police visited the plant, Reuters' partner ANI reported.

Some protesters barged into the compound and police had to block their way to allow officials investigating the leak to come in and out.

Protestors shouted "We want justice!" and demanded a permanent closure of the factory that is close to residential areas, ANI reported.

They also called for the arrest of factory management of LG Polymers, which is a subsidiary of LG Chem Ltd, South Korea's biggest petrochemical company.

Police have filed a negligence and culpable homicide complaint against the management of the LG Polymers plant.

In a statement on Saturday, LG Polymers apologised to all those affected by the incident and said it would extend all possible support to ensure those affected and their families were taken care of.

"The company is committed to work closely with the concerned authorities in India to investigate the cause of this incident," the company said.

It said its initial investigations suggested the tragedy was caused by leaking vapour from a styrene monomer storage tank.

(Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan; Writing by Swati Bhat; Editing by Euan Rocha and Ros Russell)
Barack Obama has blasted Attorney General Bill Barrs decision to drop charges against Michael Flynn as one that puts the rule of law at risk just a day after it was learned that the former president knew details about the ex-generals wiretapped phone calls with Russias ambassador.

The 44th president made the remarks during a conference call with former members of his administration. An audio of the call was obtained by Yahoo News.

Obama is facing scrutiny after it was learned from declassified documents that he knew details of an FBI counterintelligence investigation against Flynn and had discussed it with top administration officials just 15 days before Trump took office.

The news over the last 24 hours I think has been somewhat downplayed - about the Justice Department dropping charges against Michael Flynn, the former president said during a web talk with members of the Obama Alumni Association.

President Barack Obama (right) smiles alongside then-President-elect Donald Trump (left) at the White House before the inauguration on January 20, 2017

Obama on Friday said that the decision by Attorney General Bill Barr (right) to drop charges against Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn (left), meant that 'our basic understanding of the rule of law was at risk'

And the fact that there is no precedent that anybody can find for someone who has been charged with perjury just getting off scot-free, the former president said.

Thats the kind of stuff where you begin to get worried that basic - not just institutional norms - but our basic understanding of rule of law is at risk.

And when you start moving in those directions, it can accelerate pretty quickly as weve seen in other places.

Obama weighed in on the Flynn case a day after declassified documents showed that he raised the issue of the FBIs investigation into Flynn with then-Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates.

The documents, that have been used as exhibits in the government's motion to dismiss the case against Flynn, who at the time was due to become the national security adviser under the incoming Trump administration, show that Obama's knowledge of the call surprised Yates.

According to Fox News, on January 5 2017, fifteen days before Donald Trump assumed office, Yates attended a meeting in the Oval Office with Obama alongside other notable national security figures, according to the newly declassified documents, which include a 'FD-302 FBI' report, a document used to detail interviews the bureau conducts.

The other attendees were then-Vice President Joe Biden, then-directors of the FBI and CIA, James Comey and John Brennan respectively, and then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

Former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates appears before the Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing entitled, 'Russian Interference in the 2016 United States Election' on May 8, 2017

The meeting was held to discuss Russian election interference, and also involved Susan Rice, the National Security Advisor who Flynn soon replaced, and other national security officials.

Following the meeting, the President asked Yates and Comey to 'stay behind' in the Oval Office, saying he had 'learned of the information about Flynn' and the phone conversations about sanctions with the Russian ambassador.

Obama 'specified that he did not want any additional information on the matter, but was seeking information on whether the White House should be treating Flynn any differently, given the information,' according to the documents, which showed at this point 'Yates had no idea what the president was talking about, but figured it out based on the conversation.'

In a separate memo from Susan Rice about the meeting, Joe Biden also stayed behind after the briefing.

Obama's knowledge of the phone calls, which at the time the FBI said were not criminal in nature, is notable due to his own history with Flynn.

High-ranking FBI officials had secretly discussed whether their objective was to ultimately get the advisor fired when they interviewed Flynn in the White House on January 24, 2017.

Furthermore, in 2014, President Obama had fired Flynn as his head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, and had warned the incoming Trump administration against hiring him as National Security Advisor, making it clear that he was 'not a fan', according to multiple sources.

In December 2017, 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.

The Justice Department on Thursday abruptly asked a judge to drop criminal charges against Flynn, Trumps former national security adviser, following mounting pressure from the Republican president and his political allies on the right.

Obama erred in saying that Flynn was charged with perjury. Flynn had pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI, not perjury.

Attorney General Bill Barr insists he is NOT doing Trump's bidding by dropping charges against Michael Flynn Attorney General Bill Barr defended the decision not to pursue charges against fired Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn on Thursday, who had pleaded guilty in court to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia's ambassador during the Trump transition. Barr said he doesn't know how history will judge him because 'history is written by the winners' hours after the Justice Department said it would be dropping its criminal case against Flynn. 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.' Attorney General Bill Barr said he doesn't know how history will judge him because 'history is written by the winners' hours after the Justice Department said it would be dropping its criminal case against Flynn. Pictured: Attorney General Bill Barr at the White House in April The attorney general said that FBI investigators 'essentially' entrapped Flynn so that he would lie. The stunning turnaround drew immediate praise from Trump, who has long claimed Flynn was railroaded and had kept alive the possibility of a presidential pardon while attacking prosecutors he said were on a 'witch hunt.' Flynn celebrated by tweeting a picture of his toddler grandson Travis reciting the pledge of allegiance with the words 'justice for all.' 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.' Donald Trump reacted in the Oval Office by saying Flynn 'was an innocent man.' '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. 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,' Chuck 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.' Advertisement

The move drew furious criticism from congressional Democrats and others who accused the department and Barr of politicizing the US criminal justice system by bending to Trumps wishes and improperly protecting his friends and associates in criminal cases.

Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general who served as an adviser to Trump during the 2016 campaign, had been seeking to withdraw his 2017 guilty plea in which he admitted to lying to the FBI about his interactions with Russias US ambassador Sergey Kislyak in the weeks before Trump took office.

The Justice Department filed a motion to dismiss the charges with US District Judge Emmet Sullivan, who has presided over the case and has a reputation for fierce independence.

Newly declassified transcripts released Thursday by the House Intelligence Committee reveal that top Obama administration officials had no concrete evidence that the Trump campaigned colluded with Russia in the 2016 Election. Susan Power (left) and Loretta Lynch (right) were unable to point to specific examples of collusion, coordination or conspiracy

Trump has described accusations that his campaign may have colluded with Russia in the 2016 Election as a 'hoax' and a 'witch hunt'

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 Flynns criminal offense, saying: Arguably, you sold your country out.

Trump, who had publicly attacked the case against Flynn and has frequently castigated the FBI, said he was very happy for his former aide, adding: Yes, he was a great warrior, and he still is a great warrior. Now in my book hes an even greater warrior.

Trump said in March he was considering a full pardon and accused the FBI and Justice Department of having destroyed Flynns life and that of his family.

In his web call on Friday, Obama, who is an expert in constitutional law having been the first black president of the Harvard Law Review in spring 1990, said the Flynn case was one of the main reasons that his former administration officials needed to do all they could to help Biden defeat Trump in November.

So I am hoping that all of you feel the same sense of urgency that I do, he said.

Whenever I campaign, Ive always said, Ah, this is the most important election.

Especially obviously when I was on the ballot, that always feels like it's the most important election.

This one - Im not on the ballot - but I am pretty darn invested.

We got to make this happen.

Other newly declassified transcripts released Thursday by the House Intelligence Committee revealed that top Obama administration officials had no concrete evidence that the Trump campaigned colluded with Russia in the 2016 election.

The transcripts come from 57 witnesses who were interviewed by the committee during the Trump Russia probe.

Obama's national security adviser, Susan Rice, and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch were among those who gave their testimony.

Samantha Power, who was appointed by Obama to be the US Ambassador to the United Nations, told the House Intelligence Committee: 'I am not in possession of anything - I am not in possession and didn't read or absorb information that came from out of the intelligence community'

In her interview with the House Intelligence Committee, conducted on September 8, 2017, Rice admitted there 'wasn't anything smoking' that showed the Trump campaign had helped with Russia's election meddling.

'I don't recall intelligence that I would consider evidence to that effect... prior to my departure,' she stated.

Meanwhile, Lynch similarly stated that she 'could not say' whether evidence of collusion, coordination or conspiracy existed when she gave her interview on October 20, 2017.

Other officials who worked in the Obama Administration were also asked about whether or not there was any concrete evidence they had seen.

Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper stated: 'I never saw any direct empirical evidence that the Trump campaign or someone in it was plotting/conspiring with the Russians to meddle with the election.

'That's not to say that there weren't concerns about the evidence we were seeing, anecdotal evidence. ... But I do not recall any instance where I had direct evidence.'

Samantha Power, who was appointed by Obama to be the US Ambassador to the United Nations, was also among the 57 interviewees probed by the House Intelligence Committee.

The House Intelligence Committee on Thursday released the transcripts of interviews with key Trump world figures during the Russia probe, with chair Rep. Adam Schiff complaining about a declassification delay

'I am not in possession of anything - I am not in possession and didn't read or absorb information that came from out of the intelligence community,' Power stated, according to the newly released transcripts.

Also interviewed were people critical of the probe, and who worked closely with Trump on the 2016 campaign trail.

Donald Trump Jr., Hope Hicks, and Steve Bannon were among them.

The release of the transcripts come after a tussle on whether or not they should have been declassified.

The House panel voted in 2018 to release the documents, but it wasn't until this week that acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell told the committee they were ready for release following a lengthy interagency classification review.

During the intervening period, the impeachment of President Trump and his trial has come and gone, the Mueller report has been released, and Trump has waged a long campaign against FBI agents and other key figures in investigations.

Panel chair Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democrat who is a regular target of Trump's, complained in a release about the delay in the review, as his panel put out the information for all to see.

'These transcripts should have been released long before now, but the White House held up their release to the public by refusing to allow the Intelligence Community to make redactions on the basis of classified information, rather than White House political interests,' Schiff vented, despite the fact former Obama officials were unable to provide concrete evidence about collusion.

OTHER REVELATIONS FROM THE NEWLY DECLASSIFIED TRANSCRIPTS - Trump's security head Keith Schiller revealed he provided security services for Melania Trump when she took vacations. Asked by Rep. Jackie Speier if the future first lady took vacations separate from her husband, Schiller replied: 'Yes m'am.' - Longtime assistant Rhona Graff got quizzed on an invitation, conveyed by Emin Agalarov, for a Moscow visit that dangled a meeting with Vladimir Putin. It was conveyed by British PR Rob Goldstone, though after Trump turned down a birthday visit for his father, a wealthy Moscow developer. ''I totally understand re Moscow -- unless maybe he would welcome a meeting with President Putin which Emin would set up,' he wrote. - Schiff quizzed Don Jr. on his receipt of an email from Goldstone before the Trump Tower meeting. 'Was this the first communication you received from Mr. Goldstone where he indicated that the Russian Government wanted to provide assistance to the campaign?' 'Yes,' he responded. Asked if he ever discussed with his father an email offering dirt on Hillary Clinton, Don Jr. responded: 'No, not that I recall.' Advertisement

Obama blasts Trump's handling of coronavirus pandemic as 'an absolute chaotic disaster' and blames the president for America being more 'selfish, tribal, and divided' in leaked call

The Trump administrations response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been an absolute chaotic disaster, former President Barack Obama said on Friday.

President Trumps predecessor blamed the current occupant of the Oval Office and his allies for exacerbating tribal tensions around the country, which he says has hampered the effort to reduce total number of cases nationwide.

What were fighting against is these long-term trends in which being selfish, being tribal, being divided, and seeing others as an enemy - that has become a stronger impulse in American life, the president said in the call.

And by the way, were seeing that internationally as well.

Its part of the reason why the response to this global crisis has been so anemic and spotty.

It would have been bad even with the best of governments.

It has been an absolute chaotic disaster when that mindset - of whats in it for me and to heck with everybody else - when that mindset is operationalized in our government.

On April 22, Obama launched a veiled attack on Trump without using the president's name, claiming there is no 'coherent national plan' on coronavirus response

Obama added: Thats why, I, by the way, am going to be spending as much time as necessary and campaigning as hard as I can for Joe Biden.

Save for campaign speeches during the 2018 mid-term elections, the former president has largely been quiet since Trump took office and replaced him after defeating Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Obamas comments on the Trump administrations handling of the pandemic were a much sharper attack on his successor than last month.

In April Obama offered veiled criticism of Trump over the COVID-19 crisis, claiming that there was no coherent national plan to address the outbreak.

'While we continue to wait for a coherent national plan to navigate this pandemic, states like Massachusetts are beginning to adopt their own public health plans to combat this virusbefore it's too late,' the former president tweeted.

Obama used the tweet to issue an attack on the president, but also praised Massachusetts for its response to the pandemic with a New Yorker article titled: It's Not Too Late to Go on Offense Against the Coronavirus.

As several states continue to lament that they do not have the supplies to administer enough testing, some have taken matters into their own hands.
Bakersfield, CA (93308)

Today

Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afternoon. High 63F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Clear skies. Low 42F. Winds light and variable.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: A division bench of Telangana High Court on Friday asked the State government as to why it was not conducting more number of tests. Referring to Covid-19 cases in the United States, the bench observed that the US initially neglected conducting tests, but after the death of a White House executive, it started having more number of tests.

The bench, comprising Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy, directed the State government to submit details of its policy decision regarding conduct of tests of only persons with primary symptoms and restrictions on taking blood samples of dead persons. If a person has died due to Coronavirus, there is scope for spread of the virus in society if no tests are conducted on his primary contacts and other contacts as well, the bench opined.

HC asks TS why the dead arent being tested

The bench passed this order in the PIL filed by Telangana Jana Samithi vice-president Prof PL Vishweshwar Rao, challenging the orders issued by the State Commissioner and Director of Medical and Health to not collect samples from dead bodies for Covid-19 tests.

Petitioners counsel Chikkudu Prabhakar submitted that there is no mention in the WHO and ICMR guidelines regarding conduct of Covid-19 test on blood samples of dead persons. As per WHO, a person has to be tested, traced, isolated or treated for the disease. The State government is not taking the initiative to take up massive testing on people residing in 37 containment zones in Hyderabad city.

The bench then sought to know from the government as to why it is not asking its health officials to test blood samples from those who died. The bench opined that if tests are not done on the dead, then the cause of death will not be known. The bench posted the matter to May 14 for further hearing.
Actor Mark Ruffalos portrayal of activist and attorney Robert Bilott in the December 2019 release Dark Waters thrust a tiny Florida college into the spotlight.

Rob Bilott, Mark Ruffalo and Todd Haynes attend a photocall for Dark Waters |David M. Benett/Dave Benett/WireImage

Bilott is the lawyer who fought against chemical giant DuPont after the company allowed the chemical PFOA, to flow into the community water supply in West Virginia.

Part of the story includes Bilotts college days, featured in The New York Times article, The Lawyer Who Became DuPonts Worst Nightmare, The Herald-Tribune reports.

Bilott told The Herald-Tribune that Ruffalo read the New York Times story and it inspired him to make the film. But Bilott also shared what made the college he attended, New College of Florida, so unique and special.

Bilott attended New College of Florida in the 1980s

Bilott was a student at the small liberal arts honors college from 1983 to 1987. New College of Florida, located in Sarasota offers an untraditional academic setting. The school allows students to explore their own education path, which includes writing and defending a thesis during their fourth year.

You could design your own major, it was a pass/fail system, you could do a lot of independent study, Bilott said. That seemed really intriguing to me, so I came down and visited the campus with my dad, and was really impressed with it and decided to come on down. I had a great time while I was there, it was a great institution.

Bilott was originally from Ohio. So he ultimately returned to the midwest upon graduation. However, he returned to the sleepy Florida town throughout the years, making Sarasota a vacation destination for his family.

He credits New College for helping hone his critical thinking skills

Bilotts unique education helped him fine-tune his critical thinking abilities. He told Sarasota Magazine he originally wanted to became a city planner. But he graduated with a political science degree because there was no math involved.

I was a political science major. I tried to avoid anything that involved numbers and math, he admitted. It was rather ironic that I ended up dealing with chemicals.

He insists that New College prepared him to fight the chemical giant. They did a great job in teaching you how to think critically, how to analyze data, how to question what youre seeing and look at it for yourself.

Rob Bilott was supposed to give the commencement address at New College

Bilott was scheduled to deliver the commencement address for the class of 2020 at New College. The school announced Bilott as the keynote speaker in December 2019. Were thrilled to have Rob Bilott as our commencement speaker and honorary degree recipient this year, Don OShea, president of New College said.

Robs legal work challenged the powerful and defended the less privileged, OShea continued. He uncovered a public health hazard, as highlighted in many publications and now in a major movie. His work exemplifies New Colleges mission as an institution that prepares its students for lives of purpose, service and achievement.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 struck and graduation plans had to change. However, instead of bypassing the graduation ceremoney, the school postponed it until December.
By Trend

In accordance with the rules envisaged by the Azerbaijani Law on Environmental Impact Assessment, when assessing the impact on the environment by enterprises disposing and processing safe and hazardous waste, as well as designing of the structures and landfills, an appropriate document subject to the mandatory state expertise must be drawn up, Trend reports.

The corresponding issue has been outlined in the amendment to the law on industrial and household waste, discussed at the meeting of the Azerbaijani parliament on May 8.

In accordance with the proposed amendment, the third and sixth parts are added into the seventh article of this law.

The amendments imply the following:

- if the facilities envisaged in the third part of this article (residential buildings, enterprises, structures during the operation of which waste is generated) comply with environmental requirements on environmental impact indicators, an environmental impact assessment document is not required during the reconstruction of these facilities or the replacement of their facilities and equipment. However, the appropriate changes are made in the documents (permissible limits of waste, permissible limit of wastewater, environmental passport), issued for these facilities by a structure determined by the corresponding executive body given the requirements of legal acts, technical acts related to the environment protection;

- if the conditions of use of the abovementioned facilities do not meet the environmental requirements on environmental impact indicators or in case of application of technologies and technological methods differing from those envisaged in the initial draft, it is necessary to re-evaluate the environmental impact on them;

- in case of detecting transboundary impact during the environmental impact assessment of the facilities envisaged in the third part of this article, the issues of transboundary impact assessment in connection with these facilities are resolved in accordance with international treaties, in which one of the sides is Azerbaijan.

Following the discussions, the amendments were put to the vote and adopted in the second reading.
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Frankfurt am Main, Germany  Sat, May 9, 2020 17:01 620 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd6f2be6 2 News Lufthansa,Airlines,travel,coronavirus,COVID-19 Free

German airline giant Lufthansa said Friday it will fly twice as many aircraft in June as in recent weeks and return to some European destinations, but the flight plan remains a shadow of pre-coronavirus operations.

Spots beloved of holidaymakers like Spanish island Mallorca, Crete and German North Sea retreat Sylt will return to the timetable, with 160 aircraft aloft bearing Lufthansa's crane or the logos of subsidiaries Swiss and Eurowings.

More details of the 106 planned destinations will be published next week, Lufthansa said.

Read also: Indonesian airlines resume domestic passenger flights with strict health protocols

But the vast majority of the group's roughly 760 planes will remain grounded as restrictions on travel and tourist essentials like hotels and restaurants ease only slowly around the continent.

"We sense a great desire and longing among people to travel again," board member Harry Hohmeister said in a statement.

"With all due caution, we are now making it possible for people to catch up and experience what they had to do without for a long time."

Details of the June flight plan were released less than 24 hours after the Frankfurt group said it was in talks for the German government to buy shares and offer a loan to keep it afloat through the coronavirus crisis.

Berlin could end up owning around 25 percent of Lufthansa, although politicians are still wrangling over the details.

Economy Minister Peter Altmaier told tabloid-style daily Bild Thursday that Lufthansa was part of Germany's "family silver" and that Berlin aimed to avoid a "fire sale" of valuable firms.
National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on Saturday carried out a complete operational review of the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir and told top army commanders and paramilitary forces to tighten the counter-infiltration grid along the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan and the counter-insurgency network in the Kashmir valley.

The high-level meeting was convened against the backdrop of militant activity in north Kashmirs Handwara, Baramulla and Sopore triangle that cost lives of six soldiers including, a colonel-rank officer. It is also in this region that the security forces eliminated a top Lashkar terrorist, Haider.

Then there is an intelligence alert about plans by the terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed to carry out simultaneous suicide attacks at army and paramiliary bases on Monday, May 11.

Top government officials told HT that the NSA also took note of the increased air activity by the Pakistan Air Force along Indias western border that coincided with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, and later the foreign office in Islamabad releasing statement that alleged India was looking for a pretext for a false flag operation targeting Pakistan.

Officials said there was consensus that the Imran Khan governments effort to distance itself from the terrorists it supports was a pre-emptive move and indicated a renewed push from Pakistani terror launch pads over the next few weeks.

The meeting noted how Pakistan was funding outfits such as The Resistance Front or the JK Pir Panjal Peace Forum to claim that terrorism in the valley was indigenous and not sponsored by it. An official said, placing the Pakistan Air Force on high alert was also designed to further Imran Khans narrative that asks the international community to intervene lest there is a confrontation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. The NSA also told officials to step up the engagement with terrorists in the Kashmir valley.

The five-hour-long meeting was attended by, among others, Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane, Intelligence Bureau director Arvinda Kumar, Research and Analysis Wing chief Samant Kumar Goel, Border Security Force director general SS Deswal and Central Reserve Police Force chief AK Maheshwari.

A senior counter-terror official told HT that the meeting analysed the infiltration routes used by terrorists from Pakistan and suggested tweaks at the ground level that could ensure that the terrorists were detected.

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Venezuela charged two former US soldiers with terrorism and conspiracy for allegedly taking part in failed operation.

Venezuelas military said it seized three abandoned Colombian light combat vessels that soldiers found on Saturday while patrolling the Orinoco river, several days after the government accused its neighbour of aiding a failed invasion.

The boats were equipped with machine guns and ammunition but had no crew, the defence ministry said in a statement, adding they were discovered as part of a nationwide operation to guarantee Venezuelas freedom and sovereignty.

Colombias foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request to comment. President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday accused Colombian President Ivan Duque of enabling the operation, which Duque denied.





Venezuela charged two former US soldiers with terrorism and conspiracy for allegedly taking part in a failed armed incursion aimed at toppling Maduro.

Luke Alexander Denman and Airan Berry were among 31 people captured by the Venezuelan military, which said it thwarted an attempted invasion by mercenaries in the early hours of May 3.

Prosecutor General Tarek William Saab said on Friday they had been charged with terrorism, conspiracy, illicit trafficking of weapons of war and [criminal] association, and could face 25-30 years in prison.

Several attackers were reportedly killed in the ill-fated incursion.

Saab said Venezuela requested an international arrest warrant for the capture of Jordan Goudreau, a former US Army veteran who leads a Florida-based company that says it offers paid strategic security services. Goudreau said in media interviews he organised the operation in Venezuela.

Venezuelas chief prosecutor Tarek William Saab talking to journalists after a news conference in Caracas, Venezuela [Manaure Quintero/Reuters]

Maduro has accused US President Donald Trump of being directly behind the invasion, which came at a time of high tension between Washington and Caracas, and Saab said on Friday the Venezuelans involved would be tried for conspiracy with a foreign government.

Trump rejected the accusation, telling Fox News on Friday: If I wanted to go into Venezuela, I wouldnt make a secret about it.

Id go in and they would do nothing about it. They would roll over. I wouldnt send a small little group. No, no, no. It would be called an army, he said. It would be called an invasion.

Green Berets

Venezuela announced on Monday it arrested the two former US special forces soldiers and on Wednesday Maduro, who showed the pairs passports on state television, said they would be tried.

The US Army has confirmed they were former members of the Green Berets who were deployed to Iraq.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US government would use every tool that we have available to try to get them back.





In announcing the arrests, Saab claimed Venezuelas opposition leader Juan Guaido, who is backed in his challenge to Maduros authority by the US and more than 50 countries, was behind the mission.

Saab accused Guaido of signing a $212m contract with hired mercenaries using funds seized by the US from the state oil company PDVSA.

Guaido has denied having any involvement in the incursion.

Saab blamed Goudreau and two opposition Venezuelan politicians, Miami-based political strategist Juan Rendon and exiled lawmaker Sergio Vergara, for involvement in the design, financing, and execution of the plan to invade and overthrow Maduro.

Rendon has said while he negotiated an agreement with Goudreaus company Silvercorp USA late last year, he cut ties with him in November. He said Goudreau went forward with the failed operation on his own. Vergara did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The bungled operation has put pressure on Guaido, who has failed in his campaign to replace a president who has overseen a six-year economic collapse of the once prosperous OPEC nation and stands accused of human rights violations and rigging his 2018 re-election.

Guaido has largely held together a broad coalition of the anti-Maduro political parties that make up Venezuelas notoriously divided opposition. But on Friday, one of the largest opposition parties aligned with Guaido  Justice First  criticised him over the failed raid.

We radically reject the hiring of illegal groups, Justice First said in a statement, calling on Guaido to immediately dismiss the officials who  in the name of the interim presidency of the republic  established links with these illegal groups.
Photo credit: Getty

From Cosmopolitan

As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the likelihood of international holidays has been quite unclear. While some countries have announced they're welcoming tourists again - and airbridges are being discussed - others are being stricter with their boarder control.

Initially, Greece's tourism minister announced they'd be opening their borders to tourism from June 15, but has since confirmed the UK's number of coronavirus cases is still too high to be let in.

A list published at the end of May revealed Greece are allowing tourists to travel from countries including Australia, Croatia, Serbia, Romania and Lebanon, but that until the number of cases and deaths in the UK decreases, tourists from the UK will not be allowed.



Photo credit: Getty Images

The Greek Tourism Ministry said travellers from the permitted countries will be able to enter Greece on direct flights to Athens and to the northern city of Thessaloniki, and that they'd look to expand the list on July 1 to include other countries.

But today [July 1], the Greek government extended their ban on British travellers, with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis explaining he would reassess thing on July 15.

Photo credit: Getty Images

Greece's tourism minister Harry Theocharis previously told The Guardian social distancing rules would be put in place to keep travelling in the country as safe as possible.

"We have to have new rules for hotels, new rules for beaches, new rules for pools, new rules for breakfast buffets, new rules for tour buses," he explained. "Once measures are relaxed a good month will be required to prepare the ground for the [tourism] engine to get started.

"Tour operators are waiting and hoping we can come up with the right rules so that we can start bringing visitors in. We have to strike the right balance ... be cautious, tough it out and make the best of it."

Photo credit: lucianbolca - Getty Images

Currently, the UK Foreign Office has modified its statement warning Brits against all non-essential travel, and is no longer asking all Brits to return from international locations. This does offer a little glimmer of hope to those hoping to make the most of their annual leave.



Story continues

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- He aired his support for ABS-CBN amid the shutdown issue that it is facing

- The social media personality also uploaded a photo that showed the symbol for Laban Kapamilya

- After receiving criticism, Xander responded through a lengthy Instagram post

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Xander Ford is one of the celebrities in the Philippines who supports ABS-CBN amid the shutdown issue that it is currently facing.

KAMI learned that the said social media personality recently posted his stand on Instagram.

He uploaded a photo of himself and put the words Laban Kapamilya as its caption.

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Xander received heavy criticism because of the said post. Many netizens claimed that the celebrity has no right to post such a photo because he does not belong to ABS-CBN.

The controversial actor then decided to address the negative comments that he received through another Instagram post.

He pointed out that even though he is now an employee of the Kapamilya network, he has the right to stand for what he believes in.

He further stated that he also became a Kapamilya for 5 years and he learned important things during his stay in the said network.

Oo, hindi man ako kasali or kasali ako, karapatan kong ipaglaban ang bagay or sino mang nagpapasaya sa akin he wrote.

Hindi na ito pagitan sa issue ng nakaraan ko pero ang ABS-CBN ang naging pamilya ko humigit-kumulang 5 taon. Niyakap ako sa kung ano ako katulad ng isang magulang, napaparusahan dahil nakakagawa ng mali at hindi maganda sa kapwa he added.

In a previous article by , the talent agency of Xander admitted to looking for a much deserving person for the name.

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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!

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A Kashmiri man rides his bicycle carrying a girl wearing a protective mask during lockdown in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, April 18, 2020. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday extended the world's largest coronavirus lockdown to head off the epidemic's peak, with officials racing to make up for lost time. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

SRINAGAR, India (AP)  Indian government forces killed four rebels in a gunbattle in disputed Kashmir during a stringent lockdown to combat the coronavirus, the Indian army said Wednesday.

The fighting broke out in a village in southern Shopian district as counterinsurgency police and soldiers raided a house on a tip that militants were hiding there late Tuesday night, said army spokesman Col. Rajesh Kalia.

During the gunfight, troops blew up the house with explosives, a common tactic by security forces, residents said.

India has continued its counterinsurgency operations across Kashmir despite a coronavirus lockdown. Militants also have not ceased their attacks on government forces and alleged informants. On Sunday, militants attacked a paramilitary post and killed three soldiers.

The latest violence comes amid near daily fighting between Pakistani and Indian soldiers along the highly militarized frontier that divides Kashmir between the two rivals.

Officer Amritpal Singh said police had not yet identified the slain militants. Residents posting on social media said they were local rebels.

Last week, police secretly buried the bodies of two militants as unidentified in a faraway graveyard despite their families seeking to claim them.

According to human rights groups, thousands in Kashmir are buried in unmarked graves, most of them close to the frontier. Indian authorities say those militants are of foreign origin who sneaked into the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir from Pakistani-administered territory to fight government forces.

India and Pakistan claim divided Kashmir in its entirety. Most Kashmiris support the rebel cause that the territory be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country while also participating in civilian street protests against Indian control.

Rebels have been fighting Indian control since 1989. India accuses Pakistan of arming and training the rebels, a charge Pakistan denies. Nearly 70,000 people have been killed in the uprising and the ensuing Indian military crackdown.
Baytex Energy Corp (OTC:BTEG.F)

Q1 2020 Earnings Call

, 11:00 a.m. ET

Contents:

Prepared Remarks

Questions and Answers

Call Participants

Prepared Remarks:

Operator

Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Welcome to the Baytex Energy First Quarter 2020 Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions]

I would now like to turn the conference over to Brian Ector, the Vice President, Capital Markets. Please, go ahead.

Brian G. Ector -- Vice President, Capital Markets

Thank you, operator. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for joining us today to discuss our first quarter 2020 financial and operating results. With me today are Ed LaFehr, our President and Chief Executive Officer; and Rod Gray, Executive VP, and Chief Financial Officer. We also have on the line from their work-at-home stations today, Kendall Arthur, Vice President, Heavy Oil; Chad Kalmakoff, Vice President, Finance; Chad Lundberg, Vice President, Light Oil; and Scott Lovett, our Vice President of Corporate Development.

While listening, please keep in mind that some of our remarks will contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. I refer you to the advisories regarding forward-looking statements, oil, and gas information, and non-GAAP financial, and capital management measures in yesterday afternoon's press release. All dollar amounts referenced in our remarks are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise specified.

And with that, I would now like to turn the call over to Ed.

Edward D. LaFehr -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thanks, Brian, and good morning, everyone. I'd like to welcome everybody to our first quarter 2020 conference call. Before we begin, I would like to take a moment and acknowledge all of the frontline healthcare workers and essential service providers across Calgary, and in the communities where we operate, for all of the tremendous work they've been doing throughout the COVID crisis. Many of our employees have family members or friends on the front lines, and we are very grateful for their effort. On behalf of the entire Baytex family and all of our stakeholders, we thank you. I also want to acknowledge our employees, who have responded to this unprecedented challenge our industry is facing, with the poise and commitment that we have all come to expect.

We have implemented a number of measures to foster resilience through these unpredictable times, including a work-from-home program and altering shifts in the field. We are focused on protecting the health and safety of our personnel, while maintaining our operations and to-date we have had no positive cases of COVID-19 within the company. The demand destruction, as the global economy has shut down, the resulting collapse in crude oil prices and the uncertainty over the duration of this downturn can strain any organization. And I'm very proud of our team, and how we have responded. As market conditions have changed during the first quarter, we move quickly to adjust our business plan.

We curtail exploration and development spending in March, which resulted in capital spending of CAD177 million, 12% lower than our original expectation. Approximately 70% of our capital was directed toward our operated assets in Canada, where we have had a very active program in both the Viking and heavy oil. We generated strong production at 98,400 BOEs per day, which was ahead of the top end of our guidance for the year. We delivered adjusted funds flow of CAD133 million or CAD0.24 per basic share and generated an operating netback of CAD16.5 per BOE. All of our business units executed flawlessly during the quarter and delivered exceptional results. Production in the Viking averaged almost 25,000 BOEs per day, which is the highest rate ever achieved for the asset. Our heavy oil business unit delivered over 31,000 BOEs per day and the Eagle Ford remain consistent at over 36,000 BOEs per day.

When oil prices started to decline as the first quarter unfolded, our priorities changed. We moved aggressively to shift our operating and capital activities to maintain financial liquidity, minimize capital outlays and emphasize cost reductions across all facets of our business to retain long-term value. We previously announced a 50% reduction in our capital spending for this year to CAD260 million to CAD290 million from CAD500 million to CAD575 million. Originally, with this revised capital program, we suspended drilling and completions operations in Canada, and expect a moderated pace of activity in the Eagle Ford.

We're also intensely focused on driving further efficiencies in our operations. We have taken actions to achieve CAD135 million of cost reductions for 2020, related to operating transportation and general and administrative expenses. We are also voluntarily shutting in approximately 25,000 BOEs per day of production. This includes approximately two-thirds of our heavy oil production and 15% of our lighter oil production. We currently expect the heavy oil volumes will remain offline for the balance of this year.

For the light oil assets about 5,000 barrels per day of production has been shut in for April and May, these volumes will be evaluated monthly, and we currently anticipate production resuming in the second half of the year. While these decisions are never easy at current commodity prices to shut in of these barrels will have a positive impact on our adjusted funds flow, improve our financial liquidity and optimize the value of our resource base, should operating netback change, we have the ability to restart wells in short order, or shut-in additional volumes. Taking into account the incremental shut in volumes, we have revised our production guidance range for 2020 to 70,000 to 74,000 BEOs per day from 85,000 to 89,000 BOEs per day previously. I mentioned earlier CAD135 million of cost reductions. I commend the work of our field teams to drive further efficiencies during these challenging times.

On a per unit basis, our operating expense guidance is unchanged as we flex down all variable costs and mitigate some fixed costs associated with our field operations. In addition, we're realizing an approximate 25% reduction in transportation expenses, due to reduce volumes. We're also reducing our G&A expense by 11% to CAD40 million. While this might get overlooked in today's environment, inventory enhancement continues to be a priority for our teams. And we're also committed to building and maintaining respectful relationships with indigenous communities and creating opportunities for meaningful economic participation.

During the first quarter, we executed a strategic agreement with the Peavine Metis settlement in the Peace River Area that covers 60 sections of land directly to the south of our Seal operations. We have identified significant potential for this early stage exploratory play targeting the Spirit River formation, a Clearwater formation equivalent, with first activity planned on the lands for 2021.

I will now turn the call over to Rod to discuss our balance sheet and risk management.

Rodney D. Gray -- Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

Thanks, Ed, and good morning, everyone. As Ed mentioned, the demand destruction caused from shutting down the economy to prevent the spread of the coronavirus combined with an increasing supply of crude oil from Russia and Saudi Arabia has caused an unprecedented drop in crude oil prices, this decline in prices combined with the economic uncertainty, led us to recording an impairment during the first quarter of CAD2.7 billion as the carrying value of our oil and gas properties exceeded their recoverable amounts. These impairments may be reversed in the future should commodity price forecasts increase or there be indications of a change in value. We had strong liquidity at the end of the first quarter with CAD417 million of undrawn capacity on our credit facilities, resulting in approximately CAD315 million of liquidity net of working capital requirements.

We discussed this on our last quarterly conference call, but it's important to reiterate, during the first quarter, we enhanced our long-term note maturity schedule, which provides us with improved flexibility and liquidity. On February 5th, we issued US$500 million principal amount of 8.75% senior unsecured notes maturing April 1, 2027. We also redeemed two series of notes during the quarter. On February, 20, we redeemed US$400 million due June 21. And, on March 6th, we redeemed CAD300 million due July 19, 2022. Following these redemptions, our first long-term note maturity of US$400 million is not until June 2024. We also extended the maturities on our credit facilities to April 2, 2024, the credit facilities are not boring based facilities, and do not require annual or semiannual reviews. We also continue to manage our commodity price risk through an active hedging program; we realized the financial derivatives gain of CAD27 million in Q1 2020.

For the remainder of 2020, we have entered into hedges on the majority of our crude oil exposure. This is comprised of WTI based fixed price swaps on 2,000 barrels a day at US$58 per barrel and the three way options structure on 24,000 barrels a day that a current oil prices, give us WTI plus US$760 per barrel. We have also entered into additional financial hedges to mitigate the volatility in our adjusted funds flow for the next few months. This includes hedging 11,300 barrels a day for Q2, 2020, and 21,000 barrels a day for July at weighted average prices of approximately US$25 per barrel. For the remainder of 2020, we have also WTI to MSW basis differential swaps for 6,400 barrels a day on our light oil production in Canada at CAD6 per barrel and WCS differential hedges on 6,500 barrels a day at WTI to WCS differential of about CAD16 per barrel. Crude-by-rail is also an integral part of our egress marketing strategy for our heavy oil production.

For 2020, we had originally contracted to deliver approximately 11,500 barrels a day of our heavy oil volumes to market by rail, in the current pricing environment, we expect our crude-by-rail volumes to be significantly reduced. Full details of our hedge program can be found in our first quarter financial statements.

And with that, I'll turn the call back over to Ed for some concluding comments.

Edward D. LaFehr -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Okay. Thanks Rob. In this challenging environment we've responded decisively to protect the health and safety of employees and to dramatically reposition operating activity to maximize our cash flow, and minimize the draw on our liquidity. Our operating teams continue to drive cost savings and prudently shut-in production that is currently uneconomic as I mentioned. And the refinancing of our long-term notes and extension of our revolving credit facilities to 2024 were both important steps in improving our financial flexibility and liquidity. You can be assured we are working very hard for all stakeholders to make the necessary changes and overhauls to our plans in 2020 in this extraordinary environment.

And with that, I will ask the operator to please open the call for questions.

Questions and Answers:

Operator

Certainly. We will now begin the question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Manav Gupta with Credit Suisse. Please go ahead.

Manav Gupta -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst

Hey, guys. I'm just trying to understand this that, again, right now both Viking and heavy oil have been shut. You have indicated that heavy oil will most likely remain shut for the rest of the year. At the same time, you're evaluating Viking production every month. I'm trying to understand what's the thought process? When could you actually look to restart the Viking? And in what circumstances, could you actually think about bringing back heavy oil, if any, during the year?

Edward D. LaFehr -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. It's a really good question, Manav, in a very dynamic environment. So when I say 25,000 barrels a day were shut in, that's today and that's an instantaneous basis and for the month of May. Having said that, we're looking at opportunities to sell at -- in the range of margin that gives us a $5 access over variable costs to a $10 dollar excess over variable costs. And we're at that point right now and into June. So we've made some spot sales, we've done some things. But -- so having said that, right now, 24,000 barrels a day of heavy oil are shut-in and a very small amount of light oil is shut-in. And it's primarily Duvernay. It's not really Viking.

And in June, we plan to bring on a vast majority of all of our light oil. And in heavy oil we can start bringing on barrels, if prices, not only give us that $5 to $10 excess over variable cost, but if we see some stability in the macro environment that suggests the price environment that we're in will be will be stable. So we're looking at that very closely. And it's not overnight, it comes in tranches. So there's a first tranche of barrels that are coming back in June, as I mentioned, there's a second tranche that could come on later. And it's not a cookie cutter here, it's a very dynamic and volatile situation, and our marketing and asset teams are remaining extremely nimble. So, the way I would plan in terms of modeling is 25,000 barrels a day is what we've said today. And that should moderate itself down to 20,000 barrels a day for second half of the year, shut-in.

Manav Gupta -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst

Thanks for taking my questions.

Operator

Our next question comes from Philip Skolnick with Eight Capital. Please go ahead.

Philip Skolnick -- Eight Capital -- Analyst

Yes. Good morning. Just on the cost reductions. How much would you say you know would come back in a more normalized environment and how much is a more permanent for the corporation?

Rodney D. Gray -- Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

Yes. Really, really good question and one that we're working actively right now but of the CAD135 million of cost savings, roughly CAD80 million of that is opex, and another big chunk of that is transportation in a very small amount of G&A. But let's focus on the opex for a moment, because some of the transportation costs will come back with volumes and -- some of the opex will as well. I would give you kind of a 50-50 blend of 50% of the CAD135 million is due to volumes, simply being off, and 50% is truly cost savings and deferrals. Some of that, I think will come back. And -- so here are some examples, inside opex, we have items like fuel and maintenance, I would say labor, some of these areas, we're working hard, we've furloughed a lot of people and some of those people will be necessary to come back and help bring back those volumes, but not all. Reinventing the way we're working out there as well, and repairs, maintenance, workovers remains to be seen what we do there, but we're definitely seeing cost reductions in different areas. But I would look at it as 50-50, and of the 50%, I'm calling cost savings, some of that will come back I just don't have a number for you right now.

Philip Skolnick -- Eight Capital -- Analyst

Okay. No, problem. Just, I guess, then on the cost savings. I mean, is there anything with respect to maintenance capex that you're looking to do that, then you know we look into 2021 estimates in normalize environment that maybe it would cost you to less to maintain production or level maybe?

Rodney D. Gray -- Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

Well there's a big category, we call repairs, maintenance and supplies, and I think all of that is being challenged and looked at to be reinvented or, you know, look at phasing and type of maintenance and when it's done, and how to shelter more etc. But so I don't have an answer on that, and I don't have an answer on how much labor will need to come back either, I know -- all of it will come back. And we're committed to that. But I would say, we're those are the things we're working on right now, Phil.

Philip Skolnick -- Eight Capital -- Analyst

Okay. Understood. Thanks.

Operator

Our next question comes from Gregory Pardy with RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead.

Adnan Usman -- RBC Capital Markets -- Analyst

Hi. It's Adnan Usman on for Greg. Thank you for taking my question. Just a quick one from me, as you ramped up the crude oil volumes what amount of things are expected there? Are there any associated royalties on the [Indecipherable]?

Edward D. LaFehr -- President and Chief Executive Officer

I'll turn that over to Rod on marketing. We're not going to talk about our specific agreements, but we were running about 12,000 barrels a day in Q1. And we've ramped that down about 50%. We've shut in almost the entirety of our Peace River field, which is a majority of our rail volumes. So we're down to 2,000 barrels day in Peace River, and therefore, when you're talking about shutting in an entire field, then that, that becomes a significant conversation throughout the value chain into your markets.

Now, before I pass it over to Rod on anything he wants to add. He did say, Rod did say that that railing our volumes to the Gulf Coast is a priority long term, until we have enough egress and pipelines in place. So it is part of our strategy to rail volumes and we have some very important customers that we like dealing with. But we're down to, kind of, minimum levels. I would say both in Peace River and in Lloyd on our rail volumes. Rod, do you want to add to that?

Rodney D. Gray -- Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

I think Ed said it. We've got good working relationships with our partners around rail and we continue to view crude-by-rail as an integral part of getting our product to market. And thankfully we've been able to work through this challenging time with the majority of the partners.

Adnan Usman -- RBC Capital Markets -- Analyst

Got it. Thanks very much.

Operator

This concludes the question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Brian Ector for any closing remarks.

Brian G. Ector -- Vice President, Capital Markets

All right. Thank you, operator, and thanks everyone for participating in our first quarter conference call. Have a great day.

Operator

[Operator Closing Remarks]

Duration: 21 minutes

Call participants:

Brian G. Ector -- Vice President, Capital Markets

Edward D. LaFehr -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Rodney D. Gray -- Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

Manav Gupta -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst

Philip Skolnick -- Eight Capital -- Analyst

Adnan Usman -- RBC Capital Markets -- Analyst

More BTE analysis

All earnings call transcripts
The coronavirus outbreak has infected nearly 4 million people across the globe. The contagion that originated from a seafood market in the Chinese city of Wuhan last year has spread across the continent and has found a new epicentre in the United States.

With over 1.5 million Covid-19 cases, Europe is the worst-hit continent in the world. The United States continues to lead the global tally with over 1 million cases. More than 2 lakh people have died from coronavirus across the globe while over 1 million have recovered.

Heres a look at the top Covid-19 updates from across the globe:

1. Ivanka Trumps personal assistant has tested positive for the deadly coronavirus, making her the third White House staff member to be infected from Covid-19, a media report said on Saturday.

2. Russia has overtaken France and Germany to become the fifth nation with highest Covid-19 cases in the world. Russia saw 10,817 new coronavirus in the last day, pushing the nationwide tally to 198,676.

3. The World Health Organization said Covid-19 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 it is not contained, news agency Reuters reported.

4. Coronavirus deaths breached 30,000-mark in Italy, the third country in the world to with the figure.

5. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will not announce changes to Britains coronavirus lockdown on Sunday.

Also read: China to reform disease prevention & control system amid Covid-19 pandemic

6. The US vice president Mike Pence spokeswoman became another White House staffer this week to test positive for the coronavirus.

7. The World Health Organization (WHO) plans to launch an app this month to enable people in under-resourced countries to assess whether they may have the novel coronavirus, and is considering a Bluetooth-based contact tracing feature too, an official told Reuters on Friday.

8. A triple drug combination of antiviral medicines helped relieve symptoms in patients with mild to moderate Covid-19 infection and swiftly reduced the amount of virus in their bodies, according to results of a small trial in Hong Kong.

9. Canada has recorded a historic 15.7% decline in employment since February this year and lost nearly two million jobs in April as part of the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

10. Lockdowns forced by the coronavirus pandemic pushed up unemployment in America to a record 14.7% in April.

(With inputs from agencies)
The undisputed master on the violin

The title Jascha Heifetz: The Supreme of Arkivs two-disc Artists of the Century collection, which ranges from Bach to Tchaikovsky to Gershwin, is absolutely accurate: Jascha Heifetz is often regarded as the greatest violinist who ever lived, but certainly of the 20th centuryand beyond.

Comprising seven representative performances, the set from the RCA Victor Red Seal label includes five concertos in their finest renditions.

No one can surpass Heifetz for tone, accuracy of intonation, technical agilityand, yesheart. Perhaps his greatest attributes are his multicolorations and his unique phrasing. At times, he appears to be behind the beat, but this serves to increase tensionand interest.

His rendition of the solo Bach Chaconne alternates power with lyricism, varying intensity with quicksilver ease. His playing is full of sentiment but is never sentimental.

Several major violinists have recorded this work. Itzhak Perlmans version is powerful, but lacks variety and is a bit heavy-handed, seeming more suitable for an organ rather than a stringed instrument.

Heifetzs gifts are potently and economically displayed in Max Bruchs Scottish Fantasy. Here is the masters exquisite tone: by turns lyrical, unbearably sweet, passionate, a slow pace leaping to swift and crystal-clear trills, vibrato like the brushing together of a hummingbirds wings. Sir Malcolm Sargent conducts the New Symphony Orchestra.

The Brahms and Tchaikovsky concertos have interesting connections. Theyre both in D major, were composed in 1878, but the Brahms in Austria and the Tchaikovsky in Russia. In each, Heifetz is accompanied by the superb Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) under the baton of the brilliant Fritz Reiner, sometimes referred to as the Heifetz of conductors.

Both concertos feature Heifetzs fiery attack; each note, including each note of the trills, is crystal clear. The lyrical passages are so moving that I got gooseflesh as I listened. Heifetzs mood changes are so abrupt and defined that they seem wrought by machine. But I mean that as a compliment. There is no one like him.

A collection of Jascha Heifetzs violin concerto performances.

The CSO, this time conducted by Walter Hendl, accompanies Heifetz in the Sibelius, the only concerto the noted Finnish composer ever wrote. Its in a class of its own.

Heifetz gives a masterful interpretation of this work, which features occasional Asian-like motifs, sometimes a gypsy quality. Some passages are dark, almost tragic in feeling. Heifetz, a master of all genres and styles, of course, rises to the occasion.

Maxim Vengerov also gives a fine interpretation of the Sibelius, available on YouTube: very passionate but lacking variety. Perhaps it is a matter of taste. He is accompanied by the CSO with Daniel Barenboim at the podium.

Heifetzs rendition of the Glazunov concerto, conducted by Walter Hendl, this time with the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra, sweeps from sweetly lyrical to passionate, and rings with nobility at times. Heifetz plucks the strings with aplomb and demonstrates phenomenal speed at the end of the piece.

There had to be a special place in Heifetzs heart for George Gershwin. The two were friends; Heifetz had hoped Gershwin would compose a work especially for him, but fate intervened. Gershwin died, tragically, at age 38, from a brain tumor, leaving such major works as Rhapsody in Blue and the opera Porgy and Bess.

Heifetz himself transcribed for violin Gershwins three Preludes for Piano, included here. He plays with his usual sensitivity and elan.

Perhaps the following, offered by writers Florine Mark and Maria Scott, explains something of Heifetzs magic. A young boy approached Heifetz after one of his concerts and gushed: Id give my life to play violin the way you do.

Heifetz replied,  I did.

Diana Barth writes for several theater publications, including New Millennium. She may be contacted at diabarth99@gmail.com
A take-away service catering for lovers of Michelin star food has seen its popularity soar as wealthy households turn to the app to keep themselves well fed - splashing up to 1,500 a meal before wine.

The London-based delivery company, named Supper, had been 'tootling along' with a few well-loved restaurants on its books before the coronavirus pandemic hit, reports The Times.

But just three days into lockdown the addition of several super-popular restaurants including Hakkasan and Zuma - who had previously been unwilling to offer a takeaway service - saw orders surge by 700 per cent.

The London-based delivery company, named Supper, had been 'tootling along' with a few well-loved restaurants on its books before the coronavirus pandemic hit

Now owner Peter Georgiou says he has an abundance of loyal customers who order lunch and dinner almost every day.

Speaking to The Times Mr Georgiou said: 'I've had customers saying: 'I don't cook, I don't know how.'

Adding: 'We've now got restaurants queueing up to get on our platform.'

Mr Georgiou tells of one Surrey household who has been using Supper's service to regularly order in dinners costing up to 1,500, without the booze.

Now owner Peter Georgiou says he has an abundance of loyal customers who order lunch and dinner almost every day. Pictured: Supper delivery drivers

While another individual makes a daily order of the croque monsieur with black truffle from Piccadilly's Hide restaurant for 24 a pop without delivery.

And high-end food delivery is not the only thing the rich are craving in these trying times as demand for in-house staff went up two to three times for recruiter Polo and Tweed.

Supper has seen its popularity soar as wealthy households turn to the app to keep themselves well fed

Live-in chefs were also said to have been highly sought, as CEO Lucy Challenger told The Times, people 'didn't want to cook and they don't know how to cook'.

Despite demand for new staff, Polo and Tweed, has put a hold on recruitment 'to ensure the health and well being of all our candidates and clients'.

Other companies saying no to the super-rich during the pandemic include Quintessentially, a luxury travel and lifestyle agent, who will refuse requests to charter planes to escape lockdown, reports The Times.

In early April a private jet full of super-rich holidaymakers from London was sent back to the UK after the group landed in France and tried to get to their Cannes villa by helicopter during the Coronavirus lockdown.

Seven men in their 40s and 50s and three women in their 20s arrived at Marseille-Provence airport and were immediately intercepted by local police.

The organiser of the trip  a Croatian national working in banking and estate agency in the UK  had booked the jet and helicopters to take everybody to the rented villa.

Police guarding the borders of Marseille-Provence airport asked the private jet not to come and land on its tarmac', a police source told BFM news outlet.

But the plane still landed anyway, and the passengers, aged between between 24 and 27 years for the women, and 40 and 50 for the men, were not allowed to get off the aircraft.
Lauren Brown and Rebekah Oosterbaan talk nearly every day.

They squeeze conversations in between the whirlwind that is working from home and overseeing remote learning for their children during the coronavirus pandemic.

But they are not exactly exchanging dinner ideas.

Instead, the Tucson moms, who have never met in person, are busy discussing the production and distribution of fabric masks to health-care workers and others on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis. They talk about organizing the 75 volunteers they have recruited to make the effort happen and securing business sponsorships, which thus far include software maker Intuit, Goodwill Industries, fabric.com, Offray Ribbon, Bulldog Ink and Legacy Traditional School, where their children attend.

Brought together by a health pandemic that has, for the most part, successfully kept people apart, the women have formed a lasting friendship in little more than a month while managing to have more than 700 cloth masks made and distributed to places like Banner Health, Tucson Medical Center, El Rio Health, the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, Pima Animal Care Center and more.

The idea for the venture, dubbed Mustang Masks  an ode to Legacy Schools mascot, started with 38-year-old Oosterbaan, whose husband works at a local hospital in administration.

A manager at Intuit, Oosterbaan felt helpless as she worked at home and wondered if other parents from the northwest side charter school, would be interested in making a couple of masks.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday sent a message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un calling for strengthened cooperation in the fight against the new coronavirus and offering China's assistance, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Xi said he is paying "great attention to the epidemic prevention and control situation" in North Korea amid the global pandemic, noting that measures taken by Pyongyang "are leading to positive progress," according to the report.

Related coverage:

North Korea's Kim makes 1st public appearance in 20 days: KCNA

FOCUS: Experts ruminate who would succeed N. Korea's Kim if anything happens

U.S. to keep pushing to denuclearize N. Korea even if leader changes

China, Xi added, is willing to enhance anti-epidemic cooperation with North Korea and provide "as much support as its capacity allows" for the country in line with its needs, it quoted him as saying.

The Chinese leader also voiced confidence that with the joint efforts of both China and North Korea and the international community, "the final victory in this fight against COVID-19 will be achieved."

In the message, Xi also said he attaches great importance to the development of bilateral relations, and also expressed his intention to "strengthen strategic communication, and deepen exchanges and cooperation."

The "verbal message of thanks" was sent in reply to a letter Kim sent to Xi on Thursday, in which the North Korean leader offered congratulations for China's success against the virus, according to Xinhua.

In China, the number of coronavirus cases has been decreasing. On April 8, a lockdown imposed in late January on the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus was first detected late last year, was lifted.

Although North Korea has disclosed no infections, thousands of people have been quarantined there.
WASHINGTON - Courts have long acknowledged an exception in the law that keeps "ministers" of a faith from bringing employment discrimination claims against their religious employers, capped by a unanimous Supreme Court decision eight years ago.

The idea is that the Constitution forbids the government from becoming entangled in the internal workings and personnel decisions of a religious institution.

But on Monday, the justices will return to the subject with a poignant test: a teacher who lost her job at a Catholic school in California after revealing she had breast cancer.

Kristen Biel won a preliminary battle in her lawsuit alleging the school violated the Americans With Disabilities Act.

But last year she lost her battle with the disease. The school has appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, and her husband, Darryl Biel, has taken her place in the lawsuit.

"I promised her I would see this to the end," Biel said in a telephone interview from Redondo Beach, California. "I wasn't a big fan at first - I just wanted her to concentrate on getting better. But she was passionate about righting a wrong. I promised her at the end that I would see this through, all the way to the Supreme Court."

Despite winning at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, the Biels, and another teacher who is alleging age discrimination against a different school in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, face formidable odds. The Trump administration opposes them, as does a long list of religious organizations and scholars.

And most importantly, there is the unanimous 2012 Supreme Court decision in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, where the court found a teacher was covered by the "ministerial exception," and could not sue her school.

"The interest of society in the enforcement of employment discrimination statutes is undoubtedly important," wrote Chief Justice John Roberts. "But so too is the interest of religious groups in choosing who will preach their beliefs, teach their faith, and carry out their mission."

He added: "The First Amendment has struck the balance for us. The church must be free to choose those who will guide it on its way."

The cases to be argued Monday call on the court for further guidance about what kinds of employees should be regarded as ministers and what role courts should play, if any, in looking behind the religious organizations' decisions on which employees are covered by the exception.

"Holding the ministerial exception can be triggered simply by showing that an employee performs 'important religious functions' would turn the exception inside out," Jennifer Lipski and Jeffrey Fisher wrote in a brief for Biel and the other teacher, Agnes Morrissey-Berru. "Countless employees of religious institutions - not just lay teachers, but also nurses in hospitals, counselors in summer camps, cooks and administrators in social services centers, and other categories of workers - perform duties that their employers sincerely consider important to their religious missions."

Eric Rassbach, senior counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is representing the schools, said the 9th Circuit ruling that allowed the teachers to proceed with their suits is out of line with the Supreme Court's decision and those of other appeals courts around the country.

The teachers and their allies made the same arguments before the 2012 Supreme Court decision, he said. "This [exception] has been around for a very long time, and the sky hasn't fallen in the lower courts. I don't see why it would fall now."

The justices in 2012 said there was no rigid test for deciding which employees fell into the ministerial category. Courts should look at the employee's title, whether the organization considered the employee a minister, whether the employee considered herself a minister and whether the employee's duties included "important religious functions."

And Justices Samuel Alito and Elena Kagan added a broadening concurrence, pointing out that some faiths don't even use the term minister.

If Hosanna-Tabor was a major decision in the world of religious organizations and employment discrimination lawyers, it was not elsewhere.

"My wife was hired as a fifth-grade teacher. She wasn't hired as a minister," Biel said. "The first time we heard the word 'minister' was after the lawsuit was filed. There's no one I've ever told this to who wasn't shocked."

Kristen Biel was a dancer and aspiring actress when the couple met, and she became a stay-at-home mom after they married and had two children. When the children grew older, she wondered what she should do outside the home.

"Everyone told her she'd be a wonderful elementary school teacher," Darryl Biel said, so Kristen went back to college and got a teaching certificate.

Their children had attended parochial schools for most of their education, Biel said, and Kristen converted to Catholicism with the hope it would improve her chances of getting a job in a Catholic school.

Both sides acknowledged that her work as a fifth-grade teacher included teaching religion, joining students in prayer and taking her class to Mass once a month. The Biels contend her training consisted mainly of following a workbook; the school says religion is an important component in everything its teachers convey to students.

Kristen Biel was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer during Easter break in 2014. She told the head of school when she returned that she would need time off for treatment. Later, she was informed her annual contract would not be renewed.

Darryl Biel said the principal told his wife that it would be unfair for students to have a different teacher during the times she would miss, and that her treatment of chemotherapy and a double mastectomy might be "a little traumatizing to the kids to see what kind of transformation might take place to Kristin."

"I remember this like it was yesterday, my wife coming in the house after having that discussion with Sister Mary Margaret," Darryl Biel said. "She was devastated. Crying inconsolably. And when I finally got her to calm down, that's when she told me everything Sister Mary Margaret said."

The school has a different version of events: Kristen Biel had been warned before the diagnosis that she was not performing well, Rassbach said. Her classroom was chaotic and the children were not thriving. Parents had complained, he said.

The competing versions would be weighed in the legal process, if the Biels's lawsuit is allowed to proceed. A district judge dismissed the claim, agreeing with the school that Biel was covered by the ministerial exception. A divided panel of the 9th Circuit decision revived it, saying only one of the considerations the Supreme Court set out in Hosanna-Tabor favored the school.

Civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, urged the Supreme Court to be cautious in the case.

"The ministerial exception serves important purposes in safeguarding religious institutions' autonomy with respect to governance and leadership. But it comes at significant cost," the groups told the court in a brief. "It confers on religious institutions the extraordinary power to discriminate against ministerial employees on any basis whatsoever, including race, disability, sex, and age."

A court's examination requires nuance, they said, and the two cases before the Supreme Court demonstrated that. In the view of the groups, Biel should not be considered a minister. But they say Morrissey-Berru should, because her position required her to be Catholic and certified in religious education.

A coalition of leading scholars who study religion and the law told the Supreme Court that the 9th Circuit got it wrong. Unless the rulings are overturned, "they will invite judicial intrusion into religious affairs and create confusion regarding the autonomy of religious bodies to choose those who perform significant religious functions."

And the Trump administration said the court should make it clear that it is the religious organization that has the final word on who is a minister, and who is not.

"In close cases, facts that demonstrate a religious organization sincerely regards its employee as performing such important religious functions should be dispositive," Solicitor General Noel Francisco told the court in a brief.

The cases are Our Lady of Guadalupe v. Morrissey-Berru and St. James School v. Biel.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 02:36:28|Editor: huaxia

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CAIRO, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Egypt on Friday confirmed a record 495 new cases of COVID-19, raising the total number of infections in the North African country to 8,476.

Meanwhile, 21 fatalities were recorded, bringing the death toll in the country to 503, said Khaled Megahed, spokesman of the health ministry, in a statement.

All the new cases are Egyptians, Megahed said, adding 58 more patients left hospitals in the past 24 hours, taking the number of recoveries to 1,945.

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.

The Egyptian government has recently started easing the anti-coronavirus restrictions by reopening some services and offices that had been 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
A logo for Pfizer is displayed on a monitor on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange, July 29, 2019.

Pfizer said on Friday it is in talks to shift more of its medicine production to outside contractors as it prepares for large-scale production of an experimental vaccine to prevent Covid-19, should it prove safe and effective.

The U.S. drugmaker is tapping its network of around 200 outside contractors, which includes Catalent Inc and Lonza Group AG, to play a bigger role in producing some of its existing medicines, Mike McDermott, president of global supply at Pfizer, told Reuters in an interview.

That will help Pfizer shift a portion of production at four of its vaccine manufacturing facilities, including one of its largest U.S. factories, toward the coronavirus vaccine while preventing disruptions in supply of its other products, he said.

"They have been hugely helpful in the past and will help us through this," McDermott said.

Pfizer and German partner BioNTech SE said on Tuesday they have begun delivering doses of their coronavirus vaccine candidates for initial human testing in the United States. Trials in Germany had already begun.

If successful, Pfizer said it hopes to receive emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as early as October. It could distribute up to 20 million doses by the end of 2020, and potentially hundreds of millions next year, it said.

The shift to outside production of other medicines will primarily effect vaccines and intravenous drugs. Pfizer currently produces around 1.5 billion doses of intravenously injected vaccines and drugs each year.

McDermott said Pfizer will also add additional shifts to its own factories, hire more workers to take advantage of its unused production capacity, and stockpile current products in preparation for the shift to Covid-19 vaccine production.

Pfizer said earlier this week it was preparing four of its manufacturing sites - three in the United States and one in Belgium - to produce the vaccine, even before clinical trials shows which, if any, of the four potential candidates being tested demonstrates efficacy in preventing infection with the novel coronavirus.

It will cost Pfizer at least $150 million to gear up its facilities for the new vaccine, McDermott said.

Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine candidates use messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, which has long been talked about but has yet to produce an approved product. The mRNA technology instructs cells in the body to make specific coronavirus proteins that then produce an immune response.

It has the potential to be among the first vaccines against the virus that has infected more than 1 million people in the United States and killed over 77,000.

Producing vast quantities of vaccines requires that Pfizer and BioNTech work to rapidly scale up their suppliers' ability to make raw materials for mRNA vaccines, McDermott said, adding that many are small biotechs.

It could also face potential shortages of more basic materials, he added, such as the vials and syringes used to contain and administer vaccines.

Those materials "could become stressed in this environment, where you are trying to produce your ... existing products and add in vaccines needed for hundreds of millions or billions of people," McDermott said.

Contract manufacturers Lonza and Catalent are also working with other drugmakers to help produce potential treatments and vaccines for the coronavirus.
I'll walk past a rubbish bin and convince myself I touched it when I didn't. The global uncertainty, too, has been hard to swallow. Alexandra says her compulsions worsen when there is a sense of lack of control. And the pandemic panic buying made the supermarket more worrisome than usual. It was really stressful. Toilet paper, hand soap and hand sanitiser are things I go through the most of. Theyre a big part of my compulsions, she says. About 500,000 Australians suffer from OCD. And while the pandemic has upended many lives, it is inflicting a unique turmoil on those with contamination OCD, with potentially long-lasting impacts. SANE clinical director Karen Fletcher says from the beginning, the mental health support service was hyper-aware of how at risk people with OCD would be during the pandemic.

We definitely were worried, she says. Lots of people with OCD have compulsions around cleanliness or hand washing. They might have these symptoms in check but the [hand washing] messages from the government can trigger more worry because theyre seen as legitimate concerns now. And Fletcher warns the longer the crisis goes on, and the slower restrictions are wound back, the longer will be the recovery for many people with OCD. It won't just click back to be being okay again. Alexandra says her path to treatment had been a long one, having only been diagnosed in her 20s after her symptoms intensified through her teenage years and into adulthood. Before treatment, she sometimes couldnt leave her house for days at a time. Getting ready to leave was exhausting, she says, because even once she became physically ready to go, she would cycle through various repetitive behaviours for at least an hour, including checking light switches, door knobs and the oven. After therapy, the checks began taking 20 minutes tops.

Your brain is trying to get relief by satisfying those compulsions, and you have to starve it its about giving the monster less control, she says. After all her efforts, seeing her progress so challenged by the pandemic has been particularly difficult, and she fears the consequences may be long-term. Years of therapy have grown my resilience so much, that Im coping a lot better than I could be. Lucie Alexandra It comes as mental health experts are warning the psychological impacts from coronavirus will be felt for years, and say Australia needs to boost its capacity to handle a long-term uptick in demand. The Morrison government is also consulting with peak bodies on a package to support Australians who are struggling with the pandemic. Matt Lambelle is chief executive of WISE Employment, a non-profit that helps people like Alexandra find work, and he says he is bracing for a surge in demand for support from people with mental health issues.

He is urging employers to be open and communicative with staff who might be suffering. We would hate to see people with disabilities get left behind in the relief and rebuild phase, he says. Alexandra says support at her workplace, social enterprise CleanForce, has been a saving grace. The administrator is, above all, grateful to have been able to take a week off in April. It gave her the time she needed for some self-care and some [therapy] practices to help wrangle the intensity of her symptoms. Ive been back at work every day since. I have to celebrate that. Her work, being a cleaning business, also gave her access to a hand sanitiser and toilet paper safety net, without which she would have been crippled by anxiety when panic buying was at its peak. And she's been comforted by her colleagues' level of understanding. No one has told me to just stop [my behaviours], which is huge in and of itself.

Loading Its giving her the space to focus on controlling her compulsions  and she is seeing little victories. Instead of trying not to wash my hands, Im trying not to wash my hands in too high multiples. If I can do it three times, Im winning. Shes also been wearing cotton gloves with latex ones over the top, which she can clean instead of washing her hands. And its helping. Her hands, she says, arent quite as bad as they were in early April. She is being gentle with herself, using moisturisers and oils as much as possible.

There are days where the seams are barely holding me together but years of therapy have grown my resilience so much, that Im coping a lot better than I could be. She says she hopes that people who use the term OCD as an adjective begin to realise how hurtful it is. The world on a minimal scale is experiencing on a small degree what its like to have OCD, what its like to worry constantly about germs, and washing hands, and touching products at the supermarket, she says. Its a terrifying thing to live with. And she hopes that anyone who is struggling knows they are not alone, and she encourages them to get help. Fletcher agrees, urging anyone who is struggling with OCD right now to ensure they use their support systems and maintain any treatment.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 19:34:32|Editor: huaxia

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SHIJIAZHUANG, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Great Wall Motors, China's largest sport utility vehicle (SUV) and pickup manufacturer, saw vehicle sales rise 35 percent month on month to 80,828 units in April.

Haval, the carmaker's leading brand, drove the overall sales growth of Great Wall Motors with 57,098 units sold in April, up 42 percent month on month. Sales of the Haval H6 model exceeded 24,000, remaining the best-selling SUV in China for 83 months, the company said.

Great Wall pickups continued to lead the domestic market with sales of new vehicles hitting 15,729, up 20 percent year on year.

The company said it is fully utilizing the internet, auto e-commerce platforms and its massive dealer system to launch a new model of auto sales. The Haval brand has set up 10 online sales platforms, securing orders for more than 20,000 units.

Headquartered in the city of Baoding, north China's Hebei Province, Great Wall Motors owns several SUV and car brands including Haval, Great Wall, WEY and ORA. Enditem
The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday moved the Supreme Court challenging a Madras High Court order for closure of state-run liquor outlets on the ground that there was total violation of guidelines meant to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Madras High Court had on Friday ordered closure of liquor outlets noting that there were huge crowds and no social distancing was being maintained by tipplers. It, however, allowed doorstep delivery of booze through online mode.

The top court too had taken note of crowding at liquor shops and asked states on Friday to consider non-direct contact or online sales and home delivery of liquor during the lockdown period to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The appeal against the high court order has been filed by the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC), a government firm which sells alcoholic beverages in the state, seeking permission to sell liquor through vends also.

The high court order restraining counter-sale of liquor was passed on a miscellaneous petition filed by advocate G Rajesh, besides a plaint from the Kamal Haasan-led Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM).

The HC had said there was total violation of its interim order issued on Wednesday, when it declined to stay a government order allowing resumption of sale of liquor through outlets.

After a dry spell of 43 days due to the COVID-19 lockdown since late March, liquor sales resumed at TASMAC outlets in Tamil Nadu, except state capital Chennai, on Thursday.

Heavy rush was witnessed at most places with people standing in serpentine queues even as the move to allow sale of liquor came in for flak from opposition parties and others, who raised apprehensions that it would lead to further spread of the novel coronavirus, which as of Friday has affected over 6,000 people in the state.

On Wednesday, the bench had directed the government to ensure strict implementation of all appropriate rules, as notified by the state, including maintenance of social distancing at liquor shops while allowing the resumption.

When the matter came up on Friday, petitioner Rajesh submitted that there was a total violation of the guidelines framed as per a May 5 government order and also the norms stipulated by TASMAC and the court.

Tamil Nadu had decided to open retail liquor outlets, citing relaxation of lockdown norms by the central government. Tipplers in border districts of the state were also making a beeline to neighbouring AndhraPradesh and Karnataka where liquor sales resumed on May 4.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
3 1 of 3 Michael Minasi, Staff Photographer / Houston Chronicle Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Michael Minasi, Staff Photographer / Houston Chronicle Show More Show Less 3 of 3





While the Conroe Independent School District has said since having to close that its goal was to host graduation ceremonies on its original dates, CISD will instead be hosting all of its graduations in June after taking guidance from Gov. Greg Abbott.

All of the graduation ceremonies will be held at Woodforest Bank Stadium. Some schools will have two ceremonies (one at 8 a.m. and one at 8 p.m.) to accommodate all students and their parents.
Ghana is being globally celebrated for the measures it has put in place in the fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

The country has been identified among five others with the most innovative and effective plans in the management of the pandemic.



This was confirmed by the Chairman of Risk Communication and social mobilisation committee for Ghanas COVID-19 Response team, Dr Dacosta Aboagye, who joined a Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Bernard Okoe Boye, to participate in a virtual meeting of WHO Africa held by Webinar last Wednesday.



The meeting was addressed by the WHO Africa Representative, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, and had African Health ministers or their representatives and major stakeholders in attendance.



Commendation



According to Dr Aboagye, Ghana was being celebrated globally because of measures such as the use of drones to deliver samples for testing at the test centres and personal protective equipment (PPE) to health facilities.



Others were the closure of the borders and the mandatory quarantine of all travellers who arrived in the country within a certain period, the strict compliance with preventive measures and the ban on social and public gatherings early enough to curb rapid community spread, he said.



Also, Ghanas decision to impose restrictions on movement and the directive to allow enhanced contact tracing received applause, he added.



Commendation



The United Kingdom led the number of WHO member countries that commended the Government of Ghana for its innovative ways of handling and fighting the novel coronavirus that has infected over 4,000 people in the country.



The Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the UK Mission to the WTO, the UN and other International Organisations, Julian Braithwaite, at the WHO virtual meeting, praised Ghana for using innovative methods to fight the pandemic and also easing the restrictions on the movement of people.



He singled out Ghanas use of drones to deliver testing samples and PPE, saying it showed how far the country had progressed in the use of technology to combat the pandemic.



The impressed UK Ambassador said: With what weve heard today, a number of countries are now taking their first steps to lift the lockdown measures and weve heard some very innovative examples of what different countries are doing, taking Ghanas example of using drones for deliveries.



According to Dr Aboagye, the ECOWAS had also requested for Ghanas response plan to serve as an anchor for the sub-region.



Furthermore, he said, Nigeria was also collaborating with Ghana in the formers fight against the pandemic.



Case count soars



Meanwhile, due to enhanced contact tracing and testing, the country has been able to identity cases and picked them for management, one of the key factors in the fight against the pandemic.



Yesterday, Ghanas case count hit the 4,012 mark.



The new figure was released by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) on its website 24 hours after it had reported a case count of 3,091 last Thursday.



The new figure represents an increase of 921 cases over that of the last update.



Giving an update on the case count on its website, the GHS said: Over 50 per cent of these cases were as a result of an outbreak in an industrial facility with 1,300 workers, of which 533 have been confirmed positive.



While the number of deaths remain at 18, the recoveries have improved to 323, with 20 more recoveries, for which reason the active cases now stand at 3,671.



Regional breakdown of cases:



Greater Accra - 3436



Ashanti  210



Eastern  96



Central  58



Western North  56



Western  35



Volta  32



Upper East  26



Oti  24



Upper West  20



Northern  16



North East Region  2



Bono  1



Savanna  0



Bono East  0



Ahafo  0





Source: Daily Graphic









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The details of more than half a million Zoom accounts are being offered for sale on the internet's dark web to cyber criminals looking to hack into confidential video meetings.

Crooks can buy usernames, passwords and other data to break into private online meetings and steal sensitive information from banks, financial firms and even universities.

The popularity of Zoom, which connects people via video or audio calls on computers and smartphones, has soared as Covid-19 restrictions force people to work from home.

The Zoom app has become even more popular during the lockdown but fears are mounting about how secure the system is after user details were stolen and sold

It now hosts more than 200 million online meetings a day  up from 10 million last year.

But investigators from cyber security firm Cyble discovered more than half a million Zoom accounts on sale for less than a penny per account.

They included confidential details for employees of international banks including Citibank and Chase.

It is the latest in a string of security failures that have prompted major companies and even the UK Government to abandon the app.

Zoom's founder China-born founder Eric Yuan, 50, estimated to be worth 4.6 billion, has been forced to apologise for numerous security breaches

The company's value has doubled to more than 38 billion since January, but Zoom's China-born founder Eric Yuan, 50, estimated to be worth 4.6 billion, has been forced to apologise for numerous security breaches.

In Britain, Parliament has been advised by the National Cyber Security Centre, part of intelligence agency GCHQ, that Zoom should only be used for public business.

A Zoom spokesperson said: 'It is common for web services that serve consumers to be targeted by this type of activity, which typically involves bad actors testing large numbers of already compromised credentials from other platforms to see if users have reused them elsewhere. Through our ongoing investigation of this matter, we have found automated scripts that indicate bad actors have likely attempted this type of attack also known as 'credential stuffing' to test previously compromised credentials from other platforms to see if they will work on Zoom.

'We have already hired multiple intelligence firms to find password dumps and the tools used to create them, including a firm that has shut down thousands of websites attempting to trick users into downloading malware or giving up their credentials. Importantly, this kind of attack generally does not affect our large enterprise customers that use their own single sign-on systems.'
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A 5-year-old boy died on Thursday of coronavirus-related complications in New York City, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during his daily press conference Friday.

While rare, we are seeing some cases where children affected with the coronavirus can become ill with symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease and toxic shock-like syndrome that literally causes inflammation in their blood vessels," Cuomo said.

While Cuomo said that there have been 73 reported cases of children becoming severely ill with symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease and apparent toxic shock syndrome in New York State, Mayor Bill de Blasio said that there have been 15 recently-reported cases citywide.

The New York State Department of Health is currently investigating the 5-year-olds death as well as several other cases that present similar circumstances, Cuomo said.

This would be really painful news and would open up an entirely different chapter, Cuomo said. I cannot tell you how many people I spoke to who took peace and solace in the fact that children were not getting infected. We thought that children might have been a vehicle of transmission. We didnt think children would suffer from it.

45 Photos of the pandemic in NYC: Our lives changed forever

The coronavirus could cause serious illness in kids as the COVID infection doesnt completely spare any particular age group, Dr. Pamela Feuer, director of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at Staten Island University Hospital in Ocean Breeze and Princes Bay, previously told the Advance/SILive.com.

We are learning something new every single day and have a heightened awareness of every new type of symptom we see," Feuer said. The international pediatric care community is communicating to share information and to make sure that we keep on top of the new things were seeing.

While kids with serious preexisting conditions might be at higher risk, Feuer also cautioned that symptoms such as inflammatory syndrome, Kawasaki disease and toxic shock could occur in children who initially were asymptomatic for coronavirus and those complications could start up to several weeks past the initial infection for COVID-19.

The older teen and young adult population, especially those with any sort of risk factors, are presenting more similarly to the adults with a COVID pneumonia requiring anywhere from oxygen to more critical illness of respiratory failure requiring a ventilator, Feuer said.
Since 2018, Blancpain and Fregate Island Private have joined forces to study, restore and preserve the marine environment around the island. Coralive.org and BlueNomads.org led the field projects with additional support from the Green Islands Foundation, and the Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust.

Protection of the environment  The Green Islands Foundation

Fregate Island is the easternmost of the granitic Inner Islands of the Seychelles. It is home to the exclusive Fregate Island Private luxury resort, with just 17 secluded villas amidst three square kilometres of pristine nature. Known as a mini Galapagos in the Seychelles, the island has a long conservation history for its terrestrial environment with notable achievements such as saving the Magpie Robin from extinction, and contributing to the development of the Aldabra tortoise colony, which has increased in size from a few dozen to nearly 3,500 today. With great success on land, the conservation team of Fregate Island Private began their focus on the surrounding marine environment, especially in terms of the distribution of organisms within the fringe coral reef.

Protection of the environment  The Green Islands Foundation

In 2018, as part of its long-standing Ocean Commitment program, Blancpain initiated an experimental coral restoration project on Fregate Island in collaboration with Fregate Island Private and Coralive.org. Eight hundred storm-derived coral fragments (corals of opportunity) were transplanted onto eight artificial structures situated at depths between 5 and 7m. Four of these structures use the Mineral Accretion Technology (MAT), a method that applies safe, low voltage electrical currents through seawater, causing dissolved minerals to crystallise on structures, growing into a white limestone similar to that which naturally makes up coral reefs and tropical white sand beaches. The second group of four structures is not electrified in order to act as control. The project provides valuable research data, offering a unique possibility to measure in the same area the efficiency of MAT compared to classical techniques.

Protection of the environment  The Green Islands Foundation

To advance understanding of the marine life around Fregate Island, in 2019 Blancpain, Coralive.org, and Fregate Island Private associated with BlueNomads.org, the Green Islands Foundation, the University of the Seychelles, and the Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust to establish a coral reef biodiversity baseline. More than 700 Hectares of seabed were scanned using state-of-the-art technology to document the health, rigidity, and benthic assemblage of the reef. Collected images were then mosaicked to produce a detailed 3D underwater habitat map of corals, sand, rocks, and rubble surrounding Fregate. The gathered data will serve as the basis for a long-term monitoring program of the marine area around the island to study trends in the structure of reef fish and coral communities through year-by-year comparison. Ultimately, the objective is to support discussions on the creation of a new marine protected area around the island.

Blancpain and Fregate Island Private are proud of the collaboration with the Green Islands Foundation and the Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust for the biodiversity baseline assessment, one of the very first concrete projects supported and co-funded by the groundbreaking Seychelles Blue Bond. The two organizations congratulate Coralive.org and BlueNomads.org for the fieldwork they have accomplished, and are pleased to release a short film illustrating their efforts.

Blancpain Ocean Commitment in the Seychelles

Driven by a resolutely pioneering spirit since its founding in 1735, Blancpains historical connection with the ocean reaches back to 1953, with the launch of the worlds first modern diving watch: the Fifty Fathoms. The brand's relation to the Seychelles debuted in 2015 when Blancpain, as founding partner of National Geographic's Pristine Seas, supported a scientific expedition to the Seychelles Outer Islands.

Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe  Blancpain

Results included a detailed science report for the Seychelles Government, which contributed to the recent increase of its marine protection to 410'000 square kilometers, a full 30% of the country's Exclusive Economic Zone. Moreover, in 2017, The Economist and Blancpain, as founding partner of the World Ocean Summit, have awarded the Ocean Innovation Challenge to the Seychelles Blue Bond project, the worlds first debt refinancing for ocean conservation. The project resulted in a $21.6 M payment of foreign debt in exchange for in-country financing for long-term conservation and commitment to develop a marine spatial plan that included the 30% goal.

Fifty Fathoms  Blancpain

A new short film illustrates these efforts.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 15:42:49|Editor: huaxia

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SAN FRANCISCO, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Governor of the U.S. state of Oregon Kate Brown on Friday appreciated the friendship between China and Oregon in thank-you letters for the donation of medical masks from Oregon's sister province Fujian.

"The donation is a testament to the 36-year relationship between Oregon and the People's Republic of China, nurtured by annual trade missions, and frequent educational and diplomatic exchanges between governors, legislators, and business executives alike," Brown said in the letter to Tang Dengjie, governor of China's Fujian Province.

Brown said the donation will provide life-saving protection for the healthcare and essential workers across Oregon who are on the frontlines keeping Oregon safe and healthy.

"The very generous donation of 50,000 much-needed masks for Oregonians", in addition to 12,000 masks earlier provided by China's Consulate General in San Francisco, have been delivered to Oregon's Office of Emergency Management.

"Whether next door or across the ocean, we are reminded daily of the need to support and assist one another during this difficult time," Brown noted.

"The act of generosity" brought to her mind a Chinese proverb. "The grace of a drop of water will be reciprocated by a gushing spring," Brown wrote, with the proverb printed in Chinese characters in the letter.

"I appreciate the friendship between the People's Republic of China and Oregon and I am proud of our local Chinese community, such as Oregon China Council, for their leadership to help strengthen our friendship and collaboration," she said.

"I look forward to our continued partnership. We are all in this together," Brown said.

In another thank-you letter to Oregon China Council (OCC) President Lan Jin, Brown praised the commitment of OCC's board members and volunteers to play a critical role in building upon years of trusted relationships and strengthening the bridge toward a shared future for Oregon and China.

"During these unprecedented times, I am incredibly grateful for the partnership with the Oregon China Council to support and protect Oregon. I look forward to continued collaboration and friendship," she wrote.

The OCC, which contributed to the delivery of the masks, is an Oregonian non-profit association dedicated to supporting economic, educational, and cultural exchanges between the state and China.

"The donation reflected the Chinese people's selfless support for the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Brown's letter shows that the American people value the goodwill of China and look forward to cooperation. We should work harder together to cope with our real threats like COVID-19," Lan told Xinhua. Enditem
The Arunachal Pradesh government



has made institutional quarantine for a period of 14 days mandatory for people returning to Arunachal Pradesh from across the country, a senior minister said on Saturday.

Among the returnees, students will also have to go into institutional quarantine for the same duration, he said.

Earlier a group of six students, lodged in a quarantine centre, was allowed to go home after five days when their swab samples had tested negative.

People are coming back after the Centre allowed those stranded across the country in view of the lockdown to return to their respective states.

The state cabinet headed by Chief Minister Pema Khandu at a meeting also decided to make RT-PCR test for detection of COVID-19 compulsory for the returnees, including the asymptomatic ones, state Home minister Bamang Felix told reporters here on Saturday.

"We have decided to segregate returnees on the basis of green, orange and red zones and make arrangements accordingly.

"Those sneaking into the state from non-designated routes and not following the standard operating procedure by keeping the administration in the dark shall be dealt with strictly," the minister said.

Due to certain bottlenecks being faced in the facility established at the quarantine centre set up at the Police Training Centre Banderdewa near here, the cabinet has decided to appoint Papum Pare deputy commisioner Pige Ligu as the in-charge of the centre, Felix, who is also the government spokesman, said.

In order to strengthen institutional quarantine facilities in the capital region, the cabinet has decided that a BPL housing complex at Lekhi would be converted into a state quarantine facility within 10 days.

"The complex has 590 independent vacant units and Education minister Taba Tedir has been entrusted to oversee the implementation of the cabinet decision," Felix said.

It was also decided at the meeting to increase the number of paid quarantine centres in the state capital.

The cabinet has also resolved to complete the evacuation of stranded persons from the northeast region to Arunachal Pradesh by May 14, the home minister said.

The cabinet in its sitting reviewed the status of movement of goods vehicles, convoys, medical and emergency vehicles from Hollongi, Banderdewa and Gumto check gates to the state capital, he said.

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




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On Friday morning, Pences trip to Des Moines was delayed for more than an hour as aides who had been in close contact with Miller were escorted from Air Force Two out of precaution. Miller is married to Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to Trump who has interacted with him this week, though it remained unclear late Friday whether the couple would both be quarantined at home. The White House said Pence tested negative for the virus as did the aides removed from his plane.
The bald eagle is not only our nations most recognizable natural symbol, and the only eagle found exclusively in North America, it is also the Endangered Species Acts most prominent success story, and a reminder of how important are the protection of our wildlife, critical habitat and natural resources generally.

Populations of breeding pairs of bald eagles in the lower forty-eight states crashed in the late 1960s to just over 400 pairs, due to hunting, habitat destruction and most prominently, the use of chemical pesticides in agriculture, such as DDT. In a scary process, known as biomagnification, bald eagles, being an apex predator at the top on their food chain, and feeding mainly on fish, occasional small rodents and carrion, in other words, wildlife which had themselves absorbed toxins in various forms ultimately from pesticide-laden vegetation or runoff from agricultural fields, suffer highly concentrated, elevated levels of these toxins, negatively impacting birth and mortality rates. Calcium deficiencies caused by the toxins resulted in the thinning of eggshells, which would collapse under the nesting females weight, causing a nosedive in successful eaglet births.

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 was the result of the attention called to these and related problems by wildlife lovers, falconers, hunters and others concerned about the fate of our native species. With the banning of the pesticides most harmful to wildlife in the United States, eagle numbers recovered, with the result that the bald eagle went from endangered to threatened, and to finally delisted in 2007, as mating pairs reached over 11,000 in the lower forty-eight. Eagles were never as threatened in Alaska and British Columbia, and Alaska still has about 80% of the Worlds bald eagles. Many raptors joined in the recovery, due to the banning of these pesticides, most notably, the peregrine falcon.



Of course, the problem with pesticides is far from over, as most folks dont realize that the sale of these pesticides was banned by the EPA in the U.S., and later in many other western nations, but they are still being used in Africa, Asia and South America. DDT is said to help fight malaria in third world nations, and Swainsons Hawks, which nest on the Canadian-American prairies, remain on the endangered species list, because they winter on the Argentine Pampas, where Swainsons die-offs from an inexpensive but lethal pesticide, monocrotophos, were still a problem in the late nineties.



There is also a downside to delisting, as it opens formerly protected critical habitat to development and some of the very pressures that contributed to the decline of the eagle in the first place.

Adirondack comeback

Bald eagles disappeared from the Adirondacks by the early sixties, but in 1981, Peter Nye, an eagle biologist and leader of the Endangered Species Unit of the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, traveled to Alaska on a mission to repopulate the Adirondacks with bald eagles. Alaska has four times as many eagles as the rest of the country, so Nyes mission, in a process known as hacking, was to take wild eaglets mature enough to care for themselves and just about ready to fly, transport them to New York, build nests protected from climbing predators like fishers, gray fox and black bears, and release them in a remote area, unvisited by people, in the hopes that the eagles would begin breeding, nesting and repopulating New York.



A logical place to release them was Follensby Pond, a remote wilderness area of over 14,000 acres, once home to bald eagles, and the site of a famous get together in 1858 known as the Philosophers Camp, which was organized by painter William James Stillman, and included poet and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson, poet and diplomat James Russell Lowell and paleontologist, geologist and all around naturalist, Louis Agassiz.



The owners of the Follensby Wilderness, John and Bird McCormick, sold the property to the Nature Conservancy in 2008, on the condition that the Nature Conservancy work with New York State to ensure that the Wilderness remains wild, and inaccessible to the public, at least for the foreseeable future. It is here that Nye hacked the eagles, with the result that there are today in 2020 probably 24 nesting pairs of eagles in the Adirondacks, and over 200 pairs in New York State. Way to go, Pete!

Nesting habits

Bald eagles are usually monogamous, and a mating pair will use the same nest every year, like a home owner, constantly tweaking it and adding to it, with the result that bald eagle nests can measure ten feet wide and ten feet thick, weigh up to a ton and are the largest nests of any bird, aided by the fact that eagles can begin mating by their fourth or fifth year, and can live over thirty years. The record size nest is two and a half tons, but some nests eventually collapse under their own weight, and a new nest has to be constructed. The nest of our oldest non-flighted bald eagle at the Adirondack Wildlife Refuge, Sylvia, was blown down in a Pacific storm while she was still a fledgling, resulting in the permanent disabling which resulted in her living with us. Her two male siblings were successfully rehabbed and released.

Nests are typically located very high in old growth conifer or hardwood trees, ranging from only twenty feet above water when the trees trunk is in the water, to 125 feet high when the tree is on land , protruding above smaller trees, and within two miles of large bodies of both salt and fresh water, with most within sight of open water. All else being equal, for example, the potential for scavenging deer and other carrion, and for kleptoparasitism, stealing fish from ospreys or carrion from other scavengers, a nesting pair will generally require a lake of at least four or five square miles in order to make a living.

Eagles nest and breed earlier than other raptors, with the female laying one to four eggs in sequence between mid February and mid March, depending on climate and latitude, with hatching between mid April and early May, and branching and fledging late June to early July. As with some other raptors, older and larger siblings, those which hatch first may monopolize more food from its parents, by pushing younger siblings out of the nest. Eaglets grow quickly, gaining up to six ounces per day, beginning to flap their wings at 8 weeks, fledging between 8 to 14 weeks, and finally leaving the nest area about 8 weeks after fledging.

Current threats

The number one killer of the bald eagle in America today is lead poisoning, which the eagles pick up while scavenging the remains of game, mainly white tailed deer taken by hunters using lead based bullets, which shatter on impact, sending lead shards into flesh, often away from the path of the bullet. This is a problem easily solved by having hunters switch to solid ammunition, such as copper, but the NRA sees this as an attempt to take your weapons.

Thats like saying that when the state mandates seat belt use, that is an attempt to take your car, but such is the ridiculous logic employed in polarized political debate today. No one is saying dont hunt, just change the type of ammunition you use. States like California have made this argument academic, by banning the use of lead ammunition, just as many states have banned the use of lead sinkers, which can be mistaken for pebbles and swallowed as aids in digestion by loons and other waterfowl.

Part two of two-part series. Click here for part 1.

Top photo courtesy of Steve Hall, Adirondack Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Trish Marki shows Wendy Hall of Adirondack Wildlife Refuge working with a bald eagle which was caught in a leg hold trap near Stillwater. Pastel of Eagle Man carrying an ambassador eagle by Wendy Hall.
(Natural News) The Trump administration sure isnt letting a good crisis go to waste as it publicly announces the reopening of society and the economy  under a few conditions, of course: There will need to be mass surveillance, testing, and contact tracing of Americans in order to proceed.

Speaking to Breitbart News, Admiral Brett Giroir, the assistant secretary for health (ASH), admitted during a recent interview that the federal government is currently developing a massive authoritarian response to the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) that will forever change the way Americans live their lives. Part of this response is to implement a full-scale police state and control grid to supposedly keep tabs on those infected with the novel virus.

A four-star admiral in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (USPHS), the federal uniformed service of the Public Health Service (PHS), Giroir is a top adviser to the secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Hes also a key member of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pences White House Coronavirus Task Force, serving as its testing czar.

As the testing czar, Giroir has been tasked with heading up the logistics of ramping up efforts by the United States to test more people for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). Since he came on board a few weeks ago, testing capacity has increased from about 100,000 to more than three million, for which he is very proud.

There are over three million (tests) as of today, Giroir told Breitbart News. In the places where theres a lot of disease like New York and Washington, we far exceed South Korea  We have the most testing per capita of any place in the world.

Listen below to The Health Ranger Report as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, reveals the Big Pharma plot to enslave humanity by exploiting the coronavirus crisis:

Tens of millions of people per month will be finger pricked for coronavirus

This testing, were now learning, is also being expanded in terms of how its going to take place. Part of the reopening of America, which is being headed up by Jared Kushner and Trumps daughter Ivanka, will involve instituting wide-scale serological testing, which is different from the kind thats been utilized up until this point.

As Giroir explained during the interview, most of the testing thats already been done for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) involved looking for the virus in peoples noses, which means theyre actively infected with it. Now, the government will be looking for antibodies to see if people previously had the virus and are now recovered with immunity.

The antibody test will get us an idea of if you have been infected in the past and are presumably  not 100 percent certain but probably, by all known medical computation  that you would be immune to getting the virus again at least in the intermediate term, he says.

It is an important component, but it is not really the whole foundation of where were going.

And just where are they going, you might be asking? The federal government is planning to unveil a finger prick test that will look at peoples blood and determine whether or not theyve had the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), recovered from it, and developed immunity, all based on the presence of antibodies.

Dr. Deborah Birx, whos coordinating the White Houses Coronavirus Task Force, is the one who will determine the distribution of these tests, which will be conducted in places like pharmacies and doctors offices. And according to Giroir, they will be conducted in the tens of millions per month.

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:

Breitbart.com

PoliticsUSA.com

NaturalNews.com
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Roy Horn, 75, a musician and animal trainer who achieved fame as part of the duo of Siegfried & Roy, died Friday after testing positive for COVID-19, according to media reports.

The world has lost one of the greats of magic, but I have lost my best friend, Siegfried Fischbacher said of his partner in a statement posted on the NPR website.

Roy was a fighter his whole life, including during these final days. I give my heartfelt appreciation to the team of doctors, nurses and staff at Mountain View Hospital who worked heroically against this insidious virus that ultimately took Roys life.

Horn was born in 1944 in warn-torn Germany and began caring for big cats and other animals at a local zoo when he was child, according to the Associated Press and the Siegfried & Roy website.

Horn met Fischbacher, who specialized in magic tricks, on a cruise ship in 1957. Horn assisted and added his pet cheetah to the act, according to the Associated Press.

Siegfried & Roy brought their illusions to Las Vegas in the late 1960s and in 1990 they began a long and profitable run at the Mirage Resort performing tricks with tigers, lions and other animals, according to the Associated Press.

The duo performed six shows a week, 44 weeks per year. By 2001, it was estimated they had performed 5,000 shows at the Mirage for 10 million fans and had grossed more than $1 billion, according to the Associated Press.

The cast for the show included up to 20 white tigers and lions, an elephant and other exotic animals.

In October of 2003, Horn was mauled on stage by a 400-pound white tiger named Mantecore during one of their shows. He suffered severe neck injuries, lost copious amounts of blood and later suffered a stroke. The attack ended the shows long run on the Las Vegas Strip, according to the Associated Press.

Horn later said he thought that Montecore, a 7-year-old male, was distracted by something in the audience and Horn was trying to calm him. Horn said he fainted and the tiger was trying to help him by dragging him offstage, though animal experts have questioned this theory, according to the Associated Press.

An investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture was inconclusive about why the tiger attack, but did cite a safety issue, indicating that the show lacked a barrier to protect the audience from the animals, according to the Associated Press.

The due briefly returned to center stage in February 2009 to raise funds for the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas. The performance that included Montecore became the basis of an episode of the ABC television show 20/20, according to the Associated Press.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday assured the Retailers Association of India and Practicing Engineers, Architects and Town Planners Association (India) that their request for registering as MSMEs will be examined expeditiously.

He felt that this needs to be explored from the point of these bodies being employment creators and whether various benefits such as insurance, medical, pension, etc can be provided to workers.

Gadkari, the minister for MSME and road transport and highways, also called upon the retailers to start exploring option of home delivery.

He also asked them to adhere to necessary guidelines like safe social distancing, making available sanitisers for customers/employees and use of masks at all retail outlets.

He was addressing the representatives of Retailers Association of India and Practicing Engineers, Architects and Town Planners Association (India) via video conferencing on the impact of COVID-19 on their respective sectors.

During the interaction, the representatives expressed concerns regarding various challenges being faced by them amid COVID-19 pandemic and also came out with few suggestions and requested support from the government to keep the sector afloat.

Gadkari also called upon the engineers, architects and town planners to participation in the development of rural, tribal and backward regions especially along the green expressways like the new Delhi-Mumbai Expressway which is passing through such areas.

He said various clusters and logistics parks will come up on this ambitious project, offering huge opportunities.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A sugarcane farmer was killed and his brother sustained injuries in a clash between two groups of farmers over a land dispute at Jalalpur village in Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district, police said.

Police said trouble started when Nareshpal and his brother Harender were confronted by Pardeep with a group of farmers who attacked him with sticks while working in his field. The injured Nareshpal was rushed to hospital where he was declared dead.

Nareshpal and Pardeep's agricultural land lie adjacent to each other and a dispute arose over it, police pointed out.

A case was registered on Friday under IPC Sections 147 (punishment for rioting) 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) while a search is on to catch hold of the accused, police added.

According to the complaint lodged by Harender, it is alleged that the accused Pardeep, Binder Ashok, Chanderbir, Ashvani Kala and Shubham assaulted his brother.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
T he number of daily coronavirus tests fell below Health Secretary Matt Hancocks 100,000 target for a seventh day in a row.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said 96,878 tests were conducted in the 24 hours to 9am on Saturday, down from 97,029 the day before.

It is despite Boris Johnson vowing to hit 200,000 by the end of May.

The Prime Minister said high testing levels would be "absolutely critical" to the country's long-term economic recovery from the pandemic.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock had pledged to meet 100,000 by the end of April and claimed on May 1 that it had been achieved.

Boris Johnson set an 'ambition' to double the target by the end of May / PA

But it then emerged that some 40,000 of the 122,000 tests cited by Mr Hancock had not been fully carried out.

Every day since, the Government has fallen short of the goal.

But deputy chief medical officer Prof Jonathan Van-Tam said that he expected there to be fluctuations in the number of daily coronavirus tests being carried out.

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He told the Downing Street press briefing on Saturday: We are now really at a high plateau, in the region of 100,000 tests per day.

There is some fluctuation, and quite frankly I expect there to be some fluctuation on a day-to-day basis.

The Government has faced criticism over the lack of testing / Getty Images

I dont think we can read too much into day-to-day variations, but the macro-picture is this is now at a much, much higher level than it ever was at the beginning of this crisis.

Medical chiefs and Labour have criticised on ministers for the failure to maintain the 100,000 target.

Downing Street previously blamed the shortfall on a lab fault and lower levels of testing at weekends.

The Department of Health and Social Care added that it "wanted to show we could reach 100,000 a day" but was "not necessarily expecting to hit 100,000 every day".

It came as unions warned they would not allow teachers to return to schools until a full test and trace strategy is rolled out, dashing hopes of a June reopening.

The UK's coronavirus death toll rose by 346 on Saturday to hit 31,587.
New York, May 9 : US President Donald Trump has been asked by five lawmakers to temporarily suspend new H-1B and practical training visas as unemployment in the country soars to highest ever numbers on record.

Their proposals do not call for suspending the visas of those already working here and the senators who asked for the year-long hold on Thursday asserted it would benefit the H1-B workers here facing layoffs.

When Trump suspended certain categories of permanent immigrant visas, also known as green cards, for 60 days last month, he left the temporary visas alone.

Four Republican Senators wrote to Trump, "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." A lone Republican member of the House of Representatives, Paul Gosar, had made a similar request to Trump last month following up on his decision to suspend some categories of immigration.

The COVID-19 situation has upended the labour situation, with the nation going from a historically low unemployment rate of 3.5 per cent in February to 14.5 per cent on Friday with more than 30 million people unemployed fuelling the calls for restrictions on foreign workers.

Senators Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, Chuck Grassley, and Josh Hawley suggested suspending all work visas for 60 days and then suspending only some categories "for at least the next year, or until unemployment has returned to normal levels." Their proposal for the year-long suspension of new visas would apply to H-1B for professional, non-agricultural H-2B visas, EB-5 for immigrants making investments and the Optional Practical Training (OPT) for students and recent graduates.

By not including agricultural workers in the H-2A category, they are bowing to the demands of the powerful farm lobby which heavily depends on workers coming mostly from Latin America and the Caribbean for short-term assignments.

They also did not specifically mention L-1 visas for employees of foreign companies transferred to work in the US, which are used by Indian companies for projects in the US.

Making their case for temporarily suspending new H1-B visas, the senators mentioned the plight of "hundreds of thousands of H-1B workers and their families already working in the United States-workers who could otherwise be subject to deportation if they are laid off for more than 60 days." Suspending new H1-B visas could help those already find jobs if they are laid off.

They also wanted exemptions for medical and healthcare workers, which were a feature of Trump's green card suspension.

If the OPT visas are suspended, they would seriously impact students who had taken loans, sometimes running into more than $100,000, to finance their education and could find themselves unable to repay them without being able to work here.

While all students can get a one-year OPT, graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are eligible for a two-year extension, which can be a pathway to H1-B visas.

The largest contingent of foreign students are from China, which sent 369,548, followed by India with 202,014, according to the Institute of International Education.

Chinese students have been facing simmering hostility over technology transfer and a very few case of intellectual property theft, which could be used to promote suspending OPT for all.

Indians are the single largest group of H1-B visa-holders accounting for nearly 74 per cent of all such visas and any ban on future visas in the category would likely affect them in the same ratio.

The green card suspension was more of a political showmanship as international travel restrictions and suspension of flights have limited travel making it impossible for most people to travel here.

While only five senators in a chamber of 100 and one Representative out of 435 have made the request, they will get the backing of groups that oppose H1-B visa system saying that it affects US workers.

Technology companies have opposed cutbacks of H1-B visas.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed @arulouis)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
There's no doubt that money can be made by owning shares of unprofitable businesses. 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 Zeus Resources (ASX:ZEU) 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.

View our latest analysis for Zeus Resources

How Long Is Zeus Resources's Cash Runway?

A company's cash runway is calculated by dividing its cash hoard by its cash burn. When Zeus Resources last reported its balance sheet in December 2019, it had zero debt and cash worth AU$1.3m. Looking at the last year, the company burnt through AU$377k. Therefore, from December 2019 it had 3.5 years of cash runway. There's no doubt that this is a reassuringly long runway. Importantly, if we extrapolate recent cash burn trends, the cash runway would be noticeably longer. You can see how its cash balance has changed over time in the image below.

ASX:ZEU Historical Debt May 9th 2020

How Is Zeus Resources's Cash Burn Changing Over Time?

Because Zeus Resources isn't currently generating revenue, we consider it an early-stage business. So while we can't look to sales to understand growth, we can look at how the cash burn is changing to understand how expenditure is trending over time. Even though it doesn't get us excited, the 21% reduction in cash burn year on year does suggest the company can continue operating for quite some time. Admittedly, we're a bit cautious of Zeus Resources 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

Can Zeus Resources Raise More Cash Easily?

While Zeus Resources is showing a solid reduction in its cash burn, it's still worth considering how easily it could raise more cash, even just to fuel faster growth. Issuing new shares, or taking on debt, are the most common ways for a listed company to raise more money for its business. Many companies end up issuing new shares to fund future growth. We can compare a company's cash burn to its market capitalisation to get a sense for how many new shares a company would have to issue to fund one year's operations.

Zeus Resources has a market capitalisation of AU$901k and burnt through AU$377k last year, which is 42% of the company's market value. From this perspective, it seems that the company spent a huge amount relative to its market value, and we'd be very wary of a painful capital raising.

Is Zeus Resources's Cash Burn A Worry?

On this analysis of Zeus Resources's cash burn, we think its cash runway was reassuring, while its cash burn relative to its market cap has us a bit worried. Based on the factors mentioned in this article, we think its cash burn situation warrants some attention from shareholders, but we don't think they should be worried. Taking a deeper dive, we've spotted 4 warning signs for Zeus Resources you should be aware of, and 3 of them are concerning.

Of course Zeus Resources 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.
The EVFTA will provide Vietnam with sure-fire advantages in terms of exports and diversifying import markets. Photo: Le Toan

The Standing Committee last week green-lit legislators to vote on passing the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), both a powerful source of trade and investment opportunities for both the EU and Vietnam, at the ninth session of the 14th National Assembly which will take place from May 20 to June 17.

Proposals delivered at the committees meeting by Minister, Chairman of State President Office Dao Viet Trung, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh, and the National Assemblys Committee for Foreign Affairs all urged the National Assembly to adopt the EVFTA and the EVIPA at this session.

The adoption of the agreements will help Vietnam strongly expand trade and investment relations with EU member states, Minister Dung stated.

An expert from the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam told VIR that all the work related to the adoption of the EVFTA has already been completed by the EU side. Specifically, the Council of the European Union in late March adopted a decision on the conclusion of the deal and in mid-February, the European Parliament officially adopted the EVFTA and the EVIPA.

Translation of the deals text into different languages has also been completed. Currently the EU side is waiting for the Vietnamese side to pass the deals. If everything goes smoothly in May, it is expected that the EVFTA will begin to take effect in July, the expert said.

Meanwhile, the EVIPA will need to be ratified by all EU member states according to their respective national procedures before it can enter into force. Once ratified, it will replace the bilateral investment agreements that the 21 EU members states currently have in place with Vietnam

It is likely that the EUs Commissioner for Trade Phil Hogan will in July pay a visit to Vietnam where he and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will jointly launch the EVFTA into force.

Right after that, 65 per cent of export items from the EU into Vietnam will see import tariffs removed immediately. The items include electric goods and machinery, textiles and garments, aquatic products, and 50 per cent of pharmaceuticals. Meanwhile, import tariffs on 71 per cent of items from Vietnam will also be removed immediately, such as unprocessed shrimp and rice (subject to quotas depending on varieties). Import taxes for tra and basa fish  Vietnams staple exports  will be removed after three years. In five or seven years, the EU will erase taxes on all sensitive textile and garment items from Vietnam.

Many businesses from the EU are eager to see tariff cuts in Vietnam, so that they can boost exports and investment in the Southeast Asian market, the expert said.

Pham Thai Lai, president and CEO of Siemens ASEAN and Vietnam, told VIR the EVFTA is a great foundation to boost trade and more. In the coming years, I strongly believe that we can expect robust growth in investment from the EU to Vietnam and a substantial increase in exports from Vietnam to the EU, Lai said. According to him, FTAs offer Vietnam great advantages in terms of export, and at the same time help diversify its import markets. Not only can Vietnam benefit from significant tariff reduction but also from having ample opportunities to access and expand to new markets worldwide. Lai added that Vietnams demand for basic infrastructure is huge.

I see enormous potentials in the areas of power generation, transmission and distribution, energy efficiency, and transportation, he said.

Hogan also commented that the EVFTA has a huge economic potential.

A win for consumers, workers, farmers and businesses. And it goes well beyond economic benefits. Once in force, these agreements will further enhance our potential to promote and monitor reforms in Vietnam, he said.

According to the European Parliament, Vietnam is a booming, competitive and connected economy with almost 100 million citizens, a growing middle class and a young and dynamic workforce. The country is also one of the fastest growing countries in ASEAN with average GDP growth rate of around 6.51 per cent from 2000 until 2018. Moreover, Vietnam is also one of the most open and pro free trade economy in the region.

The EVFTA is expected to be a major driver of Vietnamese exports, and help Vietnam to diversify its markets and exports, especially its key staples such as agro-forestry-aquactic products, electronics, footwear, garments and textiles which are the countrys competitive advantages. Currently Vietnams exports rely on its traditional markets like China, the US, Japan, and South Korea.

According to the General Statistics Office, in 2019, EU member states spent $41.7 billion on importing Vietnamese goods, capturing 15.8 per cent of Vietnams total export turnover of $263.45 billion. These markets also exported $14.8 billion worth of goods to Vietnam, holding 5.8 per cent of the countrys total import turnover of $253.51 billion.
Its easy to be offended by The Great, the new anti-history romp set in 18th Century Russia.

After all the women are but playthings for the men, considered little more than sex objects and child-bearers.

So it is in the court of Peter III of Russia (Nicholas Hoult) a virile ruler who weds young Prussian Catherine (Elle Fanning) via an arranged marriage, with a view to procreation and not much more.

While she has ideals of a blissful honeymoon night, he would rather get the deed done to resume partying with best pal Grigory (Gwilym Lee). Parachuted into this world of misogynistic men and acquiescent women, she struggles to bite her tongue. Thats despite new ideas sweeping Europe from France.

Even an effort to open a school for young girls is burnt to the ground -literally. It will take an idea planted by her servant Marial (Phoebe Fox) for her to chart a path that will lead her to becoming Catherine the Great.

Women are for seeding not reading, insists the young emporer.

Aussie creator Tony McNamara (The Favourite) has a rollicking time playing loosely with facts, all in the middle of some stunning locations (including Italys Royal Palace of Caserta). The costumes are similarly, money on the screen. Its far more playful than period drama Victoria and light years away from a recent Helen Mirren series.

The jokes are there from the get go.

You look taller in your portrait, Peter says upon meeting Catherine.

Elle Fanning gets to bring a 2020 perspective to this very classic backdrop while Nicholas Hoult, who shot to fame in Skins, eats up his bad boy role. Watch our for McNamaras wife Belinda Bromilow as Aunt Elizabeth.

Like most western portrayals of Russian tales, the accents are decidedly British upper-class, despite all the glass-smashing, rabbit-shooting and grand furs. This appears to be the screen convention, so who am I to argue?

Reimagined dramas from Shakespeare in Love to Hollywood may not be historically accurate but they can be enormously entertaining. Or even rather Great.

The Great airs Saturday May 16 on Stan.
Some California businesses on Friday began opening their doors for business  at least partially.

As states and counties across the nation contend with pressure to lift the stay-at-home measures that have destroyed local economies, California is taking an especially cautious approach, walking a fine line between political and economic pressure to reopen and the public health imperative to stop the spread of disease.

Public health experts told the Guardian that while no US state was equipped with enough coronavirus testing and surveillance to feel fully confident reopening, Californias slow, piecemeal recovery plan  though far from perfect  seemed like the least risky option.

The plan

Seven weeks after the governor, Gavin Newsom, ordered his 40 million constituents to shelter in place and all non-essential businesses to close, California on Friday entered phase two of its grand reopening plan.

Some retail stores, including bookshops, florists, music stores, clothing and sporting goods retailers, can reopen if they organize curbside pickup. Some manufacturing and logistics in the retail supply chain can restart as well, as long as they follow safety and hygiene protocols. And local authorities are allowed to ease regulations further than the state guidelines if they meet certain testing and sanitation requirements.

Phase three of the plan  potentially months away  could see salons, gyms, movie theaters and in-person church services resume. Phase four would end all restrictions.

The timing

Fridays reopenings come as California has avoided the surge of infections states like New York have seen. And although California has seen more than 61,000 cases and 2,500 deaths, its hospitals have not been overwhelmed.

Related: 'Covid's not the only health issue': inside the rural counties defying California's lockdown

Last week, state officials reported the first week-over-week decline in Covid-19 deaths.

The new guidelines also follow small but sustained protests across the state to demand a relaxation of regulations to revive the states crippled economy, and some rural counties have partially reopened in defiance of the lockdown measures.

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The caveats

However, California still hasnt seen the two weeks of declining cases that the White House suggested as a criterion for easing restrictions and that several European countries have used as a benchmark.

The state also lacks the robust testing and tracking systems that countries such as Germany and South Korea have used.

The state has ramped up its ability to administer and process tests, although for now, its rate of 29,414 tests a day is below the figure required by some analyses.

Authorities are working to put a robust contact tracing effort in place to make sure those who test positive get the care they need and are able to isolate themselves until they recover. Although some counties and communities have spearheaded community-wide testing and tracing programs, overall, the state isnt at the point where its system is as widespread or efficient as a country like Germanys.

Related: Coronavirus antibody tests explained: what are they and do they work?

Experts say California should also have a system in place to make sure vulnerable, unhoused populations have access to shelter and medical care  to prevent infection flare-ups in homeless shelters and encampments. Progress on those measures heavily varies county by county.

And ideally, there would be a treatment or a vaccine before reopening, said Dr Richard Jackson, a professor emeritus at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and the former head of the California department of public health. While we await a cure, Jackson cautioned, no one should feel completely safe as we remove restrictions.

The trade-offs

Californias reopening strategy stands in sharp contrast to the approach of states like Georgia, which suddenly allowed gyms, barber shops, hair salons, tattoo parlors and bowling alleys to welcome customers last week.

What certain places have done, where theyve just thrown open the doors and said, OK, we dont have to keep our distance any more, is a colossal mistake, Jackson said. Reopening businesses that put lots of people into close contact and speed the spread of disease will reverse the success of shelter-in-place rules, he noted, and overwhelm hospitals as cases surge. Doing it very cautiously and carefully does make sense at this point in time, he said.

I get that governors have to balance the public health goals with the economic goals, said Dr Robert Tsai, surgeon and health policy researcher at Brigham and Womens hospital in Boston and the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. But this stage of the pandemic is really all about trade-offs, he noted.

Protesters demonstrate outside the State Capitol for the complete reopening of California in Sacramento on Thursday. Photograph: John G Mabanglo/EPA

The weeks ahead

In the coming weeks, state and local leaders will have to watch closely and prepare to dial the distancing back up if the number of cases surges, said Tsai.

Social distancing isnt an on-off switch. What it needs to be is a dial, which can be turned up or down depending on what the data show on the ground in terms of how the Covid-19 epidemic is progressing.

Reopening is going to be a very complicated process, and it should be complicated, he added. Because this is about making sure that people dont end up in the hospital or dying.

That Californias plan allows for counties to maintain stricter distancing guidelines or ease up measures could be both a strength and a liability.

The flexibility has allowed hotspots like the Bay Area and Los Angeles to take a more cautious approach, but it has also already caused confusion. In San Diego, where curbside shopping has already begun, business owners were unsure what, if anything, would change on Friday. In Bakersfield, restaurants allowed patrons to dine in on Monday and Tuesday, in defiance of the states guidelines.

A hodgepodge reopening could cause surges in cases; Californians who travel between more lax and more strict counties could spread infections. Moreover, a rush to reopen fast in some areas could be counterproductive to economic recovery, said Alessandro Rebucci, an economist at the Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business.

If you reopen when the pandemic is still out there, people and businesses will not just go back to normal, Rebucci noted. Based on research from China, it seems clear that fear of contracting the illness will keep businesses owners and patrons home until they feel its safe enough, he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 19:04:04|Editor: huaxia

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HELSINKI, May 8 (Xinhua) -- A group of economists, commissioned by the Finnish government to map out a roadmap of the economic impact of COVID-19, on Friday signalled confidence in the ability of Finland to cope with the situation.

Talking at a press conference, professor Vesa Vihriala, who leads the group, noted that Finland has so far been able to provide more direct assistance to enterprises than most Western European countries.

"The Finnish unemployment benefit system made it possible to focus on helping the businesses instead of helping the people," Vihriala said.

The professor said the group was optimistic about the ability of Finnish society to take the required decisions. "Finland is a functioning society," he said. "There is basic confidence, citizens trust officials and trust each."

The group noted in their report they no longer believe in a fast recovery and envisage a 9-percent decline in the Finnish GDP this year. They suggested extensive recovery boost of at least two percent of the GDP, followed by adaptation and austerity measures.

From 2023 onwards, Finnish public economy would have to be stabilized to keep the ratio of public debt to GDP under 90 percent, said the report. The economists described the austerity measures as a "painful package," estimating that the need to adapt would be 3-4 percent in relation to the GDP. Enditem
Business Roundup Irrawaddy Business Roundup

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YANGON  Business activity in Myanmar has been slowly coming back to life this month after the rate of new COVID-19 cases has slowed, including two days with no new cases.

This week, Myanmar approved more than 3.5 billion kyats (US$2.5 million) for the countrys industrial and tourism employers, to help reduce the economic impact of COVID-19. An economic impact assessment by the government is due in June to help quantify the impact.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka has offered to buy crops and fishery products from Myanmar.

Myanmar has also been added to the European Unions money-laundering blacklist because of alleged deficiencies in combating money laundering and in countering terrorist financing. Due to the pandemic, the Asia-Pacific Fifth Oil and Gas Conference, which was due next week in Yangon, has been postponed until October.

Govt offers private-sector loans

The Myanmar government approved 3.5 billion kyats in the third phase of loans to 111 industrial and tourism firms on Thursday from the COVID-19 relief fund set up by the government in late March, according to the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations (MIFER).

The committee to address the impact of COVID-19 on the countrys economy, led by minister U Thaung Tun, approved the loans at Thursdays meeting.

The committee said it is analyzing other loan applications.

In the first and second phases, nearly 200 companies were granted loans by the committee from the COVID-19 fund.

Economic impact assessment due next month

Myanmars government is drawing up a COVID-19 economic impact assessment to identify the sectors most badly hit by the pandemic.

MIFER permanent secretary U Aung Naing OO said the assessment will be published at the end of June and include policies and recovery plans.

The government is surveying the risks to businesses, including how they can revive post-COVID-19. The DaNa Facility, UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and International Trade Center are helping in drawing up the assessment.

The move comes a week after the government launched its economic relief plan to flatten the coronavirus curve without flattening Myanmars economy by implementing new measures and responses ranging from monetary reforms and increasing government spending to strengthening the health-care system.

Since early February, Myanmars economy has slowed significantly and the World Bank warned that GDP growth is projected to slow to between 2 and 3 percent this fiscal year due to the pandemic, with poor households likely to be hit the hardest.

Sri Lanka makes food orders

The Sri Lankan government has offered to buy 10 foodstuffs from Myanmar, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Dr. Thet Lwin Oo, deputy director of Myanmar International Trade Center, told The Irrawaddy that Sri Lanka planned to buy canned fish, sprat, lentils, mung beans, cowpeas, onions, beans, garlic, chili and coriander.

He said a list of companies that want to fulfill the Sri Lankan orders would be published.

About six companies from Myanmar have proposed to the Ministry of Commerce to export food to Sri Lanka.

This is the first time Sri Lanka has ordered food from Myanmar, said Dr. Thet Lwin Oo.

He said the 10 items were not on Myanmars urgent provisions list.

Myanmar on EUs money-laundering blacklist

Myanmars government has been added to the EUs money-laundering blacklist because of poor financial regulations and monitoring of terrorist financing, according to the European Commission, the EUs executive branch.

The Bahamas, Barbados, Botswana, Cambodia, Ghana, Jamaica, Mauritius, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Panama and Zimbabwe are also on the list of high-risk countries with strategic deficiencies in anti-money laundering and terrorist financing monitoring.

Meanwhile, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ethiopia, Guyana, Lao, Sri Lanka and Tunisia were removed from the list, said the European Commission.

The EUs latest move will pose risks for international banks who are interested in investing in Myanmars financial markets. It will also increase international pressure on the government while it faces the fallout from COVID-19.

Oil and Gas Conference postponed

The Fifth Oil and Gas Conference, which was scheduled in Yangon this month, has been postponed until October 20-22, according to the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG).

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Fintech company Razorpay on Saturday said it will hire more than 50 people for critical roles across product and engineering teams, and is on schedule with appraisals, bonuses and promotions for its existing employees.

With businesses seeing significant impact due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many startups have frozen hiring and slashed salaries. There have also been reports of layoffs by many firms.

Razorpay said in view of the restrictions imposed due to the pandemic, an increasing number of businesses are considering adopting online payment methods.

"As a company, we are sufficiently capitalised and are on schedule with appraisals, bonuses and promotions for our employees, which will be announced this month end. We have always believed in rewarding our employees with healthy merit increases," Razorpay Head - People Operations Anuradha Bharat told PTI.

While she did not disclose the quantum of hikes to be given, Bharat said the wage increases have been typically higher than the average industry standards and includes a combination of additional bonuses, and equity for high performers.

"...it's no different this year. We are also ensuring that there are no paycuts for existing or new employees, and definitely no job cuts. We are hiring based on how productive a role can be to the company," she said.

Razorpay is hiring for over 50 critical positions across functions like back-end and front-end operations, data sciences and product management.

"The fintech sector is at its exciting best right now as everyone wants to have an e-commerce presence. While there are massive layoffs happening around, we see this as an opportunity to hire great minds and make quality additions to build a league of next-gen payment and banking solutions to help with the current circumstances," Bharat said.

In the last 12 months, Razorpay has more than doubled its headcount from 330 to 770. Within the past six months, the company increased its headcount by about 15 per cent and strengthened its leadership team across Business and Engineering teams.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A worker sits down for meal at the closed Koyambedu market in Chennai. The market has reported an alarming surge of coronavirus cases in the past week. (PTI)

Chennai: Everywhere else in the country, coronavirus spokesmen are making no secret of the fact that they are spooked by the numbers now. In New Delhi, Lav Agarwal said the people have to learn to live with the virus. In Karnataka, minister Suresh Kumar said the numbers are not good before revealing that 48 fresh cases had turned up in the state on Friday

Here in Chennai, the prefatory statement by Tamil Nadu health minister Dr C Vijayabaskar was: "Don't be frightened by the Covid-19 numbers.

And here they are: 600 new Covid-19 positive cases in the past 24 hours, nearly 400 of them from Chennai alone. In the past three days, each new day has brought in 771, 590 and 600 cases, and the total has doubled in five days from 3029 on May 3 to 6009 on May 8.

The southern state is now up to fourth on the coronavirus table in the country, and is clearly revving to move up higher.

Vijayabhaskar was clear what is needed to be done: It will be sufficient if the public cooperates with the government," he said during his briefing to reporters on the overall situation in Tamil Nadu.

Prior to the presser, he had participated in a video-conference of health ministers with Union health minister Harsh Vardhan, who, like the Tamil Nadu minister, used to be a doctor.

Dr Vijayabhaskar said Dr. Harsh Vardhan appreciated Tamil Nadu's efforts in battling the coronavirus in terms of better treatment, isolation, containment and coordination. Particularly, the state has the lowest mortality rate of 0.68 per cent in the country.

The remarkable thing about Tamil Nadus corona surge is that almost 80 per cent of the cases are asymptomatic. Faced with a groundswell of cases that need monitoring, treatment and isolation, the state is advising 'home quarantine' for the milder cases, with constant monitoring of course.

This, the fiat to tell the mild cases to stay at home and take care of themselves, is part of the updated guidelines issued by the government of India.

In Tamil Nadu, such home quarantine patients will be given a 'kit' containing dos and don'ts. This DIY coronavirus kit will have the nostrum Kabasura Kudineer to improve immunity, Zinc Plus, vitamin C, vitamin D tablets, herbal powder, soap, face masks and hand sanitizer.

Tamil Nadus sudden spurt in the past three days is an outcome of more vigorous testing, especially in hot spots like the Koyambedu market in Chennai, which has contributed 1,589 cases, or roughly 26.50 per cent, to the total corona cases of 6,009 in Tamil Nadu.

This is because of the intense, 'tracking, tracing and testing' of people associated with the 'primary persons' who tested positive in Koyembedu.

Vijayabhaskar claimed: "We are testing more people per day than even Maharashtra."
The coronavirus pandemic has hotels developing policies that will be applied worldwide to ensure that their future guests will be safe. There will be massive changes in the industry until a vaccine, an effective treatment, or instantaneous testing for coronavirus is available.

According to Christopher Anderson, the professor of business at Cornell University's Hotel School in Ithaca, New York, hotel stays are likely to be a stripped-down affair, particularly in higher-end hotels where personalized service and amenities have long been part of their services.

Social distancing inside hotels

Anderson predicts that there will be less communal access in hotels, which means that there will be no buffets, no minibars, and no high-touch elements of luxury such as spas, gyms, bellhop and valet services. Hotel guests will go through keyless and contactless check-in and checkout and few personalized interactions with the staff.

In America, there are hints of a return in demand for hotel rooms, according to the senior vice president of Lodging Insights for hospitality analysis firm STR, Jan Freitag. The hotel occupancy for the week ending May 2 was at 28.6%, giving STR its first evidence of a return of leisure demand after some states had eased pandemic restrictions.

The hotel occupancy was still down 58% compared to the same week last year. As demand increases, the hotel industry is trying to reassure its potential guests that they've put additional safety measures in place to protect against coronavirus transmission as the industry starts to slowly open across the country.

The top concern in the industry is hygiene, and the American Hotel and Lodging Association released a Stay Safe standards in the industry on May 4. A lot of major hotel groups have also outlined new policies.

Also Read: 75,000 Americans At Risk of Dying from Suicide Due to Pandemic Despair

Hilton hotels are now developing policies with help from the Mayo Clinic's Infection Prevention and Control team. Hilton is looking at using electrostatic sprayers and ultraviolet light to sanitize objects and surfaces in their establishments.

Marriott has also announced that they will use electrostatic sprays to clean guest rooms and public areas and is testing ultraviolet light technology to also clean their surfaces and objects. Hotels will be removing furniture and they will facilitate a social distancing space of 6 feet, which is prescribed by the CDC and WHO.

Freitag says that these new measures will affect the overall budget of hotel owners but it is still unclear whether guests will see an increase in room rates. Freitag added that it is possible that cleaning fees are the new resort fees. But whatever the case is, staying in a hotel in 2020 will be cheaper than it was last year.

Screening guests

One line of defense in detecting people who are infected with COVID-19 is through temperature screening, but it is still unclear how widely it will be implemented in the hotel.

At The Venetian, thermal scanners will be used at every entry point. It will allow discreet and noninvasive temperature checks for the guests and staff. In Singapore, the SG Clean, a national campaign in the country, has been rolled out across all industries. It includes a set of standards for hotels which includes temperature checks of guests.

In New York, The Four Seasons has been following a set of temporary protocols since it started hosting health care workers in April. The policies were developed by International SOS, and it included a single point of entry for everyone, staff, and guests, where each person's temperature is checked and questions are asked by nurses stationed at the entry 24/7.

Hotels all around the world are doing everything that they can to ensure the safety of their guests. However, it is still unclear whether they can bounce back and get their occupancy rate to rise again.

Related Article: Hot Weather Dries Up COVID-19 Droplets, But Virus May Travel Farther in Windy Days

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Covid-19 is moving with speed in Liberia where the government has imposed restrictions to stop the further spread of the virus.

The state of emergency led to closure of schools as well as limitations on movement.

Like Ebola in 2014, there is no medicinal way to fight Covid-19 and the government has opted to use measures similar to the ones imposed to combat the Ebola outbreak in the country four years ago.

However, social distancing is largely ignored even though health experts have stressed its effectiveness in arresting the spread of the the coronavirus.

Wilhelmina Jallah, Liberia's health minister, has warned of serious consequences if the population does not heed the medical advice.

Rules need to be enforced

She says the rules on social distancing must be vigorously enforced to ensure the chain of transmission is reduced.

Jallah's stark vision is shared by mother-of-six Beatrice Kollie.

The 42-year-old, who lives in the slum community of West Point, supports her family by selling charcoal.

She says an altogether different way of life will operate once Covid-19 has passed.

People are now addicted to washing their hands regularly and wearing a face mask," she said.

"It tells you that even after Covid-19 we will be compelled to continue wearing masks for a longer period."

Kollie said fear of infection might lead to less sympathy towards those who have contracted the illness.

Prior to Covid-19, we usually identified with our sick relatives by touching them. But now things have changed, we can no longer touch our sick relatives."

John Gayflorzee, 32, said the hustle and bustle of street life would also be altered.

Street life change

The majority of the markets that were crowded have been demolished and redesigned to ensure decongestion," he said. "We will have to adjust ourselves to the changes."

Internal affairs minister, Varney Sirleaf, has the task of co-ordinating those alterations for the plethora of markets in the country.

Story continues

But his role and that of his colleagues should be easier if the lessons learned from the Ebola outbreak are implemented.

As that epidemic claimed thousands of lives throughout west Africa, officials in Liberia found that explaining the realities of the disease to local communities led to swifter acceptance of the necessary health measures.

Tolbert Nyenswah, who as incident manager led Liberias national Ebola response between 2014-2016, said: We also had a clearly defined chain of command and there was organisational structure."

Speaking from the United States, he added: "What has to happen is: increase the number of tests in communities, locate sick people, isolate them and trace their contacts to stop secondary transmission of the disease."

Nyenswah said he expected a change in lifestyles as people tried to prevent a future coronavirus outbreak.

Education on guard

The country's schools and colleges will be a testing ground for those new attitudes

Mary W. Mulbah-Nyumah, who is the head of the National Teachers Association of Liberia, says nurses should be deployed at various schools campuses.

They would be the first person to treat an individual who might get sick during school hours.

Hand washing, for instance, is now a part of our life," she said. "Parents are being urged to keep their sick children away from schools."

However, Mulbah-Nyumah concedes there is a snag due to the limited number of teachers across the country.

We may not be able to quarantine for 14 days but the nurse at the school will do a transfer to the hospital and based on recommendation from the hospital, we can decide what to do, she added.

Overcrowded classes, she says, are likely to be at an end in the post Covid-19 era.

Secret society suspended

Traditional leaders have also adapted. They are working with officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and have suspended all traditional secret society or Bush School activities for one year including the practice of FGM.

Other customs and rituals involving groups of young people will also be curtailed in the drive to stop spread of Covid-19.

Another effect of that cooperation will be more of an idea for the government as to the exact number of 'bush schools' in the country.

That possibility might never have happened before the coronavirus swept through the world. In Liberia, even the traditional leaders are adapting to conform with the post Covid-19 era.
The rise in global sea-level could exceed one metre by 2100 and five metres by 2300 if emissions are not checked as the rise is taking place at a much faster pace than expected, a new survey by more than 100 leading international experts.

The risk assessment is based on the increasing body of knowledge of the systems involved and the scientists say it is clear now that previous sea-level rise estimates have been too low.

The study led by scientists of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), with support from UK's Durham University, US' Tufts University and Germany's Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, said the Guardian.

"What we do today, within a few decades, will determine the rise of sea level for many centuries. The new analysis shows this more clearly than ever before," news agency ANI reported quoting co-author Stefan Rahmstorf from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in Germany.

"But this is also good news: when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, we have it in our own hands how much we increase the risks for millions of people at the world`s coasts, from Hamburg to Shanghai and from Mumbai to New York," added Rahmstorf.

In a scenario where global warming is limited to 2 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels (which would be in agreement with the international Paris climate accord), the experts estimated a rise of 0.5 metres by 2100 and 0.5 to 2 metres by 2300. In a high-emissions scenario with 4.5 degree Celsius of warming, the experts estimated a larger rise of 0.6 to 1.3 metres by 2100 and 1.7 to 5.6 metres by 2300.

Professor Benjamin Horton, Acting Chair of NTU`s Asian School of the Environment, who led the new survey, says that sea-level rise projections and knowledge of their uncertainties are vital to make informed mitigation and adaptation decisions. "The complexity of sea-level projections, and the sheer amount of relevant scientific publications, make it difficult for policy-makers to get an overview of the state of the science," ANI quoted him as saying.

"To obtain this overview, it is useful to survey leading experts on the expected sea-level rise, which provides a broader picture of future scenarios and informs policymakers so they can prepare necessary measures," he added.

The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have been identified by the surveyed experts as the greatest sources of uncertainty. These ice sheets are an important indicator of climate change and a driver of sea-level rise. Satellite-based data and on-the-ground measurements show the ice sheets are melting at an accelerating rate. However, the surveyed experts also remarked that the magnitude and impacts of sea-level rise can be limited through a successful reduction of emissions.
The British Grand Prix is in all likelihood scheduled to take place on the original date. That is on July 19, two weeks after the first race in Austria. However, that date now seems to be in jeopardy.

Currently the plan of Formula 1 is to start the 2020 season with two races in Spielberg on July 5 and 12. One week later the races will already be held at Silverstone. However, a new problem has arisen, as The Guardian reports that the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce new quarantine measures on Sunday.

These new measures would mean that from June onwards all people entering the country would first have to spend two weeks in quarantine in order to prevent a second wave of COVID-19 virus infections. Of course, this would not work if Formula 1 were to race in Austria a few days earlier.

It remains to be seen whether the measures on Sunday will really be announced in this way and whether Formula 1 will be able to find a solution to the problem, but it puts a small bomb under the plans Formula 1 has for this summer. If other countries take similar measures, racing will become virtually impossible.
Content leader Lionsgate Indiahas launched a unique initiativeto bring the community experience of watching movies in movie theatersto live streaming andto raise funds for GiveIndia in order to support people impacted by the COVID19 pandemic. Lionsgate Live! A Night atThe Movies in association with Facebook India, will consist of a series of four Fridays of complimentary movies streaming LIVE on Facebook.Beginning Friday,8thMay at 8:00 pm, Lionsgate Live! will LIVE streamsome of Lionsgate's biggest and most popular library titles every Friday The Hunger Games, Twilight, Now YouSee Me 2 and Wonderwhich audiences can watch together with their friends and family from the comfort of their own homes.

The ground-breaking initiative has already been a resounding success for Lionsgate in the U.S. and the UK with Hollywood stars like Jamie Lee Curtis, Gerard Butler, Margot Robbie and many moreparticipating and extending their support. Further, Twilight series starrer,Peter Facinelliand The Social Network famed Jesse Eisenberghave shared special video messages to support Lionsgate India in this noble initiative. Lionsgate has enlisted popular film starsAnil Kapoor,Ananya PandayandSanya Malhotrato participate in this initiative.

Audiences will have an opportunity to join Lionsgate India in extending support toIndian NGOs in fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic by donating money via Facebook Fundraisers while watching theirfavoritefilms. People will be able to make a donation via the donate button next to the video while watching the movie.

Mr. Rohit Jain, Managing Director Lionsgate South Asia said, In these unprecedented times, Lionsgate has launched this global initiative to support families of millions ofpeople who have been impacted by COVID19. Here in India, we have partnered with Facebook to create a fundraiser whose proceeds will be donated to GiveIndia helping fight this pandemic. This will be a unique opportunity for viewers to extend their support and donate for this charitable cause. Moreover, we are delighted to haveAnanya Panday, Sanya Malhotra and Anil Kapooron board who will help us to spread awareness of this ground-breaking initiative.

Speaking about the partnership, Ananya said, I am really happy to be a part of this noble cause initiated by Lionsgate. I am glad if my voice can reach out to those who can extend their support as together, we can help the impacted people. 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. 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.

Sanya Malhotra commented,Im elated to be a part of Lionsgate Live!A Night At The Movies. This is a noble initiative to assist thousands of families who have been impacted by the pandemic. All one needs to do is log on to Lionsgate Facebook page and watch some acclaimed movies and donate whatever they could. We all need to come together to fight this together. I request everyone to join me in this worthy initiative because in these tough times, every small contribution counts.

Speaking on the occasion Manish Chopa a Head and Director of Partnerships, Facebook India commented, We are grateful to our partners for coming out in support of those affected by the COVID -19 pandemic. Lionsgate Live! A Night At The Movies on Facebook, is a great way to not only keep people entertained in their homes, but is also a great initiative that will enable people to donate. All of the proceeds from the fundraiser on Facebook will go to GiveIndia platform chosen by Lionsgate India.
London, May 9 : UK airlines said they were informed that the government will bring in a 14-day quarantine for anyone arriving in Britain from any country apart from the Republic of Ireland in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The new restriction is expected to take effect at the end of this month, the BBC reported on Friday.

Industry body Airlines UK, which represents British Airways, EasyJet and other country-based airlines, said the policy needed "a credible exit plan" and should be reviewed weekly.

People arriving in the UK would have to self-isolate at a private residence.

Government and aviation sources told BBC News that the quarantine would mean people might be expected to provide an address when they arrive at the border.

It wais not clear how long the new travel restriction would be in place and whether non-UK residents would be allowed to stay in rented private accommodation.

"We need to see the details of what they are proposing", said Airlines UK in a statement.

Aviation Minister Kelly Tolhurst was expected to clarify the policy to airline and airport representatives in a conference call scheduled for Saturday.

UK airports suggested that a quarantine "would not only have a devastating impact on the UK aviation industry, but also on the wider economy".

Karen Dee from the Airport Operators Association, which represents most UK airports, said the measure should be applied "on a selective basis following the science" and "the economic impact on key sectors should be mitigated".
An Air India flight with over 180 Indians from



Sharjah reached Lucknow on Saturday evening, an official said.

This is the first flight reaching Lucknow with Indians stuck abroad due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown.

"An Air India flight IX184 arrived in Lucknow from Sharjah on Saturday at around 9.00 pm. The tentative number of passengers arriving in Lucknow is over 180. This is the first flight arriving in Lucknow during lockdown, bringing back Indians stranded abroad due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown," Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport Director A K Sharma told PTI.

After the arrival, the passengers were screened at the airport and then sent to quarantine.

"The passengers who arrived today have been quarantined in Lucknow, Lucknow District Magistrate Abhishek Prakash told PTI.

There are four categories of paid quarantine. The maximum price is Rs 2,000 per day, while the minimum is Rs 400 per day. We have identified ESI Hospital in Sarojininagar area of Lucknow and any passenger found symptomatic for the infection will be admitted there, he said.

Senior officials of the police and district administration were present at the airport during landing of the flight. PTI NAV.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Saudi Arabias $320 billion sovereign wealth fund PIF is exploring a potential investment in Indian business conglomerate Reliance Industries Limited's digital unit, reported Bloomberg, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

The PIF is considering purchasing a minority stake in Jio Platforms, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. Deliberations are ongoing and might not lead to a transaction, they stated.

Representatives for Reliance and PIF didnt immediately respond to requests for comment.

Any new investment into Jio Platforms will add to the $8 billion deal run that billionaire Mukesh Ambani has sealed in the past weeks.

Facebook had last month agreed to pay $5.7 billion for a 10% stake in the digital unit, while Silver Lake Partners and Vista Equity Partners this week said they would invest about $2.25 billion in total.

Reliance is also in talks with Saudi Aramco to sell an estimated $15 billion stake in its oil-and-chemicals business, reported Bloomberg.

The Indian conglomerate last week reassured investors that the discussions are still on course as the crude oil crash sparked by the pandemic spurred skepticism over the negotiations, it added.
It may sound like a plot from a science fiction film, but NASA and scientists are concerned about alien viruses contaminating Earth.

As the first humans prepare for the Mars mission, experts warn that protocols are necessary to keep extraterrestrial pollutants from hitchhiking on space ships and astronauts when returning home from the Red Planet.

Stanford professor of aeronautics and astronautics Scott Hubbard said in an interview that the solution is 'planetary protection'.

Mechanical systems will have to undergo a combination of chemical cleaning and heat sterilization, while the tubes containing samples from Mars need to be treated 'as though they are the Ebola virus until proven safe.'

Hubbard also suggests that astronauts must be quarantine once they touch down on our planet, as the first men who visited the moon in the Apollo mission did.

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As the first humans prepare for the Mars mission, experts warn that protocols need to be created to keep extraterrestrial pollutants from hitchhiking on space ships and astronauts when returning home.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced last year that NASA is aiming to put humans on Mars sometime in the 2030s  and as early as 2035.

Although exciting, the mission could be detrimental to Earth if the space faring heroes return carrying alien pollutants.

Speaking with Stanford News Hubbard said: 'In my opinion, and that of the science community, the chance that rocks from Mars that are millions of years old will contain an active life form that could infect Earth is extremely low.'

'But, the [Mars] samples returned by [NASA] will be quarantined and treated as though they are the Ebola virus until proven safe.'

Stanford professor of aeronautics and astronautics Scott Hubbard said in an interview that the solution is 'planetary protection'

The tubes that return with the samples aboard the upcoming Mars 2020 mission, which is sending NASA's Perseverance Rover (artist impression), will have to 'be baked at a high temperature' be for human staff can interact with them

Past space missions to Mars, such as Viking I and II in the mid-1970s, used large budget rockets that were able to be sterilized using just intense heat.

However, now that rockets are being developed at a low cost at both universities and companies, like SpaceX, these small craft 'will be burdened by the cost of planetary protection.'

Hubbard notes that although heat alone is not enough to decontaminate the technology, combining the process with chemical cleaning may be effective.

The tubes that return with the samples aboard the upcoming Mars 2020 mission, which is sending NASA's Perseverance Rover, will have to 'be baked at a high temperature' be for human staff can interact with them.

Past space missions to Mars, such as Viking I and II in the mid-1970s, used large budget rockets that were able to be sterilized using just intense heat

'To guard against back contamination, there is a major effort to 'break the chain of contact' between the returning spacecraft and Mars rock samples,' said H ubbard.

'For example, autonomous sealing and welding techniques to create three or four levels of containment are planned.'

'In my opinion, and that of the science community, the chance that rocks from Mars that are millions of years old will contain an active life form that could infect Earth is extremely low.

'But, the samples returned by MSR will be quarantined and treated as though they are the Ebola virus until proven safe.'

Hubbard acknowledges the fact that humans cannot be cleaned like robots and looks to past protocols.

'As for humans, the Apollo astronauts from the first few moon missions were quarantined to ensure they showed no signs of illness,' he said.

Pictured is the landing site of NASA's Mars 2020 rover, Perseverance, which will gather samples from the Jezero Crater in search of life. 'To guard against back contamination, there is a major effort to 'break the chain of contact' between the returning spacecraft and Mars rock samples,' said Hubbard

'Once it was found that the moon did not pose a risk, the quarantine was eliminated. Such a procedure will undoubtedly be followed for humans returning from Mars.'

Not only are experts concerned about contaminating Earth, they also have fear of humans spreading their germs on Mars.

However, a team of researchers from Nova Southeastern University in Florida, along with colleagues W. Raquel Peixoto and Alexandre Rosado from Federal University of Rio de Janeiro suggest human microbes will initiate the process of terraforming the red planet and create an environment that can sustain life.

The team wants to develop a process that involves screening promising microbes and discarding dangerous ones prior to releasing them on Mars.

A major argument by the researchers is that the prevention of contamination is a 'near impossibility,' as the authors phrase it in the study.

However, space agencies have put specific protocols in place to prevent the contamination of other planets and experts have noted that more research needs to be done before we start polluting other worlds.

The idea of protecting celestial bodies dates back to the 1950s when the philosophy of planetary protection was created with a sole purpose of recommending and designing such protocols that protects space from Earthly microbes.

It argues that our germs can contaminate scientifically important areas of the solar system  similar to how a crime scene can be compromised if someone not involved touches evidence.

Although the idea of sterilization has been around for decades, Lopez and his team believe it is inevitable that our germs will make it to Mars and other planets.

'Mainly, microbial introduction should not be considered accidental but inevitable,' reads the paper published in FEMS Microbiology Ecology.
AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka on Friday warned that workers will be at risk of getting sick with the coronavirus if restrictions on businesses are lifted without robust safety protocols in place.

"Don't talk about tough restrictions and guidelines. Talk about worker safety," Trumka said on CNBC's "Closing Bell." "We want them to open up, but we want them to open up consistent with the health and safety of those workers."

The failure to prioritize worker safety while restarting the economy will only multiply the threat of additional Covid-19 outbreaks, Trumka argued. "All that we will do is open up and then immediately in a month or so have to close back down because workers got infected," he said.

Trumka said the U.S. needs to continue expanding its testing capacity and the availability of personal protective equipment to adequately protect workers. "There are shortages of both now," he said, which he argued will only be compounded when the millions of out-of-work Americans try to return to the job. Increasing the supply of both, he said, is critical in preventing "a second epidemic, or a second surge" of Covid-19 cases.

Trumka's comments Friday came after the government said a record 20.5 million nonfarm jobs were lost in April, vaulting the nation's unemployment rate to 14.7% last month due to the pandemic-induced economic halt. The vast majority  18.1 million people  said they lost their job temporarily.

Trumka said having proper safety protocols in place will be necessary for many people to want to return to the workplace. "If they don't feel safe, they're not going to go back to work," the labor leader argued. "We will not be able to reopen the economy the way it should open, and keep it open once we do open it up."

The AFL-CIO, which has about 12.5 million members, has joined others unions in a call for the Labor Department to implement emergency workplace safety rules. Trumka said the department needs enforceable standards, not just issuing "guidance" to employers. "Good employers do it. Bad employers don't, and workers pay the price every time an employer doesn't," he said.

Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia told CNBC on Friday that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a Labor Department agency, has been intently focused on ensuring worker safety during the pandemic.

"I think we have nearly 20 different documents out now, providing guidance, very focused now on safe reopening in a variety of industries," Scalia said on "The Exchange." "We also have enforcement tools that, if we have to, we'll use in the case of companies that aren't keeping their workers safe."

Scalia said the Labor Department has a disagreement with Trumka over the means with which to proceed, but their goals are in line. "We think the plan we're using  guidance, enforcement if we need to  is the right approach," he said.

Scalia added that is "flatly untrue" to suggest that OSHA "isn't doing anything" to protect workers. "American people need to know that, so do American business owners. They need to know how seriously we're taking this."
Kristi Nix

A Missouri City nursing home confirmed 37 residents tested positive for COVID-19 Friday. Park Manor Quail Valley is owned by HMG Healthcare, which operates 24 facilities in Texas and the United States. New COVID-19 testing protocols were recently launched at all their locations, according to CEO Derek Prince.

In a proactive step, HMG Healthcare began baseline testing all residents, patients, and employees for COVID-19 this week. As we have all seen with this virus, people can be infected and contagious while exhibiting no symptoms. Our nursing facilities, with communal settings and a frail, compromised population, present a delicate setting for care and treating this novel virus. Testing everyone in our facility, allows us to properly isolate and quarantine our residents and employees, Prince said in an email Friday. We are notifying all family members and responsible parties regarding our testing protocols and will continue to work with our state and local officials as testing results come in.
Investors have been looking for alternatives to debt schemes, following Fanklins winding up of six of its credit-oriented debt schemes. In March, the category had outflows due to temporary dislocation between cash and futures markets and investors taking out money for their year-end liquidity needs. But with markets stabilising, investors are looking at the category as an alternative to park funds in and avoid categories with credit or other debt ...

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- A cargo plane which was under the stewardship of two Kenyan pilots was brought down near Baidoa in Somalia on May 4

- Ethiopian Forces admitted shooting down the plane after suspecting it was a potential suicide aircraft

- AMISOM commander denied forces were responsible for the plane crash that killed four passengers and two pilots

The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has distanced itself from a shooting incident in which a Kenyan plane was brought down in Somalia.

The Ethiopian Forces admitted shooting down the Kenyan cargo plane belonging to African Express in Berdale on Monday, May 4, killing all the occupants.

READ ALSO: Laikipia woman cheats death after falling into raging river

Scenes where the plane was shot. Photo: Harun Maruf.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Tanzia: Mwenyekiti wa ODM tawi la Nyeri, John Wang'ondu ameaga dunia

Following the admission, AMISOM commander denied members of the Ethiopian troops who shot the ill-fated Embraer 5Y-AXO plane were not part of its forces.

"But the incident was performed by non-AMISOM troops of Ethiopia which will require mutual collaborative investigation team from Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya for further to understand the truth," the office of the commander.

READ ALSO: Ezekiel Mutua takes on Yvonne Okwara over Machakos White House: "Wacha wivu"

READ ALSO: Silvia Romano: Italian volunteer kidnapped in 2018 in Kilifi released

The plane was distributing medical supplies and other equipment to be used by humanitarian organisations and agencies in the Horn of Africa when it crashed.

According to Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, the aircraft had been operating in Somalia since Saturday, May 2.

READ ALSO: Laikipia woman cheats death after falling into raging river Read more: https://www.tuko.co.ke/356145-laikipia-woman-cheats-death-fell-raging-river.html

It then departed Mogadishu with medical supplies to Baidoa where it made a stop over.

It then left for Berdale and landed at exactly 4 pm before proceeding with its journey to Bardere where it lost contact 20 minutes later.

Both President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Somalia counterpart Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo had a long phone call over the same on the morning of Tuesday, May 5.

Farmajo welcomed Kenya's request for probe.

Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news.

Kenyans come through for elderly couple kicked out by landlady over rent arrears | Tuko TV.

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Chad Bianco, Sheriff of Riverside County, California, said on Friday that he will not arrest anyone violating 'stay-at-home' orders because they are exercising their constitutional rights to provide food for their families according to a recently published article.

Bianco pleaded his case on Tuesday before the county's Board of Supervisors, who were considering whether to lift some measures in the county.

In an interview, he said: "You just can't arrest somebody for going out and exercising in public or not wearing a mask." He also added that the situation in the county under state orders is "nothing like they told us it was going to be in the beginning."

CALIFORNIA: 5-Year-Old Boy Pulled Over by Police on a Freeway | READ NEXT: 5-Year-Old Boy Who Drove His Parents' Car Rewarded With a Lamborghini Ride

As of today, California has more than 64,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with more than 2,000 deaths. In Riverside County, there are more than 4,000 cases and a death toll of approximately 192 according to Johns Hopkins University.

Despite this number of cases in the county, the Sheriff insisted to reopen businesses. "It's time to get back opening up our businesses and letting our people do what our normal business activities are," he said. "And, you know, you just can't arrest somebody for going out and exercising in public or not wearing a mask."

He also added: "You know, at the same time, they are trying to force me to release real criminals from jail. They want me to make criminals out of law-abiding citizens that are, you know, trying to support a family. It doesn't make sense anymore."

He said this after seven sex offenders in Orange County were released recently because of the fear that they might test positive for the virus and will start a contagion inside the prison cell.

ALSO READ: Newly Released Sex Offender Rearrested for Exposing Himself Less than Three Weeks Later

Sheriff Bianco also mentioned that the government cannot choose what businesses will be opened and will remain close. Under the different phases of 'Opening Up America Again,' the state governors should have a clear outline on how to strategically open its regional economy.

Bianco asserted that every job is essential. He said: "You know, my job certainly is essential, but so is the job that is putting food on somebody's table. You know, a single mom that has three jobs to support her kids -- her job is more essential to her than mine is to me."

For him, it is very important that every job should be considered as essential. He also explained that stay-at-home doesn't make sense because people in Riverside County have already adopted social-distancing.

READ: Rep. Ocasio-Cortez Says Illegal Immigrants Deserve 'Fair Share' of Stimulus Funds

He even said: "It doesn't make sense that a small business can't open but we can all go shoulder-to-shoulder in Costcos and Home Depots and that's OK. But, we can't responsibly go into smaller businesses and, you know, do what we're supposed to be doing by keeping apart."

The sheriff wants the people to go back to work so that they can provide the needs of their families and that the government doesn't need to be the parents of the people and tell them what to do and what not to do.
(Bloomberg) -- Indonesia is running out of time to contain the raging coronavirus pandemic and the government should immediately ramp up stimulus by tens of billions of dollars to lessen the economic shock, according to the nations top business lobby group.

President Joko Widodo should boost spending to at least 1,600 trillion rupiah ($102 billion) over the next six months to counter the economic hit from the virus, said Carmelita Hartoto, deputy chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. About 600 trillion rupiah is needed to cover wages of millions of people out of jobs while another 400 trillion rupiah should be spent on social safety net programs and the health system, she said.

Widodos government has in recent weeks announced a string of emergency measures, worth about $28 billion, aimed at supporting a health system already buckling and an economy now grinding to a halt. It has at the same time faced criticism over its failure to act sooner as Covid-19 cases and the death toll from the disease surge, and millions of Indonesians find themselves jobless with little access to financial assistance.

The government spending and stimulus have been far too small, Hartoto said. We dont have much time and we cant afford to get it wrong with this pandemic.

Southeast Asias largest economy is projected to grow 2.3% this year with Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati warning of a more dire outcome of a contraction of 0.4% under a worst-case scenario. The government has suspended a cap on the budget deficit -- introduced in the wake of the Asian financial crisis two decades ago -- to give itself the leeway to boost spending.

Bigger Stimulus

The government estimates the budget deficit will reach 5.07% of gross domestic product this year, compared to an initial target of 1.76%. Its a figure that appears paltry compared to other economies in the region and elsewhere. The stimulus proposed by the chamber of commerce would take the fiscal response closer to 10% of GDP.

Story continues

We need it to be four times bigger, Hartoto said. With 1,600 trillion rupiah, the government can still meet expectations in markets and among the people. In other words, this will reassure the public that we are serious about addressing the health issues.

The chamber, known as Kadin, wants 300 trillion rupiah to support the recovery of small and medium enterprises and 300 trillion rupiah for the industry, especially labor-intensive and strategic businesses.

The call for a bigger and faster fiscal response came after Jokowi, as the president is known, took the extraordinary step of banning travel ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr next month, amid fears the annual exodus could spread the virus. The president has rejected calls for a complete lockdown in Indonesia, citing the impact on jobs and businesses.

Infections in Indonesia have quadrupled this month alone with officials saying the pandemic may peak only toward end of May in a country of 270 million people. The virus has infected more than 7,000 people and claimed 616 lives, official data show.

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- Machakos governor Mutua opened a KSh 350 million White House office with both west and east wings to serve as county headquarters

- Yvonne questioned whether the luxurious building was the most urgent thing Machakos residents needed at the moment

- KFCB boss said the building was for the future generations and that the journalist's comments were out of jealousy

Remarks by journalist Yvonne Okwara suggesting Machakos county has failed its residents in constructing governor's office has angered moral police Ezekiel Mutua.

Yvonne had questioned whether the luxurious building constructed in just nine months was the most urgent thing residents needed at this point in time.

READ ALSO: Laikipia woman cheats death after she falls into raging river

Ezekiel Mutua speaking with media at his office. He defended Governor Mutua over KSh 350m office. Photo: TUKO.co.ke.

Source: Original

READ ALSO: Frustrated Kenyans troll Kenya Power online after nationwide outage

In a direct response to the news anchor, the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) boss challenged her to display achievements or any sort of development in her county.

According to Mutua, the building was for the future generations and that the journalist's comments were informed by mere jealousy and not desire to see the best for the citizenry.

"I've seen Yvonne Okwara broadside on Machakos governor Alfred Mutua for putting up the magnificent "White House". Wacha wivu (stop being jealous). The building is for posterity. What has your frugal governor done with your money? At least in Machakos we have the People's Park and a "White House"," he retorted.

On being asked why he was defending what may turn out to be an embezzlement of funds, the CEO said he would rather remain positive and support leaders.

"I choose to see the good in my leaders and to support their work. I could also hate and disparage. But I choose to be positive," he added.

READ ALSO: Barack Obama says White House response to coronavirus has been chaotic disaster

Governor Alfred Mutua's KSh 350m palatial office in Masaku, Machakos county. Photo: Afred Mutua.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Bungoma: Mzee wa miaka 84 afumaniwa kitandani na mkaza mwanawe

The magnificent county headquarters became the talk when it was officially opened on Wednesday, May 6.

In deed its opulence and splendour obviously tickled Kenyans to share divided opinions on the mega project.

It was said Governor Alfred Mutua drew the inspiration to build the state-of-the-art office from the United States.

Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news.

Kenyans come through for elderly couple kicked out by landlady over rent arrears | Tuko TV.

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Mumbai, May 9 : Maharashtra on Saturday notched a new single day record of 48 Covid-19 deaths with the tally of positive cases crossing 20,000, marking a grim completion of 60 days since coronavirus first entered the state on March 9 with only 2 cases.

With 48 fatalities, the state's death toll shot up from Friday's 731 to 779 Saturday while the total number of cases increased from 19,063 to 20,228 -- a jump of 1,165 cases.

Of the total deaths, 27 were recorded in Mumbai, taking the city toll from 489, while the number of Covid-19 positive patients in the city shot up by 740 from Friday's 12,142 to 12,864 on Saturday.

Dharavi alone continued to be a major hotspot in Mumbai, notching 25 new cases, taking the total number of patients to 833, while 27 persons have succumbed to the dreaded virus till now.

Besides Mumbai's 27 deaths, Pune recorded 10 new fatalities, Malegaon 8, and one each in Akola, Nanded and Amravati.

Three days after a macabre video surfaced showing Covid-19 patients lying among dead bodies purportedly at the LTMG Sion Hospital, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Saturday shunted out the Dean of the hospital, Pramod Ingle, and replaced him with another senior official, Ramesh Bharmal.

Late on Friday, the state government had removed BMC chief Praveen Pradeshi and appointed senior IAS officer Iqbal Singh Chahal to head the civic body.

A day after he took charge, the newly-appointed Municipal Commissioner on Saturday visited the BYL Nair Hospital and the Dharavi slum for a first-hand assessment of the Covid-19 treatment and containment facilities as cases and deaths continue to gallop in Mumbai.

Among Saturday's 48 Covid-19 victims in the state, 21 were men and 27 were women, and nearly 72 per cent of them suffered from other serious ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, heart problem and asthma.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (Thane Division) continued to cause major worries with 524 Covid-19 deaths and 15,595 patients.

Pune Division trails a distant second with 161 fatalities and 2,513 patients.

The next area of concern is the Nashik Division with 40 deaths and 857 positive cases, followed by Akola Division with 24 deaths and 345 patients and Aurangabad Division with 13 fatalities and 514 patients.

On the positive side, 330 fully cured patients returned home on Saturday, taking the number of those discharged to 3,800 till date.

Meanwhile, the number of people under home quarantine increased from Friday's 239,531 to 241,290 on Saturday and those under institutional quarantine went up from 13,494 to 13,976, while the state's containment zones increased from 1,139 to 1,243.

As many as 12,388 teams have carried out a survey of a population of around 55 lakh in the state till date.

From Sunday, at least three flights from the UK, Singapore and Philippines will land in Mumbai, carrying hundreds of Indian stranded in those countries, with more flights expected in the next week.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in)

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Jodi Gordon announced earlier this year that she was leaving the long-running soap, Neighbours, to return home to Sydney.

And on Friday, the 35-year-old bid a final farewell to the show, as she left the Melbourne set for the last time.

Her good friend and co-star Bonnie Anderson captured an emotional video showing Jodi walking down the corridor toward the glass doors.

'Some of the best memories of my life!' Jodi Gordon bid a final farewell to Neighbours on Friday, as she left the set for the last time after four years on the soap (pictured on the show)

The actress, who played teach Elly Conway, opted for a glamorous all-black outfit and carried three bags.

She beamed back with excitement and as she crossed the threshold and said: 'And we out!'

Bonnie said: 'Say goodbye Jodes,' and she turned around to blow a kiss and wave at the building.

'I've got tears,' the Logie-winning actress Jodi said as she wiped her eyes.

'And we out!' The actress, who played teach Elly Conway on the soap, opted for a glamorous all-black outfit for her final day on set. She shared an emotional video online of herself walking off set

Grateful: Jodi wrote in the caption: 'And we out... some of the best memories of my life. Thank you Neighbours I love you all, especially you Bonnie Anderson,' she added (pictured: Jodi with Bonnie)

Jodi shared the video on Instagram and wrote in the caption: 'And we out... some of the best memories of my life.'

'Thank you Neighbours I love you all, especially you Bonnie Anderson,' she added.

Back in January, Jodi confirmed that she would be leaving Neighbours after four years on the Channel Ten drama.

End of an era: Back in January, Jodi confirmed that she would be leaving Neighbours after four years on the Channel Ten drama

'I'm incredibly grateful': She wrote on Instagram at the time that she was 'grateful' for her time on the show (pictured: Jodi with her Neighbours cast mates)

She said in a post on Instagram: 'Farewell my Neighbours Family!! It's been an incredible four years with you guys, everyone from crew to production, cleaners to chefs to cast... you make this show what it is and I'm incredibly grateful to have been part of it for so long!'

'I remember a few years after I finished Home and Away I had a strong desire to be part of a show like that again, you gave me this opportunity with Neighbours...

'Now it's time for me to move on to the next adventure. More importantly in the interim it's time for me to move back to Sydney to be with my beautiful daughter, Aleeia.'

Going home: 'Now it's time for me to move on to the next adventure. More importantly in the interim it's time for me to move back to Sydney to be with my beautiful daughter, Aleeia,' she added. (Pictured: Jodi with co-star April Rose Pengilly)

At the time, Jodi told The Daily Telegraph that her decision to leave the show did not have anything to do with her taking time off last year due to exhaustion, insisting: 'It is completely unrelated.'

She said she was feeling 'better than ever' following her decision, adding that she just wanted a fresh opportunity.

The career move will see her move back to Sydney, which will allow her to spend more time with her daughter five-year-old daughter Aleeia, who lives with her father and Jodi's ex-husband Braith Anasta.
Photo

Chandigarh: Corona virus infection is on the rise across the country. Meanwhile, a video has gone viral on social media, showing a positive 15-month-old corona patient giving a flying kiss to a doctor at a hospital.

PhotoThe video is of Chandigarh. In the video you can see how a 15 month old corona positive girl standing in a hospital bed shook the doctor with a flying kiss and nurse.

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The girl's mother's voice is also heard in the video. It is learned that both the mother and the girl were admitted to the hospital on suspicion of corona.

CoronavirusThe mother's corona test was found to be negative but the baby's corona was found to be positive. At the same time, to avoid corona infection, most doctors are keeping a distance from corona patients.

But in this video, the doctor is seen very close to the child, who is being highly praised on social media.
One America News, which is especially reviled by the rest of the press for its pro-Trump news coverage, is now the target of fake news from the fevered minds at left-wing Vanity Fair.

According to the Washington Examiner:

One America News Network is demanding an apology and a retraction from Vanity Fair days after it published an article that said a group with ties to Donald Trump Jr. purchased a large stake in the cable news outlet. A piece by Vanity Fair's Gabriel Sherman published on Monday said "the Dallas-based Hicks family has acquired a major stake" in OAN and it was "aligned" with the president's eldest son. Both Trump Jr. and OAN have pushed back on the story. OAN President Charles Herring sent a letter to Sherman and Roger Lynch, the CEO of Conde Nast, Vanity Fair's parent company, demanding a retraction and an apology. He also threatened litigation.

See, a pro-Trump network couldn't possibly exist without someone aligned with the Trump family paying for it. There's no such thing as maybe viewers wanting this kind of news and investors who are invested in the operation doing their investments because it's profitable. No one could watch a pro-Trump network unless it were somehow being propped up, the logic goes. And the only reason OAN could possibly exist in the minds of the Vanity Fair set would be if Trump were one way or another paying for it. The motive would be to displace Fox News by pouring money into its rival. So no need to fact-check any of the facts of the matter; just throw it out there that the Trump family and its allies must be looking to make money off OAN.

I wouldn't have a big problem if Don Trump, Jr. or his friends in Dallas did invest in the network. It's obviously a popular and growing outlet, providing the kind of coverage some parts of the market want.

But facts matter, and Trump Jr. says he's not invested in it, and neither are his Dallas allies. OAN says it's taking no outside investors, which often is a sign of a company that is happy with its profits and doesn't want to share.

The Vanity Fair report, as it happens, uses anonymous sources for its claims:

"[RNC co-chair] Tommy Hicks and Don Jr. have been looking to buy a station for Trump TV," said one source briefed on the talks. "This is all about building a Fox competitor. Trump is really aiming to take down Fox," the person briefed on the deal told me.

This is kind of ridiculous. Trump, who's at the top of this food chain, would presumably be ordering the purchase to boost his poll numbers and get a friendly version of the news, as if he wasn't already getting just that from OAN as it is. But as election 2016 demonstrated, solidly negative and biased news coverage from the mainstream media is no barrier for Trump to get elected president, and for many voters, it's actually the reason why they voted for the man. So it doesn't make that much sense to argue that Trump Jr. wants to buy a press of his own.

This Vanity Fair report continues the constant drumbeat of fake-news claims that the Trump family must be profiting from public office and buying itself a press (someone should ask Democrat Mike Bloomberg about that), since it can't get good coverage otherwise, and the whole thing is galling.

It's good to see that OAN is demanding an apology for this sort of fake news in lieu of money  which signals that this isn't about money for them. It's about basic media standards. Vanity Fair is a supposed pillar of respectability in the media establishment, and here it goes making up stuff that those accused say isn't true. They won't apologize, because they do this stuff all the time. Maybe they should be forced to shell out. Making up stuff to Get Trump shouldn't be the standard.

Caricature by DonkeyHotey via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.
U.S. keen for military presence in region despite COVID-19: expert

ROC Central News Agency

05/08/2020 08:47 PM

Taipei, May 8 (CNA) The United States is keen to demonstrate to China that, despite the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, it is still capable of maintaining a strong military presence in key strategic regions of the Asia-Pacific, according to a Chinese military expert.

In an opinion piece published Thursday by the Global Times, a China-based media outlet that serves as a mouthpiece for the Communist Party of China, Li Jie () gave his views on increased U.S. aircraft activity near the Taiwan Strait in recent weeks.

The sorties, as Li explained, are the fastest and most convenient ways for the country to demonstrate its continued military presence in the region, despite four of its Pacific-based aircraft carriers having returned to port due to the coronavirus.

Li said the absence of the U.S. fleet presents a huge power vacuum in the South China Sea and the West Pacific.

Not wanting to lose its primacy as its bases across the region fight the pandemic, with many seamen moved ashore, the Chinese expert said he believes the aircraft maneuvers were deliberately executed by Washington to act as substitutes for its suspended naval force in the region.

Since March, the U.S. military has conducted over a dozen aircraft sorties in areas near the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, he said.

According to military air movement tracker Aircraft Spots, these sorties included the use of the RC-135U Combat Sent and the P-3 Orion anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft.

By carrying out these activities, "Washington also wants to show certain forces in Taiwan that they still have the U.S. as backup," Li said, and that the country's military was not giving up its regional presence, despite the ongoing pandemic.

He also said he expects the U.S. to soon deploy its Rockwell B-1B Lancer supersonic heavy bombers from their bases in Texas to the Andersen air force base in Guam.

The planes, according to Li, will replace the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers currently stationed there, for the simple reasons that the B-1B has a larger payload, higher speed, and better stealth performance than the B-52H.

The decision-makers at the Pentagon are obviously trying to use bombers as a new tool to exert strategic deterrence against China, Li said, adding that he expects the B-1B bombers to be observed in the airspace near the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea sometime in May.

(By Chou Hui-ying and Ko Lin)

Enditem/J

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The Gujarat government on



Saturday announced exemption from certain labour laws for 1,200 days to firms that want to set up new units in the state in order to "boost economic activities" post-lockdown.

Earlier, governments of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh had offered concessions from labour regulations in their states to attract investment.

The government also announced relief amid coronavirus pandemic for industries which use natural gas supplied by Gujarat Gas, a subsidiary of state-owned Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation, by giving more time to pay gas bills.

"Companies in Gujarat, India and abroad willing to bring new projects and set up new units in the state will be freed from labour laws for 1,200 days, except those related to the minimum wages and industrial safety," said Ashwani Kumar, secretary to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.

Local MSME owners willing to set up new units will also get this exemption, he said.

In a tweet, Chief Minister's Office said that this step was being taken to "boost economic activities and generate employment in post-lockdown period", but the exemption will not apply to "provisions for minimum wages, safety and compensation in case of accidents".

Kumar also said that Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises such as ceramic units in Morbi in Saurashtra and units in south Gujarat which depend on gas supplied by Gujarat Gas can now pay their bills due in the second half of March by May 10, and bills due till May 10 can be paid in fortnightly installmentstill June 23.

The government also waived Minimum Offtake Guarantee (minimum fixed charge for gas) for these industries from April to June, as they are unable to use the gas due to coronavirus lockdown, Kumar said.

Interest on late payment of gas bills for these units was also reduced to 10 per cent from 18 per cent, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
P olice say they are "fighting a losing battle" over enforcing the lockdown after "hundreds" turned out in parks across east London to enjoy picnics in the sunshine.

Officers in Hackney said groups were gathering in the borough's parks to have "pizzas, beers, wines", despite social distancing rules and calls from the Government for people to stay at home this weekend .

It comes after the Coastguard said that Friday had been its busiest day since lockdown began , with 97 call-outs, compared to the average for April of 63.

Boris Johnson is due to outline potential changes to the lockdown rules on Sunday, but has insisted any alterations will be "limited".

It is thought that people might be permitted to spend more time exercising outside as part of the changes.

Currently, however, people are only supposed to leave home for work, food, exercise or health reasons and must maintain the two-metre social distancing rule when they are outside of the house.

Londoners bask in warm weather as lockdown continues

A Hackney Police statement, posted today on its official Twitter page alongside an image thought to be of London Fields, said: "Sadly we're fighting a losing battle in the parks today.

"Literally hundreds of people sitting having pizza, beers, wines. As always a big thank you to those that are observing the guidelines."

Young people enjoy the warm weather in London's Hyde Park as temperatures soar / AP

Victoria Park, in east London, was closed earlier during the lockdown after the council said there were too many people breaching social distancing guidelines.

Similarly, Lambeth Council closed Brockwell Park after more than 300 sunworshippers breached lockdown rules.

Grant Shapp confirms UK coronavirus death toll rises by 346 to 31,587

Previously, Health Secretary Matt Hancock suggested if people continued to break rules  one form of fitness a day while staying at least two metres from others  then all outdoor exercise could be banned and park gates closed.

A group enjoy a picnic in Battersea park / PA

However, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick said he disagreed with decisions to close green spaces, and had "made it clear" to councils that parks need to remain open to help those with limited living space.

The police's tweet came as some VE Day street parties were criticised for allegedly breaching lockdown rules.

Residents of a street in Cosham, a suburb of Portsmouth , were among those who celebrated VE Day with a street party, while residents near Warrington came under fire for performing a "socially-distanced" conga.
Tokyo:

China has installed a radar with potential military functions in a disputed area of the East China Sea, Japanese media said today, in the latest flare-up of tensions between the two countries.

The Japanese foreign ministry said China had placed a surface search radar and surveillance camera on one of its structures in a gasfield which is claimed by both countries, the Nikkei business daily reported. The ministry on Friday complained to Beijing through diplomatic channels, the newspaper reported.

The paper said it was the first radar unit known to have been installed on any of the Chinese structures in the area, which is believed to be rich in oil and gas deposits.

Tokyo is analysing the radars capability and is concerned that Beijing could be intending to strengthen its military power in the East China Sea. The foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report.

Japan and China agreed in 2008 to jointly develop the undersea reserves in the disputed area, with a ban on unilateral drilling.

But negotiations stalled and Tokyo suspects China has some drilling rigs in operation near its de facto maritime border with Japan.

Today, Tokyo separately protested to Beijing after two Chinese ships entered Japanese waters near disputed islands also in the East China Sea.

Japans government said the two Chinese coastguard ships were sailing some 20 kilometres west of one of the Senkaku islands, known as the Diaoyus in Chinese, today morning.

The intrusion violates our countrys sovereignty and is completely unacceptable, Japanese vice foreign minister Shinsuke Sugiyama told Cheng Yonghua, Beijings ambassador to Tokyo, by phone, according to a government statement.

The two vessels left the waters later in the day, the Japanese coastguard said. Yesterday Japanese maritime officials reported seeing some 230 Chinese fishing vessels and seven coastguard ships, including four apparently carrying weapons, sailing into the same waters.

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WATERLOO REGION  Detectives are at work at Region of Waterloo Public Health.

They spend hours tracking down the contacts of each person who has tested positive for COVID-19.

In order to effectively slow the spread of the virus, it is important to track down people who have come in contact with confirmed cases of the virus and isolate them. This process is known as case management or contact tracing.

A team of 31 public health nurses are dedicated to this single task.

What is contact tracing and why is it necessary?

For every person identified as having COVID-19, public health nurses will conduct an investigation to figure out who this person has been in close contact with. These close contacts could have potentially been exposed to the virus. They could include people in the same household, coworkers, or people from a public area the infected person may have spent a considerable amount of time in.

The purpose of contact management is to identify who has been exposed to the virus so they can be isolated and not spread the virus further in the community.

Dr. Ryan Van Meer, a physician with Region of Waterloo Public Health, said contact tracing is not a new process for public health workers.

Local public health does contact tracing for other clinical diseases all the time, he said. This method of case management is also used for communicable diseases such as HIV and hepatitis.

What is the process followed to complete contact tracing?

Public health will receive information about a confirmed COVID-19 case and a public health nurse will contact them by phone. First, the nurse ensures that person is self-isolating. Then the nurse will ask for as much detail as possible about every person they interacted with during the infectious period of the disease.

Van Meer said the infectious period is 48 hours before the individual starts showing symptoms. Then they are asked who they met and where they went during that 48-hour period. In situations where the confirmed case has no symptoms, contact tracing will begin 48 hours prior to the date the person was tested for COVID-19, he said.

This creates a range of possibilities for nurses who do contact tracing because they learn of people with the virus at different stages of the illness. For example, if someone tests positive at day seven of experiencing symptoms, then nurses will trace that persons contacts for the previous nine days.

It can take between 90 minutes and six hours to complete contact tracing from a single COVID-19 case, Van Meer said.

Nurses will conduct a risk assessment for each of those interactions. A number of factors are considered during this process: was there a two-metre distance between the confirmed case and the contact? How long were they in close contact? Was it more than 15 minutes or less than 15 minutes? Was anyone wearing a mask or other personal protective equipment? Was there any physical contact?

The close contacts are then reached by phone and told to self-isolate and monitor for symptoms. Van Meer said the contacts are only tested for COVID-19 if they fall into one of the priority groups set out by the province and even then, only if they present symptoms.

If a confirmed case was in a shared space, the nurse will ask how much time was spent there, but nurses will not try to contact every single person who was at a grocery store at one given time.

In the current stage of the outbreak we are operating under the assumption that you could come into contact with COVID-19 in a lot of community settings right now, Van Meer said.

That is why Van Meer said public health measures such as physical distancing, infection control practices and staying home as much as possible are important to continue to do to protect yourself and others from getting infected.

Will Ontario consider the use of an app to help with contact tracing?

Countries like Australia and South Korea are using mobile apps to conduct contact tracing in an effort to speed up the process and get help from the community.

In Australia, COVIDsafe uses Bluetooth technology to notify an app user if they were in close contact with someone who has the virus. It is anonymous, voluntary and does not share personal information between users. Millions of Australians have downloaded the app since it launched in late April.

Some Canadian provinces, like Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador, are also considering the use of an app in an effort to be able to slowly open the economy and ease public health measures.

Ontario has said it is evaluating whether there is a clear public health benefit to using the app balanced with legal and privacy concerns, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care said in a statement.
Ali Obaid Al Dhaheri, ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to China, celebrates one month since the city of Wuhan lifted its lockdown measures on April 8. His daughter, Sarah, also sends her best wishes to the people in Wuhan through the video. Check it out!
J.C. Penney will file for bankruptcy as soon as next week, according to a Friday Reuters report.

According to Reuters, the filing will come with plans to close about a quarter of its roughly 850 stores.

J.C. Penney is one of the countrys oldest department store chains having been in business for 118 years, but it has long been in decline, according to Reuters, and is currently $4 billion in debt.

The story said J.C. Penney, which employs nearly 85,000 people, is in discussions to secure a loan of between $400 and $500 million to help keep it afloat.

The report comes just a day after Reuters said J.C. Penney missed a $17 million debt payment while its also facing a $12 million missed payment from April 15 for which it has 30 days to make good on. And there are some staggering bills coming due. Accoridng to the story, it faces a $105 million debt payment in June and nearly $300 million in interest expenses. It said nearly $2 billion in debt is due in 2023.

The story said roughly 200 stores would be closed following the reorganization.
Official figures say 1.8 lakh workers have returned home to Bihar. Unofficially, that figure is said to have crossed 3 lakhs.

Can Bihar cope?

M I Khan reports.

IMAGE: On May 7, migrants wait at the Thane railway station in Maharashtra to board a special train to Patna. Photograph: Mitesh Bhuvad/PTI Photo

With thousands of Bihari migrants returning by Shramik trains to Bihar, the state's health and administrative officials worry it may result in a spike in coronavirus cases.

According to officials, 58 special trains have brought back over 70,000 migrant Biharis.

Their apprehension is not baseless.

Dozens among the Biharis who returned to the state in recent weeks tested positive for COVID-19; many more were identified as suspected and sent to isolation wards at various hospitals in the state.

So far, 81 of the returning migrants have tested positive -- including 16 in the last 24 hours.

However, the situation is not yet alarming.

"Till date, only 65 of those who have returned have tested positive. It is a matter of concern, but certainly not a big threat," Bihar Health Secretary Lokesh Kumar Singh told this correspondent on May 7.

The positive cases are spread across 21 of Bihar's 38 districts.

Madhubani, with nine, has the highest number of COVID-19 positive migrants; Rohtas has eight, followed by five each in Patna, West Champaran, Sitamarhi and Aurangabad.

During the ongoing mass screening of every house in the state following Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's directive, Singh said more local people than returning migrants were found to be suffering from cough, fever and cold.

So far more than 8.20 crore people have been tested for the coronavirus in Bihar.

Sanjay Kumar, principal secretary of the state&'s health department, expressed concern that many of the recent positive cases were mostly Biharis who have returned from other states.

"In the last 10 days, nearly 60 to 70 per cent of the samples that tested positive came from those who returned to Bihar," Kumar said.

Another state health department official, who spoke on condition that he would not be identified for this report, added that some of the new cases reported till the end of Lockdown 2.0 were those who had managed to reach Bihar in early- to mid-April.

Most were asymptomatic and had not reported, as required, to their local health centres. This, he said, has resulted on the spread of the disease in districts like Madhubani and Rohtas which had remained untouched during the first phase of the lockdown.

"A large number are returning to Bihar during the third phase of the lockdown. All eyes are on them because several might be infected, resulting in the spread of the virus. But it is difficult to say right now how many of them have tested positive," the official added.

The Bihar health department said 81 per cent of those who had tested for coronavirus did not show symptoms like cold, cough, fever and breathing problems. "This is worrying because those suffering from the disease are unknowingly spreading it to others," said Sanjay Kumar.

IMAGE: Biharis on a special train to Patna. Photograph: Mitesh Bhuvad/PTI Photo

Since May 2, daily special trains have been bringing back Biharis stranded across the country. As a result, the Bihar government has increased surveillance and screening.

Senior officials are worried that the flood-prone north Bihar districts, which had remained coronavirus-free till the third week of April, have suddenly reported positive cases. This has happened after the arrival of Biharis from other states, some of whom have tested positive.

The May 8 tally of COVID-19 cases in these districts is: Madhubani, 25; Darbhanga, 5; Sitamarhi, 6; East Champaran, 9; West Champaran, 11.

"It is true that positive cases have been reported in Madhubani after Biharis started returning. Therefore, we have made it mandatory for them to remain in quarantine centres. We are alert and vigilant as we cannot take any risk," Madhubani District Magistrate Dr Nilesh Ramchandra Deore told this correspondent.

Till May 7, Bihar reported 542 coronavirus cases and four deaths from 32 of its 38 districts, with Munger topping at 102.

Of these 542 cases, nearly 400 cases were reported since April 23.

The health department says the spread of coronavirus slowed down in Bihar, with only 11 cases being reported on May 5 and seven cases on May 6.

However, a large number of Biharis are expected to arrive in the coming days.

Information and Public Relation Department Secretary Aunpam Kumar said 24 special trains, bringing at total of 28,427 passengers, reached Bihar on Thursday, May 7. These included eight trains from Gujarat, five each from Maharashtra and Telangana and one train each from Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Kerala.

This is the highest number of special trains coming to Bihar in a day.

On May 8, 20 trains brought a total of 20,000 migrant workers home.

"The state government has been trying to arrange special trains to Bihar on a daily basis from different states," said Anupam Kumar.

More than 15,000 migrant workers and students returned to Bihar from five states on 13 special trains on May 6.

IMAGE: Biharis board a special train to Patna, May 7, 2020. Photograph: PTI Photo

Pratay Amrit, the disaster management department's principal secretary, noted the influx of Biharis returning from other states is a big challenge for the state administration; they need to be kept in quarantine centres.

Bihar, Amrit said, currently runs 3,100 relief camps that house over 18,000 Biharis who have returned to the state.

A disaster management department official revealed that more than 90 per cent of the calls received on its helpline numbers came from Biharis requesting the state government to make arrangements for their return to Bihar.

The state government has given Rs 1,000 each to more than 19 lakh Biharis who called for help. After validation, the amount has been deposited in their respective bank accounts through the chif minister's special assistance fund.

Purnea District Magistrate Rahul Kumar said the administration is prepared for the large number of returning Biharis. "We have made elaborate arrangements for them," Kumar stated. "They have been put up at quarantine centres with all the basic facilities."

The government has set up quarantine centres in schools, panchayat offices and other available spaces near villages.

According to Rahul Kumar, there is apprehension among the local people, especially villagers, who are not comfortable with the arrival of Biharis from other states.

Purnea is part of the Seemanchal region, home to a large number of Biharis who earn a living outside the state.

According to officials, Seemanchal and Koshi -- which have seven districts between them -- are backward regions with a high rate of poverty. As a result, it is a huge source of cheap migrant labour.

IMAGE: Before migrant workers board buses to reach their villages on May 6, a National Disaster Response Force team sanitises their belongings at Patna's Danapur station. Photograph: PTI Photo

"We are keeping migrant workers at quarantine centres. Students who have come back are on home quarantine. There is no other option to fight the coronavirus," Darbhanga District Magistrate S M Thiyagrajan told this correspondent.

Abhisek Kumar Singh, Gaya's district magistrate, said the administration has been doing its best for returning Biharis. "We expect thousands more to return the next week or two. We have to ensure they follow quarantine guidelines."

Though hundreds of Biharis have returned to the district, Muzaffarpur has not reported any positive case, Muzaffarpur District Magistrate Chandrasekhar Singh said. "It is our responsibility to maintain this in coming days since more will be returning home," Chandrasekhar Singh told this correspondent.

Sanjay Agrawal, secretary, Bihar's road transport department, said the returning Biharis are medically checked on arrival and then sent to their home districts. Over 100 sanitised buses have been arranged by the transport department for this purpose. Keeping social distancing norms in mind, these buses ply at half their seating capacity.

There are reports that the returnees are unhappy with the mandatory 21 day quarantine due to lack of basic amenities and the poor quality of food given to them and have protested at several places.

On May 7, the government issued orders banning the media from visiting quarantine centres.

Don't miss Part 2 of the special report next week!
With the coronavirus pandemic emptying the streets of Madrid, life has become even more precarious for sex workers Evelyn, Alenca and Beyonce under the lockdown. Already extremely vulnerable and with an ambiguous legal status, many of Spain's sex workers have struggled to make ends meet during the state of emergency, with clubs closed, clients staying home and fines for staying in the street. "The club owners in Spain, those who could, just threw all the girls into the streets," Evelyn Rochel, the only one who agreed to give her real name, remarks bitterly. The 35-year-old Colombian lives in a room inside a Madrid hostess club and pays 2,100 euros ($2,300) per month for "the right to work" as a prostitute. "The management says we pay these 2,100 euros for the room, they say it's rent, but that's a lie, I'm paying for the right to work," she says. There were 15 women at the club, most from Latin America, but almost all have left, according to Rochel. She says she was allowed to stay but made to feel as if it was "a humanitarian gesture, and not the right of an employee who deserves somewhere to live". Despite her situation, Rochel is a hardened activist who last year forced the courts to acknowledge there is an employment relationship between a woman working as a hostess and the owners of the club, in a case involving one of Madrid's best-known brothels. - No legal protection - She's also a member of OTRAS, the unofficial union of Spanish sex workers set up in 2018 in a country where prostitution is neither legal nor illegal, but is not recognised as employment. The crisis has exposed what she says is a "shocking" paradox. "It can't be that the big club owners, as businessmen, can legally furlough the waitresses, the cleaners and everyone else with a contract but throw the prostitutes onto the street, those who can't get help because they're not recognised as employees," she said. "That is just not right, we can't carry on like this." With all the clubs and bars shut down, "those who can get work online are doing it on the sly", either hosting clients at home or at their house, despite the risks. It's something she's considering. "You've got to be able to feed your kids." - 'I feel really exposed' - Alenca arrived in Madrid in October after fleeing violence against transgender people in her native Mexico. When she couldn't pay her rent in April, the estate agency threatened to throw her out but she received legal help from OTRAS which also provides food packages. Just before the epidemic took hold, she started receiving clients at home for "erotic massage" but has since stopped, shifting her business online. Before switching on the webcam, she carefully makes herself up and puts on a wig. "I don't like it, I feel really exposed," she says. "There are people who can record these sessions and I don't want it getting out. I'm not ashamed of what I do but I don't like people filming me because one day I want to change my life." For Beyonce, a 34-year-old trans woman from Ecuador, a normal work day means standing on a street in the Villaverde industrial zone, Madrid's red-light district, and getting into clients' cars. But even before the state of emergency was declared on March 14, the work had all but dried up, with fear of the virus keeping both clients and sex workers away. - 'Hardly any clients' - "I stopped working the day before the lockdown, but by then it was only those of us who had to go out to buy food or pay bills," Beyonce told AFP. "For several weeks, there were hardly any clients or working women." What sex workers needed more than ever was recognition, says the Ecuadoran, an activist with the AFEMTRAS collective that has been lobbying for premises where women can shower and use the toilet. "As sex workers, we're part of society and we need to work to look after our kids. But right now, we're only recognised as victims, not as workers nor even as prostitutes," she said, in a nod to the large numbers of foreigners caught up in sex-trafficking networks. For now, with no money to pay the rent, she's just waiting for the day she can go back to work, even though it will be complicated with self-distancing rules. "I hope I can get back on the street... even if I don't know how I'm going to do it."
Spring ISD announced rescheduled dates of in-person graduation ceremonies after state officials released new guidance this week allowing for outdoor graduations beginning June 1.

PLEDGE THE DISTANCE: Hidalgo praises high school student's COVID-19 art campaign

According to a district press release, the ceremonies for the Spring ISD Class of 2020 will now take place at Planet Ford Stadium between June 12 and June 14:

Friday, June 12, 7 p.m., Spring High School

Saturday, June 13, 8 a.m., Carl Wunsche Sr. High School

Saturday, June 13, 7 p.m., Dekaney High School

Sunday, June 14, 8 a.m., Spring Early College Academy

Sunday, June 14, 7 p.m., Westfield High School

Graduates and their families are not required to attend the in-person ceremonies. The district is still going to offer a virtual graduation ceremony as well on Saturday, June 6.

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Coronavirus live updates: Montgomery County partnering with Kroger for COVID-19 testing

Its our hope that these two ceremonies  one virtual and one in-person  will ensure that all Class of 2020 graduates and their families have the opportunity to celebrate this important milestone, Watson said in the press release. By moving the in-person ceremonies from July to June, we also feel that more students will be able to take part without interrupting summer plans.

For more information, visit www.springisd.org.

mfeuk@hcnonline.com
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K



Palaniswami on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to put the proposed amendments to the Electricity Act on hold till these were thoroughly discussed with state governments after the Coronavirus pandemic subsides.

Recalling his earlier objections to the amendments, the Chief Minister said the proposed amendment bill sought to take away the power of the state government in deciding the constitution of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission, which is against the federal principles of the Constitution.

In a letter to Modi, a copy of which was made available to the media, Palaniswami said the proposed amendments for which the Ministry of Power has invited comments from state governments, require detailed consultations with them and otherstakeholders.

"You are aware that all states are currently pre-occupied with fighting the Coronavirus pandemic and will, therefore, require some time to give their detailed response to the proposed amendments.

At the same time any hasty amendments to the Electricity Act may create hardship to the State power utilities, which are going through a severe financial crisis because of the present pandemic.

As some of the provisions of the draftamendment bill are also likely to put the public to hardship, particularly during this crisis period, I am of the view that this may not be an appropriate time to bring in such sweeping amendments to theElectricity Act," he said in the letter.

Hence, under the present circumstances, the PM should prevail upon the Power Ministry to put the proposed amendments to the Electricity Act 'in abeyance' till these are thoroughly discussed with the state governments after the pandemic subside.

Recalling his letter dated November 12, 2018, the CM said he had pointed out that the proposedElectricity Amendment Bill will take away certain powers of the state government and at the same time seeks to bring significant changes in the existing Electricity Act.

The changes include separating carriage and content in the distribution sector, which would make the power utilities in the public sector totally unviable.

The proposed new draft bill seeks to privatise not just the supply of power to the end consumer through franchisees but to also privatise the entire distribution network, which would be highlydetrimental to the state utilities and against public interest, Palaniswami said.

Further, despite the State's strong reservations, the new draft Bill continues to have provisions for the Direct Benefit Transfer of subsidyto consumers, particularly in the agricultural and domestic sector, he added.

Implementing DBT in the electricity sector would work against the interest of farmers and domestic consumers and moreover, it has been the consistent policy of the government that the farmers shouldreceive free power.

Hence the state government should be allowed to decide the mode of payment of such subsidy.

Also, the proposed amendment bill seeks to take away the power of the State Government in deciding the constitution of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission, which is against the federal principles of the Constitution, Palaniswami said.

Further, the move to set up a parallel authority, namely Electricity ContractEnforcement Authority at the Central level to handle all contractual issues would unnecessarily dilute the authority of the Central and State Electricity Regulatory Commissions and needs to be deleted, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
When talking about travel to the northern province of Lang Son, you may think of the historic Chi Lang Passage which used to be the barrier protecting Vietnam from Chinese invaders or the famous Nhat Thanh-Nhi Thanh-Tam Thanh caves.

Horses are very popular in Khau Sao Meadow with a population of nearly 2,000.

But in recent years, a new attraction in Chi Lang District has sprung up, namely Khau Sao Meadow with its vast grass fields and thousands of horses.

The beauty spot has become known as the kingdom of white horses as it's home to nearly 800 of the stunning creatures.

It sounds to me a perfect escape from the city whenever stress from life and work gets me down. It's a place without car honking or skyscrapers blocking my view, where I can climb hills, enjoy relaxing fresh air, green grass and trees and befriend animals.

The road to the Khau Sao Meadow is difficult with high slopes.

From Hanoi, it took me a 2.5-hour drive to get the meadow, with two-thirds of the time on the Hanoi-Bac Giang and Bac Giang-Lang Son highways. After getting off the highway at Dong Mo Town, the road from National Highway 1A to the meadow is a challenge as the small concrete path passes along the mountains through villages, rice fields and forests to Huu Kien Commune where the meadow is located. That 20 km road to the meadow at an altitude of nearly 800 metres is not easy with some slopes up to a 15-17 per cent gradient incline.

A white horse and her baby graze at Khau Sao Meadow.

But once I got past the difficult highland road, the green prairies stretched as far as my eyes could see. Relaxation, population me.

Setting foot on Khau Sao Meadow, I could feel the cool, fresh, unspoiled nature right away. I have been to many hills, valleys and meadows across the country, but Khau Sao Meadow brought a different feeling, more peaceful and strangely beautiful. Probably because there were not many people around.

Khau Sao Meadow is mainly grassland, so it becomes an ideal place for cattle such as horses, buffaloes, goats and cows to graze.

Khau Sao Meadow covers more than 144 hectares among hills and mountain ranges from 800-1,000 metres above sea level. The area is mainly grassland, so it's an ideal place for animals such as horses, buffaloes, goats and cows to graze.

Locals allow their horses to freely graze and there are said to be about 2,000 in the meadow, including 800 white horses, a rare native breed of Huu Kien Commune. Purebred horses in Huu Kien Commune have small bodies, weighing from 70 to 100 kilos. They are raised to sell for meat or bone glue.

In the morning, local people take their horses to the meadow and let them roam free. The horses are individually marked with a bell around their neck corresponding to the household that owns them.

Nong Thi Sao feeds a white horse with maize.

I spoke to local woman Nong Thi Sao who was grazing a mother white horse and her 15-day-old foal.

She said the white horses are sold for a higher price than other horses, with an adult fetching VND50 million-70 million (US$2,200-3,100).

Selling two white horses could help us rebuild our house while selling four could help us buy a car, she said.

Visitors can befriend with the animals in the meadow.

Of course, besides the fresh air, green grass and animals, there are people you can meet here. The people in the meadow are mostly Tay and Nung ethnic people, who are very kind and gentle. They will talk about their cattle and horses and how to take care of them. If you are lucky enough, you will be invited to have dinner with them as you take a magical break in the meadow. VNS

Hong Minh

Discovering stunning landscapes hidden in Lang Son Located in the northern border of the country, Lang Son province regularly enthralls visitors with its romantic and stunning array of natural scenery.
Another recovery has been COVID-19 recovery has been reported in Hale County.

Recovery counts are up to 19, according to the latest data reported to the Plainview/Hale County Health Department as of 5 p.m. Thursday. There are 14 people listed as recovered in Plainview, four in Hale Center and one in Edmonson.

Thirty-seven COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Hale County since the first was reported on March 24. Of those confirmed cases, 27 have been reported in Plainview, seven in Hale Center, two in Petersburg and one in Edmonson. There have been five recoveries and four deaths in the towns outside Plainview.

While the total case count is 37, there are only 14 active cases in the county  13 in Plainview and one in Hale Center.

So far, 409 people have been tested for the virus at facilities across the county. Of those tests, 374 have returned negative results and 11 are still pending.

According to the daily report, 46 people are under monitoring. This number includes individuals who have come in close contact with someone who tested positive and/or who has traveled to a virus hot spot. There are no virus hot spots within Hale County.

Of the confirmed cases, five have been diagnosed in individuals at least 20 years old, 11 in the 21-40 age range, 12 in the 41-60 age range and nine among those who are 61 years old or older.

The report also shows 20 of the cases have were a result of local transmissions, 16 were contracted outside the county and the location of transmission of one is still unknown. Nineteen of those who have been diagnosed are males and 18 are females.

Of the 14 active cases, 12 individuals are in isolation at home and two are in a medical facility.

In Fridays update, the city of Plainview also noted that no positive cases were detected during last weekends mobile test collection event hosted by the Texas Department of State Health Services and other state agencies.
A man who was arrested by gardai this week and charged with credit card theft was identified via a CCTV camera system he was hired to install prior to the alleged crime.

Gardai responded to reports of a fire at a factory premises in Farneyhoogan, Co Longford on Sunday, May 2, at approximately 3.30am. Significant damage was caused to the premises but no injuries were reported. A technical examination was carried out by Gardai and investigations are ongoing.

Following the fire, CCTV and an alarm system were installed at the premises.

Gardai received a report of a theft from the same premises on Wednesday, May 6, at approximately 2pm. A credit card had been taken and the culprit is alleged to be a 19-year-old male who was hired to install the new CCTV system. Gardai identified him via CCTV footage from the cameras he had installed.

Following Garda enquires, the male was arrested and conveyed to Longford Garda Station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act. He has been charged and is due to appear in court.
The Trump administration is tightening visa guidelines for Chinese journalists in response to the treatment of US journalists in China, as tensions flare between the two nations over the coronavirus.

The Department of Homeland Security has issued new regulations, set to take effect Monday, that will limit visas for Chinese reporters to 90 days. There is a potential to extend the visa.

Those visas previously didn't have to be extended unless the employee switched companies, and they were considered open-ended.

The regulations don't apply to journalists from Hong Kong or Macau, two territories considered semiautonomous, according to the regulations published Friday in the Federal Register.

The agency noted what it called China's suppression of independent journalism , " including an increasing lack of transparency."



It was the latest strike in a tit-for-tat over media rights between the countries.

In March, China said it would revoke credentials of all American journalists at three major US organisations, in effect expelling them from the country, in response to US restrictions on Chinese state-controlled media.

Tensions between the two nations have only increased in recent months as leaders trade barbs over handling of the pandemic that has crippled economies worldwide and killed more than 275,000 people, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.

President Donald Trump has said the Chinese government's response was slow and inadequate. His administration has lashed out at its geopolitical foe and critical US trade partner, pushing beyond the bounds of established evidence.

Trump and allies repeat and express confidence in an unsubstantiated theory linking the origin of the outbreak to a possible accident at a Chinese virology laboratory.

US 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 China's lack of transparency.

US officials also believe China covered up the extent of the coronavirus outbreak and how contagious the disease is to stock up on medical supplies needed to respond to it, according to US intelligence documents.

China strongly rejects the US version of events.

China's official Global Times newspaper has said leaders were making groundless accusations against Beijing by suggesting the coronavirus was released from a Chinese laboratory.

The populist tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily said the claims were a politically motivated attempt to preserve Trump's presidency and divert attention from the US administration's own failures in dealing with the outbreak.

While the virus is believed to have originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, most scientists say it was most likely transmitted from bats to humans via an intermediary animal such as the armadillo-like pangolin.

That has placed the focus on a wet market in the city where wildlife was sold for food.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The central government is all set to announce the next round of "financial relief package" to tackle the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. The announcement could come next week, according to sources.

A top source in the government, who has been part of the strategy-making, said, "The discussions and deliberations at the top level on the package were over almost a week ago."

The final round of discussion on the stimulus package took place on May 2 between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman along with officials of the ministry.

Sources say senior PMO officials have been working on final tightening of nuts and bolts of the relief package and the next step could be the announcement.

The source, on condition of anonymity, added, "Not all measures which are part of the package need a Cabinet clearance. There are some proposals which will need Cabinet nod. There has been no Cabinet meet for the last two weeks. So one can say this Wednesday there may be a meeting."

To prepare the financial system for the big move next, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will meet CMDs and CEOs of public sector banks on Monday.

Also Read: Coronavirus Live Updates: Cabinet Secy to meet states, UTs on Sunday; India cases-59,662, Gujarat cases-7,797

According to sources, the agenda of the meeting may include credit flow, credit sanctions, and disbursements since March 1 and four other items.

Govt to borrow more to fund stimulus package

On Friday, the government had indicated that the funds for the long-awaited financial relief package were going to come from additional borrowing from the market. It had declared that it would raise its borrowing by over 50% of Budgetary Estimate (BE) during 2020-21. Economic Affairs Department under the Finance Ministry said, "The estimated gross market borrowing in the financial year 2020-21 will be Rs 12 lakh crore in place of Rs 7.80 lakh crore as per BE 2020-21." The government resorts to such borrowing to bridge the gap between its income and expenditure.

This provides ample evidence that the government has shed its reluctance to breach the fiscal deficit target. Following this level of borrowing, the fiscal deficit during 2020-21 could go up by 200 basis points (bps). 100 bps translate to 1 percentage point.

What could be in the package

Last week, the government sources had confirmed that "a package with proposals and implications," had travelled some time ago from the North Block office of the finance ministry to the PMO in South Block.

Also Read: FM Nirmala Sitharaman says Rs 18,253 crore disbursed under PM-KISAN scheme during lockdown

Various concerned departments like the Department of Financial Services, which deals with banking and related issues, is said to have already submitted their report vis-a-vis measures, implications, and procedures.

Ministries like MSME, labour and others have also sent in their proposals and responses.

Various sources in the government and its advisory entities claim that the package focuses on relief, rehabilitation and revival post lockdowns and COVID-19 impact on the economy. PM and his office have held a series of meetings with different ministries, departments and statutory bodies like the RBI.

Sources have been stating that a "Big Bang" package has not been government's first choice and it has been opting for "targeted packages" for different sectors and segments in a phased manner with active involvement of the RBI.

Relief for MSME

The PMO is said to have drawn a comprehensive proposal for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector that may address both the stress on the entities plus those who work in them. The ministry of MSME had sent multiple proposals for the sector and the PMO is said to have taken the final call.

To help the MSMEs, the government is said to be working on providing a guarantee for additional funding of 20% of the credit limit of medium and small entities. This may involve the government guaranteeing over Rs 3 lakh crore loans.

Once the government steps in as guarantor, banks will be incentivised to lend to MSMEs. A senior government official said, "Using the loans once, MSMEs kick start operations defaults will not be instant. They may occur only after the deep distress forced by coronavirus spread abated. The department of financial services is said to have submitted its report to the PMO on this proposal."

The MSME ministry had submitted proposals like setting up of a special fund to pay up the banks in case of defaults and using the credit guarantee trust to operate the assistance.

The government is actively considering ways to address both the supply and demand side of the crisis. Sources say the fiscal relief measures may have strong elements to address the workforce and migrants like those who resorted to protests in various parts of the country or are fleeing back to their native places in large numbers.

The other key proposal for the MSMEs has been a direct assistance in the form of wage support for workers to reduce the burden on the entities.

Top government sources confirmed the existence of a proposal for MSME getting "payroll support" for employees drafted by the NITI Aayog. This has potential to immediately address the large scale retrenchment and job losses that are being reportedly causing hardships. More money in the hands of the labourers can trigger demand for goods produced by industries and businesses which have been given a go ahead to start working with social distancing protocols.

The target of this could be nearly 10 crore workers. The labour ministry has already cleared deferred payment of employers' contributions in the EPF to reduce the burden on MSMEs.

The government also said to have on its table a proposal to put money in the hands of the poor and needy.

The opposition and experts have been suggesting that the Centre must target the bottom 30-40% of the economic strata, which includes daily wagers and migrant labourers.

Ex-Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg in an article recently estimated that the government needs to spend nearly Rs 60,000 crore to provide at least Rs 2,000 direct cash transfer to nearly 10 crore workers for three months.

Sources said that several tax and other incentives have been under consideration for over a month to provide a helping hand to large industries and corporates. Manufacturing services and industry provide 42% of employment but their contribution to GDP exceeds 70%.

The move by the government is expected to set the tone for the economy. The government's fiscal moves will also decide the next move by the RBI on the monetary front. The RBI sources indicated that the "central bank will now wait for the government's fiscal measures to address the economic distress before deciding its next monetary intervention."

The RBI governor Shaktikanta Das on April 17 had announced a slew of measures to improve credit flow and liquidity.

More reforms coming?

Over the last few days, PM Modi has held several rounds of meetings with ministers, officials and stakeholders. His focus has been on a post COVID scenario in which India could position itself as a competitive manufacturing destination in comparison to China.

The government is working on proposals to bring in greater foreign direct investment (FDI), improve ease of working, and system reforms to make India more lucrative for companies exiting China following the COVID-19 outbreak. Sources say that announcements on these lines are also in the pipeline.

Sources said that PM has held discussions for interventions in the financial sector and structural reforms along with a strategy to support MSMEs and farmers, liquidity situations and ways to strengthen credit flows.

A business' recovery plan is said to have become the mantra in the government and the PM, according to sources, has been flagging the need for generating gainful employment opportunities by helping businesses overcome difficulties and strengthening major structural reforms.
Federal investigators have found reasonable grounds that a government whistleblower was punished for speaking out against widespread use of an unproven drug that President Donald Trump touted as a remedy for COVID-19, his lawyers said.

Dr Rick Bright headed the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, a unit of Department of Health and Human Services that focuses on countermeasures to infectious diseases and bioterrorism. He had received a job performance review of outstanding before he was summarily transferred last month, with his agency email cut off without warning.

Investigators with the Office of Special Counsel made a threshold determination that HHS violated the Whistleblower Protection Act by removing Dr Bright from his position because he made protected disclosures in the best interest of the American public," his lawyers Debra Katz and Lisa Banks said in a statement Friday. The OSC is an agency that investigates allegations of egregious personnel practices in government.

The lawyers said investigators are requesting that Bright be temporarily reinstated for 45 days until they can complete their probe. OSC spokesman Zachary Kurz said his agency cannot comment on or confirm the status of open investigations.

HHS spokeswoman Caitlin Oakley said in a statement that the department strongly disagrees with the allegations and characterizations in the complaint" and that the whole issue is a personnel matter that is currently under review. Trump shrugged off the preliminary ruling about Bright's complaint.

I don't know who he is, but to me, he's a disgruntled employee, Trump told reporters. If people are that unhappy, they shouldn't work. If you're unhappy with a company, you shouldn't work there. Go out and get something else. But to me, he's a disgruntled guy. And I hadn't heard great things about him either. The public will soon get a chance to size up Bright. He's been invited to testify before a House committee next week.

Bright is a flu and infectious-disease expert with 10 years at the agency, which is known as BARDA. His particular focus was on vaccine development. He was reassigned to the National Institutes of Health to work on developing coronavirus testing.

In a formal complaint that his lawyers released this week, Bright described how tension built up within HHS as the coronavirus arrived in the U.S. and quickly defied Trump's assurances that it would be contained.

Bright said his efforts to escalate preparedness encountered resistance from HHS leadership, including Secretary (Alex) Azar, who appeared intent on downplaying this catastrophic event. Bright described a situation in which the Trump administration failed to prepare for the pandemic, then sought a quick fix by trying to rush a malaria drug to patients, though its effectiveness for COVID-19 was unproved.

His complaint detailed a frustrating attempt to jump-start U.S. production of masks and a successful effort to secure importation of testing swabs from Italy.

But his most high-profile allegations involved hydroxychloroquine, the malaria drug Trump had promoted as a game changer with little evidence. He said the Trump administration wanted to flood hot spots in New York and New Jersey with the drug.

I witnessed government leadership rushing blindly into a potentially dangerous situation by bringing in a non-FDA approved chloroquine from Pakistan and India, from facilities that had never been approved by the FDA, Bright said on a call with reporters earlier this week.

Their eagerness to push blindly forward without sufficient data to put this drug into the hands of Americans was alarming to me and my fellow scientists. He said he succeeded in limiting the use of the malaria drug to hospitalized patients.

Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned doctors against prescribing the drug except in hospitals and research studies. In an alert, regulators flagged reports of sometimes fatal heart side effects among coronavirus patients taking hydroxychloroquine or the related drug chloroquine.

Bright felt officials had refused to listen or take appropriate action to accurately inform the public and spoke to a reporter about the drug. He said he had to tell the public about the lack of science backing up its use, despite hydroxychloroquine being pushed by the president at press briefings.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Cloudy. Gusty winds this morning. Morning high of 22F with temps falling to near 10. Winds N at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Bitterly cold. Mostly clear. Low -3F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph.
Two young children and a teenager have now died in New York state from a possible complication from the coronavirus involving swollen blood vessels and heart problems, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday.

At least 73 children in New York have been diagnosed with symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease  a rare inflammatory condition in children  and toxic shock syndrome. Most of them are toddlers and elementary-age children.

Cuomo announced two more deaths a day after discussing the death of a 5-year-old boy Thursday at a New York City hospital. A 7-year old in Westchester County and a teenager in Suffolk County also died. There is no proof that the virus causes the mysterious syndrome.

Cuomo said the children had tested positive for COVID-19 or the antibodies but did not show the common symptoms of the virus when they were hospitalized.

This is the last thing that we need at this time, with all that is going on, with all the anxiety we have, now for parents to have to worry about whether or not their youngster was infected, Cuomo said at his daily briefing.

New York is helping develop national criteria for identifying and responding to the syndrome at the request of the Centers for Disease Control, Cuomo said.

Children elsewhere in the U.S. have also been hospitalized with the condition, which was also seen in Europe.

Friday, New Jersey officials announced a 4-year-old as the first child in that state to die of the coronavirus. State officials Saturday said that child did not have symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease.

Doctors still believe that most children with COVID-19 develop only mild illness.

At least 3,000 U.S. children are diagnosed with Kawasaki disease each year. It is most common in children younger than 6 and in boys.

Symptoms include prolonged fever, severe abdominal pain and trouble breathing.
Forces loyal to Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar have struck Tripolis only functioning airport  a rocket is believed to have hit a civilian plane at the Mitiga International Airport.

There are reports a new rocket attack has been carried out on Mitiga International Airport in the capital, Tripoli.

It is understood a civilian plane belonging to Libya Airlines was hit as a result.

It comes after Libyas United Nations-recognised government launched air raids on a strategically important airbase held by renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar near Tripoli.

Soldiers failed in a ground assault on the base on Tuesday.

Al Jazeeras Mahmoud Abdelwahed joins us on the phone from Tripoli to discuss the latest updates.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 16:36:28|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 9 (Xinhua) -- With binoculars in hand and a camera with a long-focus lens over his shoulder, Fang Chun travels about 17 km every day around a wetland, observing migratory birds and recording their names and species.

As a bird observer and protector, the 53-year-old man has repeated this routine work for the past 15 years at the Beijing Wild Duck Lake Wetland, the largest wetland nature reserve in the Chinese national capital. Covering an area of 6,873 hectares, the wetland has become a key habitat for migratory birds in northern China.

"Observing migratory birds can be important as it helps keep track of their health conditions and evaluate the ecological performance of the wetland as well," Fang said ahead of the World Migratory Bird Day which falls on Saturday.

To identify bird species, the former physical education teacher started off with the help of related books and numerous pictures and sometimes turned to professionals with photos of certain birds he had taken.

Over time, he has become an "expert" on migratory birds, able to discern their species even at a glance from afar.

"Look! Over there are two spot-billed ducks, four egrets and a black-winged stilt," he said while wandering around the lake.

Thanks to the improved environment, as many as 348 species of migratory birds have been spotted at the reserve, of which 11 are under China's top protection.

"So far this year, the wetland has seen a total of 246 migratory swans and over 200 nests with newly hatched herons," said Fang. "I am so excited to see a growing number of birds stop there for breeding, nesting and rearing young."

Year-round observation, however, is not easy.

Spring and autumn are the busiest times of the year for Fang. He always leads a group of young colleagues to observe birds and teaches them how to identify different species.

In summer, the observers have to confront enormous swarms of mosquitoes, while in winter, they always brave the freezing cold walking amid withered plants to provide corn and sorghum for birds and save injured and sick ones.

In 2012, the wetland was hit by a snowstorm on a winter day, and the snow depth reached over 70 cm.

"My colleagues and I managed to make our way to the habitat of cranes and get them fed," he recalled. "Severe weather could pose challenges for migratory birds. We must do all we can to help them get through."

Fang's love for the birds defies any challenge.

"Whenever I see birds coming back to this place, I just could not be happier," said Fang, adding that he also feels a sense of comfort as the birds' stay at the reserve means his hard work and effort have paid off.

Fang hopes more people can take good care of the environment and birds. "With more birds coming to rest, the environment will get better, which will ultimately benefit human beings," he said. Enditem
The immediate challenge before the industry and the government is to re-start the existing manufacturing facilities amid labour shortage, a senior commerce ministry official said on Saturday.

Sanjay Chadha, additional secretary in the commerce ministry, also said the domestic industry needs to scale up its manufacturing capacity and become more competitive.

Speaking at a webinar, organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he said multinational firms are not looking to move out from China as balance sheet or profit margins are good there, and China itself is a big market for them.

"The immediate challenge is to get the existing production going" as labourers have gone back," he said, adding that the government also needs to support the industry to come out of this Covid-19 crisis.

When asked about electronics manufacturing in India, he said things are being worked out with the ministry of electronics and IT to get chip manufacturing in India.

Citing one of the instances reflecting India's lag on the large-scale production front, the official said that in one of the interactions between a domestic firm and a US-based retailer, the American firm stated that it needed about 40,000 pairs of shoes a quarter, but the Indian firm did not have the capacity to supply this order.

"We need to scale up and we have to be more exportable...," the additional secretary said adding that currently, the industry can gain in the short term but in the long run, "we need to look at factor of production and logistics costs".

He said that more needs to be done to boost manufacturing in the country.

Further, the official said that companies are shifting to Vietnam because the country has free trade agreements with the US, Europe, Australia and India, and these factors also play a ley role when MNCs look to shift.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Anutin proposes China, Korea be removed from dangerous disease zone list

THAILAND: The health minister has proposed China and South Korea be removed from the governments list of dangerous disease zones, but visitors from there would still be subject to strict health controls.

ChineseCoronavirusCOVID-19healthtourismSafety

By Bangkok Post

Saturday 9 May 2020, 10:43AM

A cleaner sanitizes seats at Don Mueang airport in Bangkok, ready for a domestic flight. But the government continues to ban new foreign visitors. Photo: Pornprom Satrabhaya

The governments Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) had approved in principle the removal of the two countries from the list, Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said yesterday (May 8).

He did not know when the announcement would be made.

Mr Anutin allayed concerns that visitors from these areas could bring the disease with them.

Visitors would still be screened, as required under the executive decree and the communicable disease law administering the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

There are many checkpoints for our protection. Please do not be worried about the matter, Mr Anutin said.

CCSA spokesman Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin said Mr Anutin had proposed the removal of China and South Korea from the list. However, the CCSA had not given its final approval yet. Agreement on procedures was still pending, he said.

Our measures remain the same. Inbound flights are limited. Visitors must have health certificates. If they visit now, they must be quarantined at a state facility for 14 days.

Tourists would not enjoy making a visit with these measures in place. Today, travel is not liberalised. People can rest assured, he said.
She is rumored to have broken up with her girlfriend of two years Cara Delevingne.

And this Flashback Friday while hunkering down amid the coronavirus pandemic Ashley Benson treated her Instagram following to a steamy post.

The 30-year-old Pretty Little Liars star posted a throwback snap of herself modeling a busty black one-piece as she lay on the beach.

Flashback Friday: This week while hunkering down amid the coronavirus pandemic Ashley Benson treated her Instagram following to a steamy post

Her picture showed her with bright pink dye in her typically blonde hair, indicating t was likely taken in 2016 or 2017 when she had that 'do.

The sizzling snapshot was taken for the brand Find Your California, which is run by photographer and artist Nico Guilis.

Two days before Ashley posed her throwback beach photo, People cited multiple insiders claiming she and Cara broke up in April.

Remember when: Her picture showed her with bright pink dye in her typically blonde hair, indicating t was likely taken in 2016 or 2017 when she had that do; pictured in April 2017

'Cara and Ashley always had their ups and down before but it's over now. Their relationship just ran its course,' dished one source.

After the breakup rumors started swirling Ashley posted a snap of herself staring over a pair of sunglasses as she sat in a restaurant with peeling posters on the walls.

The evocative photograph appeared to have been taken by Nico, the woman who snapped Ashley's latest beach throwback.

End of the affair: This week People cited multiple insiders claiming she and Cara Delevingne (left) broke up in April; they are pictured at Milan Fashion Week in February

Cara and Ashley co-starred in the 2018 punk rock drama Her Smell and were seen that August locking lips at Heathrow.

However they did not publicly confirm the romance until last June, when Cara posted an Instagram clip of herself passionately kissing Ashley.

Shortly thereafter Cara dished to E! News that it had 'been just about our one year anniversary' when she uploaded the video.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 06:28:37|Editor: huaxia

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RAMALLAH, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila announced late Friday that about 52 percent of the confirmed COVID-19 cases in Palestine have recovered.

At a news briefing held in Ramallah, al-Kaila said 37 recovered from the coronavirus on Friday, bringing the total recoveries to 282, with no new infections reported in the last 24 hours.

The new recovered cases are 22 in East Jerusalem, seven in Ramallah, six in Hebron, and two in the Gaza Strip, according to the minister.

The total number of Palestinians infected with COVID-19 in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip has reached 547, she noted.

On Thursday, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye announced that his government began to ease the anti-coronavirus measures which had been imposed in the West Bank since March 5. Enditem
I've never been to this Walmart when there wasn't a crowd, including during the shutdown.

Taylor Nicole Rogers/Business Insider

My home state of Tennessee started to reopen last week.

In March, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee issued a "safer at home" order through the end of April that asked residents to stay at home.

Lee stopped short of issuing a shelter-in-place order that would require residents to stay home and close non-essential businesses that could implement social distancing policies.

I drove around my hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee, one evening in early April 2020 when the state was under the safer-at-home order and observed people in parks and standing in crowded checkout lines at the grocery store.

Some others took socially-distanced walks which were allowed under the state guidelines.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

I've lived in New York City for nearly five years. When the city began to report cases of the novel coronavirus in early March, I decided to return to my hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee. I took a flight home before authorities advised against nonessential travel, and while I thought it would be a quick visit with my family, it's May and I'm still here.

I was already in Tennessee when, on March 31, Gov. Bill Lee issued a shelter-in-place executive order for the state. In a statement released April 2, Lee clarified that the order is "not a mandated 'shelter in place' order because it remains deeply important to me to protect personal liberties." Many non-essential businesses were closed by the order, but residents were not required to stay in their homes. The initial executive order was supposed to last until April 14, 2020.

In the same statement, Gov. Lee also said that he has "seen data indicating that movement may be increasing," indicating that Tennesseans weren't following social distancing guidelines and temporarily extended our shutdown, but now he's gradually reopening the state, starting with dine-in restaurants and retail stores last week.

Story continues

Tennessee has scored an F on a social distancing scoreboard

Tennessee currently has an F score on the social distancing scoreboard compiled by New York location data and analytics firm Unacast. It had a D- score when these pictures were taken.

The scoreboard maps how well states are social distancing by using location services data from games and shopping apps already downloaded onto millions of Americans' phones. Uncast has given Hamilton County, where these photos were taken, an F. It had a C- when these pictures were taken, during the state's safer-at-home orders.

Some of the movement in Tennesee could be attributed to the devastating tornados that reduced parts of Chattanooga to rubble in April and left 27,000 Chattanoogans still without electricity. These photos were taken before the tornadoes.

I drove around my hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee one evening in early April 2020. Hamilton County, where Chattanooga is located, currently has 213 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus.

Chattanooga, Tennessee as seen from Point Park in 2018.

Taylor Nicole Rogers/Business Insider

Source: The Chattanooga Times Free Press, Hamilton County Health Department

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee asked residents to stay home under a "safer at home" order to slow the virus' spread on March 23 but stopped short of mandating a shelter-in-place. He began to reopen the state last week, starting with restaurants and retail stores.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee.

AP Photo/Mark Humphrey,

Source: Tennessee Office of the Governor

Just a few weeks into Tennessee's safer-at-home mandate, data from Unacast and the Department of Transportation "indicate[d] travel is trending upwards, again" after dropping off between March 13 and 29.

Cars drive along I-24 south, leaving downtown Chattanooga.

Taylor Nicole Rogers/Business Insider

Source: Tennessee Office of the Governor

Before the reopening, non-essential businesses including movie theaters and shopping centers were closed. On April 8, the shopping center pictured below, which is on the outskirts of Chattanooga's Hamilton Place Mall, was totally deserted. I drove by around 6 p.m. and didn't see a single car in the parking lot.

An closed shopping center in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Taylor Nicole Rogers/Business Insider

The closures didn't keep residents at home. When I drove down Interstate 24 during the evening rush hour, it still had quite a few cars. The highway is one of Chattanooga's main thoroughfares and runs from Tennessee to Marion, Illinois.

Cars inch down I-24 in Chattanooga around 6 pm on April 8.

Taylor Nicole Rogers/Business Insider

During my drive, I also saw a number of people out on walks. This is allowed under Tennessee's safer-at-home order, as long you stay at least six feet away from others. However, most of Chattanooga's most popular walking paths were closed by order of the mayor. Many have since reopened.

People exercise outside of the closed Hamilton Family YMCA in Chattanooga, TN, which has been closed on March 17.

Taylor Nicole Rogers/Business Insider

Source: YMCA of Metropolitan Chattanooga, WBIR Channel 10, Chattanooga Times Free Press

One of Chattanooga's most popular outdoor spaces is Coolidge Park. It is home to a carousel, a splash pad, and boat slips for kayakers and paddle boarders. The park also frequently hosts concerts and other outdoor events.

The park is pictured here in 2011.

Chris McKay/Getty Images

Chattanooga Mayor Andy Burke closed the city's parks and nonessential businesses with an executive order on April 2. At the time, Burke was only the second mayor in the state to do so. During my drive, I noticed caution tape blocked off the entrance to Coolidge Park.

Caution tape and barrels block off the entrance of a popular Chattanooga park.

Taylor Nicole Rogers/Business Insider

Source: The Chattanooga Times Free Press

Even the nearby Walnut Street Bridge, one of Chattanooga's most iconic landmarks, was closed to pedestrians. The Bridge is always closed to car traffic but is normally open to pedestrians 24 hours a day.

The Bridge is one of Chattanooga's most scenic walks.

Taylor Nicole Rogers/Business Insider

Normally the bridge has a steady stream of runners, walkers, bikers, and tourists strolling from one side of town to the other. That resumed when the bridge reopened on May 1.

The bridge is pictured here in 2010.

Jeff Greenberg / Contributor via Getty Images.

Source: Chattanooga Times Free Press

The closures didn't stop people from walking and biking laps around the perimeter of Coolidge Park. Most kept their distance from each other and didn't venture inside the park.

Technically, these people were not violating the "safer-at-home" order.

Taylor Nicole Rogers/Business Insider

Across the river from Coolidge Park, at Ross' Landing, people lounged on the grass within feet of "park closed" signs.

When Ross' Landing is open, it's usually full of people taking in the riverfront view.

Taylor Nicole Rogers/Business Insider

Others rode bikes in the same closed park.

Two men walk their bikes in front of the Tennessee Aquarium after a ride on Riverside Drive in downtown Chattanooga.

Taylor Nicole Rogers/Business Insider

This part of the riverfront is usually packed with families playing together and people out on their runs or bike rides. When I drove by the closed river park on April 8, all I found were a few groups of people  who seemed to be heeding social distancing measures  posted up there alone with fishing poles.

The nearby boat landing was closed, making the sidewalk inside the closed park the best place for these people to fish.

Taylor Nicole Rogers/Business Insider

Maintaining social distancing guidelines was more difficult in Chattanooga's grocery stores than parks.

I've never been to this Walmart when there wasn't a crowd, including during the shutdown.

Taylor Nicole Rogers/Business Insider

A Walmart in Chattanooga made efforts to keep shoppers away from one another, including blocking off the entrance to prevent crowding ...

In the past, I've seen people wait in this area to be picked up by cars.

Taylor Nicole Rogers/Business Insider

... and putting decals on the floor indicating where shoppers should stand in line.

The decals were spread throughout the store.

Taylor Nicole Rogers/Business Insider

People were asked to avoid touching surfaces, but that didn't stop one customer I saw in the order pickup area. The woman was wearing scrubs, indicating that she may have come to the store from a health care facility.

The sign reads: "Attention customers. For your protection and that of our associates, please don't touch the counter, table, or cart."

Taylor Nicole Rogers/Business Insider

Meanwhile, in the baking aisle, shoppers passing each other couldn't get more than six feet apart even if they wanted to.

Shoppers perusing the aisles of the grocery store.

Taylor Nicole Rogers/Business Insider

Other local businesses were more successful at keeping shoppers apart. Riverside Wine and Spirits set up a makeshift drive-thru so customers didn't have to leave their cars.

The drive-thru has separate lanes for customers with new orders and those who'd called ahead.

Taylor Nicole Rogers/Business Insider

A Home Depot location also used handwritten signs to expand its curbside pickup program, despite having an essential business designation that allows it to stay open. The store only had two parking spots permanently allocated for its curbside pickup program.

The signs appeared to have been made by Home Depot associates who put wood planks into buckets of concrete.

Taylor Nicole Rogers/Business Insider

This Panera location also resorted to handmade signs to attract diners. The sign reads "OPEN Every day 7 a.m. - 8 p.m."

There were several cars in the parking lot of this Panera location, indicating that the sign was working.

Taylor Nicole Rogers/Business Insider

This Chick-fil-a's drive-thru line was short, however. Starting April 29, diners could once again eat inside.

The restaurant's employees appeared to have used cones to add another lane to its drive-through.

Taylor Nicole Rogers/Business Insider

Since my drive, more businesses in Chattanooga have reopened. Scientists and public health officials have warned that easing most restrictions too early could potentially lead to a second wave of infections.

Chattanooga's Frazier Avenue sits empty in early April.

Taylor Nicole Rogers/Business Insider

Source: AP News

Read the original article on Business Insider
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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-10 01:35:46|Editor: huaxia

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CHICAGO, May 9 (Xinhua) -- A research team led by Northwestern University (NU) discovered that patients with severe vitamin D deficiency are twice as likely to experience severe complications, including death, according to a news release posted on NU's website on Thursday.

After conducting a statistical analysis of data from hospitals and clinics across China, France, Germany, Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States, the researchers discovered a strong correlation between vitamin D levels and cytokine storm, a hyperinflammatory condition caused by an overactive immune system, as well as a correlation between vitamin D deficiency and mortality.

"Cytokine storm can severely damage lungs and lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome and death in patients," said Ali Daneshkhah, a postdoctoral research associate at NU and the study's first author. "This is what seems to kill a majority of COVID-19 patients, not the destruction of the lungs by the virus itself. It is the complications from the misdirected fire from the immune system."

Not only does vitamin D enhance human innate immune systems, it also prevents human immune systems from becoming dangerously overactive. This means that having healthy levels of vitamin D could protect patients against severe complications, including death, from COVID-19.

"Our analysis shows that it might be as high as cutting the mortality rate in half," said NU's Vadim Backman, a professor of biomedical engineering at NU's McCormick School of Engineering. "It will not prevent a patient from contracting the virus, but it may reduce complications and prevent death in those who are infected."

Backman said this correlation might help explain the many mysteries surrounding COVID-19, such as why children are less likely to die. Children do not yet have a fully developed acquired immune system, which is the immune system's second line of defense and more likely to overreact.

"Children primarily rely on their innate immune system," Backman said. "This may explain why their mortality rate is lower."

Backman said much more research is needed to know how vitamin D could be used most effectively to protect against COVID-19 complications.

"It is hard to say which dose is most beneficial for COVID-19," Backman said. "However, it is clear that vitamin D deficiency is harmful, and it can be easily addressed with appropriate supplementation. This might be another key to helping protect vulnerable populations, such as African-American and elderly patients, who have a prevalence of vitamin D deficiency."

The research is available on medRxiv, a preprint server for health sciences. Enditem
ICICI Bank, country's second-largest private sector lender, on Saturday said it will raise up to Rs 25,000 crore by issuing debt securities, including Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs), in domestic markets on a private placement basis.

"The board of directors of the bank at its meeting held today approved fund raising by way of issuances of debt securities including by way of non-convertible debentures in domestic markets up to an overall limit of around Rs 25,000 crore by way of private placement," ICICI Bank said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The bank's board has also approved issuances of bonds/notes/offshore Certificate of Deposits in overseas markets up to $3 billion in single or multiple tranches for a period of one year from the date of passing of resolution by the board.

The board also approved shifting of registered office of the bank from Gujarat to Maharashtra and consequential amendment in the Clause (II) of the Memorandum of Association of the Bank, subject to the approval of members and other regulatory approvals, as required. The bank has received no-objection from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the proposal of shifting its registered office, subject to compliance with the guidelines, directions and statutory provisions as applicable, it said.

Also Read: ICICI Bank FY20 results: Profit jumps 135% to Rs 7,931 crore; asset quality improves

In the meeting, ICICI Bank's board also approved re-appointment of Walker Chandiok & Co LLP, Chartered Accountants as statutory auditors of the bank to hold office from the conclusion of the 26th Annual General Meeting (AGM) till the conclusion of the 27th AGM, subject to the approval of members.

The board gave nod to re-appointment of Girish Chandra Chaturvedi has been as an independent director and Non-Executive (part-time) Chairman of the bank for a period of three years effective from July 1, 2021, subject to the approval of members.

Also Read: HDFC Bank net profit rises 24% to Rs 26,257 crore in FY20; asset quality improves

Among others, the board approved re-appointment of Vishakha Mulye as wholetime Director; extension of tenure of G. Srinivas as Chief Risk Officer (CRO) of the bank by another three years with effect from August 1, 2020 till July 3 1, 2023.

Meanwhile, ICICI Bank reported a sharp 135 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in its net profit at Rs 7,931 crore for the financial year ended March 31, 2020, driven by rise in other income, operating income, net interest income (NII) and lower tax cost. The bank's NII, the difference between interest earned and interest expended, surged by 23.14 per cent to Rs 33,267 crore versus Rs 27,015 crore in the previous fiscal. Non-interest income rose to Rs 15,156 crore as compared to Rs 13,146 crore in FY19.

Also Read: YES Bank posts Rs 16,418.02 crore net loss in FY20; asset quality worsens

The ICICI Bank's board has not recommended any dividend for financial year 2019-20. "In line with the Reserve Bank of India's circular issued on April 17, the board has not recommended any dividend for FY20," the lender said in the exchange filing.

By Chitranjan Kumar
Alisha McElvaney and Julieanne Black Reel delivering 350 pairs of gloves and 60 visors to grateful staff at the Louth County Hospital.

Two friends were so moved by the reports of health workers not having vital personal protective equipment (PPE) that they decided to set up a fundraising campaign so that they could buy PPE for these frontline heroes.

'Extraordinary times call for extraordinary people and we want to help our true heroes working in the healthcare sector during the COVID-19 crisis,' says Julieanne Black Reel, who has set up the PPE for Healthcare Staff with her friend Alisha McElvaney just over two weeks ago.

They set up a GoFundMe page which they are promoting on social media so that they can buy PPE which they are donating to healthcare workers in hospitals, nursing homes and care homes in counties Louth, Meath, Dublin, Monaghan, Cavan as well as across the border in Northern Ireland.

'Both of us have family members and friends working in the health care sector and as neither of us are working at the minute, we decide to set up a GoFundMe account and see if we could raise 1,000stg which we could use to buy PPE from various shops and warehouses that the HSE mightn't be able to access as they have their own suppliers for bulk purchases,' explains Julieanne, a mindfulness teacher from Silverbridge.

To date, the fund has raised over 2,120stg and they have sourced PPE from a number of suppliers, including Murray Excel Ltd, in Monaghan town, and got a very generous donation from Carville Tools, Castleblayney, and Crafty Cuts, Duleek.

'People are being very, very kind and we are getting lots of donations,' says Alisha, who recently started working in Salon Services, Dundalk.

They were delighted to receive donations of face shields which are being made by a team headed by Anthony Donnelly in Muirheavnamor Community Centre, and also wish to thank the Remnant Basket for opening especially to donate elastic for masks.

'We are working closely with the Cu Chulainn Blood Bikes as well,' continues Alisha.

Thanks to the generosity of those who have supported their campaign, they have been able to donate PPE including face masks and shields, medical gloves, to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, the Louth County Hospital, as well as nursing homes and care homes throughout the north east.

'It's great to be able to help the nursing homes and care homes who have had difficulty in getting PPE unless they have had a COVID-19 case,' says Julieanne.

They have also donated face shields to Save Our Homeless Dundalk for their volunteers to use.

'If there are any healthcare staff out there who need PPE they can make contact with us on our social media accounts,' she adds.

Anyone wishing to donate can do so by going to their GoFundMe page PPE Gear for Healthcare Staff (IRE North East and NI), or follow the links on their Facebook and Instagram accounts.
Tu Nguyen gave up a sought-after job in a mission to help young people in Vietnam better understand sex and sexuality.

Tu Nguyen never had a formal sex education (sex-ed) class at his school in Hanoi, nor was he trained as an educator on the subject, but he and his team have set out to change the face of sex-ed in Vietnam.

Tu, Linh Hoang, Thu Ha and Ngoc Nguyen cofounded startup WeGrow Edu (WE) in their early 20s with the ambitious goal of empowering children and young people from the ages of five to 24 to better understand sex and sexuality.

We especially focus on students from grade 1 to 12. This is when they need the company of an organisation like ours and their families. Currently, schools dont have really a sex-ed [teaching] model that can actually work and benefit them, Tu said.

Students at WE learn how to build healthy relationships and protect their bodies. Each lesson reinforces the validity of their self-identity and their freedom to make their own choices, with a message of gender equality woven throughout.

Sex-ed in Vietnam is based on abstinence and remains a sensitive issue in a country with one of the highest rates of abortion in the world, according to World Health Organization (WHO) data.

Vietnamese adolescents and young people [typically] have sex for the first time at 16 or 17 years old, much later than their European peers, yet there are more unwanted pregnancies and abortions among them than in many European countries, said Dr Tu Anh Hoang, cofounder and director of the Hanoi-based Center for Creative Initiatives in Health and Population (CCIHP).

Sensitivities

She says while Vietnam has become more open with reproductive and sexual health in the last five years with some schools incorporating sex-ed into biology and life skills classes, gaps remain.

[The education] is not comprehensive and I think its a problem, Dr Tu Anh said.

WE has developed what it calls a Rise and Shine gift box to support its sex education lessons. The box is changed for different age groups, but is intended to provide a guided learning experience. The secret corner is where students learn about things which are deemed sensitive [Supplied/Al Jazeera]

She compares sex-ed teaching in Vietnam with eating instant noodles- a speedy solution with only short-term benefits  noting that many schools rely on one or two sessions with an expert instead of building an entire curriculum on the subject.

Sex-ed is also built around the idea of abstinence, the researcher in gender, sexuality and HIV pointed out.

Sex-ed was first incorporated in policies and education programmes based on concerns over unwanted pregnancies, abortions and HIV, she said.

Tu and Linh gave up full-time jobs, a dream for most new graduates, to set up WeGrow Edu, while Ngoc and Thu, still in their third year of university, have to balance their time between study and startup.

The youth-led Vietnam Organization for Gender Equality (also founded by Linh in 2016) provided the seed for the four founders new project, germinating many of the ideas that would eventually lead to WeGrow Edu.

Using frameworks designed by the non-profit, Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS), each comprehensive sex-ed course comprises 10 sessions that include parents and stretch over one month.

While the coronavirus pandemic halted class activities amid the months-long school suspension in Vietnam, WE still managed to get to peoples homes through their Rise and Shine gift box. There are several different variations of the box, designed for different age groups, but all have five segments containing 30 items which provide a guided learning experience.

The secret corner is where students learn about things which parents and teachers might deem sensitive, Tu explains.

For teens (12-15), they learn about contraceptive methods like condoms, pregnancy test sticks, menstruation pads, and a general explainer on LGBT issues. For kids (8-11), the secret corner teaches them about sexual violation, how to defend themselves, the boundary of intimacy, and the concept of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender), he said.

Tu highlights the importance of children trusting in parents, enabling a sound understanding and application of their knowledge when it comes to sex, their sexualities, bodies and self-identities  so the box includes a separate activity for parents and children to complete together.

After almost a year and a half in operation, the startup has taught more than 400 students and connected with more than a dozen schools (with more than 4,000 students).

But gaining access to Vietnamese schools as crusaders for sex-ed was not easy especially since the groups teaching philosophy contrasts starkly with the abstinence-based approach of traditional Vietnamese educators and parents. The four needed to find connections to score a meeting with school leaders, deliver a series of presentations about their curriculum, and then proceed to provide free demo classes to dozens of students before schools would make a decision.

The challenge is to gain trust in teachers, Tu said.

Our team is too young and our background isnt youth education. We didnt have much startup experience, so we had to learn a lot of things, there were also many trials and errors.

Lack of trained teachers

Linh, one of the cofounders, highlights a formidable foe to their business: The lack of trained sex-ed teachers in Vietnam.

Thats because there is no one training people in this (sex-ed) in our country, so we have to train our staff and make sure they are qualified.

One of their upcoming projects, which aims to engage 100 high school student leaders and incubate 15 gender equality initiatives around Hanoi to lead the gender equality movement, won funding from the US Department of State last month. Tu declined to reveal the amount of the award.

The team members, although young, are already dedicated community leaders who have been working for years in the area of gender equality, so we knew they could successfully implement this project, Rachael Chen, a spokesperson for the US embassy in Hanoi told Al Jazeera.

One of the teams major successes was a contract with Vinschool, a K-12 private school owned by Vingroup, Vietnams largest conglomerate, to co-author a sex-ed curriculum. The programme has been in use in its 32 campuses since September.

While avoiding unwanted pregnancies is the governments chief motivation in providing sex-ed, parents are more concerned about sexual abuse and violence.

Tu Nguyen, Linh Hoang, Thu Ha and Ngoc Nguyen cofounded startup WeGrow Edu (WE) in their early 20s with the goal of empowering children and young people from the ages of five to 24 with the knowledge to enable them to make informed decisions on sex and sexuality [Supplied/Al Jazeera]

Last year, many Vietnamese were enraged by reports of the sexual harassment of young women and underage students, which exposed Vietnams feeble legal enforcement for sexual assault and protection.

A report published by Human Rights Watch (HRW) in February said Vietnams sex-ed policies and practices did not meet international standards, and noted that it did not include mandatory discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity, including LGBT issues.

Last November, the Ministry of Education and Training officially approved a guideline for teachers from kindergarten to grade 12 to adopt comprehensive sex and sexuality education in their curriculums.

But because there are so few teachers skilled in the subject the ministry has had to draft separate training materials too, according to Dr Tu Anh.

To be able to teach sex-ed necessitates not just knowledge but also the right awareness and attitude. One cant teach sex and sexual rights and still refer to them as bad, taboo, and harmful, she said.

The founders of WeGrow Edu are under no illusions about the challenges ahead, which is why it favours an inclusive and system-wide approach to an often sensitive subject.

There is no one single solution that can address a systematic problem. Schools can put all their energy in teaching the subject [sex-ed] but if parents still force girls to wash the dishes because they are girls when they come home then all efforts will be for nothing. Thats why WE tries to incorporate every actor in students life as much as we can, step by step, Linh said.
File photo

According to PREMIUM TIMES, the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi, said on Friday that many people who tested positive for coronavirus were running away from being taken to isolation centres for treatment.

Mr Abayomi said this was one of the reasons the state still has unoccupied beds at the isolation centres despite recording more cases than its bed-capacity.

He spoke at the state secretariat on Friday when responding to the question on the discrepancy between the occupancy of the isolation centres and the number of active cases in the state.

There is also a situation that we experience, when we test people, sometimes they find it difficult to find them. The ambulances will go into community, people will flee their homes, and they make it difficult for us to find them.



Speaking on the stress health workers undergo, Mr Abayomi said some positive patients sometimes shut their doors or they leave their environment to avoid being admitted. He added that the patients do not answer their phones as well.

The commissioner said this is because people are afraid to come to the isolation centres and the ministry has no time to start hunting people round the community.

If you have tested positive, we expect you to cooperate with us and make yourself available so that you can be admitted and accessed.

Our isolation facilities are really comfortable, it is not like the Ebola days, we have made a lot of improvements.

Members of the executive and senior people in government have been admitted into those facilities. If I test positive, I will go to one of those facilities, Mr Abayomi said.

The commissioner said Lagos residents have nothing to be afraid of as the staff are very professional.

He said the state still has about 307 unoccupied beds out of the 569 total bed spaces available in the state because most patients are yet to be admitted, while most are on the run after testing positive for coronavirus.

Mr Abayomi said the state has 569 bed-capacity and 45 per cent overall occupancy, while 307 bed spaces are available. As of Friday, Lagos has 1,037 active cases of coronavirus.

We have just opened Gbagada Hospital and we are yet to admit most of the patients we want to admit into Gbagada. As soon as we fill Gbadaga up, our occupancy will increase to over 70 or 80 percent.

Below is a breakdown of the isolation centres and bed-capacity in Lagos State as of Friday;

 Gbagada Hospital- 118

 Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH)  60

 Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba -115

 Onikan Stadium Centre  100

 Landmark Centre- 70

 Lekki Centre- 45

 Agidingbi Centre  34

 First Cardiology Hospital  5 (Critical case).
Actress Zoa Morani, who had tested positive for Coronavirus in early April, has donated her blood for plasmatherapy trials, at the Nair Hospital in Mumbai on Saturday. Zoa took to her Instagram handle to share pictures where she can be seen donating blood, and wrote that it felt 'super cool'. Take a look!

Zoa shared pictures of her lying on the hospital bed donating blood, holding a certificate she received for the donation and so on. She captioned her post, "Donated my blood today for the #plasmatherapy trials at #nairhospital.. it was fascinating!!! Always a silver lining i suppose... the team there was so enthusiastic and careful. There was a general physician on standby just incase of emergency and the equipment brand new and safe!!! All #Covid19 recovered people can be a part of this trial, to help others covid patients recover! Thank you Dr Jayanti Shastri and Dr Ramesh Waghmare for taking such good care of me.. hope this works #covidrecovery #IndiaFightsCorona," (sic).

She added, "They even gave me a certificate and 500 rs , Wont lie , i felt super cool today," (sic).

Zoa tested positive for the virus after she returned from Rajasthan in mid-March. She was admitted to the Kokliaben Dhirubai Ambani Hospital. Her sister Shaza, who also tested positive, was admitted to the Nanavati Hospital, and her father and film producer Karim Morani too had tested positive.

Zoa made her Bollywood debut with the 2011 film Always Kabhi Kabhi. She has also starred in films like Bhaag Johnny and Mastaan.

ALSO READ: After Shaza, Karim Morani's Other Daughter, Actress Zoa Morani Tests Positive For Coronavirus!

ALSO READ: Zoa Morani and Her Family Will Donate Blood To Help With COVID-19 Treatment, After Recovering


The nationwide count of confirmed COVID-19 cases crosses 1.74 lakh on Saturday with a record number of nearly 7,500 people testing positive for the dreaded virus infection across states and union territories. The death toll crossed 4,900, but recoveries also rose sharply to surpass 81,000. Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked the first anniversary of his second term on Saturday by writing an open letter to his countrymen, asserting that India has started traversing on the path to "victory" in its long battle against COVID-19 while acknowledging "tremendous suffering" of migrant workers among others. Stay tuned for more updates.
Tesla Inc "must not reopen" its vehicle factory in the San Francisco Bay area as local lockdown measures to curb the spread of coronavirus remain in effect, the local county health department said on Friday. The comments came after Tesla's chief executive, Elon Musk, told employees Thursday evening that limited production would restart at the factory in Fremont, Tesla's only US vehicle factory, on Friday afternoon. California Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday afternoon said that manufacturers in the state would be allowed to reopen. But Alameda County, where ...
Vietravel Airlines will spread its wings in early 2021

Vietravel Airlines celebrated its official establishment on May 7 by announcing Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc's approval of its investment policy.

Also on May 5, the airline appointed Dao Duc Vu, who has more than 30 years of experience in the aviation sector, as its deputy general director in charge of flight operations.

Previously, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung signed Decision No.457/QD-TTg on April 3 approving the Vietravel Airlines project with a total investment capital of VND700 billion (over $30.43 million).

Vietravel Airlines is headquartered at Phu Bai International Airport in Thua Thien Hue province, with the goal of providing domestic and international air transport services, contributing to improving the country's air transport capacity, and developing the tourism industry as well as boosting socio-economic development in Vietnam.

Belonging to one of the biggest local tour operators  Vietravel Group  Vietravel Airlines is oriented to transport passengers, commodities, and parcels. It is expected that in its first year of operation, the airline will be serving some 1 million passengers, starting with a fleet of three aircraft which is expected to be hitting eight in the fifth year of operation. It is also set to create jobs for nearly 600 local employees.

Vu Duc Bien, general director of the carrier stated, "Vietravel Airlines will focus on completing air transport license and air operator certificate (AOC) to be able to take off in the first half of 2021 when the aviation market recovers from the epidemic."

Vietravel launched Vietravel Airlines after reporting huge losses in the first quarter of 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. Reaching VND789 billion ($34.3 million) in revenue, down nearly half on-year, Vietravel experienced a net loss of VND41.5 billion ($1.8 million), equivalent to the profit of the entire 2019.

At the same time, the aviation and tourism industry is undergoing a challenging period and it is uncertain when the market will be completely recovered.
DECATUR  The city council on Monday is expected to start the lengthy and likely painful process of addressing changes to the city budget in light of projected steep revenue declines because of COVID-19.

Options include employee furloughs, service cuts and delaying projects or a variety of other steps depending on the financial outlook. The exact fiscal impact of businesses being closed and the economy coming to a standstill aren't fully known as the situation evolves.

The stay-at-home order started in March and has wiped out many of the financial streams on which Illinois municipal budgets are built: sales taxes, video game revenues, food and beverage taxes, income tax, fuel taxes, parking fines and hotel-motel taxes. Additionally, some revenue, like property taxes, may be delayed.

City Manager Scott Wrighton said the meeting will involve sharing revenue projections from the Illinois Municipal League, results of the city's COVID-19 impact survey taken by more 1,600 residents in less than a month and additional documents. Officials also discuss strategies and priorities for addressing the budget.

"(The public) can expect to get a little better picture of how the pandemic will impact the city budget and what strategies the City Council is inclined to take to adjust the current budget and bridge the inevitable funding gaps that will occur in both 2020 and 2021," Wrighton said in an email.

The study session is at 5:30 p.m. Monday.

Municipalities across the country are facing similar challenges as the pandemic has wore on. Macon County officials also are discussing furloughs and the state is facing a budget hole estimated at $2.7 billion this year because COVID-19.

The Herald & Review asked council members about their thoughts on the city's financial position. Councilman Rodney Walker did not respond to requests for comment.

Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe

"Voluntary furloughs are the kindest way to try and cut your way out of a situation because it may work better for somebody. If I am mom and I've got three kids and care for the summer is in question because a lot of day camps might not be in business this summer, maybe I am better off being at home even if it means collecting unemployment insurance and helping the city at the same time. Maybe it saves a job for somebody that really has to have that income. We are going to have to look at every option and it is not going to be fun. It is going to hurt, it is going to be bad. Services are going to be cut. Things are going to be slowed down and it is not what you want to do. ...

"We are talking about things the city government provides. It is fire protection, it is police protection, roads and bridges, the water department. Plus providing other services that our citizens expect on a regular basis. So it is not going to be easy."

Councilman Bill Faber

"For the safety of our people, we should immediately recruit and train virus contact tracers instead of waiting for the state to act. The sooner we have tracers, the sooner and safer will be the opening of our citys economy.

"While budget cuts and austerity will be the obvious results of our towns coming economic downturn, I asked the city staff to reflect on positive steps that can be taken  steps to uplift our community.

"Here is a small but symbolic action: Trees  a commemorative tree should be planted to mark the birth of every new born child. A memorial tree should be planted for the passing of each of our beloved friends and neighbors. Here is an act of hope. I ask the city to underwrite the cost.

"Hundreds of cities and towns across America face the same health and economic crisis as Decatur. Our city council and city staff will do all we can to face the crisis, but without the help of the U.S. Congress implementing a Marshall Plan for America, the next decade holds despair and fear for our families."

Councilwoman Lisa Gregory

"I think it is important that we compare and contract the second and third quarters to the types of revenue we received a year ago to get a sense of what the drop in revenue has been." "The other thing we need to be cognizant of is that so many people are unemployed, that when the state of Illinois reopens again we are going to see difficulties."

"No one wants to be where we are today, no one is enjoying this."

Councilman David Horn

"The economic and social impacts have already been substantial, and it will likely be long lasting. Between February and March, the number of employed individuals in Decatur decreased by over 1,300 (5%) and the number of job listings decreased by over 800 (62%). With the states stay-at-home order lasting through the end of May, the number of employed individuals will continue to decline significantly.

"While our local economy has been severely impacted, the need for city services is similar or elevated compared to last year. For example, calls for service to the Police Department in the first quarter of 2020 are up 11% compared to 2019 and calls to the Fire Department are flat. Moreover, social service agencies are likely to need significant resources to meet the increased and urgent demands for services."

Councilman Chuck Kuhle

"I think the first thing that would be fair would be to look at a percentage reduction in pay across the board for every city employee. What the percentage is, I won't have that figure until I know how much are we down in all of these revenues. ...

"The cut would be for all employees including council members.

"I think that would be the first step. If there are stipulations in union contracts that I dont know about, my question would be to the unions 'what would you suggest we do' and see if we can find common ground."

Councilman Pat McDaniel

"The city will have to look at some tough calls. There will likely have to be cuts or reductions in pay for staff. We've always been very lean but 75% to 80% of our general fund is personnel. We have to see how many accepted the offer of voluntary furloughs and we will go from there.

"We want to hear from the public any suggestions they might have."

How Pritzker's plan to reopen Illinois would work

Contact Analisa Trofimuk at (217) 421-7985. Follow her on Twitter: @AnalisaTro
Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr. says health experts and leaders in the country should spare the ears of Ghanaians about the disease having reached its peak and likely to go down.



Despite the number of high cases recorded in Ghana, health experts and leaders maintain that the country has reached the peak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection curve.



We've Peaked; But Not Out Of The Woods



Dr Ebenezer Badu Sarkodie, the Director of Public Health, Ghana Health Service (GHS), on Thursday explained that Ghana attained its highest confirmed cases of COVID-19 on April 25, 2020, indicating its peak period.



He, however, added that this doesn't mean the country is "out of the woods" and so entreated Ghanaians to keep following laid-down protocols to curb the pandemic.



Facts Don't Support Claims



Touching on the COVID-19 pandemic issue on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo', Kwesi Pratt stated that the data and facts don't support claims of the disease likely to dwindle.



Referring the leaders to the current case count which has shot up to over 4,000, he asserted that there is no way the country is going to experience a downward trend in transmissions since the health centres are about to even undertake daily testing of the virus to find out new community infections.



Stop The Disrespect



He registered his disappointment in the country's COVID-19 response team for suggesting that the disease will slow down and admonished them to stop taking Ghanaians for a ride.



''How do you tell me the disease is slowing down? We've moved from 1 to 2, 3 and even reached 3000 and beyond, then you come to tell me the disease is going down. Do you think I have a shallow mind?''



''...you come to stand before Ghanaians telling them the disease is diminishing, what should we tell you? It means you don't respect us...if we are not doing daily testing, on what basis do you come to tell us this is going down?'' he rhetorically asked.



Listen to his submission in the video below





Over 900 Cases Within 48hrs

Mr. Pratt feared a second wave of the pandemic will be extremely dangerous than the current wave in the country.''It is most likely that there will be a second wave and that if you follow all pandemics of this nature, there is a second wave. And that the second wave is likely to be more devastating than the first wave. In fact, when you take a critical look at the flu pandemic, the second wave killed far more people even than the first wave and so on. If you're faced with all these facts and our leaders keep deceiving us that we shouldn't panic because the disease has reached its peak and so it's coming down, coming down from where?'' he questioned.

Meanwhile, Ghana's COVID-19 cases have increased to 4012, according to the Ghana Health Service.



Per update on Friday May 8, 2020, the number of recoveries has risen to 323.



The death toll remains at 18.



This means over 900 cases have been recorded in less than 48 hours.



According to the statement on the GHS website, "over 50% of these cases were as a result of an outbreak in an industrial facility with 1,300 workers of which 533 have been confirmed positive. Over the same period, 20 more recoveries have been reported.



Bono Region has recorded a case and thus 13 out of

16 regions have reported cases. Currently, the only regions with no confirmed cases of COVID-19 are the Savannah, Bono East and Ahafo regions."

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
The Karnataka government has



announced one-time financial relief of Rs 5,000 each to over 11,000 cobbler families in the state, whose daily life was affected by the COVID-19 induced lockdown.

According to Deputy Chief Minister Govind Karjol, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has announced one time financial relief of Rs 5,000 for each of these families.

"Due to COVID-19 lockdown about 11,722 families involved in road side leather work, like mending chappals and shoes, are in financial distress and their daily life has been affected," he said on Friday.

The compensation will be distributed to beneficiaries through Babu Jagjivan Ram Leather Industries Corporation, Karjol, who is also in-charge of Social Welfare department, said.

A delegation of opposition leaders led by the leader of opposition Siddaramaiah had met Chief Minister Yediyurappa yesterday and demanded that people belonging to sections like goldsmiths, carpenters, cobblers, tailors and ironsmiths be considered under the package announced by the state government.

The Yediyurappa government had recently announced Rs 1,610 crore relief package for the benefit of those in distress due to the COVID-19-induced lockdown.

The measures announced as part of the package included compensation of Rs 5,000 each to thousands of washermen, barbers, autorickshaw and taxi drivers, whose daily life has been affected.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Police in Gujarats Surat fired tear gas shells on Saturday to disperse angry migrant workers, who had taken to the streets at Mora demanding that trains be arranged for their return to their homes in Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, and Bihar. This is the fifth such protest in Surat over the last month amid job losses because of the national lockdown that was imposed in March to check the Covid-19 pandemic.

Thousands of workers gathered on streets at the Mora village next to the industrial belt of Hazira. They were demanding that they be sent to their home states. When police stopped them, they pelted stones and attacked them, said Surats police commissioner D N Patel.

He said the police resorted to mild lathi-charge and tear gas shelling to disperse the crowd. We have arrested 55 people so far and around 50 others have been detained. More accused are been identified with the help of drones and CCTV footage, Patel said.

A team of State Reserve Police has been deployed in the area to monitor the situation.

On Monday, 204 people were arrested in Surat on charges of attempt to murder and rioting after migrant workers allegedly attacked policemen as they gathered to demand their return to their native place. On April 29, five people were detained and another 300 booked for alleged rioting and violating the Covid-19 following a clash between migrant workers and police.

The state government on Tuesday formed a committee to ensure the management and coordination for sending migrant workers from Surat to their native districts.

Gujarat police chief Shivanand Jha said attacks on corona warriors will not be tolerated at any cost and the attackers will face strict actions.

During the lockdown, some people are making efforts to mislead the citizens of the state to protest against the lockdown while the lockdown is for the benefit of the citizens. Such individuals will be traced and subjected to legal action, Jha said.

Ashwani Kumar, Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupanis secretary, said 327 special trains have been operated for migrant workers across India. Out of that, Gujarat has operated 147 trains, or 45% of the total trains, to ensure a safe return of over 2.04 lakh migrant workers to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The chief minister has urged the migrant workers to be patient as the process for sending them back home demands time, said Kumar.

Ramdev Kumar, a construction worker from Rajasthan, said, We have run out of money and other resources. We work hard on daily basis to feed our families. But for 50 days, we have not had any work. That is why we want to return to our native places.... .

Surat is Indias diamond hub and according to an Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad study, migrants account for about 70% of its workforce and 50% of that of Ahmedabad.

Gagan Bihari Sahu, an associate professor at Surats Centre for Social Studies, said that the nationwide lockdown has hit migrant workers badly. The production has come to a standstill, machines are quiet and markets are closed. In spite of the governments appeal, many employers have either removed their workers, deducted salaries or simply closed doors, he said. How are these migrants and their families going to sustain...

Migrant workers have continued to walk and cycle back to their homes even as the railways last week began running special trains and some state governments deployed buses for the people stranded because of the Covid-19 lockdown. Some do not have documents needed to register for the trains. Others do not want to wait any longer. And in other cases, the trains have not been approved by states that have to receive the migrant workers.
The rapidly spreading coronavirus pandemic is reaching catastrophic dimensions in South America, with more than 250,000 cases and some 13,000 deaths recorded. In the countries with highest rates on the continent, Brazil, Peru and Ecuador, the contagion and death curves are growing rapidly.

Brazil accounts for more than 140,000 officially confirmed cases and 10,000 deaths. But for weeks, researchers have been warning that the real numbers are far higher and are being concealed by one of the lowest testing rates on the entire continent.

A recent study, published by the University of Sao Paulos School of Medicine, points out that the country may have more than 2 million people infected, making it potentially the next global epicenter of the pandemic.

Bolsonaro marches with ministers and businessmen on Supreme Court [Credit: Planalto/Marcos Correa]

And even this frightening number may be an underestimation of the real toll. The projection made by the researchers is based on the total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19, although there are also reports of underreporting of deaths, the study states, which would make the real numbers substantially higher.

This situation manifests itself in the collapse of health care systems and morgues in several Brazilian cities, producing a macabre reenactment of scenes recorded in Guayaquil, Ecuador a month ago.

In cities like Manaus, the capital of Amazonas, and Belem, the capital of the northern state of Para, authorities no longer know what to do with the dead. Images released last weekend show a line of dozens of hearses parked in front of the Legal Medicine Institute (IML) of Belem. With the IML crowded with corpses, families wait for days for the release of bodies of their loved ones, which are in some cases being kept under the sun and rain.

At least four statesRoraima, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro and Cearaand eight capitalsManaus, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Fortaleza, Boa Vista, Sao Luis, Belem and Sao Pauloalready have more than 90 percent of their ICU beds occupied, Folha de Sao Paulo reported in its Thursday edition. A number of other states and cities are moving rapidly in the same direction.

This is the result of the malign neglect of all of Brazils governments, which failed to prepare for an entirely predictable situation. The deepening crisis has been highlighted by strikes and demonstrations on the part of nurses all over the country, who, besides demanding personal protective equipment, have denounced the extremely precarious conditions in the hospitals.

With the virus beginning to spread in the poor neighborhoods of large cities, the Brazilian working class is faced with even bleaker prospects.

In Sao Paulo, the countrys largest city with the largest number of infections, the 20 poorest districts had nearly a 50 percent increase in cases between April 17 and 24, while in the 20 richest areas the increase was about 20 percent. Brasilandia, a crowded district of the city with more than 260,000 inhabitants, has the most deathsmore than 100and no hospital.

The health disaster is merging with growing misery, which has been exacerbated during the pandemic by wage cuts, layoffs and the loss of income by countless thousands of informal workers.

Its effects are expressed in numerical terms in the reduction of between 50 percent and 100 percent of the income of most families in the so-called classes D and E, which represent the 58 million poorest Brazilians, with per capita income below R$500 (less than US$100) per month. Scenes of workers spending the night in long lines to get emergency aid from the government, amounting to only R$600, make clear the dimension of the social crisis.

But this catastrophe for the overwhelming majority of the population represents no obstacle to the plans of the ruling class. No consideration of human costs can halt their frenetic drive for profit. In fact, they intend to exploit the economic despair of the working class as a weapon to force a premature return to work.

Brazils fascistic President Jair Bolsonaro, who has been painted by the national and international media as a lunatic because of his dismissal of the coronavirus threat, is emerging as a sober and consistent representative of the criminal interests of the entire capitalist class.

Bolsonaros press conference after march on Supreme Court [Credit: Planalto/Marcos Correa]

Accompanied by his ministers and a group of businessmen, he led a march Thursday across the Praca dos Tres Poderes (Three Powers Square) in Brasilia to the Federal Supreme Court (STF). He personally delivered an appeal, on behalf of the national bourgeoisie, for the court to immediately order an end to all quarantine restrictions on economic activity throughout the country.

This week, four Brazilian states are entering supposed lockdowns, with very lax rules, allowing a series of economic activities to continue. Even this is too much from the point of view of capitalist interests. The direction should be exactly the opposite, making the containment measures even more flexible.

Bolsonaro appealed to Dias Toffoli, president of the STF, for a review of the decision that gives local governments the authority to restrict activities, stating that the states have already gone too far. He made it clear that he will not respect any impediment, announcing that he is signing decrees defining a series of industrial activities as essential during the pandemic.

Among the industrialists who accompanied him were representatives of the associations of the chemical, machinery and equipment, construction, electrical and electronic and textile industries, of vehicle manufacturers, foreign trade, and other sectors. They expressed their concern that the worldwide resumption of economic operations, including in Asia, threatened the competitive edge of Brazilian companies. According to them, all the conditions for the general resumption of production in the country would be ready.

Outside, a fascist group supporting Bolsonaro was pressing for the shutdown of both the Congress and the STF. Financed and assisted by cadres within his government like deputies loyal to him in the Congress, they have announced that they are training their members in techniques of non-violent revolution and civil disobedience, techniques of strategy, intelligence and investigation, organization and logistics of counter revolutionary movements.

In delivering his demand to the supreme court, Bolsonaro made an appeal on the part of the entire ruling class, warning of the danger of an uprising of the working class.

We have a much greater good than life itself, which is freedom, he said. If the economic question continues in the same way in which it is going, [we could see] looting, see the popular demonstrations that weve seen in the past in situations not even close to the present one ... The economic measures taken by [the Minister of Economics] Paulo Guedes ... the emergency aid of 600 reais, among others, is keeping the population in a situation of balance, of reason above emotion.

But an open explosion of class struggle in Brazil is inevitable.

The forced return to economic activity will mean the death of thousands upon thousands of people. And the working class knows this. The wildcat strikes that have broken out since March in opposition to the deadly conditions in the workplaces are only an anticipation of the resistance that the working class will mount to the demands of the capitalists.

This resistance will gain an ever-broader character and find support in an international movement of the working class, which in every country is facing the same murderous pressure of capitalist governments for a return to work.

Only the independent political movement of the working class, repudiating any form of nationalism, is capable of defeating the growth of fascism promoted by the ruling class and its state.

The objective situation requires workers to organize themselves to govern society. It is necessary that the immense wealth concentrated in the hands of the capitalists be expropriated and re-directed to finance, in the first place, health care for and the economic survival of the broad masses of working people.

The entire health care system, including the facilities owned by private companies, must be made available to the entire population, and managed by the health care professionals. And the decision as to what production is necessary and under what conditions it will be carried out must be made by the workers themselves.
Carol Carty of the English Department at the Mercy College is missing school. But she is proud of her students' continued efforts.

"As an English teacher, it goes without saying that so much of our work takes place in the classroom. It is a springboard and stimulus for the student's homework and study.

"Discussions are always rich. We argue, debate and explore why characters make their choices. Our students are vibrant, well- informed and passionate about their subject.

"Our shrewd fifth years debate if King Lear deserves his fate, who should Eilis choose to love in ' Brooklyn' or whether Gar should stay in Donegal or forge a new life in 'Philadelphia Here I Come! Their opinions often differ between those whom are practical and those who are romantic and rule with their hearts.

"The students are kind and compassionate in their assessment of these fictional characters. They analyse and engage with empathy and understanding.

"Our second years are researching their CBAs, reading and writing like never before. Their creativity has doubled. Third years have remain focused and committed in what have been ever changing circumstances.

"The Junior Cert exam would have allowed them the opportunity to shine and receive validation for their hard work. First years are showing their new found maturity and autonomy. Sixth years, undoubtedly are to be admired the most for their tenacity.

"Online classes can never replace these rich and informative discussions. However, we are making the best of the situation. We turn up every day for their scheduled online classes as per their timetable. Students are prepared for the class material, engage and follow up with their homework. I admire my students so much. I am in awe of their resilience, their work ethic and their growing independence."
A few days ago, Zareena took a pregnant woman to a nearby hospital post-midnight after all the emergency helpline numbers failed to respond. She had to arrange a bike after her numerous calls for an ambulance went unanswered. "The lady is safe now. She gave birth to a baby boy," added Zareena, an ASHA worker in Noida.

Pregnant women in India, be it from the rural or urban regions, are severely facing the brunt of the coronavirus-induced lockdown. Although lockdown 3.0 has brought some relaxations across the less-infected zones in India, scattered health facilities continue to disrupt family planning to a huge extent across the country. Although the government has recognised abortive healthcare under 'essential non-COVID services', women seeking abortions are finding it difficult to access healthcare amid the ongoing lockdown.

Also read: Coronavirus India Live Updates: Learn to live with COVID-19, says govt; total cases-59,662, death toll-1,981

Prevalent lockdown rules, closure of private facilities, lack of mobility, and disruption in the supply chain have led to limited access to healthcare for women. At least an estimated 1,400 to 2,000 maternal deaths might occur due to the lockdown because of poor access to family planning during this period, according to Foundation of Reproductive Health Services India (FRHS), a non-profit organisation that works in the area of reproductive and sexual health.

BusinessToday.In talked to several gynaecologists in Delhi-NCR, the majority of them said that they had to close their private clinics amid the lockdown due to staff unavailability. Many of them said they were working with private hospitals or were giving advice to their patients on phones in case of emergencies.

Anita Gupta, a senior gynaecologist in GK 2 Fortis La Femme said, "All of us are attached to some hospital. We are doing deliveries there. Most of the doctors have closed their private clinics amid the ongoing lockdown".

Another Delhi based gynaecologist stated that there has been a significant decline in pregnant women's footfall in hospitals due to fear of coronavirus infection. She also talked about the spike in cases of unintended pregnancies. "In every five days, at least one case of unintended pregnancy comes to me," the gynaecologist added.

According to the CEO of FRHS, VS Chandrashekhar, around 20- 24 lakh unintended pregnancies might happen between March to June period due to the inaccessibility of contraceptives or abortion process. These unintended pregnancies might result in 5.50 lakh to 7 lakh additional births in 2020 as many women who end up with an unintended pregnancy will be forced to carry their pregnancy to term, because of inaccessibility to abortion care.

Restrictions on mobility and lack of public transport have acted as a double whammy amid the lockdown. Pregnant women seeking doctor supervision are unable to go to gynaecologists or health facilities due to restrictions imposed by the police. Chandrashekhar added that both private and public facilities have reported a sharp decline of almost 70 per cent in OPD clients amid the nationwide lockdown.

The emergence of coronavirus cases has forced district authorities across India to close down several private facilities. According to FRHS, "In Bihar, private facilities were shut for the entire month of April and all activities were suspended as district authorities were over-cautious. But later, the authorities encouraged them to open services". Another reason for the closure of private facilities during lockdown is the absence of hospital staff due to lack of public transport. Every year in India around 15.6 million abortions take place, out of which, almost 93-95 per cent happen in private facilities.

"A huge amount of patients undergo medical abortion using drugs, which are either sourced from a private clinic or from chemists using a doctor's prescription. A lot of people who would have wanted an abortion are unable to access it due to the disruption caused by this lockdown," Chandrashekhar said.

Poor and marginalised women are severely impacted by the lockdown. Shehnaz, an ASHA worker based out of Delhi NCR stated that she is unable to attend pregnant women as she is re-assigned to treat coronavirus patients in government hospitals. "We are handling emergency cases only. In the last 40 days, I have attended only one pregnant woman. Sometimes, we send these women to other hospitals. Since the lockdown, we have stopped regular check-ups. Women seeking abortion are also getting overlooked due to this," Shehnaz added. Pre-lockdown ASHA workers used to do at least five deliveries in a month apart from the regular door-to-door check-ups. Now, as the majority of these ASHA workers are deployed to COIVD-19 related duties, women seeking pregnancy-related healthcare are largely going overlooked.

Contraceptive market, too, has taken a huge hit amid the coronavirus-triggered lockdown. According to Chandrashekhar, "In this scenario, there would be a loss of 6.9 lakh sterilisation services, 9.7 lakh intra-uterine contraceptive device (IUCDs), 5.8 lakh doses of injectable contraceptive (ICs), 23.8 lakh cycles of Oral contraceptive pills (OCPs), 9.2 lakh emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) and 40.59 crore condoms. This is likely to result in an additional 23.8 lakh unintended pregnancies, 679,864 childbirths, 14.5 lakh abortions (including 834,042 unsafe abortions), and 1,743 maternal deaths".

In 2019, as per the Health Management Information System (HMIS), 35 lakh sterilisations, 57 lac IUCDs, 18 lakh IC services were provided by the public sector. Public health facilities also distributed 4.1 crore cycles of OCPs, 25 lakh ECPs, and 32.2 crore condoms. In addition, the commercial market sold 220 crore condoms, 11.2 crore cycles of OCPs, 36 lakh ECPs, 12 lakh doses of ICs, and 8 lakh IUCDs.

Also read: Coronavirus Lockdown XIII: Five steps to rebuild a post-COVID economy

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(Photo : REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde) A woman wears a face mask at Dutse Alhaji market, as authorities race to contain the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Abuja, Nigeria May 2, 2020.

Dr. Amarachukwu Allison shared how scared she was when she examined the Italian patient who turned out to be Nigeria's first coronavirus case.

In an interview via Instagram, Dr. Allison talked about how she met the Italian man who walked into her consulting room in Ogun state, southwest Nigeria in February. He was complaining of fever, headache, and fatigue, so immediately suspected what his ailment was.

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The world was just waking up to the horrid reality of Covid-19, which by then has halted the economies and societies as a whole.

"I had been following the news trends at the time,, so when he walked into my consulting room with his complaints, he had a fever, it was high grade, headache, muscle pain, and fatigue. I took his medical history, and he said he had just come from Italy ... so I knew it was likely Covid-19," she told CNN, adding that the Italian patient has arrived from Milan within 48 hours before the visit.

Trying not to panic, Allison said she gave the man a face mask before isolating him.

'It was a really scary experience'

The 32-year-old doctor did not know then that she just detected Nigeria's first confirmed case of coronavirus. Her quick thinking earned praises from many Nigerians for helping to contain the spread of the virus in Africa's most populous nation.

Similarly, the Ogun government recently celebrated Allison and hailed her "singular brilliance."

"The Ogun State Government appreciates the young female doctor who suspected the index case in Nigeria in our State, Dr. Amarachukwu Karen Allison of Lafarge Nigeria. Her singular brilliance led to the early diagnosis and rapid containment of the first Covid-19 infection," the Ogun Ministry of Health said in a tweet.

After that, Allison was put on quarantine while the patient was transferred to an isolation center in the neighboring city of Lagos.

"It was a really scary experience, and I am so thankful that I tested negative," said Allison. It was her third experience of being quarantined. The first was during the Ebola outbreak when she had secondary contact, then las November, she was exposed to viral hemorrhagic fever.

"I thought to myself, 'What is happening?' and I had to call my parents. My organization brought a psychologist to call in every day to support us, and I cried a lot," she recalled.

Cases shoot up

Despite Allison's efforts, the coronavirus saw a sharp increase to 3526 confirmed cases as of May 8, with 601 recovered cases and 107 deaths, based on Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

The Ogun State Government appreciates the young female doctor who suspected the index case in Nigeria in our State, Dr. Amarachukwu Karen Allison of Lafarge Nigeria. Her singular brillaince led to the early diagnosis and rapid containment of the first Covid-19 infection in  OgunCovid-19Update (@OgunCovid19) March 21, 2020

However, there were rumors that the official numbers are not accurate because only over 22,000 samples have been tested. This is less than 1% of the estimated 200 million population.

Allison, who works as a site Medical Officer at International SOS, acknowledges how difficult the pandemic is for any government and individual anywhere.

"Everybody is trying to do the best that they can and as much as they can to handle things," said Allison saying they. are not only dealing with the pandemic but also with poverty.

Nigeria has been put on lockdown, hoping to contain the virus. However, President Muhammadu Buhari is looking at easing the restrictions after five weeks to get the nation's economy going again.

A 'hero' doctor

After detecting the country's first coronavirus case, Allison is being compared to Dr. Stella Adadevoh, who detected Nigeria's first case of Ebola in July 2014.

Adadevoh suspected Liberian national Patrick Sawyer had Ebola when he arrived at her hospital in Lagos, and successfully kept him there despite resistance from him and pressure from government officials to release him from the hospital.

While Adadevoh succumbed to the Ebola virus while in quarantine and died August 19, 2014, she consequently saved this country from a mass outbreak of Ebola.

Asked how she feels about being compared to Adadevoh, she said: "It makes me feel humbled and honored. I am thankful to her for what she did."

"It makes me happy when my fellow human beings appreciate me. I feel loved," she said.

Allison also advised the public to remain vigilant and conscious of their health as the lockdown is set to be lifted.

"As the lockdown is being eased, we the people need to play a role in stopping the spread," Allison said.

She also urges the people to continue wearing face masks, washing our hands properly under running water with soap, and observing respiratory etiquette by covering mouth when coughing or sneezing, and keeping social distancing.

ALSO READ: SARS-CoV-2 Gets Duplicated by Scientists! While Another Researcher Found Dead
Robert Silver was a man of many talents, and many nicknames.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 9/5/2020 (620 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Robert Silver was a man of many talents, and many nicknames.

Known as Bob to his family and Alf to his friends, Silver was a writer whose passion and persistence permanently changed the landscape of theatre in Manitoba.

GREG BURNER / WINNIPEG TRIBUNE ARCHIVES Silver (left) and MTC theatre director Deborah Baer Quinn in 1979.

Born March 13, 1951 in Brandon to parents Gerald and Margarita Silver, he spent his early childhood years growing up in Griswold.

"Our grandparents on our mothers side lived there and had a little farm on the south end of town," says eldest brother Kevin Silver. "Our grandfather loved history and I think thats where Bob really developed his love of history and storytelling."

It was that love of storytelling that connected him with lifelong friend Jim Mezon, a veteran actor at the Shaw Festival, during their time as students at Tec-Voc High School.

"It would have been in 67 or 68," says Mezon. "We were both in the theatre and arts program there, which had just started up. We spent four years there and it became apparent that Alf was writing as well as acting, so he started writing material with us in mind."

The two went their separate ways after high school when Mezon moved to Vancouver to continue his acting career. Silver stayed behind in Winnipeg, and it wasnt long before he found his place as a writer.

"He was part of the fervent growth in the late 70s and early 80s in Manitoba which saw new organizations  theatre, music, publishing, film and video  created to promote Manitoba artists," says Rory Runnells, former artistic director of the Manitoba Association of Playwrights, which Silver co-founded in 1979.

In the early 1980s, Silvers play Thimblerig was presented at the Tom Hendry Warehouse (then known as the Warehouse Theatre) as a part of the 1981-82 season at Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre.

"After Thimblerig," says RMTC Producer Laurie Lam, "Alf became our theatres first playwright-in-residence, a position that lasted for two seasons."

Silver followed up with more plays, including Climate of the Times in 1983 and Clearances in 1984, both of which premiered at the Warehouse.

SUPPLIED Silver was known as a man of many talents.

Later, his focus shifted to writing historical novels.

"He always had a story to tell," says Runnells, "and our history was no better story to tell for him."

Silvers successful writing career eventually took him to Toronto, where he rekindled his friendship with Mezon.

"In 1989, we were sitting in his apartment with his wife, Jane Buss, who at that point was managing director of Theatre Passe Muraille," recalls Mezon. "We were sitting there, bemoaning life in Toronto, and we thought, why not pool our money together and find a place thats a little more out in the country and more suitable for us?"

The next year, the group purchased a farmhouse in Ardoise, N.S., where Silver lived until his death last Dec. 14 at the age of 68.

"Its a very odd thing, to be a writer," says Mezon. "It can be a very lonely kind of profession."

"He was very happy out there in the country, sitting up in his office and writing, but he had no one to talk to. He loved to socialize. He loved people dropping in on the farm and sitting and having a drink and just talking."

Kevin Silver says the solitude wasnt really an issue.

"Even though he was close with a lot of people and kept in touch with a lot of people, he was very much a loner," brother Kevin says. "He had no problem spending his time alone in his second-floor office in the farmhouse in Nova Scotia that looked out over the rolling Annapolis Valley.

"He was happy to be there, day after day, in his own world, writing both novels and plays."

Mezon worked as an actor at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake but would visit the farmhouse as often as possible.

"I would get back and we would sit around the kitchen table and we would catch up for months at a time," he says. "Then I would disappear, and a year later Id show up again."

That was their regular routine up until last October, when Silver wrote to Mezon and told him some devastating news.

"He said he had liver cancer and that there was nothing more they could do for him."

So Mezon returned once more to the Nova Scotia farmhouse for one final visit.

"I said goodbye to someone I had known for over 50 years."

Silver left behind a legacy as a writer and member of Manitobas artistic community who was instrumental in championing Canadian and Manitoba plays, and that legacy shines as a lasting inspiration to other Manitoba writers and the artistic community in general.

"At his request, in lieu of flowers he asked people to donate to (the Manitoba Association of Playwrights)," says Brian Drader, MAPs current executive director.

"We received numerous donations. An extraordinary final request that illustrates his connection to the organization."

In 2007, Silver shared the following thoughts on playwriting and theatre with Lam:

"When I walked in for the first day of rehearsal on a play of mine at MTC, it wasnt my first day in that rehearsal hall. I wasnt just interested in writing for the theatre but in the theatre itself, and in the 15 years before Thimblerig Id acted on a lot of different stages, run lights and sound, sewn costumes, directed, built props and sets, schlepped scenery around, balanced budgets for the concession stand... I wasnt necessarily all that good at all those things, but Id done them all and had a basic handle on the mechanisms of the beast. Im not saying that approach would work for everybody, but I found it much easier for all involved if the playwrights done a few tours of duty in the trenches."

Although Silver did not have any children of his own, he left behind an enormous archive of written works and a sense of humour and joy that is impossible for his family and friends to forget.

"Bob always had a wacky sense of humour," Kevin says. "Youd get a card in the mail and you would never know what kind of weird comment he would come up with."

"I remember Alf for his generous wit, his intelligence and his belief in artists and their potential," says Runnells.

"I loved his sense of humour," Mezon says. "He was a wonderful writer."

frances.koncan@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @franceskoncan
The District Administration of Noida has issued a slew of guidelines pertaining to school fees amid the lockdown. As per the guidelines, all schools under Gautam Buddh Nagar district have been prohibited from hiking the fee for the academic year 2020-21. Violators could be penalised with up to Rs 5 lakh, the order stated.

However, DM Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj has allowed schools to collect the fee for the academic session 2020-21.

Additionally, schools cannot force parents to pay advance fees or quarterly fees. The administration has also asked schools to not disenroll any student for not paying fees during the lockdown.

Also read: Coronavirus India Live Updates: Learn to live with COVID-19, says govt; total cases-59,662, death toll-1,981

If any school flouts the guidelines than parents can complain to Secretary/DIOS, and District Fee Regulation Committee at feecommittee@gmail.com, the notification said.

Guidelines for Schools in GB Nagar/Noida/Greater Noida pic.twitter.com/XdzCWGS7TI - DM G.B. Nagar (@dmgbnagar) May 7, 2020

Salary to the teachers should be continued during the lockdown, the district administration added.

DM Suhas also notified that if any school violates the guidelines, then it will have pay Rs 1 lakh as penalty with refund of the excess fee levied from a student. And, if any school is found violating the order for the second time, the penalty will increase to Rs 5 lakh, with refunds of the excess fee.

If done for a third time, the district administration will withdraw recognition/ affiliation to concerned board.

Noida has reported a total of 95 coronavirus positive patients. A total of 188 patients have been cured. Yesterday, one patient died due to COVID-10, according to Gautam Budh Nagar DM.

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In the wake of the coronavirus lockdown, Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are contemplating starting this year's academic session a bit late.

According to Business Standard, India's premier B-schools including IIM-Ahemdabad and IIM-Bangalore are thinking of starting their flagship two-year postgraduate programmes in management in August. Usually, IIM academic session starts in July.

IIM Ahemdabad's chairperson Vishal Gupta and IIM-Bangalore director G Raghuram told the daily that they were planning to commence sessions from the first week of August this year as against the usual mid-June. B-schools typically send out shortlists by April 10 which this year was done on May 8.

IIM, on Friday, released the final shortlist of the candidate for the MBA/PGP programmes for the batch of 2020. To take admission in IIMs, candidates have to go for a six-month-long process of tests and interviews. The admission process that usually begins in January with the announcement of Common Admission Test (CAT) results and ends with final batch selection in June.

Shubhasis Dey, admissions chair, IIM Kozhikode told the daily that at his branch, the shortlist of candidates for PG programme used to be out by April 30. However, due to the lockdown, they have decided to delay the list. Dey assured that COVID-19 lockdown would not affect the batch selection date, which is June 30.

This year, IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore that usually release the shortlists much earlier also delayed their process to start from May 8.

Vishal Gupta, Chairperson - Admissions, IIM Ahmedabad said that they typically send out invitations to shortlisted candidates in the first week of April but this year the final selections were released on May 8. "IIM-A had completed its new batch admission process prior to the lockdown. The process takes about three months (from January to March) to complete the process from shortlisting for interviews to the final selection," Gupta added.

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In his ninth-floor office on Paris's Avenue Montaigne, Europe's wealthiest man, Bernard Arnault, is spending long hours plotting a post-virus future for his luxury goods empire, LVMH. At 71, the billionaire has lived through several crises, but none quite like this one, with his stable of more than 70 brands - from Dior to Fendi - hit from all sides.

Arnault's wealth has plunged. With LVMH shares down 19pc this year, his net worth has shrunk by more than $30bn (27bn) - losing more money than any other individual in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. As of May 5, he had lost about as much money as Amazon boss Jeff Bezos had gained.

Undeterred, Arnault has been heading to his war room every day, where he's fighting to keep a blockbuster acquisition and a couple of large real estate projects on track, while holding video calls with deputies as they prepare to reopen factories and boutiques in a virus-shaken world.

"He's putting himself in a position to keep taking share once the market gets back to growth," said Mario Ortelli, founding partner of luxury consultancy Ortelli & Co.

Since the late 1980s, Arnault has dazzled - and at times scandalized - the rarefied world of French business with his prodigious flair for turning the creativity and craftsmanship of Europe's oldest brands into a windfall of ever-growing profits.

His flagship Louis Vuitton brand is estimated by analysts to have a profit margin as high as 45pc. The mark-ups on that brand's monogrammed trunks and handbags, as well as from other golden-goose products like Hennessy Cognac and Dom Perignon Champagne, have helped fuel Arnault's expanding presence in most things rich people spend money on. Whether they buy a Fendi handbag, a Bulgari watch, or stay at Venice's Hotel Cipriani, they're adding to Arnault's coffers.

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But as the coronavirus outbreak and lockdown measures to contain it plunge the global economy into its worst crisis since World War II, being the number one beneficiary of discretionary spending suddenly doesn't look so hot.

Most of Arnault's fashion boutiques around the world have shut down for more than a month, leading to billions in missed revenue in his most profitable division.

The maker of a fifth of the world's Champagne is selling a lot less of it with parties and concerts cancelled and nightclubs and restaurants closed. J'adore Dior perfume is less of a priority for the world's masked masses.

In the midst of all that, Arnault is on the hook to pay $16bn for Tiffany & Co in what was billed as the luxury industry's biggest-ever acquisition.

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"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."

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 25pc and 30pc, respectively. Arnault's brands, their juicy margins, and his cash pile of about 9bn 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. "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."

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 900m project now targeting a possible February opening.

LVMH also plans to build a Cheval Blanc luxury hotel on Rodeo Drive, Los Angeles.

Steps away from Arnault's war room, the hiss of hydraulic lifts and the thuds of hammers can be heard behind scaffolding-wrapped windows at Christian Dior's founding boutique on Avenue Montaigne.

With Arnault's blessing, the storied house is forging ahead with plans for a sweeping renovation that will triple its size - yet another bet that the industry will rise again.

Bloomberg
Chandigarh :

Punjab BJP today condemned the murderous attack on RSS leader Jagdish Gagneja and demanded strict action against those who were behind the incident.



All of us in the core committee have condemned this incident and demanded strict action against those who were behind this attack, Punjab BJP President Vijay Sampla today said.



A meeting of the partys core committee was held in Jalandhar in the wake of attack on Gagneja by bike-borne assailants.



Sampla, also a Union minister, said they would also meet Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and demand stringent action against those who were involved in it.



He also termed the incident as a matter of concern and asked police to remain extra vigilant to prevent such incidents in future.

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Hong Kong: Security guards ejected several pro-democracy politicians from Hong Kong's legislature on Friday, after tempers flared and scuffles broke, when a pro-Beijing legislator tried to take control of the House Committee.

The pro-Beijing lawmaker inserted herself as chair of a committee meeting to try to end a months-long impasse that has resulted in a backlog of legislation, including a controversial bill that would criminalise abuse of the Chinese national anthem in the semi-autonomous city.

Pan-democratic legislator Raymond Chan Chi-chuen is taken away by security guards during a Legislative Council's House Committee meeting, in Hong Kong. Credit:AP

Pro-Beijing lawmakers have accused pro-democracy lawmaker Dennis Kwok, the deputy chair of the House Committee, of stalling its work by blocking the selection of a new chair for more than six months. China publicly rebuked Kwok last month for holding up matters that affect public interest, sparking protests that it was meddling in Hong Kong's internal affairs.

On Friday, pro-Beijing lawmaker Starry Lee, saying she had the authority as the previous chair to preside over the meeting, occupied the seat more than an hour before the meeting's scheduled start. Security staff and other pro-Beijing lawmakers surrounded the bench to try to keep a large group of pro-democracy lawmakers at bay.
(L) California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a news conference at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, California, on Aug. 16, 2019. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) (R) Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden delivers remarks about the CCP virus at the Hotel Du Pont in Wilmington, Delaware, on March 12, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

California Governor Gavin Newsom Endorses Joe Biden for President

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday formally endorsed Joe Biden for president at a virtual fundraising campaign event held in partnership with the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

I just couldnt be more proud of you and the prospects of your presidency, Newsom told Biden. The first-term California governor also praised the former vice president for his deep compassion and empathy.

The online event marked Bidens first joint fundraising event with the DNC, which allows donors to give more money than they can give directly to Bidens campaign. Co-chairs of the event were asked to raise $100,000, according to an invitation.

Some 745 people were on the call, reported Politico.

Im so honored to be here with you and supporting your presidency, Newsom told the former vice president, reported the outlet.

Newsoms endorsement was expected. He had previously supported Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) in the Democratic presidential primary. She exited the race on Dec. 3, 2019 and signaled her support for Biden on March 8.

Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, told Newsom on the Zoom call that the governor was doing one hell of a job in handling the situation in California through the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic. Biden also thanked Newsom for protecting the cornerstone or our democracy: the right to vote.

Earlier on Friday, Newsom signed an executive order to have all registered California voters be sent a mail-in ballot for the November general election. In-person voting will also be available, Newsom said.

Biden said Newsom can expect to hear a lot from him if he wins the presidency.

Gov., if I get elected Im going to need you badly, not a joke, Biden said.

Bidens campaign said on April 30 that he has chosen four people to help him select a running mate. He has said that he wants a woman younger than him as a running mate.

Former rivals Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have been mentioned as in the running, along with failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Biden said in late April he would pick former First Lady Michelle Obama as his running mate in a heartbeat.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Read More Biden Vows to Reverse Rule Strengthening Protections for Students Accused of Sexual Assault
In 2019, more than 3.2 million reports of fraud were filed in the US alone. People lost a collective $1.9 billion.

While phone scams still proliferate, droves of fraudsters have taken to the internet to cheat people out of their money. In 2020, Google detects a stunning 50,000 phishing websites per week. And the scams have become more sophisticated than ever.

Even generally secure lines of communication such as cloud business phone services cannot guarantee 100% protection against scams.

So what can you do to protect yourself from online communication scams? Here are the top 3 strategies and tools to leave scammers empty-handed.

1 - Keep Track of the Latest Scams, and Watch Out for Future Trends

A good defense against fraud is to keep track of the latest scams that circulate on the internet. That way, you won't have to think twice about that suspicious, but scarily real-looking e-mail or website.

The 2020 coronavirus pandemic has kicked scammers into high gear. The FTC reported over 18,000 coronavirus-related scams between January and mid-April, with people losing over $13 million.

One of the most rampant COVID-19 scams are fake e-mails and websites related to the World Health Organization (WHO), whether they ask for money for recruitment, charge registration fees, or offer lotteries and prizes.

In the US, scammers have been targeting people's government stimulus checks. Phishing messages and fake government websites stole the personal information of thousands of Americans trying to get their coronavirus relief checks.

In terms of future trends, scammers are now starting to use artificial intelligence for so-called deepfakes. By using the voices and faces of other people - celebrities, politicians, or CEOs - cybercriminals steal personal information or large sums of money.

For example, only recently three men were arrested in Israel for stealing a stunning $8 million from a high-profile businessman by using AI to impersonate the French foreign minister. Such scams are still rare - but experts say they will take off soon.

2 - Always be Suspicious of Certain Online Offers

While scam trends change frequently, there are certain kinds of websites and online offers that you should always treat with suspicion.

According to Fraud.org, a project by the National Consumers League, the most common internet scams involve:

Merchandise (44.26 %) paid for but never delivered

Fake checks (13.52%)

Advance fee loans and credit arrangers (9.76%)

Phishing and spoofing (8.30%), targeting your personal information

Friendship and sweetheart swindles (6.71%)

Prizes and gifts (3.63%)

Always suspect foul play when asked to conduct financial business online outside of standard banking platforms, if a website asks for your personal information, if you are suddenly contacted by a long-lost high school sweetheart, or if you are told that you won a prize. Enabling spam and call filters also helps.

As for merchandise swindles, always check the credibility of the website you're buying from. In 2020, fraudulent websites are often incredibly well-designed and realistic-looking. To reveal whether they are the real deal, google their credentials or to try calling a customer service number if one is listed. (Hint: If there isn't, that's already a big red flag.)

3 - When in Doubt, Take a Step Back and Double-Check

The best weapon in a scammer's arsenal is panic.

Scammers often try to create a sense of emergency. Act now, transfer money immediately, fill out a form right away, OR ELSE. Your account will be closed. You will have to pay late fees or penalties. You won't be receiving your government stimulus check.

Anyone getting such a message can panic, and follow the scammer's instruction.

Stop. Think. Check.

Any message urging you to act right away should be treated with the utmost suspicion. If you receive a message like that, or get forwarded to a website with a similar message, take a step back, breathe, and assess the situation.

Usually, checking the sender address of an email by hovering over the sender name can reveal whether that sender is legitimate or not. This message about a suspended Netflix account was by no means sent by their service department, but by a totally unrelated address.

A great asset to sniffing out potential scams are also reverse lookup tools. Enter suspicious e-mail addresses, URLs, or phone numbers, and they will reveal if you are indeed dealing with a scam.

Final Thoughts

The enormous landscape of online scams is constantly evolving.

But by keeping up with the latest scams and future fraud trends, generally being suspicious of certain kinds of online offers and transactions, and keeping calm when scammers try to push you, you can protect yourself. And hold onto your hard-earned cash.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Vietnamese repatriated from the U.S. step down a Vietnam Airlines aircraft at Van Don Airport in Quang Ninh Province, May 8, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy.

Vietnam brought home 343 citizens from the U.S., the worlds Covid-19 epicenter, on a Vietnam Airlines direct flight Friday.

The flight carrying one U.S. citizen had departed from Hanois Noi Bai Airport Thursday morning to San Francisco after Vietnam Airlines completed all procedures required by U.S. authorities, Vietnams Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday.

"Today is a historic day at SFO as we welcomed the very first Vietnam Airlines passenger flight to the United States!" San Francisco International Airport (SFO) said on its Facebook page.

The return flight landed at the Van Don Airport in the northern province of Quang Ninh at 6:45 p.m. Friday. Passengers included overseas students under the age of 18, seniors and people in extremely difficult circumstances, business travelers and tourists whose visas had expired. They underwent medical checks before boarding and wore face masks throughout the flight.

A representative of the airport said this was the first time since the end of the Vietnam War that a Vietnamese carrier had operated a direct flight to and from the U.S.

After having their health checked, all Vietnamese citizens returning from the U.S. were sent to quarantine camps in the northern provinces of Ninh Binh, Ha Nam and Hoa Binh and had their samples taken for Covid-19 testing.

The repatriation flight was originally set to take off on May 2 from San Fransisco, but was postponed because the airline had not fulfilled all licensing procedures under local laws, the Vietnamese Embassy in the U.S. said.

As of Friday, the U.S. was the country with the highest number of Covid-19 cases and deaths, far surpassing the second most affected country, Spain. Almost 1.3 million have been infected with the disease in the U.S., and nearly 77,000 have died.

Over 2.1 million Vietnamese currently live in the U.S., mainly in California.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has issued a Category 1 rating to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, meaning it meets safety standards to operate direct flights to the U.S.

Vietnam Airlines got the green light to operate direct flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to several American destinations in September last year. No such flight under the permit has been scheduled.

All Vietnamese airlines have suspended international flights since March 25.

In April and early May, Vietnam has operated 11 special flights to repatriate 1,700 citizens from Canada, Japan, France, Thailand and the UAE.

Vietnam has recorded 288 Covid-19 cases so far after 17 Vietnamese returning from UAE were confirmed positive Thursday night. The country has recorded no community transmission in the last 23 day.
Planning for any future pandemics should be free from 'political interference', academics have suggested. (Picture: Richard Pohle/The Times /PA Wire)

Planning for any future pandemics should be free from political interference, a group of academics have suggested.

Researchers from Glasgow Caledonian University, the Cass Business School in London, Nottingham University and Vlerick Business School in Belgium proposed a new body that works independently, similar to the Bank of England, to deal with preparing for pandemics.

The Department of Health has been found wanting during the coronavirus outbreak, a paper by the researchers said, and they suggested that early warnings of the threat of Covid-19 had been missed, leaving workers facing unprecedented risks on a daily basis, due to the inadequacy of their governments approach to preparation.

The researchers said that: independent responsibility for national future preparedness should be handed to the NHS free from political interference.

Proposing the new independent body, they said: The stability of the UKs financial system is based on the Bank of England remaining free from day-to-day political influence, having specific statutory responsibilities for regulation across multiple domains.

It is time that national emergency preparedness, resilience, and response to transboundary risks follows suit via a public body with governance arrangements similar to those of the Bank of England.

This public body would be enshrined in law, with the NHS pandemic preparedness and resilience responsibilities falling under its umbrella.

Latest coronavirus news, updates and advice

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The report, published in the Journal of Risk Research, described a lack of urgency by the UK government and its agencies to ramp up their preparedness and systemic resilience in the face of early mounting evidence and warnings from mid-January following events in China.

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It added: It is perhaps no coincidence that countries such as South Korea, which learned concrete lessons from its severe experience of Sars in 20022003, have been better at both anticipating and containing COVID-19.

The researchers said while the UK had carried out preparedness tests for possible pandemics such as Exercise Cygnus, the findings of them were clearly never acted upon in a meaningful way.

They added that the mild consequences of the 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic in the UK meant the resilience of response plans was not thoroughly tested and if it had been, stockpiling of PPE and ventilators would have been taken more seriously.

The paper said: There can be no substitute for actionable and feasible emergency preparedness and resilience plans, devoid of short-term politicisation.

Ultimately, it doesnt matter if youre a national health provider or a Texan supermarket chain.

If you dont invest in developing resilience through financial resources and strategic direction, your likelihood of success is reduced. To paraphrase the Chinese proverb, without rice, even the cleverest cannot cook.

Lead researcher Dr Cormac Bryce, of Cass Business School, said: The warnings to prepare were there for those willing to look and act for years. 

Coronavirus: what happened today
Since the coronavirus pandemic first emerged in China, more than a quarter of a million people around the world have died from COVID-19  many without a family member by their side to help them through their final moments.

With most hospitals banning visits, the infectious nature of the virus has made it impossible for many families to be at the bedside of a loved one who is dying, leaving them instead to grieve from afar.

It has left their loved ones, too, to die with neither the final comfort of a familiar voice nor one last touch of a familiar hand.

But, even as the pandemic continues to grow, some hospitals are reconsidering that policy.

I was so happy we had the privilege to say goodbye, Rinat Vita Dishlo told NBC News.

The Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in Israel allowed Dishlo, 48, and her two siblings to see their 74-year-old mother before she died from COVID-19 on April 22.

Wearing full protection, Dishlo was able to not only see her mother, but stroke her head and hair as she lay in her bed, slipping in and out of a coma.

I talked to her and she opened her eyes, Dishlo said. I reached out my hand to her and she squeezed it back.

Image: Rinat Vita Dishlo says goodbye to her mother, Vita Bat Sheva, dying of coronavirus at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in Israel. (Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center)

The hospital was the first in Israel to start allowing families to see people who are dying from the coronavirus.

Hospital spokesman Avi Shushan said hospital officials had heard horror stories from around the world about people dying alone. But with Israel managing to keep the outbreak at bay, with 245 deaths, he said the hospital recognized it could safely accommodate families wanting to be there till the end.

We cant change the fact that people will die from this virus, but at least we can give these moments of compassion to family members and their loved ones, Shushan added.

Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

In Spain, one of the hardest-hit European nations, a makeshift hospital at Madrids IFEMA conference center, built for treating people with the coronavirus, was also one of the first to allow end-of-life visits. In March, it set aside eight rooms to give families privacy.

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Clinical psychologist Laura Bezos Saldana and her team were tasked with preparing families for their final goodbyes, so they could fully express their emotions and leave nothing unsaid.

From a psychological standpoint, Saldana said it also allowed families to start their grieving process properly.

She said the gratitude from the families was overwhelming, even for a seasoned professional. Sometimes, I would shed a tear because you empathize a lot with their pain, she said.

As countries across the globe respond to the pandemic, many have adopted different approaches to end-of-life visits.

In Italy, which had the second-deadliest outbreak in Europe, hospitals dont allow any visits for people with COVID-19, even in end-of-life cases, the countrys health ministry told NBC News.

But in the U.K.  which now has the highest death toll in Europe, with more than 30,000 people killed  the countrys health minister, Matt Hancock, said last month families of people with COVID-19 will be given the right to say goodbye. This came after distressing reports of a 13-year-old British boy dying alone, without his family at his side.

Wanting to be with someone you love at the end of their life is one of the deepest human instincts, Hancock said. Its a moment that will be with you forever.

In South Korea, which managed to contain the virus with robust testing and aggressive contact tracing, one private hospital in Daegu, an early epicenter of the outbreak, set up a so-called hospice room where patients and their families can say goodbye, South Koreas deputy health minister Kim Gang-lip told NBC News.

Its not the norm, but rather an exception, Kim admitted.

In the U.S., many families of people with COVID-19 have told NBC News they could not visit their loved ones before they died. Several have had to rely on technology to say their final goodbyes.

For Gerry Brostek and his siblings, the last chance to see their 87-year-old father alive came on a FaceTime call while he was being treated at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York.

Brostek, 56, said the hospital had a zero-visitation policy when his father died, on March 25.

We were trying to keep a stiff upper lip and put a smile on, but we knew it was the last time wed talk with Dad, he said about the call. It was very surreal, but we all figured this was better than nothing. How do you say goodbye to your father on a FaceTime call?

Download the NBC News app for full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in an email Monday that family visitation policies involving people with the coronavirus in U.S. hospitals are left to the discretion of hospital administrators.

The American Hospital Association said it was not aware of any U.S. hospitals allowing family members to visit people with COVID-19 who are dying.

The extraordinary reality of COVID-19 has forced many hospitals and health systems to take extraordinary measures to keep patients and communities safe, said Nancy Foster, AHAs vice president for quality and patient safety policy.

We do not take lightly the sacrifices we are asking individuals and their loved ones to make; we would not do so unless it was absolutely necessary.
It almost seems that Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry have been dealing with intense media pressure from the time that they first announced that they were in a serious relationship. The British tabloids just cant get enough of them, and no matter what, it is actually as if they are constantly being portrayed in a negative light.

In fact, the main reason that Meghan and Harry decided that they were going to resign from their positions as senior working royals was because of the media scrutiny and the toll that it was taking on their lives. Even now that the royal exit is complete, and Prince Harry and Meghan have moved thousands of miles away to Los Angeles, California, they are still making headlines on a regular basis.

Despite attempts to let the media know that they would like some degree of privacy, they havent really gotten that yet, and they are doing something about it. Now, Meghan and Prince Harrys media strategy is applauded by a communications expert.

The letter to the tabloids

Meghan and Harry are a notoriously private couple. From even before they were married, they did what they could to in order to stay out of the spotlight, and after the royal wedding, they surprised everyone by moving away from Kensington Palace and taking up residence in the countryside of Windsor, England. Now that the Sussexes are living in California and are officially independent, they have taken a major step by writing a letter saying that they no longer want to be connected to the four major British tabloids. In the letter, the couple severs all ties with The Mirror, The Express, the Daily Mail, and The Sun, and they are extremely adamant about conveying their message.

The letter wasnt exactly well-received by most

Naturally, most people couldnt keep quiet about how Meghan and Harry are approaching the situation with the news media. According to the Stylist, it has been met with quite a bit of backlash, and some people are even going so far as to say that they should severe ties with their public relations team. The couple made it clear that they will still have relations with other news outlets that specifically deal with their work, however, they wish to separate themselves from the tabloids that have created so much drama for them over the past few years. Meghan and Harry are definitely working toward their new life of independence.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harrys media strategy is applauded by a communications expert

Harry and Meghan know where their bread is buttered, and trust me, it aint with the readers of the Mail, Mirror, Express, and The Sun. I wrote a lil sumthin for @prweekuknews on the Sussexs letter to the tabloids https://t.co/9OF6jqXxyt  Julian Obubo (@JulianObubo) April 22, 2020

Although the letter from Meghan and Harry definitely caused some backlash, there is one person who feels quite differently. Julian Obubo, a communications professional and brand strategy director, is officially giving his praise to the duke and duchess for what they have said and the actions that they have taken. PR Week reports that Obubo feels that Meghan and Harry have done the right thing since they have nothing to gain from the relationships with the four major tabloids. He feels that by being independent and using their own efforts to have the members of the public see them as they want to be seen, they will get much farther than if they continued to have connections to the British tabloids. Obubo has been very clear that he completely supports Meghan and Harrys media strategy, and for good reason. He knows all too well that the tabloids dont always present high-profile people in the best way possible, especially Meghan and Harry. Looks like the Sussexes have someone on their side who definitely agrees with their way of thinking, and who feels that they have taken the first step in the right direction.
Cordova native and resident John Wesley Evans spent much of his young life trying to flee his calling to serve God and minister to God's people.

Growing up in Cordova and eventually graduating from G.W. Carver High School in 1964, Evans, 74, kept hearing this tugging on his heart to serve God in some type of ministerial position.

"I wanted to get out of Orangeburg," he said, thinking that perhaps a change of scenery would help shut out the voice of God.

Get out of Orangeburg he did.

Evans went to Allen University in Columbia on a baseball scholarship, but in order to get through college, he had a work study that entailed driving the presiding elder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The job helped cover his tuition expenses, room and board.

"I could not shed my call to ministry," he said. "My ministry call still bugged me."

As a junior, Evans left the university and decided to join the U.S. Air Force with the intention of fighting the war in Vietnam. This too was his way of fleeing his ministerial call.

In July 1966, Evans entered the U.S. Air Force and was stationed at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, for basic training.

A month later, he went to Edwards AFB in Los Angeles, where he served in Aerospace Fire and Rescue. He became a sergeant -- or informally a buck sergeant.

While at Edwards AFB, Evans became a drill master and served on the base's exhibition drill team, but his primary duties were as a fire-protection specialist rescue man. He was responsible for fire suppression and rescuing test pilots.

"Edwards Air Force Base was a flight test center," Evans said, noting he and his fellow fire-protection and rescue men would stand ready to respond when an emergency came in. "Edwards was in the middle of the Mohave Desert when they were training on reconnaissance fighter plane 104," Evans said.

"When there was a crash, we suppressed the fire and got the pilot out to take them to the medic," he said.

During his time at Edwards, Evans saw several planes go down in flames.

Military planes tested at Edwards included the SR-71 reconnasiance aircraft and the XB-70 long-range experimental bomber used in Vietnam.

"They (test pilots) came in as test pilots simply to test the aircraft and they flew that thing to the limit to see if it would hold together," Evans said. "We became friends because they knew they had to rely on us if anything happened to them to get out safely."

While there, Evans said he responded to a crash that killed Americas first black astronaut, Air Force Maj. Robert Lawrence Jr., in Dec. 8, 1967. Lawrence was part of a classified military space program in the 1960s called the Manned Orbiting Laboratory, meant to spy on the Soviet Union.

"The second pilot broke his back and we went over and got the second pilot out," Evans said.

For about two years, Evans remained at Edwards before getting his first official call overseas in August 1968.

"I volunteered for Vietnam, but they sent me to Bangkok, Thailand," Evans said.

Evans ended up being shipped to Don Muang Royal Thai Air Force Base in Southeast Asia, where he served as a house captain.

During the early years of the Vietnam War, Don Muang was used as a major command and logistics hub of the USAF under the command of the United States Pacific Air Forces 13th Air Force.

During Evans' time at the base, the USAF's presence was winding down as a new airfield had opened, causing the Air Force to move out of Don Muang.

It was in Thailand at Don Muang where Evans' military service became most challenging.

Don Muang had at that time become a dual-operated base with military aircraft sharing the runway with civilian aircraft.

"The most traumatic time for me was when a Japanese supersonic passenger plane came in on an emergency landing," Evans recalled. "There were 300 passengers on board. We had foamed the runways for them because they had a problem with the landing gear."

Evans said the incident was one he will never forget.

"It could have been a very, very bad situation," Evans said. "We were kind of skeptical because we did not have much training on civilian aircraft. Fortunately there was no fire but it was a little scary at times until the aircraft came to a screeching halt in the foam."

At the end of 1969 and early into 1970, Evans went to Loring AFB in Limestone, Maine, where he experienced another traumatic event.

"There was a B-52 and an SR-71 stationed on that post and there was an explosion," Evans said. "One of my friends got seriously injured in the B-52 explosion."

Evans said the explosion was so intense the Air Force needed assistance from outside agencies to put out the fire and conduct the rescue.

"It was a traumatic experience for me to see my friend get hurt," Evans said.

Though Evans managed to avoid any significant injuries while in service, some wounds are deeper than the flesh.

"I carry them with me every day of my life," he said. "I constantly have headaches and ringing in my ears because of the explosion with the B-52 in Maine."

Evans later lost vision in his left eye, which he believes could have been the result of his military service.

In September 1970, Evans was discharged from the Air Force as a staff sergeant. He said the USAF allowed him to be discharged earlier than planned to enable him to finish off his education.

But for Evans, the military continued to beckon.

In 1973, he joined the South Carolina Army National Guard as a business machine repairman, but all the while he was preparing for the Christian ministry. No matter how much Evans tried to avoid it, God continued to call and took the necessary steps.

In 1976, Evans accepted his first pastorate position in the United Methodist Church in Belton.

Two years later, Evans graduated from Claflin University with a degree in religion and philosophy with a minor in history. While receiving his degree, Evans served as an assistant chaplain with the SCARNG.

The same year, Evans enrolled in ITC/Gammon Seminary in Atlanta and in 1979 withdrew from the SCARNG and joined the Georgia Air National Guard and then the Georgia U.S. Air Force Reserves as a chapel superintendent.

But the SCARNG was not done with Evans.

In 1996, he rejoined the SCARNG fire rescue unit in Allendale and went on to serve as an assistant chaplain and administrative chaplain.

He retired from the SCARNG in 2005.

"The love for ministry and the military stuck with me then and it sticks with me today," he said. "I had to be around those things all the time."

Evans retired from his pastorate in the UMC in 2010 but has not retired from the ministry. He continues to help pastors who may need someone to fill in for them.

During his military service, Evans received two achievement awards and one meritorious medal.

He says the most rewarding thing is his current role as part-time history and social studies teacher at Carver Edisto Middle School and Edisto High School.

"That is my true love right now, teaching children in the Orangeburg County School District," Evans said.

Looking back, Evans expressed pride in his service to God, to country and now to the future generation.

"I am very, very proud of what I was able to do," he said.

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Gakharia wants to receive guarantees from the Ukrainian side that Saakashvili will not interfere in internal affairs of Georgia

Open source

Prime Minister Georgiy Gakharia said that Georgia would not not break off diplomatic relations with Ukraine due to the appointment of Mikheil Saakashvili to the post of head of the executive committee for reform of Ukraine. The Georgian News agency reported that.

According to the Prime Minister, Georgia recalled the ambassador in order to hold consultations on the topic "how to protect relations between countries from adventurers."

We will not question our strategic partnership, the brotherhood of our countries and peoples because of individual irresponsible politicians. Although we recalled the ambassador, this does not mean that we will question diplomatic relations or strategic partnership. We recalled the ambassador only for that to get consultations on how to protect our relations from adventurers," Gakharia said.

It is noted that the prime minister fears Saakashvili's "interference in the internal affairs of Georgia". Gakharia wants to get guarantees from the Ukrainian side that this will not happen.

"We recall the ambassador so that these political adventurers do not interfere with our fraternal and strategic partnership and endanger these relations. This is most important for us. Subsequently, it is imperative that someone whoever he is says that he will it was ensured that in the future there would be no continued interference in the affairs of another country, as he would restrain Mikheil Saakashvili, so that he would refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of Georgia. Its very interesting for me and I will observe," the head of the Georgian government added.

As we reported before, Georgia has recalled its ambassador in Kyiv for consultations. Such move is due to the recent appointment of Mikheil Saakashvili, the former Georgian leader who is, from now on, the head of the Executive Committee of Reforms that works by the President of Ukraine.
Opposition Congress in Madhya



Pradesh on Saturday alleged that the 16 migrant workers, who were crushed to death by a train in Maharashtra on Friday, had applied to the Shivraj Singh Chouhan govenment for passes to travel back home about a fortnight ago, but the administration failed to act on it.

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh tweeted a video in which a survivor of the train tragedy claimed that they had applied for their return to their respective districts in Madhya Pradesh.

Alleging that the MP government's "negligence and inaction" led to the death of the workers, Singh also called for a probe to know what arrangements the BJP-led government had done to bring back these workers after they applied for return.

"The workers killed in the train accident had asked for passes from the Shivraj government about fifteen days back. These 16 lives could have been saved, if passes were issued. Shivraj ji, these deaths are the result of jungle raj," Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee said in a tweet.

In a tweet, Digvijaya Singh said, "16 labourers of Umaria, Shahdol and Mandla districts of Madhya Pradesh were crushed to death in a train accident. I had asked Shivraj Singh Chauhan yesterday. Whether these workers were registered (for their return)?



"If this (they applied) had happened, what arrangements did the MP government make? Listen from the surviving workers," he said.

Singh shared a video of a labourer, whose co-workers were killed in the train accident in Aurangabad. In the video the worker claimed that they had applied to the government for return to the state.

"Now the statement of the labourer Dhirendra Singh who survived proved that the workers lost their lives due to the negligence and inaction of MP government," Singh said in another tweet.

Talking to PTI in response to the Congress's charges, state BJP vice-president and MLA Rameshwar Sharma alleged, "This is happening due to the top Congress leaders, who had announced to pay the train expenses of migrants. The people are leaving their homes to reach the railway stations after this announcement."



"Congress should act responsibly when the state government has announced to make arrangements to bring back the migrants. After getting registration from the migrants, the state government is sending SMS to them with information about the boarding time and place after making arrangement of transportation," he said.

Sharma said that the state government was committed to bringing back every migrant.

Sixteen migrant workers sleeping on rail tracks while returning to Madhya Pradesh were crushed to death by a goods train in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra in the early hours of Friday.

The labourers, working in a steel factory in Jalna, left for their home state on foot. They came till Karmad and slept off on the tracks as they were tired, a police official had said.

Three of the four survivors were sleeping some distance away from the rail tracks, police said.

The migrant workers, rendered jobless due to the coronavirus-enforced lockdown and desperate to go to their native places, were walking along the rail tracks apparently to escape police attention.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The mighty Danube flows through the heart of Europe and on this wonderful all-inclusive river cruise, youll sail along it amid stunning scenery through four countries.

In addition, Mail on Sunday readers will be joined for this cruise by classical music expert John Suchet.

Starting in Passau, Germany, home to Europes largest pipe organ, youll sail into Austria with stops at Linz  from which you can visit Salzburg, Mozarts birthplace  Melk and Durnstein.

Stunning: The mighty Danube flowing through Salzburg, Mozarts birthplace

YOUR ITINERARY DAY 1 Arrive in Passau, Germany, and board SS Maria Theresa. DAY 2 Passau and European composers talk with John Suchet. DAY 3 Linz (Salzburg), Austria. DAY 4 Melk and Durnstein, Austria, and Q&A with John. DAY 5 Vienna, Austria, composers walking tour with John and private concert. DAY 6 Bratislava, Slovakia. DAY 7 Budapest, Hungary, Opera House visit with John and piano concert on board. DAY 8 Disembark in Budapest and return home. Advertisement

Next stop is Vienna, where Beethoven, Mozart, Strauss, Schubert, Mahler and Brahms all lived and worked, and where Classic FM presenter John will introduce an evening of chamber music featuring their famous works.

He will also give an exclusive talk and host a question-and-answer session aboard your luxurious Uniworld ship, compere a piano recital and join you for two fascinating excursions.

Youll also visit Bratislava, capital of Slovakia, before disembarking in Hungarys beautiful capital, Budapest. This voyage in spring 2021 is the perfect break for music-lovers keen to explore the highlights of central Europe.

REASONS TO BOOK

Exclusive events with John Suchet: John will join you in Vienna for a special Music And Composers walking tour and a private classical concert.

He will give an exclusive talk on board about the major European composers, as well as one on his life and career, which spans almost 30 years at ITN and Classic FM. He has also written numerous books on Beethoven.

Sail in style: Youll travel with Uniworld, consistently ranked the best river cruise line in the world, on luxurious SS Maria Theresa, which takes just 150 guests.

Golden boy: A memorial to Johann Strauss in Vienna

OUR SPECIAL GUEST You will be joined by John Suchet John Suchet is a highly respected author, TV presenter and broadcaster on Classic FM, which he joined in 2010. He hosts its weekday Morning Show and is one of Britains foremost experts on Beethoven, having written six books about the composer. He presented the ITN news from 1976 to 2004. Advertisement

Regal in its opulent 18th Century decor, its a floating homage to the former Austrian empress with an elegant dining room, marble bathrooms and Asprey toiletries.

Uniworld has one of the highest staff-to-guest ratios in the industry, and everything on board, even fine wine and unlimited beverages, is included.

Discover the Danube: Enjoy stunning scenery as you sail along this delightful river through the wooded hills and castles of Bavaria to the lush wine-growing region of the Unesco-listed Wachau Valley and across the edge of the Hungarian steppes.

VIP access and excursions: Youll enjoy two exclusive concerts compered by John, one in a historic and intimate concert venue in Vienna, and another, a piano recital, on board your Uniworld ship.

Youll also enjoy a fascinating Vienna music and composers walking tour.

Beethovens Vienna: Youll have time to explore the city which Beethoven arrived in as a young man.

Born in Bonn in 1770, the composer moved to Vienna aged 21 to nurture his incredible musical talent, and lived here for the rest of his life.
An eighth case of COVID-19 has been identified in an outbreak at a truck maintenance shop in Brandon.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 8/5/2020 (620 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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An eighth case of COVID-19 has been identified in an outbreak at a truck maintenance shop in Brandon.

The person is an employee at the shop, Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba's chief public health officer, said during Friday's health briefing.

The shop is run by Oak Point Service, an arm of Paul's Hauling Ltd., a large trucking company based in Winnipeg with a terminal in Brandon.

The outbreak now includes six employees and two others who were in close contact with an employee who had contracted the virus, Roussin said.

The affected staff and close contacts are self-isolating, and their cases are being followed up by public health officers.

Rossin has said a rise in the number of cases was not unexpected as contact tracing is carried out, but he again stressed Friday the outbreak does not pose a health risk to the public.

"The contact investigations are essentially complete, and there is no concern for the public," Roussin said.

He noted the "index" case  the person who was the first to be identified  had no known link to travel or another known case, which then classifies it as community transmission.

Roussin said 11 per cent of the cases so far in Manitoba are described as community transmission.

On Thursday, Roussin praised the company for taking action early in the pandemic that helped contain the spread of the virus.

He said the company took pre-emptive measures by placing workers in smaller groups and limiting contact between them and other workers.

When asked Friday if the outbreak is linked to another case in Brandon in which an employee at a gas bar tested positive for COVID-19, Roussin he would not give out that information as it could potentially identify the person.

"What we'll say is the same as always. If there was a reason that the public would be at risk then we would certainly be advising them."

An employee at the Safeway Gas Bar in Brandon tested positive for the virus, a spokesperson for parent company Sobeys told the Sun via email Thursday.

Sobeys lists all known COVID-19 cases in its stores across the country on their website. This was their first case in Manitoba, although they have already recorded cases in Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

On Friday, Central Services Minister Reg Helwer announced the Manitoba government is planning to purchase up to one million made-in-Manitoba N95 silicone masks from Winnipeg-based Precision ADM.

The masks can be sterilized after use, allowing them to be reused up to 30 times.

The province has placed an initial order for 500,000 masks, with an option to purchase an additional 500,000 masks over the next 14 months.

One new case of COVID-19 was identified Friday, bringing the total number of lab-confirmed positive and probable positive cases in Manitoba to 284.

There have been 22 confirmed cases so far in Prairie Mountain Health.

Five people are currently hospitalized, with none in intensive care.

Manitoba has 30 active cases while 247 individuals have recovered from COVID-19.

The total number of tests performed since early February now sits at 29,343.

 brobertson@brandonsun.com
But for all intents and purposes, it likely kills the lawsuit.

In denying the injunction, Snow wrote that he believes that McGee is unlikely to be able to prove his claims even after a trial.

More practically, any trial would likely not occur until after the stay-home order goes away. In fact, it is set to end Friday, May 15, unless Ducey extends it.

And Snow specifically said it is beyond his power to block the governor from future orders.

McGhee originally filed suit against Flagstaff Mayor Coral Evans earlier this year after he lost his job as a chef at a restaurant when she issued orders closing these facilities for eat-in dining. But that order was effectively superseded by Duceys own ban on restaurant dining.

In filing suit, McGhee argued that the virus is nowhere near as deadly as once thought and said the stay-home order  and the potential penalty of six months in jail and a $2,500 fine  were both unnecessary and illegal.

Governor has right to declare emergengy
City officials are joining with Chattanooga Christian School in a stormwater retention project at the campus off of South Broad Street.

CCS officials said there are currently a number of runoff issues at the school that formerly was an auto dealership.

The total project is $110,000 with the city providing $80,000.

CCS officials said they are hoping one result will be a lowering of the school's stormwater fee.

It will also be used as a teaching tool, it was stated.

The plan is by Craig Design Group.
The Karnataka State Police (KSP), under Govt. of Karnataka, has called for online applications from eligible and enthusiastic candidates for filling 4,014 vacancies to the post of Police Constables (Civil - Male/Female) and Armed Police Constable (CAR - City Armed Reserve/DAR - District Armed Reserve - Male only) through direct recruitment. The online registration-cum-application process towards the same commences from May 20, 2020 onwards and closes on June 22, 2020.

CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Posts Police Constable - Civil and Armed Police Constable - CAR/DAR Organisation Karnataka State Police (KSP) Educational Qualification Basic educational qualifications and knowledge of Kannada language Experience Freshers can apply Skills Required Physical and Medical Fitness Job Location Karnataka Salary Scale As per the KSP pay scale Industry Police Application Start Date May 20, 2020 Application End Date June 22, 2020

Age Criteria And Fees

Candidates interested in applying for Police Constable posts through KSP Constable Recruitment 2020 must meet the age criteria as per the KSP norms, with relaxation (upper age limit) for OBC (2A/2B/3A/3B) and SC/ST/CAT-I categories as applicable.

Candidates must pay a prescribed amount as examination and application processing fee through Challan mode at the listed HDFC branches/Post office as applicable.

KSP Recruitment 2020 For 2,672 Police Constable And Bandsmen Posts, Apply Online From May 18 Onwards

Vacancy Details

Post Name No. Of Vacancies Police Constable (Civil) (Male & Female) 2,565 Armed Police Constable (CAR/DAR) (Male) 1,449 Total 4,014

Educational Criteria And Eligibility

Desirous candidates applying for Police Constable posts through KSP Constable Recruitment 2020 must meet the basic educational qualifications and meet the physical-cum-medical standards as applicable for the posts.

Candidates' must have knowledge of Kannada language - read, write and speak.

Selection And Pay Scale

The selection of candidates for Police Constable posts through KSP Constable Recruitment 2020 will be done through a Written Test, Physical Efficiency Test (PET) and Interview.

Candidates selected for Police Constable posts through KSP Constable Recruitment 2020 will be paid emolument as per the KSP pay scale.

KSP Recruitment 2020 For 162 Sub Inspector Posts, Apply Online From May 26 Onwards

How To Apply

Candidates applying for Police Constable posts through KSP Constable Recruitment 2020 must register online on the official KSP website at http://rec19.ksp-online.in/ from May 20, 2020 onwards, and submit their applications on or before June 22, 2020 at https://www.ksp.gov.in/

Read the detailed notification about KSP Constable Recruitment 2020 for PC - Civil/CAR/DAR posts here
CASTING INTO MYSTERY

By Rob Reid

With Wood Engravings by Wesley W. Bates

Literature, it seems, loves to go fishing, and has since at least Izaak Waltons The Complete Angler in 1653; along the way, many authors have weighted a line and flung their baited hooks into the depths, to find what they could pull up.

Add Rob Reids to the list. But Casting Into Mystery is as much about literature, music, art, film and others among the authors many passions, foremost of which, for the purposes of this book is the arcane practice of fly fishing.

Along the way, readers will enjoy musings on Tom Thomson (a great fisher as well as a great artist) and writers as diverse as Hemingway, Yeats, Ted Hughes, Thoreau, Wendell Berry and even some of Hamiltons own poets. We also meet some fascinating fishers, like octogenarian Joan Kirkham. It is a kind of fishers literary companion.

And this gorgeously written and put together book features the incomparable wood engravings of Wesley Bates, whom many remember from Hamilton. Published by The Porcupines Quill, $26.95 online, abebooks.com and alllitup.ca or through booksellers. Digital $4.99 store.porcupinesquill.ca/

JACKLIGHTER COPSE

By Glenn Muller

Followers of Glenn Mullers mystery fiction should be happy to learn that Chas Fenn, the reluctant hero of Torque, is back in trouble, having witnessed a strange murder, but is unable to come forward as it might implicate him in another crime.

Jacklighter Copse also reprises the equally popular Det. Insp. Evan Lareault and his sergeant, Frank Bloomfield, as theyre destined once again to be drawn into the complications that seem to follow Fenn around, who comes perilously close this time to tangling with a mob boss. Other characters in the Grimsby authors repertoire add to the zest, including Fenns girlfriend Asha Fabiani, his boss Carole Lundsen and socialite Marjorie Dynes-Harrowport.

Available as ebooks from major online retailers. Paperbacks through Amazon, or: glennmuller.ca

THREE PHONES AND A RADIO: SOCIAL COMPETENCE FOR MANUFACTURING SUPERVISORS

By Christian Masotti

Hamilton author and managerial expert Christian Masotti has made an art, perhaps even a science, of an oft ignored quality in work life and, some would argue, in society in general  civility.

This book, like Masottis earlier Lean On Civility, which addresses critical communication strategies, emphasizes the importance of people skills in workplace environments that are increasingly technical and automated. But the specialized knowledge and competencies so often prized in those coming up through the ranks dont always translate into team-building.

This book goes into the Masotti Feedback Method, AEIOU strategy, the Civility Continuum, and Civility  a Continuous Improvement Strategy with lessons about the importance of being nice and why you dont want to be the clipboard and doughnut guy. Order from cmasotti@civilityexperts.com

DRIP CASTLE

By Bruce Eberts

Drip Castle, set in the northern Ontario mining town of Tear Falls, offers not only a detailed glimpse of small-town life, in a one-industry community, but also a gripping tale of intrigue and the darker side as Rick Torrison tries to rustle up enough money to take his mother to Mexico for a cure for her MS.

To that end he gets on at an airport job, fuelling planes, and its here that he meets Randy Big, an upstart security guard who has some rather different ideas about how Rick can make money. As one things leads to another, Rick is drawn into a web that will eventually involve his family, friends and virtually everyone in Tear Falls, with unforeseeable consequences.

Bruce Eberts, who grew up in northern Ontario, lives in Hamilton, where after getting a degree in occupational therapy at McMaster University, he had a successful health care company until he retired. Order from amazon.ca or Indigo, $15.99 or Kindle $3.95.

MAXIMUM EXPERIENCE

By Misty Dais

Experience, indeed. Thats what teens look for in a gap year, and those in this book get more than they bargained for as they spend it in outer space in this entertaining set-in-the future romp which features, among others, a girl from the sidewalks who joins the youth space corps as a break from poverty and ends up having to try to find a cure for adult crew members stricken by a comatose virus.

Or Noah, who needs a reference to help him become captain of a spaceship and Saver Of The Day. But he needs it quickly before anyone discovers his lie. His quest is further complicated by a rival for the captaincy, a rival whom, as it turns out, he has a crush on. But only one can get the job.

Ebook from Amazon and Kobo (Indigo) for $4.99. Paperback from Amazon for $14.99. Audiobook from Audible.ca for $18.74
A motorcycle rider was going too fast for conditions when he lost control on a sharp curve on a Lehigh County road, flipping the bike on its side and sliding 72 feet into a house, Pennsylvania State Police said.

State police at Bethlehem released more details about the Thursday night crash on Park Avenue in North Whitehall Township that claimed 36-year-old Jesse Jones, of Washington Township, Lehigh County.

Jones was riding about 9 p.m. Thursday when he approached a sharp right curve on Park Avenue, troopers said. The limit on that stretch of road is 35 mph.

Jones lost control of the motorcycle and the bike flipped onto its side, according to state police. Both the bike and Jones slid 72 feet, from the road into a nearby front yard in the 3700 block of Park Avenue, troopers said.

Jones, who was wearing a helmet, hit the brick edging of the house and suffered fatal injuries, state police. Jones was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital in Salisbury Township, where he was pronounced dead at 10:40 p.m.

The cause of death was blunt force injuries due to the crash, and Jones death was ruled an accident.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com.
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Bengal govt not allowing trains with migrants to reach state, Amit Shah writes to Mamata Banerjee



Union Home Minister Amit Shah Saturday accused the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government of not allowing trains with migrant workers to reach the state that may further create hardship for the labourers. Union home minister Amit Shah has written to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, saying the Centre is not getting the expected support from the state government to help migrant workers reach home.



Amit Shah pointed out that the Centre has facilitated more than 200,000 migrant labourers to reach home and that workers from West Bengal are also eager to go back. West Bengal government is not allowing trains with migrants reaching the state. This is injustice with WB migrant labourers. This will create further hardship for them, Amit Shah said in his letter to Mamata Banerjee.

Read More...


Gardai have been giving examples of situations encountered by officers as they encourage people to comply with Covid-19 regulations.

A small minority have been very uncooperative.

Gardai have adopted a graduated policing response based on its tradition of policing by consent. This has seen Garda members engage, educate, encourage and, as a last resort, enforce.

In all cases where arrests were made under the regulations, members of An Garda Siochana consulted with the Director of Public Prosecutions on the decision to charge.

On one occasion, gardai stopped a man at a checkpoint and questioned him on his movements on the day.

The motorist stated he was travelling to do a painting job in Co Meath, and stated he "did not care about restrictions as it has not affected him or anybody he knows."

Gardai said: "The male stated that he would not be adhering to restrictions from a non-elected government and that he would continue to work.

"A direction given to male to return to his address. He ignored this direction and continued in the direction of Co Meath."

A file has now been submitted to Office of DPP.

Aggressive and argumentative



A car was observed making erratic and evasive action to avoid a Covid-19 Checkpoint, almost colliding with a female pedestrian who was out running.

Two occupants (not from the same family) were very aggressive and argumentative from outset.

Both men were advised in relation to public health guidelines on unnecessary journeys.

Both men declined this advice and stated they were travelling 40km to purchase a small part for a trailer. It was further established it was a non-essential part.

Neither party knew if the company supplying the part was open or had queried if the part was available.

Both formally cautioned and requested to return home. Both declined initially and then stated they would stop wherever they wanted. File has been submitted to Office of DPP.



Gardai met same man three times



On mobile patrol, Gardai observed a male accompanied by two others, all from different households. All three directed to leave the area and go home. A short time later, the same male was observed in a different part of town and was again directed home.

Later when dealing with a house party, same male arrived at this house party. Again directed home. Stated he was not going home and tried to enter the house party. Male arrested. File has been submitted to Office of DPP.

Directed to go home



While Gardai were on COVID-19 patrol, they stopped a vehicle in a rural location to ascertain the identity of the occupants and their reason for travel. One male passenger was recognised and it was known that he had earlier that evening been directed on three occasions to return home.

A second male passenger was also identified and it was known that he had been directed on two separate occasions to return home.

A file has been submitted to Office of DPP.
A 32-year-old e-rickshaw driver in West Bengals Cooch Behar district stabbed his seven-month-old daughter to death in an inebriated state and grievously injured his wife on Friday, police said.

Krishna Burman, a resident of Baro Nachina village in the Dinhata 1 community block of the district, died in a hospital with critical injuries after angry local residents beat him up for attacking his family.

Villagers told the police that Burman was drunk when he came home on Friday morning and had a quarrel with Mithu, his wife, before stabbing the infant.

Burmans elder sister Saraswati said her brother left home on Thursday night and returned early in the morning in a completely inebriated state.

The man got angry when he found that his wife was still asleep and started a fight. We have started an investigation, Sanjay Dutta, inspector in charge of Dinhata police station, said while speaking to HT.

When I entered the house, I saw the child critically injured. We rushed Mithu and the baby to the hospital, Saraswati Burman said.

The neighbours heard the commotion and assembled outside the house. The e-rickshaw driver allegedly got furious and attacked them as well, said a police officer.

Two villagers sustained injuries and the others thrashed Burman before handing him over to the police.

Burman succumbed to his injuries at Dinhata sub-divisional hospital around 11.30am while his daughter was declared dead at 7.30am. Mithu Burman is admitted at Cooch Behar Medical College and Hospital.

West Bengal allowed the sale of liquor from all standalone shops on Monday, adding an additional 30% sales tax. Since then, crowds have swelled outside liquor outlets across the state and unofficial sale figures have crossed Rs 300 crore.

Bars and outlets inside shopping malls are, however, closed. The state has also allowed home delivery of liquor from the retail outlets.

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Tributes from friends and former colleagues have poured in for veteran journalist and broadcaster Frank Crook who died from a heart attack aged 81.

Crook was well-respected within the media industry as a former TV Week editor, radio host and cricket writer. He died in St Vincent's Hospital.

Frank Crook takes a close look at the playing surface at Belmore Sports Ground after the cancellation of a rugby league match between Canterbury and Western Suburbs in June 1980. Credit:John Patrick O'Gready

Crook was a former 2GB weekend mid-dawns host, with the radio company reporting the news on Saturday night.

ABC journalist Michael Rowland described him as a wonderful bloke who was wickedly funny.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu government has constituted a high-level committee headed by former Reserve Bank of India governor C Rangarajan to assess the overall immediate impact of Covid-19 pandemic on different sectors of state economy.

The committee, which will also consist of Finance Secretary S Krishnan as coordinator, will submit it's report to the government within three months, according to a Government Order.

The panel will also assess the impact of the lockdown, additional costs and implications due to social distancing and their precautionary measures.

Besides assessing the opportunities and threats in the short and medium term, the committee will come out with measures required to help the important sectors of the economy to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic.

The committee will also assess the impact of the crisis on state government's fiscal situation and way forward to improve the fiscal position, including increasing the tax; GDP ration and diversifying revenue sources and reprioritising expenditure.

The committee will also identify fiscal issues and economy protection measures the state should take up with the Union government for necessary action and possible sources of financing and funding for different sectors including infrastructure projects, small business and other enterprises.

Interestingly, it was on February 20, 2020, Deputy Chief Minister O Paneerselvam announced that an expert committee would be constituted to improve the tax: GSDP ration of Tamil Nadu. Now taking into account the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown which has posed serious economic and fiscal challenges the role of the committee has been redefined.

The state government is facing a shortfall of Rs 10,000 crore worth of cash during the first two-phase of lockdown. With few or no collection at all through commercial tax which is usually around Rs 7,000 crore and excise other taxes (around Rs 2,000 crore), the state has been struggling for funds.
Thousands of people in the UK could be forced to leave the country within weeks because their visas are set to expire before the end of May.

The Home Office said on 24 March that anyone whose leave had expired or was due to expire between 24 January and 31 May, and who could not leave the UK because of Covid-19, would have their visas extended to the end of May. There has since been no update on this guidance.

Immigration lawyers accused the department of leaving people in a stressful and precarious situation by maintaining that the visa extensions would only last until the end of this month, and called on ministers to urgently extend the date to September.

Visa holders who did not qualify for the extension but whose visas are due to expire soon after 31 May are also worried because lockdown has meant they are unable to apply to extend their leave due to the closure of English language test centres and the inability to make applications that need to be submitted from outside the UK.

Ben Hicks, 36, said his family had been left in limbo because they have been unable to get clarity on whether his Chinese wife, Tingting Zhang, 36, who flew from Wuhan on an evacuation flight in February to be with him and their five-year-old daughter Sufei, would be able to stay in Britain.

Ben Hicks (right) said due to a lack of clarity in the Home Office's visa policy during the pandemic he does not know whether his Chinese wife, Tingting Zhang (left), who flew from Wuhan on an evacuation flight in February, will be able to stay in the UK (Ben Hicks)

Ms Zhang, who was granted a six-month visa on arriving in the UK, had been planning to submit a spouse application before the pandemic started so that she could live with her husband and daughter permanently, but because it is an out-of-country application  meaning it has to be submitted from outside the UK  she is now not able to do so.

The Home Office has said that people whose visas expire before the end of May can apply for out-of-country visas from inside Britain, but Ms Zhangs visit visa ends in August so she does not qualify.

Mr Hicks, who met his wife 12 years ago while they were both working on a cruise ship, said he was being sent round in circles when he tried to phone the Home Office to clarify what they should do, and that the situation was putting the familys life on hold for even longer.

The couple already faced a setback in starting a life together when the Home Office refused Ms Zhangs fiancee visa in 2014 on the basis that Mr Hicks was not working in the UK, due to working on a cruise ship. Since then, they have spent long periods apart while he has looked for a new job in order to meet the minimum income requirement for a spouse visa.

Ive been working hard for nine months to get this sorted. We just want to get on with it so we can finally start a life together as a family. If it wasnt for the pandemic we would have applied by now and she would probably be here long-term. But at this point, unless the Home Office revises the guidance, she will have to leave again in August, he said.

Recommended Families face separation over visa income requirements

Theres a lack of clarity. Theyve had to say something because it would look bad if they said nothing, but thats as far as this has gone.

Families are also concerned because many visas, including spouse visas, require a valid English language test in order to make an application, and currently test centres are set to be closed until at least June.

Immigration lawyer Harjap Bhangal said: Many people have had deadlines which have passed or are approaching in the immediate future. The Home Office has failed to provide a concession or any sort of clear guidance for people in this situation.

If they apply without a test they run the risk of refusal or even having their route changed from five years to 10 years. If refused, they potentially face a financial loss of around 2,000 to 3,000, the risk of becoming overstayers and hence illegal and will no doubt lose their jobs and possibly also face removal action and hence be potentially split up from their families.

Mr Bhangal warned that a Windrush-style issue could emerge, adding: The Home Office tends to wait for a problem or scandal to occur and then try to solve it as opposed to try and prevent foreseeable problems in the first place.

We have seen this with the recent Windrush scandal, which could have been prevented if the Home Office had been proactive and more willing to just talk to the victims before issuing removal and deportation notices. We could potentially face a similar situation here where people begin to get refused or become fearful to apply due to the Home Offices failure to foresee this problem.

Sonia Lenegan, legal director at the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (ILPA), said: In just over three weeks the current extension of leave is due to end. The Home Office cannot realistically expect all of those people to get on a plane between now and then.

It is not right to leave people in such a stressful and precarious position. Another, lengthy, extension must be confirmed as a matter of urgency. In March, ILPA recommended an extension until September, and that remains our position.

A Home Office spokesperson said: We have extended visas to 31 May 2020 for all foreign nationals who are lawfully in the UK and unable to return home and expanded in-country switching provisions.

This is being kept under regular review, but no one will be penalised for circumstances outside of their control.
The speeches intended to sound victory drums over the 75th VE celebrations in Britain on Friday sounded distinctly hollow. VE (Victory in Europe) Day marked the anniversary of the surrender of Germany to the Allied forces on May 8, 1945.

The Queen addressed Britain at the same time to the hour as her father King George VI did 75 years back. The linkage between that battle against the Nazis and this one against a virus was made emphatically, as it is by British leaders day after day. That this is the biggest crisis to have hit Britain since World War II, and that the country will come through victorious now as it did then.

That World War II victory was, of course, among the most important ever for having ended an advance of institutionalised fascism that had threatened to very nearly take over the world. Adolf Hitler is now a metaphor for everything that the decent and humane collectively fight. The story of the Allied victory carried many myths and hid many facts, as stories told by war victors do. Millions starved to death in India because food was diverted into a declared war effort. The bombing of Dresden in Germany was not unlike what Hitler did. All that got hidden away beneath triumphant flags.

That victory is now invoked to inspire the battle against coronavirus. Its a particularly dubious invocation.

As matters stand, Britain has the highest number of deaths from the virus in all of Europe, and its World War II ally, the United States, the largest in the world, by far. This viral new enemy has no doubt descended upon the world. But the extent to which it has hit the US and Britain appears more invited than fated. The evidence is overwhelming now that both those old victorious allies have fought this new battle very badly. So far no country has lost as have these two, and continue to.

Britain delayed its lockdown by weeks while the virus continued to spread. In Europe, Italy earlier didnt know what hit it, but Britain could see its example  except that it didnt. The world was going one way, Britain the other under an exhibited nonchalance from government leaders, none more than Prime Minister Boris Johnson, until the virus came to hit him personally.

India had banned flights from the European Union (EU), Turkey and the United Kingdom (UK) on March 18. It shut international flights from March 22. Britain kept its airports open, and still does, with still no screening for arriving passengers. India was quarantining arriving passengers in March. Britain now plans to begin to do that from the end of May.

India is currently reporting about 2,000 dead in a population of 1.2 billion when Britain has recorded close to 32,000 dead in a population of 65 million. Many thousands in Britain have died obviously and also admittedly now as a result of the failure of its government. And who has this failed policy of the British government hit the hardest? The very generation of those VE heroes that the nation has now stood celebrating in word and speech.

It is that generation, now very elderly and frail, that has been confined to care homes where the spreading virus has killed without check. Without, for weeks, even of a count. It was only a couple of weeks back that Britain began to count those dying in care homes among its daily death toll running into many hundreds. A reader remarked over a report on CNN-News18 earlier that its a pity the elderly are now just a number. In Britain for a long time, they were not even a number.

Johnson has said he bitterly regrets the many deaths in care homes for the elderly, which his ministers admit could have been avoided with more testing. On the day the government was blowing the bugle over a victory in that earlier war, its own policies were killing many who had done their bit to deliver that victory. They had survived Hitler, but couldnt survive the ways of their own government.

That connection was brought sharply home to the government by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, writing in the Daily Telegraph for which Johnson wrote earlier.

"We have all heard the harrowing stories of the virus spreading through care homes, with families unable to say their last goodbyes, the new Labour leader wrote. "The crisis in our care homes has gone on for too long, and we must do everything we can to protect our most vulnerable, many of whom protected our country in its darkest hour."

This British government will no doubt be held to account eventually over its lethal mishandling of the COVID-19 crisis. For now it seems enough for a prime minister to say he bitterly regrets thousands of deaths  as a result of the failure of the government he leads  and get on with it. In ways such that this government will now choose.
At least six security personnel, including an Army major, were killed when a roadside bomb struck a patrol vehicle in southwestern Pakistans restive Balochistan province, close to the border with Iran.

The Army on Friday said in a statement that a vehicle of paramilitary Frontier Corps was targeted through a remote-controlled improvised explosive device (IED) in Kech districts Buleda area, about 14 km from the Iran border.

A major and five soldiers were killed while one soldier was injured, according to the Army.

No one took responsibility but Baloch militants often target the security forces in the province.

Security sources said the route where the explosion took place was monitored round the clock because of suspected movement by smugglers and insurgents in the border area.

A search operation was launched by the security forces in the area to trace the elements involved in the attack.

It is the first major attack on the forces in Balochistan since the outbreak of Covid-19.
An elder known to the teenage boy who is accused of killing an 18-year-old mum has been given 'tribal payback' and 'physically punished' for the alleged crime.

The body of an 18-year-old woman was discovered in a wheelie bin just four weeks after she gave birth, with a 17-year-old boy accused of killing her and dumping her body.

The woman was a Martu woman whose traditional lands cover 13.6 million hectares in central Western Australia.

Police confirmed that people from the indigenous community of Jigalong travelled to the remote mining town of Newman, where the young woman was found.

An elder man known to the teenage boy was reportedly physically punished through a traditional tribal payback.

No complaints have been made about the punishment, with tensions eased locally since it was performed, police said.

The woman's body was found outside the Newman Hospital, which is 1,178 kilometres from Perth at 4am on Wednesday

'Police can confirm a respected elder attended a culturally appropriate location, where he underwent his obligations according to cultural traditions,' a police spokeswoman told the Weekend Australian.

'To date, police have not received any complaint in relation to this matter, however there has been a noticeable reduction of tension in some sections of the community'.

Police will allege the teenage boy killed the woman, dumped her body in a wheelie bin, then dragged it outside the local hospital at 3.45am on Wednesday.

He is then alleged to have pressed the out-of-hours button and left the scene, before being arrested at a nearby house later.

The young mother's body was discovered stuffed into a wheelie bin outside Newman Hospital (pictured)

The boy will appear at Perth Children's Court on May 28.

Rocks are understood to have been seized by police during an investigation into the woman's death, and she is said to have received serious head injuries.

It is also alleged the boy took the young mother to the house of an elder before taking her to the hospital.

The woman who gave birth to a little boy only a month ago and was already a mother to a toddler, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Her 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 (pictured) said homicide squad officers were investigating the young mother's death

WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said the woman 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.

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.
A mother whose baby was switched with another family's child at birth has opened up about her ordeal for the first time.

Sandra, not her real name, gave birth to a baby girl at the Timaru Hospital in New Zealand in March 1990.

But she went home with the wrong baby after the infants' identification bracelets were mixed up.

While Sandra said she knew the baby wasn't hers, she claims her concerns were dismissed by hospital staff.

It was almost three years before the hospital switch was confirmed and to start with both families tried to be part of the girls' lives.

But by the time they were 10 the other couple took full custody of both girls - leaving Sandra with nothing.

'I don't feel like I was robbed, I was robbed I went and had a baby and that baby was taken forever,' Sandra told the New Zealand Herald.

Two mothers had their lives changed forever when their babies were swapped at birth in March 1990 at the Timaru Hospital (pictured)

When Sandra's daughter was first born she said she fed well and was very calm but after both mothers were sent to have showers and their babies were handed back, she knew something was wrong.

Her new baby had a birthmark and didn't feed well while the infant she just held was the opposite.

Sandra, who already had two sons, had lived in state housing, suffered through abusive relationships and lost a daughter of her own before the hospital mix-up.

The other couple were well off and had a son.

The maternity ward was full so the mothers had to wait until they could be moved upstairs.

It's believed that in the confusion the identification tags were mixed up, or they had fallen off the babies and put back on the wrong infant.

'I mentioned to the nurses that I didn't think this baby was mine and I got told not to be so bloody stupid,' Sandra said.

She insisted to the nurses it wasn't her baby, but they ignored her and said it was normal for babies to change their behaviour.

The baby had light eyes and fair hair - a stark contrast to the rest of her family.

But despite knowing the baby wasn't hers, Sandra said she 'got on with it'.

Sandra's partner left her before the baby was two accusing her of cheating of him because the baby looked nothing like him.

Out of desperation Sandra had a paternity test taken out and finally learned that the baby wasn't hers.

Sandra said she 'knew' the baby wasn't hers but was dismissed by hospital staff who told her she was 'being stupid' (file image)

Sandra hired a lawyer who immediately started investigating how the babies were swapped.

The hospital's then chief executive Robbie Gilchrist told the Sunday Star Times it was unclear how such a monumental error was made.

'What's most likely is that there was some delay in putting the name tags on - it's also possible the name tags slipped off,' he said.

'It's probably the biggest and most difficult crisis I've ever had to deal with.

'It's your worst nightmare really - we can't really imagine what it's like to discover something like that.'

A year passed before Sandra was able to track down the baby's real family.

Both couples met alone and exchanged photographs of the children before the kids eventually came face to face in a park in January, 1994.

One of the fathers wrote a book explaining what had happened but the girls being so young were not yet fully aware of the mistake.

Sandra sued the hospital and a settlement was reached providing compensation for the families and trust funds for the girls.

Both families decided to keep the babies they had raised but see their biological children as much as possible.

But over time Sandra was told her birth child never wanted to visit her and while she sent the child she raised to be with her parents, she never got her own daughter in return.

Sandra has since revealed she is estranged from both of her daughters both biological and the one she raised. She compared the relationship with her real daughter to 'old school friends' (file image)

By the time the girls were ten, they were both living with the other couple leaving Sandra heartbroken.

They spent 18 months there before the couple took full custody.

Sandra has since revealed she is estranged from both of her daughters.

She attended her birth child's 21st, wedding and has met her children but compared their relationship to 'old school friends'.

'There's no animosity - there's just nothing there I've never been able to bond with her so there's no mother-daughter feeling, there is just nothing.'

Sandra and her real daughter live in the same town so they see each other at the shops but only for a brief 'hello'.

Sadly, she hasn't spoken to the child she raised in years.

Sandra later went on to have twin boys.

Her eldest son still speaks to the girl he was raised with before she went back to her real family but the rest of her children have moved on.

Both babies involved in the swap are now settled with careers and one has a family.

Sandra who now has a family of her own, said she was happy for the girls but could 'never forget' how her life was was forever changed in that hospital thirty years ago.
Amid massive exercises to



contain the COVID-19 pandemic in Kerala, the state police on Saturday operated its rented helicopter to transport the heart of a brain dead patient from Thiruvananthapuram to Ernakulam, a distance of around 220 km, for a patient.

The heart of the Thiruvananthapuram resident was later harvested on a 49-year-old woman patient from Kothamangalam at the Lissie Hospital in Ernakulam.

The woman had been suffering from cardiac problems for the past one year, a hospital spokesman said.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the humanitarian act of the family of Thiruvananthapuram resident Laly Gopakumar to donate her heart, kidney and eyes was a brave move.

"Her heart, kidney and eyes were donated. It was a brave move on behalf of the family during the time of immense grief.

The heart was to be taken to the Lissy hospital at Ernakulam.

We provided the helicopter free of cost. When such emergenciescome up, we will use the helicopter," he told reporters.

The state government decided to use the chopperas an air ambulance free-of-cost to transport the vital organ as there are major traffic restrictions at district borders.

The helicopter made the journey in about 40 minutes to Ernakulam, after which the heart was transferred to an ambulance and taken to the hospital.

The renting of the chopper earlier this year by the Left government from Pawan Hans for a monthly tariff of Rs 1.44 crore had drawn flak from the Opposition parties.

The chopper is to be used for various activities, including natural disasters, rescue and anti-Maoist operations.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Deputy Trade Minister and Member of Parliament for Tema West, Carlos Kingsley Ahenkorah, has challenged former President Mahama to come out with his policies and stop criticising without alternatives.



He said although the government would continue to welcome criticisms, they would however not accept the criticisms that were without alternative suggestions.



The evidence is a daily reality for us. When President Akufo-Addo was in opposition, he came up with the groundbreaking policies, including Free SHS, one village one dam, One district one factory and Planting for Food and Jobs. Mr. Mahama is also in opposition now, what groundbreaking policies has he been able to bring to the table? None, Carlos Ahenkorah said.



In a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Friday, Mr Ahenkorah said the former President recently criticized the handling of COVID-19 pandemic and the economy and yet was unable to offer workable solutions.



He said since his defeat in the 2016 general election, the former President had not come up with extraordinary policies or programmes to show the people that they were wrong in voting him out.



He said Vice President Dr Mahamdu Bawumia's response to the former President's assertion on the economy was apt.



Responding to the former President, the Vice President said Mr. Mahama had no right to criticize the Governments handling of the Covid-19 relief when he was spending his time nit picking on everything that the Government did rather than helping with usable solutions.



The Vice President also compared Governments handling of the Covid-19 crisis to the former Presidents handling of Ghanas crippling electricity crisis and said the former President had no grounds to criticize at all.



There have been public responses to the effect that the Vice President went off kilter with his comparison of dum sor with Covid-19 but Mr Ahenkorah said the response was spot on.



We have a crisis on our hands and the government is holding the bull by the horn, why is it that the ordinary people are not complaining, but the former President is complaining about the way the Government is handling the issue? As the people approve of the Governments response, Mr. Mahamas negative response marks him out clearly as a man who can never help Ghana.



Mr Ahenkorah dared the former President to come up with workable solutions to the crisis that would have been better than what the Government is providing in its response to Covid-19.



He should bring his solution because he is a potential leader, what would he have done in this situation. Bring it up and let us compare and contrast! Mr. Ahenkorah said.

Source: GNA









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Featured Video
Lockdown could be needlessly prolonged because of the Governments obsession with bringing the irrelevant R value down, MPs and scientists have warned.

Ministers are relying on the reproductive R figure  the average number of people a coronavirus patient infects - to tell them when it will be safe to unlock the country.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has insisted that keeping the R below 1 is the most important of five tests that must be passed before returning to normal life.

But ministers have been advised against the strategy because the infection rate measure has been skewed upwards by the escalating crisis in care homes.

Experts believe the R is hovering at a stable 0.5 in the community, because people are no longer having regular face-to-face contact with others.

But the ongoing crisis tearing through care homes has driven up the rate to 0.9 in some areas, which may be spooking the Government, according to one senior MP.

If the R figure is above one, it means the disease is continuing to spread rather than gradually fading away.

Lockdown could be needlessly prolonged because of the Governments obsession with bringing the irrelevant R value down, MPs warn

There were 4,649 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 11,788 - the NHS now plans to slowly return to normal

The R was estimated to be as high as 4 at the start of Britain's outbreak, but is now between 0.5 and 0.9 nationally.

Officials have teased data revealing more accurate transmission rates in the community in different parts of the country  but theyve refused to make it public.

Greg Clark MP, the chairman of the science and technology select committee, said the R value was 'irrelevant' and slammed the Government's obsession with it.

He told The Telegraph: 'There's a concern that measures that could safely release people back into the community are not being taken because of an irrelevant 'R' number determined by cases in care homes and hospitals.

WHAT IS COVID-19'S R VALUE IN THE UK? 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'. Advertisement

'It's not clear how the 'R rate in care homes is relevant to the 'R' rates of people going about their daily business. If people are in a care home, by definition they are not going out into the community and infecting other people.

'But the single 'R' number given out by the Government has been skewed. It cannot reflect the reality outside, and we need to know whether crucial public policy decisions are being based on this number.'

Mr Clark also accused the Government of not being transparent by refusing to release data showing the R rate in different parts of the UK.

Epidemiologist Mark Woolhouse, a professor at the University of Edinburgh and an adviser to Tony Blair's Government during the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001, described the R as a 'very, very crude number' which was too general to use by itself to decide on policy.

He told the paper he was 'very against' using it as a policy objective in anyway and would be 'unhappy' if it was the deciding factor for lockdown.

A lack of widespread testing has made it difficult for scientists to assess the true spread of the virus in the UK.

It comes after early results of the government's mass sampling scheme suggested as many as 400,000 people in Britain may currently be infected with coronavirus.

Ministers launched surveillance studies to track the rate of COVID-19 in Britain, with the true size of the outbreak remaining a mystery with millions of cases having been missed because health chiefs controversially decided to abandon widespread testing early on in the outbreak.

Preliminary data from one of the major schemes, which is co-led by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), suggests the life-threatening virus has been detected in between 0.2 and 0.6 of Britons (130,000 to 396,000 people).

It is not clear if these results are from swab tests, which tell if someone is currently infected - or antibody tests, which look for signs of past infection. The sampling study involved both forms of tests to give Number 10 a better snapshot about the size of the crisis

But it is unlikely the results are based on how much of the population has developed antibodies because it would suggest only 400,000 Britons have ever been infected - giving COVID-19 a death rate of around 10 per cent, with leading experts saying the UK's true death toll is above 40,000.

Leading virologists from across the world estimate the death rate to be below 1 per cent, while other data from other antibody schemes suggest the virus kills around 0.36 per cent of patients, which would mean roughly 12million Brits have had the illness in total. It also suggests that around 2,000 people of the 400,000 currently infected will die - but the virus is still spreading within Britain.

Downing Streets own scientific advisers have previously said as much as 10 per cent of London (900,000 people) had already been infected.

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

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

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.

'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.

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.'

Scientists estimate the coronavirus kills 0.75% of all patients: Study of international 'best guess' death rates suggests SIX MILLION Britons have had the virus and recovered already

COVID-19 could kill one in every 133 people it infects, according to scientists, suggesting almost six million people in the UK have had it already.

Researchers collected information from 13 global studies that tried to calculate the true death rate of the coronavirus and settled on an overall estimate of 0.75 per cent.

This would put it around seven times deadlier than the flu (0.1 per cent), which kills thousands of people every year in Britain.

The figure chimes with data emerging from New York, where random testing last month suggested a quarter of the city of eight million people had been infected with the illness, putting the 16,000 fatalities at the time at a death rate of 0.79.

Official statistics are currently giving inflated death rates because only the most seriously ill get tested, and scientists said the truth is 'difficult to know'.

If the 0.75 per cent estimate, calculated by researchers in Australia, it could mean that 5,796,400 in the UK have been infected with the coronavirus.

That is based on 43,473 people having died, an estimate based on backdated data from the Office for National Statistics, which was 42 per cent higher than the official Government death toll (now 30,615) at its most recent count.

Officially, 206,715 people in Britain have been diagnosed with COVID-19, but the true figure is known to be considerably higher because officials have rationed testing.

The true death rate of the virus is not likely to become clear until after the pandemic has ended and countries can work out how many people caught it and survived.

Smaller scale studies done in Finland, Germany, Sweden and the US have suggested the death rate is somewhere between 0.19 and 0.79 per cent.

The Australian researchers who did the new research said it was 'likely' that it was somewhere between 0.49 and 1.01 per cent and that it would be higher among elderly people or the chronically ill, and lower for younger people.

STATISTICS SUGGEST UP TO 400,000 PEOPLE IN UK HAVE COVID-19 RIGHT NOW As many as 400,000 people in Britain may currently be infected with coronavirus, according to early results of the government's mass sampling scheme. And a senior scientist said he believes 20,000 people are still catching the deadly infection every day across the home nations. Ministers launched surveillance studies to track the rate of COVID-19 in Britain, with the true size of the outbreak remaining a mystery. Millions of cases are known to have gone uncounted because health chiefs controversially decided to abandon public testing early on in the outbreak. Preliminary data from one of the major schemes, which is co-led by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), suggests the life-threatening virus has been detected in between 0.2 and 0.6 of Britons (130,000 to 396,000 people). It is not clear if these results are from swab tests, which tell if someone is currently infected - or antibody tests, which look for signs of past infection. The sampling study involved both forms of tests to give Number 10 a better snapshot about the size of the crisis. But it is unlikely the results are based on how much of the population has developed antibodies because it would suggest only 400,000 Britons have ever been infected - giving COVID-19 a death rate of around 10 per cent, with leading experts saying the UK's true death toll is above 40,000. Leading virologists from across the world estimate the real death rate to be below 1 per cent. Downing Streets own scientific advisers have previously said as many as 10 per cent of people in London (900,000) had already been infected. The first results from the ONS's population testing are expected next Thursday, May 14. Advertisement

The study was done by epidemiologist Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz, from the University of Wollongong, and James Cook University's Dr Lea Merone.

The two of them searched online for English language studies from around the world which suggested infection fatality rates for the virus.

Infection fatality rate is an attempt to work out the true number of people a disease kills, compared to a case fatality rate which calculates the death rate among diagnosed patients.

Because so many people - now believed to be millions in the UK alone - have been infected with COVID-19 but never diagnosed, the true lethality of it remains a mystery.

But authorities and researchers are now conducting antibody tests to work out what proportion of a population have had the virus and recovered without medical help.

A lower fatality rate will indicate many more people have been infected and not counted, while a higher figure means the virus is more deadly.

The researchers said: 'It is difficult to draw a single conclusion regarding the number...

'Aggregating the results together provides a point-estimate of 0.75% (0.49-1.01%), but there remains considerable uncertainty about whether this is a reasonable figure or simply a best guess.'

Studies taken into account by Mr Meyerowitz-Katz and Dr Merone looked at COVID-19 patients in the US, Italy, Spain, the UK, China, Japan, France and the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which spent three weeks moored off the Japanese coast.

The paper reviewed all of their infection fatality rate estimates, which put it at between 0.2 and 1.6, and narrowed the estimate to 0.49 to 1.01, with a mid-range estimate of 0.75.

It said: 'Due to very high [variety] in the meta-analysis, it is difficult to know if this represents the "true" point estimate.

'It is likely that, due to age and perhaps underlying comorbidities in the population, different places will experience different IFRs due to the disease.

'More research looking at age-stratified IFR is urgently needed to inform policy-making on this front.'

They added: 'This research has a range of very important implications.

'Some countries have announced the aim of pursuing herd immunity with regards to COVID-19 in the absence of a vaccination.

'The aggregated IFR would suggest that, at a minimum, you would expect 0.45-0.53% of a population to die before the herd immunity threshold of the disease (based on R0 of 2.5-3 (17)) was reached.

'As an example, in the United States this would imply more than 1 million deaths at the lower end of the scale.'

They published the paper online on medRxiV without review from other scientists.

It adds to early surveys in major Western cities which last month began to give insights into the true numbers of people who had been infected and, in turn, the real death rates of the infection.

Governor for New York City, Andrew Cuomo, said in April that surveys showed a quarter (24.7 per cent) of the city's population had recovered from COVID-19.

Officials found this out as a result of their antibody testing programme which can pick up people whose immune systems have fought off the virus.

At least 7,500 randomly-selected people were tested in five boroughs in the city, which has the worst outbreak in the world.

The test results suggest some 2.1million people had been infected. 16,673 deaths had been recorded in NYC when Governor Cuomo made the announcement yesterday, putting the death rate at 0.79 per cent.

Applying the same death rate to the UK's current predicted death toll of 43,473 would suggest 5.5million Britons had been infected.

The 43,473 is an up-to-date estimate based on figures from the Office for National Statistics, which suggests the true number of victims is 42 per cent higher than the Department of Health's official figure shows.

The ONS includes everyone who has COVID-19 mentioned as a contributing factor on their death certificate, regardless of whether they were ever diagnosed.

The Government, however, will only include people who test positive. For two months it rationed tests to hospital patients and staff only, meaning thousands of people were missed.

Similar studies to the one going on in New York, carried out in Helsinki, Finland; Stockholm, Sweden; and Gangelt, Germany, provide alternative estimates.

Those cities found the death rate to be lower, at 0.19 per cent (Helsinki), 0.37 per cent (Gangelt) or 0.4 per cent (Stockholm).

And at the start of the outbreak, government scientists suggested that the death rate could be similar to flu, at 0.1 per cent, which would mean more than half of the British population has been infected already.

Applying the various estimated death rates of the virus, the true number of people infected with the coronavirus in Britain could be one of the following:
The decision to shelve detailed advice from the nation's top disease control experts for reopening communities during the coronavirus pandemic came from the highest levels of the White House, according to internal government emails obtained by The Associated Press.

Experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spent weeks working on a report titled 'Guidance for Implementing the Opening Up America Again Framework', which was researched and written to help faith leaders, business owners, educators and state and local officials as they begin to reopen.

The report included detailed 'decision trees,' or flow charts aimed at helping people determine whether they should reopen their places of business or continue to keep them closed.

White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said Friday that parts of the report had not been approved by CDC Director Robert Redfield. The new emails, however, show that Redfield cleared the guidance.

Despite this, the administration shelved the report on April 30.

Experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spent weeks working on a report titled 'Guidance for Implementing the Opening Up America Again Framework'. Emails obtained by The Associated Press show CDC Director Robert Redfield (right) signed off on the report, but it was still buried by 'the highest levels of the White House'

The report (part of which is pictured above) was designed to help faith leaders, business owners, educators and state and local officials as they begin to reopen. The CDC repeatedly chased up The White House for sign off on the report - but appeared to be stonewalled for weeks

As early as April 10, Redfield, who is also a member of the White House coronavirus task force, shared via email the guidance and decision trees with President Donald Trump's inner circle, including his son-in-law Jared Kushner, top adviser Kellyanne Conway and Joseph Grogan, assistant to the president for domestic policy.

Also included were Dr. Deborah Birx, Dr. Anthony Fauci and other task force members.

Three days later, CDC's upper management sent the more than 60-page report with attached flow charts to the White House Office of Management and Budget, a step usually taken only when agencies are seeking final White House approval for documents they have already cleared.

The 17-page version later released by The Associated Press and other news outlets was only part of the actual document submitted by the CDC, and targeted specific facilities like bars and restaurants.

The Associated Press obtained a copy Friday of the full document. That version is a more universal series of phased guidelines, 'Steps for All Americans in Every Community,' geared to advise communities as a whole on testing, contact tracing and other fundamental infection control measures.

President Donald Trump speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, as Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, listens (file photo)

On April 24, Redfield again emailed the guidance documents to Birx and Grogan, according to a copy viewed by The Associated Press.

Redfield asked Birx and Grogan for their review so that the CDC could post the guidance publicly. Attached to Redfield's email were the guidance documents and the corresponding decision trees - including one for meat packing plants.

'We plan to post these to CDCs website once approved,' Redfield wrote.

Redfield's emailed comments contradict the White House assertion Thursday that it had not yet approved the guidelines because the CDC's own leadership had not yet given them the green light.

Two days later, on April 26, the CDC still had not received any word from the administration, according to the internal communications. Robert McGowan, the CDC chief of staff who was shepherding the guidance through the White House Office of Management and Budget, sent an email seeking an update.

'We need them as soon as possible so that we can get them posted,' he wrote to Nancy Beck, an OMB staffer.

Beck said she was awaiting review by the White House Principals Committee, a group of top White House officials. 'They need to be approved before they can move forward. WH principals are in touch with the task force so the task force should be aware of the status,' Beck wrote to McGowan.

President Trump and Robert Redfield are pictured together at The White House on April 22. At the same time CDC employees were repeatedly asking the White House to approve their 60-page report about reopening America

Redfield's emailed comments contradict the White House assertion Thursday that it had not yet approved the guidelines because the CDC's own leadership had not yet given them the green light. Redfield is pictured in a file photo

The next day, April 27, Satya Thallam of the OMB sent the CDC a similar response: 'The re-opening guidance and decision tree documents went to a West Wing principals committee on Sunday. We have not received word on specific timing for their considerations.

'However, I am passing along their message: they have given strict and explicit direction that these documents are not yet cleared and cannot go out as of right now - this includes related press statements or other communications that may preview content or timing of guidances.'

According to the documents, CDC continued inquiring for days about the guidance that officials had hoped to post by Friday, May 1, the day Trump had targeted for reopening some businesses, according to a source who was granted anonymity because they were not permitted to speak to the press.

On April 30 the CDC's documents were killed for good.

The agency had not heard any specific critiques from either the White House Principals Committee or the coronavirus task force in days, so officials asked for an update.

'The guidance should be more cross-cutting and say when they should reopen and how to keep people safe. Fundamentally, the Task Force cleared this for further development, but not for release,' wrote Quinn Hirsch, a staffer in the White House's office of regulatory affairs (OIRA), in an email to the CDCs parent agency, the Department of Health and Human Services.

CDC staff working on the guidance decided to try again.

The administration had already released its Opening Up America Again Plan, and the clock was ticking. Staff at CDC thought if they could get their reopening advice out there, it would help communities do so with detailed expert help.

But hours later on April 30, CDCs Chief of Staff McGowan told CDC staff that neither the guidance documents nor the decision trees 'would ever see the light of day,' according to three officials who declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.

The next day, May 1, the emails showed, a staffer at CDC was told 'we would not even be allowed to post the decision trees. We had the team (exhausted as they are) stand down.'

The CDC's guidance was shelved - until May 7.

The White House has now requested the CDC refile the report after The Associated Press published a report claiming the 60-page document had been blocked by the White House

The CDC report provided information for business owners about when it was safe to reopen. Pictured: Tennessee barber Greg Smith is pictured back at work Wednesday

That morning The Associated Press reported that the Trump administration had buried the guidance, even as many states had started allowing businesses to reopen.

After the story ran, the White House called the CDC and ordered them to refile all of the decision trees, except one that targeted churches. An email obtained by the AP confirmed the agency resent the documents late Thursday, hours after news broke.

'Attached per the request from earlier today are the decision trees previously submitted to both OIRA and the WH Task Force, minus the communities of faith tree,' read the email.

'Please let us know if/when/how we are able to proceed from here.

The US has the world's highest number of coronavirus cases at 1.31 million as well as the highest death toll.

CDC is hearing daily from state and county health departments looking for scientifically valid information with which to make informed decisions. Behind the scenes, CDC scientists are working to get information to local governments.

The agency employs hundreds of the world's most respected epidemiologists and doctors, who in times of crisis are looked to for their expertise, said former CDC director Tom Frieden. People have clicked on the CDC's coronavirus website more than 1.2 billion times.

States that directly reach out to the CDC can access guidance that's been prepared, but that the White House has not yet released.

'I don't think that any state feels that the CDC is deficient. It's just the process of getting stuff out,' Plescia said.

Two pages of the 60 page 'Guidance for Implementing the Opening Up America Again Framework' are pictured

White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said Friday that parts of the report had not been approved by CDC Director Robert Redfield. New emails obtained by The Associated Press, however, contradict her assertion

The news comes as it is revealed that 11 members of the United States Secret Service have recently tested positive for COVID-19 while 23 others have recovered from the illness..

Some 60 employees of the agency charged with protecting President Trump and other senior government officials are currently in quarantine due to the outbreak, according to Department of Homeland Security documents obtained by Yahoo News.

Meanwhile, Mike Pences press secretary, Katie Miller, tested positive for the virus on Friday. She had been in recent contact with the vice president. Miller is married Stephen Miller, a top Trump adviser.

The positive test for Katie Miller came one day after White House officials confirmed that a member of the military serving as one of Trumps valets had tested positive for COVID-19.

Trump's valet's case marked the first known instance where a person who has come in close proximity to the president has tested positive since several people present at his private Florida club were diagnosed with COVID-19 in early March.

The valet tested positive Wednesday.

The White House was moving to shore up its protection protocols to protect the nation's political leaders.

Trump said some staffers who interact with him closely would now be tested daily.

Pence told reporters Thursday that both he and Trump would now be tested daily as well.
Pradip Phanjoubam By

Manipurs fight against Covid-19 has brought to the fore the best as well as the worst within itself. This has been so especially after the states two positive cases so far showed up on March 24 and April 2. On the one hand are a paranoid hate-mongering section whose voices are amplified by social media platforms, and on the other, an endless legion of young men and women coming out to raise resources to extend help to the needy.

Manipurs first Covid-19 case was a student returning home from London, and the other, a participant of the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Nizamuddin, New Delhi. Both have recovered and at least for now, the state is free of the virus. Obviously, the states landlocked remoteness has also helped in keeping the pandemic at bay.

The state government has earned praises for the assistance extended to those at home during the lockdown as well as those stranded outside the state. But it has also been on a spree of smothering voices of dissent. Even suggestions on where it might be going wrong in handling the crisis have landed people in police custody.

This intolerance of criticism has been an uneasy trait of this government long before the pandemic, but the cover provided by the crisis has only accentuated this draconian inclination. If an established media organisation is perceived to be the offender, the familiar strategy is Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, SLAPP. These are lawsuits filed to intimidate and silence detractors by burdening them with costsmonetary as well as time and energy. A local newspaper Imphal Free Press is facing this plight for a report that suggested a victory celebration by Chief Minister N Biren Singh, on being ranked as 3rd best in one episode of a television channels ranking of relative popularity of chief ministers of India, was premature as he did not figure at all in subsequent episodes of the same competition. Rs

If the criticisms come from individual newspersons and bloggers, the retaliation has often been unwarranted arrest under draconian laws. The case of TV anchor Kishorechand Wangkhem is well known. He was arrested in November 2018 first under sedition charges for using profanities in criticising the chief minister and the BJP in a YouTube video. When the sedition charge was rejected by the district court as untenable and he had to be released, Wangkhem was rearrested the very next day under the National Security Act (NSA). The Manipur High Court ultimately intervened to have Wangkhem released five months later in April 2019. In December 2019, another young and popular YouTube blogger R K Ichan Thoibi was arrested for an irreverent satire of the CM. She was released after 10 days in custody on bail.

In September 2018, another youth activist, Popilal Ningthoujam, of the political party founded by iconic rights activist Irom Sharmila, People Resurgence and Justice Alliance, PRJA, was arrested for throwing eggs on the portraits of the prime minister and chief minister. This was during a protest against a midnight police raid at the Manipur University, where a strong agitation for the removal of the then vice chancellor, A P Pandey, had paralysed the institution. Ningthoujam was later released on bail. In February this year, an inquiry panel of the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development found Pandey guilty of financial and administrative irregularities and had him sacked.

This repression has only intensified during the Covid-19 lockdown. So far, five people have ended as victims. On April 8, Chingiz Khan, a JNU research scholar from Manipur, was arrested after a Manipuri translation of an article he had co-written in English for a New Delhi daily in 2019 on the marginalisation of Pangals (Manipuri Muslims) under the government, was published in a Manipuri daily. Devabrata (Bobby) Roy Laifungbama doctor by training, who runs an NGO, Centre for Organisation Research and Education, COREwas picked up by the police for a Facebook post advising the chief minister not to waste valuable time and resources politicking and instead concentrate on the fight against Covid-19.

Konsam Victor Singh too was detained for a Facebook post enquiring about the amount the chief minister himself had contributed to the newly set-up CMs Covid Relief Fund. Takhenchangbam Shadishkanta and Phajaton Kangjrakpam of the Youths Forum for Protection of Human Rights were arrested for a press release critical of the governments management of the Covid-19 fight and for its plan to build a quarantine centre by requisitioning a stretch of paddy fields.

These arrests and repressive measures prompted the Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights in Manipur and United Nations, CSCHR, a conglomerate of nine human rights organisations in the state, to make an earnest appeal to the National Human Rights Commission on April 4 for intervention.

Manipurs media have been indeed left badly mauled, first by the pandemic and the lockdown, which has depleted their businesses to a dangerous low, putting smaller organisations in an existential crisis. Now come these repressive measures aimed at silencing all voices

of dissent.

Pradip Phanjoubam

Editor, FPSJ Review of Arts and Politics

(phanjoubam@gmail.com)
SOUDERTON  All five of the people who applied to fill the Souderton Borough Council first ward seat that became open when Dan Yocum became mayor were "fantastic, super-qualified, well-rounded," council President Tracy Burke said at council's Jan. 17 work session as the board began discussion to reach a consensus on which to appoint following interviews of the candidates earlier...
Elon Musk, co-founder and chief executive officer of Tesla Motors Inc., speaks during an interview at the company's assembly plant in Fremont, California, U.S., on Wednesday, July 10, 2013.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter Saturday that the company is preparing to file a lawsuit against Alameda County and will move its headquarters and future operations out of California.

On Friday, Alameda County's interim public health officer, Dr. Erica Pan, said that health orders to contain a Covid-19 outbreak in the region are still in place, and that Tesla does not have a "green light," to resume vehicle production at its main U.S. car plant in Fremont, California, yet. She also noted, "We have been working with them, looking at some of their safety plans, and have had some recommendations."

Tesla had wanted to start production again on Friday afternoon. The plant is where the company makes vehicles for Europe and North America. The company's headquarters are in Palo Alto, not part of Alameda County.

Unlike other automakers, Tesla's employees are not part of a union, so it would be easier for the company to significantly alter its operations.

Insulting Pan personally, Musk wrote on Twitter:

"Tesla is filing a lawsuit against Alameda County immediately. The unelected & ignorant 'Interim Health Officer' of Alameda is acting contrary to the Governor, the President, our Constitutional freedoms & just plain common sense!"

He also claimed that: "Tesla knows far more about what needs to be done to be safe through our Tesla China factory experience than an (unelected) interim junior official in Alameda County."

Alameda County responded with a statement saying its Health Care Services Agency and Public Health Department have been working closely with Tesla in Fremont on a safety plan. They said they aim for Tesla to reopen while protecting the health of thousands of employees who travel to and from work at the factory.

"We look forward to coming to an agreement on an appropriate safety plan very soon," the county said without offering specific details on a timeline. "We appreciate that our residents and businesses have made tremendous sacrifices and that together we have been able to save lives and protect community health in our region. We need to continue to work together so those sacrifices don't go to waste and that we maintain our gains."

While Musk characterized Pan as "ignorant," the doctor has deep experience in both public health and infectious diseases.

Among other things, Pan is a graduate of Tufts medical school, completed a residency and fellowship at UCSF and has worked at Alameda County Public Health Department since 2011 while also working as a physician and professor. She previously worked for six years as the Director of Bioterrorism and Infectious Disease Emergencies at San Francisco Public Health Department, according to her resume on LinkedIn.

Previously, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO cursed and called Covid-19 health orders "fascist," on a Tesla earnings call. He also erroneously stated that children are "essentially immune" to Covid-19, among other controversial tweets about the novel coronavirus and governments' efforts to deal with the pandemic.

Elon tweet 1

Elon tweet 2

Elon tweet 3

Musk, who has a following of more than 33 million on Twitter, also encouraged shareholders to file a class action lawsuit against the county.

Elon tweet 4

Elon tweet 5

Elon tweet 6

After the provocative string of tweets from Musk on Saturday, Fremont Mayor Lily Mei said in a statement: "As the local shelter-in-place order continues without provisions for major manufacturing activity, such as Tesla, to resume, I am growing concerned about the potential implications for our regional economy." She also expressed support for Tesla specifically, and urged the county authorities to "come up with acceptable guidelines," to help Tesla and others reopen their businesses.

One Fremont based Tesla employee told CNBC workers there don't know how to feel about Musk's tweets on Saturday. This person, who asked to remain un-named as they did not have permission to give media interviews, said many Tesla employees would prefer that the CEO would just work with the county, make sure the factory is safe, and reopen as quickly as possible.

Tesla did not reply to a request for further information about its plans to move headquarters out of the state, as Musk said they intend to do.

The SEC previously sued Tesla and Musk after the CEO tweeted that he would take the company private at $420 per share, and had funding secured. The agency said those tweets violated securities laws. As part of the eventual settlement between them, Musk agreed to have his Tesla communications reviewed by in-house counsel or some other so-called Twitter-sitter. It was not clear whether his Saturday tweets were approved by such a point person at Tesla.

Tesla shares have been on a run in 2020 and are up more than 95% for the year.
Two incredibly similar homes that are just 100 metres apart have sold for a $200,000 difference in value.

Both houses are three-bedroom brick properties in the western Sydney suburb of Strathfield and sold within a month of each other.

However real estate agents have revealed that because of the coronavirus lockdown one property sold for much more than the other.

The first property is on Cotswold Road in Strathfield and was sold by Belle Property for $2.91 million on March 21

The second house, 100 metres away on Hunter Street, was sold for $200,000 less on April 18 by Devine Real Estate and actually has 169 square metres more land

The first property is on Cotswold Road in Strathfield and was sold by Belle Property for $2.91 million on March 21.

This house had the benefit of open inspections and an on-site auction because this was just before lockdown restrictions were brought in.

The second house, 100 metres away on Hunter Street, was sold for $200,000 less at $2.7 million on April 18 by Devine Real Estate and actually has 169 square metres more land.

Principal at Belle Property Strathfield, Simon Funari, said COVID-19 restrictions had removed competition in the housing market as people could not turn up to inspections and auctions.

'The online auctions take away from the competitive environment,' Mr Funari told the ABC.

This map shows how close the houses are with the top house selling for $2.9 million on March 21 and the lower house selling for $2.7 million on April 18 2020

Though he added that as the government begins revealing outlines for easing restrictions the market is slowly responding.

'We're seeing a return of buyer confidence, particularly as children go back to school and a sense of normality begins to return,' he said.

Devine Real Estate's Andrew Kazzi agreed if the auction had of been in person rather than online the house would probably have sold for more.

From Saturday on-site inspections and auctions can resume for the real estate industry - lifting some of the uncertainty that left the market at a standstill at the end of March.

The block of land with the house on Cotswold Road that sold for $2.91 million

The block of land with the Hunter Street house was actually slightly bigger but sold for less

Experts have suggested house prices would be up to 15 per cent less in the next year-and-half as the market recovers.

The rental market has also received a hit with the number of international students plummeting because of travel bans.

Elders Real Estate's Jim Triantos said he had signed more than 12 year long leases with tenants since restrictions began for a huge discount of 25 per cent off the rent.

'Some of these apartments which were going for $800 were being [leased] for $600 a week,' he said.

While those looking to sell or lease properties were in for a difficult 12 months in the second half of 2020 and first half of 2021, those looking to buy or rent could get a bargain.

Experts say that for those looking to upsize their rental apartment or were looking to purchase a house, they could take advantage of the current slow market.
Members of the Michigan Liberty Militia join protesters at a rally at the state Capitol in Lansing on April 30. (Associated Press)

To the editor: The 2nd Amendment to the United States Constitution has been in effect since Dec. 15, 1791. It states, "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." ("Trump's latest 'very good people' are 2nd Amendment thugs," Opinion, May 7)

Bring back the one-shot muzzle loaders.

As a retired English, history and government teacher, I try to remember some old basic rules of English grammar. To complete a sentence, we need a subject and a predicate. However, either one can be implied though not stated. A simple example might be the sentence, "You go," whose meaning can simply be stated with the sentence, "Go."

A few simple words at the beginning would remove the confusion in the 2nd Amendment: "As a member of a well regulated militia ..."

We remember that in the Revolutionary War, state militias were the major component of the armed forces.

Now, 229 years later, a genuine confrontational scenario emerges as we see a renegade group armed with multi-shot assault weapons protest in Michigan's state Capitol. It's scary out there.

John McGrew, Riverside

..

To the editor: Can anybody articulate any legitimate reason why guns should be permitted in any state Capitol?

As an attorney, I have had to go through a metal detector before entering any courthouse in the last 20-25 years. Pocket knives are not even permitted.

Would Donald Trump or any president be comfortable allowing people to bring weapons into the White House? What about Congress? Would they allow guns in the Capitol building?

I don't believe that this is a 2nd Amendment issue, but would like to hear from others why they believe they should be entitled to bring guns in any state or federal building.

Gary Yates, Los Angeles
Indians wait in queue to enter a vegetable and fruit mandi (marketplace), as India remains under an unprecedented extended lockdown over the highly contagious coronavirus, on May 6, 2020 in New Delhi, India. (Yawar Nazir/Getty Images)
A huge surge in migrant crossings has taken place over the first two days of the bank holiday weekend, with at least 227 making it to the UK.

While the nation celebrated VE Day, a record 145 migrants were brought to Dover after making the perilous journey across the English Channel, the Home Office finally confirmed on Saturday evening.

This included 51 people packed on board a single inflatable boat.

Pictures taken at the busy trade port on Saturday showed people wearing face masks being processed by Border Force officials.

A huge surge in migrant crossings has taken place over the first two days of the bank holiday weekend, with at least 227 making it to the UK

A humanitarian charity said it is 'little wonder' that so many people are risking their lives to cross the dangerous Dover straits because of 'awful conditions' in French refugee camps.

The 145 migrants dealt with by Border Force on Friday were found aboard eight inflatable boats between 2am and 9am.

This is believed to be a new single-day record after 102 were picked up on February 7, as the UK braced for Storm Ciara.

Those picked up on Friday said they were Iranian, Iraqi, Kuwaiti, and Afghan nationals.

On Saturday, the Home Office said it intercepted a further 82 migrants.

Seventy of these were aboard inflatable boats, while 12 men were found at Dungeness on the Kent coast.

A man thought to be a migrant is processed by Border Force officers wearing face masks, pictured, after being brought to shore after crossing the English Channel

The suspected migrant, pictured wearing a face mask and wrapped in a blanket, is spoken to by Border Force officers

Since lockdown was announced in Britain on March 23, at least 836 migrants have been intercepted by UK authorities and brought ashore, according to data gathered by the PA news agency.

Clare Moseley, founder of charity Care4Calais, said: 'It's little wonder people living in France's refugee camps are desperate to make this dangerous crossing, given the awful conditions they face there.

'Coronavirus has made a bad situation life-threateningly worse. People are squeezed into tiny areas, they can't social distance, and the support they relied on for survival is drastically reduced.

'These people are fleeing terrifying situations in some of the most dangerous parts of the world. They aim for the UK because they want to be safe.

'Many have family or other connections, and others know our language and want to integrate and contribute.

'Now more than ever, we need to give them a safe and humane way to have their requests for asylum fairly heard, that's the way to end chaotic and dangerous channel crossings once and for all.'

A humanitarian charity said it is 'little wonder' that so many people are risking their lives to cross the dangerous Dover straits because of 'awful conditions' in French refugee camps

The Home Office confirmed a record 145 migrants were brought to Dover, including 51 people packed on board a single inflatable boat

Earlier this week, Home Secretary Priti Patel acknowledged that a recent increase in the number of migrant boats making the dangerous crossing of the English Channel is linked to the Covid-19 lockdown.

Mrs Patel has put forward a new plan which would see more boats turned back to France.

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 the other side of the Channel.

The Home Secretary's plan would also see the British taxpayer funding more patrols on the French coast.

Men thought to be migrants, pictured left and right, were spotted at Dover in Kent today as record numbers of migrants made it to the UK

Since lockdown was announced in Britain on March 23, at least 609 migrants have been intercepted by UK authorities and brought ashore

Today's incident, pictured, follows reports of another large influx of migrants to Britain yesterday

Tory MP for Dover and Deal Natalie Elphicke yesterday tweeted: 'Today's brazen illegal crossings as we celebrate #VEDay75 is another reminder why firm action is needed to stop the ruthless smuggling gangs & return boats to France.

Dover MP Natalie Elphicke, pictured, said she has been calling on the Home Secretary to ensure small boats are returned to France

'Since December I have been calling on the Home Secretary to ensure small boats are returned to France and that we put an end to these illegal small boat crossings organised by criminal gangs.

'The Home Secretary has listened and taken action.

'This week she agreed fresh steps with France with more stringent patrols and work towards returns.

'Together with action to tackle the criminal gangs. I strongly welcome this action and her commitment to end small boats crossings.

'Only when migrants and traffickers alike know that they will not succeed in breaking into Britain in this way will these dangerous journeys cease.'
Tuolumne County Government View Photo

Sonora, CA  A virtual town hall Friday was jam-packed with panelists and over 100 public attendees.

Tuolumne County Vice Chair Ryan Campbell led the session, which kicked off at 4 p.m. on the Zoom platform. Several local agency officials and agency heads who were asked to participate as panel members were on hand.

Public Health Officer Dr, Liza Ortiz led off, reporting she had amended the local order in keeping with Governor Gavin Newsoms roadmap guiding the state into Early Stage 2, which slightly modifies the stay-at-home order and allows for curbside pickup at small retail businesses.

The order clarifies that short-term lodging continues to be available only for essential workers as already defined in the state order.

With regard to travel, to the extent that such business sectors are re-opened, Californians may leave their homes to work at, patronize, or otherwise engage with those businesses, establishments, or activities and must, when they do so, continue at all times to practice physical distancing, minimize their time outside of the home, and wash their hands frequently.

To prevent further spread of COVID-19 to and within other state jurisdictions, individuals are advised not to travel significant distances and should stay close to home. Ortiz reports that her office is working diligently to complete the attestation process that will allow Tuolumne County to advance into Late Stage 2 of the roadmap as soon as possible.

More Travel = More Transmission

The doctor advised that while Tuolumne County has only two COVID cases who have both recovered the situation could change quickly, noting the recent sharp rise in Mariposa County cases. We have a lot of travel between our counties and Central Valley has transmission, she noted. On the statewide level she remarked that most new cases are in Southern California while the Bay Area seems to be stabilizing.

She was confident at this point that Tuolumne County is testing enough with less than one percent of the tests coming back positive and no evidence to date of community transmission. Also, testing becoming more available with regional testing sites opening for those who want to be tested.

We have the lab capacity to meet current needs, have testing supplies and we are expanding our capacity, she pointed out. Still, Even with all these changes, people still need to stay physically apart from people who are not part of their household. Physical distancing is our new normal.

Campbell queried the panel and it was acknowledged by several members that the local community seems nearly equally split by residents leery of opening things back up to quickly and those who are impatient, complaining about their constitutional rights and a need to get back to business.

Ortiz maintained that the county has benefited significantly through physical distancing and staying at home. It has allowed us time to develop an adequate surge plan and lower the speed at which people are getting infected. The disease can be very impactful and with more patients at once more difficult to care for.

She added, Tuolumne County has not been exposed and residents are incredibly vulnerable as we open back up. Taking precautions remains key as medical providers await a vaccine, which is still many months away, and while medications that can be effective are carefully evaluated.

Seniors Fearful Of Isolation

Cathy Peacock, speaking for Interfaith and the Commission On Aging, reported that clients remain confused as to the rules because so many are not internet-savvy. Not as afraid of coronavirus, she says more of them are angry, fearing the loneliness and not being able to go out. Like all the other local agencies, she says needs are up and she can use more volunteers.

Childcare providers now taking care of essential workers families are preparing to accept more children as non-essential workers head back to work.

County Schools Superintendent Cathy Parker talked at length about how flexible and creative the local school districts teachers and staff have become. Not knowing when or if schools will return to brick-and-mortar education or some hybrid form, she shared that state education budgets are being slashed at a rate that is making the Great Recession look like a blip.

Still, she was upbeat and spoke with great pride for all involved, including students  especially those going through promotion or graduation phases  and their resiliency as they progress during a pandemic no one in our lifetime has experienced. She also asked anyone interested in supporting the schools to reach out and thank teachers, staff, and ask about ways to volunteer.

ATCAA Executive Director Joe Bors reported the Jamestown Food Bank was serving about a 1,000 more families this quarter, now by drive-by pick-up, and that most of the pantries the agency supports are still open.

ATCAA Housing services has not skipped a beat he says. We are anticipating a large surge as soon as the moratorium on evictions at the end of June is passed and we are terribly concerned, have voiced that concern and have attempted to get additional grant money.

Concerns For The Working Poor

Likewise, Peacock commented that the local working poor are fearful about maintaining stable housing. Where one has lost a job and another has decreased hours  they are fearful they are not going to be able to cover costs.

Kristi Conforti reported about a ten percent increase in Meals On Wheels services and more seniors driving through for the twice weekly packaged meals. She added that it is easy to sign up for some of the services through the Senior Center.

Bors shared that ATCAA staff continues to provide services mostly remotely from home offices and plans to open back up for front-facing intake as soon as they have procured sufficient thermometers, PPE, hand sanitizers, disinfectant, gloves and have a plan in place for limiting personnel in offices.

Dave Thoeny of Mother Lode Job Training shared perhaps some of the most promising news for businesses and job seekers. There are currently jobs and once the new normal takes placethere will be jobs available. We have a multitude of work-based learning [opportunities]. We are about 80 percent grant funded and can funnel to businesses to be a work-based training provider.

His agency is poised to help train and reenter into the workforce short and long-term unemployed. We can become their employers or record, which helps businesses and we have seen an increase in people applying.

Working with EDD, Thoeny says his office can track the unemployment curve and estimates the four-county service area is experiencing 20 percent unemployment overall. He encouraged businesses and job seekers to contact the agency for more information about resources now and becoming available. We are helping businesses reopen and reemploy.
NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE O ne of the most inspiring, instructive, and beautiful exhibitions in the country now is The Glory of Spain: Treasures of the Hispanic Society Museum & Library, which I saw at Houstons Museum of Fine Arts before the conceited axis of big government, airhead media, and lemming academics quarantined the world to fight a virus that, if and until theres a vaccine, isnt going away. It took the Spanish Empire centuries to dissipate vast wealth we wasted willy-nilly in a few weeks. In times like these, great art from the past gives perspective and teaches resilience.

Its a traveling show of highlights from the Hispanic Society in upper Manhattan, one of the greatest but least-known museums in the country. The Society owns and displays the best collection of Spanish art outside Spain in a distinguished building thats part Beaux-Arts, part Moorish revival, part plateresque, and thoroughly fantastic.

I usually dont like highlights shows. Theyre often fluff. This exhibition, though, is different. Its a solid history of Spanish, Portuguese, and Spanish-American art from around 2400 b.c. to a.d. 1900, a sweep, I know, but Spanish art is different, and that sweep makes for a good story.

Its an unusual institutional history as well. For pleasure, too, its a trove. The art is the best, as is its interpretation in Houstons spacious, welcoming galleries.

The Hispanic Society is the lifes work of Archer Huntington (18701955), heir to a railroad fortune, who discovered Spain and Spanish culture as an inquisitive teenager. With laser focus and big bucks, he assembled an unparalleled collection of art, books, photographs, and manuscripts, with the purpose of establishing a museum and research center. He paid for the building on 155th Street and Broadway, on the site of John James Audubons farm. The place opened in 1908. The collection is enormous, with about 7,000 paintings, watercolors, and drawings, 200,000 books, 250,000 manuscripts from the eleventh century to the present, and great sculpture, ceramics, metalwork, textiles, furniture, jewelry, and glass.

Story continues

The rub is 155th Street and Broadway. When Huntington selected the Societys location, he assumed, as did everyone, that the development of the Upper West Side as prime residential, commercial, and cultural space would continue northward and not sputter and stop around 96th Street.

People from Manhattan? Talk about provincial. Most think that north of 96th Street lies the Red Planet, and Martians might grab their Hermes handbags or spit on their Ferragamo shoes. Ive been to the Hispanic Society a hundred times over the years. Its on the edge of Spanish Harlem and perfectly nice, and the subway is across the street. But its not the Museum Mile, and its not midtown. Its a serious academic place and not a social hot spot. It has struggled for visitors and donors.

In the last few years, it has started to find its place in the sun. Its raising money to renovate its buildings. Philippe de Montebello chairs its board. The Houston show has gone to the Prado in Madrid and to museums in Mexico City and throughout America, giving the Hispanic Society the attention it deserves. I hope this means that rich people in Manhattan will give to the Hispanic Society, where big money is needed and transformative, rather than to the Met or MoMA, which are loaded  too loaded, in my opinion. If you want to make a difference in the arts, the Hispanic Society is the place to go, checkbook in hand, and dont be stingy with the zeros.

Portrait Bust, c. A.D. 138150, Roman. Marble.

There are many ways to interpret a show that starts with prehistoric ceramics and Roman jewelry  Spain wasnt an outpost of the Roman Empire but an integral, thriving component  and ends with Joaquin Sorolla. Houston focuses, smartly and appropriately, on cultural crosscurrents. Celtic, Moorish, Jewish, Christian, Roman, French, Flemish, Italian, and indigenous American blend to produce an aesthetic thats recognizably and uniquely Hispanic.

A core characteristic of Spanish art is pattern, and that feeling for intricate pattern comes from the 700 years of Moorish rule over the peninsula, starting in 711 and ending in 1492, when Ferdinands and Isabellas Christian armies kicked the Moors from Granada, their last redoubt, and ended the Reconquista. Valencia was the center of Hispano-Moresque lusterware, with all-over geometric patterns and palettes of blue and gold. A splendid Mudejar chest, of walnut and inlaid ivory, from around 1525 is decorated with a dense though ordered sequence of circles and rows of stylized starbursts surrounded by multiple borders. Its from Barcelona and shows the durability of Moorish style after the Reconquista ended and the dissemination of the style to a part of Spain guided mostly by taste in neighboring Languedoc, in France.

Mudejar chest, probably Barcelona, early 1500s. Walnut and inlaid ivory.

Palaces and mosques in Cordoba and Granada, the Alhambra the most famous, formed Spains aesthetic long after the Moors left. The plateresque style, Spains contribution to Renaissance architecture, takes classical-revival forms and slathers them with abstract geometric shapes, cartouches, string courses, and garlands.

Huntington collected maps in abundance, and the Society has some of the Spanish worlds best maps, nautical charts, and atlases. Here, Huntington proves hes a man of his time and class. Americans have long had a feeling of part fascination and part contempt about Spain. Spain was Catholic, and America was Protestant, so tension was elemental.

World atlas, Venice, c. 1550. Illuminated manuscript chart on parchment.

For early Americans, English-acculturated, Spanishness was always a culture anathema. In the 19th century, tensions were more political and territorial. Bordering Anglo America was Mexico, with which we warred and routed in the late 1840s. Cuba was an issue. Earlier, with the Louisiana Purchase, we might have bought the Louisiana territory from France, but France had owned that big chunk for only a few years. Spain had owned it for centuries.

By the 1890s, the much-truncated Spanish Empire was a lumbering bankrupt. The SpanishAmerican War killed it, finally, leaving America with Spains overseas colonies and establishing us as a new empire, whether we called it that or not. Huntington and his class of industrialists, tastemakers, movers, and shakers saw themselves as inheritors of the charge to rule the world, not in the Spanish way, but rule of the world nonetheless. Americans were the new explorers and adventurers, and Huntingtons interest in maps, beyond their aesthetic beauty, reflected that hegemonic role.

Huntington wasnt the only American to collect Imperial Spanish portraits. Down the road from the Hispanic Society, at the Met and the Frick, are Diego Velazquez portraits of Philip IV and his circle, collected by Huntingtons potentate contemporaries. One of the great paintings in the Houston show, and a Huntington home run, is Velazquezs Portrait of the Count-Duke of Olivares, from 162526. Velazquez (15991660) was the Sevillian savant brought to Madrid by the young Philip IV as the court painter.

Gaspar de Guzman, Count-Duke of Olivares, c. 162526, by Diego Velazquez. Oil on canvas.

Aside from portraits of the king and his brother, Don Carlos, Velazquezs portrait of Olivares was his first opus. Olivares (15871645) was the kings prime minister and a ruthless, savvy politician and aristocrat. The portraits done in Velazquezs early style: crisply finished, unadorned backdrop except for a shadow and drapery, direct engagement between subject and viewer, and lots of black. His hands, silk suit, and wool cape are beautifully textured.

Velazquez spent 40 years in Philips court, not only as the chief court painter but as curator of the kings collection and as the chief decorator of the kings palaces. His style changed over the years. As a curator, Velazquez knew the kings collection of work by Titian, Veronese, and Tintoretto, and Rubens visited Spain not only to paint but as a diplomat from the Spanish Netherlands. Velazquezs palette grew warmer, his brushstroke far freer, and, after a long stay in Rome, from 1649 to 1650, his faces fleshier and more dynamic. His portrait of the Italian Cardinal Pamphili, from 1650, is in the Houston leg of the tour. Its not a full-length portrait but a more informal bust. His face is far creamier and the cassock a medley of red.

Velazquezs portrait of Olivares, like most of his early work, has a sculptural quality, firmly modeled with distinct contours. Convincing lifelike form was important. These characteristics in painting descend from sculpture, and in Seville, Velazquezs home, sculpture, not painting, was the most desired form of religious art. Sculpture from southern Spain was usually painted in vivid colors, making saints as lifelike as possible. Pedro de Menas Saint Acisclus, from about 1680, shows how enduring that tradition was. Acisclus was the patron saint of Cordoba and a young Roman martyr. He was a handsome guy, or so Menas bust suggests, but with a furrowed brow and worried eyes. No wonder  beneath his chin we see his ear-to-ear slit throat. Talk about lifelike.

Saint Acisclus, c. 1680, by Pedro de Mena. Chrome and gilded wood.

The theme of amalgamation informs work by El Greco (15411614) and Bartolome Murillo (16171682). El Greco spent most of his career in Toledo but combined an early style derived from painted icons in Crete with Venetian color and paint handling, along with firm Roman form, to make something unique. Murillo was Sevilles premier painter at a time when the city was Spains link to the European business world. His patrons were Spanish, German, French, Italian, and Dutch, and his style can best be called international and broadly appealing.

There are many show stoppers but Goyas Duchess of Alba, from 1797, is the picture above the title, and the duchess herself would have it no less. Maria del Pilar Teresa Cayetana de Silva Alvarez de Toledo y Silva-Bazan (17621802) had charisma, a star quality thats part Joan Crawford and part Ava Gardner, having not a single hair on her head that does not awaken desire. That was the French ambassadors take, and by all accounts she was born a cougar. She is dressed in fashionable maja style and stands on the banks of the Guadalquivir River, which ran through her Andalusia estate.

The Duchess of Alba, 1797, by Goya (Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes). Oil on canvas.

The Duchess of Alba title is one of the oldest and most prestigious in Spain. The family was then Spains richest, and even when the 18th duchess died in 2014, she was the most heavily titled aristocrat in the world as well as a rich socialite and bon vivant without peer. Goya painted at least three portraits of the 13th duchess, for whom his feelings were fraught, to say the least. Her husband had died the year before. Goya, then 50, spent parts of 1796 and 1797 staying at her palace in Sanlucar.

Looking directly and commandingly at the viewer, the duchess points to the inscription Solo Goya traced in the dirt. She wears two rings, one etched with the word Alba, and the other with the word Goya. Goya kept the portrait and later painted over the word Solo. He later wrote that she tormented him with lying and inconstancy. She appears in one of his Caprichos etchings, called Gone for Good, in the same black dress, flying away on a cloud of witches. So, this isnt an Ozzie-and-Harriet-type relationship.

Biography can be a distraction, though. Its a gorgeous painting and looks it in Houstons pitch-perfect arrangement. Goya was a brilliant painter and printmaker but his drawings  more than a thousand exist  are as beguiling, and more so since theyre the secret Goya. He drew what was on his mind, using not pencil but sweeps of washes, different chalks, crayon, and ink.

Theres a nice selection of drawings in the gallery from 1796 to the end of his life. They certainly show Goyas capacity for ridicule  Majas Fighting, a Majo Observing, from 179697, shows two women in full wrestle, one beating another with a shoe very much looking like the duchesss  but they also show he can convey form and weight with one passage of wash and a few inky lines. Some of Goyas best prints are there, too. Houston arranged the work nicely to make a mini-retrospective.

The Duchess of Albas silk and lace are black, so the looks moody, even grave, but theyre luminous and ethereal, too, with delicate dash. Her face doesnt say Come hither. It says Get your ass over here and kneel, and thats bossy. Goya then softens her with flirty flounces and enough transparency to tempt the viewer to wonder whats underneath. She wears a hot-red sash, because shes hot and knows it. Glittering gold embroidery suggests armor, but its textured, and lacy garlands on her dress say austere and forbidding since theyre black, but theyre soft and filmy, too.

The gallerys sleek gray wall color is an inspired choice. It augments the subtle gold and red sparkle in The Duchess of Alba and in The Portrait of Manuel Lapena, from 1799, the other full-length Goya portrait on view. The space is titled Enlightenment Spain, and there are enough Goyas spanning 30 years to tell us the Spanish Enlightenment was like no other. Cool reason had a moment but entitlement, cruelty, passion, and insanity jostle with reason. Goya believes they win the day.

The show has good things from Latin America and South America. It concludes with work by Joaquin Sorolla (18631923). His big, colorful, light-drenched pictures are lovely and sensual.

Sea Idyll, 1908, by Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida. Oil on canvas.

In every respect, its a great show. The Hispanic Society sent its best, and its best is the worlds best. Im delighted to see this great institution  a museum and a superb library  get the recognition. Houstons arrangement is inspired as well. I love its galleries. Theyre big, with high ceilings, and they tend to be nice, open spaces that are infinitely flexible.

The Hispanic Society show is in a 14,000-square-foot space. There are some temporary walls, but the curator kept that feeling, that blessing, of openness. With such a handsome, big space, Houston could take the many sculptures and ceramics in the exhibition and display them in cases in the round, and thats always best. They have breathing room. With so much beautiful space, juxtapositions are not only possible  theyre splendidly available and used. It was a joy for me to see the many conversations that different objects and media were able to have. Textiles, ironwork, ceramics, jewelry, and even paintings harmoniously blended, reinforcing colors and forms they share.

I loved the show and hope the Houston museum reopens with dispatch so that this city of rich, buoyant diversity can savor a concert of art. Its run in Houston has been extended to September 7.

More from National Review
Jupiter is composed of massive storms, and gazing inside them requires collective efforts of the Juno spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the ground-based Gemini North telescope in Hawaii. Combined images from these sources have produced stunning images that exposed Jupiter's continuous storms.

The CNN mentioned three methods of observing Jupiter use different wavelengths to create images. Hubble utilizes visible and ultraviolet light while Gemini uses thermal infrared. Juno captures radio signals from the lightning in Jupiter's storms. Also called "sferics" and "whistlers," these radio signals can be used to map lightning even beneath Jupiter's heavy clouds.

Sferics is short for atmospherics, while whistlers are named from their whistling tone.

At a distance, Hubble and Gemini provide clear observations, which can interpret Juno's close-up views of Jupiter.

Jupiter's storms are monstrous with thunderhead clouds that can extend 40 miles from base to top, which is five times the height of Earth's thunderheads. Jupiter's lightning carries up to three times the energy of the most powerful lightning that strikes on Earth.

"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," senior scientist for planetary atmospheres research in the Solar System Exploration Division at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland said Amy Simon in a statement.

How much water does Jupiter have?

Three types of clouds come together in storms, including deepwater vapor clouds, huge convective towers of moist air like thunderhead clouds on Earth, and clear areas underneath due to dry air.

Lightning occurs in deep water clouds due to moist convection. Jupiter's lightning and large storms form both in and around large cells under deep, moist clouds.

"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," the University of California, Berkeley planetary scientist Michael Wong said in a statement.

Texas-size cyclone discovered on Jupiter

Finding lightning in clouds can help researchers learn more about how much water is in the atmosphere of Jupiter. Understanding about the planet's atmosphere and water content can reveal how the planet was formed.

While unmanned space missions have already visited Jupiter, researchers still have many questions about how the giant gas was formed and processes that occur on the planet.

ALSO READ: Roaming Robot Dogs in Singapore Reminds Park Goers to Follow Social Distancing Rule

Both Hubble and Gemini's support also provide researchers a window into Jupiter's weather like wind patterns, atmospheric waves, and cyclones, as well as its gases and heat.

"This is our equivalent of a weather satellite," said Simon adding that they can finally start looking at weather cycles.

Jack-o-lantern Jupiter

The observation teamwork was also used to analyze Jupiter's most well-known storm called the Great Red Spot. Images of the on-going storm are sent back by Juno, and other missions have revealed dark features that evolve within the storm. However, researchers were not sure if features were caused by an actual dark material in the clouds or holes in the clouds showing layers below.

Combining Hubble's visible-light images of the storm with Gemini's infrared observations shows the dark holes in the cloud layer. In visible light, these appear dark, but in thermal infrared, researchers could see the holes revealing the brightness of Jupiter's heat escaping into space. Usually, this is blocked by Jupiter's massive clouds.

In infrared, Jupiter's warm layers deep under the clouds appear to glow through cloud gaps.

"It's kind of like a jack-o-lantern," Wong said. He also noted this bright infrared light comes from cloud-free parts, "where there are clouds, it's dark in the infrared."

Great Red Spot's secrets

The varying wavelength on Jupiter's Great Red Spot's images reveals its secrets.

Using "lucky imaging," many short-exposure, sharp images are taken when Earth's atmosphere is momentarily stable. This created the sharpest images of Jupiter taken from Earth. "These images rival the view from space," said Wong.

At 300-mile resolution, the Gemini's telescope can even explain the two car headlights in Miami that were seen from New York City,

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
First Vice-President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva has made an Instagram post on the occasion of 9 May  the Day of Victory over fascism.

In a post on her official Instagram page, Mehriban Aliyeva says:

Dear veterans!

I convey to you and through you to the whole Azerbaijani people my sincere congratulations on the occasion of 9 May  the Day of Victory over fascism!

For you and for our nation as a whole, this holiday has always been of particular importance. Our country has made a significant contribution to the historic victory, and this has always evoked a sense of pride and joy in every Azerbaijani. I know that you have been impatiently looking forward to this day this year. Because this year marks the 75th anniversary of the Great Victory. Both our President and I have always met with you on 9 May and celebrated this significant date together. Unfortunately, due to the quarantine regime applied in our country in connection with the coronavirus pandemic that has gripped the world, we cannot meet with you this year.

Your valor, courage and bravery are a true example of patriotism. We love you very much! We are proud of you! Happy Great Victory Day!
The poisonous mushrooms that



killed six people at a remote village in Meghalaya's West Jaintia Hills district have been identified as Amanita phalloides, commonly known as the 'Death Cap', a senior official said on Saturday.

Six people, including a 14-year-old girl, of Lamin village along the India-Bangladesh border in Amlarem civil sub-division died after consuming wild mushrooms they collected from a nearby forest late last month.

The wild mushroom has been identified as Amanita phalloides and is hepatotoxic as it directly affects the liver, state Director of Health Services (MI) Dr Aman War told PTI.

He said it has been established after an investigation that the cause of the deaths was the poisonous mushrooms.

At least 18 persons from three families were taken ill after consuming the mushrooms.

The symptoms after consuming the poisonous fungus include vomiting, headache and unconsciousness, the senior doctor said.

Most of those taken ill, including a pregnant woman, have already recovered and gone home. Therefore, people can survive as it depends on the amount of poison that you have consumed. Only one person was unaffected, maybe he did not consume much, he said.

Three people are still undergoing treatment and are recovering. Two of them are at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) and one in Woodland Hospital, Dr War said.

He said the health department can only appeal to the people, especially those in the rural areas, to refrain from eating wild mushrooms, while the horticulture department should take measures to create awareness.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 15:49:56|Editor: huaxia

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TAIPEI, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan's total exports in April fell 1.3 percent year on year to 25.24 billion U.S. dollars, 10.7 percent down from March, according to the island's finance department.

The figure has dropped for two consecutive months to the lowest level since May 2017 except for the months when the Spring Festival fell, the department said in a press release earlier this week.

The island's exports to Europe dropped by 20.1 percent year on year, the biggest fall in the past five years, while the exports to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) down 12.2 percent, the statement said.

However, Taiwan's exports to the mainland and Hong Kong increased by 14 percent year on year to 11.21 billion U.S. dollars in April, accounting for about 44.4 percent of its total exports and remaining the biggest among the island's major export markets, the statement said.

The exports to Japan and the United States also rose by 17.5 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively, year on year.

The department attributed the continuous reduction of exports to the epidemic control measures in Europe and the United States and the lowering prices of raw material in international markets, particularly oil prices.

The island's total imports in April reduced by 9.9 percent over March to 22.97 billion U.S. dollars, up 0.5 percent year on year. Enditem
So the county government has now launched a contact tracing initiative to hire 50 investigators, and perhaps more later, to track down people who might have Covid, immediately isolate them, and then find every one of their contacts to isolate those people as well.

They also state that, if someone has Covid and is living in a home with other family members, were not going to be able to keep the person in that home. . .

This is a mass surveillance apparatus that effectively amounts to a snatch-and-grab. You get a knock at the door and are forcibly removed from your home and taken away from your family because some county bureaucrat traced you to someone who might have the virus.

Its like pre-crime, but even more ridiculous... I mean, look at the words theyre using  its up to the government now to decide who gets to stay in their own private property with their families.

Click here to watch it yourself.

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Seattle City Councilmember calls for nationalizing Amazon

Kshama Sawant is a member of the City Council of Seattle, and a proud Socialist.

She recently took to Twitter to criticize Amazon, one of the most popular whipping boys of the Bolsheviks:

The super-rich are out of touch with the reality they inflict on the majority of humanity. They will ruthlessly extract the price of this pandemic recession from workers, unless we fight back. #TaxAmazon.

When a Twitter follower under the handle @KarlMarxJunior suggested, How about #NationalizeAmazon? Sawant responded:

Yes, corporations like Amazon need to be taken into democratic public ownership, to be run by workers for social good. We will need militant mass movements, strike actions at workplaces, to begin to fight to win this. Because it will be a political strike against billionaires.

Click here to see the Twitter thread.

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Undercover cops arrest women for working from home

Recently we told you how police departments in many cities across the Land of the Free were adopting new policies to NOT arrest people for petty or victimless crimes.

The idea was to keep jails from being overcrowded petri-dishes which would spread Covid-19.

And some Texas cities were among those easing up.

But not Laredo, Texas.

Officers received an anonymous tip that two women were committing a heinous crime: doing nails and eyelashes from their homes.

In an undercover sting operation, police officers caught the two women attempting to market and sell their services.

Police charged the women for a violation of the lockdown order, and held them in jail on $500 bond each.

This is the new criminality in 2020: women painting nails in their own homes.

Cities with strained budgets are wondering how they are going to get through the economic devastation caused by the lockdowns. Revenue is drying up.

And THIS is how cities use their scarce resources to stake-out and arrest women for giving pedicures.

Click here to read the full story.

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Nashville Mayor wants to hike property taxes 32% in crisis budget

The crisis budget plan of the mayor of Nashville is to cut spending, and raise taxes.

Now that the hard times have hit, governments will take more, and give you less.

Nashville was overspending and racking up debt in the best of times. And now that the economy is locked down, the city expects to miss out on $470 million of tax revenue over the next year or so.

For homeowners, that means a property tax increase of about $625 per year on a $250,000 house.

In the end, hard, hard decisions have to be made, the Mayor said. Everybody is sacrificing in this budget.

But its hard to see where the city is making sacrifices.

The new budget doesnt lay-off any city employees, and in fact increases spending from last year by $115 million.

Click here to read the full story.

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And to continue learning how to ensure you thrive no matter what happens next in the world, I encourage you to download our free Perfect Plan B Guide.
The moving scenes on VE Day yesterday were a vivid reminder of the suffering during the Second World War and also a tribute to the heroes who defeated Nazi Germany and gifted us our lives of freedom.

It is important to remember the wartime spirit which brought people through such times.

The scenes in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK yesterday underlined the communal sense of relief once the war was over. Last night's address by the Queen was symbolic and historic. Speaking at precisely the same time as her father King George VI had done 75 years ago, she remembered the past sacrifices but also paid tribute to the NHS and care workers whose courage would have been admired by those who had fought in the war.

The Queen was uniquely qualified to give such an address. As an ATS member she stood on Buckingham Palace's balcony with her mother and sister, and Sir Winston Churchill, while looking up to her father King George VI. Now, 75 years later, she has been one of the mainstays of the nation during this current crisis, and in her advancing years she brings spirit and solace to a frightened people.

Understandably that fear is greatest among her own generation who are most vulnerable to coronavirus. This week we have noted the harrowing headlines of the toll among our care homes, and our thoughts are with those who mourn and are afraid, and those tasked with the huge responsibility of looking after our elderly people in care homes and elsewhere. As we watched yesterday's celebrations, hopefully many of us paused to reflect that those most at risk are from the generation who gave their all for us.

Maybe that irony will also give thought to those of younger generations who say "Sure it's only the old who are affected by Covid-19" and help to stop those who intend to break lockdown rules. We are still at war against coronavirus, and still we are all in it together. As the Queen said "Never give up, never despair."
Students will now be offered the option of accepting grades calculated by their teachers or sitting the Leaving Certificate at a later date (PA)

Teachers should not come under pressure from parents about their childs grades and legislation may be required to prevent them from doing so, a TD has said.

The government decided to cancel the Leaving Certificate exams which were due to begin on July 29.

Instead, students will now be offered the option of accepting grades calculated by their teachers or sitting the Leaving Certificate at a later date when the pandemic eases.

However, those that choose to sit the exam will not be eligible for college this coming September.

TUI to engage with Calculated Grades but system must be fair and equitable and professional integrity of teachers must be protected https://t.co/dtypRp6vaa pic.twitter.com/lLlR8gCt3Z  Teachers' Union Ire. (@TUIunion) May 9, 2020

Fianna Fails education spokesman, Thomas Byrne, told Newstalk FM, that teachers will need time to adjust to marking their own students work.

He said: It is unprecedented and goes against that grain for teachers to be correcting their own students work in terms of their own ethics, in terms of how they do their jobs, so this is totally new.

We are in a pandemic. I know that teachers have already risen to the challenge of online learning when no national online learning platform has been provided by the State to schools.

He said he is concerned about anecdotal reports that parents would call or pressure teachers about their childs grades.

My call to cancel #LeavingCert was always based on public health advice. Today the Secretary General of the Department confirmed to me that there is "compelling evidence based on medical advice that the Leaving Cert cannot go ahead as planned"  Thomas Byrne (@ThomasByrneTD) May 8, 2020

Clearly, it is also the case that parents should not make those phone calls and put any pressure on. They need to trust the teachers that know their children, he said.

Teachers feel that they should not take such phone calls and that is why I am saying that legislation should really be there to protect teachers. I think there is absolutely no reason for teachers to deal with calls like that and they should not feel any obligation to take those phone calls.

Labour Party education spokesman Aodhan O Riordain called on Education Minister Joe McHugh to publish the health and legal advice concerning the cancellation of the Leaving Certificate.

Mr O Riordain said: There are several legal issues outstanding with the governments decision on the Leaving Certificate. Under our current laws, the minister is obliged to hold a state examination of secondary school students, it still is unclear if predicted/calculated grading will meet that requirement.

Students need to be assured that their results of Leaving Cert 2020 will have exactly the same status as previous years.
Pizza Express is 'highly likely' to launch a restructuring of its giant debt pile, despite organising a 70million loan last month.

Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's said the latest measure was agreed ahead of deadlines for two smaller loans due in August. That was 'an additional step toward a comprehensive restructuring' of more than 1billion debt.

Pizza Express is due to repay 465million to bondholders next year and an additional 200million in 2022.

S&P said the business now faces 'additional hurdles' turning its fortunes around

S&P said the business now faces 'additional hurdles' turning its fortunes around 'amid an extremely challenging competitive environment exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic'.

The 470-outlet Italian dining chain is owned by Beijing-based private equity firm Hony Capital, which has about 10billion under management, according to its website.

Hony is owned by Chinese conglomerate Legend, whose subsidiaries include technology firm Lenovo.

S&P rates Pizza Express corporate debt as 'CC', which it defines as having 'extremely weak financial security characteristics and is likely not to meet some of its financial commitments'.

Pizza Express closed its outlets seven weeks ago alongside bars, pubs and other restaurants after being told to do so by the Government. Several days later, it decided to close its doors for takeaway and delivery customers.

A statement on its website reads: 'We'll open our pizzerias as soon as it is safe to do so and in line with the latest government advice.' Pizza Express declined to comment.
Much of it is from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) or small business owners. SMEs have contributed to a 35 percent to 40 percent recovery in hotel bookings compared with pre-COVID times and between 27 percent and 32 percent recovery in flights, according to online travel agency MakeMyTrip. (Source: Reuters)

Ajay Thakur

The world is passing through an unprecedented crisis caused by coronavirus pandemic resulting in large scale loss of life and severe human suffering globally. It has also resulted in a major economic crisis, with a halt in production, a collapse in consumption and confidence. The magnitude of the shock and the unfolding of the pandemic makes it difficult to forecast economic impact but there is all possibility of a global recession.

It is being recognized that due to this crisis various factors such as increased risk aversion, decreased liquidity, bleak prospects for economic growth etc. have a severe impact on SMEs. The SMEs are going to get impacted on both demand and supply sides.

On the demand side, there will be a sudden loss of demand and revenue which will adversely affect their ability to function resulting into severe liquidity shortages. The prevailing uncertainty and lower confidence will reduce consumer spending and consumption.

On the supply side, companies experience a reduction in labour as most of them are migrant workers who because of lockdown and quarantine will like to go to their native place to spend time with their families.

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

Furthermore, supply chains are interrupted leading to a shortage of parts and intermediate goods. There is also a spillover of the impact of the virus on financial markets resulting in further loss of confidence and credit availability.

In India, MSMEs primarily rely on bank finance for their operations, capex and working capital requirement and as such, all public policies primarily focus on ensuring timely and adequate finance to this sector.

The situation being very fragile, RBI has taken a slew of measures to ensure that sufficient liquidity should be available in the system. This will help the banks and NBFCs in providing credit to SMEs. The RBI cut the repo rate to 4.4 percent, lowest in 15 years, reduced the CRR by 100 basis points the first time in the last 7 years.

The reverse repo rate was also cut by a 90 basis point. Besides that RBI has also allowed the banks to keep the EMI on hold for all term loans for three months. The various measures taken by RBI are going to ease pressure on borrowers, lenders and other entities including mutual funds.

SEBI has also taken measures by relaxing guidelines and timeline for raising funds through right issue. Also they have extended the validity of observation on public issues and rights issues for a further period of six months from the date of expiry.

The measures taken by SEBI are aimed to expand the universe of listed companies, easing the compliance and providing flexibility raising the funds through the capital market in such turbulent times.

While banks play a major role in financing SMEs, the ability of SMEs and startups to access alternative sources of capital like equity funds need to be enhanced considerably to encourage and develop entrepreneurship.

Equity capital is often a more appropriate financing instrument for high-growth-potential SMEs and Start-ups. Equity capital puts finance into the business without committing the company to inflexible repayment schedules or debt covenants that could see them lose control if results come more slowly than expected. It is also a more fitting way to reward investors prepared to take the risk of putting money into SMEs and Start-ups.

Exchanges in India have launched its SME Platform on March 13, 2012. The objective was to provide an opportunity for the SMEs to raise the equity capital for their growth and expansion, unleash the valuation of the company, creating visibility and credibility. Start-up Platform was also launched in December 2018 so as to offer a simple, cost-effective, yet deeply impactful mechanism that enables the growth of a startup.

As of today, 550 SMEs got listed on SME Platform and 5 Startup got listed on Startup Platform who have raised fund to the tune of Rs 5,800 crore and Rs 22 crore respectively. There are further chances of almost 70 SMEs and 10 startups to get listed on the exchanges in this financial year.

Even during the lockdown period SMEs and Start-up raised funds and got listed on the Exchange. We have seen listing of three SMEs who have raised Rs 9.5 crore and a start-up which has raised Rs 3.75 crore.

A few months back Honourable Minister for MSME, Shri Nitin Gadkari has announced the creation of fund of funds for a tune of Rs 10,000 crore which will subscribe 15 percent of the equity of the SME going for listing.

Though measures have been taken to support the MSMEs, however, some more measures are required so that they can sail through this tough time. Some of the measures that the government may take to support MSMEs are:

1. Providing bridge loans/top-up finance even if drawing limits are exceeded2. Interest on drawn limits to be waived or reduced till September 20203. Reduction on the applicable rate of interest for advances made by financial institutions4. Waiver/reduction in commercial electricity bills, local body charges, government levy and collection5. MSME transporters are given support in the form of increased depreciation, extension of roadworthiness and other RTO requirements, toll collection, subsidy in an auto loan.6. The payments pending with the government should be released with immediate effect.7. Retrospective demands and notices etc. served from December, 19 onwards by direct and indirect tax authorities may be put on hold till September, 20.8. There should be speedier disposal of refund claims.9. Moratorium period may be extended till September as lockdown period got extended.

10. The focus may also be put on providing equity funds in order to reduce the liability of servicing them.

The present time requires extraordinary measures to be taken by Government, RBI, SEBI, Stock Exchanges and other financial institutions for supporting and handholding the MSMEs and Start-ups. With the concerted efforts of all the stakeholders, we are sure that the SMEs and Start-up would sail through these tough times.

The author is Head of BSE SME & Startup.

: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts 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.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's King Salman spoke by phone on Friday and "reaffirmed the strong United States-Saudi defense partnership," the White House said, amid tensions over Saudi's oil output.

The two men spoke after news the United States planned to withdraw two Patriot anti-missile batteries from Saudi Arabia that have been a defense against Iran.

Trump had worked last month to persuade Saudi Arabia to cut its oil output after an increase in production during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic put heavy pressure on U.S. oil producers.

"The two leaders agreed on the importance of stability in global energy markets, and reaffirmed the strong United States-Saudi defense partnership," White House spokesman Judd Deere said. "The president and King Salman also discussed other critical regional and bilateral issues and their cooperation as leaders of the G7 and G20, respectively."

The statement did not mention the Patriot missiles and the White House declined further comment.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed on Friday media reports that the missiles would be withdrawn, but he said it did not signal a decrease in U.S. support for Saudi Arabia and was not an effort to pressure Riyadh on oil issues. He also said it did not mean Washington thought Iran was no longer a threat.

"Those Patriot batteries had been in place for some time. Those troops needed to get back," Pompeo told the Ben Shapiro radio show. "This was a normal rotation of forces."

Saudi Arabia said in a statement about the phone call that Trump confirmed the United States is committed to protecting its interests and the security of its allies in the region. Trump also reiterated U.S. support for efforts aimed at reaching a political solution to the crisis in Yemen, the statement said.

(Reporting by Steve Holland in Washington and Hesham Abdul Khalek in Cairo; Editing by Leslie Adler and Grant McCool)
Things began to break down on Thursday, Mr. Haggerty said, when a Tesla executive called him and told him Mr. Musk was thinking about suing him.

It was only a threat, and as an elected official I get threatened all the time, Mr. Haggerty said. It does at that point slow down conversations between my contact at the plant and myself.

Still, it did not appear to be game over  until Mr. Musk started tweeting.

He could have spent time enjoying his new baby and given me and my staff a couple more days and his plant would have been open on May 18, Mr. Haggerty said. Am I somewhat sympathetic with Tesla? Yes I am. Am I sympathetic to the way Musk is treating people? No.

In a statement after Mr. Musks tweets, the mayor of Fremont, Lily Mei, said she was growing concerned about the local economy, and she urged county officials to work with local businesses to come up with acceptable guidelines for reopening.

We know many essential businesses have proven they can successfully operate using strict safety and social distancing practices, she said. I strongly believe these same practices could be possible for other manufacturing businesses, especially those that are so critical to our employment base.

In a statement issued at about the same time, the county health department said, We look forward to coming to an agreement on an appropriate safety plan very soon.

Over the last few months, Mr. Musk has issued several strident calls to reopen the Fremont plant. After local officials ordered the plant closed, he tried to keep the plant open but was forced by the officials to shut it down in late March. In a conference call this past week to report Teslas earnings, he called the order fascist.
The Sikkim government will allow



people stranded in different parts of the country to return to the Himalayan state on their own vehicles from May 11.

A limited number of vehicles will be allowed to enter Sikkim everyday and priority will be given to patients, a press note said.

Over 6,200 persons of Sikkim stranded outside the state have registered for evacuation and more than 500 of them have returned by Sikkim Nationalised Transport (SNT) buses in the past four days.

Since only regulated movement is allowed during the lockdown period so people intending to return on their own vehicles or vehicles hired for the purpose shall be required to fill a form at the COVID portal of the state government for seeking prior approval, the press note said.

Persons desiring to travel on their own vehicles must wait for approval after they apply for permission.

On approval, a link will be sent to the registered mobile number which can then be downloaded and carried along on the travel back home, it said.

The vehicles should reach the respective check posts between 10 am to 1 pm everyday.

Those belonging to South and West Districts should head towards Melli check post and those from North and East districts should go towards Rangpo check post, the press note said.

All the returnees will be required to compulsorily undergo a 14-day quarantine on arrival as per protocol of the Health department, it said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Assam government has proposed a set of changes to labour laws, becoming the latest entrant in the list of States taking such a step in a bid to boost investment at a time when economic activities have come to a grinding halt due to the novel coronavirus.

However, unlike the other Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led governments, Assam has not proposed doing away with most labour laws for a certain number of years. It has proposed introducing fixed-term employment to help both workers and industries, and seeks to take more firms out of the ambit of laws governing factories and ...
ROME  South Koreas capital closed down more than 2,100 bars and other nightspots Saturday because of a new cluster of coronavirus infections, Germany scrambled to contain fresh outbreaks at slaughterhouses, and Italian authorities worried that people were getting too friendly at cocktail hour during the countrys first weekend of eased restrictions.

The new flareups  and fears of a second wave of contagion  underscored the dilemma authorities face as they try to reopen their economies.

Around the world, the U.S. and other hard-hit countries are wrestling with how to ease curbs on business and public activity without causing the virus to come surging back.

In New York, the deadliest hot spot in the U.S., Gov. Andrew Cuomo said three children died from a possible complication of the coronavirus involving swollen blood vessels and heart problems. At least 73 children statewide have been diagnosed with symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease  a rare inflammatory condition  and toxic shock syndrome. But there is no proof the mysterious syndrome is caused by the virus.

Two members of the White House coronavirus task force  the heads of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration  placed themselves in quarantine after contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, a stark reminder that not even one of the nations most secure buildings is immune from the virus.

Elsewhere, Belarus, which has not locked down despite sharply rising infections, saw tens of thousands turn out to mark Victory Day, the anniversary of Nazi Germanys defeat in 1945. Authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has dismissed concerns about the virus as a psychosis.

That was in contrast to Russia, which skipped the usual grand military parade in Moscows Red Square. This years observance had been expected to be especially large because it is the 75th anniversary, but instead, President Vladimir Putin laid flowers at the tomb of the unknown soldier and a show of military might was limited to a flyover of 75 warplanes and helicopters.

Worldwide, 4 million people have been confirmed infected by the virus, and more than 279,000 have died, including over 78,000 in the U.S., according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. Spain, France, Italy and Britain have reported around 26,000 to 32,000 deaths each.

Germany and South Korea have both carried out extensive testing and contact tracing and have been hailed for avoiding the mass deaths that overwhelmed other countries. But even there, authorities have struggled to find the balance between saving lives and salvaging jobs.

Seoul shut down nightclubs, hostess bars and discos after dozens of infections were linked to people who went out last weekend as the country relaxed social distancing. Many of the infections were connected to a 29-year-old man who visited three nightclubs before testing positive.

Mayor Park Won-soon said health workers were trying to contact some 1,940 people who had been at the three clubs and other places nearby. The mayor said gains made against the virus are now threatened because of a few careless people.

Germany faced outbreaks at three slaughterhouses in what was seen as a test of its strategy for dealing with any resurgence as restrictions ease. At one slaughterhouse, in Coesfeld, 180 workers tested positive.

Businesses in the U.S. continue to struggle as more employers reluctantly conclude that their laid-off employees might not return to work anytime soon. Health officials are watching for a second wave of infections, roughly two weeks after states began gradually reopening with Georgia largely leading the way.

Some malls have opened up in Georgia and Texas, while Nevada restaurants, hair salons and other businesses were able to have limited reopenings Saturday or once again allow customers inside after nearly two months of restrictions.

The reopening of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park along the Tennessee-North Carolina border was a bit too tempting a draw as scores of nature lovers crowded parking lots and trails and even trekked into closed areas, park spokeswoman Dana Soehn said. Many did not wear masks.

In Los Angeles, hikes to the iconic hillside Hollywood sign and hitting the golf links were allowed as the California county hit hardest reopened some sites to recreation-starved stay-at-homers.

Mayor Eric Garcetti urged good judgment and said the city would rely on education and encouragement rather than heavy-handed enforcement: Not our vision to make this like a junior high school dance with people standing too close to each other, he said.

In New York, a Cuomo spokesman said the governor was extending stay-at-home restrictions to June 7, but another top aide later clarified that that was not so; the May 15 expiration date for the restrictions remains in place until further notice, Melissa DeRosa said in an evening statement.

The federal government said it was delivering supplies of remdesivir, the first drug shown to speed recovery for COVID-19 patients, to six more states, after seven others were sent cases of the medicine earlier this week.

Italy saw people return to the streets and revel in fine weather.

Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala warned that a handful of crazy people were putting his citys recovery at risk and threatened to shut down the trendy Navigli district after crowds of young people were seen out at the traditional aperitivo hour ignoring social-distancing rules.

The Campo dei Fiori flower and vegetable market was also bustling in Rome. But confusion created frustrations for the citys shopkeepers.

Carlo Alberto, owner of TabaCafe, an Argentine empanada bar that was selling cocktails to a few customers, said that since reopening this week, police had threatened to fine him over crowds outside.

Am I supposed to send them home? They need a guard here to do that, he said. The laws arent clear, the decree isnt clear. You dont know what you can do.

Elsewhere, Pakistan allowed shops, factories, construction sites and other businesses to reopen, even as more than 1,600 new cases and 24 deaths were reported. Prime Minister Imran Khan said the government was rolling back curbs because it cant support millions who depend on daily wages. But controls could be reimposed if people fail to practice social distancing.

In Spain certain regions can scale back lockdowns starting Monday, with limited seating at bars, restaurants and other public places. But Madrid and Barcelona, the countrys largest cities, will remain shut down.

The pandemic is evolving favorably, but there is a risk of another outbreak that could generate a serious catastrophe, Spanish health official Fernando Simon said. Personal responsibility is vital.

___

Gera reported from Warsaw, Poland, and Forliti reported from Minneapolis. Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report.

___

Follow AP pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
Chances are that if you have eaten scallions bought in a supermarket recently, they were grown by Paul Carroll. These past few months, he has started work at 6am and finished at about 7.30pm. He has 100 people working in his fields during the harvest at his farm in Lusk, Co Dublin, with another 50 to come on soon.

In peak season, he can supply up to 500,000 bunches of scallions a week to Irish supermarkets.

The numbers are remarkable, but Carroll is exceptional for another reason: he is Ireland's last commercial scallion farmer.

On the surface, the Irish vegetable industry looks healthy, with consistent production and rising employment, but it is increasingly dominated by a handful of growers.

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Commercial cucumbers are supplied by two producers; tomatoes by about six.

As growers leave, their market share is sometimes taken over by their Irish peers, but not always. If you're not eating scallions from Lusk, then they are probably from Egypt or Mexico.

When Carroll started after leaving school, he was one of a dozen or so scallion farmers in the country. The past couple of years there have been three. Now there is one.

"It's an incredibly labour-intensive business. The crop we are harvesting now was sown last August. In between there's work weeding. You harvest by hand again," he says.

"The cost of growing and labour is forever increasing, but the price returned to us stays the same - if you're doing things by the book, like I am. The margins are tight."

It's a similar story for tomatoes.

Matt Foley grows between two-and-a-half and three hectares of tomatoes. Every hectare of glasshouse needs 10 staff. He sells to Irish supermarkets, but his main competition is Dutch tomatoes. Dutch growers have cheaper energy costs with the economies of scale provided by 10,000 hectares of tomatoes; Ireland has fewer than 100.

On freshness though, domestic produce outclasses the competition. Here, producers fill orders every day. The order comes in at 7am, the truck arrives by about midday to take the product to the supermarket. Imports can wait for six or seven days before getting on shelves.

Ours is a healthy market for fresh produce, currently valued at 1.6bn, up from 1.4bn in 2015, according to Kantar, the market research company. In addition, the 400m food service market had grown in value before the Covid-19 pandemic but is supplied largely by imports.

As the market grows, grower numbers shrink and the knowledge required to provide fresh produce is lost. The 2015 Field Vegetable Census counted 165 growers in 2014, down from 377 in 1999, and 212 in 2008.

Why are producers and their offspring turning away? Because the nature of the business is precarious. There are no long-term contracts. Growers take on all the risk, and annually negotiated margins are too tight to account for the vagaries of climate and other business risks, not to mention the impact of a global pandemic. The costs are constantly rising but grower income rarely changes because of pressure from imports.

Producers sound weary of low prices and, in particular, supermarket 'specials'. The impact of these is acknowledged by Bord Bia.

"The biggest change in price has occurred around the nature of promotions," says a spokesperson for the agency. "Historically, promotions coincided with peak Irish seasonal supply periods. Nowadays, promotions in the fresh produce category are continuous and most retailers have 'end of aisle' fresh produce promotions. This has resulted in the lowering of average prices."

Then there are imports. "Growers in other countries are always looking for market export opportunities and many of them are operating off a much larger scale of production, often with better growing conditions, such as better weather, and cheaper labour costs," says the Bord Bia spokesperson.

According to the Consumer Price Index, in January 2012 a 2.5kg bag of potatoes sold for 3.07. In February of this year, it cost 3.54, an increase of just over 15pc.

'Consumer sentiment'

Producers point out that this is not just a case of 'grower versus supermarket'. Other policies have an impact. In the same period, the minimum wage has increased from 8.65 to 10.10 an hour.

The question remains: are we willing to pay more for Irish food?

Carroll says the price of a bunch of scallions has fallen by roughly 10c over five years. A 5c increase would secure the future of his business. Would we pay it?

There are indications that we would. In an October 2019 survey, 65pc of people agreed food of Irish origin was worth paying a little more for.

Supermarkets will point to 'consumer sentiment' when it comes to bearing price increases. But does that argument really hold up?

"The most important misconception is that the fruit and veg needs have to be met by fresh food. All different types count, especially frozen, which has a superb nutritional content. Tinned food counts also," says Dr Marian O'Reilly, chief nutritionist at Safefood, the all-island healthy-eating agency.

She says many factors influence food choice, not just price. "There is fear of waste and there can be intergenerational loss in terms of food and cooking skills," she says.

According to 2018 Safefood data, 19pc of the average family grocery shop was spent on treats such as crisps, chocolate and sweets, compared with 7pc on vegetables.

"Nobody wants to see below-cost selling and an unsustainable food production system. In terms of controlling what's on our shelves, there's very few players and they do have a lot of control," says Dr O'Reilly.

So what's the solution?

There are calls for more regulation and oversight; some point to the UK's Groceries Code Adjudicator. Certainly, there is space for an advertising campaign urging Irish consumers to buy their own country's produce, but also potentially more investment in research and development into the horticulture industry, as is the case with beef and dairy.

Patrick Farrell, the Irish Farmers' Association's horticulture executive, says current margins threaten the sustainability of the domestic supply.

"You lose the people, you lose the skills," he says. "That's why we're pushing for the implementation of the [EU's] UTP (Unfair Trading Practices) regulations and an end to below-cost selling."

Fianna Fail scrapped the Groceries Order, which prohibited the practice in 2006, calling it an important day for consumers.

Brian Stanley, Sinn Fein's agriculture and food spokesman, says that regulation could be introduced without distorting the market.

"The market has become skewed with the power of the multiples. It's very, very difficult to supply into supermarkets and make a reasonable margin. Where there are constant promotions, local suppliers get squeezed out," he says.

There is a cost to losing our growers, not least for long-term food security.

As Farrell says: "Once these Irish producers are gone, they're not coming back."
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 9

Trend:

Armenian prime ministers irresponsible behavior negates possibility of Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts peaceful settlement, said spokesperson of Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry, Leyla Abdullayeva, Trend reports on May 9.

She was commenting on the visit of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to the occupied Shusha city of Azerbaijan to celebrate victory day.

Prime minister of the country, which has been violating the norms and principles of international law for almost 30 years, keeping the Azerbaijani lands under military occupation, violating the fundamental rights of more than one million Azerbaijanis, as well as heroizing fascist criminals, is talking about the "victory", "peace" and "security", which is the apotheosis of hypocrisy. Ignoring the demand of the international community to put an end to the occupation of internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan, including resolutions of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Pashinyan, speaking on victory" in the occupied Azerbaijani Shusha city, probably understands that this irresponsible behavior of Armenia justifying groundless territorial claims against Azerbaijan, nullifies the possibility of a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Abdullayeva noted.

Such behavior of the Armenian leadership clearly demonstrates its wrong position in the negotiations on resolving the conflict, which is peculiar to the occupying country and the aggressor, whose sole purpose is to strengthen the dangerous status quo based on the forcible retention of foreign territories, the spokesperson said.

This intention of Armenia will not be supported by anyone. Azerbaijan, unequivocally supported by international law, justice and the world community, will liberate its lands from the occupation and ensure territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders. There is no other way to resolve the conflict and ensure peace and security in the region, Abdullayeva said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
The homecoming of tens of thousands of migrant workers since the Covid-19 lockdown began on March 25 and realisation that they may not be in a hurry to return to big cities outside the state for work has stirred political parties in poll-bound Bihar (the polls are likely to happen at the end of the year) into action.

Bihars NDA government, led by Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal United -- it was initially criticised for appearing reluctant to get its workers back; the government has maintained it was waiting for a national protocol -- is working on ways to find jobs for the returnees, a sure-fire way of ensuring heir loyalty.

Thus far, around a quarter of a million people, all migrant workers, have found their way back to Bihar according to government records.

The CM has made it clear that this is the time to convert challenges into opportunities. The idea of skill mapping of returning migrants is to ensure better utilization of their services, said JD (U) spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan, who attended a recent meeting of office-bearers of his party that was chaired the chief minister. Ranjan conceded that these workers would play a crucial role in elections.

Those who have returned or are returning are here to stay. They are not returning to their workplace for at least two years , said BJP MLC and former union minister Sanjay Paswan. The BJP and the JD(U) are partners in the Bihar government.

Paswan added that their return is good for the ruling alliance. A majority of them, about 75%, are from extremely backward castes, 20% are SCs/STs and barely 5% are from upper caste. The caste profile of the migrants suits us, even though they are a bit against us today because of the vacillation of the state government over their return.

But thats solvable, he seemed to suggest. All we need to do is to accommodate them, think about their re-employment so that there is no social unrest.

The Congress party has been quick to claim credit for the return of migrants. From the very beginning, the Congress has been demanding that the central and state governments facilitate the return of migrant labourers to Bihar and to their respective states. But neither paid any heed, state Congress president Madan Mohan Jha said.

Experts say that a meaningful utilisation of the skills the migrants possess can help the backward state. They are skilled to perform in primary as well as service sectors. If the government meaningfully links them with the help of financial institutions, they will make Bihar shine, says D M Diwakar, a political expert with AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies.

Shefali Roy, head of department (political science) at Patna University, says, The announcement of the government to give Rs 1500 (500+1000) to each of them after 21 days of quarantine is a strategy to woo future voters. Memory is short so the troubles will soon be forgotten by labourers and cash will definitely soften their opinion towards the government.

They have been instrumental in development of Maharashtra, Punjab, Delhi, Gujarat and several states. We welcome them. They are good omen for us, said state BJP spokesperson Prem Ranjan Patel.

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US diplomat warns Arab allies against ties with China

Iran Press TV

Friday, 08 May 2020 10:00 AM

A top US diplomat has called on Washington's Arab allies in the Persian Gulf to perform "due diligence" in their relationship with the United States, while dealing with its rival, China.

US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, David Schenker, said on Thursday that the Arab governments need "to weigh the value of their partnership with the United States."

"We want our partner nations to do due diligence," Schenker told Reuters by phone.

His remarks came as several Arab states have hailed China's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Beijing has also sent medical supplies and experts to countries around the globe, including some Arab nations to help fight the virus outbreak.

The US diplomat, however, said the countries in the Middle East need to be wary of China's assistance which he alleged to be "predatory."

The new coronavirus, which first emerged in China late last year, quickly spread to the rest of the world.

It has so far infected 3,918,710 people and killed 270,765 worldwide.

The US, which stands on the top of the world's most affected countries  with 1,292,850 confirmed cases and 76,938 deaths  continues to blame China for the virus outbreak.

US President Donald Trump keeps referring to the coronavirus as the Chinese virus and Beijing has hit back by suggesting that the US military brought the virus to Wuhan and initiated the outbreak.

Over the past weeks, Trump and his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have claimed that there is evidence Beijing created the new coronavirus in a medical lab in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

This is while the US intelligence agencies say they have seen no evidence to show the virus is "man-made."

On the other hand, the US, which is now struggling to counter China's land-based cruise and ballistic missiles, has been planning to deploy long-range, ground-launched cruise missiles in the Asia-Pacific region.

In the meantime, reports have come in that the US has decided to withdraw two of its four Patriot interceptor batteries from Saudi Arabia and another two such missile systems from elsewhere in the Middle East.

While Washington was distracted by almost two decades of war in the Middle East and Afghanistan, China had built a missile force designed to attack US aircraft carriers in the region, Reuters said in a series of reports last year.

China' shipyards built the world's biggest navy, which is now capable of dominating the country's coastal waters and keeping US forces at bay, according to Reuters.

It said, in most categories, China's missiles now rival or outperform counterparts in the armories of the US alliance.

In a recent development, Trump called for "effective arms control" that includes China and Russia during a telephone call with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Wednesday.

"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," according to the White House spokesperson Judd Deere.

Trump has long-sought China's inclusion in a renewal of the New START nuclear arms treaty, which expires in February 2021.

Beijing, however, has rejected calls for joining the pact, which limits the number of land and sea-based nuclear missile launchers that the US and Russia can deploy.

The arrangement between Washington and Moscow also caps the number of nuclear warheads each country can deploy to 1,550.

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New Delhi, May 9 : The Congress slammed the Central government on Saturday over "difference of opinion" in the government over the coronavirus situation, and said it should tell the people clearly and prepare them accordingly.

Addressing the media through video link, former Union Minister Ajay Maken said there was confusion in the government over the Covid-19 situation. "How will India fight the pandemic if officials speak in different voices?" he asked.

Maken quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first address to nation on March 24 before the nationwide lockdown: "The battle of Mahabharat ended in 18 days, I need 21 days to combat the spread of Covid-19." But Niti Aayog member V.K. Paul and AIIMS Director Sandeep Guleria were saying something different on the situation, he said.

Maken played a video clip of the Prime Minister and the Niti Aayog member. "The government should tell people about exact Covid-19 situation to enable them to prepare accordingly," Maken said. He said the people were confused as all senior officials of the government are giving different statements on the Covid-19 situation.

He said a number of countries such as South Korea and Germany came out of lockdown as they planned accordingly. But the countries like the US and UK could not control the pandemic as they tried to project their "muscleman" image to the world.

Citing the rapidly rising number of Covid-19 cases in India, the former Union Minister said many more cases were unreported. "There are many reports which have not been prepared properly. These included reports on the actual death rate or the number of positive cases. So, we want to ask the government which statement should be taken seriously," he said.

Slamming the Delhi government over the mismatch in Covid-19 death toll, he said, "The Delhi government needs to ensure transparency in reporting coronavirus cases and deaths."
We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Agile Group Holdings Limited (HKG:3383).

What Is Insider Selling?

It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.

We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. For example, a Harvard University study found that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year.

Check out our latest analysis for Agile Group Holdings

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Agile Group Holdings

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Chairman & President Zhuo Lin Chen bought HK$46m worth of shares at a price of HK$9.76 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being HK$8.86). While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when an insider has purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price. Zhuo Lin Chen was the only individual insider to buy during the last year.

Zhuo Lin Chen bought 21.81m shares over the last 12 months at an average price of HK$9.79. You can see the insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

Story continues

SEHK:3383 Recent Insider Trading May 9th 2020

Agile Group Holdings is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Does Agile Group Holdings Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Agile Group Holdings insiders own 12% of the company, currently worth about HK$4.0b based on the recent share price. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Agile Group Holdings Insiders?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Agile Group Holdings shares in the last quarter. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Judging from their transactions, and high insider ownership, Agile Group Holdings insiders feel good about the company's future. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. At Simply Wall St, we've found that Agile Group Holdings has 4 warning signs (2 make us uncomfortable!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
Even in quarantine, Emma Roberts has continued to grace Instagram with her bold outfits and high end accessories.

And on Friday, the 29-year-old American Horror Story star decided to take her style to the streets in Studio City during an afternoon errand run.

Donning a floral patterned Johnny Was face mask and bright pink gloves, Roberts carefully turned the pages of various fashion magazines on display at a nearby newsstand.

Fashion forward: Emma Roberts was spotted rocking a highly curated fashion look during an afternoon errand run in Studio City on Friday

Emma had her bright blonde locks parted in the middle and tied back into a messy bun secured with a black scrunchie.

She concealed her hazel eyes behind a pair of black designer sunglasses that coordinated with her stylish pointed leather flats.

Roberts slipped her slender frame into a darling black and white gingham print jumpsuit by Madewell that featured a square neckline and tie wrap waist.

After scouring the newsstand's magazine selection, the Scream Queens actress decided to purchase a few to take home.

Staying informed: Donning a floral patterned face mask and bright pink gloves, Roberts carefully turned the pages of various fashion magazines on display at a nearby newsstand

Get a good look: Before braving the open air, Emma made sure to capture her 'Outfit Of The Day' on her Instagram Story and provided her fans with all the details

She cradled the magazines in one hand and had her wallet out and ready in the other.

Before braving the open air, Emma made sure to capture her 'Outfit Of The Day' on her Instagram Story and provided her fans with all the details.

For the back-to-back social media snaps, Roberts was sans sunglasses and had her blonde tresses neatly tucked behind her ears.

She posed with cellphone in hand before a lengthy mirror located in her home's foyer.

Prada baby: One particularly remarkable piece was the actress' bright orange Prada tote, which gave her look a chic pop of color

One particularly remarkable piece was the actress' bright orange Prada tote, which gave her look a chic pop of color.

Emma wrote asked her 14million followers 'How We Doing' and greeted them with a massive 'Hello Today' written in orange text.

She shared a similar fashion fueled Story post on April 26, while sporting a yellow linen maxi dress paired with a woven sunhat with black trim.

Roberts has been holed up at her Los Angeles home with boyfriend Garrett Hedlund, 35, amid COVID-19.

Sound bath: On Thursday evening, the niece of Julia Roberts enjoyed 'sound bath' in her backyard, which was sure to combat the actress' lockdown anxiety

Style inspo: She shared a similar fashion fueled Story post on April 26, while sporting a yellow linen maxi dress paired with a woven sunhat with black trim

The pair - who have been dating since March of last year - have made few public outings since entering quarantine.

On Thursday evening, the niece of Julia Roberts enjoyed 'sound bath' in her backyard, which was sure to combat the actress' lockdown anxiety.

A sound bath is a form of meditation that sees participants 'bathe' in sound waves.

Based on Emma's image, she engaged in the practice while laying atop a rainbow striped blanket.

Quarantine partners: Roberts has been holed up at her Los Angeles home with boyfriend Garrett Hedlund, 35, amid COVID-19; the pair pictured in July of 2019

She was also surrounded by an array of crystals, while a lighter and sage rested to the right of her bluetooth speaker.

Most recently Emma starred in the horror-thriller film, The Hunt, that had its September 2019 premiere date delayed due to the mass shootings in Dayton and El Paso.

It eventually made its theatrical release in March but that was cut short due to the coronavirus outbreak that resulted in theaters closing.

The release of her upcoming romantic comedy film The Holidate is now in limbo due to production delays caused by the pandemic.
There is a saying in Marathi, which when translated in English means: Turn the bhakri (unleavened bread made of sorghum or bajra -- part of traditional Maharashtrian cuisine) when it is being cooked, or it will burn.

This phrase is often used in politics to justify the easing out of veterans for fresh faces. However, a cook with even rudimentary culinary skills will agree that turning the bhakri too soon may lead to it being left half-baked.

So, will the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) decision to ditch veterans for fresh faces while announcing its nominations to the Maharashtra Legislative Council lead to a similar situation?

While rejecting the claims of established names like former ministers Eknath Khadse, Vinod Tawde, Pankaja Munde (the daughter of late BJP veteran Gopinath Munde), and Chandrashekhar Bavankule, it has instead nominated a new crop of leaders.

This also indicates that despite disgruntlement at his style of functioning, former Chief Minister and incumbent Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis, is firmly in the saddle.

All four nominees -- Gopichand Padalkar, Pravin Datke, Ranjitsinh Mohite Patil and Dr Ajit Gopchade -- are said to be loyal to Fadnavis, who also had his way when his man, Pravin Darekar was chosen as the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council.

It is no co-incidence that at least two of the leaders who were in the fray for the nomination -- Khadse and Pankaja -- were seen as Fadnavis rivals for the chief ministers post and are at odds with him.

While Khadse had confirmed that he had sought a seat in the Upper House of the Legislature, it was also claimed that Pankaja could be the Leader of Opposition replacing Darekar after being elected to the council.

Fadnavis loyalists claim the four nominees are part of the BJPs larger project to nurture an alternate leadership among the dominant Marathas and OBCs.

Padalkar, who belongs to the Dhangar (shepherd) community, had contested the recent Lok Sabha elections from Sangli as a candidate of Prakash Ambedkars Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), and secured over three lakh votes.

He then joined the BJP and unsuccessfully fought the Assembly polls from Baramati against incumbent Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar.

Dhangars are said to account for the second-largest percentage of votes in Maharashtra, next to the dominant Maratha-Kunbi caste cluster. However, they lack representative political representation in the Legislature and Parliament.

The BJP has to rely on its ally Mahadev Jankar of the Rashtriya Samaj Party (RSP) for Dhangar votes, and hence, may be looking at Padalkar, who was associated with controversial Hindutva demagogue Sambhajirao Bhide Guruji, to deliver the goods.

The BJP has another Gordian knot to untie. Before coming to power in 2014, the party had promised to approve the demand of the Dhangars for inclusion in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category.

However, this had fallen foul of the tribals and failed to meet legal requirements. Co-opting Padalkar, who was incidentally with the BJP, before switching to the VBA, may be aimed at offsetting a part of this anger.

Ranjitsinh Mohite Patil, the son of former deputy chief minister Vijaysinh Mohite Patil, is a former Rajya Sabha MP.

Though their authority has seen a decline since the days when they held sweeping authority over the region, the Mohite Patils, who are Marathas, still wield influence in parts of Solapur in western Maharashtra.

Datke, a hardcore Fadnavis man, is a former mayor of Nagpur like his leader. Hailing from a family with strong Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) links, Datke belongs to the OBC Bari community, which has sizeable numbers in parts of eastern Vidarbha.

The dark horse, Gopchade, is a medical practitioner, and belongs to the Veershaiva-Lingayat community, which has a presence in parts of Maharashtra like Marathwada and western Maharashtra.

A senior BJP leader said there was anger in the rank-and-file as Padalkar and Mohite Patil, who were recent entrants to the party, were chosen over the claims of loyalists.

Some upset leaders are also said to be coalescing around the faction loyal to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, who is at odds with the Fadnavis camp.

Fadnavis, who emerged as the dark horse for the chief ministers position in 2014, and held almost undisputed sway over the government and party for five years, is accused of rubbing many in the wrong way while exercising his authority.

Murmurs against Fadnavis style of functioning, which became louder after ally Shiv Sena broke off to form the government with the Congress and NCP, may now get shriller.

There is immense disgruntlement in the BJP at those with little contribution to the party being chosen for key positions in the recent past. It is obvious that sooner or later, we will have to pay the price. Pankajas claim was turned down on grounds that she lost the recent Assembly polls, but the same logic has not been applied for Padalkar, said a leader, claiming that these decisions could affect the partys social base.

As against Fadnavis, who is a Brahmin, Pankaja and Khadse are Bahujans (non-Brahmins) and belong to the OBC category. The OBCs, a conglomeration of around 500 classes and communities across religious denominations, form around 53% of Maharashtras population.

The BJP, and its previous avatar, the Jan Sangh, were seen as a party of the cultural, urban and social elite, namely, Brahmins and mercantile communities, before senior leader, late Vasantrao Bhagwat launched a social engineering project to take it to the masses.

Bhagwat mentored leaders like the late Pramod Mahajan, his brother-in-law Gopinath Munde, and others to expand the BJPs base.

Today, despite the BJP being seen as a party with a dominant Brahmanical culture, the bedrock of its base in Maharashtra lies in the Madhav (Mali, Dhangar, Vanjari) combination, with the extra M being thrown in to denote a section of dominant Marathas.

While Pankaja is a Vanjari, a community that has a strong presence in Marathwada and parts of Vidarbha and western Maharashtra, Khadse belongs to the Leva Patil community, which has strong pockets in north Maharashtra.

Pankaja, who was the rural development minister in the Fadnavis government, faced a shock-defeat from Parli in Beed, against her estranged cousin and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Dhananjay Munde, who is the Social Justice Minister in the Uddhav Thackeray-led coalition.

Her loyalists allege that Pankajas defeat in her fathers stronghold was an inside job. That Fadnavis is friends with Dhananjay since their days in the BJP, has not helped matters.

Khadse, who never made any bones of his disgruntlement at being edged out by his junior to become the chief minister, had resigned as the revenue minister after a sudden rush of controversies and media reports.

He was denied a nomination from his traditional Muktainagar seat in Jalgaon. His daughter Rohini Khadse-Khewalkar, who was nominated instead, lost by a narrow margin to a Shiv Sena rebel, who Khadses loyalists allege, was helped by elements in the BJP.

Khadse was at odds with former water resources minister and Fadnavis loyalist Girish Mahajan, who too hails from Jalgaon.

Bavankule, the energy and state excise minister under Fadnavis, was denied a renomination from his constituency of Kamthi in Nagpur, something that BJP leaders admit, cost them the votes of his powerful Teli community, in large parts of Vidarbha.

Significantly, both Pankaja and Khadse had threatened to unfurl the banner of revolt against the BJP and Fadnavis last year. Pankaja had announced a state-wide yatra, and also resigned from the BJPs core committee, while Khadse had indicated that he would quit the party sooner or later. But, they pulled back at the last moment

Fridays nominations have left Fadnavis loyalists gloating. They claim that these developments show that their leader is still calling the shots in the partys Maharashtra unit, and remains in the good books of the BJPs all-powerful central leadership.

But, this is contested by those from the rival camp. Fadnavis is ruling the roost because those opposed to him have fallen in line with the partys discipline and chose not to approach the central leadership with their grievances. The high-command in turn, feels that things are hunky-dory, despite the fact that our social and political base is eroding over the past few months, a leader said.

So, coming back to the analogy, will the BJP manage to cook its bhakri well? Or will it crumble? Wait and watch, say old BJP hands.
Global Schools Foundation contributes SGD250k to COVID-19 affected Singapore community

The Global Schools Foundation (GSF), which runs the Global Indian International Schools(GIIS) and One World International School(OWIS), has contributed SGD250,000 towards the welfare and community development of the COVID-19 affected in Singapore.

The donation raised by teachers and staff who contributed a portion of their three months salaries, has been handed over to the Citizens Consultative Committees (CCC) of 5 constituencies in Singapore.

They have made a major contribution here (in Singapore) and should be recognised and appreciated said HE Jawed Ashraff, High Commissioner of India in Singapore. Photo: Connected to India

His Excellency Jawed Ashraff, the High Commissioner of India in Singapore commended GSFs efforts, "They are working at various levels including citizenship consultative committees and working directly with other organisations. They have made a major contribution here ( in Singapore) and should be recognised and appreciated".

In #SGUnited, ours is a humble contribution towards the community, to ensure that the most vulnerable in the society get the right kind of help at the right time, said Atul Temurnikar, Executive Chairman of GSF.

Ours is a humble contribution towards the #SGUnited community, said Atul Temurnikar, Executive Chairman of GSF. Photo: Connected to India

GIIS has always been a conscientious educational institution, always ready to help out in social causes. Our teachers are equal contributors in our social activities, and during these trying times, it is only right that they do their part for the larger good of the society. We are very proud that they have risen to the occasion and helped in a way that is both beneficial and timely, said Melissa Maria, Principal at Global indian International Schools SMART Campus.

The beneficiaries of the SGD 250K donation are:

Tanjong Pagar  Tiong Bahru CCC Community Development and Welfare Fund, Joo Chiat CCC Community Development Welfare Fund, Buona Vista CCC Community Development And Welfare Fund, Punggol North Community CCC Community Development And Welfare Fund, Taman Jurong CCC Community Development and Welfare fund.

The CCCs are already doing an outstanding job and they have an absolute pulse on these needy people and would be able to respond quickly to their specific needs, explained Temurnikar on why GSF chose to work with the CCCs.

GSF has donated S$50k to each of the above CCC CDWF which will go towards helping the needy or the most distressed through food vouchers, and other social means.

GSF has contributed nearly S$1.25 million towards Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) towards curriculum development and tuition programmes of students from lower income strata of society. Photo: Connected to India

The initiative is part of the Corporate Social Responsibility of GSF which has in the past made extensive donations for public welfare and social causes for the benefit of communities in Singapore.

At a time when many companies are encouraging employees to take voluntary pay cuts to help with the bottom line, we strongly felt the urgency, instead, to help the needy in our own way, Termurnikar said.

Our teachers and staff applaud all the frontline health care contributors and our Migrant workers from the bottom of their hearts and have generously contributed to this social cause, because each one of us appreciate their contributions in making Singapore the beautiful home that it is for all of us, he added.

GSF has contributed nearly S$1.25 million towards Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) towards curriculum development and as well as supporting tuition programmes and education needs of students who come from lower income strata of society.

As social distancing and circuit breaker measures have come into force, many have lost a source of income, Mr Temurnikar observed. Ours is just a small helping hand to ensure that our overall social structure remains strong, and no one is left behind in this time of crisis.

GSF schools, honoured with more than 150 international and national awards over a span of 18 years for achieving excellence in school education, is continuing education through Virtual Classrooms in this time of COVID-19.
May 8 marks VE (Victory in Europe) Day. In 1945, it was the day that the Allied forces formally accepted Nazi Germanys unconditional surrender. The day was marked with celebrations around the world, including massive gatherings in London and New York City.

However, the day does not mark the formal end to World War II. Imperial Japan did not surrender until August 15, 1945, which became known as Victory in the Pacific or Victory over Japan (VJ) Day.

According to minutes from a U.K. government cabinet meeting, the phrase VE Day was selected by Winston Churchill on April 9.

Britain is marking the day with a series of events, however theyre somewhat muted compared to the original plans. As a result of the country remaining in lockdown due to COVID-19, a series of television and radio programs were run, and military fly-bys still took place.
WILLIAMSPORT  A Lycoming County judge has affirmed her first-degree murder verdict of a Virginia man who rode his bicycle into the Williamsport in 2017, broke into a home, killed the elderly owner and stole his car.

Judge Nancy L. Butts on Friday denied the appeal of Graham Nicholas Norby-Vardac, 26, of Alexandria, Virginia, ruling evidence supported her verdict in the non-jury trial.

She also rejected the claim she should have found Norby-Vardac guilty but mentally ill, citing the testimony of a Dr. Pogos Voskanian, a psychiatrist, who said he could not reach a conclusion as to insanity.

A diminished capacity defense is available only to those defendants who admit criminal liability but contest the degree of culpability, Butts pointed out.

Her finding that Norby-Vadac was competent to stand trial was another appeal issue the judge rejected.

Butts found him guilty of first- and second-degree murder, robbery, burglary, criminal trespass, possession of instrument of crime, criminal mischief, theft and receiving stolen property.

On Dec. 11 she sentenced him to two concurrent life sentences and 22 to 45 years on the remaining counts. She recommended the Department of Corrections evaluate him for possible treatment or placement due to mental illness.

His mother, Marlyss Ruth Norby, testified at sentencing her son was diagnosed with autism when he was 4 and has received mental health treatment all his life.

He did not raise an insanity defense nor testify during the three-day trial that extended over months because Dr. Samuel Land, a forensic pathologist, was unavailable due to medical reasons when it began in June.

Land described the head and neck wounds that caused the April 5, 2017, death of Donald R. Kleese Jr., 82, a widower who lived alone along Quaker Hill Road in a rural area north of Williamsport.

Defense attorney Robert A. Hoffa had argued the killing was a spur-of-the-moment act and his client at most should be found guilty of third-degree murder.

Butts in her opinion made reference to an apology letter Norby-Vardac wrote to Kleeses family in which he admitted strangling him after striking him in the head with a shovel because he did not want him calling the police.

The defendants actions demonstrate a willful, deliberate and premeditated killing, she wrote.

Norby-Vardac told state police he used Lyft and a bicycle to get to the Williamsport area and claimed he was exhausted and hungry when he came to the Kleese home, which he thought was abandoned.

Butts opinion cites statements Norby-Vardac gave to state police about the crime. They include:

He used a shovel to break a window in a door and just panicked when he realized someone was in the house.

He encountered Kleese when he was looking for food and a blanket and when the homeowner stated he was going to call the police he hit him in the head with the shovel hoping to knock him out.

Asked by an investigator why he then strangled Kleese, the response was he could not have him calling police.

Norby-Vardac stole food and $8.75 in coins, then took the keys to Kleeses car and headed to Canada.

Canadian custom officers became suspicious because Norby-Vadac did not have a passport and gave inconsistent answers to questions about what he would be doing in Canada.

He was detained after it was determined the car had been reported stolen and was not his grandfathers as he claimed.

When questioned by police before being returned to Pennsylvania, Norby-Vardac admitted he assaulted Kleese but claimed he did not intend to kill him.

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A year after my grandmother died, Grandad took a bus from Ohio to visit us in upstate New York. He followed his heart in taking that trip  while he wanted to see his youngest daughter and her family, he first wanted to see Gettysburg (which he pronounced "Gettisburg").

Afterward, he told us of the time he spent on the battlefield, standing on Cemetery Ridge and its Bloody Angle, looking over to where Pickett's Charge began. The Angle placed him where the charge ended, the so-called "High Water Mark of the Confederacy." Having spent a few days there myself following an escape-February trip down South, I can understand the pull.

Given his age, and as a veteran of Worlld War I, the draw to that southern Pennsylvania town was surely strong on Granddad. How close in time, and impact, was the Civil War for someone like him, born in 1896? Well, the 50th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg was in 1913. He was then 17; the last remaining Civil War veteran died in 1956, when he was 60. He no doubt knew many Civil War veterans, talked with them, heard their stories, and took note of their views.

Moreover, many of the significant monuments related to the war were erected shortly before or after he was born: the Lincoln Memorial (1922), and the imposing Confederate statutes on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va. (18901917). Troy's Soldiers and Sailors Monument was dedicated in the same timeframe  1891.

Some of the most enduring monuments to the war were not carved of stone, of course. Those of my age  born in 1955  can well remember the bus boycotts, "white-only" restrooms and drinking fountains, the sit-ins and marches, and water cannons and snarling dogs turned on children. The Civil War just history? Not for the young girls killed in the Birmingham church bombing of September 1963. Not for the three young men working for voting rights killed in Mississippi by the Ku Klux Klan in the summer of 1964. Not for Martin Luther King in April of 1968. And not, perhaps, today for those African-Americans incarcerated at a rate five times that of whites.

The increasing vehemence with which the pro-slavery arguments were made just before the war is notable, as any middle ground of compromise was destroyed. Some of these defenses would well anticipate Orwell:

"To defend their wives and daughters, yeoman (i.e., non-slave-owning) whites (must rally) against our Abolition enemies who are pledged to prostrate the white freeman of the South down to equality with the negroes democratic liberty exists solely because we have black slaves (whose presence) promotes equality among the free. (Hence) freedom is not possible without slavery," wrote the Richmond Enquirer in 1856.

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"Freedom not possible without slavery"? As Lincoln observed in his second inaugural address, eventually one side "would make war rather than let the nation survive; and the other side would accept war rather than let it perish. And the war came." These arguments led the way.

That increasing stridence in support of positions is familiar nowadays, especially from the right. One hears whispers of the same flawed logic and emotion, in the assertions from modern-day Second Amendment advocates that more widely available gun possession laws are a reasonable response to gun violence; in the fast-disappearing middle ground on the question of a woman's right to choose to terminate an early pregnancy; in the science-denial relating to climate change; and in the now increasing use of the executive power to investigate and punish those who hold views contrary to the current president. On all of these, the Republican-led right has been contorted into positions that admit no compromise, demanding instead unconditional surrender. One side, again, seems to want to make war, rather than let the nation survive.

Back to Gettysburg. William Faulkner wrote that, "For every Southern boy fourteen years old, not once but whenever he wants it, there is the instant when it's still not yet two o'clock on that July afternoon in 1863," on the cusp of Pickett's Charge. That's probably not true of Northern youth. But in the same way that the Union's defenders stood quietly but confidently on Cemetery Ridge, awaited the assault, and then repelled it with valor and blood, I hope a new generation of right-thinking and courageous citizens will summon the strength to defeat these current assaults by those who, again, will accept no compromise, and whose view of America excludes so many. I know what my grandfather would do.

Michael Hiser lives in Castleton-on-Hudson.
Hawthorne recalls his strong-willed but unstable Puerto Rican mother in Happiness will Follow (Archaia, June.), a graphic memoir about their familys struggle to survive in the mainland U.S.

What inspired you to focus your memoir on your mother?

We had the kind of relationship where really it was just she and I; its hard to imagine a story that doesnt have her prominently in it. Also, part of me wanted to make sure theres a piece of her in the world. My kids never got to meet her, so in a lot of ways shes not a real person to them. With that said, theres so much shed be mad at me for exposing. In any abusive relationship, the abuser wants to keep it secret. Its ironic that I want her to live on in the book, but I wouldnt have been able to make the book had she lived on.

Was it hard to separate the truth in your family history with the stories youd been raised with?

The hardest part of creating this book was coming to terms with never really knowing any of these folks I thought I knew. Through no fault of their own, I should add. My main source for information was my mother, and she had a vested interest in not telling me the truth. Though, I believe she thought that some of what she was saying was in fact true.

What did you learn that surprised you the most?

The depths of her mental illness. She was a tiny person, but to me she was twice that size, fearless and ferocious. I grew up, like lots of people, thinking that mental illness is some sort of weakness, and I could not fathom a world where she could be associated with weakness. Now I realize much of what she was doing to me or to herself was based on how unhealthy she was.

I was interested in how you portrayed her and Santeriadid you do a lot of research to get that right?

I was lucky enough to reach out to a Puerto Rican creative friend whose relative is a Santeria practitioner. In America there are assumptions that its some sort of black magic, when its genuinely not. Its a thing that people take great comfort in. My mother did at certain times in her life, and it gave her a sense of control, which, frankly, is not that different than me growing up praying to Mary or doing my rosary.

What do you hope readers leave with at the end of the book?

The one thing that concerns me is that people might take away that my mother was the villain of the story. Just because its a comic book doesnt mean shes a comic book villain. I want people to see her as human, put themselves in her shoes, and see how difficult it is to be a single mother with zero support structure. And I would have loved for her to see that although, yes, we had a rough time, I turned out okay.
On Europe Day, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich urges European leaders to show solidarity in the struggle to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic and the threat of resurgent nationalism.

Europe is marking the 70th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration on Saturday, which set in motion events that eventually led to the creation of the European Union.

For the occasion, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich spent the day in the Luxembourg village of Schengen, where the declaration was signed on 9 May 1950. He lit a candle "for the future of Europe and its citizens, in the context of the current Covid-19 crisis." (See video below)

With the Covid-19 pandemic raging around the world, the president of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) is urging EU leaders to come together in unity to help those in need.

Great European celebration

In an interview with Sister Bernadette Reis, Cardinal Hollerich said Europe Day 2020 is a great day of celebration.

If you look back to the process of European integration, we can be thankful, he said. We have peace, a certain unity, European values, and we can be proud of what our parents and grandparents built on this continent.

Christian roots remedy to fear

But Cardinal Hollerich warned that fear has crept insidiously inside Europe, especially with the Covid-19 pandemic. Fear is always a bad counselor. Fear has closed the borders. Fear has brought new nationalisms, which are, in fact, national egoisms.

He urged Europeans to look back to the founding fathers and their Christian roots. They were inspired by their Christian faith for reconciliation, to see not an enemy in the other, but a friend who had been lost.

Europes Christian roots, said Cardinal Hollerich, need to be lived now in a spirit of solidarity and fraternity, to overcome the fears that divide nations.

Listen to the full interview

Compromise required

The Archbishop of Luxembourg said Europe has fought hard to respond to the Covid-19 crisis, agreeing a large bailout package.

But, he said, extensive discussions and compromise are required. It is very difficult, when people suffer, to see these long political discussions, he said, expressing his hope that aid will quickly reach those in need.

Opportunity in crisis

Cardinal Hollerich said this difficult moment also presents opportunities, as Pope Francis has sought to remind world leaders.

I have met so many politicians who are very grateful to [Pope Francis] for his ideas and everything he says about Europe.

The Cardinal said every day is a God-given opportunity to live charity, hope, and solidarity.

And in such a time of crisis, Christian people who pray and discern the signs of the times can see that there is such a chance for more solidarity and more help, he said. Now we have the chance to show that all the discussions about European values and the European ideal are not a theory. They can be lived, and they function when we live them.

Reopen the borders

Cardinal Hollerich also pointed out that Europe has a problem with borders, both within the Schengen area and on the EUs external borders.

He said the closure of the internal borders have a great impact on people, due to their symbolic value. People see the closed borders, but they do not yet see the help coming from the European Union. So I think the mood is rather negative in many countries, especially in border regions.

Regarding the EUs external borders, Cardinal Hollerich lamented that people have been killed while trying to seek refuge in Europe.

It is inadmissible that people who see Europe as a haven of peace, of solidarity  who believe in our theories  get killed while trying to enter this Europe, he said.

Europe and its politicians, concluded Cardinal Hollerich, need to put the weakest and the poorest at the center of their concern.

Cardinal Hollerich calls for European unity
PHOENIX (AP)  A pulmonary blood clot killed the brother of an Idaho woman whos facing charges in the disappearance of her children  a case that attracted worldwide attention with revelations of her doomsday beliefs and connection to three mysterious deaths.

Autopsy and toxicology reports were released Friday for Alex Cox, who died in Arizona in December. In July, Cox fatally shot his sisters estranged husband, Charles Vallow, in what he said was self-defense.

Police in Gilbert, Arizona, say detectives investigating Cox's death will review the autopsy report and that the case is still active.

Lori Vallow, Cox's sister, is being detained in Idaho on charges related to the disappearance of her two children: Joshua JJ Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 17. They were reported missing in September.

Lori Vallow moved last summer from suburban Phoenix to Rexburg, Idaho. She married Chad Daybell just two weeks after his wife died in October. Though her obituary said the death was from natural causes, law enforcement became suspicious when Daybell quickly remarried. Tammy Daybells remains have been exhumed, but the autopsy report has not yet been released.

Lori Vallow reportedly believes she is a god assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000 at Christs second coming in July 2020, according to divorce documents Charles Vallow filed before his death.

She and Chad Daybell were involved in a group that promotes preparing for the biblical end times.

Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell moved to Hawaii in December, shortly after police went to her apartment in Rexburg to check on the children at the grandparents request. Lori Vallow was arrested in Hawaii in February.

Lori Vallow is being held on $1 million bail.

Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Devaraj B Hirehalli By

Express News Service

TUMAKURU: Close on the heels of the designated COVID-19 hospital here registering its first recovery in the form of a 37-year-old cleric from Surat on Saturday, a 45-year-old man in Sira tested positive for COVID-19 resulting in the district recording its eighth case.

The 45-year-old had managed to sneak into Sira town's Peshimam Mohalla from the Padarayaranapura area in Bengaluru, which is part of the BBPM containment zone, on the night of May 4. He was isolated for treatment at the designated hospital here.

As many as eleven of his primary contacts have been isolated at the Mother-Child Hospital (MCH) in Sira town and 14 secondary contacts institutionally quarantined at Morarji Desai residential school. As soon as he entered the Peshimam Mohalla to stay in his relative's house, residents alerted the administration.

"If he had roamed in the town, it will be found out as his cellphone will be tracked down," informed the tahsildar Nahida Zam Zam. The Mohalla with 1,093 households and a population of 5,136 has been sealed, she added.

Recovery of Surat cleric

The patient from Surat, who had come with 13 of his associates and was residing at Nimra Masjid at Poor House(PH) colony here, tested positive during a random check-up on April 23 and was isolated at the hospital. As his tests came negative for samples drawn on the 12th and 13th days of his quarantine, the hospital discharged him on Saturday.

"Now, he will be institutionally quarantined until 28 days and if the samples test negative, he will be allowed to go to his state of Gujarat," informed the district surgeon Dr T A Veerabhadraiah.

The district hospital had witnessed the death of two COVID-19 patients when a 65-year-old Sira man died on March 27 and another 73-year-old from KHB colony died on April 26. A 13-year-old had recovered at the Indira Gandhi hospital in Bengaluru.

Following the patient's recovery at the designated hospital, residents have been urging that PH colony be taken off the containment zone as it has not registered a case for two weeks.

"Except for the ration under PDS, nothing has been supplied to them and hence they should be allowed to earn their livelihood," urged Tajuddin Sharief.
An incredible submarine is all set to give tourists a sea view like no other.

The Triton Deepview 24 can take 24 passengers to depths of up to 100m (328ft) and afford them magnificent views thanks to vast panoramic windows  and all from the comfort of a 15.4m (50.5ft) long air-conditioned interior big enough to stand up in.

Anyone feeling nervous about stepping on board should note the company that has built it  Triton Submarines. It knows a thing or two about underwater vessels, having manufactured the Limiting Factor submersible that last year made a record-breaking dive to the deepest point in the planets oceans, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench  10,927m (35,853ft) beneath the surface.



Florida-based Triton said in a statement that DeepView 24 is the most significant commercial tourism submersible to be brought to market in the past two decades.

The vessel, it explained, is virtually silent, entirely non-polluting and is easy to board and disembark even for passengers with reduced mobility  thanks to a generous access hatch.

It continued: DeepView 24 was developed in response to the rise in demand from travellers and tourists alike for adventure and experience-based holidays. This sub-sea tourism has grown exponentially as interest in our oceans has developed, driven in part by the popularity of internationally recognised programs such as Blue Planet II.

Today, an experience within the optically perfect hull of the Triton DeepView 24 will create an entirely new generation of stewards for our oceans.

The vessel has been commissioned by hospitality firm Vinpearl to provide guest experiences on Hon Tre Island in Nha Trang, Vietnam.

The vessel was assembled at Tritons manufacturing facility in Barcelona, where it successfully passed sea trials in March. Its due to operate ticketed dives for resort guests in December.

Bruce Jones, Co-Founder and CEO of Triton Submarines, said: The Triton DeepView 24 with its panoramic view represents a quantum leap forward in submarine technology, providing a vastly improved, fully-immersive guest experience.

Of the near 60 tourist subs that have operated in the past 34 years, the DeepView 24 is competitively superior in all respects.

The variation in size, with models that will seat from six to 66 passengers means there is a sub suitable for a wide range of operators in different locations. And a DeepView experience is terrific for encouraging guests to promote environmental stewardship after directly experiencing the seafloor environment..

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In late 2019, Horowitz released a report lambasting the FBI for how it used a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant to monitor former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, but also rebutting conservative allegations that top FBI officials had been driven by political bias to spy illegally on Trump advisers. Barr went even further, saying the report now makes clear that the FBI launched an intrusive investigation of a U.S. presidential campaign on the thinnest of suspicions that, in my view, were insufficient to justify the steps taken.
Not fully vaccinated? No entry to malls, restaurants in Haryana from Jan 1: See Covid-19 guidelines

Lockdown in Haryana 2022: Know Time, Districts List, Guidelines, Rules, What Is Allowed & What Is Not Allowed

In Haryana, scores of migrants register to return

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 09: As many as 1.10 lakh migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have applied on the Haryana government's web portal to enter the state.

This comes at a time when scores of migrants have been seeking permission to get back to their home towns. According to the data available, 72.29 per cent have applied to come to Gurgaon, Faridabad, Panipat, Yamunagar, Rewari and Sonipat.

163 Shramik Special Trains operated so far, more than 1.60 lakh migrants ferried: Railways

If the migrant workers want to come to Haryana, we will try and make arrangements to bring them back, Haryana Principal Secretary, Anurag Rastogi said.

The Haryana government launched the web portal last week for those who wanted to leave Haryana for their home states. The portal also has an option for those wanting to return to Haryana. Till May 8, there were 7.95 lakh who wanted to leave, while 1.46 had registered to return.
Marine experts are investigating after the first-ever recorded sighting of a striped dolphin on Haida Gwaii.

Alex Rinfret was walking her dog near Tlell on Wednesday morning when she thought she saw a baby killer whale washed up on the beach, just south of the Crows Nest Cafe.

The markings were quite striking, Rinfret said of the animal, which was between six and seven feet long. Very dark on top with a white belly.

She had seen seals, sea lions, even sharks washed up on the beach before, but never a dolphin. And as it turned out, no one is believed to have seen that species of dolphin on Haida Gwaii before, ever.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) was called to the scene and staff identified the animal as a deceased striped dolphin, not to be confused with the more common Pacific white-sided dolphin.

It was pretty exciting, she said. It was a pretty interesting thing to come across and of course Im wondering what happened to it.

Masset-based fisheries officer Jamie Constable told the Observer there were no obvious signs of trauma on the dolphin, and it had been taken away on a stretcher Wednesday afternoon to be frozen and later analyzed by veterinary pathologist Dr. Stephen Raverty.

Constable said Raverty will perform a necropsy, looking for signs of disease or pathogens, as well as cause of death.

Nanaimo-based marine mammal expert Dr. John Ford, who ran the cetacean research program at DFOs Pacific Biological Station for more than 15 years, told the Observer there were no known sightings of striped dolphins in B.C. waters until last September, when a whale watching operator saw a lone striped dolphin swimming south of Victoria.

This is a species of dolphin that tends to live in warm water, Ford said, adding the animals generally do not swim north of California. This is the first one north of Vancouver Island.

Since the species tends to be social, travelling in schools of up to 200 animals, he said it is likely the single, stranded animal found by Rinfret had some health issues.

As temperatures in the ocean are gradually increasing we may expect more sightings of exotic warm water species, he added.

Who knows what next will turn up on the beaches.

Ford reminded residents that if they find a marine animal stranded on the beach, dead or alive, they should call the DFO Observe, Record Report line at 1-800-465-4336.

Its really important, he said.

Sometimes staff are able to save live, stranded animals and its always important to try and examine fresh animals like this where one can actually determine if theres a viral pathogen.

It might be possible to learn from it.

Read more about:
AROUND 15,000 informal sector workers in Central Luzon were able to avail of the emergency employment program of the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.

In a statement, Dole-Central Visayas director Salome Siaton said they have already shelled out some P60.8 million for the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers - Barangay Ko, Bahay Ko (Tupad-BKBK).

Workers were paid using the highest prescribed minimum wage rate applicable in the region, which is P404 per day, and are to work for only four hours daily for 10 days, said Siaton.

Among those that were able to avail of the assistance program are those who are self-employed, occasional workers, house helpers, transport drivers (PUVs, pedicabs, tricycle drivers, etc.), small enterprise operators, home workers, sub-minimum wage workers, farmers, vendors, and fishermen, among others.

To note, Tupad-BKBK is an assistance program for workers in the informal sector, whose income has been greatly affected after the declaration of the enhanced community quarantine due to the Covid-19 crisis. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)
The health department also participated in an exercise aimed at testing the ability to process patients quickly in the event medication needs to be distributed rapidly to a vast number of people.

That could be used to distribute a COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available, she said. But its also good to keep in practice in case of an anthrax attack or some other public health emergency unrelated to the current pandemic.

It may become helpful in the future if we need to deliver vaccines in short order, Stamp said.

We certainly couldnt get 170,000 people through there in any length of time if the Porter County Administration Building were the only distribution site, she said, so the county is always looking for other locations that would be useful.

When a vaccine for COVID-19 does become available, the method for distributing it remains unclear.

The only real precedent we have is H1N1. We did some mass vaccinations then, Stamp said. But now pharmacists are permitted to administer vaccines, so the distribution channel might be different.
US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would soon make an announcement on the World Health Organization (WHO), which he alleged had become "a puppet of China". Trump has already suspended funding to the WHO, accusing it of misguiding the world on the coronavirus crisis and siding with China on the issue, news agency PTI reported. "I don't believe it was done on purpose, but it was done through probably incompetence.

It probably got out and they didn't know how to talk about it," Trump told Fox News in an interview. Trump said he wanted to go in and help ...
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 23:32:36|Editor: huaxia

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CAPE TOWN, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The COVID-19 pandemic continued unabated in South Africa, infecting 525 more people in the past 24 hours days after the easing of restrictions, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Saturday.

With the newly-added cases, the country has a total of 9,420 confirmed cases, the minister said at a press briefing after a visit to Cape Town and the Western Cape province, the country's epicenter of the pandemic.

The Western Cape recorded 4,809 cases as of Saturday, more than half of the national tally, Mkhize said.

He said eight more people died of the virus in the past 24 hours, with seven in the Western Cape and one in KwaZulu-Natal. One of the deceased was a health worker at the Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town, a government-designated hospital for COVID-19 patients.

This brought the national death toll to 186.

Mkhize said the average mortality rate in the country was about two percent, which is "within the norm."

A driver of the high number of cases in the Western Cape is "cluster outbreaks", which refer to infections among people living or working in the same areas.

The province is seeing a lot of cluster outbreaks in factories and shops, said Mkhize.

The City of Cape Town in particular is a hotspot, he said.

About 93 percent of people who have died of COVID-19 in the province have at least one co-morbidity or another ailment, Mkhize said.

The high rate of infections in the Western Cape has prompted calls to restore level-five restrictions in high-risk areas.

The African National Congress (ANC) in the Western Cape has called for areas with the most COVID-19 infections in the province to be placed back under level-five lockdown restrictions.

The country reduced level-five restrictions to level-four on May 1, allowing the partial return of some businesses.

The approach going forward must ensure a differentiation in levels of lockdown, Mkhize said.

His remarks were seen as an indication that Cape Town and other high-risk areas might be placed back in level-five lockdown.

But Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said he and Mkhize did not discuss any plan to take province back to level five, the highest level of restrictions.

Winde, who accompanied Mkhize on the assessment tour, said the actual plan for the province was to resurrect the economy even more.

Winde said the province has also developed a plan on how to curb people moving, encourage social distancing and behavioral changes.

Mkhize said the country needs to focus on specific areas with a containment strategy.

To break the cycle, those who test positive need to be quarantined, or be removed from their communities until they are better, said Mkhize.

How to isolate people who are positive with COVID-19 remains a problem, he acknowledged.

The government is trying to find people who are positive but are asympomatic.

So far only about five percent of the people infected with the virus in the country are hospitalized, while the majority of patients are allowed to be self-isolated at home. This makes it difficult to contain the spread of the virus. Enditem
National Health Service (NHS) and social care worker deaths from COVID-19 passed the grim milestone of 200 Thursday evening.

The UK has registered the highest number of fatalities in Europe from the virus. Under these conditions the Conservative government is making preparations for a back to work drive that will lead to thousands more unnecessary deaths.

Healthcare workers are angry. A Welsh doctor who works as a haematologistincluding treating patients with blood cancer told the WSWS, If health care workers were provided with proper PPE (personal protective equipment) and scientific advice at the proper time by an independent panel of scientists, none would have died. They were killed by the government allowing hospitals to be overwhelmed due to their criminal herd immunity policy.

Liberal testing, contact tracing, scientific methods of quarantining would have saved lots of lives. Instead of these measures, they promote clapping for care workers and continue their criminal herd immunity policy. I think the majority of HCWs know that the government does not care about their lives.

Stressing that the pandemic has overwhelmed the NHS, the doctor continued, The BBC says it will take about five years to clear surgical lists! This means it is likely the NHS may need to hire private surgical groups. Even without the pandemic, the NHS had adopted this policy to cover available lists due to lack of staff, space and instruments, entailing huge costs.

At the moment, almost all our clinics are being managed via telephone or video. This invariably makes patients unsafe, due to less intimate doctor-patient relationships without examinations.

General Practitioner services are almost all carried out via virtual techniques, compromising patient care and it will create a backlog, putting patients into great difficulties. One GP in North Yorkshire explained to me that the surgery cannot cope with patient demands for home visits. Patients are very reluctant to go to hospital, even if it is essential, due to fear of COVID-19. Referral systems [from GP to hospital] are not up to standard methods.

A haematology doctor in Birmingham told me their service is compromised because they have been asked to manage COVID-19 patients. Some patients with lymphomas may now stay at home until the cancer get advanced, resulting in management difficulties and poor prognosis.

A specialist in Bristol says that there are no services from the rheumatology, neurology, radiology, cardiology and pathology departments because they have been asked to see COVID-19 patients.

The huge backlog of patients requiring treatment will translate into tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths on top of the growing COVID-19 toll.

A Higher Care Assistant in a Liverpool hospital told the WSWS, Health care workers have died due to a conscious policy pursued and continued by the Tories.

Professor [Neil] Ferguson was set up and snared in a sex scandal to discredit the stay at home policy and to facilitate this back to work, business as usual campaign. Its criminal. It was about trashing the science by trashing the scientists behind it.

Professor Ferguson, an epidemiologist at Imperial College London was recently forced to resign from government advisory body, SAGE, because his married lover visited him and broke conditions of the lockdown. He warned the government in March that up to 250,000 could die and is held responsible by the ruling class for the government enforcing lockdown.

The health care assistant works in a gerontology ward, for patients with dementia. It had temporarily been turned into a red ward for COVID-19 patients until Monday.

Our patients were moved to yellow wards, for people who have survived the virus or who are swabbed and waiting results. Everyone said they were scared, but then got stuck in. You get a real sense of the courageous nature of the working class. The ward accommodates about 18 to 21 patients when full. There are nine patients at the moment, all COVID-19 positive apart from one who is palliative, unrelated to the virus.

A temporary morgue was built on the grounds of the hospital. It creates a kind of feeling that either they know something we dont, or theyve overestimated figures, but then you see the numbers whove died and realise that cant be the case.

Weve been told all patients who fit the criteria for our red wardno ventilation treatment and a do not resuscitate policy (DNAR) who tested positive in the Royal Hospitalare coming to us. So, it feels like the calm before the storm and maybe it is. Especially with this back to work lifting lockdown policythere seems to be a playing down of the virus in work, in the mediawhich will see a second wave for sure.

Staff were struggling to obtain the correct PPE, despite repeated government pledges.

On March 19, Public Health England (PHE) along with the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens, no longer classified COVID-19 as a high consequence infectious disease. What was this change in policy based on? It seems to contradict the WHO (World Health Organization) and it doesnt make sense. As the pandemic was beginning to hit the UK, they downgrade it.

An environmental health officer came on the ward recently, very patronising and any worries we have were poo-pooed. Public Health England are now not to be questioned. The officer said that we do not need the blue gowns, we do not need the special ffp3e masks, just standard surgical ones. The blue gowns and special masks are to be prioritised for ICU [intensive care units], which intubate and use ventilators.

I raised about the mask and was put down with, No no, the masks are perfectly adequate because the virus is spread through droplets. Yet Ive just read an article in Nature that the virus is air bound. The policy of the NHS has always been Clear from the elbows down [wash hands and arms from the elbows down], according to him, so we now wear a white apron/pinny, visor or goggles, general surgical mask and gloves. They frown upon blue aprons now.

We raised about the printing of posters a while back for red areas that had a person with a blue gown on. He said the trust went above and beyond to make the staff feel safe, but the blue gowns were never necessary. All this has coincided with them running out of PPE. I understand that ICU are a priority, but the answer is to make more PPE so everyone has it.

The hardest part is constantly being told PHE are correctthe gear is correctand being hit with information and science that undermines your concerns. Plus, the policy is changing day by day!

Domestics can wear blue gowns (long sleeved) if they want because some refused to work without them. We have a supportive young doctor on the ward. Shes had the virus. She was telling me that environmental health basically alluded that staff were not using PPE correctly. Disgustingplus the government acted so late that we werent even wearing PPE until mid-March!

When I asked about testing [for coronavirus] I was told, Well we could test you and you test negative, then you go out and get it at a supermarket, etc. I thought the reason to test isnt to identify who hasnt got it, but who has and to isolate them and trace their contacts. I get angry and think, Dont let these bastards get away with anything! Our lives are at stake!
These days, though, Tijuanas stores are nearly out of beer. And because of restrictions imposed after the coronavirus outbreak, its harder to cross the border. But residents with jobs in California can still make the trip and pick up a six-pack or two on their way home.
Joining the efforts of the government to combat coronavirus, a group of young women equipped with a latest hi-tech machine is conducting fogging in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur district.

The five women, aged between 18 and 22, have already covered six villages in the district and are also distributing masks and educating people about COVID-19.

"We are volunteers of NGO 'Team Khalsa' and have managed to get the machine to conduct fogging, especially in remote areas which usually remain unattended," Gagan, the leader of the five-member group, told PTI.

She said they have already covered Chhakhar, Vishal Jatta, Sambal, Sui and Kahjahir villages in the past one week.

"We are targeting one village for sanitisation and awareness every day," Gagan said while distributing face masks in Cherry Swail village.

Asked about the challenge and the response of their families, she said they are cooperating and appreciating their efforts.

"We had a tough time convincing our parents for permission as usually men do this kind of job. But now our families are supporting us," she said.

Udhampur district accounted for one coronavirus-related death and 21 COVID-19 cases. Out of these 21 cases, 19 have recovered.

"A lot of girls feel motivated seeing us in action and express their desire to be part of our team which is very encouraging," Gagan said.

All the women in the team are students and come from affluent families.

"We leave our homes in the morning and undertake the hectic exercise till the dusk," she said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Businesses that do not comply with new safety protocols aimed at preventing the spread of Covid-19 can be shut down.

Business Minister Heather Humphreys said inspectors from the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) will be able to shut down workplaces that do not comply.

She was speaking at the launch of the Governments Return to Work safety protocol for workplaces to reopen once the lockdown lifts.

They include regulations for social distancing, hand hygiene, first aid and mental health support for returning workers.

Minister @HHumphreysFG published Protocol to help businesses & workers return to work following #COVID19 closures, overseen by @TheHSA.



This sets out steps & processes that businesses must take to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.



More: https://t.co/aCzBTRHK12 #COVID19Ireland pic.twitter.com/jlmIqtxSe9  Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (@DeptEnterprise) May 9, 2020

She said: HSA inspectors will be able to take appropriate enforcement actions under the Health and Safety Act 2005. This means if a business does not co-operate and comply with public health guidelines after been asked to make improvements, the HSA will be able to order them to shut down the workplace.

Ms Humprheys said businesses will also have to carry out a survey for workers to see if anyone is displaying Covid-19 symptoms before they can return to work.

They must also ensure adequate supplies of items such as hand sanitiser, and implement induction training so workers are up to speed on public health advice, she said.

Each workplace will appoint at least one lead worker representative to ensure the measures are strictly adhered to, and have a plan in place detailing how it will deal with any confirmed cases of the virus among employees.

I want to thank ICTU, IBEC, CIF & Chambers Ireland who have worked closely with my Dept, the Health and Safety Authority, HSE & the Dept of Health in developing this Protocol for Employers & Workers pic.twitter.com/MzeF2bPN0z  Heather Humphreys (@HHumphreysFG) May 9, 2020

Ms Humphreys acknowledged some of the new measures may make some business unviable but that health and safety must take precedence.

She said: For some of the restaurants, if they cant allow a certain number of people into their premises then it wont be viable for them. But again, these are the challenges they face but we need to consider the one thing that drives us on and that is public health and safety.

She urged businesses to start getting ready now and to make use of Government support available to fund the safety measures. Other measures  such as telling people not to shake hands or share utensils  cost nothing, she said.

Ms Humphreys added: It is up to each sector to look at these protocols and make their own decision on how the protocols will work. When it comes to restaurants, pubs and cafes  it is difficult for them but this document gives them the basis to start forming their own protocols.

She also said some businesses could come back sooner than planned as the Governments road map to exiting the pandemic is a live document.

Minister Jed Nash with Patricia King (Niall Carson/PA)

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) general-secretary Patricia King said every employer has an absolute duty to adhere to the rules.

The battle against Covid-19 demands an unambiguous policy in relation to health and safety, she added.

There can be no shortcuts or opt-outs when it comes to matters of life and death. Covid-19 does not discriminate and every worker in every sector is entitled to the protection of this protocol.

(PA Graphics)

On Friday, 27 deaths from Covid-19 were reported, taking the total to 1,429.

An additional 156 new cases were confirmed, to make a total of 22,541.

Chief medical officer Tony Holohan said on Friday night that as the country moves into the next stage of coping with the virus, particular attention must be paid to how people behave in public spaces.

As we prepare for the next stages of living with this virus, we are learning new norms and behaviours, particularly how we interact in public spaces, he said.

Physical distancing, hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette, safe interactions apply to all if we are to keep Covid-19 suppressed in Ireland.

Meanwhile, the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (Asti) will meet today to discuss changes to the Leaving Certificate exam.

The written exams, due to start at the end of July, will not go ahead. Students will instead be given a predicted grade by their school and the Department of Education will finalise their results.

The Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) accepted the plan but said it needed clarification on some issues.

National Return to Work Protocol includes handshake ban and Covid-19 induction training

By Digital Desk

Minister Humphreys warned that businesses would be shut down if they did not comply with Covid-19 measures.

Businesses have been warned they could be shut down if they do not follow new back-to-work guidelines.

The measures for firms re-opening will include a ban on handshakes and sharing equipment - as well as temperature checks for workers.

Minister @HHumphreysFG published Protocol to help businesses & workers return to work following #COVID19 closures, overseen by @TheHSA.



This sets out steps & processes that businesses must take to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.



More: https://t.co/aCzBTRHK12 #COVID19Ireland pic.twitter.com/jlmIqtxSe9  Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (@DeptEnterprise) May 9, 2020

Speaking about the Return to Work plan, Business Minister Heather Humphreys said: This Protocol is a critical component of the Governments Roadmap for reopening the economy as we gradually lift the COVID-19 restrictions.

"It very clearly sets out the steps that businesses and workers should take to ensure that they can return to work safely."

Minister Humphreys said collaboration between employers and workers "will be central to the success of our return to work."

Some of the measures include:

Nominated lead work representatives to ensure Covid-19 measures are adhered to in the workplace.

Covid-19 induction training before the workplace reopens.

Employers are required to update their safety plans before reopening by consulting with workers.

The plan should include clear procedures around Covid-19 relevant measures such as social distancing, handwashing and respiratory etiquette

Employers will keep a log of any group work in order to facilitate contact tracing

Employers will be required to have a clear plan for dealing with any suspected case of Covid-19 and have a designated manager in charge for such a situation.

Breaks and rest periods are to be organised to facilitate social distancing.

Where social distancing is not possible in spaces smaller than 2-metres, businesses will be required to alternative protective measures in place such as plastic sneeze guards or physical barriers.

Business Minister Heather Humphreys said inspectors from the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) will be able to shut down workplaces that do not comply with new safety measures aimed at preventing the spread of Covid-19.

The Minister said the HSA would take a collaborative approach at first and will provide advice and support.

However, she said: HSA inspectors will be able to take appropriate enforcement actions under the health and safety act 2005.

"This means if a business does not co-operate and comply with public health guidelines after been asked to make improvements, the HSA will be able to order them to shut down the workplace.

Reacting to the government's announcement, Elaina Fitzgerald Kane, President of the Irish Hotels Federation said they were working closely with Failte Ireland to develop operational standards "in line with HSE requirements and international best practice."

She said: "The health and safety of our guests and teams is our main priority and the standards will cover all aspects of hotel operations and facilities."

The Labour party's Employment spokesman, Ged Nash, welcomed the Government's new protocols and said enforcement by the HSA will be central for workers to have confidence in the measures.

He said: The HSA should have no compunction in closing down rogue businesses where bad practices are evident and where workers and consumers are being put at risk.
The following information was provided by police unless otherwise noted

Trenton

Weapons: Shawn Deon Hardee, 46, was arrested on weapons offenses after officers found him with a large machete clipped to his belt. Cops got called out after he got into a fight. He also had warrants out for his arrest and was turned over to Hamilton Police.

Shooting Arrest: Bryan Taveras, 25, Andrea Varga, 40, were arrested in connection with a shooting on the 100 block of Turpin Street. Officers followed a black car speeding toward the bridge. Taveras and Varga gave officers inconsistent stories during a car stop. Varga was found with a gun and marijuana. Witnesses said they were outside talking to some women when they heard gunfire and one of them realized he was struck in the leg. Cops recovered a .22-caliber weapon that matched the appeared to match the type of ammunition used in the shooting. Both suspects were charged with aggravated assault and weapons offenses.

Robbery: Kaween Abner, 30, was arrested and charged with robbery and drug offenses. Abner allegedly owed the victim $2,600 and paid her the money then told her to leave the house. When she refused he rifled through her pocketbook and took the money back. She was knocked to the ground. Cops also found Abner with four bricks of heroin.

Drugs and Weapons: Joseph Kaite, 18, was arrested near Mellon and Oliver following a car stop at 1:44 a.m. Officers saw a car with heavily tinted windows out after the 8 p.m. curfew. The occupants were known to officers. Cops brought out a police dog to the scene and found promethazine in a Dunkin cup in the back seat which was filled with a green substance but apparently wasnt an iced matcha latte. Cops found a bottle of promethazine under the passenger seat and brass knuckles in the glove compartment. Also arrested were Zaire Jones, 19, Javon McKinney, 20. Kaite was charged with possessing the brass knuckles.

Knife Fight: Jorge Puello, 18, was arrested on the 400 block of Chestnut Avenue with a knife on him. He was charged with hindering apprehension after cops were flagged down and told people were in the park fighting with knives. The group scattered when cops arrived. Puello came back to scene and got verbal spat during which he brandished a knife. Cops ordered him to drop the knife, then he tucked it back into his pants. He was arrested along with, Katlin Vega-Diaz, 19, who was only charged with obstruction.

Shot Himself: Cops responded to a suspected shooting but the victim wasnt cooperative. Cops tried to talk to him at the hospital but he didnt want to talk. Police suspect he may have shot himself in the foot. He was being treated for a through and through gunshot wound after being dropped off by a car that immediately left the hospital before police arrived. There was no suspect information and no shooting scene located.

Aggravated Assault: Cops responded to a stabbing on the 400 block Adeline Street. The victim told cops a man came up to him and told him, Sorry, but I got to do this, then attempted to stab him. He struggled with the assailant and suffered a chest wound and slash to his head. He was in stable condition at the hospital. The victim, who also suffered a broken nose, didnt recognize the assailant and had no idea why he was targeted.

Scissor Fight: Sherayla Hill, 38, and Jamie English, 43, were arrested after Hill allegedly stabbed her boyfriend with a pair of scissors. He had a laceration but tried to prevent cops from arresting his girlfriend. They were both hauled in. She was charged with aggravated assault while English faces an obstruction charge. He refused medical attention.

Car chase: Diante Mason, 19, was arrested and charged with eluding and receiving stolen property after leading cops on a car chase. Officers responded out after curfew to Riverside Drive after receiving a call for two people having sex. They found Mason and passenger Olivia Hawkins, 19, and asked for IDs. Instead, Mason drove off in a blue Toyota Corolla later determined to be stolen out of Princeton. Mason lost control and crashed into a median and hit a fence near southbound Route 29 and Cass Street. Hawkins remained in the car while Mason got out and ran away and was apprehended on the 600 block of Lamberton street.

Drug Bust: Tyrell Williams, 19, Cordero Edwards, 32, and a 15-year-old boy was arrested on multiple narcotics offenses after undercover cops nabbed them with drugs near East Hanover and Stockton streets. Officers recovered 98 packets of heroin and $253 in cash was seized as suspected illegal drug proceeds.
Bengaluru, May 9 : The Karnataka government has permitted stranded migrant workers, students, pilgrims, tourists and other persons to hire state-run buses for returning to their homes in other states, an official said on Saturday.

"As inter-state travel has been permitted under the revised guidelines after easing of the extended lockdown norms on May 2, the stranded people, including migrant workers, can hire buses of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) for commuting to their home states," Principal Revenue Secretary T.K. Anil Kumar said in a statement here.

Thousands of migrant workers and others have been stranded in cities and towns across the southern state, especially Bengaluru, ever since the lockdown was enforced from March 24 midnight and was extended twice till May 17 to contain the coronavirus spread, leading to suspension of all transport services.

After ferrying over one lakh local migrant workers to their homes within the state from May 2-7 in KSRTC buses for free, the state government on Friday resumed special trains to send at least one lakh migrant labourers to their native places in other states across the country.

"Outstation migrants, stranded in the western and northern regions of the state, can hire buses of the KSRTC's north-west and northeast subsidiaries on payment basis to travel to their home states, following safety norms such as wearing masks and physical distancing during the travel," said Kumar.

Since May 4, the state government has also permitted intra-state and inter-state movement of people in private vehicles with an e-pass issued by the local police only from non-Covid containment zones across the southern state.
NJ Cannabis Insider and Advance 360 will be hosting a webinar Cannabis and COVID-19: Where Does America Go From Here? presented by Duane Morris on May 13, featuring national leaders in the cannabis space to discuss marijuana and hemp policy.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, who recently introduced legislation that would make cannabis businesses eligible for Small Business Administration COVID-19 relief programs, will be joining us as the keynote speaker.

Were compiling questions to ask the Congressman and other speakers during the scheduled two-hour program, which begins 1 p.m. EST (10 a.m. PST).

Register for tickets here. Post your questions here.

Some of the questions well ask our panelists:

2020 was supposed to be a banner year for cannabis legalization, but COVID and internal state politics have slowed this up. Which states still hold promise for cannabis reform and adult-use legalization this year?

The illicit market continues to eat up a significant share of the market in every state. Whats needed to make the regulated market more competitive?

When is the industry going to see relief with respect to banking and financing?

Blumenauer represents Oregons 3rd Congressional District and is a leading advocate for cannabis policy reform in the House of Representatives, and the founder and co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus.

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, Blumenauer said.

Along with the congressman, several industry power players will be taking part in the two-hour panel discussions, they are:

Karen OKeefe is the director of state policies for Marijuana Policy Project. In her current role, she managess MPPs grassroots and direct lobbying efforts in many state legislatures. OKeefe has played a significant role in passing more than a dozen major cannabis policy reforms, including managing MPPs state legislative department during the legalization campaigns in Vermont and Illinois.

Steve Hoffman, the chairman of the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission, has an extensive background in business and finance having served as a senior executive in the management consulting and technology industries. Most recently, he was the CEO of two venture capital backed start-ups: ThinkFire and Exchange Solutions.

RELATED: Mass. Cannabis Commission Chair Steven Hoffman to speak on cannabis industry amid the coronavirus pandemic

Joy Beckerman, founder of Hemp Ace International, which provides consulting, legal support and expert witness testimony, is one of the countrys leading voices for the hemp industry. She is the regulatory officer and industry liaison for Elixinol. A senior advisor to Colorado Hemp Works, she also is an executive at the U.S. Hemp Roundtable and the U.S. Hemp Authority.

Imani Dawson serves as the vice president and managing partner of MJM Strategy, a minority-led strategic consulting group for the cannabis industry, as the founder and president for Tribe Called Curl Media and as communications director for Minorities for Medical Marijuana.

Chris Melillo, senior vice president of retail operations for Curaleaf, is currently tasked with spearheading the companys dispensary expansion rollout and establishing a consistent customer experience for retail stores across the U.S. He previously served as senior director of stores in North America for Nike, and as vice president of stores for DTLR/Villa, a leading footwear and apparel retailer.

Katie Neer, the director of government affairs for Acreage Holdings, a multi-state cannabis operator. Neer focuses on state regulatory and legislative issues facing the cannabis industry. Prior to her role with Acreage Holdings, Neer practiced law and formerly served as the assistant secretary for general government and financial services in the New York State Governors Office.

Paul Josephson, a partner at Duane Morris is a constitutional and regulatory litigator who advises CEOs, elected officials, and agency heads on a broad spectrum of matters involving significant public interests or highly regulated by government agencies. He currently represents the alternative treatment center, GTI-NJ, as well as the Gateway Program Development Corporation on the $13 billion Hudson Rail Tunnel project.

Justin Zaremba, an NJ Cannabis Insider editor and a longtime news reporter for NJ.com, will moderate the discussion.

The focused conversation will revolve around medical marijuana, legalization and the hemp and CBD industries during the coronavirus pandemic  while looking ahead at the Nov. 3 national elections.

After the live event, attendees will have an opportunity to continue the discussion and network in a closed forum, moderated by journalists covering marijuana and hemp industries.

To reserve tickets, go to advance360.com/cannabis-insider-live.

NJ Cannabis Insider, a local sponsor, is a weekly subscriber-based trade journal produced by NJ Advance Media, which has also produced several live events in the past two years. For this event, it has has partnered with Advance Local sister media groups across the country, including Staten Island Advance, Advance Media New York, PennLive, LehighValleyLive, MassLive, MLive, Advance Ohio and Oregonian Media Group.

For more information, you may reach us via email here.
She's thought to have welcomed her second child with husband Gian Luca earlier this year.

And, Jessica Chastain took a break from spending time with her family as she stepped out in a vidid blue boilersuit and a white facemask as she enjoyed a sunset stroll in Pacific Palisades, LA, on Friday.

The Molly's Game actress, 43, found a little time for herself as she took a seat on a bench overlooking the ocean and removed her mask to FaceTime a friend.

Sunset strolls: Jessica Chastain, 43, stepped out in a vidid blue boilersuit and a white facemask as she enjoyed a sunset stroll in Pacific Palisades, LA, on Friday

Jessica kept things casual as she teamed her boilersuit with white plimsoles, and carried her belongings in a large black backpack.

The Mad Men star sported a full face of make-up with her eyes shielded with a classic pair of Burberry shades, while her signature tresses were styled into elegant curls.

The outing came after Jessica was reportedly photographed with a newborn baby, amid rumours she and husband Gian Luca had welcomed their second child.

In photographs taken in late March, the couple could be seen strolling together in Santa Monica, California, with Gian Luca pushing their daughter in a stroller.

Virtual catch-ups: The Molly's Game actress, 43, took a seat on a bench overlooking the ocean, pushed back her classic Burberry shades and removed her mask to FaceTime a friend

Walking beside her husband, Jessica looks content as she carries a tiny baby in a wrap, its head safely tucked inside close to her chest.

The images, published by Page Six, appear to show the couple have welcomed a second child to their family.

A source told the website, 'They were really enjoying themselves. The baby seemed to be sleeping soundly the entire time.'

The couple's daughter Giulietta arrived in July 2018 via surrogate.

Added to their family: The outing came after Chastain was reportedly photographed with a newborn baby, amid rumors she and husband Gian Luca had welcomed their second child

In March, Jessica celebrated her 43rd birthday and popped open a bottle of champagne while marking the occasion at home amid the coronavirus lockdown.

'Thank you for all of the Birthday wishes & virtually celebrating with me yesterday!' she captioned a video of her all glammed up and blowing a kiss to the camera.

The Dark Phoenix star began dating Gian Luca, an executive for fashion brand Moncler, in 2012 and they married on June 10 2017 at his family's estate in Carbonera, Italy.

The Dark Phoenix star began dating Gian Luca, an executive for fashion brand Moncler, in 2012 and they married on June 10 2017 at his family's estate in Carbonera, Italy. They are pictured May 2017

The Sonoma, California born star is coming off Dark Phoenix and IT Chapter Two in 2019, with two more movies slated for release in 2020.

She plays the title character in Ava, a deadly assassin who works for a secret organization, travelling the world and pulling off high-profile hits.

She also plays Tammy Faye Baker in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, alongside Andrew Garfield and Vincent D'Onofrio, and 355 with Sebastian Stan, hitting theaters January 15, 2021.
(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The CARICOM Secretariat would like to retract Press Release # 59/2020  CSEC Examinations to be held in July  on a matter of clarification.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 21:27:37|Editor: huaxia

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TAIYUAN, May 9 (Xinhua) -- China's largest hard coal producer Yangquan Coal Industry (Group) Co., Ltd. in Shanxi Province has finished building a 5G network in one of its mines, heralding the coming of 5G era of the country's cold industry and paving way for intelligent mining based on 5G technologies.

The 5G network in Yangquan's subsidiary, Xinyuan, is the country's first commercial 5G service under a coal mine shaft. It is built in partnership with China Mobile and Huawei.

Wang Haigang, deputy manager of Xinyuan, said the 5G network had been in stable operation for a week after its inauguration and optimization.

With the integrated 5G coverage, the data upload rate is above 800Mbps and the transmission latency is less than 20 milliseconds in the mine, enabling a variety of applications such as high-definition audio and video communications and remote intelligent control of equipment to free workers from the dangerous working environment, according to Yu Beijian, deputy general manager of Yangquan Coal Industry Group.

Yu said coal mines are usually hundreds of meters deep without telecom signals underground, and technicians have tackled technical problems to build the 5G network in the mine shaft which has complicated underground conditions.

With the 5G network in operation, the mine is expected to reduce its labor force in one underground working team from more than 170 to about 90 while maintaining the coal output, Wang said, adding that Xinyuan hopes to increase the annual output from 3 million tonnes to 5 million tonnes.

Yu said the company has planned to further enrich the 5G application scenarios with an aim to build a "smart mine" in the future.

Yangquan Coal Industry Group is not alone in embracing the new technology. China's traditional coal mine companies are increasingly merging onto the 5G "expressway."

Yankuang Group, a mining conglomerate in eastern China's Shandong Province, has set up a joint lab with China Unicom and Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE to develop 5G and intelligent mining in areas including intelligent transportation and drone patrol.

Kailuan Group in northern China's Hebei Province has clinched a deal with China Telecom on 5G technology application development, while Shanxi Coking Coal Group has signed with the Shanxi branch of China Unicom on leasing 5G facilities.

Liu Feng, vice-chairman of the China National Coal Association, said that China now has more than 5,000 coal mines, which have built more than 200 intelligent mining platforms facilitated with automatic equipment.

The "new infrastructure" of the 5G network building in coal mines will lead to elevation in quality, efficiency and energy reform and greatly transform the traditional development mode in the coal industry, Liu said. Enditem
The NHS is building a fresh contact-tracing app after the pilot on the Isle of Wight exposed teething problems and privacy concerns.

Developers from Google and Apple have been brought into the fold to provide technology that will overcome incompatibility issues with some mobiles.

Some of the 50,000 islanders to have so far downloaded the app have also complained that it rapidly saps a phone's battery.

NHSX chief executive Matthew Gould this week gave the green light for the new software, which will be designed 'in parallel' with the existing app being trialled.

The second app could be the version rolled out nationwide if the concerns revealed by the Isle of Wight dry run continue to persist.

'These technical details end up being quite important,' a source involved with the new app told the Financial Times.

Google and Apple's own contact-tracing app is underway and is expected to be released in mid-May.

NHS worker Anni Adams looks at the new NHS app on her phone on the Isle of Wight yesterday

People are receiving error messages telling them the app is not compatible with their devices, with others reporting glitches including pop-ups. This picture appears to show one of the devices not compatible with the app

Forging a robust system of contact-tracing has been heralded as the route out of lockdown as it will remove the need for blanket self-isolation.

Those who have come into contact with an infected person - detected by bluetooth technology - will be alerted and told to social distance.

But before it is adopted across the UK, developers will have to overcome difficulties thrown up by the first phase trial.

Islanders have said the app will not install on Huawei, iPhones and Samsungs released before mid-2017.

Phil Clarke, from Cowes, who has a new iPhone, said he found it 'easy to download' but told MailOnline: 'My mum tried to download it and it said her device wasn't compatible even though it's a Samsung smart phone'.

And complaints have been pouring into local Facebook groups, many of which moan the app eats away at the battery - however others have said that it has not had a noticeable effect.

There is also some squeamishness about downloading the app because of a cloud hanging over data protection.

Charlie Harris, 25, from Cowes, told MailOnline: 'To me it's an invasion of my privacy, any app you download you don't know who's controlling it.

'I know it's a government app but whose to say they won't go through your phone.'

Complaints have been pouring into local Facebook groups about the compatibility of phones

Fears over privacy have also been raised by MPs on the Commons' human rights committee, who said they had 'significant concerns'.

NHSX's app stores data about infected cases and their contacts in a centralised system, which developers claim is essential.

But Google and Apple's own version, which has been adopted by several European countries, is decentralised and does not harvest location data.

Ian Levy, technical director at GCHQ's National Cyber Security Centre, has reassured users that the app is safe to use.

Isle of Wight council workers and NHS staff were encouraged to download the app on Tuesday, with instruction letters sent out to the rest of the island yesterday.

As of yesterday evening, 50,000 people have downloaded the app, according to the MP Bob Seely.

Experts have said that around 60 per cent of the population - 84,000 - will need to download NHSX to make the software effective.

Nadine Dorries, minister at the Department of Health, said: 'We would like to thank the residents of the Isle of Wight for leading the way and being the first to try the new app.

'Their valuable feedback will help us to refine the app, paving the way towards a national roll-out when the time is right.'
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A 25-year-old man accused of killing his girlfriends 8-month-old baby has been ordered to stand trial.

A Grand Rapids District Court judge listened to testimony from a medical examiner and the babys mother Friday, May 8 before ordering Jermaine Abron to stand trial on charges of felony murder and first-degree child abuse.

The baby, Josiah Lamarr Guyton, died March 4.

Police responded to an 8:08 p.m. report of an unresponsive infant at a home in the 900 block of Front Avenue NW. The boy was rushed to Helen DeVos Childrens Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

An autopsy showed he died of blunt-force trauma.

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Michigan Legislature, Governor to face off in virtual oral arguments next week
The health ministry has decided to deploy central teams in 10 states that have witnessed or are witnessing high COVID-19 cases to assist their health departments to facilitate management of the outbreak.

These are besides the 20 central teams of public health experts sent earlier to 20 high case load districts on May3, the health ministry said in a statement on Saturday, adding a high-level team was recently deputed in Mumbai to support Maharashtra's efforts in COVID-19 response and management.

The statement was issued in the backdrop of medical experts from AIIMS - Director Dr Randeep Guleria and Dr Manish Soneja - from the department of medicine visiting the civil hospital in Ahmedabad to provide expert guidance to the doctors there on the management of COVID-19following directions from the Centre.

They interacted with the frontline staff amid concerns over the rise in COVID-19 fatalities in the state. According to official sources, the team of doctors flew to Ahmedabad by a special Indian Air Force flight on Friday evening.

According to the health ministry statement, the central teams comprises a senior official from the health ministry, a joint secretary-level nodal officer and a public health expert.

"The team shall support the state health department in implementation of containment measures in the affected areas within the respective states' districts and cities," the statement said.

The teams are being sent to Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi,



Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, it said.

According to the health ministry, the death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 1,981 and the number of cases climbed to 59,662 on Saturday registering an increase of 95 deaths and 3,320 cases in the last 24 hours since Friday morning.

The 1,981 fatalities include 449 from Gujarat, 200 from Madhya Pradesh, 160 from West Bengal, 101 from Rajasthan, 68 from Delhi, 66 from Uttar Pradesh, 14 from Andhra Pradesh, 40 from Tamil Nadu, 30 in Karnataka while Telangana and Punjab have reported 29 fatalities each due to the respiratory disease.

According to the health ministry data updated in the morning, Gujarat has reported 7,402 cases, Delhi 6,318, Tamil Nadu 6,009, Rajasthan 3,579, Madhya Pradesh 3,341 and Uttar Pradesh 3,214.

The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 1,887 in Andhra Pradesh and 1,731 in Punjab.

It has risen to 1,678 in West Bengal and 1,133 in Telangana.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Maharashtra crossed the 20,000 mark for coronavirus cases with the addition of 1,165 infections on Saturday. It also reported its highest single-day toll of 48 deaths, taking the fatality count to 779. Of the new cases, 722 were from Mumbai, taking Indias most affected citys case count to 12,864.

Across India, the number of fatalities due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) crossed 2,000 and total infections rose above 60,000 on Saturday, doubling in roughly 11 days as the country now plans to resume more economic activity, while bracing for a spike in infections due to the increased movement. According to data compiled from numbers released by state authorities, there were 3,049 new infections and 117 new deaths recorded on Saturday. In all, there have now been 62,715 people sickened by Sars-Cov-2, which causes Covid-19, and 2,025 fatalities. Roughly 19,165 people have recovered from the disease.

The highest number of cases continued to be detected from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Delhi.

Maharashtra state took just nine days to go from 10,000 cases to 20,000, after taking 53 days for the first 10,000. Maharashtra reported its first case on March 9.

Of the 48 deaths registered across the state on Saturday, 27 were in Mumbai, nine in Pune and eight in Malegaon. Pune rural, Nanded, Akola and Amravati saw one death each. Twenty-seven of the deaths on Saturday were of patients above 60 years of age, while 18 were in the age group of 40-59 years. At least 28 of them had high-risk comorbidities. Meanwhile, the state health department has added a disclaimer to its data, saying that 178 patients from Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) have been added to the ICMR data of cases on its portal, but the reconciliation of the figures by the state is yet to be done. It has also stated that as the collection of data is a progressive process, the numbers could vary

As of Saturday, the mortality rate in the state stood at 3.83%, down from 7.21% on April 12, but the number of deaths is increasing. The countrys mortality rate hovers around 3.32%. According to a report by the medical education and drugs department, 21.91% patients are in the age group of 21-30 years, followed by 21.21% between the ages of 31 and 40. 17.96% are between 41-50 years, 15.30 in 51-60 years age group while just 8.46% of the patients are from 61-70 years age group. The report has also highlighted that 73% of those who died of Coivd-19 had high-risk comorbidities like diabetes, hypertension, heart ailments, among others. A total of 59% patients were asymptomatic, the report released on Saturday stated.

Of the 19,063 cases registered till Friday in the state, 94.85% or 18,081 cases were from the areas governed by 27 municipal corporations. A total of 686 of the states 731 deaths (till Friday) were from these urban areas, where the density of population and even the percentage of slums is high.

Among the municipal corporations, Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Aurangabad, Navi Mumbai are the most affected cities. 86.48% or 16,482 of the total cases till Friday are from MMR and PMR (Pune Metropolitan Region), which are the most populated areas in the state, accommodating around 30 % (or 35 million) of the states total population on over 11,600 square km, which is less than states total area. These two adjoining regions have reported 85.77% or 627 of the total 731 deaths reported till Friday.

The state government, which has hinted at the extension of the ongoing lockdown till the end of the month at least in MMR and PMR, has directed the municipal corporations in the most affected cities to concentrate on containment zones. The task forces of the senior officers have been directed to minutely monitor the progress in these cities. We may extend some relaxations for the industries after the third phase of lockdown ends on May 17 in the orange and green zones. Red zones too, may have brief relaxations outside the containment zones, but at the same time the implementation of the lockdown in containment zones would be stricter, said a senior bureaucrat.

In the past 24 hours, the state has carried out 15,454 coronavirus tests and 1,165 people have tested positive, which is 7.53% of the total people tested. The number of tests in the state touched 22,7804 on Saturday. 2,06,841 of them were negative. 2,41,290 people are currently under home quarantine, while 13,976 are under institutional quarantine. 12,388 teams of health workers have screened 55 lakh people for suspected infection, after they came in contact with patients. 3,800 patients have fully recovered from various hospitals, after testing positive in the past nine weeks.

The state has 1,243 containment zones earmarked for the strict lockdown owing to the high number of positive patients. In Mumbai, municipal corporation has broken the zones into smaller ones for better monitoring.

Expressing his concerns over the plight of migrant workers, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar spoke to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and railway minister Piyush Goyal, requesting them for the travelling arrangements for the migrant workers who want to return to their respective states. CM Thackeray has assured me of arrangements for the transportation of these workers and said that the State Transport buses will be used for their travel. Railway minister too has assured additional trains for the workers, he said.

Pawar said that prime minister Narendra Modi should speak to the chief ministers of the respective states, asking them to clear the entry for migrant workers willing to return home.

Meanwhile, state health minister Rajesh Tope reiterated on Saturday that the state government will take strict action against overcharging by the private hospitals. He announced the signing of an agreement with four private hospitals in Aurangabad for treatment of patients under the state governments Mahatma Phule Janarogya Yojana , the scheme for free treatment at 1,000 private hospitals.

Meanwhile, according to Union health minister Harsh Vardhan, India has now raised its testing capacity to 95,000 per day and a total 1,525,631 tests have been conducted so far across 332 government and 121 private laboratories.

We do not anticipate a very worst type of situation in our country like many other developed countries but still we have prepared the whole country for the worst situation, Harsh Vardhan said at meeting to review the status of Covid-19 outbreak in northeastern states.

The health minister said there are now 8,043 hospitals dedicated for Covid-19 patients with a total bed capacity of 1.67 million beds and the country was adequately prepared to handle a surge.

Globally, the virus has now infected over 4 million people and claimed the lives of at least 277,000 people in what is the worst pandemic the world has seen since the Spanish Flu in 1918.

The ministers remarks come a day after a top government official said India now needs to learn to live with the virus. We will have to learn to live with the virus, for which it is important to make critical behavioral changes and incorporate all the preventive guidelines that health ministry has been issuing on following hand hygiene, cough etiquettes and social distancing measures, as part of your daily routine. It is an everyday battle for us to keep the infection at bay, said Lav Agarwal, health ministry joint secretary, in a briefing on Friday.

Authorities are now focusing on 10 states that account for the most number of cases. The ministry of health and family welfare has decided to deploy Central teams to 10 states that have witnessed/are witnessing high case load and high spurt of cases. The teams will assist state health departments of respective states to facilitate management of the outbreak, health ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

The expert teams consist of a senior official from the health ministry, a joint secretary-level nodal officer, and a public health expert. The states where the teams are being sent are Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The outbreak in India began on March 2 and by the end of the month, the country was under a sweeping lockdown that helped avert a situation in several populous countries where tens of thousands have now died.

But pressure to relax the curbs are now growing, with large number of people having lost their livelihoods  especially people from lower economic groups such as factory workers and daily wage earners who have been walking in the thousands to their hometowns hundreds of kilometers away.

In Uttar Pradesh, the government estimated that more than 100,000 people who were in other states for work were scheduled to return by Saturday night after the government started special trains. Another 98 trains will reach the state on Sunday and Monday, according to the official.

The movement has also raised fears of infections growing as the tens of thousands taking the trains come in potential contact that could spread the virus.

Similar concerns also surround Indians returning from abroad. On Saturday, at least two foreign returnees who reached Kerala on May 7 in two separate first-day flights -- one from Dubai and another from Abu Dhabi  tested positive for the disease.

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Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari on Saturday expressed concern over reports of "underreporting" of deaths due to Covid-19 in Delhi and asked Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to clear the air about it.

In a joint Facebook Live session with Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, Tiwari said reports in newspapers have pegged deaths due to coronavirus in Delhi to more than 100 while the Delhi government has claimed only 66 deaths so far.

"It's a matter of extreme shame that the Delhi government is reportedly underreporting the figures of death due to Covid-19 to hide its failure. This is not the time to indulge in over a matter of public health," Tiwari said.

The people of Delhi have a right to know the severity of the epidemic and the Kejriwal government should at least tell them the truth, he said.

"It is shown by the Delhi government's health bulletin that 66 deaths due to coronavirus have been reported so far in Delhi, but today a report has claimed that there were 116 deaths in Delhi," Tiwari said.

He said the Delhi BJP has been seeking clarification from Kejriwal about the Covid-19 death toll in Delhi because people want to know the truth, he said.

The cases of corona infection and deaths due to it in Delhi are increasing daily, but the chief minister has said the people should learn to live with it. Such statement does not help the people of Delhi in dealing with coronavirus spread, he stated.

Bidhuri charged lack of adequate test and treatment facilities for corona infection in Delhi.

"We urge the chief minister to strengthen the health system of Delhi. This is the time to deal with the coronavirus and not to shine through TV channels and advertisements," Bidhuri said.

Under attack over the alleged lack of transparency and under-reporting of coronavirus deaths in the national capital, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Saturday said there is no reason to hide anything and no case will go unaccounted for.

Jain said the Health Department has asked hospitals to send death reports and summaries at the earliest.

I have read the today. There is no reason to hide anything. We have asked hospitals to send death reports or death summaries at the earliest. I give you guarantee that no case will go unaccounted for, Jain told reporters.

As per the latest figures of Delhi government, the city has recorded total 6,542 coronavirus patients and 68 Covid-19 deaths so far.

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

Robert Caro knows the ebbs and flows of history better than most. As someone whos written acclaimed biographies of both Lyndon B. Johnson and Robert Moses, he has a singular perspective on how countries and cities have weathered crises throughout the years  and how we might look to, and learn from, the past.

At the Associated Press, Hillel Italie explores what social distancing has done to Caros writing routine. At 84, Caro is at work on the fifth and final volume of his Lyndon Johnson biography, making daily trips to his office to complete more work on the book. Italie notes that certain crucial steps in Caros research process for this volume have needed to be postponed as a result of the pandemic:
In economic terms alone, Italy is in peril. On a continent facing its worst recession ever, Italy is forecast to have one of the most severe contractions of any single country, at 9.5 percent this year, according to European Union projections. Its debt is projected to rise to 158.9 percent of its gross domestic product, one of the highest rates in the world. Paolo Gentiloni, the European commissioner for the economy, said this past week that Italys recovery is predicted to take longer than in other member states.
Megastar Chiranjeevi's upcoming film, Acharya and Lucifer remake are undoubtedly going to be one of the biggest Telugu releases. The actor is currently listening to scripts for other projects. Of lately, he has confirmed that he will be working with Meher Ramesh and KS Ravindra aka Bobby for their respective movies. Well now, we have an update on Bobby's project with the senior actor.

As per the sources close to the film, Rana Daggubati will essay an important role in the movie starring Chiru in the lead. It is said that Bobby has narrated the script to him, that will have two heroes in the lead roles, with Rana essaying the second lead. Rana Daggaubati still needs to hear the narration, which will happen only after the lockdown. Well, we can't wait for the official confirmation of the larger than life project.

Interestingly, the Baahubali actor, Rana Daggubati has expressed his desire to work with Megastar on several occasions.

Coming back to their respective projects, Chiru will resume the shoot of Acharya, directed by Koratala Siva post the lockdown. The action thriller will also feature Kajal Aggarwal and Ram Charan in pivotal roles. The latter will essay an extended cameo in the highly-anticipated movie. After Acharya, Chiru will appear in the Telugu remake of Lucifer. The remake will be helmed by Saaho director Sujeeth, who is currently busy working on the script as he would tweak it a bit according to the taste of the Telugu audience. As per the rumour, Pawan Kalyan will also be a part of the big project. The actor might reprise the role of Tovino Thomas in the Malayalam film.

On the other hand, Rana Daggubati is awaiting the release of Aranya. He is also a part of Venu Udugula's political-social drama Virataparvam.

Pawan Kalyan To Join Hands With Brother Chiranjeevi For Lucifer Remake?

Is Salman Khan A Part Of Chiranjeevi's Acharya? Find Out!
Although the Grand Duchy has moved into the next stage of the de-confinement process, the government has not ruled out a return to lockdown measures if needed.

Monday 11 May approaches with a series of establishments reopening in Luxembourg and its neighbouring countries.

Schools, shops, museums, libraries - for many of these, activity will resume in the Grand Duchy, in a welcome respite from the period of confinement during the health crisis.

However, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and other members of the government have made a point of reminding the population that life will not return to normal with the lifting of these measures.



A CONTROLLED EXIT

In order to make use of the reopened commercial businesses, customers must wear masks, maintain physical distancing, and at times queue outside when the number of people within are limited.

Pupils returning to school will be separated, circulation will be controlled, and masks are obligatory if the two metre distance cannot be kept.

Citizens will be allowed to meet up once more, but must adhere to the rules: groups of no more than 20 people can meet in public open-air spaces, while groups of up to six can meet at private homes. According to a recent press conference, this latter number does not include the host family but rather the number of guests. Safety measures will still apply.

However, the risk of a second wave of the virus still exists.

POTENTIAL RETURN TO CONFINEMENT?

Authorities in Belgium are already working on a plan for reconfinement, should the virus begin spreading once more. This task has been assigned to a panel of experts who believe a second wave is inevitable.

RTL contacted Xavier Bettel's office for information on Luxembourg's plan for the future. The Prime Minister's office confirmed a series of potential scenarios had been studied by the Covid-19 Task Force prior to announcing the country's exit strategy from quarantine.

A spokesperson said if the number of infections continued to rise, putting pressure on hospital capacity, Luxembourg would reevaluate the measures required. Everything depends on the evolution of the epidemic.

The Luxembourg government has adopted a reactive approach, analysing where potential new infections could come from and acting accordingly. For example, if a high number of infections appear in schools, the government could opt to close them once more. The same principle applies to commercial businesses.

In conclusion, the government spokesperson reprised the Prime Minister's statement, confirming that if things change, the government will apply the brakes to the exit strategy.
A Delhi court on Friday dismissed the bail application of Shahrukh Pathan, accused in the north-east Delhi riots, stating that the fundamental right to protest against government policies cannot extend to disturbing public order.

Additional Sessions Judge Sanjeev Kumar Malhotra rejected the bail plea stating that there is video footage that went viral where the accused can be seen pointing a pistol upon police officials and hence he is not inclined to grant bail at this stage.

The right to protest is a fundamental right in a democracy but this right of peaceful protest and open criticism of the government policies does not extend to disturb the public order.

.in the present case, the video footage of the applicant while pointing out pistol upon police officials went viral. Keeping in view the totality of facts and circumstances of the case at this stage, I am not inclined to grant bail to the applicant (Pathan), the judge said.

The court was hearing the bail application filed through advocate Asghar Khan in wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The plea had contended that the incident happened at the spur of the moment and that the 23-year-old had no past criminal record.

The plea also alleged that there was an unexplained delay of two days in registering the FIR.

Khan said that the charge sheet has already been filed in the case and his counsel sought bail stating that his father has to undergo a knee surgery.

However, the court said that the IO has verified from the hospital regarding operations of knee replacement of Pathans father Baldev Singh and as per the hospitals email, only emergency surgeries are being performed and total knee replacement is not one of them. A fresh date will be given at a later stage when the situation improves in Jalandhar, the hospital said.

Opposing the bail application, the additional public prosecutor told the court that on February 24, several people had gathered illegally and were raising slogans against the amended Anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). According to the complaint, the members of the unlawful assembly had bottles, pistols and stones in their hands. In the meantime, Pathan came from behind and fired 3-4 shots at the people around.

The complainant, head constable Deepak Dahiya, requested him (Pathan) not to fire. However, Pathan fired at the head of the constable with the intention to kill. The constable bent down and managed to save himself. When he tried to stop Pathan, he pointed towards the crowd and fired again, according to the complaint.

The court, after, hearing the arguments from both sides dismissed the plea.

Pathan was arrested on March 3.

Last week, Delhi Police had filed the first charge sheet over the February riots in north-east Delhi, naming three men including Pathan, who was pictured pointing a pistol at a policeman in the Maujpur neighbourhood.

The 350-page charge sheet was filed in the Karkardooma court against Pathan and two others who were arrested by the crime branchs Narcotics Cell, said a senior police officer, adding that the three remained in jail.

According to the charge sheet, Pathan was the first person to be formally arrested in connection with the riots after being booked by the Jafrabad police. He was initially booked for attempt to murder, assault on a public servant, disobedience of an order passed by a government servant and under the Arms Act.

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The Lynchburg City School Board voted at its Thursday meeting to revise the divisions nondiscrimination and anti- harassment policies to better protect LGBT students and personnel in the division.

A modification to the language in these policies added sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes. The previous LCS policies protected students and employees from discrimination and harassment on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, gender, ethnicity, religion, disability and other characteristics, but did not include sexual orientation.

The use of the he or she pronouns also was eliminated from the policies, and replaced with a more inclusive, general reference of they/them, students or personnel.

Board Chairwoman Susan Morrison said she reached out to the Virginia School Boards Association and division staff to get feedback on the policy revision. Morrison said several other Virginia school districts are considering adopting more inclusive language.

The board has discussed the revision for months, after the proposed policy changes were reviewed by legal counsel and presented to the board in January by the LCS instruction and program policy work group for adoption. The issue was discussed further at the boards February and April meetings and was back for action Thursday.

I know weve addressed [these policies] for several months; I think weve really spent a lot of time to make sure we get this right, board member Robert Brennan said.

Members of the public have addressed the board at its past meetings in support of the language change, and all seven public comments sent to be read and played at Thursdays meeting encouraged board members to adopt the language change.

The next school board work session is scheduled for 5 p.m. May 19, and the next school board meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. June 2. Both will be held virtually and streamed on YouTube.

Jamey Cross covers education. Reach her at (434) 385-5532.

Jamey Cross covers education. Reach her at (434) 385-5532.

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LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSSWIRE / May 9, 2020 / The COVID-19 public health crisis is having far-reaching impacts on the US economy. With many nonessential businesses forced to cease physical operations, hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue and millions of jobs have been lost. Over half of small business owners recently surveyed report that they won't be able to last three months under current coronavirus restrictions.

The smallest businesses have been the hardest hit - in particular, those with less than 20 employees. These businesses usually have less cash flow and capital, leading to more immediate effects during a crisis. Businesses relying on in-person services have been affected most severely.

For the real estate market, the depth and duration of COVID-19's effects have yet to be determined. It is not known whether such large shifts towards e-commerce and teleworking will result in permanent changes even after a coronavirus recovery.

In the near-term, the global pandemic is prompting changes in how real estate professionals operate. They are making greater use of virtual technologies to stay operational-especially in the residential real estate sector.

SetSchedule is a digital platform that utilizes the latest technology and a full-service concierge team to review consumer needs and instantly connect real estate shoppers to a single real estate agent or multiple local professionals. We spoke with SetSchedule CEO Roy Dekel to find out how his company has been affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

What has the COVID-19 crisis meant for your small business?

Being a small business owner is never without challenges, but this is something modern Americans have never seen before. As an Israeli, growing up surrounded by enemies taught me that survival and self-reliance go hand in hand. While I never could have predicted such a catastrophe, my partner and I have worked hard to give SetSchedule a solid foundation that will steel us against difficult times.

We care deeply about all our employees and the future of our business. Like all American businesses and even businesses around the world we have come up with ways to enact immediate remote solutions, strengthen remote technologies, leverage virtual management tools, and created a greater sensitivity and more attention to interpersonal needs, and sanitation guidelines.

As a nation, we don't quite know what lies ahead, and uncertainty can be troubling, but the situation can also bring positives like a greater connection to community and family and for some an opportunity to focus on shifts in your business.

Thankfully, having digital technologies at the core of our business has meant that we were well prepared for some of the shifts taking place today. In fact, the situation brings some real opportunities for SetSchedule to play an even greater role in real estate. I think the real estate market has already headed the direction of virtualization, and COVID-19 has accelerated that transformation.

What is the role of SetSchedule in a COVID-19-affected real estate marketplace?

The real estate business relies on networking and collaboration. In what has traditionally been a face-to-face system, COVID-19 poses a lot of challenges. By helping SetSchedule members connect with each other virtually, we add tremendous value during this time.

Even during the coronavirus pandemic, people want to live their lives. They have to sort through good and bad service providers, they change jobs, they move, and life goes on. We've seen that people are still buying houses, and SetSchedule provides the best tech to make sure those deals happen with on-demand access to multiple real estate professionals.

Our digital platform allows for more direct virtual communication among real estate professionals; realtors, property managers, and even lenders and appraisers. We have team collaborations and also offer a virtual open house tool, which is pretty much the only safe way an open house is going to happen right now.

Don't forget that real estate agents are often small business owners themselves. We're providing them a way to continue to operate and to make much-needed sales that keep their business thriving.

Looking down the road, how can SetSchedule help in a post-COVID-19 world?

I think many of us are starting to realize that the return to normal is going to be a slow one. Even then, we're not quite sure what that "normal" will look like. By embracing new technologies and ways of working, I believe we can help shape the future in a positive way.

We want to help real estate professionals work smarter, not harder. That is why SetSchedule has accelerated development to provide additional products to continue to improve our role in servicing consumers and real estate professionals by giving them even more transformative tools. Once our members experience the ease and success of our tools, it's hard to give them up. So, I think we're here to stay.

What are your visions for the future?

Over $1 billion in real estate transactions have been introduced through our platform, so there is clearly a need out there. We have no plans of slowing down. We'll keep learning and innovating even through the pandemic.

In the near-term, we're looking to make some major upgrades to our platform later this year. We're constantly improving our offerings and workflows to best serve our members.

I'm an entrepreneur at heart and never out of ideas. The COVID-19 challenges might even spur some new opportunities for us.

Do you have any suggestions or advice for other small business owners trying to weather the COVID-19 storm?

As entrepreneurs, we can rely heavily on our passion and drive to get us through this crisis. I'd encourage other small business owners to embrace your entrepreneurial spirit during this time. It is important to figure out "how". How am I going to do that? How am I going to slove it? How can I make this work? Be creative in your solutions to figuring out "how", and once you have a plan, never stop. People are still consuming, and businesses can still thrive, so the worse thing you can do is to stop moving forward, even in small steps.

No one would do this if it were easy. Many of us have been through challenges before. Though this one may be bigger, there is always a way forward. The future might look different than we expected, but with that comes opportunity.

Also, if you can, rely on your support system when times are tough. I'm so grateful for my business partner because we're in this together.

CONTACT:

Company: SetSchedule

Contact Person: Roy Dekel

Email: info@setschedule.com

Website: https://www.setschedule.com/

SOURCE: SetSchedule

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/589161/SetSchedule-CEO-Roy-Dekel-Shares-His-Experience-Navigating-the-Impact-of-COVID-19-on-His-Real-Estate-Startup
Minister Nguyen Chi Dung was urging businesses and authorities to see the silver lining and turn the crisis to advantage

At the video-conference between the prime minister and businesses today (May 9), Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said that the global health crisis will cause the world economy to grow only an estimated 3 per cent in 2020 and puts a lot of difficulties on the business community.

These difficulties include the double challenges of a shortage of input materials and limited output markets for consumption and exporting, especially for sectors participating deep in global supply chains.

The minister also predicted that more mergers and acquisitions deals could take place in the time coming, and local companies could be acquired at a very cheap price.

The history of the country can prove that Vietnam always finds a way to evolve and post amazing results amidst the most difficulties and arduous circumstances, Minister Dung said.

He added that the COVID-19 pandemic has built a new consumption trend and brought new business models, contributing to the establishment of new value chains and breakthrough development in certain areas.

Moreover, new free trade agreements like the CPTPP and the EVFTA will serve as an advantage helping Vietnam to join global supply chains, innovate machines, equipment, and technology to reduce costs and improve the competitiveness of local businesses.

Numerous experts said that this is a good chance because Vietnam has a constellation of many favourable factors for breakthrough development, Minister Dung confirmed.

The minister added that the most suitable support for businesses would be the simplification of administrative procedures, improving transparency, and synchronising regulations and policies, rather than simple cash support.

We should implement numerous solutions quickly and in time to enable businesses to seize valuable opportunities for economic recovery and outstanding growth, he said.

Minister Dung proposed six solutions to support businesses and enable the economy to overcome challenges, including fixing interrupted supply chains, building new ones; maintaining the supply of manufacturing materials, especially strengthening the local supply of materials to replace imports; establishing and developing local supply chains and the traceability of products to export to new markets.

The minister encouraged solutions to stimulate the domestic market by increasing total local demand and facilitating the delivery of essential goods, tourism services, accommodation, retail, and e-commerce. He also advised providing financial packages like VAT reduction or exemption, strengthening public investment, and removing policy barriers.

Additionally, Vietnam should strengthen the promotion of tourism and investment, facilitate digital transformation and the digital economy, and reform administrative procedures to improve the business and investment climate.
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Australians itching to getaway can finally start planning their dream holiday after Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced interstate travel could resume as early as July.

State borders were shut at the height of the coronavirus pandemic and people were only allowed to venture as far as the nearest grocery store.

But on Friday Mr Morrison announced a three step plan to ease COVID-19 restrictions, with travel to come in the third and final stage assumed to be in July.

Under the first step, gatherings of up to ten people will be allowed and cafes and restaurants can re-open with a maximum of ten people at one time.

The second stage will allow gatherings of up to 20 people and Aussies can expect to hit the gym, cinema and get some much needed beauty treatment.

Some interstate travel will also be allowed during phase two.

Step three involves gatherings of up to 100 people, opening up food courts and saunas and bath houses - along with all interstate travel.

While a trip to Bali or Hawaii is still off the cards, Daily Mail Australia reveals the best hidden gems to visit once travel resumes - and they're all sitting in our backyard.

Little Beach in Albany, Western Australia is one of the country's most secluded beaches despite having crystal clear water and white sandy shores

Little Beach, Albany, Western Australia

With dazzling turquoise waters and white sandy shores, Little Beach is one of Western Australia's most beautiful secrets.

Nestled in between the Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve, the beach is reached by walking along the Heritage Trail.

Once arriving at the crystal clear, secluded beach visitors can enjoy a day of fishing, snorkelling or take a walk through the surrounding bush.

Little Beach sits around 30km east from the small town of Albany and as many people don't even know its there, you're nearly always guaranteed to have the beach to yourself.

Little Beach sits around 30km east from the small town of Albany and as many people don't even know its there, you're nearly always guaranteed to have the beach to yourself

The Butterfly Gorge in Northern Territory's Nitmiluk National Park is another well kept secret

Butterfly Gorge, Nitmiluk National Park, Katherine, Northern Territory

While the Nitmiluk Park in Katherine is not exactly a secret, few know of the real beauty that is the Butterfly Gorge.

Named after the abundance of butterflies that fill the area, there are several rock pools to swim in.

But after a short swim and climb through the rocks, you'll find yourself in a tranquil gorge with nearly nobody in sight.

People can escape to this beauty by swimming through the pools and climbing through the rocks.

Visitors can camp at the nearby Tjuwaliyan Hot Springs or Douglas River Esplanade Conservation Area.

Named after the abundance of butterflies that fill the area, there are several rock pools to swim in

Baird Bay in South Australia is home to thousands of sea lions and dolphins. Visitors can even swim with the local wildlife all available to swim with

Baird Bay, South Australia

Baird Bay is one of the few places on earth you can swim with wild dolphins and seals.

The seaside village is full of activities for visitors including camping, shark cage diving and swimming expeditions that will bring you face to face with a pack of sea lions.

The bay is also teaming with fish with visitors guaranteed to catch something during their stay.

It sits on the the west coast of the state's Eyre Peninsula and also offers beautiful bush walks and bird watching.

The seaside village is full of activities for visitors including camping, shark cage diving and swimming expeditions that will bring you face to face with a pack of sea lions

The Crystal Shower Falls in NSW's Dorrigo National Park is another must visit for Australians looking for the perfect staycation

Crystal Shower Falls, Dorrigo National Park, NSW

A walk through a lush green rainforest will lead you to the Crystal Shower Falls, one of New South Wales' most stunning waterfalls.

Visitors can even climb a bridge that takes them behind the waterfall into a rocky cavern.

The falls are part of the Gondwana Rainforest which is over one million years old, full of towering trees with roots intertwined.

Visitors can even climb a bridge that takes them behind the waterfall into a rocky cavern (pictured: Crystal Shower Falls)

Mackerel Islands, Western Australia

Western Australia's Mackerel Islands are a collection of ten secluded islands sitting off the coast.

Two of the islands have accommodation so tourists can stay over but those looking to splash the cash can rent out the Direction Island all to themselves.

Thevenard Island offers a selection of cabins for holidaymakers and the waters surrounding the island are teaming with wildlife with many species never coming into contact with humans before.

Tourists can enjoy kayaking, snorkelling and turtle and whale watching.

Western Australia's Mackerel Islands are a collection of ten secluded islands sitting off the west coast

Little Blue Lake, North East Tasmania

One of Tasmania's natural phenomenons is also one of the state's best kept secrets.

The Little Blue Lake located in the state's north-east is a deep rich aqua colour from the minerals left over from old mining sites.

Despite the inviting-looking waters, swimmers are told to steer clear of the lake as it can be highly acidic.

Visitors are encouraged to enjoy a picnic near the water or take a ride on the nearby mountain bike trails.

The Little Blue Lake located in the state's north-east is a deep rich aqua colour from the minerals left over from old mining sites

Satellite Island and Granite Point Pier, Tasmania

Tasmania is also home to hidden gems Satellite Island and Granite Point Pier.

Satellite Island is found off the south coast and is a private island available to be rented out for anyone keen to make a visit.

Guests can stay for $1,950 a night and will have the entire island to themselves, choosing to stay in the three-bedroom home or the boat house.

The island can be reached by a ferry and once tourists arrive they can enjoy paddle boarding, kayaking or simply take in their surroundings.

Satellite Island is found off the south coast and is a private island available to be rented out for anyone keen to make a visit

Granite Point Pier in the state's north-east was once a well built boardwalk stretching into the ocean off Bridport but was burnt to a crisp by arsonists in 1938

Granite Point Pier in the state's north-east was once a well built boardwalk stretching into the ocean off Bridport but was burnt to a crisp by arsonists in 1938.

Visitors can now see the eerie remains of what is left of the pier.

Keswick Island, Queensland

Keswick Island is one of the lesser known vacation spots in the Whitsundays known for being a base for snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef.

Whale watching tours are also available along with 40 different species of birds.

Keswick Island also prides itself on its delicious honey and visitors are encouraged not to leave without picking up a jar.

Keswick Island is one of the lesser known vacation spots in the Whitsundays known for being a base for snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef

Three Hummock Island, Tasmania

Three Hummock Island is another private island where visitors can stay in almost total isolation.

For just $90 a night, travellers can swim in crystal clear waters without anyone else around - except for the island's managers.

There are no bars, shops or restaurants and the only way to get there is via boat or seaplane.

Three Hummock Island is another private island where visitors can stay in almost total isolation

Manning Gorge in the Kimberley, Western Australia

Located in the heart of the Kimberly region, Manning Gorge is one of the state's best swimming spots.

It's about a 3km walk to the top of the gorge where tourists can then spend their time swimming in the many rock pools.

Visitors have the choice of swimming 100m across a river to reach the gorge or using a dinghy. Camping is also available nearby.

Located in the heart of the Kimberley region, Manning Gorge is one of the state's best swimming spots

Maria Island, Tasmania

Hidden off the state's east coast lies Maria Island, a secluded paradise with no cars, shops and hardly any people.

Visitors are encouraged to visit the Painted Cliffs which involves beautifully coloured rocks that were shaped by minerals in the water and erosion from the wind.

Travellers can choose to hike or swim and can even see some of Australia's most endangered species like Tasmanian Devils and forester kangaroos.

Visitors are encouraged to visit the Painted Cliffs in Maria Island, Tasmania which involves beautifully coloured rocks that were shaped by minerals in the water and erosion from the wind

Daly Waters, Northern Territory

Daly Waters is one of the Northern Territory's quirkiest towns accustomed with a local pub that shares the same name.

It's a common stop off point for those on long road trips with many leaving behind shirts and even bras that now hang off the pub's walls.

The pub was built in the 1930s and the owners believe a ghost lingers in the kitchen after a woman was murdered at the site.

Daly Waters is one of the Northern Territory's quirkiest towns accustomed with a local pub that shares the same name

Hahndorf, South Australia

Hahndorf is a small town in Adelaide Hills that resembles a city straight out of Germany.

It was founded by German immigrants and keeps up the appearance with pubs and restaurants all serving German cuisine.

Even the accommodation mimics a German village but few know such a unique place even exists in South Australia.

Hahndorf is a small town in Adelaide Hills that resembles a city straight out of Germany

Talbot Bay, the Kimberleys, Western Australia

Talbot Bay is known for its remarkable horizontal waterfalls that were once described by nature and wildlife expert David Attenborough as 'one of the greatest natural wonders of the world'.

The waterfalls flow horizontally instead of vertically due to tidal currents moving through narrow gorges which pushes the water into rapid like formations.

The breathtaking site is only available by helicopter or plane but is highly recommended for anyone travelling to the Kimberley region.
U.S. Pacific Fleet Reaffirms Confidence in USS Theodore Roosevelt

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS200508-16

Release Date: 5/8/2020 10:27:00 AM

From U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (NNS) -- Two days after returning from Guam, the U.S. Pacific Fleet's senior leaders stressed their appreciation and confidence in the multi-service, multi-agency response to the Navy's COVID-stricken aircraft carrier.

"After being able to get to Guam and seeing the operation in action, Fleet (Master Chief James Honea) and I were enormously impressed, having watched the Sailors fight through this adversary to get back on their ship," said Fleet Commander Adm. John C. Aquilino. "I'm more proud than ever having seen firsthand what our Sailors have had to do."

Both leaders, separately self-quarantining now that they're back in Hawaii, spent the weekend on Guam visiting USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), as well as various commands, Guam's leaders, and some of the roughly 5,000 Sailors who were manning the ship, quarantined, or in isolation while their nearly 1,100-foot, 97,000-ton carrier went through a massive, aggressive cleaning.

The multiple stops left the men confident with the spirit of the Sailors and those taking care of them.

"The joint team  the Marine Corps, Air Force, Army, and Coast Guard  all came together to support shipmates in need," Aquilino said. "They maintained the quality of health, quality of care, and quality of life for the TR crew across multiple locations on the island. An operation such as this has not been executed in my 36 years of doing this business."

The Pacific Fleet Master Chief agreed.

"The magnitude and complexity of the support operations that they're running over there are very well detailed and well-orchestrated," Honea said. "It was developed without any kind of script or playbook to go by."

Aquilino credited Guam's governor and "the people and patriots of Guam," who he and Honea said donated care packages consisting of personal items, snacks, and comfort items. They also appreciated the contributions of the USO through the base Chaplain.

Other support included Wi-Fi, phones for Sailors to call family back home, laundry services, and transportation. It's the kind of care one would expect from family.

"We reinforced with the Sailors that we're family," Honea said. "We thanked them for their endurance and their strength of will and character to face this virus and to get back to sea."

Thousands of Sailors returned to USS Theodore Roosevelt as the aircraft carrier prepares to return to sea.

"The Sailors are extremely eager to get back to sea," Honea said. "This is a tough team that you wouldn't want to take on. Don't underestimate them."

Some of TR's Sailors themselves demonstrated some of that resilience and talked about adjusting and, as Aviation Ordnanceman 1st Class Jose Morris put it, "getting back into the groove."

While a few admitted that social distancing or wearing masks every day might take getting used to, they shrugged it off as part of life.

"We don't know (a lot) about this virus," said Morris, from Oak Harbor, Washington. "It's a new world that we live in that we have to adjust to."

On board the carrier, Yeoman 2nd Class Amber Bennett, from Fayetteville, North Carolina, said she's "being deliberately, overly paranoid" and has "a big thing of sanitizer" in her office that she ensures everyone uses before conducting business.

"I stay back away from the counter while I'm helping people, and we don't let more than one customer in the office at a time," said Bennett, who has five years of service.

Morris, who has been in the Navy for 19 years, is looking forward to returning to the flight deck.

"It's hard to explain," he said. "It gives you a sense of purpose of why you're in the military."

Still, getting some 5,000 people underway must be done with caution, Aquilino said.

"The Sailors on that ship have helped our Navy and this nation learn about this virus," he said. "There is still more to learn. I'm confident that all those Sailors will get rid of this virus and we'll put them back to sea only when they're healthy."

Both Aquilino and Honea stressed the positive impressions every TR Sailor left on them despite the dangers and strains, both physical and mental, of a threat they weren't expecting.

"The Sailors on TR are the most experienced veterans in fighting this virus," Honea said. "The leadership team there are developing a good plan to continue to deal with this virus when they go back out to sea and operate."

Moreover, he said, the Sailors "can continue to lean on each other and have confidence in one another, and I know that they can overcome this. They've proven that already."

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Barrage of rockets target Mitiga airport as six civilians killed in Libyas capital during major bombardment.

Shelling of Tripolis airport hit fuel tanks and damaged passenger planes after forces loyal to Libyas renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar fired dozens of rockets into Tripoli.

Six people were killed and dozens of others wounded in the attacks, the interior ministry said in a statement, which included as many as 80 rocket strikes.

The transport ministry said one of the damaged planes was preparing to fly to Spain to retrieve Libyans stranded in Europe by the coronavirus lockdown.

Video shared by an airport worker showed black smoke billowing over the apron. Photographs showed shrapnel damage sprayed across the nose of a passenger plane.

The attack on Saturday was the latest to target Mitiga International Airport in Libyas capital, the seat of the countrys internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA). Haftars eastern-based forces have been trying to seize Tripoli since April last year.

Al Jazeeras Mahmoud Abdelwahed, reporting from Tripoli, said plumes of black smoke were seen billowing over the airport.

         . pic.twitter.com/FRQtTBwlUP    (@LibyaAlKhabar) May 9, 2020

Damage was visible in several areas of Tripoli including the Rixos Hotel, Nasser Forest, and the Bab Ben Ghashir district after the bombardment. The area was cleared of civilians by the GNA forces to ensure the safety of the population, officials said.

Saturdays attacks came hours after the UN Support Mission in Libya condemned the indiscriminate attacks on civilians in Tripoli, saying they may amount to war crimes.

The airport has repeatedly been attacked by Haftars Libyan National Army (LNA), which in April last year launched an operation to capture Tripoli from the GNA. Civilian flights stopped in March because of frequent shelling even before the country imposed a lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic

Haftars forces say that there is a drone launcher in that airport  Turkish drones to target Haftar forces locations in the south and many other locations, Abdelwahed said.

According to the United Nations, four-fifths of the 130 civilian casualties recorded in the Libyan conflict in the first quarter of the year were caused by LNA ground fighting.

Fighting intensifies

Late on Thursday, Turkey and Italy said the area around their embassies in Tripoli was shelled, leading the European Union to condemn the incident, which it said was attributal to Haftars forces.

LNA spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari denied the LNA had shelled the area. He has not yet commented on Saturdays shelling at Mitiga.

Turkey supports the GNA and has signed a military cooperation agreement with it to help the fight against Haftars LNA, which is backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and other countries.

The attack came days after at least five civilians were killed in shelling blamed on the LNA and followed the launch of an operation by the GNA to seize the key al-Watiya airbase, southwest of Tripoli, from Haftars forces.





Series of setbacks

Haftars fighters have suffered a series of setbacks in recent weeks in their year-long campaign to seize Tripoli, with pro-GNA forces expelling them from two key coastal cities west of the capital.

The LNAs military defeats have coincided with Turkeys entrance into the conflict, and its use of weaponised drones targetting Haftars troops and supply lines.

The GNA rejected Haftars unilateral call for a ceasefire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan for fear he would use the truce as an opportunity to regroup.

Last month, the United Nations, the European Union and several countries called on Libyas warring sides to lay down their arms during Ramadan.

Libya has been in turmoil since 2011, when a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was later killed.

For years, the country has been split between the rival administrations in the east and the west, each backed by armed groups supported by an array of foreign powers.

This week the UN again raised alarm that ordinary Libyans are bearing the brunt of an increasingly deadly siege by eastern-based forces under Haftars command.

The fighting has killed hundreds of civilians and displaced over 150,000, threatening to push Libya into a major conflagration on the scale of the 2011 uprising.
Details added first version published on 19:21 (may 7)

BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 7

Trend:

The Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh has issued a statement in connection with the 28th anniversary of the occupation of Shusha city, Trend reports on May 7.

Shusha city, occupied by the Armenian armed forces on May 8, 1992, was one of the most strategically important spots in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, said the statement.

As a result of the occupation, Shusha city and its 30 villages were destroyed, 195 civilians were killed, 165 people were injured, 58 people went missing, and more than 24,000 residents became internally displaced persons (IDPs) and settled in 58 districts of Azerbaijan.

Shusha, distinguished by its unique urban architecture, had 17 blocks: Gurdlar, Seyidli, Julfalar, Guyulug, Chuxur, Dordlar Gurdu, Haj Yusifli, Dord Chinar, Chol Gala, Mardinli, Saatl, Kocharli, Mamay, Khoja Marjanl, Damirchi, Hamam Gabag v Taza mahalla, including bathhouses, mosques and springs.

As a result of the occupation of Shusha, the Armenian armed forces looted, burned and destroyed 25 schools, 31 libraries, 20 medical institutions, 17 clubs, 8 houses of culture, 4 colleges, two branches of institutes, 7 kindergartens, 4 cinemas, 5 culture and recreational parks, a tourist base, 2 hotels, a branch of the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum, Shusha State Drama Theater, Shusha Television, Oriental Musical Instrument Factory, State Art Gallery, Childrens Health School, said the statement.

Twenty eight years have passed since the occupation of Shusha, which is one of the cultural centers of Azerbaijan. We do not lose hope and believe that we will definitely return to Shusha and restore our ruined city, the statement said.

On behalf of the 80,000-people Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, including the 30,000-strong Azerbaijani community of Shusha district, we call on the world community to uphold our country's fair position so that the aggression of Armenia against the Azerbaijani people that continues today, and to give an objective legal assessment of the occupation, the statement said.

We declare that an equitable settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict is possible only after the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied Azerbaijani territories and the return of the ethnic cleansed Azerbaijanis to their native lands. Being the Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, we are ready to live in peace with the Armenian community of the region within the internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan. Only in this case can a sustainable and just peace be ensured in the region, the statement said.
Choekyi spent four years in prison for producing a shirt that celebrated the Dalai Lamas 80th birthday. Liver and kidney damage from treatment received. For the past few days he could hardly speak. The family was also persecuted.

Beijing (AsiaNews / Rfa) - A former Tibetan political prisoner died on May 7 in Serthar county (Sichuan), part of the historic Tibetan region of Kham. Choekyi died in his home after the authorities repeatedly rejected his request for hospitalization in Lhasa (Tibet). He had been ill for some time, the result of the harsh treatment he suffered during his captivity.

Choekyi, who was also a Buddhist monk, spent four years in Mianyang (Sichuan) prison. He had been convicted in 2015 for making a shirt that celebrated the 80th birthday of the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso. According to sources quoted by Radio Free Asia, he suffered brutal prison torture, which caused severe liver and kidney damage.

Those who were able to visit him recently found him in serious condition. Jetsang Takmik, also a former Tibetan political prisoner, described him as "fragile" and almost unable to speak.

In addition to banning him from reaching Lhasa, the authorities also prevented him from receiving medical care at a facility in his county. The family was ready to pay medical bills.

Family members managed to organize a funeral according to local traditions and rites. Some of them have also been persecuted. On the day of Choekyi's arrest, the police had picked up his sister Kyidzom and his grandson Drakpa. The police detained and beat them for two weeks before releasing them.
Every day when she gets home from work, Rachel Spray parks her car inside the garage of a home she hasn't entered since early April. She takes off her shoes and leaves them in the backseat. In flip-flops, the nurse and mom of three walks away from her driveway, covering about 100 feet, and comes to a camping trailer with swooping beige and brown designs across its front door.

It is an RV, on loan from her parents. It is her home in exile.

"Before, I'd come home, I'd help take care of the kids," says Spray, a nurse at a Kaiser Permanente Fresno Medical Center. "I was always helping with the homework, we'd have dinner together." These days, she adds, "I go home, and I go straight to the RV."

This kind of story isn't just playing out in an RV in Fresno.

Spray is among the untold thousands of nurses and health care workers who have found themselves on the frontline of a the fight against a global pandemic. Across the country, nurses and medical workers are shouldering the burdens of medical systems strained to their breaking points.

From an RV in Fresno to an apartment in Chicago to a pregnancy ward in Boston, mothers on the frontlines of the coronavirus outbreak spoke to Patch about what they've seen  and sacrificed.

Borrowed from her parents, the camping RV is "like 100 degrees right now," says Rachel Spray. (Photo courtesy of Rachel Spray)

"Boring, Lonely And Hot"

The RV in Spray's yard was never meant to be a guest house. In its former life, it was towed by Spray's parents on road trips to Arizona, Oregon and Idaho, the vehicle a veritable living room on wheels, complete with a sofa, recliners, a kitchen and bedroom. Unfortunately for Spray, what it doesn't have is a cooling system that can handle Fresno's triple-digit heat.

"It's boring, lonely and hot," Spray says, summing up her state of isolation. "It's like 100 degrees inside, and if I use the air-conditioning too long it pops the breaker."

When she's not at the hospital, Spray says she fills her time by journaling, watching TV and talking with her family by phone. When her kids come to visit, knocking on the door with homework questions, they don't enter the RV. They talk outside, at a 10-foot distance.

Story continues

"The way for me to get through this is to keep taking care of patients; I've never picked up this many extra shifts since I've worked there," she says. "I've never been one to take extra work. I usually spend time off with my family."

For Spray, the decision to move out came in April. She says she began hearing about nurses getting sick, and she grew alarmed after hospital staff were instructed to reuse their N95 masks between patients, contradicting the previous safety policy. She stopped feeling safe at work. She couldn't bring that danger home to her kids.

"My girls, both have pretty bad asthma," she says. "They've had pneumonia at least half a dozen times each. One of them has been on a ventilator before. I fear that if they get it it's not going to be good."

Since March, more than 9,000 U.S. medical workers have been infected with coronavirus, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported, while National Nurses United reports88 nurses have died amid nationwide shortages of protective gear. If the hospital wouldn't, or couldn't, protect its nurses with sufficient supplies of protective gear, Spray reasoned, she would had to take action to protect herself.

She was caught between obligations  between her duty to patients at Kaiser, and her love for her children and husband waiting for her at home. Spray split the difference  by moving into an RV in her yard.

"I miss my family," Spray says, though she notes she's not the only nurse in her unit to self-isolate. One nurse is living out of a hotel room. Another moved in with a second nurse, but eventually moved back home to take care of her young children.

"It's already hard on our kids," Spray notes. "They're dealing with the stress of being pulled out of school. My daughter was supposed to graduate this year. And then mom leaves."

"It's tough," she adds. "It's tough all around. "

Chicago nurse Falguni Dave treats COVID-19 positive jail detainees. "I chose this work," she says, "because I know i can make a difference in somebody's life." (Photo courtesy of Falguni Dave)

"I Can't Bring This Home"

It started with one patient.

It was early March, and Falguni Dave, a charge nurse at Stroger Hospital in Chicago, noted the symptoms with increasing alarm. The patient had appeared in her unit at 9 a.m. By noon, he was feverish, in the ICU and intubated.

Could it be coronavirus?

At the time, hospitals still didn't have access to quick testing. Dave remembers reading through the patients' charts one last time before leaving her shift that day. She thought of her husband, who is diabetic, and her elderly mother-in-law at home.

"I decided, after that day at work, I wouldn't go back to my family," Dave recalls, "until I figured out what was going on with the patient."

It was a time of confusion. Dave spent the next four days in a hotel room, but decided to return home after the patient's test results came back negative for coronavirus, despite seeming to show the major symptoms.

Slowly, and then quickly, the coronavirus was spreading throughout the country.

On March 16, Illinois passed 100 cases, and Falguni says a hospital administrator called her in for a meeting: Her unit, Falguni was told, was being converted to COVID-19 care for detainees at the Cook County Jail.

She had one day to prepare, and spent one last night at home. The next day, on March 18, she rolled a light-colored suitcase into the apartment her daughter, a sophomore at the University of Illinois-Chicago, had vacated after in-person classes were canceled. This was her new home.

"We're constantly in front of these COVID-positive patients, in and out every day. We're picking up their meal trays, taking the garbage out of the room," she says. "I told my husband, 'I can't bring this home.' "

The first week in the apartment was the hardest.

It was the first time Dave has lived on her own, and she says she found herself crying, "randomly, for no reason," in the empty space, missing her daughter, her son and her husband back at home. And while they stay connected through calls and the internet, it's not the same. And for Dave, it's not enough.

"You want to see your loved ones face to face," she says. "My husband, he comes to visit, and he'll stand on the street, about 12, 13 feet away from me with a mask on, just to see me. We've been married 25 years, we've never been apart this long in our entire lives of knowing each other."

She knows other nurses are making similar choices.

One rented a studio apartment in order to have a clean place to change her clothes and sanitize before returning home to a newborn baby. Another is living in a hotel across the street from a medical facility. Another dropped her 4-year-old daughter off at a relative's house for the foreseeable future.

At the same time, Dave has seen the ravages of the disease up close, her sickened patients shackled to the hospital beds. To date, more than 800 Cook County detainees and jail staff have been infected; seven detainees have died.

Despite the risk and ongoing shortages of protective gear, Dave says she can't stop being a nurse. Not at a time like this. Her patients need her, and even though nurses are told to limit their time with the infected, Dave will sit next to their beds, hold their hands, and let them cry until they're ready to talk.

Later, she goes home alone. It's been nearly two months. But she's not thinking about giving up.

"Everybody has a reason to walk away from hard situations; they have the right to do so, I can tell you that myself," she says.

"But," she adds, "I signed up for this, because I truly wanted to care for the sick, and I chose to work at a specific facility that serves the underserved in Chicago. Underneath all my PPE getup, I try to be the person that I am, what I signed up to do."





Elizabeth Kester says the coronavirus has changed births. (Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Kester)

"Admiration And Awe"

Years before she became the director of nursing in the labor and delivery unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Elizabeth Kester was a patient, pregnant and going through a difficult birth with her first child.

"I just felt such admiration and awe for nursing, particularly the maternity nurses," she says. "I remember thinking, 'I can't believe these people do this every day.' "

She'd soon believe it.

The experience ultimately changed Kester's life, not just in that she became a mother, but in that the moment of admiration led her to cut ties with a long career advertising. In 2007, she became a nurse, and by 2013 moved up to leadership role in a pregnancy ward, managing nurses just like those who had had inspired her.

Of course, while most hospitals have halted or delayed non-critical surgeries and have converted resources into units treating the outbreak, pregnancies aren't taking a break.

The hospital's pivot to a primary mission of infection containment, she says, "has pulled me out of a lot of work that I found really meaningful, and it's totally changed the focus of my work."

Indeed, while Kester's normal day-to-day duties would involve close monitoring of the unit's 120 nurses, she's embroiled in the vast sea of logistical planning required to keep those nurses protected. On a recent day, finalizing which color of protective gowns go in which bin for cleaning was a multi-hour ordeal.

And for a pregnancy ward, the sight of an empty waiting room is reminder of the painful sacrifices being made by patients. There are no crowds of waiting family members eager to see the new mother and coo over the blanket-wrapped baby.

"This is a tough time to be giving birth in a hospital," she says. "A lot of patients envision their birth experience going a certain way, the same way people grow up thinking about their wedding day. Having to redefine their birth experience is hard enough."

As a director, Kester isn't on the clinical frontlines of coronavirus response. But she watches those who are. Recently, she says, she's noticed a new kind of greeting shared between heavily PPE'd nurses as they pass each other.

"When the nurses are in a mask, goggles, cap and gown, it's really hard to connect; you're just looking at set of eyes," she says. "In the last few days, you walk down the hallway, and everybody has a mask on, and you hear, 'I'm smiling at you.'"

Soon, one hopes, the need for masks will disappear. Families will welcome babies to the world. In Chicago, Falguni Dave will see her husband again, and in Fresno, Rachel Spray will sit down for dinner with her kids.

On that day, after all the sacrifice, their smiles will be self-evident.

This article originally appeared on the Across America Patch
By Express News Service

GUWAHATI: Hagrama Mohilary, president of Assam's regional political party Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF), urged the Central government to confer the Bharat Ratna on Upendranath Brahma, posthumously.

Revered as Bodofa -- the Father of the Bodos -- Brahma, who also served as the president of All Bodo Students' Union, had ignited the Bodoland movement in 1987, which later metamorphosed into a strong and progressive cause.

In a series of tweets, Mohilary said: "Our leader Bodofa Upendranath Brahma has always remained an icon of Bodo leadership, sacrifice and unity. Live and let live was his mantra and he made relentless efforts to fulfill the Bodo aspirations. He had spearheaded the Bodo movement which ended up in the formation of BTC (Bodoland Territorial Council. To honour his work and sacrifice, we would demand the central government to bestow the Bharat Ratna upon Shri Upendranath Brahma."

ALSO READ | COVID-19: After doctor tests positive, 386 other doctors, health workers quarantined in Guwahati

Stating that Bodofa led a democratic mass movement for a separate state within the ambit of Indian Constitution, Mohilary added: "He dreamt of not only uplifting the Bodos but the entire backward classes in the state and to realize this dream, Bodofa brought a revolutionary change in the society."

"His life was dedicated for social and economic justice for the entire backward masses. It is time we show our gratitude towards Bodofa for the development we are witnessing today," Mohilary said.

Hoping that President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi would confer the Bharat Ratna on the Bodofa and keep alive his thoughts and philosophy, Mohilary added that Bodofa "is a role model for every Indian."




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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Brussels  Sat, May 9, 2020 15:00 620 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd6eddcc 2 News European-Commission,travel-ban,Schengen,coronavirus,COVID-19,travel Free

The European Commission on Friday urged EU member states to extend the temporary ban on non-essential travel into the bloc by one month until June 15, a statement said.

Despite an initial easing of measures to combat the new coronavirus pandemic within the European Union, "the situation remains fragile both in Europe and in the world", the statement said.

This is the second time the EU executive has called on member states to extend the travel ban since it was introduced on March 17.

The closure of the external borders of the EU and the Schengen travel area has a number of exceptions including for EU nationals and their families, long-term residents, diplomats, medical staff, researchers and cross-border commuters.

It also allows travel from countries in the European Economic Area -- including Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein -- as well as Britain, which left the bloc in January.

"We will have to gradually put an end to restrictions on free movement and internal border controls, before we can lift entry restrictions at the external borders and guarantee access to the EU for third country nationals," the EU's Home Affairs European Commissioner Ylva Johansson said.

Many EU member states have established controls at their borders even with fellow members in an attempt to contain the virus, both on people and on the transport of goods, in a derogation to rules of the Schengen passport-free area.

"Restoring the normal functioning of free movement within the Schengen area will be our first objective, as soon as the health situation allows," Johansson said.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP)  Irans Revolutionary Guard launched its first satellite into space Wednesday, dramatically revealing what experts described as a secret military space program that could advance its ballistic missile development amid wider tensions between the Islamic Republic and the U.S.

Using a mobile launcher at a new launch site, the Guard said it put the Noor," or "Light," satellite into a low orbit circling the Earth. While the U.S., Israel and other countries declined to immediately confirm the satellite reached orbit, their criticism suggested they believed the launch happened.

Iranian state TV late Wednesday showed footage of what it said was the satellite and said it had orbited the earth within 90 minutes. It said the satellite's signals were being received.

The launch comes as Iran has abandoned all the limitations of its tattered nuclear deal with world powers that President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from in 2018. Trumps decision set off a monthslong series of escalating attacks that culminated in a U.S. drone strike in January that killed a top Iranian general in Iraq, followed by Tehran launching ballistic missiles at American soldiers in Iraq.

As the world grapples with the coronavirus pandemic and historically low oil prices, the missile launch may signal a new willingness to take risks by Iran. Trump himself later tweeted he told the U.S. Navy  to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea, both raising energy prices and renewing the risk of conflict.

Now that you have the maximum pressure campaign, Iran doesnt have that much to lose anymore, said Fabian Hinz, a researcher at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California.

The three-stage satellite launch took off from Irans Central Desert, the Guard said, without elaborating.

Hinz said based on state media images, the launch appeared to have happened at a previously unacknowledged Guard base near Shahroud, Iran, some 330 kilometers (205 miles) northeast of Tehran. The base is in Semnan province, which hosts the Imam Khomeini Spaceport from which Iran's civilian space program operates.

Story continues

The paramilitary force said it used a "Qased," or Messenger, satellite carrier to put the device into space, a previously unheard-of system. It described the system as using both liquid and solid fuel. Such a system may allow Iran to more quickly fuel a rocket, something crucial in an offensive weapon system, Hinz said, while stressing more information was needed about the launch.

Wednesday marked the 41st anniversary of the founding of the Guard by Irans late leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. An image of the rocket that carried the satellite showed it bore a Quranic verse typically recited when going on a journey, as well as a drawing of the Earth with the word Allah in Farsi wrapped around it. It remained unclear what the satellite it carried does.

Today, the worlds powerful armies do not have a comprehensive defense plan without being in space, and achieving this superior technology that takes us into space and expands the realm of our abilities is a strategic achievement, said Gen. Hossein Salami, the head of the Guard.

The Guard, which operates its own military infrastructure parallel to Irans regular armed forces, is a hard-line force answerable only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

International criticism of the launch came quickly.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Iran needs to be held accountable for what its done.

At a Pentagon news conference Wednesday, senior officials called the satellite launch a provocation.

We view this as further evidence of Irans behavior that is threatening in the region, said David Norquist, the deputy secretary of defense.

Gen. John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the launched vehicle went a very long way. He said it was too early to say whether it successfully placed a satellite in orbit.

Israel's Foreign Ministry described the launch as a facade for Irans continuous development of advanced missile technology. German Foreign Ministry spokesman Christofer Burger warned that the Iranian rocket program has a destabilizing effect on the region and is also unacceptable in view of our European security interests.

U.S. Army Maj. Rob Lodewick, a Pentagon spokesman, told The Associated Press that American officials continue to monitor Irans program.

While Tehran does not currently have intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), its desire to have a strategic counter to the United States could drive it to develop an ICBM, Lodewick said.

The U.S. alleges such satellite launches defy a U.N. Security Council resolution calling on Iran to undertake no activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

Iran, which long has said it does not seek nuclear weapons, previously maintained its satellite launches and rocket tests do not have a military component. The Guard launching its own satellite now calls that into question.

Tehran also says it hasnt violated a U.N. resolution on its ballistic missile program as it only called upon Iran not to conduct such tests.

Wednesdays launch, however, raises new questions. While Iran isnt known to have the know-how to miniaturize a nuclear weapon for a ballistic missile, any advances toward an intercontinental ballistic missile would put Europe and potentially the U.S. in range. Iran long has said it limits its ballistic missiles' range to 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) under Khamenei's orders, which puts the Mideast but not the West in its reach.

Iranian commentators described Wednesday's launch as honoring Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam, a Guard commander who led its missile development until his death in 2011 in a massive explosion at a facility outside of Tehran that killed 16 others. The state-run IRAN newspaper around that time quoted the slain commander's brother as saying he worked on an ICBM program, though the brother later denied that in subsequent interviews.

Iran has suffered several failed satellite launches in recent months. A separate fire at the Imam Khomeini Space Center in February 2019 also killed three researchers, authorities said at the time.

A rocket explosion in August drew even the attention of Trump, who later tweeted what appeared to be a classified surveillance image of the launch failure. The successive failures raised suspicion of outside interference in Irans program, something Trump himself hinted at by tweeting at the time that the U.S. was not involved in the catastrophic accident.

Over the past decade, Iran has sent several short-lived satellites into orbit and in 2013 launched a monkey into space.

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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi, Mehdi Fattahi and Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran; Aron Heller and Josef Federman in Jerusalem; Darlene Superville, Robert Burns and Matthew Lee in Washington and Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.
The Centre on Saturday said it is planning measures to ease difficulties that migrant workers were facing and states ought to prepare local databases urgently to be able to respond to their immediate needs of food and shelter as thousands of them left jobless because of the Covid-19 lockdown continued to leave cities.

Union food and public distribution minister Ram Vilas Paswan said he has asked food ministers of states to document and locate migrant workers in major cities, give them provisional ration cards and provide estimates of ration to federal authorities.

The Prime Minister is worried. I am worried. But we need a system to take food to the migrants. That is why we have recommended state food ministers that at least basic details such as location, number of migrants, clusters, and food requirements must be prepared urgently, Paswan said.

Paswan said 810 million beneficiaries, nearly two-thirds of the population, of the public distribution system, who are eligible for subsidised food, were receiving their regular ration.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, these beneficiaries are also being given double their current food entitlement free of cost for three months. The scheme was launched on March 26 to protect the poor from the impact of national lockdown imposed to contain the spread of Covid-19.

We have told food ministers if there are needy people who may or may not have a ration card, or are outside the system, like migrant workers, we have enough stocks, Paswan said. He said states could also organise kitchens by utilizing funds under the State Disaster Relief Fund and National Disaster Relief Fund to tide over the immediate crisis.

Some states have to start provisioning for migrant workers, Paswan said. The Centre will provide grains as per the current requirements. But we need estimates. How do you intervene otherwise? he asked. The Delhi government has said it was reaching 10 lakhs [1 million], such people, for instance.

India has an estimated 140 million migrant workers who keep the urban economy afloat. They belong mostly to poorer states such as Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Bihar and shift to more prosperous ones like Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu to work as manual labour. Many haul bricks and building material at construction sites or work in shifts in factories.

Jobless migrant workers were caught in a survival battle as factories, shops, and labour sites were shut with the imposition of the lockdown on March 25. Many of them began walking home hundreds of miles away under harsh conditions, hungry, thirsty and tired, and set off an unprecedented crisis.

Federally held food stocks currently stand at around 56 million tonne, while 6 million tonne is needed for the next three months.

How would it feel if the weakest members of a family starve despite the households granary being full? asked economist Jean Dreze, a long-time advocate of the right to food. He said food should be given without documentation to everyone who needs it. Dreze has urged for universalizing access to the public distribution system.

Construction is the single largest source of employment for migrant workers in India. According to the National Sample Survey Office data, 33.3 million people moved out of farming to the construction sector between 2004-05 and 2011-12.

The plight of migrant workers could have been cushioned by a federal programme launched last year to make subsidized rations portable. The programme, known as One Nation One Ration Card, is still work in progress.

The scheme is still not fully geared for seamless inter-state transactions. Inter-state portability, whereby a migrant gets food in a state other than his own, is being tried in select clusters of 12 contiguous states.

Paswan said he had approved the on-boarding of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu on the One Nation One Ration Card platform.

According to Chinmay Tumbe, the author of India Moving - A History of Migration and faculty at Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Indias migration is circular in the sense that people keep moving from city to city until they return home at one point before moving out again.

This means a portable food distribution system has to be capable of continually tracking migrant workers, who make up 29% of the nations workforce.

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Teamwork Communications Group has been selected as the PR and communications partner of Nova IVF Fertility (NIF), a leading IVF and advanced fertility treatment providing chain with a pan India presence. As in charge of its media initiatives, Teamwork will be responsible for devising a creative and engaging strategy for Novas fertility treatment centres.

Teamwork Group won the account after a multi-agency pitch followed by a competitive bidding process. The mandate for Nova IVF Fertility will be managed by the Delhi office of the agency with adequate support from its nationwide team and associates to ensure strong positioning and greater visibility of the brand among targeted audiences.

At Nova IVF Fertility, our constant endeavour is to provide the most advanced Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) available to Indian couples seeking fertility solutions. India has seen a significant rise in the number of patients opting for infertility treatments. However, lack of awareness and taboo associated with the subject still prevents many couples from seeking help. In our efforts to address these issues and further expand the reach of our solutions, we are delighted to bring aboard Teamwork Communications. We are sure their expertise will help us establish a focused communication approach, reach out to more people and create better awareness, said Mr Shobhit Agarwal, CEO, Nova IVF Fertility.

Teamwork Group has wide ranging experience in the field of building and managing communication strategies for healthcare institutions. The agency, which completed a decade in its business, has been serving as a communication partner for a series of premium healthcare institutions across India including Columbia Asia, Paras Healthcare, Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, Apollo TeleHealth, Jindal Naturecure Institute and Motherhood Hospital.

Commenting on winning the PR mandate for Nova IVF, Ms Nikky Gupta, Co-Founder and Director, Teamwork Communication Group, said, We are honored to be selected as the strategic communications partner for Nova IVF Fertility , a renowned organisation which has built its distinct identity in the field of infertility treatment in India. As a team, we deeply understand the needs and communication strategies required for different organizations. Our endeavour will be to devise sustainable communication campaigns that help raise awareness about infertility treatments among end consumers on the one hand and establish the organization as a major thought leader in the fertility space on the other hand.

As a PR agency, Teamwork Communication group will offer an entire gamut of services including strategic counselling and planning, media relations, crisis management, advocacy and integrated campaign development for the organisation.

Established in 2009, Teamwork Communication Group is Indias premier engagement focused specialty media relations and communication advisory. Over the past 10 years, Teamwork Group has crafted successful media campaigns and awareness drives for multiple clients including state governments of Delhi, Kerala and Jharkhand to further their cultural, educational and tourism promotion goals. The agency also worked with GSTN, the technological backbone of Goods & Services Tax during the countrys historic transition to the new taxation regime. It has also been associated with leading healthcare organizations such as Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, Paras Healthcare, Columbia Asia Hospitals, Fortis Hospitals, among others.

The group comprises of some of the highly specialized divisions that cater to diversify clientele ranging from healthcare, education, lifestyle, corporate to start-ups.
The man who filmed the shocking footage of Ahmaud Arbery being shot dead has said through his lawyer that he followed him because there had been 'a number of crimes in the neighborhood' - despite cops saying there were no burglaries reported in the two months leading up to the jogger's murder.

William 'Roddie' Bryan, a neighbor of Gregory and Travis McMichael, was pictured Friday for the first time since his cellphone footage exposing the brutal slaying of the innocent jogger was leaked this week, as his lawyer protested his innocence.

Bryan finally broke his silence over the murder of the black jogger at the hands of the white ex-cop and son, claiming he was only a 'witness' and not an accomplice to the shocking attack.

His attorney Kevin Gough denied claims Bryan was armed at the time of the killing and insisted he is 'not a vigilante', while calls continue to grow from the victim's family for his arrest in connection to the murder.

Gough also said the shooting simply 'start[ed] happening in front of him' and Bryan had handed over the footage to police 'immediately' after the incident.

William 'Roddie' Bryan (left as his attorney released a statement Friday), who filmed the father and son vigilantes gun down Ahmaud Arbery (right), has claimed he was only a 'witness' to the unarmed black jogger's slaying and handed the footage to cops 'immediately'

This comes after Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son Travis McMichael, 34, were arrested Thursday and charged with murder and aggravated assault for the shooting death of Arbery, 25, in Brunswick, Georgia, back in February.

Director of the GBI Vic Reynolds said Friday that Bryan could also be arrested for his part in the murder after he watched and shot the footage of the attack.

Gough told Weekend TODAY Bryan had arrived at the scene after he saw Arbery running through the neighborhood and being pursued by the McMichaels in their truck.

'He was in his yard and this just starts happening in front of him,' said Gough.

'He gets in his car and is trying to document that.'

When asked why Bryan followed and filmed the attack, his attorney said 'he was trying to get [Arbery's] picture... because there had been a number of crimes in this neighborhood and he didn't recognize him and a vehicle that he did recognize was following him.'

However, Glynn County Police Lt. Cheri Bashlor confirmed Friday that no burglaries had been reported in the neighborhood in the seven weeks leading up to Arbery's death.

Bryan (left) pictured with his attorney Kevin Gough (right) Friday has said he was 'in his yard and this just starts happening in front of him' so he got in his car and went to the scene

AHMAUD ARBERY'S HEARTBROKEN MOM SAYS SHE HOPES HER SON'S KILLERS SPEND THE REST OF THEIR LIVES BEHIND BARS Ahmaud Arberys heartbroken mom has said she hopes her son's killers spend the rest of their lives behind bars and revealed he was born on Mother's Day in 1994 so this weekend will be 'especially hard' without him. Wanda Cooper spoke out over her son's brutal slaying on what would have been his 26th birthday and slammed law enforcement for failing to bring his killers to justice for months. Today was a very emotional day as it was his birthday, she told CNN Tonight Friday. I felt better after the arrests last evening. But the weekend is going to be especially hard as I had Ahmaud back in 1994 on Mothers Day. Cooper blasted the authorities for letting her son's killers walk free for a staggering 74 days after his death, saying they simply took the 'words from the actual murderers'. I think that they were actually taking the words from the actual murderers,' she told CNN. 'They took their word, they believed what they said and they had not planned to make an arrest. Cooper said thanked the public for their support and said she hopes justice will now be served. 'What Im seeking is those guys - all the guys who were involved in the murder of my son - go to prison possibly for the rest of their lives,' she said. The family's attorney Lee Merritt also called for justice to also be handed to the district attorneys who failed to prosecute the killers. 'We have to get those DAs out that made a decision not to prosecute the case - we have to go after them,' he said. Merritt said it was only through public pressure that the McMichaels had finally faced murder charges. 'The video already existed, it was part of the investigation it was the public seeing the video and allowing us to add common sense to it and raise our voice and demand these men be arrested' that led to action, he said. 'We have been asking the DA's office for this video for months since this happened and we were not given a copy of it,' he added. The Brunswick DA's office has come under fire for its handling of the case. The first two DA's recused themselves from the case and the third passed it onto a grand jury before the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) stepped in and took over the investigation - leading to the subsequent arrests of the McMichaels. Advertisement

Bashlor told CNN there had only been one incident reported back on January 1, when someone had stolen a firearm from an unlocked truck outside the McMichaels home.

Claims of Bryan's innocence also contradict a memo from one of the former district attorneys on the case which said Bryan had joined in the pursuit of the innocent jogger.

Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney George E. Barnhill said in the memo, obtained by USA Today, that all three men had been in 'hot pursuit of a burglary suspect'.

Gough released a statement to reporters Friday afternoon, while Bryan stood by his side, in which he also protested his client's innocence, insisting he was simply a 'witness to the tragic shooting and death of Ahmaud Arbery'.

'From day one Mr Bryan has fully cooperated with law enforcement officers investigating this matter,' he said in the First Coast News footage.

Gough said Bryan handed the cellphone footage to police as soon as officers arrived on the scene.

Bryan 'disclosed the existence of the videotape and invited a responding Glynn County police officer to sit with him in his truck where they watched the video together,' Gough said.

'Mr Bryan went home and came back out to the crime scene shortly after at the request of law enforcement to further assist them and then later Mr Bryan voluntarily went to the Glynn County Police Department where he answered all the questions they had for him without a lawyer during a lengthy interview.'

Gough branded reports that Bryan had a firearm with him when he arrived on the scene 'irresponsible' and insisted he was 'unarmed'.

He said the 'family man' 'does not understand' why he is being investigated over the shooting.

'Despite his cooperation and for reasons he does not understand Mr Bryan has learned the family and apparently their lawyers are demanding he be arrested,' said Gough.

'He is not and never has been a vigilante.'

His attorney said Bryan had only learned he was under investigation during the GBI press conference Friday.

'Mr Bryan had never been advised by any prosecutor or law enforcement officer that he was a target of investigation into Mr Abery's death until the GBI announced it this morning in a press conference,' he said.

Gough said Bryan and his family have since become the target of 'threats' and he has lost his job.

'Mr Bryan, his fiancee, his children, his siblings and other family members, friends and neighbors now live in fear despite the fact that Mr Bryan has committed no crime and fully cooperated with the investigation into the shooting,' the attorney said.

In a press conference Friday, GBI Director Reynolds would not rule out the possibility of Bryan being arrested and charged in connection to Arbery's murder.

'Is there anyone else going to be charged in this case?' Reynolds said the community was asking him.

'I tell you that this is an active, ongoing case and investigation. If the facts take [officers] to make another arrest then they will do that.'

Ahmaud Arbery and his mother Wanda Cooper Jones. Bryan may also face arrest for his part in the murder after he watched and shot the footage of the attack, authorities said Friday

When pressed if this means Bryan will face charges over Arbery's death, Reynolds said: 'Don't know yet  we'll go wherever the evidence takes us. If there is probable cause for arrest, we'll do it. If there isn't, we won't.'

He added that Bryan's video of the fatal confrontation, which took place on February 23, was a key piece of evidence.

Authorities are 'investigating everyone involved in the case including the individual who shot that video,' he added.

It is not yet clear what Bryan - who lives just a few houses away from the McMichaels, close to where the killing took place - could be charged with.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the GBI for comment about Bryan's involvement and any potential charges he faces.

Ben Crump, an attorney for the victim's family, called for Bryan's arrest for aiding and abetting the McMichaels in Arbery's murder.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation director Vic Reynolds (pictured center) said authorities are 'investigating everyone involved in the case including the individual who shot that video'

'This is William 'Roddie' Bryan  who we believe may have been the third person in pursuit of #AhmaudArbery. If he chased down Ahmaud and filmed his execution, he should be arrested and charged with aiding and abetting them in committing this crime of murder. #RunWithMaud,' Crump wrote in a Twitter post Thursday.

The attorney who leaked the footage shot by Bryan to the press revealed Friday he did it because he believed it would clear the McMichaels of any crime.

Attorney Alan Tucker told Inside Edition Friday that he was a close friend of the two men charged with Arbery's murder.

'I really thought releasing the video would put the truth out to the public,' Tucker stated.

'If he [Arbery] had just froze and hadn't done anything, then he wouldn't have been shot.'

However after the video was uploaded to the internet Tuesday it quickly went viral and sparked nationwide outrage.

Exclusive photos show the moment Gregory McMichael (pictured) and his son Travis McMichael were arrested at their home in Brunswick, Georgia, on Thursday

An officer with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is seen leading 34-year-old Travis McMichael out of the home in handcuffs

Gregory, 64, and Travis, 34, are pictured in their mugshots. It has also emerged that Gregory, who worked as an investigator in the Brunswick DA's office, helped prosecute Arbery in the past

Presumptive Democratic nominee for President Joe Biden said it showed the McMichaels killing Aubrey 'in cold blood'.

The father and son were subsequently arrested Thursday and have been charged with murder and aggravated assault.

They made their first court appearance individually Friday afternoon via a video link from inside the Glynn County jail.

Magistrate Judge Wallace Harrell ruled that bond on both charges would have to be set by a superior court judge.

Gregory and Travis have been charged with murder and aggravated assault for the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery (pictured)

Both men were read their rights and spoke only to confirm their names. Neither had attorneys representing them in court and no further hearing dates were scheduled.

Many Americans are outraged that it has taken more than two months for the assailants to be arrested.

Protesters gathered outside the courthouse in Brunswick Friday - what would have been the victim's 26th birthday.

A crowd of several hundred people, most wearing masks, sang 'Happy Birthday' in his honor outside the Glynn County Courthouse.

President Donald Trump broke his silence over the killing that has shaken America, calling the video showing Arbery's murder 'disturbing'.

'I looked at a picture of that young man. He was in a tuxedo  I will say that that looks like a really good young guy,' Trump said on Fox & Friends Friday.

'My heart goes out to the parents and the families and friends,' he added while stating that he believed Georgia governor Brian Kemp would investigate the matter 'strongly'.

People react during a rally Friday morning outside the courthouse in Brunswick, Georgia, to protest the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed black man what would have been his 26th birthday

Protesters gathered for a march through Brunswick on Tuesday - the same day shocking footage of Arbery's death went viral

'[Brian Kemp] is going to do what's right. It's a heartbreaking thing. That was very rough, rough stuff.

'Justice getting done is the thing that solves the [racial problem]. Again, it is in the hands of the governor and I'm sure he'll do the right thing. It could be something that we didn't see on tape. If you saw, things went off tape and then back on tape.'

According to a report in The Atlanta Journal Constitution, Brunswick District Attorney Jackie Johnson blocked police from arresting the father and son team because she was friends with Gregory McMichael.

McMichael, an ex-cop, had worked as an investigator in Johnson's office until his retirement in 2019 causing Johnson to recused herself from the case a few days after the shooting.

'She shut them down to protect her friend McMichael,' Glynn County Commissioner Allen Booker told The Atlanta Journal Constition.

'They were told not to make the arrest,' added Commissioner Peter Murphy, who said he also spoke directly to Glynn County police about the incident and that officers had said there was probable cause for arrest before this.

DailyMail.com reached out to the DA's office for comment but a representative was not available.

It has also emerged that Gregory, who worked as an investigator in the Brunswick DA's office, helped prosecute Arbery in the past, Barnhill revealed.

Arbery can be seen stumbling to the ground as the clip comes to a close

Shocking cellphone video captured the moment the McMichaels confronted Arbery in the street. In the footage Travis is seen engaging in a physical fight with Arbery before shooting him with a shotgun

In a letter to Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr recusing himself from the case, Barnhill said his son and Gregory 'both helped with the previous prosecution of (Ahmaud) Arbery'.

Gregory, who retired from the DA's office in 2019, had not mentioned his involvement in the case to police.

Arbery was shot dead while out jogging on February 23 by the McMichaels.

The killers evaded prosecution for more than two months, after the father and son team initially claimed they thought Arbery was a burglar after a spate of thefts in the area, and that he attacked them when they tried to make a citizen's arrest.

But shocking cellphone footage - taken by Bryan - was leaked this week, showing the two men chasing and gunning down the victim in the street.

The video showed the men 'ambushing' Arbery as he tried to run past their pickup truck.

In the harrowing footage, Arbery is seen running at a jogging pace on the left side of a road.

A truck is parked in the road ahead of him. Gregory is inside the pickup's bed, while Travis is standing beside the open driver's side door.

Arbery 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 Arbery grappling with Travis in the street over what appears to be a shotgun or rifle.

A second shot can be heard, and Arbery can be seen punching Travis. A third shot is fired at point-blank range. Arbery staggers a few feet and falls face down.

The leak of the video sparked outrage across the nation with LeBron James, Justin Bieber and Kendall Jenner all leading cries for the McMichaels to be charged with murder.

The GBI took over the investigation on Tuesday after the video emerged and the McMichaels were finally arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault Thursday.
A 22-year-old law student of New Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia University was booked for an Instagram post over the 3 May Handwara encounter after a Bajrang Dal office bearer filed a complaint, Indian Express reported.

A 22-year-old law student of New Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia University was booked for an Instagram post over the 3 May Handwara encounter after a Bajrang Dal office bearer filed a complaint, Indian Express reported.

The FIR, lodged at Khurja Police Station in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr, alleged that Mahoor Parvez tried to sow seeds of acrimony among different sections of society through her Instagram post.

Parvez, in her now deleted Instagram post, allegedly referred to the soldiers killed in the encounter as "war criminals."

Parvez deleted all her social media accounts after an uproar.

Praveen Bhati, a lawyer and seh sanyojak of the Bajrag Dals Bulandshahr unit, told the Indian Express, While our soldiers are laying down their lives for the country, some elements within our nation who have their vested interests to serve are maligning their sacrifice.We will not tolerate such anti-national activities and will take to the streets if she was not arrested by the police soon.
Six policemen of Khajuri Khas police station in North East Delhi have tested positive for coronavirus infection, an official said on Saturday.

The infected policemen are of the ranks of constables and head constables, he said, adding that they tested positive in last couple of days. They have been admitted to hospitals. The area assistant commissioner of police and Khajuri Khas station house officer are taking precautions and have restricted themselves to self isolation, a senior police officer said.

In North East district, total 10 policemen have tested corona-positive. They include six from Khajuri Khas, two from Welcome and one each from Jyoti Nagar and Jafrabad police stations, the officer said.

Elsewhere in Delhi, a constable posted at the Mandir Marg police station had tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday. The police station barracks, where the constable stayed, was sealed. He has been put in isolation and 11 more police personnel have been quarantined at separate places.

Delhi Police Commissioner S N Shrivastava on Friday had approved creation and monitoring of a WhatsApp group of all Delhi Police personnel who have been tested positive for COVID-19.

"A DCP-rank officer has been asked to supervise the functioning of staff monitoring the let's Fight Covid-DP' WhatsApp group which coordinates the grievances of corona-infected police personnel, who are either hospitalized or are in isolation.

"This has been necessitated because of the increasing number of Covid-19 positive personnel and the need to deploy some more staff to attend helpline number as well as monitoring the WhatsApp Group in order to enable grievance redressal of the Covid- positive personnel," the order read.
In an effort to give themselves another fighting chance to catch criminals, the Southgate Police Department say they now have an app for that.

The department recently joined the Neighbors by Ring app as a crime reduction tool.

The app will allow the department to inform the community of real-time crime and safety events so residents can have a way to regularly be informed.

Those who have the app also will be able to share something they see that sparks concern directly with police.

No one has to have a Ring device in order to participate.

According to Southgate police Chief Joseph Marsh, anyone with a camera system can upload content to the app.

We encourage each and every one of you to spread the word out to the community about the Neighbors App, Marsh said.

The program is one Marsh said had been looked into before, but didnt get off the ground.

He said police participated in classes for training and a site page was built for Southgate.

Video and photos also can be uploaded for police to review.

Marsh said he doesnt know the number of participants that represent Southgate since launching the program here.

He was told that information is confidential.

Nevertheless, he said he is excited that it is being offered, noting that it will increase community awareness and give residents another platform to communicate with law enforcement.

The app was designed to help public safety agencies stay informed about their local incidents.

Text jointoday to 555888 to get the link.

According to the Neighbors Public Safety Service, the following facts are benefits to law enforcement and residents.

? Local public safety users can view and comment on public posts shared to Neighbors. Comments and posts from public safety users are clearly identified by their name, rank and agency.

? When using NPSS, public safety users can submit requests for assistance in relation to a local safety incident. Neighbors was designed so that residents decide what information is shared to the app and whether or not they wish to respond to a public agencys request.

? Public safety users can also create posts to inform their community about local crime and safety issues.

? NPSS as a way to support community-driven conversations between residents and the local public safety agencies who serve them.

? Law enforcement can view and respond to publicly posted content on the app, and request

assistance from residents to help make their neighborhoods safer.

The NPSS stresses that privacy is protected.

It promotes the following privacy facts:

? Public safety agencies do not have access to user cameras, live streams or personal information when using NPSS.

? Through Neighbors by Ring, public safety users can only view videos and other information if it has been publicly posted on the app or explicitly shared with the agency in response to a request.

? When using Neighbors by Ring, public safety agencies cannot see how many or which Ring users received a request, declined to share, or opted-out of receiving notifications for future requests.

? Neighbors by Ring does not provide public safety users with the addresses at which any devices are located.

? Residents are identified in post comments only as Neighbor #. Public safety users see the same information as regular users and do not receive additional information about the post or the users posting or commenting.

For more information or report concerns, contact police at 734-324-4438
The White House is pushing a return to a failed strategy of relying on temperature screening of air travelers to detect coronavirus despite vehement objections from the nation's top public health agency, internal documents obtained by USA TODAY show.

The discord underscores the diminished standing of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as local governments, businesses and community leaders seek direction on how to reopen safely.

Emails show CDC scientists, who have begun to own up to initial missteps in the federal response, trying to persuade the administration to reconsider.

The White House directive to check travelers in 20 U.S. airports for fever comes after earlier efforts by the CDC to screen travelers returning from China failed to stop the global pandemic from reaching the USA.

Thermal scanning as proposed is a poorly designed control and detection strategy as we have learned very clearly, Dr. Martin Cetron, the CDCs director of global mitigation and quarantine, wrote in an email to Department of Homeland Security officials Thursday. We should be concentrating our CDC resources where there is impact and a probability of mission success.

Cetron questioned his agencys legal authority to execute the airport plan, ending the email: Please kindly strike out CDC from this role.

Martin Cetron, director of global mitigation and quarantine at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, disputes the effectiveness of temperature screening at airports.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows pressed ahead anyway, directing the DHS to announce the airport screenings, which would be visible and aimed at instilling confidence in travelers, according to meeting notes.

Passengers with fever, Meadows said, would be referred to the CDC for clearance. The full plan has not been finalized.

The exchange follows two weeks of internal skirmishes between the CDC and the Office of Management and Budget over how to safely reopen the nations schools, restaurants and churches.

Separate emails show the public health agencys recommendations that bars install sneeze shields and teachers space student desks 6 feet apart were dismissed as overly prescriptive.

Story continues

As a result, detailed plans  which CDC Director Robert Redfield personally approved  have idled in administration officials email inboxes since late April. The Associated Press has reported on the draft guidelines since last Tuesday, but an official plan has not been released.

At the height of restrictions in late March and early April, more than 310 million Americans were under directives ranging from shelter in place to stay at home. Governors across the USA are rolling out a patchwork of plans to relax social distancing restrictions.

Reopening America: Federal health officials warn the bar to do so safely may be too high

The number one public health agency is completely ineffective in the most important of moments, said Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute. Its so absurd.

CDC spokesman Benjamin Haynes said in a statement that Redfield has had a seat at the table throughout the crisis.

The agencys public health expertise is helping shape our nations response, as well as the response by our state and local health department partners who continue to be on the front line fighting this war, Haynes said.

He said the CDC is revising its reopening guidance, based on White House feedback, but did not address the records that show the agency sparring with administration officials over the airport screenings, referring questions to the White House.

White House spokesman Judd Deere downplayed any discord, noting the administration has been encouraging all Americans to follow the CDC guidelines from the very beginning of this pandemic.

He said the that the CDC never cleared the reopening instructions it wanted to issue and that standardized guidance would be inappropriate across all states. Deere did not answer questions about the airport screening proposal.

In an Oval Office meeting last week, President Donald Trump signaled support for some form of increased health screenings, which airlines hope will convince travelers it's safe to fly again.

A National Guard member takes the temperature of another arriving at the international airport in Honolulu on April 21.

This week, the chief executive officer of Southwest Airlines said the Transportation Security Administration should add temperature scans to airport security checkpoints, and discount carrier Frontier announced plans to screen passengers before they board with touchless thermometers, beginning June 1.

Frontier Airlines: First US airline to announce passenger temperature checks

The White House Coronavirus Task Force requested evidence of results from the screenings after the president restricted travel from China early in the U.S. outbreak in late January, emails show.

Scientists, including those at the CDC, have repeatedly insisted that those measures miss the large percentage of people infected with COVID-19 who display no symptoms or can infect others before or without spiking a fever. And fever can be a sign of a wide range of illnesses.

In Nevada, public health officials struggled to get basic details from the CDC about contact information for the early travelers it was supposed to track, according to records obtained by USA TODAY under a public records request.

The head of the states Department of Health and Human Services sent an alarmed letter to Redfield on Feb. 11.

I am concerned about the breakdown between the communication the states have received from the CDC, Nevada public health director Richard Whitley wrote. The lack of communication in this circumstance created frustration and confusion for all those involved."

CDC spokesman Haynes said issues were addressed "as quickly and efficiently as possible," calling the airport screenings in January unprecedented.

Travelers walk through a concourse at McCarran International Airport as the coronavirus spreads across the USA on March 19 in Las Vegas.

Taking stock of failures and disease spread

The CDC has begun a public and private reckoning of its early mistakes, putting it at odds with a White House that has steadfastly defended the federal response.

An internal CDC memo, commissioned at the request of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and obtained by USA TODAY, reviews how the federal government missed early warning signs as the virus spread undetected around Washington state and California as early as late January.

The agency published a report last week highlighting the role of travel and large gatherings such as Mardi Gras, a professional conference in Boston and a small-town funeral in contributing to the early spread. The analysis was intended to help public health officials better prepare for another outbreak and not repeat mistakes.

More: Federal coronavirus strategy lurches as plans to help states change, then change again

The federal governments coronavirus failures may have started with the first case documented in the USA, the CDC acknowledged in the internal memo documenting the diseases spread.

Viral genetic sequencing suggests a link from the first case detected in late January in Washington state, involving a man who had traveled to China, to a chain of about 300 infections, although numbers vary widely.

The same viral line circulated on a Grand Princess cruise ship that departed several weeks later out of California, the first in a set of voyages that ended with the evacuation and quarantine of passengers.

Passengers are evacuated from the Grand Princess cruise ship March 10 in Oakland, Calif.

That explosion of infections occurred despite the CDCs leadership of a vigorous public health response. The Washington state residents close contacts were carefully tracked and monitored.

In the internal memo, the agency speculated that its efforts could have missed people who were infectious but only later, or never, showed symptoms. Large numbers of those infected with the virus are known to be asymptomatic, although at the time that had not been fully recognized.

The virus could have spread from this case, despite the thorough investigation and response, the CDC memo says, adding a concerning conclusion for a country facing a likely second wave of the virus: The origin of the Washington cluster will probably always be unknown.

The agencys internal accounting of how the virus spread recognizes another shortcoming in the testing in the early stages of the outbreak. Critical weeks elapsed in February when there was minimal testing capacity after the CDC botched the development of what was then the nations only coronavirus test.

In the memo, the CDC says early transmission occurred during a period of limited availability of testing. Instead of highlighting its own delays in developing a reliable test, the agency described a Food and Drug Administration policy that blocked the scaling up of testing through commercial laboratories until late February.

Consequences of testing delays still coming to light

Public health officials in Santa Clara County, California, learned from autopsies that two people who died in their homes in early and mid-February were infected with the new coronavirus  suggesting the virus was spreading locally much earlier than recognized.

These deaths occurred when very limited testing was available only through the CDC, the California health officials said in a news release, noting that the agencys guidance on testing then excluded people without a travel history or specific symptoms.

The CDCs internal memo minimizes the agencys authority in those situations.

CDC guidelines emphasized that they were just that  guidelines  and that decisions about testing needed to be made on a case-by-case basis, the document says, adding that the discoveries in Santa Clara County, which the agency confirmed in late April, were still preliminary and could easily change.

Haynes, the CDC spokesman, confirmed the government made decisions in January and February based on available data of likely exposures by those who had traveled to Wuhan, China. He said, "CDC guidance has always allowed for clinical discretion on who should be tested.

Dr. Alison Roxby, a University of Washington epidemiologist who has been testing nursing home patients in the Seattle area, said she has been consistently let down by the federal response. She compared her experiences  vying for testing supplies daily with little clear direction from the federal government  to her time working in developing African countries.

The leadership vacuum is tremendous, Roxby said, noting that inconsistent public health messages have contributed to people mistakenly believing the crisis has passed.

Its not over, Roxby said. Its the eye of the hurricane.

Contributing: Kenny Jacoby

Brett Murphy and Letitia Stein are reporters on the USA TODAY investigation desk. Contact Brett at brett.murphy@usatoday.com or @brettMmurphy and Letitia at lstein@usatoday.com, @LetitiaStein, by phone or Signal at 813-524-0673.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: White House push for airport fever screenings overrules CDC scientists
Salman Khan is homesick as he is away from his Mumbai home and stuck at his Panvel farmhouse. He has time and again expressed that while he is quarantining at his farmhouse.

The actor is accompanied by his nephew Nirvaan Khan and other family members ever since the lockdown was announced. Salman spoke to Bombay Times about how he's spending his quarantine and keeping himself occupied. He said,

Twitter

I am still working, my mind is working and as soon as this lockdown is over, I know exactly what I want to do and how. Right now, this place feels like the Bigg Boss house. Its beautiful here with everyone around because no one is being eliminated, and so, no one is going after anyone. I am also making time to paint, and I am doing quite a bit of it. I might put it out at some point."

Salman is staying with his mother Salma Khan as well as his sister Arpita, brother-in-law Aayush Sharma and their kids  Ahil and Ayat. Even though he is not being able to meet his father, he said he has been in constant touch with Salim Khan.

Salman Khan

Even when many would see him as 'stuck' amid the lockdown, Salman's exotic farmhouse has become a Quarantine hub for his friends from the fraternity.

Salman Khan

Salman and his Being Human foundation are also carrying all the major relief work from the farmhouse.

After extending monetary help and offering ration to daily-wage workers, he also launched meal trucks and Being Haangryy initiative with the aim of feeding the lesser-privileged. Shiv Sena chief Rahul Kanal took to Twitter and shared the video of Salman Khans meals truck and thanked him.

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

Thanks @Beingsalmankhan bhai for being there and silently doing one thing which is required, service to mankind is service to the almighty!!!Jai Ho!!! I shall certainly attempt to do my bit following the lockdown norms and request our Fanclub household to observe the identical #BeingHaangryy."

Even though his films are at a halt because of COVID-19, Salman is making the most of the time at his farmhouse. In case you were as curious as I have always been about what goes down at the farmhouse, here's everything that could feed your curiosity!

1. Also a home for all his pets, Salman's farmhouse is spread over an area of 150 acres.

Salman Khan/Twitter

A separate area in the farmhouse has been dedicated to all his pet animals. Apart from ATV cars, the farmhouse is surrounded by greenery and boasts of a swimming pool.

Salman/Twitter

Most of the videos that Salman shared during Quarantine have been shot inside his 'second-home'.

In fact, Salman's brother-in-law, whom he launched in Bollywood in 2018 in Loveyatri loves visiting the place. In an interview, he said, "There are many animals here, cows, goats, ducks and there's a lot of wildlife. In fact, we found a king cobra in the gym. Two days ago, a leopard was spotted nearby. We feel like we're living in a safari.







2. Salman's farmhouse has been named after sister Arpita and is called Arpita Farms.

Salman Khan/Twitter

The farmhouse has a beautiful black Ganpati idol at the entrance.



3. Salman 'Bhai' is also carrying out the major work for COVID-19 relief under his foundation Being Human from the farmhouse.

Salman has time and again given a closer look at his charitable activities. In a video shared recently, we can see carts full of food and other supplies being driven by ox carriages and tempo trucks.



4. Actress Jacqueline Fernandez, Waluscha De Sousa, and Iulia Vantur are also self-quarantining at Salman's Panvel farmhouse along with some other of his friends.





Former Bigg Boss contestant Niketan Madhok was also seen in one of the pictures that were shared from Salman's farmhouse.

The farmhouse has also doubled up as a co-working space for Jacqueline and her friends. She even shot for a magazine cover inside the farmhouse.

5. Salman's friends from the film industry have also extended a helping hand.

Salman Khan/Screengrab

Salman Khan, who has provided food supplies to the needy living near his Panvel farmhouse also gained additional support from his friends including Jacqueline Fernandez, Iulia Vantur, Kamaal Khan, Niketan Madhok and Waluscha De Sousa.

Here are some more pictures and videos that'll give you a closer look at Salman's farmhouse.

















He's the man of the hour as he has been silently working towards the great cause and helping those who are in need.
A small-town Alabama chiropractor and gym owner was arrested on a charge of violating the statewide coronavirus health order.

Dr. Aric Butler, owner of Docs Gym and Family Chiropractic in Rogersville, is accused of opening his gym to the public in violation of Alabamas Safer-At-Home order, according to court records.

Butler has pleaded not guilty. His trial is scheduled for July 30 in Lauderdale County court. If convicted, he could face a fine of up to $500.

Butlers attorney, James Irby, said the doctor didnt break any laws.

He resisted what we believe is an unlawful arrest by not signing the citation, Irby said. We think its bogus. I think the whole thing is unconstitutional.

Butler was arrested on May 1 at his business on U.S. 72 in the small Lauderdale County town of Rogersville in northwest Alabama. The business includes a chiropractic office and gym, plus a smoothie bar, gift shop and classrooms.

[As of Monday, gyms and several other businesses will be allowed to reopen under an updated health order]

He didnt open his gym, Irby said. He is a chiropractor and he was there seeing patients. He was handcuffed and put in a police car and hauled off like he had committed a real crime.

But a Facebook post on the Docs Gym Facebook page said the business would be open on May 1, the day of Butlers arrest.

Docs Gym will be open Friday, May 1st! We will be only opened during manned hours no 24 hour access!! Starting Friday... Posted by Doc's Gym & Family Chiropractic on Thursday, April 30, 2020

Police accused Butler of refusing to close the gym or sign a citation, according to public records.

A Rogersville officer drove by the business and saw 13 cars, police Chief Brian Hudson wrote in a report.

We had been told that people were in the gym and classes were being held, the report states.

Chief Hudson didnt return calls from AL.com seeking comment.

So, the chief went to the business to ask Butler to close the gym and comply with the order.

The chiefs report doesnt say people were exercising in the gym at the time, but alleges an employee was working the front desk. (Irby said the person at the desk wasnt working, but rather was an employees teenage daughter.)

The police report says officers have screenshots of Facebook posts and comments in which people said they had worked out at the gym earlier that morning.

Butler told me to write all the tickets I wanted to and he would just pay the $500 fine because that would be cheaper than staying closed, the chief wrote in the police report.

But, according to the police report, once the chief wrote the citation and asked Butler to sign it, the doctor refused and argued that the gym had closed, despite previously admitting it was open.

Butler stated he was staying open trying to survive and support his family, the chief wrote in the report.

Butler is licensed by the Alabama State Board of Chiropractic Examiners, online records show. Sheila Bolton, the boards executive director, said the board was unaware of Butlers arrest before being contacted by AL.com.

This is the first weve heard of it, she said.

Bolton said the board would open an investigation once it received a copy of the police report. Butler could face action against his chiropractic license if an investigation determines he violated the Chiropractic Practice Act, Bolton said.

Butler told AL.com he has treated about 22,000 patients during more than 23 years of practicing in north Alabama. He first opened his practice in the nearby town of Lexington in 2005. After about 17 years there, he moved his practice to Rogersville, a town with about 1,300 residents.

In early March, Butler said he started seeing a significant decline in the number of people using the gym because of concerns about the coronavirus.

After a Stay-at-Home order was issued in mid-March, ordering the closure of gyms and many other businesses around the state, Butler and his wife, Andrea, took a steep financial hit. While they were no longer making money from the gym, they said, their mortgage, utility costs, insurance payments and equipment payments did not go away.

The Butlers declined to estimate how much revenue they lost, but Irby said the financial hit accounted for multi-thousands of dollars.

The Butlers said they took out a home equity loan of $150,000 to make sure they could pay their employees during the shutdown.

Because of the pending trial, Irby advised the Butlers not to discuss the criminal case in the interview with AL.com.

Irby says Butler was surprised when the police chief showed up at the business to enforce the health order.

The interesting thing is that the very night before, the police chief and the mayor contacted him, wished him the best of luck, and told him they were all behind him, Irby said in an interview with AL.com.

Matter of fact the police chief offered that if people came up there and gave him a hard time or anything like that just give them a call and they would come up there and handle it.

Neither the police chief nor Rogersville Mayor Richard Herson returned calls from AL.com seeking comment.

But in his report, Chief Hudson wrote that he began investigating Docs Gym on April 30 after a post on the gyms Facebook page said it would reopen the next morning. The chief wrote in court records that he called and warned Butler not to open the gym because it would violate the health order and he could be given a citation.

He (Butler) asked if I agreed with the order and I stated I did not completely agree with it but that did not matter because I was a sworn police officer of the state of Alabama and I would have to enforce the order, the chief wrote. He (Butler) stated he was going to open and whatever happened would just have to happen.

Irby said he believed the Chief arrested Butler because the Alabama Attorney Generals Office told him to do so. A spokesman for the AGs office denied that assertion.

The Attorney Generals Office is not in the business of telling law enforcement how to carry out their enforcement responsibilities, said Mike Lewis, an AGs office spokesman, in an email to AL.com. Those decisions are made at the local level, based on circumstances at hand, as has been repeatedly acknowledged by the Attorney General.

Irby and Butler acknowledged the seriousness of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, which prompted Alabama state health officer Scott Harris to sign the order closing gyms and other businesses. The disease has infected more than 9,000 Alabamians and killed at least 375, according to the state department of public health.

But Irby questions whether the state health order is constitutional or necessary for public safety.

Everybody is gonna die, he said. We're not gonna keep people from dying by shutting down the whole state and the nation's economy.

Butler said as a doctor he feels responsible for helping his patients with their physical, mental and social well-being. He said hes seen business begin to pick back up because some patients, feeling the effects of isolation during the lock down, are sad and hurting.

Theyre giving up on their fear and needing help and hope, Butler said.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain Arancha Gonzalez Laya confirmed that conclusion of the European Common Aviation Area (ECAA) Agreement serves mutual interest and will help revive business, tourism and people-to-people contacts.

This was discussed during a telephone conversation between the ministers, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reports.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is committed to unimpeded travels of Ukrainians in Europe and around the world. We are working hard to create new opportunities for air travel between Ukraine and the EU. The European Common Aviation Area Agreement creates such opportunities. We will make every effort for this agreement to be concluded," Kuleba stressed.

The foreign ministers also noted the importance of intensifying bilateral economic and investment cooperation.

It is noted that the signing of the Convention on Avoidance of Double Taxation between Ukraine and Spain will contribute to the creation of additional opportunities for business.

In addition, the ministers exchanged information on the measures taken by the governments of the two countries to counter the spread of COVID-19. Kuleba, in particular, thanked his Spanish counterpart for the assistance of the Government of Spain in returning Ukrainian citizens to their homeland.

In turn, Arancha Gonzalez Laya confirmed the invariability of Spain's position on the issue of protection of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The foreign ministers stressed the need to comply with international law in interstate relations.

As a reminder, Spain is a co-sponsor of the UN General Assembly resolutions "Situation of Human Rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol (Ukraine)" and "Problem of the militarization of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine, as well as parts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov."

Spain is one of Ukraine's largest trading partners in the EU. In 2019, the volume of bilateral trade increased by 15.5% and amounted to USD 2.479 billion. In particular, exports amounted to USD 1.585 billion and increased by 8.1%, and imports totalled USD 894.4 million and increased by 31.3%. Direct investment from Spain into Ukraine's economy is USD 61.5 million.

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VIRGINIA  A Virginia business is sponsoring a rally Saturday to protest Illinois shelter-in-place order.

The rally  dubbed the Freedom Rally  will start at 4 p.m. Saturday on the south side of Cass County Courthouse in Virginia.

Patrick Bell, owner of Cass Meats, is organizing the event to send a message to Gov. J.B. Pritzker and local leaders that there are people in central Illinois who are tired of the lockdown order, which Bell considers draconian.

We want our jobs and businesses back, we want our churches back, we want our lives back, Bell said. We are letting our voices be heard and demanding an end to this COVID-19 response from the governor that is worse than the disease.

Attendees who wish to follow the states guidelines for social distancing and wearing masks in public spaces are free to do so during the rally, Bell said.

He is encouraging participants to bring signs and flags to the rally, but asked that protesters keep it clean to prevent being discounted as radicals.

Bell plans to address the rally crowd, and at least one other person also is scheduled to speak, he said.

Cass County has reported 50 cases of COVID-19 so far. Officials in nearby west-central Illinois counties have announced that they do not plan to enforce Pritzkers executive order implementing social distancing and requiring that protective masks be worn in public spaces where social distancing is not an option. Both Scott County States Attorney Michael Hill and Pittsfield Police Chief Michael Starman have vowed not to enforce the order because of constitutional concerns over its legality.

On Tuesday, Pritzker unveiled a five-phase region-based plan to reopen the states economy. The plan has received criticism from mayors throughout the state and from Illinois Republicans for grouping smaller municipalities with larger cities and for not reopening downstate regions quickly enough.

After the rally, participants are invited to attend a cookout in the Cass Meats parking lot that is intended to show appreciation for Cass Meats customers.

Cass County Health Department did not return a call for comment.
Photo of El Dorado Cantina Chicken Enchiladas by: Edison Graff/Stardust Fallout

El Dorado Cantina at Tivoli Village looks forward to welcoming guests safely back into their dining room starting Friday, May 15, in accordance with all of the guidelines set forth by Governor Steve Sisolak and the Southern Nevada Health District, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), and the WHO (World Health Organization).

WHEN: Starting Friday, May 15, in-room dining will be available between 6  9 p.m. nightly until further notice. Reservations will be accepted starting this Wed., May 13; are strongly recommended, and can be made by calling 702-333-1112.

Curbside pickup and delivery via DoorDash, GrubHub or Postmates is still available starting at 11 a.m. daily.

WHERE: El Dorado Cantina

430 S. Rampart Blvd. inside Tivoli Village

About El Dorado Cantina

Founded in 2014 by a private investment group led by Larry Rudolph, El Dorado Cantina is best known for being one of the first Mexican restaurants in Las Vegas to offer cuisine featuring organic, non-GMO ingredients and for its extensive menu featuring dishes inspired by regions across Mexico. The team believes in using sustainably raised products, which means that all the beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, fish and produce used in the dishes originate from carefully selected farms in the U.S. free from antibiotics, pesticides, and steroids.

Happy Hour is offered at both locations and every Tuesday, El Dorado Cantina offers Don Julio 1942 tequila shots for $7 (valued at $35).

Voted Best Mexican Restaurant by the Las Vegas Review-Journal multiple years running, and one of Yelps Top 100 Places to Eat in the U.S. two years in a row, El Dorado Cantina has two locations in the Las Vegas Valley: 3025 Sammy Davis Jr. Drive and 430 S. Rampart Blvd. Both restaurants are open seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

For more information or to make a reservation, visit ElDoradoCantina.com or follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
VALLEY GIRL (2020) Rent or buy on Amazon, FandangoNOW, Google Play, iTunes and Vudu. The director Rachel Lee Goldenberg revamps Martha Coolidges 1983 cult classic for this power-clashing jukebox musical. This remake stars Jessica Rothe as Julie and Josh Whitehouse as Julies bad-boy love interest, Randy. As we follow the teenagers around Southern California, the movie pulls songs from Madonna, Queen, David Bowie and more, taking a crack at its own version of Girls Just Want to Have Fun, like every movie set in the 1980s must. The classic coming-of-age story even features a few cameos from the movies original cast, including Deborah Foreman, who played the original Julie (though, alas, Nicolas Cage is nowhere to be found).

JIMMY O. YANG: GOOD DEAL (2020) Stream on Amazon. Best known for his role as Jian-Yang on HBOs Silicon Valley, Jimmy O. Yang makes his stand-up debut with this hourlong comedy special. As Yang recounts his experience moving from Hong Kong to California, he jokes about learning English from rap music, dating women who were taller than him and disappointing his father by not becoming a scientist. As he explains via the chapter titles of his 2018 memoir How to American: An Immigrants Guide to Disappointing Your Parents, Yang is ready to teach audiences anything from How to Asian to How to Strip Club D.J.
TN Governments Decision

Replying to TFPC and FEFSI's application, the TN government gave its nod on May 8, and informed that post-production works can begin from May 11. The President of FEFSI, RK Selvamani told the Times Of India, "We expect around 200-250 employees to start working from May 11."

Plans To Resume Work

A few film teams have already started planning to resume work as soon as possible. Shakti Soundar Rajan, director of Teddy said, "I'm currently in my village, and will be returning to Chennai only after the lockdown ends. But VFX, dubbing and re-recording work of our project will kick off from May 11. I'll be coordinating through video calls. For VFX work, a few technicians will be working from their homes in addition to those working in the studio."

Thanks To TN Government

The team of Raai Laxmi-starrer Mirugaa took to social media to thank the TN government for its decision. Creative producer of the film, Naresh Jain said, "We are done with all our work except for the sound mixing. Our original plan was to release the film by April end or early May. We will now start work on May 11 and intend to complete the film in the next five days."

FEFSIs Guidelines For Members
I have stated many times in the past that I would support a gun ban if the Justin Trudeau government chose to implement one, but in light of what has finally been rolled out, I must take it back.

How could they be so foolish? To expend so much political capital on assault weapons is a complete squandering of resources. The real danger has always been handguns.

Yes, every decade or so, some maniac goes wild and indiscriminately kills innocent people with an automatic rifle, but this sort of killing happens almost daily with handguns in some parts of Toronto. Shouldnt that take precedence?

Even if you argue that assault weapons are a serious threat in this country, the grandfathering aspect of the new law will render it moot. These guns will still exist, still be available for rampages, or to be stolen and used later. Their lethal potential is in no way diminished.

Its obvious that the minority Liberal government tried to craft a law as inoffensive as possible, but, in doing so, came up with something that is sure to prove ineffective.

Paul Graham, Mississauga

Eliminate machine guns, dont grandfather them, Mallick, May 6

First of all, machine guns, which are capable of fully automatic gunfire, have been prohibited and unavailable in Canada for quite some time.

This widely popular ban you describe seeks mainly to ban AR15 style semi-automatic sporting rifles. Yes, they are sporting rifles: they are only capable of firing one shot per trigger pull and magazines are limited to five rounds in Canada. Clearly not designed to kill the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time, wouldnt you say?

How does preventing licenced, law-abiding Canadian citizens from owning and purchasing firearms for the purpose of hunting, target shooting and sport shooting benefit women in any way?

You are right about one thing: gun butchery doesnt stop. But taking guns away from law-abiding citizens who are screened by the Canadian Police Information Centre will not stop it.

We need to tighten up border security. We need expand mental health services. We need to establish youth programs to keep youth away from gangs. We need to place more emphasis on the family unit; kids need good parental role models. We need domestic abuse complaints to be taken more seriously.

We are not the U.S. Our gun regulations are robust and sufficient. We do not need more laws; we need to better enforce the ones already in place.

Emily Wong, Toronto

Public Safety Canada launched an engagement process in 2018 regarding this potential ban. The report is available on the Public Safety website.

There were six overall key findings. First was that most respondents did not support a ban. Next was that a ban would target law-abiding owners and not greatly affect crime reduction.

The balance of the key findings of the report were a need to address the underlying causes of gun violence, a need to collect and share data on gun crime, collaboration with the firearms community and industry, and the need for a multi-faceted approach, rather than a ban in isolation.

Cleary, Public Safety and our prime minister have ignored their own report and are, yet again, simply pandering to special interests.

Eric Cameron, Foothills, Alta.

Ford criticizes Trudeaus gun ban, May 3

Ontario Premier Doug Ford joins federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer in criticizing the Liberal governments gun control initiative, citing that the money would be better spent on more controls at our U.S. border.

Successive Conservative governments did nothing to strengthen our border controls, and, in fact, dismantled any progress made by prior Liberal governments to restrict the flow of weapons into Canada.

Conservative governments are as tone deaf on this topic as they are on climate change. There should be no acceptance in Canada of military-grade assault weapons, period.

The regulations are a step in the right direction. Do we need more controls at the U.S. border. Absolutely. But we know it wont be a Conservative government that puts those controls in place.

These are trying times. We have a minority government trying to manage a pandemic while also moving forward with an agenda that most Canadians support. Lets applaud them and ask for more.

Carole Arsenault, Hamilton

A few weeks ago, Canadians woke to the news of a horrendous mass murder of 22 Nova Scotians, many of whom were shot by a denturist.

The Liberal government quickly responded with legislation banning assault weapons and with a promise that more comprehensive legislation would be forthcoming.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was immediately castigated by Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer and Tory leadership hopeful Peter MacKay, as well as many Conservative premiers, for opportunistically pushing his anti-gun agenda that violates the rights of law-abiding Canadian gun-owners.

Sadly, we now hear about a 55-year-old tax attorney near Edmonton who shot and killed a woman and her 13-year-old daughter before turning the gun on himself.

What many Conservative leaders seem to miss is that gun control should not be a partisan issue. Neither of these perpetrators were criminals or gang members. Up until the moment they lost control for some unknown reason, they were, by all measures, law-abiding Canadians.

Doug Zuliani, Ottawa

Doug Ford suggests a better use of money would be to stop gun smuggling at the borders.

Perhaps he is unaware that only one of our recent mass shootings was done with an illegally purchased gun, which was bought by the shooter from a licenced American gun owner, not smuggled.

The rest of our mass shooters have been legally licenced gun owners, killing people with legally purchased guns.

A better use of Fords time would be to continue to focus on COVID-19 testing and deaths in long-term-care facilities.

Ian Thurston, Barrie

If gun owners with military-style weapons choose to keep them, they must be held fully responsible, should these guns be stolen or lost and used to commit crimes.

Cecil Lindo, Thornhill

Much more must be done, Editorial, May 3

Although I agree that much more needs to be done regarding violence involving handguns, this first step toward stronger gun regulations serves to solidify our collective resolve to continue to identify as a nation of peace.

By their very nature, assault weapons stand for the abhorrent ability to annihilate as many people as possible in a most violent way.

Why would anyone have the desire to own such a weapon?

Julia Bowkun, Toronto

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Media Advocates Urge West to Resist China's Censorship After EU Letter Controversy

By Joyce Huang May 08, 2020

Press freedom advocates say China's censorship of a letter co-authored by 27 European Union ambassadors that contained a reference to the origins of the coronavirus is another example of how the lack of press freedom in the country has caused problems for the world.

A sentence in the EU letter, which referred to China as the point of origin of the outbreak, was deleted when it was published in the Wednesday edition of the English language newspaper China Daily to mark the 45th anniversary of the grouping's diplomatic ties with China.

The full version, which appeared on the websites of EU embassies to China, said "the outbreak of the coronavirus in China, and its subsequent spread to the rest of the world over the past three months, has meant that our pre-existing plans have been side-tracked."

But the edited version published in state media omitted the words, "in China, and its subsequent spread to the rest of the world over the past three months."

China's censorship

The European Union Thursday expressed regret but seemed to accept the edit.

"China has state-controlled media. There is censorship, that's a fact," EU foreign affairs spokesperson Virginie Battu-Henriksson said in Brussels. But she said agreeing to the letter's censored publication meant the bloc could engage the Chinese on other key EU issues, including climate change, human rights and the pandemic response.

Cedric Alviani, head of Reporters Without Borders' (RSF) East Asia bureau, said the incident showed that China repeatedly takes advantage of the media systems in western democracies to control narratives in its favor, while using its state media to mislead the world.

"We call on the democracies to resist and never ever to compare the Chinese propaganda media with independent media that respect journalism ethics," Alviani told VOA.

Alviani was referring to comparisons made by the U.S. State Department's Bureau of East Asian and Pacific affairs.

No comparisons

The bureau Thursday tweeted that "last night, @washingtonpost [The Washington Post] carried Amb Cui's [Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Cui Tiankai] Op-Ed because that's what freedom of the press looks like. Also last night, [U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser] Matt Pottinger's speech on Weibo [China's equivalent to Twitter] disappeared within 5 minutes because that's what censorship looks like."

In his Washington Post op-ed, Cui called for an end to the "blame game" over the pandemic, saying allegations blaming China for the outbreak's spread risked "decoupling" the world's two largest economies.

He said, "it's time to focus on the disease and rebuild trust between our two countries... and restart the global economy."

In his Monday speech, Pottinger praised whistleblower doctor Li Wenliang and several citizen journalists, calling them the true torch carriers of the spirit of the May 4 Movement, which ushered in a modern China a century ago.

Alviani said Chinese media, which works as the party state's mouthpiece and never hesitates to exercise censorship, are no comparison to free and independent press in the West.

He also cautioned readers against Cui's opinions in The Washington Post, which he believed are in no way fair, reliable and fact-based. Instead, he described the opinion as propaganda from a regime that constantly violates the press freedom.

China's double standards

Michael Chugani, a columnist in Hong Kong, said the EU letter, Pottinger's speech and Cui's opinion in The Washington Post are some of the many examples of Chinese media's double standard.

Chugani, in his Thursday column in the Economic Journal, argued that "China is the global king in abusing free market rules" because it has, time and again, weaponized its economy to achieve political aims.

For example, China banned Norwegian salmon for years when Norway awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to human rights activist Liu Xiaobo in 2010, he said.

That abuse "also applies to China's press freedom," he told VOA in a written reply.

The Chinese government has increasingly applied ruthless persecution of independent journalists.

Longest jail term

One recent example is Chen Jieren, a former state media journalist-turned anti-corruption blogger who was sentenced to 15 years in prison last Thursday  the longest sentence ever handed down to a journalist under the administration of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Reporters Without Borders has called for Chen's release, denouncing his sentence as "a throwback to the practice of the Maoist and is clearly designed to set an example and ensure that no Chinese journalist dares to question the regime again."

Chen, who was convicted of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble," extortion and blackmail, "illegal business activity," and "bribes," was given a fine of $990,000 after a court in Hunan province concluded that he had taken more than that amount in bribes.

The court said Chen has "used the information network to publish false and negative information attack and vilify the party and the government."

Chinese Human Rights Defenders also urged Chen's release, saying in a statement that his "punishment sends a chilling signal" to his peers.

Journalist or 'fraud'?

But Li Datong, a former colleague of Chen's at China Youth Daily, called the anti-corruption blogger a fraud.

"He's not a legitimate journalist. He's basically a hooligan. It's inappropriate to portray him as the embodiment of justice because much of what he had done was profit driven. He has a questionable integrity," Li said.

Li, however, agreed that there's little room for Chinese independent journalists to freely report as the authorities have tightened controls on the press and speech freedom.

Admitting that it's hard to judge if accusations against Chen are legitimate, RSF's Alviani remained convinced that his sentence is too harsh.

"What is sure is that Chen Jieren had denounced the corruption of some members of the [Communist] party. And for that, he shouldn't be punished with such a harsh sentence," he said.

"I want to add that, in China, a prison sentence of such a length equals to a death sentence because of the very poor quality of the Chinese prisons," he added.

Chen was arrested after he disclosed alleged corruption by local party officials in Hunan in mid-2018.

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Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organisation (WHO) regional director for Africa, says COVID-19 may not spread widely on the contine...





Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organisation (WHO) regional director for Africa, says COVID-19 may not spread widely on the continent like it has elsewhere.





As of May 8, Africa had recorded 54, 434 cases, 2,080 deaths, and 18,857 recoveries.





But citing a new study by the regional office for Africa, Moeti said 83, 000 to 190 000 people could die of the virus in Africa within the first year if measures to contain it fails.





She added that about 29 to 44 million people in Africa could get infected with COVID-19 in the first year of the pandemic.

Moeti said the research, which is based on prediction modelling, looked at 47 countries in the WHO African region with a total population of 1 billion.





Algeria, South Africa and Cameroon were listed as countries that were at a high risk if containment measures are not prioritised.





While COVID-19 likely wont spread as exponentially in Africa as it has elsewhere in the world, it likely will smoulder in transmission hotspots, she said.





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.





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.





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 the predicted number of cases that would require hospitalisation would overwhelm the available medical capacity in much of Africa.





Moeti said the report estimated 3.6 million to 5.5 million COVID-19 hospitalisation, of which 82 000 to 167, 000 would be severe cases requiring oxygen, and 52,000 to 107, 000 would be critical cases requiring breathing support.





Such a huge number of patients in hospitals, he said, would severely strain the health capacities of countries.





The study recommended that countries across Africa need to expand the capacity particularly of primary hospitals and ensure that basic emergency care is included in primary health systems.




Ahead of the arrival of a Naval ship



here with stranded Indians from Maldives, a top police officer on Saturday said all arrangements are in place to facilitate safe stay of the repatriated comprising over 400 Keralites and people from other parts of the country in the southern state.

INS Jalashwa, participating in Indian Navy's "Operation Samudra Setu" to bring home Indians stuck in foreign countries due to COVID-19 pandemic, has departed from Male port for Kochi with 698 Indian nationals on board on Friday night.

It is expected to reach here on Sunday. This is the Indian Navy's first massive evacuation exercise during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Inspector General of Police Vijay Sakhare said 431 people traveling via ship are from Kerala.

Rest of the passengers are from other parts of the country including Tamil Nadu (132 people). A few people from states including Goa, Haryana, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana and Lakshadweep are also traveling in the ship.

"All these people disembarked from the ship will be sent to Institutional Quarantine facilities for 14 days," Sakhare, who is also the commissioner of the Kochi City police, told PTI.

The Keralite passengers, once cleared by all statutory organisations, would be transported to different districts in KSRTC buses (30 per bus). Police would escort them till their quarantine facilities in every single district, he said.

"The people from other states, they will stay in the quarantine facilities in Ernakulam for 14 days," said Sakhare who is the in-charge of the operations.

Asked about the transportation of the people from other states after completion of their 14 days quarantine, Sakhare said a decision in this regard would be taken after consultations with the Central and their state governments.

Narrating the steps taken by the state government to ensure safe quarantine of the symptomatic people, the top official said such passengers would be segregated and disembarked first, followed by other passengers (district wise) in batches of 50 persons.

"We have a thermal scanning system at the entry itself. When they get down from the ship, they will be subjected to thermal scanning. If somebody has heightened temperature he or she will be segregated and sent to the hospitals for formal check-up.

The hospital will decide if they need to be isolated or sent to the Institutional Quarantines set up by the state government," said.

Ambulance for transporting symptomatic passengers to quarantine centres are ready, he added.

Majority of the passengers coming via ship from Maldives are migrant labourers. The number of tourists and professionals travelling in the ship are very few, official sources said.

Before arrival at Cochin, on board the vessel, the Navy would get the self e-declaration data filled by all passengers and also identify the passengers symptomatic of COVID-19.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
DENVER - Last month, Minna Buck revised a document specifying her wishes should she become critically ill.

"No intubation," she wrote in large letters on the form, making sure to include the date and her initials.

Buck, 91, had been following the news about covid-19. She knew her chances of surviving a serious bout of the illness were slim. And she wanted to make sure she wouldn't be put on a ventilator under any circumstances.

"I don't want to put everybody through the anguish," said Buck, who lives in a continuing care retirement community in Denver.

For older adults contemplating what might happen to them during this pandemic, ventilators are a fraught symbol, representing a terrifying lack of personal control as well as the fearsome power of technology.

Used for people with respiratory failure, a signature consequence of severe covid-19, these machines pump oxygen into patients' bodies while they are in bed, typically sedated, with a breathing tube snaked down the windpipe (known as "intubation").

For some seniors, this is their greatest fear: being hooked to a machine, helpless, with the end of life looming. For others, there is hope that the machine might pull them back from the brink, giving them another shot at life.

"I'm a very vital person: I'm very active and busy," said Cecile Cohan, 85, who has no diagnosed medical conditions and lives independently in a house in Denver. If she became critically ill with covid-19 but had the chance of recovering and being active again, she said, "yes, I would try a ventilator."

What's known about people's chances?

Although several reports have come out of China, Italy and most recently the area around New York City, "the data is really scanty," said Carolyn Calfee, a professor of anesthesia at the University of California at San Francisco.

Initial reports suggested that the survival rate for patients on respirators ranged from 14% (Wuhan, China) to 34% (early data from the United Kingdom). A report from the New York City area appeared more discouraging, with survival listed at only 11.9%.

But the New York data incorporated only patients who died or were discharged from hospitals - a minority of a larger sample. Most ventilator patients were still in the hospital, receiving treatment, making it impossible to draw reliable conclusions.

Calfee said she worries that data from these early studies may not apply to U.S. patients treated in hospitals with considerable resources.

"The information we have is largely from settings with tremendous resource gaps and from hospitals that are overwhelmed, where patients may not bedit metadatae treated with optimal ventilator support," she said. "I would be very worried if people used that data to make decisions about whether they wanted mechanical ventilation."

Still, a sobering reality emerges from studies published to date: Older adults, especially those with underlying medical conditions such as heart, kidney or lung disease, are least likely to survive critical illness caused by the coronavirus or treatment with a ventilator.

"Their prognosis is not great," said Douglas White, a professor of critical care medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. He cautioned, however, that frail older adults should not be lumped together with healthy, robust older adults, whose prospects may be somewhat better.

Like other clinicians, White has observed that older covid patients are spending considerably longer on ventilators  two weeks or more - than is the case with other critical illnesses. If they survive, they probably will be extremely weak, deconditioned, suffering from delirium and in need of months of ongoing care and physical rehabilitation.

"It's a very long, uphill battle to recovery," and many older patients may never regain full functioning, said Negin Hajizadeh, an associate professor of critical care medicine at the School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell on Long Island. "My concern is, who's going to take care of these patients after a prolonged ventilator course - and where?"

In St. Paul, Minnesota, Joyce Edwards, 61, who is unmarried and lives on her own, has been wondering the same thing.

Last month, Edwards revised her advance directive to specify that "for covid-19, I do not want to be placed on a ventilator." Previously, she had indicated that she was willing to try a ventilator for a few days but wanted it withdrawn if the treatment was needed for a longer period.

"I have to think about what the quality of my life is going to be," Edwards said. "Could I live independently and take care of myself - the things I value the most? There's no spouse to take care of me or adult children. Who would step into the breach and look after me while I'm in recovery?"

People who've said "give a ventilator a try, but discontinue it if improvement isn't occurring" need to realize that they almost surely won't have time to interact with loved ones if treatment is withdrawn, said Christopher Cox, an associate professor of medicine at Duke University.

"You may not be able to live for more than a few minutes," he said.

But the choice isn't as black-and-white as go on a ventilator or die.

"We can give you high-flow oxygen and antibiotics," Cox said. "You can use BiPAP or CPAP machines [which also deliver oxygen] and see how those work. And if things go poorly, we're excellent at keeping you comfortable and trying to make it possible for you to interact with family and friends instead of being knocked out in a [medically induced] coma."

Heather McCrone of Bellevue, Washington, realized she'd had an "all-or-nothing" view of ventilation when her 70-year-old husband developed sepsis - a systemic infection - last year after problems related to foot surgery.

Over nine hours, McCrone sat in the intensive care unit as her husband was stabilized on a ventilator by nurses and respiratory therapists. "They were absolutely fantastic," McCrone said. After a four-day stay in the hospital, her husband returned home.

"Before that experience, my feeling about ventilators was, 'You're a goner and there's no coming back,' " McCrone said. "Now, I know that's not necessarily the case."

She and her husband both have advance directives stating that they want "lifesaving measures taken unless we're in a vegetative state with no possibility of recovery." McCrone said they still need to discuss their wishes with their daughters, including their preference for getting treatment with a ventilator.

These discussions are more important than ever - and perhaps easier than in the past, experts said.

"People are thinking about what could happen to them and they want to talk about it," said Rebecca Sudore, a professor of medicine at the UCSF. "It's opened up a lot of conversations."

Rather than focusing on whether to be treated with a ventilator, she advises older adults to discuss what's most important to them - independence? time with family? walking? living as long as possible? - and what they consider a good quality of life. This will provide essential context for decisions about ventilation.

"Some people may say my life is always worth living no matter what type of serious illness or disability I have," she said. "On the other end of the spectrum, some people may feel there are health situations or experiences that would be so hard that life would not be worth living."

Sudore helped create Prepare for Your Care, a website and a set of tools to guide people through these kinds of conversations. Recently, it was updated to include a section on covid-19, as have sites sponsored by Compassion & Choices and the Conversation Project. And the Colorado Program for Patient Centered Decisions has published a decision aid for covid patients considering life support, also available in Spanish.

Some older adults have another worry: What if there aren't enough ventilators for all the covid patients who need them?

In that situation, "I would like to say 'no' because other people need that intervention more than I do and would benefit, in all probability, more than I would," said Larry Churchill, 74, an emeritus professor of medical ethics at Vanderbilt.

"In a non-scarcity situation, I'm not sure what I'd do. I'm in pretty good health, but people my age don't survive as well from any major problem," Churchill said. "Most of us don't want a long, lingering death in a custodial facility where the chances of recovery are small and the quality of life may be one we're not willing to tolerate."

- - -

This report is a product of Kaiser Health News, a nonprofit news service covering health issues. It is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
For this Mother's Day, a lot of us wish we could be watching a movie with our moms. As we celebrate from afar, here are some suggestions for movies to watch at home  each of which has a remarkable mother or grandmother at its center. Happy Mother's Day, to all the moms.

"20th Century Women" (2017): Annette Bening plays Dorothea, a divorced woman living in late-1970s Santa Barbara with her teenage son and a ragtag assortment of boarders and neighbors; she's the watchful mother of them all. As a character, Dorothea is neither loud nor showy, just definite in her opinions, open in her outlook and remarkable in her spirit  like a lot of moms.

"The Farewell" (2019): This lovely movie focuses on the granddaughter/grandmother bond; if you're lucky enough to have a grandma still around, see if you can watch this one with her, either in-person or virtually. The story of a young Brooklyn artist (Awkwafina, in a heartbreakingly quiet performance) who travels to China to see her ailing grandmother for possibly the last time, Lulu Wang's film is both wrenching drama and delightful comedy.

"The Hours" (2002): The stories of three women, in three different time periods, elegantly interweave in this adaptation of Michael Cunningham's book about motherhood, creativity and, quite simply, what it means to be alive. Two of the three  played by Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore  are mothers, with all the complexity that role brings; the third (novelist Virginia Woolf, played by Nicole Kidman) wonders about what might have been.

"If Beale Street Could Talk" (2017): Barry Jenkins' gorgeous drama, based on the James Baldwin novel, focuses mostly on the love story between two young people, Tish and Fonny (KiKi Layne, Stephan James), separated when Fonny is falsely accused and imprisoned. But watch it for the glorious blaze of maternal fire that is Tish's mother, Sharon (Regina King), who envelopes her daughter in safety and hope.

"The Kids are All Right" (2010): Annette Bening and Julianne Moore play a longtime couple whose teenage daughter (Mia Wasikowska) is preparing to leave the nest for college  and wondering about her biological father (enter Mark Ruffalo). It's a sweet, affectionately told tale of a family whose members adore each other; you never doubt that things will turn out right.

"Lady Bird" (2017): Much of the pleasure of Greta Gerwig's coming-of-age tale is in watching the relationship between California teenager Lady Bird (Saoirse Ronan) and her mother, Marion (Laurie Metcalf)  each teems with simultaneous love for, and irritation at, the other. The movie begins with the two practically as one; by its end, they are geographically separated as Lady Bird has begun to fly away, but you see the beginnings of their adult relationship, expressed in a sweet, tentative phone call back home.

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"The Namesake" (2007): Based on Jhumpa Lahiri's novel, this film, about two generations of a Bengali American clan, has the parents first arriving in New York from Calcutta as newlyweds and near-strangers. Ashima, the mother (actress Tabu), undergoes a gradual, moving transformation; falling in love with her young husband (Irrfan Khan, who died last month, leaving this as one of many indelible performances), and creating over the years a warm home in a place that once felt so terribly cold.

"Philomena" (2013): An enchanting mixture of road movie, odd-couple comedy and heart-touching story, this film stars the brilliant Judi Dench as the title character, an Irishwoman who sets her mind to finding the child she was forced to give up for adoption 50 years earlier. A trip to America, with a skeptical journalist (Steve Coogan), ensues. If you can watch this film without both laughing out loud and brushing away tears  sometimes at the same time  you're made of sterner stuff than me.

"Ricki and the Flash" (2015): It's always a treat to see a real-life mother and daughter on screen, and here the duo of Meryl Streep and Mamie Gummer create fireworks together as a failed rock star and the daughter who resents her mother's absence. Streep is, as always, mesmerizing; Gummer, who looks uncannily like her mother (around the "Kramer vs. Kramer" era, to be specific), vividly demonstrates that the apple didn't fall very far from the tree.

"Stories We Tell" (2013): In this hard-to-classify documentary, actor/filmmaker Sarah Polley ("Away From Her," "Take This Waltz") picked up a camera to try to figure out the truth behind a family story involving her mother, Diane, who died when Polley was a child. A fascinating story  though not necessarily the one we were expecting  unfolds; about secrets, family and how memories can miraculously bring someone back to life again.

"Volver" (2006): An intoxicating story splashed with bright colors and a miracle or two, this Pedro Almodovar tale stars Penelope Cruz as a woman whose mother (Carmen Maura) mysteriously returns to their small Spanish town  long after her death in a fire. Is she a ghost? Does it matter? Cruz, the warm center of the film, gives one of her best screen performances; her Raimonda is a powerhouse of fiery energy  and of love.
Freezing temperatures are moving into central Pennsylvania overnight Friday into Saturday.

All of central Pennsylvania is under a freeze warning starting at 2 a.m. on Saturday and ending at 8 a.m., according to meteorologists at the National Weather Service at State College. Temperatures could dip down into the 30s.

If you think our cold weather is unseasonable, you are correct. Look at the probability of freezing temperatures (<32) for this date (for most of Central PA, 10% or less) compared to our actual forecast low temperatures for tonight (credit to https://t.co/edg2V18Tso). Brrr! pic.twitter.com/TmzJphhY61  NWS State College (@NWSStateCollege) May 8, 2020

Freezing temperatures will kill crops and other sensitive vegetation, forecasters said. Take protective measures now as freezing temperatures could damage or kill tender plants and vegetation. Potted plants should be brought inside.

The following counties are under the freeze warning: Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, and York.

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Bahrain Clear, a major clearing house in the kingdom, has signed a depository agent (custodian) agreement with First Abu Dhabi Bank to offer custody services at Bahrain Bourse to regional and international investors.

This comes in line with Bahrain Clears efforts to enhance post-trade services and expand outreach to regional and global investors, said the subsidiary of Bahrain Bourse.

As per the agreement, First Abu Dhabi Bank will provide custody services, issuer services, transfer agent, fund administration and other related banking services to its regional and international clients.

First Abu Dhabi Bank is the UAEs largest bank and strongest financial institution in the Middle East.

Following the registration of First Abu Dhabi Bank, there are six securities custodians registered by Bahrain Clear to act in the market, four of which are global custodians.

On the deal, Abdulla Jaffar Abdin, Senior Director of Operations said: "We are delighted on the registration of First Abu Dhabi Bank as a custodian in the market, which would provide their regional and international investor-base with access to Bahrains capital market."

"We look forward to working closely with First Abu Dhabi Banks Securities Services in terms of post-trade services to deliver creative custody solutions to their respective international clients," he added.

Francis Dassou, Managing Director - Securities Services, said with this deal First Abu Dhabi Bank is expanding its regional direct custody footprint.

"With our 50 years of regional history and heritage we are uniquely positioned to help our clients navigate and protect their assets in the region. We are delighted to add the Kingdom of Bahrain in our proprietary custody network and we look forward to contributing to the success of Bahrain Clear," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
For the second time in two years, officials in Gov. Phil Murphys administration will be no-shows at a public hearing on the sexual abuse and exploitation of inmates at New Jerseys womens prison.

On the heels of a scathing federal report that found New Jersey failed to stop sex abuse of inmates at the state womens prison by staff, state lawmakers are convening a legislative hearing on conditions at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women.

The Senate Law and Public Safety Committee will hold a hearing at 10 a.m. May 12. It will be remote due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice found conditions at New Jerseys lone womens prison violated the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution because state authorities had for years ignored claims of sexual abuse of prisoners.

The report found credible allegations of sexual abuse by both correction officers and civilian staff continued to surface throughout 2018 and into 2019, despite the attention focused on the issue."

State Sen. Linda Greenstein, who heads the Senate committee, convened a public hearing in 2018 following a series of reports from NJ Advance Media that found problems in the womens prison were far more widespread than corrections officials had publicly acknowledged.

Officials from Murphys administration, which at the time had only been in office for a few weeks, did not participate.

Following that hearing, Greenstein said Friday, I thought we would be in a much better place than we find ourselves in today.

Now lawmakers will again probe problems at Edna Mahan. But the Department of Corrections still wont show.

I think its necessary to hold this hearing in order to get more information from the experts and find out what can be done to ensure that the inmates in our care are safe and are treated with dignity and respect," Greenstein said in a statement.

A spokesman for Murphy, Jerrel Harvey, said Friday the department will not be participating. He would not say why.

In an interview in April following the Justice report, Corrections Commissioner Marcus Hicks told NJ Advance Media many of the problems at Edna Mahan were inherited from the previous administration.

I dont say that as a way to shirk our responsibility to keep people safe, he said. I say that as a matter of fact.

We all acknowledge that this is a continuing issue that we have to address, Hicks said. I think weve shown our commitment to addressing this issue.

The Department of Justice report found sexual abuse and exploitation of inmates at Edna Mahan had persisted for decades, and continued after reform measures implemented by Murphys administration.

I dont think that any of us are saying weve solved all the problems, and clearly we have a DOJ report that highlighted what took place, Hicks said. "Were saying weve taken proactive steps.

Hicks noted the department has installed more cameras inside the prison, re-established an all-female board of trustees and is rolling out a pilot program for corrections officers to wear body cameras, among other steps.

But the Justice report found many reform measures had fallen short. Among them, a policy requiring supervisors at the prison to audit the camera system to detect bad behavior had faltered because supervisors refused to comply and were never disciplined.

Lieutenants and other high-level officers indicated a reluctance to review footage for evidence of staff misconduct, which they would then be required to report to the administrator for corrective action, the report said.

The report found that some officers and supervisors believed the abuse claims were overblown due to media coverage of the issue.

We dont believe this is just something that is being drummed up by the media, Hicks told NJ Advance Media. "Youve never heard me or the governor say that. We have taken this very seriously and we continue to do so.

NJ Advance Media requested the department produce any evidence that staff had been disciplined for failing to comply with reform measures. Hicks said that we definitely note your request, but after more than two weeks, a spokesman for Murphy said they could not provide such information.

Due to open investigations and in anticipation of potential litigation, the department cannot discuss specific disciplinary actions, said Harvey, the spokesman.

The Justice report also raised alarming concerns about New Jerseys prison internal affairs unit, the Special Investigations Division, finding it was rife with conflicts of interest and failed to vet claims of abuse.

In response, Adrian Ellison, the president of the union representing SID investigators, told NJ Advance Media that SID management had hampered their efforts to properly investigate abuse allegations and called for leadership change. The corrections department did not respond to those claims.

Witnesses scheduled for the remote hearing include prison reform activists, advocates for survivors of sexual abuse and representatives of state corrections unions.

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Looking through the window of the Cafe 1905, a sandwich and coffee shop in Dunham's Department Store in Wellsboro, Tioga County, after the county began reopening on Friday, May 8, 2020. The closed movie theater across the street displays the name of the 110 graduating students from Wellsboro High School, changing the names daily. Read more

TL;DR: Two dozen north-central and northwestern Pennsylvania counties on Friday moved to the yellow" phase of Gov. Tom Wolfs reopening plan. In one town, our reporter found, a department store felt like a community center, everyone eager to catch up after weeks of home confinement. And as regulators approve more and more antibody tests, theres reason for skepticism.

 Andrew Seidman (@AndrewSeidman, health@inquirer.com)

What you need to know:

Passengers, employees, and personnel will be required to wear masks at Philadelphia International Airport under a new regulation that takes effect Monday.

The Food and Drug Administration on Saturday authorized a new type of coronavirus test that a manufacturer says can deliver results in 15 minutes.

Gov. Tom Wolf rejected a subpoena by GOP lawmakers for records related to the administrations coronavirus business-closure waiver process, but did release a list of thousands of businesses that received approvals to reopen amid the shutdown.

Pennsylvania state officials never fully implemented a plan to protect nursing home residents from COVID-19.

The mayors of Ocean City, Sea Isle City, and Upper Township said Saturday they had opened beaches there for exercise and activities like surfing and fishing.

A Delaware County barber was dead set on reopening her shop. Faced by threats from a state licensing board and the local police, she changed her mind and held a rally instead.

The Atlantic City area is more susceptible to a retail real estate downturn from the coronavirus than anywhere else in the country, a new study found.

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.

Under the governors reopening plan, most businesses in Tioga County were able to resume in-person operations Friday. In Wellsboro, a borough of 3,239 known for its gas lamps on Main Street, reopening didnt look the same for every business, my colleague Jason Nark writes.

A department store was bustling with customers eager to feel normal, as one put it, but the theater across the street remains closed. For now, the owner is using the marquee to showcase the names of 110 graduating seniors from the local high school. And local officials had to cancel a summer festival that typically brings about 20,000 tourists.

Regulators have issued emergency authorization for scores of antibody tests amid the public health crisis. The tests are supposed to show whether youve been exposed to the coronavirus and therefore likely have a level of immune protection.

The hopes are that widespread antibody testing could track the scope and spread of the epidemic, identify people who could safely go back to work, and help recruit people to donate their antibody-laden blood to treat severe COVID-19 cases," my colleague Marie McCullough writes. But there are a lot of caveats. For starters, many of the tests have been unreliable.

Helpful resources

Members of the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Burlington County drove around in a caravan last week to check in with elder members whove been particularly isolated these days. Pastor Cory L. Jones led the way, jumping out of his Toyota Highlander to say hello from a safe distance.

I wanted to show them some love and let them know that as a church, we are thinking about them and we love them," he said.

 Tired of singing Happy Birthday when you wash your hands? Try these Philly alternatives.

 Is my mask less effective if I wear makeup? No. Heres how to do it right.

Where to get pandemic cookies, cakes, and other baked goods for Mothers Day.

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

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.
The Trump administrations response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been an absolute chaotic disaster, former President Barack Obama said on Friday.

President Trumps predecessor blamed the current occupant of the Oval Office and his allies for exacerbating tribal tensions around the country, which he says has hampered the effort to reduce total number of cases nationwide.

Audio of the web call in which Obama spoke was obtained by Yahoo News.

What were fighting against is these long-term trends in which being selfish, being tribal, being divided, and seeing others as an enemy - that has become a stronger impulse in American life, the president said.

And by the way, were seeing that internationally as well.

Its part of the reason why the response to this global crisis has been so anemic and spotty.

Former President Barack Obama (left) blasted President Trump's (right) handling of the COVID-19 pandemic as an 'absolute chaotic disaster'

It would have been bad even with the best of governments.

It has been an absolute chaotic disaster when that mindset - of whats in it for me and to heck with everybody else - when that mindset is operationalized in our government.

Obama added: Thats why, I, by the way, am going to be spending as much time as necessary and campaigning as hard as I can for Joe Biden.

There's currently more than 1.3 million cases of coronavirus and 78,000 deaths in the U.S.

Save for campaign speeches during the 2018 mid-term elections, the former president has largely been quiet since Trump took office and replaced him after defeating Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Obamas comments on the Trump administrations handling of the pandemic were a much sharper attack on his successor.

Last month, Obama offered veiled criticism of Trump over the COVID-19 crisis, claiming that there was no coherent national plan to address the outbreak.

'While we continue to wait for a coherent national plan to navigate this pandemic, states like Massachusetts are beginning to adopt their own public health plans to combat this virusbefore it's too late,' the former president tweeted.

Obama used the tweet to issue an attack on the president, but also praised Massachusetts for its response to the pandemic with a New Yorker article titled: It's Not Too Late to Go on Offense Against the Coronavirus.

As several states continue to lament that they do not have the supplies to administer enough testing, some have taken matters into their own hands.

On April 22, Obama launched a veiled attack on Trump without using the president's name, claiming there is no 'coherent national plan' on coronavirus response

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker launched a plan for full-scale, statewide testing, which will be used to implement effective quarantine and treatment systems.

The state was able to increase the number of tests administered from just 41 on March 9 to more than eight thousand by April 17.

Obama also attacked his successor at the end of March as Trump signed the CARES Act to provide $2.2 trillion in economic stimulus and relief for Americans and small businesses.

'We've seen all too terribly the consequences of those who denied warnings of a pandemic,' the two-term Democrat tweeted last month.

Obama also praised Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker's (left) response to the virus, and in his tweet linked to an article about the state dramatically increasing its testing capabilities

'We can't afford any more consequences of climate denial. All of us, especially young people, have to demand better of our government at every level and vote this fall,' he continued at the time.

This election year has been upended by the pandemic. With no vaccine in sight and the number of cases climbing, some states have started to gradually reopen their economies while others have maintained a lockdown.

The Trump administration has been scrutinized for its response to the pandemic.

Reports in several media outlets indicated that Trump played down the severity of the coronavirus even while his own experts were urging him to take it seriously.

Top Trump administration officials like Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and trade adviser Peter Navarro reportedly sounded the alarm about a pandemic reaching American shores as early as late January, but the president failed to heed the warnings.

Critics said the valuable time that was lost could have been used to ramp up testing as well as provide medical professionals adequate supplies of personal protective equipment in order to better deal with the pandemic.

Trump has also been criticized for mixed messaging - touting social distancing and preventative measures on the one hand but then urging his supporters to 'liberate' states through mass demonstrations on the other.

The president has also made comments that have prompted mockery and scorn from the public, including his suggestion that cleaning disinfectants could be ingested into the body in order to treat COVID-19.

Trump, for his part, has claimed that his decision to shut down travel from China saved lives, though the administration has allowed flights from China carrying American citizens and legal residents to continue landing in the country.

Workers at Island Harvest Food Bank working in conjunction with the Nourish New York initiative distribute locally produced goods to people in need of food assistance in Massapequa, New York, on Friday

The record unemployment rate reported on Friday captured the pain of a nation where tens of millions of jobs suddenly vanished, devastating the economy and forcing Trump to overcome historic headwinds to win a second term.

Just a few short months ago, Trump planned to campaign for re-election on the back of a robust economy.

That's a distant memory after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April, leading to an unemployment rate of 14.7 per cent, the highest since the Great Depression.

There's no parallel in US history for the suddenness or severity of the economic collapse, which is ravaging some states that are crucial to Trump's victory.

The president is now tasked with convincing voters that the catastrophic jobs losses were the result of the pandemic - not his management of the public health crisis.

He also argues that he deserves another chance to rebuild what the virus destroyed.

What I can do: Ill bring it back, Trump told Fox News on Friday.

Its fully expected. Theres no surprise. Everybody knows that.

Even the Democrats arent blaming me for that.

Bringing back jobs quickly won't be easy.

Backdated statistics show that unemployment reached as high as 25 per cent in 1933 during the Great Depression.

A broader calculation of unemployment from April's jobs report suggests the rate might be nearly that high now, as the 14.7 per cent rate doesn't include people who left the labor force or still consider themselves employed despite not working.

But the efforts needed to contain the spread of the coronavirus have caused much more rapid job loss than during the 1930s.

Decision to bury CDC reopening America report 'came from the highest levels of the White House', who then ordered parts of it be fast-tracked for approval after report emerged it had been shelved

The decision to shelve detailed advice from the nation's top disease control experts for reopening communities during the coronavirus pandemic came from the highest levels of the White House, according to internal government emails obtained by The Associated Press.

Experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spent weeks working on a report titled 'Guidance for Implementing the Opening Up America Again Framework', which was researched and written to help faith leaders, business owners, educators and state and local officials as they begin to reopen.

The report included detailed 'decision trees,' or flow charts aimed at helping people determine whether they should reopen their places of business or continue to keep them closed.

Experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spent weeks working on a report titled 'Guidance for Implementing the Opening Up America Again Framework'. Emails obtained by The Associated Press show CDC Director Robert Redfield (right) signed off on the report, but it was still buried by 'the highest levels of the White House'

The report (part of which is pictured above) was designed to help faith leaders, business owners, educators and state and local officials as they begin to reopen. The CDC repeatedly chased up The White House for sign off on the report - but appeared to be stonewalled for weeks

White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said Friday that parts of the report had not been approved by CDC Director Robert Redfield. The new emails, however, show that Redfield cleared the guidance.

Despite this, the administration shelved the report on April 30.

As early as April 10, Redfield, who is also a member of the White House coronavirus task force, shared via email the guidance and decision trees with President Donald Trump's inner circle, including his son-in-law Jared Kushner, top adviser Kellyanne Conway and Joseph Grogan, assistant to the president for domestic policy.

Also included were Dr. Deborah Birx, Dr. Anthony Fauci and other task force members.

Three days later, CDC's upper management sent the more than 60-page report with attached flow charts to the White House Office of Management and Budget, a step usually taken only when agencies are seeking final White House approval for documents they have already cleared.

The 17-page version later released by The Associated Press and other news outlets was only part of the actual document submitted by the CDC, and targeted specific facilities like bars and restaurants.

The Associated Press obtained a copy Friday of the full document. That version is a more universal series of phased guidelines, 'Steps for All Americans in Every Community,' geared to advise communities as a whole on testing, contact tracing and other fundamental infection control measures.

On April 24, Redfield again emailed the guidance documents to Birx and Grogan, according to a copy viewed by The Associated Press.

Redfield asked Birx and Grogan for their review so that the CDC could post the guidance publicly.

Attached to Redfield's email were the guidance documents and the corresponding decision trees - including one for meat packing plants.

President Donald Trump speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, as Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, listens (file photo)

'We plan to post these to CDCs website once approved,' Redfield wrote.

Redfield's emailed comments contradict the White House assertion Thursday that it had not yet approved the guidelines because the CDC's own leadership had not yet given them the green light.

Two days later, on April 26, the CDC still had not received any word from the administration, according to the internal communications.

Robert McGowan, the CDC chief of staff who was shepherding the guidance through the White House Office of Management and Budget, sent an email seeking an update.

'We need them as soon as possible so that we can get them posted,' he wrote to Nancy Beck, an OMB staffer.

Beck said she was awaiting review by the White House Principals Committee, a group of top White House officials.

'They need to be approved before they can move forward. WH principals are in touch with the task force so the task force should be aware of the status,' Beck wrote to McGowan.

President Trump and Robert Redfield are pictured together at The White House on April 22. At the same time CDC employees were repeatedly asking the White House to approve their 60-page report about reopening America

Redfield's emailed comments contradict the White House assertion Thursday that it had not yet approved the guidelines because the CDC's own leadership had not yet given them the green light. Redfield is pictured in a file photo

The next day, April 27, Satya Thallam of the OMB sent the CDC a similar response: 'The re-opening guidance and decision tree documents went to a West Wing principals committee on Sunday. We have not received word on specific timing for their considerations.

'However, I am passing along their message: they have given strict and explicit direction that these documents are not yet cleared and cannot go out as of right now - this includes related press statements or other communications that may preview content or timing of guidances.'

According to the documents, CDC continued inquiring for days about the guidance that officials had hoped to post by Friday, May 1, the day Trump had targeted for reopening some businesses, according to a source who was granted anonymity because they were not permitted to speak to the press.

On April 30 the CDC's documents were killed for good.

The agency had not heard any specific critiques from either the White House Principals Committee or the coronavirus task force in days, so officials asked for an update.

'The guidance should be more cross-cutting and say when they should reopen and how to keep people safe. Fundamentally, the Task Force cleared this for further development, but not for release,' wrote Quinn Hirsch, a staffer in the White House's office of regulatory affairs (OIRA), in an email to the CDCs parent agency, the Department of Health and Human Services.

The White House has now requested the CDC refile the report after The Associated Press published a report claiming the 60-page document had been blocked by the White House

CDC staff working on the guidance decided to try again.

The administration had already released its Opening Up America Again Plan, and the clock was ticking. Staff at CDC thought if they could get their reopening advice out there, it would help communities do so with detailed expert help.

But hours later on April 30, CDCs Chief of Staff McGowan told CDC staff that neither the guidance documents nor the decision trees 'would ever see the light of day,' according to three officials who declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.

The next day, May 1, the emails showed, a staffer at CDC was told 'we would not even be allowed to post the decision trees. We had the team (exhausted as they are) stand down.'

The CDC's guidance was shelved - until May 7.

That morning The Associated Press reported that the Trump administration had buried the guidance, even as many states had started allowing businesses to reopen.

After the story ran, the White House called the CDC and ordered them to refile all of the decision trees, except one that targeted churches. An email obtained by the AP confirmed the agency resent the documents late Thursday, hours after news broke.

'Attached per the request from earlier today are the decision trees previously submitted to both OIRA and the WH Task Force, minus the communities of faith tree,' read the email.

The CDC report provided information for business owners about when it was safe to reopen. Pictured: Tennessee barber Greg Smith is pictured back at work Wednesday

Two pages of the 60 page 'Guidance for Implementing the Opening Up America Again Framework' are pictured

White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said Friday that parts of the report had not been approved by CDC Director Robert Redfield. New emails obtained by The Associated Press, however, contradict her assertion

'Please let us know if/when/how we are able to proceed from here.

The US has the world's highest number of coronavirus cases at 1.31 million as well as the highest death toll.

CDC is hearing daily from state and county health departments looking for scientifically valid information with which to make informed decisions. Behind the scenes, CDC scientists are working to get information to local governments.

The agency employs hundreds of the world's most respected epidemiologists and doctors, who in times of crisis are looked to for their expertise, said former CDC director Tom Frieden. People have clicked on the CDC's coronavirus website more than 1.2 billion times.

States that directly reach out to the CDC can access guidance that's been prepared, but that the White House has not yet released.

'I don't think that any state feels that the CDC is deficient. It's just the process of getting stuff out,' Plescia said.

The news comes as it is revealed that 11 members of the United States Secret Service have recently tested positive for COVID-19 while 23 others have recovered from the illness..

Some 60 employees of the agency charged with protecting President Trump and other senior government officials are currently in quarantine due to the outbreak, according to Department of Homeland Security documents obtained by Yahoo News.

Meanwhile, Mike Pences press secretary, Katie Miller, tested positive for the virus on Friday. She had been in recent contact with the vice president. Miller is married Stephen Miller, a top Trump adviser.

The positive test for Katie Miller came one day after White House officials confirmed that a member of the military serving as one of Trumps valets had tested positive for COVID-19.

Trump's valet's case marked the first known instance where a person who has come in close proximity to the president has tested positive since several people present at his private Florida club were diagnosed with COVID-19 in early March.

The valet tested positive Wednesday.

The White House was moving to shore up its protection protocols to protect the nation's political leaders.

Trump said some staffers who interact with him closely would now be tested daily.

Pence told reporters Thursday that both he and Trump would now be tested daily as well.
As the cases of Covid-19 began to mount in Ireland, so too did the number of fake "cures" spread through WhatsApp and other social media.

The coronavirus could apparently be staved off by drinking hot water with lemon and bread soda, by leaving half an onion in each room or by sipping warm water every 15 minutes so the virus could be killed by stomach acid. Indeed, the World Health Organisation has said that it is not only fighting an epidemic but also an "infodemic". Last month, Donald Trump even got in on the act, speculating in a televised press briefing that disinfectant could be used as a treatment for Covid-19.

During the epidemics that raged across Ireland over the centuries, quacks also preyed upon the public by flogging miracle-promising products, such as cholera remedies during the outbreak of 1832.

The same thing happened when the so-called Spanish flu swept across the country in three waves in 1918 and 1919, claiming some 23,000 lives. Hospitals and physicians struggled to treat the illness, often resorting to prescribing bottles of whiskey, brandy, mercury chloride, and even injecting strychnine, according to the historian Dr Ida Milne, author of Stacking the Coffins: Influenza, War and Revolution in Ireland, 1918-19.

Expand Close Before the vaccine: In Co Waterford, it was believed that eating the food left behind by a ferret would cure a whooping-cough / Facebook

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Whatsapp Before the vaccine: In Co Waterford, it was believed that eating the food left behind by a ferret would cure a whooping-cough

Unsurprisingly, households resorted to home remedies and cures, just as they had always done.

Tommy Christian, one survivor of the pandemic flu interviewed by Dr Milne, was five when he became extremely ill in 1919. His family put a poultice made of linseeds and hot water wrapped in cotton on his chest and gave him hot toddies, made from sugar, whiskey and hot water - a common flu "remedy" to this day.

Folk medicine

Another measure was "dousing handkerchiefs or scarves in eucalyptus oil to wear when going out in public". The substance was also used to ease congestion. "The Dublin trams were said to always smell of eucalyptus oil," Milne says.

For most of human history, there were no vaccines or effective treatments against infectious diseases. The problem was often worsened by poverty, poor hygiene and overcrowded accommodation. Instead, our forebears turned to the folk cures and charms that had been passed down through the generations.

Cures were often based on plants from local fields, laneways and woods, or seaweed. These were then turned into ointments or salves, says Jonny Dillon, an archivist at the National Folklore Collection at University College Dublin and the host of the collection's Bluirini Bealoidis podcast.

"Some of the folk medicine was very practical," he says. "But there was also another type based on emotional reasoning - ideas around the body or an illness or infirmity that would seem unusual to us now. Some of the strictly speaking irrational practices would be called upon in times of crisis, such as making offerings."

Folk medicine flourished in the 18th century, with people becoming accustomed to managing their own health owing to a dearth of qualified medical practitioners, particularly in rural Ireland. Even the few doctors who were available did not inspire much confidence: without the knowledge that germs could spread disease, they practised bloodletting and prescribed poisonous substances such as mercury. If that wasn't enough of a deterrent, doctors were expensive.

"The practice of formal medicine in those times would look quite horrendous today, because it struggled with the nature of fevers and contagion," Dillon says.

By the early 19th century, traditional herbal recipes, home remedies, poultices and charms were common, often provided by "wise women". Among the most famous of these was Biddy Early from Co Clare, who was known for her herbal cures. Her neighbours and clients often offered tokens of poitin and whiskey in return for her efforts, much to the dismay of the Catholic Church, which denounced her from the pulpit.

During her lifetime, Early earned a fearsome reputation: not only could she cure diseases, she also had a glass bottle that she claimed to use to foretell death and disaster. She outlived four husbands, and was eventually accused of witchcraft by a Limerick doctor. Her case before an Ennis court in 1865 was dismissed because the prosecution could not find a witness to speak out against her.

In 1890, Lady Wilde - mother of Oscar - published a book called Ancient Cures, Charms, and Usages of Ireland: Contributions to Irish Lore, which outlined the use of herbs and charms as "cures" and described supposed supernatural influences in the art of healing.

She wrote that the Irish "peasants" were "still clinging to the old traditions with a fervour and faith that would make them, even now, suffer death rather than violate a superstition, or neglect those ancient usages of their fathers which have held them in bonds since the first dawn of history".

One of the cures for dysentery, she noted, involved "woodbine and maiden-hair [fern], pounded and boiled in new milk, with oatmeal and taken three times a day, the leaves to be burned afterwards".

"Cures" that supposedly transferred a disease on to an inanimate object, for example by passing under or through tight spots in stones, or on to an animal were common through the middle of the 20th century. When TB was rampant, carrying a potato in a pocket was believed in some parts of Ireland to ward off the "consumption". White horses and donkeys were the target for parents with children who suffered from whooping cough. The highly infectious bacterial disease, which spreads through coughs and sneezes, caused 5,000 deaths in 1948. A vaccine was introduced in Ireland in the 1950s.

"Cures for whooping cough included sending a child over and under a donkey three times or going on to the road and looking for a man passing on a white horse," says Dillon. "The man would be asked what the cure was and whatever he said, they would apply that cure. Hall's Ireland: Mr and Mrs Hall's Tour of 1840 says that doctors used to travel on a white horse, so, in the popular imagination, doctors might have been associated with white horses."

Whooping cough cures also feature strongly in the schools' folklore collection on Duchas.ie, a project to digitise the National Folklore Collection. Cures were among the declining oral tradition and cultural heritage recorded by schoolchildren in the 1930s as part of a Folklore Commission initiative.

One account from Co Waterford says that "the food left behind by a ferret would cure a whooping-cough". The food should be "heated and taken," it adds. Another participant told how, "if you would tie a piece of red ribbon on a cow's tail on the May eve it would help keep away diseases for the year".

Some accounts also mention going on a pilgrimage to a holy well, praying and hanging rags nearby to cure diseases. This practice endures today, albeit to a lesser extent, Dillon says.

"The idea is that these cures might just provide a comfort and reassurance in the face of anxiety and shouldn't be scoffed at. If you visit holy wells today, you may still see soothers and rags left by people who are ill."
Strengthening its online-to-offline strategy, Samsung India on Thursday partnered digital payments platform Benow to enable consumers to buy Galaxy smartphones from their neighbourhood stores online. The new digital platform will also help thousands of offline retailers as more than 20,000 offline retailers have already signed up for the digital platform, the company said in a statement. "With this new platform, our consumers will be able to browse, select, order, pay and receive their Galaxy smartphone from the comfort of their homes," said Mohandeep Singh, Senior Vice President, Mobile Business, Samsung India.

This is how the new digital platform works. To enable a dealer to become part of the new digital platform, Samsung shares the details of the dealer with Benow. Following this, the dealer gets a link on his/her mobile number. The dealer then registers for the platform and downloads the Benow App. "Our online-to-offline initiative in partnership with Samsung ensures that a large number of their mobile dealers can now have an online presence and extend an Omni-channel experience to their customers," said Soorraj VS, Co-founder, Benow.

On the Benow app, the dealer can make an online catalogue of best-selling Galaxy smartphones. This catalogue can be edited to add newer models. Once the catalogue is ready, the dealer shares the link with customers via email, SMS and WhatsApp. The dealer can also share the link on his/her social media channels. On the other hand, the consumer can browse the entire catalogue of Galaxy smartphones through the link shared by a particular dealer. "To order a new phone, all the consumer needs to do is place a request via the online link. The moment a customer places an order, the dealer gets a notification," informed the company. The customer has the option to select various payment methods (cash on delivery, credit card, debit card, easy EMI, etc.) to make the payment.
A French surfer is lucky to be alive after fighting off a shark with his fists during a close encounter captured on camera at a popular Australian beach.

Dylan Nacass, 23, managed to escape with only minor lacerations after a shark latched onto his leg while he was surfing at Bell's Beach in Torquay, Victoria on Friday afternoon.

The backpacker got away by punching the shark in the face twice.

Local surfer Matthew Sedunary rushed to help Mr Nacass after hearing the backpacker's shouts.

A french surfer is lucky to be alive after fighting off a shark with his fists during a close encounter captured on camera at a popular Australian beach

He told Nine News even though he didn't think the situation was serious he went to find out what was going on.

'At first I just thought he was having a laugh with his mates, then I saw the fin,' Mr Sedunary said.

The two paddled back to shore together as the shark continued circling.

Mr Nacass told the Geelong Advertiser despite the close call he's already looking to return to the water.

'In one week, when my leg is OK I will go surfing at the same spot,' Mr Nacass said.

'I fight with him and it's OK, I'm alive. Everything is good.

Dylan Nacass, 23, (pictured) managed to escape with only minor lacerations after a shark latched onto his leg while he was surfing at Bell's Beach in regional Victoria on Friday afternoon

'I fight with him and it's OK, I'm alive. Everything is good.' Mr Nacass said

'I have my legs most importantly.'

The panicked screams of the french surfer can be heard in horrifying footage of the encounter captured by Graham Blade.

Mr Blade was filming another friend surfing when he overheard the shouts and focused his camera on the commotion.

He managed to capture the shark on film following the two into the shore for about 30 seconds.

In the footage local Matthew Sedunary has a big smile plastered on his face as he paddles to shore oblivious to the shark lurking only metres away.

Australian surfer Matthew Sedunary rushed to help Mr Nacass after hearing the backpacker's shouts.

He said he really wasn't aware of how close of an encounter he experienced until he looked back on the footage later.

'When we're paddling in and you can see the shark behind I didn't know it was still there,' he said.

He also revealed he's looking forward to returning to the water, revealing the shark continued to pester other surfers in the moments following the first attack.

'Was tempting to go straight back out because it was pretty decent, but glad I didn't coz it hung around and bumped another guy,' he said.

The panicked screams of the french surfer can be heard in horrifying footage of the encounter captured by Graham Blade
On the evening of Sunday 26th April, a silent procession took place at Black Star Square in Ghana as a sign of solidarity with the Africans who have been marginalized and abused in China during the Covid-19 pandemic.



The action was initiated by the Freedom Movement, as a peaceful demonstration to raise awareness for the mis-treatment of black people in China and urge for a public apology to all Africans and Black people worldwide.



As a concerned global citizen, I was deeply disturbed by the treatment I saw of black people in China being evicted from their homes, forced into quarantine and even being denied admittance to restaurants, hotels and other businesses. I was also surprised that even despite the close relationship between China and most African countries, there hasnt been any public denouncement or apology from the authorities. I felt the need to use my voice to let the world know that Covid-19 simply cannot be used as an excuse to dehumanize or deny the civil rights of black people in China or any other nation, says Freedom Jacob Caesar, an industrialist, developer and a nation-builder.



During the procession, signs reading captions such as Africa is a Beacon of Hope and Africa is separated by culture but united by colours were held up by participants who maintained social distancing measures and wore face masks inscribed with the words Freedom of Speech.



Police and other security personnel were also on hand to ensure that the demonstration remained peaceful.



Although, African diplomats in China have expressed concerns to officials there, this mal-treatment is an issue for every black person in the world. Any one of us from the continent or the diaspora whether it be Jamaica, America, France, or Nigeria living in or travelling to China might suffer these same abuses. If we simply remain silent, this treatment and disrespect will continue and even become more widespread in China and other countries.



Black people are not animals as we have been depicted in museums and galleries in China and these actions are unacceptable considering the eminent value that Africa and our resources play in global economies and supply chains, adds Freedom who recently distributed food and other supplies to vulnerable communities and the less privileged in Accra amidst the lockdown that was issued as an effort to contain the spread of the Corona Virus.



Ghana has gained a reputation as a model of democracy in Africa and Freedom of Speech is a fundamental principle that is supported in our democracy. It is important for young Africans and young black people globally to understand the power of our collective voices to effect peaceful change.

I will continue to use my voice and platform to change perceptions of Africa, build unity and forge deeper connections between Africa, the West and the East, said Freedom who operates an international real estate development company in Ghana and other countries and has hosted personalities at his hospitality ventures including Naomi Campbell, Idris Elba, Conan OBrien, and Chinese billionaire entrepreneur Jack Ma.



I believe that this virus does not know gender, race, religion, age, or colour and this could be a sign telling the world that we are all equal and need to come together as One World and One Universal people to overcome the crisis and restore humanity together.



The Freedom Movements procession is one of the first public demonstrations on the continent that has been held to bring awareness to the issue of the treatment of blacks in China and urge for a public apology from the countrys authorities on behalf of African and Black people worldwide.

Source: Freedom Movement/Ghana









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The government of Maharashtra decided to shut operations at the Vashi APMC mandi between May 11 and 17 after confirmed cases of Covid-19 surpassed 80 in the APMC and over 450 across Navi Mumbai, where the mandi is located.

Photograph: Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters

The Maharashtra government has decided to close the Vashi Agricultural Produce Market Committee for a week to prevent the spread of Covid-19. As a result, there will be no supply of vegetables, fruits and grain from the APMC from May 11.

In a meeting held with mandi officials, traders and other participants in the agri value chain, Anoop Kumar, principal secretary of the marketing department, government of Maharashtra, decided to shut operations at the APMC Vashi mandi for seven days between May 11 and 17.

We have decided to keep APMC Vashi shut between May 11 and 17 due to widening spread of coronavirus cases. We are also making alternative arrangements for supply of agricultural commodities to consumers, said Kumar.

The need for closure arose after confirmed cases of Covid-19 surpassed 80 in the APMC and over 450 across Navi Mumbai, where the mandi is located.

With the APMC seeing arrival of farmers, traders and arhatiyas (agents), the fear of Covid-19 spread heightened. As Maharashtra is a hotspot with the highest number of cases, the state government is taking all possible measures to control its spread.

The state government has decided to set up a 1,000-bed Covid-19 hospital in Navi Mumbai near the APMC.

Earlier, Jaywant Sutar, corporator of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, had called for immediate closure of mandi to prevent spread of Covid-19.

During the closure the mandi will be sanitised. All market participants, including farmers, traders, mandi officials, arhatiyas and workers, will have to undergo health check-ups compulsorily and the reports will be stored with the mandi officials.

The closure of the APMC is set to paralyse supply of grain, spices, fruits and vegetables to around 20 million citizens of Mumbai and millions of others in suburbs.

We are planning to supply to wholesalers in and across Mumbai as much quantity as possible so that there would not be any dearth of supply of essential commodities due to closure of Vashi APMC. Farmers are also allowed to supply directly to consumers, said Sunil Singatkar, director of the Vashi APMC.

Interestingly, the state government has converted MMRDA ground in Bandra Kurla Complex and other such large compounds as temporary fruits and vegetable sale yards to ensure sufficient supply.

Meanwhile, total arrivals of agricultural commodities at the APMC declined by 50 per cent over the past three days as farmers kept away from the mandi. Total arrivals on Friday of all agri commodities were stood at 407 vehicles of 9 tonnes each, compared to 1,050 vehicles reported on Wednesday.
Rutgers University founded in 1766 is one of only nine colonial colleges established before the American Revolution. The alumni boast many who were predominant in the revolutionary founding. Inclusion and access began in 1867 when Kusakabe Taro was the first Japanese student to enroll in a U.S. college. In 1892 James Dickson Carr was the first African-American to graduate from Rutgers and in 1918 the New Jersey College for Women was founded on the campus.

Currently, at the Rutgers Department of Education Graduate Studies a move is afoot to "advance narratives of achievement and success in higher education among Latinx/a/o students. So according to Dr. Nichole Garcia, "a Mexican and Puerto Rican woman of color"

we need to understand the differences in the distinct groups that make up the Latinx/a/o community. Once we do, we will be better positioned to meet the diverse needs of these different groups by creating programming to ensure the success of all students and allocating funds [emphasis mine].

Garcia wants to investigate "why Latinx/a/o are the largest ethnic population, but experience some of the lowest college completion rates."

Sounds laudable on the surface even though former Bronx Borough President and United States Representative Herman Badillo explained it quite succinctly in 2006 in his book titled One Nation, One Standard: An Ex-Liberal on How Hispanics Can Succeed Just Like Other Immigrant Groups. At the time, his answer was "as politically incorrect as the question: Hispanics simply don't put the same emphasis on education as other immigrant groups. As the nation's first Puerto Rican born U.S. congressman... Badillo once supported bilingual education and other government programs he thought would help the Hispanic community. But he came to see that the real path to prosperity, political unity, and the American mainstream is self-reliance, not big government."

Badillo asserted that "'social promotion' or putting minority students' self-esteem ahead of their academic performance and then admitting them to college unprepared despite the system's documented failures and injustices" is inherently wrong. In addition, "self-identifying as 'Hispanic' or 'white' or 'black' undermines achievement."

That was 14 years ago and as the leftist agenda keeps solidifying on college campuses, Badillo's ideas are kept under wraps. Instead, Rutgers and other schools perpetuate the identity politics that is destroying genuine self-worth and achievement.

At the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal, Shannon Watkins unwraps how "the anglicized Spanish term Latinx is the latest attempt of gender activists to impose their perverse ideology on the rest of the culture [and] on Spanish speakers in particular."

What is so significant about adding the letter 'x' to the word 'Latino?' To activists, it solves a confounding problem: There is no 'gender-neutral' way to refer to individuals in the Spanish language. Someone, for example, may be described as a 'Latino' writer (if a man) or a 'Latina' writer (if a woman), but there is no phrasing for those who dont consider themselves male or female. But in the early 2000s, activists came up with a solution: Replace the 'o' in masculine words like 'Latino' and the 'a' in feminine words like 'Latina' with a gender-neutral 'x' to create the inclusive term 'Latinx.'

So the Leftists have "killed two birds with one stone" -- they have insinuated the whole left-wing ideology about gender-neutral language and also made an alleged compassionate plea to the Spanish community.

For a while, 'Latinx' remained a niche term secluded to small circles of academics and activists. But not for long. Around 2014, eager to appear 'inclusive,' colleges and universities started to adopt the term. As a result, institutions such as Harvard University, Yale University, New York University, and the University of Florida began to re-label. For example, 'Hispanic heritage month' became 'Latinx heritage month,' and 'Latino Studies' was changed to 'Latinx studies.' In addition, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has now joined the bandwagon.

This, despite the fact that the "overwhelming majority of Hispanics in the U.S. do not want to be referred to as "Latinx." Hispanic is the preferred term because Latinx "simply does not make linguistic sense" to a Spanish speaker since it "embodies a gender ideology completely unmoored from reality."

While the change from 'o' to 'x' might seem minor to some, it is in fact an attempt by ideologues to impose a highly questionable theory of gender by distorting and policing language.

But Newspeak is exactly what leftists engage in and if they say it enough times, it becomes reality. With the imprimatur of colleges across the nation, how much better does it get? Thus, " Latinx -- an alternative to Latino or Latina -- is headed in that direction. Academic centers are adding the word to their titles. The term is becoming de rigueur among artists and politically active youth. Media outlets like NPR are using it without remark or explanation. Another sign that this word has staying power: dictionaries have recently taken the time to define it."

Latinx (adj.): Relating to people of Latin American origin or descent (used as a gender-neutral or non-binary alternative to Latino or Latina)

Moreover, the term has "now gained currency among marketers and media personalities" who are often quite progressive in their thinking. For example, Democrat senator Elizabeth Warren promised to champion "Latinx families."

In a column for the Los Angeles Times, an Hispanic writer noted that millennial media outlets who used it found their pages flooded with negative reactions, with some calling the term ridiculous, stupid and offensive.

Alejandrina Gonzalez, a Mexican-American Stanford University student, has stated that "millennials who view Latinx as liberating have it backwards. 'Changing our language is the opposite of empowering.'"

Even more telling is the title of the Rutgers piece originally alluded to. Called "Research on Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice: Advancing Narratives of Achievement and Success in Higher Education Among Latinx/a/o Students." By now, as more people become aware of the harmful social justice narrative, the words diversity, equity and social justice should get people's antennae buzzing.

The Left has destroyed education attainment among Blacks and it now has its sights on the Hispanic population by emphasizing identity instead of impeccable language acquisition and critical thinking skills.

Eileen can be reached at middlemarch18@gmail.com
LONDON : The UK is planning to bring in compulsory 14-day quarantine for all travellers arriving in the country from any part of the world, except the Republic of Ireland, as part of measures to track the spread of coronavirus, according to media reports.

The new restriction, which means travellers including Britons arriving in the UK would have to self-isolate at a private residence and fined up to 1,000 pounds or deported for flouting the rules, is expected to take effect at the end of this month.

According to The Times, the quarantine will form part of the announcements when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson makes a televised address to the nation on Sunday in relation to the COVID-19 lockdown.

He has vowed to move with maximum caution" as he reopens the economy by lifting some of the social distancing measures and stay-at-home orders next week, enabling people to exercise more than once a day and visit garden centres.

These measures will help protect the British public and reduce the transmission of the virus as we move into the next phase of our response," the newspaper quoted a government source as saying.

Industry body Airlines UK has warned that the quarantine policy needed "a credible exit plan" and should be reviewed weekly.

"We need to see the details of what they are proposing," said Airlines UK, which represents British Airways, EasyJet and other UK-based airlines, in a statement.

UK Aviation Minister Kelly Tolhurst is expected to clarify the policy to airline and airport representatives in a conference call this weekend.

Karen Dee from the Airport Operators Association, which represents most UK airports, said the measure should be applied "on a selective basis following the science" and "the economic impact on key sectors should be mitigated".

The British government has faced some criticism for allowing commercial flights into Britain without requiring passengers to be quarantined or face temperature checks. Last month, it was revealed that about 15,000 were arriving each day.

Ministers have said that making such a move earlier would not have made a difference because of the prevalence of the virus in the country.

They believe a tougher approach at airports is required only now as the R rate of transmission of the deadly virus has fallen in recent weeks.

Among some of the other steps being discussed within government, UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps will encourage the British public to continue to work from home if they can, while those who need to travel will be encouraged to walk or cycle to avoid crowding on public transport.

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The Higher Committee of Human Fraternity (HCHF), called on religious leaders and faithful around the world to a day of fasting, prayers and supplications for the good of all humanity on Thursday, May 14for an end to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200508005369/en/

Members of the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity (HCHF) meeting with Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar (Photo: AETOSWire)

The call is part of the Committees (HCHF) efforts to realize the objectives of the Document on Human Fraternity. It invites people around the world to lay all their differences aside and come together and assume their responsibilities against this virus, the first and true enemy of humanity in this era.

Judge Mohamed Abdel Salam, Secretary-General of the Committee (HCHF) said: The overwhelming response with this call for prayer from leaders and peoples around the world is a true testament to human solidarity and grants us hope in achieving global unity based on human fraternity principles for the safety, security and health of all mankind.

He also noted that seeing all believers come together in prayers and supplications for an end to this pandemic is dream come true of a universal human unity, which is much needed now more than ever. We will implore God Almighty for his grace and mercy and trust that He will respond to the hopes of millions of faithful asking to be saved from this deadly pandemic, he continued.

US-based Rabbi M. Bruce Lustig, Senior Rabbi at Washington Hebrew Congregation and member of the Committee (HCHF) added: Just as all of us have seen how the global pandemic has taken lives and livelihoods, we have also witnessed it reveal some of the best qualities in humankind.

Monsignor Yoannis Lahzi Gaid, Personal Secretary of His Holiness Pope Francis and member of the Committee (HCHF), said: As we await a cure that would spare humanity from this deadly pandemic, our only hope is that God Almighty will save the millions suffering around the world, and help scientists and researchers to succeed in finding the eagerly-awaited cure.

The Committee (HCHF) seeks to bring humanity together in prayer on Thursday, May 14, in what will be the largest gathering of humanity for one goal. The event will be accompanied by unprecedented media coverage, through the Committees social media accounts with hashtag #PrayForHumanity to allow people to interact and share their videos, photos and posts.

The Committee (HCHF) is an independent body of religious leaders, educational scholars and cultural figures from across the world, dedicated to achieving the noble goals of the Document on Human Fraternity signed by Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, during the Popes Apostolic Journey to the United Arab Emirates in February 2019, under the patronage of H.H Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

*Source: AETOSWire

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200508005369/en/
Pushkar Banakar By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The government on Friday said that the second phase of repatriating Indians stranded abroad will begin on May 15 with focus on countries like Russia, Ukraine and some European nations.

The slight delay in launching the second phase is because we want to get the crews tested. The second phase will begin on May 15 and will focus on areas where the concentration of Indians is higher. This includes Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, etc. This time feeder flights would also be used, sources said.

As for the first phase, naval ship INS Jalashwa has departed Maldives for Kochi with 700 Indians on board. It is likely to reach Kochi on May 10 forenoon.

The second ship, INS Magar, will bring back 200 Indians from the Maldives and is likely to reach Kochi on May 12, sources said, adding more ships will ferry Indians between the Maldives and Tuticorin, if needed.

The second phase will also utilise smaller airports like Tirupati, Vijayawada, Bodh Gaya, Kannur and Mangaluru.

Our focus is to bring people back as close to their homes as possible. We will set up immigration centres at these airports for their benefit, sources said.

On the number of registrations to return home, sources said a total of 67,833 had been received.

Of them, 34% (22,470) came from students, while migrant workers made up 30% (15,815). They were followed by short-term visa holders facing expiry of visas (9,250) and those with a medical emergency (5,531).

Evacuation requests

Most requests from Kerala (25,246) followed by TN (6,617), Maha-rashtra (4,341), UP (3,715) and Rajasthan (3,320).
Dreamstime /

HARTFORD  The state Appellate Court has overturned the 30-year total prison sentence imposed on a Hartford man convicted of killing his girlfriend's 16-month-old son on the basis that it constituted double jeopardy.

We conclude that the defendants right to be free of double jeopardy was violated in this case, the appeals court ruled Thursday in the case of Darrell Tinsley. Accordingly, the trial court improperly denied his motion to correct an illegal sentence. The judgment is reversed and the case is remanded for further proceedings in accordance with this opinion.
Breaching the 20,000-mark on Saturday, Maharashtra recorded 1,165 fresh Covid-19 cases taking the states coronavirus positive cases tally to 20,228.

The state also reported 48 deaths, taking the death toll in Maharashtra to 779, state health department data said.

Mumbai reported a total of 722 new Covid-19 cases and 27 deaths today.

With the new cases which emerged on Saturday, the financial capital now has a staggering count of 12,864 coronavirus positive patients in the city alone.

ALSO READ | Army will not be deployed in Mumbai; we will fight Covid-19 together: Uddhav Thackeray

At least, 489 people have succumbed to the coronavirus infection in Mumbai city over the past month and a half.

Maharashtra is the worst-affected state in India by the contagious coronavirus disease recording a large number of cases every day over the last month.

On Friday, the state witnessed deaths of 37 coronavirus patients, the second highest single day tally so far.

Maharashtra has now registered 10,000 cases in just 9 days, after breaching the 10,000-case mark on April 30, with a total of 10,498 cases. It crossed 15,000 cases on May 5, when the total number of Covid-19 cases was 15,525.

The mortality rate in the state stands at 3.86%, down from 7.21% on April 12, but the number of deaths is increasing, with 362 deaths recorded in the past ten days. The countrys mortality rate due to Covid-19 is hovering around 3.35%.

Maharashtra breached the 10,000-mark on April 30, 53 days since the first case on March 9. The state took five days to cross the next 5,000. Indias worst-hit state has been witnessing a rapid rise in cases over the past few days.

In the past ten days, since April 26, 7,897 cases and 299 deaths have been recorded across the state. Mumbai has seen 4,455 cases and 196 deaths in the same period of time.
Thousands of vital coronavirus contact tracers are only now being recruited by the Government  two weeks after the Health Secretary first announced they would be hired.

Matt Hancock said his plan to employ 18,000 tracers, who will be tasked with ringing people who are newly confirmed with the virus to ask who they were recently in contact with, was a key part of tackling the pandemic.

Announcing the scheme on April 23, Mr Hancock said: As we look ahead, this is critical to keep the virus under control.

Outsourcing firm Serco is also understood to be recruiting from among its call-centre staff but has posted no public job adverts so far. Any delay to the deployment of human contact tracers could be disastrous and further undermine Mr Hancocks reputation. Contact tracers are seen working in Brussels, Belgium

Public health experts also say tracers will be essential to stop a second deadly wave of infection after lockdown is relaxed and cannot be replaced by NHSXs trial contact tracing app.

But The Mail on Sunday has discovered that public advertising for the 15,000 trace agents forming the infantry of the force has only just begun.

Call-centre firm Interact CC last week posted two adverts on the jobs site Indeed  the first on Wednesday and the second on Friday.

The adverts reveal that despite their importance, trace agents will be paid just 9 an hour  only 28p more than the minimum wage.

Outsourcing firm Serco is also understood to be recruiting from among its call-centre staff but has posted no public job adverts so far.

Any delay to the deployment of human contact tracers could be disastrous and further undermine Mr Hancocks reputation.

Matt Hancock said his plan to employ 18,000 tracers, who will be tasked with ringing people who are newly confirmed with the virus to ask who they were recently in contact with, was a key part of tackling the pandemic

Last night the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) insisted it was confident that these 18,000 staff will be available from the week commencing May 18, but flatly refused to say how many people have been recruited so far.

Public health professionals are concerned that Ministers have focused too heavily on the app, which last week began trials on the Isle of Wight but which has been beset by technical problems. Mr Hancock is a known technology enthusiast and was ridiculed two years ago for launching his own app.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps also raised eyebrows last week when he told MPs that finding 18,000 contact tracers was not a particularly complicated thing to do.

Even if the contact tracers do begin work by May 18, Britain will still be a month behind the Republic of Ireland where officials have recruited and trained 1,700 contact tracers  the equivalent of 23,000 in the UK given the population difference.

Ireland, which unlike the UK has not stopped contact tracing since its first confirmed case in late February, also has lower levels of coronavirus in the community.

Gary McFarlane, director of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health in Northern Ireland, warned: Theres absolutely no doubt we are behind the Republic. We are definitely not ready yet.

Describing the app  which is supposed to automatically log close contacts between confirmed cases and others  as a tool, not a silver bullet, he said ensuring there were enough contact tracers capable of doing an intense job was critical. I cant see how its possible to ease lockdown until this system is ready to go, he said.

The whole thing is critical. If we dont get it right, theres a danger we will end up back where we started  or worse.

Sources suggested that wrangling over the job specification for trace agents had led to delays, with the situation described as being fluid until just a few days ago.

One of the adverts starts: Do you have a passion for customer service? It then explains that they are looking for compassionate and empathetic personalities, to speak to people who are suspected Covid-19 cases and to trace those they have been in contact with to explain to them about self-isolation and what to do if they develop symptoms.

Call-centre firm Interact CC last week posted two adverts on the jobs site Indeed  the first on Wednesday and the second on Friday. The adverts reveal that despite their importance, trace agents will be paid just 9 an hour  only 28p more than the minimum wage [File photo]

It stresses: No medical knowledge is required and the work is heavily scripted.

Mr McFarlane was dismayed the job was being pitched as a simple, low-level task. Its not like handling complaints about peoples Sky subscriptions, he said. If someones difficult, you cant put the phone down, because that could cost lives.

He questioned whether a heavily scripted approach would work, saying tracers needed the investigative skills and opportunity to sensitively ask questions about who the individual had seen recently. Youve got to recognise people will have been to places they shouldnt have been, and been with people they shouldnt have been with, he added.

The DHSC said: We are working at pace to recruit 18,000 staff to support enhanced contact tracing, and that number will be increased if needed.
WALLINGFORD  Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. exercised his veto power Friday to block funding for Community Pool renovations.

The (Community Pool) project is a project worthy of support, but it is not time sensitive, Dickinson said in a letter to town councilors.

We can and should renovate the pool when the overwhelming financial hardships of citizens and businesses are no longer prevalent, when unemployment is absorbed by gainful employment, he said.

Dickinson vetoed an ordinance amendment approved by a 6 to 3 vote of the Town Council on April 28. It appropriated $7.4 million and approved bonding to renovate Community Pool into a multi-use park.

Dickinson came out against funding the project due to higher than projected costs on April 9, and then added his concerns about the current COVID-19 crisis in another letter a week before the meeting.

It would take at least seven affirmative votes to override Dickinsons veto. If the Town Council does not muster the seven votes, the project would await further efforts to fund it.

The council has 10 days to attempt to overturn the veto. Council Chairman Vincent Cervoni said Friday that he added the issue to the agenda for Tuesday's meeting.

"In light of the surrounding economic environment, I'm not surprised that the mayor vetoed the bond," he said.

Councilor Chris Shortell, who has been a strong proponent of renovating Community Pool, said Friday that while Dickinsons decision was disappointing, it was not unexpected.

Anyone who has set foot in the existing pool knows it is unsustainable, he said. Hopefully we can squeeze a few more years out of it and get this project back on track.

In his letter Friday, Dickinson described the town as caught in an economy/virus pandemic storm of an unprecedented nature.

High winds of business closings, drenching rainfall of unemployment numbers, and a storm tracking radar that forecasts these conditions will not change for an undetermined length of time, he said.

He cited the unknown impact of the ongoing pandemic on revenues for private businesses to operate and municipal government to provide services.

Predictions for state government are troubling with billion dollar deficits in the current and future years, he said. This is a new kind of economy downturn not experienced previously. The speed of recovery is very unpredictable.

Alida Cella, chair of the Wallingford Democratic Town Committee and founder of the Save Our Pool Facebook page, said in an email that Dickinsons response as a government leader has been to follow the crowd and lead in fear.

Instead of answering this crisis by putting up an umbrella to help businesses and boost employment and give people something to come out for and help restart the economy when this is over, she said, he is contributing to the fear and to the economic crisis by vetoing these renovations.

She added that Dickinsons decision is just a continued pattern of lack of vision and leadership.

This is the same mayor that couldnt shut down the Town Hall when this crisis began because he had refused to update our technology infrastructure for so long Town Hall employees cannot work from home, she said.

LTakores@record-journal.com203-317-2212Twitter: @LCTakores
It will be up and running again in Alert Level 2, but Waipuna Hospice needs volunteers to help prepare and staff the shop once open.

Volunteers are how we turn second-hand goods into first-class care, says Waipuna Hospice retail manager James Turner.

The challenge is that our shops rely almost entirely on older community members to run, so we are limited in the number of our volunteers who are available because of the potential risks to their health.

Therefore, we cant operate at the same capacity without new volunteers.

Anyone who is able to work under Alert Level 2 is welcome.

Currently, volunteers are operating within work bubbles, swapping over summer stock with winter clothing.

We are lucky that we are between seasons, as it means we still have a stockpile of clothes to open with despite clothing donations not being permitted under Alert Level 3.

Once open, Waipuna Hospices six charity shops will be fully COVID-19 compliant, with measures including appropriate PPE for volunteers and plastic screens at the counter. Social distancing and contact tracing practices will still be adhered to.

There is also a process where all donations have to be quarantined for 72 hours and decontaminated, so we need more volunteers than usual to help with the extra work required to keep everyone safe.

More Government announcements about how retail stores will operate in Level 2 are yet to come and may have an impact on Waipuna Hospice shops.

According to Waipuna Hospices 2018-2019 annual report, $3.8million was earned through Waipuna Hospice Charity Shops alone.

That year, shop volunteers donated 74,672 hours.

Money from shop sales makes up around 35 per cent of our income, which is a huge bulk of it.

We always receive fantastic support from the community, which has helped us provide those at the end of their life with the best care possible. We use every dollar.

Volunteers can donate as many hours as they wish, and both temporary and permanent roles are available.

To apply, visit: www.waipunahospice.org.nz/shopvolunteer, email: volunteers@waipunahospice.org.nz or phone Elizabeth on: 027 207 1450.
We will not escape from this misery until the Government has been forced to admit that it made a foolish mistake and over-reacted wildly to Covid-19.

The Prime Minister is like a man who sets fire to his own pyjamas, while he is wearing them, to cure himself of hiccups.

Now he stands naked and scorched, as his house burns around him, and exults that his hiccups have indeed gone away. This is what I mean by getting things out of proportion.

People are seen celebrating VE Day from their doorsteps amid the coronavirus pandemic. Huge, devastating actions, such as the national shutdown, require clear, good justifications. These do not so far exist

Above all, he must stop pretending that his actions saved us from deaths that never happened, and people must stop believing this evidence-free bilge.

Till that moment comes, months and perhaps years of costly, painful stupidity will follow. The belief that the Panic Policy worked means it can never fully end. If, and when, you go back to your job  if you still have a job  you will be compelled to abide by ludicrous, impractical rules. You will be forced to wear pointless muzzles on trains and buses.

Normal life will be virtually impossible. Previously simple actions will be endlessly complicated and expensive. And while this farce continues, businesses will continue to close and jobs continue to vanish, visiting misery and sickness on millions.

I have seen this before in the old Communist world, a mad, fixed idea pursued by dense men relentlessly and without opposition or thought, until the whole thing collapses or explodes. Now I see it here.

A near-deserted beach is pictured above in Eastbourne during the Bank Holiday weekend. We will not escape from this misery until the Government has been forced to admit that it made a foolish mistake and over-reacted wildly to Covid-19

Huge, devastating actions, such as the national shutdown, require clear, good justifications. These do not so far exist.

I have yet to see any reason to believe that throttling the economy and imposing mass house arrest have saved a single life. Deaths from Covid-19 peaked and began to decline in this country on April 8, a decline far too soon to have been brought about by the Johnson Panic of March 23.

I have seen masses of reasons to believe that the risk from the coronavirus has been gravely exaggerated and that the figures of deaths have been overestimated.

As for the damage done by the wild, almost Maoist measures adopted by the Government, evidence pours in hourly from ruined businesses and people who thought they were secure, discovering the multiple miseries of Universal Credit.

And this is only just beginning. The two specific competent actions which might have helped  protecting care homes from the outset, and properly equipping doctors and nurses  were bungled.

But the vast, sweeping, showy policies of mass house arrest and the unprecedented switching off of an entire advanced 21st Century economy were, and are, pursued with relentless enthusiasm.

The Prime Minister is like a man who sets fire to his own pyjamas, while he is wearing them, to cure himself of hiccups. Now he stands naked and scorched, as his house burns around him, and exults that his hiccups have indeed gone away

Even now the teenage minds in charge of this cannot admit their mistake or properly call a halt, as we shall learn tonight. But under the rule of this Cabinet of None of the Talents, the country has suffered a total collapse of independent thought and opposition.

The buffoon who got us into this, and now cannot get us out, continues to be lauded and fawned upon as if he were Kim Jong Un. Those who six months ago could not forget his long history of amateurishness, dishonesty and clowning now cannot remember them, and praise him instead.

I used to think he was, at least, amusing. But I see nothing amusing in the landscape of ruin he has now created. Once people begin to realise what he has done, and how needless it was, I doubt that he will ever be forgiven.

Even when Professor Neil Ferguson, chief advocate of the Panic Laws, was caught ignoring his own rules, nothing changed. The nation giggled and missed the point. I actually care more about what goes on above Prof Fergusons neck than what takes place below his belt.

The significance of his action was that even he doesnt believe his scare stories enough to obey the rules based on them. Well, I dont believe those scare stories either and never have.

But thanks to him and his raving prophecies, I now live in a country where the police  the police!  seriously consider prosecuting a free man for canoodling with his married mistress.

This is not because of the multiple betrayals of spouses and children involved. Nobody but me cares about those any more, as I am perhaps the last living puritan, and even I dont think its a police matter. It is because he broke the ludicrous social distancing rules.

We are living in a mad country, governed by clowns. Who will save us from this, or must it just go on for ever?

Even when Professor Neil Ferguson, chief advocate of the Panic Laws, was caught ignoring his own rules, nothing changed. The nation giggled and missed the point

Succession of needless obscenities

Seeking some sort of escape from endless discussion of the virus, I have been watching the TV drama Succession, above, about a wobbling media empire, whose ailing and ancient chieftain, still fearsome, is besieged by would-be successors among his children.

I cant imagine who this is based on, but can it be really true that these people use the f-word quite so much?

Im reminded of the story of the soldier who used that word incessantly as greeting, punctuation and adverb, until the day when he dropped a heavy machine gun on his foot and couldnt think what to say.

A toxic cloud of deceit

More news about the Poison Gas watchdog, the OPCW.

Some months ago I exposed major turmoil inside this valuable organisation, over what some of its senior inspectors regarded as censorship of reports from Syria, in an attempt to alter their meaning and significance.

The OPCW responded by saying that one of these whistleblowers had not been a member of the Fact Finding Mission (FFM) which went to Syria in 2018.

Various toadies and creeps repeated this. Now a radical website, The Grayzone, has published documents which appear to show that he was officially listed as a member of the FFM. I put this to the OPCW on Thursday. So far they have not responded.

I am delighted to say that my call for a court case against the House Arrest policy has now been answered.

The businessman Simon Dolan has begun steps to challenge the legality of the Panic Laws. The Government is dragging its feet but next week will be crucial.

I have posted details of the action, and how to support it, on the Peter Hitchens blog.

Citizens are said to have claimed he was frightening people

Scary face of hypocrisy...

Police in Norwich have spoken severely to a teenager for going round the suburbs in a 17th Century plague doctors mask, like a huge crows head, and a long black cloak.

Citizens are said to have claimed he was frightening people.

I am thinking of getting one of these outfits if forced to wear a muzzle by the Government, so I was interested to see that our new state militia think its a matter for them.

Is it the law that only the Government are allowed to frighten people?

And is the thing they all fear most of all that we might laugh at them?

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A masked worker at this state WIN job center holds an unemployment benefit application form as she waits for a client in Pearl, Miss., on April 21, 2020. (Rogelio V. Solis/AP Photo)

GOP Senators Ask Trump to Pause Visas to Protect Jobs Lost Due to CCP Virus

Four Republican senators have written to President Donald Trump, pressing that he suspend issuing guest work visas to compensate for the jobs lost due to the CCP virus pandemic.

Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Trump on May 7 urging him to extend and expand his April 22 proclamation on immigration that suspended entry of those immigrants who posed a risk to the U.S. labor market already struggling due to the pandemic.

We write to urge you to suspend all-new guest worker visas for sixty days, and to suspend certain categories of new guest worker visas for at least the next year, or until unemployment has returned to normal levels, wrote the four GOP senators.

These suspensions are critical to protecting American workers as our economy gets back on its feet, they said.

While many states are gradually reopening their businesses and public places in a phased manner, the job deluge continues. The senators said 33 million Americans have filed for unemployment since mid-march and one-fifth of the entire workforce in the country is out of work due to the CCP virus pandemic.

Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) (C) speaks to the media at Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 27, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

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, said the Senators.

They said since unemployment is already a record high, the country shouldnt admit the one million nonimmigrant workers it allows visas every year.

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, said the four Republican senators.

They said the proclamation on immigration did not cover the guest worker programs and it remains a threat to the U.S. job market thats trying to recover from the crisis.

President Donald Trump arrives in Phoenix, Ariz., on May 5, 2020. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)

The senators urged Trump to suspend all nonimmigrant guest worker visas for the next 60 days.

Unfortunately, it will likely take some time for most businesses to begin generating enough revenue to return to pre-pandemic levels, said the Senators.

A number of House Republicans have written a similar letter to Trump. A letter written by Reps. Lance Gooden (R-Texas), Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) and Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and a few others have also urged Trump to suspend guest work visa until the situation returns to normal.

Today, I sent a letter to President Trump urging him to extend his Apr-22 EO by suspending ALL guest worker programs with support from multiple House Republicans, including: @RepMattGaetz @RepGosar @RepBrianBabin @michaelcburgess @LouieGohmertTX1 @RepMoBrooks & @SteveKingIA pic.twitter.com/IRmKjjCXWt  Lance Gooden (@Lancegooden) May 7, 2020

A number of these programs are particularly egregious. As service industry businesses remain shuttered due to social distancing restrictions, hundreds of thousands of bartenders, cooks, and managers have been jobless for months, said the representatives, adding that the immigrant workers who are allowed to enter the country at this time will compete with the already stressed American workers.
Head chef Geraud Fabre (L) of French restaurant France-Soir waits for take-away orders in Melbourne on May 8, 2020, as Australia's government unveiled a three-stage plan to get economy back.(William West/ Getty Images)

Australian States Have Power on Relaxing Virus Rules

Australias COVID-19 road to recovery has been revealed with federal and state leaders deciding on a three-stage plan to restart society.

The final phase is expected to be implemented in July, with states and territories to move at different paces on lifting restrictions.

State premiers and territory chief ministers have the power to pick and choose which rules to change in coming months.

Under the national framework restaurants, cafes and shops will be allowed to reopen, with the limit on public gatherings raised to 10 people.

Five people will be allowed to visit other homes.

Weddings will be allowed up to 10 guests in addition to the couple and celebrant, while funerals can have 20 mourners indoors and 30 outdoors.

Real estate home inspections and auctions can resume with a 10-person limit, while children will return to schools and child care.

Universities and TAFE colleges are set to increase face-to-face teaching, with an initial priority put on skills which require a hands-on approach.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the plan would get 850,000 people back to work when fully implemented.

You can stay under the doona forever and youll never face any danger. But weve got to get out from under the doona at some time, he said.

If not now, well, then when?

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews will not lift any restrictions until at least Monday, refusing to apologise for his hardline approach.

This is a pandemic, this is not a popularity contest, he said.

NSW is also cautious, holding off on any announcements, while NT, WA and SA have moved to adopt many of the stage one measures from the national cabinet guidelines.

Tasmania is easing restrictions gradually, but Queensland is moving more rapidly to allow dining in pubs and clubs for 10 people at a time from May 16.

There have been 6900 confirmed cases in Australia, with 97 people dead.

Daily infection rates remain low and there are fewer than 1000 active cases.

Chief medical officer Brendan Murphy is urging people to maintain physical distancing and good hygiene to stop further outbreaks.

Please, keep that distancing. We could lose the battle that we have won so well so far, he said.

Murphy believes hand washing and no longer soldering on to work while sick are two permanent changes to come from the pandemic.

By Matt Coughlan
More than 100 British travellers stranded in isolated parts of Nepal when the coronavirus outbreak struck have been rescued by the Gurkhas. (Picture: PA)

More than 100 British travellers stranded in isolated parts of Nepal when the coronavirus outbreak struck have been rescued by the Gurkhas.

Soldiers from the British Gurkhas Nepal network, based in Kathmandu, Pokhara and Dharan, tackled river crossings and landslides as well as navigating treacherous roads to rescue people, the Foreign Office (FCO) said.

The soldiers, along with UK embassy staff and drivers, travelled more than 4,000 miles through the Himalayas to reach tourists stuck in mountainous towns, villages and national parks, as part of a three-week rescue mission.

Soldiers tackled river crossings and treacherous roads to rescue 108 British nationals. (Picture: PA)

The coronavirus pandemic has severely reduced transport routes in Nepal, the Foreign Office said, leaving tourists stranded in remote places.

In total 109 British people, along with 28 foreign nationals, were helped so they could reach charter flights to get home amidst strict lockdown measures.

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Sergeant Prakash Gurung, of 29 Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps, was among those who helped in the rescue effort, navigating treacherous roads to rescue a British solo traveller from Manang in north-west Nepal, before driving nine and a half hours back to Kathmandu to catch a UK charter flight.

Helping people in dire situations gives me a sense of satisfaction, said Sgt Gurung. The gratitude people expressed in messages has encouraged me to do more of this sort of work.

British ambassador to Nepal Nicola Pollitt said: Getting British nationals home in such an unprecedented time is a huge challenge around the world, but in a country like Nepal, with such extreme conditions, it would have been impossible to get everyone back without the close collaboration of the embassy and British Gurkhas Nepal.

We have been able to reunite more than 700 British travellers with their families in the UK, and that would not have been possible without the tireless work of our embassy and Gurkha team.

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Lt Col Peter Wettenhall, Deputy Commander of the British Gurkhas Nepal, added: It is both fitting and in keeping with the role of the armed forces that when called on for assistance that we do our very best to support those in need.

We are delighted that we were able to assist the British Embassy, British nationals and our soldiers and families in Nepal through this trying time.

Coronavirus: what happened today
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Rival Lawmakers Scuffle in Hong Kong's Legislative Council

By VOA News May 08, 2020

A fight broke out in Hong Kong's legislature Friday as pro-democracy and pro-China lawmakers sparred over selecting the chairperson of a key committee.

The rival legislators, wearing masks because of coronavirus guidelines, shouted and pushed one another as pro-Beijing lawmaker Starry Lee attempted to chair the meeting from behind a cordon of about two dozen guards in grey suits. Democrats said the move violated procedure and sought to eject her from the House Committee chair where she was seated.

"I have the right to start this meeting," Lee, of the pro-establishment Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, said.

Democrats responded by shouting "Starry Lee, step down!" and holding signs in Mandarin and Latin reading, "Beyond one's powers."

Images showed security guards carrying several democrats out of the chamber and one person being taken out on a stretcher. Beijing has accused the pro-democracy lawmakers of "malicious" filibustering to prevent final voting on several bills, paralyzing the legislature.

Democrats maintained the committee needed to elect a chairperson first, before considering any legislation, including one bill that would criminalize abuse of China's national anthem.

Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to China in 1997 with a guarantee of extended freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland. Beijing rejects criticism that it is seeking to reverse those freedoms.

Resentment against the government remains widespread in Hong Kong and last June it erupted into weekly demonstrations to protest an extradition bill that would have allowed detainees in Hong Kong to be transferred to mainland China.

Although the bill was later withdrawn, the demonstrations continued for months before a lull starting in January as the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus.

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India on Saturday dismissed a statement by Nepal that a road it had recently constructed in Uttarakhand state cut across Nepalese territory.

In a statement, Indian foreign ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said the recently inaugurated road section in Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand "lies completely within the territory of India."

"The road follows the pre-existing route used by the pilgrims of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. Under the present project, the same road has been made pliable for the ease and convenience of pilgrims, locals and traders," he said.

The statement follows Nepal on Saturday objecting to the construction and inauguration of the so called "Link Road" connecting to Lipu Lekh which Kathmandu said was in its territory. The road too passes through the territory of Nepal, the Nepalese foriegn ministry said, according to news reports from Kathmandu.

This came after India's defence minister Rajnath Singh on Friday inaugurated the "Link Road" from Dharchula to Lipulekh, identifying Lipulekh as lying on India's border with China border".

Lipulekh is a strip of land on the northwestern edge of Nepal, lodged between Nepal, India and Tibet. While India calls it a tri-junction between these three countries, Nepal has refused to recognise it as a tri-junction and says it is part of its territory.

According to Indian foreign ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava, "India and Nepal have established mechanism to deal with all boundary matters. The boundary delineation exercise with Nepal is ongoing. India is committed to resolving outstanding boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue and in the spirit of our close and friendly bilateral relations with Nepal."

"Both sides are also in the process of scheduling Foreign Secretary level talks which will be held once the dates are finalised between the two sides after the two societies and governments have successfully dealt with the challenge of covid-19 emergency," he added.

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New Delhi, May 9 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi ensured audit of donations made to the PM-CARES Fund, and to share the details and the money spent with the people.

"The PM-CARES Fund has received huge contributions from PSUs and major public utilities like the Railways. It's important that the Prime Minister ensure the fund is audited and that the record of money received and spent is available to the public," he tweeted.

His remarks came amid reports that the central government is accumulating a huge sum of money in the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund set up as a corpus to fight novel coronavirus and that the amount spent will not be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

The CAG office had clarified that since the fund is based on donations, it has no right to audit a charitable organisation.

On Friday, Rahul Gandhi told the media that the PM-CARES Fund should be audited and people of the country should know about the donors and the donations made.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- When National Teacher Day arrived earlier this week, Katelynn Bazen received a special thank you that made her day.

She was part of an exclusive group of teachers to take a phone call from First Lady Melania Trump.

The first lady made several calls to educators across the country at the elementary, middle school and high school level.

Bazen, a kindergarten teacher at Plymouth Christian Elementary School in Grand Rapids, was among the group and had a short conversation with Trump about how she was handling distance learning.

I was very impressed by her and her respect for teachers, Bazen said Friday, May 8. I just got the overall sense she is very appreciative of teachers.

Bazen is now in her eighth year of teaching.

She was alerted on Monday that the first lady would be calling.

She was very easy to talk to, real genuine, and very curious about how learning is happening now, Bazen said.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced teachers to bring technology to the fore when it comes to reaching students. Bazen uses Zoom a couple times a week to connect with her little learners.

Everyones job is more difficult right now, she said. Teaching remotely is definitely something new to a lot of teachers.

The call with the first lady lasted less than 10 minutes, but was a highlight for Bazen.

She expressed her gratitude to teachers and everything they are doing, she said.

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Intensive care doctors say Australian hospitals can safely cope with any surge of coronavirus cases caused by the reopening of the economy and a winding back of social restrictions.

Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society secretary Dr Mark Nicholls said though the risk of second wave contagion was real, people should have confidence in the capacity of the health system to respond to any further outbreaks.

My personal opinion is that we need to open up the economy, people need to start getting back to work, and we have now seen that the systems we have put in place work, said Dr Nicholls, a senior intensivist at Sydneys St Vincents Hospital.

Intensive care doctors say Australia has successfully flattened the curve and hospitals can cope with any further coronavirus outbreak. Credit:Kate Geraghty

What we have seen is that we are ready for it. The system has been tested and we can ramp up if we get another surge in patients and continue to deliver really good care.
FLORENCE, S.C.  Carver Elementary Magnet School celebrated teachers for the last day of teacher appreciation week Friday.

The Carver Elementary Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) hosted a drive-thru with Chic-fil-A, snacks and a mini cake from Sweet Leigh's Cakes and Treats.

Brittany Terrio, president of the PTO, said that under normal circumstances the teachers have a luncheon near the end of the school year. So, the PTO decided to host the drive-thru event to still give teachers a luncheon.

"It was great," Terrio said. "I'm glad that we could. They were so appreciative, and they were so happy to see us, which was nice, too."

Along with Terrio, PTO members Julie LeMaster and Summer Johnson handed out some of the treats for teachers.

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During the event, Principal Josie Little, Assistant Principal Mary Smith and curriculum and technology coordinator Tara Hoffmeyer greeted teachers with pom-poms and a sign that said "Carver Loves You."

The Friday event was the first time Little had seen many of the teachers since mid-March.
Actress turned politician Nagma has found herself in trouble as she has been accused of being anti-India for siding with journalists from Pakistan. The actress is now getting trolled on Twitter for her tweet supporting the journalists. More than 10,000 tweets have gone viral under the trend #Nagmastandswithpakistan, for now.

Nagma was seen favouring Tarik Peerzada and Mona Alam, who were attending a prime time show on a leading channel. The actress was not happy with how the two journalists were insulted by a BJP spokesperson during the debate show. The politician was seen telling Tariq Peerzada to "shut up", and added that the children would get scared seeing him in Skype, which apparently irked Nagma. The debate was about the Handwara attack in which four Army personnel were killed.

She tweeted, "I can't believe the language what Bhartiya Janata Party Spokesperson is using for a Pakistani person Tariq Peerzada and Modi is allowing him and also speaking over the female journalists from Pakistan why invite them if you are hell bent on insulting them."

Well, a lot of netizens have lashed out at the actress calling her anti-India. Nagma, who is from the Congress party, has also been criticized for targeting the BJP leader. On the other hand, there are also a few who think she has an individual right to opine about a matter.

Talking about her film career, Nagma has acted in a broad range of Indian movies, including- Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Bhojpuri, Malayalam, Kannada, Punjabi, Marathi and Bengali. She made her debut in Bollywood with Baaghi: A Rebel Of Love, which starred Salman Khan in the lead. The thriller turned out to be the seventh highest-grossing film of 1990. Her Telugu debut was with the 1991 movie Peddinti Alludi, opposite Suman. The comedy film was helmed by Sarath. She was last seen in 2009 Bhojpuri movie Thela No 501.

Swara Bhaskar, Mahesh Bhatt & Nagma Demand Release Of Activist-actor Sadaf Jafar

When Nagma Said That She Ended Her Relationship With Sourav Ganguly As His 'Career Was At Stake'
By Lovasoa Rabary

ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - Madagascar is putting its self-proclaimed, plant-based "cure" for COVID-19 on sale and several countries in Africa have already put in orders for purchase, despite warnings from the World Health Organisation that its efficacy is unproven.

Last month President Andry Rajoelina launched the remedy at a news conference, drinking from a sleekly-branded bottle filled with an amber liquid which he said had already cured two people.

On Friday, a Tanzanian delegation arrived in Madagascar to collect their consignment.

The tonic, based on the plant Artemisia annua which has anti-malarial properties, has not undergone any internationally recognised scientific testing. While Rajoelina extolled its virtues, the WHO cautioned it needs to be tested for efficacy and side effects.

Madagascar has been giving away thousands of bottles of "COVID-19 Organics", developed by the state-run Malagasy Institute of Applied Research.

Tanzania, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, and Guinea Bissau have all already received thousands of doses of COVID-19 Organics free of charge.

A legal adviser in the president's office told Reuters on Wednesday that Madagascar would now begin selling the remedy, which domestically can be bought for around 40 U.S. cents per bottle.

"This remedy can be put on the market," Marie Michelle Sahondrarimalala, director of Legal Studies at the Presidency, told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday. "Madagascar has already received orders from state authorities in other countries, but also from private individuals.

Heads of other African countries said they were placing orders.

Isolated compounds extracted from Artemisia are effective in malaria drugs, the WHO noted, but the plant itself cannot treat malaria.

WHO Africa head Matshidiso Moeti said she was concerned people who drank the product might feel they were immune to COVID-19 and engage in risky behaviour.

Story continues

"We are concerned that touting this product as a preventive measure might then make people feel safe," she said.

Guinea Bissau has received over 16,000 doses which it is distributing to the 14 other West African nations. Liberia's deputy Information Minister Eugene Farghon said this week there was no plan to test the remedy before distribution.

"It will be used by Liberians and will be used on Liberians," he said, noting WHO had not tested other popular local remedies. "Madagascar is an African country ... Therefore we will proceed as an African nation and will continue to use our African herbs."

By Thursday, Madagascar had a total 225 confirmed coronavirus cases, 98 recoveries, and no deaths.

The African Union (AU) said on Monday that it was trying to get Madagascar's technical data on the remedy, and would pass that to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention for evaluation.

"This review will be based on global technical and ethical norms to garner the necessary scientific evidence," the AU said.

(Additional reporting by David Lewis in Nairobi; Alphonso Toweh and James Giahyue in Monrovia; Writing by George Obulutsa and Ayenat Mersie; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
From Syria to Libya: Captured Mercenaries Recount Tales of Coercion, Deception

Sputnik News

19:04 GMT 08.05.2020(updated 19:06 GMT 08.05.2020)

BENGHAZI, Libya (Sputnik) - As violence returns to Libya, Syrian foreign mercenaries get caught in the crosshairs between Tobruk and Tripoli, but instead of hardened warriors, they cut out a sorry figure.

"We were deceived, we did not come to participate in any war, we came to guard Turkish facilities for the money ... but in the end, I am left without any cash"  this phrase embodies the common denominator of the stories of the Syrians who arrived in Libya "to earn money .. not to fight".

Sputnik was able to speak to some Syrian mercenaries captured by the Libyan National Army (LNA) in recent fighting around Tripoli, getting a first-hand account of how they came to fight in the wars of others.

In mid-January of this year, media outlets around the world ran headlines of the arrival of hundreds if not thousands of mercenaries from Syria to the Libyan capital of Tripoli to fight alongside the Government of National Accord (GNA) at Turkish orders.

LNA Commander Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, in a February interview with Sputnik, said that Turkey using the Tripoli-Tobruk ceasefire to shore up its support for LNA Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj was a violation of the truce.

"Unfortunately, a temporary ceasefire is being used by Turkey and the Sarraj government to transfer a large number of Syrian mercenaries, Turkish soldiers, terrorists, and weapons to Tripoli by sea and air. It is a violation of the ceasefire", Haftar said.

The stories which the captured Syrians told Sputnik paint them less as trained guns-for-hire  as the term "mercenary" would suggest  but as cash-strapped young men coerced into fighting foreign wars after becoming veterans of their wars at home.

Similar themes of deception and luring with promises of money can be seen in the stories, blunt tools used against young men whose lives have been marred by war.

Mohammad Adawi, captured by the LNA in the Abu Salim district of Tripoli, said that he was subject to a discrepancy between job description and job expectation.

"When we left our village in Syria, we knew that we were going to Libya but we didn't know that we were going to fight, we came to Libya on the basis of guarding the Turkish facilities as in an agreement between them and Libya", he said.

Adawi, who claimed to have been among the ranks of the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army, said that the protests his brethren expressed were met with detentions and oppression.

"We came to Libya on the basis of a contract of employment for guarding Turkish facilities in Libya, but everyone was shocked by reality after we arrived in Libya. About 190 people went out and rebelled after finding out that they will fight in Libya... unfortunately most of them were imprisoned", Adawi said.

Another Syrian captured by the LNA, Mohammad Masri, detailed how the deception came down the chain of command of Syria's anti-government rebels.

"The Turkish had obligated the leaders of the Syrian factions to force Syrians to spend a three-month work contract in Libya, and then they would return to Syria. They told us you go for a three-month contract and then return, and you are tasked with guarding oil fields", Masri detailed. "They told us the contract is $2,000 dollars, but after we arrived, there was no $2,000 or anything. All of it was empty talk".

Deer in the Headlights

Masri stressed that he did not participate in any armed confrontation against the LNA as he claims to have been assigned at a Tripoli observation post just three days before it was captured by Haftar's men.

"No, they did not tell us that we will fight in Libya. They told us that they had a contract to guard oil fields", Masri repeated when pressed about how he found himself over 1,200 miles away from his home country.

According to Adawi, the prospect of serving three months and then finding one's way to Europe with some cash in hand was a motivator for many young men to sign up.

"There are people who thought that they would come to Libya in order to take this amount and then move to another country as an illegal immigrant. Many people think this way", Adawi said.

Those plans never came to pass as the men were captured before they saw a dime.

For its part, Tripoli has never denied nor confirmed the presence of Syrian mercenaries in Libya.

"We do not hesitate to cooperate with any side to confront aggression", Sarraj said in response to a question about the accuracy of information about the presence of Syrian mercenaries.

The men were captured as part of a fresh wave of violence that returned to the beleaguered nation late last month.

Haftar announced self-rule over all of Libya and a withdrawal from the Shkirat agreement, which had led to the formation of the GNA in 2015 and the internationally brokered ceasefire agreement agreed upon in Berlin in January of this year.

A Sputnik

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If you are a silent witness to a case of domestic violence, you are as guilty as the one indulging in it, says actor Sandhya Mridul in a newly released video campaign that urges bystanders to be as vigilant as survivors in seeking help by calling the National Helpline for Domestic Violence.

While the main intention behind the lockdown was to protect people from getting exposed to the deadly coronavirus, statistics have shown that women have ended up becoming more vulnerable to abuse. The National Commission for Women (NCW) recently reported 587 complaints on their helpline number and online portal since the lockdown came into effect in March.

On the one hand several women have taken to social media sharing stories of how just being at home in this period has ensured safety from gendered assault and harassment. But on the other hand, gender experts and women rights activists have been raising concerns. The lockdown has presented a challenging situation for lakhs of women caught in difficult situations with their abusers, with no looming respite. Financial uncertainty, lack of access to basics and struggles of confinement have aggravated the situation.

Sandhya, who is known for her honesty and forthrightness on a range of issues, says that the video is not just shedding light on a bitter reality, but also calling out our own hypocrisy in dealing with this situation.

Such a grave issue cannot be just regarded as someone else's problem, or a personal matter. We cannot be mere bystanders, we need to take ownership as a community and stand up against what is wrong. This lockdown was imposed for the safety of people. But the flip side is that because of it, many women are not safe in their own homes, she says.

Sandhya also makes an appeal to all those watching the video that in case they know of a friend, neighbour or anyone in the community who is going through this ordeal, they should call the National Helpline for Domestic Violence, or even use the WhatsApp alert, which is set up for a scenario where victims might not be able to make a telephone call.

Abha Bhaiya, a gender expert who is also one of the founders of Jagori, says that domestic violence against girls and women is an epidemic, if not a pandemic.

The lockdown is supposed to ensure safety with physical distance. However, for many women, the home was never a safe place and the enforced lockdown has resulted in escalated violence against women inside the homes, she says, adding that the state must recognise the gravity of the crime and act with utmost seriousness, putting in place safety measures and infrastructure required for women to move out of violent homes.

The video is the latest in a series around coronavirus advocacy started by Mumbai-based Waatavaran Foundation, Bengaluru-based Jhatkaa.org and Bihar-based Centre for Environment and Energy Development (CEED).
They have in Georgia at least, where the states Department of Public Health recently announced, in cooperation with both Fulton County and Dekalb counties Boards of Health, that to learn more about the spread of COVID-19, an investigation has commenced  and its an investigation thats leading government officials to make random stops at randomly selected residences and ask random citizens for, get this, their blood.

Citizens DNA in the hands of unelected government officials. Hmm, what could go wrong there?

Specifically, Georgias health wonks want to know the percentage of people in the community who have been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, a statement on the states Department of Public Health webpage reads.

And to get that data, the government needs citizens blood. Dontcha know.

Oh, its completely voluntary.

Its completely up to the good citizens of Georgia to decide whether or not to turn over their blood to the government.

Georgias DPH makes that clear in its statement.

In fact, the whole announcement sounds rather tame and sound and sensible and help they neighbor and so forth and so on. Cue State Farm music  with a twist: Like a good neighbor, the government is here. Right?

We all want to do our part for the good of society, after all.
Queensland Health Minister Steven Miles has been tipped as the state's next deputy premier after Jackie Trad stood down on Saturday.

Ms Trad announced she would step away from her ministerial duties while the states corruption watchdog launched an investigation into her alleged role in the appointment of a school principal.

Jackie Trad has stood aside from her ministerial duties. Credit:AAP/Dan Peled

Head of the Labor Party's Left faction, Ms Trad had served as Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk's deputy since 2015.

Insiders have told Brisbane Times that Mr Miles, now the most senior minister in the left, is the frontrunner to step up as deputy premier.
Power duo Tegan Price and Annalise Keating finally teamed up to help the defense attorney fight several conspiracy murder charges in the last season of How to Get Away With Murder. The trailers for the series finale depicts someone getting shot at the courthouse, and fans believe they know who it is.

[SPOILER ALERT: This article contains information revealed in How to Get Away With Murder Season 6 Episode 14.]

Jack Falahee, Amirah Vann, Charlie Weber, Conrad Ricamora, Aja Naomi King, Rome Flynn, Lisa Weil and Matt McGorry | VALERIE MACON

Tegan Price and Annalise Keating friendship

Lawyer Tegan Price (Amirah Vann) made her debut in the fourth season of How to Get Away With Murder when Michaela Pratt (Aja Naomi King) accepted an offer for a job at Caplan and Gold.

Best friend Laurel Castillo (Karla Souza) then approached Michaela and informed her that the firm represents her criminal father, Jorge Castillo (Esai Morales).

Laurel successfully convinced her friend, and the rest of the Keating 4, to help her bring him down. Oliver Hampton (Conrad Ricamora) and Michaela used Tegans computer to locate confidential files and stole the lawyers keycard to enter a security room.

Annalise Keating (Viola Davis) later convinced Tegan to give her a hard drive on her client in exchange that he ended the custody battle over his grandson with his daughter.

She makes me feel alive.

Why do you think I stayed all this time?#HTGAWM pic.twitter.com/aSECvm6Eku  How To Get Away ABC (@HowToGetAwayABC) May 8, 2020

Tegan also provided information to the FBI under Jane Doe, which resulted in Jorges arrest. The C&G lawyer became a main character in Season 5 when Annalise began working alongside her as they retried old cases for her class action suit.

The two developed a friendship as Tegan helped the esteemed defense attorney get her job back at C&G after the governor convinced her to quit for a fake project.

Additionally, they both suspected their boss, Emmett Crawford (Timothy Hutton), had something to do with the death of the face of Annalises class-action suit, Nate Lahey, Sr. (Glynn Turman).

Tegan Price as Annalise Keatings co-counsel

After Emmetts unexpected death, Tegan became the managing partner at C&G and hired Bonnie Winterbottom (Liza Weil) before firing her after the lawyer attempted to meddle in her past.

She also helped Laurel disappear, unbeknownst to the other law students or their professor. Annalise then decided to flee to Mexico under the name Justine, but the FBI caught up to her and arrested her on charges of possessing false documentation.

With Tegans help, the two found out that the prosecution planned to charge her with conspiracy for all murders stemming from her late husband Sam Keatings (Tom Verica) based on a pattern of arson.

The courtroom isn't ready. #HTGAWM continues with the final two episodes Thursday. pic.twitter.com/2IqYss7W5Q  How To Get Away ABC (@HowToGetAwayABC) May 2, 2020

Annalise eventually agreed to take Tegan as her co-counsel, and they continued to get closer as she and the C&G lawyer worked intently together. Additionally, Tegan developed a relationship with Annalises mother, who has dementia.

The two made a great team and seemed poised to win the trial, but Laurel returned as a surprise witness and effectively discredited Tegan as Annalises attorney.

While shes no longer co-counsel, Tegan has remained close to her friend and seems like the only true cheerleader on Annalises side. Shes also expressed a romantic interest in the former professor because she makes the lawyer feel alive.

Why fans think Tegan Price dies in the series finale

Many fans believe the C&G lawyer will be shot and killed in the series finale based on the promo and leaked pictures of Annalise, Bonnie, and Tegan talking to the press outside the courthouse.

One user believes the defense attorney will win the trial before someone shoots Tegan, who most likely dies due to Bonnie and Annalises reactions from the trailers.

Additionally, the C&G lawyer isnt visible. Some believe the writers purposely spent time making Tegan more likable to the audience in the later seasons to make the unfortunate death more heartbreaking.

Many believe Oliver Hampton shot at the trio, hoping to hit Annalise out of anger because his husband might be the only one going to jail. Therefore, some theorize that Tegan took the bullet for Annalise, which would be more devastating.

Others think the defense attorneys former lover Eve returns and shoots Tegan out of jealousy as everything started when Annalise left her girlfriend for Sam.

How to Get Away With Murder Season 6 finale airs May 14, 2020, at 10 p.m. EST on ABC.
Since the Covid-19 pandemics started, and Bill Gates indiscreet quick advertise of his digital vaccination as antidote to the virus, his media defenders have been reeling strange gratitudinal dispositions towards the multi billion philanthropist.

Bill Gates was the first to advertise a digital certificate as a tech identification of vaccinated recipients. Digital certificate is derivable from chips implantation. A digital certificate can be derived from a tattoo. The difference between a digital implantation and digital tattoo is technically, very insignificant. I am not a rookie in digital intelligence to be deceived by these media craps.

I am a christian, cleric, theologian and IT expert among others and I have forewarned that the Coronavirus is a Chinese contraption which the Illuminati wants to use to install a new world order. Some of these articles include I used to elucidate these points include

1. Corona Virus: Church leaders abandons God-Suspends Masses, Deliverances, Anointings

2. Corona Virus: Jesus not Coming Soon, More Pandemics Coming

3. Coronavirus : Illuminati and Chinese Deadly Blow

4. Coronavirus: Illuminati rattles Vatican, Canterbury

5 Forced Vaccination Bill: Illuminati Hijacks Nigeria's Parliament, Covid-19 Team

Rehearsing these write-ups is not part of my script, however, I know the book of Revelation 13; 16-18 says It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666

Far back in 1993, some South Korean missionaries came to Nigeria , and in a programme hosted at Grace of God Mission, 2B Owerri Road, Enugu ,under Rev Dr Austin Nwodika, now Archbishop, and warned us, not to accept any digital mark under any guile, whether for health, security, commerce etc. I attended the 3-evening programme and their warnings are still fresh in my memories, twenty seven years later.

Following my degree and theological studies, and practices, I ventured into the IT world and got appreciable knowledge in networking, database administration among others and my vast knowledge had helped me understand all these controversies-5G, artificial intelligence, chips technology among others , therefore, that digital certificate from Bill Gates is capable of being used negatively if it gets into rogue hands.

Bill Gates had spent about $1.6 billion dollars in Nigeria, 90 percent of them in the Muslim dominated North of Nigeria to eradicate sickness. Wonderful news!.

A woman ex-minster of petroleum in Nigeria under the immediate past administration now on asylum in the UK, in my estimate, stole over $6 billion dollars, and the British authorities are aiding her asylum because there is no evidence that her repatriation with her loot will be utilized by he new czars.

Therefore, Bill Gates spend $1.6 billion dollars in Nigeria, but an oil minister stole $ 6 billion dollars including diverted oil receipts not passed through federation accounts,outright oil theft, oil bunkering, outrageous oil brokerage fees, and fuel subsidy scam. During the five years that the immediate past regime held sway, in my estimate, over $142 billion dollars was looted.

Read more from my article 'Stolen!! $142 billion dollars Nigerias Oil Revenue in 5 Years  In The Midst of National Poverty-additional Financial Mathematics'.

Prof Chukwuma Soludo, Nigeria's former Governor of Central Bank, in his estimate of the loot of that five years, put it at $150 billion dollars. President Buhari in 2015 told the UK government that $150 billion dollars was looted in five years.

Therefore, if all these strange media defenders of Bill Gates philanthropy had used the stolen $142 billion dollars , there would be no need for Bill Gates $1.6 billion dollars incursion into our health system. All these thieves who are making the Bill Gates vaccine the only alternative and wants us to surrender our freedom because of his gracious philanthropy, are all part of the new world order agenda.

Some of these big thieves are among those who deceived ex- president Jonathan, created imaginary enemies for him, and looted the nation blind when the Otuoke born leader was chasing Boko Haram members he admitted were in his cabinet. These same thieves looted and derailed Jonathan's transformation agenda to the point that the gentleman president attracted the opprobrium of world leaders.

These cheer leaders have turned to Bill Gates media defenders , after embezzling between $142-$150 billion dollars which would have been used to provide pipe borne water, decent housing, decent living, social security and food security and health security, asking us to sell our collective destiny because of Bill Gates goodwill is very satanic.

I am not against what Bill Gates is developing, its even good for mankind, if it will mitigate diseases, and I commend him for his activities in Nigerian but I know that the angst against Bill Gates is not limited to Nigeria.

1.Millions who blasted bill gates on social media over his vaccine are mostly Europeans and Americans, not Nigeria . His post drew 45,000 nasty comments in 24 hours on twitter

2. A petition calling on the White House to investigate Bill and Melinda Gates for crimes against humanity surpassed half a million signatures, above the one hundred thousand threshold since its creation on April 10. The signatories are not Nigerians

3. Robert Kennedy Jr., the son of Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of John F. Kennedy, had criticized Bill Gates vaccine. He alleged last week that "Gates had used his influence to shift the WHO's approach to disease eradication" Robert Kennedy Jr's father was assassinated by the Illuminati the same manner they assassinated John F Kennedy. Robert Kennedy Jr knows much about the new wold order and the reasons his father and nephew were taken out. He is not from Nigeria.

The groundswell of attacks against Bill Gates comes from Europe and America and I do not see why Nigerian media defenders will ignore all these global concerns and reel us of how we should be grateful for the help from the philanthropist.

Bill Gates is a model of philanthropy and model of good heart towards the needy, and I appreciate the fact that apart from his medical incursions,his Microsoft applications and operation systems are the most user friendly , though its security and firewalls are not so secure. Therefore, Bill Gates has the reputation of make things digitally easy.

Despite my admiration for Bill Gates, I know so much about the 'One World Order' agenda and the Illuminati ethos of 'Chaos before Order' which they wrenched from the Freemasons. I know about the biblical ethos that the Antichrist will appear peaceably at first before unleashing terror on the world Daniel 11:21: [There] shall arise a vile person, to whom they [the predecessors of the coming world government] will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue. Therefore, anything that resembles a mark of the beast is suspect, no matter who is involved.

Bill Gates philanthropy thrives in Nigeria because some black monkeys embezzled over $400 billion dollars of corrupt bananas since independence leaving the populace in search of hopeless Covid-19 palliatives.

Bill Gates ! I like your good heart ! but I look unto 'Jesus the Author and Finisher of My Faith' Hebrew 12:2 . Jesus had already warned mankind in Revelation 13: 16-18 about any mark on either the hand or forehead whether for health, security, economic , pandemic, epidemic purposes.

I had rather follow the opaque instructions of Jesus rather than the digital innovations and technological wonders of Bill Gates .

I know that the Illuminati controls vast aspects of the world. Their top echelons supplied steel and oil to the Nazi's during the second world war and yet joined allied forces to destroy Hitler. They create chaos and brings solution midst the cheering of unsuspecting minds. They are in the military, churches, politics, business and they control the media .

I have encounter a few Illuminati top echelons in my missionary and private life and I know their antecedents.

Bill Gates philanthropy in Nigeria was a fallout of years of corrupt impoverishment of the people by their leaders. If the successive oil windfalls from Obasanjo through Yar'adua to Jonathan has been judiciously applied, we wouldn't have needed any Bill Gates philanthropy.

Therefore, let the strange media defenders of Bill Gates shut their dirty mouth and let all these forced vaccination be first experimented in the United States.

(Obinna Akukwe , columnist wrote via [email protected], facebook.com/obinnaakukwe
FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed coronavirus model is seen in front of the words coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on display in this illustration

ZURICH (Reuters) - Countries must return to "basic principles" of public health surveillance if they are to bring the coronavirus outbreak under control, the World Health Organization's (WHO) top emergency health expert said on Friday.

The WHO, which said it is facing a $1.3 billion funding deficit for its effort to tackle COVID-19, issued the call for more surveillance as many countries including the United States, Switzerland, Mexico and Germany have turned their efforts toward re-opening economies battered by the pandemic.

Mike Ryan, head of the WHO's health emergencies programme, said during a media briefing from Geneva that all nations should focus on the fundamentals of the global coronavirus fight: scouting potential new infections, hunting them down, confirming them and then separating those afflicted, to save others from the disease.

"We seem...to be avoiding the uncomfortable reality that we need to get back to public health surveillance," Mike Ryan, the head of the WHO's health emergencies programme, said during a media briefing. "We need to go back to where we should have been months ago -- finding cases, tracking cases, testing cases, isolating people who are tested positive, doing quarantine for contacts."

WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus' concerns over a funding crunch come after U.S. President Donald Trump last month told his administration to temporarily halt funding to the United Nations health agency. U.S. officials are demanding a WHO overhaul, saying it mishandled the coronavirus crisis.

WHO's Ryan on Friday urged nations to stick together as the disease spreads from country to country, sometimes at different rates and with wide swings in death tolls. Ryan highlighted how Russia appears to be dealing with a "delayed epidemic" as a spike in confirmed new infections in recent days has catapulted it past France and Germany in total number of cases.

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"Through solidarity we will win the fight and nobody is safe until everybody is safe", Ryan said. "There is a path out, but we must remain ever-vigilant, and we may have to have a significant alteration of our lifestyles until we get to a point where we have an effective vaccine."

There has been a slew of news in recent days about vaccine candidates, including announcements that tests in humans have begun with some trials expected by summer, though experts have warned a successful preventative treatment may still be many months away.

(Reporting by Michael Shields and Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi, editing by John Miller)
Over 70 tonnes of medical and personal protective equipment flown in from China has still not cleared Australian customs.

The supplies were sent from the coronavirus epicentre of Wuhan to Sydney Airport on April 8.

The Department of Home Affairs confirmed the Australian Border Force was still investigating the equipment and whether it met requirements from the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

A Department of Home Affairs spokesperson said: 'The investigation is ongoing.'

Over 70 tonnes of medical and personal protective equipment flown into Sydney from Wuhan on April 8 (pictured above) has still not cleared customs

Pictured: Suprana Airlines crew arriving at Sydney airport on April 8

'All imported goods selected for examination are stored in licensed depots until goods are released by the Australian Border Force.'

'The Australian Border Force works closely with the Therapeutic Goods Administration to ensure imported goods comply with customs regulations,' the spokesperson said.

The Shanghai-based Suprana Airlines charter flight was not a government-to-government arrangement but was privately organised by a collective of Chinese-Australian businessmen, The Age reported.

One key organiser, Eddie Zhi, is a red meat trader connected to Cedar Meats, the Victorian abattoir responsible for the state's largest coronavirus outbreak.

Mr Zhi said he could not believe 'the cargo of precious PPE has not cleared customs'.

'It is the most shockingly bureaucratic experience in Australia in my life,' he said.

Mr Zhi said he had already supplied the abattoir with 2000 face masks that were imported from China and also purchased 35 tonnes of mutton to send on the return flight.

The delivery of Mr Zhi's face masks coincided with the first Cedar Meats employee testing positive for coronavirus on April 2.

At least 71 COVID-19 cases have now been linked to the Melbourne meat company.

Cedar Meats said it was not aware of the April 2 test result as it was not informed by Victorian health authorities.

The Australian Border Force said the cargo (pictured) was still under investigation

Pictured: The Suprana Airlines cargo flight crew making their way to the Rydges Hotel

CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 27,244 Victoria: 20,269 New South Wales: 4,273 Queensland: 1,161 Western Australia: 692 South Australia: 473 Tasmania: 230 Australian Capital Territory: 113 Northern Territory: 33 TOTAL CASES: 27,244 ESTIMATED ACTIVE CASES: 269 DEATHS: 897 Updated: 5.31 PM, 11 October, 2020 Source: Australian Government Department of Health Advertisement

The Department of Health and Human Services said it did not need to inform the meat company as the employee claimed he had not been onsite for four weeks.

The department said the second COVID-19 case emerged on April 24 and contact tracing was initiated.

Work was gradually scaled back as more cases were identified before the company shut completely.

The Department of Health and Human Services said the source of infection was still under investigation.

The facility has now been closed for at least 14 days for infection control, which will continue to be reviewed based on health information.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison defended the Victorian Premier's handling of the COVID-19 cluster on Friday.

'I commend Premier Andrews for the way that he has sought to address this issue.'

'These outbreaks are difficult. But you've got to move quickly and use the tools you've got available to you,' he said.
For many patients who have succumbed to illness from COVID-19, their last days have been lonely ones in intensive care units, without the presence of a loved one to hold their hand.

Its grueling for patients and their families, and also for the health care workers who have tried to offer comfort for sick patients as they reach the end of their lives amid the pandemic.

But now, hospitals in the UMass Memorial Health Care system in Central Massachusetts are starting to offer a program that allows family members for some patients who are dying from COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, a final chance to see their families.

For the patients, I think that to be able to say goodbye, to be able to have that last look, that last touch, I think is more meaningful. Its just immeasurable what it can do for all parties involved, said Melissa Ryzewski, of Nursing Professional Development at UMass Memorial, who is running the program with Alicia Wierenga, the senior director of patient and family-centered care.

The program, called the End of Life Support Navigator Program, just launched at the end of April and is available for patients with coronavirus who are receiving comfort measures only in isolation units. In March, hospitals including UMass Memorial Medical Center imposed visitor restrictions to try and cut down on the spread of coronavirus.

Right now, the program is available at UMass Memorials university and memorial campuses, but other system facilities can offer it as well, Wierenga said.

Once there is a request for a family visit, arrangements go through the hospitals command center for approval. When its time for family and friends to come in, they are screened for coronavirus and escorted through the hospital. Health care workers explain how to properly put on personal protective equipment, or PPE. Up to two family members are allowed to visit and can stay in the patients room for a maximum of 30 minutes to limit exposure.

They were absolutely so thankful to be able to have that chance to come in and say goodbye to their loved ones," Ryzewski said, recalling one of the first families to use the program. It meant a lot for them to be able to have the final moments and to hold their hand to be able to say what they needed to say. It was something that was very special to them.

Having enough PPE is vital to making this program work. Hospitals around the country struggled to find enough PPE as the pandemic began and hospitalization rates increased. But now, UMass Memorial feels it has enough for its employees, said Wierenga.

This was the first thing that we said we have to allow visitors to come in and say goodbye to the COVID-positive patients at the end of life," Wierenga said.

Working during the pandemic and seeing patients die alone has caused anguish and heartbreak among staff, Wierenga said. This program helps support health care workers.

After family visits with the patient, health care workers walk with them as they leave the hospital. They also make sure to give a follow-up call to check in on the families, Wierenga and Ryzewski said.

This is what we do. As a nurse, you say hello to newborns but you also say goodbye, Wierenga said. For us, its a pure treasure that we get to do this for the community.

Other hospitals are offering similar programs, including Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester.

Its usually end of life situations or very unique special circumstances. We do allow people to visit a COVID patient at end of life. We give them very precise personal protective equipment, we help them gown, and make sure they have the appropriate hand hygiene," said Saint Vincent Hospital CEO Carolyn Jackson.

This week, hospitalizations for coronavirus patients have started to trend down. As of Friday afternoon, 4,702 Massachusetts residents have died from illness related to coronavirus, according to state health officials.

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At least four Pakistani soldiers were killed and as many injured in Indias retaliatory firing across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu & Kashmirs Poonch sector on Thursday, an Indian army officer said on Friday.

At least three posts were destroyed in which four Pakistani soldiers were killed and four others were injured in Raikhchikri and Nezapir sectors of Pakistan opposite Poonch in our retaliatory fire, said the officer.

A defence spokesperson said, Intercepts confirmed that the adversary had suffered fatal casualties in retaliatory fire by the Indian troops.

On Thursday, Pakistani troops had fired on Indian posts in Shahpur, Kirni and Qasba sectors of Poonch district, prompting India to retaliate, he added.

A civilian was also injured and two houses were damaged in Pakistani armys shelling on the Indian side in Poonch. The injured was identified as Nisar Ali, a resident of Qasba village.

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BEIRUT (AP)  A Palestinian woman from Syria has become the first refugee living in a camp in Lebanon to test positive for the coronavirus, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said Wednesday. It triggered a spate of testing to determine whether other residents have been infected.

The agency, UNRWA, said the woman resided in the only Palestinian camp in eastern Lebanon's Bekaa region. It said all necessary measures had been taken and the patient was transferred to the government-run Rafik Hariri Hospital in Beirut.

Lebanon, a country of 5 million, hosts tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees and their descendants, most of them living in squalid camps that resemble jungles of concrete. They have no access to public services, limited employment opportunities and no rights to ownership. The country is also home to more than 1 million Syrian refugees and other Syrians who are residents.

The tiny country has recorded 22 deaths from among 682 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. They include one Palestinian who lives outside a camp and three Syrian residents who have tested positive.

Wednesdays announcement was the first involving a refugee living inside one of the camps.

There is always concern of an outbreak in a crowded place like the camps ... but we hope that the measures we are taking with the ministry and others concerned will help us avoid an outbreak, said Huda Samra, communications advisor for UNRWA in Lebanon. Up to 3,000 people live in the Wavel camp in the city of Baalbek, known locally as the Jalil, or Galilee camp.

Samra said a team comprising UNRWA members and Rafik Hariri hospital staff tested 146 people at the camp Wednesday, including all those who had contacts with the woman in recent days. She said the agency would pay all testing and hospital expenses.

Lack of testing has stoked fears among millions of displaced people around the world packed into refugee camps and informal settlements. Wednesday's announcement sparked concern in Lebanon, where human rights groups have long decried discriminatory measures against refugees.

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Most people who become infected experience mild to moderate symptoms. But the virus can cause severe illness and lead to death, particularly among older people and those with underlying health problems. It is highly contagious and can be spread by those who appear healthy.

Lebanese Health Minister Hamad Hassan told reporters that two teams from the ministry headed Wednesday morning to the Bekaa Valley, one to the Baalbek General Hospital and another to the Wavel camp where they will take test samples.

Refugee cases will be treated like their Lebanese counterparts, the minister said, apparently in response to rights groups' questions about Lebanon's ability to provide refugees with health care.

Iran on Wednesday reported 94 more deaths from the virus, with the death toll in the country now reaching 5,391, out of 85,996 confirmed cases. Iran is the hardest-hit country in the Mideast and one of the world's worst outbreaks of the coronavirus.

In Saudi Arabia, the state-run news agency said King Salman is permitting the preachers at Islams holiest mosques in Mecca and Medina to perform nightly Ramadan prayers. However, worshippers from the public will not be permitted to attend due to restrictions aimed at limiting the spread of the virus.

The Kingdom announced earlier this week the continued suspension of prayers at mosques nationwide.

Egypts parliament Wednesday passed a draft bill amending the countrys state of emergency law to give President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi broad powers to fight the spread of the virus.

The amendments, which only need el-Sissis signature to become law, also expand military prosecutions to potentially include alleged crimes committed during the state of emergency.

Egypt has been under a state of emergency since April 2017, and the government extended it earlier this month for another three months. The law was originally passed to give the president broader powers to fight terrorist threats and drug trafficking.

The new amendments enable el-Sissi to take a number of actions to curb the virus, such as suspending classes at schools and universities and quarantining returnees from abroad. But they also include expanded powers to ban public and private meetings, protests, celebrations and other forms of assembly.

Egypt has recorded over 3,600 cases of the virus, with 276 deaths.

Jordan on Wednesday eased movement restrictions in three large and sparsely populated southern districts where no coronavirus cases have been reported.

Life began returning to normal in the districts of Karak, Maan and Tefileh. In the city of Karak, 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of the capital of Amman, heavy traffic clogged streets Wednesday.

Jordan has recorded 428 positive cases of the virus and seven deaths, according to a tally kept by John Hopkins University.

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Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, Aya Batrawy in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, Samy Magdy in Cairo and Omar Akour in Amman contributed to this report.
Three more persons tested



positive for COVID-19 in Assam, taking the total number of cases to 62 in the state, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday.

A female student of the Regional Dental College in Guwahati tested positive on Friday night, taking the number of cases in Guwahati to six.

"Alert ~ 3 people, incl an Ambulance Driver from Mumbai who drove the 2, test #COVID19 + in Jorhat. Driver sent back to Mumbai. 2 are at JMCH since their arrival in Jorhat," Sarma tweeted.

With this, the total number of positive cases has gone up to 62 in the state, of which 34 have been discharged, he added.

Two persons - one each from Hailakandi and Kamrup Metropolitan districts - have died due to the disease.

"These are difficult times. My duty is to give finest attention to all. Following social distancing guidelines of the government, met the girl, who tested positive, at Regional Dental College and assured her best care," Sarma said in another tweet.

The girl was tested after she came into contact with a doctor at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) who had tested positive on Thursday, he told reporters.

A 16-year old girl was found positive after she died on Thursday at the Dr B Barooah Cancer Institute here.

"We will have to discuss with the Union Health Ministry whether we can declare her death due to COVID-19 as we did not treat her for the disease and she was found to be positive after her death," Sarma had said at a press conference.

Assam has tested a total of 16,167 samples so far for novel coronavirus, while 9,237 asymptomatic persons were identified and kept under home quarantine for coming in contact with COVID-19 positive cases.

According to the daily bulletin of the state government, 34 persons have recovered and were discharged from hospitals, while 23 others are undergoing treatment.

Nearly 5 lakh people have been screened across Assam, of which 36,818 passengers have been screened at six airports in the state till date, the bulletin said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Syria Iran In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad, right, wears a mask to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who also wore a mask and gloves, in Damascus, Syria, Monday, April. 20, 2020. (SANA via AP)

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP)  Iran's foreign minister used a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad Monday to call on the U.S. to lift sanctions imposed on both countries, during his first visit to the war-ravaged country in a year.

Iran has been a close ally of Assad in Syria's long and bloody nine-year-long civil war, lending his government in Damascus vital military and economic support.

The remarks made by Mohammad Javad Zarif during the meeting with Assad were reported by Syria's state-run news agency SANA.

Zarif said America had shown its inhumane face to the world by refusing to lift sanctions during the pandemic.

A photo of the meeting released by SANA showed Assad wearing a face mask while Zarif had also put on a mask and blue gloves.

Iran is facing one the worst outbreaks in the Middle East with 83,500 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, and more than 5,200 deaths from the Covid-19 illness it causes. Syria has reported only 39 cases of the virus and two deaths.

Iran began Monday a gradual easing of its lockdown to stimulate its sanctions-choked economy, gambling that it has brought under control its coronavirus outbreak.

Assad expressed his condolences to Iran over the deaths caused by coronavirus during the meeting Monday.

The Syrian leader said that the pandemic was being used for political exploitation" by the U.S. and its allies, according to SANA.

Syria and Iran are both under American sanctions that they both say are affecting their fight against the virus by limiting some humanitarian imports.

Irans Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that Zarif will discuss with Assad and other Syrian officials bilateral relations and developments in the region.

Russia, Iran and Turkey, who back rival groups in Syrias conflict, have been sponsoring talks in Kazakhstan to try to end the conflict that has killed nearly half a million people.

___

Associated Press writer Basem Mroue contributed reporting from Beirut.
As India continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic with some measure of success -- we do not yet know whether this is due to the as-yet modest numbers of those testing positive and the relatively small number of fatalities, or it is due to the effective management through the lockdown the Narendra Modi government at the Centre is displaying a certain sullenness, refusing to take on board either the state governments or the Opposition parties in Parliament in chalking out a national response. Prime Minister Modi seems to want to deal with the situation all on his own as he seems to feel that the partys impressive majority in Parliament is reflective of the peoples mandate and their trust in him. Initially, he wanted to enthuse the entire country into united and purposive action. Now he wants to go it alone with his war plans. But there is a sense at the back of his mind that his plans would have limited success if the state governments do not join in. It appeared that the second lockdown -- from April 15 to May 3 --was in some way in response to the demand of the chief ministers, but the Centre seemed to have lost interest in the whole process. The extension of the lockdown for a further two weeks -- from May 4 to May 17 -- came in an official home ministry communique, and not a prime ministerial broadcast to the nation.

And Mr Modi seems loath to consult the decimated and carping Opposition in Parliament in the decision-making. After a ritual round of a meeting with the floor leaders of the Opposition parties in Parliament, Mr Modi has effectively turned his back on it, who he believes is out to discredit him even in this hour of calamity and stress. He may not be really off the mark there. To be fair to Mr Modi, the Congress would possibly have behaved in the same way that he is doing if the party was in power and it had the numbers in Parliament that Mr Modi now has. Parties in power in India do not like the idea of sharing the responsibility of power even when they do not have any reason to fear the Opposition.

The Central government took gratuitous decisions without consulting the chief ministers and the state governments. First, it took the belated decision of sending migrant labourers stuck in many cities back to their villages, but it did not work out the details of the plan with the state governments. And it did not explain why it had reversed its own view that everyone should stay put where they were, and that stranded workers should be provided food and shelter. And the Centre took almost no interest in taking care of them, leaving it to the state governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to do the needful. Neither the state governments nor the NGOs were assured of any financial assistance in the matter. The Centre felt it had done its bit when it announced free rations to ration card holders in cities, towns and villages, and offered free cylinders to the Ujjwala scheme beneficiaries. The cash offer of Rs 500 to be put in Jan Dhan Yojana accounts was again done without much thought. It was a knee-jerk response to the plight of the poor.

The exercise of creating the graded zones of red, orange and green on the basis of the intensity of Covid-19 in these areas seems to have been done without strategic intent. The Union home ministry is keen to issue orders to state administrations in the form of advisories. The health ministry, despite the studied intervention of health minister Harsh Vardhan, seems to be passive and sullen in turn. There is no ongoing dialogue between the Centre and the states, which should actually be the norm in times of crisis like this. The systems are functioning with mechanical rhythm, between hospitals and laboratories of the states and the Centre. The Central task forces set up by the Prime Minister do not appear to be active participants. They are functioning like the Central governments monitoring agencies. To say the least, it is not the best example of pooling resources, collecting and sharing data in a federal polity.

More important, Mr Modi and his colleagues appear keen to demonstrate the utter financial dependence of state governments on the Centre. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharamans promise in Parliament days before the lockdown that the share of the states of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections would be released remains a dead word.

The prickly relations between the Centre and some state governments is quite evident in the case of West Bengal. Mr Modis party, the BJP, is keen to pursue partisan politics, keeping in mind the Assembly elections due in the state next summer. Instead of coordination, there is confrontation. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee walked straight into the BJPs trap and reacted negatively, and in the process lost control of Covid-19 management in the state, with the figures of those affected by the virus fluctuating and uncertain. Health minister Harsh Vardhan, a qualified doctor himself, took pains to explain that the inter-ministerial Central teams which were being sent to the states were there to help the state governments. Quite clearly, the BJP scored brownie points but it did not really improve the efficiency of the Central government in grappling with the pandemic. Similarly, the BJP allowed the situation regarding the election of Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray, who is the chief minister in the Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress government in Maharashtra, was forced to ring up Prime Minister Modi before governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari advised the Election Commission that polls could be held for the Legislative Council later this month, which would enable Mr Thackeray to get elected and stay in office as CM. The governors in West Bengal and in Maharashtra were indulging in partisan politics without caring for the dignity of the constitutional office that they hold. The BJP, through its Central government, refused to let go of an opportunity to needle a rival. For Mr Modi and his party colleagues, it seems as though it remains politics as usual.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 9

Trend:

Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov held a telephone conversation with the Foreign Minister of Russia, Sergey Lavrov, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

During the conversation, the minister exchanged congratulations on the 75th Anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

The sides discussed the steps taken by the countries to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and cooperation in this regard, as well as the issues of the bilateral relations agenda.

The Ministers also exchanged their views on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the measures required to address the health and ecoomic impact of the coonavirus pandemic with his Italian counterpart Giuseppe Conte over a phone call.

Over a phone call on Friday, PM Modi also conveyed his condolences for the loss of lives in Italy caused by the coronavirus pandemic. He commended the fortitude shown by citizens of Italy during the crisis.

Both the leaders expressed solidarity with each other and appreciated the mutual cooperation extended towards each other's stranded nationals.

Modi assured Conte of India's unstinted support to Italy in provision of essential medicines and other items.

The leaders agreed to continue active consultation and cooperation between India and Italy, to further strengthen bilateral relations.

Conte reiterated his invitation to the Prime Minister to visit Italy at a suitable time.
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state says he doesnt regret revealing the identity of the states COVID-19 index case, Mrs. Susan Okpe.

The Governor made this known in a press statement by his Chief Press Secretary, CPS, Terver Akase on Friday.

Orton says even though the patient has desperately tried to politicized the issue and whipped up ethnic sentiments, it was for the best interest of the people of the state to make her identity known.

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Ortom added that with the identity of the index case known, tracking and isolation of all who had contacts with her became easy.

It is the constitutional duty of the Governor to ensure the safety and wellbeing of his people. Section 26 (2) (e) of the National Health Act, 2014 gives the government the powers to disclose information relating to a person if non-disclosure of the information represents a serious threat to public health.

Mrs. Okpe admitted in her numerous videos that on her arrival in Benue State, she visited a private hospital in Makurdi for treatment. She also admitted that the doctor in the private hospital later informed her that she had tested positive for COVID-19 and was to be treated.

After the Deputy Governor, Benson Abounu led a team of medical experts to counsel Mrs. Okpe and explained to her why she had to be moved to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, BSUTH, it was only proper that the people were informed that there was an index case in the state. This is precisely what the Governor did.

It is rather sad that Okpe who is a Nigerian citizen has insulted all Nigerians and says repeatedly that she does not trust anyone in this country.

Read Also: Ortom, Deputy Test Negative For Coronavirus

But even in the United Kingdom where she left for Nigeria, the Prime Minister tested positive for COVID-19 and went public to say that he had contracted the disease.

He was treated and later discharged. But here, Mrs. Okpe has refused treatment and taken to daily production of videos to castigate all medical personnel who attempt to attend to her, government officials and anyone who holds a contrary opinion regarding her case.

We wish to remind Mrs. Okpe that she is no longer in the care of Benue State Government. NCDC is in charge of her case in Abuja and will ascertain her status. If she is certified free of COVID-19, the disease control agency will let her go. She needs to redirect her messages to the agency and leave Governor Ortom alone, part of the statement read.
The following speech was delivered by Tomas Castanheira on behalf o f the group of Brazilian supporters of the International Committee of the Fourth International in Brazil, 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. Castanheira is a regular writer on Latin America for the World Socialist Web Site.

In Brazil and throughout Latin America, May Day 2020 has been marked by the COVID-19 pandemics intensification of the prevailing tendencies of extreme social inequality and the violence of the class struggle.

As elsewhere on the planet, workers are rejecting the demand that they choose between COVID-19 and starvation, and are coming forward in struggle against a capitalist system that places profit over the right to life itself.

Brazil, the largest, most populous and most unequal country on the continent, is quickly becoming a global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic.

The speech by Tomas Castanheira begins at 1:46:40 in the video.

In Manaus, the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas, COVID-19 patients are being treated in the midst of corpses that cannot be buried. Images of hundreds of mass graves being dug have shocked Brazil and the world. After watching their colleagues get sick or die from the disease, nurses went on strike to demand the most basic protective equipment from the government.

This drastic situation is spreading rapidly to the rest of the country. The disease is only beginning to hit Brazils crowded slums, whose precarious homes lack the least sanitation infrastructure, and where entire families share the same room.

The indifference and criminal negligence of the worlds capitalist elite find no more cruel expression than in the figure of the fascist Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro. From the beginning, he minimized the effects of the disease and clashed with the governors who imposed quarantine measures, while openly supporting fascist demonstrations calling for both military intervention and the immediate reopening of the economy.

But it didnt take long before Brazilian workers engaged in wildcat strikes and protests. Among the most significant features of these actions has been their overtly international character, along with their independence from, and hostility to, the existing unions.

Only a few days after the first COVID-19 deaths were confirmed in Brazil, hundreds of workers went on strike at a JBS meatpacking plant in Santa Catarina, in opposition to the deadly working conditions. In the United States and Canada, the same conditions made the plants operated by the Brazilian-based company focal points of the disease transmission, leading to sickness and death.

In March, thousands of call center operators staged a nationwide rebellion against their unsafe working conditions. The action began first in the centers run by AlmaViva, a transnational corporation based in Italy, inspired by the news that AlmaViva had been forced to shut down its Palermo site by a similar strike.

Last week, a protest against low pay and unsafe working conditions, imposed by global App delivery corporations, and initiated by delivery workers in Spain, was turned into a strike in Brazil, Argentina and Ecuador.

Like the workers rebellion in Matamoros, Mexico a little over a year ago, the fact that recent episodes of class struggle in Brazil have been conducted from outside and in opposition tothe nationalist and corporatist unions, crucially confirms the political perspective fought for by the International Committee over the past 30 years. As the Trotskyists affirmed, the globalization of capitalist production imposes upon the class struggle not only an international content, but also an international form, requiring the coordination of the struggles of the working class on an international scale.

But the intensification of industrial action by workers is also a response to wider developments on the continent. Over the past year, Latin America has relived, in a concentrated form, the history of its oppression by US imperialism and the inability of its national bourgeoisies to sustain either lasting economic development or the most fundamental democratic rights, leading to an explosive development of the class struggle.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the pink tide of bourgeois nationalist governments that swept the region was celebrated by Pabloite organizations and the pseudo-left as a break with inequality and imperialist oppression, and even a new road to socialism. Today, with the collapse of the vast majority of these governments, the pink tide has been exposed as a fraud.

South Americas bourgeois rulers are once again conspiring openly with American imperialism, with Colombias Ivan Duque and Brazils Jair Bolsonaro acting as key players in Washingtons efforts to promote regime change in Venezuela.

Last Novembers coup in Bolivia anticipated the return of the continents corrupt armed forces to the center of power. The path was opened for them by President Evo Morales, who abandoned the masses resisting the coup in the streets. In a criminal betrayal of the Bolivian working class, the COB, the countrys largest trade union federation, agreed to participate in the coup regime.

An uprising of millions against social inequality shook Chile last year. Shouting its not 30 cents, its 30 years, the working class and youth were met with the revival of the police state methods of the bloody Pinochet era, demolishing any democratic pretensions of the regime installed after the end of the dictatorship.

The massive protests in Chile sparked obsession and terror within the Brazilian ruling class, leading Bolsonaro to call for the reimposition of the repressive laws of the military dictatorship, and the unrestricted use of the army to maintain order.

For their part, Brazils Workers Party [Partido dos TrabalhadoresPT] and its pseudo-left satellites, faced with the explosive development of the class struggle on the one hand, and the threat of dictatorship on the other, have sought to align themselves with factions of the bourgeoisie and even the military, which they call the adults in the room in Bolsonaros cabinet. They have hailed the most right-wing governorseven as they set their own dates for reopening the economyas defenders of science against Bolsonaros fascist demagogy. At the same time, they joined the government in crucial votes in Congress for a bailout of the banks and financial markets, equivalent to 15 percent of Brazils GDP, even as masses of workers are offered less than starvation relief.

In the midst of the pandemic, the unions led by the PT and the Maoist PCdoB, along with the Morenoite-led CSP-Conlutas, have pushed through wage cuts and mass layoffs to benefit the corporations under the pretext of saving jobs.

How have these parties, unions and pseudo-lefts marked this years May Day? Under the pretext of national unity against Bolsonaro, they invited onto their platform the presidents of the Brazilian Senate and House of Representativesboth members of the Democrats, the successor to the party that governed under the military dictatorshipalong with right-wing governors Wilson Witzel, of Rio de Janeiro, and Joao Doria, of Sao Paulo, both of whom supported the election of Bolsonaro in 2018.

Whatever their empty criticisms of this broad front, all the tendencies of the pseudo left, from the Pabloites in the PSOL to the Morenoites of the PSTU, are committed to the subordination of the Brazilian working class to the pro-corporate and nationalist unions and through them to the capitalist state itself.

The central task now facing the most politically advanced workers in Brazil and Latin America is to draw the lessons from the collapse of the pink tide and the subordination of the working class to bourgeois nationalist regimes and pro-corporate unions.

This requires a relentless struggle against all the revisionist tendencies that broke with the Trotskyist movement, based on a nationalist perspective, and the claim that socialism could be achieved without building a conscious revolutionary leadership within the working class.

We call upon all those who are listening to join in the fight to build the Brazilian section of the International Committee of the Fourth International, along with sections of this World Party of Socialist Revolution throughout Latin America.
A desperate father made an extraordinary offer to sell his organs to pay for his daughter's life-saving surgery after being told by doctors that she had just months to live.

Seven-year-old Bella Howard from Newcastle, New South Wales was diagnosed with deadly diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas after an aggressive tumour was found at the base of her brain on April 20.

Doctors told her heartbroken father Gene, 37, that she had just three months to live.

In a last-ditch attempt to save his daughter's life, Mr Howard turned to Dr Charlie Teo - a high-profile surgeon who had performed similar operations in the past.

Despite losing his job just months earlier, Mr Howard made a mad scramble to raise $100,000 in just hours to pay for the procedure - saying he would've robbed a bank if it meant he was able to get the money.

'The doctors said the tumour is on the brain stem, it is untreatable, we were out of our minds. The idiots at the hospital said she's gone mate, she's got three months,' Mr Howard told the Daily Telegraph.

Bella underwent surgery at Prince of Wales Private in Randwick, in Sydney's eastern suburbs on Wednesday

Doctors told her father Gene Howard (pictured with Bella) that she would have up to two years to live after only offering treatment via radiation therapy

Dr Charlie Teo (pictured) saw Bella's MRI on Monday and described it as the 'worst type of tumour' saying she had only six weeks to live

Desperate to come up with the remaining amount, Mr Howard even offered to sell his organs to a hospital.

'We had no choice, I rang the hospital to sell one of my organs and they rang the police on me. They told us she (would die) and there was no option,' he said.

A GoFundMe campaign for Bella generated $111,000 - more than enough to cover the rest of the cost of the surgery.

Bella underwent surgery at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Randwick, Sydney on Wednesday, and is recovering in a critical care unit.

Dr Teo's fee for Bella's surgery was criticised by Sydney University professor of surgery Dr Henry Woo.

'Why isn't this surgery being performed in the public hospital system if the patient is from NSW? Dr Teo does have a public hospital appointment at Sydney Children's Hospital. Is Dr Teo's personal fee really $60,000?' he tweeted.

Mr Howard defended Dr Teo - saying he had 'no choice' but to act quickly to save his daughter's life.

Mr Howard (right with Bella) couldn't believe that doctors would not refer him to Dr Teo who had many successes with complicated brain surgeries

'He said she had to go into surgery so I had to find that money. She could get 10 years, she could get 12 months, or 30 years, but there was no choice. I was going to rob a bank if I had to,' Mr Howard said.

Dr Teo has previously defended his fees, saying that for surgeries that cost $120,000, $80,000 of that goes to the hospital while $40,000 went to him and his team. He said his fee for surgeries varies between $8,000 and $15,000.

Bella Howard was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPG), a highly aggressive brain tumour which was found at the base of her brain on April 30

Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Gliomas DIPG is an aggressive brain tumour found at the base of the brain. They are glial tumours, meaning they arise from the brains glial tissue (tissue made up of cells that help support and protect the brains neurons). These tumours are found in an area of the brainstem which controls many of the bodys most vital functions such as breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate. DIPG account for 10 percent of all childhood central nervous system tumours. It is estimated to affect around 20 children aged 0-14 years, each year in Australia. Less than 10% of children are alive two years after diagnosis. Advertisement

Bella was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour found at the base of her brain

Bella (pictured) is currently recovering in the intensive critical care unit following her surgery

Dr Teo performed similar surgery on 'miracle girl' Milli Lucas.

The 13-year-old was hit with the devastating news last month that her cancerous tumour had returned after the renowned neurosurgeon wiped out 98 per cent of the growth on her brain stem following a life-saving procedure in Sydney in June 2019.

Milli and her father Grant Lucas travelled from Perth to Sydney on April 7 so Dr Teo could perform his second operation on her after doctors in Western Australia again refused to carry out the procedure amid fears of paralysis or even death.

On the morning of Wednesday, April 8, little Milli went into surgery - as Dr Teo told the family he feared she may not walk, talk or see again after the surgery.

Dr Charlie Teo (pictured with Milli last year) performed a second operation on Milli Lucas after he wiped out 98 per cent of the growth on her brain stem following a life-saving procedure

But against all odds, the brave young schoolgirl proved to be a fighter following the 'hugely successful' operation.

'Charlie was very very worried that when she came out of surgery she may not walk, she may not talk and she may not see,' her mother Monica Smirk told 6PR radio.

'So we were nervous but she comes out of ICU on Thursday morning - talking, walking and basically told her dad that the food in the hospital wasn't the best and asked him to "go and get me a steak please".

'Charlie had tears in his eyes, he's like "Milli, you're amazing, you are incredible". He couldn't believe that she woke up so well.'
In the wake of the death of 16



workers from Madhya Pradesh in a train accident in Maharashtra on Friday, MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday urged the stranded migrants to be patient as his government was making arrangement for their safe return to the state.

He also asked them not to risk their lives by undertaking return journey on foot.

Sixteen migrant workers- part of a group of 20 headed towards villages in Madhya Pradesh and who were resting on the tracks, were crushed to death by a goods train in Aurangabad district in the early hours of Friday.

According to police, they had left Jalna around 7 on Thursday evening and decided to rest on the tracks after walking for about 36 km.

In a video statement, Chouhan said, "The migrant labourers should be patient and avoid return journey on foot as the state government has made arrangements to bring them back."



"Eleven trains carrying people from other states have already reached Madhya Pradesh and 10 more are coming on Saturday," he said.

The government will ensure the safe return of the migrant workers, he added.

"Contact the state control room and give information. We are committed to bring you back to the state, he appealed to the migrants.

Chouhan said that about 1.25 lakh migrants have been brought back to the state so far.

He said the labourers can get themselves registered for the return journey by contacting on the phone number- 0755-2411180.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As Gov. Greg Abbott sparked phase two of reopening the Texas economy on Friday with strict conditions on businesses, new questions arose about how those rules will be enforced.

In Harris County, the states most populous county, residents lit up phone lines with almost 10,000 tips about possible violations.

But at the same time, court challenges are exposing weaknesses in the patchwork of state and local rules and Abbotts last-minute decision to eliminate all criminal penalties for violating the orders drew groans from some law enforcement officials.

If the governor is going to keep changing the tune he plays as he leads the state out of this pandemic, there is little incentive to put your own necks on the line to enforce an order that could be invalidated the next day, said the Texas District and County Attorneys Association in its weekly guidance to the states prosecutors.

At the current rate this news cycle is going, next week another order could make haircuts mandatory and then three days later the punishment will be reversed, the guidance said. Who knows anymore?

The threat of up to 180 days in jail and fines of up to $1,000 had only led to three arrests that were widely reported in the media.

But that was three too many for Abbott, who had consistently dialed back stricter measures  such as last week when he struck down any local fines for those who decline to wear face masks in public  and directed state agencies to give ample warnings before levying citations.

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 to the media about his decision. His office declined further comment on Friday.

Civil libertarians and conservatives agreed, saying that lifting the stay-home order that Abbott imposed for the month of April is supposed to give people their lives back.

Jailing or fining our citizens for non-compliance with these orders was always a last resort, said Montgomery County Sheriff Rand Henderson. Safeguards and precautions were taken to ensure the freedoms and liberties of our citizens were not infringed upon.

On the other hand, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo blistered Abbott on Twitter for criticizing local officials who used the enforcement tools he had provided in his own order.

Respectfully," Acevedo wrote, "you shouldnt issue orders that include the jailing of violators to cover the science, just to turnaround & excoriate those who enforce YOUR executive order to cover the political backlash. Your actions are hypocritical.

Meanwhile, the Texas Supreme Court has hinted that even noncriminal coronavirus restrictions may not stand up in court.

As more becomes known about the threat and about the less restrictive, more targeted ways to respond to it, continued burdens on constitutional liberties may not survive judicial scrutiny, Justice James D. Blacklock wrote in an opinion Tuesday.

State agencies, such as the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, have mostly focused their efforts on education. That hasnt changed since Abbotts latest order.

Yet licensed professionals such as Dallas salon owner Shelley Luther, whose weeklong jail sentence prompted Abbotts fiery statement, remain among those most likely to face fines or license forfeiture for future violations.

Nearly 300 licensing investigations underway

As of early this week, the licensing and regulation department had nearly 300 active investigations into barbers, cosmetologists and massage therapists that have been accused of violating state or local orders to stay closed. It remains to be seen how many of those will be contested.

We are still opening complaints and reviewing cases for violations of TDLR rules and cosmetology/barbering/massage therapy laws during the executive order, the agency said in response to questions Friday. We are continuing to investigate the consumer complaints that were lodged against Ms. Luther for violations of TDLR rules.

Luther was sentenced on Tuesday to a week in jail and fined $7,000 after refusing to close her business during the lockdown, was released from jail Thursday after an outcry from many leading Republicans over her situation.

She was the third person arrested after violating a coronavirus restriction in Texas. Last month, two Laredo women  Ana Isabel Castro-Garcia, 31, and Brenda Stephanie Mata, 20  who were arrested for offering beauty and cosmetic services from home were released on bond. They now no longer face confinement as a punishment.

Shannon Edmonds, spokesman for the district and county attorneys association, said the organization has been recommending for months that criminal enforcement of these orders be a last option.

Theres a lot of good reasons for why weve been doing that the last two months and among those are that the rules can change at any time, and were seeing that firsthand here, Edmonds said.

Law enforcement agencies can still make arrests, even if a judge could not sentence the person to jail time, Edmonds said. And a judge has the discretion to jail someone who doesnt pay the $1,000 fine for violating Abbotts order  but he said its unlikely, as traditionally courts have frowned upon anything resembling debtors prison.

Staff writers Catherine Dominguez and Eric Dexheimer contributed to this report.
As the country slowly crawls back to life, Apple is set to reopen stores beginning next week. Apple is going to employ a staggering approach when it comes to reopening its stores in the U.S. The company had closed its stores in March due to the corona pandemic. In the first stage, Apple will throw open its stores in South Carolina, Alaska, Idaho, and Alabama.

Were excited to begin reopening stores in the US next week, starting with some stores in Idaho, South Carolina, Alabama and Alaska. Our team is constantly monitoring local heath data and government guidance, and as soon as we can safely open our stores, we will.

There are a total of 271 Apple Stores in the U.S and it might take a while for all of them to be reopened. Apple says that it will focus on fixing products and will enforce the required safety procedures. Staff and customers will be scanned for temperature and social distancing norms will be followed. Furthermore, Apple is providing face masks for all of its retail employees.

As of now, Apple will restrict the number of walk-in customers at the store. This might end up causing some delay for customers. The company encourages customers to buy online as they can offer contactless delivery or choose in-store pick up. It is worth noting that all the Apple Stores in the U.S. were closed in mid-march.

Previously, Apple had planned to reopen the stores in April, however, that was not possible due to the COVID-19 situation. Meanwhile, other Apple employees will work from home and remaining retail employees will offer remote tech support. On a related note, Apple Stores in South Korea, Hong Kong, China are already open and the ones in Germany are starting to open as well.

[via NBC
Four persons were detained by



Ahmedabad police on Saturday for allegedly spreading misinformation about Union Home Minister Amit Shah's health by creating a fake Twitter account in his name.

Earlier in the day, Shah had issued a statement saying that rumours about his health were being spread through social media, and he was in good health and not suffering from any disease.

The local crime branch detained four persons for spreading misinformation about Shah's health, special commissioner of police (crime) Ajay Tomar said.

A screenshot of a fake Twitter account in Shah's name with his photo, claiming that he was suffering from a serious ailment, had gone viral on social media platforms, Tomar said.

The suspects were detained from Ahmedabad and Bhavnagar and they were being questioned, he said.

A case has been registered in this regard under sections 66(c) (punishment for identity theft) and 66(d) (cheating by personation using computer resource) of the Information Technology Act, the official said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dani Evans has broken her silence on a resurfaced clip of Tyra Banks scolding her to have the gap in her teeth closed.

The exchange occurred on a 2006 episode of America's Next Top Model but went viral again this week causing backlash against Tyra.

Dani did get the gap partly closed and won season six, and she said on Instagram Friday that she did it to 'make a better life for myself' outside her native Arkansas.

Her side of the story: Dani Evans has broken her silence on a resurfaced clip of Tyra Banks scolding her to have the gap in her teeth closed

Dani revealed that her brother persuaded her to do America's Next Top Model even though she felt that 'it's fake modeling' and 'they humiliate girls, terrible idea.'

However her brother framed the opportunity as 'a one-way ticket out to New York' away from their hometown of Little Rock, so off she went.

'With that being said, I had one goal in mind. That one goal was to get out of my hometown, to create a different better life for myself. That was it,' she said.

'I wasn't even hungry, I was starved to get out, you need to understand that, starved. So any and every, the opposition that came my way, I was so deaf to it because I had a goal, and anyone that stood in my way of getting out of Little Rock was gonna get bulldozered over, period,' Dani explained.

Dredged back up: The exchange occurred on a 2006 episode of America's Next Top Model but went viral again this week causing backlash against Tyra

She was criticized for her manner of speaking, which she realized after watching footage of herself 'was just a matter of me enunciating my words, you know what I'm saying? Done, easy, fixed it, moving onto the next.'

The subject of the tooth gap came up when Dani and her runner-up Joanie Sprague visited the dentist for the show.

When the dentist asked if she wanted work done on her teeth, she requested whitening and cleaning, but he 'repeatedly asked me if I wanna close my gap.'

Dani said she refused, noting to viewers that 'none of this aired on TV. I'm giving you guys the behind, behind the scenes, right?'

Triumph: Dani did get the gap partly closed and won season six, and she said on Instagram Friday that she did it to 'make a better life for myself' outside her native Arkansas

She told the dentist: 'Naw, bro, super cool, I'm super secure in my gap,' though she confessed to her Instagram following this Friday that while she was growing up she would 'cry and ask my mother for braces. We couldn't afford braces.'

Dani's mother 'reminded me that my two grandmothers, who I absolutely adored, had gaps. They're queens. "You're just like your grandmothers." You know what? I learned to accept and love my gap, so on Top Model when they wanted to close it I was like: "Naw fam, I'm good."'

Then Dani arrived at the exchange between her and Tyra during eliminations, which is to say that clip that went viral this week.

'Do you really think you can have a CoverGirl contract with a gap in your mouth?' asked Tyra, saying the look was 'not marketable.'

Scathing: 'Do you really think you can have a CoverGirl contract with a gap in your mouth?' asked Tyra, saying the look was 'not marketable'

Dani initially insisted she could be a successful model with a gap, then compromised on adjusting the gap 'a little bit' though 'I don't wanna completely close it.'

'Well, I guess she just left the "gap" wide open for another girl, baby,' joked Tyra's fellow judge Miss J Alexander.

On her Instagram page this Friday Dani said she arrived at eliminations and Tyra said to her: 'I told you to get your gap closed.'

'No, you didn't,' Dani replied, leading both women to look at the crew for guidance and executive producer Ken Mok to shrug at Dani.

'In that moment, I knew what was happening - I knew that I was basically set up and not being told that Tyra wants me to get my gap closed, so that it's good for TV, right?' Dani explained to fans on her Instagram page.

Meeting them halfway: Dani initially insisted she could be a successful model with a gap, then compromised on adjusting the gap 'a little bit' though 'I don't wanna completely close it'

'So in that moment the 19- 20-year-old Danielle stood there realizing that it was my one-way ticket out on this side or keeping my gap on this side and going back to Little Rock, Arkansas. What you think I'm gonna choose fam?'

Dani continued: 'So Tyra says to me: "If I send you back to the dentist, will you get your gap closed?" And I meet her with another question: "So what you're saying to me is, if I tell you know, then you're gonna send me home tonight?"'

She asserted that 'that whole fiasco' with Tyra was filmed 'about two or three times, which you guys saw none of that on TV.'

Dani said of her 'compromise' that 'I was not going to allow something that is physical on my face to stop me from getting out to make a better life for myself. I had a laser-focused goal. Nothing or no one was gonna stand in my way.

Behind the curtain: On Instagram Dani asserted that 'that whole fiasco' with Tyra was filmed 'about two or three times, which you guys saw none of that on TV'

She argued that 'it wasn't about copping out - it was about understanding what really carries weight and holds value in my life and teeth was not one of 'em.'

Said Dani: 'I wasn't tight because of Tyra's comment about me not being able to model with a gap. I wasn't tight about Miss J's comment about leaving the gap wide open for the next girl. All of that was trivial to me. I've heard it all before. What I was tight about is them trying to play me and making good for TV.'

Nowadays though upon reading the social media response to the resurfaced clip she has been struck by 'the weight it created in other girls who saw that.'

Prioritizing: She argued that 'it wasn't about copping out - it was about understanding what really carries weight and holds value in my life and teeth was not one of 'em'

In her new video she wanted to 'take this time to build up and to speak to all my little young queens that saw that episode that were truly affected by Tyra's words.'

She assured them: 'You're beautiful, and I'm not talking about a physical feature. It doesn't matter if you have a gap, stacked teeth, straight teeth, it matters not. It doesn't matter if you're black, brown, white, indifferent, other, it doesn't matter. What makes you beautiful is in here.'

Dani insisted that 'it's not because someone "higher up" says that you're beautiful. You don't become a star because someone acknowledges your light. You are light. You are worth. You are valued you are loved. Always stand in your truth and your power and don't let anyone ever tell you that you're not.'
These are the worst of times for airlines.

But the COVID-19 crisis that has grounded about 80 per cent of the worlds passenger aircraft also heralds the dawn of a new era of safer, sanitized air travel.

Like many of their global peers, Canadian airlines are using the sabbatical forced on them by the novel coronavirus to reinvent commercial flying to protect passengers not only from COVID-19 but all contagions.

Just as the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 revolutionized air travel security, the pandemic will revolutionize air travel health.

More on that later.

First, the airline industry must struggle to emerge from this unprecedented crisis.

As part of that recovery, passenger fares will rise over the next three to five years.

That is bound to be a relatively brief interruption in the long-term decline in air fares.

On average, global airlines saw their net profit per passenger drop to $8.03 in 2019, or a profit margin of 3.1 per cent, from $8.77, or 3.4 per cent, in 2018.

The airline industry has learned how to drive down its costs and make serious profits with narrower profit margins.

But with a sudden loss of most of its revenue, beginning in March, the airline sector is now in hibernation, as Air Canada CEO Calin Rovinescu put it this week.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global airline industrys trade group, estimates that the industrys loss in revenues this year will come to $442 billion.

Rovinescu wasnt exaggerating this week in saying, Were now moving through the darkest period in the history of commercial aviation.

Air Canada reported a quarterly loss of $1.05 billion this week. And Rovinescu, like his industry peers worldwide, believes the industry will take three to five years to recover to pre-pandemic financial vigour.

Warren Buffett revealed last weekend that his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. conglomerate had sold its entire stake in Americas four largest airlines, after spending four years and as much as $11 billion (U.S.) to accumulate those shares.

The world has changed for the airline industry, Buffett said. Berkshire wont invest where we think it will chew up money in the future.

Stocks in Americas Big Four airlines have lost an average of 59 per cent of their value this year. Air Canada shares are down 66 per cent in 2020.

But Buffetts gloomy assessment is not to be taken at face value.

It suggests that IATA was wrong in its pre-pandemic forecast of a doubling in global air travel, to 8.2 billion passengers a year by 2037.

Supposing the IATA forecast is off by, say, 20 per cent. Thats still billions of new few frequent flyers in coming years.

Air Canadas continued interest in buying Quebec-based airline and leisure tourism operator Transat A.T., for $720 million, runs against investors soured regard for airlines and the industrys own scramble to cut capacity.

But Air Canada and selected major world carriers are expected to emerge stronger from the COVID-19 crisis, albeit several years hence.

They will have cut costs and streamlined their sprawling route maps. So Air Canada still wants the dominant position in trans-Atlantic travel that Transat would give it. (The deal is sure to be renegotiated at a lower price reflecting the industry downturn.)

The industry is also benefiting from historically low prices for fuel, one of its biggest costs.

Worst-case scenarios for the industry are easy to conjure, after the multitude of airline failures in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.

But heading into the 9/11 catastrophe, airlines were deeply in hock from overexpansion, with too many planes chasing too few customers.

By contrast, todays industry, especially in North America, consists of a comparatively small number of large, well-capitalized airlines.

Recognized as too-big-to-fail providers of an essential service, the Big Four U.S. airlines have already received more than $70 billion in federal financial assistance.

Like their U.S. counterparts, Canadian airlines were in robust financial condition when they were hit by COVID-19. After several years of record revenues, Air Canada has a comfortable $6.5 billion in liquidity to see it through an extended period of difficulty.

And Ottawa has the industrys back, another sharp contrast with the early 2000s industry collapse.

The feds have granted Canadian airlines permission to issue vouchers rather than refunds for cancelled flights, removing a liability that could have bankrupted the airlines.

And more assistance is coming, once Ottawa finds a way to distribute it without giving advantage to one carrier over another, which has marred Europes airline-bailout measures.

Finally, some investors are spooked by Air Canadas 2005 financial restructuring under bankruptcy protection, which wiped out the value of the airlines shares.

By comparison, in a worst-case scenario today, Ottawa would provide liquidity to airlines in exchange for an equity stake of perhaps 25 per cent, making bankruptcy reorganization unnecessary.

For now, airlines are focused on staying solvent and improving air travel health.

Air Canada announced this week it will be the first airline in the Western Hemisphere to require pre-flight temperature checks of passengers and crew, beginning May 15. The airline has already been blocking adjacent-seat bookings to help with social distancing.

Air Canada is using electrostatic sprayers with powerful disinfectant to more thoroughly clean surfaces and carpets.

And WestJet Airlines Ltd. is now fogging its passenger cabins. Fogging is a 15-minute process that disinfects a planes interior prior to takeoff with a hydrogen peroxide-based solution.

WestJet has also installed hospital-grade air filters to remove viruses and harmful bacteria. And it has stepped up fresh-air circulation in cabins to every two to three minutes.

Airlines and airports worldwide are experimenting with further health advances.

They include infrared body scanning for illness prior to boarding (already common in Europe); middle seats that face backward with plastic screens between passengers; self-sanitizing toilets; and the use of ultraviolet light and robot cleaners to disinfect all surfaces, including luggage that is then sanitagged.

And, based on studies of contagion spread in aircraft, the industry is considering a costly makeover in which the current downward airflow is reversed. Data suggests that upward airflow would cut infection spread by at least half.

The new flying experience will take some getting used to. For instance, your airport sojourn will be longer. Crowding at boarding gates and luggage carousels will be forbidden, replaced by slower-moving small passenger groups for social distancing.

But at least some of those measures will soon find widespread application in transportation  in commuter rail and bus services, public transit and ferries.

The difference will be most noticeable in aviation, though. The age-old tradition of returning home with a bug picked up in a packed aluminum tube shared with 200 passengers for five hours is at long last fading.

Read more about:
Doordarshan to get new logo! Here are 5 shortlisted designs to replace DDs eye

Gilgit to Guwahati: Why Doordarshans new weather forecast will up temperatures in Pakistan

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 08: From Gilgit to Guwahati, Doordarshan and All India Radio have started forecasting the weather from across the territory of India.

These Weather reports cover every small detail from every nook and corner of the country while highlighting extreme weather conditions across the country, temperatures of various places from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Gilgit to Guwahati, Baltistan to Port Blair.

The plan which was originally conceived by National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval a few months back was implemented on Friday, May 8.

DD to broadcast weather forecast of Indian cities in Pakistan occupied Kashmir

The proposal was in the offing since the past three months and the formal approval for the same came last week.

Former officer with the Research and Analysis Wing, Amar Bhushan tells OneIndia that this is a welcome move and ought to have done long back. Pakistan has become a nuisance and this is one of the many ways to deal with them. We need to keep teaching Pakistan a lesson and this move only goes on to state with authority that these territories are not yours, Bhushan also points out.

Gone are those days of being peasant and being politically and diplomatically correct. We need to keep sending these messages to Pakistan that they are sitting on our territory.

They can go up to any forum and complain, but our stand would be that these areas belong to us and they have been illegally occupied by Pakistan.

Amar Bhushan also says that earlier, we could use the word neighbouring country. If a Muslim committed a crime, we would say other community. Things have changed today. It is time to call a spade a spade and we are in the right direction as far as I am concerned.

This reinforces our message on the entire territory of Jammu and Kashmir every single day, Amar Bhushan also says.

Secretary, Information and Broadcasting, Amit Khare said yesterday that the bulletin will be telecast at 8.55 am and 8.55 pm. It may be recalled that the IMD had started including Gilgit-Baltistan and Muzaffarabad, which is part of Pakistan occupied Kashmir.

Pakistan rejects India's move to broadcast weather reports on PoK

Last week, India had issued a demarche to Pakistan protesting the Pakistan Supreme Court's order on the so-called Gigit-Baltistan. India has said that the entire Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh including areas of Gilgit and Baltistan are an integral part of India.

On the order, the Ministry of External Affairs said that Pakistan should immediately vacate all areas under its illegal occupation.

Pakistan's Supreme Court had allowed general elections in the so-called Gilgit-Baltistan region.

It was further conveyed that such actions can neither hide the illegal occupation of parts of UTs of J&K and Ladakh by Pakistan nor grave human rights violations, exploitation & denial of freedom to the people residing in Pakistan occupied territories for the past 7 decades.

Government of India's position in the matter is reflected in the resolution passed by the Parliament in 1994 by consensus, the MEA also said.

Pakistan or its judiciary has no locus standi on territories illegally and forcibly occupied by it. India completely rejects such actions & continued attempts to bring material changes in Pakistan occupied areas of the Indian territory of J&K, the MEA also said.
Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care Ltd has delivered sales of Rs 656 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, down 6 per cent vis-a-vis a year ago. The company was forecasting high single digit sales growth for the quarter before the lockdown. But following the nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19, the business operations were severely disrupted across the country. The Profit After Tax (PAT) was Rs 91 crore, up 1 per cent compared to a year ago.

Madhusudan Gopalan, Managing Director, Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care Ltd, commented, During this unprecedented crisis, our organisation has been focusing on protecting the health and safety of each other, serving the Indian consumers with our health and hygiene products, which become critical now more than ever, and to support communities in need through our relief efforts.

He further said that in the near-term, the company will focus on scaling up its operations to maximise the availability of its products to meet consumer needs, while following health and safety guidelines by the Government authorities.

With the strength of our product portfolio, we are well positioned to serve the needs of our consumers by offering superior propositions and value across different price segments. We are also stepping up to be a force for good through our COVID-19 response and relief programme, P&G Suraksha India, where we are supporting government and relief organisations through in-kind, product and critical supplies donations, and are creating awareness about preventive measures to combat the spread of COVID-19, Gopalan added.

As a part of the companys COVID-19 relief efforts, its leading feminine care brand, Whisper, is supporting the Government and relief organisations with more than 15 lakh sanitary pads for female healthcare workers, women in underprivileged containment areas and migrant communities. Through its Touch of Care programme, the companys healthcare brand Vicks is donating more than 33,000 protective hygiene and ration kits to the elderly people in need.
LOMPOC, Calif. - Residents in this central California agricultural community are keenly aware of their town's reputation. Wedged in a valley just north of ritzy coastal Santa Barbara, the town established originally as a temperance colony is 30 percent low-income, had its highest number of homicides ever last year and is home to a federal prison.

The medium- and low-security prison in Lompoc has largely been seen as a bright light, offering stable jobs with good benefits. But now residents fear a new stigma they won't be able to shake: Their town is home to the nation's largest covid-19 outbreak in a federal prison.

"The prison is in our city limits, the sick inmates are filling our local hospital beds, yet I have no control over any of it because it's a federal facility," said Lompoc Mayor Jenelle Osborne. "I'm getting emails and phone calls from people who are afraid, who are asking me to do something, and I have to tell them I am powerless to do anything."

As the coronavirus bolted through one-third of the Federal Bureau of Prisons' 122 facilities last month, cracks began to appear in the once symbiotic relationship between the prisons and their towns. The bureau's fumbling of the crisis, which enabled the virus to percolate within the prisons and beyond, is stoking fear and resentment of the prisons - and sometimes of prison staff who live in those communities.

So far, 45 inmates across the country have died. The Bureau of Prisons announced last week that 70 % of tests of inmates for covid-19 have come back positive. As of Friday, 3,701 of the bureau's roughly 140,000 inmates had tested positive for the disease. No prison staff have died but nationwide, 527 have tested positive, according to federal data.

Residents in Lompoc and other prison towns, including Butner, North Carolina, and Oakdale, Louisiana, say having a prison with a high infection rate unnerves them, especially when they encounter unmasked and ungloved prison staff in grocery stores, pharmacies or restaurants.

"We have people who come in with prison uniforms two to three times a week," said Antonio de Jesus Rodriguez, owner of Floriano's Mexican restaurant, which provides pickup orders to customers. "Some are wearing a mask, but some are without one. It's kind of mind-boggling. As I'm taking their order I'm thinking, 'You are in a hot spot; why aren't you taking this more seriously?' "

The Washington Post reported last month that the Bureau of Prisons allowed the virus to fester in dozens of prisons before taking action to stop its progress.

It did not provide masks to correctional officers or inmates until after dozens of inmates were quarantined, and often after inmates had died. Prisoners with coughs and body aches continued to line up, just a few feet apart, for their meals and medication. And temperature checks, for both inmates and staff, did not become routine until the disease had permeated dormitory-style settings where 100 or more prisoners sleep and live within a few feet of one another.

In a statement, the bureau said it began responding to the coronavirus threat as early as January, and is using "screening, testing, appropriate treatment, prevention, education, and infection control measures."

It also said that starting April 1, it began to minimize gatherings and that "inmate movement in small numbers" is being allowed for essential activities, such as visits to the commissary, laundry, showers, telephone and health care.

The Bureau of Prisons' mishandling of the coronavirus threat prompted Rep. Frederick Keller, R-Pa., to introduce legislation last week that would require the bureau's director to be confirmed by the Senate. Michael Carvajal, the current director, was appointed by the U.S. attorney general, as past directors have been.

At the Lompoc Federal Correctional Complex, two inmates have died of covid, 905 inmates had tested positive and 34 staff members had contracted the disease as of Friday, federal data shows. Nearly one-quarter of the covid-19 cases in federal prisons nationwide are at the Lompoc prison.

The number of inmates who have tested positive at the prison is double the number of positive cases in all of Santa Barbara County - which has reported 450 non-prison cases among its population of nearly 450,000. The prison has 2,700 inmates.

The prison's coronavirus cases are a burden on the compact town of 40,000, where locals and the prison system share the same fire department and hospital. The mayor believes the spread of coronavirus in the community is largely due to the prison and could have been curbed if prison leaders acted sooner and were more transparent. She estimates that nearly 60 percent of prison employees live in Lompoc.

"We've reached out, but either a lack of experience or lack of leadership has caused them to circle the wagons and say, 'We will deal with it internally,' Osborne said. "This secrecy does not build trust with the community."

The Bureau of Prisons responded: "We have an open line of communication with public officials surrounding our facilities."

The prison, though, has argued that details of how the pandemic are being handled must be kept private.

The bureau has asked local officials not to publicly disclose information regarding internal controls, the number of hospitalized inmates or the location of hospitalized inmates. "The BOP believes that such disclosure creates a security and safety risk," reads the request obtained by The Post.

It's a 15-minute drive from one side of Lompoc - past ranch-style homes, the heavily muraled downtown off Ocean Avenue and the railroad that runs through town - to the prison on the city's other edge. The razor-wired top of the prison rises out of planted fields of kale, artichokes and lettuce that surround it, immediately next door to Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Five miles from the prison in downtown Lompoc, American Host Restaurant owner Dennis Block said "it's a little scary" for him and his employees to know "that there's 100 cases down the street."

In April, when a local doctor donated $1,000 to the breakfast and lunch spot to provide free meals to the community, Block and his crew took steps to protect themselves.

More than 150 burritos were delivered to the local hospital, police department and convalescent home. For the prison workers, Block's employees set up a table on the patio next to the parking lot, loaded about 50 tinfoil-wrapped burritos onto it, then watched from inside the diner until the prison worker who collected them drove away.

Block said his greatest worry isn't exposure at his restaurant - it's down the street from him at Lompoc Valley Medical Center, where coronavirus-infected prisoners are being treated and sometimes dying. "Basically, they are importing the virus into our community," he said.

Nick Clay, director of the Santa Barbara County Emergency Medical Services Agency, said the prison has converted an old factory on the prison grounds into a medical ward that will treat up to 20 inmates with severe covid-19 symptoms. "They're really taking active measures that are focused on resolving this issue," Clay said, defending the prison response.

The Rev. Jane Quandt of the Valley of the Flowers United Church of Christ drives by the prison a few times a week. Construction of the ward did not begin until mid-April, three days before the first inmate's death, and after many had landed in the local hospital. It opened Wednesday.

Quandt said she hopes the community does not blame the prison for the spread of the virus. "This is a federal institution. So ultimately it's got to be run by the federal administration" in Washington, she said. "This is one of their babies and they're not taking very good care of it, at least not here in Lompoc."

- - -

Just north of the Falls Lake reservoir sits the town of Butner in rural Granville County, North Carolina, about 30 miles north of Raleigh. Tidy brick and siding-wrapped homes line grid-patterned streets dating back to World War II, when it was Camp Butner.

In 2008, Butner residents opposed efforts to add a federal biodefense research center to a cluster of government-owned facilities that dominate the region. Along with the federal prison, there's a state prison, psychiatric hospital, addiction-treatment center and a facility caring for disabled people.

At the time, Butner residents said they feared lethal pathogens - with no known treatment or vaccine - could escape the facility.

Now, similar fears have been renewed with covid-19 and the prison. As of Wednesday, seven inmates have died. At least 306 of the 4,500 inmates have tested positive, along with 39 staff members who have been infected.

In early April, Pine Grove Missionary Baptist Church introduced social distancing and protective gear to its twice-monthly food bank. As volunteers in masks and gloves carted boxes of pasta, frozen meat and canned goods to cars and trucks of local families, conversation repeatedly turned to their collective anxiety over the prison.

"They were concerned with the possible spread of the virus within the community, considering that many of the [prison] workers live in the community," said Michelle Ross, who helps run the food bank, about six miles from the prison.

In March, the outbreak crept closer to the Rev. Marcos Leon of St. Bernadette Catholic Church in Butner.

Three parishioners - two nurses and a doctor working at the prison complex - told him in confidence that they were exposed on the job and had to self-quarantine at home. They were "truly afraid," Leon said. "It was the fear they were going to die. Then it was: 'I feel so bad because of my children. I'm living in a house where I have to be separated from them.' "

The church's prison ministry regularly offered Mass, confession and one-on-one spiritual guidance to inmates until March, when prisons banned visitors.

Butner and Granville County officials say they don't expect the covid-19 outbreak will alter appreciation for the prison as a local employer offering good-paying jobs. But correctional officers who live in and around Butner say they know some people fear them, said William Boseman, a retired Butner correctional officer and union representative for the officers.

When people see the prison workers in their dark-gray uniforms walking down the street, they cross to the opposite side. In grocery stores, people scoot to the next aisle.

"They are being ostracized," Boseman said. "When people know you work at this place where there has been an outbreak, they treat you different. They treat you as if you are automatically contagious."

- - -

The first covid-19 death of a federal inmate took place six weeks ago - on March 28 - at a prison in Oakdale, Louisiana. As of Friday, six more of the 1,800 inmates had died. There have been 115 cases of covid-19 among the prisoners and 26 among the staff.

On the boot-shaped state of Louisiana, Oakdale sits just above the ankle. About 110 miles west of Baton Rouge, past the flooded rice-field crawfish ponds of the Cajun prairie, a meandering country road lined with towering Southern pines subtly opens into a meticulously planned, four-lane highway that drops you into the town of fewer than 8,000 people.

It only takes five minutes to drive from the center of town to the Oakdale Federal Correctional Complex. Along an access road to the complex, a long row of fluorescent pink and white signs with handwritten biblical psalms and motivational quotes flickers in the spring breeze: "Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision."

Jane Willis and her husband, Greg Willis, are in their mid-50s and have been the pastors at the Christ Church of Oakdale for 15 years. They broke ground on a new church near the prison to house their growing congregation a few months ago, before the pandemic.

As the news broke of the covid-19 outbreak at the prison, Jane Willis felt called to do something for the shift workers driving in and out of the prison complex, past their property each day. So she made signs.

"I saw the workers going back and forth and it broke my heart for them," she said. "I was thinking of a way we can encourage them as they go to work to know they're not alone."

The couple's son works at the prison, as do 15 members of their congregation. One of them, Aubrey Melder, 53, a correctional officer, said when he saw the signs on his way to work the first time, his eyes filled with tears. Melder has felt supported by the community, but he has also felt its fear.

"When they look at you, you can tell they are uneasy," he said, describing the few times he went to the grocery store in his uniform. "It scares them a little bit."

Corey Trammel, a union president representing the correctional officers, said the community of Oakdale has long supported the prison workers, and he doesn't blame them for being afraid of contracting the virus.

"I hate it for the community, and I hate it for our employees," said Trammel. "If our prison would have let people know what was going on and our warden would have protected us and our community, then people would not have to look at us like that."

In response, the bureau said in a statement: "We do everything we can to maintain open lines of communication with public officials. Our Executive staff are willing to discuss with them everything they are doing to combat this virus."

Gene Paul, mayor of Oakdale and a lifelong resident, said the outbreak at the prison created chaos and left people in the community panicked. "Everyone is wondering, 'Am I going to be next?' "

Paul said he now is in close contact with the warden, but he wishes the Bureau of Prisons would have handled the crisis better from the beginning. He said buses of newly sentenced inmates were continuing to arrive at the prison until a few weeks ago.

The bureau said that, overall, inmate movement is down 95 percent. However, they are legally obligated to accept new inmates brought by the U.S. Marshals Service. Those inmates are being quarantined for 14 days before entering the general prison population.

Paul estimates that half of the prison staff live in Oakdale and, although many are angry with the bureau, that rage is not directed at the people who work at the Oakdale facility.

In early April, Paul pulled a brown SUV into the Christ Church of Oakdale parking lot for a "Park and Praise" event to boost prison staff morale.

As prison employees zipped by on the access road, Paul and dozens of other Oakdale residents waved and honked their horns. Christian music blared and several people stretched their hands to the sky. A woman waved a sign that read: "Not all Heroes Wear Capes." The prison workers smiled and waved back.

- - -

Green reported from Lompoc, California. Clabby reported from Butner, North Carolina. Marie Elizabeth Oliver reported from Oakdale, Lousiana.
Jammu and Kashmir has been able to achieve remarkable improvement in multiple indicators related to maternal and child health in recent years, with a decline in infant mortality rate (IMR), an official spokesman said.

The IMR has been reduced from 52 (2005) to 22 (2018), according to the latest data released by the Registrar General of India in the SRS bulletin on Friday. The current national average of infant mortality rate stands at 32 much higher than that of J-K, the spokesman said.

The entire Health and Medical Education Department with active support from the National Health Mission (NHM) has put in strenuous efforts to provide essential newborn care at government health institutions across the Union Territory, Atal Dulloo, the financial commissioner in Health and Medical Education Department, said.

Special newborn care units (SNCUs) have been established in 27 districts and other equivalent hospitals, three NICUs, newborn stabilisation units (NBSUs) and newborn care corners (NBCCs) have been set up in 264 delivery points with financial and technical support from the National Health Mission, he said.

The progress in scaling up the interventions to save the lives of the newborn has substantially accelerated during recent times leading to reduction in child mortality indicators, Dulloo said.

Some of the measures in this regard include strengthening of NICUs and SNCUs, implementation of Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram, hiring of manpower, etc.

To further decrease the infant mortality rate in the Union Territory to single digit by 2022, an action plan has been developed which is being implemented at various levels, the spokesman said.
WA Police say tensions in the remote mining town of Newman have noticeably reduced after an elderly man was physically punished under Aboriginal customary law over the death of a young mother.

A teenage boy from Newman was charged with the 18-year-old's murder after her body was found dumped in a wheelie bin in the Pilbara town on Wednesday.

But WAtoday has been told by sources in the community a Martu elder stood in the boy's place to receive a punishment dealt out according to customary law.

Although police did not confirm the nature of the punishment dealt out to the man, a spokeswoman said "a respected elder attended a culturally appropriate location, where he underwent his obligations according to cultural traditions".
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New Zealand appears to have a firm hold on the COVID-19 situation, as Saturday, May 9 marks the first day the island country has reported no new cases. According to Deadline, some TV and film productions are already safely underway, as confirmed to the outlet by the New Zealand Film Commission. That means James Camerons Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 could soon resume production, as well as Amazons mammoth Lord of the Rings series. In a world where quarantine shutdowns have brought film and television production to a screeching halt, New Zealands health protocols now enable sets to get back to work, albeit with safety guidelines.

Avatar director James Cameron and producer Jon Landau were in production on the first two of the four planned Avatar sequels when filming was suspended in the middle of March. Production has reportedly managed to continue virtually in California in collaboration with Weta Digital to create the films costly special effects. Production on the sequels is said to total more than $1 billion. Release dates for the 20th Century Studios films are as follows: Avatar 2 on December 17, 2021; Avatar 3 on December 22, 2023; Avatar 4 on December 19, 2025; Avatar 5 on December 17, 2027.

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As shared via Avatar social media accounts, the ambitious shoot was well underway, with motion capture on the first two sequels already completed. See below. According to Deadline, no one from the team is yet known to be back in New Zealand.

Along with hope for the Avatar sequels to resume filming, Amazons big-budget Lord of the Rings, which was shooting in West Auckland, could also start rolling again. When production shut down in March, cast and crew were in the middle of filming the first two episodes, with director J.A. Bayona at the helm. A second season of the fantasy epic inspired by the novels of J.R.R. Tolkien already has the greenlight. IndieWire has reached out to Amazon for comment regarding when the shoot on Lord of the Rings might pick up again.

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As of May 9, New Zealand has less than 1,500 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and only 20 deaths. The country managed to keep the virus at bay, at least relative to other places around the world, when Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern put in a strict national lockdown on March 23, a month after New Zealands first recorded case.

From the set of the sequels: @JimCameron directing the actors before they dive underwater for performance capture. Fun fact: That layer of white on the waters surface is comprised of floating balls that prevent lights from interfering with filming underwater. pic.twitter.com/dOBwS6qOXF  Avatar (@officialavatar) May 6, 2020

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Five students including three minors were booked in Madhya Pradesh after a complaint by a Bharatiya Janata Party worker against them for a comment on social media about Union rural development minister Narendra Singh Tomar, police said. The complainant said that the comments insulted a reputed person and could create law and order issues.

Though the FIR was registered against the students on Sunday last but the incident came to the fore on Friday when a group of students and some social activists launched a campaign against the police station in Morena in the Gwalior-Chambal region to quash the FIR. No arrests have been made so far in the case.

The students post reportedly questioned the way that the Union minister wore a face mask during a meeting held through video conferencing. They posted a screen image of Tomar on Facebook and wrote, This is the way a mask is worn. One should learn from the minister. Pls make him understand this is mask not knickers, said an officer of the police station.

Yash Sharma, a BJP worker and the complainant, said, In this pandemic situation, these comments hurt the sentiments of people. A comparison of mask with knickers is insulting for such a reputed personality, his followers and other people.

Morena, superintendent of police, Asit Yadav said, We received a complaint at Porsa police station in Morena on May 3. The FIR was registered against five persons under section 505 (2) (circulating a statement which create or promote enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes), section 188 (disobedience to order promulgated by public servant) and under section 51 of disaster management act, which is in force due to Covid-19.

However, one of the students named in the FIR defended the post, saying they just wanted to send out a message about the correct way of wearing a face mask.

During the video conferencing held on April 24, Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar had not covered his nose properly with the mask. We just wanted to send out a message to people that this was not the correct way of wearing a face mask, Ajay Pratap Singh said.

Another student Aditya Singh Tomar who runs a local social group in Morena said that the post should not offend anyone as those involved didnt make the comments intentionally to hurt anyone.

The post should not offend anyone. It is a humorous post by three school students and two college students (Ajay Pratap Singh and Aman Singh) who are also a part of our group. They did nothing wrong or objectionable and didnt make comments intentionally to hurt anyone. The police action violates the right to freedom of speech. We will continue our campaign till the FIR is quashed.
A federal judge has ruled that churches in Kentucky are allowed to host in-person gatherings on Sunday -- two weeks earlier than the governor had planned -- as the novel coronavirus crisis continues.

U.S. District Judge Greg Van Tatenhove ruled that Gov. Andy Beshear needed "a compelling reason for using his authority to limit a citizens right to freely exercise something we value greatly -- the right of every American to follow their conscience on matters related to religion," according to a copy of the ruling obtained by ABC News. "Despite an honest motive, it does not appear at this preliminary stage that reason exists."

PHOTO: A worshiper listens to a song during the drive in service at On Fire Christian Church, on April 05, 2020, in Louisville, Kentucky. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

The decision to allow churches to reopen, so long as social distancing is practiced and proper hygienic practices are in place, came after Tabernacle Baptist Church in Nicholasville, Kentucky, filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to block enforcement of Beshear's order, which bars gatherings of more than 10 people.

Tatenhove noted that other businesses are open amid the pandemic, and while there is "ample" evidence proving that COVID-19 is highly contagious, evidence to show that the risk of contagion is "heightened in a religious setting any more than a secular one is lacking."

"If social distancing is good enough for Home Depot and Kroger, it is good enough for in-person religious services, which, unlike the foregoing, benefit from constitutional protection," Tatenhove wrote.

He also made clear that although the case was brought forth by one church, the "relief may extend statewide because the violation established impacts the entire state of Kentucky."

Lawyers for Beshear argued that the ban was constitutional because it applied to mass gatherings generally, according to the ruling. They also noted that the a grocery store is a "transactional setting" as opposed to the "communal nature of religious services."

Story continues

Beshear previously announced that houses of worship could reopen on May 20.

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 US and Worldwide: Coronavirus map

Judge rules Kentucky churches can hold in-person services originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Sydney's languishing Callan Park would have buildings blocking water views removed, vehicle access scaled back and a greater pedestrian network under a draft plan by the state government as the community clamours for more open spaces during the COVID-19 crisis.

NSW Health is preparing to accept expressions of interest for the Kirkbride complex, which was last week vacated by the University of Sydney's College of the Arts, while the government is being called on to exhibit a final proposal to restore parts of the historic precinct, to which people have returned in droves.

President of the Friends of Callan Park, Hall Greenland, outside the Kirkbride complex, which was formerly the Sydney College of the Arts. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

There are also renewed calls for the establishment of a trust for the care and maintenance of the park as its disused buildings continue to deteriorate.

Friends of Callan Park president Hall Greenland said the government would come under increased public pressure to improve the amenity of the grounds following the COVID-19 crisis. The area has undergone a renaissance during the coronavirus restrictions, with more people exercising and walking their dogs in Callan Park than before.
Shafiq Akhtar, a 34 year-old recently shifted from Mumbai to his native town in Uttar Pradesh to be closer to his family and save more money. While Akhtar was working as an air-conditioner technician in Mumbai and earning about Rs 12,000-15,000 a month, he was unable to save any money due to the high living costs in the city. He found a job at a chemical factory at his home state but is now worried about the sudden change in labour laws.

We may be forced to work overtime and be still paid a pittance. This company I work at manufacturers chemicals used in making disinfectants. We barely get any safety equipment as protection and work more than the daily shift. Now the condition could get worse but I have no other choice, said Akhtar to Moneycontrol.

Akhtar is among 450 million informal and contractual workers in India who may face a tough time amidst dilution of labour laws in states like Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh among others.

While the idea of the state governments is to boost economic activity that has seen a sudden dip due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, both trade unions and human rights activists are questioning this move.

The idea here is to increase the work hours and also dilute laws related to industrial disputes and occupational safety so that corporates can get back to work and avoid disruptions. But the pertinent question here is that should the country force-start economic activity by pushing workers to a tougher work condition with barely any rights against exploitation and measly pay?

A report said that Labour and Employment Ministry pointed to 47 worker injuries and three deaths occurring every day in factories across India. With dilution of labour laws, the injuries owing to worker fatigue and overwork will only climb steeply.

With no responsibility being placed on companies to uphold worker rights and safety, mid-sized and smaller entities are expected to take full advantage of the COVID-19 situation and make 12 hour shifts in factories and construction sites the new normal.

Workers wouldnt have any rights to protest employer decisions related to retrenchment, payment of overtime wages nor would be able to set up/join labour unions.

Several state governments are planning to pass ordinances giving employees virtually a free-hand. Workers may be forced to work long hours without breaks and in unsafe environments. Also, lawful organisation of workers through labour unions to protest ill-treatment of staff would also be outlawed.

Realistically speaking, a worker at a construction site could be forced to report to work even if he/she is unwell and may be sacked if they go on leave or complain about inadequate safety gear.

Worse still, workers would be at the mercy of the respective industry/site owner who could hire and fire at their will. For migrants and daily-wage earners with no source of income, these conditions could be the new normal as they would be forced to accept all regressive terms and conditions.

While there is a dire need to reform archaic labour laws in the country, there is a set constitutional process that needs to be followed. Unification of the 13 labour laws is in process by the central government and is in the right direction to bring a single code for wages and worker safety. But, abrupt dilution of labour laws to suit industry needs is not viable and will affect productivity in the long term.

Agreed that COVID-19 has presented India with a tough choice between starting up, resuming production and maintaining minimal infection spread, but opening up cannot be at the cost health and basic rights of of several million workers.

If economic productivity has to come at the cost of the health and safety of the 450 million strong workforce working in small and big industrial units across India, the state governments may need to ponder if this is worth the risk.
German discount giant Lidl has set in motion a plan to further expand its North Cork operations by demolishing its existing Charleville store and replacing it with a larger one.

If given the green light an application lodged with Cork County Council planners last month would see the existing 1,741 sq metre store at Rathgoggin Middle on the N20 Limerick Rd demolished.

Under the provisions of the application this would be replaced by a new 2,325 sq metre mono-pitched licenced discount store with associated infrastructural works ranging in height from one to two storeys.

The new building on the 2.1 acre site will incorporate an expanded 2,268 sq metre retail sales area incorporating an off-licence, bakery, lobby, toilets, staff facilities, offices and storage areas.

Externally, the application makes provision for a rooftop photovoltaic solar panel array, new signage, a trolley bay and parking for 115 cars and 36 cycles and motorcycles.

While the main vehicular and pedestrian entrance to the site will remain unaltered, the plan also includes a secondary pedestrian entrance from the pathway on the Limerick Road.

Council planners have set a date of July 6 for a decision on the application.

It comes shortly after the long-running saga over a plan to expand their store in Kanturk finally came to a conclusion after An Bord Pleanala ruled in favour of the development.

Last April, Lidl was given the green light by council planners to demolish their 1,762 sq metre store on the Banteer Road opened in 2008, and replace it with a new 2,962 sq metre outlet.

This was despite RGDATA, the representative body for independent Irish retailers, lodging an objection to the plan on a number of grounds.

These included concerns over zoning, the scale of the development, traffic and the impact that a larger store would have on existing retail in the town.

RGDATA subsequently appealed the councils decision to An Bord Pleanala on grounds including the size of the proposed new store, the impact it would have on existing retail in the town, zoning and scale and design of the development.

However, the appeals board upheld the original council decision, paving the way for the new store

In recent days Lidl has lodged an amendment with the council seeking permission to install a rooftop solar panel on the new building and to extend the permitted opening hours for the new store. A decision is also due on this application by July 6.
Anding Nadie Repil (blue T-shirt) poses for a photo with Vietnamese fishermen who rescued him while catching seafood on April 17, 2020. Photo by Pham Kha.

A Filipino man thrown overboard by a boat collision survived for 17 days at sea before being saved by Vietnamese fishermen.

The man survived by clinging on to a plastic can and eating seaweed, local reports say.

On Friday night, an interpreter from the Department of Foreign Affairs of Binh Dinh Province in central Vietnam said he was able to contact with the son of Anding Nadie Repil, who was rescued April 17.

"Repil could not hide his joy and burst into tears when talking to his son after more than a month of losing contact," the interpreter said.

The 52-year-old man said that at 7 p.m. on March 19, he went fishing alone on a boat from the port of Candria in the Philippines. Around 10 p.m. the same day, he had fallen asleep when his boat was hit and sunk by an unnamed cargo ship, throwing him overboard. The collision took place around 25 miles off the coast of the Philippines.

"I was wearing a life jacket. When the boat sank I could only hug a plastic can and began to drift," Repil said. He floated thus at sea for 17 nights. He said there were times when he tried to call for help, but in the middle of the sea no one could hear his voice. He managed to survive by munching on seaweed.

"On April 5, I thought I would perish at sea when a small Vietnamese boat appeared. But this small-capacity boat could not accommodate many people and it was heading out to sea for fishing, so the Vietnamese fishermen onboard gave me a basket boat and some food," he recounted.

On April 17, while catching seafood off the coast around 180 nautical miles off Quy Nhon Town in Binh Dinh Province, crew members of another fishing boat found the Filipino man floating at sea.

The rescued him, took him to their boat, fed him and helped him get warm. Later, they took him ashore and handed him over to authorities in Binh Dinh Province.

The Filipino man was given medical care and accommodation. Local authorities are completing procedures to hand him over to the Philippines Embassy on May 12 so that he can return home.

"When the Vietnamese fishermen rescued me, I was very touched and could only cry. I have a wife and four children, I have not made contact with them for so long. Now I only want to get home," Repil said. He placed his hands on his chest and repeated "Salamat (Thank you) Vietnam" many times in gratitude.

This is not the first time Vietnamese fishermen have rescued Filipinos stranded at sea.

Last year, fishermen from the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang made world headlines after rescuing 22 Filipino fishermen whose boat sank after a collision with a Chinese boat near the Reed Bank of Vietnams Truong Sa (Spratly) Archipelago in the East Sea, internationally known as the South China Sea.
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RTHK: Indonesia reports over 500 virus cases in one day

Indonesia reported on Saturday 533 new coronavirus infections, the biggest daily increase, taking the total number to 13,645, health ministry official Achmad Yurianto said.

Yurianto reported 16 more have died from the disease, taking the total number of death to 959, while 2,607 have recovered.

Nearly 108,700 people have been tested as of Saturday, he added, while urging Indonesians to continue obeying the stay-at-home order to prevent further spread of the virus.

The government of the world's largest Muslim-majority country had come under fire from some officials and health experts for being slow in announcing a ban on people travelling for the Eid al-Fitr holiday at the end of Ramadan, when traditionally millions head back to hometowns and villages.

A coalition of civil society groups on Friday criticised inconsistent and confusing messaging on social restrictions, accusing the government of "prioritising the economy over the rights to public health".

This came as the the transport ministry said some flights and public transport will conditionally resume, just two weeks after a month-long ban on air and sea travel was announced.

The ban, which came into effect on April 23, was scheduled to run until the end of May.

Those who work in security, defence and health services, or have emergency health reasons, will be allowed to travel if they have tested negative for the novel coronavirus and have a letter from their employer, the ministry said.

Migrant workers going home will also be allowed to travel.

The ministry defended its policy revision saying that travel at the end of Ramadan remains banned, although there are concerns about how well the ban might be enforced.

The end of Ramadan is on around May 23. (Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2020-05-09. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Source: GYMGUYZ

Todd Leff watched both his thriving livelihood and a growing economy come to a shocking halt nearly two months ago due to the coronavirus. Now, he's hoping that as states and communities slowly start coming back online, his own fortunes as well as those of the rest of the country will start to improve. Leff, the CEO of Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa, has seen this before, through the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks and the financial crisis that exploded in 2008. Both times, he's heard much talk of things getting back to normal after largely unforeseen disruptions. But if he learned anything from the two seminal crises, it's that things never really do return as they were. "We never got back to normal. We created a new way of doing business," he said. "We will have that happen here as well. We have a resilient economy."

Leff spoke the same day as the world digested some of the most devastating economic news in U.S. history: The Labor Department reported that businesses shed 20.5 million workers from payrolls during April as the unemployment rate climbed to 14.7%, both numbers well beyond anything the country has seen since World War II. They were far worse than the financial crisis or 9/11 and a testament to just how much of a depressant the coronavirus containment measures have been to activity. But they also are backward-looking. More current numbers, like weekly jobless claims, are showing that even though the damage is still awful, the worst is likely behind. That's where entrepreneurs like Leff come in.

Temporary for many, but not all

One bright spot from the jobs report was that 18.1 million of the layoffs were reported as temporary. So while some jobs won't be coming back after the lockdown, most, at least for now, will. Leff has begun reopening some of the more than 450 Hand & Stone franchise operations that were shut, and he's calling back some workers as locations open in Georgia, Utah, Colorado, Texas and Florida. Running a literally hands-on business poses its own challenges in the coroanvirus climate, but intense safety precautions the company is taking appear to be paying off. "Our intent is to call back really the vast majority or maybe all our workers," he said. "From our early state reopenings, we're actually seeing very encouraging numbers, both on the consumer side and the willingness of employees to come back to work." Not everyone is so eager. There are some workers at fast-food restaurants and other businesses who are earning more being unemployed under a government rescue program than they did on the job. They have been reluctant to return, according to several executives at job placement firms who spoke to CNBC. "People are actually making more in unemployment than they would if they went back to work and exposed themselves to the Covid disease. One of the things we're seeing is a lot of the small businesses, a lot of these front-line companies, are having a difficult time in getting their employees back," said Irina Novoselsky, CEO at CareerBuilder.

An opportunity for seniors

In some cases, senior citizens, themselves an especially at-risk population, are taking those jobs. "People over 65 actually are looking for jobs," Novoselsky said. "An increasing amount of people are coming back to work in pretty unprecedented numbers."

Indeed, Daniel Jan is looking to hire 1,500 such folks for his business, Seniors Helping Seniors, a franchise operation based in Reading, Pennsylvania, that matches up older caregivers with those in need of help. There's been a big demand for the services during the pandemic as the nursing home system has taken a black eye due to a high mortality rate in the facilities. In Jan's state, 2,458 of the 3,616 deaths, or 68%, have occurred in nursing homes, according to the Department of Health in Pennsylvania, which has some of the most stringent stay-at-home rules in the country. "It's created an opportunity for those seniors again, giving them an opportunity to continue working while also giving something back," Jan said. "There's this perception now that facility-based care is less safe. We are the alternative. On one hand, they're part of the highest-risk group. On the other hand, if they're home self-isolating, they are isolated and become lonely and they become depressed and need someone to check on them. Thankfully, we are deemed an essential service."

'If you don't pivot, you die'
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison yesterday unveiled a plan to force workers back into workplaces and reopen the economy, as decided upon earlier in the day by the national cabinet, composed of the federal, state and territory government leaders.

This roadmap out of the crisis is a direct response to the demands of the financial elite that lockdown measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic be lifted. Their sole concern is to create the conditions for a resumption of corporate profit-making, despite the dangers this poses to health and lives.

For weeks, business chiefs and the financial press have downplayed the severity of COVID-19, and insisted that social distancing measures are an unacceptable impost on economic activity. Governments, Labor and Liberal-National alike, have asserted that they have flattened the curve of infections, despite large coronavirus clusters and ongoing community transmissions.

Morrison bluntly admitted that the policies being pursued by governments would result in coronavirus infections. There will be outbreaks, there will be more cases, there will be setbacks, he declared.

Morrison, however, insisted that we all hold our nerve, get out from under the doona, and face danger. These comments underscore the criminal recklessness of the drive to remove the lockdown measures. Workers and young people, concerned about their safety, will be hectored and bullied into returning to workplaces, schools and universities.

The guidelines adopted by the national cabinet involve three stages of the lifting of restrictions over the next two months.

Under the first stage, retail shops, along with cafes and restaurants, are to immediately begin reopening. This is aimed at boosting revenue in this lucrative sector, despite the high risk of coronavirus transmission associated with those industries.

Home sales and auctions will also resume. This is a response to warnings that the economic crisis could result in major falls in the highly inflated property market.

Over the past two decades, governments and the financial elite have cultivated a massive property bubble. While creating a housing affordability crisis and contributing to the highest levels of household debt in the world, the boom underpins the fortunes of many of the richest individuals, along with the profits of the banks and the major financial institutions.

In the second stage, within weeks, gatherings of up to 20 people will be permitted. This will allow the reopening of cinemas, gyms and amusement parks. Some interstate travel restrictions will be wound back.

The third stage, sometime in July, will involve entire workforces returning to places of employment, and allow gatherings of up to 100 people. Venues that could trigger mass outbreaks, such as nightclubs, saunas and food courts, will resume their operations, while domestic travel will recommence.

The government graphics promoting the plan crudely express the big business interests underlying these decisions, providing estimates of the supposed economic benefits. Each stage, it is claimed, will result in an additional $3 billion or more in economic activity per month.

The graphics assert that social distancing, including a space of 1.5 metres between individuals, will be maintained throughout the three stages. This is patently impossible, especially in the third stage where employees will be driven into often-overcrowded workplaces and public transport.

Already, the national cabinet has declared that social distancing is unnecessary in schools. And the governments, employers and trade unions have forced tens of thousands of workers in factories and on building sites to continue production throughout the crisis, working in close contact with each other.

Mass unemployment, especially among young workers and students, is being used as a battering ram to push financially devastated workers back into workplaces, regardless of their safety fears. Many also will be forced to accept lower pay and worse conditions under deals struck by the unions with major retail, hospitality and clerical employer groups.

The national cabinet measures are premised on managing and containing the continued spread of the virus. This includes a COVIDSafe mobile phone application, supposedly designed to assist in tracing infections. Technology experts have questioned whether the app will assist in any way, because of multiple design flaws and the inherent limitations of automated technologies.

The financial press has welcomed the national cabinet announcement, while insisting that political leaders press ahead with the reopening whatever the consequences.

The Australians editor-at-large this morning summed up the sentiment in ruling circles, hailing Morrisons comments as the first tentative steps towards a form of COVID normalisation. Paul Kelly concluded: The publics mood will shiftmaybe fast, maybe slowfrom a premium on beating the virus to a premium on restoration of economic and social life.

In other words, working people must accept an unending threat of infection, serious illness and even death, because measures aimed at effectively eliminating the virus would be too costly.

Scientists are warning of a new, mutant strain of COVID-19, which appears to be more contagious than the initial iteration of the virus.

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has found that the D614G mutation, which has been prevalent in the countries hardest hit by the pandemic, accounts for two-thirds of confirmed cases in Victoria and Western Australia, and one-third in other states.

The dangers of rapid outbreaks have been underscored by the growth of a cluster that originated in a Melbourne meat works three weeks ago. It currently accounts for 72 cases, with the number rising by 9 yesterday and 13 the day before.

Despite this, Kelly and other business commentators have insisted that state premiers, who will oversee the national cabinet plan, must not delay. Victorian Labor Premier Daniel Andrews has been criticised for supposedly not moving rapidly enough to reopen the states schools and businesses.

In reality, the Victorian government has flagged that it will consider resuming face-to-face classroom teaching, despite studies in France and Germany warning that schools can be centres of widespread infection.

Other governments have gone further, with the Northern Territory Labor government lifting restrictions on some outdoor gatherings last week and the South Australian Liberal government signalling that it may reopen most businesses by the end of the month.

The state and territory leaders have been in the forefront of the back-to-work campaign as part of a de facto government of national unity. The demands being placed on them for faster action are aimed at intimidating ordinary people.

There is widespread concern over the reopening. A survey conducted this week by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Vox Pop Labs found that some 60 percent of respondents would not be comfortable going to a bar or restaurant after restrictions are lifted, while more than 40 percent said they thought the crisis would continue for another 12 months or longer.

The financial elite is anxious to press ahead with a sweeping onslaught on working conditions and wages. State and federal governments have already provided the largest corporations with more than $320 billion in bailouts, while doing virtually nothing for the one million people thrown out of work during April alone.

For decades, the trade unions have assisted employers to tear up the conditions of millions of workers, slash overtime pay, and expand casual and contract labour. This offensive is now being taken to a new level, with the ruling elite seeking to reduce the conditions of workers to those of the Great Depression in the 1930s.
Some of Trumps advisers described the president as glum and shell-shocked by his declining popularity. In private conversations, he has struggled to process how his fortunes suddenly changed from believing he was on a glide path to reelection to realizing that he is losing to the likely Democratic nominee, former vice president Joe Biden, in virtually every poll, including his own campaigns internal surveys, advisers said. He also has been fretting about the possibility that a bad outbreak of the virus this fall could damage his standing in the November election, said the advisers, who along with other aides and allies requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
Despite the 21 percent decrease in FDI decrease in Q1, Kizuna, which leases ready-made workshops in Long An province, is still moving ahead with its plan to expand production.

The company is hurrying to implement Kizuna  Ready Serviced Space project in Kizuna 3 area in Can Giuoc district.

Once completed, the 80,000 square meters of ready-made workshops will be put into operation by Q4 2020, ready to receive FDI to flow into Vietnam in the post-Covid-19 period.



GSO reported that in the first three months of the year, Vietnam attracted $8.6 billion worth of FDI, a decrease of 21 percent compared with the same period last year.



However, this is not the reason for investors to stop their production and business expansion plans.



Shirakawa Satoko from Kizuna, in charge of Japanese and English speaking enterprises, believes that FDI would continue to flow into Vietnam if Vietnam can control the epidemic well and overcome the crisis at the lowest costs.

Despite the 21 percent decrease in FDI decrease in Q1, Kizuna, which leases ready-made workshops in Long An province, is still moving ahead with its plan to expand production.

She believes that Vietnam would see a new wave of Japanese flocking to Vietnam, saying that the US-China trade war and Covid-19 will speed up Japanese enterprises process of diversifying activities to ease reliance on the Chinese market.



Most recently, Japan decided to reserve $2.2 billion of the countrys record bailout to help Japanese manufacturers relocate their production from China in the context of Covid having breaking up the global supply chain.



A survey conducted by Tokyo Shoko found that 37 percent out of 2,600 Japanese enterprises want to relocate their factories out of China.



Not only Japanese, but European countries are also considering leaving China. A new survey, cited by China Morning Post (SCMP), has found disappointing business results: half of polled businesses said their profit margin would decrease by 20 percent.



In late 2019, when the news about the US-China trade war topped all newspapers, leading US technology firms stated they were considering relocating production to Vietnam. Analysts believe that when Covid-19 ends, this will be the time for them to accelerate relocation.



Nikkei ASEAN Review reported that Google and Microsoft are eyeing Vietnam and Thailand for their production to make next-generation mobile phone models, laptops and other products.



Google is thought to make Pixel 4A and 5A models in Vietnam, while Microsoft plans to make tablets and PCs in the north of Vietnam.



Affirming that Vietnam remains attractive in the eyes of foreign investors, an analyst said the way the government of Vietnam has fought the epidemic is one of the factors that will persuade investors to come to Vietnam.

Mai Lan

Harnessing further FDI to Vietnam Since national reunification in 1975, Vietnams economy has grown from strength to strength. Senior economist Nguyen Mai writes about how the economy has developed in that time, with foreign direct investment serving as one of the key driving forces.
An Air India flight with 182 Indians from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates arrived in Lucknow on Saturday evening, officials said.

This is the first flight reaching Lucknow with Indians stuck abroad due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown.

"An Air India flight IX184 arrived in Lucknow from Sharjah on Saturday at around 9.00 pm. The tentative number of passengers arriving in Lucknow is over 180. This is the first flight arriving in Lucknow during lockdown bringing back Indians stranded abroad due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown," Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport Director AK Sharma told PTI.

The passengers were screened at the airport and then sent to quarantine.

Lucknow DM Abhishek Prakash told PTI, "The passengers who have arrived today have been placed under paid quarantine in Lucknow. We have identified ESI Hospital (a government hospital in Sarojininagar area of Lucknow), and any passenger found symptomatic will be admitted to that hospital. Rest of those will book paid quarantine facility after arrival, and spend next 14 days there."



Senior officials of the police and district administration were present at the airport when the flight landed.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Sarojininagar Praful Tripathi, who was present at the airport, said 182 passengers arrived on Saturday evening.

The Indian government had on Monday 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.

India imposed a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of 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.

The evacuation flights are expected to land at 14 airports across India including Delhi (10 flights), Hyderabad and Kochi nine each, Kozhikode (four), Trivandrum (one), Kannur (one), Chennai (nine), Trichy (one), Ahmadabad (five), Mumbai (four), Srinagar (three), Bengaluru (four), Lucknow (one) and Amritsar (one).

Kerala tops the list of state-wise break-up of repatriation requests with 25,246, followed by 6,617 from Tamil Nadu and 4,341 from Maharashtra. A total of 3,715 people from Uttar Pradesh requested for evacuation, 3,320 from Rajasthan, 2,796 from Telangana and, 2,786 from Karnataka, sources said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
After featuring nearly a dozen tiny brand ambassadors as the face of its baby food and other early childhood products, Gerber announced on Friday it had selected the first adopted spokesbaby in its 92-year history.

The baby, Magnolia Earl of Ross, Calif., was selected from among more than 327,000 entries submitted to the Gerber website, where families uploaded photos and videos and shared stories for the companys annual Photo Search contest.

Magnolia, who turned 1 on Saturday, captured the hearts of the judging panel with her joyful expression, playful smile and warm, engaging gaze, the company said in a statement. She will be featured in social media and marketing campaigns throughout the year.

The Earl family was awarded $25,000 and other prizes, including baby clothes and phones with one year of unlimited service.
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Coronavirus. Doctors. Nurses. PPE. Social distancing.

Sound familiar? Our entire conversation about the COVID-19 pandemic surrounds those words and phrases. We see celebrities, companies, coworkers, family members, and friends donating PPE and money to organizations and local hospitals, trying to do some good. No one wants our front-line health care workers to get sick. If that happens, the public will be at even greater risk.

For the past several weeks, all that media outlets and pundits have been discussing is: how to get PPE to our health care heroes, how practicing social distancing is a must, and how we have to urge our elected officials to act.

But what happens when our nurses and doctors come home from the hospital? Many must take extreme precautions to keep their loved ones safe; some have resorted to intense garment routines, changing out soiled scrubs and shoes in their garages, while others have resorted to sleeping alone in isolated rooms. This is what the pundits are talking less about: the sheer amount of stress, anxiety, and insomnia doctors face every single day in the hospital. The public seems to believe, collectively, that our doctors can face any threat without irreparable harm to themselves.

Wrong.

At some point, this cycle of diagnosing, treating, and caring for COVID-19 patients will wear down our physicians. For many, the sheer chaos in ERs and ICUs will erase the compassion and empathy they once mustered for patients. How long that wearing down process takes will vary person to person, but eventually time plus reckless attrition will prevail. Eventually, there will be a breakdown of physicians mental barriers and defense mechanisms. Even when you see death every day, this pandemic isnt something our doctors were taught how to deal with in medical school or residency  its new.

In New York, patients are dying at an alarming rate, and ventilators are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. In some places, doctors have been instructed to put their N95s in brown paper bags to be used the next day  and maybe the day after. Hospitals provide assurances that they are supporting the mental health of their staff and faculty  but are they really?

Ive spoken to several nurses who adamantly say that their hospitals do not recognize their wellbeing as a priority. Some are quitting their jobs. A dear friend of mine even told me, This crisis makes me consider why I even thought of becoming a nurse in the first place. She said that patients are dying, and she and her colleagues are forced to trudge on  without protection or recognition.

This is sustained blunt force trauma. As a society, we are not accounting for the extreme anxiety, sadness, anger, and guilt clinicians are living with. Anxiety about becoming ill themselves, and about furthering the spread. Sadness that their patients are suffering with no vaccine in sight and far from full-proof treatment options. Anger that health care administrators are not caring for their wellbeing and continue to put them in harms way. Guilt when patients die.

In the United States, no study has assessed reported rates of mental health disorders in hospital workers. A recently published article in JAMA supports my hypothesis that the mental health of nurses and physicians during this pandemic is at risk. In the study, nurses and doctors working in COVID-19 wards in China reported alarming signs and symptoms of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and distress. The same will soon happen on our own soil.

About 95 percent of Americans are under stay-at-home orders, which dont apply to our first-line responders, our nurses, our surgeons, our critical care doctors. They cant be heroes if their mental health is not intact. We need to do more than provide PPE. We need a nationwide call to action to support the mental health of every nurse and physician who is fighting for us as we stay at home and pray for them. This is an opportunity to de-stigmatize mental health issues. So lets stop pretending and push our pundits to open the discussion up. We need to talk about mental health resources. We need to support the bodies and minds of every nurse and doctor in this country.

Ton La, Jr. is a medical student, can be reached on LinkedIn, and is affiliated with GetUsPPE.org.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
Whilst I was away walking the GR5 trail through the Alps my book on a previous long walk, the Scottish Watershed, was published. Now I...
Vietnamese Iced Coffee (Cafe Sua Da)

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Vietnamese Iced Coffee is an intensely brewed coffee concentrate that drips down into a tall glass of ice and a big spoonful of sweetened condensed milk.

To make Vietnamese Iced Coffee, start with medium grind French Roast coffee, brew in a Vietnamese coffee press with 2 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk, and then pour over ice.

If you love coffee, and have only tried weak, watered down coffee served over ice, youre in for a big revelation.

Vietnamese Iced Coffee is creamy, rich, smooth and sweet. Oh, and intense coffee flavor. Its bold in flavor and the coffee makes a wonderful Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream as well.

When I made this on TV years ago, I was grateful that I brought extra coffee, ice and sweetened condensed milk  the entire television crew and morning hosts/hostesses all wanted a gallon of Vietnamese Iced Coffee for now.and another one to save for their afternoon treat!

Ingredients for Vietnamese Iced Coffee

Medium-ground coffee

Sweetened condensed milk

Ice

A tall glass of Vietnamese Iced Coffee

What type of coffee for Vietnamese Iced Coffee?

Option 1: The Standard Coffee

Medium Grind Coffee  from INeedCoffee.com

To make Vietnamese Iced Coffee, start with using the right grind of coffee. Look for MEDIUM coarse grind coffee. Ive found French Roast is best, but you can use any type of coffee, as long as the coffee is medium coarse grind.

Fine grind coffee would fall right through the little holes of the coffee press.

Many Vietnamese in America like using Cafe du Monde coffee from New Orleans. If you are interested in the history of why the Vietnamese use Cafe du Monde, head over to The Secret Ingredient to Americas Vietnamese Coffee. The yellow can is the most popular (I prefer this over the Cafe du Monde French Roast  but try both!)

Option 2: The Upgrade Coffee Experience

The coffee in the mustard yellow can is okay. Its not the best coffee, but it is the standard amongst 90% of Vietnamese restaurants in America.

To me, the stuff is bitter and flat. But the sweetened condensed milk will cover the coffees flaws.

Nguyen Coffee Company

If you are looking to upgrade your Vietnamese Coffee experience, try Nguyen Coffee Company.

Nguyen Coffee Supply is the first ever Vietnamese-American-owned importer, supplier, and roaster of green coffee beans from Vietnam in New York. Theyve partnered with a 4th generation farmer, Mr. Ton, who owns and operates his family farm in Vietnams famed Central Highlands.

Give their coffee a try! UPDATE: They are giving Steamy Kitchen readers 10% off (use code STEAMY)

Use Sweetened Condensed Milk

Its the sweet, sticky, thick stuff  NOT evaporated milk! No substitutions here! Find this at any grocery store.

Sweetened Condensed Milk

Get a Vietnamese Coffee Press

Found at any Asian market  they usually cost a few dollars, or online  Amazon sells them! Ive purchased several from this seller on Amazon and theyve been fantastic. Dont pay more than $12 per press.

Vietnamese coffee press

How to make Vietnamese Iced Coffee (Cafe Sua Da)

Step 1: Add 2 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk to a glass

Step 2: Add 2 tablespoons of ground coffee to the base of the coffee press. Wet the grounds just a little bit with some hot water.

Step 3: Screw on the press tight. The coffee should be packed well.

Step 4: Pour boiled hot water into the coffee press.

Cover with its little hat.

Step 5: Wait. It will drip veeerrrry.veeerrrry slowly. It takes 3-5 minutes to finish brewing.

The longer it takes, the stronger the coffee. Notice that there are only a few drops per second. For me, I cant wait any longer than 5 minutes. If the coffee is dripping too fast, then use a small spoon or tip of knife to screw the press on tighter, 1 turn clockwise. Or if its dripping too slow, unscrew 1 turn counterclockwise.

While its dripping, go get some ice in a glass. Youve got nothing else to do!

Step 6: Once its finished, stir well.

You can set your coffee maker on top of its overturned lid to prevent dripping onto your nice table.

Step 7: Pour over a tall glass filled with ice and enjoy!

Thank you for your support!

(using these links supports this site!)

You might enjoy these recipes too

Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream

Thai Iced Coffee Recipe
Since announcing the commercial availability of Spot, Boston Dynamics has presented a range of different gigs for the robot, from construction to telepresence. Last month, the company announced it was partnering with local hospitals interested in using the platform to perform remote visits for COVID-19 victims.

Turns out the global pandemic has spurred all manner of surprise innovation for the technically impressive quadrupedal robot. Among the more unexpected is Singapores use of Spot to patrol parks and encourage social distancing among citizens. The pilot program starts today and will run for two weeks during off-peak hours.

A remote operator will control the robot (social distancing, mind) as it patrols around two miles of Singapores Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park. A recorded message encouraging social distancing will be broadcast from the robot. There are cameras on board, too, used to monitor gatherings, but the government insists that they wont be using face tracking or collected personal data.

Spot is fitted with safety sensors to detect objects and people in its path, according to the release. It has in-built algorithms to detect an object or person within 1 metre of its proximity to avoid collision. SPOT will be accompanied by at least one NParks officer during the trial period." If things go well, the robot will be allowed to patrol during peak hours, as well.

One of the pandemics more fascinating knock-on effects to the tech world is an increased interest in robotics and automation. Check out our recent VC survey to see how COVID-19 could shape the future of the industry.
Parvez Sultan By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government may issue a notice to laboratories carrying out coronavirus tests over huge delay in delivery of test reports. According to the health department officials, there are at least six testing facilities, which are taking too much time to submit test results.Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Friday said that labs conducting tests for the government had been directed to submit testing results within 48 hours or be liable to face punitive action.

If we get test reports in 15 or 20 days it does not make any sense. Those testing results dont have sanctity. Therefore, we have issued the order; laboratories will have to submit a report within 24 hours otherwise they cant take samples, said the minister while responding to queries regarding the delay in test report delivery.

Citing delay in receiving COVID-19 test reports as one of the reasons for spiralling positives cases in the national capital, the government last month informed the union health ministry that surveillance in containment zones had become difficult because of the hold-up.



CLICK HERE FOR COVID-19 LIVE UPDATES

We are in the process of issuing notice to five-six labs delaying the COVID 19 reports. Notices may be issued in a couple of days, said a health department official.There are 17 labs government and private facilities in the city including National Institute of Biologicals in Noida-- which were authorised to conduct COVID-19 testing for the government.

Till Friday 81,367 tests have been conducted. Officials said that results of around 8,000 tests are still pending.While hearing PIL earlier this week, the Delhi High Court has also asked the government to ensure swift testing of coronavirus and declaration of results within 48 hours.

During the hearing, the government informed the court that it had decided not to send samples to NIB where the testing process was slow hence causing a rise in pendency.Cautioning labs, Jain said that they should think whether they are capable to perform tests before collecting samples.
Rahul Gandhi seems to have descended into a spiral of far Left, subversive standpoint since Narendra Modi swept to power at the Centre and the Congress started losing state after state.

This man has been radicalised.

That is what we would say if somebody got on stage in solidarity with those who grieve incarceration of a terrorist who plotted the attack on a nations Parliament, those who raised slogans of breaking his own country into pieces.

That is what we would say if that man questioned and mocked surgical strikes by his nations army on the enemy. Or echoed the enemy when his own army conducted airstrikes to avenge the killing of soldiers.

That is what we would say if that man tried to shame the nation abroad at seminars and talks, or made friends in West Asia with a bigot who repeatedly attacks India on religious lines. Or congratulates journalists for winning a prize by undermining ones own nations sovereignty.

This man has been radicalised, we would say.

What would we say about Rahul Gandhi? One isnt sure. But his latest gesture of congratulating Pulitzer-winning journalists who dont acknowledge the sovereignty of India in Kashmir has to be a first for an Indian politician who ever fancied heading the nation.

Even Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, the big daddy of Muslim votebank politics, was most hawkish in his 1996 to 1998 tenure as defence minister, never ceding an inch on Kashmir or the nations sovereignty.

The descent into subversiveness

Rahul, however, seems to have descended into a spiral of far Left, subversive standpoint since Narendra Modi swept to power at the Centre and the Congress started losing state after state.

It perhaps started with a conscious decision to position oneself as the counterpoint to Modis nationalism. But the line between opposing what the Congress calls hypernationalism and opposing the nation swiftly started getting blurred. Rahul walked into a trap. While pillorying Modi, he started attacking the core ideas that safeguard the construct of a nation: identity, security, sovereignty.

Whether it is the military strikes against Pakistan or confrontation with China at Doka La or the COVID-19 pandemic, it is difficult to recall when Rahul has shown the political maturity of standing with the government during national crises and emergency.

Instead, Pakistan quoted him in its petition to the United Nations after India withdrew special status from Jammu and Kashmir.

These and other acts of violence have even been acknowledged by mainstream politicians such as the leader of Congress party, Mr Rahul Gandhi, who has noted people dying in Jammu and Kashmir, in light of events going very wrong there, the Pakistani petition said.

It got so embarrassing that the Congress had to hurriedly issue clarifications. The name of Rahul Gandhi has been mischievously dragged to justify the pack of lies and deliberate misinformation being spread by Pakistan, it said. Let no one in the world be in doubt that Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh were, are and shall always remain an integral part of India.

If that is so, then why did Rahul stand at Jawaharlal Nehru University in solidarity with organisers of an event which mourned terrorist Azfal Guru, a Kashmiri separatist who plotted the attack on Indias Parliament?

Why did he mock Indian ground troops and air forces strikes across the border?

Why did he congratulate three journalists who got the Pulitzer prize for their work on Indian occupation of Kashmir?

There is a clear pattern of Rahul undermining Indias sovereignty.

Why would Rahul do that?

A political system doesnt choose as its leader someone who demonstrably undermines it. A nation wont choose a renegade as prime minister. Rahul and Sonia Gandhi know that.

So, why is he self-destructing?

First, it could be to reclaim the Muslim vote, fanning the communitys fear and mistrust of the Modi government. Is it effective?

No. No party today can win elections by alienating the Hindu vote, relying only on Nehruvian seculars and Muslims. Even Muslims dont vote in mass, and back regional parties which have a better chance than the Congress in the states.

Second, he is hopelessly stuck in his comfort zone of far-Left politics  like a confused rich kid finding his cool in elitist woke activism, his anger against Modi and RSS finding an anchor in the dissent politics of Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders (both just got roundly whipped by voters).

Third and the most ominous explanation for this political kamikaze could be that Rahul has given up. Maybe he has abandoned all hope of coming back to power. The brash utterings at broadcasts, childish swipes on social media, radical NGO activism, taking online tutorials from experts (a fumbling spectacle with zero mass connect), and a petulant teenager-like relationship with the nation all point to dismay.

And that is dangerous for India: Its main Opposition leader making his pyrrhic way out of a failed job with a bad imitation of Joker in The Dark Knight: Some men just want to watch the world burn.
The American commander of the international coalition against the Islamic State says he is planning to invite a number of US allies back to Iraq once risk from the coronavirus pandemic begins to subside.

As I see the health conditions presenting an opportunity, Ill notify those nations  that in 60 days, Id like them to return, Army Lt. Gen. Pat White said today.

Some 7,500 international coalition troops were in Iraq until earlier this year. Americans made up about 5,000 of the coalitions total forces, which do not include NATOs much smaller stabilization and training mission in Iraq.

The UK withdrew some of its roughly 400 coalition personnel from Iraq in March. Canada also pulled some of its forces, while France, Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and New Zealand have all withdrawn their service members from the country.

White said that none of those countries have ruled out sending troops back, and that he anticipates slow trickle of trainers and mentors returning over the next several months, while declining to name specific nations.

The coalition commander said he is still discussing coronavirus precautions regarding troop movements with Iraqi officials, which has slowed us down a little bit.

I anticipate well work through the summer, he told reporters via conference call.

Based on what Iraqi security forces ask of us, we will resume on path, the commander said. Were waiting for the right conditions.

The United States said it was withdrawing hundreds of troops from Iraq in March as it consolidated remaining units at more defensible positions at Camp Taji, Ain al-Asad and Erbil air base.

The United States handed over a number of bases to Iraqi security forces over the past two months, including Kirkuks K-1 air base, Qaim in Anbar province, Qarayyah airfield near Mosul and Taqqadum air base at Habbaniyah.

The US-led coalition initially said the consolidations had nothing to do with a string of deadly rocket attacks allegedly carried out by Iran-linked militias in Iraq. US military officials have since said those attacks were part of the reason for the reshuffle.

Both international forces and Iraqs security forces, including the peshmerga in the Kurdistan Region, have paused training operations due to the spread of COVID-19.

Iraqs parliament passed a nonbinding resolution in January to expel US forces from the country after the Trump administration killed Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani.

Questions also remain as to whether coalition member nations will see much urgency in returning to Iraq. There still remains the possibility of expanding NATOs stabilization mission to help offset any coalition downsizing, US officials have said.

White downplayed recent attacks claimed by IS on Iraqi security forces over the past week, saying the mostly small-arms and mortar attacks do not resemble the complex military operations carried out by IS in 2016-17, and that the number of attacks are no higher than they were this time last year.

White said IS has failed miserably so far in its ongoing Ramadan operation, and that he was surprised the group did not take more immediate advantage of reduced cooperation between international and Iraqi forces due to the coronavirus.

I dont know what theyre trying to do, he said. I do know theyre lacking in financing, theyre lacking in fighters and theyre lacking in support by the populace in most areas.
Deaths in New Jersey during the coronavirus pandemic may be even worse than thought, with the states official death count potentially understated by more than 2,000 deaths, newly released state statistics show.

With mortality skyrocketing during the outbreak, 10,974 more people have died since March than was typical in years past, according to updated data released Friday by the states Center for Health Statistics and Informatics.

That represents 78% more deaths than expected over the past 10 weeks, regardless of their cause. With New Jersey attributing 8,952 deaths to COVID-19 as of Friday, that leaves 2,022 unexplained additional deaths  a potential undercount of nearly one-quarter.

The gap isnt surprising, given limited testing across the nation that is preventing a fuller picture of the diseases impact, said Eric Forgoston, a professor of applied mathematics at Montclair State University who is building models to predict the scope and spread of the virus.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Businesses that are open | Homepage

New Jersey has some of the best testing in the United States, but it is still not good enough, Forgoston said. Were testing a very small factor of what we need to be testing.

Excess death figures represent another way of plotting the diseases devastation, and they capture more than just those deaths that may have been missed. They also speak to what may be indirect consequences of the virus, such as those who die of treatable illnesses for which they did not seek medical attention  the man who has a heart attack at home, rather than risk a trip to the hospital after suffering chest pains.

The stats are part of an ongoing analysis by NJ Advance Media to track mortality during the greatest public health crisis in at least a century. The states new provisional numbers include the first seven days of May, as well as updated figures that accounted for additional deaths in March and April, a particularly brutal month for New Jersey.

Gov. Phil Murphy and his administration have acknowledged New Jersey is trying to reconcile the death counts it keeps, to ensure they are as accurate as possible. The official tabulations are based on fatalities in which coronavirus is lab-confirmed, which may narrow the deaths they capture.

With the new numbers, the gap in the states official count only grew, driven largely by the increases in Aprils tally: On May 2, the NJ Advance Media analysis found nearly 1,600 unexplained deaths, an undercount of 20% compared to the confirmed COVID-19 toll at the time.

There are many reasons why deaths would go unrecorded, medical examiners and epidemiologists say. For one, as Forgoston noted, New Jersey lacks the resources to test everyone for the virus, and some people are being laid to rest who may have died without the disease being detected.

Some people die at home without ever going to the hospital, and some of them are not being tested. In some deaths, doctors may be attributing the cause to more generic ailments such as heart disease, especially with elderly people who have underlying medical conditions. In other cases, death certificates may be getting filled out inconsistently, with some doctors listing coronavirus as a probable factor, and others not.

Dawn Thomas, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health, said the state is at the mercy of what doctors put on each death certificate.

Its too soon to tell if there are systematic errors in those statements that would result in undercounting deaths due to COVID-19," Thomas said Friday in a statement.

The New Jersey Department of Health has also seen increases in other deaths such as hypertension and hypertensive renal disease, diabetes and chronic lower respiratory disease, Thomas added. The data is all preliminary and over time we will learn more about the actual causes for these increases in deaths as more information is reported.

In total, 25,096 people died across the state over the 10 weeks, compared to an average of 14,122 deaths in 2015 to 2019, the five prior years.

The difference was especially striking in April, which registered 16,233 deaths  a 167% increase over the 6,090 deaths typically seen.

Some of counties hit hardest by coronavirus showed jaw-dropping increases in mortality that month. Deaths in Hudson County rose 359%, to 1,402. Essex County was up 306%, to 1,905. Passaic County jumped 304%, to 1,240. Bergen and Morris counties saw deaths more than triple.

Over the entire 10-week period, 18 of the states 21 counties recorded excess deaths, with the exception of the southernmost counties of Salem, Cumberland and Cape May. In 15 counties, the additional deaths outpaced the states count of COVID-19 fatalities in their communities.

The new accounting comes as New Jersey has begun to report progress against coronavirus, with hospitalizations and the rate of infection dropping, two key metrics that state officials say they are watching closely. Gov. Phil Murphy has lifted some restrictions on public life by reopening state and county parks, and he says he is considering further loosening measures, including allowing more retail business to resume.

At a news briefing Wednesday, the states communicable disease chief, Dr. Ed Lifshitz, said it can take as long as a month to confirm a coronavirus death. In some cases, he said, the state is aware of a positive test, but unaware that person ultimately died.

Deaths are one of those things that seems like itd be very easy to go ahead and count," Lifshitz said. Basically, youd say, OK, I know somebody got sick, I know they died, I count them. Theyre not going to get better. Theyre going to stay dead. .... The reality is somewhat more complicated than that.

Forgoston, the Montclair State mathematician, said accurate death counts are important to understanding risk and whether social distancing measures can be safely lifted.

You need high certainty and high accuracy before making those decisions or else you can really do some damage, Forgoston said.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Riley Yates may be reached at ryates@njadvancemedia.com.
Carl Barkemeyer, Criminal Defense Attorney has announced that it is open for business at its new location at 7732 Goodwood Boulevard, Suite A, in Baton Rouge. The more spacious suite, the firm says, will allow it to continue its growth as it adds new staff members and legal professionals to its team. The location is less than a minute from the I-12 and I-10 by car, providing easier access to people from throughout the area, including the parishes of East Baton Rouge, Livingston, and Ascension. The new first-floor suite boasts convenient parking just outside the office and is easily accessible for clients without having to search or pay for parking.

The firm focuses its work on providing representation for DWI/DUI, drug charges including possession, possession with intent, distribution, theft, forgery, bank fraud, assault, battery, domestic abuse battery, battery of a dating partner, gun charges, murder, robbery, burglary, prostitution, soliciting, reckless driving, resisting an officer, voyeurism, obscenity, flight from an officer, trespass, hit and run, trespass, criminal damage to property, disturbing the peace, shoplifting, malfeasance in office, minor in possession of alcohol, filing false public records, illegal use of firearms, firearms charges, contractor fraud, negligent injuring, bail reductions, bench warrants, arrest warrant, warrant recall, public intoxication, probation revocations, expungements, felony charges, and misdemeanors.

Carl Barkemeyer, Criminal Defense Attorney adds that it is looking forward to continuing to be proud members of the Baton Rouge area community and provides outstanding legal counsel to people from throughout Louisiana and beyond. The complete address of the new location is 7732 Goodwood Boulevard, Suite A, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70806. The firm can be reached at (225) 964-6720 or via its website at https://www.attorneycarl.com.
The Ministry of Health (MoH) is considering a lung transplant for a British man infected with COVID-19, who was the 91st patient and also the most severe case in the country.

The meeting of the Ministry of Health's professional council for COVID-19 treatment on May 5 )

Both lungs of the man, a pilot with a Vietnamese airline, are in poor conditions, Prof. and Dr. Nguyen Van Kinh, head of MoHs professional council for COVID-19 treatment, said at a meeting on May 5.

Confirmed as a COVID-19 patient on March 18, the man has had a high fever since being hospitalised and his respiratory system been getting worse despite him being just 43 years old and in otherwise good health.

He is suffering from a blood clotting disorder and cytokine storm syndrome - an intense immune response where the immune system releases a lot of cytokines through the bloodstream, which actually works against instead of protecting the body.

As his body has been resistant to all types of clotting medication, the MoH has had to buy rare drugs overseas for his treatment, Kinh noted, adding that the patient has been on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) - a life support machine - for 33 days, since April 6.

Of the two other severe cases, Patient 19 no longer needs support from an ECMO or a ventilator. She is now able to talk and eat and is in the rehabilitation process. Patient 161, meanwhile, has been free of COVID-19 and is receiving additional care at the Hanoi-based Bach Mai Hospital to recover from the effects of a stroke.

There have not been any deaths among the 288 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Vietnam.

Kinh said that regarding the death of Patient 251, the professional council affirmed that he died from cirrhosis, viral hepatitis, and chronic gout. He had earlier been cured of COVID-19 and monitored for a further 15 days, and he tested negative five times before continuing to receive treatment for liver disease at the General Hospital in northern Ha Nam province.

Prof. and Dr. Le Quang Cuong, former Deputy Minister of Health, told the meeting that all diagnoses, treatment, and testing guidelines in Vietnam closely follow recommendations from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and China. They have also been updated with findings from research and clinical trials around the world.

Experts from WHO and the CDC in Vietnam highly value local efforts in COVID-19 prevention and control. US specialists said they are ready to coordinate with Vietnam to build an appropriate testing strategy in the time ahead./.VNA
Punjab Police

Chandigarh : Notching another major success against Pakistan-sponsored narco-terrorism networks in the country, the Punjab Police on Saturday morning arrested Ranjeet Singh alias Rana alias Cheeta, a big fish in the ISI-controlled network, with links to Hizbul Mujahideen commander Naikoo who was killed by security forces in Kashmir recently.

With more than 10 criminal cases against him, Ranjeet was one of the a key links in the network engaged in smuggling of large number of composite consignments of drugs and illegal weapons through the Indo-Pak border through the legal land route of ICP Attari and also across the border fencing on Indo-Pak border in Punjab and J&K. He was also wanted for bringing in 532 kg of heroin and 52 kg of mixed narcotics, worth over Rs 2700 crores, from Pakistan in a consignment of 600 bags of rock salt, through Integrated Check Post, Attari (Amritsar) on 29th June, 2019.

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Punjab PoliceIn the June 2019 operation, the Customs Department, Amritsar, had seized one of the biggest hauls of 532 Kgs of suspected heroin and 52 Kgs of suspected mixed Narcotics at ICP, Amritsar and apprehended 2 persons, Tariq Ahmed Lone r/o Handwara, J&K and Gurpinder Singh r/o Amritsar. The consignment was hidden under bags of salt in the truck which had come from Pakistan.

Announcing Ranjeets arrest, along with that of his brother Gagandeep alias Bhola, from Begu village in Sirsa, Haryana, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh lauded the Punjab Police for their aggressive operations against terrorists and drug smugglers despite their pre-occupation with the enforcement of curfew and other measures to contain the spread of Covid.

DGP Dinkar GuptaCaptain Amarinder also congratulated the police force, led by DGP Dinkar Gupta, for the arrest of Hilal Ahmed Wagay, an overground worker of the banned Hizbul Mujahideen. It is notable that the inputs shared by Punjab Police are learnt to have played a significant role in the operations by J&K Police against Riaz Ahmed Naikoo, the Hizbul Muhajideen Commander in the Valley. Two more Hizbul operatives were later, on May 5, arrested by Punjab Police from Amrtisar.

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Following Hilals arrest, the Chief Minister said, adding that the Punjab Police had shared Hilals disclosures with the central government and its agencies. During the course of investigations, CCTV footage of a large number of CCTV camera points on the possible route was gathered and examined followed by technical analysis, which led to the apprehension of one Bikram Singh alias Vicky and his brother Maninder Singh alias Mani, with 1 kg of heroin and Rs 32.25 lakh currency, on May 5, 2020.

Their interrogation revealed that both Bikram and Maninder, along with their cousins Ranjeet Singh alias Cheeta, Iqbal Singh alias Shera and Sarwan Singh, were dealing in drugs smuggled from across the border, and that Bikram had come to deliver Rs 29 lakh drug money to Hilal Ahmed on the instructions of Ranjit Singh alias Cheetah, Iqbal Singh alias Shera and Sarwan Singh.

Bikram alias Vicky, and his brother Maninder Singh alias Mani who were arrested from Amritsar on 5th May 2020 made certain disclosures about the activities of Ranjit alias Cheeta and his brother Sarwan alias Polu. Further analysis of data, alongwith NIA, led to the identification of Ranjeets Sirsa location, and subsequently, in coordination with Haryana Police, the hideout was busted and he was caught with his brother in the wee hours of today, said the Chief Minister.

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According to the Chief Minister, Ranjeet Cheeta was one of the most active nodes of the extensive and common network of drug smugglers/couriers set up by the Pak ISI to push in composite consignments of drugs, weapons, FICN from Pakistan into Punjab through various means, including drones. He had been convicted in 2008, 2009, 2011 etc. for heroin smuggling. He was awarded 12 years rigorous imprisonment for smuggling of 5 kg heroin, but was acquitted by the Supreme Court in March 2018 by giving him benefit of doubt.

The arrest of Ranjeet, one of the most active drug smugglers of the country, and his brother today morning, marked the first time the police had been able to unravel international drug networks on such a massive scale, to expose a major racket of narco-proceeds being routed to terrorist outfits operating in J&K valley, Punjab and other parts of the country, said the Chief Minister, recalling his promise to the people of Punjab, since taking over the governments reins in March 2017, that he would go after the 'big fish' involved in the drug trade and save the youth of Punjab from the drug trap.

2019 had witnessed record heroin seizures of about 464 kg, which was largest ever for any single year. There had been a steady increase in heroin seizures since his government took, said the Chief Minister, adding that heroin seizures jumped 5 times between 2016 (91 kg) and 2019 (464 kg).

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It may be pointed out that Punjab Police had earlier made a major recovery of drugs of over 188 kgs of heroin on 30th January 2020 with the arrest of 6 persons, including an Afghan national named Abdul Basar. A drug factory for preparation /mixing/cutting of drugs, which had been set up in an isolated house in the Sultanwind area of Amritsar, had been busted in this operation.

Giving details of the Sirsa operations, DGP Dinkar Gupta said he spoke to his Haryana counterpart Manoj Yadav at around 9 pm on Friday, and thereafter coordination was established by CP Amritsar with Arun Nehra, IPS, SP Sirsa. A team of Amritsar police comprising of ASP Abhimanyu Rana, IPS, currently working as SHO Sadar, DCP (D) Amritsar Mukhvinder Singh Bhullar and ADCP(D) Jugraj Singh started for Sirsa on 8 May at 11 pm and reached around 3:30 am, and the outer cordon was setup by 4:30 am.

The outer cordon of the area was laid jointly by Haryana police and Punjab police (SHO Police Station B/Division and SHO Police Station Gate Hakiman, Commissionerate Amritsar, led the outer cordon team). The raid team comprising of members of Police Station Sadar and CIA Staff, under the guidance of DCP (D) Amritsar Mukhvinder Singh Bhullar, raided two locations.

At the first location, police officials from the first raid team entered the premises but the suspects were not found at the location. At the second location, the compound wall was scaled by ADCP(D) Jugraj Singh and SHO Sadar ASP(UT) Abhimanyu Rana. The door leading to the room was covered by both officers and upon knocking on the door, Ranjit alias Cheeta opened the door slowly. As soon as he saw the police party he tried to close the gate and grab an axe lying close to his bed but the door was kicked open and Ranjeet was caught by both the officers. His brother Gagandeep Singh was sleeping in the other room and was arrested from there.

Ranjeet Rana has five brothers, and at least 3 of them, including Gagandeep Singh alias Bhola, have cases relating to NDPS, drug smuggling against them. The other two brothers, Balwinder Singh alias Billa (3 cases of 1994, 2004 & 2019) and Kuldeep Singh (5 cases of 2010 by DRI, 2013, 2014, 2019), also have multiple cases under NDPS Act registered against them by STF, SSOC, DRI Amritsar, said the DGP.

Gupta said Ranjeet Singh Cheeta is one of the biggest fishes of the extensive drug & weapon supply network controlled by the Paks ISI. He said Pakistan has been relentlessly pushing drugs, explosives, weapons, hand-grenades etc. through the Indo-Pak border in Punjab in an attempt to destroy the states youth by promoting narco-terrorism.
Indian officials have stopped handing over the bodies of Kashmiri fighters killed in battles with Indian forces in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Indian authorities did not hand over the bodies of the slain Kashmiri rebel fighters to their families under a new government policy designed to thwart large-scale funerals that have become a rallying point for anti-India protests.

Instead, they are being buried in unmarked graves. The government is blaming the coronavirus pandemic for not allowing a proper burial, but human rights groups are sceptical.

Al Jazeeras Imran Khan reports.
Russia continues to strengthen military power in the Arctic region with new air defense units. The region is essential to Russias future economic and military vitality. As a result, substantial budgetary increases have boosted Russian military and economic activity in the Arctic over the course of the past decade.

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The S-400 air defense missile system was deployed in Novaya Zemlya, an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, in 2019. (Picture source Russian DoD)

In March 2020, B-2 bombers and US and Norwegian F-15 and F-35 fighter jets trained over Iceland and flew far to the north.

Besides strategic aircraft in the Arctic, Russia may shortly face another challenge  submarines with cruise missiles. The melting Arctic ice provides a possibility for nuclear submarines of the potential adversary to enter the Northern Sea Route.

The Pentagon published the Arctic strategy in November 2013. It said the US Navy should be ready for a broad range of problems and unforeseen circumstances and work to promote the freedom of navigation. In July 2019, Commanding officer of the US Groton submarine base Captain Paul Whitescarver told the Daily Express that the Navy plans to spend more money in the Arctic from 2020. Specific attention will be paid to tactical skills.

The Soviet 10th air defense army comprised one corps and three divisions. Two defense hubs were geographically evident. The first one was in Karelia, Murmansk and Arkhangelsk regions. The high concentration of air defense weapons had to protect submarine bases and the important seaport and shipyard center of Severodvinsk.

The second air defense hub stretched from Novaya Zemlya to Kamchatka. The fourth air defense division operated there with headquarters in Belushya Guba.

The Soviet Air Defense in the Last Years of the USSR reference book said it comprised two fighter jet regiments armed with Tu-128 and Su-27 and two radar regiments. There was only one antiaircraft missile regiment in the division. It protected Novaya Zemlya, division headquarters and an air regiment.

It was possible to deploy a proper air defense in the Arctic comprising several dozen antiaircraft and radar regiments, but it was a costly business. Therefore, they staked on timely detection of adversary aircraft near the North Pole instead of interception. Two radar regiments of the 4th division created a total radar space from Novaya Zemlya to Kamchatka.

Tu-128 aircraft also engaged in patrol. It is an interceptor plane that can fly for several hours at a distance of hundreds of kilometers from the airfield. It can timely identify targets and intercept them at a maximum distance.

At present, the Russian air defense in the Arctic has the same principle. The 45th air force and defense army has two air defense divisions: the 1st is headquartered in Severomorsk and the 3rd in Rogachevo in Novaya Zemlya. The 1st division is the successor to the 10th army. Its regiments defend the territory from Karelia to Novaya Zemlya.

How can one division cope with the missions fulfilled by one corps and two divisions in Soviet time? All regiments of the 1st division are armed with S-400 and Pantsir launchers. The 21st corps and the 23rd and 5th air defense divisions were armed with outdated S-75, S-125 and S-200.

The formation of the 3rd air defense division began in 2017 and it developed into a combat-ready formation in 2020. In late February, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said the Russian Arctic and northern air defense was reinforced. The Northern fleet got another air defense division, he said.

The staff matrix of the 3rd division differs from the Soviet 4th division. It has more antiaircraft missile regiments. Besides one regiment in Novaya Zemlya, the 414th regiment went on combat duty in Tiksi in April 2020. Another regiment is expected to appear shortly to the north of Dudinka in Dixon settlement.
The Midland Health Department reported coronavirus case 101 in Midland County on Friday.

The 101st confirmed case is a female in her 60s tested by a private provider. She is self-isolating at home. As of Friday, 62.4 percent of those testing positive for coronavirus in Midland County have been female.

The Midland Health Department also reports that 35 of the 101 people testing positive have recovered. There are 30 others in the hospital, 25 in home isolation and 11 who have died.

Midland Health reports 1,982 samples taken at its facilities. There have been 137 positives, 1,738 negative tests and 107 waiting for results. Those tests include people from outside Midland County testing at a Midland Health facility.

Editors Note: The Reporter-Telegram will have all the information on all confirmed cases through Saturday afternoon in Sundays edition.
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live bse live

nse live Volume Todays L/H More 

Shabbir Kayyumi

RSI stands for Relative Strength Index. It is a momentum oscillator used to identify trend reversal.

RSI was invented by Welles Wilder Jr. The default look-back period for RSI is 14, however, this can be lowered to increase sensitivity or raised to decrease sensitivity. RSI calculates strength of a stock's trend and helps to predict their reversals.

Why to buy Tata Motors?

There are a lot of trading strategies using RSI; below mentioned is one of the most popular among trading community which involves Buy after completing retracement for higher movement.

In the past few days, RSI had given a breakout by moving above 50 levels from below and then it made a high of 80 then after that it is moving lower or retracing towards the centre line placed at 50 level, this behavior is called as RSI PBB setup.

RSI PBB is Pull Back Buy setup which indicates, once RSI turns its tail upside after taking support from zone of 45-55 levels, target is previous swing high of RSI which was 80 or previous swing high of prices (Rs 94).

Currently, Tata Motors is going through this setup and we expect higher price movement towards previous high Rs 94-98 levels in coming days.

1. Recent RSI gave a breakout and reached swing top around 80 levels.2. After marking high of 80, RSI is retracing towards 50 towards mid-line standing around 50 mark.3. Strong bullish candle formation near buying zone has given us confirmation of retracement complete and original trend begin.4. Mid- term moving average 50 DMA placed around 79 levels defines mid-term trend very well augurs with bulls as prices are sustained and trading above it.

5. Decent volume participation while forming a bullish candle will also give additional confirmation.

Profit Booking:

Whenever price candle will be near previous swing high which is near Rs 94-98 levels.

Stop Loss:

Entire bullish view negates on breaching of a swing low and one should exit from long position.

Conclusion:

We recommend buying Tata Motors around Rs 81-80 levels with a stop loss of Rs 73 on a closing basis for higher targets of Rs 94 and Rs 98 levels as indicated in above chart.

The author is Head - Technical & Derivative Research, Narnolia Financial Advisors.

: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
A student land army has been called for to help feed the nation and bring in the harvest this summer during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Students have been urged to support national food security through local food supply chains by volunteering to work on British farms.

The Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has made the call as the UK rapidly approaches its peak summer harvest season.

Around 80,000 seasonal workers are needed from the end of May to help bring in the harvest.

The LEP has issued a rallying cry targeted at sixth-formers and students at universities and colleges across Lincolnshire to create a 'Student Land Army'.

A social media campaign has been launched and information is being sent to educational establishments across the county.

The food sector in Greater Lincolnshire employs 56,000 people, produces a quarter of the countrys vegetables and is nationally important in keeping our nation fed, said Sarah Louise Fairburn, chair of the LEP Food Board and a director at Fairburns Eggs.

Because of travel restrictions put in place to combat the coronavirus our farms are struggling to recruit the workers needed to bring in the harvest this year.

A Student Land Army can have a significant impact on the national effort to overcome the pandemic emergency and will give students a chance to earn an income while theyre not studying."

The websites Pick for Britain and Feed the Nation are advertising vacancies in the UK food and farming sector this summer.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang, North Korea, on April 11, 2020. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

North Korea Threatens to Retaliate, Criticizes South for Reckless Drills

North Korea threatened May 8 to retaliate against South Korea for reckless military drills near their disputed sea boundary, but the South denied any training in the immediate area, the scene of several bloody naval skirmishes in recent years.

The wrangling came five days after South Korea accused the North of initiating an exchange of gunfire along their land border. No casualties were reported, but the incident was a reminder of persistent tensions on the peninsula.

North Koreas Ministry of the Peoples Armed Forces accused South Korea of mobilizing fighter jets and warships for drills on their western sea boundary on May 6.

Such reckless move of the military warmongers of the south side is the height of the military confrontation, it said in a statement carried by North Korean state media. This is a grave provocation which can never be overlooked and this situation demands a necessary reaction from us.

North Korea said the South Korean drills violated 2018 agreements that require both countries to halt firing exercises along their land and sea borders to lower front-line tensions.

North Korean flag flutters in the wind at a military guard post in Paju, at the border with North Korea on May 3, 2020. (Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo)

South Koreas Defense Ministry said the drills didnt break the agreements because they took place in its western waters about 300 kilometers (185 miles) from the sea boundary. A ministry official, requesting anonymity because of department rules, said South Korea has been maintaining military readiness without violating the 2018 agreements.

On May 10, South Korea said several bullets fired from North Korea struck one of its front-line guard posts, and South Korean soldiers fired 20 warning shots in return. South Korea sent a message asking North Korea to explain the incident, but the North has yet to reply, the Defense Ministry said.

The Koreas have been divided along the worlds most heavily fortified land border since the end of the 195053 Korean War. Their poorly marked western sea boundary witnessed naval clashes in 1999, 2002, and 2009. Attacks blamed on North Korea in the area in 2010 killed 50 South Koreans46 on a warship and four on a border island.

Relations between the two Koreas improved significantly in 2018 as their leaders held three rounds of talks.

The United States stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea to help deter potential aggression from North Korea.
Hannah DeBellis fired off a tweet in March, shortly after the University of Montana moved to remote instruction, pleading for President Seth Bodnar to let seniors like her walk at a graduation ceremony this spring.

The 20-year-old psychology major awaited a decision from UM's leaders for nearly a month on whether graduation was canceled, with UM finally deciding against holding in-person ceremonies this spring, but with a few alternatives in the works.

While she won't get to shake hands with Bodnar on stage this Saturday as planned, DeBellis said the idea of returning to Missoula in December for a walk across the stage will help propel her through her first semester of graduate school at Boise State University.

"I didn't love having to transition to online for the end of my senior year, but I think all of my professors worked so hard to make the best of the circumstances," she said.

"There's been highs and lows, but if I could pick a word to describe my three years at UM it would be 'sparkling.' I made some of my best friends, studied in Tanzania, and I didn't miss a Griz game all three years  that's probably my biggest accomplishment."

While students across the country learned to adapt to a totally different college experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, 1,863 degree candidates at UM are officially moving onto the next phase of their journeys this Saturday. Four of those graduates shared what the future holds for them.

Marthe Van Sickle first realized she was bound to become a lawyer only after she argued a case, cross-examined witnesses and ultimately won her day in court, despite being at odds with an attorney hired by her ex-boyfriend.

Now 35, Van Sickle is leaving UM having earned her law degree, a master's in public administration and two certificates in Indian law and public policy, all in just three years.

With a bachelor's degree focused on cellular and molecular biology from Salish Kootenai College, she had half-heartedly considered law, but felt more drawn to medical school. After needing to argue a case for a protective order against an abusive ex, her aunt, who works as an attorney, told Van Sickle she needed to watch the tape of her case.

"It was a terrifying experience, and I didn't really want to relive it, but I listened to it, and I heard myself objecting and arguing with an attorney. It was me," she said. "That's when I realized I was a lawyer, naturally being able to do that."

Van Sickle didn't waste much time, and got to work studying for the LSAT in 2017, and eventually enrolling at UM that fall. Despite juggling law school and raising a young daughter as a single mother, she said she decided she wanted to make the most of every opportunity at the flagship. She ended up as co-president of the Native American Law Students Association, president of the Student Bar Association, student representative on the Montana ACLU Board of Directors, and volunteering at law clinics and a local law firm specializing in helping victims of domestic violence.

While holding all of her commitments together is enough to exhaust even the most driven students, it paid off, as she was selected to clerk for the chief justice of the Montana Supreme Court after graduation.

She said losing the ability to have a formal graduation this spring was hard for her and all of the law school students, who sacrificed so much of their personal lives to make it through the grueling courses, and looked forward to the final hurrah.

"We don't get to hug each other, we don't get that closure, and that's really hard," she said. "We postponed having a ceremony because there's enough of us who need to have that eventually, but for now it just stops."

As someone who is typically full speed ahead, she said making the transition to remote learning was really hard for her  when her busy life came to a sudden halt. While she struggled to stay focused with so much free time, she said for students who are continuing on after this semester, she recommended they stay strong and connected to friends and family, and to remember the evolving challenges of school in the era of coronavirus are no different than the adversities they've been able to overcome before.

"We need these students now more than ever, they're needed in the world and the work they'll do is important," she said. "You need to remind yourself why you're in law school. That's something to focus on: Remember the reasons why you started down this path."

Skyler Genazzi has been spending much of the last few weeks of his undergraduate career working at the YMCA, caring for kids whose parents are first-responders and can't stay home with them while schools are closed.

As a music education major, Genazzi said he and fellow School of Music graduating senior Rory Anderson have taken great joy in bringing a ukulele and keyboard to the Y each day to teach kids about music.

Teaching music quickly took the place of learning and making music as the 24-year-old's ensemble classes, in which he took part in seven this semester, completely dropped off when moving to remote instruction.

"Those were just done, instantly gone," he said. "I know all of us are looking forward to meeting again and making music, but it's going be hard to make music while I'm crying on that first day. I might cry right now just thinking about it."

After graduating, he has plans to head to Tacoma, Washington, to student-teach, but said he might make a return trip to Missoula for graduation in the winter, but likely only if his parents and grandparents want him to. He said he was never in school for the graduation ceremony, however he has taken part in the last five as a member of the brass ensemble, playing trumpet.

"I'm finishing up my final assignment tonight when I get home from work, then I have a virtual graduation in the morning and having a virtual Zoom party with family and friends who are all in Colorado after," he said. "It took a lot more than four years to get my degree. I didn't know what I wanted to do, so it is weirdly fitting to finish on a strange note because my experience was so up and down."

Kathleen Cotter finished her speech-language pathology master's degree with a first for UM  becoming the first Griz to win a competitive yearlong fellowship at the Oregon Health & Science University.

The Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities' Speech-Language Pathology Fellowship will have Cotter working with children facing all sorts of challenges, including autism, Down syndrome and a variety of craniofacial disorders to communicate more effectively, and to train families on the best ways to help their children through.

"I worked at Camp Mak-a-Dream and was talking with a woman, and she mentioned speech pathology, and I said, 'What's that?'" Cotter said. "She explained her son had autism and that I reminded her of the speech pathologist he had. So I looked into it and ended up finishing my undergrad in that program, and once I got into the speech path master's program, I just knew it's what I was born to do."

She said missing out on graduation was sad, as she'd heard stories about the hooding ceremony and all of the celebrating, but instead she was isolating in Helena at her parents' home. She said she had a big Zoom call planned with her family, as well as one with the speech pathology department, but beyond that she said all her celebrating would probably be going for a nice walk in the afternoon sun.

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British rapper Ty, real name Ben Chijioke, has died from complications due to the novel coronavirus. He was 47. The Nigerian British artist died on Thursday after contracting pneumonia while recovering from the virus, according to a GoFundMe set up for him.

Screengrab

It is with much sadness that I have to report the passing of Ben Chijioke, better known as TY Chijioke on the 7th May 2020, close friends, family, and fans are devastated of his death, an update for the campaign read.

British rapper Ty

Since then TYs condition had been improving but last week while on a normal ward he had contracted pneumonia which worsened his recovery and ultimately TYs body couldnt fight back anymore. This is a shock to everyone.

Rapper/Screengrab





Fans and his close friends are in shock.

Roots Manuva, who collaborated with the rapper, tweeted:

"Rest my Brother. You did good." DJ Gilles Peterson said Ty "was a huge part in the development of hip hop and spoken word in this country."



Screengrab





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R.I.P Ty. A great british rapper, may he rest in peace.  Fola (@Folayemz) May 7, 2020

Really shocked to hear the news of this death; rapper and artiste Ty, Ben Chijioke. I met him just late last year when he attended a #Windrush meeting in Brixton. What on earth is going on? https://t.co/8xzwMcDhk0  Jacqueline (Jacqui) Mckenzie (@JacquiMckenzie6) May 7, 2020

47year old British-Nigerian rapper Ben Chijioke (TY) has died from Coronavirus.



He got into hospital in April.

He was put into coma to help respond to treatment. He survived all of that and was discharged from ICU.



Hes now dead from the complications.

This virus is a calamity.  #OurFavOnlineDoc  (@DrOlufunmilayo) May 7, 2020

 REST IN PEACE TY We have lost a true, hip hop pioneer.

Nigerian British rapper, Ty Ben Chijioke, 47.

Much loved & respected by all at #MiSoulRadio. Were sending love, prayers and condolences to his family, loved ones and the music family worldwide  .#ripty pic.twitter.com/nnC3MiTaHw  Mi-Soul (@misoulradio) May 7, 2020

The hip-hop artist was admitted to the hospital with medical complications related to COVID19 in early April and put in a medically induced coma to temporarily sedate him while in treatment, the statement said.

An update made on April 19 said Ty was doing much better and had been moved out of the intensive care unit. Born in London in 1972, Ty shot to fame with the release of his debut album, The Awkward in 2001. He followed up the record with 2003s Upwards.


Essential employees in the cannabis industry are not seeing relief through the Senate proposed Heroes Fund, providing an additional $13 and hour to frontline workers. Cannabis dispensaries are deemed essential at state level. They serve medical cannabis patients during the pandemic and face the same exposure as a grocery store clerk. While the danger is the same, dispensary workers exclusion from relief efforts by the Federal government is inevitable.

Democratic Senators proposed the Heroes Fund on April 7, 2020 to help with economic relief efforts. The proposal is a $25,000 pandemic premium pay increase for essential frontline workers, equivalent to a raise of an additional $13 per hour from the start of the public health emergency until December 31, 2020. Heres where things get complicated.

Exactly what is an essential frontline worker? The motion reads that, The definition of essential frontline workers for purposes of both the premium pay increase and the recruitment- retention incentive will be the subject of debate. A lengthy debate is expected and the cannabis industry being included as essential federally is bleak.

Dispensary workers perform the vital function of providing medical attention to a large sector of the population. They are required to wear PPE and follow all COVID-19 guidelines. The health and safety of these workers are on the line everyday. They are also heroes. We owe these heroes more than just words of gratitude: we must make sure they are paid what they deserve," said Senator Udall in a press release. Udall is one of the Democrats initiating the proposal.

In a recent interview with David Turner and David White, owners of Organtica, the subject of the measure was one of almost certain exclusion. According to Mr. Turner, Its going to come down to exactly what the criteria is for eligibility and whos deciding it. We are an essential business, because basically if our patients didnt have access to their medicine it would be a real problem, said David White. Organtica owners respect and value their employees and are ready to apply for the relief if given the option.

Essential workers should be rewarded for their efforts. The medical cannabis industry is legal in New Mexico and should not be excluded. While $13 an hour might not save one from exposure, it would definitely pay the medical bills. Medical cannabis workers are on the frontline. It seems David Turner said it best, It is essential. It is medicine.
Kolkata, May 9 : The Centre-state debate over the issue of bringing back thousands of migrant workers to West Bengal reached a new flashpoint on Saturday with Union Home Minister Amit Shah writing a letter to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee complaining that the Centre was not getting the "expected support" from her state government in bringing back stranded migrants home.

According to sources, Shah said in the letter that West Bengal government was not allowing trains with migrant workers. "This is injustice to migrant workers. This will create further hardships for them," the letter said.

Shah claimed that migrants from West Bengal are eager to reach home, but the state government has not been allowing the trains to enter the state.

He claimed that the central government has been trying to aid more than two lakh migrants to return back to their home states, but it is only West Bengal that has not supported the initiative.

"Migrants from West Bengal are also eager to reach home. Central govt is facilitating but we are not getting expected support from West Bengal," Shah wrote.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state secretary Dilip Ghosh said that this is the responsibility of the West Bengal government to take the necessary initiatives to bring back all migrant workers from other states.

"It is not possible for the Centre to know how many migrant workers from Bengal are settled in other states. The Mamata Banerjee administration has not appealed for any special train to the Centre while other states like Uttar Pradesh has already written communications to the Centre for giving them special trains," Ghosh said, adding that the Trinaool Congress-led state government is only busy fighting with the Centre.

Senior Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Sujan Chakrbaorty said that migrant workers from Bengal are the worst sufferers. "When both the governments - Centre and state - are at loggerhead in the time of Covid-19 pandemic these poor migrants labourers are at the receiving end now," said Chakraborty.

In the wake of demands by different state governments to run special trains to ferry people stuck in various states, Indian Railways on May 1 had said that it will run special trains from Friday itself to move labourers, pilgrims, tourists and students stranded across the country.

Railways Executive Director (Media) R.D. Bajpai had then said in a statement that as per the guidelines issued by Ministry of Home Affairs, it was decided to run "Shramik Special" trains to return migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students, and others to their native states.
Workers produce anti-bacterial masks amid the Covid-19 pandemic at the Long An Industrial Zone in Long An Province, southern Vietnam, February 29, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Nhu Quynh.

Vietnam's Covid-19 record could make it an attractive investment destination as economies seek to make their supply chains less dependent on China.

Despite a population of over 96 million and sharing a land border with China, Vietnam has recorded only 288 Covid-19 cases so far and zero deaths. Meanwhile, China, where the disease was first reported last year, has recorded nearly 83,000 cases and more than 4,600 deaths.

Vietnam's highly effective containment of the Covid-19 pandemic will prove to be an advantage for the country's investment environment, helping economic recovery and placing the country in a new position on the global stage, Planning and Investment Minister Nguyen Chi Dung said at an online meeting between Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and businesses Saturday.

Foreign investors are considering shifting investments to Vietnam due to their trust in Vietnam's "safety" amid the pandemic, according to recent reports by the National Assembly's Economic Committee. Evidently, U.S. and South Korean tech firms have recently been pushing to diversify their production out of China, and some have chosen Vietnam, the reports said.

Apple Inc., for example, has planned to produce 3-4 million wireless earphones called AirPods, or around 30 percent of total classic AirPods production, in Vietnam this quarter, a Nikkei Asian Review report said. This would be the first time that millions of AirPod units will be produced in Vietnam, it added.

Samsung has also been considering shifting some of its high-end smartphone production lines to Vietnam, Reuters reported in March, citing a company spokeswoman.

Seizing opportunities

Seafood production and export is expected to increase following the pandemic, said Tran Dinh Hoe, general secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP). He said demand for food, especially seafood, could dramatically increase following the pandemic.

He noted that other countries that are main competitors for Vietnam in seafood production, like India and Ecuador, are now having to impose quarantine and lockdown measures to curb the disease, which would cut their production and exports by around 50 percent.

The same goes for countries like Indonesia or Thailand, where production and exports could be cut by around 30 percent, he added.

"When main competitors suffer delays in their production recovery following the pandemic compared to Vietnam, it presents a huge opportunity," Hoe said.

For the textile industry, too, demand is expected to increase gradually after the crisis passes, said Le Tien Truong, director of the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex). As such, production businesses, including those in the textile industry, must get ready to re-orient themselves and seize opportunities presented, he said.

Avoid over-reliance

Tran Ba Duong, board chairman of automobile firm Truong Hai Auto Corporation (Thaco), cautioned businesses that they should not rely too much on governmental solutions.

The government's foremost priority in a pandemic is to support the poor and vulnerable, including small and medium businesses, he added.

"Support from the government should help businesses stand on their own feet, not make them over-reliant on such support.

"Right now, solutions to help recover the economy should strike a balance between solving short-term challenges and maintaining market economy principles," he added.

Duong also called for a concerted, relentless effort for economic recovery after the pandemic crisis passes, saying this should be coordinated and supported by all industries and sectors, just like the unity shown in the ongoing fight against Covid-19.

PM Phuc said the pandemic could provide development opportunities for Vietnam if there was good business coordination and management, adding that businesses should actively restructure themselves, increase managerial capabilities and production.

"Businesses need to maintain their workforce and their domestic and international markets," he said.

The government will also create a good environment to help businesses in various aspects, through finance, market-oriented, fiscal and other policies, he added.
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County sheriffs in Cumberland and Perry counties have posted statements on Facebook that they will not cite businesses that operate in defiance of Gov. Tom Wolfs shutdown order.

Our Office will not be enforcing any order that violates our Constitutional Rights, said the post on the Cumberland County Sheriffs Department Facebook page. Sheriff Anderson has stated I have no intentions in turning local business owners into criminals.

A similar statement was posted on the Perry County Sheriffs Department website:

Our Office will stand with the citizens in defense of all of our Constitutional Rights! Our Office will not be enforcing any order that violates our Constitutional Rights. David A. Hammar, Sheriff of Perry County.

And the Lebanon County District Attorney announced that law enforcement in that county would not prosecute or pursue legal action against any business that reopens, so long as the business complies with the mandates set forth in the administrations April 15, 2020 order. That order spells out requirements for social distancing, use of face masks and cleaning.

The postings came as both counties learned that they would not be moving into the yellow phase of Gov. Tom Wolfs reopening plan but remain in the red phase. Under the red phase, non-life-sustaining businesses must remain closed and a stay-at-home order remains in force.

Twenty-four counties moved into the yellow phase today, under which most businesses may begin to reopen  amid strict social distancing requirements  and the stay-at-home mandate is relaxed.

Officials from all three counties had pleaded with the governor to be allowed to enter the yellow phase, but were not included in the list of 13 counties that the governor said Friday will enter that phase on May 15.

The stay-at-home order for red phase counties, meanwhile, was extended until early June.

Within minutes of learning that Lebanon County will remain in the red phase, District Attorney Pier Hess Graf said her office was flooded with phone calls from concerned citizens.

"Whether a business opens, and whether an individual feels safe enough in his surroundings to patronize the business, are questions our citizens must answer for themselves, said Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf. "Law enforcement exists to protect and serve our communities; we do not exist to enforce arbitrary regulations which rip away a roof over a familys head or food in a childs mouth. Our police officers have tough enough jobs without the added duty of prosecuting local small businesses.

Post to Perry County Sheriff's Office Facebook page

It was unclear if either sheriffs office would ever be called upon to enforce the governors order. The duties of the office, as listed on the Perry County government website, include:

Conducting real estate and personal property sales

Issuing licenses to carry concealed firearms, to sell firearms and to sell precious metals.

Serving and enforcement of court orders, writs of summons, complaints, money judgments and injunctions

Service of warrants issued by the courts

Providing security to county properties and to the courts

Providing a law enforcement present to county offices in times of need/risk

Provide safe and secure transportation of prisoners for court appearances

Enforce violations of the state Crimes and Vehicle Code

Support other law enforcement agencies

Conduct community service programs

Provide fingerprinting services

Nonetheless, more than 900 people left comments, many of them supportive, on the Cumberland County sheriffs Facebook post:

Thank you for defending our rights, said one commenter. Every person should remember that with freedom comes great responsibility.

Another commenter said: The Constitution is the supreme law of the United States, and our Governor is violating the rights of Americans with this lock down. Thank you for defending our rights to run our businesses. Anyone who is against this can choose to stay at home.

Sheriff Anderson is a true patriot and a hero for taking a stance to protect of our Constitutional Rights! Thank you, Sheriff Anderson, wrote another.

Not all comments were admiring, however.

I have never been more embarrassed to be a member of this county, said one commenter. "Guessing the office wont be this lenient when citizens pick and choose what laws they dont want to follow.

More:

Williams Grove Flea Market 'should not be operating during COVID-19 shutdown

Gov. Wolf moves 13 more counties into yellow; some dentists can return to work; more: Latest on coronavirus in Pa.
Four Naxals, including two women,



and a police official were killed in an exchange of fire in Rajnandgaon district of Chhattisgarh, police said on Saturday.

The incident took place on Friday night at Pardhauni village under Manpur police station limits, located over 150 kms from here, when a team of security forces was out on a counter-insurgency operation, Inspector General of Police (Durg range) Vivekanand Sinha said.

Acting on a tip-off about the presence of ultras in the village, security forces had launched the operation.

"When the patrolling team was cordoning off the area, Naxals suddenly came out of the village and the encounter broke out between the two sides," he said.

"Police Sub Inspector (SI) S K Sharma, who was posted as the Station House Officer at Madanwada police station, lost his life in the gunfight," the IG said.

Bodies of the four Naxals were recovered from the spot along with an AK47 rifle, an SLR rifle and two 315 bore rifles, he said.

Reinforcement was rushed to the spot and bodies of the martyred official and the Naxals were evacuated out of the forest, he said, adding that search operation was underway in the area.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Indias labour laws are a mess.

Any rational discussion of the countrys labour laws has to start from there.

They are well-intentioned, like all things in this country are, but far from the kind of labour laws a country that has to create hundreds of millions of jobs needs to have.

Some economists consider them partly, if not wholly, responsible for the curious absence of large enterprises in the country. India may have 63 million companies, but only 18,500 of them have a paid-up capital of at least 10 crore.

The laws are also blamed for the informalisation of the Indian labour market. According to the 2020 Economic Survey released in January, around a fifth of jobs in India are in the so-called formal sector. Some experts believe this might be an overestimation and the actual proportion could be lower  perhaps even as low as 10%.

And most workers in the informal sector, if not all, do not enjoy the protection and the safety net those in the formal sector do.

Some experts believe that the laws are the reason why many companies, including large ones, prefer to hire workers on a contract basis (usually through contractors). Even large auto companies prefer such contract workers to those on their rolls. In effect, a regime that should safeguard the interests of workers has had the opposite effect, hurting not just them, but industry, and the economy as a whole.

Its the reason changes in labour laws headline any discussion on the second generation economic reforms India has to embark on to make it easier to do business in the country, and help businesses become more competitive.

If, almost three decades after India liberalised its industrial policy in the first wave of economic reforms, it hasnt happened, blame it on politics  the same reason why much-needed agricultural reform hasnt happened. Interestingly, much like workers, farmers too have borne the brunt of laws originally designed to protect them, and, improve their lot, but thats the subject of another column (perhaps, even a book).

The Narendra Modi government has, since it came to power in 2014, tried to overhaul the countrys archaic labour law regime in an attempt to do the right thing by both industry and workers. This has involved parcelling a multiplicity of laws into four labour codes. Parliament has already cleared the code on wages. A second code on industrial disputes has been cleared by the Union Cabinet. The third, on occupational safety and health, and the fourth, on social security, are before a parliamentary panel. But these are only central laws.

Since labour is what is called a concurrent subject under the Indian Constitution, states also have the right to make laws on it. The result is a complex, and often almost incomprehensible web of laws, many of which emphasise compliance and inspection  giving tremendous powers to labour inspectors, often resulting in harassment.

It is some of these laws that have been suspended by the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, both governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party. Uttar Pradesh, for instance, has suspended, for three years, all but four labour laws. The changes will need to be approved by the Centre, where central labour laws are involved, and all indications are that they will be. On Friday, the CEO of Niti Aayog, the central governments think tank, endorsed the changes.

Uttar Pradesh explained the suspension as necessary to attract industry and create employment. Yet, among the labour laws that have been suspended are those related to unions, the settlement of disputes, and, most important, those prescribing working conditions.

Madhya Pradesh said it will exempt all new factories from most provisions of the overarching Factories Act, 1948, for 1,000 days. Among the exemptions are those related to working conditions and the health and safety of workers.

This is where the central government and state governments will have to strike a balance. Understandably, governments want to push through labour reforms to attract businesses and boost industrial activity to revive the economy. The coronavirus disease induced pandemic and the resulting nationwide lockdown enforced to slow its spread have wreaked havoc on the economy. It has also resulted in a huge reverse migration, with migrant labour for large urban centres fleeing back home  usually to Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal, where there are few jobs to be had.

Yet, more than ever before, governments will have to ensure that the rights of workers are not compromised. This will require more nuanced decisions on which labour laws to junk (there are many), and which to keep (some are inviolable because they deal with issues of lives, livelihoods, and liberties)

Importantly, the use of executive orders to effect these changes, while efficient, is avoidable where the health and safety of workers are involved. Indian labour laws must change to help businesses and the economy, and now is as good a time as any to amend, suspend, even scrap them  but not at the cost of workers.

letters@hindustantimes.com

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Chanakya History has an uncanny way of intruding into contemporary life and shaping our public conversation. A new controversy emerged recently over the relationship between Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose. ...view detail
U.S. Senator Cory Booker, D-N.J., spent much of his time Friday during a conference call with New Jersey emergency medical services responders saluting their service for treating pre-hospitalized coronavirus patients.

To put it simply, there is just no way we could make it through this pandemic without (EMS responders)," he said.

But Booker conceded verbal bouquets are not what EMS responders need right now.

They need financial support, he said.

We have an obligation as lawmakers to make sure investments are being made so that our brave EMTs and paramedics, who are working around the clock literally and are putting their bodies at risk, are protected and supported," Booker said during an hour-long conference call aimed at identifying funding priorities for EMTs and paramedics during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thats my focus as we come to more of these federal packages."

Booker on Tuesday co-sponsored bipartisan legislation that would ensure families of first responders who die from COVID-19 complications wont face unnecessary hurdles to benefits. The Safeguarding Americas First Responders Act would establish a temporary presumption that COVID-19 infections will be considered to be contracted while on duty if diagnosed within 45 days of an officers last shift.

At least 13 EMS responders across the state have died as a result of the coronavirus since March 31, Michael Bascom, the chief of the NJ EMS Task Force, said Friday. And hundreds of other EMS officers remain sick with COVID-19 symptoms, according to Bascom, who acknowledged that New Jerseys rescue squads have been pressed into duty like never before.

After eight weeks of working with an unprecedented call volume and dealing with higher levels of stress, things have become more manageable, he said.  But its still hectic.

Its why emergency responders who joined Bascom on the conference call urged lawmakers to take action by providing financial relief.

"Im so very proud of all the work being done by all of our EMS community and I think they all need to be recognized for the sacrifices that theyre making,'' said Barbara Platt, president of the EMS Council of New Jersey, said.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

Bascom lauded Booker for introducing the legislation aimed at supporting the EMTs who have died during the line of duty.

But he said more needs to be done and asked the New Jersey lawmaker to guarantee active EMS professionals a 12-week stipend of $600-per-week in the next federal stimulus package.

Booker said he 1,000% agreed with the hazard-pay proposal.

This isnt a charity or a handout, he said. This is something thats been more than earned during this crisis where paramedics and EMTs are being called upon like never seen before. Its going to be a fight (in Washington). But I dont see how any (lawmakers) could deny hazard pay."

While there are a total of 439 EMS agencies in New Jersey, nearly 240 are comprised of all volunteers, state officials told NJ Advance Media last month. The number of COVID-19 cases within their ranks  and concern for older volunteers with underlying medical conditions  has led to some squads opting to temporarily drop service.

Bascom said the strain on the EMS community highlights the need to make the responders as relevant as police officers and firefighters.

This is an identity crisis that has led to our struggles to recruit and maintain EMS professionals, to properly support those who die in the line of duty and to provide the funding necessary to ensure that we are properly trained and equipped to provide the pre-hospital healthcare that most people have come to expect," Bascom added.

Booker said he is in awe" at the grueling hours and sacrifices turned in by EMS responders, calling the coronavirus pandemic our nations great challenge."

The people that are running on the frontlines are emergency medical technicians and paramedics," he said. They show up every day, meet the challenge under more difficult circumstances during this pandemic. Many are making sacrifices that go through all of your families who are sacrificing for this cause as well."

Booker pointed out that his chief of staff, Matt Klapper, is a volunteer member of a rescue squad in Springfield, Union County, and called the lack of federal funding aimed toward EMS volunteers unacceptable."

The $2 trillion stimulus package in March included provisions earmarked toward EMS squads, including $45 billion for the Disaster Relief Fund and $16 billion to replenish the federal stockpile of PPE and medications.

But the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians said the federal grants didnt trickle down to EMS.'' In addition to direct funding to EMS agencies, the advocacy group demanded priority access to COVID-19 testing and reimbursements for childcare.

For his part, Booker called direct payments to EMS agencies his next priority.

The reality is police and fire get a lot of focus and a lot of special grants directed towards them," Booker said. I just think its time that we do something for EMS and that theyre treated fairly and frankly relative to the other agencies I just mentioned. For the work that you do, the lives that you save, its absurd that theres not more directed streams of resources."

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

Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com.
Legendary magician Roy Horn has died. He was 75.

Horn, one half of the longtime Las Vegas illusionist duo Siegfried & Roy, previously tested positive for COVID-19 and died due to complications with the disease, according to a statement released by publicist Dave Kirvin.

Horn was injured by a tiger during a live "Siegfried & Roy" performance at The Mirage hotel-casino in Las Vegas in 2003, leaving Horn partially paralyzed and ending the duo's show.

"Today, the world has lost one of the greats of magic, but I have lost my best friend," Siegfried Fischbacher said in the statement. "From the moment we met, I knew Roy and I, together, would change the world. There could be no Siegfried without Roy, and no Roy without Siegfried."

Fischbacher thanked nurses, doctors and staff at Mountain View Hospital who worked against the virus that ultimately took Horn's life.

The pair performed at several Vegas casinos and eventually took their enormously successful show to The Mirage, where they signed an unprecedented five-year $57.5 million contract in 1990 and later landed a lifetime contract with the resort in 2001.

Roy was injured in October 2003 when a tiger named Montecore attacked him on stage. He had severe neck injuries, lost a lot of blood and later suffered a stroke. He underwent lengthy rehabilitation, but the attack ended the long-running Las Vegas Strip production.

The darker-haired of the flashy duo, Horn was credited with the idea of introducing an exotic animal  his pet cheetah  to the magic act.

Roy was a fighter his whole life including during these final days, Fischbacher said. I give my heartfelt appreciation to the team of doctors, nurses and staff at Mountain View Hospital who worked heroically against this insidious virus that ultimately took Roys life.

The two became an institution in Las Vegas, where their magic and artistry consistently attracted sellout crowds. The pair performed six shows a week, 44 weeks per year.

The German-born entertainers met on a cruise ship and performed magic together for more than four decades. They first teamed up in 1957 and made their Las Vegas debut a decade later.

When they signed a lifetime contract with the Mirage in 2001, it was estimated they had performed 5,000 shows at the casino for 10 million fans since 1990 and had grossed more than $1 billion. That comes on top of thousands of shows at other venues in earlier years.

Video: Siegfried & Roy at the 'LOVE': Cirque du Soleil Celebration of the Musical Legacy of The Beatles at the Mirage Hotel And Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 30, 2006.

They returned to the stage in February 2009 for what was billed as their one and only comeback performance, to raise funds for the new Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas. The brief performance, which included Montecore, became the basis of an episode of the ABC television show 20/20.

The pair gained international recognition for helping to save rare white tigers and white lions from extinction. Their $10 million compound was home to dozens of rare animals over the years. The white lions and white tigers were the result of a preservation program that began in the 1980s.

The good news is that the white tigers and white lions are going into the 21st century, Horn said in a 1999 interview with The Associated Press. The bad news is that if we dont do something about the tigers in the wild, they will disappear.

Siegfried & Roys show, incorporating animal antics and magic tricks, included about 20 white tigers and lions, the number varying depending on the night. The show also had other exotic animals, including an elephant.

Their show is so fast-paced the viewer has time only to gasp before the next dazzlement, an Associated Press reviewer wrote in 1989 when they brought their act to New York.

A white car drives on stage  as Liberace used to do  bringing a mother white tiger and three cubs. Roy rides an elephant, which disappears, then reappears. At the end, a 650-pound white tiger climbs atop a globe. With Roy on his back, theyre pulled into the air.

Its a Las Vegas show and its nonstop entertainment. New Yorkers arent too sophisticated for this.

A later spectacular developed for the Mirage opened with a flashy Star Wars scenario and Horn and Fischbacher arriving in their own mini space capsules. Another segment had Horn sitting atop a 30-foot (9.1-meter) pyramid that was destroyed by an explosion and fire, leaving him levitated high above the stage.

It was halfway during a performance Oct. 3, 2003, when Horn was alone on stage with the tiger that it suddenly lunged at him.

Horn, who had turned 59 that day, had never been injured during a show before, not a scratch, not by an animal, Bernie Yuman, the pairs longtime manager, said at the time.

He said he thought Montecore, a 7-year-old male, got distracted by something in the audience and Horn was trying to calm him. Horn himself said later that he fainted and the tiger was trying to help him by dragging him offstage, though animal experts disputed that possibility.

An investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture explored a variety of theories but was unable to reach a conclusion on what caused the tiger to attack. In its final report, the USDA also said the shows producers had failed to protect the audience because there was no barrier separating the exotic animals from the crowd.

In October 2006, three years after the attack, Horn and Fischbacher attended their induction into the Las Vegas Walk of Stars. Horns speech was sluggish at times and he walked a bit slow, but he called the event a deeply emotional experience.

They honed their animal-magic show in small clubs in Germany and Switzerland in the mid-1960s. Their break came in a Monte Carlo casino when an agent in the audience invited them to Las Vegas. The pair made their debut at the Tropicana hotel-casino in the late 1960s.

The illusionists became popular in the 1970s, receiving their first star billing in 1978 as headliners of the Stardusts Lido de Paris. Their show Beyond Belief opened in 1981 at the Frontier and played to thousands over seven years.

When Horn and Fischbacher became U.S. citizens in 1988, an elated Horn said, Being an American means all the things we believe in.

Horn once hand-fed a white lion cub born prematurely, starting with an eyedropper. But when a cub was donated to a zoo, Horn said he was heartbroken.

When you love something, the hardest thing is to let it go, he said. But this is what Siegfried and Roy do. We live our dreams, and we fulfill our destiny.

The Associated Press and CNN contributed to this report.
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.

COVID-19 Tracker: Interactive maps track coronavirus cases in San Antonio, Texas counties and the U.S.

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.

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.

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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.
On Friday, the Labor Department announced that over 20.5 million Americans lost their jobs in April, bringing the unemployment rate to 14.7 percent. This level of devastation has not been reached since the Great Depression. With more than one in four companies shuttered to minimize the pandemics death toll and at least 30 million workers seeking unemployment benefits, we are in the throes of an unprecedented jobs crisis.

Just like the health crisis, economic fallout is hitting black and brown communities particularly hard. Far more black, Latinx, and Native American households are financially impacted or severely harmed by the coronavirus than white households. People of color make up an outsized share of the essential workers  grocery store clerks, bus drivers, janitors and home care workers  who risk exposure to the virus while earning low wages with few benefits.

While Congress has taken some important steps to provide relief, more must be done to keep people safe, prevent job losses and maintain incomes. We face a recession with the potential for Depression-era job losses, and we know from experience that black and brown workers bear the greatest risk of long-term economic setbacks. To ensure an inclusive recovery and a more resilient future, Congress needs to enact a federal job guarantee: a public option for a job with living wages and full benefits on projects that meet long-neglected community needs.

This idea is not new. The Humphrey-Hawkins Act  introduced in the 1970s by Senator Hubert Humphrey, a Democrat from Minnesota, and Representative Augustus Hawkins, a Democrat from California  proposed employment guarantees. The original bill allowed citizens to sue the government if they couldnt find a job. A version of federal job protections has been percolating for years. In 2018, three Democratic senators  Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Bernie Sanders of Vermont  approved of the idea. Hundreds of scholars, leaders and organizations working for racial, economic and environmental justice have signed on to a Jobs for All pledge calling for a federal guarantee.
(Newser)  Most haircuts are just haircutsbut not this one. On Friday, Sen. Ted Cruz visited a North Texas salon whose owner had spent nearly 48 hours in jail for breaking the state's stay-at-home order. "We're thrilled to be with you and know the whole State of Texas is standing with you, so thank you for your courage," Cruz told salon owner Shelley Luther while getting his first snip in three months, per CBS Dallas Fort-Worth. The Republican joked that his hair was getting so long, his wife said he'd "start bringing mullets back" without a fresh cut. Luther was moved to tears by support from Cruz and his family: "It's a nice gesture," she says, per Newsweek. "His family actually called my boyfriend and prayed for him for 20 minutes while I was in jail."

story continues below

Of course, there's more to all this. On April 24, Luther ignored a cease-and-desist letter to close her business during the coronavirus pandemic. Dragged before a judge and ordered to apologize, she refused and got tossed in jailwhere she stayed until state Attorney General Ken Paxton paid her $7,000 fine and Gov. Greg Abbott altered his executive order to stop stay-openers from getting arrested. USA Today reports that Luther was even praised by President Trump, who appeared Friday on Fox and Friends and called her an "incredible representative for a large group of people that want to do the same thing, they want to get back to work." Yet the coronavirus lives on in Texas, where more than 1,000 cases have been logged daily since the stay-at-home order ran out on May 1. (Read more social distancing stories.)
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development, exporters shipped 86,000 tonnes of nuts in the first three months of the year for US$609 million, down 4.7% year-on-year in value despite an 8.2% rise in volumes.

The US, the Netherlands and China remained the countrys top three biggest import markets, it said.

The pandemic outbreak in most of cashew importing countries has caused difficulties for Vietnamese firms exporting the nuts.

Pham Van Cong, chairman of the Vietnam Cashew Association, said the industry is unlikely to achieve its export target for the year of US$4 billion.

The association is conducting a comprehensive assessment to make appropriate adjustments to the target, he said.

The ministrys Agro Processing and Market Development Authority said there has been good progress in controlling the pandemic in China, and exports to the market have shown signs of improvement.

Analysts said exports would recover after the pandemic is contained, and so enterprises would need to make plans to boost exports in the latter half of the year.

They said the EU would be a promising export market.

Germany has for instance high demand for small and medium-sized cashew nuts for use in the food industry, and Vietnamese firms are competitive in these varieties, they said.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has forecast cashew exports to Germany to rise in the second half of the year when the pandemic is controlled and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) comes into effect.

Its import-export department said businesses should closely monitor the disease situation to make plans, including purchasing raw cashew, selling processed nuts and stockpiling raw materials and finished products.

They also would need to enhance trade promotion activities online and connect businesses online now so that they could quickly revive exports as soon as the pandemic is controlled, it said.

Vietnamese enterprises imported 161,000 tonnes of raw cashew at a cost of US$246 million in the first three months of the year, a year-on-year decrease of 29.5% in volume and 37.9% in value.

Tanzania, Indonesia, Cambodia, the Ivory Coast, and Nigeria were the biggest suppliers.
An Indian pharmacist died and his boss was left hospitalised after the pair drank a chemical concoction they had developed in an effort to treat coronavirus, police said on Saturday.

The men worked for a herbal medicine company and were testing their treatment - a mix of nitric oxide and sodium nitrate - at a home in southern Chennai city.

K Sivanesan, 47, died on the spot, said local police chief Ashok Kumar.

A swab sample is collected for a coronavirus test from an Indian citizen evacuated from Dubai by an Air India flight on May 9

His colleague Rajkumar is recovering from the poisoning.

Kumar said Sivanesan bought the chemicals from a market and developed the formula after conducting internet research.

There are no approved medicines or vaccines for treating COVID-19, triggering a global race for a new drug for the disease that has killed nearly 300,000 people.

India have seen record spikes in coronavirus cases this week, with John Hopkins reporting cases stand at 61,356 and the number of deaths at 2,041.

The first wave of a massive exercise to repatriate hundreds of thousands of Indians stuck abroad began May 7, with two flights landing in India from the United Arab Emirates

A health worker in a protective suit collects a swab from a suspected coronavirus patient at a hospital in Chennai, the capital city of India's southern state Tamil Nadu, on April 13

The country of 1.3 billion imposed a drastic nationwide lockdown in an effort to halt the spread of the disease.

The lockdown, which was announced by prime minister Narendra Modi at the end of March, is set to run until May 17.

All domestic and international travel is banned, factories and offices are shut along with schools, and migrant workers have been moved to quarantine centres.

The country's land borders with Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and Nepal have all been closed.

The border with Pakistan is being heavily controlled.

A health worker helps to disinfect the gloves of his colleague at a hospital in Chennai on April 13. The country imposed a lockdown until May 17 in an effort to halt the spread of the disease

Only six per cent of people in India are aged over 65, compared to 18 per cent in Britain and 16 per cent in the United States, which may be an advantage against a virus which is most dangerous to the elderly.

India's median age of 28 is well below that in the US (38), Britain (41), Spain (43) or Italy (45).

However, experts fear there could be a large tally of 'missing' deaths among people who died at home.
Amidst a war of words over the movement of special trains ferrying stranded workers to West Bengal, railway data shows that the state, which is a source of a sizeable number of migrant population, has so far accepted only two Shramik Special trains, though 302 such trains have run so far.

According to the railways' guidelines for these special trains ferrying migrants back to their native places during the coronavirus lockdown, both the states where the trains will be originating and terminating have to give their acceptance for running them.

Among the states like Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal which are considered the largest source of migrant population in the country, the Trinamool Congress-ruled state has the least number of migrant special trains coming in.

Bihar has accepted 73 trains, 17 trains are still on their way there and 15 more trains have got the nod to be operated to the state.

Uttar Pradesh has brought its migrants in 88 Shramik Special trains, 33 more are on their way and 21 more will begin their journeys in the coming days.

Jharkhand has accepted 13 trains, has three more running and two in the pipeline while Odisha has brought in migrants in 20 trains.

According to figures from2011 census, West Bengal ranks fourth among the states from where people migrate for work and employment.

Between 2001 and 2011, nearly 5.8 lakh people migrated from the state looking for work, which is fewer only than Uttar Pradesh (37.3 lakh), Bihar (22.6 lakh) and Rajasthan (6.6 lakh).

However, the West Bengal government said on Saturday that it has accepted 10 more trains from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Rajasthan and Punjab after Home Minister Amit Shah shot off a letter accusing it of not allowing migrants to return.

"Migrants from West Bengal are eager to reach home, but we are not getting expected support from the state, Shah said in his letter.

The home minister added that West Bengal is not allowing trains.

This is injustice with the migrant labourers. This will create further hardship for them, he added.

The TMC also released a schedule of eight trains which it had planned, including four to be run on Saturday.

The railways has denied that any such trains are in the pipeline.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter Saturday morning to announce his company will file a lawsuit against Alameda County, California, over its shelter-in-place order that does not allow for the return of manufacturing along with the rest of the state.

"Tesla is filing a lawsuit against Alameda County immediately," he tweeted. "The unelected & ignorant 'Interim Health Officer' of Alameda is acting contrary to the Governor, the President, our Constitutional freedoms & just plain common sense!"

Musk is referring to county health officer Dr. Erica Pan, who signed on to the order spearheaded by Santa Clara County's Dr. Sara Cody that is in effect in six Bay Area counties. The local order is stricter than Governor Gavin Newsom's state order, which allowed for the return of retail and manufacturing on Friday. Local officials have declined to soften the order to be in line with the rest of the state.

"Frankly, this is the final straw," Musk tweeted. "Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately. If we even retain Fremont manufacturing activity at all, it will be dependen (sic) on how Tesla is treated in the future. Tesla is the last carmaker left in CA."

Musk then responded to a Twitter follower from San Joaquin County, a locality following the state order.

"San Joaquin County, right next door to Alameda, has been sensible & reasonable, whereas Alameda has been irrational & detached from reality," Musk tweeted. "Our castings foundry and other faculties in San Joaquin have been working 24/7 this entire time with no ill effects."

On Thursday night, Musk sent an email to employees announcing he intended to follow the state's move to Stage 2 of its reopening plan and defy the local order.

"In light of Gov. Gavin Newsoms statement earlier today approving manufacturing in California, we will aim to restart production in Fremont tomorrow afternoon," he wrote.

He added that if employees did not feel comfortable coming to work, they could stay at home.

A number of Bay Area businesses have expressed frustration in recent days that Bay Area counties are continuing to enforce a stricter order when the rest of the state  including Los Angeles County, the part of the state hardest hit by the virus  is moving into Stage 2.

Eric Ting is an SFGATE digital reporter. Email: eric.ting@sfgate.com | Twitter:@_ericting
A 91-year-old driver has been forced to surrender his licence after accidentally motoring along the wrong side of a dual carriageway.

The pensioner's silver Honda Jazz was captured on dashcam hurtling towards oncoming traffic on the A30 near Sherborne, Dorset, at 4.30pm on April 27.

Another driver who narrowly avoided a head-on collision but caught the footage on their dashcam reported the gentleman through Dorset Police's Operation Snap website.

Officers revealed they 'sympathetically' spoke to the elderly driver and he decided to hand over his driving license.

A pensioner's silver Honda Jazz was captured on dashcam hurtling towards oncoming traffic on the A30 near Sherborne, Dorset, at 4.30pm on April 27

This will be returned to DVLA which will conduct enquiries.

A Dorset Police No Excuse team spokesman said the force was 'very pleased' no one was hurt.

They added: 'We are also grateful the road was quieter than usual at this time due to the current situation.

'The 91-year-old gent and his family have since been sympathetically spoken to by our team.

Another driver who narrowly avoided a head-on collision but caught the footage on their dashcam reported the gentleman through Dorset Police's Operation Snap website

'He has made the decision to voluntarily sign over his driving licence to us.'

They added that it was not a 'pleasant experience accepting a driving licence of an elderly person'.

'We wish him all the best. He has all the relevant safeguarding elements in place with his family and neighbours.'
09.05.2020 LISTEN

The Ghana Scholarship Secretariat in a press briefing in Sekondi on Thursday, 7th May 2020, gave an overview of their operations and workings. I think this was very important and timely to salvage the damaged image the secretariat suffered following the recent Auditor Generals report that revealed several underhand dealings and discriminatory acts going on at the secretariat.

The key highlight of the press briefing that was of interest to me, was the revelation that the Western Region and more specifically the Western North Region made the fewest entries in the ongoing online scholarship application. The secretariat expressed worry that in the over 75,000 applicants to the scholarship, the regions entry was woefully low and virtually went ahead to call on interested students from the region to apply before the deadline which is May 15th, 2020.

As a student and a resident of the Western North region, it is important that I bring to the fore the reasons behind this low patronage from the region and suggest measures to whip up the interest of students from the regions to apply for the scholarship. It is noteworthy to mention that the scholarship was meant for Ghanaians irrespective of their tribal or political background.

It is also right to assume that the scholarship secretariat and their selection processes leading to the award is devoid of political considerations and based purely on merit. Unfortunately, these assumptions cannot hold in the Western North Region flowing from what happened last year.

Firstly, the scholarship forms were in the possessing of the various Municipal and District Assemblies under the political control of the MDDCEs and were given out under a strange and selective mode with no public notice.

Secondly, there was another layer where this same assembly constituted a committee to interview the applicants and present a shortlist to the scholarship secretariat. This stage could be best described as a means of unmasking any unwanted applicant who was able to dodge the first block and had a form.

Thirdly, during last years interview at the various districts in the region, many students complained about the frustrations they went through, questions that required of them to declare their lineage or association with some key political personalities in their respective constituencies were posed to them. Questions about the awareness and operations of TESCON dominated the encounter.

Fourthly, at the end of the day, many students who were sure they qualified for the scholarship were not shortlisted and surprisingly some colleagues who did not attend the interviews mysteriously had the scholarship.

It is an undeniable fact that the Western North is NDC dominated region currently accounting for six (6) out of the nine (9) parliamentary seats in the region. This gives credence to the fact that more students were denied the scholarship last year owing to the modus operandi deployed as listed above.

It is therefore not surprising that many students in the region have lost interest in applying for this package even though a lot of them are in serious need of this package. Hence the very low entries from the region to the dismay of the secretariat.

As a measure to prevent the partisan discrimination associated with the scholarship, I suggest the secretariat must design a process to prevent the unfair shortlisting process that occurs at the District Assemblies.

Finally, scholarship Secretariat must give students their words as they are calling on these students to log on and complete the online process the shortlisting and awarding process will be fair and on merit.

Thank you.

WISDOM HEDIDOR

SUAMAN CONSTITUENCY

WESTERN NORTH REGION.
Agartala, May 9 : Seventeen more BSF troopers on Saturday tested positive for coronavirus, raising the total number of such cases among paramilitary jawans and their kin in Tripura to 132 in past eight days, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said.

Deb, who also holds the health portfolio, tweeted that the 17 new cases were found in the BSF's 86th Battalion headquartered in Ambassa, the district headquarters of Dhalai, 82 km north of Agartala.

The Chief Minister said that no civilian living near the BSF Battalion headquarters was found positive yet.

According to Tripura's health officials, headquarters of 86th and 138th Battalions at Ambassa were earlier declared "Red Zone" by the Health Ministry.

The 132 positive cases included 121 BSF men of the two battalions and 11 family members -- five children and six women.

"Most of the infected persons are now under treatment at (state-run) Govind Ballabh Pant Medical College and Hospital, a dedicated Covid-19 hospital," the officials said.

While briefing the media, Education and Law Minister Ratan Lal Nath said that the Tripura government has arranged additional facilities for symptomatic and asymptomatic coronairus patients.

"The state government will follow revised COVID-19 guidelines issued by the Health Ministry," Nath said.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Three foreign nationals, including a 39-year-old woman, have been arrested for allegedly robbing an LPG gas cylinder delivery person in South Delhi's Hauz Khas, police said on Saturday.

Two of the accused were identified as Hamid Ahmadi (31) and Mohammad Shamshahbad (29),both residents of Vinoba Nagar, they said. Police have withheld the identity of the woman.

According to police, the incident took place near Chirag Delhi Metro station on Friday when the accused, who were in a car, approached the delivery person, Satish Pathak. The woman asked him about the price of a cylinder. She also requested him to make her understand using Indian currency notes on the pretext that she does not know Hindi language and would be unable to figure out the price.

"When the victim showed them his notes, the person sitting at the back came out of the vehicle and pushed him. They robbed him of Rs 11,180. When the accused were fleeing, Pathak chased them and held on to the rear window," Deputy Commissioner of Police (south) Atul Kumar Thakur said.

Pathak raised the alarm, following which a scooter rider and a motorcycle-borne man blocked the accused's way and caught them. They informed the police and handed over the accused to them, the DCP said.

The robbed money and the car were recovered and the accused's previous involvements are being checked, police said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nebraska will hold a virtual Memorial Day observance on May 25 with an all-day salute to veterans in the Capitol Rotunda.

The event, which will substitute for traditional Memorial Day gatherings that are being canceled throughout the state as a result of the coronavirus, will be livestreamed on NET.

"People can participate all across the state," Nebraska Veterans Affairs Director John Hilgert said Friday.

Hilgert joined Gov. Pete Ricketts at the governor's daily coronavirus news briefing to outline plans for the event.

The observance will occur from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

A candle will be lit by Gold Star mother Monica Alexander at 8 a.m. and extinguished at 8 p.m. by Gold Star father Mel Alexander.

Their son, Army Cpl. Matthew Alexander of Gretna, was killed on May 6, 2007, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle in Baqubah, Iraq.

Honor Guard sentinels from veterans organizations will watch over the candle in half-hour shifts during the day.

Participants at the Capitol will come and go, observing the 10-person limit on gatherings in Nebraska at this time, Hilgert said.

Hilgert noted that Friday marked the VE Day anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe in 1945.

Some 144,000 Nebraskans served in World War II, he said, and 2,500 are still living. Some 3,000 Nebraskans were killed in combat during the war.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7248 or dwalton@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSdon
Hotels seek end to 14-day quarantine for arrivals from COVID clear countries

BANGKOK: The Thai Hotels Association (THA) has urged Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to lift the 14-day quarantine for visitors from countries that successfully contain the virus spread and also wants a tax deduction for hotels that invest to meet new hygiene standards.

Saturday 9 May 2020, 09:51AM

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha at a meeting with the Thai Hotels Association for hearing suggestions from the private sector. Photo: Bangkok Post

At a meeting with Gen Prayut on Friday (May 8), the association reported that the most critical problem for hotels is the lack of guests due to travel restrictions and lockdowns in many countries, said Surapong Techaruvichit, an adviser to the THA, reports the Bangkok Post.

While international tourist numbers will not fully recover by the end of this year, the THA expects the domestic market to be the key driver for hotels. But that is still insufficient because hoteliers got just 50% of B1.08 trillion in revenue from Thai tourists last year.

Thailand has 800,000 registered rooms, and another 1 million illegal rooms, Mr Surapong said. Last year the average occupancy of hotels nationwide was 55-60%. If domestic can revive first, well regain 10% of occupancy.

He said that apart from a plea to the government to stimulate meeting and incentive trips of state agencies, the THA also asked the government to allow foreigners, particularly from countries that have proved successful in containing the virus, to visit the country without doing a 14-day quarantine.

But authorities must prepare other preventive measures instead, such as requiring health certificates. Moreover, the quarantine should be revoked when both sides, Thailand and origin countries, have contained the pandemic, Mr Surapong said.

Hotel owners also proposed the idea of deferring land and buildings tax collection, as most hotels cannot run business as usual. Under the previous law, tax collection was calculated from revenue, but the value of land is the new basis. The fixed cost from the tax can be as high as B10mn a year.

THA president Supawan Tanom- kieatipume said the group also asked Gen Prayut to consider a three-times tax deduction for investment from March 2020 to December 2021, as hotels must bear the cost of upgrading hygiene standards and equipment.

She said the THA also wants the government to increase the amount of the two-times tax deduction for travel expenses to B30,000 per person to encourage domestic travellers to travel from this year to the end of 2021.
BELGRADE, Serbia - Serbia has protested to the European Union after one of its publications described inventor and electricity pioneer Nikola Tesla as a Croat.

Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on Saturday he has sent the protest note to Brussels after the EUs Learning Corner site for children described Tesla as a famous Croatian who was one of the first people to discover X-ray imaging.

An ethnic Serb born in 1856 in the Austrian Empire in present-day Croatia, Tesla spent most of his life abroad, working in Budapest and Paris before emigrating to the U.S. in 1884 where he assumed American citizenship. He died in New York in 1943.

History books quote him as saying that he was proud of his Serb origin and his Croat homeland.

Teslas ethnicity has long been just one of many disputes and points of contention between neighbouring Balkan rivals Serbia and Croatia, which once were both part of the Yugoslav federation that broke up in a civil war in the 1990s. Croatia is an EU member, while Serbia is seeking membership.

Teslas ashes are preserved in a gold-colored sphere in the Nikola Tesla museum in the Serbian capital. His sculptures are on display in both Belgrade and the Croatian capital, Zagreb.

Tesla is best known for developing the alternating current that helped safely distribute electricity at great distances, including from the hydroelectric plant at Niagara Falls in the mid-1890s. He experimented with X-ray and radio technology, working in rivalry with Thomas Edison. Car manufacturer Tesla is named after him.

Serbias culture minister has demanded an apology from the EU for the fake description of Teslas origins.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 19:54:32|Editor: huaxia

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MOUNT QOMOLANGMA BASE CAMP, May 9 (Xinhua) -- At dawn, Dorje put on a heavy cotton coat and a hat, carried a bag on his back, and walked out of his house into the vast alpine meadows.

The herdsman, in his 40s, has been living all his life in Pasum, a village located at the foot of Mount Qomolangma, the world's highest peak. Dorje's village is administered by the Zhaxizom Township, located at about 4,200 meters above sea level and the closest human habitat to the mountain.

He leaned on the grass under the sun while leisurely keeping an eye on his flock of sheep in the distance, though there was one thing bothering him - the high altitude sickness, quite uncommon for a local Tibetan.

"I have been suffering from frequent headaches since I was a kid, but look, headaches never bother my sheep," he said.

Not far from where Dorje lives, a team of over 30 Chinese surveyors are taking an arduous journey to the peak, aiming to remeasure the exact height of the mountain.

Dorje heard about the news and cracked a joke, "Is the mountain getting higher? Heavens, my head will ache more if it gets any higher," he said.

Dorje is not surprised by the number of tourists and climbers who come to the area frequently from April to October every year. But this year, the COVID-19 epidemic has affected tourism and sequentially forced mountain climbing to be suspended.

He went on herding his sheep to another piece of grass that was breaking through the hard ground. "Spring seems to be late this year, but my lambs need this grass to grow," he said.

The weather is less predictable at the foot of the Himalayas and the spring season is about two months later than that of other cities like Lhasa, the capital of Tibet Autonomous Region.

In a village nearby, locals are just beginning this year's spring plowing. Gesang, 51, went to his cropland early in the morning to hold the plowing ceremony.

He took with him some flora, roasted highland barley flour, pure water, and a sacred book used for praying for a bumper harvest.

At such high altitude, highland barley is the most-favored plant for the soil. It can be grounded into flour and made into zanba, a staple food for the Tibetans, or brew into highland barley wine.

Gesang flung a handful of roasted highland barley flour up in the air and murmured the prayers for a good harvest in autumn. After the ceremony, he began to sow the seeds.

Children also participate in farming. Tenzin, a 6-year-old boy, stands on the plow for it to bite deeper into the soil, his hands tightly gripping the horsetail to keep balance. The boy goes to a village kindergarten, but schooling has not resumed due to the epidemic.

Yet life at the "roof of the world" is not only about surviving the hardships of nature. Locals also know how to make their life as pleasing as possible.

Lochu, another village, offers hot spring baths for local people to drive away their cold and soothe pains from chronic diseases such as arthritis and rheumatism, often found in locals.

Samzhub, 37, is one to enjoy a hot spring bath in a Tibetan-style adobe house in the village.

"We get tired working in the field, but a good hot bath makes the stress go away. The hot spring baths also work well to prevent these plateau diseases," he said. Enditem
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Saturday that Saudi Arabian authorities recently detained and are holding incommunicado Prince Faisal bin Abdullah, who had previously been netted in an anti-corruption drive and released in late 2017.

The US-based rights group, citing a source with ties to the royal family, said Prince Faisal bin Abdullah, a son of late monarch King Abdullah, was detained by security forces on March 27 while self-isolating due to the coronavirus pandemic at a family compound northeast of the capital Riyadh.

Reuters could not immediately independently verify the detention. The Saudi government media office did not immediately respond to a detailed Reuters request for comment.

Earlier in March, authorities had detained King Salman's brother, Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, and former crown prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who was replaced in a 2017 palace coup and placed under house arrest, sources had told Reuters.

Sources with royal connections said at the time that the move was a preemptive effort to ensure compliance within the ruling Al Saud family ahead of an eventual succession to the throne by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman upon the king's death or abdication.

It was not clear if the reported detention of Prince Faisal was related to those in early March, which also saw Ahmed's son Nayef and Mohammed bin Nayef's brother Nawaf detained.

Saudi authorities have not commented on those detentions, which follow crackdowns on dissent in which clerics, intellectuals and rights activists have been arrested, and an anti-corruption drive launched in 2017 that netted scores of royals, ministers and businessmen.

Critics have said the campaigns were part of moves by Crown Prince Mohammed, the king's son and the kingdom's de facto ruler, to consolidate his grip on power.

"Now we have to add Prince Faisal to the hundreds detained in Saudi Arabia without a clear legal basis," said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at HRW.

The kingdom has regularly denied allegations of unfair detention. Authorities said last year the government was winding down the anti-corruption campaign after 15 months, but would continue to go after graft.

HRW said Prince Faisal's whereabouts or status are not known.

"The source said that Prince Faisal has not publicly criticized authorities since his December 2017 arrest and that family members are concerned about his health as he has a heart condition," it added.

In late December 2017, a senior Saudi official said Prince Faisal and another royal, Prince Meshaal bin Abdullah, were released from Riyadh's Ritz-Carlton hotel, where people nabbed in the anti-corruption drive were being held, after reaching an undisclosed financial settlement with the government.
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump on Friday again said the U.S. government was not behind a bungled incursion into Venezuela this week, allegedly to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro, saying in a Fox News interview he would not rely on a small group for such an operation.

I know nothing about it. I think the government has nothing to do with it at all, and I have to find out what happened, Trump said.

If we ever did anything with Venezuela, it wouldnt be that way. It would be slightly different. It would be called an invasion.

Trump said the incursion was not a good attack, carried out by a rogue group that included Venezuelans and people from other countries.

I saw the pictures on a beach. It wasnt led by General George Washington, obviously, he said, referring to the first U.S. president, often considered a military genius.

A former U.S. soldier captured in Venezuela has said he was contracted by a Florida security firm to seize control of Caracas airport and bring in a plane to fly Maduro to the United States.

According to a document published by the Washington Post on Thursday, members of the countrys opposition party negotiated a $213 million deal with the company, Silvercorp USA, to invade the country and overthrow Maduro.
Google on Friday revealed that recipe-related searches hit a new record high in India during April as people stayed home and aimed to break the monotony in the kitchen.

While Dalgona Coffee recipe at home spiked 5,000 per cent, searches for chicken momo recipe grew 4,350 per cent and searches for mango icecream recipe saw 3,250 per cent rise.

According to the company, the most searched recipes on Google were cake, samosa, jalebi, momos, dhokla, panipuri, dosa, paneer and chocolate cake.

The report also showed that coronavirus (COVID-19) was the third most searched topic in India during April.

Search interest for coronavirus grew more than 10 per cent over April -- 3,000 per cent from January when the topic first began trending.

The state with the highest search interest over April is Meghalaya, followed by Tripura and Goa.

Top trending searches like Coronavirus tips spiked over 5000 per cent and coronavirus prevention spiked 2,300 per cent.

Search interest in lockdown saw a sharp spike on 11 April to reach its second-highest peak, with new guidelines for lockdown and how to get e pass in lockdown both spiking more than 5,000 per cent over the month.

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Amid the unprecedented outbreak of deadly coronavirus, China has decided to introduce some reforms in its disease prevention and control system. The pandemic which originated in the mainland has fueled criticism over its handling of the outbreak worldwide. Therefore, the vice minister of the China National Health Commission, Li Bin told the reporters that the COVID-19 pandemic was big test for the governance of the country and its ability to handle the diseases. In a bid to rectify the mistakes made by the Chinese government in the past, the commission plans to build a centralised and efficient chain of command to reform and modernise the health system.

According to international reports, after the coronavirus outbreak spread to over 212 countries and territories, the Chinese commission intends to utilise big data, artificial intelligence along with cloud computing to enhance the tracing and analytic ability of virus resources and the diseases caused by it. Li also told the reporters that the country is planning to ramp-up its research on its core technologies to improve medical insurance and the availability of emergency materials.

Read - China Offers Support To North Korea In COVID-19 Fight After Kim Jong-Uns Message

Read - China Reports 15 New Asymptomatic Coronavirus Cases

China reports 15 new asymptomatic cases

As the Chinese commission plans to reform its disease control methods, it also reported at least 15 new cases of the COVID-19 disease with no symptoms and zero fatalities. The health officials said on May 9 that the total asymptomatic cases in the Asian superpower are 836 including 63 of imported infections. According to reports, most of the asymptomatic cases of coronavirus were being reported from the epicentres of the outbreak in Hubei province. Meanwhile, Wuhan, that was initially the COVID-19 hotspot has not reported a single case of coronavirus infection for the last 35 days.

After originating from Chinas wet markets, the coronavirus has now claimed 276,680 lives worldwide as of May 9. According to the tally by international news agency, the pandemic has now spread to 212 countries and has infected at least 4,032,871 people. Out of the total infections, 1,399,742 have been recovered but the easily spread virus is continuing to disrupt many lives. Major cities have been put under lockdown in almost all countries and the economy is struggling.

Read - China Continues To Hide & Obfuscate COVID 19 Data From World: Mike Pompeo

Read - WHO Concedes 'Wuhan Market Had Clear Role In Virus Outbreak' As China Agrees To Probe

(With input from agencies)
Second 'US Mercenary' Shows Alleged Contract With Goudreau, Guaido, Reveals Mission Details

Sputnik News

01:16 GMT 08.05.2020

Following Sunday's failed seaborne invasion of Venezuela, thirteen people were captured by the country's security forces, two of whom were described by President Nicolas Maduro as ex-US Special Forces - Luke Denman and Airan Berry.

Airan Berry, captured by Venezuelan security forces while participating in a 3 May seaborne invasion into the country, revealed his role in the 'mission' that included organizing a plane at the Caracas airport to transfer Maduro to the US after having kidnapped him.

"...To advise the forces that were coming in... and make a way to the airport as soon as we could", he said, answering a question regarding the nature of his duties after having entered Caracas.

In the interrogation video, Berry admitted that he understood his actions were illegal, while showing what he called as a contract detailing the mission signed between coup ringleader Jordan Gourdeau and self-proclaimed Venezuelan 'interim president' 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 claimed, while detailing the alleged contract.

On Wednesday, Berry's counterpart, Luke Denman, admitted under questioning that their plan was to kidnap Maduro, get him on a plane and take him to the United States for prosecution and reward money.

Earlier, Goudreau released a video statement taking responsibility for the invasion hours after it took place, claiming that he acted according to a 'general service contract' he claims to have signed with Guiado.

Guaido's representatives have denied any connection to the mercenaries' failed attempt.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, when asked about a US role in the maritime invasion of Venezuela, denied any involvement, suggesting that "if we had been involved, it would have gone differently". Regarding the captured US mercenaries, Pompeo stated that "we'll use every tool that we have available to try and get them back".

On 3 May, Venezuela was invaded by a bunch of people on speed boats who President Nicolas Maduro called "Colombian mercenaries" acting in an attempt to murder him as part of a joint plot between Colombia and the US. During the incident, thirteen people were captured, two US citizens among them. Bogota and Washington have denied their involvement in the invasion.

Venezuela was plunged in the political crisis since 2019, when the opposition leader Juan Guaido proclaimed himself an "interim president", backed by the US and most of the West, while incumbent Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro was supported by Russia, China, Turkey and other nations.

 Sputnik

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VANCOUVER  Those who have been in British Columbia may have heard it; those who grew up in the far western province may have used it. The word skookum pops up among the Pacifics changing tides and high peaks from time to time without much attention on its origin.

Meaning strong or excellent, the word is a bit odd, but not so much as to never be uttered. On a Vancouver street you might be offered a compliment the likes of, thats a skookum jacket.

Despite its popularity, many who say the word dont know the story of skookum or its beginnings as part of the now dead language Chinook Wawa, which rumbled off the tongues of up to 150,000 people from Oregon to Alaska just 120 years ago.

Jay Powell, a retired University of British Columbia anthropological linguist, may well be the last known speaker to have learned the language  also called Chinook jargon  socially and still speaks it when he can. Powell remembers lumberjacks using it as a fun way to order beers in the Northwest as recently as the late 60s.

But a century before it was more than a novelty. It was the language of much of the province and considered by some to be the first language of Vancouver.

When you were thinking of coming to the northwest, you needed a few things, Powell told the Star, a warm coat, long underwear and a Chinook jargon dictionary.

With beginnings as a pidgin language for trading among Indigenous groups mostly using Chinook and various Salish languages, Canadian French and English eventually came into the fold. If one group couldnt pronounce a word, they avoided it or changed it, Powell said.

It was the language commonly spoken by workers on the docks and in canneries on the shores of the province. As the first language to enjoy community-wide literacy, Chinook Wawa once even had its own newspaper printed in the Kamloops region of B.C.s interior.

Over time, with the establishment of residential schools meant to smother Indigenous culture, and a growing presence of English in the region, the language faded away.

Still, Powell said, decades ago it wasnt hard to find some who still spoke it to an extent and recalled speaking it on reserves in Northern B.C. years ago.

We sang songs, and told stories, and made rude comments, he said. It was part of life.

Eventually, as speakers passed on and took the language with them, when Powell used a Chinook Wawa word around a younger person sometimes they would remark their grandfather used to speak like that he said.

Still, he said, words originating in Chinook Wawa have wiggled in to common phrases across the continent and many people use them without any idea of their origin.

He said the expression in the sticks to refer to a remote place, or calling someone a big muckamuck, are Chinook Wawa words. The University of Washington has an online dictionary for the language.

But, for some reason, skookum stands out as one word still used widely in B.C. while remaining foreign to outsiders.

Why skookum managed to last into modern times and enjoy common use in the province is fairly simple, said David Robertson, another linguist at UBC, who wrote an etymology paper on skookum in 2016; it sounds catchy to English speakers.

Skookum as we use it nowadays fits into a really prestigious cultural space: synonyms for cool, he said. Just as groovy wont quite go away, skookum sticks stoutly with us.

While skookum is recognized by people in Oregon and Washington, where it is the name of a brand of apples among other items, B.C. is the only place it seems to seep into regular conversation, Robertson says.

The province is the skookum epicentre he said, adding the word even had a cameo in the 2004 film The Incredibles, which was written by American Brad Bird, who hails from the northwest.

Robertsons paper outlines how the origins of skookum include it being used to describe a kind of demon, making it a noun as well as an adjective. It has also been used as a synonym for Sasquatch.

Place names using skookum are dotted across the province, such as Skookum Lake or Skookumchuck rapids. Chuck refers to water.

But his own exploration of it found while it is often used as an adjective, references of the word in the noun form are rarer.

Now, he said, it exists often as a regional brand name for companies in the Pacific Northwest and is likely to live on in B.C.

In British Columbia, Powell still speaks Chinook Wawa when he can. Recently, he held an interview in the language with B.C. MLA Sam Sullivan, himself a Chinook Wawa enthusiast, via an organization highlighting B.C. culture called Kumtuks. The organizations name is Chinook Wawa for knowledge.

Over the last decade some community events have tried to revive interest in it, including holding Chinook Wawa sessions to help teach the language.

He said people in the Pacific Northwest should take pride in the language, suggesting that the 150th anniversary of B.C. joining the Canadian confederation next year is an opportunity to spur interest in it again.

Reviving languages is difficult though, Powell said. Its a challenge to find people who can teach such a language when no one feels comfortable speaking it.

But still, he said, the history of it should be taught in public schools.

It would be an interesting insert in a local history class, he said. But thats never happened.

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Chennai, May 9 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K.Palaniswami on Saturday told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the proposed amendments to the Electricity Act take away the power of State governments and also have a direct bearing on the independent functioning of the power sector in the state.

Palaniswami also urged Modi to prevail upon the Ministry of Power to put the proposed amendments to the Electricity Act in abeyance till they are thoroughly discussed with the state governments after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.

In a letter to Modi, text of which was released to the media here, Palaniswami said that the proposed amendments have a direct bearing on the independent functioning of the power sector in the state.

Palaniswami referring to his letter dated November 12, 2018, where he had said the proposed Electricity Amendment Bill takes away certain powers of the state government while bringing changes in the Electricity Act, like separating carriage and content in the distribution sector making the public sector power utilities totally unviable.

"The proposed new draft bill seeks to privatise not just the supply of power to the end consumer through franchisees but to also privatise the entire distribution network, which would be highly detrimental to the state utilities and against public interest," Palaniswami said.

He also said implementing direct benefit transfer in the power sector would work against the interest of farmers and domestic consumers.

Further, despite our strong reservations, the new draft Bill continues to have provisions for the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) of subsidy provided to consumers, particularly in the agricultural and domestic sector.

"It has been the consistent policy of my Government that our farmers should receive free power and it should be left with the State Government to decide the mode of payment of such subsidy," Palaniswami said.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister also said the proposed amendment bill seeks to take away the power of the State Government in deciding the constitution of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission, which is against the federal principles of the Constitution.

According to Palaniswami, the proposal to set up a parallel authority namely Electricity Contract Enforcement Authority at the Central level to handle all contractual issues, needs to be deleted as it dilutes the authority of the Electricity Regulatory Commission.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
For the attorney general to now suggest this interview was unusual or that the F.B.I. deviated from the usual protocol is wrong, said Gregory A. Brower, a former F.B.I. official and Republican U.S. attorney in Nevada. F.B.I. agents try to interview people in a way that gets them to talk in an unguarded way and, hopefully, to tell the truth.

The Justice Department memo to the court ending the prosecution will be a gift to defense lawyers in future prosecutions of false statements, two current federal prosecutors who work in different parts of the country said in interviews.

They said they worried that defense lawyers would stymie prosecutions by challenging the origins of investigations  a particular worry in counterintelligence matters where there may be no criminal allegation  and citing the memo as a precedent to argue that the Justice Department had embraced a very narrow understanding of what counted as material.

Several other legal specialists said Mr. Barrs intervention could still leave Mr. Flynn with legal exposure.

That is because Mr. Flynn was not just facing jeopardy for making false statements about his conversations with the Russian ambassador. He was also accused of lying to the Justice Department about his paid work on behalf of the Turkish government when he submitted belated disclosures under the Foreign Agents Registration Act in March 2017.

Under the plea deal with the office of the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, the Justice Department had agreed never to prosecute Mr. Flynn in connection with the Turkey-related project. Now, he could be exposed to charges about Turkey after all, legal specialists said.

In an interview with CBS News on Thursday, Mr. Barr was asked whether other charges could be brought against Mr. Flynn for other actions he took during the presidential campaign or during the transition. He replied only, Well, no charges like that have been brought, and Im not going to speculate about what charges there may be.
As governments all over the world attempt to force a premature return to work, strikes and protests are continuing on the part of workers determined to resist the attempt to make them put their lives at risk for corporate profits.

Total global COVID-19 infections are fast approaching 4 million with 275,000 deaths. New cases are surging in a number of countries including Brazil, India, Britain and Russia. The rate of new infections continues to be high in European countries already heavily impacted by the pandemic including Spain and Italy. Britain now has the second highest total number of COVID-19 deaths, over 31,000, second only to the United States with near 78,000.

The incompetence and callous disregard for human life by the capitalist authorities in country after country is fueling an upsurge in the class struggle. In waging their fight, workers have largely had to go outside of the corrupt, pro-business unions and take matters into their own hands. In country after country the unions are working hand in glove with governments and employers to beat down opposition to a premature return to work.

Certified nurses assistants stand during an informational picket outside The Villa at Windsor Park nursing home on Chicagos Southside on May 6, 2020 [Credit: AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast]

Among those resisting the drive back to work are more oppressed layers of workers including immigrant workers, service workers and other exploited layers. While many of these actions are small, they are symptomatic of a broad determination of workers to fight the attempt to sacrifice lives for the sake of corporate profits.

According to the website paydayreport.com there have been 173 strikes across the United States since March 1 in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. With the drive to reopen that number is likely to rise.

On Wednesday Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer gave the green light for auto plants to begin to reopen May 11 across the state. Michigan, a center of auto manufacture, has also been one of the centers of COVID-19 infections in the United States and the city of Detroit has been particularly hard hit. A wave of wildcat strikes at auto plants in the US and Canada in March forced the shutdown of most North American auto production. Opposition remains strong among workers in the US, Canada and Mexico to a premature return to work.

In Mexico, where a wave of strikes halted production at many maquiladora plants along the US-Mexican border, the government, under pressure from the automakers, is pushing for a restart of production. General Motors said it hadnt fixed an exact date for reopening its plant in Silao, but some workers have reported getting notices to report for work on May 18.

In Spain auto production has already been resumed under orders of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) government in defiance of the recommendations of health experts. On Monday workers struck the Nissan press shop in Montcada forcing the closure of the large Nissan plant in Barcelona that had just reopened. Nissan employs about 4,000 in Spain and workers are concerned about job losses.

Over the last week, strikes and protests in the US targeted a wide range of industries and occupations. On Thursday, truck drivers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California, protested outside the Los Angeles Port Administration Building in San Pedro to demand better COVID-19 protection.

More than 30 vehicles circled the building some with signs reading, Enforce your laws, Port of Los Angeles, and, We are essential workers and deserve PPE.

In Palo Alto, California, healthcare workers at Stanford Hospital staged a protest over managements recent decision to impose a 20 percent pay cut. The pay reduction began April 27, but the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), delayed in action until this week.

There are continuing protests at US meatpacking plants that have seen a wave of infections. In a report posted May 1 the US Centers for Disease Control said there had been 4,913 cases and 20 deaths at meatpacking plants through April 20. That figure has undoubtedly risen sharply. On Friday it was reported that 1,031 workers at the Tyson Foods plant in Waterloo, Iowa, have tested positive for the virus, double the number that Republican Governor Kim Reynolds had reported a day earlier.

In Canada, the United Food and Commercial Workers blocked action this week against a forced return to work at the giant Cargill meat plant in Alberta, which had been temporarily closed after over 900 workers were infected with coronavirus. Eighty-five percent of workers said they were fearful of returning to their jobs.

President Donald Trump issued an order on April 28 ordering US meatpacking plants to stay open, despite COVID-19 infections, as critical infrastructure.

On Wednesday about 20 workers at the Raeford chicken processing plant in West Columbia, South Carolina, walked off their jobs to protest working conditions. Workers said there was a lack of social distancing, mistreatment and they wanted hazard pay.

One worker told the local media, We should feel appreciated seeing as how were essential workers If were so essential, we need to feel essential and we need to feel appreciated.

On Friday dozens took part in a caravan protest outside the Bell & Evans poultry processing plant in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. There are 1,800 workers at the plant, mostly immigrants, and two have died of COVID-19. Workers want the plant closed and cleaned before resuming operations.

In Monmouth, Illinois, Smithfield Foods workers wearing face masks and carrying handwritten paper signs held a protest May 2 in advance of the planned reopening of the pork processing plant after a temporary closure due to COVID-19 infections.

Protesters chanted together and held up signs reading, We want screening to return to work.

On May 1, for the second weekend, children of Smithfield Food workers in Crete, Nebraska, held a spirited protest calling for the closure of the facility after 50 workers were infected with COVID-19.

Signs read, Our parents are essential not disposable. One young protester told the local news, When are we going to stop, when 300 workers are sick? Another added, We would rather not eat meat for weeks or even months as long as everyones safe.

Other US workers staging protests this week included workers at Chipotle restaurants in Manhattan who stood outside the chains Empire State Building location Thursday demanding respect for essential workers and an end to poverty wages. Caribou Coffee workers also staged a protest for better pay and safe working conditions. Workers at Hood River Distillers in Oregon walked out Wednesday after management imposed an inferior medical plan. The company, a maker of gin, had begun producing hand sanitizer in response to the pandemic.

On Saturday, 70 truck owner-operators protested in Washington, D.C., outside the White House to protest rate cuts for truckers stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Workers at Allan Brothers Fruit company in Naches, Washington, have gone on strike demanding management give them better working conditions and hazard pay. They say that social distancing is impossible. The company had offered five weeks unpaid leave, which workers rejected. In Providence, Rhode Island, workers at the Groden Center, who care for children with autism, staged a protest for hazard pay.

In Africa, nurses, clinical officers, medical lab technicians, pharmacy technicians, nutritionists and other health workers in Kenya are threatening to strike over lack of protective gear. Several unions under the Kenya Health Professionals Society issued a 14-day strike notice May 4. Twelve infected workers are currently hospitalized with severe symptoms.

Nurses at the Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital in New Delhi, India, walked off the job May 4 to protest against unsafe conditions at the facility where a large number of doctors, nurses and other health workers have been infected with COVID-19.

Some 3,500 coal miners in Kerman in south-central Iran struck Monday demanding a pay increase and improved pensions. On Monday, rallies took place in the city of Ahvaz in southwest Iran. Municipal workers protested outside the provincial government building to demand wage arrears going back to February and to protest the non-payment of their New Year bonus.

In Britain, a drive-by car protest was held this week in support of refuse workers suspended for demanding PPE. The workers, employed by Norse Medway, provide refuse services to Medway council. The company had earlier agreed to provide protective gear, but later reneged.

On Monday, Egyptian migrant workers in Kuwait staged a protest to draw attention to their dire situation. Their work permits have expired, but they cant leave the country because flights to Egypt have been halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thousands of Egyptian migrant workers are based in Kuwait.

The growing opposition to the reckless resumption of production is a reflection of a fundamental clash of class interests. On the one side, workers seek to defend the lives of themselves, family and coworkers, and on the other the insatiable markets demand ever greater profit. The opposition of workers must be given a conscious and organized expression through the development of rank-and-file factory workplace committees independent of the pro-big business unions. This fight must be guided by a socialist program and perspective of placing the giant transnational corporations and banks under the public ownership and control of the working class.
The nationwide lockdown following the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19), and the overriding imperative of social distancing, have affected work. What has been most hit is work that puts people in close physical proximity with each other, and cannot be performed from home. Daily wage labour is one example, and the plight of such labourers has been highlighted in the media. However, another  much less discussed  sector that has been badly hit by Covid-19 is domestic workers.

Politicians and civil society leaders of all hues have made appeals that domestic workers be given paid leave until the pandemic passes, and until housework is a safe activity again. Anecdotal evidence reveals, however, that these pleas have fallen on deaf ears. There are reports of household help being fired without pay, or in some cases, households requiring domestic workers to continue coming in to work. Altruism is not a strong enough force to protect the interests of workers, who constitute some of the most vulnerable and marginalised sections of society.

The pandemic has made evident something that has been on the margins of public discussion for too long  the gap in Indias legal framework when it comes to the rights of domestic workers. The reason for this is that traditionally, domestic work has not been counted as work as is commonly understood, in terms of contribution to the economy. Our traditional understanding of worker has revolved around factories or the shop floors, or  more recently  high-end office complexes, and has relegated domestic work to the margins, whether it is performed by spouses and homemakers, or by hired help. This is why labour laws  designed to protect the interests of workers  apply only to industries or establishments that employ a certain number of people; they do not apply to households.

This, however, creates a strange paradox. As Mihika Chanchani wrote recently in The Wire, statistics show that there are 50 million domestic workers in India, predominantly women. Their weak bargaining position subjects them to regular harassment, discrimination, and exploitation. Domestic work, by its very nature, is a fragmented industry, with unionisation being difficult, and where the difference in power and status between employers and employees is particularly stark. However, it is these people most in need of legal protection, who are left without it.

It is, therefore, evident that there needs to be put into place a detailed legislative framework that ensures that domestic workers are treated with dignity and respect. In June 2019, there were reports that the labour ministry was drafting a national policy on domestic workers, which would ensure the payment of minimum wages, social security, and safe working conditions. This is in addition to various state government initiatives towards mandating minimum wages for domestic workers and instituting domestic worker welfare boards.

A proposed law, however, will need to go beyond this, and accord full recognition to the importance and centrality of domestic and care work to the national economy. The International Labour Organization has called for fair terms of employment for domestic workers that ensure that they are treated in a manner that is at least as favourable as other workers. This would require a range of workers rights  including caps on working hours, bonuses for overtime work, maternity benefits, the prohibition of unfair dismissal (to name just a few). Any such law, of course, ought to be drafted with the participation of domestic workers themselves, as they will be the ones most affected by it. Even more than that, there needs to be a societal change that views domestic workers through the lens of equality, rather than subordination.

Gautam Bhatia is a Delhi-based advocate

The views expressed are personal
How will Ukraine mark the Victory Day in the quarantine regime?

Victory Day on May 9 112 Agency

In 2020, a lot of holidays celebrated a little differently than before. The coronavirus pandemic brought about these changes and Ukraine is not an exception.

In particular, the most important religious holidays, Easter celebration took place in such conditions.

The Victory Day comes next on May 9.

How will the Victory Day be marked this year?

The mass rallies will for sure be banned on this day in Kyiv. The mayor of the capital Vitali Klitschko announced this at the briefing.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazism in World War II. I understand that many people congratulated veterans on this day, brought flowers to the memorials, to cemeteries to the graves of their relatives. Some people visited museums. But this year the format will be different. Therefore, you can congratulate the veterans by calling them. Remember your loved ones and share their stories on social networks, Kyiv Mayor said.

In the regions of Ukraine, it is also planned to refrain from holding mass gatherings.

For example, in Kharkiv, instead of mass events, as Vgorode.ua writes, on Friday, May 8, a festive online concert Memory in our hearts will be held.

The mayor of Kharkiv, Hennadiy Kernes, earlier called on Kharkiv citizens to join the action Immortal Victory Regiment without leaving home.

I urge you on May 9, at exactly 12:00 to go out on your balconies with photos of your grandfathers and great-grandfathers and hold a citywide minute of Silence, Memory and Gratitude to their heroic act, he said.

In Dnipro city, the situation is similar. Mayor Borys Filatov said that they would celebrate May 9 online. And he urged the Dnipro city people to take part in a flash mob.

We need to know and protect the stories of our heroes. Tell us about them, about your relatives or just acquaintances, about veterans and fighters of the World War II and also about modern defenders of our country.

A motor rally Victory Regiment is planned in Zaporizhia. The organizers plan to drive in the city on May 9 with flags on cars and lay flowers at the monuments and memorials. A festive telethon will also take place in the city.

As you know, May 8 is the Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation. It is marked in Ukraine annually since 2015.

May 9 is the Victory Day to mark the Day of Victory over Nazism in World War II. And only May 9 is an official day off in Ukraine. As this year, May 9 falls on the weekend, May 11 will be the day off.

How many WWII veterans are there in Ukraine?

For comparison: according to the latest data, 41,000 veterans of World War II live in Kyiv. Kyiv City State Administration gave this information response to a inquiry from Delo.ua. There are more of them throughout the country, of course.

Veterans will receive an annual one-time payment. Minister of Social Policy Maryna Lazebna announced this at the end of April, as RBC-Ukraine reported.
By PTI

UDHAMPUR: Joining the efforts of the government to combat coronavirus, a group of young women equipped with a latest hi-tech machine is conducting fogging in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur district.

The five women, aged between 18 and 22, have already covered six villages in the district and are also distributing masks and educating people about COVID-19.

"We are volunteers of NGO 'Team Khalsa' and have managed to get the machine to conduct fogging, especially in remote areas which usually remain unattended," Gagan, the leader of the five-member group, told PTI.

She said they have already covered Chhakhar, Vishal Jatta, Sambal, Sui and Kahjahir villages in the past one week.

"We are targeting one village for sanitisation and awareness every day," Gagan said while distributing face masks in Cherry Swail village.

Asked about the challenge and the response of their families, she said they are cooperating and appreciating their efforts.

"We had a tough time convincing our parents for permission as usually men do this kind of job.

But now our families are supporting us," she said.

Udhampur district accounted for one coronavirus-related death and 21 COVID-19 cases.

Out of these 21 cases, 19 have recovered.

"A lot of girls feel motivated seeing us in action and express their desire to be part of our team which is very encouraging," Gagan said.

All the women in the team are students and come from affluent families.

"We leave our homes in the morning and undertake the hectic exercise till the dusk," she said.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-10 06:00:19|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The United States will purchase 3 billion dollars worth of dairy, meat and produce from farmers and ranchers starting early next week, President Donald Trump announced on Saturday.

"The USA will be purchasing, from our farmers, ranchers & specialty crop growers, 3 billion dollars worth of dairy, meat & produce for food lines & kitchens," Trump said in a tweet Saturday afternoon.

The U.S. president noted that the government purchase is part of the "Farmers to Family Food Box," calling it "great news for all."

Demands for agricultural products have plummeted amid the COVID-19 outbreak, as widespread lockdowns since late March disrupted supply chains across the nation, even forcing some farmers to destroy their products that can't be stored.

Some of the country's largest slaughterhouses have closed due to growing infections among workers at certain facilities, presenting additional challenges for farmers. Trump has recently signed an executive order to keep meat-processing plants open, but it has drawn backlash from the country's largest meatpacking union.

The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) International Union on Friday announced its opposition to the re-opening of 14 meatpacking plants under the recent executive order, raising concerns about the serious safety issues at these facilities that put workers and the food supply at risk.

Meanwhile, farmers and ranchers have been devastated by the COVID-19 crisis, with year-on-year farm bankruptcies increasing 23 percent, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation, which cited recently released data from U.S. courts.

Wisconsin was the hardest hit with 78 filings in the 12-month period, followed by Nebraska with 41 filings and Iowa at 37, the American Farm Bureau Federation noted. More than 50 percent of the filings were in the 13-state Midwest region, followed by 19 percent in the Southeast.

The U.S. president recently announced a 19-billion-U.S.-dollar relief program to help farmers and ranchers hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic, with 3 billion dollars in purchases of fresh produce, dairy and meat for distribution at food banks.

The coronavirus food assistance program will also provide 16 billion dollars in direct support based on actual losses for agricultural producers where prices and market supply chains have been impacted by the pandemic, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Enditem
New York: For more than six weeks the UN Security Council has been trying to agree on a resolution to confront the coronavirus pandemic, only to be stymied by a stand-off between China and the United States over whether to mention the World Health Organization.

The United States does not want a reference to the WHO in the text, diplomats said, which ultimately aims to back a March 23 call by UN chief Antonio Guterres for a ceasefire in global conflicts so the world can focus on the pandemic.

Washington halted funding for the WHO, a UN agency, after President Donald Trump accused it of being "China-centric" and promoting China's "disinformation" about the outbreak, assertions the WHO denies.

The US criticism prompted a staunch defense of the WHO during council negotiations by China, where the new coronavirus, which causes the respiratory illness COVID-19, emerged late last year, so far killing nearly 275,000 people globally.

While the Security Council - charged with maintaining international peace and security - cannot do much to deal with the coronavirus itself, diplomats and analysts say it could have projected unity by backing Guterres' call for a global ceasefire.

"This would have been a much more effective appeal for a ceasefire if it had come a month ago. Now it feels a bit lame and late," said Richard Gowan, the UN director for the Crisis Group, conflict prevention advocates. "The council has lost some credibility as the weeks have gone by, mainly thanks to US obstructionism."

Diplomats said both China and the United States have raised the prospect of a veto on the issue of whether WHO is mentioned or not. A resolution needs nine votes in favour and no vetoes by France, Russia, Britain, the United States or China to pass.

'Petty'

It appeared the 15-member body had reached a compromise late on Thursday, diplomats said and according to the latest version of a French- and Tunisian drafted-resolution.

Instead of naming the WHO, the draft text, which was seen by Reuters, "emphasizes the urgent need to support all countries, as well as all relevant entities of the United Nations system, including specialized health agencies." The WHO is the only such agency.

The United States rejected that language on Friday, diplomats said, because it was an obvious reference to the Geneva-based WHO.

A US State Department spokesperson said the council should move forward with either a resolution limited to supporting Guterres' ceasefire call or a broad resolution urging countries to commit to transparency and accountability in the context of COVID-19.

Trump ramped up criticism of WHO after he and Chinese President Xi Jinping essentially agreed, in a March 27 phone call, to an informal truce in a war of words, during which Trump referred to the coronavirus as the "Chinese virus."

Last week, Trump again sharpened his rhetoric against China over the pandemic, signaling an end to the truce. On Wednesday US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused China of "refusing to share the information we need to keep people safe." Beijing accused Pompeo of telling lies.

Some diplomats and analysts also questioned China's motives in advocating for the WHO at the Security Council, which they said was unusual because Beijing would traditionally argue that the work of the agency was outside the council's peace and security mandate.

"The battle over naming WHO is the veritable dictionary definition of small-minded petty obstruction and dysfunctionality," Simon Adams, executive director of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, posted on Twitter.
<! Sanwo-Olu addressing newsmen >

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has opened up on why Lagos is recording huge Coronavirus infections in the last few days.

As at Friday, May 8, 2020, Lagos has 1,683 confirmed cases of Coronavirus and has discharged 448 patients and lost 33 people.

The governor, while giving update on Coronavirus situation in the state, said that the success of its efforts at ramping up testing, was part of the reason why the state was seeing a significant escalation in the number of cases in Lagos State.

He said in the last six days since his last address, while the state had seen a 32% increase in the number of fatalities in Lagos State, and a 62% increase in the number of confirmed cases, the state had also seen a remarkable 100% increase in the number of persons who have fully recovered.

This trend of recoveries is very encouraging, and we believe it will continue at this rate. It gives us some of the much-needed confidence to face the difficult days and weeks ahead.

Let me say, as I have said before, that the success of our efforts, at ramping up testing, is part of the reason why we are seeing a significant escalation in the number of cases in Lagos State.

Quite clearly, also, we are firmly in the community transmission stage of the infection, and the only way to be sure we are making all the right decisions is ensuring that we continue to scale up testing. We now have four testing facilities in Lagos State, and we remain grateful to the NCDC and all other partners who are involved, he said.

According to Sanwo-Olu Our combined lab capacity is at about 850 tests daily. This is easily scalable to 1,500 and 2,000 subject to the availability of extraction kits considering the acute global shortage.

Lagos State has paid for over 20,000 extraction kits and has placed an order for another 20,000 in its bid to test at least 120,000 in the next 60 days.

50% of the backlog, I spoke about recently, has been cleared which is also responsible for the recent seemingly high rate of positive cases in the last couple of days.

Suppliers of kits are the manufacturers and their local representatives. However, the bid is open to any company with repute and integrity who can supply the desired kits to specification, he added.

In this same vein, the governor said he had also mandated the state laboratory apparatus to commence the local

production of certain items used for the diagnostic process and that this had commenced already.

He added that the State had also started a bi-weekly procurement of laboratory needs to prevent running out of these materials going forward, until at least 120,000 tests were done in a about two months.

Sanwo-Olu said in addition to increasing Testing capacity, the State had also actively increasing its isolation capacity.

You will also see a change in our Isolation strategy in the weeks ahead, as we transition towards decentralisation.

What this means is that we will be introducing community management of cases, by accrediting and incorporating primary health care facilities and private healthcare facilities for the management of mild-to-moderate cases of COVID-19 patients. We must be careful to ensure that this is not done at the expense of the capacity required to handle other medical cases.

There is also the important task of ensuring that we are collecting all the right data and using these data to plan and to revise our response as a State.

I am pleased to note that Lagos State is developing an emergency digital response platform that will help us collect the data necessary for informed decision-making, he said.
(Photo : Joel Staveley on Unsplash) Coronavirus Has Higher Chance To Infect Human Eyes, 100 Times More Infectious; How To Avoid Face Touching? (Photo : Bruno Aguirre on Unsplash) Coronavirus Has Higher Chance To Infect Human Eyes, 100 Times More Infectious; How To Avoid Face Touching?

Aside from implementing social distancing measures, many governments around the world have made the wearing of masks mandatory to protect its citizens against the coronavirus. And while a mask can protect our nose and mouth, it still leaves our eyes open and vulnerable.

According to a report from Fox News, experts have confirmed that the coronavirus can be contracted through the eyes and is a hundred times more infectious compared to SARS.

A team of Hong Kong researchers explained this week that the eyes are a key point of coronavirus infection. It was explained that COVID-19 has higher infection rates through the eyes, including the airways, compared to bird flu, H5N1, and severe acute syndrome or SARS.

The human conjunctiva, a thin, clear tissue covering the eyeball and inner surface of the eyelids, is more likely to be targeted by SARS-CoV-2 which causes COVID-19. The transmission rate is nearly 100 times more compared to other parts of the human body.

Dr. Michael Chan Chi-wai, who led the research team at Hong Kong University's School of Public Health, explained this to the South China Morning Post. The findings of the study were later published in the latest issue of The Lancel Respiratory Medicine.

Coronavirus has a higher chance of infecting the eyes, and is 100 times more infectious than SARS; How to avoid face touching?

"We culture tissues from the human respiratory tract and eyes in the laboratory and applied them to study the SARS-Cov-2, comparing it with SARS and H5N1. We found that SARS-Cov-2 is much more efficient in infecting the human conjunctiva and the upper respiratory airways than SARS with virus level some 80 to 100 times higher," said Chan Chi-wai, who led the study.

"This explains the higher transmissibility of COVID-19 than that of SARS. This study also highlights the fact that eyes may be an important route of SARS-CoV-2 human infection." he further explained.

It was revealed that the number of COVID-19 cases to date is now nearly 4 million worldwide. Meanwhile, the SARS outbreak in the early 2000s was estimated to have infected only 8,000 people.

The findings of the study highlight the importance of avoiding face-touching. It also suggests the need for essential workers to wear protective eyewear, not just face masks.

"Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands," explained the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

However, keeping your hands away from your eyes is easier said than done. According to the previous report of Fox News, one study discovered that people touch their face 23 times an hour on average.

Dr. William Schaffner, the medical director for the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) shared tips on how to avoid face touching.

He said that using sticky notes on desks or alarms on cell phones can be an effective reminder to avoid face touching; just like how it reminds people to complete their to-do list.

Using a ribbon or a piece of tape can help an individual be aware of their actions, stopping them from touching their face. Putting scented lotion on your hands is also suggested as the smell can give people a warning.

Keeping the hands busy is also an effective way since your mind can focus on other things. It is also suggested to fold your hands in your lap or sitting on them during a meeting--a stress ball or a fidget toy may also be effective, experts suggest.





 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Wild conspiracies escalate that a body double was recently used to claim that Kim Jong-Un is still alive and well, after an old video of the North Korean Dictator chatting alongside two identically dressed lookalikes circulates online.

The video circulating online was footage from July 2017 wherein the Hermit Kingdom's leader is with doppelgangers as he showed off a new missile.

The footage captured the pair which appears having the same height and size, wearing suits perfectly matching the one worn by the leader, and even the haircut looks a perfect copy of Kim's hair wherein shaved at the back and sides.

After the spread of the footage, it strengthens rumors that the North Korean Dictator has long used body doubles as a decoy to help ward off assassination attempts, in which some sources confirmed the existence of Kim's security measure.

The speculation elevated the issue this week over images of the dictator who made his appearance at a ribbon-cutting event to dispel reports that he was under a severe health condition or even death.

Web sleuths claimed that there were clear discrepancies in the features, especially on facial, hairline, and dental features when compared with previous appearances.

On the other hand, some people say that the comparison photos that went viral may have been doctored to raise the conspiracy idea.

Rumors of death and grave illness

After making that his presence will be visible and felt globally in the past years, the North Korean Dictator vanished from the public view as rumors started to swirl that he may be dead or gravely ill.

While the whole country of North Korea commemorated their most important holiday, Kim did not appear on the celebration April 15 to give honor to their country's founder.

Read also: Missile Testing Accident Left Kim Jong-Un Gravely Injured, Reports Say



North Korea stops every 15th of April as it is one of the most important days in North Korea for it is the date when founder and Kim Jong Un's grandfather Kim Il Sung was born, people of North even call the date as the "Day of the Sun."

Trying to emulate his grandfather, Kim even dressed like the elder, in order to show that he needs to be treated like his grandfather and as a way of legitimizing his rule.

The absence of Kim on the special day of his grandfather raised many eyebrows.



Even state-run media oddly has not released any document or picture from the latest weapons test where the leader is usually present and watches for approval.

Speculation that the 36-year-old Kim, is recovering from major surgery, or dead circulated in the media, while a country like the US still figuring out what is really going on to secure what Kim is up to.

Media outlets from North Korea acted as if it is business as usual in their country and they even published updated or old statements from Kim about the country's economy, sharing information that everything is fine.

With the impact of the coronavirus outbreak in the country, another speculation came out that the leader was taking precautionary measures to avoid being infected.



Related article: Kim Jong-Un's Sudden Disappearance Sparks Worsening Health Condition and Death Rumors

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Dhaka, Bangladesh: More than 250 Rohingya Muslim refugees who had been floating for weeks on a fishing boat in the Bay of Bengal have arrived on an island in southern Bangladesh, officials said.

The 277 refugees were taken to Bhasan Char island after they reached Bangladesh's coast, said Mohammed Alamgir Hossain, police superintendent in Noakhali district where the island is located. He said the navy took them there after their boat was spotted.

Malaysian authorities arrested a boatload of Muslim Rohingya refugees after their boat was found adrift in early April. At least two dozen Rohingya died at sea last month. Credit:AP

The Rohingya were being guarded and would be quarantined for 14 days to protect against the coronavirus, he said.

Louise Donovan, a spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency, said they received reports about the Rohingya being taken to the island. "We are seeking further information from the Bangladesh authorities," she said.
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Linkedin Adrian Bauman, Leah Shepherd and Melody Ding (The Jakarta Post) -  Sat, May 9, 2020 16:47 620 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd6f1125 3 Health The-Conversation,nicotine,smoking,cigarette,COVID-19,coronavirus Free

If you noticed headlines recently suggesting smoking could protect against COVID-19, you might have been surprised.

After all, we know smoking is bad for our health. Its a leading risk factor for heart disease, lung disease and many cancers. Smoking also reduces our immunity, and makes us more susceptible to respiratory infections including pneumonia.

And smokers touch their mouth and face more, a risk for COVID-19 infection.

Initial observational findings suggested a history of smoking increased the risk of poor outcomes in COVID-19 patients, as the World Health Organization and other bodies have identified.

But a recent paper which examined smoking rates among COVID-19 patients in a French hospital hypothesized smoking might make people less susceptible to COVID-19 infection.

So what can we make of this?

What the study did

This study was a cross-sectional survey where the researchers assessed the exposure (smoking) and the outcome (COVID-19) at the same time. This type of research design cant prove the exposure causes the outcome  only that there may be an association.

There were two groups included in the study  343 inpatients treated for COVID-19 from February 28 to March 30, and 139 outpatients treated from March 23 to April 9. Among other data collected, participants were asked whether they were current smokers.

The researchers compared smoking rates in both groups with smoking rates in the general French population.

The results

The study found 4.4 percent of inpatients and 5.3 percent of outpatients with COVID-19 were smokers, after adjusting for differences in age and sex.

This was only a fraction of the prevalence seen in the general French population. Some 25.4 percent reportedly smoked daily in 2018.

The authors asserted:

current smokers have a very much lower probability of developing symptomatic or severe SARS-CoV-2 infection as compared to the general population.

The finding of lower rates of smokers among COVID-19 cases has been more recently described elsewhere, in a rapid review of 28 studies on smoking in COVID-19 patients from various countries.

The authors of the French study suggest the mechanism behind the protective effects of smoking could be found in nicotine.

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, gains entry into human cells by latching onto protein receptors called ACE2, which are found on certain cells surfaces.

The researchers have proposed nicotine attaches to the ACE2 receptors, thereby preventing the virus from attaching and potentially reducing the amount of virus that can get into a persons lung cells.

The researchers are now planning to test their hypothesis in a randomized trial involving nicotine patches; though the trial is still awaiting approval from French health authorities.

So how should we interpret the results?

These counterintuitive results may be due to several biases, so lets explore some alternative explanations.

First is what we call selection bias. The hospital patients may be less likely to be daily smokers than the general population. For example, health-care workers and those with existing chronic conditions were disproportionately represented in the inpatient sample  both of these groups usually show lower prevalence of current smoking.

Further, around 60 percent of the hospitalized patients in the study were ex-smokers (similar to the national prevalence). Some may have given up smoking very recently in response to the WHO declaring smoking as a risk factor for COVID-19. But they were classified as non-daily smokers in the study.

Second is what we call social desirability bias. COVID-19 patients may be more likely to deny smoking when asked about their smoking status in hospital, wanting to be seen by medical professionals as doing the right thing.

And data collection may have been incomplete for behavioral questions in busy hospitals overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases.

Finally, its important to note this paper has not yet been peer-reviewed.

Taken together, although there appears to be an association between smoking and COVID-19 in these hospital-based samples, theres no evidence of a causal relationship  that is, that smoking prevents COVID-19.

Lots of research at pandemic speed

We must acknowledge this research has been conducted at pandemic speed, much faster than usual research time frames.

Normally it would be months between submission and publication  but in this case the researchers completed their observations and had the research published online within the same month.

An unintended consequence of the early release of research is that it may provoke undue community hope or belief in unproven treatments.

French authorities had to limit sales of nicotine treatments to avoid stockpiling after this study was published.

We saw a similar phenomenon recently with the drug hydroxychloroquine, where supplies ran out for those who needed them after politicians proclaimed it as a cure for COVID-19.

So right now we need to put in extra effort to make sure early evidence is not misinterpreted or overstated.

As for the role of smoking in COVID-19  this link requires substantially more research and critical appraisal. Because overall, smoking still kills.

Blind peer review

On the whole, this Research Check represents a fair and balanced account of the study. The alternative explanations for the observation of low smoking status prevalence among the French hospital sample provided are possible.

One plausible explanation is error in recording smoking status. There is evidence of under-reporting and inaccurate reporting of smoking status within hospital samples, in general.

Its unclear from the study what method was used to collect smoking status data. The authors simply state patients were asked and data were collected in the context of care. Its important to know who asked the smoking status questions, what questions were asked, when they were asked, and what record keeping system was used.

Given clinical smoking status record keeping may not capture all smokers accurately, a better comparison would be to compare the 2020 data with pre-COVID-19 hospital patient data, rather than general population data which may have asked different questions.

***

Adrian Bauman is Sesquicentenary Professor, Public Health, University of Sydney. Leah Shepherd is Biostatistician, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney. Melody Ding is Associate Professor of Public Health, University of Sydney. Billie Bonevski, Women in Science Chair, University of Newcastle, reviewed this report.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
Straight-faced and without hesitation, Jason Knox declared during his 2011 Houston Police Department interview that he wanted to fly helicopters.

Footage from Knoxs 2011 interview  when he was a Spring Valley Police Department officer  played as scores of mourners watched Saturday at the First Baptist Church. Knox, 35, was killed May 2 in when his HPD helicopter crashed into an apartment complex.

I do understand the waitlist is long, but I dont mind putting in the time as a patrol officer, he told the interviewer.

The video was among the memories shared that displayed Knoxs determination to succeed as a police officer and his willingness to put in the work to get there. His fellow officers remembered his dedication to the job, the security they felt when he was backing them up from above, and the friendship he shared with them.

Chief Art Acevedo, who introduced the video, wiped away tears during his tribute. The job interview was the only time he could remember seeing Knox without a smile.

Knox would go on to serve HPD for eight years. In January 2019, he joined the Air & Marine Division as a tactical flight officer, meaning he served as the eyes for officers on the ground as another officer piloted the aircraft. He was slated to start training as a pilot in August.

The service lasted three hours and ended with a 21-gun salute and Acevedo handing three folded flags to Knoxs tearful widow, Keira, and their two children, Cooper and Eliza. Another flag was given to Knoxs parents, Helen and Mike, a member of Houston City Council.

Knoxs son was given his fathers helicopter helmet and the boy wasted no time trying to put it on. The fallen officers daughter pointed to an Oilers-blue police cruiser parked nearby and cried out, Thats daddys car!

Service streamed online

Because of protocol during this novel coronavirus pandemic, attendees  except for the Knox family  were spaced out in the church. The memorial service was streamed online to encourage social distancing, according to officials.

Scores of mask-wearing Houston police officers who knew Knox offered their memories during the service.

Senior Police Officer Michael Bruner recalled visiting the hospital when Knoxs son was born. Their families would vacation together and the two dreamed of being neighbors.

He pledged to help Knoxs wife raise the fallen officers children to the caliber of kids that their dad would want.

I considered Jason my brother, Bruner said. I will miss him. I will mourn him. I will not forget him.

Officer Ryan Sandoval, a member of Knoxs cadet class, stood out in his old light-blue dress shirt amid a sea of navy uniforms. He said he wore his first uniform to pay tribute to the officers love for history.

Knoxs passion took shape in restoring retro police vehicles  a 96 and 88 Chevrolet Caprice  and his night shift crew would playfully tease him for it.

Sgt. Mike Burton, one of Knoxs supervisors, said they called him Sham-Wow, for the absorbent towel.

Hed wipe down the helicopters with the same shammy cloths he used on his cars, Burton said, adding that this ritual would happen after every flight.

His work in the cockpit was also remembered.

Paul Foster, a member of HPDs K-9 unit, said he felt safer with Knox flying above him.

They see what we cant, Foster said. With Jason in the sky, I personally was given an extra sense of security, a comfort.

Burton said Knox was one of their best. He once sighted a wanted suspect who was hiding in a swamp. The officers couldnt find him because he was partially submerged  except for his nose.

Burton referred Knox for two commendations in the past six months.

Acevedo also commended Knox for saving lives. As Tropical Storm Imelda pounded the Houston area last September, he was dispatched to look for a Harris County Sheriffs Office deputy whose van was swept away.

He was clinging to life and was barely hanging on, Acevedo said.

We were losing hope, the chief continued. Jason Michael Knox, from whatever feet he was, spotted that deputy and we were able to bring in boats to rescue him.

Last month, Knox was slated to receive a lifesaver award, but the ceremony was canceled amid the growing coronavirus pandemic, Acevedo said.

Acevedo plans to name a new helicopter for Knox and to retire his badge number, 2374. It could one day resurface, the chief said, if one of his children decides to join the police department.

Investigation continues

The funeral came one week following the fatal crash at a Greenspoint apartment complex. Knox and his pilot, Chase Cormier, were searching a nearby bayou for a possible drowning victim but found nothing.

As the two-man crew was called off the search, the helicopter started spinning uncontrollably and plunged into a building. Cormier survived and is undergoing rehabilitation.

Acevedo choked up as he walked mourners through his response to the crash. He received the phone call and quickly drove  but not as fast as he wanted  to the wreckage.

The area was covered in fuel and not one firefighter was dousing the fuel with foam. The crews were instead focused on trying desperately to save Knox, he continued.

The cause of the crash is not yet known, but local and federal authorities continue to investigate what happened. Gunfire that erupted near the time of the crash is being looked at as a possible factor in why the aircraft went down but no evidence has been found.

A 19-year-old man was charged Friday with two counts of aggravated assault against a public servant in connection to gunfire that was fired at a HPD helicopter that responded to the crash, officials said.

The helicopter was flying low and had a spotlight on the wreckage, said Sean Teare, of the Harris County District Attorneys Office.

At this time, we dont believe he fired at FOX 75, Teare said. That investigation is still ongoing.

The helicopter fleet was temporarily grounded after the crash. Acevedo approved three HPD pilots to fly once more with a missing man formation to honor their co-worker during the service.

nicole.hensley@chron.com
The nations economic distress came into greater focus Friday, offering a snapshot unseen since the Great Depression.

The Labor Department said the U.S. economy shed more than 20.5 million jobs in April, sending the unemployment rate to 14.7% as the coronavirus pandemic took a devastating toll.

The monthly data underscores the speed and depth of the labor markets collapse. In February, the unemployment rate was 3.5%, a half-century low.

And the damage has only grown since then: Millions more people have filed claims for unemployment benefits since the monthly data was collected in mid-April.

Its literally off the charts, said Michelle Meyer, head of U.S. economics at Bank of America. What would typically take months or quarters to play out in a recession happened in a matter of weeks this time.

Indeed, last months job losses alone far exceed the 8.7 million in the last recession, when unemployment peaked at 10% in October 2009.

The only comparable period is when unemployment reached about 25% in 1933, before the government began publishing official statistics. Then as now, workers from a variety of backgrounds found themselves with few prospects for quickly landing a new job.

If anything, the unemployment rate understates the extent of the damage to the labor market. The governments official definition of unemployment typically requires people to be actively looking for work, making the measure ill suited to a crisis in which the government is encouraging people to stay home. Some 6.4 million people left the labor force entirely in April, meaning they were neither working nor looking for work.

The share of the population with a job, at 51.3%, was the lowest on record.

The unemployment rate also doesnt reflect the millions of workers who have kept their jobs but with their hours slashed or pay cut. Nearly 11 million people reported working part time because they couldnt find full-time work, up from about 4 million before the pandemic hit.

Some experts hold out hope that the crisis will recede as swiftly as it arrived  and that as the pandemic retreats, businesses that were fundamentally healthy before the virus will reopen, rehire and return more or less to normal. Nearly 80% of the unemployed said they had been temporarily laid off and expected to return to their jobs in the coming months.

President Donald Trump endorsed this view in an interview Friday morning on Fox News.

Those jobs will all be back, and theyll be back very soon, Trump said, and next year were going to have a phenomenal year.

But the longer the crisis, the less likely that V-shaped recovery. The joblessness that began with layoffs in the leisure and hospitality industry has extended throughout the economy, from manufacturing and retail industries to white-collar redoubts like business services. Every major sector cut jobs in April.

The broad nature of the cuts means it will take longer for the labor market to recover than if the losses were confined to one or two areas.

There is no safe place in the labor market right now, said Martha Gimbel, an economist and labor market expert at Schmidt Futures, a philanthropic initiative. Once people are unemployed, once theyve lost their jobs, once their spending has been sucked out of the economy, it takes so long to come back from that.

Carrie Hines, a managing director at an advertising firm in Austin, Texas, had the kind of professional job  adaptable to working from home  that seemed insulated from the pandemics effects. But her firm worked closely with companies in the airline, hotel and amusement park industries. When their business evaporated as a result of the outbreak, it was only a matter of time before Hines firm felt the impact. She was laid off April 20.

I was shocked, she said. Ive never had a gap in work since college.

Hines and her husband are cutting back where they can, and they have canceled plans to send their three children to summer camp.

I never imagined this kind of job market where the entire advertising industry has been crushed, she said.

The last recession reached deep into the economy, hitting families who had never had to worry about a lost job or a foreclosed home. But there were bastions of safety, like the health care industry, which added jobs throughout the downturn. Not this time: Health care lost more than 2 million jobs in April as dentists offices closed and patients canceled elective procedures.

I thought the Great Recession was once in a lifetime, but this is much worse, said Beth Ann Bovino, chief U.S. economist at S&P Global.

The speed of the collapse has tested the ability of economists to track it. The Labor Department on Friday said it had adjusted its procedures to reflect the rapidly changing job market but said uncertainty was nonetheless greater than usual. Large revisions are likely as more complete data becomes available, economists said.

In particular, the department said there were signs that some unemployed workers were erroneously classified as employed but absent from work. Had they been recorded accurately, the unemployment rate would have been as much as 5 points higher, or nearly 20%.

Joblessness  by any measure  could be even higher in the report for May, which will reflect conditions next week. But some economists say the unemployment rate should fall over the summer as people begin to return to work. Some states have begun to reopen their economies, and others are expected to do so in coming weeks.

But with the virus untamed, its not clear how quickly customers will return to businesses. And epidemiologists and economists warn that if states move too quickly, they could risk a second wave of infections, imperiling public health and the economy.

That would stop people from shopping and cause austerity, Bovino said.

For businesses, the uncertainty about the path of the pandemic and about consumers response to it is making planning difficult.

When Austin Ramirez heard about the new coronavirus earlier this year, his initial concern was for his supply chain. Ramirez runs Husco International, a manufacturer of hydraulic and electromechanical components for cars and other equipment. The company has a factory in China and receives parts from suppliers there and around the world.

By April, virtually the entire U.S. auto industry was shut down, Husco included. (The companys nonautomotive production continued at a reduced rate.) Ramirez said he didnt know when business would bounce back. His goal is to weather the storm.

Theres no visibility or certainty on what the future demand is going to look like, he said. We cant build a business model that relies on there being a big recovery six months from now.

While most of Huscos roughly 750 North American workers have been furloughed during the crisis, the company has mostly avoided large-scale, permanent job cuts. Ramirez said he expected that most of his workers would come back when he needs them.

But particularly in industries like retail and hospitality, layoffs that were initially temporary might not remain so as bankruptcies mount and business owners confront shifts in consumer behavior.

We are starting to see signs that many of those layoffs will be permanent, said Julia Pollak, a labor economist at the employment marketplace ZipRecruiter. There is going to be a very, very dramatic acceleration in the deaths of businesses.

Most forecasters expect the unemployment rate to remain elevated at least through 2021, and probably longer. That means that it will be years before workers enjoy the bargaining power that was beginning to bring them faster wage gains and better benefits before the crisis.

Job seekers are going to have less leverage, Pollak said. Were no longer going to see mostly employed job seekers browsing and looking for better matches and higher pay. Youre going to see job seekers desperate to pay the bills.

Low-wage workers, including many women and members of racial and ethnic minorities, have been hit especially hard. Many service jobs are impossible to do remotely and have been eliminated, and some workers have risked their health by staying on the job.

People with the least education have been hardest hit in the downturn, according to the new Labor Department data. The unemployment rate for workers without a high school diploma stood at 21.2% in April, compared with 8.4% for those with a college degree.

Research this week from economists at the ADP Research Institute, the University of Chicago and the Federal Reserve found that workers earning less than $15 an hour account for more than one-third of job losses, far beyond their share of the workforce.

Recessions always tend to affect employment for low-wage, low-skilled workers, but the magnitude of the difference between low-wage and high-wage workers, thats remarkable, said Ahu Yildirmaz, an author of the study.

Ibelis Gonzalez worked as a server for Ruths Chris Steak House in Jersey City, New Jersey, until she was let go in March. She is hoping her job will return when the chain reopens, but she knows there are no guarantees, as patrons may be hesitant to dine out at first.

We dont know if they will have a skeleton staff, said Gonzalez, who earned $600 to $800 a week, nearly all of it from tips. People may not have the money to go out and have a $100 steak.

She has been trying to file for unemployment insurance but hasnt been able to reach the states Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Im not looking for a handout; Im just looking for these benefits, she said. I dont have a dollar to my name.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Filmmaker Mike Flanagan is set to tackle the film adaptation of yet another book from celebrated author Stephen King.

Flanagan, who previously helmed the film version of King's novel"Doctor Sleep", is now adapting a scrip from the author's 2014 book "Revival".

The filmmaker also has the option to direct the movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The project has been set up at Warner Bros and will be produced by Flanagan and Trevor Macy through their banner Intrepid Pictures.

"Revival" centres around the relationship between a heroin-addicted musician and a dubious faith healer with a hidden agenda.

The minister is obsessed with trying to find a way to communicate with his departed wife and child but ends up connecting to a Lovecraftian horror.

Flanagan and Macy have earlier teamed for the 2017 adaptation of King's novel "Gerald's Game", which released on Netflix. They also collaborated on the 2018 Netflix series "The Haunting of Hill House".

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

9 May 2020

Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking at the Finn Partners Travel Practice webinar on the role of responsible tourism in driving recovery post-lockdown. I was joined by Fiona Jeffery OBE, Senior Partner, Finn Partners Global Responsibility Tourism Practice, Founder and Chairman of Just A Drop, alongside Amy Skelding, Senior Partner in our Travel Practice who moderated the session.

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In recent years, the travel industry has been impacted by environmental disasters including the droughts in Cape Town and the bushfires in Australia, which have awakened our business and personal consciousness. The industry has arguably been late to sustainability and we are now at our own ground zero. This is a unique moment in time to take a pause, right the wrongs, and move away from viewing responsible travel as a 'nice to do'. There should be no such thing as 'sustainable tourism', simply 'tourism' where acting ethically and responsibly sits in the DNA of every travel brand.

Most critically, destinations need to move away from acting as marketing organisations and focus on being responsible management companies with an environmental and social emphasis which in turn will help reap long-term economic benefits. Governments and trade bodies must also start measuring tourism post crisis in terms other than purely economic and consider environmental and social impacts.

Many sources, such as Juliet Kinsman's article for Conde Nast Traveller, are identifying that post-lockdown travellers will be more thoughtful with their travel spend and will travel with purpose and sensitivity towards the health of people and planet. The traveller of the future will take fewer, but longer trips and will have a desire for more experiential travel that is seen to benefit local communities directly. They will also be looking for greater transparency from travel brands and as a result, robust data on their sustainable measures, will be key to driving consumer confidence.

Health and safety will also be embedded into travellers' decisions. This means that destinations will need to work closely with the health ministries, banks, investors, insurance companies and the private sector to achieve this moving forward in a well-coordinated, informed and transparent way. Carbon offsetting also needs to be looked at more closely by all travel brands to ensure their schemes are ethically driven.

Whilst we still have a long way to go, in the middle of the trauma of coronavirus, there are green shoots and 'green swans' innovating their way out of the crisis. Innovators are devising and creating positive developments such as airline uniforms that also acts as PPE and utilising mobile technology to manage tourism flows.

It's important, now more than ever, that brands and destinations prioritise responsible travel as the cornerstone of all recovery plans. Amid Covid-19, we can't lose sight of the Paris Agreement, out of this tragedy will come innovation and greater responsibility that the travel industry must act on.

For a synopsis of the webinar, click here.

To view the full webinar click here.
Trumps unmoored assertions add up to a horror story, from his failure on testing to his advice to inject bleach to encouraging rowdy protesters and impatient states to LIBERATE from the governments own guidelines to perpetrating the suicidal idea that we have to choose between public health and the economy when they are the same thing.

When Mike Pompeo tried to push the 2020 re-election line demonizing China, saying there is enormous evidence that the virus escaped from a lab in Wuhan, even intelligence and senior officials pushed back. The man who is trusted to lead America beyond the plague, Anthony Fauci, dismissed it, reiterating with near certainty that the virus originated with a bat and jumped species.

Trump has sidelined the nonpareil Fauci and, no doubt consumed with jealousy and irritated by his honesty, would like to get rid of him. He barred the N.I.H. scientist from testifying before the House this month because the committee has every Trump hater who want our situation to be unsuccessful, which means death.

Wallowing in petty insults, vindictiveness and p.r. piffle even in such a tragic season, the president tried to shut down the pandemic task force as the pandemic is still ravaging the country until alarmed associates intervened. The White House scuppered the safety guidelines the C.D.C. wanted to put out, for fear they would crimp the reopening.

Trump has been leaning into his son-in-law, the pallid nonentity. Jared is like Renfield, the zoophagous maniac in Bram Stokers Dracula who eats flies and deaths head moths and does the vampire kings bidding.

For two of the most urgent missions in American history, hunting for supplies and a vaccine, the president  who is always accusing Joe Biden of nepotism  relied on nepotism and favoritism. As The Times reported the other day, Jared bollixed up the desperate search for masks, gloves and ventilators this spring, heading a group of volunteers that prioritized tips from those with Trump connections, putting them on a VIP list, like a lead on N95 masks from a former Apprentice contestant who runs Women for Trump.

DAntonio says that Trump was always preoccupied with death. When he was young, he was convinced he would die before 40. The early death of his alcoholic older brother, Fred, was his formative experience. He regards every loss or humiliation as a small death.
Boscovs will receive a deferment on its next payment on a $43.7 million loan from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that it received back in 2009.

The department approached the retailer to see if they would like to defer the payment due to the current economic situation related to COVID-19, according to Jim Boscov, CEO of Reading-based Boscovs.

The payment is about $2.5 million and there is $21.8 million left on the loan, according to Boscov.

Weve paid it steadily over the last 10 years, Boscov said.

The retailer has been closed since March when Gov. Tom Wolf ordered the closure of all non-life sustaining businesses.

Boscov said they were happy to receive that offer and will continue to pay off the interest.

Boscovs entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008 and closed 10 stores at the time, including one in the Harrisburg Mall in Swatara Township. The Boscov family bought its assets out of bankruptcy court for $300 million in 2008 that included the HUD money, combined with $200 million in bank financing and $60 million of the familys savings.

Section 108 of HUDs Community Development Block Grant program provides communities with a source of financing for economic development, housing rehabilitation, public facilities, and large-scale physical development projects.

Six Pennsylvania counties -- Lebanon, Schuylkill, Lackawanna, Blair, Cambria and Butler -- agreed in 2009 to guarantee their block grant money to back the loan.

Boscov said that then-Gov. Ed Rendell guaranteed that the event of a default by Boscovs, the state would make the payments and the municipalities would not have to worry about the payments.

At the time, the Lebanon County Commissioners received a letter from the state to not only guarantee that the state would pay off the loan but the agreement included where the money would come from if Boscovs defaulted on the loan, according to footage from the Lebanon County Commissioners meeting on Feb. 26, 2009 meeting provided by Lebanon County Commissioner Jo Ellen Litz. The commissioners approved the federal Community Development Block Grant funds at that meeting. Litz, who was has been a county commissioner since 1995 said on Friday that the Lebanon County Commissioners had not been contacted in regards to the deferment.

Boscov said that the loan had allowed the company to emerge from bankruptcy.

Since then we paid every time, on time and in full, he said.

READ MORE:

Boscov said that the one payment will be added to the end of the loan. He said that to be able to defer that payment is tremendous, and extremely helpful in trying to survive through this time that has been tough on retailers.

This past week has been a difficult one for some large chains. Neiman Marcus, J. Crew and Golds Gym have all filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Boscovs will reopen its first two stores in the state on Sunday. The two stores are located at 5800 Peach St. in Millcreek Township, Erie County and at 1 Susquehanna Valley Mall in Monroe Township, Snyder County.

Boscovs stores in Lower Paxton Township, Camp Hill and North Lebanon Township are in the states red phase and will remain closed. The company has 26 stores in Pennsylvania and 24 states combined in seven other states, according to the companys website.

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The newest supposed scandal the media are ginning up against the Trump administration concerns documents that AP obtained regarding the CDC recommendations for re-opening America. As written, the AP implies that the Trump administration is ignoring or manipulating expert advice, thereby putting Americans at risk. The article misses the fact that the CDC, aside from having been amazingly and consistently wrong about the Wuhan virus, is a blinkered bureaucratic agency that looks only at its own goals without reference or concern for other issues. It also forgets that the CDC is an advisory agency for Trump, not Trump's boss.

The AP's headline sets the tone: "Top White House officials buried CDC report." The first paragraph follows through on that grim note:

The decision to shelve detailed advice from the nation's top disease control experts for re-opening communities during the coronavirus pandemic came from the highest levels of the White House, according to internal government emails obtained by The Associated Press.

Obviously, the White House is very bad to ignore the deep thinkers at the CDC.

However, even the AP's article doesn't match the sales pitch. It shows only that the bureaucrats came up with a detailed plan and that the boss  for the CDC works for the Executive Branch, not vice versa  fast-tracked the good parts and ditched the bad ones:

The files also show that after the AP reported Thursday that the guidance document had been buried, the Trump administration ordered key parts of it to be fast-tracked for approval.

The AP then goes for the heartstrings, telling readers that those poor bureaucrats saw their bureaucratic efforts "quashed by political appointees with little explanation." Cue the world's smallest violin.

Thanks to the administration, "faith leaders, business owners, educators and state and local officials" never got to see the CDC's beautifully wrought decision trees. This was the case even though the chief bureaucrat  CDC Director Robert Redfield  had signed off on it. Again, the AP forgets that Redfield and his staff work for Trump and not the other way around.

The article manages to name Jared Kushner (Trump's "son-in-law") and Kellyanne Conway, implying that they're culprits behind this cover-up without actually saying so. The article continues in that vein, with chapter and verse about the CDC being slighted.

Here's what's important that the AP leaves out: when it counted  that is, when the Wuhan virus was gaining steam  the CDC constantly failed in ways big and small:

The agency's failure to understand the severity of this virus, to provide useful advice to the American people and to political leaders, and to deliver appropriate testing capabilities has been widely documented. As I wrote last week, emails reveal that weeks after the virus started roaming freely in the U.S., CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield told his employees that "the virus isn't spreading in the US at this time." But a month later, the CDC was still telling state and local officials that its "testing capacity is more than adequate to meet current testing demands." It wasn't.

The quoted article spells out the CDC's myriad errors regarding the Wuhan virus, something that other media outlets, including leftist outlets, freely acknowledged. Also, it highlights the CDC's many other expensive failures.

In addition to its dismal track record, from what little the AP lets drop about the CDC's original plan, it's apparent that the CDC was trying to stop the virus entirely, which is an impossible task:

The AP obtained a copy Friday of the full document. That version is a more universal series of phased guidelines, "Steps for All Americans in Every Community," geared to advise communities as a whole on testing, contact tracing and other fundamental infection control measures.

At this point, testing has no purpose other than to count cases. That is, it won't help people recover, nor will it prevent people from getting sick. "Contact tracing and other fundamental infection control measures" sounds remarkably like tracking every American and continuing a perpetual lockdown.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, understands that the country needs to get to work again. A full-blown depression, complete with stress-related diseases, suicide, substance abuse, and crime, will kill more people than the Wuhan virus ever could. While the CDC is focusing on one narrow issue, the Trump administration is looking at the big picture.

The whole article is just an extended whine by failed bureaucrats to a sympathetic media outlet, both of which have the same goal: Get Trump. It's a nothing burger.
YEREVAN, MAY 9, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian talked about legendary intelligence officers, Hero of the Soviet Union Gevorg Vardanyan and his wife Gohar Vardanyan, told about their friendship and meetings, ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Presidents Office.

I have had the honor to have personal relations with Gohar and Gevorg Vardanyans, we are friends, he said, adding that his mother and Gohar had been friends for long years and their friendship had started from Tehran.

Highly appreciating the activities and contribution of the intelligence officers, the President said that their lives, which were not so public due to objective reasons, is a beautiful and heroic story full of events that are sometimes out of imagination.

Armenians can be not only brilliant scientists, politicians, businessmen, but also the best intelligence officers of the world. Gohar and Gevorg Vardanyans have proved it, he said, emphasizing that they are the best example of what one should understand saying serve the motherland, and living away from the motherland to love it and never forget. Armenian-Russian relations have always been based not only on shared historical ties, but also on the human stories of individuals, be they Hovhannes Ayvazovski, Hovhannes Baghramyan, Viktor Hambardzumyan or Gevorg and Gohar Vardanyans, the President said.

At the proposal of President Sarkissian, Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergey Naryshkin also talked about the life and activities of the legendary couple, stressing not only their high professionalism but also their bright human features.

Editing and Translating by Tigran Sirekanyan
: The number of active COVID-19



cases slid below the 1,000 mark to 999 in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday though the overall tally rose to 1,930 with the addition of 43 in the last 24 hours ending 9 am.

The COVID-19 toll in the state also increased by three to 44 while 45 more patients were discharged from hospitals, according to the latest bulletin.

Chittoor district saw a sudden spurt in cases, with 11 reported in the last 24 hours ending 9 am on Saturday, as some people who returned from Koyambedu wholesale market in Chennai city tested posted for coronavirus.

It is suspected that these people contracted the disease at Koyambedu and several others who also returned from the place were sent to quarantine, sources here said.

Visakhapatnam too continued to show an upward trend as five fresh cases were registered, taking the total in the district to 62.

The major hotspots Kurnool, Krishna and Guntur reported six, 16 and two fresh cases.

In the last 24 hours, Krishna reported two and Kurnool one coronavirus casualty.

In all, 887 people were discharged from hospitals after recovering from the infection.

The state has completed testing 1,65,069 samples, of which 1,63,139 returned negative.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The American porn star Ron Jeremy is accused by the judiciary of the multiple rape. The 67-Year-old is accused of three women will be raped and to have another woman sexually attacked, such as the Prosecutor's office in Los Angeles announced on Tuesday. Three of the incidents against the women in the age from 25 to 46 years should have been in the years 2017 to 2019 in a Bar in the city occurred, the fourth of 2014, in a private house.

Jeremy was taken into police custody. His bail was set at $ 6.6 million (5.8 million euros). His lawyer Stuart Goldfarb rejected the accusations. Jeremy is not a "rapist," said Goldfarb, the AFP news Agency.

"obsessed with sex"

The actor with the real name Ronald Jeremy Hyatt is one of the iconic figures of the Porn industry. He has appeared in more than 1000 sex movies. In 2007, he brought out an autobiography with the title "A man and four thousand women". In it, he described himself as obsessed with sex.

In recent years, he has been confronted with allegations of sexual Assault, including colleagues from the sex industry, but the Porn Star denied the portrayals of women always.

Jeremy joins a whole series of prominent figures in the entertainment industry, who have been accused in recent years of sexual violence and Assault.

film producer

On Monday had asked the film producer, David Guillod of the police, after he had been accused by the justice formally, the multiple rape, the sexual attacks and the kidnapping of four women. The 53-Year-old Guillod produced, among other things, the Berlin-game-based action film "Atomic Blonde" with Charlize Theron in the main role. He, too, rejects all accusations.

Updated Date: 24 June 2020, 10:20
India currently has extremely close ties with Afghanistan under president Ghani

New Delhi: In a meeting with a visiting top American official in New Delhi on the Afghan peace process, India on Thursday reiterated its continued support for strengthening ... the democratic and inclusive polity and protection of rights of all sections of the Afghan society, including Afghan Hindus and Sikhs, adding that it is deeply concerned at the upsurge in violence and supports the call for immediate ceasefire and need to assist the people of Afghanistan in dealing with coronavirus pandemic.

In a veiled reference towards Pakistan, New Delhi also told the US official that putting an end to terrorist safe havens and sanctuaries is necessary for enduring and sustainable peace and stability in Afghanistan. This was conveyed by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval in a meeting with visiting United States Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad who landed in New Delhi on Thursday.

Khalilzad reportedly gave them an update on the US peace and reconciliation efforts in Afghanistan, the MEA said on Thursday, in a statement, adding that the US side recognised India's constructive contribution in economic development, reconstruction and humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and laid importance to India's crucial and continuing role in sustainable peace, security and stability in Afghanistan.

Khalilzad is travelling to Qatar and Pakistan too to discuss the Afghan peace process, the US State Department also announced earlier, adding that he would meet Indian officials in New Delhi to discuss the important role of India in sustainable peace in Afghanistan and the region. He is travelling to Qatar to meet Taliban representatives to press for full implementation of the US-Taliban Agreement, the US said.

It may be recalled that India had last month welcomed the announcement by the Afghan Government on formation of a team for intra-Afghan negotiations with the Taliban, and had referred to the need to free that nation of the scourge of externally-sponsored terrorism, seen as a veiled reference to Pakistan which backs the Taliban.

Prime minister Narendra Modi has been in constant touch with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. India currently has extremely close ties with Afghanistan under president Ghani and New Delhi has successfully undertaken vast development projects there in the past few years, earning much goodwill from the Afghan people. India has also been supplying essential life-saving drugs and medicines to help Afghanistan battle the Coronavirus pandemic.
The National Cabinet has announced Australians three-step plan for reopening the economy and businesses.

All states and territories can implement these steps at their own pace, as there are no strict rules, however Morrison has said that he would like Australia to have a covid-safe way of living in July.

These new steps will have a serious impact on small businesses no doubt, however, these clear guidelines do allow employers to adapt and start to develop new business models in order to build revenue again.

For example, cafes and restaurants can have up to 10 patrons in step one, and 20 in step two (with exceptions). This is a very limited capacity for lots of venues, so take-away services must still be a large part of operations. Even by step three, the limit remains at 100 patrons  for many businesses.

Below is a full business-focussed summary of the governments three-step plan to assist SMEs with navigating a COVID-safe way of working going forward.

STEP ONE

Step one is all about taking small steps, prioritising the missed connection with family and friends. It allows small groups of people in both homes and the community. Business will start to reopen, and more people will return to work.

The work situation

You should work from home if it suits both you and your employer

Workplaces need to develop a COVID-safe plan which complies with social distancing guidelines (i.e. 1.5 metre distance between employees)

Employees should avoid public transport in peak hours

This may lead to some significant changes in the workplace such as staggering shift times, having A + B team rotations and rethinking layouts and hot-desking. It may also have implications for continuing the working from home option long-term.

Working parents / parent employees

Child care centres, primary and secondary schools will reopen, but only as per state and territory plans, which are yet to be announced following this news

Retail (including property) industry

Retail stores will reopen but stores and managers must develop COVID-safe plans as above

Auctions/open homes can have gatherings of up to 10, but must record contact details

Entertainment industry

All that must remain closed in step 1: Indoor movie theatres, concert venues, stadiums, galleries, museums, zoos, pubs, registered and licensed clubs, nightclubs, gaming venues, strip clubs and brothels

The only exception will be restaurants or cafes that sit within these type of venues, which may seat up to 10 patrons at one time

Gyms and fitness industry

In the Step 1 phase, there can be no indoor physical activity, including all gyms.

Only community centres, outdoor gyms, playgrounds and skate parks are allowed, with up to 10 people

Pools will reopen with restrictions (based on social distancing)

Hospitality industry  restaurants & cafes

Restaurants and cafes can now reopen under Step 1, however they can only seta up to ten patrons at one time and all patrons must maintain an average density of 4m2 per person

Food courts cannot have seated patrons but can be open for takeaway

Beauty industry

Hairdressers and barber shops will reopen but must record all customer contact details

Beauty therapy, massage therapy, saunas and tattoo parlours remain closed

STEP TWO

The second step of the governments three-step plan will introduce larger gatherings (only slightly) and will allow more businesses across industries to reopen. Mostly across industries this is an increase from 10 customers to 20 customers. Higher risk activities will have higher restrictions to adhere to.

The work situation

No change from step one

Working parents / parent employees

Same as above

Retail (including property) industry

Same as above, however auctions/open homes can have gatherings of up to 20 (still imperative to record contact details)

Entertainment industry

These businesses can now reopen with up to 20 patrons: indoor movie theatres, concert venues, stadiums, galleries, museums and zoos

Pubs, registered and licensed clubs, RSL clubs, casinos and nightclubs must remain closed

Exception like above  Restaurants or cafes that are in these venues may seat up to 20 patrons at one time (an increase of 10)

Gyms and fitness industry

Up to 20 people (increase from 10) are allowed to participate in outdoor sports

Up to 20 people allowed to participate in all indoor sports, including gyms (in step one these were still closed)

Hospitality industry  restaurants and cafes

Same as above, however cafes and restaurants can seat up to 20 patrons at one time, an increase of 10

Beauty industry

Beauty therapy and massage therapy venues, as well as tattoo parlours, can now reopen with up to 20 clients in the premises and business owners must record contact details

Saunas and bathhouses must remain closed

STEP THREE

The final step of the three-step plan is by no means the end of the COVID-19 world were experiencing. Its aim is to allow all businesses to operate but in a COVID-safe way.

It is still not great news for lots of larger scale businesses  think Fitness First gyms that will still be limited to 100 customers  and bars and nightclubs still dont have any clear answers at this last stage.

However, by this point the working world will look a lot more normal than how it looks now.

The work situation

Return to workplace with the workplace COVID-safe plan in place

Still avoid public transport in peak hour

Working parents / parent employees

Same as above  depending on states, all childcare and schools may reopen in the previous steps, or it may have to wait until this step (depending on cases)

Retail (including property) industry

Same as above but now auctions and open homes can have gatherings of up to 100, still recording contact details

To reiterate, by now shops are open

Entertainment industry

Venues open in step 2 may now have up to 100 patrons  quite a big jump up from 20 (reminder, this is: indoor movie theatres, concert venues, stadiums, galleries, museums and zoos)

Restaurants or cafes in these venues may seat up to 100 patrons at one time

Consideration will be given to opening bar areas and gaming rooms (pubs, registered and licensed clubs, RSL clubs, casinos, nightclubs)

Gyms and fitness industry

All venues allowed to operate with gatherings of up to 100 people only, keeping social distancing measures intact (an average density of 4m2 per person)

Community sport expansion to be considered

Hospitality industry  restaurants and cafes

Cafes, restaurants and food courts can seat up to 100 people but need to maintain an average density of 4m2 per person

Beauty industry

All businesses are allowed to open with up to 100 people and must continue to record contact details

Keep up to date with our stories LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. We will be covering state and territory coverage on the three-step plan as much as possible, as announcements are made.
Hi Future Tensers,

From here on Earth to up in space, the next two weeks of our Social-Distancing Socials are covering it all. Join the conversation on Zoom every Tuesday and Thursday at 4 p.m. Eastern:

Tuesday, May 12: Business in a Time of Crisis

Thursday, May 14: Free Speech Project: Symptoms May Include Censorship

Tuesday, May 19: Social Distancing, Meet Space Exploration

Thursday, May 21: Will We Ever Fly Again?

This pandemic is making armchair epidemiologists out of us all. Every morning we roll out of bed to yet another science-adjacent article shared by everyone and their great-aunt. But premature reporting on scientific studies can threaten public health. In the first article in Viral Studies, a Slate series that breaks down widely shared articles about the pandemic, Jane C. Hu explains What That Study About the Mutant Coronavirus Actually Says. Hu writes that the findings of the study are much more complex than the splashy Mutant Coronavirus headlines: Yes, the coronavirus has mutatedand it will continue to mutate, as all viruses and animal species do. But those mutations are not fundamentally scary or bad and dont necessarily change how a virus functions.

Best of Future Tense

Joshua Lamel The Copyright Lawsuit in Tiger King Is an Outrage

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Eleanor Cummins What We Know About Whom COVID Kills

Spandana Singh Reddits Intriguing Approach to Political Advertising Transparency

Andrew Gelman A New Approach to Getting Real-Time Coronavirus Stats

Jake Bittle Companies Want to Use RFID Technology to Make Sure Employees Are Washing Their Hands

Wish Wed Published This

How My Boss Monitors Me While I Work From Home, by Adam Satariano, New York Times.

Three Questions for a Smart Person

Samm Sacks is a cyber policy fellow at New America and a senior fellow at Yale Law Schools Paul Tsai China Center. I spoke with her about China, surveillance, and coronavirus. Our phone conversation has been condensed and lightly edited.

Margaret: While theres a lot of interest in heightened surveillance in China due to the coronavirus, much of that infrastructure was already in place. What shifts in surveillance do you imagine there will be in China after the coronavirus?

Samm: Theres a perception that its a data free-for-all, and thats just not accurate. In the first few weeks of the virus, the government began working on protecting personal information when using digital technologies to slow the spread of the virus. It put up guard rails around what government agencies were allowed to access the information, retention of data, and limiting the use of the data to epidemiological purposes. A lot of Chinese mobile apps have been cracked down on for excessive collection of information through the Mobile App Campaign. The government has expanded tools to access data, but companies are under increasing scrutiny about the way theyre using information.

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Theres a bit of a misperception that all surveillance is done without consent, when plenty of geolocation tracking services and others require voluntary participation. How would you characterize the balance between voluntary participation and more heavy-handed data collection from which citizens cant opt out?

The Health Code Program was a system of hundreds of different apps used for contact tracing, where people voluntarily answered questions about their contacts, travel, and exposure. The question about the extent to which this is mandatory comes into play as the economy flickers back to life, and a lot of places require a green signal on your app to enter. Its very unevenly enforced, and its more enforced in places like Beijing than Shanghai, where its not much of a part of life. Theres a perception that its mandatory, widespread, and centralized, and the reality on the ground is so much messier.

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What characterizes viral disinformation in China versus what we see in the U.S.?

Theres a much stronger effort by the Chinese government to control the narrative, from the early days of the virus when doctors and hospitals trying to sound the alarm were censored. For weeks after, the government tried to really clamp down on the way people were talking about the virus, even in private WeChat accounts. In the U.S., its the private sector that does content moderation to filter what platforms consider misinformation. When the stakes are so high, the question for the United States is how we control misinformation when its in the public interest in a way that doesnt look like authoritarianism.

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For more, watch Samm in a recent Social-Distancing Social: How Will COVID-19 Alter Our Relationship With China?

Future Tense Recommends

When I discovered Imaginary Worlds, the podcast by former NPR producer Erik Molinsky, it was as if Id found a new quadrant of my brain that revealed hidden meanings and connections between beloved works of science fiction and fantasy that I thought already knew well. Molinsky explores both the familiar and the unexpected sides of imagination, from religion in Harry Potter to pandemics in World of Warcraft. He interviews creators, fans, and scholars in conversations that reveal the profound impact of alternate universes on our own.Ed Finn, director of the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University and academic director of Future Tense

What Next: TBD

On Friday on Slates technology podcast, Lizzie OLeary spoke with Shannon Palus, staff writer for Slate, and Natalie E. Dean, assistant professor of biostatistics at the University of Florida, about whether you should get one of those new antibody tests. . And last week, Lizzie spoke with Elizabeth Dwoskin, Silicon Valley correspondent at the Washington Post, about how tech giants are seeing the crisis as an opportunity.

Margaret from Future Tense

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
Watchdog Office Recommends Reinstatement of Health Official Who Filed Whistleblower Complaint

A watchdog office that received a whistleblower complaint from a doctor removed as head of a health office said he should be reinstated while officials investigate, according to the doctors lawyers.

Dr. Rick Bright headed the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), an office thats part of the Department of Health of Human Services (HHS). Bright says the removal as head of BARDA stems from his attempts to push back against politically-motivated promotion of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, two malaria drugs being used to treat COVID-19 patients.

Bright himself requested emergency use authorization for chloroquine, enabling the federal government to distribute donated doses to hospitals, HHS told The Epoch Times. Food and Drug Administration Chief Scientist Denise Hinton said in a letter that Bright requested authorization for both chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine.

Bright, who filed a whistleblower complaint on Tuesday, should be reinstated while his complaint is investigated, the Office of Special Counsel said, according to Brights lawyers. Dozens of such stays were negotiated with agencies in fiscal year 2019, according to the office (pdf).

Debra Katz and Lisa Banks, two lawyers with Democratic political connections, said they were told on Thursday that there was ample evidence suggesting Brights removal was made in retaliation.

The office told the lawyers it would be contacting HHS to request a hold on the action for 45 days. The office has made a threshold determination that HHS violated the Whistleblower Protection Act by removing Dr. Bright from his position because he made protected disclosures in the best interest of the American public, Katz and Banks said in a statement.

Brights lawyers called on HHS Secretary Alex Azar to let Bright return to his position.

A spokesman for the Office of Special Counsel told The Epoch Times: OSC cannot comment on or confirm the status of open investigations.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar at the CPAC convention in National Harbor, Md., on Feb. 28, 2019. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

HHS spokeswoman Caitlin Oakley said in a statement: This is a personnel matter that is currently under review. However, HHS strongly disagrees with the allegations and characterizations in the complaint from Dr. Bright.

HHS transferred Barda to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to work on testing.

Bright is scheduled to testify before House Committee Subcommittee on Health on May 14.

President Donald Trump told reporters this week that Bright seems like a disgruntled employee thats trying to help the Democrats win an election.

He certainly seemed to have a very well-packaged deal. And hes got the same lawyers that some other well-known people had, Trump added. Katz and Banks represented Christine Blasey Ford, a professor who nearly derailed the confirmation of Trumps Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in 2018 after accusing him of sexual assault.

Bright told CBS 60 Minutes that hes not disgruntled.

I am frustrated at a lack of leadership. I am frustrated at a lack of urgency to get a head start on developing lifesaving tools for Americans. Im frustrated at our inability to be heard as scientists. Those things frustrate me, he said.

Bright said moving him to NIH didnt make sense.

To take me out of our organization focused on drugs and vaccines and diagnostics in the middle of a pandemic, of the worst public health crisis that our countrys faced in a century, and decapitate the BARDA organization. To move me over to a very small focused project of any scale, of any level importance is not responsible, he said.
Tallian, too, said the Republican incumbent has spent too much money to push right-wing issues.

However, she said Democratic attorneys general are a front line of defense on many of these issues at the national level as the Trump administration seeks to overturn environmental protections, put tighter limits on food stamps and overturn programs like Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals.

Yes, I would be an activist attorney general on climate change issues, Tallian said.

Electing Joe Biden president would go a long way toward ending what the Trump administration is seeking, Weinzapfel said.

Hill is spending Indiana taxpayers money on frivolous lawsuits that push a right-wing agenda on issues involving women, LGBTQ rights and a whole lot of things I just cant abide, Tallian said.

Both candidates favor reform on cannabis use.

Indiana hasnt kept up, Weinzapfel said. Even Kentucky is building rational policy.

Tallian has been outspoken on the issue.
I feel about vaccines like I feel about tests. This is going to go away without a vaccine, Trump said, a statement at direct odds with the physicians on his coronavirus task force. Its going to go away and its, were not going to see it again, hopefully, after a period of time. You may have some, some flare-ups, in the fall or later, the president said.
By Online Desk

The nationwide tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases neared 60,000 on Saturday and the death toll topped the 1,90-mark after hundreds more tested positive for the deadly virus infection in several states, while worries mounted globally about re-emergence of the outbreak after reopening of locked down economies.

Adding to the concerns, the fresh cases included at least two foreign returnees who had reached Kerala on May 7 in two separate first-day flights -- one from Dubai and another from Abu Dhabi -- under a massive ongoing evacuation plan of the central government to bring back stranded Indians abroad.

While large numbers of cases continued to get detected in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Delhi, among other places, experts have warned the numbers may rise further in the coming days due to the ongoing movement of lakhs of migrant workers being facilitated by trains and buses to help them reach their native places and because of a large number of Indians stranded abroad, along with expatriates, being brought back in special flights.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the testing capacity for COVID-19 has been ramped up to around 95,000 tests per day and a total of over 15 lakh tests have been conducted so far across hundreds of government and private labs.
A group of Massachusetts cannabis industry representatives on Saturday has made its pitch to a reopening advisory board appointed by Gov. Charlie Baker.

The Commonwealth Dispensary Association, among those at the meeting, says it has a COVID-19 safety plan that incorporates national best practices and input from all its 38 members.

In addition to the CDA, industry representatives that met with the 17-member advisory board on Saturday morning were Joseph Lusardi, the CEO of Curaleaf, Amanda Rositano, the president of NETA, Jay Youmans, a principal at Smith, Costello & Crawford and Kobie Evans, a co-founder of Pure Oasis in Boston, the first economic empowerment applicant to open in the state.

We are greatly appreciative to the Lieutenant Governor [Karyn Polito], Secretary [of Housing and Economic Development Mike Kennealy], and the advisory board for their time and service, said David Torrisi, the president of the CDA, in a statement on Saturday afternoon. We look forward to safely reopening the Massachusetts economy in close collaboration with the Administration.

Recreational marijuana shops have been closed since March 24 after being deemed non-essential by Baker. Massachusetts is the only state with legal marijuana that has shut down recreational businesses during the pandemic. Medical marijuana, however, was deemed essential.

The CDA represents 80% of the states medical and adult-use industry, according to the statement.

In the time since recreational marijuana stores have been closed, the CCC has reported a spike in new registrations of medical patients. That increase in medical patients led to concern about the medical supply chain. The commission last month decided to allow the recreational market to support the medical market with wholesale transfers.

During the pandemic, the CCC has allowed medical dispensaries to offer curbside pickup to patients and has said patient renewal certifications can be submitted after a phone consultation.

Related Content:
Paedophile Jeffrey Epstein arranged for three young women to meet Prince Andrew at his notorious New York mansion, a former model who was part of the billionaires inner circle claimed last night.

The women, who were all in their early 20s, were told to dress up beautifully for the meetings with the Duke of York at the tycoons 60 million home, she claimed in an exclusive interview with The Mail on Sunday.

At least two of the alleged meetings are believed to have been during Andrews now-infamous stay with the convicted sex offender in December 2010.

An international model involved in American billionaire Jeffrey Epstein (right)'s inner circle has claimed to have knowledge of Prince Andrew (left)'s infamous stay with the sex offender in 2010

Three young women were arranged by paedophile Epstein to meet Prince Andrew at the American tycoon's New York mansion in December 2010. The Duke was caught waving goodbye to a female on December 6 at Epstein's home (pictured)

Epstein (left) was also photographed leaving the mansion on the same day accompanied by a young woman

If true, the claims would undermine Andrews account of the six-day trip which has plagued him for almost a decade and ultimately led to his withdrawal from public life.

In his disastrous Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis last year, Andrew insisted that the sole purpose of the visit was to cut ties with Epstein.

Many were astonished by his claim and questions were raised about why he needed to stay at the mansion at all  and why he stayed for so long.

Another female (pictured) was captured leaving Epstein's mansion on the same day Prince Andrew was photographed there at around 3.44pm

In a damning interview with Emily Maitlis last year, Prince Andrew revealed the sole purpose of the trip was to cut ties with Epstein. If the model's account of the events is proven true, it would undermine the Duke's account of the six-day trip

The comings and goings of a string of glamorous women and celebrities, including Woody Allen, also raised eyebrows. Now one woman, who was so close to Epstein that she was in the financiers Upper East Side townhouse at the same time as Andrew, has broken her silence to reveal her version of events.

It is the first time a source close to the paedophile, who was found dead in his New York jail cell last year, has given an account of what happened during Andrews stay in Manhattan.

In bombshell testimony, the insider, who we have agreed not to name, claimed:

The Duke treated Epsteins house like it was his and stayed in an opulent bedroom that was dubbed Room Britannica

Epstein used Andrew to attract women to his home and as a promotion tool to rebuild his reputation after serving 13 months in jail following his conviction for sex offences in 2008

The tycoon falsely promised young women that their reward for meeting the Duke would be a bright career future, powerful connections and money

Andrew asked one of the women whether she had a boyfriend

Epstein bragged about watching the film The Kings Speech with Andrew in an exclusive screening at his home before its UK release

Andrew may have had his feet massaged by a woman while watching the Oscar-winning movie starring Colin Firth, which depicts how his grandfather, King George VI, battled to overcome a stammer.

A spokesman for the Duke last night declined to comment.

The claims come after this newspaper disclosed in March details of an explosive book by US lawyer Bradley Edwards, who has represented a number of Epsteins victims, including Prince Andrews accuser Virginia Roberts.

A book by Bradley Edwards (above, middle) revealed in an explosive book how US prosecutors conspired with Epstein's lawyers to hide the scale of the American's child sex abuse

His book showed how US prosecutors conspired with Epsteins lawyers to hide the scale of his child sex abuse. Andrew has been accused of sleeping with Miss Roberts  allegations he has repeatedly and strenuously denied.

The new claims today will pile pressure on Andrew, who has been accused of failing to co-operate with an FBI probe into Epsteins sex trafficking ring.

Our source was close to Epstein for several years and, like many of the women in his orbit, is from a former Eastern Bloc country, which the MoS has chosen not to name to protect her.

She claims not to be one of his victims although, over the course of successive interviews, she made it clear she was terrified of him.

I still have nightmares that he is alive and knows that I communicate with reporters, she said.

Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, the woman explains she was terrified of Epstein (pictured), who died in jail in December 2019, and still has nightmares of him still being alive

During Andrews disastrous BBC interview in November, he said that he stayed in Epsteins palatial 71st Street home because it was a convenient place to stay and it was honourable to end his friendship with the financier in person.

The Queens second son likened the 21,000 sq ft mansion to a railway station due to the fact that there were people coming in and out of that house all the time.

Pushed on why he stayed at the home of a convicted sex offender, he said: Now, I went there with the sole purpose of saying to him that because he had been convicted, it was inappropriate for us to be seen together.

The insider, however, believes Epstein asked Andrew to New York  and then invited a number of young women to meet him.

I think that it was Epstein who invited Andrew to NYC, she told the MoS. The girls were going to Epsteins house specifically to meet Andrew, not just Epstein.

The model also described Prince Andrew (pictured) as an important promotion tool for the American tycoon and that the Duke helped Epstein to 'attract women'

'I think Andrew was incredibly useful for him as a promotion tool. He had just left jail, and to show a guest of such a level was perfect for his social capital. He was telling everyone that the prince was in the city.

The source has named three women  all in their early 20s  who she says were specifically invited to meet the Duke. The MoS has seen evidence that at least two of the women  and possibly all three  visited the mansion during his stay at Epsteins home in December 2010.

Before they came, they were asked to get dressed beautifully, and as a reward they were promised a bright career future, powerful connections and money, the source said. Andrew asked one of the girls if she had a boyfriend.

The source claims the women would have waited in a room known as the Oval Office on the ground floor of the mansion beforehand. Girls were coming at different times  it was a lot like a private viewing, she added.

One of the three women named by the insider was Latvian-born model Lana Zakocela, who has worked for Victorias Secret, the company owned by Epsteins only known financial client, Les Wexner.

The insider named Latvian model Lana Zakocela, who has appeared as a model for Victoria Secret, as one of the three women who were asked to meet the Duke

The Mail on Sunday has agreed not to identify the other two women named by the source.

Miss Zakocela, 32, was photographed arriving at the townhouse at 3.46pm on December 6. At 4.30pm on the same day, Andrew was filmed peering from the door of the mansion and waving to Katherine Keating, the daughter of former Australian prime minister Paul Keating. Miss Keating is not one of the women named by the source.

From her luxurious home in the Hollywood Hills, Miss Zakocela said she was told to go to Epsteins mansion by her agent Jean-Luc Brunel, who had close ties with the financier.

Miss Zakocela, who is now a health and wellness adviser, described attending a gathering at the house but does not remember meeting Prince Andrew or even whether he was there.

Jean-Luc he would say, You, you and you youre going here. And we would go to these things. They happened all the time  it was part of business. There were other girls there and there were Jeffreys friends  men and women.

Ms Zakocela, who was told to go to Esptein's mansion by her agent, said she did not recall seeing Prince Andrew there but had met the American billionaire 'once or twice'

I dont remember the names. I dont know if Andrew was there. I didnt know who he was.

She added: I only met Jeffrey once or twice. What people wont say is that he was nice, he was intelligent, he was good fun. He never behaved badly with me.

On December 2, four days before Miss Zakocelas visit, Andrew is believed to have been the guest of honour at a dinner organised in the mansion by PR guru and party host Peggy Siegal.

In the following days, a string of people were seen leaving the property including Woody Allen and his wife Soon-Yi Previn, and Susan Hamblin, a confidante of Epstein.

Speaking to Vanity Fair magazine earlier this year, Ms Siegal said Epstein had asked her to arrange guests for the party  on the day of the event. She wanted to be involved, she added, because she was promoting The Kings Speech, which was being released in the UK the following month and which was later crowned Best Film at the Oscars.

I thought it was strange that someone who had a prince in his house as a houseguest couldnt figure out a few people to invite for dinner, she said. On the other hand, I had my own selfish reasons because I wanted to tell Andrew about The Kings Speech. The MoS source claimed Andrew and Epstein watched the film together in a private screening probably organised for them by Siegal.

I know Epstein and Andrew watched The Kings Speech together before the official release, because Epstein was sharing with us how fascinating it was for him to watch the movie with Andrew, she said.

It is believed Prince Andrew and Epstein watched 'The King's Speech' in an exclusive screening at the American's home - a film where Colin Firth (middle) plays the role of Andrew's grandfather King George VI

I think it was Peggy Siegal who shared all the movies with him before they were released.

The source claims that Epstein  who she said had a home cinema in a loft room on the top floor of the mansion  would insist on having his feet massaged while he watched films and believes Andrew may also have had one too.

Whenever Epstein watched a movie, he requested girls to give him and his guests a foot massage, she said. I am pretty certain Andrew was given the same treatment. It is unlikely they watched the movie alone and without a massage.

It emerged last year that an influential literary agent had claimed he saw Epstein and Andrew being given foot massages by two Russian women. John Brockman claimed the Duke  introduced to him as Andy  complained that, unlike him, Prince Albert of Monaco was able to go out and does whatever he wants, and nobody cares.

At that point I realised the recipient of [the] foot massage was Prince Andrew, Duke of York, he told a client in an email exchange published in a US magazine. Andrew denied the claim last year during his Newsnight interview.

The source said one of the three women she claims were invited to meet the Duke was regularly ordered to give foot massages in Epsteins New York home.

The source also revealed that Epstein (left) ordered women to give him regular foot massages while he watched movies

She described a hierarchy of young women around Epstein and how those who had little or no modelling experience  or came from poorer backgrounds  were forced to give foot massages by Epstein.

But a source close to Prince Andrew said: This has all the hallmarks of a campaign thats been waged against the Duke for more than a decade.

'Theres never any allegation of criminality, just insinuation hes somehow done something wrong. In short, it is yet another attempt to traduce the Duke.

To deliberately conflate serious cases of wrongdoing by Epstein with whether or not the Duke enjoyed a foot massage a decade ago is both misleading and counterproductive to justice.

A source to Prince Andrew said the possibility of the Duke receiving a foot massage from one of these young women is 'misleading' and is part of a campaign 'that's been waged against the Duke for more than a decade'

Despite the steady thoroughfare of guests coming and going at the property, the source claims Epstein rarely invited friends to stay over in his house for extended periods.

Andrew, however, was an exception. The Duke would stay in a room decorated like a Royal residence on the third floor, she claimed.

She described how it had dark green walls, long curtains and a marble bathroom. The second floor of the mansion, she said, was Epsteins personal floor.

I think it was Epstein who told me that the room was decorated just like Andrews palace, with dark green walls and a certain type of curtains. The room was even nicknamed Room Britannica. Epstein hosted plenty of guests.

He loved to brag about his beautiful houses and how rich he is. If he himself stayed in the house for a month, then guests stayed for a day or two. All of them had to come for a short visit. It was different with Andrew  because he was a prince.

The model also said that Epstein's other guests would normally stay for a day or two - but Andrew got special dispensation as he was a prince

She added: It seems to me that Epstein used Prince Andrew to attract women. The source claimed Andrew was perfectly at home in the huge townhouse.

Andrew behaved like he felt himself at home there, he was even going to the kitchen where people were cooking meals... he moved around the house like it was his.

The source described how Epstein effectively ran a cult. For years she accepted his outrageous lie that he had only once been involved with an underage girl, and that was because he had been tricked by a fake ID document. She now, however, concedes that her former friend crippled many lives.

Epsteins death last year emboldened the source to discuss the tycoons relationship with Andrew.

I am ready to share my thoughts and my memories. I have notes from the past, and there is a desire to share, she said. There was definitely a cult. We were scared of him and there wasnt even a thought we could have done something that he would not like. Not a thought.

Last night David Boies, a lawyer who represents more than a dozen women who say they were abused by Epstein, questioned the Dukes claim that he visited the financier to break off their friendship.

One suspects, given the length of time he was there, it was a trip like any other trip, he said.

Additional reporting: Valeria Sukhova and Daniel Bates
30 per cent of the AirPods, approximately three to four million units, would be manufactured in Vietnam, according to newswire Nikkei Asian Review.

"The mass production of AirPods in Vietnam started as early as in March," a person familiar with the matter said. "The Vietnamese officials even granted special permits for a key Apple AirPods assembler to help the company bring in engineers to the country for smooth production during the lockdown."

Previously, the giant had ordered its suppliers to produce up to 45 million units in the first half of the year to keep up with the surging demand for the wireless earphones.

Apple will produce millions of AirPods in Vietnam to diversify operations

A couple of weeks ago, Apple posted job advertisements in Vietnam on LinkedIn, including the post of operations manager based in Hanoi and test engineers in Ho Chi Minh City.

These recruitment notices add more credence to previous rumours that the firm would ramp up its outsourcing manufacturing to Vietnam, while Foxconn, the worlds biggest electronics contract manufacturer and a key supplier of Apple, also has a facility in Bac Ninh province.

Nikkei cited the familiar source, "It's still an irreversible trend that big US tech companies will need to gradually seek production bases outside of China. Most of the US companies including Apple are looking for non-China production. (...) Some prefer Vietnam and some like Thailand or India, and some chose the Americas and others Southeast Asian nations."

In fact, a variety of US corporations such as Google and Microsoft are allegedly making further inroads into the country. HP and Dell are also said to be moving up to 30 per cent of their notebook production to Vietnam.

Meanwhile, Inventec, an AirPod assembler, is currently building a plant in Vietnam at Apple's request.

Merry Electronics, Apples acoustic component supplier, is reportedly collaborating with Luxshare to prepare a facility in Vietnam. The company said its operations will begin this summer.

Other Apple suppliers such as Foxconn and Pegatron are also increasing their footprint in north Vietnam, even though they are not necessarily helping to make Apple products there at the moment.

Previously, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast Vietnams GDP to grow at 2.7 per cent this year, higher than that of its regional peers.

However, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc demanded that the country must obtain a GDP growth rate higher than IMFs forecast, to be the highest in Southeast Asia.

Vietnam stopped social distancing restrictions, even in several high-risk localities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City last month.
A sign hangs on the window of a restaurant advertising the establishment is still open for pickups and deliveries during a statewide stay-at-home order in an effort to reduce the spread of the new coronavirus, Friday, March 27, 2020, in Englewood, Colo. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 20:13:22|Editor: huaxia

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by Zhang Jianhua, Chanthaphaphone Mixayboua

VIENTIANE, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Resisting risks from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chinese and Lao engineers and workers are working around the clock to extend the China-Laos railway north to the border.

In Lao capital Vientiane, the early May's scorching sun has not dispersed the risks of the pandemic, while the Chinese and Lao railway builders on the outskirts of the city have been sweating like bulls, struggling to lay rails towards China, as to ensure the completion on time.

"I have driven trains travelling around China, but this is the first time I have driven a train abroad. The tracks are laid well, and it is much comfortable to run on them," 31-year-old Chinese train driver Chen Jian said to Xinhua on Thursday on an engineering train carrying track ballasts to the construction site.

Chen is working for the China Railway No. 2 Engineering Group (CREC-2) which is undertaking all the railing work of the China-Laos railway.

With its first 500-meter-long rail steadily laid on the subgrade in Vientiane, the CREC-2 kicked off its track laying work on March 27. Till early May, the Chinese company has completed over 30 kilometers' track laying, and Chen has become the first train driver to run on the first modern advanced railway in Laos.

"It's hot in the driving room of the Dongfeng 4B diesel locomotive. It can be really steaming without air conditioning," when asked his feeling on the railway, Chen smiled and said.

Ren Chengneng has been in Laos for nine months and is serving as the general technical manager of the railway's railing. This may be his last railway construction mission before his retirement, and the reporter can feel his enthusiasm for the job when taking the train with him.

He told Xinhua that he is happy to be able to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative construction, and in the construction of the China-Laos Railway at the end of his career. However, he has some concerns about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, since many Chinese staff can not return to their posts in Laos and some local staff have to stay at home because of the lockdown in Laos.

"First of all, we must ensure the health and working status of our available staff. We have actively carried out epidemic prevention in Laos, and formed emergency medical teams along the railway to handle emergency treatment and coordinate epidemic prevention materials distribution," Lei Chao, secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) working committee at the CREC-2 railing base in Vientiane told reporters on Thursday.

"At present, we are short of almost half of the personnel. Everyone here is working in multiple roles."

"In order to maintain the current construction pace along the China-Laos railway, we are comprehensively implementing the control measures to ensure progress, quality and safety," Hu Bin, the CREC-2 railing project manager in Vientiane, said.

He said that almost half of his Chinese management and technical staff have been working on the frontline and working overtime. "We are also recruiting newly graduated students from Lao universities to our team."

With the efforts made, the Chinese engineering company has raised its track laying pace from two kilometers per three days at the beginning to one kilometer each day, and created favorable conditions for the timely opening of the entire China-Laos railway.

"We are extending the railway northward and extending to China. The closer we are to our homeland, the more excited we are," Lei said.

He said the Lao government has offered a lot of convenience to the railway construction. "This railway can be built and opened on time. We have this confidence."

According to Laos-China Railway Co., Ltd., a joint venture based in Vientiane in charge of the construction and future operation of the railway, after the occurrence of the COVID-19 infection in Laos, the participating units have implemented prevention and control measures, optimized construction organization, scientifically allocated resources, and steadily promoted the project.

So far, the railway's off-line bridges, tunnels, roadbeds and other civil engineering work have entered the final stage, and the on-line track, power, communication signal, mechanical and electrical engineering, and station building have been fully launched.

The 414 km railway, with 198 km tunnels and 62 km bridges, will run from the Boten border gate in northern Laos, bordering China, to Vientiane with an operating speed of 160 km per hour.

The electrified passenger and cargo railway is built with the full application of Chinese management and technical standards.

The project started in December 2016 and is scheduled to be completed and open to traffic in December 2021.
This really helps us kind of make a transition for offering more of our programs in a way where people can participate at a distance.

There already are a couple of online writing workshop platforms the MWC is looking into, he said, adding that other organizations have used them for writing workshops and the like before COVID-19, so the infrastructure is there. Whatever they choose will be as user-friendly as possible, he said, especially for patrons who might not be very comfortable working virtually.

While its better to be in a room with people, he said, moving programming online is better than having to cancel it. Plus, we feel like if we can continue (to) offer our programs when we were planning to offer them online, they might be able to reach people it might not otherwise have been able to, he said, including folks who perhaps wanted to attend but were unable to travel.

In Bishop Hill, the Heritage Association plans to use its funds to cover salaries, utilities, maintenance for its nine buildings (including a museum and shops), and more.

Were very honored and grateful that we did receive the grant, said Bishop Hill Heritage Association Administrator Todd DeDecker.
BEIJING, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe on Friday held separate phone talks with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Tea Banh.

Speaking to Shoigu, Wei noted that China has achieved major strategic achievements in stemming the spread of COVID-19, stressing that China and Russia have been assisting and supporting each other in the fight against COVID-19.

Wei called on the two militaries to promote their exchanges and cooperation, adding that the Chinese military is willing to continue cooperating with the Russian military to strengthen border control and jointly curb the spread of the virus.

Shoigu expressed gratitude to China for its support and assistance, noting that the Russian side is willing to continue cooperating with China.

During the talk with Tea Banh, Wei said the Chinese government and people fought bravely against COVID-19, noting that while making solid efforts in curbing the virus, the Chinese side stands ready to promote high-level communications between the two militaries and strengthen pragmatic cooperation.

Tea Banh congratulated on China's achievements and spoke highly of China's contributions to the global cooperation on fighting the pandemic, adding that the Cambodian side appreciates China's assistance and is willing to strengthen cooperation with China on the prevention and control of COVID-19.
India's third Covid wave likely to peak on Jan 23, daily cases to stay below 4 lakh: IIT Kanpur scientist

'Road to Lipulekh within our territory,' says India on Nepal's objections

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, May 09: India on Saturday, said the road that was opened for use by pilgrims of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra lies well within Indian territory.

The response comes a day after raised objection over India inaugurating a strategically crucial link road connecting the Lipulekh pass at a height of 17,000 feet along the border with China in Uttarakhand with Dharchula.

"The recently inaugurated road section in Pithoragarh district in the state of Uttarakhand lies completely within the territory of India. The road follows the pre-existing route used by the pilgrims of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. Under the present project, the same road has been made pliable for the ease and convenience of pilgrims, locals and traders," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"India and Nepal have established mechanism to deal with all boundary matters. The boundary delineation exercise with Nepal is ongoing. India is committed to resolving outstanding boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue and in the spirit of our close and friendly bilateral relations with Nepal," the ministry said.

The 80-km-long road inaugurated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday is expected to help pilgrims visiting Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet.

After inaugurating the road through video-conferencing, Singh said pilgrims going to Kailash-Mansarovar will now be able to complete their journey in one week instead of up to three weeks.

The road originates at Ghatiabagarh and ends at Lipulekh pass, the gateway to Kailash-Mansarovar. The Kailash-Mansarovar yatra involves trekking at high altitudes of up to 19,500 feet, under inhospitable conditions, including extreme weather and rugged terrain.

Nepal's Foreign Affairs Ministry in a statement said the government "has learnt with regret" about the inauguration of the link road connecting to Lipulekh pass, which Nepal claims to be part of its territory.

"This unilateral act runs against the understanding reached between the two countries including at the level of the Prime Ministers that a solution to boundary issues would be sought through negotiation."

Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani, a disputed border area between Nepal and India.

Both India and Nepal claim Kalapani as an integral part of their territory - India as part of Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district and Nepal as part of Darchula district.


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As a part of the 'Vande Bharat' Mission, the first evacuation flight from Bahrain carrying 177 passengers landed in Cochin at 11:30 pm on Friday. According to reports, the flight carried passengers each from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, while the rest of the passengers are from various districts in Kerala.

Upon arrival, the passengers immediately went through the thermal scanner and a health help desk where they were informed about the quarantine period. All the symptomatic people were taken to a nearby state-run hospital, while the passengers from other districts were sent to their home districts where they have to be in a 14-day quarantine period at the state-run Coronavirus centres. Meanwhile, pregnant women, children and elderly people have been asked to home quarantine themselves.

'Vande Bharat' Mission

In a major relief for Indians stranded abroad, the Centre had announced that their travel will be arranged via aircraft and naval ships in a phased manner. The Ministry of Home Affairs also issued the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the movement of the returnees. The mission will go on for 7 days and will rescue stranded Indians from over 11 countries in 64 Air India flights carrying over 14,800 people. The flights will take off for 12 countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Maldives, Singapore and the US.

Taking to Twitter, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that the Vande Bharat Mission is picking up pace. On Friday, except for Bahrain, flights from Singapore, Dhaka, and Riyadh also returned to India.

Read: Kerala: Plea in High Court challenges move to make Aarogya Setu app mandatory

Mission Vande Bharat is picking pace.



182 Indians from Bahrain, 234 from Singapore, 168 from Dhaka & 152 from Riyadh return back on various flights today.



Great effort by @airindiain, our missions abroad & @MEAIndia. pic.twitter.com/EjSQVZxIta  Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) May 8, 2020

Read: Mumbai: BMC arranges over 3,000 rooms in 88 hotels to quarantine evacuees

SOP for returning to India

According to the SOP, those wishing to return to India must register themselves with the Indian Missions in the country where they are stranded, along with necessary details as prescribed by the Ministry of External Affairs. They will have to travel to India by non-scheduled commercial flights that'll be arranged by the Civil Aviation Ministry (MoCA) and naval ships to be arranged by the Department of Military Affairs (DMA). Only those crew/staff, who have tested negative for COVID-19, will be allowed to operate the flight/ship.

As per the MHA, priority will be given to compelling cases in distress including migrant workers/labourers who have been laid off, short term visa holders faced with the expiry of visa, persons with medical emergencies/ pregnant women/ elderly, those required to return to India due to death of family member and students. The cost of travel, as specified by the MoCA and DMA will be borne by such travellers.

Read: BMC amends another order on closure of non-essentials, now allows hardware shops to reopen

Read: Kerala launches 'Ente Sweet Challenge' campaign to energise teens amid COVID-19 lockdown
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched an employment scheme for migrant workers on June 20, saying that during COVID-19 enforced lockdown the talent from cities returned to villages and it will now give a boost to development in rural areas. Launching the 'Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyaan', Modi said there are some people who might not appreciate efforts of villagers in the fight against coronavirus but he applauds them for their efforts.

India's tally of COVID-19 positive cases has reached 59,662, including 1,981 deaths, as per the Union Health Ministry's latest update.

Of these, 39,834 are active cases while 17,846 have been cured or discharged.

The data was updated at 8 am on May 9 on the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's website.

Coronavirus cases in India - May 9 (Source: MoHFW)

With 19,063 COVID-19 cases, Maharashtra continues to be the worst-affected state, followed by Gujarat (7,402), Delhi (6,318) and Tamil Nadu (6,009).

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

Meanwhile, the Centre has issued a revised policy to be followed while discharging COVID-19 patients from hospitals. Now, only severe cases are to be tested before discharge.

The move is significant as India is bracing for a spike in the number of recorded coronavirus cases.

Follow our LIVE Updates on the coronavirus pandemic here

India has also began its first repatriation flight to bring back Indians stranded abroad via its Vande Bharat Mission on May 8. Flights have been scheduled over May 8 to May 15 under the mission.

S. No. Name of State / UT Total Confirmed cases (Including 111 foreign Nationals) Cured/Discharged/ Migrated Deaths ( more than 70% cases due to comorbidities ) 1 Andaman and Nicobar Islands 33 33 0 2 Andhra Pradesh 1887 842 41 3 Arunachal Pradesh 1 1 0 4 Assam 59 34 1 5 Bihar 571 297 5 6 Chandigarh 150 21 1 7 Chhattisgarh 59 38 0 8 Dadar Nagar Haveli 1 0 0 9 Delhi 6318 2020 68 10 Goa 7 7 0 11 Gujarat 7402 1872 449 12 Haryana 647 279 8 13 Himachal Pradesh 50 38 2 14 Jammu and Kashmir 823 364 9 15 Jharkhand 132 52 3 16 Karnataka 753 376 30 17 Kerala 503 484 4 18 Ladakh 42 17 0 19 Madhya Pradesh 3341 1349 200 20 Maharashtra 19063 3470 731 21 Manipur 2 2 0 22 Meghalaya 12 10 1 23 Mizoram 1 0 0 24 Odisha 271 63 2 25 Puducherry 9 6 0 26 Punjab 1731 152 29 27 Rajasthan 3579 1916 101 28 Tamil Nadu 6009 1605 40 29 Telengana 1133 700 29 30 Tripura 118 2 0 31 Uttarakhand 63 46 1 32 Uttar Pradesh 3214 1387 66 33 West Bengal 1678 364 160 Total number of confirmed cases in India 59662* 17847 1981 *States wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation *Our figures are being reconciled with ICMR

Today, on May 9, flights have been scheduled from Dubai, Dhaka, Kuwait, Muscat, Sharjah, Kuala Lumpur, London and Doha. A total of nine flights are planned through the day, arriving in Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Cochin, Lucknow, Trichy and Mumbai.

Globally, there have been over 39.3 lakh confirmed cases of COVID-19. At least 2.74 lakh people have died so far, as per data from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Centre. The United States, Spain, Italy, France, Germany and the UK are the most-affected countries.
Chinese paramilitary police wear protective masks as they march by the entrance to the Forbidden City as it reopened to limited visitors for the May holiday, on May 2, 2020 in Beijing. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

Beijing Likely Deploying Bot Network on Twitter to Spread Pandemic Disinformation, State Department Finds

The U.S. State Department has discovered a coordinated bot campaign on Twitter designed to disseminate Chinese Communist Party (CCP) disinformation, forming part of Beijings campaign to deflect blame over its role in causing the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The departments Global Engagement Center (GEC), which works to expose foreign disinformation efforts, recently identified thousands of inauthentic Twitter accounts used to help Chinese embassies and diplomats spread disinformation.

The GEC has uncovered a new network of inauthentic Twitter accounts, which we assess were created with the intent to amplify Chinese propaganda and disinformation, Lea Gabrielle, head of the GEC, said during a May 8 press briefing.

Its our assessment that this network could be deployed to allow the CCP to rapidly amplify and spread messages around the world, skewing the conversation to its benefit.

Gabrielle said it was highly probable that the effort was linked to the CCP, which is currently engaged in an aggressive information campaign to try and reshape the global narrative around COVID. This campaign, she said, involves attempting to paint the regime as a global leader in the response rather than the source of the pandemic.

In recent months, Chinese diplomats have increasingly taken to Twittera platform banned in Chinato laud the regimes efforts in combating the pandemic, criticize other countries handling of the outbreak, and promote unfounded theories that the virus originated from outside of China, such as the United States.

In one case, a spokesperson for Chinas foreign ministry shared a video that claimed that the Chinese national anthem was played in the streets when Chinese doctors arrived in Italywhich was later debunked as a fake, Gabrielle said. The video appeared to show Italians saying, Thank you, China, when, in fact, they were thanking their own health care workers.

But PRC diplomats and party-state media changed the context of the video in Beijings favor and then shared it widely, she said, adding that in this case, the video was amplified by Russian-linked social media accounts.

Bot Networks

Analysis from the GEC showed a surge in new followers of Chinese diplomatic Twitter accounts from Marchwhen the regime escalated its global disinformation push. New followers per day rose from a historical average of 30 per day to over 720 per day a 22-fold increase, Gabrielle said. In addition, many of these followers were newly made accounts.

Both the sudden increase of followers and the very recent creation of many of these accounts point to an artificial network being established to follow and to amplify narratives from Chinese diplomats and foreign ministry officials, she said.

Other indicators pointing to the accounts being part of a bot network were the fact that many of these accounts follow multiple Chinese embassies in different countries and multiple Chinese officials, and that most were created during Beijing hours, Gabrielle said.

For instance, the accounts of Chinese foreign ministry spokespersons Zhao Lijian and Hua Chunying share 3,423 of their most recent 10,000 followers, she said. Almost 40 percent of the most recent followers were created in a six-week period from March 1 to April 25.

Twitter will continue its zero-tolerance approach to platform manipulation and any other attempts to undermine the integrity of our service, a company spokesperson said. When we identify information operation campaigns that we can reliably attribute to state-backed activityeither domestic or foreign-ledwe disclose them to the public.

According to Twitter, the platform recently received 5,000 accounts from the department and has conducted an initial review that didnt find the accounts to be supportive of Chinese regime positions. Many of the accounts also belonged to Western government entities, rights organizations, and journalists. The review was ongoing, the company noted, adding that it planned to share its findings with the GEC.

In response, a State Department spokesperson said that the accounts provided to Twitter represented a small sample of a dataset of nearly 250,000 accounts.

It is not surprising that there are authentic accounts in any sample, the spokesperson said. Our overall analysis is based on a confluence of factors that drive our assessment, which we stand by.

A March study identified 10,000 fake and hijacked Twitter accounts that were part of a Chinese-linked coordinated influence campaign surrounding the pandemic.

The true scale of the influence campaign is likely much bigger; our tracking suggests that the accounts we identified comprise only a portion of the operation, the report by nonprofit media organization ProPublica said.
Suspected hoodlums on Friday attacked police officers attached to Auchi Division in Edo and killed an officer enforcing the Coronavirus curfew imposed by the Federal Government.

Chidi Nwabuzor, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Edo, confirmed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin on Saturday.

Mr Nwabuzor, a deputy superintendent of police, said that serious manhunt is presently ongoing to arrest the hoodlums.

According to him, on Friday night at Auchi, the officer, one Insp. Felix Egbon, and some colleagues were enforcing the COVID-19 curfew imposed by the federal government.

While on it, some mob attacked them, during the attack, unknown hoodlums emerged and shot at the deceased officer.

READ ALSO:

The officer was immediately rushed to the Central Hospital in Auchi, where he was pronounced dead.

A serious manhunt is presently ongoing to arrest the hoodlums whose numbers can not be ascertained, he said.

(NAN)
Amid the suspension of social gathering and directive to observe social distancing amid the COVID-19 outbreak, Ghanaians would join the rest of the world on Sunday, May 10, to celebrate the 2020 Mothers Day uniquely.



This years celebration would not be marked amid grand parties, get together or taking mothers out to busy restaurants in keeping with the COVID-19 protocols as a way to stay safe of the respiratory disease.



Mothers' Day, usually celebrated on the second Sunday of May every year or March in over 40 countries worldwide, comes with showing affection through varied ways including physical contacts like hugs and kisses, and presentation of gifts to mothers, or surprising them with different packages.



Years back, some media institutions could organise get together for people and their mothers to honour mothers on this special day, however, the exercise is not expected to occur this year.



Celebrations of mothers and motherhood can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who held festivals to honour their mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele, however, the most known modern precedent for Mothers Day is the early Christian festival known as



Mothering Sunday, where the faithful would revisit their mothers church in the vicinity of their homes for special service.



The Mothering Sunday tradition with time became a more secular holiday, where children presented flowers and other tokens of appreciation to their mothers.



Mothers' Day in the contemporary world is observed to honour mothers, potential mothers, women who mentor, guide and support others' children, and grandmothers.



The tradition is widely accepted and practised by most religions in the world now and in Ghana, it is observed by Christians, Muslims and Traditionalists.



Mothers are appreciated to make them feel valued, important, special, cherished and loved.



Children, show this appreciation to mothers on this special day for contributing to their lives and wellbeing, thereby, making mothers feel a sense of fulfilment that their love, toils and hard work for their children had not been in vain, hence the need for them to do more.



The Ghana News Agency in an interaction with some members of the public they expressed how they would celebrate their mothers in this COVID-19 period, amid the anti-social and financial challenges it carries.



Hajia Memunatu Nasiru, a 38-year old mother of three, said she would not expect much from her children as they were in their tender ages, however, she would celebrate her mother by wishing her well over the phone and sending her mobile money in the village to get whatever she wants.



Mr Yaw Boakye Junior, a 29-year old teller at a bank, said: I know that my mum since the beginning of the year has wanted to paint her room and change her carpet, so I will surprise her with a paint, painter and carpet this Sunday.



Araba Bordon, a 19-year old Senior High School student, said: I will sing for my mum and get her some less expensive but beautiful jewellery. She knows I dont have money



However, six-year-old Alexander Quaye, who did not know anything about the celebration, said he would wish his mum, a Happy Mothers Day on Sunday as he had learnt about it.



Other individuals gave an assurance to participate in a home talent and cooking competition organised by some media institutions to showcase the cooking, dancing or singing skills of their mothers by recording and post them on social media.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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New statistics from the Victoria Police Department and Kamloops RCMP show a major shift in crime rates during COVID-19 compared to this time last year.

From March 15 to May 2, the number of business breaks and enters in Victoria and Esquimalt jumped from 12 last year to 80 this year  an increase of 567 per cent.

Robbery is also up 56 per cent along with mischief which rose by 40 per cent. Auto theft is up 42 per cent and theft from auto increased by 20 per cent.

The news isn't all bad though.

The number of reported sexual assaults was cut nearly in half, from 20 in 2019 to 11 this year. The number of domestic assaults also dipped and impaired driving is down as well.

The number of mental health related calls rose by 20 per cent and assaults ticked up by just three per cent.

Police in the capital region are reminding residents to secure their valuables, leave nothing in plain sight within vehicles and to keep track of serial numbers for valuable items.

Kamloops mayor blames courts 'inaction' for crime surge

Meanwhile in Kamloops, increased break-ins and thefts from businesses was a focus of the May 5 city council meeting.

Mayor Ken Christian, citing recent RCMP statistics that show a 120-per-cent increase in break and enter offences over last year, said the increase is largely "crimes of opportunity" targeting businesses that are partially or completely closed.

Christian said break and enter offences at businesses increased from 33 in 2019 to 73 in the weeks after the beginning of COVID-19 restrictions.

He acknowledged that "suppressed economic activity" resulting from COVID-19-related restrictions may contribute to the opportunity and motive for increased crime. However, Christian was more critical of "the inaction of the provincial court in particular."

The city's director of community protective services told councillors that part of the problem is that offenders are receiving conditional releases from custody instead of jail time because of backups in the court system.

Story continues

Christian Amundson/ CBC

"I know the chief judge of the B.C. Provincial Court raised that issue with the attorney general some weeks ago," Christian told the council meeting.

"I think if we can stumble through having a council meeting and now we're learning how to do a public hearing electronically, there's got to be a quicker reaction from the court system," he said.

'Immediate need' to restore court operations

On Friday, Attorney General David Eby announced that a federal government committee aimed at addressing the "immediate need" to restore and stabilize court operations held its first meeting by teleconference. Eby is a member of the committee which is chaired by Canada's Chief Justice Richard Wagner. The announcement from the attorney general's office said a primary focus of the committee is resuming in-person judicial processes and hearings.

With files from Kieran Oudshoorn, Deborah Wilson and Daybreak Kamloops
As Tamil Nadu crossed 10,000 cases on May 15  the first case, a 45-year-old man with a travel history to Oman, was detected in early March  a wholesale market of fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers in Chennai has become the latest warzone for the administration battling the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. According to a state government official who did not wish to be named, around 4000 people linked to the market have already been tested out of which 1000 are primary contacts. At least 2500 positive cases currently pertain to the Koyambedu cluster, which is higher than the total number of cases, close to 1350, linked to the Tablighi Jamaat religious conference held in New Delhi in mid-March, and which drove up Tamil Nadus numbers in April.

The Koyambedu hotspot is also responsible for cases in 10 districts other than Chennai including Ariyalur, Chengalpattu, Kanchipuram, Cuddalore, Perambalur, Madurai and Tiruvallur. We have either carried out facility quarantine or home quarantine of those who started the journey from Koyambedu, the official quoted above, said.

Spread over 54 acres, Koyambedu market complex is one of the largest wholesale market complexes for perishable goods in India. It houses more than 1000 wholesalers and over 2000 retail shops. In non-pandemic times, Koyambedu receives nearly 1500 truckloads of horticultural produce and at least 100,000 visitors, daily. Usually bustling with customers, vendors and trucks ferrying goods from other parts of the state, the market complex often witnesses a rush before festival days. However, by the time that the Tamil New Year was celebrated on April 14, the second lockdown had been announced, and as the work had dwindled  barely 400 trucks now visited the market daily  several labourers returned to their home districts. By then, however, the virus had spread among workers. Now, it began to leave Chennai.

On May 4, 300 of the 527 new cases reported were found to be linked to the market. Within hours, it was shut down.

According to S Ram Mohan, a core committee member of the Joint Action Committee of vegetable vendors associations at Koyambedu market, the district administration had shut down the flower and fruit sales at the market complex well before May 4. By then, even the vegetable retailers had stopped operations from the complex. On April 28, retail traders and fruit sellers from Koyambedu had been relocated to the bus terminus at Madhavaram, a suburb in the citys northwest. Expecting wholesalers to do likewise would have been difficult as few open spaces in the city have the capacity to handle 3000 tonnes of vegetables each day, GD Rajasekaran, president, Koyambedu Periyar Market Association, said.

Mohan added that in the last week of April, administration officials also issued e-passes to wholesalers, their staff and truck labourers who were still entering the market for work. We were already operating at 50% capacity, but even that amounted to at least 40,000 persons, he said. However, the district issued far fewer passes, he claimed. When the announcement was made to shut down the market, Mohan said, there was at least 10 crore worth of vegetables making their way to Koyambedu, and 3 crore vegetables waiting to be sold inside the complex. The committee managed to extend the time of the shut down to the following morning. By 9 am on May 5, almost 85% of the vegetables were sold, in a distress sale, he added.

Panic buying

On April 24, the state government announced a hard lockdown for four days, between April 26 and 29. This led to a spate in panic buying. Mohan recounted scenes of utter chaos in Koyambedu in the two days before the hard lockdown was enforced. On April 30, another round of panic buying ensued after people realized that the second leg of the national lockdown, which was expected to end on May 3, would likely be extended. By this time, however, the first case of Covid-19 had been detected from the market complex.

We had rushed to the market hours after the announcement [of the hard lockdown] thinking we would stock up for our own homes and for sales, as all stores would be shut for three days. But there was already a crazy rush at the market even though it was late. I could see people jostling. My partner later said the crowd was at least four times the normal amount, a wholesale trader who refused to be named, said.

Last week, chief minister Edappadi Panaiswami blamed the traders for not vacating the market when asked in March itself. He said that despite several pleas since March they were adamant on staying put citing losses that would be incurred by them. Now, because many from Koyambedu had travelled to other districts, the number of infected there has gone up. This is the reason for the spike in cases in Chennai also, he said.

However, Mohan countered this and said that no official meeting was held between the wholesale vendors and the authorities in March or April. We had decided to declare a holiday on March 27 and 28, after the lockdown was announced and everyone was prepared for it. On March 26, we were called by the officials who were furious that we had announced the holiday. The president of our association informed us after the meeting that we had been instructed by the government to continue to remain open. The concern was that there should be no stoppage of essential commodities, he said.

The state has now relocated the Koyambedu market complex to Thirumazhisai, 20 km away, in a large vacant plot in a satellite township located between Poonamallee and Sriperumbudur on the Bangalore highway. At 198 licensed wholesale shops have been opened, and the market now opens at 9pm every night. By 6 am, the sales of the day are completed. Watch towers, with policemen, overlook the shops; ever so often, a patrol car would pass by. On Thursday, the district collector of Thiruvallur district held a meeting with the shop owners, stressing on them the need to wear masks, use sanitisers and practice physical distancing, Mohan said.

Pushing up the numbers

Super-spreading events have played a much bigger role in the virus spread in Tamil Nadu than in Maharashtra and Gujarat  two other states that have seen huge numbers of Covid-19 cases, experts said.

The spike in numbers due to the Koyambedu cluster is immediately noticeable. Between April 24 and May 3, the average daily new cases reported in Tamil Nadu were 134; from May 4 to May 13, the average grew to 620 a day.

Persons linked to the market have spread the virus the neighbouring states of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. At least 70 personnel linked to the Manathavady police station in Keralas Wayanad have gone into quarantine as a precautionary measure after three of their colleagues tested positive. The trio is believed to have contracted the virus from a man who was called to the station in connection with a case on April 28 and May 2; he later tested positive for Covid-19. This man is suspected to be a contact of a truck driver, who returned from Koyambedu market, and who has already infected at least 10 persons, including his wife, mother and grandchild. In Andhra Pradesh, eight cases are believed to be linked to the Koyambedu market.

T Jacob John, a former professor of Virology, Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore blamed ad-hoc decisions and panic among people because of the total lockdown. A lack of imagination and understanding of ground realities had allowed opportunities for the virus to spread rapidly, he said, adding that to contain the disease, all people must wear masks outside their home and maintain hand hygiene. It is a simple solution that should be strictly enforced. It should have done long ago, he said.

As the state prepares to come out of the lockdown in a phased manner starting May 17, it must also direct its resources towards cases that will arise from the Shramik Special trains, ferrying migrant workers as well as the return of residents from other countries via flights. Since Friday, the daily bulletin issued by the state government has begun to keep track of the Covid-19 positive cases of passengers returning from other countries and states: six from Maldives, 40 from Maharashtra, among others. In such a scenario, the day-by-day rise of cases linked to the market will add to the pressure on the states health infrastructure.

The good news is that the state is testing much more than it was even last month. Some other experts pointed out that Tamil Nadus high case load was paired with a high testing rate. The state had conducted the highest total number of tests as per the HT dashboard at 280,023 as of Thursday night, which translates into 4179 tests per million people, far higher than the national average of 1540 per million people.

The more you test, the more you find. Tamil Nadu is finding more cases because they are testing more. The state has a strong public health infrastructure, said Dr V Ramana Dhara, professor at Indian Institute of Public Health-Hyderabad. These cases are probably occurring in other states too, but they are not testing more. When testing increases, numbers will also increase, he added.

On Thursday, a group of public health experts met the chief minister and urged him to step up testing and said there was no need to panic with the high numbers. Speaking to reporters, Prabhdeep Kaur of the National Institute of Epidemiology scientists pointed out that Tamil Nadus testing rate was better than many countries and that increased testing was the bedrock to create successful containment strategies.

The increase in number of cases is something to be expected especially as the most stringent components of the lockdown are relaxed. We are seeing the residual of a couple of major clusters, for instance, the Koyambedu cluster, Dr Ram Gopalakrishnan, an infectious disease specialist at Apollo Hospital who is a committee of healthcare and medical experts that consults with the government told HT. The incubation period of this disease is between 2 to 14 days, so whatever happened 2-14 days ago, we are seeing it now. And obviously there was some relaxation in lockdown between the second and third lockdowns, we are seeing the effects of that too now.

With inputs from Sowmiya Ashok
Kerala's Kumbalangi to be first synthetic pad-free village in India

How Kerala Police CCSE under Cyberdome is fighting crimes against children

2 Indians repatriated from Gulf test positive for COVID-19 in Kerala

India

oi-Deepika S

Kocchi, May 09: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday said two people who returned from abroad over the last few days have tested positive for the coronavirus, taking the total number of active cases in the state to 17.

As part of the Centre's 'Vande Bharat Mission', the first few flights brought back Indian nationals, mostly those from Kerala, stranded in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said with the two new patients, the total number of cases in the state has gone up to 505 and there are currently 17 under treatment.

"One patient from Idukki, who was under treatment, has been cured today.The two new cases are now under treatment in Kochi and Kozhikode. They reached the state on May 7 in the Abu Dhabi- Kochi andDubai-Kozhikode flights, respectively," Vijayan told reporters.

"There are 23,930 people under observation in the state out of which 334 are in isolation wards of various hospitals," he said.

Out of the total 505 infected, Kerala has till now cured 485,Vijayan added. The state has reported three deaths.

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Story first published: Saturday, May 9, 2020, 19:31 [IST]
By Ben Klayman and David Shepardson

(Reuters) - Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday said the state's factories can reopen on May 11, removing one of the last major obstacles to North American automakers bringing thousands of laid-off employees back to work amid the coronavirus pandemic.

While reopening the manufacturing sector, Whitmer also extended her state's stay-at-home order by about two weeks to May 28, citing a desire to avoid a second wave of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus.

"It's a major step forward ... to re-engage our economy safely and responsibly," she said at a news conference. "Manufacturing is an important part of our economy."

This week, General Motors Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCA) had said they were targeting resuming vehicle production in North America on May 18, but suppliers would need time to prepare ahead for that date. Ford Motor Co said Thursday it is targeting that day too.

The governor previously extended the state's coronavirus stay-at-home order through May 15, but had lifted restrictions for some businesses. Neighboring Ohio had allowed manufacturing to resume on Monday, putting pressure on Whitmer to follow suit.

Michigan's shutdown had stymied efforts by the Detroit Three and rival automakers to restart vehicle assembly anywhere in the United States, because so many critical parts suppliers are based in the state.

Last week when outlining the safety measures it will institute, Ford highlighted that the auto sector accounts for 6% of U.S. economic output. More than 835,000 U.S. workers are employed in auto manufacturing, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Automakers and their suppliers already have begun gearing up for a possible resumption of work at their U.S. plants, but needed the official go-ahead from Whitmer.

Industry officials had been pressing Whitmer to allow suppliers to reopen starting May 11 so the automakers could resume operations on their target date. They also wanted the green light so they can press Mexico to open its auto sector as suppliers there are also critical for the industry restart.

Story continues

If Mexico does not allow suppliers to restart, automakers will not be able to resume most U.S. production for more than a few days, auto executives said.

Ford said on Thursday it was aiming to restart work at most of its North American plants on May 18 with a lower-than-normal production rate, while parts distribution centers reopen on May 11 and parts plants operate as needed to support the plan. On Wednesday, the No. 1 U.S. automaker GM said it was aiming to reopen its North American plants on May 18, the day after smaller Italian-American rival FCA provided the same target.

The automakers' plans were tacitly approved on Tuesday by the United Auto Workers union, which represents the Detroit automakers' hourly U.S. plant workers. The union had previously said early May was "too soon and too risky" to restart manufacturing.

Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk said in a podcast interview released on Thursday that states' lockdown orders were "unconstitutional" and would not hold up before the U.S. Supreme Court if challenged. He previously called the stay-at-home restrictions "fascist."

Under Whitmer's new order, factories must adopt measures to protect workers, including daily entry screening, no-touch temperature screening as soon as possible and use of protective gear like face masks. Automakers have already rolled out such policies.

Whitmer, a Democrat, has come under pressure from some Michigan residents and Republican lawmakers to ease her lockdown of the state to prevent the spread of COVID-19. She has emphasized a phased approach to reopening the state, addressing regions and businesses that are less affected or better protected.

Whitmer has been mentioned as a potential running mate for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and has been a target of criticism from Republican President Donald Trump.

Michigan, which Trump narrowly won in 2016, is considered a crucial swing state in the November presidential election and the state's COVID-19 infections rank among the highest in the country. As of Thursday, Michigan had more than 45,600 COVID-19 cases and 4,343 deaths, but state officials have said the rate of infection has slowed.

(Reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit and David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
Former So. Baptist Pastor Darrin Patrick dies of 'self-inflicted gunshot wound' at 49

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Correction Appended

Pastor Darrin Patrick, who founded The Journey megachurch in Missouri and served as a teaching pastor at the South Caroline-based multi-site Seacoast Church, died at the age of 49, the church said Friday.

Darrin was target shooting with a friend at the time of his death. An official cause of death has not been released but it appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. No foul play is suspected, Seacoast Church shared in an update Friday evening after announcing his death earlier in the day.

The police investigation into the incident is ongoing and it's unknown whether the self-inflicted gunshot wound was "intentional or unintentional," a representative from the church told The Christian Post on Saturday.

Pastors Greg and Josh Surratt said in a message on the church's website that they first learned of his death Thursday night. "Pastor Greg has traveled to St. Louis to be with Amie and the kids. We are going to walk with them every step of the way through this  they are family," they added.

After learning about Patrick's death, J.D. Greear, pastor of The Summit Church in Durham, North Carolina, and president of the Southern Baptist Convention, shared a message on Twitter, saying: Mourning today the loss of my friend and fellow pastor @darrinpatrick. Darrin was such an encourager to me over the years. Sat at my table. Preached at our church. We know grief of Amie and family must seem unbearable. We love you and are praying for you.

Darrin was a good friend who spurred me on to be a better pastor and husband, Robby Gallaty, pastor at Long Hollow Baptist Church in Hendersonville, Tennessee, said in a statement. He used past experiences from burnout to put safeguards in place to keep the same from happening in my life. Im am still stunned by the news.

In an earlier statement Friday confirming the pastor's death, Seacoast Church said: Darrin was a loved member of the Seacoast family, the teaching team, and pastoral staff and we are mourning his loss. Darrin had a gift for teaching the Word and a heart for encouraging other pastors. God allowed Seacoast to be a part of Darrins story in a time when he needed a family. He was a gift to us and we are thankful for the time the Lord gave him to us.

The church added, His influence and impact cannot be measured. We are surrounding the Patrick family with our prayers and support during this time.

The church has started an online fundraiser to support the Patrick family. As we process our grief and heartache, we want to provide a way for others to give assistance to the Patrick family, and show their deep love and appreciation for what Darrin meant to them, it says.

Ronnie Floyd, president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, also issued a statement:

When a personal tragedy like this occurs we not only grieve, but we also deal with so many other emotions, Floyd said. Once again, we realize that pastors are not any different from other people. We need relationships and friendships that help us walk through life and the challenges of leadership. The stress of ministry mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually is ever-present.

In 2016, Patrick was fired from his position as pastor at The Journey for what his church described as deep historical patterns of sin. Patrick also resigned from his position as vice president of the Acts 29 Network, which plants churches globally.

While Patricks sins did not involve adultery, the church elders said at the time, he did violate the high standard for elders in marriage through inappropriate meetings, conversations, and phone calls with two women.

Patrick said he was devastated by his sins and apologized to the church.

I am utterly horrified by the depth of my sin and devastated by the terrible effects of it on myself, my family and so many others, including all of you. I am so deeply and terribly sorry for the pain that my sin is causing you, as well as the broken trust that my sin has clearly produced. In short, I am a completely devastated man, utterly broken by my sin and in need of deep healing, he said.

Responding to Patricks confession, Southern Baptist ethicist Russell Moore said at the time that Christians should not be shocked when pastors give into the temptation of immorality because sin is just an element of human nature.

An earlier version of this article published on May 8 said Pastor Darrin Patrick died of an apparent suicide. A correction was made on May 9. Police are still investigating and it's not yet known whether the self-inflicted gunshot wound was "intentional or unintentional," a representative from the church told The Christian Post.
China continues to hide and obfuscate COVID-19 data from the world, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday, asserting that he has seen a significant amount of evidence suggesting that a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan was underperforming and the virus could well have emanated from there.

"I have seen a significant amount of evidence that suggests that the lab was underperforming, that there were security risks at the lab and that the virus could well have emanated from there," Pompeo told Ben Shapiro in an interview.

"But I am happy to suspend the decision about that. What we need are answers. There are still people dying," he said.

By Friday, more than 78,000 Americans had died and 13 lakh tested positive for the coronavirus. Globally, more than 273,000 people have died and 39 lakh tested positive for the disease.

The American economy and those of the rest of the world have come to a standstill.

"We have got an economy now that is really struggling and it is all a direct result of the Chinese Communist Party covering up, hiding information, having doctors who wanted to tell the story about where this began, how patient zero was formed and how it emanated from that person, and yet we cannot get 0those answers," Pompeo said.

"Even now, 120-plus days on from the Chinese Communist Party knowing about this virus, they continue to hide and obfuscate the data from the American people and from the world's best scientists," he said.

It is pretty astounding, Pompeo said, when asked if the Chinese government is attempting to stymie any sort of investigation into what happened in their country.

"Whether it was the Australians who simply said, 'Boy, we need an investigation,' the ambassador there -- the Chinese ambassador to Australia -- said, 'Well, we are going to threaten you economically.' We have seen them do the same thing to the EU, when they were about to put out a statement, began to put economic pressure on them," he said.

"This is the worst of Chinese adventurism. We have seen this. We have seen the Chinese Communist Party do this before, threaten small countries, use economic power to exert their influence," Pompeo said.

"It is not how nations that want to truly be transparent, truly be part of the international system -- it is not how they behave. I regret that they have done it because we still have an ongoing crisis. We still do not know where this virus began other than to say we know it came out of Wuhan," he said.
Fiumicino International Airport in Rome is the first one in Europe to use smart helmets to check the temperature of travelers from a safe distance. VOA Correspondent Mariama Diallo explains how the helmets are helping fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  A former daycare center employee faces a criminal charge after a 6-month-old boy fell out of a high chair and landed head first, according to police and court records.

The 28-year-old ex-employee is charged with child endangering, a first-degree misdemeanor. An arraignment date has not been scheduled.

The incident happened about 3 p.m. March 11 at Determined to Grow Child Care on West 117th Street, between Franklin Boulevard and Detroit Avenue.

The employee left the boy in a high chair by himself for two hours without properly securing him in the chair, according to court records and an inspection by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, the state agency that oversees daycares.

The incident happened in the daycares infant room, according to a heavily redacted police report released Friday.

The boy fell on his head, according to court records. The boys mother took him to an area hospital. He suffered a split lip, bruising on his cheek and gums and a bloody mouth, according to the police report.

Messages left with the daycare center were not returned. Attempts to reach the daycare owner were unsuccessful.

State inspectors ordered the employee be fired as part of the corrective action plan. The daycare later notified state inspectors that they fired the employee, according to Ohio Department of Job and Family Services spokesman Bret Crow.

A November 2019 inspection found that a knife was in reach of children. An October 2019 inspection found staff members failed to properly supervise children during indoor play.

Daycare facilities have been largely closed since late March because of the coronavirus pandemic. Some are still operating after they obtained a special pandemic license from the state that limits daycare centers to caring for six or fewer children.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is expected on Monday to announce plans for re-opening daycare centers.

Read more from cleveland.com:

Corrupt former Cuyahoga County Auditor Frank Russo released from federal prison amid coronavirus pandemic

Federal appeals court reinstates Akron mans conviction for selling fentanyl that caused womans overdose death

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TROIS-RIVIERES, QUE.Few people were more excited with the Quebec governments plan to reopen stores and schools in the epicentre of Canadas coronavirus outbreak than Annabelle Chouinard.

The dress designer and owner of the go-to-wedding gown shop for graduates and brides in many of the smaller towns that lie between Montreal and Quebec City was excited and anxious  but mostly desperate  to get back to the store she opened in 1996 at the age of 18.

My only thought was, I have to open on May 4! I have to open on May 4! said Chouinard, 43, the owner of Vice et Vertu, which operates out of a former school in Trois-Rivieres.

She bought hand sanitizer, disinfectant and disposable masks. She reorganized her fitting rooms.

Dresses to be tried on this week were hung out on a rack three days ahead of the customers appointment to eliminate any risk of contamination from the COVID-19 virus.

There was a separate rack for garments that had been tried and needed to be put back into one of two storage rooms that hold more than 1,500 dresses of all shapes, sizes and colours. There, the potentially contaminated garments would hang there in quarantine for seven days.

Chouinard prides herself on offering not just dresses, but the dress-shopping experience. Exposing customers to infection was not an option. But she quickly discovered how difficult it was to offer the former without risking the latter.

You think, OK, the client will go in the fitting room, but they cant touch the curtain. Then you ask yourself, how can we manage it so they can try on 12 gowns? You realize that, no, no, it doesnt work.

She had thought of almost everything, but her optimism had blinded her to one big problem.

I arrived (last) Monday morning and the telephone wasnt ringing, she said, because buying a dress is no ones priority.

Quebec is like any other Canadian province in that respect. Fancy fabrics and threads, unless they wrap around the head and cover the nose and mouth, are the last thing on the minds of most people.

The summer wedding season is a bust. Its easier to put vows on hold for a year than to celebrate the coming together of lovers in a socially distant manner. Graduations are up in the air, too. Secondary school students wont be going back to class until the fall.

Where Quebec has stood apart is in its decision to return to something-like-normal in a way that even jurisdictions with milder coronavirus outbreaks have been unwilling to emulate.

Retails stores outside of the Montreal area opened this week. They will be followed on Monday by daycare centres and primary schools. Within the Montreal areaQuebecs COVID-19 hot zonestores are set to open on May 25, the same day that primary students will be welcomed back to class.

Perhaps welcomed is not the right word.

A May 1 letter to parents from the Riverside School Board, which covers the suburban communities south of Montreal, spelled out what students can expect when the school bell rings. After reading it, one parent wrote on Facebook that it sounded absolutely insane  Our children will be in a jail basically.

While there will be no metal bars, there will be a designated space for each student, two metres from their closest classmate, that teachers cannot enter and students cannot leave, except for once-a-day recess. Outside, they will be barred from using playground equipment. No drama, gym, art or music instruction, either.

Due to space requirements, some students will return to different classrooms led by different teachers, perhaps in different schools altogether.

I think its cruel for the kids, the parents and the teachers, said Nadia Darpino, a Brossard mother of two children with special needs, neither of whom will be returning when their schools reopen. Its nonsense for four weeks only. I think they should not have opened, worked on their strategies for a couple of months between now and September and see what best fits for the schools.

Teachers have spent the past week reconfiguring workspaces, adapting lesson plans and figuring out how to connect with their young charges wearing face masks, visors, gloves and other protective equipment that the government insists is unnecessary but has reluctantly agreed to provide.

They are really concentrated right now on doing the work, but what they tell us is that they have butterflies, they have worries tied to their health, said Richard Bergevin, president of a teachers union in Quebecs Eastern Townships.

The union wanted to return to class in August, taking the time to properly prepare the schools, classes and students.

If public health and the scientific community tells us that its the right time to reopen for society, then we the teachers will do our part to ensure that it goes well  or as well as possible, Bergevin said.

Premier Francois Legault made the school announcements on April 27, saying that the virus posed a low risk for children, that school was important for students social development, and that sooner or later, life had to go on. Underlying it all was science, he said. We have the OK of public health.

But April 27 was the same day that the Institut national de sante publique du Quebec, an expert body that advises Quebecs Health Ministry, released a report warning that opening schools without strict controls could provoke a potentially dangerous second wave of the outbreak.

It is certain that the infection of children would contribute to a substantial transmission of COVID-19 to their parents and to other adults around them, the report said, which could result in a large number of hospitalizations over a short period of time with the real potential to overwhelm the health network both in urban centres and in the regions.

Dr. Horacio Arruda, Quebecs director of public health, said the reopening of non-essential retail stores is also driven by public-health concerns, not economic imperatives.

What Im trying to say is that I want to avoid suicides among small business owners, divorces because its going badly, and violence toward their children, Arruda said.

These are also health issues that we have to be able to measure.

Other public-health experts say they would have preferred a slower, more cautious approach for Quebec, which as of Friday had recorded 2,725 deaths from COVID-19 and a total of 36,150 cases.

Kate Zinszer, an assistant professor in the department of social and preventive medicine at Universite de Montreal, suggested that a pilot project over several weeks in an area lightly touched by the pandemic would have allowed officials to measure the drawbacks and advantages effects of reopening stores and schools. Those results could then be used to predict the impact of a wider loosening of restrictions.

Zinszer was, however, heartened to see the Montreal-area store openings delayed twice last week, to May 25 from an original date of May 11, because it indicated that authorities are willing and able to react quickly to a changing public-health situation in the provinces largest city and its hospitals.

Benoit Masse, a professor of biostatistics at Universite de Montreals School of Public Health, said that any loosening of restrictions must be accompanied by more and quicker test results, and an army of tracers who can find those whove come in contact with a COVID-19 carrier and isolate them before they spread the virus.

The test numbers are rising but Quebec has so far failed to raise the army of tracers, without which the risk of a second wave and a second lockdown is great, he said.

Chouinard, the dress designer, believes its only a matter of time before the virus roars to life again.

In clothing stores, when a lady wants the medium-size sweater and she has to touch the small and large to get to the medium, shes contaminating left and right, she said.

The owners of stores selling items with hard surfaces can conceivably spray and wipe every trace of one customer before the next comes along, but a single wedding gown takes an hour and a half to properly clean with a vapour machine.

That calculation has led Chouinard to a temporary solution as she surveys the bleak business horizon.

She will complete the 156 outstanding dress orders, collect the remaining payments to minimize her financial losses, and shut down her store at least until the fall.

Thats what entrepreneurs are having to think about, she said. Do I open my store? Do I close it? Or do I wait?

Allan Woods is currently on leave from the Star, where he previously worked in Quebec writing about politics, crime and translating the preoccupations of the province for Star readers.

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A grieving mother has revealed that her daughter died of diffuse gastric cancer that spread to her lungs, but she was prevented from seeing her in her last days because doctors initially passed off her fatal diagnosis as 'presumptive COVID-19.'

In a heart-wrenching essay for the HuffPost, Mary Hagen Roberts, 64, opened up about how her daughter Laura Hagen Hoffman, 33, died at home, in her fiance Brett's arms, on April 23 at 1:11 p.m., just minutes before she had arrived to see her.

Earlier in the month, Laura was hospitalized by herself, without any visitors, after her shortness of breath and cough were believed to be coronavirus symptoms. It wasn't until she had a bronchoscopy weeks later that she learned she was terminally ill.

Loss: Mary Hagen Roberts revealed her daughter Laura Hagen Hoffman died of cancer right after learning it had spread to her lungs. Her symptoms were initially thought to be COVID-19

Misdiagnosis: In early April, Laura was hospitalized after her sudden onset of shortness of breath, fever, and cough were thought to be symptoms of coronavirus

'Yes, she died of cancer. But because of the sudden onset of shortness of breath, fever, and cough  symptoms that developed in early April  she was classified as "presumptive COVID-19,"' Mary wrote.

She said her daughter started experiencing stomach pain in the fall of 2017 and was prescribed antacids from her doctor. Despite her discomfort, Laura traveled to Andalusia, Spain, where Brett proposed.

Shortly after their engagement, she was diagnosed with cancer in January 2018 following a routine surgery.

Laura continued to work as a teacher and travel as she underwent chemotherapy treatments, and later an immunotherapy clinical trial.

When she started to display what were believed to be COVID-19 symptoms, she was admitted into the hospital and forbidden from having any visitors over fears of the virus spreading.

Heartbreaking news: Laura had been diagnosed with diffuse gastric cancer in January 2018

Cancer battle: Laura continued to work as a teacher and travel as she underwent chemotherapy treatments, and later an immunotherapy clinical trial

'A few days into her last hospitalization, she called me, frustrated and sobbing, because no one was allowed in the hospital to support her  not me, nor her steadfast fiance, Brett,' Mary recalled, noting that not even her doctors would visit her out of fear of contracting coronavirus.

Laura was given supplemental oxygen when she released from the hospital on Easter Sunday, April 12. She continued to teach her high school chemistry and biology classes remotely, but her need for supplemental oxygen only increased.

Roughly a week after her hospital release, she passed out while walking her dog. Mary said she wanted to come to visit her, but she is immunocompromised with Addisons disease and Laura was afraid of infecting her with coronavirus.

Laura had a scheduled bronchoscopy on April 20, and two days later, she called her mom crying. The test results showed that she never had COVID-19  her symptoms were the result of cancer spreading into her lungs.

Laura was told she only had about a month to live if she didn't undergo aggressive treatment. Mary said she started packing to be with her daughter the next day, but Laura passed away before she got there.

Heart-wrenching: Laura underwent a bronchoscopy a few weeks after she was released from the hospital and learned that her cancer had spread to her lungs. She died the next day

Grieving: Mary said her daughter died at home, in her fiance Brett's arms, on April 23 at 1:11 p.m., just minutes before she had arrived to see her

'Ive been told that she was lucid and talking and sipping a smoothie just before she died,' she said. 'At one point, just after 1 p.m., Laura stood up, walked a few steps, collapsed and was gone.

'And I was not with her.

'And I have no idea how to carry on now that she is gone or what to do with my unbelievable and unbearable sorrow.'

Mary explained that because of the pandemic she is unable to properly grieve. She can't have a funeral for her daughter or hug her family members. She can't even accept casseroles from her supportive neighbors.

'For now  instead of a service, instead of a funeral  our small family mourned our unbearable loss and told stories from Lauras wild-child youth and brilliant, short life,' she wrote at the end of her essay.

'We cried, and we talked and damned this virus and its spread. But now I wake up every morning and go to bed every night with this hole in my heart, and I dont know how Ill move forward.'
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Three children in New York have died from a rare inflammatory syndrome believed to be linked to the novel coronavirus, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced in a press briefing Saturday.

Cuomo said health authorities are investigating 73 similar cases reported across the state, where children have developed symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease or toxic shock-like syndrome.

'The priority for us today is dealing with a new issue that has come up which is truly disturbing and that is the issue that the coronavirus may effect young people. Very young people, that is infants, children in elementary school,' he said

'One of the few rays of good news was young people were not affected [by coronavirus]. Were not so sure that is the fact anymore.

'This is the last thing that we need at this time,' he added.

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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told a press briefing on Saturday that three children in the state have died from a rare inflammatory syndrome believed to be linked to coronavirus

Cuomo had revealed on Friday that a 5-year old was the first child in New York to 'appear to die' from the rare inflammatory condition believed to be linked to coronavirus.

Officials at Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital, where the child - who had tested positive for the virus - was being treated, confirmed the death but didn't release any other information.

The rising number of cases of the syndrome is now challenging previous beliefs that children are less susceptible to complications from COVID-19.

Cuomo revealed that the Centers for Disease Control has asked New York to develop a national criteria that can be used on other states and hospital systems.

Gov. Cuomo said Saturday that health authorities are investigating 73 similar cases reported across the state, where children have exhibited symptoms to Kawasaki disease or toxic shock-like syndrome. Three children in the state have died from the rare inflammatory syndrome

'These are children who come in and who don't present the symptoms that we normally find familiar with COVID-19,' Cuomo told the briefing.

'It's not a respiratory illness, they not in respiratory distress. I think thats one of the reasons why this is getting discovered so far into the process, its more of an inflammation of the blood vessels which can then cause problems with the heart.'

WHAT IS AN INFLAMMATORY SYNDROME? Children are being admitted in what has been described as a 'multi-system inflammatory state.' This refers to the over-production of cytokines, known as a cytokine storm - the overreaction of the body's immune system. In a storm, the proteins start to attack healthy tissue, which can cause blood vessels to leak and lead to low blood pressure Doctors say this also happens with Ebola, causing the body to go into shock. It has also been noted in older COVID-19 patients. WHAT SYMPTOMS DOES IT CAUSE? The cases share overlapping features of toxic shock syndrome and atypical Kawasaki disease. Two of the most common symptoms of Kawasaki disease include a rash and a fever. TSS also causes a rash, dizziness and diarrhea Advertisement

He also announced that the New York Department of Health will also be working with the NY Genome Center and the Rockerfeller University to conduct a genome and RNA sequencing study on the reported cases to look for a cause for the illness.

'These children happen to have the COVID-19 antibodies or be positive for COVID-19 but these were not the symptoms they showed when they came into the hospital system,' he said.

The news came after Cuomo had announced a more positive outlook for the coronavirus outbreak in the state, revealing that new daily hospitalizations due to coronavirus in New York are at the lowest level since the lockdown began on March 20.

There were just 572 new hospitalizations on Friday but total hospitalizations remain over 7,000.

New daily hospitalizations, intubations and cases continued on their downward trend, Cuomo added, but new deaths remain at a 'infuriatingly constant' level.

There were 226 deaths from COVID-19 in New York on Friday, up from 216 a day earlier, and at the same number that was recorded five days ago.

Daily deaths are now less than half the levels recorded two weeks ago but Friday's increase added to concerns after it was reported that the coronavirus outbreak in the state is slowing at half the speed it spiked.

'You see it hasnt been that level since we started back on March 20, March 21, so that is welcome new,' Cuomo said of the hospitalization numbers.

'This is not welcome news, this has been heartbreaking every day,' he added of the new deaths.

'We could like to see that number dropping at a fare faster rate than it has been dropping.'

New York is the epicenter of the pandemic in the United States with 333,122 cases and 21,271 deaths.

Health authorities are investigating 73 similar cases reported across New York. The disorder can be fatal, attacking multiple organs, impairing heart function and weakening arteries. Pictured: Jayden Hardowar, eight, of New York (left), and Juliet Daly, 12, of Louisiana (right), both landed in the hospital after experiencing the syndrome

Hospitals in New York are now reporting any cases to the state's health department and the CDC is compiling a patient registry. Pictured: A medical worker transports a patient at Mount Sinai in New York, April 1

Efforts are underway to collect information on the disorder, dubbed 'Pediatric Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome Potentially Associated with COVID-19.'

On Wednesday, the New York State Department of Health issued an alert, calling on hospitals to immediately report any cases to the department.

Cases of rare, life-threatening inflammatory illnesses in children associated with exposure to COVID-19 were first reported in Britain, Italy and Spain.

However, doctors across the US - such as in California, New York and New Jersey - are starting to report clusters of kids with the disorder, which can attack multiple organs, impair heart function and weaken heart arteries.

According to New York's health department, the majority of kids with the syndrome test positive for either COVID-19 or COVID-19 antibodies.

In a separate case, physicians in Westchester County, north of New York City, reported on Friday the death of a child who had contracted the virus.

According to Dr Michael Gewitz, of Maria Fareri Children's Hospital in Valhalla, where the child was being treated, he or she suffered neurological complications from the syndrome. Officials are waiting to see if underlying conditions played a role in the child's death.

This emerging syndrome, which may occur days to weeks after a COVID-19 illness, reflects the surprising ways that this entirely new coronavirus infects and sickens its human hosts.

Scientists are still trying to determine whether the syndrome is linked with the new coronavirus as not all children have tested positive for the virus.

The syndrome shares symptoms with toxic shock and Kawasaki disease, which is associated with fever, skin rashes, swelling of glands, and, in the most severe cases, inflammation of arteries of the heart.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it is working with the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists and other groups to gather data to better understand and characterize the syndrome, according to an emailed statement.

The aim is to develop a case definition that would allow the CDC to track the cases and advise doctors on how to care for these patients.

Not every child that has developed the condition has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, but enough have for doctors to believe the conditions are linked.

For most children, COVID-19 is mild, and children are far less likely to be hospitalized with the disease than adults, according to the CDC.

'Children seem to laugh off COVID-19 most of the time,' said Dr Jane Newburger, a pediatric cardiologist at Harvard's Boston Children's Hospital.

'But rarely, a child will develop this hyper-inflammatory state.'

Newburger said there appears to be a spectrum of illnesses, with some children coming in 'very sick, even in shock.' Most have a fever and impaired function in one or more organs.

Some children get sick very fast and need to be in a pediatric intensive care unit, while others can be cared for in a regular hospital ward, she said.
By Christine T. Tjandraningsih, KYODO NEWS - May 9, 2020 - 04:01 | World, All, Coronavirus

Smog from forest and peatland fires in Indonesia could complicate the country's efforts to battle the new coronavirus, as the government has no contingency plan for additional respiratory illness amid the ongoing pandemic.

Wiendra Waworuntu, director for communicable disease prevention and control at the Ministry of Health, said Friday that the symptoms of acute respiratory infection caused by smoke from the fires are similar to coronavirus symptoms.

A simultaneous surge in respiratory illness from the two causes could become a major headache for Indonesian health authorities. Research shows that "there is a correlation between high mortality rate and high level of pollution in an area impacted by COVID-19," Waworuntu said.

Haze from forest and land fires caused by illegal slash-and-burn farming practices, mostly for palm oil plantations, occurs annually in Indonesia.

As of Thursday, at least 765 hotspots have been detected in the country, although the number was lower than 1,222 a year earlier, according to local authorities.

This month, most areas in the archipelagic state "will enter into the beginning of the dry season, including the areas where forest and peatland fires usually occur," said Miming Saepudin, head of weather prediction and early warning at the Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysics Agency.

"We have predicted that the dry season will reach its peak in August, covering 64.9 percent of the country," Saepudin said.

Some experts fear the haze will hamper efforts to mitigate the coronavirus pandemic that has infected 13,112 people and killed 943 as of Friday.

The situation may get worse due to a possible shortage of N95 face masks. Currently, the high-grade masks can only be used by medical workers, while members of the public have been instructed to wear normal surgical masks.

But Waworuntu said N95 masks are also needed for people affected by smoke from forest fires, because ordinary masks will not be effective to filter the smoke.

"There may be scarcity of N95 masks in June, July and August when dry season reaches its peak, while we have to compete with other countries to get them," she said.

Moreover, "we haven't designed any contingency plan to deal with both acute respiratory infection caused by forest fires and COVID-19, while most human resources in health have been focused to deal with COVID-19," she added, noting the need for strategies to prevent a catastrophe.

In 2019, fires devastated more than 1.6 million hectares of land across the country, mostly on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, up from about 630,000 hectares in the previous year.

Last year's fires resulted in acute respiratory infection for about 900,000 people. The haze has impacted air quality not only in Indonesia, but also in Malaysia, Singapore and as far as Thailand and the Philippines.
WASHINGTON  The coronavirus crisis and the administrations halting response to it have cost President Trump support from one of his most crucial constituencies: Americas seniors.

For years, Republicans and Mr. Trump have relied on older Americans, the countrys largest voting bloc, to offset a huge advantage Democrats enjoy with younger voters. In critical states like Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Florida, all of which have large older populations, Mr. Trumps advantage with older voters has been essential to his political success; in 2016, he won voters over the age of 65 by seven percentage points, according to national exit poll data.

But seniors are also the most vulnerable to the global pandemic, and the campaigns internal polls, people familiar with the numbers said, show Mr. Trumps support among voters over the age of 65 softening to a concerning degree, as he pushes to reopen the countrys economy at the expense of stopping a virus that puts them at the greatest risk.

A recent Morning Consult poll found that Mr. Trumps approval rating on the handling of the coronavirus was lower with seniors than with any other group other than young voters. And Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., the presumptive Democratic nominee, in recent polls held a 10-point advantage over Mr. Trump among voters who are 65 and older. A poll commissioned by the campaign showed a similar double-digit gap.
It seems to be a noble effort by a village, stigmatised as a 'terror hub', to get rid of the tag amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The residents of Sanjarpur village in Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh district, about 300 kilometres from Lucknow, which earned notoriety after four youths were allegedly involved in the 2008 Batla House encounter were found to be its resident, have been making masks and distributing them free of cost to the people.

So far, the village residents have stitched around 30,000 masks and distributed them not only among their own people but also among the residents of dozens of nearby villages in the district.

''We are stitching around two thousand masks every day. Around a dozen people, including women, are involved in making them,'' says Tarique Shafique, a resident of the village, who coordinates the entire exercise.

Speaking to DH over phone from Sanjarpur, Shafique said that though they incurred a cost of around Rs seven per mask, it was provided to the people free of cost.

''We, however, pay labour charges to the women involved in stitching the masks, he said.

The masks were provided in order of priority. ''The older people come first. After them come the women and children, followed by the youngsters,'' Shafique said.

He said that it was a ''collective effort'' from the residents of the village. ''Those who can contribute do so,'' he added.

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi recently sent a letter to the villagers hailing their work.

Sanjarpur earned the tag of 'terror hub' after four of its residents were found to be involved in the alleged Batla House encounter in 2008 in Delhi.
A 20-year-old behind the wheel of a stolen car led police from five agencies on a chase this week that crossed from Oregon into Washington and back into Oregon with the suspect hitting speeds above 100 mph and racing the wrong way on Interstate 84, police and prosecutors said.

The wild ride started around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Southeast Portland and ended about 30 minutes later in outer Northeast Portland.

A Portland police plane relayed minute-by-minute updates to officers on the ground as it tracked the stolen Honda Civic.

The officers in the air described the drivers recklessness: The Honda almost T-boned another car. Children on bikes hopped off and ran to avoid getting hit.

Multnomah County sheriffs deputies successfully used spike strips to rupture the cars tires, but it continued to run on its rims until a deputy stopped it using whats called a pit maneuver -- ramming into one end of the car to try to spin it to a stop.

Officers from Oregon State Police, Washington State Patrol, the Clark County Sheriffs Office also joined in the pursuit at various points.

After his arrest, Zacharay Mitchell Johnson told officers he didnt remember anything that had just occurred, according to a probable cause affidavit prepared by Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Aileen Santoyo.

But police couldnt forget it.

The affidavit described Multnomah County Deputy Kevin Jones first spotting the car in the parking lot of the Evergreen Inn and Suites off Northeast 82nd Avenue near Portland International Airport. He ran the plate and it came back as stolen, the affidavit said.

The Honda immediately pulled out of the lot and the deputy followed, according to police and prosecutors.

The deputy watched the Honda weave in and out of traffic and get onto northbound Interstate 205, where Portland Police Bureaus Air 2 plane tracked it into Washington. Clark County deputies were alerted and took over.

The car then sped back into Oregon over southbound I-205. Officers planned to put spike strips down at the Airport Way exit to try to stop the car, according to dispatch records.

But the Honda headed from I-205 to Interstate 84 eastbound, then exited near Troutdale. It headed west on Frontage Road into incoming traffic as officers in the police plane reported cars were swerving out of its way.

Hes going 100 mph into oncoming traffic, disregard for the community and all that, one officer radioed to Multnomah County dispatch just before 7:30 p.m.

Suddenly, the Honda got back on I-84, going the wrong way in the eastbound fast lane of the freeway at speeds of 95 to 100 mph, officers said.

As the vehicle was traveling the wrong way, multiple marked police vehicles were following it with lights and sirens on, the prosecutor wrote in the affidavit.

Zachary Mitchell Johnson, 20, is accused of reckless driving, unauthorized use of a vehicle, possessing a stolen vehicle, attempting to elude police and reckless endangerment.

Some officers talked about shutting down I-84. But the Honda sped off the freeway via an onramp, again causing cars to swerve to get out of the way, only to get back onto the freeway, this time with the westbound traffic.

After exiting the freeway at another spot, the Honda ran over a spike strip, was reported to be riding on its rims before it finally was stopped near Sandy Boulevard and Northeast 133rd Avenue, where Johnson was arrested.

"I was gardening and heard them coming from a couple blocks away,'' said Portland resident Brynden McNew. "So crazy, he came down Argay neighborhood and almost hit kids. There were so many people out because it was such a nice evening. So grateful he didnt hurt anyone.''

Deputies found counterfeit checks, counterfeit currency, a printer and a set of keys inside the Honda, the affidavit said. The car had been stolen from Vancouver earlier that morning, police said.

Zachary M. Johnson , 20, was arrested after a 30-minute chase that started in Oregon, headed to Washington and then back to Oregon about 7:30 p.m.

Johnson is accused of reckless driving, possessing a stolen car, unauthorized use of a car, trying to elude police and two counts of recklessly endangering others.

Johnson told court officials that he has no permanent address and works as a roofer. He said he uses methamphetamine daily, according to court records.

He had two prior arrests this year. He was in court Feb. 19, accused of aggravated identity theft, burglary and identity theft and released. He was re-arrested on April 13 on allegations of unauthorized use of a vehicle, identity theft and possession of methamphetamine and released with a future court date, due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to court records. He was supposed to be under pretrial supervision, required to check in by phone with a supervisor and not leave the state, but hadnt complied, according to court records. His supervising officer left three phone messages with Johnson when he failed to call in as required, according to the records.

Johnsons mother, Charitie Johnson, said shes angry that her son was released from custody after his earlier arrests this year.

"I blame the courts for letting him out the first time knowing he was an addict. Openly admitted it. This isnt the first case of not remembering what he did on an arrest. But yet they offer zero help,'' she said. "If you want the crime rate down, then help those suffering from addiction.''

Zachary Johnson is being held at the Multnomah County Detention Center and is due back in court on May 15.

-- Maxine Bernstein

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

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The coronavirus is spreading across the northern prairie, with work camps a key vector for vulnerable Indigenous communities, but Manitoba Hydro is planning to double staff at its Keeyask megaproject in 10 days.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 8/5/2020 (620 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The coronavirus is spreading across the northern prairie, with work camps a key vector for vulnerable Indigenous communities, but Manitoba Hydro is planning to double staff at its Keeyask megaproject in 10 days.

An internal memo to employees at the site says Hydro plans returning to standard rotations sometime around May 19.

The four local First Nations say theyve been blindsided by a plan to nearly double the current staff of roughly 700. They say Hydro solicited their input only after the Crown corporation presented the plan to employees on May 1, at which point health authorities had already approved it.

"We are currently at risk of suffering potentially devastating consequences, resulting from our lack of inclusion in the development of the pandemic response," reads a Thursday letter to Hydro CEO Jay Grewal, obtained by the Free Press.

"It has become increasingly apparent that our reasonable concerns are not being considered or addressed."

Hydros plan does not require on-site testing of staff, a practice commonplace in northern mines.

Officials from Manitoba Hydro declined to provide an interview, and would not say whether Americans will be allowed to fly into the construction site. The camp normally has numerous contractors from outside Canada.

The Northern Regional Health Authority approved its plan, Hydro says. The document notes those outside of Manitoba will have to self-isolate in a Winnipeg hotel for a week. Anyone flying on a chartered plane will have to pass a COVID-19 test beforehand and wear a mask.

Starting Saturday, workers leaving the site will no longer have to visit a nurse practitioner, whose hours Hydro reduced a week ago.

"We continue to consult with local health authorities and follow their guidance on the return to the standard worker rotation at Keeyask," wrote Hydro spokesman Bruce Owen.

"We know our foremost responsibility is to health and wellbeing of the staff at Keeyask and the people who live in the neighbouring communities."

In late March, Hydro temporarily made workers, opting to continue work at Keeyask, stay on the site for eight weeks after local First Nations asked that the site be shuttered due to the pandemic.

Staff and contractors will soon return to the regular practice of rotating in for three weeks followed by a week back home.

Hydro has framed its Keeyask project as a way to advance reconciliation through economic empowerment after decades of the Crown corporation displacing Indigenous people and blocking them from traditional lands.

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But the four local chiefs say Hydros unilateral decision making reminds them of the institutions legacy of placing profit above Indigenous people's wellbeing.

Their letter demands a phone meeting with senior Hydro officials because they feel their regular calls with Keeyask staff still leave them out of pandemic planning.

The northern health authority did not respond by deadline when asked when they received the Keeyask plan, when they approved it, and why no public notice was issued.

Last month, the authority issued an exemption to Keeyask, allowing the gym and cafeteria to reopen weeks before the rest of the province.

An April 16 order barring non-essential travel to the provinces north remains in effect.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
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Dorothy Cardenas and Carol Ann Calderon were honored Friday in an online ceremony as recipients of this years Trinity Prize for Excellence in Teaching, which comes with $2,500 and a commemorative crystal apple.

Cardenas is a dyslexia therapist at Olympia Elementary School in the Judson Independent School District and Calderon is a third-grade teacher at Heritage Elementary School in the Southside ISD.

They were chosen by a panel of business and community leaders and two Trinity seniors majoring in education from among 17 finalists nominated by their San Antonio area school districts for dedication and outstanding performance in public education, according to a university news release.

The nominees all were honored at the ceremony, conducted on the viewing app Zoom with remarks by Rodney Robinson, the 2019 National Teacher of the Year. He worked in Richmond, Virginia public schools and won the honor while teaching in that citys juvenile detention center.

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More Information Alamo Heights Independent School District: Lisa Barry, 5th grade ELAR/SS, Woodridge Elementary Comal ISD: Rishanne Frech, 3rd grade ELA, Hoffmann Lane Elementary East Central ISD: Brenda Kiolbassa Miller, Science instructor/department lead, East Central High School Edgewood ISD: Lisa Segovia: 3rd grade NIET mentor, L.B. Johnson Elementary Fort Sam Houston ISD: Christopher Ramos, 5th grade, Fort Sam Houston Elementary School Harlandale ISD: Kellie George: 8th grade social studies, 6th/8th AVID elective, Harlandale Middle School Lackland ISD: Joy Crawford, 5th grade, Lackland Elementary School North East ISD: Janelle Schnacker, school librarian, Douglas MacArthur High School Northside ISD: Jamie Pfeil, social studies, Earl Warren High School Randolph Field ISD: Beth Howard, special education, Randolph Elementary San Antonio ISD: Belinda Medellin, technology, CAST Tech High School Somerset ISD: Elizabeth Sanchez, 3rd grade mentor, math/science, Somerset Elementary South San Antonio ISD: Miguel Angel Quintanilla, special education, Price Elementary Southwest ISD: Samantha Arnold, professional communications, Southwest Legacy High School Winston School San Antonio: Linda Osborne, 5th grade, The Winston School San Antonio See More Collapse

Calderon holds additional classes after school for parents of her students. Shell have Math Mondays and Tutoring Tuesdays to go over the class material with parents or ask them what they need help with. She started it to figure out how to better service my students and parents as well as community and the collaboration has helped the kids learn, she said.

Judges said they were impressed by her principals recommendation letter that said, It takes a special person to teach students that are two to three years below grade level ... Ms. Calderon thrives in this setting.

She said her energy comes from the childrens eagerness.

Theyre like sponges wanting to absorb what you have to give and I want to give it all to them, Calderon said.

Cardenas keeps a bulletin board of famous people with dyslexia in her classroom to show her students what they can achieve, and serves on her districts Dyslexia Advisory Committee, which keeps up with changes in state law and special education practices. Judges said letters of recommendation showed Cardenas is highly regarded as a friend, mentor and constant source of support and encouragement to her colleagues.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio teacher and Boerne ISD earn statewide honors from annual H-E-B awards program

Becoming a dyslexia therapist hit close to home personnaly and professionally because her oldest son has dyslexia, Cardenas said.

Working with dyslexic kids  they struggle in their reading but they have such strengths, she said. It might be in fine arts or in math and they might have to work a little bit harder with the reading but it is worth it to have them recognize their strengths.

Trinity Universitys Department of Education has awarded the prize since 1982. The criteria include outstanding classroom performance, leadership in the school and school district, leadership in the education profession, and outstanding community service.

As many of us are homeschooling our children during this COVID 19 crisis, I believe we have gained a greater appreciation of the immense work and skill required to teach our children, let alone 20-40 children at one time, Oscar Jimenez-Castellanos, the department chair, said in congradulating the nominees.

Krista Torralva covers several school districts and public universities in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Krista, become a subscriber. Krista.Torralva@express-news.net | Twitter: @KMTorralva
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A Vietnam Airlines flight from California, the U.S. landed at Van Don International Airport in the northern province of Quang Ninh late Friday, carrying 343 Vietnamese citizens home.

The flight, VN1, was the first organized by Vietnams Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Embassy in the U.S. in coordination with other relevant Vietnamese and American agencies as well as Vietnam Airlines to repatriate citizens from the United States.

Most of the passengers were children under 18 years old, senior citizens, people with pre-existing medical conditions, and overseas students struggling with school dormitory closure.

Many of them had reportedly been stranded at San Francisco International Airport, some having been there since March 22, as they awaited flights to return home.

Previously, the departing flight from Vietnam had taken some U.S. nationals home and transported donated medical supplies to Vietnamese communities in the U.S.

The two-way long-haul direct flights, totaling 25,000 kilometers in flying distance, required close cooperation of both Vietnamese and American authorities to assist the national carrier.

The departing flight took off from Vietnam on Thursday after days of completing procedures, with nearly 30 crew members aboard.

Upon arriving at Van Don International Airport in Quang Ninh, the passengers and cabin crew members were quarantined in line with regulations.

In the coming days, more Vietnamese citizens from other countries are expected to be taken home.

The flights will be organized depending on the development of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the capacity of Vietnams quarantine facilities, and the demand of Vietnamese citizens living overseas.

On Friday, 30 Vietnamese citizens also arrived at Van Don Airport from South Korea on flight VN6419 and were quarantined upon arrival.

Vietnam has logged only 20 imported cases who are returnees from abroad and no community spread over the past 23 days.

The country's COVID-19 tally is at 288, with 241 recoveries and no deaths.

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Spring arrived late this year - in early May.

But fortunately for everyone, it finally came.

As of May 8, China's Hubei province, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus epidemic, reported no new confirmed COVID-19 cases for 35 consecutive days. The central government has since recalled the Central Guiding Team, a team sent to Hubei to strengthen its epidemic prevention and control efforts. In its place, a new task force has been formed - the liaison group of the State Council joint prevention and control mechanism against COVID-19 - to keep abreast of the situation in Hubei, relay information to the central government in a timely way, and supervise the implementation of various prevention and control measures. With these efforts in place, the epidemic prevention and control work in Hubei has transformed from a heightened state of emergency and unconventional practices to more normalized control. Wuhan and Hubei are now resuming work and production, and citizens there are returning to their daily lives in an orderly manner.

With workers returning to work and enterprises resuming production, the market, the economy, industries and society that had previously fell into stagnation are now recovering. Beijing has also lowered its emergency response to the epidemic from the highest level to the second tier. The National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which were postponed because of the epidemic, will also take place soon, making the May Day holiday a symbol of society's recovery.

Shanghai Disneyland, which will reopen on May 11, is also the first Disneyland resort in the world to resume operations since the outbreak. Investment institutions are forecasting that the Disneyland resorts in Orlando and California will only reopen in 2021 at the very earliest. Since mid-April, more than 70,000 employees in these two shuttered resorts have been furloughed. In many ways, this is a microcosm of the current American economy under the shadow of the deadly epidemic.

The panic that spread when the epidemic first broke out and the ensuing grief in the past four months starkly contrast with the relief China experienced now. Compared with people in other countries who are still living in the throes of the epidemic, the sense of calm and security in China now is somewhat surreal, and in many ways a blessing.

China has seen many significant milestones in its battle against the virus. The 100th press conference on COVID-19 chaired by the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council was held on May 5. Since January 22, this conference has been held on a daily basis. In addition to the routine release of important information and the dissemination of the latest national epidemic data, 266 experts have answered 1,190 questions raised by reporters as of May 5, covering all aspects of economic and social life impacted by the epidemic.

As a platform tasked with introducing news on China to the international community, the State Council Information Office has also raised the importance of epidemic prevention and control in its agenda. It has, to date, organized 46 press conferences on the epidemic, including 10, which were held in Wuhan. To take an example, the press conference on "work resumption", which is one aspect of social recovery, covered topics on almost all related fields. This included areas such as development and reform, social security, transportation, medical and health, technological innovation, finance, market supervision, international cooperation, manufacturing, and industrial chain coordination.

Amid the gloom of the epidemic, disseminating information in a timely and transparent manner is of vital importance. Regardless of region and age, people across the nation are concerned about the epidemic. With successive reports of zero infection in each region, people have been able to see hope on the horizon.

At this crucial period with its numerous COVID-19 restrictions, only openness and transparency can inspire confidence in the people and build their strength to weather this tough time.

In the era of big data, openness and transparency that are supported by data have now become a social dividend. Although most human activities are still restricted under the grid-based pandemic management system, the use of the health QR code via social media platforms has ensured the limited and controllable flow of labor and logistics, as well as the basic operation of society. As China tries to "reboot" its society and economy, its people can now return to their daily lives via the "green" channel using their own health QR code. When CNN correspondent David Culver returned to Wuhan three months later on April 22, he saw "a city trying to awaken once again," and observed that "people are trying to get back to life." The health QR code is their "golden ticket" to a normal life.

Still, some Western politicians and media outlets are - as always - questioning the validity of China's statistics on the pandemic, and groundlessly speculating that the COVID-19 death toll in Wuhan is 10 times the figure released by Chinese authorities. They don't fully understand the process and successful experiences in China's fight against the pandemic, just as they aren't yet acquainted with the workings of the green QR code that has been deployed to guard against a potential resurgence of infections.

China's internet has rapidly developed over the past two decades, and the public infrastructure featuring informatization, digitalization, and intelligence has become one of the most significant achievements which has been keeping its society and citizens resilient and safe amid major emergencies. This system empowers the openness and transparency of Chinese society, keeping people nationwide updated with relevant information. It has also enabled the country to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic at a comparatively lower cost.

In contrast, U.S. President Trump's White House press briefings on the pandemic have become public spectacles and are often filled with arrogance and lies. The Trump administration also goes to great lengths to praise itself, discredit China, and play various "blame games". President Trump has made public calls to "liberate" states and reopen the economy, suggested injecting disinfectants into people as a means to fight the virus, demanded that journalists return their "Noble Prizes," and blamed the "fake news". These is little to be impressed with in these press conferences.

Statistics from Johns Hopkins University show that as of May 6, COVID-19 cases in the U.S. hit 1.22 million, increasing daily by over ten thousand. Meanwhile, the death toll in the U.S. has exceeded 73,000. Both these figures account for nearly one third of the total worldwide, far exceeding any other country.

The increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is accompanied only by the ongoing drama in the White House. While the Trump administration repeatedly lauds its openness and transparency, the reality is quite the opposite. This divergence has greatly crippled America's fight against the pandemic.

As the Chinese saying goes, "Peaches and plums do not talk, yet a path is formed beneath them." After a major disaster unseen in a century, the orderly resumption of its economy and society is truly the best testament to China's openness and transparency.

Yang Xinhua is deputy editor-in-chief of China Internet Information Center.








Automaker VinFast has launched a unique buy back scheme to boost sales, exchanging any brand for its own models.

The buy back offer will be accompanied by discounts on its own model, and customers will only have to pay the difference in price.

The auto company, a unit of private conglomerate Vingroup, will buy any car model launched seven years ago or less in exchange for its new VinFast hatchback, sedan or SUV.

The trade-in sales program opened Friday. The old cars will be evaluated and bought by Smart Solution, also a subsidiary of Vingroup.

VinFast will also give a discount of up to VND50 million ($2,140) for the trade-in.

This means a customer who owns a Vios 2019 sedan worth VND500 million ($21,300) can trade it for a VND896 million ($38,200) SUV Lux SA2.0 if she/he pays another VND366 million ($15,600). A discount of VND30 million ($1,280) has been applied to this deal.

Car trade-in has been popular in Vietnam for years and used by popular auto brands such as Toyota, Ford and Mercedes. However, these companies only buy back their own cars, while VinFast buys from any brand.

VinFast started delivering its first cars in June last year. The company does not release sales figures, but official data shows that 5,124 VinFast cars were registered in the first quarter. This puts it in the fifth place in sales, behind Hyundai, Toyota, Kia and Honda.
EAST GREENBUSH, N.Y.  East Greenbush police were recently called to Target for a report of a suspicious vehicle parked behind the building with duct tape covering the license plates.

Upon arrival, officers interviewed the occupants of the vehicle and conducted a probable cause search of the vehicle.

During the search, police say they found multiple IDs which did not belong to any of the occupants, along with multiple forged U.S. Treasury checks.

Subsequently, police arrested Yaurel Centeno, Mamadou Diallo, and Alseny Barry, of the Bronx.

All three were charged with second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, and unlawful possession of marijuana.

After being released on an appearance ticket to appear in East Greenbush Town Court, police say the trio then left the police station and went to a local repair shop where theyre accused of stealing a former Town Justices vehicle.

Centeno, who is on parole for second-degree robbery, was subsequently arrested by NYPD for criminal possession of stolen property when he was caught in the stolen vehicle.
Using govt jobs as covers how Hizbul chiefs sons facilitated funds from Saudi to further terror in J&K

Riyaz Naikoos killing a shock: Syed Salahuddin

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, May 09: A video of the outfit's 'supreme commander' Syed Salahuddin has surfaced on the internet where he condoles the death of Hizbul Mujahideen chief Riyaz Naikoo.

Salahuddin also heads the United Jihad Council, a Pakistan-based conglomeration of various terror groups sponsored by Pakistan's ISI.

In the 52-second video Salahuddin could be heard saying, "It's a shock for all of us (killing of Riyaz Naikoo) but these 'shahadats' (sacrifices) are going on in Kashmir since long. Since January this year 80 Mujahideens (terrorists) have given their 'Shahadat' (eliminated by the security forces) and all of them were highly educated and trained."

Dreaded Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist, Riyaz Naikoo was gunned down in an encounter by the security forces on Wednesday.

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.

Naikoo rose in the ranks of the Hizbul Mujahideen eight months after the killing of Burhan Wani. While the killing of Naikoo avenges the deaths of our security personnel, it also comes as a major relief for the security forces as he was a master at propaganda.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Saturday, May 9, 2020, 20:24 [IST]
PHOENIX, May 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --

What: The global Thunderbird community will join together online to celebrate this semester's graduates in an innovative virtual ceremony.

Who: Speakers include ASU President Michael M. Crow, Thunderbird Director General and Dean Sanjeev Khagram and Rwandan Minister of Trade and Industry Soraya Hakuziyaremye.

When: Monday, May 11, 2020; Available to watch online starting at 9:00 a.m. in Arizona (9 a.m. PST)

Where: You can join the celebration by visiting:

https://thunderbird.asu.edu/spring2020graduation

Virtual University Commencement

Get all the latest on ASU's virtual ceremonies:

https://graduation.asu.edu/ceremonies/latest

https://graduation.asu.edu/ceremonies/futuredates

For additional details, visit the ASU Spring 2020 Commencement FAQ page.

About Thunderbird School of Global Management



hunderbird School of Global Management is a unit of the Arizona State University Knowledge Enterprise. For more than 70 years, Thunderbird School of Global Management has been the vanguard of global management and leadership education. Thunderbird creates sustainable and inclusive prosperity worldwide by educating future-ready leaders capable of tackling the world's greatest challenges. Thunderbird's Master of Global Management was ranked #1 in the world for 2019 by the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education. Arizona State University is ranked No. 1 "Most Innovative School" in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for five years in succession.

About ASU

Arizona State University has developed a new model for the American Research University, creating an institution that is committed to access, excellence and impact. ASU measures itself by those it includes, not by those it excludes. As the prototype for a New American University, ASU pursues research that contributes to the public good, and ASU assumes major responsibility for the economic, social and cultural vitality of the communities that surround it.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

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Mobile: +1 480-490-9773

[email protected]

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SOURCE Thunderbird School of Global Management
meanwhile, the pancake cat hut I bought at Nitori has been flattened by my cat into a regular cat bed

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[ Spoiler (click to open) ]









here's what it is supposed to look like:







here's what it is supposed to look like:



And in looking for the image of what it should look like, I found a ton of other images of cats laying on top of it as well. xD And in looking for the image of what it should look like, I found a ton of other images of cats laying on top of it as well. xD

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Your cat is adorable! They did not test this product with a cat focus group.

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omg

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I bought my cat a cute little house and he ripped it apart in a week, but the box from amazon he sleeps in it's still there 4 months later, stupid.

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we had a fish bed for our cat, who never ended up using it before she died (probably because she was too smart/dumb to go waltzing into a big ole fish mouth) but my aunt's cat loves it

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awwww so cute!!! and also sorry but LMAO

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Edited at 2020-05-09 04:16 am (UTC) omg animals in containers are my favourites!!

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awww the leopard is so random but so cute :3

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lol I bought this cat house for my bf's cat and of course he chose to instead only sleep either in his carrier or in the box that the cat house came in smh I gave up lol I bought this cat house for my bf's cat and of course he chose to instead only sleep either in his carrier or in the box that the cat house came in smh I gave up

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My bed is my dog's bed. I put a towel over my pillow so he can lay on it and not get it all gross.

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what did you wish you knew about caring for pups that you know now?

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I was 19 when I got my first dog, eight years ago. I walked her with a collar one time and she slipped it and ran down the road so I would say always use a harness. It doesnt choke them and they cant slip it as easy. Her collar is purely a necklace at this point lol

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Seconding this! Though I have one slippery little girl who has managed to escape her harness multiple times. Its still much safer, though. Especially for brachycephalic breeds like Shih Tzus or pugs.



My dogs collars are pretty much just jewelry, too. Dolly (the aforementioned escape artist) begs me to put hers back on if Ive taken it off her for a bath. She also gets jealous when Im putting collars on the other two and tries to butt in and steal them. 

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Same. I would never use a collar, except maybe to be cute or hang an address from it. Harnesses all the way.

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Mental stimulation is much more exhausting for dogs than physical exercise

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always, always research the breed before you get the dog. you need to know not only the common behaviour of the dog but the medical issues you could be facing.

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This was like seven years ago. She sleeps on my pillow next to my head now.







Edited at 2020-05-09 05:08 am (UTC) Awwww. Animals snuggled into beds/small spaces is my favorite thing.This was like seven years ago. She sleeps on my pillow next to my head now.

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I bought my cat one of those anxiety beds because she's a very nervous nelly, and she slept on it for exactly three days... before suddenly she became leery of it  I've tried moving it, covering it in my clothes so it smells like me, sitting next to it, spraying it with a pet-safe odour spray... nothing.



she's not really into cat beds so I should've known but still, so close.

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Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in Hello! Your entry got to top-25 of the most popular entries in LiveJournal!Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in FAQ

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Omg for a second I thought it was about eating dogs and cats without speaking the language

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Don't be racist, Japanese people don't eat dogs. 

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This is so cute! I want one for my dogs. I feel like Im collecting dog beds now, Ive got 3 dogs and like 6 beds scattered throughout the house. But they usually just sleep on the sofa. 

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My cat won't sleep in the bed I bought her but she will sleep on the Chairry (Pee Wee's Playhouse) bean bag chair I made my son. Maybe my son will sleep in hers & everything will work out.

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The quality content I like to see

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 9

By Tamilla Mammadova - Trend:

Europe and the European Union were the first to express their desire to help Georgia in the fight against coronavirus, Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia said, Trend reports via Georgian media.

"Today is Europe Day and it is symbolic that exactly 75 years after the world defeated fascism, the idea of coexistence emerged in Europe, and this idea gained so much power of magnetism that even today we, Georgians, do our best to become a member of this united family," Gakharia said.

He congratulated and thanked every European, everyone who considers themselves European, for the help they are providing to Georgia.

"Among our strategic partners, Europe and the European Union were the first to express their desire to help Georgia and to take steps to help our country in the fight against the invisible enemy, both financially and medically, in terms of information exchange and many more, Gakharia said.

On 9th May the European Union and its member states mark Europe Day, which commemorates the historic 1950 Schuman declaration.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Mila61979356
Oregon college sued for restricting free speech of pro-life student group

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A Christian legal defense firm has filed a lawsuit against Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Oregon, on behalf of a pro-life student group for restricting speech to less than 2% of the campus.

The Alliance Defending Freedom filed the lawsuit this week over CCCs policy limiting free speech to two small areas on its 100-acre campus. The policy also requires students to obtain permission at least two weeks before speaking in those areas.

The only permission slip students need in order to speak on public college campuses is the First Amendment, said ADF Legal Counsel Michael Ross, one of the attorneys representing students Marcos Sanchez and Emma Howell.

Sanchez and Howell lead the CCC chapter of Students for Life of America, a pro-life student organization with over 1,200 chapters at high schools and colleges nationwide.

The lawsuit argues that the school's policies  particularly the requirement that student groups acquire two-week advance permission  hamper the student's ability to mobilize promptly in response to any news developments relevant to Students for Life's advocacy work.

ADF asserts that the school's policies prevent the students from engaging in spontaneous expression and from promoting their events.

"For example, on Feb. 26, members of Students for Life hosted a debate on campus about the morality of physician-assisted suicide, ADF explained in a blog post.

While the students applied for, and received, approval from the college to host the event indoors on campus, they wished to promote the event outdoors between classes by handing out flyers and describing the services of local pregnancy resource centers. The students refrained from doing so, however, to avoid violating the colleges policies restricting speech.

The areas where students are permitted to speak freely on campus are called Free Speech Zones.

ADF argues that all of the colleges grounds should be open for freedom of expression. Furthermore, ADF contends that CCCs restrictions do not pass constitutional muster.

Students dont give up their constitutionally protected freedoms when they step on to campus or hold a specific viewpoint, Ross added. Our clients have the right to peacefully engage and persuade their peers. They also have the freedom to support pregnant and parenting students without censorship or harassment from their school.

ADF Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer, the director of ADFs Center for Academic Freedom, stressed in a statement that its so important that public universities model the First Amendment values theyre supposed to be teaching students.

Todays college students are our future legislators, judges, and voters, Langhofer noted in a statement.

Pro-life students  like their peers  have the freedom to share messages of hope and healing without first asking college administrators for permission to speak.

The Christian Post reached out to CCCs general counsel for comment on the lawsuit. A response is pending.

Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins said in a statement that across the U.S., her organization is seeing incredible opposition to the pro-life speech of our student leaders and volunteers as they speak for the defenseless and educate their fellow students on abortion.

But the law and the Constitution are clear on the matter: Public schools cannot silence pro-life groups or force them to self-censor, said Hawkins. If Chemeketa Community College wants to respect every member of its community, it will clarify that Students for Life can participate in the open exchange of ideas and ensure that the entire college community becomes a free speech zone for pro-life students and their peers.

ADF was founded in 1994 to defend religious liberty and the sanctity of life. It has been at the forefront of notable legal cases related to the First Amendment. ADF has won nine Supreme Court cases related to First Amendment issues in less than a decade.
As several American states have eased coronavirus lockdown restrictions, employees are returning to jobs they werent sure would still exist just a few weeks ago. Mermaids, who work at a Montana bar, were the most worried for their jobs as for the past eight weeks that had been furloughed from their roles. However, with restrictions being eased, people who choose to go to the Sip N Dip Lounge at the OHaire Motor Inn in Great Falls, Montana, will now be greeted by the sight of the mythical creatures.

Real. Live. Mermaids. #montana pic.twitter.com/Rju1h7tbgl  B R A N D Y Z D A N (@brandyzdan) July 26, 2018

READ: US Blocks UN Security Council's Vote For Global Ceasefire Over Reference To WHO

According to an international media report, the mermaids will be dressed in traditional tails, however, they will also be equipped with a mask and goggles due to the current pandemic. While the nightly mermaid show is still not allowed to resume, the restaurant is still allowed to have the mermaids back. Although, the authorities have still allowed only one mermaid in the pool at any given point.

Thrilled to be back

While speaking to an international media outlet, one of the mermaid, who work in the restaurant, said that she was thrilled to be back. She added that, however, she is still a little worried that if she can still continue with her job due to the current pandemic situation. The mermaid reportedly added that she understands that the job is physically very demanding, but she is also very excited to see the regular customers.

READ: US Records 1,635 More Coronavirus Deaths, Tally Soars To 78,616

Furthermore, she also informed that the bar still faces restrictions. The customers are still not allowed to take pictures with the mermaids and the capacity of the restaurant is also limited for now. Meanwhile, the mermaids will be receiving one four-hour shift a week. Heryla, the mermaid, added that it will be great to have everybody back to normal one day. She is also happy to at least have some of the income restored as the lockdown had been making it tough for her to pay the bills.

READ: COVID-19: Over 800 Inmates, 25 Staff Test Positive At One California Prison Complex

READ: Clashes And Unity Calls At UN On World War II Anniversary
Six Pakistani Security Personnel Killed In Roadside Bomb Attack

By RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal May 08, 2020

Six Pakistani security personnel, including an officer, were killed in a roadside bomb attack near the South Asian nation's border with Iran.

Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military's media wing, said May 8 that the security forces were returning from patrolling duty when an improvised explosive device (IED) hit their reconnaissance vehicle.

The ISPR statement said the incident happened 14 kilometers from Pakistan's border with Iran in the Kech district within the Balochistan Province. One officer and five soldiers were killed in the attack.

No group so far claimed responsibility for the blast.

Balochistan is Pakistan's largest and most volatile province, bordering both Afghanistan and Iran.

It is home to ethnic Baloch separatists as well as several sectarian groups in the area. Parts of the province are also believed to be the sanctuaries of the Afghan Taliban.

Bombings in the region have killed dozens of Pakistani officers and citizens over the past year.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/six-pakistani- security-personnel-killed-in-roadside- bomb-attack/30601760.html

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

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CRISIS reveals a lot of things. These include how Cebuanos and Cebuano organizations are willing to step up to help the badly affected members of the society.

With their experience with the ongoing Covid-19 Bayanihan Cebu Field Center initiative, entrepreneur Edmun Liu and Dr. Shawn Espina, two of the project volunteers, said there is nothing more effective than a multi-sectoral collaboration between the private sector, the government, and the Church in winning against Covid-19.

For Liu, they have spent time and energy to start building Bayanihan Field Centers, but they hope and pray that these will not be needed.

How did this project come to be? Who are the people behind this initiative? Here are excerpts of SunStar Cebus separate interviews with Liu and Espina.

What is the goal of the Covid-19 Bayanihan Cebu Field Center?

Liu: The goal really, in line with the Covid-19 pandemic, was to do whatever we can to be able to save lives. That is really the objectiveno other purpose but to really help in saving lives.

Because it is a highly contagious disease, many get infected. And what happens is that everybody goes to the hospitals and the hospitals can no longer accommodate. As much as possible, it was suggested and recommended by health experts of the Department of Health (DOH) and all of the different organizations who are very specialized in these infectious diseases that wed like to reserve the hospitals for the severe cases.

Who among the Covid-19 patients are the target beneficiaries of the project?

Espina: There are three classifications of Covid-positive patients. Class 1 is asymptomatic but no co-morbidities. These positive patients are qualified for just home quarantine. However, home quarantine has to be strict also. Their rooms should have a separate bathroom, separate room. There should be no elderly, very young or pregnant people. And someone should take care of you. The Class 2A are patients who are asymptomatic but with co-morbidities. The Class 2B are symptomatic but mild. Class 3 are those who already have difficulty breathing.

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Class 1 will go to the Barangay Isolation Centers, Class 2 to the field centers such as the Sacred Heart (School-Ateneo de Cebu Bayanihan Center) and Class 3 to the hospitals. Since it took long to complete the centers because this event is unexpected, the patients have already been admitted in the hospitals, especially the symptomatic Class 2. Now, they will also have a hard time transferring because there are unstable patients and the doctors would not agree to their transfer also.

How did the project start?

Liu: It all started with the Jesuits, the Sacred Heart School (SHS)-Ateneo de Cebu, led by its chairman of the board Mario King and the school president Fr. Manny Uy S.J. They offered to DOH 7 that we have this old Sacred Heart School campus on Gen. Maxilom Ave. (Cebu City). Use it to fill that need for a facility for mild and moderate patients at least to help decongest our hospitals.

When that happened, DOH 7 Director Jaime Bernadas was very gracious, and so they signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) together with Dr. Sophia Mancao of the DOH, who also is the one manning that center.

Correspondingly, when that happened, Archbishop Jose Palma of the Archdiocese of Cebu, together with Monsignor Joseph Tan, the media liaison officer of the Archdiocese, when they heard of this, they also took it upon themselves to offer the International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) Convention Center. Since it is a big facility, they felt that it can also be used for the same purpose. So, DOH, also graciously accepted the offer. So, now we have these two field centers. Thats how it all started.

When was it?

Liu: This idea came about sometime after the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) was announced in Manila (on March 16, 2020). When it was announced in Manila, of course, everyone was concerned. When our President declared the ECQ in Manila, thats when things were really mobilized. Immediately, a few days later, the MOA was signed on March 19 and on March 21, Monsignor Tan immediately met with the DOH 7. Thats how fast it has been with only about six weeks (of preparation).

Why was it named Bayanihan?

Liu: To put some kind of personality or at least a familiar name for the public to understand, thats when the idea to come up with a name that is easy for the public to relate to and the name Bayanihan Cebu was chosen. It also came about because of the Bayanihan Heal as One law that was passed in Congress.

How is the funding for the project?

Liu: Funding of the field centers is done through the generous efforts of donors and partners. In terms of DOH funding, I have no idea of the exact amount.

Who are the people or organizations that supported the Bayanihan Cebu initiative?

Liu: The Bayanihan Cebu was starting to be formed. And it so happened that the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas, thru Secretary Michael Dino, and also the Regional Development Council (RDC) 7, thru its Chairman Kenneth Cobonpue, are batchmates of SHS-Ateneo de Cebu Batch 85 and they are alumni of the school and they are also quite active with the Church.

When they heard about it, they said it is a very good idea and said they wanted to support. That was when things started to move forwardwith their support and the DOH leading the way, preparing the area. Thats when other groups started coming out to support our project. The Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (Rafi) was one of the early supporters. Of course, the other groups like PLDT (telecommunications company) and also so many of the doctor volunteers such as the University of the Philippines (UP) Medical Alumni Association Society and infectious disease specialist Dr. Bryan Lim, the volunteer architects. They really came along to dedicate themselves to make this happen.

What were the challenges in putting up/constructing the field centers?

Liu: Its difficult to put up because one of the requirements or the strong recommendations by the UP alumni doctors who volunteer was that we have to make it negative air pressure. The reason for that is as the world began to learn more about the virus, when you have mild to moderate symptom patients that cough there, the particles of the virus float in the air and if you dont replace the air constantly, theres a very big risk for the health workers to be infected.

One thing that could help in reducing that risk is to have a system that replaces the air regularly. That is what they call negative air pressure. Theres an air conditioning unit that brings in the air, and theres a blower that sucks the air out and the air passes through a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter before it is released to the atmosphere (outside the facility).

It was not easy. There were a number of delays. But to think that we can build a facility good for 48 patients in just two weeks, I admire them. I do not know what they did, but they created magic there.

What do these Covid-19 field centers look like inside?

Espina: The center is divided into green, yellow, and red zones. The green one is the safe zone. Thats where the administration, and call rooms of the staff are. But they still have to put on personal protective equipment (PPE). The yellow zone is the transition or neutral area before you enter the red zone. If you enter the green zone, usually the air has positive pressure, usually going outside. No dirty air hangin can go in. In the negative pressure, its already dirty, and the air flows in.

One way only. They cannot go back from red, yellow, green zones. It is from green, yellow, to red zones and then out. (For health care workers), you have to go through a shower to be able to return to the green zone.

As for the red zone, thats where the patients are. There are no divisions of the beds in a chamber. The distance from each other is around two meters.

How about the IEC Convention Center? How many mild Covid-19 patients can it accommodate?

The beauty with the IEC is because we learned from the mistakes we made in the Sacred Heart, we know the details that need to be fixed. In about two weeks from now, it should be ready. The initial capacity is expected at 130 patients.

Espina: What we also did there was to reduce the volume by doing those tunnels. Its like a plastic greenhouse. Its negative air pressure inside. The patient is inside the chamber. There are two chambers in Sacred Heart, and there are five in IEC.

How did you coordinate with the City and Provincial Government?

Thats because of OPAV Secretary Michael Dino. When he heard about the plan, he said that was a very good idea and we need to prepare and to decongest the hospitals. He invited different mayors of different cities (in Cebu), Cebu Provincial Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia and explained to them, and fortunately they all supported.

What are the existing efforts to ensure that we have enough medical volunteers for the field centers?

Hiring of the medical frontliners for the field centers is done solely by the DOH 7. Bayanihans participation is by gathering volunteer nurses, doctors and medical technologists, through Bayanihan Facebook posting.

Once we have the details of these volunteers, we forward all of them to the DOH 7 for assessment and possibly training/hiring.

What would be the doctor and nurse ratio to patients, and what would be their shifting?

Espina: One nurse is to 15 patients and around one doctor per 30 patients. For their shifting, we call it hot and cold. They go on hot for one week and cold for two weeks. Then another shift of one week for green zones. There are three shifts per day, and there will be eight hours per shift. There are the morning, noon and night shifts. If you are assigned to the noon shift, you will be in the noon shift for seven days. And this noon shift is also divided into two four-hour shifts.

When did the SHS-Ateneo de Cebu field center start accepting patients?

Liu: The Covid-19 field center in the Sacred Heart School old campus started accepting patients on the first week of May. I guess it is also timely because the mass testing in barangays is also ongoing and the government might be anticipating that there will be positive cases coming out. They come from all over. I just got word from one of the doctors there that there were a couple of patients that came from Madridejos, Cebu.
Chennai, May 9 : Two Air India Express flights commanded by women took off on Saturday, to evacuate stranded Indians from foreign shores. While one flight took off from Trichy in Tamil Nadu, the other flight left from Kochi in Kerala.

Coincidentally, the rescue mission comes on May 9, a day ahead of Mothers Day, which falls on Sunday. The two women commanders who are mothers themselves took off a day before the Mother's Day - May 9.

The rescue flight that took off from Trichy airport to Kuala Lumpur at about 1.11 p.m. was commanded by Captain Kavitha Rajkumar while Captain Bindhu Sebastian was the commander for Kochi - Muscat - Kochi flight that took off at about 1.17 p.m. the same time, said an Air India Express official.

The two flights are expected to return to India on Saturday late evening.

Over the past few days, following outbreak of COVID-19, India has launched one of the biggest air and sea evacuation operations for bringing back stranded Indians from different countries.
A friend emailed me recently to say that on May 1st, in his opening monologue, Tucker Carlson made the statement, You dont want to live in a society where the most powerful agency in government imprisons people it doesnt like. That is horrifying.

Our friend lamented that he wishes there is someone who could get Steves story to Tucker because what happened to Flynn is so similar to what happened to Steve, my husband  former pit bull Republican congressman from Texas.

Numerous reports verify that Rep. Stockman was quite a fierce critic of and whistle-blower on the Obama administration.

As a result, he was pursued for four years by the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the nonprofit division of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)  the very same corrupted team that went after the Tea Party and other conservative nonprofit organizations around 2012. The DOJ took their story before four grand juries before they were even able to obtain an indictment.

Steve Stockmanin 2013 (Photo by Gage Skidmore)

Notably, the indictment of Stockman was signed by DOJs Raymond Hulser, who had been copied by Lois Lerner when she emailed DOJ players from her IRS email account to arrange meetings to plan how to take action against those nonprofits. And it was Stockman who filed a resolution calling for Lois Lerners arrest due to her contempt of Congress in the whole IRS/DOJ conspiracy.

One of our justice reform advocate friends who counsels the White House on this topic told me last week that neither Carlson nor Hannity have ever been very warm to justice reform efforts like the First Step Act.

When I heard that, I realized that must be why theyve never picked up Steves story. Theyre seeing it through their hang em high, he must be guilty lenses that most all of us conservatives and libertarians, Steve and me included, generally wear. As I have said, friends tend to believe theres some guilt there.

They don't seem to be able to make the jump to realize that the DOJ/IRS team that prosecuted Steve would never have come after a sitting Congressman without the knowledge and approval of the guys at the top of those agencies  or to realize that Steve had been a threat individually to Obama, Holder, Lerner, and Clinton. Yes; in fact, Steve Stockman had signed onto Rep. Pete Olsons bill to impeach Eric Holder for his role in Fast and Furious

Of course, Stockmans former colleagues and, in fact, most US-loving Americans want to believe that our Justice system is really just  that one really can be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a fair and honest jury trial.

But why is it that we can see the DOJ corruption surrounding President Trump and his associates, but not remember that those DOJ prosecutors, among which Adam Schiff formerly numbered, actually control everything the jury can see and hear? Just recall the control former prosecutor Schiff exercised over evidence and testimony allowed in the House SCIF.

It is impossible for an uninformed jury to return an informed and correct verdict. Unfortunately, in politically motivated trials, juries are simply useful seat-warmers in Soviet style show trials as one of the governments key witnesses in my husbands case later called the trial. Even Professor Alan Dershowitz wrote a whole book titled, Trumped up: How the Criminalization of Political Differences Endangers Democracy .

Television and radio hosts who have had Flynns attorney, Sidney Powell, as their frequent guest should be able to make the jump from what has happened to Flynn, Stone, Corsi, and the president himself to the case brought against Obama thorn-in-the-side Rep. Steve Stockman.

And we, too, can attest to how defending against our government drains your every penny. We had spent all our disposable finances on legal counsel before Steve was even indicted. We had to spend all of Steves retirement and much of my own. Even now, the feds are garnishing my personal take-home pay to go towards the restitution levied on Steve.

Thus, we have never been able to hire a Sidney Powell with the chutzpah to help Steve win. And most of the public has no idea of whatever happened to popular fire brand former talk show guest Rep. Steve Stockman.

Months after Stockmans imprisonment and before he was even sentenced, Powell had said in an interview, The Public Integrity section of the Department of Justice is wrongly named. It is notorious for political prosecutions.

After Stockman was sentenced to ten years in prison, Powell told radio host Bill Martinez, If the government wants you in prison, you will go to prison. It doesnt matter whether you are innocent or not.  Look what has happened to Congressman Steve Stockman.

Today, having been in prison for two years as of Easter day, Steve Stockman is crammed in with over 500 men into a group living situation where social distancing is important. Thus, not only can he not follow the presidents advice to us all to practice social distancing, his very life is in danger when the COVID-19 virus creeps into that prison location.

As of May 4, 40 federal inmates have died of the virus and the prison where Steve was a year ago had no virus presence at the beginning of April, but ended the month with 336 cases, now up to at least 458. Its just a matter of time and Steve is a 63-year-old diabetic, overweight with hypertension and scarred lungs from severe asthma earlier in life. Hes been shut up in a tight group-living environment for over 30 days now with no exposure to sun or fresh air. Congressman Steve Stockmans sentence may become a death sentence since he is a prime target of Coronavirus since he has all the factors that bring death from the virus. And our friend laments that someone should get Steves story to Tucker Carlson.

Patti Stockman has been married to Steve for 31 years, is a conservative activist in her own right, and partnered alongside him in all his political endeavors. She has her own professional career, having worked for NASA 35 years. Visit www.DefendAPatriot.com to read more, lend your name to the petition for a pardon, read both briefs, or donate, if you wish.
This year marks the 75th Anniversary of the end of World War II in 1945. Many countries will be commemorating the victory of the Allied Forces over Germany on May 8th and 9th and over Japan over Aug 14th & 15th. While it was not our war, during the World War II, India was controlled by the UK and about 81,000 Indian soldiers (including from Pak, Nepal and Bangladesh) were martyred in WWII (1939-1945) in a multifrontal war- in Europe against Germany in North Africa against Germany and Italy, in South Asian region defending India against Japan, in Burma against Japan, liberating British colonies of Singapore and HongKong against Japan.

53% Indians support holding of ceremony, marking 75 years of World War II. 55% global citizens support it, while Russia (81%) and Great Britain (80%) endorse it most.

"It was not our war. Indians would favor the ceremony only to remember our martyrs, to remember the 81,000 unsung Indian heroes who sacrificed with their lives, to enter the annals of history," says Parijat Chakraborty, Country Service Line Leader, Public Affairs and Corporate Reputation, Ipsos India.

56% Indians said they were proud of Indias contribution to the war. 46% global citizens too held that view. For Russia (83%) and Great Britain (80%), the sentiment was far more pronounced.

"Here again, pride is for our Indian heroes who fought this war and the countless who died," added Chakraborty.

1 in 3 Indians (33%) said their relatives/ ancestors fought World War II.

1 in 5 Indians said their relatives/ ancestors died fighting WW II.

1 in 5 Indians lost their relatives to deliberate genocide, massacre, bombings in World War II.

Global findings

Ahead of the 75th anniversary of the Allied Forces victory over Nazi Germany, an Ipsos survey finds that 55% of men and women across 28 countries agree on the importance of holding ceremonies in remembrance of World War II

Russia, Great Britain, Ukraine, the United States, China, and Poland are the countries surveyed whose citizens most tend to be proud of their nations role in the conflict.

Throughout the world, many have a direct, familial link to the conflict. Globally, 40% of those surveyed report that some of their relatives or ancestors served in the armed forces during World War II, 21% that some of them died fighting in it, and 15% that some died because of deliberate genocide, massacres, mass-bombings, disease, or starvation during that war.

World War IIs influence is still felt strongly. Globally, 42% agree that political life in their country is still influenced by the events and the outcomes of the conflict. Among all the countries surveyed, this view is most widely held in Poland, China, Germany, Russia, and Great Britain.

The survey, titled 75th Anniversary of the End of World War II: A Global View, was conducted among 20,005 adults under the age of 75 across 28 countries on the Global Advisor online platform between March 20 and April 3, 2020.

Detailed Findings

Holding ceremonies in remembrance of World War II is deemed important by a majority in 16 of the 28 countries and by 55% globally. Among the countries surveyed, those where holding ceremonies in remembrance of World War II is most widely considered to be important are: Russia, Great Britain, Australia, the Netherlands, Canada, the United States, Ukraine, Poland, China, France and Belgium, all with at least two out of three adults saying it is very or somewhat important. At the opposite end of the spectrum, fewer than one in five in Japan and Saudi Arabia are of this opinion. While those aged 50-74 are most likely to agree (61%), majorities of those under the age of 35 (52%) and those aged 35-49 (also 52%) agree.



Majorities in 12 countries report they are proud of their nations role in World War II. Pride is most prevalent in Russia, Great Britain, Ukraine, the United States, China, Poland, Canada and Australia with at least two in three of their citizens surveyed agreeing they are proud it. Countries where pride is rarest: Germany, Japan, Spain and Chile, with fewer than one in six expressing any. The belief that it is important to commemorate World War II is not necessarily tied with pride in the role ones own country had in it, especially in Europe. While the countries where ceremonies are widely viewed as important include all countries where citizens are proudest of their countrys role, it also includes several European nations whose citizens are divided on their countrys role: the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Sweden and Italy.



The events and outcomes of World War II are most perceived to still have an influence on political life in Poland, China, Germany, Russia, Great Britain, Ukraine, and HHungary with at least one-half of their citizens surveyed agreeing it is still the case. In contrast, fewer than one in four in Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Argentina and Chile agree. On average, across all 28 countries surveyed, 42% agree. There is little disagreement across different age groups on this measure: those under the age of 35 (40%) and those aged 35-49 (also 40%) are not much less likely to agree than those aged 50-74 (45%).


Vietnam recorded 17 more imported COVID-19 cases as of 6pm on May 7, raising the total to 288.

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Except for the imported cases, there was no infection in the community for the 21st day.

The new cases were among 297 Vietnamese citizens flown home from the United Arab Emirates on flight VN0088 on May 3.

Following arrivals, all of them were quarantined in Bac Lieu province and had their samples tested for SARS-CoV-2.

Later on May 7, the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City found 17 positive and 280 negative.

All 17 patients are being treated at a general hospital in Bac Lieu, and in stable conditions.

In compliance with the Prime Ministers Directive dated April 10, Vietnam has welcomed back 1,657 citizens returning via airway since April 14.

In the near future, more flights will take Vietnamese citizens home based on their wish. All passengers entering Vietnam will be subject to a 14-day quarantine to prevent infection in the community./. VNA
Katie Miller, Vice President Mike Pences press secretary and the wife of President Trumps senior adviser Stephen Miller, has tested positive for the coronavirus, senior administration officials confirmed Friday.

Pence, who leads the federal governments coronavirus task force, was set to travel to Des Moines, Iowa, Friday, but his plane was delayed nearly an hour as word of Millers diagnosis was relayed to the vice president, Bloomberg reported.

Miller was believed to have been in contact with six other staffers who were scheduled to take the flight and who were removed from the plane at Andrews Air Force Base out of an abundance of caution, the vice presidents office said.

Pence had not been in recent contact with Miller, according to the vice presidents staff. Her marriage to Stephen Miller took place in February.

On Thursday, the White House reported that one of President Trumps personal valets had also tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

In Iowa, which Pence has called a success story in the fight against the virus, the vice president was planning to urge the resumption of in-person church services. Pence will also meet with grocery and agricultural business leaders to talk about possible disruptions in the nations food supply.

As of Friday, more than 11,000 people in Iowa had tested positive for COVID-19, and 243 had died from it. A recent jump in cases in Des Moines has city leaders concerned. More than 100 people are currently hospitalized in Polk County, which includes Des Moines.

Our community spread of the virus remains high, Karl Keeler, president of MercyOne Central Iowa health care, told the Associated Press. We have a lot of work to do.

Vice President Mike Pence at a meeting about the coronavirus response on Thursday in Washington. (Evan Vucci/AP)

While the number of cases of COVID-19 continues to rise, especially outside the New York metropolitan area, Trump floated the idea on Tuesday of disbanding the coronavirus task force. Hours later, he reversed course, saying he had no idea how popular the task force is until actually yesterday.

Story continues

Both Pence and Trump tested negative for the virus after learning about the positive result for the presidents valet, the White House announced. They and other White House staffers are now being tested daily.

The president has said he has no intention of wearing a mask to protect against infection by the coronavirus. Pence did not wear a mask on his recent tour of the Mayo Clinic, in defiance of the hospital rules.

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 Thursday. The President and the Vice President have since tested negative for the virus and they remain in great health.

Pences office said that he is tested on a daily basis and that Miller was not accompanying the vice president to Iowa.

_____

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:
(Natural News) The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) revealed Thursday that China was the source of the faulty coronavirus (COVID-19) test kits received by Tanzania. Prior to this, the origin of the test kits  which produced positive results when using samples from a goat and a pawpaw fruit  was unknown.

President John Magufuli ordered an investigation into the imported test kits Sunday. He stated that Tanzanian security forces randomly obtained non-human samples, including ones from pawpaw, a goat and a sheep, in order to evaluate the quality of the kits. These samples were then assigned human names and sent to a laboratory to test for the coronavirus.

Both the kits from the pawpaw and goat tested positive for COVID-19, according to Magufuli. The lab technicians handling the tests were deliberately not informed about the origins of the samples. Based on the results, Magufuli stated that faulty kits meant were marking some people as positive for the coronavirus even though they were not actually infected.

Africa CDC confirms China as the source of faulty kits

Dr. John Nkengasong, head of the Africa CDC, responded to the investigation Thursday. He said that the faulty test kits in question were imported to Africa from China, and then sent to Tanzania by the Africa CDC. These kits were donated by China through the Jack Ma Foundation, a charitable organization founded by billionaire Jack Ma.

Ma, the co-founder of the Alibaba Group and member of the Communist Party of China, has donated thousands of test kits, masks and protective gear to Africa, where the equipment is being used in nations across the continent. Aside from Tanzania, no other African countries have voiced any complaints about the test kits. (Related: Israels Health Ministry bans the use of Chinese coronavirus test kits,)

Nkengasong also commented on Magufulis allegation that the Africa CDC sent defective kits to Tanzania.

We are very instrumental in training, providing training to nearly all countries, and providing them with test kits, stated the Africa CDC chief. Weve also in the last couple of weeks and months distributed tests from the Jack Ma Foundation that have been validated and proven to be very, very reliable.

Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, head of the World Health Organizations (WHO) Africa office, also reacted to Tanzanias investigation of the test kits.

We are convinced that the tests that have been provided  both through procurement through [WHOs Africa office] and those that came through Jack Ma donations, were not contaminated with the virus, Moeti said in a teleconference with journalists on Thursday.

Testing lab under investigation

Tanzanias government has formed a team of experts to examine the lab that conducted the tests, stated chief government spokesman Hassan Abbas, and it would relay the outcome of the investigation, once results were in.

What the president said was based on initial tests run by using animals  to test the veracity of the test results, said Abbas. Our worry was based on empirical findings. Once the team finalizes its work we will know the gravity of the lapses in the machines.

Test issues could affect Africas efforts to fight COVID-19

If the veracity of Tanzanias test on the kits is demonstrated, and the test kits or machines proved to be faulty, itll be a huge blow to testing efforts in Africa. While the continents testing capacity has expanded sharply, Africa has still only carried out around 685 tests per million people, according to Reuters. In comparison, Europe has carried out nearly 17 million tests, or just under 23,000 per million.

The WHO has warned that there could be as many as 10 million infections in the continent within the next six months. Additionally, Moeti has warned that the disease could smoulder in the region, becoming a fixture in the lives of Africans for years to come unless governments take a more proactive approach.

While COVID-19 likely wont spread as exponentially in Africa as it has elsewhere in the world, it likely will [smolder] in transmission hotspots, said Moeti. 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.

As of press time, Tanzania has 509 cases of the coronavirus and 21 death, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Sources include:

Independent.co.uk

Breitbart.com

Reuters.com

TheGuardian.com

Coronavirus.JHU.edu
Growing up in a society, where the female gender are regarded as 'weaklings' and the male gender as the 'stronger vessels' makes me wonder what was in God's mind when he created us? Was his thought of good or bad? Definitely, his thought was of good to give us an expected end.

As I grew older, I have come to realize my strength as a woman, therefore I must not be regarded as a weakling because I have depicted strength even in suffering.

While in Secondary school, we were taught Nigerian History as a core subject that we must pass in WAEC/NECO examinations; throughout my years in secondary school I was only taught about 'Men' in the Nigerian history. It was the Men who were Heads of State, Heads of companies, Governors, Presidents and other worthy offices. We were never taught about notable Women who fought with their feminine strength in the fight for freedom such as the likes of ; Queen Amina of Zazzau ( now called Zaria), Margaret Ekpo, Funmilayo Ransome Kuti etc . History will never forget the 1929 : Ikot Abasi women riot which took place on the 21st day of December, this riot took place as a result of heavy taxation imposed on their husbands with Late Mrs Udo Udoma, who spearheaded the riot. She later gave birth to a young lad known as Justice Udo Udoma. That single act showed the feministic strength and of course their love for the male gender even when they were regarded as nothing.

In the society we live in today, a woman cannot become successful or take a title without hearing the phrase of " She slept her way in". Come to think of it , how many title holders do we have in each community that are females? Most times, we have been shut up by the male gender because according to them we belong to the kitchen and the other room. For how long will this ideology continue?

As the year goes by, gradually Feminism has come to stay in Nigeria and in Africa as a whole. The women are gradually coming out of their shells to take their rightful places in the world. Today , when the names of Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala, Folorunsho Alakija, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and others are mentioned, the society stares in awe because they have become the chief corner stones that the builders rejected.

Nigerian Feminism movement calls for equality and equity. It's therefore a wake up call for every Girl child and woman irrespective of their age, incomes, social status, ethnicity, religious and educational background to take up their place in any field they venture in. Feminism is therefore the way forward in Nigeria.

"Give a pen to a girl child and watch her transform her society".

Emem Usen writes for www.thenigerianvoice.com --- You can reach her via [email protected]
Around 8,000 more Britons have died at home since the start of the pandemic than ordinarily, with 80 per cent dying of conditions unrelated to Covid-19.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows there were 8,196 more deaths at home in England, Wales and Scotland compared with the five-year average for this time of year, including 6,546 non-Covid deaths.

The shock numbers have led some experts to suggest that people are refusing to be treated in wards for their conditions, for fear of contracting coronavirus.

Rather than die in hospital, they say, they are dying at home instead.

Dr Chaand Nagpaul of the British Medical Association (BMA) told The Guardian: 'Referrals from GPs are not being accepted unless for serious medical conditions and routine investigations to aid diagnosis are not available in many cases.

Around 8,000 more Britons have died at home since the start of the pandemic than ordinarily, with 80 per cent dying of conditions unrelated to Covid-19 (pictured, in Hampshire)

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, council chair of the British Medical Association (BMA)

Doctors sent elderly patients back to care homes despite KNOWING they had coronavirus but did not tell staff and triggered new outbreaks By Sophie Borland for the Daily Mail Hospitals may have broken the law by sending patients with Covid-19 back to care homes without telling their managers they had the virus. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has been told that several hospitals returned people despite suspecting - or even knowing - they were infected. Tragically, these patients triggered outbreaks in the homes, claiming the lives of other vulnerable residents. Staff at the care homes would have not realised they had the virus so may not have been wearing adequate protective clothing or taken other infection control precautions. The CQC is investigating several cases after being informed by care home managers that hospitals discharged patients into their premises without telling them they had the disease. Kate Terroni, the watchdog's chief inspector of adult social care, said: 'We have heard of a few incidents where this has happened and it has resulted in infections spreading to other residents in the care home.' Advertisement

'This means many ill patients are not getting the care they so desperately need now - and crucially, risking their conditions getting worse and with some even dying as a result. These figures underline that the devastation wrought by Covid-19 spreads far beyond the immediate effects of the illness itself.'

Analysis by The Guardian shows the number of deaths in care homes in England and Wales in the week to April 24 was 3.1 times higher than normal.

Deaths in private homes and in hospitals were 1.5 times higher than typical.

There were 23,583 deaths in people's homes over the past seven weeks, compared with the five-year average of 16,794. Of the additional 6,789 fatalities, one in four were attributed to coronavirus. This leaves 5,355 excess non coronavirus-related deaths.

Data from Scotland show there were 3,453 deaths in homes and non-institutional settings in the seven weeks to May 3, compared to 2,046 in a typical year. However, of the remaining deaths, just 216 were coronavirus-related. This means there were 1,191 excess deaths.

In England and Wales, 32,633 deaths were recorded in care homes - over twice the figure expected at this time of year. Again, just 6,815 of the remaining deaths were coronavirus-related.

This leaves 10,148 deaths where Covid-19 was not listed on the death certificate.

While there were 597 excess deaths in Scottish care homes in the seven weeks to May 3, these are lower than the number of coronavirus-related deaths.

Speaking to The Guardian, Jason Oke of the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at Oxford University suggested 'people are dying of other causes that would not have happened under normal conditions'.

He described these people as 'collateral damage of the lockdown'.

Figures for England and Wales are based on the date of occurrence rather than the date of registration. In Scotland, they are based on the date of registration.
Bill Maher is criticizing the media for focusing on Tara Reade's sexual assault allegations against Joe Biden and urging people not to let her 'victimhood' derail the 'only hope' Democrats have of defeating President Trump at the November polls.

The comedian and political commentator devoted part of Friday's Real Time with Bill Maher monologue to addressing the potential fallout of Reade's claims against the former Vice President.

Reade has been making headlines recently with her accusation that Biden sexually assaulted her in the hallway of a Capitol Hill building in 1993, when she was a 29-year-old staff assistant working for then 50-year-old Biden, who was a senator.

Biden has denied the claims.

Bill Maher (left) criticized the press and Democrats for paying too much attention to Joe Biden sex assault accuser Tara Reade's claims now that Biden is the 'only hope' of defeating Trump. Reade and Biden are pictured at left, when they were younger

Maher noted that the situation boiled down to 'he-said, she-said.'

'She says Biden attacked her and he says he didn't. Those are their positions. How about this for yours: Don't know, never will, don't care,' Maher said during the HBO show's monologue.

Maher also said that 'Just because Fox News is obsessed with the Biden sex assault allegations, it doesn't mean the rest of us have to be.'

He then urged the 'liberal' media and the Democrat party not to 'go down the rabbit hole of "Joe Biden, sex monster."'

Although Maher made it a point to say that he 'understood' Reade waiting years to make allegations - because 'it can take victims years to come forward' - he did wonder why she was coming forward at this exact time.

'You waited 27 years, it couldn't hold another few months?' he said.

'I'm saying why not before Super Tuesday?' Maher said he wanted to ask Reade. 'Why not last fall, when we still had a dozen other candidates to chose from? Why wait until Biden is our only hope against Trump and then take him down?'

Reade (pictured) has claimed that Biden sexually assaulted her in a Capitol Hill building hallway in 1993, which Biden has denied

Maher said he wanted to ask Reade why she waited until after Biden (pictured) was the presumptive Democrat presidential candidate before making her accusations

During the monologue, Maher pointed out that Reade had written a since-deleted blog post about her admiration for Russia's Vladimir Putin and also contradicted herself with regard to whether she had been scared of Biden at the time or whether she filed a sexual harassment claim.

Maher said that the Democrats '"woke" themselves into a corner when they adopted #BelieveWomen as their slogan' during the #MeToo movement, 'when it should always have been #TakeAccusationsSeriously.'

He went on to say that 'Believing everything doesnt make you noble, it makes you gullible.

'And it leaves us with a world where Republicans dont care about this stuff, so its just a unilateral weapon that is used only against Democrats. Trump rides the bus with Billy Bush, we throw Al Franken under it.'

In December 2017, the Democrats told Franken he had to resign from his Senate seat or face censure and be stripped of his subcommittee assignments after he was accused of forcibly kissing a woman during a USO skit rehearsal in 2006.

Franken denied the accusation and resigned in January 2018.

Maher also said that 'Democrats are the party of choice, we can choose not to completely f**k ourselves over this.'

'I dont know if youve noticed, but America has turned into a failed state that does a worse job keeping its citizens alive during a pandemic than Cambodia. And to me, thats a little more important than Tara Reade achieving closure,' Maher said.

He also noted that Reade's accusations are 'gathering an importance it should not have' and that 'there is so much at stake in this next election. The entire world needs to be put back together like Humpty Dumpty, why should one person's victimhood trump everyone else's?'

Reade's attorney, Douglas H. Wigdor, said that Maher had 'decided to recycle old rape myths.'

'He ought to be ashamed, and I expect that those who believe in the #metoo movement will join me in condemning him for his hurtful words that unfortunately, will act as a deterrent to survivors that grapple with coming forward because of comments such as his,' Wigdor said in a statement to TheWrap Saturday.

In an interview with Megyn Kelly released Friday, Reade (in undated images) said that wanted Biden to withdraw his candidacy and be held accountable for what he allegedly did

Wigdor, who only recently took on Reade as a client, said Friday that he was not being paid for working on her case at the moment.

Wigdor told the Associated Press that there wasn't a political motivation for his decision to represent Reade against Biden.

Reade told Megyn Kelly in an interview that was posted on social media Friday that she wanted Biden to 'please step forward and be held accountable, you should not be running on character for president of the United States.'

Reade also said she wanted Biden to withdraw from the presidential race. Biden is currently the presumptive Democratic candidate.

Wigdor is a Trump supporter for donated about $55,000 in campaign contributions in 2016, Federal Election Commission records have shown. He also donated money to campaigns for New York Democrats.

He has not made any contributions to either Trump of Biden's 2020 campaigns.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The war of words between the Centre and the West Bengal government scaled a new level on Saturday with Union Home Minister Amit Shah criticising Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the "injustice" to migrant workers by not allowing special trains carrying them arrive at the state.

This was Shahs first sharp exchange with Mamata on the way the state is dealing with the pandemic. Till now, barbs were being exchanged mainly at the bureaucratic level.

In his letter to Mamata seeking the states cooperation, Shah pointed to the Shramik Special trains transporting migrant workers to various destinations, adding labourers from Bengal, too, were eager to return home.

"But we are not getting expected support from the West Bengal. The state government of West Bengal is not allowing the trains reaching to West Bengal. This is injustice with West Bengal migrant labourers. This will create further hardship for them," Shah complained.

A HM failing to discharge his duties during this crisis speaks after weeks of silence, only to mislead people with bundle of lies! Ironically hes talking about the very ppl whove been literally left to fate by his own Govt. Mr @AmitShah, prove your fake allegations or apologise https://t.co/HeWYWFafZ5  Abhishek Banerjee (@abhishekaitc) May 9, 2020

But Mamatas nephew and TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee tweeted: "A HM failing to discharge his duties during this crisis speaks after weeks of silence, only to mislead people with bundle of lies! Ironically hes talking abou the very ppl whove been literally left to fate by his own Govt. Mr@AmitShah, prove your fake allegations or apologise (sic)."

Earlier this week on May 6, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla wrote to state chief secretary Rajiv Sinha highlighting poor containment measures by the state.

READ| Delhi, southern states see lower death rate; West Bengal records the highest

'Got clearance from West Bengal for running 8 special trains'

The Indian Railways said it had received "clearance" from West Bengal for running eight special trains to the state. A senior railway official said three trains from Karnataka, two each from Punjab and Tamil Nadu, and one from Telangana will take stranded people to West Bengal over the next few days. However, no Shramik Special train departed for West Bengal on Saturday
Tin sheets cordon off both ends of the West Madha Church street in North Chennais Royapuram, where a social work graduate student lives with her parents. Her lane is one of 357 containment zones in the city and 711 in Tamil Nadus 36 districts. Last week there was a positive case discovered 2-3 houses down the street above the neighbourhood supermarket, the 21-year-old told HT. After that these tin sheets came up overnight. It is when the virus was next door that fear and anxiety gripped the area, she said.

The first containment zone in North Chennai came up as early as April 2 after which the corporation has been learning on the job, officials said. Initially our containment zones were defined in a very expansive manner, said a senior official. Drones with speakers flew overhead to check if people were congregating on roof tops and to make announcements. Then we realised that this is counterproductive. If we close down a large area, then it will be impossible to monitor. It made more sense to define a more compact containment zone and enforce containment of a smaller group of families, the official said.

Now, on average, each containment zone monitors 150 families. One case is enough to contain an area. The transformation from a neighbourhood into a containment zone is swift. First, the person who tested positive is taken to hospital, then all his family and direct contacts are traced, tested and quarantined and third, in consultation with the police, the area is cordoned off. We have registers outside containment zones which records how many people come in and go out every day. Movement is severely restricted for emergency cases only. We are working to ensure groceries and vegetables are supplied every day outside the barricades, said the official.

Click here for full Covid-19 coverage.

Furthermore, zonal classification of districts are based on hotspot analysis set down by the Centre. Red zones or hotspot districts are demarcated on the basis of active cases; green zones are districts with either zero confirmed cases till date or no confirmed case in the last 21 days; while the orange zones are districts that are neither red nor green. As of May 5, Tamil Nadu has 12 districts are in the red zone, while 25 are in the orange zone. Krishnagiri, which was a green zone, was redesignated an orange zone after one positive case was reported on Wednesday.

Though the first case in the city was reported on March 7, TN created a containment zone plan after a religious conference of the Tablighi Jamaat held in New Delhi in mid-March was declared a hotspot. By April 1, the state had rolled out a detailed plan to track the attendees, their family members, and their primary contacts to test them for Covid-19. Health workers conducted door-to-door surveillance of the attendees families across several districts and authorities were instructed to cordon off a radius of 7-8 km around the attendees homes. In all, 1480 attendees and their contacts were traced and tested. Since the beginning of the week, Chennais wholesale fruit and vegetable market, Koyembedu, has been shut as it was found to be a Covid-19 hotspot; officials fear that the number of people who will need to be tracked may well be more than those associated with the religious conference. Of the 508 positive cases on May 5, a large number were linked to the wholesale market.

The case of Chennai

The state which has been in continuous lockdown since the last week of March, saw its caseload grow by 2089 in April; Chennai alone accounted for 880 of those. Of the 15 containment zones in Chennai, six including zone 5 where the 21-year-old graduate student lives, is under the scanner of the Corporation. At a press conference last week, Corporation commissioner G Prakash said that northern Chennai, which accounts for a majority of the citys cases, will see further containment efforts.

Over the weekend, the Tamil Nadu government announced a graded relaxation for commercial and industrial units across the state; this does not apply to any containment area. Offices were also allowed to resume work with 20 persons or 25% of the work force, whichever is lower. The government has begun to offer e-passes to allow people to move within districts, between districts and even travel outside the state specifically for marriages, funerals or medical emergencies. The government has also started a website in which migrants are expected to register their details, in order to return to their home states. Over 1.18 lakh people are reported to have registered already.

Yet, on the first workday of this week, crowds thronged various parts of Chennai. This was worrying, because physical distancing and other safeguards remain vital to preventing the spread of the virus. Officials said that they have found it tough to enforce the lockdown even inside containment zones. A senior corporation official who did not wish to be named told HT: To be honest, we cant say we have done a perfect job, but we are doing our best. In a way these containment zones are like imprisoning people in their homes. We try our best to explain to people that we dont have an alternative. Last week, protests broke out in parts of Royapuram, where residents gathered in large groups and argued with police personnel at a barricade to allow them to go out to purchase groceries.

Ali Basha, a 49-year-old who runs a tuition centre in Thiruvottiyur in North Chennai has been providing relief materials to families in his area since mid-April. There was also a rumour doing the rounds in the early days of the lockdown that salty air from the sea breeze helps fight the virus. Since North Chennai is mainly on the coast, most people bought into this Whatsapp forward and didnt really care much about the social distancing, he said.

In other parts of North Chennai, residents that HT spoke to, said they found inner roads to get around police barricades in containment zones. Only 40% of those who step out really need to. The rest are people who are just curious how the city looks under a lockdown. They show up with their mobile phones so they can video call friends or relatives and give them a glimpse on how the roads or marketplaces look, Basha said.

Crowding around vegetable markets has also been a severe issue in the state prompting Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami to note early last week, In corporations like Chennai, Coimbatore and Trichy, the problem lies in vegetable markets. No matter how much you tell people, they refuse to follow lockdown restrictions. They are playful.

Turning green

This is not to say that other districts have not been able to reduce the spread of the pandemic-causing virus, Sars-Cov-2, during the lockdown. Erode in western Tamil Nadu, for instance, has slowly fought its way out of a red zone. The district currently has no active Covid-19 cases. Last month the district was in the news when two Thai nationals who were part of the New Delhi religious conference tested positive on March 21. Every single case we had in Erode was asymptomatic, Erode deputy director of Health Services Dr S Soundammal told HT.

The district has not seen a single positive case since April 15 entirely due to rigorous contact tracing in the initial days with testing and strict quarantining that followed. Our last active case was recorded on April 14 after which we have not got a single case. This is despite 100-200 samples tested every day still, said Soundammal. Our happiest day was April 28 when the last of the four cases we had were discharged. That day we realised that we had not had a case for the previous fortnight.

The district administration is now focused on containing crossovers from across the district borders, even though the state has begun to allow inter-district travel. We have got lists of people who have crossed over into our district, some who had passes to travel, some who didnt. Some people who have walked across the Cauvery river, or through forests. We have strictly closed borders and maintained records and enforced a 14-day quarantine for anyone coming from outside, said Soundammal. For it to be a complete success story it will take time. We are in the middle of the journey, she said.

Flattening the curve or reducing the spread of the infection now means that a district has to find its way back to being a green zone. One way to do that is to curtail people from red zones mixing with people from other zones. However, former city health officer of Chennai and senior epidemiologist Dr P Kuganantham noted that epidemiologists are not worried about the increasing number of positive cases. The first step to arrest the spread of the epidemic is identifying more number of cases, he said.

The more a state tests, the more the numbers would increase. Official data from May 1 shows that Chennai has tested 5225 samples per million population while the state has tested 1685 samples per million population till now.

People are alarmed about increasing number of cases but they dont understand one important point, positivity and illness are two different things. Testing positive amongst the younger and middle age groups is not going to harm them unless they suffer from any co-morbid conditions. It is only bad if elderly people with co-morbidities are going to be infected, he said. This lockdown has has postponed or delayed outbursts of the epidemic, and given more chance for elderly people to be isolated.
Elon Musk has been frustrated that Teslas Fremont factory has remained shut down due to Alameda Countys lockdown order, and that anger has apparently reached the boiling point. Musk has claimed that hell move Teslas headquarters to Nevada or Texas immediately as a result of Alameda Countys decision to keep the Fremont factory shut through May. He also threatened to pull all manufacturing from Fremont depending on how Tesla is treated in the future.

On top of this, Musk said Tesla would sue the county for allegedly defying the Governor, the President, our Constitutional freedoms & just plain common sense.

The entrepreneur has made his displeasure with the Fremont shutdown clear on more than one occasion, including on Twitter and in a profanity-laced outburst in an earning call where he called lockdown safety measures an attack on freedom.

Weve asked the company if it can elaborate on Musks statements. If he follows through, however, it could significantly affect the automotive and technology industries. Itd leave California without a major car maker, as Musk suggested, while boosting Teslas presence in Nevada. It could hurt Teslas ability to hire new staff in the process, mind you. The company has poached staff from tech companies in the San Francisco Bay Area that might not have needed to relocate at all. While a move to another state would reduce the chances of companies stealing Tesla employees, the EV maker could have a harder time recruiting workers without immediate access to Silicon Valley talent.

Update 5/10 9:30AM ET: Tesla followed up Musks declarations with a blog post making its case for restarting production in Fremont, including safety measures and the Governors reopening strategy. While the company didnt touch on Musks threat to move the headquarters, it confirmed that a lawsuit had been filed to invalidate Alameda Countys restrictions and hinted that 20,000 Tesla jobs (including over 10,000 at the factory) were at stake.
New Delhi: In a first, while mentioning India by name, Taliban has said that it would like to have a positive relationship with the country and welcomed New Delhi's cooperation in Afghanistan.

Speaking exclusively to our senior correspondent, Doha's Taliban political office spokesperson, Suhail Shaheen said, "Based on our national interest and mutual respect, we would like to have positive relations with neighbouring countries including India and welcome their contribution and cooperation in the reconstruction of future Afghanistan."

He explained, "The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is a national Islamic movement of Afghanistan which has been struggling for the emancipation of the country from occupation. We dont have any agenda beyond our border."

The comments come even as the US is keen that India speaks to the Taliban. US Special Representative for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, was in New Delhi last week, the first such visit after the US Taliban deal on February 29 and had spoken about this with India.

During the visit, he called on External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and sources on the meet said, "It is clear, New Delhi needs to be part of the process if we need to contribute effectively to the (Afghan) peace process."

The talks which had "level of urgency" sources added had "covered the entire gamut of the situation in Afghanistan. Proposal for the accommodation of different strands of political thoughts was discussed".

Earlier in 2020, terrorists attacked a Gurdwara in Kabul killing more than 25 Afghan Sikhs and the attack was claimed by the Islamic State. The attack also killed an Indian.

India also expressed it deep "concern at the upsurge in violence" and extended it support for "call for an immediate ceasefire" and need to "assist the people of Afghanistan in dealing with coronavirus pandemic".

India also emphasised on the need to "putting an end to terrorist safe havens and sanctuaries" which is necessary for "enduring and sustainable peace and stability in Afghanistan." The US special envoy was accompanied by Senior Director in the US National Security Council Lisa Curtis and the US Ambassador to India Ken Juster.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  Frank Russo, Cuyahoga Countys disgraced former auditor who was one of the biggest players to go down as a result of a wide-ranging federal probe, was released from a prison in North Carolina as the coronavirus rips through federal lockups, his attorney said.

Russo was released Thursday and is back in Cleveland, lawyer Roger Synenberg confirmed Friday. Synenberg said the Federal Bureau of Prisons freed Russo as part of a program to release certain inmates who are older and have heath issues to reduce their risk of contracting the virus. He will be on GPS monitoring and have to follow other rules set by the prisons bureau, his lawyer said.

The former auditor, who has a history of medical issues, was serving a 14-year sentence. He was taken into custody in November 2012 and was last housed at a medical prison in Butner, North Carolina. He is not scheduled for full release from the prison bureaus custody until October 2024, provided he gets time off for good behavior.

Were really happy hes home, Synenberg said.

Russo, 70, was one of dozens of politicians, contractors and government workers convicted of federal crimes as a result of an FBI and IRS corruption investigation that began more than a decade ago. He was also one of the most powerful.

He served as the countys auditor from 1997 to 2010 and pleaded guilty to a bevy of federal crimes in September 2010. He admitted he and his cohorts took more than $1 million in bribes, gifts and trips in exchange for jobs, contracts and political favors, among other crimes. Prosecutors said he was one of the most corrupt politicians in the county, right up there with his friend Jimmy Dimora.

Russo later agreed to cooperate with the government in its probe and testified at the 2012 trial for Dimora, the former county Democratic Party chairman and county commissioner.

Then-U.S. District Judge Kate OMalley sentenced Russo in December 2010 to 22 years in federal prison, the second-longest prison stint of anybody convicted in the probe besides Dimora.

U.S. District Judge Sara Lioi reduced Russos sentence by nearly eight years in 2019 because of the former auditors cooperation. He was also ordered to pay nearly $7 million in restitution.

Russos release comes as the coronavirus continues to spread in jails and prisons, where inmates have limited abilities to stay distant from others and often cant access adequate medical care.

Federal Correctional Complex Butner has several facilities, including the medical prison where Russo was housed. The medical prison had five inmates and five staffers who had tested positive for the virus as of Friday, though the prisons bureau noted that two staff members had also recovered.

Other facilities on the grounds have reported more cases. A medium-security prison there reported 211 positive inmate cases as of Friday, along with seven inmate deaths and 13 positive cases among staff.

Dimora, 64, is serving a 28-year prison sentence and has also suffered health issues for years. He is housed at Federal Correctional Institution Elkton in Columbiana County, where nine inmates have died from the virus as of Friday.

U.S. District Judge James Gwin in Cleveland has ordered federal officials to release or move inmates at risk of the virus because of their age or medical ailments from the prison. Dimora is on a list of eligible inmates for release or transfer, though he remains locked up there.
Muslim theologists in Sri Lanka have urged the government to reconsider its decision on cremating the Muslims who died due to the coronavirus, saying the revised rule goes against the Islamic tradition.

Sri Lanka has made cremations compulsory for coronavirus victims, ignoring protests from the country's Muslims, who make up 10 per cent of the 21 million population.

In a letter to the Director General, Health Services, the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) claimed that more than 180 countries in line with the guidelines of the World Health Organisation have allowed burials for Muslims who die of COVID-19.

It is our moral and ethical duty to abide by the law of the country and to guide people towards it. But it does not imply that we endorse or give consent to this ruling as it is against our religious principles, the letter said.

They urged the health authorities to reconsider the decision. The Muslim clerics in Sri Lanka had earlier also made an appeal regarding their opposition to cremations.

Sri Lanka had earlier amended the operational guidelines to allow only cremations of COVID-19 victims after it had been originally agreed for burials. Health officials said burials would be dangerous with the risk of transmission.

The Muslim Outfit assured the government that they would comply with the required standards such as preparing the grave 8 feet deep and the graves can be cemented or concreted to allay safety fears.

At least three Muslims are among the nine people who have so far died from the highly infectious disease in the country so far. Their bodies were cremated by the authorities despite protests from their relatives.

Sri Lanka has so far recorded 835 coronavirus positive cases. Of the total, 404 are Sri Lanka Navy personnel.

Having been under continuous curfew in the lockdown observed since March 20, the island nation is set to re-open from May 11.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A beloved grandmother living in the embattled Newmarch House care home has died weeks after recovering from deadly coronavirus.

Fay Rendoth, 92, has been remembered by her loved ones after she died on Friday.

Her granddaughter Savannah Robinson said her beloved grandmother was dedicated to her family, but was unable to see them before her death.

'Maybe Nan recovered from COVID-19, but she didn't recover from the isolation,' Miss Robinson told the ABC.

'It was heartbreaking to not be able to sit by her side in her final days, and be with her and speak to her.

Anglicare's Newmarch House in western Sydney became a coronavirus cluster, after an infected staff member went to work for six days despite having symptoms.

Fay Rendoth, 92, (pictured) has been remembered by her loved ones after she died on Friday

Sixteen residents of Anglicare's Newmarch House (pictured) in western Sydney have now died from coronavirus

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

Mrs Rendoth leaves behind three daughters, eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, whom she had spent her final weeks speaking to on the phone.

Her husband of more than 70 years, Ken, died five years ago.

The outbreak, identified on April 11, quickly spiralled out of control, with nearly 70 residents and staff members testing positive for the virus.

The tragedies have prompted urgent calls from medical officials for workers, especially those who care for vulnerable people, to stay home if they feel even mildly ill.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said workers should avoid leaving home if they feel even slightly unwell, particularly if they work with vulnerable people.

'We have talked about this numerous times but now it appears that some staff are still going to work, even when they have symptoms,' he said.

The female worker was said to be 'mortified and distraught' that she had been the catalyst for the cluster, which spread quickly through the vulnerable residents.

'Please don't go to work if you're feeling sick. Just don't go.'

NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian previously said the situation at Newmarch House was 'horrific' and accused the care provider of 'unacceptable' management of the home.

A man is seen walking near Sydney's Dee Why beach on April 23 (pictured) wearing a face mask

'The Federal Government [has] involved the Aged Care Assurance Advocacy Association to deal with the matter,' she said.

'Because what's happening there isn't acceptable and unfortunately you do notice a difference in the way people who run these aged care homes across the nation are dealing with the issue.

'This particular operator has been left wanting on a number of levels.'
BEIRUT, May 9 -- On May 8, the 18th Chinese peacekeeping medical contingent to Lebanon held commemorative activities for the 73rd World Red Cross Day.

During their peacekeeping mission, the health care peacekeepers have proactively provided humanitarian medical assistance for local residents, promoting the spirit of humanity, fraternity and dedication, and the intention of Chinese "blue helmets" for world peace as well.

Cheng Changzhi, an orthopedic surgeon, felt greatly honored providing medical services in overseas humanitarian rescue. "The daily treatment and free clinical care we provide alleviate the residents' difficulty to a certain extent," Cheng said.

The Chinese peacekeeping medical contingent conducts long-term humanitarian clinical care in surrounding villages, communities, schools and other places and distributes medicine to the residents for free, making medical service available at home, which have been warmly welcomed and highly acclaimed by the local residents. The Chinese health care peacekeepers have received many letters of thanks from both local governments and people.

The medical contingent of the Chinese peacekeeping force to Lebanon take the Hippocratic Oath. (Photo by Huang Shifeng)
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COVID-19 cases in India nears 60,000 and 3,320 new cases in 24 hours



With 3,320 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours, the nationwide tally Saturday neared 60,000 marks. Even as the country remains under strict lockdown, 95 deaths were reported in the last 24-hours, taking the toll to 1,981. Health ministry says India's Covid tall is now at 59,662, of which active cases are 39,834, while 17,847 have been cured or discharged. As of now, Maharashtra has the highest number of infections at 19,063 followed by Gujarat (7,402) and Delhi (6,318).



3 more CISF personnel tested positive for Covid-19 in last 24 hours; 48 CISF personnel have tested COVID19 positive till date: CISF



Maharashtra, which recorded 1,089 new cases, also accounted for the days highest death toll of 37. Maharashtra accounts for 19,063 Covid-19 cases. The state has recorded 731 deaths while 3470 patients have recovered. Mumbai alone has witnessed over 12,000 coronavirus cases. 714 police personnel have tested positive in Maharashtra, of which 648 are active cases, 61 recovered & 5 deaths; 194 incidents of assault on police personnel during the lockdown period, 689 accused arrested.



338 new COVID19 positive cases reported in Delhi on Friday, taking the total number of cases to 6318 including 2020 recovered, 4230 active cases and 68 deaths: Delhi Health Department - ANI



The total number of COVID-19 positive cases reached 6,009 in Tamil Nadu with 600 people testing positive today, reports PTI.



76 fresh cases of #Coronavirus have been reported in Rajasthan, taking total number of cases to 3655 out of which 1526 cases are active. Number of fatalities due to the disease stands at 103, says Rajasthan Health Department. Read More...


China cannot admit to ANY MISTAKES! China needs praise more than anything, they want to sell the rest of the world PPE but only if we praise them!
Marine Life Declines for Another Year in Contested, Overfished South China Sea

By Ralph Jennings May 08, 2020

Marine life in the politically disputed South China Sea took another hit over the past year, researchers said, due to overfishing and lack of international efforts to protect species.

Vessels from multiple Asian countries are going farther out into the 3.5 million-square-kilometer sea and casting deeper because coastal waters yield increasingly little, scholars and published research indicate. Giant clam harvesting, added to use of cyanide and dynamite bombing for fish, damaged coral reefs last year, the analysts said.

Marine life in the sea that stretches from Taiwan southwest to Singapore comes into focus every May, when China declares a moratorium on fishing above the 12th parallel, which encompasses waters most frequented by China but bisecting both Vietnam and the Philippines. The bans that began in 1995 will last this year from May 1 to August 16.

"We're all in this pretty rapid decline when it comes to biodiversity in the South China Sea and we certainly don't see any evidence that anybody is doing anything about it," said Gregory Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative under the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Fishing in the sea expanded rapidly in the 1980s and early 1990s, to about 10 million tons per year but then started stagnating, researchers Cui Liang of China's Xiamen University and Daniel Pauly from the University of British Columbia said in a 2017 paper.

Since then, the study said, boats have fished deeper and caught smaller fish. Still, the South China Sea accounted for 12 percent of the global fish catch just five years ago, according to CSIS. Analysts could not estimate the total 2019 catch volume because of lack of national-level data.

"The coastal areas are already overfished, so that means that fishing fleets from China, Taiwan, Korea, even Japan would actually be swarming now into the center of the South China Sea area, which means there is that concern about overfishing, and then, not to speak of that island-building processes that China conducted," said Herman Kraft, a political science professor at University of the Philippines Diliman.

Among the problems is continued use by Asian fishing crews of dynamite and cyanide bombing, the conservation group Global Underwater Explorers said on its website. The practice, which wrecks coral reefs and fish spawning zones, is "widespread throughout Asia and the South China Sea, from Indonesia to southern China," the website said.

CSIS pointed to "large-scale" clam harvesting and dredging for island construction. China has wrecked 40,000 acres of coral reef to build islets for human use, Poling said. Giant clam harvesting last year by Chinese boats hurt coral around Scarborough Shoal west of Luzon Island in the Philippines, media outlets in Manila said.

Military groups in the sea's Spratly Islands have shot turtles and seabirds, raided nests and fished with explosives, the World Wildlife Fund said on its website. One turtle species, the hawksbill, is endangered.

Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam claim all or part of the sea that is also valuable because of its energy reserves and marine shipping lanes. An estimated 37 million people depend on fishing there for a living, while state-to-state conservation talks are rare.

The declining fishery stocks push each country's fleet to look harder for what's left, Poling said. About 4 million Chinese fishing crew members are expected to obey China's moratorium, but crews from other countries, which contest sovereignty over that tract of sea, are unlikely to change course because they do not recognize the Chinese claim.

Most conservation efforts to date come from individual countries.

About five years ago, academics in the Philippines suggested creating a protected area in the Spratlys, and the idea gained a following in government agencies, although not at the presidential level, Kraft said. Vietnam had proposed nearly 20 years ago that a separate160-square-kilometer tract of the archipelago become a protected area. Both countries control some of the Spratly islets.

Coral in 3,500 square kilometers of open sea around the Taiwan-controlled Pratas islets showed improvement last year because the Taiwanese coast guard has stepped up patrols to keep foreign-registered fishing vessels away, said Chuang Cheng-hsien, a conservation section chief under the Marine National Park Headquarters. China also claims the three Pratas atolls.

Eight or nine years ago, he said, foreign vessels would fish near the protected atolls.

"They get pushed out now, so there's a big difference in numbers between now and the past," he said. "In that area there's virtually no destruction by mechanized fishing boats."

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Famous anti corruption activist and Chairman of Anti-Corruption and Integrity Forum, Comrade Prince Kpokpogri has described the Senate probe of the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio and the Interim Management Committee of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as a shot in the dark, caricature and headless task, adding that the IMC is the best thing that has happened to the Commission since inception.

He made this assertion in a press conference in Lagos, while calling on the Niger Delta people to support Senator Godswill Akpabio in his quest to clean up the NDDC and position it to better the lives of the Niger Delta people according to the spirit of its creation.

Kpokpogri said what the National Assembly was doing by inviting the Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Akpabio for questioning on the N40 billion paid to certified contractors was a shot in the dark and legislative busy body

Is the National Assembly saying that contractors who were owed over a year ago should not be paid even after the contracts were certified to have been duly executed? Are they aggrieved that some of their youth contractors had been denied opportunities for more fraudulent jobs? Or are they angry that there would be no more free money from contracts that were never executed?, he asked.

The anti corruption crusader therefore, advised the NASS to stop chasing shadows and focus on more pressing national concern of the moment, which is Covid-19.

He said inviting Akpabio to question him on the money he got the Presidencys approval to pay contractors is nothing but distraction, either to cover up for their laxity and inability to add value to the system or a grand plan to harm Akpabio with Covid-19 infection.

Again, he averred that the headless probe could be diversionary, even as he accused some politicians for failing to use NDDC as a conduit pipe to stack money for 2023 election.

The activist further asked that if the petition to probe the hard working Interim Management Committee of NDDC was not representing vested interest, then why must spending N40 billion to offset contractual debts become a matter of urgent public importance in an era of Coronavirus pandemic?

According to Kpokpogri, Let me tell the world that the Senate invitation on Akpabio is just an agenda to mount pressure on him to intimidate him. But he should not be perturbed; its only but a game.

What about the petition against the administration of the former acting Managing Director of NDDC, Prof. Brambrafa, which was read at the floor of the Senate and heard during public hearing? Why has the National Assembly not come up with the outcome of that investigation? Why have those who had looted the Commission dry for themselves and their godfathers not been penalised for corrupt offenses?

I, Comrade Kpokpogri is saying that the Interim Management Committee is the best thing that has happened so far in NDDC. We have never had it this good in Niger Delta. Is the Senate saying that contractors should not be paid? It is high time this nonsense stopped.

I call on the Presidency to disregard any blackmail against the person of Senator Akpabio. We have passed a vote of confidence on him. He is doing what the NDDC was created for, which is to better the lives of the Niger Delta people as an Interventionist Agency.

Finally, I advise the National Assembly to find something good and of national value to do and stop chasing shadows, Kpokpogri posited.
Nation's flagship carrier Air India has put up an important update for Indian citizens seeking to travel on outbound flights to the USA for higher studies. The flagship carrier has said that students having F or M category visa cannot travel to the USA on the current Air India repatriation flights under Mission Vande Bharat under the following circumstances which are mentioned in the tweet below:

#FlyAI : Important update.



For the attention of students holding F or M USA visa and wish to travel on Air India repatriation flights under Mission Vande Bharat. pic.twitter.com/4qqdF4ynhl  Air India (@airindiain) May 8, 2020



READ | Vande Bharat Mission: 4 Flights Land In India, 15000 Returnees Expected; Details Here

READ | Vande Bharat: Air India Flight Carrying 234 Stranded Indians Departs From Singapore

Vande Bharat Mission

The Vande Bharat Mission aims to retrieve Indian expatriates amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The operation is spread over seven days is expected to operate a total of 64 flights to 13 countries and bring back around 14,800 people. Also naval ships have been deployed under the Samudra Setu (Sea Bridge) mission. Flights from India have been planned to fly to the Philippines, Singapore, Bangladesh, UAE, UK, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Singapore, Phillippines, USA, Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait to bring back stranded Indian citizens.

Stranded citizens will be tested before boarding the flight and only asymptomatic individuals will be allowed. The Ministry of Home Affairs has also issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the evacuation and has said that it will prioritise the distressed in foreign countries.

An Air India repatriation flight from Singapore landed at the Delhi airport on Friday morning with 234 passengers, senior officials of the airline said on Friday. About 234 Indians stranded in Bangladesh were also flown back on Friday by Air India flight on Friday.
I dont mean to be unkind, no seriously, but is our Deputy Premier John Barilaro barking mad? At the beginning of this week the Libs were superbly well-placed to win the coming Eden-Monaro by-election, for many decades, if not necessarily still, the famed bellwether electorate of federal politics. They had a highly regarded local candidate in NSW cabinet minister and local hero Andrew Constance, and the wind in their sails from the Libs' generally doing well with their overall response to the pandemic. The ALP mostly saw gloom and doom as the likely result, despite the quality of their own candidate, the popular former Bega mayor Kristy McBain.

Leading with his chin: NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro. Credit:Rhett Wyman

And then Barilaro, spurned by the powers that be when he attempted to stand himself, got to work! So vicious were the epithets he allegedly said about Constance they became front-page news, which saw Constance stand down. Not content with that, Barilaro or someone in his mob leaked the texts he had sent to National Party leader Michael McCormack, basically saying the Deputy PM was a hopeless joke. Then Barilaro lets on that he had done his thinking about his own position at his luxury holiday home, two hours from his usual residence  after bitterly criticising former cabinet colleague Don Harwin for infamously doing much the same, thus breaching the lockdown laws. While police decided Barilaro's trip did not breach coronavirus restrictions, it wasn't a good look. And if all that is not enough, he finishes the week being endorsed by none other than Barnaby Joyce, saying this is just the kind of man the Nats need in Canberra.

The ALP can barely believe its luck, now seeing a glimmer of hope in Eden-Monaro, thanks to Barilaro. (I know, theres a limerick in there somewhere.)

Watching Barilaro, an ALP insider told me, reminds me of the line from Malcolm Tucker in the British political satire The Thick of It: ' This is like a clown running across a minefield!'
Supporters of the movement to reopen California by abandoning restrictions to slow the spread of the coronavirus rallied Saturday in front of San Francisco City Hall, but their numbers were modest and their actions as mellow as the noontime sunshine.

That stood in stark contrast to recent rallies in Michigan, where some showed up with rifles  and in Sacramento on Saturday, where a cluster of anti-shutdown demonstrations included dozens of people in camouflage uniforms standing in silent protest while California Highway Patrol officers blocked access to the Capitol grounds. The Sacramento Bee reported the group said its members were unarmed and identified themselves as the 2nd Regiment of the California State Militia.
The inspirational woman behind an army of sewers who have produced over 22,000 sets of scrubs for front line health workers said she has been blown away by the response to what began as a simple bid to help a relative in need.

Omagh woman Clara Maybin's effort to help provide a few extra sets of vital equipment for a Covid ward nurse has now spanned Northern Ireland. She has sewn together a network of 11 centres operating across the region, with more than 8,500 people now involved.

Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill paid tribute to the efforts of Clara and her team when she called in at the Mid Ulster hub of the network in Dungannon yesterday.

"This is an absolutely amazing project which started out with a few people just wanting to give back to the community," she said.

"It's turned into a network of men and women right across the country, all done for no profit. It's so uplifting to see what's being done here."

Clara said she has been on a roller coaster ride since starting in the middle of March: "A relation of mine who works in a Covid ward told me how short they were of supplies so I just put a plea out on my personal Facebook page, then on my business page and initially I was gathering second-hand scrubs from Botox nurses, dentists, people that use them normally but weren't able to.

"I drove around the country collecting them and got about 50 and sent them to the ward.

"In the end a lot of people said to me they could sew; I didn't know anything about that, but I gathered up a lot of people who could sew and it took off from there. Overnight it just spiralled and a day later we had 80 people in the group. Within a week we had 800. Now we have 8,500 and to date have made 22,500 scrubs, 80-90,000 scrub bags and masks as well.

"It's been crazy, but brilliant. I knew quickly I couldn't manage this myself so I've had people volunteer to manage certain areas."

Expand Close Deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill with the NI Scrubs team in Dungannon Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press E / Facebook

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Clara explained how she has been juggling the project along with her work and family life.

She added: "I'm still working myself, online mentoring with businesses.

"I also teach in the tech in Omagh on Mondays and Fridays and I have two small children so it's been a bit mad.

"In a weird way, a lot of people who have been working with us are saying this has helped their mental health. It's given them something to get up in the morning for, something to focus on.

"There are a lot of messages from not only frontline businesses for doing this, but from people at home that it is has really helped them.

"We fundraise across the country to buy the material and fabric to keep this going. The response everywhere has been crazy."
A woman who allegedly had her labia burnt off in as part of a genital modification procedure told a court she can no longer have sex or wear tampons.

Howard Rollins, a touring US body modifier known in the tattoo and body modification world as Luna Cobra, is on trial after pleading not guilty to being an accessory to female genital mutilation in January 2015.

His alleged victim has accused Rollins of participating as the other man was 'burning away my labia with a branding iron'.

She also claims she was handed the discarded body part in a coffee jar.

Rollins, 42, denies even being in the room as the woman had her labia burned off by another man.

Howard Rollins (pictured), known in the tattoo and body modification world as Luna Cobra, is on trial after pleading not guilty to being an accessory to female genital mutilation in January 2015

On Friday the woman furiously denied Rollins offered her counsel before having her 'vagina butchered' at a NSW tattoo parlour.

Defence barrister Margaret Cunneen SC on Friday suggested to the alleged victim that once inside the Newcastle venue she loudly admitted: 'I'm a bit nervous about this.'

'No. Were you there?' the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, responded in Sydney's Downing Centre District Court.

'I was just getting my vagina butchered by two guys. Come on.'

Ms Cunneen claimed Rollins said to the woman before the procedure: 'You don't have to go through this if you don't want.'

The woman denied the warning occurred beforehand.

'He said that to me halfway through the procedure when half of my labia was cut off.'

She also rejected Ms Cunneen's assertion Rollins had already left the premises by that point.

The woman claims she went to a doctor the day after the procedure and showed him part of her dismembered body part.

The doctor said he had no recollection of the woman's consultation and relied on written notes that indicated he prescribed antibiotics after the woman told him she'd undergone a 'cosmetic' labia procedure, but refused to show him.

The woman also alleges she heard a telephone conversation in which the other man booked a time suitable for Rollins to mentor him through the procedure.

'He would speak to him on the phone quite often,' she said.

'(He) said Howie needed to be there to talk him through the operation in case there was too much bleeding.

'He wasn't going there for a tea party, was he?'

Seeking clarification, crown prosecutor Georgia Turner asked if the man had referred to Rollins by name.

'He would be like 'I'm calling Luna Cobra',' she said.

Rollins faces up to 21 years behind bars if found guilty

But Ms Cunneen argued Rollins was simply stopping by the tattoo parlour to visit friends that day and was only alerted to the victim's impending procedure by her 'loud carry-on about being nervous'.

'That's bulls***,' the woman said.

Rollins held back part of her genitalia at one stage of the procedure, the woman has alleged.

The woman told the court she can no longer have sexual intercourse or wear tampons and finds some types of underwear uncomfortable.

Female genital modification is illegal under NSW law, unless conducted as medical treatment.

While the procedure was initially consensual, Judge Ian Bourke has heard that does not constitute a defence.

Rollins faces up to 21 years behind bars if found guilty.
OTTAWA Words and deeds.

Thats how Justin Trudeaus government needs to manage its way out of the economic crisis caused by the pandemic, experts say.

Actions that encourage employers to rehire workers, avert business bankruptcies and help individuals avoid financial ruin.

And words to reassure Canadians and dampen spreading fears of economic insecurity that could cause people to hunker down in a way that stalls the recovery.

Fridays stark job numbers from Statistics Canada frame the challenge ahead.

More than one-third of Canadian workers were hit in April as the full brunt of the pandemic hit the economy, Statistics Canada reported. Close to two million jobs were lost and the unemployment rate jumped 5.2 points to 13 per cent. Add in the 1.1 million who wanted work but werent looking, presumably because of the shutdowns, and the unemployment rate jumps even higher.

The prime minister acknowledged the hardships caused by the sweeping job losses. Everyone has their own story but it all boils down to a very difficult time for a lot of people, Trudeau said.

The data revealed more than just the daunting challenge of getting millions of Canadians back to work.

David Macdonald, senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, said the jobs data reveals the uneven toll of the economic restrictions. Vulnerable workers  those in temporary and low-income jobs  were among the hardest hit. From February to April, employment among youth declined by 873,000, down 34 per cent. Women face the peril that many of the jobs in the hospitality and retail sectors may not bounce back quickly.

Its a huge difference in the experiences that people are having through this crisis, Macdonald told the Star.

Trudeau noted that disparity and said addressing it should be a priority.

I think this is one of the first recessions weve ever seen that has so hard hit vulnerable workers in the service sector, particularly women and new Canadians and young people, he said. We need to make sure were better supporting them.

Trudeau also highlighted the importance of child care to enable people to work, a factor that especially impacts women.

These are the kinds of things that were going to have to think about ... to make sure that equality in this country is more than just a goal but is a concrete reality, he said.

The health threat remains but Fridays job numbers underscore the depth of the economic challenge, presenting governments with the tug of conflicting priorities, said David Coletto, the CEO of Abacus Data.

Polling finds that people remain keen to see life return to normal. On the other hand, there is still deep concern and worry about a second spike and their own health, Coletto said.

For the government, it cant all be about the economy and it cant all be about health, he added. They have a find a balance.

Canadians give good marks to governments at all levels for their handling of the crisis so far, he said. But political peril lies ahead as the government steers the recovery and makes decisions about aid for specific sectors and dialing back financial assistance.

The job numbers dont signal how the public is going to react. Its what the government does to solve the problem that becomes far more risky for them from a political perspective. They cant satisfy everyone because they dont have enough money, Coletto said.

Scott Reid, a communications consultant and former communications director for prime minister Paul Martin, said that the 2009 recession showed that Canadians can be understanding of a government struggling with a global crisis.

What the public perceives as capable management of an impossibly difficult global challenge with a huge domestic impact, that leadership gets rewarded, he said.

But now comes the tougher challenge. There are huge policy and political implications for leaders. What they will be asked to do will be different, Reid said.

The government may have to extend some of its financial measures, perhaps create new ones to nurse the recovery and overcome the psychological scars of this or face the risk that rattled Canadians will hunker down, Reid said.

Trudeau took one step toward that Friday, announcing that the federal subsidy that covers up to 75 per cent of workers wages would be extended past June 6 to to help kick-start our economic reopening and boost jobs.

He also announced a new Industry Strategy Council to take a closer look at how specific sectors have been hit and how to best support them. The government has been talking for weeks about targeted support for sectors such as airlines.

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The world knows Vijay Deverakonda as the actor who shot to fame after playing a self-destructive, alcoholic surgeon in his breakout film, Arjun Reddy. While theres no denying that his popularity grew by leaps and bounds post Arjun Reddy, theres still so much about him that a lot of people dont know about. On the occasion of his 30th birthday, we take a look at some interesting and lesser known facts about the star.

Inclination towards writing

Vijay Deverakonda grew up to be an actor but did you know hes been writing stories since class four? Having studied in a boarding school, Vijay took to writing at a very young age and its been one of his fortes which hes yet to explore to its fullest potential.

Theatre before cinema

Before making inroads into cinema, Vijay began his acting stint when he joined the Hyderabad-based theatre group Sutradhar. He worked on several plays - in association with the theater company Ingenium Dramatics - before getting his first movie break in 2011.

Life before Arjun Reddy

Vijay Deverakonda made his acting debut in 2011 via Telugu film Nuvvila, which introduced six newcomers and Vijay was one among them. A year later, Vijay was seen in a cameo role in Sekhar Kammulas Life is Beautiful. Despite the mostly positive response for both these films, Vijay didnt received wide recognition until the release of Pelli Choopulu.

Entrepreneur

Vijay is the first Telugu actor to float a clothing brand called Rowdy, which was launched last year. On the launch of Rowdy Wear, Vijay had said: Rowdy Wear is clearly an extension of my personality; it brings with it the attitude to express who you really are and questions conventional thoughts and processes with comfort, in street style. I believe this attitude is now entrenched in a majority of the youth in this nation and would like to aid them with the right fashion sense that further enhances their spirit.

Humanitarian

Vijay is one of the few mainstream heroes who is actively involved in some kind of humanitarian works. When he won his first Filmfare award for his performance in Arjun Reddy, he auctioned his award for 25 lakh and donated the money towards Telangana CM relief fund. He helped a kick boxer, Ganesh Ambari with 24,000 through Deverakonda Foundation. Ganesh later won the title of Vaco Indian Open International Kick-boxing Championship Title 2020.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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Amitabh Bachchan-hosted Kaun Banega Crorepati is all set to return to the TV sets for the year 2020. The new season of the quiz show will start the registration during the coronavirus lockdown. The promo of the quiz-based reality shows Season 12 was shot by host Amitabh Bachchan at his home. The promo, directed by Nitesh Tiwari, has been tweeted on social media.

Read: KBC Registration 2020: Heres How To Register For The New Season

Iulia Vantur is currently quarantining with Salman Khan and his family at his Panvel farmhouse. Actress Jacqueline Fernandez and model Waluscha De Sousa are also present at the farm. During a conversation with Bollywood Hangama, Iulia reacted to her impending marriage rumours with Salman when a fan asked her to get married to the Bollywood superstar.

Read: Iulia On Marriage Rumours With Salman Khan: Spending Life With Someone More Important Than Papers

Friday marked 28 years of Khuda Gawah and five years of Piku. Amitabh Bachchan took a trip down memory lane and pulled out moments with his two loving co-stars Sridevi and Irrfan Khan in the respective films. On his social media account, he paid tribute to both the legendary actors with memorable stills from Khuda Gawah and Piku.

Read: Amitabh Bachchan Remembers Sridevi And Irrfan In One Frame; See Pic

A few weeks back, actress Hina Khan had posted a funny video of herself washing a doormat. The former Bigg Boss contestant says she had never expected her mother to ask her to wash one. "It came quite as a shock to me when my mother first asked me to wash the doormat, but it eventually turned quite funny, and I had a hearty laugh while getting it done," she told Times of India.

Read: Hina Khan Says She was Shocked at First When Her Mother Asked Her to Wash Doormat

Archana Puran Singh's help Bhagyashri has been living with her during the lockdown. Recently, Archana posted a video of her having a conversation with the help, where Bhagyashri talks about her experience of staying with them at home. The Kapil Sharma show judge says that many people think that the house help does all the work. But in the video, Bhagyashri herself clarifies that Archana and her family members help her with chores.

Read: Archana Puran Singh's House Help Clarifies Everyone Shares Chores at Home

Follow @News18Movies for more
The littoral combat ship USS Montgomery sails near the Malaysian-contracted drillship, West Capella, in the South China Sea on May 7.

The commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet called on China to end its bullying behavior in the South China Sea, as the U.S. sent a warship near to where a Malaysian-contracted oil exploration ship is operating and in proximity to a recently deployed Chinese survey vessel.

The U.S. Navys 7th Fleet said in a press release that on Thursday it had sent the USS Montgomery and transport vessel USNS Cesar Chavez near the West Capella, the oil exploration ship which is currently operating within Malaysian waters.

The Chinese survey vessel Hai Yang Di Zhi 8, escorted by China Coast Guard (CCG) ships and maritime militia, has been conducting a survey nearby since April 15. Thats widely viewed as an attempt to intimidate Malaysia out of exploiting resources in waters that China also claims.

The USS Montgomery is the second American littoral combat ship to sail in that area of the South China Sea within two weeks, after the USS Gabrielle Giffords patrolled there on April 26.

The Chinese Communist Party must end its pattern of bullying Southeast Asians out of offshore oil, gas, and fisheries. Millions of people in the region depend on those resources for their livelihood, Adm. John Aquilino, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, said in a press release.

Tensions have been rising in the resource-rich South China Sea, which China largely claims for itself, notwithstanding conflicting territorial claims involving five other governments. Assertive behavior at sea and recent Chinese declarations of administrative authority over the contested area have drawn protests from both neighboring countries and the U.S. government.

China frequently sends research vessels, coastguard ships, and paramilitary forces to assert its claims. The CCG is much bigger and better armed than most navies in the region, including that of Malaysia. But experts say that by sending ostensibly civilian law enforcement vessels, China increases pressure on its rivals without allowing territorial disputes to spiral into war.

James R. Holmes, a professor of maritime strategy at the U.S. Naval War College, said the recent deployments of U.S. littoral combat ships hint at a new role for these advanced but smaller vessels, which may be better suited to countering gray-zone tactics employed by China.

A photo taken from the littoral combat ship USS Montgomery, showing the USNS Cesar Chavez trailing it on the left, and a Chinese Navy warship on the right. Credit: US Navy photo. The U.S. Navy rotates its four littoral combat ships in and out of Singapores Changi Naval Base.

A littoral combat ship, especially one bulked up with naval strike missiles, may provide a good tool for this mission because it outguns anything in the China Coast Guard or maritime militia, yet it's outclassed by heavy ships from the PLA Navy. It's intermediate in capability, Holmes said. If the U.S. Navy were to send more muscular warships, it would risk looking more provocative than China and potentially escalating the situation, he said.

Malaysia signaled its discomfort when the U.S. sent two bigger warships, the USS America and USS Bunker Hill, on an exercise in the same area on April 18. The littoral combat ships are smaller and less heavily armed.

For my money this is a form of diplomatic jujitsu we ought to test out in the South China Sea, Holmes said.

The littoral combat ships ran into numerous difficulties during their development and commissioning into the U.S. Navy. There were originally meant to be 55 of the vessels built, but the Navy decided not to acquire any more after the first four, and in February, the Navys budget director recommended decommissioning them.

The United States has accused China of exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to expand its unlawful claims in the South China Sea.

China has said that the Hai Yang Di Zhi 8 survey ship is conducting normal activities and have accused U.S. officials of smearing Beijing.

But adding to the current tensions, China last week announced a unilateral fishing ban in a large area of the South China Sea until Aug. 16, prompting protests from fisheries associations in Vietnam and the Philippines.

On Friday, Vietnams Ministry of Foreign Affairs also officially rebuked China over the ban. "Vietnam demands that China not further complicate the situation in the South China Sea," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said in a statement.

Her comment follows a conversation Wednesday between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vietnams Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh. They agreed on the importance of ensuring freedom of the seas, and the unfettered pursuit of economic opportunity throughout the Indo-Pacific region, the State Department said in a statement.
Phuket Commerce president calls for urgent action to provide jobs, income for the hungry

PHUKET: Phuket Chamber of Commerce President has appealed to the government in Bangkok to take urgent steps to counter the impact of unemployment on the island due to the COVID-19 outbreak and revitalize the islands economy to become self-sufficient again.

COVID-19economicstourism

By The Phuket News

Saturday 9 May 2020, 03:40PM

An official checks the list of names to receive milk powder for infants in Patong. Photo: Patong Municipality

A father with child wait for milk powder to be handed out in Patong. Photo: Patong Municipality

Mothers wait as Patong Municipaliy hands out milk powder for infants for those with no income. Photo: Patong Muncipality

A mother waits as Patong Municipaliy hands out milk powder for infants for those with no income. Photo: Patong Muncipality

The COVID-19 situation has caused a crisis in Phuket. Its as difficult as the tsunami [in 2004] because Phuket has no income right now, Phuket Chamber of Commerce President Thanusak Phungdet told a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall on Thursday (May 7).

Mr Thanusak said he did not expect the tourism sector to experience any form of recovery for at least six months. Even by then tourism-dependent business on the island would see only 20-30% of the income they previously enjoyed, he added.

Right now, we dont know how much the private sector will be able to receive government remedies and we dont know how well they can take care of their employees  and the most important thing right now is how to get them to have a job, Mr Thanusak said.

As revealed by Patong hotel and restaurant businessman Preechavude Prab Keesin on Tuesday, Mr Thanusak also called for the government to urgently survey how many people have been left out of work due to the COVID-19 situation.

I want the government to conduct a survey of how many people are unemployed at village level, subdistrict level, district level and provincial level. Then the private sector can start finding a way to offer these people work for the jobs they can do, he said.

With Phuket fully dependent on tourism, the island was likely to be suffering more than any other place in the country, Mr Thanusak said.

I think there are unemployed people all over Thailand, but the number of unemployed in Phuket [per capita] is probably the highest, he added.

Therefore, we must ask that local administration organisation, in accordance with the announcement of the Prime Ministers Office to issue measures to counter the effects of COVD-19, start collecting unemployment information quickly and open discussions on how help can be provided, Mr Thanusak said.

More importantly, if people have work, they will be stronger [and less dependent on others] during the problems at this time. It would be better than relying on donations and survival bags for food, he said plainly.

Mr Thanusak also called for the government to look to the future and cautiously work towards re-opening the island to tourism.

We need to accelerate efforts to promote tourism, first by making sure that we deal with the problem of COVID-19 appropriately. This will build confidence among Thai tourists while making sure that Phuket people are not infected [by visitors] and people coming here do not become patients, he added.

Further, we must be prepared for the arrival of foreign tourists, and foreign investors looking to invest in Phuket, which may occur after June, he said.

If Phuket builds confidence and security, including by the sharing of information by both the government sector and the private sector, it is expected that Phuket will have income from Thai people during this period, and foreign tourists in the region will gradually return, which will help see a recovery of income of at least 20-30% this year  that is feasible, he said.

While speaking at Phuket Provincial Hall, Mr Thanusak also took the opportunity to highlight how the COVID-19 situation had shown that Phuket needed to become a special economic zone.

These circumstances demand a special response, and most of the private sector agrees that Phuket should become a special economic zone, he said.

The move would allow Phuket to broaden its income base, and not rely solely on tourism, Mr Thanusak said.

Phuket should not have income from only tourism. Phuket has the opportunity to make money from various locations, or as a stopover or a place where world-class private workers like Singapore, Hong Kong can join, he said.

Phuket must have a plan for development, and must consider in which direction Phuket will go. When Phuket has everything ready and can compete, our region in the upper Andaman Sea will be stronger, Mr Thanusak said.

But we must start discussions to proactively find solutions. Right now, the problem is about people going hungry, but after that there must be a concept that moves Phuket in a different direction for the better.

Then Phuket can enter a phase of sustainable development and grow to be a world-class city and continue to generate income for Thailand, Mr Thanusak concluded.
Gov. Greg Abbott clarified during a news conference Tuesday that beaches, lakes and rivers in Texas were allowed open on Friday, May 7.

This is also the first weekend activities such as kayaking and tubing are allowed, despite concerns from many that the state is reopening too soon amid the coronavirus pandemic.

READ ALSO: Tubing is on. What you should know as Texas rivers and lakes reopen.

Those who do plan to visit any of the state's beaches, lakes or rivers are encouraged to practice social distancing, staying at least 6 feet away from others who are not within their group or household. Per the Governor's guidelines, there should be no more than five individuals per group, and face masks are highly recommended.

Whether you're looking to make an escape this weekend, or just gather some inspiration for a post-coronavirus day trip, scroll below to see eight rivers and lakes worth an escape.
New Delhi: Almost five days after the encounter operation in Jammu and Kashmir's Handwara that claimed lives of five security personnel including a decorated officer, the Pakistan-based Hizbul Mujahideen, headed by Syed Salahuddin, claimed the responsibility, reports ANI.

In a video clip shared by BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra, Syed Salahudeen is seen addressing a thin gathering somewhere in Pakistan on the recent counter-insurgency operations carried out by its terrorists in Handwara. He is also seen admitting that the Indian Army has the upper hand in the clip.

"It's a shock (Riyaz Naikoo's killing) for all of us but these sacrifices have been going on in Kashmir since long," he could be heard speaking in Urdu. He also claimed responsibility of the recent gunbattle between terrorists and security forces in Handwara. "Mujahideens broke the back of enemy (Indian Army) in Handwara Rajwara but the enemy has an upper hand," he stated in thee 52-second long clip.

He can also be heard stating that since January, 80 Mujahideens (terrorists) have been neutralised by Indian forces.

Syed Salahudeen's statement on Kashmir comes days after the Handwara encounter and elimination of top Hizbul commander Riyaz Naikoo and his close aide Adil Ahmed by Jammu and Kashmir Police and 21 RR troops.

The encounter in Handwara in Kupwara district claimed lives of Colonel Ashutosh Sharma, Major Anuj Sood, Naik Rajesh and Lance Naik Dinesh, all from the Brigade of the Guards regiment, and at present part of the 21 Rashtriya Rifles and deployed to counter terrorism in the hinterland. A Jammu and Kashmir Police Sub-Inspector, Sageer Ahmad Pathan alias Qazi, also fell victim to the bullets of terrorists.

The Handwara attack is being seen as the biggest loss of security forces in recent years.

Giving details of the encounter at a village in Rajwar forests, officials said that on the May 2 afternoon, intelligence inputs indicated the presence of the same group of terrorists inside a house at Changimulla village, prompting Col Sharma to launch a cordon-and-search operation along with his team and Qazi.

After a considerable lull, Col Sharma and four other personnel barged into a house from an adjacent cowshed presuming that the terrorists had been eliminated in the heavy gunfire.

According to the officials, the team came under heavy fire after rescuing the civilians and all communication link with Col Sharma and his team were snapped. Calls made on the mobile numbers of the team were answered by terrorists.

The Army then rushed in para-troopers, who after ascertaining that the Army officer and his team were killed in the encounter, launched an offensive by the first light of the day and killed the two terrorists.
Ministers believe 'The Blob'  an army made up of political opponents and union barons  is colluding to politicise the coronavirus outbreak, The Mail on Sunday has learned.

The accusation comes amid outrage over a threat by unions to block schools reopening unless their demands for extra money are met by Whitehall.

Last night the news sparked a furious backlash from academic experts and MPs.

And inside Downing Street there is mounting concern that a rejuvenated Labour under Sir Keir Starmer, working with the party's union allies and the devolved administrations, are co-ordinating their response to lifting the lockdown. A source said: 'It's clear they are going to work together to make this as difficult as possible.'

Inside Downing Street there is concern that a rejuvenated Labour under Sir Keir Starmer (pictured), working with union allies, are co-ordinating their response to lifting the lockdown

Concerns were echoed by a Cabinet Minister who said: 'The Blob never misses an opportunity to demand more cash.'

Another Whitehall source added: 'There is functioning opposition again in Westminster and Nicola Sturgeon is being particularly difficult in Scotland. And now their cavalry are coming over the hill.'

Michael Gove coined the term 'The Blob' to deride bureaucrats, academics and teachers' unions determined to thwart his efforts to reform state schools when he was Education Secretary from 2010 to 2014.

Last night education experts, MPs and even former union officials rounded on the union bosses, accusing them of sacrificing children's education to make political gains

The term harked back to a 1950s sci-fi film called The Blob about alien life-form that engulfs everything in its path.

The tension was ramped up on Friday when union chiefs united in a public threat to block any reopening of schools in England until their demands  including for more money  were met. They said there could be no return to the classroom without extra money for deep cleaning and personal protective equipment, and local powers to close schools if clusters of Covid-19 infections broke out.

The union chiefs' letter, published by the Trades Union Congress, to Education Secretary Gavin Williamson called for 'clear scientific published evidence that trends in transmission of Covid-19 will not be adversely impacted by the reopening phase and that schools are also safe to reopen'.

Last night education experts, MPs and even former union officials rounded on the union bosses, accusing them of sacrificing children's education to make political gains.

The accusation comes amid outrage over a threat by unions to block schools reopening unless their demands for extra money are met by Whitehall

Professor Alan Smithers, a respected former adviser to the House of Commons Education Committee, said: 'Clearly there is an urgent need to reopen schools and get the economy back up and running. The unions instead are using this as an opportunity to bargain and making a political point. They should be working with the Government and asking how can we make it happen for the sake of our children.'

Sir Anthony Seldon, who was a head teacher for 20 years and is vice-chancellor of the University of Buckingham, said: 'If the scientific advice is that it is safe for schools to reopen next month, then it would be completely and ethically wrong for the unions to say to teachers that they should not do it.'

Tory MPs also reacted in fury to suspicions of a Left-wing stitch-up. Ipswich MP Tom Hunt hit out at 'irresponsible' teachers' leaders apparently opposing a reopening of schools this summer even if safety concerns were met. He warned: 'Given comments made by some teaching unions, I am beginning to think that the welfare and the needs of children is not their number one priority.'

And furious Durham MP Richard Holden said: 'This is not a time for political posturing.'

Former TUC committee member Chris McGovern, a retired head teacher who chairs the Campaign for Real Education pressure group, said: 'There are many heroic teachers out there but I am afraid that there is also a significant minority enjoying the lockdown as an excuse to have a bit of a rest.'

A spokesman for Sir Keir denied he was politicising the crisis and said that he wanted to work constructively with the Government.

The TUC said the unions would back a 'safe, gradual lifting of lockdown' but needed Ministers to make sure that workplaces were safe.
The government of Venezuela is claiming victory after a coup attempt led by a group of mercenaries led by ex-Green Berets failed spectacularly Sunday, as the highly trained groups incursion failed to even make it to the beach, overpowered by local fishermens collectives. Eight of the party were killed, and 23 more are in custody, including two Americans. Now, as the dust settles, recriminations are beginning at home.

Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy described the fiasco as a botched Bay of Pigs like paramilitary operation. Now, [Senators] Tim Kaine, Tom Udall and I are asking the administration a simple question: What did they know, and if they didnt know, why not? he added.

President Nicholas Maduro, whose forces appear to have had knowledge of the attack before it took place, is certain who was behind it. The United States government is fully and completely involved in this defeated raid, he said, describing it as a covert operation ordered by Donald Trump, supported by Colombian President Ivan Duque and self-declared U.S.-backed interim president Juan Guaido, outsourced to professional American mercenaries on a mission to assassinate him.

Trump officially denied all knowledge of the weekends events. But Secretary of State Mike Pompeo contradicted the presidents words on Wednesday, stating only that there was no U.S. government direct involvement, although he did admit that he had known who bankrolled the failed project, promising to divulge the information at an appropriate time.

However, in an interview with CNN on Wednesday, one of the coups organizers, Juan Jose Rendon, may have let slip that the Trump administration was even more heavily involved than it concedes. Referring to a $212.9 million contract they signed with Guaido in October to overthrow the government, Rendon explained that it was above board as they were merely capturing and delivering to justice members of the Maduro regime who have an arrest warrant in the United States. The problem is that those warrants, along with the $15 million bounty placed on Maduros head, were only made public in March. Therefore, if Rendon spoke correctly, it indicates his team may have had months of contact and cooperation with the U.S. Department of State.

The two Americans captured have been named as Airan Berry and Luke Denman. Both are ex-Special Forces and honed their skills in the U.S. wars in the Middle East. Denmans family made an impassioned plea for his safe return. He deserves to come home, said his brother Mark, claiming that, Lukes motivation has always been to help others in any way he can He thinks of kids who are being harmed and innocent people who are suffering and Im sure this was his motivation to do this. Perhaps he had not watched Denmans interview broadcast on Venezuelan television, because the 34-year-old Texan said he participated after the promise of being paid between $50-100,000 for the job, describing himself as a mercenary for hire.

Both Berry and Denman worked for Silvercorp USA, a private security firm set up in 2018 by another former soldier, Jordan Goudreau. The company began by trying to sell school security services, but Goudreau and his men diversified, even being directly employed as private security guards by the Trump team at their rallies.

If you were to tell me that a QAnon guy (Airan Seth Berry followed hashtags QArmy and QAnon8kun on twitter) would end up on Venezuelan state media confessing to a coup  in the middle of COVID  I would have been like lol gtfo. But here we are. pic.twitter.com/jMKgWK7mB6  Italien Feeld  (@julianfeeld) May 7, 2020

While the White House might officially deny direct involvement in the latest coup attempt, it is difficult to see what stronger evidence could come out directly implicating them. For a number of decades, U.S. regime change operations have been outsourced to semi-private companies and NGOs, rather than directly employing government officials, giving the government a paper-thin veneer of plausible deniability. The founder of the National Endowment for Democracy, Allen Weinstein noted of his organization, A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA. Thus, this is exactly the maximum extent of evidence that any modern covert regime change operation has linking it to the government.

The Trump administration refuses to recognize Maduro, despite his election victories, instead, propping up deeply unpopular right-wing politician Juan Guaido as the ruler, despite his failure to control or command anything inside the country. The U.S. has a long history of supporting coups against the socialist government. In 2002, it bankrolled a briefly-successful ouster of Hugo Chavez, only for it to be rolled back almost immediately through mass popular mobilization. Since then, it has continued to fund, train and nurture virtually every opposition politician and organization, more or less openly. Thus, the question of whether the operation was directly organized in Washington D.C. is moot, because, as with so many other botched power grabs, it would never have happened without the implicit and explicit support of the power of the U.S. empire.

Feature photo | Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, right, walks with Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, Feb. 6, 2020, at the State Department in Washington. Luis M. Alvarez | AP

Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent. He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary.
By Express News Service

VISAKHAPATNAM: Tension prevailed at the LG Polymers plant in RR Venkatapuram on Saturday morning for more than five hours with a large number of people staging a protest in front of the factory. They carried the bodies of three of the victims and demanded the relocation of the industrial unit.

A styrene gas leak two days ago at the LG Polymers unit on the outskirts of Vizag city led to the death of 12 people and left hundreds of others ill.

Police later shifted the bodies to the KGH mortuary after arresting some agitating locals and brought the situation under control. Additional forces, however, were deployed in the village anticipating flare up of protests.

It all started in the morning when police shifted the bodies of three deceased persons directly to the burial ground near Venkatapuram village to conduct the final rites. Enraged locals stopped the ambulances and forcibly carried away the three dead bodies to the entrance of the plant even as police tried to prevent them.

Raising slogans of 'We want justice', the locals said their only demand is the shifting of the unit from the present location. When some ministers and police tried to convince them that the government announced Rs 1 crore compensation to the victims, they asserted that compensation cannot bring back the lives lost and demanded that the industrial unit, which poses danger to them, be relocated from the area.

Some of the protesters even pointed out that the management of LG Polymers never cared for the people in the area. Leave alone conducting periodical medical camps, which is the norm, it failed to even sound an alert when there was a gas leak, they alleged.

They obstructed labour minister G Jayaram and others who visited the plant. Meanwhile, Director General of Police Gautam Sawang, who visited the plant and took stock of the situation, also faced the ire of locals who tried to stop him, demanding arrest of the company management. Police had a tough time in dispersing the agitators to make way for the DGP to leave the place.

READ| 180 degree Celsius temperature in styrene tank caused gas leak at LG Polymers plant in Vizag

Speaking to media at the plant, the DGP asserted that the situation is completely under control. Sawang said a team of scientists having expertise in chemicals and oils will be visiting the LG Polymers plant at Visakhapatnam to suggest the 'way forward'.

Sawang said all safety measures are in place and people need not panic. He said state government officials including Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney and technical experts, scientists and special teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) comprising senior officials are at the plant and reviewing the safety measures. "I believe that the other tanks in the plant are absolutely normal and there is nothing to worry,'' he said.

On the probe into the mishap, the DGP said the matter is under investigation and the five-member committee constituted to look into the issue will also take the expert technical inputs and continue the probe.

On the level of containment and when locals can return to their homes, Sawang said experts sought 48 hours time (on Friday) as per protocol to bring normalcy. "Though everything is normal now, to be on the safer side, they sought 48 hours time and people can come back to their homes tomorrow. People, however, are coming to their homes and taking their belongings. There is nothing to worry," he said, adding there will be some inconvenience to locals till tomorrow.

Asked about bailable cases registered against the management even as the disaster left 11 people died, the DGP said, "The case was registered under all applicable sections and investigations are on."
Kolkata, May 9 : Accusing Union Home Minister Amit Shah of "lying" in his letter to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the issue of return of migrants, the ruling Trinamool Congress on Saturday said that he should retract or apologise.

Senior Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien said Shah never sent any communication on facilitating the state administration to bring back Bengal's migrants from other states.

O'Brien, Trinamool chief national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP, said: "I have letters for different states sent between May 3 and May 7. Shah has made accusations against the state government. Everything that he said is a lie. Stop doing your divisive politics. You either retract your letter, or apologise for what you have done," he told the media through videoconference.

O'Brien said that he had got letters from other states that were sent by the Union Home Minister.

"These states are Telegana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to whom the Ministry of Home Affairs had sent official communications so that they can bring back their migrant workers stranded in other states," O'Brien said.

Earlier this morning, Shah said in the letter to the Chief Minister that while the Centre plans to help more than two lakh migrants to return home, it is the West Bengal government that is "not supporting their cause and is not allowing trains carrying migrants to reach the state".

"This is injustice to the migrant workers. This will create further hardships for them," the letter said.

Trinamool Congress' Lok Sabha member Abhishek Banerjee also tweeted: "A Home Minister failing to discharge his duties during this crisis speaks after weeks of silence, only to mislead people with bundle of lies. Ironically, he is talking about the very people who have been literally left to their fate by his own government. Mr Amit Shah, prove your fake allegations or apologise."
RESEARCHERS at the University of Huddersfield are harnessing the power of song to spread vital healthcare messages - including Covid-19 precautions - among African women thanks to major funding from Britain's Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

Life-Saving Lullabies are spreading health warnings against COVID-19 Play

The project - titled Life-Saving Lullabies - has been awarded 129,795 by the AHRC and is primarily focussed on Zambia but, when it has proved its value, it could spread to other African countries and then around the world, as a zero-cost way to create awareness of key health issues.

It works by encouraging volunteers to create lively lullabies in their local languages that they then perform to women who visit maternity clinics.

The songs are a memorable way to convey important information about birth and childcare, but the onset of coronavirus now means that songs are now being created that relay the importance of precautions, such as social distancing.

The Life Saving Lullabies project has been developed by the educationalist Dr James Reid and his University of Huddersfield colleague, Professor Barry Doyle. They are collaborating with the design expert Professor David Swann, once a colleague at Huddersfield, now based at Sheffield Hallam University. The UK team is working alongside St John Zambia, a leading healthcare provider in the African country.

Dr Reid said that he and his colleagues had been "overwhelmed" by how volunteers and maternity clinics in Zambia responded to the project.

"These women are so talented. They have gone away and written songs and performed them to local women and it's having an effect," he said.

Life Saving Lullabies was the result of what Dr Reid described as a "eureka moment" when he and his colleagues visited Zambia for a workshop session during 2019.

Originally, their aim was to investigate whether the Finnish baby box - a maternity package given to all new parents in Finland, contributing to very low levels of infant mortality - could have a role in Sub-Saharan Africa.

But it was quickly realized that the cost of the baby boxes meant that they would not be a solution in Zambian villages.

"Also, they are culturally inappropriate," said Dr Reid. "We showed women photos and the first thing they saw was a baby-sized coffin. There is a very high rate of infant mortality, especially in rural areas of Zambia."

So the researchers investigated the possibility of incorporating verbal and pictorial healthcare messages into the chitenge, the colorful wrap that is worn by huge numbers of African women.

"But then it struck us that even though chitenge were ubiquitous, not everybody could afford them and we had to do something that was as close as possible to zero cost if the project was to gain traction and be sustainable," said Dr Reid.

"We were at St John Zambia for a workshop talking to women volunteers about their own experience of motherhood. Then they started to sing and we looked at each other and went 'that's it'!"

Earlier, Dr Reid had been to New York, where the famous venue Carnegie Hall is the base for a Lullaby Project, which uses especially composed songs to develop attachment and aid child development. Observing this scheme made him realize the potential of lullabies in Zambia, where it is common for women to sing to their children and as part of church worship.

Now, the project is underway and volunteers in Zambian clinics, after being told what information the Ministry of Health needs to impart, have been creating and performing songs. They can be seen and heard online and researchers will gauge their impact.

The AHRC funding runs until March, but the project could be extended and at the conclusion there will be a symposium in Zambia, and the possibility of spreading the scheme to other African countries.

"And beyond that, one of the really important things we want to do is bring the idea to the global north," said Dr Reid.

"This would bring the baby box discussion full circle," he continued. "The boxes are really expensive. They are a really good idea in a particular context in places like Finland and perhaps the UK that can afford them. But there are other ways of doing things and singing might be a way of achieving a lot more for no cost."

Carnegie Hall in New York has now invited the Life Saving Lullabies team to take part in a two-day workshop in June as part of their review of its own Lullaby Project. There has also been received an invitation from Spanish organization Grandes Oyentes to take part in an online discussion on the impact of music and creative engagement on women's health as they plan to introduce a lullaby project in Spain.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- If anything good has come out of this pandemic its been the candid conversations. If it werent for your continued correspondence we would not have discovered a yeast shortage in the region, that all but two Chinese restaurants packed it in by March 17 (theyre about 95 percent open, by the way) and that we (myself included) have a herd mentality. And well get to that herd mentality with Cinco de Mayo later. But for now, here are some answers to your questions.

Q: Hi. Im wondering if you know what happened to Bella Vita Restaurant? Its my mom and dads favorite restaurant and they keep calling for take out but nobody is answering. Do you know if/why they did not stay open for takeout / delivery? We go there quite frequently for family events and are concerned -- we are hoping the owner and employees are all ok.

Marta and Jimmy Cukaj are doing well. No one in the family or restaurant family, for that matter, was ill with the virus. Employees did not want to dive into the delivery format and were concerned about getting sick so Jimmy decided to close. Good news -- theyll be reopen for curbside pickup and delivery come Monday. Yes, thats the day after Mothers Day but thats when Jimmys ready to reopen.

Jimmys also worried about this new world without a dining room. He thinks changing gears from fine dining to just to go will be rough. But hell give it a shot.

As a footnote to fine dining back in business on Staten Island, Bocelli is reopen for curbside pickup and take out service beginning Friday, May 8.

Yumminess on a plate from Cafe Bella Vita in Dongan Hills with its seafood and pasta combos. Staten Island Advance

Q: Can you give a list of food pantries on the Island?

We are working on an updated list as we speak. In the meantime, lets look at one that hopes for more participants.

Maryann Bollinger runs the food at pantry at Our Lady of Good Counsel held each Saturday morning from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.

She says, There is a small group of volunteers working each week. We have been getting food donations and food from City Harvest, Food Bank grants and Catholic Charities. For now there is no registration only name to show we are using the food."

The pantry is located at 42 Austin Place. It includes a package to leave with enough food for several meals including meat, fresh produce, cake and bread. For questions call Mrs. Bollinger at 917-359-0777.

Tamales Martita at 99 Port Richmond Avenue is cash only and open for business to-go (Staten Island Advance/ Jan Somma-Hammel)

Q: Why did you target Sofias Taqueria on Cinco de Mayo? There were dozens of places open with lines. Do you have an agenda against [the owners]?

Many Staten Islanders perspectives shared about the Taco Meltdown on Staten Island story balanced many voices about how May 5 rolled in the borough. It was not a critique. Also, we would not ignore the dozens of readers who directly shared observations about restaurants on what turned out to be an overwhelming day, even for people who pre-ordered four to five days in advance.

Perhaps we have to take the good with the bad on restaurants even in hard times like these. Its the only way to grow and go forward in the to-go only environment which will be around for awhile. And I think owners who graciously went on the record appeared to ameliorate the situation one customer at a time and seemed sincerely apologetic to customers. We make mistakes and hopefully move on.

Here is what readers had to say.

One happy customer noted, In response to your story about Cinco de Mayo, we had a great experience with Beso, which has Mexican items on its menu. We were told to pick up in one hour. It did take 15 minutes more. The food was delicious and well-presented. Service was gracious.

As an aside, owner Julian Gaxholli featured local artist Karlus Trapp and broadcast his beautiful music on social media, a perk whether or not one ordered from the restaurant.

A patron in the New Dorp area said, Dont be so hard on Sofias. We had the same problem at Cafe Con Pan on New Dorp Plaza. They were at least 40 people there waiting over two hours for food. At the hour-and-a-half point, I went in and told them I was only willing to pay half if the food wasnt ready yet otherwise I was going to get food someplace else. They told me they werent willing to do that and let me leave. Then I went to Fresh Tortilla on New Dorp Lane, where there were another 20 customers with the same complaints. I ended up at Applebees."

And the family loved their meal from the New Dorp restaurant.

A patron who never received food from Sofias but did receive money back on Wednesday night, said, For me, it wasnt about the food being late, it was about the lack of communication and the fact I was charged, especially since I pre-ordered.

On that Mexican note, Yummy Taco in Rosebank -- 1082 Bay Street; 718-818-0928 -- has re-opened, report our Advance foodies Bonnie and Paul.

I want to make it clear that although a best effort is made to go back-and-forth on social media you can always reach out to me here at SILive.com and the Advance and get a response back.

Keep in touch.

Pamela Silvestri is Advance Food Editor. She can be reached at silvestri@siadvance.com.
Two fresh cases of



COVID-19 were reported from Kerala on Saturday, both being foreign returnees who reached the state from Dubai and Abu Dhabi on May 7 and were among the expatriates airlifted by the Centre as part of its mission to bring back stranded Indians abroad.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said with the two new patients, the total number of cases in the state has gone up to 505 and there are currently 17 under treatment.

"One patient from Idukki, who was under treatment, has been cured today.The two new cases are now under treatment in Kochi and Kozhikode.

They reached the state on May 7 in the Abu Dhabi- Kochi andDubai-Kozhikode flights, respectively," Vijayan told reporters.

"There are 23,930 people under observation in the state out of which 334 are in isolation wards of various hospitals," he said.

Out of the total 505 infected, Kerala has till now cured 485,Vijayan added.

The state has reported three deaths.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Whiteness, Harris continued, was the characteristic, the property of free human beings. To be white was to have control over oneself and ones labor. It was to be autonomous and subject to no ones will but ones own. If, for example, Thomas Jefferson could not support emancipation despite seeing the basic injustice of slavery, it was in part because of self-interest, in part become of fear (We have the wolf by the ear, and we can neither hold him nor safely let him go) and in part because he couldnt imagine black people as members of the polity on account of their experience as slaves. It marked them as inferior and, in some sense, fundamentally unfree. This unfortunate difference of color, and perhaps of faculty, is a powerful obstacle to the emancipation of these people, Jefferson notoriously wrote in his 1785 book, Notes on the State of Virginia.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 9, 2020 11:46 620 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd6e5319 1 National COVID-19,coronavirus,aid,assistance,West-Java,West-Java-Governor-Ridwan-Kamil Free

The COVID-19 economic downturn has caused two thirds of West Java residents to need assistance, governor Ridwan Kamil has said, while criticizing the central government for mistaken calculations in aid policy.

During a recent webinar held by the West Java Development Institute, Ridwan pointed out that the number of residents in need of aid had increased to 38 million from the initial 9.4 million, with the majority living in the southern part of the province.

So, ladies and gentlemen, about two thirds of people in West Java are asking for support from the government at the moment, Ridwan said in the online discussion as quoted by Antara on Thursday.

Ridwan said the central government had the wrong perspective on aid policy; it had allocated budgets based on the number of regions in a province, not on the size of its population.

As a result, he said, the funds allocated for West Java  with a population of more than 49 million, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS)  such as the village funds, were less than those for other provinces with smaller populations, thereby impeding relief efforts.

There is fiscal injustice in the way the central government is providing funds to the regions. The size of the population is never used as a benchmark. [West Java] really felt [the impact] when COVID-19 hit, he said.

During the discussion, Ridwan called for solidarity and sensitivity to ensure mutual support during the economic crisis. He asked the community to embrace the spirit of Ramadan to do charitable work.

We can change the narrative of social emergency to social solidarity. Moreover, this is the month of Ramadan, the month of blessings, the month of support, he said.

The West Java administration has been conducting 2,000 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests daily in 15 laboratories and is prioritizing testing in crowded places, such as traditional markets.

Ridwan said the number patients being treated for COVID-19 at hospitals in the province  the second hardest hit after Jakarta  had decreased to about 300 in the first week of May from about 400 at the end of April. He said the number of recoveries had doubled.

As of Friday, West Java had confirmed 1,404 cases with 92 fatalities, according to the central governments count.

We hope this positive trend can be maintained, he said. (syk)
The plane had been carrying humanitarian and medical supplies to help the country fight the spread of coronavirus.

Ethiopia on Saturday admitted it was behind the shooting down of a privately owned Kenyan plane in Somalia earlier this week, resulting in the deaths of all six people on board.

The plane was shot down on Monday by Ethiopian troops protecting a camp in the town of Bardale in southwestern Somalia, the Ethiopian army said in a statement to the African Union (AU).

The aircraft had been carrying humanitarian and medical supplies to help the country fight the spread of coronavirus when it went down in Bardale, about 300km (180 miles) northwest of Somalias capital Mogadishu.

The Ethiopian soldiers mistakenly believed the plane was on a potential suicide mission because they had not been informed about the unusual flight and the aircraft was flying low, the statement said.

Because of lack of communication and awareness, the aircraft was shot down, the military said. The incident  will require mutual collaborative investigation team from Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya to further understand the truth.

Kenya expressed shock over the incident earlier this week, saying the planes mission had been to aid Somalia in tackling the coronavirus pandemic.

Soldiers from Ethiopia and Kenya are among those deployed to Somalia as part of an AU peacekeeping mission to fight the armed group al-Shabab.

The shooting down of the plane comes amid strained ties between Kenya and Somalia.

Last month, Kenya accused Somali troops of an unwarranted attack across its border near Mandera, a northern outpost town, describing the incident as a provocation.

Somalia, meanwhile, has long accused its larger neighbour of meddling in its internal affairs, something Kenya has denied.
The Delhi High Court on Saturday extended the interim bail of 2,177 undertrial prisoners by another 45 days in view of the prevailing coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic situation. This extension period starts from the expiry of their interim bail period.

The order stated, "The interim bails for a period of 45 days granted to 2,177 UTPs, ...are hereby extended by another period of 45 days from the date of their respective expiry of interim bails on the same terms and conditions."

It further said, "Director General (Prisons) shall ensure that this order is conveyed to all the 2,177 UTPs by telephone, as well as, through all other available modes. Ld. Member Secretary, DSLSA shall coordinate with DG (Prisons) in this."

A high power committee headed by Justice Hima Kohli had recommended the extension of the interim bails of under trial prisoners. The division bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Talwant Singh passed the order on the recommendation of a High Power Committee.

A High Power Committee was constituted by the Delhi HC to decongest the jails to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and as per the recommendations of this Committee...2177 Under Trial Prisoners (UTPs) were released on interim bail for a period of 45 days from the date of their respective release.

The HPC noted that, the said period of 45 days in respect of some UTPs is going to expire on May 9 and for others it shall expire in coming days of May and in the first week of June but the situation of the pandemic is still the same.

The court further said, "Central Government has already extended the lockdown to May 17 and it may not be possible to predict definite date for resumption of normal functioning of the court system, so HPC was of the opinion that the interim bail so granted to 2177 UTPs by respective CMMs/MMs needs to be extended for a further period of 45 days.
The 23-year-old daughter of a



policeman who died of the novel coronavirus infection last month in Madhya Pradesh has been appointed as sub-inspector in the force by the state government, said an official on Saturday.

The 59-year-old policeman, in charge of Neelganga police station in Ujjain district, died in an Indore hospital on April 21 after getting infected while performing his duty in a containment area, the official said.

"Minister for Home and Health Narottam Mishra spoke to the 23-year-old woman on Saturday over phone and told her about the appointment as PSI as announced by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. She is likely to join duty next week," a state public relations department official said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Kochi, May 9 : The first evacuation flight from Bahrain carrying 177 passengers landed here at 11.30 p.m. on Friday. The flight carried four passengers each from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu while the rest of them were from various other districts of Kerala.

The passengers went through a health check up at the airport as they were not tested for COVID-19 in Bahrain.

After arrival, the passengers went through the thermal scanner and visited the health help desk where they were informed on how they should conduct themselves during the quarantine period.

As per protocol, symptomatic people were immediately moved to a separate area and were taken to the nearby state run hospital after the initial formalities.

Since the pregnant women, kids and elderly people are allowed to be in quarantine at their home, they were sent to their homes in taxi or in their own vehicles.

Passengers from other districts were sent to their respective districts by state road transport buses and will have to stay under 14-day quarantine at the state run corona care centres.

On Friday , the police cordoned off the entry to the airport from the main road, as in Thursday, there were a good number of onlookers.

The baggage of all the passengers was disinfected before handing over to them.

On Friday, one flight each landed here as well as Kozhikode.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Divorces have been granted online for the first time in Irish history.

The Irish Independent reports that three decrees were allowed yesterday where the people involved appeared via video link
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 9

By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:

A representative office of Russias Bashkortostan may be opened in Kazakhstan, Trend reports with reference to Bashkortostans State Committee on Foreign Economic Relations.

The decision was made during a meeting of the Bashkortostans Investment Committee in the form of videoconference.

The report said that Kazakhstan is among top five partner countries of Bashkortostan in terms of foreign trade turnover, as Bashkir companies are actively export a wide range of goods to Kazakhstan.

The potential of the Kazakh market is quite big, the export list can be significantly expanded up to cooperation in the aircraft industry, soda ash production, investments attraction in the field of road facilities, petrochemicals and oil refining, the report said.

Head of Bashkortostan Radiy Khabirov said during the conference call that Kazakhstan is one of the most reliable partners.

The process of representative offices establishing continues. Now we need to concentrate on one of them. Kazakhstan is our long-standing and reliable partner and we are working to expand this cooperation, Khabirov said.

---

Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh
By Akbar Mammadov

Today Azerbaijan marks the 75th anniversary of World War II victory and commemorates those who fought and died for the cause of freedom over fascism during the Second World War.

The country entered World War II alongside the Soviet Union, after the German declaration of war on June 22, 1941.

Despite being a small country compared to the Soviet Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, France and China who ensured the victory over Hitler's Nazi Germany, Azerbaijan undoubtedly played an undeniably great role in the war of freedom and liberty over fascism and tyranny in military, economic and strategic areas.

How Azerbaijan economically secured the victory

Prior to World War II, Soviet Azerbaijan was one of the world's largest producers of oil, oil products, and petroleum equipment, hugely contributing to the Soviet Union to be ranked next to the United States and Canada in oil production.

Azerbaijan supplied 90 percent of engine oil, 80 percent of gasoline and 70 percent of oil for the Soviet army during the WWII.

Four out of the 5 Soviet aircrafts, tanks and trucks used in the war ran on Azerbaijani fuel. Therefore, invasion of Baku and its oil fields was a top priority for Hitler.

Despite ongoing military actions, Baku could remain the main supplier of fuels and lubricants, sending 23.5 million tons of oil in the first year of the war alone. A total of 75 million tons of oil were transported for military needs throughout World War II. The former ambassador of Russia to Azerbaijan Vasiliy Istratov said: "There wouldnt be any victory in World War II without natural resources of Azerbaijan." It is enough to note that

In September, 1942 a military situation was announced in the South Caucasus and the situation in Baku became critical. Only 1.6 million tons of oil were sent instead of the 6 million tons stored until the end of navigation. Special oil wells, into which were pumped hundreds of thousands of tons of topped oil, were allocated. Scarcity of tanks led to the collapse of work.

On April 28, 1945, marshal of the Soviet Union Fyodor Tolbukhin wrote about Azerbaijan's irreplaceable contribution in his article under a subtitle of "Glory to Azerbaijani nation": "The Red Army owes Azerbaijani nation and courageous Baku oilmen for many victories, for on-time delivery of qualitative fuel to attacking units. Soldiers of our front under Stalingrad, in Don and Donbass, on the shores of the Dnepr and Dnestr, in Belgrad, under Budapesht and Vienna remember Azerbaijani oilmen with gratitude and greet brave workers of oily Baku."

Azerbaijan's military contribution in World War II

Over 600,000 Azerbaijanis were conscripted to the "Workers and Peasants Red Army" during World War II from 1941 to 1945. Out of them, about 300,000 Azerbaijani troops were killed. Some 15,000 medical workers were deployed on the Eastern Front, along with 3,750 operators of motorized vehicles.

Not only Azerbaijani men and women fought in the regular Red Army against Germany, but also a number of Azerbaijanis combated against Italian and German forces as partisan groups in the Balcans, France, Italy and Eastern Europe. Azerbaijani women also participated in the fight against the Axis. Some notable women include partisan Aliya Rustambeyova, sniper Ziba Ganiyeva, anti-craft gunner Almaz Ibrahimova, and captain Shovkat Salimova.

In addition, Azerbaijani troops played a significant role in several battles that changed the historical course and save the victory over fascism, including: the Defense of Brest Fortress, the Siege of Leningrad, the Battle of Moscow, the Battle of Stalingrad, the Battle of Kursk, and the Battle of Berlin. These troops were stationed in the Crimean peninsula of the Ukraine, as well as Eastern Europe and the Baltics.

Azerbaijani civilians also played a major role in the Battle of the Caucasus, providing resistance to the German advance toward Baku and Grozny, which were main oil supplying cities of the Soviet Union.

Azerbaijani heroes who saved Europe from fascism

During the WW II, 123 Azerbaijani citizens were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for their heroic fight against fascism.

Lieutenant Israfil Mammadov was the first Azerbaijani awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, and Major-General Hazi Aslanov received the title twice. Huseynrza Mammadov and Javad Hakimli were commanders of Azerbaijani Partisan Detachment in France and Italy respectively, while Mammad Aliyev were the commander of Azerbaijani Partisan Detachment in Belarus and Crimea.

Among Azerbaijani partisans, Lieutenant Mehdi Husenyzade (Mikhailo) and Ahmadiyya Jabrayilov (Kharko) have left a differently important mark in European against fascism, who fought for liberation of Yugoslavia and Italy, and France from Germany respectively. Particularly, Ahmadiyya Jabrayilov was awarded with the most important medals of France because of his roles in liberation of Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Paris, and his leadership in liberation of Toulon with his "Poppies squad": "War Cross" (Croix de Guerre), "Cross for bravery", "Insignia for the Military Wounded", "Partisan Medal" and the "Medal for personal bravery in combat.

---

Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
MEDIA  From a veteran celebrating his 73rd birthday to a 9-year-old girl standing alongside her mother, a crowd of 100 people sent a message to Gov. Tom Wolf Saturday morning outside Giovannis Barber Shop on Olive Street.

Giovannis owner Nichole Missino, her establishment nearing financial ruin, led the rally of mostly disillusioned citizens tired of government telling them what to do and preventing them from going back to work at so-called nonessential businesses.

Missino intended to cut hair at Giovannis Saturday in defiance of Wolfs order banning the reopening of nonessential businesses. The appointment book was full. Stringent sanitation and health precautions would be in place, including shields and masks. A message on the wall read ReOpen PA.

With an unmarked Media police vehicle parked across the street, window open, Missino and others urged a crowd of more than 100 bearing signs reading Let America Work Again, This Is Actual Fascism and Where Are You Getting Your Hair Cut Gov. Wolf? to join the back-to-work movement gaining traction among some as unemployment soars.

Were not going to open today because we were threatened with our occupancy certificates being pulled, Missino said, identifying Media Police Chief Martin Wusinich as the source of that fear. The state board reached out and said that they would defend our license  and that they could also prosecute me. So, as of right now were not opening. I do have a lawyer and I am speaking to him. And Im going to try to figure out how to open because we cant stay closed.

Wusinich told the Daily Times he hadnt made demands on Missino or Giovannis. Just the same, Wusinich and Media Mayor Bob McMahon wouldnt have felt welcome at this rally, for they were called out by angry people in the crowd. Spineless and cowardly were the angrier taunts.

Felicia Stella, one of the unemployed barbers, implored officials paid by taxpayers to consider the people theyre elected to represent.

Lets see how long they can survive on $1,200, she said, referring to the federal government stimulus check.

Missino said no one on her staff has received unemployment and she isnt getting federal small business assistance. Bills upwards of $3,000 a month are piling up.

Noting the governors recent decision to allow dentists to perform non-urgent procedures Monday, Missino responded Thats crazy.

You can go to a dentist and get your teeth worked on and I cant do a haircut? she said. Im not in anybodys mouth.

Byron Mundy, no stranger to the cause of taxpayers rights, having spent 22 years on the Southeast Delco School Board, sported an Open Penna Now sign.

Weve heard the virus, COVID-19 could kill a lot of people, Mundy said. Well, now the shutdown itself is leading to deaths. Theres a lot of suffering and pain from the shutdown. We have people who are afraid to go to hospitals. They have cancer or heart disease and theyre not going to get their normal treatments. The hospitals are shut down for almost everything but COVID. Look at alcoholism. People are staying home and alcoholism is on the rise. Thats going to kill a lot of people. Suicides are up. People are frustrated because they cant work.

The old saying is you cant let the cure be worse than the disease. Basically, its not that deadly. Most people that get it just have mild symptoms.

Val Biancaniello from Marple described herself as a respiratory therapist who works with COVID-19 patients.

We are all affected, Biancaniello said. We do want to do the right thing. But we also need to get back to work. Gov. Wolf needs to strike that balance and recognize the people. Almost 80 percent of the people getting the virus are in nursing homes. Its time to get back to work. We need paychecks.

George Anderson, who handed out donuts at the rally, appealed to government officials to remember what the nations founding fathers said.

Its we the people who are the governors, not the governed, Anderson said. There are those in our state who currently are in power who want to return us to those days where the top ruled the people. Thats not the American way. The American way is we, the people. And if they dont start paying attention to it, I fear for our country.

That received one of the loudest ovations at a rally that was peaceful and respectful. There was no interference from police, who, anticipating large numbers, stacked a small army of crowd barriers alongside Giovannis. Olive Street was full of people but didnt need to be closed.

Missino, having obtained counsel, is confident her business will open sooner rather than later.

I feel like if we put safety measures like we have inside then we should be able to open, Missino said. I feel like if anybodys scared then dont come in. And I dont think we would pass it along to anyone. Were constantly sanitizing, were wearing the face masks and were wearing the face shields.
- Massawe pretended to call President Uhuru Kenyatta for Rashid Abdalla only to dial his wife, Lulu Hassan

- This was during her show on Radio Jambo where he was hosting a segment where people check up on their loved ones to ensure they are safe during coronavirus pandemic

- Lulu softened on hearing her hubby's voice and together they ganged up against the radio host

Radio host, Massawe Jappani, has left her fans cracking their ribs after pranking Rashid Abdalla on live radio.

The Radio Jambo presenter was on her daily corona check-up on Wednesday, May 6, and decided to check up on Citizen TV's Abdalla and his family.

READ ALSO: Close your legs: Radio presenter Annitah Raey lectures women who use kids as investments

READ ALSO: I cannot infect my son with HIV through breastfeeding - Phenny Awiti

Posting a snippet of the video on Instagram, Massawe asked Abdalla whom he wanted to talk to and he said he wanted to talk to President Uhuru Kenyatta and give him some advice.

"I would like to talk to the president of the Republic of Kenya because I have some advice for him. If I got the chance to talk to him, I would tell him what I feel they are doing right and what is wrong," said Abdalla.

READ ALSO: Babu wa miaka 87 auza mali yote ya wanawe kwa kukosa kuhudhuria harusi yake

Massawe surprised the news anchor by calling his wife, Lulu Hassan, instead of Uhuru and the chemistry between the two was undeniable.

After hearing her hubby's voice on the other end, Lulu softened and jokingly told Massawe "uko na ujinga".

According to Abdalla, his wife is the president of his home but his definition differed with Massawe's for he wanted to talk to the country's president.

Asking the couple what they would change in their life, the two ganged up against her and advised her to love herself.

"You are the people who go on bleaching, changing your shape. Please love yourself the way you are," advised Lulu.

On Tuesday, May 5, Abdalla commemorated his late dad in a special way and asked his fans to pray for his soul.

The father of three shared a photo of his old man whom he resembled and said he died in 1996.

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.

My wife left me at my lowest - Kennedy Mwangi | My Story | Tuko TV

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Family of the deceased Ghanaian actor, Bishop Bernard Nyarko are calling on the public to disregard any report purporting that the late actor's mother has a hand in his death.



The family found it shocking and ridiculous that people would point accusing fingers at the mother from whose womb the late Bishop Nyarko came into being.



However, breaking her silence over the death of Bishop Nyarko, the mother in an interview with Kofi TV recounted that she did everything in her power to save the life of the late actor even to the point where a Pastor collected 2200 cedis and other provisions from her to work on her son but to no avail.



Today, May 9, 2020 marked one-week celebration of the late Bishop Bernard Nyarko.



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Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 20:12:41|Editor: huaxia

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LILONGWE, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Malawi reached 56 after 13 new cases were reported Saturday by the country's Minister of Health Jappie Mhango during the daily updates on the pandemic.

The minister said among the new cases, 5 are from the commercial city of Blantyre, 7 from the southern region district of Thyolo while one is from the lakeshore district of Mangochi.

The minister also disclosed that the 5 from Blantyre are health workers while the 7 from Thyolo are contacts of another case that was confirmed in the district.

Since the first case was confirmed on April 2, the country has registered three COVID-19 deaths, 14 recoveries, and 39 active cases but with mild conditions, according to the health authorities.

Meanwhile, schools, offices and public gatherings remain banned in the country while essential services remain open but with downscaled staff. Enditem
Syracuse, N.Y.  Gov. Andrew Cuomo is taking steps to keep non-essential businesses shut until June 6 in an executive order signed on Thursday, according to his office.

That order gives him the underlying authority to move the date, Melissa DeRosa, Cuomos top aide, said in a news release this afternoon. But that extension of the date hasnt happened yet.

Cuomos office clarified this afternoon that the New York on Pause order, which put much of the states economy on hold because of coronavirus, is still set to expire just before midnight May 15.

Yet Cuomos latest move on Thursday indicates the state is already looking toward June as a more realistic time for restarting parts New Yorks economy. At the same time, other parts of the state are meeting reopening requirements.

The change is expected in a state where more than 21,000 people have died from COVID-19.

Yet this new development doesnt automatically prevent some businesses  including some in Central New York  from reopening as early as May 16 as previously planned, according to Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi.

That means Cuomos four-phase reopening plan is still moving ahead. In that plan, more construction workers and manufacturers are first in line to go back to work.

When will that happen? When regions such as Central New York meet a set of standards that show the spread of the virus is slowing and that local officials are able to provide more testing.

If you hit the benchmarks, it would start then, Azzopardi said of the mid-May date.

Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon has said he expects the Syracuse area to be able to meet those requirements by May 16.

I can give reassurance that were ready to go, McMahon said today. Were ready to go. Weve met our benchmarks.

Ultimately, though, its up to Cuomo, he added.

Earlier this week, Cuomo said Central New York met five of the seven requirements to begin reopening some businesses.

Those metrics include declining hospitalizations and deaths; new hospitalizations and available hospital beds; testing capacity; and the ability to track down contacts of positive patients and get them tested and isolated if necessary.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

Onondaga Co. warns of possible coronavirus exposure at 8 places last weekend

Onondaga Co. coronavirus: Hospitalizations at record levels, up 45% in one week; 5 more deaths

Inside Green Empire Farm: Upstate NYs biggest coronavirus outbreak slams migrant workers

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Got a story idea or news tip youd like to share? Please contact me through email, Twitter, Facebook or at 315-470-2274.
Pastors, evangelical leaders condemn Ahmaud Arbery killing, issue call for justice

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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.
As the Delhi government came under attack over "under-reporting" of coronavirus deaths after hospitals reported a higher figure, Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Saturday asserted that there is no reason to hide anything and not a single case will go unaccounted for in the national capital.

The minister said the hospitals have not sent detailed death reports of patients which have information such reason of death, name, age and other things, and on the basis of which the COVID-19 health bulletin is updated.

He said the health department has asked the hospitals to send the death reports and summaries at the earliest, so that the data can be promptly added to the bulletin



Confusion prevailed over the number of deaths due to the coronavirus in Delhi, with the data from four hospitals showing that 92 people succumbed to the infection as against 68 fatalities reported by the city government.

Meanwhile, the health department also synchronised the 24-hr time cycle for the daily bulletin on COVID-19 cases with that of Indian Council of Medical Research, an official said. Earlier, the health department was following a 24-hr time cycle beginning from 4 PM daily. It will now be from 12 midnight.

Coming down heavily on the AAP government, Congress leader Ajay Maken asked it to be more transparent" in reporting cases of the novel coronavirus.

He said it was a "matter of shame" that the national capital was witnessing "a sorry state of affairs" in the fight against the pandemic.

Expressing concern over the matter, Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari said the chief minister should clear the air about the situation.

"The reports of under-reporting of coronavirus deaths area a matter of concern. It is extremely shameful that to hide its failures, the Delhi government is reportedly hiding the figures of death due to COVID-19. This is not the time to indulge in politics," Tiwari said.

"Delhi people have a right to know about the severity of the epidemic and the Kejriwal government should at least tell them the truth," he said.

But Jain told reporters, There is no reason to hide anything. We have asked hospitals to send the death reports or death summaries at the earliest. I give you guarantee that no case will go unaccounted for.

The toll of 68 deaths shared by the Delhi government in its health bulletin on Friday is based on data collected from 10 hospitals, including AIIMS, Safdarjung Hospital, Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital and Lady Hardinge Medical College.

According to the bulletin, AIIMS (Delhi and Jhajjar) reported two deaths, Safdarjung Hospital reported four, RML 26 and Lady Hardinge Medical College had none till Friday.

However, officials from these hospitals said the number of people who died due to coronavirus in the national capital till Friday is higher than what is reflected in the Delhi government's bulletin.

AIIMS (Delhi Trauma Centre and Jhajjar) has recorded a total of 14 deaths, an official said.

According to All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Medical Superintendent Dr D K Sharma, the discrepancy could be because the government is only counting the fatalities from the Trauma Centre, which has been converted into a dedicated COVID-19 hospital, and has not taken into account data from the Jhajjar facility.

At the Safdarjung Hospital, 23 people have died due to COVID-19.

"They (government) are calling us for the data. We have told them we are regularly sending you the correct, updated figures. We don't see any reason why wrong figures are being reflected," said a senior doctor at Safdarjung Hospital who did not want to be named.

RML Hospital has reported 52 deaths of COVID-19 patients.

"We are providing them (government) data regularly and correctly. It is up to them to incorporate it in their chart. We do not understand why they are showing incorrect figures," RML Medical Superintendent Minakshi Bhardwaj said.

Lady Hardinge Medical College Director Dr N N Mathur said the hospital has given the government a figure of three deaths.

After the discrepancies between the COVID-19 death toll reported by the government and figures from hospitals came to light, Jain on Friday said, If we had to hide data, we wouldn't have released Thursday's number of fresh COVID-19 cases which was the highest single-day spike of 448 cases. We would have said there were only 48 new cases, but we did not."



Once the reports come, the hospitals have to inform the government immediately," he had told reporters.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
We reported last week that healthcare workers outside of the NHS are finding it harder to be tested for coronavirus. This was not the only time we used outside of rather than simply outside. Steven Fogel pointed out that we also said in our review of Gangs of London that nobody outside of the UK can understand what anyone is saying.

I was surprised to find, when I checked the database, that we used outside of 21 times last week. None of those was what I would regard as the conventional usage, which would be the outside of the house was painted green. In every case, the of could have been deleted.

It is an American usage increasingly common in British English, and, given that I hadnt noticed it until it was drawn to my attention, I suspect it will soon be accepted here. As ever, though, I think The Independent should lag discreetly behind the leading edge of change because linguistic conservatism lends greater authority to our writing.
The first case of coronavirus infection was registered in Mastara village of Aragatsotn Province of Armenia. Sargis Avetisyan, the mayor of Mastara, stated this in a conversation with Armenian News-NEWS.am.

"The infected is a woman about 50 years old," he said. "She went to Maralik [town], to her parents' house, and came back infected. I don't know for sure, but they say she attended the funeral [there]. "

The village mayor noted that this woman lives with her husband, their children live abroad, she has not had much contact, and she had been in contact with solely one neighbor who lives alone.

"The husband and the neighbor are currently isolated," Avetisyan added. "And she was transferred to Yerevan, but her condition is good."
New Delhi: A public interest litigation (PIL) has been moved in Delhi High Court on Saturday (May 9, 2020) seeking a SIT or CBI investigation into the case related to 'Bois Locker Room' social media group, in which nearly 22 teenage boys allegedly shared objectionable pictures of minor girls and discussed about raping women.

The petition also seeks protection to the girls and women who been have highlighted this case. The plea is likely to be heard by the court on May 13.

The PIL, filed by Dev Ashish Dubey through advocates Dushyant Tiwari and Omprakash Parihar.

The petition said that screenshots from an Instagram group called "Bois Locker Room" were shared by social media users, which revealed chats between a group of school students from Class 11 and 12 sharing photos of underage girls, followed by lurid discussions on their bodies.

It further highlighted that the group also allegedly used to share nude/morphed photographs of women."The group is run by and has membership of 16 to 18-year-old boys from posh schools in South Delhi, all of whom were involved in the objectification of their classmates and other women, some as young as 14 years of age," read the petition.

The plea claimed that the members of the group have committed several offences, including defamation, threatening women, etc, which are punishable under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The Delhi Police cyber cell on Friday (May 8, 2020) had recorded statements of six students who are accused of being a part of the Instagram group. All six students are adults.

In order to gather further information on the matter, the police officials have also quizzed some of the juveniles at their residence in front of their parents and NGO members.
Millions of Americans across the country are beginning to receive their Economic Impact Payments, just one element of Congress expansive Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, better known as the CARES Act.

This one-time direct cash payment will provide $1,200 to those making $75,000 a year or less. Married couples will receive up to $2,400, and those with children will receive an additional $500 per child (up to age 17).

For business owners struggling to stay afloat, those who have been furloughed or laid off, or have contracted or are caring for family members with coronavirus, these checks will help alleviate the many stresses compounding on American families as we navigate these uncharted waters.

But for the luckiest among us  those who are comfortably retired, still employed, still healthy (people like myself)  I urge you to consider reinvesting that money, or a portion of it, into the charitable causes and communities closest to you. My wife and I are electing to support a couple of local charitable causes with our stimulus check, among them the Brown County Community Foundation Fund unrestricted endowment.

In Nebraska, the past couple of years have been punctuated by crises and disasters we could not have anticipated. Last spring, it was catastrophic floods impacting dozens of communities, thousands of homes, small businesses, farms, ranches, schools, healthcare facilities, and more.

This year, the COVID-19 pandemic has us all feeling uncertain about the future.

But one certainty we can always count on? Change. And thats precisely what community unrestricted endowments are designed to address.

Community unrestricted endowments are a critical development tool for Greater Nebraska hometowns like those in Brown County. Since 1995, local volunteers have been working to build our unrestricted endowment account, which now totals over $1 million. All contributions to the endowment are invested and every year, we use a portion of the payout to make grants that respond to opportunities and challenges as they arise. For instance, in Brown County, our unrestricted endowment allowed us to keep the Sandhills Care Center, a vital facility for our aging population, open and caring for residents. As I type this, many communities across the state are using unrestricted endowment payout to make grants to local food banks, nonprofits addressing domestic violence, resources for virtual learning, and other needs areas that have come to the forefront as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Importantly, donating your stimulus check isnt just beneficial to your community  it benefits you, the individual making the gift. Within the CARES Act, there are several charitable tax provisions that incentivize charitable giving. They include:

1. A new deduction for charitable donors who do not itemize when filing their tax returns. If you do not itemize but make a gift to charity, you will be allowed to take a special tax deduction, up to $300, to reduce your tax liability.

2. An increase in the deduction limit up to 100% of a donors annual income for cash gifts (previously the deduction was capped at 60% of annual income). If you make a gift you will be able to deduct more this year.

Even in the age of physical distancing, the power of community will get us through. If you need your stimulus check to make ends meet, by all means, that was the intended purpose. But for the fortunate ones among us, think of this as an opportunity to do your part in building a stronger, more resilient community, better prepared for the next unanticipated event the future inevitably holds.

Al Steuter lives in rural Brown County. He is immediate past chair of the Nebraska Community Foundation statewide board of directors and a retired member of the Brown County Community Foundation Fund Advisory Committee, still serving in an ex-officio capacity.

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The face Laura Linney makes when you walk into an audition after her. Photo: The Late Late Show With James Corden/YouTube

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow/ Creeps in this petty pace from day to day / To the last syllable of recorded time; / And all our yesterdays have lighted fools / The way to dusty death  Oh, Im sorry. I didnt see you there. I was just randomly reading this line from Macbeth about the relentlessness and inevitably of time, for no reason whatsoever. It definitely has nothing to do with crossing the 50-day mark of quarantine this week. Lets see if our late-night hosts are handling the passage of time better than I am (the answer: probably).

5. Kristin Chenoweth Debuts New Boyfriend, Imitates Phone Alarms

Who else could pull off three semi-quick changes in one Zoom call but Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth? In what seems like a press tour to introduce the world to her new boyfriend, country musician Josh Bryant, Chenoweth stopped by Conan and Watch What Happens Live! this week with her signature quirky sensibility. Shes easy and breezy. Shes kooky and zany. And she doesnt need berries in her Captain Crunch cereal, thank you very much. Chenoweth and her sunshiny personality were truly a burst of fresh air in a dark time, whether she was talking about her quarantine sex life (its good!) or playing Carole Baskin in a disco-infused musical number called Little Pieces written by Andrew Lippa. To top it all off, Chenoweth broke out that golden voice of hers and imitated various iPhone alarms. Her harp is uncanny. So brighten your day with Kristen Chenoweth, who didnt even know that she had a kitchen.

4. Jimmy Fallon as Nicolas Cage as Joe Exotic on The Tonight Show

[Heavy sigh] I know. Youre exhausted. Im exhausted. We simply cannot take any more Tiger King content. And yet, if weve learned anything from 2020, the universe doesnt give a damn what we can or cannot take. Thats why this video of Jimmy Fallon as Nic Cage as Joe Exotic has to make the list of best late-night clips this week. We didnt ask for it  nay, we actually frankly said we didnt want it  and yet we have it anyway. That being said, Jimmy Fallons Nic Cage is undeniably good, and the Russian doll of impersonations adds a fun twist to something weve seen over and over again. If we must have more Tiger King content  and it looks like we must  then please let it be as absurd (and short) as this video.

3. Cheap Dad Anderson Cooper on The Late Show

One week into his new role as new daddy, Anderson Cooper stopped by The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to provide a heartwarming update on the status of his 7-day-old son, Wyatt Morgan Cooper. Its like tectonic plates shifting, said Cooper on fatherhood. But except it doesnt leave you in rubble. Its a good tectonic shift. Cooper went on to reveal what we all want to know: Are baby Wyatt and baby Benjamin Cohen, Andy Cohens newborn son, baby friends? While we dont know whether theyve met yet (Wyatt is only 7 days old, after all), Cooper did confirm that Wyatts closet comprises hand-me-downs from baby Ben. My son is entirely wearing hand-me-downs from Andy Cohens son, said Cooper. Im inherently cheap. I like a good value  I want my son to be a Depression-era child who grows up wearing hand-me-down clothes. Wow, seven days into fatherhood and Cooper has already turned into a cheapskate? He really is gonna be a great dad.

2. Sandra Oh Makes Canada Proud on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

O Canada! In a nice reprieve from the horrors of our own country, Jimmy Kimmel Live! took us on a little trip up north with a quiz segment starring Canadian Killing Eve star Sandra Oh. Having watched (almost) every episode of Greys Anatomy, I was at once surprised that Oh was Canadian and even more surprised that she wasnt currently at the hospital prepping for a cardiovascular surgery until I remembered that she isnt a real doctor, she just expertly played one on television for most of my childhood. Oh shouted out the many actual doctors and surgeons she worked with over the course of Greys Anatomy before absolutely nailing Kimmels quiz Is It Canadian? Apparently, the Zamboni machine and flannel (two of the most Canadian things that exist) are not actually Canadian, but the California roll and Hawaiian pizza are Canadian? Make it make sense.

1. Laura Linney Dunks on Bad Actresses on The Late Late Show

Imagine youre a young actress whos been lucky enough to receive a callback from Juilliard. Youve got your wig and your sword; youre prepping for your monologue waiting for the opportunity of a lifetime when Laura freaking Linney walks in the door and signs in to the slot directly after yours. This exact scenario  complete with the wig and the sword  happened to one unnamed actress, and Laura Linney went on The Late Late Show With James Corden and recounted the tale as though it were yesterday.

Corden asked Ozark actor and national treasure what she considered her breakout role to be, and, like all good drama schooltrained actors, she responded with getting accepted at Juilliard. Linney went on to tell two stories about auditioning for Juilliard  one about the women who came with a wig stand and a sword and one about another woman at the callback who left the audition because she really connected during an improv, which is one of the darkest things Ive ever heard. Linney went in, did her two monologues (one of them was Hermione from The Winters Tale  okay, Shakespeare is a mood today) and left certain that she didnt make the cut but forgot the fact that shes Laura freaking Linney. No shade to those other women, but a wig stand, sword, and connected improv are no match for Miss Linney, member of Group 19.
By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA: TDP supremo and Leader of the Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu has demanded a detailed probe involving experts into the leakage of Styrene gas from LG Polymers unit in Visakhapatnam, which claimed 12 lives and causing ill-health to about 350 persons including 44 children. He felt that inquiry by a few IAS Officers would not suffice as they have no technical expertise to properly study the issue.

Charging the State government of adopting a casual and 'superficial' approach to such a tragedy, Naidu, addressing a virtual press conference on Friday, accused Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy of speaking very casually on the issue. He also found fault with the government for filing simple cases in connection with the incident. The governments should be in favour of the victims during such times and not the factory management, Naidu said, quoting Mahatma Gandhi.

It is unfair on part of the Chief Minister to make light of the issue. The gravity of the toxic leakage is such that the National Green Tribunal reprimanded and ordered LG Polymers to deposit `50 crore immediately towards future compensation. While the National Human Rights Commission had taken suo motu cognisance of the tragedy, the Andhra Pradesh High Court, hearing a PIL, had also taken objection to lack of precautionary measures that caused loss of lives.

But the Chief Minister issued a statement in a casual manner without fully understanding and analysing the situation by consulting subject experts. The CM should realise the seriousness of the situation based on how the Prime Minister and Union Cabinet Secretary held review meetings after the gas tragedy, Naidu pointed out. Responding to the `1 crore compensation announced by the CM, Naidu wondered if it would bring back lives. He stressed on long-term support to families of the victims.

Demanding that LG Polymers factory should not be allowed to be reopened at its present location under any circumstances, he strongly objected to the CMs remarks that the government would wait for reports and then see whether the factory should be shifted or not. The killer factory should be relocated to some other non-populated place so that there would be no harm to residents anywhere, anymore, the TDP chief demanded. Naidu asked how the factory was allowed to reopen during the nationwide lockdown period though it was not dealing with any sort of essential services. Another unexplainable lapse was why the factory alarm system failed at such a crucial time.
The father and son who murdered an unarmed jogger named Ahmaud Arbery back in February are now charged for the crime. In addition,an official from Georgia promised that they will focus on the case as the man who filmed the gruesome incident is now under police investigation.

Vic Reynolds, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director, said in a news conference on May 8, that every stone will be turned over, and if the facts lead agents to make another arrest, that is what the agents will do.

The man who recorded the horrifying shooting incident is said to live near the suspects, ex-cop Gregory McMichael and his son Travis McMichael. The man was driving behind them during the incident that happened on February 23.

Graphic footage of Ahmaud Arbery killing

The gruesome murder of Ahmaud Arbery was captured on video, and it prompted a nationwide outrage after it surfaced online. The video shows the black victim running on a seemingly quiet road outside Brunswick when the two white men with guns start chasing him in a pickup truck.

The 34-year-old Travis McMichael jumps in front of Arbery with a rifle and a scuffle ensues before three gunshots were heard. The jogger died at a hospital later that day but there were no charges filed by any local law enforcement agency.

On May 5, Reynolds' agency took over the case, shortly after the video surfaced and the two white shooters were immediately arrested on murder charges. Reynolds told reporters that they are investigating everyone who is involved in the case, including the person who shot the video. Reynolds did not specify the crime that the neighbor may have committed to filming the incident.

Also Read: 75,000 Americans At Risk of Dying from Suicide Due to Pandemic Despair

The two suspects said in their defense that they were following Arbery because they thought he was doing a series of break-ins in the neighborhood.

A call was made to 911 that day, and it was thought to be Gregory McMichael, and he reported a black male running down the street. However, the caller never told dispatchers what kind of crime he thought Arbery had committed. Arbery's family said that he was known in the area and that their neighbors would acknowledge him when he jogs down the street.

Racially motivated murder

Critics and human rights groups say that killing is another example of racial profiling that resembles the case of Trayvon Martin. Reynolds noted that Georgia is one of the few states that do not have a hate crime law, so he's unable to pursue charges.

Reynolds also acknowledged that time is an obstacle in the case because the incident happened more than two months ago, but he did not criticize the police and the prosecutors for not charging the McMichaels sooner. He added that in a perfect world, they would have been involved if they were asked to back in February, but sometimes it is not a perfect world so they have to deal with the situation as it is placed in front of them.

As for the video, the prosecutors did not even acknowledge having it. Reynolds said that it was vital to the case but it is not the only piece of evidence that his team reviewed before they filed charges.

Related Article: Former Trucker Arrested for Murders of Three Women, One Unborn Fetus

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Until now Mylab has already manufactured 6.5 lakh tests

Pune-based Mylab Discovery Solutions has completed expansion of its production capacity to manufacture COVID-19 RT-PCR tests. As per the production plan, Mylab is scaling-up manufacturing to 2 lakh tests per day.

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 tomeet 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 andreliability." he further added

Until now 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 todeliver 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.
At some point in the last few weeks, you may have been tested for the coronavirus without realizing it.

The test didnt require a nose swab or a doctors order, and it wasnt limited to people who are sick. Anyone with a toilet was eligible. The sample was submitted with a flush.

Researchers at the University of South Carolina are monitoring the novel coronavirus's spread across the state by studying sewage, hoping to develop an early warning system for future outbreaks.

The virus shows up in the feces of people who have been infected, meaning evidence of its spread flows daily into wastewater treatment plants across the state. If its prevalence starts to increase in sewage, the thinking goes, the state may be on the verge of a new outbreak.

If the USC teams hypothesis holds up, public health officials could get a head start against a fast-moving virus. They wouldnt need to wait for its hosts to turn up in doctors offices.

Two months after South Carolina reported its first case of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, the state has learned a few things: Not everyone will show symptoms of illness, letting the virus spread stealthily. Not everyone can get tested, at least not yet.

But everyone poops.

Early warning system

Sean Norman has spent the last decade studying what our sewage says about us.

Norman, an associate professor in USCs Arnold School of Public Health, was already taking samples of wastewater around the state when the coronavirus appeared in it's first human host last year. Jars of sewage were already arriving on campus in Columbia when the viruss spread across the planet finally landed in the Midlands, with an outbreak not 45 minutes down the road.

Normans lab was working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to monitor wastewater for signs of bacteria that could withstand antibiotics. Treatment plants were a key concern: They represent the place where human civilization meets the natural world, where our systems join. The labs work was focused on making sure microbes born of humanity didnt take hold in the wider world.

As the coronavirus gripped the U.S., Norman got a call from the CDC: Could he switch gears? The nation now needed to understand this new threat, a microbe born of nature that had taken hold of humanity.

Normans team began testing for the coronavirus nearly a month ago, to establish a baseline for how prevalent it is in the states waste. The group was already taking samples from six treatment plants around the state, and it has added two more for the virus project, including Charleston.

Several have had enough virus to detect, Norman said. But its too soon yet to draw conclusions about how far it has traveled around the state.

Instead, the researchers aim is to see how its prevalence rises and falls as the COVID-19 pandemic plays out, and they are coming to what could be a pivotal phase. South Carolina has lifted its most restrictive social-distancing measures and stopped enforcing orders to keep people at home.

Norman expects the impact of the looser policies will soon appear in the states sewage, though it will take time to see if they foretell new outbreaks and the projects guiding hypothesis bears out.

Making those conclusions is part of the projects goal, he said. The USC group is one of the primary labs sending data to the CDC, which is developing a model using sewage to predict hot spots. A team at Stanford University is testing some of the samples to make sure their measurements match up, and USC is monitoring sites in California and Texas to expand the projects breadth.

South Carolinas project goes a step further by laying the groundwork for a statewide warning system for virus flare-ups. It can take several days for patients to get sick enough to seek treatment and days more to get lab results back, so official counts of COVID-19 cases show public health leaders what has happened in the past, not whats happening right now.

Wastewater testing could identify an uptick much faster, researchers think, giving doctors time to prepare and disease investigators a head start to ferret out new clusters. The state Department of Health and Environmental Control, which is partly funding the project, says it asked the group to study sites where the virus was more widespread.

Norman declined to say which communities are being tested, but said they run from the coast to the Upstate. At least three  Charleston, Mount Pleasant and Columbia  have been publicly identified.

If it works, DHEC says it could begin guiding public health decisions later this year and give the state a chance to more quickly take targeted actions to stop the viruss spread.

Nationwide interest

Using sewage to flag public health issues isnt a new concept. The field is established enough to have a name  wastewater-based epidemiology  and a group of scientists dedicated to it.

Researchers have used sewage samples to spot polio outbreaks, for instance, and they have used it to track the use of opioid painkillers around the country. They have looked to wastewater for signs of toxins and pollutants, seeking signs of what their communities have ingested and what health problems could follow.

And after months of testing shortages let the coronavirus spread across the U.S., public health officials nationwide are staking hopes on sewage to catch up.

The idea has caught fire. Researchers from the Netherlands to New Zealand have started testing. In the U.S., a separate study by Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the wastewater analysis startup Biobot is gathering samples in 40 states.

Biobot says the 330 wastewater treatment plants sending in samples cover a tenth of the U.S. population.

Preliminary results from that study have shown promise: Wastewater samples in Massachusetts indicated that COVID-19 was more widespread than the official count of cases showed.

But the researchers sounded a note of caution. Scientists dont know yet how much virus infected patients excrete when they use the bathroom, so they havent yet dialed in estimates of just how far off the official numbers are.

Charleston testing

Early on in the pandemic, the potential of wastewater occurred to Dr. Daniel Knapp, a retired professor at the Medical University of South Carolina. He took the idea to former colleagues at MUSC and to DHEC, beating the bushes until he found Normans project getting underway.

Eager to expand monitoring, he decided to pitch the idea to sewer systems around the state. Even if USCs project doesnt have space to test their samples, hes urging their leaders to join Biobots program.

"That's almost real-time measurement of infection level because both symptomatic and asymptomatic people are shedding virus," Knapp said. "My feeling is that every town in the country ought to be doing this."

Knapp made one such pitch to Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg, who doesnt run a treatment plant but sits on the board of an agency that does. Tecklenburg floated the idea with the Charleston Water System last month, which is how last week Meghan Dailey found herself filling two glass bottles with raw sewage to send to Columbia.

Dailey, a chemist for the water system, works with sewage samples often. The water system takes daily samples of its incoming sewage to make sure the chemistry of the treatment plant is well balanced.

Every day, 25 million gallons of wastewater flows through big tunnels beneath the Ashley River and the suburbs to its west, arriving at Plum Island, a treatment plant surrounded by marsh.

As the days water use ebbs and flows, a machine at the plant keeps pace with it, taking a cross-section of everything Charleston flushed down the toilet that day. A pump pulls in a coffee mugs worth of wastewater at regular intervals and gradually fills a plastic jug.

Twice a week, on Sundays and Wednesdays, some of its contents are bottled up and sent to Columbia. Floating inside is a snapshot of the regions health from Daniel Island to Meggett, tens of thousands of samples and potential evidence of the virus's spread.
Mumbai: Two police officers and a constable were injured after a 27-year-old man attacked them with a chopper in south Mumbai early today, police said.

Karan Pradip Nayar, resident of Silver Oaks estate near Breach Candy, attacked the policemen who were on routine 'nakabandi' duty at 1.30 am, senior police inspector of Marine Drive police station Mrityunjay Hiremath told PTI.

The policemen, all deployed at the Marine Drive police station, received injuries on their shoulders and hands and were taken to the state government-run JJ hospital, he said.

"When our policemen saw the man walking with a large chopper near the Pransukhlal Mafatlal Hindu Swimming Bath and Boat Club, they tried to stop him. He ran away and they chased him. When they tried to catch him, he attacked them with the chopper," Hiremath said.

Nayar, an architecture graduate, has been arrested, the police officer said, adding a case has been filed against him under various sections of the IPC, including 307 (attempted murder) and also the Arms Act.

DCP Zone 1 Sangramsinh Nishandar reached the spot immediately after the incident and made arrangements for the medical treatment and accommodation of the injured policemen, he said.
San Antonio City Council has unanimously passed a resolution that declares the terms Chinese Virus and Kung Flu Virus to be hate speech.

President Trump and many of his supporters have used variations of both terms as a reminder that COVID-19 did indeed originate in China.

This prompted the media and leftists to claim Trump was being racist despite the fact that viruses are routinely named after their place of origin.

Now San Antonio City Council has officially declared such language to be hate speech.

Resolution being voted on by San Antonio City Council this morning labels terms "Chinese Virus" and "Kung Fu Virus" as hate speech and "all persons are encouraged to report any such antisemitic, discriminatory or racist incidents to the proper authorities for investigation". pic.twitter.com/jV6tKnQrRD  Jaie Avila (@JaieAvila) May 7, 2020

Resolution being voted on by San Antonio City Council this morning labels terms Chinese Virus and Kung Fu Virus as hate speech and all persons are encouraged to report any such antisemitic, discriminatory or racist incidents to the proper authorities for investigation, tweeted reporter Jaie Avila.

Apparently, a regular council meeting attendee called Jack Finger tried to speak against the resolution, but his mic was cut off.

Council Member Manny Pelaez speaking on resolution says "hate speech is more dangerous than the virus itself"  Jaie Avila (@JaieAvila) May 7, 2020

Council Member Manny Pelaez said hate speech is more dangerous than the virus itself, despite the fact that the virus has killed over 76,000 Americans.

The resolution was passed unanimously. Expect similar versions of it to now be passed by councils across the country.

In taking such a stance, authorities are literally amplifying Chinese Communist Party propaganda, which has repeatedly cried racism when confronted with the fact that Beijing tried to cover-up the severity of coronavirus when it first emerged in Wuhan.



My voice is being silenced by free speech-hating Silicon Valley behemoths who want me disappeared forever. It is CRUCIAL that you support me.Please sign up for the free newsletter here. Donate to me on SubscribeStar here.Support my sponsor  Turbo Force  a supercharged boost of clean energy without the comedown.


Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 20:34:24|Editor: huaxia

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HEFEI, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Medics in eastern China's Anhui Province shared COVID-19 treatment experiences with their peers in its sister state Maryland of the United States through a video conference Friday.

At the conference, doctors of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University answered questions on the benefits and side effects of different treatments and medicines of COVID-19.

They also exchanged ideas on virus detection and treatment of patients with respiratory distress in the 90-minute video conference.

"This year marks the 40th anniversary of the sister relationship between Anhui Province and the state of Maryland. We're pleased to share our experiences on battling COVID-19 with you," said Yong Chenghan, director of the Anhui provincial foreign affairs office.

Maryland donated about 20,000 masks, gloves and protective suits to Anhui in February when China was hit hard by COVID-19. In April, Anhui returned the favor by donating 140,000 surgical masks to Maryland.

"We are immensely grateful for the cooperation and support we have received from all over the world, particularly from our sister state partners," wrote Larry Hogan, governor of Maryland in a thank-you note to Anhui. "The generous donation on behalf of the people of Anhui Province is a gesture of goodwill that will long be remembered by the state of Maryland." Enditem
The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay high court has rejected the plea of a doctor seeking permission for completion of an unauthorised hospital building at Beed in Marathwada region, even after he offered to make the facility available for running an OPD and dialysis unit for Covid-19 patients in the district.

The petitioner, Dr Manoj Munde had moved the high court with a plea for urgent hearing for permission to complete remaining work of his hospital building at Beed and to start the OPD and make available a dialysis unit for the coronavirus patients from Beed district.

He stated that he had purchased an old hospital building in the town and had on August 20, 2019 applied for construction permission. He had made payment of requisite development charges to Beed municipal council on November 8, 2019.

However, in March 2020, the civic body noticed that substantial construction of the new hospital building was already done, even before building permission was obtained. On April 13, 2020, the civic body refused the building permission

Dr Munde then on April 20, 2020, requested the district collector for permission to operate the hospital claiming that the new hospital building was already constructed and could be used for treating Covid-19 patients.

He, however, moved high court after the resident collector on April 25 issued an order shortlisting the unfinished hospital building for the treatment of Covid-19 patients.

On Friday, Government pleader DR Kale opposed the doctors plea stating the construction was illegal and could not be allowed to be completed.

Justice Ravindra Ghuge accepted his contention and rejected the doctors plea for interim permission to complete the unfinished building and to operate an OPD and a dialysis unit from the building for Covid-19 patients. The judge said such an interim order cannot be granted in the face of the illegality, prima facie, indulged into by the petitioner.
Afghan security personnel stand guard at the site of a suicide bomber attack on the southern outskirts of Kabul. (AP)

New Delhi: The United States is understood to have reiterated its desire for India to play a key role in the Afghan peace process, given New Delhis strong relationship with the Afghan Government.

Strengthening its ties with Kabul amid the Coronavirus pandemic, New Delhi meanwhile has dispatched a consignment of 10,000 tonnes of wheat on Thursday to Afghanistan through the Iranian port of Chabahar and this brings the total to a whopping 75,000 tonnes of wheat sent to that country, sources said on Friday.

The Iranian port of Chabahar is crucial for India as it provides sea-land connectivity to Afghanistan thereby bypassing the land route through Pakistan.

Just on Thursday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval had conveyed Indias continued support for strengthening ... the democratic and inclusive polity and protection of rights of all sections of the Afghan society, including Afghan Hindus and Sikhs to visiting United States Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad who had landed in New Delhi for a few hours.

New Delhi had also conveyed that it is deeply concerned at the upsurge in violence and supports call for immediate ceasefire in Afghanistan and that putting an end to terrorist safe havens and sanctuaries is necessary for enduring and sustainable peace and stability in Afghanistan. This was seen as a veiled reference to Pakistan which backs the Taliban.

But the US is apparently looking to India to play a greater role in the Afghan peace process.

Khalilzad is also travelling to Qatar to meet Taliban representatives to press for full implementation of the US-Taliban Agreement.

Indian Government sources on Friday also said there had been a comprehensive exchange of views with the US official on Thursday and that the impact of the US-Taliban Agreement, the issue of terrorism and attacks by the Taliban in Afghanistan had been discussed with him.

It may be recalled that India had last month welcomed the announcement by the Afghan Government on formation of a team for intra-Afghan negotiations with the Taliban.

It may be recalled that prime minister Narendra Modi has been in constant touch with Afghan, with India currently having extremely close ties with Afghanistan under president Ghani.

New Delhi has also successfully undertaken vast development projects in Afghanistan in the past few years, earning much goodwill from the Afghan people. India has also been supplying essential life-saving drugs and medicines to help Afghanistan battle the Coronavirus pandemic.
This article is from Thrillist

Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA M.H. Wong (UC Berkeley)

It's been a big year for Jupiter. NASA released an image of its surface that put The Scream's pastel swirls to shame and the giant planet has also been a part of two major astronomical cameos this year -- it appeared in the same sky as the moon, Mars, and Saturn twice. But while it's unlikely we'll see a view like that again until 2022, researchers have just released a little treat to hold us over: some of the sharpest images of Jupiter ever captured from Earth.



Scientists announced Thursday that the Gemini North telescope, located on Hawaiis Maunakea, has captured multi-wavelength images that, in combination with those from the Hubble Space Telescope, reveal lightning strikes on the planet's surface.



The technique researchers used was called "lucky imagining," according to a press release, but the team did not rely on finger crossing alone. "Lucky exposure" involves using a high-speed camera with exposure times short enough to minimize effects caused by changes in the Earth's atmosphere, which tend to distort the images.



Lead researcher Michael Wong of UC Berkeley said that lucky imaging is "very powerful" and that these new images "rival the view from space."



The Gemini data were critical because they allowed us to probe deeply into Jupiters clouds on a regular schedule, said Wong. The images are being used alongside Hubble Space Telescope data in support of NASA's Juno mission. Images from both telescopes have helped scientists understand the planet's weather patterns, atmospheric components, and cyclones, including the Great Red Spot, a persistent high-pressure region of the planet that produces a constant anticyclonic storm that greatly resembles the state of our society today.





Story continues

Credit: Courtesy of International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA M.H. Wong (UC Berkeley)

Credit: Courtesy of International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA, M.H. Wong

Credit: Courtesy of NASA, ESA, and M.H. Wong (UC Berkeley) and team

Speaking of the Great Red Spot, the new data confirm that the dark patches we see within the red spot are gaps in clouds, not color variations on the planet's surface. Enjoy your newfound ability to sleep at night.



Similar features have been seen in the Great Red Spot before," Gemini team member Glenn Orton told Forbes. "But visible-light observation couldnt distinguish between darker cloud material, and thinner cloud cover over Jupiter's warm interior, so their nature remained a mystery."





Credit: Courtesy of NASA, ESA, and M.H. Wong (UC Berkeley)

But now that the telescope has blown up Jupiter's spot, we have an even better understanding of the gas planet's weather patterns... Hopefully one day we'll begin to understand the absurd weather patterns of our own.





Ready to go stargazing?

Here are all the best stargazing events that you can get out and see this month or you could stay in a stream the northern lights from home. If you're just getting started, check out our guide to astronomy for beginners.



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She is better known for busting Britain's sexual taboos.

Yet sex health expert Sarah Mulindwa has returned to the NHS frontline to help battle the COVID-19 crisis.

The 34-year-old model, who is the star of Channel 4's The Sex Clinic, has put her career on hold to look after coronavirus patients.

Joining the fight: The Sex Clinic star Sarah Mulindwa has returned to the NHS frontline to help battle the COVID-19 crisis

In a new interview, Sarah has spoke about the reality of the long shifts and how she cared for a man who died alone before having to tell his family the news over the phone.

She told The Sun: 'One of my patients died alone on my first day back. It really affected me and I couldn't help but think about it for days.'

Sarah, who qualified as a nurse when she was just 21, specialised in sexual health years ago and admitted that returning to hospital wards was daunting.

NHS hero: The 34-year-old model, who is the star of Channel 4's The Sex Clinic, has put her career on hold to look after coronavirus patients

She is currently working at London's Chelsea and Westminster hospital and said that the most heartbreaking thing is when patients tell her they feel lonely or scared.

Sarah went on to defend nurses who have been criticised for posting dancing videos on social media.

She said: 'It's unwarranted to have a pop at nurses just having some vital down-time.

'As long as patient care is not compromised I don't see any harm in it.'

Sarah revealed in April she had returned to the NHS frontline to help battle the coronavirus pandemic.

Candid: In a new interview, Sarah has spoke about the reality of the long shifts and how she cared for a man who died alone before having to tell his family the news over the phone (pictured in March)

Sharing a photo of herself in hospital scrubs, she penned: 'It's crazy to think it has been almost a decade since I was a ward Nurse! I've temporarily and voluntarily returned back to where it all began and honestly, it's like I never left!

'I've been so nervous and anxious about returning, not just because of the obvious risk but also because I'd lost all confidence in my clinical skills. I'm half way through the first of many 12 hour shifts and I'm so relieved at how quickly it's all coming back to me!

'Turns out it IS like riding a bike (ish). Hopefully this thing will all be over soon but until then, stay home and stay safe. We've got this! And thank you to the wonderful staff at @chelwestft for holding my hand on my first day back

'Special thank you to my babes @marcelomirra89 for looking after me today  @nhsenglandldn #StayHome.'
Barber said a first-grader who is a member of Portage Boys & Girls Club was able to connect to club staff and receive the help she needed to complete a writing assignment. At the end of the tutoring session, the club member said how happy she was to get help from one of her favorite staff members.

The e-learning assistance program also is introducing new youth and teens to Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana, who are joining clubs after hearing from friends and family about the assistance and other vrtual programming the organization is offering during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Barber said the parent of a 10th-grader from Valparaiso called the hotline and registered her daughter for membership at Valparaiso Boys & Girls Club after finding out she could receive free tutoring in geometry.

The mom was so grateful that club staff were able to help her daughter, Barber said. She admitted that e-learning can be tough and that she struggles to help her daughter with geometry.

Rosemarie Joiner, director of operations for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana said the goal of e-learning assistance is to support not only club members, but also local schools and teachers.
Indian authorities used drones and fire engines to disinfect the pandemic-hit city of Ahmedabad on Saturday, as virus cases surged and police clashed with migrant workers protesting against a reinforced lockdown. The western city of 5.5 million people in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state has become a major concern for authorities as they battle an uptick in coronavirus deaths and cases across India. Ahmedabad accounts for 343 of the almost 2,000 deaths reported nationwide and almost 10 percent of India's cases. Other cities in Gujarat have also been badly hit. Locals watched from their balconies as drones sprayed disinfectant from the air while fire engines and other vehicles toured the empty streets sending out clouds of cleaning agent. "All zones" of the city would be disinfected, according to acting chief administrator Rajiv Gupta. India has been in the grip of the world's biggest lockdown since March 25, which was tightened in Ahmedabad on Friday because of the accelerated spread of the virus. Hundreds of paramilitaries kept people off the streets and virtually all stores have been closed for at least a week. On Friday night, security forces fired tear gas at stone-throwing residents who ventured out. At least 15 people were arrested and the police presence was stepped up Saturday. Fresh clashes erupted Saturday between about 500 migrant workers and police in Gujarat's industrial hub of Surat. Police fired tear gas while the protesters hurled stones and chanted slogans demanding to be allowed to return to their home towns. Around 50 were arrested for rioting, police said. Surat, known for its diamond and textile industries, is home to over 800,000 migrant workers, many of whom have been left jobless after factories closed following the lockdown. Some 900 coronavirus cases have been detected in the city, the second hardest-hit in the state. Authorities have insisted the pandemic crisis is under control and have started to ease restrictions in many parts of the country to let agriculture and some companies get back to work. Experts however have warned the toll is increasing despite the lockdown. The virus is spreading particularly quickly in other major cities, including the capital New Delhi and the finance hub of Mumbai. And experts say the actual toll numbers are higher than reported because of the lack of testing and poor accounting for deaths. While the number of fatalities is low compared to the United States and the worst-hit European nations, health specialists say India's pandemic curve may only peak in June and July. Shamika Ravi, an economic advisor to the government, said Saturday that the "infection is way ahead of our knowledge" in Gujarat and Maharashtra, which includes Mumbai, because authorities were not carrying out enough tests.
Popular Nigerian crossdresser, Idris Okuneye simply known and addressed as Bobrisky definitely loves to celebrate small wins.

The popular male barbie is currently celebrating his 2.1 million reaches on Instagram.

The controversial figure celebrated when he got 1.9 million followers and also when he attained to 2 million landmark.

Read Also: I Am Not Buying Their Love  Bobrisky Reveals Reason She Decided To Do A Massive Giveaway

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Celebrating the amazing landmark, the controversial figure revealed that he now has his sight set on the 3m landmark.

Yaaaaaah let move to 3m. Exactly one week, I got 2 million followers. Now 100k followers added, Bobrisky said.
DJ Pauly DelVecchio and Jenni JWoww Farley were moments away from hooking up on the May 7 episode of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation. Much to the surprise of fans, this wasnt the first time Farley attempted to start something with her Jersey Shore roomie.

During the episode, Farley talked about trying to hook up with DelVecchio before her divorce was finalized and admitted wanting to explore a relationship with him.

Pauly DelVecchio and Jenni JWoww Farley | Photo by Victor Chavez/Getty Images

Pauly D and JWoww didnt hook up

During the May 7 episode, Vinny Guadagnino was the most excited about the prospect of his best friend and Farley hooking up. I 100 percent want Pauly and Jenni to hook up, Guadagnino said. To see Jenni hook up with Pauly now, that would be like watching greatness all over again. That would be like if Michael Jordan decided to play one more game with Scottie Pippen, just for old times sake. The fact that were even talking about this, Im like, Woah. Ten years later, full circle.

Unfortunately for everyone involved  including their nosey roomies  the two went to bed alone. I would put it right in, but I have too much respect for her, DelVecchio told his roommates.

JWoww, I will never disrespect you like that, he said to Farley. You know that, right? I will never make you do anything that would jeopardize anything. At the time, Farley was dealing with the repercussions of Zack 24 Carpinellos actions in Las Vegas, and DelVecchio didnt want to jeopardize that.

JWoww tried to spend the night with Pauly D before

After DelVecchio returned to his hotel room, Farley had an exciting conversation with Angelina Pivarnick. I am 100 percent single, she told Pivarnick, who was confused why DelVecchio would pass up the opportunity to be with Farley.

[But] remember that time we were in New York City? He shut the door on me, Farley said. Me and Pauly had a nice dinner together that night. And then we went home together. And he shut the door on me.

After filing for divorce from Roger Mathews in Sept. 2018, Farley told the confessional cameras that she tried to explore a relationship with DelVecchio. Pauly and I have this weird past, Farley said. He surprised me for my birthday and I went back to his hotel room and it just didnt work out like that. So I decided to just end it there.

Up until that point, it seemed as though DelVecchio was the one who had been consistently turned down by Farley. However, she was hurt when DelVecchio denied her in the past. I mean, obviously, [being denied] was terrible. So yeah, I really dont know what to say. I would have totally went and did dirty things with Pauly, Farley added.

Confused, Pivarnick confronted DelVecchio to clear things up about his past with Farley.

Pauly D waited too long

In the other hotel room, DelVecchio explained his side of the story to Pivarnick. Obviously I wanted to [hook up with Jenni], but I didnt know if I was supposed to cross that line or not, DelVecchio said of the night he and Farley spent in New York. And then I slept on it and dude swooped in, he added, referring to Carpinello. At that point, I didnt even know she wanted to. What happens if I do it, and she gets back with the dude tomorrow? he asked.

JWoww would date DJ Pauly D

Perhaps the most exciting thing to come out of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation is the prospect that Farley and DelVecchio could end up together.

I love Pauly for so many reasons, and I feel like because of that, there actually would have to be substance there before I actually sleep with him, Farley admitted. In other words, she would want to give a relationship with DelVecchio a serious try before ever sleeping with him. Because this isnt 10 years ago, so I dont want to be just one of those girls that like him because of his success. I also dont want to be treated like one of those girls, either.

The episode concluded with Farley adding that she would be very open to talking to Pauly, but she had yet to see that DelVecchio reciprocate that desire.

Today, Farley is back with Carpinello, but will she ever get around to exploring a relationship with DelVecchio? Jersey Shore fans hope so!

Up Next: Pauly D Confirmed Another Season of Double Shot At Love  Heres What Fans Can Expect in Season 2
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 08:13:38|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland reported one new imported case of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Friday, bringing the total number of imported cases to 1,681, the National Health Commission said Saturday.

The new case was reported in Tianjin, the commission said.

Of the total imported cases, 1,505 had been discharged from hospitals after recovery, and 176 remained hospitalized with four in severe conditions, the commission said.

No deaths had been reported from the imported cases. Enditem
With meat processing facilities at the center of COVID-19 hot spots  and with two employees of Calumet Diversified Meats in Pleasant Prairie dying of the virus  the Wisconsin National Guard tested employees of both Diversified and Kenosha Beef International.

The Kenosha County Division of Health worked with the National Guard and the companies to conduct testing, which was done at Calumet on May 2 and at Kenosha Beef in the town of Paris on May 5 and 6.

Of the 135 employees tested at Calumet, 22 employees tested positive, according to the health department. At Kenosha Beef, 419 workers were tested with 15 positive tests and additional test results being returned Friday.

Those positive test result numbers included only tests conducted of employees by the National Guard, not the number of workers who had previously been diagnosed with the virus. The cumulative number of employees who have tested positive at the two facilities were not available Friday.

The health department statement said no employees of Kenosha Beef have been hospitalized with the virus. Two Calumet workers have dieda 51-year-old man who died April 17 and a 63-year-old man who died May 1. The health department said one of those men had additional health conditions but would not identify which.

The National Guard earlier had conducted testing at the Kenosha County Detention Center and pretrial facility, where a total of 83 inmates and 19 staff members have tested positive.

Calumet and Kenosha Beef both cooperated with the company-wide testing. According to a statement from the health department, both companies have taken measures before the testing to try to prevent the spread of the virus.

At Kenosha Beef, two production lines were shut down after the company had its first positive test. Employees were given thermometers and required to wear masks.

Calumet did not respond to earlier requests for comment, and a person who answered the phone at the company Friday said the company have no comment.

Dennis Vignieri, president and chief operating officer of Kenosha Beef, told the Kenosha News last week that the company had modified shifts based on the number of positive tests among employees prior to the National Guard testing.

Employees on 14-day quarantine were being paid without using sick time. Those employees who were considered high risk of complications if they contracted the virus or who lived with someone who was at high risk were able to remain at home with the assurance they would not lose their jobs, he said.

The safety, health and well-being of all of our employees is number one priority, Vignieri said in a statement provided by the health department. We are doing everything within our capacity to mitigate the negative effect of the virus.

According to the county both companies are checking employee temperatures and doing symptom screenings. They have started staggered breaks and lunches and have installed plexiglass on the lunch tables to divide employees.

Countywide, 650 people have tested positive for the virus and 15 people have died. Statewide, 9,590 people have tested positive with 375 new cases reported Friday. A total of 384 have died.

As tests have become more widely available the number of people who have less severe cases have been identified and hospitalization rates have fallen to 18%. More than 97,000 people statewide who have been tested for the virus have had negative test results.
Recognize that there are going to be social distancing practices at the airport. So theres no running to the gate at the last minute, said Sara Nelson, the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA in an interview with Yahoo News.

From her remote location for this interview, Nelson sat with a photo behind her. Over my shoulder is a picture of Paul Frishkorn. He was a longtime flight attendant and he was the first one to be taken from us with coronavirus, she said through tear-filled eyes.

Over my shoulder is a picture of Paul Frishkorn. He was a longtime flight attendant and he was the first one to be taken from us with coronavirus, Nelson said through tear-filled eyes. (Zoom screenshot)

JetBlue was the first airline to make masks a must for travelers taking flights during the COVID-19 pandemic just last week, and now others are joining. We need to have everyone wearing masks and now, even though the government didnt mandate that, our airlines did step up and require that all passengers are now required to wear masks in the airport and on planes, said Nelson. Theyre going to have to wear one to get through the whole check-in process.

Flight attendants are living in a world of uncertainty at the moment, and Molly Choma, an attendant based in San Francisco and a photographer, has been capturing her experience working through this pandemic as an essential employee. Being a flight attendant has changed a lot in the last two months. At first during the pandemic, we didnt really know how this was going to end. We didnt know, were they going to stop all flights? Were they going to stop some flights? said Choma.

A flight attendant on an empty flight staying safe with a mask. (Molly Choma)

And her concerns are valid. There have been recent reports of flights getting canceled and suspended until the fall, which means a loss of not only business, but also jobs. Everything has changed so much with coronavirus. We went from completely full airplanes and airlines celebrating profits just in February and talking about hiring over 100,000 people this year alone, to the point where the airlines really would have collapsed because it was down to just 3 percent demand for air travel in March, said Nelson.

Story continues

While nearly 95 percent of Americans faced stay-at-home orders from their state governments in the past month, the federal government seemed to miss the mark on requiring comparable safety measures for airline passengers. But now that is changing. With states beginning to reopen, there has been a slight spike in air travel, but flying is not exactly how it used to be.

Flying right now is a really different experience, but what were trying to do is use this time to get these safety precautions in place so hopefully by the end of summer and fall we can actually get to some kind of normalcy, said Nelson. Right now on flights, in addition to masks, attendants are attempting to space out passengers to uphold social distancing regulations; food and beverage service has been nearly completely suspended; and travelers are advised to bring their own sanitizing wipes and hand sanitizer. Its really important that travelers are arming themselves with the facts before they go, said Nelson.

Being prepared for a different flight experience in the future is going to be crucial for the time being. If someone asks you to put on a mask, you should just do it, said Choma. I want to remind people that air travel is a place where people are used to doing things they dont do in any other places, added Nelson.

Staying positive is what Choma is focusing on. As the daughter of a flight attendant, she has been looking to her mother for inspiration through this difficult time. I feel like this is scary, but theres a lot of other scary things too, and you just kind of have to keep going, and ... so the only way to keep going is to just take things one day at a time, she said.

Choma and her mother, both center, are flight attendants. (Molly Choma)

And with everything in the world changing so quickly every day, there really is no other approach. While some experts predict that flying in the future could require travelers to submit blood test results, Nelson said that new regulations of any kind take a lot of time. In the meantime, she will work on getting regulations underway that will protect flight attendants and travelers as soon as possible.

On April 23, Nelson wrote to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar: Since flight attendant ability to practice social distancing is challenging in the aircraft cabin and on most other forms of public transportation, it is essential that we wear masks as often as possible so long as COVID-19 remains a threat to public health. In addition, passengers on all modes of public transport should be encouraged to wear masks in the short term and mandated by emergency regulation as soon as practicable.

The reason that we are all wearing masks is that we dont have the virus contained and we dont have a vaccine thats readily available for everyone. So I think [we] can expect that masks will be here until we have a vaccine readily available. But then once we have this virus fully under control and really eradicated as a threat, I expect that this is something that will go away and we will go back to smiling at each other and buying lipstick again, Nelson said.

_____

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:
In a televised message, the 94-year-old monarch said those who had served during the conflict with Nazi Germany in the 1940s would admire how their descendants were coping with COVID-19 and the lockdown imposed to curb its spread.

"Today it may seem hard that we cannot mark this special anniversary as we would wish," Elizabeth said, reflecting on the scaling down of events to mark the VE Day anniversary because of a ban on social gatherings, with a veterans' parade canceled and street parties scrapped. "Instead we remember from our homes and our doorsteps. But our streets are not empty. They are filled with the love and the care that we have for each other. When I look at our country today and see what we are willing to do to protect and support one another, I say with pride, that we are still a nation those brave soldiers, sailors and airmen would recognize and admire."

Britain has the highest death toll in Europe from COVID-19 at more than 30,000, a number second only to the United States.
From how people will remember Covid-19 as the event that led to job losses on a scale unimagined since the Great Depression, to the reasons why cross-border transference of costs  via colonisation or exchange-rate manipulation or quasi-monopolies in tradable goods  is no longer easy, to how leaders who had effortlessly sailed through previous threats to their popularity are struggling with this one, here's a selection of Business Standard Opinion pieces for the day.

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Sixteen people were run over by a freight train near Maharashtras Aurangabad while they were sleeping on railway tracks after a long journey on foot in search of a transport to return home in Madhya Pradesh. After the accident, the railways called for new protocols to alert train drivers about people walking on tracks. Meanwhile, the move by BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh to freeze major labour laws in order to bolster businesses and revive the economy in the aftermath of the Covid-19 outbreak has drawn sharp criticism.

Train crushes 16 migrants on way home

The victims were in a group of 20 people who left Jalna for their villages the previous evening after deciding to no longer wait for their employer  a company running a steel factory  to pay their wages.These migrant workers did not have jobs, and sometimes food, for over a month as factories remained shut due to the nationwide lockdown in place to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). Read more here.

Industry says Rs 15 lakh crore package required for economic revival

CII president Vikram Kirloskar said the negative impact on the economy is expected to be even more significant than what the industry had previously anticipated, and that it needs to be offset by a large fiscal stimulus. Read more here.

Covid-19: What you need to know today

In the 52 days since, the global number of cases has increased to 3.91 million, a compound growth rate of 5.7% a day, and the global number of deaths to 270,740, a growth rate of 6.8% a day. Read more here.

Some states put freeze on labour laws to get business going

Undertaking a radical set of politically controversial economic reform measures, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Madhya Pradesh (MP), two states with substantial workforces, have frozen major labour laws, except basic ones, in the hope that businesses will recoup from the blow of the Covid-19 pandemic and create more jobs on a net basis. Read more here.

Supreme Court advises states to initiate online sale, home delivery of alcohol

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stop the sale of liquor across the country but took the view that states should consider its online sale or home delivery in keeping with social distancing norms. Read more

Centre must give stimulus, decentralise power, says Rahul Gandhi

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold regular conversations with chief ministers not as the boss but as a colleague to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, and called for an economic package for all sections of society -- from the poorest to large industries -- because they are all interconnected parts of the economic engine that need to be kick-started to spur demand. Read more

Covid-19 update: Must learn to live with the virus to beat it, says govt

The government said on Friday that Indians needed to make behavioural changes and learn to live with the Sars-CoV-2 pathogen, which causes the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), even as it said that close to one in three patients were now free of the viral infection. Read more

Govt expands reach of Vande Bharat mission to bring back Indians stranded abroad

India will expand its massive repatriation programme for citizens stranded abroad due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) crisis to Russia, Central Asian states and European countries such as Germany and Spain next week, people familiar with developments said on Friday. Read more

Ensuring safety of migrants key policy challenge for govt

On Labour Day, 38 days after a nationwide lockdown was announced, the first train ferrying migrants ran from Lingampally in Telangana to Hatia in Jharkhand. As the country trudges back to the new normal, a critical policy challenge will be to ensure the safety of the millions of migrants returning home. Read more

Train operators told to spot and report to avoid deaths

A group of factory workers on a 36-hour journey by foot in Maharashtra to catch transport back to their hometown in Madhya Pradesh, fell asleep exhausted after walking along the tracks since they thought there would be no trains running, the safety regulator of the railways said on Friday, calling for new protocols for engineers and field staff to report any instance of people walking on tracks so that other trains can be warned. Read more

Centre says Bengal not testing enough, mismanaging Covid-19 cases

As a row between West Bengal and the Centre over the states efforts to control the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) escalates, officials of the Union government said on Friday that the region was failing to conduct adequate tests and grappling with confusion and mismanagement over identifying hot spots and containing them. Read more

Anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine fails another test as a Covid-19 treatment, says study

Anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine has failed another test to check its efficacy in treating the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), a new study has revealed, with patients admitted to hospitals showing no change in their conditions after being administered the medicine. Read more

Will Indias tour of Aus kick off cricket in 2020?

For the first time since the pandemic forced cricket to take cover, India captain Virat Kohli indicated he is ready to play behind closed doors. This comes on the same day Sydney Morning Herald reported that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is not averse to sending a team for a bilateral tour of Australia later this year even if that means keeping them in quarantine. Read more
Opening The Mail on Sundays You magazine last week, Tony Cookes eyes were drawn to a photograph of a group of women in pinafores hailing the end of war, conveying the relief, pride and exultant joy of VE Day.

But what leapt from the page for Tony was the image of a woman towards the right of the group, gazing lovingly at a small blond boy held in her left arm. It was my mum, he says. And the boy is me, aged three.

He had never seen the image before, nor even knew of its existence, yet he recognised the setting without hesitation.

What leapt from the page for Tony was the image of a woman towards the right of the group, gazing lovingly at a small blond boy held in her left arm. It was my mum, he says. And the boy is me, aged three.

The picture was taken in Sun Street in Newton Heath, Manchester, where we lived with my gran and grandad, he says.

Ive never seen anything of me or my mum from that time so it is really quite something.

After the war, Tonys mother, Ellen, and his father, Harry, a Royal Navy petty officer, went on to have five more children  Mike, Jean, Joan, Carol and Julie  and lived long and happy lives, married for almost 70 years.

The picture was published in You magazine to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of war in Europe.

In it, Ellen, then 20, Tony and the rest of the women and children are framed by two-up two-down houses, cobblestones glassy from rain and bunting fashioned from washing lines.

Tonys grandmother also appears, wearing a tin-foil hat jauntily askew, and at her side, his cousin Maureen.

Opening The Mail on Sundays You magazine last week, Tony Cookes eyes were drawn to a photograph of a group of women in pinafores hailing the end of war, conveying the relief, pride and exultant joy of VE Day

News of the German surrender had spread the previous day and the decorations were made from scratch in a burst of activity.

Now 78, Tony retains only shards of memory of the celebration: flashes of colour and noise, but nothing tangible. But if all his happy recollections of early childhood could be distilled into one moment, it would be the day his war hero father returned home the following year.

I stood at the door and watched him walk up our street, he says. He was in the middle of the Indian Ocean on VE Day and I had never met him before. I remember he brought chocolates and a model of his ship made of wood.

Tony also recalls his mothers almost superhuman work ethic. In addition to raising her six children, she was a hospital nurse. She was a fantastic lady, says Tony, who now lives in Bolton.

His brother Mike, 74, who was born in Sun Street three months after the photograph was taken, adds: We nicknamed her The Matron because she was a bit bossy and didnt stand for any nonsense. She was always making dresses for my sisters and she had a wonderful smile and a great sense of fun. Both our parents were lovely and we all had a good childhood.

We are in lockdown now, and seeing this photograph from so long ago has given us a big boost.

Their father seldom talked of the war, never dwelling on his heroics during Arctic convoy missions when he endured appalling conditions and repeatedly risked his life to bring crucial supplies to our Russian allies on the Eastern Front.

In 2014, shortly before he died, Harry received a medal for bravery from the Russian ambassador.

For most of his working life, Harry was a plant manager at a chemicals factory where Tony and Mike also worked. Originally from Gloucestershire, Harry met Manchster-born Ellen at the start of the war when she was visiting her sister who was working at an RAF base in the area.

At the time, he had just signed up and they married as teenagers before war forced them apart.

After it ended, they lived briefly with Ellens grandparents in Sun Street before moving to the suburbs.

We used to tease our dad about his country twang which stood out a bit in Manchester, says Mike.

Although Sun Street was bulldozed in the early 1970s, it holds fond memories for Tony and his siblings, who frequently returned to visit their grandparents. The only marker left is a boarded-up old pub, The Gibraltar.

Originally from Gloucestershire, Harry met Manchster-born Ellen at the start of the war when she was visiting her sister who was working at an RAF base in the area. The pair are pictured above in the 1940s

Tony recalls a Coronation Street world of narrow streets and corner shops, adding: I remember kicking a ball about on the cobblestones.

Surrounded by factories, the area was targeted during the Manchester blitz of December 1940. Houses at the end of Sun Street were destroyed and Tony and Mike remember playing on bomb sites.

Seeing the old photograph with its sentimental echoes of a past age makes Tony wistful.

Its all gone, those streets and houses, and so too have most of the people in the picture, he says.

But it was good to see the joy on my mums face  and that smile I know so well.
The extended lockdown to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, which has stalled traffic on the ground as in the air, is expected to heap enormous losses on infrastructure industries in both sectors, Crisil has said in a report. According to the report by Crisil Infrastructure Advisory, the aviation industry will crash-land this fiscal with a revenue loss of Rs 24,000-25,000 crore.

Airlines will be the worst-affected, contributing more than 70% of the losses, or Rs 17,000 crore, followed by airport operators with Rs 5,000-5,500 crore, and airport retailers (including retail, food and beverages and duty-free) with Rs 1,700-1,800 crore, the infra advisory services of global analytics form said. The losses would reverse the trend growth of 11% per annum the industry has logged over the past ten years, making it one of the most adversely affected sectors of the economy.

What's worse, Crisil said, the losses will climb if travel restrictions last longer in hubs such as Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata. "We expect the aviation sector will take at least 6-8 quarters to reach pre-pandemic levels," it said.

According to Jagannarayan Padmanabhan, Director and Practice Leader, Transport & Logistics, CRISIL Infrastructure Advisory, "These are preliminary estimates, and aggregate losses could increase if the lockdown is extended beyond the first quarter. As and when operations resume, overall operational capacity will hover at 50-60% 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."

With regards to the roads and highways sector, the estimates in the report suggest that it will see developers/ toll operators incurring toll revenue losses of Rs 3,450-3,700 crore during March-June. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will lose Rs 2,100-2,200 crore re in toll over this period.

In addition to the loss in toll revenue, stakeholders will suffer losses on account of accrued interest, increase in costs of under-construction projects, time overruns, and a rise in disputes between the private sector and government authorities, the report said.

Moreover, the NHAI had planned to raise Rs 80,000-85,000 crore through fiscal 2025 by monetising 6,000 km of operational public-funded toll roads. This asset monetisation programme through toll-operate-transfer and infrastructure investment trusts will likely take a hit.

According to Akshay Purkayastha, Director, Transport & Logistics, CRISIL Infrastructure Advisory, "Tolling operations resumed on April 20 and construction on select projects has also restarted. Going forward, the ramp-up in traffic, availability of labour and raw materials for construction, and expeditious dispute resolution will be the key monitorable. In addition, road authorities such as the NHAI will have to step up initiatives beyond conventional avenues such as the development of way-side amenities and formation of special purpose vehicles/ joint ventures for both, financing and revenue.a
Photos released by the DEA show packages of drugs marked with the biohazard symbol and the word coronavirus.

Drug Enforcement Administration

Federal authorities busted an alleged drug ring in New York City and found drugs in envelopes stamped with the word coronavirus, the DEA said.

Other labels included a Kobe Bryant reference, "Hiroshima," and "isis," according to a press release.

Six people were charged with crimes following the investigation and seizure, the DEA said.

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Six people are facing federal drug charges after federal agents found what they said was more than $1 million worth of heroin and fentanyl stamped with words like "coronavirus," "isis," and "24 Black Mamba."

Drug Enforcement Administration agents made the bust in the Bronx, New York, according to a press release published Friday. They seized "120,000 glassine envelopes of suspected heroin/fentanyl worth over a million dollars, as well as $25,000 cash and drug packaging materials" after a long-term investigation.

The drugs  also stamped with the labels "anthrax," and "Hiroshima"  found in the alleged trafficking operation are believed to be related to overdose deaths throughout New York and New Jersey, but those deaths have not been connected to directly to the seized operations, the DEA said.

According to the DEA, those stamps help signify drugs' origins, and are often linked to Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, one of the largest drug trafficking operations in the world.

"There is no place in our city for illegal narcotics that undermine public safety and threaten lives. I thank our detectives, and our federal and local partners, for remaining determined in our mission to protect New Yorkers throughout this Coronavirus crisis," Dermot Shea, NYPD commissioner, said in the press release.

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The Executive will lay out a road map for Northern Ireland's exit from lockdown next week that can give people hope for the future, Stormont's leaders have pledged.

Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill said that while restrictions had been extended for another three weeks, it was important to give the public clarity on the next steps.

It came after First Minister Arlene Foster said there may be "nuanced" changes to the region's lockdown measures.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke with the leaders of the devolved nations on Thursday, ahead of an expected announcement tomorrow on easing parts of the lockdown in England.

Yesterday UK Environment Secretary George Eustice warned there will be "no dramatic overnight change" and the government will be "very cautious".

Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford announced three "modest adjustments" from Monday to restrictions there.

The Scottish First Minister, meanwhile, hinted there may be a region-by-region approach to easing lockdown.

Nicola Sturgeon said there was a "helpful recognition" in her call with the Prime Minister that the "four UK nations may well move at different speeds if our data about the spread of the virus says that that is necessary to suppress it".

Meanwhile, Mrs Foster said it was important to "move together as a bloc" with the rest of the UK to send a clear and simple message to the population.

She said restrictions in Northern Ireland, extended on Thursday, would remain in place for the foreseeable future. But she said it was important to offer some "hope" to the public.

She told BBC Breakfast: "There's a difference between sticking with the restrictions and making nuanced changes.

Expand Close First Minister Arlene Foster Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press E / Facebook

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"During those three weeks we can look to see if there are some nuanced changes we can make and I would put going out more for exercise in the open air as a nuanced change rather than a fundamental change.

"I think those things can be looked at... but what is important is the regulations are put in place for another three weeks."

Mrs Foster said she spoke to Mr Johnson on Thursday, and he said he was "moving forward with maximum caution".

"He, and I as well, want us to move forward if we can in a four-nations way," she said.

"Because when we do that we have a simplicity of message, we have a clarity of message, and people really understand what's really going on when we move together as a bloc."

Yesterday, on a visit to Dungannon, Ms O'Neill repeated calls for an all-island approach to exiting lockdown.

She said the message, for now, remained to stay at home - but indicated plans for a loosening of restrictions would be made public in the coming days.

Ms O'Neill added: "We said we will publish an exit strategy and it will be here by the start of the week.

"Every action we take, we won't know the impact for a few weeks. People want to know in June and July they'll be able to do 'x,y,z' and I want to hopefully be in a position to give that information at the start of the week."

Ms O'Neill said that regardless of what Mr Johnson outlines tomorrow, the message here was the same. She added: "My message is very clear. Stay at home for the next three weeks. We're going to have an exit strategy to give us all some hope for the future.

"We live on an island, We need to work together across the island. It makes good common sense.

"The disease is spreading across the island at the very same rate. It's important we work together as best we that we can and we have to recognise the fact hat the disease doesn't stop at the border."

At the daily Downing Street briefing, Mr Eustice said the Prime Minister will set out a "road map" tomorrow about how the current restrictions can evolve. He said the four nations are "all working together to try to have a broadly similar approach".

Mr Eustice said the UK is "not out of the woods" and that the UK will live with the virus for some time to come.

He said: "We will have to wait for what the Prime Minister has to say on Sunday but I think what I can say is this - he's going to set out effectively a road map of how we can evolve the current restrictions.

"We have this complete lockdown at the moment to something where certain activities may become possible in the short-term, in the near term and other things might take much longer.

"We have to be realistic that there isn't going to be dramatic overnight change, we will be very, very cautious as we loosen the restrictions we have, as the data we're outlining on a daily basis shows we are not out of the woods.

"There are still major challenges, we will be living with this virus for some time to come and it's therefore important to avoid that second peak that could overwhelm our NHS."

He added that all devolved administrations attended Cobra meetings and while each may take slightly different approaches they are working together "to try to have a broadly similar UK approach".
A logo is displayed at the entrance of Huawei's European Cyber Security Transparency Centre during its opening in Brussels, March 5, 2019.

A China-based group has quietly carried out cyber espionage against Southeast Asian governments during the past few years, collecting specific documents, among other data, from infected computers, a cybersecurity company said in a report.

Naikon, a group of hackers, deployed a software called Aria-body to target government agencies and technology firms in Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar and Brunei, and even in Australia, according to a report released Thursday by Check Point Research, an Israeli security company.

In this campaign, we uncovered the latest iteration of what seems to be a long-running Chinese-based operation against various government entities, Check Point said in its extensive report available online. Throughout our research, we witnessed several different infection chains being used to deliver the Aria-body backdoor.

This includes not only locating and collecting specific documents from infected computers and networks within government departments, but also extracting data from removable drives, taking screenshots and keylogging, and of course harvesting the stolen data for espionage, it said.

Check Point Research did not say if Naikon was backed by the Chinese government.

But a September 2015 report from cyber intelligence companies Defense Group and ThreatConnect, both U.S.-based firms, identified Naikon as associated with Chinas Peoples Liberation Army (PLA).

The two companies said they fused technical analysis with Chinese language research and expertise to document the sophisticated cyber espionage campaign by the PLA unit with interests in the South China Sea.

An email sent by BenarNews. an RFA-affiliated online news service, to the media relations officer of the Chinese embassy in Washington on Friday was not immediately returned.

Meanwhile in Jakarta, Anton Setiawan, spokesman for Indonesias National Cyber and Cryptography Agency, acknowledged awareness of the report by Check Point.

We will discuss this internally first, he told BenarNews on Friday.

In Bangkok, a staff member of the Thai governments IT security watchdog THAICERT also told BenarNews that its members would probe the allegations in the report.

We have a team to investigate this matter, based on the report, to see if it is true or not. If it is true, we will alert agencies who might have been affected by the hackers to be careful, said the staff member, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Three of the nations that were allegedly hacked  the Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei  are among countries with overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea, where about U.S. $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes through each year. China claims most of the resource-rich region on historical grounds.

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, Lotem Finkelstein, head of the cyber-threat intelligence group at Check Point, said in a statement.

In operations following the original 2015 report, we have observed the use of a backdoor named Aria-body against several national governments, including Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and Brunei, Check Point said, referring to the study by the two U.S. security firms five years ago.

Aria-body, the intrusive new tool used by the hackers, has alarmed security researchers because it could infiltrate a government agency using an ordinary Word document to penetrate any computer from which data from the attacked state department would flow into the servers used by the hackers, according to Check Point.

After Naikon was investigated by the two American cybersecurity companies five years ago, it slipped off the radar, according to Check Point. But the firm said it had recently discovered that the hacking group had actually been active during the past 10 years, but only accelerated its cyber espionage activities in 2019 and the first quarter of this year.

By comparing with previously reported activity, we can conclude that the Naikon APT group has been persistently targeting the same region in the last decade, Check Point said in a statement.

The targeted government entities include foreign affairs, science and technology ministries, as well as government-owned companies, it said.

Given the characteristics of the victims and capabilities presented by the group, it is evident that the groups purpose is to gather intelligence and spy on the countries whose Governments it has targeted, Check Point said.

Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.
A SEPTA bus at 15th and JFK runs nearly empty during the commuting hour in March. Read more

TL;DR: SEPTA is on its way back. Regular weekday and weekend service levels on most bus and trolley routes, as well as the Market-Frankford, Broad Street, and Norristown High Speed Lines, will return the week of May 17. And a local neurosurgeon wrote about the strength he sees in his colleagues.

 Allison Steele (@AESteele, health@inquirer.com)

What you need to know

 A group of protesters rallied at City Hall to demand that Philadelphia officials lay out a timeline for reopening businesses. See photos from the demonstration here.

 As state officials prepare to lift some coronavirus-related restrictions for 13 counties in the Pittsburgh region, Gov. Tom Wolf has extended the stay-at-home order for the Philadelphia region to June 4.

 Facing an unprecedented worker shortage for the upcoming election, Philadelphia wants the state to cut a lot of polling places  or send the National Guard to help.

 An aide to Vice President Mike Pence has the coronavirus, the second person in the White House complex known to have tested positive this week.

 Philadelphia Police Cpl. James OConnor IV, who was shot March 13 trying to serve an arrest warrant, was laid to rest in a service had been delayed due to the pandemic.

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.

After weeks of operating on a bare-bones lifeline schedule, SEPTA will restore most transit services beginning May 17. The transportation authority also will bring back front-door boarding and fare collection on buses and trolleys. But dont expect everything to go back to normal yet: SEPTA will keep up social distancing measures, including rider limits, and bus and trolley riders can expect seats to be marked off to promote social distancing. Some routes will continue running on a reduced schedule; others will remain suspended.

This should not be interpreted as SEPTAs ready to run full speed ahead, said assistant general manager of operations Scott Sauer.

Healthcare workers know that PPE protects them, wrote Patrick J. Connolly, a clinical associate of neurosurgery at Penn Medicine, but faced with a new virus, some wonder if it is enough. Still, Connolly said his colleagues have shown courage and optimism. Some media reports characterize health workers as scared or frightened, he wrote. Everyone Ive encountered in our hospital has been intrepid and professional in a challenging work environment.

Helpful resources

You got this: Restock your pantry

Experts say you should try to keep some extra food on hand in case you become ill and cant go to the store. So if youre healthy and you already ate your emergency food stash, here are some reasons why now might be a good time to think about building it back up.

 Watch this video of Gritty spreading cheer and parading through Delaware County on a firetruck in his first public appearance since the pandemic began.

 If you feel your parents arent taking social distancing guidelines seriously, youre not alone.

 Feeling stress from the pandemic? Here are some easy techniques for breathing through it.

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

Sen. Pat Toomey called to reopen the country faster, telling Breitbart News that Americas political leaders are overstating the danger of the virus and underestimating the economic damage.

The Dutch have an extensive list of expletives, and many of the words used to yell at someone are medical, as detailed by Atlas Obscura . Get the corona is already in rotation.

MIT Technology Review explains how COVID-19 conspiracy theorists are exploiting YouTube culture and drawing millions of views while spreading misinformation.

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.
Harpreet Bajwa By

Express News Service

CHANDIGARH: Almost after a year Punjab and Haryana Police, in a joint operation, on Saturday, arrested the dreaded drug smuggler Ranjeet Rana, his brother and brother-in-law in the 532 Kg heroin haul case worth around Rs 2,700 crore in the intentional market.

Sources said that for the last seven to eight months Rana and his brother Gagandeep were living at a rented accommodation in Begu village in Sirsa district of Haryana. They moved to this house on the intervention of their brother-in-law who lived nearby in another village.

On a tip-off from the NIA, Punjab and Haryana Police raided the house today morning and arrested them and took them to Amritsar.

Punjab Director General of Police Dinkar Gupta said that Ranjeet Rana alias Cheeta who was wanted in 532 kg heroin haul from the Indo-Pakistan border on June 29, 2019, was arrested from Sirsa town of Haryana.

Gupta tweeted, "Ranjeet Rana & his brother Gagandeep@Bhola arrested from Begu village in Sirsa, Haryana. Ranjit Rana @Cheeta, suspected to have smuggled in heroin & other drugs from Pakistan, camouflaged in as many as 6 rock salt consignments through ICP Amritsar between 2018-2019."

"Following up further on arrests of Hizbul operatives in J&K and Punjab, Punjab Police juggernaut moved further to nab Ranjeet of Amritsar, one of the biggest drug smugglers of India from Sirsa today," he said in another tweet.

Ranjeet Rana & his brother Gagandeep@Bhola arrested from Begu village in Sirsa, Haryana.



Ranjit Rana@Cheeta, suspected to have smuggled in heroin & other drugs from Pakistan, camouflaged in as many as 6 rock salt consignments through ICP Amritsar between 2018-2019. @CMOPb pic.twitter.com/2xcyl2VgkN  DGP Punjab Police (@DGPPunjabPolice) May 9, 2020

Sources allege that Ranjeet is alleged to have smuggled heroin and other drugs from Pakistan, camouflaged in six rock salt consignments through the Integrated Check Post at the Attari border on June 26, 2019.

Some 532 kilograms of heroin was seized from the Integrated Check Post at Attari border on June 30, last year as it was being smuggled into India from Pakistan in a consignment of rock salt which was ordered by a local trader.

It was one of the largest ever seizer in the country till date as this consignment is worth around Rs 2,700 crore in the intentional market.

During the examination of rock salt granules consignment which came from Pakistan undertaken by the Customs Staff posted at ICP, Attari. One sack of the said consignment was found to have white colour powdered granular substance.

Upon detailed examination of 600 bags, 15 bags contained Heroin (as per preliminary testing kit of NDPS) having net weight of 532 Kgs and mixed narcotics of 52 Kgs.

From every bag one kilogram of heroin came out as it had straight come from Afghanistan.
CANBERRA, Australia (AP)  Virgin Australia, the nations second-largest airline, announced Tuesday it had entered voluntary administration, seeking bankruptcy protection after a debt crisis worsened by the coronavirus shutdown pushed it into insolvency.

Virgin said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange that it had appointed a team of Deloitte administrators to recapitalize the business and help ensure it emerges in a stronger financial position on the other side of the COVID-19 crisis.

Virgin is one of the first major airlines to seek bankruptcy protection in response to the pandemic. Virgin's administrators have taken control of the company and will try to work out a way to save either the company or its business.

The move came after the Australian government refused Virgins request for a 1.4 billion Australian dollar ($888 million) loan.

Rival Qantas Airways argued that it had three times more revenue than Virgin and was therefore entitled to a AU$4.2 billion ($2.7 billion) loan if the smaller airline was not to gain an unfair advantage.

Administrator Vaughan Strawbridge said in the statement: Our intention is to undertake a process to restructure and refinance the business and bring it out of administration as soon as possible.

Virgin will continue to operate its scheduled international and domestic flights, most of which have been canceled due to the pandemic.

Virgin is struggling to repay AU$5 billion in debt after several loss-making years. Some analysts predict that if the airline survives, it will drop international services and focus on the Australian domestic market.

Virgin Australias major shareholders are Singapore Airlines and Etihad Airways as well as Chinese investment conglomerates Nanshan Group and HNA Group. British billionaire founder Richard Branson holds a 10% stake.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told reporters his government was not going to bail out five large foreign shareholders with deep pockets who together own 90% of this airline.

Story continues

Branson told Virgin Australia's staff that the appointment of administrators was devastating.

In most countries federal governments have stepped in, in this unprecedented crisis for aviation, to help their airlines, Branson posted online. "Sadly, that has not happened in Australia."

He said Virgin would work with administrators, investors and the government to get the airline back up and running soon."

Branson has asked the British government for a loan to prop up Virgin Atlantic, which his Virgin Group owns jointly with U.S. carrier Delta Air Lines. He is reportedly asking for 500 million pounds ($3.2 billion).

He has said he was willing to put up the private island where he lives in the British Virgin Islands as collateral for the loan

The Australian government and businesses fear that a collapse of Virgin would leave Qantas with a virtual monopoly in Australias domestic aviation market.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he was encouraged that 10 parties have shown interest" in Virgin's future and have approached administrators to discuss financial deals.

If we'd not taken the actions that we have and not demonstrated the patience that we have, then all we may have ended up doing is sending $1 billion to foreign shareholders and that was never part of my plan, Morrison told reporters.

Our plan was always about seeing two viable airlines on the other side, he added.

Virgin filled a gap left when Qantas' former main domestic rival, Air New Zealand-owned Ansett Australia, collapsed in 2001.

Brisbane-based Virgin has 130 aircraft and employs 10,000 staff.

Opposition lawmakers and union leaders urged the government to bail out Virgin to save jobs and low-price domestic airfares.

This crisis isnt a result of market failure, its a result of a government decision to shut the market, opposition leader Anthony Albanese said. Thats why talk of market-based solutions at the moment is a triumph of ideology over common sense.

The pandemic is a catastrophe for airlines around the world.

In the U.S., major airlines are getting $25 billion in government aid to pay workers and avoid massive layoffs. The assistance includes a mix of cash and loans, with the government getting warrants that can be converted into small ownership stakes in the leading airlines.
The coronavirus pandemic has shaken up the world. With so many political leaders proven wrong about the gravity of the situation, we have realised that there is so much we don't know the novel coronavirus. However, every two weeks, there is a new revelation by scientists or physicians that takes a step ahead in discovering the reality of the virus.

Now, scientists are speculating the possibility of transmission COVID-19 sexually after finding traces of the virus in the semen of patients.

These traces do not currently confirm whether it can spread or transmitted during sex or not, AP reported. According to doctors, of the 38 patients who were undergoing treatment for coronavirus, 6 were found with the COVID-19 virus in their semen. JAMA Network Open published this report after research was conducted at Shangqiu Municipal Hospital in China.

In terms of questions like, how long can the virus stay in semen or if it's transmitted at all? It has not been determined yet.

 iStock

The study's result contrast with a study previously done on 34 Chinese men with COVID-19 which was published last month in the journal Fertility and Sterility.



The US and Chinese researchers have found no evidence of the virus in semen tested between eight days and almost three months after diagnosis.

 iStock

Dr. John Hotaling of the University of Utah, co-author of this report has said that the new study involved patients that were infected with COVID-19 to a greater extent with an active disease that needed to be treated.



While, officially, coronavirus can only be spread through droplets produced when infected people cough, which is then inhaled by people nearby, there are new studies that are generating speculations that can be airborne and even be sexually transmitted.

 iStock

Other studies have reported findings of spotting the COVID-19 virus in the blood, feces, and even tears. It doesn't help that we already have evidence pointing towards infectious viruses including Zika and Ebola that can be sexually transmitted.



As of now, The American Society for Reproductive Medicine has assured us that unless there is concrete proof, the new study shouldnt be cause for alarm.
MANISTEE  The Manistee National Forest Festival  a signature event in the community for over 80 years  will not be held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We understand the deep roots it has with the many traditions and favorite events. Its a homecoming for our community that brings families, friends and tourists together for this summer celebration, reads a press release from the Manistee Area Chamber of Commerce. This decision has not been easy for us or one that has been taken lightly. The health and safety of our citizens, volunteers, vendors and visitors is the main concern especially when many of the events held within the festival encourage and draw large gatherings.

The event annually spans four to five days with a wide range of events such as the Manistee World of Arts & Crafts, Independence Day Parade, fireworks over Lake Michigan, Festival Marketplace, carnival and much more. The event will be held again from July 1-5, 2021.

I am deeply saddened about the decision to postpone the festival as its a long-standing summer tradition for our community and a boost to our local economy, said Stacie Bytwork, president of the Manistee Area Chamber of Commerce in a press release. The festival has a huge economic impact on our businesses and provides fundraising events for our nonprofit organizations. The chamber asks if you are able to, please continue to support local businesses and organizations during this difficult time.

All of the Forest Festival events are canceled for this year, including the Fourth of July fireworks and parade.

With the best interest of our community members and public health, and with the uncertainty of mandatory restrictions on large gatherings, the decision to postpone the Manistee National Forest Fest was not easy to make, said Bytwork. The decision was made after deliberation and a fair amount of discussions with key stakeholders, event organizers, sponsors, committee members and the board of directors.

She said that the chamber put out a survey to vendors, key stakeholders, sponsors and sub-event organizers to gather input and include many people in the decision-making process.

There was a lot of different responses, but looking at the uncertainty of where those restrictions are going to be in July, we took everyones comments and opinions and factored that all in and looked at the public health, Bytwork said. You know Forest Fest, theres a lot of large gatherings. How do we proceed with that with the unknown right now?

Bytwork said that it takes a whole year to plan for the festival.

Two months, thats not much time left, you think about contracts that go into this  permits, all the vendors, the bands and then theres over 40 events and the marketing and the brochures. Theres just so much that (with) the unknown, it was so hard to proceed forward because there are so many moving parts, she said.

Manistee city manager Thad Taylor said its a disappointment that the Forest Festival has been canceled.

However, given the current situation and our state and nations safeguards in place in response to the coronavirus pandemic, its the prudent action to take, he said. Ive reached out to the organizers of all events scheduled through the fall to let them know that the city has, and will, follow the best practices of the CDC and directives from the State of Michigan in terms of social distancing, size of gatherings, staying at home, etc.

Its unknown what the best practices will be at the time an event is scheduled and that they might not be able to use city facilities for their events. Only time will tell if the best practices will allow future special events to occur.

For more information on the Forest Festival, visit ManisteeForestFestival.com or the Manistee Forest Festival Facebook page.

The Manistee National Forest Festival is only one of many area summer events that has been canceled. In mid-April, organizers announced the National Cherry Festival, a major northern Michigan summer destination for decades, has been canceled for 2020 due to uncertainty over the coronavirus. The Cherry Festival is usually held around the Fourth of July. It will be held from July 3-10, 2021.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters while hosting Texas Governor Greg Abbott about what his state has done to restart business during the novel coronavirus pandemic in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on May 7, 2020. (Doug Mills/Getty Images)

Branding: Democrats Are the Shutdown Party, Trump the Champion of Working People

Commentary

In politics, how you brand yourself determines your fate. In the face of a national crisis, with people growing increasingly restless and angry, incredibly, the Democrats have branded themselves the party of the shutdown.

President Donald Trump, fighting to reopen the economy, has become firmly the president of working people.

In the market place, branding is everything. Apple, Coca-Cola, McDonalds, and Disney trade off their brand, not just their products. In the marketplace of ideaspoliticsbrands are everything as well.

For decades, coming out of the late 1800s and into the Great Depression, Democrats were able to brand themselves the party of the working man. Meanwhile, the term Country Club Republicans saddled Republicans. That branding benefited the Democrats for decades and helped them hold onto the House of Representatives for 38 straight years.

The Democrats still claim they are for the working man, but their big government politics for the last several decades belie that and are changing their brandperhaps irrevocably.

Recall that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) claimed that welfare payments were proof that government is working. Former President Barack Obama famously declared that you can create a working majority of people dependent on government. He then spent eight years building that coalition of dependency. Today, the largest block of the Democrat party, the SandersWarren block, firmly believes in socialist or semi-socialist policies.

The problem for Democrats is that Americans, on balance, are not that far left. Americans grew tired of the weak economy that government created from 2008 to 2016 and the resultant lack of jobs.

Enter Trump.

He immediately eschewed some of the Republican dogma and pushed a trade agenda that included tariffs. In doing that, Trump appealed to workers in the Rust Belt, states such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Michigan, like no Republican since Ronald Reagan in 1984. Trump won those states, and that so-called inside straight elected Trump president.

Since his election, Trump pushed through policies such as tax reform and deregulation that lit up the economy. Although the Democrats shouted that he was helping the rich, the jobs went to the lower and middle class like few times in the last 100 years.

As a result of fostering so many jobs for so many, Trumps stature among the working class jumped. It included historically high ratings among blacks and Latinoseach in the mid-30s. Trump clearly was favored by working men and women far more than any of his Republican predecessors except for Reagan.

Then COVID-19 came along.

Given the diseases unprecedented nature, the parties struggled with initial policy choices. Trump pushed restrictions before the Democrats, and he ultimately embraced a partial shutdown of the economy. Today, however, all has changed. The frustration across the United States with the shutdown is palpable and is measured by a growing number of protests and businesses opening in defiance of government orders.

Nevertheless, in their unrelenting desire to oppose all things Trump, the Democrats have more than embraced the shutdown as a matter of dogma. A review of their talking points and social media makes it plain to see that the Democrats (a) have now branded themselves the Party of the Shutdown and (b) are claiming the Republicans are heartless for wanting to open the economy and risk lives.

Americans, however, have seen the numbers. They understand the risks to a significant degree. They also know that COVID-19 isnt the only issue. COVID-19 was added to the list of medical problems facing America; it didnt replace them.

In other words, in my view, the majority of Americans no longer favor shutdown policies as demanded by the Democrats, from Pelosi in Washington to Gov. Gavin Newsom in California, to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan and Mayor Bill de Blasio in New York.

Americans want solutions and the right to earn a living. They now want to shut down shutdown politics, and they have a clear champion.

Trump is unequivocally the leader of the open the economy cause. Dont forget that he pushed aid while Democrats held it up. Overall, the president has clearly branded himself as the advocate for the worker, the small business person, and employers everywhere.

Overall, the Democrats shutdown politics are perceived as negative while Trumps cause is hopeful. That is behind Trumps recent rise in the polls and why he is viewed as better than Biden on jobs and how to handle COVID-19.

Finally, when it comes to deciding for whom to vote in November, hopeful beats the negative. Championing jobs beats shutdown politics. Thats just political branding 101.

Thomas Del Beccaro is an acclaimed author, speaker, Fox News, Fox Business, and Epoch Times opinion writer, and the former chairman of the California Republican Party. He is the author of the historical perspectives, The Divided Era and The New Conservative Paradigm.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
One of NSW's major thermal coal miners has admitted it submitted inaccurate figures on the carbon emissions impact of its fuel in an environmental declaration to the state government.

Centennial Coal stated in its submission for an extension of its Angus Place coal mine near Lithgow that burning its coal would produce 80 kilograms of carbon dioxide per tonne. Similar mines  including two of its own  actually cause 30 times more emissions, or 2.4 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of coal.

The company has provided a wide range of its estimated emissions for burning its coal - and all have been approved by the NSW government. Credit:Centennial Coal

"Absolutely, we stuffed up," Katie Brassil, the company's spokeswoman said. "Our consultants got it wrong and so we got it wrong."

The assessment of emissions resulting from burning fossil fuels has become a sensitive one in NSW after approvals for two projects were rejected because of the impact of so-called Scope 3 or downstream emissions resulting from burning the product.
Understanding the health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on people who use drugs in Scotland is the focus of a new University of Stirling study.

The project - funded under the Scottish Government's Rapid Research in COVID-19 programme - will assess the longer-term health impacts of the social response to the pandemic on people who use drugs (PWUD).

The research will consider whether a reduction in the availability of illicit drugs has changed purchasing habits - resulting in an increased risk for some - and look at how others may have reduced or ceased drug use to avoid social contact.

Led by Professor Catriona Matheson, of the Faculty of Social Sciences, the research team will look at the impact of the virus on three distinct elements of drug use and services in Scotland: distribution and social use patterns of illicit drugs; the availability of harm reduction services; and the provision of addiction treatment services and the impact on people in recovery.

The study will also consider whether changes to drug service provision, introduced due to COVID-19, exposes PWUD to harm through a heightened risk of overdose or relapse.

Feedback received by the Drug Deaths Taskforce suggests a number of issues are beginning to emerge for people who use drugs - because of the virus and the measures being used to combat it. This is the only research of its type and its findings will be provided to policymakers, service providers, and organisations representing people who use drugs to help shape their responses to these challenges. Being able to understand how people's drug purchasing and using behaviours are affected by social distancing will be vitally important to informing pragmatic risk reduction messages for this group." Professor Catriona Matheson, Chair of the Scottish Drug Deaths Taskforce

Professor Matheson's team will work with voluntary sector organisations in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Lanarkshire to conduct qualitative research interviews, via telephone or online, with PWUD.

The research team - featuring a number of experienced drugs researchers - includes: Dr Tessa Parkes, Josh Dumbrell and Joe Schofield, all from the University of Stirling, and Dr Angus Bancroft, of the University of Edinburgh.

A second study, led by Dr Parkes, will look at how a Managed Alcohol Programme could help reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection for people experiencing alcohol dependency and homelessness.

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.
Looking through the window of the Cafe 1905, a sandwich and coffee shop in Dunham's Department Store in Wellsboro, Tioga County, where many businesses were allowed to reopen on Friday. The still-closed movie theater across the street displays names of the 110 graduating students of Wellsboro High School, changing the names daily. Read more

WELLSBORO, Pa.  The phone rang and rang for weeks, echoing through a 115-year-old department store emptied out by the pandemic in this quaint rural town in Tioga County.

Sometimes Nancy Dunham, the stores matriarch, or her daughter Ann Dunham Rawson would pop into Dunhams on Main Street to check on utilities or grab merchandise for a customer at the familys adjacent hardware store, which was allowed to remain open.

Mother and daughter occasionally answered the phone, and they rarely had answers.

Are you open?

Can you get me a size 10 boot?

When are you opening again?

On Friday, just after 11 a.m., Ann unlocked the door and ushered in shoppers and a small semblance of normalcy for the first time in eight weeks. Dozens came during the first 30 minutes, all of them wearing masks and a few in gloves.

Youre the first customers in! she said.

Tioga County, population 40,763, is one of 24 north-central and northwest Pennsylvania counties that entered the yellow phase of Gov. Tom Wolfs color-coded reopening plan Friday morning. At that point, Tioga had 16 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and one death. Neighboring Potter County, one of the states most rural counties, had four cases and no deaths. The yellow phase permits most businesses to resume in-person operations, though restaurants and bars remain limited to takeout and delivery. Stay-at-home orders become aggressive mitigation.

Counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania will move from red to yellow next week. Meanwhile, stay-at-home orders in Philadelphia will continue until at least June 4.

In Wellsboro, a borough of 3,239 known for its gas lamps on Main Street and Christmas celebrations, reopening didnt look the same for every business. Its a town where the owners are likely behind the counter.

Dunhams, opened in 1905 by Roy and Fannie Dunham, felt like a community center, everyone eager to catch up after holing up indoors since March. The cafes chairs were placed atop tables, but customers still came in for takeout coffee.

Hows your husband? Nancy Dunham asked a shopper.

He died, the woman said, but it wasnt COVID.

John Dunham, the patriarch of the department store, had suffered a stroke in the small cafe and coffee shop there just days before it shut down in mid-March. Nancy said shes cried in the closed cafe a few times since then, though his condition has improved.

Customers at Dunhams bought greeting cards, socks, a toaster, everything the Walmart in nearby Mansfield has been selling all along.

Just normal stuff, said shopper Beth Scheiderman. It feels good to feel normal.

One Dunhams employee, Councilman Michael Wood, walked up and down Main Street Friday and found most people whod come out were wearing masks. The cold, rainy weather didnt help.

Were supposed to get a few inches of snow, he said.

Across the street from Dunhams, Bonnie Hoffpowier, 39, wrote Hello World. We missed you" on a sign outside her skin-health boutique. Hoffpowier was permitted only to sell retail products and had a handful of customers by noon. The bulk of her business is giving treatments for acne and rosacea, which is not permitted in the yellow phase.

I really have no idea when thats going to be allowed, she said.

Anja and Julian Stam, owners of Pops Culture Shoppe, implemented their own rules. Their shelves are crammed with puzzles, games, and toys, the sort of items customers, particularly children, want to pick up. The Stams asked shoppers to stop at the door, so they could guide them through the store.

Were trying to act as their hands, to minimize the touching, Julian said.

The art deco Arcadia Theatre, visible though the cafe window at Dunhams, has no timetable for reopening. Ann Rawsons sister, Ellen Bryant, runs the theater, along with a lodge and historic seasonal hotel in town. Bryant said she can envision a smaller audience through social distancing, but in the meantime, she is using the theaters wide marquee to showcase the names of 110 graduating seniors from Wellsboro High School.

We put four new ones up there a day, she said. The families come by and take pictures beneath it."

Bryant and her sister have both been putting in time at the familys hardware and furniture store, part of the 200,000 square feet of retail space the Dunhams own in Wellsboro. They employ nearly 30 people, many of whom they encouraged to go on unemployment.

Ann said she was out of her element among the hardware.

I learned you can wear jeans and a T-shirt in the hardware. You dont need to run around in three-inch heels, she said. I also broke down plumbing into two sections. Hard plumbing and easy plumbing. I know easy plumbing.

While Dunhams three stores draw in locals, other businesses in Wellsboro depend more on tourism in the summer and fall as people drive along scenic Route 6. Councilman Craig West said the 79th annual Pennsylvania State Laurel Festival in downtown Wellsboro in June has been canceled. The event typically brings about 20,000 tourists.

Thats the biggest weekend of the year for Wellsboro, he said. Thats a lot of money lost for the town, and they wont be able to make that up.

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West said Wellsboro has an older population of mostly retirees who could weather the closed businesses and job losses better than younger couples. Tioga Countys median age, 44, is three years older than the state average.

Im worried about people who are out of work, who would be unable to pay taxes," he said.

The Stams said they had to cancel multiple events they typically host in their store in April and May. They worry about whether tourists from New York, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh will come and what health dangers those outsiders could present if they do show up.

I mean, no offense, but we worry about people from more dense areas, Julian said.

Wood said small local hotels are usually booked every night through the summer as tourists visit the town and nearby Pennsylvania Grand Canyon.

Bryant was helping out in Dunhams furniture Friday, surprised at the number of people shopping for new couches on Day One of the yellow phase.

Its a little hectic, she said. I mean, how many times can you wipe down wood furniture with Lysol?
Natasha Atchley was just a week away from leaving her teenage years and entering her 20s. And she lived life as if every day would be her last.

She loved life and she lived life hard, Natashas lifelong friend, Keisha Myers, told Dateline. She once told me that she felt like she would die young. Sadly, she was right.

Natasha Atchley

Natasha was only 19 years old when she was brutally murdered in the early morning hours of May 3, 1992. Her remains were found later that same day in the trunk of her burned out Camaro hatchback on a dirt road in a rural area of Shepherd, Texas.

A former cheerleader, Natasha was pretty and popular, and always attracted attention.

She was wild and fun. A free spirit, Keisha said. There was just something about Natasha - you either loved her or you hated her.

Keisha told Dateline she had grown up with Natasha in Livingston, Texas. They were inseparable. But during their senior year of high school, Natasha was sent to live with her grandparents in Odessa, Texas. She graduated from Odessa Permian High School, got an apartment with roommates in College Station and began taking classes at Blinn College.

When Keisha found out she was pregnant, she said Natasha was overjoyed. She correctly predicted it would be a boy and told Keisha she would help her when the baby came.

If you wanted to have fun, she was your girl, Keisha said. But she was more than that. She was just very much a loyal friend.

Two weeks before her murder, Natasha called Keishas house to tell her she would be coming back to Livingston to visit and go to some birthday parties.

I didnt get to speak to her. She spoke to my grandma and said she wanted to make sure Id be here when she came to visit, Keisha said. She said she had something important to tell me. But I never found out what that was.

Keisha never saw or spoke to her friend again.

On the evening of Saturday, May 2, 1992, Natasha was last seen at a friends party in Shepherd. She never came home.

Story continues

Around 10 a.m. the next day, a man and his grandson returned from a fishing trip and came across a smoldering hatchback car on a dirt road in rural San Jacinto County, about a mile from the party. Natashas remains, which had been burned down to bones, were inside the trunk of the hatchback.

Retired San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Tom Branch, who worked on the case for about 12 years, told Dateline investigators believe Natasha was killed at or near the site of the party sometime during the night or in the early morning hours, then driven about a mile away to the dirt road where the car was set on fire.

Lab reports indicated that the accelerant used to light the car on fire was identified as drip gas, Branch said. He told Dateline he believes the killer may have used oil and gas wells, which are common in the area, to finish the job.

Drip gas is something you can get out of the oil well, if you know what youre doing, Branch said. But not everyone does. I think it narrows down suspects somewhat.

Branch told Dateline the scene was a gruesome one. Her whole body fit in a shoebox, Branch said.

Natashas family had reported her missing early that morning when she didnt arrive at her mothers house as expected.

Natashas brother, Chad Woodard, was only 12 years old when his sister was murdered.

"Once you've seen your sister's burned remains, it's something that just stays with you forever, Chad told Dateline.

At the time he lived with his mother and younger brother in Livingston. He remembers Natasha as being active and lively, always around friends and cheerleading or playing piano.

Living life full speed ahead is, I think, the only way she knew how to live, Chad said. And her death just devastated our family.

Chad told Dateline his mother fought to find out what happened to Natasha for years. But she lost her battle in 2002 when she died of cancer.

I think losing Natasha literally killed our mother, Chad said. It was her dying wish to find out what happened, and to find out who did this to Natasha.

Initially, investigators believed they would solve the case pretty quickly. Two people were arrested for aggravated assault after a witness claimed that he saw them beating up Natasha, according to Branch. But the case fell apart when the witness recanted his story.

Its just been a really complicated case from the beginning, Branch said. And unfortunately, we missed something along the way.

Branch told Dateline that the number of people at the party, which he described as a party involving alcohol and an array of drugs, made it difficult to investigate. Investigators served search warrants at houses and conducted searches of vehicles all over the surrounding areas. They questioned potential witnesses from the party. But no one was talking.

Im 100 percent sure that we spoke to the person responsible for her death during the course of our investigation, Branch told Dateline. But unless that person, or a witness comes forward, we might never know the truth.

Endless theories about what exactly happened to Natasha that night are still being offered 28 years later.

Dr. Alan Ashworth, a former resident of Natashas hometown of Livingston, Texas, has dedicated many years to sifting through the theories hoping to uncover the truth and has written three books about the case.

I believe we can solve this case, Ashworth told Dateline. I believe we have. But now its up to the authorities. I can solve the case, but I cant make the arrests.

The case is now in the hands of the Texas Ranger Unsolved Crimes Investigation Team. Dateline reached out for comment, but has not heard back.

Retired Sheriffs Deputy Tom Branch told Dateline he stays in touch with the investigators on the team and said they are continuing to work the case. He said they believe the case is solvable and urges anyone with information to reach out to the Texas Rangers team or Crime Stoppers.

Keisha Myers told Dateline she would just like answers about what happened to her wild and spunky friend.

Ive come to the conclusion that it may not happen in my lifetime, Keisha said. It was her mothers dying wish to know. But that never happened.

Keisha was with Natashas mother when she died from cancer.

She treated me like her daughter and my boys like her grandchildren, Keisha said. Keishas boys, including the one she was pregnant with when Natasha died, are grown now.

He reminds me of her, though, Keisha said. All the good parts of her. Her intelligence. Her sense of adventure. Her self-determination. Its like he was a gift from her.

A cash reward of $15,000 from family and friends, along with $3,000 from Crime Stoppers, is being offered for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of Natashas killer(s).

If you have information about Natashas case, call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477) or submit a tip through the Texas Rangers Cold Case website.
ROUYN NORANDA, QC, May 8, 2020 /CNW/ - Canada Cobalt Works Inc. (TSXV: CCW) (OTC: CCWOF) (Frankfurt: 4T9B) (the "Company" or "Canada Cobalt") is pleased to announce that shareholders in a Special Meeting yesterday voted 99.92% in favor of changing the Company's name to Canada Silver Cobalt Works Inc. in order to better reflect its immediate and longer-term direction.

The name change is expected to be effective in the coming days, pursuant to filing Articles of Amendment and subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval, followed by a major update on company activities including the high-grade silver discovery at Castle East next to three significant past producers. There will be no change in the company's stock symbol.

Matt Halliday, VP-Exploration, commented: "Work continues at Castle East, with all necessary precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we look forward to a major ramping up of activity this quarter as we further position CCW as the leading silver-cobalt company in Canada's silver-cobalt heartland."

About Canada Cobalt Works Inc.

Canada Cobalt's flagship Castle mine and 78 sq. km Castle Property features strong exploration upside for silver, cobalt, nickel, gold and copper in the prolific past producing Gowganda high-grade Silver District of Northern Ontario. With underground access at Castle, a pilot plant to produce cobalt-rich gravity concentrates on site, and a proprietary hydrometallurgical process known as Re-2OX for the creation of technical grade cobalt sulphate as well as nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) formulations, Canada Cobalt is strategically positioned to become a vertically integrated North American leader in cobalt extraction and recovery while it also exploits a powerful new silver-gold market cycle.

"Frank J. Basa"

Frank J. Basa, P. Eng.

President and Chief Executive Officer

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore, involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.

SOURCE Canada Cobalt Works Inc.

For further information: Frank J. Basa, P.Eng., President and CEO, 1-416-625-2342; Marc Bamber, Director, [email protected], +44-7725-960939

Related Links

http://www.canadacobaltworks.com/


Are these the worst religious ideas ever? As I was hop-scotching around the internet the other day, I found this 2015 column from Salon called, immodestly enough, "The 12 worst ideas religion has unleashed on the world." The author, Valerie Tarico, comes up with some notions that...

This town's most prolific writer on the topic of faith & morals, yet again, offers religious criticism whilst considering ideas that are far more political than spiritual.Checkit:
President Ho Chi Minh talks to overseas Vietnamese in Marseille, September 17, 1946. The visit to France by President Ho Chi Minh as the head of state of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam from May 31 - October 10, 1946 at the invitation of the French Government was one of the most important external activities of the Vietnamese Government in 1945-1946 (Photo: File/VNA) President Ho Chi Minh meets overseas Vietnamese during his visit to France in 1946 (Photo: File/VNA)
Transgender singer and actress Mizz June was coughing up blood and wheezing. Her ribs hurt when she breathed. She had painful migraines.

But after she called 911, the emergency medical technicians told her she shouldnt go to the emergency room unless she was really sick.

"I said I needed to go. I'm in pain. It hurts to breathe," she said. "They were like, you're just going to sit there. So do you want to, at 3 o'clock in the morning, go to this emergency room and just sit there?"

Mizz June pushed back. I can't breathe, she told them.

They began questioning me, but I was so angered that I demanded to go to the hospital, she said. If I had not been the kind of woman that I am, a black transgender woman who has been through so much adversity, I would be dead.

The coronavirus outbreak is pummeling LGBTQ Americans, especially those of color, leaving a population already vulnerable to health care and employment discrimination suffering from high job losses and a growing rate of positive cases, according to preliminary data collected from multiple LGBTQ advocacy groups.

Many LGBTQ Americans live in states that have seen the highest number of coronavirus cases, including California, New York and Washington. These areas have also been hit by job losses driven by economic shutdowns.

In this Oct. 8, 2019 file photo, supporters of LGBTQ rights stage a protest on the street in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington.

As a result, many more LGBTQ people are struggling with unemployment, homelessness and food insecurity compared with other Americans, while simultaneously facing increased rates of health issues stemming from bias, mental illness and lack of insurance.

Scout, a transgender activist and deputy director at the National LGBT Cancer Network, a nonprofit organization based in New York City, said many LGBTQ Americans already face discrimination when seeking health care, and are worried these barriers could make it harder to get treatment during the pandemic. Scott cited a recent controversy over a field hospital in New York's Central Park run by a religious organization that requires its staff to sign a pledge against same-sex marriage.

Story continues

"Imagine if you were in New York City and you're queer and your partner gets COVID. Your closest hospital might be that one in Central Park that is very anti-LGBT," he said. "Can you imagine what kind of fear you might have to send your partner to the hospital knowing you couldn't visit them again, right, because you can't visit the hospitals. And you can't be there to protect them and to make sure that they get the kind of care they deserve."

LGBTQ Americans more vulnerable to COVID-19

Advocates said the U.S. needs more comprehensive data on who is being tested for COVID-19. So far, many states have collected COVID-19 data based on age, race and ethnicity, but are not collecting sexual orientation and gender identity data.

That's prompted activists to try to create their own data on positive cases in the LGBTQ community, while also surveying respondents on health care disparities stemming from discrimination from medical providers, including being turned away because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.

"I would say that there is definitely not as much research out there as other communities because so few surveys ask questions about sex orientation and gender identity," said Naomi Goldberg, policy research director of the Movement Advancement Project, a nonprofit think tank that provides LGBTQ research in Colorado.

Scout said the health care system needs to take into account prior medical histories, as well as societal issues while treating Americans for coronavirus, especially LGBTQ people.

"No one's measuring our outcomes, which, in my mind, is people in the health care system forcing us back in the closet," he said. "They're hiding the way this pandemic is going to play out our extra vulnerabilities and have a disproportionate impact on us."

More: Fauci guided US through AIDS crisis, too. Survivors say it's a roadmap for coronavirus.

Experts agree that LGBTQ people may have health complications that could put them at higher risk of contracting COVID-19 or heighten complications after contraction. For example, LGBTQ people are more likely to be smokers than other Americans, according to the Human Rights Campaign. They also are more likely to have asthma. LGBTQ Americans, especially those who are nonwhite, are also more likely to have chronic medical conditions such as HIV or AIDS.

Access to health care can also be contributing to high cases of COVID-19 among LGBTQ Americans. Roughly 17% of LGBTQ adults do not have any health insurance coverage, compared with 12% of non-LGBTQ Americans, according to the National Center for Transgender Equality based in Washington, D.C.

"We need to be talking about disparities, especially around race and class, recognizing that people of color have less access to health care," said Daniel Ramos, executive director of One Colorado, an LGBTQ advocacy group based in Denver.

Participants wave rainbow flags during the 2015 New York City Pride march in New York on June 28, 2015.

Stigma and discrimination can also deter LGBTQ people from seeking medical care, even when they do have health insurance. One in four LGBTQ people reported experiencing discrimination, while 8% of lesbian, gay and bisexual adults and 29% of transgender adults reported that a health care provider refused to see them because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, according to a national survey by the Center for American Progress, a policy research organization in Washington, D.C.

Sean Cahill, director of health policy research at the Fenway Institute, a center for research and advocacy in Massachusetts, said there is still an anti-LGBTQ stigma in health care.

"This affects their health, well being and affects their sense of safety," he said.

Michael Adams, chief executive officer at SAGE, a nonprofit organization focused on LGBTQ aging in New York, suspects that many older Americans dying from COVID-19 could be part of the LGBTQ community. LGBTQ older adults are twice as likely to be living alone and four times less likely to have children compared to people their same age who aren't gay, which means that older LGBTQ people are especially at risk for lack of care or support from family during COVID-19, according to a study by SAGE.

In a public health crisis like this there are very thin support networks among LGBT older adults, Adams said.

To help raise awareness, activists plan to host virtual pride events starting June 1, the beginning of gay pride month, said Brian Hujdich, executive director of HealthHIV, one of the largest national HIV nonprofit organizations in Washington, D.C.

Mizz June said she contracted COVID-19 in mid-March and fears she may get it again. The symptoms initially left her with a dry cough and blood in her mucus. Then she felt constipated for a week.

I had a mild case but still I was coughing up blood, wheezing and I could feel my lungs and ribs hurting when I breathed, she said. Its just a disgusting virus.

She said was she baffled by the claims from the first responders that she should avoid going to the emergency room because it was too crowded. Only three other patients were waiting when she arrived.

"They told me I could contract the disease if I went. How could I when there were only three people, I expected at least a full room of 100 coronavirus patients," she said.

She has recovered since her hospital stay, but is worried that other black transgender women might have the same experience where "symptoms weren't taken seriously." She's been encouraging other black trans women to get tested for the virus.

"I don't think people understand the seriousness of it," she said. "Whenever I go outside I put on gloves and a mask, I keep my distance because I've had it. I don't know if I can still pass it on to people but also I don't want to catch it again."

More: FDA eases restrictions on blood donations from gay and bisexual men during coronavirus pandemic

In this June 26, 2016, file photo, a woman holds a rainbow flag during the NYC Pride Parade in New York.

LGBTQ Americans more likely to be hurt by mass job losses

For LGBTQ Americans who don't get sick from coronavirus, many are struggling with unemployment or other financial burdens, activists said.

"When we think about the kind of economic earthquake that has happened as a result of COVID-19, with job losses and unemployment benefits, there's a lot of reason to be concerned about the precariousness of LGBTQ people and their families at this moment," said Goldberg of the Movement Advancement Project.

As the economy plummeted, more than 5 million LGBTQ workers were likely to have been impacted by COVID-19, according to recent estimates from the Human Rights Campaign. Jobs in restaurants and food service, hospitals, K-12 and higher education and retail industries have been hit, making up about 40% of all industries where LGBTQ people work, the organization found. More than 33 million Americans have submitted unemployment claims since March.

"While we do not have official numbers on how many LGBTQ people have contracted coronavirus or have died because of it, we know in addition to health disparities, LGBTQ people are employed in the industries heavily impacted by the pandemic, such as retail, nightlife, restaurants, and they are more likely to live in poverty, be food insecure, and uninsured," said Tyrone Hanley, senior policy counsel of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the first national LGBTQ legal organization founded by women in California.

Roughly 9% of LGBTQ were unemployed, compared with 5% of all Americans, before the outbreak. About 27% of LGBTQ people were food insecure, compared with 15% of all Americans.

LGBTQ Americans are also more likely to be homeless than other Americans. Up to 45% of homeless youth are LGBTQ, while LGBTQ people ages 18 through 25 are two times more likely to be homeless than their peers, according to the Williams Institute, a leading research center on sexual orientation and gender identity at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law.

"We estimate that 139,700 transgender adults were unemployed at the time the coronavirus pandemic began. Recent job losses due to official orders enforcing social distancing practices will likely increase this number and exacerbate existing employment disparities," said Jody L. Herman, a scholar of public policy at the Williams Institute and co-author of a recent report on COVID-19 and transgender Americans.

A pedestrian walks past graffiti that reads "Rent Strike" Wednesday, April 1, 2020, in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. With millions of people suddenly out of work, some tenants in the U.S. are vowing to go on a rent strike until the new coronavirus pandemic subsides.

LGBTQ people of color tend to face much harsher discrimination compared with their white counterparts because of their ethnicity, in part because of barriers such as inadequate or nonexistent nondiscrimination protection for LGBTQ workers, and a lack of mentoring, said Goldberg.

We know that with the economic issues arising many of them wont be able to work at their jobs, or their jobs arent remote, meaning they'll lose a paycheck, Goldberg said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coronavirus: LGBTQ Americans face discrimination, racism amid crisis
Oprah Winfrey has walked a symbolic 2.26 miles to mark Ahmaud Arbery's 26th birthday in a heartfelt video posted to Instagram.

Arbery, a 25-year-old unarmed black jogger, was shot and killed by a white father and son 'vigilante' team.

Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son Travis McMichael, 34, were arrested on Thursday and charged with murder and aggravated assault.

The killing in Brunswick, Georgia, happened in February but the pair were only charged after footage of the attack was leaked online on Tuesday sparking outrage across America.

'Today wouldve been Ahmaud Arberys 26th birthday. But hes not here to celebrate because he was senselessly shot and killed doing something to make his life healthier and stronger. He went out for a jog while being Black. I wonder what was he thinking in those last seconds of his life?,' Oprah wrote in the Instagram post which has been viewed 3.5 million times.

Oprah Winfrey walked 2.26 miles to mark Ahmaud Arbery's 26th birthday along with her partner Stedman graham

Ahmaud Arbery was shot and killed in Brunswick, Georgia on February 23

'Unimaginable to go for a run in 2020 and end up dead because of the color of your skin. I spoke with his mom Wanda yesterday who says she feels better now that the two men have finally been arrested. But they were only arrested because WE saw the video. Today people everywhere walked 2.23 miles in the name of Ahmaud and justice. We did 2.26 in honor of his 26th birthday,' she continued.

People around the country are dedicating their daily jog or walk to him and posting about it on social media with the hashtags #RunWithMaud and #IRunWithMaud.

The distance signifies the date he was killed, February 23.

Wanda Cooper, Arbery's mother spoke out over her son's brutal slaying on what would have been his 26th birthday and slammed law enforcement for failing to bring his killers to justice for months.

'I wonder what was he thinking in those last seconds of his life?,' Oprah wrote in the Instagram post which has been viewed 3.5 million times

Today was a very emotional day as it was his birthday, she told CNN on Friday.

I felt better after the arrests last evening. But the weekend is going to be especially hard as I had Ahmaud back in 1994 on Mothers Day.

Cooper blasted the authorities for letting her son's killers walk free for a staggering 74 days after his death, saying they simply took the 'words from the actual murderers'.

I think that they were actually taking the words from the actual murderers,' she told CNN.

Ahmaud Arberys heartbroken mom Wanda Cooper (above) has said she hopes her son's killers spend the rest of their lives behind bars and revealed he was born on Mother's Day in 1994 so this weekend will be 'especially hard' without him

'They took their word, they believed what they said and they had not planned to make an arrest.

Cooper said she wanted to thank everyone who had shown support for her and her family at this time and said she now hopes justice will be served to the McMichaels.

'What Im seeking is those guys - all the guys who were involved in the murder of my son - go to prison possibly for the rest of their lives,' she said.

The family's attorney Lee Merritt, also speaking on the show, called for justice to also be handed to the district attorneys who failed to prosecute the killers.

'We have to get those DAs out that made a decision not to prosecute the case - we have to go after them,' he said.

Gregory McMichael, 64, (left) and his son Travis McMichael, 34, (right) were finally arrested Thursday and charged with murder and aggravated assault for the shooting death of Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia, back in February after footage of the attack leaked online Tuesday and sparked outrage across America

An officer with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is seen leading 34-year-old Travis McMichael out of the home in handcuffs

Exclusive photos show the moment Gregory McMichael (pictured) and his son Travis McMichael were arrested at their home in Brunswick, Georgia, on Thursday

Merritt said it was only through public pressure that the McMichaels had finally faced murder charges this week.

'The video already existed, it was part of the investigation it was the public seeing the video and allowing us to add common sense to it and raise our voice and demand these men be arrested' that led to action against the suspects, he said.

'We have been asking the DA's office for this video for months since this happened and we were not given a copy of it,' he added.

The Brunswick DA's office has come under fire for its handling of the case.

The first two DA's recused themselves from the case and the third passed it onto a grand jury before the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) stepped in and took over the investigation - leading to the subsequent arrests of the McMichaels.

People react during a rally Friday morning outside the courthouse in Brunswick, Georgia, to protest the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed black man what would have been his 26th birthday

Two Glynn County commissioners have claimed that Brunswick DA Jackie Johnson - the first DA on the case - blocked police from arresting the suspects because she was friends with Gregory McMichael.

Officers investigating the scene of the fatal shooting told Johnson's office they had cause to arrest the father and son at the time but the DA shut them down, they said.

Gregory McMichael had worked as an investigator in Johnson's office until his retirement in 2019 causing Johnson to recused herself from the case a few days after the shooting.

'She shut them down to protect her friend McMichael,' Glynn County Commissioner Allen Booker said.

Arbery can be seen stumbling to the ground as the clip comes to a close
Would Kourtney Kardashian have apologized to Kim Kardashian if they didn't have their Armenia trip planned?

That very question was addressed in this bonus clip from season 18 of Keeping Up With the Kardashians. As fans of the show surely know, Kim and Kourtney got into a shocking physical altercation after the KKW Beauty boss criticized her sister's work ethic.

Although the famed sisters were able to make amends, it appears the family were pretty baffled by Kourtney's behavior shortly after the dramatic incident. In the bonus footage above, Kim, Khloe Kardashian and Scott Disick, discuss the aftermath of the unexpected brawl.

"If I didn't reach out to Kourt, she never would've reached out to mewhich is crazy," the Good American mogul relays about a text exchange with the oldest Kardashian.

"She did reach out to me," Kim adds. "And so, she said, 'Can we meet tonight? 'Cause, I have a fitting tomorrow.'"

Upon hearing this, Khloe doubles down and iterates that her sister's actions are "crazy." Understandably, with Kim and Kourtney's Armenia trip around the corner, Scott worries about how the drama will impact his kids Mason (10), Penelope (7) and Reign (5).

Related Video: Scott Disick Checks Out of Rehab After Privacy Violation

Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick's Family Pics

"I'm trying to understand about Armenia, 'cause obviously [it] has to do with my children," the Flip It Like Disick star remarks. "What do you think? Are you just gonna sit down one day prior and then get on a plane across the world?"

Following Scott's point, Khloe theorizes that Kourtney's only apologizing "because there's a deadline."

"That's probably true," Scott says with a laugh.

Their conversation is interrupted by a call from family friend Shelli Azoff, who jokes that she wouldn't bet on Kim in a "fist fight or duel."

Scott Disick, KUWTK S18 Bonus

"I can't believe you guys actually got into a fist fight," Shelli adds over the phone. "Kendall [Jenner] showed me the pictures, the scratches. I went, 'Oh my god!'"

Story continues

While Kim worries she'll "get scars," Shelli assures her that they'll fade.

"My mom has scars on her hand from Kourtney scratching her," Kim responds.

"If I only took my shirt off, you'd know what scars are," Scott jokes.

Watch the candid conversation play out in the clip above!
By Express News Service

KOCHI: The ongoing evacuation of Indian expats from West Asia as part of Vande Bharat Mission on Friday  the second day of the mammoth exercise  saw an Air India flight and Air India Express flight from Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, respectively flying in a total of 329 Indian nationals to Kozhikode and Kochi airports.

The Air India flight from Riyadh, with 152 passengers, including 84 pregnant women on board, touched down at Kozhikode airport around 8.45 pm. The passengers also included those hailing from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Since the flight arrived with 84 pregnant women, the Malappuram district administration stationed a medical team led by a gynaecologist on standby at the airport. Most of the passengers on the flight were from Malappuram. Only pregnant women and children were sent to home quarantine. The rest were placed in institutional quarantine in the districts concerned, said a police officer.

At the time of going to the press, the Air India Express flight from Bahrain which took off from Bahrain airport at 8.00pm, is expected to arrive in Kochi at 11.30pm. Of the 177 passengers on board, 30 were pregnant women. However, there were only four medical emergency cases among those on the flight from Manama. If 73 Thrissur residents were there on Thursdays flight, 37 persons from the district are among the passengers on Friday.

A Madurai native and three from Bengaluru were also among the passengers. Like on Thursday, passengers were subjected to a similar procedures before they were allowed to board. Only those who tested negative in the rapid test were allowed to board. The procedure was repeated upon arrival. Minister for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri appreciated the dedication shown by the Air India Express crew during the emergency evacuation. Even in these extraordinary times, Air India Express Abu Dhabi-Kochi flight crews response to the call of duty is exemplary. Kudos to their spirit and dedication, tweeted Puri.

Air India flight from Riyadh, with 152 passengers on board, touched down at Kozhikode airport

around 8.45pm
Can Americans still have a sensible and friendly political discussion across the partisan divide? The answer is yes, and we intend to prove it. Julie Roginsky, a Democrat, and Mike DuHaime, a Republican, are consultants who have worked on opposite teams for their entire careers yet have remained friends throughout. Here, they discuss the weeks events with Tom Moran, editorial page editor of The Star-Ledger.

Q. The Supreme Court Thursday unanimously dismissed the Bridgegate convictions of Bill Baroni and Bridget Kelly. Justice Elena Kagan acknowledged that it was political payback that jeopardized the safety of the towns residents, but added that not every corrupt act by state or local officials is a federal crime. What does this say about then U.S. Attorney Paul Fishmans decision to file criminal charges? And what does this do to Chris Christies legacy  or his future in politics?

Mike: While today is a legal victory for Bill and Bridget, it does not change the fact that this case destroyed their careers and upended their lives. This case also disrupted the lives of countless others, cost taxpayers and individuals millions of dollars, and derailed Christies presidential chances and hurt his second term. Christie will be politically stronger now, which is good news for whatever his future holds. This is a welcome outcome but also a sad day. Bill has been a longtime friend, and always was a good and decent man. He remains so today, and I am glad he and Bridget can move forward now to rebuild their careers and lives.

Julie: Bill Baroni is one of my oldest and dearest friends. I was with him the day he got indicted, I was with him the day he got convicted and I was with him during the dark days when all the people he thought were his friends when he was a state senator and a powerful Port Authority official proverbially crossed the street when they saw him coming. I have watched his life completely destroyed, his career shattered, his family put through the wringer, and many of his so-called friends abandon him for political expediency.

Julie: I didnt know Bridget Kelly before this ordeal began but I have watched her, an accomplished career woman and mother of four, offensively portrayed by a taxpayer-funded investigation as a woman scorned, so eager to please some man with whom she was romantically involved that she would shut down a bridge to get into his good graces. Bill went to federal prison hundreds of miles from home all because he pulled a stupid and immature stunt, while Bridget, her reputation dragged through the mud by the Mastro Report in the most sexist way possible, had to wonder how she was going to make ends meet for her family as she awaited her prison sentence. So forgive me if I really dont care about how this affects Chris Christie, Paul Fishman or the cast of other supporting players in this drama. Where do Bill Baroni and Bridget Kelly go to get the last five years of their lives back?

Q. Gov. Phil Murphys approval rating stands at 77 percent, as governors in both parties are enjoying a surge in popularity. President Trump remains stuck where he was when this all began, at about 45 percent. Why the difference?

Mike: People are rallying around their governors who are seen acting in a crisis for the first time. Peoples opinions of President Trump, good or bad, have been fixed for years, whether it is through great economic times or impeachment. The numbers dont change, even in a pandemic.

Julie: Governor Murphy has held daily press conferences where he is forthright about the challenges his state faces. President Trump has held daily press conferences which have been self-pity parties, full of obfuscation, self-promotion and attacks on perceived enemies. He is devoid of compassion and he has consistently tried to gaslight the nation about the severity of the crisis and his responsibility for handling it. He should have taken a page from George W. Bush after 9/11 and attempted to unify the nation in the wake of this horrific crisis. But it appears that he is constitutionally incapable of feeling and projecting empathy. He has a largely Hobbesian worldview, which is frightening in a leader during normal times but positively toxic during times of crisis. Frankly, it is incomprehensible that more than a third of the nation still supports him after his daily performances on Twitter and at the podium.

Q. Joe Biden, in a televised address, denied Tara Reades allegation of sexual assault allegation. A CNN poll found that 37 percent believe Reades charge. But it also found that among those who believe her, 1 in 3 intend to vote for Biden anyway. Hows this going to play out?

Mike: With COVID dominating everyones lives, this isnt getting as much traction as would otherwise. The election will be a referendum on Donald Trumps handling of the health crisis and the rebound of the economy, because that impacts every person directly. Joe Biden has been in public life for 50 years including 8 years as President Obamas Vice President. Joe Biden has always seemed kind of creepy with women to me, but he will survive this allegation politically, unless more information comes out showing this as a pattern.

Julie: This is depressing on many levels. First, it is depressing that so few people believe Tara Reade, who has not always been consistent in telling her story but whose allegations don't strain credulity. Second, it is depressing that this is not information that came to light earlier, so that primary voters could assess it as part of their decision. Third, it is depressing that many people who claim to support survivors of assault, harassment and misogyny amplify the plight of survivors when they speak up against their ideological opponents but go underground when women dare to challenge their own side. But politically, Mike is correct. Unless something more breaks on this matter, I doubt that it will temper Democratic enthusiasm because Donald Trump has been such a rallying cry for my party. But, once again, it seems that other issues always trump the fight against workplace toxicity that women encounter on a daily basis. Until that becomes front and center, I don't know that we will ever surmount it.

I believe Biden should release his Delaware records. BUT if you are jumping all over this while ignoring Trumps NDAs, refusal to release tax returns & extra Apprentice footage, etc, you are a joke and should just go back to complaining about her emails while the world burns.  Julie Roginsky (@julieroginsky) May 1, 2020

Q. In Washington, Republicans are resisting Democratic calls for massive aid to states and local governments in the next round of stimulus. Are New York and New Jersey about to get shortchanged? Is it because were blue states?

Mike: We are wealthy states who overtax and overspend. I agree with that notion generally, but right now, I think the Republicans in DC who hold up state aid are wrong and do not understand the unique challenges of highly urban, densely populated states. NY and NJ are the hardest hit states, as are other blue state like Illinois, California and Washington. But believe me, this state fiscal crisis will hit red and purple states as well. The Carolinas will be hard hit, as will Pennsylvania and Michigan. Eventually, the aid will come to all states because the results would be catastrophic otherwise, and the blame will fall on Washington, not state capitals.

Julie: Ironically, the state most shortchanged will be Mitch McConnell's home state of Kentucky. But yes, New Jersey and New York will be severely impacted by this decision, because they are the states more severely impacted by this crisis. The federal government told the states to go out and get their own PPE, ventilators and other life-saving devices. Now, the states are left holding the bag. I would say that Senators Booker and Menendez of New Jersey and Senators Schumer and Gillibrand of New York should remember that the next time Ted Cruz or Lindsay Graham come begging for federal dollars for hurricane relief but, unlike some of their Republican counterparts, they are not that heartless.

Q. Finally, more chaos at the White House: President Trump announced Tuesday that he would eliminate the Coronavirus task force by the end of the month, then reversed himself a day later. What gives?

Mike: The President wants the country to get back to normal, so disbanding the task force would be a sign that the situation is under control. The problem is, if you exclude New York and New Jersey, new cases are still on the rise nationally and in many states. He had to acknowledge that we cant move on until we are seeing real declines nationally and in most states.

Julie: No task force, no virus, right? And why have experts like Drs. Fauci and Birx around when public health experts like Jared Kushner and his team of McKinsey and Goldman Sachs consultants are on the case? To be clear, this is the continuing war on science and expertise that has made this crisis so much worse than it needed to be.

We left a playbook. He ignored it.



We created an office to prepare for pandemics. He gutted it.



We had CDC officials in China to detect and contain outbreaks. He pulled them out.



Trump can try and shift blame all he wants, but the fact is his actions left us unprepared. https://t.co/NdsINZ307m  Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 2, 2020

Q. Food stamps are another partisan flashpoint, with Democrats urging a major expansion, and Republicans pushing work requirements and efforts to reduce a caseload that has grown to 38 million people. How serious is the threat of hunger in America over the next year, and how will that play politically?

Mike: The threat of hunger is real, especially with a staggering 33 million people filing for unemployment in the last 7 weeks. I hope people who can be are generous to local food banks here in New Jersey, as more than 1 million have filed for unemployment here at home. Any expansion should be supported without strings, but also temporarily, as this is an emergency. Work requirements for taxpayer-funded financial assistance have been proven to work through the years, so I generally support it under typical circumstances. The problem now is, theres nowhere to work.

Julie: I live a few doors down from a church that has always served as a food pantry and I can tell you that the lines have gotten longer as the crisis has deepened. Work requirement for food assistance is an absurd notion when there are no jobs. In 2017, when times were much better, 40 million Americans were food insecure  or more than 10% of our population. Unless the federal government steps in, this crisis might begin to mirror the breadlines of the Great Depression. A part of me wants to send a copy of the Grapes of Wrath to every member of the Republican conference in Washington and mandate that they read that instead of Breitbart.

Mike: Grapes of Wrath is a powerful book about poverty and the Depression. Worth reading.

New Jerseys food banks need our help, now more than ever | Editorial https://t.co/VJbb1JPdTU pic.twitter.com/6MqtHK9iKX  njdotcom (@njdotcom) March 30, 2020

Q. Nursing homes account for more than 4,000 deaths from COVID-19 in New Jersey, about half the total. The governor is promising regulatory reform, and Attorney General Gurbir Grewal is investigating potential crimes. Will the crisis lead to better funding and regulation? (Yes, Im looking hard for a silver lining.)

Mike: Most of the nurses and staff are doing heroic work under very difficult circumstances. They work with the most vulnerable population in a relatively closed environment, and many of the caregivers got sick and risked their lives to stay and work. The Attorney General even said this situation was the equivalent of a 500-year flood for nursing homes. It is tragic and goes well beyond the borders of New Jersey. The first serious cases in the country in March were at a nursing home in Seattle. We have seen stories in Virginia, Massachusetts, New York and many others, whether the homes are private or government-run facilities. As a state, we should learn what can be done to better prepare for such a situation in the future and never forget or demonize the frontline workers who put themselves in harms way to help the most vulnerable.

Julie: The people who work in nursing homes are heroes who deal with the most vulnerable members of our community every day. But this doesnt excuse the egregious behavior some nursing homes have displayed during this crisis. Im sure that the attorney general will take a hard look at what has happened and pursue justice for the victims and their families where its merited.

Nursing homes are failing their workers and theyre getting sick or dying https://t.co/CmpaM278ym  The Star-Ledger (@starledger) May 7, 2020

A note to readers: DuHaime and Roginsky are both deeply engaged in politics and commercial advocacy in New Jersey, so both have connections to many players we discuss in this column. Given that, we will not normally disclose each specific connection, trusting that readers understand they are not impartial observers. DuHaime, a principal at Mercury Public Affairs, was chief political advisor to former Gov. Chris Christie, and has worked for Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, and President George W. Bush. Roginsky, a principal of Optimus Communications, has served as senior advisor to campaigns of Cory Booker, Frank Lautenberg and Phil Murphy. Henceforth, we will disclose specific connections in the text only when readers might otherwise be misled, at the discretion of the editors.
New Delhi, May 9 : As many as six more Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel have tested coronavirus positive and 204 have been quarantined.

To date 557 Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) troops have tested positive for novel coronavirus across the country.

According to officials, of the latest cases, the six personnel belong to a company deputed for internal security and law and order.

An official said so far, 100 ITBP personnel have tested positive for Covid-19. On Friday, 12 personnel of the force tested positive while on Thursday 37 tested positive.

The official said out of the 100 Covid-19 positive cases, 94 have been admitted to the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) Referral Hospital in Greater Noida while four at AIIMS in Jhajjar and two at Safdarjung hospital in Delhi.

At Greater Noida CAPF Hospital, besides ITBP personnel, 27 BSF troopers, two CRPF and one CISF personnel and two family members of the ITBP personnel are being treated.

The Border Security Force is on top with a total of 229 COVID-19 cases followed by 163 in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), 100 in the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) , 48 in the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and 17 in the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Inflated logistics costs were hampering the competitiveness of Vietnamese goods, according to Chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) Vu Duc Giang.

Vietnam's logistics costs were 6 percent higher than Thailand, 7 percent higher than China, and 12 percent more than o Malaysia, Giang said.

This had reduced the competitiveness of domestic textile products compared to other countries in the region, even though Vietnam was considered a low labour cost country, he told the Kinh Te and Do Thi (Economy and Urban Affairs) newspaper.

"High logistics costs not only affect the competitiveness of goods, but also pose an obstacle for businesses when entering new markets, Giang noted.

A report by the World Bank (WB) showed that logistics costs in Vietnam made up for 20 percent of the countrys GDP, while other countries ranged from 9 to 14 percent.

Economists said that if the Government wanted to improve the quality of logistics services it needed to have a clear roadmap.

Deputy Director of Hateco Logistics JSC Nguyen Van Duc recommended the Ministry of Industry and Trade, provinces and cities should pay attention to human resource, infrastructure and policy institutions.

They also need to promote links with foreign investors in logistics to provide businesses with management software and processes, Duc added.

Deputy General Secretary of the Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLA) Nguyen Tuong said the State should prioritise developing infrastructure and logistics service centres, while offering preferential income and equipment tax rates.

Policies were needed to cut business conditions, simplify inspection procedures and mobilise social resources to invest in logistics, especially regional and international logistics centres, Tuong said.

In addition, to reduce unnecessary costs for export firms, management agencies needed to complete a logistics development mechanism. Enterprises must cut costs and improve competitiveness, he said.

Localities and authorities must focus on transport infrastructure to connect logistics centres in the process of implementing the Law on Planning, Tuong added./.VNA

Young woman finds success in logistics sector Pham Khanh Linh, 27, the founder of Logivan, has been named on Forbes Vietnam's list of 30 Under 30.
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Punjab ministers walk out of pre-cabinet meeting after tiff with senior officials over excise policy

India

pti-PTI

Chandigarh, May 09: Punjab ministers on Saturday walked out of a pre-cabinet meeting on the excise policy with senior state officials over an 'unacceptable behaviour of the chief secretary with one of their colleagues.

The development led to the deferment of the cabinet meeting which was scheduled for Saturday.

Now, it will be held on Monday. Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh had allegedly misbehaved with Technical Education Minister Charanjit Singh Channi. Several ministers objected to the 'unacceptable behaviour', a minister said.

Upset over it, Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal and Channi walked out of the meeting. Later, all ministers left, claimed the minister.

The Punjab cabinet was to discuss a revision in the excise policy after poor response from contractors on the opening of liquor vends in the state.

Later, a government release said the cabinet meeting will take place on Monday.

The statement said the ministers of the state government met officials of the Department of Excise and Taxation to deliberate upon suggested changes in the excise policy for 2020-21.

The discussions were inconclusive. Accordingly, the chief minister asked them to complete their deliberations over the weekend and convey their views in the meeting of the Council of Ministers to be held now on Monday, said the statement.

Meanwhile, Congress' Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu said the ministers' reaction was similar to a judge walking out of a court after an argument with an advocate. He attacked the ministers, saying they should also resign for their incompetent behavior.

During the coronavirus pandemic, the coordination between the ministers and bureaucrats should be strong.

The ministers walking out of the pre-cabinet meeting should resign for their incompetent behavior as many others capable of handling work pressure are ready to replace them, the Ludhiana MP tweeted.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 01:57:22|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on May 4, 2020 shows the Victoria Harbor in south China's Hong Kong. (Lo Ping Fai/Xinhua)

Some foreign forces defied international laws and the basic norms of international relations, ignored the fact that Hong Kong has returned to China, and attempted to regard Hong Kong as an independent and semi-independent political entity, a spokesperson of the Office of the Commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in HKSAR said.

HONG KONG, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The Office of the Commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Friday condemned the collusion between local and foreign forces to destabilize Hong Kong.

According to media reports, an official of the European Parliament made unwarranted remarks on Hong Kong affairs and threatened to push for a European Union version of the Magnitsky Act to impose sanctions on Hong Kong in a video call with Hong Kong opposition figures.

This is another evidence of the collusion between foreign and local forces to mess up Hong Kong, a spokesperson of the commissioner's office said when commenting on the matter.

It has been 23 years since Hong Kong's return to the motherland, but some local lackeys of foreign forces, who have no national dignity and disregard Hong Kong's future and the interests of their compatriots, conspired with foreign forces to meddle in Hong Kong affairs and begged their "foreign masters" to sanction Hong Kong and oppose their own nation, the spokesperson said, calling such acts legally unacceptable and contemptible.

Some foreign forces defied international laws and the basic norms of international relations, ignored the fact that Hong Kong has returned to China, and attempted to regard Hong Kong as an independent and semi-independent political entity, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson condemned those foreign forces for interfering in Hong Kong affairs, undermining the rule of law and judicial independence in Hong Kong, and jeopardizing China's sovereign security, stressing that they should be blamed for the prolonged violence, the damaged rule of law and the social unrest in Hong Kong.

Those who betrayed their own nation and messed up Hong Kong will be remembered as shameful figures in history forever and anyone who plotted to damage China's sovereign security is doomed to fail, the spokesperson said. 
Tamil Nadu announced on Saturday the easing of a host of restrictions beginning May 11, allowing 33% workforce to return to offices in Chennai, 24x7 petrol pumps on state and central highways and opening of tea-shops (except those in containment zones) across the state, even as the government moved the Supreme Court against the Madras high courts Friday order to close all state-run liquor outlets.

The state, which recorded 600 new cases on Friday, taking the total number of Covid-19 cases to 6009, has been hit by yet another spike in cases after a vegetable and fruit wholesale market in Chennai was declared as a hotspot. At least 1589 positive cases are now linked to the Koyembedu market cluster.

However the cabinet met on May 2 and discussed ways in which activities can resume in the state under the guildelines offered by the union ministry of home affairs.

Coronavirus outbreak: Full coverage

Starting Monday, shops selling essentials goods like vegetables and groceries will open from 6 am to 7 pm within Chennai corporation limits, while they will be permitted to stay open from 10 am to 7pm in the rest of the state. Similarly, standalone and neighbourhood shops will remain open from 10.30am to 6pm in Chennai, and 10 am to 7pm in the rest of the state. Tea shops can operate in all parts of the state, except within containment zones, however, customers would not be allowed to remain within the shops. Petrol pumps in Chennai region will be open from 6 am to 6 pm; but they will operate 24X7 on central and state highways. Private offices in Chennai region can operate with 33% workforce from 10.30 am to 6 pm. The government order did not specify if public transportation would be allowed in the state, but added that all restrictions and exemptions specified earlier would continue.

The state has categorized 12 districts, including Chennai, as red zones while the remaining 26 are orange zones.

The state had announced the opening of liquor shops run by Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC), a government firm which sells alcohol in the state, in all districts except Chennai on Thursday. Heavy rush was witnessed at most places with people standing in serpentine queues even as the move to allow sale of liquor came in for flak from opposition parties and others, who raised apprehensions that it would lead to further spread of the novel coronavirus.

However, a division bench of the high court took note of long queues and assembly of large crowds outside liquor shops, and ordered the closure of alcohol vending outlets in Tamil Nadu till the lifting of lockdown. The court observed that about 3,850 shops across the state were opened, and a record sale of 175 crore was made.

It is also reported that the number of police personnel being infected with Covid-19 disease is also on the rise and deploying them for controlling the crowded tipplers before the TASMAC shops would also put their life at risk, besides preventing them from discharging their duties in places, where their services are really required, the High Court had observed.

TASMAC on Saturday moved the Supreme Court challenging the order for closure of state-run liquor outlets on the ground that there was total violation of guidelines meant to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.

witnessed at most places with people standing in serpentine queues even as the move to allow sale of liquor came in for flak from opposition parties and others, who raised apprehensions that it would lead to further spread of the novel coronavirus.

However, a division bench of the high court took note of long queues and assembly of large crowds outside liquor shops, and ordered the closure of alcohol vending outlets in Tamil Nadu till the lifting of lockdown. The court observed that about 3,850 shops across the state were opened, and a record sale of 175 crore was made.

It is also reported that the number of police personnel being infected with Covid-19 disease is also on the rise and deploying them for controlling the crowded tipplers before the TASMAC shops would also put their life at risk, besides preventing them from discharging their duties in places, where their services are really required, the High Court had observed.

TASMAC on Saturday moved the Supreme Court challenging the order for closure of state-run liquor outlets on the ground that there was total violation of guidelines meant to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.

(With inputs from Agencies)
A woman was dragged underwater and drowned by an alligator after she waded into a pond to touch it. Cynthia Covert was said to be calm as the animal gripped on to her body.

According to The Mirror, She told those trying to pull her out I guess I wont be doing this again, seconds before the alligator started to begin a death roll.

The animal pulled her under the waist-deep water on Kiawah Island, South Carolina, US.

About 10 to 15 minutes later her dead body floated to the surface, but as emergency crews who had since arrived went to her aid, they realised the alligator still had hold of her leg.



A few moments later the animal resurfaced again and was shot in the head, killing it and releasing Coverts body, which was later recovered.

Charleston County Coroner Rae Wooten said the 57-year-old died on Friday and listed her cause of death as drowning,

Kiawah Island Mayor Craig Weaver called the incident a horrible tragedy which was entirely preventable.

This was not a random act by an alligator to aggressively attack a person in an unprovoked situation.

A police report said Covert had arrived at her friends home near the pond to have her nails done. The friend said Covert had become fascinated by the alligator after spotting it from her porch and began to take photos of it.

A few moments later, as the friend was tidying up, she noticed the woman had gone down to the water and started to wade out. The friend screamed out, telling Covert that she had seen the alligator eat a deer in recent days.

But Covert seemed unconcerned adding: I dont look like a deer. It was then she was grabbed by the animal.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 9

Trend:

The issue related to the construction of the Khudaferin and Giz Galasi hydro-junctions and hydroelectric power plants on the Araz River is regulated on highest level, Head of the Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, MP Tural Ganjaliyev told Trend.

According to him, in this regard the Azerbaijani and Iranian governments signed an international agreement.

He noted that the agreement reaffirms territorial integrity of Azerbaijan in accordance with the requirements of the 822, 853, 874 and 884 UN Security Council resolutions.

"This agreement has reaffirmed Azerbaijans territorial integrity in accordance with the requirements of the UN resolutions, Ganjaliyev stressed. The agreement also prohibits delegating the protection and operation of these hydropower facilities on a temporary or permanent basis to individuals or legal entities of a third country.

This means that only Azerbaijan and Iran can use these two hydro-junctions and hydropower plants. Moreover, after filling the hydropower facilities with water, the current border line between the states will be determined and fixed on the water surface. That is, using the hydropower plant by a third state is impossible," Ganjaliyev said.
Toronto Western Hospital reported another outbreak of COVID-19, which comes after it began mass testing all patients and staff last week in response to a separate series of outbreaks.

The hospital, at Bathurst and Dundas Streets, did not disclose the number of cases in the latest outbreak or whether it was a staff member or patient who tested positive.

An outbreak can be declared following the discovery of a single hospital-acquired case, and is definitely declared when there are two within 14 days of each other.

Toronto Western previously declared outbreaks on four separate units, where a total of 19 patients and 46 staff had tested positive for the coronavirus, triggering an urgent directive from hospital administrators. Those affected two COVID units and two internal medicine units, which were subsequently closed to new admissions to undergo deep cleaning.

The outbreak declared Saturday is on unit 9A, which had been COVID negative.

An outbreak management team has immediately come together to work with staff on the unit and implement control measures to prevent further transmission among patients and staff, reads a note sent to hospital staff by vice-president Janet Newton on Saturday.

Newton said the hospital, which provided a copy of the note to the Star, is closing the unit to admissions and increasing capacity on another one. She said all staff are encouraged to be tested at the hospitals rapid swabbing clinic. Staff who previously tested negative but have worked on unit 9A since April 28 should be retested, the note reads.

All staff, even those not working in a clinical area, were also instructed to wear a mask at all times except when eating and drinking.

A hospital spokesperson said in an email that they had anticipated the increase in testing would lead to the discovery of more positive cases.

As far as we are aware, we are doing the most testing of any hospital in the country at present, said Gillian Howard, a spokesperson for the University Health Network, which includes Toronto Western.

The rate of positive cases among staff at the hospital is below three per cent, Howard said.

The University Health Network says 83 staff members, across all of its hospitals, have tested positive for COVID-19 since January. As of Monday, 63 of those people had fully recovered.

The hospital is currently caring for 72 patients with COVID-19, including 28 in the intensive-care unit.
TAIPEI, Taiwan  The calls come at night, when Taiwans vice president, Chen Chien-jen, is usually at home in his pajamas. Scientists seek his advice on the development of antiviral medications. Health officials ask for guidance as they investigate an outbreak of the coronavirus on a navy ship.

Like many world leaders, Mr. Chen is fighting to keep the coronavirus at bay and to predict the course of the pandemic. He is tracking infections, pushing for vaccines and testing kits, and reminding the public to wash their hands.

But unlike most officials, Mr. Chen has spent his career preparing for this moment: He is a Johns Hopkins-trained epidemiologist and an expert in viruses.

That experience has thrust Mr. Chen from behind the scenes to the forefront of Taiwans response to the crisis. He has embraced his rare dual role, using his political authority to criticize China for initially trying to conceal the virus even as the scientist in him hunkers down to analyze trends in transmission.
Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Saturday lashed out at the Rajasthan government, saying it gave precedence over people's health and failed to contain the coronavirus spread.

The Jodhpur MP said asked the state Congress government to introspect over deficiencies in dealing with the situation in his constituency, which is also the hometown of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

"Had there been no deficiencies, the government would not have failed in tackling coronavirus in Jaipur and Jodhpur, said Shekhawat.

He alleged that the state government gave priority to over people's health' due to which the condition worsened' in the state, especially Jodhpur.

In a statement, Shekhawat also accused Gehlot of not taking serious steps to contain coronavirus cases, saying the chief minister was indulging in of appeasement.

Referring to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's claim that the Centre did not release funds for the state, Shekhawat said adequate budget has been released but the Rajasthan government has not utilised it properly.

The minister said it was unfortunate the district administration and police were not responding to his calls.

Responding to the allegations, state Congress spokesperson Ajay Trivedi said the minister was trying to divert people's attention and questioned the BJP leader's absence' from his constituency.

Not just as an MP, but also as a cabinet minister of the Union government, he has a bigger responsibility. But instead of doing something constructive in such difficult times, he engaging in petty politics, said Trevedi.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hundreds Protest in Belgrade Against President's Grip on Power

By VOA News May 08, 2020

In Serbia, hundreds of people took to the streets of the capital, Belgrade, late Thursday to demonstrate against the country's president, Aleksandar Vucic.

Protesters from the "Citizens' Resistance" movement accuse Vucic of curbing democratic freedoms.

"We are here because we are angry at our government, because of everything they did to us during the past two months, and even more time," said protester Biljana Stojkovic. "This is the clear repression, and we think that this is a dictatorship we are living in nowadays. So, this is not just because of COVID-19, this is because of everything else that is going on in this country."

The protest in front of the presidency building was organized just one day after the authorities lifted restrictions imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Once during the protest, participants led by some opposition leaders attempted to storm the building's entrance. Security guards did not intervene.

Critics have accused Vucic of using the state of emergency imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic to tighten his grip on power ahead of the general elections, which are to be held next month. Vucic has denied the accusations.

Some opposition parties have announced a boycott of June's election, questioning its freedom and fairness.

The opposition also accuses Vucic of controlling the mainstream media, of not allowing it to give space to critical voices.

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At least 116 fresh coronavirus infections were reported in central paramilitary forces on Saturday, taking the total number of positive personnel in these uniformed organisations to over 650, officials said.

The five Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) issued directions for strict physical or social distancing measures, sanitisation and quarantine in their camps and offices after a concerned Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed these rising cases on Friday with the force chiefs.

The paramilitary forces or the CAPFs have over 650 COVID-19 troops now after 114 fresh cases were reported, a senior paramilitary officer said.

Five personnel of these forces have succumbed to the disease, a senior paramilitary officer said.

These forces, under the command of the Union home ministry, include the CRPF, BSF, ITBP, CISF and SSB.

The maximum cases of the disease over the last 24 hours were reported from the country's largest paramilitary force Central Reserve Police Force, at 62. These troopers belong to the 194th Rapid Action Force (RAF) based in Delhi. All the infected personnel have been put in quarantine at a school in Bawana area, officials said.

The total active cases in the 3.25-lakh-personnel lead internal security force stand at 231 now. Two personnel have recovered while a 55-year-old Sub-Inspector has succumbed to the disease.

The 31st battalion of the CRPF in Delhi has about 137 positive cases and the troops are being treated at a Delhi government facility in Mandoli.

The Border Security Force, the second-largest CAPF with about 2.5 lakh personnel, reported 35 cases over the past 24 hours, pushing the total active cases in the force to 256; the maximum being from a unit that was deployed in Delhi and from the border state of Tripura.

The BSF guards Indian borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The Central Industrial Security Force, the national civil aviation protection force, saw 13 fresh cases during the same period, taking its total active cases to 48.

The maximum 31 cases in the 1.62-lakh-personnel CISF are from the unit that guards the Delhi Metro followed by 13 in the Mumbai international airport guarding unit.

The Indo-Tibetan Border Police, that guards the 3,488 km long Line of Actual Control with China, saw 6 fresh cases. It has 100 active COVID-19 positive troops now, the maximum being from its camp in south Delhi's Tigri area and a company that was deployed for law and order duties in the national capital.

The Nepal and Bhutan-guarding force, the Sashastra Seema Bal, has at least 18 active cases as of now.

After home minister Shah's review, the AIIMS in Jhajjar has been designated as a special coronavirus facility for the CAPF personnel apart from their 200-bedded referral hospital in Greater Noida.

"A total of 126 troops from various CAPFs and their family members are admitted at the referral hospital at present. They are stable," ITBP spokesperson Vivek Kumar Pandey said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Some hospitals are already reaching out to patients. Now were on the other side of this and we have begun to re-engage people, said Dr. Donald Yealy, the chair of emergency medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, whose surgeries dropped as much as 70 percent because of the pandemic. Since restarting, the center says the number of surgeries they are doing for procedures like removing a tumor has already started to rebound.

But the specter of second waves of the virus and a fear of contagion may deter patients from returning, especially to those hospitals that have treated large numbers of coronavirus patients. Even if we reopen, will they come? said Matthew Murer, the chair of the health care practice of Polsinelli, a law firm.

That question is hardly rhetorical for small and large medical centers, which have reported staggering declines in revenue. Hospitals say they are losing an estimated $50 billion a month, according to a recent analysis by the American Hospital Association, which predicts a four-month loss of $200 billion by the end of June.

Canceled surgeries, decreases in doctors visits and a decline in emergency room care account for the bulk of the losses, some $160 billion.

Hospitals could find themselves in a Catch-22, where they do not have enough money for the supplies and staff necessary to restart the elective procedures they need to generate cash, said Christopher Kerns, an executive with Advisory Board, a consulting unit owned UnitedHealth Group, the giant insurer. If hospitals cant start earning revenue, they will close, he said.

At Stamford Health, a 305-bed hospital in Connecticut that is not part of a larger system, much of the focus over the last few weeks has been on caring for more than 500 Covid-19 patients as the hospital more than tripled the number of intensive care beds it was operating. About 350 of the Covid-19 patients have since been discharged.

With cases stabilizing, and the hospital losing roughly $25 million a month, Kathleen Silard, the chief executive of Stamford Health, is eager to resume offering the procedures she describes as our lifeblood. Stamford has so far received $40 million in federal funds, including money aimed at hospitals in coronavirus hot spots, and has furloughed 375 of its workers.
The Member of Parliament for Zebilla Constituency and Deputy Regional Minister of the Upper East Region, Hon. Frank Fuseini Adongo has handed over two renovated projects.

This includes Ghana Education Service Director's bungalow and a library in the District Assembly in Zebilla in the Bawku West District.

Hon. Frank Fuseini Adongo in a short speech after ceremony noted that education is the bedrock of development and it was very important that as people of the land they make the right investment for their children.

Handing over the renovated facility, he said it was a step in the right direction counting on the support of the constituency to help promote literacy in the area.

The MP promised to provide the library with computers and other related equipment to make it functional.

A cheque of GHc30,000 was delivered to the Bawku West District Coordinating Director as seed money for the development of the district library.

The lawmaker used the occasion to call on charitable organisations, NGOs, and public-spirited individuals to help improve the quality of education in the area.

The MP, who has been in Parliament since 2016, said the project, which started in his first year in Parliament, was funded from his accumulated share of the MPs Common Fund.

Hon. Frank Fuseini Adongo promised to support the various schools in the area with other learning and teaching materials.

The Ghana Education Service Director, Razak Z. Abdul-Korah said Zebilla district deserved the facility, giving the recent high performance by students in the BECE and the springing up of more schools in the area.

Mr. Razak thanked the MP for his gesture.

The Bawku West District Coordinating Director, Alhassan Ahmed, expressed gratitude to the MP for his good works and promised to make sure the library serves its intended purpose.

He added that maintenance plans will quickly be put in place to make sure there is frequent care.
Varun Dhawan pens emotional note after sudden demise of his driver of 26 years: "He was my everything"
Anna and Sigmund Freud in The Hague, 1920. (Sigmund Freud Copyrights).

Loneliness and darkness have just robbed me of my valuables. No one knows the date Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), the famed archaeologist of the psyche, scribbled this line in his notebook. It was in his elegant home (19 Berggasse, 9th District, Vienna), that Freud formulated his most important psychoanalysis theories and invited Viennese high society to recline on his famous couch. It was in these rooms that he wrote the majority of his papers, held his Wednesday meetings and smoked his famously infamous cigars. 19 Berggasse was Freud's place of work for 47 years. When the workaholic Freud did take a break now and then, he liked to go for a walk in today's Sigmund Freud Park in front of the Votive Church, or on summer's evenings visited the nearby Cafe Landtmann, and in winter Cafe Central on Herrengasse.

Sigmund Freud, 1906. Photo Max Halberstadt. (Sigmund Freud Copyrights).

It was in Vienna that Freud saw the famous dream that prompted his seminal work Interpretation of Dreams and altered the understanding of the human mind, its unconscious abyss and its sexual proclivities. That famous dream on the night of July 23/24, 1895, in Hotel Schloss Bellevue led him to the interpretation of dreams  it was the birth of psychoanalysis. Published in 1899, Interpretation of Dreams did not find too many takers - it sold only 351 copies in 6 years and the second edition was published only 10 years later. The year 2020 marks the 120th anniversary of the publication of Freuds famous basic work.

Freud characterised a new, revolutionary image of the human being and the success of his treatments and scientific papers spread his reputation far beyond the borders of Austria. Freud mania took hold while he was still alive  and continued. While Freud's international reputation kept on growing, the Nazis burned his books. At 82, he was forced to leave Vienna in 1938 and fled into exile in London. Suffering from terminal cancer, Freud ended his own life barely one year later with an overdose of morphine administered with the assistance of his family physician.

Sigmund Freud with family and aunt Minna, around 1898 (Sigmund Freud Copyrights).

Freuds memory is preserved to this day at Berggasse 19, the most important Freud location in the city. The Sigmund Freud Museum has been housed in his former practice since 1971. Thanks to Princess Marie Bonaparte, a French author/psychoanalyst and Freuds confidante of many years, he was able to take all the furnishings with him on his escape to London. It is no longer possible to marvel at Freud's couch in Vienna, but now one can walk in his footsteps in the newly renovated private rooms of Sigmund Freud which is being opened to the public for the first time.

Berggasse 19. (Copyright: Alexander Wulz, Sigmund Freud Foundation).

More of Freud in Vienna: From October 2020, the Orangery at the Lower Belvedere will present 150 works by Surrealist Salvador Dali in the exhibition Dali  Freud that will include sculptures, photographs, films, books, periodicals, letters and other documents.

In 2021, Vienna will host the Neurology Congress at the Austria Center; in 2023, the Psychotherapy Congress will be held at the Sigmund Freud Private University.

Freud on Netflix: Freud, an eight-episode drama produced by the Viennese production company SATEL and Bavaria Fiction for ORF and Netflix portray the early years of Sigmund Freud, who becomes entangled in a murderous conspiracy. Each episode will last for 45 minutes. The Austrian director and screenplay writer Marvin Kren says, I'd like to show a Freud we don't know and have never seen in this way  a man on the search for recognition, between two women, between reason and drifting. The crime thriller takes one on an exciting journey through Vienna at the end of the 19th century.

Sigmund Freud and Martha Bernays at their engagement, 1882. (Sigmund Freud Copyrights).

Freud would have turned 164 on May 6, 2020. He has been dead for 81 years but his ideas about sexual behaviour, ego, id, unconscious, fixations, defence mechanisms, and dream symbolism, will never die.



Freuds birth name was Sigismund Schlomo Freud.



Freud was nominated for the Nobel Prize 13 times but never won any.



He wrote 900 letters to Martha Bernays during their 4-year engagement.



He owned a Chow Chow dog named Jofi.



Freuds ashes were placed in an ancient urn gifted to him by Napoleon Bonaparte. In January 2014, thieves tried to steal his ashes from Londons Golders Green Crematorium. The bid was foiled but the thieves severely damaged the 2,300-year-old urn.



While studying zoology at the University of Vienna, Freud dissected several eels to find gonads of the male eel, a discovery that had eluded scientists for centuries. Freud never found the gonad.



In 1925, Hollywood movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn offered $100,000 to Freud to write or consult on a film script about the great love stories of history. Freud declined the offer.



In 1924, Freud turned down a $25,000 offer from the publisher of the Chicago Tribune to psychoanalyse notorious criminals Leopold and Loeb as they awaited their sensational murder trial.



When Freud first met Carl Jung, they reportedly talked for 13 hours without stopping.



Over 16 years, Freud underwent more than 30 surgeries for the cancerous tumour in his mouth. He never quit smoking.



Preeti Verma Lal is a Goa-based freelance writer/photographer.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

Nineteen detainees at the Otero County Processing Center run by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have tested positive for COVID-19, according to New Mexico health officials.

Due to a reporting error, these cases were previously accounted for within the total case counts for Otero and Dona Ana counties, the Governors Office said in a news release. Moving forward they will be reported separately for clarity.

The cases at the federal facility were included in a Saturday update provided by the Governors Office, which announced 105 new cases of COVID-19 and 10 additional deaths, bringing the statewide total to 4,778 cases and 191 deaths.

The deaths were:

 A man in his 40s in Bernalillo County.

 Four deaths in McKinley County: a man in his 70s, a woman in her 80s, and two men, in their 80s and 90s, who were residents of Little Sisters of the Poor facility in Gallup.

 Five deaths in San Juan County: a woman in her 70s who was a patient at Wellbrook Transitional Rehabilitation Center in Farmington; two men and a woman, all of them residents of the Cedar Ridge Inn in Farmington who were in their 70s and 80s; and a woman in her 80s who was a resident of the Life Care Center of Farmington.

Of the new cases, 48 were in McKinley County, 26 in San Juan County, 20 in Bernalillo County, six in Dona Ana County and one each in Cibola, Curry, Sandoval, San Miguel and Torrance counties.

The state said there are now 198 people hospitalized with COVID-19 and 1,268 designated as having recovered by the New Mexico Department of Health.

The Governors Office did not give the condition or any other details about the affected detainees at the Otero County Processing Center.

A spokeswoman for ICE on Saturday directed the Journal to a federal website that showed 12 detainees contracted the virus at the Otero County facility. She did not respond when asked to clarify the discrepancy in the number of cases.

According to the website, ICE has tested 1,593 detainees and confirmed 788 cases of COVID-19 at more than 40 facilities nationwide.

ICE is committed to ensure that detainees in ICE custody reside in a safe, secure and humane environment and under appropriate conditions of confinement, the spokeswoman said in an emailed statement.

Detainees with heightened risk of COVID-19 exposure are housed separately, and any detainees showing symptoms of the virus are isolated, according to the statement. Detainees with moderate to severe symptoms or who require higher levels of care are transported to appropriate hospitals.

The announcement comes a month after all five members of New Mexicos congressional delegation sent a letter demanding a thorough review to the acting director of ICE after it was reported an employee and detainee had tested positive at the Otero County facility.

In the April 10 letter, the delegation asked for transparency and said the cases at the facility raise significant questions about ICEs preparation and ability to contain the virus.

This matter is not just about the humane treatment of detainees and the health and safety of individuals who work at these facilities every day, the letter said, it is about protecting the larger public from rapid spread of this deadly disease.

Online

Coronavirus Hotline 1-855-600-3453 Non-health-related COVID-19 questions 1-833-551-0518
The US is working to temporarily ban the issuance of some work-based visas like H-1B, popular among highly-skilled Indian IT professionals, as well as students visas and work authorisation that accompanies them, amidst the high level of unemployment due to the coronavirus, according to a media report on Friday. The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers from countries like India and China in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.

Nearly 500,000 migrant workers are employed in the US in the H-1B status. "The president's immigration advisers are drawing up plans for a coming executive order, expected this month, that would ban the issuance of some new temporary, work-based visas," The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

"The order is expected to focus on visa categories including H-1B, designed for highly skilled workers, and H-2B, for seasonal migrant workers, as well as student visas and the work authorization that accompanies them, it said. More than 33 million Americans have lost their jobs in the last two months due to the coronavirus pandemic that has brought the US economy to a standstill.

The IMF and the World Bank have projected a negative growth rate for the country. White House officials say that the US economy is likely to grow at negative 15 to 20 per cent in the second quarter. The monthly jobs report on Friday said that the unemployment rate in the US for the month of April rose to 14.7 per cent. This is the highest rate and the largest over-the-month increase in the history of the series, seasonally adjusted data are available back to January 1948, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics said.

As such, the Trump administration, having temporarily closed borders and curtailed immigration in response to the coronavirus pandemic, is moving to expand those restrictions while the president's advisers push to leave them in place for months or even years to come, according to several people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Last month, President Donald Trump had signed an executive order temporarily barring new immigrants for 60 days, including family members of US citizens. The coming changes, the administration has suggested, will build on this April action, the journal said. Given the high level of unemployment and joblessness, according to the daily, senior administration officials are operating on the assumption that the public, during the pandemic, will be willing to accept new limits on immigration.

Though the scope of the order hasn't yet been decided, administration officials said it could range from suspensions of entire visa categories to the creation of incentives to hire Americans in industries hardest-hit by layoffs, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Wall Street Journal report came a day after a group of four Republican Senators in a letter urged Trump to suspend all new guest worker visas for 60 days and some of its categories, including the H-1B visa, for at least the next year or until unemployment figures return to normal levels in the country.

Also read: Coronavirus India Live Updates: Total cases near 60,000; Maharashtra CM refutes rumours of army taking over

Also read: India asks US to extend Indians H-1B visa amid coronavirus pandemic
She has spoken about how her modelling career began while she was still in school.

And Karlie Kloss has now credited her teachers for helping her juggle her education and the beginning of her life as one of the world's most renowned models.

The model, 27, shared a throwback snap of herself as a child alongside two of her teachers, Mrs Burchett and Dr Clarke, alongside an updated version of the image.

Thank you! Karlie Kloss has now credited her teachers for helping her juggle her education and the beginning of her life as one of the world's most renowned models

Karlie, who was dressed in a black mac belted around her waist, posed with her arms around the two teachers, who she credited for her educational success.

The Victoria's Secret Angel teamed her ensemble with a pair of skinny jeans and boots, while wearing her blonde locks swept back into a chic updo.

She captioned the sweet images: 'This is me and my 5th grade social studies teacher, Mrs. Burchett. I often talk about how I started my career in high school, but what I dont often mention is that skipping chemistry because I was working in Paris really complicates graduating on time.

'Enter Mrs. Burchett, the type of teacher who poured her heart and soul  and pennies  into creating experiential learning opportunities for her students.

Cute: The model, 27, shared a throwback snap of herself as a child alongside two of her teachers, Mrs Burchett and Dr Clarke, alongside an updated version of the image

'Its because of her passion and commitment to making sure no student got left behind, that I was able to graduate with my peers AND pursue my career.

'On #teacherappreciationweek, I celebrate and applaud Mrs. Burchett, Dr. Clarke, our Kode With Klossy instructors and the thousands of teachers our heroes each and every day.'

The post comes after she announced on Instagram that 'for the first time EVER Kode With Klossy is launching a free two week virtual coding camp.'

Karlie founded Kode With Klossy in 2015 with the intention of 'empowering girls to learn to code one scholarship at a time' in the United States.

The two-week program - aimed at girls between the ages of 13 and 18 - will teach its participants how to 'build real-life apps' whether they are an expert or a novice on the subject.

First time ever: Karlie announced on Instagram that 'for the first time EVER Kode With Klossy is launching a free two week virtual coding camp'

In conjunction with her post's caption, Karlie also shared a video where she personally addressed her target audience.

She appeared via webcam for the Kode With Klossy advertisement with her blonde hair neatly tied up into a bun.

Karlie kept makeup to a minimum and attached a pair of glistening golden hoops to her ears.

She suited up for the announcement video in a grey blazer layered over a slightly unbuttoned white blouse.

Kode With Klossy: Karlie founded Kode With Klossy in 2015 with the intention of 'empowering girls to learn to code one scholarship at a time' in the United States

Read all about it: The two-week program - aimed at girls between the ages of 13 and 18 - will teach its participants how to 'build real-life apps' whether they are an expert or a novice on the subject

Kloss made sure to remind her 8.7million followers that 'applications are only open for the next 10 days' before signing off.

According to Kode With Klossy's official website, 'the scholarship is for anyone who's passionate and interested in learning a new superpower.'

Earlier in the day, Karlie shared a photo of herself in a Zoom call with some of the program's top scholars.

Getting the word out: She appeared via webcam for the Kode With Klossy advertisement with her blonde hair neatly tied up into a bun

For anyone: According to Kode With Klossy's official website, 'the scholarship is for anyone who's passionate and interested in learning a new superpower'

'Postcards from Home for @voguemagazine (ft. some very special @kodewithklossy scholars on zoom,' wrote Kloss, who beamed in the screen grab.

In an interview with Vogue on Wednesday, Kloss spoke passionately about the Kode with Klossy scholars and the program's mission.

'These amazing young women are staying connected during this difficult time, and I think that kind of community is vital now,' she said.

Scholarly: In an interview with Vogue on Wednesday, Kloss spoke passionately about the Kode with Klossy scholars and the program's mission

Lockdown life: Along with the grab of her Zoom call, Karlie also posted a slew of pics taken in isolation with husband Joshua Kushner, 34, at their home in Westchester County, New York

She also mentioned that her and her team have been 'exploring ways that [they] can help support the fashion community, looking at efforts to help those who have lost their jobs and the designers who are making PPE' amid COVID-19.

Along with the grab of her Zoom call, Karlie also posted a slew of pics taken in isolation with husband Joshua Kushner, 34, at their home in Westchester County, New York.

She wed Kushner back in October of 2018 'despite complications' that the pair had endured.

Doing her part: She also mentioned that her and her team have been 'exploring ways that [they] can help support the fashion community, looking at efforts to help those who have lost their jobs and the designers who are making PPE' amid COVID-19
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

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TUNIS (Reuters) - Shells landed near the Turkish and Italian embassies in central Tripoli late on Thursday, they said, in an apparent expansion of bombardment by eastern-based forces to a central district of the Libyan capital.

The eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) of Khalifa Haftar has been bombarding Tripoli for months as part of a year-long war to capture the city, causing four fifths of civilian deaths in the conflict this year, according to the United Nations.

At least 131 civilians were killed or injured in the fighting in the first quarter of 2020, the U.N. has said.

However, Turkish military support for the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) has helped its forces push the LNA back from several areas in recent weeks, threatening to end Haftar's campaign in western Libya.

The Turkish ambassador told Reuters in a message that a Grad missile had struck the High Court building next to the embassy and another landed by the Foreign Ministry.

Italy's Foreign Ministry said on Twitter the area near around the Italian ambassador's residence was hit, causing at least two deaths. "Italy strongly condemns yet another attack by Haftar forces," it said.

Shells also landed around the city's port, where the United Nations migration agency had to abort an operation to disembark migrants who had been rescued at sea.

The LNA's military spokesman had this week announced the start of a new air campaign, and said strikes had targeted an airbase at Misrata.

Local authorities there said the loud blasts that occurred late on Wednesday were caused by a storage problem with old munitions.

Pro-GNA forces have been able to reverse some of the losses they suffered last year with the help of Turkish drones and air defence systems, which stopped most air strikes by the LNA and its allies. The LNA is supported by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia.

Wednesday's Misrata blasts came after an attack by the pro-GNA forces on al-Watiya airbase west of the capital, one of the LNA's most important strongholds in western Libya. The pro-GNA forces have also moved towards Tarhouna, another key LNA bastion.

Story continues

The U.N. Libya mission said last month that during the first quarter of 2020, at least 131 civilians were killed or injured, a rise of 45% over the last quarter of 2019 as the fighting escalated.

It said ground fighting was the main cause of the deaths and that four fifths of them were caused by forces affiliated to the LNA.

(Reporting By Angus McDowall, Aidan Lewis and Hani Amara; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 14:58:20|Editor: huaxia

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HARBIN, May 9 (Xinhua) -- No new confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on Friday, the provincial health commission said Saturday.

By Friday, the province had reported a total of 558 locally-transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases and 386 imported cases.

Also by Friday, 526 locally-transmitted COVID-19 patients and 309 imported cases had been discharged from hospitals after recovery.

The province still had 19 domestically-transmitted confirmed cases and another 12 asymptomatic cases. The number of imported confirmed cases was 77 by Friday, with another two imported asymptomatic cases, according to the commission. Enditem
In a recent unthinkable move, Trump Administration halted the funding to World Health Organization (WHO) while a review is being conducted to assess its role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of coronavirus and for failing to adequately obtain, vet, and share information in timely and transparent fashion.

At over $500 million, the United States of America is the biggest contributor to WHO.

In another incident that took place in December last year, World Trade Organization (WTO) Appellate body was rendered dysfunctional after United States vetoed fresh appointments of adjudicators as the remaining two of the three members retired.

Many experts while drawing up obituary of WTO, held the view that this not only struck a blow to rule of law but was an alarm bell for international institutions on the emerging existential crisis.

COVID-19, which has created worlds worst health crisis of the century and is pushing the global economy into the worst economic crisis it has ever seen, is proving to be a final nail on the death coffin of credibility of existing International Institutions.

International Institutions like United Nations, WHO and United Nation Security Council are under fire for having failed to measure up the grave challenge posed by the pandemic. UN Security Council is being criticized for being slow in taking up COVID-19 issue which is far graver than any military threat in recent decades.

On the other hand, WHO has been tarred with charge of bias and grossly underestimating the nature of the epidemic. WHO on January 14, 2020 tweeted that preliminary investigations conducted by China have found no evidence of human-to-human transmission of novel Coronavirus. Interestingly, earlier a similar tweet was put out by Wuhans Health Commission Public bulletin.

It must be known that first identified and detected COVID-19 victim in China was on December 1, 2019, but it was only in the second week of January 2020 that China sounded the alarm.

WHO is also being widely criticized for the delay in declaring the COVID outbreak as Public Health Emergency while it was in its early stage. This is being sighted by experts as one of the major reasons which caught most of the nations, including even USA, unprepared to deal with the virus. Moreover, Taiwan, which is amongst very few nations to have reacted in time and effectively contain the Viruss spread, has been barred by WHO from attending its meetings and briefings on the crisis.

All these factors combined are pointing towards the manifold growth of Chinas influence in international institutions and these concerns have led to questions about whether the WHO can truly serve as a neutral arbiter in times of crisis. WHO is facing the wrath of many nations across the globe mainly because of this reason apart from it failing drastically in its core function of cautioning the world of the deadly outbreak at the right time. The trust and the credibility which these institutions once enjoyed have suffered a major blow. This trust deficit is likely to impact human values and conduct across the globe with each nation tending to look more inwards and concentrating on narrowly defined National Interest. This poses a serious risk to the concept of international community which may well cease to exist.

The direct consequence of decline of international institutions and multilateralism would be drastic change in the existing World Order. This Pax-Americana World order came into existence after decline of Pax-Britannica. The post-World War II witnessed Pax-Americana rise along with gradual emergence of International Institutions over a period of time. From the ashes of League of Nations rose more stronger, effective, and globally acceptable United Nations. World Bank along with International Monetary Fund, was created at Bretton Woods Conference in 1944.

These agencies received maximum funds from United States and thus America became the unannounced leader. This defined the birth of New World Order. United States of Americas position got even more solidified with the fall of Berlin Wall and disintegration of the then USSR in 1991.

China, one of the most prominent nations of the world and an important player in international institutions, is emerging as a major challenger to the current world order. Weakened economically and politically after COVID-19 has ravaged the nation, United States capacity to play a critical role in world affairs is certain to diminish and China will certainly try to take advantage of this geo-political turn around. Taking advantage of its early recovery from the COVID-19 outbreak and being indispensable as worlds supplier of manufactured goods, China is creating a geo-economic and geo-political advantage for itself out of the misery of the world.

The worst part is that most of these medical aid and other palliatives are found to be sub-standard. Coronavirus test kits were withdrawn in Spain over poor accuracy rate. Similarly, India too had to suspend the use of faulty COVID-19 test kits from China.

There are also enough reports highlighting the ulterior motive behind hostile acquisition of financial assets in banks and companies by China across the world. Taking advantage of the scaled down value of these assets, China seems to be preparing for situation where this current pandemic would hollow out the financial viability of many companies, institutions and banks. Even in India, Peoples Bank of China acquired 1% stake in HDFC bank after sharp decline in the stock value.

To counter this, several countries like Germany and Australia have begun to restrict Chinas Foreign Direct Investment. However, this may not be enough to checkmate China which already enjoys massive advantage with its extensive supply chain of manufactured goods that penetrates deep and reaches to lower middle class across the world. China also stands tall with its ambitious and visionary projects like Belt Road Initiative which symbolizes Chinas power and seeks to combine regional connectivity alongside gaining a virtual economic and substantial stranglehold across Asia. China is preparing for Sino-centric multilateral globalization framework.

In the new world order the biggest casualty would be personal liberties which would be sacrificed for greater state control. An omnipotent state could well become a reality. The other major impact would be on political management and security of the nation. Hence, it is of utmost importance to protect and maintain the current order. For that, it is necessary to stop ceding ground to China.

Beijing has been able to steadily fill the vacuum in international institutions resulting from westerner democracies, especially the US, cutting funding and participation in these institutions. It is the responsibility of the flag bearers of liberal democracies to gain back that ceded ground. Apart from that, WHO needs serious reform and complete overhaul in its organizational structure, making the institution much more transparent and accountable in its functioning. The long due reforms of UNSC and other institutions must also be implemented. The credibility of these institutions is at stake and with it is the existence of current world order.

Barack Obama through Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) had envisioned United States of Europe which together with USA would have become invincible defender of the current world order against authoritarian states like China. On the contrary, Trump not only rejected TPP but through his populist America First policy and his constant unpleasant bickering with governors of state of US, has sown the seeds of Divided States of America. Liberal world order was already facing severe illness due to rising protectionism, COVID-19 has made its condition worse by putting it on ventilator. For the liberal world order to survive, it is inevitable for the nations who believe in liberal v

Kartik Kishore is a resident of Patna. He did his graduation in Civil Engineering from KIIT, Bhubaneswar.

alues to do the unthinkable by coming together and agreeing on much needed radical reforms instead of locking horns in petty populist politics. Unprecedented times require unprecedented solutions.

Kartik Kishore is a resident of Patna. He did his graduation in Civil Engineering from KIIT, Bhubaneswar.
Over the past few months, many of us in Montana have taken stock of the essentials in our lives. A University of Montana public lands survey conducted after COVID-19 restrictions went into effect makes clear that Montanans overwhelmingly consider wild public lands as essential, for several reasons. Among them: wild public lands enable our wildlife to thrive and boost our opportunities to hunt, fish and view wildlife.

Perhaps nowhere in the state do these reasons ringer truer than in central Montana, where some of the last remaining intact grasslands in the U.S. serve as the most productive big game habitat in North America. Big game, especially elk, thrive here because there are so few roads and other kinds of development.

But that could very well change under a final resource management plan (RMP) the Bureau of Land Management released in February for the 650,000 acres of public lands in central Montana administered by the Lewistown Field Office. The RMP opens 95% of this area to oil and gas development.

The Lewistown Field Office tried to release a better plan in 2016 based on input it gathered from Montanans, especially hunters. As part of that input, the office identified 200,000 acres in this area as having wilderness characteristics, mostly lands adjoining the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge and the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument. A 2016 draft of the Lewistown RMP proposed protecting half of those 200,000 acres to protect wildlife.

The final draft released in February protects none of those acres, and instead opens them up to oil and gas leasing.

Its clear that Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, who oversees the BLM, tailored the final Lewistown RMP for the benefit of the oil and gas industry. He did so at the expense of not just our wildlife and our outdoor way of life, but our outdoor recreation economy as well.

According to a study that Headwaters Economics conducted in 2016, big game hunting accounts for nearly $4 million in economic expenditure in four different hunting districts within the Lewistown planning area, with $3.8 million coming from elk hunting alone. This makes hunting one of the largest economic drivers in the county, one that Lewistown and other communities in this part of the state can-not afford to lose in a post-pandemic economic recovery.

What makes Bernhardts move to open central Montana to oil and gas leasing all the more infuriating is that there is little oil and gas potential in this part of the state.

Then why he is doing it?

So that oil and gas companies can pay next to nothing on oil and gas leases, making it easy for them to bolster their portfolios and make their companies look more attractive to investors.

Companies get away with this outdated practice thanks to a loophole in the law that allows them to buy leases off the shelf at bargain-basement prices if those leases go unsold during auctions. Once oil and gas companies hold a lease, it means they can manage their public land parcels as they see fit, and that can mean destroying wild-life habitat and locking the public out.

Currently, more than 260,00 acres of public lands in Montana are controlled by mostly out-of-state and foreign oil and gas companies that exploited this loophole.

Unfortunately, its unlikely that Bernhardt is going stop selling out our public lands to his oil and gas buddies. Our best bet then for protecting wildlife in central Montana is for Congress to close this loophole allowing private companies to control public lands for their own financial benefit.

Please join us in asking our congressional delegation to do just that.

Jamie Wolf is the vice president of internal affairs for the Montana Wildlife Federation. Tony Bynum is a hunter and professional outdoor photographer based in northcentral Montana.

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Granard native Paddy Kilbride passed to his eternal reward, at his home in Griffith Avenue, Whitehall, Dublin on Tuesday, April 28, and in the exceptional and loving care of his wife Maura and their family.

Paddy was son of the late Tommy and Mary Jo Kilbride of Cartron, Granard and he was also predeceased by his brothers Sean in September 2011 and Seamus in June of last year.

Paddy was a primary school teacher and spent most of his teaching career in Scoil Mhuire in Marino, Dublin and his death is deeply regretted by all his past pupils.

The lovely tributes paid to Paddy by his many past pupils on the condolence pages since his death are and will be a great consolation to his family.

As a young man Paddy would have worked on the country and some will have memories of him spraying potatoes with the horse drawn sprayer or mowing meadows with the little blue Dexter tractor and in later years he would speak with great fondness of those times and of the people he met.

While teaching was his profession Paddy could turn his hand to any sort of work and he always welcomed a new challenge, be it carpentry, building or even changing or repairing an engine and his belief was that if a job was worth doing, then it had to be done right.

Paddy was a great family man and his pride and joy were his devoted and loving wife Maura and their children Padraig, Sean, Mairead and Tom and he took a humble pride in all of their achievements.

Following their retirement, Paddy and Maura were able to spend more time in Killenwas and in Maura's native Cavan and we always looked forward to their visits to Willsbrook or to their calls to say 'We're in Killenwas' so maybe you will call over for a chat.

Indeed we would go over and we'd reminisce for hours and often times tears might be shed as we talked of our loved ones now passed.

Paddy was a man of great faith and he loved attending Mass in Granard and when his illness came, he accepted it as the will of God and right up to last Tuesday this never changed and so he passed into his eternal reward. As were his wishes, his remains were brought back to his beloved St Mary's on Wednesday evening and it was lovely to see his neighbours and friends out to wave him goodbye as the cortege made its way to Granard where his dear friend and cousin Fr Simon received and blessed him.

At midday on Thursday, Paddy's funeral Mass was offered for the happy repose of his soul and his sister, Sr Roberta in Pakistan was able to join in on the web cam as were his brother Joe in Wexford and sister Brid in Dublin. Following the Mass Paddy was laid to rest in Granardkille new cemetery.

We extend our heartfelt sympathy to his wife Maura (nee King), Padraig, Sean, Mairead (Meidi) and Tom, grandchildren Tadhg, Samuel, Oscar, Alice, Lily, Richard, Kate and Grace, children in law Katie, Julie, Sue and Simon, his brothers Joseph, Thomas and Michael, and sisters Sr Roberta, Maura Harkin, Brid and Bernadette McGovern and their families. May Paddy rest in peace.
OpenSky, the digital transformation specialist for government organisations and large private enterprises, today announces the results of its survey which found that almost a quarter (22%) of Irish office workers dont have the necessary tools (including laptop, sufficient internet speeds and secure connection to work systems) to effectively work from home. This translates to more than 300,000 people.1

The research  conducted by Censuswide and involving 1,000 adults from across Ireland, including 500 office workers  also revealed which counties are least equipped to work from home during the coronavirus outbreak. They are Offaly, Clare, Wicklow, Louth and Longford.

Meanwhile, the counties that are best equipped with the necessary tools for remote working are Monaghan, Roscommon, Tipperary, Wexford and Sligo.

In terms of the age group that were keenest to work from home during the current coronavirus outbreak, the 35-44 category came out on top (93%). The over 55s were the least keen to do so (57%).

Furthermore, the survey revealed that more than half (54%) of citizens would prefer to do non-emergency appointments with a doctor online rather than in-person. Some 28% said this was to avoid infections. The most popular reason was to save time.

Michael Cronin, Managing Director, OpenSky, said: We are living and working in unprecedented times. Businesses across Ireland that had not even considered remote working before are having to facilitate this for entire teams and extended periods of time. As many discovered, its not something that can be done overnight as organisations need to ensure access to laptops, fast internet speeds, and secure connections to work systems, applications and resources.

The fact that more than 300,000 office workers arent equipped to adapt to the current situation is quite startling. Furthermore, business leaders are faced with the challenge of continuing to ensure job satisfaction and engage staff of all ages to maintain motivation levels by making the working from home experience as seamless, flexible and productive as possible.

Of course, the impact of Covid-19 is being felt in every facet of our lives and the crisis has highlighted a number of areas where the approach needs to change both now and for the future  as well as remote working options, our research also found that there is an increasing demand for digital non-emergency health services.

In general, this option would not only help to prevent the spread of infections and illnesses but also increase the efficiency of health services, saving time for both patients and doctors. While we dont know what lies ahead, the current situation has demonstrated how vital it is for every organisation to be digitally-ready and agile.

To help Irish organisations lower operational risk and digitise manual processes during the current crisis, OpenSky is offering free Covid-19 operational resilience assessments.
Mady Ludwig of Doniphan, a Northwest High School senior, and Mackenzie Whitlow of Genoa, a University of Nebraska High School senior, have been named Scott Scholars by Hastings College in Hastings.

Scholars receive a renewable scholarship that covers 100% of tuition and fees plus room and board. The program also includes a $2,000 travel stipend per student to help cover costs to attend a conference, fund a research project or support an internship.
Tahlia Giumelli, 26, has spoken candidly about the 'emotional rollercoaster' motherhood has been since she welcomed her first child, Sophie, in August last year.

The fiancee of NRL star Tom Burgess told The Daily Telegraph on Saturday that she has days where she struggles with being a new mother.

'It's such a beautiful job but there are definitely days when I go, "I don't want to this today!" she told the publication.

Emotional rollercoaster: NRL WAG Tahlia Giumelli (pictured) admitted to The Daily Telegraph on Saturday that since welcoming her daughter Sophie in August, she has days where she struggles with motherhood

'Of course, I love Sophie but what I would do to have a sleep-in or watch Netflix for a few uninterrupted hours on end,' she added.

She said she wanted to remind other mothers that it's 'okay to have those moments.'

The former Miss Universe finalist, who has been modelling since she was 18, added that she feels no pressure to get back her pre-baby body.

Refreshingly honest: 'Of course, I love Sophie but what I would do to have a sleep-in or watch Netflix for a few uninterrupted hours on end,' Tahlia said (Pictured with partner NRL star Tom Burgess)

'I used to be so caught up in how I was going to look after I gave birth but once you have a baby, you throw all that B.S. out the window,' she said.

Instead, the blonde beauty is focusing on being a 'positive role model' for her tiny tot.

Tahlia's South Sydney Rabbitohs player beau proposed to her over New Years during an idyllic country getaway.

'When you have a baby you throw out the B.S!' The former Miss Universe finalist, who has been modelling since she was 18, added that she feels no pressure to get back her pre-baby body

She announced the news on Instagram at the time, writing alongside a picture of the pair: 'And our 2019 ended just perfectly!'

'Where it all begin in 2016. Our first holiday at the farm and three years later he's down on one knee at the same place!'

Tom popped the question with a silver and diamond ring against the romantic backdrop of sweeping mountains.

In the accompanying photo, Tahlia placed her hand on Tom's chest as the newly-engaged couple beamed for the camera.

It was later revealed to be a temporary ring, as Tahlia wanted to design the bling herself.
As coronavirus hotspots erupted at major U.S. meatpacking plants, experts criticized extremely tight working conditions that made the factories natural high-risk contagion locations. But some Midwestern politicians have pointed the finger at the workers living conditions, suggesting crowded homes bear some blame.

The comments  including a Wisconsin Supreme Court justices remark that an outbreak didnt seem to have come from regular folks  outraged workers and advocates who slammed them as elitist and critical of immigrants, who make up a big share of Americas meatpacking workforce.

And the remarks stood in contrast to public U.S. outpourings of gratitude for other essential workers like police officers, health care professionals and grocery store workers.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican, generated ire last month when discussing the closure of a Smithfield pork plant in Sioux Falls that infected 1,000 employees and people who came in contact with the workers, saying 99% of whats going on today wasnt happening inside the facility.

The spread of the virus happened more at home, where these employees were going home and spreading some of the virus because a lot of these folks who work at this plant live in the community, the same building, sometimes in the same apartment, she said on Fox News.

Noems comments created a foundation for blaming virus outbreaks on the meatpackers home lives instead of conditions at plants, where employees often worked shoulder to shoulder with little to no protective gear as U.S. virus cases surged, said Taneeza Islam, who runs the refugee and immigrant support group South Dakota Voices for Peace.

Her group organized a letter to Noem to ask her to listen to the people who have been directly impacted because she has not done that yet, which is very telling about her position in terms of being on the side of the people or being on the side of business.

Noem wasnt alone. Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, also a Republican, took heat for remarks last month after a meatpacking plant virus outbreak in his state.

Well, we see people concentrated together, Ricketts said. And thats certainly true with our food processors where you have people together. But it can also be true in households if you have multiple generations of people living together, or a lot of people living in a household.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar cited crowded meatpacking worker living conditions in a call last week with members of Congress, according to a story first reported by Politico. Agency spokesman Michael Caputo on Thursday defended Azars remarks as nothing more than a statement of the obvious.

Achut Deng, a Sudanese refugee who works at the Sioux Falls plant, said after Noems remarks that the comments offended her, calling them ridiculous.

Many of Smithfields Sioux Falls employees live in well-maintained apartment complexes near the plant, some in multi-generational homes so older family members can be cared for. Others have single-family units and Deng, who was infected and recovered, believes she caught the virus at the plant because she lives only with her three children who have been out of school.

In Wisconsin, Supreme Court Chief Justice Patience Roggensack appeared to downplay the impact of an outbreak at the JBS Packerland beef plant in Green Bay while hearing arguments on a lawsuit seeking to strike down the states stay-at-home order. Coronavirus cases in Brown County, where Green Bay lies, jumped from 60 to about 800 in two weeks, a state government lawyer told justices this week.

These were due to the meatpacking, though, responded Roggensack, part of the courts conservative majority. Thats where Brown County got the flare. It wasnt just the regular folks in Brown County.

Christine Neumann Ortiz, executive director of the Wisconsin-based Latino advocacy group Voces de la Frontera, said Roggensacks comments reflected elitist disdain for workers.

It shows she considers their lives less worthy, Ortiz said. Its an abhorrent comment, especially at this moment.

A court spokesman, Tom Sheehan, said Roggensack was prohibited by court rules from responding.

Many U.S. meat plant workers are Latino but, in recent years, particularly in the upper Midwest, African immigrants have taken meatpacking jobs. About 40 languages are spoken by workers at the Sioux Falls plant, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said.

Ortiz said many Latino and immigrant families with workers in the sector are very family-oriented and that could contribute to the virus spread. But she insisted that the greater threats are workplace conditions and policies she claimed encourage workers to come in sick and do not provide enough worker virus testing.

In South Dakota, Noem said she made her meatpacking company worker living condition comments after the Sioux Falls plant closed and public health officials focus shifted to stopping the outbreak where the workers lived.

She agreed to speak personally with some meatpacking workers after advocacy groups made the demand. Those calls, organized through Smithfield, were scheduled for Thursday night and Friday.

In Nebraska, meatpacking worker advocates disputed Ricketts suggestion that an outbreak could have happened because of crowded worker households at the Tyson Foods beef plant in Dakota City, where hundreds were infected.

The governors statement that this is a community issue is completely untrue, said Rose Godinez, legal counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska, and the daughter of retired meatpacking workers.

She said plant workers told her that most employees who tested positive own or rent their homes and, in general, do not live in crowded, small dwellings.

Godinez said Ricketts comments appeared aimed at trying to deflect some of the companies failures.

Blaming workers for workplace safety and illnesses is a longstanding tactic by companies seeking to avoid responsibility, said Celeste Monforton, a Texas State University lecturer and workplace safety expert.

If these workers are deemed to be critical infrastructure workers, deemed to be essential workers, they deserve the utmost respect, the highest level of protection, she said.
A citizen of Brazil who was found moving around freely in the district was quarantined at the district hospital.

He was found sitting at a bus stop at Onachalu in Madikeri on Saturday afternoon. On noticing him, the local residents informed the officials.

The police and health officials who rushed to the spot brought him to the Covid-19 designated hospital in Madikeri and admitted him for a health check-up.

He had reportedly told the officials that he had arrived in India one year ago and was staying in a Tibetan camp at Bylakuppe.
OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE)

Q1 2020 Earnings Call

, 9:00 a.m. ET

Contents:

Prepared Remarks

Questions and Answers

Call Participants

Prepared Remarks:

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Q1 2020 OGE Energy earnings conference call. [Operator instructions] Please be advised that today's conference call is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Mr. Todd Tidwell.

Please go ahead, sir.

Todd Tidwell -- Director, Investor Relations

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone, and welcome to OGE Energy Corp.'s first-quarter 2020 earnings call. I'm Todd Tidwell, director of investor relations. And with me today, I have Sean Trauschke, chairman, president, and CEO of OGE Energy Corp.; and Steve Merrill, CFO of OGE Energy Corp. In terms of the call today, we will first hear from Sean, followed by an explanation from Steve of first-quarter results, and finally, as always, we will answer your questions.

I would like to remind you that this conference is being webcast and you may follow along on our website at ogeenergy.com. In addition, the conference call and accompanying slides will be archived following the call on that same website. Before we begin the presentation, I would like to direct your attention to the safe harbor statement regarding forward-looking statements. This is an SEC requirement for financial statements and simply states that we cannot guarantee forward-looking financial results, but this is our best estimate to date.

I would also like to remind you that there is a Reg G reconciliation for gross margin and reconciliation of ongoing earnings to GAAP earnings in the appendix. I will now turn the call over to Sean for his opening comments. Sean?

Sean Trauschke -- Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Todd, and good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us on today's call. I want to begin by recognizing the severity of the COVID-19 crisis and the impact it has had and is continuing to have on our communities. Public service is a core value that underscores all of our efforts throughout the communities we serve. In this unusual time, caring for each other is more important, I believe, than ever.

We believe our company is only as strong as the communities we serve, and it's this shared responsibility to ensure our communities remain strong that will help us all navigate through this unprecedented crisis. From the outset, we took decisive action to help our customers by suspending disconnects for nonpayments and making flexible payment arrangements for residential and small business customers financially impacted by this extraordinary situation. The Arkansas Commission has allowed accounting mechanisms and processes that will allow for future recovery of costs, resulting from the suspension of disconnects. The Oklahoma Commission will hear a similar request today.

We are certainly appreciative of both commissions for their partnership and collaborative efforts during this typical time. We continue to engage with our communities and provide support. One example is our recent donation to the Meals on Wheels program, which basically enabled local restaurant owners to bring back their employees to provide nutritious meals and then to utilize the Meals on Wheels infrastructure to deliver those meals to homebound seniors and other families impacted by job losses during the crisis. We'll continue to monitor the crisis as it evolves and take additional actions for our customers and communities as appropriate.

Of course, we also took definitive action with the health and safety of our members. We were prepared, and we executed our plans by establishing a situation room for our employees to contact with any COVID-19 questions or concerns. This was staffed complete with an on-staff physician, who has provided invaluable advice and assistance through this crisis. We implemented work-from-home procedures, health screenings, cleanings and other measures.

Members in critical operations are practicing shift change separation and observing social distancing guidelines. We restricted access to visitors for all of our facilities and required contractors to follow enhanced safety protocols. These are just a few of the precautions we've implemented to ensure the health and safety of our employees and that of the public we serve. Because of these actions, today, I am grateful to report we've had no positive test for COVID-19 in our workforce.

I'm incredibly proud of everyone here and how they have continued to excel in this challenging environment. Their efforts and hard work during a truly difficult time cannot be understated. We all hear about the efforts of healthcare workers and first responders, and rightfully so. They've just been outstanding.

But I think we also should give a shout-out to the line workers and power plant control room and IT and virus response workers, not just at OG&E, but across the nation, who kept the lights on and energy flowing. They've done a truly remarkable job. Moving on to our quarterly earnings. Earlier this morning, we reported ongoing first-quarter consolidated earnings of $0.23 per share, compared to $0.24 per share in the first-quarter 2019.

Utility is making the appropriate adjustments and is on plan for the quarter and the year, while Enable is flat year over year. Steve will discuss the details in a moment. But before he does, I'd like to spend a few minutes talking about our first-quarter highlights and provide further details on our efforts to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on our customers and our business. First and foremost, our balance sheet remains strong as do all of our credit metrics.

We purposely built our balance sheet to withstand the rigors of the marketplace and for unprecedented events like what we've experienced in the past couple of months. We have a clear path forward because of the work we've done in the past and the swift and decisive action we've continued to take in ensuring our long-term financial health. For example, on April 1, we completed a 10-year $300 million debt offering with a coupon of 3.25%. This was an acceleration of a planned financing in 2021.

This action improved liquidity and negated any need to access the capital markets this year or next. Moving on to operations. Last quarter, we announced our grid enhancement plan. The plan focuses on the installation of new technology, equipment, communication systems that promote a self-healing grid, further strengthening our system, making it more secure, reliable, resilient and efficient for the benefit of all of our customers.

Initial construction of these projects began in April and are progressing according to plan. Prior to the COVID shutdown, the commission issued a procedural schedule with a July 7 hearing date. To date, no change to that schedule has been communicated. And of course, we will continue to work closely with the commission on the best way forward.

In Arkansas, we received a final order from the commission with rates taking effect on April 1 of this year. We've also begun work on the next round of grid enhancements on our Arkansas circuit. It's important to note that despite the COVID-19 crisis and all that it entails, our operational metrics continue to improve as we build on prior successes. Moreover, we have maintained our strategic project calendar, and all projects remain on time and on budget.

No one really knows when things will get back to normal or how prolonged the economic downturn will last. But rest assured, we have plans in place to mitigate those. The economy is the key. Our load growth was up for the first quarter year over year on a weather-adjusted basis.

Oklahoma and Arkansas are now both opening up for business. We have spoken with many of our large commercial accounts who will be starting up over the next several weeks. And based on what we're seeing and based on what we're hearing from them and assuming normal weather for the remainder of the year, we expect to meet our utility guidance. Keep in mind, more than 90% of the utility earnings are ahead of us.

During this difficult time, we do have one key area that differentiates our utility business. Nearly half of our margin comes from the residential sector. Said another way, a 5% increase in residential sales would almost completely offset a 5% margin decline in all other customer classes combined. We will continue to monitor this situation, and if our view changes, we will let you know.

But for now, we continue to stay the course. Turning to Enable. We incurred a $700 million equity writedown of our investment. This was due to the significant fall in the unit price in the market compared to the value on our books and is not a reflection on the cash flow generated by these assets.

From a cash-generation standpoint, Enable has solid assets and poised to deliver strong results as energy prices normalize. Enable has strengthened their already sound financial position. The steps they are taking to increase their annualized retained cash flow by roughly $450 million only serves to make them stronger. Before turning the call over to Steve, I want to restate a few key points.

The first is our financial strength. We do not need equity during our planning horizon. Secondly, I want to make it clear how pleased I am with the performance of the utility during this crisis. There have been no disruptions to the safe and reliable service our customers receive.

And third, the economies of both Oklahoma and Arkansas are opening for business. Our balanced approach of ensuring our customers, communities and employees are at the center of everything we do, and it enables us to energize life for all of our stakeholders. Thank you, and I'll now turn the call over to Steve.

Steve Merrill -- Chief Financial Officer

Thank you, Sean, and good morning, everyone. For the first quarter, we reported ongoing net income of $45 million or $0.23 per share as compared to net income of $47 million or $0.24 per share in 2019. On a GAAP basis, OGE Energy Corp. reported a loss of $2.46 per share due to a $780 million impairment charge of the equity value of our Enable units.

We saw a significant drop in the trading value of the units in the first quarter from our book value of just over $10 per share and determined that an impairment charge to $3.13 per share was necessary. The contribution by business unit on a comparative basis is listed on the slide. As a result of the impairment, the holding company's earnings includes a tax benefit due to a consolidating tax adjustment related to the interim period that will reverse over the course of the year. At OG&E, net income for the quarter was $20 million or $0.10 per share.

First-quarter gross margin at the utility increased almost $19 million, which I'll discuss on the next slide. Looking at the other key drivers, first quarter O&M expense was essentially flat despite adding the River Valley plant to our fleet. Depreciation increased $12 million as additional assets were placed into service and the depreciation expense for the Sooner Scrubbers, which was previously deferred to a regulatory asset. Interest expense increased $5 million, primarily due to additional long-term debt outstanding, along with interest expense for the scrubbers that was previously deferred in the regulatory asset.

Overall, the utility is on plan and off to a good start. We are managing the business to deal with any COVID-19 impacts. Turning to first-quarter gross margin. Utility margins increased approximately $19 million in the first quarter of 2020 compared to 2019.

There were a couple of drivers for the increase, including the recovery of environmental assets placed into service, adding $23 million to margin, as well as new customer growth that contributed $6 million. Partially offsetting the increase was weather, which reduced margin by $11 million as heating degree days were 21% below last year. Compared to normal, weather reduced margin by $3 million. Turning to our investment in Enable.

Natural gas midstream operations contributed ongoing earnings to OGE Energy Corp. of $22 million or $0.11 per share for the first quarter of 2020, consistent with the same period in 2019. In addition, Enable midstream issued cash distributions to OGE of approximately $37 million in the first quarter of 2020, compared to $35 million in 2019. Turning to 2020 guidance.

The utility is on plan. We believe we will be able to offset the impacts of COVID-19 with cost-control measures. Assuming normal weather, we affirm our current utility guidance. As a result of the revised guidance by Enable and the equity method investment impairment recorded by the company, OGE Holdings projects a net loss between $2.59 to $2.55 per average diluted share.

Ongoing earnings are projected to be between $0.36 and $0.40 per average diluted share. Additionally, OGE Energy consolidated earnings guidance for 2020 has changed from $440 million to $463 million of net income or $2.19 to $2.31 per average diluted share to a net loss of approximately $173 million to $154 million or a loss of $0.87 to $0.77 per share. Ongoing earnings are projected to be $417 million to $436 million of net income or $2.08 to $2.18 per share. One more point before we move on to your questions.

As you know, related to our investment in Enable, the basis difference that we have is being amortized over the average lives of the assets, which is approximately 30 years. The impairment we recorded this quarter resulted in an additional layer of basis difference for the company's investment in Enable that will be amortized over the average life of the assets, which is approximately 30 years. The ongoing total of these adjustments is a combined $49.5 million for 2020. This concludes our prepared remarks.

We will now answer your questions.

Sean Trauschke -- Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer

Operator?

Questions & Answers:

Operator

[Operator instructions] Your first question comes from the line of Julien Dumoulin-Smith from Bank of America.

Richie Ciciarelli -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

This is Richie here for Julien. Hope everyone is safe and healthy.

Sean Trauschke -- Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer

Yes, Richie. all safe and healthy here, and I hope you are as well.

Richie Ciciarelli -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

All right. That's good. That's great to hear. Just wanted to ask a question around your -- you reaffirmed your guide for the utility, which implicitly implies confidence in the outlook.

Just wondering what you're sort of seeing with sales trends in April and what you're expecting through the year. Was the commentary around the 5% increase in resi and 5% decline elsewhere kind of what you're expecting for the year? And how are you thinking about the O&M efforts to offset that impact?

Sean Trauschke -- Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer

OK. All right. Let me kind of take those in pieces here. Maybe dealing with O&M first.

We were very fortunate to really have a low-growth plan in front of us, and we've been very fortunate to have growth in our service territory. And over the years, we've been diligent in making sure that our O&M per customer does not increase, and so we've been really cost-conscious in reducing our O&M costs. At the same time, we've been trying to expand our customer base. And when this came on and we saw that, we have built plans for roughly something greater than a 1% growth.

I mean, we were talking about that. We recognized that probably wasn't going to happen immediately, so we did not execute on those resources that we were planning to accommodate that new growth. So we've already taken those actions and revised our business plans to minimize any of that increased growth. As far as what we're seeing in sales, I mentioned to you in my remarks that we actually did see positive growth on a weather-normalized basis in the first quarter.

April is probably the lowest load month we have. It's just a shoulder season, pretty calm. But it confirmed a lot of the things that we expected to see, i.e. we'd expect residential sales to increase, we'd expect some deterioration in commercial and industrial sales.

What's given us that confidence is the fact that what a lot of these large commercial and industrial customers are telling us is they do have plans to start back up over the next several weeks. So the last point, we mentioned that 5%. That was just a sensitivity we were trying to give you. Residential sales represent almost 50% of the margin, so it's a large component.

And so what we're trying to share with you, though -- there was, as residential sales increase, it covers a large percentage of any deterioration in load from the other classes all combined.

Richie Ciciarelli -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Got it. That is very helpful. I appreciate all the color. And congrats on the -- keeping the guidance for the utility.

That's quite impressive. Just curious if you can potentially comment on your -- any initial reaction to your peers' strategic review process?

Sean Trauschke -- Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer

Probably no comment. I saw that right before I walked in here, Richie, so I'm reading it at the same time you are.

Richie Ciciarelli -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Got it. OK. Thanks a lot. Thanks again for all the time.

I'll jump back in the queue.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Insoo Kim from Goldman Sachs. Your line is now open.

Insoo Kim -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst

Good morning, and glad to hear that you guys are all doing well. My first question is on the deferral filing that's currently before the Oklahoma Commission. I know -- I believe you said that they're hearing is slated for today on the release or 10-Q. When is the expected decision for such a deferral? And could you detail a little bit of what would be embedded in that if -- or included if that is approved?

Sean Trauschke -- Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer

Sure. So we would hope that the approval is today. We expect that -- just a little color around that, Insoo. This is for deferral of those bad debts and all the COVID-related expenses that we're incurring.

But a piece I want to make sure is clear. This is not an OGE filing. We certainly led the effort, but we created a coalition of all the utilities, gas utilities included in Oklahoma. And so this is a utility filing that was made over at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, and it's going to be heard this morning, and we would hope to have an order this morning.

Insoo Kim -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst

So with the bad debt expense and I guess COVID-related O&M costs?

Sean Trauschke -- Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer

Yes, yes, yes. And -- I mean, that's not a -- yes, that's true.

Insoo Kim -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst

Got it. And nothing in there that includes any COVID-related sales impact?

Sean Trauschke -- Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer

No, no.

Insoo Kim -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst

Understood. And then just on the grid enhancement plan docket, it seems like the schedule that you've laid out is pretty much in line. Any logistical delays that you're seeing because of COVID?

Sean Trauschke -- Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer

Not at this time. I mean, we've -- the commission is still -- they're going to have this hearing today virtually. They're still conducting business as usual, and we're in constant dialogue, but no change at this point.

Insoo Kim -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst

Understood. Thank you very much, and stay safe, everyone.

Sean Trauschke -- Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer

You, too.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Anthony Crowdell from Mizuho. Your line is now open.

Anthony Crowdell -- Mizuho Securities -- Analyst

Hey, good morning, Sean. Good morning, Steve.

Sean Trauschke -- Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer

Hey, good morning, Anthony.

Steve Merrill -- Chief Financial Officer

Morning, Anthony.

Anthony Crowdell -- Mizuho Securities -- Analyst

Everybody well and home?

Sean Trauschke -- Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer

A little bit crowded, but everyone is healthy. How about yourself?

Anthony Crowdell -- Mizuho Securities -- Analyst

Oh, likewise, likewise. We're making the best of it. I just -- if I could jump on one of Insoo's questions. You said it was a group effort filing for the COVID-related expenses and maybe bad debt expense.

Has the company quantified what their forecasted bad debt expense is to be in 2020 or 2021?

Sean Trauschke -- Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer

No. No, we haven't. There's a slight tick-up at this stage but nothing material. And as you know, we're already allowed $3 million of bad debt expense in base rate, and we're not there yet.

Anthony Crowdell -- Mizuho Securities -- Analyst

Is there any chance you know what was the number that utility had hit in '08, '09 crisis? Is that something that you'd have handy?

Sean Trauschke -- Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. So we had $3.1 million.

Anthony Crowdell -- Mizuho Securities -- Analyst

Got it.

Sean Trauschke -- Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer

And we're -- again, we're -- we have $3 million recoverable in base rates.

Anthony Crowdell -- Mizuho Securities -- Analyst

If I could shift to the writedown. I think you spoke about the ability to amortize that, and maybe it's a $49 million impact annually. Is that something that now has to be funded with $49 million of additional equity?

Steve Merrill -- Chief Financial Officer

No, no. It's really an accounting adjustment. So a way to think about it, Anthony, is we just wrote down our book value in Enable because their cash flows are strong, didn't have a writedown. So they're recording higher depreciation than effectively we -- would pass through to us.

So we're now accreting that back up to equalize what they are -- to basically eliminate the depreciation that they're passing through to us for the writedown that we took, and that creates that accretion event. But it has really no cash implications whatsoever.

Anthony Crowdell -- Mizuho Securities -- Analyst

Got it. And lastly, I know it's a really small part of your business, but decline or anything in drilling activity or anything you could read through to the utilities business?

Sean Trauschke -- Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer

Surprisingly, through four quarters, it's held up. We do expect some deterioration there, but of all of our -- between residential, commercial, industrial and oilfield, oilfield is the smallest sector and a smallest contributor to margin. It's less than 8%. It's important to jobs and things like that, but it's not a big driver in the long run for us.

Anthony Crowdell -- Mizuho Securities -- Analyst

Great. And I hope everyone stays healthy out there.

Sean Trauschke -- Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Anthony, and appreciate your support. And you take care of your family, and stay healthy yourself.

Operator

[Operator instructions] There are no questions from participants online. I will now turn the call over to Mr. Sean Trauschke for closing remarks.

Sean Trauschke -- Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer

OK. Thank you for that. Thank you all for joining us today. Thank you for your interest in OGE.

Please take care of yourselves and those around you, and stay healthy. All the best, and have a great day.

Operator

[Operator signoff]

Duration: 26 minutes

Call participants:

Todd Tidwell -- Director, Investor Relations

Sean Trauschke -- Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer

Steve Merrill -- Chief Financial Officer

Richie Ciciarelli -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Insoo Kim -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst

Anthony Crowdell -- Mizuho Securities -- Analyst

More OGE analysis

All earnings call transcripts
Amid a war of words between the Centre and the West Bengal government, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Saturday asked the state government and the Centre to work together to evacuate the stranded migrant workers of Bengal stranded outside.

I got to know today that the state government has asked for 8 trains. I appeal to the state government and Amit Shah ji to work together and make every possible effort to bring back stranded migrant workers of Bengal, Chowdhury said according to ANI

The Congress leader who is an MP from Bengals Behrampore claimed that Union home minister Amit Shah told him that he had been inconstant touch with Mamata Banerjees government.

I had a discussion with Home Minister Amit Shah day before yesterday. He told me that he has been continuously asking the West Bengal government how many trains they need to bring back migrant workers but till 2 days ago the state government had not sent a list, he said.

The evacuation of migrant workers has become the latest flashpoint between the Centre and the West Bengal government amid a row over the states efforts to control the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

In a letter to Mamata Banerjee, Shah had said the Centre was not getting the expected support from the state government to help migrant workers reach home.

Amit Shah pointed out that the Centre has facilitated more than 200,000 migrant labourers to reach home and that workers from West Bengal are also eager to go back.

In his letter, Shah said that the West Bengal government is not allowing trains with migrants reaching the state. This is injustice with WB migrant labourers. This will create further hardship for them.
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Students picking up meals at Council Bluffs schools Friday got something extra.

A total of 1,200 activity kits were distributed along with the meals. The effort was the result of a collaboration between Raise Me to Read and the I-Smile program  both part of Family Inc. Each kit contained a book; a toothbrush; activity pages with puzzles and pictures to color; and information on good oral hygiene from Early Head Start and the Healthy and Well Kids in Iowa state insurance program, according to Samantha Emerine, director of Raise Me to Read.

It was something other communities were doing and a way to meet several needs families might have, she said.

Kids are home right now, and they may not have access to reading material, she said. I dont think parents are even aware that were still doing Earl Head Start signup and programming.

Books were chosen from Raise Me to Reads supply that would be appropriate for toddlers to second-graders, Emerine said.

The toothbrushes are some that Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation donated to be given out during I-Smiles spring school visits, which were cancelled, said Liz Addison, director of I-Smile.

We had a lot of toothbrushes, and a lot of families in the community probably need them, she said. Taking care of your oral health at home at this time is really important when you cant see your dentist.

Other materials included in the packets were also important, Addison said.

We really wanted to get information about HAWK-I out, she said. We know a lot of people have lost their jobs and lost their health insurance.

The kits were assembled at Family Inc. when few employees were there and delivered to St. Patricks Catholic Church last week to be handed out at Council Bluffs Community School Districts nine meal sites, Emerine said. They were distributed last week at Abraham Lincoln High School, Bloomer Elementary and Roosevelt Elementary and the remaining schools Friday.

Any leftover kits will be offered to families during future meal distributions, she said. It is important for parents to read with their young children, and continuing to do that when schools are closed can help prevent the slide in intellectual development, Emerine said.

Its a fun family activity, she said.
The people of the Ayawaso West Wuogon constituency continue to enjoy goodies from the two many parliamentary contenders in the area - the incumbent, Lydia Alhassan and John Dumelo.

Our manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

The latter, NDCs John Dumelo has provided a brand new oven to a baker in the constituency.

Mr. Dumelo says he bought the oven to the woman, Aunty B, to enable her to expand her business.

READ ALSO: Mahama says government is failing Ghanaians on COVID-19

He noted that on one of his visits to the area, he noticed the woman had a small and old oven, so he decided to buy her a bigger one.

This step according to Dumelo would help so she can expand her business and possibly employ more people.

YEN.com.gh earlier reported that the European Union (EU) has blacklisted Ghana among several other countries for money laundering.

Three other African countries have been blacklisted  Botswana, Mauritius, and Zimbabwe.

READ ALSO: Most MPs dont understand legislative work of parliament - Majority Leader laments

The EU said under the Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD), the Commission has revised its list, taking into account developments at the international level since 2018 and that the new list is now better aligned with the lists published by the FATF (Financial Action Task Force).

Ghanaians share their thoughts on the mandatory wearing of face mask | #Yencomgh(opens in new tab)

READ ALSO: Brilliant Ghanaian student wins Outstanding Graduate Student Award at top US university

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
- Winnie Odinga was reacting to a move by Education PS Belio Kipsang to bar untrained teachers from offering online classes

- The Business and Corporate Communications graduate said she would start offering the classes soon though did not specify the exact date

- Winnie's decision came barely days after Embakasi East MP Babu Owino began online revision classes to assist the 2020 KCSE candidates prepare for the national test

Opposition leader Raila Odinga's daughter Winnie Odinga has promised to start offering online classes to help thousands of students who have been forced to stay home due to coronavirus pandemic.

Winnie's decision came barely days after Embakasi East MP Babu Owino began online revision classes to assist the 2020 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) prepare for the national test.

READ ALSO: Nairobi woman charged with murder after stabbing lover 11 times over dirty dishes

Raila Odinga's daughter Winnie Odinga (pictured) has said she will start teaching English and History online. Photo: Winnie Odinga.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Frustrated Kenyans troll Kenya Power online after nationwide outage

Through her Twitter handle, the former premier's daughter said she would be offering English and History classes though she did not specify when she would commence teaching.

"With that being said, I start online teaching soon. English and History were my subjects. But be fairly warned, my history classes may differ drastically from the curriculum. You may fail the exam but you will win in knowledge of the truth," she tweeted on Friday, May 8.

Winnie was reacting to a directive issued by Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang barring untrained teachers from teaching students through online platforms.

Winnie holds a double major degree in International Business and Corporate Communications from Drexel University in Philadelphia, in the US.

She went to Rusinga School for her primary education and Brookhouse for high school.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga with his daughter Winnie. Photo: Winnie Odinga.

Source: Facebook

Winnie is a CEO at The BrickHouse Counsel and often describes herself as the former premier's personal bodyguard.

"I work for my dad. I have worked for him for as long as I can remember. Im his bodyguard, his briefcase carrier, travel companion or even driver if need be," she once said in an interview with a local publication.

Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news.

Kenyans come through for elderly couple kicked out by landlady over rent arrears | Tuko TV.

Source: TUKO.co.ke
A Dublin Leaving Cert student has said she doesn't believe the Irish education system has the ability to predict grades fairly after it was announced yesterday that the State exams have been cancelled due to public health concerns.

Students will instead be assessed based on grades awarded by their schools.

However, candidates who want to sit the traditional exams will also be facilitated at a later date.

Castleknock teenager Marie Cormican (18) is a Leaving Cert candidate at Mount Sackville Secondary School, Chapelizod, Dublin.

"I have read a litany of open letters and editorials trumpeting the 'fairness' of such a method," she said.

"The Irish education system is one of the best in the world, but simply does not have the infrastructure to predict grades fairly.

"In the UK, students are aware from the beginning of the two-year 'A-Level' cycle that every piece of work is being scrutinised.

Students sit two sets of official mocks before their main exams and have already secured college places on a preliminary basis."

Marie believes that attempts to implement such a system in Ireland would result in "chaos".

Burden

"This system is far from perfect. Over 75pc of predicted grades turn out to be inaccurate and that is within a battle-hardened administration.

"Imagine the chaos such would bring if implemented in Ireland. It is both unfair and unprofessional to place this burden on teachers.

"Although the thought of having to sit our exams in late summer is unprecedented, so is this dreadful virus.

"Sitting a physical exam and standardised paper trumps all options as by far the fairest."

Meanwhile, Joseph Murray (18), from Knock, Co Mayo, said the decision to cancel the Leaving Cert came as a "bit of a shock".

"No matter what happened I always thought the exams would go ahead somehow," said Joseph who is a Leaving Cert student in St Louis Secondary School in Kiltimagh.

"The calculated grades model will not suit everyone and it is certainly not a perfect solution, but in the midst of a pandemic I don't think anything could be.

"However, the seemingly robust appeals process and giving us the option to sit an exam at a later date provides everyone with an option."

Joseph said he was "relieved" to have clarity.

"The last number of weeks have been rife with anxiety, so to receive a definite answer has alleviated a significant amount of my stress."
A total of 280 new COVID-19 cases were reported from hotspot Ahmedabad besides 20 more deaths on Saturday, taking the total case count to 5,540 in the district and fatalities to 363, a Health department official said.

Principal Secretary (Health) Jayanti Ravi said that the number of the discharged patients from various hospitals in Ahmedabad after recovery mounted by 106 to 1,107 in the last 24 hours.

A team of expert doctors from Delhi, led by AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria, visited various hospitals in the city on Saturday and guided local medical teams on how to bring down the high COVID-19 death rate, Ravi said.

"They found that the protocols being followed at the civil hospital and other hospitals in Ahmedabad were up to the mark," she said, adding that the team was satisfiedwith the state Health department's work.

As a measure to bring down the death rate, the doctors have appealed to symptomatic patients, and especially those with underlying health conditions, to avail medical treatment without delay, Ravi said.

Ahmedabad's COVID-19 mortality rate stands at 6.5 per cent, which is almost double than the national average of 3.3 per cent.

Dr Guleria, accompanied by Dr Manish Soneja of AIIMS' department of medicine, visited the civil hospital and met doctors and staff, who were attending to COVID-19 patients and offered them guidance, a Health department release said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Microbial communities in the intestine -- also known as the gut microbiome -- are vital for human digestion, metabolism and resistance to colonization by pathogens. The gut microbiome composition in infants and toddlers changes extensively in the first three years of life. But where do those microbes come from in the first place?

Scientists have long been able to analyze the gut microbiome at the level of the 500 to 1,000 different bacterial species that mainly have a beneficial influence; only more recently have they been able to identify individual strains within a single species using powerful genomic tools and supercomputers that analyze massive amounts of genetic data.

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham now have used their microbiome "fingerprint" method to report that an individualized mosaic of microbial strains is transmitted to the infant gut microbiome from a mother giving birth through vaginal delivery. They detailed this transmission by analyzing existing metagenomic databases of fecal samples from mother-infant pairs, as well as analyzing mouse dam and pup transmission in a germ-free, or gnotobiotic, mouse model at UAB, where the dams were inoculated with human fecal microbes.

"The results of our analysis demonstrate that multiple strains of maternal microbes -- some that are not abundant in the maternal fecal community -- can be transmitted during birth to establish a diverse infant gut microbial community," said Casey Morrow, Ph.D., professor emeritus in UAB's Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology. "Our analysis provides new insights into the origin of microbial strains in the complex infant microbial community."

The study used a strain-tracking bioinformatics tool previously developed at UAB, called Window-based Single-nucleotide-variant Similarity, or WSS. Hyunmin Koo, Ph.D., UAB Department of Genetics and Genomics Core, led the informatics analysis. The gnotobiotic mouse model studies were led by Braden McFarland, Ph.D., assistant professor in the UAB Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology.

Morrow and colleagues have used this microbe fingerprint tool in several previous strain-tracking studies. In 2017, they found that fecal donor microbes -- used to treat patients with recurrent Clostridium difficile infections -- remained in recipients for months or years after fecal transplants. In 2018, they showed that changes in the upper gastrointestinal tract through obesity surgery led to the emergence of new strains of microbes. In 2019, they analyzed the stability of new strains in individuals after antibiotic treatments, and earlier this year, they found that adult twins, ages 36 to 80 years old, shared a certain strain or strains between each pair for periods of years, and even decades, after they began living apart from each other.

In the current study, several individual-specific patterns of microbial strain-sharing were found between mothers and infants. Three mother-infant pairs showed only related strains, while a dozen other infants of mother-infant pairs contained a mosaic of maternal-related and unrelated microbes. It could be that the unrelated strains came from the mother, but they had not been the dominant strain of that species in the mother, and so had not been detected.

Indeed, in a second study using a dataset from nine women taken at different times in their pregnancies showed that strain variations in individual species occurred in seven of the women.

To further define the source of the unrelated strains, a mouse model was used to look at transmission from dam to pup in the absence of environmental microbes. Five different females were given transplants of different human fecal matter to create five unique humanized-microbiome mice, which were bred with gnotobiotic males. The researchers then analyzed the strains found in the human donors, the mouse dams and their mouse pups. They found four different patterns: 1) The pup's strain of a particular species was related to the dam's strain; 2) The pup's strain was related to both the dam's strain and the human donor's strain; 3) The pup's strain was related to the human donor's strain, but not to the dam's strain; and, importantly, 4) No related strains for a particular species were found between the pup, the dam and the human donor. Since these animals were bred and raised in germ-free conditions, the unrelated strains in the pups came from minor, undetected strains in the dams.

"The results of our studies support a reconsideration of the contribution of different maternal microbes to the infant enteric microbial community," Morrow said. "The constellation of microbial strains that we detected in the infants inherited from the mother was different in each mother-infant pair. Given the recognized role of the microbiome in metabolic diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, the results of our study could help to further explain the susceptibility of the infant to metabolic disease found in the mother."
An increase in the number of industrial zones has been polluting Vietnams environment, and there are no appropriate solutions in place,

the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) warned in its draft 2019 report on environment protection released on Tuesday.

Vinh Tan Power Centre has been criticised for causing air pollution in Binh Thuan Province.  VNA/VNS Photo Ngoc Ha

Major sources of environmental pollution come from socio-economic development activities, the ministry stated, reflected in 372 industrial zones being established last year, including 280 coming beginning operation, 29 more than in 2018.

In addition, with nine industrial clusters added in 2019, Vietnam now has 698 clusters.

Along with factories and manufacturing areas, high polluting industries including metallurgy, mining, ship demolition and thermal power are placing Vietnams environment under pressure.

MONREs data shows more than 5,000 mines and natural resource exploiting areas, 300 paper production factories, 25 thermal power plants under commercial operation and 65 iron and steel production projects have a capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year each nationwide.

The ministry also pointed out companies generating large amounts of toxic waste such as Nghi Son Refinery in Thanh Hoa Province, Hung Nghiep Formosa Steel Plant in Ha Tinh Province which caused the marine life disaster in four central provinces in 2016 and Lam Dong Aluminum-Bauxite Complex which has been blamed for damaging the Central Highlands environment.

As of December 2019, there were 171 facilities causing serious environmental pollution which had not implemented complete measures to tackle pollution.

On more than 31,600 farms nationwide, up to 1,000kg of fertiliser and 2kg of pesticide are used for each hectare of agricultural land annually.

The ministry estimates about 240 tonnes of toxic solid waste is discharged into the environment from agricultural activities annually.

According to MONRE, the number of handicraft villages and cities also increased over the past two years.

There are some 4,500 villages focusing on making traditional products nationwide. The countrys urbanisation rate in 2019 reached 39.2 per cent, up 0.8 per cent compared to 2018.

Transportation, the ministry says, is one of the main causes of air pollution, especially in highly populated urban areas.

The number of cars in 2019 rose by 12.2 per cent compared to the previous year, standing at 3.6 million.

Climate change is also threatening Vietnams security of water, food and ecosystem and worsening existing pollution.

While coastal localities struggle to deal with ocean plastic and oil spills, Mekong Delta provinces are sinking under the impact of sea-level rise and dam-building on the Mekong River.

The country is expected to suffer its highest temperatures ever recorded in 2020, according to Meteorological and Hydrological Administration.

Due to the impact of global warming and the melting of glaciers, 2020 will be the year of escalating and complicated natural disasters.

The annual flood peak at the headwaters of the Cuu Long (Mekong) River on Tien River in Tay Ninh Provinces Tan Chau Town and Hau River in An Giang Provinces Chau Doc District is predicted to be 0.2 to 0.4 m lower than the annual flood peak and will appear by the end of September. VNS

Natural disasters bring about US$13.55 million damage in Southern Vietnam Natural disasters caused 16 people dead and missing, injured 54, damaged and inundated 17,713 houses, with the total damage of VND315 billion (US$13.55 million) in the Southern region during the first nine months of 2019.

Factories in residential area blamed for water pollution Some small factories in the northern city of Hai Phong have been blamed for polluting local water resources with untreated wastewater.
All Chandigarh residents coming from abroad will be quarantined in city hotels.

On Friday, the UT administration had decided that all those landing in Delhi will be quarantined there and those landing in Amritsar as well as Chandigarh airports will be isolated in city hotels on payment basis.

UT adviser Manoj Parida said Fridays decision was taken after Delhi authorities had agreed to keep Chandigarh-bound foreign-returned passengers for 12 days. But on Saturday, we were conveyed that they cant keep them there for more than 3 days. So, now, we will bring them to Chandigarh in buses and keep them in quarantine facilities here, he said.

Parida said that around 5,000 non-resident Indians (NRIs) are expected to return to Chandigarh, but the number may vary depending on foreign approvals and Indian governments capacity to ferry them back.

In initial phase, we will keep quarantine facility ready for 2,000-3,000 passengers and then add depending upon arrival of passengers, said Parida. He said different level of spaces will be created on payment basis. While CITCOs Mountview and Shivalikview have already been factored in to, we are also in touch with other private hotels. We can also consider community centres for this purpose. More clarity is expected in next one or two days, he said

Residents oppose move, admn makes tests mandatory

After Parida broke the news on his Twitter handle, residents resisted the move, saying that there was risk of virus spread in to the city that is already battling spike in the cases.

To this, Parida said that there will be two level of screening once these passengers land here. First screening will be done at the airport and then our medical staff examine the passengers, he said.

After suggestions from experts and city residents, we are thinking about making Covid-19 test mandatory for all NRIs, said Parida.

On date of arrival of the passengers, Parida said, We will be informed two days in advance and accordingly will depute our resources to bring them here.

Earlier in the day, residents of Sectors 10 and 46 wrote to the UT administration, expressing their reservations against making Hotel Mountview and Ayurvedic hospital as quarantine facilities. They said that the hotel as well as the hospital had residential areas nearby.
(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 transformations in the way in which education is structured and delivered. For more, see Michael Petrilli on how older students can benefit from reduced school schedules. When we were told over the Lunar New Year holiday that schools in Hong Kong would be closed to prevent the spread of a then still-distant illness, I went through all the stages of grief. Shock, denial, anger, bargaining. I settled on depression for a good while. With three primary-age children, my vision of juggling a new job, school, chores and a bad-tempered dog was one of Brueghelian pandemonium. I had little faith in the quality of education my kids would receive online.

Four months in, my skepticism has in large part faded. Whats allowed me to accept, and then embrace, the educational havoc wrought by the virus has been its unexpected impact on my middle son, a 9-year-old on the autism spectrum. With a more flexible approach, hes been able to cover the curriculum with a combination of live and recorded assignments provided by school, and find space for niche interests in a more creative, student-led set-up. Weve recruited outside support that has helped to reinforce corners of math which eluded him first time around. Our new, fuzzier world allowed him to catch up, and thrive.

My sons experience with remote learning is in many ways exceptional  but it may also provide clues to how school systems around the world can harness the potential of technology to improve outcomes for all students. The quality of education students have received during this crisis has been uneven. The digital divide, and the related homework gap, are painfully real. Wealthier parents can afford to stay home; they are more educated and better able to support their children; they have enough laptops, steady Wi-Fi and live in homes where theres a modicum of personal space. In Hong Kong, nearly 97% of less-well-off children in a March survey by the The Society for Community Organization reported problems with distance learning, much of it related to poor internet connections. Even those who overcome that obstacle cannot always unlock online opportunities without extra help.

Story continues

That doesnt mean that the greatest learning experiment in history is doomed to fail. Theres a very real possibility we will see more disruptions, whether driven by extreme weather or pandemics, and we cant afford to have hundreds of millions of children falling behind. With the right infrastructure, its possible to rethink academic structures that have in many ways been unchanged since the Victorian period, and come out with options that are more inclusive and flexible. It wont be cheap, but in the age of multi-trillion fiscal stimulus, it may be the best investment we make.

***

Almost everyone Ive spoken to, from head teachers to students and parents, has expressed frustration over the abrupt switch to virtual schooling during the current health crisis. Most institutions were ill-prepared to move to online instruction. In part, this comes from our overoptimistic views of how easy it is to teach and learn online. Thats not new: Radio, then television, and later mass open online courses, were also supposed to provide high-quality free education for all, yet havent quite lived up to expectations.

Distance learning comes with inherent limitations. In China, online tuition is a 500 billion yuan, or nearly $71 billion industry, but even at that size, virtual lessons dont make the bricks-and-mortar alternative irrelevant. Schools help children turn into self-sufficient beings that can thrive in society. They teach and model good study habits. They also allow parents to work, and in many places, they mean shelter and nutritious food that is otherwise unavailable. Physical schools played these critical roles before the pandemic, and these functions will be even more essential after it passes.

And yet the traditional schoolroom is far from perfect, as students with learning challenges know. Its also unclear if the current model is the one best suited to produce the workers of the future. Sugata Mitra, a computer programmer-turned-educational researcher famous for his Hole in the Wall experiments in India, argues that the current set-up is the product of an imperial era, geared toward training human computers with neat, legible handwriting and quick arithmetic. Our modern economy, on the other hand, requires innovative, collaborative, problem-solving workers.

So what kind of system should we aspire to build, when the pandemic ebbs?

First, we need to adapt schools to work better online, even when classrooms are open. Early-childhood instruction has to be grounded in core numeracy and literacy, and it's true plenty of motor skills are best taught in person, but online options can encourage more independent, problem-based learning, where children solve challenges themselves.Some of this happens already, but the virtual tools we are now all familiar with open up more choices as they get older, plus the possibility of collaboration across schools and ages. Better yet, by leaning into this sort of activity when stuck at home, we overcome the pedagogical limitations of wall-to-wall Zoom lessons.

As we figure out how to get there, its encouraging that one consequence of this outbreak has been increased collaboration among teachers, schools, students and parents, to identify best practices. In Hong Kong, thats been fostered by the Centre for Information Technology Education, but also through countless informal Facebook groups.

Second, we need to recognize that successful online teaching requires helping hands. We know from past studies and current experience that hybrid or blended teaching  a combination of online classes and more engaged, in-person and group work  produces the best outcomes, so the role of human assistance should not be a surprise. It becomes crucial, though, when designing a set-up able to include children who are vulnerable, or have special needs of any kind.

For me, it was a semi-retired teacher who lives nearby and has the patience to handle both my childs intense interest in Medieval history, and his struggle with more abstract mathematical concepts. A willing grandmother supported too, via FaceTime. Online platforms, with support from local authorities and schools, can make this kind of supplemental instruction accessible to many more, ensuring we dont leave kids lagging in times of disruption.

A policy proposal from Reform Scotland, a think tank, suggests connecting sheltered-in-place retired teachers with children who have educational gaps, special needs or are otherwise at risk. Countless retired or trainee nurses around the world have answered the call to serve during this pandemic; its reasonable to assume that many former teachers would do the same.

Finally, getting good outcomes online, as in the classroom, requires planning. Hong Kong schools, stung by closures during anti-government protests last year, were better equipped to deal with the transition to online learning than counterparts elsewhere. Substantial, sustained public investment will be necessary to get educators, families and students ready for next time.

What to spend on? We need to start by getting a better understanding of the technological disparities students face  schools very often have no idea how kids are set up at home  and then provide equipment, and access to the right software, much of which already exists. Then comes the support. For teachers, thats extra tech (and tech teaching) skills. For children, thats investing in those willing helpers, virtual or otherwise. Absent trained educators, governments can provide guidance so even relatives and community members play a similar role.

Once released from shelter-in-place orders, we might find our children have shorter classroom schedules, but more learning hours. They may have more agency, and move more easily between online and offline options. Having witnessed the social divisions laid bare by the pandemic, we may finally widen access to assistance that closes the attainment gap. Not a revolution, but a welcome evolution.

For us in Hong Kong, in our fourth month of home-working and e-learning, there has been no miracle, and plenty of difficult days. None of this has miraculously fixed my sons attention span or his ability to do messier word problems. He is, though, more relaxed, in charge of his own time (now a necessity), thrilled with his projects and the obstacles hes overcome. Hes almost cracked fractions, too.

Just dont ask him about the best thing about homeschooling. Hell just say its the food.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Clara Ferreira Marques is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering commodities and environmental, social and governance issues. Previously, she was an associate editor for Reuters Breakingviews, and editor and correspondent for Reuters in Singapore, India, the U.K., Italy and Russia.

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion

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Rosie O'Donnell revealed that she's helping Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer and supporter, with his 'spicy' tell-all book aimed exposing the president.

In an interview with The Daily Beast, O'Donnell said she first became amicable with Cohen after she visited him in jail.

'I wrote him a letter the day that Trump got impeached. I found his inmate number online,' O'Donnell said.

'He always looked to me like someone from my neighborhood. He grew up on Long Island like I did, hes a few years younger, and he reminds me of my brothers.

'I look at this guy and go, "How did he fall under the spell of that charlatan?"'

Actress Rosie O'Donnell (pictured) said she helped former Trump-lawyer Michael Cohen with his tell-all book

Cohen, 53, was sentenced to three years in federal prison after pleading guilty to tax evasion and campaign finance violations in December 2018.

He confessed to prosecutors that he orchestrated a hush payment of $130,000 on behalf of Trump to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, who was Trump's alleged mistress, before the 2016 presidential election.

For 12 years, Cohen acted as Trump's first line of defense against a bevy of reporters, accusers and other foes of the president.

This included O'Donnell, whose feud with Trump spanned years involved the president threatening to sue her.

O'Donnell wrote a letter to Cohen expressing her appreciation that he finally pushed back at his former boss.

'When hes being impeached and youre sitting in jail for doing exactly what the boss told you to do, its mind-boggling to me,' she wrote in the letter.

Michael Cohen (pictured), Trump's former personal lawyer, was so moved by a letter from O'Donnell that he cried

'I want you to know that I realize you were involved wholeheartedly in all the attacks on me since 2007, and I forgive you, and I want to thank you for finally telling the truth about him.

'No matter how long it took you, youll be known and respected for that as much as any horror youve committed through him.'

Cohen was 'so moved by the letter that he started crying.'

In a letter written back to O'Donnell, Cohen confessed it 'had been bothering him all this time, because he couldnt believe all the things he did to everyoneincluding meat Trumps direction was now being done to him.'

The two exchanged more letters before O'Donnell decided to visit him in prison.

O'Donnell said the two discussed several things, including how he became involved with Trump and his aspirations to write a tell-all book.

Michael Cohen (left) has reportedly begun shopping a tell-all book about working as Donald Trump's lawyer for 12 years

'I went there and I sat for six hours and talked to him,' O'Donnell told The Daily Beast.

'He told me what chapters he was doing in his book, and on my way home, I was writing about what had happened between us, and I gave him my breakdown of things that should be in chapters.'

O'Donnell, who has written several bestselling memoirs, began helping Cohen flesh out his vision.

'I said, "You should tell this story as a chapter, you should tell this story as a chapter,"' O'Donnell said, adding that reader might see the book before the 2020 election.

'Hes in the midst of writing it, and is nearly done writing it, and hopes that itll be out before the election,' she said.

She added that the book is 'pretty spicy.'

Meanwhile, Cohen's early release from prison on Friday was unexpectedly halted.

He asked officials to be released from prison over fears of contracting COVID-19 amid the pandemic.

Michael Cohen's expected early release from minimum security prison is HALTED as Donald Trump tries to stop longtime fixer from writing a tell-all book

Michael Cohen, the former personal lawyer to President Donald Trump, will not be released from prison this week to serve the remainder of his term in home confinement, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday.

The news comes after it was revealed Trump Organization lawyer Charles Harder wrote Cohen to assert that his non-disclosure agreement prohibits him from writing a tell-all memoir as he is intending.

Asked if President Trump intervened to stop Cohen's release, new White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany replied Friday, 'No, absolutely not.'

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) had previously informed Cohen that he would be getting out of the federal minimum security prison in Otistville, New York, on Friday due to the coronavirus pandemic, his lawyers said.

Michael Cohen, the former personal lawyer to President Donald Trump, will not be released from prison this week to serve the remainder of his term in home confinement, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday

Cohen's prison sentence is due to expire in November of 2021.

Reuters and other media reported last month that Cohen was set to be freed from a minimum-security camp at Otisville, New York on May 1.

He had pressed to be released early due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has hammered New York and surfaced in prisons nationwide.

ABC News reported on Friday that Cohen's anticipated release had been 'rescinded.'

Cohen's conviction stemmed from hush money payments he directed to pornographic film star Stormy Daniels

The source said it was unclear now whether Cohen would be released early. The source did not know the reason for the change of plans.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office declined to comment.

Cohen's lawyer, Roger Adler, did not respond to a request for comment on Friday. Earlier in the week he told Reuters he 'remained hopeful' that Cohen would be released, but that only BOP could make that decision.

Cohen, 53, pleaded guilty in 2018 to campaign finance violations and lying to Congress, among other charges. He began serving his sentence last May.

The charges stemmed from hush money payments to pornographic film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who claimed they had affairs with Trump. The president has denied having the encounters.

Cohen maintains he deserves early release for telling investigators about the president's misdeeds.

In court papers, prosecutors say Cohen has offered no evidence that he provided them with substantial assistance of the kind that warrants a significant reduction in sentence. And they say Congressional testimony does not earn a reduction either.

Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018, abandoning his longtime position of loyalty to Trump.

He later met with federal and state prosecutors in New York and with the office of special counsel Robert Mueller, telling them he had lied to Congress to protect Trump.

Prior to Cohen's sentence, Mueller's team of investigators described his help to their probe, but prosecutors in Manhattan made it clear that Cohen wanted to help them only on his terms, unwilling to submit to the demands that he reveal all of his crimes and cooperate fully and honestly.
YEREVAN.  Regarding the latest case of death from COVID-19 in Armenia, the 61-year-old female patient had pre-existing chronic diseases, the Ministry of Health informed in a statement on Saturday.

2 cases of death were registered yesterday when the patients had tested positive for COVID-19, but the cause of death was another disease. The total of such death cases is 12, the statement also reads.

As reported earlier, as of 11am Saturday, 3,175 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Armenia with 1,267 recoveries and 44 deaths.
More than any other incident in over 40 days of a lockdown that is reputedly the worlds most stringent, it was the mowing down of 16 migrants sleeping on a rail track in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, on Friday that encapsulated the human tragedy unleashed by the covid-19 pandemic.

The migrants, who had walked 36km on the first stretch of what would have been their journey home to Madhya Pradesh, had fallen asleep on the rail track, tired. A goods train ploughed through them at daybreak.

The covid-19 pandemic has hit the poor the hardest in India, with locked factories and other workplaces triggering the biggest internal migration since Partition.

The question spawned by Fridays tragedy is why it happened on the railway track.

Many of the migrants walking back to their home towns, without food or water, have been using railway tracks to navigate their way in the long and unbearable Indian summer. Often rail tracks are the shortest route home. Migrants have also been walking on and along them to avoid police brutality on the roads.

These workers would have avoided walking on the roads out of fear of the police. Walking on the railway tracks and following the route is an easier option as they would not get lost and nobody will be able to identify them," said Thaneshwar Dayal Adigaur, secretary of Delhi Asangathit Nirman Mazdoor Union, a union of unorganized construction workers.

It is a common assumption that train routes are shorter than roads and highways, said a senior government official.

Following the tragedy, the railway ministry put out a tweet saying, The general public is requested not to use the railway track for any activity, this can prove to be fatal. During the lockdown, only passenger trains are closed, but goods trains, covid-19 parcel special trains are in regular operation."

The tragedy shows that the Centre, state governments, and the local administrations have failed to instil confidence in migrant workers and make them feel safe in the cities, said Adigaur. The 16 who died on the tracks in Maharashtra worked in an iron company in Jalna and hoped to catch a special train for Madhya Pradesh.

Special trains carrying stranded migrant workers were flagged off from various stations on 1 May for the first time after the lockdown was enforced on 25 March. The Shramik Special trains are aimed at helping millions of migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students, and others stranded by the lockdown return home. However, many people who have not been able to board these trains are setting off on arduous journeys on foot.

More train routes and services are being drawn up on the basis of demand by state governments, with the clamour for special buses and trains from states growing after thousands of desperate migrants set off for their hometowns on foot. While a relaxation in the lockdown beginning 4 May will come as a relief to the millions of migrants stranded in the cities of their work, the move has not been without controversy. The migration has snowballed into a political issue amid chaotic scenes.

Some states are charging migrants for their train journeys, while some others had tried to bar them from going home.

The Karnataka government led by chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa of the Bharatiya Janata Party evoked public outrage when it withdrew its request to the railways to ferry migrants home. It then made a U-turn on Friday to lift the backdoor ban on migrant workers leaving the state.

While migrant workers are desperate to go back to their hometowns, there is no clarity on the details of the migrants special trains started by the state and the central government," Adigaur said.

Migrants form the bulwark of Indias informal or gig economy. This is significant as more than 90% of Indias workforce is estimated to be in the informal sector in both rural and urban regions. According to the 2017-18 Economic Survey, 87% of firms, representing 21% of the total turnover, are purely informal, outside both the tax and social security nets.

The sudden lockdown announcement to prevent the spread of the pandemic caught these migrants unawares as they found it impossible to make ends meet in the absence of any safety net.

I dont understand why poor migrants have to walk hundreds of km to go to their villages. If one weeks notice of lockdown had been given, most migrant workers would have gone by trains to their states," said R. Kumar, who works at a Delhi-based NGO on migrant issues.





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captain amarinder singh

Chandigarh: Asserting that the Punjab Police force was on its toes and keeping a close watch on anti-national activities from across the border even amid the Covid crisis, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday warned Pakistan against its persistent attempts to spread narco-terrorism from across the border.

Our eyes are open to what Pakistan is doing, the Chief Minister said, in the wake of the arrest of a big fish in the drugs business by the police, assuring the people that no matter how much the force is busy in Covid duties, the police is keeping a close watch on the borders. He congratulated the force, led by DGP Dinkar Gupta, for the latest arrests, as well as the important role played by them in the Kashmir operations against Hizbul Mujahideen. He referred to the arrest of Hilal, an active worker of Hizbul Mujahideen and a close associate of the banned outfits commander, Naikoo, who was killed by security forces in Kashmir.

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Pakistan is not letting up on its attempts to push drugs, weapons and drug money despite the Covid crisis, clearly in an attempt to destabilise the state and disturb its peace, but we will not allow that to happen, declared Captain Amarinder.From the Punjab Police to the BSF (the first line of defence at the borders), everyone was on their toes to defeat the nefarious designs of Pakistan, said the Chief Minister, adding that the states police force was working in a sustained and active manner to ensure that they do not get away with their wicked plans.

Observing that terrorists and gangsters had probably thought they could use the gap created by the diversion of resources and police manpower to Covid duties to smuggle drugs and weapons to spread mayhem in Punjab, Captain Amarinder said despite half the Punjab Police force on curfew/lockdown duties and humanitarian relief missions, they were keeping a close eye on what was happening along the borders.

We will ensure that such anti-national elements are caught and put behind the bars, where they belong, he said.Recalling his promise to the people of Punjab that he would break the backbone of the drug trade in the state, the Chief Minister said the arrest of Ranjeet @ Cheeta had effectively done that. Even on the terror front, the police force had been actively working to bust terrorist modules, with 32 of these neutralised since his government took over in March 2017, said Captain Amarinder, adding that 155 terrorists/radicals had been arrested and large number of weapons, including foreign-made ones, along with China-made drones had been seized in this period.
Tsai asks Su to remain premier for second presidential term

ROC Central News Agency

05/08/2020 12:45 PM

Taipei, May 8 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen () announced Friday that incumbent Premier Su Tseng-chang () will continue to lead the Cabinet after the inaugural ceremony for her second term on May 20.

"Over the past year, Premier Su has had many outstanding achievements. I hereby announce that I have invited him to stay on as premier so we can continue fighting for Taiwan together," Tsai said at a press conference also attended by the premier.

Praising Su as a protector of Taiwan and her closest comrade-in-arms, Tsai thanked the premier for his hard work, saying that he has already helped her build a better Taiwan and will continue to do so over the next four years in her second term as president. She also noted his high public approval.

Outlining her blueprint for Taiwan, Tsai emphasized that combating the COVID-19 pandemic is her top priority right now, to be followed by reinvigorating Taiwan's economy, improving the livelihood of the people, deepening ongoing reform and achieving balanced regional development.

For his part, Su said he was honored to assume the responsibility and promised, as always, to do everything in his power to help Tsai.

"My life-long goal is to see Taiwan shine and recognized across the world," he said.

In line with the Constitution, Su will submit the collective resignation of the Cabinet during its weekly meeting on May 14 -- the last Cabinet meeting before May 20, when Tsai officially starts her second and final four-year term as president.

(By Flor Wang and Wen Kuei-hsiang)

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Food columnist Alison Roman shocked Chrissy Teigen's fans this afternoon, after saying she was 'horrified' by the model's food-based 'content farm'.

Hours later, Teigen took to Twitter to passionately defend her Cravings empire, while expressing what a 'huge bummer' it was to learn of Roman's words.

'I don't think I've ever been so bummed out by the words of a fellow food-lover. I just had no idea I was perceived that way, by her especially,' wrote the 34-year-old model.

Firing back: Chrissy Teigen took to Twitter on Friday evening to passionately defend her Cravings empire after food columnist Alison Roman slammed her in an interview with the New York Consumer

The unwarranted criticism may have 'hit [her] hard,' but Chrissy pressed on and explained that she 'started Cravings because [she] wanted something for [herself].'

'I wanted something [husband John Legend] didn't buy. I wanted something to do that calmed me, made me happy and made others happy, too,' she explained.

She also insisted that Cravings 'isn't a "machine" or "farmed content"' as Roman had described. Instead, it is run entirely by Teigen and 'just 2 other women.'

In Roman's New York Consumer interview - which sparked the outrage - she had described Teigen's climb to the top of the food empire as something she finds 'crazy.'

Bummed: 'I don't think I've ever been so bummed out by the words of a fellow food-lover. I just had no idea I was perceived that way, by her especially,' wrote the 34-year-old model

'She had a successful cookbook. And then it was like: Boom, line at Target. Boom, now she has an Instagram page that has over a million followers where it's just, like, people running a content farm for her. That horrifies me and its not something that I ever want to do. I dont aspire to that.'

Chrissy, who claimed to have been making '[Roman's] recipes for years now' and supporting the food columnist's business ventures, clearly took her words to heart.

'I bought [Roman's] cookbooks, supported her on social and praised her in interviews. I even signed on to executive produce the very show she talks about doing in this article,' she wrote.

'I genuinely loved everything about Alison. Was jealous she got to have a book with food on the cover instead of a face!! I've made countless NYT recipes she's created, posting along the way.'

Speaking her truth: The unwarranted criticism may have 'hit [her] hard,' but Chrissy pressed on and explained that she 'started cravings because [she] wanted something for [herself]'

Cravings: Teigen co-wrote her successful cookbook Cravings: Recipes for All the Food You Want to Eat with author Adeena Sussman back in 2016

Chrissy continued on Twitter: 'I didn't "sell out" by making my dreams come true. To have a cookware line, to get to be a part of that process start to finish, to see something go from sketch to in my hands, I love that.'

Teigen co-wrote her successful cookbook Cravings: Recipes for All the Food You Want to Eat with author Adeena Sussman back in 2016.

In 2018 she wrote a follow up cookbook titled Cravings: Hungry for More, which was met with instant success.

Chrissy explained that 'to see [her cookbooks] being used by people around the world makes [her] so happy.'

Separate ways: Teigen concluded her lengthy Twitter rant by suggesting that her and Roman 'should probably unfollow each other' on the social platform

Apology: Two hours later, Alison Roman attempted to apologize to Chrissy on Twitter

'Watching a company grow makes me happy. I get joy from it and lots of people do.'

She admitted that though it had 'been crappy to deal with this all day,' she 'couldn't not say something' in response to Roman's assumptions.

'I know the actual tears I put into the work I do and it's really hard to see someone try to completely invalidate it. Someone I really liked,' lamented Teigen.

The wife of John Legend even admitted that 'there are many days' that she cries over what she has been able to accomplish with Cravings.

'I cry very hard because cravings, the site, is our baby we love to pump content onto. we do this work ourselves, and there is NO monetary gain yet. it is just work work work and the reward is you liking it. so to be called a sellout....hooooo it hurts!'

Critical: Viral food columnist Alison Roman caused a social media uproar this afternoon when revealed that she is 'horrified' by Chrissy Teigen's food-based 'content farm' and that it is something she 'never wants to do'; Alison pictured in 2020

Apology: Roman later backtracked

'This "farm" you think of doesn't exist. I am the farm. I am the cows the horses the pigs.'

Teigen concluded her lengthy Twitter rant by suggesting that her and Roman 'should probably unfollow each other' on the social platform.

Legend showed support for his impassioned wife by tweeting: 'I love what you are building. I love that it comes straight from your heart and your brilliant, creative mind. I'm so proud of you.'

Two hours later, Alison Roman attempted to apologize to Chrissy on Twitter.

Model husband: Legend showed support for his wife shortly after her Twitter spree

'I sent an email but also wanted to say here that Im genuinely sorry I caused you pain with what I said,' she began.

'I shouldnt have used you /your business (or Maries!) as an example to show what I wanted for my own career- it was flippant, careless and Im so sorry.'

In an indirect tweet, the Bon Appetit magazine columnist insisted that 'being a woman who takes down other women is absolutely not [her] thing.'

'And dont think its yours, either (I obviously failed to effectively communicate that). I hope we can meet one day, I think wed probably get along,' she concluded.

Chrissy has yet to respond to Alison's apology.
Fort Polk, LA (71446)

Today

Partly cloudy early. Thunderstorms developing this afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 73F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Showers with a possible thunderstorm early, then variable clouds overnight with still a chance of showers. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 36F. WSW winds shifting to N at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
WASHINGTON - Former Vice President Joe Biden has greenlighted a major hiring spree to shore up his campaign for the general election and calm roiling concerns among Democratic leaders about his operation's scale and reach.

The additions, which involve dozens of staffers in all major departments, come as senior Democratic strategists and major donors have expressed concern for weeks about the massive advantages enjoyed by President Donald Trump's campaign. They've offered public and private warnings that though Biden leads in the polls now, his comparatively trim operation could prove politically fatal under an onslaught of Trump attacks this fall.

Some donors and strategists have argued that Biden needs to branch out from his basement studio - which has formed the backdrop for a campaign waged largely through uneven video streams, safe from the threat of the coronavirus - and leave the grounds of his Delaware home now that Trump has begun to once again travel the country.

Others have told the Biden team they fear that limiting the candidate to virtual appearances as Trump commands hours of airtime has left Biden on the sidelines while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and state governors serve as the face of the Democratic pandemic response. Rather than highlighting Biden's ideas to tackle the virus or revive the economy, much of the recent attention on him has focused on his denials of a former Senate staffer's sexual assault allegations.

"The question is when does he come out - when is Groundhog Day?" asked John Morgan, a Florida trial lawyer and major Biden donor. "That's the big question. What is the first day of spring?"

Trump on Friday mocked Biden for his cloistered candidacy, offering to provide his rival's campaign a rapid coronavirus test like the one used in the White House while telling Fox News, "I'd love to see him get out of the basement so he can speak."

Another top donor, speaking on the condition of anonymity to offer a candid assessment, suggested that Biden could think about ways to do events at police and fire stations or with nurses, keeping a safe social distance and wearing the appropriate protective equipment.

Campaign officials, who declined to respond to Trump's jibe Friday, have not yet signaled when Biden plans to leave his property.

Instead, the team is mapping a strategy that continues to emphasize virtual campaigning - effectively creating a contrast with Trump, who is eager to portray a sense that the country is returning to normal.

Biden's advisers, who laid out their new expansion plans in interviews with The Washington Post, said the additional staffing and other changes will address many of the concerns they have been hearing.

The moves will include an initial doubling of Biden's 20-person digital staff; new hires in fundraising and organizing; and the appointments of senior officials from the shuttered campaigns of former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-Texas, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sen. Kamala D. Harris, D-Calif.

Coming more than eight weeks after Biden effectively sealed the nomination by winning the Michigan primary, the long-expected expansion was delayed in March by uncertainty about the campaign's finances amid the pandemic, the logistics of building an organization without in-person meetings and a strategic review by the campaign's new leadership.

Biden's new campaign manager, Jen O'Malley Dillon, a field campaign specialist who took over the campaign the day before it began working remotely, has overseen the planning for the new operation, previously bringing in a veteran campaign operative, Mary Beth Cahill, to become chief executive at the Democratic National Committee, and a veteran party fundraiser, Rufus Gifford, to serve as a third deputy campaign manager.

O'Malley Dillon said she has concluded that the campaign must build a robust operation for the summer and fall, heavily weighted toward fostering communities of Biden supporters online to challenge the enormous operation that the Trump campaign has organized over the past three years. Rather than continue the lean operation that Biden had through the primaries, she speaks of a grass-roots organizing model embraced by his rival Democratic primary candidates.

"Our operating theory here is we need to stay connected to people and organize, and create opportunities to engage with voters in ways that match this moment, when so many Americans are anxious and are eager for a sense of community," O'Malley Dillon said in an interview.

The Biden campaign has begun to reposition the candidate in and around his home and has started to scale up its ability to reach out digitally, as nationwide social distancing enters its third month. After filming much of his content in a converted basement studio, Biden recently outfitted his home to give him the options of appearing live from a room with more natural light or from an outdoor spot on the property, according to digital director Rob Flaherty.

The moves may ease concerns among some Democrats that Biden has been losing crucial time to narrow the gap between his operation and the Trump campaign.

Two leaders of the last successful Democratic presidential campaigns, David Axelrod and David Plouffe, penned an opinion article in the New York Times this week with detailed instructions for how "Biden in the Basement" could improve his campaign. It was interpreted by some Democratic insiders as an unhelpful diminishing of the work going on behind the scenes to enhance the campaign.

"Online speeches from his basement won't cut it," the two strategists opined.

Since publishing their critique, both Plouffe and Axelrod, who said he was assigned the piece by a Times editor, have made clear that their suggestions were not meant as a criticism of O'Malley Dillon's leadership.

"She could have written that piece herself," Axelrod said. "She knows what to do and, from what I can see, is making progress."

Much of what Democrats have called for publicly has been in the works, albeit at a small scale with mixed success so far.

The campaign has built a network of about 50 amateur content creators to craft online material to sell the Biden brand, including a recent interactive biographical tour of Biden's life using mapping software. The volunteer effort is run by a middle school science teacher in Ohio and a PhD candidate at Duke University.

Other campaign efforts online do not come with fingerprints. The campaign's surrogate operation, run by the former figure skater Michelle Kwan, arranged Thursday for Mark Hamill, the actor who played Luke Skywalker in the "Star Wars" films, to respond to a tweet from Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale that compared the Trump effort to the Death Star.

"Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny," Hamill responded, a quote from Yoda in the movie series, which he paired with the hashtag #Red5StandingBy, a line his character speaks before destroying the galactic superweapon in the original 1977 film.

While the Trump campaign online has embraced a macho and combative approach - "This account punches back 10x harder," runs the motto of one Trump campaign Twitter account - the Biden operation has been seeking to develop a more uplifting identity online, embracing the candidate's life story and making light of his love of ice cream and aviator sunglasses.

"Trump's angles on social media are always dark, and they are always mean-spirited," said Ben Cobley, a Biden digital organizer. He said Biden wanted to build a community around the more positive side of social media, populated by inspiring memes and cat videos. "We want to lean into that side of the Internet because that side also plays very well."

The campaign has so far focused much of its digital efforts on building community inside existing social networks, an effort that the campaign has dubbed the Soul Squad, a reference to Biden's promise to restore the country's soul.

"Usually we were trying to get people to physically come to our events, trying to get people to take photos," said Eisha Misra, another digital organizer. "This is a totally different way of seeing people online."

The campaign, which outspent Trump online in March, said it has gotten more than 100 million video views since mid-March, has more than doubled the size of its email list and recently held a training for about 700 digital volunteers.

The online organizing effort is based around thematic goals like "compassion," "faith," "resilience," "kindness" and "humility."

"When Trump fights, we're going to fight harder. But our north star is showing empathy and connection," said Flaherty, the digital director. "The way you win is not by being conflict-driven."

The campaign has also begun to redesign its graphics and branding, a project that has been undertaken by Robyn Kanner, who has joined Biden as senior creative adviser, after working for Beto for America, New Balance, Google and Amazon.

Caitlin Mitchell, the chief mobilization officer for Warren for President and the Democratic National Committee, has also joined the Biden campaign to advise on digital strategy and help quickly scale up in-house teams for fundraising and voter outreach.

Andrew Gauthier, former head of video at BuzzFeed Vid who ran digital content for the Harris campaign, has joined the Biden effort as its video director.

Since the primary race, the campaign has had just two video producers, limiting its ability to combat the rapid online responses that have become rote for the Trump campaign.

The campaign's challenge was on display Thursday, as an attempt to stage a virtual tour and rally in Florida, with Biden addressing the nation from an upstairs room in his home, was marred by technical failures.

But there were signs of hope for Biden's team Friday, when he delivered a 13-minute economic speech streamed live on NowThis News. He stood in the same spot where he spoke the night before, against the backdrop of a large window offering a view of trees and flowers. This time, there were no technical difficulties.
IIT Kharagpur Director V K Tewari



has said central institutes like the IITs and NITs have a major role to help the micro, medium and small enterprises (MSME) by guiding them to manufacture personal protective equipment, parts of diagnostic kits and other products required in the Covid-19 era.

Tewari advocated creating mobile apps for the MSMEs, hit hard by the novel coronavirus triggered lockdown, to provide them with training by the institutes.

"For instance, if we provide them (MSME units) with designs of gloves, masks meeting certain guidelines, they can come up with products in 3-4 months. Similarly, these enterprises can be roped in for making parts of diagnostic kits and PCR machines... after required training," he said.

Delivering an address on Facebook Live on the page of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishads (ABVP) West Bengal unit on Friday, the IIT-KGP director suggested that such units may also be asked to produce PPE.

"We have to know what the MSMEs want, what they require and guide them accordingly in the light of the situation arising out of the COVID-19," Tewari said adding that guidance of premier institutes having the required expertise will help the units meet the market demand.

"We should work towards making substitutes of certain imported products so that we don't have to import (them)," said the academician.

The government has taken steps to contain the spread of novel coronavirus, Tewari said adding that an estimated 1-2 crore people had died in the Spanish flu outbreak of 1918 in the country.

"We are (now) having lockdown 3.0 after the lockdown 1.0 started countrywide on March 25. Let's all hope, if the condition improves, lockdown 4.0 will not take place," he said.

ABVP national secretary Saptarshi Sarkar said Tewari being a renowned academician and head of a premier institute was invited to a Facebook lecture session.

"We are not associated with any political outfit. And his lecture was meant to guide the student community. There should not be any controversy in it," he said when asked about the reason to invite Tewari.

The ABVP is the students' wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Macquarie Leisure Trust Group has reported a bumper revenue performance for the first half across each of its key assets, despite poor weather in Queensland.

Macquarie Leisure has assets divisions under management of more than $600 million, including leisure operations such as Dreamworld, WhiteWater World, dAlbora Marinas, AMF Bowling, Main Event and Goodlife Health Clubs.

Dreamworld revenue for the first half increased 8.8 per cent to $50.7 million, against $46.6 million recorded in the prior corresponding period.

Group chief executive officer Greg Shaw said the Dreamworld results were exceptional given the poor weather.

"The first half was an exceptional result with attendance for the period increasing by 2.7 per cent on the prior corresponding period," Mr Shaw said.
Ivanka Trump

Ivanka Trump's personal assistant has tested positive for the deadly coronavirus, making her the third White House staff member to be infected from COVID-19, a media report said on Saturday. The assistant, who works in a personal capacity for US President Donald Trump's daughter, has not been around her in several weeks, the CNN reported.

She has been teleworking for nearly two months and was tested out of caution, the report quoted a source as saying.

She was not symptomatic. Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner both tested negative on Friday, the person familiar with the matter told the US news channel. The development comes a day after President Trump confirmed that Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary Katie Miller had tested positive for the coronavirus.

"She's a wonderful young woman, Katie, she tested very good for a long period of time and then all of a sudden today she tested positive," Trump said during a meeting at the White House.

He said Miller had not come into contact with him but spent some time with Pence.

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 Trump's personal valets tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday.

Following the news of the valet's illness, Trump said he would be tested for the coronavirus daily.

According to a senior official, contact tracing was performed inside the White House after Miller's test came positive.

The White House is now making sure staffers wear masks in the White House residence, and coronavirus tests and temperature checks are being boosted throughout the West Wing. The West Wing is also being sanitised on a more frequent basis, the official said.

Pence, who leads the White House coronavirus task force, recently went on a trip to the Mayo Clinic without wearing a face mask, despite being told about the clinic's policy saying they're required.

Trump also declined to wear a mask this week during portions of his tour of a mask-making facility in Arizona.
Most global health authorities from the World Health Organization and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S. are projecting a vaccine for COVID-19 should be ready within 12 to 18 months, but even if thats is the case, manufacturing and dispensing needs to be considered, according to one expert.

We dont have the facility to make it for everyone, even if we have the perfect vaccine ready to go in 12 to 18 months, we may not be able to get a hold of it, said Dr. Natasha Crowcroft, Director of the Centre for Vaccine Preventable Diseases, Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.

While some officials are inclined to inject optimism to the public about when society could return to a new normal, the reality of tackling COVID-19 is not as simple, according to Dr. Crowcroft.

People keep saying 12 to 18 months, I hope that's true, but I dont think we know the answer. If its 18 months, we need to plan on not having it for a while, we have to have a way to manage the situation, she said.

The three phases of testing for a viable vaccine which all take anywhere from three to six months include animal testing, safety testing and checking if the vaccine produces immune system activity in humans. Dr. Crowcroft, a 25-year-plus veteran of studying infectious diseases, understands that by providing the public with a particular date, it may offer comfort and calm the minds anxious citizens. However, she insists the timelines are largely a crap shoot.

Anybody who says they have an answer to the question is being optimistic, the simple answer is we really dont know, Ive taken a position we need to be optimistic because of the time that were in, she said.

The status of vaccines for COVID-19

As of late April, over 100 possible vaccines have been established, at least 77 vaccines are being tested globally, and a couple have started phase one of human trials. Researchers at Oxford University are overseeing human trials, with two patients already being injected with the potential vaccine.

Story continues

It has to work on people and it needs to be safe, to get through all the hurdles to get to that point, vaccines can fall at every hurdle, said Dr. Crowcroft.

However, despite Dr. Crowcrofts hesitancy around manufacturing and the timeline, she noted the global attention COVID-19 is receiving from so many scientists and political officials in terms of funding allows her some optimism.

We have never had as much power to discover vaccines, science has moved forward so fast, weve never been in the position where scientists around the world have lined up to work on something in different ways." Dr. Natasha Crowcroft, University of Toronto

With so many minds focusing on the same goal, many taking different approaches, Dr. Crowcroft hopes they can find different methodologies which may all work.

The more ways we try to solve it the more likely we are to find several solutions, she said.

Worst-case scenario without a vaccine

While finding multiple vaccines or cures would be a reason to be enthusiastic, it is necessary to recall scenarios where vaccines or cures werent discovered. For decades, there has been better management for some viruses, but no vaccines for HIV, Epstein-Barr virus and the respiratory syncytial virus.

It is possible that the vaccines wont work, but is it probable? I think the number of ways that this is being approached, the chances they all fail is unlikely, said Dr. Crowcroft.

Dr. Natasha Crowcroft, Director of the Centre for Vaccine Preventable Diseases, Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health with over 25 years of studying infectious diseases.

While vaccines are necessary to find a cure for COVID-19, researchers in Germany and in the U.S. are already working on trying to create serology or antibody testing. The tests would be able to determine if someone had had COVID-19, by seeing if their immune system has produced antibodies against the infection.

However, as tests are underway, Health Canadas website states that they are not aware of a serological-based test that has been validated for diagnosis of COVID-19 to date.

The combination of a no serology test or vaccine is a grim possibility in Dr. Crowcrofts eyes, but still not completely devastating.

The worst-case scenario is we have no way of antibody testing and we have no vaccine, the human race will survive this, its not an extinction event, she said.

Serology testing an indicator of vaccine efficacy

With a global shortage of nasal swab test kits, the need and value of a serology test grows day by day as it allows health authorities a way to grasp how widespread infections are. But, as Dr. Crowcroft notes, even though companies and labs are announcing theyre working on an antibody test, there is still little to show.

According to Dr. Crowcroft it is still unclear how effective serology tests would be at allowing people to go back out into real life.

With serological testing its like one step forward and two steps back, it seems like someone has the answer then it doesn't work, were not there yet, she said.

Germany is the only country to begin widespread serology testing, as health authorities in the country will be testing 15,000 blood samples every two weeks, but the effectiveness and viability of the test is yet to be determined.

The World Health Organization has said even if you test positive for the antibody test, it doesnt mean youre necessarily protected against infection  that is a huge issue, she said.

The lack of a clear-cut antibody test that works is a major problem for trying to figure out if vaccines are effective.

If you dont have antibody tests that work its really hard to figure out if the vaccine is going to be successful, said Dr. Crowcroft.

Could COVID-19 mutate into something different?

There are many iterations of coronavirus from SARS-CoV in 2003 to the current strain of SARS-CoV-2 which is causing the ongoing pandemic. However, as some people online have posed questions concerning a mutating virus, Dr. Crowcroft stresses its not a major concern for researchers working on vaccines.

Coronaviruses dont change as fast, theyre not like influenza, the current thinking is there may be some minor changes, it wont be as rapid -- its not a huge issue, she said.

Instead of being worried about a mutating virus, the importance of a vaccine which is viable for humans is the next key step in the process of testing.

Mutation isnt the concern with the vaccine, I think the concern with the vaccine is finding one that has long-lasting immunity and is safe in human beings, she said.

However, even if COVID-19 is eradicated, this may not be the last time researchers are focusing on creating a vaccine for a virus causing a global pandemic, according to Dr. Crowcroft.

There is a chance for there to be another coronavirus pandemic with a different coronavirus, so we are not out of the woods with this coronavirus, she said.

With the increased globalization and proximity of our day-to-day interactions, Dr. Crowcroft notes that we are still set up to allow history to repeat itself.

We still have all the ingredients for another coronavirus future pandemic in the future if we dont change the fundamental ways we live in this world, she said.

To be the change Dr. Crowcroft is hoping for, she stressed the importance of society to integrate better hygienic measures which include the uses of handwashing, face masks and physical distancing.

Were not going to carry on as we are right now, I think people will be more careful about hygiene probably and keeping their distance, she said.
As we nervously take steps towards the other side of the COVID-19 health crisis, much has been written and said about the new geopolitical and economic world order we may soon find ourselves in.

Erin Molan.

But what about that other - gulp - constant in our lives: the tissue-thin world of celebrity culture?

Indeed, things are not looking too flash for the glittering galaxy of stars through whom we have lived vicariously for years.

You just have to look at the celebrity backlash amid all those cloyingly saccharine, feel-good public service announcements being delivered by famous faces on television and social media platforms telling us "we're all in this together".
Nine and producers Screentime have speedily settled a legal complaint from former Victorian Police Chief Simon Overland over his portrayal in Informer 3838.

The Australian reports the character of Overland, played by Ian Bliss (pictured), is shown having meetings and phone conversations with the secret police informer Nicola Gobbo (Ella Scott Lynch).

But Overland told the newspaper he gave evidence in the royal commission, that neither of us have ever met or spoken.

He claimed scenes misrepresented him, telling the newspaper, I am concerned about it, I think it does go to my reputation because its portraying me in a light that is not factual and saying and doing things I would never say or do.

Overland requested Nine contribute a $10,000 charity payment to the families of four dead Victorian police officers.

Nine reportedly offered Overland two settlements: A $6000 donation and a card correcting the record at the end of the show, or $10,000 donation and no correction.

Underbelly has a legacy of legal proceedings including being banned in Victoria and previous defamation cases.

Nine declined to comment.
Nigeria, unlike the many other African nations, has not been lucky to have escaped biting flagellations, scathing criticism, well-intentioned satire, seasonal adoration and well-considered encomiums both from her own citizens and the citizens of the world. Among other brilliant minds, Gbemisola Adeoti metaphorised her as a giant whale that swallows the sinker with hook, line and bait. It seems evident that the fate of Nigeria is antithetical - those who admire her, also turn against her, making it a herculean task to determine whether she has got more allies than foes; more acolytes than persecutors; or more helpers than detractors. Altogether, she seems to be a mystery.

A lot of daunting predictions and heartbreaking prophecies; intuitions and submissions have been made about her. In 2006, to illustrate, the United State of America's Central Intelligence Agency predicted she would be no more by 2015. Was the CIA wrong? At least, with the benefit of hindsight, one cannot say absolutely that the USA's Central Intelligence Agency goofed because the spate of callous murdering, gutter politics, carefree looting, and religious divisions that did characterize the pre-2015 era were completely strange. Amazingly, she survived a wicked prediction, even though, her survival has been a mystery to both the predictor and the intended victims. Around 2010, a former Libya strongman, the late Muammar Gaddafi called for the splitting of the nation along religious lines in order to halt the bloodshed of the innocent Nigerians. Can we say he was wrong? Can we say he was a foe? Well, the dastard killing and sacking of lives and properties by the Islamic militants- Boko Haram- seem to lend credence to the unfortunate counsel given by the man called Gaddafi. In addition to this spite, a segment of her sons have protested for a secession, overtimes. Her youths seem to believe that truly, the land is a giant hawk as they queue horridly at the embassies to jet out of their looted nation.

But in October 1, 1960, when she marked her first independence anniversary, she adopted a lofty national anthem, whose lyrics were supplied by Lillian Williams. I have found some lines of the anthem both refreshingly breathtaking and genuinely inspiring. " ...in brotherhood we stand" and " ...to hand on to our children a banner without stain". Let's probe a bit into these lines. Are Nigerians brothers? Has the banner been passed over to the supposed children? Is the banner without a stain? After many years, we can say that the fathers have been the ones ruling since 1960. Despite their promise of handing down an immaculate banner, they have soiled it, ragged it, and tainted it with huge lootings and dastard corruption. Little wonder why our leaders have always been pointed at as the murderer of the fatherland and looter of the motherland. It is usually safe to spare literature with the details of the shameful lootings that we have witnessed so far, consequently, making us the ant of Africa.

Today, the looters of our nation have coined another nomenclature for pilfering and siphoning. They call it the national cake, therefore, expecting everyone to brutally fight for their own avaricious portion. No doubt, looters are ubiquitous in Nigeria, they seem to be everywhere. Recall, one of her leaders, though, a khaki man, who has continued to top the list of looters. Amazingly, since 1999, his lootings are still coming back home and may never stop. Less strangely, some people have expressed their views about the returned loots, which they believe will be re-looted. From looters to looters, they say. Well, considering the change mantra, which signals a new era of saints, do you think the Abacha's loots will be re-looted? Anyway, this is Nigeria, a blessed nation with stories of rapacious lootings. No doubt, she is a nation of mysteries, looted by her own sons and daughters. At this point, let's allow Birago Diop to write the conclusion of this piece: if we cry roughly of our torments, ever increasing from the start of things, what eyes will watch our large mouths...

Samuel Ogunnaike, wrote from Lagos


Miriam Margolyes caused a stir with her virtual appearance on the latest episode of Channel 4's The Last Leg, after admitting she "had difficulty not wanting Boris Johnson to die" while he was fighting Covid-19.

The actor was asked by presenter Adam Mills for her view on how the UK prime minister has been handling the coronavirus pandemic and, predictably, did not hold back.

"Appallingly, of course, appallingly," she said. "Its a disgrace, its a scandal. Its a public scandal. I had difficulty not wanting Boris Johnson to die. I wanted him to die.

"Then I thought that will reflect badly on me and I dont want to be the sort of person that wants people to die. So then I wanted him to get better, which he did do, he did get better."

She continued: "But he didnt get better as a human being. And I really would prefer that. So were in the s**t, basically, here."

Fans reacted to Margolyes's comments on social media, with some saying the actor's claim had made them feel uncomfortable. Others pointed out that even the show's hosts, Mills, Alex Brooker and Josh Widdecombe, had seemed astonished by the remarks.

Others praised Margolyes for "speaking her mind" and giving "precisely zero f***s", while some pointed out the UK's rising death toll as proof of the government and Johnson's failings in handling the pandemic.

During the show, the actor also scolded Hills for coughing during the interview, which he said was because he was sitting in a freezing garage in the early hours of the morning.

Johnson is due to give an update on Sunday 10 May regarding the current lockdown rules. The prime minister has been in recovery since being admitted to hospital and placed on oxygen after he tested positive for the virus himself.

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Margolyes is known for making controversial remarks during interviews. In a 2017 interview with The Telegraph, she felt it was "good to shock" because it "shakes people up a bit".
The AAP government has told the Delhi High Court that adequate ration was being provided to Rohingya families at three camps in south and north east parts of the city during the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

The submission was made by the Delhi government before a bench of Justices Manmohan and Sanjeev Narula, which was hearing a plea seeking immediate relief for the Rohingya families at settlements in Khajuri Khas in north east Delhi and Shram Vihar and Madanpur Khadar in south Delhi.

Delhi government additional standing counsel Sanjoy Ghose and advocate Urvi Mohan also told the court that four hunger centres were being run near the settlements mentioned in the plea.

The petitioner, Fazal Abdali, claimed that the Rohingyas at these three camps were being denied relief under the various schemes announced by the Delhi government to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

The bench, however, noted that the petitioner had not given any specific particulars of the neglect faced by these families and had only made general allegations in the representations sent to authorities.

The court further said that a similar matter was pending in the Supreme Court on whose orders nodal officers have been appointed to address the grievances of those needing help and therefore, the petitioner ought to have first approached the nodal officers.

The bench also said that as a similar matter was pending in the apex court it would not be appropriate to entertain the plea and disposed it of with a direction to the petitioner to approach the nodal officers or revenue magistrate with precise allegations and particulars.

The court said the petitioner will have to inform the nodal officer about the name and address of the refugee who has been denied medical attention, water or ration.

The bench also directed the nodal officers to dispose of such representations, if any are made, within three days by a "speaking order".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Following the first positive COVID-19 case recorded in the Bono region last Wednesday May 6, 2020, the Regional Emergency Management Committee has stepped up its contact tracing and surveillance in all the twelve districts in order to have a broader picture of the state of infection within the region and respond appropriately.

Authorities have also increased behavior change communication and continued to emphasize social distancing to prevent community spread.

We are no more in category four which comprises regions with no case. Now we have moved to Category Three, which is a region with one case. Now our most immediate response which we have started is contact tracing. In the contact tracing, what we would first have to do will be contact identification and list these contacts, which we have started doing and then we do contact follow-up."

First COVID-19 case

Addressing the media in Sunyani, the Regional Director of Health Services. Dr. Kofi Issah said the Bono Region recorded its first suspected case of COVID-19 on the 9th March 2020. We have nonetheless investigated 583 suspected cases, taken 202 samples and received the results of 128 samples, one of which tested positive for COVID-19. The outstanding samples yet to be received are 74.

The positive case under reference is that of a 27-year-old Togolese man who illegally enter the country illegally in the company of nine others through unapproved routes in the Jaman North district capital, Sampa. He was apprehended along with the others during the last week of April 2020, by personnel of the Ghana Immigration Service.

He said test results received on 6th May 2020 confirmed that all but one of the ten illegal immigrants was positive.

He has since been placed in quarantine at Sampa. The remaining nine illegal immigrants have meanwhile been handed over to Immigration and National Security officials for substantive action, he added.

Swift response

Immediately the results came in we proceeded to Sampa. The district had already started putting up some measures. Prior to this each sub-district in this country is supposed to have a team of two people as Contact Tracing Team Leads. In Bono region, we have 58 sub-districts. That means we have 116 people.

The Regional Director further said in the Jaman North District, the sub-districts took the lead as expected with support by the district and the regional teams went in there, and had contacted 78 as at the time of the media briefing.

These 78 people included officials of the Ghana Immigration Service, the Ghana Police Service, community people, commercial drivers who assisted in the arrest and prosecution of the ten foreigners, one of whom later tested positive Dr. Kofi Issah explained.

He called on the media to step up education about the disease, saying, your role as the media is very critical now.we now have to move from just describing what the signs and symptoms of COVID are to why is it unique to wash your hands, how do you wash the hands, why do you have to observe social distance among others.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday paid tributes to Maharana Pratap on his 480th birth anniversary, saying his patriotism will always be remembered.

In his message, Naidu said Maharana Pratap was one of India's greatest warriors.

"His indomitable courage, valour, leadership skills and love for motherland will always be remembered and continue to inspire every Indian," he said.

Modi described the 13th king of Mewar as the great son of Mother India.

"His life full of patriotism, self-respect and might will always remain a source of inspiration for the people of the country," the prime minister said.

Pratap Singh, popularly known as Maharana Pratap, was born in 1540.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The unthinkable has happened. The mango season is in full swing, without any ceremony or sentimental tributes. This needs to be corrected instantly, so here goes. The world might have hit its darkest patch, but there is still an orange lining on select sub-continental street carts. I have just allowed myself a slice of heaven, temporarily transporting me out of these insipid times and into the sweet realm of fruity nostalgia.

Streetside thievery

Where there is a mango, there are memories of grandmothers, childhood games and the freedom of summer evenings. But a mango, like any self-obsessed superstar, eclipses the less shouty charms of the rest of the fruit ensemble. My mind goes back to a drive from Pahalgam to Srinagar in a minibus filled with cousins. As the sun plummeted taking our spirits along with it, we made a quick stop at an apple orchard. Now the last person Id heard of biting into an apple thats plucked straight off a tree was one Eve, and things didnt go very well for her. Our party was luckier; the farm owner even sliced the fruit using a simple yet magnificent contraption. An apple I hold dearer to my heart than the one Im typing these words on.

Where there is a mango, there are memories of grandmothers, childhood games and the freedom of summer evenings

For those familiar with the lanes of Bandra in Mumbai, they will know well a fruit that is plentiful at this time of year. The white jamun with its juicy-crunchy kick. This, of all fruits, I proclaim, is best had stolen, slightly bruised from its fall, and in less fastidious times, dusty too. Sweet is the fruit of streetside thievery.

Fruity dangers

On a long-ago trip to Malaysia, I was exposed to a peculiar and powerful fruit. The durian, with its spiky exterior and noxious smell, could well be a flavour invented by Bertie Bott of Every Flavour Bean fame. Even lovers of jackfruit and adorers of melon would be hard-pressed to squeeze out a defence for this offender. I believe there are laws that prohibit its transport in various nations. I salute such efforts against bio-weaponry.

Pineapple, I believe, is another such fruit whose ability to alienate we take too lightly. Ive never understood its widespread appeal. Shamelessly frontlining a pina colada. Parading its boldness in an upside-down cake. Even squashing itself into a halwa! I know that its pointless to scream ones support or rejection of a universally acknowledged fruit, but I feel its providing me with some much-needed catharsis at a difficult time. In the interest of brevity, I will edit out my rant against those tiny bananas and too-tart plums. And my intense aversion to peaches is not open to discussion.

Banana split personality

The best way to eat fruit, I believe, is when its enhancing some kind of dessert. It all started with those cherries in a black forest cake, my generations introduction to this glorious possibility. And that old favourite, banana split. With the lockdown raging on, I see people who cant tell the difference between moong and toor dal whipping up lemon sorbets and strawberry cheesecakes, with potted plants and quirky tableware in filtered frames. I try and repress my puritanical streak and the urge to express my wicked astonishment.

But as someone who cuts a watermelon like a Cubist gone wild, Im in no position to mock. I retaliate by making my own posts, gathering fruit in sunlit trays with captions about Rembrandt and still life.

Something about the goodness of fruit sustains us in hard times. Whether you encounter an apricot in a Moroccan stew or a raisin in an oatmeal cookie, it brings a comfort and delight that is the very mandate of lockdown food. Coconut milk in a curry or kokum in a cooler  the tropics provide such freshness and variety to recipes. I, for one, am grateful for that morning glass of orange juice, between the doing of the dishes and the taking out of the garbage. For a few golden moments, the broken world becomes whole again. And then, once the first round of chores is done and first wave of work mails dealt with, its back to being a fruitcake. Only wicked thoughts about peoples excellent cooking skills can save the day.

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From HT Brunch, May 10, 2020

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US Reportedly Withdrawing Patriot Missiles From Middle East

Sputnik News

Oleg Burunov. Sputnik International

06:33 GMT 08.05.2020

In September 2019, the US deployed additional forces, including Patriot missile systems, in the Middle East to tackle what the Pentagon described as Iran's "hostile behaviour", allegations that came after Washington accused Tehran of attacking oil tankers in the Gulf earlier that year.

Bloomberg has quoted an unnamed official as saying that the US has decided to withdraw two of its four Patriot interceptor batteries from Saudi Arabia and another two such missile systems from elsewhere in the Middle East partly due to the alleged easing of Washington-Tehran tensions.

The source added that the US Patriot batteries in Saudi Arabia will most likely be replaced with domestically-based Patriot interceptors, and that over 12 such systems plus one Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery will remain in the region.

The official also said that the four Patriot batteries were due to be pulled out in March but the withdrawal was postponed following two rocket attacks on the Camp Taji military base in Iraq later that month, which the US claimed was the work of Iranian-backed militias. Iran denies the allegations.

According to the official, US capabilities in the Middle East will not be affected by the Patriot batteries' withdrawal, as Washington is moving ahead with its efforts to strengthen regional air defences.

The source was echoed by US Navy Commander Sean Robertson who said that "the Department [of Defence] maintains robust in-theatre capabilities, including air defence, to address any Iran-related contingencies as needed; we also maintain the capability to augment these forces on short notice".

Referring to a move to withdraw the Patriot batteries which was earlier reported by The Wall Street Journal, President Donald Trump, for his part, said on Thursday that he "doesn't want to talk about it but we're doing some things".

"We're making a lot of moves, in the Middle East and elsewhere. We're doing a lot of things all over the world militarily", he added.

Despite the source's claims about the easing in US-Iranian tensions, Defence Secretary Mark Esper told reporters on Tuesday that the Pentagon believes Iran remains a threat.

"It's fair to say that Iran continues its malign behaviour throughout the region. The Iranian government continues to export terrorism, continues to export this malign behaviour from the Houthis, up into Iraq, across into Syria, you name it", he asserted.

A decision to send an additional 1,000 US troops and Patriot batteries to the Middle East was announced by then-acting Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan in June 2019. He said at the time that the deployment would be used "for defensive purposes to address air, naval and ground-based threats" in the region.

"The recent Iranian attacks [on oil tankers in the Gulf] validate the reliable, credible intelligence we have received on hostile behaviour by Iranian forces and their proxy group that threaten United States personnel and interests across the region", Shanahan claimed. Tehran has repeatedly denied its involvement in the attacks.

The simmering tensions between Tehran and Washington escalated after top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani was assassinated in a US drone strike authorised by President Trump in Baghdad on 3 January 2020.

The tensions have been in place since POTUS announced Washington's unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in May 2018, also reinstating harsh economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Exactly a year later, Iran announced that it had begun suspending some of its JCPOA obligations.

A Sputnik

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Stephanie Earls is a news reporter and columnist at The Gazette. Before moving to Colorado Springs in 2012, she worked for newspapers in upstate NY, WA, OR and at her hometown weekly in Berkeley Springs, WV, where she got her start in journalism.
WASHINGTON  This week Washington entered Phase 1 of the state's Safe Start program to reopen the economy as the coronavirus pandemic wanes. As part of phase 1, select businesses are slowly being allowed to reopen: construction resumed, parks have reopened, as have vehicle sales and drive-in religious services.

Now, curbside retail sales, car washes, landscaping services and pet walkers can also go back to work, albeit with a few safety provisions.

Universal guidelines for all reopening businesses

Workers must be fully informed on the coronavirus and how to avoid spreading the disease.

Staff and customers must all maintain the minimum six-foot distance for safe social distancing. If that is not possible, use barriers or minimize staff by staggering breaks or shifts.

Provide personal protective equipment (PPE) like gloves, goggles, and face shields as necessary. Every employee must wear at least a cloth facial covering, and some positions may require more.

Ensure employees frequently and thoroughly wash their hands.

Create a routine cleaning schedule to sanitize all commonly touched surfaces.

Screen employees for signs of the coronavirus at the start of the shift. Make sure all sick employees immediately go home.

Electronic payments should be used whenever possible.

Keep a log of all customer sales and interactions and maintain that log for 30 days. that way, if anyone does get sick, experts can use contact tracing to track the spread of the virus.

Curbside retail requirements

In-store operations should be limited to bare minimum of employees required for curbside delivery. They should all also adhere to social distancing and hygiene guidelines.

Customers should primarily be interacted with over the phone, or online, but can be met in person.

Only designated employees can deliver products directly to the customer. Those products should be directly placed in a customer's vehicle if possible. If delivered to a home or business, leave products on the doorstep or another agreed-upon location. Customers should use face coverings while receiving deliveries. Delivery tools like hand trucks and dollies must be sanitized frequently.

Designated pick up areas can be set up by the shopping center or by the retailer.

The customer should notify the retailer by texting, emailing or calling when they arrive. They should stay in their vehicle for the duration of the delivery.

Retailers must also develop their own store guidelines based on what they sell and what curbside options they have.

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Read all the requirements here.

Car wash requirements

Require customers to make reservations for in-person car washes.

Minimize interaction during washes, keep a space between employees and customers or use a barrier.

Station employees at vacuum areas to clean nozzles after every use.

Close every other stall if the stalls are too close for customers to practice safe social distancing.

Only one employee can clean the interior of a vehicle at a time.

Regularly clean pay terminals, hoses, and cleaning machines.

Read all the requirements here.

Don't miss the latest coronavirus updates from health and government officials in Washington. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters for what you need to know daily.



Pet walking guidance



If the pet walker or pet owner has a fever, cough, shortness of breath or other coronavirus symptoms, pet walking services must be cancelled.

Pet walkers and owners should both wear personal protective equipment if possible.

Keep interactions between walkers and pet owners as short as possible. Pet care details can be shared through texts or online.

During the process of handing off a pet: Keep six feet between the pet walker and pet owner The pet owner should allow the pet walker to let themselves in, and leave all essential goods at the door. If a hand off is necessary, keep it quick and wash hands after. Pet walkers should bring their own leashes and poop bags. Clean and sanitize all supplies, including food containers and food bowls after a walk.

If the owner is not home to hand off the pet, try to limit the amount of time and space the pet walker should use in and around the home.

Pet drop off should occur at the front door or in an outdoor common area.

Clean and sanitize leads, food containers and bowls before and after the walk.

Read the full requirements here.

Landscaping service regulations

If employees meet at a central location before travelling to work sites, make sure crews use the same trucks all day and do not rotate.

Try to avoid having employees share tools. If that's not possible, sanitize the shared tools often.

Sanitize job sites upon arrival and departure. That includes objects like gate handles, hoses and anything else workers may touch on the job.

Frequently sanitize any commonly touched objects or surfaces in the workplace.

Read the full requirements here.

Business owners with questions about the new restrictions can contact the state using this form.







This article originally appeared on the Seattle Patch
CHANDIGARH: In a major breakthrough, the Punjab Police has arrested most wanted gangster Baljinder Singh @ Billa, having alleged links with the now reportedly deceased Pakistan-based KLF chief Harmeet Singh Happy, as well as Germany-based Bagga of KZF.



Another notorious gangster Sukhjinder and five other members of the Billa gang, have also been arrested, alongwith a large consignment of highly sophisticated weapons smuggled in from Pakistan, as well as drug money, reportedly smuggled from across border at different times through several modes, including drones.



According to DGP Punjab Dinkar Gupta, the arrests were made in a joint operation by the OCCU team from Chandigarh, Counter Intelligence Jalandhar Unit and Kapurthala Police yesterday, who identified the arrested as Baljinder Singh @ Billa Mandiala (r/o Mandiala, Gurdaspur), Sukhjinder Singh (r/o village Kamoke Beas, Amritsar), besides Kapurthala-based Mohit Sharma, Lovepreet Singh, Mangal Singh and Maninderjeet Singh @ Happy, in addition to Lovepreet Singh @ Lovely (r/o Amarkot, Valtoha Tarn Taran). Baljinder Singh Billa Mandiala was wanted in more than 18 criminal cases including, murder, attempt to murder and smuggling of weapons/drugs etc.



All the arrested accused have been kept separately as they are being tested for COVID-19 by a special team of doctors.



Police teams have recovered highly sophisticated weapons, smuggled in from Pakistan, from these accused. The recoveries include two 30 bore Drum Machine Guns, three Pistols (Marked SIG Sauer made in Germany), two Glock Pistols (made in Austria), two 30 bore Pistols, one 32 bore Pistol, one .315 bore Rifle, 341 live Cartridges and two drum magazines, 14 Pistol magazines alongwith drug-money of three lacs eight hundred eighteen rupees and one hundred Australian dollars, said Gupta.



Terming it as one of the biggest caches of highly sophisticated weapons from a criminal gang, Gupta said the Sig Suaer Pistols are in fact being used by members of US Secret Service, which protects the highest elected leaders of the United States, especially the President of the United States.



The DGP said that preliminary investigations carried out so far, most of the weapons recovered from Billa Mandiala are learnt also came across the Indo-Pak border in different consignments. Police is also investigating the role of militants in the supply chain of illegal weapons. Further, the spokesperson disclosed that Toyota Fortuner, Etios Lava and Alto cars were also seized from the criminals, along with some fake documents.



The police has also learnt that a part of consignment, consisting of AK-74rifles, which was pushed into the Mamdot area of Ferozepur sector from across the border on September 24, 2019 by STF Punjab, was also meant for the Billa Mandiala criminal gang.



Giving details of the arrests, the DGP said Gurmeet Chohan, AIG OCCU, had received reliable inputs that the most wanted gangster Billa Mandiala, alongwith his associates, was taking shelter in Kapurthala area, with a large consignment of illegal arms, which were to be used in the commission of different types of terror and criminal acts. DSP OCCU Bikram Brar was immediately tasked on the mission, with the support of AIG Counter Intelligence Jalandhar, Harkamalpreet Singh Khakh and SSP Kapurthala Satinder Singh.



Police teams laid siege around the Dadwindi and Mothanwala area of Sultanpur Lodhi Police station and made the arrests. A case has been registered against all the six under Sections 384, 465, 467, 468, 471, 473, 489 IPC, 13, 18 UAPA, 25 Arms Act at Police Station Sultanpur Lodhi Kapurthala.



During preliminary investigations, Baljinder Singh Billa Mandiala has revealed that he was in contact with various Pakistan-based weapons and drugs smugglers, including Mirza and Ahmdeen, and had already received many consignments of weapons and drugs from them, mostely in the Ferozepur area.



Mirza was allegedly working as courier on Indo-Pak border for operatives of Khalistan Libration Force based in Pakistan and India in the recent past, and had successfully pushed many weapon consignments into the Indian territory. Billa Mandiala also revealed that he was in close contact with gangster Gurpreet Singh Sekhon, who is currently lodged in Patiala Jail, and is suspected to be in touch with Germany and Pakistan based militant outfits. Gurpreet Sekhon is a A category gangster who had earlier been in touch with KLF chief Harminder Singh Mintu, who died a few years ago.
(Yahoo Canada via Getty Images)

If you haven't paid attention to the hullabaloo in the news about the asian giant hornet, consider your ignorance as bliss.

No really. Please, carry on. Why not revisit Daisy, 2017's world's cutest kitten instead? What, the coronavirus isn't terrifying enough for you?

Well then, consider yourself warned.

To recap, this wicked bugs nickname is the Murder Hornet, and with good reason. Native to East Asia, these fearsome hornets with 5-6 centimetre wingspans that enable them to fly up to 40 kilometres per hour, may have first come to North America by way of Canada, when a group of beekeepers and wildlife scientists found and destroyed a nest of them in Nanaimo. B.C. last year. Despite their freakishly-long wings, most scientists believe they didn't make it here of their own accord and more likely found themselves trapped in shipping containers in Asia, destined to Canada and the U.S.

An astounding five-times bigger than your regular honeybee, the ornery hornets can kill up to 40 of them at a time, by way of their long, powerful mandibles that sprout from their mouths to slice and dice their prey. Further, this One Hornet To Rule Them All also employs a 6mm-long stinger to inject a lethal dose of venom into its victims, even in the case of humans, if stung multiple times.

With all that, it's unlikely you'll have to fend off one of these flying monsters in Canada this summer, more akin to Hollywood than Haliburton. In fact, you should probably spend time protecting yourself against these five native pests of a less menacing calibre, yet likely more of a threat to your health as the weather warms.

Ticks

Unlike the Asian Giant Hornet, Canada's most deadly insects tend to fly under the radar, as is the case with ticks. Ticks are tiny, but that's the problem. Often found in wooded areas and very hard to spot due to their tiny size and dark colouration, a few species of ticks carry Lyme disease, including the deer tick. When an infected species such as the deer tick attaches to your skin, it can unleash deadly bacteria into your bloodstream that causes Lyme disease. Untreated Lyme Disease can cause symptoms, such as chronic joint inflammation, heart rhythm irregularities and cognitive defects.

Story continues

More on how to protect yourself from Lyme Disease.

The Northern Black Widow Spider

Even though they like to linger near humans beneath fenceposts and backyards, getting bitten by one of these creepy crawlers this summer is unlikely. That said the black widow spider seems more akin to some deadly arachnoid found deep within the amazon. Commonly found in southern parts of western Canada and Ontario (yet increasingly, further north due to climate change), this spider, with distinct red markings on its back, can unleash a venom 15 times more potent than a rattlesnake.

The Hobo Spider

Even creepier than the Northern Black Widow Spider, although less deadly. The hobo spider can be found skulking in a Canadian basement near you. This charming arachnoid is fond of lying in wait for its prey, within cracks in walls and piles of wood. Although the hobo spider's venom is unlikely to be fatal for humans, it may lead to necrosis of the skin. Hooray!

More on the Hobo Spider.

Rats

And lest we the forget rat. Unquestionably the O.G. pest when it comes to transmitting virulent communicable diseases (with honourable mention to the rat's historical assistant, the flea). The rat's greatest hits include the bubonic plague, hantavirus and over 30 other horrible afflictions. Ever the cunning opportunists, rats have migrated to Canada's urban residential neighbourhoods in greater numbers to dine on our garbage now that restaurants and bars have closed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Bed Bugs

'Ewww!' is the first utterance from any sane person's mind at the thought of snuggling up with these tiny creepy crawlies all night long.

Yet, with more homeless and low-income Canadians huddled together inside increasingly crowded motels and shelters across the country during the COVID-19 pandemic, bed bug (a.k.a. Cimex lectularius) populations are growing in Canadian cities, and while bed bugs themselves aren't particularly dangerous (although they do leave red, itchy and occasionally painful bite marks on human skin) , even the thought of sleeping among these unwanted bed buddies should send a chill up most any sane person's spine.
'Farmers will still survive because they will eat what they produce.'

'What will the rest of the people do? What will happen to them?'

IMAGE: Migrants arrive from Jalandhar at the Faizabad railway station in Uttar Pradesh, May 7, 2020. Photographs: PTI Photo

"The government will have to provide something for migrant workers or else you will see some huge uprising or unrest," Nikhil Dey, the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan activist, tells Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com in the concluding segment of a two-part interview.

You have petitioned the Supreme Court of India to pay the full wages for every day of the lockdown period to NREGA workers. What is the amount these workers are supposed to get paid and how much are they getting paid?

Wages for one NREGA worker is an average of Rs 200 per day, but that differs from state to state. And if they were paid these workers would have got Rs 6,000 for the month of April when there was a complete lockdown.

This money could have come out of the Budget as in NREGA 100 days wages has to be paid. Now there is a Budget and there is a legal mandate.

By law you are not allowing these workers to go out and there is no attempt to pay these workers.

In a short period these workers's dignity was lost and they had to go hungry and travel to their native place hiding in dumper trucks.

Has the government and Indian society become completely insensitive to the poor?

It has and we need to reflect upon this. We will never be able to fight the pandemic if we don't come together and fight.

And today we (rich and middle class) have this attitude that those who are not from our social class we have distanced them from our minds due to COVID-19.

And we talk of nationalism and patriotism all the time.

We should have made arrangements for the economic security for these workers, but we did nothing except pass orders.

We have double standards as the government arranged buses for students, rich people and tirth yatris, but did nothing for workers.

IMAGE: Migrants leave the Prayagraj junction after they arrived from Gujarat, May 7, 2020.

You have been talking about this new Urban Employment Guarantee Act with other economists. Can you tell us how it will help when already there is no business in urban areas?

It is like a fallback measure. When these migrant workers come back, the industry will not be able to assure them 26 days of work in a month.

They cannot survive on 10 days of work and this is a huge problem for the informal sector so the State must run a minimum urban employment guarantee kind of programme.

This can be used in an innovative fashion by giving some kind of public employment at minimum wages with some kind of economic security to migrant workers.

In times of global capitalism, you are talking socialism! How is it possible to implement this on the ground?

We have the Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA 2005) in India when capitalism and globalisation was all over the world so it makes no sense to give labels.

Look at America, they are providing a package of $500 billion of support. They are giving income support to every single family.

This is the big capitalist country of the world. We may not give $500 billion, but we can put 6 per cent of GDP in support (to our citizens).

IMAGE: Migrant workers travel atop a loaded truck to their villages in Nagpur May 6, 2020.

But these laws don't work on the ground -- like under the Inter-State Migration Act, 1979 employers have to pay home allowances to their workers, but no one does.

Which labour laws have been implemented? Not a single labour law has been implemented.

Under the National Disaster Management Act orders passed by the labour department, employers have to pay their workers full wages. Has that been implemented?

Construction workers are not getting any rights and they are not even registered under the Building and Constructions and Workers Zct. The Inter-State Migration Act is just a piece of paper.

IMAGE: Migrants from the northern states wait for a train to travel to their villages in Bhiwandi, May 6, 2020.

The world marked Labour Day on May 1, but the condition of workers has only worsened since the Haymarket incident in 1886 (external link). Would you agree?

Workers have been organising and they have been fighting, but we have this great capitalist dream that has shown how much strength it has.

Even the middle class realises they have a little bit of a cushion, but now there will be a tremendous collapse of the economy and we have not even begun to evaluate that.

After migrant workers, the COVID-19 crisis will hit the middle class.

Farmers will still survive because they will eat what they produce. What will the rest of the people do? What will happen to them?

In six weeks the great capitalist economies are finished and no one knows how long they will take to recover.

You think capitalism has failed and this pandemic has proved it?

You cannot sustain this model. You are going to see that everyone is going to ask the government for money.

Every industry will ask for money and where will the government get this money from? They will have to think of a different economic model and distribute resources.

IMAGE: Migrants from Madhya Pradesh walk towards their villages in Navi Mumbai, May 6, 2020.

What future do you foresee for migrant workers?

Just now migrant workers have a very dark future.

Now they want to go home and be comfortable there. They left their homes in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar because they did not have employment opportunities over there.

The government will have to provide something like the Employment Guarantee Act for these workers or something else like that or else you will see some huge uprising or unrest.

Some Urban Guarantee Employment Act or Rural Employment Guarantee Act has to come.

We have to give workers theirs dignity and equity and carry them along with us.
An activist holds a copy of the U.S. Constitution during a news conference on womens rights on Capitol Hill in Washington, on April 30, 2019. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Trump Administration Urges Court to Dismiss Lawsuit Over Equal Rights Amendment

The Trump administration is urging a federal court to toss out a lawsuit attempting to compel the United States to adopt the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) as part of the U.S. Constitution.

The Justice Department (DOJ) filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on May 8, arguing that the courts have a limited role in resolving the dispute on whether a deadline adopted by Congress for the ratification of the ERA is valid.

Plaintiffs ask this Court to declare that the States are subject to no deadline whatsoever to ratify the ERA based on their assertion that a deadline would upset the important balance the Framers struck between congressional and state authority, the administration wrote in its filing (pdf). But all of these issues are for the political branches to resolve.

In late January, three statesNevada, Illinois, and Virginiafiled a lawsuit against U.S. Archivist David Ferriero in order to force him to adopt and publish the ERA into the Constitution. The lawsuit came after Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the amendment earlier this month.

The Constitution requires 38 state ratifications, or three-fourths of the 50 states before an amendment can be adopted.

The states attorneys general said that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) took no action after it was sent an official notice on Jan. 27 that the ERA had been adopted pursuant to the Constitution.

Although the required number of states to adopt the ERA into the Constitution has been reached, the original congressional deadline to ratify the ERA has lapsed, sparking ongoing debates on whether these ratifications are valid.

The Justice Departments Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) issued a legal opinion in early January arguing that the deadline to ratify the ERA had already expired and that if Americans wish to adopt the amendment, Congress should restart the process as stipulated under Article V of the Constitution.

Accordingly, should Congress now deem [the ERA] necessary, U.S. Const. art. V, the only constitutional path for amendment would be for two-thirds of both Houses (or a convention sought by two-thirds of the state legislatures) to propose the amendment once more and restart the ratification process among the States, consistent with Article V of the Constitution, the OLC opinion stated.

The NARA issued a statement on Jan. 8 saying it will follow the DOJs legal opinion on the matter of the ERA, unless otherwise directed by a final court order.

The DOJ drew on an old Supreme Court case to argue that the top court had already ruled that Congress may establish a deadline for the ratification of constitutional amendments so that the expression of the approbation of the people is sufficiently contemporaneous in the ratifying States to reflect the will of the people in all sections at relatively the same period.'

They say the ERA follows the path as set out by the precedent. The amendment was first proposed in Congress in 1923 and was passed in 1972, where it then went to the states for ratification, according to the Alice Paul Institute. Congress gave the states a seven-year deadline, which was then extended to 1982, but only 35 states had ratified the amendment, falling short of the necessary 38 state ratifications. A new push by advocates in recent years to pass the proposal prompted Nevada and Illinois to ratify the amendment in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

The administration argues that the three states request is contrary to Supreme Court precedent prohibiting courts from second-guessing the legislatures inclusion of a deadline for ratification.

It also argued that the court should not get involved, because the states have independent authority to put in measures to protect residents against sex discrimination in the manner they believe the ERA requires.

The ERA seeks to ban discrimination on the basis of sex, with supporters seeing it as a critical provision to protect womens rights under the Constitution.

The text of the ERA reads:

Section 1: Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.

Section 2: The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Section 3: This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring criticized the Trump administrations motion in a statement, saying that Donald Trump is telling the women of America that, after 231 years, they should just sit down and wait even longer for equal treatment under the Constitution.

If the Trump Administration opposes a Constitutional guarantee of equality for women then they should just say so rather than hiding behind process and trying to throw the issue into Mitch McConnells hands. No matter what schemes the Trump Administration may concoct to try to stand in the way of progress, this movement has shown time and again that it will not be deterred and it will not be defeated, Herring said.

He added that he and the other states are planning to file briefs in response to the motion.

Many legal scholars have debated whether the ERA can be added to the Constitution at this point.

Proponents of the ERA have long been arguing that the congressional deadline is invalid because the seven-year deadline was placed in the proposing clause and not in the text of the amendment itself. They argue that by putting the time limit in the proposing clause, Congress has retained the authority to review and amend it. Similarly, they claim that Congress can extend deadlines retroactively. Meanwhile, on the issue of rescission, supporters argue that once a state ratifies the proposal, they can no longer rescind.

Meanwhile, some academics believe its not a viable argument to say the ERA can be ratified at this point and that if the ERA is to be adopted, the process needs to start over.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a strong advocate for the ERA, agreed that the ratification process needs to start over.

I would like to see a new beginning. Id like it to start over, said Ginsburg said during a talk at Georgetown Law in February.

Theres too much controversy about latecomers. Virginia [came] long after the deadline passed. Plus a number of states have withdrawn their ratification. So if you count a latecomer on the plus side, how can you disregard states that said Weve changed our minds?

Five statesNebraska, Tennessee, Idaho, Kentucky, and South Dakotahave voted to either rescind or withdraw their ratification of the ERA. These rescissions have also sparked legal debates as Article 5 of the Constitution is silent on the issue.
In a matter of two months, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has put an end to the longest economic expansion on record, shut down nonessential businesses across much of the country, and displaced more than 30 million workers, according to initial unemployment claims. Never before have we witnessed this level of economic and labor market disruption in such a short time frame.

Knowing full well the ramifications of mitigation measures being implemented throughout much of the country, lawmakers in Congress passed and President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act into law on March 27. At $2.2 trillion, it's the largest economic stimulus bill in history, with money set aside for hospitals, distressed industries, small businesses, and an expansion of the unemployment benefits program.

Yet the most defining aspect of the CARES Act is the $300 billion directed at stimulus payments for American workers and senior citizens receiving government benefits.

Stimulus payments aren't coming close to covering most Americans' expenses

Who'll receive stimulus money, you ask? According to estimates from the Treasury Department, about 175 million Americans. Utilizing your most recent tax filing (either the 2018 or 2019 tax year), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will be able to determine your eligibility for an Economic Impact Payment, as well as calculate your payout.

In an ideal scenario, single filers will receive the maximum of $1,200, with married couples filing jointly netting a $2,400 payout. Qualifying dependent children under the age of 17 can also add $500 per child to what a parent or household receives. The key being that single, married, and head-of-household filers have adjusted gross income (AGI) below $75,000, $150,000, and $112,500, respectively.

Thus far, the average stimulus recipient of the 89.5 million to have received their payout (through April 28) netted $1,792.40. That might sound great, but it's not nearly enough to cover the expenses of a typical single or married taxpayer.

Based on an April 22 Money/Morning Consult survey, 46% of the 2,200 survey takers had already spent their payout or believed it would last less than two weeks. In total, 74% of didn't expect their stimulus money to last beyond four weeks.

Make no mistake about it, most Americans desperately needed this money. The problem is, it's simply not enough to cover their basic expenses, especially considering that reopening the economy isn't going to happen overnight. The American public clearly needs a second round of stimulus payouts, and a handful of lawmakers in Congress are taking note.

These second stimulus proposals are making their rounds on Capitol Hill

Over roughly the past month, four separate (and very different) second stimulus proposals have been made on Capitol Hill. Here's a brief rundown of what each proposal would entail.

First up is the Emergency Money for the People Act, which is potentially the best known of the four proposals. Introduced by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), the Emergency Money for the People Act would provide up to $2,000 in monthly income to single taxpayers and $4,000 to married couples filing jointly for up to one year. Single filers earning less than $130,000 and married couples filing jointly with less than $260,000 in earnings would qualify for this payout. Additionally, parents and households would be eligible for $500 extra per child, with a cap of up to three children. One marked difference between this proposal and the CARES Act is that dependents aged 17 and older would qualify for this stimulus payout.

The next proposal, offered by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), doesn't even have an official name yet, but it's somewhat similar to the bill put forth by Khanna and Ryan. Brown's proposal calls for $2,000 payments per person each quarter, rather than monthly. This is somewhat similar to a bill introduced in mid-March by Brown with a handful of Democrat co-sponsors that aimed to provide $2,000 up front, a possible second payment of up to $1,500, and additional quarterly payments of up to $1,000 to taxpayers.

Keep in mind that it isn't just Democrats making these proposals. Another second stimulus proposal comes from Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.). The Getting America Back to Work Act provides for a refundable payroll tax rebate designed to cover up to 80% of employer payroll costs, applicable up to the median wage. Hawley's proposal isn't going to put cash in Americans' pockets, per se, but it's going to make it considerably easier for businesses to hang on to their employees, as well as open back up a lot quicker once the COVID-19 pandemic is in the rearview mirror.

Fourthly, there's the Rent and Mortgage Cancellation Act, which would allow rent and mortgage payments to be legally cancelled for a period of one year without adversely impacting a person's credit score. The proposal, introduced by Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), would allow the Department of Housing and Urban Development to create a fund that would be responsible for paying landlords and mortgage holders to cover their losses from lost rent and mortgage payments.

All eyes are on Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell

There's little question that most Americans feel they need a second round of direct stimulus to make it through the coronavirus pandemic. But what remains to be seen is whether the collective group of lawmakers on Capitol Hill or President Trump share this sentiment.

Although at least four significant proposals for a second round of stimulus have been made, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) appears to be unwavering on his view that he'd prefer to wait and see how effective the first round of stimulus is with regard to bolstering the economy. Let's remember that tens of millions of Americans still haven't received their Economic Impact Payment, and it could be close to 20 more weeks before everyone has. That's a long period of time that McConnell would prefer to wait and see what happens.

Meanwhile, President Trump hasn't indicated one way or another whether he supports a second round of stimulus. Though he has commented that a second direct stimulus is a possibility, and his economic advisors continue to study whether another round of stimulus would make sense, the president also has to consider the ballooning federal budget deficit and the long-term ramifications to short-term stimulus.

While it's possible the American public sees a second round of payouts hit their bank account, it's far from a certainty at this point.
Ferne McCann showed ex Albie Gibbs what he's missing on Friday as she shared a sizzling Instagram snap following their split.

The reality star, 29, looked sensational as she flaunted her toned figure in a tiny red bikini during a celebratory VE Day BBQ at her new house.

Styling her blonde locks into a high bun and wearing a pair of sunglasses, Ferne put on a defiant display as she playfully posed to the camera.

Red hot! Ferne McCann showed ex Albie Gibbs what he's missing on Friday as she shared a sizzling Instagram snap following their split

She captioned the photos with: 'Suns out Tongs Out,' followed by fun emojis.

'Happy #veday75 everyone  celebrated by having a barbie. First time using my Weber...I'm obsessed. Tag a bbq pro that you know & give me some charcoal bbq'n tips #bbq #grilling #grill #barbecue.'

It comes after Ferne paraded her toned abs in a racy workout snap after confirming her split from boyfriend Albie on Thursday night.

Wow: The reality star, 29, looked sensational as she flaunted her toned figure in a tiny red bikini during a celebratory VE Day BBQ at her new house

The reality star went braless in grey loungewear as she vowed to embrace her physique and practice 'self-love' during the coronavirus crisis.

Earlier this week, Ferne confirmed she was single again after ending her relationship with boyfriend Albie, admitting the lockdown had forced them apart.

Ferne looked spectacular in a grey crop top and tiny shorts as she posed in her bathroom mirror.

Sensational: It comes after Ferne paraded her toned abs in a racy workout snap after confirming her split from boyfriend Albie on Thursday night

The First Time Mum star penned a lengthy caption insisting she'd learned to embrace her figure, and felt the fittest she's ever been.

She wrote: 'There is only 1 YOU & that is your power. I've realised recently that as I'm approaching 30 I feel so much better than I did at 20. So much of the last decade was worrying about how I looked, but mainly how other people thought I looked. It was a lot about surface.

'Recent years I have learnt to nurture my body to be at my healthiest & happiest. It's important to feel comfortable in your own skin. Believe me this hasn't always been easy & is an ongoing battle.'

Confident: The reality star went braless in grey loungewear as she vowed to embrace her physique during the coronavirus lockdown

Ferne then continued: 'I've learnt to drop the quest for (the non existent) perfection & acceptance of others ''What Instagram would find attractive.'' Or - ''What guy I was messaging would find sexy.''

'The more I've taken care of myself & the healthier I've become the more confident I've grown & found self love. Most of all, I've learnt to love my body.

'I spent so many years wishing I was more this or that. I guess lockdown has strengthened this. But now I fully appreciate my body & health it's so much more than being a dress size! I feel the fittest I've ever been.

'I have energy, I feel strong and healthy. I'm choosing to stop picking holes in my appearance and celebrate my vitality & my health. Im grateful for every lump, bump, nipple and hair.'

Earlier this week, Ferne announced she'd split from boyfriend Albie after struggling with the distance between them.

She confirmed in Wednesday's episode of First Time Mum that she and the city trader, 25, had ended their romance due to being apart because of the lockdown.

Ferne explained that with her in the UK and Albie in New York for a year, it had put a strain on their relationship, leading her to conclude he was the 'right guy at the wrong time'.

Breakup: Earlier this week Ferne confirmed she was single again after ending her relationship with boyfriend Albie, admitting the lockdown had forced them apart

Speaking to the camera, Ferne said: 'How can I see a future with someone when I can't physically be with them for the foreseeable future? I was naive to think the long distance thing would be OK. We have broken up and it is proper s**t.

'It sucks to say that I think he was the right guy, and I want to stress this, the right guy at the wrong time. But that to me just means it wasn't right at all. I think yet again, Ferne McCann is officially back on the market.'

Viewers watched as Ferne debated the status of her relationship with Albie throughout the episode.

The former TOWIE star explained that lockdown had put a strain on the relationship and their conversations were 'dead'.

Split: The reality star confirmed in Wednesday's episode of First Time Mum that she and the city trader (pictured), 25, had ended their romance

She said: 'There's a lot of time to think which isn't the best when you're an overthinker. I've had a lot of time to think and it is massively putting the strain on my relationship.

'Long distance relationships are hard. Not knowing when I'm next going to see him is rubbish. The conversations, it's dead.

'There's nothing to talk about is there? 'What are you up to? Not a lot,' It's very monotonous. It's completely out of both of our hands. I can't help but think this is for a reason.'

The breakup comes after Ferne previously admitted she wanted to get engaged to Albie during the first episode of the current series of First Time Mum.

Apart: Ferne explained that with her in the UK and Albie in New York for a year, it had put a strain on their romance, leading her to conclude he was the 'right guy at the wrong time'

Ferne insisted to her close friends that she will be married next year and even tried on wedding dresses as she envisaged their future nuptials.

Opening the first episode, the reality star revealed to her friend: 'I am in a relationship, a really serious grown up relationship with cinema guy who I dumped in the back of the cab.

'We went on the most gorgeous date, one downfall, he's moving to New York. The person I want to spend the rest of my life with has moved to New York for the foreseeable future. Of course he has!'

Tough decision: Viewers watched as Ferne debated the status of her relationship with Albie throughout the episode

Ferne revealed that he offered to stay and move in with her but it was 'too early days' and she wants to 'keep it cute'.

Later in the show, the star, who already has daughter Sunday, two, joked about having a baby with Albie as she invited pregnant BFF Danielle Armstrong over to her new house.

Ferne admitted that she'd love to be pregnant at the same time as Danielle and their kids be the same age.

She joked to her former TOWIE co-star: 'Me and Albie are official... it's been 11 weeks so we can get started [on having a baby]. I am in love, give the girl a break or a baby!'

Ferne said: 'Long distance relationships are hard. Not knowing when I'm next going to see him is rubbish. The conversations, it's dead'

Realising she might be going too fast with their relationship, Ferne added: 'He knows the kind of girl he is with, I can't scare him off. He just text me 'I miss you'.'

Although Ferne admitted that she was finding the distance difficult, she continued: 'Right now, I feel like I don't have a boyfriend. People think I am making him up.

'He doesn't want to be in the public eye, he hasn't even been on my Instagram then he coincidentally moves to NYC so no one can meet him. He's there for a year. Why move to NYC when you've got your future wife sitting right here... come home!

'It's so hard, it will test our relationship to the max, I want to be with him, I want to marry him.'

Wedding bells: Ferne previously revealed she wanted to get engaged to Albie on the first episode of the current series of First Time Mum

To which Danielle joked: 'Babe, it's been eight weeks!' with Ferne adding: 'I've got to take it slowly. I am not going to get pregnant, I can see a future now. Something I couldn't see before Albie.'

Later in the episode, Ferne went to try on a gown for the NTAs and couldn't resist getting fitted for a wedding dress while she was there.

Wearing a collection of different white gowns, the star admitted: 'I've never tried on a wedding dress before. I honestly think he is the one, why am I getting emotional? I might have found the guy but not the dress. I can't wait to be engaged now.'

Looking at herself in a wedding dress in front of a mirror, Ferne gushed: 'I can't wait to be engaged now! I do, I do. Do you think this will scare him?'

Dead serious: Ferne insisted to her close friends that she will be married next year and even tried on wedding dresses as she envisaged their future nuptials

The reality star also added their potential wedding to her vision board on the episode, she said: 'I would love to marry Albie. I could see myself in NYC, who knows, how exciting. This is the thing about life, I could end up in New York on Broadway.'

While Ferne insisted to friends that she would be married next year later on the show.

While getting ready for the NTAs, which took place earlier this year at London's The O2, the star said: 'I look at Canary Wharf and it reminds me of my boy. Mark my words, I am going to be married next year.

'I mentioned if we get married, I want to do a magazine, he said absolutely not.'

Hooray: She admitted: 'I honestly think he is the one, why am I getting emotional? I might have found the guy but not the dress. I can't wait to be engaged now.'

Ferne is said to have met Albie in 2018 during a luxury holiday to Dubai with the two dating last year.

The star is even reported to have attended Albie's family birthday meal in December and taken Sunday who she shares with her acid attacker ex Arthur Collins.

Ferne previously admitted she wants to keep her budding romance 'private', two years after splitting from Collins, who is serving 20 years for throwing acid over 22 people in April 2017.

Prior to Albie, the TV personality had enjoyed a brief fling with Love Island's Jordan Hames in September.

Motherhood: Meanwhile, on Wednesday's show, Ferne was also left feeling overwhelmed by Sunday's tantrums

Meanwhile, on Wednesday's show, Ferne was also left feeling overwhelmed by daughter Sunday's tantrums.

The star went with her daughter and mother Gilly to purchase a hot tub when Sunday started screaming and crying in the store.

Later, Ferne expressed her frustration at the 'terrible twos' as Sunday cried as her mother tried to dress her.

She said: 'Honestly I thought we were over this but clearly not. I don't want to go back to this daily battle. I've tried to just ignore her, didn't work.

Parenting: Ferne found that as lockdown began, she was able to get Sunday's tantrums under control

'I've tried to give her options, didn't work. I need to put something in place but I don't know what that is.'

Ferne went on Instagram to ask her followers for advice but soon found that as lockdown began, she was able to get Sunday's tantrums under control and was thrilled when she presented her with a card for Mother's Day.

She said: 'The tantrums believe it or not, are kind of getting less and less and not lasting as long. I've gone from being super busy to being a stay at home mum.

'The more occupied Sunday is, the happier she is so we are cracking on with all the activities. I am really having a lovely time with her. Her personality is growing day by day.'
Several companies across sectors ranging from textiles to consumer electronics and liquor to pharma on Saturday informed that they have partially resumed operations after getting permission from local authorities in the third phase of the lockdown.

The manufacturers have assured to adhere to safety precautions mandated by the government and respective local administrations.

The government had last week permitted the companies to restore their manufacturing operations in red, green and organ zones with certain riders.

Auto parts and equipment maker Rane Holdings Ltd in a regulatory filing said it has partially resumed operations at most of its plants and offices with restricted manpower.

It, however, said that the continuance of operations in these places depends on directives from local authorities, issued from time to time.

Liquor maker IFB Agro Industries has also resumed operations at its distillery and select bottling plants.

"The company has partially resumed operations at its distillery and some of its IMIL bottling plants wherein lockdown restrictions have been eased. The operations at these locations will initially be at low capacity and with limited manpower and will be carried out in accordance with the guidelines issued by the regulatory authorities, it said.

Tamil Nadu-based apparel manufacturing firm K P R Mill also informed about resumption of manufacturing operations at its units.

"In pursuance of the directives and guidelines issued by the central government and state governments, the operations of our units in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have been resumed and ramping up of its capacities are in progress," it said.

Publishing house firm S Chand and Company also said that it has resumed partial sales operations from their warehouses located in Delhi-NCR from Saturday.

"The company has been focusing on ensuring safety and business continuity within the guidelines issued by the government and health authorities, it said.

Pharmaceuticals products maker Nectar Lifesciences also said it has started operations of its plants in Derabassi, Punjab and in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh.

However, such plants are not able to operate to their fullest capacities due to lack of manpower and logistics issue, it added.

Textiles firm Hindoostan Mills has also resumed manufacturing after receiving necessary approvals from the concerned administrative authority and the plant working will be normal in a few days.

Similarly, textiles firm Vippy Spinpro has also partially resumed operations from Saturday after getting permission from authorities.

Another fabrics manufacturing company VTM Ltdhas also informed that it has partially commenced manufacturing activities.

GOCL Corporation, manufacturer of explosives, has said it will resume operations at its Hyderabad factory from May 11.

" steps are being taken to resume the operations of the factory from Monday, 11th May 2020, keeping in mind the lockdown guidelines of the central/state governments with respect to COVID-19, it said.

Consumer electronics and appliances maker Panasonic India said it has resumed sale of its products, keeping in mind government guidelines.

Starting this week, all Panasonic products are available on online platforms - Amazon, Flipkart and offline stores in the green and orange zones, said Panasonic India which had suspended company's operations from March 22, in line with government directives on lockdown.

Meanwhile, Tata group-owned jewellery brand Tanishq on Saturday announced its plans to reopen its 328 stores across the country in a phased manner. The company will continue to strictly comply with all government rules while reopening and running operations at the store.

Manufacturing activities of companies, except for those producing essential items, had come to a complete halt after the government had announced lockdown in two phases from March 25 to May 3 to contain the spread of the pandemic of COVID-19.

The government had extended it for two weeks from May 4 with certain relaxation that allowed factories in rural areas and outside municipal limits to function.

According to the latest updates from the Health Ministry, the number of cases from COVID-19 has climbed to 59,662 and death toll rises to 1,981 in the country.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Men wearing masks to protect against COVID-19 take a walk in Toronto on May 7, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Frank Gunn)

Pandemic Should Be Wake-Up for Ottawa Call to Dangers of Chinese Regime: Expert

As more damning information comes to light regarding Beijings handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, calls are increasing for countries impacted by the pandemic to hold the Chinese regime to account.

One expert says the crisis should be a wake-up call for the Canadian government as to the true nature of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and provides an ideal opportunity to start taking a hard line toward the regime.

Based on their treatment of dissidents, their persecution of Uyghurs, or their continued detention of Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, our politicians should have long recognized the brutality of the Chinese Communist Party, said Kaveh Shahrooz, a senior fellow with the Macdonald-Laurier Institutes Centre for Advancing Canadas Interests Abroad.

But if they were willing to overlook those things, the COVID crisis will hopefully open the eyes of Canadas lawmakers to the dangers of the CCP.

We now have a choice to make: do we ignore the threat China poses and continue making nice with them in the hopes of winning trade deals? Or do we finally take a hard line, in concert with our democratic allies? I think the answer should certainly be the latter.

Shahrooz says there are several things Canada needs to do to hold the regime to account, including applying sanctions under the Magnitsky Act to Chinese officials responsible for human rights violations, corruption, and the coverup of the pandemic.

And we should demand a credible and independent international inquiry into Chinas role in the pandemic. Yes, all of this will affect our trade relations. But if we move in lockstep with our democratic allies, we can withstand the pressures the CCP will try to exert on us.

Though its now widely known that the CCP initially covered up the outbreak that went on to spread around the world, details continue to come to light about the extent of the regimes bad-faith actions, the latest being a leaked Five Eyes intelligence network dossier obtained by the Daily Telegraph in Australia.

The 15-page research document outlines how the CCP suppressed or destroyed evidence of the viruss spread in China. It summarizes how various researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology discovered novel coronavirus samples or were infected with the virus themselves and tried to sound the alarm, only to be pressured to stay quiet or, in more malevolent cases, have completely disappeared without any explanation.

In addition, it noted that Chinese authorities destroyed evidence of the virus in laboratories and refused to provide live samples to international scientists who were working on a vaccine, according to The Telegraph.

Although some intelligence experts have said it is unlikely the virus came from a lab, theres still much uncertainty as to its origin, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo continues to assert that there is a significant amount of evidence it originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

The revelations in the Five Eyes dossier come amid signals of a brewing backlash toward China from the international community. As The New York Times reports, Beijings conduct has served to alienate it from several countries. Chinese ambassadors in African countries such as Nigeria and Kenya have been asked to address allegations of repressive treatment of Africans in China who became infected with COVID-19. The Australian government has called for an international inquiry into the viruss origins in Wuhan. In Washington, President Donald Trump has entertained the idea of suing the Chinese regime for damages.

In a recent CBC News interview, former U.S. United Nations ambassador Samantha Power urged Canada to hold the regime to account for the sake of its strategic and moral interests. Ottawa has thus far been taciturn on what it thinks of Beijings culpability, or what its approach to China might be in the aftermath of the crisis.

First and foremost, Canada should align with every other partner in the G7 and beyond on expressing profound disappointment with the Chinese Communist Party, Shuvaloy Majumdar, a Munk senior fellow at the Macdonald Laurier Institute, said in an interview.

Canada should also review a host of domestic positions, including suspending the Canada-China Legislative Association, recognizing the Canadian Mission in Taipei as Canada House alongside a Taiwan relations act for Parliament, and revisiting one country, two systems in light of how Beijing has been overtly subverting Hong Kong democracy.

Beyond this, Canadian interests are best served by assuring stronger domestic production of goods and establishing more resilient supply chains abroad. This includes reviewing all Chinese investment to Canada under the Investment Canada Act, partnering with the United States, Japan, and Australia in the Blue Dot Network.

Supply Chains, Security

The Epoch Times and other media have reported on how Canadian groups affiliated with the United Fronta department that works directly with the Central Committee of the CCP and operates as an aggressive instrument of soft powerhelped stockpile significant amounts of personal protective equipment (PPE) to send back to the motherland to make up for an expected shortage there. The same approach was taken in other countries, creating a global shortage.

When Canadas time of dire need for PPE came, the regime sent equipment, but much of it was faulty.

This served to demonstrate how inherently inextricable national security and supply chains are, which should be rectified going forward, says Sharooz.

[We must] expand our definition of national security and ensure that supply chains that touch on this expanded definition are no longer at the mercy of the CCP.

Both Shahrooz and Majumdar believe the government should consider sanctioning actors affiliated with the regime who have facilitated acts that jeopardize Canadian security.

In defending the security of Canadians, the government should consider exploring criminal charges and levying sanctions against Chinese state-run companies who benefit from Chinas ongoing information operations, cyber espionage, and foreign interference in Canada, Majumdar says.

A full assessment should be conducted ascertaining the activities of all Chinese diplomats in Canada. The government should also take proactive measures to ensure the security of Chinese Canadians from all elements foreign and domestic that aim to do them harm.

Given that Beijing has significant clout within several international institutions, its questionable whether multilateralism can be effectively used to hold the CCP to account. Canada, Majumdar suggests, should establish a global contact group with those threatened by Chinese economic aggression in the developed and developing world.

It is time to review Chinas membership in the World Trade Organization, he says.

From Canadas pending decision on Huaweis participation in the 5G rollout and the future of trade relations with China to its involvement in international organizations, many China analysts say the pandemic should be the impetus for long-needed changes in Ottawas approach to foreign policy. And how it decides to deal with Beijing in the aftermath will indicate the governments willingness to accept and adapt to global realities as it tries to define Canadas role in the world.

It would be useful for Canadian policymakers to prioritize the independent interests of Canadians to shape the international order rather than be governed by international priorities imposed on Canadians, Majumdar says.

The fact is that millions of Canadians are imprisoned in their homes, that our national health-care system risks being overrun exposing both frontline workers and vulnerable patients to [infection], and that the national economy has come to a grinding halt. This isnt occurring by accidentit is occurring because one state failed to uphold their obligations to the international system and betrayed the partnership they had promised.
Over 1 lakh migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh stranded in different parts of the country following the coronavirus-induced lockdown will return to the state by Saturday night on 114 trains, a senior government official said.

Another 98 trains will reach the state on Sunday and Monday, while talks are on to allow 15 to 20 more, he said on Saturday.

"Till Saturday morning, 97 trains have reached the state and another 17 will reach by the evening. With this, more than 1.20 lakh migrant workers and labourers will be back in the state," Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Awanish Awasthi said.

These trains arrived at 36 railway stations of the state, with Lucknow and Gorakhpur receiving 11 trains each, he said.

Awasthi said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has stressed that no migrant should undertake the journey home on foot or bicycle.

The government has also given permission for 98 more trains which will bring back migrants from other parts of the country on Sunday and Monday, he said, adding that talks are on to allow another 15 to 20 trains.

"We have made arrangements for the arrival of some 40 trains on a daily basis. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has asked (officials) to go ahead with this task of bringing back migrants in a more organised manner," he added.

In pursuance of a letter that the chief minister wrote to his counterparts in other states, Awasthi said, the Uttar Pradesh government is now getting lists of migrants in advance with medical certification.

All those returning undergo medical check-ups before they head to their native districts where they are again checked and then sent for home quarantine, he said.

The exercise of bringing back migrants from other countries will also start on Saturday night when the first flight from Sharjah will land at the Lucknow airport, the additional chief secretary, home, said.

For those returning from Sharjah, the Lucknow district magistrate has made arrangements for paid quarantine, he said.

Referring to Adityanath's meeting with senior state officials earlier in the day, Awasthi said the chief minister directed them to prepare a work plan for providing jobs to 20 lakh people. There is a need for some changes in the labour laws which were recently approved by the state cabinet.

Earlier on Saturday, a special train carrying 1,176 migrant workers from Rajkot in Gujarat reached Uttar Pradesh's Ballia district.

Of the 1,176 workers, 420 are from Ballia, while rest are from Prayagraj, Fatehpur, Hardoi, Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Etawah and other districts. The workers were screened at the railway station after their arrival, District Magistrate Hari Pratap Shahi said.

They were provided food packets and water before they left for their native places.

Some migrants who arrived on the train claimed they had to pay for their tickets.

Some passengers claimed that they had to pay Rs 725 as train fare to the Gujarat Police, Shahi said, adding that he had no information about it.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Traditional Aboriginal punishments used to achieve 'criminal justice' after an 18-year-old girl was found dead in a wheelie bin could include physical beating, spearing or banishment.

The body of Bethany* was discovered in a wheelie bin just four weeks after she gave birth, with a 17-year-old boy accused of killing her and dumping her body.

Bethany was a Martu woman whose traditional lands cover 13.6 million hectares in central Western Australia.

Police confirmed that people from the indigenous community of Jigalong travelled to the remote mining town of Newman, where Bethany was found.

An elder man known to the teenage boy was physically punished through a traditional tribal payback, The West Australian reported.

The woman's body was found outside the Newman Hospital, which is 1,178 kilometres from Perth at 4am on Wednesday

No complaints have been made about the punishment, with tensions eased locally since it was performed, police said.

'Police can confirm a respected elder attended a culturally appropriate location, where he underwent his obligations according to cultural traditions,' a police spokeswoman told the Weekend Australian.

'To date, police have not received any complaint in relation to this matter, however there has been a noticeable reduction of tension in some sections of the community.'

Police have not identified which traditional punishment was used but according the Law Reform Commission of Western Australia it could include 'spearing', 'physical beating', 'banishment' and' 'repercussions for other family members'.

'There are some cases in which the traditional punishment consisted of a physical 'attack' without spearing while others involved both spearing and some other form of physical punishment,' a document from the Law Reform Commission of Western Australia reads.

The young mother's body was discovered stuffed into a wheelie bin outside Newman Hospital (pictured)

'In some cases the offender is required to undergo physical punishment and in addition is then banished from the community for a specified period of time.'

Non-physical punishments can include 'meeting' and 'reprimand'.

'The general purpose of traditional punishment is usually expressed in terms of community healing,' the document explains.

Police will allege the teenage boy killed Bethany, dumped her body in a wheelie bin, then dragged it outside the local hospital at 3.45am on Wednesday.

He is then alleged to have pressed the out-of-hours button and left the scene, before being arrested at a nearby house later.

The boy will appear at Perth Children's Court on May 28.

Rocks are understood to have been seized by police during an investigation into Bethany's death, and she is said to have received serious head injuries.

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.

Her 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 Bethany was well known in the community.

WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson (pictured) said homicide squad officers were investigating the young mother's death

'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.

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.

*Name has been changed
The first batch of Indian nationals stranded in the UK after suspension of commercial air passenger services amid the COVID-19 outbreak are set to arrive here early morning on Sunday, a source said.

The Air India flight, a Boeing 777 aircraft, departed for Mumbai from London at around 11am on Saturday, an airline source told PTI.

The flight is expected to arrive at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai (CSMIA) at around 1.15 am on Sunday, he said.

The Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), which manages and operates the Mumbai airport has put together standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure safety of passengers arriving on repatriation flights, starting from Sunday, according to airport officials.

The repatriation operations will see CSMIA catering to 10 flights and six transit flights in the course of seven days, welcoming stranded Indian nationals from countries such as the UK, US, Singapore, Malaysia, Bangladesh and the Philippines -- commencing with four flights on May 10, the MIAL said in a release.

The airport will be complying with the government guidelines during the repatriation where it will ensure the safety and well-being of the passengers, right from the time the flight lands and passengers disembark the aircraft till they leave the terminal building, it said.

Two dedicated aerobridges have been identified for repatriation flights, along with a provision of proper infrastructure to the Airport Health Organisation (APHO) for the screening of passengers before entering the immigration area, it said.

Passengers will need to maintain a physical distance of a minimum of two metres through distinctive markings laid out at the airport and are required to wear face mask and hand gloves during the entire course of their journey, the MIAL said.

In addition, the airport has set up 30 immigration counters for undertaking the necessary procedures and ensuring quickest clearance of arriving passengers, it said.

Besides, the CSMIA is making special arrangements for the stranded Indian nationals arriving at the airport by arranging food and beverage facilities for the passengers in the arriving hall.

The airport will be undertaking preventive measures by disinfecting the baggage before loading on the conveyor belt and providing sanitised baggage trolleys to the passengers along with hand sanitisers being stationed across various touchpoints at the airport, the MIAL said.

Also, arriving passengers will also be escorted by CISF personnel until they are handed over to the state authorities, it said.

Provisions have been made that if any symptomatic passenger is identified at the airport, the passenger would be immediately isolated and moved to the separate area earmarked for the purpose.

Additionally, designated airport ambulances have been kept on standby to shift the symptomatic passengers to designated isolation centres, the MIAL said.

According to MIAL,the Maharashtra government has made arrangements for asymptomatic passengers from Mumbai to be moved to identified quarantine facilities like hotels depending on their preference while those from outside Mumbai will be transported by the state to their respective district headquarters for institutional quarantine.

For this purpose, the state government has also established a help desk at the airport to guide the arriving passengers.

The CSMIA will be operating with one-third of its staff who will be provided with all essential personal protective equipment (PPEs) such as face masks, hand gloves, sanitisers, as per the directive from the Ministry of Health Affairs.

The airport maintenance staff will continue to follow the comprehensive cleaning procedures to efficiently sanitise and disinfect the terminal building including the vital areas where human hands come to play such as elevator buttons, escalators, railings, amongst others, as per MIAL release.

Furthermore, the APHO, immigration, customs and CISF personnel, who would be coming in direct contact with the arriving passengers, will be provided with face shield and all appropriate PPEs for the protection and safety of the individuals.

The arriving passengers need to strictly follow the protocols issued by the government at all times, which include wearing of masks, environmental hygiene, respiratory hygiene, hand hygiene, among others, the MIAL said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The re-entry module of the prototype of a new-generation Chinese spacecraft landed in its designated area in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region on Friday. [Photo by Wang Jianbo/for China Daily]

Rendering of the prototype of the new-generation manned spaceship during its in-orbit operation. [Photo provided by China Academy of Space Technology]

Prototype of China's new-generation manned spacecraft in the process of being hoisted. [Photo provided by China Academy of Space Technology]

Rendering of the release of parachutes. [Photo provided by China Academy of Space Technology]

Prototype of China's new-generation manned spacecraft seen during an experiment. [Photo provided by China Academy of Space Technology]

The re-entry module of the prototype of China's new-generation manned spacecraft successfully landed at 1:49 pm on May 8, 2020 at the Dongfeng Landing Site in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region. [Photo by Wang Jiangbo/For chinadaily.com.cn]

The re-entry module of the prototype of China's new-generation manned spacecraft successfully landed at 1:49 pm on May 8, 2020 at the Dongfeng Landing Site in North Chinas Inner Mongolia autonomous region. [Photo by Wang Jiangbo/For chinadaily.com.cn]
Panasonic India announced that it has resumed sale of its products where allowed as per Govt guidelines. Starting this week, all Panasonic products are available on online platforms  Amazon, Flipkart and offline stores in the Green and Orange zones. The companys operations were suspended since March 22, 2020, in line with government directives of lockdown to curtail the spread of Covid-19.

Following the guidelines by the government, the company has prepared for staggered operations at the retail and brand stores that have been recalibrated to abide by the social distancing norms. The company has also introduced special offers with 10% cash back and attractive finance schemes to help consumers in current times.

Committed to the safety and well-being of its employees and the consumers, the company has deployed all safety measures such as placement of sanitizers, mandatory usage of masks, and contact-less assistance to consumers. Panasonic has also resumed field service to repair and service appliances, along with a host of new initiatives for the consumers like same day installation depending on the area, AC service using Jet pumps so as to shorten the technicians stay at customers place, Extended Warranty for all products. With this, Panasonic remains committed to strengthen trust among its consumers.

The company has plans to start operations gradually at the manufacturing facility following carefully designed standard operating procedures to ensure safety of their workers at Jhajhar, Haryana.

Speaking on the development, Mr. Manish Sharma, President and CEO, Panasonic India and South Asia said, We have defined the SOPs basis our learnings from our operations in other countries and as a first step, our product development and R&D teams will be starting work. We will closely observe the market demand this week and take a call on production. We have divided our manufacturing plant, which currently has assembly lines for Air Conditioners and Washing Machines, into zones with a roster of workers demarcated against each, preventing any engagement between them. Along with social distancing, sanitizing we will ensure all guidelines are followed for health & safety of our workforce. We plan to start with 25% capacity and slowly take it up to 50% in a months time. Likewise, we have divided our corporate office into zones with limited number of employees coming in for now.

Keeping in mind the current situation, while the company is focused on driving sales through both online and offline platforms. It has also been continuously working towards upgrading its offline channel to provide a better purchase experience to consumers by effective trainings to in-shop promoters, regular upkeep and hygiene standards at stores and efficient inventory planning. The company has laid down a robust plan to meet the pent-up demand with the existing inventory available across categories.

Panasonic India will continue to closely monitor the situation and take appropriate action as per regulatory and administrative guidance.
The first time in over a month, on Friday, Hong Kong residents were able to go to gyms, beauty salons, bars, restaurants and other public places that had been closed to prevent the spread of Covid-19. With local transmission of the virus levelling off in the past two weeks, city officials have allowed a partial reopening of eight types of businesses, but with conditions, news agency IANS reported.

Restrictions on the number of people who can sit together at a restaurant, or meet in public, have also been relaxed, with the limit doubled to eight. But saunas, karaoke lounges, ...
Surat: Demanding a return passage to their home states, agitated migrant workers hit the street and clashed with the police at Mora village in Gujarat's Surat district on Saturday (May 9). According to a report, hundreds of them clashed with police and pelted stones at vehicles of police personnel during the violent protest.

The incident took place in Mora village near the industrial town of Hazira. An official said that protesting workers demanded that the district administration arranges for their travel back to their hometowns in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, among others.

Most of these labourers worked in industrial units at Hazira and lived in Mora village, the official said, adding that the police had cordoned off the area and tightened security there.

According to a police official, over 50 workers were detained for violating lockdown norms, assaulting police personnel and disturbing law and order situation in the city.

A team of State Reserve Police has been deployed in the area to monitor the situation.
On Monday, the Alabama health restrictions will ease, including one that prohibited gatherings of 10 or more. But Jefferson County Health Officer Dr. Mark Wilson said he would replace the local order with a strong recommendation that people avoid large groups for at least two more weeks.

Its not an order, its a recommendation, Wilson said. Just because youre allowed to do something doesnt mean its the smart thing or the right thing to do.

Wilson said the number of coronavirus cases hasnt been decreasing in Alabama. Some counties have seen large increases in recent weeks.

I am very very concerned about the fact that we do not have decreasing incidence of disease in the community, Wilson said. COVID-19 is still with us. Its still with us quite steadily.

Earlier on Friday, Gov. Kay Ivey announced the end of some restrictions on gyms, restaurants and gatherings as of Monday. But Wilson was among other public health experts in Birmingham who warned that coronavirus cases havent receded in Alabama and could spike if people dont continue precautions.

The Stay at Home Order announced in early April to control the spread of coronavirus has had a devastating effect on Alabamas economy. More than 400,000 people have applied for unemployment since the crisis began.

Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, director of the division of infectious diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, acknowledged the pain people have suffered, but said the stay at home order has been effective in keeping the number of cases down in Jefferson County.

Jefferson County acted very early to implement social distancing measures, Marrazzo said. Because of that, we have really managed to maintain a steady rate of infections and a manageable rate of people hospitalized. The only reason we have been able to do that is that people have abided by the orders.

Reopening too quickly may cause the number of cases to increase again, she said. To prevent that, she urged people to continue avoiding large gatherings, stay home as much as possible and wear masks when out in public. People should continue to stay six feet apart and wash hands frequently.

Theres a chance were going to backslide, Marrazzo said. All the gains that weve made in the last two months of extreme sacrifice could be lost.

Coronavirus can be transmitted for several days before symptoms appear, Marrazzo said. That makes it difficult to contain. Researchers have found several cases where the infection spread rapidly in large gatherings, including a choir practice in Washington state that sickened dozens.

If people take precautions even after restrictions end, it could help prevent outbreaks that have overwhelmed communities and hospitals elsewhere.

I do think there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but I dont think were out of the woods at all yet, Marrazzo said.

People might have to continue to take precautions until a vaccine is developed, Marrazzo said. Wilson said he was nervous about the end of some restrictions, but said he understood Iveys decision.

Eventually we do have to open up, Wilson said. I want us to all work together and get this right.
A photography studio in Seoul circa 1890s or early 1900s.



By Robert Neff



Kim Yong-won had a vision. Apparently, during his travels to Japan in 1876, he became infatuated with cameras.



This eventually led him to establish the first Korean photography studio in Seoul in late 1883. He was assisted by two Japanese photographers: Honda Shunosuke and possibly Kameya Teijiro.



We know little about this photography studio but apparently business was good; two other Koreans opened their own studios  Chi Un-young, who studied photography in Japan, and Hwang Chol, who may have gained his expertise and equipment from China.



Korea at this time was a paradox of obsession with and fear of modernization and Western wonders. The primary patrons of these early photography studios were the younger and more progressive members of Joseon's upper society  vanity was probably the main reason they paid for this costly service.





Lowell's iconic photograph of King Gojong, circa 1883-84.



King Gojong also had his picture taken. On March 16, 1884, Chi Un-young was granted the privilege of taking his monarch's portrait  what became of the photographs is unknown. But was Chi the first one?



We know that Percival Lowell took several photographs of the monarch, the crown prince and several members of the Korean court during his stay in Seoul in the winter of 1883-84. Some of his photographs were later published in his book and many unpublished ones can be found in various archives.



The more conservative members of the Korean court and many of the superstitious common people viewed this modern technology with suspicion. Rumors soon circulated in the streets about the nefarious activities of not only the Japanese photographers but the Koreans as well.





Lowell's photograph of the staff of the Foreign Office, circa 1883-84.



Hwang Chol enjoyed taking pictures of landmarks and scenery but this practice came to an end when rumors circulated that trees soon withered and died after he photographed them. When group photographs were taken, it was alleged that the person in the center would be the first to die  perhaps his living essence was sucked away by the power of the camera.



Hwang's studio was soon vandalized and he was arrested and accused of revealing national secrets to the Japanese and other foreigners. He apparently spent some time in the jail before finally being released. He was lucky.



Shortly after he was released, Seoul erupted in violence during the Gapsin Coup. The photography studios  along with other modernizations  were destroyed by mobs of angry Korean conservatives and even some Chinese nationals. The three Korean photographers managed to escape the city but the Japanese weren't as lucky.





Lowell's photograph of the scenery around the old palace, circa 1883-84.
Some Liberal senators and MPs have raised concerns restrictions in Victoria will not be lifted quickly enough by Premier Daniel Andrews after Prime Minister Scott Morrison laid out a plan to open up businesses as the spread of coronavirus eases in major cities.

The federal government's three-step plan to open restaurants and allow some public gatherings in stages has started to be put in place across several states and territories but the Victorian government is yet to confirm what shutdowns will be lifted.

Premier Daniel Andrews is yet to announce which Victorian restrictions will be lifted and when. Credit:Eddie Jim

Victoria has been grappling with an outbreak of the virus at meat-processing facility Cedar Meats, which has become the state's worst cluster of the disease.

Member for Higgins in Victoria Katie Allen said shutting down the economy had been essential to contain the pandemic but the public health safety net in place now enabled the country "to cautiously move forward".
New Delhi, May 9 : A Public Interest Litigation has been filed in the Delhi High Court seeking direction for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe in the case relating to an Instagram chat group "Bois Locker Room" where rapes were glorified and photos of underage girls were shared and also objectified.

The plea filed by Dev Ashish Dubey stated that a CBI or SIT probe is required in the matter as the students involved in this incident belong to "influential families" and can hamper the investigation by the local police.

"...the entire issue needs to be investigated by the SIT or CBI as these students belongs to high profile families and there is an apprehension that the investigation or enquiry conducted by the local police will be influenced and wrongdoer's will never be arrested and punished," the plea said.

The plea is likely to come up for hearing on Wednesday. The plea filed through advocates Dushyant Tiwari and Om Prakash Parihar also sought the court's direction to the Centre and Delhi government to provide safety to the girls and women who have exposed this heinous crime, so that they cannot be harmed by the members of "Bois Locker Room" group.

The plea further stated that the action of these students shows the mindset of the young generation towards the girls and "if it is not stopped at this time and these people are not punished at this time, it will lead to increase in crimes against the girls and women in the future." The petitioner sought that the culprits shall also be punished under the section of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 too because "the crime has been conducted against the minor girls and various group members of the Respondent No. 3 company (Instagram) group are minor." "...the group is run by and has membership of 16 to 18-year-old boys from posh schools in South Delhi, all of whom were involved in the objectification of their classmates and other women, some as young as 14.

"The expletive-laden chats show the boys discussing having physical relationship with their classmates as well as rating them on a scale of beauty vs the size of their breasts and how the latter makes up for any supposed deficiency in the former criteria.

"Another bunch of messages has the members sharing photos of teenage girls and making others guess the age," the petitioner claimed.

Dubey states that when the leaked screenshots of the group chats went viral and people were outraged by such behavior, many of the users of the group allegedly deactivated their social media profiles and "also allegedly threatened to leak nude photos and hack accounts of the women who had outed them".

One of the post states that "Let's post nude photos of all girls who posted stories about us. I have photos of some of them. Now they will know the result of these shenanigans. They will shut their mouth. They want to be feminists na... they will not be able to show their face in public", the plea stated.

Leaked screenshots of the private Instagram chat group stirred up a storm after numerous boys were allegedly seen sharing photos of underage girls, objectifying them, and allegedly planning 'gang rapes'.

The chatroom, exposed on Sunday by a girl targeted in the group chats, has drawn massive anger, shock and disgust on social media. Class 11 and 12 students casually discussed "gang-raping" girls, sexualized and slut-shamed them in screenshots of chats that have gone viral on Twitter and other social media forums.
He has landed a Hollywood agent following his breakthrough role as Connell Waldron in the BBC adaptation of Sally Rooney's novel Normal People.

Yet Paul Mescal's acting career started from much more humble beginnings, as it's revealed that his first TV job was starring in an Irish sausage advert.

The actor, 24, played a young man seeking adventure in an advert for Denny sausages which were pushing the slogan: 'Seize the Denny!'

Start of something new! Paul Mescal's acting career started from much more humble beginnings, as it's revealed that his first TV job was starring in an Irish sausage advert

Paul, who is from County Kildare in Ireland, excitedly heads off on his travels after being inspired by his father while enjoying sausages together for breakfast.

The star recently admitted during an appearance on the Late Late Show that it was his first TV appearance after working the Irish theatre circuit.

Paul and co-star Daisy Edgar-Jones recently revealed their plans beyond the hit BBC drama and admitted that they 'haven't heard anything' about a potential second series.

Starring role: He has landed a Hollywood agent following his breakthrough role as Connell Waldron in the BBC adaptation of Sally Rooney's novel Normal People (pictured)

First appearance: The actor, 24, played a young man seeking adventure in an advert for Denny sausages which were pushing the slogan: 'Seize the Denny!'

Cya! Paul, who is from County Kildare in Ireland, excitedly heads off on his travels after being inspired by his father while enjoying sausages together for breakfast

Reveal: The star recently admitted during an appearance on the Late Late Show that it was his first TV appearance after working the Irish theatre circuit

Fans have been clamouring for another instalment since the show aired earlier this month but the pair were not giving away any hints about whether a follow-up could be in the pipeline.

Replying to questions from Lauren Laverne on the BBC Radio 6 Breakfast Show about a future series, Paul said: 'I don't know, if there is, we haven't heard anything about it.'

He added that although the current COVID-19 crisis was difficult for people in creative industries he had been fortunate enough to line up projects beyond his role in Normal People.

Dynamic duo: Paul and co-star Daisy Edgar-Jones recently revealed their plans beyond the hit BBC drama and admitted that they 'haven't heard anything' about a potential second series

He said: 'I'll hopefully be doing a film towards the end of the summer, lockdown and coronavirus pending but hopefully, it will be very exciting.'

Daisy, who was cast as Marianne Sheridan, also said that she too had fallen on her feet: 'I was set to start something before we went into lockdown and luckily that's still fully going ahead so I know that at some point I'll work again, which is nice.'

Normal People, which is based on the best-selling novel by Sally Rooney, tells the tale of teenagers Marianne and Connell from opposite ends of the class divide in Ireland.

Teasing: Replying to questions from Lauren Laverne on the BBC Radio 6 Breakfast Show about a future series, Paul said: 'I don't know, if there is, we haven't heard anything about it'

'I'm not going to be happy until they announce that there's going to be a second series': Fans have been urging BBC bosses to begin filming on the next instalment

It follows them from their school days in Country Sligo through to University at Trinity College, Dublin, and fans have been urging BBC bosses to begin filming on the next instalment.

One person wrote: 'Normal People was such a roller coaster, please make a second series @bbcthree.'

A second fan added: 'Can there be a second series of Normal People! It's one powerful story line with every emotion and feeling portrayed! Absolutely loved it #NormalPeople #bingewatch.'

And a third commented: 'I'm not going to be happy until they announce that there's going to be a second series of Normal People.'

Normal People author Sally Rooney was dubbed the voice of a generation after she became the youngest ever writer to win the prestigious Costa prize at just 27 for the story.

The novel, released in 2018, became a New York Times and international best-seller.

In 2019 the title beat Michelle Obama's Becoming to be named Book of the Year at the annual British Book Awards.

Shocked: Normal People star Paul was left stunned on Thursday as James Corden revealed on Twitter that the Sally Rooney adaptation 'changed my life'

It comes after Paul was left stunned as James Corden revealed on Twitter that the Sally Rooney adaptation had changed his life.

Retweeting the presenter's post, Paul, wrote 'WTF IS HAPPENING' as he struggled to take in his overnight fame.

The Late Late Show host, 41, took to Twitter on Thursday afternoon to heap praise on the teen sex drama that has had everyone talking.

Big fan: Retweeting the presenter's post, Paul wrote 'WTF IS HAPPENING' as he struggled to take in his overnight fame

In an impassioned post, alongside a trailer of the show, James penned: 'Underplaying the impact of Normal People on @hulu has had on me for just a moment.

'I honestly think it may have changed my life. Its the best show I've watched in so long.'

Going on to praise Paul and co-star Daisy Edgar Jones, whom plays his love interest Marianne Sheridan, he continued: '@DaisyEdgarJones and @mescal_paul are extraordinary. It's ALL extraordinary x.'

Appreciation post: The Late Late Show host, 41, took to Twitter on Thursday afternoon to heap praise on the teen sex drama that has had everyone talking

Overwhelmed by James' praise, Paul retweeted the message alongside the caption: 'WTF IS HAPPENING', clearly astounded by the level of fame he reached.

He also replied to the tweets itself, writing: 'Wow! Thank you so much!'

While Daisy, 21, also replied, saying: 'That is so kind thank you!!!!!'

It comes shortly after Paul revealed shock at becoming an overnight heartthrob as he joked he'll 'disappoint' people when they meet him in person.

The actor said it was the 'last thing he ever expected' as he discussed the reaction to the BBC series and his character Connell during a recent interview with Grazia magazine.

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.'
In the weeks ahead, Congress is set to negotiate another coronavirus response bill with next steps for the Paycheck Protection Program as one of the key elements of any deal.

The program, run by the Small Business Administration, was created when the CARES Act was signed into law in March and then given $310 billion in additional funding in April.

The latest data, as of May 7, shows that the second round is nearly 60% depleted. Its very, very popular, said Sen. Ben Cardin Friday during an appearance on Yahoo Finance.

Cardin is the lead Democrat on the Senates Small Business Committee. He oversees the SBA and, alongside Republican colleague Marco Rubio of Florida, helped create the program.

During the interview Cardin telegraphed a range of ways the committee might change how the PPP works during the next go-around.

'Eight weeks is not going to be enough'

Cardin is pushing for changes to how the program actually works. Eight weeks is not going to be enough help for a lot of small businesses, he said about the current rules, which provide forgivable loans totaling approximately two months of payroll for any given business.

Many businesses have now been shut down for almost two months.

Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland on Capitol Hill in early April. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

The eight-week restriction needs to be looked at, said Cardin, noting that for businesses it's a tough period of time to get all of your spending in, considering that your businesses are not reopened.

This week Cardin and his Republican counterpart, Marco Rubio of Florida, held a call with administration officials to discuss the program. According to a Rubio spokesperson, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin offered support for legislative action to change the eight-week time frame to better fit the existing economic and public health environment.

Another Democratic idea is to essentially make an end run around the PPP. Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, in another Yahoo Finance interview on Friday, outlined a proposal to not put [small businesses] through the banking system from A to Z again. His idea would automatically give money to the smallest businesses that meet certain criteria and can demonstrate how the crisis hurt them.

Story continues

Cardin has also discussed making the loans more targeted and underlined that the changes hes envisioning would apply to those small businesses that are in the greatest need.

On transparency: we'll get that information

Another key priority for Cardin is transparency. The SBA releases breakdowns of its loans by things like lender size, the number of approved loans, as well as the amount of money approved in total.

This week, Cardin introduced a bill with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to change that. They would mandate daily reports from the PPP and other relief programs. They would also require the name of the entities and the loans or grant amounts be released.

The bill was blocked but Cardin believes he will eventually prevail. I also believe we'll get that information, he said. It could be part of the next legislation but Cardin also hoping it can be done voluntarily, he said.

He has been having conversations with Mnuchin and SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza about getting that information out. I think Secretary Mnuchin agrees with us, Cardin said.

Rubio has also clashed with the SBA over transparency. He blocked Cardins effort, but said on the Senate floor that something like this may be necessary eventually.

Mnuchin tweeted this week that the SBA would now offer daily end of day updates on PPP loan activity. But so far the SBA hasnt released the detailed information Democrats are asking for, like the name of every business that has received a loan.

Allied Progress, a left-leaning nonprofit consumer advocacy group, launched a site to list public companies that have received PPP loans, using public filings and news reports.

Neil Barofsky, the former inspector general for TARP in 2008, told Yahoo Finance it was pretty unbelievable that the government hasnt committed to making all the recipients transparent within the PPP. He then, like Cardin, predicted that they would relent: they almost have to.

More funds (probably)

Another change that Cardin expects in any third round is more money for the program. A recent report noted that demand is cooling for the loans, but a lot of businesses are in the queue trying to get that type of relief, Cardin said, and so he expects it will run dry for a second time.

To date, the PPP has now given out well over half a trillion dollars. Rubio has also said we might need additional funds for the program.

We don't have that answer today, said Cardin of how much more, but we do think, though, there will come a period of time when there will be no further funds available if we don't replenish.

Ben Werschkul is a producer for Yahoo Finance in Washington, DC.

Read more:

Lawmakers get impatient with transparency of the Paycheck Protection Program

Consumer group launches website to track all the public companies that got PPP small business loans

Why some lawmakers want cannabis companies and casinos to be eligible for coronavirus loans

Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance

Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, YouTube, and reddit.
New Delhi, May 9 : Tightening the noose around the Congress-promoted Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday said that it has attached a part of its assets in Maharashtra's Mumbai amounting to Rs 16 crore in its probe into the money laundering case.

The ED said that it attached assets worth Rs 16.38 crore of a nine storey building with two basements in Mumbai's Bandra East belonging to AJL. It said the attachment order was issued against the AJL and its chairman Motial Lal Vora, who is a Rajya Sabha member of the Congress.

The ED had filed a PMLA complaint in this case in 2016 based on a CBI FIR, which had taken over investigations in this case at the request of the BJP government of Haryana, and the criminal FIRs filed by the Haryana Vigilance Bureau.

Last year in December, the CBI filed a chargesheet before a Panchkula court naming Vora and former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in connection with the alleged irregularities in the case. The ED has questioned the two senior Congress leaders in this case and also filed a chargesheet against them in August last year.

The ED said that earlier during the probe it was revealed that Vora and Hooda were involved in the process of illegal possession of "crime proceeds".

"During investigation it was found that Vora and Hooda used plot number C-17, Sector-6 in Haryana's Panchkula for availing loans from Syndicate Bank, I. P. Estate Branch in New Delhi by way of pledging it for approval of construction of a building near EPF Office in Bandra East area of Mumbai held in the name of AJL and valued at Rs 120 crore," the ED said.

It said that the attached property is a nine storey building having two basements and a total built up area of 15000 sq mtrs. It said the property that was provisionally attached by the ED was confirmed by the adjudicating authority under PMLA. The property in Panchkula allotted by the state government to the AJL in 2005 worth Rs 64.93 crore was attached by the ED in December 2018.
Chennai: Two special trains carrying migrant workers and others left for Bihar's Saharsa and Jharkhand's Hatia from Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore and Katpadi, respectively, on Friday night, a senior Southern Railway official said.



According to the official, the train to Saharsa left Coimbatore with 1,140 passengers. They boarded the train maintaining social distance after thermal screening was done.





Similarly, the other train from Katpadi to Hatia carried passengers who were patients and their care givers who had come for treatment at the Christian Medial College Hospital, Vellore and got stranded.



The passengers were registered and nominated by the Tamil Nadu government.



On Wednesday night a special train carrying 1,136 passengers had left Katpadi for Ranchi.



The passengers -- patients who had come for treatment at the Christian Medical College and their attendants -- were brought to Katpadi railway junction in 16 buses by the Vellore district administration.
Australians had blatant disregard for social distancing rules as they rushed to buy last minute Mother's Day gifts.

The entrance to Myer at Bankstown Shopping Centre in Sydney's west, a large crowd of people were not observing social distancing, the ABC reported.

One customer described the centres as being 'busier than Christmas' as they rushed to get their hands on a Mother's Day gift while doing non-essential shopping.

Shoppers at Westfield Burwood in Sydney also packed into the centre.

'We still have social distance rules but at Westfield, social distances didn't mean anything. Don't understand why most of the shoppers and Westfield management are so ignorant of the regulation,' one shopper posted to social media.

In Westfield Miranda (pictured) in Sydney's south, a crowd of shoppers were spotted outside a florist to buy flowers for Mother's Day as they ignored social distancing rules

'It's bizarre that Westfield today is jammed with a sea of people yet cafes and restaurants are limited to 10 people,' another said.

The Australian Retailers Association said lack of social distancing was prevalent in NSW and Victoria despite shops being opened being good for the industry.

'It's great to see the obvious enthusiasm from Australians to get back to the shops after weeks of lockdown,' ARA chief executive Paul Zahra said.

'At the same time we want a safe restart, not a false start. And we are still waiting on a green light from some state governments before the full reopening of retail.'

He said there was a shared responsibility amongst shoppers who must all work together to ensure each other's safety.

Shoppers crowded inside Lakeside Joondalup Shopping Centre in Western Australia on Saturday as people were in clear breach of the safe 1.5m rule from each other

The state's deputy premier Roger Cook is urging people to not become complacent (pictured: Crowds at Lakeside Joondalup)

Mr Zahra said if everyone follows the rules then there will be a positive start to the easing of restrictions.

In Westfield Miranda in Sydney's south, a crowd of shoppers were spotted outside a florist to buy flowers for Mother's Day as they ignored social distancing rules.

Shoppers crowded inside Lakeside Joondalup Shopping Centre in Western Australia on Saturday as people were in clear breach of the safe 1.5m rule from each other.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Westfield for comment.

Despite Western Australia recording no new positive cases of the killer coronavirus in the past 24 hours, everyone is reminded to continue practice safety measures.

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

After a month of shops being closed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, states and territories allowed the retail industry to reopen as long as safety measures were in place.

The state's deputy premier Roger Cook is urging people to not become complacent and that the ease of restrictions will be the beginning of a long journey.

'We will look at what we can do to ease restrictions in order to reopen the economy,' he told The West.

'But we will only do a small amount, sit back, wait to see what the response is and make sure there is no outbreak of the disease that's uncontrollable.'

'There is no guarantee the virus is not lurking in our community.'

Shoppers were seen blatantly ignoring the 1.5m social distancing rule at Lakeside Joondalup on Saturday

Furious members of the community took to social media to vent their frustration at the lack of rule following.

'Just because some restrictions have been relaxed, have some control,' one person wrote.

'You still need to practice social distancing! STAY AT HOME unless it is essential. Short term pain for the greater good.'

'Today at Lakeside Joondalup it was utter chaos and you essentially couldn't move,' another wrote accompanied with images of the crowded shopping centre

'Absolutely zero f***s given at Lakeside Joondalup today. It is crazy,' someone else tweeted.

The state government is expected to announce on Sunday the restrictions they will be easing following Prime Minister's three-step path out of coronavirus lockdown.
Chennai, May 9 : A Sharmik special train left for Akbarpur in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday evening from the Coimbatore railway station with 1,140 stuck migrant workers, said a Southern Railway official.

According to the official, the migrants were earlier registered and nominated by the Tamil Nadu government.

Thermal screening of passengers was done before they boarded the train, and social distancing ensured on board.

On Friday night, two special trains carrying migrant workers and others left for Bihar's Saharsa and Jharkhand's Hatia from Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore and Katpadi respectively.

According to the official, the train to Saharsa left Coimbatore with 1,140 passengers.

Similarly, the other train from Katpadi to Hatia carried patients and their caregivers who had come for treatment at the Christian Medical College Hospital, Vellore, but got stranded after the nationwide lockdown was enforced in March.

These passengers too were registered and nominated by the Tamil Nadu government.

On Wednesday night, a special train carrying 1,136 passengers had left Katpadi for Ranchi.

The passengers -- patients at the Christian Medical College and their attendants -- were brought to the Katpadi railway junction in 16 buses by the Vellore district administration.
Ted Cruz launched a Twitter spat with Joe Scarborough Friday evening saying the MSNBC host 'chased after Trump for two years like a teenage girl throwing her panties at the latest boy band.'

In the bitter exchange Scarborough hit out at the Republican senator in a series of Tweets accusing him of selling his 'soul' by supporting Donald Trump after the president 'called your wife ugly and said your dad killed JFK.'

There was no love lost between the two as they threw insults back and forth on social media over each of their relationships with the president.

The war of words began when Scarborough posted a Tweet sharing a video that had been labeled as 'manipulated media' by the social media platform.

Ted Cruz (left) launched a Twitter spat with Joe Scarborough (right) Friday evening saying the MSNBC host 'chased after Trump for two years like a teenage girl throwing her panties at the latest boy band'. There was no love lost between Cruz and Scarborough (above) as they threw insults back and forth on social media over each of their relationships with President Trump

It all started when Scarborough posted a Tweet sharing a video of Vice President Mike Pence delivering empty boxes of PPE into a hospital in an apparent publicity stunt (above). The video was later labeled as 'manipulated media' by Twitter

In the video - shared by TV host Jimmy Kimmel - Vice President Mike Pence is seen delivering empty boxes of PPE into a hospital in an apparent publicity stunt.

However it transpired that Pence had been carrying full boxes of PPE before the footage was shot and then joked that the remaining boxes be used 'just for the camera' and the video was debunked.

Scarborough then deleted the Tweet and issued an apology to the vice president for sharing the content.

'I guess Twitter is a full time job. I apologize to Mike Pence for retweeting a tweet that had been disproved. I'm deleting now,' the Tweet read.

But before Scarborough had time to admit his mistakes, Cruz blasted the TV host as 'dishonest and corrupt' in a Tweet of his own.

'Hmm. When you're on the defensive for being dishonest & corrupt, perhaps best not to forward fraudulent stories from Jimmy Kimmel (that he's admitted were false)? You are claiming to be a journalist, after all....' Cruz Tweeted.

This sparked a series of Tweets between the pair into the evening.

Scarborough slammed the senator for supporting Trump despite the president personally attacking him and his family when the two Republican politicians were fighting it out for the White House in 2016.

'Ted, when I make a mistake I admit it. You remain mired in shame because you kowtow to a man who called your wife ugly and said your daddy assassinated JFK,' replied Scarborough.

'Me messing up a tweet or two will never erase the shame you carry every day of your life.'

There was no love lost between the two as they threw insults back and forth on social media over each of their relationships with the president

Scarborough was referring to Trump's comments back in May 2016 - a day before Cruz pulled out of the presidential race - where he alleged that Cruz's father was with John F. Kennedy's assassin Lee Harvey Oswald soon before he murdered the president.

'His father was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswald's being  you know, shot. I mean, the whole thing is ridiculous,' Trump said.

'I mean, what was he doing  what was he doing with Lee Harvey Oswald shortly before the death? Before the shooting? It's horrible.'

The president also called Cruz's wife Heidi Cruz 'ugly'.

But Cruz did not take kindly to Scarborough dredging up the incidents and hit back at the TV host's own show of support for Trump, after the president made regular appearances on his show during the GOP primary.

'Joe, you chased after Trump for 2 years like a teenage girl throwing her panties at the latest boy band; now you pretend to be this indignant paragon of virtue outraged at everything he says & does. All to get invited to DC cocktail parties & thrill the 13 people watching MSNBC,' Cruz tweeted.

The video of Pence that triggered the spat was posted by democrat pollster Matt McDermott and then shared by TV host Jimmy Kimmel who has left the footage on his feed

In the video Pence is seen delivering empty boxes of PPE into a hospital

However it transpired that Pence had been carrying full boxes of PPE before the footage was shot and then joked that the remaining boxes be used 'just for the camera' and the video was debunked

Things got uglier when Scarborough retaliated again, reinforcing his previous comments about Trump's attack on Cruz's family and saying he 'sold your soul to him'.

'Ted, Trump called your wife ugly and said your dad killed JFK. The difference between you and me is the closer Trump got to power, the more I criticized him. The closer Trump got to power, the more you sold your soul to him. You even sold out your own father's name for Trump,' Scarborough tweeted.

He continued in a follow-up Tweet: 'You lose this fight every time. You sold your soul to Trump. You. Lose.'

Scarborough then dismissed Cruz's accusations that he enjoyed the high life in Washington DC circles.

'PS. I don't do cocktail parties. I went to University of Alabama and University of Florida. You're a Harvard and Princeton boy who spends your life around lobbyists and billionaires. You can cut out the man-of-the-people BS. Nobody believes anything you say,' he Tweeted.

The video of Pence that triggered the spat was shared by democrat pollster Matt McDermott who has left the footage on his feed.

It had gained more than 8.6 million views as of Saturday morning.

Kimmel also issued a sarcastic apology of his own to the vice president but did not take the footage down.

Cruz's feud with Scarborough came just hours after he showed his support for Texas salon owner Shelley Luther who was jailed for two days for repeatedly defying stay-at-home orders

The Republican senator hopped on a plane and traveled to Salon A la Mode in Dallas to get a hair cut Friday after the stylist was released from jail Thursday

'It would appear that @vp was joking about carrying empty boxes for a staged publicity stunt. The full video reveals that he was carrying full boxes for a staged publicity stunt. My apologies. I know how dearly this administration values truth,' Kimmel wrote on Twitter.

Cruz's feud with Scarborough came just hours after he showed his support for Texas salon owner Shelley Luther who was jailed for two days for repeatedly defying stay-at-home orders.

The Republican senator hopped on a plane and traveled to Salon A la Mode in Dallas to get a hair cut Friday after the stylist was released from jail Thursday.

'Shelley Luther was wrongly imprisoned when she refused to apologize for trying to make a living,' Cruz said in Friday tweet.

'Today, I went to get my hair cut at Shelley's salon to show my support for her, her small business, and all business owners trying to safely help Texans get back to work.'

The salon owner was sentenced to seven days in jail on Tuesday for refusing to shut down her business in accordance with the state's stay-at-home orders - despite repeated court orders.

She was freed Thursday after Texas Governor Greg Abbott amended his executive order removing confinement as a punishment for non-compliance and the Texas Supreme Court ordered her release.
Kottayam : May 9 (IANS) For Aneela Mathew, after almost 75 days of hectic work in the IT department at a bank in Bahrain, it was a keenly awaited trip back home. But to reach her home in the district of Kottayam, it will take many more days, as she is now put up at a state managed quarantine centre, near here.

She landed at Kochi around 1120 p.m. on Friday night and by about 4.15 a.m. she along with eight others are now been quarantined at a retreat centre of a Church organisation about 25 km from her home, near here.

For the 25-year-old techie lady, working with a leading IT firm at the Technopark campus in the state capital, it was a happy moment when she boarded her flight on her maiden foreign trip in the third week of February.

But she never thought it would be a short lived happiness, as after 10 days things started to turn bumpy, as by then Covid-19 was spreading its tentacles across countries and was soon declared a pandemic.

"Since we were very much immersed in our work, we did not have much time to think of other things concerning Covid-19. But soon things became tough as lockdown norms in Bahrain became stringent. Again it did not affect us, as we had a task to commission the project we had on our hand," said Mathew.

Weeks passed for her and even though the project that she was assigned got over, and with India closing its airspace, their team of 5 was put into another project and again it was a busy schedule.

"By the time we finished our second assigned work, we had got the news, that all those whose visa has expired will get a preference and three of us got the call from Indian Embassy to get ready to reach the airport, yesterday around noon," said Mathew.

They reached the airport at the appointed time and boarded the aircraft around 4 a.m.

"Once inside the aircraft, we were told to manage ourselves and it was not the normal way things happen inside the aircraft. A small bottle of sanitizer, a small packet of snacks and a bottle of water was kept on the seat. By 11.20 p.m. we reached Kochi," said Mathew.

"Once outside the airport, we had to carry our bags and when we sought help from the policemen who were standing there, to place our bag inside the bus, they said - help yourselves. That came as a shock. For the first time we felt we were looked down upon. Inside the bus was just the driver and we were nine as passengers," said Mathew.

The bus had a police jeep in the front and back and after a two hour drive it reached the retreat centre.

"Here also there were three staffers who were standing and giving us directions from a distance. We were told to go to the third floor. When we said it would be difficult to carry our luggage to the third floor, they said then you can take any room in the ground floor. We were given a room, which has three beds. My colleague and I are now sitting in the room. We were given a good breakfast also," added Mathew.

"The journey and the experiences I have had, will surely make me a strong person, as these will all go as memorable moments, which one has to really experience to understand the emotions," said Mathew.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has instructed Khalistani terror groups, active in Pakistan to smuggle weapons and drugs into India's Punjab and extend help to Kashmiri terror groups. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) investigation has revealed that Pakistan based terrorist organizations are using narcotic trade to generate funds for terror activities in India.

The proceeds of narcotic trade are transferred to Kashmir valley through couriers and hawala channel for terrorist purposes. The NIA has arrested a top narco-terrorist and wanted accused Ranjit Singh from Sirsa in Haryana.

An investigation revealed that Pakistan-based entities are smuggling narcotics from Pakistan into the Indian territory by hiding it in sacks of rock salt which is imported from Pakistan. This is done through an elaborate network of importers, customs house agents, transporters and the operation is financed through illegal international hawala channels.

The investigation also established that the seized consignment was a part of a total of five consignments of drugs, four out of which had been successfully smuggled into India.

Ranjit Singh is also the prime accused in the recent Hizbul Mujahideen terror funding module which was busted with the arrest of Hilal Ahmad Wagay, a resident of Nowgam, Awantipora, Jammu and Kashmir with Rs 29 lacs in cash in Amritsar by Punjab Police in April. This money was being transported to the Kashmir valley to be handed over to Hizbul Mujahideen top terrorist Riyaz Naikoo who was killed last week in an encounter with security forces.

"An NIA investigation has revealed that Pakistan-based terrorist organizations are using narcotic trade to generate funds for terror activities in India. The proceeds of narcotic trade are transferred to Kashmir valley through couriers and hawala channel for terrorist purposes," the NIA said in a statement.

All the Khalistani leaders based in the UK, Germany and Canada have been inciting violence or involved in facilitating terror activities in India in association with the ISI. In 2019, Punjab Police had busted a terrorist module of the revived Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF), backed by a Pakistan and Germany-based terror group that was conspiring to unleash a series of terrorist strikes in Punjab and adjoining states, and seized a huge cache of arms, including five AK-47 rifles, pistols, satellite phones and hand grenades.

Due to an international link, Punjab Chief Ministers handed over investigation to NIA to ensure that the entire conspiracy is fully and expeditiously unravelled. The initial investigations of this case revealed that Pakistan is using drones to deliver terrorists weapons and communication hardware across the border. The large-scale infiltration appeared to have been aimed at scaling terrorism and militancy in J&K, Punjab and the hinterland.

The investigation by the Punjab Police revealed that the ISI is using GPS-fitted drones, capable of lifting up to 10 kg, from Pakistan seven to eight times to airdrop the cache of arms, ammunition and fake currency seized in Punjab's Tarn Taran district.

Security agencies have also found a link to Germany, UK and Canada, which have emerged as the main base of Khalistani and Kashmiri terrorists. The sympathizers of these groups living in these countries are funding for drugs in Punjab and some part of these funds are also being diverted to Kashmir for terror activities.

The smuggling of weapons and drugs by Pakistan to Khalistani groups has resulted in a rivalry among them. A top leader of Khalistan Liberation Force, Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD, was killed at the Dera Chahal Gurudwara near Lahore by a local gang over financial disputes stemming from drug smuggling.

The killing of Harmeet Singh was the result of rivalry between Khalistani groups over control of drug money. Harmeet, who was also allegedly involved in the murders of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders in Punjab in 2016-2017, was wanted in India in several cases and was involved in the smuggling of weapons and drugs from Pakistan.
62,441 people visited Georgia from neighboring states as the state re-opened some businesses, according to research from the University of Maryland.

The biggest influx came from Florida, which had the strictest remaining rules in place.

Researchers have warned of preventable deaths by relaxing protocols too early, but Georgia's governor isn't worried.

Gov. Brian Kemp said the state has an oversupply of testing capacity and will take action of cases accelerated following the re-opening.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

As Georgia began to re-open non-essential businesses like movie theaters and hair salons, tens of thousands of people from neighboring states poured in, potentially risking a further spread of the coronavirus just as researchers had warned.

According to research by University of Maryland scientists, 62,441 out of state visitors poured into Georgia after April 24 when many businesses re-opened. The biggest proportion of those visitors, 17%, came from Florida, which has been the most cautious in allowing businesses to re-open.

The uptick in travel  13% over the average from previous weeks is worrying, and yet totally unsurprising, to scientists studying the outbreak.

Related Video: Doctors Are Facing As They Treat Coronavirus Patients

Harris Little washes Matt Kim's hair at 2Qute Hair Salon on April 27, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. Gov. Brian Kemp has eased restriction and allowed some non-essential businesses to start re-opening in Georgia amid the COVID-19 Pandemic. Non-essential businesses allowed to start reopening are restaurants, movie theaters, tattoo shops, salons, gyms and nail salons. (Photo by )

Jessica McGowan/Getty Images

"It's exactly the kind of effect we've been worried about," Maegan Fitzpatrick, who studies infectious diseases at the University, told the Washington Post. "This is not an unpredictable outcome with businesses opening in one location and people going to seek services there."

In some ways, the slow opening of business in Georgia, Texas, and several other states is a litmus test for the United States as a whole. If protocols are lifted too early, it could lead to thousands of preventable deaths, epidemiological models show.

"If you lift the restriction too soon, a second wave will come, and the damage will be substantial both medically and economically. We don't want to throw away the sacrifices we have made for weeks now," Turgay Ayer, a research director for healthcare analytics at Georgia Institute of Technology, told The Daily Beast.

Story continues

The main model cited by the White House coronavirus task force showed a more optimistic forecast until it was revised upward this week. The model, from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, now estimates a death count of 134,475 by August 4  nearly double its late April projection of 72,433 deaths by August.

"Our data suggests that the partial reopening orders in some states have prompted a sharp increase in mobility behavior and decreasing social distancing across the nation," Lei Zhang, the lead researcher for the University of Maryland study, told CNN.

South Korea, for instance, which previously had one of the largest outbreaks outside China, had relaxed most of its social distancing guidelines only to close thousands of nightclubs and bars on Saturday after a fresh outbreak linked to one man.

Researchers at Harvard's Global Health Institute warned last week that the four states, Georgia, Texas, Florida and Colorado, lacked adequate testing capacity to safely re-open businesses.

"As of this week, national testing is still stalled at around 250,000 daily tests," the Harvard Global Health Institute reported Thursday. That's up from 150,000 COVID-19 tests a day in mid-April  but still half of what the institute deemed necessary two weeks ago.

The country is falling behind, the institute declared, even as some states are beginning to reopen. "According to our updated calculations," the institute said in a new report, "we will need upwards of 900,000 daily tests nationally by May 15."

Georgia governor Brian Kemp disagreed.

On Thursday, Kemp announced testing was available to any state residents, even without symptoms, as supply outpaces demand.

"If we see the numbers turn in a different direction than we like to see, then we'll take further action," Kemp said, according to local media.

Business Insider
Syracuse, N.Y.  Onondaga Countys nursing home residents, the people most vulnerable to the coronavirus, are not being adequately protected from the deadly disease.

New York state health officials and many nursing homes have failed to aggressively test these sick and elderly people.

The states response has been plagued by weak direction, inaccurate data and poor communication. Just Thursday, Onondaga County officials were surprised to learn of 19 nursing home deaths in the county that the state had not told them about.

We are like the forgotten stepchildren, said Dr. Elaine Healy, a vice president of the New York Medical Directors Association, a group representing nursing home doctors. Healy faults the state health department for not making sure nursing homes have what they need to fight the coronavirus, which causes Covid-19.

Heres a vulnerable population we should focus on, and we did not, Dr. Sharon Brangman, a geriatrics expert at Upstate Medical University, said of nursing homes.

The state did not clearly state its nursing home strategy. But people in the field say the state has increased testing in nursing homes with outbreaks and is beefing up supplies of test kits as best it can.

Brangman and other experts say residents of all nursing homes, even those without symptoms, should be regularly tested.

To keep the virus out, all nursing homes have banned visitors. Many have confined residents to their rooms and halted communal dining. Employees caring for infected residents are required to wear masks and other protective gear. Before employees start their shifts, nursing homes take their temperatures and screen them for symptoms.

But those precautions alone arent protecting residents from the virus.

Thats because many frail elderly people and employees who are infected dont initially show any symptoms and are spreading the disease. If these silent carriers are identified through testing, they can be isolated to protect their peers.

But thats not happening in all of Onondaga Countys 14 nursing homes, which say they dont have enough tests and often test only people with symptoms. Testing is inconsistent at local nursing homes. Some test aggressively, while others do it sparingly or not at all.

For weeks, the county government has been sending teams of nurses into other collections of the elderly: retirement communities, assisted living centers and other senior citizen housing facilities to proactively test asymptomatic older residents to stop the disease from spreading. That effort has turned up 56 people carrying the virus among the first 1,400 residents and employees who were tested.

But county officials say they cannot do that in nursing homes because those facilities are regulated by the state Health Department. County Executive Ryan McMahon said the county has teamed with the state to test in a few nursing homes here.

The state has made it clear we just cant go in and do this ourselves, he said.

Dutchess County, however, recently announced plans to test every resident in each of its 13 nursing homes. And Maryland and West Virginia recently ordered mandatory testing of all nursing home residents.

Brangman praised those approaches.

If you can get them while they are asymptomatic, that should be the focus, Brangman said. If we dont get a handle on it we wont get control of the virus.

Dr. Bruce R. Troen, chief of geriatrics at the University of Buffalo medical school, agrees.

There should be 100 percent testing of residents and staff, Troen said. A nursing home is a perfect cauldron for this disease.

In the absence of a proactive state approach, nursing home officials are left to make their own calls as best they can. At times, that leads to decisions that frustrate and confuse the families of residents.

Take some examples at one nursing home, Central Park Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, where nine residents have died, state records say:

The Central Park medical staff refused to test a man with Covid-19 symptoms, saying it wouldnt matter in his treatment. The mans family and the county health commissioner asked for him to be tested, but the nursing home refused, a syracuse.com investigation showed. The family of Robert Botindari believed his death shouldve counted toward the pandemics toll and that others he came in contact with shouldve been warned.

Robert Botindari in a photo taken shortly before the coronavirus pandemic started, when nursing homes were allowing visitors.

Another resident did not get tested until he went into cardiac arrest after getting a dialysis treatment. He was positive for the virus, and he died two weeks later.

A 94-year-old woman fell while walking into the bathroom, and she was wheezing. She died the next day, without ever being tested for the virus. She had a roommate throughout this, the family says. After she died, the family says, it got a call from the homes medical staff: She had Covid-19.

A scattered approach

When asked if New York is considering mandatory testing in nursing homes, the state Health Department was evasive.

In a statement, the department said it is working to increase testing in nursing homes. In some cases, the testing is being conducted by NYSDOH and also by local health departments, nursing homes and local hospitals, the department said.

The push to increase testing comes two months after the pandemic began. Covid-19 has killed 5,053 New York nursing home residents as of May 6, about a quarter of the states 20,828 Covid-19 fatalities.

The department did not reveal how many or in which nursing homes it has conducted testing.

But Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing in Syracuse is one of them. The 513-bed facility on Onondaga Hill has had an outbreak of the virus among residents and staff. Neither the nursing home nor the state has disclosed how many residents and staff have tested positive. Nine Van Duyn residents have died of the virus, according to the state.

Amy Mahoney, Van Duyns administrator, said in an email the nursing home has tested a great number of residents under the direction of county and state health officials.

A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed the coronavirus spread rapidly through an unidentified nursing home in Washington state because more than half of its infected residents were asymptomatic. The study found symptom-based screening alone failed to detect a high proportion of infectious cases and was not enough to stop the spread.

In an editorial, the journal called for mass testing of all nursing home residents.

New Yorks testing protocol says people should be tested if they have symptoms such as fever, cough or trouble breathing, have underlying health conditions or have had close contact with people infected with the virus.

Many nursing homes only test residents if they have symptoms. Loretto, a 583-bed nursing home at 700 East Brighton Ave. in Syracuse, is among them. It declined to disclose how many residents it has tested.

Julie Sheedy, a Loretto official, said the home has not tested many people because few of its residents have had symptoms. Loretto had one patient die from coronavirus after being transferred from a hospital into its coronavirus unit.

Early last week, Michael Connor, a spokesman for the Centers at St. Camillus, said the nursing home was not testing residents.

But in a May 8 letter posted on its website, St. Camillus said the state Health Department will test all of its residents Monday. The nursing home has sent 21 residents in recent weeks to hospitals where they have tested positive for coronavirus. The nursing home had 350 to 400 of its employees tested for the virus late last week.

Bishop, a 440-bed Syracuse nursing home, has tested over 150 residents and would do more if it could get more tests, said Edward Farbenblum, who owns the facility.

We are testing as aggressively as we can as quickly as we can get tests, Farbenblum said.

He would like to see mandatory testing of all nursing home residents, including people who are asymptomatic, but said New York probably does not have enough tests to do that.

New York has more than 101,000 nursing home residents, more than any other state.

There have been two coronavirus deaths at Bishop.

Farbenblum said the nursing home has about 30 residents who have tested positive. About half of them got infected at Bishop and the other half already had the virus when they were transferred from hospitals to Bishops 38-bed coronavirus unit.

That unit, which has its own entrance and is sealed off from the rest of the nursing home, has a negative pressure ventilation system which prevents airborne viruses and other contaminants from drifting to other parts of the nursing home. Bishop is creating another negative pressure unit to accept more coronavirus patients from hospitals.

An April 28, state Health Department inspection of Bishop found no deficiencies in its infection control procedures designed to prevent the spread of the virus.

Missteps by the federal government early in the pandemic created a severe shortage of tests for nursing homes, hospitals, home care agencies and other health care providers.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention distributed defective coronavirus test kits in February that did not work, significantly delaying efforts.

As limited supplies of tests became available, the CDC said hospital patients should get them before nursing home residents. That left many nursing homes here and nationwide scrambling to get tests and facing long waits for test results.

It wasnt until April 27 that the CDC revised its guidance and said nursing residents should get the same priority as hospital patients for coronavirus testing.

Bad numbers

Inaccurate data and the states lack of transparency make it impossible to know how much damage the virus is doing to nursing homes patients in Onondaga County and statewide.

On May 4, the state reported five confirmed nursing home deaths in Onondaga County. Later that day, the state released data that showed there had been 17 coronavirus deaths  12 confirmed and 5 presumed  in four Onondaga County nursing homes. The countys nursing home death toll now stands at 22.

The state Health Department said the numbers changed after the state checked deaths that had been reported inaccurately and inconsistently by nursing homes. That resulted in more than 1,700 previously undisclosed deaths statewide being reported for the first time as coronavirus cases.

The states revised fatality data still understates nursing home deaths because it does not include deaths of nursing home residents that occur in hospitals.

Onondaga County officials initially thought the states nursing home death numbers were included in the coronavirus death tally tabulated by the county. But McMahon said Thursday that was not the case.

Certainly, the communication with the state health department related to nursing homes has been problematic, McMahon said. Were a little surprised we did not know this information.

The state also has refused to identify nursing homes with positive cases, even though many other states do this.

Critics say the state may have compounded the coronavirus problems March 25 by ordering nursing homes to accept patients with confirmed or suspected cases of coronavirus. After getting heavy criticism, the state changed its position and said nursing homes did not have to accept coronavirus patients if they were incapable of caring for them.

I think that policy exacerbated the spread of Covid-19 in nursing homes, said Richard Mollot, of the Longterm Care Community Coalition, a Manhattan-based nursing home resident advocacy group.

The personal cost

Carmella Porpiglio, 96, had been a resident at the Onondaga Center nursing home in Minoa since 2018.

Her daughter, Marie Vertigan, was concerned when she noticed on Facetime visits her mother was either asleep or looked listless, and wasnt eating or drinking.

Vertigan said she asked the nursing home April 29 to test her mother for the coronavirus. The center declined, Vertigan said. Porpiglio died May 1.

In a statement to syracuse.com, the nursing home said a patient must exhibit symptoms as defined by the state health department to get a test. This was not the case with Ms. Porpiglio, the statement said.

The home pointed to another reason: The state doesnt require testing.

Additionally, to date, there has been no formal mandatory testing requirement for nursing facilities as stated by Onondaga County and no testing has been formally scheduled, the home said.

Eighteen of Onondaga Countys nursing home deaths have occurred at Van Duyn and Central Park Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. The nursing homes are owned by CPRNC LLC, a private for-profit company in New York City. Its owners are Lawrence Koenig, Uri Koenig and Efraim Steif.

Steif and Uri Koenig own 16 nursing homes in New York. Six of the nursing homes have had a total of 39 coronavirus deaths.

The Koenigs and Steif did not respond to phone messages from Syracuse.com|The Post Standard.

Patrick Calli, Central Park administrator, did not respond to phone calls and emails.

- Glorida Morrock. Provided photoProvided photo

Rosann Leyden said she visited her mom, Gloria Morrock, every single day for the past six years at Central Park.

On April 15, she said she got a call from a social worker at Central Park saying her 94-year-old mom had fallen while walking into the bathroom. She was wheezing. She would receive a chest X-ray.

Later that day, Leyden received another call, she said. Her mother had pneumonia.

I didnt even have time to think  didnt even think it could be Covid, Leyden said.

Leyden received permission to see her mother the next day, she said. Dressed in full gown, a mask and gloves, she said her final goodbye during a half-hour visit. Her mothers roommate remained in the room, Leyden said.

An hour later, Leyden received a call in her home in Clay, she said. Her mother had died.

Leyden said she received her mothers death certificate May 1. It attributed her death to oxygen deprivation due to bilateral pneumonia, presumed COVID-19 and advanced age.

Mark Sitar, 59, who had severe kidney disease, moved into Central Park early this year, his brother Tim said.

Sitar told his brother in an April 1 phone call that he didnt feel well, Tim said. On April 6, Sitar went to a dialysis center in Syracuse for a routine treatment. The center staff became alarmed that Sitar had trouble breathing, Tim said. An ambulance took Sitar to St. Josephs hospital.

There, Sitar went into cardiac arrest, was revived, moved to the intensive care unit and put on a ventilator, Tim said. The next day, April 7, Tim learned Sitar tested positive for coronavirus at the hospital. Tim said he called Central Park officials to tell them.

He had a roommate and I didnt know who he was, but I thought I should give Central Park a heads up, he said.

Sitar died April 20.

Tim and his siblings wonder why Sitar wasnt tested for coronavirus at Central Park and why the nursing home did not send him to a hospital.

Maybe, he said, if hed been sent to the hospital earlier hed still be alive.

If you or a loved one are a resident of an Onondaga County nursing home and want to tell us how it is handling coronavirus, contact Elizabeth Doran at (315) 470-3012 or edoran@syracuse.com

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Onondaga Co. coronavirus: Hospitalizations at record levels, up 45% in one week; 5 more deaths

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Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com
Patients will die if lengthy trolley waits in emergency departments become the norm again (Andrew Matthews/PA)

Patients will die if lengthy trolley waits in emergency departments become the norm again after the first Covid-19 surge, it has been warned.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) has produced a series of recommendations looking at how best to provide emergency care in the months ahead as the health service prepares to resume non-Covid services.

A failure to meet the aims of the recommendations will result in people dying from hospital-acquired infection, the professional body has said.

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Dr Paul Kerr, vice president of the RCEM in Northern Ireland, said: "The recent history of our emergency departments (EDs) in Northern Ireland, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, has witnessed severe crowding and trolley waits for admission.

"This was never acceptable but, in the context of Covid-19, would not be safe for patients and staff.

"It's not so much about attendances but managing of patients awaiting admission to a bed, and in some hospitals we have had 40 trolley waits, sometimes lying side-by-side, and we do not expect trusts would allow this to happen again.

"The review of urgent and emergency care in Northern Ireland is particularly important now and eagerly awaited."

Health officials have carried out a major review of the way emergency care here will be delivered in the future, which has involved consulting extensively with emergency care specialists.

It is not known when the document will be published as the Department of Health has concentrated its efforts in recent months in its Covid-19 response.

Attendances at GP surgeries, GP out-of-hours services and A&E departments have plummeted dramatically in recent months during the pandemic lockdown but numbers are starting to climb again.

Looking to the future, the RCEM has said it is vital that hospitals do not return to the status quo, claiming there is "a moral imperative to ensure our EDs never become crowded again".

The document states that it is "impossible for patients to maintain a safe distance if they are waiting on a trolley in a corridor".

RCEM president Dr Katherine Henderson said: "Going back to how we used to operate is not an option - patients will die if we do.

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"It was just four months ago when we were seeing overcrowding on a record scale in EDs.

"It was unacceptable then and put lives at risk. To go back to that now will lead to avoidable patient and staff illness or death.

"If departments are crowded, we cannot protect patients and staff. Crowding has long been associated with avoidable mortality, and Covid-19 reinforces and multiplies this risk.

"We must have a way to enforce social distancing in EDs to ensure that patients do not become infected while seeking healthcare.

"If supermarkets can get this right, then the very institution that people entrust with their health must do so, too.

"There is a need for wholesale change while embracing the new practices we've seen during this crisis, with patient and staff safety at the forefront of thinking.

"Our position statement outlines what we must achieve and the areas to focus on to get us there."
Like pretty much everyone else over the past two months, Ive been sheltering-in-place-of-living. During this period of forced hibernation, the TV has become my most intimate (very easy to turn on) and constant friend. I used to spend a lot of time watching cable news programs, but then I started having nightmares where Tony Fauci would be telling Sanjay Gupta that all Americans could finally stop wearing masks except that ugly chick in Delco, so I switched to streaming. Hulu is my favorite, probably because I cant remember my Netflix password.

Because of this, I happened across the original Hulu/FX series Mrs. America, about the fight to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. I was a kid during the time period depicted in the show, which profiles a different historic figure in each episode. Thats why Im so grateful for a female-centric program that, at least to me, tries to present a more nuanced portrait of women who found themselves to the right of, vilified by or unfavorably compared to, feminists.

In particular, I love the depiction of Phyllis Schlafly, the founder of the Eagle Forum and formidable foe of the ERA. While I understand that some conservatives, including members of Schlaflys own family are unhappy with the characterization (and we can discuss that in a future column), my expectations are so low that I always think a non-liberal woman will be Palinized and ridiculed the way Delcos own Mean Girl Tina Fey destroyed the former governor of Alaska. So any attempt to show a woman from the right side of the aisle as strong, independent and excruciatingly effective is already a victory.

And when that strong, independent and excruciatingly effective woman is played by Cate Blanchett, you have to pay attention.

But this column isnt a review of Mrs. America. I hope you see it, and I hope you appreciate the acting, production value and groovy fashion.

This column is less about women, and more about a woman: My mother, Lucy Flowers. Youve read about Lucy before, when I penned her obituary for this paper, almost six years ago. And I wont rehash what I wrote then. To paraphrase Marc Antony, I come not to bury Lucy, but to praise her.

And with her, on this Mothers Day, I want to praise women like her, women who lived in the shadow of a movement they neither accepted, supported, or understood but who were as fierce and historically significant as Gloria, Betty, Bella and Shirley.

They made the earth shake, but they did it from their kitchens, schoolhouses, or diner counters. They didnt give speeches on television, and they didnt march in the streets, and they didnt scream at their representatives, and they didnt burn their bras (those underwires wouldnt melt anyway) and they didnt Come a Long Way, Baby.

What did they do, then? Ill tell you.

They raised people like me, who look back and realize that the strongest, fiercest most independent women are the ones who dont tell us they are strong, fierce and independent. They simply live their lives looking outward, not inward. They dont obsess over what they dont have. They create, for themselves and those they love, lives of genuine grace. Think, for example, St. Theresa of Calcutta.

My own mother was the first in her family to get a high school diploma, West Catholic Girls 1956. She could have gone to college  she had the brain and the passion  but she went to work to help her family. In 1960, she married my father and continued working to put him through college and then law school. Along the way, between 1961 and 1971, she had five kids. We all ended up loving her more than any other creature in the world, as it should be. My mother, our mother, was a lioness.

When my father died of cancer in 1981, four months after his 43rd birthday, she took a deep breath and moved forward. She was the firewall between five grieving siblings and despair. She kept us from falling off the edge of that precipice, the one so many fatherless children inch towards out of anger, sorrow or selfishness. She kept us together.

And she did it alone, never remarrying. She neither needed nor wanted a wing man. This was her life, and she was going to live it the way she wanted and needed: Tethered only by the desire to give her children the life she and my father had intended. Only, she did it while shouldering a burden that should not have been hers alone to bear.

Lucy Flowers, beloved as she is to me, is not unique. There are thousands of women like her, those who sublimate their own egos and desires to give form and substance to other peoples dreams. Im certain that every person reading this knows, or has known, someone like that. Ive known many: Grandmothers, teachers, nuns, nurses, counselors.

And mothers. That power and willingness to give life, and honor the act of giving life, is infinitely more important than a book written by Betty Friedan or a magazine published by Gloria Steinem or a quixotic presidential campaign run by Shirley Chisholm. It is also important to remember just how desperate the early feminists were to make motherhood into just another option or choice, like hair color and voter registration.

I find it ironic that I, a woman who has never had a child, was given the great example of a warrior mother. In some ways, it seems a waste that the lessons I learned from Lucy are destined to remain with me in memory, but not in practice.

But then, I watch this show about the early feminists and their angst and wrangling, their competitiveness and their frustration, their semi-victories and partial defeats, and I realize that Lucys lessons dont need me as a conduit. They are universal, and they will continue to be studied and appreciated whenever a woman, feminist or not, angry or content, flamboyant or humble, Gloria or Phyllis, chooses to be about something greater than herself, her needs and her rights.

And in the end, they didnt need that stupid amendment anyway. Mothers arent equal to anyone.

They reign supreme.

Christine Flowers is an attorney and a resident of Delaware County. Her column usually appears on Sunday. Email her at cflowers1961@gmail.com.
WATERLOO  Three more Cedar Valley residents have died from COVID-19 while an outbreak at a Waterloo long-term care facility has worsened.

While Black Hawk County Health Department officials reported just 28 new cases of the disease between Thursday and Saturday morning, the report indicated three more people had died. No new deaths were reported Saturday.

The county has now confirmed 1,731 total cases and 24 deaths since the coronavirus pandemic began.

The Iowa Department of Public Health said Saturday nearly 650 more people tested positive for COVID-19 statewide and there were 21 more deaths across the state through Saturday morning. Through May 9, 11,671 Iowans had tested positive for the virus and 252 had died. Another 5,011 people had recovered.

At least some of the Black Hawk County deaths appear to be related to outbreaks at long-term care facilities.

Harmony House in Waterloo had reported 62 residents and staff had tested positive for COVID-19, according to the latest information release by IDPH.

Friendship Village, which operates several nursing, assisted living and independent senior housing buildings in Waterloo, had lost four residents to the virus, according to updates provided by the center on Facebook and its website.

The emotional roller coaster ride continues, Friendship Village president Lisa Gates said in a Facebook post Thursday.

In addition the deaths, which had been confined to the Pavilion care facility, two more residents tested positive for COVID-19 at the Lakeview Landing building.

Both were immediately moved to the Pavilion, Gates said. The concern now is that the infection has spread to both health center buildings.

She also noted 21 employees were quarantined after testing positive, but no Friendship Village staff members have died to date. Some have recovered and are able to return to work.

No other Black Hawk County long-term care centers had reported outbreaks based on the IDPH definition of having three or more residents whove tested positive within a single building.

But Western Home Communities in Cedar Falls reported Thursday that confirmed cases included two residents and four employees of Deery Suites nursing home; two employees at Windhaven assisted living; one resident at Thalman Square assisted living; and one employee at Windermere independent living.

New Aldaya Lifescapes in Cedar Falls had reported one resident and five staff with positive tests through Wednesday. Ravenwood Specialty Care in Waterloo reported a week ago that one resident and two employees had contacted COVID-19.

The IDPH reports also included outbreaks at Bartels Lutheran Home in Waverly, which had 29 total cases among staff and residents; Premier Estates of Toledo, with 52 total cases; and Westbrook Acres in Tama County, which reported 21 cases.

On Friday, Iowa saw a fourth straight day of double-digit deaths from coronavirus with 12, and state health officials reported another 398 cases.

There were 407 Iowans hospitalized (with 34 admitted in the past 24 hours) for coronavirus-related illnesses and symptoms with 164 being treated in intensive care units and 109 requiring ventilators to assist their breathing.

Those hospitalized included Aquarius Bunch, a 27-year-old Waterloo nursing home employee who is pregnant with her second child. Bunch drove herself to the hospital about two weeks ago after initially being advised to quarantine at home and seeing her condition worsen, family friend Tiffany Young said.

Bunch was airlifted to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, where she was placed on a ventilator. Relatives worried that Bunch was near death last week and that her child would have to be delivered through an emergency procedure, Young said. But her condition has improved and she might be released within days.

I know her mom and her cousins, and they have been devastated. Aquarius is down there by herself. She has the tube down her throat so she just waves on video calls, Young said. They thought that they almost lost her last week.

Young, 42, is a neighbor of two Waterloo duplex tenants who died of the coronavirus last month after an outbreak at a Tyson Foods plant that infected more than 1,000 workers.

Ryan Foley of The Associated Press contributed to this report.
- Ghana is one of 12 new countries added to the list of money-laundering nations blacklisted by the EU

- This means any financial transaction from Ghana to any of the EU countries will be scrutinised

- The other African nation on the list apart from Ghana are - They include Botswana, Mauritius, and Zimbabwe

- Our manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

The European Union (EU) has blacklisted Ghana among several other countries for money laundering.

Three other African countries have been blacklisted  Botswana, Mauritius, and Zimbabwe.

The EU said under the Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD), the Commission has revised its list, taking into account developments at the international level since 2018 and that the new list is now better aligned with the lists published by the FATF (Financial Action Task Force).

READ ALSO: Coronavirus: Ghanas case jumps to 4,012 from 3,091

The other affected countries are The Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, along with Cambodia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nicaragua, and Panama.

Countries that have been delisted: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ethiopia, Guyana, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, Sri Lanka, and Tunisia.

Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said: We need to put an end to dirty money infiltrating our financial system. Today we are further bolstering our defences to fight money laundering and terrorist financing, with a comprehensive and far-reaching Action Plan. There should be no weak links in our rules and their implementation. We are committed to delivering on all these actions  swiftly and consistently  over the next 12 months. We are also strengthening the EUs global role in terms of shaping international standards on fighting money laundering and terrorism financing.

READ ALSO: 4 critical information from government on Ghanas COVID-19 status

The Commission said that the new list will now be submitted to the European Parliament and Council for approval within one month, adding given the coronavirus crisis, the date of application of todays Regulation listing third countries  and therefore applying new protective measures  only applies as of 1 October 2020.

YEN.com.gh earlier reported Otumfuo Osei Tutu II's daughter Dr Caryn Agyemang Prempeh, popularly known as Ohemaa Afia Kobi, has celebrated the Asantehene in new photos.

The Asantehene has turned 70 years old today, Wednesday, May 6, 2020. In celebration of her father's birthday, Ohemaa Prempeh decided to share some photos on social media.

Ghanaians share their thoughts on the mandatory wearing of face mask | #Yencomgh

Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page.

Source: YEN.com.gh
The video conferencing app Zoom has seen a massive surge in users, given that many people continue to stay home during the COVID-19 global quarantine.



Originally designed to function as a meeting place for, well, remote business meetings, the app has been witnessing explosive growth over the past few months.

Many new Zoom users are just regular people who are using the platform to talk to friends or take an exercise class - or even get together to wish someone a happy birthday - myself included.

 Reuters

We have grown from 10 million participants a day to over 300 million participants a day on our platform and thats happened in a period of 12 weeks, Zooms India head and General Manager Sameer Raje told indianexpress.com in an interview. India, in that, is quite a significant chunk.



Along with this growth, however, weve to also consider the risk of abuse and potential security leaks - similar to the 2019 scare with Chinese social media app TikTok.

The Rise of Zoom-Bombing

 Unsplash

This sudden surge in Zoom users beyond the apps traditional business base has led to major security issues such as Zoom bombing, which sees uninvited guests join your meeting or chat.



The phenomenon became so prevalent that it has its own Wikipedia page.

All throughout April, several incidences of Zoom-bombing took place across the world - sometimes, students with a mischievous streak would share Zoom links with strangers on social media platforms, encouraging them to disrupt digital classrooms.

 Unsplash

CNET published an article claiming that by searching for Zoom.us links on Google, anyone could easily crash an unprotected business meeting.

This hasnt spared even governmental authorities. Just a day ago, a virtual meeting of South African lawmakers was disrupted by hackers who flooded the video call with pornographic images - and hurled racial and sexual insults at Thandi Modise, who is the speaker of the National Assembly (and host of said Zoom call).

The Indian government hasnt taken these concerns lightly - last month, the Cyber Coordination Centre (CyCord), under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in India, issued an advisory warning government officials to avoid using the Zoom platform for official purposes, citing it as unsafe.

 Reuters

The advisory also listed certain guidelines for safe usage of Zoom by private entities and individuals for unofficial purposes - meaning us.



When it comes to Indian customers, I would say they are unique and they need a personal touch, continued Raje, who has had experience with companies such as Cisco Webex, IBM and Microsoft in the past.

We are working with different divisions, different ministries of the government. Our goal is to communicate the right things to them, share our requisite privacy, security and the technical aspects of our platform and help them to get the right decisions and thereby communicate the same to the masses. We are in the process of doing that and that will continue to do so, he continued.

So, How Has Zoom Responded?

As far as rising up to the threat of hackers and meeting disruptors, Zoom has done a fairly good job with making sure that the incidents will not repeat themselves. So, perhaps the governments concerns might be redacted much like how they changed their mind on TikTok.

The most recent update has introduced three major changes which Zoom hopes will cut down on security lapses and misuse.

 Reuters

Firstly, Zoom has made passwords mandatory for all meetings. This helps cut out instances of Zoombombing and has been placed under effect from May 9th.



Second, the platform has made waiting rooms a default feature for all Zoom calls. This allows the host to manually let people into the meeting, allowing unwanted guests to be kicked by call hosts. While this means itll take slightly longer to enter your meeting, it's certainly worth it for the security and privacy benefits.

Finally, Zoom has also introduced another on-by-default feature - screen sharing for hosts only. A common tactic used by hackers and trolls was to join a call and screen share pornography or other embarrassing or unwanted content. By adding this extra line of defence, the company hopes to prevent any such meeting mishaps in the future.

 Reuters

Thats not all. Zoom CEO Eric Yuan has adopted a 90-day plan to help make the platform as secure as possible, with more security updates on the way. Hes even spearheaded a move to acquire New York-based tech security startup Keybase, which will allow all calls to enjoy end-to-end encryption, making every conference absolutely leak-proof.



On the Indian front, Zoom recently allowed all paying customers to choose the data centres or the geography where they want their data to go to. Raje says the feature has been rolled out after the feedback they got from India where restricting data flow to certain countries is a concern.

We are working on a lot of Indian requirements which will get embedded in the platform, but its too premature to talk about them right now, Raje said. But yes, we are working on a lot of initiatives.
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Washington  Sat, May 9, 2020 14:26 620 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd6ed055 2 Entertainment Roy-Horn,Siegfried-and-Roy,Las-Vegas,obituary,coronavirus,COVID-19 Free

Roy Horn, half of Las Vegas illusionist duo Siegfried and Roy, died Friday of complications from the coronavirus. He was 75.

Known for his work with big cats, elephants and snakes, the German-born magician died at Mountain View Hospital in Las Vegas, his publicist told US media. He tested positive for COVID-19 last week.

Horn's celebrated work with exotic animals came to an abrupt and violent end in 2003 when he was dragged from the stage by a 400-pound white tiger and seriously injured.

Although he recovered, the Las Vegas show -- a hugely lucrative collaboration with long-time partner Siegfriend Fischbacher -- did not return.

Read also: Tributes after UK rapper Ty dies from coronavirus

"Today, the world has lost one of the greats of magic, but I have lost my best friend," Fischbacher said in a statement to US media.

"There could be no Siegfried without Roy, and no Roy without Siegfried."

Born in 1944 in Nordenham, Germany, Horn gravitated towards exotic animals with his first pets -- a wolf-dog named Hexe and Chico the cheetah -- adopted from Bremen Zoo.

He met Fischbacher in 1957 on board a cruise ship where both were employed as entertainers, and after forming a partnership in 1959 the pair went on to work around Europe.

They made their Las Vegas debut in the late sixties, eventually settling at The Mirage where they performed hundreds of shows from 1990 until the 2003 attack.

Horn, who suffered a stroke and partial paralysis when the animal dragged him off stage, always insisted the mauling was not the fault of the white Siberan tiger Mantecore.

But Siegried and Roy made only one more appearance in 2009, and officially retired from show business in 2010.

Horn devoted much of the remainder of his life to wildlife conservation. He is survived by his brother, Werner Horn.
Restrictions continued in Kashmir on Saturday in the wake of killing of Hizbul Mujahideen chief Riyaz Naikoo in an encounter with security forces on Wednesday, but the curbs were relaxed in some areas of the valley where the situation remained peaceful, officials said.

Restrictions on the movement and assembly of people continued in the valley for the fourth consecutive day on Saturday following Naikoo's killing in Pulwama district of south Kashmir on Wednesday, the officials said.

They, however, said the curbs were relaxed in some areas of the valley where the situation remained peaceful.

Some relaxations in terms of allowing movement of people and opening of shops in certain areas have been allowed, they added.

Deployment of security forces continued in vulnerable areas to maintain law and order, the officials said.

While the government has been strictly enforcing the COVID-19 lockdown, restrictions were imposed across the valley on Wednesday the day Naikoo and his aide were killed in an encounter with security forces in Beighpora area of Awantipora in Pulwama.

The authorities also snapped mobile network, except BSNL postpaid services, and suspended mobile internet services.

While the mobile phone services were restored Friday night, mobile Internet services continued to remain suspended for the fourth consecutive day.

The situation remained largely peaceful on Friday, except for clashes between groups of youth and security forces in few areas of Pulwama and in Budgam district where a deputy superintendent of police was injured.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The State Bank of India (SBI) has filed a complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against a Delhi-based basmati export firm, alleging its promoters, who cheated a consortium of six banks of Rs 414 crore, are missing and have fled the country.

According to the complaint, seen by HT, owners of Ram Dev International Limited (RDIL) are said to be missing since 2016 when an inspection was carried out by SBI.

The central agency registered a case on April 28 naming the ownersSuresh Kumar, Naresh Kumar and Sangitaand lookout circulars (LOCs) have been issued against them, a procedure followed in all bank fraud cases.

According to National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) proceedings in 2018, in which RDIL was dragged to the tribunal by a company named Mussadi Lal Krishna Lal for a payment default, it was informed that the promoters have fled to Dubai.

Despite the fraud being detected in 2016, SBI  the lead bank in the consortium  approached CBI in February this year with a delay of four years.

A spokesperson of SBI didnt respond to HTs phone calls and text queries. RDIL representatives could not be traced by HT.

The exposure of banks was at Rs 414 croreRs 173 crore from SBI, Canara Bank Rs 76 crore, Union Bank of India Rs 64 crore, Central Bank of India Rs 51 crore, Corporation Bank Rs 36 crore and IDBI Bank Rs 12 crore.

Indian agencies, including the CBI, Enforcement Directorate and Directorate of Revenue and Intelligence (DRI), are currently pursuing around 50 fugitives  mostly economic offenders  living abroad, through red notices, extradition requests and look out circulars (LoCs).

Some of the big names include Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, Neeshal Modi, Mehul Choksi, Nitin and Chetan Sandesara, Lalit Modi and European middlemen Guido Ralph Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.

The government had informed Parliament last year that at least 16 extradition requests were pending in the UAE, the UK, Belgium, Italy, Egypt, the US and Antigua and Barbuda against various accused persons.

According to CBI FIR, reviewed by HT, RDIL was engaged in export of basmati rice to the Middle-East, Arabian and European countries from its three mills based in Karnal, Haryana. It has a registered office in Delhi and branch offices in Saudi Arabias Riyadh and Dubai in the UAE as well.

The companys loan account turned non-performing asset (NPA) in January 2016 after which a joint inspection of properties was conducted the same year in August and October.

It was found that the entire machinery installed in the old unit was removed by the borrowers. Borrowers were not available at the time of joint inspection and Haryana police security guards were found deployed there, according to SBIs complaint, which is now part of CBI first information report (FIR).

On inquiry, it has come to know that the borrowers are absconding and have left the country, it added.

The FIR states that the accused promoters falsified the accounts, fudged the balance sheet in order to gain unlawfully at the cost of bank funds and unauthorisedly removed the plants and machinery from the factory premises without the consent of lenders.

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Many beauty services such as barber shops and nail salons are reopening following an order from Gov. Greg Abbott allowing them to resume business, and residents around northwest Houston are coming out for their services.

Barber shops, nail salons and tanning salons were allowed to open as of  and several in the northwest Houston area did so on Friday, albeit with some restrictions.

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Kohls to reopen stores May 11

John Rivera, owner of Joes Barber Shop in Tomball, said for their first day reopened, they were nonstop busy. Rivera said he was already scheduled to cut the hair of Tomball firefighters on Sunday.

If you ask me, its a good decision to open up, Rivera said.

All of his employees wear masks, he said, while customers have the option to wear one. He said employees sanitize the chairs between every customer and keep their tools clean.

Were just trying to help out like everybody else, Rivera said.

One of the rules for reopening under Abbotts order is keeping the occupancy at 25% of their usual maximum capacity, or lower. Rivera said they have two barbers with two customers each allowed to wait inside, while anyone else must wait outside.

MORE ABOUT TEXAS SALONS: Ted Cruz gets haircut at salon whose owner flouted orders

Viet Hoang, the owner of Oh Yeah Nails in Spring, said they had been busy their first day reopened as well. All employees wear a mask. The salon has also decreased the number of employees allowed in the salon at one time, with only seven employees inside able to serve one customer each.

Blake Reyes, owner of Wise Guys Barber Shop in Spring, said he had been following similar guidelines upon reopening, requiring employees to wear gloves and masks. He said hes also been only taking appointments, but that their first day has been busy.

Weve been all booked pretty much like clockwork, Reyes said.

EVA Nails & Spa Owner Ann Pham said they are also doing appointments only for now. She said they had to cut back employees as well due to capacity restrictions, with only four or five employees working at a time. She said business has been steady, and she already has many weekend appointments booked as well.

Each customer, we sanitize the table and the tools and before we do the customer, we wash our hands and when we finish, we wash our hands, Pham said.

paul.wedding@hcnonline.com
Simmering factional warfare inside the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO), the largest health sector trade union, has come to a head with the sudden resignation of its elected president, Grant Brookes, and three of his supporters from the governing board.

Brookes and his backers organised an online petition that will trigger a special general meeting of the union, in order to put forward a motion of no confidence in the board and hold new elections for all 11 positions. Three former NZNO presidents have endorsed the call.

Last September, Brookes narrowly survived a vote at a special general meeting to remove him from office, based on trumped up claims of misconduct. He lost a vote of confidence, reportedly by a 66 percent margin, at a second general meeting held in December.

The crisis has erupted as nurses and other health workers, in NZ and internationally, are carrying the brunt of a courageous struggle against the COVID-19 pandemic. The NZNO is also preparing for another round of contract negotiations with the government, which will undoubtedly seek to extend the effective freeze on nurses wages and conditions.

Hundreds of health workers have died from COVID-19 around the world. In New Zealand, 155 health workers have so far been infected, accounting for around 11 percent of 1,490 confirmed cases. Many nurses have warned that conflicting approaches by district health boards (DHBs), and even within individual hospitals, are putting workers and patients safety at risk. There have been repeated complaints about inadequate supplies of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

At Aucklands Waitakere Hospital, 57 staff were recently stood down as potential risks after three nurses tested positive. Nurses allege there were no protocols in place to prevent staff working with COVID-19 patients from also coming into contact with others.

The pandemic has exposed the deteriorating conditions in the hospitals, which provoked strikes in 20182019 by tens of thousands of nurses, junior doctors, laboratory assistants, radiographers, midwives and psychologists.

The dire conditions are the result of decades of cuts to and underfunding of the public health system by successive governments imposed with the collaboration of the unions. Both factions of the NZNO, those for and against Brookes, are complicit in pushing through a sellout of workers during the 2018 contract dispute, which maintained severe understaffing and excessive workloads for nurses.

Following a one-day nationwide strikethe first authorised by the NZNO in public hospitals since 1989the union enforced government austerity measures, setting a benchmark for an effective freeze on wages and conditions throughout the public sector. Brookes has now conveniently abandoned his post right at the point nurses are facing an escalating assault in the coming contract round.

There remain no principled differences between the NZNO factions. Brookes and his supporters represent sections of the bureaucracy who are alarmed that the union is now seen by most nurses for what it is: a tool of the government and DHB managements that is totally hostile to its members. They are desperately seeking to restore workers faith that the unions can somehow be democratised.

Announcing his resignation, Brookes, a former member of the pseudo-left group Fightback and the Maori nationalist Mana Party, painted himself as the victim of shadowy forces within the NZNO apparatus. He claimed they had been seeking to remove him since he was first elected in 2015 to stop him from turning the NZNO into a membership-driven organization, and are continuing to do so.

According to Brookes, the board spent a quarter of a million dollars on legal bills trying to dislodge him and failed members in the 2018 dispute. It triggered the loss of key staff, presided over the first annual fall in membership in half a century and opened up deep divisions in the organisation.

In a statement posted on the nationalist Daily Blog on April 29, Brookes described the NZNO apparatus as anti-democratic and shrouded in secrecy. He pointed to constitutional provisions that allow non-elected representatives to cast votes on behalf of as many as 15,000 members, meaning just five representatives could make a majority decision for all of NZNO.

Brookes claims that he fought to democratize the union are an attempt to rewrite history. He was an integral part of the bureaucracy and played a critical public role during the 2018 sellout. He sided with the government, telling one strike rally there was some truth to Labours claim that it could not immediately fix the healthcare crisis. He supported the NZNO board when it responded to members online criticisms by threatening disciplinary action.

Deep opposition to the NZNO bureaucracy can be seen in the Facebook group New Zealand, please hear our voice, established by nurses independently of the union during the 2018 pay fight. It has some 39,000 members.

One nurse shared details from the unions published financial statements which revealed that the salaries of nine top full-time officials total $1.2 million per annum, that $1.5 million was spent on overseas travel in the last 12 months and that 154 staff are paid an average of $45.10 per hour. As the coronavirus outbreak opened up, nurses were furious to learn that membership fees would be raised by 1.9 percent, purportedly to meet the costs of looming contract negotiations.

Neither of the contending NZNO factions have any principled opposition to the privileges of the bureaucracy, which they have been part of for years. Nor are they advancing any perspective to defend the working conditions of nurses, including their safety during the COVID-19 crisis. The unions defend the Ardern government and the subordination of healthcare to the requirements of capitalism.

Nurses, doctors and others who are seeking a way to fight need to seriously consider what is the way forward? Many nurses have started searching for an alternative to the NZNO. Some have joined the rival Nurses Society of New Zealand.

Brookes has called on nurses to follow him and take out dual membership in the NZNO and the Public Service Association (PSA), the countrys largest union. His promotion of the PSA further exposes the fraud of his claim to represent rank-and-file workers.

In 2019, the PSA undermined a struggle by over 3,000 junior doctors, members of the Resident Doctors Association, against moves by the DHBs to gut working conditions. The PSA, in league with the Council of Trade Unions (CTU), helped to establish a rival union, which quickly agreed to the DHBs clawbacks.

Following the 2008 global financial crisis, the PSA played a leading role in ensuring thousands of orderly redundancies in the public service. The PSA and CTU have welcomed the Ardern governments multi-billion dollar wage subsidy scheme for businesses, which allowed many to slash wages by 20 percent or more.

Nurses seeking an alternative to the NZNO need to be warned: the current impasse cannot be resolved by substituting one set of bureaucratic leaders, or one union, for another. Those who claim that the union can be democratised or that there is an alternative union they should join, are seeking to subordinate workers to the very bureaucracy responsible for betrayal after betrayal.

The pro-capitalist trade unions ceased to be genuine workers organisations decades ago. They represent a privileged upper-middle class layer, which works with big business and the government to suppress the class struggle and impose wage cuts, layoffs and other attacks.

The defence of workers rights requires a rebellion against the unions and the creation of new organisations of struggle: independent rank-and-file workplace committees. These need to coordinate joint industrial and political action by workers throughout the health sector and more broadly, in New Zealand, Australia and internationally, in opposition to the Labour-led government and the entire political establishment.

This struggle requires a new political programfor a workers government and socialist policies, including the redistribution of tens of billions of dollars from the super-rich to rebuild the public health system.
Curtis Sittenfeld likes to imagine the sex lives of presidents.

She did it in American Wife, a best seller whose protagonist, Alice Blackwell, stands in for Laura Bush and falls hard for the character modeled on George W. in part because of his exertions between the sheets.

She does it again in Rodham, her new novel, to be published on May 19. I wont soon forget the scene in which Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham distract themselves while driving through Arkansas in a way that redefines joy ride.

Please dont get pulled over, Hillary cautions him.

Did this happen? Who knows? The fascination of the first third of Rodham is its weave of history and hypothesis as it chronicles the initial meeting of Bill and Hillary at Yale Law School, their courtship and her migration to Arkansas when he makes an unsuccessful run for Congress. Embellished details are grafted onto established events.

The fascination of the rest of Rodham is its whole-cloth divergence from the record. Sittenfelds novel asks: What if Hillary and Bill hadnt married? What if her professional arc had been entirely her own?
Summarizing the trends in the spread of coronavirus disease in recent days, Armenia is currently at the stage of a 15-day increase in the number of cases by half, the country's health minister Arsen Torosyan wrote on his Facebook.

"If this trend continues, we may record 6.350 COVID-19 cases up to May 24, and 12.700 up to June 8," he noted.

Unfortunately, there will be dozens of dead citizens, he said once again urging citizens to comply with all the rules introduced to slow down the spread of the virus.

Torosyan noted that he will visit a hospital for the COVID-19 treatment and will present the medical history of patients in the intensive care unit live.
"Upon learning of these serious allegations, CDA immediately began working with the FAA and CFD to initiate a series of actions, including leadership changes and the retraining of ARFF personnel to ensure all firefighters have the proper training and certifications to operate at the airports, the department said. Additionally, CFD training methods and recordkeeping practices have been overhauled to ensure those qualifications are tracked properly. This was all completed in 2019.
In 1997, Vernon opened a bar called Gin Palace in a Melbourne laneway. Gin Palace was a serious cocktail bar that was seen as radical for its dedication to gin in the era of vodka, and in a country devoted to beer and wine. The lighting was dim, the seating was plush and the drinks were fantastic. It is still one of Melbournes best bars.

Vernon died this week. He was 55. A cause of death has not been released.

Longtime New York Times drinks writer Robert Simonson remembered Vernon on Instagram, saying, in part:

When Gin Palace opened in 1997 on one of Melbournes disused laneways, there was no independent bar scene in the city to speak of and no one drank gin. Chalker  flamboyant, mercurial and visionary  changed that. He went on to open more bars and lead a revolution in Melbourne nightlife. Vernon had the energy of a man half his age and an insatiable appetite and capacity for fun and adventure.

Beyond the influence of Gin Palace as a model for the modern Australian cocktail bar, Vernon was responsible for hiring and training many of the people who went on to lead our current drinking renaissance as bar owners, distillers, designers, restaurateurs, brand ambassadors for major drinks companies, and more.

Kate Hoskins, a friend and former employee of Vernons who now works for the Adelaide Hills Distillery, told me: In truth you could probably look to all corners of the globe, in all of the arts, and find people who have worked for Vernon. He had a knack for bringing certain kinds of people together.

Fancy cocktails and fancy cocktail bars are easy to dismiss as overpriced folly for wealthy dandies, and there are times when even I  a journalist who has spent her entire career covering food and drink  question the validity and importance of expending so much energy on the pursuit of ingestible pleasure. That is especially true right now, when the world seems to be crumbling around us.

But even in times like these, pleasure is important. People like Vernon helped to make our cities more fun, more attractive to international tourists, more recognized on the global stage. And he helped to turn what was once considered a menial job  bartending  into a respectable (and even celebrated) career for thousands and thousands of Australian workers.
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In a bid to support health workers amid the COVID-19 crisis, the government of Canada has decided to increase their pay.

On May 7, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau informed the press that the government, with the approval of all provinces, had decided to increase wages of health workers and has set aside a C$3 billion budget for the same. The top up will help health workers who are docking low wages while providing an incredible service to the nation, especially those in COVID-19 care units, Reuters reported.

If youre risking your health to keep this country moving and youre making minimum wage, you deserve a raise, Trudeau told a daily briefing earlier in the week.

The rise will impact health workers earning less than C$1,800 a month (approximately 96,000 INR).

The total number of coronavirus-related deaths rose by just over 4% to 4,280 from 4,111 on Wednesday, official data showed, further evidence 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.

As India braces for a surge in coronavirus cases, health workers have come out as the true warriors the fight against the pandemic. However, health workers and medical professionals across the country have been complaining about a lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and deplorable working conditions while also facing discrimination.

Last week, the Indian armed forces participated in a coordinated and highly publicised thanksgiving stunt to laud the "corona warriors". The Indian Air Force got choppers to showering flower petals on hospitals and medical professionals across the country. Navy ships were lit up with messages of thanks and Army bands serenaded health workers.

The move was met with criticism as many from the health workers community as well as the general public on social media asked for PPE rather than flowers and music performances. In April, several private hospitals also allegedly brought in pay cuts for doctors, especially those not treating COVID-19. Such incidents were reported from Kolkata as well as Bengaluru.

Social media was impressed by Germany's gesture with many in India comparing it to the treatment Indian essential workers were receiving.

their PM cares in real   Hermit (@JolieLaide___) May 9, 2020

"What a dork! Here in India, I get doctors to give up salaries and citizens to donate to unaudited funds!"  MD (@FullstreamAgent) May 8, 2020

He must learn from Indian PM ways-bang Thalis, shower flower petals, light candles, to express gratitude for services of front line workers without spending a penny ensuring their safety.  Mukesh Walia (@mak236) May 9, 2020
Hyderabad, May 9 : An Air India flight from Kuwait with 163 passengers on board landed at Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport on Saturday night.

Air India flight AI 988 from Kuwait landed at 10.07 p.m., airport sources told IANS.

The flight is a part of the 'Vande Bharat Mission', the biggest-ever evacuation of Indian citizens stranded in various countries due to Covid-19 lockdown.

This is the first of the seven evacuation flights scheduled to land at the Hyderabad Airport over the next few days.

A Telangana government official had earlier said that a total of 2,350 stranded Indians from six countries will be reaching Hyderabad by seven flights.

Under the Vande Bharat Mission, which began on May 7, the government of India is operating 64 flights till May 13 to bring home nearly 14,800 Indian nationals stranded abroad.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2020 > 75th anniversary of Victory over fascism in WW II

This year, world celebrates 75th anniversary of the Second World War (WW II), which ended with victory over fascism, on 9 May 1945. The most destructive war in human history, it caused 5 crore deaths, two crores of them from Soviet Union alone. Soviet Red Army was in the forefront of the struggle and victory.

The greatest lesson it taught us was not to underestimate fascism. Humanity paid a heavy price for letting fascism and Nazism come to power. The western imperialist powers US, Britain and France pampered and encouraged Hitler and other fascists to further anti-Soviet agenda.

Fascism rises in Italy

The word fascism comes from fasci. It was born in Italy mainly after First World War (WW I). Fasci is an Italian word meaning a bundle, referring rhetorically to unity of the nation. Benito Mussolini founded Fascist Party of Italy in 1919, helped by Giovanni Gentile and others. Its emblem was fasces, a bundle of rods with an axe in the centre. Fascist squads of Italian fighters or Squadrismo were already attacking socialists and communists as WW I was drawing to a close.

Factory Council movement of the working class was a massive one in Italy. Working Class Councils of Italy had occupied factories in 1920-21, and were on the verge of a revolution. But they did not know what to do next, nor did its leadership. Lenin had sharply criticized the Italian Communist Party leadership for failing to grasp the nature of fascism. Taking advantage of the Councils vacillations, Mussolinis Black Shirts marched on Rome in October 1922 and captured power. Fascism was in full control by 1926.

Nazism: a form of fascism in Germany

Nazism was a more virulent form of fascism. Fascism in Germany was known as Nazism from partys name NATSI or NAZI. Its full form was National Socialist German Workers Party (!), Natsi or Nazi from German initials. It was founded by Hitler and cronies in 1920, among its leaders being Anton Drexler.

Nazi Party formed storm troopers (SA) or the Brown Shirts, who were headed by Ernst Rohm, and later the more dreaded SS (Protection Squadron) or the Black Shirts, headed by Himmler, on the pattern of the Italian black shirts. Hitler got Rohm murdered and made his SA subservient to the SS.

It was the period of World Economic Crisis, and fascism took advantage of severe economic and political crisis of capitalism and imperialism, concentrating fire on democratic institutions. It appealed to the unemployed youths, petty producers, shopkeepers, middle class, and the big bourgeoisie. It drummed pseudo nationalism loudly, holding other countries responsible for its defeat and humiliation in the WW I. It targeted the Communists and socialists, working class and Jews as the root cause of the economic and cultural crisis, and presented the Pure Germans as real Aryans.

Europe went through worst crisis and recession in 1929-33. German Mark became worthless, carried around in sacks! Alround unemployment, near total loss of purchasing power, waste of industrial capacities, crash of banks, etc marked the scene.

Financial and monopoly super-profits system strengthened, concentration and centralization of production and capital went apace in chemical, heavy and steel industry, railways, electricity. But armaments and war industry was most profitable. A powerful section among the giant financial monopolies decided to do away with existing bourgeois governments, and install Hitler in power.

Gerogi Dimitrov, general secretary of the Comintern, defined fascism as the dictatorship of the most extreme rightwing sections of finance capital in his Report on United Front in 1935.

General elections in Germany, 1930s

The general successive elections in Germany under the Weimer Republic were not really favoring and to the liking of the Nazi (NATSI) party. They showed that the Nazis were not too popular even with finance monopolies support. Though it emerged largest party, it could not manage majorities. Other parties including Social Democrats and Communists kept fighting each other due to their sectarian politics as also because they failed really to grasp the nature of fascism. But gradually they realized their folly, began to come together, but it was rather late. General secretary of KPD (Communist Party of Germany) Ernst Thaelmann said significantly that the leaders of the two parties may even end up in the same jail if they did not cooperate. This is what exactly happened: he and some other SDP leaders were sent to Buchenwald concentration camp, tortured and ultimately shot.

The Nazi Party got humiliated when Hitler lost the two presidential elections of March and April 1932 to Hindenburg. They enhanced their machinations to capture power. In the parliamentary elections (to Reichstag) of 31 July 1932, Nazi Party got 230 seats out of 608 with 37% votes, SDP 133 (21%) and Communists 89 (14%). In the elections of 6 November 1932 (total seats 584), Nazis lost some ground with 196 seats and 33% votes, SDP 121 (20% votes)and KPD 100 (16% votes). These elections were necessitated due to political instability, when no government could last.

Though they kept losing seats and votes, the Nazis emerged as single largest party by end of 1932. Combined votes and seats of SDP and KPD were more than those of Nazi party in November 32 elections. Had they combined, they would have won a resounding victory.

There was serious governmental crisis. The successive governments went through series of crises and collapse. Nazis pressed their advantage. They also used their armed SA and SS to terrorize others into submission. They tried to maneuver von Papen the earlier Chancellor (prime minister) and later vice-chancellor. He was a weak and compromising character and played into the hands of Hitler easily. Schleicher, the Chancellor, resigned only after 57 days through conspiracy to pave way for Hitler, who maneuvered the Army also. Though he disliked Hitler immensely, President Hindenburg had to invite him as leader of the largest party in the Reichstag, on 30 January 1933, which proved to be a Black Day for Germany and the world. This was to be the last election in Germany.

Thus the Third Reich or the third empire was established.

Era of fascistization and militarization, and of concentration camps, began in right earnest.

In Japan, Gen Hideki Tojo was appointed prime minister of Japan by the Emperor in 1940. Japan joined the Fascist Axis, capturing huge areas in Asia, even attacking Indian borders, coming up to Imphal.

Outbreak of Second World War (WW II) and victory over fascism (1939-45)

Under a well thought-out plan, Germany captured most of Europe over next few years. It took over Austria in 1934, which ceased to exist by 1938, Czechoslovakia in 1938 through the Munich Pact, attacked and captured parts of Poland around the time, Italian troops entered Abyssinian capital Addis Ababa in May 1936. Italy took over Albania in April 1939. WW II began with German attack on Poland on 1 September 1939 after staging the sham incident at Gleiwitz in that country.

Denmark and Norway fell easily in April 1940 to German troops, Belgium and Luxemburg fell quickly in mid-1940, France surrendered in June the same year. London was bombed by hundreds of German bombers for 57 continuous days in September-November that year, silencing Britain.

Massive assault on USSR: Operation Barbarossa, 1941

In the meantime Operation Barbarossa was being readied. Having

captured Europe, Hitler turned to Soviet Russia. Stalin grossly underestimated the danger from Nazi Germany, despite repeated warnings about the impending German attack on June 22, 1941, as mentioned by Marshal Zhukov, Commander-in-Chief. Stalin ignored the repeated warnings from various sources about the magnitude and even exact date of aggression. He considered it a provocation, and did not expect Hitler Germany to attack so soon and on such a scale.

After the attack, Stalin took over active command as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and led the armies in the course of the War.

Nazi Germany and allies launched Operation Barbarossa, the biggest aggression in history till date: 190 divisions numbering 5.5 million troops, 47200 artillery pieces, 4300 tanks, and 5000 planes attacking Soviet Union in the night of 21-22 June 1941 along a border of about 4500 km. They were faced by 2.7 million Red Army men, 37500 artillery pieces, less than 2000 tanks and less than 2000 combat aircraft.

The Soviet armies retreated at first. The Germans almost captured Moscow but were halted just outside the city. In the north they surrounded Leningrad (St Petersburg). Hitler had announced that he will wipe it off the face of the earth. Germans surrounded it for 900 days but could not enter. In the south pitched battles took place for Stalingrad (now Volgograd). Thus a line of front from Leningrad through Moscow to Stalingrad held the thread of WW II.

Lifeline over the solid snows of Lake Ladoga kept Leningrad alive. Moscow offered continued resistance, as the government offices were shifted to Kuibyshev and other places behind Moscow.

Battle of Stalingrad: turning point

The battles for Caucasus, the Caspian and for Stalingrad were most intensive and extensive and decisive for WW II. A Nazi victory would have opened the Caucasus, the Caspian and Asia for them, planning to meet Japan in India and the continent. Beginning in July-August, the battle of Stalingrad mainly lasted from 23 August 1942 to 2 February 1943. German 6th Army along with 4th Panzer (tank) Army, Rumanian, Italian and Hungarian armies, combined with Luftwaffe air bombing, reduced Stalingrad to a rubble, leading to house to house battles. Soldiers and people fought for every room, door, window and floor! If one room was occupied by the Germans, the next was in the Soviet hands!!

Millions died, hundreds of tanks and aircraft were destroyed. The 6th German Army got completely surrounded after 6 months of continuous battles. General Field Marshal von Paulus, Generals Schmidt, Heitz, Strecker and others surrendered despite Hitlers orders to the contrary. General Mannstein tried to retrieve positions with his tanks formations but lost. Lakhs of German soldiers including Gen von Paulus were taken prisoners.

Red Army leaders Marshal Zhukov, Yeremenko, Khrushchev, Vatutin, Chuikov, Vasilevsky and others planned the Soviet operations.

German retreat

After the defeat at Stalingrad, the Nazis began to retreat for the first time in WW II. By 1944 Soviet armies had reached borders, entering Europe. Moscow, Leningrad, Smolensk, Kharkov, Kursk and other fronts were relieved and turned against German armies. Three Byelorussian, four Ukrainian and other fronts were created as groups of armies to fight Nazi and fascist forces in Europe from Poland to Bulgaria and other countries. They were led by Marshals Zhukov, Konev, Rokossovsky and others. By mid-1944 Red Armies were in European countries, driving out the Germans.

Victory over fascism

Western countries like the US, Britain, France and allies refused to open the Second Front despite repeated demands the world over. That would have made it easier to defeat the Nazi Germany. The West held back till they found that the Red Armies were advancing even without it. So they landed on 6 June 1944 in Normandy in France, bringing some relief. They tried to race through to Berlin before the Soviet armies but failed in their attempts.

Soviet armies poured into Europe. Battle for Germany and Berlin proved very difficult as concentration of forces increased. Soviet troops entered Germany by February-March 1945 and Berlin by April. Hitler committed suicide on 30 April. The German forces surrendered to the Soviet and other Allied forces in early morning 9 May 1945: Marshal Kietel signing surrender to Marshal Zhukov and others. Thus the WW II came to an end.

Mussolini had been executed on 28 April 1945. Tojo was hanged on 23 December 1948 after being sentenced by an International Tribunal.

WW II: Lessons for us

The world had to pay a very heavy price for underestimating and even failing to grasp the nature of fascism and Nazism. The scars of destruction in WW II are still to be overcome. Fascism has proved to be the biggest enemy of humanity ever. This must not be forgotten nor danger from fascism be underestimated. It must be fought against everywhere. A mass united front of parties and classes to prevent fascism rearing its head again is best way, as was shown by Dimitrov Theses (1935). Dimitrov theses helped the people of Europe to forge anti-fascist unity to defeat it. Dimitrov theses are relevant even today.
Last January, a certain corner of the internet found itself transfixed by what Caroline Calloway was going to do with the 1,200 mason jars she had ordered to her home.

The American influencer was in the midst of organising a series of creativity workshops and had planned to give each attendee "a portable DIY wildflower garden" housed inside a mason jar. When her delivery arrived aboard a truck, it suddenly dawned on her that 1,200 mason jars is a not inconsiderable number - particularly when you are planning on storing them in your modest New York studio apartment.

"Omfg the truck with the 1,200 mason jars just pulled up," she wrote on Instagram Stories. "It. Is. Enormous."

As crates of mason jars were lifted off the truck, she realised that she was in over her head.

Expand Close A new leaf: Calloway landed a lucrative deal for her memoir And We Were Like, but subsequently pulled out of the deal / Facebook

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Whatsapp A new leaf: Calloway landed a lucrative deal for her memoir And We Were Like, but subsequently pulled out of the deal

"NoooOoooOoo," she wrote. "I have made a terrible error."

***

For many people, this was their first introduction to Calloway. While she had been well-known in certain corners of the internet, it wasn't until after journalist Kayleigh Donaldson chronicled her failed attempts to host the series of "creativity workshops" that the Instagrammer went viral.

Tickets were sold for $165 and attendees had been promised lectures on topics like finding your creative voice and getting over heartbreak. Each attendee was also promised a packed lunch, a "care package" and a handwritten letter from Calloway herself.

Tickets for the events sold out quickly. The only problem? Calloway's lack of forethought wasn't just confined to the mason jars. She was woefully unprepared for the massive logistical undertaking of hosting the workshops themselves. She failed to book venues in advance and was unable to make good on some of her promises.

The fiasco saw Calloway labelled a "scammer" online. Two of the workshops went ahead as planned, but she had to cancel the rest of the tour and issue refunds. In an interview at the time, the influencer maintained that she was not a scammer but simply "dumb".

Last summer, Calloway decided to resurrect the workshops. Leaning into her new-found 'scammer' persona, she renamed it The Scam.

"Come make friends. Hang out with me. Work on your art. Laugh about art. Eat salad on the floor. Drink oat milk. Take photos with flowers in our hair. Consider pain. Discuss self-love. Be scammed," she wrote.

Many agreed that Calloway had simply been in over her head. Less charitable observers have likened her to a one-woman Fyre Fest. Depending on who you speak to, she is either an influencer, a hot mess, an Instagram performance artist or an internet folk hero.

With that in mind, I ask Calloway to tell me something she wishes people knew about her.

"This sounds so lame, but I'd be lying if I said anything other than: I wish people knew I was a kind human with a good heart," she explains over email.

"Like, I'm a good friend? A good person. I call my grandma. I use my platform for good and I apologise when I get it wrong and I raise money for charitable causes that are important to me. Making art pleases me, but it also pleases the people who consume it and being of service in that way is one of the reasons I became an artist in the first place and kept making art even when the literal news was calling me a scam."

After enduring public humiliation, and becoming one of the most polarising figures on the internet, many in Calloway's position would have chosen to duck out of public life.

She is, however, arguably more online than ever these days. Calloway is prolific on Instagram and Twitter, often posting multiple times per day. Her pinned tweet at the moment is an uncensored nude photo. Despite this, the 28-year-old tells me that there are still aspects of her life that are off limits.

"I know I share more about myself than 99.99pc of people online, but that doesn't mean you're seeing everything about me," she says. "Only I know what I hold back. And I hold back often in order to give myself time and space to heal."

Nonetheless, she does give a lot of herself online.

Right now, for $49.99, you can subscribe to her OnlyFans page where she shares nude photos and "emotionally poignant, softcore cerebral porn". She sells personalised shout-outs for $100 a pop via the website Cameo while die-hard fans can pay $100 per month to be added to her "Close Friends" on Instagram Stories. She also sells original paintings for anywhere from $140 to $400. (Recently, she spotted one hanging on the wall of a Saturday Night Live cast member's home.)

And just last month she self-published parts one and two of 'I Am Caroline Calloway', a confessional essay in which she writes about everything from her addiction to the sad and lonely death of her father and accusations from her former friend and ghost-writer. She charged readers a minimum of $10 to read it and said she would donate all proceeds to the frontline medical organisation Direct Relief. She has raised close to $50,000 to date and a part three is on the way.

But what is it about Calloway that people can't seem to get enough of?

For one thing, there are few things the internet loves more than an eccentric white woman. They are prime meme fodder. Just ask fake heiress Anna Delvey, Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes or Tiger King's Carole Baskin.

Likewise, Calloway presents an unfiltered version of herself on social media.

"My content is hyper-vulnerable," she tells Weekend. "Most influencers only talk about the highs of life. I talk about the beautiful things that happen to me right alongside the stuff that is hardest to look at, be it describing my father's suicide in graphic detail or discussing my own issues with anxiety or depression or even diving into my personal shortcomings and the ways in which I've messed up and am trying to grow. Unlike other bloggers, I don't just give people a highlight reel of reasons to like me."

While candour and authenticity are prized attributes on Instagram these days, Calloway says that this openness can lead to more hate and scrutiny.

"My theory is that this results in people having many more reasons to detest me than your average influencer since I'm so open, but it also makes my relationship with the fans who know me all the more real," she says.

But who is the 'real' Caroline Calloway, if such a thing even exists, and how did she get here? It's a long story. Settle in.

***

Caroline Calloway wasn't always Caroline Calloway. Born Caroline Gotschall, she grew up in Falls Church, Virginia, a middle-class suburb of Washington DC. Her parents separated when she was young and she attended well-to-do boarding schools throughout her adolescence. She harboured dreams of attending a prestigious Ivy League institution like Yale, but had to settle instead for New York University. She attended NYU for a few semesters before dropping out.

In 2013, she was accepted to Cambridge University in the UK (on her third attempt) and relocated there to study art history. It was around this time that she first joined Instagram. When Calloway created her account, she bought 40,000 fake followers. Many influencers have been accused of buying fake followers in order to make themselves more appealing to brands. It is a practice that is very much frowned upon these days.

Things were different in 2013, though. Back then, the photo-sharing app wasn't the social-media behemoth it is now. It wasn't home to celebrities, influencers and news organisations. Few, if any, could have foreseen its potential. As Calloway wrote on her website last month, buying fake followers then was "a different kind of choice". Things like sponsored content, affiliate links and brand partnerships did not yet exist.

"No one knew where this app was doing," she wrote. "I took a chance. I made a guess. I got it right."

Once she landed in Cambridge, she started posting photos of her life on campus to her Instagram feed. She likened the university to "Hogwarts on steroids" and shared photos of its colleges, libraries, dormitory rooms and black-tie events.

Each photo was typically accompanied by a long and detailed caption, usually relaying a personal anecdote or story from her personal life, and the hashtag #adventuregram. One photo of her sitting on a rooftop included a story of how she and her then-boyfriend spent the day drinking on a riverbank before watching the sun from a rooftop.

"This photo was taken in the spring of last year, about nine months after Oscar and I first met," she wrote. "We had spent the day reading and kissing in the sunshine. At dusk we snuck on to the roof. If you look closely you can even spot the bottle of champagne we polished off before we lay down to watch the sun set. For all I know that bottle's still there."

Her exploits in Cambridge helped her amass a quarter of a million followers. Real ones, too. An aspiring writer, she set about trying to parlay her Instagram fame into a book deal. At 22, she contacted a well-known literary agent named Byrd Leavell and secured a meeting with him by tricking his secretary into believing she was one of his clients. According to Calloway, he advised her to secure some media coverage for her Instagram account. Doing so would increase her chance of getting a book deal, he reasoned.

After their meeting, Calloway set about contacting various news outlets. The Daily Mail published an article about her account. "American student's fairytale life in Cambridge enchants Instagram," read the headline, "300,000 people following student's photos of carefree days of dreaming spires, black-tie balls and Champagne on the river."

More coverage followed and Leavell signed her up as a client. With his help, she eventually landed a lucrative deal with Flatiron Books for her memoir And We Were Like, with the publisher paying in the region of $375,000 for the book.

However, things soon started to unravel. In 2017, she pulled out of the book deal. In an interview with the website Man Repeller, she claimed that she was unable to stand behind the "boy-obsessed version of myself I planned to depict as my memoir's protagonist", and decided to back out of the contract. As she had already spent the entirety of her book advance, the decision left her in debt.

Then, in early 2019, the workshop fiasco happened, and the influencer was making the headlines again.

But for Calloway, the worst was yet to come. In September, American biweekly magazine The Cut published a bombshell essay written by Natalie Beach, a former college friend of Calloway's.

In it, Beach revealed how she helped to ghost write Calloway's famous #adventuregram captions as well as her book proposal.

She also recounted various episodes from their turbulent and often toxic friendship. Like the time Beach gave Calloway a set of Yale plates for her 21st birthday only for Calloway to later inform her they had been stolen from her apartment. Or the time they took a trip to Amsterdam and Calloway locked Beach out of their apartment, forcing her to spend a night on the streets. In the article, Beach also alluded to Calloway's struggles with addiction. (Calloway has since acknowledged that she was addicted to amphetamines for a period during their friendship. Last month, she criticised Beach for downplaying her struggles with mental illness in the article.)

The piece instantly went viral and would go on to be the most-read article on The Cut's website that year.

On social media, people giddily debated whether they were #TeamNatalie or #TeamCaroline. They speculated over what had become of the Yale plates and cast the seemingly inevitable big-screen adaptation.

For her part, Calloway didn't refute much of what appeared in Beach's essay. She even went so far as to say she still loved her former friend and called her "the best writer I know".

Two days after the article was published, she received devastating news. Her father was found dead in his home. It was later determined that he had died by suicide.

"Influencer Caroline Calloway reveals that her father has died - just two days after her ex-best friend exposed her as a scam artist in shocking tell-all essay," read the Daily Mail headline.

Calloway posted it on Instagram and captioned the photo: "I cannot believe this is my life right now. I feel like I'm about to wake up at any moment."

***

Calloway provokes what can sometimes seem like a disproportionate level of ire. On Reddit, a 5,000-strong "snark community" known as r/SmolBeanSnark spends its time cataloguing and analysing her every move. There is even a podcast devoted to her called Pardon My Snark, which sees host Shay Shades revisit Caroline Calloway's greatest hits with her boyfriend.

"I started Pardon My Snark because I saw many new people coming into the snarking community and wanting a rundown on all things Calloway and nobody wanted to take the time to really deep dive and explain it, understandably," says the host.

She says that Calloway "consistently does these horrible things that need to be called out when you're in a position of influence like she is". Indeed, Calloway does herself no favours in this regard. As I write this, she has been forced to apologise for sharing an anti-Semitic cartoon on Twitter.

She adds that much of Calloway's behaviour "boggles the mind" and that many simply can't understand why the influencer would squander the opportunities that have presented themselves to her.

"I think that is why there is such a large snarking community surrounding her," she posits. "Because we're all just sitting there with our mouths open wondering why the f**k anyone would do these things intentionally."

It's for precisely this reason that Calloway has come to capture the public imagination. At times, her actions defy logic. It can feel unclear as to whether we're watching someone engage in self-sabotage or bearing witness to a carefully orchestrated piece of performance art. Either way, it's difficult to look away.

Calloway admits that she wasn't a "kind human" when she was an addict and this is the version of Caroline Calloway that most of us have read about.

"I was a bad friend. I made bad business decisions. Don't even get me started on what a bad granddaughter I was. And it hurts that no matter what I do for the rest of my life - even if I spend every day until I die being and doing good - I will never be able to undo my bad decisions as an addict. This is a concept that all former addicts have to grapple with during recovery.

"But on top of this I have to reconcile the fact that the whole world read an essay about me in which [Natalie Beach] erased my mental illness from the record," she adds.

"If I wrote an essay about my Mom during the months before we found out about her cancer, and I presented the symptoms of her undiagnosed tumour (fatigue) as character flaws (laziness, lack of ambition), that would be unconscionable. But mental health is stigmatised and invisible in a way that physical diseases are not."

An undoubtedly a polarising figure about whom so much has been written and so much comment made, it seems appropriate to leave the last word to Caroline herself.

"One thing I wish that people knew about Caroline Calloway is that I am not the girl in an essay about a bad person that should have been an essay about a bad person who was also very sick."
Then-Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn testifies before a committee hearing on 'Current and Projected National Security Threats to the United States' at the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington on March 12, 2013. (Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images)

Flynn Was Set Up by FBI, Documents Indicate

The belief that Michael Flynn was set up by the FBI has been backed up by a string of evidence in documents released by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Flynn, a former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty in 2017 to one count of lying to the FBI.

On May 7, however, the DOJ dropped the case against him, saying that when the FBI interviewed Flynn on Jan. 24, 2017, the investigation into him was no longer justifiably predicated and seems to have been undertaken only to elicit those very false statements and thereby criminalize Mr. Flynn.

The motion to dismiss the case was accompanied by more than a dozen documents substantiating the decision.

The FBI opened a counterintelligence case on Flynn on Aug. 16, 2016 (pdf). The stated reason was public information that Flynn was an adviser to Trump, had ties to some entities affiliated with Russia, and visited Russia the year before.

After four months of investigating, the FBI couldnt find any derogatory information on Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general.

On Jan. 4, 2017, William Barnett, one of the agents managing the Flynn case, drafted a document to close the case, saying there were no more investigative leads to follow (pdf).

That afternoon, then-head of FBI counterintelligence operations, Peter Strzok, reached out to the Flynn case manager, urging him to keep the case open (the documents indicate the case manager was likely Barnett).

Then-FBI Director James Comey later said in a meeting with lawmakers that he had authorized the closing of the Flynn case, but that it was kept open because the bureau learned about Flynns calls with then-Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak.

I think I had authorized it to be closed at the  end of December, beginning of January. And we kept it open once we became aware of these communications, Comey told the House Intelligence Committee on March 2, 2017 (pdf). There were additional steps the investigators wanted to consider.

Logan Act

Flynns calls coincided with new sanctions imposed on Russia by President Barack Obama in late December 2016. Flynns lawyers were never given the transcripts of the calls, but the DOJ said he requested from Kislyak that Russia avoid escalating tensions in response to the sanctions.

Russia responded by holding off on its retaliation for several months.

The morning of Jan. 4, 2017, Lisa Page, special counsel to then-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and who was involved in an extramarital affair with Strzok, sent an email to then-FBI general counsel James Baker (pdf).

Code section at question, the subject read, with 18 USC 953 in the body.

The number refers to the Logan Act, a 1799 law that prohibits Americans from conducting diplomacy on their own with countries that the United States has a dispute with.

Less than 10 minutes later, Strzok emailed Page the text of the statutewriting, because I am awesomeand attached a 2015 document about Logan Act from the Congressional Research Service.

All the legislative history they cite does not involve incoming administrations, he wrote, quoting from the document that viability of the statute may involve constitutional issues, such as freedom of speech and right to travel.

You are awesome. Thank you, Page replied and a few hours later, sent the text of the statute to McCabe without any mention of the constitutional issues.

In the afternoon, Strzok texted another FBI staffer about the need to keep the Flynn case open.

We need to decide what to do with him w/r/t [with regards to] the [redacted], he wrote. The 7th floor [was] involved, referring to the FBI top leadership.

But there seemed to be no appetite at the DOJ to pursue a Logan Act violation. No one has ever been convicted of breaking the law and only two people were ever charged, the last one in 1852.

Mary McCord, then-head of the DOJs National Security Division (NSD), said she wasnt thinking about a criminal investigation at the time, according to a report from her July 17, 2017, interview with the FBI and the special counsel office.

It seemed logical to her that there may be some communications between an incoming administration and their foreign partners, so the Logan Act seemed like a stretch to her, the report stated.

The feeling among NSD attorneys was Flynns behavior was a technical violation of the Logan Act, but they were not sure this would have a lot of jury appeal, or if pursuing it would be a good use of the power of the Justice Department, according to an Aug. 15, 2017, FBI report from an interview with former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates.

Yates had the impression the FBI was more eager to pursue prosecution initially, the report stated.

McCord did call the Kislyak calls concerning and Yates labeled them problematic. Yet neither of them clearly explained what was concerning or problematic about them.

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, said Timothy Shea, interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, in the motion to dismiss the Flynn case.

In any event, with no Logan Act charge incoming, the Flynn case seemed dead in the water. But it still wasnt closed. Nobody seems to have provided a good explanation of why.

Nothing, to my mind, happens until the 13th of January, Comey told the House committee.

Flood is Coming

In fact, the week after the scramble to keep the Flynn probe open was one of the most consequential in American history, with national repercussions rippling for years to come.

The FBI, and Comey in particular, played a central role.

On Jan. 6, 2017, Trump was briefed by the then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper as well as the heads of the FBI, NSA, and CIA on their assessment that Russia meddled in the election. They also said the Kremlin favored Trump in their influence campaign, although the NSA partially dissented from that assessment.

A declassified version of the report was released the same day, a virtually unheard-of, real-time revelation by the American intelligence agencies that undermined the legitimacy of the president who is about to direct them, The New York Times reported.

A two-page summary of the Steele dossier, a collection of unsubstantiated claims about supposed TrumpRussia collusion, was attached as an annex to that assessment.

The dossier was supposedly written by Christopher Steele, a former British spy. He was paid through intermediaries by the Democratic National Committee and the presidential campaign of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Both Steele and his employers had for months peddled the dossier to the media, the FBI, the State Department, the DOJ, and Congress.

Following the Jan. 6 meeting, Comey privately briefed Trump on the most salacious allegation from the dossier; he didnt give him the summary.

I said there was something that Clapper wanted me to speak to PE [president-elect] about alone or in a very small group, Comey wrote about the meeting in an email on Jan. 7, 2017, to senior FBI leadership, according to a May 21, 2018, release by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

I then executed the session exactly as I had planned, Comey wrote, adding, I said media like CNN had them [the dossier content] and were looking for a news hook.

As it seems, the FBI was aware that information about the TrumpComey briefing was, in fact, the hook CNN would use.

Flood is coming, McCabe wrote on Jan. 8, 2017, in the subject of an email to senior FBI leadership.

CNN is close to going forward with the sensitive story.  The trigger for them [CNN] is they know the material was discussed in the brief and presented in an attachment, he wrote in the email.

Less than an hour later, McCabe emailed Yates and then-Principal Deputy Attorney General Matthew Axelrod with the subject line News.

Just an FYI, and as expected, it seems CNN is close to running a story about the sensitive reporting, he wrote.

On Jan. 10, 2017, Strzok wrote (pdf) to other senior FBI officials, Per Rich, CNN to publish C material today between 4 and 5.

That afternoon, CCN ran a story saying (incorrectly) that Trump was presented with a two-page synopsis of the dossier during the Jan. 6 briefing. Shortly after, BuzzFeed released one of the versions of the dossier itself.

Within hours, the collusion narrative was imprinted on much of the nations psyche. More leaks were coming that would build on that foundation.

Denial

On Jan. 12, 2017, The Washington Posts David Ignatius published a column in which he said a senior U.S. government official told him that Flynn called Kislyak multiple times on Jan. 29, 2016. Ignatius suggested that if Flynn talked about the Russia sanctions, he may have violated the spirit of the Logan Act. Other media followed with their own reporting, repeating that narrative.

Under the enormous pressure to distance themselves from anything Russia-related, several Trump team members, including incoming Vice President Mike Pence, questioned Flynn about the calls. Flynn said he didnt talk about sanctions and thats what the team told the media.

The calls had nothing whatsoever to do with the sanctions, Pence told CBS News on Jan. 15, 2017, in an interview the network dedicated almost wholly to questions about Russia.

With that denial, the FBI effectively had Flynn trapped. The officials knew that Pence, a man known for closely guarding his reputation, told a lie on national television and that Flynn was responsible.

Yates and some others from the intelligence community wanted to inform the Trump team of Flynns predicament, she said. Her take was that the lie made Flynn compromised, because the Russians would know he lied.

It would have possibly led to Flynns firing, but the outcome was uncertain. After all, Trump held Flynn in high regard.

Comey seemed aware that the compromise angle was weak.

It was possible, he testified, that the lie made Flynn blackmailable, but that struck me as a bit of a reach, though, honestly, Comey said.

Plan

Comey blocked the idea of informing the White House. The Kislyak transcripts were the FBIs information and he had the last word on who gets it, Yates said.

Instead, Comey had a more ambitious planto have Flynn interviewed by his agents.

For some reason, [Flynn] hasnt been candid with the Vice President about this, Comey explained the need for the interview. My judgment was we could not close the investigation of Mr. Flynn without asking him what is the deal here. That was the purpose.

Yet, if the bureau really wanted to know why Flynn may have lied to Pence, it took step after step that seemed to defeat that purpose.

The officials didnt plan at all to confront Flynn about what he told Pence, instead going to great lengths to cast the interview as a friendly chat between fellow government officials. If Flynn was to say something they knew wasnt true, the agents would ask again, slipping in some words from the call transcripts, Strzok later told the FBI and the special counsel office. If Flynn didnt catch on, they wouldnt press again. They werent to confront Flynn about any discrepancies directly or show him the transcripts.

That approach didnt sit well with Bill Priestap, then-FBI head of counterintelligence.

Whats our goal? Truth/Admission or toget him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired? he wrote down in notes dated Jan. 24, 2017, arguing the team should rethink its approach.

We regularly show subjects evidence. With the goal of getting them to admit their wrongdoing, he wrote. I dont see how getting someone to admit their wrongdoing is going easy on him.

The bureau was risking its reputation, Priestap suggested.

If were seen as playing games, WH [White House] will be furious. Protect our institution by not playing games, he wrote.

His concerns were dismissed. Whats more, Comey went forward with the interview without consulting or even informing the DOJ (which later angered Yates, she said).

Interview

When McCabe called Flynn on Jan. 24, 2017, to set up the interview, Flynn readily agreed to have the agents over for a talk about the Kislyak calls. He noted that the FBI probably already knew what was said anyway.

You listen to everything they [Russian representatives] say, Flynn said, according to McCabes notes from that day (pdf).

McCabe said he told Flynn he wanted the interview done as quickly, quietly, and discreetly as possible. If Flynn wanted anybody to sit in, such as one of the White House lawyers, the DOJ would have to be involved, McCabe told him.

That was egregious behavior, according to Marc Ruskin, a 27-year FBI veteran and an Epoch Times contributor.

To affirmatively go ahead and say that you dont need to have an attorney present really goes beyond the bounds of anything that most agents in the past would have considered an acceptable behavior, he said in a phone call.

Still, Flynn agreed to talk to the agents alone.

About two hours later, Strzok and Supervisory Special Agent Joe Pientka showed up at the West Wing of the White House for the interview.

Flynn was relaxed and jocular with the agents, unguarded during the interview, and clearly saw the FBI agents as allies, Strzok later said.

As part of the rather sprawling interview, Flynn denied talking to Kislyak about sanctions. The agents asked again: Did he ask for Russia to not engage in tit-for-tat?

He seemed less sure.

Not really. I dont remember. It wasnt, Dont do anything, he said, according to the agents report from the interview (pdf) and their notes (pdf).

Flynn said in a Jan. 29 declaration to the court he still doesnt remember talking to Kislyak about sanctions.

I told the agents that tit-for-tat is a phrase I use, which suggests that the topic of sanctions could have been raised, he said.

Aftermath

The FBI and the DOJ seemed none the wiser after the interview.

The agents came back with the impression that Flynn was not lying or did not think he was lying, Strzok said.

Do you believe that Mr. Flynn lied? Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) asked Comey during the committee meeting.

I dont know. I think there is an argument to be made that he lied. It is a close one, he replied.

DOJ prosecutors were skeptical that Flynn just didnt remember, according to Yates. They asked the FBI if it wanted to interview Flynn againa common practice in cases when it seems the interviewee lacked candor.

While the FBI not only didnt want another interview, Yates recalled them being pretty emphatic about it, the report from her interview stated. She said she didnt know why.

Despite previously insisting on the opposite, Comey was suddenly all for informing the White House of Flynns situation.

He said it was a great idea for Yates to talk to the White House counsel, and agreed a lawyer to lawyer talk made sense, according to Yates.

Yates and McCord met with Don McGahn, who was White House counsel at the time, and his associate on Jan. 26, 2017. They told them that Flynn lied to Pence and that the FBI interviewed him in the White House two days prior.

McCord described McGahn as shocked by the news. Flynn was fired two weeks later.
BEIJING, May 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Since the COVID-19 outbreak, Peking University has been at the forefront of the battle against the novel coronavirus. While the pandemic is gradually brought under control in China, countries across the world are still in a struggle to contain it. In light of this, the School of Foreign Languages (SFL) at Peking University translated China's official documents on the prevention and control of COVID-19 into Arabic, and released Counter COVID-19 Documents (Arabic Version) on May 6 during a video conference with 11 Arab ambassadors to China, director of the Representative Office of the League of Arab States to China, and 8 Arab envoys to China. Since March, in the hope of sharing China's anti-pandemic experience with the Arab world, faculty and students from the Department of Arabic Language have dedicated themselves to the translation of guidelines formulated by China's National Health Commission. The Arabic materials will be distributed to Arab embassiesA in China, Chinese embassies and state-owned enterprises in Arab states, so that these valuable resources can be accessible to the wider Arab community and help 400 million people living in 22 Arab states and re! gions lea rn more about the coronavirus and eventually conquer it. The Arabic compilation includes the "Protocol on Prevention and Control of COVID-19 (Editions 1-6)" and the "Diagnosis and Treatment Protocol for Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (Trial Version 7)". To ensure accuracy, foreign experts were also invited to proofread the translations. Additionally, a number of the key guidance documents have also been rendered into English, with proofreading from experts at the PKU Health Science Center. Furthermore, as part of the efforts to help foreigners better understand medical terms that they might come across in notices and news written in Chinese, faculty and students from SFL have put together a multilingual COVID-19 terminology handbook in 21 different languages. Ph.D. candidate Chen Binbin from the Department of Chinese at Peking University went to great lengths to set up a translation group, known as "China-Iran Epidemic Prevention Mutual Assistance Team", bringing together over 200 volunteers from China, Iran and Afghanistan to translate China's anti-pandemic knowledge and experience into Persian and sharing them with Iranians via social media platforms. Following the COVID-19 outbreak, Peking University has adopted a slew of measures in its response. Medical teams of 454 healthcare professionals from PKU-affiliated hospitals were immediately dispatched to Wuhan, China's worst-hit city. This semester, over 2,800 teachers taught 4,437 online courses to more than 40,000 students on a variety of online platforms. 60 of PKU's international teachers coming from 31 different countries and regions across 5 continents overcame the challenges posed by being in different time zones and continued to teach their classes. Moreover, Peking University has been proactive in sharing its anti-pandemic experience with universities around the world over the past few months. The university-wide dialogues have been conducted through participating in the World Economic Forum's Global University Leaders Forum, and convening video conferences with partner universities including the University of Tokyo, University College London, Cairo University, University of Michigan and Qatar University. International cooperation plays a crucial role in the fight against this pandemic. As the COVID-19 outbreak remains rampant in many parts of the world, Peking University will continue to maintain online communication with higher education institutions across the globe, and all members of the PKU community will spare no efforts to support the global fight. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1166016/Counter_COVID_19_Documents__Arabic_version.jpg
PORTLAND, Ore., May 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northwest Natural Holding Company, (NWN) (NW Natural Holdings), reported financial results and highlights including:

Reported first quarter 2020 earnings of $1.58 per share from continuing operations, compared to earnings of $1.50 per share and adjusted earnings 1 of $1.73 per share for the same period in 2019

Provided customers with essential natural gas and water utility services during coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19)

Added more than 12,400 natural gas meters over the last 12 months equating to a 1.6% growth rate

Closed four water utility transactions in 2020 bringing our total connections to 25,000 serving about 61,000 people

Reaffirmed 2020 GAAP earnings guidance from continuing operations in the range of $2.25 to $2.45 per share and guided toward the lower end of the range given potential effects from the COVID-19

"I want to express my deepest sympathy to those directly affected by the coronavirus pandemic, my appreciation for our health care workers on the front line of this crisis, and my gratitude to our employees for their tireless dedication to ensure our essential services are provided during these difficult times, said David H. Anderson, president and CEO of NW Natural Holdings. "For more than 160 years we've provided critical services through both prosperous and challenging times. We're committed to doing what's needed, when it's needed most by our communities."

"We quickly mobilized our incident command and business continuity protocols in March to ensure safe and uninterrupted service to our customers amid the pandemic," continued Anderson. "NW Natural initiated a special COVID-19 giving campaign aimed at assisting the most vulnerable members of our communities, which will supplement the Company's local, state, and federal gas assistance programs that also help customers struggling financially. We've also filed a request with regulators to provide customers with their annual June bill credit related to our revenue sharing mechanism, which this year equates to a 30% reduction in an average monthly residential bill. During March, we also rapidly secured financing to provide our business with ample cash liquidity. Each and every day we care about the safety and wellbeing of our customers and employees, and we're taking extra precautions to protect our employees, prevent the spread of the virus, and assist our communities."

Story continues

For the first quarter of 2020, net income from continuing operations increased $4.9 million to $48.3 million (or $1.58 per share), compared to net income from continuing operations of $43.4 million (or $1.50 per share) for the same period in 2019. Results for 2019, included a regulatory pension disallowance of $10.5 million (or $6.6 million after-tax and $0.23 per share). Excluding this disallowance on a non-GAAP basis1, adjusted net income from continuing operations for 2019 was $50.0 million (or $1.73 per share) resulting in a $1.7 million decline year over year. Results reflected higher margin from new natural gas rates in Washington, customer growth, and revenues from our North Mist gas storage facility as well as contributions from water utilities acquired since the prior period. Offsetting these drivers were higher depreciation expense, lower interest income on regulatory deferrals, and a decline in asset management revenues.

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1 Adjusted 2019 metrics are non-GAAP financial measures and exclude the regulatory pension disallowance of $10.5 million pre-tax (or $6.6 million and $0.23 cents per share after-tax). See "Reconciliation to GAAP" for additional information.

KEY INITIATIVES

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, NW Natural Holdings has executed on business continuity plans with a focus on the safety of our 1,200 employees and the 2.5 million people, business partners and communities we serve. We've implemented work-from-home plans for employees wherever possible. For employees whose role requires them to work in the field, we are following CDC, OHSA, and state specific guidance, have limited non-essential in-home service visits such as routine inspections, and have enacted social distancing and sanitizing protocols to prevent the spread of this disease and keep our employees and customers safe.

Our water and natural gas utility businesses continue to serve our customers without interruption. We voluntarily and temporarily stopped charging late fees and disconnecting customers for nonpayment beginning March 16, 2020. In addition, we've filed with regulators to return a record amount, approximately $17 million, to our Oregon natural gas customers related to our sharing mechanism on their June bills. In order to strengthen our liquidity during the COVID pandemic, we secured additional financing and at March 31, 2020, we held $471.1 million of cash. We believe we currently have ample liquidity to manage our cash needs. The Governors of Oregon and Washington issued stay-at-home orders on March 23, 2020. Therefore, for the period ending March 31, 2020, we did not see significant effects from the COVID-19 pandemic or economic slowdown.

"While we can't predict the full economic effects of COVID-19, I see several mitigating factors for our business," said David H. Anderson. "The onset of the pandemic coincided with the end of our heating season, and we expect volumes to continue declining naturally during the upcoming summer months as the heating load drops off. Second, we have a strong customer mix with about 87% of our utility margin coming from the residential and commercial sectors. In addition, a majority of our utility margin is decoupled and weather normalized. Finally, we work hard to ensure our product remains affordable. As a result of our commitment to efficient operations and the decline in natural gas prices, today our customers' natural gas bills are about 40% lower than they were 15 years ago."

While we are unable to predict with certainty the length, severity or impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic disruptions on our business, at this time we are monitoring the following items: customer losses, bad debt expense, lower late charge and reconnection fee revenues, and regulatory recovery. We've applied for regulatory deferrals to recover COVID-19 related costs such as bad debt expense, lost revenues related to late fees and reconnection fees, and other COVID-19 related costs.

On April 20, 2020, the Oregon Governor in conjunction with the West Coast coalition of governors, issued a preliminary high-level framework for reopening the economy, which is expected to be finalized in early May. The framework outlines a phased approach to lifting restrictions after the state experiences a declining number of COVID-19 cases, adequate hospital capacity, robust testing and sufficient supplies of personal protective equipment among other things. In addition, the Washington Governor has begun easing restrictions. We'll closely monitor the timing of the reopening of the economies and their effects on our businesses.

The majority of our capital projects continue to move forward at this time. New home construction continues in Oregon, where approximately 90% of our natural gas customers are located. Construction in Washington temporarily halted from March 26, 2020 through April 24, 2020, but has now reopened in accordance with Governor Inslee's executive orders.

Given the evolving nature of the pandemic, we're continually monitoring our business operations and the larger trends and developments to take additional measures we believe are warranted to continue providing safe and reliable service to our customers and communities while protecting our employees.

Water Utilities and Acquisitions

NW Natural Holdings' subsidiary, NW Natural Water Company, LLC (NW Natural Water), closed four acquisitions to-date in 2020: the Suncadia water and wastewater utilities in Washington, the T&W water utility in Texas, and two smaller utilities in Idaho. NW Natural Water currently serves about 61,000 people through about 25,000 connections in the Pacific Northwest and Texas. One additional acquisition is pending in Idaho that serves approximately 300 connections near our existing water utility in Idaho Falls and is expected to close in 2020. NW Natural Water has invested approximately $110 million in the water sector to date.

FIRST QUARTER RESULTS

The following financial comparisons are for the first quarter of 2020 and 2019 with individual year-over-year drivers below presented on an after-tax basis using a statutory tax rate of 26.5% unless otherwise noted. Non-GAAP financial measures exclude the effects of the regulatory pension disallowance in 2019 as these adjusted metrics provide a clearer view of operations, reflect how Management views financial results, and provide comparability to prior year results. See "Reconciliation to GAAP" for a detailed reconciliation of adjusted amounts.

Financial Implications of March 2019 Regulatory Order

In March 2019, NW Natural received a regulatory order from the Public Utility Commission of Oregon (OPUC) that outlined the recovery of a pension balancing deferral, a disallowance of a portion of this deferral, and the application of tax reform benefits.

NW Natural recognized a $10.5 million pre-tax (or $6.6 million after-tax) regulatory disallowance for amounts in the pension balancing account. This resulted in $3.9 million pre-tax ($2.8 million after-tax) of additional operations and maintenance expense, $6.6 million of pre-tax ($4.9 million after-tax) other expense, and an offsetting tax benefit of $3.9 million. In addition, as a result of beginning collections of the pension balancing account, $3.8 million of regulatory interest income ($2.8 million after-tax) was recognized related to the equity interest component of financing costs on the pension balancing account.

The order required the application of tax reform benefits to the pension balancing deferral account in March 2019, which resulted in the following offsetting adjustments with no material effect on net income:

$7.1 million pre-tax ($5.2 million after-tax) increase in margin;

$4.6 million pre-tax ($3.4 million after-tax) increase in operations and maintenance expense;

$7.9 million pre-tax ($5.8 million after-tax) increase in other expense; and

$4.3 million decrease in income tax expense with an additional tax benefit of $1.2 million recognized later in 2019.

NW Natural Holdings' first quarter results are summarized by business segment in the table below:

Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 2019 Change In thousands, except per share data Amount Per Share Amount Per Share Amount Per Share Net income from continuing operations: Natural Gas Distribution segment $ 47,943 $ 1.57 $ 41,206 $ 1.42 $ 6,737 $ 0.15 Regulatory pension disallowance, net   6,588 0.23 (6,588 ) (0.23 ) Adjusted Natural Gas Distribution segment1 $ 47,943 $ 1.57 $ 47,794 $ 1.65 $ 149 $ (0.08 ) Other $ 333 $ 0.01 $ 2,212 $ 0.08 $ (1,879 ) $ (0.07 ) Consolidated $ 48,276 $ 1.58 $ 43,418 $ 1.50 $ 4,858 $ 0.08 Adjusted Consolidated1 48,276 1.58 50,006 1.73 (1,730 ) (0.15 ) Diluted Shares 30,535 28,970 1,565





1 The 2019 adjusted natural gas distribution segment and adjusted consolidated net income from continuing operations are non-GAAP financial measures and exclude the effects of a regulatory disallowance of NW Natural's pension balancing account of $10.5 million pre-tax (or $6.6 million after-tax). See "Reconciliation to GAAP" for additional information.

Natural Gas Distribution Segment

Natural Gas Distribution segment net income increased $6.7 million (or $0.15 per share). First quarter 2019 results include a $6.6 million non-cash after-tax regulatory disallowance of costs in NW Natural's pension balancing account. Excluding the effects of this disallowance, net income increased $0.1 million (or a decline of $0.08 per share) reflecting higher margin from new natural gas rates in Washington, customer growth, and revenues from the North Mist gas storage facility. Offsetting these revenues were higher depreciation expense and lower interest income from regulatory accounts. Earnings per share was affected by share issuances in June 2019.

Margin increased $1.1 million as higher rates in Washington, customer growth of 1.6% over the last 12 months, and the start of North Mist storage services, and gains from gas cost incentive sharing collectively contributed $8.6 million to margin. Partially offsetting this was a net detriment of $2.4 million related to 9% warmer than average weather in the first quarter of 2020, compared to 9% colder than average weather for the same period in 2019. Finally, as a result of the Oregon order related to pension as described above, margin decreased $5.2 million with no significant effect on net income as offsetting adjustments were recognized through expenses and income taxes.

Operations and maintenance expense decreased $3.2 million as a result of 2019 incorporating several nonrecurring items related to the Oregon pension order described above, specifically a $2.8 million expense related to the disallowance of costs in the pension balancing account and $3.4 million of costs that were recognized with no significant effect on net income due to offsetting adjustments in margin and income taxes. Excluding these pension expenses, operations and maintenance expense increased $3.0 million related to higher compensation and benefit costs as well as additional non-payroll expenses from contractor services.

Depreciation expense and general taxes increased $2.6 million related to higher property, plant, and equipment, including our North Mist gas storage facility.

Other income, net increased $7.3 million primarily due to several items related to the pension order in 2019 as described above including a $4.9 million expense related to the disallowance of costs in the pension balancing account, $5.8 million of costs that were offset with higher revenues and tax benefits, and $2.8 million of equity interest income recognized in 2019 when we began collecting deferred pension costs from customers. Excluding these items, other income declined $0.6 million primarily as a result of the completion of the North Mist expansion and recording lower AFUDC.

Tax expense reflected a $4.3 million detriment related to implementing the March 2019 order described above; however, as this offset higher expense, there was no significant resulting effect on net income.

Other

Other net income decreased $1.9 million (or $0.07 per share) primarily reflecting lower asset management revenues.

BALANCE SHEET AND CASH FLOWS

During the first three months of 2020, the Company generated $102.9 million in operating cash flows and invested $57.4 million in utility capital expenditures and $37.9 million to acquire water and wastewater utilities. Net cash provided by financing activities was $460.0 million for the first three months of 2020 or an increase of $513.6 million compared to the same period in 2019 primarily due to several financings in March 2020 that strengthened our liquidity position as a precaution given COVID-19 effects.

2020 GUIDANCE

NW Natural Holdings reaffirmed 2020 earnings guidance from continuing operations in the range of $2.25 to $2.45 per share and guided toward the lower end of the range due to potential implications from COVID-19. This guidance assumes continued customer growth, average weather conditions, and no significant changes in prevailing regulatory policies, mechanisms, or outcomes, or significant local, state or federal laws, legislation or regulations. The expected sale of Gill Ranch and the related gain, and any operating loss associated with it, are not included in this guidance range, as they are, and are expected to continue to be, reported as Discontinued Operations.

DIVIDEND DECLARED

NW Natural Holdings' Board of Directors previously declared a quarterly dividend of 47.75 cents per share on NW Natural Holdings' common stock. The dividend is payable on May 15, 2020 to shareholders of record on April 30, 2020, reflecting an annual indicated dividend rate of $1.91 per share.

CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST

As previously announced, NW Natural Holdings will host a conference call and webcast today to discuss its first quarter 2020 financial and operating results.

Date and Time: Friday, May 8

8 a.m. PT (11 a.m. ET) Phone Numbers: United States: 1-866-267-6789

Canada: 1-855-669-9657

International: 1-412-902-4110

The call will also be webcast in a listen-only format for the media and general public and can be accessed at nwnaturalholdings.com. A replay of the conference call will be available on our website and by dialing 1-877-344-7529 (U.S.), 1-855-669-9658 (Canada), and 1-412-317-0088 (international). The replay access code is 10141985.

ABOUT NW NATURAL HOLDINGS

Northwest Natural Holding Company, (NWN) (NW Natural Holdings), is headquartered in Portland, Oregon, and through its subsidiaries has been doing business for over 160 years in the Pacific Northwest. 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.

Additional information is available at nwnaturalholdings.com.

Investor Contact:

Nikki Sparley

Phone: 503-721-2530

Email: n1s@nwnatural.com

Media Contact:

Melissa Moore

Phone: 503-220-2436

Email: msm@nwnatural.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This report, and other presentations made by NW Holdings from time to time, may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "anticipates," "assumes," "intends," "plans," "seeks," "believes," "estimates," "expects" and similar references to future periods. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the following: plans, objectives, assumptions, estimates, timing, goals, strategies, future events, investments, capital expenditures, targeted capital structure, risks, risk profile, stability, acquisitions and timing, completion and integration thereof, dispositions and timing, completion and outcomes thereof, global, national and local economies, customer and business growth, customer satisfaction ratings, weather, customer rates or rate recovery, environmental remediation cost recoveries, the water utility strategy and financial effects of the related pending water acquisitions, operating plans of third parties, financial results, including estimated income, availability and sources of liquidity, expenses, positions, revenues, returns, timing, and earnings and earnings guidance, dividends, performance, timing, outcome, or effects of regulatory proceedings or mechanisms or approvals, regulatory prudence reviews, anticipated regulatory actions or filings, expectations, recovery of pension expense, accounting treatment of future events, effects of changes in laws or regulations, effects, extent, severity and duration of COVID-19 and resulting economic disruption, the impact of mitigating factors and other efforts to mitigate risks posed by its spread, ability of our workforce, customers or suppliers to operate or conduct business, COVID-19 expenses and cost recovery including through regulatory deferrals, impact on capital projects, governmental actions and timing thereof, including actions to reopen the economy, and other statements that are other than statements of historical facts.

Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions regarding its business, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. You are therefore cautioned against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. They are neither statements of historical fact nor guarantees or assurances of future operational, economic or financial performance. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are discussed by reference to the factors described in Part I, Item 1A "Risk Factors", and Part II, Item 7 and Item 7A "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and "Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure about Market Risk" in the most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and in Part I, Items 2 and 3 "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and "Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk", and Part II, Item 1A, "Risk Factors", in the quarterly reports filed thereafter.

All forward-looking statements made in this report and all subsequent forward-looking statements, whether written or oral and whether made by or on behalf of NW Holdings or NW Natural, are expressly qualified by these cautionary statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and NW Holdings and NW Natural undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law. New factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible to predict all such factors, nor can it assess the impact of each such factor or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.

Presentation of Non-GAAP Results

In addition to presenting the results of operations and earnings amounts in total, certain financial measures exclude the regulatory pension disallowance in 2019, which is a non-GAAP financial measure. The Company presents net income and EPS excluding this item along with the GAAP measures to illustrate the magnitude of this item on ongoing business and operational results. Although the excluded amount is properly included in the determination of this item under GAAP, the Company believes the amount and nature of such an item makes period-to-period comparisons of operations difficult or potentially confusing. Financial measures are expressed in cents per share as these amounts reflect factors that directly impact earnings, including income taxes. All references to EPS are on the basis of diluted shares. The Company uses such non-GAAP financial measures to analyze financial performance because the Company believes they provide useful information to investors and creditors in evaluating the Company's financial condition and results of operations.

NORTHWEST NATURAL HOLDINGS Consolidated Income Statement and Financial Highlights (Unaudited) First Quarter 2020 Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended In thousands, except per share amounts, customer, and degree day data March 31, March 31, 2020 2019 Change 2020 2019 Change Operating revenues $ 285,151 $ 285,348 % $ 746,175 $ 727,856 3% Operating expenses: Cost of gas 108,538 105,457 3 257,992 252,870 2 Operations and maintenance 48,921 51,482 (5) 175,630 168,657 4 Environmental remediation 4,005 8,947 (55) 7,395 15,450 (52) General taxes 9,895 9,027 10 33,256 31,725 5 Revenue taxes 11,743 11,926 (2) 30,142 29,579 2 Depreciation and amortization 24,675 21,572 14 94,599 85,853 10 Other operating expenses 928 892 4 3,286 3,266 1 Total operating expenses 208,705 209,303  602,300 587,400 3 Income from operations 76,446 76,045 1 143,875 140,456 2 Other income (expense), net (3,575 ) (13,747 ) (74) (12,664 ) (16,514 ) (23) Interest expense, net 10,468 10,205 3 42,948 37,990 13 Income before income taxes 62,403 52,093 20 88,263 85,952 3 Income tax expense 14,127 8,675 63 18,094 17,234 5 Net income from continuing operations 48,276 43,418 11 70,169 68,718 2 Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax (778 ) (217 ) 259 (4,137 ) (2,485 ) 66 Net income $ 47,498 $ 43,201 10 $ 66,032 $ 66,233  Common shares outstanding: Average diluted for period 30,535 28,970 29,451 28,904 End of period 30,528 28,962 30,528 28,962 Per share of common stock information: Diluted earnings from continuing operations $ 1.58 $ 1.50 $ 2.38 $ 2.38 Diluted loss from discontinued operations, net of tax (0.02 ) (0.01 ) (0.14 ) (0.09 ) Diluted earnings 1.56 1.49 2.24 2.29 Dividends paid per share 0.4775 0.4750 1.9050 1.8950 Book value, end of period 29.64 27.42 29.54 27.42 Market closing price, end of period 61.75 65.63 61.75 65.63 Capital structure, end of period: Common stock equity 37.5 % 46.5 % 37.5 % 46.5 % Long-term debt 39.6 37.0 39.6 % 37.0 % Short-term debt (including current maturities of long-term debt) 22.9 16.5 22.9 % 16.5 % Total 100.0 % 100.0 % 100.0 % 100.0 % Natural Gas Distribution segment operating statistics: Meters - end of period 766,863 754,447 1.6% 766,863 754,447 1.6% Volumes in therms: Residential and commercial sales 286,872 318,103 703,116 701,247 Industrial sales and transportation 134,045 129,635 485,217 467,741 Total volumes sold and delivered 420,917 447,738 1,188,333 1,168,988 Operating revenues: Residential and commercial sales $ 255,404 $ 251,118 $ 643,170 $ 627,316 Industrial sales and transportation 17,194 16,021 57,726 57,345 Other distribution revenues 963 11,844 2,154 16,802 Other regulated services 4,926 58 16,924 293 Total operating revenues 278,487 279,041 719,974 701,756 Less: Cost of gas 108,595 105,513 258,217 253,092 Less: Environmental remediation expense 4,005 8,947 7,395 15,450 Less: Revenue taxes 11,743 11,926 30,142 29,579 Margin, net $ 154,144 $ 152,655 $ 424,220 $ 403,635 Degree days: Average (25-year average) 1,342 1,329 2,723 2,727 Actual 1,215 1,450 (16)% 2,474 2,540 (3)% Percent colder (warmer) than average weather (9 )% 9 % (9 )% (7 )% NM = Not Meaningful calculation





NORTHWEST NATURAL HOLDINGS Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited) March 31, In thousands 2020 2019 Assets: Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 471,079 $ 12,817 Accounts receivable 78,083 93,617 Accrued unbilled revenue 41,871 36,147 Allowance for uncollectible accounts (1,335 ) (1,301 ) Regulatory assets 37,815 46,317 Derivative instruments 2,257 7,890 Inventories 34,390 19,540 Gas reserves 14,351 16,157 Income taxes receivable  6,000 Other current assets 26,460 20,293 Discontinued operations current assets 15,296 14,632 Total current assets 720,267 272,109 Non-current assets: Property, plant, and equipment 3,551,065 3,439,460 Less: Accumulated depreciation 1,050,850 1,005,117 Total property, plant, and equipment, net 2,500,215 2,434,343 Gas reserves 45,234 61,907 Regulatory assets 328,024 327,194 Derivative instruments 2,451 541 Other investments 61,928 63,829 Operating lease right of use asset 79,522 6,163 Assets under sales-type leases 146,937 990 Goodwill 69,220 8,954 Other non-current assets 47,729 15,087 Total non-current assets 3,281,260 2,919,008 Total assets $ 4,001,527 $ 3,191,117 Liabilities and equity: Current liabilities: Short-term debt $ 550,000 $ 176,391 Current maturities of long-term debt 202 104,158 Accounts payable 86,766 103,207 Taxes accrued 23,837 11,004 Interest accrued 9,396 9,233 Regulatory liabilities 47,137 46,770 Derivative instruments 5,036 2,845 Operating lease liabilities 1,071 4,656 Other current liabilities 62,624 54,543 Discontinued operations current liabilities 12,801 13,282 Total current liabilities 798,870 526,089 Long-term debt 953,962 632,484 Deferred credits and other non-current liabilities: Deferred tax liabilities 300,168 293,662 Regulatory liabilities 623,219 600,698 Pension and other postretirement benefit liabilities 224,490 220,732 Derivative instruments 939 1,161 Operating lease liabilities 79,105 1,495 Other non-current liabilities 119,033 120,569 Total deferred credits and other non-current liabilities 1,346,954 1,238,317 Equity: Common stock 561,264 459,932 Retained earnings 351,050 342,734 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (10,573 ) (8,439 ) Total equity 901,741 794,227 Total liabilities and equity $ 4,001,527 $ 3,191,117





NORTHWEST NATURAL HOLDINGS Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited) Three Months Ended March 31, In thousands 2020 2019 Operating activities: Net income $ 47,498 $ 43,201 Adjustments to reconcile net income to cash provided by operations: Depreciation and amortization 24,675 21,572 Regulatory amortization of gas reserves 4,087 4,780 Deferred income taxes (3,422 ) 6,306 Qualified defined benefit pension plan expense 4,446 3,499 Contributions to qualified defined benefit pension plans (3,160 ) (1,490 ) Deferred environmental expenditures, net (3,981 ) (3,685 ) Amortization of environmental remediation 4,005 8,947 Regulatory revenue recovery deferral from TCJA  450 Regulatory disallowance of pension costs  10,500 Other 6,499 3,171 Changes in assets and liabilities: Receivables, net 4,845 (4,891 ) Inventories 9,571 21,108 Income and other taxes 21,911 7,406 Accounts payable (23,430 ) (14,883 ) Interest accrued 1,945 1,927 Deferred gas costs 8,239 (19,182 ) Decoupling mechanism 6,137 7,903 Other, net (6,626 ) 8,894 Discontinued operations (376 ) (739 ) Cash provided by operating activities 102,863 104,794 Investing activities: Capital expenditures (57,446 ) (48,764 ) Acquisitions, net of cash acquired (37,883 )  Leasehold improvement expenditures (6,176 ) (940 ) Other 919 (1,051 ) Discontinued operations (694 ) (301 ) Cash used in investing activities (101,280 ) (51,056 ) Financing activities: Proceeds from stock options exercised 68 1,546 Long-term debt issued 150,000  Long-term debt retired (75,000 )  Proceeds from term loan due within one year 150,000  Change in short-term debt 250,900 (41,229 ) Cash dividend payments on common stock (13,834 ) (12,935 ) Other (2,137 ) (936 ) Cash provided by (used in) financing activities 459,997 (53,554 ) Increase in cash and cash equivalents 461,580 184 Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period 9,648 12,633 Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $ 471,228 $ 12,817 Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information: Interest paid, net of capitalization $ 8,368 $ 7,976 Income taxes paid (refunded), net (256 ) (90 )





NORTHWEST NATURAL HOLDINGS Reconciliation to GAAP (Unaudited) First Quarter 2020 Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 2019 In thousands, except per share data Amount Per

Share Amount Per

Share CONSOLIDATED GAAP net income from continuing operations $ 48,276 $ 1.58 $ 43,418 $ 1.50 Regulatory pension disallowance   10,500 0.36 Income tax effect of regulatory disallowance1   (3,912 ) (0.13 ) Adjusted net income from continuing operations $ 48,276 $ 1.58 $ 50,006 $ 1.73 Diluted shares 30,535 28,970 NATURAL GAS DISTRIBUTION SEGMENT GAAP net income $ 47,943 $ 1.57 $ 41,206 $ 1.42 Regulatory pension disallowance   10,500 0.36 Income tax effect of regulatory disallowance1   (3,912 ) (0.13 ) Adjusted net income $ 47,943 $ 1.57 $ 47,794 $ 1.65




European countries are paying workers who've been sent home by employers. Can they afford it? Here's everything you need to know:

What is their plan?

Unlike the U.S., where some 30 million people have filed for unemployment and millions of gig workers are going without income, most European workers are still getting paid through their employers. But instead of requiring workers to apply for unemployment and sending them a $1,200 bailout check, many European Union countries chose to begin paying part of their workers' salaries, so companies would not have to fire them. Germany, for example, is paying workers about 60 percent of their wages up to a cap of $7,575 a month, and France, Spain, Denmark, and the Netherlands have similar plans, although with lower caps. The U.K. is paying up to 80 percent of wages, capped at $3,100 a month. Employers generally have to cover payroll up front and then get reimbursed by the government. For the self-employed, federal or local governments are providing direct cash assistance. By most accounts, the payments have worked smoothly. "It went surprisingly fast and was all refreshingly well-organized," said freelance photographer Laurenz Bostedt.

Who came up with this program?

Germany pioneered the wage-subsidy system years ago. The German version of capitalism relies on a collegial relationship between labor and management. To avoid layoffs in times of slow production, Germany innovated a scheme called Kurzarbeit, or short-time work. When firms have fewer orders, they cut back on workers' hours, and the government pays the salary difference. When business picks up, companies simply increase workers' hours. During the 2008 financial crisis, the number of unemployed workers went up just 9 percent in Germany, compared with 56 percent in the U.S. "We have one of the strongest welfare states in the world," says German Labor Minister Hubertus Heil, "and we have built up reserves for difficult times during good times." Other EU countries have modeled their payments on that system.

Story continues

How many people are covered?

As of mid-April, at least 18 million European workers were working less or not at all  and with each passing week, the numbers are growing. Management consulting firm McKinsey estimates that up to 59 million jobs in the EU and the U.K. are in jeopardy, a staggering 26 percent of total employment. That compares with some 54 million at risk in the U.S. In France alone, some 785,000 companies have applied for wage subsidies for about 9.6 million workers  half the private-sector workforce. In Ireland, some 40 percent of all workers are now on government aid. In hard-hit Spain, which already had unemployment of 13 percent, the rate could soar to 20 percent. Germany, by contrast, predicts a bump from 5.2 percent unemployment to 5.9 percent.

How much will this cost?

It depends on how long the crisis lasts. In Britain, assuming one million people need assistance for three months, the tab will be about $51 billion, or 2 percent of the nation's economic output. In France, the bill will be $21 billion for the next three months, but in Germany, because its benefits are so substantial anyway, the extra cost should be just $11 billion. Leaders are betting that their massive outlays now will allow their economies to bounce back quickly, since people won't have lost their jobs or homes. "If you ruin people's private lives and companies go bankrupt," Danish economist Flemming Larsen told The Atlantic, "it will take years to build this up again." But if the lockdowns continue longer than three months, or if the global economy falls into a depression that drags on for years, the toll for Europe could be in the trillions.

How will they pay for that?

The poorer countries like Italy and Spain  which are also some of the hardest hit by the virus  wanted the EU to issue "coronabonds" that would be dispensed to those nations that needed cash the most. But fiscally conservative Germany and the Netherlands balked, saying that would make them pay for profligate budgets they don't control. Instead, the European Commission plans to borrow $350 billion to provide a package of loans and grants to governments. To pay the loan back  the EU is not allowed to run a budget deficit  it proposes raising taxes on carbon emissions, plastics, or financial transactions, or some combination of those.

How does this compare with the U.S.?

Some economists say that the U.S. system will help the economy rebound faster than in Europe, because it will allow laid-off workers to go where they're needed in the postCOVID-19 economy, rather than trapping them in industries that might not fully recover for years. But the U.S. subsidies are far more expensive and complicated, and many workers and small businesses are falling through the cracks. The U.S., with a population of 328 million to the EU's 446 million, has already spent more than $2.6 trillion on coronavirus rescue loans and grants. The U.S. budget deficit is expected to reach at least $3.8 trillion this year. Nobel Prizewinning economist Joseph Stiglitz says the cost of following Europe's plan and paying workers directly would be "a fraction of what we're now spending."

Italy's anger at the EU

Italy has the highest death toll from the virus in Europe, at more than 28,000 as of May 1. But its rescue package of some $87 billion is smaller than that of other EU countries, because it simply can't afford much. Italian public debt was already some 130 percent of GDP and unemployment almost 10 percent before the crisis hit. The EU's insistence on providing loans, rather than direct cash, to hard-hit governments of member states has frustrated Italy and raised fears of renewed years of punishing budget cuts. As a result, simmering anti-EU sentiment is rising. An April survey found that 42 percent of Italians now favor leaving the bloc, up from 26 percent in November 2018. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte warns that the pandemic poses a serious threat to the already strained bonds holding the EU together. "It's a big challenge to the existence of Europe," he said.

This article was first published in the latest issue of The Week magazine. If you want to read more like it, you can try six risk-free issues of the magazine here.

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LUCKNOW: Over 1 lakh migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh stranded in different parts of the country following the coronavirus-induced lockdown will return to the state by Saturday night on 114 trains, a senior government official said.

Another 98 trains will reach the state on Sunday and Monday, while talks are on to allow 15 to 20 more, he said on Saturday.

"Till Saturday morning, 97 trains have reached the state and another 17 will reach by the evening.

With this, more than 1.20 lakh migrant workers and labourers will be back in the state," Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Awanish Awasthi said.

These trains arrived at 36 railway stations of the state, with Lucknow and Gorakhpur receiving 11 trains each, he said.

Awasthi said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has stressed that no migrant should undertake the journey home on foot or bicycle.

The government has also given permission for 98 more trains which will bring back migrants from other parts of the country on Sunday and Monday, he said, adding that talks are on to allow another 15 to 20 trains.

"We have made arrangements for the arrival of some 40 trains on a daily basis. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has asked (officials) to go ahead with this task of bringing back migrants in a more organised manner," he added.

In pursuance of a letter that the chief minister wrote to his counterparts in other states, Awasthi said, the Uttar Pradesh government is now getting lists of migrants in advance with medical certification.

All those returning undergo medical check-ups before they head to their native districts where they are again checked and then sent for home quarantine, he said.

The exercise of bringing back migrants from other countries will also start on Saturday night when the first flight from Sharjah will land at the Lucknow airport, the additional chief secretary, home, said.

For those returning from Sharjah, the Lucknow district magistrate has made arrangements for paid quarantine, he said.

Referring to Adityanath's meeting with senior state officials earlier in the day, Awasthi said the chief minister directed them to prepare a work plan for providing jobs to 20 lakh people.

There is a need for some changes in the labour laws which were recently approved by the state cabinet.

Earlier on Saturday, a special train carrying 1,176 migrant workers from Rajkot in Gujarat reached Uttar Pradesh's Ballia district.

Of the 1,176 workers, 420 are from Ballia, while rest are from Prayagraj, Fatehpur, Hardoi, Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Etawah and other districts.

The workers were screened at the railway station after their arrival, District Magistrate Hari Pratap Shahi said.

They were provided food packets and water before they left for their native places.

Some migrants who arrived on the train claimed they had to pay for their tickets.

Some passengers claimed that they had to pay Rs 725 as train fare to the Gujarat Police, Shahi said, adding that he had no information about it.
DES MOINES  Iowa posted a fourth straight day of double-digit deaths Friday from coronavirus, with the latest 12 deaths reported by the state Department of Public Health bringing the statewide death toll to 243 since COVID-19 was first confirmed on Iowa on March 8.

State health officials reported another 398 Iowans tested positive for the respiratory ailment, bringing that count to 11,457 of the 70,261 residents who have been tested  a rate of more than 16 percent. One in 44 Iowans have been tested for COVID-19 with 58,804 posting negative results, according to IDPH data. A total of 4,685 have recovered from the disease.

There were 407 Iowans who were hospitalized (with 34 admitted in the past 24 hours) for coronavirus-related illnesses and symptoms with 164 being treated in intensive care units and 109 requiring ventilators to assist their breathing.

Health officials said the 12 deaths reported Friday were: three in Woodbury County, two in Linn County and one each in Black Hawk, Dallas, Dubuque, Jasper, Louisa, Muscatine and Scott counties. No other information about the COVID-19 victims was available on the IDPH web site.

According to state officials, 51 percent of the Iowans who died from coronavirus have been male  the same percentage who have tested positive for COVID-19. Iowans over the age of 80 represent 46 percent of the COVID-19 victims, followed by 41 percent in the 61-80 age range.

A total of 28 long-term care facilities have reported COVID-19 outbreaks.

New state data indicates Iowans aged 18 to 40 have tested positive for coronavirus, followed by 37 percent in the 41-60 range. Counties with the highest number of positive test results were Polk (2,150), Woodbury (1,532), Black Hawk (1,463) and Linn (813).

Earlier this week, state officials revamped the data and available at coronavirus.iowa.gov with the new format no longer listing the age range or county of residence of Iowans who died from coronavirus and providing information using a different timeline than previously used.

According to the states coronavirus web page, a total of 331,186 Iowans have been assessed under the Test Iowa program initiated last month to ramp up testing starting with essential workers and Iowans showing COVID-19 symptoms.

During her Thursday media briefing, Gov. Kim Reynolds told reporters a backlog of test results that occurred due to validation of Test Iowa equipment has been caught up but some Iowans who participated in drive-through sites set up around the state indicated they still were awaiting results.

Reynolds spokesman Pat Garrett confirmed Thursday that "a very small percentage" of coronavirus test samples that were collected under the Test Iowa program could not be processed because they were potentially damaged, resulting in incomplete results.

The governor did not hold a daily media briefing on Friday due to scheduling conflicts created by Vice President Mike Pences trip to Iowa. Garrett said Reynolds would resume her COVID-19 briefings next week.
For our free coronavirus pandemic coverage, learn more here.

Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size It was three weeks before Dr Steve Burnell could talk about the 10 million coronavirus tests he had secured for Australia. Recruited by Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest last October from pharma multinational Roche's diagnostics team to work for the mining magnate's philanthropic arm, the Minderoo Foundation, Burnell was now running bidding wars against other countries worth hundreds of millions of dollars in the murky pandemic medical supplies market. His 30-strong team, charged with acquiring high-quality COVID-19 tests for Australia, was spooked by the aggressive international competition. France had secured tonnes of medical supplies in April, but the country was outbid by the US while the plane was on the tarmac. Dr Steve Burnell. Credit:Tony McDonough Burnell knew there was to be no public announcements, no fanfare, no celebration until the tests, the chemicals and the lab equipment had landed in Australia. Those tests and supply lines were under attack, says Dr Burnell. There were several countries that tried to interrupt Australia's supply line for these reagents and testing capacity. Not only did they want a piece of it, but would pay a whole lot more to put themselves at the top of the queue and break that order.

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The arrival of 10 million tests in Australia was overshadowed when Twiggy blindsided federal health minister Greg Hunt at what was meant to be a happy announcement by inviting the Victorian Chinese consul-general, Zhou Long, to share the stage. After weeks of growing tension between Australia and China over Beijing's lack of transparency on the coronavirus outbreak, one of its senior diplomats was suddenly on a podium with a cabinet minister talking about how transparent China had been. Hunt initially thought Zhou was a Fortescue employee. Forrest maintains Hunt knew the envoy was coming. The enormity of the 10 million test haul and its health and economic implications forced the government to accept a dual press conference and to allow the former Chinese cyber affairs coordinator to speak at an Australian government podium. Chinas consul-general for Victoria Zhou Long (right) and Health Minister Greg Hunt. Credit:AAP But behind Forrest's hijack of the press conference was a remarkable piece of business diplomacy. Australias Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy had warned the government in March that Australia faced a shortage of COVID-19 tests and lab supplies as countries put export controls on the suddenly rare commodity. State premiers and the Australian Medical Association said a shortage of reagents - the substance used in laboratories to trigger chemical reactions and diagnose COVID-19 - was felt nation-wide.

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The Australian government had only secured 500,000 tests by April, a fraction of what was needed to diagnose the spread of coronavirus throughout the population. That was when the federal government sought the assistance of Forrest, who has substantial business interests in China. Loading We were really tasked with a pretty large challenge in that period of very early April, Burnell says. We had weeks, not months or years. Flooded with demand from Asia, Europe and the United States, those supply chains were under intense pressure. Australia was finding it hard actually to secure supply of those critical reagents, he says. You needed agility, decisiveness, and a willingness to deploy resources and capital quickly to secure reagents, face masks or thermometers. Burnell was dialling into a meeting from his home in Perth in mid-April when he got the call that they'd found what they needed.

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Minderoo paid $320 million upfront to the Beijing Genomics Institute, a Chinese multinational, to expand Australias coronavirus testing capacity. Approximately $200 million, the cost of the tests, will be refunded by the Australian government, who will distribute them to state health services. The tests isolate the viruss genetic material, or RNA, and are on a list of legally supplied kits approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. A coronavirus testing lab, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, Sydney. Credit:Kate Geraghty The cost of the lab equipment and hospital-grade protective clothing in the crates has been underwritten so far by the foundation, although some of the equipment is expected to be bought by the federal government. Three weeks after that phone call, two days before the infamous press conference, Dr Burnell could finally speak about the 10 million tests he had secured - a 20 fold increase in Australias testing capacity. The last of 10 supply flights had finally landed. It was a remarkable coalition of the willing, he says. That included Qantas airlines, the Australian government, state governments, our two biggest clinical diagnostics labs, Sonic Healthcare and Helius, who very quickly stood up and made space for these tests to be installed.

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Today's aggressive philanthropic positioning once again puts Forrest right in the middle of evolving diplomatic and business interests. He is pitching himself as a middle man between an increasingly assertive China and a defensive Australia. Charismatic, driven and contentious, Forrest built a dedicated Fortescue railway in Western Australia when most told him it could not be done. Much of the hundreds of millions of dollars of iron ore that rolls along it now is heading for his largest market, China. Forrest is not usually shy of publicity, but he has been laying low since last week's press conference after significant blowback from government ministers. To observers, the conference stunt was vintage Twiggy. In 2014, he stunned the Pope and the Vatican by smuggling four Iranians to an anti-slavery event he threatened to cancel unless they were included - the episode threatened to spill over into a major diplomatic incident. It ended with a former close ally, Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, accusing Mr Forrest of using the Vatican. "A businessman has the right to make money but not by using the Pope," he said. Forrest denied there was any financial incentive to the anti-slavery campaign at the time. Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest at the Minderoo Foundation press conference with Health Minister Greg Hunt. Credit:AAP

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QUETTA, Pakistan (AP)  A small Pakistani separatist group claimed responsibility Saturday for targeting a security convoy with a roadside bomb that killed six soldiers, including an army major, in the country's southwest.

Friday's attack in Baluchistan province took place as the troops, who were assigned to search for smuggling routes and militants, were returning to their camp from a mountainous area near the border with Iran.

Baluchistan has for years been the location of a low-level insurgency by small separatist groups and nationalists who complain of discrimination and demand a fairer share of their provinces resources and wealth.

A statement from the Baluch Liberation Army said one army vehicle was destroyed in the Friday attack when the bomb installed by its members went off near the convoy.

The statement claimed the army major killed in the attack had recently led operations against local residents. The group said it will continue its struggle until the establishment of an independent homeland and a free society."

The Baluch Liberation Army has been operating in the province for the past several years. It usually targets security forces and authorities have said it has the support of foreign intelligence agencies.
CAMBRIDGE  Waterloo Regional Police are investigating a report of a suspicious male in the area of Soper Park in Cambridge.

A male  described as white, in his mid-30s, approximately six-feet tall, with a heavy build and a buzz cut  was reportedly following a woman walking her dog in the area at 11:30 a.m on Friday.

The woman left the area after having a brief verbal exchange with the male, according to a press release.

There were no physical injuries reported.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 519-570-9777 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

The male was last seen wearing a grey hoodie and dark sweatpants
President Trump accused Democrats in California of attempting to 'steal another election' after it was revealed mail-in ballots will be sent to every registered voter in the state.

His outbursts comes before a small, but significant election to replace former Democratic Congresswoman Katie Hill in the state's 25th Congressional District on Tuesday.

They also precede the controversial presidential election in November, which has dwindled down to a face-off between former Vice President Joe Biden and Trump.

But on Saturday, Trump focused on the upcoming congressional election and kicked off a Twitter rant by alleging that Democrats have rigged it.

President Trump (pictured) said Democrats in California rigged upcoming elections by reportedly opening a voting booth and called the alleged scheme a 'scam'

Trump: 'They are trying to steal another election. Its all rigged out there. These votes must not count. SCAM!'

'So in California, the Democrats, who fought like crazy to get all mail in only ballots, and succeeded, have just opened a voting booth in the most Democrat area in the State,' he wrote.

'They are trying to steal another election. Its all rigged out there. These votes must not count. SCAM!'

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Friday that the state will send every voter a mail-in ballot for the November presidential election.

The decision sets up a potential legal showdown over California's presidential election, as the move has been criticized by national Republicans as a pathway to possible large-scale abuse.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (on April 14) said Friday that all registered voters in the state will be sent postage-paid ballots for the November presidential election

For the CA25 election, Newsom has mandated all-mail voting.

President Donald Trump has been among the skeptics and has said that 'a lot of people cheat with mail-in voting.

Trump then announced his formal endorsement of US House candidate Mike Garcia, who will facing off against Democratic candidate Christy Smith for Hill's Congress seat.

In October 2019, Hill resigned from her position after DailyMail.com revealed controversial photos of her with a Nazi-era tattoo and smoking a bong. She was also photographed kissing a female staffer.

Former US representative Katie Hill (pictured) resigned from her position in October 2019 after a series of controversial photos were revealed

Trump formally endorsed Congressional candidate Mike Garcia on Saturday

Garcia doubled down on Trump's attacks and aimed them at his opponent, Democratic candidate Christy Smith

Trump encouraged his supporters to then mail in ballots, but warned to 'check that they are counted.'

'Mike has my complete & total endorsement. We need him badly in Washington. A great fighter pilot & hero, & a brilliant Annapolis grad, Mike will never let you down. Mail in ballots, & check that they are counted,' he wrote.

Around 20 minutes later Trump retweeted Garcia's Twitter attack against Democrats, who he said tried to change the rules by reportedly opening a polling booth after advocating for mail-in ballots.

'[Christy Smith] and her liberal Dem allies didnt say anything for weeks even though the polling places were in full view of the public,' Garcia said.

'Even after every voter received a ballot, they are desperate and trying to change the rules to steal an election. We cant let them succeed!!'

Trump seemed to summarize his grievances by tweeting 'CA25 is a Rigged Election,' but then lashed out at Newsom.

Trump continued to call the CA25 election on Tuesday 'rigged' on Twitter

'Governor [Gavin Newsom] of California wont let restaurants, beaches and stores open, but he installs a voting both system in a highly Democrat area (supposed to be mail in ballots only) because our great candidate, [Mike Garcia], is winning by a lot,' he wrote.

Christy Smith appeared to address both Trump and Garcia by suggesting they don't support minority voters.

'This president doesnt want a majority African American, Latino community to vote,' wrote Smith.

'Is this the official position of his chosen candidate [Mike Garcia]? In CA we believe in expansive voting rights. We also believe in states rights. Why dont you Mr. President?'

Trump blasted Gov. Newsom on Twitter by suggesting he's tried to steal the election from Garcia

Candidate Christy Smith hit back at both Trump and Garcia by suggesting their outrage came from wanting to suppress minority votes

Under Newsom's latest move, in-person voting places will remain available for those who might need them. Strict social distancing measures would be used at those locations.

With the state still under stay-at-home orders and facing a future of unknowns from the coronavirus outbreak, the Democratic governor said sending postage-paid ballots to every registered voter was the best solution to addressing the anxiety felt by many people about gathering in large groups that are breeding grounds for the virus.

It wasn't immediately clear how many would be available or where they would be located.

'Theres a lot of excitement around this Novembers election in terms of making sure that you can conduct yourself in a safe way, and make sure your health is protected,' Newsom said, according to SF Gate.

Newsom's decision was praised by Democratic Secretary of State Alex Padilla, who said there is 'no safer ... way to exercise your right to vote than from the safety and convenience of your own home.'

'But the prospect of mailing more than 20 million ballots to voters was already raising the possibility of a courtroom fight,' The Republican National Committee said it is reviewing its 'legal options to ensure the integrity of the election.'

The mail-in ballots were an effort to help assuage anxiety voter feel about large gatherings as the state is still under coronavirus lockdown. Mail-in ballots are shown being sorted in Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters in San Jose, California in 2016 (file image)

Jessica Millan Patterson, who heads the California Republican Party, pointed to problems with voting rolls and the so-called 'motor voter' program to register new voters.

A state audit last year identified technical difficulties that led to hundreds of thousands of discrepancies in voter registrations sent to the Secretary of State.

None of the discrepancies in roughly 3million voter records reviewed by auditors resulted in major voter registration errors, such as allowing someone to vote who should not have been allowed to cast a ballot.

But the audit only examined a set of registrations between April and September 2018 and did not rule out the possibility of major errors in other registrations.

'To mail out millions of ballots to voter rolls have proven to contain alarming errors throughout the state is not a task that these Democrats can adequately manage or safely execute,' she said in a statement.

Historically, there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud through mail-in voting. In the state's March primary, more than 75 per cent of California voters received a vote-by-mail ballot.

With the move to statewide mail-in ballots, California hopes to avoid the problems that plagued last month's Wisconsin presidential primary, where thousands of voters without protective gear were forced to wait for hours in long lines, while thousands more stayed home to avoid the potential health risks.

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 vast majority of people recover.

Newsom said in a statement that mail-in ballots 'arent a perfect solution for every person' and he hoped election officials and health experts would continue to 'create safer in-person opportunities for Californians who arent able to vote by mail.'

California is the first state to create a widespread mail-in ballot plan for the presidential election.

Health officials have warned that there could be a coronavirus resurgence around the time when voters would be heading to the polls.
Most Americans support the lockdowns and want the government to bring the coronavirus under control before opening up the economy. But most is not all, and a small minority is eager to end all the restrictions now, even as the virus spreads and Covid-19 caseloads continue to grow.

A small faction of that minority has taken to the streets in vocal opposition to stay-at-home measures and the politicians responsible for them. They carry guns and wave Confederate flags and denounce virus mitigation strategies as tyranny, an imposition on their liberty to shop, consume and do as they please.

The vast majority of these protesters  like the vast majority of those who want to prematurely reopen the economy  are white. This is in stark contrast to the victims of Covid-19 (who are disproportionately black and brown), as well as those who have lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic (who are also disproportionately black and brown), as well as those who have been or will be forced to work  or work more  as a result of reopening (the service workers and laborers who are again disproportionately black and brown).

Its true that not every racial disparity speaks to some deeper dynamic of race and racism. But this one does. I dont think you can separate the vehemence of anti-lockdown protesters from their whiteness, nor do I think we can divorce their demands to reopen the economy from the knowledge that many of those most affected belong to other racial groups. Its not so much that theyre showing racial animus (although some are), but that their conception of what it means to be free is, at its root, tied tightly to their racial identity.
Rights group condemns amendments to state of emergency, says government has used pandemic for new repressive powers.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has approved amendments to the countrys state of emergency that grant him and security agencies additional powers, which the government says are needed to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The changes on Saturday were condemned by a prominent rights group, which said Cairo has used the public health crisis to expand, not reform, Egypts abusive Emergency Law.

The new amendments allow the president to take measures to contain the virus, such as suspending classes at schools and universities and quarantining those returning from abroad.

But they also include expanded powers to ban public and private meetings, protests, celebrations and other forms of assembly.

The government has waged an unprecedented crackdown on dissent since 2013, when el-Sisi led a military coup that deposed his democratically-elected predecessor, President Mohamed Morsi, of the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood movement.

The amendments also allow military prosecutors to investigate incidents when army officers are tasked with law enforcement or when the president orders it.

The countrys chief civilian prosecutor would have the final say on whether to bring matters to trial.

The amended law would also allow the president to postpone taxes and utility payments as well as provide economic support for affected sectors.

Parliament, which is packed with el-Sisi supporters, approved the measure last month.

Egypt, with a population of 100 million, has so far reported about 8,500 COVID-19 cases [Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters]

Unauthorised protests have been banned for years in Egypt, which has been under a state of emergency since April 2017. The government extended it late last month for another three months.

The law was originally passed to give the president broader powers for counterterror measures and fighting drug trafficking.

The government said the amendments were needed to address a legal vacuum revealed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Egypt, with a population of 100 million, has reported nearly 8,500 confirmed coronavirus cases and at least 503 related deaths.

Repressive powers

However, only five of the 18 amendments are clearly related to public health, and the new powers can be used whenever a state of emergency is declared, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Some of these measures could be needed in public health emergencies, but they should not be open to abuse as part of an unreformed emergency law, said Joe Stork, the New York-based rights groups Middle East and North Africa director.

Resorting to national security and public order as a justification reflects the security mentality that governs Sisis Egypt.

In response to the pandemic, Egypt has halted international air travel and shuttered schools, universities, mosques, churches and archaeological sites, including the famed Giza pyramids.

A curfew is in place from 9am till 6pm local time. The partial lockdown is to continue for another two weeks, until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
On Friday, Gaylor Baird urged residents to remain vigilant and continue to take precautions even as the Lincoln area embarks on this phase of the pandemic.

"We should look at this period not as a temporary step, but as our now normal," Gaylor Baird said Friday.

As before, the new directed health measure will keep a limit on public gatherings to no more than 10 people.

Employees at all of the businesses freed by the looser restrictions in the new measure must not have a temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher when they report to work, under the order.

Face masks must also be worn by both employees and patrons at salons, massage therapy establishments, barbershops and tattoo parlors.

Beyond requiring people to wear face masks to receive service at those businesses, city officials encouraged everyone to begin wearing them while out in public as a way to keep others safe.

At the mayor's Friday coronavirus response briefing, Bill Johnson, a pulmonologist at Bryan Health, implored people to wear masks, both for their own safety and the safety of other people.
One of New Yorks most wanted fugitives was charged with double murder yesterday, police have revealed.

Harry Behlin, 46, was arrested in Columbus, Ohio, on April 17, after allegedly shooting Kevin Dillard, 21, in the neck, and Arnelle Branch, 17, in the chest.

The murder suspect has been accused of shooting the victims behind Parkside Houses in the Bronx, New York, after an argument on August 11.

Both victims were rushed to Jacobi Hospital, where they were both pronounced dead.



Police caught up with Behlin eight months later after he fled 567 miles and crossed state lines to Ohios capital Columbus.

On April 23 he was brought back to New York and charged with the murder.

The 5ft 1inch former fugitive was described as one of New Yorks most wanted at the time of his disappearance.

Behlin has served four state prison terms since 1992, including a 10-year sentence for attempted murder.

He has previously been convicted of the attempted criminal sale of a controlled substance.

He will face arraignment in a Bronx Criminal Court.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
Tamil Nadu on Saturday moved the Supreme Court challenging Madras High Courts order to close all state-run liquor shops and allow online sale of booze instead during the lockdown period, reported a news agency.

The Madras High Court on Friday had ordered the closure of the liquor shops observing their operation led to crowding in violation of the guidelines issued to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Citing reports that maintaining social distancing norms at the liquor shops had become difficult, the court had allowed doorstep delivery of liquor using online sales method.

Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC), which is the state agency in charge of the sale of alcoholic beverages in the state, has challenged the Madras High Court order and petitioned the Supreme Court for the permission to sell booze directly through shops as well.

The Madras High Court order was passed on a plea filed by advocate G Rajesh and another by actor turned politician Kamal Haasan-led Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM).

The HT Guide to Coronavirus COVID-19

The HC in its interim order on Wednesday declined to quash the counter-sale of liquor allowed by the state government from May 4 in accordance with the Central guidelines for the regulation of the third phase of lockdown. The guidelines allow for the reopening of liquor vends after nearly 43 days of closure in all three zones- Red, Orange and Green. It, however, specifies that the principle of physical distancing to prevent the spread of the disease must be observed at the shops.

Huge crowds have been witnessed at most state-run liquor shops in Tamil Nadu with people disrespecting the requirement for minimum physical distancing in violation of the guidelines. The move to allow the sale of liquor has been criticised by opposition parties in the state and others.

Also Read: Lockdown: Karnataka allows bars, clubs, restaurants to sell liquor as takeaway

Resuming hearing on the matter on Friday, the high court observed that there was a total violation of its interim order for strict implementation of all appropriate rules, and directed the shops to down shutters.

Tamil Nadu has registered a total of 7,654 cases of coronavirus so far including 40 deaths and is one of the five worst affected states in the country.

The Supreme Court, too, took note of the problem of crowding at liquor shops and asked states on Friday to consider other avenues of sales that do not involve direct contact.
DUBAI (Reuters) - Two people died after a 5.1 magnitude earthquake struck northern Iran in the early hours of Friday, sending people in and around the capital Tehran fleeing from their homes in panic, state television reported.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Two people died after a 5.1 magnitude earthquake struck northern Iran in the early hours of Friday, sending people in and around the capital Tehran fleeing from their homes in panic, state television reported.

At least 38 were injured, but there was no major damage from the quake and nearly 50 milder aftershocks that struck on the border of the provinces of Tehran and Mazandaran, it added.

The epicentre was south of Iran's highest peak, the snow-capped Mount Damavand, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The 5,761-metre (18,900-foot) mountain is volcanic, but Iranian officials said the quake was not triggered by volcanic activities.

The head of Iran's seismology centre said the strongest aftershock had a magnitude of 3.9 and suggested that weak aftershocks reduced the likelihood of a major quake in Tehran, which lies on or near several active fault lines.

"These aftershocks were a good sign that the (5.1 magnitude) quake was the main one, and that the aftershocks were going through their normal course ... although it would be very wrong to say that there is no danger of an earthquake in Tehran," Ali Moradi told state TV.

Soon after the quake struck, officials urged people who spent the night outdoors for fear of aftershocks to observe the social distancing mandated by the new coronavirus.

COVID-19 has killed 6,541 people and infected more than 104,691 in Iran, according to the Health Ministry.

Authorities also assured the public there was no shortage of petrol as people rushed to gas stations to fill up after the quake and many spent the night in their cars.

Those who died were a 21-year-old woman in Tehran who suffered heart failure, and a 60-year-old man in the city of Damavand, east of the capital, killed by a head injury, officials said.

Tehran province governor Anoushirvan Mohseni-Bandpey told state TV that four of the 38 people injured were hospitalised.

The earthquake caused cracks in some walls of the 19th-century Sahebqaraniyeh Palace in northern Tehran, one of the grandest palaces of the Qajar dynasty, the state news agency IRNA reported.

Crisscrossed by major fault lines, Iran is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world. In 2003, a magnitude 6.6 quake in Kerman province killed 31,000 people and flattened the ancient city of Bam.

The latest quake was at a shallow depth of 7 km (4.3 miles), according to the USGS.

(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Frances Kerry)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
The coronavirus pandemic is accelerating its deadly march across the world, reaching what seems to be virtually every corner of the globe.

But in terms of an enduring legacy, it may be in Brazils threatened Amazon rain forests where the damage to our planet will turn out to be most irreversible.

Not only has the gradual destruction of the Amazons fragile ecosystem contributed to the worlds climate crisis, experts now fear that further environmental disruption  which, shockingly, seems inevitable  may lead to new pandemics.

With the encouragement of Donald Trump, tyrants and autocrats the world over are using the pandemic as cover to punish political rivals, reward friends, suspend elections, increase police power and push through controversial policies in the dead of night that would otherwise be beyond their reach.

But nowhere is this most glaring than in Brazil, Latin Americas largest nation, led by president Jair Bolsonaro, sometimes referred to as Trumpinho in Brazil, or Little Trump.

A racist, far right homophobic former military officer, Bolsonaro revels in the same hostility to the environment, news media and women that Trump does  with both men regarding the other as a close friend.

The similarities dont end there. Like Trump, Bolsonaro has dismissed the threat of the coronavirus as mere sniffles  the country must face the virus like a man, damn it, not like a little boy, he says  and responded to Brazils soaring death rate with a shrug: So what? Im sorry. What do you expect me to do?

Brazil now has the highest number of cases in Latin America and is considered a major global centre of the pandemic. But taking its cue from an indifferent president, the country has been very slow to act, and a lack of testing suggests to health experts that Brazils actual numbers are much higher.

However, it is about the Amazon that much of the dark history of this pandemic may be written.

Bolsonaros government has long encouraged unrestricted development of the Amazon, but it is now using the coronavirus as cover to usher in new laws that would lead to increased occupation of Indigenous lands and deforestation of the region.

This week, a global coalition of artists, scientists and intellectuals sent a letter to Brazils president warning that the pandemic meant Indigenous communities in the Amazon faced an extreme threat to their very survival.

Brazilian photojournalist Sebastiao Salgado, who organized the petition, told The Guardian newspaper that illegal loggers, gold miners and land grabbers needed to be expelled from the Amazon to avoid a catastrophe: We are on the eve of a genocide.

As ominous, there is the now fear among experts that this deforestation of the Amazon may ultimately lead to new pandemics that could kill even more.

Scientists have warned for decades that as human beings move into the worlds forests, their risk of contracting viruses circulating among wild animals increases. These forests act as shields, keeping people safe from diseases and their destruction can unleash serious consequences.

That is what is potentially at stake as Brazils embattled president indulges his ignorance.

Beyond their personalities, the similarities between Bolsonaro and Donald Trump appear to be limitless. Not only are they leaders of this hemispheres largest countries, they both have the dubious distinction of not having a bright political future.

In the U.S., virtually every poll suggests that Trump will go down to defeat in Novembers presidential election. He will face voters with an economy as bad as it has been since the 1930s and a death toll from the pandemic that, by November, may approach 200,000.

Even in the United States, where stupidity among some voters seems to be a badge of honour, this is not exactly a recipe for political success.

As for Brazils Bolsonaro, he too will be eventually fade into oblivion. His approval ratings are sinking, there are threats of a looming impeachment and he seems doomed, as a low-rent version of Little Trump, to crash to the same type of defeat as his mentor when Brazilians next go to the polls in 2022.

But thats not really consoling, is it?

The overwhelming issue that will challenge us all  beyond the fate of Trump and Bolsonaro  is how much of their poisonous legacy will endure and be irreversible.

In terms of the Amazon  for the future of its Indigenous peoples, for the fate of our global climate and for generations of loved ones who we hope will live beyond us  we have every reason to worry.

Tony Burman, formerly head of CBC News and Al Jazeera English, is a freelance contributing foreign affairs columnist for the Star. He is based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: , formerly head of CBC News and Al Jazeera English, is a freelance contributing foreign affairs columnist for the Star. He is based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @TonyBurman

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Tony Vaccaros mother died in childbirth, and at a tender age he also lost his father to tuberculosis. By age 5, he was an orphan in Italy, enduring beatings from an uncle. As an American GI during World War II, he survived the Battle of Normandy.

Now, a celebrated wartime and celebrity photographer at age 97, he is getting over a bout with COVID-19. He attributes his longevity to blind luck, red wine and determination.

To me, the greatest thing that you can do is challenge the world, Vaccaro said. And most of these challenges I win. Thats what keeps me going.

Vaccaros grit carried him into a lifetime of photography that began as a combat infantryman when he stowed a camera and captured close to 8,000 photographs of mundane and horrific moments.

One of his famous images  Kiss of Liberation  showed a U.S. sergeant giving a kiss to a French girl at the end of the Nazi occupation.

He was the subject of a 2016 HBO documentary, Under Fire: The Untold Story of PFC Tony Vaccaro, and his images are displayed in such museums as the Pompidou Center in Paris and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Vaccaro documented the reconstruction of Europe and returned to the United States, where he became a fashion and celebrity photographer for magazines including Look, Life and Harpers Bazaar.

He has fond memories of his subjects and their larger-than-life personalities, including Sophia Loren, John F. Kennedy, Enzo Ferrari, Georgia OKeeffe and Pablo Picasso.

He and Picasso got along like two brothers. But the artist wouldnt relax during their photo shoot, so Vaccaro tricked him by pretending that his camera was broken and that his shots werent real.

He kept posing like male models. I didnt like that, Vaccaro said. I wanted real photography to be real photography. Honest photography. And thats what it turned out to be.

Vaccaro lives in Queens, a New York City borough ravaged by the coronavirus, and next to his son Frank, his twin grandsons and his daughter-in-law Maria, who manages his archive of 500,000 photographs.

This 1960 photograph by Tony Vacarro shows artist Georgia O'Keeffe posing with her painting "Pelvis Series, Red with Yellow" in Taos Pueblo, New Mexico. Vaccaro, 97, was thrown into WWII with the 83rd Infantry division which fought, like Charles Shay, in Normandy, and then came to Schmetz's doorstep for the Battle of the Bulge. On top of his military gear, he also carried a camera, and became a fashion and celebrity photographer after the war. COVID-19 caught up with him last month. Like everything bad life threw at him, he shook it off, attributing his survival to plain "fortune." (Photo courtesy Tony Vaccaro via AP) (AP)

He might have caught the virus in April from his son or while walking in their neighborhood, his daughter-in-law said.

He was in the hospital for only two days with mild symptoms and spent another week recovering.

Then he surprised everyone by getting up and shaving.

That was it, she said. Hes walking around like nothing happened.

The family is working on another documentary that looks at his life before and after the war, but the pandemic has stopped production because its not safe to bring a film crew into the apartment.

We joke that Tony survived COVID-19 because he wants to tell the rest of his story, said Maria Vaccaro.

But it also has reminded him of his good fortune.

I really feel I have luck on my back, he said. And I could go anywhere on this Earth and survive it.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)

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The Headmaster of the Koforidua Senior High Technical School (SECTECH), Mr Samuel Prince Folley, has revealed that bedbug infestation in the school sometimes compelled students to sleep in the schools dining hall before the closure of schools on March 16 as a result of the COVID-19.

He said with the high incidence of bedbug infestation, students found it extremely difficult to sleep, especially at night, adding that the situation was also taking a toll on academic work.



Mr Folley made the revelation during a fumigation and disinfection exercise in senior high schools (SHSs) in the Eastern Region last Thursday by Zoomlion Ghana Limited.



Exercise



The exercise formed part of efforts by the Ghana Education Service (GES) to rid SHSs in the country of bedbugs, and to also help contain the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic when students are called back.



About 14 SHSs were covered on the day, and they included the Oyoko Methodist SHS, Universal SHS, Oti Boateng SHS, SDA SHS, Liberty Specialist Institute, Hyundai Koica Technical Institute and Pope Johns SHS.



The rest are Ghana SHS, New Juaben SHS, Moses Accountancy SHS, New Juaben College of Commerce, School For the Deaf and the Pentecost SHS.



Rodents



Apart from the issue of bedbugs, Mr Folley indicated that his school was also grappling with how to deal with rodents.



Against that backdrop, he commended the GES and Zoomlion Ghana Limited for the initiative.



He was upbeat that the exercise would help rid the school of bedbugs.



On post-COVID-19, the headmaster of SECTECH disclosed that the school had bought a number of Veronica buckets, soaps and alcohol-based hand sanitisers.



Points



Mr Folley said they would be placed at vantage points to for the students to use as part of measures to contain the spread of the virus.



However, he admitted that it would be difficult for the students to observe the social/physical distancing protocol, attributing that to high student population and the lack of adequate dormitories.



At the Pentecost SHS, the Headmaster, Mr Peter Atta Gyamfi, described the exercise as timely, adding that it would help get rid of bedbugs from the school.



He, therefore, urged the GES to ensure that fumigation of SHSs was periodically done.



He stated that the coronavirus pandemic had affected students, particularly those in their final year. That notwithstanding, he was hopeful that things would return to normal for academic work to continue.



Preparations



For his part, the Headmaster of Oyoko Methodist SHS, Mr Frank Nkum Eyiah, indicated that his administration had put in place a plan that would adequately prepare, especially the final year students, for their examinations.



A similar package, he added, would be made available to cater for SHS One and SHS Two students respectively, to help them catch up for what they have lost over the period.

Source: Daily Graphic









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Maharana Pratap was the ruler of Mewar and is considered to be one of the most valiant Hindu kings during the Mughal rule. Maharana Pratap was born on May 9 in 1545. The day is remembered for his undefeated courage and spirit.

On Maharana Pratap Jayanti 2020, here are some lesser-known facts about the king.

1. Prataps father was Rana Udai Singh, who founded the city of Udaipur.

2. He is believed to have been of grand stature. Standing tall at 7 feet 5 inches, Pratap weighed about 110 kgs.

3. While neighbouring Hindu kingdoms had surrendered to the Mughal superpower led by Akbar, Maharana Pratap kept resisting.

4. It was his dream to avenge the annexation of Chittor. He made a pledge to eat in a leaf plate and sleep on a bed of straws till he frees Chittor.

5. Maharana Pratap fought against Akbars army in the famous war of Haldighati in 1576 and faced defeat. Thereafter, he fled to the hills. Mewar was left at the hands of eventual decline.

6. By 1584, Pratap had managed to win back most of his strongholds as Akbar was preoccupied in Punjab at that period of time.

7. Despite having defeated Pratap on the battlefield, Akbar could not get hold of the Rajput king till his last breath.

8. Maharana Pratap died of an injury received while tightening the string of a bow for hunting in the year 1597.
The philanthropic scions of Big Oil have done well by doing good.

Since their surprise decision in 2014 to sell off investments in fossil fuels, the heirs to the Rockefeller oil fortune say their $1.1 billion family fund has outpaced financial benchmarks, defying predictions of money managers.

Stephen Heintz, president of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, said the financial performance should bolster those trying to stop investment in industries linked to climate change. "This has become not a symbolic gesture as might have been viewed at time we announced," Heintz said. "It's become a movement."

No other name reverberates in the oil industry quite like Rockefeller. John D. Rockefeller Sr. built the Standard Oil empire 140 years ago and became one of the richest Americans in history. An antitrust case in 1911 resulted in the break up of the trust into the companies that later became Exxon, Mobil, Amoco, and Chevron, among others.

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund, founded in 1940 by five sons of John D. Rockefeller Jr., became interested in global warming in 1986 but sharpened its focus on sustainable development and climate change starting in 2005. The fund spends about $15 million each year on grants to support climate change solutions globally.

Several years ago the leaders of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund decided they wanted to match their programs' priorities with their investment strategy.

"We were extremely uncomfortable with the moral ambivalence of funding programs around the climate catastrophe while still being invested in the fossil fuels that were bringing us closer to that catastrophe," Heintz said.

Since changing its strategy, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund has cut its endowment's exposure to fossil fuel companies from about 7 percent in 2014 to less than 1 percent of its holdings today. It has ramped up investments consistent with the fund's mission to $178.2 million by March, including renewable energy in Africa, workforce housing in the United States, services for the poor in India and Latin America, pollution control in Europe and a variety of other renewable energy projects.

At the same time, the fund's assets grew at an annual average rate of 7.76 percent over the five-year period that ended Dec. 31, 2019. The fund's benchmark investment portfolio, made up of 70 percent stocks and 30 percent bonds, would have returned only 6.71 percent annually over the same time frame.

Valerie Rockefeller, a great great granddaughter of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. and chair of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund board of trustees, believes he would approve. He gave lavishly to education, medical research, public health and charity. And his son John D. Jr.,, a conservationist, bought and protected tens of thousands of acres he later gave to the National Park Service. But, Valerie Rockefeller said, "climate change doesn't respect those boundaries." She said her great great grandfather would be investing in renewable energy today.

In 2014, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund's decision to divest from fossil fuels grabbed attention because of its historic name and the family's connection to the oil business. In the five years since, however, many other philanthropic organizations have followed suit and the volume of investments subject to similar restrictions has mushroomed.

Pavel Molchanov, an analyst at the investment firm Raymond James, said that the change "is under appreciated." He said that 26 percent of all U.S. professionally managed assets worth $12 trillion are covered by some kind of investing limitations, or screens, triple the amount in 2012. Within that $12 trillion - the largest slice - $3 trillion - is centered on climate, he said.

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund hired an outside firm Agility to manage its endowment as a separate account. Its instructions were to divest from fossil fuel stocks without hurting the fund's returns or contributing to volatility.

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund is also using a portion of the endowment for "impact investing," lending or investing money in projects consistent with the mission of the organization - without compromising on returns. Valerie Rockefeller said that about 15 percent of the endowment is devoted to projects such as clean energy technology and sustainable water use.

To some extent, Agility benefited from changes in oil markets. In February 2014, when Agility took over management of the endowment, the price of crude oil was above $100 a barrel. prices plunged and ended that year at half that level. Several coal companies, including the giant Peabody, have gone bankrupt; those that have reemerged have come out much smaller. In the coronavirus pandemic, the price of crude tumbled further.

But the fund directors believe there's more than good luck involved. Christopher Bittman, a partner at Agility, said that three quarters of the endowment's outperformance against its benchmark has been smart choices while only a quarter resulted from fossil fuel divestments. "It's been very good timing on the part of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, but that is only part of the story," Bittman said.

Increasing attention to climate change has spread the idea that many of the assets or reserves on the books of big oil and coal companies might never be tapped, but rather would be left in the ground and "stranded."

Even the CNBC television investment guru Jim Cramer earlier this year declared big oil companies to be bad investments. "I'm done with fossil fuels," he said on Jan. 31. Later Cramer compared fossil fuel companies to tobacco stocks that many investors, including pension funds, are unwilling to buy. Big oil companies, Cramer said, "may just be on the wrong side of history."

Also in January, BlackRock, the world's largest investment management firm overseeing about $7 trillion, announced it would exit some investments related to coal production and make sustainability a central part of its portfolio. "I believe we are on the edge of a fundamental reshaping of finance," wrote BlackRock chief executive officer Larry Fink.

Many endowments - including most of the leading universities - remain unwilling to divest from fossil fuel stocks, saying that it would be the beginning of a slippery slope. Some activists have demanded the selling off of Puerto Rico bonds or stock in gun manufacturers. Others want to cut off academic exchanges with Israel.

"The endowment is a resource, not an instrument to impel social or political change," then-Harvard President Drew Faust declared in 2013.

That is one reason the Rockefeller Brothers Fund is highlighting its returns over the past five years. "I think universities and other nonprofits respond not only to moral but economic arguments," Bittman said.

The upheaval in markets since the coronavirus pandemic has taken hold only makes the case for divestment stronger, Bittman said. Crude oil demand has collapsed and storage tanks are being flooded. Prices have dropped sharply. "The energy market has changed fundamentally over last month or so," he said. "Markets are really struggling with how to price the future."

Heintz said that in 2014, many people called the divestment "a symbolic gesture." He said "yes but don't underestimate the value of symbols to motivate people, inspire change, and tell a story that can be very compelling."
A Tale of Two Mothers

Quick question. What is the name of Moses mom? Most people dont know the answer because when we are first introduced to Moses, we know she was there but we dont know her name. You have to go to Numbers 26:59 to find that her name is Jochebed.

When you read the story of Moses birth in Exodus 2, you learn that he was born during a time when every male Hebrew boy was thrown into the Nile and killed. His mom tried to hide him, but after three months she couldnt hide him anymore. So, she did something interesting. Jochebed put him in a basket and placed him in the reeds along the banks of the Nile river. The place that was marked as a place of death, became the place Moses got life.

As the story goes, Pharaohs daughter finds Moses and takes him as her son. Moses sister was following the scene and asked Pharaohs daughter if she should get someone to nurse the baby and Pharaohs daughter said yes. Guess who she went to get? You got it: Jochebed. She was able to nurse her son and when he got older, he became the son of Pharaohs daughter.

Hannah, Samuels mother, was married but could have no children. This situation tormented her. You can read about it in 1 Samuel 1. In her distress, she cried out to God and he blessed her by giving her a son, whom she named Samuel (which means asked of God or heard by God). Hannah made a promise that if God gave her a son, she would give him to the Lord all the days of his life and that is what she did. Samuel went on to become one of the great prophets in Israel.

Two very different stories, yet two very incredible moms. And both of their stories and choices mattered. I want to share with you three important ways these moms mattered and also why you matter.

Photo credit: Getty Images/monkeybusinessimages
Is the day after the worst jobs report in history too early to ask when the economy is going to recover?

Yes.

But is it too early to try to figure out how were going to come back?

No.

So given those two caveats, what does a Road to Recovery for America begin to look like?

Im asking this as the pandemic continues to ravage our nation, killing municipal workers, medical personnel, patients in nursing homes, workers in meatpacking plantsand lets be clear, potentially anybodyby the tens of thousands. Some 76,000 Americans have been felled by COVID-19 and experts say the toll could be close to double that by the end of August.

As for the economic fallout, thats horrific in its own way. A record 20 million Americans lost their jobs last month. Unemployment spiked to 14.7%, the highest its been since 1939 (17.2%), and were likely to approach or exceed the ignominious record of 24.9% in 1933 during the depths of the Great Depression.

If 2008/2009 was the Great Recessionand it certainly will be determined that were in a recession now (the dismal scientists call it after the fact)what are they going to name this? The Mild Depression?

Whats truly terrifying about the job losses is how across-the-board they are. Its not just restaurant and hospitality workers. Manufacturing and even health care are getting hit. (No doctors offices and elective surgeries.) Another bad sign is that folks are self-reporting their condition of unemployment as temporary but as Neil Irwin of the New York Times points out, its hard to see how so many unemployed people wont lead to a drop in demand which will make the downturn and employment worse.

Industries across America shed millions of jobs. (Yahoo Finance)

Before we get to the way forward, lets be honest about a few things. Fact One: We were ill-prepared for this. Who could have predicted this, you ask? Actually all kinds of people didBill Gates and Tony Fauci to name just twoand we ignored them and/or disbanded our systems when we did prepare.

Other countries like Vietnamwhich has a population of 97 million, shares a border with China, has zero reported deaths from COVID-19 and is now reopeningwere ready. I know we dont live in an authoritarian society, but who says we have to? Just take pieces of that countrys processes, like rigorous quarantine, contact tracing and testing.

Story continues

And Fact Two: We have responded poorly. Even leaving aside what you think about the job President Trump has done, our federalist system doesnt much lend itself to a crisis like this. Name another country with such strong regional autonomy as our 50 states. Then theres our spirit of the individual thing. The American way we call it. Sure its what made our country great. But heres the thing, this you-cant-tell-me-to-stay-inside-or-wear-a-mask-or-get-a-vaccine stuff, doesnt cut it. What we need is a little more yes-maam-what-can-I-do-to-help-make-things-better?

Not only do we need more testing and contact tracing, which challenges our hard-wired notions of individuality, but we have to kickstart a collectivist mindset, something we frankly havent tapped into since World War II. (Yes, this really is 100-year stuff.)

Its important to reopen, slowly

Louise Sheiner, policy director for the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution has written an excellent paper, The ABCs of the post-COVID economic recovery, which frames the various roads back. The best economic outcome is one where the only GDP effects we have are from social distancing, Sheiner says, speaking to the snap-back theory which she considers unlikely. The worst scenario she says would be a depressed economy where the virus doesn't go away, or people dont go to school for a long time, theyre out of work a long time, and we lose human capital.

This is a time she says where the government must spend. We might make big mistakes and say we cant afford to do relief. Id say we cant afford not to.

And so where are we right now? We appear to be at the end of the beginning, says Glenn Hutchins, co-founder of Silver Lake Partners and namesake of the aforementioned Hutchins Center. Now it is time to start thinking about going back to work. I'm thoroughly convinced that sometime, let's call it at most two years from now, we will have had the right kind of capacity built to be able to live a normal life, to be able to really rebuild the American economy and get stronger and more prosperous than we were before.

Between now and then though get ready for a time of epic change. Our theory is that this time will dramatically accelerate changes that have slowly been happening, says Sung Park, CEO of Boston-based Farma Genetix. The death of apparel retail and the mall, massive failures of small higher education institutions, the acceptance of tele-medicine, the concept of remote working, the decline of the oil and automobile culture, income inequality, etc

And theres more too. City living may be less desirable, ditto for working in offices, riding mass transit, going to restaurants and theaters, getting a haircut or even wearing a suit. (Heres a favorite recent headline from the Department of Opportunism: Denim CEO Says Dress Pants Arent Coming Back After Covid-19.)

The question becomes how do restaurants make money with 50% less customers (i.e. socially distanced)? Or landlords managing offices with 50% less people working? Or city bus systems? Completely unclear. What I do know though, is that the smartest minds on the planet are working on these opportunities not problems. (You knew I was going to say that.)

It really is true though.

A sign reminds the public of social distancing rules but most businesses remain closed along the Third Street Promenade shopping street in Santa Monica, California on May 8, 2020, as some retailers across the state have been allowed to reopen today, while observing rules for the new normal such as facemasks, social distancing and curbside pickups in an effort to restart California's economy, ravaged from the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

So how to proceed? I think we need to go very, very slowly with reopening this economy, Melinda Gates told me. We should be talking about what's safe, and what is the most safe for families. We successfully kept certain parts of our economy open; our health care system, grocery stores and pharmacies. What are the next safe places? How and where might you start to open things up?

Its important to reopen, slowly, where you can, because we don't want to have so many people unemployed. We don't want to have kids going hungry. We don't want families struggling to put a meal on the table. But we can't do it in terms of, Hey, you know, we're gonna just quickly reopen this place because it's important for the economy. No, it's important to keep the American people first and foremost safe. And it's a balance, and we have to talk about that balance.

As the leader of an iconic institution, Stacy Cunningham, president of the New York Stock Exchange, is on the front lines of this kind of decision-making. This is a very personal pandemic, she says. It's impacting people, both their personal safety and their personal economics at the same time. And there's going to be personal decisions by how people want to choose to re-engage with society. So while we'll open the floor [of the NYSE], everyone will also make a unique decision around when they come back. What I'm hearing from the floor broker community is a real eagerness to get back. It's a very patriotic group and they're really looking forward to getting back as quickly as possible.

Everyones going to have to think differently. The main thing we've been asking ourselves is what are all the activities we've been doing that clearly weren't value-added, says Jimmy Haslam, CEO of the Pilot Flying J truck stop chain and owner of the Cleveland Browns. I think we'll look at travel much differently than we did in the past. I'm cautiously optimistic that we can come out of this, as will other companies, sleeker.

And by the way Jimmy, what about football? That is the question I get most often, he chuckled. I would be cautiously optimistic that we would have games.

And speaking of football, what about opening up colleges and universities? Its not easy, but it is happening. In Connecticut, a committee chaired by Richard Levin, former president of Yale University, delivered a set of recommendations to Governor Lamont on how to reboot the states colleges and universities which employ 45,000 and account for $10 billion of spending. (FYI, college football is going to be tough to pull off this fall.)

But lets forget about football, business and the economy for a moment. Now is a time to consider much more than that. What you hope is as you go through this, people are reflecting on things that are most important in their lives, says former Ohio Governor John Kasich. Weve heard about: keeping up with the Joneses. To do what? To achieve what? To accomplish what? I think there are many, many more people appreciating family, appreciating silence, and moments of personal reflection. I think thats happening. Coming out of this I would love to think the very spirit of the country, who we are, can be renewed.

Yes governor, thats how were going to get through this.

And that, is the real American way.

This article was featured in a Saturday edition of the Morning Brief on May 9, 2020. Get the Morning Brief sent directly to your inbox every Monday to Friday by 6:30 a.m. ET. Subscribe

Andy Serwer is editor-in-chief of Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter: @serwer.

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Linkedin Kharishar Kahfi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 9, 2020 13:39 620 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd6eb787 4 National Garuda-Indonesia,Emirsyah-Satar,Corruption-Eradication-Comission,KPK,bribery-case,money-laundering,Jakarta-Corruption-Court,tipikor,Rolls-Royce,Airbus Free

The Jakarta Corruption Court has sentenced Emirsyah Satar to eight years in prison after finding the former president director of Garuda Indonesia guilty of accepting Rp 49.3 billion (US$3.4 million) in bribes and laundering Rp 87.5 billion related to aircraft procurement.

The court has also fined Emirsyah Rp 1 billion and ordered S$2.1 million in restitution, as reported by Antara news agency.

The sentence was smaller than what KPK prosecutors sought. They advocated for 12 years of imprisonment and a fine of Rp 10 billion based on Emirsyah having received bribes from British engineering company Rolls-Royce in connection with the procurement of aircraft parts and from European aviation giant Airbus in connection with aircraft procurement, among other sources.

According to the verdict, one of the reasons for the lighter sentence was Emirsyahs role in bringing Garuda Indonesia recognition as a prestigious airline in the world. Judge Anwar read the verdict during a hearing on Friday.

Both the defendant and KPK prosecutors told the court they would take time to consider before appealing the verdict.

Read also: After 3 years, KPK concludes probe into Rolls-Royce bribery case implicating ex-Garuda boss

The KPK indicted Emirsyah for accepting Rp 8.8 billion, US$882,200, 1 million euros and S$1.18 million in bribes on five separate occasions while procuring airplanes and parts.

The antigraft body also named former Garuda engineering and management director Hadinoto Soedigno and former Garuda executive project manager Agus Wahjudo as Emirsyahs co-conspirators under the bribery charge.

The KPK accused Emirsyah of laundering Rp 87.4 billion through multiple channels and also implicated Soetikno Soedarjo, the former president director of diversified retail holding company PT Mugi Rekso Abadi.

The antigraft body stated that a portion of the money was changed into several different foreign currencies and transferred to multiple overseas bank accounts in violation of Article 3 of the 2010 Money Laundering Law.

Read also: Emirsyah Satars case not related with corporate activities: Garuda

In a separate hearing on Friday, the corruption court gave Soetikno six years in prison and a Rp 1 billion fine for bribing Emirsyah and contributing to the money laundering committed by the former Garuda president director.

The verdict was lower than the KPKs demand of 10 years in prison and a fine of Rp 10 billion. The bench did not grant prosecutors wish of US$14.7 million and 11.6 million euros in restitution for Soetikno.

Soetikno and the antigraft bodys prosecutors said they would take time to consider before filing an appeal against the verdict. (kuk)
The Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) has decided to postpone the process of filling online application forms for all university exams

The Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) has decided to postpone the process of filling online application forms for all university exams. The decision comes after the University Grants Commissions guidelines on examinations and the decision taken by the Maharashtra government in this regard.

Students will be notified when further orders are received. All colleges affiliated to the university are advised to inform their students about this, read the notice by the university.

For more information, students can visit the official site of the Savitribai Phule Pune University.

The Savitribai Phule Pune University has also postponed the examination process for all the institutes affiliated to it. The new dates are likely to be announced after the COVID-19 lockdown is lifted.

Late last month, UGC had advised universities all over the country to conduct semester exams in the month of July in either online or offline method. The suggestion came in view of the coronavirus situation in the country. The commission also urged all varsities to reduce the total duration of exam from three to two hours.

Click here for Coronavirus Outbreak LIVE Updates

Another important recommendation made by the body was for universities to evaluate intermediate semester students on the basis of internal assessment and conduct exam for only the final semester students.

In states where the COVID-19 situation is under control, UGC said even exams of intermediate semester students can be conducted in July.

Universities may adopt alternative and simplified modes and methods of examinations to complete the process in a shorter period of time, UGC specified.
Cafes and restaurants are set to slowly reopen over the next few weeks with some states easing COVID-19 restrictions sooner than others.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Friday a three-step plan to relax restrictions by July.

National baseline rules will be relaxed in a staggered rollback, with less risky activities such as dining at cafes and restaurants to be restarted sooner than others.

However state government will decide when it is appropriate for eateries to reopen.

People living in Queensland, Northern Territory and South Australia, will be allowed to head out to brunch a lot sooner than those living in Victoria and New South Wales.

Cafes and restaurants are set to slowly reopen over the next few weeks with some states easing restrictions sooner than others

People living in Queensland, Northern Territory and South Australia, will be allowed to head out to brunch a lot sooner than other states like Victoria and New South Wales

Queensland

The Sunshine State announced dining at restaurants, pubs, clubs, RSLs and cafes will resume on May 16.

Although it is good news for food lovers, diners will be limited to 10 people at any one time.

Though the limit will be raised for outback dining with the maximum capacity set at 20.

'The [outback] mayors have been onto me and I have to acknowledge that this is a different situation to the rest of Queensland because there are no quarantine cases,' Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.

Ms Palaszczuk noted the reopening would pave the way to job renewal and slowly repair a devastated hospitality industry.

'There are thousands of people working in those industries and people and businesses want certainty, so this gradual return to some form of normality in our post-COVID world would look a bit different but we will back each other and get through this together,' she said.

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory proved it was ahead of the pack and eased stage one restrictions at the start of May - this allowed limited outdoor activities.

The state frontrunner has now set its sights on lifting stage two restrictions next week.

Restaurants, bars, clubs, cafes and pubs will finally reopen their doors on May 15.

That also includes consuming food or drinks in a shopping centre food court.

With the reopening comes certain conditions such as a two hour time limit for patrons and 1.5metre social distancing.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner encouraged patrons to help revitalise the state's economy.

'Territorians have [a] responsibility to get out, buy local, back a local, and do it safely,' he said.

'They need you to buy from them, so a meal and a parmy, a beer and a parmy, that's the order.'

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Friday a three-step plan to relax restrictions by July

South Australia

Only restaurants and cafes with outdoor dining will reopen from May 11.

Alcohol will not be served to patrons and a cap of 10 people will be set in the venues.

A limit of one person per four square metre restriction will also remain in place.

South Australian premier Steven Marshall noted the state would be pushing for stage two rollbacks as soon as possible.

'Many [cafes and restaurants] have had outdoor tables and chairs which they've had to lock up, we're allowing this in the first instance,' he said.

'I think it will be a welcome increase to allow patrons to sit at outdoor dining.

'I can't imagine people will be satisfied with this for too long, that's why we've already started discussions with industries and in particular, pubs and clubs, for [stage] two so we can get them up and running.'

Tasmania

Tasmania will begin to ease restrictions on eateries from May 18.

Pubs, clubs, hotels, restaurants and RSLs will open their doors to the public, though with similar restrictions to other states.

A cap will be set at 10 people, social distancing will be enforced and only table service will be provided.

'This is a sector of our community that has been hit hard,' Premier Peter Gutwein said.

'We will continue to march to the beat of our own drum here in Tasmania.

'If we find we can't move on something based on Public Health advice, then we won't.

'Through all those three stages, I would encourage vulnerable people with underlying health conditions to limit their exposure to other people and stay home where they can.'

The Sunshine state announced dining at restaurants, pubs, clubs, RSLs and cafes will resume on May 15 (stock image)

National baseline rules will be relaxed in a staggered rollback, with less risky activities such as dining at cafes and restaurants to be restarted sooner than others

Western Australia

Western Australia has taken a slower approach as cafes are still only allowed to serve takeaway to its customers.

Food courts and food vans are also limited to takeaway services.

Though Premier Mark McGowan will provide an update on easing restrictions on Sunday.

Australian Capital Territory

The Australian Capital Territory has not yet indicated when restaurants will resume operations.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr suggested any changes would be made in line with neighbouring states Victoria and New South Wales.

'Were we to reopen bars and restaurants, but they remained closed in NSW, then we would get quite an influx of people into the territory and that would lead to an increased risk,' Mr Barr said in the past.

Concessions have been made on gatherings, with groups of up to 10 people allowed to meet indoors.

Though Mr Barr has warned this is no excuse to throw a party.

'The easing of restrictions on gatherings is not, it is absolutely not, a licence for people from multiple households to have a party,' he said.

'No house parties. If people do that, they will undermine all that we have achieved as a community over the last several months.'

The new 'roadmap' - which will be reviewed every three weeks - will only guide state and territory leaders, who will then decide when to implement each stage in their own jurisdictions

New South Wales will not relax any coronavirus restrictions until next week, Premier Gladys Berejiklian (pictured Friday) said

Victoria

No announcement has yet been made as to when eateries will reopen.

Victorians will have to wait until Monday when Premier Daniel Andrew is expected to give more details.

'I know, I know that everyone would love to be back at the pub, or at a cafe, or at a restaurant  I get it, I understand it,' Mr Andrews said.

'We've come too far to let everything back because we're frustrated,' Mr Andrews said.

'I think Victorians will stick with these rules, as challenging as they are, as frustrating as they can be, because they know they're working.

'When I have more to say about cafes and restaurants, about gatherings, inside and outside, when I have more to say about all the elements of that top line in that three-stage framework, I will do that. And that process will begin on Monday.'

New South Wales

People in New South Wales will also have to find other ways to pass the time with no announcements made on lifting restrictions further.

Following the national cabinet announcement on Friday, premier Gladys Berejiklian released a statement to provide further details about the restrictions.

'The NSW Government has already eased a number of restrictions listed under the first stage of the plan.

'As I stated earlier this week  there will be no further change to restrictions in NSW this week.

'NSW will continue to keep our citizens updated on our path forward.'
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky launched the project of memorial symbols, within the framework of which it is planned to establish bells in Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk region and Zakarpattia region. Zelensky said this in an appeal on the occasion of the Victory Day.

Today, with faith in our goal, I am announcing the draft memorial symbols. As part of it, we want to install four bells in Ukraine. Yesterday I was in the Luhansk region, near the first village, where the liberation of Ukraine began in 1942. And there will be the first bell was installed - the Memory Bell. Today I am in Zakarpattia, near the place where the expulsion of the invaders ended. The Victory Bell will be installed here," the president said.

We believe and will do everything so that the day will definitely come when two more bells will be installed: the Peace Bell in Donetsk, nd the Unity Bell in Simferopol. And at the time when peace comes in Ukraine and we will return our people and our land, four bells at the same time will share news about this significant event in the history of Ukraine, Zelensky added.

As we reported before, as of now, it is too early to talk about the opening of the entry-exit checkpoints in Donbas, as the deadlines are tied to the lockdown in Ukraine.
Have Sheriff Offices in North Carolina, possibly even Beaufort County's Sheriff Office, become too political in the discharging of their sworn constitutional duties?

No, the sheriff is a constitutional officer.

Yes, the Sheriff Office, on strong occasion, often reverts back to political patronage in the dispensation of their sworn constitutional duties.
India is in the seventh week of the lockdown. During lockdown 2.0 and 3.0, many economic activities have been permitted with certain safeguards. In rural areas and in green zones, almost all economic activities are now allowed but these are not proving to be enough to lift the tempo of our nations production cycle. It is estimated that nearly 15-20 crore people are sitting at home without any avenue of productive economic activity. Certainly, this situation is not sustainable for long and some well-considered and bold decisions have to be taken to pull the country out of this state at the earliest.

Today the decision makers are caught in the catch-22 situation. If the government reopens the economy and the virus spreads rapidly leading to a large number of deaths, they will be criticised for opening the economy too early. And if they do not open the economy, the economic situation will undoubtedly worsen and possibly lead to catastrophic results. No doubt, the number of coronavirus infected persons has increased to beyond the 50,000 mark and the number of fatalities are nearing 2,000. But the question is should we or should we not extend the lockdown further and with what restrictions?

During the past three months, the world has learned a lot about this Sars-CoV-2 virus; its nature, pathology and measures to help serious patients recover. The Indian Council of Medical Research has already recommended prophylactic doses of Hydroxychloroquine and Azithral for doctors, nurses and paramedics taking care of coronavirus patients. In various countries, medicines such as Remdesivir, Lopinavir-Ritonavir, Plasma therapy and antibody injections have been tested to treat coronavirus patients and have been found to be quite useful in treating acute coronavirus patients. Several coronavirus vaccines are at an advanced level of trials. Several Indian pharma companies are hopeful that sooner than later, India will be producing vaccines for its population. All these developments give rise to the hope that in the fight against this virus, the victory is in sight.

Experts across the world are of the opinion that infections of coronavirus, for unknown reasons, have been very mild in India. Our hospitals have not been overwhelmed by coronavirus patients anywhere, As per the information available in public domain, there are still very few coronavirus patients requiring ventilator services. The Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan hospital in Delhi has arranged 80-odd ICU beds with a ventilator facility. But there are never more than single digit patients requiring ventilator support. The same is true for almost all the major coronavirus hospitals across the country. So it can be inferred that the impact of Covid-19 in India is mild and the number of patients who require ventilator services has been negligible in our context. Now compare it with tuberculosis, or TB, which causes more than a thousand deaths every day in our country. We have more than 25 lakh confirmed cases of TB even today. Fortunately several potential medicines for treating corona are beginning to appear on the shelf, and as per available indications, vaccines for this virus will be out in the market sooner than anybody had expected.

No doubt the lockdowns have served the purpose, but now the country has to focus on the economy. Daily wage earners are on the verge of starvation, the number of unemployed has reached an all-time high and supply chains are completely disrupted. To reverse the situation, all economic activities need to be opened up except cinema halls, sports, educational institutions that can open after some time. Restrictive opening is not helping the cause. People have fully understood what they need to do to prevent getting infected, now they should be tasked to follow the necessary precautions at their workplace. Testing and treatment facilities for all those showing symptoms have to be ensured in all government and private hospitals.

The central government has lost nearly Rs 3 lakh crore by way of revenue and states nearly Rs 2 lakh crore that will need to be recouped by borrowing from RBI directly, so that the government system comes back to its optimum health. Businesses, small and big, will need to be provided loans for their working capital requirements without any delay. The labour force is desperate and eager to go back to work. They have survived the worst.

Time and again, countries, societies, businesses, people have gone through these kinds of situations and with prudent handling, they come out strong. The time has come to prove again that nothing is beyond collective human endeavour. Finally we have had enough of this all pervading coronavirus fear, now we need pragmatic, positive and bold action.

(VS Pandey is a former IAS officer. He retired as secretary, department of fertilisers in the Government of India)

The views expressed are personal
There will be many changes for the worse when we finally creep out of lockdown and realise that the economy has gone into shrink mode.

There will be fewer jobs to go to and some of the local businesses we once supported  cafes, restaurants, local bookshops  will no longer be there. Gone for good. Finito. All rather depressing and, some would say, all unnecessary.

There is also no doubt that cash will be a 'victim' of coronavirus. More retail businesses  what's left of them  will become contactless payment-only as they spurn cash for a mixture of reasons, including health issues (however misguided that may be) and convenience.

Cash trends: Access to cash will shrink as more bank branches are closed and unprofitable cash machines are removed from our streets, says Jeff Prestridge

Also, as I reported in this column seven days ago, access to cash will shrink as more bank branches are closed and unprofitable cash machines are removed from our streets (if you see a purple square on the outside wall of a NatWest branch, it's where an ATM once resided).

Such trends  less banks, fewer ATMs  are unfortunate but inevitable as banks cut costs against the backdrop of a financially challenged economy.

Even the network of post offices, a vital financial hub in most communities, will come under threat as some of the small retailers that host them fall by the wayside.

Yet it's not total gloom on the access to cash front. For a while, UK Finance, the banking industry's mouthpiece, has been looking at ways of keeping cash on the high street.

It has put together a panel under the chairmanship of Natalie Ceeney to assess how communities  towns and villages especially  can ensure cash lives on, enabling a mix of small businesses, residents, market traders and local charities to carry on with their financial lives.

For a long while, Ceeney has argued that cash will disappear from our economy unless we actively protect it, an argument the Government supported before coronavirus weaved its evil way into our nation's fabric.

Her role at UK Finance as chair of its 'community access to cash initiative' panel will now allow her to come up with solutions and test them to see if they are practical and can be rolled out on a national basis.

Everything is being considered from free cashback facilities made available in every community through to 'shared' bank branches where all or some of the big banks club together to run a 'community' branch that can be used by all their customers.

Head of the Access to Cash review Natalie Ceeney has argued that cash will disappear from our economy unless we protect it

For the panel to test these ideas, it wants to hear from up to 20 communities  via individuals, business leaders, council members  that are keen to keep cash alive and would like to have a banking presence on their high street.

It will then use these communities as locations to test 'pilot' access to cash schemes. If the pilots work, they could then gain national traction.

Derek French, a former bank manager and a longstanding campaigner for shared bank branches, is enthused by UK Finance's initiative.

He believes it could finally pave the way for a national network of community bank outlets. He senses that some banks, with branches ripe to cull, are coming round to his way of thinking.

Two communities keen on being pilots are Westbury in Wiltshire, and Barton-upon- Humber  the southern gateway to the Humber Bridge.

Westbury, synonymous with the White Horse, has lost all four of its banks in recent years.

Like nearly all communities, it has some social deprivation issues, but there's money in the town and the presence of a big manufacturer in Anchor Butter as we are reminded every time we open one of its tubs: 'Welcome to Westbury, Wiltshire... where Anchor butter is made using 100 per cent British milk.'

In Barton-upon-Humber, one bank (Lloyds) remains although a mobile NatWest branch did visit until coronavirus garaged it.

So, if you are keen for your community to be a 'pilot', I urge you to make an application via communityaccesstocashpilots.org.

The deadline is the end of the month. In applying, you could be part of a banking revolution that helps save cash and keeps a banking presence on our streets  coronavirus or no coronavirus.
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide has told Orji Uzor Kalu, former governor of Abia, to return all that he took from the state.

The group in a statement on Saturday, said Kalu, who is now the chief whip of the senate, should endear himself to the people as the new Mandela of Africa.

This comes after the supreme court dismissed Kalus conviction over alleged fraud and ordered a retrial.

Kalu was convicted in 2019 by a federal high court in Lagos for N7.1 billion fraud and subsequently sentenced to 12 years in prison after standing trial on a 39-count charge preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

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In the statement, Obinna Achionye, deputy president-general and Okwu Nnabuike, secretary-general of the youth council, said the apex court upturned the conviction after persuasive pressure from groups and stakeholders.

The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide has described the Supreme Court Ruling that quashed the Conviction of Senator Orji Uzor Kalu as the collaborative persuasive Pressure from Groups and stakeholders to ensure that the maverick Politician should regain control of his freedom but cautioned that he should desist from Smearing the image of Abia State Government but enter into plea bargain with the EFCC and return all the money he allegedly took from the Coffers of Abia State Government, the statement read.

Read Also: BREAKING: Supreme Court Nullifies Orji Uzor Kalus Conviction

This is the only way for him to be totally free from the hook of EFCC and Abia State Citizens Verdict as Posterity will be kind to him.

Ndigbo had been at crossroads without a political rallying point, since the demise of Igbo legends  Dim Chukwuemeka Odiegwu Ojukwu, Former Vice President, Dr Alex Ekwueme, Col Joe Achuzie and Justice Ezebuilo Ozobu.

Orji Kalu should rise up above party politics and loyalty and support every collective commitment and interests of Igbos as it will heal the wounds of his past and perceived misdeeds done in error.
Cheers

Cheers to College of Southern Idaho graduates. You didnt get the commencement ceremony you wanted or the one you deserved. Celebrating your accomplishments with your family and friends is just one of the many rights of passage stolen by COVID-19 this year. But even though you didnt get all the pomp and circumstance that normally comes with a college degree, you can still say you did it. Youve taken a huge step to improve your future job prospects, income and more by completing college. And whether this is just the beginning of your higher education, or youre heading into the workforce, we say: Cheers, congrats and job well done.

Jeers

Jeers to NIMBYers. Were talking about those who want growth in Twin Falls, just not in my backyard. New projects should be questioned  and thoroughly. And we think opposing opinions are healthy (just look at this Opinion page). But these questions and oppositions should come from facts, not fear.

The Masqueray Lofts project includes two 56-unit, five-story apartment buildings along Seventh and Eighth avenues, near City Park. At a virtual Planning and Zoning meeting this week, 29 people spoke  many opposing all or part of the project and some with false information. Suggesting that people in low-income housing will bring drugs, crime and lower property values is just incorrect and downright offensive.

Cheers

We want to give a cheer of encouragement to teachers this week. This weird school year is winding down. An Idaho Ed News article this week found that hundreds of Idaho children are unaccounted for in the switch to distance learning. In the Twin Falls School District, there have been 143 students (out of 9,500) who arent in touch. While not bad, the numbers are concerning. We have seen teachers feeling hopeless over kids they couldnt reach. We know youre doing your best during this, and we know youre coming up with new and innovative ways to reach out to all students.

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Bray Air Display will not go ahead at all this year, organisers have announced.

The event was due to proceed on July 25 and 26. The committee decided last month to cancel those dates but had hoped that the show could go ahead in the autumn.

They have now announced that the air display will now be postponed until 2021.

'After very careful consideration, the unprecedented impact of the global pandemic has forced this decision in the interests of the health and safety of spectators, participants and the organising team,' said organisers in a statement. 'We will focus our energies on creating a spectacular event for 2021 when we hope to celebrate happier, safer times.'

Spokesman for the event Mick Glynn said that last year 120,000 people attended over the course of two days.

'We had hoped that we might be able to do something smaller in September, but logistically that isn't possible,' said Mick.

He said that administration around the event includes 13 weeks notice for the event licence. There would also be difficulties around social distancing, including on public transport to get people in and out of the town.

There would also be performers travelling to Ireland from other countries, and commercial airlines will probably not be back up and running. 'Everyone is expecting a quiet summer now and that's it,' said Mick, who said that the focus is now on organising a spectacular air display for next summer.

The decision to cancel the event follows restrictions on gatherings of over 5,000, expected to extend until at least September.

Supported by the Irish Aviation Authority, the line-up was to include some of the most skilled aerobatic performers from across the world and involve over 40 aircraft.

The annual event also includes food and craft markets, bounce world and funfair rides.

Bray Air Display won silver in 2019 in 'Best Tourism Initiative' at the All-Ireland Community and Council Awards.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-10 01:17:05|Editor: huaxia

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BISHKEK, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved 121.1 million U.S. dollars in emergency assistance under the Rapid Financing Instrument and Rapid Credit Facility for Kyrgyzstan to address the COVID-19 pandemic, the press service of the IMF Representation in Kyrgyzstan reported Saturday.

The report said that this is the second IMF emergency loan for the Kyrgyz Republic since the outbreak of the pandemic. Earlier, on March 26 this year, the IMF Executive Board approved a disbursement of 120.9 million U.S. dollars.

This additional disbursement brings the total IMF emergency loan to the Kyrgyz Republic to address the COVID-19 pandemic to 242 million U.S. dollars.

The outbreak of the pandemic has weakened the macroeconomic outlook and opened a balance of payments gap estimated at about 500 million U.S. dollars. There is an unprecedented high level of uncertainty surrounding this projection. The IMF emergency support will finance health and economic relief, shores up confidence, and catalyzes donor support, the report said.

A total of 931 COVID-19 cases have been registered in Kyrgyzstan, while 658 have recovered and 12 have died. Enditem
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 9)  Following the detection of COVID-19 in a passenger of a sweeper flight from Manila, the city government of Davao wants stricter measures to prevent the entry of infected individuals.

The city government in a statement on Saturday said it will request the national government to prohibit the "boarding of individuals in Manila going to all the local destinations without a confirmed RT-PCR negative result."

Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction or RT-PCR tests are considered the gold standard for coronavirus testing because it can detect the actual presence of the virus, even when the patient is asymptomatic or not showing any symptoms. It is deemed more accurate than a rapid test, which detects the presence of antibodies that a persons body may not be able to produce during the early stages of infection.

Earlier this month, Cebu City reported that 17 overseas Filipino workers who arrived there were diagnosed with the coronavirus disease, after testing negative from a rapid test in Manila.

The Davao City government encounters a similar case. It said an individual who was on board a sweeper flight from Manila on May 6 recently tested positive for COVID-19 through an RT-PCR test. The individual was asked to undergo swabbing at the Southern Philippines Medical Center after failing the city's health screening. The patient is now under quarantine.

"We remind all the passengers of the May 6 flight from Manila if they develop symptoms within 14 days to go to SPMC for assessment," the city government said, stressing that they should avoid contact with other people, including their family members.

"Other people can distinguish these [newly arrived] individuals with the indelible ink on their left index finger. If you see anyone with this mark, please do not go near them for the next 14-21 days," the city government added.

It also said it will raise the incident to the regional task force. According to the Department of Health, there are 57 active coronavirus disease cases in Davao City. Sixty-seven people earlier recovered from the viral illness, while 19 died.

Nationwide, the number of COVID-19 cases rose to 10,463 on Friday, with 696 deaths and 1,734 recoveries. The entire country is under general community quarantine, while Metro Manila and several provinces with the most infections are under stricter measures to prevent further spread of the virus. OFWs are allowed to return to the country, but they can only go home after completing a 14-day quarantine period where they will be observed for coronavirus symptoms.
Speaking at a conference discussing State management in the first four months of 2020 held by the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), Hung asked the information and communications industry to seize this golden opportunity to make break throughs and take the lead in the nations digital transformation.

According to the minister, the information and communications sector, utilising technologies, newspapers and communications, have contributed a lot during the previous waves of COVID-19, helping Vietnam to gain initial control of the epidemic.

With socio-economic activities to be resumed, the industry must make a major contribution to this successful restart, Hung stressed, adding that the information and communications sector should join in both the epidemic prevention and economic development processes to achieve the Government's double goal.

The minister went on to say that the industry has recently developed quite a lot of software applied in preventing and fighting COVID-19, with some open source software having been shared with the international community.

In August, the first Vietnam Open Source Congress will be held aimed at building the strategy for national open source development. This is an opportunity for "Made in Vietnam" to master digital transformation platforms for each industry and each field, Minister Hung stated.

He asked Vietnamese digital businesses to accelerate the development and mastery of digital platforms as the mastery of Vietnam's digital transformation platform is considered the most important factor in the transformation process.

Regarding 5G deployment, it is expected that Vietnam's 5G equipment will be tested on the network in June and the country will commercialise 5G with Vietnamese equipment at a defined scale by October, Hung announced.
'This week's conflict between courts is technical and legal - but the underlying issues are political.' (stock photo)

The German Constitutional Court is doomed to come off worst in its scrap for seniority with the Courts of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).

The EU court is the decisive authority in the interpretation of EU law. The knockout blow may well come in the form of enforcement action against Germany, which will be heard by the CJEU if and when the Commission finds the resolve to take on Germany.

The Commission will have to stand by the EU institutions, even though that highly sensitive action could poison the well of national politics in the EU's most important member.

This week's conflict between courts is technical and legal - but the underlying issues are political.

The original case was taken by German citizens aiming to curtail what is perceived by many in the country as ECB debasement of what they regard as a fundamentally German funded currency. Any response seen to coerce Germany risks compounding that perception - with stark electoral implications.
The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, says the federal government needs to re-engage the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello so h...





The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, says the federal government needs to re-engage the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello so he can allow officials of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, test residents for COVID-19.





Recall that the NCDC officials sent to the State had returned to Abuja after Bello ordered them to go into isolation and take the COVID-19 test.





However, Ehanire said the federal governments effort to support the State with regards to COVID-19 had failed.





The Minister spoke during the daily briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja, yesterday.

He said: We tried to send a team of the Ministry of Health and the NCDC into Kogi yesterday but there were some differences there to processes.





This will mean that we need to re-engage the state governor again and work with him and his team to create the conditions to which the Ministry of Health and the NCDC can complete their job.





The agreement we had with them after discussions with the Governors (Kogi and Cross River) is that we should send a delegation to the states just to validate the facts.





Of course, we need that for our national records and to be able to report to the world what the situation is in our country because by now the whole world knows that we do not have any record from these two states.





Kogi and Cross River are the only two States yet to record an index case of COVID-19 since the pandemic broke out in Nigeria.
The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.

TOP OF THE HOUR:

 China reports 30 new coronavirus cases, no deaths.

 Countries and U.S. states moving to reopen gradually amid warnings.

 President Trump to ask Harvard to refund multimillion-dollar grant.

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BEIJING  China on Wednesday again reported no new deaths from the coronavirus, but registered 30 more cases  23 of them brought from abroad.

Of the domestic cases, all seven were reported in Heilongjiang province near the Russian border where a field hospital has been set up to deal with a new flare-up related to people coming home from abroad. Just over 1,000 people are hospitalized for treatment, while about the same number are under isolation and monitoring as either suspected cases or after testing positive but showing no symptoms.

China has reported a total of 4,632 deaths among 82,788 cases, the bulk of them in Wuhan where officials recently raised the death toll by 50% after a review of records.

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TOKYO  Japanese officials said 33 more crew members on an Italian-operated cruise ship docked in southern Japan have tested positive for the coronavirus, one day after the first case from the ship was reported.

The Costa Atlantica has been docked in Nagasaki since late January for repairs and maintenance by the Mitsubishi Heavy Industry. The potential for an outbreak surfaced Tuesday when a crew member, identified only as a foreign national, tested positive for the virus.

The ship carries 623 crew members, including a Japanese translator, and no passengers. So far 34 crew members have tested positive, while 25 others were negative. One result was pending.

None of the crew members had serious symptoms and they are being self-quarantined in single rooms on the ship, officials said.

Mitsubishi officials said only crew members without a record of traveling to high-risk countries such as China and Italy in the past two weeks who showed normal body temperature have been allowed to go on and off the ship. The company on Tuesday said no crew members had left the ship since mid-March.

Story continues

Nagasaki officials said they are investigating how and where the crew members contracted the virus.

As infections in Japan continue to spread nationwide, the outbreak on the cruise ship adds to concerns about testing and hospital capacity in Nagasaki, where only 102 beds are available. All of Japan is now under a coronavirus state of emergency.

Earlier this year, a U.S.-operated cruise ship carrying more than 3,700 people quarantined in Yokohama, near Tokyo, had 712 cases in a massive on-board outbreak. Separately, Japan has about 11,500 cases, with 280 deaths.

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SEOUL, South Korea  South Korea has reported 11 new cases of the coronavirus and one more death, bringing its national totals to 10,694 cases and 238 deaths.

Wednesday marked the 21st day in a row that the daily jump in infections was below 100. They continue to wane in the hardest-hit city of Daegu, which reported just one new case.

South Koreas Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said at least 1,017 cases were linked to passengers arriving from abroad, with most of the cases detected in recent weeks in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area.

With its caseload slowing, South Korea has begun to relax social distancing guidelines amid concerns over the pandemic's economic shock.

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OLYMPIA, Wash.  Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says the state won't be able to lift many of the stay-at-home restrictions implemented to fight the coronavirus by May 4, when the current directive is set to expire.

But he hopes health modeling in the coming days will allow the resumption of some activities such as elective surgeries and outdoor recreation.

In a televised address Tuesday evening, Inslee also announced a plan to have about 1,500 workers focused solely on contact tracing in place by the second week of May. The effort would involve state employees from the Department of Health, local health jurisdictions, members of the Washington National Guard and volunteer health care providers.

The Seattle area saw the nations first large COVID-19 outbreak, and so far Washington state has more than 12,280 confirmed cases and at least 682 deaths.

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BEIJING  State media reports that the capital of Chinas northeastern Heilongjiang province bordering on Russia is tightening rules on coronavirus prevention and control in the city following a rise in cases.

Urban residential compounds in Harbin and villages on the outskirts have been ordered to restrict access and install monitoring equipment on the doors of people who have been forced to self-quarantine at home for up to 21 days. Monetary rewards are being offered to anyone reporting violators.

With domestic cases dropping to near zero in other parts of the country, Heilongjiang has become the latest hot spot, mainly due to Chinese citizens flying in from Russia. The land border has been closed and a field hospital was built to handle patient overloads.

China reported 30 new cases on Wednesday, including 23 from abroad. Of the remaining seven domestic cases, all were in Heilongjiang, part of what was formerly known as Manchuria.

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CANBERRA, Australia  A senior Australian minister has rejected Chinese criticisms that Australia is parroting the United States in calls for transparency on the origins of the coronavirus.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Wednesday described Chinese Foreign Ministry criticisms as unwarranted and unjustified.

The Chinese ministry has criticized Home Affairs Minister Peter Duttons call last week for China to be transparent about the origins of the virus.

Frydenberg told Australian Broadcasting Corp., Duttons role, the prime ministers role, my role, and all our colleagues roles, is to defend the Australian national interest, and thats what well continue to do, and well speak up about it as required.

Duttons call for Chinese transparency came after U.S. officials revealed intelligence agencies were assessing whether the respiratory virus escaped from a biological laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the pandemic began.

The Chinese ministry said Dutton had obviously received some instructions from Washington.

These days, certain Australian politicians are keen to parrot what those Americans have asserted and simply follow them in staging political attacks on China, a ministry spokesman said in a transcript posted on the Chinese Embassy in Australias website.

The ministry has also attacked Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne over her call this week for an independent review into the origins of the virus, including Chinas handling of the initial outbreak.

The ministry said her remarks are not based on facts.

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WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump is placing a 60-day pause on the issuance of certain immigration green cards in an effort to limit competition for jobs in a U.S. economy wrecked by the coronavirus.

The move is an effort to limit competition for jobs in a U.S. economy wrecked by the coronavirus. Trump said it would not impact those in the country on a temporary basis and would apply only to those looking for green cards in hopes of staying.

An administration official familiar with the plan said it would include suspending employment-based green cards and green cards for relatives of green card holders who are not citizens. The official spoke on condition of anonymity before the plan was announced.

But Americans who wish to bring immediate family to the country would still be able to do so. It's unclear how long the restrictions would last.

About one million people were granted green cards last year.

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NEW ORLEANS  The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana urged the New Orleans Police Department to abandon plans to set up checkpoints where police could determine whether motorists are wearing seat belts and verbally provide information about city stay-at-home orders.

Rather than stopping the spread of COVID-19, these checkpoints will exacerbate it by needlessly increasing the interactions between police and the public, Alanah Odoms Hebert, ACLU of Louisiana executive director, said in a news release questioning the constitutionality of checkpoints.

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WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump says he will ask Harvard University to repay money it received as part of a coronavirus relief package.

And Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says that while some big businesses have obtained access to government loans, the intent of relief efforts was not for big public companies to get loans through the Paycheck Protection Program.

The White House comments come amid media reports that some of the money intended for small business loans went to larger entities.

Harvard is going to pay back the money. They shouldnt be taking it, Trump said.

He said the university has a large endowment to rely on.

But Harvard University said in a statement after Tuesdays briefing that it has not received, nor asked for any money designated for small businesses.

Like most colleges and universities, Harvard has been allocated funds as part of the CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, the university said, adding that 100% of the money will be used to provide direct assistance to students facing urgent financial needs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The school also stressed that the financial assistance provided by the government is on top of support the university has already provided to students.

Mnuchin said he wants to make sure money goes to small businesses and that more than one million companies with fewer than 10 workers have received loans.

Congress is trying to meet huge demand for the small business loan program with legislation that passed the Senate on Tuesday and is expected to pass the House later this week.

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MINNEAPOLIS  Muslims in south Minneapolis will be able to maintain safe physical distance during the call to prayer throughout the holy month of Ramadan.

The call to prayer will be broadcast by speaker five times each day to allow neighborhood residents to pray together.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey facilitated the noise permit after the community requested the service. The Council on American-Islamic Relations paid for the audio equipment for the broadcasts from a mosque.

The broadcasts are expected to reach thousands of residents while allowing them to maintain safe physical distance for prayer during the coronavirus pandemic.

Ramadan starts Thursday and ends May 23.

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KITTY HAWK, N.C.  Officials in one county on North Carolinas Outer Banks plan to open a town to non-resident property owners this week, while a second county said it will open up to owners there next month.

Dare County announced it would permit non-resident property owners to return beginning on May 4. A statement from officials there said it will address access for visitors at a later date.

Currituck County announced on Monday that it will reopen the town of Corolla to non-resident property owners on Thursday and to visitors on May 15, The Virginian-Pilot reported.

In the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, both counties established checkpoints on U.S. Highway 158 at the Wright Memorial Bridge to control the spread of the virus. Opposition to the checkpoint led the Currituck County Board of Commissioners to announce its move affecting Corolla.

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UNITED NATIONS  China said this is a time for solidarity and cooperation, not finger-pointing and politicization as its top diplomats in New York officially handed over a donation of medical supplies to hard-hit New York City to help tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

Consul-General Huang Ping recalled at Tuesdays online ceremony that Chinas President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump called for anti-epidemic cooperation between our two nations and the world in their last phone call on March 17.

After weeks of elaborate praise of president Xis performance in the pandemic, Trump has turned to blaming China and halting U.S. contributions to the World Health Organization, accusing it of parroting misinformation from Beijing.

Huang said the American people helped China without hesitation when it was in great difficulty, and its consulate and U.N. mission have donated 25,000 N95 masks, 2,000 protective suits, and 75,000 pairs of medical gloves, which reached New York last weekend.

According to incomplete estimates, Huang said, China has also donated 1,000 ventilators, 6,550,000 masks, 310,000 pairs of surgical gloves, 150,000 goggles and 32,000 protective suits to the United States, much of it to New York.

As the two biggest economies in the world, China and the United States need to lead the effort to fighting the coronavirus, Huang said.

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SALEM, Ore.  The White House told governors their leadership is critical in testing for the coronavirus, providing a map showing that Oregon is among four states with the lowest testing capacity in the United States.

Oregon, Montana, Oklahoma and Maine are able to test fewer than 30 in 1,000 people a month, according to an email sent Monday by the White House coronavirus task force.

The states with the highest monthly testing capacity  more than 90 in 1,000 people  are Wyoming, Utah and Vermont, the email said.

Rapid and efficient testing is needed to identify where the virus is emerging and allow authorities to track people who may have been exposed, according to the email, which Gov. Kate Browns office released after a public records request by The Oregonian/OregonLive. Testing also gives states a tool as they decide when and how to start lifting stay-at-home orders.

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock said the number of testing machines is only part of the equation to get full capacity.

All the machines in the world wont make a difference if we cant get the test kits and other supplies needed to run the tests, Bullock said.

Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee said the White House email does nothing to answer the repeated calls from governors" to address the lack of supplies and personnel needed to take advantage of lab capacity.

The White House acknowledged those shortages in the email and said it was working to address those issues.

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico  Puerto Ricos health secretary has revised the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases after acknowledging double counting last week.

Lorenzo Gonzalez said Tuesday that the number of cases dropped to 915 from 1,298 as revisions continue. This means the U.S. territorys coronavirus fatality rate has increased with at least 64 deaths reported. Officials note that more than 1,700 test results are pending.

Puerto Rico has the lowest per capita testing rate compared with any U.S. state, with some 11,800 people tested on the island of 3.2 million inhabitants.

Gonzalez also said he expects the nearly two-month lockdown that expires May 3 will be extended to June 1, although with some modifications amid pressure from business owners. The governor is expected to make a formal announcement in upcoming days.

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LONDON  The British government is providing funding for studies of potential vaccines against the new coronavirus, one of which will start Thursday.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said at the governments daily press briefing that the U.K. is at the forefront of the global effort to find a vaccine and will provide financial assistance for the research being conducted at Oxford University and Imperial College London.

The project at Imperial will receive 22.5 million pounds ($28 million) while Oxfords will be granted 20 million pounds ($24.5 million). The Oxford study is slated to start with healthy volunteers on Thursday.

Hancock also said that the government will invest in manufacturing capacity in the event any of the vaccine candidates work.

However, he cautioned about the prospects of success, saying the process of vaccine development is one of trial and error and trial again.

Several studies of other vaccine candidates already are underway in the U.S. and China.

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RALEIGH, N.C.  Hundreds of people frustrated with Gov. Roy Coopers stay-at-home order designed to blunt COVID-19 marched on Tuesday around his home, demanding that he cancel it now to unleash the states economy.

Carrying placards and banners and chanting, the protesters gathered in a parking lot before being escorted by Raleigh police motorcycles to walk through streets downtown, including those surrounding the Executive Mansion. The final participants in the ReopenNC crowd, while raucous at times, ultimately dispersed peaceably about three hours later.

Coopers current order expires April 29, but the governor has said expanded widespread testing and supplies, extensive contact tracing and slowed case and hospital rates are needed before movement and commerce restrictions can ease. Cooper told reporters later Tuesday that the state hasnt done that yet. He said that he would release more specifics this week about the goals that must be met to loosen the controls.

I know that many people are frustrated, anxious and eager to get back to work and school. I also know that many people want to make sure that their families are as safe as possible from this virus, Cooper said.

___

Follow AP news coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
Everyone is observing social-distancing rules in Egypt to halt the spread of the COVID-19 this Ramadan. Study in schools and universities has been suspended, the number of workers in government departments has been reduced, large numbers of workers in the private sector and companies have been trained to work from home, some have decided to stay at home until the situation becomes clearer, and all large gatherings have been cancelled.

But informal workers and those working on a daily basis may be suffering more than most as a result of the lockdown, sometimes being short of money and not knowing where the next meal is coming from. This is where the mobile application TeKeya founded by 32-year-old Cairo resident Menna Shahin can help.

It all started when I was at a sushi restaurant in Cairo, and I was shocked by the large amounts of food left over that were being thrown into the trash. I asked one of the workers if I could buy the food at a reduced price, but I didnt have any luck. It was then that I discussed the idea of an application to fight food waste and to use it to help feed others with my husband. He liked the idea, and we joined forces and he became a co-founder of TeKeya, Shahin said.

Shahin launched TeKeya in April last year to fight food waste and to decrease the amount of CO2 pollution created by excess food being produced and thrown away. Since its launch, the application has saved thousands of surplus meals, either donating them to charity organisations feeding the needy or selling them at reduced prices to customers while reducing Egypts CO2 footprint.

The products offered on the application are often nearly expired food items, including unserved ready meals or baked goods in restaurants, items that have been kept in the refrigerator for a while, the remains from open buffets and more, Shahin said. All of this material is perfectly edible, but it cannot be kept for longer in the wait for customers.

We are working with three types of food providers  hotels, restaurants and grocery stores. Hotels mostly have larger amounts of food that we help to channel to charity organisations in the form of donations. For the other segments, we help providers to sell their items at reduced prices using the TeKeya application. We dont include food leftovers in the project. We use high-quality food that might otherwise go to waste, she added.

This Ramadan, with the mix of the COVID-19 pandemic and the sometimes large amounts of food waste that can take place during the holy month, TeKeya decided to launch a triple-target campaign called the TeKeya Challenge that aims to increase awareness about reducing food waste from homes and restaurants, providing ready hot meals for medical staff and troubled people due to the coronavirus, and offering help to the elderly who may not be able to shop easily or have the know-how to use online shopping.

We have concluded agreements with providers including supermarkets, restaurants and supply companies. A bunch of them have already made a deal with TeKeya to offer meals and Ramadan bags. The meals are to go to staff in hospitals who dont have the time to get their own iftar meals in Ramadan and dont want to order delivery meals because of social-distancing and to poorer people and casual workers. Our volunteers provide aid in delivering and handing over the meals, as well as following up on the elderly who request help in ordering or getting their shopping from the supermarket, Shahin said.

The TeKeya team has had few difficulties convincing food retailers and restaurants to join forces on the project. It brings you back to the worlds food waste problem. Worldwide, a third of the food that is being produced goes to waste, which puts an enormous burden on the environment. In Egypt alone, 73 kg of food per person per year gets wasted, and this increases some 60 per cent during the Holy Month of Ramadan, Shahin explained.

There are socio-economic, cultural and behavioural reasons behind the problem of food waste. Some retailers would rather not acknowledge the problem, as it might give their customers a bad impression. But we explain to them that having perfectly fresh food left at the end of the day is not bad at all and that it can still be sold to consumers at reduced prices or donated to charities using our application, she added.

When we show them examples of the retailers that have joined forces with us, they want to try as well. Many restaurants like the idea that they can be part of decreasing food waste, decreasing pollution and ensuring help for charity organisations.

The TeKeya application has all the functionalities needed to help connect providers with consumers, including charities. Donations are channelled to charities that then distribute them within the locations they oversee. Reduced-priced food can also be ordered through the application.

I saw TeKeyas collaboration with other restaurants and thought it was a great initiative. We had already been taking individual orders from hospitals within our delivery zones. From day one, we wanted to show that we are here for healthcare workers as a small gesture of appreciation that can go a long way during these difficult times. They are our front line of defence, and they are putting their and their families lives at risk every day to save others. Its the least we can do to help them with food and other donations, Tarek Haddad, 35, the manager of the Kansas restaurant in Cairo, said.

Haddads restaurant is part of the TeKeya Challenge, and he sees it as different from other charity work he has done before. The point of Tekeyas initiative is to motivate others to do the same and be considerate towards the health of public-sector workers. They need us as much as we need them, he commented.

The Kansas restaurant supported medical staff with 100 meals to help them break their fast on the first day of Ramadan. It has asked 35 members of its team to help prepare, pack and deliver meals in Ramadan. Thanks go to the TeKeya app for helping us to participate in such a good campaign. And a special thanks to all hospital workers, from the security staff, cleaners and administrators, to the nurses to doctors. They are our true heroes in the fight against the virus, Haddad said.

Another participant in this years challenge is Locanda Cuisine, whose account manager, Menna Saad, 25, sees it as something that must be followed to help the community at this difficult time. Locanda and its staff are happy to participate in charity work during Ramadan through the TeKeya app, she said.

We started collaborating with TeKeya because we believed that its a great initiative at this time to support the heroes who are dealing daily with the pandemic to help save our lives. Giving food and beverages to doctors, nurses and whoever else is in need at this time is vital, as we want to save them the time and energy necessary for them to work. We want to make sure that they consume safe and healthy food, and we want to show our appreciation by giving them extra-delicious food that is full of nutrients so they can continue their contribution to save us in these challenging times and especially during Ramadan, Saad said.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Russian Armed Forces May Get First Next-Generation S-500 Missile Systems in 2021

Sputnik News

Oleg Burunov. Sputnik International

07:56 GMT 08.05.2020

Earlier this year, Pavel Sozinov, general designer at the Russian defence concern Almaz-Antey, touted the S-500 as a missile system that is capable of intercepting targets located hundreds of kilometres above the Earth.

The Russian Armed Forces may get the first advanced S-500 missile systems next year, the country's Deputy Defence Minister Alexei Krivoruchko has said in an interview with the magazine Natsionalnaya Oborona (National Defence).

According to him, the conclusion of a state contract for S-500s is scheduled for 2021, with wide-scale deliveries expected in subsequent years.

Krivoruchko also referred to a stage of the S-500-related preliminary tests, with "the material part currently at the training ground".

The statement echoes that of Vladimir Dolbenkov, director-general of the Design Bureau for Special Machine-Building (part of Almaz-Antey), who said in late March that tests for certain elements of "the next-generation Triumfator-M mobile air defence system S-500", including its launcher, "[] were being completed".

This followed Almaz-Antey general designer Pavel Sozinov touting the S-500 as an air defence system that will be able to intercept targets "in the upper atmosphere", hundreds of kilometres above the Earth.

He stressed that according to its specifications, the S-500 exceeds all similar missile systems that have been created or are being designed in developed countries.

Sozinov said that the Russian missile system comprises a large number of various target detection and interception tools as well as ground-to-air guided missiles. "This is a system that accomplishes a wide range of tasks for both air defence and missile defence purposes", he emphasised.

The S-500 Prometey, also known as 55R6M "Triumfator-M", is a Russian surface-to-air missile/anti-ballistic missile system designed to replace the S-400.

With the S-500's specifications still officially classified, media reports have claimed that the system is capable of destroying targets up to 600 kilometres (372 miles) away.

It reportedly can track and simultaneously strike up to 10 ballistic targets moving at speeds of up to 7 kilometres (4 miles) per second (about Mach 20). The system is also capable of hitting various aerodynamic targets, including aircraft and helicopters, as well as cruise missiles.

A Sputnik

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Those of us who are readers often owe a lot to our teachers. To mark the end of Teacher Appreciation Week, we thought wed take a moment to reflect on the most influential books we picked up thanks to a teacher who slipped a book into our hands, assigned a particular novel or reached out with a thoughtful recommendation.

We asked several writers about the books or stories that left a lasting impression. Maria Semple, the best-selling author of Whered You Go, Bernadette, chose The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Through ninth grade, I read books mainly for fear of getting busted if I didnt, she said. That changed when David Webb at Choate Rosemary Hall assigned The Great Gatsby. I vividly remember the day Mr. Webb pressed us to divine deeper meaning from the green light at the end of the dock, the names West Egg and East Egg, the faceless eyes on the billboard, and my quickening glee in discovering that a novel could be more than plot. Its a high Ive been greedily chasing since: as an English major in college, an unsuccessful starter-of-book-groups in TV rewrite rooms and a novelist myself.

Priya Parmar, the author most recently of Vanessa and Her Sister, recalled: In 11th grade, I took a class called Romantic Poetry. Our teacher unexpectedly had to move away partway through the year. Another teacher, Ms. Sidebotham, came back early from maternity leave to take her place. She brought her new baby, Susannah, with her. There were nine of us, and all that spring we pushed back the desks and sat on a circle on the floor and read poetry. When it got warm, we sat out on the grass under the oak trees. It was the kind of rare, special magic that happens when a class becomes something else. A group? A club? A team? No one word catches it whole. We became an us. Summer came. Susannah could roll over. We cried when the year ended. I asked Ms. Sidebotham for a book that would carry that feeling of collective magic forward over the summer. Carry it forward and forward so I would never lose it. She gave me A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith. I carry it forward.

The poet Ada Limon had a wonderful English teacher in junior high named Mr. Larimore, she wrote. When he returned a paper that he liked, he wrote GO TO COLLEGE' in giant letters on the front page. I liked reading, but much preferred being read to, and it was hard to do on my own with any interest. With his approval, I picked out The October Country, by Ray Bradbury. What shocked me was the compression of the stories. The otherworldliness. I had never read stories like this. The sense of surprise. The distrust of human beings. How the enemy could be the wind or a crowd, or how a farmer could be forced to cut wheat that isnt wheat at all with his giant scythe. I also learned the word scythe! It was just weird enough for me at 13. Just forbidden enough. Just dark and morbid enough to keep my interest. I still think about those short stories, their strange and eerie turns, how it gave the world another magical (and creepy) possibility.
Anti-racism campaigners have staged a protest over police use of a Taser on a man in front of his distressed child.

A group of up to 15 people observed Covid-19 social distancing rules as they gathered at a petrol station forecourt in Stretford, Manchester, where the incident took place.

Mobile phone footage widely shared on social media showed an altercation on Wednesday at 11pm between Desmond Mombeyarara and two white police officers.

A group of up to 15 people observed Covid-19 social distancing rules as they gathered at a petrol station forecourt in Stretford, Manchester, where the incident took place on

Mobile phone footage widely shared on social media showed an altercation on Wednesday at 11pm between a black man and two white police officers

Greater Manchester Police has voluntarily referred the matter to the Independence Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). Pictured: The protesters today

Mombeyarara is seen standing next to a marked police car and puts down his crying son before moments later he falls to the ground as a Taser is fired by one of the officers.

Man could be 'partially paralysed' after police Taser him in London Police Tasered a black man who is in his 20s in a separate incident in London on Monday. The man was chased through Haringey after fleeing officers. He was shot by the stun gun as he hurdled a wall, which saw him fall and suffer serious back injuries. His family have claimed these could leave him partially paralysed. The suspect was nicked for having cannabis on him. His family contacted the IOPC, which has launched an investigation. Advertisement

The boy then becomes hysterical and screams 'daddy'.

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham questioned whether the Taser use was 'proportionate or justified' and has demanded an urgent review.

Greater Manchester Police has voluntarily referred the matter to the Independence Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

Among the protesters at the event staged by Stand Up to Racism on Saturday were Paul Davidson, a minister at the Church of God of Prophecy.

He said: 'I am here because this news has outraged black people nationally. We are obviously keen to find out what the details are and whether there are other circumstances we haven't learned from the immediate clip.

'But if the immediate clip is anything to go by then people have questions to answer and we should expect answers as a community.

'This sort of behaviour should not be expected by anyone in a civilised society.'

Demonstrators at the forecourt on Saturday hold Black Lives Matters' signs reading 'no justice, no police'

Among the protesters at the event staged by Stand Up to Racism on Saturday were Paul Davidson, a minister at the Church of God of Prophecy

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham questioned whether the Taser use was 'proportionate or justified' and has demanded an urgent review. Pictured: The protesters today

The man who was tasered, Desmond Ziggy Mombeyarara, 34, appeared before magistrates on Friday where he admitted a number of offences including speeding, drink driving, failing to stop and unnecessary travel. He denied two counts of resisting a constable in the execution of their duty and the case was adjourned to a later date. Pictured: Protesters today

In an interview with the Times, Mombeyara said he did not believe such a 'magnitude of force' was warranted. Pictured: Protesters holding up signs today

Mombeyarara, 34, appeared before magistrates on Friday where he admitted a number of offences including speeding, drink driving, failing to stop and unnecessary travel.

He denied two counts of resisting a constable in the execution of their duty and the case was adjourned to a later date.

In an interview with the Times, Mombeyara said he did not believe such a 'magnitude of force' was warranted.

He said his son was still in shock and thought that police had shot him.

He told the newspaper: 'I was saying to the officers, ''Let us calm the situation for the little one because the little one doesn't feel comfortable''. But they were making out like I was using him as a human shield.'
Philippe Sands's remarkable historical investigation tells two stories in parallel - that of Otto Wachter, a dedicated Nazi who oversaw a whole series of atrocities during World War II, alongside Sands's own dealings with Wachter's son, Horst. As a result, the book has a great deal to tell us not just about the mentality of a committed Nazi perpetrator, but also the desire of human beings to take from the past only what is convenient for them.

Otto Wachter's beliefs, though repellent, were straightforward. In March 1921 - at the age of 19 - he took part in a protest in his native Vienna calling for Jews to be "stripped of basic rights of citizenship and property". Two years later, he joined the Austrian branch of the Nazis, and in April 1932 he became a member of the SS. His girlfriend, Charlotte, supported his beliefs, writing that "all those Jews [in Vienna] wherever you go - they make me completely despair". Her idea of a present for her boyfriend was a copy of Hitler's Mein Kampf, inscribed by her with the words: "Through struggle and love to the finish."

After war broke out, Wachter served as Nazi governor of Krakow in Poland and then as governor of the District of Galicia, now in western Ukraine. Both places were devastated by the Holocaust. Wachter helped set up the ghetto in Krakow, and during his time in Galicia, the Nazis sent thousands of Jews to the gas chambers of Belzec death camp. We can get an idea of Wachter's attitude to all this from his note to Charlotte, by then his wife, saying that "the Jews are being deported in increasing numbers, and it's hard to get powder for the tennis court".

You might think there's not a lot of room for ambiguity here, and that Wachter was a war criminal of the deepest dye. But, as Sands discovers, that's not what his son thinks. Horst Wachter - born in 1939 and named after the Nazi anthem the 'Horst Wessel Song' - refuses to accept the enormity of his father's guilt. It's not that Horst is a Holocaust denier; his denials only extend to his father's complicity in the crimes. "I know the system was criminal, that my father was part of it," says Horst. "But I don't think of him as a criminal."

Horst is prepared to hold to this quixotic view no matter what evidence Sands presents him with. When confronted, for instance, with photos of his father's presence at the execution of 50 Polish hostages - murdered by the Nazis in an act of brutal revenge - Horst says that "my mother said somewhere that my father was very much against shooting [hostages]... I don't think he felt very happy about that".

Throughout the book, Horst remains a contradictory figure. On the one hand, he allows Sands access to the archive he has kept of his family's papers - though Sands suspects that some of the key material has been weeded out by someone and "deposited into Lake Zell". But on the other, he maintains that it's significant that "there exists no document he [ie Horst's father] signed to show that he ordered any death sentence".

The Ratline is a compelling piece of forensic historical research - one that is every bit as good as East West Street, Sands's award-winning 2016 investigation into his family's wartime history and the origins of the terms "crimes against humanity" and "genocide". And as you read The Ratline, it's impossible not to conclude that the only thing Otto Wachter was really unhappy about was that the Nazis lost the war. For it was at this point that his problems started. In an attempt to escape justice, he hid out for several years in the Austrian Alps, travelling between secluded hamlets and shelters high in the mountains. His wife managed to visit him every few weeks, and to keep his location secret.

In the summer of 1948, Wachter lodged in a "monastic establishment" in Rome. The following year he contracted a disease and died. Bishop Huber, a cleric notorious for assisting fleeing Nazis to escape to South America via the infamous "Ratline", was comforting him in hospital at the end.

Horst Wachter, however, believes something very different - that his father was murdered. And so the last sections of the book detail Sands' attempt to uncover the truth. He embarks on a fascinating journey, even travelling as far as New Mexico in search of the evidence. In the process, he exposes a murky world of spies and double agents, all flourishing amid the uncertainty of the post-war years, when the enemy was no longer Nazi Germany but Stalin's Soviet Union.

Sands' detective work throws up a range of possible reasons for Wachter's early death at the age of 48. But finally the opinion of the scientists he consults is decisive. And it's hopefully not giving away too much of the ending of The Ratline to say that Horst Wachter doesn't accept the conclusion that Sands reaches.

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In the end, the key to Horst's infuriating attitude probably lies in his confession that "I love my mother [who died in 1985], I have to do this, because of her." But, ultimately, as Sands demonstrates in this stunning work, it's highly dangerous to approach history that way. For, while you can deny the past, you can't escape it.

Laurence Rees' book, 'The Holocaust: A New History', published by Penguin, is out now

 The Telegraph
Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi, 74, was admitted in a private hospital here on Saturday after he suffered a cardiac arrest, doctors said, adding that his condition is critical.

Citing the information provided by family members of Ajit Jogi, the hospital said he fell unconscious at his residence here in the morning.

Ajit Jogi's son Amit Jogi told PTI from Bilaspur that the health of his father deteriorated suddenly while he was having breakfast.

As per a health bulletin released by Shree Narayana Hospital, Ajit Jogi was given cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) at his residence by a senior intensivist before he was rushed to the hospital.

"Jogi suffered a cardiac arrest at his house only. As of now, his ECG and pulse have returned to normal which means his heartbeats are returning to normal functioning. But his respiration is still not normal. He is on a ventilator and his condition is critical," it said.

Ajit Jogi's MLA wife Renu Jogi is with him at the hospital.

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel spoke to Amit Jogi over phone to take stock of his father's health and assured that the state government will take every possible steps to ensure his better treatment, an official statement here said.

A bureaucrat-turned politician, Ajit Jogi had served as the first chief minister of Chhattisgarh from November 2000 to November 2003 in then Congress government, after the formation of the state.

Ajit Jogi parted ways with the Congress in 2016 after he and Amit Jogi got embroiled in a controversy over alleged fixing of the by-election (2014) held for Antagarh seat in Kanker district.

Subsequently, he formed his own outfit Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J).

He is an incumbent MLA from Marwahi seat.

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

Israels energy minister today criticised a landmark nuclear accord between the Jewish states arch-foe Iran and world powers but said Tehran had so far respected the deal.

The agreement, which was signed in July 2015 and came into force in January, saw Tehran accept curbs to its nuclear programme in exchange for a lifting of economic sanctions by world powers.

Its a bad deal but its an accomplished fact and during the first year we spotted no significant breach from the Iranians, said Youval Steinitz, who is close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

But its still too early to conclude that this 12-year deal is a success, he told public radio. Steinitzs comments came after US President Barack Obama on Thursday defended the accord.

Israels defence ministry, led by hardliner Avigdor Lieberman, on Friday compared the deal with Iran to the 1938 Munich Agreement, which allowed Nazi Germany to annex parts of then Czechoslovakia.

Netanyahu the same day repeated his countrys rejection of the Iran deal but stressed that Israel and the United States remained great allies.

For several months the US and Israeli governments have been negotiating the terms of a new 10-year defence aid pact to replace the current one, which expires in 2018 and is worth more than USD 3 billion (2.7 billion euros) per year. The Netanyahu government wants the United States to increase the annual amount of military assistance it provides.

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When it comes to classic Hollywood movies, very few names stand out and among those top movies of all time includes the classic, Coming To America which was released in the month of June, 1988.

The classic movie themes around the 21st birthday of an African Prince Akeem (played by Eddie Murphy) and the plans of his marriage to a woman hes never met before and his quest to exploring the world first before returning to his native home of Zamunda.

Its been a whole 32 years since this movie was released and the importance of this movie in showcasing Black Excellence is mesmerizing and we cant seem to get enough of the brilliant acts they showcased in the movie.

A good number of people in their 30s today grew up watching this movie and it formed a very important part of their childhood. Its been 32 years and heres a photo collage of the actors who played different roles in the movie and how well theyve aged.

They say black dont crack and this interesting collages are a testament not that fact. They all look vibrant and havent seemed to change much as they all aged like fine wine.

Checkout their before and after photos below;

The post See How Coming To America Movie Stars Look Like 32 Years After (Photos) appeared first on .

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RACINE  Four F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft from the Air National Guard are scheduled to perform a flyover above Ascension All Saints hospital at sometime between 5:50 and 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Expect the planes to approach the hospital from the southwest.

The flyover is one of 21 hospital and medical center flyovers in Wisconsin planned for Tuesday as part of the nationwide Operation American Resolve campaign intended to show appreciation for the thousands of heroes on the frontlines, as well as the brave citizens and neighbors who have been battling and supporting the COVID-19 response, the 115th Fighter Wing said in a press release.

Several of the pilots performing the flyovers have spouses working on health care teams, according to Col. Jon Kalberer, 115th Operations Group commander.

Coming together during times of uncertainty is the American way, and the reason that citizen airmen in the Air National Guard serve. We want to show our support for that effort, as we are all in this together, Kalberer stated.

The flyover will be considered part of a regular training and proficiency mission, which is a required training to be completed by pilots to remain up to date on qualifications. The flyover will meet the training requirement of being able to arrive at a location at a precise time.

We wish we could fly over every community impacted by this pandemic. But just know that the Wisconsin Air National Guard is proud to serve with all of you: our neighbors, friends and communities, stated Col. Erik Peterson, 115th Fighter Wing commander.

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 Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has come out in open support of Sri Lankan President Gotabhaya Rajapakse as he strengthens the presidencys autocratic powers and relies ever more directly on the military amid the COVID-19 pandemic. TNA spokesman M.A. Sumanthiran made this unmistakably clear in his public statements, coming amid mounting working-class anger at the governments handling of the lockdown.

The TNA held a closed-door meeting on Monday with Mahinda Rajapakse, the former president, current prime minister and brother of the current president. He is despised for overseeing the massacre of defenceless Tamil civilians and defeated fighters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the final days of the 1983-2009 Sri Lankan Civil War.

Rajapakse is so hated that in the 2019 presidential elections, the TNA felt compelled to call for a vote for the right-wing United National Party (UNP) candidate, Sajith Premadasa, against him. This is because under Mahinda Rajapakse, there was a wave of abductions in white vans of opponents of the war, both Sinhalese and Tamil, who were murdered. So last year, the TNA called for a vote against Rajapakse, saying no one should vote for a dictator. This week, however, Sumanthiran and other TNA officials met with him and then demanded that the population submit to his will.

After the secret meeting with Mahinda Rajapakse, Sumanthiran proudly told the media: Our position is in this situation, that everyone should cooperate and support the Government. That is first issue for us. We came to this meeting and give our full cooperation to the state. Under this situation, we cannot allow political opinions and differences. This must be done not only in our country but also throughout the world.

Sumanthirans demand for total submission to the the Rajapakse brothers comes amid growing rumors and fears of a military coup in Colombo, as they use the lockdown to extend the military occupation of the Tamil-majority north to the rest of the country. Rajapakse also dissolved the Sri Lankan parliament on March 2 and called new elections for April 25. After a curfew and lockdown were imposed on March 20, he then postponed the election until June 20.

Earlier, the TNA had signed a six-party letter demanding that he reconvene the parliament. The reopening of Sri Lankas rubber-stamp parliament would have offered nothing to working people, and the TNA only proposed it to weakly posture as an opponent of the Rajapakses. However, it has now discarded even this pretence.

Sumanthiran is openly endorsing the Rajapakse regime as mass anger builds against it. Under the curfew and lockdown in force since March 20, in which they have received completely inadequate assistance, workers suffer from hunger and risk starvation. The lack of money to buy food items, jobs cuts, and discussion of moves to force a return to work amid the coronavirus pandemic create impossible conditions for working people.

Moreover, the government is preparing massive payouts to major investors and bailouts for the banks and major corporations. According to reports in the bourgeois press, the Sri Lankan state owes US$72 billion in foreign and domestic debt, equivalent to 82 percent of Sri Lankas GDP. Of these, US$35 billion are in external loans. The government must pay on this sum US$4.8 billion in debt servicing, the largest debt repayment in Sri Lankas history, and it plans to place the debt burden squarely on the backs of the workers.

Gotabhaya Rajapakse is appointing generals and other officers in key state and administrative posts because he is again preparing a military machine and death squads against the workers. This is why earlier this year he publicly pardoned Staff Sgt. Sunil Ratnayake, who in 2015 was found guilty of a 2000 atrocity in which he blindfolded eight Tamil civilians including three children, slit their throats, and dumped their bodies in a sewer.

Sumanthiran is unreservedly hailing the Rajapakse regime, however, because the TNA represents not the Tamil people, but a venal and corrupt layer of the bourgeoisie in Sri Lanka. It develops its policy in collaboration with the imperialist powers, particularly Washington, who are pressing for a return to work amid the pandemic and stepped-up attacks on working people internationally.

Class, not ethnicity, determines the reactionary policies of the Tamil bourgeoisie. Its wealth and privileges depend on access to global markets dominated by imperialism, and on exploiting workers on such low wages that it is virtually impossible for them to shelter at home from COVID-19.

Indifferent to human life, the TNA fears above the mounting anger in the international working class. The Trump administration is gloating that US workers should get used to thousands of deaths per day, and the European governments are sending millions back to work amid a raging pandemic. Mass protests erupted last year against reactionary anti-Muslim measures of the Hindu-supremacist government in India. Sumanthiran, however, demands that no political criticisms can be tolerated, not only in Sri Lanka but, as he said, also throughout the world.

In 2018, Sumanthiran proudly declared his close links with the imperialist powers, telling the media: I am the person who knows its pulse, who maintains close contacts with the international community. Events since the end of the civil war have made clear the class content of this remark.

In the 2010 presidential elections, the TNA supported General Sarath Fonseka, the military commander during the final months of the Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009. At the time, Gotabhaya Rajapakse was defence secretary and Mahinda Rajapakse was president. All three bear political responsibility for the murder of more than 40,000 Tamil civilians in the north of the country, and the forcible disappearance of thousands of people, mostly but not exclusively Tamil.

Already, the TNA hailed the coming to power in 2015 of a coalition government of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and United National Party (UNP), backed by US imperialism and installed in a regime-change operation. Washington intended to oust the Rajapakse brothers, considering them at that time to be too closely aligned with China. While the SLFP-UNP government provoked strikes and mass protests against its budget cuts, IMF-dictated austerity policies and its state of emergency targeting Muslims, the TNA supported it from the opposition benches.

Having pledged during the regime-change operation that a SLFP-UNP government would overcome ethnic conflict in the island, the TNA then turned 180 degrees. Its leader, R. Sampanthan, cynically declared in 2016 that he did not have the prison keys that would free Tamil political prisoners, while continuing to meet with Sri Lankan officials and visiting US military officers.

The TNAs reactionary record comprehensively vindicates the Socialist Equality Partys decades-long opposition to Tamil nationalism, while defending the democratic rights of Tamil people based on a struggle to unify the working class in struggle against capitalism and imperialism. The policies of the TNA, and its demand for total submission by workers to reactionary governments worldwide amid the pandemic, brand them as enemies of the working class.

Only the united struggle of the entire working class for socialism in Sri Lanka, the Indian subcontinent and globally can secure the resources necessary to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and secure basic democratic rights in former colonial countries.
An eighth case has been linked to a COVID-19 outbreak at the Brandon terminal of a Winnipeg-based trucking firm, but the province's chief public health officer reiterated Friday the public is not at risk.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 8/5/2020 (620 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An eighth case has been linked to a COVID-19 outbreak at the Brandon terminal of a Winnipeg-based trucking firm, but the province's chief public health officer reiterated Friday the public is not at risk.

Dr. Brent Roussin said investigators believe the initial or "index" case in the western Manitoba cluster was an instance of community transmission of the coronavirus because they could not link it to travel or to a known case.

"The contact investigations are essentially complete, and there's no concern for the public," he said.

Of the eight individuals in the cluster, six are employees of Paul's Hauling Ltd., while two are close contacts of employees.

Affected staff and their close contacts are self-isolating, Roussin said.

The additional case in the workplace cluster was the only new infection identified in Manitoba Friday, bringing the total to 284.

The latest data show 247 Manitobans have recovered from COVID-19, and there are only 30 active cases. Five people are in hospital, with none in intensive care. Seven have died.

Roussin continued to refer to the Westman outbreak in his news briefing Friday without identifying the company by name or location.

He refused to say whether an employee at a Brandon gas station who has tested positive for COVID-19 is linked to the cluster. He said doing so could potentially identify someone.

"If there was a reason that the public would be at risk, then we would certainly be advising them (disclosing company names)," he said.

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Many of the close to 300 Manitobans who have tested positive for COVID-19 are employed, yet health officials have been able to conduct investigations and identify close contacts without the need to identify the employer, Roussin pointed out.

On Thursday, Roussin praised the actions taken by the trucking firm (which he referred to only as a 'workplace' in the Prairie Mountain Health region) in helping to contain the outbreak. The actions included splitting employees into smaller groups, thereby limiting their contact.

Roussin said 11 per cent of Manitoba COVID-19 cases can be categorized as the result of community-based transmission.

"In the last seven days, there has been zero (cases of community-based transmission identified in Manitoba)," he said Friday.

The initial case in the Brandon cluster was identified on April 27.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
Dead to Me You Cant Live Like This Season 2 Episode 3 Editors Rating 4 stars * * * *  Previous Next  Photo: Courtesy of Netflix

Dead to Me sets aside the broader investigation into Steve Woods disappearance and the reveal of his semi-identical twin brother to focus on the heart of the show: the dance of Judy and Jen, the cynic and the believer, joined by potential accessory-to-murder charges. After the second episode threw so many characters and ideas at the wall  Ben! Nick! Perez! Lorna!  its nice to see the writers home back in on the two protagonists and their biggest, most immediate problem: theres a body in the freezer.

You Cant Live Like This is primarily about what to do with Steves body, a problem grown more urgent by the discovery of rats under the freezer now housing the Steve-sicle. At first, it seems like Dead to Me may be leaning into young Henrys belief that the dead dont really leave by having Steve haunt the site of his corpse. Judy sure seems to think that the presence of her ex is the reason the motion-sensor light is going off every now and then. Dead to Me is often at its best when its vicious in its teardown of the mystical. No, Steve isnt hanging out with Judy by his bodyits just the rats trying to chew through the freezer and get to the meat on his bones.

Speaking of viciousness, Jen is looking into brutal ways to take care of their little problems, clearly inspired by pop culture. Fargo is probably to blame for the reference to a woodchipper, and it seems likely that the idea to try to dissolve Steve came courtesy of Breaking Bad. Clearly Jen has much bigger problems to solve than the expecting parents who back out of a home purchase after the discovery of black mold. Who cares about a little black mold?!?! Jen Harding has a body in her garage!

She also has a rising tide of grief every time she talks to Judy, who has convinced herself that shes the reason that Steve is dead. Jen knows that she oversold the self-defense angle to poor Judy, which seems likely to eventually get her in trouble. When Judy says she never thought hed get angry enough to try and kill you, Applegate perfectly conveys how she feels that in her core. Its unclear what is going to get Jen first: the discovery of Steves body or the guilt over what she hasnt told her BFF.

An interesting development to this Judy/Jen dynamic comes in the form of Michelle, the daughter of one of the new tenants at the nursing facility. Shes clearly way more on the Judy Wavelength than Jen, smoking weed with her in the car and getting more philosophical than Jen typically allows. Is Michelle going to be a liability or a supportive character? Shes being set up as a new Nick  someone else for Judy to lean on  but that backfired in the first season. Time will tell what happens with this new buddy for a woman who likes to get a little confess-y.

While Judy is having a grand time with her new gal pal, Jen is spiraling out at home, trying to figure out what to do with Steve. It must be the wine that makes her silly enough to try and Google how to get rid of a dead body while she listens to the aggressive Rage Unrestrained by Excessum. Using music to vocalize a protagonists inner monologue is often a cheap writing trick, but the opening lines (I fucking hate everyone! I fucking hate everything!) couldnt be more perfect here. Just as Jen is about to alert the Google Police with her searches, the super-creepy Shandy (Adora Soleil Bricher) startles her (and us). She suggests that Jen check out the dark web instead, and even recommends that she consider Los Angeles National Forest, apparently a mob dumping ground for bodies. Listen, Jen has a lot to worry about, but getting sweet Henry away from future serial killer Shandy should probably be moved up her list of priorities.

The final scenes of the episode triple down on Jens questionable choice of Googling how to get rid of a body with kids in the house. Dead to Me is a very good show and may be even more confident this season than last  jury is still out on that  but it occasionally pushes hard against basic suspension of disbelief. Not only does Jen open the freezer and look at Steve in a way that feels a bit unconcerned about someone walking in on her, but shes later upstairs dissolving rats with kids in the house and unlocked doors for Judy to come barreling through. Shandy is in the house when Jen nearly vomits from the smell of dissolved vermin. Wouldnt she notice?

But if we suspend our disbelief enough to get through all of this, one could argue that Jens grief and confusion is causing her to flirt with danger in extreme ways. So maybe the power going out and forcing Jen and Judy into action is the best thing that could have happened. As they realize that the heat wave is going to thaw Steve before morning, Judy and Jen head off on a drive. They have to get to Angeles Forest. Thanks Shandy!

Extra Counseling

 Applegate deserves another Emmy nomination for a variety of reasons. When she gets one, please just use her delivery on the line Mom smoked heavily and Im fucking awesome as the clip.

 Apparently, bodies being dumped in the Los Angeles National Forest is a real thing. Shandy must read the news because this story about MS-13 dropping off victims in the national park is from last summer.

 Angeles Forest could actually fit the story that Judy is trying to craft regarding Steves disappearance. She told the cops that Steve laundered money for the Greek Mafia. Finding out that Steve was about to get arrested and knowing that hes a guy who would instantly turn rat to save his skin, they killed him and dumped him where they leave all their victims, Angeles Forest.

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One Daily Mail reader has donated an astonishing 100,000 to a new fund to buy protective kit for NHS and care staff.

Moved by the challenges facing our health workers, the anonymous reader decided to make the generous pledge yesterday.

It means that you have now donated at least 1.7million to Mail Force  a separate charity which is leading a campaign to make sure there is enough personal protective equipment (PPE) on the front line. That astonishing total is expected to surge past the 2million mark because there are another 4,000 of your letters which are yet to be opened.

Pictured: a Daily Mail reporter reads a letter from a reader. An anonymous reader donated 100,000 to the charity set up to buy PPE for the NHS

HERE'S HOW TO DONATE Mail Force Charity has been launched with one aim to help support NHS staff, volunteers and care workers fight back against Covid-1 in the UK. Mail Force is a separate charity established and supported by the Daily Mail and General Trust. The money raised will fund essential equipment required by the NHS and care workers. This equipment is vital in protecting the heroic staff whilst they perform their fantastic work in helping the UK overcome this pandemic. If we raise more money than is needed for vital Covid-1 equipment, we will apply all funds to support the work of the NHS in other ways. Click the button below to make a donation: DONATE NOW If the button is not visible, click here Advertisement

More volunteers have been drafted in to keep up with the staggering number of cheques you have sent.

So far an incredible 37,000 of you have donated to the charity, which was set up by the Mail and its partners almost two weeks ago. The Mail Force Charity has so far opened 17,000 envelopes, containing donations which amount to almost 900,000.

More than 16,000 of you have pledged 685,000 using the online fundraising page, bringing the overall total from readers to at least 1.7million, including the 100,000 anonymously donated yesterday.

The astonishing donations from readers, combined with philanthropists and corporate partners, has helped the fund grow to 6.4million in total. Many of the cheques came with heartfelt letters expressing gratitude to the key workers.

Ann Davey, from Plymouth, Devon, wrote: I am so thrilled you have taken on supplying PPE to our hospitals that I immediately wanted to contribute. Thank you for this initiative.

Many of you wrote to say you had donated money you had saved because your usual activities have been curtailed during lockdown. Joan Harris, from Wigan in Greater Manchester, wrote: Both my husband and I are pensioners and we often treat ourselves to tea and cakes at our local cafe.

Because we cant do this, we are donating the money we have saved to this wonderful charity.

The donation pushes readers' donations to a total of 1.7million and is expected to take the total past 2million once each letter has been opened

The campaign has been backed by leading figures in British industry, as well as a host of household names. Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and two former prime ministers  Sir John Major and Gordon Brown  have offered their support to the charity drive, along with Sir Cliff Richard and Sir Michael Caine.

Thanks to the generous public support for Mail Force, plans are under way for the charity to bring further airlifts of PPE to Britain.
The Serbian government has protested to the European Union after one of the bloc's educational websites described inventor and electricity trailblazer Nikola Tesla as a "famous Croatian."

Tesla was an ethnic Serb born under the former Austrian Empire in what is now Croatia.

He spent most of his life in Western Europe and the United States, but his ethnicity is a near-constant source of friction between Balkan neighbors and former Yugoslav republics Serbia and Croatia.

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on May 9 that he had sent a protest note to Brussels after learning about the reference to Tesla as a "Croatian" on the EU's Learning Center website for children.

Serbia is a candidate country for EU membership; Croatia joined the bloc in 2013.

Serbia's culture minister, Vladan Vukosavljevic, previously demanded an "apology to the Serbian people" from the European Union allowing what he described as "the virus of this fake information" to appear on an official EU website.

The ashes of Tesla, who developed alternating current as a means to transport electricity and was among the first scientists to discover X-ray imaging, are housed in the Nikola Tesla museum in Belgrade, the Serbian capital.

Statues in his honor are on display both there and in the Croatian capital, Zagreb.

Tesla took on U.S. citizenship and lived there for decades before his death in New York in 1943.

Based on reporting by AP
A deal has been reached to send the Sewerage & Water Board a one-time payment of $50 million to help keep the utilitys drainage system from running out of cash this year, according to announcements Monday morning (May 6) from Gov. John Bel Edwards and Mayor LaToya Cantrell.

Months-long negotiations between Cantrell, Edwards and local tourism industry representatives have centered on locking in a one-time payment and annual recurring money for the citys drainage infrastructure and the Sewerage & Water Board. A deal looked close to being unveiled early last week, but suddenly stumbled amid disagreement over a bill in the Louisiana Legislature establishing how the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center can use certain hotel tax revenues.

Originally, Cantrell wanted a $75 million one-time payment and $40 million in recurring revenue when she asked the governor in January to form an informal working group to arrive at funding solutions. The mayor pushed for the bulk of that money to come from the convention centers roughly $230 million reserve account, with recurring funds coming from rededicated hotel taxes.

The $50 million one-time funding announced Monday includes $28 million from the convention center, of which $20 million is new money," according to the joint statement. The state will give another $22 million in unused federal grants traced to Hurricane Katrina recovery funds.

Additionally, the deal involves delaying the citys repayment of $17. 5 million in recovery loans that were set to come due in 2025. Those loan repayments will instead be spread out longer and finally due in 2031.

Overall, the mayors and governors offices estimated recurring revenues secured via several bills could generate around $26 million annually. Combined with the $50 million one-time payment, the Sewerage & Water Board in a news release Monday said those funds should help cover the drainage system operations this year and close significant gaps in our capital needs.

We aim to increase our level of service to our customers, and this revenue is a significant tool for keeping us on that course, the Sewerage & Water Boards news release says.

Cantrell, speaking at a news conference Monday afternoon, said the $50 million would go toward funding the Sewerage & Water Boards drainage system and to paying invoices the utility owes to contractors that the mayor said have racked up $40 million in unpaid bills.

The deal unveiled Monday also involves rededicating to the city an occupancy privilege tax worth $5.3 million annually that currently goes to the tourism nonprofit New Orleans & Co. and to the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corp. That tax rededication would be done through a New Orleans City Council ordinance and would be paired with major changes to the Tourism Marketing Corp.'s structure, according to officials who spoke at a news conference alongside the governor and the mayor Monday afternoon.

Per the deal, New Orleans & Co. -- which was formerly the Convention and Visitors Bureau -- would absorb key elements of the Tourism Marketing Corp. including its current CEO, Mark Romig, and the agencys marketing staff and functions. A downsized Tourism Marketing Corp. would then exist under control of the mayor, according to New Orleans & Co.'s CEO, Stephen Perry. The city would take all of the $5.3 million annual revenues from the occupancy tax, but New Orleans & Co. would start receiving $2 million a year in money that Harrahs has been sending to the Tourism Marketing Corp.

Speaking Monday afternoon, Perry and Cantrell both framed the change as a way to cut down on duplicated work in the citys tourism marketing sector.

Were going to get better and better at what we do an eliminate duplication and produce the same result in growing, Perry said.

We dont need duplicative agencies, Cantrell said.

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The deal would also allow the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority to keep about half of the revenues -- roughly $3 million annually -- generated from hotel taxes that immediately pass through the agency to the Tourism Marketing Corp. and to the convention center. RTA officials have said recently they want to receive all of those tax revenues.

On Monday, members of the Louisiana House Ways and Means Committee cleared a key bill that had held up the deal from being struck last week. The bill, authored by Rep. Walt Leger III, D-New Orleans, lays the groundwork for all negotiating parties to support other infrastructure-focused bills moving through the Louisiana Legislature this session that, if passed, would form the bulk of ongoing new revenues for the citys infrastructure needs.

Cantrell was in attendance for Mondays committee meeting at the State Capitol to voice support for the bill alongside representatives from the tourism industry, including Perry and convention center board president Melvin Rodrigue. Speaking after the meeting, Cantrell said several bills on infrastructure funding should begin moving swiftly through the legislature starting Wednesday, and that she felt confident additional approval steps needed from the City Council and from New Orleans voters would not hit any snags.

Im confident because for the first time in our history, you have the (hospitality) industry, the business community, the mayor, the local delegation on the same page based on the priorities of the city around infrastructure, the mayor said.

Perry, who has led negotiations for the tourism industry and at times strongly criticized aspects of the infrastructure deal, told House committee members Monday that all parties on now on the same page.

The business community and the workforce in our industry is really behind this, Perry said, referring to Legers bill on the convention center.

House lawmakers spirited Legers bill through committee Monday after the New Orleans area representative brought a substitute bill hammered out over the weekend by himself and staff from the mayors and governors offices. Essentially, the substitute bill would free up a chunk of hotel tax money to be spent on construction of a 1,200-room hotel that convention center officials are seeking to build next to the facilitys property along the Mississippi River. Without the changes the bill seeks, those tax revenues legally can only be used for a facility expansion project that convention center officials decided not to pursue after Hurricane Katrina.

Legers bill also restricts tax funds to specific projects including the new hotel, riverside development around the hotel and the convention centers roughly $558 million capital improvement plan. The bill requires bonds for those projects to be sold by mid-2029 and limits the term of those bonds to 40 years. The convention center, per Legers bill, would need to make payments to the city in lieu of property taxes for the hotel property, and would also need to seek legislative approval to pursue any other tax-funded projects. Also, the bill demands annual reports from the convention center to the New Orleans City Council on its financial statements, capital planning and reserve accounts.

Last week, the House Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs Committee reported favorably House Bill 43 brought by Rep. Jimmy Harris, D-New Orleans, which calls for levying a 6.75% occupancy tax on short-term rentals in New Orleans. An amendment to that bill would send 75% of the tax revenues a city infrastructure improvement fund, and one-fourth would go to New Orleans & Co, the tourism industry marketing groups. The tax would need final approval from New Orleans voters in an election before taking effect.

Another measure, House Bill 522 brought by Rep. Neil Abramson, D-New Orleans, would restore a 1% tax the city stopped collecting from hotels in 1966, when New Orleans voters agreed to suspend it so the state could collect its own penny to help pay for construction of the Superdome. Revenues from that hotel tax, as well as the levy on short-term rentals, would go into an infrastructure fund dedicated to the city.

Combined, the two taxes could raise around $22 million a year through 2024, according to fiscal notes included with the bills. A third measure, House Bill 521 by Abramson, would carve for the citys use a slice of revenues from a fee that local hotel businesses charge themselves.

On hotel taxes, Cantrell close to securing part of fair share
With Phase 1 of Washington State Governor Inslees plan to reopen the state economy underway, Toyota of Puyallup has opened its sales floor. During the shutdown, only emergency vehicle purchasing and service center functions were available. With the re-opening of the sales floor, the dealership can sell vehicles, take steps to ensure a safe and clean atmosphere and update their sales floor hours.

In order to maintain a safe and clean atmosphere, Toyota of Puyallup has taken additional steps to its procedures. Social distancing of at least six feet will be ensured between all parties. In any customer interactions, face masks and gloves will be required. For vehicles, each one will be sanitized after each use with extra attention given to steering wheels, controls and door handles. For a complete list of actions taken, visit their updated statement on their website.

Due to the re-opening of the sales floor, the Toyota of Puyallups hours have been changed. The dealerships sales floor is open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (PST) on Mondays through Fridays. During the weekend, customers may come in from 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. on Saturdays and from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Sundays.

To utilize any services by the sales floor or service department, simply contact Toyota of Puyallup in the Puyallup, WA area. The dealership is located at 1400 River Road in Puyallup. For any additional questions or inquiries, they may be reached by phone at (253) 286-6000 or online at https://www.toyotaofpuyallup.com/.


Heydar Aliyev was born on May 10, 1923 in Nakhchivan city of Azerbaijan. In 1939, after graduating from the Nakhchivan Pedagogical School, he entered the Architecture Department of the Industrial Institute of Azerbaijan (now the State Oil Academy of Azerbaijan), but the World War 2 impeded the completion of his education.

Since 1941, Heydar Aliyev headed a department at the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of Nakhchivan, and in 1944, was sent to work at state security bodies. He received special education in the cities of Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) and Moscow. In 1957 he graduated from the History Department of the Azerbaijan State University. Having worked for twenty five years at state security bodies, Heydar Aliyev served as the deputy chairman of the State Security Committee under the Council of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR since 1964, and from 1967, held the office of chairman of the committee, and rose to the rank of a major general.

Elected as first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan at the Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan in July 1969, Heydar Aliyev became the head of the republic.

Elected as a candidate to the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Soviet Union's Communist Party in 1976, and a member of the Political Bureau in 1982, Heydar Aliyev was appointed the first deputy chairman of the USSR's Council of Ministers. While on this position, Heydar Aliyev headed the most significant areas of the USSR's economic, social and cultural lives.

For twenty years, Heydar Aliyev was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Azerbaijan SSR, and for five years, worked as a first deputy chairman of the USSR's Council of Ministers.

In October 1987, as a sign of protest against the policy pursued by the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Soviet Union's Communist Party and, personally, by Secretary General Mikhail Gorbachev, Heydar Aliyev resigned from his post.

In connection with the tragedy committed on January 20, 1990 in Baku by the Soviet troops, Heydar Aliyev, appearing the next day at the Representative Office of Azerbaijan in Moscow with a statement, demanded that the organizers and executors of the crime committed against the people of Azerbaijan be punished. As a sign of protest against the hypocritical policy of the USSR leadership towards the critical conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, in July 1991, he left the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

After returning to Azerbaijan in July 1990, Heydar Aliyev first lived in Baku, then moved to Nakhchivan, and the same year was elected a deputy to the Supreme Council of Azerbaijan. In 1991-1993, he held the post of chairman of the Supreme Assembly of the Autonomous Republic of Nakhchivan, deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan. In 1992, at the constituent congress of the New Azerbaijan Party in Nakhchivan, Heydar Aliyev was elected chairman of the Party.

In May-June 1993, when, as a result of a crisis in the government, the country was on the verge of a civil war and faced the peril of losing independence, the people of Azerbaijan demanded to bring Heydar Aliyev to power, and the then leaders of Azerbaijan were obliged to officially invite Heydar Aliyev to Baku.

On June 15, 1993, Heydar Aliyev was elected chairman of the Supreme Council of Azerbaijan, and on June 24, by a resolution of the National Assembly, he proceeded to fulfilling the authorities of the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

On October 3, 1993, as a result of the nationwide vote, Heydar Aliyev was elected president of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

At the election held on October 11, 1998, he was re-elected president of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Heydar Aliyev, giving his consent to be nominated as a candidate at the 15 October 2003 presidential election, relinquished to run at the election due to health problems.

On December 12, 2003, national leader of the Azerbaijani people, President Heydar Aliyev passed away in the Cleveland hospital in the US, where he had been undergoing medical treatment, and on December 15, was buried at the Alley of Honor in Baku.
Dominic Lipinski/PA

A survey of the British public shows that the UK government appears to have successfully avoided blame for the spread of COVID-19, at least in the first month of lockdown. Asking them for their views reveals that messaging about the importance of individual and collective responsibility to defeat the virus seems to have worked.

However, people are more confused about what actually caused the coronavirus pandemic, which could help fuel conspiracy theories.

The findings come from the work of an interdisciplinary research team of UK-based academics, which conducted a survey of the British adult population. The survey was administered online to a representative sample of the UK population (2,100), by polling organisation Deltapoll between April 10 and April 15 2020. At the time, the UK was entering its fourth week of lockdown and prime minister was recovering in intensive care from COVID-19.

Causes, conspiracies, confusion

Most people, based on what they have heard or read, agree with the current scientific consensus that COVID-19 came from nature and rather than being man made. The relative majority (38%) thought it came from animals, in line with reports that it was transferred to humans through bats or pangolins, with a further 11% believing that it came about naturally.

Another 15% thought it was caused by human living habits, particularly those involving wildlife. Experts have identified wildlife trading and wet markets selling wild animals as a key contributing factor.

However, more than one in five agreed with conspiracy theories that COVID-19 was developed in a lab. This was a view which US President Donald Trump recently endorsed, claiming that he had seen undisclosed evidence that COVID-19 escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan, China. In our survey, 15% of respondents thought it was indeed created intentionally in a lab and 7% thought it was created accidentally. Less than 1% questioned the existence of the virus, with 13% saying they didnt know what caused the pandemic. Thats perhaps not surprising, given the cacophony of contradictory information over the issue.

Story continues

Division and unity

We also asked our respondents to say who they thought was most to blame for the spread of COVID-19 in the UK. An overwhelming majority had embraced the UK governments message to stay at home and save lives, identifying those that do not follow the social distancing measures (75%) as the main culprit for the spread of the virus. The complimentary message that we are all in this together also resonated with people, with 61% blaming each and every one of us for the pandemic.

At the same time, political discourse, particularly on the other side of the Atlantic, appears to also affect how British people designate blame. The Chinese government (64%) is identified as second most responsible for the pandemic, presumably for not doing enough to contain the initial outbreak or for trying to cover it up  claims supported by the Trump Administration but rejected by China. This is not a debate UK leaders have particularly sought to engage in.

Not far behind, globalisation is blamed by 55%, with the pandemic highlighting the vulnerabilities of global interdependence, and provoking protectionism and national restrictions to international travel, trade and production (including of personal protective equipment).

Blaming foreign actors and processes is a potent way for governments to avoid electoral punishment for bad times. This may not only serve President Trump, but indirectly, the UK government as well, which is enjoying a comparative low share of blame (35%), despite the high number of COVID-19 casualties in the UK.

Strong support for government measures

As the UK entered its fourth week of lockdown, a large majority (83%) of our respondents perceived government measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic as necessary to prevent a major national catastrophe. One in four (26%) in our survey, though, were in favour of relaxing the lockdown to avoid a major recession  with 22% undecided and 52% against.

Of our respondents, 22% considered the governments measures a greater threat to civil liberties than the virus itself, which may go up, as the crisis deepens. At the same time, 49% believed that the economic burden of these measures is not distributed fairly to all citizens. The majority were in favour of more state protectionism amid the pandemic. There was, for example, support among 77% of respondents for the state providing more financial help to the self-employed and small businesses to compensate for their loss of earnings due to the coronavirus pandemic. Another 55% supported the state nationalising major companies of national importance to prevent their collapse.

These findings suggest that the British public has been convinced that the COVID-19 is an existential threat that justifies the suspension of life as normal. People are looking at their government for solutions, while also recognising their personal responsibility. However, only 50% of respondents supported maintaining the lockdown for at least six months to prevent a second wave of infections. This may serve as a reminder that social distancing fatigue and ongoing framing contests  at home and away  could rapidly change attitudes, as the context changes.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The Conversation

Georgios Karyotis 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.
Local authorities are using coronavirus as an excuse to deny young, disabled Britons vital care, charity bosses have warned. One deaf and blind 21-year-old man receiving round-the-clock support was deemed not vulnerable enough to continue living at his residential care home.

Instead, the Welsh local authority offered a prescription for sedative medication and a bed in a psychiatric hospital  despite the man not having mental health problems.

The Mail on Sunday has learned of swathes of families in similarly dire situations, as a result of Covid-related social-care clampdowns. A 26-year-old disabled woman with a rare genetic disorder must now rely on her mother, 62, who has a lung condition, to help move, bathe and feed her  after specialist care was stopped due to staff sickness.

Before the Covid-19 outbreak, single parent Beverley Cohen, 55, from Brighton, pictured here with her seriously disabled child Liora, left, was able to send her child to a specialist school full time and two nights a week staying at a carer's house. Now she has nothing

And one severely disabled child, Liora, has gone from having a full-time place at a specialist school, and two nights at a carers house, to nothing at all. Her mother, single parent Beverley Cohen, 55, from Brighton, says: I have to keep a constant watch on her in case she has an epileptic fit. If she has a fit during our daily walk, Im forced to call an ambulance because shes too heavy for me to lift. I used to rely on the kindness of strangers to help move her, but now no one will go near a convulsing child with saliva coming out of her mouth.

Such is the concern at the reduction in care services that the Disabled Childrens Partnership  a coalition of 70 UK charities  has launched a nationwide probe to investigate how many vulnerable children are suffering.

The care sector is already at breaking point. A recent report from think-tank The Health Foundation suggested social-care workforce shortages stand at about 122,000, with a quarter of staff on zero-hours contracts.

In the UK there are an estimated 800,000 disabled children, more than 90 per cent of whom are cared for at home, and 850,000 adults who require long-term care.

A National Childrens Bureau survey also found that over the past decade there has been a huge rise in children with complex needs, such as severe autism.

According to Richard Kramer, chief executive of leading disability charity Sense, thousands more families are suddenly being cut adrift as the care sector struggles with staff absences due to sickness and self-quarantining. He warns: Some health authorities are using coronavirus as an excuse to come down sternly about what support is essential and what is not. Some councils have suspended funding to vital community day services  against Government guidance.

As part of the Coronavirus Act, which came into effect on March 25, local authorities were granted the power to withdraw services during the pandemic  so-called care easements  to prioritise healthcare workers time for patients with the most pressing needs.

This means authorities are no longer legally obliged to meet disabled peoples support needs so long as their basic human rights are upheld. Eight English authorities are known to have brought in a care easement plan within the past month. Charities say this means thousands of vulnerable adults are likely to see their care provisions culled.

Edel Harris, chief executive of learning disability charity Mencap, warned the legislation will worsen an already crisis situation. She says: Were already seeing increasing calls to our helplines, with people struggling to cope, having had their support removed because staff have gone sick or are redeployed elsewhere within the NHS.

Edel Harris, chief executive of learning disability charity Mencap, warned the Coronavirus Act has allowed local authorities to reduce services for those who rely on social care making an already bad situation worse

Some are completely isolated and unable to get food or medication. Others must now rely on families.

A fifth of disabled people with the neurological condition MS have seen cuts to their care since the outbreak, according to a recent poll by the MS Society charity. And while children are exempt from care easements, charities warn this wont protect them from other cuts.

Beverley Cohen battled for more than a decade to get support for her daughter Liora, 13. She has uncontrolled epilepsy, a chronic kidney condition and severe autism, says Beverley, a former communications executive. Despite this, authorities took convincing that she needed round-the-clock care

It was always assumed I would do it, despite the fact Im a single parent who has to earn a living.

Although Beverley managed to get Liora a place in a school for disabled children, home life has always been a struggle. Shes up at about 6am every morning, usually hitting her head against the wall to the extent it draws blood, Beverley says. And thats after waking up at least twice most nights, having wet the bed or had a nightmare.

Once shes up, I have to change her nappy, deliver 11 different medications, spoon-feed her and try to stop her from harming herself. Its challenging now that shes a strong, sturdy teenager and I have osteoporosis. And then theres always the risk shell have a seizure, which happens about four or five times a week.

Last year, following a breakdown in Beverleys mental health due to stress, she was granted extra support, and for two nights each week Liora stayed with a specialist carer. But on March 23, Beverley was informed by the service it was no longer safe for Liora to continue staying there. She is vulnerable and its risky because the carers have little personal protective equipment and are going into multiple houses, says Beverley. But theres no alternative.

Around the same time, it was also deemed too risky for Liora to attend school. The Government promised that schools would remain open for disabled children throughout the lockdown. But Beverley, who stopped working last month so she could care for Liora full-time, says: Realistically, its not safe for disabled children like Liora to go to school with 100 other kids when an infectious disease is circulating.

Parents are desperate for a viable, safe alternative.

Charities have criticised the government, including Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock, pictured, over the lack of services for vulnerable people

Mencaps Edel Harris agrees: We are calling for some sort of day provision to give families respite and a big recruitment drive for extra social-care staff. We know that the Government has supplied extra funding to be used for the care of people with complex learning disabilities during the pandemic, but fewer than half of care providers have received it from the local authority.

For Beverley, the responsibility of keeping her child safe is at times overwhelming. Taking my eye off her for just a moment could be fateful, she says. She has ended up in intensive care six times already because of epileptic fits, and I am terrified itll happen again.

If she ends up in hospital now and catches the virus, I dread to think what the outcome might be.
Majak Daw's girlfriend has revealed why his family doesn't use their baby son's first name and how well the AFL star had taken to fatherhood after nearly dying.

The North Melbourne Kangaroos player, 29, and his partner Emily McKay, 32, welcomed Hendrix Kuat William Daw on August 29 last year.

Mckay said 'Hendy' was a happy baby and explained his unique name was a mix of personal choices and family tributes, the Herald Sun reported.

Majak Daw's (pictured left) girlfriend Emily McKay (pictured right) said the North Melbourne Kangaroos AFL star was enjoying being a father to Hendrix Kuat William Daw (centre)

They welcomed 'Hendy' in August 2019 (pictured) and McKay revealed his name included family tributes and that Daw's family referred to him by his middle name Kuat

McKay said the couple could not settle on a name during her pregnancy but agreed Hendrix felt right after the baby was born.

She revealed Hendrix's extended family instead call him by his middle name.

'Kuat is a name chosen by his family. Normally in the culture, Maj's uncle would choose the baby's name and he did choose the name Kuat.

'I wanted both of us to name him but definitely wanted them to be involved. Because he's the first boy  he's got four nieces  it's the name they've given him,' McKay said.

She explained the second middle name, William, was her grandad's name and also the name of Daw's father.

McKay said the AFL star had easily taken to fatherhood thanks to growing up in a large family.

'He's really good. Even with my nieces and nephews. He's never been too scared to pick up a baby or give them a bottle or be silly with them, so that definitely helps.'

Daw almost died when he fell from Melbourne's Bolte Bridge in December 2018

Ms McKay said that Daw was one of nine children and had been able to practice fatherhood with his many nieces and nephews.

The arrival of baby Hendrix had been a joyous moment for the couple after they suffered from particularly tumultuous year.

Daw fell from the Bolte Bridge, near Melbourne's city centre, in December 2018 and suffered from serious injuries to his hip and pelvis.

He made one of AFL's greatest comebacks and returned to North Melbourne after recovering in March last year.

Daw then played his first senior game since Round 23 in 2018 in the Marsh Community Series AFL pre-season competition.

He was on the cusp of selection for Round 1 this year but was forced out by illness and the coronavirus suspension of the AFL season.

McKay is also eager for coronavirus restrictions to ease so she can re-open studios for her tanning business Spray Aus.

The mum said more children were on the cards for her and Daw but for the time being their focus was on Hendrix.

Lifeline Australia - 13 11 14
A hotelier told China.org.cn about how she struggles through the COVID-19 epidemic while living on Xiamen's world-famous Gulangyu Island. She later joined an alliance to offer benefits to medical workers.

Gulangyu, an island off the coast of Xiamen, Fujian province in southern China, is home to about 20,000 people and is a top domestic tourist destination.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, tens of thousands of tourists left the island, and only a few residents stayed. From Jan. 27 to March 16, the island was in lockdown.

Zhang Xiaojuan, who owns two guesthouses, has more leisure time now. She hears birds chirping, sees flowers blooming, and feels the breeze blowing. She also talks to her husband, a French artist who is trapped in France due to the pandemic, every day.

"The situation in France is not optimistic. Masks and disinfectants are difficult to find. My husband mostly stays at home and goes out to buy daily necessities once every two weeks. At least, he finds time to focus on his painting," she smiled.

Life looked peaceful and harmonious, but her heart was full of anxiety. "It was a surreal and haunting experience. I was worried about money, from hotel rents to staff salaries. The employees were also anxious," she told China.org.cn.

Xiamen city started to feel the heat on Jan. 22, and she began to panic. The next day, she saw a huge influx of requests to cancel bookings. She canceled them all.

"It was a devastating blow to the tourism industry. The impacts were huge," she said, "All hotels closed on Jan. 27, and hotel operators still have to pay rent to property owners during the epidemic."

According to her knowledge, some property owners exempted rent for one or two months; others reduced the rent by half. However, most owners didn't want to cut rent.

"On the island, possibly only ten property owners agreed to cut rent," Zhang said, adding that the local government issued some support policies and lobbied private property owners to exempt rent as much as possible.

She noted that compared with big hotel corporations, small and medium-sized hotels and guesthouses are more vulnerable.

"It will be tough for the hotel industry to recover by the end of 2020, and rent can be the most powerful straw to break hoteliers," Zhang said.

During the epidemic, Zhang did her best to send some medical supplies, such as masks and disinfectants, to poor areas. She was particularly touched by the sacrifice of frontline medical workers, who "traded their lives for our safety, health, and peace." As a result, she initiated the iGulang Tourism Alliance with five other hoteliers, Wu Jin, He Gu, Pan Yuewen, Xu Tong, and Zhu Sanhei, to give back to medical workers while struggling financially themselves.

"For several months, we had no income, but we have gratitude for the angels in white. We can always do something for them," she said. "So we thought, why dont we provide an exemption on hotel rate for frontlines medical workers."

The alliance will provide 3,000 rooms in 36 hotels for medical workers, free of charge, as well as free food and drinks from 11 seafood restaurants and cafes, and 3,000 gift bags from Jun. 1 to Dec. 31, 2020. "We hope these medical workers can put down their pain, pressure, and burden, and return to normal life after the journey," she said.

Five hospitals in Hubei and Fujian provinces have already signed up for the program and will send medical workers to the island.

Gulangyu Island ended lockdown on March 16. Since April 8, hotels have started to resume work gradually, with an average occupancy rate of 30%. On May 1-3, the first three days of the national holiday, Zhang was happy to see her two hotels were full.

However, it will still take a long time to recover. Before the epidemic, about 20,000 to 30,000 tourists would visit the island every day; while now there are only about 10,000 tourists on the island even at its peak on May Day holiday.

"I never thought 2020 would begin like this, nor did anyone," she said, "but too much anxiety makes people more vulnerable. So, no matter how difficult it is, you need to face the situation positively and optimistically. When things get tough, we need to come together to get through."

The hotelier doesnt know when she will see her French husband again, "I will not go to France unless the pandemic is effectively controlled, and I will also persuade him not to come back to China. We should reduce trouble, but we think about each other every day. And I pray for everyone," she sighed.
20 Yl Oncenin Kabusu ILOVEYOU Virusunu Yazan Kisi, Simdi Ne Yapyor?

2000 senesinde milyonlarca bilgisayar cokerten ILOVEYOU virusunu hatrlyor musunuz? Peki o doneme damgasn vuran virusun yazan olan Onel de Guzman' 20 yl once PC'lerin kabusu haline gelen Guzman, acaba simdi ne yapyor?
A couple wearing face masks in Moscow, Russia, on May 7, 2020.

DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty

Russia is quickly becoming a new hotspot in the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 177,000 cases and 1,600 deaths.

On Thursday, the country set a new one-day record for new cases, reporting 11,231 new cases.

Inside Russia, healthcare workers are complaining about a lack of protective equipment and censured for voicing suspicions that deaths are being underreported.

Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin has kept a low profile, left crisis management mostly to regional leadership, and is already eyeing a reopening.

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Video: How Viruses Like the Coronavirus Mutate

While Russia for a time appeared to escape a serious coronavirus outbreak, the situation there has changed drastically in past weeks.

On Thursday, the country reported its largest single-day increase in new cases  of 11,231  passing Germany and France to become the fifth-most infected country in the world, according to The Moscow Times.

Russia now has the fastest rate of new cases in Europe, and second-fastest rate of new cases in the world behind the US.

And yet, the government still appears to be dealing with the crisis chaotically. Health workers are still reporting a shortage on protective equipment, while President Vladimir Putin is already thinking of reopening the country.

Workers in protective gear bury coronavirus victims in the Leningrad region of Russia on May 6, 2020.

Peter Kovalev\TASS via Getty

Questions about the numbers

It's possible that Russia's outbreak is even worse than what's being reported. The official numbers on cases and deaths don't seem to line up with coronavirus trends seen elsewhere.

As of Thursday, the country had reported more than 177,000 cases, but just 1,625 deaths.

Most countries show a much higher fatality rate than what's being reported in Russia. France, which has reported around 174,000 cases as of Thursday  less than Russia  has recorded more than 25,000 deaths.

This has led to suspicions that the Russian government could be downplaying the true extent of its outbreak.

Story continues

Last month, Anastasia Vasilieva, head of an independent doctors' union, was detained after accusing the government of downplaying the official number of cases by misclassifying coronavirus cases as pneumonia, The New York Times reported.

There has been a sharp increase in coronavirus cases in recent weeks in Russia.

Worldometers

Shortages of protective equipment

Doctors have been complaining about unsafe working conditions and a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), causing some to go so far as to resign in protest.

Dmitry Seryogin, a Russian paramedic, told The Guardian on Tuesday that he and his colleagues weren't putting on full protective gear unless a patient specified they had coronavirus, and that more than a dozen of his coworkers had now contracted the virus.

The Guardian also reported on the resignation of a doctor at a war-veterans hospital in St. Petersburg, who complained about a PPE shortage. The doctor, Marianna Zamyatina, said that before she quit her husband had given her a welder's mask to stay safe at work.

The outbreak appears to have hit the country's healthcare workers especially hard.

In one St. Petersburg hospital, 111 ambulance workers have been infected, according to The Guardian.

A website has even been set up to honor the Russian doctors who have died in the crisis. As of Thursday, this number has reached 113.

A St. Petersburg resident decorates a wall with flowers that was set up to honor the healthcare workers who died after contracting with the coronavirus.

Sergei Konkov\TASS via Getty

"We're seeing mass infections among medical workers," Andrei Konoval, co-chairman of the independent medical workers' union Deystviye, told The Guardian. "From everything we have seen, hospitals seem to be one of the key vectors for the spread of the disease."

Doctors dying in mysterious ways

In recent weeks, three doctors have fallen from hospital windows in bizarre circumstances. Two of them died.

Natalya Lebedeva, a 48-year-old ambulance service manager, died on April 24 after falling from the fifth floor of a Moscow hospital where she was being treated for the coronavirus.

Her death came after she was blamed for failing to contain the virus locally by superiors, according to a colleague who spoke to The Independent.

A day later, 47-year-old Yelena Nepomnyashaya, the acting head doctor at a hospital in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, died after falling out of a fifth-floor window of the health center. She was said to have been in conflict with local officials who wanted to turn her hospital into a coronavirus unit, even though it only had one respirator.

Workers erect a temporary coronavirus hospital in Moscow on May 7, 2020.

Artyom Geodakyan\TASS via Getty Images

A week later, 37-year-old paramedic Alexander Shulepov fell from the first floor of the hospital where he was receiving treatment for the coronavirus and is now in the ICU for a fractured skull.

Ten days prior he had recorded a video in which he complained about being forced to work while sick with COVID-19. He was subsequently summoned by the police for spreading "fake news" and later apologized, saying he had posted it in "an emotional state."

Dmitry Belyajov, chair of Russia's independent ambulance workers union, told The Independent he had no reason to believe that the three incidents weren't suicides or attempts caused by a desperate situation for health workers in the country.

"Managers don't know what to do, so they have taken to scapegoating the middle-rung people," he said. "Exhausted enough by the pandemic, they are throwing themselves out of windows."

Putin's hands-off approach

Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin has been mostly out of the picture, palming off most coronavirus duties to regional leaders instead.

This could be because public health outbreaks aren't really his area of expertise, and he worries that any missteps will make him look bad.

"Putin doesn't have a gut feeling for this," Konstantin Gaaze, a political analyst at the Carnegie Moscow Center, recently told Politico.

"He is OK with sharing some authority because he himself doesn't know what is right and wrong in the current circumstances."

In his rare appearances, Putin has given wildly different descriptions of the situation, from saying the country was having "a lot of problems" on April 14, to saying just five days later the situation was "under full control."

The crisis has seen Putin's approval rating drop to 59% in April, according to Reuters.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin is seen in his office in the Novo-Ogaryovo residence as he chairs a government meeting via videoconference link to discuss measures aimed at supporting Russia's economy and public services during the pandemic of the novel coronavirus disease on May 6, 2020.

Alexei Druzhinin\TASS via Getty

Beginning to reopen?

Even as the country's coronavirus outbreak appears to peak, Putin appears to be looking to reopen.

On Wednesday, he ordered regional governors to come up with plans to gradually lift lockdown measures, the Financial Times reported. He also endorsed a plan for industrial and construction companies to resume on May 12.

Moscow, the hardest-hit city, is extending its own lockdown through May 31, but with some restrictions being lifted on May 13 on certain businesses.

Putin, however, seems wary not to make any missteps.

"In some places, the tough, justified preventive measures need to stay in place and even be increased, and in some places, it is possible to plan a gradual softening," he said, according to the FT. "But I am saying this again: we cannot jump ahead of ourselves. Any carelessness or haste may cause a setback."

"The price of even the smallest mistake is the safety, lives and health of our people."

Business Insider
A man stopped on suspicion of DWI was fatally shot Friday by the arresting officer after he allegedly grabbed the lawmans fallen stun gun during a struggle in north Houston.

The incident marked the areas fourth fatal officer-involved shooting in the past three weeks, according to police reports.

Not all of the people who died were alleged to be in possession of firearms - one had a handgun, another held a BB gun, one had a piece of rebar and the latest appeared to be unarmed before taking the officers Taser, authorities said. A 2019 Washington Post analysis of fatal officer-involved shootings around the nation showed that about half involved a suspect with guns.

John Fullinwider, cofounder of the Dallas-based Mothers Against Police Brutality, said there should be alternatives to shooting when the suspect isnt in possession of a firearm.

Unless a person has a gun, the departments need to find another way, he said. Theres no reason to rush in a situation where a person doesnt have a gun.

Harris County Deputies Organization President David Cuevas declined to speak on specific cases, and the Houston Police Officers Union didnt respond for comment. But Cuevas said officers are able to shoot when the situation is serious enough.

No deputy goes to work wanting to have to take someones life, Cuevas said. Sometimes, based on the circumstances, we have to use deadly force.

The deadly encounter on Friday began about 1:15 a.m. when a Houston police officer tasked with spotting intoxicated drivers clocked a man driving over 90 mph along Interstate 45 just south of Beltway 8, Houston police officials said. The 48-year-old driver eventually pulled into an empty business parking lot off the feeder road.

The officer performed field sobriety tests to determine if the driver was intoxicated, Houston Police Executive Asst. Chief Matt Slinkard said. The driver showed several signs of intoxication, so the officer moved to put him in handcuffs.

A struggle - and what really turned out to be quite a violent struggle - happened between the officer and the suspect (during the arrest), Slinkard said.

The officers body-worn camera was knocked off during what Slinkard called a fight. He fired his stun gun unsuccessfully and dropped it on the ground.

Thats when the driver picked it up as the officer yelled commands for him to get on the ground, Slinkard said. The officer then pulled his gun and fired up to four times, striking the driver more than once.

He started life-saving efforts on the driver as he radioed for paramedics. An ambulance rushed the driver to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Any time something like this happens, we consider any loss of life tragic, Slinkard said. The officer is pretty shaken up. Our hearts, our thoughts, our prayers go out to the deceased individuals family.

The shooting follows three law enforcement encounters that turned deadly last month.

In the most recent, on April 27, an east Houston man who called 911 and told a dispatcher Im ready for yall was killed by police after he spent more than 30 minutes shooting at random inside a quiet neighborhood.

Officers spotted the man behind a home in the 7900 block of Lane Street, and he began firing his gun before moving to the houses front porch, Acevedo said.

The man, later identified as 28-year-old Christopher Aguirre, eventually raised his gun at officers surrounding the house, which is when three officers with rifles opened fire, police said.

On April 22, a plain-clothes Harris County sheriff's deputy shot and killed a man in a Missouri City neighborhood.

The deputy was a member of the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force trying to arrest a man on a Mesquite capital murder charge around 6 a.m. The deputy was inside a car in the 15100 block of East Ritter Circle, when a neighbor walked up and tapped on the window, according to Harris County Sheriff's Office Chief Tim Navarre.

The man was carrying a flashlight and a BB gun, which Navarre said looked like a handgun. The man was a neighborhood watchdog who had been tasked with watching over a home on the block that had recently been burglarized, witnesses told detectives.

The deputy pulled his gun and exchanged words with the man, and at some point, the man lowered his flashlight and allegedly raised his gun, Navarre said. The deputy opened fire and struck the man once.

And on April 21, Houston police officers fatally shot 27-year-old Nicholas Chavez after they responded to a call near the 800 block of Gazin Street in Denver Harbor. The caller told police that Chavez was running in front of cars, jumping fences and threatening bystanders with an object they later determined was rebar.

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said the 27-year-old refused to comply with his officers demands and threatened them, leading the officers to shoot the man with Taser rounds and bean bag projectiles. When Chavez started charging at them, Acevedo said, at least four officers shot the man with lethal rounds.

A 47-second cellphone video clip showed some of the encounter. It began with Chavez on his knees, appearing to rise to his feet before two shots sounded. He stumbled to his knees again, and 31 seconds into the clip, a barrage of what sounds like at least a dozen shots rang out.

Acevedo said the footage raised questions, and pledged to release full body camera video once his investigators and the district attorneys office have wrapped up their investigations.

In most shootings such as these, law enforcement officers are typically placed on administrative leave, pending an internal investigation.
About one-third of people in Alabama who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus are no longer showing any symptoms of the illness, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health.

Dr. Karen Landers, ADPH Northern District medical officer, said Friday that ADPH interviews with those who have tested positive have revealed that 3,016 people reported no longer suffering any symptoms. That also includes those who tested positive but were asymptomatic. On Friday afternoon, ADPH said 9,221 have tested positive in Alabama since the first case on March 11.

Landers said that the vast majority of patients recover. She spoke during a briefing Friday in Huntsville, about an hour after as Gov. Kay Ivey announced the states economy would further reopen, once again allowing dining in restaurants and trips to the beauty shop as of Monday.

Its perhaps an overlooked element of the pandemic that medical officials have tried to emphasize. The vast majority of patients do quite well, Landers said.

Still, as Alabama reopens, the guidelines remain: Those with underlying health conditions should be more protective of their well-being. And social distancing will remain a part of everyday life as well as wearing masks and keeping your hands as clean as possible.

"So moving forward," Landers said, "as the governor has issued new information this morning, it will be important for all of us to continue to follow the six-foot social distancing, the respiratory hygiene measures, the voluntary use of a cloth face covering and being very situationally aware of our responsibilities as individuals to protect persons that are less likely to have a good outcome and more vulnerable to this disease."

The fact that at least one-third of those who have tested positive are no longer showing symptoms should be a source of encouragement, Landers said. Asked if the number could be even higher, she said that's the data available to ADPH at this time through interviews and contact tracing. Each person who tests positive for COVID-19 is interviewed by ADPH for the purposes of gathering data to be used in fighting the spread.

Landers also said that about 80 percent of those who have tested positive do not require hospitalization. According to the ADPH website on Friday afternoon  only about 13.1 percent have been hospitalized.

About 4.1 percent of those who test positive have died, according to the ADPH website. Thats lower than the national death rate of 6 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Although for weeks, those in Alabama who did not have symptoms were not easily able to find a test, meaning many who had extremely mild cases or no symptoms may not have been counted.

If you look at that 3,000 of those 9,000, that gives you a third that are asymptomatic or no longer symptomatic, Landers said. So thats useful. And we look at the number that are hospitalized. There are people being discharged and they are doing well. Our death data, regrettably, that is a terrible number, but many of those have underlying health problems  some people were even on Hospice (care).
Vietnam achieved high export growth in many markets in the first four months despite COVID-19

Despite facing disruptions in export orders fro partners in the EU, the US, or Japan, Vietnams exports picked up 4.7 per cent in value, touching approximately $83 billion.

Despite adversity, several businesses have managed to achieve stable export orders through changing production modes and taking smart adaptive measures.

Unlike the shortage of orders businesses are seeing in big export sectors, from the outset of 2020 until present privately-held An Phat Holdings (APH) have clinched new export orders with customers in Japan and Europe in the compostable bag export segment.

This came in the wake of a well-conceived business strategy being deployed much earlier by the company.

According to APHs general director Dinh Xuan Cuong, changing the product structure towards employing cutting-edge and environmentally friendly technologies in packaging production is quite useful during the pandemic.

Consequently, the company has still managed growth in both market share and revenue in the compostable bag segment, and gained new orders mostly from EU partners.

Compostable bags are one of APH's core products, with almost all products going to export.

APH's products have made forays into the EU, Australia, Japan and the US, in which EU took the lead by making up 50 per cent of the companys compostable plastic bag revenue last year.

The products have made forays in the EU, Australia, Japan, and the US, of which the EU took the lead by making up 50 per cent of the companys compostable plastic bag revenue last year.

When it comes to fruit exports, before the May 1 holiday, Vina T&T Group exported by air more than 10 containers of mangos, thanh long (dragon fruit), and rambutan to Los Angeles and New York in the US.

According to the companys director Nguyen Dinh Tung, the company had faced many difficulties as at the time both the US and the EU closed their borders to prevent the epidemic.

The company has taken measures to adapt. Last month (April), Vina T&T Group had managed stable exports of fresh fruits by both air and sea routes to make up for the shortfall in export volume in the month prior.

Meanwhile, Dong Giao Foodstuff Export JSC (Doveco), a leading fresh and processed agricultural product export firm in Vietnam, has managed stable operations with a sharp rise in processed volumes to serve export orders to Japan and the EU.

A Doveco executive said that the companys products are processed following the latest Japan technology. After being frozen, the products are preserved at -18 degrees Celsius, ensuring their freshness for as long as two years.

Regarding Vietnams export business in the first four months of this year, Tran Thanh Hai, deputy head of the Export Import Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that despite COVID-19, exports still registered growth in major markets.

The US continued to top Vietnams export markets in this four-month period with a 13.4 per cent jump to reach $20.3 billion. China came second with a 26.7 per cent hike touching $13.1 billion, and Japan placed third with $6.7 billion in export value, up 10.1 per cent.

Significantly, many markets in the Americas witnessed robust growth in imports from Vietnam, as exports to Mexico picked up 61 per cent, to Chile 93 per cent, to Argentina 55 per cent, to Panama 73 per cent, and to Peru 82 per cent.
Vancomycin 500 mg is among 37 medicines that are allowed to resume exports by the Drug Administration of Vietnam. - Photo bidiphar.com

The disease situation has improved so the export of the drugs can be resumed, it said.

Earlier, on April 16, the DAV issued a document requesting enterprises engaged in manufacturing and exporting of medicines to suspend the export of 37 items to ensure there would be enough for domestic use.

The drugs were considered by the MoH as necessary for quarantine and treatment of COVID-19.

They include antibiotics, fluids, dialysis solutions and antipyretic namely Immunoglobulin 5 percent, Vancomycin 500 mg, ceftriaxone, levotloxacin 250mg/50ml, and ceftazidime.
Boarded-up and temporarily closed pubs in Temple Bar, Dublin, as the country continues to adhere to lockdown measures. Photo: Paul Faith/AFP via Getty Images

Efforts to fast-track the opening of pubs next month have been delivered a body blow by Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan.

He said the reopening of pubs would have to be in the latter stages of the roadmap to easing restrictions - in August.

"I am not encouraging sectors to hurry. I do not see this happening in June," he said.

He was speaking as it was announced a further 27 people had died with Covid-19.

It brings the death toll to 1,429, half of whom were nursing home residents.

A further 156 new confirmed cases have been diagnosed, pushing the numbers infected here to 22,541.

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Dr Holohan said there were encouraging signs an easing of lockdown measures could begin in mid-May, but an assessment would not be made until the end of next week.

Data presented to the National Public Health Emergency Team yesterday showed high levels of compliance with restrictive measures, with a fall-off in a range of activities, from shopping to going to ATMs, since the beginning of March.

Asked about the decision to shelve the Leaving Cert, Dr Holohan said he had not asked for its cancellation.

He said the decision "provides clarity to students" and his team had given public health advice to the Department of Education early on.

Figures on deaths show the highest numbers have been seen in over-85s, who account for 652 fatalities. This is followed by people in their early 80s (304 deaths).

New guidance on when someone who has had coronavirus can return to work is expected to boost efforts to kick-start the economy as the phased easing of lockdown is due to begin later this month.

Dr Holohan said anyone who has had a confirmed diagnosis and recovered within the previous three months could go back to work. It is based on the scientific view that if someone gets the infection and recovers they are unlikely to be reinfected in the early months afterwards.

The decision, which signals the person would have a form of immunity, was made on expert advice by the National Public Health Emergency Team.

It could prove significant as more workplaces reopen over the summer and the lockdown measures are eased.

Meanwhile, some patients who have recovered from Covid-19 in Irish hospitals are having to learn how to walk again.

The hidden impact of the virus on some patients who fought for their lives in intensive care for weeks is forcing them to regain the ability to walk and breathe as normal.

More than 1,400 people who caught the virus and had to be hospitalised have been discharged, but the after-effects have been most severes on those treated in intensive care. They are turning to physiotherapists like Eamon O'Muircheartaigh - son of legendary GAA commentator Micheal - to get them from using a Zimmer frame to being back on their feet.

"Patients who have been in intensive care can be knackered. If you lie in bed for three weeks your muscles can disappear. The heart and lungs get weak," Beaumont Hospital infectious disease consultant Prof Sam McConkey said.

"People need to be reconditioned to build the muscles back up and get the confidence to walk again. They need strength and conditioning. They could start on parallel bars or a Zimmer frame and take steps trying to walk longer distances.

Shelve

"Physiotherapists play a huge role. The focus is so often on doctors and nurses in intensive care, but physiotherapists are also at the bedside helping the patient on a ventilator to clear their throat through repositioning and chest physiotherapy."

Mr O'Muircheartaigh, who is physiotherapist for the Louth senior team, said: "Currently we're not sure of the long-term damage C-19 has done to affected people's lungs due to the fact that the consultant respiratory specialists in our hospitals are still in emergency mode.

"Lungs are quite elastic and in a lot of cases there could be irreversible damage caused where one loses that elasticity as it's replaced by scar tissue, thereby reducing the lung capacity."
Bay Area counties are nowhere near meeting the governors criteria for reopening some parts of the state ahead of others. Even though most of the region was planning to move at a slower pace anyway, the gaps between whos ready and whos not underscore just how varied the coronavirus outbreak has been across California.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday that the reopening metrics he announced a day earlier apply only to counties that would like to move at a faster pace than the state as a whole. So even though most large, urban counties wont meet those goals anytime soon  maybe not until the virus is wiped out by a vaccine  at some point in the coming weeks the state will likely relax shelter-in-place restrictions regardless, once there are other signs that the outbreak is under control.

Its incumbent upon us to recognize ... regional variability, Newsom said Friday at his daily coronavirus briefing. We want to give people flexibility to loosen quicker (or) to maintain more strict guidelines based upon conditions on the ground.

He noted that the Bay Area and Los Angeles in particular would be slower to emerge from sheltering in place. But nearly two dozen counties have approached his office about reopening ahead of the rest of the state, he said. If the state approves their requests then they could move further into what Newsom has labeled phase two of recovery.

In those counties, some restaurants, shopping malls, nonessential manufacturing companies and open-space museums and galleries could open as early as next week. Counties that dont meet the strict early-opening criteria can at best allow curbside retail sales to resume.

I know there is deep anxiety. People are feeling a desire to reopen, Newsom said. We will be deeper into the next phase sooner than most people believe. Thats weeks, not months, that we together can move into the deeper phase if we continue that good work and good progress.

Six Bay Area counties  Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara  have extended a regional shelter-in-place order through the end of the month, and they announced their own criteria for relaxing social-distancing protocols. None of the six counties are yet meeting all of those goals.

Napa and Sonoma counties planned to allow curbside retail to resume right away. Solano County is allowing some retail businesses to open for in-store shopping, seemingly in defiance of the state orders. No other Bay Area counties intended to allow any similar resumption of retail business.

Its not obvious which, if any, of Californias 58 counties have met Newsoms criteria for early reopening. Three counties  Butte, Yuba and Sutter  have started easing restrictions, some without state approval. Nevada County, which meets at least some of the benchmarks, announced Friday its also pulling back its local stay-at-home order.

Much of the metrics data are difficult to get from counties, and some of Newsoms goals are vague or not clearly defined.

Cases: Counties must report no more than one case per 10,000 residents over the last 14 days.

The Chronicle considered that to mean that the number of new cases reported over a 14-day period could not exceed one per 10,000 residents. State officials were unable to immediately provide clarity.

As of Friday, 27 counties  most of them in rural parts of Northern California or the Sierra  met that benchmark, as well as Santa Cruz County. No counties in the Bay Area had met the goal, though some were closer than others.

Over the past two weeks, Santa Clara, Contra Costa, Marin, Sonoma and Napa counties had the lowest case rates in the Bay Area, between 1.5 and 1.8 cases per 10,000 residents. San Francisco had the highest, at 5.8 cases per 10,000 residents. While tests have become more widely available throughout the region, different policies on who can receive them could skew data.

Deaths: Counties cannot report any COVID-19 deaths for 14 days  a goal that only Napa County is meeting in the Bay Area. Thirty-two counties in all have met this goal, although some of those counties still have high case rates. Some rural counties, mostly in Northern California, have not had any deaths from the coronavirus.

But Santa Clara County had 32 deaths in the past two weeks, and Los Angeles County reported more than 600 deaths. Given those statistics, it seems highly unlikely that any large county will go two weeks without any deaths in the coming months, let alone weeks.

Testing: Counties must have the capacity to conduct 1.5 tests daily per 1,000 residents.

Capacity is a difficult metric to quantify, since many counties have reported that they have enough tests to meet their local goals, but they have trouble getting tests to those who need them. For example, some community testing sites are underutilized, while hospitals and nursing homes report not being able to test everyone who needs it.

In the Bay Area, only San Francisco is meeting the state goal, doing about 1.6 tests daily per 1,000 residents. Six other counties are conducting well below one test per 1,000 residents. Two counties  Solano and Sonoma  do not report daily testing numbers online and current data were not immediately available.

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.

Tracing: Contact tracing is a key component of reopening because it allows counties to quickly investigate and contain new infections before they can spread. Newsoms early-opening metrics demand 15 contact tracers per 100,000 residents.

Based on current staffing reports, no Bay Area counties are meeting this criteria. San Francisco, which has undergone a massive training effort in recent weeks, comes closest, with about 12 contact tracers per 100,000 residents. Three counties  Napa, Solano and Sonoma  have not reported the current size of their staffs.

Homeless: To open early, counties will need to show that they can temporarily house at least 15% of county residents experiencing homelessness. From the limited guidelines that have been published so far, its unclear how the state will measure local homeless populations and what will be considered temporarily housed.

More detailed information is supposed to be released next week.

Hospitals: Newsom requires that counties be able to meet a surge of at least 35% in hospital bed demand, in case of a sudden rise in COVID-19 cases.

Most counties dont report hospital capacity in a way that makes it easy to determine if theyre meeting that goal. But Bay Area counties have not been overwhelmed with coronavirus patients so far. Among counties that report hospital data, all are well below capacity.

Nursing homes: Skilled nursing facilities must have a two-week supply of personal protective equipment for workers, and they must have access to resources other than state supplies.

Few counties make this information readily available. Six Bay Area counties have stated goals of requiring a 30-day supply of equipment for nursing homes, along with hospitals and other health care facilities. None of them are currently meeting that goal.

Erin Allday and Joaquin Palomino are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: eallday@sfchronicle.com, jpalomino@sfchronicle.com
Staff members at Open Door were delighted to have been called upon to deliver PPE to nursing homes and other facilities.

They are also helping the HSE with delivery and collection of test kits in Wicklow and Dublin.

'We are in regular contact with all our members and volunteers each week,' said fundraising coordinator Suzanne Cox. 'The social part is extremely important and the majority of our members are cocooning.'

The day centre on Vevay Road has been closed since mid-March and the staff members available to do any tasks required.

'Last Friday a team of us went out,' said Suzanne, who said that they are on call when required. 'We used three buses and four of our cars to pick up stock from Clonskeagh and deliver it to various locations.'

There was just one person in each vehicle, with the rest of the space used for PPE. 'We did another small run on Monday and another on Tuesday,' said Suzanne. 'We are helping the HSE whenever we can and are very happy to do it.'
Nepal on Saturday raised objection over India inaugurating a strategically crucial link road connecting the Lipulekh pass at a height of 17,000 feet along the border with China in Uttarakhand with Dharchula, saying this "unilateral act" runs against the understanding reached between the two countries on resolving the border issues.

Nepal's Foreign Affairs Ministry in a statement said the government "has learnt with regret" about the inauguration of the link road connecting to Lipulekh pass, which Nepal claims to be part of its territory.

The 80-Km new road inaugurated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday is expected to help pilgrims visiting Kailash-Mansarovar in Tibet in China as it is around 90 kms from the Lipulekh pass.

After inaugurating the road through video-conferencing, Singh said pilgrims going to Kailash-Mansarovar will now be able to complete their journey in one week instead of up to three weeks. The road originates at Ghatiabagarh and ends at Lipulekh pass, the gateway to Kailash-Mansarovar.

The Kailash-Mansarovar yatra involves trekking at high altitudes of up to 19,500 feet, under inhospitable conditions, including extreme weather and rugged terrain.

Raising objection on the construction of the link road, Nepal's Foreign Ministry said, "This unilateral act runs against the understanding reached between the two countries including at the level of the Prime Ministers that a solution to boundary issues would be sought through negotiation."



Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani, a disputed border area between Nepal and India. Both India and Nepal claim Kalapani as an integral part of their territory - India as part of Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district and Nepal as part of Darchula district.

"The Government of Nepal has consistently maintained that as per the Sugauli Treaty (1816), all the territories east of Kali (Mahakali) River, including Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipulekh, belong to Nepal," the ministry said.

"This was reiterated by the Government of Nepal several times in the past and most recently through a diplomatic note addressed to the Government of India on November 20, 2019 in response to the new political map issued by the latter," it said.

It said that Nepal had expressed its disagreement in 2015 also through separate diplomatic notes addressed to the governments of both India and China when the two sides agreed to include Lipulekh pass as a bilateral trade route without Nepal's consent in the Joint Statement issued on May 5, 2015 during the official visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to China.

"With this in mind, the Government of Nepal has proposed twice the dates for holding a meeting of the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries, as mandated by their leaders, for which the response from the Indian side is still awaited," it said.

"The Government of Nepal remains committed to seeking diplomatic solutions to boundary issues on the basis of the historical treaty, documents, facts and maps in keeping with the spirit of close and friendly ties between the two countries," the ministry said.

The ministry has also noted that the reports prepared by Nepal - India Eminent Persons Group (EPG) formed with a mandate to recommend measures and institutional framework with a view to elevating the existing relations, if implemented, will pave way to address outstanding issues left by the history.

Meanwhile, Nepal Police on Saturday detained dozens of youths and students as they held a demonstration near the Indian Embassy here to protest the inauguration of the link road.

The protesters, including student activists of the All Nepal National Free Students Union (ANNFSU) affiliated to the ruling Nepal Communist Party and youth leaders urged the government to take steps to stop India from using the road.

The construction of the road began in 2008 and was scheduled to be completed in 2013, but it got delayed due to the tough terrain in the portion between Nazang to Bundi village.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
KYODO NEWS - May 9, 2020 - 13:18 | All, Japan, Coronavirus

Japan is set to approve on Wednesday test kits that can detect novel coronavirus antigens in 15 to 30 minutes as the country seeks to improve its testing regime, government sources said Saturday.

The government will cover the new test under Japan's public insurance system, the sources said.

Fujirebio Inc., the test kit producer, said it can supply 200,000 kits a week and will expand output if there is more demand.

After the Tokyo-based company applied for approval in April, health minister Katsunobu Kato told parliament on Friday he would make a decision "within the next week."

"They can be used at the medical front. The maker said a sizable number (of the kits) can be provided," he said.

Antigen tests, which detect proteins unique to a virus, are widely used for testing for flu. Doctors insert swabs into the back of a patient's nostril and get the results on site.

In contrast, the currently dominant polymerase chain reaction tests require sending samples to labs and waiting hours for results. In some cases, patients have to wait for a week to learn the outcome.

But the antigen test is said to be less accurate, and patients with a limited amount of virus could test negative.

"We will cover its shortfalls with PCR tests, and consider how to use it in the best combination," said Kato.

He indicated the new test is useful for testing patients requiring immediate medical attention as well as those getting ready to undergo operations.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has also suggested using the antigen test prior to using PCR tests.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 22:53:28|Editor: huaxia

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HELSINKI, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) must learn lessons from the COVID-19 crisis and draft clear policies for various crises that Europe might face in the future, noted Jutta Urpilainen, a Finnish European Commissioner for International Partnerships, in Helsinki on Saturday.

In an interview with Finnish national broadcaster Yle, Urpilainen said that the speed and extent of the COVID-19 spreading to Europe surprised the European Commission, despite having closely monitored the development of the pandemic.

"Urpilainen says that EU states failed to help Italy enough because they were too focused on their own concerns," Yle said in an online story. "COVID-19 first struck Italy, which asked for help from other member states -- largely in vain."

Urpilainen said that the other EU states did not help Italy enough because they did not have the time or resources to look beyond their own borders, Yle reported.

The situation made it clear that the EU did not have a crisis framework for coping with a pandemic, she said.

"They started to hoard protective gear and thinking 'oh no, what if the situation progresses in the same way in our own country and society?'. In that situation, each one just concentrated on their own society and their own citizens," Urpilainen told Yle.

She said that once the crisis is under control, the EU should scrutinize what had happened in Europe at the beginning of the crisis and what should be learned from it.

"Europe will definitely face different crises in the future. We would be wiser and we would have clear operating models, regulations, and coordination, on how we work together," Urpilainen was quoted as saying.

Born in 1975, Jutta Urpilainen was the former chair of Finland's Social Democratic Party from 2008 to 2014, and the Finance Minister between 2011 and 2014. She became a commissioner in charge of international partnerships in the European Commission in December 2019. Enditem
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Two more children have died of coronavirus complications, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday morning.

Overall, three children have died, including a 5-year-old boy in New York City, the governor previously said.

We had thought initially that young people were not affected by COVID-19, and that was actually good news," Cuomo said. We are not so sure that is the fact anymore.

The illness has taken the lives of three young New Yorkers, Cuomo said.

While Cuomo said there have been 73 reported cases of children becoming severely ill with symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease and apparent toxic shock syndrome in New York State, Mayor Bill de Blasio said that there have been 15 recently-reported cases citywide.

"These are children who come in and dont present the symptoms we would normally [see] with COVID, Cuomo explained, adding that children present more an inflammation of the blood vessels.

The coronavirus could cause serious illness in kids as the COVID infection doesnt completely spare any particular age group, Dr. Pamela Feuer, director of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at Staten Island University Hospital in Ocean Breeze and Princes Bay, previously told the Advance/SILive.com.

45 Photos of the pandemic in NYC: Our lives changed forever

We are learning something new every single day and have a heightened awareness of every new type of symptom we see," Feuer said. The international pediatric care community is communicating to share information and to make sure that we keep on top of the new things were seeing.

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK***

While kids with serious preexisting conditions might be at higher risk, Feuer also cautioned that symptoms, such as inflammatory syndrome, Kawasaki disease and toxic shock could occur in children who initially were asymptomatic for coronavirus. And those complications could start up to several weeks past the initial infection for COVID-19.

The older teen and young adult population, especially those with any sort of risk factors, are presenting more similarly to the adults with a COVID pneumonia requiring anywhere from oxygen to more critical illness of respiratory failure requiring a ventilator, Feuer said.
A group of 20 migrant workers



returning to Jharkhand from West Bengal's Birbhum district by walking along railway tracks had a narrow escape when an inspection van stopped in front of them on a river bridge, officials said on Saturday.

The labourers had managed to reach the temple town of Tarapith from Purba Bardhaman district during the lockdown and started on foot from there towards neighbouring Jharkhand on Friday night.

When they were on a bridge over the river Brambhani around 9.30 PM, an inspection van came from the opposite direction, from Pakur in Jharkhand, officials said.

The driver of the inspection van applied emergency brake after he noticed the people, who included women and children, on the track.

After the driver informed the control room, a GRP team reached there and brought them to Nalhati in Birbhum district, officials said.

Efforts are on to send the 20 people, who are now sheltered in the Nalhati I BDO's office, to Jharkhand.

The incident occurred hours after 16 migrant workers sleeping on rail tracks were crushed to death by a goods train in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
SIOUX FALLS, S.D.  A battle is brewing between a pair of South Dakota Indian tribes and the governor's office over checkpoints set up on the reservations restricting travel during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gov. Kristi Noem sent letters Friday to leaders of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and the Oglala Sioux Tribe demanding that checkpoints that have been set up on those reservations along state and U.S. highways be removed immediately.

If the checkpoints are not removed within the next 48 hours, the governor will pursue legal action against the tribes, the governor's office said in a news release Friday.

We are strongest when we work together; this includes our battle against COVID-19, the governor said in a statement sent to media Friday afternoon. I request that the tribes immediately cease interfering with or regulating traffic on US and State Highways and remove all travel checkpoints.

More: Native American tribes have been hit hard by coronavirus, and they're battling red tape to get help

Last month, the U.S. Department of the Interiors Bureau of Indian Affairs issued a memorandum regarding tribal government authority to close or restrict travel on state and U.S. highways, calling on tribes to get permission from state authorities before closing or restricting travel.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem sent letters Friday to leaders of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and the Oglala Sioux Tribe demanding that checkpoints that have been set up on those reservations along state and U.S. highways be removed immediately.

The tribes have taken action because they are concerned the virus could overwhelm fragile health care systems that serve many people with underlying health problems. They are still allowing essential businesses on to the reservations and said the checkpoints were set up to keep out tourists or other visitors who could be carrying coronavirus infections.

Tribal chairman Harold Frazier issued a statement addressing Noem, saying, You continuing to interfere in our efforts to do what science and facts dictate seriously undermine our ability to protect everyone on the reservation.

Chase Iron Eyes, a spokesman for Oglala Sioux President Julian Bear Runner, said he expected the tribe to defend its rights as a sovereign nation to keep out threats to their health.

Story continues

Wed be interested in talking face to face with Governor Noem and the attorney general and whoever else is involved, he said.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Coronavirus: South Dakota governor demands tribes remove checkpoints
Popular social media commentator, Reno Omokri has expressed that president Muhammadu Buhari never increased the nations foreign reserve.

Read Also: When You Post Your Problems On Social Media, 4 Things Are Likely To Happen: Omokri

Speaking via his official Twitter handle, the popular critic alleges that Buhari has only increased the nations foreign debt since he assumed office.

He wrote, I dont understand why Nigerians are gullible enough to believe General @MBuhari really increased their Foreign Reserves. That is a LIE. Buhari increased foreign debt from $7 billion to $30 billion. Subtract that from our reserves and we have NO FOREIGN RESERVES!

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Most major crises deliver changes that forever transform society. After the Second World War it was the build out of the social safety net, a process that continued for another 30 years in most of the developed economies.

Out of the pioneering work of the Atlee government in creating the National Health Service  based on the groundbreaking work of U.K. Liberal MP William Beveridge  then pension and labour reform, began a process that spread across Western Europe and North America.

With the arrival of monetarism, fiscal conservatism and governments focused more on serving the demands of the corporate world than those of their most vulnerable citizens, the process mostly stalled. Deep wealth inequalities grew, health systems began to sag under the strains of heavier demand and underfunding.

It is beginning to look as if this epidemic will have restarted the search for new ways to rebalance societies toward greater equality and social justice. For nearly six decades visionaries of left and right in North America and Europe have wrestled over how to deliver the next step to a more modern social safety net. The largest missing ingredient most observed was a secure income, not just for the elderly and the poorest, but for the working poor as well.

The core elements of most modern nations support systems include pensions, health care, employment insurance and a plethora of social assistance payments. In Canada, our pension systems are today well-funded and low cost to operate. They are beacons of good public sector management beside the alphabet soup of social assistance programmes, which are often poorly and arbitrarily administered. This crisis revealed several other deep systemic flaws.

Who knew nursing homes were so terribly funded and supervised before this crisis, that many were the killing floor for nearly four-out-of-five Canadian COVID-19 deaths? Who knew that meat packing had fallen back into some of the dangerous practices first revealed by Upton Sinclairs The Jungle  his searing attack on the Chicago abattoirs  nearly 120 years ago. Who knew that so many millions of Canadians were ineligible for EI support?

Crises deliver important lessons. Two lessons of this crisis are that the Canada Revenue Agency showed itself to be just as good at dispensing cash as they are in collecting it. Secondly, the efficiency of the crisis support systems their smart young IT team established were breathtakingly fast and effective, in contrast to the creaky 60 year old computer systems of many normal government programmes.

We know that we will emerge from this crisis with higher levels of unemployment than we have seen in two generations. We should be prepared for a winter ahead into which millions of Canadians will be headed broke, unemployed and close to despair.

It was cash from Canadian governments that saved as many small businesses as it did. It was cash that kept students and gig workers and the laid off going. The CRA demonstrated its skill at matching cash with need through the tax system. Perhaps it is finally time to test the most important missing piece of the social infrastructure puzzle  getting cash to those who need it directly, unconditionally and reliably.

As Hugh Segal, one of the lifetime pioneers of a basic universal income puts it, before this crisis there were two major attacks on basic income. The first was it would kill the work ethic, which as he points out, none of the studies of pilot projects has ever found any evidence for. The second was sending money to people who didnt need it, with a tax system that could not recover it from the wealthy.

The CRA appears to have solved the second issue inadvertently. By linking their regularly updated records of your income, they can also see when you fall below a threshold of need, triggering an injection of cash. So starting in the New Year, why would we not choose half a dozen different communities across Canada, small and large, remote and rural and begin a nationwide pilot project? Finland has already have done it and we could be schooled by their experience.

It might lead to the most transformational changes in todays rich but increasingly divided and unequal economies since Bismarck invented the public pension system, nearly 140 years ago.
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Russian investigators said Friday they were probing a WWII-era mass grave after unearthing the remains of over 130 people in a region occupied by Nazi forces early in the war.

The Investigative Committee said in a statement that its criminologists and volunteers looked for mass graves near the town of Luga, which was used as a base by the German army advancing on Leningrad -- now Saint Petersburg -- in 1941.

"During the search works, bone remains of 134 Soviet prisoners of war were found," as well as fragments of belongings and coins, the statement said.

Luga was the site of a "very harsh" prisoner of war camp, where many prisoners were executed, the investigators said.

Volunteers with the local Vityaz group which searches for unmarked graves of Soviet soldiers, worked on the site in late April, and said the remains included one of a baby.

"According to documents, there were 11,000 killed" in the two camps that operated in Luga until May 1942, Vityaz coordinator Nikolai Bukhtiarov wrote on his VK page, but most graves have been built over.

Russia will mark the 75th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany on Friday, May 9, though celebrations have been scaled down considerably due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Over 20 million Soviet citizens lost their lives in the war, and millions are still officially missing, with volunteer groups looking for their remains at known locations of battles and camps.

Volunteers across the country have also been cleaning up war monuments and military sites ahead of Victory Day.

One group were tidying up bunkers constructed to stop the German advance near the village of Ilyinskoye southwest of Moscow.

"They organised the defense here with help of cadets" from two colleges, one of the volunteers, retired airforce officer Alexei Metlov, told AFP.

"This is 100 kilometres from Moscow and there were no other troops available" in 1941, he said near the small concrete pillbox structure which volunteers adorned with a red flag.

"We try to keep the memory alive," said 42-year-old Anna Rizvanova, who came to plant trees and flowers at the site with her five daughters.

vid-ma/bmm
TIJUANA, Mexico - Detectives searched the home of a former governor of Mexicos northern border state of Baja California on Friday.

An official of the state prosecutors office who was not authorized to be quoted by name said the search was carried out at the home of Francisco Vega de Lamadrid in the city of Tijuana, across the border from San Diego, California.

The raid was related to accusations of corruption that have been raised against De Lamadrid by his successor, Jaime Bonilla, who took office in October.

The official said at least a dozen agents took part in the search, but did not specify exactly what charges might have motivated the operation.

In March, state officials said they had filed criminal complaints against Vega De Lamadrid for alleged embezzlement or misuse of state funds, related to money destined for the states public university, teacherssalaries and public works projects.

Baja California was governed by Vega De Lamadrids conservative National Action Party for decades before Bonillas Morena party won last years elections.
You cannot drive at 120 kmph on highways says Madras HC

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TN govt challenges HC order against closure of liquor stores

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 09: The Tamil Nadu government has filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the order of the Madras High Court which ordered the closure of liquor stores in the state.

The HC while passing the order had advised the state to supply liquor through online sale only.

On Friday the SC said that States should be advised to consider indirect sale, home delivery of liquor to ensure that there are no crowds at the alcohol stores, the Supreme Court has said. This would ensure that social distancing norms are followed, the court also said.

States should consider home delivery of liquor: Supreme Court

We will not issue orders, but states should consider home delivery or indirect sale of liquor to maintain social distancing, the Bench comprising, Justices Ashok Bhushan, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and B R Gavai said.

NEWS AT 3 PM, MAY 7th, 2020

After liquor stores were allowed to open, huge crowds were witnessed outside the stores. Several shops had to be forcibly closed as social distancing norms had been flouted. In several places, the police also had to resort to lathi charge.
Figures are among lowest since pandemic outbreak hit the country in March

Spain's latest coronavirus figures have dropped by a quarter in a promising sign that the country will be able to ease out of lockdown.

Data released by the Ministry of Health this morning revealed that there were now 223,578 positive cases of Covid-19 - an increase of just 721 on Friday compared to 1,410 the day before.

The number of fatalities rose by 179 in the last 24 hours to 26,478 from 26,299, while the number of people who have recovered stood at 133,952.

Paseo de la Castellana was filled with people out exercising on Saturday morning as Spain's latest coronavirus figures have dropped by a quarter in a promising sign that the country will be able to ease out of lockdown

The figures are the lowest increases for a week, but have also reduced to levels similar to the start of the outbreak in March.

They appear to indicate that the Spanish Government's exit strategy is working as more than half of the country prepares to enter phase one on Monday.

Those that haven't 'passed the test' will be reassessed next week.

Phase one, following on from phase zero introduced on May 4th, will allow the reopening of the terraces of bars and restaurants, but only 50 per cent.

Hotels will also be allowed to open, provided that common areas are sealed off.

They have all been closed since at least March 14th when Spain imposed its State of Emergency.

Data released by the Ministry of Health this morning revealed that there were now 223,578 positive cases of Covid-19 - an increase of just 721 on Friday compared to 1,410 the day before. Pictured, police patrol at a Atarazanas market in Malaga

People are required to wear facemasks at a Malaga market that is open for business as Spain begin to ease lockdown in a phased four-stage exit plan finishing at the end of June

Phase one, following on from phase zero introduced on May 4th, will allow the reopening of the terraces of bars and restaurants, but only 50 per cent

Churches can also partially open, as well as museums to a third capacity, outdoor markets and some cultural events.

Social gatherings of family and friends up to ten people will also be allowed and some cultural events can go-ahead. All will be governed by social distancing and strict health regulations.

There will be four stages in all, finishing towards the end of June when Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez says the start of the 'new norm' will have been reached.

'We've managed to retake 99% of the ground lost to the virus,' said Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in a televised address on Saturday. But he warned people moving to Phase 1 to be 'prudent' and 'cautious'.

People go out jogging and walking in Madrid after outdoor exercise is permitted again in Spain. The country reported 179 more deaths in the past 24 hours

A couple wearing face masks go out exercising in Madrid, but the city is not yet ready to enter phase one as it is the region most hit by coronavirus deaths

He said a national period of mourning would be called once the whole country had passed to Phase 1.

Those regions which aren't yet ready to enter phase one include Madrid which is the region most hit by coronavirus deaths.

The Spanish Government says it has yet to meet all the criteria in a decision which has angered the capital and led to at least one political resignation.

The regions of Malaga and Granada are the only places in Andalusia which cannot move forward from phase zero to phase one on May 11th under the coronavirus exit strategy.

The Ministry of Health said they were 'not ready' due to the incidence of coronavirus but has promised they can 'move forward' in the next ten days or so.

Spain's Prime Minister cautioned that people need to obey hygiene recommendations and social distancing rules for the easing of lockdown to be effective. Pictured, people walk by Las Ramblas in Barcelona

Some 51% of the population will progress to Phase 1 of a four-step easing plan on Monday after the government decided the regions which met the necessary criteria

The government will still encourage home-working where possible and companies will have to implement staggered start and finish times to ensure distancing measures

But hotspots in Malaga, which include Marbella, are livid that other holiday destination such as Tenerife, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria - in fact, all of the Canaries - as well as Ibiza, Mallorca and Menorca got the go-ahead yesterday to enter phase one.

Some of the businesses on the Costa del Sol had previously indicated that they might not open anyway because it wasn't viable due to the lack of tourists and the space restrictions.

Later, however, they changed their minds when the Spanish government changed the rules to allow a 50 per cent occupation of terraces rather than the original 30 per cent.

The interiors will only be allowed to open at a later stage, probably at the start of June but then also with space restrictions.

Scores of joggers and cyclists poured down Madrid's six-lane Castellana Avenue on Saturday morning, one of several major transport arteries closed off to vehicles for the weekend.

'I think it's really good, what they've done with the Castellana is fantastic,' said Madrid resident Carlos de la Torre, out for a morning jog.

Madrid's city hall pedestrianised 29 roads over the weekend to prevent crowds from building up where runners and walkers are forced to share pavements and walkways.

Cyclist Maria Galeote welcomed the move.

'There's so much space between people, I think it's great,' she told Reuters. 'The bike lanes are packed with runners, walkers, as well all the cyclists. This gives us some room to breathe.'

Head of the emergency committee, Fernando Simon has indicated that Malaga and Granada are 'nearly there' and he will be reviewing the situation following meetings next week.

People exercise and practice social distancing along the Paseo de la Castellana as Madrid's city hall pedestrianised 29 roads over the weekend to prevent crowds from building up where runners and walkers are forced to share pavements and walkways

He urged Spaniards not to think of it 'as a race' and said it was possible Madrid would be ready to move onto the next stage within a week.

Still, some regional governments were unhappy about being held back on Phase 0.

Andalusian leader Juanma Moreno, a member of the opposition People's Party, complained he had not been able to submit an easing proposal based on administrative health districts rather than provinces, as other regions such as Catalonia had done.

'I will ask that this decision be reviewed and the same criteria be applied to us as to the others,' he said.

The Madrid region's deputy president Ignacio Aguado on Friday said he 'regretted' the government had not allowed Madrid to move forward and said it would apply to move to Phase 1 on May 18.

The government will still encourage home-working where possible and companies will have to implement staggered start and finish times to ensure distancing measures.

Spain's latest figures for coronavirus have plummeted as the Government looks to move more than half of the country into phase one of lifting the lockdown on Monday. Pictured: Walkers and cyclists were out in force in Barcelona today

Couples relax on a dock at Barcelona's Port Vell promenade as the country prepare for further relaxation of the coronavirus lockdown

People, wearing face masks, go out for jogging and walking in Madrid. The Spanish Government says Madrid has yet to meet all the criteria to move from phase 0 in a decision which has angered the capital

In a positive step for Spain's tourism industry, which contributes around 12% of economic output, hotels will be allowed to open all rooms and nature tourism will be allowed for groups of up to 10.

President of the Malaga hoteliers' association, Javier Frutos said it was 'bad news' as they had already made the arrangements to open, with staff etc, and might now have to wait another week at least.

Andalusia's president, Juanma Moreno said he will request a review whilst vice president, Juan Marin, said it was an 'attack' on the region to exclude the two provinces. He described it as an 'arbitrary' decision.

'It is difficult to understand,' said Juanma Moreno.

'The map of Andalusia should be painted in the colour of phase one. I will ask that this decision be reviewed and the same criteria be applied to us as to the others.'

Beaches were filled were surfers and sunbathers ahead of an official easing of lockdown. The regions of Malaga and Granada are the only places in Andalusia which cannot move forward from phase zero to phase one on May 11th under the coronavirus exit strategy

Social gatherings of family and friends up to ten people will also be allowed and some cultural events can go-ahead. All will be governed by social distancing and strict health regulations

Malaga's leader, Francisco Salado, who is also the head of tourism on the Costa del Sol, said: 'We cannot hide our disappointment. It's difficult to understand that more rural areas with better data are still in phase zero, as is the case in most of the municipalities of the Malaga province.

'We have to keep improving the contagion statistics. We knew that this process was going to be long and complicated, we must be patient and responsible, although we have all been disappointed.'

Marbella's Mayor, Angeles Munoz said she was very surprised about the decision and said it created a negative image of Costa del Sol's reputation when it was singled out against other tourist destinations. She said the whole of Andalusia should have been treated the same.

Local business owners say the decision is like having a 'jug of water thrown over us'.

Around half of Spain's population is able to move into phase one of the government's staged winding down of Covid-19 restrictions.
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) in the Upper East Region says the high infection rate among health professionals at the Regional hospital has the potential to interrupt routine service delivery.



Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Bolgatanga, on the impact of the infection rate of staff of the Regional hospital on service delivery, Mr Zakariah Yakubu, the Head of Administration at the facility disclosed that a total of eight staff from the hospital were infected.



He said before the results of staff that came in contact with confirmed patients were released, they were under self-quarantine for two weeks.



Mr Yakubu said patient attendance to the hospital was generally low, Work will continue as normal with more precaution. We have started mass testing for staff, he added.



According to a current COVID-19 situation report from the GHS in the Region, seven persons turned out positive out of 168 samples that were tested after the last update, representing 4.2 percent.



Six people out of the seven new cases are contacts of a previously confirmed case while one was from routine surveillance which puts the total case count for the Region at 26, with 2 deaths.



The report indicated that the second death in the Region was recorded in the Bawku Municipality on April 26, 2020, the same day a sample from the patient was taken for laboratory investigation, adding that the deceased had a co-morbid condition.



Five Districts, namely the Bolgatanga, Bawku, Kassena-Nankana Municipalities, the Bawku West and Pusiga Districts have recorded cases of the virus, Thirteen (13) cases are currently on admission. They are all stable and responding to treatment. Six of the seven cases are being prepared for admission, the report said.



Apart from the 33year old pregnant woman who fully recovered and was discharged, the report said three additional patients also fully recovered after two successive negative tests were conducted, which brings the total recovery cases in the Region to four including one patient who was translocated to Accra.



From the report, 26 samples of suspected persons and contacts from the Bawku Municipality were sent for laboratory investigation, four out of the number turned out positive, and 18 were negative while four are pending.



The Bawku West District had six samples from suspected persons and contacts, one turned out positive, and four were negative, with one pending, while the Binduri and Bolgatanga East Districts had one and two suspected cases respectively which all turned out negative.



The Regional capital, Bolgatanga has the highest positive cases of 18, while 36 samples out of 412 were pending, as 358 turned out negative, Bongo District recorded no cases out of 12 suspected samples tested, ten came out negative with two pending.



Builsa North and South recorded no positive cases, however, both Districts each have two pending results, out of four samples from the north, two were negative, and seven out of nine samples from the south turned out negative.



The Kassana-Nankana West, Nabdam, Talensi, Garu and Tempane Districts had no recorded positive cases, and for Garu, 13 samples of suspected persons all turned out negative.

Source: GNA









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Featured Video
Each week, our inbox runneth over with news of gear, apparel and tech releases from around the world. In this feature, well parse through the best of them. Today: Dr. Fauci-themed beer, a Supreme x Barbour collection and a device to dry-age your own meat.

Pandemic Beers

Ah, Dr. Fauci, you are the best medicine in a time of quarantine and misinformation. A toast to you, my friend  and that toast (if I were quarantined in Georgia) would come via Wild Heaven Brewery, which just launched a line of Fauci-themed (Fauci Spring) and general Covid-19 themed (Tropical Staycation, Dont Stand So Close to Me) brews, available for contact-less pickup.

Roadie 24 Hard Cooler

Yeti has become the king of coolers in recent years, but the price they pay for charging an arm and a leg for overbuilt ice buckets is that customers arent afraid to say whats wrong with their designs. Thankfully, Yeti takes that criticism back to the drawing board, and the Roadie 24 is the latest upgraded model in their line. Its the most portable hard cooler they have, and now its 10% lighter, 20% bigger and 30% more insulated than the original.

Nike Air Max 90 Diffused Blue

What seems to be a full-blown birthday month celebration, Nike is continuing its 30th-anniversary celebrations with a multitude of makeups of its iconic Air Max 90, this time in a Diffused Blue. The Tinker-Hatfield designed silhouette boasts a surprisingly cohesive mixture of blue linens and suedes. The shoe also includes spongey cork insoles inscribed with a black Just Do it and a Space Hippie spotted outsole for an extra bit of flare. Unfortunately, theyve since sold out at Japanese retailers like mita where they were originally released for $122, but keep your eyes peeled on US stockists in the coming weeks.

Supreme x Barbour Collection

It was only a matter of time before the first name in streetwear came for the first name in waxed jackets. As such, every piece, from the classic cap to the fanny pack to the bucket hat to the Bedale-inspired field jacket, is done up in the British heritage brands classic waxed cotton. But you better hurry  this will probably be your only chance to order a Barbour in leopard print.

Sonos Arc

If you want the latest and greatest gear, Sonos just launched preorders for three new or updated products. First theres Arc, a new soundbar that takes the place of the old Playbar (but not Beam). Featuring support for Dolby Atmos and an impressive amount of bass  along with a cool-looking curved design meant to reflect light in a more pleasing manner. Its also a much longer soundbar than the Beam, to coincide with the consumer move to larger screens. Sonos also just launched Sonos Sub (Gen 3) and Sonos Five, updates to their wireless subwoofers and smart speakers  they look the same, but the internals are all new. As usual, all this gear plays nicely together and takes just minutes to set up.

The Slim Fit Performance Air Oxford Long-Sleeve Shirt

Everlanes lightest oxford shirt has gotten a bit of a technological upgrade. The brand developed an extra-light pinpoint Oxford cloth which is tightly woven from a finer gauge of yarn, making it super light but just as durable as their Japanese Oxford. The shirt also includes 2-way stretch, sweat-wicking, quick-drying and anti-microbial properties. Sounds like the ideal summer long sleeve.

Made In Mothers Day Collection for Cystic Fibrosis Awareness

Right away after the coronavirus outbreak began sweeping the country, cookware outfit Made In was one of the companies eager to help out, donating a percentage of proceeds to support the Southern Smoke Foundation. But their charitable efforts arent only tied to the current pandemic: with the new Mothers Day collection, which features two knives as well as nonstick pans in a limited-edition iridescent purple, theyre donating 15 percent of sales to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Were big fans of their direct-to-consumer kitchen accoutrement, as weve noted before.



Italic 100% Recycled Basics

Youll remember Italic as the brand that uses the same factories as luxury labels to make similar products, such as weekender bags at Tumi and Longchamps digs, but offers them at much lower prices. Theyre moving outside that zone a bit with a new line of 100% recycled T-shirts, crewneck sweatshirts and sweatpants. Theyre not made in a specific competitors factory, but to make up for that, theyre impeccably styled, eco-friendly and made Stateside in Los Angeles.

Primo Ager

Youre not going anywhere. In lieu of steakhouse delivery (is that even a thing?), might as well dry-age your own meat. This modest-sized device, now up for preorder on Indiegogo, allows you to age up to 100 lbs of meat in only 3 sq feet of space. Its fully automated, too, which is a good idea, because you really dont want to be stuck with rotting beef in your house.

Subscribe here for our daily deals and products newsletter, The Goods

The post Products of the Week: Pandemic Beers, Leopard Print Barbours and Dry-Aging Meat Lockers appeared first on InsideHook.
A French Resistance member who risked her life during World War II by working to liberate Paris from Nazi occupation, has died aged 101.

Cecile Rol-Tanguy died yesterday at her home in Monteaux, central France, as Europe commemorated the 75th anniversary of the surrender of Nazi Germany to Allied forces.

Her cause of death has not been disclosed by French officials.

French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to Rol-Tanguy today, calling her a 'freedom fighter'.

Cecile Rol-Tanguy, a French Resistance member who risked her life during World War II by working to liberate Paris from Nazi occupation, died yesterday at her home in Monteaux, France

Rol-Tanguy was the daughter of Francois Le Bihan, trade unionist, co-founder of the French Communist Party (PCF) and deported to Auschwitz in the convoy of 45000, and Germaine Jaganet.

She was born Marguerite Le Bihan on 10 April 1919 in Royan, France.

She trained as a shorthand typist and did an internship at the administrative department of the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) union of the Parisian Electricity Distribution Company (CDPE).

Rol-Tanguy joined the Resistance aged 21. She typed out calls for rebellion on the day German troops occupied Paris in June 1940.

With her husband, Henri Rol-Tanguy, who became a prominent fighter in the French Resistance, she started living a dangerous and clandestine existence as a liaison officer for the French Forces of the Interior (FFI).

In 1938, She married Henri Tanguy, who had been secretary of the CGT metals union she joined in November 1936. He went on to become a leader in the Resistance

The couple had to hide their relationship to keep their activities secret and use fake identities.

She joined the CGT metals union in Ile-de-France in November 1936 and the secretary of that group was Henri Tanguy.

Rol-Tanguy got to know him after taking part in meetings of the Aid Committee for Republican Spain and working for the Union of Young Girls of France.

They started going out in January 1938 and in 1937 she became his war godmother after he went to fight in the Spanish War.

She joined the PCF in January 1938 and Henri returned in late 1938. They got married in April 1939.

She later recalled how she used their children's strollers to transport messages, weapons and explosive material.

Former French president Francois Hollande awards Rol-Tanguy the Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor medal during a ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris

In August 1944, when her husband was the leader of FFI fighters in the Paris region, she worked alongside him to set up a command post in an underground shelter in central Paris.

Once in Paris, she became a liaison officer and takes the nicknames of Jeanne, Yvette and Lucie.

On August 19, 1944, they wrote and published a pamphlet calling citizens to arms in Paris. The French capital was liberated six days later.

On August 16, she attended the parade of General de Gaulle on the Champs-Elysees.

When Resistance leader Charles de Gaulle marched in a victory parade down the Champs-Elysees on August 26, 1945, Rol-Tanguy was the only woman at the reception the general gave to thank the Parisian fighters.

Rol-Tanguy helped highlight the roles of women who heroically fought for France during the war

She became co-president of the Friends of the Fighters of the Republic of Spain Association (ACER) and her daughter Claire became Secretary General.

Rol-Tanguy later helped highlight the roles of women who heroically fought for France during the war.

She received the Legion of Honour, France's highest distinction, in 1984.

In 2014, Former French president Francois Hollande awarded Rol-Tanguy the Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor medal during a ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris.

On May 27, 2014, she participated in commemorations organised on the occasion of the National Resistance Day.

She made a commitment with her husband to remain a member of the PCF and subscribed to L'Humanite, a French newspaper, until her death.

She and her husband had five children together: Helene, an academic, Jean, a journalist, Claire and Francis, senior civil servant. Their child named Francoise died in infancy. Her husband died in 2002.
Russian soldiers are operating drones over Venezuela as part of a search operation for members of a paramilitary force that led a botched coup this week, local media reported on Friday.

Local news outlet El Nacional cited allegedly deleted tweets from state military command ZODI La Guaira center as they reported that at least eight Russian special forces members will be 'operating drones to run search and patrol operations' near La Guaira, the coastal state just north of Caracas, Venezuela's capital.

Screenshots of the tweet allege to show pictures of the arrival of the forces on Thursday, featuring a group of men huddled in military uniform and wearing face masks.

ZODI La Guaira on Saturday posted a tweet saying the command 'categorically denies interference by the Russian military' in its ranks.

Local Venezuelan publication El Nacional claim the pictures above were posted and then deleted by state military command ZODI La Guaira center as they reported that at least eight Russian special forces members will be 'operating drones to run search and patrol operations' for further members of a failed attempt to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro

The post included a screenshot of a tweet from Twitter user @YourNewsAnonLat about Russia's alleged support, saying the claim was 'Fake News'.

It did not address the screenshots of the previous tweets from the account as published in El Nacional.

According to the screenshots, ZODI La Guaira reported the arrival of the Russian forces.

In a separate tweet, the center wrote that an aircraft arrived at the country's international airport on Thursday that would join the search mission, posting a photo of a helicopter.

El Nacional said that tweet was also later deleted.

The aircraft's origin and why the tweets were deleted was not immediately evident.

The information ministry did not immediately reply to a request for clarification, according to Reuters.

Even though the Venezuelan coup orchestrated by former Green Beret Jordan Goudreau was broadly considered a humiliating failure since authorities initially announced it had been broken up on Sunday, organizers in subsequent days have said members of the force continued to fight.

In this second tweet, El Nacional claim the military center wrote that an aircraft arrived at the country's international airport on Thursday that would join the search mission

ZODI La Guaira on Saturday posted a tweet saying the command 'categorically denies interference by the Russian military' in its ranks and branded El Nacional as fake news

There has, however, been no evidence of any military actions on the part of the group since Sunday.

Thirty-one people have been arrested for their role in the bungled incursion, Chief Prosecutor Tarek Saab said on Friday, including two Americans who work for the security firm that organized it, Silvercorp USA.

Authorities said eight people were killed.

The two captured Americans appeared together in court for the first time on Friday and were charged with 'terrorism, conspiracy, illicit trafficking of weapons of war and (criminal) association'.

Former Green Berets Luke Denman, 34, and Airan Berry, 41, could face up to 30 years in prison, said Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab.

Luke Denman, 34, and Airan Berry, 41, appeared together in court for the first time on Friday and were charged with terrorism and conspiracy for their role in the failed Venezuelan coup

Denman and Berry appeared on state television in Venezuela on Wednesday and Thursday, saying they had been tasked by Goudreau's Florida-based company Silvercorp with taking control of the Caracas airport in order to fly out President Nicolas Maduro after his planned seizure by the group.

On Friday, Venezuela requested the extradition of Goudreau, who has claimed responsibility for the plan, and two U.S.-based Venezuelans for their roles in the failed incursion.
The flight from Italy was one of the last arrivals that day at the Stockholm airport. A Swedish couple in their 50s walked up and loaded their skis into Razzak Khalaf's taxi.

I



t was early March and concerns over the coronavirus were already present, but the couple, both coughing for the entire 45-minute journey, assured Khalaf they were healthy and just suffering from a change in the weather. Four days later, the Iraqi immigrant got seriously ill with COVID-19.

Still not able to return to work, Khalaf is part of the growing evidence that those in immigrant communities in the Nordic nations are being hit harder by the pandemic than the general population.

Sweden took a relatively soft approach to fighting the coronavirus, one that attracted international attention. Large gatherings were banned but restaurants and schools for younger children have stayed open. The government has urged social distancing, and Swedes have largely complied.

The country has paid a heavy price, with 2,769 fatalities from COVID-19. That's more than 26 deaths per 100,000 population, compared with about 8 per 100,000 in neighboring Denmark, which imposed a strict lockdown early on that is only now being slowly lifted.

Inside Sweden's immigrant communities, anecdotal evidence emerged early in the outbreak that suggested that some particularly those from Somalia and Iraq were hit harder than others. Last month, data from Sweden's Public Health Agency confirmed that Somali Swedes made up almost 5 percent of the country's COVID-19 cases, yet represented less than 1 percent of its 10 million people.

Many in these communities are more likely to live in crowded, multigeneration households and are unable to work remotely.

No one cares for taxi drivers in Sweden, said Khalaf, who tested positive and was admitted to a hospital when his condition deteriorated. Despite difficulties breathing, the 49-year-old says he was sent home after six hours and told his body was strong enough to fight it off.

In Finland, Helsinki authorities warned of a similar over-representation among Somali immigrants in the capital some 200 cases, or about 14%, of all confirmed infections. In Norway, where immigrants make up nearly 15% of the general population, they represent about 25% of confirmed coronavirus cases.

I think a pandemic like this one, or any crisis will hit the most vulnerable people in society the most wherever in the world, and we see this in many many countries," said Isabella Lovin, Sweden's deputy prime minister, in an interview with The Associated Press.

Noting that the virus was spreading faster in some crowded Stockholm suburbs, Lovin said said the city is providing short-term accommodation to some people whose relatives are vulnerable.

Sweden, Norway and Finland recognized early failings in community outreach in minority languages and are seeking to fix this. The town of Jarfalla, outside Stockholm, has had high school students hand out leaflets in Somali, Persian, French and other languages, urging people to wash their hands and stay home if sick.

With Sweden's relatively low-key approach to fighting the virus that relies mainly on voluntary social distancing, there are concerns the message has not reached everyone in immigrant neighborhoods.

It's important that everyone living here who has a different mother tongue gets the right information, said Warda Addallah, a 17-year-old Somali Swede.

Anders Wallensten, Sweden's deputy state epidemiologist, said officials have worked harder on communicating with such groups "to make sure they have the knowledge to protect themselves and avoid spreading the disease to others.

But teacher and community activist Rashid Musa says the problem runs much deeper.

I wish it were that easy that you needed to just translate a few papers, he said. We need to look at the more fundamental issue, which is class, which is racism, which is social status, which is income. The rich have the opportunity to put themselves into quarantine, they can go to their summer houses, Musa said.

A key government recommendation for individuals to work from home if possible is harder in marginalized areas where many have jobs in the service sector.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
By Laura Sanicola NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices settled 5% higher on Friday in their second consecutive week of gains as U.S. producers cut production with the number of drilling rigs falling to a record low, and as more states moved ahead with plans to relax lockdowns intended to halt the coronavirus pandemic

By Laura Sanicola

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices settled 5% higher on Friday in their second consecutive week of gains as U.S. producers cut production with the number of drilling rigs falling to a record low, and as more states moved ahead with plans to relax lockdowns intended to halt the coronavirus pandemic.

The number of operating oil and natural gas rigs fell by 34 to an all-time low of 374 this week - reflecting data going back 80 years - as the energy industry slashes output and spending to deal with the coronavirus-led crash in fuel demand.

North American oil companies have shut production faster than analysts expected and are on track to withdraw about 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd) of output by the end of June.

Brent crude settled up $1.51, or 5.1%, at $30.97 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) gained $1.19, or 5%, to $24.74 a barrel.

Both contracts posted a second week of gains, with Brent advancing over 18% this week and WTI up about 33%.

"This advance of the past couple of weeks has been a bit suspect given the fact that coronavirus cases continue to increase and the U.S. crude surplus is maintaining a steep up trend where a record U.S. stock level is likely to be achieved in next week's EIA report," Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates in Galena, Illinois, said in a report.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration's weekly report on Wednesday showed 15 weeks of consecutive rises in crude stocks although the rate of growth in inventories has slowed since a record build of 19 million barrels in early April.

The market was now watching for more data that shows that Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies led by Russia - known as OPEC+ - are complying with a record 9.7 million bpd production cuts that began this month, according to Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston.

"I expect now prices will pull back to $20 a barrel because skepticism will come into the market about the compliance of OPEC+ on the production cuts," said Lipow.

Iraq has yet to inform its regular oil buyers of cuts to its exports, suggesting it is struggling to fully implement supply cuts.

"All it takes is one or two countries not to comply and it could open the door for others," Lipow said.

Australia on Friday became the latest country to plan an easing of lockdowns, while France, parts of the United States and countries such as Pakistan are also planning to ease restrictions.

Market participants were also watching how the economic crisis unfolding in the United States affects oil demand in the coming months. The world's biggest economy lost a staggering 20.5 million jobs in April, the steepest plunge in payrolls since the Great Depression.

(Reporting by Laura Sanicola in New York and Ahmad Ghaddar in London, Additional reporting by Aaron Sheldrick in TOKYO; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Kirsten Donovan)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Auburn, IN (46706)

Today

Cloudy skies. Morning high of 42F with temps falling to near 25. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low 14F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph.
By Rod Nickel

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Coronavirus infections are multiplying through a remote indigenous Saskatchewan village even as the rest of the western Canadian province sees few cases and starts to reopen its economy.

Saskatchewan, nearly the size of Texas, had only 17 active cases in its most populated southern areas, but 148 active cases in its far north as of Friday.

La Loche, population 2,400, along with neighboring Clearwater River Dene Nation, is home to 125 of those, according to its Emergency Operations Center. Two residents have died of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by coronavirus.

Larger Canadian outbreaks have hit Alberta meat plants and Quebec nursing homes, but the pandemic brings unique challenges to La Loche, an impoverished community.

Outbreaks among indigenous communities are especially concerning to Canadian health officials, given problems often already present, such as overcrowded housing.

The virus has spread in La Loche mostly by young people drinking together and ignoring social distancing requirements, northern medical health officer Dr. Rim Zayed said on Thursday, on a website containing updates for the area.

"Young people think they're invincible because they are not in too much danger, but the elderly and vulnerable are," Mayor Robert St. Pierre said in a post, urging people to stay at home. "We are very concerned about them getting sick."

La Loche's cases are mostly young people, and there are no hospitalizations so far. Health authorities have linked the outbreak to infections at an Alberta oil sands site that has spread across several provinces.

La Loche, 600 kilometers (373 miles) north of Saskatchewan's biggest city, Saskatoon, is all too familiar with tragedy. A shooting spree by a teenager in 2016 killed four people and injured seven others.

Health officials are now going door to door in the village, checking for symptoms and conducting tests.

Story continues

The provincial government has banned non-critical travel into northern Saskatchewan, enforced by highway checkpoints.

"I would ask the youth in La Loche to take their personal responsibility very, very seriously and pay attention to how they can physically distance," Premier Scott Moe told reporters.

One of La Loche's two grocery stores closed this week after a worker tested positive, but was expected to reopen on Saturday.

Saskatchewan began restoring services such as dentistry on Monday, but not in La Loche. The province will open retail stores, hair salons and other services on May 19.

(Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Editing by Leslie Adler)
British-Australian national, Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert - Nick Razzell

The husband of a prisoner in Irans notorious Evin jail has claimed that Kylie Moore-Gilbert, a British-Australian academic who is also detained there, has attempted suicide several times.

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.

Mr Khandan is the husband of Nasrin Sotoudeh, a human rights lawyer who was sentenced to 38 years in Evin prison, as well as 148 lashes last year on various security charges, which she strongly denies.

The Telegraph was not immediately able to verify the claim due to the opaque nature of the Iranian prison system.

But relatives of other detainees in Evin prison said that Dr Moore-Gilberts long period in solitary confinement is likely to have severely affected her wellbeing.

I cant confirm the accuracy of the news, but Kylie has been held in solitary confinement under IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) control for approaching two years, said Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of British-Iranian detainee Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

He added: I have no doubt that that would take anyone into a very dark place. Many other British prisoners have tried to attempt suicide while there - Nazanin first confessed to feeling suicidal after five months [due to] the feeling of being all alone.

Dr Moore-Gilbert, who studied at Cambridge University, was handed a ten-year prison sentence in 2018 for allegedly violating national security.

The claim comes amid fears that Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been temporarily released from Evin prison due to the coronavirus, may have to return on May 20.

Story continues

This is because Aras Amiri, another British-Iranian dual citizen and former British Council employee, was sent back behind bars this week, having been placed on furlough on April 9.

Around half of Irans prisoners have been placed on temporary release since the severe outbreak of coronavirus, which has infected more than 100,000 people, but the regime is now slowly taking steps to return to normal.

The Telegraph has approached the Iranian authorities for comment.
New Delhi: With Gujarat reporting a large number of COVID-19 cases and fatalities, medical experts from AIIMS, including its Director Dr Randeep Guleria, have rushed to Ahmedabad to provide expert guidance to doctors there on COVID-19 management.

Following directions from the Centre, Dr Guleria, who is a pulmonologist, and Dr Manish Soneja from the AIIMS department of medicine left for Ahmedabad on special Indian Air Force flight on Friday evening, official sources said.

With 390 more people testing positive for COVID-19 and 24 fatalities, the total number of cases in Gujarat climbed to 7,403 and the death toll reached 449 on Friday. Of the total coronavirus cases in the state, 5,260 have been reported from Ahmedabad district alone.

"They will visit the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital and SVP hospital on Saturday to provide expert guidance and advice to the doctors on treatment for coronavirus-infected patients there," a source said.
On May 8, 1945, Robert Warren Wolfe, a GI with the 187th Engineer Battalion, had a day off from the mop-up of the broken Nazi war machine.

He wrote home from Germany to his folks in Lima, Ohio, to let them know the big news, in case they hadn't already heard: "Today is probably one of the greatest days in history -- VE Day. We have all looked forward to this day."

The 75th anniversary of that legendary day was more marked by silence than fanfare as scheduled events were canceled or went virtual because of the coronavirus pandemic.

In Washington, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump went to the World War II Memorial on a mostly deserted National Mall. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley and Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie were also there.

The president and First Lady each touched the memorial wreath before the pool at the center of the monument to honor the fallen.

Related: World War II Veterans to Join Trump at VE Day Ceremony

Trump saluted and the First Lady placed her hand over her heart as "Taps" was played. The president also stopped to chat briefly with several World War II veterans who came to the ceremony.

In a White House statement to mark the anniversary, Trump paid tribute to those who wore the uniform in World War II and those who contributed on the home front: the "Greatest Generation."

"Most of these selfless and heroic warriors had never known life in a prosperous America," he said. "They grew up during the Great Depression, when America's economic prospects seemed bleak.

"Yet, they answered our country's call of duty because they believed in the principles that lie at the foundation of our nation,' Trump continued. "These American heroes would not relent in their noble efforts until they had liberated all of Europe from the abhorrent Nazi regime."

A child of a U.S. Air Force airman displays Victory in Europe Day artwork in their windows in Liberty Village at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, May 6, 2020. Coloring poster designs to print and display can be found on the U.S. Embassy & Consulates in the United Kingdom website, as a way to celebrate the 75th anniversary of VE Day despite the current COVID-19 pandemic. (Rhonda Smith/U.S. Air Force)

In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, observing social distancing, went to Berlin's Neue Wache, the memorial to victims of war and dictatorship.

Steinmeier noted the loneliness of the event because of the pandemic.

"Perhaps this being alone will take us back to May 8, 1945, because at that time the Germans were actually alone -- defeated militarily, politically and economically, morally shattered," he said, according to the Deutsche Welle broadcast agency.. "We had made ourselves the enemy of the whole world."

May 8, 1945, he said, "was the end of National Socialist tyranny, the end of bombing nights and death marches, the end of unprecedented German crimes and the Holocaust's breach of civilization."

That was also the day that 19-year-old Second Subaltern Elizabeth Windsor, a driver and mechanic with the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service, ventured out with her sister, Princess Margaret, from Buckingham Palace to join the crowds in London celebrating the end of the war in Europe.

Queen Elizabeth II would later recall to the BBC that she was in uniform and had pulled her cap down nearly over her eyes to avoid being recognized, only to be reprimanded by a Grenadier officer serving as an escort.

He said that he would "refuse to be seen in the company of another officer" in violation of uniform regulations, the queen recalled.

In an address to the nation over the BBC Friday, Queen Elizabeth spoke from behind a desk. To her left, on the desk, was the brown khaki cap she wore during the war.

She noted the empty streets because of the pandemic, in contrast to the crowds she had experienced 75 years ago.

"Today it may seem hard that we cannot mark this special anniversary as we would wish," she said.

"Instead we remember from our homes and from our doorsteps" the sacrifices made during the war, and those who fell to win a peace, she added. "They risked all so our families and neighborhoods could be safe."

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.

Read More: Marines Hire Falconer to Thwart Seagulls That Are Hazing Recruits at Boot Camp
The coronavirus crisis is hitting the short-term rental accommodation market in Sydney, exposing the weak foundations of some businesses that have sub-let residential properties as Airbnb accommodation.

New weekly bookings for Australian Airbnbs are down by more than 60,000 since March 1, with just 19,000 new reservations made nationally in the week ending April 19, according to AirDNA, which reports on Airbnb data.

Pete Smith from Weekenda.com

Founder of Weekenda Management Pete Smith, who owns five short-term rental accommodation properties and manages 130 properties for other people, said he knew several Sydney businesses that had "gone under". He said one business had been unable to pay 60 leases after subletting them for short-term rental accommodation.

"At the moment it's a train wreck," Mr Smith said. "We're down to 12 per cent of where we were last year, but I'm quite optimistic about that because I expected a total wipeout.
A dedicated and loving nurse with coronavirus has tragically died five weeks after first being placed on a ventilator.

Onyenachi Obasi, 51, had been working as a health visitor and nurse, and her family said she gave her life doing what she loved.

She died in the early hours of May 6 at Queens Hospital, and is survived by her 19-year-old son.

Her niece Ijeoma Uzoukwu, said: We are just heartbroken. She was really loving, really sweet and a really cute person.

She was a good example of unconditional love and just loved everyone. She was so giving and always had an ear - she took people as they were.

Nurse Onyenachi Obasi / PA

She loved her job, but that is what caused her to fall ill in the first place.

Ms Obasi, who had been living in Barking and Dagenham, had no underlying health conditions and told her family that she felt she had a duty to work, and help, during the pandemic.

Ms Uzoukwu explained: She told me she had to do it."

However, a few days after caring for a patient with coronavirus, she fell ill herself before eventually being admitted to hospital.

Her niece said: Any normal situation I would go and see her, and be by her side. But because of the lockdown, we werent able to do that, and that was really hard for our family.

One minute silence to NHS heroes who lost lives to the Coronavirus 1 /25 One minute silence to NHS heroes who lost lives to the Coronavirus London Ambulance Staff observe the minute silence today at their HQ in Waterloo Road Jeremy Selwyn Staff stand outside Salford Royal Hospital in Manchester during a minute's silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA Shoppers queue in the rain outside Costco in Thurrock during a minutes silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA A minute silence in honour of key workers who have lost their lives due to COVID-19 Sky News London Ambulance Staff observe the minute silence today at their HQ in Waterloo Road Jeremy Selwyn Staff react outside Salford Royal Hospital in Manchester during a minute's silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA A staff member reacts outside Salford Royal Hospital in Manchester during a minute's silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA Members of the public, NHS staff, and Police offices, some wearing PPE (personal protective equipment) of a face mask as a precautionary measure against COVID-19, pause for a minute's silence to honour UK key workers AFP via Getty Images A police officer observes a minute silence in honour of key workers who have lost their lives due to COVID-19 outside 10 Downing Street, Reuters London Ambulance Staff observe the minute silence today at their HQ in Waterloo Road Jeremy Selwyn Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill, Prime minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak stand inside 10 Downing Street, London, to observe a minutes silence in tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA A minute silence in honour of key workers who have lost their lives due to COVID-19 Sky News London Ambulance Staff observe the minute silence today at their HQ in Waterloo Road Jeremy Selwyn Staff stand outside the Royal Derby Hospital, during a minutes silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA Staff stand outside the Royal Derby Hospital, during a minutes silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA Staff stand inside Camberwell bus depot in London, during a minute's silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA National Shop Stewards Network protesters outside St Thomas' Hospital in London, during a minute's silence which was to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak. PA Staff members applaud outside the Royal Derby Hospital, following a minute's silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak. PA First Minister Nicola Sturgeon stands outside St Andrew's House in Edinburgh to observe a minute's silence in tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak PA

Ms Obasi was placed on a ventilator for five weeks and was slowly recovering before she caught an infection. She died in the early hours of May 6 at Queens Hospital.

Ms Uzoukwu is organising a GoFundMe fundraiser to help pay for her aunts funeral and to also help provide for her 19-year-old son, who is vulnerable and was dependant on her.

She said: It was just the two of them, and he relied on her for so much. We want to make sure he is taken care of for the foreseeable future and get him the help that he needs.

He is a really sweet boy, and he has taken after his mum. He is such a nice boy and he is finding it really hard without her.

So far the family have raised more than 6000 towards Ms Obasi's funeral costs.

Additional reporting by PA Media.
NYPD officers have been accused of discrimination, after heavily enforcing social distancing rules in parks in the New Yorks poorer Bronx area, while crowds gathered unchallenged in the wealthier Manhattan borough.

Officers were seen enforcing coronavirus restrictions during this weekends warmer weather but appeared to take a less aggressive approach in Manhattan.

Blogger Ed Garcia Conde couldnt help notice the difference after posting an image of cops in a van patrolling St. Marys 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 Manhattans West Village the same day.

Photos from the pier, taken by Conde, showed it was packed with sunbathers close to each other.

Scenes taken show a similar crowd and an officer calmly passing out face masks, reports Yahoo News.

I guess in the police forces 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 bloggers 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.

Its 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 doesnt surprise me because, you know, between Manhattan and the Bronx, we know this is a tale of two cities.

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So it is still very much a situation that is developing, but it is a serious situation, he added.

The state will be working with the New York Genome Center and Rockefeller University to determine what is causing the illness, which Governor Cuomo described on Saturday as truly disturbing.

When the coronavirus pandemic began ravaging the New York area two months ago, the state found solace in the initial evidence that children would be largely unaffected. That sense of relief was shattered this week when a 5-year-old died in New York City of the newly discovered disease, which doctors described as a pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome. The inflammation of the blood vessels, Mr. Cuomo said, causes problems with their heart.

Mr. Cuomo did not elaborate on the deaths of the two additional children.

We were laboring under the impression that young people were not affected by Covid-19, and that was actually good news, Mr. Cuomo said. We still have a lot to learn about this virus.

Mr. Cuomo has asked parents to be vigilant in looking for symptoms such as prolonged fever, severe abdominal pain, change in skin color, racing heart and chest pain.

Before the announcement of the deaths attributed to the new illness, fewer than four children under age 10 had died of the virus in New York, according to the most recent breakdown from the state. Mr. Cuomo said the state was working with the Centers for Disease Control to determine if the confounding illness had been affecting children infected with the virus before this week.
NEW YORK, May 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, reminds investors in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (Norwegian or the Company) (NYSE:NCLH) of the May 11, 2020 deadline to seek the role of lead plaintiff in a federal securities class action that has been filed against the Company.

If you invested in Norwegian stock or options between February 20, 2020 and March 12, 2020 and would like to discuss your legal rights, click here : www.faruqilaw.com/NCLH . There is no cost or obligation to you.

You can also contact us by calling Richard Gonnello toll free at 877-247-4292 or at 212-983-9330 or by sending an e-mail to rgonnello@faruqilaw.com.

CONTACT:

FARUQI & FARUQI, LLP

685 Third Avenue, 26th Floor

New York, NY 10017

Attn: Richard Gonnello, Esq.

rgonnello@faruqilaw.com

Telephone: (877) 247-4292 or (212) 983-9330

The lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on behalf of all those who purchased Norwegian securities between February 20, 2020 and March 12, 2020 (the Class Period). The case, Douglas v. Norwegian Cruise Lines et al, No. 20-cv-21107 was filed on March 12, 2020, and has been assigned to Judge Robert N. Scola, Jr.

The lawsuit focuses on whether the Company and its executives violated federal securities laws by making false and/or misleading statements and/or failing to disclose that: (1) the Company 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, Defendants statements regarding the Companys business and operations were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.

Specifically, on March 12, 2020, the Washington Post published the article, Norwegian Cruise Line managers urged salespeople to spread falsehoods about coronavirus. The article revealed even more about Norwegians sales tactics from leaked internal memoranda including dangerous statements such as: Focusing all of your attention is actually illogical, especially when we live in a world of daily threats and dangers anyhow, the manager wrote under the headline The coronavirus will not affect you. Fact: Coronavirus in humans is an overhyped pandemic scare.

The Washington Post article also disclosed Company executives reaction to the leaked memorandum, including: The whistleblower told The Post that company leaders are trying to find out who shared the emails. In one email sent Monday evening, after a Miami New Times journalist contacted the company, an executive wrote, One of our own ratted.

On this news, Norwegians stock fell from a closing price of $15.03 per share on March 11, 2020 to $9.65 on March 12, 2020a $5.38 or 35.80% drop.

The court-appointed lead plaintiff is the investor with the largest financial interest in the relief sought by the class who is adequate and typical of class members who directs and oversees the litigation on behalf of the putative class. Any member of the putative 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. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision to serve as a lead plaintiff or not.

Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP also encourages anyone with information regarding Norwegians conduct to contact the firm, including whistleblowers, former employees, shareholders and others.

Attorney Advertising. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP (www.faruqilaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your particular case. All communications will be treated in a confidential manner.
- The national prayer which was held at the State House Entebbe was organised by members of Inter-Religious Council of Uganda

- The prayer was dedicated to the country and its health personnel as the coronavirus pandemic wrecks havoc

- Uganda registered 13 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, May 9, bringing the total number of infections to 114

President Yoweri Museveni on Saturday, May 9, hosted second national prayer over coronavirus in Uganda.

The national prayer which was held at the State House Entebbe was organised by members of Inter-Religious Council of Ugandawith religious leaders from every faith.

READ ALSO: Rich Fools: City pastor calls out President Uhuru's family for evicting poor Kenyans amidst pandemic

President Yoweri Museveni on Saturday, May 9, hosted second national prayer over coronavirus in Uganda. Photo: Daily Monitor.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Nairobi landlord evicts children of tenant stranded up country due to cessation of movement

The prayer was dedicated to the country and its health personnel as the coronavirus pandemic wrecks havoc across the globe.

"May each of you wherever you are, whoever you are, through your respective religious means pray with us all as we seek Gods intervention to end COVID-19 pandemic," he said.

Uganda registered 13 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, May 9, bringing the total number of infections to 114 in the East African country, the health ministry said.

READ ALSO: Rats are infecting humans with hepatitis - Researchers

The ministry said out of the 2,421 samples taken from cross border truck drivers on Friday, May 8, 13 were positive for the virus.

The 13 cases included seven Kenyans, four Ugandans and two Tanzanians.

"Tracking them has commenced and the public will be informed accordingly," the ministry said.

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
As thousands of NSW students prepare to return to classrooms this week, many parents are opting to drive their children to school and avoid Sydneys public transport system during the coronavirus lockdown.

While Premier Gladys Berejiklian said social distancing on the public transport system remained important as schools and some businesses begin to re-open, Transport for NSW says physical distancing will not be applied to dedicated school services.

Sydney Boys High School student William Winter with his mother Ingrid and father Malcolm at their George's Hall home. Credit:James Alcock

A TFNSW spokeswoman said no student will be turned away from a school service on the basis of physical distancing, but cleaning would continue to be ramped up.

One independent school said parents had inquired about whether Transport for NSW had put in place protocols for students travelling on public transport, but they had not heard anything.
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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-10 02:12:16|Editor: huaxia

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CAIRO, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Egypt on Saturday reported 488 new COVID-19 cases and 11 more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 8,964 and the death toll to 514.

Khaled Megahed, spokesman for Egyptian Health Ministry, said in a statement that 57 coronavirus patients left hospitals in the past 24 hours, taking the number of recoveries in the country to 2,002.

All COVID-19 cases in Egypt receive necessary medical care in accordance with the guidelines of the World Health Organization, Megahed said.

Egypt extended a nationwide night-time curfew until the end of the holy month of Ramadan to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 22:50:25|Editor: huaxia

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MADRID, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Saturday called on citizens to maintain vigilance and precaution as approximately half of the country prepares to move into the second stage of the four-phase plan to ease lockdown restrictions which were put in place on March 15 to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Around half of Spain will benefit from the lifting of restrictions, but Sanchez warned in a televised speech "the virus has not disappeared. The fight will continue, and will not end until there is a vaccine."

Many areas, including the Basque Region, Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia in the north of Spain, will move into Phase 1 (the second stage) on Monday after meeting the criteria set by Spanish health authorities to ease lockdown restrictions.

These areas will be able to open outside terraces, while shops under 400 square meters can also trade and meetings of up to 10 people within provinces can also be held.

Sanchez said Spain has "demonstrated many things, its huge strengths ... What has set it apart has been the magnificent response of the people, thanks to exceptional responsibility and social discipline," adding that Spain had shown itself to be "humane," with "all of society joined together by bonds of affection and care."

"We have saved lives, but we have lost many more," he continued, "each fatality hurts us. These lives that we have lost weigh heavily."

"In the meantime, we will have to live alongside the virus, which is why the healthcare system must be reinforced and its capacities strengthened and this will count for little without the responsible efforts of the people," he explained.

Madrid and Catalonia are among the regions unable to ease lockdown measures for the moment and the prime minister repeated that not all Spain would move out of lockdown at the same speed.

"The virus does not end at the provincial borders. The de-escalation will be guided by the principles of scientific advice and prudence," he informed.

Sanchez also discussed the social and economic problems caused by the virus with almost 600,000 jobs destroyed in two months: "rebuilding means driving the creation of employment as soon as possible. We can achieve this together," he commented.

According to official data on Saturday, 26,487 people have lost their lives from 223,578 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Spain. Enditem
On May 7, the world celebrated the 159th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, the Bard of Bengal. Among Tagores most permanent marks on history, is his penning of the Indian and the Bangladeshi national anthem.

He left a mark not only on India and the neighboring countries, but around the world. That is the reason Israel paid tribute to him on his birth anniversary, by naming a street after him.

Twitter/Britannica

The street named after Rabindranath Tagore is in Tel Aviv. The information was shared on Twitter by the official handle of Israel in India with the caption, We honor #RabindranathTagore today and every day, as we named a street in Tel Aviv in memory of his valuable contribution to mankind.

The naming of the street took place to commemorate the poet's birth anniversary.

We honor #RabindranathTagore today and every day, as we named a street in Tel Aviv in memory of his valuable contribution to mankind. pic.twitter.com/ZH826Ot0aP  Israel in India (@IsraelinIndia) May 7, 2020





Rabindranath Tagore was a renowned writer and a poet, a strong voice of resistance in Art against the British colonial rule; when the British offered him knighthood - he refused it.

In 1913, he was the first person in India to receive a Nobel prize, ever. He won it for Literature. Rabindra Sangeet, is his legacy. As kids, most of us were introduced to Rabindranath Tagore in schools with his poem Where the mind is without fear.

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He is considered as one of the precursors of the Bengali Renaissance and his writings are hailed one of the finest pieces of work in Indian Literature, an integral part of art courses in colleges and universities.
At a time when the world needs more and more superheroes, who better than Marie Therese Ward to step into the breach.

Marie Therese has had a lifelong interest in superheroes, attending conventions and admiring the incredible costumes people made.

Then, in 2018, she really got into Cosplay and being a Gamer, decided to start making her own replica costumes. She purchased a 3D printer, having studied design in college, and became an award winner.

In recent weeks, she learned that more and more facilities needed face masks - so she cast aside her costumes for real life superhero stuff!

She has used her 3D skills to make face masks for those on the frontline and by the weekend had produced 300 hand made items. They have been sent off to places like hospitals, nursing homes, Mountjoy and even to Scotland.

Each mask has to be sterilised and takes up to 40 minutes to produce.

She is also a volunteer with the Louth Civil Defence and they have also secured some of her work.

Living in Dromin, she has managed to source the visors from her sister Caroline who operates Cazcards in Manorhamilton, so it is proving to be a bit of a family effort.

Each mask costs more than 7 to make, but she has been helped out by donations to pay for the materials.

'It can be expensive, so the donations on PayPal are helping to meet the costs to some degree, but I'm working away,' she stated.
Come March and all working individuals have to go through the Tax trauma. While business men and enterprises have a ready army at their disposal to fight their tax battle, working class individuals have to rely on Heard advice, Read advice, Experienced advice, Friendly advice and other advice bank that may or may not be reliable. Here, in this article we have tried to look at the Tax component from a beginner or say a laymans perspective. We have tried to make the Taxing Tax issues as simple as possible. So, lets understand the March months Taxing Tax issues.Firstly one needs to understand the various components of the Salary Slip. The best way is to approach you HR manager. Most people avoid that thinking it my make them sound ignorant. Lets assure you, there are many employee who have limited knowledge of their salary component. Many of us approach it as a sum total figure and leave the bifurcation details on the HR manager. So, seek an appointment with your HR manager and understand your salary slip as a first step towards tax management.Look at components like Basic Salary, House Rent Allowance, Leave Travel Allowance, Bonus, Employee Contribution to Provident Fund (PF), Standard Deduction, Professional Tax.You need to understand DEDUCTIONS- yes, you read it right. Understanding deductions is your Step - 2 towards being a Tax educated employee. Deductions such as Section 80C, 80CCC, 80CCD & 80D, allowed under the income tax should be bracketed under your Friendly Deduction Category. These deductions help you reduce your taxable income.Certain Gray areas of special allowances are exempt under Section 10(14) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Section 10(14) says that, any special allowance/benefit that is granted to the employees to meet certain expenses wholly while performing the duties of an office. These expenses need to be incurred while on job/ activity that is meant for office.Also at times offices pay allowances to their employee to meet personal expenses at the office/employment for profit performed by him or to compensate him for the high cost of living, these too are exempted from taxes. House rent allowance are partially exempted as per Section 10(13A) Fuel/Transport Allowance LTA Allowance Childrens Education Allowance Uniform Allowance Book and Periodicals Allowance Academic/Research Allowance Conveyance Allowance Helper Allowance (include driver too at times).Many people may think that a special allowance is a part of variable income. However, you must know that a special allowance is considered as part of the gross salary. In addition, the allocation of a special allowance depends on the companys policies.The problem with employee benefits under 80D is that most employees really dont opt for them, largely due to a lack of awareness and tedious processes. We give you below an understanding of the savings that you get for various salary slabs. Salary barcket  Rs. 2.5 lakh to Rs. 5 lakh, You can save up to 5% which can be up to Rs. 12,500 (available under section 87A) An employee in the salary bracket of Rs 7.5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh (15% tax slab) save up to Rs. 11,500 a year

 An employee in the salary bracket of Rs 10 lakh to Rs 12.5 lakh (20% tax slab) can save up to Rs. 30,500 annually.

 An employee in the salary bracket of Rs 12.5 lakh to Rs 15 lakh (25% tax slab) save up to Rs. 46,160 per year.

 An employee in the salary bracket of Rs 15 lakh and above (30% tax slab) save up to Rs. 69,240 a year.



How can an employee benefit from being a tax educated employee?

A Tax Educated employee can easily save up to 80k. The above descriptions gives an understanding of all the tax benefits that an employee can avail.



If you fall under high income bracket, how can you optimize your tax savings?

It can be quite the rally of matching employee expectations of a higher take-home salary; while keeping the tax cuts to a minimum. An employee salary structure consists of several components which can help employees reduce the tax burden. As mentioned above there are various components that are completely tax free and some that are partially sans tax (refer above). An optimum salary structure is that which enables employees to meet your day-to-day expenses while leaving sufficient money in your hands for long-term financial goals.



Every individuals goals and priorities are different. For employees with a high salary, best option would be to consult Tax consultants who can customize the tax areas as per the salary structure, available options by the company and individual financial goals. The tax consultants are experts to gauge whether the benefits offered by the employer holds value and accordingly they structure the savings and also give inputs to divert funds and benefits under specific categories.



DECODING ALLOWANCES:



Meal Allowance

Food allowance can be given by the employer through the provision of food at working hours or through pre-paid food vouchers/coupons. For instance, vouchers (not transferable) are tax-exempt to the extent of Rs 50 per meal. "On a calculation of 22 working days a month and 2 meals per day, a sum of Rs 26,400 can be availed as a deduction by an employee annually.



Leave Travel Allowance (LTA):

The income tax law also provides for an LTA exemption to salaried employees, restricted to travel expenses incurred during leaves by them. Please note that the exemption doesnt include costs incurred for the entire trip such as shopping, food expenses, entertainment and leisure among others.



You can claim LTA twice in a block of four years. In case an individual doesnt use this exemption within a block, he/she could carry the same to the next block.



Below are the restrictions which are applicable to LTA:

LTA only covers domestic travel and not the cost of international travel

The mode of such travel must be either railway, air travel, or public transport



Gift voucher

The value of a gift, or voucher, or token provided by an employer, the aggregate value of which does not exceed Rs 5,000 annually, is tax-free in the hands of an employee.



Uniform allowance

This covers allowance granted by the employer to the employee to meet the cost of purchase and/or maintenance of uniform worn during the performance of the duties of employment.



Mobile reimbursement

A taxpayer may incur expenses on mobile and telephone used at residence. The income tax law allows an employee to claim a tax-free reimbursement of expenses incurred. An employee can claim reimbursement of the actual bill amount paid or amount provided in the salary package, whichever is lower.



Books and Periodicals

Employees incur expenses on books, newspapers, periodicals, journals and so on. The income tax law allows an employee to claim a tax-free reimbursement of the expenses incurred. The reimbursement allowed to an employee is the lower of the bill amount or the amount provided in the salary package.



Most common mistakes of Tax Savings

Taxes have always been a sore point for salaried individuals. If an employee feels the taxmans pinch on the salary, they can always minimize the earning by reducing your taxable salary. We have already spoken about Section 80C in the above segment. The 80C offers a deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh on income.



But, if you didnt know several other allowances and tax-saving options that can reduce tax outgo, Here are Six lesser-known employee tax-saving options you can save thousands in taxes:



1. Vehicle and fuel expenses for official purposes

2. Books and periodicals

3. Mobile reimbursement

4. Research study for professional growth

5. Leave Travel Allowance (LTA)

5.Charity



Some Tips:

In a nutshell, the best advice that we can leave you with would be:



 Educate your self - Be Tax educated

 Plan from the begning

 Look out for smallest of small tax savings options

 Take note of your deductions

 Be smart and save smart



Therefore, how your salary is structured is of utmost importance; as you would always seek to maximize your take-home salary by minimizing the tax burden.
Hundreds of migrant workers came onto the streets and clashed with the police at a village in Surat district of Gujarat on Saturday to demand that they either be sent back to their home states or allowed to resume work at local industrial units to earn money

Surat: Hundreds of migrant workers came onto the streets and clashed with the police at a village in Surat district of Gujarat on Saturday to demand that they either be sent back to their home states or allowed to resume work at local industrial units to earn money, police said.

The police resorted to lathicharge and fired tear gas to disperse the mob. Over a 100 workers were detained in this connection, an official said.

The incident took place at Mora village near industrial town of Hazira.

"Over 100 workers were detained after they took to the streets, demanding that they either be sent back home or allowed to work at the industrial units they were employed at in Hazira and paid salaries," Joint Commissioner of Police (Sector 2) DN Patel said.

At around 8 am today, around 500-1000 people gathered here demanding they be sent back to their respective states. Reasonable force was used, around 55-60 were arrested, and around 50-60 have also been detained: D N Patel, Surat Joint Commissioner of Police https://t.co/HShbJ5Zw9y pic.twitter.com/bT8V5piinw  ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

Follow latest updates on coronavirus outbreak

Protesting workers came out of their homes in the workers' colony at Mora village and started walking in a large group towards Hazira industrial area, he said.

The migrants demanded that the district administration should arrange for their return to their hometowns in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and other states, Patel said.

"Some workers hurled stones at the police, after which four tear gas shells were lobbed and we had to resort to baton charge to control the unruly mob," Patel said.

Cases were being registered on the basis on CCTV footage from the area, the senior official said, adding that the situation was currently under control.
WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT: MONEY IN THE BANK IS SUNDAY, MANDY VS SONYA, BRAY AND BRAUN, AND MORE

Mandy Rose is in the back getting ready for her match and Otis checks to see if she is ready. Mamdy says this is a long time coming. Otis asks how can he help and Mandy tells Otis to focus on Money in the Bank because he has it. Mandy kisses Otis and walks away.

We see Sonya getting ready and she says she is ready to deal with five years of problems with Mandy. Dolph says he will be watching in the back and he asks Sonya to take it easy on the face and Sonya says she can't make any promises.

We are at the WWE Performance Center and your announcers are Michael Cole and Corey Graves.

Match Number One: Mandy Rose versus Sonya Deville

Mandy with a running knee as the bell rings and then she kicks and punches Sonya. Sonya kicks Mandy away and Sonya with a knee. Mandy with a forearm and Sonya goes down. Mandy with punches and Sonya goes to the floor. Sonya with a kick from the apron followed by a sliding knee to the back of the leg. Sonya with another sliding knee for a near fall. Sonya asks Mandy if she thinks she is better than her. Sonya kicks Mandy in the leg and slaps Mandy. Sonya with a waist lock take down and a body scissors. Sonya continues to taunt Mandy.

Sonya with a rear chin lock and she rips off Mandy's eye lashes. Mandy leans back to try to get a near fall. Sonya with a kick. Sonya continues to yell at Mandy and she kicks Mandy in the chest. Mandy with clotheslines to stop Sonya. Mandy with a running knee and Sonya goes to the floor. Mandy slams Sonya's head into the announce table and ring steps a few times. The referee continues his count and Mandy send Sonya over the announce table. They get back into the ring and Mandy goes for a double underhook. Mandy has a knee blocked and Sonya with a rollup and a handful of tights for the three count.

Winner: Sonya Deville

We go to commercial.

Match Number Two: Big E, Kofi Kingston, Lince Dorado, and Gran Metalik versus Wesley Blake, Steve Cutler, Miz, and John Morrison (with Jaxson Ryker)

Miz and Kofi start things off and they lock up. Kofi tries to take Miz to the mat and he does with a wrist lock. Miz with a wrist lock. Kofi with a hammer lock and Miz backs Kofi into the corner. Miz misses a punch and Kofi fights out of the corner. All eight men are in the ring and the referee wants things under control. Big E sends Kofi over the top rope onto The Forgotten Sons. Lince and Metalik with suicide dives onto Miz and Morrison as we go to commercial.

We are back and Blake kicks Big E in the corner. Big E with an abdominal stretch and he knocks Cutler to the floor when he tries to interfere. Big E with a back elbow and Kofi tags in for a leap frog senton and a near fall. Kofi with a drop kick and then he tags in Big E. Kofi with a splash followed by one from Big E. Dorado and Metalik tag in and Metalik with a splash off Dorado for a near fall. Metalik with a wrist lock and Kofi tags in. Kofi with a double stomp to the arm and then he gets a near fall.

Kofi with an Irish whip and Cutler pulls Blake out of the way and Kofi hits the ring post ona splash. Miz tags in and kicks Kofi. Miz with another kick to Kofi and then Morrison tags in and they Irish whip Kofi into the corner. Miz with an Awesome Clothesline and Morrison with a rolling Alabama Slam and running knee to the head for a near fall. Cutler tags in and he punches and kicks Kofi. Cutler with a back elbow and he chokes Kofi in the ropes. Ryker with a punch to Kofi from the floor.

Blake tags in and he head butts Kofi. Kofi knocks Cutler off the apron but Blake knocks Kofi off the apron and hits a suicide dive as we go to commercial.

We are back and Miz with a knee to Kofi and he tags Morrison back in. Morrison with a springboard round kick for a near fall. Morrison with a kick to the back. Morrison with punches and he tags Blake into the match. Blake and Morrison with forearms. Blake with an abdominal stretch and Cutler tags in. Kofi with a hip toss but they stop Kofi from making the tag. Kofi avoids Cutler and he goes to the floor. Miz grabs Kofi but Kofi kicks him away. Kofi dives into the corner but Big E, LInce, and Metalik are all pulled off the apron.

Big E is sent into the ring steps while Kofi hits Miz with SOS. Morrison tags in and so does Metalik and Metalik with a springboard cross body. Metalik with a springboard head scissors and he hits a springboard drop kick. Dorado tags in and he is caught by Cutler and Blake. Dorado with a handspring double cutter. Metalik with a springboard rana that is blocked but Metalik with a destroyer. Dorado with a spike rana to Morrison. Metalik with a moonsault and Dorado with a shooting star press. Kofi leaps off the turnbuckles and then Blake goes to the floor. Big E with snake eyes while Kofi hits a kick. Miz sends Big E over the topre. Cutler with a stomp while Blake hits a reverse DDT on Big E. Blake power bombs Kofi onto Big E.

Morrison kicks Metalik off the turnbuckles. Dorado with a sunset flip to Morrison for a near fall. Dorado with a crucifix bomb and then Morrison lands on his feet on Starship Pain. Dorado with a poisonrana to Morrison but Miz with a Skull Crushing Finale for the three count.

Winners: Miz, John Morrison, Wesley Blake, and Steve Cutler

Kayla Braxton is with Baron Corbin in the back. He is asked about tonight's six man tag match. He says he is teaming with two assassins against Drew Gulak and Daniel Bryan. They beat them down so bad and then made them kiss the foot of the king. Who would want to be their partner. Baron says he is looking past tonight to Sunday. He says he is thinking about the way he can torture his opponents. How far can Rey Mysterio fly? He does not mind knocking on every door to find Aleister Black. Otis won't get off the first floor. He will feel like his girlfriend, a loser. Baron says he can feel the fresh air filling his lungs as King Money in the Bank.

We go to commercial.

Renee Young is in the ring and she is joined by Jeff Hardy. Renee mentions the video feature that has aired over the last few weeks, she asks what does Jeff have left to prove. Jeff says he has seen the highs and the lows. Every low taught him how to get up.

We see Sheamus in the back and he does not care.

Jeff says he can still hear your voices chanting his name. You have stuck with him through his entire career. He asks for you to stay with him for one more good run.

Sheamus is still in the back and he cannot believe this is what we have been waiting for.

Jeff says he is surprised that Sheamus has not come out yet because he heard what Sheamus had to say.

Sheamus makes his way to the stage. He says this is the saddest thing he has seen. Begging his dealers for one more sip off the bottle and they aren't even here for a pity swig? Nobody will say it to Jeff's face, but he will. The people loved the high flying maniac, the champion who held every title under the sun, but they are tired of you. They are tired the suspensions, the releases, and the no shows. They are tired of the second chances.

Jeff says Sheamus knows a lot about him for being a hater.

Sheamus says he isn't a hater. How many false comebacks can you have before you realize they aren't coming back.

Jeff tells Sheamus to ask himself fella.

Sheamus says he is not afraid of the hard truths. Everybody knows that Jeff's next failure is right around the corner, other than Jeff. Sheamus says he has been snuffing Smackdown's weakest flames and now it is time to put yours out.

Hardy with a flying boot to Sheamus as he enters the ring. Hardy with Whisper in the wind followed by a Twist of Fate. Hardy goes up top for a Swanton and hits it.

Coverage Continues on Next Page

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An Australian stranded in the United States received a hospital bill for AUD$13,700 after being sent to a hospital emergency department for a coronvirus test.

The traveller was asked to pay up for being shuffled around the New York hospital for five hours and eventually being ejected without ever having a test done.

'Andy' told news.com.au he was shocked by the figure on the invoice when he got the letter several weeks later.

'Obviously that's really expensive. And I still don't even know if I had it (coronavirus),' he said.

An Australian stranded in the United States received a hospital bill for $13,700 AUD after being sent to a hospital emergency department for a coronvirus test (Pictured: Medical workers transfer patients into the NYU Langone Health hospital)

The traveller contacted a doctor when he started experiencing mild flu-like symptoms including a sore throat and a fever in early March.

He said the doctor 'didn't want a bar of him' and told him to contact the state government but they only redirected him back to a doctor.

He said he reached an impasse after four hours on the phone, eventually being told no one wanted to see him.

The traveler was admitted for COVID-19 testing but authorities never tested him (Pictured: workers conduct testing in New York at a popup testing clinic)

'Finally they said 'we're too scared for you to come see us so you need to go to the hospital,' he said.

He had no other choice but to walk to nearest emergency department.

This was despite an underlying desire not to set foot in the public healthcare system.

After being admitted to the emergency department he was made to wait five hours before being told my hospital staff they weren't giving him a coronavirus test.

He said they barely had access to testing equipment and any screening in March was being reserved for high-risk patients.

Andy was given a blood test and a chest-x ray and after nurses were able to confirm he didn't have severe symptoms he was told to go hoe and self isolate.

He received the medical bill several weeks later.

The Australian is hopeful his private health insurer will cover the cost of his tests and medical treatment.
On a regular day, Bhavin would be out on the streets of Mumbai shooting a skit with his crew-- co-actors, videographers, attendants and many more who are involved in the process of making a TikTok video.

As India's coronavirus lockdown extends for yet another two weeks, Bhavin opens his window for natural light, ideal only for a few hours during the day and shoots a video, alone, in his room.

"I'm really missing having a videographer," says Bhavin Bhanushali. Bhavin is a TikTok star with over 13 million followers on the popular short video-making app. "I'm getting my mother to shoot some of my videos," he laughs, explaining to News18 how the process of video making has completely changed during the lockdown. "So many retakes of the same shot," he adds.

"I have to tell her what angle to hold, then watch it, then make her retake it if it's not ideal," he says, talking about his new videographer-- his mother.

On a usual shooting day, checking and making sure the framing and angle were right would part of the videographer's concern - not Bhavin's, who would be in front of the camera.

But as the lockdown has forced over 135 crore Indians indoors, Bhavin had to get his family turn into his workmate.

Earlier, the Tik Tok star laments that he could shoot videos with other creators, making his videos feature multiple characters. Now, Bhavin's content has changed--he makes videos faster since he has to shoot only himself, with a concept he has thought of.

The number of videos he creates in a day, however, has shot up. "I've realized people will take more content, but not lesser content," he explains.

"When I was with my friends, I could make multiple videos from one shoot, and now I have to make multiple videos in the same day itself," he explains.

The number of videos also comes from Bhavin's idea of what can make you a TikTok star in India. "TikTok gives everyone a chance," he says. "You just have to be consistent. You have to keep posting. You can't give up after 5 videos. Sometime or the other, something will click. One will go viral. That's your key to success."

For popular content Sameeksha Sud, the transition has been a lot smoother in terms of production.

"Before I met Vishal and Bhavin (who she often collaborates with) I used to make TikToks here, alone in my room," she says. "It feels like I've gone back to the old days."

But the lockdown has not stopped her from complete collaboration - "I get them to send me their footage, their part of the footage, I edit them together to create one complete video."

For her, it's a question of practice to create videos in the lockdown. She's mastered every angle, every height adjustment on her tripod, every place she needs to position her ring light in.

On average, she spends 5 hours on a video, and thinks of new concepts for her videos, while doing everyday activities.

She shares the key to being a TikTok star: It is honing on your talent - no matter what it is. "You'll see all kinds of videos on TikTok-- people cooking, acting singing-- so no matter your skills, this is the platform. You will find an audience," she says.

Paras Tomar, a popular TikTok star who is based out of Bombay, says the lockdown has been hard, especially to convince his followers to stay indoors.

Paras was visiting his native home-town Himachal when the lockdown was announced. No tripod, no ring light, he usually has to rely on natural props to make sure his phone is standing, and natural sunlight is how he ensures his videos are well lit - which also means shooting outdoors.

"I have videos that are shot outside-- running through nature. It is all on private property because we own land here, but I didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea and start flouting rules," he says.

Every one of his videos shot outside now comes with a disclaimer.

His other way to ensure people stay informed? Sharing explainers about the news. As a former journalist, Paras is used to following news in his free time and does just that on TikTok. He explains news in under a minute, to make his viewers aware on everything related to coronavirus: on whether your landlord can kick you out for not paying rent for a month, to what herd immunity is.

His content is largely the same reason he explains his idea of how to become famous on TikTok: Stay relevant.

"Actors use this platform to show off acting skills, I use it to spread news, everyone uses different formats but we're all keeping in tune with the current events, and if you find something which the audience taps into, you have to keep doing it," he says.

"You have to be unique. Don't stick to cliches, experiment. Don't copy people. You will find an audience for your originality," he adds.

For Geet, known for teaching English and giving life advice, the lockdown has changed her content completely.

Even though Geet is currently in the US, her major follower base is in India - and found that her content which is constantly evolving needed to change with the needs of the viewer.

"Initially, when the lockdown had started, people were very hungry for Coronavirus related content. So I made a lot of updates on statistics, heroes, definitions of key terms related to the pandemic," she says.

"But after an initial couple of weeks, I saw a shift in the audiences needs and they no longer wanted Coronavirus content, but rather they wanted a distraction. So I started creating more content related to relationship issues, and in specific issues related to long-distance relationships because now many of my viewers found themselves in that setting because of the inability to leave their homes," she says, summing up what most Indians feel at present, having entered the 9th week of coronavirus lockdown.

Geet is still giving out advice but keeping the pandemic in mind. "I keep reminding people to be understanding of one another because different people are dealing with the situation in different ways. I am advising people to not make any major relationship or life decisions during this time because emotions are running high right now and there is a lot of fear, uncertainty and anxiety people are facing," she says.

Geet is trying to introduce more 'positive' into her content, now as she feels her audience needs hope and reassurance.

Geet's advice to being a TikTok star is simple - create. "Due to the lockdown, we all have a lot of time on our hands, so we should make the most of it. I would advise people to use this time to explore and try various types of videos and figure out what it is you are good at and what the audience wants to see you do. And then after the lockdown is over they will be well-positioned to keep growing," she says.
Ireland's Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan has said the prospect of pubs re-opening in June instead of the end of July is not realistic.

Speaking to Sean O'Rourke on RTE Radio One on Friday morning, Dr Holohan said: "The pubs came to us in March and said we understand your public health advice but we don't think we can implement it in pubs and that was the reason they were asked to close on that occasion.

"I know there are many parts of society and the economy making a case that they should be in earlier phases. What we think now needs to happen is the economy and society, in general, get on with the job of preparing to implement our advice in the settings that they operate. So if I take restaurants or the hospitality sector as an example, how are they going to put in place the arrangement to protect their staff, their clients and customers when the time is right for them to begin to resume those activities."

Pushed on whether June might be a possibility for pubs, Dr Holohan said: "I don't see any realistic prospect of pubs in June, no - a straight answer to your question."

The Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) and the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) have written to the Government accepting their invitation to discuss the Government Roadmap and its implications for pubs as a matter of urgency.

Measures the Vintner's said could be implemented to facilitate an earlier opening of premises 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.
N000ew Delhi, May 9 : Even as the government is encouraging online studies to students amid the coronavirus lockdown, teachers and students are facing difficulties in the absence of stationery and books prescibed in their syllabi.

While bookshops have been allowed to reopen in many states, including Delhi, a large number of shop owners are yet to resume business operations. Even a majority of shops selling stationery are closed.

Almost all publishing houses on the Ansari Road in Daryaganj are closed. Many well-known bookstores selling books on medical, engineering, economics and history are still to resume business in the area. Many publishers who provide books for private schools too are closed.

A similar situation prevails in Nai Sadak where school books are sold. The shops are yet to reopen. A similar situation prevails in Daryaganj.

Anil Gupta, owner of a stationery store in Nai Sadak, said: "Since the government has allowed us to reopen shops, we have resumed business. But customers are still missing. This is because schools are still closed and, then, students and their parents are not ready to take health risks by coming out to markets." Even the businesses dealing in paper are yet to resume operations. This has led to non-availability of notebooks to students, apart from other stationary items.

Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank had told students during a webinar that directions have been issued to officials to ensure availability of NCERT books to students. He said that directions were also issued to the states to ensure availability of academic books to students and the same had been issued to different state governments.

Aniket, a student of a school on the Lodhi Road in south Delhi, said: "We are getting taught through WhatsApp and YouTube but we neither have text books nor study books. We daily receive a page from our study book, which we have to copy down in our text books.

The whole process is complicated and tiring. Also, maintaining a proper sequence of notes is a problem." Anu Rai, a teacher in a private school in Faridabad, said: "Students are facing quite many problems in the absence of academic books. We are at present sending brief study material through mobile phones daily as sending the whole book in one go is an impossibility." Niharika from Adarsh Nagar in Delhi said: "We have to prepare teaching matter from mobile phones daily before lecturing students online in the absence of course books. We are adding a page of course material daily to make students study."
Asia

Burma police use coronavirus laws to break workers strikes

On May 4, police at Dagon Seikkan township in Yangon, Burmas largest city, arrested six union members amongst a group of 100 workers blocking the entrance to the Blue Diamond bag factory.

The six strike leaders were charged with violating COVID-19 orders and jailed for three months by the local town court. Workers began the strike on May 2 to demand full payment of their April wages, including from April 19 to 30 when the plant was shut down following government orders.

Prior to the 1017 April Thingyan (new year) holiday, Blue Diamond workers had walked out on strike to demand management close the factory for one month on full pay to stop the spread of COVID-19.

On Monday, police also arrested five workers who had led strikes at the Rainwear House and Brightberg factories in the same district. On April 22, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi warned that the government would use its ban on gatherings to prosecute union members taking industrial action.

India: Punjab bus workers demand COVID-19 insurance

Contract workers from the state-owned commuter bus company Punbus/Punjab Roadways demonstrated at several locations in Jalandhar district on May 5 over several demands, including insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic. The protesters burnt effigies of the Punjabs chief minister.

Workers alleged that they had been forced to keep working during the coronavirus lockdown without any health insurance or benefits. Drivers and conductors who had been quarantined claim that they did not receive proper medical treatment at the quarantine wards.

Workers want 5 million rupees ($US66,500) insurance cover, like other front-line workers, as well as gloves, masks and PPE kits for all workers deployed on COVID-19 duties and to be given full-time jobs. The workers are members organised by the Punbus/Punjab Roadways Contractual Workers Union.

De-addiction centre staff in Punjab on strike

Contracted and outsourced staff at state-run drug and alcohol de-addiction centres across Punjab struck work on May 4 to demand permanent jobs. The strike, called by the Government De-addiction and Rehabilitation Employees Union, was observed at de-addiction centres in Phagwara, Nurmahal, Nakodar and Phillaur.

Strikers said they had been working at the centres for years alongside permanent employees for a meagre monthly salary of between 10,000 rupees ($US132) and 12,000 rupees. They also demanded health insurance for their family members.

Tamil Nadu sanitation workers demand promised COVID-19 bonus

Around 1,800 sanitation workers from the Tiruppur [municipal] Corporation wore black badges to work last week to demand a special one months salary payment as promised by the state government. The limited protest was part of a state-wide action by members of Tiruppur District Conservancy Workers Association, which is affiliated to the All India Trade Union Congress.

Workers said that the Tamil Nadu chief minister had already announced a one-month special payment for doctors, nurses, medical staff and sanitary workers to honour their contribution in the fight against COVID-19 but nothing had been done to fulfil his pledge.

New Delhi hospital nurses strike over unsafe conditions

Nurses at the Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital in New Delhi walked out on strike on May 4 in protest against unsafe conditions at the facility where a large number of doctors, nurses and other health workers have been infected with COVID-19.

Migrant workers across India demand to be given passage home

Unemployed migrant workers, mostly from Bihar, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, held a sit-down protest at the Khammam police station in Telangana state on May 5 to demand immediate arrangements to send them back to their village homes. The destitute workers, whose jobs have been affected by the COVID-19 lockdown, are from various granite factories and allied industries in Khammam division.

Workers denounced alleged delays in sending them back home despite the home ministrys fresh guidelines permitting inter-state movement of stranded migrant workers. They displayed makeshift placards saying Allow us to return to our homes.

On May 4, large numbers of construction workers at Suncity in Gurugram state demonstrated to demand that they be returned to their home villages and towns. Similar protests have been held across India this week, including in Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Surat after the Modi government decided to extend its coronavirus lockdown for a second time.

Jammu cleaners demand protection against COVID-19

A group of cleaners in Jammu, northern India, staged a sit-down protest on May 5 to demand better working conditions. The workers displayed placards, calling for personal protective equipment and safe working conditions to combat COVID-19. The cleaners said that they were working in unsafe conditions due to lack of masks, gloves and sanitisers.

Pakistan: Unions close down health workers strike

The Grand Health Alliance-Punjab, following talks with the Punjab state government on May 4, shut down a protest campaign and hunger strike by doctors, paramedics, nurses and other medical staff at government hospitals. The protests began on April 17. The health workers were demanding personal protective equipment (PPE) amidst an escalating spread of COVID-19.

Protesting doctors in Balochistan were previously attacked by police and hundreds arrested for demanding PPEs.

The Grand Health Alliance-Punjab, an umbrella organisation formed by several unions, claimed that the government had agreed to provide necessary safety equipment and would reinstate health workers suspended for protesting. On the same day as the union was shutting down the strike, reports showed a significant increase of health workers infected with the virus with over 190 new cases added in the preceding week, bringing the total infected to 444.

Bangladesh: Nationwide protests by factory workers enters fourth week

Thousands of Bangladeshi garment and other factory workers are maintaining protests sparked on April 4, after workers found their factories shuttered following the lifting of the governments coronavirus lockdown. Tens of thousands of workers from 770 factories are demanding that the factories reopen and unpaid wages be distributed, and oppose the 35 percent cut in wages. The government is maintaining the lockdown of government and private sector offices.

Police were called to disperse several hundred protesting garment and footwear workers in Gazipur who blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh and Dhaka-Tangail highways on Wednesday. They were protesting against lay-offs. Workers from the Deiyu Fashion factory said that after paying wages for March, factory authorities on April 16 demanded workers sign termination letters. More than 400 were informed later of their termination over the phone.

According to Bangladesh Garment Workers Solidarity, a garment workers organisation, at least 97 garment workers have been infected with COVID-19 and 10 have died.

Bangladeshi bridge construction workers shot by security guards

At least six protesting construction workers from the Padma Bridge project in Munshiganj district, near Dhaka, suffered gunshot wounds after being shot by the security guards of a contracting company. The workers were protesting against not being paid overtime entitlements.

According to the emergency doctor at a nearby hospital, of the seven workers who were admitted, six sustained bullet injuries and the other was badly beaten.

Bangladesh road transport workers demand relief during lockdown

Several hundred road transport workers affected by the COVID-19 lockdown demonstrated on a highway in Dhaka on Thursday to demand relief or lifting of the ban on public transport. Workers said they were made jobless due to the lockdown and had not received any relief payments from the government. The Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation called the protest off after a local government representative intervened and distributed some relief.

Sri Lanka: Coconut coir factory workers protest against pay cut

Workers at a coconut coir factory in Dummalasooriya, owned by the global conglomerate Heyleys PLC, demonstrated on April 4 against the companys decision to cut their April salary by between 5 and 30 percent. A majority of workers at the factory, 80km away from Colombo, are hired on contract and are paid a meagre daily wage of 1,200 rupees ($US6).

Although part of the workforce was called to work on April 15 after the plant was shut down due to the COVID-19 epidemic, management announced that wages had been reduced and production targets increased. Workers said management told them payment would be higher if they produce more.

The workers complained that they had not received a salary increase for years. They also said that no government authority, including the Labour Commissioner, was working to address their long-standing problems.

Sri Lankan petrol filling station workers strike

About a dozen workers from Elpitiya Ceylon Petroleum Cooperation filling stations in the countrys Southern province struck on May 1. They were demanding an additional payment for continuing to work in the essential service during COVID-19 curfew period. Sri Lankan police said that the petrol filling services in the area were affected during the strike.
The conservation director with the Bayou Land Conservancy spoke with members of the North Houston Association Thursday, informing them of the groups conservation plan and strategy moving forward.

Becky Martinez, the conservation director with BLC, said the group started doing strategic planning last year, keeping in mind the groups values of conserving land and water quality. The group itself has been around since 1996 as a land trust, focused on preserving land along streams for flood control, clean water and wildlife.

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Texas State Parks allowing limited overnight camping starting May 18

What were trying to do when were preserving land is to give places for our bayous and creeks to move, places for that water to go, Martinez said. Those benefits of land preservation add up to real money as well. For every dollar we spend on land conservation, it saves $4 in construction replacement costs due to flooding.

Much of the land they preserve is around Lake Houston, Lake Livingston and Lake Conroe, Martinez said, which provide most of the drinking water in the area. Preserving the land also gives the wildlife in the area a place to live.

About 30% of BLCs preserves have public access, and 75% of their lands are wetland mitigation. More than 14,000 acres are preserved by the group, she said, and they just added an additional 38 acres last week.

GETTING OUT IN NATURE: Yes, Texas rivers and lakes are open. Here are 8 worth a day trip.

For the groups strategic plan, Martinez said they looked at available geographic information system data related to their valuesflooding data, water quality data, general property data.

More Information Learn more about the Bayou Land Conservatory's strategic plan here. See More Collapse

In looking at a property, we want to know are these large enough to support conservation work, are they next to parks or other preserves? Martinez said.

The group identified more than 100,000 acres of high priority land, Martinez said, worth preserving. Over the next 20 years, she said the lands committee would work toward preserving 15,000 of those acres adjacent to streams that would be most impactful to the region.

What I see for the next 20 years is a shift towards more private landowners, toward working with more developers and working even more with local government to preserve greenspace, Martinez said.

Just in the last couple of years, Martinez said they completed their Spring Creek Nature Trail, a 14-mile trail built with the help of volunteers. The trail also comes with an audio tour through the TravelStorys app, letting listeners known about watersheds, wildlife and native communities in the area as they walk the trail.

Volunteers had been working on expanding the trail before the pandemic began. The trail is walkable for anyone at Burroughs Park, 9738 Hufsmith Road in Tomball.

Since youre under the cover of trees, its not so hot, Martinez said. So, its doable in the warmer months.

The group typically has an event every month, but Martinez said this hasnt been the case recently due to the coronavirus pandemic. Usually, they have a film festival every year, but the one this year will have to be virtual. The festival will be showing various short films between five and 20 minutes in length talking about topics from monarch butterflies to Patagonia. The festival is from May 11 through May 15, with links to the films available by signing up for BLCs newsletter at www.bayoulandconservatory.org.

paul.wedding@hcnonline.com
Ruchi Ghanashyam retired as the Indian High Commissioner to the UK early this month in an unusually discreet way given the constraints related to the coronavirus lockdown, bidding farewell to her team at the India House in London virtually over a conference call.

However, there has been little impact on her workload as she continues to be flooded with queries and requests as the first repatriation flight for Indian nationals takes off from London for Mumbai on Saturday.

The 60-year-old former diplomat, who is yet to fully pack her bags or say all her goodbyes, is confident that her tenure comes to a close at a time when India-UK relations are poised for real take-off.

"India and the UK have strategic ties and a deep relationship which spans almost every area we can think of," said Ghanashyam in a farewell interview.

"This depth was even more visible during this time of crisis, when we worked closely together to assist with the repatriation of each other's nationals, facilitated the supply of life-saving medicines to the UK and set up collaborations between institutions and businesses to find meaningful solutions. This gives me hope that our bilateral ties are poised for an even bigger take-off," she said.

The career diplomat, who arrived in the UK in November 2018, has had an extremely eventful posting with General Elections in both countries, the ups and downs of Britain's exit from the European Union (EU) at the start of this year and culminating in the coronavirus pandemic.

"I arrived in the thick of Brexit negotiations and retired in the thick of a global pandemic so the journey has been most unusual. There were two major elections in 2019 in India and the UK so most certainly a very eventful time," she recalls.

"I have been extremely fortunate to have some wonderful interlocutors, from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) as well as the wider network, who have facilitated and aided an even closer India-UK connect," she said.

This connect in her final few weeks involved weekly calls with FCO minister for South Asia, Lord Tariq Ahmad, among others, during which each side could raise areas of concern and highlight priorities on both sides in a "spirit of openness and willingness to listen".

"During a crisis of this nature, in my own country our Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) has been working so hard, as is our External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the entire team, so it is incumbent upon each one us to do what we can for our own people but also for the wider society, whether we hold a position or not," she said.

The Indian High Commission in London has been hosting a series of virtual meetings, including with Indian businesses, diaspora and students' groups, to create a support network for Indians caught up in the lockdown.

"From organising affordable accommodation to hot meals for those who may be feeling alienated being far away from their loved ones, we have very capable officers at the mission who have found ways to help every Indian who reaches out to us," she said.

"Our endeavour has been to connect with everyone and understand the challenges faced to try and address them as best as possible, within the constraints of the lockdown," she added.

Ghanashyam, who will head back to Delhi once the COVID-19 related travel restrictions are eased, feels like her retirement has not entirely sunk in yet as there is an ongoing demand on her time, including this week at the virtual launch of the Grant Thornton and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) 'India Meets Britain Tracker 2020' of the fastest growing Indian companies in the UK.

She was also instrumental in encouraging the first-ever report on 'The Diaspora Effect', collated by Grant Thornton and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) earlier this year to quantify the impact of the 1.5-million-strong Indian diaspora in the UK.

"There are so many highlights of my tenure, which was short [17 months] but immensely eventful. There were two major celebrations, the 550th anniversary of Guru Nanak Devji and the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, both of which were marked in a big way across the UK," she said.

The diplomat, seen at every major UK event dressed in her trademark saree, also initiated the first-ever India Day at the London Fashion Week in February to promote the work of the Indian weavers behind the garment.

"It has been a privilege to wear these beautiful creations throughout my career. That was the reason behind the first India Day, to highlight the genius behind some of the handwoven and carefully crafted sarees by Indian weavers and crafts people," she said.

And, asked about the possibility of penning down her memoirs as she settles into her retirement, Ghanashyam admits she has not entirely signed off yet.

"It has been a particularly hectic time and though I have retired, there is work still to be done. My diplomatic career has been my life for 38 years, the longest association after my parents and family, so it is only natural that I can't simply just switch off," she said.

"As and when I get a chance to settle into my retired life, I will think about things to do. I can't say I have given a memoir a serious thought but maybe over time I might feel the urge to write about the various amazing experiences across so many international postings of my career," she added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
San Francisco, May 9 : Taking control of a Microsoft employee's GitHub account, a hacker recently got access to some of the company's "private" repositories on GitHub.

While some Microsoft engineers initially tried to downplay the incident calling it "a scam", they later retracted their comments after some employees confirmed its partial authenticity, ZDNet reported on Friday.

However, it appears that the hacker did not get access to source code of any significant projects, such as Windows and Office, said the report based on what several Microsoft employees said.

The hacker is believed to have acquired around 1,200 private repositories.

Even as the intrusion has come to light now, the incident might have taken place in March.

The hacker's plans of making some of the stolen projects public on a hacking forum brought the incident to light this week.

A Microsoft spokesperson told ZDNet that the company is investigating the incident. The spokesperson, however, did not elaborate the details.

The hacker going by the name Shiny Hunters contacted BleepingComputer on Thursday to tell the outlet they had gained access to over 500GB of data from Microsoft's private GitHub repositories.

According to ZDNet, the hacker behind the incident is the same individual who recently leaked 15 million records from Indonesia's largest online store Tokopedia.
A farmer was killed when a vehicle hit him while he was riding a motorcycle in a village here under the Mau Police Station, police said on Saturday.

The incident occurred on Friday evening when Ghanshyam (45) was returning to Jorwara village from Lalta Road, SHO Subhashchandra Chaurasia said.

"As he reached a petrol pump in the village, a four-wheeler hit the motorcycle. The farmer sustained serious injuries and while being taken to the community health centre in Mau, he succumbed to injuries," the SHO said.

The vehicle was seized and the driver has been arrested, the police officer added.

The body of the deceased has been sent for post-mortem examination, the SHO said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a testimonial to property developer Johnny Ronan, China's former ambassador to Ireland described him as someone with a "vision to always push boundaries".

This week a video of the business tycoon joking in a Cape Town bar in February about the coronavirus, which originated in China and has claimed more than 4,600 lives there, went viral, prompting an apology from Ronan after it sent social media into a frenzy.

Ronan, who infamously sent out a press release announcing the end of his "romantic relationship" with former 'Xpose' presenter Glenda Gilson, is sometimes accused of pushing boundaries too far.

He once signed off a written statement to the Oireachtas banking inquiry with the Nazi slogan "Arbeit Macht Frei" (work will set you free), which hung above the entrance to the Auschwitz concentration camp.

He later apologised and insisted being in Nama was not comparable to the "horrors perpetrated by the Nazi regime".

The Carrick-on-Suir man kept somewhat of a low profile in recent years as he worked to rebuild his property empire after the financial crash.

From High Court planning disputes with Dublin City Council to a TD calling him "obnoxious", he's back grabbing controversial headlines in 2020 like he did during the Celtic Tiger years.

Generating outrage on 'Liveline' and in the Dail on the same day is no mean feat.

Ronan, who founded the now wound-up Treasury Holdings, which developed some of the most iconic buildings in Dublin including the Convention Centre and the Google headquarters, perhaps fits the definition of Marmite.

Friends and like-minded business people love him, a certain proportion of the public seems to loathe him.

Born in Tipperary to a pig farmer-turned-property developer, he was educated in Castleknock College where he met his former Treasury Holdings partner, Richard Barrett.

On Thursday night in the Dail, a different Richard Barrett hit out at the multi-millionaire, taking issue with Ronan expanding his property portfolio.

"He has his name plastered over development sites all over the city making an absolute fortune while people are suffering from homelessness," People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd-Barrett said.

Ronan would contest that he is actually helping alleviate the housing crisis.

In an interview with the Irish Independent on February 20, he slammed as "scandalous" the decision to overturn planning permission granted to increase the height of two apartment blocks in Dublin's docklands.

The apartments are being built by Spencer Place Development Company, which is owned by Ronan Group Real Estate.

He blasted how the legal action was delaying 548 "badly needed" residential units - including 47 social housing units.

"Dublin City Council's position is indefensible. Wouldn't they be better trying to solve the housing crisis instead of building white water rafting parks," he said.

Ronan appears to have fallen out of favour with the council, which also recently rejected his third bid to increase the height of Salesforce's new European headquarters at Spencer Dock.

"But sure the taxpayer bailed you out" is a common slur directed at the colourful developer, but in 2014 he became the first major borrower to exit Nama having paid off the full value of his 400m loans.

He then began to make his comeback in 2015 after securing a 300m war chest to build and develop prime real estates sites in Dublin and London.

Repaying his debts didn't win over the jury of social media though, as the flaunting of his lavish lifestyle always appears to come back to haunt him.

Who could forget the time he whisked former Miss World Rosanna Davison off on a private jet for one night in Marrakesh?

A business meeting in the former Ritz-Carlton hotel in Powerscourt ended with Rosanna and her friend Sarah being flown to Morocco by Ronan.

In an interview with the 'Sunday Independent' afterwards, she spoke about the negative publicity the trip generated. "I was quite shocked by the level of interest in this story," she said.

"My family was involved, my relationship was brought into it, my parents. It's one thing me dealing with it, but when my family are involved, well, then it gets harder.

"I don't regret any aspect of the trip. I don't regret the spontaneity of it. I found it liberating. I found it exciting," she said. "It was complete innocent fun."

Ronan's devil-may-care attitude to life is perhaps what makes him a successful businessman, and perhaps what rubs some people up the wrong way.

His WhatsApp profile has a picture of the Robert Downey Jr quote: "Listen, smile, agree, and then do whatever the f**k you were gonna do anyway."

A bit like the time he wanted to make one of Dublin's best known sculptures undergo a "sex change" because he objected to a "naked man climbing up the wall" outside his office.

"I was very open to changing it to a woman," the commissioned artist Rowan Gillespie said.

The backlash he received this week over the coronavirus video was compounded when news broke that iconic cafe Bewley's was to close, with the loss of 110 jobs.

Bewley's had been paying 1.5m annual rent to RGRE Grafton Limited, a company controlled by Ronan, and stated its request for a rent holiday in late March had been denied.

In 2012, Bewley's took legal action seeking to have its rent halved to 728,000, as recommended by an independent arbitrator.

However, this was later overturned by the Supreme Court, which ruled in the Ronan Group's favour.

A source close to Mr Ronan accused Bewley's of seeking to "put blame on the landlord", calling on Bewley's owners, the Campbell family, to sustain the company "with its own substantial resources".

"Landlords, like their tenants, come in all shapes and sizes, as do their financial structures and balance sheets," the source said.

In a tweet on Thursday, Green Party MEP for Dublin Ciaran Cuffe claimed that he had called Ronan 16 years ago when Bewley's was then under threat to ask if he could help.

"'Business is business' was his reply," Cuffe said.

"No change there it seems."

Business partners describe Ronan as "firm, but fair" and "pragmatic in his approach". He is someone who demonstrates "roughness, together with grace".

Former Olympic cyclist Philip Cassidy, who featured alongside Ronan in the coronavirus videos, told RTE's 'Liveline' on Thursday Ronan was "devastated" by the fallout.

He said the video was recorded at a time when nobody knew the horrific impact the virus would go on to have.

Ronan subsequently apologised unreservedly in a statement.

In another video recorded on the Cape Town trip, Cassidy can be heard saying "we should bring a couple of crates of corona back to Nama not the liquid stuff now".

He confirmed it was a joke at the time which "obviously isn't funny now".

One thing's for sure, since Ronan made his comeback, the public's fascination with people associated with wealth and excess as seen in the Celtic Tiger days has also well and truly returned.
Following the detection of its first omicron case Saturday in Haidian district of Beijing, the Chinese capital locked down certain communities and office buildings just weeks before the Winter Olympics and the Lunar New Year holiday. The city opened 30 emergency testing points in Haidian on Monday as it rushes to contain the spread

Jan 19, 2022 05:37 PM
A decline in schooling quality caused by coronavirus-related disruptions will cost Australia the equivalent of $6 billion a quarter in foregone knowledge and skills.

A special edition of the Herald/Age-Lateral Economics Wellbeing Index estimates the hurried switch from classroom education to lessons at home will cause a temporary reduction in schooling quality of 20 per cent.

Lower schooling quality will be one contributor to big decline in wellbeing caused by the coronavirus outbreak Credit:Tanya Macheda

The modelling shows school-age children will forego $6.3 billion a quarter in human capital development, a measure of collective abilities and knowhow. Students from disadvantaged backgrounds will be worst affected.

Lower schooling quality will be one contributor to a coronavirus-induced decline in Australias collective wellbeing equivalent to at least $67 billion each quarter, the report finds. That deficit will be in addition to losses in gross domestic product.




An Army officer and an enlisted service member have tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases reported in the military to 42, the defense ministry said Saturday.







The enlisted service member is one of 103 people working at the defense ministry compound who went through the COVID-19 test after having contact with a staff sergeant at the Cyber Operations Command who was infected with the virus. The other 102 have tested negative, according to the ministry.







The staff sergeant contracted the virus after visiting a club in Seoul's popular multicultural neighborhood of Itaewon last week where an infection cluster has been reported.







His infection has put the military on high alert as the command is located at an annex to the main building of the defense ministry in Seoul.







The ministry said it has carried out disinfection work on facilities where the infected service personnel visited.







Separately, the military has also quarantined 20 service personnel who had contact with the infected Army officer based in Yongin, south of Seoul.







The government reported 18 more cases of the new coronavirus Saturday, raising the nation's total to 10,840.







Seventeen out of the 18 were linked to the person who authorities consider as the first patient in the Itaewon infection cluster. (Yonhap)


Editors Note: In recognition of National Historic Preservation Month, local historian Cindy Reinhardt will tell the stories behind some of Edwardsvilles historic buildings in a series of articles during the month of May.

The beautiful home at 1023 St. Louis Street was built in 1923 for newlyweds Frederic Easton Springer and his bride, Frances Tiemann. Although the architect is unknown, the builder was Edwardsville contractor Ciro Erspamer.

Frederic Springer, the only child of Edward C. and Sarah (Robinson) Springer, grew up less than a block away at 923 St. Louis Street surrounded by relatives. His fathers sister, Ottilie Springer Tunnel, lived directly across the street from his childhood home at 918 St. Louis Street and his grandmother, Mary Ann Ray Robinson Fruit, lived just down the street at 901 St. Louis Street. His mothers sister, Margaret Robinson, also lived at 901 St. Louis Street so there were plenty of relatives to help raise Frederic, or to keep an eye on him.

Frederics father was a well-known Edwardsville attorney specializing in probate law and from an early age, Frederic intended to follow in his footsteps. He was an excellent student, graduating from Edwardsville High School in 1914 as valedictorian with grades that the superintendent called the highest ever recorded. That fall he left Edwardsville to attend Princeton University. His undergraduate studies were interrupted in his junior year when he enlisted with the 311th Field Artillery in World War I. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant while overseas. After the war, he returned to Princeton where he graduated in June 1919. He then attended Harvard Law School, graduating in 1922.

He returned to Edwardsville after graduation and immediately joined his father to establish the law firm of Springer and Springer. Like his father, Frederic specialized in probate law and the two worked together until Edward Springers death in 1939. After that, Frederic continued in probate law, sometimes with a partner, from his offices in the National Bank Building. He enjoyed his work and helped all the neighbors write their last will and testaments without charging his usual fees. He remained professionally active until the time of his death in 1981.

Florence Tiemann Springer was not from Edwardsville. She was born in Peoria, Illinois, in 1895. Her father, Gustav Tiemann, was originally from Missouri, but managed manufacturing companies in numerous Illinois cities. Florences mother, Eleanor Ella Vollrath Tiemann, grew up in Marine. Two of Ellas sisters moved to Edwardsville and Ella lived the last years of her life with her sister, Emma Burroughs, on Fourth Street. Another sister, Matilda Vollrath Gerke, bought the house at 915 St. Louis Street in 1920, so when Fred and Florence built their house, they were both moving near family. Florence, as was then the custom, was a stay-at-home wife and mother to the three Springer girls  Sarah Jo, Eleanor and Helen. All three girls attended college at Vassar.

Former neighbors say they were a reserved couple who kept to themselves but were very nice people. Florence volunteered often at St. Johns Methodist Church and Frederic was involved with Rotary Club and the Moose Lodge. He also was president of an organization in the late 1940s that tried to bring a YMCA to Edwardsville. Frederic kept the grounds surrounding their home in meticulous condition, mowing the lawn every weekend, wearing a dress shirt and tie. Florence spent time in the yard too, but for a different reason. She enjoyed birds and could recognize many just from the sound of their calls.

Although the architect of the house is unknown, the builder was a local contractor  Ciro Erspamer. The house was solidly built with three courses of brick in the exterior walls making them 12 inches thick. Unlike many homes of its age, this house avoided renovations that might change its character. The Springers maintained the home as built until their deaths in 1980 and 1981 and subsequent owners, except for adding air conditioning, kept everything original, too. There have been no additions to the house and the woodwork, hardware, doors and windows are all original to 1923.

In 97 years, there have been only four owners of this house with the Springers occupying the home for more than half of that time. But the residential history of this property began long before this house was built. The Springer House, built on Lot 91 in 1923, was not the first house on the property.

An earlier house:

The 1873 Atlas of Madison County indicates that at that time Lot 91, was an oversized lot of approximately three acres that stretched from St. Louis Street to Grand Avenue. The map lists David Gillespie as the owner and there is a small black square to show the location of a house. The 1892 atlas shows the owner of the property is M. B. Sherman. It is unknown when the lot was sold to the Sherman family (records are not available during the COVID-19 pandemic), but it is known that Moses Barber Sherman and his wife Isabelle Gillespie Sherman lived there for decades. In their daughter Matties 1928 obituary, the reporter stated that Mattie Sherman Ramey was born in 1869 in the old Sherman house on St. Louis Street.

The earlier owner of the property, David Gillespie, was Isabelles half-brother. In another case of a family living near each other, two of Isabelles siblings also lived on St. Louis Street. David had a home at #825 and their sister, Eleanor Gillespie Brink, lived at #839. These siblings were well connected in Edwardsville since their father, Judge Matthew Gillespie, and their uncle, Joseph Gillespie, were friends of Abraham Lincoln who visited their home.

Isabelles husband, Moses Sherman (1837-1900), was born in Rhode Island and came west before the Civil War. He was a teacher and became the first school principal in Edwardsville, teaching first at a brick school built on the old courthouse square. One of the teachers at the school was Isabelle Gillespie who he married in 1862.

The old house on Lot 91 sat far back from the road as indicated by an old concrete pathway leading from what would have been the back door of the house to a well near what is now Randle Street. In the early years, Randle Street was not there. The rail bed for a streetcar line, some called it the Yellowhammer, was later turned into a street when the tracks were removed.

Isabelle lived in the old house at 1023 St. Louis Street after her husbands death in 1900, but by 1910 she had moved in with her daughter and son-in-law. The house was rented to others until it was moved to a new location, but thats another story.

Information for this article was obtained from resources at the Madison County Archival Library, the memoirs of Ed Fresen, and from the current owner. If you have questions about this article, contact Cindy Reinhardt at 618-656-1294 or cynreinhardt@yahoo.com.
MUMBAI: National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notice to the Maharashtra state government over mowing down 16 migrants by an empty goods train in Aurangabad on May 8, 2020.

Taking suo motu cognizance of media reports, the Commission has directed State Chief Secretary and District Magistrate of Aurangabad to submit a detailed report within four weeks.

The incident happened between Badnapur and Karmad stations in Nanded Division.

"Officers have been directed to submit a detailed report, within four weeks in to the incident. It should also include details of the steps taken by the state and the district authorities to provide food, shelter, and other basic amenities to the poor people, especially the migrant labourers, who are facing extreme difficulties from every angle," NHRC said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the state govt have been directed to submit a detailed report, within 4 weeks in to the incident. The notice issued by NHRC also demand deatil report of the steps taken by the State and the district authorities to provide food, shelter and other basic amenities to the poor people, especially the migrant labourers, who are facing extreme difficulties from every angle.

Along with it the report also demands the details of the relief and rehabilitation provided to the victim labourers and their dependents along with status of the medical treatment provided to the injured is also required to be given in the report.

NHRC noted that prima facie, the mishap can be termed as a train accident as normally it is not expected that people will be sleeping on the railway tracks. However, the crucial aspect is that the poor labourers, who were already facing many hardships amid countrywide lockdown, were forced to walk on foot for a very long distance due to non-availability of any mode of transport, lost their lives due to apparent negligence by the district administration, the statement read.

As many as 16 migrant labourers were killed and five others injured after a freight train ran over them between Jalna and Aurangabad.

According to Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of South Central Railway (SCR), the injured are getting treatment in Aurangabad civil hospital.

The mishap occurred on Friday in the Nanded Division of South Central Railway in Karmad police station area of the Aurangabad district.
Samaritans Purse gets tax bill after discharging last patient at NYC field hospital

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo is asking Samaritans Purse to pay state taxes after the Christian humanitarian organization discharged its last patient this week  one of the over 300 COVID-19 patients it treated at a temporary hospital in New York Citys Central Park while facing a backlash due to its statement of faith.

Were not in a position to provide any subsidies right now because we have a $13 billion deficit, Cuomo said at a daily press briefing this week, Fox News reported Friday.

According to a New York state law, anyone working in the state for more than 14 days has to pay income tax, but organizations and healthcare workers came to the state to help fight the novel coronavirus outbreak at its epicenter after an appeal by the state government seeking assistance.

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 gonna spend more money, when I cant even pay the essential services, Cuomo said.

The Samaritans Purse 68-bed field hospital treated 315 patients since opening on April 1 adjacent to Mount Sinai Hospital in Central Parks East Meadow to help meet the needs of local hospitals that were facing an unprecedented wave of sick patients.

While the Rev. Franklin Graham, who heads Samaritans Purse, hasnt responded directly to Cuomos statement, he has said that his group was invited to NYC by Mount Sinai.

Theyre the ones who called us originally. We didnt call them; they called us, Graham told Faithwire. And we agreed to go and we have not charged them one penny. All of our services have been paid by Gods people.

When the temporary hospital was being erected, the financial comptroller of Samaritans Purse had warned the group about the state requirement for taxes.

What were even more concerned about than the money is the bureaucracy, and the paperwork, and I think that once that's unleashed... once you start filing that, you have to do that for like a whole year or something, Ken Isaacs, a vice president of the organization, told PIX11 News.

After the last patient of the field hospital was discharged, Graham wrote on Facebook, We gave them world-class medical care and showed them Gods love and compassion. We want each one to know the hope that we have in Jesus Christ.

He continued, We will be taking the hospital tents down in the coming days, but we are leaving some staff behind to help at another location within the Mount Sinai Health System. The people at Mount Sinai have been absolutely great to work with, and we appreciate their support and partnership in this effort to save lives.

At the White House National Day of Prayer Service Thursday, Brittany Akinsola, a nurse and a pastor who volunteered at the Samaritans Purse field hospital, thanked the group for giving her an opportunity to serve.

And I will tell you that, just to be able to combine both my skills of nursing and the gifting of pastoring at such a time as this in our nation and to serve the people of New York City was truly one of the greatest honors of my life, she said, and quoted Galatians 6:9, which reads, Let us not become weary of doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson had recently demanded that the Christian charity leave the city over its biblical views on homosexuality.

It is time for Samaritans Purse to leave NYC. 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, Johnson wrote on Twitter last Saturday. Their continued presence here is an affront to our values of inclusion, and is painful for all New Yorkers who care deeply about the LGBTQ community.

The openly gay speaker said while he was aware that the coronavirus battle was still far from over and that the healthcare system needed ongoing support, we cant continue allowing a group with their track record to remain here when were past the point theyre needed  Mount Sinai must sever its relationship with Samaritans Purse. Its leader calls the LGBTQ community detestable and immoral. He says being gay is an affront to God, and refers to gay Christians as the enemy.

On Friday, Christian clergy from NYC came out to support and praise Samaritans Purse.

It is with grateful hearts that, we the clergy and spiritual leaders of New York City, are forever indebted to Samaritans Purse for coming to New York City in one of our most desperate times of need, the COVID 19 pandemic, Christian workers belonging to various denominations and from all five NYC boroughs said in a statement.

They thanked and blessed the great self-sacrificing, non-discriminatory, and tireless work of Samaritans Purse and pray Gods continual blessing on their work here in New York City and globally.

Many, including comedian Jimmy Fallon, have offered support and also expressed thanks for the work of Samaritans Purse.
Why men rape? A new book seeks to find out answers by examining a slew of factors that shape male behaviour.

In her book Why Men Rape: An Indian Undercover Investigation, Tara Kaushal sets out to understand the reasons why women feel unsafe through a detailed investigation which includes interviews and meetings with nine men who have an inclination to commit acts of sexual violence.

The core of Kaushals research methodology for the book, scheduled for release next month, entailed spending up to a week each with nine men who have raped, across different parts of the country.

The author spent time in their home environments; interviewing and observing them, and their families and friends.

Kaushal says through a study of these mostly undetected (the experts term for rapists outside the criminal justice system), some unconvicted rapists, I sought to determine how history, economics, environment, upbringing, education (or lack thereof), psychological state, and attitudes towards sex, women and gender shaped their behaviour and impacted their inclination to commit rape.

She says anthropological, observational research is expensive and time-consuming but in-depth. Sociological, interview-based research is cheaper and easier but oftentimes shallower, with the drawback of the say-do divide - what people say is different from what they do. Kaushal says she was undercover - with a different name and corresponding email and Facebook IDs; hidden tattoos and a so-not-me kurta- jeans look; the works.

The 250 questions she asked and the things she observed were the same with all men, but I never told them I was studying them because they had been identified as rapists.

The men interviewed belong to all sections of society - a doctor who raped his 12-year-old patient; an unemployed man who has decided to kill his former lover; a youth who gang raped; a serial gang rapist who doesnt believe that rape exists.

Alongside, the author gives insights from myriad survivors; world-famous experts; a jail inmate who provides with commentary on the world view of rape convicts inside a prison; and many more.

The book, published by HarperCollins India, also talks about how hypersexualized mainstream cinema, prejudiced media coverage of rape cases, the explosion of pornography, and other historic and current factors have become collaborative agents in causing gender violence in India.

In a nation plagued by the memory of Nirbhaya and the misogyny of the Bois Locker Room, the book is seen as a bold step towards revolutionising our discourse around sexual violence.

According to Krishan Chopra, publisher (non-fiction) at HarperCollins India, Why Men Rape is an extraordinary journey to find an answer to a question that has begun to haunt India.

Tara Kaushal looks at how a whole slew of factors -- from history and environment to upbringing and ingrained attitudes about sex and gender -- shaped male behavior, he says.

Commissioning editor Ananya Borgohain says this is a rather unsettling book which will make you stand still, flummoxed, trying to grasp how our society functions.

(This story has been published from a wire agency without modifications to the text)

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The United States Navy has deployed two patrol ships to the disputed South China Sea where China and Malaysia have competing claims over a maritime region known to have valuable resources.

American officials said on Friday that the littoral combat ship USS Montgomery and the replenishment ship USNS Cesar Chavez were sent to conduct a presence operation in the South China Sea near a Panamanian-flagged drill ship West Capella.

The move sends a strong message to Chinese ships, which have reportedly spent weeks harassing the commercial vessel.

The drill ship is under contract to conduct surveying operations in an area of the South China Sea where Malaysia lays claims to maritime sovereignty.

The West Capella has been contracted to drill for oil reserves by the Malaysian state-owned oil company Petronas.

The United States Navy announced on Friday that it has deployed the USS Montgomery (seen above on Friday) to a contentious area of the disputed South China Sea

The Montgomery and the USNS Cesar Chavez were deployed to conduct a 'presence operation' in the South China Sea, where China is claiming sovereignty in areas that are being mined by its Asian neighbors

The US ships were sent to patrol the area where Malaysia has been conducting oil exploration. West Capella, which is under contract to Malaysian oil company Petronas, has triggered a flurry of patrols from China Coast Guard and maritime militia ships, Vietnamese maritime militia ships and ships from the Royal Malaysian Navy since its commission six months ago

Last month, the US deployed two ships for combined exercises not far from where a Chinese government survey ship, Haiyang Dizhi 8, was said to be operating with an escort of several China Coast Guard ship

In recent weeks, the Chinese People Liberation Army Navy has also deployed warships to the region.

This is the second time in the last month that US Navy ships have been sent to the area to to deter Chinese vessels who have been accused of harassing neighboring countries.

In late April, the American military deployed the USS Bunker Hill, a guided-missile cruiser, to sail alongside the Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Parramatta.

The two ships then joined the amphibious assault ship USS America and the guided-missile destroyer USS Barry for combined exercises not far from where a Chinese government survey ship, Haiyang Dizhi 8, was said to be operating with an escort of several China Coast Guard ships.

The incident prompted the United States to call on China to stop its 'bullying behavior' in the disputed waters, citing concern over Beijing's provocative actions towards offshore oil and gas developments there.

Months earlier, the Haiyang Dizhi 8 was believed to have conducted a similar operation off the waters of Vietnam.

US Navy Admiral John Aquilino issued a statement on Friday warning Beijing.

USS America, an amphibious assault ship, was deployed last month to the South China Sea

An MV-22B Osprey prepares to land on amphibious assault ship USS America on April 18

Haiyang Dizhi 8 has persisted with a number of patrols close to Malaysian oil platforms in the South China Sea in recent weeks, namely the West Capella drill ship, which sparked territory contentions between China and Malaysia when it began exploration activities in October

We are committed to a rules-based order in the South China Sea, and we will continue to champion freedom of the seas and the rule of law, Aquilino said in the release.

The Chinese Communist Party must end its pattern of bullying Southeast Asians out of offshore oil, gas, and fisheries.

On April 27, just days after the US deployed their vessels to the region, a state-run newspaper in China claimed that the Communist-run military expelled the USS Barry.

Political tensions between China and the US have heightened recently, with the two countries blasting each other's handling of COVID-19.

Secretary of State Pompeo has accused Beijing of taking advantage of the health crisis to pursue territorial ambitions.

Control of the South China Sea is the most contentious and explosive diplomatic issue in East Asia.

China asserts sovereignty over maritime areas that span 3.5m square kilometres but are also claimed by Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Japan.

The South China Sea is thought to have significant oil and gas reserves and is a route for about $4.5trillion in trade.

The busy waterway is one of a growing number of flash-points in the US-China relation, which also include a trade war, American sanctions on China's military, Washington's ties with Taiwan and now the coronavirus crisis.

In an opinion piece from late last month, China's state-run tabloid the Global Times accused the Trump administration of 'pushing hegemony' over the region even in the face of a global health crisis.

The column was penned by Chen Xiangmiao, an assistant research fellow at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies.

It said: 'Washington's decision-makers have clear and definite expectations over the South China Sea, which is to maintain US dominant position in setting the agenda and leading discourse that is aimed at securing its leadership in the region.

'Yet, even as the deadly coronavirus spreads around the world and international political and economic order is about to significantly adjust, Washington seems determined to intervene in the waters.'

The author went on to condemn the Trump administration for its 'pursuit of unilateralism in the global economy, security and governance'.

President Xi Jinping's is desperate to boost his prestige at home as Beijing tackles mounting international criticism over the handling of the coronavirus pandemic, a slowing economy and rising tensions with Washington

It also blasted Washington's recent criticism towards the World Health Organization and its assessment of the birthplace of the virus.

'The Trump administration has not offered timely help to the EU and other countries during their COVID-19 fight.

'Instead, Trump has vented his anger at the World Health Organization and constantly blamed China over the origin of the virus without solid proof.

'These moves have disappointed the international community.'

China's People's Liberation Army said it 'expelled' the USS Barry after it had 'illegally entered' what Beijing calls the Xisha territorial waters.

The Xisha Islands, also known as the Paracel Islands, are China's most militarised outpost in the region.

The United States rejects China's territorial claim to much of the South China Sea, including the Paracel Islands, which are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.

The Chinese air and naval forces' tracked, monitored, verified, and identified the US ship throughout the journey, and warned and expelled it,' said Senior Colonel Li Huamin, the spokesperson of China's Southern Theatre Command.

'The provocative actions of the United States seriously violated relevant international law norms, seriously infringed on China's sovereignty and security interests, artificially increased regional security risks, and were prone to cause unexpected incidents,' Senior Colonel Li said.

The US action was 'also incompatible with the current joint efforts of the international community to fight against the COVID-19', the spokesperson said.

He urged the US to focus its energy on containing the coronavirus.

The USS Barry undertook the so-called 'freedom of navigation operation' a week after Beijing upped its claims to the region by designating an official administrative district for the islands.

The US sought to assert the 'rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea recognized in international law,' the Navy said in a statement.

'Unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose an unprecedented threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight and the right of innocent passage of all ships,' it said.
By Michael Holden and Andrew MacAskill

LONDON (Reuters) - Queen Elizabeth led tributes to veterans of World War Two recalling the "never give up, never despair" message of Victory in Europe Day 75 years ago as the coronavirus damped commemorations for the end of the war on the continent.

In a rare televised address that brought together the themes of wartime and the coronavirus, the 94-year-old monarch said those who had served during the conflict with Nazi Germany would admire how their descendants were coping with the lockdown imposed to curb the spread of the virus.

"When I look at our country today and see what we are willing to do to protect and support one another, I say with pride, that we are still a nation those brave soldiers, sailors and airmen would recognise and admire," she said.

On a day that should have been filled with parades and street parties, the national commemorations to herald the day when Allied forces accepted Germany's unconditional surrender were scaled back after social gatherings were curbed to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

But flags and banners still fluttered across Britain, and people stuck at home due to the lockdown enjoyed a day of special television and radio programmes.

Britain paid tribute to the war generation with flypasts, a two-minute silence, and the broadcast of wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchills speech to mark the anniversary of victory in Europe.

In a short ceremony that had been kept secret to avert the possibility of any crowds gathering, Prince Charles wearing a kilt laid a wreath at the war memorial outside his familys Balmoral estate in Scotland.

Households across Britain evoked the spirit of the 1940s, some dressing in period costume and hosting tea parties despite the coronavirus lockdown.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson invoked the "heroism of countless ordinary people" in his tribute to the millions of Britons who fought and lived through the war.

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"Today we must celebrate their achievement, and we remember their sacrifice," Johnson said in a national address. "We are a free people because of everything our veterans did - we offer our gratitude, our heartfelt thanks and our solemn pledge: you will always be remembered."

'WE'LL MEET AGAIN'

There were commemorations too across the water in France, where President Emmanuel Macron held the traditional wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin invoked the wartime Allies' cooperation in telegrams to U.S. President Donald Trump, with Britain's Johnson and others suggesting they should rekindle such togetherness for today's problems.

In Germany - where Nazism, the Holocaust and the devastation of war still shape identity and politics - Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier laid wreaths at Berlin's Memorial to the Victims of War and Dictatorship.

The address by Britain's queen came exactly 75 years after her father George VI gave a victory speech over the radio to the nation.

Elizabeth, a teenager when the war broke out, learned to drive military trucks and be a mechanic while serving in the women's Auxiliary Territorial Service. She was in Buckingham Palace when it was bombed in September 1940.

Since becoming queen 68 years ago, this was only the sixth time that the queen had made a special broadcast other than in her annual Christmas Day message, but her VE Day speech was the second such address since the coronavirus outbreak.

Last month, she invoked the spirit of World War Two, calling for the public to show the same resolve and echoing the words of the song "Well Meet Again" by Vera Lynn which became a symbol of hope for Britons during the conflict.

As part of Friday's celebrations, after the queen's address, Britons were encouraged to open their doors and join in a nationwide singalong of Lynn's song.

The queens message to the nation spoke of how the outlook that seemed bleak at the start of the war may resonate with people today.

"The end distant, the outcome uncertain," she said. "Never give up, never despair - that was the message of VE Day."

(Additional reporting by Alexander Marrow in Moscow, Joseph Nasr in Berlin, Sybille de La Hamide in Paris; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge, Giles Elgood, Andrew Cawthorne and Jonathan Oatis)
Millions of people in France and Spain were set to embrace a relaxation of stay-at-home rules on Monday, but Britain extended its lockdown as countries plot their way tentatively through the coronavirus crisis. Fears of a second wave of the pandemic, which has killed more than 280,000 people worldwide and wrecked the global economy, stalked much of Europe and the world. With millions out of work and economies flatlining -- including in the United States, where 20 million people lost their jobs in April -- governments are desperate to reopen, but most are choosing a gradual approach. In France, people from Monday morning were able to walk outside without filling in a permit for the first time in nearly eight weeks, teachers will start to return to primary schools, and some shops -- including hair salons -- will reopen. Bars, restaurants, theatres and cinemas will, however, remain closed. Spaniards outside of urban hotspots such as Madrid and Barcelona -- which remain under lockdown -- made plans to meet friends and family in bars and restaurants that have outdoor spaces. But Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was too soon for Britain to do the same. Almost seven weeks after a nationwide stay-at-home order was put in place, more than 31,800 have died during the outbreak in Britain -- the worst toll in Europe and second only to the United States. - 'Colossal cost' - Johnson, who himself spent a week in hospital with COVID-19, said on Sunday the measures had come "at a colossal cost to our way of life" but added it would be "madness" to squander the progress by moving too soon. "This is not the time simply to end the lockdown this week," the 55-year-old said, but he unveiled a "conditional plan" to ease the measures in England in the months ahead. Some European officials have been emboldened by declining death rates: France's toll of 70 on Sunday was its lowest since early April, and Spain's daily fatalities have dropped below 200. But the risk of a second wave was underscored by a resurgence in South Korea. Although widely praised for its handling of its initial outbreak, the country has been forced to shut all bars and clubs in the capital Seoul after a cluster of infections. China on Sunday reported its first infection in over a month in Wuhan, where the outbreak first started late last year before going on to infect more than four million worldwide. There was uncertainty in Germany, too, with at least one district forced to reimpose restrictions after an outbreak at a meat processing plant. And even as the country loosened its lockdown restrictions, the latest German data also indicated the infection rate was rising again. - Bustling bazaars - In Spain, however, they were getting ready to celebrate. "We have already set a date for dinner on Wednesday, just 10 of us. I can't wait to touch someone, to kiss and be kissed," said 66-year-old Beatriz Gonzalez in the Spanish city of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. Belgium and Greece are among other European nations set to ease lockdowns on Monday. Turkey had already eased some restrictions and let over-65s out for the first time on Sunday. Iran, the Middle East's worst-hit country, has also relaxed its lockdown measures, and bazaars and shopping centres in the capital Tehran were bustling again after being nearly deserted for weeks. But health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour warned the situation "should in no way be considered normal," as one region recorded a spike in death rates and reimposed a lockdown. And the resumption of league football in Europe was dealt a blow after confirmation of infection clusters among players in Spain, Germany and Portugal. Football bosses in all three countries, however, insisted that season restarts planned for the coming weeks were still on track. - Jet-skiing president - Russia and Brazil both passed grim milestones at the weekend. Russia's caseload surpassed 200,000 and is expected to become the highest figure in Europe within days, even as the number of deaths remains relatively low at fewer than 2,000. While officials say the figures reveal the effectiveness of Russia's testing regime, an opposition-allied doctors union said the authorities were under-reporting deaths of medics. For Brazil, the signs are more ominous. Officials confirmed more than 10,000 had now died in the hardest-hit Latin American country. Scientists warned that the real figures could be many times higher, given a lack of widespread testing. In a sign that officials were not yet facing up to the crisis, President Jair Bolsonaro, who has likened the coronavirus to a "little flu" and criticised regional lockdowns, was reportedly seen jet skiing. - 'Absolute chaotic disaster' - Bolsonaro and his ally US President Donald Trump have repeatedly called for their economies to be reopened, even as the virus spreads through their populations. The disease has also moved into the White House inner circle, with a valet to President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence's spokeswoman testing positive. Pence's office said he was not in quarantine and would be working at the White House on Monday. Americans are increasingly sceptical of Trump's record on the issue, with more than half disapproving to his approach, according to a poll average by RealClearPolitics on May 6. He has also faced sharp criticism from his predecessor Barack Obama, who said in a leaked tape that Trump's handling of the crisis was an "absolute chaotic disaster." But Trump's advisers were out in force on Sunday, appearing on talk shows to push for an end to locally imposed lockdowns. Small anti-lockdown protests have meanwhile emerged in US states including Florida, as well as outside the US, with some demonstrators arguing that the restrictions violate their rights. burs-jj/bgs/to
People waiting to enter a supermarket using the SafeEntry app to log their check-in to the premises. (PHOTO: Roslan Rahman/AFP via Getty Images)

SINGAPORE  The multi-ministry taskforce against COVID-19 has listed places where the SafeEntry system must be implemented to log the check-in of employees and visitors from 12 May.

Deployment of the national digital check-in system will be made mandatory for places where individuals are likely to be in close proximity for prolonged periods or in enclosed spaces, or where there is higher traffic.

In a media release on Saturday (9 May), the places listed by the taskforce include:

Workplaces such as offices and factories;

Schools and educational institutes;

Pre-schools;

Healthcare facilities such as hospitals, clinics and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) clinics;

Residential care facilities such as nursing homes;

Hairdressers and barbers;

Supermarkets;

Selected popular wet markets (Geylang Serai Market, Chong Pang Market, Block 20/21 Marsiling Lane, and Block 505 Jurong West Street 52);

Malls;

Hotels.

To be progressively rolled out to taxis

SafeEntry will also be progressively rolled out to taxis from 12 May to better support contact tracing efforts for street-hail trips. Commuters should scan the SafeEntry QR codes deployed in taxis when taking street-hail trips.

Retail outlets where customers are unlikely to be in close proximity for a prolonged period of time  such as pharmacies, convenience stores and heartland provision shops  are encouraged, but not required, to implement SafeEntry for customers.

Food and beverages (F&B) outlets are not required to deploy SafeEntry for customers for now, as they are only open for delivery and/or takeaway. Retail and F&B outlets must still implement SafeEntry for employees as per all workplaces.

The list of places where SafeEntry must be deployed will be updated as more activities and services are resumed.

To date, SafeEntry has been deployed at over 16,000 premises. Employees and visitors of businesses and services should check-in and check-out of workplaces and other venues using the app, to help contact tracers establish cluster links and transmission chains.

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Safe management practices for businesses, individuals

Meanwhile, the multi-ministry taskforce has advised all businesses and individuals to uphold practices and measures that minimise the need for prolonged interactions, as Singapore gradually resumes activities amid the COVID-19 circuit breaker period.

It had earlier announced a set of safe management practices for businesses and individuals to adopt in order to support the safe and gradual resumption of normal activities.

The safe management practices include telecommuting, avoiding face-to-face meetings, and regular disinfection of common touch points and equipment. At work premises, workers should avoid all social interactions with their colleagues, including during meals and break times.

Everyone must wear masks when outside of the home. Basic hygiene practices such as staying home when unwell, and practising good hand and personal hygiene must continue.

The Ministry of Manpower and other relevant agencies will be issuing more details on the safe management measures which employers are required to implement in various workplace settings, including offices, common meeting and rest areas, factories, customer-facing settings and transportation.

Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore

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Legendary magician Roy Horn has died from coronavirus aged 75.

Horn, one half of the longtime Las Vegas illusionist duo Siegfried & Roy, had tested positive for coronavirus more than a week ago and died Friday at Mountain View Hospital in Las Vegas due to complications from the virus.

Siegfried Fischbacher, his longtime performance and domestic partner, said in a statement: 'Today, the world has lost one of the greats of magic, but I have lost my best friend.

'From the moment we met, I knew Roy and I, together, would change the world. There could be no Siegfried without Roy, and no Roy without Siegfried.

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Roy Horn of Siegfried and Roy, has died after testing positive for COVID-19. He is pictured above performing with a white tiger during the duo's 15,000th live show in 1996

Roy is seen in a wheelchair in 2018 with Siegfried at his side attending the unveiling of a plaque in their honor at the Cleveland Clinic for Brain Health in Las Vegas

'Roy was a fighter his whole life including during these final days. I give my heartfelt appreciation to the team of doctors, nurses and staff at Mountain View Hospital who worked heroically against this insidious virus that ultimately took Roy's life.'

Horn was left partially paralyzed and using a wheelchair after being attacked by a 400-pound white Bengal tiger named Montecore during a Siegfried & Roy performance at The Mirage hotel-casino in Las Vegas in 2003.

He had severe neck injuries, lost a lot of blood and later suffered a stroke. Horn underwent lengthy rehabilitation, but the attack ended the long-running Las Vegas Strip production.

Siegfried, left, and Roy, right, are pictured in 2002 with Montecore, a 400-pound white Bengal tiger who later attacked Horn in 2003

The showman was left partially paralyzed and with impaired speech following the incident in which he also suffered a stroke. He's seen at the hospital after the attack on October 4, 2003

The showmen - born in Germany as Siegfried Fischbacher and Uwe Ludwig Horn - met one another while working on a cruise ship in 1957.

Siegfried details his journey from Rosenheim, Germany to Las Vegas on his website.

He built his career from a $2 magic book, which caught his eye in 1947, before starting out performing tricks on the TS Bremen liner.

After meeting Roy, they formed their animal and magic act and started on boats before moving to the European nightclub circuit.

Once they incorporated tigers, promoter Tony Azzie asked them to come to Las Vegas in 1967. Horn was credited with the idea of introducing an exotic animal - his pet cheetah - to the magic act.

The illusionists became popular in the 1970s, receiving their first star billing in 1978 as headliners of the Stardusts 'Lido de Paris.' Their show 'Beyond Belief' opened in 1981 at the Frontier and played to thousands over seven years, ultimately becoming the headlining act at the Mirage Resort and Casino in 1990.

The showmen - born in Germany as Siegfried Fischbacher and Uwe Ludwig Horn - met one another while working on a cruise ship in 1957. They are pictured above in 2003

After Siegfried met Roy (pictured performing in 1983), they formed their animal and magic act and started on boats before moving to the European nightclub circuit. Once they incorporated tigers, promoter Tony Azzie asked them to come to Las Vegas in 1967

The two became an institution in Las Vegas, where their magic and artistry consistently attracted sellout crowds. The pair performed six shows a week, 44 weeks per year.

When they signed a lifetime contract with the Mirage in 2001, it was estimated they had performed 5,000 shows at the casino for 10 million fans since 1990 and had grossed more than $1 billion. That comes on top of thousands of shows at other venues in earlier years.

'Throughout the history of Las Vegas, no artists have meant more to the development of Las Vegas global reputation as the entertainment capital of the world than Siegfried and Roy,' Terry Lanni, chairman of MGM Mirage, the casinos parent company, said after the attack.

Lean on me: Roy clings to Siegfried above during what is believed to be the last time they were publicly pictured together in 2018

Siegfried & Roy's show, incorporating animal antics and magic tricks, included about 20 white tigers and lions, the number varying depending on the night. The show also had other exotic animals, including an elephant.

'Their show is so fast-paced the viewer has time only to gasp before the next dazzlement,' a reviewer wrote in 1989 when they brought their act to New York.

'A white car drives on stage - as Liberace used to do - bringing a mother white tiger and three cubs. Roy rides an elephant, which disappears, then reappears. At the end, a 650-pound white tiger climbs atop a globe. With Roy on his back, theyre pulled into the air.'

'It's a Las Vegas show and it's nonstop entertainment. New Yorkers aren't too sophisticated for this.'

A later spectacular developed for the Mirage opened with a flashy 'Star Wars' scenario and Horn and Fischbacher arriving in their own mini space capsules. Another segment had Horn sitting atop a 30-foot pyramid that was 'destroyed' by an explosion and fire, leaving him levitated high above the stage.

After Horn's 2003 attack, the duo consistently claimed the cat had latched onto Horn as a way to protect the entertainer, after he had suffered a stroke and toppled over.

Horn, who had turned 59 that day, had never been injured during a show before, 'not a scratch, not by an animal', Bernie Yuman, the pair's longtime manager, said at the time.

He said he thought Montecore got distracted by something in the audience and Horn was trying to calm him. Horn himself said later that he fainted and Montecore was trying to help him by dragging him offstage, though animal experts disputed that possibility.

Horn insisted the cat 'saved his life' by attempting to drag him to safety and begged for the cat not to be put down. The tiger later died of natural causes at age 17 in 2014.

An investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture explored a variety of theories but was unable to reach a conclusion on what caused the tiger to attack. In its final report, the USDA also said the shows producers had failed to protect the audience because there was no barrier separating the exotic animals from the crowd.

Following the attack and after a run of 30,000 shows that were watched by up to 400,000 people each year, the showmen decided to retire from their Las Vegas production.

In October 2006 the duo attended their induction into the Las Vegas Walk of Stars. Horn's speech was sluggish at times and he walked a bit slow, but he called the event 'a deeply emotional experience'.

Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn pictured at The Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, in 2015

Masters of illusion: Siegfried and Roy performed their Las Vegas show more than 30,000 times

Throughout his recovery, Horn continued to make personal appearances and remained fond of fans.

The duo returned to the stage in February 2009 for what was billed as their one and only comeback performance, to raise funds for the new Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas.

The brief performance, which included Montecore, became the basis of an episode of the ABC television show 20/20.

A year later Siegfried & Roy formally retired from showbusiness.

In 2019, the two appeared together as surprise guests at the Vegas's Keep Memory Alive's 23rd annual Power of Love gala.

The pair were said to be working on a biopic to be released in the form of a multi-part docuseries in 2021.

Before his death Horn was reportedly responding well in hospital.

The funeral service will be private, with an expected public memorial.

Siegfried and Roy, pictured in 1976 with Hollywood star Elizabeth Taylor, were said to be working on a biopic which is slated to be released in the form of a multi-part docuseries in 2021

Horn was left with partial paralysis on the left side of his body and was confined to a wheelchair most of the time. The pair are pictures here in October 2002
Tara Reade, emotionally recounting her allegation that then-boss Joe Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993, insisted in an interview released online Friday that she did not want her accusations to be seen through a political prism.

"I'm not here to influence a national election," she told former Fox and NBC broadcaster Megyn Kelly in an interview posted online. "I don't want to help Donald Trump win. I don't want to help Joe Biden win."

In the 42-minute interview, Reade seemed to acknowledge that some of the details of her account may sound implausible - including her assertion that Biden assaulted her on a weekday in a Senate corridor - but maintained that her story was true and said the experience had changed her life. Biden, for whom Reade worked as a staff assistant for eight months, has denied her account.

"I don't really care if people believe it or not," she said. "I've had to live with it. And it is just one of those things that's impacted and shattered my life."

Reade's description of the alleged assault largely mirrored what she has said in interviews with a number of outlets, including The Washington Post, over the past several weeks. She said it occurred on either the first floor or on the basement level in the Capitol complex as she handed Biden a gym bag.

She said that Biden pinned her against a wall, put his hand up her dress and digitally penetrated her. She said that he grew angry when she resisted and that he then pulled away.

"He pointed his finger at me, and he said, 'You're nothing to me. You're nothing,' " Reade said, estimating that the alleged incident lasted about three minutes.

The interview came as Biden's allies have started pointing more directly to inconsistencies in Reade's accounts and asking how some of her assertions have changed over time.

Biden has said he will not question her motives - saying that the assault did not occur but that all women should be allowed to publicly detail their allegations. Yet Kate Bedingfield, Biden's deputy campaign manager, on Thursday night challenged several of Reade's statements by saying that "more and more inconsistencies keep emerging."

"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 in a statement.

President Donald Trump - who has been accused by more than a dozen women of groping, kissing or sexual assault and has been recorded on audio boasting about grabbing women between the legs - commented on the allegations Friday.

"I don't know if it's false or not," he said on "Fox and Friends." "Joe is going to have to prove whatever he has to prove or she has to prove it, but that's a battle he has to fight."

Reade first came forward publicly last year, offering details about what she described as harassment from Biden during her tenure in his Senate office. She said he would touch her hair and neck, and that she was told by others that he wanted her to serve drinks at a fundraiser because he thought she was pretty and had nice legs.

She said in the Friday interview that she was reprimanded by Marianne Baker, who was an executive assistant in the office and one of Reade's direct bosses.

"She just said, 'You know, if you want to get along here, you need to keep your head down and do what you're told,' " Reade said. "She said, 'You need to button up your blouses, you need to have longer skirts, you need to not look so sexy and noticeable.' "

Reade said she went to Baker with complaints about harassment in the office. Baker has adamantly denied that assertion in a statement released by Biden's campaign.

In interviews last year about her harassment allegations, Reade described her interactions with Biden as not being intimidating.

"I wasn't scared of him, that he was going to take me in a room or anything," she told the Associated Press in a recently published interview that was conducted in April 2019. "It wasn't that kind of vibe."

A friend who last year spoke to a Vox reporter at Reade's encouragement said that Biden "never tried to kiss her directly. He never went for one of those touches. It was one of those, 'Sorry you took it that way.' "

But those descriptions changed this year after Reade for the first time accused Biden of assault. She said that she was not comfortable coming forward at the time, and her friend told Vox that she was following Reade's wishes to not disclose the assault.

In the interview with Kelly, Reade also addressed her repeated praise of Biden, made as recently as 2017. "I've always been conflicted about Joe Biden," she said.

"I didn't want to talk badly about him," she said. "And I wasn't ready to tell my history with Joe Biden at that point at all."

Reade also reflected on the difficulty she faced in coming forward - saying criticism of her may intimidate other women from telling their own stories - and she also referred to some other hardships, saying that to go to law school, "I took a lot of loans. I'm still in debt. Very deeply in debt."

Kelly on Thursday posted several earlier clips from the interview, in which Reade called on Biden to withdraw from his presidential campaign and said that she would testify under oath but would not submit to a polygraph unless Biden did as well.
Jet fuel tanks at Tripoli's Mitiga airport were targeted in an attack on Saturday that caused a large fire, Libya's National Oil Corp (NOC) said.

Mitiga is the last functioning airport in the Libyan capital, though civilian flights stopped in March because of repeated shelling even before the country imposed a lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic.

The NOC statement, posted on the state-run company's Facebook page, gave no details of the attack but said firemen were working to bring the blaze under control.

Video shared with Reuters by an airport worker showed plumes of black smoke billowing over the apron.

The Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Commander Khalifa Haftar has been fighting for more than a year to capture Tripoli, seat of the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), with frequent shelling of the capital.

Pro-GNA forces have retaken some territory from the LNA during an escalation of fighting in recent weeks with the help of Turkish-supplied drones.

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Sylvia Jeffreys welcomed her first child, a son named Oscar, with husband Peter Stefanovic on February 6.

And at the weekend, the 34-year-old journalist spoke about how she's finding motherhood, as she prepares to celebrate her first Mother's Day.

Speaking to Today Extra this week, Sylvia said: 'It's just been the most wonderful and surprising experience.'

'It's the most wonderful and surprising experience:' Sylvia Jeffreys has discussed motherhood as she prepares to celebrate her first Mother's Day since welcoming her son Oscar with husband Peter Stefanovic (pictured together)

'It is every emotion at its extreme and all mixed in together. It is an extreme and deep joy, it is rational anxiety. But mostly just joy and wonder, and in awe of this beautiful little boy,' she said.

Sylvia also revealed she and Peter 'go to bed at night and just watch videos' of their little boy.

When asked about plans for Mother's Day, she said she had no idea what Peter had installed for the day, saying: 'I'm sure he's got something in the works and we'll just be celebrating at home like everybody else.'

'In awe of this beautiful little boy': The journalist, 34, told Today Extra this week about how she's finding motherhood and said she will have a low-key celebration for Mother's Day

'It feels kind of strange': Sylvia told 9Honey on Saturday that she is still getting used be calling herself a mother. 'It is kind of special to be celebrating as a mum, it still feels surreal to be calling myself a mum,' she said

'Hopefully, Oscar gives us a good sleep on Saturday night so that mummy's nice and rested,' she added.

Sylvia told 9Honey on Saturday that she is still getting used be calling herself a mother.

'It is kind of special to be celebrating as a mum, it still feels surreal to be calling myself a mum, it feels kind of strange,' she said.

'It sort of feels like the whole world is on maternity leave': The journalist also revealed that she and Peter have been enjoying their 'little bubble' as new parents as people continue to stay at home amid the coronavirus pandemic

The journalist also revealed that she and Peter have been enjoying their 'little bubble' as new parents at home as people continue to stay at home amid the coronavirus pandemic.

'It's sort of guilt free home time with the baby, and lots of time with daddy as well, he's home a lot during the day so it's been a lovely little bubble for us we've really just soaked it all up,' she said.

'It sort of feels like the whole world is on maternity leave, I don't feel like I've been missing out on anything,' she added.

Elsewhere in her chat with Today Extra, Sylvia also revealed that she will be celebrating the special day with her mother Janine, who has been isolating with the couple.

'We're very lucky too that my mother has been self-isolating with us for a while a couple of weeks now, so we'll have my mum here to celebrate Mother's Day as well, which is lovely,' she said.

Special occasion: Sylvia also revealed that she will be celebrating the special day with her mother Janine (pictured with Oscar), who has been isolating with the couple

Happily ever after! The couple met while co-hosting Weekend Today, and Sylvia previously said it was a case of 'love at first sight'. They tied the knot at Ooralba Estate in Kangaroo Valley on April 1, 2017 (pictured the couple with The Project's with Lisa Wilkinson)

Sylvia and Peter met while co-hosting Weekend Today, and Sylvia previously said it was a case of 'love at first sight'.

She told The Sydney Morning Herald she was instantly drawn to Pete when they 'bumped into each other' in the car park before their first day working together.

They tied the knot at Ooralba Estate in Kangaroo Valley on April 1, 2017.

New member of the family: Sylvia also added that they're excited to meet the new addition to their family, Harper May, the daughter of Karl Stefanovic and Jasmine Yarbrough (pictured)

Sylvia added that they will also be catching up over FaceTime with Peter's mother Jenny in Cairns.

She also spoke Today Extra about the recent birth of her niece Harper May, the daughter of Karl Stefanovic and Jasmine Yarbrough who was born on May 1 at North Shore Private Hospital.

'It's so exciting, I can't wait to meet her,' she said.

'We're hoping to drop in soon of course, there won't be any cuddles when we get to see her, but I think we'll be allowed to swing by and say hello,' she added.

Proud parents: Sylvia said they plan to visit Karl and Jasmine (pictured) soon to 'say hello'

'My life': Karl shared an adorable photo of the newborn lying on his chest on Instagram on Tuesday. He wrote in the caption of the Instagram post: 'Harper May. May your life be filled with as much love as I feel'

Karl shared an adorable photo of the newborn lying on his chest on Instagram on Tuesday.

The smitten new dad wrote in the caption: 'Harper May. May your life be filled with as much love as I feel. My children. My family. My wife. My life.'

Meanwhile, Jasmine shared a sweet photo of the baby as they left the hospital and wrote in the caption: 'Home bound with Harper May. My heart is full.'

Harper May is Karl's fourth child. He has three older children - sons Jackson, 20, and River, 12, and daughter Ava, 14 - who he shares with ex-wife Cassandra Thorburn.
The death of 16 labourers on railway tracks in Maharashtra is a grim reminder of the messy management of migrant crisis during the COVID-19 enforced lockdown in the nation. Millions are on the move facing a loss of livelihood, many on foot, bicycles and tricycles, death leapt from behind.

For latest updates and live news on coronavirus, click here

Pieces of bread strewn with their body parts on Aurangabad Jalna railway brought out the poignancy of the tragedy of life and livelihood even as the government plans a strategy of Jaan Bhi Jahan Bhi.

While politicos continue to blame each other over the crisis, the deaths of migrant labourers continue across India. On Wednesday night in Lucknow, Krishna Sahu, Pramila and their two kids tried to cycle home from Lucknow to their Chhattisgarh. A speeding vehicle hit them on a bypass road in Lucknow, killing both the husband and wife on the post and leaving the children orphaned.

Also read  Train runs over migrant workers in Aurangabad; 16 dead

The foot-march of migrants continues even as the Railway Ministry in coordination with states is organising Shramik Special trains for them. The Centre on Friday said 222 Shramik Special trains have carried more than 2.5 lakh people.

Nearly 500 migrants came out in streets in Surat on Thursday, alleging that even as money for train tickets was taken from them five days ago no arrangements were made to send them back home. Nearly 150 labourers from Surat left from Surat for Jharkhand on bicycles.

Labourers inside a Bihar bound train fought with belts and fisticuffs inside a train over food near Satna railway station in Madhya Pradesh. Migrant labourers agitated in many railway stations throughout the week, even as their home states refused to accept them.

When this humanitarian crisis is over, the real challenge before the cities dependent on migrant labour will be to convince them to come back, to keep their engine of growth running.
Like Robert Mondavi and a few others, Mr. Beckstoffer came to believe that a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity lay dormant in Napas soil. For more than a century, the potential of the valleys wine had been recognized even by Europeans. But the quality was uneven and financial acumen was lacking, and as Mr. Beckstoffer saw it, the chance to create an American equivalent of the First Growths of France was being squandered  like a great but unknown painter in need of a sharp-elbowed dealer.

The farmers were good at farming, but bad businessmen, Mr. Beckstoffer said. You couldnt make any money owning land and selling grapes. He believed that the local wine would only reach its potential if it was strategically elevated into a luxury product  scarce, expensive, vigilantly branded  even if that meant leaving behind an Arcadian era centered on small family farms and affordability.

In every agricultural area, there is a citizen hierarchy, Mr. Beckstoffer said. Here, winemakers are at the top, and farmers used to be at the bottom. He once told an interviewer that his overriding goal was to give grape growers more clout.

With his Ivy League M.B.A. and corporate pedigree, Mr. Beckstoffer is not exactly a typical farmer. In the 1980s, when Napa was still oriented toward relatively humble varietals like zinfandel, an epidemic of phylloxera  a rapacious insect that feeds on the roots and leaves of grape vines  wiped out crops. Mr. Beckstoffer and others led the charge for a valley-wide replanting with the more glamorous cabernet, while introducing data analysis and other elements of industrial farming that magnified yields enormously.

He also wielded back-room political skills to outmaneuver opponents. Like any good luxury item, Napa land is in short supply  300 square miles, most of it owned by a few families and corporations. The question of whether to farm it, preserve it or use it to attract tourists is never far from any conversation. In 1990, as wine drinkers were developing a voracious appetite for Napa cabs at seemingly any price, Mr. Beckstoffer was the driving force behind a landmark piece of legislation, the Winery Definition Ordinance, requiring any wine with the word Napa on it to be made from 75 percent local grapes.

The statute also limited what sort of social and commercial activities, such as weddings, could take place at wineries. A generation later, vintners still complain that the bill funneled business to its champion and crippled the rest of the valley.
Ireland's Minister for Business, Enterprise, and Innovation, Heather Humphreys, TD, has today announced that a special Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Future Innovator Prize of 500,000 has been granted to University College Dublin (UCD) researcher, Professor Dominic Zerulla.

Professor Zerulla, UCD School of Physics, and his team at PEARlabs Technologies, have received the prize in recognition of the potential impact of their project to develop a highly innovative imaging solution that enables ultra-fast video-rate nanoscale optical microscopy.

PEARlabs, a UCD spin-out company was founded by Professor Zerulla in 2018, with the support of NovaUCD, the University's Centre for New Ventures and Entrepreneurs.

The PEARlabs technology aims to transform the understanding of processes such as cell signalling and cell proliferation in cancer and other life-threatening diseases. The patented technology can therefore aid early diagnostics, precision medicine and the delivery of improved drug treatments. It also has the potential to be used as an add-on to conventional optical microscopes opening up access to 'nm resolution imaging' for many fields of science.

The prize fund will be used to further develop this solution and enable the PEARlabs team to progress their research toward having positive impact for society.

The SFI Future Innovator Prize, funded by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation through Science Foundation Ireland, is part of an overall government plan to cultivate challenge-based funding in Ireland. This prize challenges the country's best and brightest unconventional thinkers and innovators to create novel, potentially disruptive technologies in collaboration with societal stakeholders and end-users.

In addition to the special prize to Professor Zerulla, Minister Humphreys TD also announced Dr Alison Liddy and her project team at NUI Galway as the inaugural winner of the SFI Future Innovator Prize. Dr Liddy and her team have been awarded 1 million for their Hydrobloc project, a novel and transformative treatment for people suffering from chronic neuropathic pain.

Minister Heather Humphreys, TD, said, "Congratulations to the Hydrobloc team on winning this prestigious award and leading the way with this much needed novel and innovative treatment for chronic pain."

"Such was the potential from this Challenge Funding programme, that a special award was received by the PEARlabs team for their pioneering research in nano-microscopy."

"At this time, as we battle an unprecedented pandemic we clearly need disruptive science and technology to help us find solutions. I am delighted to support the SFI Future Innovator Prize programme and wish the winning teams all the best as they continue their journey and further develop their concepts for the benefit of society."

The UCD PEARlabs team is led by Professor Dominic Zerulla together with Dr Dimitri Scholz, UCD Conway Institute, and societal impact champion, Peter Doyle and research team members, Dr Irina Kuhne, Dr John Gordon and Silas O'Toole. Their SFI Future Innovator Prize project was entitled, Enabling Next Generation Biological Imaging.

Professor Dominic Zerulla, UCD School of Physics and founder PEARlabs said, "I am delighted to receive this award, which is verification that the transformative potential of our disruptive imaging method has been recognised. Our PEARlabs technology will allow life science researchers to understand bio-medically relevant mechanisms to enable an unparalleled in-depth understanding of life-threatening diseases such as cancer and pandemic viral infections, including the coronavirus. This will in turn facilitate the development of faster drug delivery and testing."

He added, "Our journey to the SFI Future Innovator Prize was extremely exciting. Successfully getting through the rigorous evaluation process, consisting of three competitive rounds and being able to enthusiastically demonstrate our research to national and international expert panels was quite an experience. This external validation has been very important for PEARlabs, a UCD spin-out supported by NovaUCD, which is currently in negotiations with international investors and global companies."

Professor Orla Feely, UCD Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact said, "I would like to congratulate Professor Zerulla and his PEARlabs team on receiving 500,000 in funding through the highly competitive and prestigious SFI Future Innovator Prize programme."

"Winning this funding is testament to the world-class research taking place at UCD and the innovative start-ups which are spinning out from such research activities. I wish the team every success as they further advance their nanoscale biological imaging technology which will impact society by advancing our understanding of many diseases and lead to the development of improved drug treatments."

The SFI Future Innovator Prize is part of an approach to cultivate challenge-based funding in Ireland to accelerate and validate excellent and innovative solutions to critical societal and global issues. I am delighted to say that the calibre of research supported has been so high that a special award was made to Professor Dominic Zerulla and his team for their novel imaging technology." Professor Mark Ferguson, Director General of Science Foundation Ireland and Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government of Ireland

The SFI Future Innovator Prize has a strong team focus with each member bringing necessary expertise to advance the project. Teams work to tight deadlines, with the necessary supports and flexibility, in order to accelerate progression towards their proposed solutions.
The barndominium at Shelley and Don Rileys Magnolia spread is getting more visitors than they ever imagined now that the coronavirus pandemic has thrown work and school schedules off track.

Shelleys two sons  17-year-old Blake Yeary and 15-year-old Drew Yeary  are still home, and Dons three sons are all grown and live elsewhere but its not uncommon for one or more of them to visit.

That building was the Rileys first concern when Shelley called Ashley Moore of Moore House Interiors last summer. They were expecting guests, and she needed help finishing its 2,500-square-foot guest quarters  three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a small living area with a kitchenette  and wanted it to look nicer than the land of misfit furniture.

When that project was done, they moved on to the main house on the familys 45-acre site in rural Montgomery County. That contained furniture the Rileys brought from their previous home, some of which they wanted to keep, some that needed to be repurposed and some that could simply go away.

I wanted the farmhouse to be a little more modern; it was very country when we bought it, Shelley said. I get it as far as I can get it  maybe about 75 percent  but I cant seem to pull it all together.

I know what I want in my mind, but interior designers know where the best quality is at the best price and whats trending out and coming in, she continued. If Im not careful, I could be a year or two behind.

The Rileys moved to Montgomery County in January 2018. They met when they worked together in Atlanta, married in Italy in 2013 and lived in Austin immediately before moving to Houston, where Don is a CEO in the building-products industry. Shelley is retired from a career in human resources.

From the big windows across the back of the living room, they can see out to a small pond, where they sometimes fish or tool around in a paddle boat. The beautiful scenery contributes to their rural quality of life, gives their dogs, a German shepherd named Dave and a black Lab named Tank, room to play. Theyve added cows, miniature horses and chickens, and when their four grandkids visit, they run immediately to see the animals.

A pair of armchairs covered in pale blue upholstery may not look like chairs meant for a farmhouse, but thats the point. The Rileys wanted land and a more pastoral setting, but they wanted their farmhouse to be more current and less rustic. The chairs  which the Rileys have had for a while  help pull that off.

Moore opted to bring in decorative pillows, plus a new sofa upholstered slipcover-style in white linen. Other furniture shifted around, accessories were edited, and the bare windows were addressed in a room-changing way.

When we first walked in, she had those gorgeous chairs and a pretty coffee table, but she had a lot of stuff on it. We started by clearing out the clutter but leaving enough for personality, Moore said.

There was nothing whatsoever on the windows  (addressing) that was a must to finish the space, she continued. I love the look of seagrass shades paired with the draperies. Its a farmhouse, so it gives a casual look, and the draperies with trim detail elevates it to be more sophisticated.

In one corner, a curvy chest of drawers found a new home, and Moore added a bamboo-framed mirror and decorative plates for a vintage touch.

The Rileys knew they needed new art and wanted to start with the bare spot over the fireplace. They asked for a Houston artist, and Moore offered a colorful abstract by Kellie Morley.

Theres no TV in the room, but that doesnt mean no one ever uses it. Shelleys two sons sometimes do schoolwork in the quiet, and the couple has had parties here because they can set up a bar in a corner and open the doors to the patio so people can filter in and out.

People just like the feel of this room; it feels good to sit in here, she said.

An upstairs room got a dramatic makeover  from an oddly placed and little-used space to an answer to a big problem.

It might have become an in-home gym, but Shelley had a bigger need.

In their Austin home, the couple had plenty of closet space in their master suite, but this farmhouse had just half. There wasnt an easy way to incorporate more square footage for that closet, but she could commandeer this other room.

She keeps some clothes in the closet they share but set up a boutiquelike space that any clotheshound would envy.

It took some talking to get my husband and boys into it. My boys said, Why would you ever turn a room into that? I said, One day youll have a wife, and you will understand, Shelley said. Im telling you, its worth it. I dont have any regrets.

They moved the yellow sofa that had been in the living room here and added a large tufted ottoman and a rug.

Moore remembered getting a Ballard Designs catalog that she flipped through while watching her own kids swim in their backyard pool one day. She was struck by the functional and affordable options they offered for closets.

So when Shelley needed something that would be less permanent than a built-in closet system, she turned to Ballard. Units offer racks for hanging clothes, including long gowns for formal events, drawers for folded clothes, shallow drawers for jewelry, shelves for handbags and compartments for shoes.

Lighting is so important in a closet. You know how you go into a department-store dressing room and their fluorescent lights make you look so bad? You want to feel like a million bucks when you leave, Moore said.

In the end, they spent only about 25 percent of what a custom closet might have cost.

An upstairs family room had a big TV niche in the wall that was important back when the home was built  back when televisions were deep and could never be hung on a wall.

Moore transformed it into a bench with a custom cushion and pillows. It provides a little storage underneath, and a pair of sconces make it a place to sit and read or for their grandchildren to play.

Its also a perfect update for any home built in the 1980s or 1990s that has a similar niche that has outlived its purpose.

The changes in the home were something Shelley wanted, but theyre all enjoying the results.

(Don and the boys) were surprised at how good it looks and how quickly it came together. Theyre proud to show it off to their friends and when we have people over, Shelley said.

Now the boys want their rooms done, though. Im not so sure Im going to spend that much on their rooms, she continued. My freshman has texted me twice, Can you get the blinds in my room, too? And with blackout shades, dont forget. Im not sure he even knew what blinds were before.

diane.cowen@chron.com

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09.05.2020 LISTEN

Obviously, China recorded cases of the novel Corona virus (CoVID-19) late December 2019 in one of their industrial Province, Wuhan.The Systemic Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS COV-2) outbreak was by 30th January, 2020 declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) and finally as a pandemic on 11th March same year by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Ghana recorded its first (index) cases of the virus from two persons who have returned from foreign countries - a sad report received on March 12. Thereafter, a local transmission was reported in Tema in the Greater Accra region.

The advent of local community cases of CoVID-19 led to Ghana's aggressive response to the global threat. Among implemented strategies was conducting enhanced contact tracing of persons infected with the virus, and ensuring that these contacts are tested and isolated from the community - a strategy that led to the formation of teams that went to suspected epicenters to collect data on contacts and also take sputum samples for Laboratory analysis.

The success of the contact tracing was that a lot of specimens were collected for testing. However, the intervention was faced with a challenge of testing: the only confirmatory evidence of a carrier of the virus. However, prior to the eventual declaration of the outbreak as a pandemic and thereafter, the WHO encouraged countries to "test, test and test".

The only way nations can adhere to advice of the WHO was to depend on Medical Laboratory systems already available in their respective countries.

Unfortunately for Ghana, our laboratories were not ready (as in healthcare infrastructure-wise) due to the neglect of the the sector by the authorities over the years. The medical laboratory sub sector of health is noted to be one of the most neglected departments of health in Ghana and most developing countries.

Today, there is no gainsaying to the fact that medical laboratories are the least to be considered in the design of a health care facility. Healthcare authorities hardly see any importance in the involvement of the practitioners of medical laboratory science in topical issues regarding the sub-sector. There has not been any deliberate attempt to equip medical laboratories in Ghana by the these authorities.

Meanwhile, in an attempt to support medical laboratories to produce accurate, reliable and timely results in the management of patients, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) of the good people of the United States of America and its partner organisations not in the wishy-washy conducted a baseline assessment of medical laboratories in some selected African countries including Ghana. The assessment led to the roll-out of a program and policy document to Strengthen Medicaledical Laboratories Towards Accreditation (SMLTA) - aimed at building Quality Management Systems (QMS) for the selected laboratories. At the end of the SMLTA program, only four laboratories in Ghana had four (4/5) stars rating - standards that have further significantly reduced in our laboratories in barely a decade. The question is: can these laboratories boast of the same star rating today?

The CDC again looked at the national health laboratory framework in terms of organisation and coordination. This assessment pointed out that medical laboratories are neglected and uncoordinated; leading to the formation of a technical committee with sponsorship from the CDC to draw a policy framework for healthcare laboratories in Ghana. The exuberant of the committee led to the development of the National Health Laboratory Policy (NHLP) and two other policies including a strategic policy for laboratory accreditation process in Ghana.

These policies never saw the light of implementation after its official enforcement by the then Minister of Health, Hon. Shirley Aryeetey. The NHLP, over the years, has been gathering dust in some office of the Ministry of Health as the neglect of the medical laboratory continues. If the NHLP framework had been implemented to strengthen our medical laboratories, issues regarding CoVID-19 testing would have significantly been minimized though without neglecting the fact that even the laboratories of many developed countries are facing challenges with testing.

It is noteworthy that the benefit of the enhanced contact tracing in Ghana was lost due to testing capacity deficits. It averagely takes two weeks for traced samples to be tested and related contacts to be informed of their positive - status CoVID-19 results. Within the weeks of testing delay, the positives cases may have interacted with others and possibly transmitted the infection if they had it. Though it may be true that Ghana has tested for CoVID-19 more than many other other countries, what is the essence of laboratory results after the many weeks of delay in achieving the aim of the enhanced contact tracing?

To share in the usefulness of enhanced contact tracing, timely medical laboratory test result is paramount - demanding that managers of the health system begin to look at the medical laboratory science and its meritorious professionals holistically. In this era of evidence-based medical and public health decisions making, it is suicidal to continue to neglect medical laboratories and significant other diagnostic professions.

Additionally, beyond contact tracing and required basic systems, there is the need to reconsider the training and motivation of medical laboratory scientists. Current trends in training of medical laboratory professionals try to focus on advancing molecular diagnostic tools that has proven its worth with time. Some of the emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases of today require modern technology-based tools and continuous training and sub specialization of professionals. It is time for governments in the West African Region including Ghana to recognize the newly established West African Postgraduate College of Medical Laboratory Science in building the needed workforce for the future - as recognised in the NHLP. It is also important to harmonize curricular of medical laboratory training institutions and ensure strict enforcement of regulations of practitioners.

The neglect of medical laboratorians is also evidenced by the lack of urgency to the resolution of issues regarding their remuneration since 2012 - another area to channel some resources. Apart from logistic challenges, the professionals are less motivated.

There is an urgent need to implement the National Health Laboratory Policy. CoVID-19 pandemic may not be the last of pandemics to hit the world. Further neglect of medical laboratories will only mean that we (the future orchestrators) have refused to learn from the events of today to build a good future for ourselves. In my perspective, the future is here with us today; how we make utilize this opportunity of a lifetime can make a tremendous difference. God bless our homeland Ghana and the government to implement the NHLP and take the bold step to improve our health system significantly.

Author: Solomon Kwashie

Medical Laboratory Scientist

Vice Chairman, Ghana Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists, Greater Accra Branch.
OLYMPIA, WA  Immunization rates among children have seen a significant drop in Washington during the coronavirus pandemic, according to state health data.

In March, Washington's Child Vaccine Program reported 30% fewer vaccines administered to babies, toddlers and young people up to 18 years old. In April, preliminary data showed an even steeper decline: 42% below the year prior.

(Department of Health)

The decline in vaccinations runs parallel to a similar national trend recently reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"We are concerned that babies and kids aren't getting all the vaccines they need to protect them," said Dr. Kathy Lofy, state health officer. "Decreasing vaccinations increases the risk that we could see an outbreak of a vaccine-preventable disease."

Parents and legal guardians are encouraged to make appoints as soon as possible for any immunizations their child has missed in recent months.

"We don't want to have an epidemic of measles, pertussis or meningitis or a lot of the other common things that we immunize against," said Dr. Tom Courtney, a pediatrician at the UW Neighborhood Kent-Des Moines Clinic. "These are some pretty serious diseases. COVID is something that we worry a lot about, are concerned about, but we don't want any of these diseases to happen on top of what's already going on."

Besides vaccinations, doctors worry that kids could be missing critical appointments for other health concerns.

"Developmental things we would be concerned about would be early forms of autism or developmental delays that would be responding to early therapy, the earlier the better," Courtney said. "If those were neglected for several months or even a year it could have [a] dramatic impact on the future of the child."

Courtney said some parents may be worried about visiting a hospital or clinic, due to potential coronavirus exposure. There are a few ways to minimize risk as much as possible.

Story continues

"The best time to come into the clinic is generally first thing in the morning," Courtney said. "The reason is the clinic's been deep cleaned overnight so there shouldn't be anybody who has the virus that's coming into the clinic. We've done the social distancing at the front desk to make sure you're at least six feet away."

Some clinics have also instituted "virtual waiting rooms," where patients can wait in the car until called upon, and offer special hours for vulnerable infants and toddlers.

This article originally appeared on the Seattle Patch
If 2020 were a flight, you could say it has been turbulent. While theres been some positive news like $19 Sydney to Melbourne flights and Sydneysiders thoroughly enjoying working from home, theres also been a pandemic.

From new economy seat designs, health passports and trans-Tasman bubble proposals floating around, not to mention Virgin Australia going into administration and a frequent flyer points crackdown, its been a ride so bumpy it makes the Kokoda trail look flat.

There have also been some truly uplifting moments. One of which wed like to bring to your attention today: Qantas pilots using their time off to help out Aussie communities.

As we reported last month, some Qantas pilots have joined the flying doctor service. More recently, and as posted to Instagram this week by Qantas, is the following story of Pilot Sean Golding, a Qantas B787 Captain who recently swapped flying jets for working as a NSW Paramedic.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Qantas (@qantas) on May 2, 2020 at 4:24pm PDT

I trained as a paramedic 4 years ago while I was flying the A330 and would study in my hotel room on layovers and do clinical experience on my days off, Sean said.

I was also working as a casual diving instructor so thought the paramedic skills might come in handy. Ironically, Ive never had to use them diving, but have had a few instances on the aircraft where its proven helpful.

One time I was a passenger on a flight and a woman started bleeding quite badly. I worked with an emergency doctor who happened to be on board to manage her condition with IV fluids to keep her stable until we landed.

When COVID-19 came about, I had this training to fall back on, so was able to switch from flying a 787 around the world to riding in an ambulance. Ive had a few COVID-19 patients in the back with me as we move them from hospital to hospital.

Sometimes I tell them flying stories as a distraction. It has been eye-opening and rewarding both personally and professionally to do something different.

If nothing else, COVID-19 has made me realise how important it is to find the good in every situation and make the most of each moment, because as I keep seeing, sometimes those moments are gone.

The story was met with comments like, Awesome story  sounds like he is the actual spirit of Australia and Its these people that power Australia through times of uncertainty.

We cant help but agree.

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A few days ago, Vijay Deverakonda expressed his anger against websites publishing fake news about him. For those who are unversed, in a recent video, angry Vijay revealed that some websites spread fake news against his charitable trust, which gained all the attention.

After Vijay Deverakonda's speech, the Tollywood industry united in support of the young actor. Mahesh Babu was the first actor, after Vijay's video, who tweeted about standing against such websites. Telugu celebs also trended a hashtag #KillFakeNews.

Post Vijay Deverakonda's revelation, one of the two articles was deleted from the site. However, the Arjun Reddy star is quite unhappy with the overall negative information spread about him and has hinted about taking legal action against the websites. Recently, in an interview with The News Minute, Vijay Deverakonda said that he is looking forward to suing the website that wrote about him.

Vijay Deverakonda said, "We have for long let them be, being patient, overlooking, not wanting to waste energy on negative people. And each and everyone in the Telugu film industry has been a victim. Since I put out the video, I have had actors, directors, producers all call me up passionately. You could hear voices of people wronged, maligned, hurt, for a long time. Everything bottled up came out and now it's time to take on the scurrilous mafia."

Akkineni Nagarjuna also responded to Vijay Deverakonda's quote. He said that to stop these fake news and gossip websites from writing about them, an action plan is needed as early as possible.

Also Read : Vijay Deverakonda Against Fake News: After Mahesh Babu, Other Tollywood Stars Stand With The Actor

On a related note, Vijay Deverakonda will next be seen in Puri Jagannadh's directorial venture, Fighter, in which he will be seen as a kickboxer, opposite Bollywood diva Ananya Panday. The film also stars Ronit Roy and Ramya Krishnan in the pivotal roles. The 40 per cent shooting of Fighter has been completed in Mumbai, and now makers are looking forward to resume the further shoot in Hyderabad post lockdown.
Character is revealed in a crisis  and Americans have learned a lot about our leaders during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With President Donald Trump utterly failing leadership tests during a crisis that has claimed the lives of more than 76,000 people in the United States, it has fallen to the nations governors to fill the void. In Ohio, Republican Mike DeWine took early and decisive action to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Democrat Andrew Cuomo of New York, sometimes dinged as robotic and prone to micromanaging prior to this crisis, has won over critics with his forthright daily briefings and declarations of accountability for the Empire States response.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, on the other hand?

Our governor has been dithering behind the scenes and playing to his political base in public.

This week those tendencies on Abbotts part were brought painfully to light. The Republican governor was all over the place, both literally and metaphorically, as the result of a seeming publicity stunt staged by Dallas salon owner Shelley Luther.

Luthers business was among those shuttered temporarily by Abbotts stay-at-home order last month. But she decided to reopen on April 24 regardless, and she did so with a clear sense of political purpose. After receiving a cease-and-desist letter from Dallas County, she tore it up at an Open Texas rally held in Frisco the following day.

Come and get it, Judge Clay Jenkins, Luther said in reference to the county judge, throwing the scraps of paper into the crowd.

Hauled into court Tuesday, Luther was defiant.

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, she told state district Judge Eric Moye, who had offered her a chance to simply apologize. Moye fined Luther $7,000 and sentenced her to seven days in jail for contempt of court.

The usual suspects  Texas Attorney Gen. Ken Paxton and Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick  leapt to her defense.

But so too did Abbott, which was puzzling. The governor had seemed like a voice of reason, relatively speaking, during the course of the pandemic.

And the order Luther so publicly flouted was Abbotts, after all. But in a statement Wednesday, Abbott suggested that the stay-at-home order was more of a suggestion, when you get right down to it.

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 said.

The governor dialed up his rhetoric over the next few days.

No one should forfeit their liberty and be sent to jail for not wearing a mask, he harrumphed on Wednesday, during an appearance on Sean Hannitys Fox News program.

And on Thursday Abbott revised his own order to remove the threat of jail time associated with violations of it.

We should not be taking these people and put them behind bars, he said during an appearance alongside Trump at the White House.

The governor reiterated that point on Twitter: Throwing Texans in jail whose biz's shut down through no fault of their own is wrong.

After trying to put some distance between himself and the local officials whose judgment he had praised just weeks ago, Abbott then resumed his attacks on local officials in Harris County and elsewhere for seeking to release some non-violent offenders from the county jail, where hundreds of inmates have tested positive and two infected inmates have died.

Criminals shouldnt be released to prevent COVID-19 just to put business owners in their place, the governor added.

Abbott has been roundly criticized for this flip-flopping. Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, for example, denounced his actions as hypocritical.

You shouldnt issue orders that include the jailing of violators to cover the science, just to turnaround & excoriate those who enforce YOUR executive order to cover the political backlash, Acevedo tweeted Friday.

Most troubling, however, is that at no point during this past weeks saga has there been any reason to think that the governors actions were informed by data rather than politics.

We have demonstrated that we can corral the coronavirus, Abbott said last month, in announcing his plans to reopen the state economy in phases. It would be nice to be confident of that. But we still dont know the extent of the virus spread in Texas. The state continues to lag in terms of testing per capita, averaging 16,300 tests per day last week  well short of the governors goal, of 30,000 a day.

Moreover, Abbott has acknowledged, in public, that his plan to re-open the state could lead to an increase in transmission of the virus. And in a call with lawmakers, the audio of which was leaked to Quorum Report, he acknowledged that it will. Its almost ipso facto, Abbott said.

We may, as a state, be in a good position to handle an uptick in COVID-19 cases. Our hospitals arent close to full capacity, thankfully, as they are in hard-hit states such as New York. But its disturbing to see the governors plan for navigating this pandemic be revised, on the fly, in response to publicity stunts and social-media backlash.

I spoke with Don Kettl, the Sid Richardson professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at UT Austin, about what constitutes effective leadership in a crisis.

The governor's taken a very careful, and actually, I think, a very skillful road through these very difficult waters, he observed.

But Kettl stressed the citizens are looking for straight talk, not happy talk.

I've talked to a lot with people who have managed disasters, Kettl said. The evidence, what they say consistently, is you've got to shoot straight. Any effort to try to finesse anything is something that will sooner or later catch you up.

Abbott should worry less about placating grass-roots conservatives, some of whom are displeased at the speed with which hes reopening the state, and more about steering Texas through a public health crisis that has so far killed more than 1,000 of its residents.

Texas has begun a phased reopening even though it is among many states that have failed to meet The White Houses criteria of a downward trajectory of documented cases or percentage of positive tests over a 14-day period. That should worry Texans.

Abbott assured Trump that the state is going about the process of slowly opening back up, doing the right strategies to make sure we can open up while at the same time reduce the spread.

Lets hope so. Lives are at stake. People want to return to work, and we all want to go out to dinner or get a haircut at some point, but we also are counting on the governor to give us accurate public health information and do everything in his power to keep us safe.

Government is not supposed to make policy by political pressure, Cuomo remarked this week. Thats right, and its a good reminder for Abbott.

erica.grieder@chron.com
The Challenge: Total Madness is already heating up with drama, and all eyes are currently on Jenna Compono and Zach Nichols. Compono met Nichols on a season of the show years ago, and theyve been on and off ever since. Theyre currently engaged and planning a wedding, and Compono has said theyre stronger than theyve ever been. But a recent occurrence on Total Madness has everyone worried about how Nichols treats Compono.

Compono has been defending her relationship ever since Episode 6 of Total Madness aired. And she recently posted a photo of her and Nichols to her Instagram to prove theyre still going strong  but fans continue to roast her.

The Challenge stars Jenna Compono and Zach Nichols are engaged

Compono and Nichols entire relationship has been on full display for years, and many have begged Compono to dump Nichols once and for all. Well never forget when Nichols called Compono Brooke during a phone call. And hes also been accused of cheating on Compono via dating apps. Despite it all, the two decided to spend the rest of their lives with each other.

Nichols proposed to Compono Dec. 21, 2019  and of course, she said yes. The two took a trip to Rockefeller Center in New York City to see the Christmas lights. And Compono was truly shocked when Nichols got down on one knee.

We went to see the tree every year since we met and a lot of memories have happened in New York City, Compono told E! News. I was so surprised and it was so sincere and sweet. I couldnt be happier.

Nichols also told E! News that he always knew she was the one, though he was too immature to realize it when they first met. [I admire] her ability to put everyone elses needs above her own. Shes patient with me too, very patient. And keeps my life in order, he said.

Shes had to defend her relationship after Episode 6 of Total Madness

During Episode 6, Compono had a hard time contacting Nichols, as he refused to pick up the phone. She eventually learned from her friend that Nichols was upset by direct messages Compono received from other men while they were on a break from their relationship. Finally, when Compono and Nichols spoke, Nichols accused Compono of cheating  and he even asked her to leave the show altogether.

Compono was clearly emotionally distraught from Nichols behavior. And fans roasted her on social media for staying with someone who treated her poorly. Shes even taken to Twitter to defend herself against upset fans.

There are no issues here, Compono wrote. This fight was months ago in reality and we have moved past it and are happier than ever.

Fans are roasting her again after a photo Compono posted on May 8

Compono is still getting hate from fans  but she posted another photo of her and Nichols on May 8 to prove everythings just fine.

You dont give up on someone because the situations not ideal. Great relationships arent great because they have no problems, Compono wrote on Instagram. Theyre great because both people care enough about the other person to find a way to make it work.

Fans are still roasting her relationship, though.

Make sure he doesnt check your MySpace messages from 2008, one fan quipped.

Hes gotta learn to trust you boo. His insecurity seems off the charts sometimes and he can be very explosive, another wrote. Those are red flags to anyone watching.

Jenna we all love you, were happy you have what you want.. we just wish you wanted better, yet another wrote.

It looks like Compono and Nichols are in it for the long haul, so were hoping Nichols improves his behavior and treats Compono like she deserves to be treated!

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Schuyler, N.Y.  A 43-year-old Rome woman was arrested and accused of driving drunk after the car she was driving ran out of gas on the thruway and was hit by two tractor trailers, according to New York State Police.

Jamie L. Davis, 43, of Rome, was charged with driving while intoxicated, first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle and multiple vehicle and traffic violations, police said.

At 4:30 a.m. on Thursday, troopers responded to a 911 call about a van parked in the middle of the eastbound lanes of the New York State Thruway in the Town of Schuyler, police said.

The van, a 2007 Suzuki Grand Vitara which had been driven by Davis, had run out of gas and was parked in the driving lane with no lights on, according to police. A tractor trailer being driven by Joseph B. Maxwell, 73, of Torrington, Connecticut, hit the van from behind, police said. A second tractor trailer, driven by Gary C. Roe, 65, of Johnstown, hit the back of the disabled tractor trailer, police said.

Roes tractor trailer caught fire, forcing all eastbound lanes of the thruway to be closed for a short time, according to police.

Troopers determined Davis was drunk and driving with a suspended license, though she refused to talk to them, police said. She also refused to take a blood test to determine her blood alcohol content, police said.

Davis has previously been convicted of driving while intoxicated, according to police.

None of the three drivers were injured in the crashes, police said.

Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Chris Libonati via the Signal app for encrypted messaging at 585-290-0718, by phone at the same number, by email or on Twitter.
AARP has been a long-time advocate for expanding the role of nurses to be allowed to contribute to the full extent of their capabilities. Which is why the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, AARP and AARP Foundation came together a decade ago to create the Center to Champion Nursing in America (CCNA) and the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action.

Through this initiative, we have helped to transform the nursing profession. For example, today, millions of people in 22 states and the District of Columbia have direct access to nurse practitioners who can provide full care. We have helped increase the number of minority students and broaden the composition of the profession to match the country's diverse population. Since we began, the number of minority RN graduates has grown 43 percent. And, in terms of nursing education, 57 percent of nurses now hold a bachelor's degree in nursing.

As we salute our nation's 4 million nurses for their service and their sacrifices during this difficult time, we also look beyond the pandemic to leverage the skills, perspectives and trust that nurses have gained  as well as their key role in health care delivery  and to help ensure that everyone in America has access to a highly skilled nurse. The U.S. National Academy of Medicine soon will release a Report on the Future of Nursing 2020-2030, which will chart a path for the nursing profession into the next decade.

So, this National Nurses Week, please join all of us at AARP as we celebrate their skill, respect their experience and continue our work to enhance the presence and contributions of nurses in the world of medicine, our communities and our lives.

I urge you to participate in AARP's new Thank You campaign to recognize these dedicated workers by sharing our  and your  gratitude for a job well done. To say thank you, just send photos and/or videos of what you and your family (in self-quarantine) are doing to show your appreciation to thankyou@aarp.org. Please include your full name, location, email address and description of the image/video today, and your submission may be selected to be used in an AARP Thank You project.

To nurses everywhere, we thank you for your exceptional work  and salute you as true health care heroes.

Previous Message: Taking Your Coronavirus Concerns to City Hall, State Capitals and Washington
(Newser)  An elderly New Hampshire woman who was trapped in her basement is doing well after being saved by the most unlikely of rescuers. Per KWTX, police were called to a home in Hampton on Wednesday after a boy noticed something unusual on a neighbor's doorstep. CBS Boston identifies the youngster as 3-year-old Eyas Tran, who'd been on a walk with his moms when he spotted a newspaper outside the home of his neighbor, referred to simply as Peggy. Eyas' mom Minh says her son likes to bring Peggy her paper, so he picked it up and approached the front door. That's when something else caught his eye. "There was one, two, three newspapers," he says, all piled up outside the door.

story continues below

His parents became concerned when Peggy didn't answer the door or her phone; her car was also in the garage. They called the police, who found Peggy in her basementshe'd accidentally locked herself down there for three days. A release from the Hampton Police says Peggy was "in good spirits" and was taken to a nearby hospital with only minor injuries. "The Hampton Police would like to thank the young boy for his keen observation," the police department notes. Deputy Police Chief David Hobbs adds, per CBS: "We just want to say to everybody else, be more like Eyas. Check on your neighbors. Look after each other." (Read more uplifting news stories.)
Secretary of State Mike Pompeothe former CIA director who admitted the US government lies, cheats, and stealswants you to believe the Trump neocon-infused administration had nothing to do with the failed coup plot in Venezuela.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Operacion Gedeon if we were involved it would have gone differently#Venezuela pic.twitter.com/B63hAnKdVR  CNW (@ConflictsW) May 6, 2020

Standard Pontius Pilate response. Of course, the US government and its private sector partners in the subversion business (in this case, Silvercorp USA) are behind this miniaturized Bay of Pigs operation.

The fall guy is Jordan Goudreau, a former member of the US Army special forces who has, according to the BBC, been quick to claim an association with the captured US mercenaries.

As should be expected, the BBC watered down the significance of the event by characterizing it as a speedboat incursion.

From the UPI:

Jordan Goudreau, an ex-Green Beret and owner of private security company Slivercorp USA for which the two captured Americans worked for, has claimed responsibility for Operation Gideon, a plan of insurrection against Maduro he said is connected to Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who has the support of the United States and more than 50 countries.

There are 195 countries in the world and most have not found it necessary to declare Juan Guaido president of oil-rich Venezuela.

Recall former US president Jimmy Carter said in 2012 of the 92 elections that [the Carter Center] monitored, I would say the election process in Venezuela is the best in the world.

We just heard about it, said Trump from the South Lawn on Tuesday. But whatever it is, well let you know. But it has nothing to do with our government.

President Trump denied any involvement by the US in what #Venezuela's officials have called a failed armed incursion in the South American country that led to the capture of 2 American mercenaries. https://t.co/YWa1Vi9BgS  The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) May 6, 2020

Its called plausible deniability, however, in this case, it is not plausible at all. The US has tried numerous times without success to overthrow the government in Venezuela. Pompeo is an admitted liar. Trump is basically clueless and preoccupied defending his ego on Twitter, so he repeats what he was told by his neocon foreign policy operatives.

Trump and his neocons will, of course, ignore Goudreaus claim the US was on board with the latest illegal effort to stage a coup. The mercenary profiteer said he had a contract with Pompeos State Department.

EXCLUSIVE: Green Beret vet who plotted botched Venezuelan coup boasted it was an OFFICIAL government operation https://t.co/vKBpvK4MCL  Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) May 6, 2020

Short of bombing Caracas, terrorizing and killing thousands, and assassinating Maduro, there is very little the US can do to further destabilize Venezuela.

Venezuelas opposition needs military intervention if they want to overthrow Maduro in the future. #Venezuela #VenezuelaCoup pic.twitter.com/3ToezTayYG  specialforceulm (@Specialforceulm) May 6, 2020

Maduros predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez, understood the US will never accept rule in South America that rejects the neoliberal agenda. In response, Chavez organized civilian militias.

It was people like the old woman pictured below who captured the Green Beret mercenaries. No wonder Pompeo and Trump didnt acknowledge the obvious link to one of its contractorsthe failed mini-Bay of Pigs operation demonstrated just how impotent the US has become in overthrowing disfavored governments.

Local people with just basic militia training captured eight of #Trump's mercenaries in Chuao, Aragua.  #Venezuela https://t.co/tx57ZNuUN3 pic.twitter.com/DVGYw6mXDa  tim anderson (@timand2037) May 6, 2020

Naturally, the admitted liar and former tank commander Pompeo demands Maduro send the captured American mercenaries home. In actuality, despite this windbags threats, the US has few tools to ensure the return of these for-profit trained killers.
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COVID-19 is a dangerous health threat that should be taken very seriously, but this does not justify arbitrary and excessive government edicts.

Something is radically wrong when dozens, and sometimes hundreds, of people can gather at the local grocery store, constantly walking through most of the facility, but not be allowed to attend their local church service, even if the church is strictly practicing social distancing.

What is the legal justification for relatively free access to physical food, but tightly restricted access to spiritual sustenance?

Churches and other faith-based organizations are not recreational clubs. They are an essential part of our culture that sustains us individually and as a nation. This is why they are different from movie theaters, retail stores and other public places of business. Religious organizations are Constitutionally protected from government control.

The Bill of Rights, in the First Amendment, begins with, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof It is significant that this special protection of religious freedom is the first specific, enumerated Constitutional right.

George Washington understood this essential strength we draw from our reliance on Gods guidance and support. It was a common understanding when our nation was founded. In his Farewell Address President Washington included this admonition:

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens.

Today the most common free exercise of religion takes place every week as millions of Americans meet together across our great nation in tens of thousands of churches to pray, worship, learn, support one other, and follow God to the best of their understanding. At least that was the pattern until all of the stay-at-home orders effectively shut down most of the churches and other faith-based organizations.

It can be argued there is a compelling state interest for rules to be established to try to control this epidemic. But when those rules start to put limits on our rights, particularly our Constitutionally enumerated rights, legal scholars all agree that those rules must be narrowly tailored through the least restrictive means that advances that compelling state interest. And, to be in line with the Fourteenth Amendment, those rules must be equally applied for all situations.

In simpler terms, government quarantine rules must accommodate our Constitutional rights to the greatest extent possible. Closing down in-person religious services when large groups of people are still allowed to congregate in grocery stores is a blatant violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution.

Every governor has taken an oath to uphold the Constitution and every public health official is subject to honor and obey those same Constitutional rights. If some activities must be deemed essential activities, religious services should be at the top of the list.

Following the wisdom of our Founding President, todays leaders have a moral, legal and Constitutional obligation to allow all religious activities to function to the greatest extent possible, with more latitude than grocery stores, not less.

Open up the churches now!
U nions have demanded the Government meet a series of essential tests before schools can reopen.

Ministers were previously said to be planning a return to classrooms on June 1, starting with primary pupils and those taking exams next year.

But their hopes have been dashed after teachers representatives ruled out reopening without a full rollout of a national test and trace scheme, which has only just begun trial on the Isle of Wight.

In a joint statement, the Trades Union Congress said there should be no increase in pupil numbers until this is achieved, and called for a Covid-19 taskforce to establish a safe date for opening schools.

The Government said schools will only reopen when it is safe to do so / PA

It also called for clear scientific published evidence that trends in transmission of Covid-19 will not be adversely impacted by the reopening phase and that schools are also safe to reopen.

The other tests include ramped up PPE and cleaning equipment in educational settings, local autonomy to close schools that become virus hotspots and the consideration of vulnerable pupils and families facing financial hardship.

It also called for the safety and welfare or staff and students to be a paramount principle.

The TUC's Frances O'Grady called for a national schoold Covid-19 taskforce (Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images) / Getty Images

TUC general secretary Frances OGrady said: Parents and staff need full confidence that schools will be safe before any pupils return.

The Government must work closely with unions to agree a plan that meets the tests we have set out.

Labour shadow education secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey called on the Government to take heed of the tests set out today by trade unions and commit to not opening schools unless they have been met.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has already said schools will return in a phased manner.

It comes as Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford ruled out a return in June on Saturday morning.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said schools will open in a staggered approach / PA

Were not convinced at this point that opening schools in any significant way would be the right thing to do, he told BBC Radio 4.

Were not going to be reopening schools in Wales in the next three weeks, or indeed in June.

Headteachers have previously warned that planning would need to begin imminently for a June 1 opening.

The Prime Minister will outline the UKs roadmap to firing up the economy in a speech on Sunday night.
Hyderabad, May 9 : Carrying a load of essentials on her shoulders, holding a couple of bags in the other hand and walking through the rocky terrain, at first sight she looks like a migrant worker, but she is an MLA in Telangana out to help the needy during the ongoing lockdown.

Braving the scorching sun, walking through the forests, crossing rivulets and trekking mountains, Danasari Anasuya is reaching remote tribal villages in her constituency Mulug to provide rice, vegetables and essentials.

Having operated in the same forest as a gun-wielding Maoist rebel in the late 1980s and early 1990s, she is not unfamiliar with the terrain. The only difference, in her own words, is she then had a gun in her hand and now she carries food.

Popular as Seethakka, she is now serving people as a member of the legislative Assembly and is earning praise for her active role in providing succour to the needy during the lockdown.

The tribal MLA, representing the constituency for a second term, believes it is her duty to serve the people. "Serving the people is what gives me happiness. They elected me with a lot of expectations and I just try to live up to those expectations," the MLA, belonging to the opposition Congress, told IANS.

With rice bags, vegetables and other essentials, loaded on a tractor, she sets out for the villages every day. "When the tractor can't move, she rides a bike and where even bike can't go, she walks carrying the bags. "Walking is her passion," said one of her aides.

As most of the villages in her constituency are inaccessible by roads, she walks to reach out to people. Though her constituency has no Covid-19 case, the impoverished people in the area always look for help, and lockdown has only added to their woes.

"Many of them don't have ration cards and hence did not get the free rice from the government. They don't even get fresh vegetables," said Seethakka, who has so far distributed 8,000 kg rice among people in her constituency.

During the last 45 days, she covered 425 out of 640 villages in Mulug and plans to reach out to the remaining villages near the border with Chhattisgarh.

Impressed by her work, people from surrounding constituencies of Pinapaka, Yellendu and Kothagudem have been inviting her to visit their villages. She visited a few villages on Saturday and distributed the aid.

The 48-year-old, who runs Seetakka Foundation, said many individuals in India and even abroad are coming forward with their donations. Even farmers in her constituency are donating rice and vegetables for the relief work.

Before venturing into interior villages, she surrenders her security guards at the nearest police station. "Akka (sister) does not want to put the lives of the gunmen in danger," says her aide. The area was once a stronghold of Maoists and she does not want to take any chances.

The MLA's followers say she is not scared. "She freely moves around in the area. People are with her," said a follower.

Belonging to the Koya tribe, Seethakka joined Maoist movement at an early age and was heading an armed squad active in the same tribal belt. She participated in many gunfights with the police and lost her husband and brother in encounters.

Disillusioned with the movement, she surrendered to the police under a general amnesty plan in 1994. With this the life took a new turn for Seethakka, who pursued her studies and secured a law degree. She also practised as an advocate at a court in Warangal.

She later joined Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and contested from Mulug in 2004 elections. However, facing a Congress wave, she finished a runner-up. However, in 2009 she won the election from the same constituency.

She finished third in 2014 polls and in 2017 quit TDP to join Congress. She made a strong comeback in 2018 by wresting the seat despite the statewide sweep by Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).
Midland County saw no change in reported COVID-19 cases and deaths on Saturday, May 9, as well as Gladwin and Isabella counties. Midland County has a total of 66 cases and eight deaths while Gladwin has 16 cases and one death and Isabella has 61 cases and seven deaths. Bay County saw an increase of four cases, but no reported deaths, totaling in 189 cases and nine deaths. Saginaw County reported one additional case and four deaths, bringing its total to 780 cases and 83 deaths.

The state added 430 new cases on Saturday, May 9 and 133 deaths. Overall, Michigan is at 46,756 cases and 4,526 deaths.

The average death age is 75, according to the state website, mich.gov, with the deceased ranging in age from 20 to 107. The state lists 41% of the deceased as 80-plus and 27% age 70-79. State statistics show 53% of coronavirus deaths are male and 47% are female.

The state lists the total recovered at 22,686 cases, as of May 8, which represents COVID-19 confirmed individuals with an onset date on or prior to March 11, 2020, according to the state website, mich.gov.

During this response, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is reviewing vital records statistics to identify any laboratory confirmed COVID-19 cases who are 30 days out from their onset of illness to represent recovery status, according to the state website. The numbers will be updated every Saturday.

The state lists the majority of races in positive cases as 32% Black/African American; 35% Caucasian and 18% unknown, and the top three races in deaths as 41% Black/African American; 49% Caucasian and 5% unknown

The total positive cases are 46% men, 53% women and 1% unknown.

Midland County Department of Public Health continues to encourage residents to take precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19:

 Continue to practice social distancing as recommended by federal, state and local officials

 Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth

 Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash

 Disinfect commonly touched surfaces

 Stay home when you are sick

 Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.

We cannot stress enough how important it is for our community to be diligent in their community mitigation efforts," said Fred Yanoski, Midland County Public Health director/health officer. "We know that COVID-19 is in our community, and our residents can make a huge impact on slowing the spread of disease by following the recommended precautions."

If you think you've been exposed to COVID-19 and develop a fever and symptoms such as cough or difficulty breathing, call your health care provider for medical advice. If he/she isn't available call MidMichigan Urgent Care in Midland at 989- 633-1350 or MidMichigan Medical Center's Emergency Department in Midland at 989-839-3100.

MidMichigan Health has a COVID-19 informational hotline with a reminder of CDC guidelines and recommendations. The hotline can be reached toll-free at 800-445-7356 or 989-794-7600. Michigan Department of Health and Human Services also has a hotline number for Michigan residents for questions about COVID-19. The number is 1-888-535-6136 and is available seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Residents can also send an e-mail to: COVID19@michigan.gov. E-mails will be answered seven days a week between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

If you are feeling anxious, stressed, depressed and feel you need to talk to someone, reach out to Community Mental Health for Central Michigan by calling 800-317-0708.
By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON, May 8 (Reuters) - The leaders of U.S. congressional foreign affairs committees have written to more than 50 countries asking them to support Taiwan's inclusion in the World Health Organization, citing the need for the broadest effort possible to fight the coronavirus pandemic, congressional sources said on Friday.

Taiwan, which is not a member of the United Nations, has been excluded from the WHO, which is a U.N. agency, due to objections from China.

"As the world works to combat the spread of the COVID-19, a novel coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, China, it has never been more important to ensure all countries prioritize global health and safety over politics," the lawmakers said in their letter, sent on Friday, and seen by Reuters.

It was signed by Representatives Eliot Engel, Democratic chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, and Michael McCaul, the panel's ranking Republican member, as well as Senators Jim Risch, the Republican Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, and Bob Menendez, the panel's ranking Democratic member.

One source said the letter was sent to "like-minded" countries, large and small, seen as friends and allies of Taiwan, including Canada, Thailand, Japan, Germany, Britain, Saudi Arabia and Australia.

The letter was sent as President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials have ramped up criticism of China over the spread of the coronavirus, which causes the respiratory illness COVID-19. The Trump administration has accused China of making the pandemic worse by hiding information.

Last month, Trump announced that he was suspending aid to the WHO, accusing it of being "China-centric" and promoting China's "disinformation" about the outbreak, assertions the WHO denies.

Some of Trump's fellow Republicans in Congress have echoed the president's criticisms. Democrats have criticized Trump for attacking the WHO during a global health crisis, while saying it needs reforms.

Story continues

Taiwan has been seeking to join a ministerial meeting this month of the WHO's decision-making body, the World Health Assembly (WHA), with backing from Washington and several U.S. allies.

But China, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province under its "one China" policy, said Taiwan's effort to join the meeting will fail, insisting its efforts are based on politics, not health concerns.

Taiwan has argued that its exclusion from the WHO has created a dangerous gap in the global fight against the coronavirus.

In their letter, the U.S. lawmakers said Taiwan's resources and expertise are assets that could benefit the world as it struggles with the pandemic. They noted that Taiwan was invited to participate in annual WHA meetings from 2009 to 2016.

"No Member State, China included, should be allowed to manipulate UN materials, statements, or positions in ways that do not accurately reflect UN policy and are inconsistent with the policies of many UN Member States," the letter said. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Leslie Adler)
A hot potato: With Amazon and Microsoft battling in strong words over the juicy $10 billion JEDI cloud contract, it looks like it'll be a while before the project can actually begin. You could say that the true loser in this story is the United States Department of Defense, who is stuck between two companies arguing price over "technical superiority."

Last month, the DoD cleared Microsoft's JEDI contract award, after it couldn't find any wrongdoing in the whole process. This was the first result of legal action where Amazon, the company that came closest to winning the bid, argued that its offer had been turned down at the whim of President Trump.

Amazon still won a temporary injunction to prevent Microsoft from getting started with the project that's supposed to unify and modernize 500 or so fragmented cloud environments. Over the last few days, the two companies have been attacking one another through strongly worded blog posts.

After it transpired that Amazon had sent a new complaint to the DoD on Tuesday with the intention of keeping it private, Microsoft's Corporate VP Frank Shaw wrote a post titled "Bid high, lose, try again. Amazon continues to push for a JEDI re-do."

Shaw claims that Amazon's new complaint is yet another attempt at a do-over despite the fact that it lost simply as a result of aiming to get a high price for an offer that was technically similar to that of Microsoft. He also suggested that Amazon should step aside and let the JEDI project begin as a sign of caring for warfighters as much as it does for retail customers.

Amazon's response titled "Setting the record straight on JEDI" followed shortly after. Drew Herdener, the company's Vice President of worldwide communications called the Pentagon's JEDI award process "fatally flawed" and noted that "Microsoft is doing a lot of posturing" despite not complying with the contract's bidding requirements.

Herdener thinks that an objective and impartial review of the JEDI bidding process has yet to take place, which is why the company will continue to pursue it. He noted that "nobody knowledgeable and objective believes they have the better offering. And, this has been further underscored by their spotty operational performance during the COVID-19 crisis (and in 2020 YTD). Microsoft wants us to just be quiet and go away." Furthermore, Herdener said things would have gone more smoothly "if the DoD had chosen to be responsive in any of the multiple requests we've made in the last two weeks."

The statements don't do anything to improve the image of either company, though it's clear anything goes when a $10 billion contract is at stake. This looks like it will drag on for a while before Amazon can accept its loss and Microsoft can start working on JEDI.
Nitaidas Mukherjee, a 52-year-old resident of south Kolkata who trumped Covid-19 after being on a ventilator for 38 days, returned home to a heros welcome by his neighbours earlier this week.

Doctors said that it was a remarkable feat by the hospital authorities and nothing less than a miracle, because a Covid-19 patient remaining on a ventilator for so long has little chance of survival.

I thank the hospital and the team of doctors who gave me a new life. This is my second life, you can say. Without them, I would have been dead by now. They are the actual heroes, said Mukherjee who returned home on Monday. He has become so weak, that he could hardly speak over the phone.

It was in mid-March that Mukherjee - who had suffered a bout of pneumonia in 2017 - developed a severe cough and cold. His family thought that it was the mere return of an ailment that afflicts him frequently. Later he developed fever.

We didnt have any travel history. But as the symptoms were matching with Covid-19, we decided to take him to a private hospital on March 29. As his condition deteriorated, he was put on a ventilator the same night. The next day, his test results showed positive and his battle with death began, said Aparajita Mukherjee, Nitaidas wife.

As his condition worsened, doctors performed a tracheostomy, a surgical procedure to make an incision on the throat and create a direct airway through another incision in the trachea.

Doctors had told me that his condition was extremely precarious. But they never lost hope and continued to fight. I was not sure whether I would be able to see him ever again and prayed to God. He is a social worker and runs a NGO. I believe that the prayers of all those he had helped in the past, worked and helped him to survive, Aparajita said.

In a statement, the hospital said: He has created a record of sorts in India by being the first patient of Covid-19 to have defeated the virus despite being on ventilator for 38 days.

This is indeed a remarkable feat. Staying on ventilation and then returning home is something uncommon, said Sukumar Mukherjee, one of the doctors on the advisory panel set up by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Two activists, who are also members of the organisation 'Swaraj Abhiyan', were booked after they tried to assist construction workers in Bengaluru book train tickets to return to their rural homes amid the coronavirus lockdown.

Kaleemulla and Zia Nomani were booked on Friday under sections 153 (provocation with intent to cause riots) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code after a complaint was filed by builders.

According to Nomani, Swaraj Abhiyan had been helping construction workers at the BL Kashyap Labour Camp by providing food and ration ever since the lockdown began.

"When the labourers got to know that trains were leaving for their home towns, they wanted to go back. We decided to help them by taking down their names in order to register through the 'Seva Sindhu' app. But yesterday (Friday), two policemen came to us and informed there was a complaint filed against us."

The complaint was filed by the builders under whom the labourers worked. It said that the two were trying to "provoke workers" to leave the city and act against their employers.

However, the police were not able to take Nomani and Kaleemulla to the station as the labourers protested against the action. "Who would bring us food, if they are arrested," they asked.

They later agreed to visit the Sampigehalli Police Station the following day to contest the charges levelled against their helpers.

The Karnataka Government had on Wednesday cancelled Shramik trains leaving from the state as it wanted migrant labourers to stay back, in the hope that industries would start with the easing of the lockdown. The decision was also taken at the behest of the builder lobby.

With news of trains cancelled, many migrants had started walking towards their home towns. Facing pressure, the government made a U-turn and revoked its order.

The train services resumed on Friday, as the state nodal officer wrote to nine other states requesting permission to prepare for the arrival of migrants. Three trains - one for Bihar and two for Uttar Pradesh - ferrying 1,200 passengers left from Malur and Chikkabanavara Stations respectively.
Due to a system disturbance in the transmission grid, both Kenya and Uganda were hit by a power blackout on May 9. Kenya and Uganda have interconnected powers grids. According to reports, Kenya Power (KPLC.NR) said that the power in both the countries went out around 5:49 local time (0249 GMT).

Power has begun to return to the countries

As per reports, Kenya Power in a statement said that their engineers were working in order to identify and repair the problem so that normal electricity could be restored. The power distributor did not provide any more details about the system disturbance. The statement by Kenya power also apologized to its customers for the inconvenience.

Press Release: National Power Outage.



We have lost power supply in the national grid due to a system disturbance which occurred on our transmission network at 5:49AM this morning. Updates on restoration will be issued later. ^KK pic.twitter.com/HOWxKh85af  The Kenya Power & Lighting Company Plc. (@KenyaPower) May 9, 2020

Read: Kenya: With No Food, Woman Boils Stones To Make Kids Believe Shes Preparing Meal

Read: Coronavirus: Kenyan Police Fire Tear Gas, Beat Homeless To Ensure Nationwide Curfew

The Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) tweeted out a statement wherein they said that they had lost transmission across the nation and that had caused the nationwide blackout. Uganda has also experienced a nationwide blackout on April 12, 2020, the power outage occurred just before President Museveni was scheduled to address the nation about COVID-19. As a result of the power outage, the presidents address was delayed by approximately an hour. According to reports, power in both Kenya and Uganda have started to restore power in phases after hours of total blackout.

@UmemeLtd @ERA_Uganda @UegclOfficial we have lost transmission across the Nation which has caused a nation wide blackout, please bare with us as we investigate the cause and work on restoration. All inconveniences are highly regrettable.  UETCL (@uetcl) May 9, 2020

Read: PM Modi Discusses COVID-19 Challenges With Uganda President Over Phone, Assures Support

Read: Ugandan Musician Releases Song To Raise Awareness About Coronavirus Spread In Africa

(Representative Image) (Image Credit AP)
Moderate quake leaves 2 dead in Iran: Two people died when a 5.1-magnitude earthquake struck northern Iran in the early hours of Friday, sending people in and around Tehran fleeing from their homes, state television reported. At least 38 people were injured, but there was no major damage from the quake and nearly 50 milder aftershocks that struck on the border of the provinces of Tehran and Mazandaran, it said. The epicenter was south of Iran's highest peak, Mount Damavand, according to the United States Geological Survey. Soon after the quake struck, officials urged people who spent the night outdoors for fear of aftershocks to observe the social distancing mandated by the coronavirus.
In all, according to the magazine Semana, which first published the allegations, the military compiled elaborate dossiers on more than 130 people, including former generals, politicians, trade union leaders, social activists and at least two dozen journalists. Using computer tools and software, the magazine wrote, they carried out searches and massively and indiscriminately collected all the information possible about their objectives to prepare military intelligence reports. The targets included some Semana reporters and, in addition to Mr. Casey, reporters for The Wall Street Journal and NPR.

The units tools, according to The Wall Street Journal, included listening devices and other equipment supplied by the United States; The Journal also reported that members of the intelligence unit helped themselves to American aid money. That resources supplied by the United States to combat drug smuggling to the United States were used to spy on American reporters is especially galling. The Pentagon must also address how it monitors its aid.

But Colombias status as one of Americas main allies in the region is also at stake. For its own sake, and its future, Colombia needs to ensure that its army abide by strict rules of behavior. There appears to have been some progress in that regard. Semanas reports have led to the firing of 11 officers of the intelligence unit. The magazine also reported that the resignation of the top army commander, Gen. Nicacio Martinez Espinel, was related to the allegations of illegal surveillance, though he has denied this. The government of President Ivan Duque, a major recipient of U.S. aid, has condemned the secret surveillance and has directed the defense minister to investigate intelligence work done over the past decade.

Mr. Duques own credibility is also at stake. A conservative, he campaigned against the peace deal because he thought it was too soft on the rebels. He was a senior officer in northeast Colombia in the years of the illegal killings, and it was he who appointed General Martinez Espinel as commander of the army last year over opposition from groups like Human Rights Watch. From 2002 to 2008, nearly 5,000 civilians or guerrillas were killed outside of combat, according to the United Nations. More than 1,100 members of the security forces have been convicted of crimes related to the deaths, according to the government.

Illegal wiretapping likewise has a history in Colombia. Less than 10 years ago, the countrys intelligence agency was dismantled in a scandal over secret surveillance.
Terrorists upping attacks on Syrian civilians during pandemic, situation deteriorating: UN

Iran Press TV

Friday, 08 May 2020 5:37 PM

The United Nations rights chief Michelle Bachelet has said that Syria's situation is a "ticking time-bomb" as terrorist groups such as the Daesh Takfiri outfit exploit the COVID-19 pandemic and heighten attacks on civilians.

"Various parties to the conflict in Syria...appear to view the global focus on the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to regroup and inflict violence on the population," Bachelet said on Friday.

"We are receiving more reports every day of targeted killings and bombings from one end of the country to the other, with many such attacks taking place in populated areas," she added.

The UN official voiced particular concern about an increase in Daesh attacks in the country.

"The deteriorating situation is a ticking time-bomb that must not be ignored," she said.

According to the UN rights office, at least 35 civilians have been killed in improvised explosive devices (IED) attacks in April, killing 28 more civilians than in bombings last month.

The rights office said that a total of 33 IED attacks had occurred since the start of March, 26 of which hit residential neighborhoods and seven others which targeted markets.

Most of the attacks occurred in the northern and eastern parts of the country, it said.

Syria has been grappling with a brutal nine-year foreign-backed insurgency which resulted in terrorist control over large swathes of the country.

Nonetheless, the Syrian government managed to gradually push back terrorist forces with the assistance of its allies, limiting terrorist presence mostly to the country's northwestern Idlib province.

Attacks on Syrian forces have, however, increased in the past week, with nine policemen being killed in the southwestern Dara'a province and eleven soldiers being killed in a Daesh attack in eastern Syria.

The uptick of attacks come as Syria confirmed its first coronavirus case in late March.

According to the Syrian Health Ministry, 47 cases have so far been confirmed in the country, three of which have led to death.

'Another spiral of extreme violence'

Speaking on Friday, Bachelet said that if "current patterns of violations" continue to spread, there is a risk the country will "enter another spiral of extreme and widespread violence".

The rights chief urged different sides in Syria to adhere to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' call for a global ceasefire amid the pandemic.

"I urge all those continuing to fight, kill and displace the battered and beleaguered Syrian people to step back, and give peace a chance," she said.

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JOHANNESBURG, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) and its South African counterpart held a video conference on Friday to share experience of combating COVID-19.

Seven Chinese military medical experts and officers from the Medical Service Directorate of the Logistic Support Department of Central Military Commission, shared their experience on subjects such as Treatment of COVID-19 patients, Analysis of Important Cases, Management and Control of COVID-19 in Hospitals, and COVID-19 Testing Technology and Methods.

They also shared knowledge on the vaccine development, asymptomatic patients examination, anti-COVID-19 medication, the usage and sensitivity of the testing kits, disinfecting materials with experts from South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

All the Chinese experts and officers have just accomplished their anti-COVID19 operations in Wuhan, so they well provided information, experience and suggestion for SANDF's anti-COVID19 operations.

On behalf of SANDF Chief General Solly Shoke, Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Lindile Yam expressed his appreciation to the Chinese experts for sharing the precious experience.

SANDF Surgeon General Lieutenant General Zola Dabula said that the Chinese solution against COVID-19 was meaningful to the SANDF, adding that the PLA and SANDF should keep close contacts by such kinds of communications.

"The virus respects no borders and nationalities. Solidarity and cooperation are the most powerful weapons to overcome the COVID-19 for the international community. China will firmly support South Africa's effort in fighting COVID-19, and is prepared to help where we can," said Shang Hong, the Chinese Defence Attache in South Africa.

South Africa and China have forged strong bilateral defense and security ties over past years by implementing mutual visits, personnel training, joint exercises, defense industrial cooperation and so on.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the SANDF and Chinese PLA have had close cooperation on PPE provision, South African citizens repatriation, virus control and treatment measures sharing.
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Belarus has 'bribed people' to attend the Victory Day parade to upstage Vladimir Putin's Russia as 5,000 troops march in the country where President Alexander Lukashenko claims coronavirus is a mass 'psychosis' that can be cured by vodka and saunas.

Hundreds of Belarusians, including Second World War veterans, attended a church ceremony in Minsk that marked the 75th anniversary of the allied victory over Nazi Germany.

Many chose not to wear face masks, despite the growing coronavirus outbreak in the country. The 9.5-million ex-Soviet nation has reported more than 20,000 confirmed cases, with surges after mass public events, such as Easter services.

It has been suggested students at universities are being sent texts offering $4 towards their fees next month if they attend, despite being told that their presence is voluntary, according to a BBC report.

Meanwhile, Putin has led low-key memorials to mark the 75th anniversary of Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War on Saturday, as the coronavirus outbreak has forced the nation to scale back celebrations seen as boosting support for the Kremlin.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko pictured attending the country's Victory Day parade, which marks the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War, amid the coronavirus outbreak in Minsk, Belarus

Belarusian soldiers, none wearing face masks, taking part in the Victory Day parade in Minsk, Belarus. Hundreds of citizens, including Second World War veterans, attended a church ceremony in the capital city to mark the anniversary

Belarusian members of the military captured on a slow shutter speed taking part in the Victory Day parade in Minsk, Belarus on Saturday. Lukashenko previously claimed coronavirus is a mass 'psychosis' that can be cured by vodka and saunas

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko pictured delivering a speech at the Victory Day parade in Minsk, Belarus. He told veterans: 'We chose our own path, and I'm convinced today that we did the right thing'

Citizens, many elderly, and veterans pictured sitting close together and not wearing face masks as they attend the Victory Day parade in Minsk. Belarus remains one of the few countries that hadn't imposed a lockdown during the pandemic

An Antoniv An-26 military transport aircraft (right) and Yakovlev Yak-130 jet trainer aircraft fly in formation over Minsk, Belarus during a Victory Day air show for the 75th anniversary

Belarusian Republican Youth Union members take part in the Victory Day Parade on Saturday amid the coronavirus outbreak in Minsk, Belarus, to mark the anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War

Servicewomen march in formation in Victors Avenue during a Victory Day military parade in Minsk, Belarus on Saturday. The 9.5-million ex-Soviet nation has reported more than 20,000 confirmed cases of the infection

A Victory Day military parade marking the 75th anniversary with jets painting the skies red and green, the colours of the Belarus flag, overhead during an air show for the commemorations

Spectators, three wearing uniform, attend a military parade on Victory Day in Minsk. It comes despite World Health Organization recommendations to introduce social distancing in Belarus during the coronavirus outbreak

Lukashenko has previously told citizens to 'wash [their] insides' with vodka and 'go to the banya', a Russian-styled sauna, to fight the infection.

Belarus remains one of the few countries that hasn't imposed a lockdown or restricted public events despite recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO).

'We chose our own path, and I'm convinced today that we did the right thing,' Lukashenko told veterans.

He assured veterans who attended the parade on Saturday that 'nothing will happen' to them.

In a televised speech towards the start of the outbreak, he said: 'There shouldn't be any panic. You just have to work, especially now, in a village. Tractors will cure everyone. The field heals everyone.

Go to the banya [a Russian-style sauna]. Two or three times a week will do you good. When you come out of the sauna, not only wash your hands, but also your insides with 100 millilitres [of vodka].'

Servicemen march in formation in the city centre of Minsk, Belarus, during a Victory Day military parade. Lukashenko, who has ruled his country since 1994, previously denounced travel bans and border closures

Veterans, some wearing gloves, sit in the crowd decorated in medals as they gather to watch a military parade in Minsk. Lukashenko has previously told citizens to 'wash [their] insides' with vodka and 'go to the banya' to fight coronavirus

Belarus' Army troops march during the military parade on Saturday. It comes in stark contrast to Russia, where Putin last month postponed the highlight of Victory Day celebrations, a parade on Red Square in Moscow

Belarusian Republican Youth Union members take part in the Victory Day parade in Minsk. It has been suggested students at universities are being sent texts offering $4 towards their fees next month if they attend, according to reports

Armoured vehicles move along Victors Avenue in Minsk, Belarus, during a Victory Day military parade. It comes despite WHO advice to postpone large gatherings and cultural events during the growing coronavirus outbreak

Belarus' servicemen wearing historical uniforms take part in the military parade for the 75th anniversary. In a televised speech towards the start of the coronavirus outbreak, Lukashenko said there 'shouldn't be any panic'

Belarusian soldiers taking part in the Victory Day parade in Minsk, Belarus. The country's President, Lukashenko, assured veterans who attended the parade on Saturday that 'nothing will happen' to them, despite the pandemic

Adults and children stand closely together as they line the streets of Minsk in Belarus during the Victory Day parade, with some wearing face masks and waving flags to commemorate the 75th anniversary

Belarusian sportsmen carry a state flag during the Victory Day parade in Minsk. Belarus is one of the few countries that haven't imposed a lockdown or restricted public events despite recommendations of the World Health Organization

Belarusian soldiers taking part in the Victory Day parade. In a televised speech towards the start of the outbreak claimed coronavirus is a 'mass psychosis' that can be cured by saunas and vodka

Citizens and veterans pictured sitting in the crowd as they attend the parade. The 9.5-million ex-Soviet nation has reported more than 20,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, with surges after mass public events

Sukhoi Su-30 fighter kets fly in formation during a Victory Day air show for the 75th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War in Minsk, Belarus

Lukashenko, who has ruled his country since 1994, earlier denounced travel bans and border closures being used by neighbouring countries as 'utter stupidity'.

'It's better to die standing that to live on your knees,' he added.

With foreign sports networks having little to show and few other options for sports betting, Lukashenko previously said the pandemic is a perfect opportunity to put the country's soccer league on display.

'I look at Russia and some people there are winning a lot on bets, because beforehand they didn't really know our teams,' Lukashenko said, adding: 'Someone's losing, someone's winning. It's all useful.'

With infections rising in Russia, Putin last month postponed the highlight of Victory Day celebrations, a massive parade on Red Square that showcases Moscow's most sophisticated military hardware, to an unspecified date.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a flower-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier memorial by the Kremlin wall in Moscow to mark the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War

Russian military helicopters fly over the almost empty Red Square in Moscow, Russia, on Saturday during a flypast to mark the 75th anniversary of the Nazi defeat in the Second World War. The parade was cancelled during the virus outbreak

Putin addresses the nation in a speech after laying flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier near the Kremlin wall in Moscow, Russia, while servicemen can be seen standing in formation in the background

Russian Sukhoi Su-25 assault aircrafts release smoke in the colours of the Russian flag as they fly over the Kremlin and Red Square in downtown Moscow, Russia, to mark the 75th anniversary on Saturday

The Russian President watches honour guards matching in Cathedral Square at the Kremlin during the celebrations of Victory Day, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease

Police officers detain a man with a flag during the celebrations of Victory Day in central Moscow, Russia, as they scale back mass public events to prevent the spread of coronavirus during the outbreak

Russian military helicopters fly over Moscow's City and Stalin's era skyscrapers, right, and empty streets for the anniversary. A massive parade on Red Square but Russia marked the day with a flyby

Police officers wearing face masks in Vasilyevsky Spusk Square in Moscow on Saturday amid the coronavirus pandemic. Moscow Mayor Sobyanin has extended the self-isolation regime in Moscow until May 31 to prevent the spread of the virus

Servicemen wear face masks at a wreath laying ceremony at the Eternal Flame in Slavy (Glory) Square, marking the 75th anniversary of Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War. Military parades were postponed amid the crisis

Russian Sukhoi Su-34, Sukhoi Su-35S and Sukhoi Su-30S jets perform a Victory Day military parade amid the coronavirus outbreak over Red Square in Moscow, Russia, on Saturday

Servicemen take part in a wreath laying ceremony at the Vladivostok - the City of Military Glory stele, for the 75th anniversary. With infections rising, Putin postponed the massive parade on Red Square - the highlight of the celebrations

A Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bomber (left) and an Ilyushin IL-78 aerial refuelling tanker fly over Moscow's Red Square during a Victory Day air show marking the 75th anniversary of Nazi Germany defeat

Citizens and servicemen hold portraits of their relatives who fought in the Second World War during an event to mark the 75th anniversary held by the Vladivostok - City of Military Glory stele. The outbreak has forced Russia to scale back celebrations

Russian Tupolev Tu-95MS bomber aircrafts perform during a Victory Day military flyby amid coronavirus precautions over the Red Square in Moscow, Russia as part of the scaled-back commemorations

Russian Sukhoi Su-25 jets paint the skies red, white and blue during a military flyby over Red Square in Moscow, Russia

The Perekop training ship, one of the Smolny class training ships built for the Soviet Navy in the late 1970s, by Leitenanta Shmidta Embankment on Victory Day. Later on Saturday, Putin will lay flowers at the Eternal Flame war memorial

Vladivostok Mayor Oleg Gumenyuk, Primorye Territory Governor Kozhemyako's wife Irina Gerasimenko and Primorye Territory Governor Oleg Kozhemyako (left to right) during a flower laying ceremony at the Military Glory of the Pacific Fleet

In previous years, Putin basked in national pride as he watched Russian tanks rumble across the square with world leaders by his side.

But as of Friday, Russia had reported 187,859 coronavirus cases and 1,723 deaths.

In a slimmed-down celebration, Putin will lay flowers at the Eternal Flame war memorial outside the Kremlin walls and deliver a speech.

Fireworks will be let off across Russia as much of the country remains in lockdown, the Defence Ministry has said.

Tverskaya Street on Victory Day pictured empty (right) on Saturday during the 75th anniversary of Victory Day, compared to 2019 (left), crowded as participants carry portraits of people during the Immortal Regiment March

Singers wearing masks and gloves perform while holding flags for Second World War veteran Valentina Khryashcheva, 93, during celebrations for the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany

Second World War veteran Ms Khryashcheva, 93, cries as singers perform for her during the celebrations in Sochi, Russia. Military parades and many other celebrations were postponed in the country due to the coronavirus pandemic

A Mil Mi-8AMTSh helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Union and now produced by Russia, used as a transport helicopter and airborne command post, flies over the Neva River in St Petersburg, Russia

Police officers detain a woman holding a flag and portraits of relatives during the celebrations of Victory Day. The detained people didn't have digital permits necessary for a long walk or travel by transport amid the coronavirus lockdown

One servicemen salutes at a ceremony at the Eternal Flame in Slavy (Glory) Square in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia, as five other servicemen stand further back while holding a wreath and wearing face masks amid the coronavirus pandemic

Hero of Russia Pavel Syutkin, 98,watches as singers of the Sochi Philharmonic perform for him during Victory Day celebrations in Sochi, Russia, amid the coronavirus lockdown

A woman holds portraits of her relatives who fought in the Second World War, on Victory Day in Novosibirsk, Russia. President Putin postponed military parades and celebrations last month, on April 6, due to the coronavirus pandemic

Primorye Territory Governor Kozhemyako's wife Irina Gerasimenko (centre) lays flowers at the Military Glory of the Pacific Fleet memorial complex in Vladivostok, Russia, to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the Second World War

A pilot by a Mil Mi-8AMTSh helicopter ahead of taking part in a Victory Day air show, marking the 75th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War, at an airfield in the town of Klin

Admiral Sergei Avakyants, commander of the Pacific Fleet, the Russian Navy fleet in the Pacific Ocean, salutes while wearing uniform during a flower laying ceremony at the Military Glory of the Pacific Fleet memorial complex

A serviceman wears a face mask as he stands besides flags on the Perekop training ship, one of the Smolny class training ships, by Leitenanta Shmidta Embankment in St Petersburg on Victory Day

A Russian serviceman holds a portrait of his relative who fought in the Second World War in Lenin Square, Novosibirsk, Russia, on Victory Day. Putin has accused Russia's detractors of diminishing the Soviet war effort

The Russian leader has described Victory Day celebrations as sacred to Russians but said a big public event was too risky during the pandemic.

The Russian air force will carry out fly-pasts over more than 47 cities, as well as at its military base in Syria.

It will showcase a full array of jets and helicopters, including Sukhoi Su-57 stealth fighters, the country's most advanced warplanes.

Public processions commemorating Soviet participants in the war that are normally held on May 9 have been moved online, with people uploading pictures of family members and telling their war stories.

It follows a recent poll giving Putin his lowest approval rating in more than two decades and the country's economy is slipping into a deep downturn.

A portrait of a Second World War soldier attached to a window in the cockpit of a Mil Mi-8AMTSh helicopter ahead of a Victory Day air show taking off from an airfield in the town of Klin, in the Moscow region of Russia

A man holds an umbrella while walking on a bridge past red banners devoted to the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany during the Second World War, in downtown Moscow on Saturday

Pilots by a Mil Mi-26 helicopter ahead of taking part in a Victory Day air show marking the 75th anniversary, at an airfield in the town of Klin, in Moscow. The Russian air force will carry out fly-pasts over more than 47 cities and its military base in Syria

Mil Mi-35M helicopters take off ahead of taking part in a Victory Day air show at an airfield in the town of Klin, Moscow. The nation will showcase a full array of jets and helicopters, including Sukhoi Su-57 stealth fighters

A servviceman wears a note tied around his neck and a face mask while standing next to a flag on the Perekop training ship by Leitenanta Shmidta Embankment on Victory Day in St Petersburg, Russia

A pilot in the cockpit of a Mil Mi-8AMTSh helicopter ahead of a Victory Day air show, at an airfield in Klin, Moscow. Processions commemorating Soviet participants in the war moved online, with people posting pictures of family members

Two pilots in the cockpit of a Mil Mi-8AMTSh helicopter before they take off for a Victory Day air show marking the 75th anniversary of Victory Day, at an airfield in Klin. Fireworks will also be let off across much of Russia, during the lockdown

On the eve of the anniversary, Putin sent congratulatory letters to many former Soviet republics, as well as to the leaders of Britain, the United States and France.

Putin has accused Russia's detractors of diminishing the Soviet war effort, and on Friday he warned post-Soviet leaders against what he said were attempts to rewrite the history of World War Two.

In his messages to foreign leaders, Putin said their countries should build on the cooperation between the Soviet Union and the Allies as Moscow's relations with the West remain fraught.

'This invaluable cooperation experience is highly needed even today,' Putin wrote to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the Kremlin said.
A man from Crawfordsville, Indiana, has found a spectacular way to honor health care workers on the front line amid the CCP virus outbreak by painting a giant American flag on a field.

Justin Riggins, who owns an automotive repair shop and a large piece of land about 45 miles northwest of Indianapolis, led a group of family members and friends to paint a 10,686-square-foot version of the Old Glory.

Riggins, who is very patriotic, told CNN that he wanted to recognize there are a lot of heroes on the frontlines.

He added that With everything that everyone is going through in this pandemic, I wanted something positive for people.

Riggins, who wanted to pay tribute to the heroes who were doing everything possible to keep us safe amid the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, admitted to WTHR that he thought how cool it would be to have a huge flag for everyone to see and be proud of.

On May 1, Riggins and a group of volunteers met on the field for two hours to carefully plan the execution of the painting.

The following day, he and his team took 30 gallons (approx. 114 liters) of environmentally friendly red, white, and blue paint to make the massive flag, which measures 78 feet high and 137 feet wide. Each of the red and white stripes, which represent the 13 original colonies, measured 6 feet tall, according to a Facebook post by Riggins.

The entire flag took about five hours to paint.

While it was a huge endeavor, Riggins said, I absolutely love our country and our flag!

In addition to being a patriot, Riggins also wanted to pay tribute to the propertys former owner, who served in the United States Marine Corps as a tank officer during the Korean war.

There is also a legacy Im trying to keep going, Riggins said. My property used to be the former Ropkey armor museum that my friend and mentor Fred Ropkey owned.

The Ropkey museum first opened in 1982 and showcased the countrys largest collections of military vehicles that were all curated by Ropkey according to the Tank and AFV News, a blog that publishes information on tanks and armored vehicles. The museum drew veterans and military aficionados from all over the country.

When Ropkey passed away in 2013 and the museum closed in August 2017, his service to the country and patriotism hadnt been forgotten by Riggins.

Riggins, who wanted to create something that people could see from the air, hopes that the flag will serve as an inspiration to people. We need something positive right now, the patriot told CNN. We are all in this together.

As reported by WTHR, Riggins, who did something like this for the first time, plans to keep the flag on the field throughout the year and will give it a fresh coat of paint on July 4.

As the world is currently enveloped by the pandemic, this massive flag serves as a symbol of hope in these unprecedented times.
Last week, as the death toll in nursing homes crept towards the 800 mark, the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) went to check up on the settings yet to have an outbreak.

By doing this, the agency, which monitors the safety and quality of both the healthcare and social care systems in Ireland, said it wants to "support nursing homes to prepare for an outbreak and put in place appropriate contingency plans to deal with same".

For some, the move to carry out risk assessments, more than a month after the regulator was informed of its first case, is more than a little belated.

"The support in terms of preparedness would have ideally occurred much earlier," said Tadgh Daly, CEO of Nursing Homes Ireland (NHI).

"The fact that it's a supportive role is important. We would also welcome the fact that because of their position on the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) they can escalate matters."

Mr Daly had been critical of Hiqa last month when it issued nursing homes with a 21-page questionnaire to fill out in order to assess preparedness levels. At such a late stage in the pandemic, he said he was surprised by the move.

The self-assessment checklist for owners and managers in the sector was the precursor to on-the-ground inspections which started last week.

In a statement issued to the Irish Independent, Hiqa said it has completed 93 assessments so far. Questions about levels of compliance among those 93 went unanswered.

"At this stage it is not yet possible to determine when the process of assessment will be finalised," read the statement. "This depends on the number of centres that report suspected Covid-19 outbreaks, or advise that a suspected outbreak was not in fact Covid-19."

For nursing home operators who have not yet had a case of Covid-19, but are very much in the midst of a battle to keep the virus at bay, the visits have been welcomed.

"The reception on the ground has been positive," said Mr Daly. "At first members were apprehensive, because the word 'inspector' has its connotations. I would see Hiqa going in at the minute in more of a supportive role."

Unlike Hiqa, which has several senior members on Nphet, the body of medical experts and health service chiefs which has been overseeing the response to Covid-19, Nursing Homes Ireland hasn't been granted a seat at the table.

Health Minister Simon Harris said it wouldn't be appropriate for NHI, the organisation which represents nursing home owners, to be on Nphet.

Separately, chief medical officer Tony Holohan said nursing homes were represented by Hiqa, the expert body for the provision of services. For the hundreds of nursing homes across Ireland, and the thousands of residents they care for, Hiqa has been their voice during discussions that have had far-reaching consequences.

One of the earliest causes for concern was whether nursing homes would allow visitors to continue passing through the doors.

Hiqa was represented by Sean Egan, its head of healthcare regulation, at a Nphet meeting on March 10, when the restrictions on visitors to nursing homes was discussed. It was agreed the current practice of restricting visitors to nursing homes was not required and this would be kept under review.

Yet four days before, on March 6, the same day Nursing Homes Ireland announced visitor restrictions, Hiqa also announced it was temporarily ceasing routine inspections of nursing homes.

That decision by nursing homes to close their doors to visitors on March 6 was criticised at the time by Dr Holohan, the most senior health official leading the State's emergency response to the disease.

On RTE radio yesterday morning, Dr Holohan stressed that "visitors did not bring the virus into nursing homes", in response to questions on whether they should have acted sooner to protect long-term residential care settings.

"There will be visitors who visited nursing homes who may feel responsible for having brought this infection in, and that isn't true," he said.

When asked whether the virus was brought in to nursing homes through staff, Holohan said the virus doesn't move, but people do move.

"People who work in nursing homes will have picked up the infection, and that's the mechanism through which to get into nursing homes. But it didn't get in through visitors, it's important for people who will feel themselves as being in some way implicitly to blame for having visited a loved one at the wrong time, it's not their fault."

The comments have been met with intrigue by Mr Daly, who has been vocal about his early calls to restrict visitors.

"I don't know how Dr Holohan can be so definitive on that," he said. "I would be asking to see the epidemiology study on that."

This week, it emerged a whistleblower who works at St Mary's in the Phoenix Park in Dublin, where 24 residents have died from Covid-19, made a protected disclosure about the handling of the outbreak at the facility.

Among the many serious allegations contained in a 35-page dossier she submitted to Mr Harris and the CEO of the HSE, Paul Reid, were claims about 'loose restrictions' regarding visitors in early March.

In an interview with the Irish Independent, she said she made persistent calls for visitor restrictions at that time, and that a decision to permit "non-essential" visits from March 10 to 17 was "horrific".

"I was working on St Patrick's Day and to be honest I was tearing my hair out," she said.

Nphet did not recommend a full restriction on visitors before then, a decision that has been the subject of much criticism.

The staff member sent an email to management expressing her disappointment.

"I said I just felt more could and should have been done to protect our most vulnerable and close our doors," she said.

"I thought more could have been done to reassure residents families and staff that all measures were being taken to prevent the spread of the virus."

Last night, Hiqa confirmed it will be carrying out an inspection of Dealgan House, Dundalk, in the near future. To date, 23 residents have died there since April 1, many due to Covid-19.

There are many other cases like Dealgan House and St Mary's yet to come to light.

When the events in nursing homes are reviewed, some of the important aspects will be the statutory oversight of homes by Hiqa.

To date, more than 60pc of deaths have been in nursing homes.

Under Hiqa standards, nursing homes must have infection control programmes to deal with outbreaks.

Liam Moloney, a solicitor with knowledge of infection outbreaks in prisons and the Hiqa guidelines on infection control, said there are questions to ask of the regulator's role in managing the outbreak.

"Hiqa has a role here too," he said.

"If you look at the national standards, the blueprint is there, the national standards for infection control, so what happened here? Why are there so many deaths?

"We knew about this virus in December. Why weren't Hiqa making contact with nursing homes in January, making sure the guidelines were being adhered to?

"The management of an outbreak is to prioritise the previous offenders, from previous inspections, who may not complied with the relevant recommendations and to do a sweep of all the nursing homes.

"This 21-page document in April, why wasn't that done in January?

"All of these questions need to be answered."
Nicole Kidman has a Mother's Day wish. "I would love to be able to have a cup of tea with mum and sit on the balcony and talk about life, and have her tell me what I should be doing," the 52-year-old Australian actress says.

Nicole Kidman with her mother, Janelle. Credit:Instagram

Like many people separated from their loved ones by social distancing or closed borders, Kidman will not spend this Mother's Day with her mum, Janelle.

Instead, Nicole and husband Keith Urban, 52, and their daughters Sunday Rose, 11, and Faith Margaret, 9, will use video conferencing apps to connect with Janelle and Nicole's sister Antonia in Sydney, and Keith's mum Marienne in Queensland.

Kidman describes her mother as "my mentor, my guide and my nurturer". And for Keith's mother, she has particular thanks. "She gave me Keith, she gave me the greatest gift," Kidman says. "And I am down-on-my-knees grateful to her."
As the coronavirus ravages the world  killing, shattering families, destroying jobs and businesses, ripping through economies, threatening still worse in some of the poorest countries  we know three things for certain.

First, Covid-19 began in Wuhan. Second, the early signs and spread of the virus were covered up. Third, the Chinese Communist party has consistently lied about these issues and has exploited the worlds preoccupations with fighting the pandemic to flex its muscles globally  hectoring, bullying and breaking its word.

We should be clear about something else. This is not the fault of the Chinese people. Brave Chinese doctors and nurses, like our own, have lost their lives fighting the disease.

We know three things for certain: coronavirus started in Wuhan (pictured), the early signs of the virus were covered up and the Chinese Communist Party lied about the spread of the virus

This is not, however, the fault of the Chinese people, as brave doctors and nurses in the country (pictured) have sadly died during the fight against the disease

When some tried to blow the whistle about what was happening, Communist officials used the security services to shut them up.

While medical staff were gagged, the pandemic began to spread through Wuhan in late January and February. Millions left the city and the surrounding Hubei province for their New Year holidays. They travelled within China and to other parts of the world. That is the fundamental reason why today every country is menaced.

Pin the blame where it belongs. It is the Chinese Communist dictatorship which is in the dock, not ordinary Chinese citizens, nor those with Chinese ethnicity who live and work in other countries, including British citizens from Hong Kong living here.

It is China's Communist dictatorship, led by President Xi Jinping, who should be blamed for every country being menaced by the disease

It would be a betrayal of our values to scapegoat the innocent, just as it is wrong for some in China to abuse and discriminate against Africans who study and work there.

Taiwan  a Chinese community  has dealt with the disease very effectively. Why? Because it is an open society and a democracy with a free press.

The killer is Communism  as always sustained by secrecy and lies  not some Chinese cultural or physical gene.

We will get through this. I am particularly proud of the work being done by brilliant medical scientists at Oxford University, where I am Chancellor, to develop a vaccine.

These pioneering scientists, like those elsewhere  in China, too, I am sure  would like to see international collaboration to defeat the pandemic. It carries no passport and is a threat everywhere.

Medical scientists at Oxford University (pictured) are working on a vaccine for the coronavirus but there should be international collaboration in the fight to beat the virus

But what should co-operation in the future mean? We cannot simply go back to our dealings with Chinese Communists and do business as we did before.

First, there is always the inherent danger presented by Communist hostility to the truth.

Covid-19 is not the first example of this risk. In 2002-04, SARS started in much the same way and its causes and spread were initially covered up. Fortunately, the results were not as bad as they have been this time.

Second, Theresa May was correct to say last week that we must work together to fight the pandemic and to prevent anything like it in the future. But how can we do that with China, which has a regime that is at present completely untrustworthy?

But how can we collaborate with a Chinese democracy which is completely untrustworthy?

Plainly, we should work, at the UN and elsewhere, with other countries in calling for a full and open expert inquiry into the causes and early dissemination of the virus. Failure to do this will hamper the fight against it today and the attempts to prevent a future occurrence.

Naturally, in a better world, the World Heath Organisation (WHO) should be the vehicle for such an inquiry. Yet there are real worries  not just on the part of President Trump  about the extent to which this body has been suborned by Beijing.

If you doubt that, just look at the way the WHO has connived with the Communist regime to freeze Taiwan  with a population of almost 24 million  out of the organisation.

Back at the end of December, Taiwan expressed worries to the WHO about the potential for transmission of the virus between humans. The WHO ignored this for three weeks, endorsing instead Chinese denials that this was happening. Despite Taiwans proximity to China, there have been only 380 cases there and five deaths.

The World Health Organization were told by Taiwan in December that the virus could be spread between humans, with their residents wearing masks (pictured) after their first case was announced in January

But the WHO decided to ignore the December advice after China denied the transmission could happen

We surely cannot allow China to go on preventing a free society which tells the truth from joining the WHO.

Calling for an inquiry has raised another matter which should bother us all. On January 30, the Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, assured his Australian counterpart, Marise Payne, that the epidemic is generally preventable, controllable and curable.

A fortnight later, Chinas embassy in Canberra attacked Australias restrictions on travel from China as an extreme overreaction.

Yet, from late January, China had been buying and shipping huge quantities of medical supplies from Australia. What did they know but wouldnt tell us?

Its no surprise then that Scott Morrison, Australias premier, recently called for an international inquiry. This was met by threats from the Chinese ambassador in Canberra, one of his countrys new-style wolf warrior diplomats, that unless Australia gave up this idea, perhaps the Chinese would stop buying Australian goods.

When Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured) called for an international inquiry into the spread of the virus, it was met with hostility from the Chinese ambassador in Canberra

This is the sort of bullying tactic we have come to expect from China. The world should denounce it for a change. As many of Australias friends as possible should say how much we agree with Canberras proposal. On trade and economic issues, we should deal with China together. Chinas economic growth depends largely on Australias minerals.

As for us, China has a massive trade surplus with the UK. We take almost 45billion imports from China. We export about half that figure. China accounts for 3.5 per cent of UK exports and 6.6per cent of our imports.

So where is the golden age of trade with China? Most of the investments promised from China for the UKs Northern Powerhouse have disappeared like candyfloss, to quote the former leader of Sheffield City Council.

China doesnt play by the same rules as the rest of us on trade, investment and the protection of intellectual property. President Trump is not wrong about the way China bends and twists the rules in its own favour. But a more sensible American president would work with others  not on his own  to re-establish a level playing field.

Chinas President Xi Jinping hates democracies and all that we stand for. Shortly after he became Chinas dictator, he issued new instructions to his government and party officials warning of the challenge to Communism posed by the Western values of freedom and the rule of law. He called for attacks on the Wests idea of journalism, free historical inquiry, civil society and democracy.

Xi Jinping does not like democracies and what they stand for - he attacked the western culture of journalism, civil society and free historical inquiry

So it is no wonder that he has used the cover of Covid-19 to turn the screws on Hong Kongs free society, arresting democratic leaders and breaking the agreement which China made in a treaty lodged at the UN that the city would enjoy a high degree of autonomy and its traditional freedoms until 2047.

Chinas breach of this treaty is another reason for deep concern. Britain has a moral and a legal obligation to raise this issue vigorously on the international stage. We should encourage our friends and others to do the same.

Meanwhile, China continues to throw its weight around in the seas surrounding its coast, building military bases there and flagrantly disregarding the judgment of the Hague Tribunal on its legal maritime borders.

We should not want to isolate China. But how can we trust its Communist dictatorship? How can we deal with trade, the environment, security and health  where one day we may well face another epidemic caused by antimicrobial resistance?

In trying to fight the virus, we should not isolate China. But we cannot allow China to break the rules while the world works to together to stop COVID-19 from spreading further

China manufactures about 95 per cent of the worlds antibiotics and has per capita use which is about twice the size of anywhere else.

The world has to work together. Sure. But we cannot allow Chinese Communists to break the rules or to distort them to suit themselves.

One day this nasty and dangerous regime will go. Until then, all the friends of freedom and decency will have to be on our guard.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Saturday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi again to provide a financial assistance of Rs 30,000 crore to the state to help it restore its economy.

The chief minister wrote to the prime minister, reiterating that a financial aid of Rs 10,000 crore should be given immediately from this package to get the state's economy back on track.

He said if this economic package is not approved, the normal functioning of the state will not be possible due to the economic crisis, an official statement said.

"The immediate package will help the state in taking decision on financial assistance to be given to industries, businesses, workers, farmers and to undertake other activities," Baghel said.

Baghel said an unprecedented crisis has arisen due to Covid-19 in the country and every effort is being made by the Central and state governments to deal with it in complete solidarity.

Baghel said the state has completed 48 days of complete lockdown till May 8. Still, with the continuous increase in the number of new cases of the Covid-19 virus, it seems that the chances of complete control or elimination of this epidemic in the near future are extremely low, he added.

Baghel said so far the prevalence of corona virus in Chhattisgarh is comparatively better than other states.

The entire system to deal with the disaster in the state is being strengthened, he said.

"Due to the long period of lockdown, all kinds of economic activities in the state have been badly affected, causing livelihood crisis for lakhs of families. In view of the present situation of coronavirus infection, limited economic activities have been started by dividing the districts into red, orange and green zones by the Government of India," the CM said.

The chief minister said the practical difficulty in determining the different zones from the level of the Government of India is that there is a full possibility of the occurrence of new infection cases in the green zone immediately after the determination of zones.

If any economic activity is stopped once after a long wait, then it will increase dissatisfaction and there will be a situation of uncertainty, the chief minister told the prime minister in his letter.

Presently, there is also uncertainty as to what will be the situation regarding the lockdown after May 17, he said.

In order to eliminate all these uncertainties, it is needed that we take all possible precautions and start economic activities gradually. In such a situation, it would be appropriate that full powers should be delegated to states for carrying out various economic activities within it, he said.

"If the state is not approved a package of Rs 30,000 crore in the next 3 months, the normal working of the state will not be possible due to the economic crisis," Baghel said in his letter to the PM.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A young boy has been flown to Brisbane after he was bitten by a snake in northern New South Wales.

A critical care medical team from the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service (WRHS) stabilised the four-year-old at Tenterfield Hospital on Friday before he was flown to Queensland Children's Hospital in a stable condition.

He will receive further specialist treatment at the hospital, WRHS said on Saturday.

It's not clear what type of snake bit him.
Does pressure shape the man or reveal him? Think about your own personal experiences with those whom you believed you could count on in the heat of battle and adversity. How would you answer that question in view of their history of behavior with you in times of trouble? However you answer this question, it most certainly is a reflection, a revelation, a reveal on the state of your relationships. What has COVID-19 revealed on the state of relationship in our country? Well lets attempt to evaluate it by some recent behaviors.

The COVID stimulus paycheck protection program was designed to keep small businesses with fewer than 500 employees afloat. However, many small business owners were systemically frozen out due to lack of a substantive relationship with their banks. In the first round there were 71 publicly traded companies that received funding from the Small Business Administrations $349 billion PPP before the money ran out. In total these publicly traded companies received $300 million of emergency loans. The PPP application for self-employed individuals and independent contractors wasnt even to become available until less than a week before the program ran out of money. Banks tended to provide loans to their existing customers with whom they had strong relationships.

When it came to minorityowned businesses, relationships or lack thereof had a significant impact. To get the PPP loans out quickly, banks prioritized the customers they knew best, which tended to be larger, more established businesses. If youre a business of color, you have not historically had that relationship with banks, said Ashley Harrington, director of federal advocacy with the Center for Responsible Lending. Also, because of that youre not as aware of the program and how it works, and no one is hand-holding you through the process like they are the wealthier clients.

COVID-19 is also shedding light on the social fabric of America. The recent protests surrounding the social distancing and stayathome restrictions, prove very illuminating in the areas of political and racial relations. Hundreds of protesters, some armed, recently gathered inside Michigans state capitol as state lawmakers debated the Democratic governors request to extend her emergency powers to combat coronavirus. Some of them carrying rifles, attempted to enter the floor of the legislative chamber, and were held back by a line of state police and capitol staff. The relationships that comprised the protesting groups at this American Patriot Rally, included militia group members carrying firearms, and people with pro-Trump signs, and one member said that the group was there as a security detail for the event organizers. What does that speak to the nature of the relationships allowing militia groups to bring guns into the state capitol building?

And now the most recent incident of another revelation of the current state of relationships, and possibly a premonition of things to come. A man shot while jogging in Georgia two months ago, and the shooters recently arrested. The two men who chased down the victim, identified by police as Brunswick residents, father and son, ages 64 and 34 respectively. The father, who is a former police officer, was the only source quoted in the police report. That led critics to suspect that his influence played a role in authorities decision not to bring charges. In addition, the prosecutor had to recuse himself due to the relationship between he and the former police officer. However, he left with a glowingly favorable letter on behalf of the shooters stating that their actions were legal according to Georgia law. Because of COVID-19 this case will be significantly delayed from going to court, with no arrests, and a grieving family with no visible means of redress.

As you read this information, what are your responses, thoughts, and emotions revealing about you? Are you experiencing empathy? Anger? Indifference? Can you relate to the differing challenges in each of these COVID-19 scenarios? Do the issues only matter when it affects those whom you feel a connection or relationship with? Do these scenarios align with the values you associate with being American? COVID-19 appears as if it will be here for a lengthy period, creating significant interruption in our lives. Can the country survive the continued deepening revelation of its relational disparities?

Disparity: the prefix, dis-, implies not; to do the opposite of. Parity: the state or condition of being equal, especially regarding status, income, or access to resources. We can collectively perceive our current condition as a crisis of survival, or we can consciously respond to it as an opportunity to reflect our values as a country. If we choose the latter, there will be one logistical issue. We have been practicing and implementing strategies of division over the last several years. Now that our country calls for unifying, we are struggling with ourselves and each other in trying to demonstrate it. In the words of Barry White, practice what you preach. Its not too late, however, we can overcome our worst selves and choose the better.

In order to choose the better aspect of self we will need to do the following: 1) exercise honest self-reflection, 2) reevaluate our individual values and align them with our collective American values (the challenge here is the definition of who and what is America), and 3) create and implement a plan of action that demonstrates this alignment. To quote Albert Einstein, you cannot fix a problem with the same mind that was used to create it.
Manoj Viswanathan By

Express News Service

KOCHI: Biju Kurian, a resident of Pulpally in Wayanad, is in distress. He is away from his wife Jincy Baby who delivered a child on April 21 in a Saudi Arabia hospital. We are worried about Jincys health. Her delivery date was May 4, but she went into premature labour on April 21. For the past 15 days, Jincy has been taking care of the infant alone as there are no friends and relatives around to help, said Biju, who returned from Saudi Arabia in June last year.

He said though the evacuation of non-resident Keralites has begun, they have not been able to bring Jincy, a nurse in King Faisal Hospital in Riyadh, back as they need a passport for the newborn. Jincy contacted the Indian Embassy in Riyadh to get a passport for the child. However, the authorities there said only renewal of passports was being done now, he said.

Akin to Jincy, four other Malayali nurses delivered babies in Saudi hospitals in the past two weeks, while waiting for news on evacuation. Idukki MP Dean Kuriakose said he had taken up with the Ministry of External Affairs the issue of 60 pregnant nurses who got stranded in Saudi Arabia following the suspension of international flights owing to the pandemic.

When their evacuation was delayed, five women (including Jincy) had deliveries in Saudi hospitals, while four others have been admitted to hospitals for delivery. Twenty-eight nurses said they had received a call from the Indian embassy and asked to be ready for evacuation. Twelve persons have not received any reply. A few others could not be contacted, said Dean, who had recently approached the High Court seeking the evacuation of pregnant nurses.

Meanwhile, Biju said Jincy was under mental stress on Friday as the baby was not keeping well.

Since hospitals there are admitting only emergency cases, Jincy is finding it difficult to consult a paediatrician. We are trying to bring the mother-child duo back, said Biju who returned after the company he was employed within Saudi Arabia trimmed his salary by 40 per cent.
TDT | Manama

Labour Market Regulatory Authority has pulled down the shutters of 10 organisations that were supplying domestic workers without a valid licence in the Kingdom. The director of the Preventive Inspection Department at LMRA, Ahmed Ibrahim al-Junaid, said the operation was a joint effort with the General Department of Investigation and Criminal Evidence at the Ministry of Interior.

The authority during the inspection also tracked down 44 domestic workers supplied by these institutions. Legal measures are taken to refer the suspects to further action, said a report by Al Ayam.

Al-Junaid expressed his thanks and appreciation to all the concerned authorities that contributed to the investigation. He further called on all to deal only with those agencies licensed by LMRA to protect themselves and their children, especially in these times.
What started as a new way to look at education four years ago, has now generated the first group of graduates from the Tennessee Valley Early College at Cleveland State Community College.



In 2016, a group of freshmen from Cleveland High School became the inaugural class of the then new TVEC at Cleveland State. This program was designed to help high school students work towards their high school diploma, while also earning their associate degree at the same time.



These students have put themselves two years ahead of their peers, said Dr.

Bill Seymour, Cleveland State Community College president. They are likely to finish their four-year degree two years sooner than their peers, take on less debt and gain two extra years of income. You cant beat that.During the first two years of the TVEC program, freshmen and sophomores are enrolled in courses at their high schools. They are courses that could earn the students college credit if they pass the Dual Credit exam.Once students in the program become juniors they then enroll as full-time students with Cleveland State Community College. The 15 students set to graduate this month will actually earn both a high school diploma from their high school, as well as an associate degree from Cleveland State.Kelli Roach, Cleveland State coordinator of Early College & Dual Enrollment and assistant director of Admissions, spoke highly of this first graduating class. I am incredibly proud of these seniors being the first group in the Early College program to follow it through to completion, said Ms. Roach. They endured and accomplished a lot. One student is graduating from our Honors College, we had a couple students in the student senate, and one was going to be a lead actress in The Miracle Worker. On the flip side, we had some keep their high school roots, one in high school band and one a dancer. They really grasped on to the programs goal. These seniors are prepared to leave their mark on the world through unique perspectives, strong work ethics and a wide variety of talents. I had the opportunity to work with them one-on-one the past two years, and they have a special place in my heart.Dr. Seymour says that, from the very beginning, the Tennessee Valley Early College Program is one that all parties saw as an amazing opportunity for the students.

I remember the day when I attended the Cleveland City Schools Board of Directors meeting when they approved joining the Cleveland State TVEC program, said Dr. Seymour. Both institutions saw the vision of this program and understood that we were taking big steps towards educating students in our community. I am particularly proud of this first cohort. It is not often you get to be the first at doing something so special. They have set a standard for how high school students can get the most of going to college.



Next fall, the fifth cohort from Cleveland High School will enter TVEC. We are excited for our first TVEC cohort to graduate from Cleveland State, added Autumn OBrien, Cleveland High School principal. We are thankful for the opportunity provided by Cleveland State for our students to earn an associate degree while in high school. This is a tremendous accomplishment for our students.



With both Bradley Central and Walker Valley High School partnering with CSCCs TVEC in 2019, this fall will mark the second year a new class of freshmen from both high schools will take part. Now, with all three public high schools in Bradley County in this relationship with Cleveland State, this first graduation of TVEC students has all parties celebrating. Im very proud of our first graduates from the Tennessee Valley Early College program, said Dr. Russell Dyer, director of Cleveland City Schools. The partnership between Cleveland High and Cleveland State is strong and our students are the beneficiaries. I look forward to seeing future students find success through this innovative initiative.



Now, with COVID-19 postponing Cleveland States graduation ceremony until July 31, the college wishes to take this opportunity to recognize the members of the inaugural graduating class of the TVEC who have now completed all requirements for their associate degrees:



Aailyah Crammer, from Cleveland High School, will graduate from the TVEC program in 2020. She plans to attend Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, where she will study the recording industry. After college, she hopes to create music, collaborate with other artists and, hopefully, one day, win a Grammy.



Aaliyah Davis, from Cleveland High School, will graduate from the TVEC program in 2020. She plans to attend the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She wants to become an esthetician nurse, open her own business and create her own skin care line.



Abigail Flores, from Cleveland High School, will graduate from the TVEC program in 2020. She plans to attend Lee University in Cleveland, where she will study public administration. After college, she plans to become a criminal investigator.



Briza Dedicatoria, from Cleveland High School, will graduate from the TVEC program in 2020. She plans to attend Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, where she will enroll in the Honors College and study biochemistry and pre-med. She plans on working in pediatrics with a focus on oncology and hematology.



Emily Brock, from Cleveland High School, will graduate from the TVEC program in 2020. She plans to attend the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where she will study biochemistry. She hopes to attend medical school and become an orthopedic surgeon after graduating.



Emily Rollins, from Cleveland High School, will graduate from the TVEC program in 2020. She plans to attend Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fl., where she will study marine biology. After graduating, she hopes to become a marine biologist.





Gianna Wright, who was homeschooled, will graduate from the TVEC program in 2020. She plans to attend Lee University in Cleveland, where she will study secondary education with a minor in deaf studies. She also wants to become a history teacher for special populations after graduating from Lee.



Grayson Payne, who was homeschooled, will graduate from the TVEC program in 2020. She plans to attend the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ar., where she will study international business. She also will swim on scholarship for the Lady Razorbacks. After college, she hopes to become a business owner and travel the world.



Holly McDaniel, from Cleveland High School, will graduate from the TVEC program in 2020. She plans to attend Lee University in Cleveland, where she will study political science. After college, she hopes to work in government either by becoming a lawyer or working in government relations.



Jannat Saeed, from Cleveland High School, will graduate from the TVEC program in 2020. At Cleveland State, she was recognized as an Outstanding Honors Student. She plans to attend the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she will enroll in the Honors College and study software engineering and political science. After college, she hopes to become a software engineer, earn her doctorate to teach at a university, and also delve into the political world.





Kristin Jump, from Cleveland High School, will graduate from the TVEC program in 2020. She plans on attending the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she will study sociology. We congratulate her on a job well done and wish her the best of luck going forward.



Madison Collins, from Cleveland High School, will graduate from the TVEC program in 2020. She plans to attend the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she will study interior architecture and design. After college, she plans on becoming an interior designer. We congratulate her on a job well done and wish her the best of luck going forward.



Makena DeLuca, from Cleveland High School, will graduate from the TVEC program in 2020. She plans to attend Lee University in Cleveland, where she will study nursing. She hopes to become a registered nurse after college and then become a nurse anesthetist.



Riya Patel, from Cleveland High School, will graduate from the TVEC program in 2020. She plans to attend the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where she will study computer engineering. She plans to become a computer engineer after graduating from UTK.



Savannah Baker, from Cleveland High School, will graduate from the TVEC program in 2020. She plans to attend Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, where she will study biochemistry. She also plans to attend medical school upon graduating from MTSU.
September 14, 1929May 1, 2020

Dean Howard Blair, age 90, passed away on May 1, 2020, at home in Anchorage, AK. Born on September 14, 1929, at home in Burley, Idaho to Sophus Edward and Agnes Jensine (Christensen) Blair. He grew up on a farm first in Burley and then in Buhl, graduating from Buhl High School. Then, he attended and graduated from the University of Idaho. His ROTC experience lead him to join the Air Force.

He is credited with 34 years of distinguished service in the Air Force and is a Vietnam veteran. Some of his more unique experiences were getting to know the original astronauts in the early days of the space program, escorting actor Jimmy Stewart while filming Strategic Air Command, and meeting US Senators and Congressmen during his Pentagon assignment.

His many assignments took him all over the country. He and his wife Elizabeth arrived in Anchorage, Alaska in July, 1982, and have lived in the same house ever since. Upon retirement from active duty in 1985 as Personnel Director for both the military and the civilian personnel at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Dean became active in property management and real estate until his second retirement in 2019.

Friends and family remember him for the twinkle in his blue eyes and his kind smile, his respect, honor, and care for others, for being a caring son and a good father, for his dancing, card playing, and making sure everyone had a good time at social gatherings. He was very family oriented and kept in touch with family and friends all over, including cousins in Denmark.

Dean attended both the Methodist Church and Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage. Though he is not with us anymore on Earth, his spirit will remain with us. To be absent from this world is to be present with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:8 We love you Dean. Until we meet again.

Dean is preceded in death by his parents and one brother, Johnnie Edward Blair. He is survived by his wife of 42 plus years, Elizabeth Jayne (Skowron), three children, Vickie Kay Speir, Robert Howard Blair, and Charles William Blair all of Texas, 2 sisters, Lileth Virginia Randall of Utah and Mildred Lorene Blaser of Idaho, 5 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.

Visitation will be held from 11 a.m to 2 p.m. Monday, May 11, 2020 at Parkes Magic Valley Funeral Home 2551 Kimberly Rd., Twin Falls, ID 83301. Funeral Services will follow at 2 p.m. with interment immediately following at Sunset Memorial Park.

Services are under the direction of Parkes Magic Valley Funeral Home 2551 Kimberly Rd., Twin Falls, ID 83301

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Hospice of Anchorage, 2612 E Northern Lights Blvd, Anchorage, AK 99508 or University of Idaho Foundation, University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter Dr, Moscow, ID 83843-9960.
The physician also feels that her clinical skills would serve her well in the delicate work of political communication. My day job is talking people into getting colonoscopies, Dr. Mann said. You find ways to convince people that what youre telling them is a good idea. Its an excellent fit for policy.

Dr. Manns frustration with the governments coronavirus response began to mount as her clinic struggled to access personal protective equipment. She has been relying on the same single-use masks repeatedly, disinfecting them between shifts and hoping for the best. She struggled to get face shields, too, so a sympathetic patient manufactured them locally using a 3-D printer.

Dr. Mann has used social media to call for action from local officials, filming a video for NowThis condemning the lack of public health information coming from the government. She envisions a government that might have responded to the pandemic entirely differently if it had more scientific voices to debunk misinformation.

She has also begun mobilizing other physicians to consider the leap to politics. She is helping to launch Doctors in Politics, a coalition of medical workers running for office . The group has recruited 10 members across eight states. Though the group is officially nonpartisan, nine of those candidates are Democrats and one is independent.

Republican doctors are also running this year, including one high-profile congressional candidate in Texas: Ronny Jackson, who formerly served as Donald Trumps physician and who often speaks about his medical experience in the context of public policy. In a tweet this month he said he knows as a medical doctor that abortion is definitely not essential.

Dr. Lisa Reynolds, a Democrat and pediatrician in Oregon running for a seat in the state house, said her early experience treating Covid-19 patients showed her the need for more testing and social distancing at the start of the outbreak. Im certain we were seeing kids with Covid in early March and we had zero testing then, Dr. Reynolds said. There were a few times I left work and thought this couldve been the day I caught Covid.

Dr. Reynolds worried, too, for the health of patients not affected by Covid-19. She established safe hours when parents could come in to vaccinate their young children, ensuring the current coronavirus outbreak doesnt trigger an outbreak of whooping cough, or another preventable illness, in later months.




The Ministry of Health (Minsa) reported 100 ICU beds 40 days ago. Today, we have nearly 1,000. I said we were going to have 1,000 by the end of this month, and no one thought this was going to be possible. There are 127 or 128 beds available, this changes day after day," he indicated.





Zamora affirmed that, in addition to responding effectively to the epidemic, Minsa is making substantial changes, such as the creation of the Unified Health System, which helps counting and organizing the beds in a better way.





"The efforts to confront the epidemic have led to a legislative decree that enables to have a Single Health Information System that allows us to make better decisions," he explained.





The Cabinet member noted that his sector has continued taking molecular tests, in fact, it has just signed an agreement with the Pan American Health Organization to have between 100,000 and 200,000 tests, while the processing capacity increased to 12,500 per day.





Additionally, he emphasized that the sector went from having one laboratory to having 11 in Lima and regions.





The minister also reported on the strategies applied in the regions.





"In northern Peru, our efforts are focused on the provision of services and, in the south, on the control of community transmission cases," he expressed.





(END) NDP/RMB/MVB

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Now is the perfect time to catch up on the best books, films, television shows, music and podcasts you might have missed. Below, five podcasts the woman in your life might enjoy this Mother's Day.

Deborah Frances-White is the voice behind The Guilty Feminist. Credit:Dave J. Hogan/Getty

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Later this year there are plans to commemorate two men who left a lasting impression on the whole fabric of Ardee - Sean O'Carroll and Patrick Tierney, both of whom were taken from their homes and shot dead on November 30, 1920. As a tribute to them, two streets were renamed in their honour in the mid Louth town - but who were O'Carroll and Tierney and how did they die.

In 2012, Sean King, Rosemary King, Matt Duffy and David Higgins produced a document that detailed much of the debate at the time.

Media reports at the time stated that O'Carroll and Tierney were taken from their homes by 'armed and uniformed men' and were part of a 'black list' - with up to 40 names and it stated that all the men on it were 'wanted'.

Sean O'Carroll was a teacher and was living in lodgings. He was taken from the house and brought to a spot near the railway station where he was shot with a revolver.

His cries attracted the attention of local residents who carried him to a house and summoned a doctor and a priest. He died shortly afterwards.

Tierney, who was also aged between 30 and 35, was the son of a local farmer. He was taken a short distance from his house and killed.

Other homes were also targeted, the house of Michael Grace in Castle Street searched, along with the offices of solicitor JJ Lynch, Michael McGinn, Catherine Gibney from Castle St and Patrick Keeley, egg and poultry merchant.

James Farrelly from Clogherhead was active in the Republican movement and lived on Railway Street. He had spent time in Frongoch in Wales.

On the night of the murders, he heard the shots and escaped down the railway line, the Black and Tans coming to search his home just minutes later.

He would later become a Captain in the Free State army. He became post master in Ardee up to his death in 1948. His son was noted local historian Vincent Farrelly.

A military court of inquiry was held in private into the O'Carroll and Tierney murders and the solicitor for the men was ejected as he objected to the proceedings.

A few days later, both men were laid out - side by side - in the church and large crowds assembled to recite the Rosary.

Mr O'Carroll's mother came from Belfast to journey home with her son's body

Both men received the ultimate honour in 1951 when the Drogheda Independent reported that two streets were re-dedicated to both men.

Railway Street and Tisdale Street were rc-named O'Carroll Street and Tierney Street respectively in memory of Captain Sean O'Carroll and Quartermaster Patrick Tierney of the I.R.A.

The Ardee Brass and Reed Band headed a torchlight procession to Railway Street where two minutes silence was observed, after which the band played " Faith of our Fathers " and the National Anthem. The same ceremony was then carried out in Tisdale Street.

Mr. Eugene Kavanagh, N.T., Marlboro Street, Dublin, Brigadier in the I.R.A.. in dedicating the two streets, said:-"We come here to-night as fellow Irishmen and women to commemorate the memory of two young Irishmen who laid down their lives that we might be free.

'It is 31 long years ago since that terrible night, when the blood of these men was shed so that you, the people of Ardee and Ireland, might enjoy the freedom which we possess to-day.

'It is also fitting that the band should play "Faith of our Fathers" for these men fought and died for physical and religious freedom. They knew of Ireland's fight down through the ages: they had the will to win, and gave their lives for their high ideals. Their comrades are here tonight to pay homage to them. One comrade I would like to mention in particular, the late Mr. James Farrelly, who recently died. We are proud of them and I hope the people will fight for the Faith as these men have done."

Continuing. Mr. Kavanagh said:- "I welcome on this platform Dr. P. J. Steen who was medical officer to the Brigade and who was ready at any time I called on his services to attend a wounded comrade. I would also like to pay tribute to the late Dr. Lyons, Bishop of Kilmore, and the late Joseph T. Dolan. These men braved the murder gang to render what assistance they could to the unfortuante men.

'In honour of the supreme sacrifice made by Sean O'Carroll and Patrick Tiemey I now, on behalf of you people of Ardee, dedicate Sean O'Carroll Street and Patrick Tierney Street." (

Mr. J. T. O'Kelly, Rogerstown, Chairman, Ardee Unit Old I.R.A said that the old I.R.A. felt something should be done to commemorate the sacrifice these two young men have made-a p e r p e t u a 1 memorial.'

Senator James T. McGee said:-'If I was asked to comment on what has been said here, I would add to the tributes paid to the memory of Scan O'Carroll and Patrick Tierney if that was possible. I was not in the vicinity of Ardee on that night 31 years ago (Mr. McGee was arrested a week previously and interned in Ballykinlar) when the blood of our two young men stained the soil of their own beloved country. Their greatest reward is that their memory will live forever.

'The Commissioners having agreed, the old I.RA. have to-night taken one step forward to commemorate the memory ol these two men. It is also intended to erect a memorial in the town when the necessary funds have been raised.

'I would like to say here that Martin Tierney is the person responsible for having Castleguard Textile Co. in Ardee. Finally I would appeal to the younger generation to learn and be faithful to the ideals for which Sean O'Carroll and Patrick Tierney died.

Others on the platform were Mr. Thomas Keelan, Detective Branch, Dublin Castle (Commandant, I.RA.), Mr. Patrick J. Kearney, Housing Officer, Louth County Council, Mr. Martin Tierney, Dr. P. J. Steen.
Jewellers lost business worth Rs 45,000 crore in 45 days

Normally, 3 lakh retailers sell 100 tonnes of jewellery a month

Tanishq, Kalyan and Senco to reopen showrooms in first phase

India has 3 lakh jewellery showrooms employing one lakh artisans

Business normalcy expected only in 30-45 days

After losing business worth over Rs 45,000 crore in a span of 45 days of lockdown, India's jewellery industry is set to resume operations from next week in permitted zones in the country.

Kalyan Jewellers on Saturday said it is re-opening 10 showrooms in first phase across three states and one Union Territory in India. These are green zones with less restriction - seven showrooms in Karnataka, one each in Orissa and Assam and one in Puducherry. The company has already started operations in the Middle East, with the re-opening of 9 standalone showrooms in UAE and 3 showrooms in Qatar, since the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, last week.

"As the lockdown in these countries, coincided with the peak purchase and wedding season, we are expecting the pent up demand for gold to resume, once the lockdown is lifted and the markets open", said T S Kalyanaraman, Chairman and Managing Director, Kalyan Jewellers.

Also Read: Coronavirus impact: Gems and jewellery domestic sales tank 80%, exports 50% in 10 days

Tanishq, India's leading jewellery brand from the Tata Group's Titan, is also planning to reopen its 328 stores across the country in a phased manner and has announced to reopen first 50 stores from May 10. East India's leading jewellery chain Senco Gold & Diamonds has also re-opened 11 stores across green and orange zones in four states of West Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Karnataka, after getting permissions from the respective states.

Anantha Padmanaban, Chairman, All India Gem & Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) told Business Today.In that the country has three lakh jewellers and they normally do business worth 60-70 tonnes a month. "In the last 45 days of the lockdown or say from March 15, we estimate to have lost Rs 45,000 crore of business", he said. The lockdown happened during the Akshaya Thritiya, when jewellers sell maximum in a year and during the wedding season, which may have caused more losses, he said.

Also Read: Govt to announce economic package next week; MSMEs to get relief, reforms to draw FDI on cards

He said the business is expected to come back to normalcy only after June-July, though people have started coming to the stores. "States like Karnataka allowed re-opening of the stores this week and slowly number of people coming to the stores are increasing as retail gold prices are coming down following the global COVID-19 pandemic, he said. "We hope to get back to normalcy in the short term in a step-by-step manner," said Kalyanaraman.

However, a worrying factor is availability of artisans as most have returned to their villages in different parts of the country. "Now most showrooms have stocks from prior lock-down period, but it may take another 30-45 days for most of these workers to come back to work", said Anantha Padmanaban. The industry directly and indirectly employs over one crore artisans across the country.

Tanishq said it will strictly comply with all government rules while reopening and running the stores, besides following a 'Gold Standard' safety e-book for the safety and well-being of customers and employees.

Kalyan is going to mandate use of hand sanitisers at both entry and exit points, masks and gloves to all staff members as well as customers, temperature check via hand-held scanners at entry points and regular deep cleaning and sanitisation across showrooms.

Senco is planning to implement a "safe hygienic atmosphere at stores" initiative which includes delivering sterilised and sanitised jewelleries to customers, besides virtual jewellery trial room at selected stores offering "contactless experience" to customers.
Brazil's Supreme Court has overturned rules that limit gay and bisexual men from donating blood in a decision considered a human rights victory for LGBT+ people in the country.

The move came as more nations review restrictions on blood donations imposed during the 1980s HIV/AIDS crisis, with some countries imposing blanket bans, some waiting periods after gay sex, and others - like Italy - having no limitations at all.

After almost four years in court, seven of 11 Supreme Court justices voted on Friday in favor of overthrowing guidelines that barred men who had sex with other men from giving blood for 12 months, ending any waiting time.

The Supreme Court said the ban was unconstitutional as it imposed restrictions on gay and bisexual men, backing Supreme Court Minister Edson Fachin who argued this offended the basic human dignity of gay and bisexual men.

"Instead of the state enabling these people to promote good by donating blood, it unduly restricts solidarity based on prejudice and discrimination," wrote Fachin in his vote.

The decision comes after several nations have relaxed rules on blood donations in recent weeks as supplies face mounting pressure due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The United States, Denmark and Northern Ireland have all changed the rules so men can give blood three months after their latest gay sexual encounter rather than wait for one year, a policy LGBT+ campaigners have long decried as discriminatory.

Many countries introduced blood donation controls in the wake of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s when infected blood, donated by drug users and prisoners, contaminated supplies.

But the issue has increasingly become a totem of continued stigma against LGBT+ people, with campaigners saying individual assessments of sexual history and risk for all potential blood donors would be safer and fairer.

In Brazil the case reached the Supreme Court in 2016, but it took until 2020 for a majority to be reached.

Minister Alexandre de Moraes, one of the four who voted against overthrowing the ban imposed by the Ministry of Health, argued that the waiting period was not discriminatory but based on technical studies.

For LGBT+ activists, the ruling was celebrated as a victory in a country where same-sex marriage is legal but LGBT+ people often face discriminatory government policies.

"A historical victory for the LGBT population! And the measure benefits everyone who needs donations, as blood stocks are almost always insufficient," wrote federal politician Samia Bomfim on Twitter after the decision.
Katie Miller, press secretary for Vice President Mike Pence, listens as President Donald Trump speaks about reopening the country during a roundtable with industry executives, in the White House in Washington on April 29, 2020. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)

Pences Press Secretary Tests Positive for CCP Virus

WASHINGTONVice President Mike Pences press secretary has the CCP virus, the White House said on May 8, making her the second person who works at the White House complex known to test positive for the CCP virus this week.

President Donald Trump, who publicly identified the affected Pence aide, said he was not worried about the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus spreading in the White House. Nonetheless, officials said they were stepping up safety protocols for the complex.

Pence spokeswoman Katie Miller, who tested positive Friday, had been in recent contact with Pence but not with the president. She is married to Stephen Miller, a top Trump adviser. The White House had no immediate comment on whether Stephen Miller had been tested or if he was still working out of the White House.

Katie Miller had tested negative Thursday, a day before her positive result.

White House Senior Adviser Stephen Miller and Mike Pences aide Katie Miller arrive for a state dinner at the White House, in Washington on Sept. 20, 2019. (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo)

This is why the whole concept of tests arent necessarily great, Trump said. The tests are perfect but something can happen between a test where its good and then something happens.

The positive test for the senior Pence aide came one day after White House officials confirmed that a member of the military serving as one of Trumps valets had tested positive for COVID-19.

Six people who had been in contact with Miller were scheduled to fly with Pence on Friday to Des Moines, Iowa, on Air Force Two. They were removed from the flight just before it took off, according to a senior administration official.

None of those people were exhibiting symptoms, but were asked to deplane so they could be tested out of an abundance of caution, a senior administration official told reporters traveling with Pence. All six later tested negative, the White House said.

The official said staff in the West Wing are tested regularly but much of Pences staffwhich works next door in the Executive Office Buildingare tested less frequently. Katie Miller was not on the plane and had not been scheduled to be on the trip.

Vice President Mike Pence speaks during a discussion with local faith leaders to encourage them to resume in-person church services in a responsible fashion in response to the CCP virus pandemic, in Urbandale, Iowa, on May 8, 2020. (Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo)

Pence, who is tested on a regular basis, was tested Friday. Miller tweeted she was doing well and looked forward to getting back to work.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said the administration was stepping up mitigation efforts already recommended by public health experts and taking other unspecified precautions to ensure the safety of the president.

Meadows said the White House was probably the safest place that you can come, but he was reviewing further steps to keep Trump and Pence safe.

The White House requires daily temperature checks of anyone who enters the White House complex and has encouraged social distancing among those working in the building. The administration has also directed regular deep cleaning of all work spaces. Anyone who comes in close proximity to the president and vice president is tested daily for COVID-19.

Weve already put in a few protocols that were looking at, obviously, to make sure that the president and his immediate staff stay safe. But its not just the president, its all the workers that are here  on a daily basis, Meadows said.

Trumps valets case marked the first known instance where a person who has come in close proximity to the president has tested positive since several people present at his private Florida club were diagnosed with COVID-19 in early March. The valet tested positive Wednesday.

The White House was moving to shore up its protection protocols to protect the nations political leaders. Trump said some staffers who interact with him closely would now be tested daily. Pence told reporters Thursday that both he and Trump would now be tested daily as well.

By Darlene Superville and Aamer Madhani

Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.
Insurance fraud seems like it might be an easy thing to do. Insurance companies are often so huge, one wonders how they might not even notic...
FILE PHOTO: Gilead Sciences Inc pharmaceutical company is seen during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in California

By Jack Stubbs and Christopher Bing

LONDON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hackers linked to Iran have targeted staff at U.S. drugmaker Gilead Sciences Inc in recent weeks, according to publicly-available web archives reviewed by Reuters and three cybersecurity researchers, as the company races to deploy a treatment for the COVID-19 virus.

In one case, a fake email login page designed to steal passwords was sent in April to a top Gilead executive involved in legal and corporate affairs, according to an archived version on a website used to scan for malicious web addresses. Reuters was not able to determine whether the attack was successful.

Ohad Zaidenberg, lead intelligence researcher at Israeli cybersecurity firm ClearSky, who closely tracks Iranian hacking activity and has investigated the attacks, said the attempt was part of an effort by an Iranian group to compromise email accounts of staff at the company using messages that impersonated journalists.

Two other cybersecurity researchers, who were not authorized to speak publicly about their analysis, confirmed that the web domains and hosting servers used in the hacking attempts were linked to Iran.

Iran's mission to the United Nations denied any involvement in the attacks. "The Iranian government does not engage in cyber warfare," said spokesman Alireza Miryousefi. "Cyber activities Iran engages in are purely defensive and to protect against further attacks on Iranian infrastructure."

A spokesman for Gilead declined to comment, citing a company policy not to discuss cybersecurity matters. Reuters could not determine if any of the attempts were successful, on whose behalf the Iranian hackers were working or their motivation.

Still, the hacking attempts show how cyber spies around the world are focusing their intelligence-gathering efforts on information about COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

Reuters has reported in recent weeks that hackers with links to Iran and other groups have also attempted to break into the World Health Organization, and that attackers linked to Vietnam targeted the Chinese government over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

Story continues

Britain and the United States warned this week that state-backed hackers are attacking pharmaceutical companies and research institutions working on treatments for the new disease.

The joint statement did not name any of the attacked organizations, but two people familiar with the matter said one of the targets was Gilead, whose antiviral drug remdesivir is the only treatment so far proven to help patients infected with COVID-19.

The hacking infrastructure used in the attempt to compromise the Gilead executive's email account has previously been used in cyberattacks by a group of suspected Iranian hackers known as "Charming Kitten," said Priscilla Moriuchi, director of strategic threat development at U.S. cybersecurity firm Recorded Future, who reviewed the web archives identified by Reuters.

"Access to even just the email of staff at a cutting-edge Western pharmaceutical company could give ... the Iranian government an advantage in developing treatments and countering the disease," said Moriuchi, a former analyst with the U.S. National Security Agency.

Iran has suffered acutely from the COVID-19, recording the highest death toll in the Middle East. The disease has so far killed more than 260,000 people worldwide, triggering a global race between governments, private pharmaceutical companies and researchers to develop a cure.

Gilead is at the forefront of that race and has been lauded by U.S. President Donald Trump, who met the California company's CEO Daniel O'Day at the White House in March and May to discuss its work on COVID-19.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week gave emergency use authorization to Gilead's remdesivir for patients with severe COVID-19, clearing the way for broader use in more hospitals around the United States.

An official at one European biotech company said the industry was on "red alert" and taking extra precautions to guard against attempts to steal COVID-19 research, such as conducting all work related to vaccine trials on "air-gapped" computers that are disconnected from the internet.

(Additional reporting by Raphael Satter in WASHINGTON, Joseph Menn in SAN FRANCISCO and Michelle Nichols in NEW YORK; editing by Chris Sanders and Edward Tobin)
By Lucia Mutikani and Maria Caspani

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government reported more catastrophic economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis on Friday as the pandemic pierced the very walls of the White House and California gave the green light for its factories to restart after a seven-week lockdown.

A day after the White House confirmed that President Donald Trump's personal valet had tested positive for the virus, Trump told reporters that Katie Miller, press secretary to Vice President Mike Pence, had also been infected. She is married to senior Trump aide and immigration policy hard-liner Stephen Miller and travels frequently with Pence.

The back-to-back diagnoses of individuals close to Trump, Pence and the White House inner circle raised questions about whether the highest levels of government are adequately safeguarded from infection.

"We've taken every single precaution to protect the president," White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany told reporters.

Earlier in the day, the Labor Department reported the U.S. unemployment rate rose to 14.7% last month, up from 3.5% in February, demonstrating the speed with which the workforce collapsed after stay-at-home orders meant to curb the outbreak were imposed across most of the country.

Worse economic news may be yet to come. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said the unemployment rate was likely to climb to around 20% this month. The jobless rate for April already shattered the post-World War Two record of 10.8% set in November 1982.

The economic devastation has heightened the urgency of governors' efforts to get their states' economies moving again, even though infection rates and deaths are still rising in parts of the country.

California, the first state to issue stay-at-home orders on March 19, partially reopened shuttered commerce on Friday. Retailers such as bookstores, jewelers, clothing merchants, sporting goods shops and florists were permitted to begin offering curbside pickup and deliveries, while manufacturing and warehouse facilities were allowed to resume operations if they met infection-control requirements.

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Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said California had managed to flatten its infection curve in recent weeks, allowing the state to safely proceed with gradually restarting the economy.

CHILD VICTIM

More than 77,000 Americans have died from COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus, out of more than 1.29 million confirmed cases, according to a Reuters tally.

Elderly individuals and people with underlying chronic health conditions have been the most vulnerable.

But New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday reported the death of a 5-year old boy from a rare inflammatory syndrome believed to be linked to the coronavirus, highlighting a potential new pandemic risk for children.

Just as minorities have been especially hard hit by the virus itself relative to their population size, African Americans and Hispanics also suffered disproportionately greater job losses in April - at 16.7% and 18.9%, respectively, the Labor Department data showed. The jobless rate was also higher among women, at 15.5%, compared with 13% for men.

Rita Trivedi, 63, of Hudson, Florida, was furloughed as an analyst at Nielsen Media Research on April 23 and has struggled to secure benefits from the state's troubled unemployment system. She fears running short of money to cover her husband's medical bills and other expenses.

"I'm more than anxious, I'm more than worried - it's 'can't sleep' kind of anxious," Trivedi said. "I'm just so tense thinking about these things and how to manage."

Trump, seeking re-election in November, initially played down the threat posed by the coronavirus, and has given inconsistent messages about the expected duration of the economic shutdown and its consequences.

"Those jobs will all be back, and they'll be back very soon," he told Fox News on Friday.

CALIFORNIA

Newsom said California, home to 40 million residents with an economy ranking among the top five or six in the world, was doing worse than the nation as a whole, with unemployment running over 20 percent.

But he said roughly 70% of California's economy was eligible to reopen "with modifications" under his plan, though it remained to be seen how many businesses would jump at the chance, and how many customers would immediately return.

In Los Angeles, few retail businesses appeared to be open in the downtown area. It also was unclear how much, if any, assembly line production in California had yet resumed.

Electric car manufacturer Tesla Inc <TSLA.O> was aiming to restart its factory in Fremont, California, on Friday, Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk wrote in an email to staff.

But a health official in Alameda County, where the plant is located, said local lockdown measures remained in effect and supersede Newsom's relaxation of statewide restrictions.

"We've been working with them, but we have not given the green light," health officer Erica Pan said of Tesla.

At least 40 of the 50 U.S. states are taking steps to lift restrictions affecting all but essential businesses - including Arizona, Mississippi and South Dakota, which on Friday all reported record numbers of cases.

Public health experts warn that reopening prematurely, without vastly expanded virus testing and other safeguards, risks fueling renewed outbreaks. They also say the state-by-state hodgepodge of differing policies may confuse the public and undermines social distancing efforts.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani, Jeff Mason, Mari Caspani, Andy Sullivan, Lisa Shumaker, Rajesh Kumar Singh, Lisa Lambert, Tim Ahmann and Susan Heavey and Andrew Hay; Writing by Will Dunham and Steve Gorman, Editing by Howard Goller, Bill Tarrant and Sonya Hepinstall)
A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a 67-year-old woman was found dead in her home in week seven of coronavirus lockdown.

The pensioner was found in Levenshulme, Manchester, by emergency services who rushed to the property around 8.30pm on Thursday.

It is unclear how she died but a murder investigation was launched by Greater Manchester Police.

A 40-year-old man has been arrested and is in police custody.

A pensioner was found dead at the scene by emergency services who rushed to the property (pictured) around 8.30pm on Thursday

It is unclear how the woman died but a murder investigation has been launched by Greater Manchester Police (pictured at the scene on Thursday)

Detective Inspector Benjamin Cottam, of GMP's Major Incident Team, said: 'This is a tragic incident in which a woman has sadly lost her life and I want to extend my sincere condolences to her family and friends.

'Our specialist officers are currently supporting the woman's family at this incredibly difficult time.

'I would like to reassure the public that this is being treated as an isolated incident, and we have an increased police presence in the Manchester area while we gain a fuller understanding of exactly what has taken place.

'Our dedicated team of detectives are working tirelessly to establish the full circumstances surrounding this tragic death.

'If you have any information at all, no matter how insignificant you feel it may be, please contact police immediately.

'Even the smallest piece of information could be vital in helping officers to complete their enquiries.'
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem on Friday told Native American tribes they have 48 hours to take down road checkpoints they had set up to keep out unnecessary visitors because of concerns over the coronavirus.

The Republican governor said she would take legal action if the tribes didn't remove the checkpoints in 48 hours.

Two tribes - the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe - set up the checkpoints last month in an attempt to lock down their reservations amid fears infections could decimate members.

The move sets up a potential legal showdown between a governor who has avoided sweeping stay-at-home orders and tribes that assert their sovereign rights allow them to control who comes on reservations.

The governor of South Dakota is demanding that Native American tribes remove checkpoints on US and state highways leading to their reservations. The image above shows a checkpoint manned by members of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement

The tribes said they are worried that a coronavirus outbreak on their reservations would overwhelm their fragile health care systems

South Dakota is home to nine federally recognized tribal nations with sovereign rights over their land

The tribes have taken stronger action than the state because they are concerned the virus could overwhelm fragile health care systems that serve many people with underlying health problems.

They are still allowing essential businesses on to the reservations and said the checkpoints were set up to keep out tourists or other visitors who could be carrying coronavirus infections.

'I request that the tribes immediately cease interfering with or regulating traffic on US and State Highways and remove all travel checkpoints,' Noem said in a statement.

Her spokeswoman Maggie Seidel said the checkpoints are illegal and the tribes should have taken them down last month after the Bureau of Indian Affairs said that tribes can close or restrict traffic on roads, but only if they get the permission of the owner of the road.

A statement from the governor's office said the tribes have not consulted or gotten an agreement from the state.

But the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe said that it had met with local, state and federal officials to discuss the checkpoints and will not take them down.

Tribal chairman Harold Frazier issued a statement addressing Noem, saying, 'You continuing to interfere in our efforts to do what science and facts dictate seriously undermine our ability to protect everyone on the reservation.'

Governor Kristi Noem, a Republican, has so far resisted imposing lockdown orders statewide as the number of COVID-19 cases continue to climb in South Dakota

The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe released a statement accusing Noem of 'interfering in our efforts to do what science and facts dictate' and making 'ignorant statements'

Chase Iron Eyes, a spokesman for Oglala Sioux president Julian Bear Runner, said he expected the tribe to defend its rights as a sovereign nation to keep out threats to their health.

'We'd be interested in talking face to face with Governor Noem and the attorney general and whoever else is involved,' he said.

The governor also held calls with Smithfield employees on Thursday and Friday as the pork plant where hundreds of employees were infected reopens after being shuttered for more than three weeks.

Noem's spokesman Ian Fury said she spent about two hours speaking with employees in total and that the governor's office had reached out to every employee at the plant.

But an organization advocating for Smithfield employees disagreed.

The above image shows a Smithfield Foods pork plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on April 16. The plant, which was shuttered for three weeks after hundreds of employees became infected with COVID-19, reopened this week, though more COVID-19 cases have been reported

South Dakota Voices for Justice said in a statement that employees who were invited to the call were 'handpicked by corporate HR.'

The organization said it was still asking Noem to meet with advocates, along with employees, 'so we can work together to ensure worker safety and Smithfields return to producing products essential to our nations food supply.'

After the Department of Health held a mass testing for Smithfield employees and their family members this week in Sioux Falls, officials reported a spike in confirmed cases of coronavirus on Friday with 239 new infections.

Nearly 250 new cases were reported on Saturday after a mass testing event in the Sioux Falls area.

State Epidemiologist Josh Clayton said health officials have not been able to sort out which test results came from the mass event, but said it was likely the spike in confirmed cases came from those results.

A total of 203 of the confirmed cases from Friday were reported in Minnehaha County, which contains most of Sioux Falls.

State health officials said that 232 of the 249 new cases reported on Saturday were in Minnehaha County.

A total of 435 people have tested positive in Minnehaha County in the last two days, for a total of 2,767 cases in the county.

The total number of cases statewide now stands at 3,393.

Three new deaths were confirmed on Saturday, all of them Minnehaha County residents over the age of 70.

The states death toll is up to 34.

Officials said 79 people are hospitalized with the virus.

While 3,393 have tested positive, the actual number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested and people can be infected without feeling sick.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.
Elon Musk says Tesla may leave its Palo Alto headquarters and Fremont, California factory.

In a tweet Saturday morning, the chief executive continued his outrage against shelter-in-place orders that have forced most non-essential businesses to close.

Last week, Musk likened the rules to fascism, and urged leaders to "give people their goddamn freedom back."

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.



Tesla chief executive Elon Musk speaks at an opening ceremony for Tesla China-made Model Y program in Shanghai

Reuters

Related Video: Tech Companies Developing Technology to Fight COVID-19

After a week of decrying coronavirus shelter-in-place orders that have left Tesla's main factory shuttered and unable to produce vehicles, Elon Musk says the company may move its factory out of the state.

"Tesla is filing a lawsuit against Alameda County immediately," the chief executive said on Twitter Saturday morning. "The unelected & ignorant 'Interim Health Officer' of Alameda is acting contrary to the Governor, the President, our Constitutional freedoms & just plain common sense!"

That was followed up with a threat to move Tesla's headquarters outside the state.

"Frankly, this is the final straw," he replied. "Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately. If we even retain Fremont manufacturing activity at all, it will be dependent on how Tesla is treated in the future. Tesla is the last carmaker left in CA."

It wasn't immediately clear if a suit had yet been filed, or in which court Tesla will file the lawsuit. Most state and federal courts are closed on weekends and do not allow filing. In a subsequent Tweet, Musk alsourged shareholders to file a class action suit for damages caused by shutdown.

Tesla's press relations department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Alameda County did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Alameda County  the East Bay locale which includes Fremont, California, and Tesla's gigafactory about 30 miles southeast of San Francisco  extended its shelter-in-place order on April 29 "until further notice." Local authorities have not allowed Tesla to reopen the factory, and all manufacturing remains prohibited under the order.

Story continues

Read more: Scientists are racing to create a coronavirus vaccine that can halt the pandemic in its tracks. Here are the top 3 candidates aiming to be ready this fall.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Tesla was planning to resume some manufacturing operations at the factory as soon as last Wednesday, May 6. Local officials said it did not have permission to do so.

"Right now, the same health order is in place so nothing has changed," Fremont Police Department spokeswoman Geneva Bosques told Business Insider at the time. "Operating the assembly line was determined early on to be a violation."

Last week, following Tesla's first-quarter earnings announcement, Musk decried the shutdowns as a substantial risk to the company's financials.

"Frankly, I would call it forcible imprisoning of people in their homes against all of, their constitutional rights, in my opinion," he said on a conference call. "It's breaking people's freedoms in ways that are horrible and wrong and not why they came to America or built this country. What the f---. Excuse me. Outrage. Outrage."

"If somebody wants to stay in their house, that's great and they should be able to," he continued. "But to say they cannot leave their house and that they will be arrested if they do, that's fascist. That is not democratic  this is not freedom. Give people back their goddamn freedom."

Some states, including Texas, Georgia, and others, have begun to slowly allow certain businesses to re-open in recent weeks.

Musk praised counties neighboring Alameda, like San Joaquin for what he said were more "reasonable" responses. In a podcast released May 7, he told Joe Rogan that the company had learned from the coronavirus in China, where it briefly forced Tesla to close its Shanghai factory  a claim he repeated on Twitter Saturday.

"Our castings foundry and other faculties in San Joaquin have been working 24/7 this entire time with no ill effects. Same with Giga Nevada," Musk said. "Tesla knows far more about what needs to be done to be safe through our Tesla China factory experience than an (unelected) interim junior official in Alameda County."

As Musk began to complain about factory shutdowns in April, workers at Tesla's Fremont factory told Business Insider that the comments made them anxious.

"I'm for going back to work, but only if it is safe for me, my family, coworkers," said one production employee. "I don't feel like I'm being forced to stay home or that my freedom has been taken away. It's for the good of California."

Read the original article on Business Insider
By Whitney Strub and Jorge Maldonado

The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) set off a firestorm last month with a six-word tweet. We are not endorsing Joe Biden, it declared, reaffirming a public commitment made at last years DSA convention that Bernie Sanders was the only Democrat the group would endorse. Outraged pundits condemned the tweet as privileged; from red to orange, intoned one centrist wit. Leaders of the 1960s New Left wrote an open letter urging reconsideration.

As current and former co-chairs of the North Jersey chapter of DSA, wed like to offer a leftist perspective on a controversy dominated by voices outside the contemporary left. The DSA is a democratic socialist organization that is fighting to create a society that works democratically for the people rather than the 1%. In North New Jersey, this has meant campaigning for Medicare for All, fighting to end our states massive ICE detention facilities, creating mutual aid networks and running our own candidates in local elections.

Most recently, our chapter engaged in a DSA for Bernie campaign in order to not just canvass for Bernie but to talk to thousands of people about democratic socialism and invite them into our movement to transform our society. This was a national campaign carried out by DSA chapters across the country who saw Bernies campaign as an explicitly class-struggle movement that understood that in order for working people to thrive in the U.S., our leaders need to confront the pharmaceutical industries, Wall Street, the fossil fuel industry, and companies such as Walmart and Amazon that constitute the ruling class of this country.

Meanwhile, here is how Joe Biden looks to those on the left: reactionary. His career has been defined by racism, extending from 1970s desegregation busing debates to mass incarceration; sexism and misogyny, from his support for the abortion restrictions of the Hyde Amendment to his silencing of Anita Hill, to the current allegations of sexual assault he faces; advocacy for insurance firms and the financial sector over the interests of working people; and avid support for the invasion of Iraq, the single greatest U.S. crime of the 21st century.

Thats a tough sell to any leftist wary of a return to the normalcy of the Obama years, which we remember as times of endless drone strikes and war, bailouts for banks, and more deportations than Trump has yet undertaken.

Yet this is the rhetoric we constantly hear: you must support Biden, or youre responsible for Trumps re-election! Think of the Supreme Court! (Despite, of course, the fact that Biden voted for Justice Scalia, helped assure Justice Thomas, and sat passively while Republicans stole Merrick Garlands rightful seat.)

These arguments do not move many on the left, no matter how much you think they should. Good politics meets people where they are, not where you want them to be. DSA is a socialist organization, and as such, it will not and need not formally endorse Joe Biden, whose campaign merchandise proudly features socialist crossed off alongside plutocrat, as if they are equivalent. But defeating Trump and, more importantly, Trumpism are strategic DSA priorities, and to that end, we urge everyone to make more compelling arguments here by addressing left concerns.

Instead of vote-shaming the left, which might feel good but demonstrably does not work, those concerned about a Biden win might show that they are pushing Biden in more progressive directions. The COVID-19 pandemic is not just a medical crisis but a political one, ravaging communities already suffering from inequality. It shows clearly the need for much of the Sanders platform.

We believe swing state leftists should vote Biden, not because he deserves it but because a Democratic administration offers more fertile ground for the left than a Republican one, where we desperately scramble to fight for basic union, reproductive, immigrant, and queer/trans rights. For those seeking to build third-party power, well do better under a Democrat as well, since Trump generates a false sense of resistance unity that obscures the deep divisions within the Dems.

But ultimately its Joe Bidens job to win votes, not voters job to elect him. He wont win without a coalition that includes significant support from Bernie Sanders voters. We dont trust his promises or his platform, but serious overtures to the left such as commitments to cabinet positions for Sanders and brilliant flight-attendant union leader Sara Nelson would be a great start. Lets defeat Trump and also the neoliberalism that spawned him!

Whitney Strub teaches history at Rutgers-Newark. Jorge Maldonado is a labor organizer based in Newark.

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U.S. and British Ships depart Barents Sea, Continue Arctic Operations

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS200508-17

Release Date: 5/8/2020 2:49:00 PM

From U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. Sixth Fleet Public Affairs

BARENTS SEA (NNS) -- U.S. guided-missile destroyers and a British frigate departed the Barents Sea May 8, following seven days of Arctic operations.

The surface action group (SAG) comprised of U.S. 6th Fleet (C6F) Arleigh Burke-class Aegis destroyers USS Donald Cook (DDG 75), USS Porter (DDG 78), USS Roosevelt (DDG 80), fast combat support ship USNS Supply (T-AOE 6), and Royal Navy's HMS Kent (F 78) entered the Barents Sea on May 4 to conduct training and operations in the challenging conditions of the Arctic region. Along with the warships, U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft (MPRA) and U.S. Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft provided support during training and operational events.

"The Arctic is an important region and our naval forces operate there, including the Barents Sea, to ensure the security of commerce and demonstrate freedom of navigation in that complex environment," said Adm. James G. Foggo III, commander, Naval Forces Europe and Africa. "Our operations with the U.K. demonstrate the strength, flexibility, and commitment of the NATO Alliance to freedom of navigation throughout the Arctic and all European waters."

As the Arctic continues to become more accessible to maritime traffic, naval proficiency in the region is critical to regional security, global commerce, and American national interests. The SAG's operations provided the opportunity for Sailors to demonstrate their readiness for sustained Arctic operations in the unique and challenging environment.

"It was great to be operating in the Barents Sea again," said Capt. Joseph A. Gagliano, commodore, Combined Task Force 65, and commander, Destroyer Squadron 60. "This is what it means to be a global Navy, sailing wherever international law allows. And it is even better that we returned with the Royal Navy by our side,"

The joint SAG, made up of approximately 1,200 Sailors from two nations, conducted high-end, sustained operations, combined and divisional surface warfare tactics, refined coordinated operations with U.S. Air Forces Europe, and reinforced Arctic communications capabilities, while maintaining proficiency in critical warfare areas.

"NATO Allies are working together to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, even as the Alliance continues to deliver credible and effective deterrence and defense throughout the European region," said Foggo. "Our ability to conduct maritime operations hasn't been undermined, our forces remain ready and engaged in our critical work to ensure maritime trade continues and vital supplies are able to move where they are needed the most."

With support from Supply, the ships maintained continuous operations through replenishments-at-sea. Conducting these complex evolutions allow U.S. and allied ships to remain uninterrupted on station for long periods of time.

"These operations demonstrate the importance of logistics, the sixth domain of warfare, especially when operating during a pandemic, in the seventh domain," Foggo. "We are seeing the importance of presence, as we work together to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Working with our allies and through our presence, we continue to send a power message  we're open for business."

Porter, Donald Cook, and Kent recently completed a bilateral naval anti-submarine warfare exercise in the Norwegian Sea. A U.S. nuclear-powered submarine and a P-8A also participated in the exercise. This exercise reinforced the combined training that the nations received last month while participating in the U.K.'s Submarine Command Course.

"These Arctic operations in the Barents Sea demonstrate the ability of our crews to execute every mission in any maritime environment," said Cmdr. Craig Trent, commanding officer of USS Porter (DDG 78) and surface action group commander (SAG). "Our steady exercises, operations and presence in waters surrounding Europe and Africa have prepared our ships to work seamlessly with each other and our allies to provide maritime security."

U.S. ships in the SAG have been operating with partner nations throughout European seas over the last month. Porter conducted a communications and maneuvering exercise with Romania in the Black Sea, April 13. Following her departure from the Black Sea, Porter met with Supply and Roosevelt to work with the Italian Navy in the Mediterranean and with the French Navy in the Atlantic, April 27 to conduct interoperability exercises. Prior to joining the SAG, Donald Cook operated in the Baltic Sea, sailing with the Lithuanian Navy.

Allied and partner navies must remain proficient in all operating environments to ensure the continued security and access to the seas. This is especially critical in the Arctic, where the austere weather environment demands constant vigilance and practice.

"Usually, having the midnight watch is tough as you're straining to see contacts and obstructions in the water, but it doesn't get dark here -- it just gets dim as the sun dips below the horizon for a few hours and then it's sunrise again," said Ensign Jeremy Shockley, Roosevelt's assistant chief engineer.

The ships are applying lessons learned from recent operations in the Arctic while increasing their navies' abilities in cold weather conditions. To successfully operate in the region, Sailors must master navigation, logistics, and communications in the harsh environment. The SAG operations in the High North are the latest in a series of U.S. ships operating in the Arctic Circle. In 2018, elements of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group and the USS Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group operated above the Arctic Circle in support of NATO exercise Trident Juncture. In 2019, Donald Cook and a SAG from U.S. 2nd Fleet led by USS Normandy (CG 60) and USS Farragut (DDG 99), also operated separately north of the Arctic Circle.

"One of the best attributes of our surface force is that we can aggregate at will, transitioning seamlessly from independent ships to coordinated operations," said Gagliano. "Our interoperability with our allies is so good that we can deploy multinational naval forces with minimal notice. That's the real power of NATO."

The three U.S. destroyers, based out of Rota, Spain, support NATO's integrated air missile defense architecture and maritime security operations throughout the global commons in Africa and Europe. Commander, Task Force 65 ships consistently demonstrate the flexibility to operate throughout the waters of Europe and Africa, from the Cape of Good Hope to the Arctic Circle, exhibiting a mastery of the maritime domain.

U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa.

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Archana Puran Singh's help Bhagyashri has been living with her during the lockdown. Bhagyashri has become quite popular on social media, thanks to the series of videos of conversations with her posted by the actress.

Recently, Archana posted another video of her having a conversation with the help, where Bhagyashri talks about her experience of staying with them at home. The Kapil Sharma Show judge says that many people think that the house help does all the work. But in the video, Bhagyashri herself clarifies that Archana and her family members help her with chores.

Bhagyashri first talks about the benefits of staying at home and how it helps in forging better connections within families. She then talks about her days in lockdown, saying she gets to rest for a few hours during the day. She adds that no one should judge their life based on two-minute videos.

They also talk about her birthday which was made special by Anupam Kher. Archana informed Bhagyashri that she was wished by over 2000 people. An ecstatic Bhagyashri thanked everyone.

Posting the video, Archana wrote, "Conversations with Bhagyshri...Before #lockdown2020 there was less time to indulge Bhagyashri in her favorite pastime... TALKING! But now with so much time on our hands she's going full throttle. Before her bedtime she makes it a point every night to come and chatter away merrily!"
Chennai, May 9 : Two evacuation flights of Air India Express to Chennai from Dubai landed at Chennai International Airport with 356 passengers and three infants on the wee hours of Saturday.

According to an official of Air India Express, the first flight IX 612 landed safely with 179 passengers and three infants at about 1.10 a.m.

The second flight (IX 540) with 177 passengers landed at about 2 a.m.

According to an official of Tamil Nadu Health Department, samples for Coronavirus testing were taken from the passengers and they were sent for quarantine.

The flights are being operated as a part of the government's campaign 'Vande Bharat Mission' to bring back Indians who were stranded in foreign countries due to Covid-19 lockdown.

A Health Department official said about 10 flights carrying stranded Indians are expected to land in Chennai - one or two flights daily with a total of about 400 passengers.

He said the passengers will be screened at the airport and they would be advised to be quarantined. There will be about 60 health department officials deployed at the airport.

An airport official said the passengers deboarded the plane in small batches and social distancing was maintained at all places.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
The lockdown in Maharashtra, which has seen the highest number of COVID-19 cases and fatalities, is likely to weigh heavily on the countrys economy, which may see no growth in the financial year 2021 or may even contract.

This is because the state is one of Indias most prosperous, accounting for nearly 15% of the countrys economy, 24% its total exports, a hub of manufacturing, finance and services sector and home to nearly 15 lakh MSMEs.

With Maharashtra accounting for a third of Indias tally of virus cases, the severest impact is likely to be felt on the services sector which accounts for around 55-60% of the states economy.

For latest updates on coronavirus outbreak, click here

Restrictions on companies in this sector could be lifted at the fag end of the relaxation, Care Ratings told DH

The countrys most industrialised state has the maximum number of red zones, where fewer commercial activities are allowed. At least 14 of its 36 districts are in the red zone and only six fall in the green, where full-fledged economic activities are allowed.

Mumbai, the trade and commerce capital and the hub of manufacturing, accounts for over 6% of Indias economy, 30% of income tax collections, 60% of customs duty and Rs 40,000 crore in corporate taxes. It is in the red zone.

Such is Mumbais influence that global rating agency Moodys cited surging COVID-19 cases in the city as one of the reasons for slashing Indias GDP growth rate to zero for the financial year 2021.

Besides, almost 65% of Maharashtras total revenue receipts comes from its own sources, including GST, stamps and registrations, state excise duty, sales tax and VAT.

Extension of the lockdown could further exert pressure on these revenue streams, especially state excise and stamps and registration fees. Therefore, financing of the additional expenditure would require the government to resort to additional borrowings, according to Care Ratings projections.

Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths on May 8

Pune, the automobile and IT hub, too is in the red zone and so are other centres of economic activities such as Nagpur, Solapur and Nashik, known for its vineyards. More than 200 companies in Punes industrial belt have started operations. But their assembly lines may not be functional as auto sector MSMEs are under extended lockdown.




Hopes of cloning the extinct woolly mammoth back to life have suffered a major blow with the sudden death of Russia's top scientist in the field.

Dr Semyon Grigoryev, 46, was leading the research into the remains of woolly mammoth, frozen for tens of thousands of years in the Siberian permafrost.

Now plans to restore the Ice Age beasts have been thrown into jeopardy following the world-famous scientist's death from a heart attack.

Dr Grigoryev, head of the Mammoth Museum in Yakutsk, had been working to obtain genetic material necessary to clone the species. Plans were underway to restore to life to an extinct Siberian horse species before ultimately seeking the mammoth's return.

Dr Grigoryev would spend weeks on end wandering the most remote areas of his native Yakutia in search of new samples of mammoth fauna in the thawing permafrost. He is pictured above with the Malolyakhovsky mammoth

Above, Semyon Grigoryev studies the foal mummy. Plans were underway to use test tubes to restore to life to the extinct Siberian horse species before ultimately seeking the mammoth's return

Dr Grigoryev, a zoologist and paleontologists, was raised in a remote Arctic village where there were many relics of woolly mammoths, including bones and tusks, which first sparked his interest in the field.

He spent weeks on end wandering the most remote areas of his native Yakutia in search of new samples of mammoth fauna in the thawing permafrost.

Dr Albert Protopopov, head of the Mammoth Fauna studies department of the Yakutian Academy of Sciences, said: 'He grew to become a world famous palaeontologist with finds like the Malolyakhovskiy mammoth' - which included 43,000-year-old liquid blood.

Grigoriev and Vladimir Putin are pictured above, as the scientist explains a how a still-sharp 13,000-year-old spear made from the horn of an extinct woolly rhino was used to slaughter mammoths

Dr Grigoryev is pictured above drilling into one of his finds. His death has shocked colleagues who vowed to 'do our best to continue his work and reach our common goal' of restoring the woolly mammoth

A history of the woolly mammoth A 3D-illustration of what the woolly mammoth is believed to have looked like The woolly mammoth - a cousin of of today's Asian elephants - were commonly found in North America and Siberia and forced into extinction about 4,000 years ago. They were covered in thick brown hair to keep them warm in their freezing conditions, which would often fall to as low as 50C. They woolly mammoths were around 13ft tall with fur that reached lengths of 3ft. They lived in the Pleistocene Period, which started 1.8million years ago but ended around 10,000 years ago with the last Ice Age. The Earth heated up and the mammoths were unable to adapt to warmer conditions quickly enough. It is believed that human hunting also contributed to the extinction of the woolly mammoth, killed for their meat, bones and skin. Scientists are divided over whether hunting or climate change was the main factor that contributed to the extinction of the woolly mammoth, or whether it was due to a combination of the two. Advertisement

This was 'the first and currently the only mammoth in the world with a fully preserved trunk and samples of soft tissues - which will be forever linked to his name'.

His discovery of the well-preserved remains of a tiny 42,000-year- old foal in the giant Batagai depression - known to locals as the Mouth of Hell - may lead to the return of the extinct Lenskaya horse species.

Dr Grigoryev had been working particularly closely with South Korean cloning specialist Professor Hwang Woo Suk, who has vowed to continue their joint Jurassic Park dream.

Dr Hwang said it was 'utterly difficult for me to believe and accept' news of his colleague's death.

He was 'the best permafrost scientist I ever had the chance to work with'.

On hopes of bringing the mammoth back to life, he said: 'My team and I vow to do our best to continue his work and reach our common goal.

'I promise to follow the path we started together and I will keep the memories we shared as precious reminders of why we work everyday.'

The scientist's discovery of the well-preserved remains of a tiny 42,000-year- old foal (above) will 'forever be linked to his name'

The blood from the Ice Age foal is pictured above. Plans were underway to try and restore the extinct Lenskaya horse species

A picture shows the world-famous scientist explaining to Vladimir Putin how a still-sharp 13,000-year-old spear made from the horn of an extinct woolly rhino was used to slaughter mammoths.

Palaeontologist Sergey Leshchinsky, of Tomsk State University, said: 'Russia has lost an incredible man and a leading scientist.

'I am still struggling to find words, but I know that Semyon Grigoryev's legacy will live in our hearts, as will his projects and dreams - to be continued and fulfilled by his friends and colleagues.'
- The country was hit by a blackout on early morning of Saturday, May 9

- Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) said there was a technical hitch at the national power grid and has since dispatched a team of engineers to resolve it

- The fault occurred near Kiambu Town

Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) has apologised for a nationwide power outage that has crippled normal operations across the country.

This follows an abrupt blackout witnessed on early hours of Saturday, May 9.

READ ALSO: Nairobi woman charged with murder after stabbing lover 11 times over dirty dishes

KPLC lorry ferrying electric poles. Photo: KPLC

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Nyeri ODM chairman John Wangondu is dead

In a statement, KPLC said there was a technical hitch at the national power grid and has since dispatched a team of engineers to resolve it.

"We have lost power supply at our nation grid due to a system disturbance which occurred on our transmission system on at 5:49 this morning

Our engineers are working to identify and address the hitch, towards restoring normal supply. We apologise for inconvenience caused," read the statement.

In a subsequent update, KPLC noted a technical fault at a section of the main high voltage transmission power line that evacuates power to Nairobi from Olkaria power generator sites in Naivasha.

"The fault, which occurred near Kiambu Town, led to power loss on the critical power line, thus overloading other power generators countrywide, said KPLC Network Manager, Charles Mwaura.

Restoration of power supply is in progress with most parts of Nairobi, Mombasa confirming restoration.

Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news.

Kenyans come through for elderly couple kicked out by landlady over rent arrears | Tuko TV.

Source: TUKO.co.ke
The unrestrained and somewhat syndicated massacre being carried out by the Fulani Herdsmen across the country is gradually becoming a brand; a brand in the sense that, satanical agents now wish to deal with their enemies with doses of such brutal deaths. Even though one is not a staunch supporter of the Buhari government, it will not be proper to tow the line of political fanatics, who by virtue of being in the opposition, cast aspersions on the person and office of the president. I am not trained to dance to sponsored tunes and will never attempt to strangulate journalistic objectivity on the altar of partisan politics.

Truth be told, the arrogant mien of the Fulani herdsmen and the alleged inaction of the president, placed side by side, according to some observers, signal an ethnic camaraderie aimed at rubbishing the save-our-soul cries of those at the receiving end of the herdsmens reign of terror. Though Mr President has always directed the security agencies to crush all forms of terror and insurgencies in the country, many see his directive as a deceptive gimmick to assuage frayed nerves, considering the recent utterances of some northern hypocrites who have warned state governors not to ask herdsmen to leave their states. They have even threatened the unity of Nigeria should any governor do otherwise.

Going by the scale of evidence against the herdsmen whose atrocious ways of killing are attracting global outrage, these northern hypocrites ought to realise that this is not the best of times to sound authoritarian. They should know that giving commands and conditions to those communities which host herdsmen is tantamount to adding insult upon injury. Unless they are deliberately daring those communities or trying to trigger another civil war, they should call for a peaceful resolution to the matter. They must not be seen as acting out a script.

Shortly after the ignobly famous Nimbo massacre, a Fulani caller, during a radio programme, had said that his people will continue to kill as reaction to the death of their cows. According to that caller, whenever one cow is killed, twenty lives must replace it. That statement smacks of the highest level of arrogance and disrespect for human life. And with the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association always coming out to say that herdsmen kill in self-defence, it appears the matter would require the intervention of United Nations before lasting peace can be found.

Recently, some communities in Delta and Plateau States have come under serious attacks by Fulani herdsmen. The audacious manners in which these merchants of death dispense crude terror typifies the veneration of bestial tendencies in a world that is trying to elevate the thinking of humanity to innovative and problem-solving heights. Recent development across the country have shown that, some of these marauders have transmuted into kidnappers. One cannot safely travel from one state to the other in the Nigeria of today without embarking on some life-saving intelligence gathering. Buses are being hijacked, driven into the grassy covers of thick bushes where passengers are profiled and calls for ransom payment made accordingly. Some of the victims of such kidnapping sagas hardly come out alive. We have been inundated with unfortunate cases in which their victims were killed after ransoms were collected. Of course, not all Fulani herdsmen engage in such despicable acts. The problem is that the number of bad eggs has dampened the perception of an average Fulani herdsman in the eyes of any right-thinking Nigerian. Whatever the case may be, the federal government must demonstrate its commitment to the protection of Nigerian lives, irrespective of status, religion, tribe or age. The country belongs to all of us. No one was born to rule over the other. We all have equal chances of survival and self-actualisation. Hard work and the creative application of the intellect should form the basic fulcrum of our progression to positions of authority and power. Let us restructure our mind-sets and begin to think of what we can do individually and collectively to move our country ahead. Intellectual militancy, rather than the destruction of innocent lives and property, should be the driving force whenever there is dissent. Through this, the quality of our thoughts is enriched to compete with world standards.

Iwelunmor Patrick, a Public Relations and Media Practitioner, writes from Lagos.
PENSIONERS facing steep rental hikes or eviction from their retirement village have won a significant ruling which will stop this happening.

The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) ruled in favour of eight older folk living in the Park Retirement Village at Castletroy agreeing that the rent rises served to them were invalid and cannot be imposed.

In each case, the RTB, which is underpinned by government legislation ruled in favour of the residents who were facing a rise in their tenancy fees of up to 10%, or in two cases, eviction.

Residents association chairperson Frances Blackburn, who was one of those who took a case, has welcomed the ruling, and said it represents an acknowledgement that CRV Park Ltd, the vehicle which owns the complex had not handled the situation in the way they should have.

The Limerick Leader first revealed the dispute in November, after a residents association meeting took place, with many producing letters showing a rental increase. This came on top of a number of other issues the residents were having with CRV Park Ltd around the use of the common room plus an alleged decline in service. Instead, following the ruling by the RTB, their rents will remain the same for now. The option is open for CRV to appeal and re-serve the notice of the rental increase.

But it will not be able to do that until the so-called Covid-19 emergency period is ended. This is pencilled in for August 10, but may still be extended.

The report of the RTB hearing, which took place in January at the Clayton Hotel was released this week, and shows Ms Blackburn argued the increase notice was invalid.

The tenant was not aware of the identity of the landlord and the signature was illegible. There was no other retirement village in the area and the dwellings used as comparators are not comparable to the dwelling, her submission reads.

In response, the landlord respondent, namely CRV, said it did reference comparison properties which is necessary when arguing for a rent increase.

However, the RTB inspector disagreed and confirmed the current rent Ms Blackburn is paying remains.

It would appear the respondent more generally could have communicated with the applicant and other residents in a clearer fashion, they added, albeit acknowledging that making a ruling on this is beyond the RTBs power.

Another resident, who did not wish to be identified, argued that the management firm should not have imposed extra charges for electricity on her, due to the fact that there was an agreement with the former chief executive of the company and herself that her rent would cover everything. She says she had been ordered to pay extra.

However, CRV hit back, saying it was not aware of the agreement, and its unfair that other residents of the development are subsidising the cost of the electricity.

The RTB ordered the company to reimburse her, however.

Another resident facing eviction also saw the RTB rule in her favour.

She argued when the notice of termination was submitted, due to works to be carried out in her home, the respondent did not prove these needed her to vacate the property.

The management company responded saying its notice is sufficiently detailed and alternative accommodation was offered but refused.

However, the RTB adjudicator said its not satisfied by the assertion that works will require the vacant posession. CRV Park Ltd did not return a request for comment from the Limerick Leader.
Veteran character actress Miriam Margolyes plays the nanny Miss Prism in The Importance of Being Earnest. Photo taken at the Music Center Plaza. (Photo by Glenn Koenig/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Miriam Margolyes caused a stir following an appearance on Channel 4s The Last Leg when she admitted she had difficulty not wanting Boris Johnson to die after learning he had COVID-19.

The comments prompted shocked responses from the shows hosts but the Harry Potter star quickly went on to say, that despite her initial thoughts, she didnt want to be the sort of person that wants people to die and did want him to get better.

The prime minister was diagnosed with the coronavirus late March before being admitted to hospital last month. He was subsequently treated in intensive care and then released from hospital to recover fully from home.

Read more: Miriam Margolyes opens up about self-isolating without partner of 52 years

Margolyes, a member of the Labour party and a long standing political activist, admitted she was torn about her feelings towards Johnsons health while appearing on the show hosted by Adam Hills.

Though she did make the shocking comments about hoping he would die, she quickly clarified they were fleeting thoughts as she wanted him to get better both in terms of his health and as a human being.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is seen outside Number 10 Downing Street on May 8, 2020 in London, United Kingdom.The UK commemorates the 75th Anniversary of Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) with a pared-back rota of events due to the coronavirus lockdown. On May 8th, 1945 the Allied Forces of World War II celebrated the formal acceptance of surrender of Nazi Germany. (Photo by Peter Summers/Getty Images)

The Last Leg; Locked Down Under aired Friday (8 May) with hosts Hills, Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker, appearing via the internet.

When asked about how the government were handling the pandemic, she did not pull any punches.

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Speaking from her home via video call, she answered: Appallingly, of course, appallingly. Its a disgrace, its a scandal. Its a public scandal. I had difficulty not wanting Boris Johnson to die. I wanted him to die.

She then clarified: Then I thought that will reflect badly on me and I dont want to be the sort of person that wants people to die.

Hills, Widdicombe and Brooker were then seen looking shocked and before the 78-year-old went on: So then I wanted him to get better, which he did do, he did get better. But he didnt get better as a human being. I really would prefer that.

So were in the s**t, basically, here.
The Southside Chinese Residents Association has made a donation of 25,000 masks to help with the Covid-19 emergency in Wicklow.

Spokeswoman Summi Wong said that they are 'showing love to our second hometown'.

Summi and the many Chinese people that have settled in Bray and surrounding areas met recently to figure out how they could contribute to the emergency efforts.

They wanted to show their solidarity with the people of Ireland and particularly of their hometown, Bray.

After some thought they decided to source masks from China. They raised the money and bought over 25,000 three-layer disposable masks and shipped them here. With the help of local gardai, 15,000 of these masks have now been distributed to local nursing homes in the Bray and Greystones area, at no cost.

A further 10,000 are being sent to local not-for-profits with the help of the County Wicklow Volunteer Centre. These organisations include Sunbeam House Services, Bray Home Care Service and Wicklow Community Carers.

All were delighted as sourcing masks is difficult and expensive, so to get masks free was a huge gift.

Summi said that the association is a small but very active group with wanted to 'give back to the community'.

When the call went out to fundraise for the PPE equipment they were surprised and delighted with the generous response with even children emptying their piggy banks to donate.

A spokesman for Wicklow County Council said that they would like to thank the members of the Southside Chinese Residents Association, the gardai and all the front line workers caring for the most vulnerable in society for their amazing response to this crisis.
During a lull, the quiet John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport can at times feel eerily empty. The staff at the curbside Tim Hortons replenish the ubiquitous, red paper cups or top up the never-ending supply of fresh coffee.

A maintenance worker pushes a trolley loaded with cleaning supplies toward a soiled floor or an hourly appointment with a washroom. Beside the car rental desks, an ambassador unlocks a half-door to the information kiosk to begin another four-hour volunteer shift at one of Canadas fastest growing airports.

A scant 18 months ago, Hamilton played a major role in the Canadian air cargo transport industry, with a few Air Canada, West Jet or Flair passenger flights landing and departing each week. But since Swoop, a low-cost affiliate of WestJet, soared in from the west with non-stop flights to six Canadian cities and stops in Jamaica, Cuba, Mexico and the U.S., business boomed at the little airport on the Mountain by Mount Hope; 955,000 passengers in 2019. That was a year-over-year increase of 32 per cent as outlined by the senior co-ordinator, marketing and communications department, Thomas Cleary.

No one could have predicted what the new year would bring; coronavirus.

Instead of bustling, noisy hallways and lineups at ticket counters, Tim Hortons, car rentals and baggage carousels, there is now an eerie silence. Weve all seen the movies; abandoned homes, dilapidated factories, Mrs. Havershams sitting rooms, or ghost towns in the untamed west. No one would have said in January 2020 that Hamiltons International Airport would be robbed of passengers travelling to and from destinations across Canada and internationally because of an insidious, infectious, invisible virus.

And on the front lines of this decimation was a small, loyal and dedicated group of Hamilton ambassadors; volunteers at the airport for the last 14 years. COVID-19 swiftly deposed them from the gig that they all cherished; making an impact to the visitors arriving/leaving from the Hamilton facility.

They wore their distinctive blue embroidered jackets and answered a plethora of questions. From the usual (Could you tell me where the bathroom is?); to the complex (How do I get to Front and Bay in downtown Toronto?); the ambassadors were a font of knowledge to aid folks in their quest to exit the International airport in a timely fashion.

Joanna Zyma, a 16-year employee, is the manager, groundside operations and aerodrome security at the John C. Munro International Airport and recently clarified the responsibilities of the ambassadors.

The volunteers enhance the passenger experience by acting as goodwill ambassadors, assisting customers and providing information, Zyma said.

These roles cannot be performed by a way-finding sign; they are the face of the airport and they speak on behalf of the airport. The volunteers provide valuable information back to the airport on the passenger experience that then can assist the airport in making effective changes, she emphasized.

But suddenly this valuable cog in the engine that drives the airport, the face of the airport and our city of Hamilton has been erased. The smiling faces, helping hands, the positive vibes are missing from the volunteer desk, from the arrivals lobby, from the international customs area.

There is a sadness among the ambassadors. They want to be at their four-hour shift on their appointed day. Many look forward to the one time during their week that they have a special purpose, that they make a contribution, that they make a difference.

But COVID-19 has forced these 23 retired men, women and one three-legged therapy dog, to remain safely in their homes. The danger of compromising their health is too great. They want nothing more than to get back to what they loved doing; serving the public to the best of their abilities. These volunteers range in age from 60 to 85, have varied backgrounds, nationalities, some speak second and third languages, and they all come together for the common cause of making the airport experience worthwhile.

All Canadians are reeling from the coronavirus pandemic and the steadfast ambassadors at the Hamilton airport are no exception. They are missing the personal contact with the travellers and employees at the terminal. They relish the chance to point out where the washrooms are once again. They look forward to that final boarding announcement indicating that the planes are flying in and out of the John C Munro Hamilton International Airport. Like you and me, these seniors ache to be relevant again.

Lionel Llewellyn, father of three, retired from the Colorado Developmental Disabilities Council in Denver, and moved to Hamilton to be closer to his eldest daughter and family.

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Curious just how far your dollar goes in Southside?

According to Walk Score, this San Antonio neighborhood requires a car for most errands, has minimal bike infrastructure and doesn't offer many public transit options. Data from rental site Zumper shows that the median rent for a one bedroom in People Active in Community Effort is currently hovering around $653.

So, what might you expect to find if you're on a budget of $1,400/month? Read on for a roundup of the latest rental listings, via Zumper and Apartment Guide. (Note: Prices and availability are subject to change.)

Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions.

8331 Cenizo Pass

Listed at $1,350/month, this 1,392-square-foot three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom unit is located at 8331 Cenizo Pass.

The residence comes with a walk-in closet. The building offers outdoor space, additional storage space and garage parking. Cats and dogs are not permitted. The rental doesn't require a leasing fee.

(Check out the complete listing here.)

6814 Freedom Hills

Next, there's this three-bedroom, two-bathroom unit situated at 6814 Freedom Hills. It's listed for $1,400/month for its 1,451 square feet.

The building has outdoor space and garage parking. The unit also offers a ceiling fan, carpeted floors and a dishwasher. This rental is dog-friendly.

(Take a gander at the complete listing here.)

8438 Pueblo Valley

Here's a three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment at 8438 Pueblo Vly that's also going for $1,400/month.

The apartment offers a dishwasher and an eat-in kitchen. When it comes to building amenities, anticipate garage parking and outdoor space. Pet owners, inquire elsewhere: This spot doesn't allow cats or dogs.

(Check out the complete listing here.)

This story was created automatically using local real estate data from Zumper and Apartment Guide, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Additionally, if youre in the real estate business learn how to do local real estate advertising in your ZIP codes.

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OTTAWA, May 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) is calling for major changes to Canadas long-term care sector, including regulating long-term care under the Canada Health Act.



This pandemic has laid bare the consequences of decades of funding cuts and privatization in the long-term care sector, said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. The tragedy were seeing is a direct result of the move to a for-profit model. Long-term care must be offered as a public service.

As of mid-April, the number of people who have died of COVID-19 in Canadas long-term care homes account for four out of every five pandemic-related deaths in the country.

For years Long-term care workers, unions and advocates for health care and seniors have been demanding systemic change.

The current system is broken, said Yussuff. We need to see funding cuts reversed, and an end to the dangerous profiteering in the sector. What we have seen during this crisis was preventable.

Canadas unions are calling on the government to immediately address the failings COVID-19 exposed in long-term care by:

Bringing long-term care into the public system and regulating it under the Canada Health Act;

Removing private, for-profit businesses from the sector;

Requiring proper staffing and health and safety protections for workers; and

Permanently raising wages and benefits for long-term care workers to match the value of the work.

The full recommendations can be found here .
As protests continue to erupt in the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, and across the world in outrage against the horrific shooting of Jacob Bla Read more
Backers of Jeremy Corbyn are accusing Sir Keir Starmer of plotting a 'massive betrayal' of his Left-wing legacy by watering down his famous vow to abolish tuition fees.

They claim the new Labour Party leader wants to review his predecessor's 7.2 billion pledge, despite promising to honour it during the recent leadership contest.

They also said Sir Keir's camp would use the policy shift to 'hobble' education spokeswoman Rebecca Long Bailey  the only high-profile Corbynista in his new Shadow Cabinet  as she would have to oversee any U-turn.

Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer (left) alongside then Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn during a press conference in central London. Saturday April 4, 2020

Sir Keir's office denied there was any such review, but the bitter row exposes growing tensions within Labour as MPs still fervently loyal to Corbyn seek to bind Sir Keir to much of his predecessor's vision.

Two weeks ago, key Corbyn ally Diane Abbott told fellow activists that 'we need to push the current leadership to take up and reflect Jeremy's international agenda'.

Only last week, Starmer allies angrily hit back at what they claimed was 'backseat driving' from Mr Corbyn himself, after he implied Sir Keir mishandled Labour's response to the coronavirus crisis.

Backers of Jeremy Corbyn are accusing Sir Keir Starmer of plotting a 'massive betrayal' of his Left-wing legacy by watering down his famous vow to abolish tuition fees

During the leadership campaign, Sir Keir said he would uphold 'our radical values' and 'support the abolition of tuition fees'.

But last night, sources pointed to how his new policy chief, Claire Ainsley, had once said 'a vast majority of the public support charging most students some kind of fees for higher education' even if fees were unpopular with younger voters.

There are also claims that former education spokesman Angela Rayner, now deputy party leader, had previously privately argued against abolishing fees, saying the cash would be better spent on early years education.

Rebecca Long-Bailey, Shadow Secretary of State for Business speaks during the Labour Party Leadership hustings at the Radisson Blu Hotel on February 23, 2020 in Durham, England

One Corbyn ally MP predicted a 'huge row' if the abolition of tuition fees was shelved, saying: 'It would be a massive betrayal of what many Corbynites believe in.

'More than that, many of the party members who backed Keir for leader didn't vote for him to do that.'

A spokesman for Sir Keir last night insisted there was 'no plan' for a review of the tuition fees policy.
Malawi's supreme court on Friday ruled unanimously in favour of carrying out fresh presidential elections on 2 July after the electoral commission appealed the January decision of the constitutional court that the May 2019 vote was invalid.

Characterizing the election as having widespread, systematic and grave irregularities, the seven judges at the supreme court indicated that while the new vote should have taken place within 90 days, it would allow the vote to take place on 2 July, but only with the original candidates.

We would have made a different determination. However, we will uphold the court decision below, Justice Frank Kapanda announced while reading the ruling, according to local media.

The 2019 Malawi presidential election was dubbed the 'Tipp-Ex election' on social media, referring to a brand of correction fluid, after ballot tally papers emerged with areas painted with the white liquid and written over, supposedly altering results.

Peter Mutharika, president since 2014 and brother of the late former president, Bingu wa Mutharika, received 38.7 percent of the vote, while the nearest opposition contender, Malawi Congress Party (MCP) leader Lazarus Chakwera, took 34.1 percent of the vote.

Deputy President Saulos Chilima, who broke away from the ruling party, forming the United Transformation Movement (UTM) party, received 20.2 percent of the vote, securing third place.

The court ruling of using only the original presidential candidates could force some to pull out of the race, according to Malawi political analyst Boni Dulani from the University of Malawi.

It creates additional problems for Chakwera and Chilima's opposition alliance. They joined forces as running mates after the election was deemed null and void by the constitutional court in January.

50-percent-plus-one now set in stone

The supreme court also upheld the original determination of the constitutional court to deem the winner as taking at least 50-percent-plus-one of the vote and not a simple majority.

Peter Mutharika received 38 percent of the vote in the May 2019 election, which only constituted a simple majority, not more than half the vote.

The supreme court pulled no punches in criticizing the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) for not carrying out its dutiesdespite the fact that the head of the MEC, Jane Ansah, is also a supreme court justice.

Voter registration not allowed for 2020, says court

The MEC had been conducting registration of people who were not on the voter roll in the last election in May 2019, but this has caused a lot of stress, according to Luke Tembo, national coordinator of the Human Rights Defender Coalition.

They're intimidating the MEC staff, and because of the outcry of irregularities, the parties are putting monitors in those registration centers, said Tembo.

Monitors are being intimidated, others are being beaten, some severely, he added.

The supreme court ruled on Friday that no new voter registration for 2020 would be admitted on the voter rolls, indicating that the new elections would have to use the voter rolls of 2019.

Last weekend, a number of attacks were carried out in various parts of the country, primarily on buildings that are connected to Chilima's UTM party.

In Lilongwe, the capital, UTM offices were petrol bombed according to Nyasa Times newspaper.

A number of people were reportedly injured in the attack, including a security guard and his children. Two people later died of severe burns.

These are the signs of desperation of the DPP. All the evidence is pointing at the DPP youth cadets as the masterminds behind the recent violence, said Dulani, referring to the ruling party.

Tembo recounted another story about thugs entering a voter registration centre and vandalizing the machines.

They said: 'We don't want to have elections because we already have a president, so go away and don't attempt to register people,' the human rights expert said. No one was charged.

The local European Union office in Lilongwe denounced the violence on social media.

We have been shocked by the recent acts of violence apparently fuelled by political motives, and are deeply saddened by the injury entailed, according to the statement on Wednesday.

All political actors should stand united in defence of human rights and rule of law, and against any acts of violence, incitement to violence and hate speech, it added.

Other Malfeasance

We don't know what is happening but it seems that people are trying to tamper, trying to influence the elections, said Tembo.

Names of people born in 2029 and others born in the 1890s are being added to the voter roll, says Tembo, discussing alleged irregularities with the electoral roll and the purchase of voter IDs.

The intention is to prevent someone from going and verifying their name in the voter registration roll and then they will not be able to vote, said Tembo.

Political operatives are moving around villages to collect cards, and we're seeing vigilante groups being put together, where they get someone who is trying to buy cards, they're beating them up, there's all this lawlessness around, he said.

When ruling party supporters break the law, the police often release them by sunset, said Tembo, while opposition will be pounced upon by the police.

That has frustrated a lot of people, added Tembo, adding that vigilantes have taken the law into their own hands when they find someone trying to buy voter ID cards.

The option they have, which we denounce in the strongest terms, is to carry out mob justice on people, he said. Human Rights Defender Coalition believes that the police are to blame for these ongoing problems.

While the police are perceived as biased, the Malawian army has regularly been seen to come out in defence of human rights and rule of law, normally the role of the police, said Tembo.

During the six-month constitutional court proceedings to determine if the May 2019 Malawi elections were valid, the military protected the five justices on their way in and out of court.

What's next?

The supreme court ruling will have an impact on the new political alliances, and other, newer candidates will have to withdraw.

It also raises the question of whether the candidates, who just submitted their papers, will be reimbursed for the two million Malawi kwatcha (2,500 euro) registration fee.

The ruling indicates that the election will go forward on 2 July, but analyst Dulani says the question of running polls during the Covid-19 pandemic has not been discussed.

According to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Malawi has 43 cases of the coronavirus, and three deaths.

RFI reached out to the Carter Center, European Union, and the Commonwealth regarding sending election observers to the 2 July polls. No one was available for comment.

At the end of the day people are so geared up to vote, but that brings its own challenges on how to be prevent the spread of Covid-19, said Tembo.

Moving forward, political parties need to campaign. And in Malawi the traditional way is to conduct town hall meetings, rallies, and let people see the candidates who are contesting the election, he said.

The ruling political party has tried every trick in the book to frustrate the elections. So, we now have a genuine cause to postpone the election, but people think, no this this just a gimmick, you want to use Covid-19 to cling on to power, Tembo added.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 23:25:39|Editor: huaxia

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HANGZHOU, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Infrared cameras have captured footage of wild Chinese pangolins in a nature reserve in the Xianju National Park in east China's Zhejiang Province.

The spotted pangolins indicated the existence of several small breeding populations of the species in the wild in Zhejiang, according to Zhu Hanbo, deputy director of the national park's management committee.

The mammal species was classified as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List in 2014.

Located in the Xianju National Park, the nature reserve covers an area of 3,000 hectares. The park started to carry out biodiversity conservation and studies together with universities and scientific research institutions in March 2014.

Elliot's pheasants, silver pheasants, black muntjacs, Naemorhedus gorals and other wild species under first- and second-class state-level protection have also been found in the park over the years, Zhu said. Enditem
BMW M8 Competition (Credit: Pras Subramanian)

Across the pond in Germany, the BMW (BMWYY) group on Wednesday reported a nice profit in Q1, although the automaker warned it would take a deep coronavirus hit, forecasting a full-year automotive EBIT margin of only 0% to 3% versus the 2% to 4% it had estimated prior to the pandemic.

However, BMW did start up its engine manufacturing factory just last week, as the automaker hopes the German governments early lockdown and ability to extensively test workers will get things going again.

For BMW, this cant come soon enough. It needs a robust, smooth functioning global economy to sell enough of its high-end sports and luxury automobiles.

Which brings us to arguably a car that 99.9% of us would say is the most discretionary of purchases  yet is also the purpose, or raison detre, of why BMW exists. And that is the BMW M8.

BMW M8 Competition (Credit: Pras Subramanian)

The 8-series is the automakers range-topper. The model that distills everything that BMW holds dear  performance, power, design  you name it. Now add the M badge - a sign that shows BMWs engineers have thrown all their engineering might into making this car even more capable - and the M8 becomes BMWs halo car.

But for some buyers, thats simply not enough, so BMW turns it up to 11 with the M8 Competition, a trim that includes features like better wheels, the M Competition Package, M Sport exhaust system, special seat belts, and a track mode.

And thats the car were testing.

---

A quick note before we get started. While the coronavirus pandemic has basically ripped apart most peoples day-to-day lives, one area that it hasnt, at least for me, is car testing. Its basically a solo endeavor  you hop in the car, drive it around, and take some notes. The hard part is pondering a bit more, wasting some time composing, then finally getting on with putting thoughts to paper (any writers out there know my pain).

But back to the driving part. BMW dropped off the M8 Competition at a local garage via touchless delivery for my weekend test. It would just be me, the car, and some curvy roads in the outskirts of the greater New York City area.

Story continues

Under the hood

BMW's twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V-8

The M8 Competition coupe features a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V-8 that delivers 617 hp (17 more than the regular M8), and 553 lb-ft of torque. BMW says it is the most powerful M-badged car the company has ever produced, and it will send you from 0-60 mph in a lightning quick 3-seconds flat. Pretty awesome when you consider the car weighs a little over two tons.

The Competition package also improves the torque band for that V8, adds more rigid engine mounts, and also includes BMWs M Sport exhaust, to let the engine breathe better (and louder).

Helping get that power to the wheels is BMWs 8-speed M Steptronic transmission with Drivelogic programming. You can keep this transmission in auto mode, or put it in manual and shift on your own with the paddles. In the cars more sportier modes (Ill get to that later), the transmission will hold gears basically to the engines red line.

Also included is Adaptive M Suspension (for adjusting the dampers) and BMWs M Sport Differential which helps put all that power to the wheels.

But thats not all. The M8 is all-wheel drive, just like its 4-door brethren, the M5. And just like the M5, the M8s M xDrive all-wheel-drive system even allows you a full on rear-wheel-drive mode. Impressive stuff for those who like to see that rear end break away during spirited cornering.

Styling

BMW M8 Competition (Credit: Pras Subramanian)

The M8 looks aggressive and purposeful, but I wouldnt call it brutal, like a Nissan GT-R for example. No, the M8 has some beauty to it, and I believe BMWs designers went in that direction over pure aero performance for a reason (more on that later).

It didnt hurt that the car came in an eye-popping Java Green Metallic, as BMW calls it. At first it struck me as a collab between BMW and Hot Wheels, but it grew on me pretty quickly. And everywhere I drove gawkers abounded and mouthed as I sped by, What is that thing?

BMW M8 Competition (Credit: Pras Subramanian)

Yes - if youre going to get a high-end sports car, you might as well get it loud. This car in this color says one thing: I know how to have fun! Im not some boring dentist in a 3-Series; this is a glowing green M8 Competition for chrissakes.

Lets also not forget the M8 Competition comes with a contrasting black carbon fiber roof as well, that improves rigidity and weight.

Stepping inside the cabin, I was in for a surprise  a good one. This wasnt the interior of a regular M-car or even a stripped down M3 CS with bare carbon door cards, for example. No, the M8 Competitions interior is all about luxury - seriously.

BMW M8 Competition

From the two-tone leather seats with diamond stitching, to the leather clad dash and Alcantara headliner, to the beautiful carbon fiber trim and the booming Bowers & Wilkins sound system, you would not be mistaken if you thought you entered a super-high-end grand tourer. Was this really an M8 Competition  or a Mercedes S 63 coupe?

BMW M8 Competition

Behind the wheel

Now slipping into the drivers seat and firing up the car, the sport exhaust, even in its most docile setting, tells everyone within earshot that theres a special car waking up.

Fine, that shouldnt be a surprise. What did surprise me is the sheer number of driver settings and modes, including all the things you can actually adjust. Its not just comfort, sport, and sport plus here.

At its core, BMW has set up the M8 so that its engine, all-wheel-drive system, and suspension all have three settings for you to choose from. These settings can be controlled via the center touchscreen, and the transmission can be adjusted by using a button on the shift lever. The M1 and M2 red trigger buttons on each side of the steering wheel can summon your preferred settings, so once you have those set up, youre good to go.

BMW M8 Competition (Credit: Pras Subramanian)

If youre the type that doesnt want to get all fiddly with the settings, BMW adds an M-mode button by the shifter that includes preprogrammed Road, Sport, and Track setups that you can engage on the fly. Note the Track setting is an M8 Competition exclusive.

And for something I've never seen before in a road car  the M8 has adjustable brakes. Yes, you can adjust brake feel on the fly with the M8, in something BMW calls an "integrated braking system." It gives you two settings, Comfort and Sport, with each setting determining how much pressure you need to put on the pedal to stop the car. I found comfort to be totally fine for all driving conditions outside of a track.

Once you get going theres no denying this big car can move, fast. And it sounds great doing it. I found steering input to be more than adequate for a car of this size, but from a handling perspective in aggressive cornering you could feel its weight. The power delivery was immense and could be summoned at just a tap of the accelerator, not surprising here given the cars sheer firepower.

BMW M8 Competition (Credit: Pras Subramanian)

But what i discovered from my weekend with the car was is that it isnt meant to be a track weapon, as you might expect from an M-badged car. This car is meant for long drives and eating miles, and some sweeping curves on the back roads if you can find them. This car  with leather everywhere, cool LED lighting scheme (including lights in the speakers, of all places), and plush ride in comfort  is about luxury and exclusivity.

You see the M8 isnt about peak performance, its about peak motoring in general. This is BMWs halo car, yes, but its not focused just for the track. Its for the road  and discerning clientele who dont want to strap into a race car every time they have to pick up the dry cleaning, or go to their local bistro for a quick meal.

With a starting price of $146,000, this car is in the same competitive landscape as the aforementioned Mercedes S-class coupe, Porsche 911, even the Aston Martin Vantage, and within striking distance of the Bentley Continental GT. But like Ive been hinting at, sports cars like the Porsche 911 and even Audi R8 arent the M8s true competitors.

The M8 Competition is striking that balance between luxury and sport that Mercedes and Bentley occupy. Whether buyers are willing to cross shop at this level is something BMW will soon find out, but one thing is a given: BMW is betting the M8 Competition will be the aspirational model its passionate fans will be pining for, even if luxury takes precedence over performance.

BMW M8 Competition (Credit: Pras Subramanian)



Pras Subramanian is a senior producer and reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.

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Linkedin Editorial Board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 9, 2020 08:22 620 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd6de10a 1 Editorial #Editorial,COVID-19,reopening,lockdown,Indonesia,PSBB,public-transportation,infectious-diseases,pandemic,large-scale-social-restrictions Free

Reports about the easing of restrictions in other countries are ever so tempting. Even in China where a second wave of COVID-19 infections is not ruled out, kindergartens have opened; likewise, classes have started in Japan and Denmark with school staff taking temperatures at the door and with desks set further apart than usual.



Since late April several states in the United States have begun easing home confinement while the hardest hit areas such as California and New York are holding fast to restrictions. Germanys Chancellor Angela Merkel announced on Wednesday the gradual lifting of restrictions; shops can reopen with additional hygiene measures, for instance.



In Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Friday a three-step plan for restarting economic and social life with July set as the final aspirational target. In the first phase to start soon, weddings can have a maximum of 10 guests, cafes and restaurants can have up to 10 patrons with at least 4 square meters of space per person; but international travel is unlikely to resume in the near future.



Last Friday Malaysia announced most businesses would be allowed to resume operations and childcare centers would open. However, parents remain fearful about taking chances.



Therefore, governments are assessing their own societies on when and how to go about relaxing restrictions.



In Indonesia as millions become deeply fearful about how to feed their families in the coming weeks, hopes are high that the economy can slowly resume. But however closely we may try to imitate the disciplined measures in the above countries, there are already too many holes in the enforcement of the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB).



The national COVID-19 taskforce chief Doni Monardo said Wednesday that essential travel was now allowed, such as for medical personnel but he also described the presence of a military officers wife at his handover ceremony as important. So, what other interpretations could there be of what is essential?



Further, the main drawback is that we lack even the basic, essential information to assess the severity of the global pandemic within our shores. Swab tests have covered over 96,000 people but this is only 358 tests per 1 million people, far lower than in neighboring countries; while high-risk clusters keep emerging such as in wet markets and health facilities, which have treated superspreader patients with unclear travel histories.



As epidemiologist Pandu Riono has said, only with timely, accurate data on transmission can authorities evaluate the PSBB and issue a gradual plan to loosen restrictions. Apart from a decline in confirmed cases as a reason to ease restrictions, he said the figures of patients under surveillance also should decline, as well as there being no new clusters.



Yet on Tuesday Indonesia reported its highest increase of confirmed infections with 484 new cases in one day, just as Doni had claimed the transmission rate had slowed to around 11 percent.



We agree with the experts that it is too early to ease restrictions as hospitals are still overwhelmed. At the very least the government needs to increase the provision of aid and intensify the campaign to curb the spread of the virus.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-10 00:22:45|Editor: huaxia

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ADDIS ABABA, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Djibouti's Ministry of Health on Saturday announced 54 new COVID-19 confirmed cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Horn of Africa nation to 1,189.

The Djiboutian Ministry of Health, in a statement issued on Saturday, disclosed that from a total of 199 people who were tested over the last 24 hours, 54 were tested positive for the virus.

The ministry also announced that some 834 people who have been infected with the COVID-19 have recovered as of the stated period.

Djibouti has so far conducted a total of about 15,056 COVID-19 tests, according to the Djibouti Ministry of Health, which has reported three COVID-19 deaths.

Djibouti reported its first COVID-19 case on March 18.

Djibouti, which lies on a key location connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, hosts a number of foreign military bases. Enditem
The Israeli security cabinet held a top secret meeting on Thursday to discuss a highly unusual Iranian cyberattack against Israeli civilian water infrastructure that took place two weeks ago, Israeli officials tell me.

Why it matters: The Iranian cyberattack didn't cause much damage, but Israeli officials say the government sees the attack as a major escalation by the Iranians, and the crossing of a red line due to the fact that the target was civilian water facilities.

Fox News first reported on Thursday that Iran was behind the cyberattack. According to the report, the Iranians used computer servers located in the U.S. to attack the Israeli water facilities.

What they're saying: "This was a very unordinary cyber attack against civilian water facilities which is against every ethic and every code even in times of war," a senior Israeli official told me. "We didn't expect this even from the Iranians. It is just not done."

What's next: The Israeli government will now have to decide if and how to retaliate. A cyberattack against Iranian targets could be one such act of retribution. But cyberattacks between enemy countries like Israel and Iran could escalate and move into the physical world and turn into kinetic strikes.
It is important to the health and well being of our children, Lightfoot said. And yes, we have been doing remote learning, but better yet to be right in close proximity to your teachers. Now were not going to do that if we dont have the data tells us something else. Were not going to do it if we cant keep the entirety of the school community safe."
Questions are being raised by unions and advocacy groups about why Ontario seniors with COVID-19 are not being sent to hospitals from long-term care and retirement homes struggling with outbreaks.

I have been really concerned about this, said Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition. The hospitals ... are not in total crisis. The long-term care homes are in crisis, and a significant number of retirement homes.

In Hamilton, one long-term care resident has died in hospital while five died in the homes. At Cardinal Retirement Residence on Herkimer Street, three residents died in hospital while five more died at the retirement home.

If I were in that situation in long-term care and frail, I would rather die at home rather than in a hospital, said Arthur Schafer, founding director of the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics, at the University of Manitoba.

He says most long-term care residents are age 80 or more, physically frail with underlying health conditions, and many are cognitively impaired.

They wouldnt be admitted even in normal times let alone in pandemic times, he said. The decision not to send long-term care patients to a hospital for potential ICU admission would be understandable and reasonable.

However, Schafers assessment is based on the home being able to provide end-of-life care and other supports to keep the resident comfortable.

Theyre entitled to palliative care and if they will not receive good palliative care in their long-term care facilities, that is a medical scandal and an ethical scandal, he said.

The capacity of Ontarios long-term care homes  particularly those with large outbreaks  to provide supportive care is precisely what is raising alarm among the coalition, the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

We agreed that we would be calling much more assertively for people to be transferred to hospital where they can be cared for safely, said Mehra. She points to a report the coalition did with Unifor in January that found long-term care homes were at their breaking point before the pandemic.

There was total consensus that every home was working short staffed all the time  every shift, worse on the evening and weekends  and that was prior to COVID-19. Now its indescribable.

CUPE announced that it plans to launch a legal action next week on behalf of long-term care residents alleging discrimination on the basis of age.

Not everybody has a do-not-resuscitate order and many of the people who do could be made more comfortable, said Michael Hurley, president of CUPEs Ontario Council of Hospital Unions. There is lots of things that people could do for them in a hospital setting. From our perspective, people in long-term care are undervalued significantly and denied access to some of the quality care that the rest of the people enjoy.

But the executive director of Dundurn Place Care Centre on Mary Street, where two residents died in April, says keeping them at the home is about compassion and a dignified death.

Although hospitals may have more equipment, LTC staff are family to the resident and have been there for that resident for weeks, months, or even years, said Danny Pereira. This is the residents home and many wish to live out their days here. By staying in the residence at the end of life, not only are they provided with comfort measures but are also surrounded by the loving care of the people that have been there for them all along.

He says the home is capable of providing comfort measures to ensure that the resident is free of pain and suffering despite having three infected staff as well as nine residents.

The dedication and compassion that Ive seen in recent weeks is invaluable, he said.

Heritage Green Nursing Home, where four residents died  including three at the home  and Cardinal did not respond to requests for comment. Some residents from the Cardinal outbreak were sent to hospitals when the home could no longer cope.

The province says neither the Ministry of Long-Term Care nor the chief medical officer of health have directed homes to keep residents out of hospital.

The decision of whether to send residents who have COVID-19 to hospital is made on a case-by-case basis by a physician in consultation with the resident and their family, the ministers office said in a statement. If residents who tested positive for COVID-19 require medical attention that the long-term care home is unable to provide, these residents are transferred to hospital to meet the health-care needs.

The Advocacy Centre for the Elderly has questioned when advanced directives were signed, indicating that residents dont want to go to hospital.

Weve heard of homes  and I dont know if there is any in your area  that the administrator has made a blanket policy that they are not sending people to hospital who has COVID and thats just illegal, said Jane Meadus, staff lawyer for the centre.

She also said directives signed when a person entered a long-term care home  long before COVID-19  are also not informed consent.

Its meaningless, she said. Theyre out of context.

At Dundurn Care Centre, Pereira said discussions happen more than once  on admission, annually and with a residents status change.

Decisions are fluid and not made in stone, he said. They adapt to the residents needs in consultation with family, palliative experts, doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners and the resident him/herself if able.

CUPE says it has been a long-standing issue that residents of seniors homes are not sent for hospital care.

Even before COVID, there was a resistance to transferring long-term care residents who were acutely ill to hospital and that was linked to the lack of capacity in the acute-care system we believe, said Hurley. And now with COVID, you have to ask yourself how many of these residents in long-term care are being offered the opportunity to be cared for in hospital.

Hamiltons hospitals, which currently have resources available because they have not seen the expected surge of patients, did set up a 24-7 line during COVID-19 that connects long-term care homes to doctors and other health-care providers to help keep residents in their home.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have received long-term care and retirement home residents with COVID-19 into our hospitals and will continue to do so as needed, said Dr. Wes Stephen, chief operating officer at Hamilton Health Sciences. In addition, LTC homes can now connect with ED physicians and other medical specialists 24-7 through virtual and telephone access, and we have started the process to deploy staff to LTC and retirement homes as the need arises in our community.

Hamilton was back to having double-digit increases in cases for the first time in a number of days with 14 new confirmed cases Friday bringing the total to 483 plus five more probable.

Ontario also saw a larger-than-normal increase of 477 infected to 19,598 confirmed cases.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  If Staten Islanders truly wonder where they stand with Mayor Bill de Blasio, the COVID-19 pandemic has left little doubt.

Weve been treated as little more than an after-thought during the entire outbreak.

De Blasio continues to refuse to deploy military medical personnel that the city got from Washington to hospitals on Staten Island. While the mayor has continued to send volunteer medical staff here, he said that the military staffers were meant for the citys public hospitals.

And, darn the luck, Staten Island is the only borough without a public hospital.

The city has sent 29 medical volunteers here, while 700 military members were deployed to the citys public hospital system. The city also sent supplies here.

Rep. Max Rose (D-Staten Island/Brooklyn) and Brough President James Oddo have wondered whether the city explained to the feds that Staten Island has no public hospital. That might make a difference when it comes to deployment of resources.

Its not the first time that weve gotten the short end of the COVID stick. Early in the pandemic, de Blasio sent increased city resources to the public hospitals, another effort that excluded the Island.

So much for were all in this together.

Then there are the follies weve seen with the Staten Island Ferry.

With ridership falling to historic lows, the city announced the ferries would run only once an hour, even though half-hour service, around the clock, is mandated by law. The city said that they were allowed to override the law because of the COVID-19 emergency.

But then it was revealed that the reduction in overnight half-hour service might remain in effect until the middle of 2021, thanks to city budget problems. Thats way past the current emergency. Are Staten Islanders going to have to sue to get their full service back?

To top it all off, the city then decreed that lower-level boarding would be prohibited for most riders, meaning theyd have to wait for the boat in potentially crowded terminal waiting rooms.

The upshot: Reduced service and restricted boarding areas mean less space for people to socially distance. The exact opposite of what we should be doing during the pandemic.

And last week, de Blasio caved to City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and agreed to close 40 miles of city roads to vehicles so that stir-crazy New Yorkers could get out of their homes and walk or bike around.

Forget for the moment that this only encourages people to congregate on the street at a time when were supposed to socially distance.

The thing to remember here is that pro-street closure people ultimately want to see 100 miles of city streets closed to vehicles, and that they want to see street closures kept in place even after the pandemic ends.

Theyve long wanted streets to be given over to pedestrians and cyclists. This is one of the transformations they want to see come out of the current crisis. They would use the pandemic to further their agenda.

Which is nice if you live in a place where youre connected to the city subway system and dont need a car to get around. Sorry, Staten Islanders.

None of this high-handedness started with the pandemic, of course. De Blasios is the speed camera and bike lane administration. The one that gave us a massive homeless shelter without any local input. That came up with a goofy rezoning plan for Bay Street that will only worsen our infrastructure problems. An administration that backs the congestion pricing tax.

No, were not the forgotten borough when it comes to City Hall. Its worse than that. Were a borough that hardly gets thought about at all.

Maybe one of the other transformations that should come out of the pandemic is a City of Staten Island. Im sure the other four boroughs wouldnt mind. Im not sure that they would even notice.
The most rewarding part of my job is when I know that I helped someone in their time of need. Sometimes it is just a cup of coffee, a drink of water, an ear to listen, acknowledge them as a person, medication, hold their hand when family cant be there or even hold a family members hand during a grieving time. When they say thank you by speaking or with a hand squeeze or smile, I know I have been the nurse God called me to be.

The biggest challenge of my job is when you know you have done everything you can do and the outcome is not what you wanted or expected. Thats when you have to put it in Gods hands. Sometimes I wonder if maybe I could have done something different but I have to trust my judgment and rely on God.

I work in PACU now so of course since the pandemic, my role has changed quite a bit. Our elective cases were put on hold so I moved to other departments to help out. I have done a little bit of everything. I started out screening patients and visitors. Then I have given out PPE, checked employees temps and screening. I have also done a lot in Acute Care and House Supervisor. While I have enjoyed all these areas, I am anxious to get back to PACU.

While I have been a nurse for almost 24 years, it is hard to pick out just one certain patient that sticks out in my mind. There are so many. I guess one that was many years ago that has always hung on to me was a man at the VA. He came in in an unresponsive state. He was a very sick man. They found out that he needed dental surgery. After that he made a complete turn around. He was there for quite a long time so we grew very fond of him. It was Christmas Eve night and I was working. He was awake and we began talking about our childhood Christmases. He told us how he was from New York and they were very poor. He said the they always had a great Christmas because they were all together and happy. Rarely did they get anything but they didnt mind because they had food to eat and had each other. He had no family here so he said we could be his family. I will never forget him. There have many that have touched my heart over the years. It is so hard to pick just one.
Overlooked is a series of obituaries about remarkable people whose deaths, beginning in 1851, went unreported in The Times. With no money to pay for college in post-World War II Scotland, 16-year-old June Almeida took an entry-level job in the histology department of a Glasgow hospital, where she learned to examine tissue under a microscope for signs of disease. It was a fortuitous move, for her and for science. In 1966, nearly two decades later, she used a powerful electron microscope to capture an image of a mysterious pathogen  the first coronavirus known to cause human ...
During its vote this week supporting the governments policy to end the nationwide lockdown on May 11, the French Senate adopted provisions limiting criminal liability throughout the coronavirus health emergency. The Senates vote expands already existing restrictions on liability that the government had passed in 2000 in the wake of previous healthcare crises. The ruling class is seeking to grant itself legal immunity as it launches an end to confinement that will cause thousands of new COVID-19 cases.

The Senate amendment, proposed by the Republicans (LR), provides that no one may be held liable for having either exposed another person to a risk of contamination or caused or contributed to causing such contamination, unless the acts were committed through imprudence or negligence in the exercise of administrative police powers or in manifestly deliberate violation of a particular duty of care or safety of a police measure.

These provisions cover the entire period since the state declared a national health emergency in March, and apply not only to elected representatives and ministers, but also to civil servants and private employers, who have specific guarantees if they put their employees at risk. They abolish the previous requirement of serious misconduct, since misconduct could now be sought only in very restrictive circumstances where one of the administrative police measures enacted by the government has not been complied with.

The Senate vote follows a wave of legal suits by caregivers and families of those who have died from COVID-19, with targets including ministers, senior government officials and private employers. It is expected that more lawsuits will follow.

President Macron, who as head of state is not criminally liable for offences committed in the course of his duties, but who is co-responsible with the Prime Minister for the governments policy, has not openly expressed his opposition to the lawsuits, which damages the facade of national unity that the government seeks to present around its policy.

The Court of Justice of the Republic is the only institution that can try government ministers for acts committed in the course of their official duties. It has already received numerous complaints for offences such as manslaughter, endangerment of the lives of others or wilful failure to take measures to combat a disaster. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, former Health Minister Agnes Buzyn and her successor Olivier Veran are among the ministers targeted

In the context of the drive to reopen the economy, Prime Minister Philippe declared on April 28 in the Senate: We feel that the prolonged halt in production of entire sections of our economy  the interruption of public or private investment would mean not only the problems of a prolonged lockdown, but with a far more terrible risk of collapse.

So we have to learn to live with COVID-19, he added. In other words, the economy must be revived at all costs, with thousands of workers infected and killed, rather than stopping the spread of the virus by taking the necessary public health measures.

In Europe, the German government sees the pandemic as an opportunity to strengthen its economic dominance. The American ruling class is centrally concerned with strengthening itself against China in Asia and internationally.

Workers who continued to work throughout the national lockdown have paid a heavy price to their health, and many have died. This will only intensify with the full reopening of the economy. This lies behind the ruling classs demands for political and economic decision-makers to be protected from the consequences of their own actions.

Most of the provisions announced by the public authorities that are supposed to guarantee the safety of workers after the end to the lockdown on May 11 have simply not been put in place and evaluated. It will be even more difficult to put them in place after May 11.

In the public transport system, the national and Parisian railways have already announced in the press that they will be unable to transport the expected number of workers while respecting social distancing guidelines. Schools are to be reopened under conditions where it remains unclear what the impact of the virus is on children and how they spread it, and where teachers and mayors are unable to prepare their classrooms in time in line with official recommendations.

The Fauchon law, which was passed in 2000, is being presented as a model for the legislation, under the banner of protecting local mayors from the legal consequences of the governments policies. As explained by the World Socialist Web Site in 2003, this law, under the pretext of protecting mayors, was aimed at protecting senior public and private officials from their responsibility in major public health scandals.

These included the tainted blood scandal where, in the 1980s, the Socialist Party government allowed health authorities to use blood stocks contaminated with the AIDS virus to be used for hemophiliacs, resulting in mass deaths among hemophiliacs in France; the huge excess mortality linked to the 2003 heat wave; and countless deaths linked to the continued use of asbestos.

As with the Fauchon law passed by the Republicans for the benefit of the Socialist Party, the ruling class is closing ranks as the political system is shaken by a major crisis.

Prime Minister Philippe has said the government opposes the amendment, but in reality the draft legislation was first pushed by an appeal from 138 deputies and 19 senators of the governments party Republic on the Move. Intense negotiations between the parties are under way to try to get the senatorial draft passed in the National Assembly or to find an arrangement to achieve a similar result by some other means.

Whatever the outcome of the negotiations conducted behind the scenes by the main parties, they confirm that ensuring the health and safety of workers forced to return to work are not on the agenda of the ruling class, which is concerned instead with ensuring its own impunity.
Angelica Whiting, whose mother Cynthia Whiting was a Sagepoint resident who died after developing covid-19, said Sagepoint initially told the family that her mother had pneumonia and was not tested for the coronavirus. Then the family was told Sagepoint had tested her and the results were negative. But at the hospital April 11, where she was rushed because of gastrointestinal bleeding, doctors said she tested positive.
The United States has approved a $2.3 billion deal on attack helicopters for Egypt, but an official insisted Friday that Washington was still pressing on human rights concerns.

President Donald Trump's administration informed Congress on Thursday that it has given the green light to the package to refurbish 43 Apache helicopters.

R. Clarke Cooper, the State Department official in charge of military sales, said the deal was intended to support Egypt's campaign against Islamist militants in the Sinai peninsula and to ensure its interoperability with Israel's military.

The deal came despite appeals to cut off US military sales from April Corley, an American tourist visiting Egypt's Western Desert who was seriously injured and whose boyfriend was killed in an Apache attack on their tour group in 2015.

She said Egyptian authorities admitted a mistake but have refused compensation.

Another US citizen, Mustafa Kassem, died in Egyptian custody in January from a hunger strike. He was rounded up on a visit to Cairo in 2013 as part of a sweeping crackdown.

"We have been very clear with our Egyptian counterparts and interlocutors about the death of Mustafa Kassem and about the case with April Corley and that settlement," Cooper told reporters.

"Those have not gone away and they have not gone off the table," he said.

"But they do remain an important partner on the global counterterrorism campaign and they certainly remain a partner not only with us but also with our Israeli ally," he said.

Egypt in 1979 became the first Arab country to make peace with Israel, becoming one of the biggest recipients of US aid, with the defense assistance largely going back to US arms manufacturers.

Trump has cultivated a close relationship with Egypt's general turned president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who has highlighted his fight against the Islamic State group and recently shipped coronavirus aid to the United States.

Representative Tom Malinowski, who served as the top State Department human rights official under president Barack Obama, told a forum last year that Egypt's military was "utterly, disastrously incompetent in addition to being cruel" and said its Apaches often fired at any spotted target without intelligence.

"The only thing they know how to do well with these F-16s and Apaches is to show them off in parades and air shows that are designed to make the regime look good," he said.
Norways sovereign wealth fund will have to liquidate assets in order to make room to maneuver through an economic crisis, according to Bloomberg.

This is the first time in its history that Norways sovereign wealth fund is having to liquidate its assets, as the coronavirus pandemic and low oil prices impact markets.

Norges Bank governor Oystein Olsen, who oversees the countrys $1-trillion bank, told Bloomberg Television that this will provide room to maneuver through the worst economic crisis since World War II.

Its part of the general guidelines that in such circumstances you can spend more, Olsen said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.

It obviously is a positive feature of our society that we have this room to maneuver, unlike a number of other countries.

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MANILA, Philippines The Philippine Navy has confirmed the fire incident that took place onboard BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PS16) on Thursday night (May 7) just a few hours after it departed Port of Cochin, India bound for Manila.

In a statement issued on Friday, the Navy said the vessel was in convoy with BRP Davao del Sur (LD602).

Naval Public Affairs Office Acting Director, LCdr. Maria Christina Roxas, said initial investigation showed that the fire that broke at the main engine room was put out in 10 minutes but injured two personnel with second degree burns and caused minor damage in some equipment.

This unfortunate incident could have been worse if not for the promptness of our PN personnel in responding to the fire incident. We recognize the gallant efforts of our personnel in responding to the emergency situation in spite of the dangers involved. Rest assured that the safety and welfare of our personnel is of paramount importance, Roxas added.

One of the two sailors who were injured in the fire is now receiving treatment in an Indian medical facility, while the other is in sickbay aboard the vessel.

Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana, in a statement released on Saturday, said the vessel has returned to Cochin, India, reaching the port under its own power and unassisted as it only sustained minor damage.

He added that the US Navys Naval Systems Command (NAVSEA) will assist in the repair of the BRP Alcaraz since the vessel was acquired from the US.

We will also use existing diplomatic mechanisms and our defense cooperation agreement with India to facilitate and expedite work on the ship so that it can return to the country in the shortest time possible, Lorenzana concluded. /mbmf

The post Navy confirms BRP Ramon Alcaraz fire appeared first on UNTV News.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has ordered a probe into the drowning of several Afghan migrants last week after reports that Iranian border guards allegedly forced them into a river.

Afghan authorities had already been investigating the incident, but Ghani on May 8 formed a new 10-member team to look into the deaths after 18 bodies of migrants were recovered, some of them bearing signs of torture.

Officials claim the migrants drowned in the Harirud River while illegally crossing into Iran from Afghanistans western Herat Province.

A decree issued by Ghani orders the team to carry out a thorough investigation into reports about the deaths of several countrymen along the Iranian border," the presidents office said in a statement.

Abdul Ghani Noori, the governor of Herat Province, said earlier on May 8 that out of 55 Afghan migrants who were forced into the river authorities had so far recovered 18 bodies and six were still missing.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on May 4 called allegations that Iranian border guards beat and then forced Afghan migrants into the river shocking.

Afghan officials said last week that the Afghans were beaten, tortured, and then forced into the Harirud River by Iranian border guards.

The allegations are indeed shocking, Patricia Gossman, an associate director for the Asia division at HRW, told RFE/RL on May 4.

It really requires a very thorough investigation into what exactly happened, she added.

Gossman said if proven, the actions of the Iranian border guards would amount to a very serious human rights violation.

Abbas Musavi, a spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, said the "incident" took place on Afghan soil.

"Border guards of the Islamic Republic of Iran denied the occurrence of any events related to this on the soil of our country," he said in a statement on May 3, adding that Tehran would launch an investigation.

Decades of conflict, extreme poverty, and high rates of unemployment force thousands of Afghans to illegally cross the border to Iran every year.

There are currently up to 1 million registered Afghan refugees in Iran, while the country hosts another 2 million undocumented Afghans, according to the United Nations.

Based on reporting by AFP
The rising TikTok influencer was arrested on 21 April on charges of posting videos on the platform which were described by prosecutors as "inciting debauchery and immorality"

A Cairo court ordered the 15-day detention renewal of Egyptian TikTok influencer Haneen Hossam after accepting an appeal by the general prosecution against a previous court rule which ordered her release.

The decision comes two days after Hossam, 20, was ordered released by a Cairo court on Thursday with a posted bail of EGP 50,000 (approximately $3,000) after her arrest on 21 April on charges of 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 earlier said she was arrested with three smartphones 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.

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.

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By ANI

NEW DELHI:: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has called for an immediate economic stimulus package of Rs 15 lakh crore -- or 7.5 per cent of the GDP -- to tide over the impact of COVID-19 led countrywide lockdown.

The lead industry body said the pandemic has severely crippled the national economy. The lockdown which was necessitated to arrest the spread of contagion has come at a huge economic cost. CII said that by the time third phase of lockdown ends, the industry would have lost almost two months of output.

With economic activities being restricted for over 50 days now, the negative impact on economy is expected to be even more significant than what was anticipated earlier. This needs to be offset by a large fiscal stimulus so that jobs and livelihoods are protected. "CII recommends the government to announce an immediate stimulus package of at least Rs 15 lakh crore, which translates into 7.5 per cent of GDP," said CII president Vikram Kirloskar.

The broad elements of the stimulus include cash transfers of Rs 2 lakh crore to JAM account holders in addition to the Rs 1.7 lakh stimulus already announced.

A key fallout of this economic slowdown will be the human cost in terms of loss of jobs and livelihoods, which need urgent government intervention, said Director General Chandrajit Banerjee. "It should be ensured that migrant labourers are kept within the purview of proposed cash transfers."

CII also called for providing enterprises an immediate support to pay salaries to its workers and avoid any job losses.

ALSO READ| Go in for monetization, higher fiscal deficit in measured way: Ex-RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan

t suggested a provision of Rs 2 lakh crore for additional working capital limits to be provided by banks, equivalent to April to June wage bill of the borrowers, backed by a government guarantee at 4 to 5 per cent interest.

To support the estimated 6.3 crore micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) battered by the pandemic, CII suggested a credit protection scheme under which 60 to 70 per cent of the loan should be guaranteed by the government.

That means if a borrower defaults, the government should repay the bank up to the amount it has guaranteed so the risk to lender is limited.

In addition, CII suggested creation of a fund or special purpose vehicle with a corpus of Rs 1.4 crore to 1.6 lakh crore which will subscribe to non-convertible debentures or bonds of corporates rated A and above.

The fund can be seeded by the government contributing a corpus of Rs 10,000 crore to 20,000 crore with further investments from banks and financial institutions. This will provide adequate liquidity to industry, particularly the stressed sectors like aviation, tourism and hospitality.

In order to create a significant multiplier impact on boosting demand in rest of the sectors and enhancing long-term productivity, funding public infrastructure has been found to be a potent option.

CII suggested an allocation of Rs 4 lakh crore be made on a public works programme that will create job opportunities. The work should be initiated with the involvement of state governments so that implementation bottlenecks can be overcome.

Specifically, the spending can begin with the completion of projects that have already begun, such as roads which are stalled after 80 per cent of the job is complete.

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CII has also suggested an allocation of Rs 2 lakh crore to be earmarked for bailing out state-run electricity distribution companies that have been accumulating losses and burdening the state exchequer.

To protect the financial sector for meeting credit needs of real estate sector as well as absorb some shocks from potential insolvencies, an allocation of Rs 2 lakh crore for bank recapitalisation is required. This will help public sector banks manage any surge in their non-performing assets.
When Canadians flocked to their grocery stores to stock up for the pandemic lockdown, most werent filling their carts with plant-based proteins.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 9/5/2020 (620 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

Cattle look out form a feedlot in Brooks, Alta., Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012. Canadian livestock producers are suffering after COVID-19 outbreaks led to a series of closures and slowdowns at meat processing plants across the country. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

When Canadians flocked to their grocery stores to stock up for the pandemic lockdown, most werent filling their carts with plant-based proteins.

It was the meat counters that cleared out along with the toilet paper shelves, baking ingredients, and other basics considered necessities.

While more Canadians have been experimenting with these plant-based proteins, most continue to include at least some meat on their menu.

Its safe to say that most of us prefer not to think about the part between animals living on the farm and their presence on our plates, aside from demanding assurances that they dont unduly suffer.

However, the COVID-19 crisis has shone a spotlight into the dark shadows that now cant be ignored in the meat-processing sector.

Industry concentration in search of economies of scale means that upwards of 85 per cent of Canadas beef comes from three processing plants owned by two non-Canadian companies. Seventy per cent of the countrys beef supply comes from two plants in Alberta most affected by COVID-19 casualties.

The National Farmers Union has been flagging packer concentration as a concern for years. In a recent report the organization noted that in 1988, there were 119 federally inspected beef packing plants in Canada, all Canadian-owned. It blames the continued focus on increasing export volumes for the decline in local processing.

"The pursuit of maximum exports has resulted in a corporate beef sector that extracts all it can from workers, farmers, taxpayers, consumers and agricultural ecosystems," it says.

Nearly half of the 2,000 workers in the Cargill-owned Alberta plant have tested positive to COVID-19, which points to a stunning failure by its management and public health officials to protect the health and safety of workers.

Its also become clear in the aftermath that this travesty is about more than plant safety. These plants rely heavily on imported workers who routinely share accommodation and transportation and for whom it was impossible to self-isolate.

Closing the plants to bring the situation under control has pushed back to the farm and feedlots where upwards of 130,000 head of cattle are on hold, increasing feeding costs and depressing market prices. Similarly, pork processors have been temporarily closed forcing hog producers to euthanize young animals because they have run out of room in their barns.

The repercussions have rippled up through the supply chain, creating shortages and higher prices for consumers, and now, for taxpayers.

Governments have stepped up to provide $100 million in assistance to cattle and pork producers, along with $77.5 million to the Canadian meat-packing companies to make their plants safer. More will likely be necessary.

It all leaves a bad taste that threatens to drive consumers away.

Coincidentally, sales of plant-based burgers, which were soaring already, have picked up the pace even more due to meat shortages in the U.S., the Washington-based online news agency The Hill is reporting.

This is cause for celebration among anti-meat campaigners (as well as for shareholders in these new ventures.) Nothing would please them more than to see consumers turn their backs on meat products for good, citing everything from global warming to environmental to welfare to health issues as reasons.

COVID-19 has shown us rapid behavioural change is possible, so its conceivable to see this as a turning point in our psyche around consuming animal products.

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Plant-based proteins have their merits but they are not a simple nutritional substitute for meat.

As for the land, some protein plants such as legumes have the remarkable ability to produce their own nitrogen. However, while some plants are more efficient than others at using available phosphorus, there are none so far that can produce it.

The best we can do to conserve essential but finite resources like phosphorus is to recycle them. Even the plants used to make Beyond Meat burgers need phosphorus to grow.

Well-managed livestock systems  with emphasis on well-managed  are important nutrient recyclers. As well, turning forages into protein through cattle is often done on land that is otherwise unsuitable for growing crops.

Canadians are right to demand improvements to this countrys meat-supply chain. But abandoning it altogether would leave us even more vulnerable to future food shortages.

Laura Rance is vice-president of content for Glacier FarmMedia. She can be reached at lrance@farmmedia.com
Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday said he is "totally healthy" and not suffering from any ailment, dispelling rumours about his health on the social media.

In a signed statement, the home minister said in the last couple of days rumours have been spread by "some friends" about his health and that "some people even wished death for me" through tweets.

"I am totally healthy and I am not suffering from any disease," he said in the statement in Hindi which was posted on his Twitter handle.

Shah said the country is currently battling the novel coronavirus pandemic and as the home minister of the country, he has been busy in his work till late in the night and hence he could not notice such rumours earlier.

"When I came to know about it, I thought let these rumour- mongers be happy in such unrealistic thoughts and hence I did not give any clarification," he said.

But in the past two days, Shah said, lakhs of BJP workers and his well-wishers have expressed their concerns and he could not overlook their worry.

"That is why I want to make it clear today that I am totally healthy and I am not suffering from any disease," he said.

Shah said that according to Hindu beliefs, such rumours make a person healthier and that he would expect these rumour-mongers to mind their own work leaving aside all these and let him devote his time in his work.

"I express my gratitude to all party workers and well-wishers for expressing concern and inquiring about my health. I thank those who have spread the rumours and want to say that I have no ill-feeling for them," he added.

Bharatiya Jnataa Party president J P Nadda said that making "inhuman" comments about the health of Shah is "extremely condemnable".

"Making inhuman comments about the health of Home Minister Amit Shah is extremely condemnable. Spreading such misleading remarks about anyone's health shows the mindset of people doing so. I strongly condemn it and pray to God to grant them good sense," Nadda said in a tweet.

Meanwhile, four persons were detained by Ahmedabad police on Saturday for allegedly spreading misinformation about Shah's health by creating a fake Twitter account in his name.

The local crime branch detained four persons for spreading misinformation about Shah's health, special commissioner of police (crime) Ajay Tomar said.

A screenshot of a fake Twitter account in Shah's name with his photo, claiming that he was suffering from a serious ailment, had gone viral on social media platforms, Tomar said.

The suspects were detained from Ahmedabad and Bhavnagar and they were being questioned, he said.

A case has been registered in this regard under sections 66(c) (punishment for identity theft) and 66(d) (cheating by personation using computer resource) of the Information Technology Act, the official said.
The New York Times interviewed dozens of workers in Mr. Bidens office in the early 1990s and was unable to find anyone who remembered any kind of sexual misconduct against Ms. Reade or anyone else in the office. Five friends, former co-workers and family members have come forward to corroborate that Ms. Reade told them of an episode of either assault or harassment.

President Trump, who has been accused of sexual assault and misconduct by more than a dozen women, weighed in on the situation Friday morning on Fox & Friends. Asked if he thought Ms. Reades accusation was false, he said: I dont know if its false or not. Joe is going to have to prove whatever he has to prove or she has to prove it but thats a battle he has to fight.

The court records from 1996 recap the tumultuous 14-month marriage of Ms. Reade and Mr. Dronen, who met while they were both young staffers on Capitol Hill in 1993. The couple later settled in Morro Bay, Calif., along with their young daughter.

In a filing denying many of the claims Ms. Reade made against him, Mr. Dronen cataloged her claims of having been victimized, first by her separated parents and up to her Senate experience  an account he said that she had first told him when they worked in Washington.

Petitioner told me that she eventually struck a deal with the chief of staff of the Senators office and left her position, Mr. Dronen said, according to the document. I was sympathetic to her needs when she asked me for help, and assisted her financially, and allowed her to stay at my apartment with my roommate while she looked for work.

In an emailed statement sent to the The New York Times this week, Mr. Dronen said he wished Ms. Reade well, but declined to discuss details of their marriage. Tara and I ended our relationship over two decades ago under difficult circumstances. I am not interested in reliving that chapter of my life, the statement said.

The mention in the court complaint of Mr. Bidens chief of staff  and a purported agreement with Ms. Reade  appears to refer to Ted Kaufman, a longtime aide to Mr. Biden.
Swiss humanitarian channel yet to process a single deal for Iran: Report

Iran Press TV

Friday, 08 May 2020 2:25 PM

A new report published in the American media shows a Swiss trade channel much publicized by Washington as a secure way of delivering humanitarian assistance to Iran at a time of sanctions has failed to process any single deal on Iranian medicine imports.

The Daily Beast reported that Iranians have got almost nothing from the Swiss Humanitarian Trade Agreement (SHTA) since it was launched in January with the support and consent of the US.

The channel was meant to find a way around the US sanctions to use Iranian funds deposited abroad to buy food and medicine for the country via the Swiss bank BCP.

However, companies seeking to participate in the scheme have found it very difficult to comply with the criteria set by the US government to avoid violating the general rules governing the sanctions, said the report.

Fabian Maienfisch, a spokesman for Switzerland's State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), which oversees the channel, admitted in comments made to the Daily Beast that the initiative had effectively failed to meet its objectives.

"No transactions have yet been carried out. Unfortunately, this whole process has been slower than expected," said Maienfisch.

The comments prove statements by the Iranian government saying that US officials have been disingenuous in claiming that Iran's humanitarian needs are exempt from the harsh regime of sanctions imposed on the country.

Iran has made it clear that the sanctions have not affected its robust response to a new coronavirus pandemic that has infected more than 100,000 people and led to over 6,000 deaths in the country.

However, governments and rights organizations have criticized the US for its refusal to lift the sanctions at the time the Iranian health system is under pressure, saying the bans violate the most basic principles of human rights.

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Publicans have branded adverts being run by FBD Insurance as a "sick joke".

The publicans are appalled by the negative response by FBD to their business interruption insurance claims.

They have criticised FBD's adverts that state: "Support. It's what we do", and "We all have a role to play during the Covid-19 crisis".

The Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) and the Vintners' Federation of Ireland (VFI) have written to the insurer to complain about the adverts.

It is estimated that around 1,300 members of the two bodies are insured by FBD, making FBD the largest insurer to the licensed trade in Ireland.

Yesterday chief medical officer Tony Holohan said he doesn't see "any realistic prospect" of pubs being able to open next month.

Dr Holohan's comments were in response to proposals for radical changes to how pubs operate, published by the LVA and VFI on Monday.

The refusal of insurers, including FBD, to pay out on business interruption policies to companies hit by Covid-19 has angered publicans, restaurateurs and retailers forced to shut by Government. Business owners say they had cover in place to insure against losses stemming from an outbreak of infectious disease.

In the letter to FBD acting CEO Paul D'Alton, signed by LVA boss Donall O'Keeffe and Padraig Cribben, who heads up the VFI, it is claimed that the FBD brand was "suffering enormous reputational damage across the licensed trade" over the refusal to pay out on business interruption claims.

"This is compounded by your ongoing, high-profile marketing claims such as 'Support. It's what we do' and lines from your ads that say 'We all have a role to play during the Covid-19 crisis'.

"Such advertising is viewed as a sick joke by publicans," it adds.

The letter also states that the LVA, which represents Dublin publicans, was disappointed that Mr D'Alton "never bothered to respond to our email of 1 April last".

"We are asking you to set out an overview of your policy position with regard to business interruption claims from the licensed trade in the context of recent Central Bank guidance and your stated commitment to play a role during the Covid-19 crisis."

There was no response from FBD to the publicans' letter at the time of publication.
For more coverage, visit our complete coronavirus section here.

OLYMPIA, Wash.  Gov. Jay Inslee said Friday that retailers can now serve their customers via curbside pick-up for purchases, part of the state's phased approach to reopening in an effort to restart the Washington economy.

Most merchants are eager to make the most of any lifting of restrictions. However, for the owners of the Queen Anne Book Company, the rush to return is tempered by a desire to make sure their employees feel safe.

We're easing into this in a slow way just to get people comfortable, said Krijn De Jonge, who co-owns the book store.

De Jonge plans to start curbside pickup on Tuesday. He said initially the three owners might handle most of the work, and bring in employees as the develop their safety plan.

We do not want to go back from fully closed to fully open so these steps help," De Jonge said.

Easing restrictions is an important move after the state's economy came to a near standstill weeks ago as officials worked to contain the coronavirus, now linked to at least 900 deaths and over 16,000 confirmed cases statewide.

The governor announced the new retail safety guidelines during an afternoon news conference in Olympia. Also during the session, Inslee said five eastern Washington counties, Columbia, Garfield, Ferry, Lindsay and Pend Oreille,, can now advance to phase 2 of his reopening plan.

Find the full list of state guidelines here

Inslee also said the state has received 37,000 nasal swabs, an integral element in being able to test people for COVID-19. He said he expects to receive thousands of additional materials as well.

Inslee's Friday news conference comes exactly seven days after he unveiled details about his phased approach to get the state open again.

During that April 30 event, Inslee announced that the state's stay-home order would be extended through May 31 during which Washington state would operate under a four-phased approach, that included:

Phase 1: Some outdoor recreation are allowed but the state's ban on large gatherings will remain and and only certain businesses, including construction, landscaping, automobile sales and curb-side pick up for retail sales are permitted.

Phase 2: Outdoor recreation of five or less are permitted along with in-store purchases retailers, with some restrictions, real estate transactions and hair salons and barbers are allowed to resume their operations. Restaurants can re-open provided they can accommodates half of their capacity with tables that seat no more than five people.

Phase 3: The size of outdoor groups grows to up to 50 peoples and non-essential travel is permitted; The capacity of restaurants grows to 70 percent but tables can not seat more than 10 peoples; movie theaters can reopen.

Phase 4: Public interactions resume with physical distancing; gatherings of more than 50 people are allowed; clubs, concerts and large sporting events are permitted.

Inslee has previously said if the phased approach works, he anticipates reopening the state's economy and schools resuming normal operations in the fall.

There would have to be at least three weeks between each phases. If everything goes perfectly, the state wouldn't reach Phase 4 until sometime in July.

Inslee had said previously that for the state to go back to the way things were before COVID-19, the number of new COVID-19 cases would need to go down and testing capacity will need to be ramped up.

Since that news conference, there has been an enormous amount of confusion among some residents and businesses about the details of those phases.

This article was originally published by KOMO News here.

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Businesses that do not comply with new safety protocols aimed at preventing the spread of Covid-19 can be shut down.

Business Minister Heather Humphreys said inspectors from the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) will be able to shut down workplaces that do not comply.

She was speaking at the launch of the Governments Return to Work safety protocol for workplaces to reopen once the lockdown lifts.

They include regulations for social distancing, hand hygiene, first aid and mental health support for returning workers.

Minister @HHumphreysFG published Protocol to help businesses & workers return to work following #COVID19 closures, overseen by @TheHSA.



This sets out steps & processes that businesses must take to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.



More: https://t.co/aCzBTRHK12 #COVID19Ireland pic.twitter.com/jlmIqtxSe9  Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (@DeptEnterprise) May 9, 2020

She said: HSA inspectors will be able to take appropriate enforcement actions under the Health and Safety Act 2005. This means if a business does not co-operate and comply with public health guidelines after been asked to make improvements, the HSA will be able to order them to shut down the workplace.

Ms Humprheys said businesses will also have to carry out a survey for workers to see if anyone is displaying Covid-19 symptoms before they can return to work.

They must also ensure adequate supplies of items such as hand sanitiser, and implement induction training so workers are up to speed on public health advice, she said.

Each workplace will appoint at least one lead worker representative to ensure the measures are strictly adhered to, and have a plan in place detailing how it will deal with any confirmed cases of the virus among employees.

Business Minister Heather Humphreys is launching the Return To Work protocols for workplaces to re-open once the Covid-19 pandemic lifts.



They include regulations for social distancing, hand hygeine, first aid and mental health supports for returning workers#covid19Ireland pic.twitter.com/vLgwMAhEZm  Aine McMahon (@AineMcMahon) May 9, 2020

Ms Humphreys acknowledged some of the new measures may make some business unviable but that health and safety must take precedence.

She said: For some of the restaurants, if they cant allow a certain number of people into their premises then it wont be viable for them. But again, these are the challenges they face but we need to consider the one thing that drives us on and that is public health and safety.

She urged businesses to start getting ready now and to make use of Government support available to fund the safety measures. Other measures  such as telling people not to shake hands or share utensils  cost nothing, she said.

Ms Humphreys added: It is up to each sector to look at these protocols and make their own decision on how the protocols will work. When it comes to restaurants, pubs and cafes  it is difficult for them but this document gives them the basis to start forming their own protocols.

She also said some businesses could come back sooner than planned as the Governments road map to exiting the pandemic is a live document.

If this virus is abated the road map the government has set out to ease restrictions can also be accelerated if we do well and we can also put the brakes on it if the virus increases, she said.

Expand Close Minister Jed Nash with Patricia King (Niall Carson/PA) PA / Facebook

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The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) general-secretary Patricia King said every employer has an absolute duty to adhere to the rules.

The battle against Covid-19 demands an unambiguous policy in relation to health and safety, she added.

There can be no shortcuts or opt-outs when it comes to matters of life and death. Covid-19 does not discriminate and every worker in every sector is entitled to the protection of this protocol.

This pandemic has impacted severely on every part of our society and economy, and this document represents an important milestone.

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On Saturday, Irelands coronavirus death toll rose to 1,429 after a further 27 deaths were announced by the National Public Health Emergency Team.

There have 156 been new confirmed cases of the virus, taking the total in Ireland since the outbreak began to 22,541.

Another four Covid-19 deaths have been reported in Northern Ireland, the Department of Health said. It brings the total fatalities to 430.

A further 56 positive cases have also been diagnosed, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 4,078.

Chief medical officer Tony Holohan said on Friday night that as the country moves into the next stage of coping with the virus, particular attention must be paid to how people behave in public spaces.

As we prepare for the next stages of living with this virus, we are learning new norms and behaviours, particularly how we interact in public spaces, he said.

Physical distancing, hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette, safe interactions apply to all if we are to keep Covid-19 suppressed in Ireland.

Meanwhile, the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (Asti) will meet on Saturday to discuss changes to the Leaving Certificate exam.

The written exams, due to start at the end of July, will not go ahead. Students will instead be given a predicted grade by their school and the Department of Education will finalise their results.

The Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) accepted the plan but said it needed clarification on some issues.
The Telangana Police will soon



rollout an Artificial Intelligence (AI)- based system through CCTVs to check face mask norm violations.

Describing it as a first such initiative in the country,State DGP M Mahendar Reddy has tweeted that the system shall be enabled shortly across the three police commissionerates of Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda which cover Hyderabad and its suburbs.

He said the initiative involved leveraging computer vision and deep learning techniques on closed cirucuit television (cctvs)



"#AI based #FaceMaskViolationEnforcement is being rolled out by TS police.

Leveraging ComputerVision & #DeepLearningTechnique being implemented on surveillance CCTVs across the cities is #FirstOfItsKind in INDIA.

Shall be enabled shortly across the 3Commissionerates *Hyd,Cyb&Rck," he said.

The state government, which has made wearing a mask mandatory in public places, on Thursday issued orders imposing Rs 1000 as fine for those not complying with it.

"In order to prevent transmission of COVID-19, it shall be mandatory for everyone to wear a face cover/mask in public places.

Each violation shall attract a fine of Rs 1,000, an order issued by the state government has said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bomb Blast Kills 6 Pakistani Troops Near Iranian Border

By Ayaz Gul May 08, 2020

A bomb in southwestern Pakistan has killed at least six soldiers, including a major-rank officer, and has injured another, according to military officials.

An army statement said Friday that the deadly explosion in Baluchistan province had targeted a convoy of the Frontier Corps (FC) paramilitary force, about 14 kilometers from the border with Iran.

The troops were moving back to their base after conducting "routine patrolling  to check possible routes used by terrorists in mountainous and extremely treacherous terrain," when a "reconnaissance vehicle" in the convoy hit an improvised explosive device, it said.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility.

The resource-rich province, Pakistan's largest, has been experiencing a low-level separatist Baluch insurgency for years, although officials say enhanced security actions have lately reduced the violence.

Extremists linked to outlawed militant organizations, including the Pakistani Taliban and Islamic State, operate in Baluchistan, which also shares a portion of the country's long border with Afghanistan.

Leaders of the Afghan Taliban are also believed to be sheltering in parts of the Pakistani province, where tens of thousands of Afghan refugee families reside.

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Wyoming has different legislation and they have their own inspectors, so they have the ability to waive those inspections. Where as we have used USDA inspectors, so that would require USDA to waive those inspections Gov. Ricketts said, Even if we could get that waiver of inspection, my understanding is that most of these meat lockers are operating at over capacity right now anyway. So I am not sure this would actually benefit much because they are already working as hard as they can with their current business and I do not think we would be able to get any additional processing out of them.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 9

By Ilkin Seyfaddini - Trend:

The Association of Social Tourism has been established in Uzbekistan, Trend reports citing data from the State Tourism Committee.

Among its main tasks are holding charity events for people with disabilities and children from poor families, helping to create conditions for travel of people with disabilities.

"According to the Chairman of the Council of the Association of Social Tourism of Uzbekistan Izatillo Khodjaev, the new structure will promote the association of individuals who want to contribute to the development of tourism in Uzbekistan, and direct their efforts to the development of social tourism, including the organization of tourism for children, youth, the elderly and people with disabilities.

Among the first projects of the association is the organization of a charity tour for Uzbeks with disabilities - "Travel for All!", as well as an assessment of the possibility of seeing the sights of Uzbekistan by citizens with disabilities.

Earlier, Uzbek State Committee for the Development of Tourism said that the Association of Private Tourism Agencies of Uzbekistan (APTA) is launching a new 'Model for Sustainable Tourism in Central Asia project'. The project is implemented within the framework of the EU's Switch Asia initiative.

Moreover, on May 7, Representatives of the State Tourism Development Committee of Uzbekistan and Uzbek diplomats in Turkey discussed further development of cooperation in tourism Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TURSAB).

---

Follow author on Twitter: @seyfaddini
A Nigerian man has taken to Twitter to recount how he pursued a thief who tried to steal his bread.

According to the man, he had just bought the bread when out of nowhere the thief snatched it.

Read Also: Notorious Physically-Challenged Thief Apprehended In Lagos (Video)

In his words;

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Omo!!! This Lagos is Wild O Someone had the effrontery to snatch my bread that I just got from the bakery this evening Lmaooo Omo! I pursue hin papa. if you see the flying kick I give am for neck. Alhamdulillah.
Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi, 74, was admitted to Raipurs Shree Narayana Hospital in a critical condition on Saturday. His son, Amit Jogi, said his father had suffered cardiac arrest.

According to a health bulletin released by the hospital, Jogi was given cardiopulmonary resuscitation at his residence before he was taken to the hospital.

Jogi suffered a cardiac arrest at his house. As of now, his ECG [electrocardiogram] and pulse have returned to normal which means his heartbeats are returning to normal functioning. But his respiration is still not normal. He is on a ventilator and his condition is critical, it said.

Chief minister Bhupesh Baghel spoke to Amit Jogi over the phone about his fathers health and assured him the state government will take every possible step to ensure his treatment, an official statement said.

A bureaucrat-turned politician, Ajit Jogi served as the first chief minister of Chhattisgarh from November 2000 to November 2003 after the formation of the state.

Ajit Jogi parted ways with the Congress in 2016 after he and Amit Jogi were involved in a controversy over the alleged fixing of a by-election (2014) held to the Antagarh seat in Kanker district. Subsequently, he formed the Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J).
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on



Saturday directed officials to start RT-PCR testing facility in Jan Nayak Karpoori Thakur Medical College and Hospital, Madhepura, so that people living in the adjoining districts can get the testing facility for COVID-19.

The testing facilities are currently available at seven institutions in Bihar, including in RMRI, PMCH, NMCH, AIIMS Patna and medical colleges of Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga.

Kumar asked the officials to increase the number of beds in isolation centres in all the districts, an official release said.

Personal Protective Equipment kits, masks etc be made available in adequate numbers to ensure the safety of the doctors, nurses and other para medical staff who have been working day and night to protect people from spread of coronavirus, Kumar said.

Kumar,who was accompanied by his Deputy Sushil Kumar Modi, held a review meeting with Chief Secretary Deepak Kumar and senior officials to take stock of measures being taken to contain the spread of COVD-19 in the state.

The CM appealed to the people not to come to the state walking on foot and asked them to inform their nearest block office or police station so that they can be sent to their destination.

He also directed officials concerned to make proper arrangements to take people sighted walking to their home from outside to their destinations.

Health Department Principal Secretary, Sanjay Kumar, informed the meeting that out of total 589 positive patients, 318 have recovered while five have died, as they were suffering from serious illness.

Of the 589, 96 infected persons are those who have cometo the state from outside. Random sampling of those coming from other states is being carried out in red zones, he said.

Giving information about the arrangements at the quarantine centres in the state, Disaster Management Department, Principal Secretary, Pratyaya Amrit said that 72,000 people are staying in quarantine centres across the state where all necessary arrangements have been made.

Follow up action is being taken after taking feedback from people put in these centres, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Emma Stone has sparked speculation she has secretly married fiance Dave McCary.

The couple, who have been dating for three yers, were reportedly forced to postpone their original wedding date in March following the coronavirus outbreak.

But fans believe they may have already tied the knot while in lockdown, after sporting a wedding band during a YouTube appearance with Reese Witherspoon.

Married woman? Emma Stone has sparked speculation she has secretly married fiance Dave McCary (pictured wearing a wedding band on Reese Witherspoon's YouTube channel)

The Oscar winner, 31, had replaced her engagement ring with a simple gold band while chatting on the Hello Sunshine show with Reese.

Emma dropped a further hint that she may now be a married woman when Dr Harold Koplewicz, who was also on the chat, asked her about marrying an 'anxious man'.

He said: 'If you marry an anxious man, you're going to have to know me the rest of my life.

On hold: The couple, who have been dating for three yers, were reportedly forced to postpone their original wedding date in March following the coronavirus outbreak

While Emma reassured him and said: 'Thankfully I didn't do that.'

Excited fans took to Twitter to speculate that Emma and Dave had got married after noticing the ring on her finger during the interview.

Sharing a snap of Emma on their social media page, one fan wrote: 'So... Emma got married? Omg! I'm so so happy for her! #EmmaStone.'

Another fan joked: 'Emma Stone is married... please respect my privacy at this difficult time.'

Reaction: Excited fans took to Twitter to speculate that Emma and Dave had got married after noticing the ring on her finger during the interview

While another fan shared a selection of images of Emma wearing the ring, alongside the caption: 'So... are we all thinking about this or it is just me???'

MailOnline have contacted Emma's representatives for comment.

The actress was set to walk down this aisle in Los Angles in March but decided to hold off due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to Page Six.

At the time, President Trump suggested that no gatherings should take place in the US of more than 10 people in an effort to stifle the spread of the illness.

The publication previously reported that Emma and Dave who have been together since 2017, had not set a new date for their nuptials.

Sad news: The actress was set to walk down this aisle in Los Angles in March but decided to hold off due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to Page Six

The couple had previously announced their engagement with sweet post on social media in December, showing off her diamond and pearl ring.

Dave shared the picture on his Instagram page, alongside a simple heart emoji caption.

Emma met the former segment director on Saturday Night Live back in 2016 when she hosted the late-night sketch show.
Trio believed gang related captured for assaulting vehicles along Costa Maya highway

Costa Maya, Q.R.  State authorities have captured a group of three alleged responsible for assaulting vehicles along a section of the Nicolas Bravo-Xpujil highway.

Authorities from Quintana Roo, in coordination with agents from the Campeche State Investigative Agency, detained three alleged members of a gang accused of being members of a criminal cell in the Felipe Angeles community, an area bordering Campeche.

Authorities declared that the last robbery was committed May 2 against a parcel delivery vehicle at kilometer 128 of the Nicolas Bravo-Xpujil highway. Auhtorities report that the large parcel truck had traveled from Villahermosa, Tabasco bound was for Chetumal.

However, before the driver reached his destination, the vehicle was assaulted along the highway. The band of three forced his stop, removed him from the truck and physically attacked him before unloading the entire delivery vehicle and transferring its contents to a waiting van.

The driver was able to call police. Investigators from both states located the van with the stolen items in the community of Felipe Angeles. When authorities arrived, they were fired upon by the trio, however, police repelled the attack.

After a bullet exchange, the three subjects were secured along with the van that still contained the stolen packages.
Karnataka has crossed the "milestone" of one lakh COVID-19 tests, the government said on Saturday as the state reported 41 new coronavirus positive cases, taking the total number of infections to 794.

"Karnataka crossed 1 lakh #COVID19 tests milestone. Our fight against Corona will continue with more zeal. We are boosting our testing capacity to have 60 labs by end of this month and will be able to conduct 10,000 tests per day," state's Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar said in a tweet.

A total of 1,03,098 samples were tested so far, out of which 4,160 were tested on Saturday alone, the health department said in its bulletin.

It said, so far 97,326 samples have reported as negative, and out of them 4,016 were reported negative on Saturday.

"As of 5:00 PM on May 9, cumulatively 794 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, it includes 30 deaths and 386 discharges," the bulletin said.

Out of 377 active cases, 371 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable, while 6 are in ICU.

Ten patients who have recovered, have been discharged on Saturday.

According to statistics by Karnataka COVID war-room, 75 per cent (596) of total 794 cases are asympomatic while 25 per cent (198) are symptomatic.

The 41 new cases include- 12 from Bengaluru urban, eight from Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada, five from Davangere, three each from- Bantawal in Dakshina Kannada, Chitradurga, Tumakuru and Bidar, and one each from Tumakuru, Davangere, Chikkaballapura and Vijayapura.

While most cases are contacts of patients already tested positive, six are with travel history to Ahmedabad, two are from a containment zone in Bengaluru, and the other two parson's contact is under tracing.

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 175 cases, followed by Mysuru 88 and Belagavi 83.

Out of total 386 patients discharged so far, maximum 86 are from Bengaluru urban, 83 from Mysuru, 34 from Belagavi.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka government has allowed garment units in red zone districts, but outside containment zones, to resume operations with one-third of the workforce.

Chief Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar in the May 8 order, said all recognised garment factories having an Importer- Exporter Code (IEC) and those registered with the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) can start operations with one- third of the total workforce in red zone districts, but outside containment zones.

It said the permission is subject to following of the Standard Operating Procedures.

Currently Bengaluru urban, Bengaluru rural and Mysuru are the red zone districts in the state.

The state government has clarified that migrant workers, pilgrims, tourist, students and other persons can hire and use buses provided by state run road transport corporations on payment basis for travel to other states with relevant permissions.

Inter-State travel of migrant workers, pilgrims, tourist, students and other persons stranded in different states due to lockdown were recently permitted to travel through notified entry and exit points of Karnataka by the government.

In a circular, Revenue (Disaster Management) Principal Secretary T K Anil Kumar said, similar bus facility on payment basis be made available by state run road transport corporations to transport workers to industries permitted under the issued guidelines.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Lome, Togo (PANA) - Health authorities here Friday confirmed 10 new cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) disease, taking the total recorded cases to 145, official sources told PANA
Scientists are still struggling to find out how the new coronavirus affects children

With parents and policymakers agonising over when to reopen schools as lockdowns ease, scientists are still struggling to find out how the new coronavirus affects children.

While youngsters can become infected with the new coronavirus, very few have died or contracted serious symptoms. But could they still spread contagion?

Here is what we know so far.

- Are children at risk? -

This is one of the few questions where there is broad agreement. Only a tiny proportion of children appear to have become seriously ill with COVID-19.

"There are three key questions: How much do children get COVID-19; how badly does it affect them; and do they spread it to others?" said Russell Viner, President of Britain's Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

"We only have good data about the second of these."

Specialists writing for the British pediatric website Don't Forget The Bubbles (DFTB) said in a recent roundup of international research that only around one percent of critical cases involved children, while "deaths remain extremely rare".

- Do they get infected? -

The short answer is yes.

"Research indicates that children and adolescents are just as likely to become infected as any other age group and can spread the disease," says the World Health Organization.

But this is not reflected in global official data about the virus, with many countries largely focusing their COVID-19 testing on those who have gone to hospital with severe symptoms.

France's health agency, which has amalgamated data from a host of international studies, said pediatric cases represent between one and five percent of all officially-documented global infections.

It said this is because children catch the virus, but generally exhibit only "mild" symptoms -- or no symptoms at all -- meaning they go uncounted.

But other experts believe that children, especially those under the age of 10, might not be getting infected as much in the first place.

Story continues

"It appears fairly convincing that children are less likely to acquire the infection than adults, by a significant amount," said specialists Alasdair Munro and Damian Roland of DFTB.

Their conclusions were based on several international contact tracing studies that looked at how the disease spread and to whom.

They also assessed data from places that have carried out mass community-wide testing -- South Korea, Iceland and the Italian principality of Vo -- all of which found that the proportion of infected children was far smaller than adults.

- But are they silent vectors? -

This is the area of greatest uncertainty.

Initially researchers believed they could be spreading the disease, drawing comparisons with other viruses like the flu where children help accelerate infections.

But recent studies on the new coronavirus suggest that they are less likely to transmit the virus.

In one incident, a nine-year-old was among 12 people infected in a super-spreading event at a chalet in the Haute-Savoie region of France, after a British man returned from Singapore and went on a ski holiday.

A study of the incident -- one of the first major clusters of infection in France -- showed that the child, who only displayed mild symptoms, came into contact with 172 people while sick.

None of them contracted COVID-19, not even the youngster's two siblings. But the child did transmit other winter viruses, including the flu.

Children could be less infectious because they do not have as many symptoms and do not cough, French expert Arnaud Fontanet told a parliamentary hearing last week.

But a German study last month led by virologist Christian Drosten, an adviser to Angela Merkel, concluded that children had a viral load comparable to that of adults.

They "could be as contagious", it added.

Other scientists, including Munro, have disputed both the methodology of that study and its conclusion. Re-analysing the data they said it might even be possible to draw the opposite conclusion -- that age and viral load are correlated.

Even so, we cannot say for sure that a higher viral load makes a person more infectious.

- A new threat? -

In recent weeks, a spate of cases of children affected by an inflammatory illness resembling a rare condition called Kawasaki disease has caused alarm.

Symptoms are high fever, abdominal pain, rash and swollen glands. If untreated, patients can suffer heart failure, but those who are given medical care respond well.

A few dozen cases have been reported in New York, France, Britain, Italy and Spain and while no link has been formally established to the new coronavirus, scientists believe it could be connected.

In an article published this week in the medical journal The Lancet, British doctors describing eight cases observed in London said it could be "a new phenomenon" affecting previously-asymptomatic children with the coronavirus "manifesting as a hyperinflammatory syndrome".

Reports of the illness came just as several countries in Europe were mulling reopening schools, kindling fears among parents. But experts say the cases are too rare to affect policy decisions.

- Should the schools open? -

On this there is much disagreement.

Authorities in Italy, which has the oldest teachers of OECD nations with almost 60 percent aged over 50, have expressed concern that reopening schools would risk infecting staff and reigniting the epidemic.

But many other countries, including Germany, Denmark and France, have prioritised reopening schools as they unwind lockdown measures.

In France, scientific estimates that it would be better to keep schools shut until September were outweighed by concerns about other social issues, particularly those facing children from troubled families.

"School can be a haven of peace," explained Jean-Francois Delfraissy, who leads the scientific committee advising the government.

Other experts argue that the benefits of continuing education far outweigh the risks.

In a column published this week in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood, Munro and British infectious disease specialist Saul Faust called on governments to allow children to resume lessons, regardless of underlying health conditions, and conduct detailed surveillance to monitor safety.

"Children are not COVID-19 super-spreaders: time to go back to school," they said.
China is considering moves that would entrench its vast fur industry further into the countrys economy, raising worries over the spread of coronavirus among animals crowded together in small spaces.

The countrys agriculture ministry is proposing to reclassify mink, raccoon dogs, silver foxes and blue foxes as domestic livestock, rather than wild animals, which they are now.

Animal-welfare lobbyists say the change is to protect the industry from the global pressure to end the farming of wild species because of the coronavirus pandemic.

China breeds and kills more than 50 million animals on fur farms a year, according to Humane Society International, which has written to President Xi Jinping objecting to the plan during its consultation phase.

The industry was worth 389 billion yuan (about 48bn) in 2016, according to a Chinese study.

The reality of fur farming: in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 The reality of fur farming: in pictures The reality of fur farming: in pictures A fox at a fur farm in Pushkino, Russia AFP/Getty The reality of fur farming: in pictures Black and silver mink kits in a small cage at a fur farm in British Columbia, Canada, 2014 Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory The reality of fur farming: in pictures A black mink chewing at the bars of their cage at a fur farm in British Columbia, Canada, 2014 Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory The reality of fur farming: in pictures Mink kits lying atop a dead mink in a nesting box at a fur farm in Sweden, 2010 Jo-Anne McArthur / Djurrattsalliansen The reality of fur farming: in pictures Mink crammed into a filthy cage at a fur farm in Quebec, Canada, 2014 Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory The reality of fur farming: in pictures Injured mink kits at a fur farm in Sweden, 2010 Jo-Anne McArthur / Djurrattsalliansen The reality of fur farming: in pictures "No leg". Mink farm in British Columbia, Canada, 2014 Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory The reality of fur farming: in pictures A mink in small cage at a fur farm in British Columbia, Canada, 2014 Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory The reality of fur farming: in pictures Orylag rabbits at a fur farm in Vandre, France AFP/Getty The reality of fur farming: in pictures Mink living in cages over piles of feces at a fur farm in Sweden, 2010 Jo-Anne McArthur / Djurrattsalliansen The reality of fur farming: in pictures An employee carries a blue fox at a fur farm near Babino, a village in Belarus AFP/Getty The reality of fur farming: in pictures Fox cubs at a fur farm in Zhangjiakou, in China's Hebei province AFP/Getty The reality of fur farming: in pictures An employee carries a blue fox at a fur farm near Lesino, a village in Belarus AFP/Getty The reality of fur farming: in pictures Several mink, silver and albino, crammed into a filthy cage at a fur farm in Quebec, Canada, 2014 Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory The reality of fur farming: in pictures Rows of filthy mink cages at a fur farm in Quebec, 2010. On a tip that the animals were being treated poorly, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the SPCA were granted a warrant to perform an inspection and seize animals from a fur farm in Quebec. They rescued and re-homed several animals, but had to euthanize many that were too sick, old, injured, dehydrated and starving. This seizure led to the first ever criminal charges against a fur farmer in Canada Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory The reality of fur farming: in pictures Pile of dead mink on old, broken cages behind a fur farm in Sweden, 2010 Jo-Anne McArthur / Djurrattsalliansen The reality of fur farming: in pictures A mink feeds off a dead fellow in a filthy cage at a fur farm in Quebec, Canada, 2014. Mink are solitary animals who fight, cannibalise and kill when in cramped confinement like this Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory The reality of fur farming: in pictures Aerial view of a large fur farms in Nova Scotia, Canada Nova Scotia, Canada, 2014 Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory The reality of fur farming: in pictures Mink kits crammed in to a small cage at a fur farm in Sweden, 2010. The paper notes that there were ten in this cage and now two have died; eight remain Jo-Anne McArthur / Djurrattsalliansen The reality of fur farming: in pictures Aerial view of a large fur farms in Nova Scotia, Canada Aerial view of a large fur farms in Nova Scotia, Canada, 2014 Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory

The letter, seen by The Independent, points out that mink were recently found to be infected by Covid-19 at fur farms in the Netherlands, and raccoon dogs in a wildlife market in Shenzhen, China, were found to have been infected with Sars, also a type of coronavirus.

It says animals that are crowded together in unhygienic, cruel and stressful conditions such as fur farms are more susceptible to viral infection, and these appalling conditions are found across all sectors of the wildlife trade.

The letter adds: Ending the trade in wildlife for all purposes, including fur farming, medicine and the tourism/pet sectors would substantially reduce the risk of another pandemic.

A spokeswoman said: The conditions on Chinas fur farms are very similar to conditions observed in wildlife markets, and of course fur-bearing animals are also traded in wildlife markets.

The fur trade represents an unacceptable risk considering the output is non-essential fashion.

Dr Teresa Telecky, HSI vice-president of wildlife, said the reclassification was concerning. Rebranding wildlife as livestock doesnt alter the fact that there are insurmountable challenges to keeping these species in commercial captive breeding environments, and that their welfare needs simply cant be met.

In addition, theres clear evidence that some of these species can act as intermediate hosts of viruses, such as Covid-19, which is why were urging governments around the world to stop trading in wildlife.

Peter Li, a China policy expert, said the countrys industry reportedly employed 7.6 million people but the number could be inflated as he estimated at least half of those were part-time or seasonal workers or hired by the hour.

The number of mink, raccoon dogs and foxes farmed in China has been falling as the market has shrunk  down from 87 million animals in 2014 to 50.45 million animals in 2018. Footage has shown animals in a state of distress from being permanently confined to small cages.

Most zoonotic diseases in modern times, from the 1918 flu pandemic onwards, have had animal origins, and can also infect other species.

Chinas public consultation closed on Friday and agriculture chiefs will consider the responses.

The Independent is campaigning for tougher regulation of the worlds wildlife trade and an end to live-slaughter markets at the centre of the pandemic.
GREEN, Ohio  Delta Air Lines is suspending all flights at the Akron-Canton Airport next week, temporarily consolidating service at Cleveland Hopkins.

The suspension of service will last at least through September, the airline said. Akron-Canton is one of 10 U.S. airports where Delta is suspending service due to a dramatic drop in demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The move appears to confirm fears by Akron-Canton that it would lose service because of rules included in the federal CARES Act, which provided $50 billion in pandemic-related aid to U.S. airlines. As a condition of receiving bailout money, airlines had to agree to maintain service to all markets.

The U.S. Department of Transportation considers Akron-Canton part of the same regional market as Cleveland Hopkins.

Delta is Akron-Cantons third largest carrier, carrying about 20% of the airports 835,000 passengers in 2019. Delta flies solely to Atlanta from Akron-Canton, and is the only carrier offering service from CAK to Hartsfield-Jackson International, the worlds largest airport.

The suspension of flights starts Wednesday.

Said Delta, in its announcement: These changes will allow more of our frontline employees to minimize their COVID-19 exposure risk while ensuring convenient access to Deltas network for those who must travel. Delta will continue providing essential service to impacted communities via neighboring airports.

Lisa Dalpiaz, director of marketing and air service development at CAK, said United and American airlines continue to fly from Akron-Canton, providing domestic and global connectivity for essential travel.

In a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation in early April, CAK officials argued that Akron-Canton should be considered a separate market and expressed concern that the airport would lose out to Cleveland if airlines were permitted to choose between the two airports.

If given the option to pick either CAK or CLE  but not required by any obligation to separately serve the different markets of both, the public served by CAK will undoubtedly suffer by immediate or significantly greater loss of service with the order as written, said the April 2 letter. The purpose of the service obligation is to assure that communities do not lose their air service. The impact from combining CLE and CAK will not serve that purpose and will cause a real practical loss of air service  particularly in the areas south of Akron including along the Interstate Route 77 corridor.

It added, The consequences of aviation transportation decisions made today in the face of the pandemic and its disruptions can and most certainly will have repercussions that will be material and long lasting. The viability and importance of airports like the Akron-Canton Regional Airport should not be viewed lightly at this critical time.

Delta is also suspending service to numerous other smaller airports near big cities, including Chicago Midway; Oakland, Hollywood Burbank and Long Beach in California; Providence, Rhode Island; Manchester, New Hampshire; Westchester County and Stewart International in New York; and Newport News/Williamsburg in Virginia.

Delta is expected to receive $5.4 billion in direct aid and loans from the CARES Act. Last month, the carrier reported a $534 million loss for the first quarter of 2020.

Read more:

Spirit Airlines to restart Cleveland to Orlando flights, with a stop in Columbus

Great Lakes cruising, ship calls in Cleveland will be way down in 2020, as Victory cuts back

When will we travel again? Former Ohio tourism chief tracks trends amid coronavirus pandemic

Destination Cleveland furloughs 60% of staff, as bed tax revenue plummets

Cleveland-area hotels starting to close amid steep drop in occupancy

Cleveland Hopkins, Akron-Canton airports report dramatic drop-off in traffic; passengers take precautions
In late 2019 and early 2020 China announced its Four-Sha sovereignty claims over the East Sea in two diplomatic notes sent to the UN Secretary-General,

with the aim of replacing the so-called nine-dash line that had been previously rejected by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).

Associate Professor and Doctor Vu Thanh Ca, former Director of the Vietnam Institute for Sea and Island Research (Source: laodong.vn)

It claimed in the notes that it holds undeniable sovereignty over the Dongsha (Pratas Islands), Xisha (Vietnams Hoang Sa (Paracel) Archipelago), Nansha (Vietnams Truong Sa (Spratly) Archipelago), and Zhongsha (Macclesfield Bank) Archipelagos.

China said those are archipelagos so it can use the straight baselines to define baselines and waters, adding that these groups of islands have archipelagic waters, territorial waters, 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zones, and continental shelves calculated from the straight baselines.

Many scholars, however, declared that Chinas claims are completely contrary to international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Associate Professor and Doctor Vu Thanh Ca, former Director of the Vietnam Institute for Sea and Island Research, said China is not an island state that is formed by one or more archipelagos.

Therefore, he said, drawing a straight baseline to connect islands outside of the four above-mentioned archipelagos runs counter to UNCLOS.

He took the so-called Zhongsha Archipelago (Macclesfield Bank) as an example, saying that the shoal, at a depth of at least 9.2 metres, cannot be the subject of a declaration of sovereignty under the Convention.

Ca quoted scholar and journalist Bill Hayton from the UKs Chatham House as saying that China made a mistake when translating the words bank or shoal from English to island and sand-bank in Chinese. So it then named Macclesfield Bank as Nansha Archipelago and then renamed it Zhongsha Archipelago in 1947.

China recently included several shoals, such as Scarborough Shoal and St. Esprit Shoal, into the so-called Zhongsha, he said, stressing that the expansion is not persuadable as these shoals are actually located quite far from the Macclesfield Bank.

The 2016 PCA ruling clarified UNCLOSs fit for living concept and stated that islands in the Spratly Archipelago are only rock islands, thus having no exclusive economic zones or continental shelves, Ca said.

Similarly, the Paracel and the Pratas Islands are rock islands without exclusive economic zones or continental shelves.

By using the tactic of making the Four Sha claims (Dongsha, Xisha, Nansha, and Zhongsha), China attempted to take advantage of UNCLOSs terms to rewrite the Convention, he emphasised.

Combined with using its military power to harass and its economic power to bribe countries both inside and outside of the East Sea, China wishes to turn its illogical arguments into reality to monopolize the waters, Ca believes.

Such claims were rejected by Vietnam in its own diplomatic note sent to the UN Secretary-General, in which it resolutely affirmed its sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction, and other legitimate rights in the East Sea. Vietnam also asserted that UNCLOS is the only legal basis with comprehensive and thorough regulations on the territorial rights of territorial waters between Vietnam and China./.VNA
As the death toll grows at Texas nursing homes, so has the number of requests for information kept by state health officials that would reveal which long-term care facilities have suffered coronavirus outbreaks during the worst pandemic in generations.

But the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which regulates nursing homes and assisted living facilities, is attempting to keep its records secret, despite calls for more transparency from open-government advocates, some Texas lawmakers and family members worried about vulnerable residents.

The public is being left in the dark, and were losing control of our ability to oversee the operations of our government, said Joe Larsen, a lawyer with the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, which published an open letter last month urging the health commission to release its records on nursing home infections.

In a May 4 letter to the Texas Attorney Generals Office, Carey Smith, a lawyer representing the health commission, said the agency has received more than two dozen public records requests for nursing home data about coronavirus infections, but that federal and state laws prohibit the release of the information because it might identify infected residents and violate their privacy.

However, Texas legislators who wrote one of the laws cited by Smith said it doesnt prohibit officials from releasing statistical information about COVID-19 in nursing homes.

The statute was not intended to create a blanket protection for all health-related information, said former Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, who authored the bill in the Texas Senate last year.

The sponsor of the bill in the Texas House, Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, said releasing statistical data from nursing homes could benefit both consumers and government authorities. And, like Watson, he said the bill they passed doesnt prevent state officials from releasing that information.

So long as you cant get personal identifying information I dont see why the current rules and statutes that we have dont already allow that information to be released, Capriglione said.

TROUBLING NUMBERS: Texas nursing home deaths see largest five-day spike

Federal law hasnt stopped plans by U.S. health officials to collect coronavirus reports from nursing homes and publish the data in the coming weeks.

We will be taking swift action and publicly posting this information so all Americans have access to accurate and timely information on COVID-19 in nursing homes, said a spokeswoman for the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Susan Lederer Russell, 65, said she didnt see how the state could get away with keeping information about coronavirus cases in care facilities secret.

Already, she wrestled with whether she had done the right thing putting her 96-year-old mom, who has dementia, in an assisted living facility. Facing down a deadly virus made that harder.

Having a database she could check that listed coronavirus cases at her mothers facility and elsewhere would give her added peace of mind, Russell said.

It is my responsibility to take care of my mother, Russell said. If a particular facility is showing that theyre rampant with the virus, or if they do have a high concentration, it would be kind of an indicator that theyre not following the recommended protocols.

In the dark

After facing criticism from families and advocates of nursing home residents, Texas began releasing statewide statistics that show the total number of coronavirus deaths at nursing homes, which provide round-the-clock care, and assisted living facilities, which are less intensive.

As of Friday, 478 COVID-19 deaths  nearly half of the 1,042 reported in Texas  were at nursing homes or assisted living centers, records show.

But state health officials havent disclosed infection rates for each location, which has stymied families trying to protect their relatives. The lack of information also leaves hospice workers and other contract caregivers in the dark.

Certified nursing assistants from the Master Caregiver Company typically worked with elderly residents at home. But they visited several clients in care facilities to give extra support.

At one, a caregiver happened to find out a resident was hospitalized with coronavirus, company president Rita Justice said. The facility never notified the company directly. If they were to go online and look for information about cases at a facility, Justice said, we cant find it out either.

I think it is absolutely a problem, Justice said, adding, They never have contacted us and said we have COVID here.

Privacy concerns

Under the Texas Public Information Act, government records are presumed to be open to the public, but the law also exempts some categories of information. Government officials are required to contact the Texas attorney general if they believe records fall under an exemption.

In her letter to the attorney general, Smith said the health commission has received 28 open records requests for nursing home data from news outlets and other parties. Smith said that releasing coronavirus data for each facility could open the door to identifying patients, which would violate state and federal laws.

Among the laws Smith cited was the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which says health care providers must protect medical records that could identify patients, and the Texas Medical Records Privacy Act, which expanded privacy provisions to schools, businesses and other entities that handle patient information.

Smith said the Texas health commission is one of the entities that must comply with the states medical privacy law. But her claim that releasing COVID-19 statistics would identify individual patients was criticized in an April 28 letter from Kelley Shannon, executive director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas.

The requests at issue simply seek information that will enable the public to know which facilities have had confirmed COVID-19 cases, Shannon wrote. These facilities have dozens or hundreds of persons.

Smith noted that a new section of the Texas Public Information Act says protected health information is confidential. That language came from Senate Bill 944 during the 2019 legislative session. Capriglione said the bills authors merely copied and pasted language from pre-existing health laws to make it clear that state entities should not release information that identifies individuals with health conditions.

In some cases, for example, there might be a facility that is so small that describing the scope of an outbreak could effectively allow people to identify sickened residents, he said. But if privacy rights are protected, the North Texas lawmaker said most types of health statistics should be released.

If you cant figure out who has it, then send the cumulative info, Capriglione said.

Inconsistent policies

At the local level, health departments in Greater Houston have taken different approaches to comply with state and federal laws, and theyve reported COVID-19 cases in nursing homes and assisted living facilities with varying degrees of transparency.

Some counties provided one-time reports on specific outbreaks but didnt continue to provide consistent updates. In Fort Bend County, officials pointed to an obscure webpage where they said they were keeping a tally of facilities with COVID-19 infections. That number has remained unchanged at four facilities for weeks, and the homes are not named.

Montgomery County health officials only disclose the names of nursing homes with more than one case.

ABOVE AND BEYOND: Why did 3 people die from COVID-19 at a Woodlands senior community?

Health officials in Harris County and the city of Houston havent released statistics of coronavirus infections for individual nursing homes.

Providing this information can lead to patients being identified, especially since long-term care facilities are the patients place of residence, said Scott Packard, a spokesman with the Houston Health Department.

The Galveston County Health District reported an outbreak at The Resort at Texas City. But days after Natalie Fremonts family learned that Regent Care Center in League City had a case, she still did not see it noted in the countys daily updates.

Fremont, 40, sent a Facebook message to the district, asking them to release case information on the facility where her 90-year-old grandmother lived.

The families who have loved ones at the center deserve to know that there are positive cases at the center, she wrote. Transparency in how this is being handled will only garner more trust and cooperation from the community you serve.

Marvena Miner, the administrator at Regent Care, said staff notified families after the first confirmed case and tries to offer relatives updates at least weekly. The lab results are reported to the county, she added.

State Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, who has championed open government legislation in the Texas House, said that if more information doesnt flow from the state on the spread of COVID-19 in long-term care facilities, he will pursue a fix in the upcoming 2021 session of the Texas Legislature.

Hunter said disclosing more information about COVID-19 cases and deaths would help identify potential problems  and relieve fear and anxiety in the process.

The pain is not only felt by the person inside, Hunter said. Its felt by the entire family and friends. So to me the more you disclose, the better off we are.

john.tedesco@chron.com
Everything is virtual these coronavirus shutdown days. The virtual prom season has passed, and now its time for virtual graduation. Weve dialed into the virtual opening of the yacht season, went to a couple of virtual cocktail parties, joined a virtual trivia contest and offered virtual good birthday wishes to a charming young relative. Its been eight weeks since we went anywhere in real time, and that was only a one-day round trip for a party in Santa Rosa.

So now is the perfect time for a virtual road trip. And why not? Its springtime, the flowers are blooming and the hills are still green. So lets go to Los Angeles. Its far enough away to be a real road trip instead of a backyard jaunt. And you have to admit that L.A. is different.

I think we should drive. Flying is a pain in the neck. And we are going to need a car in L.A. anyway. We took I-5 down the San Joaquin Valley a couple of months ago and hated it. Not enough scenery and too many trucks.

Our virtual trip begins by heading south on I-280, through the rolling hills of the Peninsula, joining U.S. 101 south of San Jose. The trip is an hour longer, but Highway 101 is quintessential California. Think of the names along the way: Prunedale, Salinas, King City, San Miguel, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, Pismo Beach, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, the ocean on your right. You head inland at Ventura, and now 101 is the Ventura Freeway  fast, often jammed, part of the Southern California freeway way of life.

And now we are in Los Angeles. Now what?

A lot of San Franciscans have a problem with L.A. Its fake, its crude, its La La Land. But I have come to like L.A., its style, its vibrancy. Here are some places Id go on this virtual road trip.

Id start on Olvera Street, where Los Angeles began as a pueblo in 1781. Olvera Street is a bit hokey, but the Mexican food is good and it is well to remember that despite the infusion of millions of people from all over the world, Southern California has a Latino overlay. Just turn on your car radio and listen.

The L.A. City Hall is not far from Olvera Street, and here you can see for yourself the difference between San Francisco and Los Angeles. San Franciscos City Hall is built in the Beaux Arts style, like a European domed palace. L.A. has a 32-story tower  it is big, bold and American.

A bit north on North Alameda Street is Philippe the Original, one of those only-in-L.A. places that would melt the heart of a San Francisco snob. Its a kind of a deli and sandwich joint, with sawdust on the floor, long communal benches and hearty eats. The house specialty is a French dip sandwich, supposedly invented a century ago when a server dropped a sandwich roll into a pan full of meat juice, creating a local classic. The customers are construction workers, cops and people from the neighborhood.

There is another slice of old Los Angeles on South Broadway, downtown. There is the five-story Bradbury Building, which has a red stone exterior and an amazing interior, all ornate ironwork balconies like some Victorian fantasy.

Across the street are two more L.A. treasures. One is the Million Dollar Theater, a movie palace built in 1917, when a million dollars was big money. Next to that is the Grand Central Market, a food court to end all food courts. Its a bustling public market, maybe the biggest in the West, certainly one of the liveliest.

Just across the street from the Grand Central Market is the Angels Flight, a peculiar operation that may be the worlds shortest railway. It is a Los Angeles version of San Franciscos cable car system, except that the Angels Flight is only 298 feet long from Hill Street to the top of Bunker Hill and has only two cars, one named Sinai and the other Olivet.

Angels Flight is another of those unique L.A. stories. When it was built back in 1901, Bunker Hill was a fashionable neighborhood of Victorian houses. But over time the neighborhood went to seed; it was a bit spooky, a shadow of its former glory, L.A. noir. Los Angeles is a city that does not admire the past, so the old houses were torn down, and the Angels Flight was dismantled and the two cars stored for 27 years.

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.

But L.A. has a sentimental side, too, and the Angels Flight was rebuilt in 1996. It has been rebuilt twice since. But its a different Bunker Hill now  the top gleams with tall glass towers.

But enough of the old. Lets get in the car and drive from central Los Angeles on Wilshire Boulevard west toward the ocean. This is the real modern L.A. all in one 15-mile-long boulevard.

It runs through Koreatown, a city within a city, 120,000 people with a distinct culture in the middle of Americas second-largest city. Going west again, Wilshire is lined with the tall glass towers that seem to be the symbols of the new California. Going west again through Beverly Hills, past Westwood, a bit like a Southern California Berkeley, toward the setting sun to Santa Monica to end the trip on the famous Santa Monica Pier.

The ocean and the beaches are Southern Californias crowning glory, miles and miles from Mexico north to where cliffs and rocks meet the ocean.

Of course, we may not be able to take this road trip just now. The state may be shut down for a while yet. Olvera Streets restaurants may be closed. Philippe the Original may offer only curb service. The Angels Flight cars are too small to provide social distance. So close your eyes. Click on your imagination. Its all virtual.

Carl Nolte is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cnolte@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @CarlnolteSF
At its recent May 1, 2020 meeting, the Board of Regents of the American College of Tax Counsel (ACTC or the College) elected 13 new Fellows into its ranks. The new Fellows are:

Daniel G. Baucum, Daniel Baucum Law PLLC, Dallas, TX; Judith W. Boyette, Hanson Bridgett LLP, San Francisco, CA; Caroline Bruckner, American University Kogod School of Business, Washington, DC; Dan Eller, Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, Portland, OR; Pamela A. Fuller, Tully Rinckey PLLC, New York, NY; Alan W. Granwell, Holland & Knight LLP, Washington, DC; Michael J.A. Karlin, Karlin & Peebles, LLP, Los Angeles, CA; Cristin Conley Keane, Carlton Fields, P.A., Tampa, FL; Emily Lam, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Palo Alto, CA; Matthew J. Landwehr, Thompson Coburn LLP, St. Louis, MO; Ofer Lion, Seyfarth Shaw LLP, Los Angeles, CA; Silvio Reggiardo, III, Downey Brand LLP, Sacramento, CA; and Lydia B. Turanchik, Nardiello Turanchik LLP, Century City, CA.

The College congratulates its new Fellows and extends a warm welcome to each of them.

Supreme Court Accepts Important Tax Case Regarding Challenges to IRS Regulations

Separately, on May 4, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it had granted certiorari in CIC Services, LLC v. Internal Revenue Service (No. 19-930), a case in which ACTC filed an amicus brief supporting the petition for certiorari. The Court will address the question of whether the Anti-Injunction Act, which prohibits lawsuits to restrain assessing or collecting taxes, also bars challenges to regulatory mandates that are not themselves taxes.

The College supported the petition for certiorari because the Supreme Court alone can resolve the growing circuit court split on whether taxpayers can bring pre-enforcement challenges to rules issued in contravention of the Administrative Procedure Act or other Congressionally-mandated requirements. ACTC President Peter Connors explained that "a nationwide rule would provide certainty to taxpayers and would ensure uniform enforcement of the Internal Revenue Code and Treasury Regulations. ACTC files briefs in cases like this to advance the rule of law and support fair and effective tax administration."

Now that the Court has agreed to hear the case during its upcoming October 2020 term, it will decide whether taxpayers can challenge tax rules when they are issued or whether they instead must wait for the Internal Revenue Service to enforce the rule before they can challenge the validity of the rules. "Given the large volume of regulatory guidance issued by the Treasury Department and the IRS, particularly in the context of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and the CARES Act of 2020, the need for clarity on whether taxpayers can raise pre-enforcement challenges to the validity of such rules is particularly acute now," said Armando Gomez, a member of ACTC's Board of Regents.

The ACTC amicus brief, which was approved for filing by the Board of Regents, was drafted by David W. Foster, Armando Gomez and Sanessa Griffiths of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Washington, DC.

About the American College of Tax Counsel

The American College of Tax Counsel is a professional association of tax attorneys comprised of tax lawyers in private practice as well as those teaching tax law in law schools or working in federal or state revenue agencies. Members of the College, known as Fellows, are elected to membership after receiving a peer nomination and successfully passing evaluation of their candidacy. The College is currently composed of approximately 700 Fellows. The College is governed by a 19-member Board of Regents, including the four members of the Executive Committee and one Regent elected from each federal judicial circuit, along with two Regents serving at-large. The College fulfills important functions regarding the nation's tax system by providing recommendations to Congress and the IRS on improving federal tax laws and administration and by filing "friend of the court" briefs in selected tax cases.
A familiar face is set to return to the Star Wars universe... in a new role.

Temuera Morrison, who played Jango Fett in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, will feature in season 2 of The Mandalorian, according to The Hollywood Reporter on Friday.

The New Zealand actor 'will play Boba Fett' in the show, according to the industry publication's sources.

Jango's back! Temuera Morrison (seen here in 2018), who played Jango Fett in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, will feature in season 2 of The Mandalorian

The character 'is expected to play just a small role' in the Disney+ hit's second season.

In 2002's Attack of the Clones, Morrison played Jango Fett, the prototype for the film's titular army of clones.

Fan favorite Boba Fett, who first appeared in 1980's The Empire Strikes Back, was revealed to be one of the cloned Jangos, being raised as his son.

Origins: Fan favorite Boba Fett, who first appeared in 1980's The Empire Strikes Back, was revealed to be one of the cloned Jangos, being raised as his son

Season 3 of The Mandalorian is already in the works... well before season 2 of the Disney+ hit show has even debuted.

'Sources close to the production' have confirmed the news, according to Variety last month.

Series creator Jon Favreau has been writing the third season of the Star Wars-based TV series 'for a while' according to the industry publication.

'Weve just started pre-production and are looking into further adventures for the Mandalorian in Season 3,' one source told Variety.

Season 2 is due to hit the Disney+ streaming service in October.
RIDLEY TOWNSHIP  At a recent virtual meeting, the Ridley School Board approved a proposed 2020-2021 final budget of $113,485,863 and a real estate millage increase of 1.400 mills, for a total millage rate of 42.70 mills or $4.27 for each $100 of assessed value.

The tax increase for a property assessed at the average of $100,000 will be $139.The proposed budget shows an increase in expenses of $2,395,015 over the current budget. Final budget adoption will be at the boards June 8 meeting.

We are hoping to have a face-to-face meeting in June, said Ridley School District Superintendent Lee Ann Wentzel.

The superintendent outlined some of the factors that contributed to the increase in expenditures for the coming school year, including special education expenditure costs that are going up 13.45 percent due to the lack of correspondnig funding support from federal resources. Medical benefits are increasing by 5.89 percent while prescription drug costs are going up 8.78 percent. All employee salaries show an increase of 0.79 percent.

The $254,686 in additional pension costs is due to the increasing employer share, a 1.34 percent increase, Wentzel noted in the budget presentation.

Reductions in expenses for 2020-2021 listed in the budget presentation include the replacing of retiring staff only as needed, restrictions of temporary positions and overtime, reducing discretionary spending, pausing capital projects and, prioritizing the use of grant funds.

Given the current conditions, this is a very difficult budget and it takes me back to when I started as superintendent in the district during the Great

Recession, Wentzel commented.

Before the meeting began, those at the virtual meeting got a welcome phone call from board President Mike Capozzoli, who has been hospitalized with the COVID-19 virus since March 27.

Mike called into the board prior to the meeting to check in and say hello to board members, Wentzel said.

Wentzel noted that diplomas for the senior class will be conferred on June 9, the day commencement exercises were to take place, but have now been cancelled. She said this is necessary because some students need their displomas for such things as base camp with the military or for those who are

starting their four-year college classes in the summer.

Depending on the rules in place, we are trying to find different ways to honor the graduates, Wentzel said, adding that there will be a virtual senior

awards presentation broadcast on the districts cable TV station.

We are using the radio and TV stations more than we ever thought we would, she said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said the West Bengal government is not allowing trains with migrant workers to reach the state that may further create hardship for the labourers. In a letter to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Shah said not allowing trains to reach West Bengal is "injustice" to the migrant workers from the state.

Referring to the 'Shramik Special' trains being run by the central government to facilitate transport of migrant workers from different parts of the country to various destinations, the home minister said in the letter that the Centre has facilitated more than two lakh migrants workers to reach home.

Shah said migrant workers from West Bengal are also eager to reach home and the central government is also facilitating the train services.

"But we are not getting expected support from the West Bengal. The state government of West Bengal is not allowing the trains reaching to West Bengal. This is injustice with West Bengal migrant labourers. This will create further hardship for them," Shah wrote.

Also read: Coronavirus: Stranded migrants all over world at increased risk of COVID-19, says IOM

Also read: Coronavirus India Live Updates: Learn to live with COVID-19, says govt; total cases-59,662, death toll-1,981
Tyra Banks has spoken out after coming under fire for her 'problematic' and 'discriminatory' behavior on old episodes of America's Next Top Model.

The past week has seen Twitter users slam the supermodel for her comments including a blackface photoshoot, grieving model forced to pose in a casket, and her criticism of a contestant's natural gap tooth.

The 46-year-old took to Twitter on Friday to apologize for her 'insensitive' past actions and confirmed she didn't condone them now in 2020.

Owning her mistakes: Tyra Banks has apologized for her 'insensitive' behavior during some past moments on America's Next Top Model (pictured February 2020)

'Been seeing the posts about the insensitivity of some past ANTM moments and I agree with you,' she began.

'Looking back, those were some really off choices. Appreciate your honest feedback and am sending so much love and virtual hugs.'

And the reviews were mixed, with some fans wanting Tyra to be more specific in regards to which particular moments she found insensitive, while others commended her for her sincere apology.

Good and bad: The reviews were mixed, with some fans wanting Tyra to be more specific in regards to which particular moments she found insensitive, while others commended her for her sincere apology

'this.....is simply not enough. you really crushed numerous girls spirits playing with their lives like it was sims,' commented one.

Another penned. 'this the exact not quite apology i was expecting.'

Others were much more positive about Tyra's Twitter response.

'You launched one of the most diverse television shows in history. Representation has always mattered to you, and we see that, too. We appreciate you,' Tweeted one.

Another penned: ''It was a different time Tyra when people weren't offended by everything. Big of you to even acknowledge it. I think the big issue of our current times is cancel culture. How about we focus on that?'

Fan of Tyra: And one of Tyra's former employees even chimed in, thanking her for everything she'd done for him

Shocking: Tyra Banks has come under fire for her 'problematic' behaviour on backdated episodes of America's Next Top Model (pictured during her iconic screaming row at Tiffany Richardson in 2005's Cycle Four)

And one of Tyra's former employees even chimed in, thanking her for everything she'd done for him.

'It takes a big person [to] talk about past mistakes. You should be commended for acknowledging them. What people AREN'T talking about it what a fantastic person/leader/boss you were behind the scenes. I should know - you gave me my first job EVER in the industry on #ANTM!'

The mixed responses comes after Tyra was slammed earlier in the week for her comments in unearthed clips from the show which premiered back in 2003 and ran for 24 seasons.

One situation saw a blackface photoshoot while another saw the host brutally criticize a contestant over their teeth.

'Every few months we all collectively remember Tyra Banks is a chaotic and possibly dangerous person. I support it', wrote one, while others raged over the shocking scenes from previous series.

Arguably the most widespread tweet to come to light showed Tyra hitting out at Cycle Six star Danielle Evans, for her refusal to fix the gap in her teeth.

Goading: In the video, Tyra says to Danielle: 'So Danielle, you went to the dentist but refused to have your gap closed. Do you really think you can have a Cover Girl contract with the gap in your mouth?', much to the aspiring model's chagrin

Hitting back: On Wednesday, gap-toothed model Slick Woods (pictured in 2017) responded to the clip, stating: 'No one should ever talk to you like that @danievans1, that episode f****d up little simone/slick so thats how yall feel @tyrabanks @miss_jalexander???'

Upsetting: Another penned: '11 year old me, with a gap in my mouth, watched this and I became obsessed with closing my gap. Glad I never closed it but Tyra was deadass wrong'

In the video, Tyra says to Danielle: 'So Danielle, you went to the dentist but refused to have your gap closed. Do you really think you can have a Cover Girl contract with the gap in your mouth?', much to the aspiring model's chagrin.

As Tyra mocked her by holding her finger between her teeth and branded the feature 'not marketable', Danielle hit back: 'A little bit is ok but I don't want to completely close it', before she later agreed to close it slightly.

Twitter users penned: 'Saw an old video of Tyra banks shaming an aspiring model for having gap-tooth...I didnt understand it...like why?'

'Some of Twitter is not happy with Ms #tyrabanks an old episode of #antm has resurfaced. Tyra confronted the young lady about not wanting to close her gap.'

On Wednesday, gap-toothed model Slick Woods responded to the clip, stating: 'No one should ever talk to you like that @danievans1, that episode f****d up little simone/slick so thats how yall feel @tyrabanks @miss_jalexander???'

Ahem.. In Cycle 13, the hopefuls famously posed for a 'Bi-racial' photoshoot which sparked controversy, which Tyra addressed at the time

Oh... Some fans were alarmed by the moment in Cycle 4, in which contestant Kahlen (centre with the red hair) was made to pose inside a casket at the base of an eight foot grave on the same week she discovered one of her friends had died

Another penned: '11 year old me, with a gap in my mouth, watched this and I became obsessed with closing my gap. Glad I never closed it but Tyra was deadass wrong.'

In Cycle 13, the hopefuls famously posed for a 'Bi-racial' photoshoot which sparked controversy, which Tyra addressed at the time.

She said: 'What we thought was a celebration turned out to be very negative in some of the press and a lot of them were even saying that it was racism. A lot of them went so far as to accuse me and 'Top Model' of putting the girls in black face...

'I want to be clear: I, in no way, put my Models in blackface. I'm a black woman. I am proud. I love my people and the struggle that we have gone through continues and the last thing that I would ever do is be a part of something that degraded my race.'

Despite her defense, the shoot still resurfaced among fans, with Twitter users writing: 'Tyra banks makes girls do black face...

'Tells girls to go bald and then kicks them off the show, and discredits their people of the lgbtq community from coming out...

'Since were talking about Tyra Banks.. remember that episode where she made the women do a bi-racial photo shoot????????'.

Some fans were alarmed by the moment in Cycle 4, in which contestant Kahlen was made to pose inside a casket at the base of an eight foot grave on the same week she discovered one of her friends had died.

A bewildered Twitter user penned: 'Tyra Banks made a girl do a photo shoot in a casket after he best friend had just passed away?????'.
Over 434 Kashmiri students, stranded in various parts of Madhya Pradesh due to lockdown on account of coronavirus outbreak, left for Jammu and Kashmir from Bhopal and Indore by buses on Saturday afternoon.

365 students started their home-bound journey in buses from Bhopal, while 69 others left from Indore.

Bhopal district collector Tarun Pithode said medical check-up of all the students was conducted before they were given e-passes for the journey.

A fleet of 18 AC buses carrying 365 students left Bhopal around 3 pm, while the group of 69 students left Indore in two buses.

In Bhopal, Kashmiri students from various parts of the state gathered at a private school in Gandhi Nagar locality on Friday night.

The buses will ferry the students to Lakhanpur post on Punjab-J&K border in Kathua district, from where the administration of the Union Territory will arrange their travel to their hometowns, an official said in Indore.

Water Resources Minister Tulsiram Silawat was present in Indore when two buses carrying students left.

Firdaus Ahmed Johar, a research student at Indores Devi Ahilya University, was among those who boarded buses for Jammu and Kashmir.

Expressing happiness, he said, "We were stranded in Indore for the last several days due to lockdown. We are thankful to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for helping us return home."



Congress leader Digvijaya Singh had recently written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, requesting him to make arrangements to take Kashmiri students stranded in Madhya Pradesh to their homes.

As Jammu and Kashmir is under Central rule, it is the Centre's duty to help the people from that region to return from various parts of the country where they are stranded, Singh had said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
(Bloomberg) -- A lawsuit that made a big bang in Silicon Valley two years ago with allegations of mistreatment of politically conservative tech workers came to a quiet end this week.

Former Google engineer James Damore and three other men who worked for or applied for jobs at the Alphabet Inc. unit asked a court to dismiss their lawsuit. Their written request was joined by Google.

A lawyer for the men, Harmeet Dhillon, said theyre prohibited as part of their agreement with Google from saying anything beyond whats in Thursdays court filing. Google declined to comment.

Damore was fired from Google in 2017 after he wrote a memo arguing that innate differences between the sexes might explain why women are underrepresented at the internet giant and other tech companies. He sued the company the following year, alleging that it allows discrimination against conservative white men.

The lawsuit made him the darling of the alt-right movement and conservative media and was joined by other men with similar grievances, even as legal experts said Damore would have a hard time winning redemption in court.

In 2018, Damore suffered a setback when a National Labor Relations Board attorney concluded the engineers use of biological stereotypes in his widely circulated memo was offensive enough to cause disruption in the workplace, making his firing lawful.

After Damore sued Google in state court in San Jose, he and another former Google employee were shunted into private arbitration, as required by their employment contract. Meanwhile, a judge opined it wouldnt be easy for two fellow plaintiffs to prevail on their novel theory that Google is biased against political conservatives -- a term the company argued was too vague to support a class-action suit.

Still, Damores lawyer said not to underestimate the lawsuits impact. Because of it, companies in Silicon Valley and beyond have instituted workplace rules designed to protect employees with alternative viewpoints and prevent bullying, Dhillon said.

Story continues

She also said Google has changed its policy of barring employees from publicly discussing working conditions and the size of their salaries.

Conversely, in August Google posted internal rules that discourage employees from debating politics, a shift away from the companys famously open culture.

Dhillon said she doubted what she describes as Googles anti-conservative sentiment has changed.

I think the bullies pretty much run the shop over there, she said. Google has the most brutal Lord of the Flies workplace for people who dont fit it.

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With Gujarat reporting a large number of COVID-19 cases and fatalities, medical experts from AIIMS, including its Director Dr Randeep Guleria, have rushed to Ahmedabad to provide expert guidance to doctors there on COVID-19 management.

Following directions from the Centre, Dr Guleria, who is a pulmonologist, and Dr Manish Soneja from the AIIMS department of medicine left for Ahmedabad on special Indian Air Force flight on Friday evening, official sources said.

With 390 more people testing positive for COVID-19 and 24 fatalities, the total number of cases in Gujarat climbed to 7,403 and the death toll reached 449 on Friday. Of the total coronavirus cases in the state, 5,260 have been reported from Ahmedabad district alone.

"They will visit the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital and SVP hospital on Saturday to provide expert guidance and advice to the doctors on treatment for coronavirus-infected patients there," a source said.

Also read: Coronavirus update: Kerala's recovery rate at 92.07%, higher than Maharashtra, Gujarat, 12 other states

Also read: Coronavirus outbreak: COVID-19 cases to peak in June or July, says AIIMS director
Last month, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a warning to countries that were giving out immunity passports to people who had had the COVID-19 infection and were tested for antibodies for it. The idea behind these passports was that those with immunity could travel for work purposes and be protected against reinfection.

In its statement, the WHO said: At this point in the pandemic, there is not enough evidence about the effectiveness of antibody-mediated immunity to guarantee the accuracy of an immunity passport or risk-free certificate. People who assume that they are immune to a second infection because they have received a positive test result may ignore public health advice. The use of such certificates may therefore increase the risks of continued transmission.

As the same time, there have been reports of people in China and Italy being infected a second time by the coronavirus.

Despite this, Chile said last week it would give out health passports to people who are deemed to have recovered from the illness.

Antibodies hold the key to getting us out of this global pandemic. They will either be acquired through infection or through effective vaccination.

What is an antibody?

Antibodies are proteins found in the blood that help recognise an infection and stimulate an immune response to fight it.

A person usually needs to have been exposed to the bug causing the infection to produce antibodies to it. This may be through illness or a vaccine.

These antibodies lie dormant until the bug is encountered again. They then respond much more rapidly, often without the person even realising they have caught the bug or becoming ill with it.

Antibodies are detectable in the blood usually about two weeks after an infection of COVID-19.

Serological testing

Antibody testing kits, also known as serological tests, are being used by some countries to look for the presence of these antibodies in blood samples taken through a finger prick test.

Serology tests are important if we are to understand the true epidemiology of the disease and its spread in populations. Countries such as Singapore have used them extensively to help monitor and control their outbreaks.

These tests are also useful for those who may not have had any symptoms of the coronavirus and would not have been tested in any other way.

Current research has shown that antibodies persist for at least four weeks, and are useful at detecting past infections which nasal or throat swabs simply cannot.

Accuracy vs false negatives

Countries have been ordering the tests en masse and using them to check past infection and the immune status of their populations.

However, there is also a debate going on about the accuracy of these tests, with some experts saying lab blood tests are more reliable than finger prick tests for antibody testing.

Some scientists believe false negative results may be an issue with finger prick tests  this means the test could tell a person they do not have the illness when in fact they might. It is worth bearing in mind that these tests will most often be administered by the infected person themself, who may not have the ability to read the results properly.

Reliability is the most important part of a test. It has to be able to test positive for those who have had the illness and now have antibodies to COVID-19, and also test negative for those who do not have the antibodies.

An error either way could be disastrous for keeping infection numbers down. People may be reassured that they have already had the disease and are immune to it, and therefore may not adhere to guidelines around social distancing, inadvertently spreading the virus again.

Understanding the past, predicting the future

Several studies have shown that those who have had COVID-19 have developed antibodies to the virus. However, some studies show that not everyone develops the same level of antibodies to the virus after infection. This may be due to a number of reasons; age, underlying health conditions, nutritional status and general fitness levels all play a role in how strong a persons immune system is.

A Chinese study looking at the immune response to the coronavirus after infection demonstrated differing levels of these neutralising antibodies required to fight the virus: 10 of the 175 people they tested had almost undetectable levels of the antibodies.

This led to the WHO issuing caution against assuming immunity to the virus after an infection, with their statement continuing: As of 24 April 2020, no study has evaluated whether the presence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 [the virus that causes COVID-19] confers immunity to subsequent infection by this virus in humans.

It is important to note that the WHO is supportive of countries using antibody testing as it will help with evaluating risks and understanding the spread of the disease. But it has stressed that the tests will not determine whether a person is immune to a second infection.

Although swab testing will still be vital for identifying an acute or current infection, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread and cases accumulate, serological testing and data will prove increasingly important to understand the pandemics past and to predict its future.

While testing for active infections, both through nasal and throat swabs and blood tests for antibodies, is a key part of understanding the global pandemic, we have yet to see conclusive proof that the presence of antibodies will confer immunity. This is still a new and developing disease and more research is needed.
The foreign ministers of Russia, Turkey, and Iran will hold a video conference on April 22 to discuss Syria and a de-escalation deal in the last rebel-held enclave in Idlib.

Turkey and Russia, which back opposing sides in the conflict, brokered a March 5 cease-fire in rebel-controlled Idlib Province following a monthslong Russia-backed offensive by Syrian forces that displaced nearly one million people and threatened to send a flood of refugees into Turkey.

The escalation earlier this year brought the Turkish military and Syrian government into direct confrontation. Ankara retaliated for the death of some 60 Turkish troops by increasing support for opposition groups and unleashing a devastating drone campaign on Syrian government forces.

As part of the cease-fire deal, Turkish and Russian troops conduct joint patrols in a buffer zone between rebel fighters and Syrian government forces along a section of the strategic M4 highway, which connects Aleppo to Latakia on the Mediterranean coast.

On April 20, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the Syrian government of taking advantage of the worlds distraction with the coronavirus pandemic to increase attacks in Idlib.

"Should the regime, which has violated the cease-fire and other conditions of the agreement, continue in this way, it will pay a price with heavy losses," he added.

The threat comes amid reports of minor clashes between Syrian forces and Turkey-backed opposition forces and extremist rebel factions, although the buffer zone appears to be limiting fighting.

Ahead of the foreign ministers video conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with Erdogan and Iranian President Hassan Rohani on April 21.

The three countries are part of the so-called Astana process designed to support a diplomatic solution to Syrias 10-year civil war.

On April 20, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met in Damascus with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Along with Russia, Tehran has provided crucial military support to Assad during the country's internal conflict.

With reporting by AP, Interfax, Reuters, and Haber Turk




Community, Charity & Cause

By Ls Cohen Published: May 08 2020

These organizations and businesses have stepped up to help.

Long Islanders have come together to help those on the front lines of the Covid-19 pandemic in big ways. Below we highlight seven different stories about those businesses and organizations that are helping.

Long Island Harvest: Over 25.2 Million Pounds of Food Needed to Feed Hungry During Crisis

Island Harvest Food Bank estimates that a $25 donation can help them feed a family of four for up to four days. Even before the economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis, 2.5 million working-age New Yorkers were struggling to make ends meet and now, the need is greater than ever and only getting worse. Island Harvest Food Bank estimates that since March it has provided over one million meals across Long Island. Along with its sister organization, City Harvest, they expect to rescue and deliver 25.2 million pounds of food to meet the growing demand between now and June 30.

Silver Shield Foundation Board Member Works to Get Local Police Donation of PPEs

Vincent LeViens usual day job is director of government and community affairs for the DeSales Media Group, the communications arm for of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn. Nowadays he spends most of his time running the groups COVID-19 Emergency Task Force (ETF), one that he formed and makes sure first responders have PPEs and the support they need as they work the front lines keeping us safe.

Local College Transformed into Outpatient Facility for Covid Patients

When the Covid-19 crisis hit, communities all across Long Island have come together to help - whether its food drives, artists spreading messages of hope, or the mobilization of doctors and nurses to treat affected patients directly, the need was quickly assessed and many responded to the call. In Nassau County, the community recognized this need and organized to raise donations and outfit the grounds of a vacant college to provide extra space for care in the event it was needed.

Holbrook Restaurant Donates Hot Food for Medical Workers

John Kouminas, owner of Karvers Grille in Holbrook, knew that he had to lend a helping hand during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. With frontline medical staff working in strenuous and dangerous conditions Kouminas decided that it was important that people stick together and lend a helping hand wherever they could.

Charity Shifts Online to Continue Serving Seriously Ill Kids

Amityville-based KiDS NEED MoRE is a non-profit that has provided children who are going through a serious illness or trauma along with their families a place to go where they can forget about their troubles for a while and have fun. Every summer they host camps either right here on Long Island or in Upstate New York. But, like many other organizations and local companies theyre finding coronavirus upending their usual way of doing business and have had to adapt.

Urgent Need For Blood Donors as Drives Cancelled Across Long Island

New York Blood Center (NYBC), an independent, community-based, nonprofit blood center, has alerted partners that it has canceled all remote location blood drives through April 30, causing many scheduled blood drives across the Island to be postponed. In a statement, Dr. Christopher D. Hillyer, President and CEO of NYBC said they are extending open hours at donor centers and requests that healthy donors make appointments to help maintain the regions blood supply.

Stony Brook Hospital Celebrates Coronavirus Victories with Songs and Chimes

When a patient is discharged from Stony Brook Hospital strains of Here Comes the Sun is one of the last things they hear as they leave. In fact, to make sure the little victory over the pandemic is shared with everyone, the hospital plays a few bars of the song over its speaker system so staff and patients all know about it. If a COVID patient is extubated - meaning they are taken off a respirator - the hospital plays a wind chime, like a symbol of that first unassisted breath.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, has decried reports that security operatives were sabotaging the enforcement of the ban on interstate travels.

According to him, Reports from various parts of the country at the close of day, 6th May, 2020 indicate the following:

Dahiru Saleh, the judge who annulled the June 12 1993 presidential election, has died in his home town, Azare of Bauchi.

According to the TheCable, the late judge held the traditional title of Mutawallen Katagum Emirate in Bauchi until his death on Thursday evening.

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The Federal Government says a fresh lockdown of the country is imminent over the violation of the guidelines on the ease of the lockdown in the country. This was made known by the National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Dr. Sani Aliyu on Thursday in Abuja, at the 27th joint national briefing of the committee.

Nollywood actor, Yul Edochie says he doesnt understand why Nigerian leaders are looting the country dry.Speaking via his official Twitter handle on Friday, he further queried if they are in a cult that forbids them from developing their countries.

The committee set up by the Jigawa State government to investigate mysterious deaths in Hadejia Local Government Area of the state, has submitted its report. The report states that although 92 corpses were buried within eight days in two cemeteries in the LGA, the deaths are unconnected to COVID-19.

The founder of the Living Faith Church, also known as the Winners Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo, has again described the closure of Church doors as a spiritual famine.He expressed that it is more devastating than the virus itself and has no vaccine.

Chikwe Ihekweazu, director-general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), says Kogi rejected the help offered by the agency to ascertain the COVID-19 situation in the state.Kogi and Cross River are the two states yet to confirm a single case of the disease in the country.The Kogi state government had alleged that there are attempts to declare fake COVID-19 cases in the state.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation and chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, has revealed that treatment centres are running out of bed space. The SGF, during the national briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 on Friday., expressed that this information was gotten from reports from states in the country.

Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi says the state may record between 90,000 and 120,000 cases of COVID-19 by July or August.

According to the commissioner, the COVID-19 cases in the state is expected to reach its peak between that period.Speaking during a media briefing on the update of COVID-19 in the state, held in Alausa, Ikeja,
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 21:14:05|Editor: huaxia

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CHANGSHA, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Central China's Hunan Province, one of the country's major grain producers, launched on Friday its first germplasm pool of crop resources, as an effort to strengthen comprehensive protection and utilization of germplasm resources.

Covering a construction area totaling nearly 700 square meters, the pool, with five storehouses and six functional areas, can preserve 150,000 pieces of germplasm resources.

So far, the pool has collected and stored 30,000 pieces of germplasm resources of various crops, including rice and pepper, and the number is expected to exceed 100,000 by 2030, said Bai Lianyang, an official with the Hunan Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

The general office of the State Council, or China's cabinet, issued a guideline in February, calling for stronger protection and more efficient utilization of germplasm resources, to ensure food security and underpin the foundation of rural revitalization strategy.

According to the guideline, the country will establish a sound and scientific protection and utilization system of germplasm resources by 2035, to achieve a top-level germplasm resource pool. Enditem
A top aide to US Vice President Mike Pence has tested positive for coronavirus, just one day after another White House staff member was diagnosed.

Mr Pence's press secretary Katie Miller tested positive on Friday, and was publicly identified by President Donald Trump, who insisted he was "not worried" about the virus spreading in the White House.

Nonetheless, officials said they were stepping up safety protocols for the complex.

Ms Miller had been in recent contact with Mr Pence but not with the president, and is married to Stephen Miller, a top Trump adviser.

Marc Short, Chief of Staff for Vice President Mike Pence (L) talks with Katie Miller, Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary (R) / Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images

She had tested negative on Thursday, a day before her positive result.

Mr Trump said: This is why the whole concept of tests arent necessarily great. The tests are perfect but something can happen between a test where its good and then something happens.

The positive test for Ms Miller came one day after White House officials confirmed a member of the military serving as one of Mr Trumps valets had tested positive for Covid-19.

Six people who had been in contact with Ms Miller were scheduled to fly with Mr Pence on Friday to Des Moines, Iowa, on Air Force Two. They were removed from the flight just before it took off, according to a senior administration official.

None of those people were exhibiting symptoms but were asked to get off so they could be tested out of an abundance of caution, a senior administration official told reporters. All six later tested negative, the White House said.

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

The official said staff in the West Wing are tested regularly but much of Mr Pences staff  which works next door in the Executive Office Building  are tested less frequently. Ms Miller was not on the plane and had not been scheduled to be on the trip.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said the administration was stepping up mitigation efforts already recommended by public health experts and taking other unspecified precautions to ensure the safety of the president.

According to Mr Meadows, the White House was probably the safest place that you can come, but he said further steps were being reviewed to keep Mr Trump and Mr Pence safe.

The White House requires daily temperature checks of anyone who enters the White House complex and has encouraged social distancing among those working in the building.

Donald Trump tours PPE factory without wearing a mask

The administration has also directed regular deep cleaning of all work spaces. Anyone who comes in close proximity to the president and vice president is tested daily for Covid-19.

Weve already put in a few protocols that were looking at, obviously, to make sure that the president and his immediate staff stay safe. But its not just the president, its all the workers that are here  on a daily basis, Mr Meadows said.

Mr Trumps valets case marked the first known instance where a person who has come in close proximity to the president has tested positive since several people present at his private Florida club were diagnosed with Covid-19 in early March.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 1,078 new coronavirus cases Saturday, raising the statewide total to 55,316 infected in about two months.

Across the state, 3,688 people have died since March due to COVID-19, including 72 newly reported cases Saturday. All of those who have died were adults, and more than two-thirds of them were in long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes.

Among those who have tested positive: 11,239 live in long-term care homes, and 1,605 work in them. About 3,685 are health care workers.

Nearly 222,000 people have tested negative.

Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine and Gov. Wolf are not planning to hold news conferences this weekend.

The governor last month announced a three-phase plan in reopening Pennsylvania: red, yellow and green. For counties in the yellow phase, more businesses can reopen, with restrictions. The plan has started to go into effect.

Gov. Tom Wolf's red, yellow and green phases reopening Pennsylvania after coronavirus-related shutdowns in 2020. (Graphic via the governor's office.)

Two dozen counties northern counties came out of the red phase on Friday, and 13 more in the western side of the state are supposed to move to yellow on May 15.

On Thursday, Wolf extended the stay-at-home order for red-phase sections of Pennsylvania until June 4.

The Democratic governor, however, continues to clash with Republican lawmakers over the question of reopening more businesses. GOP lawmakers, who control the General Assembly, contend more small businesses can be allowed to reopen without endangering public health.

Theyre also hearing from constituents eager to go to work. More than 1.7 million Pennsylvania residents have filed unemployment claims since mid-March.

Wolf and Democratic lawmakers contend a broad reopening of businesses could risk lives. The governor and fellow Democrats have also argued it could do more damage to the economy if more spikes of the virus lead prompt additional shutdowns of the economy.

Officials leading Dauphin County and Lebanon County, neither of which is on a yellow-phase list yet, say theyre easing restrictions starting May 15, with or without the states blessing.

More:

Denied unemployment claimants can appeal, even if expiration date has passed: Pa. Labor & Industry

Business licenses remain in jeopardy during coronavirus reopening phase

Sheriffs denounce Gov. Wolfs shutdown order as unconstitutional, say they wont enforce it

Will central Pa. restaurants survive coronavirus? Heres how they are trying to adapt

No foreclosures or evictions in Pa. until at least July 10: Gov. Tom Wolf
President Donald Trump's intensifying showdown with China over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic is expanding to a new battlefield: the retirement portfolios of 5.9 million federal employees and U.S. service members.

In recent days, White House officials have moved to seize control of a little-known board that administers the $557 billion federal retirement program for most active and retired federal employees and military members, with some aides eager to halt the flow of billions of dollars into an index fund that includes Chinese companies, according to two White House officials and an outside Trump adviser involved in the discussions.

Trump on Monday nominated three members to replace the majority on the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, made up of five investment experts who oversee the retirement plan. All of their four-year terms have expired, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., have not replaced those serving in the two seats they control.

With its new nominees, the White House is taking steps to block the plan's $40 billion international fund from investing in a fund that contains about 11 percent of China-based stocks, according to people familiar with the strategy.

"Obviously, the president doesn't want this investment to take place and is looking for other alternatives," said a senior administration official who was not authorized to speak about the nominations. "These individuals will be key to making that happen."

The move comes as Trump has sought to put the blame on China for the coronavirus pandemic and senior U.S. officials have begun explore proposals to punish or demand financial compensation from the country.

The effort to block any Chinese investment by the retirement plan, the largest defined contribution program in the world, comes as the current board is preparing to transfer assets to the new fund. The board has said it is following a responsible investment strategy - recommended twice by an outside consultant - that will allow its members to accrue potential gains from China's growing economy.

A TSP spokeswoman, Kim Weaver, told The Washington Post last month the shift in strategy "is not about China, from our perspective."

Advocates for federal workers say reversing the strategy could hurt millions of employees saving for retirement by walling off investments that are widely available in other 401(k)-type plans.

"Participants want investment options that pass the fiduciary responsibility test - not any political test," said Jacqueline Simon, policy director for the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest union representing federal workers.

Investment in the international stock fund is voluntary and investors could put their money instead in a range of other options, she added.

In recent weeks, China hard-liners close to Trump have made the case to the president and senior administration leaders that the country's influence in American stock portfolios must be reduced, taking advantage of retaliatory mood toward Beijing, according to people familiar with their lobbying.

Roger Robinson, who served on the National Security Council under President Ronald Reagan, said he began meeting with top White House officials last summer to alert them that the Thrift Savings Plan's new investment strategy could be seen as undercutting national security by subsidizing Chinese companies involved in weapons manufacturing and other interests detrimental to the United States.

"The Thrift Savings Plan issue is a microcosm of the broader problems of U.S.-sanctioned Chinese companies and other corporate bad actors in our capital markets and Beijing's noncompliance with federal securities laws," said Robinson, who is chairman of the Prague Security Studies Institute, a think tank focused on democracies in post-communist states.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not reply to a request for comment.

The White House is working on a backup plan if it is unable to get its nominees to the board confirmed quickly by the Senate, according to the people familiar with the strategy, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions.

Trade adviser Peter Navarro is drafting a possible executive order that could block the plan from investing in any Chinese funds, a third administration official said. The White House Office of Legal Counsel is reviewing the order, which could face legal hurdles since the retirement plan is governed by an independent board.

The effort to remake the board and reorient its investment strategy has intensified tensions inside the administration about the appropriate approach toward China.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has privately waved the president off sweeping action against the retirement plan, concerned that restricting investment could hurt financial markets and threaten the first phase of the China trade deal, a White House official said.

But Trump and other top aides - including Navarro, deputy national security adviser Matthew Pottinger and chief of staff Mark Meadows - want action against the Chinese, furious at the government's lack of transparency as the coronavirus spread across the globe, according to people familiar with their views.

They've been encouraged by outside China critics, including former Trump campaign strategist Stephen Bannon and other conservative activists. Last month, eight former senior military leaders issued a letter objecting to the China investment strategy in an effort coordinated with a group led by Bannon and others.

The stakes are high and could affect the performance of the Thrift Savings Plan, which resembles a private-sector 401(k) plan and is managed by BlackRock.

In 2017, the board hired an outside consultant, Aon Hewitt, which advised shifting its investments to a fund that includes shares of emerging market companies.

The idea was to diversify its portfolio and allow fund participants to get higher returns. The board, whose members are experienced pension benefit plan investors, voted in October of that year to expand the reach of its international fund to more broadly represent international stock markets. Preparations for the changeover have been underway since and it is projected to take effect in the coming months.

"The spin that is being placed on it is that all these funds are going to be invested into the Chinese market is absolutely false," said Clifford Dailing, an official with the National Rural Letter Carriers' Association who leads a council of a dozen federal employee organizations that advise the board.

"It's politically motivated," Dailing said of the White House move. "I would hope that any of the individuals that come on to the board would not come on with a political mission to undo what a previous board has in place."

Trump's nominees to the board are Frank Dunlevy, counselor to the chief executive officer of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation; Christopher Bancroft Burnham, chairman and co-founder of Cambridge Global Capital, a District-based investment firm, and John Barger, managing director at NorthernCross Partners, an investment firm in Los Angeles.

Burnham declined to comment. Dunlevy and Barger did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Weaver, the spokeswoman for the plan, said in a statement that "it is the President's responsibility to appoint board members. We look forward to working with the nominees."

The retirement board's plan to offer an index fund with Chinese companies had drawn condemnation from China hard-liners in Congress for months. But only in recent weeks did their lobbying campaign reach the president, who has been taking a more aggressive stand toward China amid the pandemic.

Trump announced last week that he is restricting use of electrical equipment in the domestic grid with links to "a foreign adversary" - a reference to China.

In private, Trump and aides have discussed stripping China of its "sovereign immunity," with the goal is allowing the U.S. government or virus victims to sue China for damages, The Post previously reported.

Asked at the White House this week if he plans to impose tariffs on China as a punishment or because of trade violations, Trump said, "I don't want to talk about that now. We're in the midst of some very big things."

White House aides were not initially aware that federal employee retirement savings plan was overseen by a board, let alone the details of the board's investment strategy, according to one White House adviser.

Robinson said he contacted lawmakers on Capitol Hill last summer to urge a pressure campaign against the board. In the Senate, Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., introduced legislation to block the new investment strategy. The House effort was led by Meadows, then still a congressman.

They didn't get far, Robinson said. Still, the board requested a second report from Aon in response to the opposition. It reached the same conclusions as the first. In November, the board voted to reaffirm an earlier decision to move forward with the new investment strategy.

Then came the pandemic. Amid the focus on China, Robinson, who said he was worried that the fund was preparing to shift its investments, said he stepped up his outreach to the White House and some friends of the president whom he declined to name.

Several of the president's favorite news outlets also began running segments on the obscure board and its investment strategy, including Fox News. Sinclair Broadcast Group ran a report on April 30 that said the president had instructed top aides to "rein in" the retirement savings plan before it expanded its investment portfolio to include Chinese-held entities that U.S. officials believe are tied "directly to the Chinese military and to the country's global intelligence apparatus."

The report described Trump as "incredulous over the looming prospect of U.S. service members seeing their paychecks deducted for the purpose of funding the Chinese military."

- - -

The Washington Post's Alice Crites and Anne Gearan contributed to this report.
Ibrahim Baba, a former member of the house of representatives from Bauchi, has written to the President Muhammadu Buhari over what he described as a massive outbreak of coronavirus in Azare, a town in the state.

The former lawmaker, in the letter dated May 8, 2020, said Azare has recorded over 100 COVID-19 deaths in the last one week.

According to him, there is panic and confusion among residents and therefore appealed to Buhari to direct the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to visit the town.

Your Excellency, Sir, I write to draw your kind attention to the massive outbreak of coronavirus in Azare town and environs in Bauchi State, which has already resulted in over 100 in the last one week, and this has thrown the entire area into great mourning, panic and confusion, he wrote.

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The centrality and proximity of Azare to Bauchi, Kano and some major cities of Jigawa states make the towns large population susceptible to the virus due to the already existing large cases of the disease in those areas.

And because media coverage is always largely skewed toward states capital and other more prominent cities, the ongoing horrific situation in Azare has not gotten the attention it deserves, and thats why I want to use this privilege to appeal to you for urgent action to arrest the unpalatable situations.

Consequently, therefore, I wish to appeal to your Excellency to direct the National Centre for Diseases Control (NCDC) and the presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 to urgently reach out to Azare town with all the necessary facilities and palliatives to assist the communities there.

Read Also: President Buhari Loses Nephew

And to help in this expected effort, may I draw your attention to the fact that at the Opthamology unit and laboratory have already been built and equipped by the Central Bank of Nigeria at the Azare Federal Medical Centre Since 2013 but have not been commissioned and put to use up till now, he said.

This facility can be repurposed to a COVID-19 test and treatment center provided the right equipment are added, including ventilators.

As a matter of life death, I have the utmost trust in your sense of patriotism and commitment to the well-being of Nigerians that you will assist the beleaguered people of Azare town and environs to overcome this harrowing situation. And while I look forward to your kind response, please, accept the assurance of my high esteem and loyalty.
One of the things I love about America  and there are many  is her deeply ingrained rebelliousness. When the government tells us to do something, we instinctively question it.

Of course, all principles can be taken too far. Its good to question authority, but if a sign says, Do not swim in pond, there are alligators here, and your response is, Ill do what I want, youre not the boss of me, youre an idiot.

If youre on a lifeboat with several other people and everyone agrees to ration the fresh water, but your answer is, Shut up, Im thirsty, being the sole dissenter makes you the jerk, not the hero.

Which brings me to the newest form of fashionable rebellion in some quarters: refusal to wear face masks when warranted.

Note the qualifier when warranted. I think mask-wearing can go overboard. In my neighborhood in Washington, D.C., I see joggers running alone on warm days wearing masks, and I wonder, Why? Its gotta be uncomfortable. But when Im in a grocery store, I wear the mask. If Im alone in an aisle, I might take it off  they fog up my glasses. But if someone is nearby, or if Im in the checkout line, I make sure to put it back on.

Bear in mind, the CDCs recommendation that people wear masks isnt primarily about self-protection but the protection of others. Theres little to no evidence that a mask will prevent you from getting the disease if youre exposed to it. Theres some evidence that if youre infected with COVID-19, wearing a mask will help prevent you from spreading it. In other words, its a medically sound courtesy to others.

I dont have any problem with Donald Trump not wearing a mask at his press conferences. Hes tested regularly, as are the people around him. I think the television reporters standing outside at the beach wearing a mask are being a little silly. The camera can easily be more than 6 feet away. But the idea that public figures should model correct behavior isnt ridiculous either. Its a judgment call.

That said, what I find utterly baffling  and frankly, embarrassing  is the idea that wearing a mask in any situation is a surrender to tyranny and fear. Various cable TV and talk radio hosts have embraced the idea that wearing a mask is a concession to tyrannical social engineers and a symbol of fear, in the words of Rush Limbaugh. Protestors boo suggestions to wear masks, and they carry signs reading Just Say No and Dont Mask the Truth. At one store in Michigan, a security guard was shot to death for telling a patron to wear as mask.

Cheryl Chumley, the online opinion editor of The Washington Times, writes that the practice of mask-wearing is like the red belts worn by the communists when they want to show solidarity, when they want to make public expressions of party loyalty, when they want to display their sacrifice of self for the greater good.

No. No, its not like that. Wearing red belts to prove youre a good communist is not at all like wearing a mask to ensure you wont kill someones grandmother  never mind simply to reassure said grandmother its safe for her to shop at the supermarket.

According to any remotely recognizable theory of limited government  whether you call it libertarianism, constitutionalism, conservatism, classical liberalism or even Americanism  the government has not just the authority but the obligation to prevent threats to public welfare. From colonial times to well after the ratification of the Constitution, governments took extreme measures  quarantines, inoculation programs, etc.  to prevent the spread of yellow fever and other epidemics. During the Revolutionary War, George Washington ordered the mandatory inoculation of his troops to prevent the spread of smallpox.

In other words, epidemics, like wars, are the great exceptions to limited government. This used to be Conservatism 101: The government shouldnt boss us around unless there is a truly compelling reason, like an invading army or, in this case, an invading virus.

What makes all of this even dumber is that all the federal government has done is recommend mask-wearing. Most of the places that require masks are private businesses. Admittedly, some are adhering to local public health guidelines, but so what? Why arent these rebels going shirtless and shoeless into restaurants to stick it to the man and his Maoist No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service signs?

By all means, continue to question authority, but bear in mind, sometimes the authorities are right.

Jonah Goldberg is editor-in-chief of The Dispatch and the host of The Remnant podcast. His Twitter handle is @JonahDispatch.
Despite repeated talks of Prince Harry's mental health issues concerning media intrusion, Meghan Markle doesn't seem to care.

The Duke of Sussex has been incredibly vocal about how the media has impacted his life over the years.

Landing in Australia for his tour with Meghan in 2018, he told the small group of journalists, "Thanks for coming, even though you weren't invited."

One royal correspondent revealed that any engagement that the press is with him, "he just scowls at us."

Prince Harry is reportedly "very tortured" that, "he can't hide his disdain. It's just so uncomfortable, and he has fury and venom in his eyes" when looking at any member of the press.

But what made Prince Harry hate the media so much?

Even before Meghan Markle came to the picture, Prince Harry has already hated the media.

This is because of his late mother, Princess Diana, who suffered at the hands of the press.

Before, Lady Diana Spencer was one of the most photographed women in the world since marrying Prince Charles. Though a lot of people admired her, there were a lot of drawbacks.

She was often followed everywhere; paparazzi and reporters did everything they could just to get pictures of Princess Diana, and even when she's out with her two sons, they still wouldn't leave her alone.

The press also had something to do with her death in 1997, as the paparazzi chased the car she was in, and later the car crashed into a tunnel.

Talking about Princess Diana's death, "I think being part of this family, in this role, in this job, every single time I see a camera, every single time I hear a click, every single time I see a flash, it takes me straight back, so in that respect it's the worst reminder of her life, as opposed to the best," he said.

Aside from that, Prince Harry was also criticized by the press following the years of his mother's death. The former wild child and party boy was in the headlines for drug abuse, partying and controversial behavior.

According to former BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt, the Duke of Sussex always talked about being irritated with media coverage and had an unhealthy obsession with it that he would even read the comments beneath the articles online.

He would reportedly take up issues with the correspondents from those papers when he met them.

Because of everything that happened between him, his mother's death, and the media, Prince Harry sought counseling because they had always been severe issues for him.

In January 2020, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry decided to step down as senior members of the royal family, to live a life away from the spotlight.

They said they also want to raise their one-year-old son Archie away from the pressure of the media.

Meghan Markle Doesn't Care About Prince Harry

However, in April, they moved to Malibu, California, a paparazzi hotspot for celebrities. A place where the paparazzi never sleeps, and where media outlets have far more relaxed rules than how they do it in the UK.

As the wife of someone who has admitted to struggling with mental health, you would imagine that the former "Suits" actress would be supportive of Prince Harry.

If they wanted privacy, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex could choose anywhere in the world, but they decided the Hollywood area.

Prince Harry reportedly likes living in Frogmore Cottage, but Meghan Markle is tired of being in the UK.

And as per reports, Prince Harry wants to give his wife everything just for her to be happy, "What Meghan wants, Meghan gets." He was only doing his job to be a loving husband.

It was obvious that the Duchess of Sussex wasn't interested in a quiet and peaceful life. She wanted a life of all glitz and glamour, initially wanting the crown but without working hard.

Meghan isn't interested in being out of the limelight.

She reportedly wants to be the center of attention, and she needs her Prince to complete her new life that will surely win her a couple of Hollywood roles, no matter how Prince Harry would feel about it as she always gets her way.

READ MORE: Meghan Markle, Prince Harry Biographer Spills Explosive Update on their Book 'Finding Freedom'
Democratic Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced Thursday that manufacturing will be officially allowed to reopen in the state on Monday, May 11. The announcement stands in contrast to Whitmers same-day extension of the states stay-at-home order until May 28.

Manufacturing is an important part of our economythere is no question, Whitmer stated during a Thursday press conference announcing the plan. As we continue to phase in sectors of our economy, I will keep working around the clock to ensure our businesses adopt best practices to protect workers from the spread of COVID-19.

This lip service to health and safety is belied by what the state will actually require manufacturers to do. They must have daily entry screenings for everyone entering a facility with temperature checks using no-touch thermometers, and require workers to fill out questionnaires about symptoms and exposure to people with possible COVID-19. Such measures are worthless for preventing the virus, since studies have shown in many cases that the virus can be transmitted by asymptomatic carriers.

In the beginning of March when the coronavirus pandemic began to spread in Michigan, Whitmer had declared that the auto industry was essential and that workers would be required to remain on the job with or without adequate protection. It was not until rank-and-file workers themselves refused to work and organized wildcat actions in the US and Canada against the corporations and the United Auto Workers and Unifor unions that auto production in the state was shut down.

The reckless decision to reopen manufacturing comes as the number of new cases in Michigan is on a slow decline, but the state still has the fourth highest number of deaths in the US, and the Detroit metro area still among the areas hardest hit by the pandemic.

The May 11 restart date comes as a result of pressure from the corporate ruling class to push ahead with production and the generation of profit. The plan primarily caters to the demands of the Big Three US auto corporationsFiat-Chrysler (FCA), Ford and General Motorsto begin phasing in production in the state as planned on May 18, by allowing auto parts suppliers to begin operating at least one week ahead of time.

The capitalist Democratic Party and their counterparts in the Republican Party voted unanimously in Congress to pass the stimulus bills that gave trillions of dollars to Wall Street and the banks and corporations, and left the working class with a pittance in the face of mass unemployment.

In spite of the financial burden borne by millions of workers unemployed and furloughed without benefits in the US due to the ruling classs utter negligence and failure to prepare for a global pandemic, the vast majority are opposed to returning to workplaces under conditions where the virus continues to spread at a substantial pace.

Revealing the two diametrically opposed class forces in the plants, in contrast to the opposition of the working class to the homicidal directives of the state and corporations, the United Auto Workers has applauded Whitmers announcement, to which top officials have given their full endorsement.

UAW President Rory Gamble heaped praise on Whitmer after the announcement, saying, Throughout this worldwide crisis, Governor Whitmer has been a leading voice to make sure that scientific data and the health and safety of all Michiganders was the priority in managing pandemic decisions. ... Governor Whitmer has at all times been inclusive and focused on building consensus to do what is right for the health and safety of UAW members and all of Michigans working men and women.

In fact, Whitmers decision to open manufacturing on Monday flies in the face of the warnings of medical authorities and evidence from within the US and around the world that relaxing social distancing measures too soon without the needed public health measures in place (such as contact tracing and widespread testing, which exist nowhere in the US) leads to new waves of transmission of the infection.

The UAW has been complicit with the premature reopening of the plants, exposing the class nature of the corrupt organization which has worked with the corporations to draw up inadequate safety plans that will do little to nothing to protect workers from the new virus about whose behavior scientists still have many questions.

UAW Local 7 President Gary Hill issued a notice to workers at FCAs Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit outlining the inadequate conditions under which the union and company would force them to work, alleviating FCA of responsibility for workers health and lives and leaving it up to chance.

May 11th IS IN STONE FOR TEAM LEADERS AND SKILLED TRADES. OUR WORKPLACE IS GOING TO BE DIFFERENT. ...When you get to work ... Be patient. ...We all must answer Covid-19 questions daily. There are thermal imaging cameras being installed as I write this. Social Distancing is mandatory. When 6 feet isnt possible then extra protection will be provided. Like a face shield, curtain, or plexiglass. Washing our hands for 20 seconds as often as possible is helpful. We ALL MUST DO OUR PART TO PROTECT OURSELVES AND EACH OTHER.

Across North America, 51 autoworkers have died, including at least 26 employed by FCA, Ford and GM. Workplaces have been cited as major centers which fuel infection transmission, especially among the examples of meatpacking plants, grocery stores and shipping and logistics facilities worldwide where workers must work in close contact with one another as they do in the auto plants.

Autoworkers know better than to trust the misinformation campaign of the state and UAW meant to force them back into the plants under unsafe conditions to pump out surplus value for the corporations and their shareholders, who inhabit a world far removed from the dangers the workers face on a daily basis.

A GM worker from Detroit spoke to the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter to voice the concerns of autoworkers toward Whitmers announcement, I have a friend who works for Mercedes in Alabama. They went to work last week, and five people were tested positive with the virus.

I knew Whitmer was going to reopen the plants because shes been being pressured by the auto companies. Its about the economyprofitsnothing to do with saving lives. They dont care about saving lives, and its obvious they dont care. It doesnt matter to them how many people will die ... all they care about is their profits and their million-dollar salaries.

They say things are getting better, but that couldnt possibly be true. Were not even past the first part of this, and theres a second part coming. I agree that it is only the working class that can change this situation.

A worker from one of the Flex-N-Gate Michigan facilities voiced her concern about reopening auto production on May 18. Flex-N-Gate is a global auto parts supplier for the Big Three, as well as Toyota, Honda and Suburu with locations in the North and South America and in Europe.

The vehicles should be the last things produced, she said. Our health should be number one. If I cant go to a doctor because the doctors offices are closed, then what makes them think Im healthy enough to go to work?

We produce the bumpers for the Dodge Ram. I was all for the shutdown. We heard about COVID cases at Sterling Heights Assembly Plant. Before our shutdown we were given one Clorox square to wipe down 30 torque guns on the front line and 20 torque guns on the rear line. One wipe for 50 guns! And, no masks or gloves.

Sterling Heights Assembly (SHAP) workers walked off the job in mid-March in opposition to the decision of the company and the UAW to continue production during the coronavirus pandemic.

The worker continued, I was glad the SHAP workers took action. Too much is still unknown about the virus and the implications. We work on the assembly lines shoulder to shoulder. We have two people per station all the way down our lines. Eighteen or more people on one line, and at least 30 people on the other line, all criss-crossing torch guns, stepping into other work stations to cover the part being built.

Its not just autoworkers. Look at what is happening to the meatpacking workers. So many have died. Is this what they want to happen to us?

Workers need a voice, and we need a voice other than the union. We voted down the union in our plant. We attended meetings to talk about a contract, but we never saw it. They wanted us to sign a membership card before we could vote on a contract we hadnt seen. Many of us signed the card, voted, and turned around and quit. They didnt want to hear from us and didnt want to answer our questions.

Autoworkers must prepare now to oppose the reopening of the auto plants and take the struggle for safe working conditions into their own hands by organizing rank-and-file safety committees, politically independent of the Democratic Party and their allies in the trade unions, to oppose any return to work under unsafe conditions.

These rank-and-file committees must fight to demand full pay and benefits for all workers while the plants are closed and for workers control over the operations of the plants in North America, linking up with workers in Mexico, Canada, Italy, Brazil and many other countries around the world to oppose the global back-to-work orders and coordinate the fight for a scientifically planned, socialist solution to the pandemic and the internationalization of the auto industry against the anarchy of the capitalist system which places profits over workers lives.

The World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter encourages any autoworker who wants to form these committees to contact us today.
Coronavirus Week (too many to count).

Speaking of Rona, heres Francis Collins:

Theres still a lot to learn about SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. But it has been remarkable and gratifying to watch researchers from around the world pull together and share their time, expertise, and hard-earned data in the urgent quest to control this devastating virus. That collaborative spirit was on full display in a recent study that characterized the specific human cells that SARS-CoV-2 likely singles out for infection [1]. This information can now be used to study precisely how each cell type interacts with the virus. It might ultimately help to explain why some people are more susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 than others, and how exactly to target the virus with drugs, immunotherapies, and vaccines to prevent or treat infections. The discovery suggests that SARS-CoV-2 and potentially other coronaviruses that rely on ACE2 may take advantage of the immune systems natural defenses. When the body responds to the infection by producing more interferon, that in turn results in production of more ACE2, enhancing the ability of the virus to attach more readily to lung cells. While much more work is needed, the finding indicates that any potential use of interferon as a treatment to fight COVID-19 will require careful monitoring to determine if and when it might help patients. Its clear that these new findings, from data that werent originally generated with COVID-19 in mind, contained several potentially important new leads. This is another demonstration of the value of basic science. We can also rest assured that, with the outpouring of effort from members of the scientific community around the globe to meet this new challenge, progress along these and many other fronts will continue at a remarkable pace.

Cameron Strang is back time will tell:

Last month, Relevant Podcast listeners heard a familiar voice in their earbuds: founder Cameron Strang, returning to the shows lineupand to leadership at Relevant Media Groupsix months after stepping away due to public criticism from former employees. Though Relevant promised to be transparent with its efforts to address Strangs alleged racial insensitivity and difficult leadership style, it did not bring up the process again until the April 10 update announcing his return as CEO. In the meantime, the bimonthly Christian magazine had not sent out an issue to its 27,000 paid subscribers since Strang left in September, leaving fans to wonder about its future. Strang told listeners that hes excited to be back for a new era at Relevant as it prepares to revamp and expand its podcast offerings, transition to a yearly print publication, and relaunch its website, all under an advisory board newly enlisted to oversee leadership of the 10-person staff. Relevants loyal followers, some of whom have been around for its entire 20-year history, are excited to hear Strangs voice again. But as much as they hope to see the kind of progress the company has promised and prayed for, a few have questioned the lack of communication. When the print issues stopped coming, I was disappointed but figured the company was trying to figure out how to move forward. I suspected they had lost a lot of advertisers & revenue, wrote Erin Bird, an Iowa pastor, in a Twitter thread responding to the April update. Ive patiently walked thru this w/ you, actually prayed for you guys (& those hurt), & was hoping to see a repentance from Cameron that would show the world how to truly apologize. Bird, who subscribed to Relevant for 17 years, echoed what other fans said: He likes Strang and Relevant, which makes it even more disappointing that their response has fallen short and ultimately led him to stop reading and tuning in. Hearing an update that shared nothing about seeking relational reconciliation broke my heart, Bird told CT. All I heard was how difficult this season has been to Cameron, but not how grieved he was about the hard season he put others through as their boss. Strangs sabbatical was prompted by accounts of racial insensitivity and poor leadership that previous editors, including Andre Henry and Rebecca Marie Jo Flores, say they experienced while working with the small staff at Relevants office in Orlando, Florida. Within a week of their criticism making headlines in late September 2019, Strang issued an apology and took a leave of absence to engage a process of healing, growth, and learning.

COVID-19 and your church:

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.

So what will happen on college campuses this Fall?

What will happen on college campuses in the fall? It's a big question for families, students and the schools themselves. A lot of what happens depends on factors outside the control of individual schools: Will there be more testing? Contact tracing? Enough physical space for distancing? Will the coronavirus have a second wave? Will any given state allow campuses to reopen? For all of these questions, it's really too early to know the answers. But one thing is clear: Life, and learning for the nation's 20 million students in higher education, will be different. "I don't think there's any scenario under which it's business as usual on American college campuses in the fall," says Nicholas Christakis, a sociologist and physician at Yale University. So why are so many colleges announcing they will be back on campus in the fall? In many cases, it's because they're still trying to woo students. A survey of college presidents found their most pressing concern right now is summer and fall enrollment. Even elite schools, typically more stable when it comes to enrollment, have reportedly been tapping their waitlists. In the midst of all this uncertainty, it's worth looking at some of the ideas out there. With the help of Joshua Kim and Edward J. Maloney, professors and authors of the book Learning Innovation and the Future of Higher Education, here are some potential scenarios for reopening colleges and universities

Nurses, the dilemma  a sad story unfolding before us:
>>> Vietnam records no new COVID-19 cases on May 8 morning

>>> Seventeen imported COVID-19 cases reported on May 7



>>> No new community COVID-19 infection detected for 19 consecutive days

According to the treatment sub-section under the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, among the newly recovered, one was treated at the Traditional Medicine-Function Rehabilitation Hospital in the south-central province of Binh Thuan, and seven at the Hanoi-based National Hospital of Tropical Diseases second branch.

Among the seven given the all-clear in Hanoi, two patients, including Patient 243, are from the capital citys suburban district of Me Linh. Patient 243 was identified as a contagious case as he spread the coronavirus to other contacts after taking his wife to Bach Mai Hospital. He was confirmed positive for SARS-CoV-2 on April 6.

Another patient who tested re-positive, known as Patient 130 and residing in Ho Chi Minh City, was also discharged this afternoon. Earlier, he was declared as recovered on March 30, then testing re-positive again. After being sent back to the hospital for treatment, the patient tested negative three times for SARS-CoV-2.

Among those announced as recovered today, Patient 162, a resident in Hanois Long Bien District, born in 1957, was a critical case. She is the daughter-in-law of Patient 161, an 88-year-old woman from Hung Yen Province, the oldest COVID-19 patient in Vietnam, who was announced as free from the coronavirus on May 5. Patient 162s lungs suffered from diffuse lesions, while her blood oxygen level was very low. However, the patient survived thanks to doctors efforts to save her life without mechanical ventilation. She had seven negative SARS-CoV-2 tests before being discharged with a stable bill of health.

The remaining patient among the eight recoveries today was also a relapse case. Patient 36, a 65-year-old woman, was treated at the Binh Thuan Province Traditional Medicine-Function Rehabilitation Hospital. She was announced as recovered on April 10, before testing positive again on April 23. During the second treatment stage, the patient had multiple negative tests, with the two latest on April 28 and May 7. She is now in stable health, with no fever, no cough and no shortness of breath.

These patients will continue to be quarantined and have their health monitored in the next 14 days.

Vietnam had recorded no new infections in community in COVID-19 for 22 consecutive days as of the morning of May 8.

There were 17 new imported cases on May 7, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country to 288, with zero fatalities. All of the new patients reported on May 7 evening are Vietnamese nationals returning from the United Arab Emirates on a Vietnam Airlines flight. They include a new born baby.

Vietnam considers lung transplant for British COVID-19 patient

Among the remaining patients undergoing treatment nationwide, there is only one critically ill patient  a 43-year-old British pilot who has been hospitalised at the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases since March 20.

According to the treatment sub-section under the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, the British man, known as Patient 91, is still in critical condition with his lungs almost frozen.

Experts gather at a meeting on May 7, discussing treatment for COVID-19 patients in Vietnam. (Photo: NDO/Lam Ngoc)



Experts gathered at a meeting with international organisations on Thursday to discuss COVID-19 treatment and testing strategies. They also discussed the treatment of the British patient, with one option initiated by Vietnamese health experts being the performance a lung transplant.

According to Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Kinh, Chairman of the Professional Council under the Ministry of Health, the pilot is the only critically ill patient among the three remaining serious cases, the other two having emerged from their critical stages, including Patient 20 and Patient 161, who were announced as recovered from the coronavirus on May 5.

Regarding Patient 20, the 64-year-old woman from Hanoi has been withdrawn from extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and mechanical ventilation, is able to speak and is now undergoing rehabilitation.

Kinh affirmed that up until now, Vietnam has not had any deaths due to COVID-19. Regarding the death of Patient 251 last Friday, the professional council affirmed that the man from the northern province of Ha Nam died of terminal cirrhosis, viral hepatitis and chronic gout. Earlier, he had recovered from COVID-19 and was on his 15th day of monitoring following the recovery announcement. The patient had five negative test results before being transferred to the General Hospital of Ha Nam Province for treatment of his liver disease.

Prof., Dr. Le Quang Cuong, former Deputy Minister of Health, said that all guidelines for COVID-19 diagnosis, treatment and testing of Vietnam follow the general recommendations from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the US Centres for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention and from other nations. Vietnam has been updated on recent research and has followed up on clinical trials from around the world, while also always following all standards in clinical trials in order to bring the best possible standard of treatment to patients.

At the meeting, WHO and CDC experts highly praised Vietnam's efforts in the prevention and control of COVID-19, which have resulted in an initial miracle in pushing back the epidemic in the country. International experts also agreed with the announcement from the Ministry of Healths professional council regarding the death of Patient 251.

CDC experts confirmed their willingness to coordinate with Vietnam to develop an appropriate testing strategy in the near future.
In an effort to prevent coronavirus spread, many schools are telling their students to wear anti droplet face shields.

Students throughout the country returned to school on May 4 after three months of staying at home because of Covid-19.

Vietnamese students have a two-week Tet holiday and a three-month summer break. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, more than 20 million students spent a prolonged school break following the Tet holiday in late January.

In class students wear school uniforms with protective masks. At many schools, students even wear anti droplet face shields.

In other countries, students are encouraged to wear anti droplet face shields at school. However, these are countries which report thousands of new infection cases every day. In the countries with cold climate, students feel better when wearing the shields.

Anti droplet face shields have been used by many adults since the epidemic outbreak as an effective tool to prevent the spread of coronavirus.



The images of the classes with students under anti droplet face shields appearing on internet and local newspapers has raised controversy.



It is now 40oC in Hanoi and schools have been told not to use air-conditioners to ensure an airy environment.



Some educators think wearing such heavy shields is not necessary.



Nguyen Thi Kim Ngoc, headmaster of Phan Dinh Giot Primary School in Thanh Xuan district in Hanoi, said wearing droplet prevention shields will make students, especially primary school students, feel tired.



Its terrible to wear both face masks and droplet prevention shields for many hours in such summer heat, she said



According to Ngoc, Vietnam has controllled Covid-19 well and there has been no reported case of community transmission.



Parents should not make their children worry, which affects them psychologically. If they agree to send children to school, they need to feel secure about the learning environment, she said.



However, Ngoc said parents need to tell their children not to share school supplies, food, drinks and personal belongings with other students to ensure safety.



In other countries, students are encouraged to wear anti droplet face shields at school. However, these are countries which report thousands of new infection cases every day. In the countries with cold climate, students feel better when wearing the shields.



Meanwhile, Nguyen Thi Thu Hien from the Central Eye Hospital, said: "This shield is very dim. It is not transparent and you can't see real images. If wearing the shield when learning, it will affect eyesight, especially in those who have refractive errors in the eyes, she warned.



According to Hien, students only need to wear protective face masks and wash hands regularly.

Kim Chi

Nghe An student wins scholarships to 15 US universities A high school student in the central province of Nghe An has just won scholarships worth USD1.8 million offered by 15 universities in the US.
Hundreds of Indians stranded in at least seven countries because of the coronavirus pandemic will fly back home on Saturday in special flights of Air India under the Vande Bharat Mission, Indias mammoth repatriation operation.

Four flights carrying Indian nationals under the Vande Bharat mission will be arriving from Bangladeshs Dhaka to Delhi at 3pm, Kuwait to Hyderabad 6:30pm, Omans Muscat to Cochin at 8:50pm and the United Arab Emirates Sharjah to Lucknow 8:50pm.

Another four will come from Kuwait and land in Cochin 9:15pm, Malaysias Kaula Lampur to Trichy 9:40pm, the United Kingdoms London to Mumbai 1:30am of May 20 and Qatars Doha to Cochin at 1:40am.

This is the first phase of the massive Vande Bharat mission. It started on May 7 and will run till May 13 and involves the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Bangladesh, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, the UK and the United States.

In the first week of Vande Bharat, 64 flights are expected to bring 15,000 Indian citizens home from 12 countries.

India will expand its mega Vande Bharat mission from next week to evacuate stranded citizens from abroad by including countries like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Germany, Spain and Thailand, official sources said on Friday.

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 and those from the US Rs 1,00,000.

At least 300,000 people have registered to come back in West Asia alone but the authorities are focusing only on compelling cases.

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.

All those who travel back will have to undergo strict screening processes and download the Aarogya Setu app. The evacuated citizens will then be sent to institutional quarantine facilities set up by various state governments.

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.

Nearly 7000 Indian nationals stranded in the Maldives were also evacuated on Friday from the scenic island nation on an Indian Navy warship. The INS Jalashwa, the navys amphibious warship, reached Male on Thursday to undertake the massive repatriation mission named Operation Samudra Setu.

The first naval ship from Male is expected to arrive at the Cochin Port on May 10, Port Trust officials in Kochi said.

All domestic and international commercial passenger flights have been suspended during the three-phase lockdown from on March 25 and which will continue till May 17.
09.05.2020 LISTEN

Good morning/Good afternoon to you our friends from the media, we appreciate your prompt response to our call/ invitation upon such short notice. What we are going to talk about today is about Kwadaso Constituency Album and Matters Arising from the insults and recording of National Party Executive by our Kwadaso Constituency Executives led by Frank Amoako, the Constituency Organiser and the Personal Assistant to Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, the Agric. Minister.

Anne Bradstreet said and I quote "Authority without wisdom is like a heavy axe without an edge -- fitter to bruise than polish."

Friends from the media let's begin from*How the 2018 album was compiled*

1. When it was time for elections to be held to elect our Polling Stations Executives, Electoral Area Coordinators and Constituency Executives, a representative by name Madam Mary Duodu was assigned by the NPP Regional Chairman (Chairman Wontumi) to handle the elections in Kwadaso Constituency.

2. A team led by Madam Mary Duodu came to the Constituency and conducted elections, to the best of their ability, and prepared delegates album as per the instructions and procedure laid down.

Chairman Wontumi who had sanctioned the elections refused to accept the outcome of the elections and therefore rejected the delegates album that was ably prepared and submitted by Madam Mary Duodu. The only reason we could assign to the Regional Chairmans act was that a section of the Executives led by the Constituency Organiser who doubles as the P. A. of the Agric, Minister had challenged the authenticity of the delegates album produced. It is alleged that Chairman Wontumi is in bed with the Agric. Minister hence, his willingness to accept their plea and protect the Ministers interest in the Kwadaso Constituency. So, when the Akoto faction in the Constituency realized their support base in the constituency had totally eroded after the Polling Station elections, they run to Chairman Wontumi for help.

4. When all attempts to compile delegates album based on the election results failed, the issue was taken to the Regional Party office.

5. A suggestion was made by the Regional Chairman, Mr. Bernard Antwi Boasiako (Chairman Wontumi) to the effect that in order not to deny anybody from partaking in the victory chalked by the party in the 2016 elections, he would suggest that anyone who was part of the victory must be maintained in his/her position. This suggestion was supported by the Honorable MP of Kwadaso. It was further agreed at the Regional office that, the album that was used for the 2015 primaries (which was compiled in 2013) should be worked on as the working document, by replacing deceased, travelled, sick, weak and non performing delegates. A 6-member Committee was therefore set up to undertake such exercise to produce an album for 2018.

6. The 2013 album was then given to the various Electoral Area Coordinators with the task to mark the above category of people to be replaced in point 5 above. We have evidence of the work done by the Electoral Area Coordinators here.

7. After marking the agreed category of the people to be taken out of the album, the Coordinators returned same to the Committee that was responsible for the album.

8. These marked names were replaced with new party members by the Committee members, that was why Frank Amoako was able to add his friend Martha Kodua's name in the album. How would Dr. S.K Nuamah know the Women Organiser, Constance Oseis children and Chairman Bonna Boadis children and include their names in the 2018 compiled album? Not only that, Adjei Asamoah, the Constituency Assistant Secretary, Silas Konadu Boateng, the Youth Organizer and Hon. Richmond Agyenim-Boateng; all have included their family members in the upgraded 2018 album; the reason being that they were Executives and also part of the Committee that is how come they were able to add names of their their children, girlfriends and family members.

9. After the 2018 compiled album met the criteria that was agreed upon at the Regional Party office, the same was signed by both the Constituency Chairman, Mr. Bonna Boadi and the Regional Chairman, Mr. Bernard Antwi Boasiako.

10. Delegates Conference was then called based on the said audited, edited and upgraded album (2018 album), the Constituency Executives were elected through acclamation by the delegates with this 2018 album.

Information reaching us suggests that after the 2018 album was produced and acclamation conducted, the pro-Akoto faction in the Executives clandestinely prepared and submitted another delegates album for Chairman Wontumi to sign. This means that Chairman Wontumi has endorsed two (2) different delegates album from the same Kwadaso Constituency.

The questions we are asking Chairman Wontumi today is:

Chairman, whyyyyyyy ??? What has the Kwadaso Constituency done to deserve this? Why do you sit aloof to allow very few disgruntled executives to destroy our beloved Constituency?? Why do you allow your personal interest to override your professional judgement?? Chairman, why this bias???

Please Chairman Wontumi, we the people of Kwadaso have a message for you. And the message is that: WE ONLY KNOW OF ONE DELEGATES ALBUM AND ONE DELEGATE ALBUM ONLY. And all the delegates and Coordinators in that album are hardworking members of the Party. Any attempt to diabolically twist our arms we will be FIERCELY RESISTED.

WE ARE THE FOOT SOLDIERS OF THE PARTY AND WE SAY THIS WITH ALL THE SERIOUSNESS IT DERSERVES.

Majority of the Coordinators who worked directly with the Executives and therefore have an in-depth knowledge about the album, presented a petition to the party through the Regional Chairman (Wontumi) regarding the behaviour of the Constituency Chairman and his Executives on this album matters and other issues but whether they are going to be called to be given audience is left to God to decide or may be only God knows when that will happen. Then the question is: why has Chairman Wontumi not been able to act on the several petitions presented by the Electoral Area Coordinators?

So if an album that was used to elect you can't elect an MP, then your positions as Constituency Executives should be nullified.

Today, you may think it is about Dr. S.K Nuamah and therefore it is ok, but just reflect on what Martin Niemoller wrote some years ago:

First they came for the Communists, and I didnt speak up, because I wasnt a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didnt speak up, because I wasnt a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didnt speak up, because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak

Why will any Critical Thinker wants to change a Performing MP?

Will you change an MP who has done a lot within his first term and bring someone who will eventually destroy Kwadaso for us? NO.

THE MP is the peoples choice and he is our choice! It is not surprising therefore that the young energetic engineer was able to chalk 90% victory for the party in the 2016 elections. No other constituency has been able to chalk this success in the history for our party. This feat is unprecedented and needed to be awarded and not frustrated.

The MP within his first term has done a lot for us. Few among them are:

An unprecedented over 90% victory for the Party during the 2016 General Elections (the records are there to show). Spearheading the creation of the Kwadaso Municipal Assembly , KdMA (the records are there to show). Provision of a befitting Constituency Party Office  moving us from a single store-room-office to a whole house. Free vocational training for the youth at Denkyemuoso. Massive roads construction ( Tanoso to Apatrapa, Apatrapa to Nyankyereniase completed, Nyankyereniase to IPT, Tanoso to Techiman, Kwadaso to Techiman are ongoing projects) Provision of boreholes and toilet facilities across the Constituency. Scholarships to deserving students. NHIS office soon to be opened. Massive efforts to thwart COVID-19 where he has produced what is now called Baba Drum , rather than the Veronica Drivers being used elsewhere.

And so on.

Please think about Kwadaso first and if you do that, then you will agree with me that Hon. Dr. Ing. S.K Nuamah must be maintained.

Insults of NEC Members and Recording of Party Meetings by Frank Amoako, the Personal Assistant to the Agricultural Minister

Friends of the media, I am sure by now you know why the Constituency is facing such turmoil, and its all boils down to personal interest of individuals who are supposed to know better and act better. The Constituency Organiser who is a prodigy of the Agric. Minister has not hidden his hatred and disrespect towards leadership in the Party and clearly we all know where he is getting his oxygen.

When an arrogant person is around the Corridors of power, he thinks the power belongs to him.

1. The highly respected General Secretary, Mr. John Boadu of our party came to resolve the issue of the album.

2. Upon deliberation and knowing the facts of the case, he (Mr. John Boadu) asked Mr. FF Anto (the 2nd National Vice Chairman) to settle the issue because an album signed by both the Constituency and Regional Chairmen shouldn't be a matter like sending someone to the sun. It shouldn't be so hard to arbitrate.

3. Frank Amoako (aka Peoples Fada) - Organiser

Constance Osei - Women Organiser

Janet Awuah - Deputy Women Organiser

Samuel Donkor (aka Amansie) - Treasurer

Silas Konadu Boateng - Youth Organiser.

Because they knew things were not going in their favour decided to have a meeting.

4. During that meeting, it was disheartening to hear them insult the person of the hardworking and highly respected General Secretary of our great party to the extent that Janet Awuah (the Deputy Womens Organiser) called him "Obroboi" meaning the drunkard.

5. So if you don't respect, must it get to that level? We are not surprised about that, because Frank Amoako always taunts himself as having the backing of Dr. Akoto, and that Dr. Akoto virtually controls everything in NPP because he is the right hand man of our President.

Moreover, in another leaked audio, it was apparent that this same P. A. of the Agric. Minister had recorded the 2nd Vice Chairman of the Party, Mr. F. F. Anto. Which Constituency Officer does that to the National Chairman of his own political party?

In one of the said audio recordings, you could hear Mr. FF Anto making comments about the General Secretary of which he wouldnt have made if he knew he was being recorded. In the same audio recording, Mr. FF Anto, the arbiter is heard guiding one party on how to present their case. So you see how these types of recordings have the tendency to destroy our party?

6. We were not so disturbed about the insults because why will you be surprised about seeing a fish in water and not in the sky?

7. The most dangerous thing was the illegal recording and sharing of a Party meeting with a Senior National Officer on various social media platforms.

8. If a Personal Assistant to a Cabinet Minister of State, can record and share his own party meetings on social media, then what can't he do when attending state official meetings with his boss?

9. Can you imagine the number of audios and video footages he might even have on his own boss, let alone the Chief Director and other operatives of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, where he serves as the Minister's Personal Assistant?

10. We and other like-minded people think that you can't build a nation with selfish, corrupt and greedy people like the current Kwadaso Constituency Executives with Frank Amoako serving as the Organiser.

We are therefore calling for the suspension of Mr. Frank Amoako as the Organiser for the Constituency for such an act of betrayal. The Agric Minister can keep him as his personal assistant but that will inform us about who sanctioned such recordings. A word to the wise is enough.

12. Our friends from the media invited here today, we are about ending our press conference but we are using this medium to sound a word of caution that we the grassroots of the Party in the Kwadaso Constituency will not sit aloof for certain individuals to toil with our destinies especially in an election year. We are poised for campaign and we shall resist all attempts fiercely if the leaders of the Party try to choke us with a different delegates album other than what was used for the 2018 acclamation and endorsed by both the Constituency and Regional Chairmen.

Again we will urge all the people whose voices were captured on the audio to do the needful to resign or be forced out of the party.

Thanks for your attention.

NPP Kwadaso Constituency
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 9)  No new cases have been reported in the Quezon province for four days now, according to the provincial public information office Saturday.

The province now has 72 cases of COVID-19 and there has been no addition to the tally from May 6 to May 9.

As of Saturday, a total of 33 patients have recovered, while seven have succumbed to the viral illness.

Twenty-nine of the patients who have contracted the virus come from the city of Lucena.

Meanwhile, the number of suspected persons under investigation has gone up to 1,295, and there are three probable persons under investigation, according to the provinces PIO.

President Rodrigo Duterte extended the enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila and certain provinces, including those under Region IV-A or Calabarzon, until May 15.

Nationwide, the COVID-19 death toll has reached the 700 mark, with the total number of cases now at 10,610, according to the Health Departments report on Saturday.

Meanwhile, there have been 1,842 recoveries.
Springfield firefighters battled heavy flames, fanned by high winds, as fire destroyed a Terrence Street home Saturday afternoon. Fire people were left homeless.

Springfield Fire Commissioner Bernard Calvi said first responders to 53 Terrence St. found the single-family, wood-framed home heavily involved in flame and a large, black pall of smoke rising up over the city. The first engine at the scene called out the second alarm immediately. The wind not only stoked flames but blew heavy smoke down to street level making it difficult to see the burning building.

The heat from the initial fire also damaged neighboring homes. The vinyl siding on the facing sides of 46 and 59 Terrence St. melted, and five vehicles, three parked between homes and two parked at the curb, were also damaged by heat.

Firefighters used all pieces of equipment to pour water on the flames. Personnel manned water cannon, aerial ladders and high-velocity hoses to try to drown the flames on the interior of the house. The roof structure collapsed before firefighters entered the burning building.

Fire Department spokesman, Capt. Drew Piemonte said all of the homes occupants escaped unharmed and the American Red Cross is assisting the family.

One firefighter suffered a burn and is being evaluated.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Springfield Arson and Bomb Squad.
PARDHONI: One Chhattisgarh Police Sub Inspector (SI) lost his life and 4 banned CPI-M Maoists were killed in an encounter near Pardhoni village under Manpur police station limits on Saturday. The bodies of the 4 slain Naxals have been recovered from the encounter site. During the encounter, a police sub-inspector was seriously injured and later succumbed to injuries.

The encounter took place on Friday night at Pardhauni village under Manpur police station limits, when a team of security forces was out on a counter-insurgency operation, Inspector General of Police (Durg Range) Vivekanand Sinha said.

Acting on a tip-off about the presence of Naxals in the village, security forces had launched the operation. "When the patrolling team was cordoning off the area, Naxals suddenly came out of the village and the encounter broke out between the two sides," he said.

"Police Sub Inspector SK Sharma, who was posted as the Station House Officer at Madanwada police station, lost his life in the gunfight," the IG said. The police party has also recovered 1 AK-47 rifle, 1 SLR weapon and two .315 bore rifles from the slain Naxals, GN Baghel, ASP Rajnandgaon said.

Reinforcement was rushed to the spot and bodies of the martyred official and the Naxals were evacuated out of the forest, he said, adding that search operation was underway in the area.
Elon Musk threatened to move Tesla Inc.s headquarters and future program to Texas and Nevada immediately, a day after a California county told the company it cant reopen its auto-assembly plant yet.

Musk also tweeted that he was suing Californias Alameda County for acting contrary to the Governor, the President, our Constitutional freedoms & just plain common sense!

Tesla aimed to restart the factory Friday afternoon, Musk told staff in an email seen by Bloomberg News. The CEO cited California Governor Gavin Newsoms announcement earlier that he would let manufacturers in parts of the state resume operations starting Friday.

What Musk didnt mention in his memo was that Newsom also had said local authorities could remain more restrictive than the state. San Francisco Bay area counties including Alameda said they were leaving in place health orders that extend through the end of May.

Read more about:
When Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex decided that they wanted to leave the British royal family, opinions about their choice exploded on the global stage. It was clear from anyone who had been paying attention that the duchess, in particular, was suffering under the racist and sexist attacks that her been thrown her way.

Though the royal family was ultimately caught off guard by the Sussexes choice to step away, they also supported them. In fact, many of the couples A-list friends from Serena William to Oprah Winfrey have also embraced the pair, especially following their move across the pond.

Now, the Sussexes dear friends are rallying around them as they enter this new phase of their life. In fact, news recently broke that the Sussexes have been staying at Tyler Perrys Beverly Hills mansion until they find a permanent home for themselves.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are being supported by their family and friends

From Meghans best friend, stylist Jessica Mulroney, who has steadfastly defended her bestie from media attacks to Elton John who has defended the Sussexes on multiple occasions, the pair certainly arent lacking when it comes to people who love and adore them. We live not too far from one another and we have dinners and stuff and were friends with them for all the reasons that youre friends with anybody, George Clooney told Daily Mail about the Sussexes in June 2019. Theyre just really nice, fun, kind people. Theyre a very loving couple, and theyre going to be great parents.

In fact, the Sussexes decision to move to LA has also strengthened their bond with the royal family which has reportedly been strained for some time. Meghan told her inner circle of friends that Harry has been communicating with Prince William and the Queen on a pretty consistent basis, an insider told Daily Mail. She said this world crisis has actually brought them all closer together, especially Harry and his brother.

Thankfully the couple has a solid support system in the states.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are living at Tyler Perrys Beverly Hills home

Though their location in LA has been under wraps for the past two months, Daily Mail has reported that the Sussexes along with Archie have been staying at Tyler Perrys $18 million Beverly Hills home which sits on 22-acres.

Meghan and Harry have been extremely cautious to keep their base in LA under wraps, an insider told Daily Mail. Their team helped them choose the location for their transition to Los Angeles wisely. Beverly Ridge has its own guarded gate and Tylers property has a gate of its own which is watched by their security team. Beverly Ridge is an excellent place to keep out of view. The neighbors are mostly old money and mega-rich business types rather than show business gossips. It goes without saying that the location is stunning  just one of the most beautiful and desirable areas in LA.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle connected with Tyler Perry through Oprah Winfrey

The Sussexes have never been seen publicly with Perry. However, the media mogul did express his sympathies for the duchess following her emotional remarks about royal life in the ITV documentary, Harry and Meghan: An African Journey.

Remember when Meghan Markle did that interview? Perry reflected earlier this year. She said Thanks for asking if Im OK. Because no one ever asks me that. I felt her when she said that. People toss it out. How are you doing? But not many people really mean it. Or pay attention to the answer.

It appears that the couple may have connected with Perry through their good friend Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey is the directors sons godmother, and she is also very close with the royal pair, even outfitting their young son with an entire library of childrens books following his birth.

With friends like these, we think the Sussexes will be just fine in LA.
L.A. Countys First Step into Recovery; Thousands of Businesses Open for Curbside Pickup

Public Officials Announce: Great Plates Delivered Initiative

Friday, May 8, marks the first step for a new economic reality. Thousands of non-essential local businesses opened today for the first time since the Safer at Home Order, that began in March. As of May 8, Florists, car dealers, places that sell toys, books, clothing, sporting goods, and music stores can be open for curbside pickup service. The Los Angeles County reiterated the critical safety measures that must be taken during this time. The L.A. County Director of Public Health shared the latest statistics surrounding COVID-19 in L.A. County. The public officials are still constructing a plan for a gradual recovery, as new information surfaces about coronavirus.

Food Drive events are being held across the county that are supporting families in need. Each event is providing meat, rice, beans, fresh fruit, in addition to other food condiments to those who have been severely impacted by COVID-19. Multiple City Officials are supporting and participating in these events. In addition to the elected officials, community members are donating their time to help those in less fortunate circumstances.

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Barbara Ferrer, L.A. County Director of Public Health shared the latest updates on the COVID-19 Virus. Ferrer shared Friday, May 8, there were 51 additional deaths, 39 of these individuals were between the ages of 65 and over, 36 of them with underlining health conditions. eight people who died were between the ages of 41-65, six of them had preexisting health concerns. two victims were under the age of 41 with one of them having preexisting health conditions. This brings the total COVID-19 related deaths in the L.A. County to 1,468.

Ferrer disclosed as of May 8, there were 883 new COVID-19 reports. In summary, there is a total amount of 30,296 coronavirus cases in the Los Angeles region. 875 incidents were reported in the city of Long Beach and 516 cases in the city of Pasadena. Among the unsheltered community, the positive case count has reached 223, with 135 victims sheltered and properly isolated.

For the 1,352 fatal cases where race and ethnicity were identified; 12% were African American, 18% were Asian, 39% were LatinX, 28% were white, 1% were native Hawaiian or pacific islander, and 1% identified as another ethnicity. As a result of the disproportionate death rates, Ferrer mentioned that the county is working on an action plan to combat the discrepancy, the plan is posted on the Los Angeles County Website, studies show those who fall under the poverty line, has four times the amount of COVID-19 death rates.

The County of L.A. announced their participation in the state of Californias Great Plates Delivered initiative. In collaboration with the Board of Development, Aging and Community Services (WDACS) and the Office of Emergency management, Los Angeles County will provide three home-delivered meals a day to eligible senior citizens who may be at high-risk for COVID-19. This will also stimulate the economy by providing work for restaurants and having the need for them to be fully staffed. L.A. County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Kathryn Barger stated, This collaborative effort bolsters local business supports the regional economy and ensures the well-being and care of at-risk seniors. This act of unity and creativity, which benefits so many in our community, is a win-win.
Let us take an example of consumerism in rural India in the agricultural context. In a village in Bihar, a farmer is not able to transport its tomatoes to even small towns as the truck drivers are not operating because they have gone to their native village.

This is prompting the farmers to sit idle with their produce creating a ripple effect in the market. COVID- 19 is likely to impact the Indian rural market, given how much the market size is in our country. Due to the scarcity of tomatoes, the price will increase for the remaining stock. According to the UN report, COVID- 19 impact has estimated a loss of $348 million on the Indian economy.

Background

Rural population account almost 70% of the country's population. But about 50% of the villages have people less than 500. Big FMCG giants like Hindustan Unilever have already established their market in the rural landscape. With the increase in income, rural consumers started to buy lifestyle products too which is evident in many rural parts in Bihar. This implies that there is also the presence of hedonic motivation in consumers. Here the consumerism does not depend upon the brands but rather on the usability of the product, and the consumers will buy them as per their needs. Predominantly the FMCG companies are the main markets for the rural consumers. Of all the products, it is mainly the food and beverage industry that is deemed very much essential in their daily lives.

Scarcity evaluation

If a scarcity arises, then it will be in the food and retail sector because, in the current situation, the supply chain in the agricultural and food sector is highly disrupted. If no intervention takes place and the scenario continues like this, then there is a very high probability that we all will be soon facing shortages of food supplies. For example, in the case of edible oil, nearly two-thirds of it comes through exports. Now given the current lockdown situation, there are not enough labours for loading and unloading at container ports. This will result in the products lying idle and eventually leading to a shortage of edible oils in many places. We are already witnessing these shortages, and it is taking a continuous effort to maintain smooth logistics, which would make sure there is no scarcity in such a situation.

Likely Impact

One impact that the rural population facing is in the sector of poultry and fisheries. The producers and traders are facing a huge loss of demand for broiler chickens and coastal prawns, and as a result, the price is also going down. There are also cases of rotten vegetables in some parts due to the failure of the transport system. The rural haats, which is a very famous culture of rural areas are also shut down because of the fear of the spreading of the virus. This has resulted in a huge loss for the rural producers, farmers, and the small businesses who sell their products in the rural markets through these weekly village haats. The impact is likely going to last for a year. FPOs (Farmer Producer Organizations) in Bihar are also finding it difficult to source and sell the products and maintaining the existing warehouse.

Abhinav Srivastav is a resident of Patna and currently a first year MBA student at XIMB Bhubaneswar.
Nancy Sharrett, 78, a member of The Tap Chicks, practices at the Pasadena Senior Center on Jan. 3 (Los Angeles Times)

To the editor: Steve Lopez is right to express disgust at calls to sacrifice the elderly and vulnerable for the sake of the economy.

I am one of the "geezers" with an underlying health condition (late-stage cancer). Though I'm at high risk, rather than dying from COVID-19 to "ease the burden on society," I'd rather stick around and contribute as best I can.

As a geology professor at Cal State Northridge, I still design new courses and find I am a more effective instructor and mentor than ever. Though semi-retired, I am actively publishing my research to help improve our understanding of earthquake hazard and risk.

The blame game that so many play is utterly disappointing. Places like Germany and South Korea have shown the world that it's possible, with the right leadership and adequate testing and tracing, to limit illness and death while keeping economies afloat.

Certainly the U.S., as Lopez states, can "do both" as well, but only if we get our act together. So much needs to be learned about COVID-19. Please be patient while science figures this out. And please, stop blaming others and pull together.

Hopefully that can also include contributions from geezers like me.

Doug Yule, Altadena

..

To the editor: Thanks to Lopez for giving a voice to the "geezers."

I am a woman in my 70s. I am still healthy and active, and until the start of this stay-home order, I was a volunteer in my community.

But that's not the point. I don't need to justify my existence any more than the 20-year-old who hangs out at the beach or the 40-year-old who works all day and takes care of her kids all night.

To those who want to sacrifice the elderly and let the virus "cull the herd" of its weakest members, I hope you live long enough to realize that, when you are old, you are the same person you always were, and you, like every other life form on the planet, just want to live.

Laurie Jacobs, San Clemente

Story continues

..

To the editor: I don't think young people should be blamed for seeing geezers as expendable. After all, it was geezers who voted George W. Bush into office in 2000 in spite of the fact that it was clear that he didn't care about climate change.

Then in 2016, geezers doubled down on the expendability of young people by electing a different climate change denier.

When I went to a Bernie Sanders rally in March, there were a handful of us geezers and thousands of young people. If geezers had listened to young people in 2016, we would have President Sanders today, the best scientists would be leading the pandemic response, and the death toll would be much smaller.

Scott Peer, Glendale

..

To the editor: Lopez is spot on, and we know where responsibility lies for this phenomenon: the great wedgedriver, President Trump.

He and his allies now use the phrase "strike a balance" as a placeholder for how many of the vulnerable it is OK to sacrifice in exchange for an economic uptick that will get him reelected. The president's recent statement that the number of COVID-19 fatalities will exceed what was previously projected was a step in the direction of turning the daily death toll into a ho-hum statistic.

If the nation comes to expect a body count of 125,000 or more, 100,000 is just a number along the way. The tragic irony in Trump's brutal calculus is that much of his base is made up of the very people he would throw overboard.

Mark Steinberg, Los Angeles
A Leaving Cert Applied student from Enniscorthy has shown she is a natural when it comes to radio broadcasting after contributing to a slot on Radio 1's flagship programme, Morning Ireland.

Aoife White is a student at Youthreach Enniscorthy and she was given the opportunity to take part in the radio show's 'Life After Lockdown' series.

She was interviewed by Aenghus Cox as part of the show and while it was her first time speaking on the national airwaves she impressed everyone with her clarity and the assertiveness with which she spoke.

A spokesperson for the show told this newspaper that Aoife gave an excellent interview.

'Aoife spoke with clarity and assertiveness about the LCA and highlighted the fact that LCA is often overlooked even though there are approximately 3000 students in Ireland getting ready to sit their exams on July 29,' said the spokesperson.

Aoife made some excellent points about the difficulties and challenges of remote learning, access to appropriate devices, and managing learning within the context of the home environment.

In her case this is particularly difficult as she is the primary caregiver for her sick mother.

However, as a result of her radio programme the Head of Communications with Family Carers Ireland, Catherine Cox, contacted Aoife to offer her assistance in this difficult time.
Jammu and Kashmir has been able to achieve "remarkable improvement" in multiple indicators related to maternal and child health in recent years, with a decline in infant mortality rate (IMR), an official spokesman said.

The IMR has been reduced from 52 (2005) to 22 (2018), according to the latest data released by the Registrar General of India in the SRS bulletin on Friday.

"The current national average of infant mortality rate stands at 32 much higher than that of J-K," the spokesman said.

"The entire Health and Medical Education Department with active support from the National Health Mission (NHM) has put in strenuous efforts to provide essential newborn care at government health institutions across the Union Territory," Atal Dulloo, the financial commissioner in Health and Medical Education Department, said.

Special newborn care units (SNCUs) have been established in 27 districts and other equivalent hospitals, three NICUs, newborn stabilisation units (NBSUs) and newborn care corners (NBCCs) have been set up in 264 delivery points with financial and technical support from the National Health Mission, he said.

"The progress in scaling up the interventions to save the lives of the newborn has substantially accelerated during recent times leading to reduction in child mortality indicators," Dulloo said.

Some of the measures in this regard include strengthening of NICUs and SNCUs, implementation of Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram, hiring of manpower, etc.

To further decrease the infant mortality rate in the Union Territory to single digit by 2022, an action plan has been developed which is being implemented at various levels, the spokesman said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Actress Shruti Haasan shared a throwback photograph of herself at a beach and said that it feels like a dream from another life.

Shruti, daughter of actor-politician Kamal Haasan, took to Instagram Stories and shared a photograph of herself on a beach in Portugal.

On the throwback image, she wrote: "Me on a beach in Portugal. Feels like a dream from another life."

Recently, Shruti played the "Would you rather" game on Instagram Stories where two options were given to her by the automated filter.

The options given to her read, would she rather "stalk an ex or be stalked by your ex."

Shruti made a shocked, funny face and said: "Would I rather... Stalk an ex? oh god... neither."

A while back, Shruti joined her father Kamal Haasan in the song "Avirum anbum", which aims at spreading hope, positivity and love in these testing times. Kamal Haasan had penned and directed the number.

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WASHINGTON, May 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- An article published in Experimental Biology and Medicine (Volume 245, Issue 8, May, 2020) (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1535370220906518) describes a noninvasive method for cancer diagnosis and treatment. The study, led by Dr. Yan Zhang in the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease at Guangzhou Medical University in Guangzhou (China) reports that variations in cell-free circulating tumor DNA in plasma from peripheral blood specimens can be used as biomarkers for cancer prognosis and drug efficacy.

Gene mutations can be used as biomarkers to diagnose cancers, monitor disease recurrence and metastasis, and identify effective therapies. Faster, noninvasive and effective detection of biomarkers would allow patients to begin treatment sooner and improve treatment outcomes. Cell-free circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) found in plasma from peripheral blood can be used as a liquid biopsy to monitor disease status. Liquid biopsy is noninvasive, rapid and can detect recurrence sooner than imaging methods. Nonetheless, direct comparisons of liquid biopsy and tumor biopsy in the same patient are limited.

In the current study, Dr. Zhang and colleagues examined 416 cancer-related genes in primary tumors and plasma samples from patients with 11 different types of cancers. Bioinformatic tools were used to obtain the comprehensive mutation landscape. Quantitative assessment of the degree of agreement indicated that liquid biopsy was as reliable as tissue biopsy. Furthermore, variations in ctDNA could be used as a biomarker for cancer prognosis and predicting drug efficacy. Dr. Zhang said "Simultaneous detection of primary tissue and plasma ctDNA in the same patient allows us to clearly understand the degree of tissue and plasma consistency, and the types of mutations that can be used for liquid biopsies. Screening cancer prognostic biomarkers will allow clinicians to monitor individual patient response and to switch treatment protocols quickly."

Dr. Steven R. Goodman, Editor-in-Chief of Experimental Biology & Medicine, said "Zhang and colleagues have demonstrated the value of a liquid biopsy in which they do exome sequencing on plasma circulating tumor (ct) DNA. This noninvasive approach can detect tumors and cancer progression earlier than invasive biopsy's with great accuracy."

Experimental Biology and Medicine is a global journal dedicated to the publication of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research in the biomedical sciences. The journal was first established in 1903. Experimental Biology and Medicine is the journal of the Society of Experimental Biology and Medicine. To learn about the benefits of society membership, visit www.sebm.org. For anyone interested in publishing in the journal, please visit http://ebm.sagepub.com.

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Members of the Class of 2020 in high schools across Central Illinois are not getting the graduation celebrations they expected, but faculty and administrators are doing their best to make it memorable.
Two stranded persons, who were evacuated from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday amid the lockdown restrictions imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak, tested positive on Saturday, said Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Both the persons, who have been infected with SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease, arrived in Kerala on Thursday by two Air India special flights from Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE, the CM said.

Vijayan warned that the state has to maintain utmost vigil because of the influx of expatriates and all those who are stranded in other parts of the country because of lockdown restrictions.

Three flights from the Persian Gulf are expected to arrive in Kerala as part of the Mission Vande Bharat -- the largest-ever evacuation since Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990 -- on Saturday evening.

Similarly, a naval ship, which is ferrying 650 stranded people from the Maldives, will reach Kochi port on Sunday.

The CM said that Kerala would observe a total shutdown on Sunday in a bid to step up its vigil and only essential services would be allowed to be delivered.

If we lower our guard at this juncture, well forgo our advantage. Well continue our strict surveillance. We cant allow people to enter Kerala without valid passes. Its mandatory for people coming from other states to carry passes from their place of origin to their chosen destination in a bid to contain the viral outbreak, he added.

The CM also announced that the state government would arrange special trains from New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, etc; to bring back all those who are stranded.

Were in talks with the Union Ministry of Railways. Among the stranded, students, pregnant women, and senior citizens will get first priority to come back home, he added.

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Belgians will be able to choose just four relatives or friends to visit their home, as the country prepares to further ease its coronavirus lockdown.

The 'buddy system' is to be introduced tomorrow as Mothering Sunday is celebrated in Belgium.

However, the reunions will be potentially fraught with difficulties, as participants must still adhere to social distancing rules.

The four-person limit is designed to make it easier to track and trace any fresh infection outbreaks.

At the start of the week Brussels allowed people to walk with a second person when outdoors.

Operators wearing a protective facemask, work in a call centre for 'contact tracing', where phonecalls are made to map how many people in Brussels have contracted Covid-19

Belgium are also hiring 2,000 so called call-centre 'corona detectives' rather than rely on a phone tracing app.

Authorities have said they don't believe enough people will download the app or use it to make it reliable.

Prime Minister, Sophie Wilmes, who heads a temporary emergency government, warned that people must respect the rules or risk a return to stricter lockdown measures and a second wave of infection.

The relaxation will see citizens make their four selections as to who can visit them, and once made, can't be changed.

Ms Wilmes also confirmed all shops will reopen on Monday with strict social distancing rules.

Belgium, has a population of 11.5 million and has the highest per capita death rate from coronavirus in the world.

However, this has been put down to its meticulous reporting system.

The country has recorded 50,781 cases and 8,415 deaths to date.

At the start of the week Brussels allowed people to walk with a second person when outdoors

Similar ideas are being considered in the UK. At the end of April, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she was considering relaxing the lockdown rules so grandparents could see their grandchildren.

She said: 'I know from my own parents who are not seeing their grandkids just now, I understand the anguish of that.

'We're all missing seeing our loved ones so we all want to get beyond that as quickly as possible.

'Every country is going through these decisions, none of us are through this pandemic yet, but some countries are starting to look at slightly expanding what people would define as their household - encouraging people who live alone to maybe match up with somebody else who is on their own or a couple of other people to have almost kind of bubbles of people.'

She added: 'And the key thing there is, if you're seeing maybe one or two more people outside your household, it's got to be the same people on a day-to-day, week-to-week basis so you're still limiting the ability for the virus to transmit.

'Now, none of these are fixed decisions yet, but these are all the kind of things we're trying to work through.

At the end of April, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she was considering relaxing the lockdown rules so grandparents could see their grandchildren. Ms Sturgeon (pictured) pauses for a 2 minute silence to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day

Under scientists' proposals to Government, social bubbles could be limited to fewer than ten people and super-spreader indoor events could be banned until well into 2021 to avoid a second peak of coronavirus infections.

Britain could face an 'exponential growth' in Covid-19 cases if groups of more than ten are allowed to get together, according to the results of two studies.

The country won't be able to return to 'normal' until a vaccine is found, according to Dr Mike Lonergan, senior author of a study by the Division of Molecular and Clinical Medicine at the University of Dundee.

He told MailOnline the only way lockdown can be safely eased is if people keep only 10 per cent of their former social lives.

'It doesnt look like its possible to go back to how things were before. It looks hard to believe well do a tenth of the things we were once doing,' he said.

Senior epidemiologist Adam Kucharski has warned Britain could face 'exponential growth' in Covid-19 cases if groups of people start getting together for celebrations or religious services.

Dr Lonergan explained that if a person went to the pub every day for ten days before lockdown. Now they could only safely go once.

'There's no end point to it. If we want things to be stable they need to be how they are now, in lockdown. This will have to stay until something drastic changes.'

When large groups meet in badly ventilated environments, such as churches, the infection rate soars and the virus spreads three times faster, the study suggests.

The findings mean going to church or celebrating birthdays could put thousands of people at risk because of the increased rate of infections.

But gatherings where people stay at a distance apart from each other and stay outside could be allowed.

NHS England today recorded 207 more COVID-19 deaths, followed by Scotland (36), Wales (nine). Northern Ireland is still to announce its figures later today.

The Department of Health has yet to release the final daily toll, which takes into account care home fatalities in England and also provides an update on cases, hospital admissions and testing.
Bhubaneswar, May 9 : Even as 52,723 Odisha natives have returned to their state, five special trains from three different states will bring back 5,000 more stranded Odias on Saturday.

The trains will start their journey after the Supreme Court stayed an Orissa High Court order that had directed that migrants returning to their state must test COVID-19 negative.

An East Coast Railway (ECoR) official said three trains will arrive from Gujarat, and one each from Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

Two trains will leave from Ahmedabad, and one each from Surat, Panvel station in Mumbai, and Chennai, the official said.

As many as 6,340 Odisha natives returned on Saturday. So far, 52,723 Odias have returned by trains, buses and other vehicles, said Odisha government's COVID-19 spokesperson Subroto Bagchi.

He said 14,308 temporary medical centres have been readied in 6,798 gram panchayats. A total of 5,75,215 beds have been arranged there to provide COVID-19 health services in rural areas, he said.

So far, Odisha has reported 294 corona positive cases, including 112 linked to Surat.

"There has been increase in number of positive cases in last few days. However, there is no reason to panic as these cases have been mostly detected in the quarantine centres," said Bagchi.

All returnees are directly taken to quarantine centres for mandatory quarantine.

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European airlines are beginning to see faint glimmers of economic sunlight and preparing to come out of their coronavirus hibernation.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG (OTCMKTS:DLAKY) on Friday said group airlines Lufthansa, Eurowings and SWISS will collectively reactivate 80 aircraft for June, doubling the operational fleet size to serve a total of 106 destinations. IAG Group this week said it plans to ramp up passenger service in July on the expectation that travel restrictions will ease and more people will start flying again. Both airlines have shrunk flight operations to less than 10% of their pre-crisis level as the pandemic caused the travel market to collapse.

Most of the Lufthansa Group aircraft currently in service today are flying cargo or rescue missions for governments and travel operators to bring home tourists and other travelers stranded abroad by coronavirus travel bans. Lufthansa operates a dedicated fleet of freighters and is using many passenger planes for dedicated cargo operations too.

With the outbreak past its crest in Europe, Lufthansa said it will gradually expand its flight schedule each month as Germany and other European countries loosen travel restrictions and open borders

"We sense a great desire and longing among people to travel again. Hotels and restaurants are slowly opening, and visits to friends and family are in some cases being allowed again. With all due caution, we are now making it possible for people to catch up and experience what they had to do without for a long time. It goes without saying that the safety and health of our guests and employees are of the highest priority," said Harry Hohmeister, the head of commercial passenger airlines at Deutsche Lufthansa AG, in a statement.

Starting in June, Group airlines will again fly to leisure destinations in Mallorca, Spain; the German island of Sylt; Rostock, Germany; and Crete, Greece. The June flight schedule will be published within a week.

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The company cautioned travelers to prepare for longer wait times at airport security checkpoints as authorities impose stricter hygiene regulations. And catering services on board will also remain restricted until further notice.

Earlier this week, Lufthansa Group began requiring all passengers to wear face masks to help protect passengers and crew members from infection.

Meanwhile, the parent company disclosed this week that it is negotiating with the German government for an emergency financial aid package worth 9 billion euros ($9.7 billion) to help fund operations and payroll until revenues pick up in a meaningful way.

Germany privatized Lufthansa in the late 1990s.

The relief package would include a secured loan and a non-voting equity stake of up to 25% for the government. Lufthansa would also be required to suspend future dividend payments as part of the deal.

Lufthansa officials have warned the company may file for bankruptcy without stabilization aid. An issue under debate is the government's request for two board seats, which could give the government a say in how many workers to retain or other policies.

Most of Lufthansa's workers are on leave and receiving aid under a government safety-net program.

The International Air Transport Association has said governments need to do more to help airlines get through the worst crisis in aviation history because of the enormous number of jobs involved and because air travel is critical to reviving the global economy.

Photo: Lufthansa Airlines

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 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Tens of thousands of people have turned out in the capital of Belarus despite sharply rising coronavirus infections to watch a military parade celebrating the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

Belarus has not imposed wide-ranging restrictions to halt the virus' spread and authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has dismissed concerns about it as a "psychosis."



At Saturday's parade of some 3,000 soldiers, Lukashenko said Belarus' ordeal in the war is incomparable with any difficulties of the present day.

Some aged war veterans in the stands at the parade wore masks, but in general there were few masks to be seen in the throng of spectators.

Belarus, a country of about 9 million, has recorded more than 21,000 cases of coronavirus infection.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Anurag Singh By

Express News Service

BHOPAL: Cops enforcing lockdown and social distancing amid rising cases of coronavirus continue to be under attack in Madhya Pradesh. Two more cases of on-duty cops being attacked have been reported from Sehore and Indore districts of the central Indian state.

In the first case, two on-duty police constables were attacked by a mob led by a serving Army Jawan in Badnagar area of Sehore district. The second case of misconduct with four police constables was reported from Chandan Nagar area  one of the COVID-19 containment zones of Indore.

Both cases were reported on Friday evening. Six persons have so far been arrested in both cases.

The first case happened in Sehore district when two cops on mobile duty to enforce lockdown and social distancing were attacked by a mob led by a serving Army Jawan Vinod Jatav and other residents of Badnagar area (47 km from Bhopal).

Not only were the two cops attacked and their uniform was torn by the mob, but the constable duo was also held captive by the mob, till more police rushed to the spot and got both the constables freed. As of now, three persons, including the Armyman have been arrested and booked under IPC Sections for rioting, wrongful confinement and assault or criminal force to deter public servant from duty, ASP-Sehore Sameer Yadav told The New Indian Express.

The second incident took place in Chandan Nagar area of Indore, where local residents misbehaved with on-duty cops when the four policemen questioned the residents about not wearing face masks outside the house.

In the video of the incident, which has gone viral over social media, the locals can be seen misbehaving with the cops on two motorbikes. The video also has audio of children of the area abusing the cops from their terraces.

According to DIG-Indore HN Chari Mishra, Three men have been arrested and booked u/s 353 of IPC for assault or criminal force to deter public servant from duty.

Importantly, on April 7, on-duty cops were attacked by local residents in the same Chandan Nagar area  one of the COVID-19 containment zones in Indore. Seven persons had been arrested in connection with that incident, out of which National Security Act (NSA) had been invoked against four accused.

Similar attacks on cops, on-duty doctors, and sanitation staff have earlier happened in Indores Taat Patti Bakhal area, besides other districts, including Dewas, Sheopur, and state capital Bhopal. So far NSA has been invoked against 13 persons arrested in connection with these incidents in the state.
(Photo : From Wikimedia Commons) Scientists find that pangolins can carry viruses without it affecting them.

Pangolins have been making headlines since the coronavirus pandemic started. This is because they are believed to be the animals responsible for transmitting the coronavirus from bats to humans.

According to a recent study, pangolins lack two virus-sensing genes, causing them to carry a specific virus without suffering from it. Scientists say that these genes sense when a virus enters the body and raises the alarm, triggering an immune response. In simple terms, pangolins could be thought of as 'silent carriers' of the virus.

Scientists are not sure how the pangolins are capable of doing this, but say this could help determine a plausible approach in beating COVID-19.

The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology.

Also Read: The Link Between Pangolin Viruses and Human Pandemic Remains Cloudy

The Connection Between Pangolins and COVID-19

One of the most renowned origin theories for the coronavirus is that it transferred from a pangolin to a human at a wet market in Wuhan, which is known for selling exotic wildlife.

Scientists suspected that the bat coronavirus infected another animal, an "intermediate host," which then transmitted the virus to humans. Fingers were pointed at pangolins for being this host.

To test the theory, researchers have studied the genome sequence of pangolins and compared it to other mammals such as humans, cats, dogs, and cattle.

Leopold Eckhart, one of the authors of the study from the Medical University of Vienna in Austria, said that they found that pangolins have survived through millions of years of evolution without possessing any type of antiviral defense that is used by all other mammals.

He added that further studies of pangolins would reveal how they manage to survive viral infections. It could also help in the development of new treatment strategies for people with viral infections, he says.

Time for Pangolins to Redeem Themselves

After being blamed for transmitting the virus, pangolins can now reclaim their reputation, not for being a carrier of the virus, but for aiding and contributing to finding a cure to the disease.

In humans, COVID-19 can cause an inflammatory immune response, which deteriorates a patient's condition further, called a cytokine storm.

Suppression of gene signaling using drugs could be a possible treatment option for severe cases of coronavirus, the authors of the study said.

However, Dr. Eckhart warned that the approach could pave the way to secondary infections. He adds that the main challenge is to reduce the response to the pathogen while controlling the virus.

He says that an overstimulated immune system can be controlled by reducing the intensity or by altering the timing of the defense reaction.

Although the study was able to identify genetic differences between pangolins and other mammals, it did not explore the effect of those differences on the antiviral response.

As of now, scientists don't fully comprehend how pangolins can survive coronavirus. They only know that the lack of their two signaling genes might have something to do with the process. They believe that further studies need to be conducted to understand how pangolins can help in stopping the virus entirely.

Read Also: Stray Dogs, not Pangolins, Helped Bats Transfer the Coronavirus to Humans, New Study Reveals
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Last week, former Vice President Joe Biden told the world that he unequivocally denied accusations by Tara Reade, a former staffer in his Senate office, that he sexually assaulted her in the early 90s.

On Friday evening, Reade responded: Prove it.

Joe Biden should take the polygraph, Reade told former television anchor Megyn Kelly, in an interview that aired on Kellys YouTube channel. I will take one if Joe Biden takes one, but Im not a criminal.

In the interview, Reades second on-camera appearance since she accused Biden of sexual assault in March, she told Kelly that she wanted Biden to withdraw from his campaign for the White House, and accused him of failing to protect her from his supporters.

All my social media has been hacked, all my personal information has been dragged through, every person that maybe has a gripe against mean ex-boyfriend or an ex-landlord or whatever it ishas been able to have a platform rather than me, Reade said, adding that her past support for Vladimir Putin in a blog post had encouraged fake news and online death threats. I got a death threat from that because they thought I was being a traitor to America.

Reade told Kelly that she was initially excited to work in Bidens Senate office on Capitol Hill, but that he almost immediately made her feel physically uncomfortable with his proximity.

I would see him in hallways or whateverhe would always just greet me, put his hands on me, or put his hands on my shoulder or rub my neck sometimes, Reade said. It was just a bit odd, and Id never had an employer do that.

Reade described an atmosphere of permissibility in Bidens office when it came to sexual harassment in the workplace, telling Kelly that she once entered the office to find that Marianne Baker, Bidens longtime secretary, was discussing with another aide the possibility of having her serve drinks at a function because the senator had said he liked my legs and thought I was pretty.

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After Reade complained, she said, Baker told her to dress more conservatively, and the environment in Bidens office became icy.

It was soon after that conversation, Reade said, that the alleged assault took place.

As she has stated previously, Reade described being instructed by Baker to give Biden a duffel bag in a hallway in the Russell Senate Office Building, where she found the senator talking with someone else. When that person departed and she handed Biden the bag, Reade alleges the senator pushed her up against a wall and shoved his hands under her clothes.

He had one hand underneath my shirt and the other handI had a skirt onand he, like, went down my skirt and then went up, Reade recalled tearfully, saying that Biden asked her if she wanted to go somewhere else.

He said I want to fuck you, Reade said.

Reade said that Biden then penetrated her, pulled away as she resisted, and put his finger in her face, telling her that she was nothing.

His words, those words, stayed with me my whole life, and as Ive been trying to tell my story, Ive kind of been torn apart trying to tell it, those words come back, Reade said, adding that she would never forget.

Reades interview, which aired with next to no notice on Kellys personal YouTube channel, comes after she cancelled two more traditional on-camera appearances on Fox News and CNN at the last minute due to security concerns. Kelly told The Daily Beast that she landed the interview, in part, because Reade considers her trauma-informed by her own history of interviewing sexual harassment and assault survivors on the short-lived Megyn Kelly Today program, as well as her own charge of sexual misconduct against former boss Roger Ailes.

The interview was not without uncomfortable reminders of Kellys occasional lack of finesse as a serious interviewer, however, including a long and uncomfortable digression about what kind of lingerie Reade was wearing at the time of the alleged assault.

The interview comes on the heels of multiple reports by various local and national outlets that appear to bolster parts of Reades allegations, including a report in the San Luis Obispo Tribune, which obtained a 1996 court filing written by Reades ex-husband in which he claimed that his former wife had struck a deal with Bidens chief of staff following accusations of sexual harassment. Ted Kaufman, a longtime Biden advisor and his chief of staff at the time, has denied ever discussing sexual harassment or assault complaints with Reade.

Reade explained Kaufmans lack of recollection, as well as that of two other Biden staffers with whom she claims she discussed the alleged harassment, as evidence of a cover-up.

Well, you have to look at the sourceso theyre still working with Biden, Reade said. Their job was to cover what he did in a way, theyre complicit.

Three people, including Reades brother, a former neighbor, and an anonymous friend have told various news outlets that Reade had told them about some aspects of the alleged assault or harassment over the years.

Reade told Kelly that she attempted to raise the claims with numerous news outlets, including The Guardian, The New York Times, The New Yorker, PBS, and even the rival political campaigns of Sens. Kamala Harris of California and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. None, Reade said, got back to her.

Everythings political, right? But this is deeper than that, Reade, who told Kelly that she is leaving the Democratic Party, said. He is running on a platform of character, and I found that gross. I know what hes like.

Last year, in conversations with numerous reporters as Biden was under fire for making several women feel physically uncomfortable in a non-sexual manner, Reade claimed that Biden did not assault her, but instead that she had been asked by a staffer to serve drinks at a fundraiser, which made her feel uncomfortable. Reade told Kelly that the discrepancy was because she feared her life being torn apart by Bidens defenders.

I think Im a poster child as to why women wouldnt come forward, Reade said.

Biden and his campaign have flatly denied Reades claims, and have called for the release of any personnel complaints pertaining to Reade to be released from the National Archivesalthough the secretary of the Senate, which controls those records, has said that it cannot do so.

I am requesting that the secretary of the Senate ask the Archives to identify any record of the complaint she alleges she filed and make available to the press any such document, Biden told MSNBC last week, in his first public response to Reades allegations. If there was ever any such complaint, the record will be there.

Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has pinned his candidacy on a message of restoring the soul of America, with particular emphasis on assertions that the character of incumbent President Donald Trump is deficient. Trump himself has been accused of sexual harassment, misconduct, assault and rape by more than two dozen women, and has denied them all, often in derrogatory terms.

While the former vice presidents public response to Reades allegations has emphasized the importance of not dismissing claims of sexual misconduct out of hand, Reade told Kelly that his words are insufficient.

I want to say: you and I were there, Joe Biden. Please step forward and be held accountable, Reade said. You should not be running on character for the president of the United States.

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Nick Cordero has shown early signs of waking up from a medically-induced coma as he continues his long struggle with coronavirus.

And now, after being in the hospital for more than a month, wife Amanda Kloots took to Instagram to share an emotional and heartfelt letter to her husband.

'Dear Nick, I miss you so much. Sometimes this whole thing doesn't even feel real,' she wrote in the caption of a photo of the Broadway star holding their 10-month-old son Elvis.

Heartfelt: Amanda Kloots shared an emotional open letter to her husband, Nick Cordero, as the family waits for the Broadway star to wake from a medically-induced coma

'Sometimes it feels like you are just away doing a job and you're going to walk through the door at any moment,' Kloots, 38, continued.

'I miss my hubby. I miss holding your hand. I miss your gnocchi dinners. I miss watching tv with you at night and always falling asleep on your lap in five minutes.'

The fitness trainer ended the open letter by adding, 'I miss laughing with you. I miss seeing you with Elvis. I can't wait to have you home. #day37'

Kloots also shared on her Instagram Story that Cordero remains in the intensive care unit (ICU) and that his condition was 'stable throughout the night.'

There's also a photo of a sign that appears to be hanging on a wall with: 'May 8th... Miracle May... Stay tough You've got this!' written in a black marker.

Enduring love: 'Dear Nick, I miss you so much. Sometimes this whole thing doesn't even feel real,' Kloots, 38, wrote in the caption of her Instagram post on Friday

Hopeful signs: Kloots also shared on her Instagram Story that Cordero remains in the intensive care unit (ICU) and that his condition was 'stable throughout the night'

Affirmation: The fitness trainer also took to her Insta-Story and posted a photo of a sign that appears to be hanging on a wall

Doctors at a California's Cedars Sainai Medical Center opted to put Cordero, 41, into a medically-induced coma after he was hospitalized for pneumonia on April 1, and subsequently tested positive for COVID-19.

Blood-clotting issues forced doctors to amputate his right leg and his lungs have suffered severe damage due to the respiratory disease. He has also received a temporary pacemaker.

At one point, about three weeks ago, the Rock Of Ages star's blood pressure dropped so low he lost consciousness and had to be resuscitated.

Love of family: Kloots said she missed seeing her husband with their 10-month-old son Elvis

He's a fighter: Earlier this week, Kloots revealed the encouraging news that Cordero was 'starting to wake up' from the medically-induced coma

Earlier this week, Kloots revealed the encouraging news that Cordero was 'starting to wake up' from the coma.

'The doctor just called and said that Nick is showing very, very, very early, early, early stages of tracking,' which means he's showing signs that he could soon regain consciousness.

'Mother's Day is Sunday, maybe he'll wake up for me and his mom, what a gift,' she added with tears in her eyes.

Gift of life: The mother-of-one is hoping she can get the best Mother's Day gift this Sunday by having her husband wake up from the coma

Sharing their story: Kloots has been using social media to share updates on his condition as well as a means to keep upbeat and positive throughout the ordeal

Kloots has been using social media to share updates on his condition as well as a means to keep upbeat and positive throughout the ordeal, including videos of people singing and dancing for Cordero with the hashtag, '#WakeUpNick.'

Cordero is a Tony Award-nominated stage actor who has starred in shows like Bullets Over Broadway, Rock of Ages and Waitress.
She's best known for playing Alice Cullen in the wildly-popular Twilight franchise films.

And on Friday Ashley Greene, 33, headed out to do some shopping in her adopted hometown of Los Angeles wearing a protective mask amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The actress appeared to be on a mission to find certain items but came up short and walked out of the store empty-handed.

On the hunt: Ashley Greene, 33, wore a protective mask as she flaunted her legs in a black-patterned mini-dress during a grocery run in Los Angeles on Friday

The Florida native showcased her toned figure in a black-patterned mini-dress for her afternoon excursion.

She also donned a pair of tan flats, dark sunglasses and pulled her brunette tresses into a top ponytail on yet another warm and sunny Southern California day.

After browsing through the store, Greene reappeared looking discouraged and quickly made a phone call and was presumably off to another store to find what she was looking for.

Greene appeared to be on a mission to find certain items but came up short and walked out of the store empty-handed

That same afternoon Greene took to her Instagram Story and revealed that she did in fact need to head out to the store and find a remedy for what she called: 'Her stupid allergies.'

She could be heard sniffling as she also showcased some of the food she was going to eat for lunch.

Greene last starred as former Fox & Friends host Abby Huntsman in Bombshell (2019), which was based on the sexual harassment scandal at Fox News.

She also recently scored roles in the television movie Christmas On My mind (2019), the film Antiquities (2018) and British-action thriller Accident Man (2018).

Mystery solved: That same afternoon Greene took to her Insta-Story and revealed that she needed to head out to the store and find a remedy for what she called: 'Her stupid allergies'

The star is married to voiceover artist Paul Khoury.

The couple got engaged in December 2016 after three years of dating and were eventually married San Jose, California ceremony in July 2018.

The star-studded guest list included Ashley's Twilight Saga co-star Robert Pattinson, Zac Efron, Liam Hemsworth, Brittany Snow, Ashlee Simpson and her husband Evan Ross and Aaron Paul and his wife Lauren.
Notice was served in court yesterday on a Croatian national to stay away from an art college building in Cork and not to harass staff at the premises.

In a previous case, it emerged that the respondent was trying to gain access to a portal to another dimension where he would be safe from demons.

Barrister Cian Cotter brought the application before Judge Helen Boyle at Cork Circuit Court against Ante Brekalo, aged 26, who allegedly broke into the CIT College of Art building at Grand Parade, by the Nano Nagle pedestrian bridge.

Mr Cotter said Mr Brekalo trespassed at the building on April 27 and that this followed three previous incidents of trespass dating back to June 17, October 10 and October 13, last year, he said.

Judge Boyle granted the injunctive relief sought by the CIT, requiring the respondent not to attend at the premises or harass staff.

The judge adjourned the case for mention in a weeks time. Mr Cotter said he was aware that the accused had been a resident of a mental health services unit in Cork and that he would write to the director of that facility, notifying him of yesterdays injunction against Mr Brekalo.

Previously, at a criminal trial at Cork Circuit Criminal Court Mr Brekalo, who is in his mid-20s, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to seven different charges.

The jury took only a few minutes to deliver a verdict that he was not guilty by reason of insanity on all seven counts.

All of the counts related to the same place  CIT Crawford College of Art and Design at Grand Parade, Cork.

He was charged with burglary whereby he allegedly trespassed with intent to attempt to cause criminal damage or to cause damage on December 18, 2017, December 29, 2017, and again on January 4, 2018.

Tom Creed, defending, read from a background psychiatric report on the accused during that October 2018 trial to the effect that Mr Brekalo was so agitated on one of the occasions that it required five gardai to arrest him.

Mr Creed said that the defence accepted the facts outlined by the prosecution of the defendant breaking into the art college and resisting arrest in the manner described.

Mr Creed read from Dr Ronan Mullaneys background report on the accused which gave details of the psychotic condition of the accused that made him unable to refrain from committing the act.

He became convinced that it was through the art college that he could gain access to a portal to another dimension and that he would be safe from demons in this dimension.

Mr Creed said Dr Ronan Mullaneys report showed that the defendant suffered from severe schizophrenia, complicated by a history of cannabis use resulting in bizarre persecutory feelings.
Eight patients at Life Care Center of Athens have now died from the coronavirus. Three others are hospitalized.

Officials said 71 residents and 46 associates have tested positive for coronavirus.

Jeffery Ricks, director, said, "Our residents who have tested both positive and negative for COVID-19 are checked multiple times per day for symptoms or changes in condition. If a resident who tested negative begins showing any symptom that could be associated with COVID-19, we retest them. ?

"Here are our current resident totals:

- 71 residents have tested positive for COVID-19

- 27 residents tested negative for COVID-19

- Of the three residents who are hospitalized; we remain in consistent communication with our medical director and local hospitals to ensure our residents are transferred if more acute care is needed. We are also checking in with their families frequently and providing as much support possible.

"Our other residents are receiving care in our COVID-19 isolation area from a dedicated staff."

He said testing has been made available to all associates. Here are the current results:

- 46 associates tested positive for COVID-19

- 13 associates have recovered and met CDC guidelines for returning to work.

- 80 associates tested negative for COVID-19

- Three tests are pending If an associate tests positive, he or she is not allowed to return to work until guidelines from the CDC for returning to work are met. As many of our staff members have, unfortunately, tested positive, we have relied upon the Life Care network to provide additional staff. There are many facilities close enough, and we are thankful to have sister facilities who are willing to send staff and help us. Any associate from another Life Care facility who works in our Athens facility will not return to their facility until they meet CDC guidelines to safely return to that location.

"Both the state and local health departments have been extremely supportive, and we extend our sincere thanks.

"Our heart-felt condolences go out to the family and friends of the residents who have passed away as the result of COVID-19. Our facility is a family, and were all working together to take care of our residents and each other. We remain committed to providing quality care as we fight COVID-19."
The following speech was delivered by Bill Van Auken , the Latin American editor of the World Socialist Web Site, to the 2020 International May Day Online Rally held by the WSWS and the International Committee of the Fourth International on May 2.

Dear comrades and friends:

We mark this May Day 2020 under conditions of a common struggle of workers all over the world for their very lives and basic rights against the criminal response of the ruling capitalist classes of every country to the coronavirus pandemic.

Even as COVID-19 threatens to claim the lives of millions, the threat of a new world war that could wipe out billions, far from being diminished by the global pandemic, has only escalated.

Imperialism has taken neither sick leave nor a holiday; it does not sleep. For all of the vapid talk about us all being in it together, the US ruling class views the pandemic as an instrument of war. It has relentlessly sought to weaponize the virus to achieve the same geo-strategic aims that it was pursuing before the coronavirus began claiming hundreds of thousands of lives and forcing the shutdown of entire economies.

The speech by Bill Van Auken begins at 1:37:58 in the video.

This week, US Air Force Global Strike Commander General Timothy Ray, who oversees hundreds of nuclear-armed US strategic bombers and ICBM missiles, addressed both the American public and US imperialisms strategic rivals, declaring:

Rest assured, we have taken the necessary steps to make sure our bomber and ICBM forces are ready to go and can reach any target on the planet at any time. We are fully mission-ready and COVID-19 will not change that.

Earlier, last month, General Ray said in an interview that his commands nukes are still ready to fly.

The world is shocked by the sight of patients dying by the thousands in overcrowded emergency rooms, of coffins stacked in mass graves and decomposing corpses piled up in rental trucks in the streets of New York Citya portrait of American capitalism in deep decay.

If imperialism is not stopped by the revolutionary mobilization of the international working class, it will inflict infinitely worse suffering. A single 40-kiloton warhead dropped on Manhattan, however, would leave roughly a quarter of a million dead and another quarter of a million wounded, with no ICUs, hospitals or medical staff to treat them.

The nukes are ready to fly. Seventy-five years after the end of the Second World War, military commanders and political leaders are starting from the premise that a third world war between the major powers is not some remote possibility, but rather highly probable and even inevitable.

As our previous speaker, comrade Peter Symonds, has made clear, the first and foremost target of US militarism in China. However, Washington is carrying out aggression all over the world.

At the height of the pandemic in the US, President Donald Trump sent a flotilla of warships to the coast of Venezuela, while tweeting an order to the US Navy to attack and sink Iranian patrol boats monitoring the provocative deployment of American warships in the Persian Gulf. The US administration has sought to weaponize the pandemic, ratcheting up sanctions against both Iran, which has faced one of the highest COVID-19 mortality rates in the world, and Venezuela, whose health care system is on the brink of collapse.

While these sudden and unprovoked war threats have an air of hysteria and desperationa flailing about in the face of the coronavirus crisisthere is a definite method to the madness. Washington aims to harness mass sickness and death to its aggressive maximum pressure campaigns for regime change in both of these oil-rich countries.

Three decades of US wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan have created only a series of debacles. Far from achieving Washingtons aims of clawing back global hegemony eroded by the relative decline of the global position of American capitalism, US imperialism today is confronting what is termed, in military and foreign policy parlance as strategic competition from Russia and China. At the same time, ever-sharper conflicts are emerging between Washington and its erstwhile NATO partners, in particular Germany, against which the US fought in two world wars.

Preparations for such conflicts are fueling a gargantuan military budget that is projected to rise to $741 billion in the coming year, with $50 billion allocated for the development of the US nuclear triad, and $500 billion over the next ten years.

Meanwhile the Centers for Disease Control, the main US agency for confronting pandemics, has seen its budget relentlessly slashed, now amounting to barely 1.5 percent of that of the Pentagon.

Nothing could sum up more clearly the criminal and irrational character of the capitalist system. Like the trillions funneled into Wall Street, the trillions lavished upon building weapons of mass destruction, while yielding obscene profits for CEOs and major shareholders, represents resources stolen from society as millions upon millions suffer from the coronavirus, mass unemployment and hunger.

American militarism, however, is far from almighty. This was made clear in the events aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that is supposed to stand as a symbol of US power. The coronavirus swept through its crowded decks like wildfire, with at least 900 of its crew now infected with the disease. The ships commander beseeched his superiors to bring the carrier to port and disembark and quarantine his crew, insisting: We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die.

This action infuriated the Trump administration, which was attempting to minimize the threat from the pandemic and believes that US imperialism is very much at war and that if sailors have to die, so be it. For its part, the crew gave its fired captain a tumultuous send-off that bordered on mutiny. His action had cut across a policy of military aggression in which their lives are of no more consequencein the final analysisthan those of the Iranians, Venezuelans, Yemenis, Afghans, Iraqis or Somalis that US imperialism kills on a daily basis.

Even more significant are the strikes by the Mexican maquiladora workers that have cut off key supplies to the US arms industry, even as workers across the border in the US have also struck and protested at arms plants against conditions that threaten their health and their very lives as well.

The same insoluble crisis that is driving world capitalism to war is driving the worlds working class to revolution.

The only answer to the criminal drive to war lies in the mobilization of the international working class against capitalism. Workers must fight for the expropriation of the vast arms industry without compensation and the confiscation of the obscene profits of its major shareholders, so that these resources can be mobilized to combat the global pandemic and assure the social needs of the vast majority of the population. These indispensable demands are bound inextricably to the fight for the transfer of power to the working class and the establishment of socialism on an international scale.

The International Committee of the Fourth International, the World Party of Socialist Revolution, must be built in every country to lead this struggle. We urge all those participating in this online May Day rally to join us in building this party.
On Labour Day, 38 days after a nationwide lockdown was announced, the first train ferrying migrants ran from Lingampally in Telangana to Hatia in Jharkhand. As the country trudges back to the new normal, a critical policy challenge will be to ensure the safety of the millions of migrants returning home. The preparation to safely transport migrants across the country will require data-driven decisions and an understanding of the arduous circumstances that await them and their families.

We already know that migrants will go back from urban industrial hubs to their homes in rural areas. In this article, we stitch together several different data sets to understand the characteristics of their home districts and some potential challenges that await them.

A majority of the return migration will likely originate from districts in red zones (hot spots). Therefore, returnee migrants are at a higher risk of being carriers of infection.

To approximate the districts migrants will potentially return to, we rely on the most recent data available from the National Sample Survey, 2007-08. We use data on both interstate seasonal migrants and recent migrants who moved for economic reasons.Since most of the return migration is expected to be geographically concentrated, we focus on the top 25% districts in the country that are most likely to receive migrants (Chart 1). These are the migrants home districts. These districts accounted for almost three-fourths of the migrant-sending households in the country. Over 78% of these districts were in six states: Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. The characteristics of migrants home districts will predominately reflect the socioeconomic profile of these states.

More than 60% of the home districts are in red and orange zones, where the Covid-mitigation measures are still mostly in place . But a significant containment challenge remains for unaffected and recovered districts (green zones), which make up 39% of the home districts.

As migrants return from severely affected districts to their home districts concentrated in the northern and eastern parts of the country, practising strict self-isolation will be critical to limit the spread of the virus. Self-isolation will require the luxury of physical space for quarantine.

Isolating oneself may not be a trivial endeavour for returnee migrants: a typical household in the home districts has 5.9 members in contrast to 4.6 members in other districts.

Besides, more than three household members share a room, on average. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that they are also more likely to have a household member above the age of 65 years, and are therefore more susceptible to infection (Chart 2). In addition to congested homes, inadequate access to private water supply, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure (WASH)  the first line of defence in the battle against Covid  could expose migrants, their families and communities to increased risk of infection and also make self-isolation challenging for returnee migrants. Indeed, this problem is severe in migrants home districts.

Only 24% of households in these districts had access to a private water source in 2016 (Chart 3). While access to a private source in these districts is still higher than other districts in the country, many still lack this necessity.

As many as 58% of the households in these districts practised open defecation in 2016. While the toilet coverage has increased vastly under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, there is still a gap between access and usage.

The fact that less than half of the households in migrants home districts may be able to comply with recommended hand-washing with soap practices further reveals their vulnerability.

If these challenges translate into a rapid spread of infection, the consequences for both illness and livelihood management will be more precarious given that migrants home districts are poorer and less urban. Expectedly, their home districts also have a lower capacity to provide health care.

For instance, the average number of government district hospitals per 10,000 people in these districts is half that of the rest of the country.

Since the first lockdown announcement, stranded migrants across the country have been facing an uncertain future not only about their livelihood prospects but also about when they can see their families. As migrants prepare to return home, it is critical to acknowledge that they are likely going back to rural and more impoverished districts. That net emigration is occurring from urban and more industrialized red zone districts is, perhaps, not surprising. A large part of the net immigration will also be to the red and orange zone districts, that already have some containment measures in place. However, others will likely move back to places that have a low incidence of infection.

Here, preparations to protect these populations from the unfolding threat will be critical. While avoiding interpersonal contact is in any case challenging in India, data shows that it will be especially so for migrants and their families who lack adequate housing and WASH infrastructure.

Preparedness in the migrants home districts will be the key to restricting the risk of Covid-19 spread. Given that housing, water, or sanitation infrastructure cannot be improved overnight, the double whammy of moving to a more impoverished district and difficulty in practising social distancing highlights the need for other ingenious, quick, and contextually relevant solutions. For instance, wherever institutional quarantine is infeasible, instead of home quarantine, migrants can be asked to isolate themselves in schools or other public buildings in their home towns. Indeed, there is anecdotal evidence that returnee migrants are choosing to self-isolate for a couple of weeks before they meet their families. Furthermore, distribution of sanitiser bottles and face masks could be one quick way to respond to the inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure.

The vast institutional infrastructure of self-help groups can play a crucial role in managing Covid-19 response in rural India, by producing cloth masks, running community kitchens, and raising awareness, for instance. Above all, home districts will need to address these issues in a way that does not lead to stigmatisation of migrants.

Madhulika Khanna and Nishtha Kochhar are PhD candidates at Georgetown University. Esha Zaveri is an affiliated scholar at the Center on Food Security and Environment at Stanford
The Indian Navy is set to bring back over 1,800 citizens currently stranded in the Maldives amid coronavirus lockdown. According to reports, the Indian Navy has deployed two warships - INS Jalashwa and INS Magar under the operation named 'Samundra Setu', which will make four trips to bring back stranded Indian back from the Maldives.

The operation is part of the Vande Bharat Mission, which is being termed as the biggest evacuation mission to be carried out by a country in modern history. As per reports, the mission will see the evacuation of over 14,000 Indians by air and sea from 12 different countries.

Read: Indian Navy's PPEs Get Top Certification; Ready For Mass Production And Clinical Usage

According to reports, a total of 698 Indians were evacuated by INS Jalashwa from Male on Friday as part of the operation Samundra Setu. Indias High Commissioner in the Maldives, Sunjay Sudhir thanked the Indian Navy and the government of the Maldives for the success of the first part of the mission. He further said that 200 Indians on Sunday will leave for Tamil Nadu from the Maldives on INS Magar.

Read: 'Don't Fly Empty Planes,' Stranded NRIs Urge Govt As India Gears-up For Global Evacuation

Vande Bharat mission

Both INS Jalashwa and INS Magar are equipped with proper PPE kits with medical and administrative support staff to provide care to people onboard. Many stranded Indians will also be brought back from countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore, Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia among others.

Air India will be operative flights from Riyadh, London, San Fransisco, Washington DC, Singapore between May 8 to 14. The cost of travel by air will have to be borne by passengers, the external affairs ministry said. Most flights with evacuated Indians will land in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kochi, and Chennai. India also holds the previous record for the largest civilian evacuation in the world, when it brought back over 1,70,000 Indians from Kuwait during the first gulf war.

Read: Air India Mandates Quarantine For Evacuation Crew Till COVID-19 Test Comes Negative

Read: India's Covid Evacuation Plan Accessed: 7 Days, 11 Countries, 64 Flights, 14,800 People

(Image Credit: @HCIMaldives/Twitter)
Who would've thought life would be so different in 2020, because of a pandemic? While the world continues to battle COVID-19, some countries across the world have lifted the lockdown. However, that does not mean that things will be the same as before - social distancing is here to stay for a while and it is essential, in order to prevent another wave of infections. Here is look out how our world might have to be re-engineered for social distancing.
New Delhi, May 9 : In the past 24 hours, 224 new coronavirus cases were reported from the national capital, which now has 84 containment zones, according to the Delhi Health Department.

The total number of cases in Delhi has mounted to 6,542 while 68 persons have succumbed to the dreaded virus so far. A total of 2,020 persons have recovered from the disease till now.

The number of cumulative tests conducted till Friday is 84,226, while the total number patients under home isolation is 937. There are 4,454 active cases in Delhi. As per the health department data, nearly 85.29 per cent of the deceased had comorbidity. Ninety-one patients are in the ICU while 18 are on ventilator support.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain on Saturday held a meeting through video conferencing to review the Covid-19 situation in the national capital.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government has declared three private hospitals -- Fortis in Shalimar Bagh, Saroj Medical Institute in Rohini and Khushi Hospital in Dwarka -- as Covid-19 hospitals for admitting confirmed or suspect cases. With the inclusion of these hospitals, a total of 150 isolation beds have been added.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Traditional Cameroon Rulers Refuse to Return to Crisis Zone

By Moki Edwin Kindzeka May 08, 2020

Cameroon's government this week called on hundreds of traditional rulers who have fled separatist conflict areas to return, assuring them that the palaces, markets, schools and roads destroyed by separatists would be reconstructed. But the traditional rulers have refused, saying they are still threatened by fighting between government troops and anglophone rebels.

Deben Tchoffo, governor of Cameroon's English-speaking northwest region, said by messaging application from the regional capital Bamenda that the government will ensure the rulers' protection from separatist fighters from the moment they return.

"They should not be afraid. Instead of running, they should come back to face the realities," Tchoffo said. "The population are there, eagerly waiting, longing to see them. Some of them have gone [been out of their palaces] for many years. They are awaited on the spot. We are there, and we are there to secure them. Whatever will happen, we are there to stand by them, to support them and accompany them."

This week, Cameroonian Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute said the government had raised $14 million of the $150 million it needs for the reconstruction of 350 schools, 115 hospitals, 40 bridges, 400 wells and water taps, 600 kilometers of rural roads, 45 markets and 17,000 private homes he said were destroyed by separatists fighting to create an English-speaking state in the majority French-speaking country. Ngute called on traditional rulers who had fled for safety to French-speaking towns to return to their villages.

Fon Lekunze, traditional ruler of the Mundani tribe of the English-speaking southwestern Lebialem district, who has been in Yaounde for two years, said by telephone that peace has yet to return to the English-speaking regions. He said several of his peers were attacked when they returned home in July to preach peace, and are still threatened by fighters via social media and by telephone.

"We have implored traditional diplomacy to sensitize populations to shun away from violence and embrace development, and we have used the dialoguing method by pleading with our children [rebels], and we are very hopeful that calm is going to return as soon as possible," he said.

It is only when that calm returns that they will be assured that their lives will be spared by separatist fighters, he added.

Accusations against chiefs

Traditional rulers started fleeing English-speaking regions when they were accused by separatists of supporting the military and disclosing their hideouts to troops. At least nine were killed and dozens abducted and freed only after ransom was paid. Two dozen palaces were partially or totally torched. Some chiefs were accused by the military and arrested for supporting the separatists.

Jonathan Baye, a historian at the University of Yaounde, said the chiefs need to assure their populations, separatist fighters, and the military of their neutrality before they can be safe in their villages.

"The chiefs should give confidence about their neutrality because it is usually on those things that they are attacked or they are accused," Baye said. "They should begin by making their people to know that they [the people] can count on them [the chiefs]. They should begin by creating this confidence."

'Bumpy road' ahead

Jean Luc Stalon, Cameroon representative of the United Nations Development Program, who was invited to the ceremony to launch reconstruction of the English-speaking regions, said the initiative is a good one, but that it will be difficult to carry out with bloody clashes still rampant between the military and rebels.

"We know it is going to be a bumpy road rebuilding social cohesion, rebuilding the local economy that has been damaged by the crisis, to facilitate access of the population to basic services, education, health, water and so forth," Stalon said. "It is not going to be easy to implement this program in those two regions."

Separatists on social media have insisted that the reconstruction will not take place unless the central government in Yaounde withdraws its troops from the English-speaking regions and organizes what they describe as sincere dialogue.

The separatists have been fighting since 2017 to create an independent, English-speaking state in Cameroon's western regions. The conflict has cost Cameroon more than 3,000 lives and displaced more than half a million people to French-speaking regions or neighboring Nigeria, according to the U.N.

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Former Congress president and member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi has said there is no specific strategy behind his discussions with experts that are being telecast on his party's social media platforms. Reacting to a question from ANI, Gandhi said: "Usually, I talk to a lot of people, and many of them have conversations which are quite interesting. I thought that I should show a glimpse to the people of India of those conversationss.

This was the basic idea. I wanted to show people the experts I am interacting with and what I am getting to learn. There is no strategy behind ...
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
Not only did he personally try to help others whenever he could, he also instilled the value of service in thousands of students over a 35-year career at Landon School, an independent college preparatory school for boys in Bethesda.
Director: Sahir Raza

Cast: Piyush Mishra, Neha Sharma, Akshay Oberoi, Satyadeep Mishra, Kubbra Sait

Available On: Voot Select

Duration: 35 minutes/ 10 episodes

Language: Hindi, English

Story: Illegal is a courtroom drama, that explores the roles of media and politics in corruption crime and running the nation. It is written by Reshu Nath, directed by Sahir Raza, and produced by Sameer Khan.

Review: Starring Neha Sharma in the leading role, Illegal is a courtroom drama that depicts how everyone feels about the law. While there are some lawyers who will lay their lives for the truth, there are others who are like mercenaries, and can be appointed to win cases even if it means letting the guilty walk away free. The series starts with promising something exciting but slowly fades away amid too many plot points and a need to catch the audience off guard.

We first meet Neha Sharma as, Niharica, who is called the mad lawyer because against all odds, she outed a sexual predator at her previous firm and won the case, proving him guilty. In the first scene, she is being interviewed by India's biggest criminal lawyer, who hires her because she cannot help but tell the truth always. Neha quickly finds out she has to move to Delhi after accepting a job, but considers rejecting the offer because of past trauma.

Directed by Sahir Raza, Illegal shows how the viewers already feel by the law, manipulated and unable to trust. You struggle through the eyes of Niharica, unsure if you are supposed to believe the victim or the accused. The plot, however, loses the momentum because of the several detours it takes. We have sub-plots like, Niharica's past with colleague Akshay, her pro bono case about a woman on a death row, the accused being her stepbrother, then her father coming back into her life. On the other side, there are political agendas at hand, media manipulation and so much more. All of it takes away the focus from the centre of the story, the high-profile case of an affluent rape accused.

The cast and their performances make up for the loss, given how everyone currently feels about the Boys Locker Room, you connect with Niharica only instantly, as she teaches her client to respect her and the victim in the case, even though she is his lawyer. She also schools him when he says, 'I don't need to rape women'. Piyush Mishra, Akshay Oberoi, Satyadeep Mishra, Kubbra Sait, have all played their part well like pieces of a puzzle that fit together, only the puzzle doesn't paint the right picture.

The intentions of the show are commendable, but some of it is lost in the execution. Illegal is definitely one step up as we get to see a real courtroom drama, in a very true sense to society case and situation. I would still recommend the show for the actors' performance and the story that it aims to tell, along with the questions that it wishes to raise.

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Kerala: As India's major evacuation mission for stranded Indians the Vande Bharat Mission entered its second day, two flight carrying a total of 335 people from the Gulf countries landed in Kerala's two airports on Friday night.

The first flight from Riyadh carried 153 passengers, including 84 pregnant women, 22 children and four infants. The flight landed at the Kozhikode airport at 8 pm on Friday night, another Air India Express flight from Bahrain with 177 passengers, including 5 infants, reached Kochi airport at 11.32 pm.

The passengers were screened for COVID-19 symptoms at the airport before boarding. According to Kozhikode airport sources, the flight from Riyadh carried five people having some health issues and they would be shifted to Manjeri and Kozhikode medical college hospitals.

The passengers were also subjected to thermal test at the aerobridge after they landed in the Kozhikode airport, said sources. Ten passengers from neighboring states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu also traveled in the flight from Riyadh, the sources said.

Sharing information of the successful evacuations under Vande Bharat Mission Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that 182 Indians from Bahrain, 234 from Singapore, 168 from Dhaka and 152 from Riyadh have landed in India.

Mission Vande Bharat is picking pace. 182 Indians from Bahrain, 234 from Singapore, 168 from Dhaka & 152 from Riyadh return back on various flights today. Great effort by @airindiain, our missions abroad & @MEAIndia. pic.twitter.com/EjSQVZxIta  Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) May 8, 2020

A total of three flights carrying stranded Indians landed in India on Friday. An Air India flight AI 381, carrying 234 passengers, landed in New Delhi from Singapore. An AI 1242 flight from Dhaka landed in Srinagar and the third flight from Riyadh touched down in Kozhikode, Kerala. Two flights had landed at Kochi and Kozhikode on Thursday from Abu Dhabi and Dubai, respectively.

Through the Vande Bharat Mission, 64 flights and three Navy ships will repatriate nearly 15,000 Indians stranded abroad due to the coronavirus pandemic.

(With PTI input)
[May 09, 2020] 2020 Qingdao Global Venture Capital Online Conference Kicks Off

QINGDAO, China, May 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sponsored by the People's Government of Qingdao, the 2020 QingdaoGlobal Venture Capital Online Conference themed "A New Platform for International Cooperation, A New Opportunity for Technological Innovation" kicked off at Qingdao International Convention Center on May 8. A host of Chinese and overseas experts and scholars from the investment community, industrial circle and academia and entrepreneurs from around the globe joined the "cloud dialogue" through a "face-to-face" plus "screen-to-screen" mode to seek cooperation and share their insights on future development. Wang Qingxian, member of the Standing Committee of CPC Shandong Committee and secretary of CPC Qingdao Committee, delivered a keynote speech at the event. Liu Qiang, vice governor of Shandong province, Hong Lei, secretary of the CPC Committee and chairman of Asset Management Association of China, Que Bo, deputy general manager of Shanghai Stock Exchange, and Li Hui, deputy general manager of Shenzhen Stock Exchange, gave speeches at the event. Qingdao mayor Meng Fanli presided over the opening ceremony. Wang said Qingdao has seen a rapid development in venture capital investent since it hosted the 2019 Global (Qingdao) Venture Capital Conference last year. According to him, Qingdao ranked first in terms of increase rate of number of private equity fund managers in 2019, and is quickening its pace toward a global venture capital center. He said the recent coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak is accelerating the development of industrial Internet, and Qingdao has integrated industrial system and a wide range of application scenarios. He revealed that the city aims to develop into a "capital of industrial Internet" of the world relying on the AI Industry Community and COSMOPlat industrial Internet platform that are being developed in the city. He believes this will help attract more new industrial elements to the city and promote the integration of various industrial elements to provide more opportunities for capital venture investment projects.



The inauguration of the Venture Capital Alliance for Industrial Internet Development was held concurrently. Wang and Haier Group CEO Zhang Ruimin jointly unveiled the nameplate of the alliance, and issued certificates to the first 10 members of the alliance. The Annual White Paper on Global Venture Capital Industry (2020) was released. A signing ceremony was held for a number of key venture capital investment projects.

The two-day 2020 Qingdao Global Venture Capital Online Conference consists of one main forum, four sub-forums, about 20 roundtables and a series of roadshows and project launches. Over 20 online live streaming platforms will live-stream it. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1166079/Qingdao_Inauguration_Venture_Capital_Alliance.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1166080/Qingdao_Eastern_Coastal_City.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1166081/Qingdao_Logo.jpg Contact:

Ms. Zhu Yiling

Tel: +86-532-85911619

Web: http://www.qingdaochina.org

Facebook account: https://www.facebook.com/qingdaocity

Twitter account: https://twitter.com/loveqingdao

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Mary Tiernan (nee Nevin), Ballinamore, Kenagh, Longford



The death occurred, peacefully, at home surrounded by her family, on Thursday, May 7 of Mary Tiernan (nee Nevin), Ballinamore, Kenagh, Longford. Predeceased by her parents and by her sister Kathleen and her brother Michael. Mary will be sadly missed and remembered with love by her family, her husband Micheal, daughters Anne (Gerety), Elizabeth (Mannion) and Maura, sons Pat and Michael, brothers Sean, Mattie and Gerry, sons-in-law Liam and Jim, daughters-in-law Margie and Jacinta, Mauras fiance Eddie, grandchildren Shane, Ciara, Aoife, Nicola, Chloe, Tessa, Tadhg, Troy, Turlough, Aaron, Ruairi and Niamh, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, nieces, nephews, relatives, neighbours and friends. May she rest in peace.

Marys funeral will take place on Saturday, May 9 at 12 noon in St Dominics Church, Kenagh, however following Government guidelines regarding public gatherings, this will take place privately. Those who would have liked to attend, but due to current restrictions cannot, may leave their personal messages in the condolences section on RIP.ie.

A memorial service in celebration of Marys life will take place at a later date. The family very much appreciates your consideration and support at this time. Family flowers only please donations, if desired, to Longford Palliative Care , c/o Glennon Funeral Directors or any family member.



Rose Brehony (nee Byrne), Clondra, Longford

The death occurred, peacefully, in Mullingar Regional Hospital, on Thursday, May 7 of Rose Brehony (nee Byrne), Clondra, Longford, and late of Derryheelan, Drumlish, Co Longford. Deeply regretted by her husband Jimmy, son Seamus, daughter Annette (Kelly) Moydow, son-in-law, grandchildren, nephew and niece. May she rest in peace.

Funeral Mass will take place on Saturday, May 9 at 12 noon in St Mary's Church, Drumlish, however following government guidelines regarding public gatherings, this will take place privately. Those who would have liked to attend, but due to current restrictions cannot, may leave their personal messages in the "condolences" section on RIP.ie. House strictly private.



Thomas (Tommy) Hannify, Drumlish Hill, Drumlish, Longford

The death occurred on Thursday, May 7 of Thomas (Tommy) Hannify, Drumlish Hill, Drumlish, Longford. Predeceased by his father Tom and mother Katie, brothers Peter and Christy. Deeply regretted by his sisters Maureen Cullen (Drumlish) Kathleen Gallagher (Wolverhampton), brothers Martin (Wolverhampton) Richie (Swansea) Johnny (Armagh), brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. May he rest in peace.

Funeral mass will take place on Saturday, May 9 at 3pm in St Mary's Church, Drumlish, Co Longford, however following Government guidelines regarding public gatherings, this will take place privately. Those who would have liked to attend, but due to current restrictions cannot, may leave their personal messages in the "condolences" section on RIP.ie.



Patrick John (Pat) Muldoon, Ferefad , Ardagh Road, Longford Town, Longford



The death occurred, peacefully, surrounded by his loving family, on Thursday, May 7 of Patrick John (Pat) Muldoon, Ferefad , Ardagh Road, Longford Town, Longford. Predeceased by his parents and by his daughter Aisling and his son Stephen. Pat will be sadly missed and remembered with love by his family, his wife Beatrice, daughters Karen and Emma, son Patrick, sons in law Conall Mooney and Jason Orr, grandchildren Aidan, Neasa, Kate and Sophie, sisters Sylvia, Margaret, Anne, Carmel and Barbara, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. May he Rest In Peace.

Pats Funeral Mass will be at 1pm on Sunday, May 10 in St Mels Cathedral, Longford, however following government guidelines regarding public gatherings, this will take place privately. Those who would have liked to attend, but due to current restrictions cannot, may leave their personal messages in the condolences section on RIP.ie. The funeral Mass will be streamed live, please go to www.longfordparish.com A memorial service in celebration of Pats life will take place at a later date.

The family very much appreciates your consideration and support and this time. Family flowers only please, donations, if desired, to St Christophers Longford c/o Glennon Funeral Directors or any family member.



Ciaran McHugh, Canal Close, Longford Town, Longford



The death occurred on Friday, May 8 of Ciaran McHugh, Canal Close, Longford Town, Longford. Ciaran will be sadly missed and remembered with love by his family, his father Jimmy, mother Patricia, sisters Carmel and Cora, niece Catherine, uncles, aunts, relatives and friends. May he rest in peace.

Ciarans Funeral Mass will take place on Monday, May 11 at 12 noon in the Church of the Sacred Heart Carrickedmond, however following government guidelines regarding public gatherings, this will take place privately. Those who would have liked to attend, but due to current restrictions cannot, may leave their personal messages in the condolences section on RIP.ie.

The family very much appreciates your consideration and support at this time.



Jimmy Lewis, No 1 Berkley, The Courtyard, Newtownforbes, Longford / Raheny, Dublin

The death occurred on Friday, May 1 of Jimmy Lewis, No 1 Berkley, The Courtyard, Newtownforbes, Longford and formerly of Listraghee, Ballinalee and Raheny, Dublin. He is predeceased by his parents Peter and Esther. Jimmy will be forever remembered by his wife Catherine, sons James and Samuel, daughter Kim, brother Peter (Dublin), sisters Mary, Pauline and Michelle (Dublin), daughter-in-law Kerrie, his adored grandchildren Lauren, Sean, Jacob, Joshua, Evie and Caleb, his friend Bernie, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, neighbours and his friends here in Longford and Dublin. Always in our thoughts, forever in our hearts. Rest in Peace Jimmy.

Due to the current restrictions on public gatherings, Jimmy's funeral mass will take place in The Holy Trinity Church, Ballinalee on Monday, May 11 in the presence of his family only please. Anyone wishing to pay their respects can do so by lining the road, we will be leaving The Holy Trinity Church at 12 noon, travelling via Listraghee, to his final resting place in Bohernabreena Cemetery, Dublin. (Arriving approximately 2.30pm) or you can leave a message in the condolence book on RIP.ie.

Catherine and her family would like to thank everyone for their support and understanding at this difficult time.

Mary Reynolds (nee Rowley), Corduff, Cloone, Leitrim



The death occurred, peacefully, at her home surrounded by her devoted family, on Friday, May 8 of Mary Reynolds (nee Rowley), Corduff, Cloone, Leitrim. Predeceased by her husband Frankie. Deeply regretted and sadly missed by her daughters; Helen and Ann sons; Gerard and John, daughters-in-law, son-in-law, brother; Thomas, grandchildren, great grand-children, relatives, neighbours and friends. May Mary Rest in Peace.

In compliance with Government and HSE Regulations and Guidelines on Covid-19 Marys repose and burial will be strictly private to family members only. Marys funeral cortege will depart from her home on Saturday, May 9 at 11.30am to arrive at St Marys Church, Cloone for Funeral Mass at 12 noon.

A celebration of Marys life and the opportunity to express your sympathy with the family will be announced at a later date. You may leave a message of sympathy for the family by clicking on Condolences on RIP.ie. The family are grateful for your cooperation in this regard.

Bernard (Barney) Gumley, Crossdoney Rd, Ballinagh, Cavan

The death occurred, unexpectedly, at home, on Wednesday, May 6 of Bernard (Barney) Gumley, Crossdoney Road, Ballinagh, Cavan. Predeceased by his parents Frank & Theresa , brothers Paul & Patrick & his sister Margaret. Sadly missed by his loving family, brothers Thomas, Noel & Frank, sisters Roseann, Bernie, Valerie , Geraldine , Jackie, Theresa & Kathleen, his brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, all his relatives and many friends. May he Rest In Peace.

Due to government and HSE advice regarding public gatherings a private funeral will take place for immediate family only. Anyone who would like to have attended the funeral but are unable to do so are asked to post their personal messages in the condolences section on RIP.ie. A memorial mass to celebrate Barneys life will be held at a later date.

If you wish to have a death notice published on www.longfordleader.ie you can email it to newsroom@longfordleader.ie

And if you wish to submit an obituary for publication in the Longford Leader, you can submit it along with a photograph of the deceased to newsroom@longfordleader.ie
Oleksii Liskonih/iStockBy KENDALL CARSON and MEG CUNNINGHAM, ABC NEWS



(LOS ANGELES) -- Less than a week before a special election in a fiercely competitive battleground district in California, which has emerged as a proxy tug-of-war testing Presidents Trump electoral strength in the middle a pandemic, the Democrat seeking to keep control of the seat issued a stark plea: "I need your help to win in CA-25."



"Republicans havent picked up a House seat in California in over 20 years  and I am not about to let this one be the first," California Assemblywoman Christy Smith wrote in the email, which was sent to the national Democratic partys supporter list  underscoring the national influence seeping into Californias 25th congressional district.



The May 12 special election, in the longtime GOP-held district, which covers northern Los Angeles County and is home to some of those critical suburban voters, pits Smith against former Navy Fighter Pilot-turned-Republican candidate Mike Garcia.



The landscape of the toss-up



In March, no candidate in the jungle primary secured a majority of the vote, but Smith topped the crowded field. Leading into Tuesdays runoff election, the race between Smith and Garcia is expected to be tight, potentially tilting either way.



"This is a really hard election runoff electorate," a Democratic strategist told ABC News. "They're typically more conservative, harder to drive turnout in the base in particular, especially when it's lower propensity, more working class suburban base, as opposed to like higher education, high propensity voters in the white suburbs."



"We were eyes wide open as to how tough of a road this was going to be," the strategist said.



Last month, the race shifted from "lean Democratic" to a "toss up" by Cook Political Report.



Garcia, who earned the endorsement of Trump in April, is seeking to put the seat back in GOP control, after former Congresswoman Katie Hill flipped the top target in 2018, unseating former GOP Congressman Steve Knight by nine points two years after Hillary Clinton won the district in the 2016 presidential election.



Garcia has leaned into his background with the Navy, blanketing ads and digital videos with images of fighter planes and photos of him during his time in the Navy.



"After more than a year of running, the differences between my opponent and me are obvious - I am a former Navy fighter pilot and small businessman who wants to lower taxes for Californians, while my opponent is a liberal Assemblywoman who wants to raise taxes in Washington because that's exactly what she's done in Sacramento," Garcia said in a statement to ABC News.



Garcia is seeking to serve out the rest of Hills term through November. Hill resigned last year the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation over allegations she had inappropriate relations with a congressional staffer, a violation of House rules. Hill denied the accusation but vacated her post and endorsed Smith shortly after.



Late last month, Hill made her first re-entry into politics with the launch of her PAC, HER Time, pouring $200,000 into an ad campaign encouraging supporters to vote in the special election, without mentioning Smith or Garcia.



For Smith, a former Republican who scored former President Obamas first down-ballot endorsement of the cycle earlier this week among other top national Democrats, a win could preview the staying power of the partys support in areas of the country that helped deliver the U.S. House in the midterm elections and will be crucial for 2020.



The race has not only become nationalized but has seen its final weeks unfold in the midst of the novel coronavirus. Democrats say they are doing "everything" when it comes to organizing, with the exception "of getting within six feet of people" - even pouring $3 million into the race.



Meanwhile, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the campaign arm for the House GOP, has waded into the race, spending weeks hammering Smith and running ads that cast her as "bad for workers" and take aim at the state lawmaker over taxes.



At the end of April, Garcia and Smith squared off in a virtual candidate forum hosted by the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce over video conference. Despite the focus on business-related issues, both candidates outlined the stakes of the race and the outsize importance of the matchup due to the ongoing public health crisis that could continue through the fall.



"This is an absolutely critical election that we have going on right now," Garcia said. "We need to really ensure that who we're electing to these types of offices have the background and the experience...This isn't a Republican versus Democrat thing. This is about survival. This is about survival for our nation. It's about survival for us as Californians."



"This leadership is about all of us having collective conversations about what this roadmap needs to look like across this district," Smith said. "I've been on the other side of a hiring table before in crucial moments like this, and I always want to choose the employee with the most relevant, direct experience. I have 10 years of elected public experience."



Smiths campaign often stresses the importance of having a representative in Washington with the experience to deliver economic relief to Americans amid the coronavirus outbreak, seeking to set her apart from her opponent, a political novice.



"This election is critical. There are trillions of dollars currently being spent on public health safety and economic recovery, and CA-25 residents currently lack a voice in Congress fighting for their priorities," Kunal Atit, Smiths deputy campaign manager, said in a statement to ABC News. "In the midst of this unprecedented public health, and economic crisis, where families are losing loved ones and their financial security on a daily basis."



An early test for vote-by-mail



The coronavirus not only forced the candidates off the campaign trail and into the digital sphere, but also upended how the election is run: the contest is now being conducted almost entirely by vote-by-mail, with only some in-person voting sites open on election day.



While a host of Democratic efforts are underway to expand mail voting, either in Congress or at the state level or in the courts, some Republicans, led by Trump, are pushing a narrative that mail voting is ripe for corruption - even though there is no evidence of widespread fraud.



In a follow-up tweet endorsing Garcia, Trump appeared to sow doubts over the integrity of vote-by-mail, writing, "Turn your Ballots in now and track them, watching for dishonesty. Report to Law Enforcement."



But experts say that although crimes relating to ballots arent non-existent, they are rare - and oftentimes dont align with the narrative questioning the integrity of the process.



"Oftentimes when these crimes occur, they're crimes against others like stealing ballots out of their mailbox, rather than voters committing fraud. The total number of prosecutions is small relative to the number of ballots that are cases," Rick Hasen, a professor of law and political science at University of California Irvine, told ABC in an April interview.



"This is especially true in the five states that use almost completely vote-by-mail systems, at very low rates of fraud. So it's not a non-existent problem, it's a real problem but it's a very small couple," he said.



In a statement to ABC News, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla disputed claims made by Trump and other prominent Republicans that voting by mail could mean increased risk for fraud.



"For years, Trump has lied repeatedly about election integrity and has never backed up his claims with any evidencehis own 'election integrity' commission folded without proving a single case of voter fraud," Padilla said. "His claims are nothing but a blatant effort to undermine confidence in our elections and distract from his failure to respond to our current health crisis."



California is already a state that relies in part on voting by mail - with nearly 58% of voters casting mail ballots in the 2016 presidential election.



In mid-March, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, signed an executive order requiring counties in the district to mail every voter a ballot for the special election. While California offers robust options for absentee and mail voting, the switch means that limited in-person voting options will be available on election day.



In the district, each of the 425,000 registered voters were sent a ballot with return postage paid for. As of Friday morning, only 27%, or just over 115,000 ballots had been returned, according to data provided by the secretary of states office.



As a national debate filled with partisan divisions over the voting alternative looms over the election, the race offers an early test for mail voting ahead of November.



On Friday, Newsom signed another executive order to mail ballots to the states 20.6 million voters for the November election, with pre-paid postage, while also putting in place new guidelines for in-person voting.



A 'dress rehearsal' for November



Even with a victory on Tuesday, the race is far from over. The ultimate winner will also have to compete in a rematch come November to serve a full term, drawing out the contest for nearly six more months.



But come the fall, experts suggest a different electorate could mean a different dynamic, even with the same two candidates.



"Even if Garcia were to narrowly win, Republicans wouldn't be able to count it as a firm step towards the majority, because he could easily lose a higher-turnout, guaranteed rematch against Smith in November," wrote Dave Wasserman, the House Editor for The Cook Political Report.



The Democratic strategist cautioned against drawing any broad conclusions from Tuesdays election, which might not even have results on election night since Californias vote count process tends to be slow.



"He is their unicorn," the strategist said of Garcia, suggesting that it will not be a sign of a red wave. "If you extrapolate anything from this race, it is that he's an outlier."



For Democrats, they see the race as a "dry run" ahead of the fall.



"This is a good way for both campaigns to get in fighting shape," the strategist said. "To some degree, it's a dress rehearsal."



But Republicans are confident heading into both Tuesday and November about nabbing the seat, which would be the first time the GOP flipped a Democratic seat in California since 1998, when Bill Clinton was president.



"Christy Smith is a horribly flawed candidate who spit in the face of Mike Garcias military service and the public school teachers she voted to fire," NRCC Chairman Tom Emmer said. "These issues are going to sink her campaign next Tuesday and they will keep her sunk in November."



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Sensational Ghanaian fashion trailblazer, Nana Akua Addo, has once again reinforced the narrative that shes one of the most dominant forces in Ghanas fashion industry.

Our manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

The international model has been consistent with her personal and expensive sense of fashion.

Recently, the prominent Ghanaian fashion personality gained attention after she splashed stunning images on social media ahead of Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards (AMVCAs) which came off in Lagos, Nigeria on March 14, 2020.

In a latest series of flawless images, Nana Akua Addo donned a white short top over a steel-hooped skirt.

The fashion goddess accessorised her looks with a designer face mask, black mini-bag with black opera-gloves dominating her appearance.

In all the stunning images, Nana Akua glowed for the camera as she owned every single pose.

READ ALSO: Brilliant Ghanaian student wins Outstanding Graduate Student Award at top US university

Slide to view photos shared by Crabbita Media Consult.

Meanwhile, YEN.com.ghpreviously reported that Nana Akua Addo, shared a video highlighting how her lovely daughter has embraced technology to study amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In a new video shared on her Instagram handle, Nana Akuas beautiful daughter is seen participating in online studies with other mates.

While technology is no substitute for classroom learning, Nana Akua and her daughter's school resorted to technology to breach the gap between classroom learning and homeschooling amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In other stories, Ghanaian actress Fella Makafui her husband, rapper Medikal, have dispelled pregnancy rumours which for years have circulated in both public and online spaces.

Prior to their gorgeous traditional marriage, Fella Makafui was constantly plagued with pregnancy rumours and some fans even claimed they spied a baby bump in some of her pictures.

READ ALSO: Yaa Jackson: Kumawood actress hides 'real' face in new no-makeup photo; fans react

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
The state released official guidelines Saturday that paint a more detailed picture of what Connecticuts partial reopening on May 20 will mean for businesses and consumers as the state continues to battle the coronavirus.

Five sets of documents detail rules for hair salons, zoos and museums, offices, restaurants and retail stores.

The guidelines, released the day after Department of Economic Development Commissioner David Lehman gave a presentation on the rules for reopening, come as certain eligible businesses prepare to resume operations after a two-month-long closure meant to curb the spread of the virus.

The anticipated reopening comes as Connecticuts death toll nears 3,000. The state reported another 58 deaths Saturday, putting the official total at 2,932.

Nursing homes remain especially hard it, and they are still barred from visitors. On Friday, the state Department of Public Health ordered all facilities to make sure residents communicate with their loved ones at least once a week.

Matt Barrett, president and CEO of the Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities, and Mag Morelli, president of LeadingAge Connecticut, issued a joint statement on the new nursing home communication order, saying it mirrored the practices nursing homes statewide already enacted after the pandemic hit and visitation was restricted.

Nursing homes understand that residents and families are struggling during this time of no in-person visitation and they have been creatively providing alternative means of communication, the statement said. At once, we applaud the amazing efforts of our nursing homes and employees who understand the importance of being like family when the family cant be physically present.

Meanwhile, businesses and the state looking at how to reopen the economy while implementing adequate measures to protect public health.

The governor stressed that the decision to reopen during this phase rests with each individual business owner  they are not required to open if they do not choose, however if they do they must follow the rules as prescribed, a release from Gov. Ned Lamonts office, which included the guidelines, said.

Before businesses can reopen, they will have to self-certify via an online program, according to a release from Gov. Lamonts office.

The state is also directing businesses to post signs letting customers and employees know how they can report violations: by calling 211, the state hotline.

Each set of guidelines invokes the Whistleblower Protection Act.

Employers may not retaliate against workers for raising concerns about COVID-related safety and health conditions, the documents say.

Here are some highlights from the newly-released documents. While many rules apply across the board, weve also broken them down by business type.

Across the board

As officials announced in Gov. Ned Lamonts Friday briefing, all of the nonessential businesses permitted to reopen later this month will have to cap their occupancy at half capacity.

They will also need to train employees on disinfection protocols laid out by the University of Washington.

Employers are responsible for providing personal protective equipment for their staff, who are required to wear face coverings. The only exception is for office buildings, where workers in segregated spaces are allowed to take off their masks.

The rules also requires customers to bring and wear their own face coverings.

Each set of guidelines lays out strategies to keep employees at a distance from one another. At restaurants, servers are to have discrete sections of tables with little or no overlap; at zoos, attendants are to stick to one work station in order to minimize movement.

The state is encouraging businesses to install touchless appliances, like motion-activated soap dispensers and hand dryers, and asking them to install visual markers that will remind people to visitors to stay six feet apart from one another.

The same applies to employees. Whether they come in the form of desks or counters, businesses should keep work stations six feet apart from one another, or install partitions where that is not possible.

Employers will also need to stagger lunch breaks and shift start times, and theyll need to ask employees if theyve experienced COVID-19 symptoms on a daily basis. Employee logs, which will track when staff members are on premises, will support contact tracing.

And whether its a hair stylists scissors or a servers food tray, workers are not to share equipment.

Restaurants

Restaurateurs, who already knew they could only serve diners outdoors, will not be able to offer buffets, and will need to supply disposable menus or encourage customers to view meal options on their phones, according to the restaurant-specific guidelines.

Tables will need to sit at least six feet apart from one another, a distance that will be measured between the nearest chairs.

Only single-use condiment packets or containers will be allowed, so restaurants will have to remove their shared ketchup bottles.

While the rules require customers to wear face coverings, they can remove them while they eat.

Hair salons and barbershops

At hair salons, blow drying wont be allowed at hair salons and conversations will be limited, state documents indicate.

Your waiting room experience will also look a little different: clients wont be able to read a magazine, salons will not be allowed to provide reading materials.

They also have to remove customer water and coffee machines.

Offices

The office rules stress the importance of social distancing on elevators, suggesting offices ask employees to use the stairs if they can.

Employers should also use elevator attendants to manage crowding, and post signs with healthy elevator-use protocols.

Zoos and museums

While zoos and museums will be allowed to reopen many outdoor areas, indoor exhibits, interactive exhibits, gift shops and food stands must remain closed, according to the rules, which also prohibit guided tours.

Zoos and museums must also determine the maximum occupancy at each exhibit that will allow visitors to remain six feet apart.

Attendants are to enforce that occupancy, the guidelines state.

Retail stores and malls

While shoppers can return to the mall, they wont be able to try on clothes before making purchases, as fitting rooms are to stay closed, according to the state guidelines.

Like hair salons, stores are to remove nonessential amenities such as self-serve samples. And workstations should be six feet apart or partitioned.

meghan.friedmann@hearstmediact.com
(CNN)  Brazil's coronavirus cases have spiked to 135,106 including 9,146 deaths, according to numbers released Wednesday by the Brazilian Health Ministry. This surge comes as President Jair Bolsonaro's spokesman, Gen. Otavio Santana do Rego Barros, confirmed he tested positive for Covid-19.

Yet Bolsonaro said earlier this week he believed "the worst had passed" for the coronavirus pandemic, during a press conference outside the Alvorada presidential residence in Brasilia. But as the number of cases and deaths continue to climb, many health experts fear the worst is yet to come.

Since Bolsonaro made the comment in Brasilia on Tuesday, there have been more than 20,000 new cases of coronavirus and the country registered 610 deaths on Thursday, nearly the highest toll yet in a 24-hour period, according to the Health Ministry.

Health Minister Nelson Teich said Thursday that stricter lockdowns may be needed in some of the hardest-hit regions, during a video conference with members of the lower house of Congress.

Former Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta said "the toughest months" are likely to be May and June, during an interview with TV Globo last month, four days before he was fired by Bolsonaro over disagreements on the country's coronavirus strategy.

Warnings of a 'total collapse'

Meanwhile, Bolsonaro continues to dismiss the threat coronavirus presents to the country's 209 million citizens, repeatedly saying he believes the effects of preventive measures, such as quarantines and lockdowns, could have a worse impact on Brazil's economy.

During a speech at the Supreme Court on Thursday, Bolsonaro and Finance Minister Paulo Guedes said the economy could suffer a "total collapse" if the country doesn't reopen.

"The issue of unemployment, the issue of the economy no longer working. We can't let the side-effect of the fight against the virus be more harmful than the disease itself," Bolsonaro said.

On March 24, Bolsonaro compared the coronavirus to a "little flu" in an address to the nation. Less than two months after that comment, there have been more than 132,000 new cases of Covid-19.

It was followed by a series of controversial statements about the virus by Bolsonaro. "Brazilians don't catch anything ... they already have the antibodies to keep it from spreading," the President has said.

He added again that Brazilians are likely to be immune to the coronavirus during a March 26 press conference outside the Alvorada presidential residence in Brasilia. "Brazilians should be studied, we don't catch anything. You see people jumping in sewage, diving in it and nothing happens to them," Bolsonaro said.

During the same press conference, Bolsonaro said he believed many Brazilians had already been infected but that those people already had "the antibodies that would help [coronavirus] not spread."

The comments were made two weeks after Bolsonaro's press secretary Fabio Wajngarten and other Cabinet members tested positive for coronavirus, after traveling to the US and meeting with President Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago.

The World Health Organization said last month there was no evidence that people who have had Covid-19 will not get it a second time.

Bolsonaro says he has been tested twice for coronavirus and both tests came back negative, according to posts on his personal Twitter and Facebook pages. Congressional leaders and a Federal judge are now asking the President to show evidence that the test came back negative, after he recently implied he may have contracted the virus without knowing it.

Social distancing is 'useless,' Bolsonaro claims

Bolsonaro recently reiterated his claims that efforts to flatten the curve of the virus's spread -- via quarantine measures and social distancing -- were ineffective.

"From the looks of it, from what we're going to see now, this effort to flatten the curve was practically useless," Bolsonaro said during a Facebook live on April 30th. "Now, the collateral damage from all of that will be unemployment."

Bolsonaro has repeatedly pushed back against quarantine and stay-at-home orders imposed by governors in some of the hardest-hit states, such as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, during press conferences and via Twitter.

He's also participated in two so-called "anti-lockdown" protests outside Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, where supporters crowded outside the gates and crammed against each other for a chance to see the President.

The latest protest took place last Sunday, May 3. In a live video posted to his personal Facebook account, Bolsonaro appeared without a mask shaking some people's hands and waving at the crowd. Banners calling for military intervention and for the takedown of Congress and Supreme Court have been seen at the protests in the past.

Sao Paulo governor Joao Doria said Bolsonaro's participation in the protests were anti-democratic.

"President Jair Bolsonaro reveals, once again, his disdain for democracy," Doria said in a series of tweets posted to his personal Twitter account Sunday. "On top of that, he's encouraging the people from his country to disobey health and medicine."

Bolsonaro and Doria have butted heads over measures to reopen the country, including during a video conference on coronavirus response that included other governors.

"We have to have a president to lead and drive the country, not to divide it," Doria said during the March 25 call. Bolsonaro accused Doria of letting his own presidential ambitions "go to his head" and said he is an "example for no one."

The state of Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest and home to the country's financial capital, has registered the highest number of cases and deaths. At least 39,000 cases and 3,206 deaths have been confirmed in Sao Paulo, according to the latest data from the state's health secretariat.

The state issued a new mandate Thursday, which makes mandatory the use of face masks in public spaces, including ride-share vehicles. The state government did not specify for how long the measure will remain in place.

The state is scheduled to begin a gradual reopening plan on May 11, according to an announcement made by Doria last month. It's still unclear which businesses will be allowed to resume activities under that plan.

'What do you want me to do?'

Bolsonaro gave a late-night press conference outside the Alvorada presidential palace on April 28, the day when Brazil's death toll surpassed those reported in China.

A reporter asked Bolsonaro about the spike, to which he responded: "So what? I'm sorry, but what do you want me to do?" He added that even though his middle name is "Messias," which translates as "Messiah" in English, he's not "a miracle worker."

He later walked back the comments during the same press conference, saying "I'm sorry for the situation we are currently living with due to the virus. We express our solidarity to those who have lost loved ones, many of whom were elderly. But that's life, it could be me tomorrow."

Brazilians in several major cities, including the capital Brasilia, protested the comments by banging pots and pans out their windows and yelling "get out of here" after the press conference was broadcast.

While Sao Paulo's numbers are the highest, many poorer states in the North and Northeastern part of the country have been heavily affected.

The comments came the same week the country's Supreme Court authorized an investigation into allegations Bolsonaro sought to interfere with police investigations following the resignation of his Justice Minister, Sergio Moro.

A recent survey from pollster Datafolha, showed Bolsonaro's approval at 33% and that the country is split nearly down the middle on whether the President should be impeached.

This story was first published on CNN.com "Bolsonaro continues to dismiss Covid-19 threat as cases skyrocket in Brazil"
For Leo Varadkar, it has been a spectacular reversal of political fortune. Back in February, in his first major electoral test at a time of relative prosperity, his party finished third in a three-horse race.

The Taoiseach was a beaten docket. He was portrayed as a frightened puppy, almost relieved to relinquish power and retreat to the opposition benches.

In percentage terms, February's poll was the worst Fine Gael general election performance since 1948.

Many other leaders have walked the plank after comparable defeats and have not returned.

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Now, three months after that electoral debacle, the country is in the midst of its worst crisis in living memory - and Varadkar lingers on as a caretaker Taoiseach enjoying a remarkable revival in his popularity.

The number of deaths from coronavirus has been heading towards 1,500 and unemployment has soared to unprecedented levels.

Amid these tragic circumstances, Varadkar's reputation has been miraculously enhanced.

Oliver Callan surely discovered this eight days ago when the comedian made an unfavourable comment about the Taoiseach on Twitter.

Varadkar had just made one of his now familiar state-of-the-nation addresses from Government Buildings, when he launched the roadmap for reopening Ireland.

A good portion of viewers might have found his speech emotionally resonant, while others found it a touch sentimental, or perhaps it was a combination of both.

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Twitter backlash

"Not long from now, some summer night, we will see our friends again," he told his audience - and presumably he wasn't referring to Zoom.

Callan responded on Twitter with a remark that normally would have been unexceptional for the country's most prominent satirist: "The Robot has addressed the nation. Never before has anyone spoken so woodenly. So slowly. And. Said. So little. He tried to smile and do the empathy thing, it did not go well. The autocue fought the robot, and won."

The backlash was immediate and trenchant. It was as if Callan had committed the sort of crime of lese majeste that would have had you locked up in pre-revolutionary France.

There were more than 1,500 responses, most of them scathing. Some accused the comedian of "disrespect", and a Church of Ireland clergyman said: "This is the most nasty and venomous post I have read in a long time - You sir are an utter s**t and I won't be listening to you ever again"

Confirmation that Callan was out of step with the public mood seemed to come a couple of days later in a Business Post poll, with Fine Gael's rating soaring to 35pc as Fianna Fail's plummeted to 14pc.

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The poll showed that 80pc of voters believed the government had done a good job of handling the Covid-19 crisis.

Callan was unrepentant this week after suffering a backlash and told Review: "In times of crisis, people defer to authority. There is no comfort in the belief that your leader is shallow, hasn't been good in any previous crises and has no mandate to be there.

"He was completely rejected at the general election - and in the exit poll at that time, he had an approval rating of just 30pc.

"When I trample on Leo Varadkar, I trample on people's hopes - and I think that is where the backlash came from."

Increasingly, Callan seems like an isolated voice, however, and the opposition has struggled to lay a glove on Varadkar.

The Dail can meet only fitfully, and there appears to be a broad consensus supporting the outlines of the government approach to the lockdown, even though there may be quibbles about some of the details.

There is a perception that Dr Varadkar has the right bedside manner for the moment - and what appeared at other times like an otherworldly emotional detachment now seems like calmness under pressure.

Finian McGrath, who stood down as TD at the last election but still attends cabinet meetings as Minister of State for Disability Issues, told Review: "When you are in the middle of a battle or a storm and you have somebody who is calm, it certainly helps. As ministers we are going into cabinet on some of the worst days - with people dying or losing their jobs - and he leads the Cabinet with calmness, and a certain matter-of-factness."

McGrath, who has been in government with Varadkar for four years, adds: "Maybe it is training as a doctor that gives him that detachment."

Since he came into office, Varadkar has been accused of being a politician preoccupied with spin.

But during a crisis, when delivering messages to the public about staying at home and maintaining a level of social cohesion were uppermost, the clarity of the messages coming from the government, the PR handlers and the public health officials has never been so important.

According to McGrath, you only have to look at other countries to see how important that clarity was in persuading people to comply with a lockdown."When you see Trump and you see Boris Johnson, you get the impression that they are flapping around," the minister says.

In this crisis, Varadkar took some time to find the appropriate tone that matched gravity with reassurance, and left concerned citizens with a message of hope.

On March 9, he seemed to warn of a worst-case scenario, suggesting that 50 or 60pc of the population could get the virus. The reassurance was not there.

SENSE OF DRAMA

As the emergency deepened and the pace quickened, the Taoiseach seemed to find his voice, and there was a sense of drama when he delivered a live address to the nation from Washington on March 12: "We have overcome many trials in the past with our determination and our spirit. We will prevail," he said.

The emergence of a reinvigorated Varadkar seemed to coincide with the return to the inner circle of government of his communications guru, John Concannon.

Early on in the Varadkar regime, Concannon led the government's Strategic Communication Unit, but he left amid concerns about an over-concentration on spin, and the controversial project was abandoned.

But at the height of the crisis, with the state facing the biggest public health crisis in its history, Concannon returned in the middle of March to co-ordinate the government message.

Over the past two months, the government has mounted a relentless public information campaign.

We were told over and again that we needed to pull together to stay apart and stay home, and to a remarkable extent we have complied.

Jack Murray, a former government adviser and chief executive of the PR company Media HQ, worked with Concannon at Dubarry shoes and says he is a brilliant marketing strategist.

"The messages we are hearing [on radio] are delivered by an empathetic female voice in a caring way - and it is done in the way that we are all in this together," says Murray.

All the advertisements and videos are given prominent Government of Ireland branding.

Dr Theresa Reidy, a political scientist at University College Cork, has no doubt that the prominent government information campaign has had a political impact.

"The advertising campaign doesn't mention Fine Gael, but it is from the government," she says. "It spills over into the emotional reaction of the nation in a time of crisis."

Dr Reidy says that in times of crisis, the dynamics of politics change, and the government is front and centre. There are state-of-the-nation addresses that normally would not happen, and this makes it difficult for the opposition to be heard.

When the history of this crisis is written, according to Murray, attention will focus on Varadkar's St Patrick's Day speech.

It had a record-breaking audience of 1.6 million on television, and was peppered with memorable quotes and historical allusions, thought to be from the pen of the Taoiseach's speechwriter, the historian Patrick Geoghegan.

Churchillian speech

Echoing the words of Winston Churchill during Britain's darkest hour in World War II, the Taoiseach said: "This is the calm before the storm - before the surge. And when it comes - and it will come - never will so many ask so much of so few."

Professor Pete Lunn, a behavioural economist with the ESRI, has emphasised that the language used by leaders and public health officials plays a crucial role in changing public behaviour and persuading people to cooperate.

Where behaviour is about "we" and "us" rather than "I" or "you", public-spirited responses are likely, according to Professor Lunn.

In his broadcast to the nation on St Patrick's Day, Varadkar conveyed that message and related the crisis to his partner and family, who were working in the health services in Ireland and Britain.

Some might have recoiled at his tribute to frontline workers: "Not all superheroes wear capes some wear scrubs and gowns."

But lines such as this got the speech noticed, and Varadkar was himself able to cast himself as one of those superheroes by donning scrubs and gowns and returning to work as a medical doctor for one day a week.

After he was spotted in medical garb helping out at a Travellers' site in Blanchardstown, a government spokesman said: "He isn't providing a running commentary, but he does find it a useful way to see how things are on the ground in the health service, and what health service staff are experiencing on a daily basis."

He may be enjoying a surge in his popularity now, but will it last? At some point he will have to go into government with Fianna Fail, and the Civil War partners will have to tackle humdrum day-to-day issues.

One former senior government advisor told Review: "If there was an election in the morning, Varadkar might win it, because he would get the benefit of Covid-19, but things might look very different in September or October.

"The government might have got its messaging right and it has succeeded in galvanising people, but that can't last."

The drama of this crisis has not yet played out fully. There remains huge uncertainty about how the country is reopened in a piecemeal fashion.

There is likely to be renewed focus at some point on where the government is thought by critics to have made mistakes, particularly on issues such as nursing homes and delays in processing tests.

"At some point, whatever government is in place will have to face up to the costs of this crisis, and make decisions that are unpopular," said the former government adviser.

Dr Reidy says the present situation is different to the 2008 crisis, when it was easier to blame the Government.

"In the last economic crash it was definitely somebody's fault, but this is a global pandemic - so, it's nobody's fault.

"There is no alternative cacophony of burning the bondholders like there was back in 2008."

However, how long this support for Varadkar will last is an open question, Dr Reidy says.

"We are living in a frozen moment. We can see that there are catastrophic economic consequences. It's not yet apparent how they will impact on individual citizens."

In the early phases of the crisis, the emphasis was on lessening the burden on citizens through benefits such as the pandemic unemployment payment of 350 a week.

Regina Doherty, the Social Welfare Minister, has already suggested that these payments are unsustainable in the long term, and whatever political consensus there is now will evaporate when a government has to make cuts.

It may actually suit Varadkar to vacate the Taoiseach's chair when the new government is formed and Micheal Martin takes over in a rotating arrangement.

After two-and-a-half years with the Fianna Fail leader at the helm making some of the most difficult decisions in a recession, Varadkar could return with the worst of the Covid-19 crisis over and the country on the path to recovery.
The American judiciary has issued a new indictment against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. The justice Department in Washington said, against the 48-Year-old will assume a wider conspiracy in the Hacking of computers than in the past. Therefore, Assange and other "people would have recruited" to hack into networks, to Wikileaks this. However, it would be added to the 18 charges against Assange no further.

The justice accuses Assange, the Whistleblower Chelsea Manning helped secret Material from the American military operations in Iraq and to publish in Afghanistan. The judiciary is supposed to be set Ministry according to which, in particular, the safety of informants on the game. In the case of a conviction in all 18 charges of up to 175 years in prison Assange. Assange denies the allegations. The Wikileaks revelations had led to the uncovering of war crimes by American soldiers.

Assange had fled out of fear of extradition to the United States in 2012 in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. At that time, a European arrest warrant was against him because of rape allegations in Sweden. The investigations were, however, discontinued later on. The British police arrested Assange in April 2019, because he had failed with the flight in the message against bail conditions. He was sentenced to one year in prison.

Updated Date: 25 June 2020, 02:19
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A 21-year-old married woman allegedly committed suicide by hanging at her house in a village in Bundi district on Saturday, police said.

The deceased woman was identified as Uma Jangid (21), wife of Dinesh Jangid and a resident of Nayagaon village of Kapren town in Bundi district, SHO of Kapren police station Budhiprakesh Nama said.

The woman allegedly committed suicide by hanging from the ceiling fan of her room on Saturday early morning while other members of the family were asleep, the SHO said.

Prima facie, it appears that the woman took the extreme step due to family reasons, he opined. However, no suicide note was recovered from her possession.

Uma got married to Dinesh in 2017. Her parents who had reached here after the death said their daughter did not have any complaints about her in-laws, the policeman said, adding that the couple did not have any child.

The body was handed over to her family members after a post-mortem was conducted later in the day, Nama said.

A case was registered under Section 176 (inquiry by magistrate into cause of death) of the CrPC and forwarded for magisterial inquiry to the sub-divisional magistrate of Keshoraipatan, the SHO added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the UNs postal agency have released a commemorative postage stamp on the 40th anniversary of the eradication of smallpox.

To commemorate the 40th Anniversary of #smallpox eradication, the @UN Postal Administration and WHO are releasing a commemorative postage stamp to recognize global solidarity in fighting smallpox, the WHO tweeted at the virtual unveiling of the stamp in Geneva on Friday.

"To commemorate the 40th Anniversary of #smallpox eradication, the @UN Postal Administration and WHO are releasing a commemorative postage stamp to recognize global solidarity in fighting smallpox"-@DrTedros pic.twitter.com/X0WwvZxZmI  World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) May 8, 2020

In another tweet, it said, #OnThisDay 40 years ago, #smallpox was made history. Its the only human disease to be eradicated so far. A lesson we must take is: when the Earth globe europe-africa unites behind science and public health measures we can defeat diseases and protect lives and livelihoods.

#OnThisDay 40 years ago, #smallpox was made history.



It's the only human disease to be eradicated so far.



A lesson we must take is: when the  unites behind science and public health measures we can defeat diseases and protect lives and livelihoods. pic.twitter.com/9GgNwtI0wg  World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) May 8, 2020

Smallpox was eradicated on the back of a 10-year-old effort spearheaded by the WHO involving thousands of health workers around the world to administer half a billion vaccinations.

When WHOs smallpox eradication campaign was launched in 1967, one of the ways countries raised awareness about smallpox was through postage stamps  when social media like Twitter and Facebook was not even on the horizon, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

The stamp recognises the global solidarity in fighting smallpox and honours millions of people working together, from world leaders and international organisations to rural doctors and community health workers, to eradicate smallpox.

The WHO chief said that many of the basic public health tools that were used successfully to eradicate smallpox are the same tools that have been used to respond to Ebola and Covid--19: disease surveillance, case finding, contact tracing, and mass communication campaigns to inform affected populations.

The WHO is now working with many partners to develop a vaccine for Covid-19 to control the transmission of the virus, Ghebreyesus said.

The UN said that the successful smallpox eradication programme yielded vital knowledge and tools for the field of disease surveillance, the benefits of vaccination and the importance of health promotion in fighting other diseases.

In May 1980, the 33rd World Health Assembly issued its official declaration that the world and all its peoples have won freedom from smallpox.

There are many lessons to learn from the eradication of smallpox that can help fight the Covid-19 pandemic today and prepare for future pandemics, the UN said.

The eradication of smallpox offers us hope and shows us what global solidarity can achieve, it said.
LEASING

Roselands

Samuel has leased a 159 sq m commercial tenancy plus three parking spaces and storage at Lot 39/Ground Floor, 818 Canterbury Road, from Hwaylo at $214 per sq m gross. The tenant secured premises close to home with off street parking and storage facilities. The lease term is two years. John Skufris, Ray White Commercial South Sydney.

515 Kent Street, Sydney. Credit:

Sydney

ESI Global Services Pty Ltd has leased a 126 sq m office suite at Unit 9B/Level 9, 155 Castlereagh Street from Barhy Holdings at $289 per sq m gross. The tenant leased unrenovated space with existing fit out in situ next to the ANZ Bank Centre. The lease term is three years. John Skufris, Ray White Commercial South Sydney.
Brasilia, May 9 : Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest rose sharply last month as the country prepared to send troops to try to curb illegal logging and mining, the country's space research agency said.

On Friday, Brazil's National Institute of Space Research (Inpe) said that more than 405 sq km of the Amazon had been deforested last month compared with 248 sq km in April 2019, the BBC reported.

Between January and April, destruction of the forest by illegal loggers and ranchers rose 55 per cent, or a total of 1,202 sq km was wiped out, it said.

Deforestation in the region has soared since President Jair Bolsonaro took office last year, according to conservation groups.

He has argued that more farming and mining in protected areas of the forest were the only way to lift the region out of poverty.

Bolsonaro's environmental policies have been widely condemned but he has rejected the criticism, saying Brazil remains an example for conservation.

Conservation groups have also said that, since the coronavirus pandemic began, fewer government enforcement agents had been deployed, reports the BBC.

Brazil has been one of the worst-affected countries in South America, with 141,000 cases and nearly 10,000 deaths.

"The pandemic has not helped because there are apparently less agents out there and illegal loggers obviously don't care about the virus in remote areas of the Amazon," the BBC quoted Paulo Barreto, senior researcher for the non-profit conservation group Imazon, as saying.

Environmental enforcement agency Ibama said it was scaling back field agents in other at-risk areas but not in the Amazon.

The Amazon rainforest is a vital carbon store that slows down the pace of global warming.
A mental health crisis has unfolded among health care workers who are on the front lines fighting the coronavirus pandemic in hospitals and care facilities. Since the pandemic first began ravaging the United States and much of the world in late March, countless testimonials and reports have emerged documenting the psychological harm being inflicted on nurses, doctors and health care workers as a result of the COVID-19 virus spreading unabated and taking hundreds of thousands of lives globally. This has led some health care staff to even take their own lives and many others threatened with being pushed to the brink.

Over the past two weeks, an emergency medical technician and an ER doctor working in New York City, the hardest-hit region in the US, committed suicide after an avalanche of COVID-19 patients began flooding New York Citys hospitals and emergency rooms. Psychiatric experts are warning that these tragic deaths could very well be a harbinger for an intensifying mental health crisis in the US, especially as federal officials and state governments move to reopen the economy and risk the lives of millions with a still rising infection rate.

Medical workers with full personal protective equipment

Mount Sinai hospitals in New York City have treated more than 2,000 coronavirus patients and hundreds of hospital staff have been infected. At least 20 have died from the virus. Due to the staggering loss of life, hospitals across the country have been forced to take initiatives to protect health care workers from falling prey to serious mental breakdowns after weeks of battling the pandemic, with many in the mental health field projecting an uptick in depression and post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) from the fatality fallout.

Mount Sinai, for instance, was forced at the beginning of April, when the number of dead saw an unrelenting rise, to adopt a 24/7 mental health crisis line and one-on-one counseling. Jonathan Ripp, Mount Sinais wellness chief, pointed to the speed at which the fatalities were happening as a central reason for addressing long-term trauma. He told USA Today that the number dying was becoming higher than deaths we saw during the Vietnam War, which was a major cause for concern.

According to health experts, as many as 20 to 25 percent of health care workers in severe coronavirus hotspots are expected to develop psychological disorders such as anxiety, depression or PTSD. This rate is similar to soldiers returning home after military tours.

A great contributor to the mental health problems workers are facing is the extreme lack of protection and safety for hospital staff. One nurse working in a hospital in Manhattan described the arduous obstacles health care staff confront when getting tested for coronavirus. In an article in BuzzFeed news the nurse said of workers contracting COVID-19, We are expected to work for as long as we are asymptomatic but cannot get tested unless were symptomatic. This amounts to a deadly catch-22, as hospital management has decided not to commit widespread testing to lower awareness of potentially sick workers.

Another nurse said that hospitals have rationing personal protective equipment (PPE) to an absurd level, heightening feelings of anxiety and fear over contracting the virus. He said that hospitals were only giving one disposable mask and one disposable gown for five total 12-hour shifts before they could be replaced. The nurse mentioned that a little more than a month ago, the nursing staff was instructed to not wear masks at all at work, but this policy was later revised because too many nurses started testing positive.

This mental health care crisis, in fact, is an international phenomenon that has stretched to health care workers across the globe. The coronavirus has infected more than 3.9 million people while the death total stands at over 274,000 worldwide. In country after country, hospital staff reports are revealing severe signs of psychological distress. A study released last month investigating the mental health consequences among Chinese physicians and nurses who confronted the pandemic in Wuhan from January 29 to February 3 gave a glimpse into the toll being exerted on workers well-being.

It showed that half of the 1,257 participants were showing symptoms of depression and 44 percent carried symptoms of anxiety. An additional 71 percent reported having feelings of distress. One of the main causes of such feelings of fear and suffering during the pandemic is the fact that nurses and doctors, while being somewhat acclimated to deaths from regularly working with sick individuals, are not accustomed to putting themselves at constant risk while treating others.

Debbie Minsky-Kelly, a social work professor at Carthage College in Wisconsin, told USA Today that doctors and nurses are usually faced with second-hand traumas because of injuries or fatalities that only threaten the lives of patients. Treating the coronavirus, however, has evoked widespread first-hand traumatic experiences due to the heightened risk of contracting COVID-19 in crowded and unsafe health environments. This danger is reinforced in many cases by the severe absence of necessary PPE to aid health care staff in treating sick coronavirus patients.

Over the course of April, the virus has infected more than 9,000 health care workers in the US and led to 27, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hundreds of clinicians have likewise died worldwide from the virus. One of the top concerns for health care workers is spreading the disease to their patients and loved ones. Young medical residents in some facilities have even been encouraged to write living wills.

Another harrowing aspect of working under such conditions has been watching victims frequently being forced to suffer and reach their demise alone, isolated from friends and relatives due to the danger of rising infections.

Adding to the deplorable nature of the capitalist for-profit health system, hospitals have muzzled their staffers in raising concerns of equipment, citing dubious claims over the spread of misinformation and patient privacy. All around the world clinicians who have spoken out about the resource shortages or shared their experiences have been reprimanded or fired by their institutions. Many mental health experts predict that, taken together, these traumatic effects of the pandemic and the failure of the public health system to take proper precautions for their lives will resonate long after the crisis has abated.

It is not only health care workers on the job who bear a great risk of suffering psychologically. The thousands of health care workers who have been furloughed or taken pay cuts throughout pandemic, corresponding with the general rise in unemployment and desperation felt by millions, are affected. Despite being one of the states with the largest number of infections, California has been forced to implement sweeping layoffs in health care. A recent survey of more than 3,200 physicians conducted by the California Medical Association found that 49 percent of practices had to lay off or furlough staff.

The medical infrastructure in the state has been so unprepared and underfunded to handle the influx of new patients that many facilities and practices have planned to ask the state government a total of $1 billion in funds before June 30 to avoid further pay cuts and layoffs. Last month, some 150 registered nurses in San Jose and San Diego were laid off due to department closures and the cancellation of elective procedures.

Scores of health systems are reporting revenue declines of 40 to 50 percent, spurring a further acceleration of pay cuts. In one survey of more than 300 physicians and nurses conducted by Bain & Co. between April 8 and 13, out of all the clinicians who are expecting a decrease in compensation, half expect their pay to decrease by more than 25 percent. Sixty percent of these are front-line hospitalists and emergency, intensive care and infectious disease providers and 40 percent are primary care doctors and other specialists.
Prime Minister Imran Khan stalled action against independent power producers accused of making billions of dollars in questionable deals after a clear warning from Beijing that the probe could turn out to be counter-productive, people familiar with the developments told Hindustan Times on Saturday.

On April 21, the Imran Khan government ordered a probe after an inquiry committee set up last August estimated that the country lost over Rs 4 trillion due to circular debt and subsidies to power producers including those from China.

The inquiry panel had been mandated to figure out why consumers in Pakistan had to pay one of the highest tariffs in the region. It said that 16 independent power producing companies (IPPs) invested around Rs 60 billion and earned over Rs 400 billion in profits in a period ranging from two to four years.

Also read: Pakistan leans on China to remove its terrorists from UNSC sanctions list

But this week, Khan deferred action on the inquiry panels report by two months.

Pakistan information minister Shibli Faraz told reporters on Tuesday that the decision to postpone the inquiry was taken due to the governments focus on measures to fight Covid-19.

We will not leave it unattended, he told a news conference in Islamabad, according to news agency Reuters. The minutes of the meeting accessed by the news agency indicated that the two months time was given to provide for meaningful negotiations with the power companies including those from China.

Diplomatic sources in New Delhi and Islamabad told Hindustan Times that the decision to hit pause came after Chinese ambassador Yao Jing intervened and conveyed his governments strong views on the direction of the exercise.

The ambassador is learnt to have cautioned Islamabad that action against the Chinese power firms would be counterproductive and told Islamabad to work with the power firms.

Also read: India must take note of the China-Pakistan nexus | Opinion

Following this intervention, Islamabad also decided against going public with the formal release of the inquiry report.

But the report of the panel headed by the Mohammad Ali Commission had already leaked by then.

Around 40 independent power producers operate in Pakistan. Company representatives have consistently rejected allegations of wrongdoing.

Chinas interest in Pakistans power

Of the 17 projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, eight are already operational. The IPP inquiry report went into some detail into two coal-based plants that cost Pakistan about US 1.9 billion each. The 1,320 MW Sahiwal coal power plant in Pakistans Punjab is run by Huaneng Shandong Ruyi (Energy) Limited. The Port Qasim Energy Holding, financed by China Power Construction Corporation/Sinohydro Resources Ltd, also a 1,320 MW plan, is located 37 km from Karachi.

The inquiry report alleged falsifying financing costs for construction of the plan as well as incorrect calculation of the internal rate of return. These calculation errors alone could cost Pakistan nearly Rs 160 billion over 30 years, the inquiry report said. It also recommended that Rs 32.46 billion be deducted from the project cost of Sahiwal and Port Qasim plants and the tariff for power from these plants be adjusted to recover excess payments already made by the government.

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Revised Air Serbia network for summer 2020

Air Serbia will resume operations from Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport on May 18 to Frankfurt, London Heathrow, Vienna and Zurich. From June 1 the carrier will operate a more comprehensive schedule. Due to anticipated demand, flights to certain destinations will be operated as planned, others will be run at reduced frequencies, while flights to several destinations will be temporarily suspended. Services to Podgorica, Zurich, Vienna, Paris, Tirana, Zagreb, Skopje, Bucharest, London, Sarajevo, Sofia, Frankfurt, Brussels, Kiev, Krasnodar, Zadar, and Nice will remain mostly unaffected. Operations will be optimised to Tivat, Ljubljana, Athens, Thessaloniki, Amsterdam, Prague, Moscow, Berlin, Rome, Istanbul, Milan, Dusseldorf, Dubrovnik, Split, Larnaca, Copenhagen, Stuttgart, New York, Banja Luka, Tel Aviv, Stockholm, Venice, Pula, Barcelona, St Petersburg and Madrid. Air Serbia will not operate flights to Helsinki, Lviv, Amman, Florence, Chisinau, Rostov on Don, Malta, Geneva, Cairo, Beirut and Rijeka. "We are working closely with our partners to determine the demand for charter operations", the carrier said. There is a possibility that some flights to a limited number of destinations may be operated earlier than planned, before June 1.

Air Serbia's CEO, Duncan Naysmith, noted, "Although travel is currently restricted by multiple government regulations, we are planning for the easing of restrictions to enable our customers to start travelling again. We will endeavor to operate as many scheduled flights as possible. Our team is carefully following the ongoing decisions of competent authorities and, in addition to relaunching flight operations, we will ensure our customers are kept up to date on their bookings and the appropriate safety measures that will be in place. We have used the period during which we were unable to perform regular operations to reorganise and prepare for the challenges ahead. We have been delighted to be able to assist the Government of Serbia in performing multiple humanitarian and repatriation flights, transporting medical aid and experts, and bringing home our citizens who were stranded at foreign airports".

Air Serbia yesterday announced a new round of repatriation services. Unlike those operated through March and April, which were free of charge, the one-way repatriation flights to Belgrade running from May 11 until May 15 will cost between 155 and 295 euros, depending on the point of origin. Flights will operate from Paris (May 11), Frankfurt (May 12 and 14), Vienna (May 13) and Zurich (May 15). Those interested must apply through the airlines website. The Serbia and Montenegro Air Traffic Services Agency today lifted a ban on commercial flights to and from the country, some ten days earlier than initially planned.




BRIDGEPORT  A federal lawsuit filed by the family of 15-year-old Jayson Negron, shot to death by a patrol cop in 2017, alleges the police department fosters an environment of grossly negligent, reckless, and deliberately indifferent conduct among its officers.

The lawsuit, filed March 25 on behalf of the family of the teen, names as defendants the city, Police Chief Armando Perez, and James Boulay, the police officer who shot Negron on Fairfield Avenue on May 9, 2017, after a brief pursuit.

James Boulays conduct was unreasonable, unlawful, and the result of a policy and custom in the City of Bridgeport, where inadequately trained officers recklessly escalate traffic stops and use excessive force that endangers lives, without discipline from the department, the lawsuit states.

Boulay was found to be justified in pulling the trigger May 9, 2017, after an investigation by Waterbury States Attorney Maureen Platt. A lawyer representing him in the case, Richard Buturla, said his client is looking forward to disputing the claims in the suit.

We deny all liability and will defend this matter vigorously, Buturla said Saturday.

A message was left with the lawyer representing the city and Perez in the case.

Reached by phone Saturday, Mayor Joseph Ganim expressed sympathy for Negrons family but declined to discuss the lawsuit.

My heart goes out to them, especially in these difficult times, Ganim said.

With Saturday marking the third anniversary of Negrons death, friends and family gathered at the spot he was killed for a memorial and to discuss the lawsuit.

A caravan of about a dozen vehicles rolled up Fairfield Avenue with horns blaring before stopping in front of the Walgreens near the site where Negron was killed.

Many held signs calling for action and chanted Justice for Jayson. Others unfurled banners with demands including Boulay to be fired and Perez to resign. One man poured Hennessy Cognac in front of a makeshift memorial with flowers and candles that had been erected in Jaysons memory.

Police, meanwhile, blocked off the street and observed proceedings from a distance.

Standing with her mother and brother, Jayson Negrons sister, Jazmarie Melendez, read a statement condemning the police departments report of events leading to her brothers death shortly after 5 p.m. on May 9, 2017.

On that day, an undercover Bridgeport police officer called in a stolen Subaru Forester, spotted in the area near Walgreens at 1000 Park Ave.

When responding officers got to the area and saw the vehicle, they tried to pull it over, but the driver, later identified as Negron, turned into the Walgreens parking lot with officers following and drove through the lot before turning left into oncoming traffic on Fairfield Avenue.

Boulay, the passenger in a two-man Bridgeport police cruiser, got out of the car and approached the drivers side of the Subaru with his gun drawn before shooting one of the cars tires because, he said, Negron was using the vehicle dangerously.

Platts report said Boulay then opened the drivers door and reached in to try to pull Negron out before the teenager tried to move away from the officer, putting the Subaru into reverse and stepping on the gas pedal.

The states attorneys report said the door of the Subaru hit Boulay, who then fired his weapon into the vehicle, shooting Negron several times.

Medics pronounced Negron dead at the scene. An autopsy summary released by Platt indicated that Negron would have needed surgical intervention within minutes of the shooting in order to survive.

Melendez said the police account of the case was fabricated and said the lawsuit will prove her brothers killing was unjustified, as well as expose more systemic issues within the city.

The city of Bridgeport and its neighborhoods of color are treated like a playground by the Bridgeport Police Department, who feel they can use their violence on the community whenever they want, Melendez said. They know that nothing will happen because of the political monopoly that is held here in Bridgeport.

The City Council, the Police Commission, Internal Affairs, the mayor, the criminal justice system, community leaders who protect these institutions and nonprofits who claim to be doing criminal justice reform are all complicit in the violence of police and also benefit from their power, Melendez went on.

Asked if the family would be willing to settle the lawsuit, Melendez said absolutely not.

The city has tried to offer our family money and we have rejected the money, she said. Money will never bring Jaysons life back and there is no price that they can put on Jaysons life.

Though a spokeswoman for the city said the group did not get a permit for Saturdays gathering, and at one point several people walking to the scene gave the finger to police officers who had just blocked traffic, there was no confrontation between officers and protesters.

That marked a contrast to last year, when 11 protesters were arrested and a Hearst Connecticut Media reporter covering the event was also detained and then unarrested after being taken to police headquarters in handcuffs.

The charges against the group were dropped last October.

Staff writer Tara ONeill contributed to this story.
TV actor and former Bigg Boss 13 contestant Vishal Adiitya Singh has said he faced a lot of rejections during his initial days in film industry as he came from Bihar and had a poor diction. Before Bigg Boss , Vishal also appeared on dance reality show Nach Baliye.

Vishal told Times of India in an interview, I have gone through a lot of struggle because when I started my journey I was clueless how to go about it. I think when you start enjoying and learning from this struggle period you will be able to survive in the industry for a longer period. As far as I am concerned, mere paas peeche mud ke jaane ka koi option tha nahi... I had seen a struggling life in my village also, so I was not taken aback because of that phase and was prepared for it. I knew that I will have to work hard. He further said that he learnt of his shortcomings after landing in Mumbai and focussed on doing the same.

Also read: Kaun Banega Crorepati 12 registrations open tonight, Amitabh Bachchan says you cant put breaks on flight of dreams

Further elaborating on the rejections he faced, Vishal added, I think rejections have made me perfect, I would say. I faced a lot of rejections in life right from my village to here in Mumbai. Whenever I got rejected I always told myself I dont have to listen to them and why are they even talking. I always took rejections and worked on it when they were for my betterment. It is also important who is rejecting you. Like if someone rejected me by saying that my diction was not right, I knew it was my problem and I will have to work on it because I am going to be a part of medium which requires me to speak clearly and fluently. I came from Bihar, so I faced a lot of rejections because of my diction, poor English and being desi and my attitude. But see, now I have managed to play a musician in Kulfi Kumar Bajewala, a prince in Chandrakanta and a psycho lover in Begusarai, had I not gone through those rejections, I would have not been able to play those roles. I got the opportunity and I proved my talent by grooming myself and working hard on myself. I am still working on it.

Vishal was often at loggerheads with ex Madhurima Tuli inside the Bigg Boss 13 house where she entered after him. After being thrown out of the show for losing her cool and attacking Vishal with a frying pan, Madhurima had claimed in an interview that he hit her various times but she always forgave him. After his exit, Vishal had responded to the allegations and said, If that was true, she would have said it earlier. I have never done that. Maine life mein kabhi bhi unke upar haath nahi uthaya hai (I have never raised my hand on her). Our relationship ended because she was abusive and violent. If you look at her Bigg Boss journey, she has been aggressive and irritated towards everyone, especially when it came to work. There were many instances when I helped her, and she fought with me over it. Everyone has seen her true nature on TV, so what more can I say about it? he added.

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Ivanka Trump's personal assistant has tested positive for the deadly coronavirus, making her the third White House staff member to be infected from COVID-19, a media report said on Saturday.

The assistant, who works in a personal capacity for US President Donald Trump's daughter, has not been around her in several weeks, the CNN reported.

She has been teleworking for nearly two months and was tested out of caution, the report quoted a source as saying.

She was not symptomatic. Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner both tested negative on Friday, the person familiar with the matter told the US channel.

The development comes a day after President Trump confirmed that Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary Katie Miller had tested positive for the coronavirus.

"She's a wonderful young woman, Katie, she tested very good for a long period of time and then all of a sudden today she tested positive," Trump said during a meeting at the White House.

He said Miller had not come into contact with him but spent some time with Pence.

One of Trump's personal valets tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday.

Following the of the valet's illness, Trump said he would be tested for the coronavirus daily.

According to a senior official, contact tracing was performed inside the White House after Miller's test came positive.

The White House is now making sure staffers wear masks in the White House residence, and coronavirus tests and temperature checks are being boosted throughout the West Wing. The West Wing is also being sanitised on a more frequent basis, the official said.

Pence, who leads the White House coronavirus task force, recently went on a trip to the Mayo Clinic without wearing a face mask, despite being told about the clinic's policy saying they're required.

Trump also declined to wear a mask this week during portions of his tour of a mask-making facility in Arizona.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
It was a decision that didn't require too much thought. When Keash native Martin Ballantyne and his wife Maria Kidney were offered the opportunity to be repatriated from rural Kenya, where they are based, they politely declined. They wished to stay to volunteer with the Kericho County Emergency Preparedness and Response Team.

"We felt it was the right thing to do - and so we stayed," Martin told The Sligo Champion.

Martin first travelled to Kenya in 2003 on his honeymoon, Maria had been there before.

He was a member of the founding board of Friends of Londiani in 2002. He travelled many times to volunteer, and was appointed CEO in 2008.

His wife Maria is co-founder of Friends of Londiani, which later re-branded to Brighter Communities Worldwide.

When Covid-19 started to spread worldwide, they felt as though they needed to stay in Kenya to help the battle.

"Kenya is our second home. We have been traveling to and from Kenya since 2,000 and are very at home here. My wife is a volunteer Director of Brighter Communities Worldwide and this is where our life is at the moment. Here in Kenya we have a team of 37 local staff," Martin said.

"Immediately when the news broke our priority was our team members, and their families and the communities we work with. We had already started preparations in the anticipation of COVID-19 reaching Kenya and we knew we were in a unique position to assist the community and health system across this Region. Over the years we have built up a network of volunteers across Kericho - Community Health Volunteers, Facilitators etc. and they all wanted to help with the COVID19 emergency response. We knew that by leveraging our experience as an organisation and this network we could contribute to the emergency effort."

Kenya has a population of 47 million. Tackling the spread of Covid-19 is a challenge. To date, 22,000 tests have been carried out, and all testing has taken place in Nairobi, the capital.

Martin described the situation in Kenya at present as 'challenging' in a country where social distancing is a 'privilege'.

"There are challenges in costs, availability of reagents, nasal swabs etc. Over 70% of the cases to date (465 as of today) came from community transmission which means that it is in the communities and it is here! The full extent of it will not be known for several months, but if you look at the rising numbers in pneumonias, the changes in mortality compared to last year etc. it is here and it is here to stay for a while.

"The fear and anxiety across the communities is palpable. It is hugely challenging.

"People are supposed to 'work from home' but in a region where the majority of people work in the informal sector this is not possible. There is no wage subsidy scheme applicable to this woman or indeed the many millions of others across Kenya.

"Social distance is really a privilege for those who have the space to do it. Many of the families we work with live in households with 1 or 2 small rooms. It is impossible to social distance or to isolate in these conditions.

"There is a rise in gender based violence across Kenya, and a rise in abuse cases. Families are not coping with the restrictions very well. With the restrictions comes the potential of social unrest as well.

"Women are bearing the brunt of the crisis as caregivers, and often they are the breadwinners for the households. Children are home from school so the burden of care is greater. They are afraid to go to health facilities for essential services (Antenatal care, child immunisation, family planning) and so the long term impacts are unimaginable right now.

"There is huge poverty in the communities where we work so budgets are tight; now with the restrictions they are tighter. Buying soap is a luxury and spending on sanitary towels is just not possible. This is why we are supporting these areas in particular.

"The weather here in Kenya has impacted greatly as well - it is now the rainy season and many parts are experiencing serious flooding with deaths and displacement as a result. Here in Kericho we lost 6 children the week before last in landslides with numerous families displaced. In the village of Kutung in the mountains 120 people are living in two school classrooms, their houses destroyed by the landslides. We are building them a kitchen and smokeless stove to try and alleviate their suffering in some way. They are sleeping on the cold floors of the classrooms with very little coverwe have provided emergency food and are doing our best to source more equipment, bedding etc. It is heart breaking.

"The long term impacts of COVID19 across Kenya and indeed Africa are catastrophic - we all need to play our part."

The Government closed schools immediately once the first case was diagnosed. There is a curfew in place between 7pm and 5am, and four counties are closed - you cannot leave or enter these counties.

Restrictions on movement are advised across the country and people are encouraged to stay at home. The Government updates the country each day, and reiterate their messages of how to prevent COVID19.

Martin and Maria are based in Kericho County. Kericho County is 1 of 47 counties in Kenya with a population of almost one million people. Approximately two thirds of communities live in rural areas and lack access to basic services including water, sanitation and health and many households (up to 60%) are living below the poverty line. The prevalence of maternal mortality is high (circa 500 per 100,000 live births). 1 in every 32 infants die in birth or within their first 7 days of life.

Brighter Communities Worldwide focus and deliver projects that ensure: Access to good, affordable health care, education to help people find a job and be able to articulate their needs, an income that can sustain a family, healthier lives with a supply of clean water and improved facilities.

"So up to the 2nd week in March all these programmes were continuing but once the first case of COVID-19 was announced on March 14th we made a decision to close our offices and suspend all programmes until we had a chance to review what would be possible," Martin said.

"Before the first positive case of the disease in Kenya on 13th March we had trained our staff in the symptoms and preventions of COVID-19. We had also integrated this training across our school programme where we emphasised the importance of handwashing and across our Remote Emergency Care programme.

"Once the first case was diagnosed in Kenya we met with our staff team again and agreed to focus on a number of areas during the crisis and this is what we have continued to do since then."

They have focused on: Teaching community health volunteers about Covid-19 - its prevention (handwashing, social distance, coughing etiquette) and symptoms.

Brighter Communities Worldwide are encouraging each person who has learned about COVID19 to teach 5 others, and they in turn will teach 5 others - and so on and so forth.

They are providing hand-washing facilities, soap and information materials and banners to town centres across the county.

Staff and volunteers have also been trained on Covid-19 and they are in turn teaching households in their communities how to wash their hands safely, social distance etc.

They are supporting health facilities across the county and supporting health care workers

Access to medical supplies and facilities is limited. It is hoped that a testing centre can be opened soon in Kericho County.

"Specialist equipment is limited so the Ministry of Health are setting up centres for treatment with what is available. In Kericho County the Government has recently launched a testing centre which will be up and running soon -it it could potentially run 2,000 tests per day.

"Availability and cost of hand sanitizers is an issue. The people we work with cannot afford hand sanitiser. However Kenya has a number of large soap manufacturers and so access to bars of soap is easier and more affordable. We are encouraging the use of soap as it's more affordable and available.

"The provision of bars of soap has been the centre of our campaign to date and through our network we have reached 30,000 households with soap for hand washing.

"In Kericho County there are approximately 165 Health facilities supported by the Ministry of Health. These range from small dispensaries to referral hospitals. Currently there is a shortage of health care workers. There are approximately 7 doctors, 43 Nurses and 15 Clinical Officers per 100,000 population.

"Many people live in remote areas with limited access to health facilities. We work with the Ministry of Health to bring Outreach Clinics to these areas. Each month we run these clinics for 25 areas across the County," Martin added.

Despite the threat posed by Covid-19, Martin says they are not panicking. They are taking all necessary measures to try to avoid contracting the virus themselves.

Martin hopes that the fact that his family, including his parents Tom and Kathleen, have visited Kenya before will give them some assurance that they will be OK during these trying times.

Martin, Maria and their team are working to sensitise communities, to provide PPE equipment to the area, and to convert buildings into isolation wards, which in turn will need beds, triage tents and essential equipment.

There is currently one ventilator per one million people in Kericho County where Maria and Martin are based. They urgently needs funds to continue their fight against COVID- 19. Donations can be made at https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/ourfutureisinyourhands.
Frances Schultschik, a past president of the San Antonio-Mexico Friendship Council, attended a Zoom meeting with its board members this week.

It was a small step in her recovery from COVID-19, but a big measure of her comeback from 10 days in an intensive care unit on the precipice of death. She remembers the high fevers and headaches that felt as if her eye was about to pop out.

She has been home for three weeks, and like others struck by the highly infectious novel coronavirus, Schultschik suspects she contracted it while traveling.

Shes done a lot of it, and after shes healed and travel precautions are in place, she plans to do more of it.

Schultschik, a Chicago-born daughter of a Mexican mother and a Puerto Rican father who says, Im from here, was a member of the citys tourism team in action as San Antonio rose as a convention and visitors destination.

She started her career in the executive training program at the beloved department store Joskes of Texas and honed her public relations skills at the Instituto Cultural de Mexico, where she coordinated visits from Mexican artists.

That got noticed and in time she was helping spearhead the citys tourism efforts as director of public relations for the citys Convention & Visitors Bureau, now known as Visit San Antonio.

Its name sounds heartbreaking now, as a global pandemic has halted industries that will take years, not months, to rebuild.

Schultschiks words to the friendship council brought some to tears as she spoke of her ordeal. She talked about the disproportionate impact the pandemic has had on Latinos and other people of color.

COVID-19 has laid bare those inequities, while amplifying that the most vulnerable also are the most essential. One of the nations most inspiring leaders, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, has spoken passionately about their work while pointing to their lack of healthcare and their place on the wrong side of the digital divide.

The friendship council  what a lovely name, by the way  met to discuss ways to move forward and decided to refashion its fundraising efforts.

All nonprofit organizations are trying to figure out how to raise money as longtime supporters and corporate sponsors signal donations will be smaller or non-existent.

In an interview this week, Schultschik also spoke of how San Antonio built itself into a destination city. A Mexican proverb echoed through her talk and has meaning for her own recovery.

Her mother used to say: No hay mal que por bien no venga.

My mother repeated the adage to comfort broken hearts and soothe disappointments. Its literal translation is clumsy, but may be best understood as alls well that ends well or every cloud has a silver lining.

Schultschik recalls when San Antonios tourism industry began to bloom post-HemisFair 68. It didnt happen immediately.

The way she remembers it, it came after a Mexican peso devaluation in the 80s. Major U.S. cities retreated from their Mexican tourism strategies.

The first focus was on Mexican tourists within a four- to five-hour drive from San Antonio.

At the time, Houston was the mecca for Mexican shoppers, she said.

In San Antonio, the pesos fall coincided with Saks Fifth Avenues opening at North Star Mall, Schultschik said.

She went there to frame a window of opportunity.

Fashion shows in Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara followed, as did media attention. San Antonios theme parks, hotels and medical facilities eventually seized the market, too.

Each step turned San Antonio into a landing and consumer base for Mexican wealth.

Saks numbers in San Antonio were higher than their numbers in Houston, she said.

Schultschik retired from the city eight years ago and started her own marketing company. Shell go back to traveling for work and pleasure once more precautions are in place.

The industries will survive, she said, with some changes. The pandemic will change everything we do.

In early March, when she traveled to Panama to meet clients, she noted that U.S. airports already were behind. Panamanian officials screened foreign travelers with temperature checks twice before they were allowed to leave the airport, she said.

On her return flight through Houston, no such checks existed. Two weeks later, none were in place to and from Chicago either.

It may take a while for people to want to go very far from home, she said.

After 9/11, people waited to see precautions, and she remembers that San Antonio was one of the first cities to come back.

eayala@express-news.net
Moving forward: Workers press on with renovations at the Samaritaine luxury department store. Photo: Cyril Marcilhacy/Bloomberg

A member of the clinical staff wears personal protective equipment (PPE) as she cares for a patient at the Intensive Care unit at Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge. (Photo by Neil HALL / POOL / AFP) (Photo by NEIL HALL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Follow the latest coronavirus news in Ireland and across the world on the Independent.ie live blog.

Physios playing 'huge role' as Covid-19 survivors learn how to walk and breathe again

Expand Close Rehab: Physios are helping take Covid-19 survivors from the zimmer frame to getting back on their feet. Picture: Tony Gavin / Facebook

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Whatsapp Rehab: Physios are helping take Covid-19 survivors from the zimmer frame to getting back on their feet. Picture: Tony Gavin

21.00 09/05/2020

Some patients who have won their battle against the coronavirus and have been discharged from hospital are having to learn how to walk again.

The hidden impact on some patients who fought for their lives in intensive care for weeks is forcing them to regain the ability to walk and breathe as normal.

More than 1,400 who caught the virus and had to be hospitalised have been discharged and the after-effects have been severest on those who were treated in intensive care.

They are turning to physiotherapists like Eamonn O Muircheartaigh - son of legendary GAA commentator Micheal - to take them from the zimmer frame to getting back on their feet.

Beaumont Hospital infectious disease consultant Prof Sam McConkey said: "Patients who have been in intensive care can be knackered. If you lie in bed for three weeks your muscles can disappear. The heart and lungs get weak.

"People need to be reconditioned to build the muscles back up and get the confidence to walk again. They need strength and conditioning. They could start on parallel bars or a zimmer frame and take steps trying to walk longer and longer distances.

"Physiotherapists play a huge role. The focus is so often on doctors and nurses in intensive care. But physiotherapists are also at the bedside helping the patient on a ventilator to clear their throat through repositioning and chest physiotherapy."

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Seoul shuts down nightclubs after dozens of coronavirus infections linked to revellers

20.00 09/05/2020





Seoul has shut down more than 2,100 nightclubs, hostess bars and discos after dozens of coronavirus infections were linked to clubgoers who went out last weekend as South Korea relaxed social distancing guidelines.

The measures imposed by mayor Park Won-soon came after the national government urged entertainment venues around the nation to close or enforce anti-virus measures, including distancing, temperature checks, keeping customer lists and requiring employees to wear masks.

Mr Park said the closures will be maintained until the city concludes that infections risks have been meaningfully lowered.

South Korea's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention earlier said 18 fresh cases were reported in the 24 hours to midnight on Friday, all but one of them linked to a 29-year-old man who visited three clubs in the capital's Itaewon district last Saturday before testing positive on Tuesday.

But Mr Park said 16 more cases were confirmed in Seoul alone in the following hours. He said this took the number of infections linked to clubgoers to 40 - 27 in Seoul, 12 in neighbouring Incheon and Gyeonggi province towns, and one in the southern port city of Busan.

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19.15 09/05/2020

Tony Holohan won't play ball on hopes of pubs opening early

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Efforts to fast-track the opening of pubs, ahead of the timeline in the Government's roadmap to ease coronavirus restrictions, have been dealt a blow by chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan.

Although vintners want to reopen pubs next month, he said this should not happen until the latter part of the roadmap in August.

"The nature of engagement that takes place in a pub environment is more towards the latter end of restrictions. June is in the early stage," he said.

"I don't want to encourage sectors to hurry to recategorise themselves from a phase five to phase one. Opening pubs in June would not be part of our risk-based assessment."





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18.15 09/05/2020

RTE plans star-studded telethon coronavirus fundraiser

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RTE executives hope to replicate the hit BBC telethon The Big Night In which raised over 30m for frontline workers and those affected by Covid-19.

Independent.ie has learnt that the national broadcaster wants it to be staged on May 30.

According to a source at RTE, the show would take inspiration from the BBC version which was a roaring success last month.

RTE is going through the logistics needed to put on a similar show, with an all-Irish cast raising money for those affected by the pandemic.

The show will be made up of live broadcasts from studio as well as some carefully scripted pre-recorded sketches and musical performances.

The idea is that the public would pledge into the show over the course of the night, with a grand total reached at the end, the source said.

This is the sort of show that could really lift the nation for three hours.

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17.45 09/05/2020

18 more people have died from coronavirus and a further 219 cases have been confirmed

Another 18 people in Ireland have died of coronavirus.

There have now been a total 1,446 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.

It comes as the Health Protection Surveillance Centre was notified of another 219 confirmed cases of Covid-19. This brings the total number of conformed cases in Ireland to 22,760.





15.47 09/05/2020

Holohan won't play ball on hopes of pubs opening early

Expand Close Reassurance: Dr Tony Holohan insists visitors did not bring the virus into nursing homes. Photo by Steve Humphreys / Facebook

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Efforts to fast-track the opening of pubs, ahead of the timeline in the Government's roadmap to ease coronavirus restrictions, have been dealt a blow by chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan.

Although vintners want to reopen pubs next month, he said this should not happen until the latter part of the roadmap in August.

"The nature of engagement that takes place in a pub environment is more towards the latter end of restrictions. June is in the early stage," he said.

"I don't want to encourage sectors to hurry to recategorise themselves from a phase five to phase one. Opening pubs in June would not be part of our risk-based assessment."

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'There's no respite': the devastating impact of abuse during lockdown

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Time and time again, Emma Murphy has seen the devastating impact of domestic abuse. She talks of women arriving at Saoirse - the refuge shelter at Tallaght that she works with - and they are broken.

"They are shells of themselves," she says. "There's such fear there. Even if they haven't been physically or sexually abused, the scars of coercive control take a long time to heal. They have been constantly told that they're worthless - and they have come to believe it."

Sometimes they arrive at the shelter with young children. They have come as a last resort. "You want to help them get their lives back," Murphy says. "Because, for too long, their lives were taken away from them."

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14.24 09/05/2020

State to guarantee refunds for package holidays in form of credit notes

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The State will guarantee refunds for holidaymakers as ministers approve support for travel agents hit by the Covid-19 crisis.

Tourism Minister Shane Ross brought the plans to protect the travel industry to Cabinet.

The help is to come as a State guarantee, in the form of a refund credit note for package holidays booked though Irish-registered travel agents and tour operations.

The notes can be offered by the travel industry to customers in circumstances where they are not able to provide a cash refund or a full cash refund.

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Industries plead for lifelines with existence at stake

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The crisis could lead to 3bn in lost revenues for the Irish hotel industry, with a drop of up to 40pc in business.

Up to 100,000 jobs are at risk. Hotels are due to reopen on July 20, with limited occupancy, and on-site bars will be closed until August 10.

Elaina Fitzgerald Kane, president of the Irish Hotels Federation, said: "It's imperative we do everything possible to mitigate the risk. Urgent Government supports are essential, including the continuation of the wage subsidy scheme, to safeguard 260,000 livelihoods and the tourism industry.

"We need a rates waiver for a minimum of 12 months and the VAT rate to be reduced to zero for a year."

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WATCH: Magician Roy Horn has passed away after contracting coronavirus aged 75

Magician Roy Horn, best known as part of the Las Vegas performing duo of Siegfried & Roy, has died at the age of 75 after contracting coronavirus.

The entertainer tested positive for the illness last month and was said to have been responding well to treatment.

However, his death was confirmed on Friday and his representative said he died from complications of Covid-19

12.00 09/05/2020

Business minister formally announces Return to Work Safely Protocol which will see temperature testing, no handshake and intensive cleaning policies

Expand Close Business minister Heather Humphreys (Photocall Ireland/PA) / Facebook

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Business minister Heather Humphreys has formally announced the Return to Work Safely Protocol this afternoon which will see temperature testing, no handshake and intensive cleaning policies.

The plans were developed in a "collaborative effort" by the Department of Business along with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, employers group Ibec and the Construction Industry Federation.

The protocol is mandatory and is seen as the "minimum effort" which must be put in place by employers before they reopen.

The Department of Health and the HSE were also involved and the Health and Safety Authority will enforce the rules.

The measures will have to be implemented in businesses, offices and construction sites.

"The protocol is mandatory and the HSA will be in charge of its oversights and implementation," said the minister at government buildings.

"This document sets the minimum measures required in every workplace."

"We all want businesses to reopen and people to get back to work," added the minister.

"We all want Ireland to get back to work but it has to happen safely."

The HSA will appoint inspectors to work "collaboratively" with employers to make improvements if necessary and workplaces will be ordered to shut down if they are not implemented.

Employers will be asked to develop a Covid-19 Business response plan prior to reopening which will address risk and its response to virus infections in the workplace.

The protocol also states that employees who will be returning to work will need additional support for stress caused by financial reasons, a death of a relative or difficulties with personal relationships.

They will also have to complete a pre-return to work form which will state that they have not been in contact with the virus.

Employers will then have to appoint a lead worker representative, who will be in charge of ensuring that health measures are "strictly adhered to" by staff.

There must also be induction training for all workers on public health guidance, how the workplace is organised to address risk, and any other relevant sector-specific advice.

The protocol urges for a no handshake policy to be implemented as well as temperature testing social distancing, hand sanitiser and tissue provision.

The wearing of face coverings is stated to be not a replacement for other hygiene measures.

According to the protocol, remote working should be encouraged and free office space should be used as isolation areas for staff who are exhibiting virus symptoms.

Strict cleaning measures will also have to be implemented - frequently touched surfaces like worktops will have to be "visibly clean" at all times and must be cleaned "at least twice daily". Wipes or disinfection products, paper towels and waste bins and bags must also be provided for employees to keep their own workspaces clean.

Work areas, especially communal areas and bathrooms, must also be cleaned at least twice per day and whenever facilities are visibly dirty.

PPE must be selected on the basis of hazard to the worker and provided by employers.

Under the protocols staff who display coronavirus symptoms during the working day will be directed to this designated isolation area by a manager.

Two-metre distance will have to be maintained as transportation is arranged for the worker to go home or to get medical attention and they will have to avoid public transport.

Logs of work groups will have to be put in place for contact tracing and a risk assessment of any incident would have to be carried out.

Plastic sneeze guards at workplaces where two-metre separation social distancing is not possible should also be put in place.

Some aspects of the protocol will vary from different workplaces but the document sets out "overarching principals" which must be followed.

11.30 09/05/2020

'If they had not given us a permit to go and work, I do not think I'd be alive'

Expand Close Struggle: Taiwo Ayinde, who lives in a Mayo direct provision centre, said it broke her heart to see how afraid her clients had become. Photo: Keith Heneghan / Facebook

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Whatsapp Struggle: Taiwo Ayinde, who lives in a Mayo direct provision centre, said it broke her heart to see how afraid her clients had become. Photo: Keith Heneghan

When Taiwo Ayinde got home from work, her children knew to stay away from her.

Ms Ayinde, who is from Nigeria and lives in a direct provision centre in Ballyhaunis, worked as a home carer.

After arriving home, she would take off her uniform and put it straight into the washing machine. Then, she would go to the bathroom to wash herself "from head to toe". "Then, I could hug my children," she said.

Ms Ayinde is one of the 160 healthcare workers living in direct provision.

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'Expect litigation from chaos - it can't be done fairly'

Expand Close Doubts: Marie Cormican, of Mount Sackville Secondary School, Chapelizod, Dublin. Photo: Gerry Mooney / Facebook

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Whatsapp Doubts: Marie Cormican, of Mount Sackville Secondary School, Chapelizod, Dublin. Photo: Gerry Mooney

Students are giving mixed views about the decision to cancel the Leaving Cert in favour of predictive grading by teachers

Among their chief concerns is the fairness of the marking system.

One Dublin Leaving Cert student says she doesn't believe the Irish education system has the ability to predict grades fairly.

Castleknock teenager Marie Cormican (18) is a Leaving Cert candidate at Mount Sackville Secondary School, Chapelizod, Dublin.

She said: "I have read a litany of open letters and editorials trumpeting the 'fairness' of such a method.

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10.27 09/05/2020

Special isolation areas for staff with coronavirus symptoms among protocols for reopening workplaces

Expand Close Positive: Working from home with and around children can be done well Stock Image / Facebook

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EMPLOYERS will have to have special isolation areas for staff who display coronavirus symptoms under new protocols for reopening workplaces.

The government is to launch its Return to Work Safety Protocol tomorrow which include a raft of measures that will have to be implemented in businesses, offices and construction sites.

Among the measures expected to be in the plan are no handshake policies and the installation of plastic sneeze guards at workplaces where two-metre separation social distancing is not possible.

The plans were developed by the Department of Business along with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, employers group Ibec and the Construction Industry Federation.

WATCH: Man City players help battle virus

Premier League football club Manchester City realeas a video detailing how they have helped in the battle the city is facing during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Big Read: Hiqa moves to act on nursing homes - but could the watchdog have barked sooner to help prevent more deaths?

Expand Close Testing underway at St Josephs nursing home at Listowel Community Hospital last week, with a special tent set up by the Civil Defence outside the facility as part of the operation / Facebook

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Whatsapp Testing underway at St Josephs nursing home at Listowel Community Hospital last week, with a special tent set up by the Civil Defence outside the facility as part of the operation

Last week, as the death toll in nursing homes crept towards the 800 mark, the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) went to check up on the settings yet to have an outbreak.

By doing this, the agency, which monitors the safety and quality of both the healthcare and social care systems in Ireland, said it wants to "support nursing homes to prepare for an outbreak and put in place appropriate contingency plans to deal with same".

For some, the move to carry out risk assessments, more than a month after the regulator was informed of its first case, is more than a little belated.

"The support in terms of preparedness would have ideally occurred much earlier," said Tadgh Daly, CEO of Nursing Homes Ireland (NHI).

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09.25 09/05/2020

1.5m raised for Pieta House Sunrise Appeal after Darkness into Light cancelled due to virus

Expand Close On behalf of Electric Ireland, Darkness Into Light Ambassador and former Kilkenny hurler, Tommy Walsh is encouraging the public to come together, while staying apart by getting up at 5:30am on May 9th to watch the sunrise to show solidarity with those impacted by suicide. Photo: INPHO/James Crombie / Facebook

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Whatsapp On behalf of Electric Ireland, Darkness Into Light Ambassador and former Kilkenny hurler, Tommy Walsh is encouraging the public to come together, while staying apart by getting up at 5:30am on May 9th to watch the sunrise to show solidarity with those impacted by suicide. Photo: INPHO/James Crombie

Thousands of people took part in the Pieta House Sunrise Appeal this morning at 5.30am after the annual Darkness Into Light fundraiser was cancelled due to the pandemic.

The charity lost out on approximately 6.5m in revenue due to the cancellation and had to cut salaries by up to 30pc, as well as announcing 28 redundancies.

However, the annual DIL event was replaced this year with a Sunrise Appeal, where the public were asked to get up at 5.30am this morning, watch the sunrise from their homes and donate.

1.5m has been raised by the public so far after an appeal on last night's Late Late Show. This includes a 100,000 donation from Electric Ireland.

08.10 09/05/2020

Italy passes 30,000 deaths as fears mount over new rules

Expand Close Common battle: A woman rides a bike past the Colosseum in Rome yesterday, as officials announced the number of deaths from coronavirus in Italy now exceeds 30,000. Photo: Getty Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Common battle: A woman rides a bike past the Colosseum in Rome yesterday, as officials announced the number of deaths from coronavirus in Italy now exceeds 30,000. Photo: Getty Images

Italy has become the first European Union country to record more than 30,000 coronavirus deaths.

The Health Ministry registered 243 deaths yesterday, bringing the total of those who have died in the country to 30,201.

Italy was the first country in Europe with a major outbreak of Covid-19.

Authorities said many more are likely to have died with the infection at home or in nursing homes without being diagnosed.

Spy agency says Kim's absence was due to virus fears - not heart surgery

Expand Close On show: Kim Jong-un at a fertiliser plant north of Pyongyang, in this image released by North Koreas Korean Central News Agency. Photo: KCNA/via Reuters / Facebook

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Whatsapp On show: Kim Jong-un at a fertiliser plant north of Pyongyang, in this image released by North Koreas Korean Central News Agency. Photo: KCNA/via Reuters

There are no signs North Korean leader Kim Jong-un received heart surgery when he disappeared from state media for three weeks, but he reduced public activity due to coronavirus concerns, South Korean lawmakers briefed by its spy agency said.

Mr Kim attended the completion of a fertiliser plant, North Korea's official media said on Saturday, the first report of his appearing in public since April 11.

His absence fuelled a flurry of speculation about his health and whereabouts, with a South Korean news outlet reporting Mr Kim was recovering from a cardiovascular procedure while CNN said US officials were monitoring intelligence he was "in grave danger" after surgery.

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Covid's cruel blueprint for a better world

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The summer is here, the days are hot and I am out putting up sheep wire on our hill farm with my father. Fencing, that ancient act, is nothing new to us, but in the time of the coronavirus it has become a strange and novel thing. As we work, we must keep our distance from one another like strangers.

The erection of this fence has come to symbolise our new life.

Our latex gloves are tight and firm as we affix the wire to the fencing posts. Our 100 sheep have been brazen in their attacks on the sweet grass of the front fields of late and have broken through the old wire. The sheep wire will put manners on them, we joke.

It has been eight weeks since the country started to close down and, though much in the world has changed, the age-old practice of farming continues. We the people of the land have found ourselves challenged and championed.

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Leaving Cert chaos hits plans to reopen schools

Expand Close Decision: Education Minister Joe McHugh announces the postponement of this years Leaving Certificate examinations. Photo: Leon Farrell / Facebook

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Whatsapp Decision: Education Minister Joe McHugh announces the postponement of this years Leaving Certificate examinations. Photo: Leon Farrell

The final phase of the Government's roadmap for reopening Ireland says educational institutions can open on "a phased basis at the beginning of the academic year 2020-21".

Sources put emphasis on the word "phased", adding that schools will have to change how they operate and that will have a knock-on effect on parents who need to return to work.

Already, under sweeping changes to this year's Leaving Cert, exams scheduled for late July and August are definitely off.

Instead schools will calculate the marks they believe their students would have achieved had exams happened as normal in June.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 08:56:58|Editor: huaxia

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ISLAMABAD, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The Pakistani army said late Friday that a military officer and five soldiers were killed in a roadside bomb attack in southwestern Balochistan province during a routine patrolling near the Iranian border.

An army statement said that the security forces conducted a routine patrolling in the Buleda area, close to the Pakistan-Iran border to check possible routes used by terrorists in the mountainous terrain of Mekran.

As the paramilitary Frontier Corps troops were moving back to their base after assigned patrolling duty, the reconnaissance vehicle of the Frontier Corps was targeted with a remote-controlled improvised explosive device, a statement from the army's media wing the Inter-Services Public Relations said.

As a result, one army major and five soldiers were killed while one soldier was injured, according to the statement.

It is said that the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army has claimed responsibility for the attack in a brief statement posted on social media, but there is no official confirmation of it yet. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 09:00:21|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

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SAN FRANCISCO -- Leading health experts from China and the United States have agreed during a webinar to act together and follow scientific guidance in the fight against COVID-19, the event's organizer said Friday.

"They exchanged opinions and reached a very positive conclusion in the end, as Professor Barry Bloom from Harvard said that health care is local, but health research is global. The world must rely on scientific methods to deal with the pandemic. We must also use scientific methods to find the origin of the virus," said Florence Fang, co-founder of the newly-established, non-profit Global Alliance to Combat COVID-19 (GACC).

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ACCRA -- Ghana recorded 921 newly-confirmed COVID-19 cases, bringing the country's total number of cases to 4,012, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) disclosed late Friday.

The GHS said more than 50 percent of the new cases resulted from the outbreak in an industrial facility, with 533 workers out of 1,300 tested positive.

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GENEVA -- The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that countries that lift restrictions and open their economies should be ready to quickly identify COVID-19 cases if they resurge.

"I think we're going to be in a situation where we may need to lift some of these measures but be ready to quickly identify those cases," said Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead on COVID-19 response at the WHO Health Emergencies Program, at Friday's press conference.

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HAVANA -- Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has expressed gratitude for the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee's donation of medical supplies amid the Caribbean nation's efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This is another manifestation of solidarity from China. We thank our friendly Asian nation for their support," Diaz-Canel said on Twitter.

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UNITED NATIONS -- The United Nations has launched a COVID-19 response plan for 14 countries and territories in the Pacific suffering the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The plan, which requires 35.3 million U.S. dollars, addresses immediate needs in education, food security, livelihoods, water and sanitation, nutrition, protection, logistics, as well as emergency telecommunications, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on Friday.

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YAOUNDE -- Cameroon is poised to do "robust and large scale" COVID-19 testing, Minister of Public Health Manaouda Malachie said on Friday.

"We will now test more people rapidly," Manaouda told reporters in the capital Yaounde, "this will significantly accelerate our battle on the field, especially at the airports."

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LONDON -- Another 626 COVID-19 patients have died in Britain, bringing the total coronavirus-related death toll in the country to 31,241, Environment Secretary George Eustice said Friday.

The figures include deaths in all settings, including hospitals, care homes and the wider community. Enditem
A quiet Buckingham Palace in London, as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Britain is to introduce a 14-day quarantine period for almost everyone arriving into the country to avoid a second peak of the coronavirus pandemic, The Times newspaper reported on Saturday.

It said Prime Minister Boris Johnson will say in an address to the nation on Sunday that passengers arriving at airports and ports, including Britons returning from abroad, will have to self-isolate for a fortnight.

According to the report, under measures that are likely to come into force in early June, travelers will have to provide the address at which they will self-isolate on arrival.

"These measures will help protect the British public and reduce the transmission of the virus as we move into the next phase of our response," The Times quoted a government source as saying.

Britain's COVID-19 death toll rose to 31,241 on Friday. Downing Street declined to comment on the report and a spokeswoman for Britain's interior ministry said: "We don't comment on leaks."

Johnson is due to announce on Sunday the next steps in Britain's battle to tackle the novel coronavirus 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.

His environment minister George Eustice said on Saturday Johnson would not announce any dramatic changes to Britain's lockdown, adopting a cautious approach.

U.K. airport operators said they feared a quarantine would compound the acute damage the pandemic has wrought to the aviation industry as it would put people off travelling when lockdown restrictions are lifted.

"Quarantine would not only have a devastating impact on the U.K. aviation industry, but also on the wider economy," said Karen Dee, Chief Executive of the Airport Operators Association.

"If the government believes quarantine is medically necessary, then it should be applied on a selective basis following the science, there should be a clear exit strategy and the economic impact on key sectors should be mitigated," she said.

Airlines UK, the representative body for airlines, said it needed to see the detail of what the government is proposing. "We will be asking for assurances that this decision has been led by the science and that government has a credible exit plan, with weekly reviews to ensure the restrictions are working and still required."

The Times report said travelers from Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man would be exempt from the quarantine, as would lorry drivers bringing crucial supplies.

It said the authorities would carry out spot checks and those found to be breaking the rules would face fines of up to 1,000 pounds ($1,240) or even deportation.
Chennai: Chennai has become the hotbed of Covid-19 in Tamil Nadu, accounting for more than half of the state's positive cases. The capital has a total of 3043 confirmed cases of the virus, while the state's tally stands at 6009 (as of morning on May 9).

While many other districts across Tamil Nadu, even ones which saw an initial spike, have managed to reduce cases, Chennai firmly remains in the red zone with 2644 active cases.

What are the factors affecting the spread of the virus in the city?

Two clusters - Tablighi Jamaat and Koyambedu market have thrown up a marked increase in the number of coronavirus cases in the city. Chennai first saw a rapid increase in cases in early April following the return of Tablighi Jamaat attendees from New Delhi. By morning of April 21, the city had more than 300 cases. The cases continued to increase in the next few days, with a massive spike beginning in May, with another cluster contributing plenty of positive cases: the Koyambedu vegetable market.

The first signs of the market turning into a coronavirus cluster emerged in the last week of April, but it was only on May 4 that the market was shut. Until then, plenty of small shops in the cramped area continued to operate, with little adherence to social distancing.

Contact tracing has proved difficult too, with workers also beginning to move to other districts in the state. The cluster has contributed not just to cases in Chennai; the government revealed on Friday that 1589 cases in the entire state were linked to Koyambedu cluster.

Lockdown within lockdown proves costly

The TN government had imposed a 'complete lockdown' for four days from April 26, enforcing stricter rules pertaining to movement of people. However, they had announced the same on April 24, leaving one day for people to shop for essentials. Public naturally thronged markets, stocking up for four days with social distancing norms going for a toss in many places. Pictures of crowded markets were out everywhere for all to see.

Perhaps realising the mistake, the government on April 25 announced that the shops could be open till 3pm instead of the usual 1pm, but the damage had already been done.

Increase in cases in central and south Chennai

The focus in the initial weeks was firmly on north Chennai, with the Tablighi Jamaat cluster and narrow lanes in the area contributing to cases. With more clusters emerging, the next few weeks has seen an increase in cases in the other regions too.

As of the morning on May 2, areas under central Chennai (Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, Ambattur, Anna Nagar, Teynampet and Kodambakkam) saw 631 cases. The number now stand at 1763. As of Saturday, the cases have spiked again to Thiru Vi Ka Nagar with 477, Ambattur at 164, Anna Nagar with 233, 343 in Teynampet and Kodambakkam throwing up 546 cases.

A large number of cases were from Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, but in recent weeks, Kodambakkam and Teynampet have emerged as hot-beds too due to the Koyambedu market cluster. In fact, Kodambakkam zone has the most cases in the city at 546, while Thiru Vi Ka Nagar has a total of 477.

Teynampet zone, with 343 cases, has also been a hot bed with plenty of cases from Triplicane, where volunteers who distributed food in VR Pillai street were not checked for symptoms, which ultimately led to 42 more positive cases in the area.

In south Chennai (Valasaravakkam, Adyar, Perungudi and Sholinganallur) had only 93 cases on May 2. Currently, the area has a staggering 453 cases.

As of Saturday, Valasaravakkam accounted for 256 cases, Adyar at 140, Perungudi counted 32 while Sholinganallur threw up 25 coronavirus cases.

While plenty of cases in Valasaravakkam zone are from the Koyambedu cluster, areas like Adyar too has seen a rapid increase. Adyar zone had 21 cases on May 1, which has shot up to 140 by Saturday.

The spike in south Chennai, Adyar zone in particular, has been attributed to Tiruvanmiyur market. The vegetable market saw massive crowds on April 25, a day before the 'lockdown within lockdown'. The market was shut on May 3 after a vendor tested positive, and all other workers were subsequently tested.

High testing rates

Tamil Nadu has tested more samples than any other state, including Maharashtra. The southern state has tested 2,16,416 samples as of Saturday, a majority of them from Chennai. While district-wise numbers haven't been made public, the Chennai Corporation on May 1 said they're testing 5225 people per million population. Tirupatur district, with 3195 per million, comes next.
Former President Barack Obama is rallying the troops by warning that some basic tenets of American democracy are being put to the test during President Donald Trumps administration. In a conversation with former staffers, Obama said that the rule of law is at risk after the Justice Department decided to suddenly drop its case against former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn. And the former president seemed somewhat frustrated that people dont seem to be paying that much attention to the issue. Yahoo News Michael Isikoff obtained a tape of the conversation the former president held with members of the Obama Alumni Association in which he also harshly criticized the response to the coronavirus crisis, characterizing it as an absolute chaotic disaster.

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The news over the last 24 hours I think has been somewhat downplayedabout the Justice Department dropping charges against Michael Flynn, Obama said. And the fact that there is no precedent that anybody can find for someone who has been charged with perjury just getting off scot-free. Thats the kind of stuff where you begin to get worried that basicnot just institutional normsbut our basic understanding of rule of law is at risk. Obama went on to say that as weve seen in other places once governments start going down that route, it can accelerate pretty quickly.

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Obama wasnt quite accurate in how he described the charges against Flynn. The former national security adviser wasnt actually charged with perjury but rather pleaded guilty twice to lying to FBI agents. Regardless, Obama used the Flynn case to emphasize why it was so important to do everything possible to make sure former Vice President Joe Biden wins the election in November. So I am hoping that all of you feel the same sense of urgency that I do, he said. Whenever I campaign, Ive always said, Ah, this is the most important election. Especially obviously when I was on the ballot, that always feels like its the most important election. But this time even though the former president isnt on the ballot, hes still pretty darn invested.

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Trump has repeatedly blamed Obama for the investigation into Russias efforts to meddle in the U.S. election. 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 in the Oval Office on Thursday when he was asked about the decision to drop the case. Flynn had worked in the Obama administration as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency but was eventually forced out. Obama had warned Trump not to hire Flynn.

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The leaked conversation suggests Obama is getting ready to take a starring role in the presidential campaign which he says is so important because it wont just be about beating Trump or the Republicans. What were fighting against is these long-term trends in which being selfish, being tribal, being divided, and seeing others as an enemythat has become a stronger impulse not just in the United States but also around the world. Its part of the reason why the response to this global crisis has been so anemic and spotty, Obama said. It has been an absolute chaotic disaster when that mindsetof whats in it for me and to heck with everybody elsewhen that mindset is operationalized in our government.
Washington, May 9 : US President Donald Trump said the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a young black man from the state of Georgia who was shot dead while jogging unarmed, was "a very disturbing situation." Trump said on "Fox & Friends" Friday morning that he had watched the video capturing the moment the 25-year-old was fatally shot, which has gone viral and triggered nationwide outrage over racial inequity, Xinhua news agency reported.

"I looked at a picture of that young man," Trump said of Arbery. "That looks like a really good young guy, and it's a very disturbing situation to me. And I just, my heart goes out to the parents, and the family, and the friends." "It's a heartbreaking thing. Very rough stuff," he added.

On Thursday, Trump told reporters that he would receive a full report on the murder case.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) said in a release Thursday that it had arrested Gregory McMichael, 64, and his 34-year-old son Travis McMichael for the death of Arbery. The McMichaels, both white, were charged with murder and aggravated assault.

According to the release, the McMichaels approached Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia, on February 23 with two firearms, before the younger McMichael shot and killed Arbery.

A video that circulated on social media this week showed two men approaching a young black man jogging on the street. Gunshots could be heard after a brief interaction, and the black man fell to the ground afterwards.

The GBI said in the release that the footage is "related to Arbery's death," and that it was investigating the video at the request of the Glynn County Police Department.

According to a police report cited by US media, Gregory McMichael, a retired police detective, saw Arbery jogging and thought he was a suspect in a series of break-ins in the neighbourhood. He then called his son, and they armed themselves with a handgun and a shotgun, respectively, and chased Arbery in a truck.

Gregory McMichael told the Washington Post shortly before he was arrested that "there are many, many facts out there that have not come to light," and that "this is all based on the video and newspaper story. All the stuff that led up to that still hasn't been released." The video triggered widespread outrage over racial inequity in the United States.

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden compared the case to a lynching "before our very eyes" and said it exemplified the "rising pandemic of hate" in the country. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, a Republican, called the incident "absolutely horrific." "Justice getting done is the thing that solves that problem," Trump said on "Fox & Friends," adding he believed Kemp and the state law enforcement would properly handle the situation.

The grand juries in Georgia are temporarily suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak, and a statewide moratorium on judicial proceedings has been extended until June 12, which means that Arbery's case will not be heard for at least one month.
Hyderabad:

If you want to shoot, shoot me, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, as he called for stopping the attacks on Dalits and the politics over it.



Making an emotional appeal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asked people to protect and respect Dalits who have for long been neglected by the society.



I would like to tell these people that if you have any problem, if you have attack, attack me. Stop attacking my Dalit brethren. If you have to shoot, shoot me, but not my Dalit brothers. This game should stop, he said addressing BJP workers here.



The Prime Minister said if the country has to progress it cannot ignore key mantras of peace, unity and harmony.



Countrys unity is the main source of countrys development, he said.

His comments come at a time when the NDA government is facing flak over incidents of violence against Dalits and Muslims by cow vigilantes in various states including Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.



Modi said at times some incidents come to notice which give us unbearable pain. It should be our responsibility to save and respect them (Dalits), he said without referring to any particular incident.



Modi asked what right the perpetrators had to exploit Dalits and said the unity in society should be our priority.



I know this problem is social. It is a result of sins which have crept into the society... But we need to take extra care and save society from such danger (of social strife), he said. Modi said the society should not be allowed to be divided on the basis of caste, religion and social status.



Deprecating those who try to make political currency out of such issues, the Prime Minister said attempts to politicize those would only aggravate the problem.



Those who want to solve this social problem, I request them to leave politics that divides the society. Divisive politics will not do any good to the country, he said.

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Sara Ali Khan Opens Up About Brother Ibrahim's Bollywood Plans

A Bollywood Hungama report quoted her as saying, "He (Ibrahim) has not even gone to college as yet. And I think acting is a while away. It's definitely something he is interested in, something he is passionate about. And he's gonna study in LA and he's gonna study film in LA, and if he wants to do something he'll do it."

'It's A Dream Right Now,' Says Sara

She continued, "There's a lot of hard work, as we all know, that goes into it, a lot of prep that goes into it. But at his age, before even going to college, just the desire is enough right now and then, he'll work towards it. And if he works towards it and people like what he does, then sure. It's a dream right now, making it a reality is on him."

When Saif Ali Khan Was Asked If He Will Launch His Son In Bollywood

The Tanhaji actor had told Mumbai Mirror, "I don't know if I will launch him. It's an option and films are certainly a viable career choice for him. He's sporty and likes the idea of being in the movies rather than pursuing an academic job. No one in the family, with the exception of his sister (Sara Ali Khan), have been interested in the latter anyway."

Currently, Sara And Ibrahim Are Making Fun Videos Amid Lockdown

Ibrahim regularly makes an appearance on Sara's funny videos on her Instagram page and his own TikTok videos.
By PTI

CAIRO: Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi on Saturday approved amendments to the country's state of emergency that grant him and security agencies additional powers, which the government says are needed to combat the coronavirus outbreak.

An international rights group condemned the amendments, saying the government has used the global pandemic to expand, not reform, Egypt's abusive Emergency Law.

The new amendments allow the president to take measures to contain the virus, such as suspending classes at schools and universities and quarantining those returning from abroad.

But they also include expanded powers to ban public and private meetings, protests, celebrations and other forms of assembly.

The government has waged an unprecedented crackdown on dissent since 2013 when el-Sissi rose to power, and unauthorized protests have been banned for years.

The amendments also allow military prosecutors to investigate incidents when army officers are tasked with law enforcement or when the president orders it.

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The country's chief civilian prosecutor would have the final decision on whether to bring matters to trial.

The amended law would also allow the president to postpone taxes and utility payments as well as provide economic support for affected sectors.

Parliament, which is packed with el-Sissi supporters, approved the measure last month.

Egypt has been under a state of emergency since April 2017, and the government extended it late last month for another three months.

The law was originally passed to give the president broader powers to combat terrorism and drug trafficking.

The government said the amendments were needed to address a legal vacuum revealed by the coronavirus outbreak.

Egypt, with a population of 100 million, has reported at least 504 deaths among around 8,500 confirmed cases.

However, only five of the 18 amendments are clearly related to public health, and the new powers can be used whenever a state of emergency is declared, Human Rights Watch said.

Some of these measures could be needed in public health emergencies, but they should not be open to abuse as part of an unreformed emergency law, said Joe Stork, the New York-based group's Middle East and North Africa director.

Resorting to 'national security and public order' as a justification reflects the security mentality that governs Sissi's Egypt.

In response the pandemic, Egypt has halted international air travel and shuttered schools, universities, mosques, churches and archaeological sites, including the famed Giza pyramids.

A curfew is in place from 9 a.m. till 6 p.m.

The partial lockdown is to continue for another two weeks, until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramzan.
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Kolkata: As race heats up for West Bengal assembly elections, the clash between the Mamata Banerjee-led government and the BJP-ruled Centre is getting murkier. Now, the coronavirus pandemic has added up to the duel. While TMC maintains that the central government is doing politics over Covid-19, New Delhi has accused Bengal of hindering work undertaken by it to avoid spread of the virus.

On April 29, Banerjee accused the BJP of playing politics over novel coronavirus outbreak by highlighting a few incidents of law and order and asked the BJP why, despite less number of virus cases, Centre had first decided to send IMCT teams to West Bengal and not Gujarat and other BJP-ruled states.

She also questioned why the BJP leaders were mum over faulty testing kits, incidents of riots in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi over coronavirus and during CAA protests.

Its not election time. Do politics later. In this time of pandemic, it is unfortunate that BJP is doing politics. I would like to tell them to be social and not unsocial. Lets fight this pandemic together, Mamata had said.

TMC also expressed concern over the role of Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and even alleged Raj Bhavan has become a BJP party office.

On the other hand, the BJP leaders waged a social media war against the Bengal government by accusing the state of hiding Covid-19 figures and also complaining the Centre that TMC-led government in Bengal has completely failed in handling the coronavirus crisis. They also highlighted the alleged ration scam during this ongoing lockdown through digital press conferences and requested the governor to intervene in to the matter.

Last but not the least, the standoff between the BJP and TMC was followed by endless letters coupled with series of communique from the IMCT, Union Home Secretary and the governor, accusing the state of poor supervision of administration in this situation of global pandemic.

The situation turned bitter when Mamata, while terming the governor's communique as 'letter missiles' accused him of trying to 'usurp powers' amid the coronavirus crisis, and asked him to desist from using official communications and logos on social media.

"I beseech you to desist from intensifying your efforts to usurp powers, especially during the humongous crisis which the nation and West Bengal is grappling with. Please do not dream of a Dyarchy in the state," the chief minister had said.

Speaking to News18, Trinamool Congress MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said, It is beyond any doubt that the BJP is playing politics using various constitutional forces. With less than a year left for the assembly poll preparedness in Bengal and keeping in mind that BJP is on the back foot over citizenship issue, they are using Covid-19 as their political weapon in Bengal to make political ground. This is highly condemnable.

It is a concerted assault on the West Bengal government by the BJP government at the Centre. I would like to question them, why the IMCT teams were first sent to opposition-ruled states and not to Gujarat. People of India are not fool to understand why the Centre has decided to send IMCT to Bengal first despite having less number of Covid-19 cases as compared to other states, he said.

In their very first attempt they exposed themselves. Now, it is beyond any doubt that Centre is doing politics here in Bengal since the state election is near. It is crystal clear now. BJP leaders started making baseless allegations which was supported by the governor through his tweets and all of a sudden IMCT came without any health experts. The governor has gone berserk. He is not speaking on his own. His voice is His Masters Voice. The state government was informed too late about their plan and they moved on their own with the help of BSF. Can someone explain us what does it mean? Also, we got faulty kits and BJP blaming us for low testing. Why the BJP is mum on these issues? he added.

Roy said, The central government is suffering from acute policy paralysis. The first death in China was reported on December 31 and the government was sleeping. There were no precautionary measures from the central government in the month of January and February. They were sleeping and all of a sudden Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a lockdown. Same he did at the time of demonitisation to get the maximum prime time coverage. He could have planned it perfectly and should have given some time to the people to return to their homes. We asked to close Parliament but PM Modi said we are behaving like school children and asking for leave.

Do you have any doubts that the nationwide lockdown was delayed only to topple the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh? A close look in their stands clearly shows that behind every step, there is politics in the name of pandemic, he added.

Political experts Kapil Thakur feels that BJP is trying to regain its lost ground in Bengal, especially after TMC managed to retain all the municipalities and panchayats which were captured by the BJP.

Not the least, the by-polls which were held in last November was a major setback for the BJP after they lost all three Kaliaganj, Kharagpur Sadar and Karimpur seats to TMC. The citizenship issue went against them and now there is no doubt that BJP is eyeing at 2021 state polls and the recent standoffs between the BJP and TMC in Bengal over Covid-19 is linked to those lost grounds. After facing setback over citizenship issues, BJP sees this pandemic as a good ground to corner TMC politically in Bengal, he said.

He, however, stressed that the state government should have acted in more transparent manner in dealing with the crisis. In a major boost for the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the state, the party bagged all the three Assembly seats where bypolls were held on November 25 by trouncing the BJP. The TMC won the Kaliaganj,

Kharagpur Sadar and Karimpur bypolls. The BJP emerged in the second position in all the three seats.

The poll result proved significant for both the TMC and the BJP considering the upcoming 2021 Assembly polls in the state. Then, BJP candidate Kamal Chandra Sarkar, who lost to the TMCs Tapan Deb Singha in Kaliaganj, had attributed the loss to the "people's fear" around the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Kharagpur Sadar and Kaliaganj seats were a battle of prestige for the BJP as the two seats are known to be its strongholds. The TMC won the Kaliaganj seat for the first time.

Kaliaganj assembly constituency is a part of Raiganj Lok Sabha seat, which was won by the BJPs Debasree Chaudhuri in the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year.

Chaudhuri won the seat with a margin of 60,574 votes, with the BJPs vote share increasing by 21.76% as compared to Congress candidate Kanai Lal Agarwal who secured 4,51,078 votes. CPI(M) candidate Md Salim, sitting MP from Raiganj, came in third.

In the 2016 assembly elections, Congress candidate Pramatha Nath Ray won the Kaliaganj seat by defeating TMCs Basatna Roy. Although the BJP was nowhere in the constituency, it performed well in the last Lok Sabha elections in Raigunj, with Chaudhuri becoming an MP.

Similarly, the Kharagpur assembly constituency is part of Medinipur Lok Sabha constituency from where state BJP president Dilip Ghosh won the last Lok Sabha polls. Ghosh had secured 6,85,433 votes as compared to 5,96,481 secured by TMCs Manas Bhunia. The most significant factor was Ghoshs increased vote share, which rose by 34.36%, while the TMC vote percentage decreased by 4.19%.

According to the TMCs internal assessment, more than 2,000 strong leaders, who actually have the capability to turn the tables, have come back to the Trinamool in the last one year. Most of them are booth leaders, having a great connect at the grassroot-level.

Senior BJP leaders like Kailash Vijayavargiya, Amit Malviya, Rahul Sinha and Dilip Ghosh always showed confidence that they are going to form the next government in Bengal and still leaving no stone unturned to attack the state government over handling the Covid-19 situation.

I would like to urge the West Bengal government to take action against the culprits of ration scam or else there will be severe consequences, BJP National Secretary Rahul Sinha said.

Other BJP leaders Kailash Vijayavargiya and Amit Malviya hit out at Mamata Banerjee for failing to maintain transparency in Covid-19 figures with letter and tweets.

In the 2016 Assembly elections, the BJPs vote share was 10.2 per cent and in 2019 Lok Sabha it went up to 40.3 per cent. There was an increase of 30.1 per cent vote share mainly because of Hindus coalescing towards the BJP.

In the last three years, the BJP has managed to cultivate religion-driven politics in Bengal and it was evident with its significant rise in Bengal in terms of its vote share.

A close analysis says that from 2011 Assembly to 2016 Assembly polls, Left-Front has lost its vote share by 9.88 per cent, and from 2014 Lok Sabha to 2019 Lok Sabha its vote share further plummeted to nearly 16 per cent.

However, Congresss vote share from 2011 to 2016 Assembly elections increased from 8.91 per cent to 12.3 percent but fell drastically (9.6%) in 2014 Lok Sabha polls. In the general elections held this year, the party managed to secure only five per cent votes.

To sum up with the political developments/statistics after the last panchayat and by-polls in Bengal, BJP plans to go aggressively for ground level campaigning to strengthen the booths in all the districts in the state has suffered a massive jolt due to the lockdown.

On the other side, once the situation gets normal, the TMC needs to tap nearly 30 per cent Hindu votes, which coalesced towards the BJP (mainly from Left-Front and the Congress).
The IRS just did something that stunned me. It pulled the rug out from under desperate small-business owners just as they were starting to get their feet under them. It was about a month ago that I praised what I saw as one of the most comprehensive, beneficial acts of Congress in American history. With the passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, I saw the federal government committing to what I committed to doing for my clients decades ago: help small businesses. While not sold as a clear and free windfall, the drafters of CARES made it clear: Spend this money on the right things  like keeping your employees on the payroll  and keep your books in order, and any loans you receive under the program would be forgiven. It was a lifeline to small businesses when they needed it most. A way to defend them, and by virtue the U.S. economy, from mass extinction. IRS Takes Action After-Hours But now that lifeline is being yanked away. On April 30, late in the evening  when few people were likely paying attention  the IRS released guidance that essentially nullified much of the benefit of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) created under the CARES Act. It stated that those who receive PPP may not receive tax deductions for using those funds to pay expenses. That includes expenses like payroll and rent, the very point of the PPP.

Congress specifically drafted the legislation so that small businesses could receive PPP loans without having to count it as taxable income. That makes the IRS move all the more stupefying. And it could cost some small businesses on the brink more than they can afford. How Much Could It Cost Businesses? That cost isnt theoretical. Its actually fairly easy to quantify. Lets say a small-business owner requests and receives $600,000 to cover payroll for the 10 weeks where he or she is covered by the PPP. If they cant deduct that amount as expenses, that means their federal tax burden clocks in at a rate of 37%. That equates to a $222,000 increase in their taxable income. Meaning the effective tax-free benefit of the loan is $378,000, not the $600,000 intended by the law. Why Some May Say Move Makes Sense The IRS has one goal: to collect revenue, so maybe this move shouldnt have surprised me. Your tax adviser might tell you that they actually saw this coming all along, and its just how the IRS works. After all, to prevent "double dipping," the law doesn't allow deductions for expenses that are otherwise exempt from tax. Even though Congress didn't create an exception to this rule, lawmakers intended the expenses to be deductible to provide the greatest possible benefit for small businesses. And while this type of tax exemption is usually reserved for organizations like churches and the military, it makes sense to expand it in the midst of a pandemic where most of the businesses receiving the PPP arent able to operate or bring in income due to state or local orders. What You Can Do about It The only advice I can give to my clients is to push back. The truth is that your voice matters. We do not have to collectively lay down and just take whatever the IRS hands down. Call your senator, the Small Business Administration and local representatives. Call your local news station and tell them how this change is going to hurt your business.

Ive made my career caring for my clients and sticking up for them. And right now, that includes contacting my own senator, which I did the moment I heard about this guidance from the IRS. If theres enough collective pressure, the IRS will either back down, or Congress will pass legislation that explicitly puts PPP tax deductions into law. A bill has already been introduced in the Senate that would make it clear that small businesses can deduct expenses paid with a forgiven PPP loan. There's strong bipartisan support for the bill, so its eventual passage looks promising  but the Treasury Department opposed the legislation. If our only option is to put pressure on the Treasury, then thats what well do. Thankfully, likely after receiving messages from frustrated and beaten down business owners, a bipartisan group of congressional leaders on May 5 sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin asking him to reverse course on this shortsighted rule change. The letter states it nearly perfectly: Providing assistance to small businesses, only to disallow their business deductions  reverses the benefit that Congress specifically granted by exempting PPP loan forgiveness from income. But its only a first step, and the urgency and scale of this moment demands more. For already battered small-business owners, it certainly feels easier to throw your hands up and surrender, but dont. If you have anything left, use it to stand up and let your voice be heard. Its not the advice youd normally hear from your tax adviser, yet these times are anything but normal.
The biggest threat to Brazils ability to combat coronavirus is its far-right president, British medical journal The Lancet has concluded.

In an editorial, The Lancet said Jair Bolsonaros disregard for lockdown measures was sowing confusion across the South American country,

On Friday, Brazils health ministry reported a record 751 Covid-19 deaths, bringing the total confirmed death toll to 9,897. The country also registered 10,222 new cases, for a total of more than 145,000.

It is the deadliest confirmed outbreak of any emerging market nation.

Mr Bolsonaro, a former army captain, is becoming increasingly hamstrung by a political crisis following his recent sacking of popular health minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta, and the resignation of justice minister Sergio Moro, The Lancet said.

The challenge is ultimately political, requiring continuous engagement by Brazilian society as a whole. Brazil as a country must come together to give a clear answer to the So what? by its president. He needs to drastically change course or must be the next to go, the editorial said.

In response to a journalists question last week about the record number of deaths from coronavirus, Mr Bolsonaro said: So what? Im sorry, but what do you want me to do?

Mr Bolsonaros press office declined to comment on the Lancet editorial. On Friday, the president said he planned to have 30 friends over to the presidential palace for a barbecue. Later in the day, he joked that he may extend the invitation to thousands more, including political supporters and members of the press.

A report by Imperial College London published on Friday showed the epidemic is not yet controlled and will continue to grow in Brazil, in stark contrast to parts of Europe and Asia, where enforced lockdowns have had success.

While the Brazilian epidemic is still relatively nascent on a national scale, our results suggest that further action is needed to limit spread and prevent health system overload, the report said.

In its editorial, The Lancet noted the challenges Brazil faces. About 13 million Brazilians live in shanty town favelas, where hygiene recommendations and physical distancing are near impossible to follow.

The countrys indigenous population was also under severe threat even before the Covid-19 outbreak due to the government turning a blind eye to or even encouraging illegal mining and logging in the Amazon rainforest.

These loggers and miners now risk bringing Covid-19 to remote populations, it said.

Most of Brazils 27 state and district governments are taking the threat of the virus more seriously than Mr Bolsonaro.

On Friday, the government of Sao Paulo, Brazils most populous state, extended mandatory quarantine until the end of May. It had been scheduled to expire on 11 May.

Additional reporting by AP
OMAHA, Neb. - International students bring a wealth of diversity and a healthy chunk of money to many American colleges and universities.

But the flow of international students to this country will most likely decrease in the fall. The coronavirus has hit the U.S. hard and may dissuade some international students from coming. Challenges and delays in obtaining visas to America, and in getting flights here, threaten the enrolment of some.

Trade conflicts and other tensions between the U.S. and some nations, particularly China, the biggest source of international students, might play into some students decisions. Further, the number of international students enrolled in American colleges has already dropped over the past couple of years.

There are just so many things out of our control, said Lina Stover, undergraduate admissions director at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Sue Zhang, a Chinese student who will graduate from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln this month, has decided to go to graduate school at UNL as well. But Zhang, who has majored in civil engineering and math, told the Omaha World-Herald she expects the coronavirus crisis to cut into UNLs international student enrolment.

Worry about getting COVID-19 compelled her to stay put at UNL. She had hoped to visit other graduate schools this spring, such as Stanford and the University of California, Davis, but she didnt want to fly while the country was intensely affected by the virus.

I think the university is doing everything they can, said Zhang, who moved with some other international students into UNLs Eastside Suites residence hall when the crisis closed many dorms.

A UNL professor in civil engineering, Dave Admiraal, said Zhang has a passion for learning and the ability to pick up new things quickly. I have learned so much from them (international students) beyond what I would have learned had I only been exposed to students from the U.S., he said in an email.

Zhang plans to start working on a masters degree in water resource engineering this summer. As for trade tensions and other conflicts between the U.S. and China, she said they arent vital to her. Im just not that into politics, she said.

Last fall, UNLs international student population fell from 2,807 to 2,560, according to the UNL Factbook, a 9.6% decline. The coronavirus crisis may affect all universities enrollments in the fall, said Josh Davis, UNLs associate vice chancellor for global affairs. Its too early to say how much, he said.

International students really add so much to our campus and our community, Davis said. They enrich a campuss diversity and have become a key source of revenue to American colleges over the past 10 years. At UNL and Iowa State, they make up close to 10% of the enrolment, and many of them pay full out-of-state tuition.

Davis said UNL wants to stay in touch with international students who have stayed on campus or gone home. UNL holds virtual coffee talks, he said, and held a virtual karaoke night this semester. The students are looking for the signal and message that theyre welcome here, he said.

If visa challenges mean that some international students cant get back to Lincoln until the middle of the fall semester, Davis said, UNL will work with them.

Nationwide, 623,119 international students enrolled in American colleges in 2009-10, according to a report called Open Doors. By 2016-17, that had shot up 45% to 903,127.

Then the number of international students tumbled two straight years to 872,214 in 2018-19, the most recent year for which statistics are available.

Grant De Roo, a higher education consultant in Iowa City, said three-plus years of rhetoric that paints other countries as antagonists to the United States has hurt international enrolment. President Donald Trumps talk about sealing borders, American nationalism and a travel ban for some nations give the U.S. an unfriendly image, he said.

I think its really fundamentally changing the way international students view the United States, he said.

Ryan Hamilton, executive director of the Nebraska Republican Party, said he disagrees. Trump insists that allies fulfil their financial obligations to international organizations like NATO and that Mexico strengthen its border, Hamilton said.

If those expectations make the U.S. seem less friendly and unwilling to be taken advantage of, most Americans are prepared to accept the consequences, he said.

Edna Chun, chief learning officer at the consulting firm HigherEd Talent, said delays in obtaining visas could make it difficult for some international students to come to the U.S. Greater scrutiny of visas is also a concern.

Chun cited a Palestinian student from Lebanon who enrolled at Harvard last year. Immigration officials in Boston sent the student back to Lebanon when they found anti-American political messages from his friends on a laptop, according to multiple news accounts. The young man was ultimately allowed in.

The University of Nebraska at Kearney saw a slight decline in international students last year. Tim Burkink, UNKs assistant vice chancellor for international affairs, said he and his staff hope to retain many of their existing international students, about three-fourths of whom remain in Kearney.

Visa hangups would probably be the biggest barrier to coming to UNK, he said. Staff shortages at U.S. consulates and embassies in other nations (American staffers have been brought back during the pandemic) contribute to visa problems.

Burkink nevertheless said he is optimistic that the number of international students at UNK will be flat or only slightly down.

De Roo said competition for those students has increased in recent years. English-language nations such as Canada, Great Britain and Australia have upped their higher ed games to provide good degree programs for international students, he said.

Not everyone saw a decline last year. Wayne State College said its global enrolment increased last fall to 82 from 38. UNOs rose from 845 to 876.

Sue Zhang, who plans to be an engineer, said her parents hope that she will eventually return to China. Their wishes are a major consideration, she said.

But she could also imagine getting a job in the U.S. or getting married and staying here. I was kind of thinking about it, she said. Who will know what will happen later?
The Congress party in Goa on Friday demanded an inquiry into what it called the medical lapses that preceded the death of its senior leader Jitendra Deshprabhu, who died last month after a severe bout of pneumonia.

The demand came on a day when a senior resident doctor in Goa Medical College was suspended pending further inquiry for being absent without leave when Deshprabhu was rushed to hospital requiring critical care.

As per the information gathered, two key on-duty doctors were missing when they were needed to attend Deshprabhu, Girish Chodankar, the Congress Goa unit chief, said while alleging that the doctors were being protected by higher-ups.

The Congress demands an impartial inquiry by a retired high court judge on [the] mysterious death of our leader, Chodankar said.

Later, the dean of Goa Medical College and Hospital issued an order suspending the senior resident doctor. A show-cause notice has also been sent to Dr Jeevan Vernekar, the head of the radiology department.

According to the show-cause notice sent to Dr Vernekar, there was a delay in conducting Deshprabhus CT scan at the time of his admission in GMC.

It also said that when the chief medical officer accompanied Deshprabhu to the radiology department neither a junior doctor nor senior resident doctor was present there to do the CT scan and the patient had to wait for 35 minutes.

The Goa Association of Resident Doctors has, however, protested the suspension of the doctor.

In a statement to the media, the association said the decision to place the doctor on suspension was demoralizing and demotivating to the serving residents of the institution who are already overburdened and overstressed working as frontline warriors in the ongoing pandemic.

Residents support this institution in fighting this pandemic, but the suspension order meted against one of our senior residents is demoralizing, the association said.

Jitendra Deshprabhu, the former two-time legislator in Goa, died due to pneumonia on April 21. His test report for Covid-19 was reported negative.
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The debut of Rolls-Royce's latest 'murdered out' Black Badge series SUV has attracted a younger brand of car buyers say bosses at the iconic car firm.

The 405,000 Cullinan Black Badge is the first SUV to receive the 'murdered out' all-black treatment.

The process involves replacing the traditional chrome trims with a black chrome to make the car look more sinister.

The black chrome design was originally created after the Second World War when people began hot-rodding and using high-temperature black paint.

Rolls-Royce's latest 'murdered out' Cullinan Black Badge (pictured) has attracted a younger brand of car buyers, just as it was designed to

The Spirit of Ecstasy bonnet ornament is one of the main features to be designed in black chrome to help make the car appear more sinister

The look was then rediscovered in the 1990s and it has been a hit with younger, more modern audiences since.

And now Rolls, one of the most traditional of the world's top car brands, have got in on the act.

Chief executive officer Torsten Muller-Otvos said: 'Black Badge reflects the desires of a distinct group of Rolls-Royce clients: men and women who take risks, break rules and build success on their own terms'.

BMW, the parent company of Rolls-Royce, voted in 2015 on the drastic decision to 'murder' the Spirit of Ecstasy bonnet ornament by changing it from silver to black.

The decision to abandon tradition was made so that younger customers could see Instagram potential in the darker car trims.

Rolls-Royce said the car is aimed at 'the innovators, trailblazers, rule-breakers -- and above all -- those who dare.'

The Cullinan is the first SUV to receive the 'murdered out' treatment following the success of the Dawn, Ghost and Wraith models

Rolls-Royce said the car is aimed at 'the innovators, trailblazers, rule-breakers -- and above all -- those who dare'

The concept worked and one-in-four of their cars sold globally belong to the Black Badge series and the more sinister design has lowered the average age of their customers from 50 to 42 since 2015.

Other models such as the Dawn, Ghost and Wraith have all received the Black Badge treatment.

The Spirit of Ecstasy is not the only feature to be redesigned.

The grille, the boot handle and exhaust pipes have all been made in black chrome, but the door handles have been kept as normal chrome.

Inside a motorised picnic table, refrigerator and rear monitors can all be found.
A 17-year-old boy, who was allegedly travelling nationwide and putting the public at risk, has become the first juvenile to face court charged with breaking the new Covid-19 movement restriction laws.

The boy, who cannot be named because he was a juvenile, was charged today with three counts of breaching the Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Act, 2020.

Members of his family have been infected with the coronavirus, the Dublin Childrens Court was told.

The breaches of the new laws aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus are alleged to have occurred in Clondalkin and Blanchardstown in Dublin, on April 28 and three days earlier, and in Co. Limerick on April 27.

Garda Gary Farrell objected to bail and cited the teens 18 bench warrants for failing to turn up to court for other cases, from February 2017 until March this year.

He told Judge Brendan Toale the teenagers family has been affected by the pandemic but the boy was driving around the country posing a danger for everyone he is in contact with.

He is travelling nationwide in MPVs (mechanically propelled vehicles), causing risk to the public not only by travelling but by spreading covid, he said.

Defence solicitor Sandra Frayne said those charges were subsumed with other matters and he had the presumption of innocence.

He also faces 26 other charges of theft, cannabis possession, dangerous driving, and other motoring offences such as having no licence or insurance. These offences allegedly happened between March 12 and April 27 this year.

His solicitor pleaded for bail to be granted to the teenager whose mother was present for the hearing.

She asked the judge to note that all his bench warrants had been sorted out and there were none live at present. He has found a previous one-week stint in custody difficult because he was the only foreign national there at that time.

He was also aware of the consequences of the pandemic which had affected his own family, she submitted. The teenagers record of coming to court far outweighed the amount of non-appearances by the boy. He had come on three out of every four of his court dates, she estimated.

Judge Toale told the youth when the court sets a date for his next appearance, it is not for the craic and you come if you like.

He granted bail but ordered the teenager to remain within five kilometres from his home and comply with Covid-19 guidelines for the duration of the health emergency.

He cannot drive a motor vehicle and must obey a 10pm to 6am curfew at his home.

The case resumes in two weeks when the court will decide whether his bail will be revoked for breaking bail terms  by repeatedly breaching curfew and driving a car while banned  in connection with other theft charges.
Vietnam believes upholding international law, strengthened solidarity, cooperation and mutual trust on a global scale must underline efforts to preserve the hard-won peace and stability in all parts of the world, Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh remarked at a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on Friday to mark 75 years of the end of the Second World War in Europe.

Minh attended the UNSC high-level video meeting with the theme 75 years from the end of the Second World War on European Soil  lessons learned for preventing future atrocities, responsibility of the Security Council, which took place on Friday, the Vietnam Government Portal reported.

Seventy-five years ago, the deadliest war in human history ended, but only after having caused untold suffering to hundreds of millions of people around the world, Minh emphasized.

The defeat of the fascists and aggressors in the Second World War, and indeed in all wars and conflicts, proved that actions driven by expansionism, militarism and the thirst for conquest and dominance can never bend the will of nations to fight for their independence and freedom, he said.

He added that for Vietnam, the end of World War Two helped bring a new beginning, as the nation emerged independent after nearly a century under colonialism.

Rising from the ashes of World War Two, nations have come together to rebuild a more peaceful, stable and prosperous world.

At the center of these efforts emerged a collective security system anchored in the UN Charter and international law, the deputy PM said.

"Unfortunately, the end of the Second World War did not mean that peace was guaranteed. Colonialism and aggression continued to wreak havoc on nations. Vietnam, for one, suffered decades of devastating wars before our final victory in gaining independence, unification and peace, Minh was quoted by the Vietnam News Agency as saying.

Given the lessons learnt from World War Two and Vietnam's own history, the country believes strongly that upholding international law, strengthened solidarity, cooperation and mutual trust on a global scale must underline efforts to preserve the hard-won peace and stability in all parts of the world, he stated.

He said the principles of the UN Charter, particularly those of sovereign equality, territorial integrity, non-use of force and peaceful settlement of disputes, have proven to be pivotal in preventing another disastrous world war and maintaining sustainable peace.

The deputy PM and foreign minister expressed his belief that the worlds common human aspiration for peace, freedom and justice, and our determination to defend independence, sovereignty and territory, will prevail over confrontation, the use of force and attempts for domination and conquest.

Victory in Europe Day, which falls on May 8, is a day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War Two of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on May 8, 1945, marking the end of World War Two in Europe.

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Ernie Long with his wife Patsy after his amazing recovery

An 89-year-old man has said he feels like "Lazarus" after returning home after recovering from Covid-19.

Ernie Long said: "It's in my head now that I really shouldn't be here.

"I feel just like Lazarus, returning from the dead"

Ernie had become unwell some weeks ago with double pneumonia and COPD and had been admitted to South West Acute Hospital (SWAH) for treatment. Two days into his stay in hospital he was told that he had tested positive for COVID-19. Ernie spent a total of 15 days in SWAH before being transferred to Drumclay Transitional Unit in Enniskillen to receive further care and rehabilitation.

"I had four things wrong with me, and any one of the four could have been lethal," he said. "I had the virus, COPD, double pneumonia, and Parkinson's disease.

"Any one of those things could have been enough to see me off!"

"My first thoughts were shock and fear when I was told that I had the virus, but I accepted whatever would happen, would happen.

"The staff in SWAH and Drumclay really went beyond the call of duty for me.

"You could never pay those who work in the NHS enough for what they do."

Ernie's wife Patsy said: "It's wonderful and unbelievable.

"There were some times I didn't think I'd ever see the day he would come home."

Staff at Drumclay Transitional Unit gave Ernie a great send off and staff clapped and cheered Ernie as he returned home last Monday.

Daughter Linda Long, a social worker, said it had been a very worrying time for the family: "He's 89 - and we were concerned that he wouldn't come through.

"But we were very impressed by the care he was given throughout the whole process."

Ciara Farry Deputy Sister at Drumclay said: "We are delighted to have assisted with Ernie's recovery and wish him and his family all the very best."
A Maryland police officer's body camera has captured the moment he warned a man to drop a knife and get down on the ground before he fatally shot the armed offender.

Montgomery County Police Sgt. David Cohen fired the first of at least five shots about one minute after he exited his patrol vehicle and confronted Finan H. Berhe, 30, in a residential parking lot on Thursday afternoon.

The video released Friday shows he opened fire as Berhe charged towards him.

Montgomery County Police Sgt. David Cohen fired the first of at least five shots about one minute after he exited his patrol vehicle and confronted Finan H. Berhe, 30

The video released Friday shows he opened fire as Berhe charged towards him

'Put the knife down!' Cohen screams as Berhe runs toward him and then stops, momentarily backing away from the officer, who is pointing a gun at him.

'Get on the ground! I don't want to shoot you!' Cohen shouts just before Berhe started running at the officer again.

As the officer opens fire, Berhe collapses and drops an object he was holding.

'Man down!' a man shouts after the shooting stopped.

Police said investigators recovered a knife that Berhe was brandishing when Cohen shot him. Berhe died at a hospital, police said. No officers were injured.

Department spokesman Rick Goodale said the officer is a white man. Berhe was black, according to online court records.

Cohen was the first officer to respond to a call about a man who threw a rock at a neighbor's window and yelled for them to call police, according to police Chief Marcus Jones and a police department news release.

The officer performed first aid on the man before he was taken to the hospital, according to Jones.

The chief said there also is eyewitness video of the incident, but that wasn't immediately released.

Cohen, a 17-year veteran of the department, has been placed on paid administrative leave, a standard procedure after a police shooting.

Police detectives' findings will be submitted to the Howard County states attorneys office.

Police said investigators recovered a knife that Berhe was brandishing when Cohen shot him

The scene of the fatal shooting is seen here in this aerial shot

That office also is reviewing evidence in another recent deadly shooting by Montgomery County police.

The police department has said an officer shot and killed 21-year-old Duncan Socrates Lemp at his home on March 12.

The department has said Lemp was armed with a rifle and ignored commands to show his hands, but a lawyer for his family said an eyewitness said Lemp was asleep in his bedroom when police opened fire from outside his house in Potomac, Maryland.

While the department released the bodycam video from Berhe's shooting a day after the incident, it hasn't released any body camera footage from Lemp's shooting nearly two months later.

Family attorney Rene Sandler said the department hasn't acknowledged whether any bodycam video of Lemp's shooting exists.
Students at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo are furious after theyve been asked to purchase an external webcam so instructors can look over their shoulder remotely during exams, despite the fact that webcams are in short supply on online stores.

Mathematics department chair Roman Makarov wrote in a email to all math students taking summer courses that built-in webcams found on most laptops are not accepted and that there are no alternatives to writing exams in this manner. This is so that instructors can have a clear view of the students desk space in order to prevent cheating.

The cost to buy an external webcam can run upwards of $100 and more if a student needs to buy a tripod in order to mount the webcam properly.

In addition, finding a webcam in stock is a challenge with the increase in people working and learning from home. At most online retailors such as Amazon, Best Buy, Staples and Canada Computers, nearly all available name-brand webcams are out of stock. Third-party resellers have taken to sites such as eBay to sell name-brand webcams with significant markups.

Vincent Nguyen, a third-year computer science student enrolled in a statistics course over the summer, is one of many students who feel that the external webcam policy is out of line. He told the Star that quality webcams have been impossible to find and the small size of his working area makes it difficult for him to properly mount it.

A lot kids cant afford webcams and tripods . It was really unreasonable and I was surprised that (the math department) went ahead and did that, said Ngyuen.

In a statement to the Star, Wilfrid Laurier spokesperson Lori Chalmers Morrison said that the university plans on offering alternative options for students who face difficulty obtaining external webcams.

The university strives to balance the need for measures to ensure academic integrity during online courses and exams with the technology and financial realities of our students.

However, she further added that the math department believes that the external webcam together with the Respondus Lockdown Browser and Monitor is the optimal solution for online administration of math exams.

As for the alternative measures, the chair of the Mathematics department has provided suggestions to students as borrowing or renting equipment and pointing to financial supports available from the government and the institution, Chalmers Morrison said.

The president of the Wilfrid Laurier University Students Union, Devyn Kelly, said in a statement that the union is concerned about the legitimacy of the external webcam requirements and is actively working to ensure the proper non-tuition fee/expense guidelines are followed.

We have made the University aware of our concerns and expect to discuss this matter with them shortly, Kelly added.

A similar controversy erupted in April at Montreals Concordia University, where some instructors had planned to use students webcams to monitor their exams, although none of the Concordia instructors required students to purchase external webcams.

Correction, May 9, 2020: This article originally misspelled the name of Wilfrid Laurier, and has been corrected.

With files from Abhya Adlakha

TY Tom Yun is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star's radio room in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @thetomyun
A portion of a nine-storey building in Mumbai's tony Bandra area, valued Rs16.38 crore, has been attached by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with its money-laundering probe against the Congress-party promoted Associated Journals Limited (AJL).

The federal probe agency said it has issued a provisional order, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, to freeze "part" of the asset and has issued notices to AJL and its CMD and veteran Congress leader Moti Lal Vora.

The AJL is controlled by senior Congress leaders, including members of the Gandhi family. The group runs the National Herald newspaper.

The nine-floor building has two basements and a total built-up area of 15,000 sq metres, it said, adding its total value is Rs120 crore.

The building is located at plot no 2, survey no 341, near Kala Nagar, EPF office, Bandra (East).

The agency alleged that the accused in this case, that includes former Haryana chief minister and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Vora, "used the proceeds of crime" in the form of a plot allotted "illegally" to AJL in Panchkula and pledged it to avail loan from the Syndicate Bank branch on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg in Delhi to construct this building in Bandra.

"Thus, the said asset at Mumbai that germinated out of the proceeds of crime has been attached to the extent of Rs16.38 crore. Further investigation is going on," the agency said.

The Panchkula plot has already been attached by the ED, and Hooda and Vora have been questioned by it in the case. The plot at C-17, Sector-6was allotted to AJL first in 1982 by the Haryana government.

But the same was resumed back by the estate officer of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) by an order in October 1992 as AJL did not comply with the conditions of allotment letter, ED had said.

"However, Hooda blatantly misused his official position and dishonestly allotted the said plot afresh in the guise of reallotment to the AJL at original rates plus interest in violation of necessary conditions and policy of HUDA by an order of August 28, 2005 for Rs 59,39,200," it had charged.

The actual value of the property is about Rs 64.93 crore, it said.

ED has charged that Hooda, as the then CM, caused wrongful loss to HUDA and wrongful gain to AJL by ignoring legal opinion and recommendations of HUDA officers and financial commissioner and principal secretary, Town and Country Planning.

The agency also said its probe found that Hooda "granted undue extensions thrice to AJL for construction of the said plot and after acquisition projected it as untainted property and further acquired loans from the bank by way of mortgaging the same from time to time".

The CBI also filed a charge sheet before a Panchkula court on December 2018 and named Vora and Hooda in connection with the alleged irregularities in the case.

ED had filed a criminal case in the Panchkula plot allotment instance in 2016 based on a CBI FIR, which in turn was at the request of the BJP government of Haryana, and the criminal FIRs filed by the Haryana vigilance bureau.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
(Bloomberg) -- Elon Musk wants people to return to work. Google and Facebook Inc. have another message for their staff: get ready to stay home for all of 2020.

Sundar Pichai, Googles chief executive officer, told employees on Thursday to prepare to work remotely through October and possibly to the end of the year, according to people familiar with the decision. A spokeswoman confirmed that the majority of staff is expected to work from home until 2021.

Two weeks ago, Pichai wrote an email to his workforce that said some offices would open as soon as June. This week, employees were told returns would vary by division and location but that most Google staff would not return until at least the end of October, according to the people who were not authorized to speak publicly.

On Thursday, Facebook told employees that they can work remotely through 2020 if they like. The social media company doesnt expect to open most offices until July 6 at the earliest.

The edicts from the internet giants come as states and corporations grapple with ways to reopen as the virus pandemic rages on. California, Googles home state, is letting some businesses open in limited ways, including some manufacturing. Select executives, namely Tesla Inc.s Musk, are outspoken advocates for opening up the economy, although most technology leaders are being more cautious.

Alphabet Inc.s Google was one of the first Silicon Valley companies to shut its offices in early March. In his April email, Pichai said any return would be staggered and incremental. The company employs more than 100,000 people and has tens of thousands of contract workers.

In March, Google said it would cover pay and sick leave for contract staff impacted by office closures, such as cafeteria workers, and planned to evaluate the decision over the coming months. A spokesperson did not comment on that policy.

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Shakespeare explored this theme and acknowledged its irrationality and craziness in A Midsummer's Night Dream, where Theseus says, "The lunatic, the lover, and the poet are of imagination all compact."

All human cultures around the world and throughout history have their accounts of great love. The Taj Mahal was built as a symbol of the power of lost love, Tristan and Isolde and Romeo and Juliet are classic tales of doomed and forbidden love.

A: Romantic love features in all aspects of our lives. Its potency and ability to overwhelm us are common themes in everything from popular music through to the motivating force behind many violent crimes. Mutual love can bring ecstasy, while lost love can cause agony.

Q : When I see the negative effect that romantic love can have on people's lives, such as controlling jealousy, family violence, stalking, and adulterous betrayal  it seems to me to be a form of mental illness best avoided rather than something to aspire to. Your thoughts?

Over the past 45 years, psychologists have described and discussed the phenomenon of romantic love. When you fall in love, suddenly, one person takes on a great significance. Even mundane objects that belong to them seem special, and their interests become fascinating. You are consumed by a restless energy, and you cannot sleep, eat, or stop thinking about them. They are your sole motivation. You suffer wild mood swings, and every experience is heightened. You are obsessed, and feel a craving for the loved one that is as primal as a newborn baby's urge to locate the nipple. It is so intense that people will die, or kill, for it.

Dr Helen Fisher is a biological anthropologist, research fellow at the Kinsey Institute, and chief scientific advisor to the dating site chemistry.com. She is best known for her research into the biology of romantic love.

Fisher wanted to find out more about the biology of this condition, so, in 2014, she collaborated with neurosurgeon Lucy Brown to investigate. A group of 32 people who were madly in love (17 happily so, and 15 who had been dumped or rejected) were given MRI scans while being shown images, both of the loved one and of neutral subjects.

There was strong activity in the most primitive part of the brain  the basal ganglia or "reptilian brain". An area that showers the brain with the feel-good chemical, dopamine, was being triggered. This is the centre for deep craving, and is also the area that is affected by cocaine. The result is a drive, rather than an emotion.

Fisher describes three stages of love. The first is attraction, which is fairly impersonal. It is what you might experience as you scan the room at a party, see a tradie from the tram, or choose to swipe one way or the other on Tinder.
Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev has congratulated Russias President Vladimir Putin and the friendly people of Russia on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War, Trend reports.

Vladimir Putin thanked for the attention and congratulations and congratulated President Ilham Aliyev and the friendly people of Azerbaijan on the holiday.

The heads of state exchanged views on the measures taken to combat the coronavirus and the bilateral cooperation between the two countries in this field.

During the telephone conversation, the sides also discussed the issues relating to further development of strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and Russia.
The Ontario government continued plans to ease the lockdown Saturday and announced provincial parks would reopen next week, as the education minister also announced financial supports to keep child-care providers afloat.

Premier Doug Ford said hundreds of provincial parks would reopen with physical-distancing rules in place on Monday, with the rest set to open by the end of the week.

These places will be open for walking, hiking, birdwatching and biking ... people will once again be able to enjoy the outdoors, Ford said, adding that physical-distancing measures will stay in place and people are urged not to gather.

Were trusting people to be responsible and take this seriously, so they can enjoy themselves while staying safe and healthy.

The announcement comes as Ontario reported another 346 cases of COVID-19 and 59 more deaths related to the virus.

The daily growth rate was at its lowest since March, at just 1.8 per cent, with a new total of 19,944 cases of the coronavirus.

Meanwhile, Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the government will help child-care centres cover their operating costs and waive all fees related to licensing, although he didnt go into detail about how much money is earmarked for the program.

He said the province will look at each application on a case-by-case basis.

Lecce said its imperative to support child-care providers, so that parents can return to work when the pandemic is over.

We want to make sure people are working, we want to make sure that parents are supported, we want to make sure that your kids are safe, Lecce said, adding their child-care services will ensure Ontarios economy can bounce back from the pandemic.

It is so consequential for getting parents and families back in the labour market.

Advocacy groups for child-care facilities had been calling for financial support since April, after providers were forced to shutdown and stop collecting fees because of the spread of COVID-19.

Some facilities were allowed to remain open to provide their services to the children of front-line workers.

In Toronto, the owners of Blossoming Minds Learning Centre say the announcement comes as a relief, but theyre waiting to hear more details about whether the support will be substantial enough to keep them afloat.

(Lecce) didnt commit to any level of funding, so were not sure what level of funding theyre talking about, said Krista Dahlgren, a director at the facility, who said their businesss monthly operating costs come in at $25,000 from rent, loan and insurance payments.

Its going to be in the details, which are not available yet.

Dahlgren said theyre happy to see a first step in support, but will be waiting to see how far it goes.

She said some child-care providers they know have signalled theyll shutdown permanently by June without immediate support.

The child-care centre also said it wants more clarity about what kind of restrictions and requirements will be placed on facilities when they are eventually allowed to reopen.

Meanwhile, the province continued other steps to loosen lockdown restrictions on Saturday, with hardware stores now allowed to open to customers.

On Monday, stores with a street entrance will be allowed to provide curbside pickups for customers.

The reopening of provincial parks comes with certain restrictions: beaches, camping areas and playgrounds will remain closed.

Park officials will also be patrolling the area to ensure that visitors are maintaining physical distancing rules, the government said.

The province is asking people to only visit parks that are local to them and to avoid gathering at them.

The announcement comes as the number of people in hospital, on ventilators and in intensive care has also dropped since Fridays report.
By Jonnelle Marte (Reuters) - Before she was laid off from her bartending job in Charleston, South Carolina, Shana Swain used to spend her nights serving food and mixing Manhattans and Cosmopolitans. Now Swain, 40, spends her evenings having dinner with her girls, age 5 and 8, and studying for her real-estate license, which she hopes will provide more long-term stability for her family after the coronavirus crisis upended her livelihood

By Jonnelle Marte

(Reuters) - Before she was laid off from her bartending job in Charleston, South Carolina, Shana Swain used to spend her nights serving food and mixing Manhattans and Cosmopolitans.

Now Swain, 40, spends her evenings having dinner with her girls, age 5 and 8, and studying for her real-estate license, which she hopes will provide more long-term stability for her family after the coronavirus crisis upended her livelihood.

"I can't be put in a position like this again," said Swain, a bartender for 20 years.

American women are taking an outsized hit from the early wave of unemployment caused by the pandemic, due to the nature of the jobs that were lost in the business shutdowns to control the spread of the coronavirus. Women accounted for for 60% of the jobs lost in March and 55% of the 20.5 million jobs shed in April, according to data released by the Labor Department on Friday.

The unemployment rate for adult women also rose sharply to 15.5% in April, above the unemployment rates of 13% for men and 14.7% for all workers.

Women who are the sole or primary breadwinners in their families lost jobs at an especially fast clip, with their unemployment rate rising to 15.9% in April, compared to 13% for married women.

April's job losses were led by a decline of 7.7 million jobs in leisure and hospitality and 2.5 million jobs lost in health care and education - two consumer-facing industries dominated by women, including many women of color, economists say.

The roles are generally low-paying. Cashiers and bartenders each earn a median of $11.40 an hour, and waitresses make a median $11 per hour, according to data from the Labor Department - making it likely that workers had little savings to rely on during the crisis. In some parts of the country, these wages are much lower.

"Women who were employed in these sectors were already hanging on by a thread and many of them were single mothers or primary breadwinners for their family," said C. Nicole Mason, president and chief executive of the Institute for Womens Policy.

Swain said many of her regular customers, who nicknamed her "Shana Banana," texted her after the restaurant closed. She went to the supermarket to stock up, then blanched and froze vegetables to make them last longer.

"I just know when it hits the fan you need to be ready," she said.

REVERSING GAINS

The crisis is threatening to undo gains women achieved in recent years, when more were entering the workforce and driving an increase in the overall labor force participation rate for people in the prime working ages of 25 and 54, economists say.

Last December, women briefly made up the majority of the workforce for the first time since 2010, a milestone applauded as a benefit of the tight labor force and record economic expansion. Poverty rates for households headed by women, mostly single mothers, dropped to a historical low of 26.8% in 2018, Census data shows https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/09/poverty-rate-for-people-in-female-householder-families-lowest-on-record.html.

"Now, there's a clear dramatic shift where women are losing jobs at a rapid pace," said Mason.

In April, the labor force participation rate for prime age working women dropped to 73.6%, declining more than the labor force participation rate for men. The gender participation gap widened, after reaching a new low in February.

Women without college degrees, a group that was disproportionately affected by the job losses in March, may struggle to recover the ground lost during the pandemic, said Didem Tuzemen, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City who studied how workers were affected by the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

During the last recession, women without a college education saw a steeper drop in labor force participation, Tuzemen found.

Some people will get back to work over the next several months as states loosen the rules on social distancing and businesses reopen. But many businesses are likely to open in phases and with reduced staff, leaving jobs uncertain.

"If they cannot find a job, they may leave the labor force," said Tuzemen.

The 11-year economic expansion was opening new doors for disadvantaged workers who previously struggled to get ahead, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said last month after the Fed's policy setting meeting. "It is heartbreaking, frankly, to see that all threatened now," he said.

Tina Watson returned to work last fall for the first time in more than five years, taking a job as a cook for McDonald's in Holly Hill, South Carolina. In February, she changed jobs and went to Wendy's, which offered her a full-time schedule - up from three to four days a week - and $8 an hour, up from $7.25.

For a little while, the single mother was able to pay her bills and save a bit of money for her and her 11-year-old son. But that period of stability was short lived.

Watson's schedule was cut to two days a week at the end of March, when Wendy's closed the dining room to comply with social distancing requirements. The smaller paycheck is not enough to cover her bills, and with schools closed, she is struggling to find reliable child care for her son.

"I've always been struggling, but I feel like it's beginning to get worse," said Watson, who previously relied on her mother, who died last year, for financial help. "The little check that I have is nothing."

(Reporting by Jonnelle Marte; Editing by Heather Timmons and Chizu Nomiyama)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
The number of fatalities due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) crossed 2,000 and total infections rose above 60,000 on Saturday, doubling in roughly 11 days, as the country prepares to resume more economic activity while bracing for a spike in infections because of increased movement.

According to data compiled from numbers released by state authorities, there were 3,049 new infections and 117 new deaths recorded on Saturday. In all, there have now been 62,715 people infected by the Sars-Cov-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, and 2,025 fatalities. Roughly 19,165 people have recovered from the disease.

The highest number of cases continued to be detected from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Delhi, with the national capital reporting a lower-than-usual number as officials changed the classification of the 24-hour period.

According to Union health minister Harsh Vardhan, India has now raised its testing capacity to 95,000 per day and a total 1,525,631 tests have been conducted so far across 332 government and 121 private laboratories.

We do not anticipate a very worst type of situation in our country like many other developed countries but still we have prepared the whole country for the worst situation, Harsh Vardhan said at meeting to review the status of Covid-19 outbreak in northeastern states.

The health minister said there are now 8,043 hospitals dedicated for Covid-19 patients with a total capacity of 1.67 million beds and the country was adequately prepared to handle a surge in cases.

Globally, the virus has now infected over 4 million people and claimed the lives of at least 277,000 people in what is the worst pandemic the world has seen since the Spanish Flu in 1918.

The health ministers remarks came a day after a top government official said India now needs to learn to live with the virus. We will have to learn to live with the virus, for which it is important to make critical behavioral changes and incorporate all the preventive guidelines that health ministry has been issuing on following hand hygiene, cough etiquettes and social distancing measures, as part of your daily routine. It is an everyday battle for us to keep the infection at bay, said Lav Agarwal, health ministry joint secretary, in a briefing on Friday.

Authorities are now focusing on 10 states that account for the most number of cases. The ministry of health and family welfare has decided to deploy central teams to 10 states that have witnessed/are witnessing high case load and high spurt of cases. The teams will assist state health departments of respective states to facilitate management of the outbreak, the health ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

The expert teams consist of a senior official from the health ministry, a joint secretary-level nodal officer, and a public health expert. The states where the teams are being sent are Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The outbreak in India began on March 2 and by the end of the month, the country was under a sweeping lockdown that helped avert a situation of the kind seen in several populous countries where tens of thousands have now died. But pressure to relax the curbs is now growing, with large number of people having lost their livelihoods  especially those from lower economic groups such as factory workers and daily wage earners who have been walking in the thousands to their hometowns hundreds of kilometers away.

The movement has also raised fears of infections growing as the tens of thousands taking the trains come in potential contact that could spread the virus.

Similar concerns also surround Indians returning from abroad. On Saturday, at least two foreign returnees who reached Kerala on May 7 in two separate first-day flights -- one from Dubai and another from Abu Dhabi  tested positive for the disease.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: In a surprising trend reversal, migrant labourers have started arriving in Telangana even during the lockdown period. Around 300 migrant workers from Bihar reached Hyderabad on Friday to work in various rice mills across the State.

The migrant workers reached Lingampally railway station from Khagaria in Bihar by a Shramik special train. Civil Supplies Minister Gangula Kamalakar, State Rythu Bandhu chairman Palla Rajeshwar Reddy and Civil Supplies Corporation chairman M Srinivas Reddy received them at the railway station. The Minister and others offered flowers to the migrant workers and welcomed them to work in the State.

Minister Kamalakar said that several workers were coming in from other States to work in the rice mills during the paddy procurement season. The first batch of workers had arrived from Bihar on Friday, he added. Rajeshwar Reddy said that the steps taken by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had induced confidence in migrant workers.

After medical check-ups, the migrant workers were transported to different locations in the State.

Of the around 300 workers, 60 reached Nalgonda and Miryalaguda, 25 workers went to Karimnagar, Kamareddy and Jagtial, 129 were headed for Peddpalli and Sultanabad, 25 for Mancherial and Kagaznagar and another 20 workers reached Siddipet in special buses.

Straight to work

Of the around 300 workers, 60 reached Nalgonda and Miryalaguda, 25 workers went to Karimnagar, Kamareddy and Jagtial, 129 were headed for Peddpalli and Sultanabad, 25 for Mancherial and Kagaznagar and another 20 reached Siddipet in special buses
Local fashion designer Eamonn McGill has launched a range of non-medical fashion face coverings which will be available to purchase in a number of pharmacies, retail stores and online.

'With the current climate, countries like Germany, Italy and Scotland have put measures in place recommending that everyone wears a face covering (non-medical) whilst out in public, helping to prevent touching of the face and acting as a shield,' notes the Lordship native, who has his own fashion studio in Dublin.#

'Following the lead of designers around the world, 3 weeks ago we started making face coverings for friends and family ,' he told his social medial followers. 'Fashion face coverings are becoming a must have fashion accessory and so we decided to make them a little more fun, with over 50 styles available to retailers and 15-20 styles available for individual purchases from @trendsbeautydistribution.com

There are three face covering designs available; block colour, patterned and a luxury option with features an additional printed or sequin layer for our luxury designs.

All his face coverings are machine washable up to 60 degrees, and for each one sold, a donation will be made to the Simon Community.

The former Marist student and National College of Art and Design is best known for his glamourous designs for celebrities such as Holly Carpenter, Georgia Steel, and Maura Higgins.
Hudson, NY (12534)

Today

A few snow showers around this morning, otherwise mostly cloudy. High 41F. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 30%..

Tonight

Cloudy with snow showers developing after midnight. Low 27F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 40%.
Coronavirus needs to be destigmatised so that people get treatment in time which will help reduce the mortality rate, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Director Dr Randeep Guleria said here on Saturday.

Dr Guleria who is a noted pulmonologist and Dr Manish Soneja of AIIMS Department of Medicine visited the Civil Hospital here and held discussions with its staff amid rapidly rising number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the city.

Ahmedabad city's COVID-19 mortality rate is 6.5 per cent, almost double that of the country at 3.3 per cent.

The two interacted with resident doctors of the hospital seeking their inputs about treatment of COVID-19 patients and provided expert guidance, officials said.

Gujarat Principal Secretary (Health) Jayanti Ravi was also present.

The visitors from the AIIMS, flown in by a special IAF aircraft on Friday, later met Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel at the CM's residence in Gandhinagar.

Speaking to the media, Dr Guleria said the stigma attached to coronavirus was contributing to the high mortality rate as people delay getting examined for fear of being quarantined and stigmatised as infection carrier.

It was therefore important to destigmatise coronavirus so that people get treated in time, he said.

It was also important to protect the elderly and those with comorbid conditions (having other chronic health issues) from getting infected, and such persons should approach hospitals at the earliest to avoid health complications, he said.

"Because of the fear of getting bad name or getting quarantined, some patients are scared of visiting hospital or getting tested. When they are positive and come late, it raises chances of mortality," Dr Guleria said.

"Several times, lives of patients with mild symptoms getting low oxygen supply in blood can be saved if they get proper oxygen supply following timely treatment. Low oxygen affects their heart and lungs, and this increases their chances of death.

"If they have symptoms which can be that of coronavirus, they should get tested, isolated, to save their life with early diagnosis and treatment, and also save their near and dear ones from getting affected," he said.

Dr Guleria also praised the facilities created by the government for the treatment of coronavirus cases.

It was important to fight the disease at the community level rather than at the hospital level, he said. "Healthcare workers, residents, nursing staff, have to together fight the pandemic....Community participation is vital. People have to come forward to reduce mortality and spread of transmission," he said.

The two AIIMS doctors were flown here at the request of Chief Minister Vijay Rupani to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, state officials said.

Gujarat has so far reported 7,797 coronavirus cases and 472 deaths. 5,540 cases and 363 deaths have been reported in Ahmedabad alone.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Houstonians paid their final respects to fallen HPD tactical flight officer Jason Knox today at 11 a.m. at Houston's First Baptist Church. Knox's life was tragically cut short last Saturday when an HPD helicopter crashed near Greens Bayou. The pilot, Chase Cormier, is recovering.

Remembered as a 'devoted husband', 'loving father' and the "best officer ever," Knox is survived by his wife, Keira, and their children, Cooper and Eliza.

HPD has asked the funeral service be reserved for Knox's family, friends and first responders.

Below is a schedule of the memorial service at Houston's First Baptist Church:

Opening Remarks: HPD Chaplain Vincent Johnson

Radio Sign-Off (75 FOX) Chief Acevedo/Dispatch

U.S. Flag Folded

Presentation of Texas Flag (pre-folded) Assistant Chief Larry Satterwhite

Presentation of City of Houston Flag (pre-folded) Mayor Turner

Presentation of Hat Cover/Helmet--Commander Patty Cantu

21-Gun Salute

TAPS-HPD Honor Guard

Flyover/Missing Man-HPD Air and Marine Division

Riderless Horse-HPD Mounted Patrol

Advance the Colors--HPD Honor Guard

Amazing Grace-Bagpipe Band

Conclusion of Service

Knox was an eight-year veteran of HPD, serving as a tactical flight officer. Knox began his law enforcement career in 2006 with the constables office in Harris Countys Precinct 5. He was sworn in as a Houston officer in June 2012. His family has asked that instead of flowers, donations be made to assisttheofficer.com.

Knox was known for his true passion for restoring old police cruisers.

If you ever saw Jason driving around in one of his restored Houston PD cruisers, you could see his pride in being an HPD officer, the Houston Police Officers Union said. Officer Jason Knox is the best of who we are and we will miss him dearly. Jason watched over us, from above, and we know he will continue to do so.

The beloved officer was the only son of retired officer and Houston City Councilman, Mike Knox and his wife, Helen.

We celebrate all Jason embodied as a committed HPD officer and pilot who fully embraced his job and we celebrate Jason as he was outside of his work  a devoted husband, a loving father and our only son, whom we cherished every day, Councilman Knox said in a statement. Where there is great love, there is great loss. We love Jason with all of our hearts, as we always have, and we will keep all that he is alive for his children.

During the funeral service, Chief Art Acevedo announced that Knox's badge number would be retired and that a new helicopter would be named in his honor.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner also paid tribute to Officer Knox, announcing that Knox would be given his own day. Turner proclaimed May 9, 2020 as HPD Officer Jason Michael Knox day in the City of Houston. He described Knox as "a public servant who did his job well in the footsteps of his dad."

alison.medley@chron.com
When Taiwo Ayinde got home from work, her children knew to stay away from her.

Ms Ayinde, who is from Nigeria and lives in a direct provision centre in Ballyhaunis, worked as a home carer.

After arriving home, she would take off her uniform and put it straight into the washing machine. Then, she would go to the bathroom to wash herself "from head to toe". "Then, I could hug my children," she said.

Ms Ayinde is one of the 160 healthcare workers living in direct provision.

When Covid-19 first hit, Ms Ayinde was still going house-to-house in the small Mayo town, looking after older people who needed assistance.

At first, she was afraid of bringing the virus home to her three-year-old and nine-year-old boys. But she couldn't imagine staying away.

"I love my job so much. It's my passion, it gives me joy to take care of someone. It makes me feel complete," Ms Ayinde said.

It broke her heart to see how fearful her clients were becoming. Older people in tears would ask her, "are you going to leave me?" after they heard fewer healthcare staff were turning up to work.

Speaking to the Irish Independent, Ms Ayinde said she was struggling to balance childcare and her job, but she was doing everything she could to make it work.

"I cannot stay at home, doing nothing, when my job is waiting for me. No," she said.

"It's not easy with children, but we have to do what we have to do."

Two days later, Ms Ayinde phoned the Irish Independent in tears. Because of Covid-19, a friend in the direct provision centre that she'd been relying on for childcare was no longer available and Ms Ayinde wasn't able to arrange anything else. She had to give up her job.

"A piece of me is missing," she said. "I'm devastated."

People in direct provision were only given the right to work in Ireland in 2018. Many centres are based in rural towns where there are not many jobs, so asylum seekers can often train to become home carers or nursing home staff.

Ms Ayinde said being able to work had saved her life.

"If they hadn't given us a work permit, I don't think I would be talking to you now. I don't think I would be alive today. It has been very hard for me," she said.

"I was caged. I was like someone who was in prison. I was thinking of committing suicide. But in Nigeria, we believe we are strong. No matter what happens to us, we can make it."

Healthcare workers in direct provision are struggling with childcare amid Covid-19 as much and if not more so than other healthcare workers.

This is combined with the risk of living in a large residential setting during a pandemic. A fifth of all centres have had Covid-19 outbreaks.

Sindi Siwe (35) lives in the same direct provision centre and works in Brookvale Manor nursing home in Ballyhaunis.

Ms Siwe, from Zimbabwe, has two children but has a good friend to look after them for her.

Ms Siwe came into contact with a Covid-19 case and is self-isolating. She misses the residents in the nursing home, and said she's worried about them.

"They cannot see their families, which is making it worse. It's like their lives are shattered. It is so sad, they are so worried," she said.

"We take our time, spend a few minutes with them, try to give them hope."

Ms Siwe said she loves talking to older people, and her job has been a huge help as she waits in direct provision to find out if she will be granted her papers.

She said that before she worked, she struggled to pass the days in direct provision.

"Time, I used to see it move so slowly. I used to be so depressed," she said.

"I was sinking. I went crazy looking for a job to just get myself out of the house. Thank God it didn't take me long to find one. That's when my mind started clearing up."

Nurul Shafinas, known as Rita to her friends, is eagerly waiting to get back to work after contracting Covid-19 in a nursing home she works in.

Her direct provision centre is based in a small town in a rural part of Ireland.

Ms Shafinas is a 37-year-old mother of four from Malaysia, who has been living in direct provision for three and a half years.

She did a course to get a nursing home job, and is also now studying business administration and marketing.

"I tried to do something better for myself, rather than sit at home. And because in the morning, all my children go to school and I don't have anything to do," Ms Shafinas said.

"It's very tough to find a job in [my town]. But I thought, 'let me do any job, anything, that can give me a good reference and help me save for the kids' future'."

She is self-isolating while she recovers from Covid-19, but is keen to go back to work because she knows the nursing home is short-staffed.

Ms Shafinas said that going through Covid-19 in direct provision was a "very, very scary time".

"I was thinking, 'Oh my God, am I going to die? Who is going to look after my four children if I have to go to hospital?' I was so worried because I am here with no family, nobody with me. I was so scared," she said.

"I would try to sleep as late as I could, until my eyes could not open. I was so scared to sleep."
Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister was asked last month about First Nations establishing blockades and checkpoints on roads entering their communities in an effort to protect themselves against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 8/5/2020 (620 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister was asked last month about First Nations establishing blockades and checkpoints on roads entering their communities in an effort to protect themselves against the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I see various First Nations communities taking measures to protect their people," he said. "I respect the right to do that."

Its a far cry from his position a month previous, when he wrote an op-ed for the Globe and Mail decrying Indigenous-led blockades supporting Wetsuweten hereditary chiefs fighting the Coastal GasLink pipeline and demanding Indigenous rights be respected under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Indigenous peoples have the right to own, use, develop and control the lands, territories and resources that they possess. Article 26

At the time  which feels like a lifetime ago  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was promising to adopt the declaration into Canadian law (as British Columbia had done provincially in November 2019).

"Now is not the time to create even more confusion  and undermine genuine reconciliation  by directly importing undefined international legal concepts into Canadian law," Pallister wrote in the March 9 article, claiming its adoption "will spawn decades of additional litigation and jurisprudence, while perpetuating the uncertainty that only compromises the interconnected advancement of economic development and reconciliation."

The UN declaration, for the record, doesnt confuse anything, but gives clarity to governments via 46 articles defining Indigenous rights.

Article 26, for example, says: "Indigenous peoples have the right to own, use, develop and control the lands, territories and resources that they possess."

Article 29 says: "Indigenous peoples have the right to the conservation and protection of the environment and the productive capacity of their lands or territories and resources."

Indigenous peoples have the right to the conservation and protection of the environment and the productive capacity of their lands or territories and resources. Article 29

In other words, a blockade is a right  kind of like Canada invoking its sovereign right to set up a border crossing to and from the United States.

Pallisters position against Indigenous-led blockades in the pursuit of rights has been consistent. On Feb. 13, he sent a fundraising letter to Tory party supporters calling Indigenous-led blockades "illegal," promising to file injunctions against activists because, "We wont stand back while two-tier justice happens in our province."

In recent months, Indigenous communities have been fully expressing their rights, nationhood, and, yes, their sovereignty, in the use of blockades and checkpoints against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Manitoba First Nations didn't ask anyone for permission or apply for permits. Some begged the provincial government to establish such checkpoints on highways to protect their citizens from travellers carrying the virus (the province refused).

So  after some consultation with officials such as Manitoba's chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin (confirmed in an interview Wednesday)  First Nations took action.

Now, there are about a dozen First Nation-led checkpoints on highways and roads leading into communities throughout Manitoba.

LARS HAGBERG / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Supporters stand with protesters during a rail blockade in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, Ont. in February, in solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs opposed to the LNG pipeline in northern British Columbia.

They strikingly look like the same protest blockades seen three months ago.

In northeastern Ontario, there are 18; in Saskatchewan, there are around 10, with more popping up in the wake of an outbreak in La Loche.

There are almost no cases of COVID-19 reported in northern Manitoba.

Its worth noting Indigenous-led checkpoints havent resulted in Canadas laws falling apart or "undermined genuine reconciliation."

First Nations protecting all Canadians against the spread of sickness might be reconciliation actualized.

Protecting its territories and lives and upholding laws and land claims is exactly what led Misipawistik Cree Nation (430 road kilometres north of Winnipeg) to install a checkpoint on Highway 6 in late March.

At Opaskwayak Cree Nation (near The Pas), a checkpoint was erected on Highway 10 that leads into the centre of the community  and serves as the main northwestern transportation artery to Flin Flon and Saskatchewan.

Tens of thousands of Manitoban lives have been protected by those volunteers and community members paid by the local First Nation. At the same time, the rights guaranteed under the United Nations declaration have been fulfilled  no legislation needed.

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.

On the other side of the province, Sagkeeng First Nation implemented a checkpoint on Highway 11, a major route through eastern Manitoba.

There are so many First Nations-run blockades in the fight against COVID-19, there are now "checkpoint dance-off" challenges between communities on social media.

Tens of thousands of Manitoban lives have been protected by those volunteers and community members paid by the local First Nation. At the same time, the rights guaranteed under the United Nations declaration have been fulfilled  no legislation needed.

Its one of the most remarkable expressions of Indigenous sovereignty since the days of Idle No More  and Canadians have been helped in the process.

Maybe Indigenous rights arent oppositional to Canadas laws after all. Maybe they are the best thing for everybody.

niigaan.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  The New Mexico Attorney Generals Office is investigating complaints brought forth by a group of residents that the city of Santa Fe violated the Open Meetings Act while selecting a master developer for the 64-acre Midtown campus. But the city says the process it used to select Dallas-based KDC Real Estate Development & Investments/Cienda Partners to oversee the redevelopment of the former campus of the Santa Fe University of Art and Design is within the law.

The residents claim details of the citys process for selecting a master developer were not made available to the public before the final decision was made Monday.

We request that the City immediately roll back any actions or determinations made in a closed meeting and provide the required public participation into this project affecting our lives and property, retired schoolteacher Maria Bautista wrote in an email to Mayor Alan Webber.

The email was also forwarded to Attorney General Hector Balderas. Attorney General Offices spokesman Matt Baca said Friday the complaint is under review and he does not know when a finding will be issued.

A. Blair Dunn, Bautistas attorney, said they have not yet filed an official Open Meetings Act violation complaint with the AG. He said he and Bautista are considering filing a lawsuit against the city, unless city officials can remedy the problem on their own.

Former Santa Fe city councilor and Santa Fe County commissioner Miguel Chavez, one of the residents behind the complaint, said he is worried about any potential decisions the city council could have taken while not in public.

It really centers around transparency and how the Open Meetings Act can be skirted with a rolling quorum, where decisions are being made, he said.

Two city councilors, Renee Villareal and JoAnne Vigil Coppler, voted against approving the new developer on Monday, saying the public was given little information beforehand.

At that same meeting, City Attorney Erin McSherry said that the Request for Expressions of Interest process the city used, which is intended to prevent proprietary information from being disclosed, is allowable under the procurement code.
Jalandhar:

A four-member SIT has been formed to probe the attack on Senior RSS leader Jagdish Gagneja, who is in a critical condition after being shot at by some bike-borne assailants.

BJP today asked Punjab government to take stringent action against those involved in the attack on Gagneja and alleged it was an attempt to thwart nationalistic forces and vitiate the atmosphere in the state by those involved in terror activities, be it here or sitting abroad.

Gagneja, Vice President of the RSS (Punjab), was yesterday shot at by some bike-borne persons at Jyoti Chowk area here when he had gone shopping with his wife, leaving him seriously injured.

Doctors at a private hospital here conducted a surgery to remove two bullets from Gagnejas stomach. However, a third bullet is still lodged in his body.

Punjab Director General of Police Suresh Arora has constituted a Special Investigation Team to probe the incident on the directions of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and police was also examining CCTV footage from the area.

The SIT will be headed by ADGP IPS Sahota and will comprise Police Commissioner Arpit Shukla, Inspector General Counter Intelligence Jalandhar Neelabh Kishore and Assistant Inspector General Amarjit Singh Bajwa, a police spokesperson said here.

Gagneja has been shifted to Ludhiana-based Dayanand Medical College and Hospital.

Sah-sarsanghchalak of RSSs Punjab unit Jagdish Gagneja was operated till 2 AM in a private hospital here, after bullets hit his stomach, injuring him critically.

While two bullets have been removed from his stomach, one is still trapped in his body around the liver, senior BJP leader and local MLA Manoranjan Kalia said.

He said a critical care team is expected to reach by here today after he spoke to Health Minister JP Nadda.

I have spoken to Union Health Minister JP Nadda and asked him to send a critical care team to ensure better and proper treatment of Gagneja. Nadda has instructed Dr Yogesh Chawla, director PGI, Chandigarh and the team is expected to arrive here today, Kalia said.

He said a team under the leadership of Dr Jaspal from DMC Ludhiana, reached late last night on the orders of the Chief Minister and the operation was conducted under their guidance. His condition is stated to be critical.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Two more companies are said to be eyeing stakes in Reliance Jio Platforms, the $65-billion digital unit of Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries, suggests a Bloomberg report. If these deals materialise, they would add to a growing list of firms that have recently invested in the Indian company. US private equity firm General Atlantic was considering investing about $850 million to $950 million in the Mumbai-based company, a Bloomberg report said, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The deal could be completed as soon as this month, though no agreement had been ...
WASHINGTON - Three Democratic senators are criticizing the Small Business Administration for slashing the size of its coronavirus disaster loans without telling Congress or small business owners about the change, according to a letter reviewed by The Washington Post.

In a letter dated May 9 to SBA administrator Jovita Carranza, Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York, Ben Cardin of Maryland and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire said the SBA has mismanaged an important federal aid program designed to help small businesses weather the economic crisis.

Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) is a long-standing program through which small businesses affected by disasters can receive low-interest loans directly from the government. It is different from the $669 billion Paycheck Protection Program, which works through private banks.

The senators took issue with an earlier decision by the SBA to limit the size of its economic injury disaster loans to just $150,000, a policy change that was not communicated to those applying for loans until it was disclosed Thursday in a Washington Post article. They also criticized an SBA decision to indefinitely limit the applications to agricultural businesses, a policy that had been favored by congressional Republicans. An SBA spokesman declined to comment on the senators' letter Saturday.

"Throughout the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, SBA has repeatedly made it harder for [the disaster loan program] to serve struggling small businesses looking to SBA for the capital they need to stay afloat," the senators wrote.

They also said SBA has been "inexcusably opaque" when communicating policy changes related to the disaster loan program. They said Congress has been without any information on the EIDL program for more than a week. They also said small business owners have been in the dark about the status of their own loan applications.

"We understand and appreciate the pressures the agency is under and the unprecedented mobilization of resources, but despite these tremendous challenges, one thing that SBA has no excuse for is its stubborn refusal to communicate transparently with the public or with Congress and for its complete disregard of Congressional intent in the delivery of this critical assistance," the senators wrote.

EIDL loans are seen as a preferred option for many small businesses because more of the funding can be spent on capital expenses and utilities. The ability to bypass the banking system makes it a promising lifeline for small business owners that are not well-connected in the banking industry.

But by all accounts, EIDL is moving far more slowly than other coronavirus relief efforts. EIDL was activated for businesses affected by the coronavirus on March 12, several weeks before the other provisions of the $2.2 trillion Cares Act stimulus package were made available. It was quickly overwhelmed with loan applications as millions of small businesses were forced to shut their doors in March and April. It was given more than $50 billion in new funding in recent relief bills to correct a funding shortfall.

However, the program remains severely backlogged after almost two months in operation. The SBA has released little information about its progress toward addressing the backlog in loan applications, which by all accounts has climbed well over 4 million. The agency's SBA Today website, which tallies various SBA loan statistics, displayed roughly 83,000 disaster loans processed in 2020 as of Saturday.
After a few sporadic appearances in the rumor mill, the Redmi 10X moniker seemed to have slipped into obscurity once again over the past week or so. Unfortunately, it has no re-emerged in a Google Play Console listing, along with some specs details. The unfortunate part being that the company is, apparently, going to go through with the confusing generation-skipping naming for what is a mostly a re-branded Redmi Note 9 for the Chinese market.

The source doesnt really offer much in the way of specs, but does specifically list a MediaTek Helio G70 chipset for the Redmi 10X. A downgrade compared to the new, beefed-up Helio G85, inside the Redmi Note 9. We also see the screen resolution of the Redmi 10X matches-up perfectly with the one on the Redmi Note 9, at 1080 x 2340 pixels. And finally, there is also mention of 4GB of RAM, which coincides with the top amount available in the high 128GB tier of the Redmi Note 9. Though, this doesnt exclude the possibility of other Redmi 10X memory variants to exist, as well.

Beyond these numbers, we can only make an educated guess, that the Google Play Console listing refers to the same M2003J15SI device, as spotted in a recent BIS certification in India, TENAA listing and entry in the China Telecom database. All of these seem to link to one another, as well as the Redmi Note 9 and the Redmi 10X moniker. Hence, we can probably expect most aspects of the new Redmi 10X, besides the already mentioned chipset swap, to be borrowed from the Redmi Note 9. Though, given the downgrade precedent, we do have to wonder whether the 48MP, plus 8MP and pair of 2MP main camera array of the Redmi Note 9 will stay unchanged. Same goes for other traditional, go-to cost savings targets, like the 5,020 mAh battery or its 18W fast charging capabilities.

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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) London, United Kingdom  Sat, May 9, 2020 09:07 620 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd6e1086 2 Art & Culture London,Britain,Notting-Hill,Notting-Hill-Carnival,coronavirus,COVID-19 Free

London's Notting Hill Carnival, held annually over a long weekend in late August, has been cancelled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, organizers announced on Thursday.

"After lengthy consultations with our strategic partners and our advisory council, the board has taken the decision that this year's carnival will not take place on the streets of Notting Hill as it has done for over 50 years," they said in a statement.

"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.

"Everyone's health has to come first."

The west London carnival traces its roots back to Caribbean music festivals in the 1950s after the first surge in arrivals from former British colonies post-World War II.

Read also: Notting Hill Carnival crowds defy London rain for annual celebration

Feathered dancers, steel bands and earth-shaking sound systems feature in the vibrant two-day celebration of British Caribbean culture.

Organisers Notting Hill Carnival Ltd. added they were planning "an alternate" event this year "that we hope will bring the Carnival spirit to people from the safety of their homes, and make them feel connected and engaged".

"We will share more information on how it will take shape soon," they said, adding they looked forward to welcoming revelers back to the streets of Notting Hill in 2021.

Britain, one of the world's worst-hit countries by the outbreak, is in the seventh week of a nationwide lockdown that is set to be eased only gradually in the coming months.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 9)  Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong on Saturday placed another village in Baguio City on lockdown, as residents were reportedly defying the enhanced community quarantine rules, such as maintaining physical distance and wearing of face masks.

Magalong, in a memorandum addressed to Barangay Padre Zamora Captain Ricardo Valenton, said only those rendering vital services and people with medical emergencies can can enter and leave the village.

The local chief executive has also suspended the home quarantine pass, which is used by the head of a household to buy food and medicine.

Magalong said residents who need to purchase essentials may proceed to their satellite markets or rolling stores, or they must coordinate with barangay officials to access their basic needs.

He did not say how long this situation will last.

A total of 523 households, or about 5,000 individuals, including stranded students and visitors are affected by the new restrictions.

Padre Zamora is the ninth area in Baguio City placed on a restrictive quarantine to curb the spread of coronavirus disease.

Other villages on lockdown are:

-San Luis Extension

-Woodsgate Subdivision, Camp 7

-San Vicente

-Purok 1, Camp 8

-Teachers Village, Sto. Tomas Proper

-Sitio Sto. Nino, Bakakeng Central

-Sector 5, Dominican-Mirador

-BGH Compound

General community quarantine is implemented in all parts of the country except in the National Capital Region, Calabarzon, Central Luzon (excluding Aurora), Pangasinan, Benguet, including Baguio City, Iloilo, Cebu, Bacolod City, Davao City, Albay and Zamboanga City which are under stricter enhanced community quarantine. This will last until May 15, unless extended or modified by the government.
As the Legislature returns for a session redefined by the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, lawmakers say they remain committed to addressing what has become one of the biggest debates at the Capitol: How to resolve Californias housing crisis.

But options may be limited by a budget shortfall expected to total tens of billions of dollars. And the problems created by Californias long-standing housing shortage have been supplanted by an even more pressing dilemma: preventing mass evictions and foreclosures among the millions of newly jobless who can no longer afford their rent or mortgage.

COVID-19 has created a whole new crisis on top of the one we were already experiencing, said Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco. Our work has only intensified.

Before the Legislature shut down in March for an unprecedented emergency recess, the housing agenda was still taking shape.

The most prominent measure, San Francisco Democratic Sen. Scott Wieners SB50, which would have made it easier to build multifamily housing around public transit and in wealthy suburbs, narrowly failed in January. Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, formed a working group to craft a replacement housing production bill, while other proposals to streamline approval for projects trickled forward.

Even as they have asked members to scale back their agendas, the leaders of both houses of the Legislature say boosting housing construction and reducing widespread homelessness are priorities this year.

Chiu and Wiener, who chair the housing committees in the Assembly and Senate, respectively, said major housing measures are still moving.

Wiener has two bills: SB899, allowing churches and nonprofit hospitals to build affordable housing on their land, and SB902, which would essentially eliminate single-family zoning across the state by permitting small, multiunit housing in nearly all residential neighborhoods. That was a main feature of his housing bill that died in January.

Other significant proposals include AB3107 by Assemblyman Richard Bloom, D-Santa Monica, which would open commercial properties to housing development, and AB2580 by Assemblywoman Susan Talamentes Eggman, D-Stockton, to create a simplified process to convert hotels and motels into housing. Both would require at least 20% of the units in a project to be affordable for low-income households.

People recognize that the root cause of Californias housing mess is a shortage of housing, and they cant take their eyes off the ball, Wiener said. We have the building blocks for a very strong legislative package this year.

The pandemic, however, has injected a major new consideration: the possibility that Californias heavily suburban, car-dependent lifestyle prevented a more severe coronavirus outbreak like that suffered by New York City, where apartments and public transit reign.

Increasing residential density is a priority for California housing advocates as they look for a way to close a shortage estimated at more than a million units without promoting sprawl that would undermine the states climate goals. But an opposition movement of residents and local officials, concerned about losing control over how their communities develop, has pointed to the pandemic as evidence that proposals like SB50 and its successors are the wrong approach.

Wiener said anti-housing forces were latching onto New York to fuel their narrative. He pointed to other cities like San Francisco, Seoul and Tokyo that have so far avoided a similar outcome because they acted more quickly to stop the virus.

Housing density is not what spreads COVID-19. Its lack of good government response, he said.

The widespread economic shutdown, which has shrunk tax revenue and decimated state and local budgets, poses another challenge.

State finance officials projected in January that California would have a $6 billion surplus next year; now theyre expecting a $54 billion deficit. Cities also expect to lose at least $7 billion over the next two years.

Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

The Assembly Local Government Committee has already put on hold a package of bills that aimed to drive down construction costs by capping impact fees for housing permits. Cities and counties charge the fees to offset the effects of those projects on roads, police and other public services, but developers argue they are excessive and make building prohibitively expensive.

Its not the year to put any burden on our cities until we know what kind of federal stimulus were going to get, said Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, the Winters (Yolo County) Democrat who chairs the committee.

Lawmakers have not abandoned every big-ticket item. Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose, is carrying SB795, which would commit $10 billion over five years to existing state housing development programs that are running out of funding.

Sometimes I think were running in circles, Beall said. We cant do that bunker mentality. You have to look at how things can be better.

But there will be competition for any money that is available for housing. Facing down the prospect of months of unpaid rent from tenants who are out of work, landlord groups are seeking a bailout from the state.

SB1410 by Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, would create a fund to cover at least 80% of the rent that a tenant could not afford to pay because of the coronavirus pandemic, for up to seven months, if their landlord forgives the rest. Though there is no price tag yet for the bill, it could be billions of dollars.

Alternative ideas  like San Francisco Democratic Assemblyman Phil Tings AB828, which would freeze evictions and allow courts to set up repayment plans for tenants  would not carry the same cost. But Gonzalez said her approach will ultimately help a landlord, too, so they can cover their own bills.

Chiu said its possible that lawmakers wont be able to do any of it without help from the federal government. Democrats in Congress have floated a stimulus package for states and cities, but it has encountered resistance among Republican leaders.

Almost everything requires a huge amount of money, which we dont have, Chiu said.

He is still pursuing AB1905, to cap the mortgage interest deduction on big home loans and vacation properties, which could bring in up to $500 million a year for homelessness services. Its a tax increase that would require a two-thirds vote in both houses of the Legislature  a heavy lift, especially in an election year. But Chiu said it could provide a way for the state to build on the progress it has made moving thousands of homeless people into hotels and motels during the pandemic.

I hope the decision will be a bit easier, Chiu said, because the options are so stark.

Alexei Koseff is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: alexei.koseff@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @akoseff
As soon as she heard about the fire, Ibraheem said she raced to Buckleys home to help. The streets were blocked off and she saw neighbors walking up with blankets and water bottles. She sent staff to Target to buy clothes and toiletries for the family.
REUTERS

Jabin T Jacob

Given Chinas seemingly quick recovery from COVID-19 and given how the developed West has been shown up in its response to the pandemic, the possibility of a China-led post-COVID world order is not quite idle chatter. Nevertheless, such talk both exaggerates the weaknesses of the West and overstates Chinas capabilities.

The world order might require changing but such change is not about to happen soon for political and economic reasons.

One, western democracies retain strong institutions, no matter the mavericks (such as Boris Johnson in the United Kingdom) or sheer incompetents (Donald Trump in the United States) who might take centre-stage occasionally, for brief durations. This is exemplified by the separation of powers in western political systems, as well as the willingness and ability of individuals within the executive branches to stand up and speak truth to power.

If the Trump administration is a chaotic operation, one could argue that it is not only about poorly-qualified appointees to key positions but also because the qualified ones and the average civil servant are unwilling to toe the line without rationale or to contravene either the law or basic decency.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

There are for sure good men and women in China who look out for the general public and who answer to a higher calling than just loyalty to an individual or a political party; but they are not actually encouraged in a system where the so-called meritocracy of its leadership is merely cover for the most transactional and personalised model of politics there is.

Two, peoples and governments  even authoritarian ones  around the world, understand the distinction between perception and reality, if not immediately, then eventually. The perception that the West is in a mess in the wake of COVID-19 is the result, in fact, of the greater transparency and demand for accountability in its societies, while that of Chinas comparative efficiency is the result of the opacity of its structures and its willingness to adopt measures that give the short shrift to civil rights.

If the current situation in the West looks bad, then it is what it is without any gloss applied. This is patently not the case in China  from the number of actual deaths to the nature of measures used to flatten the curve, there is very little that the Communist Party of China has willingly revealed to the world.

Read: A China-led world offers a dystopian future

Three, while Chinas propaganda machinery encourages talk of its impending and inevitable replacement of the US at the top of the global heap, its own actions prove it less than capable of filling the role.

Consider, for instance, Chinas efforts in the wake of the pandemic to try and take advantage of other countries requiring medical equipment. Not only has it tried to portray itself as a global do-gooder, it has regularly highlighted the gratitude countries receiving its aid have apparently expressed to China. It is also patently not the case that all of this has been aid  most countries have had to pay for their supplies from China. What is more, Chinese companies have not only exported defective testing kits, but also engaged in price gouging, and diverting promised supplies when a better offer came along.

Four, there has been for some time growing pushback against Chinas claims and actions which is only likely to accelerate following COVID-19.

For example, in October, the city of Prague decided to cancel its sister-city arrangement with Beijing over a clause on the one-China policy and switched to Taipei in Taiwan. In April, Sweden shut the last of its Confucius Institutes after, earlier in February, ending all partnerships with Chinese cities and regions. This followed the Chinese arrest of a Swedish citizen for publishing material critical of CPC General Secretary Xi Jinping and the Chinese embassys attempts to mute subsequent criticism in Sweden. Even in Africa, where China has expended considerable diplomatic effort over the years and where countries have generally been willing to see it as a viable alternative to dependence on the West, there has been occasion to criticise the Chinese. African diplomats and governments have pushed back strongly against the racial targeting of their citizens in Guangzhou over irrational fears that they were potential carriers of the virus despite having undertaken the same precautions as the Chinese.

Meanwhile, questions have persisted about the reliability of Chinas figures for those affected and dead from the virus. China finally had to revise upwards the number of deaths in Wuhan by over 1,200.

Five, hopes that China will somehow help spur global economic growth might be misplaced given its own long-standing economic problems such as local government debt and of centre-local coordination. Following COVID-19, there are also millions of struggling small businesses and households as well as high rates of unemployment.

This will affect the Chinese governments efforts to boost household consumption as a contributor to GDP growth even as it remains heavily dependent on manufacturing exports, which in turn will also require economies elsewhere to recover from the pandemic. If China cannot lead on the global economic front, then this also reduces significantly its sheen as a potential replacement for the US.

Finally, Chinas more or less open declarations in recent years that it wanted to achieve self-sufficiency and leadership in hi-tech industries has only had the effect of alerting those countries that are leaders in these domains to Chinese competition and mercantilism. As a result, reports of China trying to take advantage of the economic difficulties in other countries during the pandemic to buy assets on the cheap has led to swift reactions. Australia, Germany, and India among others have moved to tighten FDI regulations, while Japan is subsidising its manufacturing companies to diversify away from China. These actions add momentum to the US trade war against China, and to efforts by important global economies to decouple from China.

Putting all of this together would suggest the world will retain its present balance of power despite the pandemic, and changes, if any, might actually be weighted against China than for it. Despite its tall talk of several years, China is neither prepared for the responsibilities of a global leader and nor is it going to be given a free hand to carry out its will whether by big countries or small.
Several Romanian crew members on the Royal Caribbean ship Navigator of the Seas have gone on a hunger strike while they wait for the company to agree to send them home.

The 15 crew members have not eaten since Thursday afternoon, out of desperation and after waiting close to two months out at sea stranded because of COVID-19.

'My mental health is degrading,' one of the crew members, who all wished to remain anonymous out of fear of retribution from the cruise lines, explained to the Miami Herald. 'We do not have any more hope.'

The employees claim the company has threatened to punish workers if they talk to journalists.

The 15 crew members aboard the Royal Caribeean's Navigator of the Seas have not eaten since Thursday afternoon, out of desperation and after waiting close to two months out at sea stranded (stock)

According to Jonathan Fishman, a spokesman for the company, Royal Caribbean is working with its crew members.

'The situation was resolved this morning after an amicable discussion between our captain and our crew members,' he said in an email on Friday.

But the crew members declared that they won't halt their hunger strike until they can receive proof that they are going home.

On Sunday, Royal Caribbean International CEO Michael Bayley announced that the company would sign an agreement with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to repatriate crew as soon as possible.

On Sunday, Royal Caribbean International CEO Michael Bayley announced that the company would sign an agreement with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to repatriate crew ASAP

On Wednesday, the group was transferred from the Anthem of the Seas ship on the company's private island in the Bahamas. This was ahead of a scheduled flight from Miami to Romania on May 16 (the boat on may 4)

The CDC required that company executives sign a legal agreement holding them accountable for following the agency's rules. This includes providing disembarking crew with masks and with private transportation as they are sent home.

So far, Royal Caribbean has allowed 16 people to all go home using the process. All, are American citizens.

The 15 crew members are currently on board the Navigator of the Seas, which is scheduled to dock in PortMiami on May 10. The staff would be hoping to be flown from Miami.

On Wednesday, the group was transferred from the Anthem of the Seas ship on the company's private island in the Bahamas. This was ahead of a scheduled flight from Miami to Romania on May 16.

But on Thursday, Bailey announced that the group would be transferred to the Enchantment of the Seas and flown from Barbados to Romania on May 21.

No explanation was provided as to the delay but it added to the pile up of delays the group has experienced since they were told they were first going home on March 30.

The 15 crew members are currently on board the Navigator of the Seas, which is scheduled to dock in PortMiami (pictured) on May 10. The staff would be hoping to be flown from Miami

According to Fishman, some 14,000 of its 70,000 ship employees have been repatriated. For the workers, the move is their last resort.

'We started this hunger strike because someone needs to do something,' one said. 'The point is our mental health. The mental health is dropping down.'

This comes a week after after a Royal Caribbean crew member went overboard while on the Jewel of the Seas ship near Greece. His body has not been found.

Bailey stressed in a letter to employees that counseling services were available.

'Crew life has unique stresses and pressures,' he wrote last week. 'Just recently,we suffered the tragic loss of a colleague aboard Jewel, and our hearts go out to his family, friends and colleagues.'

One of the Romanian crew members has a sick father back home, making the distance all the more unbearable.

'Only thinking about something happening to him, I can barely get out of bed in the morning,' he said. 'This ship will be for two days in Miami. Why can't they send us in an airplane?'
This event has been postponed.

The Thunderbirds precision aerial demonstration team will perform over San Antonio and Austin on Tuesday as part of a nationwide series of tributes to frontline COVID-19 responders and essential workers.

The San Antonio flyover will start at 1:20 p.m. and run around a half hour. The flyover in Austin will start at 2:30 p.m. and last 25 minutes. A route map of the flight will be released Monday.

Residents will be able to see the formation of six F-16C/D Fighting Falcons from homes and businesses. They should refrain from traveling to landmarks to gather in large groups to view the flyover. The Thunderbirds welcome viewers to tag the flyover on social media with the hashtag #AmericaStrong and #Thunderbirds. Those along the flight path can expect a few moments of jet engine noise.

We are honored to extend our gratitude to Texans in San Antonio and Austin who have been working hard to keep their communities safe, Lt. Col. John Caldwell, Thunderbirds commander and leader, said in a prepared statement. We want Texans to look up to see the display of American resolve and know that the American spirit will prevail beyond this difficult time in our nation.

More for you Thunderbirds flyover event happening Wednesday

On Monday in Corpus Christi, Laredo and Lubbock, the Texas Air National Guards 149th Fighter Wing will fly over hospitals and medical support facilities as part of Operation American Resolve, intended to lift morale in cities across the country.

One team of four F-16s will fly over Lubbock between 9:40 to 9:50 a.m., while another four-ship formation will fly over Laredo between 1:10 to 1:20 p.m., then continue to Corpus Christi, arriving between 1:40 and 1:50 p.m.

As guardsmen, who live and work in many of these local areas, we value the dedication of those who tirelessly serve our communities to help make what we do to defend the nation possible, said Col. Raul Rosario, 149th Fighter Wing commander. This flyover is just one way to recognize those serving in locations who may not get the opportunity to watch the demo team flyovers planned for some of the bigger cities.

The Air Forces primary military contributions have been involved sending doctors into city hospitals and airlifting medical supplies, but the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels, their Navy counterparts, have made formation flights over U.S. cities to honor health care professionals, first responders, military, and other essential personnel.

The Blue Angels flew over Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and New Orleans earlier this week as part of that salute.

The Thunderbirds will return to San Antonio for the Nov. 14-15 Air & Space Show & Open House.at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland.

This is simply an effort to say thanks to the COVID heroes, said Brig. Ed. Thomas, who until last week headed Air Force public affairs.

Sig Christenson covers the military and its impact in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Sig, become a subscriber. sigc@express-news.net | Twitter: @saddamscribe
In early April, the Ukrainian authority conducted 700-800 tests per day; now this figure has increased to 7-8,000

In June, the number of daily PCR tests for coronavirus in Ukraine will be increased to 20,000. Minister of Health Maksym Stepanov stated this during an online meeting of the parliamentary committee on national health, medical care and medical insurance, as RBC reports.

"At the beginning of June, the Ministry plans to reach 15 to 20,000 daily tests for coronavirus," Stepanov said.

This will be possible due to the increase in the capacity of laboratory centers. Currently, 59 laboratories operate in Ukraine around the clock.

Stepanov recalled that in early April, the Ministry of Health conducted 700-800 tests daily; this month the number of tests increased to 7-8 thousand per day.

As we reported before, the Social Insurance Fund will pay 50% compensation for the lost income due to isolation caused by the coronavirus. The payments will be provided starting from the sixth day of incapacity for work as the first five days should be paid by the employer. The duration of the qualifying period will not influence the sum of the payment.
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.




Jerry Seinfeld has apparently never been to Battle Creek, Michigan, but says hes always wanted to go there. The comedian and actor brought up the Cereal City in his new Netflix special, Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill, which just dropped on Netflix this week. Its Seinfelds first original special since 1998.

In his new special, Seinfeld touches on a number of topics including why life sucks, travel, food and marriage. Part of the mention of food centered around Pop-Tarts, a food introduced in 1964 by the Kellogg Company of Battle Creek. Seinfeld made light about how advanced the toaster pastry seemed at the time compared to other breakfast foods.

When I was a kid, the biggest food thing that happened to me was when they invented the Pop-Tart. The back of my head blew off, Seinfeld said in his special. We couldnt comprehend the Pop-Tart. It was too advanced. When the Pop-Tart came out, it was the 60s. We had toast. We had shredded wheat, which was like wrapping your lips around a wood chipper.

Seinfeld then said Battle Creek is a place hes always wanted to travel to before cracking a few more Pop-Tarts jokes.

The Kelloggs Pop-Tart suddenly appeared out of Battle Creek, Michigan, which as you cereal fans know is the corporate headquarters of Kelloggs in a town I have always wanted to visit. Because it seems like a cereal Silicon Valley of breakfast super scientists conceiving a frosted fruit-filled feat of rectangles in the same shape as the box it comes in. With the same nutrition as the box it comes in, too.

Seinfeld went on to joke about Pop-Tarts for another 30 seconds or so in his 50-minute special recorded at the Beacon Theatre in New York City.

READ MORE:

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Reports about the easing of restrictions in other countries are ever so tempting. Even in China where a second wave of COVID-19 infections is not ruled out, kindergartens have opened; likewise, classes have started in Japan and Denmark with school staff taking temperatures at the door and with desks set further apart than usual.

Since late April several states in the United States have begun easing home confinement while the hardest hit areas such as California and New York are holding fast to restrictions. Germanys Chancellor Angela Merkel announced on Wednesday the gradual lifting of restrictions; shops can reopen with additional hygiene measures, for instance.

In Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Friday a three-step plan for restarting economic and social life with July set as the final aspirational target. In the first phase to start soon, weddings can have a maximum of 10 guests, cafes and restaurants can have up to 10 patrons with at least 4 square meters of space per person; but international travel is unlikely to resume in the near future.

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GREAT FALLS, Montana  Even after a federal judge here revoked permission for the Keystone XL Pipeline construction across unceded 1868 Ft. Laramie Treaty territory in mid-April, the Canadian builder of the private hazardous materials infrastructure was still proceeding with work in May all along the route across Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska.

When Montana U.S. District Judge Brian Morris revoked the federal Army Corps of Engineers Nationwide Permit 12 for TC Energy Corp.s proposed route across hundreds of Missouri River Basin waterways on April 15, it was a moment of celebration for tribal opponents of the 1,200-mile toxic tar-sands crude-oil conduit.

Judith LeBlanc, director of the Native Organizer Alliance, pronounced the permit revocation a victory for treaty rights and democracy.

The judge banned any and all dredge or fill activities until the Corps of Engineers conducts and completes a public consultation process, as per the Endangered Species Act.

Just before the court decision, grassroots pipeline resisters held a water prayer ceremony in Sweetgrass, Montana, where the pipeline is being built across the Canada-U.S. border under a separate permit. Photo courtesy Kokipasni  No Fear

LeBlanc noted that enforcement of the Endangered Species Act provides tribal nations a renewed opportunity to exercise our legal and inherent rights to protect the water of the Missouri River bioregion for all who live, farm and work on the land.

Faith Spotted Eagle, founder of the Yankton Sioux Brave Heart Society, added: For years, our tribes concerns that the Army Corps Nationwide Permit process was arbitrarily contrived with no clear path for consultations or legality have been ignored. Today, thankfully, we were heard as the water crossings spoke loud and clear against the Keystone XL Pipeline.

The non-profit Indigenous Environmental Network gathered reactions from Indian country on the case filed by the statewide grassroots Northern Plains Resource Council, headquartered in Billings, Mont.

Dallas Goldtooth, Keep it in the Ground coordinator for the Indigenous Environmental Network, responded: We wish to recognize the tremendous work by our allies! This decision vindicates what we have always known. We can only hope that our organizations ongoing litigation will receive a comparable decision as well. In the meantime, we fight on in defense of the sacredness of Mother Earth!

Fort Peck Assiniboine Sioux frontline group Kokipasni held their first #NoKXL action against TC Energy on the pipeline route in northern Montana yesterday.



We will stand against the KXL, will you stand with us?#waterislife https://t.co/GC9ZNj7M76 pic.twitter.com/VksM7oUnOE  Indigenous Environmental Network (@IENearth) April 15, 2020

The network and tribes have an ongoing case against the pipeline project in the same district court, arguing treaty rights violations.

The morning of the court decision, grassroots pipeline resisters held a water prayer ceremony in Sweetgrass, Mont., where the pipeline is being built across the Canada-U.S. border under a separate permit.

Their group, Kokipasni -- No Fear, describes its adherents as frontline organizers from the Fort Peck Assiniboine Sioux tribal nation protecting our land, water, and sky.

Women and youth of Kokipasni, led by Angeline Cheek, took part in an Assiniboine Medicine Lodge Pipe ceremony, praying for our people, the 24,000 clean water drinkers of Northeast Montana, the land, the sky, the sacred sites and even for the KXL workers coming in from the four corners of the United States not protected against the Covid-19, said celebrant Lance Fourstar.

I prayed that this pipeline be stopped, the hearts and minds of all sides be touched by the creator and given guidance, strength, endurance and protection. I prayed for our Medicine Lodge, that we are protected against this pandemic, he explained.

Native pipeline fighters from all three impacted states produced a poster dissing the pipeline and sent it to their governors. They asked people to sign the related online Cancel KXL petition at nokxlpromise.org/covid-19

Contact Talli Nauman at talli.nauman@gmail.com

Copyright permission Native Sun News Today

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When California judges began releasing large numbers of criminal defendants without bail because of the coronavirus, law enforcement groups predicted an increase in crime.

But an inmate advocacy group said Friday that the statewide crime rate had plummeted in the first month of the pandemic, and there was no reason to believe the rate has risen since then.

Californians for Safety and Justice, a nonprofit that seeks reduced confinement in jails and prisons, cited an April 7 report by the Public Policy Institute of California. It found a one-month drop of 41% in reported crimes in major California cities, and an even steeper decline in Oakland, 69%, and San Francisco, 55%.

On April 6, the state Judicial Council voted to eliminate bail in all county courts for defendants accused of misdemeanors and most types of nonviolent felonies. Some prosecutors and law enforcement officials have predicted that releasing thousands of defendants without bail would cause lawbreaking to soar.

No statistics on statewide crime for the last month are available yet. But Will Matthews, spokesman for Californians for Safety and Justice, said there is no evidence out there to suggest that theres been a huge uptick in crime.

He cited an April 24 report by KTVU saying 3% of defendants released from jail without bail in Alameda County had been rearrested, and a report by the Los Angeles Times saying arrests in Los Angeles were 37% lower this April than they had been a year earlier.

Just as important, Matthews said, even for charges covered by the zero-bail order, if police or prosecutors have evidence that an individual defendant would be dangerous if released, they can book the defendant into jail after arrest and then ask a Superior Court judge to set a bail amount or hold the suspect without 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.

According to another Public Policy Institute of California report, state records indicate that the zero-bail order has reduced the post-arrest jailing of defendants in California by about 60%.

These findings suggest that the zero bail measure is playing a significant role in reducing crowding in Californias county jails and helping to make social distancing more achievable, the institute said.

On Monday, the state Supreme Court denied a request by inmate advocates to order the state to release large numbers of inmates from local jails and juvenile detention facilities during the pandemic. State prisons are reducing their population by about 3,500 under a Judicial Council order to free inmates with less than 60 days to serve on their sentences, but advocacy groups are asking a federal court to order substantially more releases.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko
A homeless man is fighting for his life after two rough sleepers were attacked in central London.

Police were called to Victoria Street, Westminster, at 4.30am on Thursday to reports that a man had been attacked.

The 44-year-old was found critically injured and taken to hospital, where remains in a critical condition.

His attackers fled before officers arrived.

But CCTV footage revealed that one of the suspects was in the area of second assault on a rough sleeper outside Waterloo Railway Station around two hours later.

CCTV image of a man police want to speak to over the Victoria Street attack

The second attack saw a 32-year-old man suffer head injuries. He was taken to a south London hospital and his condition is stable.

A 34-year-old man has been charged in relation to the second assault.

Detectives are still hunting a suspect over the Victoria Street attack.

The Metropolitan Police said: "Detectives have released CCTV images of a man they wish to identify and speak with in connection with the assault on Victoria Street.

"He is described as white, and was wearing a dark blue jacket, blue trousers and white trainers."

Anyone who has information is asked to call 101 quoting Cad 1910 of May 7.
Washington

In his eagerness to reopen the country, President Donald Trump faces the challenge of convincing Americans that it would be safe to go back to the workplace. But the past few days have demonstrated that even his own workplace may not be safe from the coronavirus.

Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary tested positive for the virus Friday, forcing a delay in the departure of Air Force Two while a half-dozen other members of his staff were taken off the plane for further testing. That came only a day after word that one of the president's own military valets had been infected.

All of which raised a question: If it is so hard to maintain a healthy environment at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., where staff members are tested regularly, how can businesses without anywhere near as much access to the same resources establish a safe space for their workers?

"The virus is in the White House, any way you look at it," said Juliette Kayyem, a former assistant secretary of homeland security under President Barack Obama. "Whether it's contained or not, we will know soon enough. But the fact that a place  secured, with access to the best means to mitigate harm  is not able to stop the virus has the potential of undermining confidence in any capacity to defeat it."

The presence of the virus in both the West Wing and the residential floors of the White House brings home the dilemma facing the nation. With more than 76,000 deaths in the United States so far and cases rising by the day, states and employers are wrestling with when and how to reopen without putting workers, customers and clients at risk.

Even as it has experienced positive tests of its own, the White House has so far blocked the release of a set of recommendations developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As a result, businesses have been left to make their best guesses with lives on the line.

Both Trump and Pence are now tested daily, and both tested negative after the latest infections were discovered. Staff members in proximity to them are also tested daily, as are guests.

Mark Meadows, White House chief of staff, told reporters that "we've put in some additional protocols over the last 48 hours" to reduce the risk and expressed confidence that the president could be protected.

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

But neither Trump nor Pence regularly wears a mask, nor do most of their aides.

The latest positive test further rattled a White House already on edge after the president's military valet came down with the virus. Katie Miller, the vice president's press secretary and a top spokeswoman for the White House coronavirus efforts, had tested negative Thursday but tested positive Friday.

The result forced Pence's scheduled flight to Des Moines, Iowa, to be delayed for more than an hour, even though she was not traveling with him, so that six other aides who had been in contact with her could be escorted from the plane at Joint Base Andrews before its departure. All six later tested negative but were sent home out of caution, officials said. Miller is married to Stephen Miller, the president's senior adviser, and he too was tested again Friday and the results came back negative.

Katie Miller has been in the vicinity of the president in recent days. Her husband is in meetings with the president frequently.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 8

By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend:

Turkmenistan and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) have discussed the main aspects of cooperation, Trend reports with reference to Zolotoy Vek (Golden Age) newspaper.

A meeting was held between representatives of Turkmenistan and UNWTO in The Ministry of Culture of Turkmenistan via videoconference on May 7, 2020.

The meeting highlighted the attention paid by Turkmenistan to the formation of modern tourist infrastructure, as well as the introduction of digital technologies at health resorts, hotel business and related areas of the tourism industry.

One of the main topics of discussion was the participation of Turkmenistan in Healing Solutions Tourism Challenge international competition, held by UNWTO with the support of the World Health Organization.

This competition is aimed at finding solutions to support the tourism business in the economic conditions created by COVID-19, as well as ways to restore this industry after the pandemic.

The selected projects will be included in a digital booklet that will be distributed to 150 ministries around the world.

The winners will have an access to UNWTO Innovation Network, which includes hundreds of start-ups and leading travel companies, major corporations, investors, government agencies and educational institutions.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @JeilaAliyeva
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 9

By Ilkin Seyfaddini - Trend:

Selectel appreciates the potential of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and in the medium term we expect to see fast-growing cloud markets there, Chief Executive Officer of Russian cloud provider Selectel, Oleg Lyubimov told Trend in an interview.

As Lyubimov said, Uzbekistan has become the first point of international expansion of Selectel.

"The company also intends to enter the Belarusian market by the end of 2020," he said.

CEO also added that the company will continue to develop new markets, with the directions to be determined by a number of criteria, including the volume of gross regional product, level of urbanization, necessary telecommunications and engineering infrastructure.

"Before our launch in Uzbekistan, we launched several services of SaaS (Soft as a Service) category and in July this year - we launched the Selectel cloud platform. The platform's infrastructure is built on modern high-density equipment and does not require large server rooms to accommodate it. Therefore, we rented the necessary space in our partner data center in Tashkent. We built the node on our own equipment, directly connected to local telecom operators and traffic exchange points," he said.

Lyubimov said noted that this model allowed to deploy a full-fledged point of presence in Uzbekistan in a short time.

"We will invest up to $1 million in the development in the Uzbek market within three years. The coronavirus pandemic has led to great uncertainty in the markets. Therefore, now in Uzbekistan we are forming goals for the near future. In July 2020, we will launch Selectel cloud platform in Uzbekistan and this year we expect to reach operating profit," he stressed.

Selectel is an IT infrastructure provider. The company has a wide range of products: data center services, dedicated server rental, public clouds, private clouds, integration and administration services. More than 80 percent of the company's revenue comes from cloud infrastructure services.

"The developed product line opens wide opportunities for all types of clients. Big customers can create hybrid solutions of different complexity levels in a "single window". Startups can develop in the ecosystem of a single provider, starting with simple and affordable services, complementing them with more complex ones as they grow," Lyubimov said.

Selectel is one of the leading cloud providers in Russia (based in St. Petersburg), both in economic and technological terms. Selectel has been working with cloud services and data center services for over 10 years.

---

Follow author on Twitter: @seyfaddini
The bodies of the 16 labourers, who were run over by a freight train near Maharashtras Aurangabad on Friday, were brought to their native Madhya Pradesh on a special train on Saturday.

The labourers were from Shahdol and Umaria districts and were sleeping on train tracks after a long journey on foot en route to Madhya Pradesh when they were killed. They were in a group of 20 people, who had left Jalna for their villages the previous evening without waiting for their employer to pay their wages as factories remained shut due to the nationwide lockdown imposed since late March to check the Covid-19 spread.

The labourers -- 11 from Shadol and 5 from Umaria -- had unsuccessfully tried to get passes for the special trains that the railways started last week for the people stranded across the country because of the lockdown. Tens of thousands of workers have been walking home from big cities after losing their jobs due to the lockdown.

Two special bogies were attached to the train, which carried about 1,300 labourers from Aurangabad, to bring back the bodies. The bodies were later sent to Shahdol and Umaria. There were two injured labourers from Mandla, who were sent in an ambulance, said Jabalpur police superintendent (railways) SS Jain.

Last rites were performed in presence of administrative authorities, according to officials. Jabalpur collector Bharat Yadav said all the labourers, who came from Aurangabad, belong to villages in Jabalpur, Shahdol and Rewa and were subjected to medical examinations at the railway station before they were sent to their native homes on buses with arrangements for food and water.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 08:45:50|Editor: huaxia

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QUITO, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Former Manchester United defender Antonio Valencia has donated his salary to employees of LDU Quito to help them during the coronavirus pandemic, the Ecuadorian club's president said on Friday.

Esteban Paz told reporters that the 34-year-old voluntarily gave up his entire May wage upon hearing of the club's financial difficulties.

"When we told the players that we are going to withhold a percentage of their salary, Antonio Valencia told me, 'Esteban, don't worry about me, I have my life set up. Take my monthly payment and pay the administration people, who live on their salary'," Paz said.

Last month, Valencia donated thousands of dollars worth of protective gear and equipment for healthcare workers.

Paz said that several other LDU Quito player had also offered financial support to staff members and their families.

Valencia, who has been capped 99 times for Ecuador's national team, joined LDU Quito on a free transfer last July after 10 years at Manchester United. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 23:09:24|Editor: huaxia

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TIRANA, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Over 70 percent of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 disease in Albania have recovered, health authorities said on Saturday.

Speaking at a press conference, Marjeta Dervishi from the Public Health Institute said that six cases had tested positive with COVID-19 over the last 24 hours.

To date, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Albania is 856, with 627 recoveries and 31 fatalities.

Currently, Albania has 29 hospitalized patients and only four are in intensive care, while the rest is self-isolated at home, according to Dervishi.

The Albanian government has announced the easing of another set of measures imposed to stem the spread of coronavirus, which will be implemented from May 11.

On Friday, via a Facebook post, Minister of Health and Social Protection Ogerta Manastirliu announced the government's decision to expand the green zones, or low-risk areas of infection in the country, limiting the "red zones" or the high-risk areas to four districts, including the capital city Tirana.

In all green zones, citizens will be allowed to travel without authorization, in their personal vehicles with a maximum of two passengers.

The new categories of businesses that will be allowed to operate include dentists, hairdressers, barbers and shops inside shopping centers.

Moreover, all residents that will be repatriated to Albania from May 11 will be allowed to do their 14-day self-quarantine at home.

The health ministry reiterated its call on all citizens to respect the rules, to maintain physical distance and personal hygiene, and for businesses to strictly implement security protocols. Enditem
HAMILTON  One of Hamiltons best hometown heroes has died from COVID-19 complications.

U.S. Air Force veteran George S. Martin, 89, of Hamilton Square, perished April 29 at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton.

George was a fixture in Hamilton, Gov. Phil Murphy said Friday at his daily coronavirus press briefing in Trenton, which by the way as you all know is among our largest communities in the entire state.

Referring to Martin as a handsome guy, Murphy also acknowledged the recent passing of Martins significant other.

Only four weeks before George passed he lost his wife of 67 years, Joyce, to Alzheimers disease, Murphy said. Bless them both.

George Martin was an honorably discharged U.S. Air Force veteran who served during the Korean War conflict and later served in the New Jersey Air National Guard. He also served on numerous boards and committees in Hamilton Township and was a member of American Legion Post No. 31, according to his obituary.

He was definitely a social guy, Scott Turner said of his late uncle George Martin. He was involved in many clubs, and he was definitely a storyteller. He loved to tell stories to catch someones ear and have a conversation.

A past treasurer of the Hamilton Township Lions Club, Martin also served as a longtime member of the Hamilton Township Rotary Club. A noteworthy businessman, Martin also helped establish the family-owned Joseph Steinert and Co. in 1959, where he held the position of president until his retirement in 1995, according to his obit.

He was just very active in everything, Turner said of Martin. Everybody knew him. He could have probably been the mayor.

Current Hamilton Mayor Jeff Martin, no relation to George Martin, on Friday said he did not personally know the fellow Air Force veteran but knew the governor was planning to talk about him this week.

The governors office in recent days asked whether Hamilton Township could provide it with contact information for George Martins next of kin. The township obliged, and Murphy ultimately spoke with Turner on Thursday.

It was nice, Turner said of his telephone conversation with the governor. We talked a few minutes.

Turner, a Hamilton native who currently lives in Bridgewater, watched Murphys eulogy on Friday, where the governor honored George and Joyce Martin.

It was very nice, he said of Murphys kind words, adding he had given the governor permission to talk about the Martins in this time of grief.

Turner graduated from Nottingham High School alongside former Hamilton Mayor Kelly Yaede in the 1980s, and his late uncle George Martin was good friends with former Mayor Jack Rafferty, Turner said Friday in an interview with The Trentonian. He pretty much knew everyone in Hamilton based on him being so sociable.

New Mayor Jeff Martin, who moved to Hamilton in 2014, says he did not know George Martin and is not related to him but is proud the late Air Force vet called this 40-square-mile township home. He was involved in so many organizations that made our community better and stronger every day.

Hamilton Township as of Friday afternoon had 1,106 total positive cases of COVID-19, and the deadly respiratory illness has killed at least 98 township residents, including George Martin, data show.

Funeral services for the late Air Force veteran will be set for a future date to be determined.

George, a life well-lived, Murphy said Friday at his press briefing. Thank you for your service to our nation, and we will keep you and Joyce in our prayers.

Trentonian staff writer Isaac Avilucea contributed to this report.
(Support Free Thought) -

You let one ant stand up to us, then they all might stand up. Those puny little ants outnumber us a hundred to one. And if they ever figure that out, there goes our way of life! Its not about food. Its about keeping those ants in line.  Hopper, A Bugs Life

California  Over the course of the last month, citizens of California have watched their beaches open and then close as Governor Gavin Newsom flexed his gubernatorial powers at the end of April. After 40,000 people visited Newport Beach and there were crowds at Huntington Beach on the last weekend in April, Newsom said, Were going to do a hard close of the California beaches.

Naturally, people became upset about not being able to go outside to the beach  especially after several studies have found that COVID-19 is obliterated by the suns UV rays. Nevertheless, the threat of arrest for walking out into the sand was enough to deter people  for a little while.

A likely tipping point for the citizens wanting to get back out on the beach was the fact that Democratic Congressman Harley Rouda claimed that opening beaches was reckless only to be photographed hanging out on the beach last weekend. But it is okay, since he is a Congressman, right?

Roudas campaign manager said in a statement that Rouda and his family were actively moving and adequately socially distancing on a residential beach, which has explicitly outlined beach access requirements in accordance with Governor Newsoms beach order.

Sure thing.

This week, the people of California decided the hypocrisy was over and decided to go to the beach themselves. A video uploaded to Twitter shows the power people have when it comes to civil disobedience in numbers.

As hundreds of potential beach goers anxiously watched from the sidelines as police threatened arrest, one brave woman disobeyed the order and walked out on the beach. She was quickly approached by two cops who began placing her under arrest for daring to violate Newsoms orders.

While being arrested, the unidentified woman was put on her knees and her flag confiscated as unrest fomented in the crowd on the sidelines.

Get out there! Get out there! one of the protesters yells from the sidewalk. Civil disobedience!

When the tipping point was reached, and enough people overcame the fear of arrest, they stormed the beach. Dozens of others joined the woman as she was being arrested and police had no choice but to stand down and let her go.

The woman was allowed to walk away and then the two cops appeared to engage in civil conversation with the other people on the beach. Just like that, rights were asserted, and peaceful resistance had won. It also led to what appears to be a healthy conversation between police and the citizens.

California police were in the process of arresting a woman for going on the beach. When dozens of other people joined her, the outnumbered police let her go and stood down. pic.twitter.com/Eep3eycDZY  Roosh (@rooshv) May 6, 2020

While it is heartening to see people assert their rights against police, sadly, this is not the case across the country  especially when lower income or minorities are involved. As TFTP has reported this week, several videos taken in New York City show that cops couldnt care less about crowds around them as they arrest people over violating social distancing.

This week alone, TFTP reported on two videos of black people getting savagely beaten by NYPD cops for not standing six feet apart. Shameful indeed, especially considering the fact that the cops themselves have to break the order to arrest people for it.

While we feel that social distancing is a good idea as well as avoiding large crowds, the idea that this is being enforced through the barrel of a gun is chilling. In a truly free society, we would never need government to force us into our homes during a pandemic. We would protect the vulnerable and allow others their discretion when making choices.
Virtually visiting New Canaan during a weekly coffee hosted by the New Canaan Advertiser, Gov. Ned Lamont fielded questions from residents and elected officials, and praised a local organization for getting protective equipment to health care workers.

Lamont saluted Grace Farms Foundation, which has delivered more than 1 million pieces of PPE to hospitals and health care centers, while saying there needs to be changes in how that necessary gear is obtained and distributed.

It would be great if the federal government would step in and help us there, Lamont said as he answered questions during a Zoom conversation with more than 100 people. They should be doing the purchasing on a centralized basis, instead of pitting 50 states against each other.

Im not here to complain about the federal government and Im not here to wait for the federal government, Lamont said at the newspapers weekly discussion, which has been held each week for 20 years and has moved to Zoom because of the coronavirus pandemic.

RELATED: The Advertisers weekly coffee with readers, and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont from Friday, May 8

Major truckloads of PPE are arriving in Connecticut this weekend, Lamont said, adding that supply and demand are slowly coming back into balance.

Once the public health crisis is over, the economic impacts of the pandemic and shutdown will continue. Republican Selectman Nick Williams praised the state government for having a sufficient rainy day fund, but asked whether Lamont could rule out income tax increases in coming years.

Were very well advantaged by keeping that rainy day fund intact, Lamont said. Thank God we have $2.5 billion  that allows us to power through this year and most of next year. We will need to make significant cuts to get through next year unless we get some help from the federal government.

Revenues for Connecticut and other states have been devastated by the closures, Lamont said. But unlike the Great Recession of 2008-09, when income taxes took the hit, the current situation is slashing both income and sales tax receipts, he said.

Im not going to make any big promises because I cant tell you what COVID is going to look like in four months, I cant tell you if people are going to start going back to restaurants and stores tomorrow or if it will take six months, the governor said.

Democratic Selectman Kit Devereaux asked what would happen if the federal government made good on threats to not fund Blue states.

Lamont said that during White House Task Force meetings, held over Zoom, discussions center on how devastating it would be for states to face fiscal ruin.

Then they find a TV camera and people move into campaign mode, Lamont said.

Asked about approximately $135 million in raises due to state workers, Lamont said discussions are underway to find a collaborative solution.

He praised state workers, including correction officers, of whom hundreds have been infected with Covid, and first-line responders who put themselves at risk, saying they cant telecommute.

I think everybody is going to be part of that solution, Lamont said.

Referring to his daily press conference, Lamont said, Today we are really going to be walking through what our protocols are for Main Street businesses opening up.

Part of that, the governor said, will be a decision on the part of consumers.

Its more important or just as important making sure consumers feel comfortable going back to that store or restaurant, he said. Its giving the consumers confidence when its safe to go back.

Sadly, we could not reopen the schools in a traditional sense this school year, Lamont said of the decision to keep schools closed at least until fall.

Lamont said there could be celebrations of the Class of 2020, perhaps in July or August.

A decision is coming soon on summer camps and summer schools.

We need to make sure kids can hit the ground running subject to the facts on the ground, Lamont said. We need to make sure they can open in a safe way.

The coffee event attended by Lamont has been held for more than 20 years by the New Canaan Advertiser. It has moved online during the coronavirus pandemic.

Virtually visiting New Canaan during a weekly coffee hosted by the New Canaan Advertiser, Gov. Ned Lamont fielded questions from residents and elected officials, and praised a local organization for getting protective equipment to health care workers.

Lamont saluted Grace Farms Foundation, which has delivered more than 1 million pieces of PPE to hospitals and health care centers, while saying there needs to be changes in how that necessary gear is obtained and distributed.

It would be great if the federal government would step in and help us there, Lamont said as he answered questions during a Zoom conversation with more than 100 people. They should be doing the purchasing on a centralized basis, instead of pitting 50 states against each other.

Im not here to complain about the federal government and Im not here to wait for the federal government, Lamont said at the newspapers weekly discussion, which has been held each week for 20 years and has moved to Zoom because of the coronavirus pandemic.

RELATED: The Advertisers weekly coffee with readers, and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont from Friday, May 8

Major truckloads of PPE are arriving in Connecticut this weekend, Lamont said, adding that supply and demand are slowly coming back into balance.

Once the public health crisis is over, the economic impacts of the pandemic and shutdown will continue. Republican Selectman Nick Williams praised the state government for having a sufficient rainy day fund, but asked whether Lamont could rule out income tax increases in coming years.

Were very well advantaged by keeping that rainy day fund intact, Lamont said. Thank God we have $2.5 billion  that allows us to power through this year and most of next year. We will need to make significant cuts to get through next year unless we get some help from the federal government.

Revenues for Connecticut and other states have been devastated by the closures, Lamont said. But unlike the Great Recession of 2008-09, when income taxes took the hit, the current situation is slashing both income and sales tax receipts, he said.

Im not going to make any big promises because I cant tell you what COVID is going to look like in four months, I cant tell you if people are going to start going back to restaurants and stores tomorrow or if it will take six months, the governor said.

Democratic Selectman Kit Devereaux asked what would happen if the federal government made good on threats to not fund Blue states.

Lamont said that during White House Task Force meetings, held over Zoom, discussions center on how devastating it would be for states to face fiscal ruin.

Then they find a TV camera and people move into campaign mode, Lamont said.

Asked about approximately $135 million in raises due to state workers, Lamont said discussions are underway to find a collaborative solution.

He praised state workers, including correction officers, of whom hundreds have been infected with COVID, and first-line responders who put themselves at risk, saying they cant telecommute.

I think everybody is going to be part of that solution, Lamont said.

Referring to his daily press conference, Lamont said, Today we are really going to be walking through what our protocols are for Main Street businesses opening up.

Part of that, the governor said, will be a decision on the part of consumers.

Its more important or just as important making sure consumers feel comfortable going back to that store or restaurant, he said. Its giving the consumers confidence when its safe to go back.

Sadly, we could not reopen the schools in a traditional sense this school year, Lamont said of the decision to keep schools closed at least until fall.

Lamont said there could be celebrations of the Class of 2020, perhaps in July or August.

A decision is coming soon on summer camps and summer schools.

We need to make sure kids can hit the ground running subject to the facts on the ground, Lamont said. We need to make sure they can open in a safe way.

The coffee event attended by Lamont has been held for more than 20 years by the New Canaan Advertiser. It has moved online during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Coffee is also taking place online via Zoom, the web based videoconferencing tool via a new link this Friday, May 15, at 9 a.m., and the following Fridays as far out as they can be scheduled, although they will continue to take place every Friday past June 26.

Further details in addition to Fridays occurence through Friday, June 26 at 9 a.m. are:

Friday, May 22, at 9 a.m.

Friday, May 29, at 9 a.m.

Friday, June 5, at 9 a.m.

Friday, June 12, at 9 a.m.

Friday, June 19, at 9 a.m., and

Friday, June 26, at 9 a.m.

Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.

Weekly: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/tZItdOGtpz8qE9R6TejjxNqcrLaRLJPyqVSZ/ics?icsToken=98tyKuGurjgiH92RsBCHRpwAAojCWe_xmClfj_pvyivgCSpLTBL1JM5DAJ5VIMHB

Then join the Zoom Meeting at the following link each of the Fridays.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86038594090

The Meeting ID for the Coffee is: 860 3859 4090

On one tap mobile you can join from the following locations by:

+19292056099,,86038594090# US (New York)

+13017158592,,86038594090# US (Germantown)

Or dial in by your location:

+1 929 205 6099 US (New York)

+1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)

+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)

+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)

+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)

And then enter the Meeting ID for the Coffee, which is: 860 3859 4090

If you number is not listed above, then find your the local number to where you are at the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kyaswZon1
The current president of the Eurogroup, Mario Centeno, will allegedly not be available for a second mandate in July. Could Pierre Gramegna become his successor?

The Portuguese minister of finance is said to suffer from work overload while other ministers of the Eurogroup are apparently unhappy with Centenos management style. Only 1 month ago, the Eurogroup held a meeting about possible aids in the corona crisis. While the meeting lasted over 16 hours, it ended without results.

The Spanish Minister of Finance and the Economy, Nadia Calvino, is widely regarded as the logical successor of Centeno. However, there are also reservations against this politician and, according to the German newspaper FAZ, this means that Pierre Gramegna is also being considered again. The Luxembourgish minister of finance lost to Centeno during the last elections for president of the Eurogroup two years ago. The politician of the Democratic Party (DP) could therefore have a second chance in July.

According to the German press, Gramegna is not considered an "economic heavy-weight", but rather seen as friendly and balanced. He would therefore be a perfect compromise candidate.

The FAZ mentions the Irish Minister of Finance, Paschal Donohoe, as a third potential candidate for the important position as president of the informal Eurogroup. However, he would only be considered if Gramegna and Calvino were to block each other.
Noble Midstream Partners LP (NASDAQ:NBLX)

Q1 2020 Earnings Call

, 9:00 p.m. ET

Contents:

Prepared Remarks

Questions and Answers

Call Participants

Prepared Remarks:

Operator

Good morning, and welcome to the Noble Midstream First Quarter 2020 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. [Operator Instructions] Please note this event is being recorded.

I would now like to turn the conference over to Park Carrere, Manager-Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Park Carrere -- Manager, Investor Relations

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. And welcome to the Noble Midstream Partners first quarter 2020 earnings call. With me today to review our results is Brent Smolik CEO; Robin Fielder, President and COO; and Tom Christensen, CFO.

Following our prepared remarks, we will hold a question-and-answer session. Here to participate in the question-and-answer session we also have John Reuwer, Vice President of Corporate Development; Chris Stavinoha, Director of Capital Projects; and Barry Guice, Director of Operations.

This morning, we announced first quarter 2020 results as well as updated full year 2020 guidance. The press release and supplemental slides are on the Investors section of our website, nblmidstream.com. Upon filing later today, our 10-Q will be available in the same location. As a reminder, today's discussion will contain forward-looking statements and certain non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to our latest news releases for non-GAAP reconciliations as well as our latest filings with the SEC for a list of factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements.

At this time, I will turn the call over to Brent.

Brent Smolik -- Chief Executive Officer

Thanks, Park. Good morning, everyone. I'd like to first say to everyone on the call that I hope you and your families are well and have remained safe. In response to COVID-19, Noble Midstream made an early decision to transition to work from home to protect the health and safety of our office-based workforce.

Our field personnel continue to report to our operating sites took precautions to keep themselves safe from the virus and work very hard to maintain safe and efficient operations. I'm very proud of our response and the uninterrupted customer service that we delivered and I'd like to thank all of our employees and contractors that made that possible. So far our ability to gather oil and gas and produce water and execute on our capital projects has not been impacted by the virus. Robin will share more of our Q1 execution in a moment.

During the quarter we reacted quickly at Noble Midstream to protect our business and prioritize our balance sheet and liquidity. We reduced our organic capital expenditures by over $140 million through additional capital efficiency gains and lower operator activity. We delivered a 15% reduction in operating costs from our contractor negotiations, lowering supply chain cost and project deferrals.

We reduced our net G&A cost through multiple methods, including lowering cash management -- cash compensation for management and enacting a new furlough program. And lastly management and the Board made the difficult but prudent decision to reduce our distribution nearly 75% saving approximately $200 million in annualized cash flow to further protect the balance sheet.

We outperformed on all of our Q1 guidance metrics and continue to execute well on what we can control. Oil, gas and produced water gathering volumes all benefited from accelerated new well delivery and well connect timing. This all led to record quarterly EBITDA. Going forward, we expect a fairly limited completion activity beyond early Q2.

Before I turn the call over to Robin, I want to highlight Noble Midstream's key differentiators and important inflection points within our business. First, in our gathering business, the Partnership has spent capital to build out the necessary infrastructure in each basin over the last couple of years. We now have the backbone infrastructure in place to efficiently add new connections and continue to reduce our capital cost per well.

Second, over the last several years we've diversified our business with the addition of intermediate and long-haul pipelines. Investments in these projects was nearly complete in the first quarter. As we move past the investment phase, we expect to see growth in high-quality, contracted EBITDA and free cash flow that will differentiate us from gathering peers.

The EPIC Crude and Delaware Crossing pipelines are online and flowing and we anticipate the EPIC Y-grade to transition to full service very soon. With approximately 65% of the 2020 estimated throughput backed by minimum volume commitments, Noble Midstream now has line of sight to growing EBITDA from our transmission business.

Beginning in Q2, these inflection points will transition Noble Midstream into a self-funding entity, without the need for additional equity investment. So going forward we'll continue to prioritize capital discipline, free cash flow generation and debt reduction.

With that, I'll now turn the call over to Robin, to update on operations and guidance.

Robin Fielder -- President and Chief Operating Officer

Thanks Brent. During the first quarter, Noble Midstream's core gathering business, outdelivered volumes expectations, benefiting from higher run times across our systems, and excellent project execution. This strong throughput coupled with operating efficiencies and cost reductions, contributed to the record EBITDA and distributable cash flow that Partnership generated.

The team delivered fresh water to 58 completions and added nearly 140 well connections into our gathering systems, across both basins during the quarter. In addition, tankage was expanded on the Black Diamond crude gathering system, in the DJ Basin with 60,000 barrels of oil storage completed during the first quarter and an incremental 30,000 barrels added in late April.

Turning to the 2020 outlook, we have suspended gathering guidance due to the uncertainty around the volume and duration of customer production curtailments over the next several months, yet we provided an updated full year outlook for capital investments and other key financial metrics based on scenario analysis.

We assumed moderate customer curtailment across gathering and transmission segments in the high-end of our guided ranges. And significant curtailment through August, in the lower bound of our ranges. These curtailments and adjustments of gathering fresh water delivery and transportation forecast due to reduced activity, translate into annual adjusted net EBITDA of $370 million to $410 million. And a range of distributable cash flow of $280 million to $310 million.

Despite per-well connections the Partnership reduced, per-well connection cost more than 25%, in the first few months of this year. As a result of these efficiency gains and project deferrals, we have reduced our organic capital budget, an additional 30-plus percent from our March update. And now anticipate a capital range of $60 million to $80 million this year.

In total, we have lowered capital expectations by more than 65% from our original February guidance, these reductions further enhance our free cash flow generation, beginning in the second quarter and continuing for the remainder of this year, and highlights our resiliency and ability to efficiently reallocate resources to align with customer activity.

Looking ahead, early in the second quarter, we connected 54 wells in the DJ Basin and anticipate approximately two rigs across our acreage dedications for the remainder of the year. When Noble recommences completion activity, we are well positioned to quickly connect new wells for minimal cost due to the synergies of road development.

In the Permian Basin, we anticipate an additional half a dozen well connections early in the second quarter, before a pause on new projects, with activity expected to resume in late 2020. As a result of these activity reductions, we are planning for minimal organic capital spend for the remainder of 2020 and are currently evaluating optimization of our facilities to reduce operating expense.

Meanwhile, we have already identified $15 million to $20 million in total expense savings for the year. We will continue to work with our existing and potential customer base on timing and future development opportunities. And we'll be cautious before committing incremental capital, until we have further line of sight on activity plans which are likely to be supported by improved commodity prices.

I will now turn the call over to Tom, to update you on equity investments and the balance sheet.

Tom Christensen -- Chief Financial Officer

Thanks Robin. First an update on our pipelines, effective February 1st, Black Diamond our partially owned subsidiary, acquired a 20% ownership stake in the Saddlehorn pipeline for $160 million or $87 million net to Noble Midstream.

During the first two months of ownership Saddlehorn generated earnings of $4.6 million for Black Diamond or $2.5 million net to Noble Midstream. We also saw volume improvement from EPIC Crude during the first quarter as the crude line transitioned to permanent service.

Despite near-term activity headwinds we continue to believe that EPIC Crude is advantaged in this environment, as the new build pipeline EPIC Crude has lower operating costs than existing pipelines. And its recent market-based tariffs reduced its exposure to near-term rate renegotiations.

Its dock space, in Corpus Christi provides customers with access to premium pricing, in international crude markets. And it adds over 5.1 million barrels of crude storage online now, with an additional 1.8 million expected later this summer.

Y-Grade is currently transitioning from interim service back to NGL service and is on target to start up during the second quarter. In this uncertain investing backdrop, the JV partners have delayed the completion of the second greenfield fractionator until the second half of the year when we expect to have better visibility as to the depth of this market downturn. Delaware Crossing entered full service on time and on budget during the quarter and began transporting crude from the Southern Delaware Basin to Wink.

Benefits of this asset include that it is tied into multiple customer terminals in a drilling hub in the Permian Basin and its connectivity in the EPIC Crude mainline allows us and -- allows our current and future customers low-cost access to the Gulf. In addition to these recent portfolio enhancements, we continue to see solid performance from our Advantage and White Cliffs pipeline investments. These pipeline investments coupled with our fresh water MVC provide quality and stability to the Partnership's cash flow profile and will help us to navigate an uncertain 2020.

Now to first quarter financials. Noble Midstream had a record quarter with $107 million of adjusted EBITDA and $94 million of distributable cash flow. This is the first full quarter reflecting the impact of our recent drop simplification transaction. During the quarter, we spent $43 million on organic capital expenditures and $148 million on equity investments. These investments were made to acquire the Saddlehorn interest and meet the funding requirements of our other pipeline investments.

For the full year, we now expect equity investment capital to be between $240 million and $260 million. The current price dislocation has caused us to lower our near-term price forecast for our third-party DJ gathering business and has resulted in the Partnership recording a goodwill impairment of $110 million or $60 million net to Noble Midstream. This goodwill was related to the 2018 acquisition of our Black Diamond gathering system. It's worth mentioning that the fair value analysis used in assessing goodwill for impairment does not include our recent valuable investment in Saddlehorn pipeline.

The Partnership is on path to be self-funding even in this low to no-activity environment, which highlights the support of our sponsor in creating a long-term sustainable and valuable midstream company. Additionally, we expect that our distribution coverage will remain above 4 times in 2020. Returning capital to unitholders remains an important priority for the Partnership. We will continue to monitor both our business and the market conditions as we assess the appropriateness of our distribution each quarter.

We ended the quarter with 4 times leverage and over $400 million in liquidity. Additionally, we are actively working to extend the debt maturities that come due in the back half of 2021 and in 2022. We believe that even in disparate curtailment scenarios, we will remain safely below our 5 times debt covenant threshold. As a company, we understand that lower leverage will be essential to keep the partnership competitive through commodity cycles.

With our target leverage of 3 times we are laser-focused on reducing the absolute amount of our debt during the slowdown. Our assets are well positioned to immediately generate the excess cash flows needed to begin this deleveraging process and I look forward to updating you on our progress as we move throughout the year.

With that, I will now turn the call over for questions.

Questions and Answers:

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Our first question is from Jeremy Tonet of JPMorgan. Please go ahead.

Jeremy Tonet -- JPMorgan -- Analyst

Hey, good morning guys. This is James on for Jeremy. I wanted to start here with the DJ outlook. It seems from Noble's call earlier as well as midstream peers like DCP yesterday that the DJ Basin seems pretty solid through April and even constructive. But I was wondering given your guidance assumes curtailments already in June, how you're seeing that play out through May and just talk about maybe the near-term outlook there?

Robin Fielder -- President and Chief Operating Officer

Sure. Thanks for the question James. As I mentioned in my prepared remarks in the DJ, we continue to see drilling rig activity and even through early April and into May we're seeing continuing well connection. So we do have activity. And then on the customer curtailment side as our sponsor mentioned earlier, we are anticipating to see some of that in the second quarter, but really not seeing it across our meters yet early in May since we're a month or a week into this month. But as we look forward to June, we've put some of that into our scenario analysis and our forward look with respect to our guidance on EBITDA and distributable cash flow and the associated leverage with that.

So certainly not as constructive as before, but we're well prepared there potentially even for when the activity resumes later in the year because we've got a lot of sister section development and our gathering systems are largely already in place. So it will just be incremental well connections but in some cases just turning on Econodes.

Jeremy Tonet -- JPMorgan -- Analyst

Got it. That's helpful. And then in the last quarter you mentioned, I think in your guidance you don't have any EPIC distributions. Is that still the case?

Brent Smolik -- Chief Executive Officer

Yes. It is.

Jeremy Tonet -- JPMorgan -- Analyst

Okay, great. That covers for me. I appreciate the questions.

Brent Smolik -- Chief Executive Officer

Thanks, James.

Operator

The next question is from Pearce Hammond of Simmons Energy. Please go ahead.

Pearce Hammond -- Simmons Energy -- Analyst

Good morning, and thanks for taking my questions. My first question is what is the path to bring in the distribution coverage ratio back down? And in a normalized environment, when we get past all of this COVID and the oil price implosion, what would you say would be the target distribution coverage?

Brent Smolik -- Chief Executive Officer

Yes. I think this is -- Pearce, this is Brent. I think you should think about it in terms of priority that we'll be near-term-focused on the balance sheet and debt reduction as we moved out of the heavy investment phase and as we move forward I think we'll stay focused there. But as we start to get more comfortably close to the 3 times target, we can start thinking about increasing distributions again later.

Pearce Hammond -- Simmons Energy -- Analyst

Okay. Thank you. And then as my follow-on, appreciate the guidance that you provided the leverage ratio this year 3.9 times to 4.3 times. And picking up on your comments just a few moments ago again in a normalized environment, what do you think the ultimate target should be for the leverage ratio for NBLX?

Brent Smolik -- Chief Executive Officer

We're shooting for 3 times or lower.

Robin Fielder -- President and Chief Operating Officer

Yes. And Pearce this is Robin. I'll add to both of your questions some additional color. As you know we've got much of our gathering backbone in place and much of our JV investments, those pipelines have -- are starting to turn on right now. So much of that spend is behind us. So we're well set up to have minimal capital investments as we move into next year. So then it's just a matter of turning on incremental well connects. So as far as our program outlook we're set up quite nicely especially with all the cost reductions we've been able to roll through the system to really continue to generate free cash flow like we stated we expect starting this quarter.

Pearce Hammond -- Simmons Energy -- Analyst

Okay. Thank you very much, Robin.

Robin Fielder -- President and Chief Operating Officer

Thanks, Pearce.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] There are no questions at this time. This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Brent Smolik for closing remarks.

Brent Smolik -- Chief Executive Officer

I just want to thank everybody for your time today and I hope your families all remain safe. We're in some -- obviously some very unprecedented times in the industry, but we are starting to see some positive developments. When you look at producer capital reductions and the announced shut-ins and the OPEC+ supply cuts in the beginnings of maybe the recovery globally from COVID-19. I think all that sets up well for producers increasing activity later this year, early next and increasing throughput. And when they do so we'll be ready to increase with them. Thank you.

Operator

[Operator Closing Remarks]

Duration: 20 minutes

Call participants:

Park Carrere -- Manager, Investor Relations

Brent Smolik -- Chief Executive Officer

Robin Fielder -- President and Chief Operating Officer

Tom Christensen -- Chief Financial Officer

Jeremy Tonet -- JPMorgan -- Analyst

Pearce Hammond -- Simmons Energy -- Analyst

More NBLX analysis

All earnings call transcripts
In Texas, where the Republican governor was praised by President Donald Trump for loosening restrictions, hair salons and barber shops were allowed to reopen Friday, following earlier restarts of restaurants and retailers.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz flew up from Houston to get his hair cut at a Dallas salon that became a rallying cry for conservative protests against lockdown orders after the owner refused to shut down and was jailed. She was later ordered released.

California, which imposed the first statewide stay-home order in the U.S., was taking more modest steps. Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom allowed clothing stores, sporting goods shops, florists and other retailers to start operating curbside pickup Friday, with many employees required to wear masks.

Pennsylvania announced that 13 counties, including much of the Pittsburgh area, can loosen restrictions next week, following a similar move for a swath of rural northern Pennsylvania.

South Carolina restaurants can reopen with limited indoor dining service Monday, the same day as Mississippi barbershops, salons and gyms.

In contrast the city of Gallup, New Mexico, which serves tens of thousands of people living on and around the vast Navajo reservation, was under an extreme lockdown with police checkpoints keeping all but residents out.

The moves came as the U.S. has recorded more than 1.28 million cases and more than 76,000 deaths. Massachusetts, with at least 73,000 cases and 4,500 deaths, and Illinois, with 70,000 cases and 3,000 deaths, are states where stay-home orders remain in effect until later this month.

Among the lives claimed by the virus was magician Roy Horn of the famed Las Vegas act Siegfried & Roy, who died Friday at age 75.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A mother has been pulled away from her screaming son as she was arrested for protesting 'for her rights' during the coronavirus pandemic.

Video footage shared to Facebook showed the woman speaking with police officers near Parliament of New South Wales in Sydney's CBD about 3.50pm on Saturday.

The woman, who was with her son, wore a yellow sign that read: 'If you don't know your rights, you don't have any. Magna Carta.'

The woman told police she was not doing anything wrong, despite the government's social distancing regulations implemented during the health crisis.

Video footage shared to Facebook showed the woman speaking with police officers near Parliament of New South Wales in Sydney at about 3.50pm on Saturday

Australians are allowed to exercise outdoors but must keep a 1.5 distance from others.

'I don't know how you guys are going home in honour tonight and trying to infringe me with a notice which I don't consent to because we're doing nothing wrong,' she told the group of officers.

'You guys should be here holding the signs with us, defending us. I don't consent to what you're doing.'

The woman said she was not 'acting in aggression' and that she did not consent to sharing her name.

She asked if police she was 'under arrest' and female officer explained they were 'asking for her name' as they believed she was committing an offence.

The woman then appeared to walk on.

Additional video footage showed the altercation took a turn for the worst.

Police attempted to arrest the woman, while her son screamed and cried.

'Mummy is not going,' he said. 'Leave mummy alone.'

Police attempted to arrest the woman, while her son screamed and cried. 'Mummy is not going,' he said

Pictured: A police officer holds on to the woman's child as she is arrested

The protester appeared to fight off attempts to put her in the back of the paddy wagon and continued to claim she was not doing anything wrong.

The distressing footage concluded with police pulling the child away.

A police officer was seen holding on to the boy as he kicked and screamed for his mother. The woman was eventually put into the police van.

The alarming confrontation has left viewers divided, with one slamming the mother for bringing her child along with her.

'Foolish, selfish attention seeking woman. A mother should protect their child far far away from aggravating situations like that during a global pandemic,' one wrote.

'She should not expose a vulnerable child to such unnecessary trauma. Her poor innocent boy,' another wrote.

A NSW Police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia to woman refused to give officers her details and would not comply with their direction to move on

Other viewers criticised the police for arresting the woman by claiming she was simply exercising with a sign.

'They were having a peaceful protest no one was getting hurt the female police officer got a bee in her bonnet and decided to step in and this is what happened,' one wrote.

'They were going for a walk to exercise while holding a political sign,' another added.

A NSW Police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia officers spoke to a group conducting an 'unauthorised protest' at about 3.50pm on Saturday.

'Officers moved the group on after explaining they were not authorised to protest and were also not complying with social distancing regulations,' the spokesperson said.

'One woman refused to give officers her details and would not comply with their direction to move on.

'She was placed under arrest; however, resisted and struggled with officers.

'The woman was taken to Surry Hills Police Station.'

Protesters walked along Macquarie Street and past parliament between 2pm and 4pm on Saturday to 'exercise' their rights during the health crisis.

According to the 'Exercising My Rights' Facebook page and website, the protests are about the negative consequences of lockdown.

'Do you think the lockdowns being implemented in our country are reasonable?' the website reads.

'These lockdowns have stripped us of our basic liberties in an unprecedented way.'
Trump needs to be able to desensitize U.S. voters to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people by November Election Day when it is increasingly likely that as many as 400,000 will have died from the COVID-19 pandemic. Thats why hes encouraging the rallying cry by his deplorable followers to let the elderly, homeless, and people with pre-existing conditions die.





United States COVID-19 Coronavirus May 9, 2020

Total Coronavirus Cases: 1,344,683 Active Cases: 1,027,958 Closed Cases: 316,725 Deaths: 79,960 Recovered: 236,765

























Another day in paradise, and yet we will finish the day with over 80,000 American dead and as many as 1,344,683 total American infected with the coronavirus. This is not a synopsis of a program on the Syfy Channel, this is our reality!



Continued reports in the news of black men being hunted down and shot, and GOP politicians like Dan Patrick the Republican Lieutenant Governor of Texas, urging that we let older Americans and people with weak immune systems die to re-open the economy has allowed Donald J. Trump to turn the GOP into a death cult.

Trump calls those U.S. citizens that will be infected and who will succumb to the pandemic Warriors. Its also motivating thousands of people to play vigilante soldiers dress up, complete with automatic weapons, and some even building bombs.

The white nationalistic fascism Trump and his GOP supporters are espousing are going to blow up big time any day. The presidents encouragement of every stupid deranged conspiracy theory and his sociopaths narcissism will lead to one or more domestic terrorist events sooner or later. After this, he will take no responsibility. The danger is visible even in local communities.



Earlier this month, a five-member City Council of Antioch, California, was forced to remove Ken Turnage II from his job as chairman of the city planning commission after Turnage published a Facebook post saying according to the Los Angeles Times.

the elderly, the homeless, and people with weak immune systems as a drain on society who should be left to perish as COVID-19 sweeps through Contra Costa County.

The Los Angeles Times describes Tunages Facebook post:

If we were to live our lives, let nature run its course, yes we will all feel hardship, we will all feel loss, he wrote on Facebook. But as a species, he continued; the deaths would alleviate strain on the countrys healthcare and Social Security systems and free up jobs and housing.

As for our homeless and other people who just defile themselves by either choice or mental issues, Turnage went on to write, the virus would fix what a significant burden on our society is.

Turnage argues that his personal views dont affect his municipal duties and that Hitler was after all a dog lover. When asked by a constituent, how Turnage could be expected to responsibly shape his city after he described homeless people as a significant burden that a deadly virus could fix. Turnage said the only intent of his Facebook post to start debate and conversation about the epidemic amounts to Hitlers claim he was only trying to make Germany great again before swallowing the cyanide and shooting himself in the head.

Now Turnage wonders why he has since received at least 1,500 phone calls, message requests, and calls to his business since publishing his comments. The response, according to him, despite many words of encouragement, he has still received lots of anonymous hate mail and death threats.

His bewilderment matches that of President Trumps shock and amazement at people being upset with him. After all, hes just trying to make America great again, and hes not trying to undermine the rule of law or trying to encourage people to trade 350,000 American lives for his re-election in November. Those who die, are warriors, and this isnt a war he started; just one he furthered with kerosene.








We're six months into an initiative that is bringing residents and police together to solve crimes, and it's working just like we'd hoped. We launched the Busted page on our web site in November 2019. This web page features suspects who have been caught on camera committing felony crimes, everything from burglaries to shootings.
New Delhi, May 9 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the measures required to address the health and ecoomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic with his Italian counterpart Giuseppe Conte over a phone call.

Over a phone call on Friday, PM Modi also conveyed his condolences for the loss of lives in Italy caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. He commended the fortitude shown by citizens of Italy during the crisis.

Both the leaders expressed solidarity with each other and appreciated the mutual cooperation extended towards each other's stranded nationals.

Modi assured Conte of India's unstinted support to Italy in provision of essential medicines and other items.

The leaders agreed to continue active consultation and cooperation between India and Italy, to further strengthen bilateral relations.

Conte reiterated his invitation to the Prime Minister to visit Italy at a suitable time.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
The wild plot involved faking his own death, stealing the identity of a Florida attorney, using an app to disguise his voice, and pretending to have prostate cancer, bone cancer, and a brain aneurysm.

Unemployed Virginia man Russell Louis Geyer was so determined to hide his assets in bankruptcy proceedings, he even threw his own wife under the busduping her into handing over $70,000 and using her email address to inform an attorney he was dead.

Geyer, 50, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to contempt of court, bankruptcy fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity fraud. He faces up to life in prison.

In an effort to game the bankruptcy system, Mr. Geyer devised a made-for-TV plot that ultimately collapsed under its own weight, U.S. Attorney Thomas Cullen said in a statement.

Minnesota Man Killed Wife, Buried Her Under Home, Then Faked Her Disappearance: Court Docs

Geyer and his wife, Patricia Sue Geyer, from Saltville, filed for voluntary bankruptcy in late 2018, listing liabilities of $532,583.80, according to court documents.

They were behind on payments for three of their four vehicles, for both their home and a rental property they owned, and for most of their furniture. They hadnt paid electricity bills, bank overdrafts, credit card bills, and dozens of medical bills, and more than 50 creditors were chasing them for everything from their 65-inch TV to their Kawasaki ZX1000 motorbike.

At one point in the bankruptcy proceedings, Geyer told his lawyer, John Lamie, hed gone to the Mayo Clinic in Florida to be treated for prostate cancer, but it had spread to his bones and he intended to stop treatment.

Four months later, according to a criminal complaint, he told Lamie he was now in a hospice in Florida after treatment failed. He said his wife was there, too, and had undergone bypass surgery for a heart condition. She wasnt cleared to drive back to Virginia, he claimed.

Then, a few days before September 5, 2019, when Geyer was due to appear in person at a bankruptcy hearing, Lamie received an email from Geyers wife. Her husband was dead, it said. Hed apparently had a brain aneurysm in June while being transported back from Florida after his chemotherapy treatments.

Story continues

Around the same time, Geyers attorney got a threatening email from an attorney in Florida who said hed sold the assets that debtors were trying to recover in the bankruptcy case. [Patricia] doesnt know anything about this, and neither does Russell, the email said. I have complete control of Russell and told him to kill himself. You will not find him in time. He ended the email by saying: I am on a plane out of the country.

However, investigators later found that the Florida attorney whose name was used in the email existed but had nothing to do with the case. Geyer had simply set up a bogus email account using his name.

Southwest Virginia Regional Jail Authority

Please Come Get Me: Fatal Indianapolis Police Shooting May Have Aired on Facebook

He even used the attorneys identity to fleece his wife, a registered nurse who earned $3,200 a month, for $70,000. Geyer told his wife hed won a $1 million settlement in Florida in an unrelated court case but needed her to pay $70,000 in legal fees for the money to be released.

He used the bogus email address and an app that disguised his voice to pose as the Florida attorney and confirm the settlement was imminent. It was all untrue, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of Virginia said in a statement on Thursday.

The plot unraveled on Sept. 4, the day before the bankruptcy hearing, when a process server visited the couples Saltville home to give them a notice to appear.

The home was empty but, just as the process server was leaving, Geyer and his wife arrived home in their car and got outfar from the Florida hospice he had claimed to be languishing in.

The next day, Patricia Geyer, who said shed largely let her husband deal with the bankruptcy case, left home to attend the court hearing about an hour after her husband. He never showed up.

She told the court she had no idea about her husbands wild story. She said they hadnt been in Florida recently, she hadnt had bypass surgery, and her husband didnt have cancer. The first time shed heard of her husbands supposed death was two days earlier, when Lamie called her to say hed heard about Geyers passing.

A few days ago, [Lamie] called me at work, she said under cross-examination in court. I got a message to call him. So I immediately called him and then he told me all this stuff about Russell being dead and all that. It just floored me, so I had no clue.

Wheres Mr. Geyer now? a judge asked her.

I couldnt tell you, because he left the house this morning an hour, hour before me. And he was supposed to come down here and be here at 10:30, and then when I ended up here, he wasn't here. So I dont know.

After that day in court, she only ever received text messages from Geyer saying he was in a hospital in West Virginia following a suicide attempt.

Geyer was tracked down two weeks later and charged with criminal offenses. He underwent a psychiatric evaluation as part of the criminal case but was found to be competent to stand trial.

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, FBI Special Agent David W. Archey said.

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GRAND RAPIDS, MI  Three inmates with COVID-19 were sent to a prison that had no coronavirus cases among the prisoner population after a private lab incorrectly reported their tests negative, the state Department of Corrections said.

The three inmates were removed from the prison and are in isolation. Others who had close contact with the three have also been quarantined.

The mix-up happened May 1, an official said.

The three inmates were initially held at the Charles Egeler Reception & Guidance Center in Jackson where all male inmates go for screening, classification and placement after being sentenced to prison terms.

They were then transferred to Central Michigan Correctional Facility in St. Louis, Michigan.

No inmates at that prison have tested positive for COVID-19.

Upon learning of the labs mistake, we immediately worked to move those prisoners from Central Michigan Correctional Facility to another facility and they were placed in isolation, prisons spokesman Chris Gautz said in an email on Friday, May 8.

He said prisoners who had close contact with the three inmates have been quarantined. None of them have shown symptoms.

Two staff members at Central Michigan Correctional previously tested positive for COVID-19.

Garcia Labs in Jackson was identified by the Department of Corrections as the laboratory that reported the results of the three prisoners. Messages seeking comment were not immediately returned.

Of the 59 inmates at Central Michigan Correctional Facility who have been tested for COVID-19, 50 have come back negative. Results are pending for the others.

Statewide, records show that 2,090 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19. Forty-nine have died.

Of 303 Department of Corrections staff members with the coronavirus, two have died.

The Michigan Corrections Organization union on Friday issued a statement to staff that said, in part, To say these are difficult times would be an understatement. MCO leaders and staff understand all thats being asked of corrections officers in this critical moment. Youre putting your personal health on the line, distancing yourselves from family, and working a massive amount of overtime. Leaders and staff cant thank you enough for meeting the challenges of this time with professionalism.

Inmates have filed lawsuits against the state and prison officials over concerns that the virus is spreading quickly through the prison system and puts them at risk of death.

READ MORE:

Coronavirus a death sentence in Michigan prisons, inmate says

National Guard to assist in testing 7,500 northern Michigan prisoners for coronavirus

Michigan inmates hide coronavirus symptoms to avoid prison quarantine
Iraq's newly appointed Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Saturday chaired his first cabinet meeting since being sworn in, following weeks of tense political negotiations.

He also had separate meetings with the American and Iranian ambassadors to Iraq, Matthew H. Tueller and Iraj Masjedi.

Al-Kadhimi's meeting with the Iranian envoy comes amid tensions between the US and Iran, which have escalated following America's assassination of Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander Qassim Soleimani in Janaury.

The US has welcomed Iraq's new government, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pledging to help the new prime minister and urging implementation of reforms.
The Grayzones Aaron Mate has published some explosive new leaks from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) which make it clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that the organisation, and the narrative managers associated with it, have been lying about the investigation into an alleged chemical attack in Douma, Syria two years ago.

In May of last year an Engineering Assessment signed by South African OPCW inspector Ian Henderson was leaked to the Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media, saying in direct contradiction of the OPCWs official findings that the chlorine cylinders allegedly dropped upon the scene via aircraft were in fact manually placed there. Since Douma was then occupied by the Al Qaeda-linked and Saudi-backed Jaysh al-Islam group, who were fighting against the Syrian government, this would mean the Syrian government was not responsible for whatever killed dozens of civilians. And it would have the very serious implication that the US, UK and France launched airstrikes against the Syrian government on false grounds.

From the moment Hendersons leaked document first emerged, both the OPCW and the establishment spinmeisters responsible for managing the imperial narrative on Syria have been dismissing Hendersons Engineering Assessment on the grounds that he was not a part of the OPCWs Fact-Finding Mission (FFM), the team which went to Douma to investigate the incident. Since that time mountains of evidence have surfaced both corroborating Hendersons assessment and revealing that attempts to portray him as not a part of the FFM are disingenuous pedantic manipulations at best, but these new leaks by The Grayzone are the first hard proof weve seen that this spin job was actually an outright, bald-faced lie.

The leaked documents include an OPCW security-planning memo labeled MISSION PERSONNEL which plain as day lists Henderson as a member of the FFM. The documents also include a letter from the office of then-OPCW Director General Ahmet Uzumcu explicitly asking that Henderson take leadership of inspections in crucial locations, in direct contradiction of the assertion by current Director General Fernando Arias that Henderson only played a minor supporting role in the investigation of the Douma incident.

He lied. The Director General of the OPCW lied to the world about the Douma investigation. These new leaked documents show clearly and unequivocally that Henderson was a part of the FFM and played a major role in the investigation, and that we were lied to about both of these things by OPCW officials.

Let me first turn to the findings of the investigation with respect to Inspector A, Arias said in a statement this past February, with Inspector A referring to Henderson. Inspector A first worked for the OPCW from June 1997 to December 2005, eventually being promoted to Team Leader. He was rehired at a lower level in June 2016 and worked at the OPCW until May 2019. Inspector A was not a member of the FFM.

Inspector A was not a member of the FFM, and his name is not included in the mandates issued for FFM deployments, reads a February note by the OPCW Technical Secretariat. He provided support to the FFM team investigating the Douma incident since he was at the command post in Damascus at the relevant time. It is customary for the inspector serving at the command post to provide assistance to the FFM. Inspector A played a minor supporting role in the FFM investigation.

These were lies, and they were smears. Theyve been repeated and reiterated in various ways since the OPCW scandal first emerged, and have been uncritically repeated as fact by news agencies like AFP and Reuters, as well as establishment narrative managers like Bellingcat, Idrees Ahmad, Nick Waters, Brian Whitaker, and Eliot Higgins.

They have been thoroughly discredited, and Mate reports that more is on the way, writing that a part two of this article will soon address the smears which have been leveled at the second OPCW whistleblower.

It has been revealed over the course of the OPCW scandal that US officials have attempted to interfere in the investigation and cajole OPCW inspectors into coming to conclusions which implicate the Syrian government. This would not be the first time the US government threw its weight around to make the OPCW fall in line with its regime change agendas, with threats to cut organisation funding and John Bolton reportedly even threatening a Director Generals children in order to help manufacture the case for the invasion of Iraq. Bolton, for the record, was Trumps National Security Advisor throughout the entirety of the Douma investigation.

We were lied to about Douma, and were being lied to about the coverup. The US has a lot invested in its ability to launch military strikes based on scant or nonexistent evidence without international backlash, so theres a lot at stake for the corrupt mass murderers in charge of the most powerful military force in the history of civilization. It makes perfect sense that they are doing everything they can to hide the truth.

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As I opined in my 3D Systems (NYSE:DDD) earnings preview, "the 3D printing company had been having a challenging time trying to grow revenue before the COVID-19 pandemic, so it seems likely that its first quarter results aren't going to be pretty."

And pretty they were not, though all things considered, they weren't horrible.

Following the earnings release, shares dropped more than 14% on Thursday, while the market was flat. However, shares did gain back a little ground on Friday, closing up 5.2%.

We can attribute the market's displeasure largely to revenue coming in lighter than what Wall Street was expecting and the company projecting continued challenges stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

Here's how the quarter worked out for the 3D printing company and its investors.

3D Systems' key numbers

Metric Q1 2020 Q1 2019 Change Revenue $134.7 million $152.0 million (11%) GAAP operating income ($18.2 million) ($21.3 million) Loss narrowed 15% GAAP net income ($18.9 million) ($24.4 million) Loss narrowed 23% Adjusted net income ($4.5 million) ($10.1 million) Loss narrowed 55% GAAP earnings per share (EPS) ($0.17) ($0.22) Loss narrowed 23% Adjusted EPS ($0.04) ($0.09) Loss narrowed 56%

Wall Street was looking for an adjusted loss per share of $0.05 on revenue of $140.6 million. So 3D Systems missed on the top line, and slightly beat on the bottom line. However, it only beat the bottom-line consensus estimate because it recorded a tax benefit of approximately $3.2 million, thanks to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

For the quarter, GAAP gross margin was 42.4%, down from 43.2% in the year-ago period. Adjusted gross margin landed at 43.1%, down from 44.2% in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin held up relatively well.

During the quarter, 3D Systems used $2.3 million of cash in operations, and ended the period with $112.8 million of cash on hand. Last quarter, it generated $21.5 million of cash from operations, and ended the period with $133.7 million of cash. So, it burned through $20.9 million in cash during the first quarter.

Given its cash burn rate and its cash on hand, the company's cash position needs to be carefully monitored.

For context, in 2019, 3D Systems' revenue fell 8.5% year over year to $629.1 million. GAAP loss widened 49% to $0.61 per share, and the company posted an adjusted loss of $0.08 per share compared to adjusted EPS of $0.15 in 2018.

Segment quarterly results

Segment Q1 2020 Revenue Change (YOY) Product $78.8 million (15%) Service $55.9 million (6.3%) Total $134.7 million (11%)

Here's how key categories performed:

3D printers (within product): Revenue dropped 36% year over year to $19.3 million.

Healthcare solutions: Revenue fell 7.3% to $46.3 million. (This category spans both segments and overlaps other categories.)

Materials (within product): Revenue was flat with the year-ago period at $41.4 million.

Software (within product): Revenue declined 7.7% to $21.2 million.

On-demand part manufacturing (within service): Revenue fell 13% to $19.7 million.

Materials revenue coming in flat with the year-ago period helped soften the pandemic's hit to profitability. This category has a considerably higher margin than the company's overall margin, so its sales have an outsize positive effect on profitability.

For context, last quarter, 3D printer revenue dropped 23% year over year, healthcare revenue fell 6%, materials revenue rose 7%, software revenue declined 10%, and on-demand manufacturing revenue fell 12%.

What management had to say

On the earnings call, CEO Vyomesh Joshi explained the main ways in which the company was hurt by the pandemic.

The first is end-user demand. Overall, capex [capital expenditure] spend is down across the industries we serve, including aerospace, automotive and healthcare, where elective surgeries have been canceled or delayed. This has affected demand for new hardware and associated software licenses. Second is the overall dental market, where demand has slowed as material consumption has slowed. ... Next, within our own facility, there has been a supply chain disruption as we are a global company. Facilities in China couldn't operate for a period of time, and in Europe, some capacity was limited. Finally, we couldn't extend service technicians for installations because of our customer sites being closed.

Ideally, investors would know exactly what the company's year-over-year results looked like halfway through the quarter before it began being affected by what's now a pandemic. But that information wasn't shared -- though Joshi did say the company was doing "OK" until mid-February.

Looking ahead

3D Systems had a poor quarter, but this didn't come as a surprise given the pandemic's effect on both its customers and its supply chain.

Management expects continued challenges due to the crisis. It's taken the following main actions to help lessen the negative impact: cut executive and director pay by 10%, instituted temporary employee furloughs averaging two weeks, reduced hiring "significantly," and put on hold some research and development spending.
The coronavirus cluster linked to Melbourne abattoir Cedar Meats has spread to 75 cases as Victorian authorities confirmed they are investigating separate accusations of animal cruelty at the abattoir.

Eleven new coronavirus cases in Victoria were announced on Saturday, including four more at Cedar Meats - two workers and two close contacts of workers.

Cedar Meats in Melbourne. Credit:Getty

Amid concerns over social-distancing work practices at Cedar Meats and abattoirs more widely, an Agriculture Victoria spokeswoman confirmed both Victorian and federal authorities are investigating an anonymous animal cruelty complaint from last year.

Tony Kairouz, general manager of Cedar Meats, said he was made aware of the investigation on Friday.
SOUTH SIOUX CITY -- New data released Friday indicates that Dakota County likely has the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state of Nebraska.

The county experienced a record surge in virus diagnoses Friday, with an additional 361 new positives. The county's report comes on the heels of a round of testing for all workers at Tysons Dakota City plant.

That brings the county's total COVID-19 tally to 1,407, the Dakota County Health Department noted in a press release. That figure is above Hall County, which has 1,311 known infections and even Douglas County, which has 1,342, according to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

Online Nebraska DHHS figures for Dakota County do not yet include the county's full tally; their website lists Dakota County behind Douglas County.

Neighboring Woodbury County, meanwhile, with 1,542 cases, has the second-highest tally in all of Iowa, behind only Polk County's 2,150. On a per-capita basis Woodbury County has far more infections than the more-populous Polk County. The Siouxland District Health Department recorded an additional 116 cases Friday.

Some 82 COVID-19 patients are currently hospitalized at MercyOne Siouxland Medical Center or at UnityPoint Heath-St. Luke's, the hospitals reported Friday.

No additional deaths attributable to the virus were reported. Dakota County's coronavirus death toll stands at five, while Woodbury has recorded seven deaths.

Collectively the two counties now have some 2,949 confirmed cases of the virus between them, an increase of more than 11 percent over the tally a day earlier.

At a press conference Friday at the Siouxland District Health Department offices, director Kevin Grieme noted a high rate of testing for the virus in Woodbury County. A total of 4,868 tests have been completed in the county to date, with a positive rate of about 31.7 percent.

Woodbury County is apparently fourth in the state in terms of how many residents have been tested -- one out of every 26 people -- or about 3.85 percent.

Grieme declined to comment on the situation with the workers at the Tyson plant or other meatpacking plants.

Across Northwest Iowa, some 41 patients are in the ICU with the coronavirus, while 33 are on ventilators, according to data from Region 3 of Iowa's Regional Medical Coordination Centers, which represents this corner of the state.

Other counties in the area have also seen their COVID-19 numbers ballooning, though none nearly to the level of Woodbury or Dakota counties. Crawford County now has 149 confirmed cases, while Union County has 50, Plymouth County has 48, Sioux County has 37, Buena Vista has 32, Yankton County has remained steady at 29 and Dixon County is up to 21. The remainder have fewer than 20 known infections.

Iowa's Department of Public Health has reported a total of 11,457 individuals with the virus, of whom 4,685 have recovered and 243 have died.

Nebraska DHHS data for Friday lists 7,831 positive tests for the virus, and 92 deaths. The state has not reported recoveries.

In South Dakota, 3,144 individuals have tested positive for COVID-19, but only 1,044 of those are still considered active infections. Thirty-one deaths in the state have been attributed to the virus.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 9)  The COVID-19 Inter-Agency Task Force has adopted the Department of Education's resolution to officially start Academic Year 2020-2021 on August 24, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said on Saturday.

"Sa inaprubang resolusyon, ang pagbukas po ng klase para sa basic education ay simula po ng 24 ng Agosto 2020, at magtatapos ng Abril 30, 2021," Roque said in a televised briefing.

[Translation: Based on the approved resolution, the opening of classes for the basic education curriculum will be on August 24, 2020. It will end on April 30, 2021.]

For private schools planning to open in June, online classes and homeschooling are advised, he added.

"Wala pa pong face-to-face [classes] hanggang Agosto 24," Roque said. "Gagamitin po natin ang iba't ibang learning delivery options, tulad ng 'distance learning' at homeschooling."

[Translation: We will not have face-to-face classes until August 24. We will utilize different learning delivery options, such as "distance learning" and homeschooling.]

The presidential spokesman also bared that the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) will now be included in the IATF, as agreed upon by the officials in their May 8 meeting.

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and the Office of the Presidential Spokesperson (OPS) will likewise be part of the task force, according to Roque.

Meanwhile, the Task Group on Strategic Communications of the National Task Force (NTF) COVID-19 will be headed by the OPS.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones earlier said that the start of classes for both public and private schools will be in August. But private education institutions that want to open in June may do so, should they be allowed by the IATF and the Health Department, she clarified.

The Philippines now has 10,610 cases of COVID-19, with 1,842 recoveries and 704 deaths.
Allies of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden are being told to sharpen attacks on President Donald Trump's stimulus efforts as thinly veiled "cronyism", according to a memo being sent to Democratic office holders and supporters yesterday.

The memo gives Mr Biden's campaign representatives new language to use in their attacks on Mr Trump and shows a campaign honing an increasingly aggressive tone ahead of the November 3 election.

The strategy document says Mr Trump's post-pandemic stimulus contains "the largest corporate bailout in American history", a kind of "cronyism" that is "systematically rigged in favour of big businesses, the wealthy, and the financial sector - and against the working people and middle-class families who are enduring the worst economic losses the country has faced in modern memory."

A spokesman for Mr Biden's campaign declined to comment on the memo, which was written by two of the campaign's top policy advisers, Stef Feldman and Jake Sullivan.

A spokesman for Mr Trump's campaign, Tim Murtaugh, characterised the argument as "pathetic".

"The president has been hard at work protecting the safety of Americans and also safeguarding the economy, while Joe Biden sits in his basement lobbing political hand grenades in a desperate plea for relevance," Mr Murtaugh said.

Mr Biden and Mr Trump are both retooling economic plans after the coronavirus pandemic put more than 33 million Americans out of work and ended the longest recorded boom in US history.

Each candidate is also searching for a winning message on the economy for the election that political strategists increasingly see as a single-issue campaign - how to deal with the health and economic consequences of the pandemic.

The novel coronavirus has infected more than 1.25 million Americans and killed more than 75,000, the world's highest number of cases and deaths.

With the new attacks, Mr Biden is attempting to court not just moderate and independent voters but also liberals in his own party, some of whom favoured the tough-on-corporations message of senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, his former nomination rivals.

Even though Mr Biden has strong union ties and touts working-class values, some left-wing voters feel his policies are not progressive enough, and also dislike his use of high-dollar fundraisers to finance his campaign.

While Democrats in Congress supported nearly $3tn (2.7tn) compromise stimulus legislation, Mr Biden's team is asking allies to attack various faults that have emerged in the programme, the memo shows.

The campaign cited media reports and research suggesting that small businesses with ties to the administration received aid, that banks may be prioritising wealthy clients when making loans under the emergency programme, and that Democratic-led states that did not support Mr Trump's re-election might not be getting sufficient support.

Government officials have said they are prioritising oversight as they manage the programmes.
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The Peoples Supreme Court of Vietnam on Friday voted unanimously to turn down the request of the Supreme Peoples Procuracy to reinvestigate a high-profile case in which a man was sentenced to death for murdering two young women around 12 years ago.

A cassation trial was held in Hanoi from May 6 to 8 to deliberate over the case of Ho Duy Hai, 35, a death row inmate who resides in the Mekong Delta province of Long An.

On Friday afternoon, all 17 justices of the Supreme Court voted in favor of the lower courts decisions to uphold the death sentence for Hai for the double homicide.

The case

Hais 57-year-old mother Nguyen Thi Loan, who believes her son was wrongfully convicted, has been making pleas to authorities for the review of his case for the past decade.

The case dated back to January 14, 2008, when two female postal workers were found dead at the Cau Voi Post Office in the outlying district of Thu Thua in Long An Province, around 59 kilometers southwest of Ho Chi Minh City.

The victims were cousins Nguyen Thi Anh Hong and Nguyen Thi Thu Van, who were born in 1985 and 1987, respectively.

Their bodies were found with their throats cut open. One of them was nearly decapitated while the other sustained serious injuries to the head, according to the case files.

Two months later, Hai was arrested on suspicion of the double murder and robbery.

Ho Duy Hai, who was sentenced to death for the double murder of two women in Long An Province, Vietnam in 2008, stands trial at a court in this file photo.

Previous verdicts against Hai said around 7:30 pm on January 13, 2008, the man came to visit the cousins at the Cau Voi Post Office, which closed one hour later.

He gave Van a sum of money to go outside and buy fruits. While Van was absent, he allegedly had an intention of having sex with Hong, but she rejected the idea outright.

This prompted the man to murder Hong. Worried that Van would later report him to the police when she returned, he waited inside the post office to ambush and kill Van as well, according to the court judgments.

Around VND1 million ($43) in cash, around 40 to 50 SIM cards, one mobile phone, and several pieces of jewelry from the victims were allegedly taken from the crime scene.

During his trial and appellate courts in December 2008 and April 2009, he pleaded not guilty to the two charges, but all to no avail.

He was thus handed five years behind bars for robbery and the death penalty for murder.

On May 2012, then-Vietnamese State President Truong Tan Sang turned down Hais application to have his death sentence reduced to life imprisonment.

In November 24, 2014, authorities announced they intended to execute the man on December 5 that year.

However, after considering the man and his familys pleas, the State president made an unprecedented decision to ask the Peoples Supreme Court to halt his execution.

In early 2015, Le Thi Nga, who served as a deputy head of the lawmaking National Assemblys Judiciary Committee at the time, urged the legislative body to review the case, saying that there were severe violations committed during the prosecution process.

On December 2019, the Supreme Peoples Procuracy urged the Supreme Peoples Court to void trial and appellate judgments in the case and issue an order for a new probe.

According to the procuracy, the judgments from the trial and appellate courts were inconsistent with the objective reality of the case, while the gathering and examination of evidence and other documents were also not completed.

The case contained many conflicting points that has yet to be clarified, it said.

Nguyen Thi Loan (center), the mother of Vietnamese death row inmate Ho Duy Hai, is seen in a photo with her youngest sister (right) and daughter (left). Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

Death penalty upheld

The panel of judges at the Supreme Court said on Friday that Hai had given his testimony in the presence of investigators, prosecutors and defense lawyers.

He confessed to having killed the two postal workers and later robbing the victims and the Cau Voi Post Office, according to the panel.

There had been sufficient grounds for the lower courts to convict Hai of the charges, the justices said on Friday.

The panel admitted there were shortcomings in the investigation, prosecution and trial proceedings of the case, but these mistakes did not alter the nature of the case.

Therefore, they said it is unnecessary to void the first-instance and appellate judgments for reinvestigation as requested by the Supreme Peoples Procuracy.

The mans death sentence was therefore upheld.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Additional reporting: Evelyn Ring

Another 27 people with Covid-19 have died, bringing the total number of virus related deaths to 1,429 in Ireland.

As of 11am yesterday (Friday), 156 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 22,541.

The HSE has begun contact tracing on the new cases to limit the further spread of the virus.

As of midnight on Wednesday, HSPC data shows that 57% of confirmed cases are female and 43% are male.

The median age of confirmed cases is 49 years while 6,586 cases are associated with healthcare workers.

A total of 2,915 cases (13%) have been hospitalised and of those hospitalised, 373 cases have been admitted to intensive care units.

Dublin has the highest number of cases at 10,885 (49% of all cases) followed by Kildare with 1,312 cases (6%) and then Cork with 1,199 cases (5%).

Community transmission accounts for 61%, close contact accounts for 35% and travel abroad accounts for 3% amongst those for whom transmission status is known.

Speaking at last nights National Public Health Emergency Team meeting, Chief medical Officer with the Department of health, Dr. Tony Holohan, said that multiple data sources show that compliance with public health measures remains high.

And while the roadmap for recovery is a living document and somewhat flexible, he advised against businesses scheduled to reopen in the later phases - like pubs - from finding ways to open sooner.

While his team furnished Government with public health advise regarding the Leaving Cert, he said that he did not advise on its cancellation. But Government decided that the exams could not be held safely in accordance with public health guidelines.

Airline travel would be a major challenge and he said that all non-essential travel should still be avoided, without giving any date when it may resume.

Dr Holohan also stressed that visitors did not bring Covid-19 into nursing homes.

We followed this infection and we can see the point at which this infection occurred in the general population was about two weeks earlier than the point at which it began to appear in nursing homes, he said earlier yesterday during an interview on RTE radio.

The decision to impose visitor restrictions was made before any clusters of infection were reported, Dr Holohan said.

More than an incubation period elapsed before we began to see infection in the nursing homes. We know epidemiologically that thats proof that visitors didnt bring it into the nursing homes. Dr Holohan said there would be people who visited nursing homes who might feel responsible for bringing in the infection but that was not true.

Asked if staff brought the Covid-19 into nursing homes, Dr Holohan said the virus did not move but people did.

Arrangements had been made so staff did not move between nursing homes and did not mix with each other outside of the workplace and those measures had worked.

We have seen a continued fall in the number of cases in that sector and the number of nursing home being affected. Dr Holohan said there would have been many thousands of cases occurring now if measures had not been taken to suppress the virus.
Like any Mother's Day, however, there's also a wide spectrum of emotions people feel. Some may be grieving the loss of their mother (whether from COVID-19 or otherwise). Some may have loved ones who are sick, and many will not be able to see their mothers because of social distancing or the fact that nursing homes aren't allowing visitors. Others will be mothers for the first time.

Early in this pandemic, before we saw the surge here in Boston, when everyone was already comparing it to the 1918 flu epidemic, I told a doctor-mom friend of mine, "There is one key difference. There weren't doctor moms during the 1918 pandemic."

Indeed, at that time, less than 6% of doctors were women. Now women make up the majority of medical students and 48% of AAFP members are women. A full 90% of nurses working in hospitals are female. As The New York Times reported, women make up most of the essential workforce in the United States.

What does that mean for Mother's Day? Many mothers are essential workers, and as they work, they will be carrying the worries of exposing their families to the virus. Many essential jobs are undervalued, and the mothers who have those jobs can rarely afford to stay home. Many mothers have gotten sick with COVID-19. (According to the CDC, up to 73% of infected health care workers are women.)

But essential working mothers aren't the only ones who carry these worries. Some mothers have lost their jobs. Mothers who are able to work from home have the near impossible task of trying to get work done with children present. Regardless of their work status, mothers are raising their kids in a vacuum that used to be filled with school, childcare, friends, family and organized activities. Motherhood has always come with multitasking, but never to this extent.

In the most fundamental ways, becoming a mother has changed. I have seen pregnant patients intubated. One had a cesarean section during her ICU course and woke up not knowing she had delivered. Another pregnant woman recovered after a week of intubation and was discharged home, only to be readmitted for tracheal swelling from her intubation. We have a robust system of monitoring our outpatient prenatal and postnatal patients who are SARS-CoV-2-positive via telemedicine. We even have a system for delivering food and supplies to moms in need.

In labor and delivery, we have instituted many COVID-specific policies. All pregnant patients are screened on admission (and we are seeing the asymptomatic positives that data suggests). All laboring or delivering patients are allowed to have one healthy labor support person. That person must stay in the hospital with the patient. We have had some patients who have no support person available because their entire families are sick.

If a mother with COVID-19 delivers, we have a conversation about what happens with the baby. Do they separate or room together? If they separate, for how long? We discuss the risks and benefits of each scenario. Along with the AAFP's guidance on breastfeeding and COVID-19, and patient-centered birth, we discuss recommendations from the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

I work at a safety-net hospital where 57% of our patients are underserved and 32% do not speak English as their primary language. Many of our patients do not ask questions about specific risks or policies, but instead just ask, scared, what is best for their baby. I worry about our vulnerable patients, many of whom come in already scared, with histories that include racism, immigration, trauma and poverty. Although I cannot change the history that informs their decisions or their assent to us making decisions for them, I try my best to empower them to understand the known versus theoretical risks, and to reassure them that they do have power in the process of what is happening with their newborns.

I cannot blame other mothers for assenting to separation if there is the slightest risk of their infants becoming ill. In a parallel way, I have sent my children to live with my parents. I have thrown myself quite literally into my work. When I'm not at work, I'm in meetings where I talk with friends, patients and loved ones about COVID-19. Instead of living a life immersed in the pandemic, my kids are living a lovely, sun-kissed life in warm California. I miss them dearly and they miss me, too, but this is temporary, they are safe and well, and I am safe and well. I am putting my love into my work.

Just last week, Nelson, my young black patient whose intubation I wrote about last month, came off oxygen and is now stable on room air. His mom is getting her son back home. Nelson and I spent a morning crying tears of happiness when he came off the oxygen. I can only imagine how his mother must feel. Those are the kind of mother's days that are driving me forward. I will be spending my Mother's Day on the COVID-19 inpatient service. As for next year, I'm aiming for a new national park adventure.

MaryAnn Dakkak, M.D., M.S.P.H., Boston

Working at Home (With Family)

I started medical school with a 3-month-old, so I've only known how to be a doctor and mom at the same time. Fortunately, I have a supportive husband who has always been the parent responsible for getting our son to daycare, school and cross-country practice. I've often struggled with feeling inadequate as a mom. I missed so much of my son's toddler and preschool years during third- and fourth-year medical school clinical rotations and, obviously, the 80-hour work weeks in residency.
In March, EU countries agreed to close their external borders to non-EU nationals in a bid to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The European Commission on Friday recommended extending travel restrictions for non-EU nationals at the bloc's external borders until June 15, saying "the situation remains fragile both in Europe and worldwide."

In March, EU countries agreed to close their external borders to non-EU nationals in a bid to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. The European Commission spearheaded efforts to close the bloc's external borders shortly after the U.S. suspended all travel for European nationals, Deutsche Welle (DW) reported.

Read alsoNumber of COVID-19 cases confirmed worldwide nearing 4 mln

EU officials said frictionless travel within the bloc's internal borders and the visa-free Schengen area would be prioritized over non-essential travel from non-EU countries.

"Restrictions on free movement and internal border controls will need to be lifted gradually before we can remove restrictions at the external borders and guarantee access to the EU for non-EU residents for non-essential travel," said Ylva Johansson, EU Commission for Home Affairs.

"We need a phased and coordinated approach," Johansson added. "Restoring the normal functioning of the Schengen area of free movement is our first objective as soon as the health situation allows it."

Countries across the globe have enacted stringent restrictions on non-essential travel. In Europe, the measures have effectively torpedoed economies across the continent and decimated tourism industries.

Going forward, the European Commission said, "Any further prolongation of the travel restriction beyond June 15, 2020, would need to be assessed again, based on the evolution of the epidemiological situation."
As the number of Covid-19 infections in India near the 60,000 mark, the Centre on Saturday revised its policy on the discharge of Covid-19 patients and most crucially said that only severe cases will now be tested, that too only once, before being discharged.

Until now, patients were discharged only if two of their specimens tested negative for Covid-19 in RT-PCR swab tests after a gap of 24 hours. The changed guidelines for hospitalisation come into effect as India is bracing for a spike in the number of infections, with mathematical modeling predicting that the peak could be in June-July.

In the last week, India has added nearly 20,000 cases of Covid-19 and the doubling rate has also worsened, leading to concerns that the healthcare infrastructure could be overwhelmed soon and hospitals may run out of beds.

The ministry of health and family welfare, in its revised guidelines, said that mild/very mild/pre-symptomatic cases admitted to a Covid-19 care facility will undergo regular temperature and pulse oximetry monitoring.

The patient can be discharged after 10 days of symptom onset and no fever for three days. There will be no need for testing prior to discharge, the revised guidelines said. It added that at the time of discharge, the patient will be advised to follow home isolation for seven days.

The revised policy further said that patients admitted to Covid-19 health centres, whose symptoms resolve within three days and who maintain oxygen saturation above 95 per cent for the next four days, will be clinically classified as moderate cases.

They will undergo monitoring of body temperature and oxygen saturation. If the fever resolves within three days and the patient maintains "saturation above 95% for the next four days, without oxygen support", they will be discharged after 10 days of symptom onset in case of  absence of "fever without antipyretics, resolution of breathlessness and no oxygen requirement," the guidelines said.

It added that there will be no need for testing prior to discharge in such cases as well.

The new guidelines are a major departure from established norms for treatment of Covid-19 patients as discharge policies in most countries is also two consecutive negative tests.

The US Center for Disease Control (CDC) notes that while the decision to discharge has to be supported by negative RT-PCR results from swabs collected at least 24 hours apart along with a resolution of fever and an improvement in signs of illness and symptoms. European countries also have similar policies.

Even for severe coronavirus cases and those who are immunocompromised, the discharge criteria will be a single negative test and not two in addition to clinical recovery.

Immunocompromised include those with HIV, transplant recipients and patients with malignancy.

For patients on oxygen support, whose fever does not resolve within three days and demand of oxygen therapy continues, the ministry of health and family welfare has instructed hospitals to discharge such patients only after the resolution of clinical symptoms and ability to maintain oxygen saturation for three consecutive days, the guidelines said.

Experts have, however, expressed caution on discharging patients too early as it remains unclear till how long patients can continue to shed the virus even after recovery.

The health ministry has said that India's recovery rate stands at 30 per cent with 17,846 Covid-19 recovered till now out of the 59,662 cases.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 8)  As the threat of coronavirus disease persists, the Archdiocese of Manila is about to break a wedding tradition  there will be no bridesmaids for the meantime.

Wala na munang mga abay, the archdiocese said.

It also announced that only one set of sponsors and the immediate family of the bride and groom are allowed to witness nuptials this year once the government allows religious activities to resume. It's not clear when such gatherings will be allowed again in the predominantly Roman Catholic country.

But the archdiocese, which is comprised of churches in the cities of Manila, Makati, San Juan, Mandaluyong, and Pasay (except Villamor Air Base and Newport City), said the guidelines may be temporary since the country is under an extraordinary situation.

Some weddings in the Philippines have been postponed or cancelled, with officials prohibiting large gatherings to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

On April 30, the government said it was allowing church and other religious activities to resume in areas with low-to moderate risk of COVID-19 spread and are under general community quarantine or GCQ. A day later, it reversed the decision following complaints from local officials.

GCQ is implemented in all parts of the country except in the National Capital Region, Calabarzon, Central Luzon (excluding Aurora), Pangasinan, Benguet, Iloilo, Cebu, Bacolod City, Davao City, Albay and Zamboanga City which are under stricter enhanced community quarantine. This will last until May 15, unless extended or modified by the government.
Two electricians reinforce an utility pole in the southern province of Binh Duong, February 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Nguyen.

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc has called on all sections of society to reduce power consumption to save at least 2 percent annually.

The government has warned that ensuring adequate power supply for the next five years would be a challenge.

The country now mainly depends on coal-fired power and hydropower. But major dams have kept running out of water due to lack of rainfall attributed to climate change, while many thermal power projects have been behind the schedule.

Since last year industry experts have been warning of imminent power shortages. The country has made plans to import more from Laos.

As demand has kept rising at an average rate of 10 percent a year, much higher than the economic growth rate, Phuc reckons thrifty consumption is the most important and urgent requirement to ensure energy security in the next five years.

Last year economic expansion was 7.02 percent, the second highest rate in the last decade behind the record 7.08 percent in 2018.

The PM also spelled out targets for each category of consumers.

State agencies have been instructed to save 5 percent a year and make saving energy a general rule for annual employee assessment and rewards. They should set up rooftop solar systems.

Organizations and individuals operating street lights, lighting system for advertising billboards and outdoor decoration have to save 20 percent.

Restaurants, hotels, commercial services, office complexes, and apartment buildings have to reduce their outdoor lighting capacity by half in the evening based on the timelines provided by the local electricity utility.

Families are required to use electricity thriftily, turning off all electric devices when leaving a room, using air-conditioners only when truly necessary, unplugging electrical equipment that are not in use, limiting the use of equipment that consume large quantities of power, and installing rooftop systems where possible.

For commercial and service establishments and manufacturers, the PM has not set specific targets, but merely urged them to save as much energy as they could and opt for renewable energy wherever possible.

The national power distribution monopoly, Vietnam Electricity, has estimated demand will rise by 9.2 percent to 262 billion kilowatt-hours this year.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade had last year estimated the shortage to rise to 3.7 billion kilowatt-hours in 2021, peak at 15 billion kilowatt-hours in 2023 before halving each year and falling to 3.5 billion kilowatt-hours in 2025.

Also last year, the World Bank estimated that with electricity demand growing by 8 percent a year, Vietnams energy sector needs $150 billion investment by 2030.

The government plans to import an extra 200 MW of electricity from Laos this year, taking the total to 1,200 MW. The purchase from Laos is expected to increase beyond 5,000 MW in the next 10 years.
Online communities are the way of the future: They bring people of all ages, backgrounds and hometowns together over a common industry, skill set or interest. Ive personally been stunned by the impact of an online community from my own experience. My online Facebook community, Ecommerce Elites Mastermind, has over 85,000 members who unite on a daily basis to discuss ecommerce tips and strategies.

Related: 5 Tips for Building an Online Community for Your Business

The impacts are significant. I created my Facebook group to build a virtual community and offer tips, but there are also sales advantages: The University of Michigan found that customers spend 19 percent more after joining a companys online community. Thanks to this, and the massive potential for consistent engagement, 74 percent of large companies have created online communities, according to research from Demand Metric. For me, however, its about amplifying impact. I believe that anyone who has something to say can create an online community of like-minded entrepreneurs and unite them over a common cause. Heres how to do so, based on my own experience of what works.

1. Share knowledge for free.

The core element of our group is sharing information at no cost. These tips cover Shopify, Facebook ads, social media marketing, product sourcing, traffic generation and more. Think about the commonalities among all the members of your group. What are individuals joining the community to learn? What interests them most? What are they hoping to accomplish? From there, create the content you know they want to know. Seventy-three percent of consumers report that they trust a brand when they deliver good quality products and services, according to research by Edelman. This extends beyond what you sell as a brand into what you give the consumer consistently. Quality advice, how-tos and pieces of value within your community develop trust.

Part of this comes down to defining your niche. Generic entrepreneurship communities can work in theory, but they need strong branding and a strong sense of community to bring all of the individuals together. What aspect of entrepreneurship do you want to unite based on?

Related: 5 Examples Your Brand Can Follow to Build an Online Community

2. Rely on word of mouth.

Im often asked if I used paid ads to grow my Facebook community, but the honest answer is that all of it was word-of-mouth marketing. This, too, comes back to sharing value. Think about it: If you were part of a community that was sharing endless value, wouldnt you share it with a friend? At the very least it might come up in a conversation on business strategies, or you may quote the community in a podcast, article or blog post. Ultimately, this word-of-mouth marketing is stronger for your brand than paid ads, because 92 percent of consumers say they trust recommendations from friends and family over any type of advertising, according to Nielsen research. Give your community members something to rave about to their own communities.

When just getting started, dont deny the power of your own word of mouth marketing. Youve likely established some trust with a few social media followers, friends or family members. Tell them what your community seeks to do and what youll share  this will get the first batch of members in the door.

Related: 7 Strategies for Achieving Phenomenal Online Community Growth

3. Engage frequently.

Communities arent worth doing if they arent supported consistently. Engage frequently  if not daily, every other day  because you will become the heartbeat that keeps the community going. Go into your group for a live video, host an ask me anything, or even facilitate in-person events to build a sense of community. As membership grows and many start posting on their own, more activity will build. But stepping out and letting the members run the show can convey that you dont care. You also will miss out on a massive opportunity to establish thought leadership within your community.

It comes down to empowerment, too. Engagement encourages more participation. Every like and comment on a post makes the poster feel that they should share more.

Related: How to Create Community Among Your Customers

4. Share in other groups as well.

Finally, its important to think of community as something that extends beyond the walls of your Facebook group. I consistently show up in other Facebook groups to share value, because a key part of community building is building relationships outside of the community you already have. The way I see it, everyone benefits: Those who I connect with can then join my community and share their unique perspective and expertise with the group. This is how grow continually and deliver value consistently.

Related: 3 Ways to Build an Online Community That's All About Your Prospects

Related:

How to Build an Online Community of Like-Minded Entrepreneurs

4 Reliable Tips for Quickly Moving Inventory Online

COVID-19 Crisis Is Forcing Organizations To Reinvent Themselves



Copyright 2020 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
20 miles of streets in Seattle have been closed to traffic.

City of Seattle

Seattle closed more than 20 miles of streets to cars so people could exercise during the coronavirus stay-at-home orders.

Mayor Jenny Durkan announced Thursday that the streets will remain closed even after the lockdown is lifted.

As of Friday, there were more than 16,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Washington.

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Seattle Mayor Jenny A. Durkan announced Thursday that at least 20 miles city streets that were closed to traffic during the coronavirus lockdown will permanently remain that way.

Through a program called "Stay Healthy Streets," the roads had been closed so pedestrians could spread out and exercise during the stay-at-home order.

"Just like we must each adapt to a new normal going forward, so, too, must our city and the ways in which we get around," Durkan said in a written statement. "That is why we're announcing a nimble, creative approach towards rapidly investing in a network of places for people walking and people biking of all ages and abilities and thinking differently about our traffic signals that make pedestrians a greater priority."

Mayor Jenny Durkan (@MayorJenny) May 7, 2020

Washington state has more than 16,000 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus and 891 deaths. Like most states, Gov. Jay Inslee issued a stay-at-home order to keep the disease from spreading.

Under the ban, people can only leave their home for essential activities, like shopping for groceries or going to a medical appointment, picking up takeout, and going to essential jobs.

The order also allows people to go outside for walks and exercise, "as long as social distancing of six feet is maintained."

The Stay Healthy Streets program was aimed at making safe distancing more achievable, and after the pandemic, it could be one small step to making the city more liveable and car emissions a little bit lower.

Those who live on the closed streets are allowed to drive on them.

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Employers could be successfully sued if they don't take "reasonable steps" to safeguard staff from Covid-19 as they return to work.

Risk assessments and other protective measures, including maintenance of social distancing and the provision of protective masks and other PPE, will be necessary.

Under the roadmap for easing restrictions, the reopening of workplaces is set to take place on a phased basis between May 18 and August 10.

But some employers are concerned about the potential for legal claims if staff get infected at work.

The Alliance for Insurance Reform has called for a review of the common duty of care so that it is reasonable, practical and proportionate, but doesn't ignore personal responsibility.

Its director Peter Boland said there should be little support from the public, the legal professions or medics for claims if they believe someone is trying to create a case with no basis.

Liam Moloney, a solicitor specialising in personal injury and employment law, said employers were not the absolute guarantors of an employee's safety but had a duty to take "reasonable care" to prevent Covid-19 infections.

He warned that employees would have the right to sue for damages by claiming negligence, breach of duty and breach of contract if they acquire Covid-19 negligently in the course of their work.

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Mr Moloney suggested businesses should get infection control experts to conduct risk assessments at their premises and make recommendations.

He said businesses should have a good defence against a claim if they can show they followed correct procedures.

"There are many different health and safety acts in Ireland which place very strong duties of care on employers to employees that the Government should introduce a grant-aided scheme to help employers provide risk assessments," said Mr Moloney.

Solicitor Ciara Ruane, a senior associate at Pinsent Masons, said she would be surprised if there weren't more workplace claims because of the virus. She said following HSE and Health and Safety Authority guidance would be key, as well as clear communications with staff.

Ms Ruane said employers should keep in mind rushing a return to work risks a resurgence of the virus. She urged caution about making long-term commitments to staff and said employers should make clear any return to work measures would continue to be reviewed and adapted in line with evolving guidance.

Earlier today, Business minister Heather Humphreys formally announced the Return to Work Safely Protocol this afternoon which will see temperature testing, no handshake and intensive cleaning policies.

The plans were developed in a "collaborative effort" by the Department of Business along with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, employers group Ibec and the Construction Industry Federation.

The Department of Health and the HSE were also involved and the Health and Safety Authority will enforce the rules.

The measures will have to be implemented in businesses, offices and construction sites.

"The protocol is mandatory and the HSA will be in charge of its oversights and implementation," said the minister at government buildings.

"This document sets the minimum measures required in every workplace."

"We all want businesses to reopen and people to get back to work," added the minister.

"We all want Ireland to get back to work but it has to happen safely."

The HSA will appoint inspectors to work "collaboratively" with employers to make improvements if necessary and workplaces will be ordered to shut down if they are not implemented.

Employers will be asked to develop a Covid-19 Business response plan prior to reopening which will address risk and its response to virus infections in the workplace.

The protocol also states that employees who will be returning to work will need additional support for stress caused by financial reasons, a death of a relative or difficulties with personal relationships.

They will also have to complete a pre-return to work form which will state that they have not been in contact with the virus.

Employers will then have to appoint a lead worker representative, who will be in charge of ensuring that health measures are "strictly adhered to" by staff.

There must also be induction training for all workers on public health guidance, how the workplace is organised to address risk, and any other relevant sector-specific advice.

The protocol urges for a no handshake policy to be implemented as well as temperature testing social distancing, hand sanitiser and tissue provision.

The wearing of face coverings is stated to be not a replacement for other hygiene measures.

According to the protocol, remote working should be encouraged and free office space should be used as isolation areas for staff who are exhibiting virus symptoms.

Under the protocols staff who display coronavirus symptoms during the working day will be directed to this designated isolation area by a manager.

Two-metre distance will have to be maintained as transportation is arranged for the worker to go home or to get medical attention and they will have to avoid public transport.

Logs of work groups will have to be put in place for contact tracing and a risk assessment of any incident would have to be carried out.

Plastic sneeze guards at workplaces where two-metre separation social distancing is not possible should also be put in place.

Some aspects of the protocol will vary from different workplaces but the document sets out "overarching principals" which must be followed.
The arts affect us all.

This goes without saying. Or it should. But the arts by their nature are taken for granted -- so deeply embedded in our daily lives that we dont really notice them until theyre gone. And right now, after nearly two months of shuttered museums, postponed festivals and delayed concerts, were beginning to notice.

Its temporary, we hope. But for all of the venues and arts organizations and individual artists whose revenues have been slashed and livelihood imperiled in the face of COVID-19, this limbo were in will have permanent consequences. Already, some of those spaces might not reopen. Already, some of those artists might not make do.

And if -- as many in the arts community now fear -- the New York State Council on the Arts budget gets slashed in two, the impact will reach across the state in a potential death blow for struggling arts organizations and the communities that lean on them. Heavily. Financially. In ways that are, as usual, taken for granted.

Dear Governor Cuomo, begins a petition being spearheaded by ArtsNYS, a coalition of arts councils and other arts service providers across the state. We, the undersigned arts organizations, from across New York State, urge you to maintain funding to the New York State Council on the Arts.

It continues: Cutting funding to NYSCA will cut direct support to cities and towns across New York State, which will result in shuttered facilities and destabilized downtowns. When cultural centers close, businesses surrounding them struggle, street traffic is reduced, and neighborhoods decline. Cutting NYSCA will cut our workforce, and lead to more unemployment in NYS.  The arts have already lost billions of dollars in revenue. We can afford to lose no more.

The letter cites NYSCAs $47 million budget, $43.8 million of that direct aid to localities. Around 2,400 arts agencies across the state receive its support.

All of thats true -- and it needs to be said. But the arts have value beyond their economic impact. They affect and heal and inspire us in ways we comprehend without articulating. They bring joy to our communities, and a sense of connection, and relief from the sameness and toils of everyday existence. For most of us, the arts might not be how we make a living -- but theyre how we get through life.

At no other time -- not in anyones memory, at least -- has this been clearer than right now. We always need and feed off the arts, but these days? Social distancing, sheltering in place, drilled into new routines and a new type of drudgery, our emotional health and habits seriously challenged? The arts have never seemed more vital.

I understand, just as the petitions signatories no doubt understand, that this is an age of penurious cost-cutting. The governor, the Legislature, all in power have some rough decisions ahead of them. But NYSCAs budget should not be gutted. All that it does for our local and wider communities -- all that the arts do, now as ever -- should be celebrated and supported as incontestably key contributors to our economic, social and mental well-being.

To be clear: No, arts groups and artists arent performing an officially designated essential service. They arent in the trenches, caring for those stricken with COVID or testing those who might be. They arent driving the buses that convey essential workers to their jobs. They arent ringing up groceries, shipping toilet paper to our porch or delivering the mail.

But imagine living through this moment without art. Without the music we stream on Spotify or watch on Facebook Live. Without the shows and movies online. Without the crayons that occupy our children, without the embroidery that occupies our hands. Without the quick but restorative glance at a cheerful painting that hangs on our wall, or at the shiny, curvaceous vase -- your old friend made that, remember? -- thats filled with flowers. Without the books that we download, or order, or borrow, or dust off of our own cluttered shelves, whooshing us away to the 19th or 29th century.

As much as the arts and artists get attacked as being -- choose your synonym -- elitist or snooty or highfalutin, theyre the opposite. Theyre our neighbors. Theyre the folks across the street trying to piece together a living with bubble gum and hope. As a musician, goes a saying I stole from a friend, you can make literally hundreds of dollars, and thats a pretty generous take on it. Very, very, few people get rich and find fame in creative professions. Stephen King, Steven Spielberg, Beyonce. A few more.

But all the local artists and arts organizations making and mounting local work thats consumed and enjoyed by local people: They need all the help they can get. And around here, that means NYSCA.

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NYSCA grants helped pay for Youth FXs new building on Albanys Grand Street. They helped pay for the new seats at Proctors in Schenectady. Its smaller, decentralized grants distributed by the Arts Center of the Capital Region have bankrolled individual artists and modestly funded efforts that might never have seen the light of day.

That play about abolitionists performed by the Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate NY? NYSCA. That Art on the Rail Trail mural project run by the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy? NYSCA. Those free arts and crafts classes offered by Troy Public Library? NYSCA.

The storied, 60-year-old council has been through rough waters before. Its peak year was 1971, flush with $20.2 million -- in current dollars, more than $131 million. At the time of the 2008 financial collapse, state arts funding (NYSCA included) was around $63 million. That shrank, then shrank, then shrank again, dropping almost 40 percent by the time the 2011-2012 budget was proposed.

And each time it shrank, that meant a little less funding for homegrown arts.

The creative urge finds expression in us all, of course. No one can make it through a day without creating something, whether its a bad pun or a bowl of soup. We make: Thats what makes us human. But those who create for a living are a special kind of brave. Part of taking art for granted is taking artists for granted, and few are more overlooked than those who make our little sections of the world more colorful and harmonious.

Anyone who drives to work past a public mural -- a quick shot of beauty on a bland commute -- reaps benefits from an artists work and aid from the grant that funded it. Anyone who snaps open a folding chair at a free public concert in the summer reaps the same benefits. The artist or the arts group got the money, yes. But we all profit from it.

And so, once again, lets say what goes without saying. Lets make our appeals to Gov. Cuomo, to state legislators, and to everyone with sway in its funding: Dont slash NYSCA. Dont hurt artists and arts groups more than theyve already been hurt. Dont inflict further pain on local museums, local venues, local ensembles and councils and troupes and all the restaurants and other retailers relying on their audiences for business.

Most of all, dont strike at the heart of what makes us human, keeps us sane and lights our way through the darkness. The arts dont just affect us. They sustain us.
A new species of mata mata turtle recently discovered has been described by scientists as one of the most bizarre turtles of the world and one of the most charismatic. This strange-looking freshwater turtle is found in the massive Orinoco river basin in Venezuela and eastern Colombia (hence its scientific name, Chelus orinocensis).

The discovery of the new species was published in the journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. The Orinoco mata mata turtle hides in muddy river waters, resembling the appearance of rock. Only its small eyes give it away to the observer, or when it opens its huge mouth and sucks in its prey whole.

As co-author of the finding, Uwe Fritz said in a press release from the Senckenberg Institute in Germany, Although these turtles are widely known due to their bizarre looks and their unusual feeding behavior, surprisingly little is known about their variability and genetics. The study highlights the need for more research and protection for the strange armored reptiles, which are highly sought after in the exotic animal market.

The Smithsonian National Zoo explains, The matamata turtles neck is wide, flattened and covered with warts, skin fringes and ridges. Its small eyes are nested at the sides of its large, flattened triangular head, and it has a wide mouth and long, tubular snout.

Given that mata matas are not strong swimmers, this unusual appearance comes in very handy as a form of camouflage. They remain largely motionless and camouflaged in the muddy waters they inhabit, which allows them to ambush their prey, the Smithsonian states.

Although mata mata turtles have been known to Western scientists since the 18th century, it was long assumed that there was only one species (Chelus fimbriata). However, Fritz and the other researchers in the recently published study knew from previous research that the turtles seemed more diverse.

Several studies have pointed out individual mata mata turtles look differently in the Orinoco River compared to the Amazon Basin. Based on this observation, we decided to take a closer look at these animals genetic makeup, the study stated. In the end, DNA analyses revealed that these were two separate species.

They added, Our molecular and morphological analyses revealed the existence of two distinct, genetically deeply divergent evolutionary lineages of matamatas that separated in the late Miocene (approximately 12.7 million years ago). This is around the time that Orinoco river basin emerged, helping explain the split.

The two species share the strange-looking armored shells that camouflage perfectly as rocks, as well as the ability to suck in minnows and other small fish. According to Science Alert, the Orinoco mata mata turtles have a more oval-shaped shell, and their undersides lack the pigment of their Amazonian cousins.

The researchers discovery doesnt just have implications for scientific understanding; it also underscores the need for conservation. Mario Vargas-Ramirez, one of the studys co-authors, explained in the press release, To date, this species was not considered endangered, based on its widespread distribution. However, our results show that, due to the split into two species, the population size of each species is smaller than previously assumed.

In addition to the destruction of riverine habitat due to illegal logging and farming, the turtles are threatened by poachers. [E]very year, thousands of these bizarre-looking animals end up in the illegal animal trade and are confiscated by the authorities, Vargas-Ramirez adds. We must protect these fascinating animals before it is too late.
Obituaries: This newspaper offers tribute obituary pieces for bereaved family members and friends within the local community who have recently experienced the loss of a loved one.

The weekly service is free-of-charge and all obituaries are completed in a manner that is sensitive to your own personal wishes and requests.

They are also shaped entirely by your direction and in consultation with you at all times.

Please feel free to contact the journalist above if an obituary tribute in this newspaper is something that interests you or if it's something that you would like to have written to honour the memory of a loved one close to you who has passed away.

Cancellations

Organisers of community events that are being cancelled as a result of the coronavirus are encouraged to notify this newspaper about such cancellations through brendan.keane@peoplenews.ie

Any organisation wishing to inform members of the general public about their plans for when the current crisis restrictions are eased and the pandemic is an at end are also encouraged to use this noticeboard page to convey their message to members.

Such notifications will be relayed to members in the newspaper and online.

Community helping out

Members of Duffry Rovers GAA club are available to help people in the community who are isolating themselves but who still require items like groceries and fuel.

This is an especially difficult time for older people or those who have underlying health issues.

Anyone who is in need of assistance can contact any club member on the Kiltealy text alert number.

Members of the Kiltealy Community Development Group are also available to run errands for people who need assistance or help during the current pandemic.

To find out more or to contact the group log onto the group's Facebook page or by calling 087 6324756.

Mass on the internet

Because all public masses have been cancelled those who wish to avail of mass are reminded that the RTE TV News Now channel broadcasts mass every morning at 10.30 a.m.

For people with access to YouTube mass can be viewed every morning on the webcam from St Aidan's Cathedral at 10 a.m. and from St Aidan's Church, Ferns, each morning at 9.30 a.m.

The Stations of the Cross, from Ferns Church, can also be viewed on YouTube on Saturdays at 7 p.m. while Saturday vigil mass is broadcast from the church at 6.30 p.m.

Saturday vigil mass from Bunclody is available on MCN Media at 7 p.m.

Kiltealy and Ballindaggin churches are open daily for private prayer.

La Leche league

The La Leche League Arklow-Enniscorthy group continues to offer support by telephone to breastfeeding mothers and pregnant women throughout the area.

While the group's in-person meetings and home visits are currently suspended leaders remain available to mothers by phone and Messenger to offer information and support during the current difficult times of social distancing.

In line with advice from the HSE they suggest that if someone who is breastfeeding becomes ill it is important not to interrupt direct breastfeeding if possible.

The baby has already been exposed to the virus by the mother and/or family and will benefit most from continued direct breastfeeding.

Disruption of breastfeeding may lead to several issues including an increased risk of the infant becoming ill as a result of lack of immune support the direct breastfeeding provides.

If a mother requires hospitalisation the baby should be allowed to continue breastfeeding if at all possible, however, if an interruption to breastfeeding is deemed medically necessary, hand expressing or pumping breast-milk is encouraged.

Mothers who wish to find out more information about breastfeeding or those who are in need of support in any way can get in contact by phone, text or WhatsApp to Sarah on 086 8889358, Jackie on 087 2389089, and Siobhan on 087 6374036.

They can also contact the Facebook page la lecheleaguearklow/enniscorthy.

Community support

Enniscorthy gardai have a list of people who are willing to help those who are living alone, older people or those who are vulnerable or unable to get out in the current crisis.

Those wishing to avail of the service are asked to contact the gardai station and leave their details and the gardai will then arrange for someone to get in touch with them.

Enniscorthy Garda Station can be contacted through 053 9242580 and all calls will be treated in strict confidence.

Creativity

Kids are proving themselves to be very creative and ingenious during the current crisis and we'd like to showcase what they're up to in this newspaper.

Children are coming up with all sorts of imaginative ways to convey messages of positivity while they're not busy keeping up to speed with their school work.

We would like to hear from parents about what their children are doing to keep themselves occupied during the pandemic.

If they're drawing, painting, creating, writing - whatever they are up to that highlights their ingenious and innovative nature - we would like to hear about it.

If you have photos highlighting your children's creativity and imagination please feel free to email them on, with a little information about what your child has been doing to brendan.keane@peoplenews.ie

Ballyhogue assistance

Ballyhogue GAA club has organised a group of over 20 volunteers who are available to assist people with errands like grocery collection and collection of medical prescriptions, in addition to checking in on isolated elderly relations or neighbours in the community.

They also provide help around the house in addition to being of assistance in other ways.

The liaison person is Melissa Dawson (087 9627866)who will be able to put you in contact with one of the volunteers in your locality.

Ballymurn shop open

Ballymurn Daybreak is open during usual trading hours.

The local community is appreciative of the management and staff for working hard to keep the shop open and well stocked for its customers during the current crisis.

GP changes

A number of changes have been made to the practice of Dr O'Donovan in Adamstown.

Over the last few weeks changes have has to be implemented in line with Government and HSE guidelines.

The practice is very appreciative to all the patients for their support and consideration during the current time.

The practice has set up a website www.adamstownmedicalcentre.ie

It is now possible to order repeat medication through the website.

Patients will also find information regarding the coronavirus including stresses associated with it in addition to a number of 'useful links' about other health matters.

Please do not hesitate to contact us regarding any usual or urgent medical concern during the current crisis.

Boolavogue deliveries

Lawless' Shop and Post Office are remaining open during the pandemic lockdown and subject to the HSE guidelines on physical distancing.

Anyone who is 'cocooning' or self-isolating at home, can have fuel and groceries delivered by ringing Alec or Louise on 053-9366237.

Blessed sacrament

While masses are cancelled at the moment Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament continues in Caim Church every Monday and everyone in the community is welcome to participate.

Oylegate GAA draw

Due to the current health and safety worries for so many members of the community Oylegate GAA club has deferred the start of year three of the development syndicate draw for a few months.

The club said it's fully committed to developing the astro area of the club and the draw will be resume as soon as it's viable to do so.

The club hopes everyone is getting through the pandemic safely and the members of the club are available to help those in the community who are in need of support during this difficult time.

Short story competition

Primary school children throughout the county are being encouraged to put pen to paper for a competition aimed at getting them to showcase their creative talent.

The Great Wexford Short Story competition is being organised by Red Books owner, Wally O'Neill with sponsorship from Browne Fire Protection.

For more information log onto the competition Facebook page.
In any other time, Oregons Muslims would be breaking their daily fast throughout Ramadan with their community during a meal known as an iftar.

But during the coronavirus pandemic, such gatherings arent possible.

Instead, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community will host an interfaith virtual iftar over Zoom at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Guest speakers will include U.S. Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, Portland Police Chief Jami Resch and faith leaders from local Jewish and Christian churches. Attendees of all faiths are welcome.

Visitors can register to join the Zoom event, Virtual Reflections on the Power of Prayer During the Pandemic, at https://tinyurl.com/Portland-Virtual-Iftar.

Its definitely a new experience for us to pull this together, said Harris Zafar, the national spokesperson for Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA who is based in Portland.

In past years, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has hosted weekly iftar open houses throughout Ramadan as part of an Open Mosque drive. The event would include a call to prayer, guest speakers and a potluck dinner.

Ramadan is a month-long fast observed by most of the worlds 1.8 billion Muslims. It commemorates the first revelation Muhammad received from the archangel Gabriel.

Ramadan is a time to reflect and focus on being more empathetic toward others, Zafar said.

Thats what this fast is all about," he said. "I actually try to experience the hunger, because its meant to be a reminder of this is what it feels like to be hungry and thirsty, and to think of people who have no choice but to be hungry and thirsty.

During the month of Ramadan, many Muslims fast without food or water while the sun is up. Zafar has his morning meal at about 4:30 a.m. While many people are spending their days at home binging television and eating too many snacks, Zafar has given up both.

Hes been reading, reflecting and spending time with his kids outside.

It does provide clarity because youre not anxiously awaiting something  so your mind tends to focus on something else and that could be work, your prayers, your family, something thats more important," he said.

Ramadan lasts until May 23, when it ends with a festival called Eid al-Fitr, which involves community meals, prayers and gifts.

Its like our Christmas, Zafar said.

On Thursday, Gov. Kate Brown said religious groups of fewer than 25 people would be permitted to meet if they follow social distancing measures.

Its too soon to say exactly how Eid al-Fitr will be celebrated, Zafar said, but "it does seem more and more likely that we wont be able to celebrate as we normally would, he said.

-- Samantha Swindler; sswindler@oregonian.com; @editorswindler

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By John Fensterwald

EdSource

Instead of $3 billion more in funding next year, officials from Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration are now projecting possibly $18 billion less over two years for K-12 and community colleges. That amount - a historic decline of more than 20 percent in the constitutionally guaranteed minimum level of funding - would have a devastating impact on education, unless Newsom and the Legislature take other actions to reduce the cut or lessen the impact.

The California Department of Finance released its revenue and funding forecast on Thursday, a week before Newsom is expected to release his revised state budget. Financial data reveal the shattering and immediate impact of the coronavirus on the state's economy. With more than 4 million Californians out of work and applying for unemployment insurance, forecasts project a drop in sales and income tax receipts by more than 25 percent next year.

With health and human services caseloads and COVID-19 expenses to cost $13 billion and state revenues to fall $41 billion, the state will face a $54 billion budget deficit for 2019-20 and 2020-21, according to the forecast. The General Fund would plunge to under $100 billion, the level it was in 2011-12, the tail end of the Great Recession.

Education officials are not expecting Newsom to force an $18 billion cut on school budgets. That would be the impact if Newsom funded only the minimum level required under Proposition 98, the formula that determines the portion of the General Fund that goes to K-12 and community colleges.

In his March 13 executive order, Newsom promised to fully fund districts and charter schools for 2019-20, holding them harmless at the Prop. 98 level that the Legislature passed last June, as long as they provide distance learning, meals for low-income students and child care for essential workers. He hasn't indicated he'd renege on that promise.

Next year's funding, when the full brunt of the recession will be felt, is what is endangered.

In addition, there are other ways to mitigate the impact of a funding cut: through deferrals, which are late payments from the state, relief from increases in districts' employee pension payments and funding schools beyond the minimum - an argument school officials will make, pointing to the effects of campus closures on district expenses and children's learning.

"The governor understands that districts and community colleges cannot absorb a cut of that magnitude, which will eviscerate schools," said Kevin Gordon, a Sacramento-based school consultant. "The notion of cutting schools deeper than any reduction in school history doesn't seem reasonable in an election year."

"These cuts would undo the last six years of progress we have made on school funding. Our schools cannot endure another blow following this coronavirus crisis," California Teachers Association President E. Toby Boyd said in a statement. "We are painfully aware that the state and county are facing a recession, but for years California students, schools and educators have had to do more with less, and we can't let our students fall further behind."

California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley promised to work with Newsom, the Legislature and others in the college system to get through the crisis while warning that the state must not allow a repeat of what happened during the Great Recession.

"Severe budget cuts to higher education at the time forced community colleges to turn away 500,000 students, allowing California to fall further behind in the production of college-educated workers and hindering economic recovery," he said in a statement. "California needs to continue to invest in community colleges, which are educating nurses and first-responders battling this pandemic and which will educate workers for the state's economic rebound."

This story was originally published by EdSource. Please use the following link when sharing: https://edsource.org/2020/gov-newsom-now-projects-18-billion-less-in-required-funding-for-k-12-community-colleges/631095

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.
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The cyber-attacks were aimed at Chinas Ministry of Emergency Management (MoEM) and the provincial government of Wuhan. The aim was to collect information about coronavirus, a disease about which little was known at the time  its origins and its impact shrouded in mystery. This was not, however, the work of the US, British or other western intelligence agencies whose operations are now under focus, with Donald Trump, his administration and Republicans in Congress embarked on a policy of charging Beijing for the spread of the lethal pandemic and threatening severe consequences.

The spear phishing campaign was run by an espionage group called Ocean Lotus, also known as APT (Advanced Persistent Threat) 32 which, it is widely held in security circles, is linked to Vietnamese state intelligence. It has, in that capacity, targeted a number of foreign governments, private companies and individuals, according to research carried out by the US cybersecurity firm FireEye and other analysts.

APT32 seems to have become particularly active in China in the recent past. It began to be particularly busy from 6 January when it sent an email to Beijings MoEM using the sender address lijanxiang1870@163. This was two weeks before the Chinese government admitted that the disease could be transmitted between humans. These attacks speak of the virus being an intelligence priority. Everyone is throwing everything theyve got at it, and APT32 is what Vietnam has, said Ben Read, senior manager at FireEyes intelligence unit.
By Trend

The creation of a digital platform on which the lists of agricultural products, pharmaceuticals, consulting, IT and other services for cooperation between Indian and Azerbaijani companies can be placed will play an important role in the activities of entrepreneurs in Azerbaijan and India.

Deputy Secretary General of the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers) Organizations of Azerbaijan Fuad Humbatov made this statement during an online conference on the promotion and development of business between India and Azerbaijan, as well as problems and prospects after post-pandemic period, Trend reports.

Business consulting of the confederation also plays an effective role in this direction. In addition, taking into account the interests of Indian entrepreneurs, especially in the production of pharmaceuticals, leather goods and agricultural products, it is necessary to consider state support mechanisms to open production facilities in the relevant industrial parks in Azerbaijan and encourage investment in these parks, said Humbatov.

Humbatov also informed about the effective activities of the confederation in the created working groups in the country in relation to the pandemic, and spoke in detail about the state support for the economic and social sectors.

Azerbaijan and India have great potential for cooperation in these areas, in particular in the areas of tourism, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, services, consulting, and IT, and we need to develop a roadmap for cooperation in the post-pandemic period, he said.

The meeting, initiated by the Indian Embassy in Azerbaijan, was also attended by President of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry DK Aggarwal, Indian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Bawitlung Vanlalvawna, Vice-President of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Pradeep Multani and General Director Naveen Seth, Secretary of the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers) Organizations of Azerbaijan, Head of Investment Department at Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Fund (AZPROM) Zohrab Gadirov and others.

The participants exchanged views on the current situation in the world in connection with the pandemic, and its impact on, and consequences for, the global economy. The need to restore trade and economic ties between countries in the post-pandemic period was also noted.

In conclusion, the representatives of the confederation and AZPROMO answered numerous questions of Indian entrepreneurs.
U.S. Accuses Russia Of Inflaming Libya Conflict, Sending Syrian Fighters

By RFE/RL May 08, 2020

The United States has accused Russia of worsening the situation in war-torn Libya and funneling Syrian mercenaries to support Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar in his battle to capture the capital, Tripoli.

The comments from top State Department officials on May 7 came a day after a UN report confirmed between 800 and 1,200 military contractors from Russia's Vagner Group are actively fighting alongside Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army that controls eastern Libya.

The report from a UN panel monitoring Libya sanctions said the Russian private security firm, which is believed to be close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, has "acted as an effective force multiplier" for Haftar's command as they fight the internationally recognized Government of National Accord based in the west of the North African country.

Russian support to Haftar "has led to a significant escalation of the conflict and a worsening of the humanitarian situation in Libya," said Chris Robinson, a State Department official who focuses on Russia.

The Vagner Group is "often misleadingly referred to as a Russian private security company, but in fact it's an instrument of the Russian government which the Kremlin uses as a low-cost and low-risk instrument to advance its goals," Robinson told reporters.

Libya has been torn by civil war since a NATO-backed popular uprising ousted and killed the North African country's longtime dictator Colonel Muammar Qaddafi in 2011.

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.

Robinson told reporters that the "very heavy and advanced weapons" the Vagner Group wields in Libya indicates it is not a private company.

Moscow has denied the Russian state is responsible for any deployments.

Libya's conflict has drawn in multiple regional actors, with Russia, France, Egypt, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates backing Haftar's command.

Turkey, which deployed troops, drones, and Syrian rebel mercenaries to Libya in January, supports the government in Tripoli alongside Qatar and Italy.

Recruiting Syrians

The UN panel said that a Russian company has been recruiting Syrians to fight in Libya since at least the beginning of 2020.

Jim Jeffrey, the U.S. special envoy for Syria, told reporters the United States believes Russia is working with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to transfer militia fighters and equipment to Libya.

"We know that, certainly the Russians are working with Assad to transfer militia fighters, possibly [a] third country, possibly Syrian, to Libya, as well as equipment," he said.

Henry Wooster, a State Department official in charge of North Africa, urged Russia to wield its influence to get Haftar's eastern government and the UN-recognized government in the west of the country to return to talks.

Previous rounds of peace talks in France, Italy, Russia, and Germany have failed to yield a breakthrough to end the fighting.

Western diplomats have blamed Haftar's intransigence coupled with his belief that he can control all of oil-rich Libya through a military solution for the failure of talks. But Russia, too, has been unable or unwilling to fully leverage its relationship with the warlord to push for a cease-fire.

Asked if Haftar's foreign supporters could persuade him to halt his offensive on Tripoli given recent battlefield setbacks, Wooster said: "I don't think that in the near-term offing, at least in the foreseeable future, there's any likely prospect whatsoever that that would happen."

"For as long as there is an objective they can meet through Haftar as an instrument, we don't see them backing down," Wooster said.

The United States has urged all sides of the conflict to de-escalate, but its position is complicated by the mixed signals it has sent.

In April 2019, U.S. President Donald Trump praised Haftar after a phone call. Haftar is also backed by Jordan, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates, close U.S. regional partners who view the strongman as a blunt force to counter Islamist militias and political groups aligned with the Tripoli government.

But Wooster said that the United States does not support Haftar and opposes his offensive on Tripoli, adding that it is a distraction from fighting extremist groups such as the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda that have taken advantage of the chaos.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-syria- libya-vagner-us/30600353.html

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

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The richest man in Europe has lost an astonishing $30billion during the coronavirus pandemic  more than any other person in the world, as calculated by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Frenchman Bernard Arnault is the chairman and CEO of the prestigious luxury empire LVMH Moet Hennessy and the third-richest billionaire worldwide, according to Forbes.

The 71-year-old father-of-five oversees a portfolio of 70 luxury brands, including Louis Vuitton and Sephora, many of which have taken a colossal financial battering amid the coronavirus crisis.

The widespread economic devastation caused by the spread of the killer bug has seen LVMH shares plummet by 19% in a year, Bloomberg reported.



It means Arnaults net worth has plunged by a staggering $30billion. Bloomberg reported that this means he has lost more than any other individual in the world.

As of May 6, the businessman had lost as much money as Jeff Bezos, chairman of Amazon.com Inc has gained, the news site reported.

Arnault is currently worth $77billion according to the Index, which is updated daily.

The majority of Arnaults luxury good brand stores have been shuttered for more than a month, leading to billions in lost revenue, as lockdown measures to contain coronavirus plunge the global economy into its worst crisis since World War II.

Many of Arnaults flagships brands including Louis Vuitton  believed to have an astonishing profit margin as high as 45%  may no longer be seen as priority purchases for potential consumers.

Arnault is also due to pay out $16billion after striking a deal in November last year for the jewellery group Tiffany & Co, Bloomberg added, which is believed to be the largest luxury acquisition ever.

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Even for postponed exhibitions, waiting to see can last only so long. The Cezanne show that was supposed to travel to the Royal Academy might be able to extend its run at the Princeton University Art Museum, where it opened March 7 (and then closed soon after). The museum director, James Steward, said that hes negotiating with lenders, who are eager to work with the museum, but uncertainty about reopening dates makes it tricky. The problem everywhere is that none of us have very good crystal balls, he said. Its hard to even know what to ask for.
[May 08, 2020] CPI AEROSTRUCTURES INVESTIGATION INITIATED by Former Louisiana Attorney General: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Investigates the Officers and Directors of CPI Aerostructures, Inc. - CVU

Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a partner at the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF"), announces that KSF has commenced an investigation into CPI Aerostructures, Inc. (NYSE: CVU). On February 8, 2019, the Company revealed that its previously-issued financial statements for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 could no longer be relied upon due to an error related to the Company's billing process which caused an overstatement of revenue. Then, on February 14, 2020, the Company revealed that its financial statements for the prior six quarters could no longer be relied upon due to an error relating to the Company's recognition of revenue from contracts with customers and that there was a material weakness in its internal control over financial reporting relevant to those periods. Thereafter, the Company and certain of its executives were sued in a securities class action lawsuit, charging them with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period in violation of federal securities laws, which remains ongoing. KSF's investigaion is focusing on whether CPI's officers and/or directors breached their fiduciary duties to CPI's shareholders or otherwise violated state or federal laws.



If you have information that would assist KSF in its investigation, or have been a long-term holder of CPI shares and would like to discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-cvu/ to learn more. About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients - including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, California and Louisiana. To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200508005551/en/

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The coronavirus outbreak exposed shortcomings in Chinas public healthcare system, a top health official admitted Saturday, saying that reforms are underway to improve the countrys disease prevention and control mechanisms.

China has faced criticism both at home and abroad for downplaying the virus and concealing information about the outbreak when it first emerged in the central city of Wuhan in December.

The virus has since infected nearly four million people worldwide -- claiming more than 270,000 lives -- and crippled the global economy.

Coronavirus outbreak: Full coverage

Beijing has insisted it has always shared information with the World Health Organization and other countries in a timely manner.

But on Saturday Li Bin, deputy director of Chinas National Health Commission, made a rare admission when he said the healthcare system had not been adequately prepared, which had left holes in Chinas response.

The novel coronavirus outbreak was a big test that revealed China still has shortcomings in its major epidemic prevention and control system, public health systems and other aspects of responding (to an emergency), Li told reporters at a press briefing.

Chinas health authority will build a centralised, unified and efficient leadership system that would allow it to respond more quickly and effectively to any public health crisis in the future, Li said.

Officials were also discussing how to modernise the disease control and prevention system by using big data, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and other technologies that will help to predict outbreaks more accurately and enhance preparedness, Li said.

The commission was also considering ways to revise public health laws, strengthen international exchanges and actively participate in global health governance, Li added.

On Friday Beijing said it would support a World Health Organization-led review into the global response to the coronavirus outbreak -- once the pandemic is over.

The comments came after US President Donald Trump ramped up criticism of China this week, saying the virus could have been stopped in China.

Although it was the first epicentre of the pandemic, China has not reported any coronavirus related deaths for 24 consecutive days, and the country is gradually reopening schools and urging workers to return to work.
The rate of job loss in Nebraska, while substantial, has not been as rapid as nationwide.

Nebraska has a smaller share of employment in several hard-hit industries, Thompson said.

The forecast said that Nebraska has less employment in travel and tourism than the nation, and is not focused on motor vehicle or oil production. Nebraska also has a larger share of employment in the essential industries of food production and processing, and industries such as finance and insurance, where there is more potential to work from home.

Among individual industries, the forecast said retail trade employment is expected to decline 3.9% in 2020, with employment bouncing back at a 2.4% pace in 2021. Retail employment is projected to fall 0.5% in 2022, continuing the industrys long-run trend of job loss.

Services employment, which accounts for 40% of all Nebraska jobs, is expected to decline 3.6% in 2020, with most severe job loss occurring in restaurants, lodging and personal services. Service industry employment is projected to grow 3.1% in 2021 and another 2.5% in 2022, allowing the industry to regain its role as the engine of Nebraska job growth.
His mother is the Queen of Pop, and his father a renowned film maker.

And, Rocco Ritchie, 19, was reminiscent of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist in a vintage ensemble as he took a bike ride through central London, on Saturday.

Madonna and Guy Ritchie's son looked dapper in 1940's style attire, complete with a waistcoat, necktie and flat cap, while sporting unkept strawberry blonde facial hair.

Please sir! Rocco Ritchie, 19, was reminiscent of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist in a vintage ensemble as he took a bike ride through central London, on Saturday

Rocco took inspiration from the 40's fashion era, stepping out in cream and brown brogues, while rolling up his taupe trouser legs to display long grey socks.

He opted for a white waistcoat and pleated leather belt, with a blue neck tie matching his jacket.

The student looked strikingly similar to Oliver Twist, the lead character from the iconic 1839 novel of the same name, written by Charles Dickens.

He's been embracing his vintage style over recent years, following in the footsteps of his trend-setting parents.

Retro: Madonna and Guy's son looked dapper in 1940's style attire, complete with a waistcoat, necktie and flat cap, while sporting unkept strawberry blonde facial hair

Striking! The student looked strikingly similar to Oliver Twist, the lead character from the iconic 1839 novel of the same name, written by Charles Dickens

The American-born teenager enrolled into a fine art degree at Central Saint Martins in London last September.

Speaking to The Sun last January, an insider said: 'Rocco takes his art really seriously. He had a wayward few years, but now he's dedicated to this new course and feels he really fits in with his course mates.

'Both his parents are pleased he is doing something creative with his time and following his passion.'

The insider continued: 'He's proved his dedication by attending all his classes and throwing himself into studying. Plus, no one treats him like the son of a superstar  he feels like a normal student.

'He is inspired by graffiti artist Banksy and sees himself as a key player in the London art scene in a few years' time.'

Whoops: Madonna and ex husband Guy welcomed Rocco in 2000. They eventually split in 2006 (pictured in 2008)

Notable alumni at the school includes Paul McCartney's daughter Stella, as well as fashion icons Alexander McQueen and John Galliano.

Madonna and ex husband Guy welcomed Rocco in 2000, with the couple later going on to adopt their Malawian son David Banda, 14, in 2006. They split two years later.

Guy is now married to model Jacqui Ainsley, 38. The happy couple, who tied the knot in July 2015, are parents to sons Rafael and Levi, and daughter Rivka.

Rocco has been living with Guy in London since the director won a nine-month custody battle over Madonna in 2016.
Passengers line up for hire cars at Hobart airport on March 19, 2020 in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. (Steve Bell/Getty Images)

Tasmania to Slowly Ease Virus Restrictions

Tasmania will tread a cautious path out of COVID-19 restrictions from next week, with strict border measures not expected to budge for months.

The island state on May 8 unveiled its three-stage plan, which includes a staggered return to school for students across May and June.

While some jurisdictions are easing border controls, non-essential arrivals to the state will still be required to quarantine in government facilities until at least July.

(It is) those people travelling to Tasmania that we have an eye to, Premier Peter Gutwein said.

We have an older and more vulnerable population. We must keep that at the forefront of our thinking.

Tasmanians returning to their home state are subject to the same quarantine rules but from May 18 will be allowed to isolate in their own house if suitable.

The state was ahead of most in introducing hard border measures after the pandemic hit Australian shores.

A deadly hospital outbreak in the northwest, where 12 of the islands 13 virus deaths have occurred, likely originated from returning Ruby Princess passengers.

The state recorded no new cases on Friday, with the overall tally remaining at 225. Thirty-five of those cases remain active, while 177 people have recovered.

Funeral limits are among the first bunch of restrictions to be eased on Monday, with a cap on mourners rising from 10 to 20.

National parks and reserves will also reopen then, but residents are only allowed to travel 30km to reach them.

Limits on visits to aged care homes will be eased from Monday, a day after Mothers Day.

Restrictions will be lifted further from May 18 when stage one of the plan is slated to begin.

Public gatherings can then increase from two to 10 people, including for real estate purposes, religious meetings and weddings.

Border restrictions are still expected to be in place when stage three of the plan begins in mid-July.

Our pathway back will be gradual, it will be careful, Gutwein said, adding that any changes to restrictions are dependent on public health advice.

We will continue to march to the beat of our own drum. If we find that we cannot move, then we wont.

Students from kindergarten to Year 6, plus Years 11 and 12, will return from May 25, with remaining grades to resume in June.

By Ethan James
Women take selfies at the Cheonggye Stream as daily life slowly returns to normal amid a lifting of restrictions in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic in Seoul, Thursday, May 7, 2020. AP



By Amanda Price



Last week, I wrote about the vital role that compassion will play in our recovery from the coronavirus crisis.



The underlying message was that "compassion begins at home." Our concern for our neighbors, and our ability to utilize the inherent qualities born of kindness, will lead to healing, both for ourselves and others  or at least, that is what we hope.



On a larger scale, however, there is a reality that concerns more than our neighbor's needs. Outside our own borders, there are countries not coping, people not surviving, and nations overwhelmed by tsunamis-sized outbreaks.



It is a tragic reality, but one we need not accept.



Although there are few "knowns" in this pandemic, and although we are all, in a sense, going through it together, we are not going through it at the same pace, nor at the same time.



A few OECD countries have the enviable advantage of being on the upside of a downward curve. They are still in the race for a cure, still on alert, but they are focusing now on supervision, more so than surviving the heat of battle.



On the spectrum that this viral outbreak has created, they are further along, often having begun their fight earlier or having resources others have gone without.



As these OECD countries reduce risk levels at home, their ability to improve the chances of survival in other virus-stricken countries increases. These countries may potentially become game changers in the midst of this global crisis.



Australia and South Korea are both nations that, if their safety measures continue to achieve current results, will be in a position to shift focus from national interest to a global mission. South Korea, which was hit early by the virus, is 35th in the world when it comes to total number of cases, and Australia is 44th.



As these positions drop down the ranks, South Korea and Australia may have the opportunity to change how nations respond to each other's plight.



This change may be some way off yet, but it is within sight. For the nations struggling to contain the virus, or at the very early stages of an outbreak, overseas assistance could literally mean the difference between life and death.



Until now, the "global" in this crisis has simply meant that it has spread across the globe. It has not been global in terms of response, or, apart from a few exceptions, any strong sense of responsibility to other nations.



Thus far, this approach has been largely about common sense. One cannot save a drowning man if one is drowning themselves. In a literal example, parents onboard an aircraft at risk are told to put oxygen masks on themselves before their own children. An unconscious parent is of no help to anyone.



When healthcare workers in one nation are wearing the same mask two days in a row, it is unethical and downright dangerous to be shipping masks out of the country. Nations must first protect their own citizens and healthcare workers before they can help others.



However, when nations have largely secured their own safety, when they have run the worst of the rapids and survived the jagged rocks, then it is time to look to those going under.



Those in power when their floods subside may become new world leaders in an effort to take on this health crisis from a global perspective.



For some developed countries, these leaders are hard to find.



To the dismay of many, certain world leaders have seen foreign assistance as a sign of weakness and a threat to national pride. U.S. President Donald Trump announced at a White House briefing, "We should never be reliant on a foreign country for the means of our own survival. America will never be a supplicant nation."



Sometimes, folly aligns itself with power.



Behind the spotlight however, US diplomats have been instructed to procure medical supplies from wherever they can.



One U.S. State email sent to embassies in Europe and Eurasia (although not Moscow) read, "Depending on critical needs, the United States could seek to purchase many of these (overseas) items in the hundreds of millions with purchases of higher end equipment such as ventilators in the hundreds of thousands."



In late March, President Moon reported that President Trump had made "urgent" phone calls asking for help from South Korea. Moon agreed to help to the extent that South Korea was able.



Similarly, despite its desperate need, China has maintained a position not unlike the designer of the Titanic. Lifeboats that have been offered have been rejected because of China's arrogant insistence that it is unsinkable.



Instead of accepting international assistance, Chinese expats and Chinese-owned companies around the world formed mafia-like retails gangs stripping stores of pharmaceuticals, masks, protective gear and even toilet paper. While refusing legitimate and honest assistance, China accepted ill-gotten gain from overseas loyalists.



From time to time, Xi feigned to accept offers international assistance in order to buy diplomatic points before a watching world. In reality, however, Xi has done all he can to keep the well-meaning foreign devils out, and maintain the pretence that the CCP cares about lives.



It has been suggested that Xi's stubborn refusal of international assistance may have cost tens of thousands of Chinese live ... and may continue to do so today.



South Korea, on the other hand, has recognized that success is not property to be owned. It has recognized that a nation is blessed in order to become a blessing. Although vast amounts of attention have fallen on South Korea for its remarkable response, its response to the needs of other nations is what the pages of history will record.



If there is a blotch on those pages, it will be South Koreans' petulance toward Japan, which despite its own belligerence, is increasingly in need of help. Abe and his loyal cabinet do not speak for Japan's frontline healthcare workers, nor Japanese citizens who are so desperately in need of assistance.



It is a matter of two governments choosing to punish ordinary citizens rather than recognize that extraordinary crises transcend even historical hatreds.



South Korea's formal decision not to help one of its closest neighbors, and Japan's refusal to reach out to South Korea for help as its numbers increase, is perhaps one of the most glaring indications of the inherently dangerous nature of unforgiveness.



Save for Japan, however, South Korea has shared its success with more than 121 nations. Why? Predominantly because it can. South Korea's swift and decisive actions have placed it in a position to help, and help it must.



While the most basic reason for helping is simply because it is the right thing to do, acting in the interest of other nations has benefits beyond indicating moral integrity.



A decision to confront the spread of the coronavirus in neighboring countries, and even further, provides protection for that which has already been achieved. As we look after other nations, we look after our own future.



We cannot live safely in a world that is not safe, and no amount of isolationist ideology will alter that fact. North Korea is proof of that. Nor can we be assured of future security if we are to ignore the rest of the world. Even countries that have largely extinguished the flames are tinder boxes waiting for the next spark.



When border restrictions are gradually lifted, experts are aware that it will take only a small cluster to reignite the fire. Of course, we will be better prepared, our healthcare workers less exhausted and our resources replenished, but even with these advantages, is this a risk worth taking? Can we be sure that the virus we face a second time will have the same genome sequence? Will it respond to the same treatment? Will it be more contagious or put children at greater risk?



From the onset of this health crisis, experts have been sure of one thing and one thing only  that there are few ways to be sure of anything.



What we can be sure of, however, is that global engagement between nations, especially between those in need and those closer to recovery, is the safest and surest means to secure a future with minimum risk of a second global crisis.



If we are not surrounded by nations overcome by the virus, then we are safer. If we help nations to overcome the virus, then they are safer. If we aim to defeat the coronavirus, then our strategy must eventually be to defeat it everywhere.



Australia must ensure that Asian-Pacific countries have the means and expertise to fight back against the spread of the virus. So far, it has provided extensive support for Papua New Guinea, but more must be done for other Pacific nations.



And there is a further reason to help struggling nations, and that is because if we do not, China will. Much like the mafia in Southern Italy handing out food baskets to those in need, China's assistance will come with strings attached, as well as further its expansionist goals.



Of course, this should not be our primary motivation to offer assistance, for if help is not born of a desire to alleviate suffering, then it will be limited and flawed by design.



Ultimately we must accept the truth that we cannot be safe, morally or physically, if others are not.



Whether for altruistic or pragmatic reasons, there is wisdom in blessing when we are blessed.



If we are to bring this virus to its knees, we must do so everywhere. If we are to win, victory cannot belong to a few, it must belong to everyone.



Thus far we have been busy comparing, criticizing and applauding the efforts of nations that combat this virus. That time is now over. It is no longer about battles, we must win the war. Exhausted battalions, whose ranks have been depleted, must be replaced by those whose strength is returning. Where weapons stores have been emptied, those with resources must make up the deficit.



If there is a truth we can all settle on, it is that this global crisis can only end when there is a global response.



Nations on crutches cannot be expected to lead the way. If we are to begin, it will begin with those of us who are closer to the end of the storm.


On the afternoon of September 18 last year, the customs office at Wuhan Tianhe airport received an emergency message that a passenger on an incoming flight was unwell and distressed with breathing difficulties.

Staff at the glistening modern airport rushed into emergency mode, donning protective masks as managers unleashed their action plans.

Soon afterwards, the Wuhan First Aid Centre reported that the transfer case had been clinically diagnosed as a novel type of coronavirus, according to a journalist from a state media agency.

This was, the agency reported, a drill to test responses in advance of the World Military Games, which were being held the following month with 10,000 competitors due in the fast-growing city in central China. Officials passed with flying colours.

Pictured: Chinese virologist Shi Zhengli, who is world-renowned expert on coronaviruses, inside the P4 laboratory in Wuhan in 2017. Shi Zhengli warned about the danger of eating bats in a paper she published in March last year

Yet what a strange coincidence they picked that particular exercise, given what was soon to unfold in Wuhan as birthplace of a global pandemic. As one person later asked on social media: Why did they choose a new coronavirus to drill?

Now this question has become all the more pertinent with last weeks revelation that French athletes think they caught Covid-19 while competing in those games.

Several fell ill with bad flu-like symptoms during the event, which took place over nine days from October 18. A lot of athletes at the World Military Games were very ill, said Elodie Clouvel, a world champion modern pentathlete.

This followed the revelation that a fishmonger treated in a Paris hospital for suspected pneumonia on December 27 had been confirmed as a victim of the new virus. He was baffled since he had not travelled abroad.

This is very significant. China notified the disease to the World Health Organisation four days after the Frenchman was in hospital and did not put Wuhan into lockdown for a further 24 days.

One study found this virus spreads so fast that if officials had acted three weeks sooner, they would have reduced cases by 95 per cent. Even one week faster could have cut numbers by two-thirds.

Wuhan, a city of 11 million people, is a transport hub. Over three crucial months from December, there were 7,530 flights between there and other parts of China, carrying more than one million passengers  and ten direct flights to the UK.

Yet even in January, Chinese leaders prevented expert outside teams from investigating the virus, silenced doctors trying to warn citizens and refused to admit there was human transmission until January 20.

Little wonder that as the world death toll soars, families are devastated and economies shattered, there are growing calls for an international inquiry into the origins of this pandemic, despite the brazen defiance of Beijings Communist Party chiefs.

So what do we now know about the origins of the virus outbreak? Certainly as that exercise at the airport proved, these are not unpredictable events.

Pictured: a woman being disinfected before going into 14 days of quarantine after she recovered from coronavirus in March

The Mail on Sunday can reveal that last year, Shi Zhengli  a world-renowned expert on coronaviruses, known as Bat Woman for her cave expeditions to collect samples from the nocturnal mammals  warned explicitly about the dangers.

In a paper published with three colleagues in March 2019, she admitted it was highly likely there would be a coronavirus outbreak originating from bats and there is an increased probability this will occur in China.

Zhengli, who helped prove the link to bats through consumption of civet cats in the 2002 SARS epidemic, said: Chinese food culture maintains that live slaughtered animals are more nutritious, and this belief may enhance viral transmission.

It is generally believed bat-borne coronaviruses will re-emerge to cause the next disease outbreak. In this regard, China is a likely hotspot. She was, of course, correct. But Chinas politicians did nothing to close down their hideous markets selling animals grabbed from the wild  until on January 1 they suddenly shut the one in Wuhan they blamed for this latest eruption of disease.

A stream of expert papers has pinpointed the virus to the market. One typical study by leading Chinese scientists insisted the cluster of mysterious pneumonia-like symptoms began emerging on December 21.

All current evidence points to wild animals sold illegally in the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, it said. Many experts around the world agree with this analysis. Even last week, a paper in Nature by Chinese scientists pointed to the possibility of pangolin (a scaly mammal) as intermediate host of SARS- CoV-2, which causes the disease. They said, rightly, that failure to control the illegal wildlife trade threatened public health.

Yet the market link remains unproven. There are valid questions over whether the coronavirus might have inadvertently leaked from two laboratories in the city  one near to the market, the other Chinas first with top-level bio-security status.

President Donald Trump and Mike Pompeo, his Secretary of State, said they have seen evidence that the virus came from one of the laboratories. Reports suggest several US intelligence agencies suspect the same but lack a smoking gun.

The Mail on Sunday has exposed poor security, including a picture of a sub-standard seal on a refrigerated vault holding lethal viruses, and an admission from the head of Wuhan Institute of Virologys bio-safety team of deficient safety procedures.

An academic paper in February by Botao Xiao, a bioscience professor at South China University of Technology, and Lei Xiao, a researcher based in Wuhan, concluded the killer coronavirus probably originated from a laboratory in Wuhan.

Pictured: A medical worker in Wuhan checking the drip of a coronavirus patient in ICU in January

The document  entitled The Possible Origins Of 2019-nCoV Coronavirus  was published on a site used by scientists to share research. It called for tighter security in high-risk laboratories but was mysteriously withdrawn after two days.

This explosive paper  seen by The Mail on Sunday  said 605 bats were kept in the Wuhan Centre for Disease Control, which is about 500 yards from the market.

It described how bats attacked, bled and urinated on one researcher, forcing him into quarantine on two occasions. It is plausible that the virus leaked, it said.

Some in the media have dismissed such suggestions by conflating them with online conspiracy theories about man-made diseases and bio-weapons  presumably driven by loathing of Trump rather than sympathy for Chinas totalitarian regime. Yet we need to establish the truth if remotely possible.

It would be incredibly useful to know where the new coronavirus came from so we can prevent this happening again, said Devi Sridhar, professor of global public health at Edinburgh University.

So how much can we decipher on the details and timing of this outbreak by sifting through academic research papers, media reports and social-media posts? Let us start with a fascinating report in the respected South China Morning Post, based on data said to come from the Beijing government that traced the virus to November 17. It did not rule out the possibility of earlier cases.

The report pinpointed a 55-year-old from Hubei as the first known case. Yet the authorities, it said, could not pinpoint who was Patient Zero from the nine initial cases four men and five women, aged between 39 and 79.

Pictured: staff line up as they prepare to spray disinfectant at Wuhan Railway Station in March

There were then one to five new cases each day  and on December 27, a hospital doctor called Zhang Jixian confirmed they were dealing with a new coronavirus.

This conflicts with an influential study published in January by Chinese researchers in The Lancet, which claimed the symptom onset date of the first identified patient was December 1.

This study also found that 27 out of their sample of 41 patients admitted to hospital in the early stages had been exposed to the market.

Wu Wenjuan, one of the authors and a senior doctor at Wuhans Jinyintan Hospital, which specialises in infectious diseases, told the BBC Chinese service that their first patient was an elderly man suffering from dementia.

He lived four or five buses from the seafood market  and because he was sick, he basically didnt go out, she said, adding that three more people developed symptoms in the following days, although only one had exposure to the market.

Her words tie in to a graphic in the study that shows one case on December 1, three on December 10 and then none until December 15. Only one of the initial four cases was linked to the market  but then all of the next ten.

Wuhans government claimed that the first confirmed case fell sick on December 8, a man who recovered from the illness. It said that he denied going to the animal market.

Yet that Lancet study also contains another intriguing nugget. The first fatal case is identified as a man linked to the market. Five days after illness onset, his wife  a 53-year-old woman who had no known history of exposure to the market  also turned up before doctors with pneumonia and was hospitalised in an isolation ward.

Wu Wenjuan also told the Wall Street Journal that their earliest cases included a 49-year-old trader at the market who fell ill on December 12.

Seven days later, his father-in-law  who had not been exposed to the market  caught the illness. Then doctors and nurses started falling ill by December 25, which was revealed by reports in state media.

These cases all clearly imply human-to-human transmission several weeks before it was publicly admitted by Beijing. This crucial information was finally confirmed to the world just four days before that important paper was published in The Lancet.

Five days earlier, Li Qun, head of Chinas public health emergency centre, even told state television that after careful screening and prudent judgment, we have reached the latest understanding that risk of human-to-human transmission is low.

Yet another paper in the New England Journal Of Medicine confirmed that Chinese doctors saw evidence of human transmission among close contacts since the middle of December 2019.

And a team from Wuhan Centre for Disease Control published a paper in Nature Microbiology last month that mentioned swabs being taken from patients in Wuhan with influenza-like illness from October 6, 2019, to January 21, 2020.

The beginning of October is earlier than any other experts have indicated signs of this virus. These researchers found nine out of their 640 swabs tested positive  but then concluded that this suggested community transmission in early January this year.

One blogger also spotted a tantalising fact: in July last year, Chinas National Health Commission issued an edict on protection against infectious diseases that urged all localities to strengthen their monitoring of flu-like cases, unexplained pneumonia.

The bulletin  unsupported by relevant data and absent from a similar earlier notice  added that after any outbreak, there must be quick epidemiological investigations, laboratory tests, and implementing measures such as disinfection and treatment of epidemic areas to prevent spread. Clearly that failed to happen.

In their defence, Chinas authorities were confronting a new virus. Yet their country had already seen two previous zoonotic (animal-to-human) coronaviruses emerge within its borders this century, inflicting less lethal pandemics on our planet.

Significantly, Lianchao Han, a Chinese dissident and former foreign office official, says: The lack of bioethics and their money-driven race to find vaccines for viruses make Chinese scientists very reckless in handling the most dangerous virus.

Their repeated refusal to let international experts investigate the origin of the virus makes it very suspicious the regime is hiding something.

Many mysteries still swirl around this saga.

Last weekend, claims that Bat Woman Shi had defected with a stash of secret documents were denied in Chinese media.

Chinese netizens [millions of web users] have queried if Huang Yanling, a student at Wuhan Institute of Virology, might have been Patient Zero after becoming infected in the laboratory.

This was denied, with officials saying she had moved to another part of China.

So many questions; so few answers. Yet as the global death toll passes 275,000, one thing seems certain: the culpability of Chinas authorities in covering up the new disease that erupted with such terrible force from somewhere in Wuhan last year.
Hong Kong and China stocks gained Friday, as investors cheered a call between Washington and Beijing that eased tensions and wagered that moves to open up economies after coronavirus lockdowns will succeed.

Elsewhere in the region, stocks advanced, led by Japans Nikkei 225, which jumped 2.6 per cent on excitement authorities approved the Gilead Sciences antiviral drug remdesivir for use on severe Covid-19 patients.

Investors have been concerned about US-China tensions over the spread of the coronavirus and implementation of the phase one trade deal. But senior negotiators from the two economic powers spoke by phone Friday and vowed to implement their trade deal and boost cooperation on public health, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

The call was of substantial relief to markets, as the last thing the world economy needed right now, was an escalation in hostilities on that front, said Jeffrey Halley, Asia-Pacific senior market analyst at OANDA.

After US$2 billion losses, Chinese airlines are among top picks again at CICC, Citic as valuation trigger emerges

Plans to reopen economies  from states in the US to Australia and Thailand  also boosted sentiment.

The global grand reopening is starting to take shape and investors will soon be revelling to the ring of department store cash registers heralding in the consumer-driven rebound, said Stephen Innes, chief global markets strategist at AxiCorp.   Unquestionably, this is excellent news for the markets, even if most of us are struggling to decipher what economic life will be like post-Covid 19.

The Hang Seng Index ended the day 1 per cent higher to 24,230.17, after sinking more than 1,000 points on Monday. That rout left if to turn in a 1.7 per cent weekly loss.

Among noteworthy movers in Hong Kong, Xiaomi shot up 8.9 per cent on its launch of its Mi 10 smartphone in India one of the Chinese companys most important markets.

Hong Kong property slide divides Wall Street investment banks on recovery outlook for home prices

Story continues

China Literature, Chinas largest e-book seller, shot up 7.8 per cent, after its newly appointed management met with its top authors on Wednesday to discuss compensation and contract issues, financial news site Caixin reported.

Meanwhile, pork processing giant WH Group, slipped 0.4 per cent. Its US subsidiary Smithfield Foods reopened a plant that was closed due to the virus, but the US meat supply chain is still threatened by outbreaks of illness.

The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, or HKEX, fell for a second day following the announcement chief executive Charles Li Xiaojia will not seek reappointment when his current term ends in October 2021.

The Shanghai Composite Index finished up 0.8 per cent to 2,895.34, turning in a 1.8 per cent weekly gain for the short three-session week due to holidays.

The CSI 300 gauge of large-caps listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen rose 1 per cent to 3,963.62 and the tech-focused ChiNext rose 0.9 per cent to 2,125.24.

Apple AirPod makers advanced. Luxshare Precision Industry gained 0.8 per cent to 47.25 yuan and Goertek was up 1.3 per cent to 20.76 yuan.

The worlds most valuable liquor distiller Kweichow Moutai advanced 0.2 per cent to 1,314.61 yuan. That kept it above 1,300 yuan  a milestone for any Chinese stock  for the third day.

South Koreas Kospi rose 0.9 per cent, while the tech-heavy Kosdaq advanced 2.1 per cent.

Australias S&P/ASX200 increased 0.5 per cent. The country will begin easing social-distancing measures in four-week increments, Reuters reports, citing two sources. The coronavirus lockdown has battered the Australian economy, which is on track for its worst recession in 30 years. Unemployment is expected to hit 10 per cent this year and the Reserve Bank of Australia expects gross domestic product to drop 6 per cent during 2020.

New Zealands S&P/NZX50 rose 0.4 per cent.

Singapores Straits Times Index fell a teensy 0.04 per cent after returning from a one session break.

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New Delhi: India has started the Vande Bharat Mission to return home to migrants trapped in many countries of the world due to Corona. Along with the air route, people are also being brought to India by sea ship. 698 Indians are being brought home from Maldives through Navy INS Jalashv.

Former Chhattisgarh CM Ajit Jogi suffers cardiac arrest, hospitalised

Operation INS Jalswa is returning with 698 Indian people trapped in Maldives. 698 Indians are being safeguarded through INS Jalashwah which includes 595 men and 103 women. Out of these 103 women, 19 women are also pregnant. INS Jalashwa has started the exercise to bring back 698 Indian nationals trapped in Maldives capital Male. According to information given by the Indian Navy, 19 pregnant women are also among the Indian citizens being brought back from Maldives.

Mobile services started in Kashmir, were closed after the death of terrorist Riyaz Naikoo

Sources say that INS Jalashv and INS Magar have been deployed in the campaign to bring 1,800 to 2,000 Indian people stranded in the Maldives. There will be 4 journeys through it, 2 from Kochi and 2 from Tuticorin. According to sources, priority has been set to bring from Maldives. First of all medical matters, senior citizens, family emergency and unemployed people will be brought home.

Mayawati agitated over exploitation of workers, says 'It won't be tolerated'
Demanding a return passage to their



home states, hundreds of agitated migrant workers clashed with the police at Mora village in Gujarat's Surat district on Saturday, an official said.

Over 40 workers were detained, after hundreds of them clashed with the police and pelted stones at police vehicles in Mora village near the industrial town of Hazira, the official said.

Protesting workers demanded that the district administration arrange for their travel back to their hometowns in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, among others, he said.

Most of these labourers worked in industrial units at Hazira and lived in Mora village, the official said, adding that the police had cordoned off the area and tightened security there.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Friday, May 8, 2020 at 4:59PM

A recent Google Lens update will make note-taking a simpler affair. It'll let you copy and paste handwritten notes from your phone to your computer. But you need to make sure your handwriting is legible.

Android users need to have the latest version of Chrome as well as the Lens app to use the feature. Meanwhile, iOS users will need to have the newest version of the Google app. Make sure the same Google account is signed into on both devices. After that, you need to point your camera at the written text and highlight the parts you want to copy. From there, you head to Google Docs on your Chrome browser, head to the Edit tab, and then select Paste to paste the selected text.

Another new Lens feature lets you listen to the printed text on your books and whatnot. You again have the camera highlight parts of the text, and then there is a new Listen option. This function can come in handy when you want to hear the pronunciation of certain words. At the moment, this feature is only available on Android, but it will be coming to iOS soon.

Lens also makes it easier to look up new concepts with in-line Google Search results. Just highlight the term you want to look up, and then a card containing more information about it will pop up.

Source: Google
Nearly 4,300 persons have been



arrested across Assam in the last 46 days for violating lockdown norms, the Assam Police said on Saturday.

A sum of almost Rs 2.2 crore was collected from the arrested persons as fine for defying the restrictions, the police said.

In its daily report on the ongoing lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19, the Assam Police said that 2,053 cases have been registered for 2,725 incidents ever since the restrictions were imposed due to the lockdown.

Accordingly 4,297 persons have been arrested in connection with the incidents, a press release said.

A fine of Rs 2,18,89,550 was also realised from the violators, it said.

Besides, 25,426 vehicles of all types and 32 boats have been seized from various parts of the state during this period.

As part of its proactive stand against fake news, the Assam Police said, action is being taken against those spreading provocative content and rumours about COVID-19 on social media.

As on Saturday, 96 cases have been registered and 50 persons were arrested, the official release said.

To stop the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus in the state, there are 27 effective containment zones across nine districts, it added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A newly constructed road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand lies completely within the territory of India, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Saturday rejecting objections to it by Nepal.

The 80-km-long strategically crucial road at a height of 17,000 feet along the border with China in Uttarakhand was thrown open by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday.

Nepal on Saturday raised objection to inauguration of the road, saying the "unilateral act" was against the understanding reached between the two countries on resolving the border issues.

"The recently inaugurated road section in Pithoragarh district in the state of Uttarakhand lies completely within the territory of India. The road follows the pre-existing route used by the pilgrims of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra," MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said.

He was replying to questions on sharp reaction by Nepal on the issue.

"Under the present project, the same road has been made pliable for the ease and convenience of pilgrims, locals and traders. India and Nepal have established mechanism to deal with all boundary matters," Srivastava said.

He said the boundary delineation exercise with Nepal is going on and India is committed to resolve outstanding issues with the neighbouring country through diplomatic dialogue and in the spirit of close and friendly ties.

Raising objection on the construction of the link road, Nepal's Foreign Ministry said, "This unilateral act runs against the understanding reached between the two countries including at the level of the prime ministers that a solution to boundary issues would be sought through negotiation."



Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani, a disputed border area between Nepal and India. Both India and Nepal claim Kalapani as an integral part of their territory.

Srivastava said both India and Nepal are in the process of scheduling foreign secretary-level talks which will be held once the dates are finalised after the two governments successfully deal with the COVID-19 crisis.

The new road is expected to help pilgrims visiting Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet as it is around 90 km from the Lipulekh pass. The road originates at Ghatiabagarh and ends at Lipulekh Pass, the gateway to Kailash-Mansarovar.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
It is not necessary to subscribe to the horse-before-the-cart speculation about a snap federal election this fall to know that once Canada really is in post-pandemic territory, pressure will be on Justin Trudeau to cash in his electoral chips and make a bid for a governing majority.

At that point, there will not be a lack for Liberal strategists to make the case that  if only to secure a fresh mandate before governments move from the economic stimulus to the fiscal restraint phase of the post-pandemic era  the prime minister needs strike the iron while it is hot.

If the recent past is any indication, the strong, stable government argument  to borrow Stephen Harpers 2011 campaign mantra  resonates more loudly at times of relative economic insecurity. There is no doubt that insecurity on that front will be with Canadians for some time after the COVID-19 pandemic has abated.

By this time next year, Trudeau will be 18 months into his second term. The average lifespan of minority governments in Canada is 18 to 24 months. By the calendar and in more normal circumstances, a federal vote in 2021 would be more likely than not.

But before turning his mind to a third term, the prime minister might want to ponder whether he and public interest might not both be better served by making the most of his current term.

Notwithstanding the self-serving partisan arguments that are routinely dished out by minority incumbents on the campaign trail, when it comes to sound governance, there is nothing magic about majority rule. As often as not, the opposite is true.

A decade ago, Harper led a minority Conservative government through the global financial crisis.

If anything, the need for his government to secure some opposition buy-in for his proposals almost certainly resulted in a better plan for the country.

The minority status of his government also helped Harper bring the fiscal hawks within his own party around to a full load of stimulus spending.

Similarly, there is no evidence that Trudeaus minority status has hampered his capacity to manage the pandemic crisis.

Indeed, it is hard to think of a more effective antidote to partisan tunnel vision than a compulsory dose of opposition input.

Among the four larger provinces, only British Columbia is run by a minority government these days. That has not prevented it from emerging as a role model for its handling of the pandemic.

By comparison, Quebecs Coalition Avenir Quebec government  for all of the stellar approval ratings of Premier Francois Legault  is increasingly being seen as the opposite.

The CAQ may run a majority government but it is one with very shallow roots in Montreal, which is also the current epicentre of the pandemic.

It is becoming more obvious by the day that Legaults government does not have a firm grasp on the situation in his provinces metropolis.

And then, a key argument for a swift post-pandemic return to the polls federally is that the crisis has rendered moot whatever agendas the parties brought to last falls campaign.

There is no doubt the post-COVID-19 political conversation will bear little resemblance to the one the pandemic interrupted two months ago.

We need to talk about the glaring holes the crisis has exposed in Canadas social safety net and determine if it is due for a major overhaul rather than just some punctual mending.

It would be worth exploring whether long term care facilities should be brought under the public umbrella rather than remain open to private, for-profit ownership.

Despite long-standing government promises to the contrary, effective home care is still largely missing in action in most of the country.

But whether any of those necessary discussions would really be advanced by the winner-take-all exercise of a federal election is an open question.

Earlier this week, the prime minister sounded very much like a politician who had started to give some thoughts to a post-pandemic public policy agenda.

But when the time comes for action, the real test of Trudeaus ambitions will take place not in the House of Commons  whether he controls it or not  but at the federal-provincial table.

No one should mistake the current co-operation between first ministers for a sudden conversion by the majority of premiers to the notion of a larger role for the federal government in the social affairs of the federation.

And then, the recent history of third consecutive terms at the federal level is at best a lacklustre one.

Those of Pierre Trudeau, Jean Chretien and Harper all featured more decay than actual purpose. Speculation as to the possible timing of the prime ministers retirement flourished. It became harder to keep the leadership genie in the bottle.

Chantal Hebert is an Ottawa-based freelance contributing columnist covering politics for the Star. Reach her via email: chantalh28@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter: @ChantalHbert

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Union home minister Amit Shah has written to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, saying the Centre is not getting the expected support from the state government to help migrant workers reach home.

Amit Shah pointed out that the Centre has facilitated more than 200,000 migrant labourers to reach home and that workers from West Bengal are also eager to go back.

West Bengal government is not allowing trains with migrants reaching the state. This is injustice with WB migrant labourers. This will create further hardship for them, Amit Shah said in his letter to Mamata Banerjee.

The issue of migrant workers is the latest flashpoint between the Centre and the West Bengal government amid a row over the states efforts to control the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

The Centre and the state have exchanged allegations over the criteria for reporting deaths from the infection, and while While Bengal says the Centre is trying to politicise a public health crisis, the Union government maintains that state officials are ignoring repeated warnings to step up the fight against the disease.

Federal officials have said that the region was failing to conduct adequate tests and grappling with confusion and mismanagement over identifying hot spots and containing them.
The latest update of the rise in coronavirus cases and deaths have been greeted with mixed reactions on social media.

On May 9, 2020, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) announced that Ghana's confirmed cases of coronavirus have increased from 4,012 to 4,263, an increment of 251 cases.

The country also recorded four new deaths, moving its death toll from 18 to 22.

Ghanaians are divided on the government's handling of the pandemic in the country.

And they have taken to the Information Ministry's Facebook page to react to the increment.

Some think President Nana Akufo-Addo's administration is losing control of the pandemic situation.

It's about time the right decisions are made. This virus is never to be underestimated, one Facebook user, Mcbright Owusu Afriyie commented under the Ministry's post.

However, for some, the government is not to be blamed for the rise in the cases but rather the citizenry who have refused to adhere to the social distancing protocols.

Find attached samples of some of their comments.

---Daily Guide
A Cabinet Minister has rebuked trans rights advocates for falsely claiming they had Government approval for guidance that tells schools to open up girls toilets to male-born children.

Equalities Minister Liz Truss ordered EqualiTeach to stop using the logo of the Government Equalities Office (GEO) on its controversial guidelines.

The EqualiTeach document  Free To Be  tells school teachers and staff they must allow pupils who identify as trans to use the toilet of their choice.

Britain's Secretary of State of International Trade and Minister for Women and Equalities Liz Truss arrives for a weekly cabinet meeting at Downing Street in London, Britain March 11, 2020

After womens rights campaigners raised the issue, Miss Truss demanded EqualiTeach amend the document.

She said: This was not approved by the Government. The GEO logo should not be on it and I asked for it to be removed.

Since becoming Minister with responsibility for equalities law, Miss Truss has been increasingly willing to challenge trans rights advocates whose arguments have influenced many public sector bodies.

EqualiTeach accused Miss Truss of failing to support trans children and claimed officials working for the Minister had approved the original document.
Queensland Health Minister Steven Miles is urging businesses in the state to use an easing of coronavirus restrictions to test their preparations for wider reopenings.

A range of businesses, including pubs, cafes and restaurants, will be able to have up to 10 people at a time for sit-down meals, with social distancing measures in place, from 11.59pm on Friday, May 15.

Queensland Health Minister Steven Miles says venues should use the first stage of eased restrictions to plan for stage two. Credit:AAP

The move has been welcomed by lobby groups but individual venues, especially larger venues, say it would not be worth their while to let in just 10 people at a time.

Mr Miles said smaller venues would definitely benefit from the changes, but he encouraged all venues to use the time before stage two easings in June to finalise their COVID-safe venue plans.
New Delhi, May 9 : Keeping in mind the national lockdown, the National School of Drama (NSD) has curated a specific webinar series, aimed not only at theatre practitioners, but also those looking forward to an artistic experience.

Focussing not only on theatre history and criticism, but also hands-on training through the digital medium, several series of lectures, master classes, interaction with theatre personalities and other arts has been planned from May 10 to May 17. Those interested can join the webinar at https://www.youtube.com/c/nationalschoolofdrama.

Speaking on the plan to initiate the webinar, Prof. Suresh Sharma, Director In charge, NSD said, "Theatre is all about a working together in a group, but due the ongoing situation that has become impossible. The National School of Drama has initiated an online platform where people sitting at home can connect with us and utilize their time to increase their knowledge." Several experts including Prof Suresh Sharma, Abhilash Pillai, Dinesh Khanna, Abdul Latif Khatana, Hema Singh, S Manoharan, Suman Vaidya and Rajesh Tailang will be part of the series.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
: The number of active COVID-19 cases slid below the 1,000 mark to 999 in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday though the overall tally rose to 1,930 with the addition of 43 in the last 24 hours.

The COVID-19 toll in the state also increased by four to 45 while 45 more patients were discharged from hospitals, according to the latest bulletin.

In the last 24 hours, Krishna reported two and Kurnool one coronavirus casualty.

On Saturday, a 60-year-old woman from Vizianagaram district died in a hospital in neighbouring Visakhapatnam.

Deputy Chief Minister (Health) A K K Srinivas said the woman tested positive for COVID-19 two days ago.

She was also suffering from a kidney ailment for some time now, he said.

Vizianagaram district, which remained coronavirus-free all these days, reported its first cases two days ago.

The woman was the first from the district to test positive for the virus.

Following her death, the district now has three active COVID-19 cases.

Meanwhile, Special Chief Secretary (Health) K S Jawahar Reddy informed Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy at a review meeting on Covid here that more cases of the pandemic were being reported in Chittoor and SPS Nellore districts, bordering Tamil Nadu, as several farmers and others were returning from the Koyambedu market in Chennai.

Chittoor district saw a sudden spurt in cases, with 11 reported in the last 24 hours ending 9 am on Saturday, as some people who returned from the Koyambedu wholesale market in Chennai tested positie for coronavirus.

It is suspected that these people contracted the disease at Koyambedu, sources here said, adding that several others who also returned from the place were sent to quarantine.

However, no new case was reported in SPS Nellore.

Visakhapatnam too continued to show an upward trend as five fresh cases were registered, taking the total in the district to 62.

The major hotspots Kurnool, Krishna and Guntur reported six, 16 and two fresh cases.

In all, 887 people were discharged from hospitals after recovering from COVID-19.

On the other hand, 700 migrant workers entered the state from different points without any permission or medical tests, officials said.

As the threat of virus spread from such people was high, officials started an exercise to trace them in different districts and send them to isolation.

Health officials said arrangements were made for medical tests at 11 check posts bordering neighbouring states to screen people coming into Andhra Pradesh.

Thermal screening and preliminary tests would be conducted at these places.

The state has so far completed testing an aggregate of 1,65,069 samples, of which 1,63,139 turned negative.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ex-Conservative minister Rory Stewart

This week it's wobbly screen time for former Tory minister Rory Stewart as he checks in to our travel Q&A.

He talks about nearly being arrested in Nepal when he was accused of being in Al-Qaeda, eating his most unpleasant meal - which was in China - and more...

Favourite place?

Afghanistan. I love its people  their generosity, pride, dignity and sense of humour.

Worst hotel experience?

In Peshawar, Pakistan, there was a concealed door in a fake wall, so that accomplices of the hotelier could steal the possessions of the unwary while they were asleep.

Most memorable view?

From a ridge in West Papua, Indonesia, you can see the Papua New Guinea border, every hill in between carpeted in moss forest.

Where are you desperate to visit?

The minority areas of north Burma.

Worst holiday illness?

An antibiotic-resistant strain of Clostridium difficile, developed in Khiva, Uzbekistan. I was eventually cured in a Dundee specialist unit.

Most memorable travel buddy?

Everest climber Mohammad Oraz, with whom I walked across Iran. He died after an avalanche on Gasherbrum I, Himalayas, in 2003.

Your holiday essentials?

A toothbrush and a down jacket.

Most unpleasant food eaten?

Snake in Hainan, China.

Were you ever close to being arrested abroad?

Several times, including in Nepal just after 9/11. I was accused of being in Al-Qaeda.

Your top two travel reads?

Gavin Maxwells A Reed Shaken By The Wind  the best account of the Marsh Arabs of Iraq. And Eric Newbys A Short Walk In The Hindu Kush, which is full of understated humour.

The politician said he is desperate to visit the minority areas of north Burma

Fantasy travel companion?

Alexander the Great  Id want to understand his sense of humour.

Whats the biggest lesson youve learned from travel?

The key to survival is politeness.

What do holidays teach you?

The ability to think afresh.

Aadvice for world travellers struggling with lockdown?

Try to meditate  but it can be difficult if you are wound up.

Ultimate travel tip?

Carry less than half of what you feel you need to carry.
The 77 had tested positive after coming in contact with an infected cook.

Mumbai: The 77 inmates of Arthur Road Jail in central Mumbai who tested positive for novel coronavirus were on Friday shifted to a vacant building in Mahul in suburban Chembur to undergo quarantine under police protection.

The 77 had tested positive after coming in contact with an infected cook, the prison department official said, adding that 26 jail staffers have also been infected so far.

The 77 will be kept in a vacant building in Mahul in Chembur with security being provided by police during the quarantine period. The 26 staffers have been shifted to different places as part of their treatment, he added.

The NGOs working for prisoners rights stated there has been a delay in testing the inmates in the process of decongesting the prisons.

A senior jail authority said that all undertrial prisoners who tested positive have been shifted to state-run GT Hospital and St George Hospital in guarded vehicles on Friday morning. Members of jail staff will be shifted separately.

The first case of infection was reported after an undertrial prisoner was taken to JJ Hospital in Mumbai for treatment. The inmate, a 45-year-old man, had suffered a paralysis attack in the prison on May 2 and was rushed to the hospital for treatment. His swabs were sent for the Covid-19 test, which turned out to be positive, said a doctor.

Essential services like milk, vegetables and groceries come in everyday. We also have sanitation workers visiting the prison on a regular basis. Even though the staff has not left the jail compound in over a month, it is difficult to keep the space completely locked, a member of the jail authority said.

In all, Maharashtra has 60 prisons with a capacity of 24,032 prisoners. At the end of March, over 36,000 people were lodged in prisons across the state. Among them, Arthur Road central prison remains one of the most crowded, with close to 2,800 prisoners, even when the prison capacity is only 804 people.
Pentagon Starting from Scratch With Next Generation Missile Interceptors

The forty-four interceptors that stand sentinel over the American homeland, ready to shoot down a rogue nuclear missile, are getting tired and old.

After pulling the plug on the upgrade last year, the Pentagon is now starting from scratch with the development of a next-generation replacement.

Details of that top-secret Next Generation Interceptor (NGI) are deliberately scant, but it will need to neutralize threats from future advances in missile technology from North Korea or Iran.

Some analysts, however, are worried whether the fresh watch of interceptorswith their as yet unproven technologywill be ready in time to replace the old ones.

The NGI was announced on April 24 by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA)the heir to the Reagan-era Strategic Defense Initiative commonly known as Star Wars.

The 1980s Star Wars vision of being able to destroy thousands of incoming nuclear missiles has long since faded, but the MDA says it has since developed the capability to strike down a limited number of primitive ballistic nuclear missiles as they arc through space.

That program is known as the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD)(pdf).

Growing Challenges

The Missile Defense Agency has expressed confidence in its ability to employ ground-based interceptors against current threats posed by North Korea and Iran, Timothy Walton, a defense analyst at the Hudson Institute, told The Epoch Times.

The future challenge, however, is that North Korea and Iran develop and improve countermeasure capabilities, develop a larger salvo size, and improve their ability to fire multiple missiles simultaneously.

North Koreas Hwasong-15 ICBM launched on Nov. 28, 2017. North Korea claims the missile is capable of carrying a miniaturized nuclear warhead. (Reuters/KCNA)

Thus, it would be helpful for the future missile interceptors to have multiple kill vehicles, says Walton, and to be able to distinguish decoys and actual warheads. Each missile we fire would fly out of the atmosphere into space, and then release multiple individual kill vehicles that could engage the multiple maneuvering reentry vehicles.

The capability to intercept multiple warheads with one interceptor missile is likely to be included in the NGI specification, according to Patty-Jane Gellar, a policy analyst in nuclear deterrence and missile defense at The Heritage Foundation. But we still dont know much about that because the RFP just came out a few days ago and its classified, she told the Epoch Times.

The Pentagon is seeking proposals and then in July will whittle them down to two that will compete for the final program of record. Northrop and Raytheon have already thrown their hats in the ring with a combined proposal.

Whilst the current interceptors have had minor tweaks and upgrades, some of them have been sitting in their silos in Alaska and California since the system was first deployed in 2004.

The Pentagon was previously working on an upgrade to the business end of the interceptor missilethe third and final stage of the missile called the kill vehicle that hones in on and strikes the ICBM out in space.

But the development of that upgrade, called the Redesigned Kill Vehicle, was abruptly ended last year.

After spending a few billion dollars on that program, the conclusion was that it was a more prudent approach to stop that program and start a new program for the next-generation interceptorinstead of trying to redesign the current one, said Walton.

But some analysts are worried that the new breed of interceptors, generically known as Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicles (EKVs), might not come fast enough to fix current issues.

Were having two problems converge, says Geller.

We still have these old EKVs and theyre aging, and we know that by around 2025 theyre going start to have more problems.

A test of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system was conducted from North Vandenberg on March 25, 2019. (Department of Defense)

And then at the same time, North Koreas arsenal is advancing. We dont know for sure, but we would expect them to figure out how to deploy more countermeasures, like decoys and penetrating devices to overcome our missile defenses.

The NGIs original 2030 fielding date has been pulled to 2028, she says. But were still going to have this short term problem of what to do with our EKVs in the mid-2020s.

Geller says this should be ringing alarm bells in Congress and the administration.

I worry about hedging our bets on getting this next generation interceptor by 2028, regardless of whether its a great program or not, she says. I think we need to do more in the short term.

Developing a Safety Net

But the NGI isnt the only ICBM defense being developed by the MDA.

The Missile Defense Agency has also stressed that theyre going to be deploying a layered homeland ballistic missile defense system, says Walton. They want to have what they call an underlay to the ground-based interceptors.

That underlay would use adapted Aegis and THAAD missile defense systems to destroy ICBMs that leak through the first line of defense.

An SM-3 (Block 1A) missile is launched from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer JS Kirishima (DD 174), successfully intercepting a ballistic missile target launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands, Kauai, Hawaii on 30 Oct. 2010. (Courtesy/DoD)

The Aegis SM3 IIA missile, currently deployed in Japan, can pick off ballistic missiles in space and is due to be pitted against an ICBM surrogate in a test flight this year.

Were very confident that this will be able to intercept an incoming ICBM, says Geller.

The MDA also hopes to adopt THAAD interceptors, which destroy missiles in their terminal phase within the atmosphere, that can be adapted to form a third and final shield.

A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or (THAAD) weapon system on Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Oct. 26, 2017. (Army Capt. Adan Cazarez)

Walton says that if the SM3 IIA tests are successful, it would provide an important capability throughout the first half of these 2020s and mid-2020s, while the Next Generation Interceptor is developed.

The need for a couple of safety nets also chimes with some skepticism about the effectiveness of current systems.

Although the GMD system is praised by senior military leaders and is generally viewed in successful terms, it does have a somewhat mixed flight test record, according to a 2019 primer (PDF) by the Congressional Research Service.

Hitting a Bullet with a Bullet

Walton says that kind of chequered track-record of test flights is to be expected with this kind of program.

He says that there are other criticisms around the limitations of the tests.

Sometimes individuals allege that the flight tests arent operationally representative for a number of reasons. In particular, they will contend that they dont account for a realistic adversary launch doctrine, he says. For example, the tests may not replicate the difficulty in predicting a launch or the number and type of countermeasures, such as decoys and jammers that accompany an actual nuclear ICBM attack.

Geller agrees that some of the short-falls come from the technical challenges. Youre having to hit an incoming bullet with your own bullet. So its no secret that its very challenging.

But she thinks there are other historical reasons for the technology lag: namely, the influence of treaties and politics. I think that started with the anti-ballistic missile treaty, the ABM treaty, that was signed with the Soviet Union in 1972.

Theres been this battle since the 1960s: Should we restrict U.S. defenses against Russia, the Soviet Union, in favor of mutually assured destruction (MAD) and strategic stability? Or should we keep advancing our missile defense to try to protect the United States, which is what President Reagan initially proposed in his Strategic Defense Initiative?

Right now our missile defense policy, as amended by last years NDAA states that our missile defense is only for rogue states and that we use deterrence to defend against near-peer competitors.

Although the ABM treaty allows for one hundred, the U.S. currently only has forty-four interceptors, with twenty more on the wayenough to cope with rogue states, and maybe the odd trigger-slip from a friend or foe.

If Russia launches an accidental attack or something like that, of course, we would try to intercept that as well, says Geller.
This week, Diny Adkins' room at the Indigo Hall retirement community on James Island is surrounded by flowers and letters.

Adkins is a mother of two and a grandmother, so some of the gifts are of course centered around Mother's Day. But there's another incredible feat for which Adkins gains recognition.

She is a Holocaust survivor.

"I'm an old hippie," said the 82-year-old Jewish woman with rainbow-colored hair. "I tell the kids don't judge a book by its cover."

Friday marks the 75th anniversary of the Allied Forces declaring victory in Europe during World War II. The war would later be officially declared over on Sept. 2, 1945, following Japan's surrender.

But this past Tuesday also marked a special day for Adkins. On May 5, 1945, Adkins remembers an American soldier picking her up and placing her on a tank in Holland. She was around 6 years old and had gone into hiding in 1942 amid the Nazi atrocities that were the Holocaust.

That day on the tank marked her liberation and one of the first days she had seen flowers and nature. Before that, she had spent three months in a room as big as a closet in a resistance family's home with nothing but a really tiny blanket to keep her warm.

She has never forgotten the American soldier's face.

"I wonder where he is, I think about him a lot," she said.

Adkins moved to Charleston after marrying her late husband, another American soldier.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the typical celebrations Adkins is used to had to be changed around. This year, Yom Hashoah, or the Holocaust Remembrance Day, fell at the end of April.

Typically, Adkins and other members of the Jewish community in the Charleston area would gather at Marion Square. With the pandemic, much of the celebration had to be done online.

The staff at Indigo Hall made sure Adkins had space to celebrate.

But the pandemic hasn't brought Adkins' spirits down. Allison Bonner, director of first impressions at Indigo Hall, said Adkins is always taking care of everybody and is a constant smiling face around the building.

When residents feel down, she is often there to comfort them.

"I think God has sent me to a place where I can be of help," Adkins said.

She also has a larger group of supporters outside of Indigo Hall, Bonner said. Before the pandemic, Adkins would give presentations and speeches at schools throughout the Charleston area.

She has talked about her experience as a Holocaust survivor in California and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Adkins also has been recognized for hero awards in Charleston and Berkeley County.

"We get letters all the time," Bonner said.

Rabbi Yossi Refson of the Chabad of Charleston said Yom Hashoah reminds the community that there are still good people out there. It's a time to celebrate the survivors' abilities and tenacity to rebuild their lives after such tragic events.

It's also a time to remember there eventually will be light in times of darkness, he said. So Yom Hashoah falling during a pandemic is a good example.

Because so many people had their lives turned upside down," he said.

Survivors like Adkins are the symbols of hope everyone can look to at this time, he said. As a grandchild of Holocaust survivors, Refson also knows personally how important that is.

At the events where Adkins speaks, she often talks about her life experience and the importance of being loving and kind. That's one of the reasons she tries to smile all of the time.

She hopes people learn from the pandemic that everyone can be brothers and sisters.

For four years I never saw a smile, I only saw death," she said.

Last Tuesday, her daughter called and told her to come to the downstairs window at Indigo Hall so she could see her. They usually speak on the phone through the window because of the pandemic.

Instead of just her daughter being there, several family members were there dressed in orange, the color of the Dutch royal family. Two of her grandchildren were holding a Dutch flag, smiling.
Former My Kitchen Rules judge Pete Evans amicably parted ways with Channel Seven after a decade on Friday.

And on Saturday, the celebrity chef, 47, shared a cryptic message to Instagram about questioning mainstream narratives.

He posted a picture of himself standing alongside a horse and wrote: 'The phrase "straight from the horse's mouth" is another way to say confirmed information from the best source.'

'Our intuition is our greatest sense': Former MKR judge Pete Evans (pictured) shared a cryptic post about 'freedom of speech' after leaving Channel Seven on Saturday

He continued: 'Where do you choose to get YOUR information from and is it the BEST source? I always ask "why are they sharing this information and who does it benefit the most?"'

Evans went on to say that it's important to question everything including our beliefs as they 'may be inherited from our culture, our media, our parents, our teachers and so on'.

'How many times in history have the 'authorities' got it wrong and, many times they have got it right also. This also makes it even more imperative, in my opinion, to keep asking the biggest of questions and to not just trust inherently, without critical thinking and we all must have freedom of speech,' he wrote.

'Deep down you know the answer, if you choose to sit with yourSELF and question yourSELF. Our intuition is our greatest sense in my experience... don't only think, but feel.'

Cryptic: He said that it's important to question everything including our beliefs as they 'may be inherited from our culture, our media, our parents, our teachers and so on'

Evans post comes after it was confirmed on Friday that he had departed Seven. The quirky chef came to a 'mutual' and 'amicable' decision to leave the network.

He 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.

News of Evans' departure followed weeks of silence from Seven regarding the controversial host's employment status.

Moving on: Evans' (pictured with co-judge Manu Feildel) post comes after it was confirmed on Friday that he had came to a 'mutual' and 'amicable' decision to leave Network Seven

The broadcaster had been ignoring enquiries 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.

It comes after a representative has hinted there are no plans to bring back another season of My Kitchen Rules, at least anytime soon.

Is it over? It comes after a representative hinted there are no plans to bring back another season of My Kitchen Rules, at least anytime soon

'No announcement re: MKR future seasons  programming plans would typically be announced later in the year as per usual,' they told Daily Mail Australia.

Rumours have been swirling for months that the show was facing the axe, after the latest season, MKR: The Rivals, flopped in the ratings earlier this year.

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.
The Centre decided on Saturday to rush teams of health experts to 10 states with the maximum number of Covid-19 cases to help state governments contain the rapid spread of the infection.

The ministry of health and family welfare has decided to deploy central teams to 10 states that have witnessed/are witnessing high case load and high spurt of cases. The teams will assist the state health departments of respective states to facilitate management of Covid-19 outbreak, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday night.

The expert teams consist of a senior official from the health ministry, a joint secretary-level nodal officer, and a public health expert. The team is meant to support the state health departments in implementation of containment measures in the affected areas within the respective states districts or cities.

The teams will be deployed to Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Between them, the 10 states have 38,000 infections that make up 60% of Indias total Covid-19 caseload, as of Saturday, according to the HT dashboard.

Last week, the Centre had rushed 20 central teams of public health experts to 20 high case load districts. Another high-level team, led by joint secretary in the health ministry, Lav Agarwal, had also visited Mumbai to support efforts in Covid-19 response and management in Indias worst-affected state, Maharashtra.

Earlier in the day, Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said that as of Saturday, the Covid-19 fatality rate in the country is 3.3%, and recovery rate 29.9%. He also said the doubling rate stood at 9.9 days over the past week. HTs internal dashboard puts the figure at 10.7 days.

The announcement came at a review of Covid situation in north-eastern states that have reported a total of 194 cases. The maximum cases have been reported from Tripura (118).

As of yesterday there are 2.41% present active Covid-19 patients in ICU [intensive care unit], 0.38% on ventilators and 1.88% on oxygen support. The testing capacity has increased in the country and it is 95,000 tests per day, with 332 government laboratories and 121 private laboratories operation for Covid testing. Cumulatively, 15,25,631 tests have been done so far for COVID-19, said Harsh Vardhan.

He also said that surveillance for Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (SARI) and Influenza Like Illness (ILI) should be intensified in unaffected districts and districts that have not reported cases for the last 14 days through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme network in collaboration with medical college hospitals.

Appreciating the efforts of states that have banned the use of chewing tobacco and imposed fines for spitting in public places, he said, In view of the larger prevalence of non-smoking tobacco usage in some of the states, they should take concrete actions for prohibiting their wide usage and for prohibiting spitting in public places which shall help in preventing the spread of Covid-19. Strong reforms are needed in this direction.

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New Delhi: In yet another escalation of the war of words between the Centre and the West Bengal government, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has written to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleging that her regime was not cooperating over migrant workers issue.

In his letter to Mamata, the Union Home Minister stated that the West Bengal government is not allowing trains carrying migrant workers to reach the state, which may further create hardship for the labourers.

In his letter, Shah said not allowing trains to reach West Bengal is "injustice" to the migrant workers from the state.

Referring to the 'Shramik Special' trains being run by the central government to facilitate the transportation of migrant workers from different parts of the country to various destinations, Shah said that the Centre has facilitated more than two lakh migrants workers to reach home.

The Home Minister said migrant workers from West Bengal are also eager to reach home and the central government is also facilitating the train services.

"But we are not getting expected support from the West Bengal. The state government of West Bengal is not allowing the trains reaching to West Bengal. This is injustice with West Bengal migrant labourers. This will create further hardship for them," Shah wrote in his letter to the Trinamool Congress chief.

It may be noted that the Centre and the Bengal government have clashed frequently amid the coronavirus outbreak in the country, with an IMCT (inter-ministerial central team), which visited the state to review its handling of the crisis, this week accusing Banerjee's administration of taking an "antagonistic view".

In its observations on Monday, the central team said the high mortality rate in the state was a "clear indication of low testing and weak surveillance, tracking".

The Centre has also accused the state of violating lockdown guidelines and failing to ensure critical measures like social distancing.

Last week, the Centre allowed states to run special trains to ferry migrant workers stranded in various parts of the country, providing they displayed no COVID-19 symptoms and underwent a mandatory quarantine period on arrival.

The first such "special" train to Bengal set off from Rajasthan's Ajmer this week - bound for Durgapur via Asansol - carrying 1,200 migrant workers.

Shortly after the first train was announced Banerjee tweeted that a second would bring back a similar number of people stranded in Kerala.
Three of the members of the Rochdale grooming gang now once again reside in the town where they abused girls as young as 12, it has been revealed.

The men are known to be back in the Greater Manchester town just two years after losing the right to stay in Britain.

Victims of the grooming gang have expressed their horror after learning the men who haunted them were back on the doorstep, despite a judge rejecting their appeals against their British citizenship being revoked.

Left to right: Adil Khan, Abdul Aziz and Abdul Rauf have been revealed to still live in Rochdale, two years after losing the right to stay in Britain

The news was revealed by the Mirror, who one of the group's victims told she felt 'violated' by their return.

One of the men, Abdul Rauf, 51, is a father of five, a taxi driver and a former teacher at a mosque. His sentence was six years for trafficking and sex with a girl, who was aged 15.

Another, Abdul Aziz, 49, carried the more sinister title of 'the master' and is a father of three. He was originally sentenced to nine years for trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sex with a child.

The third, Adil Khan, 50, was given eight years for conspiracy and trafficking a 13-year-old girl who fell pregnant.

All three men have served their sentences.

Abdul Aziz and Qari Abdul Rauf, pictured, also have dual citizenship. The Home Office refused to comment whether deportation proceedings were active against any of the four men

News of the men's return became public knowledge after images surfaced on social media, with people in the Rochdale area sharing the information to friends and family.

One of the gang's victims told the Mirror: 'I feel violated to know he's living near me  in the same area where he hunted for girls like me.

'It's a total betrayal of grooming victims that he's allowed to stay.'

In 2017 the men had appealed against moves by the Government to strip them of their British citizenship.

But in 2018 their claims were dismissed on all grounds by the Upper Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber.

Theresa May, who was Home Secretary when the men were jailed said the four dual citizens should be deported

The then home secretary Theresa May ruled in 2015 that all three men - who have dual British and Pakistani nationality - should have their names deleted from the roll of British citizens.

Lord Justice Sales said that what they and others did to vulnerable girls in Rochdale amounted to 'serious organised crime'.

Gerald Clifton, the judge who jailed them at Liverpool Crown Court in May 2012, said victims were 'raped callously, viciously and violently'.

As revealed by the Mail in June 2019, four of the group were still living in Britain, with no signs of any being prepared for deportation to Pakistan.
Amid the ongoing prolonged nationwide lockdown put in place to curb the spread of Coronavirus, the left parties including the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Rashtriya Janata Dal and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) have written a letter to President Ram Nath Kovind expressing deep concern over working class.

In the letter to the President, CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, RJD and VCK president and MP Thirumavalvan have narrated concern over the security, welfare, livelihood, and future of crores of Indian working class.

READ| CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury requests Opposition to discuss economic fallout of Covid-19

PM Modi-led govt is doing nothing for migrant labourers: Yechury

Speaking to ANI, CPI- M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said: "We have written the letter to the President opposing the annulment of labour laws and we urged him to take note of our concern regarding the plights of migrants labourers and the problems that they are facing. Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government is doing nothing for them in this crisis."

READ | Bihar Deputy CM attacks Tejashwi, says RJD misleading migrant labourers on rail fare

The Opposition leaders in its letter mentioned that the nullification of the labour laws and the hard-won democratic rights of the vast majority of Indian people in the name of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequences of this prolonged national lockdown is anti-constitutional and, hence against the law of the land.

READ | Coronavirus Live Updates: India's cases rise to 56,342; recovery rate increases to 29.36%

The letter read: "Using the pretext of battle the COVID-19 pandemic, drastic changes are being made to the existing labour laws of the country which further jeopardises the lives and wellbeing of the working people. Already the country is witness to the most inhuman tragic dimensions of the plight of the migrant works since the national lockdown has been enforced. Far from protecting the fundamental right to life and dignity, today's conditions are barbaric. Last night, 16 migrant workers, mainly tribals, forced to walk thousands of kilometres back to their homes with no arrangements being made for them, were crushed to death by a goods train in Maharashtra".

READ | West Virginia athletics take salary cuts to save $3 million amid coronavirus pandemic

(With inputs from Agency)
Technavio has been monitoring the personal protective equipment (PPE) market and it is poised to grow by USD 28.67 billion during 2020-2024. 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/20200508005519/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) 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 decelerate during the forecast period. 3M Co., Alpha Pro Tech Ltd., Ansell Ltd., Delta Plus Group, DuPont de Nemours Inc., Honeywell International Inc., Kimberly-Clark Corp., MCR Safety, MSA Safety Inc., and Sioen Industries NV are some of the major market participants. Stringent occupational safety regulations 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.

Stringent occupational safety regulations have been instrumental in driving the growth of the market.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Market is segmented as below:

Product Protective Clothing Hand And Arm Protection Protective Footwear Respiratory Protection Others

Geography North America Europe APAC MEA 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=IRTNTR43304

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) 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 personal protective equipment (PPE) market report covers the following areas:

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Market Size

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Market Trends

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Market Industry Analysis

This study identifies increasing prevalence of infectious biological hazards as one of the prime reasons driving the personal protective equipment (PPE) market growth during the next few years.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the personal protective equipment (PPE) market, including some of the vendors such as 3M Co., Alpha Pro Tech Ltd., Ansell Ltd., Delta Plus Group, DuPont de Nemours Inc., Honeywell International Inc., Kimberly-Clark Corp., MCR Safety, MSA Safety Inc., and Sioen Industries NV. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the personal protective equipment (PPE) market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

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Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist personal protective equipment (PPE) market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the personal protective equipment (PPE) market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the personal protective equipment (PPE) market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of personal protective equipment (PPE) 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

Protective clothing Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Hand and arm protection Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Protective footwear Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Respiratory protection Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Others Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by Product

Market Segmentation by End-user

Market segments

Comparison by End user

Manufacturing Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Construction Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Oil and gas Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Healthcare 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

North America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Europe 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

Market Drivers, Challenges and Trends

Vendor Landscape

Competitive scenario

Vendor landscape

Landscape disruption

Industry risks

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

3M Co.

Alpha Pro Tech Ltd.

Ansell Ltd.

Delta Plus Group

DuPont de Nemours Inc.

Honeywell International Inc.

Kimberly-Clark Corp.

MCR Safety

MSA Safety Inc.

Sioen Industries NV

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.

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Marsha Lipets-Maser

Portland, Ore.

To the Editor:

Thank you, Ms. Paxson. I, too, am biased on this topic, as my 18-year-old daughter finishes her first year on our living room couch. A great mentor once told me the best way to lead: Get ahead of the parade. I applaud Ms. Paxsons statements and urge her to share detailed plans for making her university safe. Where there is a will, there is a way.

Start testing new methods now. Immediately hire contact tracers. Understand your data now. Bring students back in small numbers midsummer  believe me, they will come. And, yes, be ready to retreat. Lets move beyond the rhetoric and get our next generation engaged in solving our greatest challenges  this virus being only one of them.

Eric Berridge

Scarsdale, N.Y.

To the Editor:

Christina Paxson starts with the presumption that colleges must reopen in the fall or will crumble. Her argument ignores the most important variable to consider  the uncertain effectiveness of her proposed solutions (testing, tracing, screening and isolating Covid-19 cases). The danger is that self-interested university administrations may risk lives in order to maintain their colleges incomes.

Among the alternative solutions, colleges could continue online education (yes, some students will opt out) while temporarily reducing or delaying administrators and tenured faculty members salaries. By belt tightening, most colleges could weather a big hit for at least one more semester, knowing that student enrollments will more than bounce back in 2021 because of pent-up demand.

Saving the lives of students, faculty members and their families will continue to require big sacrifices. If colleges believe otherwise, smart students will vote with their feet and transfer elsewhere for online education until it is safer to return. At the very least, students should be given an option to continue attending their colleges classes online rather than in person this fall.

R.J. Green

San Francisco

The writer is professor emeritus of the California School of Professional Psychology.

To the Editor:

Like most college-bound high school seniors, I hope that colleges will be able to resume classes in person this fall, but Im not convinced that its worth the public health risk. As Christina Paxson acknowledges in her article, theres a real chance that an outbreak will occur if students return to campus. And unless a vaccine is miraculously developed before classes resume, any chance of an outbreak is too high. Its just not worth the risk.
WESTON  The Board of Finance signaled support for setting a flat mill rate for next year to help ease the financial impacts residents may face because of the coronavirus pandemic.

I would like a flat mill rate, BOF Chair Steve Ezzes said at a finance board meeting on Thursday. I would like to get to it as close as we could get and I would like to do it creatively.

The finance board currently has budgeted a 1.39 percent mill rate increase. Town administrator Johnathan Luiz said to achieve a flat mill rate, the board would have to cut $1 million total from the towns budget.

BOF member discussed a variety of methods to reach a flat mill rate including deferring some capital expenditures, pulling from the towns reserves and finding more savings in operating expenses.

But schools Superintendent William Mckersie cautioned the board about the impact extra cuts on the $54 million schools budget may have on the classroom.

Everything left to cut is classroom impact and, in a distance learning mode, you will not have the kind of education you need and want in this district, Mckersie said.

He said the districts staff was a large part of the smooth transition into distance learning, which may continue.

Weston is out in front in this issue and were out there because (of) the staff we have and support we have, Mckersie said.

BOE Chair Tony Pesco said $551,000 in net cost savings is expected so far because of the districts closure. He added he supported a discussion on the direction of the schools budget in the fall, not now.

What weve done this year is really try to maintain the quality of the schools that everyone expects, Pesco said. This is a 12-month issue. We still have to have the conversation of the quality and education that Weston is willing to have moving forward.

First Selectman Chris Spaulding also voiced concern for further budget cuts to his proposed $13.7 million budget.

Weve dug as deep as we can, Spaulding said. Right now, we are going further into staff with any cuts and theres none I could recommend at this point.

But some finance board members said they received an outpouring of emails from residents supporting a flat mill rate because of the pandemic.

Ive never seen anything like this in terms of the very sincere and very difficult economic circumstances many people find themselves in, BOF member Allan Grauberd said.

BOF member Greg Murphy echoed his sentiments.

Ive talked to many, many people and I would surmise that at least half of the people in town want a zero percent mill rate increase and a flat budget, Murphy said. I would only support any agreement here that leads to a zero percent mill rate increase.

BOF member Amy Gare said she supported keeping the mill rate increase of 1.39 percent due to the impact on staff with further cuts.

I think it would be cutting off our noses to spite our faces to cut right now the essential workers of this town, Gare said. Teachers are working overtime... I think we are at war and I wouldnt send my soldiers out to war without their necessary armor.

She said the first quarter of housing sales was also the best there had been since 2013.

Our houses are priced to sell and we should be here for all those looking for wide open spaces and schools, Gare said.

Ezzes said he favored spending a week to come up with feasible methods to reach a flat mill rate. He added he was concerned for the towns financial future.

I think this pandemic is going to get worse and were underestimating the future expense of it, Ezzes said. Were not going back to any sense of normality for a year and it could be longer.

The finance board will meet again on May 21 and is expected to finalize the budget on June 1.

dj.simmons@hearstmediact.com
We are at a point in our national political conversation where lies are the principal propaganda tool of the left, and prominent mainstream media figures rely on a comedian's fake criticism (since apologized for) to score points against the Trump administration.

It all started when late-night ABC TV comedian Jimmy Kimmel used a deceptively edited C-SPAN video to falsely claim that V.P. Mike Pence was delivering empty boxes of supplies to a hospital. Via the U.K. Daily Mail:

During his monologue in Thursday night's episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the comedian and host showed a clip of Pence delivering boxes of PPEs to the Woodbine Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center hospital in Virginia earlier in the day. 'Here he is with no mask on, wheeling boxes of PPEs into a health care center, and doing his best to lift them, what a hero since it was going so well, and also because he didn't realize he had a mic on, Magic Mike decided to keep it going, listen in closely here,' Kimmel said during the monologue. The video, which was originally broadcast by C-SPAN, showed Pence as he pushed a trolley of big cardboard boxes, then picked them up and put them down outside the hospital's doors. Then, when Pence returns to the delivery van, which still has boxes inside it, someone tells him: 'Those are empty, sir. We're good to go.' Pence responds: 'Well, can I carry the empty ones? Just for the camera?' 'Absolutely,' the unidentified man says, as those around them laugh. Kimmel then continued his monologue by saying that 'Mike Pence pretending to carry empty PPEs into a hospital is the perfect metaphor for who he is and what he's doing. A big box of nothing delivering another box of nothing.'

Here is the video:

Later on, Kimmel tweeted out the clip in a tweet that received millions of views but has since been deleted:

The lack of context, that Pence has previously delivered full boxes, and when done was clearly joking about delivering the empty boxes remaining in the truck, was so unfair that even BuzzFeed's deputy director, David Mack, called out Kimmel in a tweet:

This isn't true. The clip cuts out at a selective point. When you watch the CSPAN footage (9 min in), Pence makes the crack about carrying the empty ones and the guy says "Absolutely. They're a lot easier!" Pence laughs then immediately shuts the van door. https://t.co/SOD5KAAPkH https://t.co/1ZODmvg2PG  David Mack (@davidmackau) May 8, 2020

But that bit of honesty came too late for Biden's deputy national press secretary and for the New York Times and NBC reporters who bought into it and parroted the attack. Joe Scarborough even broadcast it on his Morning Joe show on MSNBC

Kimmel was shamed into a sneering apology:

it would appear that @vp was joking about carrying empty boxes for a staged publicity stunt. The full video reveals that he was carrying full boxes for a staged publicity stunt. My apologies. I know how dearly this administration values truth. https://t.co/hI9cO4lxcX  Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) May 8, 2020

Senator Ted Cruz lit into Scarborough:

Hmm. When youre on the defensive for being dishonest & corrupt, perhaps best not to forward fraudulent stories from Jimmy Kimmel (that hes admitted were false)? You are claiming to be a journalist, after all.... https://t.co/tYsgKJGxpR  Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 8, 2020

Scarborough foolishly responded and got his ass handed back to him by the Texas senator:
By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts on Friday put a temporary hold on the disclosure to a Democratic-led House of Representatives committee of grand jury material redacted from former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 election. The block will remain in place while the court considers what action to take

By Lawrence Hurley

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts on Friday put a temporary hold on the disclosure to a Democratic-led House of Representatives committee of grand jury material redacted from former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The block will remain in place while the court considers what action to take. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in March that the materials had to be disclosed to the House Judiciary Committee and refused to put that decision on hold. The appeals court said the materials had to be handed over by May 11 if the Supreme Court did not intervene.

The committee's lawyers have until May 18 to file their response to the Justice Department's request to block the materials being immediately handed over, Roberts' brief order said.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday is scheduled to hear another showdown between Trump and the House, this time over committee subpoenas seeking his financial documents from his accounting firm and two banks. On the same day, the court is also weighing an attempt by a New York grand jury to obtain Trump's tax returns and related materials.

The court has a 5-4 conservative majority that includes two Trump appointees.

In the Mueller-related case, the appeals court in March upheld an Oct. 25 ruling by Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell against the administration's bid to keep the redacted material secret.

The circuit court backed Howell's decision to direct the administration to comply with a subpoena by the House Judiciary Committee for the material blacked out of Mueller's report. The court agreed with Howell's decision that the House, in its impeachment investigation of Trump last year, was engaged in a judicial proceeding exempt from secrecy rules that typically shield grand jury materials from disclosure.

Trump's administration has refused to comply with various House subpoenas for documents and testimony in a power struggle between the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government.

(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Additional reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Grant McCool)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
The Ministries of Justice and Interior are considering releasing prison inmates across Cambodia to reduce the perennial issue of overcrowding, which will also help alleviate concerns of the novel coronavirus spreading among prison populations.



According to the Interior Ministrys Facebook page, Interior Minister Sar Kheng said he met with counterparts from the Justice Ministry to discuss prison overcrowding and the handling of cases, especially drug cases.



A campaign to resolve the [large number of] cases and prison overcrowding is one of the most important tasks of the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Justice, along with the fight against drugs, read the post on Facebook.



Khieu Sopheak, Interior Ministry spokesperson, said the ministries needed to discuss the possibilities of releasing detainees charged with minor drug offences, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic which could affect prisoners.



[To see] if a court can speed up the trial or acquittal for the detainees, for example, with a pardon, release on bail, release, or get the suspend sentence, so that would reduce some space [constraints], he said.



Khieu Sopheak did not say how many people could be released under this campaign, adding that while this was the first time the government was considering releasing drug offenders, law enforcement would continue to crackdown on drug offenses.

VOA Khmer could not reach Prison Department Director Nuth Savna on Friday and Justice Ministry spokesperson Chin Malin refused to comment on the meeting.



Am Sam Ath, deputy director for human rights monitoring at Licadho, welcomed the decision to reduce overcrowding and release prisoners, including transparently reviewing drug cases.



I call on them to consider whether to grant bail or release [prisoners] in a transparent and fair manner, he said.
US Justice Dept. drops case against Trump's ex-adviser Flynn

Iran Press TV

Friday, 08 May 2020 12:49 AM

The US Justice Department has dropped its criminal case against President Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn after mounting pressure from Trump and his political allies on the right.

The department abruptly asked a judge Thursday to drop the charges against Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general who served as an adviser to Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign.

Flynn had previously sought to withdraw his 2017 guilty plea in which he confessed to lying to the FBI about interactions with Sergey Kislyak, Russia's ambassador to the US, before Trump took office.

"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.

"The government has concluded that the interview of Mr. Flynn was untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBI's counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynn - a no longer justifiably predicated investigation," L. Shea added.

Trump, who has recently asserted that he would consider hiring back Flynn, said Thursday he was "very happy" for Flynn after the Justice Department's move.

"Yes, he was a great warrior, and he still is a great warrior. Now in my book he's an even greater warrior," Trump said.

"He was an innocent man. He is a great gentleman," Trump told reporters Thursday at the White House. "Now in my book he's an even greater warrior."

The president's allies also celebrated what they viewed as a rebuke to the special counsel's investigative overreach.

"Flynn case dropped! Justice for the General," Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio), the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, said on Twitter. "Now it's time to hold someone accountable."

Flynn pleaded guilty to making false statements in a charge brought by then-Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Meanwhile, internal FBI documents turned over by the Justice Department late last month showed FBI officials debated whether and when to warn Flynn that he could face criminal charges as they prepared for a January 2017 interview with him in the Russia probe.

Flynn left his White House position after just 24 days in office when he was found to have misled Vice President Mike Pence about his discussions with Kislyak. Trump announced in 2017 that he fired Flynn because he had lied to Pence and the FBI.

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The cruise ship Ruby Princess floats in the waters of Manila Bay, Philippines on May 7, 2020. (Ezra Acayan/Getty Images)

Stuck on Cruise Ships During Pandemic, Crews Beg to Go Home

MIAMICarolina Vasquez lost track of days and nights, unable to see the sunlight while stuck for two weeks in a windowless cruise ship cabin as a fever took hold of her body.

On the worst night of her encounter with COVID-19, the Chilean woman, a line cook on the Greg Mortimer ship, summoned the strength to take a cold shower fearing the worst: losing consciousness while isolated from others.

Carolina Vasquez rides a tender in the Falkland Islands, as a crew member on board the Greg Mortimer. Vasquez has been stuck in a cruise cabin with no windows and COVID-19. The ship is floating off the coast of Uruguay. (Carolina Vasquez/AP)

Vasquez, 36, and tens of thousands of other crew members have been trapped for weeks aboard dozens of cruise ships around the world long after governments and cruise lines negotiated their passengers disembarkation. Some have gotten ill and died; others have survived but are no longer getting paid.

Both national and local governments have stopped crews from disembarking in order to prevent new cases of COVID-19 in their territories. Some of the ships, including 20 in U.S. waters, have seen infections and deaths among the crew. But most ships have had no confirmed cases.

I never thought this would turn into a tragic and terrifying horror story, Vasquez told The Associated Press in an interview through a cellphone app from the Greg Mortimer, an Antarctic cruise ship floating off Uruguay. Thirty-six crew members have fallen ill on the ship.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last month that about 80,000 crew members remained on board ships off the U.S. coast after most passengers had disembarked. The Coast Guard said Friday that there were still 70,000 crew members in 102 ships either anchored near or at U.S. ports or underway in U.S. waters.

The total number of crew members stranded worldwide was not immediately available. But thousands more are trapped on ships outside the United States, including in Uruguay and the Manila Bay, where 16 cruise ships are waiting to test about 5,000 crew members before they will be allowed to disembark.

People aboard the Norwegian Epic cruise ship docked in Miami, sit on their balconies on May 8, 2020. (Wilfredo Lee/AP photo)

As the cases and deaths caused by CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus commonly known as novel coronavirus have risen worldwide, the CDC and health officials in other countries have expanded the list of conditions that must be met before crews may disembark.

Cruise companies must take each crew member straight home via charter plane or private car without using rental vehicles or taxis. Complicating that mission, the CDC requires company executives to agree to criminal penalties if crew members fail to obey health authorities orders to steer clear of public transportation and restaurants on their way home.

The criminal penalties gave us (and our lawyers) pause, Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley wrote in a letter to crew members earlier this week, but he added that company executives ultimately agreed to sign.

Melinda Mann, 25, a youth program manager for Holland America, spent more than 50 days without stepping on dry land before finally disembarking from the Koningsdam ship Friday in Los Angeles. Before she was transferred to the Koningsdam, she tried to walk off another ship with other U.S. crew members last week but the ships security guards stopped them.

For 21 hours a day, Mann remained isolated in a 150-square-foot (14-square-meter) cruise cabin that is smaller than her bedroom in her Midland, Georgia, home. She read 30 books and was only able to leave her room three times a day to walk around the ship. Her contract ended April 18, so she was not paid for weeks.

Keeping me in close captivity for so long is absolutely ridiculous, Mann said in a telephone interview.

Earlier this week in Nassau, Bahamas, crew members from Canada aboard the Emerald Princess were told to prepare to be flown home in a charter plane. But the Bahamian government did not allow the ship to dock in the end.

Leah Prasads husband is among the stranded crew members. Prasad said she has spent hours tracking down government agencies to help her husband, a Maitre DHotel for Carnival.

He is getting discouraged. He is stuck in a cabin, Prasad said. It is not good for his mental health.

Angela Savard, a spokeswoman for Canadas foreign affairs, said the government was continuing to explore options to bring Canadians home.

For those aboard the Greg Mortimer in Montevideo, desperation is setting in, crew members told the AP.

Dr. Mauricio Usme, is on board the Greg Mortimer, a ship operated by the Australian firm Aurora Expeditions and owned by a Miami company. More than half of the passengers and crew tested positive for COVID-19, including Dr. Usme. (Mauricio Usme/AP)

The Antarctic cruise set sail from Argentina on March 15, after the pandemic had already been declared. The ships physician, Dr. Mauricio Usme, said that when the first passenger fell ill, on March 22, he was pressured by the captain, the cruise operator, and owners to modify the health conditions that had to be met for the ship to be admitted into ports.

Dr. Usme refused. The boat anchored in the port of Montevideo on March 27. More than half of its passengers and crew tested positive for COVID-19. Finally, on April 10, 127 passengers, including some who were infected, were allowed to disembark and fly home to Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, and Europe. Crew members were told to stay on board.

The doctor was hospitalized in an intensive care unit in Montevideo, along with a Filipino crew member, who later died.

People are exhausted and mentally drained, said Dr. Usme, now recovered and back on the Greg Mortimer. Its a complex situation. You feel very vulnerable and at imminent risk of death.

CMI, the Miami-based company that manages the boat, said it has been unable to get the necessary permissions to let crew members of 22 nationalities go home, but said they were all still under contract receiving pay.

Marvin Paz Medina, a Honduran man who works as the ships storekeeper, sent a video to the AP of his tiny cabin of about 70 square feet (6.5 square meters), where he has been confined for more than 35 days. Its hard being locked up all day, staring at the same four walls, he said.

Paz Medina says his children keep asking him when hes coming home, but he doesnt have an answer.

We are trapped, feeling this anxiety that at any moment we can get seriously ill, said Paz Medina. We do not want this anymore. We want to go home.

By Adriana Gomez Licon and Guillermo Garat
A proposed class action lawsuit against the shooter in the Nova Scotia massacre may have complete merit, says a lawyer for a victim of the Toronto van attack  but that doesnt guarantee fair compensation for the victims and their families.

The husband of one of the victims of Nova Scotias mass shooting is seeking to certify a class-action lawsuit against the shooters estate.

Nicholas Beatons wife Kristen Beaton was one of the 22 people killed by Gabriel Wortman on the weekend of April 18-19. Now Beaton is proposing a class-action suit that would include all of Wortmans victims, their direct family members and the victims estates. It would not include Wortmans former girlfriend.

Theyre not going to get anything, thats the sad part, said Darcy Merkur, a lawyer representing Amir Kiumarsi, a victim of the Toronto van attack in 2018 in a civil suit claiming $6 million in damages. He would have to be worth $20 million or more to give the victims some hope of a recovery.

Robert H. Pineo, a partner at Patterson Law, filed a notice of claim Thursday on behalf of Beaton with the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. The respondent is listed as Pat Doe on behalf of the estate of Gabriel Wortman.

The proposed class action, which must be certified by a Nova Scotia court before it can proceed, seeks to have all of the killers assets divided among the victims and victims families proportionally, based on individual submissions by class members. The shooters former girlfriend, who was the first person to be assaulted on the evening of April 18, is excluded from the proposed class.

Pineo was not available Friday for an interview.

Given the large number of victims, the value of the killers estate is unlikely to be enough to compensate them significantly for their losses of loved ones, and their own injuries, Merkur said.

That could mean that lawyers in the suit go after insurance sources  such as the shooters home insurance, which could be worth about $1 million. Or, Merkur said, the lawyers could look at other entities with more assets that could be held liable  like the RCMP.

Thats probably what theyre looking at. Theyre going to look at whether there was a breach for the standard of care, Merkur said.

That could be an important question for the victims killed by the shooter on the morning of April 19  at which time the police had not worked with the province to issue an emergency alert over cellphones and televisions.

The statement of claim does not name the RCMP as a respondent, but alleges that at no time did the RCMP, or anybody else on its behalf or independently, issue an alert via Alert Ready, an emergency alert system available to Nova Scotia to distribute public safety messages province-wide.

Raymond Wagner, a Halifax lawyer specializing in class action lawsuits and medical malpractice, previously told the Star that the emergency alert could become an issue in a civil lawsuit.

People should have known: Dont be out taking a walk, dont be letting people in that are knocking on your door. Lives would have been saved, from what I understand, Wagner said.

A judge would decide what the respective responsibilities were between them, if at all, Wagner said.

Kristen Beaton, who was pregnant at the time of her death, was on her way to work as a personal support nurse when she was pulled over by the shooter on the morning of April 19.

I know this lawsuit wont bring back any of those senselessly murdered. However, there must be accountability for this tragedy, Nicholas Beaton says in a press release issued by his lawyer Thursday evening.

Since the tragedy, Beaton has become an advocate on behalf of his wife for VON Canada nurses, and for all health-care workers seeking greater access to personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 crisis.

The statement of claim says Beaton is willing to represent all class members in the case, giving legal instruction and participating in all steps of the discovery process.

With files from Ted Fraser

Read more about:
: Four COVID-19 deaths were



reported in Tamil Nadu on Saturday with the state recording 526 more positive cases, taking the total number to 6,535, the health department said.

The deceased were all women with three hailing from the city and one from Ramanathapuram.

With this, the death toll has gone up to 44, a health department bulletin said.

Of the total 526 positive cases, Chennai continued to lead in the number with 279 followed by Villupuram 67 and Chengalpattu at 40.

The bulletin said 1,867 positive cases are linked to Chennai's Koyambedu market,identified as a hotspot.

While Chennai has 3,330 cases till date, 10 districts in Tamil Nadu have witnessed the number of positive cases crossing the three digit mark.

According to the bulletin, 1,824 patients have been discharged after treatment.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Roma Downey launches new devotional channel on YouTube

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Filmmaker and actress Roma Downey has launched a new YouTube channel ahead of Mothers Day.

A Moment of Light with Roma Downey is the name of her new YouTube channel that offers free devotional videos featuring scenic shots of nature and voice-overs spoken by The Bible Series co-producer.

Really, it came about as an extension of my personal Instagram. I am so fortunate to live near the ocean, and I have always felt so connected to God in nature. As I was posting sunrises and sunsets with daily reflections and scripture, I quickly saw that people responded well to these posts, Downey told LightWorkers, which she partnered with to create videos for the channel.

On Touched By An Angel Della Reese and I always prayed before the angel revelation scene, we prayed that God would use us to touch peoples hearts and remind them that God loves them. I do the same here before writing these devotionals. I pray that His spirit will use them to touch hearts and bring comfort and encouragement to those who may need it. she said.

Downey said she hopes her videos will serve as a reminder to stop, take a moment to breathe into nature, and to give thanks, making us aware of Gods presence.

She revealed that the process of creating the devotional videos always begins with prayer but the inspiration varies.

I pray, and then a theme arises that I want to expand upon; whether its speaking to loneliness or feelings of worthlessness, I imagine one person who is feeling these emotions and I write for them. Other times I am inspired by my team. Sometimes they share with me the beautiful nature footage they filmed, and the visual imagery inspires the theme! she said.

Along with the devotionals, Downey also recently announced that she is producing a film adaptation of the bestselling allegorical novel Redeeming Love.
U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump stand in front of a wreath during a Victory in Europe Day 75th anniversary ceremony at the World War II Memorial in Washington, on May 8, 2020. (Tom Brenner/Reuters)

Trump Pays Tribute to Americans Who Fought in WWII on 75th Anniversary of V-E Day

Victory in Europe marked the beginning of oppression for Europeans trapped behind the Iron Curtain: Pompeo

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump laid a wreath at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. today to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day) that marks the end of World War II. Seven World War II veterans, ages 96 to 100, joined them at the ceremony.

Seventy-five years ago Nazi German troops throughout Europe unconditionally surrendered to the Allied Powers spelling the end of a global war that started in 1939 with the German invasion of Poland and claimed the lives of 60 to 80 million people.

Today, we celebrate the forces of freedom who defeated tyranny  we pay tribute to those served for their service and pause to remember those who gave their last full measure in defense of the flames of liberty, Trump said in his message on the 75th anniversary of V-E Day.

During the commemoration ceremony, President Trump and the First Lady paused and stood silently in front of the Freedom Wall, which features over 4,000 sculpted gold stars, each representing 100 Americans who lost their lives at war, and an inscription saying, Here we mark the price of freedom. During WWII, the gold star symbolized family sacrifice.

The campaign to end fascism in the European Theater is a somber reminder of the price of freedom, Trump said in his remarks.

Trump said that most of those who lost their lives at the WWII were civilians and among them were 6 million Jews, millions from Poland, and millions from the former Soviet Union.

He also paid tribute to more than 2 million Americans deployed to fight in Europe, the Mediterranean, and North Africa. He said: Most of these selfless and heroic warriors had never known life in a prosperous America. They grew up during the Great Depression.  Yet, they answered our countrys call of duty because they believed in the principles that lie at the foundation of our Nation.

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visit the World War II Memorial to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, in Washington, on Fri., May 8, 2020. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)

End of WWII Day Did Not Bring Freedom to All Europe

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement marking the 75th anniversary of V-E Day that for many people who found themselves behind the Iron Curtain as a result of WWII the end of the war marked the start, or continuation, of a different kind of oppression. Only after the fall of the Iron Curtain, more people were able to enjoy freedom, he added.

Pompeo and Foreign Ministers of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia said in a joint statement that the central and eastern part of Europe had not enjoyed freedom after the end of WWII and remained under the rule of communist regimes for almost 50 years.

Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were illegally occupied and annexed by the former Soviet Union.

Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia were under the hegemony of the Soviet Union that controlled them using overwhelming military force, repression, and the imposition of communist ideology.

The officials said they are working together toward a strong and free Europe, where human rights, democracy and the rule of law prevail. The future should be based on the facts of history and justice for the victims of totalitarian regimes.

They asked the international community to firmly rejecting the concept of spheres of influence, by respecting the sovereignty of each nation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 00:39:00|Editor: huaxia

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NAIROBI, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The application of herbal medicine to treat COVID-19 patients in Africa should be informed by a rigorous scientific process aimed at ascertaining their efficacy and safety, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Thursday.

Michel Yao, program manager for emergency response at WHO Regional Office for Africa, said that evidence-based research should precede the use of alternative medicine to treat COVID-19 in order to avert side effects.

"The herbal treatment can be a solution for COVID-19, but must go through a scientific process to ensure it is effective and safe," Yao said during an interview.

"We are waiting to collect more evidence in Africa," said Yao, adding that several African countries have turned to herbal drugs to treat the viral disease though there is no scientific evidence to prove their curative potential.

Yao said that WHO has been encouraging African governments and scientific bodies to identify and research on the efficacy and safety of some herbal therapies that can be used to contain COVID-19 in the continent.

According to Yao, WHO has in the past supported the development of herbal drugs in Africa with proven capacity to treat conditions including hypertension, diabetes, sickle cell, which could fuel COVID-19 related fatalities.

"Some countries used herbal medicine to treat Ebola and we are encouraging regulatory entities, scientific boards hosted by medical schools to analyze the benefits and risks of herbal therapies in the treatment of COVID-19," said Yao.

Yao said that Africa's research institutions should partner with local communities to improve understanding of herbal medicine before their application to treat the highly contagious disease. Enditem
Mumbai, May 9 : The video showing Covid-19 patients surrounded by dead bodies at the LTMG Sion Hospital has led to the removal of hospital Dean Pramod Ingle from his post, official sources said here on Saturday.

"Yes.. He has been transferred," a top official of BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said, requesting anonymity.

The reins of the prestigious hospital -- which is one of the major Covid-19 treatment facilities in the city -- has been handed over to Ramesh Bharmal, former Dean of BYL Nair Hospital, who is likely to assume charge today.

The decision is said to have been taken late on Friday, reportedly based on the tentative findings of an enquiry into the incident when around half-a-dozen bodies were shown lying on beds around Covid-19 patients, allegedly in the Sion Hospital three days ago.

Following a massive furore over the macabre video expose, Mayor Kishori Pednekar had visited the hospital and ordered a probe into the lapses.

Late on Friday, the state government had transferred the BMC Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi and appointed senior IAS officer Iqbal Singh Chahal as the new chief of Asia's biggest and India's richest civic body.

The shake-ups came with Mumbai emerging as the worst Covid-19 hotspot notching a total of 462 deaths besides 12,142 patients, the highest in the country.
Professor Joseph Osafo, Head of the Psychology Department of the University of Ghana, has urged authorities handling the fight against coronavirus not to only concentrate on the three Ts; "Tracing, Testing and Treating."



He said it is good to trace the virus, test and treat; however if Ghanaians are not educated enough to understand what the virus is really about, cases will keep increasing.



Speaking on Peace FMs Kokrokoo morning show Prof Osafo said: It is good to do Tracing testing and treating but if you dont include strong public education, you will forever keep doing it. People need to really understand what is going on"



He pointed out that "if vigorous education is not done, there will be suspicions in the mind of Ghanaians where persons who sneeze or cough might be attacked even if they don't have the virus."





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.

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SAUBLE BEACH, ONT.As a small business owner and year-round resident of a town that attracts tens of thousands of visitors in warm-weather months, Jason Schnurr embodies the COVID-19 cottage country conundrum.

His businesses  three surf-wear shops in this Lake Huron town, population 800, and one in nearby Port Elgin rely on tourist dollars. And those primarily come from the pockets of GTA daytrippers looking for sun, fun and a break from urban congestion.

Yet Schnurr isnt oblivious to the potential risk that a visitor could import COVID-19 into an area locals believe has remained largely free of the virus, or the impact an outbreak would have on its limited health-care system.

Most of our cases, from what I know, have come from travel, he said this week standing outside his Jack n Jills Surf Shop, steps from the windy Lake Huron shoreline. Like other beaches around Ontario, this one is closed under the provinces emergency order at least until the months end.

This week, Premier Doug Ford stepped back a bit from last months urgings that people must avoid any kind of travel, including to second homes and cottages around the province.

With the approaching Victoria Day weekend  considered the unofficial start to summer  Ford held a conference call with about 200 mayors in cottage country to tailor the messaging about the coronavirus crisis in Ontarios recreational playgrounds.

Those listening in reported a consensus: Theres nothing that can be done to stop people from heading to their cottages.

But that doesnt mean the stay home sentiment has disappeared.

The last few months have been friction-filled for some shoreline municipalities faced with the prospect of property owners self-isolating away from their principal residences. One mayor ordered the water shut off to discourage seasonal residents from visiting, and public health officials in southwestern Ontario have either banned or warned people to stay away or face a $5,000 a day fine.

Some residents have taken matters into their own hands.

A woman from Burks Falls, north of Huntsville, started an online petition asking the government for stricter measures and/or fines to restrict non-essential travel of cottagers to their seasonal housing in Muskoka and Parry Sound, where limited resources exist. She did not respond to the Stars request for comment.

Anonymous online comments added to the bottom of news stories about the coronavirus in cottage country capture an element of what some might not say in public.

Barricade the 5 main entrances into town and have people show their drivers licences... if not in town address, send them home, read one comment on a local news site. You wait in line to get in the grocery store and you wait again in a long line to pay. You will be competing with visitors for the chance to buy food, warned another commentator.

(There continues to be widespread  yet unsubstantiated rumours  that some grocery stores in Muskoka will soon require shoppers to present identification before entering to ensure permanent residents have access to essential items.)

This past week, Simcoe Muskokas chief medical officer of health told reporters there was nothing he could do to stop the coming invasion.

But the health units web site continues to strongly suggest people should avoid heading to your cottage or seasonal residence. It included a list of the potential harms associated with traveling to and using your cottage, even for a day.

Those who ignore this strong message are urged to follow public health measures such as physical distancing, staying inside their cottage, and not purchasing food and medications in their own community.

Terry Glover, mayor of Lake of Bays, says what hes hearing from some of his areas 3,000-plus full-time residents is, lets continue to take this slowly, if you have to come up, come up, but if you dont have to come up, dont come up.

In summer, the population of his township, which includes 100 lakes in Muskoka, grows to more than 11,000 and includes the hamlets of Dwight, Baysville and Whitney, located near the entrance to Algonquin Park. While there have been no major altercations between locals and city interlopers since the lockdown began, but he admits nerves are frayed.

I try to tell people your anger and frustration is at the virus, its not each other, but because you have so much time to think youre looking for somebody to yell at, he said.

Im also clearly walking the middle of the road saying look, were all in this together, just be nice, can we be kind and compassionate to each other, and calm as we can be.

Back at Sauble Beach, South Bruce Peninsula Mayor Janice Jackson, acknowledges the pandemic has certainly created a divide in many municipalities right across Ontario, and beyond, and so thats something were trying very hard to avoid that, because we are one big family, and have to get through this together.

She said this sitting on a bench facing the water as a large black SUV with tinted windows drove slowly past. Jackson waved, for a moment thinking it belonged to the private security outfit hired to uphold provincial orders, such as the ban on short-term rentals, failing to practice social distancing or walking on the beach.

With Victoria Day weekend approaching, Jackson says shes quite worried Sauble Beach will be inundated with cooped up, COVID-weary urbanites wanting to visit this beautiful place. The May long weekend isnt like Canada Day or the civic holiday weekend in August, but if the weather co-operates, we could easily see 10,000 people come up here.

I hope it snows, she laughs.
<! Source: NCDC >

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

There is no respite for Africas largest mega city, Lagos, as the states Coronavirus cases jump to 1,667, with a huge 176 new infections recorded on Friday.

On Thursday, Lagos had set a new record, raking in 183 Coronavirus infections, the highest any state has ramp up a single day.

The 176 new cases recorded by Lagos on Friday, made mockery of the 42 patients who recovered from the virus and were discharged by the state government.

The huge figures being recorded may not be unconnected with the premature easing of the Coronavirus lockdown which saw Lagosians trooping out in thousands, without maintaining social distancing.

However, Lagos could boast that it has successfully managed and discharged 448 Coronavirus cases, but it has a mountain to climb, with 1,186 active Coronavirus cases to deal with.

Earlier in the day, Commissioner for Health in Lagos, Prof. Akin Abayomi had said the state may record between 90,000 and 120,000 cases of Coronavirus by July or August when it reaches the peak.

Abayomi, spoke Friday at a news conference in Alausa, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, where he gave an update on Coronavirus in the State.

He said the state was yet to reach the virus peak, which will likely be around July and August.

Abayomi stated that Lagos has ramp testings to reach large number of people in a bid to flatten the curve.

He attributed the increase in cases being recorded to the decentralisation of sample collection to the 20 Local Governments.

Abayomi disclosed that Alimosho, Oshodi and Isolo have begun to record more COVID-19 cases.

He, however, noted that 97 percent of positive cases at its isolation centres were mild and moderate cases.

Only three percent were severe cases.

How States Stand
Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo said on Saturday business owners who open their establishments while the county remains in the red phase of Gov. Tom Wolfs reopening plan deserves a fair legal vetting before being cited.

"People are being smart, wearing masks, and maintaining social distance, Chardo said. Using criminal sanctions would not be helpful. The criminal law is a blunt instrument and is not ordinarily used for enforcement of a Governors decree.

Wolf announced on Friday that 13 more counties in the southwestern part of the state would be moved into the yellow phase. Thats in addition to 24 counties mostly in the northern part of the state that border New York were allowed to move into the yellow phase on May 8.

Central Pennsylvania remains in the red phase, meaning the stay-at-home order is still in effect, whereas in the yellow phase, most businesses are allowed to reopen their physical locations.

Chardo joins District Attorneys David Sunday, of York County, and Pier Hess Graf, of Lebanon County, in saying they think its in poor judgment to cite business owners, who have been closed for nearly seven weeks throughout the coronavirus pandemic, without a proper review.

Chardo has asked Dauphin County judges not to move forward on any citation or complaint until his office has a chance to review the matter.

According to a statement released by his office, Chardo said that, "absent extraordinary circumstances, he would withdraw any citation for such an alleged violation.

It wasnt known Sunday if there are currently any citations to be reviewed. Pennsylvania State Police last week indicated that since the shutdown was put in place, they have issued 312 warnings to non-compliant businesses, but just one citation.

Citation fines could reach up into the hundreds of dollars, as well as up to 50 days imprisonment if the fines arent paid, according to Sundays office. The York County district attorney also noted that the reopening terms, phrases, and explanations continue to constantly change, which is breeding confusion.

Therefore, Sunday said, his office is directing law enforcement to not issue any such citations against businesses.

We expressly note that our directive to law enforcement solely applies to the penal application of these orders and regulations, according to the York County District Attorneys Facebook page. "We are expressly remaining silent on any issues concerning potential civil or administrative penalties that may be imposed. Civil or administrative matters are beyond the scope and standing of this office and it would be inappropriate for us to offer any legal opinions or guidance on that topic. Furthermore, we expressly decline to offer any legal opinion or guidance on the constitutionality of the orders and regulations issued by the Governor and the Secretary of the Department of Health.

Concerning any potential calls to law enforcement regarding perceived violations of the aforementioned orders and regulations, this office stands by its recommendations to law enforcement concerning engagement and education with potential non-compliant individuals on the needs to ensure public safety.

More

Making a go of it: Area restaurant owners staying open (carefully) during coronavirus

Wolf administration provides insight into how business exemptions were determined
The owners of a Delhi-based basmati exporter have fled the country with more than Rs 400 crore in unpaid loans borrowed from the State Bank of India (SBI) and five other banks.

SBI has filed a complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Ram Dev International Limited.

Here is what you need to know:

 CBI had registered a case on April 28 naming the owners of Ram Dev InternationalSuresh Kumar, Naresh Kumar and Sangitaand Look Out Circulars (LOCs) have been issued against them.

 The exposure of banks was at Rs 414 croreRs 173 crore from SBI, Canara Bank Rs 76 crore, Union Bank of India Rs 64 crore, Central Bank of India Rs 51 crore, Corporation Bank Rs 36 crore and IDBI Bank Rs 12 crore.

 The companys loans were classified as a non-performing asset (NPA) in 2016.

 Owners of Ram Dev International Limited are said to be missing since 2016 when an inspection was carried out by SBI.

 The bank filed a complaint with CBI on February 25, 2020, after over a year of account becoming NPA.

 According to the complaint, the borrowers had removed entire machinery from old plant and fudged the balance sheets in order to unlawfully gain at the cost of banks funds.

 A special audit revealed that the borrowers falsified the accounts, fudged the balance sheet and unauthorisedly removed the plant and machinery in order to gain unlawfully at the cost of bank funds.

 The six banks conducted a joint inspection of properties in August and October 2016, nearly seven to nine months later, only to find security guards from Haryana Police deployed there.

 According to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) order in 2018, it was informed that the promoters have fled to Dubai.

 The central probe agency did not carry out any searches in the matter because of the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

 The agency will start the process of summoning the accused and in case they do not join the investigation, appropriate legal action will be initiated.

 The company is engaged in export of basmati rice to the West Asian and European countries.

 SBI has said in its complaint said that it had three rice milling plants and eight sorting and grading units in Haryanas Karnal district with offices in Saudi Arabia and Dubai for trading purposes.

(With agency inputs)

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, visits a fertilizer factory in Sunchon, South Pyongan province, near Pyongyang, North Korea in this May 1 file photo. Korea News Service via AP



North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Saturday, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, the North's state news agency reported.



Kim expressed the belief that friendly relations between the two countries would steadily develop and expressed hopes that Putin would achieve victory in preventing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said






Photo

Mumbai: During the outbreak of corona virus, Maharashtra police said that 714 police personnel have tested positive for corona in the state so far. 61 policemen have beaten the corona and 5 policemen have died with it.

CoronavirusThere are a total of 648 active police cases in the state. According to the police department, there have been 194 incidents of assault on police during the lockdown and 689 people have been arrested. Maharashtra has the highest number of corona virus cases in the country.

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The number of corona victims in Maharashtra is around 19,000. There have been 1089 new cases in the last 24 hours. In addition, the death toll has risen to 37. 731 people have lost their lives here so far. Coronavirus deaths and infections are on the rise across the country.

CoronavirusIn the last 24 hours, 95 people have died from corona while 3320 new cases of infection have been reported. The number of corona deaths in the country has reached nearly 2,000 (1981). The number of corona victims has crossed 59,000. The United States has been hit hardest by the virus in the world.

So far, 12, 99,912 people have been infected with the corona in the United States. The death toll from the corona virus has risen to 77,562 worldwide.
By Agencies

KOLKATA: The West Bengal government is arranging 10 special trains to bring back over 30,000 residents of the state stranded in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka and Punjab due to the ongoing lockdown, a senior official said on Saturday.

The stranded people are mostly migrant workers, patients and their attendants, students, pilgrims and tourists from West Bengal, he said.

"Talks are on with officials of other state governments in this regard. Everything has been finalised. Our nodal officers are monitoring developments," the official told PTI.

ALSO READ | Centre is 'lying', Bengal has planned eight trains to ferry migrants back: TMC hits back at Shah

A total of 31,224 people are stranded in the four states, of whom more than half (17,000) are in Telangana, he said.

A train will reach Malda from Telangana tomorrow. 6000 inbound passes for small cars have been approved, State Home Secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay confirmed.

Three trains carrying around 7,500 people from West Bengal will start their journeys from Bengaluru in Karnataka on Saturday and reach their destinations -- Bankura, Purulia and New Jalpaiguri stations -- in the state on Sunday and Monday, the official said.

Two trains with around 2,418 people, mostly patients, will depart Vellore in Tamil Nadu on Monday and reach Kharagpur and Howrah railway stations in the state on Tuesday, he said.

The official said two trains have been arranged for bringing back the people stranded in Punjab.

"One train will leave the northern state for Bandel railway station in Hooghly district on Sunday and another will leave for Durgapur in West Burdwan district on Monday," he said.

The official said the 17,000 stranded people in Telangana are expected to board West Bengal-bound trains next week.

"The 17,000 people stranded in Telangana are mostly labourers from Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia, East and West Midnapore, North and South 24 Parganas and Bankura districts employed in the construction sector, mainly in sites in Hyderabad," he said.

The state government had last week facilitated the return of over 1,000 students from Rajasthan's Kota.
THE three Labour members of Limerick Council have written to Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan to highlight their fears over the spread of Covid-19 in the citys asylum centres.

It comes after the Limerick Leader revealed a cluster of cases in Hanrattys Hostel in Glentworth Street, with a number of residents needing to be removed from the site and put in isolation.

Cllr Conor Sheehan, who wrote the letter on behalf of the group, said: We have decided to write to the Minister after a number of residents in Hanrattys Direct Provision Centre tested positive for the virus and because we are concerned about inadequate or non existent social distancing in Direct Provision Centres in the Mid-West.

Cllr Sheehan says its been brought to his attention that thinning of residents has not taken place at the Knockalisheen Direct Provision centre.

I wrote to the Minister for Justice on behalf of the @labour group of Councillors. We are very concerned about the situation in Direct Provision Centres locally. The Minister needs to take action and move families out of Knockalisheen now #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/wqNCcpC6AE  Cllr Conor Sheehan #StayHomeSaveLives (@ConorSheehan93) May 8, 2020

Residents there are still sharing bathrooms and the centre has refused to provide single rooms to allow people to adhere to public health guidelines on social distancing, he claimed.

The northside councillor claimed the Department of Justice  which is responsible for the running of the centres  has shown a complete disregard for the residents of these centres by failing to move all families out and to provide own door accommodation to allow people in these centres to observe social distancing.
Cranes have cranked up on construction sites around the country in a sign that building activity is up and running.

Crane owners and operators say they are encouraged by the busy start at level 3 after four weeks in lockdown, but some projects have been scrapped and others shelved.

They say the crunch will come in the second half of the year.

For most projects its "back to work and business as usual except for the alert level 3 protocols they have to put in place," said Chris Haines, director of Ryder Levett Bucknall.

Chris puts out a quarterly crane index, which counts how many cranes are working around the country but his main business is surveying and costing out projects in the private and public sector.

He's confident government projects in places such as schools and hospitals are robust and will go ahead despite changes in the private and commercial sector.

"Jobs that are in the planning stages, design stages, are on the go slow or being deferred," says Chris.

Scott McLeod of Mt Maunganui-based McLeod Cranes said the smaller projects such as houses ramped up quickly and the hiabs - or crane trucks - working on them will be at 90 per cent of normal levels this week.

However, the cranes on the larger scale jobs are slower to take off.

"It's just more around commercial or new developments or new industrial, those are a bit slower to get back up to the levels they were at.

"You have health and safety, you have inductions to do, contractors to bring back on site, reassess where they're up to and then arrange the delivery to get the pipeline flowing again," says Scott.

But his company has shelved some of its own construction work and other projects around Tauranga were looking uncertain.

"I'm talking about three or four different sites that my team are seeing around town, they're just noticing they are quieter than when they were beforehand."

An industry that was crying out for skilled workers a year ago when there was a record 148 cranes around the country, is now turning them away.

"I've had four operators knock on the door and some of them were returning from Australia," says Scott.

Construction on the Tauranga Farmers development has restarted. Image: John Borren/SunLive.

One Wellington crane rental firm says it was running at half the normal levels last week but expects business to pick up this week. Another says it's had a lot of inquiries for new and used gear but no sales.

The head of Auckland and Waikato Crane Services Philip Gedye is more worried about the second half of the year.

"It's too early to tell whether the work will continue at the rate that it seems to be starting up at. My concern is for the second half of the year, to just see what transpires there, what the world gets up to and what will the people that ultimately fill all those commercial buildings that have been built, how are they getting on.

His firm handles work such as lifting a statue or spa pool into the back yard or a yacht project.

If the owners were ready, they would carry on with the job but if they decide to cancel there would be a knock on.

"We expect it could be less busy in another two or three months."

On Auckland's waterfront a number of projects are back up and running, including the Wynyard Basin for the America's Cup, a marina extension and a luxury apartment development.

The road outside the ferry building in downtown Auckland is also filled with cranes and diggers and construction workers upgrading the area in time for the America's Cup.

Chris Haines says infrastructure and other civil projects will keep the construction industry going as the commercial work dries up.

"There's some ongoing roading projects, particularly in Auckland, there's the Watercare central interceptor which is the big sewer pipe ... there's some NZTA and America's Cup work which have all got heavy crawler cranes so there's a shift in the type of work and the type of crane." said.

The wage subsidy scheme has helped both Philip Gedye and Scott McLeod keep all their staff, in total 200 people.

But that ends in June and whether they can keep all their workers hinges on the confidence of investors to secure funds and start new jobs, and how quickly government-funded projects can begin.

"The time that we're in right now is critical," Scott says. "We're effectively running a seven-week countdown to see what work restores into the marketplace.

"We see that the government is trying to figure out how to retain a level of activity and they're talking about investing billions of dollars into our area. I'm a little concerned that it taking time but these are big decisions."

Scott says he's positive about the "significant opportunities in front of us" including infrastructure and housing.

"I think we're going to see a bit of pain in four to five months' time but now's the time that we can prepare and enjoy the work that was going on pre-Covid that's still yet to finish while we prepare for those times that are going to be a little bit harder."

The Infrastructure Industry Reference Group will present a list of projects to the government early this month.

Sharon Brettkelly/RNZ.
In a one-of-its-kind operation in the country during the lockdown, an air ambulance took off from Chennai to airlift the employee

The Learjet-45 aircraft was all prepped up and medical and flight crews were ready for a record mission. Racing against time, the team obtained clearances from five Central ministries. The only obstacle was in getting a nod from an island nation to land the aircraft for the night.

At the centre of the mission is a bank employee suffering from terminal cancer who needs immediate evacuation from Johannesburg to Chennai, where he is to undergo treatment and re-unite with his family. Amid the lockdown, there is no other way his family can see him.

In a one-of-its-kind operation in the country during the lockdown, an air ambulance took off from Chennai to airlift the employee in what will be the longest medical airlift ever attempted for an Indian national.

It is learnt that the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) intervened and requested the government of Mauritius to allow a night halt for the aircraft and crew after the Seychelles and Madagascar refused.

The employee is Vijay Yasam of Nellore district, while the air ambulance service, International Critical Care Air Transfer Team (ICATT), is headquartered in Hyderabad. Yasam is chief manager in the Johannesburg branch of Bank of Baroda.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle from Nellore, Yasams wife Kavitha said her husband was diagnosed with cancer on April 8 during a routine medical check.

Our world is shattered, said Kavitha, who along with her daughter and son have been inconsolable.

Yasam, who underwent an operation in Johannesburg, was desperate to return home to his family. After mulling over the options, the bank authorities in South Africa roped in ICATT for the task.

Contacted by this newspaper, ICATT Learjet air ambulance director Dr Rahul Singh Sardar said the mission posed a huge logistical challenge of flying over the Arabian sea and Indian Ocean with only a few small islands to stop for fuel.

Some island countries refused permission for landing the aircraft and after much deliberation, the Mauritius government gave the nod. It is a four-day mission to retrieve the individual, said Dr Rahul, who along with his colleague Dr Shalini Nalwad, both intensive care and aero medical specialists, are in touch with the doctors based in Johannesburg.

Yasams further deteriorated on Thursday night and he has been admitted to the ICU. The doctors are involved in pre-optimizing the clinical condition so that Yasam remains stable in the long journey back home.
Home and Away star Sarah Roberts has revealed that she suffered two devastating miscarriages in the past year.

The 35-year-old, who is married to co-star James Stewart, 43, spoke to Stellar on Saturday and offered her advice for other women going through the same thing.

'It's helped to share my story with my girlfriends, and if I can give hope to another woman who is going through the same thing, it makes everything worthwhile,' she told the publication.

Open: Home And Away star Sarah Roberts (pictured) has revealed she suffered two devastating miscarriages in the past year

Sarah added: 'I think there should be a new word instead of 'miscarriage'. In some insidious way, it suggests the mother dropped something or decided not to carry.

'And I've learnt over the past few years [that in] most cases, it has nothing to do with what the mother did or didn't do, so if we can take the blame off the table  and try not to blame yourself  that's a great start.'

Sarah and James tied the knot at Luttrellstown Castle on the outskirts of Dublin, Ireland last year.

Heartbreak: 'I've learnt over the past few years [that in] most cases, it has nothing to do with what the mother did or didn't do, so if we can take the blame off the table  and try not to blame yourself  that's a great start' she said

The couple recently revealed details from their big day in an interview with Now To Love.

'It was really special. We got married in a castle, I think that's a dream come true,' Sarah told the publication.

'And we had all of our close friends and relatives around so I don't think I could've wished for anything more'.

Married: Sarah and James (left) tied the knot at Luttrellstown Castle on the outskirts of Dublin, Ireland last year

Sweet: The couple recently revealed details from their big day in an interview with Now To Love. 'It was really special. We got married in a castle, I think that's a dream come true,' Sarah told the publication

James revealed his daughter Scout, who he shares with ex-partner Jessica Marais, loved the wedding as much as her dad and stepmother did.

'She loved it. She met her new cousins, she got makeup on, she put on a pretty dress. Some of the photos I've seen of her are pretty special,' James said.

Rather than a star-studded cast of characters in Ireland, the pair opted to have an intimate ceremony with just close friends and family.
- Kenya Power confirmed the power disconnection happened at around 5 am on Saturday

- The lighting company noted a technical fault at a section of the main high voltage transmission power line from Olkaria

- Kenya used social media platforms to poke fun at the company following a near eight hour outage

Kenyans have taken to their social media account to vent anger on Kenya Power after the country plunged into a total darkness following power outage.

The Kenyan online community expressed their dissatisfaction and annoyance by the manner in which the nationwide blackout caught them off guard without prior notification.

READ ALSO: 7 Kenyan truck drivers test positive for COVID-19 in Uganda

READ ALSO: Nairobi woman charged with murder after stabbing lover 11 times over dirty dishes

The frustrated lot said most of them were staying indoors while others were observing government restrictive movements owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

While others explained they had stored foodstuffs in the fridge and chances were they could go bad should the Kenya Power fails to act on time.

READ ALSO: CAS Rashid Aman confirms 28 new COVID-19 cases bringing national tally to 649

READ ALSO: Mshukiwa wa ujambazi auawa mtaani Kangemi

However, KPLC said they experienced a technical hitch at the national power grid and has since dispatched a team of engineers to resolve it.

"We have lost power supply at our nation grid due to a system disturbance which occurred on our transmission system on at 5:49 this morning Our engineers are working to identify and address the hitch, towards restoring normal supply. We apologise for inconvenience caused," read the statement.

Despite Kenya Power tendering apology, Kenyan netizens could do nothing but to troll the company.

Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news.

Kenyans come through for elderly couple kicked out by landlady over rent arrears | Tuko TV.

Source: TUKO.co.ke
ANN ARBOR, MI  Patrick McCauley spent much of what would normally be peak home-buying season working on his heirloom apple orchard.

Its been a great time to have a hobby, McCauley said, but hed like to get back to selling houses.

The Ann Arbor real estate agent is among many across Michigan whove had extra downtime since March, with work disrupted by the coronavirus outbreak and shutdown orders.

Home sales have slumped.

Even in the Ann Arbor area, one of Michigans hottest housing markets, sales were down over 30% last month compared to April 2019, according to the Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors.

Statewide numbers for April are still being finalized, but March showed a 7.6% drop, Michigan Realtors reported.

Unable to go out and show houses until two days ago, McCauley has spent recent weeks at home with his family, doing some work remotely and spending other days picking flowers from the lawn to make fermented dandelion and violet meads and ginger-dandelion wine, while watching his marauding band of chickens delight passersby.

This is normally when were earning a good chunk of our salary or income for the year, he said, acknowledging he hasnt closed on any sales since the pandemic hit, and normally hed be selling three to five houses a month this time of year.

Deemed non-essential under Gov. Gretchen Whitmers shutdown orders effective March 24, Michigans real estate industry was given the OK to restart Thursday, May 7.

Related: Michigan is in Phase 3 of 6 in coronavirus response and recovery, governor says

Agents are now moving quickly to catch up on a backlog of work, meeting with clients in person again.

As he spoke Friday, McCauley said he was showing several houses to three different clients.

Agents must follow new safety protocols for in-person showings and some are adapting to virtual showings.

Under the revised restrictions, property showings can be done by appointment only and are limited to no more than four people at a time on a property, with no in-person open houses, and no showing rental properties until tenants have vacated.

Its also expected that people follow social-distancing guidelines and maintain a 6-foot separation.

Renee Dwyer, a Lansing-area real estate agent, said she held video meetings with clients via Zoom and FaceTime during the shutdown and shes planning on holding Zoom open houses next, giving buyers live walk-throughs.

A large part of providing service to sellers is making sure as many buyers as possible see their house, and during this time we are wanting to do that in ways that minimize how many people are coming into a home, she said.

Dwyer said shes invested in a Gimbal stabilizer for her camera and a microphone for improved audio, and learning how to link a Google form with a QR code  all things she never would have guessed six months ago shed be doing in 2020.

You have to be creative, she said.

Shell still do some in-person showings, she said.

As for how the shutdown impacted her sales, Dwyer said, it mostly just delayed things.

She said she was grateful she could go through with closings that were under contract and shes optimistic shes still on track to sell more homes than last year.

One of the first things she did after the restart on Thursday was meet with a photographer to get marketing photos of a property.

Thats really important right now because we want buyers to be very carefully previewing properties before were scheduling showings, she said.

The Michigan Realtors association called the governors order to ease restrictions great news, though it doesnt mean business as usual.

Preventing a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic demands concerted effort by all residents and agents, the association says.

The association released guidelines for agents, such as encouraging masks and gloves, asking sellers to turn on all lights and leave interior doors, drapes and blinds open to limit the need to touch anything, and cleaning and disinfecting surfaces.

Michigan Realtors President Maureen Francis said a lot of sellers held back on listing their houses or took listings down the last couple months, while some buyers also held off, but a lot of new listings are now coming to the market.

Were hoping as more of the economy comes back online, we should come back steadily, she said.

There was a shortage of housing and pent-up demand before the pandemic and that hasnt changed, Francis said, predicting the industry will rebound without prices softening much.

While some say its a sellers market, Francis said, I would say were probably at a balanced market right now.

A 1,070-square-foot home for sale in Ann Arbor on April 16, 2020. It listed for $390,000.Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

Michigan Realtors reported 7,347 homes sold across the state in March, a drop of over 600 compared to March 2019. The coronavirus emergency in Michigan started March 10.

In different parts of the state, March numbers were both up and down:

Ann Arbor area  prices up 5% to $847,286, sales up 6%

Battle Creek area  prices up 21% to $157,578, sales up 11%

Bay County  prices up 14% to $112,914, sales up 2.4%

Detroit area  prices up 8% to $74,704, sales down 31%

Genesee County  prices up 10% to $159,171, sales down 8%

Grand Rapids area  not available

Kalamazoo area  prices up 5% to $206,341, sales down nearly 1%

Lansing area  prices up 11% to $191,067, sales down 10%

Greater Wayne County  prices up 13% to $202,529, sales down 18%

Grosse Pointe  prices up 28% to $379,458, sales down 15%

Hillsdale County  prices up 16% to $142,718, sales down 7%

Jackson area  prices up 2% to $149,957, sales up 2.3%

Livingston County  prices up half a percent to $321,472, sales down 4.4%

Oakland County  prices up 8% to $326,703, sales down 11%

Macomb County  prices up 2.5% to $205,464, sales down 21%

Midland area  prices up 7% to $180,317, sales up 13%

Monroe-Down River area  prices up 1.35% to $176,266, sales down 2.1%

Saginaw area  prices up 28% to $142,521, sales down 7%

Traverse City area  prices up 12% to $288,903, sales down 2.25%

West Michigan Lakeshore (Muskegon/Ottawa/Allegan counties)  prices down 0.3% to $220,104, sales up 0.23%

For April, the Detroit Association of Realtors reported home sales in the Detroit area were down 58%, compared to April 2019. Average price was $84,692, up 28%.

The association separately reported condo sales down 51%, with an average price of $278,700, down 11%.

Across Wayne County, home sales were down 50%, with an average price just over $190,000.

The Greater Lansing Association of Realtors reported a 24% drop in home sales in the Lansing area for April, while average price went up 3% to $165,000, compared with April 2019.

Washtenaw Countys housing market has seen both ups and downs lately. New listings were down about 12-13% in March, though 202 single-family homes and 69 condos still sold.

A significant amount of real estate work was able to be done online the last couple months, said Christine Paga, Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors communications manager.

There were 220 new home listings in the county in April, Paga said, and 262 homes sold at an average price of $328,672  down from 385 sales and $344,071 in April 2019.

The April figures could change slightly in the coming days as numbers are finalized, Paga said, but a drop of over 100 home sales in one month is substantial.

Certainly, this has been a hard month  but I think theres a good chance it will rebound, she said.

Paga said she and her husband are hoping to become first-time homebuyers, and theyve been perusing online listings during the pandemic while getting pre-approved for a loan.

She said shes noticed listings lower than they might have been two months ago, but she hasnt jumped on any yet.

Im not dying to walk through someone elses house at the moment, she said. Im hoping soon everything will be kind of back to normal.

Homes in the Ann Arbor area have sat on the market 39 days on average, about the same as last year, Paga said.

Even before the shutdown, McCauley said, real estate was slowing down because of people getting nervous.

He stopped meeting with clients in person about four or five days before the shutdown, he said, and once it hit, We couldnt even go put signs in the ground.

I literally have listings going on the market with client photos, he said.

McCauley said he worked with some clients remotely during the shutdown, but mostly tried lining up things for when it ended. For a couple sellers who had to move, he said, he arranged virtual showings via Zoom and had sellers do video walk-throughs with their phones and post them on YouTube.

Thats not ideal, he said, but he was able to line up one potential sale thats under contract now.

McCauleys wife, Andrea Kinney, also works in real estate, he said, but being able to file for unemployment helped them cushion the blow.

On Friday, McCauley wore a mask and carried hand sanitizer and wipes.

I am basically the only person touching anything in the house, he said, noting he opens the front door for potential buyers and from there they dont need to touch anything.

Obviously, theres some risk to letting somebody into your house, he said. Were doing everything we can to be safe.

With lingering unemployment, layoffs, college campuses shut down and people still social distancing, McCauley is bracing for an off year.

Im just trying to help the people I can, he said.

MORE FROM THE ANN ARBOR NEWS AND MLIVE:

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The styrene gas leak at LG Polymers in Visakhapatnam has come as a rude shock to a state and country battling the coronavirus and staring at what could possibly be the worst economic crisis in living memory. Rude is indeed a mild term. It was worse, for no one had seen such mind-numbing visuals of people collapsing on the streets. Vizag, otherwise known for its peaceful environs, is no stranger to industrial accidents. It had seen several, home as it is to scores of industrial units. Nonetheless, the psychological impact of the gas leak is deeper than any, evoking comparisons with the Bhopal gas tragedy. Fortunately, though approximately 1,000 people were exposed, the toll is fewer than feared.

The official apparatus, the Andhra police in particular, rushed to the rescue of the people when none dared venture into the contaminated region. Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy announced an ex-gratia of Rs 1 crore to the kin of the victims and ordered an inquiry. The rapid response is appreciated. However, both the Central and state governments need to do much more if we are to put an end to disasters like this. Calling for a safety audit every time a tragedy strikes has become the norm. From what we know so far, LG Polymers doesnt have environmental clearance and had dodged it, splitting hairs over rules.

What this makes clear is that we need to operationalise the National Plan on Chemical Safety. It has been hanging fire since 2008. It is unbelievable that no single legislation has been made for the chemical industry that is worth $163 billion. As per the Hazardous Waste Inventory Report 2016-17, there are 56,350 industrial units that produce 7.7 million tonnes of hazardous waste every year. Experts say India doesnt even have an inventory of the chemicals being used.

The Centre must not leave it to the mandarins to dilly-dally over whether to include chemical and petrochemical sectors in an integrated policy. Bring in a comprehensive act akin to the one in the European Union as suggested by experts. The sixth largest producer of chemicals in the world cant afford lethargy. Enact, and enforce without further delay.
Former President Barack Obama speaks to guests at the Obama Foundation Summit in Chicago, Illinois, on Oct. 29, 2019. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Obama Says Rule of Law at Risk After DOJ Moves to Dismiss Case Against Flynn

Former President Barack Obama claimed on Friday that the rule of law is at risk after the Department of Justice dropped charges against Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn.

Obama said that the news about the situation has been somewhat downplayed.

And the fact that there is no precedent that anybody can find for someone who has been charged with perjury just getting off scot-free, Obama said. Flynn was charged with making false statements to the FBI, not perjury.

Thats the kind of stuff where you begin to get worried that basicnot just institutional normsbut our basic understanding of rule of law is at risk, Obama added. And when you start moving in those directions, it can accelerate pretty quickly as weve seen in other places.

The comments were made during an online talk with people who worked in Obamas administration and leaked to Yahoo Newss Michael Isikoff, one of the first reporters to report on the discredited Steele dossier.

Flynn pleaded guilty to one count of lying to FBI agents during an interview on Jan. 24, 2017. But he moved in recent months to withdraw the plea, alleging his former lawyers misled him on their conflict of interest and the FBI withheld a number of documents.

Documents released in recent days included handwritten notes from an FBI official questioning the motivation in interviewing Flynn and texts from an FBI agent who scrambled to keep the probe into Flynn open when it was about to be closed.

The Department of Justice, in asking for the dismissal of the case on Thursday, said the interview of Flynn was part of a probe that was a no longer justifiably predicated investigation. Attorney General William Barr said dropping the case was part of his efforts to restore an equal standard of justice in the United States. It upheld the rule of law, he said.

Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn speaks during a conference on the transition of the presidency from Barack Obama to Donald Trump at the U.S. Institute Of Peace in Washington on Jan. 10, 2017. (Chris Kleponis/AFP via Getty Images)

Obamas comments drew criticism from some, including George Washington constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley.

The claim that there is no precedent was not correct, Turley said, citing a specific rule for the motion under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 48(a) and Supreme Court cases like Rinaldi v. United States that address the standard for such dismissals.

The Justice Department has dismissed cases in the past including the Stevens case. That was requested by President Obamas own Attorney General Eric Holder for the same reason: misconduct by prosecutors. It was done before the same judge, Judge Sullivan. How is that for precedent? he said in a statement on Twitter.

Michael Doran, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute who was part of the White Houses National Security Council in the George W. Bush administration, said that Obamas comments were interesting.

That Flynn was framed is now undeniable. Obama could choose to remain aloof and avoid personal association with this scandal. Hes chosen not to. Why? he said on Twitter. Doran speculated that Obama is trying to keep people who worked in his administration united while U.S. Attorney John Durham probes the origins of the FBIs counterintelligence investigation of the Trump campaign.

Obamas remarks came as newly released documents showed he knew details from Flynns calls, surprising one of the Department of Justices top officials.

Sally Yates, the deputy attorney general at the time, met with Obama, then-FBI Director James Comey, then-National Security Adviser Susan Rice, and then-Vice President Joe Biden on Jan. 5, 2017.

Yates told lawmakers in a 2017 interview that hadnt been made public before this week that Obama told the group he learned of the information about Flynn and the lieutenant generals discussions with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

Kislyaks phone calls were being wiretapped by government officials, allowing them to hear what Flynn told him.

President Barack Obama speaks as Vice President Joe Biden listens during a White House meeting on June 13, 2016. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Yates was so surprised by the information she was hearing that she was having a hard time processing it and listening to the conversation at the same time, members of special counsel Robert Mueller team who interviewed her wrote in a report about the interview.

Obama nominated Flynn to be the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2012, a position Flynn took in July of that year.

Obama ousted Flynn in 2014. The stated reason was insubordination, including a reported refusal to follow guidance from superiors including James Clapper, Obamas director of national intelligence. Flynn has suggested the forced retirement stemmed from his position on Islamic terror groups, including ISIS, which Obama referred to as a JV, or junior varsity team.

I felt that they did not want to hear the truth, Flynn said in a January 2016 interview. In another interview, he said intelligence reports about a growing radical Islamist threat were being downplayed or expunged.

That intelligence made it very clear that al-Qaeda and its affiliates were not on the run, but were in fact rapidly expanding. The number of terrorist attacks were on the rise, and Iraq was starting to burn again. So that was Obamas big liethat the enemy was on the run, and we were beating these guys, Flynn said.

The fallout from the break extended into the 2016 election, when former Obama administration officials reportedly told Trump not to hire Flynn as his national security adviser.




REGISTER General (RG) Clemence Masango, who was recently arrested by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) after purchasing vehicles without Cabinet authority, yesterday appeared at the Harare Magistrates Court and was remanded out of custody on $10 000 bail.





As part of his bail conditions Masango was ordered to report twice at Waterfalls Police Station, not travel beyond 40 km radius of Harare, not to visit the Registrar Generals office, to surrender title deeds for his Borrowdale property and to surrender his travel documents. He is expected to be back in court on June 4, 2020.





The top government official is alleged to have criminally abused his office, an offence which landed him before magistrate Bianca Makwande.





Through his lawyer Raymond Nembo, the Registrar was not asked to plead but he made an application for bail which was opposed by prosecutor Francesca Mukumbiri saying he is likely to abscond given that if convicted he faces up to 15 years behind bars.





He is a man of means and given the weight of his offence which he now knows, he may be induced to flee. Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission officers had to use force to arrest him after he ordered his officers to block them from entering his office, Mukumbiri said.





The prosecutor further accused Masango of having interfered with the States key witness in the matter, one Peter Bwanya, who is a chief accountant in his office by calling a meeting on May 6, 2020 where he accused him of leaking information to Zacc.





Mukumbiri said Masango ordered Bwanya not to give any duplicate documents to Zacc.





As if that was not enough, the accused (Masango) also confiscated a firearm belonging to Bwanya and kept it to himself, adding Bwanya later received several threats at his home and that at some point unidentified men scaled up his security wall during late hours of the night and threatened him not to leak any information.





But in her determination Makwande said in the absence of an independent witness the alleged threats issued to Bwanya could not be substantiated. She also queried why the police did not interview any other parties who were present during the alleged meeting convened at Masangos offices on May 6.





The States submissions falls short of compelling reasons required by the constitution to deny an accused person bail. The accused person has made a counter claim against Bwanya whom he has instituted disciplinary action against prior to investigations of this current matter. It is merely the word of the investigating officer against the accused person, Makwande said.





In his defense Masango had denied the allegations that he confiscated Bwanyas firearms saying the accusations were fabricated.





The Registrar also challenged all the States allegations against him and denied that he did not comply with Zacc officers upon arrest and told the court that he assisted the officers during investigations.





It is the States allegations that sometime in October 2018, Masango sought authority from the permanent secretary in the ministry of Home Affairs, Melusi Matshiya, to purchase vehicles for the Civil Registry department.





On October 29, the State alleges, Masango originated a letter addressed to Matshiya requesting authority to purchase two Toyota Land Cruisers 200LC vehicles to improve access to district registries and sub offices that had become inaccessible due to rugged terrain.





However, the State said the request was approved on November 5, but before the vehicles were purchased, Matshiya cancelled the approval through a letter written in November 2018 addressed to Masango citing a shift in government policy regarding purchase of vehicles and Masango allegedly acknowledged receipt of the letter and instructed an accountant, Ndamukanei Gota, to take note and comply.





The State alleges on January 18, 2019 Masango then unlawfully and corruptly originated a memorandum to then chief accountant, Gota, instructing him to facilitate initial document meant for purchase of Land Cruisers and transfer US$78 505 towards purchase of a Ford Ranger double cab and for purchase of five Isuzu Lite Single cabs without cabinet authority and approval from the ministry.





Acting on the said instructions, Gota originated a letter to branch manager Fbc bank authorizing him to make payments of US$78 505 to Dulys Motors Pvt Ltd Stanbic bank account meant for the purchase of the Ford Ranger and Wild Track vehicles and a further US$95 291 was transferred to CMED Fbc account for purchase of five Isuzu Lite single cabs.




The Green Party is going to be the death of us all.

Rural Ireland will be off down the Swanee from day-one of a green-tinged government.

Once the party gets its hands on the levers of power, its hippie-dippy TDs will demand a halt to all farming. There will not be a culling of the national herd, but instead cows will be set free to roam across green pastures and commune with the butterflies which will once more reproduce and multiply, saved from the brink of extinction.

The motor car will be no more. Get on your bike, or plug in your electric vehicle.

There will be a Hug-A-Tree holiday, when the populace will be urged to give some tender, loving, care to nature in all its wonders and sing Kumbaya.

After that the sandal-wearing, pulse-munchingoh sorry, this is 2020. I thought we were back in the 1980s there.

In recent days, as the possibility of the Greens entering government materialises from over the horizon, some of the old shibboleths have resurfaced. The treehuggers are intent, some would have it, on destruction of a way of life. This particular school of thought brackets them with the US army captain in Vietnam who explained that he had to destroy a village in order to save it.

Listen to what Simon Coveney told the Irish Examiners Danny McConnell 10 days ago about the Greens wish to ensure that any government sticks to our international commitment to reduce carbon emissions: Well, if it decimates rural Ireland, were not doing it. Lets be clear on that. You know we are not going to sign up to a programme for government that decimates rural Ireland. Thatll never happen.

Picture the Green partys negotiators in the room with the civil war parties counterparts, the Greenies togged out in recycled military gear, unfurling a map. Commandant Ryan thunders: Rural Ireland must be wiped out, decimated. Not a milking parlour left standing.

Some Fianna Failers know exactly how the Blueshirts feel. A group of Donegal councillors have written to Micheal Martin warning him of marching straight into the arms of destruction.

Any moves to include the Green party and their urban-based and climate-centred agenda would further exacerbate the urban-rural divide and create further devastation to rural counties like Donegal, they said.

One might posit the theory that the civil war parties have done their damnedest to destroy rural Ireland all by themselves.

Look, for example, at the destructive impact of one-off housing, which, contrary to long-standing planning guidelines, has proliferated at the behest of the big parties in the last four decades.

Would rural Ireland be better equipped to face inevitable decline today if it was managed in defined settlements instead of homes scattered like confetti? In terms of health, welfare, security, education, commerce and transport, the answer has to be yes.

But sure, its a bit late for that. And while the country can live with the fall-out from that political cowardice, the fall-out from climate change is potentially catastrophic.

By the way, none of this is to suggest that the third big party in the current configuration is any different. Sinn Fein has its own long-term project which supersedes all others. Saving the planet is fine and dandy, but what use is a planet if the fourth green field remains unclaimed by its rightful owner?

The attitude that prevails in the mainstream parties, to a large extent, reflects the thinking of their voters. Nobody this side of Donald Trump disputes the science. The planet is bearing unpalatable truths. But the problem is that addressing the issue is, for many, equally unpalatable. Most people like the notion of going green and are willing to make small changes in their lives to feel theyve done their bit. The big stuff, the really discommoding stuff, is a different ballgame altogether.

Faced with a choice of action now to prevent destruction in the coming decades, or delay now and hope for the best, the majority plump for the latter. In reflecting that sentiment, politicians deploy platitudes, pledges, and often soaring rhetoric, to camouflage the inaction.

The current furore over achieving a 7% annual reduction in carbon emissions speaks volumes. This is being sold as a Green party demand. Yet last December the UN Environmental Programme pointed out that a 7.6% annual reduction would be required to meet the targets in the Paris Accord, to which the Irish government signed up.

So the Greens demand is actually asking the other parties to do as the previous government said it would do. Have we got to the point where fulfilling political pledges is considered some form of wild and illogical behaviour?

Last June, the Government actually published a climate action plan in order to demonstrate how serious it takes the science. The plan was full of vague pledges about reducing emissions. There was nothing in there that could be pounced on by opposition or interest groups as impacting negatively on the current way of life.

During the week, the Irish Times published extracts of a letter written by the secretary general of the Department of Public Finance, Robert Watt, about the plan in the month before its launch.

Key parts of it were not credible, Watt wrote. The plan made no provision for cutting the national herd, despite agriculture accounting for a major component of emissions.

Watt said that it would be more cost effective to cut the herd by a negligible 5% while increasing farm incomes.

Ignoring agriculture increases the costs for other sectors and for the economy as a whole, Watt wrote.

Yes, but agriculture is a major vested interest in the political system.

Discommoding farmers, irrespective of compensating them for financial loss, would constitute wild and illogical behaviour in tackling climate change.

The thoughts of the senior civil servant were notable because they both reflect hard reality and are anathema to the current political culture. The three main parties all maintain there should not be any cut to the national herd. (Sinn Fein also pledges that, if in power, the party would not increase carbon taxes).

Instead, the thrust of measures pledged by the mainstream parties consists of vague pledges sometime in the future that may impact negatively on Mars or Jupiter, but wont discommode any voters here.

Who exactly is crazy? Who is peddling airy fairy notions far removed form the real world, relying on some Flash Gordon figure appearing through the clouds to save the planet a minute before midnight?

Is it the Greens with their unpalatable truths? Or the main thrust of the body politic, for whom climate climate is a problem that requires scary leadership, and is unlikely to deliver any first preferences at the next election?
Brad Pitt has high hopes for a big family affair with all his children under one roof on the occasion of his daughter Shiloh's 14th birthday later this month.

The Academy Award-winning Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood actor, 56, hopes to have Shiloh and her siblings  Maddox, 18, Pax, 16, Zahara, 15, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 11  at his 'compound' to celebrate, while the brood will also mark Shiloh's special day at their mother Angelina Jolie's house.

'She'll have a separate celebration at her mom's, [but] Brad would be delighted to have all his kids over for the party,' a source told UsWeekly.

Father first: Brad Pitt has high hopes for a big family affair with all his children under one roof on the occasion of his daughter Shiloh's 14th birthday later this month

'Brad plans to organize a lot of fun stuff at his compound, like outdoor games and other surprises.'

Pitt had already enlisted his parents, Bill and Jane Pitt, to send gifts over for Shiloh, who has gone by the name John, and her siblings are reportedly getting involved by preparing a special birthday cake for their sister, according to the source.

Brad and Angelina, 44, have been working hard at mending their fractured relationship ever since calling quits in a very public divorce beginning in 2016, with other sources recently telling Us they 'are more cordial' with each other of late.

Doting dad: Pitt hopes to have Shiloh and her siblings  Maddox, 18, Pax, 16, Zahara, 15, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 11  at his 'compound' to celebrate; Brad seen here with Shiloh and Pax in 2014

The starry pair started dating in 2005 on the heels of Pitt's first marriage to Jennifer Aniston, as a result of being cast together in the sexy action flick Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

They finally married in 2014, at the behest of their children, two years before they broke up.

Recent reports and multiple sightings have linked Brad to a new love interest, Arrested Development's Alia Shawkat, who is 25 his junior.

Whether Pitt will be able to welcome all of his children at his home remains to be seen, but it seems unlikely as an insider also previously confirmed that he still does not have contact with adoptive sons Maddox and Pax.

Family: Pitt had already enlisted his parents, Bill and Jane Pitt, to send gifts over for Shiloh, who has gone by the name John; seen here with sons Pax and Maddox in 2014

At 18, Maddox is allowed to do what he wants. He has been at college in South Korea, but reportedly came home when the lockdown from COVID-19 began.

It is not known why Brad does not see Pax.

But as for the younger children, he currently sees them 'every few days,' a different source told the publication.

Living only 10 minutes apart in Los Feliz  Brad in his large compound that he has owned for 20 years and Angelina in her $25M home Cecil B DeMille once lived in  makes it easy.
India's third Covid wave likely to peak on Jan 23, daily cases to stay below 4 lakh: IIT Kanpur scientist

Either prove the allegations or apologise: TMC on Amit Shah's letter

India

oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P

New Delhi, May 09: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday accused West Bengal Cheif Minister Mamata Banerjee and her government of not allowing trains with migrant workers to reach the state that may further create hardship for the workers.

In a letter to CM Mamata Banerjee, Amit Shah said, "Migrants from West Bengal are eager to reach home, but we are not getting expected support from the state." The Home Minister also said that West Bengal is not allowing trains.

Coronavirus outbreak: Odisha records highest single-day surge of COVID-19

Referring to those special trains that are operated by the Centre to transport migrant workers from different parts of the country to various destinations, the Home Minister said in the letter that the Centre has facilitated more than two lakh migrants workers to reach home.

NEWS AT 3 PM, MAY 7th, 2020

Reacting to this, Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee asked the Home Minister to either prove his allegations or apologise.

Coronavirus outbreak: Tamil Nadu residents stranded in foreign countries return

"Amit Shah speaks after weeks of silence only to mislead people with lies. Prove allegations or apologise," a tweet read.

Meanwhile, the Union Home Ministry had slammed the state government for not enforcing COVID-19 containment measures effectively, allowing "specific groups in specific localities" in Kolkata and Howrah to violate the curbs as well as attack police and healthcare workers.
The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) airport geared up on Saturday for the first repatriation flight, under governments Vande Bharat mission, to land in the early hours of Sunday.

Total three flights, with over 800 stranded Indians, will land in the city during the day.

As per airport officials, the Air India flight with 326 passengers, which took off from London at 4.30pm (IST) on Saturday, is scheduled to land at 1.30am on Sunday.

Flights from Singapore (with 243 passengers) and Manila in Philippines (241 passengers) will also land in the city during the day. The Singapore flight is expected to land at 12.30pm and the one from Manila around 11pm.

The Government of India has charged the stranded passengers for flying them back. While passengers on US flights are being charged Rs 1 lakh, passengers flying from the UK have to pay Rs 50,000. Tickets for passengers flying from Singapore is around Rs 20,000 and those wanting to fly from Dhaka have to shell around Rs 12,000 per air ticket.

A Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) spokesperson said that the airport will receive around 2,350 Indians in the span of seven days, starting Sunday.

The airport is all set to support the initiative and has put together standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure the safety of passengers. The repatriation operations will see CSMIA catering to ten flights and six transit flight in the course of seven days welcoming stranded Indian nationals from the UK, USA, Singapore, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Philippine, commencing with three flights on May 10,

MIAL has dedicated two aero-bridges for repatriation flights.

Screening of passengers before entering the immigration area will be done by the airport health organization. MIAL said that the passengers will need to maintain a physical distance of minimum of two metres through distinctive markings at the airport and will be required to wear face masks and hand gloves during the entire course of their journey.

The airport has set up 30 immigration counters for ensuring quickest clearance for the arriving passengers.

The MIAL spokesperson added that the airport is making special arrangements for the stranded nationals by arranging food and beverage facilities in the arriving hall. The airport will also have a limited number of forex and sim card outlets.

All the arriving passengers will be escorted by the security agency- Central industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel until they are handed over to the state authorities.

The spokesperson stated, Provisions have been made in the eventuality that any symptomatic passenger is identified at the airport, he or she would be immediately isolated and moved to the separate area earmarked for the purpose. Designated airport ambulances will be on standby to shift the symptomatic passengers to designated isolation centres.

The state government has made arrangements for asymptomatic passengers from Mumbai to be moved to identified quarantine facilities like hotels (depending on their preference), while those from outside Mumbai will be transported to their respective district headquarters for institutional quarantine. A helpdesk at the airport has been set up to guide the passengers.

CSMIA has handled total repatriation of over 8,500 passengers with 51 evacuation flights since March 25 to May 9.

Of the total repatriation flights facilitated by CSMIA, Atlanta in the US saw over 2,000 passengers landing in total eight flights operated by Delta Air Lines, highest to any destination from Mumbai during the lockdown period. London was the other destination with six flights operated by Air India and two flights each by Virgin Atlantic and British Airways.
Saudi tribe hit by bloody forceful eviction measures for bin Salman's ambitious NEOM project

Iran Press TV

Friday, 08 May 2020 10:20 AM

A Saudi tribe has been hit by bloody forced eviction measures employed to make way for the construction of the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS)'s visionary utopian city.

The so-called smart city known as NEOM is planned to be constructed in Tabuk region of northwestern Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea in an area nearly the size of Belgium.

The much-hyped futuristic megacity with the cost estimate around $500 billion is part of bin Salman's 2030 vision to transform the image of the kingdom into a more modern representation and to diversify its oil-based economy.

But the path to construct the city has been a bloody one as a member of the local Howeitat tribe, Abdul-Rahim al-Howeit, was shot dead by Saudi forces, who claim that he had opened fire and refused to surrender. Al-Huwaiti was allegedly accused of storing weapons.

His killing happened after he released videos in which he decried his tribe's forceful eviction from their historic homeland to make way for the construction of the high-tech city, and that as an effort to incriminate him Saudi officials would plant weapons in his house.

Following the killing other members of the Bedouin tribe who also refused to give up their land were arrested.

The events expose a rare domestic clash with the ruling party which is infamous for crushing popular dissent, while it grapples with the economic blow of historic low crude prices and a coronavirus-led shutdown.

Authorities have proposed budget cuts addressing crude crash that according to the Saudi finance minister could be "painful" and includes an "extremely long" list of affected items. He did not comment whether the budget cuts will be applied to the NEOM project.

According to a Saudi source associated with the project, the government is offering "generous compensation in cash" and "new properties" along with "university scholarship and vocational training" to those displaced by the project.

The proposed compensation measures have been dismissed by the tribesmen according to activists who believe NEOM is a liberal enclave in a conservative society and will less likely offer any benefits to the local residents.

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She's rumored to have suffered recent heartbreak after splitting from girlfriend Cara Delevingne.

But if Ashley Benson is suffering, she didn't show it when stepping out with confidence in Los Angeles on Saturday.

The 30-year-old Pretty Little Liars alum rocked skinny jeans and a pair of black ankle boots for the solo outing.

The Californian beauty completed the look with a black jacket worn over a white top.

Her blonde tresses were worn in a messy, half-up style and she shielded her eyes with dark shades.

Benson carried with her a black leather purse, cell phone and a can of what appeared to be an energy drink as she exited her Range Rover.

The outing is the first live sighting of Ashley since her split from girlfriend of two years Cara - although she has remained active on social media.

On Friday, while hunkering down amid the coronavirus pandemic, Ashley treated her Instagram following to a steamy post.

The Spring Breakers star posted a throwback snap of herself modeling a busty black one-piece as she lay on the beach.

Flashback Friday: This week while hunkering down amid the coronavirus pandemic Benson treated her Instagram following to a steamy post

Her picture showed her with bright pink dye in her typically blonde hair, indicating t was likely taken in 2016 or 2017 when she had that 'do.

The sizzling snapshot was taken for the brand Find Your California, which is run by photographer and artist Nico Guilis.

Two days before Ashley posed her throwback beach photo, People cited multiple insiders claiming she and Cara broke up in April.

Remember when: Her picture showed her with bright pink dye in her typically blonde hair, indicating t was likely taken in 2016 or 2017 when she had that do; pictured in April 2017

'Cara and Ashley always had their ups and down before but it's over now. Their relationship just ran its course,' dished one source.

After the breakup rumors started swirling Ashley posted a snap of herself staring over a pair of sunglasses as she sat in a restaurant with peeling posters on the walls.

The evocative photograph appeared to have been taken by Nico, the woman who snapped Ashley's latest beach throwback.

End of the affair: This week People cited multiple insiders claiming she and Cara Delevingne (left) broke up in April; they are pictured at Milan Fashion Week in February

Cara and Ashley co-starred in the 2018 punk rock drama Her Smell and were seen that August locking lips at Heathrow.

However they did not publicly confirm the romance until last June, when Cara posted an Instagram clip of herself passionately kissing Ashley.

Shortly thereafter Cara dished to E! News that it had 'been just about our one year anniversary' when she uploaded the video.
Ten vegetable and fruit vendors in Jaipur, three such persons in Ahmedabad, a biryani delivery boy in Bhubaneswar and a kirana shop owner in Tuglakabad in Delhi are among the new class of Covid-19 super spreaders identified by authorities recently, with no travel history to Covid-19 hotspots. This could indicate the possibility of community transmission of the virus in the country.

According to officials, the common factor in all these cases was that the source of the virus was not traceable and essential good suppliers infected many persons in their respective cities leading to a spike in the Covid-19 cases locally.

As most of the spreaders were asymptomatic, their identification was a challenge for the authorities. In most of the cases, they were identified only after a large number of cases were reported from the places they had visited, officials said.

Also read: List of states with over 5,000 Covid-19 cases in India

These super spreaders are somewhat different from the ones identified earlier. In March and April, most of the Covid-19 super spreaders were persons with known travel history to places highly infected with Covid-19. Except of the 11 vegetable vendors in Jhajjar, the authorities have not been able to track the travel history of these service providers to a known Covid-19 hotspot.

Keralas Wayanad, Congress leader Rahul Gandhis Lok Sabha constituency, had remained Covid-19 free for 32 days before a truck driver from Chennais Koyambedu vegetable market got the virus. The market, now described as a mega super spreader, has contributed to a sudden spurt in Covid-19 cases in Chennai in the last week.

The market is linked to about 1500 cases. We dont know from where the virus came in the market, said corporation commissioner G Prakash. This truck driver is said to have spread the virus to 20 other people including his 82-year-old mother, a 49-year-old wife and his co-drivers 21-year-old son.

Also read: Vande Bharat Mission - 8 flights from 7 countries to land in India today

In Rajasthan, the Jaipur municipal corporation identified 10 fruit and vegetable vendors as super spreaders after they had infected at least 150 persons in the city. Jaipur has the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the state.

Nineteen super spreaders including vegetable vendors, milk vendors and grocery shop workers, became the carrier for the virus in 30 new localities in Ahmedabad, which accounts for about 70% of the total cases in Gujarat.

Similar instance is available from some other cities. In Odishas Bhubaneshwar, a biryani delivery boy is responsible for turning a residential society into a containment zone. In Lucknows Qaiserbagh, eight persons got the virus from a vegetable vendor, including three members of his family. In Delhis Tuglakabad area, a grocery shop owner became a cause for declaring the area as a containment zone. 51 persons who visited his shop were tested positive.

Haryanas Jhajjar, which had no case till April 24, got 73 Covid-19 cases from 11 vegetable sellers who visited Delhis Azadpur fruit and vegetable market, said to be a source for the spread of the virus in Jehangirpuri and Rohini in Delhi. Authorities have not been able to identify the Covid-19 carrier to Azadpur market. Jhajjar civil surgeon Dr Randeep Punia said they came to know these vegetable vendors only when cases started coming up from the places the sellers frequented in the town.

Identifying such persons is the biggest challenge, said Ajitabh Sharma, Principal Secretary, department of energy and nodal officer for Covid-19 management in Jaipur. They look normal and have no symptoms. And even if they mild symptoms, they tend to hide them fearing loss of work.

The emergence of essential service providers as Covid-19 carriers have pushed the authorities to look at a new way to check the spread without hampering supply of goods to localities.

In Jaipur, Sharma said all vendors in the city are being tested and their visits have been restricted only to a few localities.

We have colour-coded their carts depending on their municipal ward to restrict their movement. Not more than 10 vendors are being allowed in a locality, he said.

Punia added that in Jhajjar, they have decided to test all those who come in contact with people frequently such as milk booth operators and shop owners. Giving daily health update on Aarogya Setu app has been made mandatory for them. Ahmedabads Vijay Nehra said the government has opted for home delivery of essentials as these service suppliers come in contact with a large number of people daily and it is very difficult to monitor them.

Dr Rajesh Malhotra, head of Covid-19 centre at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi, said the recent emergence of super spreaders show that travel history of a person is no more relevant as most of them dont have any travel history.

We need to have a strategy to identify such persons quickly and isolate them before they spread the virus to a large number of people, he said.

Other experts, however, said that the emergence of service suppliers as Covid-19 spreaders is an ample indication of community transmission of the virus even though the government has denied it.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday said that India has not entered the stage three of Covid-19 transmission, which is large scale community transmission of the disease.

(With inputs from state bureaus)
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. -Romans 12:19

HAMILTON  Why did you do it, Deacon Barrett?

The Trentonian has learned the suspended township chief financial officer John Barrett fabricated what he held out at the time as a smoking-gun memo suggesting now-former Mayor Kelly Yaedes security detail cost Hamilton more than $346,000 in 2018.

The embattled CFO backdated the memo to make it seem like he crafted it March 8, 2018.

The newly emerging information about Barretts deception comes as the CFOs credibility has come into question after a judge issued a scathing decision recommending the still-suspended Barretts termination.

Confronted with phone and text messages questioning his decision to bear false witness against his frenemies, Barrett has gone completely silent.

He hasnt returned repeated phone calls from this newspaper. One of his few salvos with a reporter since the unfavorable decision was released was to say he was following legal advice not to speak publicly.

Please respect that. And I forgive you for that outburst, he wrote after The Trentonian called him out for only speaking when news coverage was favorable to him. Even if you didnt ask for it, peace be with you.

The confirmed deacon in the Diocese of Trentons whopper of a lie was the reason that the attorney who initially filed Barretts whistleblower lawsuit against Hamilton suddenly withdrew from the case, sources told this newspaper.

Attorney Colin Bell no longer represents Barrett in the retaliation lawsuit, which alleged Yaede and her closest allies falsely accused the CFO of wrongdoing, but cited attorney-client privilege in declining to discuss the reasons he dropped Barrett as a client.

Sources with intimate knowledge of the matter told The Trentonian that Bell could no longer trust his client and no longer was comfortable pursuing the whilstleblower lawsuit.

Court records substantiate that Bell withdrew as Barretts attorney in April, 10, 2019. The suspended CFO is now represented by attorney Arthur Murray of Alterman & Associates.

Bells withdrawal from the case came less than a month after The Trentonian published what it believed at the time was an explosive expose about how Yaede and her cohorts apparently misled township taxpayers about the cost of her security detail.

Barrett provided the memo and The Trentonian published an article on March 20, 2019, the same day of then-Mayor Yaedes State of the Township speech.

At the time, Barrett claimed he had hand-delivered the memo to then-business administrator Dave Kenny.

Kenny denied ever receiving the memo  which did not appear on official Hamilton Township letterhead  and speculated that it had been doctored up to make Yaede look bad while she faced an intra-party challenge from gadfly David Henderson in the GOP primary.

I think I would have remembered something like that, Kenny told the newspaper last spring.

The Trentonian immediately went back to Barrett with Kennys fabrication allegations.

Barrett, indignant over the attacks on his credibility, decided to go against the advice of his attorney and broke his silence.

He insisted he had hand-delivered the memo to Kenny and that the business administrator was being dishonest about receiving it.

I did not fabricate this, Barrett said emphatically during a phone interview with The Trentonian back then.

The Trentonian was unaware of any information at the time it published the initial story about the memo that suggested it had been faked.

Township minutes from March 6, 2018, showed that Henderson brought up the costs of Yaedes security detail for 2016 and 2017 at that meeting and was told that information was off-limits because it could jeopardize the mayors protection.

There were denials on both sides about the memo, which is often the case in he-said-she-said stories. And the cost of the security detail was a politically divisive issue in the township at the time.

Having been provided with a copy of the memo, the newspaper decided to publish the story making clear its authenticity was hotly disputed.

The newspaper has since received reliable information from sources late Thursday that Barrett fabricated the memo.

The Trentonian re-interviewed Kenny on Friday after receiving the new intelligence. He continued to insist he never received the hand-delivered memo and denied instructing Barrett to perform a financial analysis of the cost for the then-mayors security detail.

I never asked him to do that or look at that issue, Kenny said.

Kenny said he found Barretts claim that he hand-delivered the memo suspicious at the time the story was published because Barrett almost exclusively dealt with township business over email.

Beyond that, Barretts numbers, representing the costs of the detail at more than $346K rather than $15K, were absurd, Kenny said.

I knew I had never seen it before, the ex-business administrator said.

Despite the revelations, Kenny said he had no proof that Barrett was lying at the time. And he couldnt even say he necessarily found Barrett to be dishonest during their professional interactions.

I never had that impression, he said. Its certainly surprising if what youre saying is true. I dont know why he would have done that. I dont think anything can be done about it.

The CFO had been anxiously awaiting the decision from a judge believing he would be vindicated of tenure charges that he alleged were maliciously brought against him by the Yaede administration.

New Mayor Jeff Martin even suggested he would consider bringing Barrett back once the case was in the rear-view mirror.

I shall be back, like Arnold Schwarzenegger used to say, Barrett said confidently in public comments at a Hamilton council meeting in December.

This was months after the Mercer County Prosecutors Office raided the municipal building and seized evidence as part of a criminal investigation.

Reliable sources told this newspaper at the time that the prosecutors office seized laptop computers belonging to Hamilton tax collector Danielle Peacock, qualified purchasing agent Michele Bado and assistant finance director Richard Mulrine.

The three of them worked under Barrett and were also independent contractors for Barretts independent financial services firm.

We have a high confidence level that John Barrett is not the target of any criminal investigation, and to the extent that he may be, we welcome the scrutiny, Murray told The Trentonian at the time of the raid. It is John Barrett who is the whistleblower.

A spokeswoman for the MCPO did not immediately respond Friday to a request for a status update on the case or whether it expects to charge anyone with crimes.

Much of the bellicose hot air has been let out of the CFOs sails now that Administrative Law Judge Jeff Masin ruled against him this week.

In a strongly-worded 88-page slapdown, the judge found Barrett to be insubordinate and untrustworthy by abusing the townships sick-leave policy, among other transgressions  just as the Yaede administration suggested from the get-go.

I find that John Barrett abused Hamiltons sick day policy, Masin wrote. I conclude that there can be no doubt whatsoever that Mr. Barrett engaged in conduct unbecoming a public official.

Barrett was accused of using 31 paid sick days between March 2016 and December 2018 to perform work for other clients totaling 161 hours, including making in-person site visits in Hawthorne.

While no doubt he has talent for the financial role he played, Masin said of Barrett, in connection with the overriding need for honesty and trustworthiness necessary for his position, I conclude that the record indeed demonstrates an overarching inability to perform his duties.

Mr. Barrett does not display the ability to perform his position in a competent, honest and trustworthy manner, and therefore, It is hereby ordered that John Barretts tenure protection be abrogated and he be removed from office, the judge concluded.

Its unclear how the revelation that he doctored the security detail memo could impact Barretts litigation, which is still pending in state court in Mercer County.

Murray did not respond to a phone message left at his office seeking comment Friday.

Despite his reputation appearing in tatters, the CFO still has some supporters.

Former Republican councilwoman Ileana Schirmer said she continued to stand with Barrett unless there is concrete proof that the memo was fabricated and backdated.

My thing is I need to have proof, she said Friday when told of the deception. I stand by what I submitted [to you].

Schirmer provided the newspaper with a statement that read, in part: Mr. Barretts reputation as a CFO in the state of New Jersey speaks for itself. When Mr. Barrett started in Hamilton, the township had a $79,000 fund balance and was under state oversight. He turned around the finances, got out of state supervision a year early. Through his leadership the townships fund balance increased to $10 million, not to mention the bond rating increasing during that time. He managed the finances well and the judge even said that in his decision. He performed his CFO statutory duties well and was never found guilty of that.

It is obvious that under the unethical, corrupt ex-mayor Yeade, employees were not held to the same standards. During the hearing, Dave Kenny admitted that another worker was found to have abused Monday, Friday sick time use and was allowed to switch the sick days to vacation, why wasnt Barrett offered that opportunity? He wasnt because the ex-mayor wanted him out.

The judges ruling over this issue is over the top, Schirmer continued. He could have recommended administrative action not termination. I certainly believe Mr. Barrett deserves to continue his work as a CFO and deserves to have this ruling overturned.

Editors Note: The memo said $346K. An earlier version of this story erroneously stated $349K
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is either devilishly stupid, or devilishly underhanded. With Canada's Boy Wonder, sometimes the differences are difficult to discern.

The Canadian head-of-state's unilateral gun grab that bans 1,500 makes and models of modern sporting rifles under the guise of an "assault-style" firearm classification, swept up multiple other firearms. Some are certainly "military-grade" like the mortars, grenade launchers and rocket and missile launchers, which were already banned.

It also banned Ruger's Mini-14, commonly referred to as a "ranch rifle" that doesn't have any of the offensive cosmetic characteristics gun control groups get woozy over when they hear them described. That's why the prime minister echoed one of their favorite sound bites.

"You don't need an AR-15 to bring down a deer," Prime Minister Trudeau said during his gun grab announcement. .....
Walter Reuther in 1955

Walter Reuther is known as the man who gave birth to the UAW, helped create the middle class and fought for civil rights.

He often paid a price for it. He was beaten senseless by company thugs on an overpass near Ford's River Rouge Plant in 1937 for handing out flyers. He also survived two assassination attempts.

But he introduced the notion of profit-sharing to factory workers and was a noted civil rights leader, even standing alongside Martin Luther King Jr. during the famous 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington, D.C.

His philosophy was I am my brothers keeper and were all here to help each other out, the goal is not to make a lot of money," Bruce Dickmeyer, Reuther's son-in-law, told the Free Press. "He never made more than $31,000, even when presidents of smaller unions were making over $100,000."

Dickmeyer is married to Reuther's daughter Elisabeth, who was born in 1947. Reuther's other daughter, Linda, was born in 1942. Dickmeyer said he never had the chance to meet Reuther in person because he married Elisabeth in 1976, after Reuther died. But he and his wife wrote the book "Putting the World Together: My father Walter Reuther the Liberal Warrior."

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Despite his struggles to help others, Reuther "never sold out," his family said.

"He never gave up his principles and even when he was shot or when he was beaten, it only strengthened his resolve to help the workers and the minorities and people who dont have a voice in our society," Dickmeyer said.

Reuther's squeaky clean reputation lent integrity to the union he helped establish, a sharp contrast to the sweeping corruption that has been uncovered in the UAW in recent times amid an ongoing federal investigation.

Story continues

Reuther has been dead 50 years as of May 9. Here's a look back at the man and his extraordinary life.

Voice of working Americans

Most historians agree that in many ways, Reuther was a man ahead of his time.

He advocated for workers to have profit-sharing, which was a radical idea in the 1950s. He played a key role in the Allied victory in World War II by helping to retool factories to build bombers. He marched alongside Dr. King, supporting the civil rights movement long before other white leaders did.

"He's no doubt iconic," said Marick Masters, a professor at Wayne State University who specializes in labor. "He provided progressive leadership that showed the union not only as a bargaining organization, but a leader of social change too."

On May 9, 1970, at age 62, Reuther and his wife of 34 years, May, were killed in a plane crash near Pellston, Michigan. They were flying to the newly constructed UAW Walter and May Reuther Family Education Center in northern Michigan.

The untimely death cements his legacy with the UAW.

"From building the UAW into one of the most powerful unions in the country  essentially creating the middle class  from founding new methods of health care coverage, to establishing the United Way, and coordinating the very first Earth Day, the impact of Walter Reuthers passionate efforts on behalf of working Americans is immeasurable, UAW President Rory Gamble said.

The epicenter of the world

Reuther was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, on Sept. 1, 1907. He was the second of five children. His parents, Valentine Reuther and Anna Stocker, taught him the importance of unions, social justice and political action at a young age, the union said.

In the town, railroad cars would pass through taking people north to jobs in industrial cities such as Detroit. Young Reuther noticed black people were made to sit in the train's cattle cars, Dickmeyer said.

"One day, the three Reuther brothers told their father some of the white kids were throwing stones at those cars," Dickmeyer said. "His father gave the boys a tongue lashing, saying, 'If I ever see any of my sons do such a thing. ...' He felt it was an injustice to treat other human beings like that.

In 1927, Reuther carried those values to Detroit, where he came to work in the booming automobile industry at Ford Motor Company. He oversaw a crew of tool and die makers, one of the most skilled sets of workers at Ford's River Rouge Plant. There, he got his first glimpse at working conditions inside the factories.

"They were beginning to tool-up the Model A Ford, which was going to replace the Model T. Reuther was at the epicenter of the industrial world, globally," said Harley Shaiken, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who specializes in labor and the global economy.

At the time, the Rouge Plant was considered "state of the art and the most highly integrated and advanced manufacturing facility" in the world, Shaiken said.

"But the conditions there were really tough and very brutal," Shaiken said. "Both the conditions of the job and the discipline that Henry Ford imposed on his workers. You weren't allowed to talk at Ford plants. You were being paid to work, not talk. The nature of the work, too, was dangerous."

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'A deeply searing experience'

In the middle of Reuther's budding career, the U.S. stock market collapsed in October 1929, sending the auto industry into a free fall. Unemployment in Michigan soared, creating desperation for autoworkers, who were left with "no safety net," Shaiken said. It was common to see ex-autoworkers on street corners selling apples for spare change.

It was in this environment that Reuther chose to support the presidential campaign of Norman Thomas of the Socialist Party. Many of Thomas' ideas formed a basis for Franklin Roosevelt's initiatives when Roosevelt became president, Shaiken said.

Around this time, Reuther also became active in civil rights. He was attending Detroit City College, which is now called Wayne State University. He'd swim in a hotel pool near the campus that allowed students. The problem was that it allowed only white students.

He felt this was a great injustice," Dickmeyer said.

The march of the high command. Led by Walter Reuther, fifth from left and Mayor Jerome Cavanagh. A flying wedge of labor's chieftains strides down Woodward on September 5, 1966.

So Reuther organized students to form a picket line around the hotel protesting the segregation. It worked, sort of.

The hotel shut down the pool to all students, Dickmeyer said.

"Walter felt all were equal, and we were all children of God," Dickmeyer said.

Meanwhile, Reuther's presidential campaign work for Norman Thomas cost him his job at Ford in the summer of 1932. But right before Reuther was fired, there was a dramatic incidence of violence at the plant.

Tens of thousands of autoworkers had been laid off. So in March 1932, a group led by the communist party that included autoworkers staged a hunger march. About 3,000 people showed up near the Rouge Plant, Shaiken said.

"You've got wives and children, this was a peaceful march to present a petition at the Ford Rouge Plant requesting that people be put to work," Shaiken said.

But Ford's head of security then, Harry Bennett, had about 1,500 Ford service men, "a small army," on hand at the plant, Shaiken said. A scuffle erupted and the Ford service men and the Dearborn police opened fire into the crowd. Four people were killed immediately; one died a week later. Many people were beaten severely, he said.

"It was a defining moment. Reuther was working at the Rouge Plant and would have been aware of this," Shaiken said. "He knew how tough the place could be, but I think when you hear of and see people killed, that would have been a deeply searing experience for a 25-year-old Walter Reuther."

Labor's Magna Carta

A year later, in 1933, Reuther and his brother, Victor, traveled to the Soviet Union to work and to train Russian workers at the Gorky auto factory, equipped by Henry Ford, the UAW's history said.

"You needed two things to get a job at Gorky: You needed to be breathing and having been in an auto factory," Shaiken said.

Reuther was a natural fit. His years at Ford's River Rouge Plant made him especially valuable at Gorky.

"The Reuther brothers wanted to see for themselves what the worker conditions were like in Russia because the ideology was that Russia was a worker's state," Shaiken said. "The reality they discovered was very different from that ideology."

Auto worker Union leaders leaving the White House in Washington on August 28, 1942, from left to right are Richard T. Farankensteen, Walter P. Reuther, R. J. Thomas and George F. Addes.

Reuther's experiences in Russia and seeing the Hitler-controlled fascist state of Germany inspired his determination to return to the states and start organizing unions in 1935, Shaiken said.

Around this time, the National Labor Relations Act was passed in Washington, D.C. Often dubbed, "labor's Magna Carta," the act gave workers the right to organize unions, Shaiken said.

So Reuther formed Westside Local 174 in Detroit, becoming its first president. From 1936 to 1941, he was instrumental in organizing the UAW at the Detroit Three.

Ford digs in

But the battle to win unionization at all three automakers was epic.

In 1936, Reuther first started organizing GM. The workers feared that if they went on strike, they'd be fired. Most of GM's factory employees worked in Flint. So in December 1936, the union decided to have workers sit down on the job. The sit-down strike, which was settled in February 1937, resulted in GM acknowledging the UAW.

"That was a game changer," Shaiken said. "Quickly thereafter, Chrysler was unionized and then the union assumed Ford would be next. Ford dug in like a ton of bricks and held firm against the union."

Ford's resistance would turn bloody. On May 26,1937, Reuther and two other UAW organizers put on suits and ties and went to Ford's Rouge Plant. They walked on the bridge over Miller Road to hand out leaflets to workers.

"A group of thugs from the Ford service department started walking toward them in a very menacing way," Shaiken said. "The organizers were completely beaten up, one was thrown off the overpass, they had blood on them, it was ugly. One of them was Walter Reuther. That was defining for labor and for Reuther."

FILE - In this May 26, 1937 file photo, Richard Frankensteen, United Auto Workers organizational director, with coat pulled over his head, is pummeled by Ford Motor. Co. agents at the gate of the Ford River Rouge Complex in Dearborn, Mich. Ford security personnel were countering the UAWs efforts to organize employees at the factory complex.

The Battle of the Overpass is marked every May in Detroit.

Assassination attempts

In 1938, as Reuther continued to try to organize the union at Ford, he experienced his first assassination attempt when gunmen tried to kidnap and kill him. The gunmen were never caught.

"He had a vision of a society where workers made a living and had a decent life for their families," Shaiken said. "For some, that idea was profoundly threatening."

It would take years and pressure from President Roosevelt before Henry Ford recognized the UAW in 1941.

From this overpass, where fighting occurred between Ford Motor company employees and UAW who were attempting to distribute literature, Ford workers changing shifts Aug. 11, 1937, at the River Rouge plant in Dearborn, watch unionists pass out a "Ford" edition of their paper. Few accepted it. There was no violence.

Besides his union battles, Reuther was also pivotal in aiding the United States to victory in World War II.

Between 1939 to 1945, Reuther was director of the UAW General Motors Department, the union said. Reuther helped to retool auto factories to build 500 Allied planes a day, a cornerstone of the Arsenal of Democracy that wins the war.

Despite that, he was still hated by some, and on April 20, 1948, Reuther was shot at his home in Detroit.

For Dickmeyer's wife, Elisabeth, the bullet blasts through the kitchen window are her first childhood memory of her father.

"She was 9 or 10 months old. He had gone to the refrigerator and Walter turned to answer his wife, and just as he turned, the blasts went off," Dickmeyer said. "Four of the slugs went through his arm and shattered the bone and others went into his back. Had he not turned, he would have died. She said she still remembers the sound of the blast.

A year later, his brother Victor was shot in his home too. He lost his eye.

Birth of the middle class

Some historians say Reuther's most important contribution came after the war.

"What came come out of Detroit in the post-World War II period is the middle class in the United States," Shaiken said. "Automotive was a very productive industry and what the UAW did was link the idea of growing productivity to rising wages and growing benefits. That was a huge achievement."

Reuther became president of the UAW in 1946 and transformed working in the auto industry from a low-wage, part-time job full of insecurity, to a job that paid a living wage. He achieved worker gains that were unheard of previously.

Enhanced job security

Vacations and benefits

Pensions and supplemental unemployment benefits

Profit-sharing

"Reuther's vision was dignity on the job and security off the job," Shaiken said. "He saw the UAW as representing its members, but fighting for workers across the world."

Yet at the time, some of Reuther's ideas were seen as radical. For example, his advocacy of profit-sharing in the late 1950s.

UAW leader Walter Reuther took a few minutes off from negotiating to speak at Cadillac Square, Sept. 4, 1961.

"He was widely criticized by people on both the company side and union side saying profit-sharing was un-American," Masters said. "He said it was very American that workers share in the profits of the company. It will help workers have an alignment to the company."

Berkeley's Shaiken added that Reuther argued that if workers are paid more in a highly productive industry such as autos, "they would have high-velocity purchasing power. That would benefit the economy and benefits all Americans."

'I have a dream'

A few years older than Dr. King, Reuther was a close friend to the famous civil rights leader, Dickmeyer said. Reuther put his money into his convictions, too. Reuther committed the union financially to King's 1963 march in Detroit and he supported the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

In 1963, Walter, Dr. King and the Rev. C.L. Franklin led 125,000 marchers down Woodward Avenue," Dickmeyer said. "Dr. King had come to Detroit a week before and Walter gave him an office to use at Solidarity House. Thats where he penned most of the I have a dream speech," which King delivered an early version of in Detroit in Cobo Hall the night of the march.

When Dr. King delivered the speech a few months later in August 1963, Reuther was on stage with him in Washington, D.C.

Before the most famous speech of the century, I have a dream, Walter Reuther gave a stirring speech to the crowd," Shaiken said. "He believed in it deeply, that civil rights would benefit all UAW members, and he believed in the values behind the march and he was willing to do whatever he could to help it succeed.

Advocate for change

Until his death in 1970, Reuther was a strong advocate of change.

In 1963, Reuther led the UAW to provide financial and logistic support for Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers in their struggle.

In the late 1960s, Reuther pushed for alignment with international trade unions.

He began his dream of a retreat center for worker education on workers rights and social justice near Black Lake in Northern Michigan.

An environmentalist, Reuther helped fund and organize the first Earth Day, which was held April 22, 1970, just weeks before he was killed.

In 1995, Reuther was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton, who said, "Walter Reuther was an American visionary so far ahead of his times that although he died a quarter of a century ago, our nation has yet to catch up to his dreams.

Right up to his death, Reuther was critical of the AFL-CIO for not organizing minorities and workers in the South, Wayne State's Masters said. He also disagreed with its support of the war in Vietnam.

Walter Reuther, President of the United Auto Workers Union (at podium) pledges the help of his union in the rebuilding of the ravaged arms of Detroit, July 27, 1967 to the applause of Gov. George Romney, right. Mayor Jerome Cavanagh, center, Cyrus Vance, next left, President Johnson's personal emissary and Lt. Gen. John Throckmorton, the military commander of the city, left.

At the time Reuther died, the union was at the height of its power, Masters said. But there were the early signs of challenges.

"You saw the very beginnings of foreign auto companies, they were gaining some traction and he saw that as a call for alarm," Masters said. "I think if he'd have been alive, the way the unions and the companies responded to that threat would have been different."

Death of a visionary

Shaiken said he believes that had Reuther lived, the UAW might have had better success unionizing foreign automakers in the United States.

"He would have put a very high priority on organizing them. He would have made the automakers feel welcome, but he would have had a very central focus on that," Shaiken said. "I dont want to say it would have turned out any differently, but Reuther was particularly committed and visionary.

Quietly they came to say goodbye to their friend Walter Reuther on May 14, 1970.

Reuther never got to see his ultimate vision become a reality though. He and his wife died on his flight to Black Lake.

"It was his vision to have an educational center for workers, for union members and future leaders to learn, reflect and debate the ideas of the day," Shaiken said. "Black Lake was a vital part of that. He died on the way to the place that would build the future for the union.

Contact Jamie L. LaReau: 313-222-2149 or jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: UAW Walter Reuther changed workers rights and pioneered civil rights
MEXICO CITY - During the bone-dry days of Prohibition, Americans slipped over the border to guzzle beer in Mexico.

A century later, it's Mexican towns that are going dry.

The government has largely shut down beer production, arguing it's not essential during the country's coronavirus outbreak. The last bottles of Tecate, Corona, Modelo Especial and Dos Equis for Mexican consumption rolled off the lines in early April.

Now the country has a new black market - in beer.

"Many people are desperately searching for beer," said Raul Funes, head of a craft-brew association in Tijuana, just south of San Diego. "It's like toilet paper."

It's not that Mexico has no booze. The wine industry is still open. But Mexican adults, on average, drink a quart of wine per year. They knock back 72 times as much beer. That's 18 gallons a person.

"Beer is a symbol of celebration, of refuge, it's something to cure depression, to have at a party, a wedding, to drink at home," said Luis Alberto Medina, host of a radio show in the northern city of Hermosillo. "It's always been present in Mexican culture."

Until now.

The country's biggest convenience-store chain, Oxxo, announced the doomsday news on April 30: it had only 10 days' worth of beer left.

Already, six-packs were becoming as rare as cruise ships off Cozumel.

Panicked shoppers had hauled away cases from supermarkets in early April. On a recent day, word spread that a truck was delivering beer to an Oxxo in Hermosillo. A line snaked outside and continued down the highway: scores of people masked, socially distanced - and thirsty.

For the few beers left, prices have soared.

One Twitter user reported buying a can of Modelo Especial for 27 pesos, or around $1.15. That's more than the hourly minimum wage. "Yes, the world is coming to an end," he wrote.

In Tijuana, Facebook pages have sprung up to direct people to stores that still have beer, or to people willing to sell from their private stashes.

"Where is there beer at a normal price?" anguished one user.

Someone responded with an American flag emoji.

Indeed, at a number of border crossings, beer is being discreetly carried south, even as illicit drugs flow north.

Lupita Flores, 34, runs a corner store in Reynosa, just across from McAllen, Texas. She ran out of beer weeks ago. So she arranged to have it sent from "the other side" - as Mexicans call the United States.

"Sometimes it costs double or triple," she said. Her suppliers can bring only small amounts on each trip, to avoid getting into trouble. Travelers are allowed to bring up to three liters of beer into Mexico duty-free - around eight 12-ounce cans.

Despite the premium cost, Flores needed to stock up. Many of her customers work in the border assembly plants known as maquiladoras.

"When they get paid, the first thing they do is come get their beer," she said.

Karen Trevino, 30, a graphic designer, had scoured Reynosa for Corona and Michelob Ultra. "We've been looking in supermarkets, shops, in Oxxos, in 7-Elevens," she reported. "Nothing."

She, too, turned to contacts in the United States, where the flow of suds has continued, uninterrupted. Beer as a nonessential product? Por favor. "We northerners are party people," she said.

Tijuana boomed during Prohibition, the period from 1920 to 1933 during which the United States banned alcohol production and sales. Beer-deprived Americans flocked to "the longest bar in the world," the 200-foot marvel at the city's Mexicali Beer Hall.

These days, though, Tijuana's stores are nearly out of beer. And because of restrictions imposed after the coronavirus outbreak, it's harder to cross the border. But residents with jobs in California can still make the trip and pick up a six-pack or two on their way home.

Thanks to the commuters, "20% of the population has beer," said Ricardo Ocampo, a professor of food science at the Technological Institute of Tijuana.

Everyone else, he said, faces a dire situation.

"We are talking about a very high percentage of people whose only option is craft beer."

Yes, craft beer - long dismissed by the Corona crowd as too hoppy, too cloudy, too pricey. Never mind that Mexico's independent breweries were winning increasing respect. They've got plenty of beer, now that restaurants and brewpubs no longer offer dine-in service.

"The outlook is bright for the craft brewers," said Ocampo. "People will dare to try their beer."

Consumers aren't the only victims of the beer shortage, of course.

Mexico's beer industry, dominated by Grupo Modelo and Heineken Mexico, generates 55,000 direct jobs, according to the beermakers' chamber, Cerveceros de Mexico. But counting everyone else involved - barley farmers, restaurants, stores - the number of jobs supported by the industry balloons to 650,000, the chamber says.

"Beer accounts for 25% of exports of the agro-industrial sector," Karla Siqueiros, the head of the chamber, said in an interview. "So we are an agro-industry."

That argument seemed to win the day with the Agriculture Ministry, which issued a letter on April 6 that appeared to allow beer companies to continue working. But then Mexico's coronavirus czar, Hugo Lopez-Gatell, got wind of the missive.

"This is an error and will be amended," he told reporters. The government was permitting only essential activities, he said. "And that doesn't include the production, the distribution of beer."

The country has reported more than 27,600 cases of coronavirus and more than 2,700 deaths.

Mexico is the world's biggest beer exporter, with the United States its most important foreign customer. Constellation Brands Inc., which has two plants in Mexico producing Corona and Modelo beer for sale north of the border, has continued working, at a reduced level, Bloomberg News reported, citing a spokesman.

The impact on exports is unclear. The company did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Even as domestic beer production has shut down, Mexico's wine, tequila and mezcal industries have continued to operate.

Paz Austin, director of the Mexican Council of Winemakers, emphasized the vintners' farming bona fides. "We are an essential activity," she said. "We work in the fields."

But there's little winemaking going on right now, she noted, as vintners await the grape harvest, starting in August. So social-distancing is less of an issue - although "we have followed all the protocols."

The shortage of booze in Mexico isn't due only to the stalled beer production. A number of local governments have restricted or banned sales of alcoholic beverages. Some don't want parties at a time when people are supposed to stay home. Others are concerned that liquor in a time of lockdowns will trigger more domestic abuse. Complaints of domestic violence rose about a quarter in March compared to a year earlier, according to official data.

For Erika Anguiano, the resumption of beermaking can't come soon enough. Her tiny convenience store in Mexico City's Condesa neighborhood has been out of cerveza for weeks, squeezing her profits.

"The government is punishing us," grumbled Anguiano, 43. She knows beer is flowing out there somewhere, beyond her reach.

"Look," she said, tilting her chin toward the street.

A man was walking by with a pushcart stacked with Grupo Modelo boxes. Alberto Hernandez, 40, a maintenance worker, said he'd found it at a nearby store. He was evasive about exactly where. But he insisted he wasn't a profiteer. Just someone who liked beer.

Six cases?

"I won't drink it all in one day," he retorted, and hurried away.

- - -

The Washington Post's Gabriela Martinez contributed to this report.
09.05.2020 LISTEN

350 Ghana Reducing our Carbon (G-ROC) wishes to congratulate Chibeze Ezekiel, a co-founder of 350 G-ROC on his appointment to the governing body of 350.org.

350 G-ROC is the local chapter of 350.org and has been actively involved in the mobilisation of youth for advocacy on climate change and renewable energy development in Ghana.

successfully led the anti-coal campaign through G-ROC, which led to government abolishing plans to establish a coal plant in Ekumfi in the Central Region. And he's currently contributing to the achievement of Ghana's Renewable Energy Development agenda. He joins the Board with a wealth of knowledge and experience on grassroot movements and policy level advocacy through national and international engagements.

Chibeze is an environmentalist working primarily in the areas of climate change, biological diversity, forestry and renewable energy. He is a certified Youth Master trainer on Climate Change and a National Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Champion. He is a strong advocate for youth inclusion in policy and decisionmaking processes, especially in the issues related to climate change and environmental governance.

He also doubles up as the Executive Coordinator of the Strategic Youth Network for Development (SYND), which convenes the Youth in Natural Resources and Environmental Governance (Youth-NREG) Platform. From the Executive Committee of 350 GROC and the entire members, we say ayekooo on your appointment and we are optimistic that your unique leadership will come to bear on the international stage and become a source of motivation to young people particularly African youth.

350.org is an international movement that advocates against the use of fossil fuel and promotes building a world of community-led renewable energy for all. It has presence in Africa, Asia, North America, Europe, Latin America and the Pacific.

Signed

Mrs Portia Adu -Mensah

Co - Coordinator of 350 Ghana Reducing our Carbon

(0243 785 618)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 22:13:40|Editor: huaxia

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BELGRADE, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Serbia confirmed 89 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the overall number of infected to 10,032.

In the past 24 hours, Serbia tested 5,728 people, of which 1.55 percent were positive, according to information released Saturday afternoon by the country's Institute for Public Health.

The total number of tested people increased to 134,533. In total, 2,732 people are considered cured of COVID-19, 1,437 are hospitalized, while 213 lost their fight with the disease since the beginning of the outbreak on March 6.

The overall case mortality rate of COVID-19 in Serbia is currently at 2.12 percent.

After observing the low share of infected among the tested for more than a week, Serbia lifted the state of emergency last Wednesday, abolishing the ban on movement, restarting public and intercity transport, and allowing all businesses to resume working again.

Shopping malls re-opened on Friday, and all people are once again allowed to use city transportation in the capital with obligatory precaution measures.

Air Serbia announced on Friday that it plans to reinstate on May 18 a limited number of commercial flights to London, Frankfurt, Zurich and Vienna. Enditem
Manitoba-based pork producer and processor HyLife announced the acquisition of another Manitoba-based hog company earlier this week.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 9/5/2020 (620 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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HyLife's plant in Neepawa, pictured here, has had its supply of hogs secured after the company acquired Steinbach-based ProVista Agriculture's hog operations earlier this week. (File)

Manitoba-based pork producer and processor HyLife announced the acquisition of another Manitoba-based hog company earlier this week.

HyLife, which is based out of La Broquerie and operates a large pork processing plant in Neepawa, bought Steinbach-based ProVista Agricultures hog-farming operations.

ProVistas operations include 37,000 sows, as well as nursery and finishing barns in southeastern Manitoba, the Red River Valley, the RM of Westbourne and southeastern Saskatchewan.

Kevin Geisheimer, HyLifes marketing and events manager, told the Sun via phone on Friday that the acquisition of ProVista will expand his companys annual hog production capacity by one million to an approximate annual total of 3.3 million.

He said the proximity of ProVistas barns to HyLifes facilities was an important factor in the deal, with the majority of the acquired facilities being located in southeast Manitoba. The two companies also have a long history of working together.

Geisheimer said all 252 ProVista employees are being given the opportunity to move over to HyLife. However, ProVista founders and brothers Arthur and Howard Rempel will eventually move on after the completion of the transitional period.

"This acquisition will secure supply for our nursery and finishing barns going forward and really, pork processing operations in Neepawa," he said. Before the deal, HyLife acquired approximately 25 per cent of its weanlings from ProVista.

According to Geisheimer, this deal wont lead to any immediate growth, expansions or the hiring of new staff at the Neepawa plant, but will give the company the opportunity to do so going forward.

"At the end of the day, this basically secures our hog supply for the most part," he said. "Its not going to mean any necessary growth at our plant in Neepawa today."

The Sun reached out to ProVista for comment on the deal, but the company declined an interview and referred the matter to HyLife.

Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed to the public.

Asked about how the HyLife plant in Neepawa is faring during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Geisheimer said there havent been any diagnosed cases at the facility.

Several meat processing plants in the United States and Canada have had to deal with temporary shutdowns due to workers being diagnosed with the virus, causing supply-line backlogs across the continent. While Maple Leaf has had some of its meat-processing plants affected, its pork plant in Brandon has not seen any cases at this point.

"Its been quite the ride," Geisheimer said. "Weve been working diligently to keep our employees safe."

He said that precautions being taken inside the Neepawa plant include masks, face shields and gloves for employees, monitoring employees temperatures and putting dividers to space out employees in their workspaces.

The company has also hired a public health expert to advise them on best practices and create a response plan. "If we ever do get a case, we have a plan in place," Geisheimer said. "Were acting as if it could happen tomorrow."

HyLifes website says that it employs 1,275 people at its pork processing plant in Neepawa and is the single-largest employer in that community.

 cslark@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @ColinSlark
The legendary "Hope"diamond could originate according to a study, more than three times as deep from the earth like most of the other diamonds. A study of similar diamonds to confirm suspicions that its origin lies in the interior of the earth's mantle, scientists reported by Evan Smith from the American Institute of gemology (GIA) at the Goldschmidt Geochemistry conference, which takes place this year due to the Coronavirus pandemic online. The "Hope"diamond was in the 17th century. Century found in India and is now in a Museum in Washington.

according to legend, he belonged to a Statue of the Indian deity Vishnu, and brought his carrier (including Louis XV and Marie Antoinette) misfortune. It is true that the diamond phosphorescence is capable of, that is, its structure is built in a way that he nachgluht after irradiation with light red "".

the "Cullinan"diamond was found in 1905 in South Africa and as the largest yet discovered diamond could originate, therefore, from the inner mantle of the earth. The diamond was split a few years after the discovery, nine large pieces are part of the British crown jewels.

A diamond is formed mostly by pressure in the earth's mantle, the layer between earth's crust and the earth's core. Most of the diamonds come from a depth of 150 to 200 kilometers, a few but also from a depth of more than 660 kilometers. The researchers working with Evan Smith from the GIA examined the diamonds in the same classification as the "Hope"diamond and the "Cullinan"diamond with lasers and discovered the Remains of the material Bridgmanit, which occurs only in a terrestrial thickness of more than 660 kilometers.

Updated Date: 25 June 2020, 03:20
Emma Freedman has spoken candidly about how difficult it was following her son William's premature birth last year.

The TV and radio presenter, 32, told The Daily Telegraph on Saturday that 'it wasn't easy' after her first child with husband Charlie Rundle arrived more than a month early in April 2019.

'We are just so happy that William came out of hospital and is just a happy healthy little one-year-old now. It wasn't easy,' she told the publication.

'We're so thrilled he's happy and healthy now': Emma Freedman revealed this week how difficult it was welcoming her son William, one, last year who was born six weeks premature

While Emma admits that every day isn't 'perfect', seeing her tiny tot start to 'thrive' 'makes it all worthwhile.'

'You will have amazing days and pretty average days as well but it all balances out in the end and when you see them happy and thriving, it does make it all worthwhile,' she said.

Emma is excited to be finally celebrating her first Mother's Day on Sunday, after she missed out last, while William was still in hospital after the birth.

The blonde beauty also revealed she would love to give William a little brother or sister and expects to have more children in 'the near future.'

Adding to her brood: The blonde beauty also revealed she would love to give William a little brother or sister and expects to have more children in 'the near future'

Emma and Charlie welcomed William back in April last year, six weeks ahead of their expected due date.

The newborn was required to spend his first month in the hospital.

In a post Emma shared to Instagram in May last year, she spoke of her joy at being able to bring her son home for the first time.

Tiny tot: Emma and Charlie welcomed William back in April last year, six weeks ahead of their expected due date. The newborn was required to spend his first month in the hospital

'Happiness is home after four weeks in hospital! Welcome William!' she said.

'Our little preemie fighter has come on in leaps and bounds over the last week, so was thrilled to be served an eviction notice this morning. He is thriving (sic).'

Emma previously announced the April 16 birth to Instagram, and said the whole experience had been an 'eventful 10 days'.

'Happiness is home after four weeks in hospital!' At the time, Emma shared her joy to Instagram after being able to bring her baby home after four weeks in hospital

Weighing 2.5kg and measuring 49cm, Emma described her bundle of joy as having 'long legs, blue eyes, fair hair and chubby cheeks'.

'As is the case with preemie babies, we have been in hospital since his arrival and that will continue for a little time yet (sic),' she told her followers.

'He is perfectly healthy, just needs time to adapt to the outside world. He is making amazing progress every day.'

William is the first child for the couple who tied the knot back in June 2018 at the Paddington Reservoir in Sydney.
A funeral home business leader for Brazil's state that covers much of the Amazon region says emergency coffin shipments have started to arrive for people who have died of COVID-19.

Manuel Viana is president of the Amazonas Union of Funeral Companies and said Friday that more than 500 coffins were delivered by ship to Manaus, the largest city in Amazonas state.

He says hundreds more are on the way and will be distributed in Manaus and other cities in the region.

Manaus is one of the hardest hit Brazilian cities for coronavirus deaths and Viana says there are predictions that the city of more than 2 million could have more than 4,300 deaths in May.

A Johns Hopkins University count says there have been more than 10,000 COVID-19 deaths so far in Latin America's largest and most populous country.

A Brazil funeral home association last week requested an airlift of coffins to Manaus.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Health workers sanitizing an area near Nizamuddin mosque after people who attended religious congregation at Tablighi Jamaat Markaz tested positive for coronavirus in New Delhi. (Photo: Pritam Bandyopadhyay)

Mumbai: A sessions court on Friday granted bail to ten Indonesian nationals who were arrested for not disclosing that they had attended the Tablighi Jamat gathering at Markaz Nizamuddin in Delhi. The court also granted interim relief from arrest to two of them who have been kept under quarantine after they tested positive for Covid-19.

Advocate Taraq Sayed and Ishrat Ali Khan appeared for the applicants and Judge V. V. Kathare granted bail to all ten persons on a personal bond of Rs 25,000 each.

The Bandra police had opposed the pre-arrest bail plea filed by the remaining two persons but since the hearing is pending, the judge granted them interim protection and deferred the hearing till May 11.

The applicants had contended that the holy month of Ramadan is underway and there is no proper facility in jail for pre-dawn meal and post- fasting Iftar meal.

They also argued that the present case is a classic example of misuse of powers of the police machinery by applying sections 304 (culpable homicide) and 307 (attempt to murder) of IPC without evidence to justify the same. Despite having tested negative for Covid-19, there was no need for their arrest and the same is an arbitrary exercise of powers.

According to them, there is no substance in the case which attracts sections 307 and 304 of IPC. They also argued that the claim made by police that applicants misused and fabricated passports is absolutely false. They said the rest of the charges were bailable and hence they should be released on bail.

The Bandra police had arrested ten persons on April 23, as they failed to comply with police advisory. Police had earlier issued an advisory, warning people, who had attended the meet in Delhi, to come forward failing which legal action would be taken against them.
Spokesperson for Ministry of People's Armed Forces of DPRK Blames S. Korean Military for Its Reckless Military Provocation

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK

Pyongyang, May 8 (KCNA) -- A spokesperson for the Ministry of the People's Armed Forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea made public the following statement on Thursday:

On Wednesday, the south Korean military staged a joint military drill in the hotspot waters in the West Sea of Korea with the involvement of more than twenty fighters of F-15K, KF-16, F-4E and FA-50 belonging to the air combat command of the Air Force and storm boats under the Navy's 2nd Fleet and others.

Such reckless move of the military warmongers of the south side is the height of the military confrontation which would leave tongue-tied even their master, who responded to every military drill staged by us with words like halt and regretful, saying it does not help the efforts to defuse tension on the Korean peninsula.

Everything is now going back to the starting point before the north-south summit meeting in 2018.

The recent joint drill was staged in the air and sea in the biggest hotspot area in the West Sea of Korea in which military conflicts occurred between the north and the south in the past, and it was openly launched, assuming that there were a "strange sign" and "provocation" from us.

What merits more attention is that the south Korean military staged the said military drill while calling us their "enemy."

This is a grave provocation which can never be overlooked and this situation demands a necessary reaction from us.

It is no more than the deliberate pursuit of confrontation the excuse for which can never be made.

The south Korean military did not hide the fact that the joint military drill aimed at improving its capability to cope with the north's firepower and surprise "provocation" and at striking the base of the "enemy's provocation" and repelling the forces supporting it.

The reckless military provocation by the south Korean military is a total denial and an open perfidy to the north-south agreement in the military field in which both sides promised the whole Korean nation to stop all the hostile acts against the other party on the ground and in the sea and air, to turn the West Sea zone into the peaceful waters, in particular.

The recent drill served as an opportunity which awakened us once again to the obvious fact that the enemies remain enemies all the time.

Should we remain a passive onlooker when the enemy gets zealous while openly calling for an attack on us? -0-

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09.05.2020 LISTEN

Since the Covid-19 pandemics started, and Bill Gates indiscreet quick advertising of his digital vaccination as an antidote to the virus, his media defenders have been reeling strange gratitudinal dispositions towards the multi-billion philanthropists.

Bill Gates was the first to advertise a digital certificate as a tech identification of vaccinated recipients. Digital certificate is derivable from chips implantation. A digital certificate can be derived from a tattoo. The difference between a digital implantation and digital tattoo is technically, very insignificant. I am not a rookie in digital intelligence to be deceived by these media craps.

I am a Christian, cleric, theologian and IT expert among others and I have forewarned that the Coronavirus is a Chinese contraption which the Illuminati wants to use to install a new world order. Some of these articles include I used to elucidate these points include

1. Corona Virus: Church leaders abandon God-Suspends Masses, Deliverances, Anointings

2. Corona Virus: Jesus not Coming Soon, More Pandemics Coming

3. Coronavirus: Illuminati and Chinese Deadly Blow

4. Coronavirus: Illuminati rattles Vatican, Canterbury

5 Forced Vaccination Bill: Illuminati Hijacks Nigeria's Parliament, Covid-19 Team

Rehearsing these write-ups is not part of my script, however, I know the book of Revelation 13; 16-18 says It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666

Far back in 1993, some South Korean missionaries came to Nigeria , and in a programme hosted at Grace of God Mission, 2B Owerri Road, Enugu ,under Rev Dr Austin Nwodika, now Archbishop, and warned us, not to accept any digital mark under any guile, whether for health, security, commerce etc. I attended the 3-evening programme and their warnings are still fresh in my memories, twenty seven years later.

Following my degree and theological studies, and practices, I ventured into the IT world and got appreciable knowledge in networking, database administration among others and my vast knowledge had helped me understand all these controversies-5G, artificial intelligence, chips technology among others , therefore, that digital certificate from Bill Gates is capable of being used negatively if it gets into rogue hands.

Bill Gates had spent about $1.6 billion dollars in Nigeria, 90 percent of them in the Muslim dominated North of Nigeria to eradicate sickness. Wonderful news!.

A woman ex-minster of petroleum in Nigeria under the immediate past administration now on asylum in the UK, in my estimate, stole over $6 billion dollars, and the British authorities are aiding her asylum because there is no evidence that her repatriation with her loot will be utilized by he new czars.

Therefore, Bill Gates spend $1.6 billion dollars in Nigeria, but an oil minister stole $ 6 billion dollars including diverted oil receipts not passed through federation accounts,outright oil theft, oil bunkering, outrageous oil brokerage fees, and fuel subsidy scam. During the five years that the immediate past regime held sway, in my estimate, over $142 billion dollars was looted.

Read more from my article 'Stolen!! $142 billion dollars Nigerias Oil Revenue in 5 Years  In The Midst of National Poverty-additional Financial Mathematics'.

Prof Chukwuma Soludo, Nigeria's former Governor of Central Bank, in his estimate of the loot of that five years, put it at $150 billion dollars. President Buhari in 2015 told the UK government that $150 billion dollars was looted in five years.

Therefore, if all these strange media defenders of Bill Gates philanthropy had used the stolen $142 billion dollars , there would be no need for Bill Gates $1.6 billion dollars incursion into our health system. All these thieves who are making the Bill Gates vaccine the only alternative and wants us to surrender our freedom because of his gracious philanthropy, are all part of the new world order agenda.

Some of these big thieves are among those who deceived ex- president Jonathan, created imaginary enemies for him, and looted the nation blind when the Otuoke born leader was chasing Boko Haram members he admitted were in his cabinet. These same thieves looted and derailed Jonathan's transformation agenda to the point that the gentleman president attracted the opprobrium of world leaders.

These cheer leaders have turned to Bill Gates media defenders , after embezzling between $142-$150 billion dollars which would have been used to provide pipe borne water, decent housing, decent living, social security and food security and health security, asking us to sell our collective destiny because of Bill Gates goodwill is very satanic.

I am not against what Bill Gates is developing, its even good for mankind, if it will mitigate diseases, and I commend him for his activities in Nigerian but I know that the angst against Bill Gates is not limited to Nigeria.

1.Millions who blasted bill gates on social media over his vaccine are mostly Europeans and Americans, not Nigeria . His post drew 45,000 nasty comments in 24 hours on twitter

2. A petition calling on the White House to investigate Bill and Melinda Gates for crimes against humanity surpassed half a million signatures, above the one hundred thousand threshold since its creation on April 10. The signatories are not Nigerians

3. Robert Kennedy Jr., the son of Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of John F. Kennedy, had criticized Bill Gates vaccine. He alleged last week that "Gates had used his influence to shift the WHO's approach to disease eradication" Robert Kennedy Jr's father was assassinated by the Illuminati the same manner they assassinated John F Kennedy. Robert Kennedy Jr knows much about the new wold order and the reasons his father and nephew were taken out. He is not from Nigeria.

The groundswell of attacks against Bill Gates comes from Europe and America and I do not see why Nigerian media defenders will ignore all these global concerns and reel us of how we should be grateful for the help from the philanthropist.

Bill Gates is a model of philanthropy and model of good heart towards the needy, and I appreciate the fact that apart from his medical incursions,his Microsoft applications and operating systems are the most user-friendly, though its security and firewalls are not so secure. Therefore, Bill Gates has the reputation of make things digitally easy.

Despite my admiration for Bill Gates, I know so much about the 'One World Order' agenda and the Illuminati ethos of 'Chaos before Order' which they wrenched from the Freemasons. I know about the biblical ethos that the Antichrist will appear peaceably at first before unleashing terror on the world Daniel 11:21: [There] shall arise a vile person, to whom they [the predecessors of the coming world government] will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue. Therefore, anything that resembles a mark of the beast is suspect, no matter who is involved.

Bill Gates philanthropy thrives in Nigeria because some black monkeys embezzled over $400 billion dollars of corrupt bananas since independence leaving the populace in search of hopeless Covid-19 palliatives.

Bill Gates! I like your good heart! but I look unto 'Jesus the Author and Finisher of My Faith' Hebrew 12:2 . Jesus had already warned mankind in Revelation 13: 16-18 about any mark on either the hand or forehead whether for health, security, economic, pandemic, epidemic purposes.

I had rather follow the opaque instructions of Jesus rather than the digital innovations and technological wonders of Bill Gates.

I know that the Illuminati controls vast aspects of the world. Their top echelons supplied steel and oil to the Nazis during the second world war and yet joined allied forces to destroy Hitler. They create chaos and brings solution midst the cheering of unsuspecting minds. They are in the military, churches, politics, business and they control the media.

I have encountered a few Illuminati top echelons in my missionary and private life and I know their antecedents.

Bill Gates's philanthropy in Nigeria was a fallout of years of corrupt impoverishment of the people by their leaders. If the successive oil windfalls from Obasanjo through Yar'adua to Jonathan has been judiciously applied, we wouldn't have needed any Bill Gates philanthropy.

Therefore, let the strange media defenders of Bill Gates shut their dirty mouth and let all these forced vaccination first experimented in the United States.

(Obinna Akukwe , columnist wrote via [email protected], facebook.com/obinnaakukwe)
The Bombay high court has asked the Maharashtra government to ensure that Covid-19 does not spread any further in Mumbais Arthur Road jail where 77 inmates and 26 staff members have tested positive for the virus.

Justice Bharati Dangres direction came on Friday while hearing a bail application on Friday filed by an inmate, Ali Akbar Shroff, citing medical reasons.

The prisoner had sought temporary bail claiming that he had become more vulnerable due to the spread of Covid-19 in Arthur Road jail.

The judge said that the authorities need not be reminded of the rights of inmates to safe and healthy environment and even while in incarceration they equally enjoy the right to life as those in the outside world.

Shroffs counsel, senior advocate Abad Ponda pointed out that the 43-year-old is a chronic patient of diabetes, hyper-tension and high blood pressure. Ponda added that Shroff also has sinus problem and required constant medical treatment and supervision.

This medical condition, according to the senior advocate, may prove fatal as persons suffering from hypertension and diabetes are considered more susceptible to coronavirus and therefore urged the court to release Shroff on temporary bail.

The situation no doubt is precarious, said Justice Dangre commenting on Pondas statement that several inmates of Arthur Road jail have tested positive for coronavirus. If it is true that more than 100 patients have been tested positive in Arthur Road jail, it is for the authorities to arrange for their affairs and to ensure that the inmates presently housed in the jail are not infected by the virus.

She, however, rejected the interim bail plea saying a number of aged inmates are presently languishing in jail although they are more prone to the virus, as compared to the present applicant. Since no imminent health impediment is reflected in case of the present applicant, application is rejected, she said.
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Linkedin David Rosen (The Jakarta Post) Jerusalem  Sat, May 9 2020

Few religions have as much in common as Islam and Judaism. At the heart of the two faiths is an ethical-monotheistic vision that determinedly resists any compromise on the idea of the transcendence and unity of God, who is envisaged as just and merciful and who has revealed a way of life in accordance with these values for the benefit of human society.



Even though Islam and Judaism differ over the precise text of such revelation, the Hebrew Pentateuch (the Torah) and the Quran share much religious narrative as well as injunctions. The two religions also share many other fundamental religious concepts, such as reward and punishment relating to a Day of Divine Judgment, as well as the belief in the afterlife, heaven and hell, and future resurrection.



Moreover, the structure and modus operandi of their religious jurisprudential codes of conduct  sharia and halachah  bear a striking similarity. Both Islam and Judaism are essentially theocratic democracies or better, meritocracies, in as much as they do not have clergy who by virtue of sacrament are separate from the rest of the community.



Religious authority is essentially a function of individual mastery of the religious sources to be able to guide the community in accordance with their teachings. While there are of course many differences in their specific forms, the two faiths also share the central practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, as well as dietary laws and aspects of ritual purity.



In addition, both religions have a lunar calendar. But whereas in Islam this means that the religious calendar is continuously moving in relation to the solar calendar, Judaism synchronizes its lunar calendar with the solar calendar approximately every three years. This of course means that the coincidence of events in the two calendars changes over the years and offers ever changing insights.



This year, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan coincides with the Hebrew period of the Counting of the Omer, the days between Pesach  Passover celebrating the exodus from Egypt  and Shavuot, the anniversary of the revelation of the Torah at Mount Sinai. This counting highlights the fact that freedom and independent dignity are given to us to serve God and His way of justice, righteousness and mercy.



Notably, just before Shavuot, Ramadan reaches a climax on laylat al qadr, the night when the Quran was first sent down from heaven to the world and when the first verses were revealed to the Prophet.



Thus both religious communities will be affirming around the same time, the idea that the divine way of life has been revealed to humanity; and that the goal of our respective ritual observances is to draw near to the All Merciful (Ha-Rahaman in Hebrew, identical to El Rahman in Arabic) and our fellow human beings, in love and service.



While there have been ups and downs in the history of Jewish communities under Islam, there is no question that Jews fared far better under its rule than they did in the Christian world, and there were periods of great collaboration and mutual stimulation in the arts, sciences as well is in philosophy, commerce and even social and political cooperation.



The collapse of imperial rule and the rise of modern nationalism led to the clash between the Jewish nationalist aspiration for self-determination in the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people and the struggle for national self-determination on the part of the regional and local Arab populations. The conflict that followed is thus a territorial one and not a religious one. However, in recent times, vested interest parties have increasingly sought to give the conflict a religious character.



While not seeking to go into the causes and effects, rights and wrongs of the political struggle in the Middle East, the increasing religious characterization of a territorial conflict has come from various quarters, presenting it as part of a clash of civilizations between the Muslim world and Western/Christian world, with Israel and the Jews portrayed as a hostile bridgehead into the Arab world in particular and the Muslim world in general.



However, the truth of the matter is that what we are witnessing is not a clash of civilizations as much as a clash within civilizations. It is a clash between those elements of a religious culture whose sense of historic injury and humiliation leads to alienation and conflict within their own societies as well as to those outside their religious culture, and those who seek to constructively engage other societies as part of world culture and a positive interaction with modernity. This clash within civilizations means that religious extremists of various traditions and cultures are (almost always unwittingly) part and parcel of a conspiracy of conflict.



Regrettably, because their very character and goals are sensational, they get far greater visibility. Precisely therefore, the enlightened voices of religion within these traditions have a responsibility to work together not only to be greater than the sum of their different parts but also to provide the essential alternative testimony  that of interreligious cooperation and mutual respect.



In particular, Muslim and Jewish leaders have a duty to their communities and faith traditions to counteract the destructive exploitation of their religious heritages and to draw their inspiration from those past examples of the glory of cooperation and collaboration among the children of Abraham.



This requires that first and foremost, we educate ourselves genuinely about one another and not allow prejudice, bigotry, stereotypes and propaganda, to poison our minds.



Indeed, this is the charge of the Quran itself in Surat Al-Hujarat (The Chambers, 49:13) to know one another and to compete only in righteousness.



May both Muslims and Jews live up to this charge and demonstrate ourselves to be worthy children of our common father Abraham and of our respective religious traditions.

______

Former chief rabbi of Ireland and the Jerusalem-based international director of interreligious affairs of the American Jewish Committee

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El presidente @MartinVizcarraC sostuvo un dialogo telefonico con su homologo de Estados Unidos, @realDonaldTrump, quien reconocio los esfuerzos del Gobierno y pueblo peruano en la lucha contra la enfermedad provocada por el COVID-19. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/qlOOibgLMN
Taiwan has said that the World Health Organisation (WHO) had ignored its alert in early December about human-to-human transmission of coronavirus which has now claimed thousands of lives around the world.



The virus that originated in China is highly contagious. WHO apparently ignored Taiwan's alert, subsequently slowing down the response to the pandemic, according to Financial Times.

WHO has also faced backlash for praising China's handling of the coronavirus pandemic despite several accusations of initial cover-up, which also included threatening of whistle-blowers with arrest for talking about the pandemic.

Reuters

Health officials in Taipei said they alerted the WHO at the end of December about the risk of human-to-human transmission of the new virus but said its concerns were not passed on to other countries, FT said.

Taipei government officials told the Financial Times that their warning was not shared with other countries.

China's health ministry confirmed human-to-human transmission of the novel virus on January 20, after the WHO said there could be "limited" human transmission cases, but backtracked on the view on the same day.

Why WHO ignored Taiwan's warning?

The reason why WHO apparently ignored Taiwan's alert which could have saved thousands of lives has a political background and China's relations with Taiwan.

Taiwan is not a part of the WHO because China claims it as part of its territory and does not want it treated as an independent state.





AP





The FT report, quoting WHO's Dr Bruce Aylward, who led the team to China's Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, said there was a "huge back and forth" with Chinese officials about what went in the report.

Dr Aylward added that Chinese also refused to include any reference to avoiding a "second wave" of coronavirus in the report.

According to worldometer.com, there are a total of 494,465 active cases of coronavirus worldwide and at least 31,045 deaths.

The latest epicentre of the deadly pandemic is the US, which now has more than 115,000 cases and over 2,000 deaths.
Today is shaping up negative for GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) shareholders, with the analysts delivering a substantial negative revision to this year's forecasts. Revenue and earnings per share (EPS) forecasts were both revised downwards, with analysts seeing grey clouds on the horizon.

After the downgrade, the consensus from GrafTech International's four analysts is for revenues of US$1.1b in 2020, which would reflect a substantial 31% decline in sales compared to the last year of performance. Statutory earnings per share are anticipated to nosedive 39% to US$1.43 in the same period. Prior to this update, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$1.4b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.12 in 2020. It looks like analyst sentiment has declined substantially, with a pretty serious reduction to revenue estimates and a large cut to earnings per share numbers as well.

Check out our latest analysis for GrafTech International

NYSE:EAF Past and Future Earnings May 9th 2020

The consensus price target fell 24% to US$9.00, with the weaker earnings outlook clearly leading analyst valuation estimates. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. There are some variant perceptions on GrafTech International, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$13.00 and the most bearish at US$7.00 per share. This is a fairly broad spread of estimates, suggesting that the analysts are forecasting a wide range of possible outcomes for the business.

Looking at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can make sense of these forecasts is to see how they measure up against both past performance and industry growth estimates. We would highlight that sales are expected to reverse, with the forecast 31% revenue decline a notable change from historical growth of 30% 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 4.8% annually for the foreseeable future. So although its revenues are forecast to shrink, this cloud does not come with a silver lining - GrafTech International is expected to lag the wider industry.

Story continues

The Bottom Line

The biggest issue in the new estimates is that analysts have reduced their earnings per share estimates, suggesting business headwinds lay ahead for GrafTech International. Regrettably, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and the latest forecasts imply the business will grow sales slower than the wider market. With a serious cut to this year's expectations and a falling price target, we wouldn't be surprised if investors were becoming wary of GrafTech International.

Worse, GrafTech International is labouring under a substantial debt burden, which - if today's forecasts prove accurate - the forecast downgrade could potentially exacerbate. You can learn more about our debt analysis for free on our platform here.

You can also see our analysis of GrafTech International's Board and CEO remuneration and experience, and whether company insiders have been buying stock.

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.
Online schooling, Week 5.

Mommy is self-isolating in the attic with a presumptive case of COVID-19  diagnosed by her doc on the phone  while crabby, overtired Dad is overseeing todays journal writing session to be submitted for marks.

On the familys desktop computer, Sam, 10, is writing a spirited entry about his inflexible, hair-trigger father, who makes him and his brother Max, 11, go for long walks during break time and how much that pisses him off.

Max, meanwhile, is on the couch, writing on his Chromebook how his tyrannical martinet dad always forces him and his little brother outside at breaks to get fresh air and how much that pisses him off.

Im standing in the middle of the room, reading over their shoulders and thinking, I admire their passion, and their spirited use of exclamation points, but this is not the way I see myself.

This is, nonetheless, our new reality now that school is out, probably for summer, and Ive been forced out of my lair to oversee this latest COVID-related public relations disaster.

Sgt. Dad, reporting for duty, ready to champion high-tech learning while reflecting on my own primary school days in the age of Pet Rocks and Clackers.

When was that, 150 years ago?

There were no computers back then, a McDonalds hamburger cost 15 cents and when Toronto teachers went on strike in the fall of 75 for two months, I remember watching Fonzie water ski in his leather jacket on a wheeled-in TV in the deserted science lab.

Happy Days indeed.

But times have changed. And when Ontario unveiled plans to educate the provinces youth through a high-tech interface, I figured the transition from physical to online schooling would be a gift from the gods.

But there are factors beyond my control:

Technology. Yes, times have changed since the first Trudeau sported lamb-chop sideburns and kids like me played the video game Pong on crappy TVs in our basements.

After one day overseeing this bold new paradigm, its clear my chances of cracking the code on Growth Mindset journals and Error Analysis units are the same as a chimp mastering the formula for nuclear fission.

The presence of an unwilling captive audience, who resent being made to work on their holiday and wont tolerate parents masquerading as educators.

These are kids who never liked to learn in the first place and who are celebrating the end of school as we know it, notes Isabel Kuxdorf, a Baden parent of four who wrote me before the online curriculum was released.

Books are the plague, not the coronavirus. So when asked to write three things theyre grateful for I got: 1) the coronavirus, the PS4 and, well, nothing else.

By the time teachers stepped up with lesson plans and deadlines, she says, the education ship had already sailed.

Home-schooling, like a balloon flying high with such hope a few weeks ago, has deflated, lamented the work-from-home business owner.

Both home teacher and pupil hardly care. The books, paper and pencils lying on the table with such promise are now collecting dust. The new teachers are YouTube stars and the happy, dancey folks on TikTok.

Im perhaps less skeptical.

By the end of my third day of riding herd, Ive missed all my work deadlines but succeeded in gaining a measure of compliance until the 10-year-old becomes overwhelmed with love for the cat, and his brother  who has autism and doesnt tolerate infractions  decides he can no longer coexist in the same room with someone who would kiss an animal on the mouth.

Ill have that story for you in two minutes, I inform my editor. Just as soon as I break up this fist fight.

When I press the issue, both kids tell me that while they love doing school work on computers while reclining on the couch, they miss their friends and, especially, their teachers.

Let me address that last point.

When I was a student at the dawn of the Stone Age, teachers were strictly a hit-and-miss proposition, from the moustache who screened a semi-porno film to 11-year-olds in the age of free love to the high school math tyrant who stomped out when we meekly requested an extra review session before an end-of-term exam.

Im sure there are still middling teachers, but Ive had kids in the public system for eight years and, I kid you not, we havent had a bad one yet.

These are caring, emotionally intelligent people who get the unique personalities in their charge and, in my experience, will happily go the extra mile.

No wonder I cant compete.

And after my dad yelled at me about the walk, writes my younger son in his next journal entry, he read my journal and yelled at me for writing that he yelled so much!

Lets be honest: in 2020, the public education system is the only thing standing between my life and complete chaos.

Without direct engagement between teacher and student, this will not go well, agrees Kuxdorf, who sounds ready to throw in the towel.

Weve had some success this week but, to be honest, I havent checked anyones work so its anyones guess if they did the stuff they were supposed to. Plus I have PTSD from trying to get No. 2 to do anything that has to do with school, while No. 3 was bitterly disappointed that online learning didnt mean FaceTime with his beloved teachers. His motivation plummeted.

She sighs. The kids need to get back to school. There. I said it.
Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media. Good morning residents of the two Districts, Good morning to the good people of Ghana.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media, on behalf of the good people of Moagduri and North Gonja District, I would like to welcome you all to this very important maiden Press conference.

You deserve a tap on your shoulders for the sacrifices you've had to pass through in other to honour our invitation. We are extremely grateful to you and we hope this will be the beginning of more cordial relations to come.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, we find it vital and imperative, even under the circumstances in which we currently have to deal with the deadly COVID-19, to hold this press conference.

For residents in these two Districts, the issue at hand is more deadly and dangerous even than COVID-19. Whiles we urge fellow Constituents to continue sacrificing in adherence to the social distancing protocols, we will like to commend the President for his thought provoking decisions to keep us safe, and demonstrating that indeed, "The Black Man Is Capable Of Managing His Own Affairs"

First of all Ladies and Gentlemen, we would like to state emphatically without any shred of doubt that, this program is purely non-partisan and not under the influence of any political party.

We are a coalition of youth from two major Districts i.e, Mamprugu Moagduri District in the North East Region and North Gonja District in the Savannah Region.

Our activities are purely driven by Patriotism and our collective desire to ensure our respective Districts get their share of the national cake.

Our decision to join forces is motivated by the profound word of the renown American Civil Rights Activist, Martin Luther King Jnr., who opined in Letter from the Birmingham Jail" Injustice Anywhere Is A Threat To Justice Everywhere. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.

Ladies and Gentlemen, advancing developmental course of our societies must be viewed as an effort not only aimed at promoting the dignity of our fellow human beings, but an efforts to safeguard our own dignity and worth.

This conference seeks to highlight very critical issues regarding some halted projects in the Constituency. Our main focus today will be on the Yagaba-Kubori portion of the road which connects us to our neighbours in the North Gonja District.

MAM-NOG YOUTH FOR DEVELOPMENT would like to cease this opportunity to jointly express our profound gratitude to the government for the few developmental projects that are currently on going in our Districts. Whiles we commend the President for his thought provoking decisions to keep us safe under the circumstances, we will like to appeal to government not to relent on its efforts.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media, residents of Moagduri and North Gonja District have been thrown into a state of shock last week, regarding recent developments on the Yagaba-Kubori portion of the Yagaba-Mankarigu road.

Whiles we commend government for re-awarding portions of the Contract (Kubori-Mankarigu) to a different Contractor (MAWUMS), we equally want to blame government for paying lip service to the remaining portion (Yagaba to Kubori portion) of the contract, which is very critical and dear to the hearts of many.

Ladies and Gentlemen, those who are familiar with the road in question, will attest to the fact that; It is the major highway in the two Districts. It is a road that connects us to the Upper East Region, the Northern Region and more importantly, Mankarigu in the North Gonja District of the Savannah Region. It is also a major rout to the Sandema and Walewale Hospitals, which are our main referral centres .

Due to the current nature of the road ladies and gentlemen, Criminals take advantage of that and have consistently attack and rob traders and other road users of their valuables. We are living in constant fear and panic over this unusual menace. This abandoned portion of the contract has suddenly become a danger zone. When we developed interest in the matter and decided to push for some answers from the powers that be, it ended being a regrettable pursuit.

All attempts to access the contract document have been unsuccessful, as Authorities are not forthcoming with the desired information. Sources within government however suggest that the Contractor has been paid some monies, contrary to his own claims that, he's not been paid.

Pushing further for answers as to why the Contractor left site, some blamed the delay and his subsequent disappearance on overload of contracts by his government then. To ascertain the veracity of this claim, we undertook an investigation into similar road contracts within the District.

Ladies and Gentlemen, our investigation reveals that, as Chairman of Hajj Board and then NDC Candidate for the area, Tanko made sure that major contracts that were coming to the District, came in his Company's name (TASS KALIA ENTERPRISE).

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media, MAM-NOG YOUTH FOR DEVELOPMENT is scandalized and completely at a lost as to how and why the John Mahama administration awarded about five different road projects to a company owned by their then Parliamentary Candidate.

Below are the Contracts;

On the 18th of August, 2016, the NDC government awarded for rehabilitation works on a 22.40km YIZESI-MUGU-DABOZESI-TUVUU roads. This contract was awarded to TASS KALIA ENTERPRISE, with a contract sum of GHC6,349,258.72. The commencement date was 18th August, 2016 and was expected to be completed on the 17th August, 2017.

On that same day Ladies and Gentlemen, The NDC government awarded rehabilitation works on a 16.60km TANTALA-ZUKPENI-WONTOBRI road. This was again awarded to TASS KALIA ENTERPRISE, with a contract sum of GHC4,845,457.20. The commencement date was also 18th August, 2016 and was expected to be completed on the 17th of August, 2017.

Again, similar contract was awarded for rehabilitation works on a 38.0km YAGABA-KUBAGNA-LICHA road. It was awarded to the same company with the same commencement and completion dates. The contract sum was GHC9,492,962.88

Last but not least, the almighty Yagaba to Mankarigu road, which contract document we've been denied access to.

The findings after our investigation has not only evoke palpitations, but raw anger from well meaning Constituents. We find it unfathomable why all these projects were awarded to the same company at the same date.

The Contractor who is now the Member of Parliament knew then that he had no such capacity to execute all these projects and could have given out some to his fellow party men, but he selfishly took all.

OUR POSITION

MAM-NOG feels very strongly about this project and demands an immediate return to site by the Contractor. If under the circumstances, the Contractor has no interest in the project, we give him a one week ultimatum to relinquish the contract from Yagaba-Kubori. The Contractor is advice to write a letter to the supervisory Ministry, in this case, Ministry of Roads and Highways indicating his inability to continue with the project, so it can be given to a capable Contractor to work on. Ladies and Gentlemen, anything short of this, SHALL BE RESISTED WITH FULL FORCE.

Again, the Regional Highways Director must as a matter of urgency, visit and explain to the Community as to why the project have been abandoned for almost 5 years. He must again tell us if there have been any payments made to the Contractor. Anything short of this will not be countenance. We are completely disappointed in the Highways Director for being in bed with a Contractor who is not God-fearing.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media, MAM-NOG YOUTH FOR DEVELOPMENT has given the Minister for Roads and Highways and the Regional Highways Director, a one (1) week ultimatum to ensure our demands are met.

OTHER ALTERNATIVES

Ladies and Gentlemen, should the government fails to meet our demands in this circumstance, we shall organise a mass demonstration to register our displeasure and out rightly prevent all Politicians from campaigning in our Constituencies

For probity and accountability, we will like to appeal to you the Media, to dig deeper into these matters and unravel the truth surrounding the projects. Possible conflict of interest position, certified payments and possible breach of procurement process.

TANKO'S STYLE OF LEADERSHIP

It is morally, politically and legally obligatory for every Member of Parliament to advocate or lobby for development in his backyard.

Unfortunately, these are conspicuously missing in the leadership of Tanko. His service in politics for the past 20 years, have been to himself, his family and friends from near and far.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media, the Member of Parliament in question have had more years in Ghana's Parliament than any other person from the constituency, but yet he is the most non-performing MP.

Whiles his Peers i.e, the likes of Hon Afenyo Markin, Hon Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Hon Samuel Okudjeto Ablakwa and many other fine brains in Parliament, have been making strenuous efforts to elevate their respective Constituents from the shackles of abject poverty and hopelessness, same cannot be said of Hon Tanko, as he has thrown his core mandate to the dogs, and goes about his private business.

Since he became the Member of Parliament, he is yet to make any meaningful contribution/advocacy on the floor of Parliament. We indulge you to check the parliamentary Hansard of Parliament to confirm this for yourself. Our hope to get out of the trouble waters remain a mirage.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media, without any fear or favour, Hon Tanko is certainly not a modern day MP, and for that matter, not an MP one from 'a lagging behind constituency' such as ours, can be proud of in terms of his pursuit of their development course in and out of Parliament.

Whiles most Politicians hunt and gather innovative ideas to better represent their people, Tanko engages in primitive accumulations. He hunts and gathers houses and cars and monies among other things. Arrogance, disrespect, divisive, selfishness and wickedness towards the good people of Kubori have become an enterprise he currently trades in. The gods and ancestors of this great land shall speak for us.

More worrying Ladies and Gentlemen is the fact that, even the little opportunities that come his way to develop his people is seen as another God-given opportunity to further widen the poverty gap between he and those who gave him the power.

He is a Politician with no sense of fellow feeling. A politician with no scintilla of God fearing component in him. A Member of Parliament who is not fit for purpose.

"We live in a continent where legislators are measured by the number of funerals that they attend; where the efficacy of legislators is measured by the number of weddings they attend.....Where their significance is measured by the number of men and women that they support on the day of their weddings. And therefore we live in a continent where the legislator is misunderstood."

Me: Even worrying in our case is that, our MP doesn't even fall within this category. Our MP has failed on his legitimate duties and failing under the circumstances in which we misunderstood their functions for. lifting high the burdens of nepotism. We want to thank him for lifting high the burdens of despotism. We want to thank him for lifting high the burdens of hunger, hopelessness and injustices.

We equally want to thank him for making us destitute.

Thank you Tanko. I guess that is all that Constituents can say to you, for bequeathing on to us, these values, which have been the bane on our development.

Yagaba-Kubori will write its own history and in both north and south it will be a history of glory and dignity and to worshippers of Tanko's greed please note that, It is better to die for an idea that will live, than to live for an idea that will die.

.In conclusion, we will like to thank you the Media for honouring our invitation, and we anticipate that, God will guide you back safely to your respective destinations.

We equally want to thank all members of MAM-NOG YOUTH FOR DEVELOPMENT for your patriotism and commitment.

GOD BLESS OUR HOMELAND GHANA, AND MAKE OUR NATION GREAT AND STRONG

THANK YOU!

YIDANA IBRAHIM SULE, CONVENER

0243877647

SEIDU DAMBA ABDULAI KEITA, PRO

0548480101


In its press release, the company said the demand for rail transportation of exports from Russia to Vietnam has begun to increase since 2019, adding that rail service has further thrived with the cancellation of flights due to COVID-19.

The demand for the transportation of milk power and food expanded by four times as compared with the previous time, it noted.

RZD Logistics Director General Dmitry Murev said transportation services on the route between Vietnam and Russia proposed by the company have drawn the attention of producers.

Exports will be transported by train from Vorsino station in Kaluga province through Zabaikalsk, Siberia and China to Yen Vien station in Hanoi, from where they are transported on road to shops around the country. The average transportation time from Vorsino to Yen Vien is 24 days.

RZD Logistics is responsible for organising the entire supply chain, while FELB, its subsidiary, forwards freight across China. The quality of logistics in Vietnam is ensured by logistics company Ratraco.

The rail route between Vietnam and Russia was launched in December 2017 in accordance with the bilateral cooperation agreement signed between Vietnam Railways and its Russian counterpart.
Patty Baird, co-owner of the Cedar House Sport Hotel in Truckee, Calif., has been preparing for the day she can reopen. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

Patty Baird ticked off the changes she'll be making at the Cedar House Sport Hotel when it reopens in Truckee, a town of more than 16,000 near Lake Tahoe that thrives off summer tourism.

Some things will go: No more self-serve coffee in the lobby, no more afternoon appetizer hour in which guests gather for cheeses and salty snacks. Other things will be added: Amenity bags with hand sanitizer and masks. Floor markings with six-foot intervals for social distancing. Employee temperature checks.

In new welcome letters that she's still shaping, Baird, who owns the 40-room boutique-style hotel with her husband, wants to market the experience as safe yet not bare.

"Since I'm taking things away, how can I replace those so the guest feels like they're a guest?" she said. "We're now putting them into a very sterile environment, and I don't want the experience to be sterile."

California tourist destinations with economies devastated by the states coronavirus stay-at-home order are preparing to welcome visitors once restrictions are lifted. But though many in the industry eagerly await the moment they can declare themselves open for business, the uncertainty of when tourism will re-commence, and if there will, in fact, be a surge in visitors, has kept marketing efforts in limbo.

Baird has received new bookings for late summer, but she has held back on actively promoting her hotel without a reopening date.

Employees Ana Quesada, left, and Silvia Tapia wash windows and do general cleaning in preparing rooms for future guests at the Cedar House Sport Hotel in Truckee. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

Theres still too much uncertainty, she said. I kind of have plan A, B, C and D in my head ready to implement. But I need just a little more information.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that some retail stores across the state could reopen with modifications on Friday. But individuals will still be asked to continue to avoid nonessential travel, a restriction the tourism industry has its eye on.

The governors plan expands decision-making at the local level, allowing some communities to move further ahead into the reopening process and open businesses  such as restaurant dining rooms  beyond those in the statewide policy.

Story continues

Dr. George Rutherford, an epidemiologist at UC San Francisco, said that while vacation spots could quickly become tourist magnets, a gradual reopening with social distancing and other safety protocols could minimize outbreaks. Of importance might be whether tourists come from cities where the virus is prevalent.

"You're balancing revenues with disease," he said. Youre going to have pretty careful surveillance among the hotel staff and restaurants. If people start to get sick, thats a clue that something has gone sideways.

People enjoy the public beach in Tahoe Vista on the north shore of Lake Tahoe. Cities and counties that live off tourism are strategizing for how to prepare for an influx of out-of-towners when coronavirus restrictions are lifted. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

Industry experts say its difficult to gauge what a resurgence in tourism might look like. Caroline Beteta, president of Visit California, the states nonprofit tourism agency, said that hesitance around traveling  especially long distances  might help mitigate against tourists overwhelming cities.

Marketing tourist hubs again, she said, will start with stay-cations and then move toward pulling people farther away from their homes.

Initially, well see Californians driving California, she said. We certainly see that as a good thing and will amplify that at the right time. It will really help reopen the economy.

The family-owned Mourelatos Lakeshore Resort on the north shore of Lake Tahoe has been closed because of the coronavirus. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

But visitor centers, hotels and vacation rental companies are wrestling with when they should commence re-imagined marketing campaigns.

According to the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, last year the city of South Lake Tahoe and Stateline, Nev., received more than 1.3 million overnight summer visitors.

Carol Chaplin, the organizations president, said it is looking into expanding its marketing efforts to reach people who may drive from farther away to the Lake Tahoe region, such as from southern Nevada or Arizona. Marketing materials may include itineraries with stops drivers can make along the way.

Chaplin explained that the visitors authority needs to have various types of messaging ready, including for a scenario in which tourism opens up and then is restricted again.

Right now, its a moving target, Chaplin said. "We have five or six different scenarios. Its complicated. Its nerve-racking.

Maintenance worker Livio Dancus sands the railing in preparation for guests at Mourelatos Lakeshore Resort. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

Other preparations in anticipation of summer tourists have moved forward. Truckee and North Lake Tahoe officials, for example, have canceled Fourth of July fireworks. Truckee Mayor Dave Polivy said that if counties don't show consistency in permitting special events, crowds could overwhelm one area.

Were a huge tourist destination. As soon as it gets to be 90 or 100 degrees in Sacramento and the Central Valley, people tend to flock to the mountains for cooler air and cooler water, he said. Its incumbent on us to be prepared for it.

Cindy Gustafson, a Placer County supervisor, said the Lake Tahoe region is also working to coordinate messaging about social distancing and mask use at beaches, parks and trail heads. The arrival of visitors, despite stay-at-home orders, has added urgency.

Dusk settles into downtown Truckee along Donner Pass Road. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

The reality is leisure travel is already occurring, she said. Theres an awful lot of people using vacation homes and trying to do it under the radar.

Adapting to new industry practices could take time. Jeffrey Hentz, chief executive of the North Lake Tahoe Resort Assn., said lodging businesses, among other sectors, have met virtually to create safety protocols to present to county officials. Theyve discussed the need for extra cleaning staff at hotels and whether vacation rentals should institute a buffer period between stays.

Its going to be a combination of getting the right new inventory, getting the workforce trained, he said. So many people are going to have new jobs added to their current job. We're going to need a window.

Even with safety guidance, some officials are concerned about encouraging tourism too soon. Dr. Tom Boo, public health officer for the Eastern Sierra's Mono County, said that while the county's hospital system can take care of the approximately 8,000 residents of Mammoth Lakes, as well as the surrounding region, it would be overwhelmed by a surge triggered by tourists.

In late March, the county had the highest per capita rate of coronavirus cases in the state, and officials worked to keep visitors out.

People take in the sun along an empty stretch of sand at Kings Beach on the north shore of Lake Tahoe. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

Now, the pendulum is swinging the other way, Boo said. "The economic hardships are severe and much of the county depends on summer tourism. Theres very significant political pressure and demands for reopening. I feel like were caught between a rock and a hard place.

Canceling popular events might prevent a rush of tourists. The city of Solvang in Santa Barbara County, whose windmills and half-timbered architecture draw more than 1 million visitors a year, canceled a May procession of 750 cowboys, called The Rancheros Visitadores, for the first time in 89 years.

Mayor Ryan Toussaint said the city has lost nearly 60% of its general fund money, but it won't encourage large numbers of guests until the time is right.

"Theres always something going on in Solvang, but until we know we can run a larger event, all of those have been postponed, he said.

Alex Mourelatos is general manager of the Mourelatos Lakeshore Resort in Tahoe Vista on the north shore of Lake Tahoe. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

Back by Lake Tahoe, general manager Alex Mourelatos of the 32-room Mourelatos Lakeshore Resort in Tahoe Vista expects to lose 30% to 50% in revenue this year with canceled fall events such as weddings.

The beachside motel, normally close to full occupancy in July and August, will reopen with a series of changes. Guests will check in on iPads that will be disinfected after each use. To lessen direct contact with staff, they will be able to ask questions through a texting application. Guests will also receive text message reminders of the resorts social distancing rules.

If people dont comply with social distancing measures, theyll be asked to leave  thatll be in the confirmation letter email, Mourelatos said.

He's had one pleasant surprise: July stays have increased as many return guests who booked their reservations months in advance have confirmed their visits.

Obviously, the consumers are betting that were going to be open by July, he said. We are telling them were drafting memos for housekeeping and guest protocols. And theyre not blinking.
The opposition Congress on Saturday accused the Centre and the Delhi government of being non-transparent in reporting coronavirus cases.

Senior Congress leader Ajay Maken told reporters there was confusion within the Centre in its fight against Covid-19, and asked how India would tackle the pandemic if officials continued to speak in different voices.

Maken referred to differing comments made by some officials on the Covid-19 situation in the country, and urged the Central government to clearly tell the people about the exact impact of the pandemic to enable them to prepare accordingly.

Coronavirus outbreak: Full coverage

He asked the Arvind Kejriwal-led government in Delhi to be more transparent in reporting coronavirus cases.

Makens comments came against the backdrop of confusion over the number of deaths due to the coronavirus in the national capital, with data from four hospitals showing 92 people had succumbed to infections as against 68 deaths reported by the Delhi government.

It is a matter of shame that the national capital is witnessing a sorry state of affairs in the fight against the pandemic, Maken said.

He called for more coordination between states and the Central government, and urged the Centre to spell out a clear exit strategy for the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown.
Two doctors reviewed the records and concluded that, when the man left Madonna, his care needs could have been met with the help of one person and could occur at a lower level.

They said his medical condition was "not so complex or complicated that he needed skilled services during that time frame," according to the order.

Last June, QLI appealed the denial to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services' Division of Medicaid and Long-Term Care, which held an administrative hearing in September, where QLI offered the testimony of a doctor who said he would have approved the request to counter Nebraska Total Care's doctors.

The following month, Matthew Van Patton, then director of the division, affirmed the decision to deny reimbursement, saying the records that QLI submitted to Nebraska Total Care did not demonstrate that skilled nursing facility care was medically necessary.

The patient didn't qualify for skilled nursing facility care because he "did not have any identified goals, had met nearly all of his goals at the acute rehabilitation facility, and could receive a less restrictive level of care," according to the decision.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Three people suffered gunshot wounds late Friday at a large house party in the citys St. Clair-Superior neighborhood, police said.

The shooting happened about 10 p.m. at a home on East 78th Street and Korman Avenue. No arrests have been made. Police reported finding several guns at the scene.

Officers found a man with gunshot wounds to his head and leg in the driveway. A 23-year-old man was found shot in a nearby field, and a 31-year-old man later showed up at Southpointe Hospital with gunshot wounds, according to police.

Police did not release information on their conditions.

Officers who arrived noted a large number of people leaving the party. Several witnesses reported hearing gunshots, but did not see the shooting, according to police.

Multiple juveniles were found at the house and were released to sober caretakers, according to Cleveland police spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia. Cleveland polices Gang Unit is helping with the investigation.

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Gun, car recovered after deadly shooting in Clevelands Mount Pleasant neighborhood, police say
Metal worker using a grinder. Photo: Getty

Manufacturing output in small and medium sized businesses (SME) fell at the quickest pace in over a decade in the last quarter.

The sharp fall is largely attributed to the COVID-19 crisis, with more than 80% of firms saying measures to contain the outbreak had a negative impact on their domestic output.

The survey of 301 SME manufacturers, conducted by the CBI, found total new orders in the three months to April fell at the fastest rate in seven years.

Domestic orders fell at broadly the same pace as the previous quarter, while export orders dropped at their quickest rate since October 2015.

READ MORE: New setback for airlines as UK proposes fresh quarantine plan

Business sentiment in the quarter to April dropped by its fastest on record, while export sentiment also fell at a survey-record pace.

Looking ahead, manufacturers expect output to plunge at a faster pace next quarter, marking the weakest expectations since records began in 1988.

The survey also found more than half of firms had partially shut down or closed UK production and temporarily laid off staff. Headcount in the quarter to April fell at the quickest pace since October 2009 and firms expect employment to continue to fall rapidly in the next quarter.

Alpesh Paleja, CBI lead economist, said: SME manufacturers are seeing a sharp shock to activity due to the COVID-19 outbreak, with expectations signalling a sharper downturn to come. Nonetheless, manufacturers are doing all they can to support communities and employees during this difficult time.

The governments support schemes have been a real lifeline for businesses so far, and they should remain conscious of getting money to those who need it quickly. This will be a critical step to restarting the economy once it is safe to do so, which will require a strong partnership between government and business."
Eleven people died and around 800 were hospitalised by a poisonous gas leak early Thursday morning at an LG Polymers India plant in Visakhapatnam, a port city in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. The company is owned by South Korean-based LG Chem.

Toxic gas leak at LG Polymers near Visakhapatnam [Source: Twitter @BanaudhaSarika]

The majority of victims, including two children, were from the Gopalapatnam area near the chemical plant. Eight people died after inhaling large amounts of toxic styrene gas while three others were killed in accidents as they tried to escape the area. Around 15,000 people have now been evacuated from affected villages.

The leak began at about 2.30 a.m. as employees were about to resume work at the plant following the Modi governments easing of some COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. When police reached the area they found residents who live near the plant unconscious on their beds. Shocking television footage showed unconscious people in backyards and others collapsed in narrow streets as they tried to escape. The residents reported eye irritation, breathlessness, nausea and skin rashes.

Some of those who tried to drive away became unconscious in their vehicles and crashed. One motorcyclist collapsed and drove into a ditch, tragically killing both himself and a pillion passenger. Two people became so dizzy from the gas that they collapsed into a well and died while one woman fell off the second floor of her building. Video footage showed parents running up and down streets carrying their breathless children and people collapsing on roads.

The terrifying pictures are reminiscent of the 1984 Bhopal tragedy in Madhya Pradesh state when thousands were killed by a gas leak at a Union Carbide plant, the worst industrial accident in history. More than 40 tons of deadly methyl isocyanate gas and other unknown poisons used in the manufacture of pesticides were released from the US multinational owned facility, turning the plant and surrounding areas into a virtual gas chamber.

Thursdays toxic gas disaster at Visakhapatnam has again revealed the criminal negligence of the Indian ruling elite. The poisonous gas spread in a three-kilometre circle from the original source and was not closed off for four hours after the leak it began.

An official statement from LG Polymers India plant indicated that management was fully aware there could be a disaster. [S]tagnation and changes in temperature, it said, could have resulted in auto polymerization which could have caused vaporization.

The Vishakhapatnam gas leak, in fact, is just one of many thousands of examples of major capitalist corporations determined to maintain their dangerous production processes irrespective of the consequences for the lives of their workers and the impact on neighbouring communities. It has also revealed the widespread practice by factory managers of using hazardous and dilapidated machinery to maintain production and maximize profits.

Investigators told the media that gas pressure may have built up during the national COVID-19 lockdown; the temperature of the styrene was not maintained at less than 20 degrees because of failed refrigerants, and a wrecked valve, or a burst pipe, could have caused the leak.

Thursdays disaster occurred as the Modi government was telling state governments and district authorities to begin lifting the lockdown, pushing millions into a premature return to work, even as COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to rise.

In a perfunctory and utterly routine statement, Modi tweeted: Spoke to officials of MHA [Ministry of Home Affairs] and NDMA [National Disaster Management Authority] regarding the situation in Visakhapatnam, which is being monitored closely. I pray for everyones safety and well-being in Visakhapatnam.

Modis real concern is not the lives of the victims but that the gas leak disaster will undermine the governments demand that workers should return to their jobs.

Notwithstanding phony rhetoric about the safety and well-being of gas leak victims, India is one of the most dangerous places in the world to work.

According to Labour and Employment Ministry data, 3,562 workers died in factory accidents in India between 2014 and 2016 and more than 51,000 were injured in the same periodan average of three deaths and 47 injuries every single day. A 2017 study by the British Safety Council painted an even bleaker picture, reporting that 48,000 workers die of occupational accidents in India every year.

The Bhopal disaster, however, remains Indias worst industrial accident with 8,000 immediate fatalities and the hospitalization of some 170,000 residents. The total number of deaths from the accident is estimated to have been between 16,000 and 30,000. Thousands of survivors continue to suffer health problems.

MIC plant, where the Bhopal chemical leak started in 1984 [Source: Flickr @jbhangoo]

More than 15 years after the event, around 150,000 people were still chronically ill and suffering from a range of health problems, including breathing difficulties, persistent coughs, ulcerations of the cornea, early-age cataracts, recurrent fevers, burning of the skin and depression from the tragedy. An estimated 10 to 15 Bhopal disaster victims still die every month.

The Visakhapatnam gas leak is a warning to all workers returning to inactive plants and badly maintained machinery shut down during the COVID-19 lockdown. These dangers were further confirmed by a similar gas leak at a paper mill in Chhattisgarh, hours before the Visakhapatnam incident. Up to seven workers at the paper mill were hospitalised after being exposed to toxic gases while they were cleaning the paper pulp tank in preparation for a resumption of operations at the facility.

Successive Indian governments have worked to transform the country into a cheap labor haven for giant multinational corporations and international investors, who have sabotaged workers health and safety conditions whilst reaping billions in profits.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy responded to Thursdays disaster by awarding 10 million rupees ($US133,000) to the families of those who died and a meagre 100,000 rupees ($1,330) for those injured. This will do nothing to alleviate the loss of lives and prolonged suffering of those exposed to the toxic gas.

Andhra Pradesh Industries Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy blandly described the gas leak as an industrial failure by the company. Its for the company to prove that there was no negligence on its part, he declared.

Reddys statement is empty posturing. If the response of Indias ruling elite to the Bhopal disaster is anything to go by, nothing will happen to LG Polymers India.

In 2010, amid widespread public anger and disgust over the 1984 Bhopal disaster, an Indian district court ordered eight executives of Union Carbide to be sentenced to just two years jail. They were fined a meagre 100,000 rupees ($US2,100) each and the company just 500,000 rupees ($US10,600), with the American CEO of the company remaining an absconder until his death. The giant US multinational corporation effectively went scot free for a mass murder.
The multinational LG Polymers on Saturday asserted that the tragedy at the chemical plant at R R Venkatapuram village near Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh took place because of leaking vapour from the styrene monomer (SM) storage tank at its factory. "Our initial investigations suggest that the cause of the incident is prima facie by the leaking vapour from the Styrene Monomer (SM) storage tank near the GPPS (General Purpose Poly Styrene) factory on Thursday, May 7," an official statement read.

On May 7, 11 persons died while over 1,000 were hospitalised after gas leakage from LG Polymers chemical plant at RR Venkatapuram. Several 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.

The statement read, "At the onset, LG Polymers India would like to express sincere condolences and apologies to all who have been affected by this incident. We would like to assure everyone that the company is committed to working closely with the concerned authorities in India to investigate the cause of this incident, prevent recurrence in the future, and secure the foundation for care and treatment."

It added, "We are happy to confirm that the status-quo at the plant is brought under control this morning. While focusing on stabilizing the plant, we assure you that we are doing our best to extend all the possible support to ensure people and their families who have been affected by this incident are taken care of. Our teams are working day and night with the government to assess the impact of the damage caused and create concrete measures to deliver an effective care package that can be implemented immediately."

The company has set up a special task force to help victims and families to resolve any issues and provide every assistance to the bereaved families. "All families will be contacted shortly. This team has the responsibility to provide every support for the deceased, medical supplies and household goods, and emotional management for psychological stability to all injured and victims. We will also actively develop and promote mid-to-long term support programs that can contribute to the local communities," it added.

"Once again, LG Polymers India would like to express our deepest condolences to everyone who has been affected and hurt by this incident. We would also like to sincerely thank every member of the authorities, the police and government officials who have worked very hard to rescue and recover the victims. We assure everyone we will do our best to resolve the situation and prevent any incident in the future," it further added.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal hopes to work more closely with the Verkhovna Rada on supporting government legislative initiatives on small and medium-sized businesses.

"In the future, we hope to work more closely with Parliament, in particular on supporting our legislative initiatives on small and medium-sized businesses," the Prime Minister said at a meeting to discuss anti-crisis initiatives to support SMEs, the Government portal informs.

The Head of Government stressed that the support of entrepreneurs is essential because small and medium-sized businesses are the basis of the country's well-being not only in the time of challenges but in the future as well.

"I understand that due to the corona crisis, small and medium-sized businesses found themselves in a difficult situation. And our support is extremely important. After all, this is the creation and preservation of a significant number of jobs, which is the key to economic growth. It is the entrepreneurs who form the middle class, which is the driving force of positive change in all areas," said Denys Shmyhal.

According to him, the Government has already started implementing such support programs. These are, in particular, the updated lending program "5-7-9" and the "New Money" program focused on preserving existing and creating new jobs.

Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine Ihor Petrashko stressed that the development of small and medium-sized businesses will become the basis for the development of Ukraine's economy.

"Stimulation of small and medium business will be implemented through adaptive quarantine, anti-crisis measures and support tools. We envisage for SMEs greater access to finance, easier access to markets and less regulation," the official said, adding that the long-term development strategy of the state will be based on promoting the development of the small and medium business segment.

On the outcomes of the meeting, the Prime Minister instructed the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Agriculture to form a working group to support small and medium-sized businesses, which will comprise members of the Government, MPs of Ukraine, representatives of the Economic Development Council within the Cabinet of Ministers and the think tank.

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Central government's repatriation exercise, one of the largest in the world begun earlier this week and will witness thousands of Indian students, tourists, working professionals retun to the contry after at least seven weeks. On Friday evening, an Air India flight brought back more than 150 passengers from Bahrain to Cochin.

READ: India To Expand 'Vande Bharat Mission' Beginning May 15

Citizens return to Cochin

An official statement read: "As part of the repatriation operations, Air India flight IX 474 carrying 152 passengers, 25 children and 5 infants from Bahrain safely landed at the Cochin International Airport on Friday, the second day of the Vande Bharat evacuation mission."

READ: Vande Bharat Mission: Indian Navy To Evacuate Over 1,800 Stranded Citizens From Maldives

The Central government will be using flights and ships to bring back Indians stranded abroad and both, INS Jalashwa and INS Magar are equipped with proper PPE kits with medical and administrative support staff to provide care to people onboard. Many stranded Indians will also be brought back from countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore, Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia among others.

Air India will operate flights from Riyadh, London, San Fransisco, Washington DC, Singapore between May 8 to 14. The cost of travel by air will have to be borne by passengers, the external affairs ministry said. Most flights with evacuated Indians will land in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kochi, and Chennai.

READ: Air India Mandates Quarantine For Evacuation Crew Till COVID-19 Test Comes Negative

As per guidelines, those wishing to return to India must register themselves with the Indian Missions in the country where they are stranded, along with necessary details as prescribed by the Ministry of External Affairs. They will have to travel to India by non-scheduled commercial flights that'll be arranged by the Civil Aviation Ministry (MoCA) and naval ships to be arranged by the Department of Military Affairs (DMA). Only those crew/staff, who have tested negative for COVID-19, will be allowed to operate the flight/ship.

MHA said priority will be given to compelling cases in distress including migrant workers/labourers who have been laid off, short term visa holders faced with the expiry of visa, persons with medical emergencies/ pregnant women/ elderly, those required to return to India due to death of family member and students. The cost of travel, as specified by the MoCA and DMA will be borne by such travellers.

READ: Vande Bharat Mission: 4 Flights Land In India, 15000 Returnees Expected; Details Here
Silvia Romano was snatched while volunteering as an aid worker in 2018 (AP)

An Italian woman who was kidnapped in Kenya while volunteering as an aid worker has been freed in Somalia after an 18-month ordeal.

Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte hailed the release of Silvia Romano, who was a 23-year-old volunteer with the Italy-based humanitarian group Africa Milele when she was abducted in the coastal trading centre of Chakama in November 2018.

Thanks to the men and women of the foreign intelligence services, Mr Conte tweeted. Silvia, were waiting for you in Italy!

Silvia Romano e stata liberata! Ringrazio le donne e gli uomini dei servizi di intelligence esterna. Silvia, ti aspettiamo in Italia!  Giuseppe Conte (@GiuseppeConteIT) May 9, 2020

The head of the Italian parliaments committee on security, Raffaele Volpi, said Ms Romano appeared in good condition after her rescue about 30 kilometres from the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

Shes in good shape. Obviously shes had a rough time from being imprisoned, but shes OK, the ANSA news agency quoted Mr Volpi as saying.

Italian news reports said that after her kidnapping, Ms Romano ended up in the hands of militants linked to Somalias al-Shabab Islamic extremists.

Al-Shabab has been blamed for a series of kidnappings of foreigners along Kenyas coast. Kenya said the abductions of four foreigners prompted it to send troops to Somalia in 2011 to fight al-Shabab members.

Ms Romano was seized as gunmen looking for a mgeni  Swahili for visitor  fired weapons indiscriminately during an attack in Chakama, according to Ronald Kazungu Ngala, a student whose education was being sponsored by Africa Milele and who witnessed the November 20 kidnapping.

After sharing his account with The Associated Press, Mr Ngala continued seeking information about Ms Romanos fate. On Saturday, he said he was overjoyed to hear she had been freed.

I feel so happy. We didnt know whether they had killed her or done something bad. Living with the uncertainty was painful, Mr Ngala, 20, said.

Mr Ngala said Kenyan authorities questioned him after the attack and initially thought they had zeroed in on her location but eventually her trail went silent.

When I see her on TV speaking, thats when I will completely believe because there were many occasions when authorities here suggested she was close to being rescued and then nothing, he said.

Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, who also announced Ms Romanos liberation on Twitter, said, The government never leaves anyone behind.
Wizz Air plane lands in London in tentative return to commercial flights Outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Luton

LONDON (Reuters) - Hungarian budget carrier Wizz Air <WIZZ.L> flew into London's Luton airport from Sofia on Friday, becoming one of the first European airlines to restart routes during the coronavirus pandemic.

At least one person onboard seen through the window was wearing a face mask. There were also dozens of passengers within the airport, spaced out for social distancing, possibly for the return flight which took off shortly afterwards.

European airlines have grounded the majority of their fleets over the last six weeks as governments imposed travel restrictions to combat the spread of the virus.

But Wizz Air said last week it planned to put some of its planes back in the air for essential travel, restoring services to destinations in Romania, Budapest in Hungary, Lisbon in Portugal and Spain's Tenerife plus a few more.

The London Luton arrivals and departures board showed three Wizz Air flights were due to arrive and depart on Friday. The airline says it is important to get the infrastructure operating and that there are people across Europe who need to travel for work.

A person familiar with the situation said the load factor on the flights operating on Friday was was generally above 50%.

Across Europe, air traffic is down by about 90% according to global body IATA, with the flights that are still operating facilitating the repatriation of citizens, travel by medical experts and cargo supplies.

Given ongoing travel restrictions - UK government advice for example is for Britons to avoid all non-essential global travel - Wizz has said that it does not expect flights to be full, enabling it to maintain social distancing onboard.

The airline, whose geographic focus is on central and eastern Europe, has said all passengers must wear masks on flights while its crew will wear masks and gloves.

When travel restrictions do start to ease, it is likely that there will be tougher measures for flying, which could affect demand. Britain is considering a two-week quarantine requirement for arrivals into the country.

(Writing by Sarah Young, reporting by Will Russell; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
Granted, it's flip-flop weather, but does the Education Minister really have to embrace flip-flopping with such enthusiasm that he applies it to policy- making?

First he postpones the Leaving Certificate until later in the summer, now he's changed his mind and is replacing it with predicted grades, dressed up as "calculated grades". A new name, but it still sounds like a flawed marking method.

Just over a week ago, Joe McHugh described predicted grades as "inherently biased". If they were unfair then, they remain unfair today. Tweaking, renaming, even adding extra steps - what's proposed is still a form of predicted grades. It does nothing to advance social inclusion - instead, to those who have much, more shall be given.

A wrong decision taken at the right time is said to be preferable to a right decision at the wrong time. But what of a wrong decision made at the wrong time? Yesterday's announcement follows a period of dithering, with students left in academic limbo for too long. It smacks of inept planning in his department and a minister bowing to pressure.

Mr McHugh says he received compelling advice that makes it impossible for pupils to return to school and sit exams. Frankly, it is difficult to believe a safe and socially distanced Leaving Cert is unworkable.

Exams are the least unjust way forward because they are marked anonymously. Diverting responsibility for grading pupils on to schools will give rise to problems because some bias is inevitable and mistakes will be made.

Let's start by testing for Covid-19 all 61,000 pupils who should take this exam. We are supposed to be capable of doing 100,000 tests a week so it's hardly beyond our capabilities. Those free of the virus can sit the exam, not in an auditorium - unnecessarily stressful venues, in any case - but using many smaller locations. Classrooms are free over the summer months, why not avail of them? Additional invigilators will be needed but no doubt people in the community would be happy to volunteer.

Pupils who test positive for the virus would have to sit their Leaving Cert in a room on their own. Does this penalise them for something beyond their control? Only if it's regarded as a disadvantage. Back in the day, I sat one of my A-level French papers alone due to a scheduling mix-up, and it was the most pleasant exam experience I've ever known, with no distractions. Plus, the smaller room was less intimidating compared with the school gym where I should have taken the test.

There have to be alternatives to calculated grades. Online exams via a timed entry system? Orals over Zoom or Skype? Where's the imaginative thinking?

Here's what we know about the system replacing the 2020 Leaving Cert. There are four layers: individual teachers allocate marks, subject teachers are involved, school principals sign off on them and statistics will be applied nationally to strive for a common standard. Students can appeal a grade but not enter into discussion with teachers. Obviously, fairness is an important consideration. But what's fairer than an anonymous exam?

The pandemic has hit some students harder than others in terms of exam preparation. Broadband coverage is not universal, nor is laptop ownership, and not everyone has a quiet space to study in. This digital divide means some students have been left stranded without access to online tuition, while those from more affluent homes, attending high-performing schools, have inbuilt advantages.

Neither teachers nor school departments can grade with absolute detachment. Exam papers, by comparison, pay no attention to a pupil's background. Exams aren't ideal but they give every student a fighting chance - some manage to rise to the occasion, despite patchy classroom engagement. A number of kids leave it until the 11th hour to cram and do surprisingly well despite substandard mocks.

Predicted grades have not been part of the Irish education firmament but are used in Britain, where students receive university offers based on them before sitting exams. They have a 16pc accuracy rate. That's right, in the overwhelming number of cases - eight-and-a-half instances out of 10 - predicted marks are proven wrong by the exams.

In three-quarters of cases, teachers think their students are going to earn a higher mark. Except where students from low-income homes are concerned, when they are more likely to be marked down -even if they are among the high-achievers.

This devastating research was conducted by Dr Gill Wyness of University College London (UCL), who says the use of predicted grades has been "widely criticised" among policy-makers. Yet a version of this so-called solution is the one chosen by the Department of Education, even though it undermines social inclusion and militates against pupils who already face greater challenges than their peers.

Talent is not distributed on the basis of social class or parental income. Talent is random. And it is a valuable commodity. So why are universities full of students from the highest socio-economic groups? Or, to put it another way, why aren't we availing of society's entire talent pool?

Clever kids from modest backgrounds face a multitude of hurdles if they are to reach third-level education. They are reliant on teachers to push them on; on parents giving them chances they never had; on their own resilience in negotiating a world largely alien to them.

I can say this with confidence because I was the first person in my extended family to reach university and the problem wasn't passing exams, it was knowing which institution to apply to, how to fit in there, what do to when I experienced difficulties, how to access supports.

Now, if I hadn't been lucky enough to pass exams reasonably well, for the most part, without the advantage of grinds or parental help with homework - none of which was possible - and if there hadn't been a grant, I never would have made it to university. And that would have impacted on my path in life. Not for the better. If I'd been relying on calculated grades to nudge me over the hurdles, I'd have been hamstrung, judging by the UCL research.

International research shows someone with a third-level education lives longer, earns a bigger salary and experiences less unemployment, for the most part. Governments also benefit because graduates pay higher rates of income tax, according to an OECD report. And if we educate people from all sorts of backgrounds, we encourage diversity.

Finally, extra places will be available at third-level institutions this autumn because foreign students will stay away. Why not take something positive from the pandemic and ring-fence those vacancies for bright students from lower socio-economic circumstances who haven't quite made the grade?

Third-level education is many wonderful things. But it is not inclusive. And abandoning the Leaving Cert this year may make it even less so.
A motion for summary judgment is a common pre-trial motion. Using documents and witness statements, the moving party has to convince the judge that the material facts are undisputed, requiring a ruling in the moving party's favor. The best way to win such a motion is to rely on the opposing party's evidence because the opposing party can't dispute it.

With that in mind, Attorney General Barr's Department of Justice wisely used the FBI's materials when it moved to dismiss the Flynn prosecution. Nevertheless, hysterical leftists are disputing it and trying to get Judge Sullivan to deny the motion to dismiss.

Here, briefly, are the undisputed material facts in the case the FBI and DOJ made against General Flynn:

Hillary's campaign paid a law firm for opposition research on Trump. The law firm hired Fusion GPS to handle the job. Fusion GPS's founder, Glenn Simpson, happened to have written an article in 2007 about wealthy Russians using D.C. lobbyists such as Paul Manafort.

In 2016, Manafort's joining the Trump campaign gave Fusion GPS a reason to hire Christopher Steele, a Trump-hater, to look to Russia for dirt on Trump. Steele churned out documents that led to a full-bore investigation into whether Trump and his campaign conspired with Putin to throw the U.S. election. Beginning in mid-2017, special prosecutor Robert Mueller opened a brutal, two-year-long, $35-million investigation that found no proof of wrongdoing.

In 2016, while Obama's FBI was still investigating alleged Russia collusion, the FBI set its sights on Flynn. Flynn had worked as Obama's director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. They parted ways in 2014. Obama disliked Flynn enough to tell Trump not to hire him. Trump still hired Flynn to be his national security adviser. Shortly after that, the FBI began to investigate Flynn.

On December 29, 2016, Flynn had a telephone call with thenRussian ambassador Kislyak. The FBI recorded the call  and Flynn knew the call was recorded. In the call, Flynn asked Kislyak to keep Russia from escalating things after Obama had imposed sanctions.

Newly released documents show that on January 4, 2017, FBI agents investigating Flynn concluded that there was no "derogatory" evidence about him. Comey and McCabe (as well as Obama) wanted to keep Flynn in play, so they claimed that the Kislyak call required investigation. This was a ploy because they already knew that Flynn's call was unremarkable. The best that the FBI could come up with was that Flynn had violated the Logan Act, a 1799 dead-letter law.

Failing that, the FBI hoped to get Flynn on the process crime of lying to the FBI about the phone call. To that end, as Comey boasted, two days after Trump entered the White House, Peter Strzok and Joe Pientka interviewed Flynn about the call. Flynn had no preparation and no counsel and got no warning about the penalty for lying. His recollections varied somewhat from the call, which may explain why Mike Pence, when questioned, said Flynn had told him something different about the call from what the transcript revealed.

Both Strzok and Pientka agreed that Flynn was not lying. Nevertheless, months later, Mueller charged Flynn with lying to the FBI.

After Flynn was almost bankrupted, the FBI and DOJ threatened to drag Flynn's son into the case. His counsel persuaded him to enter into a plea bargain, without telling Flynn that the FBI was threatening counsel, too, making Flynn's attorneys his enemies, not his fiduciaries. The DOJ did not inform the court about its threats, although it was required to do so. The DOJ also failed to turn over exculpatory evidence as required by law and then lied about that, too. Techno Fog details the DOJ's many lies.

Those are undisputed facts, and they boil down to this: the FBI and DOJ conspired to convict a man they knew was innocent of any underlying wrongdoing. It's that simple. You wouldn't think that, though, from the left's frenzied response. This video sets the tone:

SUPERCUT from me: Put simply. CNN and MSNBC did not have a very good afternoon. After they found out the DOJ was dropping the Michael Flynn case, they called it a demoralizing, destructive, & terrifying injustice that signaled the DOJ's collapse. https://t.co/rdwT16rHXK pic.twitter.com/AfCrl9ONZE  Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) May 8, 2020

The New York Times published "The Appalling Damage of Dropping the Michael Flynn Case." This rant ignores the evidence showing FBI and DOJ wrongdoing. Instead, it protests that the Trump administration is training people to distrust American law enforcement. The primary basis for this argument is that Flynn twice pleaded guilty. This ignores that the FBI and Mueller concluded that Flynn (and Trump) had done nothing wrong and that Flynn had pleaded guilty solely because his compromised attorneys told him to do so to protect his son from the FBI.

At Lawfare, a hard-left legal site, the authors argue that Flynn is guilty because he entered a guilty plea. It's as if the attorneys, all lawyers, have never heard of prosecutors piling so many charges against a person that the safer path is to make a false guilty plea to avoid an even more unjust wrongful conviction.

Additionally, the Lawfare writers proceed as if Flynn had committed an underlying crime, making anything he said "material." This argument fails because we know from the FBI's documents that it had already cleared Flynn of wrongdoing. The best that the FBI could do was to use the Kislyak call to create a crime out of the dead letter of the Logan Act. In the end, Flynn was coerced into pleading guilty to a mere process crime despite the absence of underlying wrongdoing.

Leftists do not believe in the rule of law. They believe in the rule of leftism: if you're with them, you're innocent (lucky Joe Biden); if you're against them, the Gulag is too good for you.
The small parcel of land beneath the Tobin Bridge just north of Boston is, to commuters, a blur of industrial sprawl. Mountains of road salt along Marginal Street wait to be hauled to nearby towns. Waterfront tanks of fuel go on to heat the region and refill planes at neighboring Logan International Airport. Tractor trailers trek in and out relentlessly.

Amid that commotion is Chelsea, Massachusetts, a dense, 1.8-square mile community of immigrants that powers Boston and its well-to-do suburbs. In normal times, tens of thousands of service industry workers span out across the metro area from their homes in Chelsea to clock shifts as grocery cashiers,landscapers and restaurant back-of-housers. While the physical weight of the economy has long fallen on the shoulders of communities like Chelsea, they are especially vulnerable during the coronavirus pandemic.

Now, Chelsea has the highest infection rate in Massachusetts, a state where more than 75,000 people have tested positive for coronavirus, behind only New York and New Jersey for number of confirmed cases.

More than 2,200 people in Chelsea, a city of 40,000, have tested positive for coronavirus, and 124 have died. Many more have lost the minimum-wage jobs that sustained them.

The community was primed for an uneven assault as the coronavirus spread, said Damali Vidot, a city council member. In addition to high rates of asthma in the community, many service-sector employees in Chelsea live in crowded or multigenerational homes, conditions in which the virus flourishes.Because the city has a high number of "essential" workers,many families have continued to be exposed to the coronavirus even as members of the same household faced layoffs.

"One essential worker in a household poses a threat to everyone in that household," Vidot said. "When a virus comes through that affects people that are breath-burdened, we're going to be number one on the list."

Local nonprofits mobilized rapidly to address the one-two punch of hunger and illness that suddenly took hold of the city.

But the extent to which Chelsea, where 67 percent of residents are Hispanic, was shouldering a disproportionate brunt of infections was not apparent until early April. At the time, the state was not publishing city-by-city data.Then,Tom Ambrosino, Chelsea's city manager, received a spreadsheet of statewide case numbers from Brian Kyes, the city's police chief. Kyes, who is also president of the Massachusetts Major City Chiefs of Police, had compiled city-by-city data and sent it around to city managers "just as an F.Y.I.," Ambrosino said.

The spreadsheet contained a revelation: Chelsea, despite its small population, had the third most cases of coronavirus in the state.

"We were the epicenter," Ambrosino said.

By mid-March, layoffs caused by the pandemic had exacerbated deep-seated economic insecurity among Chelsea's residents, 20 percent of which live in poverty, according to the U.S. Census. Those who suddenly could not work - because they were sick or had been laid off - facedhunger and destitution. Those who could fill essential roles worried about catching the virus and infecting their family members.

"My husband has been taking food to students, leaving it on the doorstep where they live. He can't work from home. His work is physical, it's essential," said Mayra, 42, in Spanish. "These are jobs that only people like us, immigrants, are daring to do right now."

Mayra, who did not want her last name used because she is undocumented, lost her job making pupusas at a Salvadoran restaurant in March. She and her husband, Luis, have seen their limited savings quickly evaporate as his hours were cut.

When the restaurant where she worked recently reopened for takeout orders, Mayra did not think twice about returning despite being worried about contracting the coronavirus. On reduced hours, Mayra and Luis will still not be able to pay all of their bills, but they hope they can at least mitigate some of the financial damage.

Next will come decisions about which bills can wait.

"The people who live here are people who can't afford to take a month off work. People who need that check because they don't have savings; people who either go to work or they don't eat," said Roy Avellaneda, the president of the Chelsea City Council and a local business owner, noting that the thousands of undocumented in the city do not receive unemployment compensation.

"All of the assistance that was being offered on the federal level for stimulus checks was not going to happen here, was not going to our crowd," he said.

The pandemic has also exacerbated the trade-offs between health and wealth that have long plagued Chelsea and other working-class communities like it that have shouldered the burden of illnesses caused by air-quality issues and poverty, said Maria Belen Power, an activist and organizer in Chelsea.

"This community powers the entire region," said Power, who helped found GreenRoots, an environmental justice nonprofit."But when you look at the composition of our people, by race and class, and you look at the impact on the air quality and on public health, you also see the burdens that we carry."

She added: "It's funny that the governors are using the term 'essential workers.' I think about the essential role that Chelsea has always played, and yet it is never recognized, even by our neighbors who just don't realize the impact and the significant role that Chelsea plays in their everyday lives."

For more than a century, Chelsea has been a crucial repository for successive waves of immigrants arriving in the United States from across the globe. The city of 40,000 is a living storehouse of global history and migration; its decennial census can be read like a rock-layer in demographic time, showing influxes of Jews, eastern Europeans, Puerto Ricans and Central Americans across the 20th century. In the 1990s, Chelsea became much more heavily Latino as waves of Central Americans arrived in the United States amid intense violence and economic turmoil in their countries of origin. Today, about 70 percent of families in Chelsea do not speak English at home, and about 60 percent of them speak Spanish instead.

"If there was any sort of strife somewhere in the world, civil unrest, war, I swear to God within a week or two you'd see that group of refugees coming here and living in Chelsea. Central Americans. Croatians. Somailis. Everyone," Avellaneda said. "The running joke was that everyone landed at Logan Airport and with only five dollars in their pockets and they could only get as far as Chelsea."

That history has informed a dramatic community mobilization that sprang up as the illness was spreading in March alongside a second pandemic of unemployment. Avellaneda and others in the community want people to know that what is happening in Chelsea is not just a tragedy. It is also a testament to the community's strength and resilience.

Gladys Vega, a longtime activist and the executive director of the Chelsea Collaborative, a local nonprofit, began to see in March how even minor disruptions in the economy would dramatically destabilize the community, especially among day laborers whose hours were suddenly being cut. Food scarcity was already a problem in Chelsea, but coronavirus sparked a wave of hunger, too.

Vega began to distribute food on her porch - which she called a "pop-up food pantry" - that today has grown into an operation that pulls donations from local businesses and distributes 750 boxes of food twice a week.

An informal pandemic response force has been meeting by phone to coordinate efforts across official city channels, nonprofits and community volunteers. Vega said she knows "I have to play nice" even though she has a reputation for being headstrong.

Avellaneda offered the cafe he owns to Vega so she could have more space to run the pop-up.

"There were lines all the way down the block full of people who were desperate," he said.

One of those people was Mirna Rivera, 39, who planned to return to work at a frozen fish distribution center after an unpaid maternity leave but has been told that job no longer exists. When her husband, Jose, lost his job at a restaurant, they were suddenly left with no income. Some days she stands in line for nearly four hours to receive a box of food to take back to her family of four.

"If we don't go to the line, we don't have food to eat. Thank God that they've been helping us. Thank God," she said.

The spreadsheet Ambrosino received in April allowed him and nonprofit community groupsto make the case that Massachusetts should mount an aggressive response effort in Chelsea.It opened up a floodgate of resources from the government and bolstered the philanthropic efforts that kept thousands of families afloat.

Ambrosino estimates that the city is now delivering about 800 30-pound boxes of food a day, which should last two people about a week. The goal is ultimately to distribute 1,500 boxes each day of the week, with the intention of feeding about 40 percent of the city's total population.

The city has also set up temporary housing for recovering coronavirus patients who have nowhere to recover safely, including people whose roommates or family members have asked them to move out after becoming infected, which Vega said she has encountered several times. About half of the 50 rooms secured by the city at a local hotel are currently occupied.

The city council has allocated $2.1 million to finance the food and housing efforts.

That money is supplemented by donations from the Salvation Army and the Greater Boston Food Bank. About 40 members of the National Guard have been dispatched by the governor to assist with distribution and transportation since April 16. The state has also promised to deliver three meals a day to the sick staying at the hotel.

On a recent afternoon, Rep. Joe Kennedy, D-Mass., visited the office of the Chelsea Collaborative during one of its food distribution days, the latest in a long line of political visitors that recently included Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass.

But for all the emergency resources being distributed in the community by nonprofits, organizers and the government, people in the city stressed that the structural inequities that made Chelsea vulnerable will persist long after the pandemic is over. They are clear even now.

"Many of the people that are deemed essential workers aren't even getting paid wages that allow them to live well. They're getting paid $12 an hour to work in service jobs," Vidot said. "We put people in the predicament where they're forced to pick between their livelihoods or their lives. Fine, let them be essential workers but let them get essential pay."

In the meantime, the community's efforts remain trained on responding to its most immediate crises: sickness and hunger.

On a recent night, Vega had just finished delivering about 300 boxes of food to families quarantined at home with active cases of covid-19. She followed a strict ritual before interacting with anyone in her family. She took off her shoes on the porch. She sprayed herself all over with Lysol, which she called "my new Chanel." She discreetly undressed and went upstairs to take a shower.

"No disrespect to people who are at home, but they should have a taste of the pain these community members are going through," she said. "We cry, we laugh, we cry again."
09.05.2020 LISTEN

As it stands now, the fate of Mubarak Bala, Nigerian humanist who was arrested last week is unknown. Nobody is sure if Mr. Bala is alive or dead. If he is alive, no one knows the conditions of his detention. Mr. Bala was last seen on April 29, 2020, a day after police detectives from the Kano State Command arrested him in Kaduna.

As soon as the information reached me that Mr. Bala was in the police custody, I contacted the Commissioner of Police (CP) in Kaduna and the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO). They confirmed the arrest of Mr. Bala but could not provide details. They made it clear that Balas case was not their case and that Bala would be transferred to Kano for investigation. They declined to disclose the reason for the arrest and if Balas case could be transferred to Abuja or any other neutral place.

After speaking with the police officers in Kaduna and it was obvious that Mr. Bala would be taken to Kano, I tried to interact with the chief police officers in Kano. I rang up the Assistant Inspector General (AIG), the CP, and the PPRO in Kano. The AIG said he did not know about the case and asked me to contact the CP, that the case must be with the state command. I called the CP and he confirmed that there was a petition against Mubarak Bala at the state command. That they had ordered his arrest in Kaduna. He said that they were waiting for him and asked me to go and get a lawyer. I could not reach the PPRO on that day. I called him several times but he did not pick his phone. The following day I called the CP several times, he did not pick the phone. I eventually got through to the PPRO after several attempts but he was more interested in knowing my relationship with Mubarak. He repeatedly asked me if I was among those encouraging him to make blasphemous posts on Facebook. I urged him to allow the lawyer to meet with Mubarak. The lawyer has gone to the state police command on three occasions without seeing Mr. Bala. The police officers that he met claimed that they had no knowledge of Mr. Balas case and where he was detained.

As it stands now, the whereabouts of Bala is unknown. No one has seen him since the police moved him to Kano. In fact, no one can confirm if Mr. Bala is dead or alive. The police have a responsibility to provide information about Balas current state. They need to disclose the conditions of his detention. The police cannot indefinitely keep Bala in custody. In fact, it is illegal for the police to detain a person without charge beyond 48 hours. So the police have a responsibility to produce Bala, give him access to a lawyer, charge him in a court, or unconditionally release him.

For now, the police need to provide answers to these very urgent questions: where is Mubarak Bala? Is he dead or alive?
With a handful of clothes in their luggage and packets of rotis and chutney in a couple of lunchboxes, a group of 21 men began walking from Jalna, where they worked in a steel factory, in an attempt to find a train that would take them back to their hometowns in Madhya Pradesh.

After walking for around four hours, they left the main road at Badnapur and started following the train tracks in order to avoid police pickets. After covering around 36km in 8-9 hours, according to police officials who spoke to some of the men, they were too exhausted to continue and decided to sleep on the tracks.

Around 5:15am, 16 of the men were run over by a freight train.

A group of 20 stranded labourers started walking from Jalna. They decided to take rest and most of them lied on rail tracks, superintendent of police Mokshada Patil said.

Images and videos taken by people at the site showed a trail of ripped luggage bags and rotis, with the incident prompting outrage by political leaders and the National Human Rights Commission issuing a notice to the Maharashtra government.

They were not even sure of the route they had to take and decided to try their luck first at Aurangabad, then two rail junctions Manmad and Bhusawal. Had they been properly informed about the train planned from Aurangabad on Friday, they probably could have not met with the accident, said a police officer from Karmad, asking not to be named.

The spot where the men were run over falls under the Karmad police jurisdiction.

According to one of the survivors, the men decided to make the journey after the contractor who arranged for their employment at a steel manufacturing unit reneged on his assurance to get them their wages on May 7. The men had not been paid in over a month due to the nationwide lockdown, one of the survivors told local media.

Our family members were distressed and wanted us to return at the earliest. We tried to get passes for the special trains but did not get any help from any of the authorities. Finally, we started around 7pm on Thursday and retired on the tracks. We were so tired that could not even discuss the risk of sleeping on the tracks, said Virendra Singh, one of three people who slept on a clearing next to the track and survived.

Singh and the others saw the goods train coming and immediately raised an alarm but it went unheard, said Patil.

Later on Friday, the South Central railway in a statement said the driver had seen the sleeping men and had even tried to wake them up by honking but failed to save their lives.

Across Maharashtra, as in several other states such as Rajasthan, Telangana and Karnataka, people who had migrated to these states for work are now making punishing journeys back to their hometowns and villages after being sacked due to the shutdown of the economy.

In cities across Maharashtra, long queues of migrant workers have been reported in recent days outside police stations and hospitals for fitness certificates from doctors and to submit these with an identity card to police. However, some migrants alleged they were charged Rs 500 for the fitness certificate.

On Thursday, the state government issued a clarification that there is no need to attach a medical certificate to the registration form required to facilitate the journey.

About 1 lakh people have reached their respective villages safely. In the next few days, it is planned that all the stranded workers in the state will reach their homes properly and there is a continuous coordination with the railways, the CMs office said.

As per the state government of Maharashtra, the state government is running 4,729 relief camps where 428,734 migrant labourers have been given refuge with food and necessities.
Mumbai, May 9 : Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has shot an entire song at his Panvel farmhouse with Jacqueline Fernandez during the ongoing lockdown.

Salman and Jacqueline revealed details about the song, titled "Tere bina", in an Instagram chat to Waluscha De Sousa.

The song that was shot over four days, is his "cheapest production" till date, revealed Salman.

"Gaana mere zehen mein tha (I already had the song in mind), so I thought of releasing it at this time," he said.

Salman added that has learnt a lot while shooting during the lockdown.

"It's a learning experience that three people can very easily shoot a song. We didn't need any make-up artist, hair stylist," he said.

However, it was not easy to edit the track.

"Things were slow. Everyone's using wifi, so internet speed was so slow that it took us 24 to 36 hours to download some files. Everything went back and forth about 70 to 80 times. Finally, we got our edit, our teaser," Salman shared.

Salman recently came up with "Pyaar karona", a song aimed at cheering up people amid the coronavirus lockdown.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
We all know that Aamir Khan is known as Mr Perfectionist and once he

gets into a movie, he makes sure hes involved in all aspects of the

filmmaking. The actor always encourages young talents in all spheres

of the movie business and currently he has a special message for

budding writers who have dreams to turn their writing into a movie some day.

Aamir Khan recently announced the winners of the second edition of

Cinestaan India's Storytellers Script Contest along with Rajkumar

Hirani and writers Anjum Rajabali and Juhi Chaturvedi. The actor

posted a video and had a very special and encouraging message for the

writers. Aamir Khan announced the winner (Sejal Pachisia from

California, US won for her - On The Boundary) and later even asked the

ones who participated to continue their good job and always motivate

themselves to better their art. He said, "Those who did not make it to

the top five should not get discouraged. In fact, scriptwriters should

continue writing with more enthusiasm, especially during these times.

Every filmmaker needs a good script."

Pre-lockdown Aamir Khan was busy with the shoot of Laal Singh Chaddha,

an official remake of Hollywood flick Forest Gump. The film stars him

alongside Kareena Kapoor Khan and was set for Christmas 2020 release.

However due to the lockdown, the release might be pushed later as

certain chunks of the film are yet to be shot. We always know that the

wait for Aamir Khan film has always been a worth!
NSW will further ease COVID-19 restrictions from this Friday, with cafes, restaurants, playgrounds and outdoor pools making the cut for early reopening.

"Our community has demonstrated that by working together we can achieve positive results," Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

"The changes will allow NSW to fire up the economy, while allowing more personal freedoms."

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian. Credit:Louise Kennerley

From Friday, NSW residents will be permitted to have outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people, visits to a household of up to five people, while cafes and restaurants can seat 10 patrons at any one time.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Mike Blake/Reuters

California Governor Gavin Newsom said nail salons are high-risk for the spread of the new coronavirus and will reopen during the states' phase three of reopening, CNBC reported.

Newsom said the first known community spread in the state was in a nail salon.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Video: 4 Coronavirus Doctors Describe Overwhelming Working Conditions

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Thursday that a nail salon was the first known site of community spread in the state and that those businesses would not be a part of the reopening phase set to begin tomorrow, CNBC reported.

"This whole thing started in the state of California, the first community spread, in a nail salon," Newsom said at a news briefing, according to CNBC. "I'm very worried about that."

Newsom announced a four-phase plan for reopening the state. Right now, the state will be going into phase two, where "low-risk" businesses like bookstores, jewelry stores, toy stores, and clothing stores will be allowed to re-open starting on May 8.

However, before reopening, businesses have to ensure certain guidelines, in addition to industry-specific checklists, are met.

All businesses must "perform a detailed risk assessment and implement a site-specific protection plan, train employees on how to limit the spread of COVID-19, including how to screen themselves for symptoms and stay home if they have them, implement individual control measures and screenings, implement disinfecting protocols, and implement physical distancing guidance."

Newsom has not given a timeline, to when the next phase will begin, CNBC reported.

According to CNBC, state health directors have said nail salons are as risky for the spread of the new coronavirus like gyms and hair salons.

Other states, like Georgia, which reopened in late April, allowed nail salons to be a part of the first wave of reopenings. According to CNBC, Texas will also allow nail salons to reopen when the lockdown is lifted on Friday.

Newsom's office did not respond to Insider's request for comment at the time of publication.

Business Insider
'You know what irritates me about modern music? It's all based on ego. Look at a group like U2. Bono and his band are so egocentric - the more you jump around, the bigger your hat is, the more people listen to your music. The only important thing is to sell and make money. It's nothing to do with talent. The Beatles had a value that will last forever Will we remember U2 in 30 years? I doubt it."

George Harrison may have been having a bad day when he was interviewed by BBC News in the winter of 2000, but he was neither the first nor the last to level such accusations - or worse - at Bono and his band.

On the eve of Paul Hewson's 60th birthday, though, let us take time to toast Bono the artist and the man, rather than the caricature. He is, as many have noted, an interesting bunch of guys: a multi-faceted and questioning songwriter fired up by an apparently unquenchable thirst to contribute to the betterment of society. Call me old-fashioned, but where's the harm in that?

Bono's creative proclivities have more often than not taken a backseat. Most people view him as a wealthy and mouthy rock star who started the U2 journey with a gifted guitar player (Dave Evans, aka Edge) and a pushy, astute manager (Paul McGuinness). But between the myth and truth - and there are segments of each in any story - lives a person with an incorrigible need to experience life and what it has to offer.

So what inspires the songs he writes? And why does someone as smart as Brian Eno admire him so much? "Once I met Bono," Eno told Propaganda magazine in 1986, around the time of the making of The Joshua Tree, "I knew I had to work with him. I thought there was something about him, something that made the idea of spending time in a studio with him very interesting. He talked of how they [U2] work as a band, not in terms of playing, and so forth, but in terms of contribution, what contributed to the identity of the band as a whole"

The key here is contribution. From the start, Bono viewed the creative process as one of collaboration, the band as the nucleus of the songs and not just a filter for his ideas. This is the reason why there has never been - nor is there likely to be - a solo album from Bono: he needs the presence of other people to take his ideas and run with them.

Some might regard such a creative approach as lacking responsibility for your own ideas, but this has never mattered to Bono or U2. There has always been a sense of unity within the band. This is surely the primary reason why they remain so close-knit.

Another obligation, perhaps, of the collaborative experience is the band's documented reputation for being - in the words of Larry Mullen Jr in the 1997 programme for the PopMart tour - "the most unfocused, disorganised band as far as getting it together in the studio".

Expand Close Feed The World...Adam Clayton and Bono of U2 pictured outside SARM Studios in Notting Hill, London, during the recording of the Band Aid single 'Do They Know It's Christmas?', part of the Feed The World campaign, raising money for famine-stricken Ethiopia, on November 25, 1984. (Photo by Larry Ellis/Express Newspapers/Getty Images)...Ent / Facebook

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Whatsapp Feed The World...Adam Clayton and Bono of U2 pictured outside SARM Studios in Notting Hill, London, during the recording of the Band Aid single 'Do They Know It's Christmas?', part of the Feed The World campaign, raising money for famine-stricken Ethiopia, on November 25, 1984. (Photo by Larry Ellis/Express Newspapers/Getty Images)...Ent

The crux of Bono's creative sense may have shifted over the years from the personal, political and aesthetically Christian and back again, but he has mostly allowed his artistic leanings free rein. Very early U2 albums such as Boy (1980) and October (1981) feature songs that match musical directness with narrative confusion; later albums such as Achtung Baby (1991), All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000), Songs of Innocence (2014) and Songs of Experience (2017) are much less enigmatic.

The latter part of Bono's "all I got is a red guitar, three chords and the truth" maxim - which he reshaped from US songwriter/producer Harlan Howard's definition of country music - would come into the frame from Achtung Baby onwards. On this landmark album, he wrote of troubled relationships, unhappiness, disquiet, isolation, possessiveness, hypocrisy and emotional incompetence.

Video of the Day

Inspirations included the start of the dissolution of Edge's marriage, the birth of Bono's daughters in 1989 (Jordan) and '91 (Eve). Unusually, it got very personal on the best-known song from the album, 'One', which was influenced by failing intra-group relationships, and which Edge once described as a "bitter, twisted, vitriolic conversation between two people who've been through some nasty, heavy stuff".

The creative approaches altered again in All That You Can't Leave Behind, on which a more mainstream but no less expressive demeanour was laid bare. In many ways, the album gripped the importance of simplicity while also grappling with significant narrative ideas around a crisis of faith ('When I Look at the World'), suicide ('Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of'), personal sacrifice ('Walk On'), death and loss of control ('Kite'), love ('In a Little While'), the Omagh bombing of August 1998 ('Peace on Earth').

Such straightforwardness has been carried to U2's latest pair of albums, Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. On each - from the cover artwork to the majority of the songs - Bono addresses what is surely every artist's motivation, be it subliminal or blatant: their personal history. The man - and the band he sings with - will forever have critics sniping, of course, but his inquisitive, creative expedition from teenager to 60 has been negotiated with no small degree of personal integrity.

"I am Bono and I'm sick of him, I really am," he informed Q magazine in 2004. "But there are a lot of Bonos. Some annoy me more than others. Like Van Morrison said, 'I'll be great when I'm finished'."





Bono's key changes

1977/78

The teenage Paul Hewson slowly transforms into Bono Vox, a name given to him by one of his closest friends, Gavin Friday. The moniker - the Latin for 'good voice' - was inspired by the Dublin city-centre hearing-aid shop Bonavox.

1985

At the Live Aid concert at London's Wembley Stadium, Bono awkwardly extends U2's performance of 'Bad' by over five minutes, which means no time for their crowd-surging song, 'Pride (In the Name of Love)'. Not to worry - Bono's self-confessed clumsiness propels U2 from would-be rock stars to Big League players.

1986

With the global success of The Joshua Tree, Bono stands centre stage in his American preacher clothes, channelling a messianic vibe while singing rock anthems such as 'With or Without You', 'Where the Streets Have no Name', and 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For'.

1990/91

The years in which U2 and Bono dream it all up again. For the turnaround phase of Achtung Baby, Bono replaces Levi's jeans with leather as he mutates into various characters for the groundbreaking live shows.

2014-2020

Via "memoir" albums Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, Bono finally makes the journey back to Paul Hewson. It took about 40 years, but the honesty of expression across the linked records might just make it the best creative move of his life.
Sudhir Suryawanshi By

Express News Service

The fear of dying from COVID-19 in Jalna had compelled migrant workers to walk towards their home state of Madhya Pradesh, said one of the survivors of the train accident near Aurangabad.

The goods train ran over 16 migrant workers at 5.15 am on Friday when they were in a deep sleep. After walking 35 kilometres from Jalna to Aurangabad, they decided to sleep on the railway track at Satana near Aurangabad. The four migrants who survived the tragedy were sleeping away from the track.

Santosh Khetmala, an inspector from Karmad police station in Aurangabad, told The New Indian Express over the phone that the survivors who were working in Jalnas steel factory said they were getting food on time but the fear of being infected by COVID-19 and phone calls from their family members forced them to go back to Madhya Pradesh.

One of the survivors told Khetmala that their mothers had threatened to kill themselves if they did not return. The migrants' emotional attachment to their family members compelled them to pack their bags and leave Jalna, said Khetmala.

He said the migrants thought there were no trains running so nothing will happen to them even if they sleep on a railway track. We can call it destiny, nothing else. It is very unfortunate to see migrants dying in such a horrific way, said the police officer investigating the case.

The Maharashtra labour department has ordered an inquiry into the incident. We are collecting evidence and recording the statements of the motorman and guard man, said the police officer.
Jeff Paine, managing director of the Asia Internet Coalition

The world is in a race to respond to COVID-19 efficiently, as the pandemic has and continues to disrupt societies. Global economies are faltering and life as we know it has been put on hold for many. Trade and commerce has to adapt, travel is restricted, and how we keep close to our communities and loved ones continually evolves.

The UN Conference on Trade and Development estimates that the economic impact of COVID-19 globally will be at least $1 trillion this year.

In this unprecedented moment, technology is playing a transformative role in the worlds response. Emerging technologies are being developed and deployed at an extraordinary pace.

When economies reboot, and we emerge from self-isolation or lockdown, entrepreneurial ideas born on our sofas will need the freedom, space, and support to scale up quickly. The next Asian unicorn is probably being hatched in a small town somewhere. Those ideas, big or small, will need the right digital ecosystem that supports an entrepreneurial response to flourish, not to flounder.

Heavily impacted sectors, like tourism, must be sustained through tough times to retain skills and bolster industry recovery. International co-operation, public-private partnerships, and technology-driven innovation will be essential to support the economic impact of these sectors for the good of all economies.

In Vietnam, technology has been crucial in the exceptional handling by the government and the community of this crisis to date.

Led by the heroic efforts of essential workers, public health policy is in the process of being altered forever. Technology has played a role in helping stretched public health systems manage caseloads, enabling supply chains, connecting health workers to patients, facilitating telemedicine services for rural and affected communities, and supporting digital health tools.

Vietnams Ministry of Health launched health declaration mobile application NCOVI to help the public report their medical conditions and follow the contact tracing. This app was launched prior to the World Health Organization declaring a pandemic. This forward-thinking action has helped manage the response, and engendered confidence from citizens.

Open source sharing of knowledge and data has made rapid and crucial partnerships between Vietnamese and global companies possible. Vingroup recently announced a tie up with Medtronic and Foxconn to produce ventilators, with 50,000 life-saving machines expected per month.

Education went from the classroom to the living room overnight. This seismic shift, enabled by the internet and digital platforms, has helped learning to continue. However, hard questions on internet access, investment in teachers and the broader role of technology should be asked and answered.

As the physical movement of goods and people becomes increasingly restricted around the world, technology such as cloud is a powerful lower-cost option for small businesses. At the same time, digital e-commerce and ride-hailing platforms are a lifeline for food, medicine, and essential services.

With social distancing increasingly practiced globally, working from home is the new norm, enabled by cloud-based video conferencing services and collaboration tools. Responding to this new paradigm of work will require business, government, and community to embrace new practices.

Paramount to ensuring that technology can contribute even more will require governments to rethink digital policies and regulations in order to remove barriers and reduce burdens.

There will be many competing priorities for government attention, investment, and regulation in the months and years ahead. Technology companies are willing to play a leadership role in the rebuilding phase. Public-private partnerships should be deepened to enable this.

Some of the necessary measures put in place by governments during the pandemic will need to be re-examined, specifically those related to personal data use, privacy, surveillance, and misinformation. Pandemic-era policies should be time-limited, proportional, transparent, and accountable.

In the rebuilding phase, it will be essential for innovation, public trust, and governance that these potentially overreaching measures are put back into the box, and only used in genuinely critical times like these.

Across Asia, there has been rapid progress in the path of transformation towards more digitised economies. Vietnam has likewise been on this journey. There is universal recognition that digital platforms and services and the internet spur GDP and job growth, create more significant social and economic inclusion, and help bridge the digital divide.

Restarting that journey will be even more important in the future.




Haiti - Politic : ECOSOC concerned about the consequences of the pandemic on Haiti





Further to an extraordinary meeting of the Economic and Social Council ad hoc advisory group (ECOSOC)of UN on Haiti to discuss the evolving situation in Haiti in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Group expresses its concern that least developed countries such as Haiti will be disproportionately affected given the weak health infrastructure and underlying social and economic inequalities characterizing these countries. The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to deepen the humanitarian, human rights and economic crisis in Haiti and to exacerbate existing vulnerabilities, pushing more people into poverty in a country where 10 million people are already living below the poverty line.



The Group is further concerned that, unless adequately managed, the health emergency, and its socio-economic impact, could become a humanitarian catastrophe, threatening to unravel some of the hard-won development and security gains achieved in the past decade and a half in Haiti. Forty per cent of the countrys population is now food insecure, making Haiti among the ten most food insecure countries in the world. With schools closed, some 300,000 children are now left without their daily school meal, putting them at serious risk of stunted growth. The onset of the hurricane season from June through November 2020 could further compound existing challenges. The Group is also concerned that the impact of the pandemic could further erode confidence of Haitians in their national institutions, exacerbate political and social tensions, prompt human rights violations and be a factor leading to renewed violence and increased security challenges.



The ECOSOC underscores that, while immediate action is needed to address Haitis health and humanitarian needs, efforts should also be pursued to continue promoting sustainable development and building the countrys resilience to future shocks. The Group welcomes the prompt measures taken by the Government of Haiti, whose overall responsibility and accountability remain essential in addressing the crisis, including the setting up of a multidisciplinary scientific committee and a multisectoral commission to assist the Ministry of Public Health and Population in managing the pandemic as well as the development of the COVID-19 health response plan.



The Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti requests the United Nations, Member States, donors, International Financial Institutions, and all stakeholders to act together with determination and urgency to prevent and respond to the spread of COVID-19 and to mitigate its humanitarian and socio-economic consequences. The Group calls upon all actors to ensure a rapid, safe, full and unhindered humanitarian access which is more necessary than ever to facilitate the response to the pandemic. The Group also urges support for Haitis COVID-19 Response Plan led by the Ministry of Public Health and Population and calls upon Member States to contribute to the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for Haiti as well as to the UN Global Humanitarian Response Plan for COVID-19.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Documentary Reveals Attempts To Groom Raeesi As Next Iranian Leader

Radio Farda May 08, 2020

A new Radio Farda video documentary released this week, suggests that Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raeesi is most certainly being groomed as the Islamic Republic's next Supreme Leader.

The documentary which is in Persian is titled: From Executioner to Supreme Leader.

The video does not have a narrator and tells its story through comments made by a selected handful of authoritative political activists and human rights lawyers and presents strong evidence to support its hypothesis about Raeesi's future.

Most of the story about the prospects for Raeesi's future is told by Paris-based Iranian political activist Mohammad Javad Akbarain, while, political activist and former political prisoner Iraj Mesdaghi, Amnesty International Iran Desk officer Raha Bahraini and prominent international human rights lawyer Abdolkarim Lahiji provide background about Raeesi's damning career as a thug.

Akbarain affirms that there are many reasons to believe that some people are grooming Raeesi as the Islamic Republic's next leader. The evidence starts from a banner on Supreme Leader Khamenei's website that presents Raeesi as the symbol of the Islamic Revolution's "second step" or second phase, an idea Khamenei brought forward on the 40th anniversary of the revolution in 2019.

Other evidence presented by Akbarain and Mesdaghi includes the fact that Raeesi (Raisi) has started to teach advanced divinity classes at the seminary; a practice that signals a cleric's promotion to the rank of ayatollah. Interestingly, Khamenei's son Mojtaba, who is said to be another contestant for the post of Supreme Leader, also started teaching similar course since 2017.

A major document, and probably the most important document proving the case, is a picture that shows Raeesi sitting in a chair preaching to a group of military and civilian officials including former Qods Force Commander Qassem Soleimani in 2017. The setting in the picture is strikingly similar to that of Khamenei's meeting with his aides.

The next proof of Raeesi's ambitions or his handlers' grooming attempts is his presence in numerous ceremonies including inaugurating or visiting projects that have nothing to do with his position as the head of the Judiciary.

And finally, the last piece of evidence is Raeesi being positioned next to Khamenei during the funeral of Qassem Soleimani. The body language of the two men is also telling the same story of introducing the next leader.

In the meantime, a large part of the documentary is dedicated to Raeesi's track record as a man who was appointed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as Prosecutor of Hamadan and Karaj simultaneously at the age of 19.

The highlight of his career is acting as a member of the death committee that ordered the murder of thousands of political prisoners in Iran in 1988, and summary trial and execution of Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK) members who had attacked Iran form their base in Iraq in the same year.

Subsequently, he became the deputy judiciary chief under Mahmud Shahroudi and Sadeq Amoli Larijani. Critics including President Hassan Rouhani have charged that while he was in the best position to fight financial corruption in, he did not do so, and instead accused others of corruption when he was a candidate for presidency in 2017.

At the end of the documentary, Akbarain says that despite all that has been done to put Raeesi forward as the next leader of the Islamic Republic, he is not likely to win the position because the situation has changed since the time he started his ascendance in the 1980s. Now the a significant segment of the population has turned its back to the Islamic Republic and modern media has brought the past of many regime insiders into the limelight.

But the most important reason why Raeesi has far less chance to become the next leader, says Akbarain, is that in the initial plan a charismatic military man was to pledge allegiance to Raeesi and push him to the throne, but the plan did not work as charismatic general, Qassem Soleimani was killed in January.

Nonetheless, Akbarain concludes that when Khamenei was appointed leader in 1989, there was still hope in the future of the Islamic Republic. Akbarain asked: "With the Islamic Republic' bad record in all these years, the question is: Will there be a future for it at all?"

Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/documentary- reveals-attempts-to-groom-raeesi-as- next-iranian-leader/30601554.html

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

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A special train will bring back over 1,200 stranded Himachalis from Goa next week, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said.

Interacting with people from the state stranded in Goa through video link, the chief minister informed them that he had requested Railway Minister Piyush Goyal to ply a special train from the coastal state to Una in Himachal Pradesh, a spokesperson said.

Goyal has agreed that a special train would start from Goa on May 13 or 14, he added.

A total of 1,204 people from Himachal Pradesh have been stranded in Goa due to coronavirus-induced lockdown. Of them 398 are from Mandi district, 246 from Kullu, 241 from Kangra, 105 from Chamba, 70 from Shimla district and 43 from Solan district.

The chief minister urged the Andhra Pradesh government to provide assistance to Himachal Pradesh natives stuck at Prasanthi Nilayam in Puttaparthi.

In a letter to his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, Thakur said that Himachal Pradesh government was receiving several from people stranded there for assistance, including food, shelter and medical care.

Most of these people want to return to their native places, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Gov. Gavin Newsom, second from right, is given a tour of the Bloom Energy campus in Sunnyvale, Calif., on March 28, 2020. (Beth LaBerge/KQED via AP, Pool)

Masks in Newsoms BYD Deal Denied Safety Certification

California Gov. Gavin Newsoms $1 billion deal with a Chinese company to produce protective masks during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic has soured, as the masks failed to meet national safety and health standards.

The deal has been a source of controversy and confusion among legislators since Newsom announced it on April 7, without sharing details of the contract to state lawmakers.

Newsoms office finally revealed an amended contract to lawmakers on May 6 after the company responsible for providing the masks, BYD (Build Your Dreams) Auto Co., was forced to return half of the initial $495 million down payment, because the masks they delivered failed to get the approval of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

A redacted copy of the amended contract obtained by The Epoch Times shows that the company has until the end of the month to comply by delivering masks that pass the certification standards, or they must return the other half of the money.

Gov. Gavin Newsoms $1 billion deal with BYD China is crumbling, Assemblyman Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) said in a May 6 tweet. Predictably the N95 masks failed a test from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, forcing California to seek a refund.

The contract is for a total of 300 million N95 masks, at a cost of $3.30 per mask.

On May 6, the contract was amended to extend the deadline for NIOSH approval to May 31 from April 30. If BYD cant get NIOSH approval by then, the amended contract gives the company until June 5 to refund the remaining $247.5 million to the state.

Brian Ferguson, the deputy director for crisis communication and public affairs for the Governors Office of Emergency Services, told The Epoch Times on May 8 that the masks didnt fail a test, but rather did not pass certification yet.

There is a provision in our contract that protects the taxpayers of California, that if that certification was not received by May 1, 50 percent of what was put in the escrow account would be released back to the state, Ferguson said. So thats the $247.5 million.

The contract was structured in such a way to try to have pretty firm standards for the state to make sure that  were getting the product we asked for, he said. The state will not pay or release any funds for masks that dont meet the stringent health and safety guidelines.

A Controversial Deal

Since Newsom went on MSNBCs Rachel Maddow Show on April 7 to announce the deal, it has been met with bipartisan skepticism.

Assemblyman Kiley (R-Rocklin) told The Epoch Times on May 2 that the lucrative contract was handed to the Chinese company BYD without bidding and shrouded in secrecy. Both Democrats and Republicans have been asking Newsom for answersand the contractever since.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the first shipment of 3 million surgical masks arrived April 25 and were received into the state warehouse on the next day.

To date, the state has only released funds for masks that they have received, Ferguson added. He said that these are surgical masks, and that approximately 15 million of these have arrived so far.

What we do know is that he [Newsom] did something very unusual, which was to wire $500 million up front. Thats not the way it usually works for a state contract, Kiley said.

So not only did he hide these negotiations from the Legislature, he actually then on his own, unilaterally, took the very unusual step of sending them $500 million before we had received a single mask in return, he said.

Newsom previously had said the $1 billion deal is for 200 million masks per month150 million N95 masks and 50 million surgical masksin a contract that runs until the end of June. But he had not revealed the precise cost per mask until releasing the contract.

Boxes of N95 protective masks for use by medical field personnel are seen at a New York State emergency operations incident command center during the CCP virus outbreak in New Rochelle, N.Y., on March 17, 2020. (Mike Segar/Reuters)

Newsom emphasized in the Maddow interview that he used Californias purchasing power to get a good price. He said he hopes to have enough to meet Californias needs and even export some to other Western states.

Ferguson said that there was a time when the state was doing smaller orders, and the masks were much more expensive.

He added, Which is why they actually viewed the BYD contract as important, because it gave us more certaintyboth in terms of whats being received, and it was at a much lower price point than what was being paid elsewhere on the market.

In Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced April 28 that U.S.-based company Honeywell Corporation will provide the city with 24 million N95 masks for $0.79 each. He noted in his press briefing that such masks can sell for up to $13 each with the current demand.

On May 8, Kiley said in a tweet: Gavin Newsom paid BYD China $3.30 per mask. Eric Garcetti paid Honeywell $0.79 a mask.

The Honeywell plant shifted from building aircraft engines to producing N95 respirator masks to supply the Strategic National Stockpile for health care and emergency services workers. President Donald Trump toured the Honeywell International Inc. aerospace facility in Phoenix, Ariz., on May 6, at the outset of National Nurses Week.

BYDs Ethics Questioned

Kiley called BYD disreputable. It made headlines in 2018 when the electric buses it sold to Los Angeles failed and many officials deemed them low-quality.

BYD President Stella Li responded at the time in an interview with Clean Technica: As with any groundbreaking technology, issues do arise in manufacturing and performance and BYD aggressively responds and manages these issues.

Rep. John Garamendi (D-Sacramento), who helped draft legislation last year banning the purchase of BYD electric buses, spoke to Vice about the PPE purchase: What is our government doing? They may very well flood the market with substandard devices and people will be relying on them as though they are of satisfactory quality, and that is bizarre.

Newsom said at his daily press conference on April 13 that all PPE delivered by BYD will be required to meet federal standards. The FDA announced an emergency authorization in April to allow the company to import its masks.

Robotic arms paint a car at the BYD Automobile Company Limited Xian plant, in Shaanxi Province, China, on Dec. 25, 2019. (China Daily via Reuters)

Kiley remains concerned. This company has a lot of problems. There are the ties to the Chinese Communist government. There are ties to forced labor practices.

Vice reported on April 11 that BYD has used the forced labor of Uyghurs, a religious minority group, at alleged state-run re-education camps in China. BYD has denied the claims and, on April 27, it filed a defamation lawsuit against Vice Media.

In an April 27 media release, BYD stated: BYD is one of the worlds largest producers and suppliers of electric vehicles including electric cars, buses, trucks and forklifts as well as protective masks, and many other important and useful products. The company will supply the State of California with $1 billion worth of masks to protect its nurses, doctors, caregivers, first responders and others during and after the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Billionaire Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway owns 25 percent of BYD.

Ke Li, the president of BYDs California subsidiary and the person who signed the contract, is listed as a Newsom campaign donor, according to a recent CalMatters article.

He is also listed in the contract as the authorized representative for Good Healthcare Product Solutions LLC, the seller listed on the purchase order.

He donated $40,000 when Newsom was running for governor, so that adds a whole other level of questionability here, because the governor is awarding this massive no-bid contract secretly to a company with ties to one of his major political campaign supporters, Kiley said.

Newsom Scrutinized for How He Announced Deal

Newsom announced the deal on MSNBCs Rachel Maddow Show on April 7, to the dismay of some state legislators.

Thats how we all learned about this dealnot from him telling the Legislature about it, Kiley said. And when he went on Rachel Maddow, he actually made it seem like this was a California company.

Newsom initially introduced the deal as occurring through a consortia of nonprofits and a manufacturer here in the State of California.

When Maddow asked Newsom to confirm if the masks were going to be manufactured in California, Newsom told her: No, they will be manufactured overseas, but they were sourced through a California manufacturer and a consortium of nonprofits.

As the conversation continued, he said the manufacturer is in Asia.

He tried to slip it in saying that he secured the masks through a manufacturer in California when actually it was just a subsidiary that provided the reference to the company in China, Kiley said. So, it just shows the lack of candor with which the governor has approached this whole situation.

Two days later, Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles), who chairs the Joint Legislative Budget Committee wrote a letter to Newsoms Director of Finance Keely Martin Bosler requesting details of the deal. Bosler had sent a letter to Mitchell and other budget committee members on April 7 outlining the deal, but without the specifics of the contract.

Mitchell conveyed her support of the deal but requested transparency from the Newsom Administration.

I understand the Administration feels the need to act quickly due to the worldwide demand for masks and other PPE, Mitchell wrote in her April 9 letter.

However, I request that the Administration provide the [committee] the full details of the contract including the performance standards required of the vendor and the manufacturer, the price per mask, the quality standards the masks are required to meet (such as those established by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health), the production and delivery timelines, and the efficacy of the technology utilized to clean the masks that will be reused.

In light of the massive spending commitments, Mitchell asked the administration to establish within days a webpage listing the states inventory of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other medical equipment, and showing where these items have been distributed.

Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), vice chair of the committee has also raised questions about the deal, Kiley said.

[They] have both raised some very big questions about the deal and are not at all happy with it. [They] complained that they were not told about it; they learned about it on national TV, Kiley said. And so theres been a lot of skepticism.

Why Chinese-Made?

Marc Ang, president of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance (CACA), Orange County lodge, blasted Newsom over the deal.

Ang said preference should have been given to an American company at a time when trade relations with China are strained and foreign supply lines are unreliable.

Going with a preferred dealer without bidding it and without going through the [state] Assembly and the state Senate to approve this is really bad optics. Why would you push a specific vendor? Why would he push something thats not made in America? I have a real issue with that, Ang told The Epoch Times. It reeks of profiteering. These are bad optics in times when were looking for leadership.

Newsoms choice to act alone without informing state legislators is almost dictatorial, he said. He blamed politicians from former presidents Bill Clinton to Barack Obama for making deals with China that he said have sold out our interests.

His lodge has been strongly critical of the Chinese Communist Partys (CCPs) role in the pandemic. A statement released by senior member, Betty Tom Chu, on March 31 encourages Americans to acknowledge the truth about the PRC [Peoples Republic of Chinas] unacceptable actions against its own people (including the arrest of doctors and scientists who were warning about the dangers of the Wuhan virus).

Ang said of the mask deal, I certainly believe that it should be America first.

Even if companies, such as 3M, cant keep up with the demand for N95 masks, other American companies could step in and start producing them, Ang said.

If a car manufacturer can easily start making masks, can any of our idle businesses here in California start making masks? Why not them? Ang pondered. I would rather see that account go to an American company, actually a Californian company. Why does the deal have to go through China?

Kiley said, There certainly seems to be a lot of options, and none of those were available for us to consider because the governor did this secretly and unilaterally.

Senate Budget Hearing

At a Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Special Budget Subcommittee on COVID-19 Response meeting on April 16, Mitchell said the state is essentially working on a new budget for the May Revision, which is slated for May 14.

Sen. John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa) asked about the BYD deal at the hearing: With more than 90 percent of pharmaceuticals being manufactured now in China, Im just curious, why would we want to also buy facemasks from China? Why cant we find a producer and encourage them in the state of California to make the masks?

We have been working on that as well, said Tina Curry, chief deputy director for the Governors Office of Emergency Services. She said local solutions were not available soon enough.

We needed to find a more rapid solution, she said at the budget hearing.

Curry said there is such high demand for the masks, that the state wanted to make sure it had a dedicated supply line.

Sen. Jim Nielsen (R-Tehama) expressed doubts the masks would be delivered at all.

I must emphasize thats a big deal, and many of us are going to be very insistent at seeing the terms of that contract. I must confess, I have not much confidence in it being delivered as suggested for a whole lot of reasons, Nielsen said at the hearing.

Ensuring timely delivery of the masks is really, really important, he said.

Now that the company has missed one deadline by failing to deliver acceptable masks, BYD has until the end of May to complyor return the remaining $247.5 million down payment.
The Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC) on Saturday announced an insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh for its employees in the forefront of the coronavirus fight in case of death due to the disease.

As the country battles the COVID-19 pandemic, the DSGMC has been providing free food to the lockdown-hit homeless people and shelter to health workers in its gurudwaras.

It will now provide an insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh each to its 2,500 frontline workers who are providing free community meals, and sanitation and transport-related services across the national capital, its president Manjinder Singh Sirsa said.

Staff members of the DSGMC-managed gurudwaras have been distributing food and relief material in JJ colonies, labour camps, shelter homes, etc., as a result of which there is a risk of them contracting the novel coronavirus, Sirsa said.

The life insurance scheme will include sanitation staff, cooks preparing langar, religious preachers, security staff and other frontline workers tasked with distributing food.

"We salute the efforts of our frontline workers to provide services to mankind at the ground level amid the coronavirus threat, he said.

The DSGMC has been taking care of accommodation and food requirements of around 200 doctors, nurses and other healthcare staffers involved in treating COVID-19 patients.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
He recently broke Instagram records with a livestreamed rant that garnered 2 million viewers.

But Tekashi 6ix9ine's mastery of social media was called into question on Saturday, when the controversial rapper called on Instagram users to 'describe me in one word.'

'Snitch,' was the overwhelming favorite among the descriptors used of the picture, which showed the GOOBA rapper posing with two stacks of cash.

Bad move: Tekashi 6ix9ine's mastery of social media was called into question on Saturday, when the controversial rapper called on Instagram users to 'describe me in one word'

Tekashi -whose real name is Daniel Hernandez- was convicted on racketeering charges, and he was facing a possible life sentence in prison.

But in February 2019, the rapper reached a plea agreement for testifying against fellow members of the Trey Nine Gang.

And fans weren't about to let him forget that fact, with one ignoring the one word limit and telling him he was 'looking like a dam snitch' [SIC].

Survey says: 'Snitch,' was the overwhelming favorite among the descriptors used of the picture, which showed the GOOBA rapper posing with two stacks of cash

Infamous: Tekashi -whose real name is Daniel Hernandez- was convicted on racketeering charges, and he was facing a possible life sentence in prison.

Unpopular: But in February 2019, the rapper reached a plea agreement for testifying against fellow members of the Trey Nine Gang

Another one! The social media faux pas came as Hernandez broke another record: for the biggest hip-hop debut in YouTube history

The social media faux pas came as Hernandez broke another record: for the biggest hip-hop debut in YouTube history.

His song GOOBA racked up a whopping 43.55 million views on the streaming site in its first 24 hours to claim the honor.

As a result of Tekashi's testimony, the controversial artist was sentenced to serve just two years in prison, 13 months of which was already served, and he was slated to be released in August on good behavior but now he's a free man after his successful petition for early release due to the spread of COVID-19.

The bling ring: In a Saturday Instagram post, the FEFE hitmaker showed off his watch collection

Questionable tastes: Hernandez also flashed a bejeweled shark necklace which looked very much like something a child might wear

Tekashi 69 just broke the record for Instagram Live viewers as he broadcast an epic rant on Friday following his release from jail last month.

Two million people tuned into to listen to the 24-year-old rapper as he defended his decision to cooperate with federal authorities in the racketeering case against him and the Nine Trey Bloods gang.

Tekashi is now under house arrest and even showed off an ankle monitor in his new music video for GOOBA, which he also dropped Friday.

He's back: Tekashi 69 just broke the record for Instagram Live viewers as he broadcast an epic rant on Friday after his release from jail

In his livestream Tekashi danced to Bad Boys while toying with a pair of handcuffs, seemingly poking fun at his incarceration.

He also admitted to being a snitch, questioned who he should be loyal to, and bragged about his money and music, claiming 'Im the biggest artist in the world'.

The rainbow-haired artist also dropped his first track since being imprisoned along with an appropriately colorful music video for song GOOBA.

It features plenty of women twerking and Tekashi showing off a massive shark pendant around his neck. His ankle monitor is also seen on his right leg.

'Still the king': Tekashi bragged about his 2M viewers shortly after his livestream

His Instagram rant and music drop came after rapper Meek Mill hit out at the New York rapper, writing on Twitter: 'I hope that rat going live to apologize to the people he told on or the victim..... Yall forgot that fast a rat killed nipsey he wasnt suppose to be on the streets!

'Thats the only thing ima day [sic] because hes dead... left his baby mom and child like a coward as targets!'

Meek was referring to Eric Holder, the man accused of murdering his friend Nipsey Hussle last year, who was allegedly also a 'rat'.

Rainbow boy: The artist then dropped the music video for his new track GOOBA

Under house arrest: He showed off his ankle monitor in the video

New bling: Also showcased in the video was Tekashi's massive shark pendant

Curves: Scantily clad dancers show off their moves in the video

Tekashi responded tweeting: 'Imagine having a newborn baby come into the world & be pressed about a Mexican with rainbow hair.'

Tekashi 69 got released from prison early last month and is on supervised release.

For the first four months, he'll have a GPS monitor and he will only be allowed to leave the home to seek medical treatment or visit his attorney.

A judge granted his request to be released from jail to avoid getting infected with the coronavirus.

Snitch: The rapper is back with a bang after being jailed on racketeering charges. He ended up getting just two years after a plea deal agreement for testifying against his fellow members of the Trey Nine Gang

Court documents also revealed he was granted his release because the judge felt he wasn't a threat to society and because he had served most of his sentence already.

The rapper burst onto the scene in 2017 with his first single Gummo, which peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts.

He released his first mixtape Day 69 in 2018 and his first studio album Dummy Boy in 2018.
Remember the palmy pre-coronavirus, pre-impeachment days of Democratic primaries and clown cars? Where Michael Bloomberg ran dozens of ads a day on the airwaves touting his crisis management skills, while pundits spoke of his unstoppable power, based on his bottomless pit of money, that pretty well talked louder than anything else in the Democratic Party. Some billed it as his hostile takeover of the party.

Well, now that voters have rejected him, it's poof. Vanish. Gone.

Bloomberg was last seen buying yet another mansion, this one outside Aspen for $44 million, to add to his collection in Manhattan, Bermuda, etc., this one a bad-taste tin-ear number out in rugged Colorado with Long Islandstyle grand green lawns, abstract modern art, French doors, high-ceilinged rooms, with gargantuan chandeliers  except that it was all done in a Kozy Kountry Kubbard mountain cabin veneer, with log walls, deer antlers, and Native American striped rug patterns. Raaalf, or rather, Hey, Ralph! ... Ralph Lauren's (or maybe Robert Redford's Sundance) teams ought to be hired to hose out the revolting mixtures of styles. But Bloomberg might be too cheap to do it.

His cheapness of the spotlight certainly has left the Democratic Party and all of his campaign workers in a bind. Politico has a headline reporting that "Democrats fume over having to clean up Bloomberg's mess."

It's a mess for them all right, because rather than keep his promise to his campaign workers to keep them on payroll through November, Bloomberg dumped them unceremoniously and laid them off in the midst of the coronavirus lockdown, refusing to make any effort to keep his promise to them, even as it's a promise he could easily fulfill.

It's a mess for Democrats because now he's pressuring them to hire those laid off campaign operatives  with the $18 million he managed to funnel to the Democratic Party. The Democrats say it's a mess for them because he's essentially saying his "gift" wasn't really a gift; it was him telling them to fix his laid-off worker problem for him with that money instead of spend it on what they needed. The Democrats say that's a problem because they're being pressured to hire all kinds of failed campaigns' campaign workers and Bloomie is effectively saying they should put his workers at the front of the line without regard to talent or ability. Worse still, previous reports had pegged Bloomberg campaign salaries at much higher levels than those of other Democratic campaigns, pay levels the Dems say they can't offer to the former Bloomberg workers, but they'll surely be pressured to do, just to keep Bloomberg (and the workers) happy. If they do that, the rest of the Democrats will seethe in resentment over why the ex-Bloombergers from the failed campaign are drawing in six figures plus bennies, while they're still slaving over minimum wage or less.

Mess, indeed. Instead of just pay his workers and be done with it, Bloomberg wants Democrats to do the job, the better to keep his finger in their political matters as the big whale with cash in the party. According to the Guardian:

Even before Bloomberg dropped out of the presidential race in May the media mogul billionaire vowed he would work to defeat Donald Trump even if he didn't get the nomination. That's precisely what he is doing. "He was one of the biggest contributors to Democratic causes before he ran and he still is after," Abe Rakov, a veteran Democratic campaign manager, said of Bloomberg. "There are a lot of organizations and programs across the country that would be in really bad shape if he decided to disengage after he ran."

He's got them on his string, so what he says is going to go, a formula for chaos in the Democratic Party. Politico has much more here.

Here's another missing-in-action item on Bloomberg. While he adds to his collection of mansions, note how silent he has been on the coronavirus crisis as it's hit his hometown of New York. Are we hearing of $18-million contributions to that? Nope.

This is strange, because Bloomberg's actually the guy who touted himself as Mr. Crisis Manager, Mr. "He'll Get It Done" to voters in his campaign ads, claiming to be the guy who did the heavy lifting in the wake of 9/11, a credit that belongs to former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani. What has Bloomie done on the coronavirus? Nothing, apparently, at least as regards direct money, and certainly no bully pulpit encouraging statements.

The Guardian reports that he's "advising" the governor of New York State, Andrew Cuomo, and here is the April 22 statement from Cuomo's office:

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and Mike Bloomberg today announced a new nation-leading COVID-19 contact tracing program to control the infection rate of the disease. Mike Bloomberg and Bloomberg Philanthropies have committed organizational support and technical assistance to help build and execute this new program. The contact tracing program will be done in coordination with the downstate region as well as New Jersey and Connecticut and will serve as an important resource to gather best practices and as a model that can be replicated across the nation. There has never been a contact tracing program implemented at this scale either in New York or anywhere in the United States. The program will launch immediately.

Contact tracing? As in tracking voters' every move? This sounds like it might have dual applications, useful for political campaigns or Democratic-led administrations.

He's not donating money for economic relief or getting the homeless off the streets or anything that might involve human services - he's helping the government gain more control. And that's being billed as philanthopy.

All in all, he's AWOL. He's succoring himself with mansions. He's creating messes for the Democrats. And the kind of 'help' he's giving to New York might just not be help.

What a plague this guy is on his party, and the entire nation.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
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.

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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
Most American Christians don't know their purpose in life is to 'love, serve God': survey

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New data from a multi-part survey exploring how Americans view the world shows that while the majority believe life has a specific purpose, less than one-fifth say lifes purpose is knowing and loving God.

In the latest installment of the bi-weekly American Worldview Inventory from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, new findings reveal that Americans overwhelmingly are unsure about what lifes purpose is.

The data is based on a nationally representative sample of 2,000 American adults and includes interviews with a nationwide random sample of 1,000 adults via telephone and 1,000 adults interviewed online. The data has an error margin of 2 percentage points.

According to the data, 86% of Americans believe there's a universal, shared purpose that human life possesses. About two-in-three respondents (66%) believe they have a unique, God-given calling or purpose.

But only 18% believe the universal purpose is knowing, loving and serving God.

Even among the 71% of Americans who consider themselves to be Christians, fewer than 20% adopt the biblical view that our purpose is to know, love and serve God, an analysis of the data reads.

These percentages reveal that the vast majority of Americans  including those who identify as Christians  appear to be seeking meaning without God at the center of their thinking.

The study shows that Americans differ significantly as to how they define their life's purpose. The most widely-held view among 23% of survey respondents is "experiencing happiness and fulfillment" is the ultimate reason for living.

About 18% indicated that their life's purpose was to evolve to their "full potential physically, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually.

Another 10% of those surveyed said their purpose in life is furthering the development of humanity or living a long, healthy life.

One-quarter of Americans defined success as "living a healthy, productive, and safe life." Approximately one-fifth of adults said that success was either being a good person or living a lifestyle of consistent obedience to God.

The survey also found that among churchgoing adults, no Christian church affiliation claimed a majority who believed that life success involves consistent obedience to God.

Evangelicals came closest (47%), followed by those attending Pentecostal churches (42%), the analysis explains. [B]ut only 23% attending mainline Protestant church and just 16% of Catholics include obedience to God in the definition of success.

The results reveal a significant generational and political disparity when it comes to God factoring into one's sense of purpose.

The older a person is, the more likely they are to adopt a biblical view of life's purpose. Meanwhile, Americans who range in age from 18 to 29 are least likely to espouse God as part of their purpose.

Those with politically conservative views are three times as likely to say God gives purpose to their life than political liberals, the survey indicates.

The disconnect is staggering, said CRC Director of Research George Barna, a longtime evangelical pollster and founder of The Barna Group.

As a nation, we yearn for purpose and calling, ideas deeply rooted within our nations historical Christian faith and biblical understanding of God, he added in a statement.

Americans hold on to these basic biblical ideas of what makes human existence meaningful, yet, at the same time, refuse to recognize reliance on God or even His existence when talking about their happiness or purpose.

The release of the research in the American Worldview Inventory was going to coincide with the launch of the Cultural Research Center at ACU in Glendale, Arizona, in March. But the center's formal event had to be postponed until the fall as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A California man sported a Nazi Swastika flag on his mask while grocery shopping in the same town where a man wore a KKK hood in another store, in an apparent jab at Governor Gavin Newsom.

Dustin Hart, who goes by Dusty Shekel on social media, posted a 14-minute clip of his encounter in a Santee Food 4 Less on Bit Chute - a video hosting platform that appeals to the far right and conspiracy theorists.

'We were peacefully protesting all the crazy lockdown rules that have been and are continuing to be enforced here in San Diego, California,' the 32-year-old said in the post.

'These crazy rules are destroying any quality of life we had left. Now we are unemployed and literally have nothing better to do and no where else we are allowed to be.'

Scroll down for video

Dustin Hart, who goes by Dusty Shekel on social media, posted a 14-minute clip of his encounter in a Santee Food 4 Less on Bit Chute - a video hosting platform that appeals to the far right and conspiracy theorist.

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department said in a statement that it responded to the grocery store on the 9400 block of Cuyamaca Street shortly after 6.30pm on Thursday to respond to the incident. No arrest were made at the scene

Hart and a woman who was accompanying him can be seen with masks on and a Nazi flag that they use Velcro to attach.

The woman with Hart is wearing a shirt with a version of the 'Pepe The Frog' meme that has the frog as a clown. The popular frog has become increasingly associated with alt-right imagery and anti-Semitic and racist ideology.

'The mere fact of posting a Pepe meme does not mean that someone is racist or white supremacist,' the Anti-Defamation League states on their website. 'However, if the meme itself is racist or anti-Semitic in nature, or if it appears in a context containing bigoted or offensive language or symbols, then it may have been used for hateful purposes.'

The clip shows Hart and the woman walking around the store and putting various items in their shopping cart. Various people snap photos of the couple's masks as they make their way around the store.

Hart and a woman who was accompanying him can be seen with masks on and a Nazi flag that they use Velcro to attach. The woman wears a Pepe the Frog shirt

At one point, a store cashier comes and tells them that they can't wear the masks inside. Hart argues with the employee, stressing it is his First Amendment right to wear the mask and that 'this is America, land of the free'

At one point, a store cashier comes and tells them that they can't wear the masks inside. Hart argues with the employee, stressing it is his First Amendment right to wear the mask and that 'this is America, land of the free.'

'I can decorate mine however I want,' the man boasts. The employee even offers to give Hart another mask, to which he responds 'go for it.'

Continuing to walk around the store, the pair are then stopped by deputies from the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

The deputies speak with the couple and Hart informs them that he planned to take the mask off as he was checking out.

But the deputies insist that the store is a 'family friendly' and a 'private' store, sharing that unless they remove the masks then the couple would be trespassing.

Hart lies to deputies when they ask him if the store employee offered him a replacement mask. He also refuses to give them his contact information on multiple occasions

When a deputy tries to explain that the Nazi flag is an 'offensive symbol,' Hart responds: 'I see the LGBT flag and that is offensive to me and I don't call the cops'

'We have a Nazi for a governor,' Hart declares in the footage. 'Now you guys are here, literally proving my point.'

One of the deputies, identified as K Belzer, asks Hart if he was offered another masks.

Hart lies, and says he was never offered one. At one point, he claims that 'this is just discrimination.'

As Belzer's partner speaks with the woman with Hart, the 32-year-old listens and refuses to offer his own identifying information for Belzer.

Belzer brings up that a similar incident occurred earlier in the week with the man who wore a KKK hood but Hart asserts that he does not watch TV.

Hart eventually removes the mask as he heads to the check out aisle

The two continue going back-and-forth as Hart refuses to comply with deputies, only informing them of his name and address after several inquiries.

When Belzer tries to explain that the Nazi flag is an 'offensive symbol,' Hart responds: 'I see the LGBT flag and that is offensive to me and I don't call the cops.'

Hart shares his disgust before taking off the mask, only putting it back on temporarily so that Deputy Belzer can snap a photo of him.

The woman with Hart takes her mask completely off to talk to the other deputy as Hart bemoans over how wearing the mask is causing him to have anxiety.

'I would just like to go back to work,' Hart tells the deputies. 'All I get to do is sit home and fester. I want to get out of my house and go to work and be productive.'

The deputies eventually walk off and the couple head to the check out aisle of the same employee they encountered earlier. The clip then comes to a close.

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department said in a statement that it responded to the grocery store on the 9400 block of Cuyamaca Street shortly after 6.30pm on Thursday to respond to the incident. No arrest were made at the scene.

Hart told the Times of San Diego that he was vaguely familiar with the incident where a man wore a KKK hood to a Vons on Mission Gorge Road last Saturday. The man kept the mask on for several minutes before taking it off and paying for his items

'When deputies asked for the symbol to be removed, the man complied,' according to a sheriff's statement, the Times of San Diego reports. 'Sheriff's investigators will continue to look into the matter. The Sheriff's Department does not condone hate or acts of intolerance. We are a county that is welcoming of people from all backgrounds.'

Hart told the Times of San Diego that he was vaguely familiar with the incident where a man wore a KKK hood to a Vons on Mission Gorge Road last Saturday. The man kept the mask on for several minutes before taking it off and paying for his items.

Hart did assert that he was not a guy wearing a KKK hood 'going around promoting the Klan.'

'It's a guy peaceful protesting the governor,' he claimed.

The video has since been slammed by many on social media, including Supervisor Dianne Jacob, who represents Santee.

'Sad, vile acts like this must not be tolerated here or anywhere else, she said in a tweet. 'It's deeply offensive to the community and our entire region. I want to commend those who alerted law enforcement and our Sheriff's deputies for their fast response.'
(Newser)  Magician Roy Horn of the famed Las Vegas act Siegfried & Roy has died of complications from the coronavirus. He was 75, per the AP. A spokesman says Horn was diagnosed with COVID-19 last week and died Friday at Las Vegas' MountainView Hospital, the New York Times reports. Siegfried & Roy were an institution in Las Vegas, where their magic and artistry consistently attracted sellout crowds. The pair performed six shows a week, 44 weeks per year. "Today, the world has lost one of the greats of magic, but I have lost my best friend," Siegfried Fischbacher, who had been Horn's business and domestic partner, said in a statement, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "From the moment we met, I knew Roy and I, together, would change the world. There could be no Siegfried without Roy, and no Roy without Siegfried."

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The German-born pair met on a cruise in 1957; Horn was a waiter, Fischbacher a steward. They started building a theater and nightclub act centered on magic and exotic animals and gained publicity after Princess Grace saw them at a 1966 show in Monte Carlo, Monaco, and gave them a rave review. They arrived in Sin City in 1967 as a specialty act at the Tropicana. They became the main act at the Frontier Hotel in the early '80s and moved on to the Mirage hotel-casino about a decade later, where they signed lifetime contracts. Horn was critically injured in 2003 by one of the acts white tigers. He was attacked by the tiger during the duos act at the Mirage. He had severe neck injuries and later had a stroke. The attack ended the long-running production. The pair returned to the stage in February 2009 for what was billed as their one and only comeback performance, to raise funds for a new rehabilitation center.

(Read more Roy Horn stories.)
As the world considers China as a pariah for its involvement in the coronavirus, Italy is now the cause to deflect blame from them.

This what Beijing has been doing as the mainland government is asked to admit its complicity in the deaths and misery brought about by actions.

The Chinese government and state media have been peddling misinformation as the western countries see China in a more adversarial light and the source of the horrific crisis.

One theory peddled by China based on a statement of an Italian doctor that the coronavirus came from Italy.

Chinese media is alluding statements from a Milan based professor who said there were strange pneumonia cases in November 2019. The Chinese state media twisted what he said and used in for their narrative.

Chinese state-run news outlet like the Global Times and CCTV have swooped like vultures to quote what Italian professor Giuseppe Remuzzi said.

Remuzzi said in March that local doctors detected unusual pneumonia [sic], very severe, particularly in old people, in December and even in November, which was commented by him.

He stated that the virus was going around Lombardy before China was blamed for the viral hot spot in Wuhan.

Adding fuel to the fire, China's Global Times intercepted the ideathe virus spread in Italy, way ahead of Wuhan despite doubt in anything China would do, all to deflect worsening PR problems about its sinking image.

Yet another state broadcaster from CCTV added more insinuation that Italy is where the coronavirus actually came from. They stress the coronavirus showed up October not December to push their narrative, no matter what

This week, Professor Steve Tsang told Express.co.uk that Chinese is peddling and spreading xenophobic and anti-foreign propaganda in blaming the US and Europe as the ones who are at fault for the COVID-19 crisis.

Also read: US Fears That China's Coronavirus Vaccine Will Be Used as Extortion on All Nations

He added, the Communist Party is not above misdirection and denying its complicity in the propagation of the coronavirus, and without compunction to deflect all blame by changing the COVID-19 narrative.

With the US and Europe having a hard time from the virus that China allegedly started, the communists can manipulate the narrative.

Misdirection by Chinese news outlets, and untruths bordering on xenophobia that the communist party as deceived the Chinese to believe what misdirection is fed to them.

Anyone but Beijing at fault which is what they are saying

The Communist Party is impressing they are doing better, by giving false information like the virus was made by the US army, and many Chinese think it is true.

Chinese officials have spun the truth and blamed the US army for the virus that began in Wuhan, which a majority expresses doubt over. Beijing treats the US Army as a useful scapegoat to deflect.

Not all mainlanders have been deceived by the desperation of Beijing's Communist Party narrative, said Prof Tsang, pointing out the Chinese admiration for US tech, makes it believable for many. To make the majority of Chinese believe in what they say.

In one word, Tsang said,"They believe that coronavirus came from outside of China and it is the Communist Party that saved them."

He further mentioned that "not every Chinese person will believe in this, but many will."

Many Chinese are anti-American and will believe the communist party's ploy and will not doubt it.

Related article: Second Wave After Lockdown Will Hit Hard, US Will Run Out of Resources

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
In 2017, Xiaochun Wang was appointed CEO of China Traditional Chinese Medicine Holdings Co. Limited (HKG:570). First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. Then we'll look at a snap shot of the business growth. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.

See our latest analysis for China Traditional Chinese Medicine Holdings

How Does Xiaochun Wang's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

At the time of writing, our data says that China Traditional Chinese Medicine Holdings Co. Limited has a market cap of HK$18b, and reported total annual CEO compensation of CN2.2m for the year to December 2018. It is worth noting that the CEO compensation consists almost entirely of the salary, worth CN2.1m. We examined companies with market caps from CN7.1b to CN23b, and discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was CN3.9m.

Now let's take a look at the pay mix on an industry and company level to gain a better understanding of where China Traditional Chinese Medicine Holdings stands. On an industry level, roughly 65% of total compensation represents salary and 35% is other remuneration. China Traditional Chinese Medicine Holdings has gone down a largely traditional route, paying Xiaochun Wang a high salary, giving it preference as a compensation method to non-salary benefits.

At first glance this seems like a real positive for shareholders, since Xiaochun Wang is paid less than the average total compensation paid by similar sized companies. Though positive, it's important we delve into the performance of the actual business. The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at China Traditional Chinese Medicine Holdings has changed from year to year.

SEHK:570 CEO Compensation April 22nd 2020

Is China Traditional Chinese Medicine Holdings Co. Limited Growing?

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China Traditional Chinese Medicine Holdings Co. Limited has seen earnings per share (EPS) move positively by an average of 12% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is up 27%.

This shows that the company has improved itself over the last few years. Good news for shareholders. It's great to see that revenue growth is strong, too. These metrics suggest the business is growing strongly. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.

Has China Traditional Chinese Medicine Holdings Co. Limited Been A Good Investment?

Since shareholders would have lost about 20% over three years, some China Traditional Chinese Medicine Holdings Co. Limited shareholders would surely be feeling negative emotions. So shareholders would probably think the company shouldn't be too generous with CEO compensation.

In Summary...

It looks like China Traditional Chinese Medicine Holdings Co. Limited pays its CEO less than similar sized companies.

Considering the underlying business is growing earnings, this would suggest the pay is modest. Few would deny that the total shareholder return over the last three years could have been a lot better. We're not critical of the remuneration Xiaochun Wang receives, but it would be good to see improved returns to shareholders before the remuneration grows too much. When I see fairly low remuneration, combined with earnings per share growth, but without big share price gains, it makes me want to research the potential for future gains. Shifting gears from CEO pay for a second, we've picked out 3 warning signs for China Traditional Chinese Medicine Holdings that investors should be aware of in a dynamic business environment.

Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

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| 2020-05-09 20:41:52|Editor: huaxia

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Fireworks are seen during celebrations marking the Victory Day in Moscow, Russia, on May 9, 2020. Russia on Saturday briefly celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Soviet victory against the Nazis in World War II, amid its intensified battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr/Xinhua)

MOSCOW, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Russia on Saturday briefly celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Soviet victory against the Nazis in World War II, amid its intensified battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The country has indefinitely postponed the traditional parade of ground troops and military equipment on Red Square and other mass events this year, for the first time since 1995 when May 9 was declared a national holiday.

President Vladimir Putin laid flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier outside the Kremlin wall and delivered a televised address to the nation congratulating veterans and all people on the 75th anniversary of the great victory.

In his speech, Putin promised to hold a "broad and solemn" celebration after the pandemic ends, describing this as a duty to those who suffered and won during the war era.

"The spiritual and moral significance of the Victory Day remains invariably great and our attitude to it is sacred. This is our memory and pride; the history of our country, the history of each family," he said.

The Russian leader later attended the march of foot and horse guards of the Presidential Regiment in the Kremlin.

A total of 75 aircraft and helicopters of the Russian Aerospace Forces, including Tu-160, Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3 bombers, as well as fifth-generation Su-57 fighters, flew over Red Square.

The aerobatic teams the Russian Knights and the Swifts also took part in the air show, with their planes painting the sky with the three colors of the Russian national flag.

A naval parade was also carried out in Russia's second largest city of St. Petersburg, in a smaller form than usual.

In Sevastopol Bay, Crimea, ships belonging to the Russian Black Sea Fleet lined up and fired salute shots. The fleet is also featured in video tours of its battleships, which are being broadcast on TV.

The national and naval flags were raised on all warships, submarines and support vessels of the Russian Northern Fleet.

The Immortal Regiment, a tradition in which millions of people across Russia parade with portraits of relatives who fought in World War II, is taking place online.

The legal document marking the extinction of Nazi Germany was signed and became effective on the night of May 8, 1945, Berlin time, which was already the early hours of May 9 Moscow time.

This marked the end of the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union, an integral part of World War II lasting from 1939 to 1945.

The catastrophic war claimed about 27 million lives of people from the Soviet Union, according to official statistics.

More than seven decades later, Russia is facing another war -- this time, against COVID-19.

The country has tallied a total of 198,676 COVID-19 cases so far. The single-day increase has been over 10,000 for seven consecutive days.
Bengaluru, May 9 : Of the 10,823 stranded Karnataka citizens who registered to return to their home state from abroad, 6,100 would fly back soon, with the first batch of 1,200 arriving next week in some six flights to Bengaluru and Mangaluru, an official said.

"As per the information we have from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi, 10,823 residents of Karnataka have registered their names and other details in the Indian embassies and consulates in the countries they have been stranded since March 23, for returning to their home state at the earliest," Additional Chief Secretary Jawaid Akhtar told IANS here.

To prevent the coronavirus spread, the Indian government suspended all domestic and international flights since March 23 and banned overseas flights into the country due to the lockdown that was extended twice till May 17.

Of the 10,823 citizens, tourists and visitors are 4,408, students 3,074, migrants and professionals 2,784 and ship crew 557.

"The MEA, however, said of the 10,823 registered, 6,100 have been assessed to return early, with the first batch of 1,200 in 4 Air India flights to Bengaluru and 2 Air India Express flights to Mangaluru next week," said Akhtar.

Of the 6,100 citizens waiting to fly back, tourists and visitors are 2,380, students 1,660, migrants and professionals 1,503 and ship crew 557.

"Though we will prepare to quarantine all the 10,823 returnees in the coming weeks for the mandatory 14 days, we are making arrangements for the stay of 6,100 also waiting to return soon, while hotel rooms have been booked for the 1,200 flying back from May 11-15," said Akhtar.

Of the 6,100 in queue to fly back, 2,575 are from the UAE, 927 from Saudi Arabia and the US, 414 from Qatar, 328 from Canada and 929 from European and other countries.

According to the civil aviation ministry sources, which is organising the state-run Air India evacuation flights under the "Vande Bharat Mission", the first flight is likely to land in Bengaluru on May 11 from London (Britain), followed by second from Singapore on May 13, Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) on May 14 and San Francisco (US) on May 15 while two flights to Mangaluru from Dubai are scheduled to land on May 12 and Doha on May 13.

"As per the standard operating procedures of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, though only asymptomatic persons will be allowed to fly back, they will be screened on arrival at the airport for Covid symptoms and sent to hotels of their choice if they test negative and will be tested thrice during their 14-day quarantine period," asserted Akhtar.

The state tourism department has negotiated with the star hotels in the city for concessional room tariff per day to quarantine the returnees who will pay for their 14-day stay. Guest houses and hostels are also kept ready as a stand-by.

"All returnees have to download the 'Arogya Setu App', 'Quarantine Watch App' and 'Apthamitra App' in their mobile phones and fill their details as specified and sought. They will also be stamped on the back of their left palm for 14-day quarantine period after filling a self-declaration form," reiterated Akhtar.

The state government has also allowed mobile service operators to provide sim cards to the returnees for activating their mobile phone for local connectivity in case they don't have it in the arrival lounge of the airport terminal.

"Wearing of mask all the time, washing hands with sanitizer and maintaining 2-feet physical distance will be mandatory at the airport on landing till leaving for the hotel where they have to stay for the quarantine period," added Akhtar.

In the event of the returnees showing the virus symptoms, they will be sent to the designated Covid health care centre for 14-day treatment, followed by another 14-day self-isolation at their home when discharged on recovering.

The state government is also making arrangements to receive the ship crew at Mangaluru and Karwar seaports on the state's west coast and quarantine them after screening at the port of entry.

Mangaluru is 350km and Karwar 525km west of Bengaluru in the state.

If the returnees are residents of other cities and towns across the southern state or neighbouring states, they have to arrange own vehicle to travel after the quarantine period, keeping in view the guidelines of social distancing, wearing mask and using sanitizer during the journey and till they reach home.
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They found little or no association between latitude or temperature with epidemic growth of COVID-19 and a weak association between humidity and reduced transmission. "We had conducted a preliminary study that suggested both latitude and temperature could play a role. But when we repeated the study under much more rigorous conditions, we got the opposite result," Juni said. The researchers did find that public health measures, including school closures, social distancing and restrictions of large gatherings, have been effective."Our results are of immediate relevance as many countries, and some Canadian provinces and territories, are considering easing or removing some of these public health interventions," Juni added. According to the research team, summer is not going to make this go away.The authors noted several study limitations, such as differences in testing practices, the inability to estimate actual rates of COVID-19 and compliance with social distancing. When deciding how to lift restrictions, governments and public health authorities should carefully weigh the impact of these measures against potential economic and mental health harm and benefits, they said.However, last month, Indian microbiologist Professor Y Singh who worked with the NIH and also with the US Army Lab on 'Project Anthrax', had told IANS that an expected temperature of over 40 degrees by the end of April can slow down the affect of the coronavirus. In February, US President Donald Trump said that the coronavirus will "go away" in April. The logic he cited was that the heat generally kills this kind of virus.Trump is not the only politician to express the hope that things will improve in the summer. Britain's Health Secretary Matt Hancock had also reportedly said that the virus could be less transmissible during summer.Source: IANS
The pipes, the pipes were calling Friday afternoon in East Kildonan in a reverent tribute to Victory in Europe Day, 75 years after the end of the Second World War .

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 8/5/2020 (620 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The pipes, the pipes were calling Friday afternoon in East Kildonan in a reverent tribute to Victory in Europe Day, 75 years after the end of the Second World War .

Eight members of the St. Andrews Grade 4 Pipe Band, suitably adorned in full Highland dress, met up in Centennial Park on Raleigh Street and performed three traditional tunes in front of the war memorial that bears the inscription In Memory of Our Comrades.

The St. Andrews band joined other pipers and drummers from more than 28 countries in a unique celebration to mark the anniversary of the war's end in Europe, May 8, 1945. Each band in its own country participated at exactly 3 p.m. local time by playing Battle's O'er, a lament traditionally played at the end of battle.

The St. Andrews troupe also performed Amazing Grace and Green Hills of Tyrol (The Scottish Soldier).

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Members of the St. Andrews Pipe Band warm up.

Pipe Sgt. Jeff Gunter said the group was thrilled to help celebrate the anniversary of such a momentous occasion: Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender to the Allied forces.

"The day is so important. This is our opportunity to pay our respects to an entire generation that have gone before us and really made some sacrifices so that we could have what we have today," Gunter said.

"This is a small act to perform, and it makes is so much better  with everything going on in the world today  to be included with the rest of our pipe band friends all over the world. This is great."

Gunter was joined by fellow pipers Carl Heaman-Warne and his son, Oliver, 14, Kirby McRae, Barbie Sands and Helen Brown, 12, tenor drummer Tara Brown (Helen's mom) and bass drummer Gale Walker.

They are part of the band, which hadn't practised or performed together in person since before the COVID-19 health crisis hit in March.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS St. Andrews Pipe Band member Oliver Heaman-Warne, 14, plays to commemorate VE Day.

"This is a treat for us. We're so pleased to be playing together. To not have a chance to do that lately has been kind of sad," said Gunter.

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Helen started playing the bagpipes four years ago, following in a favourite great-uncle's footsteps. The Grade 7 student at Windsor School said she was proud to perform on the anniversary of such a crucial day in history.

"It's nice that there's something I can do to honour those who lost their lives for such an important cause," she said. "Even though I am a young person, it's a small way of paying tribute to them."

Eight of Gunter's uncles and two of his aunts served for Canada in the early 1940s. All returned home safely. He was having coffee with one of his uncles, Michael Krewiak, about five years ago and expressed his deep gratitude "for going over there and doing what you did. You're a hero.

"And he said, 'Thanks, but we just saw a job that needed to be done and we went and did it. The real heroes were the ones who didn't come back'."

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Microbial communities in the intestine -- also known as the gut microbiome -- are vital for human digestion, metabolism and resistance to colonization by pathogens. The gut microbiome composition in infants and toddlers changes extensively in the first three years of life. But where do those microbes come from in the first place?

Scientists have long been able to analyze the gut microbiome at the level of the 500 to 1,000 different bacterial species that mainly have a beneficial influence; only more recently have they been able to identify individual strains within a single species using powerful genomic tools and supercomputers that analyze massive amounts of genetic data.

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham now have used their microbiome "fingerprint" method to report that an individualized mosaic of microbial strains is transmitted to the infant gut microbiome from a mother giving birth through vaginal delivery. They detailed this transmission by analyzing existing metagenomic databases of fecal samples from mother-infant pairs, as well as analyzing mouse dam and pup transmission in a germ-free, or gnotobiotic, mouse model at UAB, where the dams were inoculated with human fecal microbes.

"The results of our analysis demonstrate that multiple strains of maternal microbes -- some that are not abundant in the maternal fecal community -- can be transmitted during birth to establish a diverse infant gut microbial community," said Casey Morrow, Ph.D., professor emeritus in UAB's Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology. "Our analysis provides new insights into the origin of microbial strains in the complex infant microbial community."

The study used a strain-tracking bioinformatics tool previously developed at UAB, called Window-based Single-nucleotide-variant Similarity, or WSS. Hyunmin Koo, Ph.D., UAB Department of Genetics and Genomics Core, led the informatics analysis. The gnotobiotic mouse model studies were led by Braden McFarland, Ph.D., assistant professor in the UAB Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology.

Morrow and colleagues have used this microbe fingerprint tool in several previous strain-tracking studies. In 2017, they found that fecal donor microbes -- used to treat patients with recurrent Clostridium difficile infections -- remained in recipients for months or years after fecal transplants. In 2018, they showed that changes in the upper gastrointestinal tract through obesity surgery led to the emergence of new strains of microbes. In 2019, they analyzed the stability of new strains in individuals after antibiotic treatments, and earlier this year, they found that adult twins, ages 36 to 80 years old, shared a certain strain or strains between each pair for periods of years, and even decades, after they began living apart from each other.

In the current study, several individual-specific patterns of microbial strain-sharing were found between mothers and infants. Three mother-infant pairs showed only related strains, while a dozen other infants of mother-infant pairs contained a mosaic of maternal-related and unrelated microbes. It could be that the unrelated strains came from the mother, but they had not been the dominant strain of that species in the mother, and so had not been detected.

Indeed, in a second study using a dataset from nine women taken at different times in their pregnancies showed that strain variations in individual species occurred in seven of the women.

To further define the source of the unrelated strains, a mouse model was used to look at transmission from dam to pup in the absence of environmental microbes. Five different females were given transplants of different human fecal matter to create five unique humanized-microbiome mice, which were bred with gnotobiotic males. The researchers then analyzed the strains found in the human donors, the mouse dams and their mouse pups. They found four different patterns: 1) The pup's strain of a particular species was related to the dam's strain; 2) The pup's strain was related to both the dam's strain and the human donor's strain; 3) The pup's strain was related to the human donor's strain, but not to the dam's strain; and, importantly, 4) No related strains for a particular species were found between the pup, the dam and the human donor. Since these animals were bred and raised in germ-free conditions, the unrelated strains in the pups came from minor, undetected strains in the dams.

"The results of our studies support a reconsideration of the contribution of different maternal microbes to the infant enteric microbial community," Morrow said. "The constellation of microbial strains that we detected in the infants inherited from the mother was different in each mother-infant pair. Given the recognized role of the microbiome in metabolic diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, the results of our study could help to further explain the susceptibility of the infant to metabolic disease found in the mother."

###

Co-authors with Koo, McFarland and Morrow in the study, "An individualized mosaic of maternal microbial strains is transmitted to the infant gut microbial community," published in Royal Society Open Science, are Joseph A. Hakim, UAB School of Medicine; David K. Crossman and Michael R. Crowley, UAB Department of Genetics; J. Martin Rodriguez, UAB Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases; and Etty N. Benveniste, UAB Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology.

Support came from the University of Alabama School of Medicine, National Institutes of Health grants CA194414 and NS116559, a UAB Neuro-Oncology Support Fund award, and an American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant through the O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB.
ASTORIA  Twelve more workers at Bornstein Seafoods in Astoria have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the outbreak to 26.

The Clatsop County Public Health Department began testing workers at the seafood processor on May 2 after the company informed the county that one employee had tested positive. The county finished testing all 200 workers earlier this week, The Astorian reported.

Of the positive tests, 17 live in Clatsop County while the rest live in Washingtons Pacific, Grays Harbor and Cowlitz counties.

Bornstein Seafoods has shut down two plants at the Port of Astoria in response to the outbreak and advised employees to stay home.

Michael McNickle, the county's public health director, said the prevalence of the virus among workers at the facility was lower than he expected after the initial positive tests.

Over 3,030 people in Oregonian have tested positive for the coronavirus and at least 124 people have died of the illness.

More than half of the deaths have occurred among residents of long-term care centers, and the vast majority of deaths have been among people older than 70. All but two of the Oregonians who have died from COVID-19 had at least one underlying health condition, such as heart disease or diabetes.

But in Oregon and nationwide, food processing plants including meat packing factories have also been revealed as sources of concentrated outbreaks. That is due in part to workplace conditions that force workers into close proximity and limits their ability to wash or sanitize their hands.

Besides the Astoria seafood plants, a Tyson beef plant in Walla Walla County, Wash., is known to have germinated a large outbreak that has infected workers who live in Oregon as well as in Washington. More than 10% of the Pasco factorys workforce tested positive and at least three of them have died.

Food processing jobs, with are physically demanding and offer relatively low pay, are disproportionately held by immigrants and people of color.

Tyson announced this week it has reopened the Pasco plant as of Tuesday.

The virus causes mild to moderate symptoms in most patients, and the vast majority recover. But it is highly contagious and can cause severe illness and death in some patients, particularly the elderly and those with underlying health conditions.

-- The Associated Press and The Oregonian/OregonLive
In Mohit Suri's 2017 film Half Girlfriend, Arjun Kapoor's character Madhav tries to force himself on Shraddha Kapoor's character Riya when she is in his hostel room. When Riya rushes out of the room because she is not into Madhav, the entire men's hostel slut-shames her. Two hours and a few Arijit Singh sob songs later, the boy gets said girl and they live happily ever after.

When Rahul Khanna, with his gang of "cool boys" surround Tina Malhotra and taunt her for not being 'sanskaari enough' in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, we forget that our lover boi Shah Rukh Khan is literally slut-shaming and hazing a new girl on the basis of her clothes and the country she's come from.

The plotlines of Main Tera Hero, Judwa 2, Kabir Singh, the first hour of Dilwaale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge and hundreds of movies every year thrive on the fact that the hero can literally pull any stunt to objectify, harass and abuse their "love interest" and then end up with the girl at the end. Case in point, Bollywood has never been a safe space for women, both on and off-screen.

Recently, the "Bois Locker Room" case created shockwaves on social media. A group of teenagers aged 16-17 years were members of a private Instagram group of the same name. These boys shared pictures of underage girls, morphed them, shared receipts of private conversations and not to mention, sexualise, objectify and body-shame them. After a group of girls victimised by them exposed them on social media, police took notice, leading to the arrest of the group's admin. While a lot of people are outraged, not many are surprised. Male entitlement and sexism festers in the country like a parasite on a compliant host body and as tragic as it sounds women are getting used to being treated with disrespect by men.

Many celebrities took to social media to react to the news with shock and disgust. However, why is Bollywood pretending to be surprised when it thrives in sexism and misogyny? We spoke to Mumbai-based psychiatrist Dr Manjiri Deshpande Shenoy who elaborated on how complicit is cinema in harbouring entitlement and sexism in young minds.

"Films both positively and negatively influence young minds, as they are prone to taking in everything they learn -- like a sponge. Not only movie scenes, look at songs that are being made. Items numbers objectify women, calling them terms like 'maal' and 'item'. You play these songs at home and your four-year-old kid is listening to the songs and dancing to the tune because they're really catchy. What is the kid learning from it?

"Now during the lockdown, children are obviously watching movies and web series which many a times show violent sex. The child gets incomplete or half knowledge. Parents don't want to discuss sex with their children because they think it's not right and children get exposed to things they have no knowledge about," she said.

"Unfortunately, the brain development of these 13-14 year-olds is incomplete till they are about 20. The prefrontal cortex, which is actually the part responsible for impulse control, that's not properly developed at 13. That's the reason teenagers like taking risks. If you give them a bike, they can ride faster, etc. When you're exposing them to this kind of half knowledge, you don't know what they're gonna assimilate from it. Since parents don't talk to them about sex, they make up their own thing," she added.

"Then kids want to show off their half knowledge with their friends, because they get this magical feeling of knowing something others don't know, which leads to the spread of misinformation.

"It's also sometimes due to poor self-esteem or psychological issues that kids might act this way. 30 to 50% of all adult psychiatric illnesses actually start in childhood. Sometimes we don't know if a child or a teen is suffering from psychological issues like depression or anxiety, in which case he might not be able to converse. So he starts talking about something like this which he thinks will make him very cool among his friends. So he starts talking and then the friends pay attention to him and he is encouraged. So he gets that pseudo sense of 'Oh my god, I am so cool'," she said.

"I'm not saying don't show your kids movies, because they will be exposed to content. But parents must explain that sometimes movies show things that aren't right. I personally did not like the movie Sanju but a parent must make their children understand that even if the hero was glorified, he did many wrong things in the movie," she added.

Dr Manjiri clarifies that there may be several other reasons for how a young mind learns to be aggressive and violent towards the other sex, as seen in the bois locker room case. In her opinion, people form opinions young which leads to certain behaviour in adolescence and teenage.

Many families in India still condition their children on age-old gender roles, which leads to male chauvinism. "Why are we so hell bent on gender roles, that girls will play like this boys will play the more violent games, etc. Or that boys don't have to do housework and girls do, and so on. So from a young age, I think boys are always conditioned, even if not directly, to feel that they are more superior to the girls," she said.

The core of this problem is adolescent sexual fantasies that have existed since evolution, explained Dr Manjiri, which has taken a more violent turn because of the unsupervised exposure to media. She advises parents of her patients to not keep computers or laptops in their children's room but in a shared space where the parent can supervise their child better.

The lack of reliable sex education in schools also leads to similar situations. "When we teach sex education in schools I think it's very important to start talking about things like consent and respect. These two things, I don't think are ever discussed in sex education, everybody talks about periods, some people talk about contraceptives, etc. But more importantly, we have to discuss the concept of consent and respect for the other gender from a young age, that will be the only way to make things better."

Dr Manjiri also explained that proactive steps by schools to increase their students emotional quotient will be a groundbreaking solution to this problem. "In psychology, we have this term called a Reverse Flynn effect. It says that across generations, IQ is increasing. If you see generation-wise, Indians are definitely much more intelligent than before. There are studies to prove that.

"But of course, this increased IQ is bringing in a lot of problems. So it's not about the IQ, it's about us focusing on the EQ, which is the emotional component of the child. It is the ability of the child to empathise with somebody else. Though IQ can't be changed, EQ can be harnessed by parents or circumstances. For us mental health professionals, our main goal right now is trying to improve EQ of a child," she explained.

"Cultivating a high EQ among kids in school is a life skill. It has now become important than grades and even sports. A child with a high EQ will know that a certain action of mine causes this kind of an emotional reaction on somebody else. A child with a high EQ will never act like this. Teaching children that at a very young age is the only solution to this problem," she added.

Dr Manjiri also weighed in on the arrests of the boys involved in the case. "Ways to make the law more stringent is definitely needed. They should have that fear of getting into legal issues, if they do things like these. But that's not the only solution. You have to look at their emotions, why they did this. Tomorrow they are going to get antisocial personality disorder, we don't need a generation full of people suffering ASCD in our country. If you have to arrest them, do that, but we have to counsel them. Because they have to understand why they have done wrong and how can we improve on it. Ultimately, rehabilitation is the only key to getting them better. You suspend them, you put them in jail for a couple of months, but once they're back and if you've not worked on their maintenance, then it's no point of it," she said.

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Photo: Contributed

About two-thirds of Canadians believe their Members of Parliament should take a pay cut.

Figures come from a Canadian Taxpayers Federation survey of the Angus Reid Forum.

The group says 66 per cent of Canadians believe MPs should cut their monthly pay.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on members of Parliament to cut their salaries to show leadership and solidarity with all Canadians during the COVID-19 health crisis, the federation states in a news release.

Millions of Canadians have lost their jobs or taken pay cuts, said CTF federal director Aaron Wudrick.

Our federal members of parliament need to show leadership by cutting their salaries.

Wudrick says parliament should follow the lead of other nations in the world who have taken similar measures.

He points to New Zealand, where the Prime Minister and members of her cabinet have have taken a 20 per cent pay cut for the next six months, while parliament in Japan and India have cut their salaries 20 to 30 per cent for the next 12 months.

With next years federal deficit already projected to be more than $250 billion, every dollar will count."

The sooner MPs show they are personally willing to make sacrifices, the easier it will be for them to make the case for necessary spending reductions elsewhere.
Teachers should not come under pressure from parents about their childs grades and legislation may be required to prevent them from doing so, a TD has said.

The government decided to cancel the Leaving Certificate exams which were due to begin on July 29.

Instead, students will now be offered the option of accepting grades calculated by their teachers or sitting the Leaving Certificate at a later date when the pandemic eases.

However, those that choose to sit the exam will not be eligible for college this coming September.

TUI to engage with Calculated Grades but system must be fair and equitable and professional integrity of teachers must be protected https://t.co/dtypRp6vaa pic.twitter.com/lLlR8gCt3Z  Teachers' Union Ire. (@TUIunion) May 9, 2020

Fianna Fail's Education spokesperson says legislation is needed to protect teachers from pressure from the parents of Leaving Cert students.

The exams have been cancelled and replaced with calculated grades, which will be estimated by teachers.

However, students will have the option of sitting a written exam at a later date.

Deputy Thomas Byrne says he is concerned that some parents have contacted teachers in the last few days to emphasise how hard their child has been working.

He says: "Legislation should really be there to protect teachers. I think there's absolutely no reason for teachers to do it and they shouldn't feel any obligation to take those phone calls.

"But clearly it is also the case that parents shouldn't make those phone calls and put any pressure. I think they need to trust the teachers that know their children."

My call to cancel #LeavingCert was always based on public health advice. Today the Secretary General of the Department confirmed to me that there is "compelling evidence based on medical advice that the Leaving Cert cannot go ahead as planned"  Thomas Byrne (@ThomasByrneTD) May 8, 2020

Labour Party education spokesman Aodhan O Riordain called on Education Minister Joe McHugh to publish the health and legal advice concerning the cancellation of the Leaving Certificate.

Mr O Riordain said: There are several legal issues outstanding with the governments decision on the Leaving Certificate. Under our current laws, the minister is obliged to hold a state examination of secondary school students, it still is unclear if predicted/calculated grading will meet that requirement.

Students need to be assured that their results of Leaving Cert 2020 will have exactly the same status as previous years.

Additional reporting by Press Association

'This is totally new': Fianna Fail says teachers unions should be given time on predicted grades decision

One of the country's largest teaching unions has backed the system of calculated grades for the Leaving Cert - but wants clarity on some issues.

The Teachers' Union of Ireland says they will work with the proposal and will meet with the Department of Education to make sure it is fair for each student.

The ASTI, meanwhile, will continue meeting today to discuss the plans.

Fianna Fail's education spokesperson Thomas Byrne says unions should be given time.

He says: "Unprecedented and would go against the grain for teachers to be correcting their own students' work in terms of their own ethics of how they do their job.

"This is totally new, we are in a pandemic. I know that teachers have already risen to the challenge of online learning when no national online learning platform has been provided by the state for schools."

Earlier: Teachers Union of Ireland seek clarification on predicted grades but will 'engage'

The Teachers Union of Ireland has decided to engage with the system of calculated grades, which will replace this year's Leaving Cert.

The written exams have been cancelled this summer and students will get a calculated grade instead, estimated by their teacher.

The TUI and ASTI met separately last night and the Association of Secondary Teachers says their meeting has been adjourned and will continue today.

Teachers Union of Ireland President, Seamus Lahart, says they will be seeking clarification on issues related to calculated grades.

He says: "We believe that the 61,000 students who would be ready to do the Leaving Cert this year need some means of progression.

"However, we have a lot of questions to ask and engage with the Department and the State Examinations Commission in the coming week.

"But we will work with this means of allowing the students to progress to future careers."

Meanwhile, Education Minister Joe McHugh admitted the State could be opening itself up to legal action from students and parents over the decision taken to predict their grades to avoid students having to sit down to do their exams.

Concerns have also been flagged, as grades decided on by a students teachers and principal will not be re-checked under the appeals process, the Department of Education confirmed.
Ranchi, May 9 : Maoist guerrillas set 13 vehicles on fire in Jharkhand's Palamau district on Saturday, police said.

According to police, 15 to 16 Maoists raided a crusher stone company at Chaparwar village situated under Pipra police station of Palamau district, early on early Saturday. They set fire to 13 vehicles parked in the area.

The denial of levy by the company is said to be the reason behind the arson.

Maoist guerrillas are active in 18 of the 24 districts in the state.

Every year 50 to 60 vehicles are set on fire in the state by the Maoists.
Former Kenosha resident Matthew N. Mayor has been promoted to the rank of Major in the active-duty U.S. Army effective May 1.

MAJ Matthew Mayor joined the U.S. Army in 2009, graduating from Marquette University in Milwaukee and commissioning through the Army ROTC program there. He currently serves as a logistics officer and has deployed twice to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom with the 101st Airborne Division over his past 10 years of active duty service.

He also served as a paratrooper and company commander within the 82nd Airborne Division from 2015 through 2017 while completing an masters degree in management and leadership via Webster University. He was then sent by the U.S. Army to Northwestern University in Chicago, to complete a masters degree in public policy and administration, where he graduated in June 2019.

He is currently assigned to the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and will graduate in June 2020. He was nominated and selected to serve as the 1st Infantry Divisions Transportation Officer at Fort Riley, Kan, starting in July.

MAJ Mayor values continuous improvement in education to serve his team better and will complete a Master of Business Administration degree through the College of William and Mary by 2021, which will be his fourth masters degree.

His military decorations include the Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters Army Achievement Medal with an oak leaf cluster, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with two Bronze Stars, ISAF NATO Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation, German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge (Silver), German Parachutist Badge, Combat Action Badge, Pathfinder Badge, Parachutist Badge and the Air Assault Badge.

He graduated from Kenosha Military Academy in 2005.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 17:12:52|Editor: huaxia

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"Let me tell you a story about solidarity. I've seen strong people fighting an invisible enemy..." Stranded in Xi'an, China, during #COVID19 outbreak, Brazilian band Fancy wrote a song about their time
Russian military intelligence gained access to thousands of emails from German Chancellor Angela Merkel as a result of a hacker attack in 2015. This is stated by Der Spiegel. According to German journalists, on May 8, 2015, a hacker with the nickname Scaramouche gained access to official computers in Merkels parliamentary office. On this day, the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II was celebrated in the Bundestag - diplomats from Russia were among the guests.As a result of the actions of the hacker, the IT system was paralyzed for several days. According to investigators, he managed to download about 16 gigabytes of data, including thousands of letters from Merkels office.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2020 > Letter to the Readers  May 9, 2020  Lockdown Edition no7

As one writes these lines, one is struck by the lead news report in all the major newspapers today:

"Sixteen jobless and weary migrant labourers who had dozed off on a railway track after walking nearly 36 kms from Maharashtras Jalna, where they used to work in a steel plant, were run over by a goods train at Satana village near Aurangabad on Friday morning (May 8, tragically cutting short what was to be a journey back to their native M.P.

"The deceased were in a group of twenty that set out from Jalna on foot for the Bhusawal railway junction around 160 km away in the hope of catching a train to M.P. The four survivors were also lying on the track, but just managed to get out of arms way.", wrote the Times of India

This tragedy brings into focus the plight of the migrant labourers in present day India which is deeply affected by Corona Virus . . . .

o o

Modi Government 2.0 is now moving to do away with hard won laws and labour rights and environmental provisions that once governed and protected workplaces, making life easy for the capitalists . . . . who will be laughing their way to the Bank. In the past few years we have heard endless stories of the un-paid loans and debt write-offs to umpteen capitalist firms, who have cheated and manipulated using the contacts with the political elites.

The Coronavirus crisis and lockdown and economic shutdown has left millions without jobs and social situation very vulnerable. At this time the business elites small and big are all being presented as the real victims who deserve and economic stimulus from the state and not the workers who have lost salaries and jobs and left in the lurch. And now the state is going overboard in giving out largesse to the business class 

Barely weeks ago the ministry of environment proposed to dilute the Environmental Impact Assessment norms . . . the draft EIA 2020 proposes a relaxation for infrastructure projects which have violated the EIA 2006 norms and extends the validity of environmental clearance in various sectors by several years . . . And now e have just witnessed recent industrial accidents, a gas leak in Vizag, a boiler explosion in Coimbatore and a fire at a paper factory in Raipur. The public seems to have a short memory but should be reminded of the Bhopal gas leak tragedy. The lessons have not been learnt from the previous accidents to ensure a continuous process of safety measures in factories and all workplaces.

BJP state governments in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have set out to do suspend labour laws and protections. Recently official measures were brought in Gujarat state to extend statutory working hours to 12 hours from the long established norm of 8 hours. Now the Uttar Pradesh state has passed an ordinance exempting businesses from the purview of most labour law provisions for the next three years. The Uttar Pradesh Temporary Exemption from Certain Labour Laws Ordinance, 2020 will exempt all establishments, factories and businesses from the purview of all, but four labour laws and one provision of another Act, for a period of three years. (see: https://m.economictimes.com/news/economy/policy/uttar-pradesh-brings-ordinance-to-suspend-most-labour-laws-for-3-years/articleshow/75609934.cms) The Industrial Dispute Act, Act on Occupational Safety and Health, Contract Labour Act, Migrant Labour Act and Equal Remuneration Act are now not operative in UP state for the present.

All these new measures on working conditions in large regions of India are in total violation of International Labour Conventions and let us hope that the country office of the ILO in Delhi will not sit twiddling its thumb but will report these violations.

o o

Today is May 9, which is being observed around the world and especially the European countries as the 75th anniversary of the defeat of Hitlerite fascism by the Allied Forces represented by the western countries and the erstwhile Soviet Union. Listening to the exploits of the Allied Forces during the Second World War, one was reminded of the experience one had in the former USSR on May 9, 1975 when one encountered a Soviet war veteran at the junction of Kuznetsky Most and Gorky Street in Moscow that very afternoon. The war veteran stopped us while we greeted him for the success of the Soviet troops in the World War. He asked me my age and I replied: "I will turn 30 in August this year." When we asked him what his age was, he replied smilingly, "thirty years. I was reborn after the war on May 9, 1945."

And we were also reminded of the poignant war poem of celebrated Soviet poet, Konstantin Simonov, Wait for me and I will Return.

Yesterday, May 8, was also observed as the 160th birthday of poet Rabindranath Tagore, whose famous Crisis in Civilisation, written and read out in May 1941 on the occasion of his 80th birthday remains etched in our memory. Towards the end of this address he declared: " As I look around I see the crumbling ruins of a proud civilisation strewn like a vast heap of futility. And yet I shall not commit the grievous sin of losing faith in Man. I would rather look forward to the opening of a new chapter in his history after the cataclysm is over and the atmosphere rendered clean with the spirit of service and sacrifice. Perhaps that dawn will come from this horizon, from the East where the sun rises. A day will come when unvanquished Man will retrace his path of conquest, despite all barriers, to win back his lost human heritage."

These words offer immense strength and inspiration in a world which is threatened of death and destruction by Covid-19 that shows no sign of abating in the near future.

May 9 The Editor
NEWS PROVIDED BY

Alveda King Ministries

May 8, 2020



ATLANTA, May 8, 2020 /Standard Newswire/ -- Evangelist Alveda King submits the following and is available for comment:

At best, Mothers' Day is always a poignant occasion; with some honoring elderly parents and remembering deceased mothers. If you're like me, many can't even physically attend regular church services with our parents and families due to COVID19. Thank God for digital access to things that matter the most!



Recently, with COVID19 looming around the world, and in America with constant threats of more "race wars" abounding, almost everyone, me included, opens with "are you safe?" Inadvertently we find ourselves ending our conversations and encounters with "stay safe."



Today, while the news is of filled with COVID19 details, please let's try to remember to be faith-filled rather than fearful, and overcome panic with prayer. The late Evangelist Billy Graham once said that "We need a God-Pill." I couldn't agree more. Thanks be to God; we still live in a Great and Praying America.



Here in Georgia, with echoes around the nation, is the outcry against yet another racially motivated crime against humanity with the brutal murder of Ahmaud Arbery.



I find myself listening over and over to the 30 second message of "One Blood" by my uncle, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He was right. "We must learn to live together as brothers [and sisters], or perish together as fools. We really are one human race, one blood; according to Acts 17:26-28. We are not color blind either. We can learn to live and love our neighbors as ourselves; with our eyes wide open.



Let us be grateful that our President and many Americans have not bowed our knees to Baal. Crimes against humanity are being exposed as the swamp continues to be drained. "We don't worship government, we worship God." -- President Donald J. Trump.



A few days ago, my 88-year-old mother showed me her absentee ballot application. According to Mother, senior citizens are courted by political agents during election times. Gifts of food, transportation and other favors are offered in the guise of helping our seniors. Dr. Ken Blackwell writes of an underlying motive of political agents who reach out to our seniors with great persuasion to sway votes in a pay for play scenario.



In his recent account, Dr. Ken Blackwell said: "Yet the sacred right of today's seniors to have their political choices honored at the ballot box are at high risk because of vote fraud."



So, while I'm celebrating Mothers' Day with my mother, I'm also praying that her vote won't be violated.



In case you missed it, here's my Mothers' Day show, first broadcast on EndAbortion.TV. Watch here now.



"Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have!" -- Matthew 6:22-23 MSG
Ahmedabad: Some residents frustrated over a strict coronavirus lockdown in Gujarat's Ahmedabad, hurled stones and were met with teargas in clashes with paramilitary forces on Friday.

Authorities in the city ordered all shops, except those selling milk and medicines, to close on midnight Wednesday until May 15, implementing a stricter lockdown than the national one in place since March 25, in an effort to curb a rise in infections.

Clashes erupted in the Shahpur locality of Ahmedabad when police and paramilitary forces tried to enforce the lockdown, asking people to stay indoors.

"Some people got agitated, and started pelting stones on the forces," city police commissioner Ashish Bhatia told Reuters. "The police fired teargas shells to disperse the crowd. The situation is under control now," he said.

Bhatia said one policeman was injured and eight people had been detained.

Ahmedabad is one of the worst-hit cities in India. The city has reported more than 5,000 cases of coronavirus, accounting for about 70% of the total cases in Prime Minister Modi's home state. The city has also accounted for more than three-quarters of the deaths in Gujarat.

Overall, India has reported 56,342 cases, of whom at least 1,886 people have died.
As Lincoln relaxes restrictions on businesses starting Monday, Bryan Health officials said it's going to be very important for people to continue to follow health guidelines.

On Monday, restaurants will be able to reopen their dining rooms, while limiting customers to 50% of capacity. Businesses that had been ordered closed, including hair and nail salons, massage businesses and tattoo parlors, will be allowed to reopen.

Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird on Thursday said she had wanted to extend restrictions another week or two but was disappointed that Gov. Pete Ricketts would not agree to do so.

Bob Ravenscroft, Bryan's vice president of advancement, said he understands the "urging of people to get back out there."

But he also said that "obviously there's some concern" about people gathering again.

Bryan officials have said it's very important for people to wear masks when they go out.

Dr. Bill Johnson, a pulmonologist at Bryan, implored people to wear masks, both for their own safety and the safety of other people.

He said the biggest concern is "asymptomatic carriers" -- people who are COVID-19 positive but don't know it because they don't have any symptoms.

Johnson on Thursday referenced charts during a Bryan news conference that showed the risk of disease transmission can be high even for someone wearing a mask if they are exposed to someone with COVID-19 who is not wearing a mask.

If the sick person is the one wearing a mask, the rate of transmission drops considerably, and if both people are wearing masks, the rate is very low. Johnson said some studies have estimated the chance of transmission when both people are wearing masks is less than 2%.

Of wearing masks, Johnson said, "It's vital that we do this for each other."

Bryan officials also stressed that people need to be vigilant about other health guidelines as well, including frequent hand-washing and maintaining at least 6 feet of space from other people.

"If (people) follow the guidelines, we think the risk of opening up diminishes," said Bryan Medical Center CEO John Woodrich. "But if people just feel that everything's OK and we can go back to normal, then we're going to have an issue on our hands."

Woodrich noted that Douglas County is seeing its COVID-19 numbers climb again after it relaxed its restrictions, and he said the same could happen in Lincoln.

He said Lincoln officials are not making reopening decisions in isolation, and they are talking to business owners and having "some very good dialogue about what we could be doing and what we should be doing."

"I think all we can do is work with our officials," Woodrich said. "If we start to see it getting out of control, we're going to have to pull back again."

Bryan officials also expressed concern about Mother's Day on Sunday, with Ravenscroft saying that "conventional wisdom tells us there's going to be some gatherings." Some churches also likely will be opening in Lincoln on Sunday.

"Just adhere to what you know will keep your family safe," he said.

Photos: Lincoln during the pandemic

Reach the writer at 402-473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LincolnBizBuzz.
New Delhi, May 10 : Pakistan-based terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin has said that Indian security forces position in the Kashmir valley is strong, according to a video of him which surfaced earlier this week.

In the video, Salahuddin is seen addressing a gathering in Rawalpindi to mourn the killing of top Hizbul commander Riyaz Naikoo in Jammu and Kashmir earlier this week, saying that even after the killing of five security personnel in the Valley, Indian security forces continued to be in a position of strength.

Naikoo was Hizbul Mujahideen's Jammu and Kashmir chief and was killed by the Indian armed forces a few days ago in an encounter in Pulwama district.

Salahuddin has been termed as a global terrorist by the US State Department.

He was speaking in Urdu with a Kashmiri accent, and could be heard saying, "It's a shock for all of us (killing of Riyaz Naikoo)." He is heard saying that since January this year, 80 Mujahideens (terrorists) were eliminated by the security forces, all of whom were highly educated and trained.

The Central intelligence agencies stumbled upon the video where Salahuddin is seen ranting about the Indian forces and singing praises for Naikoo.

Salahuddin also said that the Handwara attack, in which five security personnel and two terrorists were killed on May 2, was planned by them. "Despite the setback in Handwara, Indian forces continued to be in a strong position," he is heard as saying in his address.

An anti-terror unit head said, "This clearly shows Pakistan's involvement in continuing to harbour terrorists." Rattled by the recent killings of terrorists, Salahuddin's reference to the failures refers to the current situation where terror groups are in disarray. "Our policies have led to the failures," he is heard as saying in the video clip.

The anti-terror officer said that despite losing eight men in two encounters in Handwara, security forces have maintained constant pressure on the militants across the Kashmir valley.

"We are into a hot pursuit mode," he added.
work as a psychotherapist has changed as a result of the pandemic and the mitigation measures imposed, in some cases dramatically. Probably the most serious difference is that therapy for reasons of the infection protection takes place much more often by Video. But also the relationship between therapist and Patient has changed, not least because we're suddenly together in a great crisis, which affects us often in many areas of life equally.

A model therapist speaks reflects and is transparent about everything that is going on in him. This should, of course, to be annoyed. At the same time, is to be annoyed is not a good therapeutic attitude. Who is annoyed that the emotional interior, the therapist needs to be professional missing. The question is, what are the five things just in the psychotherapy of nerves, so it can be partially answered only with the help of gentle irony. With irony of which, you want to misunderstand, is also designed like as unprofessionalism. It is a Dilemma. But to be able to dilemmas endure, is fortunately a therapeutic cardinal virtue, we are usually well practiced.

1. The curiosity

the patient with always bring a lot of, when you come into the practice. The way you dress, move, how they smell, with which is the voting location, you start the conversation. A good therapist is in a Situation like this, curious and at the same time restrained enough to only ask the questions, the therapist will result in Japanese sense. At least on the level of relationship. The innocuous question of where the new sweater was purchased, can be at least talked as a therapeutic measure nice to have a good working relationship.

The video therapy now offers an unprecedented insight into the life world of the patient. Alone the shelf in the Background raises a lot of questions. But it really has a therapeutic function, to ask how you can seriously have a neon yellow lava lamp to your room? And who was the man that ran in there just by the picture? For the curious therapists the video therapy is, without question, an additional variety to verse yous.

2. Poor Internet connection

imagine that you have a therapist that always, if you have something Humorous to tell, with a stone face, sitting there, and suddenly, suddenly, laying eight, if you over the shallows of your soul speak. It may be that your therapist has a Problem. If you do video therapy, but it may also be good that you have a bad Internet connection.

you can't imagine how annoying something like that is for a therapist who imagines himself much on his ability to fine nuances to recognize and to match it reagierenzu can. The work of the important Parts is to answer the verbal and non-verbal Utterances of the patient is appropriate, because in the therapeutic space not only on the issues of the patient being worked on, but in the therapeutic relationship, new relationship experiences arise. That, for example, it is okay to be angry about his therapist and to be able to Express.

Updated Date: 24 June 2020, 12:20
John Lichfield is a former foreign editor of the Independent and was the newspapers Paris correspondent for 20 years.

Even in exceptional times France finds new ways to be exceptional.

According to a study by the Pasteur Institute, France has been dealing with its own mutation of the coronavirus that has killed over 250,000 worldwide. It suggests that the government was, in fact, successful in isolating and preventing the spread of the strain of COVID-19 that circulated in China and Italy. The broader havoc in France  where some 25,000 people have died  it says, is caused by this mutation, which circulated mostly without causing obvious symptoms in Northern France in mid-to-late January.

The institutes findings suggest the government has been fighting an enemy that was within its borders much sooner than it thought, making the job of containing the spread that much harder. But the report has, characteristically, received little traction in a noisy media landscape more concerned with bashing the governments approach and airing grievances about its handling of the crisis.

Public support for President Emmanuel Macrons government has slipped since the start of the pandemic, with one recent poll finding that 62 percent of those questioned thought it incapable of bringing the virus under control.

This lack of trust comes at a bad time for the government, as it embarks on the hazardous task of ending aspects of the lockdown starting on May 11.

How did we get here? In the United States and Britain, where government failures and miscommunication have been far more serious and more frequent, a large section of public opinion remains supportive and even enthusiastic.

Not so in France. Partly, its a question of national character and of a sense of French exceptionalism.

The French are seldom satisfied with anything that their leaders do. And given the volatility of the coronavirus crisis, there has been plenty to criticize.

To be sure, the French government is not undeserving of criticism. Macron was at least a week too slow in imposing a lockdown. France has also been lamentably sluggish in building up its testing capacities and responding to shortages of face masks and other personal protective equipment.

Story continues

But Macrons government has, in fact, performed reasonably well in wrestling with an unprecedented, ill-understood and ever-changing foe.

The measures it has taken since the start of the crisis put France well ahead of some of its neighbors in mitigating the fallout. France was the first country to devise a generous economic support program for both businesses and individuals, for example. Some 11 million people are now receiving at least 80 percent of their normal wages from the state.

France was ingenious in its use of re-equipped high-speed trains to move very sick patients to hospitals in relatively untouched areas. It has succeeded in broadly confining the virus to the north and east of the country; its hospital system has never been overwhelmed.

Apart from a couple of recent glitches, the government has communicated clearly and honestly  especially in comparison to the nationalistic bluster in the United Kingdom and the United States or the caginess about mortality figures in the Netherlands and elsewhere.

And yet the overwhelming mood in France, not just on social media but in the mainstream media, is not just critical but viciously hostile. This is not just unjustified; its dangerous.

Conspiracy theories are flourishing, and every small misstep or change of direction prompts accusations from opposition politicians that the government is lying.

More than 30 legal complaints have been brought in France against the prime minister, health minister and other politicians for their alleged negligence in fighting the epidemic. Earlier this week, the Senate voted against a progressive loosening of the lockdown starting May 11. The vote was only symbolic, but its nonetheless had a concrete effect: It has added to a growing lack of trust in the government.

Compounding the problem for Macron is the fact that he doesnt have the kind of unquestioning tribal, partisan support that others, like Donald Trump or Boris Johnson enjoy: no one to say he is our man, right or wrong.

Having leaped to power from outside the dominant tribes of media or political power, he is nobodys man  and so for most of the country he is never right and always wrong.

Then there is something deeper at play: Frances love of abstraction and intellectual absolutism; its tendency to see everything as a matter of betrayal, conspiracy or national disgrace.

Right-wing commentators portray the shortage of hospital beds as symptomatic of a deep rot in the nations will and psyche. Left-wing politicians insist that it is the consequence of the ultra-liberal destruction of the French state (which actually spends over 8 percent of its GDP on the public health system, more than most other EU countries).

In truth, the fall in the number of hospital beds in France is the result of policies pursued by both left and right-wing governments to conform with changes in modern medical practice over the past decades. It was indeed a close call but, with ingenuity and help from its neighbors, French intensive care capacity has taken all COVID-19s punches in the last six weeks.

Almost every government has got things wrong in the present crisis, some more seriously than others. But in no other country is there such a discrepancy between what the government actually got right and the cacophony of criticism hurled at it from the political classes or social and mainstream media.

Commentators, on both the right and left, have compared Frances response to COVID-19 to its strange defeat by Germany in 1940  a phrase invented by the French historian Marc Bloch, who argued that the lazy certainties and mutual hostility between the political right and left in the 1930s created an instinctive defeatism in France that made German victory possible.

It is absurd to compare the muddled but largely respectable French campaign against COVID-19 with the military calamity of 1940. But Blochs warning about Frances destructive penchant for over-analyzing itself in partisan, self-denigrating, absolutist slogans remains as valid as ever.
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By The Associated Press

May. 08, 2020 | FRANKFORT

By The Associated Press May. 08, 2020 | 11:16 PM | FRANKFORT

A federal court halted the Kentucky governor's temporary ban on mass gatherings from applying to in-person religious services, clearing the way for Sunday church services.



U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove on Friday issued a temporary restraining order enjoining Gov. Andy Beshear's administration from enforcing the ban on mass gatherings at any in-person religious service which adheres to applicable social distancing and hygiene guidelines.



The ruling from the Eastern District of Kentucky sided with the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Nicholasville, but applies to all places of worship around the commonwealth. Two other federal judges, including U.S. District Judge David Hale, had previously ruled the ban was constitutional. But also on Friday, Hale, of Kentuckys western district, granted Maryville Baptist Church an injunction allowing in-person services at that specific church, provided it abide by public health requirements.



Exceptions to the Democratic governor's shutdown order include trips to the grocery store, bank, pharmacy and hardware store. Beshear had previously announced that places of worship in Kentucky will be able to once again hold in-person services starting May 20, as part of a broader plan to gradually reopen the states economy. Earlier Friday, he outlined requirements for places of worship to reopen, including limiting attendance at in-person services to 33% of building occupancy capacity and maintaining 6 feet (2 meters) of distance between household units.



The federal judge's order in the Tabernacle Baptist Church case said Beshear had an honest motive in wanting to safeguard Kentuckians' health and lives, but didn't provide a compelling reason for using his authority to limit a citizens right to freely exercise something we value greatly  the right of every American to follow their conscience on matters related to religion.



Tabernacle had broadcast services on Facebook and held drive-in services, but the substitutes offered cold comfort, according to the opinion. The opinion went on to say that Tabernacle alleged irreparable injury and was likely to succeed on the merits of its federal constitutional claim, as the defendants didn't dispute the challenged orders place a burden on the free exercise of religion in Kentucky.



The Constitution will endure. It would be easy to put it on the shelf in times like this, to be pulled down and dusted off when more convenient, Van Tatenhove's opinion read. But that is not our tradition. Its enduring quality requires that it be respected even when it is hard.



His opinion says Kentucky's attorney general urged the court to apply the injunction statewide, and since the executive order challenged didn't solely apply to Tabernacle, the injunction granted would also have a similar scope.



Both rulings affirm that the law prohibits the government from treating houses of worship differently than secular activities during this pandemic, Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a Republican, said in a statement late Friday.



A three-judge federal appeal court panel had last week cleared the way for Maryville Baptist Church to hold drive-in worship services while adhering to public health requirements, an alternative that Beshear has strongly encouraged throughout the coronavirus pandemic. But that panel had stopped short of applying its order to in-person worship services.



Maryville had defied Beshears order for houses of worship to not hold in-person services amid the COVID-19 outbreak. At least 50 people attended its Easter service at the church, and the church has held other services since. In response, the governor said Kentucky State Police troopers would record license plates and place notices on vehicles telling Easter service attendees they would have to self-quarantine.



Maryville had turned to the appeals court after Hale had initially refused to stop Beshears order from applying to religious services, saying it bans all mass gatherings and thus does not discriminate against religion.



In his order Friday, Hale said the governor failed to prove there was no less restrictive alternative to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and failed to address the appeals court's suggestion to limit the number of people who could attend services. He said that the burden of proof was on the governor and Maryville Baptist Church would likely succeed on the merits of their claim under the Kentucky Religious Freedom Restoration Act.



Beshear's office had not issued a statement on the injunctions as of late Friday night.



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, even death.
Two dormitories at the Kilby Correctional Facility in Montgomery have been quarantined after an inmate tested positive for COVID-19.

The Alabama Department of Corrections announced the measures Friday evening. It says the two dorms are on level one quarantine. While under a level-one quarantine, the inmate population will be monitored closely for signs and symptoms of COVID-19, including the taking and recording of temperatures twice per day, said an ADOC statement. In addition, meals will be scheduled in groups and separate from other dorms.

According to the ADOC statement, the inmate was admitted to a local hospital after exhibiting symptoms and subsequently tested positive. As of Friday night he remained hospitalized. He is described as having chronic medical conditions.

ADOC described the case as the ninth among its inmate population and one of five that remain active. The department lists one COVID-19 inmate death, at its St. Clair facility. The other four active cases involve inmates at the Bibb, Easterling, Hamilton A&I and St. Clair facilities.

As of Friday the department reported testing a total of 110 inmates, with results pending in 11 of those cases. The states inmate population is about 27,000.

According to information on the departments website, The ADOC does not test its staff for COVID-19, nor are we legally able to require staff testing as an employer. If a staff member becomes symptomatic, he or she must contact his or her physician, who subsequently will order a COVID-19 test so long as certain CDC criteria are met. Per HIPPA regulations, the ADOC is not allowed to inquire about a staff members personal health conditions, including the results of a COVID-19 test.

ADOC says 17 employees at 11 facilities have informed the department that they tested positive for the disease. Five of those have been cleared to return to work.

According to ADOC, inmates at the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women and the William C. Holman Correctional Facility have produced about 2,500 gowns and more than 100,000 face masks that officials plan to distribute throughout the prison system By early next week, each inmate remanded to our custody should have a total of four masks available for use/reuse, said a statement from the department.
Governors expecting cash bail out to manage the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic may have to read the body language of President Muhamm...





Governors expecting cash bail out to manage the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic may have to read the body language of President Muhammadu Buhari. One of them was looking for N15billion as asking price before taking action to contain the pandemic. The President refused to look at his side.





But the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, who featured on a radio programme As E Dey Hot on Wazobia FM, Kano on Thursday, said those expecting free money will never get it.

He said: The Federal Government is moved by what it saw, and say, ah! This state needs help, and then it helped Lagos State.





Any other state that is also doing its work and is not complaining, and is not saying bring money, bring money, bring money, the Federal Government will do all that is necessary to do to assist.





Technical support is very, very important. Lagos State got technical support before it got financial support. Manpower support is very good. Facility support, very good.
Piers Morgan says he has probably 'taken things a bit too far' with his criticism of Meghan Markle after she and Prince Harry quit the Royal Family.

The Good Morning Britain presenter has previously accused her of having 'ditched' her own relatives and splitting Harry from the royals.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, however, he conceded that 'it's probably not wise, if you're a columnist, to make things too personal'.

Piers Morgan says he has probably 'taken things a bit too far' with his criticism of Meghan Markle after she and Prince Harry quit the Royal Family

Speaking to The Sunday Times on Harry and Meghan, however, Mr Morgan conceded that 'it's probably not wise, if you're a columnist, to make things too personal'

Commenting on his previous comments about the Duchess of Sussex, Mr Morgan said: 'Have I taken things a bit too far? Probably.

'Do I think that will govern and temper how I talk about them going forward?

'Absolutely.'

He added that he is at his 'best as a journalist on stuff that really matters'.

'It's the stuff that is substantial, particularly when people's lives are at stake, that seems to galvanise my personality into the best possible place,' he said.

'And it's times of relative peace, calm, quiet and dare I say boredom that might occasionally bring out the worst in me.

The Good Morning Britain presenter has previously accused Meghan (pictured with Harry and son Archie) of having 'ditched' her own relatives and splitting Harry from the royals

'Having squabbles with people who are never going to change their mind in a million years about stuff that no longer seems remotely important.'

Mr Morgan was a regular critic of Meghan and her husband after they announced their decision to step back from their roles as senior royals.

In January, he tweeted: 'People say I'm too critical of Meghan Markle - but she ditched her family, ditched her Dad, ditched most of her old friends, split Harry from William and has now split him from the Royal Family.

'I rest my case.'

Last year, he also accused her of behaving like a member of the reality TV family the Kardashians 'not somebody who married into the royal family'.
Boris Johnsons Conservative government is facing a mounting political crisis over its plans to impose a mass return to work.

Last week, the government finalised plans for an end to the lockdown following months of talks with business leaders and the trade unions. So determined was the government to press forward with its return to work strategy, that it jettisoned proposals from the Trades Union Congress advising it to implement a few token protective measuresto be overseen by the unionsto give the impression it was concerned about public safety.

By the middle of the week, the right-wing media were cock-a-hoop, trumpeting the plans by the government to drop its stay home slogan, with the pro-Tory Daily Telegraph celebrating on its front page Thursday, Stay home advice to be scrapped.

Directing the population to this Sunday evenings statement on the crisis by Johnson, they confidently forecast that he would present a roadmap, meaning that the following day would effectively represent the end of the lockdown and unlock the UK economy.

The Suns Thursday front page declared Happy Monday would mean the easing of lockdown restrictions. The Daily Star proclaimed Magic Monday next to the date May 11. The Daily Mail read, Hurrah! Lockdown freedom beckons, and the Daily Express, First steps to freedom. The Labour Party supporting Daily Mirror led its front page with, Five steps to end the lockdownstaggered easing plan revealed ... from Monday to October.

The ruling elites plan to end the lockdown as soon as possible ran up against widespread opposition among workers to such a criminally dangerous policy. Under conditions in which opinion poll after poll has registered overwhelming support for maintaining the lockdown, the government ended up politically overexposed by the triumphalism of the media.

Despite Johnsons claim that the UK is past the peak of the pandemic and on the downward slope, millions know these are barefaced lies. Every day, hundreds of new deaths and thousands of new coronavirus cases are announced. Yesterday saw another 626 deaths, to bring the UKs total to 31,241. The 4,649 new cases brought the total infected to 211,364. Just in the days since May 1, there have been 40,111 new cases of coronavirus announced and 4,470 deaths. In the last three days, as the back to work offensive was stepped up, there were 16,374 cases and 1,814 deaths.

The UKs death toll, even according to the manipulated figures put out by the government, is now more than 1,000 higher than Italy. The 243 deaths announced by Rome yesterday brought its death toll to 30,201the third country in the world, after the United States and the UK, to surpass 30,000 deaths.

The opposition among millions of workers and throughout the population was expressed in Thursdays top trending hashtags #KeepTheLockdown and #extendthelockdown.

One post read, The British tabloids have massively misjudged the public mood. We are hurt, we are grieving, we are struggling, we are angry, we are tired & we are sick of being told everything is alright by a useless government & a few tax avoiding billionaire media moguls. #KeepTheLockdown.

The rush to enforce a back-to-work movement has no scientific basis, with a number of prominent scientists establishing an independent committee this week challenging the governments COVID-19 response. On Thursday, John Drury, professor of social psychology at the University of Sussex, told the Guardian, The right wing medias language and premature celebration of the supposed end of lockdown is dangerous and irresponsible framing of what might be about to happen. He warned that the messaging was at odds with the continued need to maintain the handwashing and physical distancing that will still be needed.

Forced to adapt in the face of public anger, Johnson told Thursday mornings Cabinet meeting that the lockdown would have to remain in place, with only minor alterations to be considered. The damage limitation exercise saw Johnsons official spokesman tell the media, The prime minister said that in considering whether there could be any easement to the existing guidelines, 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.

Speaking at the Downing Street press conference later Thursday, Dominic Raab formally extended the lockdown by a further three weeks and said that any changes to the lockdown to be announced by Johnson Sunday would be modest, small, incremental and carefully monitored.

By Thursday evening, nothing remained of the headlines celebrating next Monday as a day of liberation. The Mail s headline declared, Sit tight and wait for Boris, writing, 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 poll found that 62 percent of Britons are more worried about the effects of the draconian curbs ending too early It noted with concern, 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 percent say the state should keep covering a proportion of peoples wages even if in theory they should be able to resume their jobs.

The retreat by Johnson prompted an intervention by Sajid Javid, chancellor until his resignation in February. In his first major interview since resigning, he insisted that the needs of the banks and big business had to win out. With the Financial Times pointing to the Bank of Englands prediction that the UK has entered its deepest recession in 300 years, Javid said he was worried about the health of our banks. He advised some kind of support for banks with some of the worst-performing loans and try to help the banks in that way, so that they can in turn help the economy and lend.

Doffing his cap to the views of scientists, his main message was to think carefully about the impact on the rest of society and the economy and jobs and wider social impacts and that does mean, I think, that when it comes to opening up you want to go as far and as quick as you can.

Indicating the necessity to step up the exploitation of the working class, he added, Many things will change as a result of this crisis.  one thing that shouldnt change is our understanding of the economic model that leads to the highest growth rate possible which is still going to be a free-enterprise, low tax, competitive economy.

This weeks events reveal the extent to which Johnsons is a government of acute crisis. It was put in office by Jeremy Corbyns Labour Party and remains in office only due to being propped up by the trade union bureaucracy and Labour party under Sir Keir Starmer.

For five years Corbyn, in alliance with the trade unions, suppressed every struggle of the working class against the Tories and kept the Blairites firmly ensconced in the party. Starmer, who was assured of Corbyns loyalty, is pledged to working constructively with the Tories throughout the pandemic in a de facto government of national unity.
Ex-Chhattisgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi was rushed to a private hospital in Raipur on Saturday after he suffered a cardiac arrest. The 74-year-old leader's condition has deteriorated, his son Amit Jogi reportedly said.

According to statement released by the Shree Narayana Hospital, "Former chief minister Ajit Jogi was admitted to the hospital at around 12:30 pm, following a cardiac arrest. His condition is critical and he is on ventilator support."

Jogi's health suddenly worsened while he was having breakfast, following which he was admitted in hospital this afternoon, according to his son Amit Jogi.

The former CM's wife Renu Jogi, an MLA, is with him in the hospital.

A bureaucrat-turned politician, Ajit Jogi had served as the first CM of Chhattisgarh from November 2000 to November 2003 in then Congress government, after the state came into existence.

The Jogi senior parted ways with the Congress in 2016 after he and his son got embroiled in a controversy over a by-election.

Later, he quit the Congress and formed Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J).

With PTI inputs

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The PM's tour saw a follow-up on preventive measures applied on the ground against the coronavirus pandemic

Egypts service projects, mainly in infrastructure, must not be delayed, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Saturday during a tour of a number of developmental and service projects in Qalioubiya governorate.

Madbouly inspected construction work at the governorates Kafr Shokrs water plant, where he was briefed on the project stages by housing minister Assem El-Gazzar.

The station has an optimal capacity of 45,000 m3/day at an estimated cost of EGP 220 million, El-Gazzar said, adding that the plant is planned to enter service in mid-2021 to serve around 225,000 residents in Kafr Shokr.

Madbouly stressed the need to finish the plant on schedule.

The prime minister's tour included the inspection of the construction site of Kafr Shokr Hospital and a follow-up on the preventive measures applied on the ground against the coronavirus pandemic.

Madbouly lauded the quality of work at the hospital's construction site and the commitment of labourers to preventive measures due to the virus.

About 98 percent of work at the Kafr Shokr Hospital has been finalised at an estimated cost of EGP 212.8 million.

The hospital is set to open in June, with operations beginning in July to provide services to around 200,000 people.

The prime minister also inspected a ready-made garments factory in Qalioubiya, which currently manufactures medical gowns and face masks amid the growing demand during the crisis.

Madbouly stressed his appreciation for the factory's efforts and the quality of ready-made garments exported abroad and the factorys focus on manufacturing medical garments and masks to combat the virus.

He said the state is keen on supporting the industrial sector as a key pillar for the future of the country.

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On Friday May 8, 2020 Officers at the Pointe Blanche Prison executed a random search after concern that a weapon may have been concealed in the facility.





The management of the Prison enforces a zero tolerance approach and does not take any chances when it comes to concerns of weapons suspected of being in the Prison.





Considering the fact that in recent years there have been incidents at the Prison, the slightest hint of such a risk is not taken lightly and is tackled immediately.





Safety and security are absolute priorities for both the Prison and the Ministry of Justice.





Both parties are pleased to inform the public that the search turned up clean with no weapons found.




Shanghai (Gasgoo)- GAC Group saw its auto sales in April rise 6.1% year on year to 166,273 units, which made its year-to-date sales aggregate 472,370 units, still showing a slump of 27.49% due to the coronavirus outbreak.



The increase in PV sales is accountable for the total sales growth. Last month, the Guangzhou-based automaker sold 166,117 PVs, 6.21% more than the year-ago level. The CV sales tumbled 49.84% to only 156 units, while it failed to hold the overall growth back because of its small volume.

Two Sino-Japanese joint venturesGAC Honda and GAC Toyotatook up over 80% of the group's April sales. Notably, GAC Toyota attained an exceptional growth of 46.9% with 63,607 vehicles sold. GAC Honda also had a sales volume more than that of the prior-year period.



(Highlander, photo source: GAC Toyota)



As the main sales drivers of GAC Group, GAC Honda and GAC Toyota ran at 120% and 140% production capacity in 2019, according to the group's annual result. Thus, both of them are expanding capacities to support the climbing sales. According to local media outlets, GAC Toyota plans to build its fifth production line with an annual capacity of 200,000 vehicles to be added. GAC Honda has completed in Feb. the capacity expansion project for one of the plants at Zengcheng District with the vehicle capacity doubled to 240,000 units per year.

Nevertheless, other joint ventures were all hit by dwindling demands. GAC Mitsubishi witnessed its April sales halved over the previous year.

GAC Motor, GAC Group's self-owned PV subsidiary, got a 17% drop in April sales and a 26.2% slump in year-to-date sales. Its registered capital has been increased to RMB15.517 billion from RMB12.718 billion on April 10, according to the business data search platform Tianyancha.

Honda Automobile (China) is no longer included into GAC's sales report as it was fully absorbed by GAC Honda on April 1.
Is a final financial order on divorce always final? Our family home was transferred to my ex-wife shortly before the coronavirus outbreak.

Subsequently, my business has collapsed. Had this happened before the court order I dont think the judge would have given the house to my wife in its entirety.

Can the order be changed given the exceptional circumstances?

Thousands of court orders were made last year and could be reviewed after coronavirus

Mark Harrop, a family lawyer in London-based solicitors Family Law Partners, replies: This is a really interesting question. Some elements of financial orders are easier to change than others.

Maintenance payments, for example, can always be varied. If someone has lost their job it can be fairly straightforward to have those payments reduced or suspended.

You can also vary the timing of lump sum instalments if the original timetable is no longer affordable.

Other elements, including transferring properties, are far harder to change. This is because it means reopening part or all of the case to reassess the fairness of the original order, something judges are extremely reluctant to do.

Mark Harrop, a family lawyer in London-based solicitors Family Law Partners

Underpinning this is idea that orders should give divorced couples certainty and finality so they can move on with their lives.

To have any chance of succeeding a number of tests need to be met.

First, you need to show a significant change in circumstances within months of the final order.

Second, the change needs to have been both unforeseen and unforeseeable at the time the order was made.

Third, the change must undermine the basis on which the original order was made.

It helps to look at some real-life examples to understand how the court has dealt with these three questions in the past.

One early case concerned a husband who transferred the family home to his wife to live in with their children. Tragically, five weeks later the wife killed herself and the children. This was obviously both significant and unforeseen.

The purpose of transferring the house was to provide a home for the wife and children. Their deaths negated that purpose and so the court allowed the husband to reopen the case.

Thousands of divorce settlements could need to be reviewed The court made 40,000 financial orders last year. There will be a concern that allowing some people to reopen their financial order now will lead to hundreds or thousands of similar claims. It is reasonable to assume that judges will set a very high threshold so that only those hit hardest will be allowed a second chance.

In contrast, in another settlement made shortly before the 2008 financial crisis the husband agreed to pay his wife a lump sum of 11million.

He retained shares in his company valued at 15million. Over a period of nine months the value of the shares fell by over 90 per cent, leaving him in net debt.

The court said that share prices are known to fluctuate and so the drop, while dramatic, was not unforeseeable. It refused to change the order.

Where does coronavirus fall on this spectrum? Until the court has heard one of these applications we wont really know.

In 2008 the court did not look at the cause of the stock market crash or whether that particular financial crisis could have been predicted.

It was enough to say that crashes happen and that everybody knows that the price of shares can go up and down, sometimes dramatically. Claims based on drops in values of shares, houses or other property as a result of coronavirus are likely to be treated the same way.

A judge will review why the family home was awarded to your ex-wife before reopening a case

What we can say is that the enforced closure of businesses, the financial impact of lockdown and the governments stimulus measures in response are truly unprecedented.

It is difficult to see how the current situation, with businesses being told to close their doors and people to stay at home, could be described as anything other than unforeseeable.

That brings us back to the third test  whether the change has undermined the basis on which the original order was made.

You have not said why the judge decided to transfer the family home to your wife, but there may be some clues in their judgment. You will need to look at why the settlement was structured in the way it was.

Did the judge think you could afford a comparable property from your business income?

If you want to change your order you will be expected to act promptly

That may no longer be true. Or was the judges priority to ensure your wife was adequately housed?

If so, a change in your fortunes may have less bearing. This is a difficult question that judges will have to assess on the facts of each application.

Finally, it is important to emphasise that although we do not yet know how judges are going to treat these applications, waiting until we do may be too late.

If you want to change your order you will be expected to act promptly. These could be expensive and risky applications to make, so it is vital you take specialist legal advice on your particular situation before doing so.
Victory in Europe Day is observed on 8 May and marks the day in 1945 when Britain and its allies accepted the unconditional surrender of Germany. The move brought an end to the war in Europe.

Victory in Europe Day is observed on 8 May and marks the day in 1945 when Britain and its allies accepted the unconditional surrender of Germany. The move brought an end to the war in Europe.

UK held a two-minute silence to commemorate the 75th anniversary of VE Day. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall led the event to honour the men and women who served during World War II.

VE Day marks the end of armed conflict in Europe only. The war went on in Japan till August of the same year with the country celebrating 15 August as Victory over Japan (VJ) Day.

The Buckingham Palace shared a post on Twitter with Queen Elizabeth IIs recollections of the VE Day celebrations. I remember lines of unknown people linking arms and walking down Whitehall, all of us just swept along on a tide of happiness and relief, the Queen said.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued a statement calling for Britishers to show "same spirit of national endeavour" during the coronavirus pandemic.

French President Emmanuel Macron held the traditional wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier laid wreaths at Berlin's Memorial to the Victims of War and Dictatorship.

VE Day is celebrated in Europe in a number of ways. Street parties are held and there are community gatherings too. Armed Forces show their acknowledgement as well. However, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a number of events are not taking place this year.
By Express News Service

BHOPAL: Virendra Singh, an accident survivor in the Aurangabad tragedy, claimed that he and fellow migrant labourers had applied for passes a week ago to enter their village in Madhya Pradesh, but did not receive any response from the Umaria administration.

We had applied for passes to our home district Umaria for returning to our families in our villages. But forget about getting passes, we didnt get any response, despite having applied for it a week back, Singh told reporters.

After not getting passes and desperate to return to their families, the migrant labourers working at factories in Jalna, Maharashtra had left on foot at 7 pm on Thursday.

Singh escaped unhurt as he was not resting on rail tracks unlike 16 others who were crushed by a goods train.

When this newspaper contacted Umaria collector Swarochish Somvanshi, he said the administration would look into the claim and added that whatever requests were made from other states for passes, were forwarded to the top officials in Bhopal who coordinating with other states to bring back labourers.

Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the 16 deceased labourers and Rs 1 lakh assistance to those injured.

Tribal welfare minister Meena Singh, who is the BJP MLA from Umaria district, flew to Aurangabad for meeting those injured in the accident.

All the 16 bodies will brought via a special trainto the villages of the victims in Umaria, Shahdol and Katni districts.

Former chief minister and senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh sought an impartial probe into the entire tragedy.

Had the MP government registered those migrant labourers? If yes, then what efforts were made to bring them back. CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan owes a reply and should be ashamed. Instead of daily giving statements, the CM needs to do something concrete, he tweeted.

Give relief from PMs fund

The Centre should give an ex gratia of Rs 50 lakh for families of migrant workers run over by a train near Aurangabad and those injured from PM-CARES fund, said National Campaign for Migrant Workers.

The coalition wrote that it had earlier said that a humanitarian disaster was impending with scarcity of food and acute mental stress faced by workers.
Every leader of every country in the world had come together on a virtual network. Never had there been such a conference.

But never had there been such a crisis. The very existence of our fragile planet was threatened by a massive asteroid bearing down on us at phenomenal speed.

Back in April 2020, the world had watched with mild interest as a large lump of rock dubbed as potentially hazardous had zipped across our night skies  close enough to be noted but not close enough to be a serious threat.

This was different. This was much, much bigger and every reputable space scientist agreed that the impact would be devastating. The destruction followed by a nuclear winter would make our precious planet uninhabitable for decades. Perhaps for ever.

An asteroid could be heading for Earth and yet our leaders are at war with each other

There was just one hope. It might be possible to divert the asteroid if every country co-operated in a programme that had been launched by NASA back in 2021.

It would, of course, mean sharing technology and resources on an unprecedented scale. And that, of course, was to prove its downfall. Which is why, as I write, that tiny bright dot in the night sky is becoming ever larger and the planet is facing the end of civilisation as we know it ... Right.

Thats the beginning (and end) of my career as a science fiction writer. Ray Bradburys reputation is safe. But not all of it is fiction. NASA really is planning to launch its DART mission next year to try to nudge an asteroid off course.

And my assumption that not even global catastrophe would persuade our most powerful leaders to share secrets with the enemy may not, sadly, be entirely fanciful.

Earlier this week Britain and the U.S. issued a joint warning that rival states including China, Russia and Iran are mounting cyber-attacks on research institutions linked to the coronavirus response in an attempt to steal secrets, including work on a vaccine.

Britains own National Cyber Security Centre claimed the organisations being targeted include healthcare bodies, pharmaceutical companies, academia, medical research organisations and local government.

This is deeply depressing on so many levels its hard to know where to begin. But perhaps I overstate the danger. Dont we already have the virus on the run? After all, most countries are seeing the number of deaths gradually falling.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been accused of undermining Londons attempts to get a united front on lockdown restrictions by playing political games for her own advantage

In this country the speculation that half a million might die has been shown to be as ridiculous as the behaviour of the professor who raised it. Perhaps he was a little distracted at the time.

The fact that our death rate is apparently the highest in Europe is at least partly down to the cackhanded way the Government has handled everything from testing, to PPE, to its wicked disregard for care homes and its muddled message about herd immunity followed by total lockdown.

Even so, we may be seeing the beginning of the end. Maybe. But lets remember how Churchill concluded that famous speech. The victory at El Alamein was in truth the end of the beginning.

The fear in the battle against coronavirus is that it may not even be that. We need to go back further than 1942 to the aftermath of the Great War. The first wave of the Spanish flu epidemic in 1918 killed many thousands worldwide. The second wave was infinitely worse.

The virus had mutated within months to a far more deadly form. No one knows for sure how many died. Many governments falsified the figures because they feared the effect on the morale of those who survived.

But subsequent calculations suggest it was anything from 17million to 50million or even twice that many. We cannot know whether there will be a second coronavirus wave. And we cannot rest easy until we find a copper-bottomed cure or a vaccine.

Which takes me back to my bit of whimsy at the start of this column and the spectacle of nations competing instead of cooperating. How different things might be if the worlds leaders  political, industrial, financial  were to get together and pool their resources.

There are at least 100 separate initiatives under way worldwide to find and manufacture a coronavirus vaccine. The U.S. is undertaking its own taxpayer-funded project called Operation Warp Speed.

China is working on its own state-sponsored vaccine project. The World Health Organisation has already had to strengthen its cyber defences after coming under sustained hacking attempts.

Its not only in the search for a vaccine that countries are competing with each other. The European Union wants to restore free movement between members but says theyre being undermined because some countries are trying to make their own exclusive arrangements.

Even within the United Kingdom there is tension. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been accused of undermining Londons attempts to get a united front on lockdown restrictions by playing political games for her own advantage.

Wales, too, wants to set its own timetable. Nations are putting their own citizens first just when we should be working on a global response.

Bill Gates, the Microsoft billionaire, is a rare figure taking a world view. He put some money into China to help with early response before investing in Europe and the U.S. He says he doesnt care where the vaccine comes from so long as it comes. By contrast, the two most powerful world leaders view Covid-19 in the light of their own destinies.

President Donald Trump found a skilful way of deflecting attention from the awkward virus statistics in America by taking aim at China. No President ever lost votes in the American heartland by being seen to stand up to the nations enemies  especially if theyre a bunch of Commies.

President Donald Trump found a skilful way of deflecting attention from the awkward virus statistics in America by taking aim at China

He desperately needs those votes if hes to stay in the White House. President Xi cant lose his job  he is president of China for life  but he wants to be seen as the most powerful leader in the world. And as they flex their political muscles, the virus sweeps across the planet, indifferent to borders or to political ambition.

Now that Theresa May is herself no longer in the front line of politics she is able to deliver a warning to those who are. She wrote this week that a polarised politics has taken hold.

It views the world through a prism of winners and losers and sees compromise and co-operation as signs of weakness. Gone is the idea that countries do better by working together to solve common problems, even if doing so sometimes means an apparent sacrifice of short-term benefit for the greater good.

In its place is a cynical calculus: Im right and youre either with me or against me. This is the world that the pandemic hit. Shes right. But it does not have to be like this. We faced catastrophe in 2008.

True, it was economic catastrophe but we know only too well that when economies crash people suffer terribly. Gordon Brown stepped up to help avert a global financial crisis. He is calling again for a combined international campaign on coronavirus. In the darkest moment of our history, we did what was necessary.

You need only gaze at the many pictures in this newspaper to see what can happen when the world pulls together in the face of an existential threat. They remind us of something we must never forget.

That magnificent day 75 years ago when the allies defeated the greatest enemy this nation had ever faced. We did it because we were united. The two great leaders of the free world shared victory with the leader of a Communist regime who despised everything we stood for.

Stalin took Russia into the war against Hitler because he had no choice. We have no choice in the battle against coronavirus. It has to be defeated. Lets hope our leaders can unite in this battle
The novel coronavirus pandemic has now killed more than 279,000 people worldwide.

Over 4 million people across the world have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The actual numbers are believed to be much higher due to testing shortages, many unreported cases and suspicions that some governments are hiding the scope of their nations' outbreaks.

Since the first cases were detected in China in December, the United States has become the worst-affected country, with more than 1.3 million diagnosed cases and at least 78,794 deaths.

Today's biggest developments:

Global death toll surpasses 275,000 Worldwide confirmed cases cross 4 million US death toll surpasses 77,000 FDA authorizes 1st test with rapid results

Here's how the news developed on Saturday. All times Eastern.

7:45 p.m.: Airline union supports temperature checks

Airlines for America, an industry trade organization that represents major U.S. airlines, said it would support temperature checks conducted by the Transportation Security Administration on passengers and customer-facing employees.

The TSA is not currently doing such checks.

"As all screening processes for the traveling public are the responsibility of the U.S. government, having temperature checks performed by the TSA will ensure that procedures are standardized, providing consistency across airports so that travelers can plan appropriately," a release from A4A said.

MORE: Frontier Airlines to require temperature screenings prior to boarding

When asked for comment, TSA said the agency "continues to rely on the health expertise of HHS and the CDC" and that "ongoing discussions with our DHS and interagency colleagues, as well as our airport and airline partners, will enable the agency to make informed decisions with regard to the health and safety of the aviation environment."

Story continues

This comes after Frontier Airlines, which is not represented by A4A, announced it will implement temperature screenings for all passengers and employees prior to boarding aircraft, making it the first major U.S. airline to announce plans to do so.

5 p.m.: More than 4 million confirmed coronavirus cases

There are now more than 4 million people who have tested positive for the coronavirus around the world, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The number of cases rose to 4,004,224 on Saturday afternoon -- more than five months since the coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan, China. The number of confirmed cases passed 1 million on April 3.

Worldwide, over 277,000 people have died and more than 1.3 million have recovered.

PHOTO: A customer has her temperature tested prior to entering the Apple Store at Bondi Junction on May 07, 2020, in Sydney. (Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)

3:17 p.m.: Gov. Cuomo's office releases some details of kids who died from COVID-19-like illness

There have been 73 reported cases in New York where children -- predominantly school-aged -- are experiencing symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease and toxic shock-like syndrome possibly due to COVID-19.

The illness has taken the lives of three young New Yorkers including a 5-year-old in New York City, a 7-year-old in Westchester County and a teenager in Suffolk County.

The State Department of Health is now working with the CDC to develop national criteria for identifying and responding to the syndrome.

3:16 p.m.: Government to purchase $3 million of products from farmers

As a part of the USDA's Farmers to Families Food Box Program, next week the government will purchase $3 million worth of products, President Trump announced on Twitter.

President Donald Trump tweeted that the government will make an immense purchase of dairy, meat and produce from the country's farmers, ranchers and specialty crop growers for food lines and kitchens as part of the USDA's Farmers to Families Food Box Program.

3:06 p.m.: California's coronavirus cases continue to increase

As of Saturday, California has reported 2,049 more positive coronavirus cases bringing the state's total to 64,561.

The death toll has also increased Friday as 93 more people have died.

Almost 2,700 people have died from the coronavirus in California.

3:00 p.m.: Texas reports its third-highest daily total of coronavirus cases

Texas reported 1,251 new coronavirus cases on Saturday bringing the state's total to 37,860.

Of the over 37,000 cases, 16,680 are active, 1,735 are hospitalized and 20,141 recovered.

Texas' daily death toll is the second highest in a day since 50 died in one day on April 30. Total fatalities are 1,049, up 45 from Friday.

As Texas' stay-at-home orders are slowly lifting, residents have are hitting the beaches in Galveston, KTRK reported.

1:30 p.m.: Nursing homes deaths now one-third of US fatalities

Nursing home residents have accounted for more than one-third of the 26,000 COVID-19 deaths in the United States, according to an ABC News analysis. There have been more than 77,400 deaths.

The grim figure was compiled from public reporting by health departments in 35 states plus Washington, D.C. The number indicates both the threat elderly people face in crowded buildings and the role that institutional settings have played in the spread of the virus.

The states with the highest percentage of deaths inside nursing homes were Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, the analysis showed.

Massachusetts has recorded 4,552 total deaths, with 2,739, or 60.2%, inside a nursing home. In Pennsylvania, of the 3,416 total deaths so far, 2,355, or 68.9%, were in a nursing home. Rhode Island has recorded fewer total deaths but a higher percentage -- 280 of 388, about 72% -- in a nursing home.

If the number of total nursing home deaths were adjusted to account for only the states reporting their nursing home data, the deaths would make up 40% of the total U.S. fatalities.

1:12 p.m.: More than 2,500 new cases in Florida since reopening Monday

There have been more than 2,500 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Florida since Monday, when the state began to reopen, according to a count by ABC News. There were also 316 new deaths in that same time frame.

Florida now has reported 40,001 confirmed cases, with deaths reaching 1,715, the state's health department said.

Gov. Ron DeSantis allowed most counties in the state to reopen starting Monday, but three -- Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach -- had to wait.

PHOTO: People enjoy the weather, on May 04, 2020, in Jensen Beach, Fla. Restaurants, retailers, as well as beaches and some state parks reopened May 4 with caveats, as the state continues to ease restrictions put in place to contain COVID-19. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

12:22 p.m.: 3 children have died in New York: Cuomo

Three children in New York have died as a result of a syndrome associated with COVID-19, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

There are at least 73 cases related to the syndrome in children in the state, according to the governor. The majority affected were infants or elementary school-aged children.

(MORE: Some children with COVID-19 are experiencing symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease)

Cuomo said that children have come into hospitals with symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease, a rare inflammatory syndrome typically affecting those younger than 5. The children did not present typical COVID-19 symptoms, such as respiratory distress, but they did test positive for either the virus or the antibodies, meaning they had the virus at some time.

He said the situation was still developing and that health experts are continuing to investigate, calling the matter "truly disturbing."

PHOTO: New York Gov. Anrew Cuomo briefs the media at Marist College, May 8, 2020, in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (Darren Mcgee/AP)

The New York State Department of Health is working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to understand the syndrome in children and will develop national criteria so other states can investigate their own possible cases, the governor said.

The state's health department will also work with the Genome Center and Rockefeller University to conduct a genome and RNA study to better understand who is affected.

"This is the last thing we need.  We still have a lot to learn about this virus and every day is another eye-opening situation," Cuomo said.

He also updated the public on the rate of positive antibodies among frontline workers

Of the FDNY and EMT workers that were part of an antibody study, 17% tested positive, according to Cuomo. It was the highest positive rate among frontline workers. The rate was 14% for transit workers, 12% for healthcare workers and 10% for the NYPD, according to Cuomo.

All of the positive antibody rates in frontline workers fell below the city's overall positive antibody rate, which is 19%.

11:54 a.m.: Air France to require passengers wear masks

Air France is the latest airline to require passengers to wear face masks on flights, a policy that's effective on May 11.

"We recommend that you bring several masks for your travel comfort," the airline said in a statement.

Air France also said that checking passengers' body temperatures will be gradually implemented with a non-contact infrared thermometer.

Delta, American, United, Frontier and JetBlue previously announced they'd require passengers to wear face coverings.

11:19 a.m.: Ivanka Trump's personal aide tests positive, sources say

A personal aide to Ivanka Trump has tested positive for COVID-19, multiple sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.

However, the sources said the aide is not a White House employee, has not been in contact with her for well over a month and has not been near the West Wing.

The news comes after Katie Miller, press secretary to Vice President Mike Pence, and a member of President Donald Trump's personal valet each tested positive.

PHOTO: Senior Advisor to the President, Ivanka Trump, listens to her father President Donald Trump deliver remarks during the White House Summit on Human Trafficking in the East Room of the White House, in Washington on Jan. 2020. (Michael Reynolds/EPA via Shutterstock )

10:50 a.m.: HHS announces delivery of remdesivir

The Department of Health and Human Services announced the agency is sending out more remdesivir to hospitalized patients after a week of frustration from doctors who said they couldn't access it.

Remdesivir will be used to treat patients with COVID-19 and has been touted by both President Donald Trump and infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci as promising, based on early data. The drug was donated by Gilead, which developed it, and will be delivered to Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan and New Jersey, according to the HHS.

PHOTO: A lab technician visually inspects a filled vial of investigational coronavirus disease (COVID-19) treatment drug remdesivir at a Gilead Sciences facility in La Verne, Calif., March 11, 2020. (Gilead Sciences via Reuters, FILE)

Illinois and New Jersey will receive the biggest shipments, with 140 cases and 110 cases respectively, according to the agency. Each case contains 40 vials of the drug.

(MORE: Doctors scrambling to get COVID-19 drug approved)

The shipments, which began Thursday evening, come after doctors said they could not access the drug and it was not being delivered to the hospitals that needed it most.

Remdesivir initially was developed by Gilead to treat Ebola. Although initially promising, it didn't prove as effective as other Ebola treatments, so research was halted. Early data from the drug used for COVID-19 patients has been promising, but experts warned that data is still limited.

10:15 a.m.: FDA authorizes 1st antigen test with rapid results

The Food and Drug Administration has authorized the first test that can rapidly detect if a person has the virus that causes COVID-19, and has the ability to test millions of Americans per day.

The antigen test can produce results within minutes, according to the FDA, and some experts believe it is better for mass testing than the PCR test, which is the current diagnostic test that can detect an active COVID-19 infection.

(MORE: Antigen versus antibody testing for COVID-19: What you need to know)

The agency described the antigen test as "important in the overall response against COVID-19" because they can generally be produced at a lower cost and "once multiple manufacturers enter the market, can potentially scale to test millions of Americans per day due to their simpler design, helping our country better identify infection rates closer to real time."

PHOTO: A physician assistant with AltaMed Health Services prepares to test a drive-through patient for COVID-19 at their Bristol Street clinic in Santa Ana, Calif. on April 21, 2020. (Leonard Ortiz/Orange County Register via MediaNews Group via Getty Images)

However, the FDA also noted downfalls of the antigen tests. While the tests produce highly accurate positive results, there is also a higher chance they produce false negatives than PCR tests.

The FDA said a negative results from an antigen test does not rule out an infection and may need to be confirmed with a PCR test.

This is the first antigen test to be authorized, but more will follow, according to the FDA.

7:40 a.m.: FDA head self-quarantines

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn will self-quarantine for 14 days after he came into contact with an individual who tested positive for COVID-19, a statement from the FDA confirmed.

"As Dr. Hahn wrote in a note to staff yesterday, he recently came into contact with an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19. Per CDC guidelines, he is now in self-quarantine for the next two weeks. He immediately took a diagnostic test and tested negative for the virus," the statement read.

Hahn is believed to have come into contact with Vice President Pence's top spokesperson Katie Miller, who tested positive for COVID-19, reported Politico.

The FDA did not confirm whether Miller was the individual with whom Hahn came into contact.

6:07 a.m.: Gig workers, self-employed still shut out of unemployment benefits in 11 states

For the first time, Uber drivers, personal trainers, babysitters  all non-traditional wage earners that the government estimates to be at least a third of the American workforce  could apply for unemployment benefits after the CARES Act signed into law on March 27.

But in at least 11 states as of Friday, these Americans hadn't received any kind of unemployment payments. In nine states, they hadn't even been able to apply for it.

This news comes on the heels of record-breaking unemployment for April, with at least 20.5 million jobs lost.

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.

In New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Arkansas, it's unclear if any gig workers or independent contractors have received unemployment benefits, even though tens of thousands of applications have been accepted.

And in Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Nevada and Ohio, there is no way for these self-employed Americans to even for unemployment. More than a month after the CARES Act passed, these states do not have the online portals up and running.

States have had to build new systems to approve people for this federally funded unemployment -- known as Pandemic Unemployment Assistance -- and there's a slew of reasons they've been bogged down. Some were waiting for federal guidance, while others were waiting on tech infrastructure.

5:32 a.m.: Sen. Ted Cruz gets haircut from previously jailed salon owner

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz revealed Friday that he got a fresh new haircut from the salon owner who recently made national headlines when she was jailed for refusing to close her store.

"Thank you to Shelley Luther and the team at Salon a la Mode for giving me my first haircut in 3 months & more importantly for standing up for liberty and common sense," Cruz tweeted Friday evening. "Your courage helped pave the way for more #TX businesses to re-open & for more people to get back to work today."

Luther defied an executive order to shut down her business and kept her salon open despite a citation, a cease-and-desist letter and a restraining order.

"The rule of law governs us. People cannot take it upon themselves to determine what they will and will not do," Dallas Civil District Judge Eric Moye said during her hearing on Tuesday.

Luther, who was ordered to serve seven days in jail for contempt of court, was released Thursday after a decision by the Supreme Court of Texas.

Following the court's decision, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order to eliminate jail time for those who violate similar orders, calling such actions "excessive."

PHOTO: CORONADO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 07: Family members and a caregiver watch from outside COVID-19 patient Isaias Perez Yanez's room, as he is assessed by occupational therapist Jaclyn Lien in the Progressive Care Unit (PCU) at Sharp Coronado Hospital. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

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

ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett, Trish Turner, Sophie Tatum, Meredith Deliso, Eric Strauss, Ben Gittleson, John Santucci, Katherine Faulders, Aicha El Hammar, Scott Withers, Matthew Mosk, Olivia Rubin and Allison Pecorin contributed to this report.

Worldwide coronavirus cases cross 4 million; more than 2,500 new cases in Florida since reopening Monday originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
In some of the previous articles I authored, there was a genuine call for MMDCEs to be elected without using party platforms and lines. In my firm opinion and those of many others, including renowned leaders of Civil Society Organisations, the election of MMDCEs need not have a partisan nature.

The reasons for taking such a stance were given as; reducing monetization of political activities, reducing polarization of institutions, representation of the people (Locals) to demand accountability, helping people from different backgrounds to collaborate to initiate development plans.

In this renewed debate, I am humbly calling on Civil Society Organisations to join the discussion in demanding clear guidelines from the Parties in their manifestos, on how future MMDCEs will be elected. I suggest MMDCEs should be allowed to be elected without the participation of political parties. That is, without using political parties platforms, sponsorships, colours and party lines. Without the use of party platforms and lines, future MMDCEs can still be elected. After all, those to be elected will be nominated from the political parties in the country, notably NPP and NDC.

However, MMDCEs per the current system, represent the government that appoints them. Elected MMDCEs do not represent the government. They represent the locals that are given the power and capacity to elect them. This is the ideal of the Constitution. The election of MMDCEs will give the locals the power to control grassroots executives.

Local Authorities should be given the power to demand accountability and answerability from the executives at the grassroots. Currently, executives at the grassroots are controlled by the whims and caprices of Central Government persons. The Constitution, Article 240(2) subsection (d) gives local authorities the power to subject persons including executives at the grassroots to effective control. MMDCEs should be allowed to be elected for the realization of the goals of the Constitution for the locals. The various political parties will feel reluctant to adopt this system if their members are not allowed to be nominated for these elections. This is because they are inclined to controlling the MMDCEs to twist and align local government goals to party manifesto items.

The legal issue about the possibility of amending the Constitution and having a referendum can easily be resolved. Articles 55(3) and 248 (1) and (2) are harmonious as they both prohibit partisanship at the grassroots. Article 243 is the only legal barrier which can certainly be cleared by Parliament through an amendment that does not require a referendum. This Article, 243, is not an entrenched provision. The Parliament of Ghana just needs to amend it to allow for the election of MMDCEs and indicate the type of representation (Local Authority representation or Central Government) as well as the processes and procedures for the removal of the elected MMDCEs.

To address the issue of winner takes all syndrome, Parliament should amend Article 246 (1) which states that Election to the District Assembly shall be held every four years except that such elections and elections to Parliament shall be held at least six months apart. This is a provision that is not entrenched and can painlessly be amended for Parliamentary, including Presidential elections to be held together with the elections of MMDCEs. The lower local government units can have their elections scheduled differently.

This believe, that the winner takes all syndrome will be eliminated is grounded on the fact that, if these elections are held together, other parties can win and be represented at the Assemblies. The status quo which separates the two elections will give the party in power or the party that wins the national elections a huge advantage to many of its members to be elected as MMDCEs.

Leaders of Civil Society Organisations should demand from the political parties, their systems and procedures that will be introduced to streamline these two elections to achieve the desires of the Constitution of effective control by Local Authorities of their executives.

The successful adoption and use of this proposed system will put the MMDCEs on the right traction in carrying out their duties. Currently, many of them conduct their affairs uncontrollably because they are appointed as party faithfuls. They are not subject to the effective control of the locals.

This debate is renewed because the earlier handling of the matter was poorly done. It can still be a 2020 manifesto item that incessantly has relevance in developing and modernizing grassroots system of governance. If considered a manifesto item, parties should indicate properly, why and how future MMDCEs will be elective. There are clear opinions that have been offered on this subject that can serve as inputs to their strategies.

The distresses of the coronavirus pandemic have called for a suspension of political activities in the Country but a review of this subject matter is important in the assumption of normal activities within the political calendar. In the distant future, political parties may have to conduct a deeper search for a proper scheme of executing this idea.

Indeed, there are variously held opinions about the steady attempts to restructure the system of decentralization, politics and governance at the grassroots. Fragmented opinions and ideas have been a bane in collating a national consensus to successfully execute this looked-for agenda. Decentralisation and devolution occupy such an important aspect of our democratic governance and grassroots development that it must be restructured to have a global character.

Emmanuel Kwabena Wucharey

Economics Tutor - Kintampo SHS.
SAGINAW, MI - The city of Saginaw and the union representing officers with the Saginaw Police Department are in a dispute over safety issues and compensation related to coronavirus.

So far, three members of the department - two detectives and a clerk - have tested positive for COVID-19 and one of the detectives remains hospitalized.

The police union has asked the city to provide laptops to detectives so they can work remotely, to change in how work shifts are scheduled and to provide additional compensation for officers.

The city has denied the requests, arguing it cannot afford the laptops, the shift changes are unwarranted and officers are getting additional paid time off as compensation. Additionally, the city said it has taken action to protect the health of police staff.

The dispute became public after the city on April 29 issued a press release to address unfounded assertions and statements by the police union.

James Tignanelli, president of the Police Officers Association of Michigan, which represents about 50 officers in Saginaw, said the requests by the union are reasonable.

Were trying to do the right thing here. This was not intended to be confrontational... These guys are human beings and the jobs tough enough," Tignanelli said.

The union feels the changes it asked for will help prepare the department for the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Detective Sgt. Matthew Gerow said one of the departments COVID-19 positive detectives has returned to work and one is still hospitalized. On Monday, May 4, a civilian employee who resides in Bay City was diagnosed despite showing no symptoms and is now quarantined. The department is looking into if any other staff could have been exposed, but no one else has been quarantined, Gerow said.

Officer safety is pressing during the pandemic, particularly in light of the diagnoses, Tignanelli said.

Theres a lot of anxiety, Tignanelli said. If somebody at the next desk was seriously ill with the virus, you cant help but think about it.

Back and forth

The Saginaw Police Officers Association board attended a conference call with Tignanelli, Saginaw Police Chief Robert Ruth and others on April 17, to discuss a letter the union sent to Ruth, documents show. A written response from Ruth and city officials sent after the call outlines the unions requests. Tignanelli provided the written response and the follow-up from the union to MLive.

The unions requests were for:

Altered work schedules to limit department staff exposure.

Laptops in detectives vehicles to perform work theyd otherwise need to do at the station.

Hazard pay to compensate for the burdens and stresses that come with working during the pandemic.

Detectives can investigate dozens of cases at a time and must return to the station to type up their reports, Tignanelli said. Having work laptops in their cars, similar to how patrol vehicles are outfitted, would would allow them to complete paperwork in the field and limit physical contact with others, he said.

The request for laptops was denied, with the city arguing there is no evidence working remotely instead of at the station is more efficient. In its response, the city said those concerned about social distancing are offered alternate work places, such as currently vacant city offices. The city has also provided personal protective equipment to staff, regularly sanitizes its workplace and performs daily wellness checks on officers, according to the response.

Departments across the state, including Saginaw County and Township police, have moved to a seven days on, seven days off work schedule, Tignanelli said. The intention is to limit exposure to employees and prevent an outbreak in the department from spreading beyond a shift. The union asked the city of Saginaw to consider doing the same.

The city stated Ruth reviewed plans for schedule changes and determined officer fatigue from working seven straight 12-hour shifts could be a safety concern for the officers and citizens.

The citys response also disputes that the proposed schedule would create any less exposure and argues that what works for one department doesnt work for all of them.

In response to a request for hazard pay, the city said an extra 40 hours of paid time off is being given to city employees and the ability to earn up to 80 extra hours through working regular shifts.

The citys response was discouraging, Tignanelli said, leading to a second letter in which the union disputes the citys arguments on the work schedule and laptop requests. The union says its argument for laptops was misrepresented.

The citys press release, issued publicly to address unfounded assertions and statements made by members of the union, mostly restates the arguments the city made in the conference call response.

As Chief, I have to make very tough decisions that are not popular with everyone, Ruth states in the release. He could not be reached for additional comment.

The department is now in the same position it was before the discussions began in April, Tignanelli said.

We spent literally weeks trying to convince him and weve lost a lot of time here, Tignanelli said.

The dispute comes as the union is bargaining for a new contract for the officers, but the disagreement is not related to contract negotiations, Tignanelli said.

Weve been bargaining a contract that expired in the middle of last year, obviously we didnt know anything about safety concerns that were going to occur in the middle of March 2020," Tignanelli said.

Read more:

Police called for large gathering of cars outside funeral home in Bay County

Libraries look to curbside service, book quarantine for eventual reopening in Bay and Saginaw counties

Michigan surpasses 1.3M unemployment claims since coronavirus crisis began
National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on Saturday carried out a complete operational review of the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir and told top army commanders and paramilitary forces to tighten the counter-infiltration grid along the Line of Control with Pakistan, and the counter-insurgency grid in the Kashmir valley.

The high-level meeting was convened against the backdrop of strong military activity in north Kashmirs Handwara, Baramulla and Sopore triangle that had cost lives of six soldiers including a colonel-rank officer. It is also here that the security forces eliminated a top Lashkar terrorist Haider.

Then, there is already an intelligence alert about plans by terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed to carry out simultaneous suicide attacks at army and paramiliary bases on Monday, May 11.

Also read: NSA Ajit Doval packs in 3 blunt messages to Pak in daily PoK weather forecast

Top government officials told Hindustan Times that NSA Doval also took note of the increased air activity by Pakistan Air Force along Indias western border that coincided with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, and later the Foreign Office in Islamabads statement that alleged India was looking for a pretext for a false flag operation targeting Pakistan.

Officials said there was consensus that Imran Khan governments effort to distance itself from the terrorists it supports and infiltration was a pre-emptive move and indicated a renewed push from Pakistani terror launch pads over the next few weeks.

The meeting noted the rise in infiltration and how Pakistan was funding newly-created outfits such as The Resistance Front or the JK Pir Panjal Peace Forum to claim that terrorism in the Kashmir valley was indigenous and not sponsored by Pakistan.

From Islamabads perspective, an official said, placing the Pakistan Air Force on high alert was also designed to further Imran Khans narrative that asks the international community to intervene lest there is a confrontation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

Also read: Pak launches terrors new face in Kashmir, Imran Khan follows up on Twitter

Doval, who spent hours listening to the assessment of top security officials, told them that the counter-infiltration grid needed to be strengthened so that no terrorist launched by Pakistan could get into the valley unchallenged.

Security forces had been able to block many infiltration attempts in April. But according to one assessment by intelligence agencies, nearly 25-30 had still slipped in.

The NSA also told officials to step up the engagement with terrorists in the Kashmir valley.

The five-hour-long meeting was attended by Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane, Intelligence Bureau director Arvinda Kumar, Research and Analysis Wing chief Samant Kumar Goel, Border Security Force director general SS Deswal, Central Reserve Police Force chief AK Maheshwari.

Northern Army Commander Lt Gen YK Joshi, and general officer commanding of the armys Srinagar-headquartered 15 corps Lt Gen BS Raju and the Nagrota-based 16 corps commander Lt Gen Harsha Gupta and Jammu and Kashmir police chief Dilbag Singh had also flown into the national capital for the high-level review.

NSA Ajit Doval later led a select group of top officers to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah who was briefed about the deliberations and their findings.

Also read: Riyaz Naikoo setback upsets Syed Salahuddin, says the spark will spread in region

A senior counter-terror official told Hindustan Times that NSA Dovals meeting extensively analysed the infiltration routes that had been used by terrorists from Pakistan and suggested some tweaks at the ground level that could help ensure that the infiltrating terrorists were detected.

Intelligence agencies have underscored that border guarding forces should be prepared for a renewed push from terror launch pads that had been activated in Pakistan-occupied Kashmirs Dudhnial, Sharda and Athmuqam across the Keran sector on this side of the LOC.

We also took note of the frequent ceasefire violations by Pakistan, often to distract the forces while terrorists infiltrate, a top government official said. According to information available with the security forces, over 400 terrorists affiliated to different Pakistan-based terror groups ranging from Jaish to the Lashkar-e-Taiba could be expected to try to enter the country over the next few months to raise the presence of terrorists in the valley.

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Dentistry is back. Kind of.

Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said during her daily COVID-19 news briefing Friday that she is releasing guidance that would permit some non-emergency dental practice to resume statewide - with one big caveat:

Levine said the new orders state that dentists must provide personal protective equipment to all participating staff in accordance with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Centers for Disease Control infection prevention guidelines, and the emphasis is to be on procedures that dont produce heavy spray from a patients mouth.

Most dentists in the state have been providing care for dental emergencies only since mid-March, as Gov. Tom Wolf started ordering business closures to try to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Under the new guidance, a Health Department spokesman said Friday afternoon, practices could be expanded to cover things like orthodontic work or root canals, but not routine cleanings.

Levine said she is authorizing the changes now because, even though there is still no data available to assess the risk of COVID-19 transmission during dental procedures, there is a better understanding of which procedures have increased risk of transmission and how to utilize personal protective equipment to reduce the risk."

The Pennsylvania Dental Association issued a statement Friday that, in essence, said it was still reviewing the changes.

Obviously, any easing of the prior DOH restrictions that limited dentistry in Pennsylvania to only emergent/urgent procedures is a welcome step in restoring access to care and easing the burden on dental practices brought on by the pandemic, " the association said.

However, the Pennsylvania Dental Association has concerns about the new guidance and is acting swiftly to delineate them clearly and proceed accordingly.

There are some limits.

For example, the new rules state procedures that create a visible spray that contain large particle droplets of water should only be performed as a last resort and when clinically necessary, and only if proper PPE, per OSHA guidance, is available for all dental care practitioners including dental hygienists.

In addition, the department noted that it is not currently prioritizing dental practices for distribution of face masks, shields and other protective equipment, so dental practices are own their own to provide that to employees.

The state dental association voiced disappointment with decision, too, but said it is hopeful that ongoing dialogue with the state will lead to some further movement on that issue, "especially given that dentistry is reportedly now No. 4 on the Federal Emergency Management Agency priority list for PPE.

There are some important conditions for patients, too.

The Health Department wants all patients screened for symptoms of COVID-19 like having a cough or a temperature over 100.4 degrees before arriving at the practice, and social distancing should be maintained while in the practice. Patients should wash or sanitize their hands frequently and wear a mask when not undergoing treatment.

Finally, Levine asked that tele-dentistry continue when possible as patients may be able to be treated virtually with antibiotics and pain medication.

Levine said the opening up of the dental rules is designed to allow access to this important health care while ensuring that the patient and the dental team - the entire dental team - are protected while performing the treatment.

The guidance states that ultimately it will be up to each dentist to determine whether, and how extensively, to pick up his or her practice based on their understanding of the incidence of COVID-19 cases in their community, the needs of their patients and staff, and the availability of necessary supplies.

"This isnt a return to routine dentistry, but a way to ensure that patients who need care can obtain it safely, for both the patient and the entire dental team,the secretary said.
Outer Banks is the latest binge-worthy teen drama on Netflix. Discover how actor Madelyn Cline influenced her role of Sarah Cameron in season 1 of the series.

Madelyn Cline | Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix

Who is Madelyn Cline?

Cline plays a Kook  someone of wealth and privilege  named Sarah Cameron on the Netflix series Outer Banks. Unlike her fellow Kooks, Sarah doesnt enjoy being classified as one of the rich kids. Instead of doing what society believes she is supposed to, Sarah Cameron would much rather break the rules her community has imposed on her.

During the first season of Outer Banks, Sarah Cameron falls in love with a Pogue, John B (Chase Stokes), who is on a mission to find the Royal Merchant Gold his father was trying to track down. At the conclusion of season 1, John B and Sarah sail off together into the middle of a tropical depression. Miraculously, the two survive and are picked up by a larger ship thats willing to take them to the Bahamas.

Madelyn Cline knew Sarah Cameron would chose John B over anything

When Outer Banks writers asked Cline whether she thought her character would choose surfer hunk John B or her family, Cline said John B. I remember thinking on it and telling [the writers], I wholeheartedly believe Sarah is 100% absolutely head over heels for John B., and I think she absolutely would get on that boat with him,' Cline explained to Glamour.

During the first season, John B made a comment to Sarah Cameron about her being all he had. At the end of season 1, John B is all Sarah Cameron feels that she has, according to Cline. [Sarahs] world just crumbled around her, so its a no-brainer that she would have gotten on that boat with him and risked everything, Cline said.

Though it was evident at the beginning of Outer Banks Season 1 that Sarah held her father in high regard, when Sarah learns the truth about her fathers tie to John Bs fathers death, that relationship crumbles. With family, you never quite give up on them, Cline explained. Deep down, theyre still your blood. You still love them, even though theyve done something immeasurably wrong. I dont know if their relationship would ever be the same, but I would really love to see Sarah confront Ward and see what happens.

What Madelyn Cline thinks Sarah Cameron has in store for season 2

While the second season of Outer Banks has yet to be confirmed, showrunner Jonas Pate told USA Today that he has been writing. It turns out being quarantined and writing is practically the same, Pate joked. With all the turmoil over the first season, from the loss of his father to his friends thinking he is dead, there are just so many variables to look at from a thousand-foot overview.

As for what happens to John B and Sarah Cameron, if and when a second season is greenlit, Cline has some thoughts. In my mind, what I see is this Blue Lagoon or Castaway scenario where they get to the Bahamas and have the gold bars, and they live in this really romantic, Bonnie and Clydetype Blue Lagoon world, she fantasized. Theyre just in this honeymoon phase of Weve run away from home, were in love, were in this beautiful place, and there are no problems. I would really love to see everything theyve been running from catch up to them.

Like Cline, Outer Banks fans are eager for a season 2! Stay tuned to Showbiz Cheat Sheet for the latest Outer Banks updates.

Related: Outer Banks: Why They Didnt Show That Intimate Scene Between Sarah Cameron and John B
Even in an age of relative sexual liberation, Nicki Minajs Anaconda courted some controversy. Music critics debated whether or not the song empowered women and promoted body positivity. At the same time, many fans just took it as a fun song about the posterior, akin to Queens Fat Bottomed Girls or the Black Eyed Peas My Humps.

Some critics of the song just preferred not to listen to it. On the other hand, the town of Nahariya, Israel, banned it from a series of events. They accused the song of promoting racism and homophobia. Interestingly, their anger towards the song directly contradicts Minajs reasons for writing it.

Nicki Minaj in a pink outfit | Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

The Israeli city which called Anaconda racist, sexist, and homophobic

Nahayira is a coastal city near Israels Lebanese border. For several years, it held a series of events called Nahariya Village which includes concerts, sporting events, dance parties, and other activities for teenagers. Haaretz reports the city holds the events to enable the citys younger generation to fill their lots of free time over the summer [by partaking in] a variety of activities and shows under the supervision of counselors and parents.

Nahariya Village sounds wholesome enough. Consequently, it appears they wanted music at the event to live up to this wholesomeness. In 2015, the city banned Anaconda from Nahariya Village. According to The Forward, the municipality alleges the song promotes a culture of rape [and the] humiliation of women. The city also felt the song is full of racist words, insults, sexism, and homophobia.

Anaconda by Nicki Minaj

Thats quite a list of charges! Most people would understand banning a risque song like Anaconda from an event if you want to keep things PG. However, many fans were surprised to learn the song was being referred to as racist and homophobic. The track actually doesnt mention LGBTQ people in any way.

Other pop hits banned in Nahariya city

Minajs Anaconda was not the only song the city of Nahariya banned from Nahariya Village. Another song banned from the events was Worth It by Fifth Harmony. The city decried Worth It for supposedly promoting prostitution even though there is nothing in the lyrics of the song about prostitution. It seems the city had a knack for interpreting songs in somewhat unconventional ways.

Worth It by Fifth Harmony feat. Kid Ink

In addition, other songs banned from Nahariya Village include the Jason Derulo/Snoop Dogg collaboration Wiggle and Robin Thickes highly controversial hit Blurred Lines. Unlike Anaconda, Blurred Lines was widely interpreted as promoting rape culture. It seems the city of Nahariya was very uncomfortable with the pop and rap music of the mid-2010s.

Nicki Minajs intent when writing Anaconda

Interestingly, the reaction to Anaconda in Nahariya stands in contrast to Minajs intent when writing the song. According to NME, Minaj said she wanted Anaconda to have a melody so great people would go along with [it] regardless of whether they understood its lyrics or not. The city of Nahariya had a very negative reaction to the song in spite of its catchy melody. To some, Anaconda is an affront to human decency but to others, its a quintessential club jam.

How to get help: In the U.S., call the RAINN National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 to connect with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area.

Also see: What Did the Rapper Who Inspired Anaconda Think of Nicki Minaj?
We have already initiated outreach to affected workers, Huffman said. Our rapid response teams continue to work with employers across the state who have been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis with a goal of developing a plan to meet the needs of all workers who have been laid off or furloughed so that they can rejoin the Illinois workforce.
By PTI

JODHPUR: Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Saturday lashed out at the Rajasthan government, saying it gave politics precedence over people's health and failed to contain the coronavirus spread.

The Jodhpur MP said asked the state Congress government to introspect over deficiencies in dealing with the situation in his constituency, which is also the hometown of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

"Had there been no deficiencies, the government would not have failed in tackling coronavirus in Jaipur and Jodhpur," said Shekhawat.

He alleged that the state government gave 'priority to politics over people's health' due to which the condition 'worsened' in the state, especially Jodhpur.

In a statement, Shekhawat also accused Gehlot of not taking 'serious steps' to contain coronavirus cases, saying the chief minister was indulging in 'politics of appeasement'.

Referring to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's claim that the Centre did not release funds for the state, Shekhawat said the adequate budget has been released but the Rajasthan government has not utilized it properly.

The minister said it was unfortunate the district administration and police were not responding to his calls.

Responding to the allegations, state Congress spokesperson Ajay Trivedi said the minister was trying to divert people's attention and questioned the BJP leader's 'absence' from his constituency.

"Not just as an MP, but also as a cabinet minister of the Union government, he has a bigger responsibility. But instead of doing something constructive in such difficult times, he engaging in petty politics" said Trivedi.
'Inhuman' comments about Shah's health 'extremely condemnable': Nadda

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, May 09: BJP president J P Nadda said on Saturday that making "inhuman" comments about the health of Home Minister Amit Shah is "extremely condemnable".

"Making inhuman comments about the health of Home Minister Amit Shah is extremely condemnable. Spreading such misleading remarks about anyone's health shows the mindset of people doing so. I strongly condemn it and pray to God to grant them good sense," Nadda said in a tweet.

His tweet came after Shah, also Nadda's predecessor as the BJP president, asserted in a statement that he is "totally healthy" and rejected rumours being spread about his ill health on social media.
Mom being off-limits this year turns out to be very good for the Mothers Day flower business.

Its hard to squeeze in a visit, or to squeeze Mom, when you must stay 6 feet away. That could be why some florists are seeing a 40% increase in flower deliveries.

This is the busiest Mothers Day ever, said Fred Tabar, proprietor of Fillmore Florist in San Francisco. Unbelievable. We had to stop taking orders for Mothers Day on Thursday.

A $75 mixed bouquet, he said, still comes with three roses, four snapdragons and a hydrangea. This year it also comes with disinfectant.

The driver will be equipped with gloves, wet Clorox wipes and a mask, says the shops website. Youll be happy to know the driver will wipe the vase of flowers with Clorox wet wipes from top to bottom. Every square inch of the outside of the vase will be wiped.

Moms have always had a thing for cleanliness, Tabar said, and never more so than now.

Paul Chinn / The Chronicle

Tabar opened his shop six days ago after being closed for six weeks. The timing, he said, could not have been better.

Veteran San Francisco florist Harold Hoogasian said people are ordering more elaborate bouquets for Mom than ever. Instead of a dozen roses, the typical order this year from his Seventh Street shop is a dozen and a half or more.

Maybe its because everyone got that $1,200 check, he said. I think it loosened up everyones pocketbooks. I dont know. But Im not complaining.

A mothers love, he said, has been around longer than the coronavirus and will be here after the pandemic is gone. Flowers likewise.

At difficult times, flowers help reduce the stress hormones, Hoogasian said. This has been proved scientifically.

Providing, he said, you not grab the roses by the thorns.

Thorns are part of roses, he said. Most desirable things in life have some obstacles connected to them.

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.

National websites said honoring Mom is still possible, but the clock is ticking, sluggard.

You have less than three hours! said the Just Flowers website at midmorning on Mothers Day eve. Time is running out!

The 1-800-Flowers website was offering bouquets named especially for the woman of the day  there were a Mothers Embrace bouquet ($87), a Fields of Europe for Mom bouquet ($77) and a Mothers Hug bouquet or an Amazing Mom bouquet ($100 each).

And some no-nonsense wisdom on why a kid ought to send one.

Flowers symbolize fertility, the site advised children, who, by definition, had been on the receiving end of that particular state of affairs. Who better to represent that than our own mothers?

Steve Rubenstein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SteveRubeSF
Elizabeth Morano closes her eyes and sees bodies stacked on top of one another.

Was my mother one of them? she wonders. Did she suffer?

She has no answers  only haunting images and unreturned phone calls from those in charge of the Sussex County nursing home that was caring for 83-year-old Elizabeth Iannuzzelli.

Every single time I hear COVID-19 or if they mention anything about a nursing home, the image pops right into my head, said Morano, her voice full of anguish as she spoke to NJ Advance Media from her home in Wayne. "Its a horrible feeling.

Morano, 56, is desperate to know whether her mother was among the 17 corpses found last month piled in a makeshift morgue inside the Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation Center, where Iannuzzelli had lived for roughly five years.

But weeks later, all Morano knows is Iannuzzelli, a nonverbal dementia patient, died at the facility after contracting the coronavirus in early April.

The repeated phone calls she and her siblings made to the nursing home in the month since their mother died were never returned, she says.

When Morano received the call on April 14 from an Andover staff member informing her of Iannuzzellis passing, she was heartbroken. However, the grief was at least tangible. She understood death from a disease.

I thought I had peace with this whole situation, Morano said.

But the discovery of 17 bodies inexplicably stored in a makeshift morgue within the facility  first revealed in media reports on April 15  that was something else. Something she couldnt understand.

As soon as I saw that article, all I kept thinking was, Oh my goodness. My mother is in the middle of this chaos," Morano said. "And I dont know how she was handled and treated and what they were telling me was the truth or not.

Morano has reached out to the nursing home for answers. Shes still waiting.

To date, news reports have been her primary source of information. A chance encounter April 16 at Andover between a funeral home worker and one of Moranos brothers  who went seeking information  revealed their mothers body had ended up in a refrigerated truck procured after the 17 corpses were discovered.

Thats all they know.

After weeks of frustration and national headlines, Morano and her three siblings gave up trying to obtain an explanation from the nursing home. The family has retained an attorney who plans to file a lawsuit against the facility alleging wrongful death, professional malpractice and mishandling of a corpse.

As of the present day, none of the family members have had any communication from anyone at Andover or any representative on their behalf to try and answer any of these unanswered questions, said Paul da Costa, a Hackensack-based attorney representing the family.

The goal is simple: to determine if Iannuzzelli was "handled with the dignity and respect that she obviously deserved in her last moments of life, da Costa said.

Since the coronavirus crisis began, at least 66 residents of Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation Center have died from the virus  the highest COVID-related death rate among all New Jersey nursing homes, according to reports.

The nursing home, one of the lowest-rated in the nation by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, consists of Andover I on one side of the street, and Andover II  where Iannuzzelli was one of 53 deaths  on the other. Andover II is larger, made up of 543 beds and housing dementia and Alzheimers disease patients and residents with mental health issues.

Morano and her siblings remain in a limbo of anguish, tortured by the thought their mother may have suffered needlessly. She is not even convinced Iannuzzelli died the same day she received the phone call informing her she had passed.

I thought I had the answers, and now I only have questions, she said.

Elizabeth Iannuzzelli, 83, died at the Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation Center II, in Andover, in April after contracting COVID-19 at the facility, where she lived for years. The circumstances of her death have left her children in aguish. They remain desperate for answers.

A brief call

The letters arrived the same day.

The timing puzzled Morano, since they were dated four days apart.

She went to her mailbox on the morning of April 10 and discovered two letters from the Andover facility  one dated April 2 and the other April 6.

In her dining room, she read the first: Several residents had contracted the coronavirus.

She then opened the second: Her mother was among them. She was being placed in a contained unit in the facility.

Due to the limitations of the healthcare system in place and considering that community-based hospitals in North Jersey are overwhelmed, there is very minimal chance of getting any more care in the hospital," read the letter dated April 6.

I was shocked, Morano said.

She made daily calls to the facility for updates and was told her mothers condition had not changed.

We had to go get the information rather than it coming to us, Morano said.

On the morning of April 14, her phone rang. The call was brief. A nurse said her mother had passed.

"I went silent," Morano said. "I said, 'Thank you.'"

She hung up in a daze, trying to wrap her head around the news. She knew her mother had been declining, but still, the news was painfully final.

When it happens, its a whole different feeling," said Morano, who hadnt visited her mother in a few years, too upset to see her once the dementia had progressed. Its a whole different atmosphere. Its just pure sadness.

Morano thought of her mothers humor, her resolve and the obstacles she faced coming to the U.S. at age 24 from Glasgow, Scotland. Iannuzzelli immediately found a job as a nanny, and within a year, she married Moranos father. In less than a decade, she became a citizen.

Everybody who met her loved her  she had a Scottish accent that everyone noticed except for us because I think we were so used to it, Morano said with a slight laugh.

People called Iannuzzelli Aunt Betty." Her love for crocheting resulted in countless blankets for everyone she knew. The blankets live on in the family today.

"My niece still sleeps with hers," Morano said.

But any comfort the family found was short-lived.

Details about what was happening inside the Andover facility soon began to leak out.

17 bodies

The request immediately raised alarm bells.

Over Easter weekend, the nursing home asked authorities for 25 body bags.

Police arrived in the early morning hours of Easter Sunday, April 12, and found five bodies stored in a room, according to Andover Police Chief Eric Danielson.

Police then received an anonymous tip the next day about a body reportedly being loaded into a shed on the property. When officers returned, they found no corpses in the shed, but an additional 12 bodies were stored in the building, according to Danielson.

News reports would reveal those 17 bodies had been discovered in a makeshift morgue within the facility. It was those reports that would form the horrific images that persist in Moranos head.

I looked at the picture and I said, That looks like Andover, she recalled of one news report.

She gazed at the image. There it was, the two-story brick complex with a red awning at the entrance.

Morano was outraged.

We dont know what was going on over there, she said.

The nursing home will not address whether Iannuzzelli was among the 17 corpses in the temporary morgue.

Due to patient privacy, we are unable to discuss individual patient details, Chaim Mutty Scheinbaum, owner and operator of Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation, said in a statement sent through an attorney representing the facility.

The nursing home has retained former state Attorney General Christopher Porrino.

The facility works to be in regular communication with a residents family, if accessible, when the resident becomes ill, Scheinbaum said in the statement.

We also communicate with concerned family members so they can talk with and hear the voices of their loved one. As soon as a patient passes, we call the family using the phone number on file.

Scheinbaum added: At Andover, we consider our residents to be part of our family and treat them with the utmost respect and care.

This week, federal regulators slapped the nursing home with $220,235 in fines and penalties, finding failures in its infection control practices and lapses in patient care. But for Morano and her family, that does nothing to provide answers or rid the horrific images from their heads.

They just want to know what happened in those days leading up to Iannuzzellis death. And they want to know if she was among the bodies found in the makeshift morgue.

I think there would be more closure because I was at peace  and that whole feeling of peace was betrayed when I read the article, said Morano, whose mother was eventually cremated.

Morano knows there are the other families "going through what were going through, she said.

Families left without answers.

Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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The oil industry's painful retrenchment amid the collapse in demand and prices is bleeding into Beltway political battles over pandemic response  and probably into the 2020 election.

Driving the news: Sen. Elizabeth Warren is bashing the brewing Trump administration plan to help distressed U.S. producers, warning against financial aid she says would sap resources better spent elsewhere.

Her open letter yesterday to the Treasury Department also says it would be inappropriate in light of the industry's emissions and posture on climate policy.

On the same day of Warren's letter, President Trump's campaign used Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's visit to the White House to tout the president's vows to aid the sector, highlighting this recent Abbott tweet in a press release.

Why it matters: Warren is among the highest profile Democratic lawmakers and a potential VP pick for White House hopeful Joe Biden.

But she's hardly the only vocal Democrat on oil policy during the pandemic.

A number of House and Senate Democrats are floating a messaging bill that would close off a bunch of financial aid avenues for the sector.

The big picture: The Beltway tension over aid shows how the coronavirus pandemic has upended the role of oil in political battles over energy and climate.

Heading into the election cycle, President Trump was fond of touting the domestic boom, which has been unfolding over a decade and transformed the U.S. into the world's largest producer (though a number of companies were financially stressed even before COVID-19).

His promotion of U.S. "energy dominance" contrasted with the Democratic vows to thwart new oil-and-gas development and implement tough climate policies.

Why you'll hear about this again: NYT's Lisa Friedman reports that the pandemic has entered political battles over energy and climate in a way that goes beyond the oil sector's upheaval.

The piece explores how Republicans and conservative groups are seeking to use the economic crisis as leverage against Democratic climate proposals.

"The Republicans line of attack is going to be that the Democrats are trying to create a massive Green New Deal thats going to create a lot of spending at a time when we just cant afford that," veteran GOP operative Ron Bonjean tells the paper.

What we're watching: How and whether Biden addresses the topic of the oil industry's change in fortunes due to the pandemic.

Biden's platform crafted before the pandemic already calls for ending new leasing on federal lands and waters, but I'm not aware of him specifically discussing the sector's financial woes.

His campaign did not provide comment yesterday when asked about Warren's letter.

What we don't know: It's not clear what forms of aid the administration is planning to offer.

Trump last month tasked the Treasury and Energy departments to construct an industry-specific financial aid plan, but it has not yet been unveiled.

The Fed has expanded access to its Main Street Lending Program in a way that should allow more oil companies to qualify, but Dallas Fed president Robert Kaplan cautions that it's not meant for deeply distressed firms.

Go deeper: A world locked down and drowning in oil
Model Nicole Warne has welcomed a baby girl with husband Luke Shadbolt.

The 30-year-old shared the news on Instagram on Friday, revealing that the pair have named their daughter Sakura Peach.

The fashion blogger and social media sensation shared a sweet image of herself just before giving birth and a picture of herself cradling her girl, saying she and Luke have been in a 'little love bubble.'

'We've been in a little love bubble': On Friday, model Nicole Warne announced the birth of her daughter with husband Luke Shadbolt and revealed the tiny tot's unique name

Nicole said that she and Luke are calling their daughter 'Suki' for short, and welcomed her last Tuesday.

'Then and now: what a difference those hours can make,' Nicole captioned the Instagram post.

'Welcoming our little Sakura Peach Shadbolt, but better known as Suki to all of her friends, who finally decided to join us earth-side a little late but safe and sound. Born last Tuesday on the 28.04.20.'

Baby joy! The 30-year-old shared the news on Instagram on Friday, revealing that the pair have named their daughter Sakura Peach. Nicole and Luke are pictured together

Nicole went on to thank hospital staff for their help during labour.

'Luke and I have been living in our little love bubble with her ever since, feeling protected within the walls of our local hospital with guidance from our amazing obstetrician and selfless midwives I will be eternally grateful for, where time seems to have stopped and COVID-19 feels like a distant memory.'

She sweetly added: 'We can't believe how familiar she feels alreadyit's like she's been with us all along. This, right here, is what matters the most.'

'Eternally grateful': Nicole went on to thank hospital staff for their help during labour

In January amid the Australian bushfire crisis, Nicole revealed that she was expecting her first child and said she was 25 weeks along.

She said in an emotional Instagram post at the time: 'It feels strange to be sharing this amidst the chaos and despair in Australia.'

She continued: 'But every day you have given me glimmers of light and so much love that I can no longer hide it. Every day brings new hope, and tomorrow is another day closer to meeting you, little one.'

'It feels strange to be sharing this': In January amid the Australian bushfire crisis, Nicole revealed that she was expecting her first child and said she was 25 weeks along

Discussing her pregnancy with InStyle, Nicole said the couple had waited to announce the news to 'keep it intimate' and 'savour that moment' for as long as possible.

She added: 'Also, because I'm adopted and don't know about my genetic background, I feared something was going to go wrong, so I had an extra layer of stress. But everything is fine and I've been very lucky so far.'

Nicole and Luke married at Rippon Hall in Lake Wanaka, New Zealand, in 2018.
Police have arrested a couple for allegedly snatching mobile phones from people in central Delhi, officials said on Saturday.

Following reports about a couple on white scooter snatching mobile phones, Arjun (22) and Vaishali Kaushal (20) were arrested near Railway Colony, Kishanganj, they said.

The woman riding pillion on the scooter used to snatch the mobile phones from people, a senior police officer said.

Arjun had been involved in 31 cases. Three months ago, he married Vaishali, a tattoo artist, and both are addicted to drugs, police said.

Vaishali had also allegedly snatched the mobile phone of a jewellery showroom security guard in Karol Bagh, they added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Greater Philadelphia YMCA chief executive Shaun Elliott says the nonprofit that serves a quarter of a million people could face an "existential" crisis if branches do not begin reopening by the fall. More than 4,000 Y employees are without jobs since the COVID pandemic. Read more

There was silver lining talk at first. The dark cloud being the fact that 4,400 Greater Philadelphia YMCA employees have been unemployed since the COVID-19 pandemic closed branches two months ago that had served a quarter of a million people in Southeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey.

Senior citizens have been dialing into YMCA-led Zoom workouts to break their home-bound isolation. Other Zoom classes have caught on with gym rats left stranded by the coronavirus closures. And an emergency state lockdown waiver in Pennsylvania has allowed a smattering of child care for life-sustaining workers at otherwise shuttered Christian Street, Willow Grove, Rocky Run, Haverford, Northeast Philadelphia, and Phoenixville branches.

We didnt know we could do the things we are doing now two months ago, CEO Shaun Elliott said a few days ago when I asked how things were going for the YMCA during this terrible time.

But when our talk shifted to money and the extraordinary logistics of one day reopening community centers that embody the polar opposite of social distancing, that silver bled into gray.

The YMCA, Elliott said, has made financial adjustments. With help from its bankers and vendors, it can limp into 2021. But real worry about its survival will take hold months before that.

If were not open and up and running by the fall, he said, itll be an existential issue.

The question is, how do you reopen the YMCA at a time of social distancing? Especially an organization that rebuilt itself in recent years to very specifically operate with very high numbers of members.

Before the coronavirus, our local offshoot of the 175-year-old London-founded institution had worked hard to offload old branches and build newer, fewer ones, to become a high-volume, high-efficiency operation.

By packing more members into fewer branches, the hope was to lessen the need for charitable giving. You generate enough cash from members, pay less for overhead with fewer buildings, and suddenly theres enough money also to offer subsidies to low-income members across the network.

In a global pandemic without a vaccine or treatment for lethal and highly contagious COVID-19, you can see the YMCAs challenge moving forward.

Workout rooms full of sweaty mats, overcrowded swimming pool decks, full day camps with children, and treadmills six inches apart are not going to cut it if and when Govs. Tom Wolf and Phil Murphy allow reopenings in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

The Y is mapping out possibilities.

In the case of day camp well be operating in a model of one staff per nine, no more than 10 people in a group, Elliott said. Well keep each group isolated from the other group. For swim lessons, the pool is easier to manage than the deck. The good news is chlorine kills the virus. The challenge will be keeping people socially distant on the deck.

All of this and with a cash crunch, too.

The YMCA has secured a six-month deferment on debt payments from its banks. Federal and state coronavirus rescue measures also allowed for help to cover the nonprofits share of costly unemployment insurance payouts. All but about 80 of its employees are laid off or furloughed. The CEO is taking no salary; his support staff, pay cuts.

Even so, the $100 million organization is burning through cash.

Before stay-home orders that shut down all but life-sustaining businesses in March, the YMCA had 190,000 members. It served an additional 30,000 to 40,000 people with day camp, child-care centers, after-school programs, and other community programs at 16 branches, 100 after-school locations, 13 full-day child care centers, and several dozen other locations.

With only a small percentage of members still paying dues, the YMCA is taking in just $500,000 a month while still paying out $4.5 million in monthly expenses, Elliott said.

Even the emergency child-care program for frontline workers, begun six weeks ago, is not paying for itself.

The key question for when they do reopen is how to do so safely. And whether it will be at a high enough capacity to bring back all the staff they previously had.

The child-care program has taught them how to do some COVID basics: Take temperatures, question people, and register them upon entrance and exit. The YMCA has bought hundreds of thermometers for opening day everywhere.

When we are ready to reopen, even if we talk about summer day camp which may take the form of child care for many parents as they try to go back to work, weve already got the protocols, he said. Weve been working with the CDC, American Camping Association, and the public health unit in Philadelphia. ... We will screen everybody.

They will also be spacing out equipment -- something tricky for its largest five branches by membership, in descending order: Haverford (27,000), Rocky Run, Spring Valley, Willow Grove, and Phoenixville (15,000).

Theres also a stash of special disinfecting equipment now on hand.

We can fog a building now in five hours, he said. After hours, we can go into a building and deep-clean it using a fogging machine, in addition to typical cleaning methods.

All of this, of course, is brand new. But untested. And time is ticking while cash burns and the lights stay out.

Im confident in our ability to adapt, Elliott added. Having said that, Id be silly not to be worried.
The premature relaxation of measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic will quickly lead to new infections and deaths. Nevertheless, almost all federal states have decided to gradually resume school operations.

The reason is not scientific knowledge, but rather pressure from industry: to force workers back into production, schools must also be reopened.

At present, all the leading state politicians are soothingly promising that the relaxation would be carried out responsibly and that hygiene and distance rules would be observed. For example, Thuringias state premier Bodo Ramelow (Left Party) declared on Wednesday, Our proviso is: get back to everyday life, but if there were another major outbreak, Thuringia is well prepared to react.

Meanwhile, enormous anger and concern is proliferating among those affected because the schools are being misused as experimental laboratories and that children, teachers and parents are being used as test subjects in the interest of profits. A survey conducted by the news programme Hessenschau on Thursday showed that despite the non-stop propaganda, almost 41 percent thought the relaxation of the lockdown was too early, and only 18 percent thought it was right.

Thousands of teachers are returning with extreme reluctance to schools, where there are serious shortcomings in the implementation of hygiene and protective regulations. The state education ministries are forcing them back to teaching, even against their will. At the same time, they are returning to schools where neglect, wage dumping and lack of staff had already led to strikes and protests before the pandemic.

In Hesse, schools began teaching again as early as April 27. This takes place under staggering conditions. Even teachers over 60 can teach locally, and those who are younger but belong to a risk group must prove this by producing a medical certificate, even if they are severely disabled. Daily cleaning has to be done in the evenings by (mostly private) cleaning companies, which have to clean whole schools with few personnel under great time pressure and for low wages.

In Frankfurt am Main, a teachers urgent lawsuit was rejected. Referencing the fact that there was no adequate hygiene plan and no adequate occupational health and safety plan at her Frankfurt elementary school, she had filed a legal complaint against being compulsorily sent back to work, something she cannot avoid as a civil servant.

Her application was rejected because she could not expect  to encounter zero risk at the school with a hygiene plan that is polished down to the last detail. The judges did not even consider it necessary to examine the conditions at the school in question in a local visit.

This was the second such case in just a few days. Shortly before, the Giessen Administrative Court also rejected the urgent legal application of the deputy headmistress of a primary school in the district of Marburg Biedenkopf. She had demanded that an occupational health and safety inspection by a medical or virologic specialist take place before classes could begin, as the coronavirus pandemic posed incalculable health risks. The judges hastily dismissed the case.

Irresponsible was the response of German and history teacher Frederik, in an interview with the World Socialist Web Site. These teachers are basically and absolutely right, said the educator, who teaches at a secondary school in the Gross-Gerau district. Everyone who works at a state school can confirm that the hygiene plans cannot realistically be implemented.

Frederik also reported that the oldest students had been back in school since April 27 to prepare for their final exams. This was almost a third out of a total of 600 pupils, so that each class could always be divided into two adjacent rooms. But what will happen when more children return was completely uncertain. The more children who come, the less likely it is that the rules will be observed, he said.

Several scientists have confirmed this assessment.

On the Hessenschau, Frankfurt virologist Martin Stumer explained that the focused loosening of the rules went too far for him. We are in danger of losing control: Thats exactly what the virus needs.

Virologist Christian Drosten also called reopening schools risky. Speaking on broadcaster NDRs Coronavirus Update on Tuesday, May 5, he sharply criticized the political pressure that some politicians exerted on scientists to provide suitable arguments for the relaxation.

For example, the director of a research institute was told, You are the boss of the whole thing here. We need numbers now! Then there was a great danger that half-finished studies are published, which will be prepared for the public by the press office, i.e., by journalists and not scientists. And there is already misinformation in the world, he said. If it is now disseminated that Science has found that schools can be opened, then this is wrong and misleading and could cost many lives.

Drosten stressed that children of all ages and even infants can accumulate as many infectious viruses in the throat as adults. This was the result of his study at the Charite hospital in Berlin, as well as another study in Geneva carried out by the virologist Isabella Eckerle. He said, Statistically, we have no reason to believe that [coronavirus] concentration in the throat of children is different from that of adults.

Among older students, Drosten referred to the investigation of a coronavirus outbreak at a French high school. From it could be seen the special drama of a normal break situation of 15- to 19-year-old pupils in the schoolyard, he said. The virologist explicitly compared this situation with the notorious restaurant in the Austrian ski resort of Ischgl, from which the virus had spread throughout Europe, in terms of the danger of infection.

But government politicians do not care.

Teacher Frederik called it a boosting of the economy at the expense of the people, he told the WSWS. Teachers were being blackmailed, although it was clear to everyone, There will be more deaths.

He went on to say that the pandemic had intensified the trend of social polarisation, which had been foreseeable before. At his school, which is also attended by children of Opel workers in Russelsheim, it could be seen that workers children were now at an additional disadvantage. Online lessons had shown that some households only had one computer and often no printer. The gap between rich and poor has widened.

Frederik added that something important had become clear to him: Our schools are actually not primarily there for education, but are a kind of barracks where children can be supervised and locked away.

He could only deal with the most necessary subjects for the exams; students had already handed in their books. Actually, I wanted to talk with them about May 8 and the liberation from fascism 75 years ago, but now it was hardly possible.

Frederik did not expect any resistance from the teaching unions: The GEW is critical, but it doesnt propose any steps that could be dangerous for the state.

The GEW already agreed to reopening schools in mid-April. In Hesse, on April 24, the union explicitly welcomed the statement by Education Minister Alexander Lorz (Christian Democratic Union, CDU) that emergency care would be available to all teachers children, so that teachers could return to school.
A Shramik special train with 1,200 labourers from Bihar will leave from Rajasthans Barmer district on Sunday. District collector Vishram Meena told HT that the train will be bound for Motihari district in Bihar with the first batch of a total of 1,665 Bihar labourers who have registered in Barmer to return home.

The DC said that earlier the administration planned to send them back in busses but requested for a special train due to the large numbers. Meena said that after the request for a special train has been granted, the state is planning to ask for one more train to carry the remaining 465 workers in Barmer along with a similar number of workers from Bihar stranded in Jodhpur.

Also Read: Bengal govt not allowing trains with migrants to reach state: Amit Shah

He said talks were on with Jodhpur district administration so that the remaining migrants from both the district could be returned to Bihar.



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The district administration is also taking care to follow the protocol for such journey.

Buses have been moved to blocks to gather all labourers at the district headquarter. As per the government guideline, medical department has been asked to conduct medical screening of all the workers before they are allowed to enter the railway station, said Meena. Social distancing must be followed, he added.

Meena said the workers will not have to pay any fare as the Rajasthan government has decided to bear the cost of their journey.
Jordan's Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) said it has received 16 repatriation flights from major cities including Chicago, Montreal, Moscow, London, Frankfurt, Cairo, Istanbul and Detroit carrying more than 3,000 Jordanian nationals.

The Hashimite kingdom's Airport International Group said this comes following the directives of King Abdullah II and coordinating with relevant concerned entities. The first flight that touched down at the QAIA carried hundreds of Jordanian students.

Airport International Group had deployed its cadres and capacities to join efforts with specialised security and government entities in order to facilitate the process of receiving and streamlining flights and passengers - while adhering to strict measures for maintaining the health and safety of citizens and completing medical examinations upon arrivals conducted by relevant medical teams.

Of the total 16 flights, eight carrying passengers from London, Chicago, Frankfurt, Cairo and Istanbul, touched down at the QAIA on May 7; two flights from Istanbul and Moscow on May 6, three flights - two from Cairo and one from Istanbul - landed on May 5.

Additionally, three flights from London, Chicago and Istanbul arrived at the QAIA yesterday (May 8).

"Airport International Group is proud to play a key role in welcoming students back to our beloved country in cooperation with multiple departments from the government," said a company spokesman.

"Various units of Ministry of Transport and Health along with the Jordanian Armed Forces - the Arab Army joined hands with the Royal Medical Services; security agencies; and the national carrier Royal Jordanian to ensure the success of this operation in alignment with recommended measures and health protocols," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
A bald eagle became tangled in a wire fence in rural Washington County this week, leaving it all but helpless.

The owner of the fence looked out a window Wednesday morning and saw his cows acting a little odd, so he went out there, Sgt. Danny DiPietro of the Washington County Sheriffs Office told The Oregonian/OregonLive. Thats when he called us.

When two sheriffs deputies arrived on the scene, they found a small group of curious cows milling about the majestic bird. The deputies quickly MacGyvered a plan to untangle the bald eagle, the sheriffs office later stated on Twitter.

Wednesday morning, deputies found out a bald eagle was trapped in a homeowner's wired fence. When they arrived, they found a cow protecting America's favorite eagle. Two deputies quickly MacGyvered a plan to untangle the bald eagle so it could get the medical attention it needed. pic.twitter.com/SY7A1iTTED  Washington County Sheriffs Office (@WCSOOregon) May 8, 2020

This is not social-media hyperbole. Handling bald eagles is a very dangerous business -- after all, they are large birds of prey with long, sharp talons on their feet.

Fortunately, the officers are really good with wildlife, DiPietro says. They know what to do. (The department declined to name the deputies.)

The officers held the trapped bird with a large fishing net and covered its eyes with a towel. Sightless, the bird became at least somewhat docile, allowing the deputies to carefully remove the wire from its feet.

After freeing the eagle from the fencing, the deputies took it to DoveLewis animal hospital for treatment for lacerations.

The eagle is now recovering at Portland Audubons Wildlife Care Center, which, because of the coronavirus pandemic, is operating during baby bird season -- one of its busiest times -- without its usual contingent of 150 volunteers.

DiPietro says Portland Audubon told him on Thursday the eagle is doing well and theyre very hopeful it will make a full recovery.

Those caring for the eagle at the Wildlife Care Center werent immediately available to discuss the birds condition.

-- Douglas Perry

@douglasmperry

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As COVID-19 continues to rage in the United Kingdom, the British Chinese community has united to contribute to the countrys fight against the virus.

Liu Peng, a researcher with the Barts Cancer Institute under Queen Mary University of London, is one of them. While some British Chinese and Chinese students made the journey back to China after COVID-19 broke out in the country, Liu, who is also the head of the Association of Self-Financed Outstanding Scholarship Awardees in the UK (ASOSA-UK), decided to stay and do something to help contain the outbreak.

With his medical and vaccine research background, he contacted friends in the field of medicine and formed an anti-virus team, together with the Chinese Students and Scholars Association in the UK (CSSA-UK), the largest community for Chinese students and scholars in the country. Liu led volunteers from ASOSA-UK and CSSA-UK in providing medical supplies, online medical consultations, and psychological counseling for Chinese students still in the country.

I want to help people with my expertise, even if I dont know their names, Liu said, adding that I didnt return to China because I want to do more to help people here.

According to Liu, the team set up two chat groups for Chinese students in the UK to answer their questions about the pandemic, tell them how to avoid contracting the virus and offer them online medical consultation, in order to reassure them during the outbreak.

In general, he gets two or three phone calls a day from Chinese students who suspect that they may have been infected with the coronavirus. In fact, most of them were just suffering from influenza or pharyngitis, Liu noted, adding that the team mainly puts their minds at ease through some mitigation measures.

He recalled that a 24-year-old student had once consulted him, and was crying as all her roommates had returned home and she had a bad sore throat. Liu told her that the chances of her being infected were low as she had been at home for three weeks, and the sore throat was just caused by pharyngitis, while advising her on which medicines were safe to take. Three days later, the girl called Liu again, telling him that she had recovered.

Liu has also been working with CSSA-UK to provide personal protective equipment such as gowns and goggles to Chinese students who plan to return to China. We are also working with an online medical institution in the UK to arrange tests with CT scans for students with acute illnesses, he noted.

Liu has also persuaded his British neighbor to take the coronavirus threat seriously and shared some anti-virus measures with him. For example, Liu has provided him with some masks and asked him to wear one whenever he goes out.
Abu Dhabi's Authority of Social Contribution (Maan) has announced that it has already delivered more than 3 million nutritious meals to thousands of workers across the emirate under its Together We Share initiative.

Since deliveries started on May 1, meals have been provided for tens of thousands of workers based in accommodation across 35 complexes in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra region, with the programme set to run throughout Ramadan.

Funded through community contributions to Maans Together We Are Good programme, the 450,000 daily meals are being provided in response to the current health and economic challenges, said its top official.

The Together We Are Good programme is the first project of Maans Social Fund that allows community contributions to help tackle social challenges. The Social Fund is the official government channel to receive contributions for these purposes, remarked Salama Al Ameemi, the Director General of Maan.

"Its important that every section of our community benefits in some way, and to provide more than 450,000 meals every day during Ramadan will continue to provide comfort to hundreds of thousands of people across the emirate," she stated.

According to her, Abu Dhabi Maan has already provided support with school fees to parents of children attending Abu Dhabi private schools through its Together We Are Good programme.

"This was followed by its initiative to provide affected residents in the Emirate with essential nutritional supplies via food baskets for individuals, couples and families. Further initiatives on health and basic needs will be launched in due course," she added.-TradeArabia News Service
Michigan has two companies signed to help expand contact tracing of coronavirus patients, a few weeks after the last contracts were canceled due to political backlash.

Rock Connections, based in Detroit, will lead volunteer management while Deloitte has a contract for technology integration. The Rock Connections contract is worth more than $1 million, according to a state news release, while the Deloitte contract terms werent shared.

The goal of coronavirus contact tracing is to notify people if theyve been exposed so they can self-isolate and take precautions  in hopes of avoiding further spread of the virus.

Great Lakes Community Engagement and Every Action VAN were hired in April to lead contact tracing efforts. Those contracts were heavily criticized, since the companies had ties to Democratic Party campaigns. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer canceled the contracts to take out any speculation.

Correct process wasnt followed when those contracts were doled out, Whitmer said, as decisions were supposed to go through a State Emergency Operations Center review process, but did not. The new contracts did go through the SEOC.

Health departments across Michigan are already doing contact tracing, but need help to expand it. The state has trained 3,500 volunteers to start helping local health departments with the work.

Rock Connections will oversee that volunteer staff  who are making daily calls to people who might have been exposed to the virus. Volunteers will share information with potentially exposed people about what steps they can take and will log their responses to see if they develop COVID-19 symptoms. Volunteers will make calls for the next six to 12 months, per the release.

Contact tracing is a proven public health strategy to limit the spread of the virus, said Michigan Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun.

Our team has been working around the clock to stand up this new operation and look forward to significantly expanding the current contact tracing system in place," Khaldun said in the release.

Rock Connections already has experience in COVID-19 response, as it operates the 40-employee call center for the coronavirus drive-thru testing site at the old Michigan State Fairgrounds in Detroit.

Deloitte is providing technology integration through a contract it already has with the state, and will help send automated text messages to potentially exposed people who want to receive them.

The state is still looking for volunteers in various areas to help during the COVID-19 pandemic. Go to Michigan.gov/fightcovid19 to sign up.

Michigan has 46,326 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 4,393 deaths, as of Friday, May 9.

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.

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Trapped in lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, over a thousand migrant workers staying in Hyderabad's Tolichowki took to the streets on Sunday demanding to be taken home.

Trapped in lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, over a thousand migrant workers staying in Hyderabad's Tolichowki took to the streets on Sunday demanding to be taken home.

Even after umpteen visits to the nearby Langar House Police station to seek information about the special trains scheduled from Hyderabad to their home states, as per the directive from the Ministry of Home Affairs, their patience ran thin, and they, in desperation and anguish, resorted to staging a sit-in at Tolichowki junction.

Similar cases of a huge number of migrant workers thronging Secunderabad railway station and other places in the city have come to light. Inept handling of the situation by the administration, poor communication, and rumour-mongering on social media are to be blamed for this chaos.

The local police interacted with the workers, noted down their details, and assured them of help. A majority hail from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and Jharkhand, and work at restaurants, construction sites, garment stores and salons.

The worst-hit victims of the lockdown and the subsequent economic crisis are migrant workers and daily wagers left stranded for weeks in metros without rations and food and with no support from their employers.

While special trains filled with migrant labourers have started departing, for many the future remains uncertain due to the state government's poor planning.

Hunger pandemic

Post the announcement of lockdown, the migrant workers in Hyderabad have been staying at construction sites or temporary shelters set up all over the city, where living conditions are poor.

Some of them have been kicked out of their rented places because they have been unable to pay the landlord or due to discrimination. Many have not eaten in days.

They just dumped us here without food and water, said Yogendra, a 37-year-old from Uttar Pradesh. Yogendra and his wife are staying at a temporary shelter in Secunderabad that houses around 200.

Yogendra has been working at a restaurant in Hyderabad for over a year. After the lockdown, he was shifted to a temporary shelter. A local activist has been providing Yogendra and others in his shelter with food and water.

It is incumbent on governments to provide the necessary rations and food to these. And this isn't just a moral responsibility, but is also important from a policy perspective.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) chief David Beasley has warned that the would could face a hunger pandemic due to COVID-19.

Despite the state governments promise of 12 kg rice and Rs 500 per person every month, many workers staying in areas such as Lingampally, Gudimalkapur and Tolichowki complain of not receiving rations or any assistance from the government.

Hyderabad district civil supply officer, C Padma, said over the phone, Separate counters have been set up for migrant labour under the supervision of the collectorate as part of disaster management.

Sangeetha, Deputy Collector, Hyderabad, said, Ration kits have been distributed among 73,000 migrants in two phases. She added that this assistance was mostly extended to workers from the unorganised sector.

Civil rights activist Khalida Parveen, who feeds hundreds of migrant workers every day, said, The government needs to act swiftly. They cant just leave the migrant workers to fend for themselves.

On Tuesday, Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee called upon the government to hand out temporary ration cards for three to six months in order to feed the poor and save their lives.

Risk of outbreak

Ignoring the plight of the migrant workers can have deadly consequences. Workers are extremely vulnerable to the virus due to poor living conditions that make social distancing impossible. The places they're staying in are cramped and could emerge as COVID-19 hotspots.

Athar, a restaurant worker, stays in Salarjung colony with 100 other workers in a two-storey building. Up to 20 people share one room. The slums in Lingampally, Madhapur, Tolichowki, Banjara Hills, Musheerabad and Mehdipatnam are full of such potential hotspots where dozens of workers share cramped accommodations.

Over-crowded living spaces, unavailability of masks and sanitisers, poor sanitation, and lack of hygiene and clean drinking water will only further expose them to the virus and other health risks.

We cant defeat this pandemic by ignoring the less fortunate sections of society because even a single case could make matters worse. State governments must step up, treat them as equally important stakeholders, and take them along in this fight.

Desperate to return home

The workers have only one desire: to return to their families in peace. They have been visiting local police stations with their details and trying to reach out to the helpline numbers provided by the state but havent yet received a proper response.

With each passing day, they are growing restless. They want to reach home by any means necessary.

As a last resort, workers have been walking hundreds of kilometers in the scorching summer through the National Highway-44 to their home states. Hundreds of migrants were stranded for weeks in Adilabad district on the border of Telangana, unable to return home.

We are stuck, said Sanjay. The 27-year-old salesman working at reputed textile store in Hyderabad's Panjagutta looked apprehensive. Our future in uncertain.

Sanjay and 15 others in his group have walked over 300 kilometres. They reached Adilabad on Monday.

However, for the last couple of days, the police have been allowing migrants to cross the Telangana border. Vishnu Warrier, Superintendent of Police. of Adilabad, confirmed the development.

We are collecting details of the migrants, screening them using thermal scanners, and stamping their hands before allowing them to cross the state border, Warrier said.

A whopping 15,000 migrants are leaving the Telangana state border on the northern side every day, he added.

With this kind of chaos and confusion, the government needs to streamline its communication and make it more robust to avoid whispering and rumour-mongering, which is actually creating panic.

The government needs to provide clarity on the guidelines for migrant workers, registration process, schedule of trains and thermal testing, said Meera Sanghamitra, member of COVID-19 Advocacy Lockdown Collective, an umbrella of various civil society organisations.

Sanghamitra also urged the government to engage with civil society and other Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to counsel the workers and take them into confidence.

Rashmi, another stranded worker, blames the government for poor planning. Had the government provided a couple of days notice before the lockdown, we would have planned accordingly, she said.

Meanwhile, as per an official release of the Telangana government, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao requested officials of the South Central Railway (SCR) to organise travel of migrant workers in the next couple of days.
Virus Outbreak Brazil Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro speaks to supporters during a protest in front the army's headquarters during the Army day, amid the new coronavirus pandemic, in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, April 19, 2020. Bolsonaro came out in support of a small protest Sunday that defended military intervention, infringing his own ministry's recommendations to maintain social distancing and prompting fierce critics. (AP Photo/Andre Borges)

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)  Last month, Dr. Riane Azevedo pulled off a master stroke. The superintendent of the largest public hospital in the poor Brazilian state of Ceara managed to procure a highly sought-after cache of ventilators to treat the new coronavirus patients overwhelming her intensive care unit.

But just weeks before she was due to receive the ventilators, she got bad news. Her local supplier could no longer honor the agreement. Instead, she was told, the equipment was going to Brazils federal government.

The health ministry confiscated the ventilators for our hospital, said Azevedo from the Instituto Dr. Jose Frota hospital, where she had planned to open up another 40 ICU beds in May. It makes no sense  Its like working against yourself.

Amid a global pandemic, medical equipment needed to treat patients with COVID-19 and protect health workers has become a hot commodity, with countries around the world competing for crucial supplies. In Brazil, in a scenario also seen in the United States, the competition has become internal. Some states are vying for material with the government of President Jair Bolsonaro, who is already sharply at odds with many governors over coronavirus containment measures. The Supreme Court has defended Maranhao state's purchase of ventilators.

Experts fear such political rivalries could hurt efforts to fight the pandemic in Brazil, which has the highest number of confirmed cases and deaths in the region at 45,757 and 2,906, respectively. The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested.

It seems that there is a lack of trust between the federal government and governors, said Walter Cintra Ferreira Jr, a professor in health management at the Fundacao Getulio Vargas university in Sao Paulo. What we expect from the health ministry is a quick distribution of resources.

In Maranhao, a northeastern state next to Ceara, the local government has faced multiple setbacks in acquiring the equipment it needs. Maranhaos Secretary of Industry, Commerce and Energy, Simplicio Araujo, said the state had a delivery of 150 ventilators from a Brazilian provider seized by the federal health ministry on March 19. A second shipment from China got stuck in Germany, while a third never left the United States, Araujo said.

Story continues

Undeterred, the secretary decided on a more unorthodox plan. With his Chinese contacts, Araujo orchestrated a complex scheme to bring the valuable material in a commercial freighter via Ethiopia. The operation, which mobilized some 30 people in Brazil and China for nearly three weeks, avoided further delays by skipping customs in the large airport of Sao Paulo, only declaring the content of the shipment in Maranhaos airport.

In response, Brazils Federal Revenue Service announced that it would pursue legal action, arguing the goods were imported without due licensing from authorities.

The presidency should support this type of operation, not the opposite, Araujo said.

This week, the Supreme Court's Justice Celso de Mello ruled the health ministry cannot confiscate a separate order by Maranhao for 68 ventilators, and gave the local supplier 48 hours to deliver the equipment.

The disputes come as Bolsonaro, who has likened COVID-19 to a little flu, rages against governors who have passed stay-at-home measures to limit its spread and recently fired his health minister who encouraged the policies, which he says will wreak economic destruction.

Experts and health executives on the ground fear the newly appointed health minister will be influenced by Bolsonaro's feuds with the governors.

In a statement sent to the AP on Tuesday, Brazil's ministry of health defended its overall strategy. It said that as a regulator in the pandemic response, it needed to ensure that all states in the country are supplied with the equipment and supplies necessary to face the disease. Since the beginning of the crisis, the ministry said it has delivered 253 ventilators to nine different states and 71 million masks.

On the front lines, public sector medical staff, hospital executives and doctors unions are angered by the shortages in ventilators and the failure to provide protective equipment. They say the lack of masks and gloves is exposing doctors to the deadly virus, as well as their families and hospital patients.

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

In Ceara state, an emergency services doctor, who asked not to be named for fear of getting fired, bought his own protective equipment in anticipation. Stocks at his hospital  a private facility recently requisitioned by state authorities to treat COVID-19 patients  are running low, he said.

Every morning, he tries not to eat or drink any liquids, so that he won't need to go to the bathroom during his six-hour shifts at the Leonardo Da Vinci hospital.

Otherwise I would have to change my protective gear, and I know its going to run out, the doctor said over the phone on his day off, a brief but much-needed respite.

Since the crisis began, he has spent an average of 76 hours a week at the hospitals saturated intensive care unit, praying he doesnt catch the virus. All around him, colleagues are getting sick.

Theres going to be a moment when the doctor is going to have to decide: I save myself or I contaminate myself, he said.
A spurt in Covid-19 cases in Bihar, Odisha, Rajasthan and Jharkhand since May 1, has been linked to migrant workers who have returned from various cities across the country, state officials said, confirming the fear that rural India is no longer safe from the coronavirus pandemic that has affected 62750 people nationally so far. This realisation has also caused panic among health experts, as till now nearly 80% of the cases recorded have been seen in urban areas, where the infrastructure needed to treat a victim of a pandemic, is better.

Ever since a nationwide lockdown was announced starting March 25, migrant workers from across the country began to walk and cycle back to their home states even as a few states like Delhi deployed buses to ferry some of them home. Last week, the Indian Railway began running special trains for migrants separated from their families on account of the lockdown and stranded without any earnings. However, as they have begun to reach their home states and are being placed in quarantine centres, governments are grappling with the ramifications of the pandemic reaching rural areas.

According to the union health ministry, across India there is a shortfall of primary healthcare centres and community healthcare centres by 22% and 30% respectively. The largest shortfall is in states like West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh incidentally, most of the migrant workers who travel the length and breadth of the country for work in factories and other industries, like construction, hail from these six states.

Although Asha workers in rural areas monitor health, there is no quality infrastructure to deal with a pandemic like coronavirus. Around half of the health personnel posts in rural India are vacant, said Amulya Nidhi, member of Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, a network of non-governmental organisations working in the area of public health.

New cases linked to migrants

Bihar, where 70% of the new cases since May 1 have been detected in migrant workers, has not as yet revealed where they have returned from. But Jharkhand and Odisha, which has seen a similar spurt in cases, have revealed that information. So far, Surat, a textile hub in Gujarat which has the second highest number of Covid cases in the state after Ahmedabad, has emerged as one of the biggest centres of Covid-19 for migrant workers

In Jharkhand, one-third of the 154 positive cases spread over 13 districts have been reported in the past week, around the time that migrant workers began to reach their home state. According to the state health departments bulletin issued on Saturday morning, 20 confirmed cases were found in Garhwa district and two cases were detected in Koderma district. All the 20 migrant labourers, aged between 18-40 years, had arrived in Garhwa on May 5. They were part of 51 passengers who came here by a bus from Surat. All of them are in quarantine, said districts said sub-divisional officer Kamleshwar Narayan. The quarantine centre is an under-construction jail. At present, it houses 158 migrants, a majority of whom have returned from Surat, Narayan said. Results of samples collected on May 6-7 have not yet come, he said, indicating that these numbers may well rise.

While Covid-19 positive migrant workers have been shifted to a dedicated hospital in the district, Koderma was reverted to an orange zone after two workers who arrived from Surat and Varanasi, tested positive.

All the 100 fresh Covid-19 cases reported in the last 24 hours in coastal Ganjam district of Odisha are returnees from Surat, said Ganjam district collector Vijay Aamrita Kulange. In other Covid-19 hotspots such as Jajpur, Bhubaneswar, Balasore, Bhadrak and Rourkela, most of those who have tested positive in the past fortnight are migrant workers who have returned from Surat.

In Bihar, 100 workers tested positive on Saturday taking the total number of cases to 589. Going by our experience over the past 10 days, almost 60% to 70% of the tested samples which came positive were of people who came from outside the state, said Bihars principal secretary (health) Sanjay Kumar. Thats 224 new cases already.

Health secretary Lokesh Kumar Singh said that migrant workers housed in quarantine centres at Khagaria, Samastipur, Muzaffarpur and Begusarai have tested positive till now.

As the number of cases increase, state governments have decided to expand the period of quarantine for returnees to 28 days. Returnees from other states will have to undergo an institutional quarantine of 21 days followed by home quarantine for next 7 days, Odishas chief spokesperson on the states pandemic efforts, Subroto Bagchi, said.

On Saturday, Kulange said, Section 144 was imposed around all Covid-19 temporary medical camps/institutional quarantine centres where migrants have been quarantined after reports emerged that people had violated lockdown norms. In one quarantine centre of Sergarh block, where 80 migrant workers recently returned from Surat are housed, family members were seen delivering food and betel nut violating social distancing norms. The DM has issued orders that no one would be allowed to enter within 100 metres radius of these centres.

Numbers expected to swell

On Saturday, five special trains carrying migrants from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu set out for Odisha. They are expected to reach on Sunday. So far about 46,000 migrant workers have returned to Odisha and another 500,000 migrants are expected to arrive in the following week.

Since May 2, 78,706 migrant workers have reached their home state in Bihar through 69 special trains. Twelve trains carrying 14,245 migrant workers reached Bihar on Saturday; 14 more, carrying 17,054 workers, are lined up for Sunday, Anupam Kumar, secretary, information and public relations department said.

Officials in Rajasthan also said the majority of new cases were reported from the border districts of Gujarat, from where the migrant workers have returned. Since Friday, the government has sealed its border with Gujarat and other states.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 9

By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend:

Turkmenistan stands for support to cooperation of countries in order to maintain human health service, which is especially important regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, Trend reports with reference to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.

A briefing entitled 'International Cooperation of Turkmenistan in the Healthcare Sphere' was held in the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan on May 8, 2020.

Heads and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Health and Medical Industry, and other relevant departments of Turkmenistan attended the briefing.

Political scientists of the country, as well as heads of diplomatic missions and representatives of international organizations accredited in the country, local and accredited foreign media journalists also participated in the briefing. Representatives of other states also attended the briefing via videoconference.

Leaders and members of health sector of several foreign countries, in particular, the Deputy Minister of Healthcare of Belarus, senior representatives of leading foreign medical universities, including Medical University of Azerbaijan, Belarusian State Medical University and Tbilisi State Medical University participated in the briefing as well.

Representatives of leading foreign media and public organizations also participated in the briefing via videoconference. In general, about 60 people attended the briefing from 20 countries.

The briefing participants highlighted the rapid response of Turkmenistan to the outbreak of the pandemic, focusing on the prevention of infectious diseases.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @JeilaAliyeva
The minority affairs ministry plans to train more than 2,000 healthcare assistants who could join the existing 1,500 assistants helping in the treatment and well-being of Covid-19 patients, Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Saturday.

The healthcare assistants, 50% of whom are women, were trained under the ministrys skill development programme and are now employed in hospitals and healthcare centres across the country.

This year, more than 2,000 healthcare assistants will be trained by the minority affairs ministry, he said in a statement.

The ministry will help these healthcare assistants find a a one-year training programme through different health organisations and reputed hospitals across the country, Naqvi said.

To drive home the importance of social distancing and adhering to healthcare protocols to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus, the ministry will soon launch the Jaan Bhi, Jahan Bhi nationwide awareness campaign.

It is also preparing to create quarantine facilities in states to cater to workers from India and abroad. Sixteen Haj Houses across the country have been given to state governments for quarantine and isolation facilities for Covid-19-affected people.

Various state governments are utilising the facilities at these Haj Houses according to their needs, Naqvi said.

Several waqf boards across the country have contributed Rs 51 crore to the prime ministers and chief ministers relief funds for the Coronavirus pandemic with the support of religious, social and educational organisations. The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) contributed Rs 1.4 crore to the PM-CARES fund and AMU Medical College arranged 100 beds for treating Coronavirus patients.

AMU also arranged Covid-19 tests and more than 9,000 tests have been done till now, Naqvi said.

The Dargah Committee and associated organisations provided facilities worth about Rs 1 crore, which included arrangements to send people back to their states, he said.
Trump 'personally ordered' marine incursion into Venezuela: Maduro

Iran Press TV

Friday, 08 May 2020 8:50 AM

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says there is evidence his American counterpart Donald Trump "personally ordered" the recent military raid on the Latin American country, arguing that Washington swiftly cut remaining ties with Caracas thereafter.

Maduro made the comments in an interview with a Uruguayan news outlet on Thursday evening, saying the evidence would soon reveal the US president himself was behind the "covert operation" last weekend, during which two US security contractors were arrested and eight armed locals killed.

Maduro also asserted that the newly-appointed Ambassador James Story  the first formal US envoy to Venezuela in some 10 years  and other senior American officials, including US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, were to blame for the failed mercenary attack.

"James Story has his feet, his hands and his whole body in this armed incursion," the Venezuelan president said, adding that confidential documents would soon be released proving their complicity.

Maduro went on to say that there had always been communication channels between Caracas and Washington, even when bilateral ties hit their lowest points, however, the US administration has been "silent" since the botched incursion attempt last weekend.

"They do not answer WhatsApp, phone, they are silent," he said. "We had three communications channels with three officials from the Trump administration; we have sent messages to them but gained no answer."

Maduro stressed that it was impossible that after 48 hours, Washington had declined to share information about the mercenary attack, directed by the US against Venezuela.

Trump has so far offered few comments on the failed marine incursion, telling reporters at a White House briefing that his administration was aware of the situation, but claimed "it has nothing to do with our government."

Before dawn on Sunday, a group of US-backed mercenaries tried to intrude into the northern state of La Guaira on boats, but Venezuelan authorities foiled the attack  which was launched from Colombia  killing eight of the armed men and arresting several others.

In a state television address on Monday, Maduro said authorities had detained 13 terrorists involved in the attack, including two Americans. The two US citizens were identified as Airan Berry and Luke Denman.

Maduro showed the US passports and other identification cards belonging to Berry and Denman, noting that they had been working with Jordan Goudreau, an American military veteran who leads the Florida-based security firm Silvercorp USA.

Goudreau later admitted that Berry and Denman were working with him in the operation.

Denman said in a public interrogation on Venezuelan state TV on Wednesday that the purpose of the military operation was to seize an airport in Caracas and whisk Maduro back to the US, where he is accused of narco-terrorism charges.

Maduro said the Venezuelan authorities had been aware of the plot  which he said was coordinated with Washington and aimed to oust him  before its execution.

Military coup contract signed by Guaido

Goudreau has claimed Washington played no role in the military raid, which he says he undertook on his own after a deal fell through with Venezuelan opposition figure Juan Guaido.

While Guaido had previously denied any involvement with the Florida-based security firm Silvercorp USA, a partial copy of the contract Goudreau says he signed with the opposition leader has circulated online, and the Washington Post has since obtained the full 41-page document from the opposition itself, clearly listing Guaido as the operation's "Commander in Chief."

Guaido's signature doesn't appear on the complete contract, however he did apparently sign a shorter "service agreement" with Goudreau, which has also been leaked and published.

"All of the above is conclusive evidence that Guaido was fully aware and part of this plot, even if he might have withdrawn from it at the last minute," the Washington Post said.

Guaido plunged the oil-rich Latin American country into utter chaos after he abruptly declared himself "interim president" of Venezuela in January last year, challenging the outcome of the 2018 presidential election, which Maduro had won. Guaido later launched an abortive coup against the elected government.

Guaido's self-proclamation as president and his coup received full support from Washington. Since then, the Trump administration has been escalating tensions against Caracas, and has not ruled out the military option to take out Maduro's government.

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The Covid-19 pandemic is a great leveller  a fearsome test of governments and governing philosophies all over the world. Democracies and autocracies alike have been exposed and found ill-prepared, under-equipped, and too slow to respond. The verdicts are already being written. Currently, the world has penned multiple obituaries. This is what will be remembered in years to come.

Recent cases in Ghana suggest that some undetected community spread may also be occurring. There seems to be no home-grown permanent solution at the moment. Government decision to relax some of the restrictive measures at a time the Covid-19 cruise ship crisis was unfolding is just worrying. Amidst the fear that engulfs the nation, some political actors are sadly in the business of I built this and that. Others are also making ambitious promises of some 88 new hospitals in a year. The econdimu debates make me sick. I asked myself if these political debates are necessary at the time people and businesses are dying and people are losing their jobs. Clearly, we have lost the sense of people first in Ghana.

Madagascar we are told has raised the pride of Africa by producing what is now known as COVID-Organics to cure Covid-19 disease. This has sparked a lot of arguments with some warnings from the impotent WHO that it did not recommend any medicine to cure Covid-19. But it is on record that Madagascar delivered a shipment to Guinea-Bissau and some request has been made by the Congolese and Tanzanian presidents to do same. It is just appropriate that Ghana copy with pride from these countries and import some of these medicines. As the saying goes there is no harm in trying. If people really matter to our leaders, then this is the best bet for Ghana. Our front lines health workers have gone into a battle without the defences they need.

In all honesty, the urgency and scale of the Covid-19 pandemic make it murderous to condition public-health measures on political calculations and the illusion of governmental flimflam. The sheer impotence of our state institutions has been exposed big time. I giggle any time the issues of our religious institutions cross my mind. I ask if the churches and mosques were actually healing before. Maybe we have to hold on to our traditions. Our pharmaceutical industry at best is good at producing men capsules. Funny! I am fully convinced that if the COVID-Organics worked elsewhere effectively, it will surely work in Ghana.
SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - The government has amended the Estate Agents Act (EEA) to allow the Council for Estate Agents (CEA), the governing body for this sector, to take timely disciplinary actions against errant estate agents and real estate salespersons.

The changes come on the back of an industry consultation exercise that was conducted from Dec 13 last year to Jan 9 this year. Feedback from 41 respondents came from estate agents and the Singapore Estate Agents Association.

In a press release, CEA says, To further enhance the professionalism of the industry and maintain consumer trust and confidence, key executive officers and CEA will need to continue to work together to deter a minority group of errant estate agents and real estate salespersons from breaching the EAA and its regulations.

The amended act allows CEA to censure errant estate agents and real estate salespersons, and to impose financial penalties of up to $5,000 for minor breaches without a Disciplinary Committee hearing.



The new changes to the law are expected to come into effect later this year. (Picture: Pixabay)

In addition, the financial penalties imposed by the Discipline Committee will increase to $200,000 per case for estate agents and to $100,000 per case for real estate salespersons.

The increase will enable CEA to tackle more serious cases in future that may warrant higher financial penalties, and more importantly, to send the right signals to the industry to deter breaches, says CEA.

The amendment also tightens Singapores regulations concerning money laundering and terrorism financing and aligning it with international standards. These standards are based on recommendations by the Financial Action Task Force, an international body tackling the issue and which Singapore is a member.

The duties of estate agents and real estate agents on the prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing will be elevated to requirements under the amended act. Such duties were previously obligations under CEAs practice guidelines.

Story continues

This means agents need to conduct and record customer due diligence checks and report any suspicious transactions.

The amended law was passed on May 5 and is expected to come into force in mid-2020, says CEA.

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Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Libyan newspapers this week focused on renewed tension on the fighting in Libya after Presidential Council President Fayez Al-Sarraj called for the resumption of political dialogue, welcoming the various initiatives aimed at finding a peaceful solution and avoiding the bloodshed
Roy Horn, one half of the famous Siegfried & Roy, has died from complications related to coronavirus, according to multiple reports.

He was 75.

Today, the world has lost one of the greats of magic, but I have lost my best friend, Siegfried Fischbacher said in a statement, according to Variety. From the moment we met, I knew Roy and I, together, would change the world. There could be no Siegfried without Roy, and no Roy without Siegfried.

Siegfried said that Roy was a fighter his whole life including during these final days, and thanked the staff at Mountain View Hospital who tried to save him.

Siegfried and Roy began performing their act with big cats, including tigers, in 1967. They had a 14-year-run at the Mirage starting in 1989, Variety reported but Horn stopped performing in 2003 when he was bit by one of the tigers and dragged off stage.

According to Variety, he relearned how to walk and talk, and eventually traveled to other events before the pair retired in 2010.
At least 39 dead, scores more infected as COVID-19 devastates Latino parishes in NY Lutheran Church

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NEW YORK  Since late March, Pastor Fabian Arias of Saint Peters Lutheran Church in Midtown Manhattan has been busy making announcements of the dead, the sick, and comforting the bereaved because of the new coronavirus.

At least 39 people connected to his diverse, predominantly Latino church community, including 5% of his 250-member congregation, have died in the last month. Another 74 members of the church are also currently battling or have battled coronavirus infections.

In this moment its a very, very difficult situation because the family [member] is sick or the family [member] has died, Arias told The Christian Post in an interview Wednesday.

In virtual masses broadcast on Facebook on Wednesdays and Sundays, Arias has been listing the names of the sick and the dead so his congregants can pray and draw strength from their community. Sometimes there would be pictures of the victims. The latest death was a week ago.

We mention all names every Wednesday and every Sunday. We mention that for prayers, Arias said.

While other Latino church communities in the Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America havent had as many deaths as Saint Peters Lutheran Church, 25% to 30% of parishioners across its five Latino parishes have tested positive for the virus. Officials say the staggering infection rate is due to many members of the Latino community working in essential service areas such as delivery or maintenance. Many who have lost jobs are also being doubly devastated by the economic fallout from the pandemic due to their undocumented immigrant status.

The Metropolitan New York Synod

The Metropolitan New York Synod covers all five boroughs of New York City, all of Long Island, and seven upstate counties. Its New York City congregations, particularly those that serve Latinos, have been hardest hit, Synod Bishop Paul Egensteiner said.

The reaction and impact of the virus has been different in all those places. In New York City and the five boroughs, the impact has been heavy and in some cases very disturbing and devastating. In other places like in upper north counties, they really havent had much of an impact personally, the bishop said.

Christopher Vergara, president of St. Peters, told CP that those who attend St. Peters Church are largely immigrants, people of color, and from low-income households. "We know those communities are being hit hardest. We do a lot of work and we consider them part of our church family working with the homeless community, the feeding program."

When you start taking all the intersections of the demographics of the members of our church, I think thats how we get to why its been hit so hard. And its been primarily in our Hispanic communities and our immigrant communities that weve had the most deaths, he added.

At one Latino parish in Jamaica, Queens, Egensteiner said the pastor reported 22% of the congregation had been infected.

They are very grateful that in their congregation in Jamaica, Queens, they have not lost anyone to the virus, Egensteiner said.

The coronavirus is also not the only threat to the Latino church communities. Undocumented parishioners are also facing new ones triggered by the pandemic.

I was also talking to one of our pastors out in Long Island and she said that in addition to the specific health toll, the economic toll and the toll on anxiety on the congregation has been very, very heavy with landlords wanting to evict people who cant pay their rent, he said.

Many of the people, they are undocumented so they dont have recourse to healthcare, they dont have recourse to having their eviction prevented. In some cases, some of our members who are told they were going to be evicted were told that the way the landlord was going to make that happen was not by going through the courts but simply by calling ICE and letting them know. And so that scares our folks to death and what are they supposed to do? They are more victims to the virus than other people, he said.

An estimated 83% or 9.2 million of the 11.1 million people estimated to be living in the United States illegally are Christians from Latin America and the Caribbean, according to a study by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life.

As a declared sanctuary church, the ELCA attracts many undocumented Christians. Those who have not been able to work because of the coronavirus are now dependent on the church for support since they cannot access government aid.

Egensteiner said his office has been providing funding to parishes to help congregants stay in their homes by paying rent and to help run food pantries and food kitchens.

These very vulnerable populations. When they lose their jobs, they dont have financial resources, he said.

He praised Arias for the way he has responded to his church community despite the staggering number of coronavirus deaths and infections.

Father Arias is an incredible human being and an incredible pastor and has been doing his best to serve his church community. I talked to him on Saturday. He was on his way to conduct a burial over in New Jersey for one of the members. Hes been present to them, doing funerals and also making sure they have food. So hes been personally delivering food to members of the congregation, he said.

Action

Egensteiner said the day after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic on March 11, he sent a letter to all parishes in the synod, advising the suspension of all in-person services after March 15 and most of the churches complied.

While the Latino congregants suspended in-person church attendance, many did not have the option to work remotely and many worked without personal protective equipment.

This all comes about from the need to work and they are getting sick at work without having appropriate and sufficient personal protective equipment. So they get sick, they come home, they are living in family groups with a lot more people and family members get sick, Egensteiner said.

He said he would meet with Arias to help with food distribution and show moral support and has directed his staff to meet with Latino pastors and provide them with the support they need.

Arias, whose congregation continues to reel from the multiple deaths, said the pandemic was particularly difficult for congregants grieving family members because of ongoing restrictions on funerals.

All of the families they want to celebrate the funeral and it's impossible for them, he said.  Its also difficult in this moment with the funeral homes.

The first coronavirus death in the community came on March 20 when the secretary of Arias parish lost both her father and brother to the virus. Other family members soon contracted the virus too.

After more than a month, however, Arias is just focused on keeping his congregants inspired and fed.

All the time we are in contact with our people. We call, we ask 'how are you?' If they have corona [or] no corona. We really, thats important for us. The people, of course, they want to close their eyes (they dont want to watch the news). The people are really scared. They are really very scared, he said. Its a very confusing time. Its a very hard time for us.

When asked how he continues to serve despite the challenges he faces every day, he said he draws strength from Christ.

I pray because its my faith. Other times I pray with people. Christ is my strength, Christ is my support, Christ is my reason why I continue to work with the people, he said.

Life after the coronavirus

Looking ahead, Vergara said while many churches across the country have been clamoring to reopen, it will be a while before his congregation holds in-person services again.

I think its going to be a long time before our congregation is going to be able to gather in person together in our parish. We want to listen to what our government officials, our health officials are telling us. We have our guidelines that we get from our synod, our bishop and our national church that we want to follow as well and be extra careful, he said.

As Lutherans, one of the things that we love to do is sing and to come together. Singing in the same space may not be possible for a while because that promotes spread and puts people at risk. So these are the sort of things that we are, as a community, starting to put our minds to.

In the beginning, it was to transition quickly and say how do we do church now? And then I think now that weve been in this form for a while, its fighting the desire to just quickly get back to what was and figure out how we will safely and responsibly be able to come back together as a church.

And while many congregations are reeling in the devastation of the pandemic, Egensteiner believes that the full impact of the loss suffered by churches wont be fully appreciated until they come together again in-person.

My suspicion, not just for our Latino congregations but for all our congregations, is that even though you see names and you know people, and that certainly happened to me, the impact of it doesnt dawn on you until you come back together and you start looking around at empty spaces in the pews or you go to talk to a friend at coffee hour and youre devastated because, oh yeah, theyre not there, he said. Thats when its really going to have a very deep emotional and spiritual impact.

Both Arias and Vergara also urged fellow Christians to be careful about rushing to reopen their churches too early.

Care for life, protect the life, respect life because life is a gift from God, Arias said. This is a very important mission for us, especially in this month. I really sometimes [get] angry, but Im very disappointed that some [churches] are pushing to open everything early. We need to be careful.

Both ministers agreed that because their church is central and shares space with two art galleries in Midtown, they will have to be strategic with reopening.

Whats important for Christians and for most people of faith, and specifically for Lutherans, is the idea of caring for our neighbors. God loves me and I share Gods love with others. And I think that is what were being called to do at this time and we must make decisions in care of, in service of, and responsibility for not only just  our members but our communities in which we are doing ministry, Vergara said. We have to take that responsibility and that care as a mandate not only from the government and health officials but from our God and take that very seriously.
A day after 16 migrant workers were run over by a freight train in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, a number of labourers were found sitting on the tracks and roaming around in Dhandari Kalan, Ludhiana, on Saturday.

These workers, who live in the labour quarters located near the railway tracks, usually come out of their rooms during evening hours and spend their leisure time sitting together on tracks.

SOCIAL DISTANCING GOES FOR A TOSS TOO

An industrialist, requesting anonymity, who was returning home after closing his unit on Saturday evening, said he found these workers sitting on the track. Most of them had not covered their mouths with masks or any other cloth and had thrown all social distancing norms to wind, he said. These migrants not only pose a risk to the society by not adopting social distancing, they can also become a cause of rail accidents. Moreover, no police personnel was present on the spot, the industrialist said.

Station house officer (SHO) of Government Railway Police (GRP), Ludhiana, sub-inspector Balvir Singh, said he had received an alert about the presence of migrants on tracks near Laddowal, not Dhandari, adding that a team was sent to check the situation, but no migrant was found on the tracks. However, I have alerted all GRP posts to keep an eye for such activities in their respective areas and take action against those found trespassing the railway tracks or sitting on them, the SHO said.

The railway policeman also appealed to the migrants not to put theirs or others lives at risk by sitting on tracks.
Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav was discharged from a Lucknow hospital where he was admitted after he complained of stomach and urine-related issues.

The Samajwadi Party founder, admitted to Medanta Hospital on Wednesday, was discharged on Saturday afternoon and he is fine now, party spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary said.

He had gone to the hospital for a routine check-up but the doctors admitted him for observation, Chaudhary said.

Chaudhary said Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav met him on Friday and enquired about his health.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
STAFF at University Maternity Hospital Limerick are using telephone and cloud computing technology to adapt mental health services for pregnant women and new mums who may be struggling as a result of social distancing restrictions.

Perinatal Mental Health Service leads at UMHL, Dr Mas Mahady, perinatal psychiatrist, and Maria Gibbons, mental health midwife manager, are issuing an urgent appeal for women during pregnancy and during the first 12 months after the birth of their babies, and who have concerns about their mental health, to be aware that help is very much at hand.

Maria Gibbons said: The Perinatal Mental Health Service is operating as normal. You can be referred by your midwife, your doctor at the maternity hospital, or by your GP.

Dr Mahady explained that even in normal circumstances, mental health presentations are common during pregnancy and the postpartum period, and some women may find the current socially distanced situation more stressful and anxiety-provoking.

Anxiety or depression will not go away in a pandemic. In fact, without support from extended family and friends, some women will find things a lot more stressful at home, Dr Mahady said.

He said pregnant women or new mums who feel anxious all the time, or are constantly experiencing a low or irritable mood, may well need help from a professional.

In line with the current social and physical distancing restrictions, the Perinatal Mental Health Service team at UMHL has reduced the amount of face to face contact, but used telephone and cloud computing technology for consultations.

Were using a software system that sends the patient a text message with a unique link for a secure video call. While it has taken a little getting accustomed to, its very user-friendly and very effective. Its important that those women know that they can still contact their GP by telephone, and that we are accepting referrals from GPs. Its important that they realise help is there at this time, Dr Mahady explained.

Mother-baby groups, and even baby massage classes, are being conducted via Zoom and Skype, among a range of other online services., Dr Mahady said.

The Mental Health and Community Support Services also continue to provide assessment, treatment and support for pregnant women, new mums and their families, and further information is available on these from GPs throughout the Mid-West.

The system encompasses a temperature detection unit, a calibration unit, and a laptop that displays the image of the people passing through the detection point.

Any visitor with a temperature detected in excess of 37.5 degrees Celsius will not be permitted on the hospital site.They will be provided with an information leaflet and advised to seek guidance from their GP.

The system has been generously donated to the hospital by Adare Manor and the McManus family. One detection point is already operational just beyond the hospitals entrance lobby, and this will soon be complemented by further detection units in areas of high footfall.

Dr Sarah O'Connell, Infectious Diseases Consultant and Clinical Lead for COVID-19 at UL Hospitals Group, said: This is an additional measure we have taken to try to help prevent the spread of Covid-19 at UHL, and we would like to thank all those involved in the introduction of this project.

The skin temperature monitoring system is a safe, non-invasive thermal imaging process that has been calibrated to detect temperatures greater than 37.5 degrees Celsius.High temperature may be a sign of fever, which is a common symptom of Covid-19, and the system will help identify anyone with an elevated temperature  and possibly infected with Covid-19  and prevent transmission of the infection within the hospital.

The system encompasses a temperature detection unit, a calibration unit, and a laptop that displays the image of the people passing through the detection point.

Members of the public attending a hospital appointment at UHL who are detected with a high temperature, will have their temperature rechecked manually. Patients whose temperature remains elevated will be asked to wait until clinicians assess the risk to the patient of not attending the scheduled appointment.

Any member of staff detected with a high temperature will be required to return home and contact their line manager after a manual temperature is taken.

Thermal imaging is a safe and non-invasive process, which involves no radiation. The system has been installed at UHL to reinforce a number of measures we have introduced to ensure a safe working and clinical environment for all patients and staff.

UL Hospitals Group would like to take this opportunity to thank the public of the Mid-West for their cooperation with the various measures we have introduced at UHL and across all of our sites, to minimise the risk of Covid-19 infection.
With the Delhi government coming under attack over "under-reporting" of coronavirus deaths on Saturday, Health Minister Satyendar Jain said not a single case will go unaccounted for, as the total tally of cases in the national capital climbed to 6,542.

Confusion prevailed over the number of COVID-19 deaths in Delhi, with data from four hospitals showing that 92 people succumbed to the infection as against 68 reported by the government.

Jain said the hospitals have not sent detailed death reports of patients which have information such reason of fatality, name, age and other things, on the basis of which COVID-19 health bulletin is updated.

He said the health department has asked the hospitals to send death reports and summaries at the earliest, so that the data can be promptly added to the bulletin.

The health department has synchronised its 24-hr time cycle for the daily bulletin on COVID-19 cases with that of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), an official said. Till now, the department's 24-hr time cycle was from 4 pm. It will now be 12 midnight.

According to its latest bulletin, no fresh death was reported due to the virus. Of the total cases in the city, 4,454 are active while 2,020 patients have recovered, it stated.

Six more police constables tested positive for coronavirus on Friday. A 31-year-old police constable had died of COVID-19 earlier this week.

The Delhi government has directed district administrations to release 2,446 Tablighi members from quarantine centres and ensure that they don't stay at any place except their residence.

In a letter to deputy commissioners (administration), Delhi Disaster Management Authority's Special CEO K S Meena said all the 567 foreign Markaz attendees will be handed over to the Delhi Police.

The move comes days after Delhi Home Minister Satyendar Jain ordered the release of Tablighi members who have completed their quarantine period at facilities here.

The district magistrates will explore the possibility of sending the Tablighi members, who belong to other states, in buses to their native places following social-distancing norms and other protocols, Meena said.

Meanwhile, opposition political parties trained their guns at the AAP government over the exact figure of coronavirus deaths.

Congress leader Ajay Maken asked the Arvind Kejriwal-led dispensation it "to be more transparent" in reporting cases of the disease. It was a "matter of shame" that Delhi was witnessing "a sorry state of affairs" in the fight against the pandemic, he said.

Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari said the chief minister should clear the air about the situation.

"Reports of under-reporting of coronavirus deaths are a matter of concern. It is extremely shameful that to hide its failures, the Delhi government is reportedly concealing COVID-19 death figures.

"This is not the time to for politics. People have the right to know about the severity of the epidemic and the Kejriwal government should tell them the truth," he said.

Seeking to clarify the matter, Jain said, "There is no reason to hide anything. We have asked hospitals to send the death reports or death summaries at the earliest. I give you guarantee that no case will go unaccounted for."



The toll of 68 shared by the government in its health bulletin on Friday is based on data collected from 10 hospitals, including AIIMS, Safdarjung Hospital, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and Lady Hardinge Medical College.

According to it, AIIMS (Delhi and Jhajjar) reported two deaths, Safdarjung Hospital reported four, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital 26 and Lady Hardinge Medical College had no fatalities till Friday.

However, officials from these hospitals said the number of people who died due to coronavirus till Friday is higher than what is reflected in the Delhi government's bulletin.

AIIMS (Delhi Trauma Centre and Jhajjar) has recorded 14 deaths, an official said.

According to AIIMS Medical Superintendent Dr D K Sharma, the discrepancy could have risen because the government is only counting the fatalities from the Trauma Centre, which has been converted into a dedicated COVID-19 hospital, and has not taken into account data from the Jhajjar facility.

"They are calling us for the data. We have told them we are regularly sending the correct, updated figures. We don't see any reason why wrong figures are being reflected," said a senior doctor at Safdarjung Hospital, which has reported 23 COVID-19 deaths.

Minakshi Bhardwaj, the medical superintendent of RML Hospital, which has reported 52 deaths, said, "We are providing them data regularly and correctly. It is up to them to incorporate it in their chart."



Lady Hardinge Medical College Director Dr N N Mathur said the hospital has reported three deaths to the government.

After the discrepancy in death toll came to light, Jain said, "If we had to hide data, we wouldn't have released Thursday's fresh COVID-19 cases which saw the highest single-day spike of 448 cases."



The health department has roped in three more private hospitals -- Fortis in Shalimar Bagh, Saroj Medical Institute in Sector 19, Rohini and Khushi Hospital in Dwarka -- with a total of 150 beds to treat COVID-19 patients.

Two days after launching the e-token system, officials said they have so far issued around 4.75 lakh e-tokens for liquor customers.

Under the e-token system, customers are given specific time for purchasing alcohol so that there is no violation of social distancing norms by people queuing up outside liquor stores.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In view of the coronavirus lockdown, the government of Punjab has announced that students of Class 10 in the state will be promoted to the next class on the basis of marks scored in pre-board examinations.

The state government in the state has also decided to promote students of Classes 6 and 8 to the next classes. The state government will follow the Centres guidelines for Class 11 and 12 exams, reported The Tribune.

The chief minister on Friday held an interactive session on Facebook to address the people's concerns. He will hold these weekly sessions to answer questions or issue clarifications regarding the situation prevailing amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The announcement by the Punjab government came following a notification by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) that pending Class 10 and Class 12 board exams would be held between 1 and 15 July. Earlier, the government in Punjab had announced that students of government schools from pre-primary to class 4 would be promoted without annual examinations.

Last month, Punjab decided to prepone summer vacations for both the government and private schools. The vacations started from 11 April and were to end on 10 May but they have now been extended till 15 June.

According to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, coronavirus has infected over 1,700 people in Punjab and claimed the lives of more than 25.
Representative image

David Streitfeld

Even as President Donald Trump has said we have to get our country open again, much of corporate America is in no rush to return employees to their campuses and skyscrapers. The companies are racing not to be the first back, but the last.

An increasing number of them, which mostly have white-collar employees, have recently extended work-from-home policies far beyond the shelter-in-place timelines mandated by state and local authorities.

Google and Facebook employees were told Thursday that they could stay home until next year. Capital One informed 40,000 workers that they will be out through Labor Day and possibly longer. Amazon is saying October. Nationwide Insurance is moving more aggressively than other firms, shuttering five offices around the country and having its 4,000 employees telecommute permanently.

The moves reflect the reality that no one is sure how the coronavirus pandemic will evolve. While deaths from the virus in hot zones like New York City have come down, new outbreaks have emerged elsewhere. Almost every day, there are at least 20,000 new cases in the U.S., bringing the countrys total to more than 1.2 million.

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

But even after the coronavirus no longer requires it, working from home is likely to retain a significant presence in corporate life. It will affect the shape of cities and the commercial real-estate industry, and change the culture at companies that for years have been building elaborate temples for their workers.

For many companies, which started having employees work from home in March, prolonging the policy is not just a safety measure. It is a pragmatic approach that helps workers with young children plan for a difficult summer and gives management time to reconfigure open-office plans into something safer.

Some companies said there is another reason: Working from home is working out well.

Follow our LIVE Updates on the coronavirus pandemic here

Working from home is a great thing for the company and for the employees, who dont want to get back in cars and commute for two hours. Thats lost productivity, said Joan Burke, chief people officer of DocuSign, a San Francisco tech company that enables electronic agreements. I see it happening way more often in the future.

DocuSign recently announced a September return but said it could easily be later. California is in lockdown until May 31, its governor, Gavin Newsom, has said.

It is no coincidence that tech companies are in the front ranks of the stay-at-home movement. Their software promotes working at a distance. Tattoo parlors, bars and hairdressing salons, all of which need face-to-face interaction with customers, have no such luxury.

Before the coronavirus struck, 8% of all wage and salaried employees worked from home at least one day a week, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics; about 2% worked from home full time. In a matter of days, the pandemic pushed telecommuting from marginal to mandatory in many parts of the country.

Now, even as states like Georgia and Illinois roll out phased reopenings, companies see a future for remote work. Gartner, the research firm and consultant, said its clients  mostly large firms that have little direct interaction with the public  expected as many as half their employees to work at home at least part time.

A broad shift could have major implications for traffic congestion, office culture and corporate profits. Smaller firms could draw on a much larger pool of potential workers who live beyond the radius of headquarters. And for some, it would erase the boundary between work and home.

There are risks to companies, too. Employee loyalty could become more tenuous, making retention more difficult. Managing could also become harder. But the bottom line exerts a powerful pull.

There are real cost benefits to doing this, and companies are in a period where cost matters a lot, said Brian Kropp, a Gartner vice president. Even if employees who are working remotely are 5% less productive, companies can save 20% on real estate and end up with a higher return.

Few are embracing the remote future as avidly as Zillow, the online real estate firm based in Seattle. It said April 24 that its 5,000 employees could work at home until 2021.

Three months ago, Zillow had traditional views about the workplace. About 2% of its employees worked remotely; another 4% worked from home part of the time. Everyone else went in every day.

I dont see those numbers ever going back to where they were, Dan Spaulding, Zillows chief people officer, said in an interview. Our bias against working from home has been completely exploded.

He said employees have stayed engaged while at home and the company was not seeing any discernible drop in productivity.

When Rich Barton, Zillows chief executive, tweeted his emphatic support for working from home late last month, a critic responded by quoting a post from employment rating site Glassdoor that the constant check-ins, daily reports and hours of meetings a day make it impossible to get your job completed.

Spaulding acknowledged that there are pieces that are negative here. The Zoom calls are great on some days, not on other days, and downright atrocious for some kinds of collaboration.

The open-office plan favored by Zillow and many other companies, however maligned, at least in theory encouraged a collaborative environment. Now they all need to think about reconfiguring to lower the risk of contagion.

If were going back to the 1980s office for health reasons  where everyone had an office with a door  I dont know how many employees are interested in that, Spaulding said.

The notion of telecommuting was invented by Jack Nilles, a former NASA engineer, in 1973. It originally was not about working from home, which was largely impossible before the commercial internet was developed in the late 1990s. Instead, people would go to convenient satellite offices to reduce commuting time.

Progress was fitful. New York, Washington, Seattle and San Francisco flourished while other cities lagged. The disparity kept growing.

Companies tried regional hubs, but it turned out you dont want to be in Phoenix when all the decisions are made in San Francisco, said Nicholas Bloom, a Stanford economics professor and co-director of the productivity, innovation and entrepreneurship program at the National Bureau of Economic Research.

In a 2015 study of work-from-home productivity, Bloom concluded that it went up, but he has mixed feelings about the current situation. While COVID-19 may help banish the stigma, he said, he doubted that working from home five days a week would grow much.

Its hard to remain motivated or innovative sitting in your living room, he said. That sounds more like being a gig worker.

That may be the fate of Nationwide Insurance employees in Gainesville, Florida; Harleysville, Pennsylvania; Raleigh, North Carolina; Wausau, Wisconsin, and Richmond, Virginia, whose offices will be closed permanently by Nov. 1.

Nationwide has 28,000 employees, about 20% of whom were already working remotely. The company said it was permanently transitioning to a hybrid operating model. Executives declined to be interviewed.

Other financial firms, which face more telecommuting security issues than other industries, are also beginning to push back return dates. Capital One said Tuesday that any return to offices this fall would be slow and staggered.

Amazon, which spent billions on its new Seattle urban campus, said April 30 that employees are welcome to work from home until October. Facebook and Google made internal announcements Thursday that most employees could telecommute until the end of the year but also said they would reopen offices this summer for employees who need to be there. The companies declined to comment.

Slack, which makes messaging technology that allows teams to communicate and work together, is seeing its business boom during the quarantine. But the San Francisco company plans to take as much time as necessary to determine any changes for its 2,000 employees.

Its easier to manage a company that is 100% remote than one where employees are 50% remote and 50% in the office, said Robby Kwok, Slacks senior vice president for people.

Thats because completely virtual companies need to write everything down for employees. Companies that combine the two approaches risk that some employees are more informed than others.

And in a world where crowds are now dangerous, Slack can help workers stay safe by keeping them at home. The earliest employees will return to the office is September, Kwok said.

We have this community obligation to be the last to go back, he said.

c.2020 The New York Times Company
MILLVILLE, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2020 / Pilot Samuel Brozina, an ERCO Ercoupe owner from Millville, New Jersey, outlines his passion for rare vintage aircraft.

Now out of production for half a century, the Engineering and Research Corporation Ercoupe was a civil aircraft market super-success in postwar America. One of a number of vintage airplanes today coveted by enthusiasts, ERCO Ercoupe owner Samuel Brozina, from Millville, New Jersey, explains more as he continues to delight in his passion for aviation.

"Something of a rarity among more modern civil aircraft such as Cessnas and Pipers, today, vintage airplanes are in big demand," explains Brozina, a licensed pilot. Samuel is also the proud owner of his very own ERCO Ercoupe, a low-wing monoplane aircraft designed and built in the United States until the start of the 1970s.

Subsequently out of production for some 50 years, Samuel Brozina is among the latest individuals to get his hands on an ERCO Ercoupe. "Today a rarity with fewer than 1,000 ERCO Ercoupes still registered to fly in the U.S., even among fellow pilots and aviation enthusiasts, the most common question I'm asked about my own airplane is, 'So, what exactly is it?'" reveals Samuel Brozina, clearly amused by the puzzled expressions often met in response to his rare vintage airplane.

First manufactured by the Engineering and Research Corporation shortly before World War II, following the war, several other manufacturers subsequently continued its production until 1970. "It was in the late 1960s that the bottom started to fall out of the civil aircraft market," suggests Ercoupe expert Samuel Brozina, "ultimately putting an end to the production of the now increasingly rare airplane as a result."

Marketed in its day as the future of personal travel, as well as claiming to be the world's safest plane, peak ERCO Ercoupe sales reached more than 6,000 annually. "Now, however, less than 2,000 survive," explains Samuel Brozina, a fan of the fixed-wing aircraft since childhood, "with more than half of those sadly no longer registered to take to the skies."

Story continues

Samuel Brozina, who holds a private pilot's license, says he's always been a particular admirer of World War II-era warbirds. In something of a case of good fortune, Brozina's own vintage aircraft came from a seller in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, less than 100 miles away from his Cumberland County home in Millville, New Jersey.

Such a fan of the Engineering and Research Corporation is Samuel Brozina that the pilot has even commissioned a one-of-a-kind ERCO jacket patch since purchasing his own plane. Designed especially and manufactured as just one-of-one, more generally, jacket patches and pilots, Brozina says, go together like bread and butter. "As a pilot, I'm no exception!" he suggests.

"A lifelong aviation enthusiast and a particular fan of World War II warbirds, it's incredibly nice," adds Samuel Brozina, wrapping up, "to finally own my own piece of aviation history from this fascinating period in time."

CONTACT:

Caroline Hunter

Web Presence, LLC

+1 7865519491

SOURCE: Web Presence, LLC





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Spring Creek Village Assisted Living residents sat outside the facility May 8 wearing protective masks and holding inflatable noise makers. Nearby, loved ones put floral decorations on their vehicles and readied handmade signs with messages like, Love you Mama!

As a way to break up the monotony of staying indoors for the assisted living residents, unable to see visitors due to their high-risk for complications from coronavirus, staff organized a spring parade of family members, with appearances from local first responders and organizations.
At least seven of the 10 Russian Old Believer churches near Woodburn were shuttered earlier this week, not a single car in the parking lots. One church posted a handwritten sign on the gate, CLOSED CANCELED Due to COVID-19.

Near the front door of another church, Oregon Health Authority messages in Russian and in English were pinned to a board, instructing people to wash their hands often, avoid touching their face, avoid contact with sick people and cover their mouths when sick.

As Old Believer leaders in Oregon try to slowly bridge the gap between their isolated community of about 10,000 and the outside world, the coronavirus pandemic has sped up the work.

The two ZIP codes with the largest outbreaks in Oregon are in Woodburn and Gervais, a part of the state that has long been the core of Oregons Old Believers. State research shows 181 total infections in those ZIP codes.

The group, united in history, religion and language, has lived in the area for decades and many members have a historic distrust of the government conditioned by centuries of persecution in Russia and the Soviet Union. The group was so named because members refused to go along with 17th century reforms in the Russian Orthodox Church.

Anna Kasachev, whos running for a state House seat, has been at the forefront of efforts to connect the Old Believers to their wider surroundings.

It hasnt always been easy.

People dont know and sort of dont understand the outside world, Kasachev said. They are fearful.

Kasachev has now taken on the role of messenger, relaying health messages about social distancing and the need for masks to local church leaders and the hundreds of people who have signed on to message strings.

Hanging over her work is one major unknown: How hard has the disease struck her people? She has heard unconfirmed reports of only several people. She knows of no one who has died from the coronavirus, she said.

Its made its way into our community, Kasachev said. And so, there might be more people. I cant say yes, 100 percent.

***

The community is vulnerable because life revolves so much around Old Believers Christian faith, especially during last months Easter season, one of the groups most sacred traditions.

Up to 100 people, for instance, attended Easter services April 19 at leader Anton Chuprovs church, a parishioner said, with some able to stay more than six feet away from each other and others not.

Many people opted to stay home this Easter, Chuprov said.

As the law said, so we did, he said.

Chuprov has heard of two people who have contracted the coronavirus in the greater Old Believer community, one who has been hospitalized, he said. But nobody who attended his Easter service has fallen ill, he said.

Lev Goktas, an Old Believer who goes to a church near Gervais, said he didnt attend Easter service after his church leader told the congregation that older and sick people should stay home. The 59-year-old has throat cancer. His wife did attend the service, he said.

State and Marion County public health officials have said they dont know the source of the local outbreak. They dont track patients religious affiliations.

Jenna Wyatt, a Marion County spokeswoman, said they dont know much other than the cases are concentrated in the northern part of the county.

Health officials have been working with more than six groups representing the minority populations in the area -- in addition to Old Believers, Woodburn also is the center of the Willamette Valleys Latino population -- to make sure health information is getting to people who might be hard to reach through standard methods.

There has not been a community that has not been impacted by the virus, Wyatt said.

The disease, for instance, has hit Marion Countys Latino population harder than Latinos in the rest of the state, county statistics indicate. So far, 35 percent of the countys coronavirus cases identify as Hispanic or Latino versus 29 percent in the state as a whole.

It is most important that all of our community members understand that everyone is at risk of COVID-19, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, or age, Wyatt said.

Thats where Kasachev has come in. She was one of the founders of the nonprofit organization Russian Old Believers Community last year and she and others in the group have taken on the job of liaison between health officials and church leaders.

She said some of the churches have continued to hold services, though with far fewer attendees than normal  and she bristles, as have others in the state, at Gov. Kate Browns mandate to ban large gatherings as it applies to religious gatherings.

Ten churches sued Brown on Thursday, demanding that the governors March order banning gatherings of more than 25 people be lifted. Old Believer churches were not among those suing the government.

***

The Old Believer churches in Marion County stand out in the landscape, topped with golden onion domes and rising among fields or nestled between homes.

Bethlehem Drive, three miles east of Gervais, has three of the churches, with the Church of the Holy Ascension in the middle, its seven domes all adorned by Orthodox Christian crosses. The crosses have three beams, the lowest one slanted from left to right to symbolize the different attitudes of the two thieves who were crucified with Jesus Christ.

One of three Russian Old Believer churches on Bethlehem Drive Northeast, near Gervais.

Unlike the other churches, most of the Holy Ascension facade is covered in iconography, with Saint Peter and Saint Paul greeting parishioners on either side of the entrance and more than 100 figures with golden halos above the entrance.

This was the church with the state instructions on how to avoid the coronavirus hanging on a wrinkled board, alongside other parish documents, including a volunteer sign-up sheet and event schedule.

A mile away on Frolov Drive Northeast, a closed fence surrounded a far larger church, the one led by Anton Chuprov. The gate to the church lot was closed last Sunday and the vast parking lot was empty.

Easter is the most important holiday for Old Believers. They fast seven weeks beforehand, and the celebrations last a week.

Many people, including Kasachev, didnt attend the full week of Easter services, wanting to protect themselves and their families. She did attend her churchs Sunday Easter service.

The majority of the community really sacrificed a lot to try to stay safe, she said.

To help people pray at home, Kasachevs organization sent community members a 25-page electronic document containing the Easter canon in the traditional language of the Russian Orthodox Church  Old Church Slavonic.

Kasachev has repeatedly reached out to church leaders, she said, to say that older people, children and people with health issues shouldnt attend church.

She and others in her group have emphasized the importance of staying a safe distance away from each other. Her church, for example, has tape on the floors six feet apart.

People, in turn, have been reaching out to her to ask about the diseases dangers, and theyre listening, she said.

A lot of people said, Is this real? Kasachev said. Is there something behind this that we dont know?

Community members are responding, she said, noting that some among the Old Believers have stepped up to switch from sewing clothes to sewing masks for local health care workers.

Other churches are taking the lead.

One had a printed sign attached to a fence saying that 6-foot social distancing was required, citing one of the governors executive orders.

Stay safe & stay healthy, the message read.

-- Fedor Zarkhin

fzarkhin@oregonian.com

desk: 503-294-7674|cell: 971-373-2905|@fedorzarkhin

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
According to intelligence data, one member of Russia-led forces was killed and another two were wounded on May 8.

Russia's hybrid military forces on May 8 mounted seven attacks on Ukrainian army positions in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, with four Ukrainian soldiers reported as wounded in action.

"The Russian Federation's armed formations violated the ceasefire seven 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 9. "As a result, four servicemen of the Joint Forces were wounded in enemy shelling."

Read alsoUS$1.3 bln on salaries alone: Ukraine official tells of Russian expenditures in occupied Donbas

Russian-led forces opened fire from proscribed 120mm and 82mm mortars, an anti-tank missile system, grenade launchers of various types, UAVs, heavy machine guns, and rifles.

Under attack were Ukrainian positions near the towns of Maryinka and Avdiyivka, and the villages of Shyrokyne, Kamianka, Pisky, Orikhove, and Krymske.

Joint Forces returned fire to each enemy attack. According to intelligence data, one member of Russia-led forces was killed and another two were wounded on May 8.

"Since Saturday midnight, Russia-led forces have attacked Ukrainian positions near the villages of Krymske and Khutir Vilny, using 120mm and 82mm mortars, tripod-mounted man-portable antitank guns, and heavy machine guns," the update said.

There have been no Ukrainian army casualties since Saturday midnight.
When 22 warehouse workers at Rent The Runway in Secaucus told HuffPost they were placed at risk during the coronavirus pandemic so that women could wear designer dresses, the story quickly gained traction online. It was seen by man as a stark example of economic inequality: Wage workers were being put at risk so that wealthier shoppers could continue to have access to high fashion.

The reality is more complicated, and singling out Rent the Runway is unfair, the company insists.

Across New Jersey during the stay-at-home orders, non-essential retailers have continued to operate warehouses to package and distribute everything from makeup to electronics.

Rent The Runways position is that warehouses can continue to operate as long as the workers follow social-distancing guidelines.

Rent The Runway operates as a fulfillment center, much like Amazon, a company spokeswoman said.

We get a lot of complaints about the warehouses, Secaucus police Chief Dennis Miller told NJ Advance Media.

Miller said he couldnt say for sure whether Rent the Runway is considered an essential business and referred the question to Christine Aguilera, the towns health department administrator.

Aguilera did not respond to requests for comment on the matter.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

The thing about essential has been really tricky, said Erin Santy, spokeswoman for The RealReal, a luxury consignment shop that operates warehouses in Secaucus and Perth Amboy.

Like Rent The Runway, Santy said Gov. Phil Murphys executive orders allow non-essential retailers to continue to operate  as long as the sales are not in person.

Santy said a couple of workers at each of the New Jersey warehouses have contracted COVID-19 but she wouldnt be any more specific. Rent The Runway did not comment on whether any of its workers had been infected.

However, both companies state they have given their workers masks and gloves and have enforced strict and safe guidelines inside their warehouses.

We have instituted social distancing measures, such as rearranged workstations, common spaces and staggered scheduling to meet or exceed recommendations, Rent The Runway said in its statement.

In a May 6 letter to shareholders, The RealReal said it had taken the extra measures of sanitizing during every hour of every shift and deep cleaning once a week.

They are also consulting with an outside medical expert to validate our approach and to identify ways to continually improve, the letter said.

One of the workers who complained to HuffPost said the company had found a loophole in Murphys executive orders to continue operating.

But state official say that claim just isnt true.

This is a misunderstanding about how the EOs work  this isnt a loophole, Sharon Lauchaire, director of communications for the state, said Friday.

Warehouses can continue operating in New Jersey, Lauchhaire said, adding that the essential versus non-essential line relates to whether retail can be open to the public.

Since non-essential goods are available online or by phone, warehousing still needs to be happening as part of that process, she said.

All warehouses in New Jersey must follow the guidelines in Executive Order 122, which states in part they must limit the occupancy to 50%, install physical barriers such as shield guards, and provider workers with face coverings.

Warehouses have to abide by the strict social distancing guidelines that were put in place through various orders that weve issued, Murphys chief counsel, Matt Platkin, said during Fridays press briefing.

If theyre not, theres a complaint process and wed be happy to look into it," Platkin said.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com.
Amid a tussle between the Centre and the West Bengal government, sources said that Home Minister Amit Shah has written to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the issue of migrants. As per sources, the Home Minister has said that the Central government is operating Shramik special trains to facilitate the return of migrant labourers to their native places, but her State government is not co-operating. Home Minister Shah has also demanded an answer on the Mamata government's inaction over the migrants' distress in Bengal.

This comes days amid a continuous tussle between the Centre and the Mamata government on handling of the deadly Coronavirus pandemic. While the State government claimed that they are transparent on their COVID data and accused Centre of 'playing politics', the Centre claimed that Mamata Banerjee administration is hiding the grave situation of the pandemic in the State.

READ | Disinfectant sprayed on Shramik Train passengers upon arrival at WB's Dankuni

"But we are not getting expected support from the West Bengal. The state government of West Bengal is not allowing the trains reaching to West Bengal. This is injustice with West Bengal migrant labourers. This will create further hardship for them," Shah wrote.

As per details accessed by Republic TV, the chart for trains that terminated at various states till 9 AM on Saturday shows that even as 265 trains operated across India, only 2 trains terminated in West Bengal.

READ | Lockdown relaxations evoke tepid response in Bengal; liquor shops see huge crowd

Centre claims Mamata govt blocked State borders

On Thursday, MHA Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla wrote to the Mamata-led government directing it to not block the movement of trucks across Bangladesh border after reports came on May 2 that trucks carrying essential goods were not allowed to move to Benapole, located on the other side of the border at Petrapol. Responding to it, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) denied charges levelled by Union home secretary and accused him of "trying to please his political bosses in Delhi".

READ | Mamata's Trinamool slams Home Secretary after Centre alleges blocking of goods movement

The MHA also wrote to the Mamata government regarding the COVID situation in the State. On it, CM Mamata's party said that Centre has given '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 such as Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, where the number of such people is much higher," a senior TMC leader said.

READ | MHA directs Bengal govt to unblock Bangladesh border, 'consider international implication'
By Express News Service

BELAGAVI: The relentless efforts being made by the district administration and the police to free Hirebagewadi town from Covid- 19 have failed to yield results.

This small town located 20-km from the city has turned into a hotspot of coronavirus recording 47 cases so far.

Besides initiating stringent measures to contain the spread of virus for the past few weeks at Hirebagewadi, most of top police and other officers are visiting the town at regular intervals to take stock of the situation.

Most of the primary and secondary contacts of people who were tested positive in the initial stage and later have been quarantined from Hirebagewadi.

However, the virus is believed to have spread among a large sections of people in the town given the way number of cases are shooting up. On a single day on Friday, 10 out of 48 cases were recorded in Hirebagewadi alone that takes the total number of cases in the district to 85.

Some of the patients in Hirebagewadi had already mingled with people for some days before they were put under quarantine.

Marked as containment zone, strict measures have been taken by the government to avoid any activity here except for the supply of essential materials to the residents.

On Friday, six of the 10 people tested positive from the town are women while one is a minor girl.

The situation in the city has been under control even as some containment zones are still being set up.

Four persons who were tested positive at Camp locality in the heart of city were discharged after recovery a few days ago. Another worst-hit area here is Kudchi town in Raibag taluk where 19 persons have tested positive for coronavirus so far. In all, 36 of the 85 so far tested positive in the district have been discharged from the hospital.

5-month-old baby among 12 new cases in Bhatkal

Karwar: Bhatkal witnessed a surge in cases on Friday, with 12 people, including a five-month-old baby and a child, testing positive. The parents of the minors, their relatives, and close friends of the family members are among the new cases.

Uttara Kannada Deputy Commissioner K Harish Kumar told TNIE that the family had been infected at the First Neuro Hospital in Dakshina Kannada district.

They had obtained permission and gone for treatment of the baby, who had convulsions. But they did not reveal where they had been for treatment, he said.

14 new cases reported in Davanagere, total up to 66

Davangere: Davanagere city reported 14 new positive cases on Friday, taking the total number in the district to 66. Ten of the patients had reportedly come in contact with Patient 533, while the rest of the cases are contacts of Patient 556. Of the cases, four died, taking the active cases to 60.

They are being treated at Chigateri General Hospital. DC Mahantesh Bilagi said that all the patients who tested positive were quarantined at Chigateri Hospital and their condition is stable.

The source of the infection in the district is the staff nurse at an urban health centre and 69-year-old patient, the DC said.
BJP president J P Nadda said on Saturday that making "inhuman" comments about the health of Home Minister Amit Shah is "extremely condemnable".

"Making inhuman comments about the health of Home Minister Amit Shah is extremely condemnable. Spreading such misleading remarks about anyone's health shows the mindset of people doing so. I strongly condemn it and pray to God to grant them good sense," Nadda said in a tweet.

His tweet came after Shah, also Nadda's predecessor as the BJP president, asserted in a statement that he is "totally healthy" and rejected rumours being spread about his ill health on social media.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Barr Says Justice Department Will Back Trumps Push to Overturn Obamacare

Attorney General William Barr said that the Justice Department will take the same position as the President in urging the Supreme Court to overturn the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare.

Barr made the comments during an interview with CBSs Catherine Herridge on Thursday when he was asked to share his position on the Trump administrations push to overturn Obamacare.

We had an opportunity, all the stakeholders in the administration, to discuss this, and the Department is going to be taking the position as the president states, Barr told Herridge.

The ACA is currently being challenged in a pair of appeals that reached the Supreme Court earlier this year. The top court in March agreed to take up one of the requeststhe one by Democratic-led stateswhich asked the justices to review a decision from a lower court that found a key tenet, known as the individual mandate, of the ACA unconstitutional.

The House of Representatives also filed a similar appeal in early January asking the court to review the lower courts decision.

The House and Democratic-led states said the courts consideration is necessary because of the uncertainty the lower courts decision has on health insurance and the health care marketplace, as well as for millions of Americans who have purchased coverage under Obamacare (pdf).

The Trump administration, which has declined to defend the ACA, has, on the other hand, asked the Supreme Court to not take up the cases because the district court hasnt yet decided on the question of severability. It said that the court should defer a review of the decision until after the case has completed its proceedings in the lower courts.

The Supreme Court will hear the case next term, which begins in the fall.

Trump and Republicans have taken steps to weaken the ACA in an effort to ultimately repeal and replace the Obama-era law with more lower-cost options. They say the ACA represented government overreach and increased the cost of health care. Meanwhile, Democrats have vowed to strengthen the law following the Republicans efforts to invalidate the law through this case.

On Wednesday, Trump doubled down on his vow to terminate the ACA, saying that it failed to live up to what it promises and is a disaster.

Just so you understand, Obamacare is a disaster, but weve run it very well. And weve made it barely acceptable. It was a disaster under President Obama, and its very bad healthcare, Trump said.

What we want to do is terminate it and give great healthcare. And well have great healthcare, including preexisting conditions, he added.

The administration is yet to unveil their plan to replace the ACA, a move which has attracted much criticism from Democrats. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar said earlier in the year that the Obamacare replacement proposal will not come until after the Supreme Court rules on the pending lawsuit challenging the health care law.

During the interview, Herridge asked Barr whether he was concerned that the Trump administrations move could mean millions of Americans could be stripped of their health care in the middle of a pandemic.

Well, the case isnt gonna be argued until October, Barr replied. And the presidents made clear that he strongly supports coverage of preexisting conditions. And there will be coverage of preexisting conditions. And, you know, he expects to fix and replace Obamacare with a better health care system.

Trumps position has been slammed by House Democrat leaders, who argue that the ACA is necessary to protect the health and economic security in America especially during the CCP virus public health crisis.

The Presidents insistence on doubling down on his senseless and cruel argument in court to destroy the ACA and every last one of its benefits and protections is unconscionable, particularly in the middle of a pandemic, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement on Wednesday.

The House filed a brief (pdf) supporting the Democratic-led states in the Supreme Court case on Wednesday, arguing that the Republicans claim that the individual mandate is not severable from the rest of the ACA is baseless and implausible.
When the news broke that Britain was going into lockdown, Mark Cribb admits his first reaction was to panic.

His 12-bedroom boutique hotel, beachside cafe and restaurant in Bournemouth would have to close, slashing his income to almost nothing  potentially for many months  just as the crucial summer season approached.

But with dozens of staff and his own livelihood at risk, it wasn't long before his entrepreneurial mind started to whirl.

Small business owners can apply for 3,000 of free advertising in DMGT's newspapers

'After 'panic stations!' my second thought was, 'how do we get out of this?',' says Cribb, whose leisure company Urban Guild usually turns over 4.5million a year.

Determined to keep going somehow, Cribb has converted the car park of his hotel, Urban Beach, into Bournemouth's first drive-through restaurant, where customers pre-order, pre-pay and then drive to an allotted bay at a set time where their freshly cooked evening meal is loaded into their boot  all contact-free.

'We managed to get a website set up in 72 hours and launched last weekend,' says Cribb. 'We took 1,800 compared to a normal Saturday night's takings of around 30,000, so it's a drop in the ocean, but it felt great to be actually doing something. To walk into the kitchen and see the burners on was quite emotional.'

Cribb, who hopes to expand the drive-through service to offer sales of frozen food, says he is living off his overdraft 'and with the help of some very patient suppliers'.

He is waiting for a 300,000 Government-backed emergency coronavirus loan to be approved.

'The sector is really on the brink and we need a lot more help from Government,' he says, 'but the great thing is seeing the support we've got from the community.'

It is stories like Cribb's, of bravery and a determination to keep calm and carry on even as a severe economic downturn threatens the existence of millions of small British firms, that has prompted the Daily Mail and General Trust, the owner of The Mail on Sunday, to launch a groundbreaking support package in collaboration with the Federation of Small Businesses.

That's the spirit: Boutique hotel owner Mark Cribb

From this Wednesday, small business owners can apply for 3,000 of free advertising in DMGT's stable of newspapers.

Your 3,000 fund will give you access to a branded advert in the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday, the i newspaper and the Metro.

On top of that, you will get online adverts on Mail Online, one of the world's biggest news websites, and Metro.co.uk, which is read by millions across the UK.

Support from our community is great Boutique hotel owner Mark Cribb

To help you get the most out of your fund, a dedicated local account manager from Mail Metro Media, our marketing experts, will be on hand to tailor the advertising campaign to your business and to your customers. We will even create adverts for you if you don't have them ready to go.

DMGT will hand out 1,000 funds. But businesses will need to meet our criteria and will be subject to assessment by a panel of representatives from DMGT and the Federation of Small Businesses.

To qualify, business owners must employ no more than 150 staff and have an annual turnover of less than 6 million.

Your business must also have been in operation for more than six months. Unfortunately, that means the newest start-ups, which may have yet to start trading properly, are unable to apply.

Reboot your business with FREE adverts worth 3,000 The owner of The Mail on Sunday  Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT)  is offering free advertising in our newspapers to 1,000 small firms who have been hit by the coronavirus crisis. DMGT has launched the scheme in collaboration with the trade body the Federation of Small Businesses to help small firms bounce back as the lockdown is eased. WHAT YOU GET 3,000 of free advertising in The Mail on Sunday, Daily Mail, Metro, the i, Mail Online and Metro.co.uk. A local account manager to ensure your advertising is tailored to your business and customers. Adverts created for you by us if you dont have them ready to go. A choice of when the adverts run. WHO CAN APPLY You must meet the following criteria: Your business employs 150 people or fewer. Your annual turnover doesnt exceed 6 million. You are in a position to redeem the 3,000 advertising fund before September 30, 2020. The 3,000 funds will be handed out based on the strength of your application. It will be popular so dont delay. ... AND HERES WHAT TO DO Applications will open on Wednesday, May 13. Go to grants.fsb.org.uk and create an account. Provide details including: number of employees, turnover and when you want to start advertising. Include a brief description of how the adverts would help your business recover and how your company has coped during the Covid-19 crisis. We will contact you by email within seven days if you are successful. For full terms and conditions see: grants.fsb.org.uk/terms-and-conditions.html

Your firm will need to be in a position to spend the 3,000 fund on adverts in our newspapers before September 30, 2020. Any credit left by that date cannot be carried over.

In their applications, businesses will need to explain how the fund will help them get back on their feet or keep helping them to help their local community.

We are also asking you for a brief description of how your company has coped during the Covid-19 crisis.

These might include adapting to the lockdown measures by supporting vital services, such as health workers or by getting food to the needy. This will be taken into consideration in the panel's assessment of your application.

You will need to submit a high resolution version of your company logo and details including the number of employees on the books, estimated annual turnover  it doesn't need to be exact  and when you would like to start your advertising campaign.

Businesses that are still unable to trade due to the lockdown will be able to say that they do not wish to place any adverts until they can accept customers again.

Pub boss Shiv Lewis is determined the 150-year old Garibaldi pub in Redhill, Surrey, will survive the coronavirus crisis

Some may wish to promote the other work they are doing during the crisis. In short, you will be able to create an advert with us that works for your business and decide when it should appear.

To apply, go to grants.fsb.org.uk. Successful applicants will be notified by email.

Martin Smith, Mail Metro Media's executive director of Direct Sales, says: 'Businesses are facing the toughest challenges imaginable and we are committed to supporting them as best we can.

'As a company, we match our words with action, which is why we are providing 3million of free advertising for hundreds of small firms, who are so vital to this country's economy.'

Were busy... and thats to be celebrated Pilgrim Brewery's Rory Fry-Stone

More and more brave businesses are adapting to these extraordinary times  by launching extraordinarily creative new ventures.

The 150-year old Garibaldi pub in Redhill, Surrey, has survived wars, recessions and the threat of being turned into flats. Its general manager Shiv Lewis is determined it will survive the coronavirus crisis as well.

The pub's off-licence means it is able to sell drinks off-site, but she also wanted to be able to sell essential groceries to the community.

'We looked at finding a supply chain but all the cash-and-carrys were overwhelmed and weren't taking new customers,' she says.

Thankfully, she found MyPubShop, a new, not-for-profit initiative created by the e-commerce outfit StarStock, which enables pubs and cafes to sell online.

Pilgrim Brewery's co-owner Rory Fry-Stone

Backed by suppliers such as Brakes and Bestway, MyPubShop means pubs can source and sell groceries as well as beer, wine, spirits and soft drinks.

When customers place an order with The Garibaldi via MyPubShop, they are called with a pick-up time and can buy anything from baked beans to freshly pulled pints of draught ale, all contact-free.

'I'm a complete technophobe, but even I can manage the platform and it's been an absolute lifeline for us,' says Shiv.

'Turnover is still down but only by half, meaning we've been able to pay our bills and our suppliers.

'We've also been able to keep an eye on our local community and support our local breweries, such as Pilgrim Brewery in Reigate, so they can keep trading too.'

Sam Ulph, of StarStock, says that the coronavirus crisis meant it couldn't launch a new e-commerce product as planned, so it launched MyPubShop in just seven days so pubs could keep trading.

More than 7,000 businesses and customers have already signed up to the site, which is backed by pub chains including Admiral Taverns, Greene King and St Austell.

'It's free for pubs to use and means they can sell anything from the basic essentials to hot meals, fish and chips, Sunday roast, whatever they like,' says Ulph.

'Some cafes and delis are finding that they're making more money from deliveries and takeaways than they were before lockdown.'

The independently owned Pilgrim Brewery in Reigate, Surrey, says it is the oldest craft brewery in the South East and, by focusing its business on sales via its Tap Room and outlets such as The Garibaldi, as well as local delis and farm shops, has been able to keep turnover the same as this time last year.

'The local support has been incredible,' says Pilgrim Brewery's co-owner Rory Fry-Stone.

'I think everyone was in a state of shock at the beginning but by concentrating on retail sales and bottled beers we are keeping our heads above water.

'We love this industry and at the moment we're busy, which in the current climate is something to be celebrated.'
Another four people linked to the coronavirus-stricken Cedar Meats processing facility in Victoria have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

Two workers and two close contacts are among the new cases bringing the total from the Brooklyn facility in Melbourne's west to 75.

On Saturday Victorian Attorney-General Jill Hennessy reported a total of 11 new cases, bringing the state total to 1,477.

Another four cases of coronavirus have been confirmed and are linked to the cluster at the Cedar Meats meat processing facility in Victoria

Authorities initially suggested the first case was identified on April 27, but later admitted an employee contracted the virus three weeks earlier, on April 2.

Medics are still working to establish the source of infection.

One of the new cases is a traveller who recently returned to Victoria and has been put into 14-day quarantine.

The other six new cases of coronavirus in the state are still under investigation.

The new cases are comprised of two workers and two close contacts, bringing the total from the Brooklyn facility in Melbourne's west to 75 (pictured: A man being tested in Melbourne)

Victoria has conducted over 140,000 coronavirus test but on Friday, Premier Daniel Andrews said restrictions won't be rolled back until he gets the results.

'The current restrictions remain in place until then - and I trust everyone will keep doing the right thing over the weekend,' he said.

'We've come so far and Victorians have given so much.

'Now is not the time to throw it all away because our frustrations got the better of us.'

There are a total of 6,928 cases of coronavirus in Australian and 97 people have died.
Raipur: Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi suffered a cardiac arrest on Saturday (May 9) and was rushed to Shree Narayana Hospital in Raipur where he was put on ventilator support. The hospital released a statement in the afternoon saying that the senior politician has regained his pulse and his ECG is also normal.

74-year-old Jogi's health worsened while he was having breakfast, following which he was admitted in hospital this afternoon, his son Amit Jogi told media.

A bureaucrat-turned politician, Ajit Jogi had served as the first CM of Chhattisgarh from November 2000 to November 2003 in then Congress government, after the state came into existence.

The Jogi senior parted ways with the Congress in 2016 after he and his son got embroiled in a controversy over a by-election.

Later, he quit the Congress and formed Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J).
Afia Brewer was initially skeptical about the coronavirus pandemic.

Im not going to lie, said Brewer, a 32-year-old loan officer and mother of two. In the beginning, when it first started spreading, I questioned it. I was on Facebook asking if anyone knew anyone with this virus.

Then her mother, Arriejay Hopkins, got sick.

Hopkins, a lifelong Detroit resident, was recovering from knee surgery and it appeared she had a cold that was getting worse. It turned out she caught coronavirus from her husband, who works as a security guard.

Hopkins went to the Sinai Grace Hospital on March 29, Brewer said. Three days later, Hopkins was in the intensive-care unit. Brewer flew from her Atlanta-area home to Detroit, but no hospital visitors were allowed.

Hopkins died on April 6, at age 63. Because of the pandemic, Brewer never had a chance to say good-bye. Hopkins was cremated, and plans for a memorial service are on hold.

Its been a staggering loss, Brewer said. Her mother was full of life, a very, very social person who never missed a party. A woman who loved traveling, going to casinos, card games with friends, fancy clothes and big hats. A matriarch who anchored a family that included three grown children and 12 grandchildren.

Mama was my best friend, my therapist, Brewer said. We spoke every day. Its still hard because Im so used to calling her and I cant. ... The tears come very day."

The quickness of Hopkins death made it even harder, she said. It seems we were just talking and laughing on the phone. How did this happen?

This weekend is especially difficult. Brewer, who has two young children herself, will be marking her first Mothers Day without her mom. I dont even want to think about it, she said Friday.

But she does want to send a messages to others: Coronavirus needs to be taken seriously, and for that reason, think twice about visiting your mother on Sunday.

You can love from afar, Brewer said. You can speak to your mom through a video chat or FaceTime. But you cant speak to her when six feet under. So think about that when youre coming in and out of her house.

Its a message echoed by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and medical professionals this Mothers Day.

The last thing you want to give your mother for Mothers Day is a case of COVID, said Dr. Russell Lampen, an infectious disease specialist for Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids.

He noted that COVID-19 has a 10% mortality rate for people age 70 and older. For this Mothers Day, my recommendation is that you give Mom a phone call, you do a FaceTime meeting, you do a drive-by and wave versus an in-person visit, he said.

I know its hard, but my wife and I arent going to get together with my mother -- were going to drive by, honk and wave and keeping going, he said. Knock on wood, hopefully we can do a combined Mothers Day and Fathers Day in June.

Brewer said that shes learned the importance of the stay home, stay safe message in the hardest way possible.

Everybody really, really needs to respect social distancing, Brewer said. They need to respect this virus. Its real. I dont want them to have to become a believer the way I did.

More:

Pa. had an early plan to protect nursing home residents from the coronavirus, but never fully implemented it

5-year-old in NY dies from mysterious illness believed to be connected to coronavirus, 73 children sick

Roy Horn of Siegfried & Roy dies from complications related to coronavrius: report

Famous war photographer beats coronavirus at 97, credits determination and red wine for long life
T he number of hospital patients that have died in the UK after testing positive for coronavirus has risen by 255 to 26,348.

NHS England has announced 207 new deaths of people who tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 22,972.

A total of 1,847 patients have died in Scotland, up by 36 on Friday, the Scottish Government announced.

Public Health Wales said a total of 1,099 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus in Wales, an increase of nine on Fridays figures

Brits have been urged to resist the temptation to break the rules this Bank Holiday weekend / PA

Another four Covid-19 deaths were reported in Northern Ireland, the department of health said, bringing the total number of fatalities to 430.

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These figures relate only to those who have died in a hospital setting.

The overall toll, including care homes and in the community, currently stands at 31,587 , having risen by 346, according to figures from the Department of Health.

The true scale of the UK's crisis is not known due to ministers' call to end mass testing earlier on in the pandemic, but deaths are thought to have passed 36,500 when registered Covid-19 fatalities are included.

Boris Johnson is expected to set out the next phase of the Government's response / AP

The latest rise comes as Boris Johnson redoubled his call for Brits to stay indoors over the sunny Bank Holiday weekend following fears some are breaching lockdown rules.

The Coastguard recorded its highest daily number of call-outs since lockdown began on Friday as its chief hit out at people "ignoring" the stay-at-home message.

The Prime Minister warned that venturing out for non-essential reasons could "undo everything that's been done so far".

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He is expected to outline the UK's "roadmap" towards firing up the economy post-lockdown in an address to the nation on Sunday night.

It came as reports claimed ministers are planning on quarantining all arrivals at airports and sea ports for 14-days from early June.

The PM has said he will proceed with "maximum caution" but that Brits could expect "very limited" changes to the rules from next week.
Iulia Rontu, Josh Hulst, and Edric Lin collaborate on a project together. We are very honored to have earned this nationwide award again from Inc., said Josh Hulst, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of MichiganLabs. We have an outstanding team; this is really about recognizing their efforts.

Michigan Software Labs 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. This is the second year in a row Michigan Software Labs has won this award from Inc. 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 Inc. ranked all the employers using a composite score of survey results.

We are very honored to have earned this nationwide award again from Inc., said Josh Hulst, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of MichiganLabs. We have an outstanding team; this is really about recognizing their efforts.

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.

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 Michigan Software Labs

Michigan Software Labs develops custom mobile, web, and Internet of Things (IoT) software for clients ranging from middle-market businesses to Fortune 500 companies. Recognized as a leader in UX/UI design, with millions of end-users to date, Michigan Software Labs was named the #1 App Development Company in the U.S.A. by MobileAppDaily.com and one of the Top UX Design Companies in the U.S. by Clutch. MichiganLabs is a two-time winner of the Inc. Best Workplaces Award and a member of the Forbes Technology Council.

About Inc.

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.
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Friday continued to eschew key public health guidelines from his own administration - meeting with Republican lawmakers and World War II veterans without a face-mask - while expressing confidence that he is protected from the coronavirus despite a second White House staffer testing positive this week.

The president appeared puzzled that the aide, Katie Miller, the press secretary for Vice President Mike Pence, had contracted the virus "out of the blue" after testing negative several times under a routine White House screening program put in place last month.

During the event with GOP members, Trump suggested "the whole concept of tests isn't great," but he declared that he was satisfied with the procedures that are in place to protect him and his top aides.

"I don't worry about things. I do what I have to do," said Trump, who this week resumed traveling with a visit to a manufacturing facility in Phoenix. "We're dealing with an invisible situation. Nobody knows. All you can do is take precaution and do the best that you can."

The discovery of the virus within the heavily fortified White House complex this week sent shock waves through the staff and prompted renewed scrutiny of the safety measures around a commander in chief who has personally flouted social distancing policies and other best practices recommended by the Centers for Disease Control during the pandemic.

Several security officials with executive branch experience said in interviews Friday that the White House has taken a lax and risky approach that, in their view, reflected Trump's consistent efforts to minimize the threat from the virus. The president has pushed to reopen parts of the country as more than 30 million people have filed for unemployment benefits, upending his plans to tout a strong economy as a core of his reelection message this fall.

Like Trump, most of his aides, including Pence and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, have not worn face masks, and the president has huddled with guests at the White House for photo-ops that undermine the efforts at social distancing that do take place, such as seats placed more than six feet apart.

"This is a show of bravado. This is a show of 'I got this. I'm in control,' " said one former security official familiar with White House security planning during past administrations.

"He's tried to minimize this threat from day one. It's the only way he can laugh in the face of this disease," said this person, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to frankly address sensitive security matters. "If he backtracks now, and starts wearing a mask, it will contradict the red meat he's feeding to his base constantly. This is the first health crisis that has been politicized."

The White House has defended the efforts to keep Trump and Pence safe, which includes requiring visitors who meet with either to undergo rapid tests for the novel coronavirus. Meadows said Friday that new protocols had been put in place to secure the campus over the past two days, during which a military valet to the president also tested positive.

Long lines of staff members and security personnel filed into the Old Executive Office Building, across the street from the White House, to get tested for the virus late into Thursday night and throughout Friday following the news about the military officer and Miller being infected.

But critics warned that proper security precautions are not being taken to protect the president from a lethal threat despite the assurances from the White House.

"Normally the White House would defer to the medical unit on safety. They would defer to the Secret Service on security," said one former Trump White House official who has heard complaints from current staff about the lack of protocols. "But in this White House, everybody seems to be just doing their own thing."

Traditionally, the White House medical unit, run by the Navy and led by the White House physician, has been in charge of dictating health safety protocols for the staff on the 18-acre White House complex.

During past epidemics, including the SARS outbreak in the early 2000s, that unit had examined precautions for White House staff, and it developed a set of protocols to protect the president and his staff, as well as the rest of the government, as the swine flu, known as H1N1, arrived in the country in 2009, officials said.

But as the novel coronavirus spread in January, said an official involved in those efforts, "it was stunning that they weren't taking those measures."

On Friday morning, Pence's trip to Des Moines, Iowa, was delayed for more than an hour as aides who had been in close contact with Miller were escorted from Air Force Two out of precaution. Miller is married to Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to Trump who has interacted with him this week, though it remained unclear late Friday whether the couple would both be quarantined at home. The White House said Pence tested negative for the virus as did the aides removed from his plane.

Yet Katie Miller's positive test raised questions over who else she might have been in contact with. She has attended nearly all of the White House coronavirus task force meetings, led by Pence, in the Situation Room, aides said. No aides wore masks in those meetings, except occasionally Matthew Pottinger, the deputy national security adviser.

Following guidelines from medical experts, the White House medical staff has begun a contact tracing process on Miller to determine who she interacted with recently and whether she and the military valet might have passed the virus to one another, officials said. One official said Stephen Miller is "an ultimate germaphobe" who scrupulously sanitizes his hands and maintains social distancing.

White House aides said Friday they were not releasing Katie Miller's name publicly but were forced to confirm it to reporters after Trump identified her during his meeting with the Republican lawmakers.

Less than an hour after Pence's plane had departed Washington, the president and first lady Melania Trump took a motorcade to the World War II Memorial on the National Mall to participate in a commemoration with seven veterans, all in their 90s, to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe.

Asked by a reporter whether he considered wearing a mask around a group of elderly people who are at a higher risk of the virus, Trump said no.

"I was very far away," he said. "I would have loved to have gone up and hugged them because they're great. I had a conversation with everyone but we were very far away. And the wind was blowing hard in such a direction that if the plague ever reached them, I'd be very surprised."

Since early April, those who visit Trump or Pence have been required to undergo rapid coronavirus tests from Abbott Laboratories, which can deliver results within 15 minutes, officials said. The president and vice president, along with aides, have been tested regularly, at least once or more per week. Officials have said the new protocols could require them to be tested daily.

But close aides have been lax around Trump on other counts. On Thursday, the president met with close advisers, including son-in-law Jared Kushner, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and campaign manager Brad Parscale, who brought with him five prototype masks featuring the Trump-Pence reelection logo.

Trump was delighted with the campaign swag and approved its distribution for public sale, officials said, and Parscale posted a photo on Twitter of himself wearing the mask. But that was the only time anyone involved in the meeting had worn any sort of face covering, the officials said.

Three visitors to the White House on Thursday said that few officials inside the whole complex were wearing masks, and Trump and senior aides did not bring up the positive tests or express safety concerns.

It's not just the president's political advisers who have flouted the protocols. Secret Service agents on Trump's protective detail, and officers who are taking the temperatures of all visitors to the White House grounds, also have routinely gone without masks, bewildering some of their former colleagues.

Several members of the Secret Service have tested positive for the virus in recent days, according to two officials with knowledge of the testing who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The number of affected agents and their locations were not clear. Besides the White House, Secret Service agents operate out of more than 100 locations around the country.

During his meeting with the GOP lawmakers, many of whom flew to Washington for the meeting and did not wear masks during the White House event, Trump insisted that many of his aides have been wearing masks. He pointed toward Shealah Craighead, the chief White House photographer, who was wearing one.

He used the event to project confidence on a day when the unemployment rate spiked dramatically to 14.7 percent as vast sectors of society remain shuttered, and he rolled out a new slogan for his push to ease lockdown restrictions, "Transition to Greatness."

Trump dismissed the notion that the virus spreading among White House staff was a warning sign about his push to reopen the country, where death toll continued to surge, approaching 77,000 in the United States.

"It could happen anywhere, whether you did go back to work or you didn't go back to work," Trump said. "It's a viscous enemy and an elusive enemy. It's probably the most contagious enemy anybody's ever seen."

- - -

The Washington Post's Colby Itkowitz contributed to this report.
Automatic Seafood and Oysters, the critically acclaimed Birmingham eatery up for a James Beard Foundation Award for the best restaurant in the country, filed a federal class action lawsuit against its insurance company Friday, alleging several counts of breach of contract after the company did not pay the establishment on its loss of business income policy.

Automatic Seafoods suit in Birmingham federal court claims the restaurant has a no-restrictions loss of business income insurance policy and that Cincinnati Insurance Company has not paid out its claims as the restaurant lost out on business income and incurred expenses due to the coronavirus.

Under the policy, defendant promised to cover these losses and expenses, and is obligated to pay for them. But in blatant breach of its contractual obligations, defendant has failed to pay for these losses and expenses, the restaurants suit claims.

Since March, Automatic Seafood was forced to suspend business operations due to the risk of exposing customers and staff to COVID-19 and because of Gov. Kay Iveys stay-at-home order that mandated all restaurants be shuttered save for drive-thrus, takeout or deliveries. While Ivey since loosened restrictions in a Safer at Home order, the directive does not reopen restaurants.

Automatic Seafoods policy with its insurance company included business interruption insurance, where Cincinnati Insurance Company promises to pay out claims for actual loss of business income and the rental value loss sustained from Automatic having to close its doors.

There has been a direct physical loss of and/or damage to the covered premises under the policy by, among other things, damaging the property, denying access to the property, preventing customers from physically occupying the property, causing the property to be physically uninhabitable by customers, causing its function to be nearly eliminated or destroyed, and/or causing a suspension of business operations on the premises, the lawsuit states. Plaintiff has only been able to operate on a limited take out basis. In addition, food purchased by plaintiff prior to the civil authority actions became spoiled and unusable, and thus had to be discarded.

The establishment, which was nominated this year for a James Beard award for best restaurant in the country, gave notice to Cincinnati Insurance Company on March 30 of its business losses and expenses but contrary to the plain language of the policy, and to Defendants corresponding promises and contractual obligations, on or about April 29, 2020 defendant has refused to pay for plaintiffs losses and expenses under the terms of the policy, the lawsuit states.

Automatic Seafoods attorneys, who are also seeking to represent other businesses who have not received payouts from Cincinnati Insurance Company, accused the company of several breaches of contract. The lawsuit also seeks that the court rule that the insurance company be forced to pay out the policies claims.
I had been pondering on the theme of friendship, when I learned that Eavan Boland had died from a stroke. She was considered to be the leading female voice in Irish, or even world, poetry. She wrote about the experiences of women, in a domestic setting, with great intelligence and a fine lyrical voice.

We were quite warm friends back in the days of our young womanhood, and would meet on Saturday mornings for coffee in Grafton Street. Brown Thomas was then placed where Marks & Spencer is now, and there was rather a chic cafeteria on one of the upper floors. Eavan was very much involved with Trinity College Dublin at the time, previously as student, then as lecturer: she worshipped the Kerry poet Brendan Kennelly, a TCD star. She also talked a lot - often semi-jokingly - about her father, Freddy Boland, the distinguished public servant who had been a major influence in the development of Irish diplomacy, and a bigwig at the United Nations. She seldom mentioned her mother, the painter Frances Kelly, who - this is the small-world side of Dublin life, as it was - my own mother had admired both for her art and her beauty.

Eavan had an infectious sense of humour, but, for a poet, she was also surprisingly conventional. There was nothing of the Bohemian about her. Her childhood had been so peripatetic, moving around the world with her diplomat parents, that she seemed to prefer safety, consistency, even tradition, to the wilder shores of what I had thought of as the poetic stereotype - Dylan Thomas drunk in Soho, Allen Ginsberg bonding with druggie hippies like Jack Kerouac or William Burroughs.

And yet I came to see that perhaps the reason why Eavan was drawn to me, and even sought me out, was that I represented, to her, the wilder shores of bad behaviour and madcap lifestyles which she would never have wanted for herself. In our conversations, she was also interested in characters like Charlie Haughey and his glamorously unconventional girlfriend, Terry Keane.

I may have been instrumental in introducing Eavan to Women's Liberation (as feminism was then called) and she attended several "consciousness-raising" meetings in my Dublin flat, along with the doctor, Eimer Philbin Bowman, and Mary Robinson. Eavan and Mary R had been at school together - at the posh Holy Child convent in Killiney - and they had been joined at the hip ever since school days. Eavan drew a lot from those feminist meetings: and quite rightly, too - a poet, like any writer, must find ideas to stimulate the muse. Didn't Conor Cruise O'Brien point out that Yeats only got involved with Sinn Fein because the energy of nationalism fuelled the poetry?

Eavan married the very nice novelist Kevin Casey and had two daughters, and we sort of kept in touch. And then, for no discernible reason, she just seemed to drop me. I didn't hear from her any more, and whatever had been of the friendship simply dissolved. Did I offend her in some way? I suppose it's possible - most of us are capable of giving offence, and I could be abrasively argumentative. And yet, paradoxically, I regard the test of friendship as being able to overcome spats and rows. How many arguments did I have with dear Mary Holland, who could mock and jeer acidly, and yet remained steadfastly, utterly loyal as a pal?

Friendships do come to an end, sometimes for no particular reason. Sometimes people just grow apart, or they move on to other spheres. Sometimes one goes up in the world, and the other goes down, and a difference in status can be difficult to maintain - Eavan became an international name in poetry, lecturing in America - while, lookit, I'm just a modest working scribe.

I accept that friendships don't always endure, and we should dwell on the memory of the friendship we once enjoyed rather than resent its passing. Still, I was disappointed that a last effort of contact came to nothing. I read some royal archives at Windsor which seemed to indicate that Queen Elizabeth may have asked Freddy Boland, when he was Ambassador in London in the 1950s, about a possible visit to the Republic of Ireland (perhaps for the National Stud horses). I wrote to Eavan to ask her if her father had left any papers touching on this subject of Anglo-Irish relations, or spoken about the episode, but received no reply. Maybe she intended to answer, but was too busy - I have intended writing letters or sending emails that I haven't got around to doing.

I'd been thinking about friendship in general because one of the positive sides of this wretched coronavirus lockdown is that it has kindled and reconnected so many friendships. The landline telephone seems to have been reinvented and friends are calling each other with renewed warmth. Friendly emails and messages pop up by the day. I've never known a time when people were nicer, kinder or more friendly to one another.

The night after I learned of Eavan's death, I dreamt about her. She was just as she had been when we were both young: in the dream, she was as she was then, lively, friendly, and wryly amusing. In dreams, sometimes, all is made well again.
The two leaders agreed on the importance of stability in global energy markets, White House says.

US President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabias King Salman have spoken on the phone and reaffirmed their countries strong defence partnership, the White House has said.

The conversation on Friday between the two leaders came amid tensions over the kingdoms oil output and after reports emerged that the United States planned to withdraw two Patriot anti-missile batteries from Saudi Arabia as it winds down a military build-up that began when tensions with Iran flared up last year.

Trump had worked last month to persuade Saudi Arabia to cut its oil output after an increase in production during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic put heavy pressure on US oil producers.

The two leaders agreed on the importance of stability in global energy markets, and reaffirmed the strong United States-Saudi defence partnership, White House spokesman Judd Deere said.

The president and King Salman also discussed other critical regional and bilateral issues and their cooperation as leaders of the G7 and G20, respectively.





The statement did not mention the Patriot missiles and the White House declined further comment.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed the media reports that the missiles would be withdrawn, but he said it did not signal a decrease in US support for Saudi Arabia and was not an effort to pressure Riyadh on oil issues. He also said it did not mean Washington thought Iran was no longer a threat.

Those Patriot batteries had been in place for some time. Those troops needed to get back, Pompeo told the Ben Shapiro radio show. This was a normal rotation of forces.

Saudi Arabia said in a statement about the phone call that Trump confirmed the US committed to protecting its interests and the security of its allies in the region. Trump also reiterated US support for efforts aimed at reaching a political solution to the crisis in Yemen, the statement said.

The Saudi-UAE coalition, which receives support from Western powers, intervened in Yemens civil war in 2015, shortly after the Houthi rebels took control of much of the countrys north and the capital, Sanaa.

The coalition, which intervened to restore President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadis internationally-recognised government, has carried out thousands of air attacks, killing thousands of civilians at hospitals, schools and markets, drawing international criticism.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 23:00:35|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 9 (Xinhua) -- China has postponed the national self-taught higher education examination for the first half of the year to August over coronavirus concerns, the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced Saturday.

The examination, originally scheduled for April 11 and 12, will be held in August, with the national unified tests to be held on Aug. 1 and 2 and the dates for provincial-level tests to be decided by provincial authorities, the MOE said.

Beijing can make its own arrangements for the exam contingent on its local epidemic control situation and make the plan public upon the approval of the MOE. Enditem
PHILIPSBURG:--- TelEm Group technicians and engineers are working with their counterparts in Miami, Florida, USA, to restore broadband services to St. Maarten following a break-in normal fiber cable connections from 1:00 am Saturday morning.

As of noon Saturday, it was being estimated that it would take until 3:00 Saturday afternoon for connections to be restored and normal service resumed.

According to Chief Technical Officer (CTO), Mr. Eldert Louisa, two internet links via Miami are down, however, a third link remains operational, providing Facebook and Whatsapp access to TelEm Group customers.

Customers can expect their internet service to be running slow and erratic until the problem is resolved, said Mr. Louisa.

He said the problem is out of the companys direct control, however, TelEm Groups own technicians and engineers are providing support in any way they can to ensure smooth restoration of service from this end, once the Miami-based problem is fully resolved. Meantime TelEm Group explored several ways of temporarily increase its local bandwidth capacity with the assistance of other carriers, including carrier partners on French St. Martin. The TelEm Group technicians and engineers are also re-routing internet traffic to further assist with network congestion caused by the outage.

As usual we will continue to monitor the ISP network for performance once we get the word that things are back to normal so that we can make any tweaks necessary to provide our customers with the best internet user experience once again, said the CTO.

Mr. Louisa appealed to affected customers for patience and understanding and meantime apologized for any inconvenience caused.
Gov. Tom Wolf and his health secretary Dr. Rachel Levine sure know how to get lawmakers fired up for the weekend with their Friday afternoon announcements about which counties will soon begin to move out from stay at home orders.

Rep. Sheryl Delozier, R-Cumberland County, said her phone began ringing off the hook and email inbox filling up with frustrated constituents who couldnt understand how the county hosting one of the states big cities, Pittsburgh, would be allowed to begin reopening next Friday but their businesses must remain closed and residents stuck limiting their travels.

Meanwhile, up in Armstrong County, Rep. Jeff Pyle said he called off his plans to storm Harrisburg with a mounted infantry once he found out his county was among the 13 that will begin to move into the second, or yellow phase, of Wolfs three-tiered color-coded reopening plan, as of next Friday.

Were chilled out. Were relaxed now," the Republican representative said with a chuckle. Were a little pissed about the bars [still having to remain closed] but well get over it. Im happy were moving that way.

Then there is Perry County, where people are flabbergasted that their county still sits in the red phase of the reopening plan. They believe it should have been one of the first counties allowed to reopen given its low COVID-19 caseload and deaths.

In making his announcement about the forthcoming change in reopening status of Allegheny, Armstrong, Bedford, Blair, Butler, Cambria, Fayette, Fulton, Greene, Indiana, Somerset, Washington and Westmoreland counties, the governor offered a little hope to Perry and the remaining 29 counties mostly in the eastern half of Pennsylvania still under the heaviest restrictions.

Were also looking at nearby counties, he said. And if current trends continue, they should be moving to yellow very soon as well.

But Delozier said the earliest that seems likely to happen is at least two weeks away.

We have a lot of people who want to go back to work and they feel they can do it safely, she said. "They can make good judgments and make sure they are safe and their customers are safe. To see one of our large city areas in Allegheny go yellow and allow them to open and Central Pennsylvania here being lumped in with Philadelphia and the southeast which has been hard hit. I recognize that. But its frustrating to many people.

Sen. John DiSanto, R-Dauphin/Perry counties, along with Rep. Mark Keller, R-Perry County, and the three county commissioners, called the metrics being used in Wolfs reopening plan that would let Pittsburgh start to open ahead of Perry, which has had fewer than 40 cases, absurd. They sent a letter on Thursday to Wolf demanding he let Perry begin to get back to limited business activity.

On Friday, that group of officials issued a statement, saying, The governor and his advisors, whomever they may be and whatever credentials they might have, should immediately take another look at the data and come to the reasonable conclusion that Perry County can safely reopen. Otherwise, this process will continue to be met with frustration and suspicion by the citizens of Perry County and all of Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile, four state lawmakers representing Lebanon County, along with five county officials, decided they arent waiting for the governor to announce they are moving into the yellow phase. They are just going to go ahead and do it on May 15.

They sent a letter to Wolf on Friday informing him of their intention. Among those signing it were the county District Attorney Pier Hess Graf and Sheriff Bruce Klingler who would be among those who are tapped to enforce the governors stay at home order.

The letter states that their case numbers show they have flattened the curve of the COVID-19 outbreak and they have supplies of personal protective equipment, test kits and hospital beds to treat patients with the virus.

Lebanon County plans to move forward and will require businesses who are ready to re-open to follow CDC guidelines including requirements such as hand washing, social distancing, and masks until further guidance is received for the county to move to the green phase, the letter states.

Meanwhile, Beaver County sits on an island surrounded by yellow counties.

Rep. Jim Marshall, a Republican who represents part of that county along with part of adjacent Butler County, said he was glad to see Butler is moving into the next phase in the reopening plan but is troubled that the unimaginable number of COVID-19 cases in one nursing home, Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, in Beaver County stands in the way of that county reopening as well.

Im deeply sorry for the families who are feeling the devastation of the virus because their loved ones live or work in Brighton Rehab," Marshall said in a statement. "I also feel that its irresponsible to detain residents of an entire county because of the conditions at one facility. I know families are suffering because of the shutdown. Some cant visit their loved ones in nursing homes. Others worry about losing the businesses theyve invested their time, money and heart into.

Even lawmakers who represent areas that are permitted to soon start reopening remain unhappy and are seeking their day in court to vent their frustration with the governors shutdown of the state.

Butler, along with Fayette, Greene, and Washington counties, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District against Wolf and Levine claiming the governors business shutdown order is unconstitutional and the administrations controversial waiver process to his business closure order was arbitrary and capricious.

Sen. Pat Stefano, R-Fayette County, said he strongly feels the lawsuit remains essential and relevant even though all four counties will be allowed to reopen next week.

"These counties so strongly believe they should be able to allow businesses to safely reopen that they worked together to send that message to the governor through the federal courts. I believe that there can be a balance between restarting the economy and maintaining safety. And, I believe every business is essential, and being able to pay your bills and feed your family is essential, Stefano said in a statement.

Even U.S. Rep. and Dr. John Joyce, R-Pa., weighed in with his thoughts about the governors metrics for reopening counties.

While happy that some of the counties he represents can begin to reopen and urged caution to those residents where stay at home orders are being lifted, he said, "I continue to call on Governor Wolf to be forthcoming and transparent about the metrics that other counties must meet to re-open. The Pennsylvanians who remain under a stay-at-home order, including the residents of Adams, Cumberland, Franklin, and Huntingdon Counties, deserve to know why they cannot reopen.

Another group unhappy is the York County Republican delegation to the General Assembly, which said it wrote Wolf today asking to reopen. This news appeared Friday on Rep. Stan Saylors Facebook page.

The York County Republican Delegation to the General Assembly today sent Gov. Tom Wolf this letter requesting York County immediately transition to the yellow designation. York County has had 13.57 cases per day since April 25th, 2020. According to the metrics laid out by the Administration (50 cases over 14 days per 100,000 people) York County must average 16 or less cases per day. Clearly the standard to shift into the yellow designation has been met. York County is ready to move forward...

Wolf urged Pennsylvanians moving into the yellow phase to make good choices and remember they still need to be cautious and practice social distancing.

Id like to emphasize that this plan is not a one-way route," he said. He pointed out the 24 counties that were permitted to being reopening on Friday are being closely monitored and he "will re-impose restrictions if danger arises.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 1,323 new coronavirus cases Friday, raising the statewide total to 54,238. Across Pennsylvania, 3,616 people have died due to COVID-19, including 200 newly reported cases.

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.
Apple will begin reopening its retail stores in the United States from next week.

The tech giant, which shuttered almost all of its outlets across the globe in response to the coronavirus pandemic two months ago, announced the news on Friday.

Apple will initially reopen some stores in Alabama, Alaska, Idaho and South Carolina, before moving on to other states.

No official timeline has been made public, and the company says it is monitoring health data and government guidance to determine when and where it can safely reopen shops.

In a statement, Apple told AFP: 'We've missed our customers and look forward to offering our support'.

Apple will begin reopening its retail stores in Alabama, Alaska, Idaho and South Carolina from next week. The company will monitor health data to decide when they can safely reopen in other states. It may be some time before the company's flagship New York City store on 5th Avenue (pictured) will be open for business

An Apple spokesperson said the stores will 'open initially with additional safety procedures including temperature checks, social distancing and face coverings to ensure customers and employees continue to stay healthy.' Pictured: An reopened Apple store in Sydney, Australia on Thursday

While customers used to crowd into Apple stores, the company's retail experience will now look a lot different.

An Apple spokesperson said the stores will 'open initially with additional safety procedures including temperature checks, social distancing and face coverings to ensure customers and employees continue to stay healthy.'

The company will also limit how many people are allowed inside their shops at any one time.

Apple are currently recommending that people order online for delivery or in-store pickup to limit personal contact.

Some Apple stores in South Korea, Austria and Australia have already reopened. A limited number of retail outlets in Germany are scheduled to reopen on May 11. A store in Sydney, Australia is pictured

Workers and customers will both be required to wear face coverings in Apple stores. A Sydney store is pictured

Some Apple stores in South Korea, Austria and Australia have already reopened. A limited number of retail outlets in Germany are scheduled to reopen on May 11.

In Sydney, Australia on Thursday, a long line of customers were seen waiting to enter an Apple store in the heart of the city.

All were given face masks and seen having their temperatures taken before entering.

But while there may have been lines in Australia, it is unclear whether American consumers will be racing back to the stores.

While several US states are ending or easing lockdown, polls indicate that many Americans remain cautious about resuming normal activities.

Cell phone data, compiled by SafeGraph, shows that Americans are predominantly visiting just parks, supermarkets and pharmacies when they venture outside.

Visits to other stores like McDonald's, Walmart and Target are now slowly increasing to levels not seen since before the outbreak in March.

However, people are still steering clear of shopping malls - where many Apple stores are located.

Across the US more than 1.3 million people have tested positive to COVID-19, and 78, 318 people have died from the virus.
Australian Associated Press

Two New Zealand navy vessels will arrive in Tonga on Friday, carrying much-needed water and other supplies for the Pacific island nation reeling from a volcanic eruption and tsunami, and largely cut off from the outside world.Hundreds of homes in Tonga's smaller outer islands have been destroyed, and at least three people were killed after Saturday's huge eruption triggered tsunami waves, which rolled over the islands causing what the government has called an unprecedented disaster.
This whole heres a list of all the problematic stuff in tv shows from 10-20-30 years ago trend is pretty dumb.

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no it isn't



Acknowledging the wrong of media we loved from before is crucial in making better media in the future. If anything it's a good sign that we can recognize problematic patterns of the past so that we can correct and avoid them in the future.

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People have already been talking about this for YEARS. Its not a new thing people only just noticed, and its baffling why its becoming a thing now. Is it because of all the gen-z children have started streaming ANTM and just kicked up on it?

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the shit that happened on that show wasn't problematic it was horrible



Edited at 2020-05-09 03:53 am (UTC)

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To a degree I agree but it depends on whos publishing it.



If its a buzzfeed like list I sometimes roll my eyes because theres a click-baity hyperbolic aspect to it. I dont like the trendy aspect of it because that a lot of social media jump at the chance to score likes/clicks.



But other sources I dont mind.

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It doubles down on ONTDs (albeit apt!) cynicism



& its predictable. I cant make a great post, I know without content its not as fast, but making a list post so ...theres something, idk. Sorry for this rambly comment, recently Ive noticed myself in the wee hours going to ONTD, being disappointed that theres nothing new, then going back 2 minutes later but not remembering it.



I took way too long on this

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I do think it's kind of "we know" at this point but it's good of people to acknowledge their own mistakes



on the other hand I'm over outside people crapping on stuff that genuinely meant well (old Star Trek episodes, I'm looking at you) and that had to be coy to get around networks and censors and had to juggle with what they were dealing with at the time to get out a message that was flawed but was the best they could do. Like, people who didn't live in that historical context coming in and shitting on something that meant something to people back then is a bummer.



But like, I've been watching a whole bunch of Celebreality from the '00s and it is PURE HIGH TRASH and of course it's problematic, but it's about on the level of 90 Day Fiance and the other trash we watch now, so acting like we've gotten particularly superior in our media is also a joke.



So good: people owning their mistakes

Bad: not letting people enjoy anything and acting like we don't know there are flaws there, we know

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Sorry attitudes and mindsets are slowly marching moving forward, like how progress should be doing. Would you rather we, as a culture, stagnate and stay in a comfortable place instead.

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"this is an issue that's very close to my own heart on the tyra banks show i was homeless for a day" pic.twitter.com/DkN09pXEbG  popculturediedin2009 (@pcd2009) July 29, 2017

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Tyra's ability to make every issue in the world about herself is truly magical.

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remember when she tried consoling a hurricane katrina victim by talking about a photoshoot she did on the beach with a wind machine

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Tyra ran so Kim K kould walk

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There was a thread about the Tyra show on Twitter too and all I remember was the Soup making fun of it.

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Ive been rewatching Australias Next Top Model in quarantine. I didn't think this series was problematic at the time, but Im kind of stunned by how abusive the style coach Jonathan Pease is to the models. He verbally berates them and intimidates them before, during, and after their photoshoots. His criticism is sometimes about something legit, but his behavior reads as emotional manipulation.

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i wonder what happened to that cassie girl who was a bogan on ausntm. of all the cycles and all the versions of top model, she was prob one of the only ones i thought had the actual high fashion look instead of just being normal pretty like 99% of other contestants. but she decided to not be a model and got married to a 26 yr old slacker while she was 16 instead?

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https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2599257/amp/Australias-Next-Top-Model-Cassi-Van-Den-Dungen-reveals-shockingly-slim-frame-Fashion-Week.html



Her season was really good, they actually had some gorgeous models. I remember the top four basically all hated each other, it was funny how open they were about it

She did some modeling in Australia I believe, in 2014 she got some attention for being scary skinny in a runway showHer season was really good, they actually had some gorgeous models. I remember the top four basically all hated each other, it was funny how open they were about it

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Ha I actually follow her on Instagram! She had a second kid with her bricklayer boyfriend, but I dont think they ever got married. I think she may have finally broken up with him though because she hasnt posted a pic with him in ages. Her teeth are still jacked.

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She had a family and still models here and there, she was stunning IMO

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ausntm cycle 3 is so frustrating with all the judges apart from alex favouring steph when alice was clearly the superior model

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Whats wild about the Aussie version is that most of them are minors. I understand lowering the age limit to 16 in terms of being true to the industry, because lbr most models are teenagers and are considered old by the time they hit their 20s, but in terms of making a reality tv show its really questionable putting a bunch of 16 year olds in front of cameras then having them walk through the cbd in a swimsuit/laugh at them getting bikini waxes for the first time/have a bunch of powerful adults tear down their bodies, etc.

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I love this bc shes probably haaaaating this. Anyway Tyra is still a horrible person she hasnt changed and will probably never change.

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Lmao, I love how she can't even do a fake apology because she cares THAT little.

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Welcome to ModelLand

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It's almost endearing.

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lol mte appreciate the feedback.

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mte why did they even make her apologize  she don't care!

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She made her money, she couldn't care less.

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command + f I apologize

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I'd never seen an ep of ANTM before, but my jaw just dropped at the previous post! Having people drill down their teeth to create a gap? The complete mishandling of the handsy male model. And all the verbal abuse. Damn....

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There's nothing behind these eyes.

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I did not think this was tyra for a minute

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wait what was the context of this?

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As her manager, she should have just ignored this

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lol ikr. im sure this twitter thing is driving her manager and pr team crazy lol

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Honestly lol. Whats the point of her commenting if shes not even gonna do a bs apology?

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watching those episodes in real time back in the day was very "well this is just how reality tv works". as a viewer i never really considered how incredibly fucked up it was to take these impressionable young women and basically mentally (and sometimes physically) abuse them for tv cameras. i doubt tyra did either because the same shit happened to her and she just considered it part of the process (unless it was naomi being mean to her)

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The 2000s was the golden age of reality TV and theyre all problematic. The Swan, For Love Or Money, Cold Turkey, The Biggest Loser, Playing It Straight, etc.

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The Swan was fucking INSANE, I loved it but teenage me really couldn't see just how absurd and gross it was.

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not only that but doing it while being fully aware of the fact that less than 1% (i'm being generous) of those girls had any real chance at actual modeling.

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back then we all wanted to be part of reality tv we would do anything for it.

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Omg I even remember thinking the premise of The Swan was insaaaane even when it was on air!

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Uh thats it? lol wow

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honestly it's more than i expected from her

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Same Im surprised she even acknowledged anything

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Silly you tbh.

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Yeah, I love Tyra, but she always has a kind of unique way of looking at things.

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i'm shocked she addressed it at all

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Have any of the contestants from ANTM (or the Australian one) ever gone on to become top models?

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The way Tyra would talk about top models, being house hold names and sitting on late night talk show with celebs, etc? No



But there have been quite a few successful ones



leila goldkuhl had a very successful runway career, she walked Chanel, givenchy, Burberry, etc.



Winnie Harlow might be the most well known? She walked the Victoria secret fashion show



Fatima siad has very good print career, she did some big campaigns



Ebonee Davis had a hot couple of years, she had a Calvin Klein campaign.





Edited at 2020-05-09 04:40 am (UTC)

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Annaleigh Tipton has had a decent acting career

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There isnt even one model around who visits late night shows anymore. I cant even think of one beside Heidi Klum.

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Eva Pigford

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Joanie is on the new Trading Spaces after being on Run My Renovation on HGTV and she's HUGE on the home/garden show circuit.

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winnie harlow is the biggest breakout from antm to actually still model, i think? a lot of the girls seem to move on to acting after the show, since they were too short in the first place to be on a modelling competition lol

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Sora Choi from Korea's next top model is huge rn.

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ausntm probably has the best track record for producing actual successful models like alice burdeu, montana cox, duckie thot, aleyna fitzgerald

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Eugena from season 6 became a playmate of the year

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I think one of them slept w Drake

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Koreas NTM version has been the most successful in producing actual top models IMO - it produced Choi Sora, Shin Hyunji, Mulan Bae etc who regularly walk for pretty much all big brands. Choi Sora is considered really big at the moment while Hyunji is almost up there.



Edited at 2020-05-09 02:13 pm (UTC)

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Didn't Eva Pigford end up on one of those Housewives shows?

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Not true top models if you're comparing them to Tyra or Cindy Crawford or whatever. But some have been successful. Yaya has a steady acting career. Eva has been on shows and now some a real housewives something or other. Analeigh was in several big movies. I've seen Ann Markley and Fatima in big campaigns. Elyse Sewell was huge in Asia after her cycle.

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this is so weak to me because the actual tiffany rant is way funnier than this

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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse)  Sat, May 9, 2020 07:03 620 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd6dc48c 2 News Europe,tourism,travel,Italy,greece,Spain,Portugal,coronavirus,COVID-19,lockdown Free

Northern Europeans may not be able to decamp to the beaches of the Mediterranean this summer because of the coronavirus, but will their governments support the devastated tourism sector?

Beach destinations like Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal are already among the European Union (EU) members facing a daunting struggle with debt  and now their vital travel and leisure industries are on the line.

Together with five more southern allies  France, Malta, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania  has urged the 27-member EU to help save this "strategic" economic resource.

The EU is seeking to put together a trillion-euro economic stimulus package, to kickstart the economy as a whole when the coronavirus lockdowns come to an end.

But, already rebuffed once, when they asked to share debt with their northern neighbors, southern countries are now sounding the alarm about the lost summer season.

The European Commission has been tasked with agreeing the rules of the relaunch, and on April 27, tourism ministers from member states held a video conference.

Afterwards, the nine southern members released a statement.

In our countries, tourism constitutes a strategic industry," they said.

"We would like the EU Recovery Plan to include strong support for tourism and to recognize the existence of certain territories with specificities that must be met."

The southern friends also urged "homogenous" travel rules, fearing that a piecemeal withdrawal of lockdown measures will distort the tourism market and isolate needy areas.

Read also: 'Don't cancel, postpone': Portugal urges tourists in voucher scheme

Brussels attempted in vain to coordinate the lockdown and keep the EU's internal borders open, but many national capitals imposed unilateral restrictions on unnecessary visits.

EU member states have now begun setting a variety of target dates and criteria for a return to normal, and some expect to urge or require their citizens to stay at home this year.

"Public health makes the law these days," said French minister Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, in an AFP interview.

"As soon as we get word on the opening of the borders, we'll let you know. It's important that areas that have not been affected are not exposed to the virus.

"We should promote Europe as a destination in and of itself, and avoid competition within the bloc," he said, while admitting domestic tourism will probably recover before trips abroad.

At the meeting, Croatia's tourism minister Gari Cappelli and EU single market commissioner Thierry Breton suggested members work on a harmonized strategy on hygiene rules.

In Breton's office, a source said they were aiming to have advice ready by mid-May so hoteliers, restaurateurs, tour operators and transport firms were working with the same tool kit.

This reflects the concern expressed by German foreign minister Heiko Maas in the Bild newspaper, that a dangerous free-for-all race between rival resorts to re-open could revive the epidemic.

Experts trace many of the cases of coronavirus in northern Europe to the Austrian ski station of Ischgl, popular with winter partygoers, and do not want beach hotspots like Majorca to play the same role in summer.
"You had some very bad people in that group, but you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides. You had people in that group. . .. There were people in that rally - and I looked the night before - if you look, there were people protesting very quietly the taking down of the statue of Robert E. Lee. I'm sure in that group there were some bad ones. The following day it looked like they had some rough, bad people - neo-Nazis, white nationalists, whatever you want to call them. But you had a lot of people in that group that were there to innocently protest, and very legally protest." - President Donald Trump, Aug. 15, 2017

"I was talking about people that went because they felt very strongly about the monument to Robert E. Lee, a great general." - Trump, April 26, 2019

- - -

The violence in Charlottesville in the summer of President Donald Trump's first year in office continues to be a flash point in the presidential campaign. After one woman, 32-year-old Heather Heyer, was killed by a white supremacist while she protested a rally of alt-right groups, Trump made a series of statements that, politically, backfired on him. In his first remarks he condemned racism but suggested "both sides" were equally at fault. Members of his CEO manufacturing council resigned in protest and Gary Cohen, a top economic aide at the time who is Jewish, also considered resigning.

Biden, the presumptive nominee, has made Trump's response to Charlottesville a central part of his argument that Trump is unfit to be president. Trump "assigned a moral equivalence between those spreading hate and those with the courage to stand against it," Biden said in his presidential announcement speech a year ago. "And in that moment, I knew the threat to this nation was unlike any I had ever seen in my lifetime."

But memories fade and new narratives take hold. Over the course of several days, Trump did not speak with precision and he made a number of contradictory remarks, permitting both his supporters and foes to create their own version of what happened.

This fact check will set the record straight on who was in Charlottesville that weekend. We wanted to put this issue to rest before it emerged again in the presidential campaign.

The Charlottesville city council in February 2017 had voted to remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee that had stood in the city since 1924, but opponents quickly sued in court to block the decision. In June, the city council voted to give Lee Park, where the statue stood, a new name - Emancipation Park. (In 2018, the park was renamed yet again to Market Street Park.)

The city's actions inspired a group of neo-Nazis, white supremacists and related groups to schedule the "Unite the Right" rally for the weekend of August 12 in Charlottesville. There is little dispute over the make-up of the groups associated with the rally. A well-known white nationalist, Richard Spencer, was involved; former Ku Klux Klan head David Duke was a scheduled speaker. "Charlottesville prepares for a white nationalist rally on Saturday," headlined The Washington Post.

Counter-demonstrations were planned by people opposed to the alt-right, such as church groups, civil rights leaders and anti-fascist activists known as "Antifa," many of whom arrived with sticks and shields.

Suddenly, a militia group associated with the Patriot Movement announced it was also going to hold an event called 1Team1Fight Unity in Charlottesville on Saturday, August 12, rescheduling an event that has been planned for Greenville, South Carolina, 370 miles away. Other militia groups also made plans to attend.

On the night of Aug. 11, the neo-Nazi groups marched on the campus of the University of Virginia, carrying flaming torches and chanting anti-Semitic slogans.

This is where Trump got into trouble. While he condemned right-wing hate groups - "those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans" - he appeared to believe there were peaceful protestors there as well.

"You had people - and I'm not talking about the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists - because they should be condemned totally," Trump said on Aug. 15, several days after the rally. "But you had many people in that group other than neo-Nazis and white nationalists."

He added: "There were people in that rally - and I looked the night before - if you look, there were people protesting very quietly the taking down of the statue of Robert E. Lee. I'm sure in that group there were some bad ones."

But there were only neo-Nazis and white supremacists in the Friday-night rally. Virtually anyone watching cable news coverage or looking at the pictures of the event would know that.

It's possible Trump became confused and was really referring to the Saturday rallies. But he apparently assumed there were people who were not alt-right who were "very quietly" protesting the removal of Lee's statue.

But that's wrong. There were white supremacists. There were counter protesters. And there were heavily-armed anti-government militias who showed up on Saturday. "Although Virginia is an open-carry state, the presence of the militia was unnerving to law enforcement officials on the scene," The Washington Post reported.

The day after Trump's Aug. 15 news conference, The New York Times quoted a woman named Michelle Piercy and described her as "a night shift worker at a Wichita, Kansas, retirement home, who drove all night with a conservative group that opposed the planned removal of a statue of the Confederate general Robert E. Lee." She told The Times: "Good people can go to Charlottesville."

Some Trump defenders, such as in a video titled "The Charlottesville Lie," have prominently featured Piercy's quote as evidence that Trump was right - there were protestors opposed to the removal of the statue.

Piercy did not respond to requests for an interview. On her Facebook page, Piercy a few days before the rally changed her cover photo to the logo of American Warrior Revolution (AWR), a militia group that attended the rally.

As far as we can tell, Piercy gave one other interview about Charlottesville, with the pro-Trump website Media Equalizer, which described AWR as "a group that stands up for individual free speech rights and acts as a buffer between competing voices." Piercy told Media Equalizer: "We were made aware that the situation could be dangerous, and we were prepared."

That is confirmed by Facebook videos, streamed by AWR, that show roughly three-dozen militia members marching through the streets of Charlottesville, armed and dressed in military-style clothing, supposedly seeking people whose rights were being infringed. Police encouraged them to leave, according to an independent review of the day's events commissioned by Charlottesville, but they attracted attention from counter-protesters. One militia member then was hit in the head by a rock, halting their retreat. "The militia members apparently did not realize that they had stopped directly across the street from Friendship Court, a predominantly African-American public housing complex," the review said.

A video posted on YouTube shows Heyer briefly crossing paths with AWR after the militia group was challenged by residents and counter-protesters to leave the area.

Two revealing Facebook videos posted by the group have been deleted but were obtained by The Fact Checker. One, titled "The Truth about Charlottesville," was posted on Aug. 12, immediately after law enforcement shut down the rally. It lasts about 25 minutes, and it is mostly narrated by Joshua Shoaff, also known as Ace Baker, the leader of AWR. Members of other militia groups also speak in the video.

There's no suggestion the militias traveled to Charlottesville because of the Lee statue, though late in the video a couple of militia members make brief references to the Rebel flag and confederate monuments.

"We came to Charlottesville, Virginia to tell both sides, the far right and the far left, listen, whether we agree with what you have to say or not, we agree with your right to say it, without being in fear of being assaulted by the other group," Shoaff says. But he complains, "What happened when we came here? We were the one who were assaulted."

During the video, a militia member who is African-American appears on screen, and Shoaff sarcastically says, "Hey look, hey, there's black guy in here, oh my God." At another point, an unidentified militia member says: "We are civil nationalists. We love America. We love the constitution. We respect any race, any color. We are all about respecting constitutional values."

After the city of Charlottesville sued AWR and other militia groups, Baker posted on Oct. 12 another video obtained by the Fact Checker. "We had long guns. We had pistols. We were pelted with bricks, and could have f--ing used deadly force. But we didn't," he declares. "We had the justification to use deadly force that day and mow people f--ing down. But we didn't."

Shoaff, on behalf of the group, signed a consent decree in May 2018 promising members would not to come to Charlottesville again "while armed with a firearm, weapon, shield, or any item whose purpose is to inflict bodily harm, at any demonstration, rally, protest, or march." He did not respond to requests for an interview.

So what's going on here? Anti-government militia groups are not racist but tend to be wary of Muslims and immigrants, according to experts who study the Patriot Movement. "By and large, in my experience militia groups are not any more racist than any other group of middle-aged white men," said Amy Cooter, a Vanderbilt University scholar who has interviewed many militia members. "Militias are not about whiteness, not about racism," but their anti-Islam feelings spring from fear and ignorance of Muslims, she said.

Militias are strongly pro-Trump but his election posed a conundrum: They had always been deeply suspicious of the federal government but now it was headed by someone they supported. So they started to build up Antifa as an enemy, falsely believing the activists are bankrolled by investor George Soros, according to Mark Pitcavage, senior research fellow at the Center on Extremism of the Anti-Defamation League.

Antifa, short for anti-facist, sprung up to challenge neo-Nazis. "Militias started showing up at events where left-wing elements would be, and that includes white supremacist events," Pitcavage said. "They aren't white supremacists. They are there opposing the people opposing the white supremacists."

Sam Jackson, a University of Albany professor who studies anti-government extremism, said that militia leaders have "strategic motivations to frame things in certain ways and it may not match real motivations." That's why they emphasize their defense of free speech and depict themselves as peacekeepers. But, he noted, "they never go out and protect the free speech rights of Antifa and left-wing groups."

Militia groups "purported to be there to protect the First Amendment rights of the protestors," said Mary McCord, legal director at Georgetown's Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection and counsel for Charlottesville in a lawsuit. The "real goal, the evidence showed, was to provoke violent confrontations with counter-protestors and make a strong physical showing of white supremacy and white nationalism. I certainly think that AWR knew which side it was 'protecting,' and made that choice willingly."

In recent weeks, Trump has echoed the language he used regarding the Charlottesville attendees to encourage protests against social-distancing orders. "These are very good people but they are angry," Trump tweeted on May 1. In other tweets, he urged governors to "liberate" states.

That's the language of militias, McCord said - code for liberation against a tyrannical government. And who has been showing up at the rallies opposing shutdown orders? Armed militias associated with the Patriot movement.

The White House did not respond to a request for a comment on our findings.

The evidence shows there were no quiet protestors against removing the statue that weekend. That's just a figment of the president's imagination. The militia groups were not spurred on by the confederate-statue controversy. They arrived in Charlottesville heavily armed and, by their own account, were prepared to use deadly force - because of a desire to insert themselves in a dangerous situation that, in effect, pitted them against the foes of white supremacists.

Trump earns Four Pinocchios.
In a bright sign for resumption of economic activities amid the Covid-led lockdown across the country, the migrant workers, who left various states for their native places amid the shutdown, have begun expressing willingness to return to work, indicate developments in Haryana.

Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij on Saturday said over 1.5 lakh migrant workers have applied on government portal, expressing their willingness to return back to work in the state.

Vij said most of these 1.5 lakh workers, who have registered themselves to return, belong to Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

He also said on the same portal nearly 8 lakh migrant workers, however, have registered themselves for leaving the state.

Nearly 1.5 lakh migrant workers want to return to Haryana while 8 lakh of them have registered themselves for leaving the state for their native states, Vij said.

Most of the 1.5 lakh who want to come back are from Bihar, UP and MP. They want to come here as commercial activities have started and they are hopeful that they can find a job, he said.

Asked how Haryana can facilitate those migrants willing to come back during the lockdown, Vij said, We are talking to the states to which they belong.

Most of the migrants who want to return have applied to come to industrial towns of Gurgaon, Sonipat, Jhajjar, Rewari, Faridabad and Panipat, said officials.

They said that most of these who have applied to return may have left before the lockdown or during its initial few days.

Asked if the resumption of the state's industry and economic activities would not be affected due to more workers seeking to leave the state and than those willing to return, Vij said, We and the rest of the country and the world is facing a situation that we are bound to face some difficulties.

But we cannot stop those migrant workers who want to go back with their states too being ready to have them back. We can only persuade these workers and we are already doing that. We are seeking to assure them that the Haryana government will take care of all their needs, but we cannot force them to stay back, he said.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had on Wednesday reiterated his appeal to migrant workers not to leave the state and instead start working in manufacturing units which have been allowed to resume operations, saying the coronavirus situation in the state was much better.

He had said migrants must compare the situation in their native places with that in Haryana before taking a decision.

The chief minister, however, had said if anyone still wanted to leave, the state government has already made arrangements for their return as per the Centre's guidelines.

On Wednesday, the first special train from Hisar carrying 1,200 migrant workers left for Katihar in Bihar.

More such migrants wanting to go back will be sent back within the next seven days through 5,000 buses and 100 trains, with the state government being ready to bear the entire cost of their transportation.

As many as 23,452 migrant labourers have so far been sent to their home states free of cost by various trains and buses arranged by the state government during the past three days, a statement had said here on Friday.

Meanwhile, Vij said 66 persons from Haryana were among the stranded Indians, who were brought back home on Friday as part of the Centre's mega repatriation mission Vande Bharat.

As many as 66 persons from Haryana returned from abroad and they have been quarantined in a facility in Gurgaon, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India's third Covid wave likely to peak on Jan 23, daily cases to stay below 4 lakh: IIT Kanpur scientist

Coronavirus outbreak: Tamil Nadu residents stranded in foreign countries return

India

oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P

Chennai, May 09: About 359 people arrived in Tamil Nadu early on Saturday from Dubai in two Air India flights as part of the government's Vande Bharat Mission to bring home Indian nationals stranded in various countries.

Among the passengers was a Tirunelveli-based woman whose husband died in Dubai. The body was also brought in the aircraft.

Coronavirus outbreak: Odisha records highest single-day surge of COVID-19

According to the death certificate issued by the Consulate General of India, the 36-year-old man died of "cardiac and breath function failure." Upon arrival at the airport, the woman headed to Sengottai in the southern district in an ambulance carrying her spouse's remains.

While the first flight saw arrival of 182 people, 151 men, 28 women and three children, there were 177 people in the second aircraft and the flights arrived in the wee hours of today.

Coronavirus outbreak: Eight flights from several countries to fly back stranded Indians today

The stranded people hail from Tamil Nadu and they were working in the United Arab Emirates. On Friday night, a flight from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia arrived at Tiruchirappalli airport with about 200 passengers. On their arrival, nasal and throat swab samples were taken for coronavirus testing at the specially set up COVID-19 kiosks in the airport.

Authorities deputed several teams of health workers attired in protective suits to screen and take samples from the returnees. While one group of people were lodged in the premises of an educational institution in suburban Melakottayur, two other groups of men and women got accommodated in two hotels at Periyamet and Ekkaduthangal, respectively.
NC pastor arrested, accused of sexually assaulting 2 former youth group members

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The senior pastor of a North Carolina church was arrested Thursday after two people alleged that he sexually assaulted them when they were minors at a former church where he worked.

Brian Mahiques, the 41-year-old pastor of the nondenominational Encounter Church in Concord, was charged with two counts of statutory sexual offense of a child and three counts of indecent liberties with a minor.

Mahiques is being held in the Cabarrus County Jail under a $1 million bond.

According to the Concord Police Department, the investigation into Mahiques alleged actions began in spring 2019. The investigation was initiated after the first victim told his or her parents that they had been sexually assaulted by Mahiques when he was a youth pastor at The Refuge Church in Concord.

According to a police statement, the victim alleged that Mahiques sexually assaulted him or her numerous times between 2005 and 2006 when he was on staff at The Refuge Church, which has since moved to a new location.

During the course of the investigation, the second victim was located who indicated they, too, had been sexually assaulted by Mahiques during that time frame and was also a member of the same youth group, the police statement adds.

Police investigators are continuing to conduct follow-up interviews to determine if there are other alleged victims.

Encounter Church released a statement on its website explaining that the churchs board is aware of allegations that were brought forward concerning Pastor Brian Mahiques.

We are waiting for the due process of law to unfold, the churchs statement reads. Meanwhile, we pray for truth, light, and grace to abound, inviting the Spirit of God to lead us in these moments. Just as our church supports fellow members in good times, we also stand beside them offering prayer and strength in difficult times.

The churchs statement adds that the board is supporting Mahiques wife, Sarah, and the rest of his family during this time. The church is asking that people be respectful and mindful of the family as they are going through this.

We are grateful for the loving response of the community, the statement continues. Our Lord Jesus Christ brings redemption out of the most troubling and tragic circumstances. As we seek what abundant life looks like in these times we will be partaking in communion daily and invite you to do the same.

The Refuge Church, a multi-campus church based in Kannapolis, told The Christian Post in an emailed statement that Mahiques was on staff in 2005 and 2006, but "no accusations were ever made while Brian was serving on our staff."

"Our hearts go out to the victims and families affected by the alleged crimes committed by Brian Mahiques," the statement from The Refuge Church reads.

According to the church, Mahiques served on The Refuge Church staff from 2005 to 2008 and has not been part of the church since 2008.

"No accusations were made and we had no cause for suspicion while Brian was serving on our team," the statement adds. "The first accusation was brought to our attention in February of 2019 when Founding and Lead Pastor, Jay Stewart, immediately contacted both the district attorney and the Department of Social Services."

"This prompted an investigation by the Concord Police Department with which we have fully complied," the church's statement says. "The Refuge Church has always gone to great lengths to protect children and youth and to operate at the highest levels of accountability and integrity. We continue to pray for all who have been affected."
While the Jammu and Kashmir Police has termed the killing of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen chief Riyaz Naikoo as a major success in its fight against militancy in Kashmir, Pakistan is using the summer months to do all it can to push foreign militants to unsettle the calm in the Valley.

For the Pakistan Army and spy agency ISI, the Hizb-ul is an important vertical of their strategy to keep Kashmir on the boil. The killing of Naikoo is a huge blow to the indigenous terror outfit as after Burhan Wanis elimination in 2016, it was him who would recruit local youths for Hizb-ul, sources told DH.

They said as recruitment of local youth into militancy had already dwindled since last year, Pakistan will not hesitate in sending more battle hardened militants to keep the morale of ultras high.

The Hizb-ul has, over the years, remained the largest indigenous militant outfit in Kashmir and it draws its recruits mainly from the Valley. Pakistan wants to keep the Hizb-ul at the forefront just to show the world that terrorism in Kashmir is indigenous. For that purpose, they will ensure that Hizb-ul is not in disarray and will send some recruits from PoK to help them, sources said.

A senior police officer said that Pakistan would send more militants to strengthen Jaish-e-Muhammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba outfits, but the Hizb-ul will be kept as a front organisation to claim responsibility for the attacks.

This fits the Pakistani narrative that it is the Kashmiris who are fighting against the Indian Army and not foreign militants. Pakistani militants, who are sent across the LoC, have been instructed to ensure that they prod the others of Kashmiri origin in their groups to lead the attacks. Thus, the main threat to security in the Valley is from these hardened terrorists, he revealed.

As the attention of New Delhi and the world will remain on battling the coronavirus pandemic and its fallout, Pakistan will use these summer months, when the snow melts in mountain ranges, to do all it can to push militants to unsettle the calms of security forces in the Valley, the officer added.
Baghdad, May 9 : Iraq and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) confirmed their willingness to strengthen partnership in combating the Islamic State (IS).

A statement by his office on Friday said Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi received a phone call from NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who congratulated al-Kadhimi for taking office after gaining the confidence of the Iraqi parliament, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Stoltenberg stressed NATO's keenness to strengthen partnership with Iraq in fighting terrorism through the training mission operating in Iraq, asserting the need for the international community to cooperate with Iraq to meet the challenges of terrorism," the statement said.

For his part, al-Kadhimi emphasized that the Iraqi government attaches great importance to the partnership with NATO, the statement added.

Al-Kadhimi also extended an invitation to Stoltenberg to visit Baghdad as soon as possible with his team to discuss ways to raise the level of joint action, especially in the field of training and support to the security forces, according to the statement.

The call came after al-Kadhimi was sworn in late on Wednesday as the new prime minister in Iraq, following the approval of the parliament on most of his cabinet members.

The NATO mission in Iraq is providing training and advice to Iraqi forces, as well as providing them with the weapons and ammunition they need in the fight against IS militants.
ANN ARBOR, MI - The University of Michigan is formulating plans to begin re-engaging in limited research activity when the state of Michigan authorizes the reopening of research activity, the university announced Friday.

UM, with guidance from public health experts, has developed guidelines for how to safely re-engage limited research activity across its three campuses when permissible by the state, according to UM Research.

The first phase of re-engagement will apply to individuals involved in experimental laboratory and studio-based research, along with some locally-based, non-human subjects field research, according to UM.

Office and dry lab research, including all lab meetings and supervisor meetings, will continue to occur remotely and will be in violation of the guidelines below if they occur in labs, the university noted.

When the phased-in approach to resuming research will begin depends on guidance from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who extended the states stay-at-home order through May 28.

In less than a week, the UM research community rapidly responded to the pandemic, shifting and pausing important research and scholarship efforts, UM Vice President for Research Rebecca Cunningham told the University Record. Together, through these collective actions, we have begun to flatten the curve, and we now turn our attention to how we may begin to re-engage research in a public-health-informed manner when conditions allow.

University of Michigan provost cautiously optimistic for in-person fall semester

Since UM began ramping down non-critical research on March 20, buildings not open for lab and studio-based research have remained restricted to approved personnel only, according to UM.

Once a timeline for the first phase of research re-engagement is solidified with state guidance, a team from the Office of the Vice President for Research will follow up with schools and colleges, understanding this may occur in mid- to late May, or be extended into June or beyond.

UM transitioned to online classes March 11 and announced two weeks later that spring and summer courses would also be online. The university also canceled spring commencement ceremonies on May 2 and are instead having an all-day online celebration for 2020 graduates.

UM President Mark Schilssel and Interim Provost Susan Collins have stated they remain cautiously optimistic about delivering as much in-person instruction as possible" for the fall 2020 semester.

While much of the work UM employees are currently doing will not change, Schlissel said UM is evaluating how specific parts of Whitmers order affects the university, including when and where employees need to wear face coverings.

Factors UM is considering regarding the re-opening of campuses includes office, lab and classroom density; personal protective equipment needs and availability and COVID-19 testing capacity.

READ MORE:

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Grand Valley prepares for in-class learning this fall but decision weeks away
It was Jan. 22, a day after the first case of covid-19 was detected in the United States, and orders were pouring into Michael Bowen's company outside Fort Worth, some from as far away as Hong Kong.

Bowen's medical supply company, Prestige Ameritech, could ramp up production to make an additional 1.7 million N95 masks a week. He viewed the shrinking domestic production of medical masks as a national security issue, though, and he wanted to give the federal government first dibs.

"We still have four like-new N95 manufacturing lines," Bowen wrote that day in an email to top administrators in the Department of Health and Human Services. "Reactivating these machines would be very difficult and very expensive but could be achieved in a dire situation."

But communications over several days with senior agency officials - including Robert Kadlec, the assistant secretary for preparedness and emergency response - left Bowen with the clear impression that there was little immediate interest in his offer.

"I don't believe we as an government are anywhere near answering those questions for you yet," Laura Wolf, director of the agency's Division of Critical Infrastructure Protection, responded that same day.

Bowen persisted.

"We are the last major domestic mask company," he wrote on Jan. 23. "My phones are ringing now, so I don't 'need' government business. I'm just letting you know that I can help you preserve our infrastructure if things ever get really bad. I'm a patriot first, businessman second."

In the end, the government did not take Bowen up on his offer. Even today, production lines that could be making more than 7 million masks a month sit dormant.

Bowen's overture was described briefly in an 89-page whistleblower complaint filed this week by Rick Bright, former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. Bright alleges he was retaliated against by Kadlec and other officials - including being reassigned to a lesser post - because he tried to "prioritize science and safety over political expediency." HHS has disputed his allegations.

Emails show Bright pressed Kadlec and other agency leaders on the issue of mask shortages - and Bowen's proposal specifically - to no avail. On Jan. 26, Bright wrote to a deputy that Bowen's warnings "seem to be falling on deaf ears."

That day, Bowen sent Bright a more direct warning.

"U.S. mask supply is at imminent risk," he wrote. "Rick, I think we're in deep s---," he wrote a day later.

The story of Bowen's offer illustrates a missed opportunity in the early days of the pandemic, one laid out in Bright's whistleblower complaint, interviews with Bowen and emails provided by both men.

Within weeks, a shortage of masks was endangering health-care workers in hard-hit areas across the country, and the Trump administration was scrambling to buy more masks - sometimes placing bulk orders with third-party distributors for many times the standard price. President Donald Trump came under pressure to use extraordinary government powers to force private industry to ramp up production.

In a statement, White House economic adviser and coronavirus task force member Peter Navarro said: "The company was just extremely difficult to work and communicate with. This was in sharp contrast to groups like the National Council of Textile Organizations and companies like Honeywell and Parkdale Mills, which have helped America very rapidly build up cost effective domestic mask capacity measuring in the hundreds of millions."

Carol Danko, an HHS spokeswoman, declined to comment on the offer by Bowen and other allegations raised in the whistleblower complaint. Wolf also declined to comment on the whistleblower complaint.

A senior U.S. government official with knowledge of the offer said Bowen, 62, has a "legitimate beef."

"He was prescient, really," the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations. "But the reality is [HHS] didn't have the money to do it at that time."

Another HHS official, also speaking on the condition of anonymity, said: "There is a process for putting out contracts. It wasn't as fast as anyone wanted it to be."

- - -

Two decades ago, the low-slung factory in Texas was part of a supply conglomerate that produced almost 9 in 10 medical and surgical masks used in the United States.

Bowen was a new product specialist at the plant back then, and he watched as industry consolidations and outsourcing shifted control of the plant from Tecnol Medical Products to Kimberly-Clark and then shuttered it altogether. In less than a decade, almost 90 percent of all U.S. mask production had moved out of the country, according to government reports at the time.

Bowen and Dan Reese, a former executive at Tecnol, went into business together in 2005 and eventually bought the plant, believing a market remained for a dedicated domestic manufacturer of protective gear.

In wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Congress appropriated $6 billion to buy antidotes to bioweapons and the medical supplies the country would need in public health disasters. An obscure new government organization called the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, was among the agencies purchasing material for what would become the Strategic National Stockpile.

Bowen began studying BARDA, attending its industry conferences and searching for a way in to press his case.

In the parlance of BARDA, Bowen was seeking a "warm base" contract. The government would pay a premium to have masks manufactured domestically, but his company would keep its extra factory lines in working order, meaning production could be ramped up in an emergency.

Bowen said he soon concluded that BARDA's focus was trained elsewhere, on billion-dollar deals to induce manufacturing of vaccines for the most exotic disasters, such as weaponized attacks with anthrax or smallpox.

Still, as Bowen moved down the supply chain, appealing directly to hospitals to buy his domestic-made masks, his sales pitch often ended with a plea to call BARDA.

Bowen often carried PowerPoint slides from a 2007 presentation by BARDA and its parent division at HHS, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. One had a table showing that, in the event of a pandemic, the country would need 5.3 billion N95 respirator masks, 50 times more than the number in the stockpile. The presentation concluded: "Industrial surge capacity of [respiratory protection devices] will not be able to meet need and supplies will be short during a pandemic."

Bowen said he felt like a voice in the wilderness.

"The world just looked at me as a mask salesman who was saying the sky was falling," he said, "and they would say, 'Your competitors aren't saying that in China.' "

After Trump's election, Bowen hoped the new president's America-first mentality might trickle down to operations like his. He wrote a letter to Trump and addressed it to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: "90% of the United States protective mask supply is currently FOREIGN MADE!" it began.

"I didn't think Trump would read it, but I thought someone would and take note," Bowen said.

He also called Bright, who had been appointed to lead BARDA just before Trump took office. "In 14 years of doing this, there have been maybe four people in government who I felt like really understood this issue," Bowen said. "Rick was one of them."

In Trump's first year, however, Bowen grew newly disillusioned. During a week that the White House touted its "Buy American, Hire American" initiative, Bowen lost a military contract worth up to $1 million, to a supplier that would make many of the masks in Mexico, he said.

"Shame on the Department of Defense! One of these days the US military will need America's manufacturers to help win another war or fight another pandemic - and they will not exist," Bowen wrote on Aug. 17, 2017, to Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Clark, a senior official with the Pentagon's Defense Health Agency.

Clark, who retired last year, did not respond to a message seeking comment.

- - -

For Bowen, the first signs of trouble came in mid-January. Online orders through his company's website, typically totaling maybe $2,000 a year and accounting for only a fraction of his business, suddenly skyrocketed to almost $700,000 in a few days.

On Jan. 20, Bowen also fielded a call from the Department of Homeland Security, urgently seeking masks for airport screeners. Bowen said he did not have masks in stock to fill the order, but the call led him to contact Bright to tell him about the surge in demand for masks. "Is this virus going to be problematic?" Bowen wrote.

Inside HHS, Bright quickly passed Bowen's on-the-ground observations to a group that included Wolf, the director of the agency's Division of Critical Infrastructure Protection.

"Can you please reach out to Mike Bowen below? He is a great partner and a really good source for helpful information," Bright wrote on Jan. 21.

"Thanks Rick," she replied. "We are tracking and have begun to coordinate with fda, niosh, and manufacturers today. More to follow tomorrow. Thinking about masks, gowns (inc those in shortage), gloves, and eye protection."

Within a day, Bowen sent an email to Wolf laying out what Prestige could do. The company's four mothballed manufacturing lines could be restarted with large noncancelable orders, he wrote.

"This is NOT something we would ever wish to do and have NO plans to do it on our own," he wrote. "I'm simply letting you know that in a dire situation, it could be done."

Over the next three days, Bowen kept HHS officials informed as orders for a million masks came in from intermediaries for buyers in China and Hong Kong. On Jan. 26, he sent the email warning that the U.S. mask supply was at "imminent risk."

Bright forwarded it that day to Kadlec and others, urging action: "We have been watching and receiving warnings on this for over a week," he wrote.

The next day, Bright wrote to his deputy asking him to explore whether BARDA could divert money earmarked for vaccines and other biodefense measures to instead buy masks.

From his end, Bowen said his proposal seemed to be going nowhere. "No one at HHS ever did get back to me in a substantive way," Bowen said.

The senior U.S. official said Bowen's idea was considered, but funding could not easily be obtained without diverting it from other projects.

Bowen started talking to reporters about the mask shortage in general terms. He was soon invited to appear on former Trump adviser Stephen K. Bannon's podcast: "War Room: Pandemic."

On the Feb. 12 podcast, the two commiserated over the beleaguered state of U.S. manufacturing. "What I've been saying since 2007 is, 'Guys, I'm warning you, here's what is going to happen, let's prepare,' " Bowen said on the program. "Because if you call me after it starts, I can't help everybody."

Bowen said Bannon put him in touch with Navarro, the White House economic adviser.

Navarro was quick to see the problem, Bowen said. After talking with Navarro, Bowen wrote to Bright that he should soon expect a call from the White House, "I'm pretty sure that my mask supply message will be heard by President Trump this week," Bowen wrote. "Trump insider reading yesterday's Wired.com article, the ball is screaming toward your court."

According to Bright's complaint, he soon began attending White House meetings and helping Navarro write memos describing the supply of masks as a top issue. Emails and memos attached to the complaint show Bright reporting back to Kadlec and others about his work with Navarro.

None of it turned the tide for Bowen.

Nearly a month after his emailed offer, Bowen received his first formal communication about possibly helping to bolster the U.S. supply. The five-page form letter from the Food and Drug Administration - one Bowen said he suspected was sent to many manufacturers - asked how his company could help with what was by then a "national emergency response" to the shortage of protective gear.

Bowen responded on Feb. 16, by firing off a terse email to FDA and HHS officials. He directed the agencies to a U.S. government website listing approved foreign manufacturers of medical masks. "There you'll find a long list of . . . approved Chinese respirator companies," he wrote. "Please send your long list of questions to them."

In March, Bowen submitted a bid to supply masks to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which by then had taken over purchasing.

The government soon spent over $600 million on contracts involving masks. Big companies like Honeywell and 3M were each awarded contracts totaling for over $170 million for protective gear. One distributor of tactical gear - a company with no history of procuring medical equipment - was awarded a $55 million deal to provide masks for as much as $5.50 a piece, eight times what the government was paying months earlier.

On April 7, FEMA awarded Prestige a $9.5 million contract to provide a million N95 masks a month for one year, an order the company could fulfill without activating its dormant manufacturing lines. For the masks, Prestige charged the government 79 cents a piece.

- - -

The Washington Post's Jon Swaine, Robert O'Harrow Jr. and Rachel Siegel contributed to this report.
Indian police have filed a culpable homicide complaint against an LG Chem subsidiary over a toxic gas leak at its chemical plant in the south of the country that killed 11 people and forced 800 into hospital for treatment from poisoning

Chennai: Indian police have filed a culpable homicide complaint against an LG Chem subsidiary over a toxic gas leak at its chemical plant in the south of the country that killed 11 people and forced 800 into hospital for treatment from poisoning.

A day after the leak, authorities doubled the evacuation area around the factory in Andhra Pradesh to a 5 kilometre (3 mile) radius, waking residents in the middle of the night and herding them into buses in case more poison should escape.

Police took to the streets with loudhailers to tell residents to leave their homes and board the buses, said Sheikh Salim, a 21-year-old fruit seller who lives about 2.5 km from the plant.

A copy of the police complaint filed against the management of LG Chems subsidiary LG Polymers, reviewed by Reuters, cited several counts of negligence and culpable homicide.

The report, which precedes a full police investigation and potential charges, refers to negligent handling of poisonous substances and causing hurt and endangering public life. An LG Chem spokesman in Seoul declined to comment on the report.

On Friday the National Green Tribunal, Indias environmental court, formed a five-member committee to investigate the leak. Authorities said the leak came from styrene, a principal raw material at the plant, which makes polystyrene plastic used in cutlery, cups and packaging for cosmetics.

Residents described being awakened before dawn on Thursday by a cloud of noxious smelling vapour, struggling for breath and suffering pain and itchy eyes. Unconscious victims and the bodies of dead cows lay in the streets.

Though on a smaller scale, the deadly leak revived memories of a gas escape from a factory of US chemical firm Union Carbide in 1984 that killed thousands of people in the central Indian city of Bhopal. That incident caused a national trauma and made Indians bitterly sensitive to lax safety standards at foreign-owned factories.

LG Chem, South Koreas biggest petrochemical firm said on Friday it had asked police to expand the evacuation zone as a precautionary measure, because temperatures in storage tanks might rise. We are taking necessary measures, including putting water into the tank, the company said in a statement.

N Surendra Anand, a fire officer in Visakhapatnam district, told Reuters that the expanded evacuation was triggered because more gas had escaped from the plant. The situation is tense, he said.

Srijana Gummalla, commissioner of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation, said gas emissions had been fluctuating through the day and had largely subsided.

LG Chem shares fell 2.4 percent in early trade on Friday, before regaining some ground to be down 0.6 percent against the broader South Korea markets 1 percent gain. The stock lost nearly 2 percent on Thursday.

The factory was in the process of reopening after a weeks-long shutdown imposed by Indian authorities to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, local officials and the company said.

The leak has led to fears of a backlash against Korean businesses in India, where Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor and others have a large presence. We are very cautious and keeping a low profile, an official at Korea International Trade Association in India said.

The trade body on Thursday sent a letter to member companies calling for thorough maintenances to prevent accidents, as companies prepare to reopen plants following the relaxation.
Police want to identify this man in connection with the assault (Picture: Police)

Police have released a CCTV image of a suspect they want to speak to after two homeless men were attacked in central London.

Officers were called to Victoria Street, close to Artillery Row, Westminster, at around 4.30 am on Thursday after receiving reports a rough sleeper had been attacked by two men.

The London Ambulance Service also attended.

A 44-year-old man was taken to a south London hospital where he remains in a critical condition.

Read more: How many coronavirus cases are there in your area?

The attack happened on Victoria Street, close to Artillery Row, Westminster (Picture: Twitter/999 London)

After checking CCTV footage, one of the men was identified as having been in the area of a second assault on a homeless man outside Waterloo Railway Station approximately two hours after the Westminster attack.

During this assault, a 32-year-old man suffered head injuries.

He attended a south London hospital where he remains in a stable condition.

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Detectives have released CCTV images of a man they wish to identify and speak with in connection with the assault on Victoria Street.

He is described as white and wearing a dark blue jacket, blue trousers and white trainers.

A 34-year-old man has been charged in connection with the assault at Waterloo.

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A man has been charged with murder over the death of a young father, who was stabbed to death in south east London.

Danny Pearce, 31, was attacked on July 15, 2017, while walking with his girlfriend in Greenwich. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as multiple stab wounds, but police also found gunshot grazing and evidence of at least four shots fired in his direction.

David Egan, 23, of Ashmead Road, will appear in custody at Bromley Magistrates' Court on Saturday, charged with murder.

He is further charged with possession of a firearm, robbery and possession of an offensive weapon.

He is also charged with two further robberies - which took place on 11 July 2017 and 13 July 2017 - as well as possession of an offensive weapon and having an imitation firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence.

A 26-year-old man was previously found guilty of murdering Mr Pearce. Jordan Bailey-Mascoll was sentenced to life imprisonment in July 2018 with a recommendation that he serve at least 35 years.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 20:33:23|Editor: huaxia

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TIANJIN, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The fourth World Intelligence Congress (WIC), a major AI event in China, is set to open online in June in north China's Tianjin Municipality, local authorities said Saturday.

With the theme of "Intelligence New Era: Innovation, Energization and Ecology," the event originally scheduled for April will open next month due to the COVID-19 epidemic outbreak, said Wei Guangyong, deputy director of the Tianjin Municipal Development and Reform Commission, at a press conference.

In the previous WICs in 2017, 2018 and 2019, about 300,000 visitors from both home and abroad gathered in Tianjin to discuss the world's frontier trends in intelligent technologies. Enditem
MANITOBA Premier Brian Pallister recently threw cold water on the notion of Western Canada separation, saying good relationships arent built on threats to leave.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 9/5/2020 (620 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

MANITOBA Premier Brian Pallister recently threw cold water on the notion of Western Canada separation, saying good relationships arent built on threats to leave.

But Pallister has similar issues on his own doorstep: northern Manitoba alienation is real and the government must take it seriously.

Last year, the Frontier Centre for Public Policy initiated a landmark discussion on redrawing provincial boundaries to provide tidewater access to ocean ports. Northern Manitoba might take some cues from that discussion to engage regions of Saskatchewan and Ontario.

Northern Manitobans understand the economic hardship Albertans have been experiencing. And the region may have to take a page from Albertas "Wexit" movement to finally get the attention it deserves.

Pushing for redrawn borders or talking about going it alone may force the Manitoba government to address the unique economic and infrastructure needs of this region, whose economy has certainly suffered some major blows:

 The port of Churchill closed to grain shipments, forcing operators of the subarctic seaport to reconsider its future.

 In The Pas, the closure of a heavy paper plant eventually led to a successful restructuring.

 Hudbays Flin Flon mine and processing facilities are set to close in 2022.

 There is uncertainty over the fate of Vales mining and milling operations in Thompson.

Many in northern Manitoba believe the government in Winnipeg isnt as supportive of mining as provincial governments elsewhere.

For example, Manitoba has fallen behind other jurisdictions in terms of policy and tax attractiveness for mining investment. Only three years ago, the province was among the top five jurisdictions worldwide in terms of investment attractiveness.

But Pallister has similar issues on his own doorstep: northern Manitoba alienation is real and the government must take it seriously.

Northern communities and First Nations await the government plans for developing critical transportation infrastructure to Manitobas far reaches. Many fly-in communities still lack connection to the wider economy and world. Despite some northern highway investments, Indigenous communities and rural communities look to Winnipeg for more leadership.

Manitoba lacks a "Plan Nord"  five years ago, the Quebec government and Indigenous groups unveiled this economic development strategy involving historic investments in the natural resource sector in the far north. The Quebec plan managed to reconcile economic development with boreal conservation, something that has eluded the Manitoba government.

An ailing economy isnt the only significant challenge hanging over the region. As in rural Saskatchewan, northern Manitoba is dealing with rural crime problems. In November 2019, Macleans declared Thompson had been Canadas most violent city for three straight years. This was based on information from Statistics Canadas crime severity index, which examines police data from cities across Canada.

Thompson has the busiest court docket outside of Winnipeg; the Thompson court office reportedly deals with a per-capita caseload about 14 times the size of Winnipegs provincial court. This problem is exacerbated by a significant shortage of Crown attorneys in the region.

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Crown attorneys regularly must be flown into Thompson and The Pas. Critics argue that accused are being denied their right to timely bail hearings, trials and sentencing. For many northern communities, the lack of access to timely sentencing and court resources contributes to a sense of regional lawlessness and desperation.

To address all of these issues, the province might have to raise the stakes by engaging in a discussion about redrawn boundaries. This could certainly lead to significant concessions from the province or at least help refocus the premiers attention.

For example, many people have set their sights on opening Churchill to an oil pipeline from Alberta. And while Pallister says hes open to the idea, the Saskatchewan government has been more proactive in establishing a cabinet committee to explore their options. If the people of northern Manitoba made it clear they were open to redrawing borders to facilitate a pipeline, this might force the Manitoba governments hand.

Clearly, someone needs to remind the government of Manitoba that northern alienation is alive and well.

Joseph Quesnel is a research associate with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.

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With cases inching close to 100 in the Covid-19 epicentre of Ganjam district, the Odisha government on Saturday imposed section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code around all quarantine centres in the district as reports of rule violations by migrant workers trickled in.

The cases in the state touched 294 - out of which 112 are from Surat - by Saturday evening, with hotspot Ganjam recording 94 cases, all returnees from Surat.

The other Covid-19 hotspots are Jajpur, Bhubaneswar, Balasore, Bhadrak and Rourkela. In other districts too cases are being reported as migrants from Surat are returning back to their homes.

Ganjam district collector Vijay Aamrita Kulange said Section-144 has been imposed around all Covid-19 medical camps/institutional quarantine centres where migrants have been housed by the government.

Kulange said no one will be allowed to enter within 100 m radius of the quarantine centres and directed the Superintendent of Police, Sub-Divisional Magistrates, Executive Magistrates and inspectors of police stations to keep a close watch on the centres.

The decision comes after a video of people violating the norms in quarantine centres went viral.

In one quarantine centre of Sergarh block housing, 80 migrant workers from Surat, their kin were seen delivering food and betel to the inmates at the gate violating social distance norms.

Earlier this week, 128 Surat-returned migrant labourers had fled from two Covid-19 quarantine centres in Beguniapada block in Ganjam district before they were caught.

The state government has also increased the quarantine period for returnees from 14 days to 28 days as many of the positive cases were found after the 14-day quarantine period.

Returnees from other states will have to undergo an institutional quarantine of 21 days followed by home quarantine for next seven days, said Odishas chief spokesperson on Covid-19, Subroto Bagchi.

The order came even as two persons died in two separate quarantine centres of Ganjam and Sonepur districts.

On Friday afternoon, a 40-year-old man who had returned from Surat and showed Covid-19 symptoms died before his swab sample could be tested; while in Sonepur, a migrant labourer from Bengal died in the quarantine centre Saturday morning. However, he did not show any Covid-19 symptoms.

Officials said Fridays stay order by the Supreme Court on the Orissa High Court order of stopping travel of migrant workers without Covid-19 test in the originating state would lead to a massive surge in positive cases. On Thursday, the Orissa High Court had directed the state government to not let migrant workers board trains to Odisha without testing them for Covid-19.

Over 46,000 people have returned to Odisha from different states and another five lakh migrants are expected to turn up. On Saturday, 5 special trains carrying migrants left for Odisha from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. The trains will reach Odisha on Sunday.
Despite government urging under 30s to marry and have kids, young forward thinking Vietnamese say getting hitched can wait.

At 31, accountant Nguyen Thu Huong enjoys a decent income and lives with her cat in a shared rental apartment in Hanois Hoang Mai District.

Since breaking up with her boyfriend seven months ago, she is in no rush to hunt down Mr. Right, to the despair of her parents and relatives.

"Whenever I return home, the first question they ask is whether I will get married this year. My family views a husband and children as the keys to life," Huong said, stressing marriage cannot be forced nor rushed.

Huong is among a myriad Vietnamese millennials in little rush to find life-long partners or tie the knot, despite a government push.

On April 28, Vietnam urged citizens to marry before 30 and bear a second child before 35, aiming to maintain a replacement total fertility rate (TFR) between 2 and 2.2 children per mother during the reproductive cycle, increasing it in areas currently falling short and vice versa.

One hundred couples organized a mass wedding in Ho Chi Minh City during 2018. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran.

According to many sociologists, the social and economic changes inherent to rapid industrialization, modernization and international integration have, however, changed the perception of marriage among Vietnamese millennials.

"I have to make sure whoever I marry is the right person to ensure we are both happy. Getting married before or after 30 is no big deal," said Hoang The Vinh, 28, a white-collar worker in HCMC.

Vinh, facing pressure from his family in the southern province of Tien Giang, has never considered tying the knot, his girlfriend Nguyen Thanh Tuyen, 25, sharing his views on life ever after.

Concurring social adaptation is reflected in the 2019 Population and Housing Census, showing an increase in the age among those getting married.

The SMAM (Singulate Mean Age at Marriage) in 2019 was 25.2 years old, an increase of 0.7 years compared to a decade prior. Notably, the SMAM in urban areas is higher than in rural equivalents, according to the Central Steering Committee for the Population and Housing Census.

While older generations preferred marrying and having children young to ensure they would be cared for and to continue family lines, millennials are different.

Today, social safety nets have reduced the demand to get married and bear children, making marriage less of a necessity.

"Marriage is about enjoying life with my husband, not about having kids, we still have a long to-do list, a child is not included yet," said Tran Thanh Quynh An, 34, a bank clerk in HCMC. She added marriage would make no difference since she has been cohabiting with her boyfriend for two years already.

"Many of my friends do not plan to have children, so what is the point of tying the knot before 30 or 40?"

According to the World Population Review last year, Vietnam ranks quite low in terms of the TFR, 122nd out of 190 countries.

An is in no rush to marry her boyfriend despite family pressure.

"We want to travel to several countries this year, imagine if we got married and had a kid, we would have to abandon our hobbies and plans for some years."

Not in the mood for love

The 2019 Population and Housing Census showed single household (one-person household) rates increased to 10.9 percent from 7.2 percent in 2009.

With social development and integration, the increasing number of "single-positive" youngsters tend to enjoy life instead of getting caught up in relationships or marrying.

According to psychology expert Dang Hoang An, young people appreciating freedom want to invest in their future plans and experience more things instead of getting bogged down.

"As various life values get imported to Vietnam, many have grown accustomed to living alone," An told local media this week.

Marketer Nguyen Hai Anh, 32, from Hanoi, relishes single life.

"I stay at home and watch Netflix or hang out with my friends or go to the gym after work," she said, adding she prefers this to, "finding a man and getting to know him."

Nguyen Manh Tung, 29, also enjoys being on his own and uses dating apps like Tinder to access non-marital sex in HCMC.

"Being in a relationship is complicated and can pose a burden, I like to be alone. Sometimes if I feel lonely, Tinder can help me find a friend with benefits," he stated.

Psychology expert Che Da Thao supports this fact, saying younger generations are more financially and emotionally independent with more choices providing them happiness, with many preferring a single life.

A group of young Vietnamese hang out. Photo by Shutterstock/Wachiwit.

When the government called on citizens to marry before 30 and bear children early, many responded saying it is better and safer for women to have children before 35.

Dang Quynh Thu, head of the General Office for Population and Family Planning under the Health Ministry, said marrying before 30 ensures better health and improving TFR, especially since Vietnam became one of the countries with the fastest aging population in 2015.

"Biologically, giving birth before 30 is good for both the mother and child," Thu said.

Trinh Dang Quyen, 34, an English teacher in Saigons District 3, concurs.

"If people are in love and want to tie the knot, supporting them financially is a good move, especially when they have children, since raising a child is pricey," he said. Having broken up with his girlfriend after a 17-month relationship, Quyen has no plans to "return to the love race."

Many millennials, regardless of their desire to marry, simply have to no idea how to find Mr or Ms. Right.

"My mother said marriage was one of the first steps to adulthood. To me, it should be the last, I do not want to step into anything when I am not ready," Quyen maintained.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) seal at the agency's headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Dec. 11, 2014.

The United States issued a new rule on Friday tightening visa guidelines for Chinese journalists, saying it was in response to the treatment of U.S. journalists in China, a shift that comes amid tensions between the two nations over the coronavirus global pandemic.

The United States and China have been engaged in a series of retaliatory actions involving journalists in recent months.

In March, China expelled American journalists from three U.S. newspapers, a month after the United States said it would begin to treat five Chinese state-run media entities with U.S. operations the same as foreign embassies.

One day after the U.S. verdict on the state-run entities, Beijing expelled three Wall Street Journal correspondents, two Americans and an Australian, following the publication of an opinion column that China denounced as racist.

In issuing the new regulation on Friday, the Department of Homeland Security cited what it called China's "suppression of independent journalism."

The regulation, which will take effect on Monday, will limit visas for Chinese reporters to a 90-day period, with the option for extension. Such visas are typically open-ended and do not need to be extended unless the employee moves to a different company or medium.

A senior DHS official, who requested anonymity to discuss the matter, said the new rules would allow the department to review Chinese journalist visa applications more frequently and would likely reduce the overall number of Chinese journalists in the United States.

"It's going to create greater national security protections," the official said.

The new rules will not apply to journalists with passports from Hong Kong or Macau, China's two semi-autonomous territories, according to DHS.

Tensions between the United States and China have increased in recent months as the novel coronavirus has swept across the globe, killing more than 269,000 people worldwide to date, according to a Reuters tally.

President Donald Trump said in late April that he was confident the coronavirus may have originated in a Chinese virology lab, but declined to describe the evidence, ratcheting up tensions with Beijing over the origins of the deadly outbreak. The Chinese state-backed Wuhan Institute of Virology has dismissed the allegations. Most experts believe the virus originated in a market selling wildlife in Wuhan.
The closure of university campuses in response to the coronavirus has not stopped a number of big corporate providers of student accommodation  and private landlords  from demanding full rent from tenants for their final term.

This is despite the vast majority of students having followed university advice, gone back to their parents, and not returned for the summer term.

The hard-nosed financial approach of these companies has been condemned by MPs, university officials, student representatives and parents.

Unfair: Some students at Bournemouth University (pictured), are still having to pay rent for their third term

Two weeks ago, The Mail on Sunday highlighted the plight of students who rent rooms through The Student Housing Company, a provider of accommodation countrywide  from Edinburgh in Scotland to Plymouth in the South West.

Initially, students were told they would be liable for their full third-term rent. But the company has since waived 50 per cent of the fees and given students and their parents more time to pay up.

At selected universities, presumably under pressure from university officials, the company  owned by GSA  has waived all fees.

Yet, according to readers with children or grandchildren taking university degrees, GSA's The Student Housing Company is not the only offender.

Although some others such as Unite Students, iQ and Gravis (manager of investment trust GCP Student Living that owns a portfolio of student blocks, primarily in London) have done the right thing and waived all third-term rental fees, some have played hardball.

In several instances, companies have refused to offer any waiver, arguing that they are merely enforcing the contracts students signed up to at the beginning of the academic year  and that students have received money from their maintenance loans to meet the bills.

They include Host and Mansion Student, both nationwide providers of student accommodation.

Others, such as Fresh Student Living, part of Fresh Property Group, have offered ten per cent discounts and given students and parents more time to pay the fees.

Some parents have been left frustrated trying to get rents waived. Cathy Clough (name changed) has had no joy in getting Mansion Student  'specialists in student accommodation'  to waive the third-term rent that is payable on her 19-year-old daughter's vacant accommodation at Durham University.

Although some such as Unite Students, iQ and Gravis have done the right thing and waived all third-term rental fees, some have played hardball.

It has refused to release her daughter from the contract she signed last year, stating the coronavirus outbreak is no excuse for rent to go unpaid. Cathy has paid, but is disappointed by Mansion Student's 'lack of compassion'.

Last week, The Mail on Sunday asked Mansion Student  whose marketing message is 'we listen, we care, we deliver'  to comment. It failed to come back with a response.

Andrew Sturmey has a daughter at Liverpool John Moores University. Until forced to go home to complete her studies  she is in the final year of her chemistry degree  Rosie was staying in accommodation provided by Fresh Student Living.

Despite her handing back the keys, the company has only been willing to offer a ten per cent discount and payment made in three instalments rather than in one lump sum.

Her dad has advised his daughter to make the payments so she does not end up with a black mark on her credit record. But he is disappointed that Fresh Student Living has not been more generous.

A tale of two tenants... with very different rent charges Aimee Woolford and Thomas Doogan are first-year students at Bournemouth University. They are both studying biological sciences, have returned home to their parents in Hertfordshire to complete their third term  but have been treated differently by their accommodation providers. While 19-year-old Thomas, who lived in accommodation provided by iQ, has paid 50 per cent of fees due for this term, iQ has said it will return this money in February next year. GSA boss Nicholas Porter In contrast, Aimee, 18, and fellow students who until recently lived in accommodation provided by The Student Housing Company (owned by GSA) have had to fight to get a 50 per cent reduction. Thomas says: 'It was a massive relief to hear I only have to pay 50 per cent now, and get that money back next year. 'Students like myself are having to deal with a completely different third-semester dynamic and knowing accommodation money is no longer an issue is a great help. I'm glad I no longer have to worry.' Aimee, however, has until the end of the month to pay 50 per cent of the third-term rent due on her accommodation. She says The Student Housing Company's halving of the rent is 'better than nothing'. But she does not believe the company would have been so generous if students had not set up an online petition urging it to play fair  and using social media to highlight its initial intransigence. She is also angry that students at other universities  Portsmouth, for example  who rent through The Student Housing Company, have had all their third-term rent waived. Aimee's mother Sarah, who helps her daughter with the rental costs, says she was startled by the company's initial 'lack of compassion and care,' but believes common sense has prevailed. She adds: 'Of course, it would have been nice if The Student Housing Company had waived all fees like it has done at other universities. But a 50 per cent reduction is significant.' On Friday, Nicholas Porter, founder and chairman of GAS, told The Mail on Sunday: 'We have strived to provide the most fair and balanced range of financial solutions that we can for our students during this unprecedented time.' He also confirmed that where commercial obligations permitted, additional financial support had been provided to students at specific locations.

On Friday, Fresh Property Group said it was not the landlord of the accommodation in question  Calico, situated off campus  but just the manager responsible for collecting rent.

It said Calico's landlord had also been 'financially distressed' as a result of Covid-19 and had 'gone above and beyond its capabilities to support students at this time'.

Another parent to contact The Mail on Sunday has two daughters at university  one at Cambridge and the other at Warwick.

While the former has seen her university-provided accommodation fees for the summer term waived, her sister has not been so lucky.

Although she arranged her year's digs through Warwick Accommodation, an arm of the university, she was told that because her tenancy is with a third-party landlord, she is liable for the term's rent of 1,500.

Fellow students living on campus have had their fees waived. Warwick Accommodation will not provide the family with details of the landlord so that they can press them to play fair.

The only action available so far has been to 'open' a complaint with Warwick Accommodation.

On Friday, the girls' father told The Mail on Sunday: 'There must be some common sense applied here. It is morally unfair to expect our students (or their parents) to pay an entire term's rent without being able to use the house or attend the university'.

Tiana Holgate, welfare and campaigns officer at Warwick Students' Union, describes the required payment of third-term rent as a 'national crisis for student renters'.

Although accepting that, legally, students must adhere to the rental agreement they signed up to, she says it 'simply isn't fair for students to have to pay for accommodation which will be vacant through no fault of their own  and effectively as mandated by the UK Government  as no one could have predicted the current situation when signing their housing contracts'.

Local Labour MPs Matt Western (who represents Warwick and Leamington) and Zarah Sultana (who represents Coventry South) have written to all local letting agencies and landlords, urging them to do the right thing.

They want them to offer no-penalty releases from contracts for the rest of the current academic year  and the next academic year if necessary.

Have your student children been forced to pay rent this term? Email jeff.prestridge@mailonsunday.co.uk
The head of a research group that studies bat-borne coronaviruses in China similar to the COVID-19 strain that's ravaged the globe has warned that a U.S. government decision to cut funding to his organization imperils American public health.

EcoHealth Alliance's research grant was abruptly terminated last month by the National Institutes of Health, the primary agency of the U.S. government responsible for biomedical and public health research. EcoHealth Alliance's research in China is focused on identifying and warning about coronaviruses dangerous to human health.

"I'm really concerned about where this leaves us," said Peter Daszak, director of the New York-based organization, in a USA TODAY interview.

"Once we've overcome COVID-19, what about COVID-20? What about COVID-21? Who is going to go out and find those? Our grant was specifically designed to locate where these viruses are and to stop them from harming Americans," he said.

The National Institutes of Health confirmed EcoHealth Alliance's $3.4 million grant, distributed over six years, was canceled on April 24. But it would not discuss details about how the decision was made. Daszak, a respected disease ecologist, said he received a letter from the National Institutes of Health stating the award was terminated for "convenience" because it didn't "fit" with the agency's goals.

EcoHealth Alliance has collaborated with the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a state-run Chinese lab in the city where COVID-19 first emerged in December. The institute has attracted negative attention because of hypotheses connecting it to unanswered questions about the origins of the virus. These questions center around the lab's biosecurity, interpretations of circumstantial evidence that link the lab to early infections and China's unwillingness to share information about some aspects of the outbreak.

Politico, which first reported on the grant cancellation on April 27, said a few days prior to the termination of EcoHealth Alliance's funding National Institutes of Health Deputy Director for Extramural Research Mike Lauer informed the organization it needed "to know all sites in China that have been in any way linked to this award."

Story continues

EcoHealth Alliance has been studying coronaviruses in bats in China for more than a decade. In that time it has established deep links and worked closely with the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The Chinese research lab has fallen under a cloud of suspicion because President Donald Trump and senior U.S. officials such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have persistently linked it with unproven theories about COVID-19's origins.

No evidence has emerged to support Trump's accusations, nor are they backed by infectious disease experts. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded coronavirus was not man-made. They haven't reached any conclusions about whether the disease emerged from a lab in China or was transmitted to humans through animals.

Trump: US investigating if coronavirus spread after lab mishap; cites no evidence

An aerial view shows the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China's central Hubei province on April 17, 2020.

Daszak has not been able to secure clarification over why the award was cut. EcoHealth Alliance has received funding from the National Institutes of Health since at least 2002.

EcoHealth Alliance was the primary awardee of the $3.4 million grant. The sub-awardees were the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the East China Normal University in Shanghai, the Institute of Pathogen Biology in Beijing, and the Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore. A "sub-awardee" means EcoHealth Alliance acted as an intermediary between these institutions and the U.S. government for the purposes of funding joint research into bat-borne coronaviruses. It did not pay them directly.

EcoHealth Alliance has not been accused of any wrongdoing and it has not carried out any research in China since the outbreak began in Wuhan late last year.

Founded in 1971 by a British conservationist, more than 90% of EcoHealth Alliance's annual budget of $16 million in 2018 came from government grants, according to the most recent available financial accounts published on its website. The remainder of its funding came from a mixture of donations from scientific foundations, corporations and private individuals. The group has worked in the U.S. and nearly 30 countries around the world on projects ranging from forest health in Liberia to bio-surveillance in western Asia. Charity Navigator, which evaluates the transparency, accountability and governance of non-profit organizations, gives it a 4-star rating  its highest mark.

Fact check: Obama administration did not send $3.7 million to Wuhan lab

The State Department, which is obliged to conduct background checks on any foreign organization that is a recipient of U.S. government funds for research, did not respond to a request for comment addressing the reasons for the grant's termination.

The title of EcoHealth Alliance's research proposal, first awarded under the Obama administration and then re-approved under Trump in July last year, is called "Understanding the risk of bat coronavirus emergence."

"That's exactly what we're all suffering from now," Daszak said.

"One of our goals (for the study) was to find out more about the genetic sequences of coronaviruses in bats and to get these into the hands of people who design vaccines and drugs. We had just begun work on this when the pandemic happened," he said.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology has become a focus for Trump and some in his inner circle partly because it houses a lab equipped to study coronaviruses and other dangerous pathogens, and partly because of its relative proximity to a seafood market in Wuhan where some, but not all, of China's coronaviruses were first detected last year.

China's lack of transparency over how the virus first spread has amplified that focus. Beijing has also circulated, on social media and in official statements, false rumors and misinformation that the U.S. military may have brought coronavirus to China.

Trump said during a press conference on April 17 he was aware of EcoHealth Alliance's grant and he intended to end it "very quickly." Asked on April 30 whether he had seen evidence justifying theories the virus may have originated in the lab, Trump answered affirmatively  "Yes, I have." Days later, during a Fox News town hall on May 4, Trump said his administration was waiting on a "very strong report" about whether the lab was involved in the pandemic. "My opinion is they made a mistake. They tried to cover it," he said, referring to an alleged attempt by China's authorities to hide information about the nature and origins of the virus. China denies it withheld or suppressed these details.

Critics of China have also accused it of concealing the extent of its coronavirus outbreak by under-reporting both total cases and the deaths it has suffered from the disease.

'Dangerous dynamic': Coronavirus threatens new 'Cold War' between US and China

Adding to the maelstrom, Pompeo insisted Wednesday there was no obvious contradiction in his competing assertions that "we don't have certainty" about where the virus originated, yet "there is significant evidence that this came from the laboratory."

For more than a month, Senator Sen. Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been calling  "to no avail," he said  for Pompeo to share details of U.S. intelligence on the origins of the coronavirus. Menendez wrote another letter to Pompeo on Thursday, stating that the "answers to these questions are critical, as they may inform ongoing efforts to stop any further spread, limit any subsequent waves of infection, and help us prepare against future pandemics."

A passenger wears a hazmat suit as a precaution against the COVID-19 coronavirus as he waits for a train at Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan, in China's central Hubei province on May 2, 2020.

Linfa Wang, director of emerging infectious diseases at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, one of EcoHealth Alliance's "sub-awardees," said scientific understanding about why and how viruses jump from animals to humans is relatively poor but improving all the time. He said the consensus among mainstream researchers is that fewer than 1% of viruses that affect mammals have been discovered.

"Fifty years ago nobody was even looking at bats. It was all about mosquitoes and rodents," he said, noting that over time bats have evolved to be particularly effective "reservoirs" of viruses deadly to humans, but not necessarily themselves, because of their unique physiologies that undergo extreme stress in order to be able to fly.

"Can we predict where the next jump (from animals to humans) will come from? No."

Still, Daszak said funding for on-the-ground overseas coronavirus research was needed now more than ever because the viruses that pose the highest risk to public health don't originate in the U.S. but in the world's most populous country.

"If we want to know anything about the next pandemic we need to be working in China," he said. Daszak described the Southeast Asia region as a "hot-bed" for new viruses.

"In peoples' imaginations there might be this image of one person in a lab in China who drops a petri dish and that somehow leads to a massive outbreak. It's just not like that. Every year there are millions of people going in bat caves and hunting and eating wildlife. It happens every day. They are being exposed to bat viruses every day. It only takes one of these people to go to a city, cough and spread a virus," he said.

"The aim of our work is to directly benefit U.S. national security and public health. If we don't do this we are going to be on the front line again when the next virus hits."

Contributing: John Fritze, Deirdre Shesgreen

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coronavirus: US cuts funding to group studying bat viruses in China
Documents analyzing cellphone location data are said to show that a high-security laboratory studying coronavirus in Wuhan was shut down in October, according to a new report.

NBC News reported that US spy agencies are reviewing the document - a private analysis obtained by the news company's London-based verification unit - which claims that there was no cellphone activity in a high-security area of China's Wuhan Institute of Virology between October 7 and October 24, 2019.

The report, which was based on commercially-available cellphone location data - indicates that there might've been a 'hazardous event' in that area between October 6 and October 11.

A new analysis of publicly-available cellphone data claims a 'hazardous event' could have occurred at China's Wuhan Institute of Virology (pictured) in early October 2019

The report (pictured here) does not offer direct evidence to support its suggestion. It's unclear who the author of the report was

The report claims there was no cellphone activity in a high-security area of China's Wuhan Institute of Virology between October 7 and October 24, 2019. Researchers are seen working at institute in 2017 (file image)

The report does not provide direct evidence of a shutdown at the lab or any proof that the coronavirus originated from the lab.

Despite no conclusive proof existing, some - including Trump administration officials - believe that the Wuhan lab, which was conducting studies on coronavirus in bats, could be the source of COVID-19, virus that has caused the current pandemic.

The document suggests that if there was a shutdown in the lab's high-security area, it could be proof that the coronavirus might've accidentally emerged from the lab.

However, there has been no confirmation of a shutdown at the lab and intelligence analysts had previously been unable to confirm a similar theory, senior officials told NBC News.

Despite this, the document suggests that the coronavirus pandemic actually began 'earlier than initially reported' and 'supports the release of COVID-19 at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.'

The document also appears to account for only a small number of cellphones that one would expect to be located in a facility that employs hundreds of people.

It's unclear who put together the document.

A US official who has looked at the document told NBC News that the report's data 'looks really weak to me and some of the conclusions don't make sense.'

US officials also said that US intelligence agencies had previously received other reports based on publicly-available cellphone and satellite data, also suggesting that there had been a shutdown at the lab.

President Trump (center, with Sen. Marco Rubio, right) is among those that believe that the coronavirus pandemic began after the virus was accidentally escaped from the Wuhan lab, which was studying coronavirus in bats

Florida Republican Sen. Rubio could have been referring to the report in this Wednesday tweet

WHO officials and scientists believe that a Wuhan wet market (similar to pictured) is still the likely origin of the coronavirus and that it naturally jumped from animals to humans

But, those agencies later decided that the reports were 'inconclusive' after being unable to confirm the shutdown based on reviews of overhead imagry and their own data.

The Wuhan virology lab is said to be a collection target for multiple US intelligence agencies, due to being a high-security facility that studies dangerous pathogens, run by an adversary nation.

As such, intelligence agencies routinely gather mobile phone signals, overhead satellite imagery and communication intercepts coming out of the lab.

US officials told NBC News that they are now going back to examine the data collected in October and November 2019, searching for signs that there might've been an anomaly there.

NBC News reported that congressional intelligence committees have been given copies of the document.

It's possible that Florida Sen. Marco Rubio could have been referring to the document in a tweet on Wednesday when he wrote: 'Would be interesting if someone analyzed commercial telemetry data at & near Wuhan lab from Oct-Dec 2019.'

He also tweeted: 'If it shows dramatic drop off in activity compared to previous 18 months it would be a strong indication of an incident at lab & of when it happened.'

Despite the coronavirus lab escape theory being under review by intelligence agencies, it appears that scientists continue to believe the original theory, that the virus jumped to humans through live produce at so-called 'wet' markets in Wuhan.

The World Health Organization said that it believed a 'wet' market played a role in the spread of the disease and that natural animal-to-human transmission was the likely start of it.

'The market played a role in the event, thats clear. But what role we dont know, whether it was the source or amplifying setting or just a coincidence that some cases were detected in and around that market,' Dr Peter Ben Embarek, a WHO expert on food safety and zoonotic viruses that cross the species barrier from animals to humans, said Friday, according to CNBC.

President Trump and Secretary of State Pompeo recently have been banging the drum for the theory that coronavirus accidentally escaped from the Wuhan virology lab, a claim which Chinese authorities have repeatedly denied.

US intelligence officials also say that they don't have hard evidence to support the theory, despite Trump's claims that he has seen evidence which gives him 'a high degree of confidence' that the theory is valid.
U.S. Navy ships from Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group and Boxer Amphibious Ready Group sailing in formation in the South China Sea in this Oct. 6, 2019, file photo. EPA




The Aarogya Setu predicted 650 potential coronavirus disease (Covid-19) hotspots correctly and more than 300 others that could turn into one, the governments advisory body Niti Aayog said in a statement, while adding that close to 100 million people have now registered on it.

The tool is meant to speed up tracing of contacts of an infected person so that they can be isolated before they spread the disease further, but has become controversial due to the amount of personal data  such as location details  it requires and possible vulnerabilities in its design and coding that could expose such information.

With the new details, the developers now suggest the analysis of the data could be helpful. Using syndromic mapping and trace history of Covid-19 positive people combined with their movement patterns and exposure of different regions to Covid-19, the Aarogya Setu team has forecasted more than 650 hotspots across the country at sub-post office level, in addition to more than 300+ emerging hotspots which could have been missed otherwise, the Niti Aayog said.

In Maharashtra, which is one of the worst-affected states, the app identified at least 60 hotspots across 18 districts. Officials in Maharashtra, however, said the application was more useful for individuals than the administration because authorities already have this information with them. As such, it will be easier for individuals to find such hot spots to avoid further spread of the disease. In fact, this application will be more useful after the end of the lockdown, said Pradeep Awate, Maharashtras state health surveillance officer.

For the 130 hotspot predictions made by the app across India at the sub-post office level between April 13 and April 20, every forecasted hotspot has since been declared a real hotspot by the health ministry 3 to 17 days after it was first predicted. This ability to accurately forecast hotspots is a much-needed breakthrough, first of its kind in the world which India will deploy as a powerful tool to fight the contagion and help the world do the same. Aarogya Setu is not just predicting hotspots, it is enabling prevention of hotspots, said the Niti Aayog release.

HT could not verify these hotspots since the agency did not release a list of these locations.

Since its launch on April 2, the app has already seen 96 million registrations. It is now mandatory for people going to work during the lockdown period, which makes India the only democracy where the mobile phone software is compulsory in some form.

Health officials say the tool will help fill gaps in human resources to monitor the outbreak. It is definitely an application for the future as far as disease surveillance is concerned because India is a huge country and it is practically not possible to cover the entire population over and over again manually. Thats when this kind of technology can be made use of. However, the only thing that needs to be considered is that it will be most effective when everyone has downloaded the application, said Dr Sujeet K Singh, director, national centre for disease control.

Principal scientific advisor to the Prime Minister, Prof K VijayRaghavan, added: The app allows consent-driven identification of individuals who were in proximity to those who are tested positive; amongst these there will be several who are eligible for tests. When these people were tested, several turned out to be positive.

Aarogya Setu gets real-time testing alerts on Covid-19 positives from across India. Of the 12,500 users with the app installed who tested positive so far, Bluetooth-based interaction data led to more than 60,000 people being assessed and alerted as at various degrees of risk and, advised accordingly whether to self-isolate, quarantine or go for a test. Of the 8,500 tested from the set of people assessed as high-risk (and recommended to be tested), around 23% tested positive so far, the developers said.

While this is a valuable consequence of using the app, there is another consequence that is being used and is also very valuable. By mapping symptoms and trace history of Covid-19 positive people, and combining with their movement patterns, the team also studied these in relation to available exposure of different regions to Covid-19. This analysis showed an ability to forecast hotspots a short while in advance of their becoming so. Many of these hotspots were already on the health ministrys radar but a substantial number were novel. This information, when relayed to the health system, allows this additional information to be used in helping to prevent hotspots from maturing, along with other data available, VijayRaghavan added.

So far, 69 million people have taken the apps self-assessment test, with an adoption rate of about 71%, of which at least 3.4 million have self-declared themselves as unwell (showing one or more of the three symptoms).

A dedicated team of more than 70 doctors and healthcare workers have reached out to about 650,000 individuals with Covid-like symptoms and triaged their medical condition. More than 16,000 people have been administered follow-up tele-consultation by doctors, free of cost.

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As governments around the world force workers back on the job and students back into classrooms, new concerns have arisen about the potential effects of COVID-19 on children. Doctors in Europe and the US have identified an emerging condition associated with the disease known as Pediatric Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome, which primarily affects children. This coincides with an uptick in diagnoses of the ultra-rare Kawasaki's Disease in areas hardest hit by the pandemic.

Kawasakis Disease (KD) is a pediatric inflammatory disease that can cause severe heart complications including coronary artery damage. It is one of the leading causes of heart disease in children. Many children have been identified showing with symptoms congruent with KD, while at least three children, a five-year-old and seven-year-old in the US and a fourteen-year-old in the UK, have died from the newly named Pediatric Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome.

KD is named after the Japanese pediatrician Tomisaku Kawasaki who first documented the disease in January 1961, and formally named it in 1967 after observing 50 patients with a persistent fever accompanied by rash, lymphadenopathy, edema, conjunctival infection, redness and cracking of the lips. Fewer than 20,000 cases of KD are diagnosed yearly in the US.

The most effective approach for combating KD and preventing the development of heart disease later in life involves immediate treatment. However, with many avoiding hospitals due to overcrowding, government advisories to stay home and self-isolate and the fear of becoming infected, parents have been reluctant to bring their children in until they have to go to emergency rooms with blood clots in their arteries or coronary aneurysms.

The uptick in emergency room visits by children, previously thought to be immune to COVID-19, further shreds the claims of officials from Australia to Brazil to the United States about the coronavirus being only a bad flu that affects only the old and infirm.

As of this writing, over 20 cases of the inflammatory syndrome have been discovered in the UK, while 73 of the 85 cases identified in the US have been from the state of New York. Doctors in the UK described the childrens state prior to infection as previously fit and well.

Children have been rushed to emergency rooms in Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Washington DC with low blood pressure, high fever and, in some cases, coronary artery aneurysms. Some children have exhibited symptoms similar to toxic shock syndrome, with vomiting, diarrhea and high levels of inflammation in the body, including in the heart.

Additional potential cases of the Kawasaki-like disease among children have also been identified in Spain and Italy. The first death related to the syndrome was confirmed on Friday by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, while a second, a seven-year-old child who died last week with similar symptoms, is still under investigation, according to state officials. In normal circumstances it can be difficult to identify KD, as there is no blood test. Health officials and researchers caution that many potential cases of KD may remain undiagnosed in the US.

From April 17 through May 1, 15 children were hospitalized with symptoms related to KD or Pediatric Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome, according to Deputy Commissioner of Disease Control Demetre Daskalakis of the New York City Health Department. The first case of KD related to COVID-19 was identified in a six-month-old California child in early April.

Initial findings published in the medical journal the Lancet on May 6 identified eight cases among children as young as four and as old as 14, with an additional 20 currently being treated for similar symptoms.

Epidemiologic and clinical features of KD suggest that it is an RNA (Ribonucleic acid) virus. Speaking to NBC News, Dr. Michael Bell, head of critical care medicine at Childrens National Hospital, confirmed that, All the kids have some sort of severe inflammation.

Multiple children who have been diagnosed with the syndrome appeared to be asymptomatic or tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 prior to developing severe fevers lasting for several days, followed by red inflammation all over the body. All who have developed the syndrome have either been in close contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus, or, in the case of the UK child, tested positive for COVID-19 post-mortem.

In many cases the children developed symptoms four to six weeks after being exposed to COVID-19 and after developing antibodies, seemingly overcoming the disease. Speaking to National Public Radio (NPR), cardiologist Jane Newburger, a professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and director of the Kawasaki Program at Boston Children's Hospital, said, [O]ne theory is that as one begins to make antibodies to SARS-COV-2, the antibody itself may be provoking an immune response. Newburger continued: This is only happening in susceptible individuals whose immune systems are built in a particular way. It doesnt happen in everybody. It's still a really uncommon event in children.

Dr. Purvi Parikh, a pediatric immunologist at NYU Langone Health, also speaking to NPR, confirmed that shes seen three children, all with the common theme... fever and rash." She explained, "One had very, very swollen lymph nodes and lymph glands. And then, aside from that, they had markers of inflammation elevated in their blood.

Up until now, we were mostly seeing these markers of inflammation in adults that were presenting with COVID-19, the doctor continued. But now we're also seeing a similar syndrome in children.
By Express News Service

TIRUVALLA: A 21-year-old novitiate was found dead in a well at a convent at Paliyekkara here under mysterious circumstances on Thursday. Divya P John, daughter of John Philipose and Kochumol of Thadathemalayil house at Chunkappara near Mallappally, was a fifth-year novitiate undergoing training to become a nun at Baselian Convent of the Malankara Syrian Catholic Church.

The police registered a case of unnatural death and launched an investigation. The body has been shifted to the Kottayam MCH for a detailed autopsy. The police said they reached the convent around 12.30 pm after being informed about the incident by the convent.

A splash sound was heard near the well around noon. A few inmates looked inside and saw Divya drowning. The convent informed the police and Fire and Rescue Services whose personnel arrived soon and lifted her out of the well.

Though she was rushed to Pushpagiri Medical College Hospital, she was declared dead on arrival, an officer said. A team headed by Tiruvalla DySp Umesh Kumar sealed Divyas room in the convent and collected details about the sequence of events from other inmates. After preliminary investigation, the police suspect that she might have committed suicide or accidentally fell into the well while trying to draw water.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 9)  The business sector, through Project Antibody Rapid Test Kits, also known as Project ARK, is helping government hospitals expand COVID-19 testing nationwide.

Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo Founder Joey Concepcion on Saturday led the virtual signing of an agreement between Go Negosyo and six medical centers, which will receive the Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) machines, under the Project ARK-PCR initiative.

With the donated RT-PCR machines from the private sector, these six government hospitals will be able to ramp up mass testing in their respective communities, Concepcion said.

The Department of Health considers RT-PCR testing as the gold standard test," because it gives a definitive diagnosis for COVID-19 patients.

The six government hospitals joining the initiative are the Philippine Childrens Medical Center and Quirino Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City, Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital in Caloocan, Central Visayas Tbrl Molecular Lab for Covid 19 Chd 7, Zamboanga City Medical Center and Perpetual Hospital Las Pinas.

Former Health Secretary and now Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin, who also serves as Private Sector Chief Implementer for the ARK-PCR initiative, said that partner hospitals were selected based on their location, willingness of the medical chief, and burden of COVID-19 expected in their areas.

"This is just the first step, the first batch," Concepcion said. "More companies and corporations are committing to help in the next roll out."

Concepcion added that through this initiative, the RT-PCR testing capacity of the country will be boosted by 7,000 swab tests per day.

Ideally, we should be looking at 30,000 to 40,000 RT-PCR tests daily, Concepcion said. The more we test, the more visibility we gain. This is key to winning the war.

Concepcion clarified that Project ARK will also continue their initiative to provide rapid test kits to local governments to boost COVID-19 testing at the barangay level.

READ: Project ARK raises 1 million rapid test kits to aid increased COVID-19 testing among employees, barangays

As of Saturday, Project ARK has generated 1,020,252 rapid test kits from 180 companies, of which 140,480 will be donated to barangays. They are now working with the local governments of Antipolo, Batangas, Quezon City, Pasig, Taguig, and Makati to bring mass testing down to the community level.

We need both rapid testing and RT-PCR testing to make everything more efficient, and to give us a better view of the situation, Concepcion said.

Meanwhile, when asked if businesses are prepared for the possible lifting of the enhanced community quarantine after May 15, business leaders shared the different preparations they have made in anticipation of the re-start of operations, among them testing their employees.

"I think everyone wants to see the GCQ (general community quarantine) happen," Concepcion said. "I hope they really consider opening up the economy."

We need to move forward, its going to be close to two months of lockdown and the fear of trying something different is always there, but I think well be ready, Concepcion added.

Private sector donors taking part in Project ARK initiatives include Ayala Corporation, SM Investments Corporation, Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce, RFM Corporation, Global Aseana Land Development Corporation, Uratex, Jollibee Foundation, Lloyd Laboratories, Bounty Fresh, Wilcon Depot, Angkas, and the Aboitiz Group, while LBC Express Holdings will serve as the logistics partner for the ARK-PCR initiative.
U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during a meeting with Republican members of the U.S. Congress in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, May 8. AFP



The United States is continuing to seek a defense cost-sharing agreement with South Korea as neither side wants to see the alliance erode, a State Department official said Friday.



R. Clarke Cooper, the assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, said communication between the relevant parties, including the two countries' presidents, top diplomats, and top negotiators has not stopped.



His comment contradicts President Donald Trump's claim Thursday that South Korea "has agreed to pay substantial money to us" for the stationing of American troops here.



"We are certainly looking for amenable space for Korea and for the United States to get to close on the Special Measures Agreement," Cooper told reporters in a teleconference, referring to the defense cost-sharing deal. "And like I said, the communications have never stopped.



"What you have in place are different factors and different conditions that have to be addressed domestically in Seoul, and we are certainly aware of that," he continued. "But we also  at the end of the day, nobody  President Moon (Jae-in), President Trump  nobody wants to see the alliance erode."



Washington has asked Seoul to pay US$1.3 billion a year to keep the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea, a nearly 50 percent increase from last year. Seoul has balked at the request, saying its best offer stands at a 13 percent increase.



Trump said last month that he had rejected Seoul's proposal.



"If one looks at from a foundational standpoint, the alliance is strong," Cooper said. "It remains strong."



He also downplayed concerns that last month's furloughing of some 4,000 South Korean employees with U.S Forces Korea could reduce troop readiness, suggesting the coronavirus outbreak would have led them to be furloughed anyway.



"If one looks at who would be absent today, we're talking about the same amount of reduced personnel footprint related to the furloughs," Cooper said. "So, one could assess that a furlough might have hurt more in a non-COVID space, and it is certainly not something that is desirous in the long run, but in the immediate term, the personnel that were furloughed would not be on post anyway. They wouldn't be there because of the current pandemic posture." (Yonhap)


If you want to compound wealth in the stock market, you can do so by buying an index fund. But investors can boost returns by picking market-beating companies to own shares in. To wit, the Dedalus France S.A. (EPA:DEDAL) share price is 98% higher than it was a year ago, much better than the market decline of around 14% (not including dividends) in the same period. So that should have shareholders smiling. And shareholders have also done well over the long term, with an increase of 60% in the last three years.

See our latest analysis for Dedalus France

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

What about the Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We'd be remiss not to mention the difference between Dedalus France's total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price return. The TSR attempts to capture the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested) as well as any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings offered to shareholders. Dedalus France's TSR of 98% for the year exceeded its share price return, because it has paid dividends.

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Dedalus France has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 98% in the last twelve months. There's no doubt those recent returns are much better than the TSR loss of 1.5% per year over five years. We generally put more weight on the long term performance over the short term, but the recent improvement could hint at a (positive) inflection point within the business. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 5 warning signs for Dedalus France you should be aware of, and 2 of them make us uncomfortable.

Story continues

Of course Dedalus France 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 FR 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.
Coronavirus is just a hoax that will disappear through a miracle. That is what President Trump implied to the American public just a few weeks ago during a press conference at the White House.

This is also the sentiment that climate change deniers have used against scientists and ecoactivists for decades.

In both cases, misinformation, or fake news, is cultivating skepticism around these threats to public safety. Though climate change is more of a slow burn than the Coronavirus pandemic, responding to both requires us to become healthy skeptics.

In this ongoing debate, the truth is hard to find, buried under thousands of clickbait articles and methodologically flawed studies. We must sift through the fake news surrounding both issues and recognize that just like the COVID-19 global pandemic, climate change is life or death for many and a delayed response can be devastating.

We must understand how we often accept the opinions provided by elite political leaders, even if they may be misinformed or highly politicized.

Finally, we should listen to the medical and scientific experts who have offered clear and reliable recommendations on how to address both threats.

False claims about both climate change and Coronavirus have quickly spread across the internet, from the idea that inhaling CO2 is actually good for the body to President Trump falsely citing studies suggesting that the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine could be used to treat coronavirus patients.

News outlets reporting these stories continue to garner millions of readers and viewers daily, and those in power perpetuate the myths through their leadership and rhetoric. According to a 2019 report by the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, climate change and fake news pose the biggest threat to human health over the next 25 years.

Why is it so easy to internalize misinformation? The quantity of complex information we receive daily is too much for us to sort effectively. To overcome this cognitive overload, we look for cues from those we consider to hold more information than us to inform our opinions.

Elite cues from political leaders have a major influence on public opinion, with a survey from 2002-2010 showing them as having the greatest effect on climate attitudes. People in positions of power therefore have the critical responsibility to choose their words carefully, because what they say directly impacts peoples quality of life.

For example, a 2019 study by Long et al. revealed that conservatives dismissal of the threat of Hurricane Irma in 2017 resulted in fewer of their constituents evacuating from the destruction. Weve seen the same pattern evident this year with the Coronavirus pandemic as President Trump accused media and Democrats of exaggerating the danger of the virus and thereby slowed down response time.

Yet, to move beyond basic acceptance of these cues, you should first know the facts about climate change, given the scientific consensus around the issue. The presence of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, made more prevalent by the actions of humanity, are causing global temperatures to rise.

Though this may not be reflected in more localized weather patterns, the global cumulative difference is amounting to drastic changes to our environment. This leads to effects like rising sea levels that will erase cultures and destroy human lives, as has already happened in Pacific islands like Kiribati and Tuvalu, and is projected to occur closer to home in San Francisco and New Orleans.

We can only prepare ourselves for the worst of coronavirus and climate change if we equip ourselves with the tools necessary to engage with information responsibly. We must obtain our information from varied sources, seek out cited evidence, and analyze information with a critical lens.

In fact, Sander van der Linden and Jon Roozenbeek recently revealed that informing people of misinformation tactics used to create fake news about politicized issues through a fake news game improved peoples ability to recognize and resist false information.

The next time you read your news, look for evidence of key techniques used by fake experts such as logical fallacies, cherry picking, and conspiracy theories.

Listen to the experts with credibility (scientists, medical professionals, etc.) and evaluate the level of consensus they have reached. Stay at home. Avoid single-use plastics. Wash your hands. Turn the lights off when you leave. Stay 6 feet apart from others. Cut back on meat consumption. These are all expert recommendations that can save lives, and yet we listen to some and not others.

This is a fatal error, because just as social distancing is saving your older loved ones from the virus and a perilous present, fighting against climate change can save your younger loved ones from a dire future.

Corinne Tsai

Anthony Sylvester

Angwin
Well, well, isnt that special. After yelling at President Trump for not locking down the nation soon enough and the people of New York for not obeying his lockdown edicts, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo admits that most Chinese Wuhan virus infections occur in the very place he, assorted health experts, and the anti-Trump lamestream media insist we should be -- in our homes. And nearly all of those occur to people with preexisting conditions:

Most new Covid-19 hospitalizations in New York state are from people who were staying home and not venturing much outside, a shocking finding, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday. The preliminary data was from 100 New York hospitals involving about 1,000 patients, Cuomo said at his daily briefing. It shows that 66% of new admissions were from people who had largely been sheltering at home. The next highest source of admissions was from nursing homes, 18%. If you notice, 18% of the people came from nursing homes, less than 1% came from jail or prison, 2% came from the homeless population, 2% from other congregate facilities, but 66% of the people were at home, which is shocking to us, Cuomo said. This is a surprise: Overwhelmingly, the people were at home, he added. We thought maybe they were taking public transportation, and weve taken special precautions on public transportation, but actually no, because these people were literally at home.

They were sheltering in place just as experts like Drs. Fauci and Birx and politicians like Andrew Cuomo have been telling us to do, yelling at us to do. This survey also showed that virtually all new cases are from folks with preexisting conditions and those who are in identifiable and vulnerable populations: Just as politicians are releasing prisoners from the confined space and tight quarters of a jail cell, they order us to shut up and sit down in the limited confines of our homes. Sunlight is the best disinfectant but we, particularly the younger, healthier and least vulnerable among us, are not allowed to go outside. We are to shelter in place and die in place:

The information was from a statewide survey of 1,000 patients at 100 New York hospitals. The results are preliminary, but offer a strong picture of who's most at risk. The study showed that virtually all coronavirus cases, 96 percent, were people who have other health issues; 73 percent of cases were people age 51 or older and in a state that's majority white, a majority of the coronavirus patients are black or Latino. Remember how Andrew Cuomo yelled at us for disobeying his orders? By doing so we were endangering lives, including our own: On Friday, March 20, the Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the New York State on PAUSE executive order mandating that 100% of the states non-essential businesses close or have their employees work remotely. Non-essential gatherings, regardless of size, are also barred under the measure. When I issued the stay-at-home order, it wasnt, It would be nice if you did. It is a mandate," said Cuomo. Stay at home. If youre a non-essential worker, stay at home If you leave the house, youre exposing yourself to danger. If you leave the house, youre exposing others to danger. You can leave the house, go home, and infect whoevers at home. So stay at home, he continued.

Now Cuomo echoes Captain Louis Renault in the 1942 classic movie Casablanca, who uttered the iconic line, I am shocked -- shocked -- to find that gambling is going on in here! Cuomo is shocked, shocked to find his stay-at-home mandate has killed New Yorkers who never left their homes. By staying home, they exposed themselves to danger. Cuomo is also probably shocked, shocked, if he even accepts responsibility, that his administrations executive order shoveled COVID patients into nursing homes to infect and kill in droves the vulnerable residents inside, even as the hospital ship Comfort was in New York Harbor to receive patients waiting to receive patients, just as was the underutilized converted Javits Center.

New York Post columnist Miranda Devine recently noted that Cuomo is still sending COVID patients into nursing homes, not only failing to protect the most vulnerable but deliberately putting them at risk:

In an interview on "Fox & Friends" with host Ainsley Earhardt, Devine said that COVID-19 patients were transferred back into nursing home facilities because of an order from Cuomo in late March. "And, it's obscene really that he's not admitting that now. He is still sending them back there and he's acting as if there was no choice. Of course, there was a choice," she remarked, noting that President Trump sent a Navy ship to New York City to assist and the Javits Center was converted into a care facility. The nursing homes were begging for them not to be sent back, these COVID positive patients from hospitals and it was just impossible for them. They were short-staffed. How could they quarantine these elderly, frail people?" she asked. "He is still doing it and this is what is so reprehensible. It's one thing to make a mistake in the heat of the moment. It's another to dig your heels in while people are still dying," Devine continued. "I mean, in this last week, we have added another 1,700 that hadn't been counted before to the death toll in nursing homes. So, just stop it. Admit you did wrong and fix it."

Somehow this was never brought up when Chris Cuomo, who violated quarantine rules to visit another property he owned, interviewed brother Andrew. Instead of asking why Andrew herded COVID patients into nursing homes, Chris asked Andrew how he felt being single and eligible again.

Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the New York Post Michael Goodwin has no time for such nonsense and notes the callous indifference of Andrew Cuomo as he literally sentences New York seniors to death as they stay in theor homes  nursing homes that are unsafe:

On Tuesday, Cuomo was asked about a report from the Associated Press that his team had added more than 1,700 deaths to the count of those who died in nursing homes, bringing the total to at least 4,813. I dont know the details, frankly, the governor answered, turning to an aide. Sgt. Schultz reporting for duty!

Cuomo will not take responsibility for this ongoing atrocity and, as he lectures President Trump and the American people on our duties and responsibilities, he is willing to lie about his culpability in the deaths of thousands of the most vulnerable:

The nursing home has to make the decision, he said Tuesday. If they dont think they can take care of someone, all they have to do is say no. In this case, he knows something thats simply not true, according to nursing home executives. The March 25 order that forced infected patients on them allows for no exceptions and has not been changed. The killer fifth paragraph still reads: No resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the NH solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19. NHs are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested for COVID-19 prior to admission or readmission.

Cuomo, the great health care expert and governor extraordinaire, says he didnt know. But it is the job of this know-it-all who daily lectures the nation and President Trump on what needs to be done to see to the well-being of his people first  particularly the most vulnerable, the ones he ordered to stay home and the ones trapped in nursing homes. He didnt. He lied and people died.

Daniel John Sobieski is a former editorial writer for Investors Business Daily and freelance writer whose pieces have appeared in Human Events, Reason Magazine, and the Chicago Sun-Times among other publications.
One of the most critical economic questions around the COVID-19 pandemic will be how quickly jobs return once social-distancing restrictions are eased. If past downturns are any indication, service-based employment should bounce back relatively quickly. But it may take years before jobs in the manufacturing sector return to pre-crisis levels.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 8/5/2020 (620 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One of the most critical economic questions around the COVID-19 pandemic will be how quickly jobs return once social-distancing restrictions are eased. If past downturns are any indication, service-based employment should bounce back relatively quickly. But it may take years before jobs in the manufacturing sector return to pre-crisis levels.

Canada lost nearly two million jobs in April, according to a gloomy Statistics Canada report released Friday. Manitoba wasnt spared. The province lost 64,200 jobs last month, more than half of which were full time. The private sector was the hardest hit as jobs fell 12.9 per cent; public sector employment declined 1.9 per cent. The proportion of job losses in Manitoba last month were around the middle of the pack compared with other provinces.

The unemployment rate would have been much higher if those wanting to work, but who gave up trying (because they were temporarily laid off or couldnt find work due to the pandemic) were included in the figures, according to StatsCan. Only those working or seeking employment are counted as part of the official labour force. In Manitoba, 34,300 people dropped out of the labour force last month  an unprecedented decline for a single month.

Nationally, the number of job losses since February has already eclipsed the proportion of jobs lost during the past three major economic downturns, going back to the recession of 1981-82.

As the economy starts to re-open, the question now is: how many of those jobs will return and how long will it take for them to come back?

Service-based jobs  including those in retail and the hospitality industry  returned to pre-recession levels in an average of four months after the last three recessions, according to StatsCan. But it took far longer for jobs in goods-producing sectors. It took an average of more than six years for those jobs to return to pre-recession levels in the downturns of 1981-82 and 1990-92. It took even longer, 10 years, after the global recession of 2008-09.

It underscores the need for governments to help keep as many businesses afloat as possible. This isnt a traditional economic downturn where broad government stimulus can help some businesses survive as they struggle with falling revenues. In many cases, businesses that have been shuttered during the COVID-19 pandemic have no revenue at all, or so little they cant retain any staff. Many are unable to pay their fixed costs, such as rent and utilities. Even those in the service industry, which have typically rebounded faster, may have more difficulty making a comeback this time. If they cant survive total or partial shutdown, they may not be around to provide the jobs in those sectors.

Government support for business has been spotty. Some federal programs have worked. The 75 per cent wage subsidy has been helpful for many businesses. But the delay in rolling it out has been problematic. Also, many dont qualify. The federal loan program has helped provide companies with much-needed liquidity. However, many businesses dont qualify for that, either.

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.

The federal commercial rent program, co-funded by the provinces, has been a disaster. The program is administered through landlords, as opposed to providing commercial renters with direct aid. Many landlords have opted not to participate. Even when they have, many businesses still dont qualify.

The provincial government's support to business continues to be underwhelming. (John Woods / The Canadian Press files)

Manitobas support to business continues to be underwhelming. The Pallister government is offering a $6,000 forgivable loan to businesses that dont qualify for federal support. That may help a small number of companies. But its not enough to cover one months rent for many.

The problem with not supporting businesses with timely financial aid is it could lead to permanent closure for many. That would substantially delay a rebound in the job market.

The Pallister government may be saving money in the short term by not opening its purse strings to adequately support businesses during this rough patch. But the Manitoba economy and the job market will pay a much larger price for that in the long run.

tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Over 350 Indians were were brought back to the country in two special Air India flights from the United Arab Emirates as part of Vande Bharat Mission on Saturday.

Initially, the first flight was expected to land at 8.10 pm and the second one after midnight. However, since the flights are unscheduled and they have to undergo checks for various parameters, the arrival of the aircraft got delayed, said airport sources.

Both the flights carried 179 and 177 passengers respectively.

After the aircraft landed at Chennai airport, a total of 15 to 20 passengers were allowed to disembark at a time as the airport followed social distancing at aerobridge and immigration counters. Thermal scanners were used to scan the passengers.

Chennai airport sources said that three sites have been identified wherein the passengers will be shifted as per categorisation.

According to official sources, the passengers have been classified and rooms were allotted to them. A section of passengers were taken to Vellore Institute of Technology campus while others were given standard rooms at Royal Regency, Periyamet, OYO Town House, at Raja Bather Street in T Nagar, OYO Town House at Unnamalai Street, T Nagar and OYO Town House, at Valluvar Kottam. Premium passengers were moved to Hilton Hotel.

Through the Vande Bharat Mission, India will send 64 flights and three Navy ships to repatriate Indians stranded abroad due to the coronavirus pandemic. A total of 10 flights carrying stranded Indians are expected to land in Chennai.
New Delhi/IBNS: Responding to Nepal's regret over construction of a faster route to Kailash Mansarovar, India's Ministry of External Affairs has said that the newly inaugurated road section in Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district lies completely within the territory of India.

Responding to queries on a a press release by the Nepalese Foreign Ministry that expressed regret over Defence Minister Rajnath Singhs inauguration of a faster route for pilgrims of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra,the MEA said the road follows the pre-existing route used by the pilgrims of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and under the present project, the same road has been made pliable for the ease and convenience of pilgrims, locals and traders.

However, Nepal says the road traverses Lipulekh over which it lays claim.

India and Nepal have established mechanism to deal with all boundary matters, MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastav said reierating India's stand on the matter, adding that the the boundary delineation exercise with Nepal is ongoing.

The MEA said that India is committed to resolving all outstanding boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue and in the spirit of our close and friendly bilateral relations with Nepal.

The process of scheduling Foreign Secretary level talks between the two countries is on and a date will be fixed after both the countries have dealt with COVID-19 pandemic successfully, the MEA said.

Mount Kailash is a 6,638 m high peak in the Kailash Range, which forms part of the Transhimalaya in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.

The mountain is located near Lake Manasarovar and Lake Rakshastal.. Mount Kailash is a sacred journey for four religions: Bon, Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism.
Megan Gale: "I really like whats been happening over the last 10 years. The industry has become more innovative, and socially and environmentally conscious." Credit:Tracey Lee Hayes

A sterling silver bracelet that my grandmother gave me for my first birthday. Its now my daughter Rosies.

And the most recent addition?

Prior to lockdown I picked up a beautiful Rebecca Vallance dress  it has long sleeves and fits like a glove.

What would you wear 

 on a first date? Something fairly casual with just a hint of sexy. That might be black leather pants, white tank, black blazer and ankle boots.

 on a plane? Comfort trumps style, but I try not to look like Im travelling in my PJs. So, Rag & Bone pants  theyre chic but theyve got a bit of stretch  or Jac + Jack grey silk slouch pants, with a tee or button-up shirt and a Viktoria & Woods trench.
Trump Pushes Seoul to Pay Nearly 50% More for American Troops

KBS World Radio

Write: 2020-05-08 13:18:23

Anchor: Seoul and Washington are failing to agree on how much they should each pay for the upkeep of American troops on the Korean Peninsula. Seoul proposed that it can raise its contribution by 13 percent, but the U.S. is asking for a nearly 50-percent hike. U.S. President Donald Trump and his officials on Thursday went all out to put Seoul in a corner.

Kim Bum-soo has more.

Report:

[Sound bite: US President Donald Trump]

"South Korea has agreed to pay substantial money to us, which we appreciate very much. And we ask countries to help us... "

U.S. President Donald Trump is pressing Seoul to increase its spending for the upkeep of American troops on the Korean Peninsula by nearly 50 percent.

During a White House event on Thursday, Trump brought up the thorny issue again.

[Sound bite: US President Donald Trump]

"It costs us a lot of money. Our military budget is three times more, and even four times more than the second-largest spender of money. All right? It's more than that. Four times more, plus. And if we're going to defend countries, they should also respect us by making a contribution."

The comments came as a White House official confirmed that Trump is demanding Seoul pay one-point-three billion dollars annually to maintain some 28-thousand-500 U.S. troops in Korea. That's 49 percent more than Seoul agreed on during the last defense cost talks.

During an online forum hosted by the Centers for Strategic and International Studies(CSIS) earlier this week, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary Marc Knapper said it's time for Seoul to show some flexibility.

[Sound bite: Marc Knapper - deputy assistant secretary of state for Korea and Japan]

"Of course our leaders have spoken recently and will continue to look for ways to sit down and talk. I really am afraid I can't get into too much detail in terms of where we are. We're always saying we don't want to negotiate this in public. Suffice to say that I think we believe our side has been very flexible up until now and we're looking for some flexibility on the part of the Korean side too. "

The two sides' one-year deal expired at the end of last year. Seoul is said to have offered a 13-percent hike, which Trump rejected.

A Foreign Ministry official in Seoul said the defense burden sharing should be mutually acceptable.

Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.

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Five coal mine workers suffered severe injuries in a gas explosion on Wednesday at Anglo Americans underground Grosvenor Mine in central Queenslands Bowen Basin. Four of the injured workers are in critical conditions and fighting for life while another is reportedly in a very serious condition. All sustained horrific burns to their upper torsos and airways.

Unable to receive adequate treatment in the Isaac local government region, which has limited hospital facilities, the victims were flown to Brisbane in a complex medical evacuation involving five separate planes, with retrieval doctors and nurses working on patients. Four of the injured workers were intubated and ventilated.

While emergency services were called to the mine site at 3 p.m., the aeromedical services needed to transport the injured did not arrive at the local Moranbah hospital to organise the flights to Brisbane until about 6 p.m.

Moreover, there was potential for a catastrophic loss of life to have occurred because hundreds of workers were underground at the time of the blast. Such an outcome would have overwhelmed the regions medical facilities, as well as the aeromedical services.

Isaac authorities had already raised grave concerns about the inability of the regions medical resources to cope with a COVID-19 outbreak after the mining industry was exempted from lockdowns. The Queensland state Labor government did not act on these concerns.

Workers at the mine had raised concerns about dangerous gas levels in the days before the explosion. Anglo American had been forced to stop work at the mine repeatedly, but only for up to two hours at a time, after high methane levels triggered underground sensors.

Anglo American said the workers were hired through labour hire company One Key Resources. The mine reportedly had about 400 labour hire employees on site. The region has 26 active coalmines employing 10,000 out-of-region workers, along with local mineworkers.

There is a rising toll of deaths and injuries in Queensland mines and quarries, including eight fatalities in the 18 months to last December. In desperate damage control, designed to cover up her governments responsibility for these disasters, state Labor Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told the media she took any failings to protect regional workers extremely seriously.

However, like other governments with large mining projects, the Labor government has worked systematically to prevent anything cutting across the drive of the giant mining companies for ever-greater levels of profit, which also boost mining royalties that flow into state coffers.

Moreover, the government has presided over a fall in the number of government safety inspections in the states mining sector from 1,781 in the 20152016 financial year, to 1,241 in 20182019.

In a further move to placate regional anger, Palaszczuk dispatched Mine Safety Minister Anthony Lynham to Moranbah to meet with the mayor and to talk to the community. Lynham mooted appointing a board of inquiry.

This would be the first such investigation into a mine disaster since the mining wardens inquiry into the 1994 mine explosion at nearby Moura, which killed 11 workers.

That inquirywhich included a leading mining union representative on its boardfound that BHP had sent the miners underground knowing that a highly volatile and dangerous situation existed. Yet the inquiry recommended that no charges be laid. This was a green light to the mining companies to continue to kill and maim, with impunity.

Significantly the tragedy at Grosvenor Mines comes just months after the report of an investigation commissioned by the states Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy into 47 deaths in the states mines and quarries from 2000 to 2019. It found most of the deaths were preventable and warned that more lives were at risk without a safety overhaul.

Construction Forestry Mining Maritime and Energy Union (CFMMEU) district president Stephen Smyth told the media the union supported calling a board of inquiry. As seen by the previous record, any such inquiry would cover-up the underlying profit-driven causes and permit the carnage to continue.

The union is just as culpable for this rising death and injury toll as the companies and the government. Smyth admitted that the union was aware of the workers concerns about gas levels at Grosvenor, yet it failed take any action to prevent workers going into the mine under very dangerous conditions.

The unions conduct cannot be put down to an error of judgment. For decades, in the name of making Australian-based mining companies internationally competitive, the unions have overseen the destruction of protective work practices and helped employers rip back working conditions.

The unions have consistently suppressed opposition by mine workers, and enforced the anti-strike laws of the 2009 Fair Work Act, introduced by the last federal Labor government with the full support of the unions.

One of the outcomes of the union-employer collaboration has been the erosion of a more experienced full-time mining workforce and its replacement with less adequately trained casual and contract workers, undermining workplace safety. Half of Queenslands mining workers are employed by labour hire companies, allowing companies to fire and hire in line with the demands of the market, while producing precarious employment arrangements.

The record demonstrates that the unions operate as an arm of company management, and along with the Labor Party, are responsible for the conditions that have led to the tragic deaths and injuries across the mining industry.

Mineworkers need to break with these corporatised, pro-business entities and build new independent working class organisations that will fight for the highest safety standards and an end to casualisation, and link up with the similar struggles of miners worldwide against the global conglomerates.

This fight requires a socialist perspective to place the global mining industry sector under public ownership and the democratic control of the working class so that production can be organised on the basis of safe and rational planning, and the massive proceeds can be used to provide for social need, not corporate profit and private wealth.
BEIRUT, May 1 (Reuters) - Lebanon's government on Friday signed a request for assistance from the International Monetary Fund, a statement from Prime Minister Hassan Diab's office said.

"This is a historic moment in the history of Lebanon. We have taken the first step on the path of saving Lebanon from the deep financial gap; and it would be difficult to get out of it without efficient and impactful help," the statement said.

Beirut passed an economic rescue plan on Thursday and said it would be the basis for seeking IMF help.

(Reporting by Eric Knecht; Editing by Alison Williams)
The first Air India flight from the UK, as part of the Vande Bharat Mission to repatriate Indians stranded overseas due to the coronavirus lockdown, took off from London's Heathrow Airport on Saturday with 326 passengers to Mumbai.

The packed flight took off with Indian students and tourists, who were seen queuing with their luggage at the airport from early on Saturday as they prepared for the journey home.

Each one of them underwent temperature tests before boarding and face 14 days of quarantine at a hotel or other location designated by the Maharashtra government on landing, with those details to be made available on arrival in Mumbai in the early hours of Sunday.

While there is no social distancing possible on the packed flight, Air India is providing a kit for all passengers confirmed to fly, with meals, snacks, sanitizer, mask and gloves.

Finally going back to India! Although it was at the last moment but I was lucky enough to get the ticket of the first flight to India under Vande Bharat Mission, said a relieved Indian student, who was part of a group of seafarers that came to the UK for an examination.

We got continuous updates from NISAU (National Indian Students and Alumni Union) and ISWAN (International Seafarers' Welfare Assistance Network) looking after seafarers stuck in the UK. Thanks to all the representatives who worked tirelessly in coordination with the Indian High Commission, said the student, who did not wish to be named.

The flight marks the first of seven Air India routes organised by the Indian government from London's Heathrow Airport to six Indian cities over the next week Mumbai (Saturday and Tuesday), Bengaluru (Sunday), Hyderabad (Monday), Ahmedabad (Wednesday), Chennai (Thursday) and New Delhi (Friday).

So far people travelling to Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Mumbai have received calls. And there are a lot of other guys who are waiting for flight schedules to their own states, said Akhil Dharmaraj, a marine engineer from Kerala enrolled at the South Tyneside College in Tyne and Wear in north-east England who was due to fly back to India after giving a management level exam in March.

A group of students from our group have already departed to Mumbai today. People from other states are not allowed to board the flights to a particular destination, added Dharmaraj, who is waiting for his turn to fly back to Cochin.

Organisers have said that further flights are planned from the UK to other cities of India as well in phase two of the Vande Bharat Mission.

We are delighted that the #VandeBharatMission has been launched for allowing stranded Indians who are in distress to go back to India and thank the Indian government for this, who we have been closely working with ever since the situation started to emerge, said NISAU UK Chair Sanam Arora.

We have a dedicated 20-member COVID-19 volunteer response team that is working night and day and all over the UK to help our fellow Indians in need, she said.

The first Air India flight will land at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport at 1.30 am IST on Sunday, when the passengers are expected to be screened and allotted quarantine locations based on affordability.

I am delighted to be going back, said Vedant Anil Sharma, a first-year International Business Management student at Royal Agricultural University in south-west England, who is on the first flight back to India.

The schedule is being coordinated by the Indian High Commission in London, with payments made directly to Air India by confirmed passengers.

The first set of seven flights to India will prioritise Indian passport holders on vulnerability and health grounds.

The flight is 100 per cent booked as Indian citizens depart for Mumbai from London by the first evacuation flight today. Also, following the mantra of the Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Do Gaj Doori, Bahut Hair Zaroori, the High Commission said in its safety message on social distancing.

The Air India flights landing at London Heathrow will also be bringing back some expatriates and UK visa holders wanting to fly back to the UK.

This is the biggest-ever repatriation operation anywhere in the world at any time. Flights will be scheduled until the last Indian has been flown back home, no one will be left behind, said Kuldeep Shekhawat, the President of the Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP) diaspora group who is helping with the coordination efforts.

The flight schedule in subsequent phases from the UK will depend on demand and if there are enough passengers, direct flights will be organised to other Indian cities which have an international airport, he said.

Meanwhile, the high commission also cautioned the passengers to be careful.

"Do not share your emails with other people on social media. Do not be part of Whatsapp or other groups floated by people unknown to you. This could lead to potential frauds. Stay with us. More flights are coming in soon," the mission tweeted.

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

A pastor in the Believers Ministry Church Incorporated, Benin City, Mr Otobong Emerson, was on Friday paraded by the Edo State Police Command for defiling three siblings and another girl, Punch Metro reports.

Parading the suspect at the commands headquarters in Benin, the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Chidi Nwabazor, said the suspect had confessed to defiling the siblings aged six, seven, and nine as well as another 11-year-old girl.

The 48-year-old suspect said he had earlier confessed to his General Overseer, adding that an evil spirit influenced him to do it.



After sleeping with them several times, my conscience started judging me, so, I went to confess to my GO (General Overseer). I dont know what pushed me. I dont know whats wrong with me, I feel sober for my deed, he said.

The command also paraded one Patrick Ayesan (38) for having carnal knowledge and impregnating his 18-year-old daughter.

The suspect made a confessional statement to the offence, and was, thereafter, charged to court and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, while his daughter is currently with the state Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.

He confessed that he had been sleeping with his daughter since January 2020, adding that he had been doing it whenever he had the urge for sex.

He disclosed that his marriage to the daughters mother had crashed, adding that the daughter resided with him at Okosa community in Iguobasuwa, Ovia South-West Local Government Area.



I started sleeping with her in January this year. My wife is no more with me, so, my daughter and I stay together. I slept with her when the urge came, he said.

The police command also paraded one Joshua Aiworo, aged 38, and his wife, Blessing Ogieva, aged 25, for stealing and selling two months old baby to one Felicia Imaguomaruomwan at the rate of N300, 000.

The couple confessed that an Italian-based lady, Joy Samuel, also known as Mama Jennifer, linked them up with the buyer (Felicia).
Queenslands Deputy Premier Stands Down Over Corruption Probe

Queenslands Deputy Premier Jackie Trad has stood down from ministerial duties over a probe into the appointment of a Brisbane principal.

The Crime and Corruption Commission is investigating the recruitment and selection process for the principal of the Inner City South Secondary College in her South Brisbane seat.

Trad was told on May 8 that the matter had progressed from an assessment to an investigation, and says she will stand down from ministerial duties.

I will co-operate fully with this investigation. It will provide me with the opportunity to set the record straight, Trad said on Saturday.

Let me be clear, no applicant to the principal position was known to me in any capacity  personal, political or professional.

Further I have never expressed a view to anyone on who should fill that role.

Opposition education spokesman Jarrod Bleijie complained to the CCC in December that Trad interfered in the hunt for the principal at the new school.

A foundation principal role was publicised in January and a five-person panel was set up to select a candidate.

An order of merit was established through that initial recruitment process, with the department setting up a meeting with Trad and the highest-ranked candidate.

The panel signed off on the appointment, but new modelling then showed Inner City South Secondary would be bigger and require an executive principal, so no job offer was made.

The position was advertised again, and the department once again arranged for Trad to meet a candidate before they were then hired.

However, Bleijie says it was inappropriate, and referred allegations Trad interfered to the CCC.

In a statement, the CCC said the probe was in the public interest and further comment would be inappropriate.

It is important to note all allegations should be treated as unsubstantiated until a final outcome is reached, the CCC said.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was informed of Trads decision to stand aside on Friday night.

I accept that her decision is the correct course of action. I will be assuming her ministerial duties until further notice, the premier said.

It is the second time the deputy premier has faced CCC scrutiny in the past 12 months after she purchased a house near the state governments flagship Cross River Rail project.

Queenslands corruption watchdog looked into the purchase but found no evidence to support a reasonable suspicion of corrupt conduct.

But it did recommend changes to the way conflicts of interest are dealt with, including criminal penalties if MPs fail to declare such conflicts and dont update their register of interests.

Jackie Trad has to be held accountable, not by standing down but by Annastacia Palaszczuk sacking her, Bleijie said on Saturday.

How many chances does she get?

Trad refused to take questions but said she would still contest her seat of South Brisbane in the October state election.

By Robyn Wuth
Sree Chandana M By

Express News Service

VISAKHAPATNAM: Death toll in the gas leak at LG Polymers unit in Visakhapatnam rose to 12 after 64-year-old Ratnal Gangadhar was found dead on Friday morning. He drove to S Kota after coming to know of the leak. The police, who confirmed his death, said they began looking for him after his family lodged a missing complaint.

Almost all the gas leak victims admitted to King George Hospital (KGH) are reported to be in a stable condition. The doctors stated that there is no damage to the vital organs of the victims and they would be under observation for 24-48 hours for further assessment.

As many as 306 persons are being treated at the KGH with some admitting themselves on Friday morning complaining of breathlessness, while 121 are undergoing treatment at other private hospitals in the city.

ALSO READ| LG Polymers leak: Fearing spread of gas, people attempt to cross Visakhapatnam border; stopped

Andhra Medical College principal Dr PV Sudhakar told TNIE that all the victims are stable and will be discharged, once they report no signs of breathlessness, dizziness, irritation in the eyes and other effects. "There will not be any long-term effect on the patients as the poisonous gas inhaled was flushed out. Many of them are stable now. Dizziness and other effects are because of the less oxygen level in the air and all the victims are being provided required amount of oxygen for stability," said Dr Sudhakar.

While the adults are recovering, children bore the brunt of the gas leak. Some children are still suffering from irritation and nausea. A few of them are left alone on the paediatric ward beds with their parents and relatives admitted in other wards.

Six-year-old Manideeps eyes were covered with a wet cloth as he was suffering from irritation and not able to open his eyes for a long time.

"He has been like this since Thursday morning. He is still complaining of nausea and unable to open his eyes. He is too young to understand this and keeps rubbing his eyes, which the doctors suggested not to do. We cant tell him or see him suffering so much. Thankfully, he did not lose his vision," said his aunt Ramani.

ALSO READ| LG Polymers gas leak: Panic subsides after the nightmare on Visakhapatnam streets

Meanwhile, the staff at the paediatric ward are unsure if some kids have attendants or not. Mohit (4) was seen playing near his bed and munching on the biscuits given to him by some volunteers. When asked about his parents and relatives, he said they went home. However, a staff nurse said that he was alone since Thursday morning.

Though PG residents are offering services to the victims 24x7, it is the uncertainty in the administration that is putting many away from help and in a confused state about the whereabouts of the victims family members. However, many people managed to find their relatives after the list of hospitals, patients and wards were released late Thursday evening.
Bray woman Ines Collins feels fine now, having recovered from Covid-19.

'My symptoms were in the middle of March and went on for about a week or 10 days,' she said.

She had a headache, temperature, and stomach problems. 'I couldn't taste things very well and had exhaustion and aches and pains. It was like a flu,' she said.

'I've had many viruses over the years. I've had bronchiectasis, and TB twice.' She said that the headache and temperature 'went on and on'.

She thought it was 'just another virus' and didn't think it was Covid-19.

As she wasn't getting any better, Ines decided to contact her GP who referred her for testing. 'I was tested on March 26 and didn't hear anything until April 6 so I was better by then,' she said.

She was really surprised to learn that her test was positive, and relieved to be well as she would be classed as vulnerable to any lung disease.

She had tuberculosis as a young child, and then in 2017 she found herself getting a lot of chest infections. 'Finally I said to the doctor I wanted it investigating, because there must be something. It was discovered that I had TB. I had to have six months of huge amounts of antibiotics.'

She was three years old when she first had TB, and doesn't really remember. It was thought that she would have immunity, and while most people got the BCG vaccine, she did not. 'There's a theory that the BCG might be giving some people immunity,' said Ines.

She has no idea where or how she contracted Covid-19. 'I work as a psychotherapist so could be in a room with a person or couple for an hour at a time. If anyone had it I could pick it up.'

She got a recurrence of symptoms a couple of weeks ago, with the headaches, temperature and exhaustion. That was a bit worrying, she said.

'I called a friend, I call her my "doctor" as she's someone who has had lung conditions and been through a lot. She suggested antibiotics to ward off any other infections. 'I went on a course of antibiotics and since then I've been fine,' said Ines.

She remained at home, and used paracetamol, and plenty of fluids, getting plenty of rest. She also used headache medication, and said that the headache was not responding to anything. 'I have good friends and neighbours and people who would drop things to me,' said Ines. 'It's certainly a very unpleasant illness. It seems to have all sorts of twists and turns and affects people in many different ways. I count myself very lucky considering the underlying conditions I had. The worst case scenario would be ending up on a ventilator. That would be my worst fear. But the version I had was mild enough to recover without going to hospital.' Now she is enjoying a daily walk, getting out in the fresh air and enjoying the scenic surroundings in Bray.

Ines is able to continue working, with sessions taking place on the phone, Skype or Zoom. The family therapist works in the Clanwilliam Institute in Stillorgan as well as Bray Counselling and Therapy Centre, and she provides supervision for therapists who require that for their continuing professional development.

'Be kind and appreciative of each other,' is her top piece of advice for people who may experience tension in their families or relationships at the moment. 'It can feel very hard to find kind thoughts and words, but it's not too hard, and it can go a long way in relationships,' said Ines.
Ghanaians are still in a state of shock even as the days go by.

The late Bishop Bernard Nyarko died on Saturday, May 2 at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital.

Even before the family of Bishop Bernard Nyarko sits to observe one week of his passing, they have announced the date for his burial in the Eastern Region of Ghana

According to a cousin of the actor who spoke to Angel TV, Bernard Nyarko will be buried on June 12, 2020, at Obosomase in Akuapem in the Eastern Region.

However, his funeral rites will take place at Ashley Botwe-Lakeside, Accra before the body is sent to the Eastern region for burial.

The cousin also added that with the one-week celebration there will not be a public gathering and people who will come and mourn with them should ensure that they do not sit after exchanging pleasantries with the family.

Watch the video below
A conga line celebration on VE Day was criticised for breaching the lockdown as Boris Johnson pleaded with the public to stay at home over the bank holiday weekend.

TV footage showed dozens of villagers in Grappenhall near Warrington dancing down the street while holding a rope at two-metre intervals in an attempt to maintain socially distancing.

However viewers and social media users erupted in fury at the video, with the anonymous author known as The Secret Barrister describing it as breathtakingly stupid.

This appears to amount to a clear breach of the regulations, he said. Unless anybody has any suggestions as to how Performing the conga might be said to amount to a reasonable excuse for leaving the house ... we are a nation of idiots

It was just one of a series of incidents which appeared to conflict with the governments coronavirus guidance amid rising concern over an increase in the number of people flouting of the lockdown across the UK.

They included complaints that a group of up to 100 people had gathered in Salford Quays in Manchester to drink and spray champagne before being dispersed by police on Friday afternoon.

Live BBC coverage of a VE Day party in the Portsmouth suburb of Cosham also appeared to show a large gathering in the street  although the presenter attempted to reassure viewers that they were social distancing and that perspectives on camera can sometimes be deceiving. 

Meanwhile Humberside Police said that lots of people were holding large gatherings on Friday in defiance of social distancing guidelines. We will continue to enforce and and fine if appropriate, the force added.

Police also reported stopping and turning away cars travelling long distances for short holidays or to visit the beach.

In Cumbria, police stopped a family of four on the M6 as they drove from London to Motherwell for a three-day holiday. All four were reported for breaching the regulations and advised to return to London.

Officers also stopped and turned away dozens of cars trying to get into Brighton on Saturday morning. Sussex Police said: Its not a dedicated coronavirus stop-check, but we are asking people why they are here, where they are going and turning them around if they do not have a purpose.

The same force also warned the public that day trips to the beach arent essential and revealed they had issued 62 fines in the last two days to people visiting beauty spots near the coast such as Camber Sands.

HM Coastguard said they recorded the highest number of incidents since the start of the lockdown  with 97 on Friday, compared to the daily average for April of 63.

People are ignoring the measures put into place by the government, said duty commander Matt Leat.

I completely understand that the weather and the bank holiday coupled with the fact that weve been in this lockdown situation for just over six weeks has tempted people out to our beautiful coasts.

However its really vital that we all continue to observe the guidance.

Boris Johnson, who is due to announce a minor change to the rules on Sunday by lifting the limit on daily exercise, tweeted on Saturday morning: Please stay at home, so we dont undo everything thats been done so far.
Desperate times call for desperate measures and at one care home in Portugal, under severe coronavirus lockdown, that means employing a crane to facilitate meetings between residents and their loved ones. "How are you?" Cremilde Pereira asks her older brother Jose from the crane that has parked her level with his first floor window. "Like a bird in a cage!" replies the 79-year-old who is seated at his window in his wheelchair, flanked by two caregivers wearing clear plastic visors. "When all this is over, you will have rice pudding and cake," says 68-year-old Cremilde, regretting that she was not able to celebrate Jose's birthday. This visit marks the first time the pair have seen each other in two months of confinement. "With everything that has happened in retirement homes, I am always worried about him," says Cremilde, a former grocer. In Portugal as in other European countries, the pandemic linked to the new coronavirus has claimed many victims among the elderly living in retirement homes. But thus far, no case of contagion has been detected among the hundred tenants of the Santo Antonio retirement house where Jose lives in the coastal town of Figueira da Foz, midway between Lisbon and Porto. The town of roughly 60,000 inhabitants can count just 30 officially declared cases in total. - End of confinement - Portugal as a whole has been relatively lightly touched by the pandemic with just over a thousand deaths. That has prompted the authorities to begin the process of loosening the lockdown from Monday but no date has yet been set for when retirement homes can welcome visitors again. A large screening operation detected cases in a tenth of the country's roughly 2,500 retirement homes, the Ministry of Health said on Thursday. The retirement sector has asked the socialist government to commit to a timetable and this week Health Minister Marta Temido said the issue had to be "reassessed" without compromising the safety of the elderly. "We have no information on how long this isolation could last," says Joaquim de Sousa, director of the charity that runs the home where Jose Pereira lives and the adjoining Silva Soares care home. The idea of using a crane and lifting platform to organise visits without breaking the tenants' confinement came to him when he read an article about a Belgian business owner who had done the same thing with a platform normally used to wash windows and buildings. - Emotional benefit - "Good ideas are there to be seized," says de Sousa, adding that he had no difficulty in finding a company ready to provide a crane and operator at no cost. When Cremilde comes back down to earth, the basket is disinfected. It is Laura Madaleno's turn to be raised some five metres above the ground, a chance at last for her to see her husband Valdemar. "As long as there are no visits, and no one knows how long it will last, it's the only way we can see each other," says the 65-year-old housewife. According to Ana Magalhaes, the director of the Santo Antonio retirement home, the emotional benefits of the visits organised since the beginning of the week are immediate. "Whether it's on the residents' side or on the families' side, it's extraordinary. It's one thing to have news, it's another to see with our own eyes that our loved one is fine," she says. "This confinement and the stop on visits have increased the feeling of abandonment of our residents... and they greatly appreciate this new meeting system. "They spend the day saying thank you." A manlift crane enables relatives to 'visit' elderly residents of Santo Antonio retirement house in Figueira da Foz The residents at the retirement home have been in isolation for two months and feel like 'a bird in a cage' The crane provides an uplifting experience for the residents and the relatives who come to visit The two-metre rule still applies but the crane allowd the residents to reach out to their families for the first time in two months The Santo Antonio retirement house in Figueira da Foz took a Belgian idea and made it work for their residents
Grounded JetBlue Airways planes at Pinal Air Park.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Dallas-based travel blogger and photographer Andy Luten took to the skies to document the effects of the pandemic on air travel, visiting six airports across the American Southwest home to grounded aircraft.

Chartering a helicopter at each location, Luten got a unique aerial perspective of the hundreds of grounded jets from various US and foreign airlines.

The journey took two weeks with over 4,000 miles driven by Luten in an electric Tesla vehicle.

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Like most travelers, Dallas resident Andy Luten has been grounded since March. Normally averaging around 150,000 miles of flying each year for work and pleasure, Luten has been forced to watch from the ground as the airline industry slowly dwindles to a shell of its former self.

In his role as a financial software consultant, Luten is frequently taking to the skies and also maintains a travel blog, aptly named Andy's Travel Blog. Luten features flight and trip reports where, as an avid photographer, he gets to combine his photography and aviation passions, sharing his experiences with the public.

As the American Southwest quickly became a major destination for grounded airliners from across the world, Luten saw an opportunity to get back in the air while continuing to photograph the birds that he loves flying on.

One April day, Luten approached a local helicopter company with what would normally be an unusual request, to fly directly over a nearby airport to take photographs of the grounded Spirit Airlines jets that were lining its taxiways.

After a successful flight, the next two weeks would see Luten drive over 4,000 miles to photograph six airports in total, documenting the plight of the airline industry in his photo story, "They will fly again: an aerial look at grounded jets across the USA."

Take a look at how Luten did it.

Luten's six-airport journey began in his own backyard when he chartered a Robinson R44 helicopter to fly above a Dallas area airport where he heard Spirit Airlines was storing some of its Airbus jets.

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A Robinson R44 helicopter similar to the one used by Luten.

Richard Oldroyd / Shutterstock.com

After taking the doors off of the four-seater helicopter, Luten and his pilot flew 10 miles north to Fort Worth Alliance Airport where they came upon a line of Spirit aircraft painted in the airline's black and yellow taxi cab-style livery.

Grounded Spirit Airlines jets at Fort Worth Alliance Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

The jets were neatly parked one by one at Alliance Airport's taxiways, which had been closed to store the aircraft indefinitely. Closing runways and taxiways has been a common theme at many of the nation's airports as storage space becomes increasingly hard to find..

Grounded Spirit Airlines jets at Fort Worth Alliance Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Read More: Delta, American, and other airlines are parking planes on closed runways at major airports as carriers struggle to store grounded airliners

After seeing the aircraft and knowing that there were more airports across the American Southwest with more parked planes, Luten then embarked on what would be a two-week-long endeavor to document as much of it as he could.

Grounded Spirit Airlines jets at Fort Worth Alliance Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

"I was taken aback [with] how hard it hit me because I knew those jets weren't there for maintenance, they were there for storage and it moved me and it impacted me," Luton told Business Insider.

Grounded Spirit Airlines jets at Fort Worth Alliance Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Some airports were close to home, including Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, home to the world's largest airline, American Airlines.

Grounded American Airlines jets at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Approaching the airport in his chartered helicopter, Luten couldn't believe that he was given clearance to operate directly over the normally busy runways with no pushback from air traffic control. Having done aerial photoshoots before, he thought he knew what to expect.

Grounded American Airlines jets at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

"But this time, it was so different because we are flying up into DFW and [air traffic control was] like, 'Yeah, just stay west of the tower and you can do whatever you want,'" Luten explained. "And this is when like South American flights were going to be coming in from Argentina and Chile and all the Hawaii overnight flights we're going to be coming in and landing."

Grounded American Airlines jets at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

American has only a small fraction of its near-1,000 aircraft strong fleet parked at Dallas-Fort Worth International, as Luten would later find.

Grounded American Airlines jets at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Most of the aircraft Luten saw parked in Dallas were small, narrow-body jets brought over from the adjacent terminals.

Grounded American Airlines jets at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

The airline's larger wide-body aircraft were sent north to Tulsa, Oklahoma. So, Luten also went there, taking to the interstate in his Tesla.

Grounded American Airlines jets at Tulsa International Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

American took over Tulsa International Airport to store its jets as it has a large maintenance facility on the field.

Grounded American Airlines jets at Tulsa International Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Just a short flight from Dallas, mechanics in Tulsa can an eye on the planes and maintain them as necessary to ensure they're ready to return to service when demand dictates.

Grounded American Airlines jets at Tulsa International Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Much like in Dallas, Luten didn't have any issue getting air traffic controllers to agree to a flyover, saying that they were excited for the opportunity to work an aircraft.

Grounded American Airlines jets at Tulsa International Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

"The people in Tulsa actually sounded excited that they got to clear somebody into their airspace because it was so not busy," Luten said.

Grounded American Airlines jets at Tulsa International Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Even though planes were still taking off and landing around him, Luten still got to get shots of American's largest aircraft.

Grounded American Airlines jets at Tulsa International Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Here's one of the airline's Boeing 787 Dreamliners...

Grounded American Airlines jets at Tulsa International Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

And two Boeing 777s.

Grounded American Airlines jets at Tulsa International Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

As helicopter operators charge by the hour, Luten planned ahead for each visit by using Google Earth to get a sense of what the view would be like at different altitudes and with different camera lenses.

Grounded American Airlines jets at Tulsa International Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Armed with his own flight plan and two cameras strapped to his body, Luten would give the pilot directions on where and how high to fly to ensure he got the best shots in a short period of time.

Grounded American Airlines jets at Tulsa International Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Luten described his pilots enjoying the experience and opportunity to perform the unique maneuvers that their passenger sometimes required to get the right shot.

Grounded American Airlines jets at Tulsa International Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

"[Aerial photography] depends on a lot of good communication with the pilot," Luten detailed. "And by the third or fourth flight, I'd really gotten into a groove and I was able to tell, 'Hey, here's exactly what I need.'"

Grounded American Airlines jets at Tulsa International Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Taking a break from American Airlines jets, Luten also headed to South Texas for a visit to Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, a hub to United Airlines.

Grounded United Airlines jets at George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

While United aircraft are a common sight at its Texas hub, the pandemic has forced them to sit idle on the airport's taxiways waiting for the opportunity to take to the skies again.

Grounded United Airlines jets at George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Houston is United's Latin American gateway with most Central American and northern South American countries just a short flight away.

Grounded United Airlines jets at George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

With the Chicago-based airline slashing its international flight schedule, however, the jets haven't been needed.

Grounded United Airlines jets at George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Luten would often invite friends and relatives along for his flights so they could share in the experience, saying: "Hey, you're chartering the whole helicopter, you might as well bring some friends along." In Houston, his uncle joined him for the eerily quiet international airport.

Grounded United Airlines jets at George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Luten did say that Houston was one of the more difficult airports to photograph due to the lack of helicopter operators in the immediate vicinity.

Grounded United Airlines jets at George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

After getting a tip that Delta was storing a lot of its jets in Kansas City, Luten hit the road once again in his Tesla and headed there, nearly 600 miles from Dallas and an eight-hour drive to match.

Grounded Delta Air Lines jets at Kansas City Intercontinental Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Delta is storing a lot of its narrow-body jets at Kansas City International Airport, one of the many the world's second-largest airline is using for storage.

Grounded Delta Air Lines jets at Kansas City Intercontinental Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Though initially worried about heading to a major city like Kansas City, Luten described the measures he took such as sleeping in his car and wear protective masks when required.

Grounded Delta Air Lines jets at Kansas City Intercontinental Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

"Tulsa, Kansas City [were] hit pretty hard, but I was spending such little time in all of those places, basically sleeping in the car with the exception of that [one] hotel night, I figured the risk was pretty low," Luten elaborated.

Grounded Delta Air Lines jets at Kansas City Intercontinental Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

The airport had given Delta one of its three runways and an adjacent taxiway.

Grounded Delta Air Lines jets at Kansas City Intercontinental Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Though Delta is one of the airport's largest carriers, it's likely the first time in Kansas City International Airport history that so many Delta jets have occupied its infrastructure.

Grounded Delta Air Lines jets at Kansas City Intercontinental Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Luten considers his photos from Kansas City to be some of the most "powerful" due to the sheer number of aircraft occupying space at the airport.

Grounded Delta Air Lines jets at Kansas City Intercontinental Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Just a few months ago, Kansas City and Delta were in the news together when an aircraft belonging to the latter slid off a taxiway at Kansas City International. Now, the airport is proving to be a safe-haven for Delta jets.

Grounded Delta Air Lines jets at Kansas City Intercontinental Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Read More: A Delta plane slid off an icy taxiway in Kansas City  here's what happened

The Kansas City side trip was when Luten decided to disregard his budget and go all-in on the project, heading to the Gateway of the Southwest after receiving a tip from a fellow planespotter.

Grounded Delta Air Lines jets at Kansas City Intercontinental Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

And the gamble clearly paid off.

Grounded Delta Air Lines jets at Kansas City Intercontinental Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Delta jets weren't the only outsiders now calling Kansas City home as Air Canada and its low-cost subsidiary Air Canada Rouge had also sent aircraft to the Missouri airport.

Grounded Air Canada jets at Kansas City Intercontinental Airport.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

The furthest airport on Luten's adventure was a remote Arizona airfield located in-between Phoenix and Tuscon, Pinal Air Park. It was the only boneyard in the Southwest that he could visit due to charging limitations with his Tesla.

Grounded Delta Air Lines and JetBlue Airways jets at Pinal Air Park.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Read More: Delta, United, and other airlines are sending their largest planes to the desert for storage as they drastically reduce operations due to coronavirus

"I'd heard about Pinal Air Park and I knew it existed," Luten explained. "But they said it was full. And I was like, okay, that's news because it's a desert. How is a desert full? And I found out."

Grounded JetBlue Airways planes at Pinal Air Park.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Upon arriving in Marana, nearly 1,000 miles from Dallas and a 14-hour drive to match, Luten saw how a small airfield was quickly outgrowing its capacity despite being surrounded by empty desert.

Grounded and parked planes at Pinal Air Park.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Read More: Inside a remote Arizona aircraft boneyard storing nearly 300 planes grounded by the pandemic

Pinal Air Park had been receiving a steady influx of new arrivals since the beginning of the pandemic. Its newest customer was JetBlue Airways, which had flown planes from around the country to storage in Arizona.

Grounded JetBlue Airways planes at Pinal Air Park.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

So many aircraft had come for storage that the airfield was averaging about 25 per week and was expected to reach capacity, around 300 airplanes, by the end of April.

Grounded JetBlue Airways planes at Pinal Air Park.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Read More: Inside a remote Arizona aircraft boneyard storing nearly 300 planes grounded by the pandemic

While normally the airfield would have more space, it already had an existing occupant, grounded Boeing 737 Max aircraft.

Grounded Air Canada planes at Pinal Air Park.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Arriving arrived before the influx, the Air Canada Max aircraft received preferential parking on the tarmac rather than on the grass like most other arrivals.

Grounded Air Canada planes at Pinal Air Park.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Delta is also a fan of the facility, having sent a large number of wide-body jets here to ride out the downturn.

Grounded Delta Air Lines planes at Pinal Air Park.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Aircraft from American Airlines' regional brand, American Eagle, can also be found here in the desert.

Grounded American Eagle planes at Pinal Air Park.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Air Canada also sent wide-body jets including the Boeing 767-300ER to Arizona to take advantage of the climate.

Grounded Air Canada planes at Pinal Air Park.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Some, unfortunately, may never leave. The Canadian flag carrier is largely retiring the type, a trend many airlines are jumping on in order to have learner fleets after the pandemic ends.

Grounded Air Canada planes at Pinal Air Park.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

JetBlue's aircraft are among the furthest from home, with the low-cost airline primarily maintaining bases on the East Coast.

Grounded JetBlue Airways planes at Pinal Air Park.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

The New York-based carrier announced in March it would cut April flying by 80%, though may be well-positioned for a recovery, according to experts, due to its largely domestic-oriented route network.

Grounded JetBlue Airways planes at Pinal Air Park.

Andy Luten/Andy's Travel Blog

Looking back on the photos he took, Luten estimated he saw 650 grounded aircraft, a small fraction of the total 16,000 estimated to be in storage, according to Cirium. While disheartening to some, Luten was compelled to keep his journey going after seeing the impact it had on his friends in the airline industry who had been dealing with the pandemic first hand but hadn't seen this perspective.

"[A friend] said, 'These [photos] are incredible and I never want to see them again,'" a former airline worker friend of Luten's told him. "And I was like, okay, this is having an impact. And I'm telling what I thought was a different story."

While Luten is hopeful for a speedy recovery for the airline industry, he realizes that he might be grounded until the end of the year. When travel does return, he'll be back in the skies where he belongs, though he plans to stick to domestic travel at first before embarked on his dream trips to Uzbekistan and Pakistan.

Source: JetBlue Airways

Read the original article on Business Insider
(Newser)  The Office of Special Counsel is investigating whether the Trump administration was retaliating against a vaccine expert when it ousted him from an important job in the coronavirus battle. While that investigation is going on, the federal watchdog says, Rick Bright should be put back in his post atop the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. His lawyers said the watchdog has "reasonable grounds to believe" that Bright's demotion last month was retaliation, Politico reports. In his complaint over the firing, Bright said he had resisted endorsing hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for the coronavirus. The watchdog recommends a 45-day reinstatement.

story continues below

The special counsel will ask the Department of Health and Human Services to delay the move, which Bright's lawyers said is "a common occurrence." A department spokeswoman wouldn't confirm anything about the case, calling it a personnel matter, per NPR. "However," she said, "HHS strongly disagrees with the allegations and characterizations in the complaint from Dr. Bright." President Trump said this week that Bright was "a disgruntled employee who's trying to help the Democrats win an election." The authority, where Bright was director, handles millions of dollars, directing funding to companies developing tests, treatments and vaccines. (Keep speaking up, an inspector general fired by Trump said.)
Gov. Gavin Newsom endorsed Joe Biden for president on Friday during a virtual fundraiser. (Associated Press)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom endorsed Joe Biden for president on Friday, saying he was enlivened by his candidacy as he headlined a virtual fundraiser for the presumptive Democratic nominee.

This is a unique moment in time and unique moment in our history, and we're uniquely grateful to you," Newsom said, praising Bidens record on issues such as poverty and character traits such as his empathy. "I just couldn't be more proud of you, and the prospect of your presidency."

The move was entirely unsurprising given that Newsom is a Democrat. Yet as recently as mid-April, Newsom, who backed Sen. Kamala Harris until she ended her presidential bid, demurred when asked about his support of the former vice president. That came as his national profile grew because of his handling of the coronavirus crisis and he was trying to cajole President Trump and his administration into providing aid for California.

Newsoms words about the Republican president were so fawning they were featured in a digital ad put out by Trumps reelection campaign.

Fridays Zoom fundraiser, moderated by former Barack Obama campaign manager David Plouffe, was the first high-dollar fundraiser of Bidens campaign. Tickets went for up to $100,000, and more than 700 people took part.

(Until recently, Biden was raising money at the federal maximum of $5,600 per donor. But now that he is the presumptive nominee and has formed a joint fundraising committee with the Democratic National Committee, the former vice president can accept six-figure checks. The president has been able to raise money at these higher limits since he took office, affording him an enormous fundraising advantage over Biden.)

Biden responded to Newsom by saying, "Gov, if I get elected, I'm going to need you badly.

Biden also praised Newsom for signing an executive order on Friday to send every California voter a mail-in ballot for the November election because of the coronavirus crisis.

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Gavin, youve done one helluva job, and thank you for your support and your leadership, Biden said. You havent just shown extraordinary leadership  youre also protecting the cornerstone of our democracy, the right to vote. Im so glad Im on your team, man.

Trumps campaign said Newsoms decision could lead to vote fraud.

This is a thinly veiled political tactic by Gov. Newsom to undermine election security," said spokesman Tim Murtaugh. "Theres a vast difference between people voting absentee by mail because they cant be at the polls on election day versus mailing everyone a ballot. Sending everyone a ballot  even those who didnt request one  is a wide-open opportunity for fraud."
At least six security personnel, including an Army major, were killed when a roadside bomb struck a patrol vehicle in southwestern Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, close to the border with Iran.

The Army on Friday said in a statement that a vehicle of paramilitary Frontier Corps was targeted through a remote-controlled improvised explosive device (IED) in Kech district's Buleda area, about 14 km from the Iran border.

A major and five soldiers were killed while one soldier was injured, according to the Army.

Baloch militants on Saturday claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) in a statement said the roadside bomb was planted by its operatives and it will continue its struggle until the establishment of an independent homeland and a free society".

BLA is a banned entity in Pakistan. It was also declared a terrorist group by the US in 2019.

Security sources said the route where the explosion took place was monitored round the clock because of suspected movement by smugglers and insurgents in the border area.

A search operation was launched by the security forces in the area to trace the elements involved in the attack.

It is the first major attack on the forces in Balochistan since the outbreak of COVID-19.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Within four days of the state government allowing the sale of liquor, six people were murdered over violence related to drinking, one died after consuming cheap liquor and another of excessive drinking.

The city, which had not reported a single death due to violence while the liquor ban in connection with the COVID-19 lockdown was in force, saw an average of two to three murders every day, more than 70 cases of assault and attempt to murder cases after the ban on liquor was lifted.

On Monday, the very day the ban was lifted, an argument between two friends having liquor escalated and allegedly resulted in the murder of one of them at Bagalagunte. In another incident, a 42-year-old man was beaten to death by his friend while they were partying in JB Nagar.

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The following day, a 34-year-old man was killed by his friend during a drunken brawl in Kamakshipalya, while a 62-year-old man died after he allegedly consumed excess alcohol. He was found dead near his house in Vasanthnagar in central Bengaluru. Violence continued into Wednesday when two persons were found murdered in drunken brawls in separate incidents at Ramamurthynagar and RT Nagar.

A 30-year-old man was bludgeoned to death and another injured in a fight between three people over a trivial issue at the City Railway Station on Wednesday.

On Friday, a 33-year-old driver died after consuming cheap liquor at Ganagammanagudi police station limits.

A senior police officer said, We did not expect so much violence. We will step up patrolling and also warn rowdies against indulging in violence. We will verify if these cases are due to consumption of alcohol or any other motives.

Ravi Krishna Reddy, president of Karnataka Rashtra Samithi who had called for a liquor ban, said there was a misconception that excise duty is the major source of income to the state government. He said the government missed a good opportunity to ban liquor as many people had given up the habit. He claimed the government gave in to the liquor mafia.




Nepal on Saturday raised objection over India inaugurating a strategically crucial link road connecting the Lipulekh pass at a height of 17,000 feet along the border with China in Uttarakhand with Dharchula, saying this "unilateral act" runs against the understanding reached between the two countries on resolving the border issues.

Nepal's Foreign Affairs Ministry in a statement said the government "has learnt with regret" about the inauguration of the link road connecting to Lipulekh pass, which Nepal claims to be part of its territory.

The 80-km new road inaugurated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday is expected to help pilgrims visiting Kailash-Mansarovar in Tibet in China as it is around 90km from the Lipulekh pass.

After inaugurating the road through video-conferencing, Singh said pilgrims going to Kailash-Mansarovar will now be able to complete their journey in one week instead of up to three weeks. The road originates at Ghatiabagarh and ends at Lipulekh pass, the gateway to Kailash-Mansarovar.

The Kailash-Mansarovar yatra involves trekking at high altitudes of up to 19,500 feet, under inhospitable conditions, including extreme weather and rugged terrain.

Raising objection on the construction of the link road, Nepal's Foreign Ministry said, "This unilateral act runs against the understanding reached between the two countries including at the level of the Prime Ministers that a solution to boundary issues would be sought through negotiation."

Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani, a disputed border area between Nepal and India. Both India and Nepal claim Kalapani as an integral part of their territory - India as part of Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district and Nepal as part of Darchula district.

"The Government of Nepal has consistently maintained that as per the Sugauli Treaty (1816), all the territories east of Kali (Mahakali) river, including Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipulekh, belong to Nepal," the ministry said.

"This was reiterated by the Government of Nepal several times in the past and most recently through a diplomatic note addressed to the Government of India on November 20, 2019 in response to the new political map issued by the latter," it said.

It said that Nepal had expressed its disagreement in 2015 also through separate diplomatic notes addressed to the governments of both India and China when the two sides agreed to include Lipulekh pass as a bilateral trade route without Nepal's consent in the joint statement issued on May 5, 2015, during the official visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to China.

"With this in mind, the Government of Nepal has proposed twice the dates for holding a meeting of the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries, as mandated by their leaders, for which the response from the Indian side is still awaited," it said.

"The Government of Nepal remains committed to seeking diplomatic solutions to boundary issues on the basis of the historical treaty, documents, facts and maps in keeping with the spirit of close and friendly ties between the two countries," the ministry said.

The ministry has also noted that the reports prepared by Nepal - India Eminent Persons Group (EPG) formed with a mandate to recommend measures and institutional framework with a view to elevating the existing relations, if implemented, will pave way to address outstanding issues left by the history.

Meanwhile, Nepal Police on Saturday detained dozens of youths and students as they held a demonstration near the Indian Embassy here to protest the inauguration of the link road.

The protesters, including student activists of the All Nepal National Free Students Union (ANNFSU) affiliated to the ruling Nepal Communist Party and youth leaders urged the government to take steps to stop India from using the road.

The construction of the road began in 2008 and was scheduled to be completed in 2013, but it got delayed due to the tough terrain in the portion between Nazang to Bundi village.
WATERLOO REGION  After weeks of social distancing, non-essential business closures and general unease about what the world will look like post-coronavirus, Ontario and other provinces have unveiled plans to slowly end the lockdown.

But many experts agree extensive testing of the public, supplemented by a system that can warn people if they have been in contact with those who test positive for the virus, is considered key to the safe reopening of the economy.

Several local companies are at the cutting edge of both strategies.

Brush, floss, swab

Imagine waking up one morning with a fever and a dry cough, two of the primary symptoms of COVID-19. Should you go to the doctor? The emergency room? Or just wait it out?

The uncertainty over who can get a test, when, and how long you have to wait for results can be confusing.

Now imagine walking into your bathroom, rubbing the inside of your cheek or nose with a test swab, placing that swab inside a small testing kit about the size of a deck of cards, and getting a positive or negative result within about 20 minutes.

The results can then be uploaded anonymously to a public health system database to enable monitoring and further action, including notifying others who may have been in contact with you.

Kitchener-based Serapis Labs is working to develop an at-home COVID-19 test that will deliver accurate results in about the same amount of time it takes to watch an episode of your favourite sitcom and for about the same price as a 24-pack of beer.

What is extremely important is our testing format and our design that allows you to test yourself makes it possible to screen a large number of people very quickly, said Kam Ghofrani.

Hes the founder of local tech company DropLab Inc. and one of a handful of Waterloo Region entrepreneurs, engineers and scientists that make up Serapis Labs, a new company launched in response to COVID-19.

The expanded testing capabilities promised by this new at-home kit would do more than give people the knowledge or peace of mind of whether or not theyre infected, Ghofrani said  it could become a critical tool for reopening the economy and even national or international borders.

Ghofrani said the kits could be deployed at airports or border crossings to help identify those who may be infected.

The other big advantage is it eliminates the most time-consuming portion of the entire testing process  the need to transport samples to a lab.

Similar test kits are already in development across the country after Innovative Solutions Canada, a federal innovation program, put out a challenge in early April for firms to develop testing kits that are easy to use, as accurate as lab-based testing, and cost less than $40.

Such a device can facilitate diagnosis and care (particularly in remote areas), while expanding into non-traditional clinical environments or home settings, enabling the broadest potential response to this monumental crisis, stated the Innovative Solutions Canada website.

The group of four full-time employees and three part-timers that make up Serapis Labs are working inside the Old Boehmer Box Factory in Kitchener.

At first we thought it wasnt possible, admitted Ghofrani, but just a few weeks later theyve developed a prototype and are now working with manufacturers to produce a small batch of the kits.

The units must be approved by Health Canada and Ghofrani said they hope to have it ready by August.

The governments challenge required the kits to be disposed of after a single use; however the Serapis kit is being designed to also accept multiple testing cartridges in order to cut down on waste.

Ontario has been criticized for its slow response to the need for testing and contact tracing to slow the spread of the virus.

There are 100 assessment centres for ongoing testing of the general public in the province. 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 government has developed an integrated laboratory system with Public Health Ontario, local health units, and hospital or community labs, with 23 labs working in coordination to increase capacity and test turnaround times for COVID-19, the province said.

Once test samples are received, labs are providing results within 24 to 48 hours. Results are available to patients through a user-friendly online portal.

Ontario says it is now exceeding 16,000 tests per day and more than 342,000 tests overall, but the number of actual daily tests has fluctuated in recent days to well below that 16,000 threshold.

Public Health Ontario lab locations include Toronto, Hamilton, London, Kingston and Ottawa. They operate seven days a week.

Several private labs in this region contacted by The Record said they didnt have the equipment or expertise required to perform the testing.

The University of Waterloo, one of the top universities in the country, also doesnt have the testing capabilities. Spokesperson Matthew Grant said UW conducted an extensive review along with public health authorities.

From ridesharing to contact tracing

In the absence of widespread testing, several local groups are working on technology that they believe can do the next best thing  trace where an infected person has been, and who they may have been in contact with.

That could mean digitally tracking an individual through their smartphone or other wearable technology.

Its a process called contact tracing, and Scarborough-based ridesharing company Facedrive Inc. has partnered with the University of Waterloo to develop a contact tracing app called TraceScan.

The program exchanges bluetooth signals between devices such as smartphones or wearables to detect if other TraceScan participants are nearby. If any of those users test positive for COVID-19, youll receive a notification, allowing you to take the necessary health precautions such as social isolation for two weeks, try to get tested, or monitor yourself for symptoms.

If a user is diagnosed with COVID-19, their TraceScan logs are sent to public health authorities to begin the tracing process. All logs are stored and encrypted locally on the users device.

The logs do not contain the individuals phone number or other data, but are a set of cryptographically generated temporary IDs. The logs only leave the users device after they are COVID-19 positive.

We realized early on we had the capability to take on this challenge, and we thought it was the right thing to do, said Jay Wilgar, director and chief strategy officer of Facedrive Inc.

One of the things that is difficult for ridesharing right now is the drop in ridership, so we could take some of our resources and put it toward an initiative like this thats important for the community and the country.

The virus has an incubation period of up to 14 days, and research suggests the average infected person could spread it to about two or three other people, making it more contagious than seasonal flu.

Slowing the spread and getting the transmission rate down to below one is critical to stop the pandemic, and contact tracing is one way of hitting that target.

On Monday, Premier Doug Ford called for a national strategy on contact tracing, calling it absolutely critical for moving forward.

But getting a sick person to accurately recall where theyve been or who theyve been in contact with in the few days that preceded their symptoms or a positive test result can be difficult. Contact tracing app developers believe they can help fill in those gaps.

In an email to The Record, Ontarios Ministry of Health said it is exploring the use of apps to increase the volume of contact tracing in Ontario, which would help contain the spread of COVID-19 in our communities.

Covid Watch, another University of Waterloo project, is working on similar bluetooth technology that syncs with digital devices such as smartphones, in partnership with tech giants Google and Apple.

James Petrie, head researcher and an expert in numerical modelling and machine learning, said if 56 per cent of a geographic regions population adopts the voluntary app, that region can safely return to business as usual.

Even if you dont hit that level, (the technology) can still have an impact, he said.

The nonprofit group of researchers, programmers, security experts and public health professionals are in the early stages of a few pilot projects, and Petrie said it was too early to say who their partners are on those projects.

Theyre still at least several weeks away from making the technology more widely available. It would be free to download to your phone, and Petrie hopes to keep the cost of the wearables down to about $10 or less.

I think contact tracing is very important, said Petrie. Its the best solution I know of for targeting people who need to be self-isolating.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 19:25:01|Editor: huaxia

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Kazakh veterans and military officers salute to the eternal flame at the square of Defender of the Fatherland in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, May 9, 2020. Instead of parades and fireworks, Kazakhstan marked the 75th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War with some small-scale yet heart-warming events amid the spread of COVID-19. (Photo by Kalizhan Ospanov/Xinhua)

NUR-SULTAN, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Instead of parades and fireworks, Kazakhstan marked the 75th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War with some small-scale yet heart-warming events amid the spread of COVID-19.

On the eve of the 75th Victory Day, Kazakh officials wearing face masks visited several veterans at their homes in Almaty, the largest Kazakh city, presenting them with flowers, letters and medals.

"We are proud of you, your feats and dedication have become real symbols of valor and patriotism for our generation," read a letter to veterans from the Kazakh Interior Ministry.

"We have already lived 75 years without a war. I hope that no wars will be seen in the future and younger generations will enjoy a peaceful life forever," said veteran Mikhail Prokopenko.

For the first time, this year's Immortal Regiment march has been switched to an online mode. Everyone can upload photos of their ancestors and their war stories with a corresponding hashtag on social media.

In the capital Nur-Sultan, flags, posters and billboards reading "Happy Victory Day," as well as images of St. George's ribbon, can be seen here and there.

On Friday night, with digital images of the "eternal flame" -- a symbol of a nation's perpetual gratitude towards and remembrance of its war dead -- appearing on landmark buildings in Nur-Sultan to mark the victory, local residents went to their balconies to join a flashmob to light up the city and sang wartime songs together.

Organizer Azat Abyken said that the event aims to encourage people to overcome difficulties at the moment. "Against the background of all (that) had happened to humanity this year, it is very important to get united, seek peace and support each other," the organizer said.

To mark the day, media outlets presented stories about the Great Patriotic War. In a podcast, Maria Solovieva, a Holocaust survivor from Almaty, shared her memories at the concentration camp of Ozarichi in Belarus, while front-line soldier Gennady Isimov recalled the bloody battles that he had participated in and his escape from a death camp over seven decades ago.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev recalled his family's sacrifice in World War II in a recent interview with Tass News Agency, saying that the catastrophe had claimed the lives of his grandparents and his father also fought in the war.

"My father did not like to talk about the war -- especially about his deeds and his military awards like many other soldiers. He shared with us his feelings, the story of his first encounter with the enemy, the courage of the average soldier, and his burning desire to return home -- this was all written out in the autobiography 'The Soldier Left for War,'" said Tokayev.

In his congratulatory message on Friday, Tokayev stressed that the great holiday symbolizes the unparalleled feats of past generations who defended the country and crushed Nazism. He also wished all veterans good health and wellbeing.

Nursultan Nazarbayev, the first president of Kazakhstan, highlighted that May 9 is a symbol of courage, selflessness and heroism. "On this day we remember the unfadable courage of our fathers and grandfathers as well as their hardships," he said.

During World War II, around 1.2 million Kazakh people were sent to the front, and half of them never returned.
As states around the country move to restart their economies, they are reopening industries that Oregon never closed.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown took a very different approach to her March shutdown order than other states. She directed some businesses to close  bars and restaurants, most prominently  but allowed most other sectors to continue operating so long as they could maintain safe distances among their workers and customers.

The governor specifically allowed construction and manufacturing to continue operating through the coronavirus outbreak. Brown gave many other businesses the latitude to make their own decisions, provided they followed her rules on safe distancing.

Health experts and business leaders applaud the governors approach, noting that Oregon has suffered relatively few large workplace outbreaks  with the notable exception of the healthcare and nursing care sectors. Browns office said the states experience operating since March informed her plans to restart many other industries that she announced Thursday.

Workers, though, are clearly alarmed. The state has fielded more than 3,700 complaints about employers allegedly violating coronavirus safety standards. The state hasnt penalized any companies yet but has indicated that some enforcement actions are close.

There have been at least two large workplace outbreaks outside the healthcare sector, at food processing facilities in Astoria and Albany.

County health officials say workplace outbreaks likely explain the comparatively high rate of infections within Oregons Latino community, which frequently works in relatively low-paid, frontline jobs.

Still, its not clear that the decision to let more businesses operate has provided big economic benefits. Oregon has shed 380,000 jobs during the outbreak. Thats comparable to the layoff rates in other states.

Many businesses have chosen to close or scale back on their own, without a government mandate, either to protect workers and customers or simply because there arent enough customers to justify continued operations.

That suggests reopening more businesses may not solve Oregons economic woes  at least not until the pandemic is under control and consumer confidence returns.

Regardless, the apparently low rate of infections compared to other states suggests the governors strategy for letting businesses continue to operate hasnt been a major drawback to public health.

The proof is in the pudding, isnt it? We have not had as many cases as most states. So were doing something right, said John Townes, director of infection prevention and control at Oregon Health & Science University.

Safe workplaces

Business during the coronavirus epidemic has looked far different in Oregon than in other states. Kentucky and Ohio, for example, each shut down manufacturing and construction when they adopted stay-home orders and are just lifting those restrictions now.

In Oregon, by contrast, commercial and residential construction continued even as bars, restaurants, boutiques and many other businesses were ordered shut. Intel, Precision Castparts and Qorvo, among others, acknowledged at least one coronavirus infections apiece among their workers but kept their factories humming.

Its not clear the workers at those businesses contracted the infection on the job and it doesnt appear the virus spread widely within those companies.

Daimler Trucks North America shuttered its Swan Island plant for nearly a month after shutdowns in other regions disrupted its parts supply. The plant reopened April 20 after Daimler redesigned the facility and its production line to ensure workers remain at least six feet from one another.

Semiconductor equipment manufacturer Lam Research briefly shuttered its big Tualatin factory after two employees received preliminary COVID-19 diagnoses. Lam reopened after a thorough cleaning and after consulting with public health authorities on safety practices.

While the coronavirus is highly contagious and potentially deadly, Townes said it is possible to work safely. He still goes to the office at OHSU and said he feels secure and comfortable.

Employers need to ensure workers have protections, he said, like adequate spacing, proper ventilation, paid sick leave, plexiglass screens when dealing with customers, and masks when around other people, Townes said. He said workers need to stay home if theyre feeling sick.

Employers have a responsibility to create conditions were exposure is not going to occur and employees have a responsibility to do things to prevent transmission as well, like staying home when youre sick, Townes said. Its a covenant in a way.

Outbreaks at work

Workers have flooded the states Occupational Safety and Health division (Oregon OSHA) with concerns their employers arent keeping up their end of the bargain. The 3,700 complaints are dominated by concerns workers arent adequately spaced.

The healthcare industry has the greatest number of complaints and hundreds of workers have been infected statewide. Workplace infection appears to be an issue in other sectors, too.

The National Frozen Foods plant in Albany closed last month after a coronavirus outbreak that has now spread to 30 workers and four family members. At least 26 workers tested positive for the coronavirus at Bornstein Seafoods facilities in Astoria, which closed following the outbreak but reopened Tuesday.

The Oregon Health Authority is tracking workplace infections but hasnt disclosed how many it has recorded or what fields they take place in. Washington County has logged 29 cases at 29 businesses outside the healthcare sectors. Those include agriculture, retail, manufacturing and restaurants, which are allowed to continue operating with takeout and delivery service.

About half of Washington Countys coronavirus cases are among Latino workers, four times their share of the countys population. Mary Sawyers, spokeswoman for Washington County Public Health, said workplace exposure likely explains the discrepancy.

Latinos dominate many frontline jobs in agriculture, food processing and food service and she said those sectors have to keep operating to keep people fed through the pandemic.

We believe that is part of the issue is that many people have to go into work, Sawyers said. They cant really stay home and thats one of the reasons why that population might be more exposed because there are more of those in those essential jobs.

Marion County, the heart of Oregons farmworker population, has an unusually high rate of positive coronavirus tests  which advocates say could be linked labor conditions in agricultural work.

Oregon OSHA issued new rules last week designed to protect farmworkers by requiring more protective equipment and spacing  including while in transit to job sites and while they are living in employer-provided accommodations.

The Oregon Farm Bureau warned that the new rules are more burdensome than what the states industries face. The farm bureau said the state didnt allow enough time to adjust to the rules, which it said are impractical in places where there arent good housing alternatives available.

But Reyna Lopez, executive director of Oregons Farmworker Union, said agricultural laborers dont deserve second-class working conditions.

Providing these measures, as simple as they sound, its going to reduce harm, Lopez said. As in other industries, she said, workers may still fall ill during the pandemic. But she said the new rules put farmworkers on a more equal footing.

I dont think were going to get to the point where 100% nobodys going to get sick, Lopez said. This is a first good step toward taking people safe.

A long recovery

Sandi McDonough is CEO of Oregon Business & Industry, the states largest business organization. She said the governor was wise to take a different path from other states by specifying a small number of sectors that must close, instead of a small number of sectors that may stay open.

I think the way Gov. Brown did the closures actually worked out well, McDonough said. She said the governor consulted with the business community before issuing her stay-home order and listened to its guidance on how employers could operate safely.

Washington and California each made major adjustments to their stay-home policies soon after issuing their orders, confusing businesses and workers. McDonough said Browns approach avoided that.

It was generally cleaner, she said.

It may not have spared Oregon the economic damage other states endured, though. With nearly one in five Oregonians out of a job, and thousands of businesses struggling to cover rent and payroll, McDonough said recovery will be a formidable task.

Precision Castparts, Gunderson and Evraz Steel all scaled back Portland operations amid a steep downturn in demand. Fresh jobless claims data from the Oregon Employment Department show thousands of new layoffs even in white-collar jobs like finance, work that can often be done from home.

Those indicates that the downturn is spreading across the economy and suggests that allowing more to open wont be enough to overcome the economic catastrophe triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.

Now the question is, How do we build out of this? McDonough said.

-- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | twitter: @rogoway |

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A 31-year-old man who received a $500 bond after being arrested for aggravated assault - only to be arrested again weeks later - was ordered held without bail earlier this week.

Timothy Singletons case drew widespread attention after prosecutors protested Singletons first bond to the states highest criminal court. Justices on the Court of Criminal Appeals took the almost-unheard-of action of issuing a new warrant for his arrest with a bond set at $100,000.

Singletons attorneys had argued that the request to the CCA violated Singletons constitutional rights and relied on inapplicable statutes to try to circumvent precedent and established state law.

The action this week to hold him without bond came not from the CCA, but in the court originally assigned to the case.

District Judge Chris Morton, who initially declined to raise Singletons bond  which a magistrate judge had set at $500 -- said Singleton violated the conditions of his pre-trial release.

COURT COVERAGE: Harris County prosecutors violated defendants rights with high court request, defense attorneys say

Besides ordering Singleton held on no bail for violating his pre-trial release conditions, Morton set the defendants bond in the subsequent burglary case at $20,000. In late April, Singleton also was charged with evading arrest.

In an email, public defender Betsy Stukes said Mortons decision means her client will remain incarcerated in Harris County Jail for the duration of his case, potentially exposing him to COVID-19.

The District Attorneys Office seems to have chosen Mr. Singleton out of a list of similarly situated defendants for a reason unknown to me, she said, and the spotlight that they have placed on his case has had a negative impact on the fairness of the process.

Joshua Reiss, the prosecutor who asked the Court of Criminal Appeals to issue a higher bond, said he requested that action because Singletons case was particularly egregious because of his history of violence, a bond that was 99 percent lower than the bond schedule, and the hearing officers extra-judicial animosity-laden comments.

Brent Mayr, who represented Singleton before the CCA, also criticized the decision, saying his client has been denied bond in a case where evidence shows his alleged victim never saw a gun.

Mortons decision sidestepped that issue, he said.

We respectfully disagree with the judges ruling, he said. We are evaluating our options right now in terms what can do to challenge the ruling.

Reiss, however, hailed the recent court action, saying it vindicated his concerns about the defendant.

The Timothy Singleton case is about public safety and the (Kim) Ogg administrations determination to do what is legally appropriate to protect the community, he said.

This story has been updated.
Leaders across party lines expressed grief over the death of 16 migrant workers from Madhya Pradesh in a train accident in Maharashtras Aurangabad district early on Friday.

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray appealed to the migrant workers in the state to not put their lives at risk, assuring them that the government was arranging trains to ferry them to their home states.

In a statement, Thackeray expressed grief over the tragedy and said that the cost of medical treatment of the injured would be borne by his government.

We are in constant touch with the Railway ministry. A train will start from Mumbai, too, soon. I appeal to workers not to put their lives at risk. The shelter camps being operated at the district level will be functional till a single migrant labourer is left in the state. Administration is looking after their stay, food and health services. The labourers will be informed about the trains at their shelters, he said.

His remarks came shortly after 16 workers were crushed to death by a freight train when they were sleeping on railway tracks.

The Maharashtra government has also announced the ex gratia of ~5 lakh each to the families of the deceased from the chief ministers relief fund.

Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar reiterated the CMs assurance. He said that a dialogue with other state departments is on and arrangements will be made soon.

Sharad Pawar, president of the Nationalist Congress Party, said that factory owners and contractors should take the responsibility of the workers. They should at least inform the government, if they are not in position to do so. The state government should constitute flying squads for these workers to ensure their safety, he said in a statement.

Calling it heart wrenching, Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari said, The news of the unfortunate death of the innocent workers, who were sleeping on railway tracks and were run over by a goods train, is heart wrenching.

Opposition leader, and former chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis took to Twitter to express his condolences. Extremely saddened & shocked to know about the #Aurangabad rail accident where migrant labourers lost their lives, he tweeted.

However, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ram Kadam said that the migrant labourers were forced to walk due to the failure of the government to make arrangements for them.

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has also announced a financial assistance of ~5 lakh each to the families of the deceased. I am also in touch with Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to get updates about the treatment and other arrangement being made for them, he said.

(With Agency inputs)
Visakhapatnam: Tension erupted at the LG Polymers plant at Visakhapatnam after hundreds of locals gathered to protest with the bodies of the deceased, demanding the manufacturing plant be shut down immediately on Saturday.

All the 11 bodies were released from the hospital to the families on Saturday.

Some families took the deceased's bodies to the plant at RR Venkatapuram village near Vizag to stage a sit-in protest.

"The situation has now been brought under control," said Rajiv Kumar Meena, the City Police Commissioner.

A styrene vapour leak from the plastics manufacturing plant caused the death of 12 people on Thursday.

Tens of villagers, who were provided shelter in Visakhapatnam after the vapour leak, returned to the village on Saturday morning, raising slogans against the factory management and demanding its closure.

A large police force was present near the factory as DGP DG Sawang was scheduled to visit it.

The police tried to prevent the villagers from going near the plant but the latter ran past the former and staged a sit-in protest near the factory gate.

Police immediately took the protesters into custody and whisked them away.
Five months into the global outbreak, the world is racing against time to prepare a vaccine for coronavirus. Trials are underway in laboratories across the world with several companies and governments doubling their efforts to find a permanent cure for the deadly virus. World leaders and organisations, except the United States, have already pledged $8 billion to research, manufacture and distribute a possible vaccine and treatments for COVID-19 apart from the individual efforts taken by the countries and its pharmaceutical firms. We take a look at what are the major developments of the coronavirus vaccine happening across the globe.

ALSO READ: Coronavirus: Google announces May 22 as company holiday to tackle WFH burnout

United States:

US pharmaceutical major Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech SE said on May 5 that they have already begun delivering doses of their coronavirus vaccine to candidates for initial human testing in USA. Trials have also begun in Germany. On the other hand, Gilead Sciences has developed Remdesivir, a broad-spectrum antiviral medication that is being tested as a specific treatment for COVID-19 infections. The drug has been authorised for emergency use in USA and has been also approved for use in Japan for people with severe symptoms of coronavirus infection. Another pharmaceutical company, Regeneron stated that its 'anti-body' treatment drug could also be available by September. Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and several other biopharmaceutical companies have also ramped-up efforts to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. Johnson & Johnson is working with Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). In March, the company announced it had started pre-clinical testing on multiple candidates in Boston and later revealed that it had selected its lead vaccine candidate, with two back-ups.

China:

The country where the outbreak first took place, has stated that it has received positive results from animal trials of a potential COVID-19 vaccine. Beijing-based Sinovac Biotech is in discussion with regulators in other countries, and the World Health Organization, to launch phase III clinical trials of the vaccine in regions where the novel coronavirus is still spreading rapidly.

ALSO READ: Coronavirus India Live Updates: ICMR to develop COVID-19 vaccine; total cases-59,662

Apart from the vaccine created by Sinovac, Chinese scientists have three other potential COVID-19 vaccines in human trials: one from the Chinese military in collaboration with Tianjin-based CanSino Biologics Inc., and two from state-owned China National Biotec Group. CanSino also has plans to go global with the company submitting an application last month to conduct clinical trials for its vaccine in Canada.

Italy:

Recently, Italian researchers claimed that they have successfully developed a potential vaccine that can contain COVID-19 spread in humans. Luigi Aurisicchio, CEO of Takis, the firm developing the medication, stated that for the first time a coronavirus candidate vaccine developed by them was able to neutralise the virus in human cells. "This is the most advanced stage of testing of a candidate vaccine created in Italy. Human tests are expected after this summer," Aurisicchio was quoted as saying by Italian news agency ANSA.

Tests are being carried out at Rome's Spallanzani Hospital where researchers from the firm Takis successfully managed to generate antibodies in mice and they are hoping that it will work on humans too. A researcher from Takis stated "as far as we know, we are the first in the world so far to demonstrate neutralisation of coronavirus by a vaccine. We expect this to happen in humans too."

Israel:

Defence Minister of Israel, Naftali Bennett declared that the Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) has developed an antibody to neutralise the COVID-19 virus. It can attack the virus within the bodies of the infected and neutralise it.

ALSO READ: Post-COVID, 75% of 4.5 lakh TCS employees to permanently work from home by '25; from 20%

The institute has already started testing the antibody on rodents from last month. Besides, the second research team, MigVax has completed the first phase of developing the COVID-19 vaccine and has secured a $12 million investment to develop the vaccine. However, the defence minister did not specify about conducting any trials on humans as of now.

India:

More than 30 vaccines are in various stages of development in India, scientists informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 5. University of Oxford's vaccine is also being developed with multiple partners including India's Serum Institute of India. The WHO document says out of the 100 projects under pre-clinical stages, Indian companies like Zydus Cadila, Codagenix-Serum Institute of India, Indian Immunologicals with Griffith University, Bharat Biotech in association with Thomas Jefferson University, Biological E Ltd, and the UW Madison-FluGen-Bharat Biotech combine are all working on potential vaccine candidates to cure the coronavirus infection.

United Kingdom:

The government of UK has pledged EUR 388 million to fund vaccine research, tests and treatments. Scientists at the Jenner Institute of Oxford University have stated to have made a potential vaccine for coronavirus. The vaccine is being developed with multiple partners including the Serum Institute of India.

Interferon Beta, a drug developed by biotech company Synairgen has been injected in patients as part of initial trials. Used for treating multiple sclerosis, the results of the Interferon Beta injection will be delivered by June. About 31 active case studies for vaccine development are going on in UK.

ALSO READ: Liquor shops, wine shops reopen today amid lockdown: Check out timings, status, state-wise details
Mount Greylock Names Finalists for Principal Post

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  The Mount Greylock Regional School District on Friday evening announced the two finalists for the position of principal at the middle-high school.

Current Mount Greylock Vice Principal Jake Schutz and Kristen Thompson, an assistant principal at New Mexico's West Mesa High School, were advanced as finalists by the 18-member search committee, which conducted its second round of interviews on Thursday, according to an email to the community from Superintendent Kimberley Grady.

Schutz has been at Mount Greylock for about seven years, including a year he spent on deployment in Afghanistan with the Massachusetts National Guard.

Shortly after his return in 2018, he told iBerkshires.com that his time in the service complemented his role as an administrator at the school.

"I think it gives me a perspective of the strict side," he said. "But my background is in special education, so I think I have the complete opposite perspective as well  realizing that everyone's unique.  Sometimes you do need to be strict, and other times you don't, you need to be more lenient."

Thompson hails from West Mesa High, a 9-12 senior high school with an enrollment of 1,660 in the Albuquerque Public Schools District.

"The dedicated members of this committee participated in a long process so that we can have another great leader for MGRS," Grady wrote in her email. "I want to thank the committee for their time, rich discussions and passion for MGRS. Although Zoom isn't how we have ever had to interviews, this process went smoothly and allowed us to keep moving forward."

Grady and the district's human resources specialist served on the search committee but recused themselves from the vote on the finalists.

Grady said in her email that she hoped to have an announcement about the successor to Mary MacDonald in the next two weeks.
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In most cases, if a domain is moved between accounts at a single registrar, the transfer is quick and usually completes within 48 hours. If a domain changes registrars (in other words, you would like to move it away from where it is currently registered), the transfer is slower. The total transfer time can then be anywhere from 48 hours to 7 days.

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Sandra Bullock made an emotional appearance on Jada Pinkett Smiths Red Table Talk alongside her daughter, as they surprised a nurse working on the front line of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Oscar-winning actress was joined by eight-year-old Laila for a special episode of the Facebook Watch series to mark Mothers Day in the US.

The Bullocks and Pinkett Smith, her mother Adrienne Banfield Norris, and her daughter, Willow, surprised nursing manager April Buencamino, who is overseeing a Covid-19 unit in Los Angeles.

Last month Bullock donated 6,000 medical masks to her hospital.

Bullock, appearing via video feed from her kitchen at home, told Ms Buencamino: April, thank you. Im going to try to say this without crying, thank you for everything that youre doing because we get to sit here and be home with our families because you are out there doing the hard, hard, hard work,

She added: There is not a dinner and a grace that goes by without us sending you the love and the appreciation and the gratitude that we as a family have because we are safe. I thank you so much.

Bullock adopted Laila as a three-year-old from Louisiana in 2015.

There is not a dinner and a grace that goes by without us sending you the love and the appreciation and the gratitude that we as a family have Sandra Bullock

It was a rare public appearance for the little girl, with Bullock, also mother to son Louis, famously private.

The actress described Laila as our world superhero and told Ms Buencamino shes ready to join you out there, April, in a few years.

Video of the Day

The episode of Red Table Talk ended with a 50,000 dollar (40,300) donation to the nurses hospital.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale North, Alhassan Suhuyini, has defended the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Flagbearer, John Mahamas recent criticism of the government of doing little amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government has cautioned against politicising the pandemic with the Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, saying the country risks losing focus in the fight against COVID-19 if the growing politicisation of the pandemic was not stopped.

But on The Big Issue, Mr. Suhuyini said Mr. Mahamas remarks during a Facebook live session last week were based on facts.

He also said Mr. Mahama was also only requesting for clarity from the state with regards to the management of the novel Coronavirus pandemic.

Former President Mahama when he recently engaged the people of Ghana through the virtual means spoke of facts. He declared his commitment to [helping the government] post-COVID-19 and even indicated the means.

You hear people who will say don't politicise this matter only when you seek clarity from government I think that people must not use this COVID to gag citizens, he said.

Mr Suhuyini also said the praise that has been meted out to the government should mean it should also be open to criticisms.

If there is nothing wrong with praises, there should be nothing wrong with criticising others can feel free to praise, others should also feel free to criticise. If you want to say criticising amounts to politicking, then what would you say of praising?

The MP further defended Mr. Mahamas comments on the rising expenditure of the state despite the economic slowdown.

He [Mahama] talked about the expenditure that is still skyrocketing even at a time that many people are cutting down. Even at a time that many people are cutting down, our government expenditure is still rising. The elephant-sized government is not showing any sign of going down. He talked about that. Is that not a fact?

He didn't even blame them [the government]. He just spoke of facts, Mr. Suhuyini concluded.

---citinewsroom
More lives could be saved in intensive care units around the world if new antibiotic guidelines designed by The University of Queensland are adopted.

Researchers have launched universal Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) guidelines to optimize the concentrations of antibiotic and antifungal medications given to severely ill patients in hospital.

UQ Centre for Clinical Research Professor Jason Roberts said the guidelines could speed up recovery times or even save a critically ill patient from dying.

There's significant variation around the world on how to treat serious infections, and sometimes it's a bit of a guessing game. All patients in ICU are currently treated with similar antibiotics and doses, but the lack of personalization can make a patient sicker and may even cause death. Overuse or underuse of antibiotics can enable resistance of bacteria in the patient which limits the drug's effectiveness." Professor Jason Roberts, UQ Centre for Clinical Research

UQ CCR Pharmacist Dr. Hafiz Abdul-Aziz worked with a team of experts to analyze data from 400 ICU patients and found one-third experienced adverse outcomes because their antibiotic therapy wasn't optimized to their needs.

"We found a patient's response to the antibiotic improved significantly if the dosage was monitored and altered accordingly," Dr Abdul-Aziz said.

The innovative guidelines were developed by 16 antibiotic experts from 11 different countries and recommended the use of advanced software to predict accurate drug dosages and generate personalized treatment regimens.

Dr. Abdul-Aziz said more than 160,000 Australians required specialized care in ICU and 13 per cent of these patients died each year.

ICU patients requiring antibiotics commonly suffer vital organ failure from sepsis, pneumonia or infections from burns.

Dr. Abdul-Aziz said monitoring equipment and training needed to be rolled-out before routine TDM can be adopted as the worldwide standard-of-care.
A former trucker is the main suspect of three murders nearly 30 years ago. The three women were killed in Wyoming and Tennessee in the early 90s and the former long-haul trucker made his first court appearance on May 7, where he waived extradition.

Serial killer finally caught

The suspect, Clark Perry Baldwin, told the court that an Iowa investigator spoke with him after his arrest and asked about a local case. According to the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa investigators have told the public that they are assisting detectives from Wyoming and Tennessee, the two states that issued warrants for the suspect's arrest.

The 58-year-old suspect was arrested at his home in Waterloo on May 6. The authorities from Tennessee have charged Baldwin with the death of Pamela Rose Aldridge McCall from Topping, Virginia. She was killed in 1991, as well as her unborn child in Spring Hill. The officials in Wyoming charged him with two unidentified women found dead in the state in 1992.

The district attorney of Tennessee's 22nd Judicial District, Brent Cooper, said in a news release that the body of McCall was found on March 10, 1991, with torn clothing, undergarments and injuries on the face and neck. Witness statements and evidence indicated that she may have been traveling with a trucker.

An autopsy of her body revealed that she died of strangulation and she was 24 weeks pregnant at the time of her death. According to the Courier, she was last seen at a Tennessee truck stop a few days before she was found dead, and sperm was recovered from the pantyhose that she was wearing.

The two women from Wyoming were found 400 miles apart. The first body was found by a female trucker in March 1992 near the Bitter Creek Truck turnout on Interstate 80 in the southwestern part of the state. An autopsy showed the woman suffered trauma consistent with strangulation. According to the coroner, her body had been in the snow for weeks and police were not able to identify her, and she became known as "Bitter Creek Betty."

Also Read: Grave Digger Accidentally Buried Alive in New Jersey Cemetery

The second murder victim was found by Department of Transportation workers in a ditch off Interstate 90 in norhtern Wyoming, near Sheridan. The body of the victim was partially mummified and an autopsy found that she had an injury that could have been caused by a massive blow to the head but the cause of her death is still not determined. The victim later became known as "I-90 Jane Doe."

Matt Waldock, the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation Cmdr. said that both victims were believed to be in their late teens or early-20s and I-90 Jane Doe was also pregnant when she was murdered.

The verdict

All the evidence gathered led to Balwin, according to Cooper, beginning in April 2019 when Spring Hill police contacted his investigators and asked for assistance in reopening the investigation into the death of McCall. The DNA recovered from McCall's clothing was submitted for analysis and matched the two killings in Wyoming.

Investigators were able to narrow the suspect list to Baldwin by using genealogical DNA tracking. According to KCCI, the FBI agents collected DNA from Baldwin's trash in April and they found that it matched the material that they collected from the three crime scenes.

Cooper stated that Baldwin will face two murder charges in Spring Hill, which are for McCall and her unborn fetus, and he will also be taken to Wyoming to stand trial for the murders.

Related Article: Father Tosses 1-year-old Daughter from Cliff, Stabs Bystander Who Tried to Help

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El Paso County is able to test 1,100 residents for coronavirus daily, enough to safely reopen businesses and other public places, but it is not hitting that threshold, public health officials said.

While the capability is there, fewer tests are being performed possibly because not many residents have coronavirus symptoms, some are deterred by the cost if they have to pay and residents have been told that only certain people, such as those who are severely ill, would be tested, said Dr. Robin Johnson, medical director for El Paso County Public Health.

Drive-up testing sites, hospitals, military bases and primary care providers are all contributing to the county's capacity for testing that meets the rate recommended by Harvard University.

Providing the testing capacity requires trained staff, sufficient personal protective equipment for the testers, testing materials, ability to safely transport virus samples and contracts with labs, Johnson said.

Coronavirus testing has been among the most contentious health and political issues since the virus was detected in the United States. The Trump administration has come under withering criticism for not moving quickly to provide sufficient testing kits early on.

Nationwide, and in Colorado, there have been long delays for processing tests that slowed efforts to identify those with COVID-19. Some El Paso County residents who sought testing in early March were diagnosed and treated for COVID-19 before their test results could be processed.

Now, health officials are encouraging all those experiencing even mild coronavirus symptoms, such as a cough, fever and sore throat to get tested, Johnson said. The average turnaround time for test results is about 24 hours, which allows public health officials to quickly advise those who test positive for COVID-19 to self isolate and keep the spread of the disease low, she said.

"We have this low baseline hum of positive tests that are turning up and we want to make sure that doesnt increase in volume," she said.

About 20 residents are testing positive for COVID-19 per day in the county, which is "remarkable," according to Johnson, given the exponential growth the county saw in March and early April. Preliminary data shows about 11,780 residents total had been tested for COVID-19 through Monday, she said. However, more data is still coming in and she expects the total number of people tested in the county to be closer to 15,000, she said. As of Friday, 1,110 residents had tested positive for the illness, county data shows.

The number of people getting tested each day is difficult for El Paso County Public Health to track because not all the labs that process test results report the numbers daily, she said. Instead, some are only reporting weekly.

"That variability makes it hard for us to go day by day," she said.

This week, health officials started seeing residents who test positive for the virus having contact with an increasing number of people, which increases the potential for spreading the disease, Johnson said. Officials started noticing the trend on Monday and suspect it coincides with the end of the statewide stay-at-home order, she said. The incubation period for COVID-19 is typically two to 14 days, so the delay would be expected, she said.

To prepare for a spike in cases, public health officials are working with testing providers to maintain testing capacity so that it will be available in the coming weeks and can help identify and stop outbreaks, Johnson said.

Testing providers in El Paso County are not testing asymptomatic residents at this time, except ahead of some medical procedures, Johnson said. However, testing asymptomatic residents could be helpful in controlling the spread of coronavirus in facilities where residents live close together, such as jails, homeless shelters and nursing homes, and could help inform who needs to be isolated, she said. However, in order to be effective, asymptomatic patients in those settings would need to be tested every three days to ensure they don't become positive over time, she said.

"We are absolutely willing to discuss that with nursing homes," she said.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas says Europe must acknowledge that it wasn't well-prepared for the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement marking Europe Day, Maas said that initially most countries, including Germany, were focused on coping with the outbreak at home.

While defending the national response as necessary, in order to safeguard our ability to act and then also help other, Maas said the European Union had grown in the crisis. The EU's sluggish response has given way to cross-border medical aid, a massive financial support package and coordinated scientific research programs.

Maas called the solidarity provided by EU member states unique in the world, adding that Germany wants the bloc to emerge from the crisis stronger. Berlin takes over the six-month rotating presidency of the 27-nation EU on July 1.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
WUHAN, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese surgeons are celebrating a breakthrough in the treatment of heart diseases that reduces symptoms and slows the progression of heart failure by implanting a new type of atrial shunt device in a patient.

A medical team of surgeons at Wuhan Union Hospital, in central China's Hubei Province, inserted a shunt device they developed into the heart of a 68-year-old woman patient in late April. She was discharged from hospital on May 5 as her heart's condition improved.

Heart failure does not mean the organ stops beating. It occurs when your heart muscles become stiff and are unable to relax normally. As a result, the pressure inside your left atrium, a key part of the heart, and lungs increases. Patients with this problem can have an atrial shunt implanted, which can reduce the atrial pressure, slow the progression of heart failure and improve survival rate.

The aforementioned patient suffered from this disease for many years. Despite having a cardiovascular surgery seven years ago, she suffered from fatigue, weight loss, tight chest and shortness of breath, according to a hospital statement.

"The drugs were ineffective, and a heart transplant was not suitable for her as her left atrial expanded. This increased the size of her heart, which severely squeezed her other organs," said Dong Nianguo, a leading Chinese heart surgeon and head of the medical team.

The atrial shunt device, which Dong's team developed, was approved for clinical trials. "That's the only option," Dong said. With the patient's consent, the device was implanted and deployed by Dong via a minimally invasive surgery on April 30.

The shunt, roughly the size of a coin, is a disk made of wire mesh with a central hole. "It looks like a super tiny UFO," explained Dong. He named the device "D-shant," with the letter "D" representing the initial of his last name, and "shant" being the slang for a drink in Britain.

"I hope the device can give my patients joy, just like when you drink good wine," Dong told Xinhua.

PROMISING CURE

According to Dong, the device was developed since 2016 and obtained several patents at home and abroad. Experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and National Heart Center in Singapore also contributed to the creation.

Compared with other shunt devices already in clinical trials overseas, the Chinese product is recyclable and can be removed via surgery at any time if it were found dysfunctional in patients, Dong noted.

The device alone is priced around 10,000 yuan (about 1,428 U.S. dollars) and the whole surgery costs nearly 20,000 yuan.

There are about 10 million patients with heart failure in China. The mortality rate is high, with approximately 50 percent of the patients dying within five years of diagnosis.

According to Dong, for patients who are in the later stages of heart failure, drugs have little effect and heart transplants are the only solution. Organ transplants, however, are limited due to the lack of donors.

"Every year, only about 500 heart transplants are performed in China each year, while about 800,000 patients need organ donation. Many have died while waiting," said Dong, who performs more than 100 heart transplants annually. "The atrial shunt is a very promising cure to prolong patients' lives and buys them more time to wait for a heart transplant."
All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Director, Dr Randeep Guleria on Saturday met doctors at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital to give them advice on Covid-19 treatment.

Guleria and Dr Manish Sureja had left for Ahmedabad by a special Indian Air Force (IAF) flight on May 8 as per instructions issued by Union Home Minister Amit Shah to visit Civil Hospital and SVP hospital in Gujarat and to give expert advice to doctors on Covid-19 treatment.

According to the Union Health Ministry, Gujarat is the second most affected state due to Covid-19 after Maharashtra with 7,402 Covid-19 cases and 449 deaths so far.
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 has been struck and killed by a Boeing 737 after he walked along an airport runway. The unidentified victim  believed to be a trespasser  died after being hit by the Southwest plane as it landed at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas on Thursday evening. CBS News reported that the planes pilot saw the man before hitting him, and tried to maneuver the jet out of the way, but was unable to do so. An airport driver found the mans remains on the runway shortly afterwards. Medical help was summoned, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

A photo of the plane involved shows a huge dent on its cowling (engine housing) believed to have been caused by the moment of impact. The runway where the man was struck was closed for further investigation, with Austin-Bergstroms second runway remaining open. No-one on the affected plane, which had come from Dallas, was injured, with all on board disembarking shortly afterwards.



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In Italy, Masses, weddings, funerals and baptisms are set to resume in Italy on 18 May, with the provision that those attending abide by a strict set of social distancing and sanitation measures.

By Vatican News

After two months of live-streamed Masses and private prayer at home, the faithful in Italy will once again be able to attend religious ceremonies in churches around the country.

The news came on Thursday, 7 May with the signing of a Protocol, by Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, President of the Italian Bishops Conference, and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, and the Minister of the Interior, Luciana Lamorghese.

The protocol outlines rules and regulations that must be followed in order to ensure minimal risk of contagion of the coronavirus.

All religious ceremonies  Masses, baptisms, weddings and funerals  were either cancelled or closed to the public in early March when the government imposed a nationwide lockdown to help curb the spread of Covid-19, a virus that has now killed almost 30,000 people in Italy alone.

As Italy enters phase 2 of its coronavirus lockdown, the government is working together with the Italian Bishops to prudently ensure that the faithful can attend ceremonies in churches again.

Cardinal Bassetti, reiterated the Church's commitment to overcoming the current crisis by saying "the Protocol is the result of profound collaboration and synergy between the Government and the Italian Bishops Conference, where everyone has played their part responsibly.

The protocol outlines that the faithful must wear facemasks, and must respect the 1m safety distance between each other.

All rooms and objects used will be sanitised at the end of each ceremony, and the sign of peace will be omitted.

For the rites of Communion, the celebrant is required to sanitize his hands and must use gloves and a mask.

These measures, said Prime Minister Conte, express the most appropriate ways to ensure that the resumption of liturgical celebrations with the people takes place in the safest way possible.
- Kapamilya star Kim Chiu has recently gone viral on social media after her video from the Laban, Kapamilya online rally event was posted

- In the video, the actress discussed complying with the law and even gave a 'classroom set up' scenario in the video

- Her 'classroom quote' immediately trended and prompted netizens to make memes out of it

- The actress eventually spoke up about the said quote on her social media account

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Kapamilya star Kim Chiu has recently trended on social media after she participated in the online rally event Laban, Kapamilya yesterday, May 8.

KAMI learned that during the online rally event, a snippet from her interview where she talked about compliance with the law went viral on social media.

In the Laban, Kapamilya event, the actress gave a 'classroom set up scenario' with regards to the law.

Watch the video below:

According to Kim, "Sa classroom may batas. Bawal lumabas, oh bawal lumabas. Pero pag sinabing pag nag-comply ka na bawal na lumabas.

"Pero may ginawa ka sa pinagbabawal nila, inayos mo yung law ng classroom niyo at sinubmit mo ulit ay pwede na pala ikaw lumabas."

The viral video eventually prompted various netizens to make memes off of the video and the actress's statement.

Following this news, the Love Thy Woman actress has recently spoken up about the issue on her social media account.

In her tweet, Kim wrote, "Hahaha nagising ako na trending na pala ako! Okay po. Hahah natawa nalang ako sa sinabi kong about classroom. Nadala lang ng emosyon. Sensya na."

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As reported earlier by KAMI, ABS-CBN was given a 'cease and desist' order by the NTC earlier this week. Kapamilya star Kim Chiu has recently joined the online rally event "Laban, Kapamilya" yesterday, May 8. During the live video, the actress shared her thoughts about her home network going off the air.

Kim Chiu is one of the most well-known actresses in the Philippines. She broke through in showbiz by joining Pinoy Big Brother. The Kapamilya star is in a relationship with actor Xian Lim. Her former boyfriend is Gerald Anderson.

POPULAR: Read more news about Kim Chiu

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An OFW in Dubai narrates how he ended up bedridden in a critical condition due to COVID-19. At some point, Ruffy Niedo felt he wouldn't make it. Now he shares his story with us. Check out all of the exciting videos and celebrity interviews on our KAMI HumanMeter YouTube channel !

Source: KAMI.com.gh
Venezuela's Attorney General has claimed that the two former U.S. soldiers arrested on Monday for their role in a failed bid to topple President Nicolas Maduro are being treated well in custody as the Americans made their first court appearance.

'It should be remembered how the prisoners at the Guantanamo base, kidnapped by the US Army, were treated: without trial or legal representation for years,' Tarek William Saab Saab said in a press conference Friday as he announced that the Americans had been charged with terrorism and conspiracy.

Luke Denman, 34, and Airan Berry, 41, were seen in video of their court appearance Friday wearing orange jumpsuits and face masks to protect against coronavirus as Maduro's presidential translator told them they were accused of 'crimes against democratic order and sovereignty of the Venezuelan state'.

Venezuelan Attorney General said they could face between 25 and 30 years in prison if found guilty on charges of 'terrorism, conspiracy, illicit trafficking of weapons of war and (criminal) association'.

He reiterated claims that the U.S. government was involved, adding that the Venezuelans arrested, who also appeared in court Friday, would be tried for 'conspiracy with a foreign government'.

Former U.S. soldiers Luke Denman (left) and Airan Berry (right) are pictured in their first court appearance Friday for their alleged role in the failed attempt to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. They were charged with 'crimes against democratic order and sovereignty of the Venezuelan state' and face up to 25-30 years in prison if found guilty

Airan Berry, 41, and Luke Denman, 34, were arrested on Monday for allegedly taking part in a failed coup of Venezuela. They faced their first court appearance on Friday

RUSSIAN TROOPS USING DRONES TO TRACK DOWN MEMBERS OF FAILED VENEZUELAN COUP Russian soldiers are operating drones over Venezuela as part of a search operation for members of a paramilitary force that led a botched invasion this week, according to Reuters. Local media first reported the story on Friday, citing deleted tweets from a state military command center. At least eight Russian special forces members will be 'operating drones to run search and patrol operations' near La Guaira, the coastal state just north of Caracas, Venezuela's capital, according to a report from local news outlet El Nacional. It posted a screenshot of a tweet it said was later deleted on Thursday from the profile of the military command, known as ZODI La Guaira. An aircraft arrived at the country's international airport on Thursday that would join the search mission, ZODI La Guaira wrote in a separate tweet, posting a photo of a helicopter. El Nacional said that tweet was also later deleted. The aircraft's origin and why the tweets were deleted was not immediately evident. The information ministry did not immediately reply to a request for clarification, Reuters said. They later tweeted that there was no interference of the Russian military in Venezuela. Advertisement

'We demand an end to the aggressions from Colombia and the United States, that they stop being a den of murderers and corrupt Venezuelans and that they hand them over to the Venezuelan justice so that they can be prosecuted for the crimes committed,' Saab said.

It came as he also ordered the arrest of a former US soldier and two opposition figures living in the US for their alleged role in a botched operation aimed at removing Nicolas Maduro from power.

Saab said Venezuela had requested arrest warrants - as well as inclusion in the Interpol system - for the capture of former US army medic Jordan Goudreau, who allegedly organized and trained the mercenary force.

US law enforcement is investigating Goudreau, though it remains unclear if he will charged.

Arrest warrants were also requested for Juan Jose Rendon and Sergio Vergara, two US-based advisers to Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido.

'They are living in impunity,' Saab said. 'In tranquility over there.'

He also attempted to highlight that the American's human rights were being respected while being detained. He mentioned a CNN interview from Luke Denman's brother Mark in which he said, 'I am happy to see that he is being treated humanely and that, apparently, the standards established by international organizations are being followed'.

Detainee Airan Berry had been questioned about how he had been treated since his arrest during an edited interrogation broadcast on Venezuelan state TV on Thursday.

When asked about whether his human rights had been respected, Berry replied 'Yes, as far as I've experienced, yes.'

The former Green Beret appears to quickly look up as he speaks, however, a tactic a former Navy Seal said is used by special forces to transfer a secret message that they are speaking under duress.

Venezuelan Defense minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez announced Friday that two more individuals who allegedly participated in a failed plot were arrested as news emerged that Russian soldiers are operating drones over Venezuela as part of a search operation, Reuters reported.

Local media reported on Friday, citing deleted tweets from a state military command center, that at least eight Russian special forces members will be 'operating drones to run search and patrol operations' near La Guaira, the coastal state just north of Caracas, Venezuela's capital.

Announcing the arrests Friday, Saab said that opposition leader Guaido was behind the mission. Guiado has beeen backed in his challenge to Maduro's authority by the US and more than 50 other countries.

Saab accused Guaido of signing a $212 million contract with 'hired mercenaries' using funds seized by the US from the state oil company PDVSA.

Rendon, an advisor to Guaido, said in an interview with CNN that he had signed a contract with Silvercorp USA, a private security firm founded by Goudreau.

The Iraq and Afghanistan veteran admitted the existence of the operation in a video and claimed Silvercorp was contracted by Venezuela's opposition.

In the video, Goudreau showed what he claimed was a contract signed by Guaido, whose press team denied the allegation.

He also told The Washington Post that he hired Denman and Berry as 'supervisors' and had known them for years.

Rendon told CNN the contract was 'exploratory' and that no green light was given to an operation in Venezuela. He also denied Guaido was involved.

Venezuela has issued an arrest warrant for former Green Beret Jordan Goudreau (pictured center) who claimed responsibility for a failed operation to overthrow President Maduro

In a video sent to the press by his team on Friday night, Guaido accused the Maduro government of seeking 'new excuses' to stop him.

'I tell you something very clear, Maduro: If you are so brave, go ahead,' he said.

Despite the Venezuela regime's accusations against Guaido, he has not been charged with anything.

Denman and Berry were among 17 people captured by the Venezuelan military, which said it had thwarted an attempted invasion by mercenaries in the early hours of Sunday.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US government would 'use every tool that we have available to try to get them back.'

Eight attackers were reportedly killed in the incident.

Maduro has accused President Donald Trump of being behind the alleged invasion but Trump has roundly rejected the accusation, telling Fox News on Friday: 'If I wanted to go into Venezuela I wouldn't make a secret about it.

'I'd go in and they would do nothing about it. They would roll over. I wouldn't send a small little group. No, no, no. It would be called an army,' he said. 'It would be called an invasion.'
People appear to be traveling at night to the Wicklow Uplands to dump in some of the most scenic locations in the county.

There has been a notable increase in illegal dumping and fly tipping since 2km travel restrictions were introduced due to Covid-19.

CCTV has been set up at a number of locations where dumping consistently takes place in order to try and catch the perpetrators,

Ian Davis of the Pure environmental project says similar problems are being experienced throughout the country.

'It's not just a Wicklow issue. Various local authorities from throughout Ireland have been reporting similar increases. We put a lot of cameras up at some big sites this week and removed all the rubbish as soon as possible.

'It's important to remove the rubbish quickly otherwise it attracts further dumping. There would have been dumping at some of the sites before but there are a few sites where we wouldn't have seen dumping before.

'It's just people being lazy. Unauthorised waste collectors are still out there as well. It's mainly domestic waste and black bags full of rubbish, but we have also come across house renovations materials like windows, doors floor boards and mattresses.'

On Thursday alone Ian responded to reports of five different dumping sites within the Wicklow Uplands. It seems most of the offenders are carrying out the dumping at night when there is less chance of encountering any Covid-19 Garda checkpoints.

'I think a lot of it is happening at night. It's quite difficult to get up to some of the sites because they are so remote so those responsible certainly aren't sticking to the 2km travel restrictions,' said Ian.

Last year ten dumping incidents were captured on CCTV, including faces and vehicle registrations. Ian is hopeful that successful prosecutions through the courts will put off other would-be offenders.

'We had some sites monitored last year. We have passed on the information and hope that these cases proceed to prosecution which will help deter others from illegal dumping.'

Meanwhile, Pure Mile volunteers have still been out and about tidying up and collecting rubbish in their locality.

Ian said: 'Obviously people can't gather in groups but individuals and families have been going out on litter picks. We collected 150 bags from Pure Mile volunteers this week, which is very positive. The success of this environmental community project clearly demonstrates that people do care about the environment, and, that people want to make a difference to improve and enhance the environment.'
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Linkedin Jose Ramos-Horta (The Jakarta Post) Dili  Sat, May 9, 2020 15:28 620 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd6ef83c 3 Opinion pandemic,COVID-19,Europe,united-states,economic-inequality Free

I have read the bloggers who say that the silver lining in COVID-19 is that we are realizing that we are all part of one family.

Sure, we are a human family, and some are the rich relations. And the richer relatives probably rarely speak of, much less to, the homeless cousins in Los Angeles, in the banlieus of Paris, the brown ones, Asians and Latinos. If you are one of the few Asian super rich, you are reminded of the miserable existence of your outcast relations when you look down from your penthouse.

Much too late into the COVID-19 pandemic the US administration and Congress finally mobilized trillions of dollars to address the extreme social upheaval and economic meltdown. And sadly, there was not one word about sharing some of that staggering amount with its humbler neighbors and others across the globe.

Instead, the current US administration has proposed massive cuts in Overseas Development Aid and frozen vital funds to the United Nations and the very institution - the World Health Organization - most of us are dependent on to help contain the pandemic. This mobilization of money was all about America first and America last.

The European Union though usually slower to move on any issue did mobilize nearly one trillion dollars to salvage its citizens and economy. Again, there was no mention of sharing a meaningful portion of it with Europe's neighbors.

I understand the difficulty of having to stay inside when one is used to moving. For many it has been nerve wracking, not being able to find toilet paper or flour to bake bread with their newly found time. According to the World Food Program (WFP), 135 million people in our world face crisis levels of hunger. Now as economies are collapsing due to this global COVID-19, exacerbated by regional conflicts fueled by Western and Russian arms producers, an additional 130 million people are on the edge of starvation leading us into what the WFP executive director has called famines of biblical proportion.

We have an opportunity to come out of this disaster of unprecedented magnitude with new priorities and a plan of action to rebuild our countries and societies.

If there is an overriding lesson from COVID-19, it is that with families and nations alike, the health of the unit is only as strong as its weakest link. The other lesson is that no walls are high and thick enough to prevent millions of desperately poor to march towards the affluent North, the US or Europe.

We have seen how the wretched of the world, the unwanted, will continue to venture through the unforgiving deserts of North Africa, defy storms and die on Mediterranean beaches. The strongest and luckiest ones having survived unscrupulous human traffickers and the unforgiving wrath of nature, exhausted and hungry, camp at the gates of Europe.

Across the world, we have all had agonized moments when we have come face to face with the prospect of our own mortality and our fragility.

There is an approach that has worked in the past and could work again. After World War II, up to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the wealthy faced another threat to their security, the rise of totalitarianism in the West. There were, at two different times, two different strategies to address this threat. One proved to be a dismal failure. The other a resounding success.

One strategy was to fight the rise of communism at the doorstep of the wealthy included the establishment and funding of the Contras  the US-armed and trained mercenaries in Central America to fight new generations of romantic youth inspired by El Che and Fidel, with funding and arms from the Soviet Union. In a proxy battleground, both sides trained youth and sent them to kill.

When the Cold War ended, the US and Soviet military advisers went home, with no thought to repairing

or rebuilding the debacle they had helped to create, leaving behind a cache of weapons, and culture of violence as their legacy. Those trained in murder and torture became useful assets for drug lords.

The other challenge was to address the threat of totalitarianism in post-World War II Europe. In 1948, the US enacted the Marshall Plan sustained by 5 percent of the US GDP to finance the rebuilding of Europe. When one looks at the Europe that emerged, and the vibrant markets for US goods that were created in the process, it was clearly a resounding success.

One program answered a threat with fear, violence, and death. The other rebuilt the health of the nations and fostered freedom and strong democratic institutions and traditions.

If we are truly one family, I issue a challenge to my wealthier cousins to nourish the health of the entire family, lift the survival potential of all with a modern-day Marshall Plan not for one single region but for all regions. This would require the combined leadership of the G7 + G20 countries. In addition, I propose that we solicit the active engagement of the 1,000 biggest banks in the world, 1,000 biggest companies, 1,000 richest men and women, 1,000 richest Foundations, 1,000 universities, and 1,000 richest churches to invest in the green and blue economy, sustainable agriculture, clean water, education and health, modern clinics and hospitals, science and medical research institutes, create meaningful jobs in every country in the world.

For starters, I plead:

That the US lifts all sanctions on Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, and North Korea to kick start these economies severely damaged by COVID-19 and the global economic meltdown, not of their making.

That the worlds financial institutions, creditors nations, and commercial banks write off the entire debt of all least developed countries and of the so-called highly indebted countries. Relieved from the debt burden, countries should invest more in infrastructure, education, and health, employment creation, fostering of small business and agriculture, green energy, and blue economy.

Freeze all weapons exports to all developing countries, for the next 10 years. Remember the slaughter of human beings that you enable with your weapons sales.

A worldwide mandatory end of torture and a 10-year moratorium on the death penalty. We are promising to start anew after this global pandemic, arent we? This is the least we should do to show our humanity.

Last but not least, move further on the Paris Agreement, set a more ambitious 0.5 degree Celsius temperature increase instead of the ridiculous 2-1.5 degree.

Some will say I am naive, that I am proposing the undoable. To them, I will say: Please spare me your old platitudes of realism and pragmatism. They brought us this mess. The luxury of reflection on our connectedness is only of value if it is followed by a plan of action to lift the state of our connected world in tangible ways.

Anything less will continue to leave us all blindsided, while the economies of the West are buoyed by weapons sales and the death of innocent women and children on the other side of this world we share.

***

Nobel Peace Prize co-laureate and former prime minister (2006-2007) and president (2007-2012) of Timor Leste. The article was published in Wallstreet International Magazine.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
Five special trains will start journey from three states on Saturday to bring back 5,000 stranded Odia people, a day after the Supreme Court allowed the return of migrants to Odisha, officials said here.

The Supreme Court on Friday stayed an interim order of the Orissa High Court which had asked the state government to ensure that only those tested negative for COVID-19 were allowed to return to Odisha.

Three trains will come from Gujarat and one each from Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, the officials said, adding that about 5,000 people will return to Odisha by these five trains.

A senior East Coast Railways official said one of the five trains has already left from Surat for Odisha's Ganjam district.

Two trains will leave from Ahmedabad in Gujarat for Khurda Road in Odisha, one train from Panvel station in Mumbai will start the journey to Odisha's Titlagarh in Bolangir district and another will leave from Chennai for Jagannathpur in Ganjam district, the official said.

Meanwhile, Odisha Commerce and Transport Minister Padmanav Behera said special trains carrying Odia workers from Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat will arrive in the state in different phases.

"As the Odisha government has told different states not to allow the migrant workers to travel in buses in view of series of road mishaps, arrangements have been made for their return by trains," Behera said.

The minister said the state government was in touch with different states and the railways.

He said arrangements are being made to ensure the safe return of the migrant workers.

"Social distancing is possible only if people travel by train," he said.

Behera, however, said that some people in individual or small groups stranded in different places may be allowed to return by bus or other vehicles.

"Some people, who have gone on pilgrimage or for treatment to other states and are stranded, may be given special permission to return to Odisha by buses by maintaining social distancing," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ten additional people have been charged in connection to the shooting of a New Jersey state trooper on April 25 in Pittsgrove.

The 10 people were allegedly part of a caravan that pulled up to the investigation of a mobile home invasion, leading to the shooting of the state trooper, Detective Richard Hershey, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal and New Jersey State Police Superintendent Colonel Patrick J. Callahan announced in a joint release Friday.

Charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and rioting were brought against Ashley Diaz-Acevedo, 22, of Bridgeton; Melissa Romero, 22, of Bridgeton; Noel Lazu, 20, of Bridgeton; Markese Rogers, 25, of Pittsgrove; Aisha McArthur, 25, of Vineland; Rovell L. McArthur Jr., 26, of Vineland; Jenislen Quiles, 19, of Bridgeton; Shakeem Waters, 31, of Bridgeton; Thomas Nieves III, 30, of Bridgeton; and Chayana Diaz, 22, of Bridgeton.

Nine of the suspects were arrested on Friday, but there is still an arrest warrant out for Waters.

The members of this lawless caravan were armed and bent on violence when they arrived late at night at the mobile home park, and when Detective Hershey prevented them from attacking their intended victim, at least three caravan members allegedly opened fired on him from their vehicles, Grewal said in the release. The courage of this trooper was met with a cowardly ambush. We promised at the outset of this investigation to charge all of those responsible, and we are fulfilling that promise. We wont tolerate mob violence and we certainly wont tolerate an attempt to murder a police officer.

Najzeir Naz Hutchings, 21, of Bridgeton, was also allegedly part of the caravan, and was previously charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer after police said he opened fire and wounded Hershey in the upper leg. Hershey was taken to Cooper University Hospital in Camden for surgery.

Hutchings was also charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, unlawful possession of a weapon, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. Two other men allegedly carrying guns, Kareen Kai Warner Jr., 19, and Colby Opperman, 18, both of Bridgeton, were previously charged with a single count of second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon.

Hershey was investigating a home invasion robbery that occurred in the Harding Woods mobile home park on Harding Highway in Pittsgrove.

Five women were previously charged in connection to the home break in: Jazmin Valentin, 32, of Bridgeton; Yomari Lazu, 43, of Bridgeton; Iramari Lazu, 22, of Bridgeton; Maria Betancourt, 39, of Vineland; and Mayra Roblero, 52, of Bridgeton.

The women allegedly forcibly entered the residence before assaulting a woman and stealing her iPhone. The victim suffered a broken rib and lacerated lung.

The five women are all facing three second-degree charges of aggravated assault, robbery, and conspiracy to commit robbery. They were all also charged with two third-degree offenses of burglary and conspiracy to commit burglary.

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Chris Ryan may be reached at cryan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisRyan_NJ.
There are over 70 million people worldwide who have been driven from their homes by war and unrest, up to 10 million are packed into refugee camps and informal settlements, and almost none have been tested for the coronavirus.

While the relative isolation of many camps may have slowed the virus' spread, none is hermetically sealed. Without testing, as the world has seen repeatedly, the virus can spread unchecked until people start showing symptoms. That could have catastrophic results among the world's refugees: There will be few if any intensive care beds or ventilators for them. There might not even be gloves or masks.

Testing is in short supply even in New York and Norway, but it is nonexistent in most of the countries in the (global) south for the people we try to help, Jan Egeland, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, told The Associated Press.

His group recently conducted a review of all 30 countries where it operates and found virtually no testing before people became sick.

Refugees have already tested positive in Italy, Germany, Iran, Australia and Greece, where authorities said Tuesday that 150 people living in a quarantined hotel for asylum-seekers had contracted the coronavirus, and none displayed symptoms of COVID-19.

In Syrias war-ravaged Idlib province, only one tiny health facility is equipped to receive suspected coronavirus cases. In the worlds largest refugee camp, in Bangladesh, aid workers are racing to build isolation facilities. In two sprawling camps in Kenya, Somalis who survived decades of famine and war fear the worst is yet to come.

If its killing people daily in America, then what do you think will happen to us? asked Mariam Abdi, a vegetable vendor in Kenyas Dadaab camp, where 217,000 people live in endless rows of tents. We will all perish.

Western countries, which by then may have contained their own outbreaks, will have to reckon with the fact that if the virus finds refuge among the worlds most vulnerable, it could return anytime.

Story continues

Some refugee camps have been around so long they have apartment blocks and paved roads. Others are little more than clusters of tents or abandoned buildings. In many, cramped conditions and poor infrastructure can make it impossible to practice social distancing and frequent hand-washing.

There are no official figures for the number of refugees who live in camps, but Egeland estimates they make up 10% to 15% of all refugees and displaced people, a population the U.N. estimates at over 70 million.

Most people who become infected experience mild to moderate symptoms. But the virus can cause severe illness and lead to death, particularly among older people and those with underlying health problems. It is highly contagious and can be spread by those who appear healthy.

___

A MIRACLE THAT NO CASES HAVE BEEN FOUND

The coronavirus has already appeared in Syria, where the decade-long civil war has displaced more than half of the population of 23 million. At least 350 health facilities have been bombed, mostly by the government. More than 900 medical staff have been killed and countless more have fled.

No cases have been reported yet in Syria's northwestern Idlib province, the last bastion of opposition to President Bashar Assad and where heavy fighting forced nearly a million people to flee their homes earlier this year.

Zaher Sahloul, a Syrian physician based in Chicago who heads MedGlobal, an international health NGO, calls that a miracle.

He notes that the entire province, which is home to 4 million people, has 98 ventilators, compared to 230 in the Advocate Christ Medical Center, where he is a critical care specialist. An outbreak would be catastrophic, he said.

The World Health Organization has sent 5,900 testing kits to Idlib, where they are being carefully rationed. Authorities have carried out around 200 tests so far, all of which came back negative.

In Jordan, the two largest camps for Syrian refugees have been sealed since last month. In Zaatari, which has about 80,000 residents, the Jordanian government conducted 150 random tests, all of which came back negative, said Dominik Bartsch, the head of U.N. refugee agency in Jordan. Residents of Azraq, home to about 40,000, will be tested soon.

On Wednesday in Lebanon, a Palestinian woman from Syria became the first refugee living in a camp to test positive, sparking fear and a spate of testing by health officials to see if any other residents had been infected.

We dont need the camp managers to tell us how serious the virus is. We see it in the news and read about it," said an anxious Massoud Ali, 35, who fled Syria for a camp in neighboring Iraq in October.

___

BECOMING INVISIBLE

Refugees living outside camps are also uniquely vulnerable.

Nearly 5 million Venezuelans have fled economic chaos, crossing by foot and bus into neighboring Colombia and other countries.

Many live in crowded apartments in Bogota, which has the bulk of Colombias coronavirus cases, and work as street vendors  jobs now prohibited. During the capital citys lockdown, many have been evicted from rentals and fined for being on the streets as they struggle to put food on the table.

All of a sudden, theyve become invisible, locked away behind closed doors, said Marianne Manjivar, International Rescue Committee director for Colombia and Venezuela.

___

NO DOCTORS CAN SAVE US

There's been little if any testing in Cox's Bazar, in southern Bangladesh, where more than a million members of Myanmar's Rohingya Muslim minority are packed into the world's largest refugee camp.

Kate White, the emergency medical coordinator for Doctors Without Borders, said there is very limited testing capacity" in Bangladesh, with most of it in the capital, Dhaka, some 250 miles (400 kilometers) away.

While cases have been reported in the district, none have been detected inside the camp. There, refugees still gather in large groups to collect aid, and humanitarian workers are preparing for the worst.

The U.N. refugee agency is building isolation and treatment centers that can house 150-200 patients. It is also distributing soap and talking about how to prevent the virus' spread, but a government ban on cellphone and internet services in the camps has hindered those efforts.

Sakina Khatun, who lives with her husband and seven children in a small bamboo and tarp hut, said the virus will kill everything it touches if it enters the camps. No doctors can save us then.

___

IT WILL CERTAINLY COME BACK

There's a similar sense of foreboding in conflict zones across Africa.

Burkina Faso is grappling with one of the world's fastest growing displacement crises, with 800,000 people having fled attacks by jihadis in recent months.

We ran away from the terrorists and came here, but now theres the coronavirus, and we dont know what will happen, said Boureima Gassambe.

He and around 600 others have settled in an abandoned school on the outskirts of the capital, Ouagadougou. Twenty to 30 people stay in each room.

Aguirata Maiga says soap is so expensive for her  40 cents a bar  that she has to choose between washing her children's hands and their clothes.

Burkina Faso's fragile health system has only 60 intensive care beds and a handful of ventilators, for a population of around 20 million people.

In Kenyas crowded Kakuma refugee camp, more than 190,000 refugees live in tents and rely on 19 wells.

Thats more than 10,000 people getting water from the same borehole, said Kurt Tjossem of the International Rescue Committee.

There are also shortages of protective equipment, drugs and trained health workers.

There is no coronavirus testing at Kakuma or at the Dadaab camp, said the IRCs Kenya health coordinator, John Kiogora. There are no intensive care units or ventilators, either.

The situation is even more dire inside Somalia, where more than 2.2 million people live in settlements for the internally displaced. They have been uprooted by cycles of drought and the ever-present threat of al-Shabab, an al-Qaida-linked extremist group.

The settlements have no testing facilities or equipment to treat those who contract the virus, according to the U.N. migration agency. Somalia has just 46 intensive care beds nationwide.

In South Sudan, more than 180,000 people still live in crowded U.N.-run camps after a five-year civil war that left the health system reliant on NGOs for almost all services.

The reality is, if the virus presents itself, we have no choice, said Charles Franzen, director of humanitarian and disaster response for World Relief. Are we in a position to offer much in response other than having people just go home?

Egeland, of the Norwegian Refugee Council, says vulnerabilities among refugee populations put the whole world at risk.

If the pandemic survives in Venezuela or in Honduras or any other of the more vulnerable countries ... it is a permanent risk for the United States," he said. If the coronavirus is spread from Europe, via Turkey, to Idlib, and gains a stronghold there, it will certainly come back to Europe.

___

Krauss reported from Jerusalem, Jain from New Delhi and Anna from Johannesburg. Associated Press writers Sam Mednick in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Sarah El Deeb in Beirut; Samya Kullab in Baghdad; Christine Armario in Bogota, Colombia, and Scott Smith in Caracas, Venezuela, contributed to this report.
Despite misinformation about voting fraud that surged after polling places for the June 2 primary were shut down, Montana is well prepared to hold a secure statewide election by mail for the first time.

Unlike many other states, Montana regularly updates voter addresses, making mail a reliable way to get ballots out.

The state has been conducting all-mail elections for cities, schools and other local taxing districts since 1985. In fact, all Montana elections, except federal elections, are already held by mail. In 2018, 74% of Montana voters chose to cast general election ballots by mail, instead of in-person.

Voters should be receiving ballots, which were mailed May 8. They must be returned to the election office by June 2. Much like packages, people can track ballots using Montanas My Voter Page.

Once the election office receives a ballot, the barcode on the return envelope is scanned into the statewide voter database. The signature on it is then verified against the one on the voters registration. This stops people from casting someone elses ballot or voting more than once.

The number of verified signatures is checked against the number of ballots counted, preventing votes from being missed.

Montanas 56 highly trained election officials work diligently to ensure secure voting. Trained election judges from each political party also work at counting centers. Ballots are never handled by one individual alone.

With these tried-and-true checks and balances in place, voters can rest assured ballots will be secure and accurately counted.

Rep. Geraldine Custer,

House District 39,

former clerk and recorder,

Rosebud County,

Forsyth

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By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The collective effort of a medical team and the Kerala Police enabled the successful airlift of a live heart from the capital to Kochi in 40 minutes for a heart transplant surgery on Saturday. The state police offered its rented helicopter for the life-saving mission besides arranging green corridors.

The medical team led by surgeon Jose Chacko Periyapuram of Lissie Hospital in Kochi reached the KIMS Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram around 10 am and the process began to take out the heart from a 50-year-old woman Lali Gopinath who was declared brain dead on Friday.

ALSO WATCH:

The heart transplant surgery is for a 48-year-old woman hailing from Kothamanagalam who has been admitted to Lissie Hospital. She was suffering from cardiac issues after suffering a heart attack occurred last year. Lali was a school teacher at Kazhakootam Government LP school and hailed from Chembazhanthy in the district.

She was admitted to KIMS Hospital on April 4 after suffering a cerebral haemorrhage. Though she was taken to the intensive care unit, she remained in a coma. On Friday, she was declared brain dead and her daughter informed the doctors that she was willing to donate her organs.

The medical team of KIMS Hospital informed Chacko. The patient from Kothamangalam was present in front of him. Following a discussion with the patient's family, they agreed to the transplant.

The state government decided to use the chopper as an air ambulance free of cost to transport the vital organ. Police in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram created 'green corridors' from the hospital to the helipad and vice versa. The heart was taken to the ambulance around 2.40 pm at KIMS Hospital and reached the Thiruvananthapuram airport in five minutes covering six kilometres.

The chopper took off from the airport at 3.10 pm and landed at the helipad of Grand Hyatt hotel at Bolgatty Island in Kochi at 3.50 pm. An ambulance was ready to receive the heart and reached the Lissie Hospital at 3.54 pm. The surgery has begun.





The helicopter was rented by the Kerala Police earlier this year from 'Pawan Hans' for a monthly tariff of Rs 1.44 crore to be used in its anti-Maoist operations and during natural disasters. The governments decision to provide the chopper for the life-saving mission garnered appreciation from many quarters.
SPRING ARBOR, MI  Spring Arbor University will not host commencement ceremonies for graduating seniors this spring, the school announced earlier this week.

Commencement at the Christian liberal arts university was scheduled for Saturday, May 16. Michigans stay-at-home order in response to the coronavirus pandemic goes through May 28.

"Commencement is perhaps the most cherished event in the life of the university," the school wrote in a news release. "We know this news is a great disappointment to many, especially our graduates and their families, and we regret that we will not be able to award diplomas in person this May."

Diplomas will be mailed to students within three weeks of degree completion.

The Cutting of the Ivy and senior reception are rescheduled to Aug. 15. All May graduates are invited to join in the fall commencement ceremonies, Nov. 14.

Jackson County has 381 coronavirus cases and 25 deaths since the outbreak began less than two months ago.

Schools across the country are canceling commencement due to the virus, including the University of Michigan, which canceled its May 2 ceremonies back in March.

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.

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Naming Jacksons falcons, teens injured in rollover crash: Top Jackson headlines May 3-8

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The escalating dispute between Perth Airport and Qantas over airport fees and rent was 'completely unacceptable' and threatened the state's economic future, according to WA Premier Mark McGowan.

Perth Airport believes Qantas owes $20 million in unpaid rent and aviation fees and on Friday tensions reached breaking point after it issued breach notices to the airline for non-payment of rent on several of Qantas' current leases.

Qantas Credit:Jason South

The airport also sent notices that it would not renew the airline's 'holdover' leases that had been rolling over on a short term basis in the absence of long-term agreements.

Qantas responded quickly by describing the letters as 'eviction notices' and said if the airport didn't withdraw them it could be forced to shut down operations from Perth within a fortnight.
Officials in Italy say an Italian aid worker who was kidnapped in Kenya in late 2018 has been freed.

Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte on Saturday hailed the release of Silvia Romano, who was a 23-year-old volunteer with the Italian-based humanitarian group Africa Milele when she was abducted in the coastal trading center of Chakama.

Conte tweeted: Thanks to the men and women of the foreign intelligence services. Silvia, we're waiting for you in Italy! Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, who also announced Romano's liberation on Twitter, said, The government never leaves anyone behind.

After her kidnapping, Romano ended up in Somalia in the hands of an armed group linked to al-Shabab Islamic extremists, according to Italian reports.

Al-Shabab militants have been blamed for a series of kidnappings of foreigners along Kenya's coast.

Kenya said the abductions of four foreigners prompted it to send troops to Somalia in 2011 to fight al-Shabab members.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Legendary Australian actor John Wood has long said the closest thing to an actor "is the black dog of depression''.

For the vast majority of performers, the work is a passion, but scarce and poorly paid. Life is hand-to-mouth, even in the good times.

And these are most certainly not good times.

Topugh times: Veteran actor John Wood and president of the Victorian Actors' Benevolent Trust Sally-Anne Upton. Credit:Luis Ascui

Pandemic restrictions have ground concert, film, television and theatre production to a halt. Furthermore, most performers are ineligible for the $1500 per fortnight Jobkeeper payments. Even Jobseeker, the dole, can be difficult to access for some in the arts sector.
Coronavirus cases in India are all set to cross the 60,000-mark with the Centres figures on Saturday morning putting the total number of infected at 59,662. The figure also includes 1,981 deaths caused by the Covid-19 infection. 3,320 cases and 95 deaths were registered in the last 24 hours alone. On the positive side, 17,846 patients have so far recovered from the disease leaving 39,834 cases under active medical care. According to worldometer.com, India is currently the 14th worst affected country in the world with 59,881 cases. We look at the largest contributors behind the countrys climbing Covid tally, through a list of worst-hit states and cities on a day when the coronavirus cases worldwide have crossed the 4 million mark.

Here are the 10 worst coronavirus affected states/UTs in India

1. Maharashtra- The western state, among the countrys most developed, has the largest number of coronavirus patients at 23,264 positive cases including 3,470 discharged patients and 731 deaths.

2. Gujarat  Maharashtras neighbouring state and also among the most industrialised, it has registered 9,723 total positive cases, out of which 1,872 have been cured, while 449 died.

3. Delhi  The countrys capital is third on the list with 8,406 positive cases so far, including 2020 recovered patients and 68 fatalities.

4. Tamil Nadu- The worst affected southern state has over 7,654 positive cases including 1,605 recoveries and 40 casualties.

5. Rajasthan- The western state has 5,596 cases, including 1,916 cured patients and 101 deaths.

6. Madhya Pradesh- The state is sixth on the list with 5,421 positive cases including 1,349 recoveries and 200 deaths.

7. Uttar Pradesh- Indias most populous state has just under 5,000 cases at 4,667, including 1,387 cured patients and 66 casualties.

8. Andhra Pradesh- With 2,770 positive cases, Andhra is the second-worst affected state in southern India. 842 patients have been discharged in the state while 41 have died so far.

9. West Bengal- It is the worst affected state in the east with 2,202 positive cases including 364 people who were cured and 160 who died

10. Punjab- The northern state has 1,912 cases including 152 recoveries and 29 deaths.

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And here are the ten worst Covid-19 affected cities in India

1. Mumbai  According to Maharashtra government, the maximum city has 12,142 positive cases including 748 new cases registered on Friday. The city has seen 462 deaths due to coronavirus infection, including 25 on Friday. 1,867 people have been discharged after treatment.

2. Delhi  The national capital is the second worst-hit city-state with 6,318 cases, but has a relatively low death toll- 68

3. Ahmedabad- Gujarats most populated city accounts for 5,260 positive cases and is a major cause of worry for the state authorities. The city has seen over 1000 recoveries and 343 deaths. Close to 24,000 people are in quarantine here.

The HT Guide to Coronavirus COVID-19

4. Pune- Maharashtras second worst-hit city has 2,177 cases. 730 people have been discharged here. Some areas in this hotspot have, however, shown positive signs with the rate of rise in cases coming down drastically.

5. Chennai- According to last available data released two days ago, Tamil Nadus capital had 2,644 active cases.

6. Indore- The city known as mini Mumbai in Madhya Pradesh had 1,727 cases including 86 fatalities. It is the worst affected city in Madhya Pradesh.

7. Thane- A Mumbai suburb, it has registered 2,053 cases of coronavirus, including 21 deaths. 359 people have been discharged so far.

8. Jaipur  Rajasthans capital and an international tourism destination has seen 1,169 cases according to the last available figures.

9. Jodhpur The blue city in Rajasthan has 904 coronavirus positive cases as per the available figures.

10. Surat  With 824 positive cases, the textile hub of the country is tenth on the list of worst coronavirus-hit Indian cities. 389 people in the city have been discharged while 3,106 suspects are in quarantine currently.
A Colombian advertising company unveiled hospital beds that can transform into coffins in response to shortages of both amid the coronavirus pandemic.

ABC Displays of Bogota has created a cardboard bed with metal railings that designers say can double as a casket if a patient dies.

Company manager Rodolfo Gomez said he was inspired to find a way to help after watching events unfold recently in nearby Ecuador.

Families in the coastal city of Guayaquil waited with dead loved ones in their homes for days last month as COVID-19 cases surged.

Company manager Rodolfo Gomez (center) said he wanted to make the item after watching Ecuador struggle during the coronavirus pandemic

ABC Displays, a Colombian advertising company, created a hospital bed that can turn into a coffin

Many could not find or were unable to afford a wood coffin, using donated cardboard ones instead.

'Poor families don't have a way of paying for a coffin,' Gomez said.

The beds can hold a weight of 330 pounds and will cost about $85 each, Gomez said.

Gomez said he plans to donate 10 of his new beds to Colombia's Amazonas department, where resources are in short supply.

So far there is no indication whether the beds will be put to use and no orders have been placed.

The Bogota-based company is usually at work on advertisements but has been mostly paralyzed over the last month as Colombia remains on lockdown.

10 beds are expected to be donated to Colombia's Amazonas department, a region where medical supplies are dwindling

Pictured: Rodolfo Gomez (center) sits with his employees on top of a box to demonstrate the sturdiness of their design of a cardboard box intended to serve as both a hospital bed or coffin for COVID-19 patients

He said he worked with a private clinic on the design, which he hopes will be put to use in emergency clinics that might become short on beds.

Ecuador has recorded more than 28,000 confirmed cases and a death toll of 1,700. Colombia has 10,000 cases and 428 deaths.

Both pale in comparison to the United States, which leads the world in coronavirus infections with 1,321,563 cases and 78,380 dead.

At least one doctor was skeptical of how sturdy a cardboard bed might be.

He also warned that any corpses should first be placed in a sealed bag before being put in a cardboard coffin to avoid potentially spreading the disease.

The beds can reportedly hold 330lbs and each one costs $85

Similarly, funeral home workers and officials in New York City have also tried to solve the influx of dead COVID-19 patients.

Residents in New York were shocked when Police discovered 100 bodies stacked in unrefrigerated trucks outside a funeral home in Brooklyn in late April.

Authorities dispatched to the scene after neighbors complained for weeks about the smell.

Authorities found two unrefrigerated U-Haul box trucks being used to store the bodies outside of Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Home in Flatlands after neighbors filmed body bags being dragged into them in recent days.

There were as many as 50 corpses being stored in each truck, according to ABC News, as the facility struggled to keep up with the overwhelming surge of bodies due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Workers move bodies to a refrigerated truck from the Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Home in the Brooklyn Wednesday after authorities found that the facility was storing up to 100 bodies in two unrefrigerated U-Haul storage vans

Police found the bodies in various stages of decomposition.

The owner told city officials that its freezer had stopped working and they were forced to use the trucks as storage while bodies awaited burial or cremation.

'For weeks already, there have been trucks constantly outside unloading bodies. You could smell the death,' Jay Fredo told New York Daily News.

'Some of them have been dropped. I know it's a pandemic, but this is crazy. It's sick.'

No criminal charges were brought but the home was cited for failing to control the odors.

Before that makeshift morgues began popping up around the city and residents balked after it was revealed unclaimed corpses would be buried on Hart Island.

Local hospitals were quickly overwhelmed by an unexpected swell of COVID-19 patients, deaths and lack of important medical supplies.

Huge super morgue for NYC dead opens in Brooklyn with bodies stored in freezer trucks in Sunset Park as city's funeral services overflow

New York City has opened a 'disaster morgue' in Brooklyn, using refrigerated trucks in Sunset Park to store bodies as the city's morgues struggle to copy during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The solution is being seen as longer-term, and is designed to ease the pressure on funeral directors who have become overwhelmed, with the number of deaths in New York City now over 14,000, with a further 5,300 probable deaths.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examinar said this week that the morgue is located on Brooklyn's 39th Street Pier, where over 50 trucks are parked.

The Brooklyn 'disaster morgue' on sunset park pier, pictured on May 6 with the statue of liberty looming behind the trucks through the fog

Hospital personnel are pictured behind a barricade as they move a body onto a refrigerated overflow trailer outside the Brooklyn Hospital Center on May 7

A spokesperson for the Mayor's office said that many of the trucks are currently empty, but needed to be parked somewhere.

Not all the bodies kept in the trucks will be victims of the coronavirus, the spokesperson added.

The city has proven to be the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, experiencing at least one-fifth of the country's more than 71,000 total fatalities.

With the deaths occurring in a relatively short space of time, funeral homes' ability to get on top of the number of funerals and cremations needed has been severely strained, as has their capacity to store bodies beforehand.

According to CNN, funeral homes have been turning down cremations because they have been unable to store bodies, and have been placing them in refrigerated trailers.

Michael Lanotte, executive director of the New York State Funeral Directors Association, said the trucks would ease the pressure on the city's funeral industry.

'The additional morgue operating hours will also help funeral directors by providing them with evening hours for transfers, since they spend the vast majority of the daytime hours conducting funerals, making arrangements and answering calls from families seeking their services,' Lanotte said.

The morgue will reportedly be open until 10:30 p.m. each day.

Earlier in the crisis, city official announced that potter's field for the poor and unclaimed on Hart Island, the jail system's public burial ground, would be used to bury victims of the coronavirus.

In an attempt to ease public fears over mass burials, Mayor Bill de Blasio responded on twitter, saying: 'There will be no mass burials on Hart Island. Everything will be individual and every body will be treated with dignity.'

Workers wearing personal protective equipment bury bodies in a trench on Hart Island in the Bronx borough of New York, April 9

On March 29, Dailymail.com reported that dozens of hospitals around the city were using refrigerated trucks as makeshift morgues to deal with the crisis.

The last time that New York City deployed a fleet of makeshift morgues outside hospitals was in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The citys medical examiners office needed the refrigerated morgues to store the body parts found in the rubble of the World Trade Center.

The city's desperate struggle to keep with the coronavirus deaths was brought to attention last week when police discovered around 100 bodies in two rental trucks outside a Brooklyn funeral home.
Ava DuVernay revealed Saturday that she had a special connection to the late Little Richard years before she became one of the most in-demand directors in Hollywood.

The 47-year-old filmmaker tweeted that the Rock 'n' Roll architect regularly tipped her $100 every week when she was waitressing in Los Angeles decades ago.

She was just one of many celebrities offering their remembrances of Little Richard, who died Saturday at the age of 87.

Generous soul: Ava DuVernay, 47, revealed on Twitter that Little Richard used to give her $100 tips when she was waitressing in LA decades ago. The early rocker died Saturday at 87; shown in February

DuVernay's connection to Little Richard went back to her early days double majoring in English literature and AfricanAmerican studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.

'I served soul food brunch to Little Richard every Sunday for a year while waitressing at Aunt Kizzy's Back Porch in LA,' she tweeted.

'I was a college student. He tipped me a crisp $100 bill each week on a $75 breakfast with friends. This was 30 years ago. Helped me so much. God rest his soul.'

After graduating from UCLA, DuVernay would try model trades, working as a journalist and then a film publicist before opening her own public relations firm.

'Helped me so much': DuVernay recounted how Little Richard tipped $100 on $75 meals when she was a student at UCLA

Gone too soon: Little Richard, born Richard Penniman, died Saturday in Tullahoma, Tennessee, of bone cancer

It wasn't until 2005 that she shot her first short film, and her first independent feature film, I Will Follow, was released five years later.

Her best reviewed film to date, Selma, charted Martin Luther King Jr.'s participation in the voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965.

Following its success, she directed the Oscar-nominated documentary 13th for Netflix and adapted A Wrinkle In Time for Disney.

Twisting path: After her college and waitressing days, Ava would try her hand at journalism, then PR, before making her first short film in 2005, followed by two acclaimed indie features; shown in January

History in motion: Her third narrative feature, Selma, portrayed Martin Luther King Jr.'s trip to Selma, Alabama for the voting rights marches to Montgomery

Little Richard, born Richard Penniman, died Saturday in Tullahoma, Tennessee, of bone cancer.

The high-energy piano player became a star in the 1950s with a string of Rock 'n' Roll hits including Tutti Frutti, Long Tall Sally and Good Golly Miss Molly, many of which would become classics of the earlier genre.

During the 1988 Grammy Awards he claimed to be the 'architect of Rock 'n' Roll,' adding, 'I am the originator!'

There weren't many musicians who would dispute the characterization, and tributes poured in for Little Richard from icons like Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan and Elton John.

Hitmaker: Little Richard became a star in the 1950s with a string of Rock 'n' Roll hits including Tutti Frutti, Long Tall Sally and Good Golly Miss Molly, all of which would be regarded as classics; shown in 1997

Influential: The piano pounder was remembered by his adoring fans, including Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan and Elton John; pictured in 2006

Jagger said he had 'contributed so much to popular music', adding that he would 'watch his moves' to learn from them while they toured together.

Dylan was even more effusive in a short tribute he penned on Saturday: 'He was my shining star and guiding light back when I was only a little boy. His was the original spirit that moved me to do everything I would do.'

John said he was 'without doubt my biggest influence.'
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 06:41:46|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, May 8 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday remembered the millions of people who lost their lives in World War II and asked the world to learn the lessons of 1945.

"We must never forget the Holocaust and the other grave and horrendous crimes committed by the Nazis. The victory over fascism and tyranny in May 1945 marked the beginning of a new era," he said in a message on the 75th anniversary of V-E Day -- May 8, 1945, the day on which the surrender of Germany was announced, officially ending the European phase of World War II.

"An appreciation for international solidarity and our shared humanity led to the birth of the United Nations, with the overriding mission of saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war."

But the world is still suffering the impact of conflict. Even during the current COVID-19 crisis, there are new efforts to divide people and spread hatred, he noted.

"As we mark this 75th anniversary, let's remember the lessons of 1945 and work together to end the pandemic and build a future of peace, safety and dignity for all," said Guterres. Enditem
Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) said on Friday it is in talks to shift more of its medicine production to outside contractors as it prepares for large-scale production of an experimental vaccine to prevent COVID-19, should it prove safe and effective. The US drugmaker is tapping its network of around 200 outside contractors, which includes Catalent Inc (CTLT.N), Lonza Group AG (LONN.S), and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc (TMO.N), to play a bigger role in producing some of its existing medicines, Mike McDermott, president of global supply at Pfizer, told Reuters in an interview. ALSO READ: ...
New Delhi

New Delhi on Saturday rejected Kathmanus protest against the construction of a road to Lipulekh on the border with China, saying the region is completely within the territory of India and both sides can resolve boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue.

Earlier in the day, Nepal expressed regret at the inauguration of the route from Dharchula in Uttarakhand to Lipulekh, with a statement from the foreign ministry contending the road passes through Nepali territory.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the 80-km road on Friday to curtail the time taken for the pilgrimage to Kailash-Mansarovar. The road ends at Lipulekh Pass, and will help pilgrims avoid dangerous high-altitude routes through Sikkim and Nepal.

The recently inaugurated road section in Pithoragarh district in the state of Uttarakhand lies completely within the territory of India. The road follows the pre-existing route used by the pilgrims of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, external affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said.

India had improved the road for the ease and convenience of pilgrims, local residents and traders, he said.

India and Nepal have an established mechanism for boundary issues, and the delineation of the border with Nepal is ongoing, Srivastava said. India is also committed to resolving outstanding boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue, he added.

The two countries are in the process of scheduling talks between their foreign secretaries, which will be held after they have dealt with the Covid-19 crisis, Srivastava said.

Nepals foreign ministry emphasised the countrys claim on Lipulekh. It said in a statement: The government of Nepal has consistently maintained that as per the Sugauli Treaty (1816), all the territories east of Kali (Mahakali) River, including Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipu Lekh, belong to Nepal.

The development comes at a time when Nepal has also been irked by the depiction of Kalapani as part of Uttarakhand in new Indian maps showing the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Nepal had sought talks to address the Kalapani issue but New Delhi rejected Kathmandus protest, saying the new maps accurately depict Indian territory.

The statement from Nepals foreign ministry said Kathmanu had reiterated its claim to all territories east of the Mahakali river several times, most recently through a diplomatic note sent to New Delhi on November 20 last year.

The unilateral act of opening the new road runs against the understanding reached between the two countries, including at the level of Prime Ministers, that a solution to boundary issues would be sought through negotiation, the statement said.

Nepal also said it is committed to a diplomatic solution to boundary issues on the basis of the historical treaty, documents, facts and maps. The Nepal government called on India to refrain from any activity inside the territory of Nepal, and pointed out Kathmandu had expressed its disagreement in 2015, through separate diplomatic notes sent to New Delhi and Beijing, when India and China agreed to include Lipulekh Pass as a bilateral trade route.

Nepals foreign ministry also brought up the issue of a report prepared by the Eminent Persons Group of the two sides to recommend measures to elevate existing relations, and said the document should be made public.

The Group has concluded its task and prepared a consensus report. The government of Nepal is ready to receive the report and believes that it will be in the interest of the two countries to implement its recommendations which will also help address the outstanding issues left by the history..., the statement said.

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Despite emerging victorious in their fight over Nazi Germany and Hitlers fascist ideology, World War II ravaged the Soviet Union, claiming the lives of tens of millions of soldiers and civilians  26 million by some estimates. While the better-known battles of the Great Patriotic War, including the Battle of Stalingrad and the Siege of Leningrad, took place in Russias western sphere, the tragedy of war and the scale of its devastation was undoubtedly felt all over the vast Soviet Union. As The Diplomat writes, tucked away in the mountains of Central Asia, located 3,000 kilometers southeast of Moscow, the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic  modern-day Kyrgyzstan  was just one of the many Soviet republics that contributed to the war effort. By the time the war ended, it had claimed the lives of 70,000 Kyrgyz soldiers and 50,000 civilians  roughly 8 percent of the entire local population.

In the years following the wars end, the Soviet propaganda machine painted a picture of common patriotism and heroism across its territory, creating grounds for identifying with the wider Soviet state and its leadership. Such common ground in Kyrgyzstan was not easy to establish, however. In the first few years of the war, Kyrgyz men had to be coerced into the Soviet army by draft; earlier, in 1916, there had been an anti-Russian revolt among Kyrgyz in response to World War I conscription. While Soviet propaganda would later tell an overarching war story of heroic voluntary recruitment, in reality most Kyrgyz men could only be drafted via brute force and intimidation. The early war years also saw unsustainable levels of grain and livestock requisition. Thousands of Kyrgyz people starved to death as a result of the subsequent famine. The number of deaths was considerable, because local people used to operating in a nomadic or semi-nomadic economy were often forcefully deprived of their livestock.

Owing to its comparatively isolated geographical position  a safe distance from the German front  Kyrgyzstan was also chosen by the Soviet authorities as the ideal location to support the USSRs industrial base during the war years. It was a time of enormous economic and social change for the country, which underwent a mini industrial revolution of sorts to accommodate the demands of the Soviet war effort. Dozens of key factories and military-related industrial plants were moved to the Kyrgyz cities of Bishkek (named Frunze from 1926 to 1991) and Tokmak after being evacuated from regions threatened by the advancing Germans. The Kyrgyz cities not only became indispensable to the Soviet war effort due to their industrial output; they remain the backbone of Kyrgyz industry to this day, with Bishkek in particular developing an extensive machine-building and metalwork industry.

Continued hostilities on the frontline also resulted in thousands of refugees seeking safer pastures, fleeing the Soviet Unions embattled western regions. This included an estimated 45,000 Jews of varying nationalities fleeing the horrors of the Holocaust in Europe and the Nazi-occupied European regions of the Soviet Union. A synagogue was opened in Bishkek in 1941 to accommodate the refugees and they were put to work like the rest of the Kyrgyz population, working in agriculture to supply food to the Red Army. In future decades, the majority of these European Jewish refugees would immigrate to the newly created state of Israel. Kyrgyzstan was also host to the Jewish Theater Company of Warsaw, which included the renowned actress Ida Kaminska. The theater was evacuated to Bishkek until it returned to Europe after the war ended. While Bishkek remained their temporary home, the theater company conducted shows in Polish, Ukrainian, and Yiddish.

Much like their comrades from around the Soviet Union, including the other Central Asian republics, Kyrgyz soldiers were sent to fight along the Soviet Western Front. The front, known in German as die ostfront (the Eastern Front) witnessed some of the most intense fighting of World War II. The fighting would ultimately result in victory for the Red Army, but at a devastating human cost. Kyrgyz soldiers fought in various battles throughout the war, including in the region that is now Ukraine. One such solider was Dair Asanov who was the last surviving Kyrgyz Hero of the Soviet Union (Asanov passed away in Bishkek in 2009). Awarded the title in October 1943, Asanov, a member of the 6th Army, was said to have single-handedly destroyed several German tanks, armored vehicles, and machine gunners on the outskirts of the Ukrainian city of Kharkov.

Other Kyrgyz war heroes include the 20-year-old Red Army pilot Ismaelbek Taranchiev. Tarancheiv joined the Red Army in 1941 and the Communist party in 1944 before entering combat in January that year. Already a recipient of the Order of the Red Star for his part in the defense of Leningrad, in March 1944 Taranchievs plane was hit by German anti-aircraft fire in Estonia before he deliberately crashed his plane, along with his gunner, Alexey Tkachev, into a concentration of German tanks. Taranchiev was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union in May 1991  the last Kyrgyz soldier to be so awarded. Despite his familys efforts at lobbying the Russian government for equal recognition, Tkachev did not receive the Hero of the Soviet Union title  the highest distinction in the Soviet Union.

In total, around 365,000 Kyrgyz were mobilized during the Great Patriotic War. An estimated 70,000 were killed in battle while a further 50,000 more are believed to have died as a result of food shortages and disease caused by wartime shortages. While other Central Asian states like Uzbekistan have resisted Russian-style Victory Day celebrations  renaming the May 9 holiday the Day of Memory and Honor  the attitude of the Kyrgyz authorities is more tolerant to a shared history with Russia. Although Kyrgyzstan no longer holds a full-scale military parade, there are yearly remembrance marches in the countrys main cities to remember those who served or died in the war. According to Kyrgyz state media, only 251 veterans of the Great Patriotic War are still alive. These veterans will receive a one-off payment of 75,000 Kyrgyz som ($125) this year from the central government to mark the 75th anniversary of the Soviet victory.

Recent efforts to commemorate Kyrgyzstans war heroes also include the ongoing construction of a memorial park in Bishkek named after another Kyrgyz Hero of the Soviet Union  Cholponbai Tuleberdiev. Killed in action on the Voronezh Front, Tuleberdiev was buried with full military honors in the Lysaya Gora region of Volgograd. The park named in his honor some 2,500 kilometers from his final resting place will represent a fitting local tribute to a man who, like so many others, lost his life so far from home.
Other Roman Catholic priests across the country, including in Little Washington, where they were originally scheduled to get married, were conducting weddings. So they came up with a wild solution: How about a marriage by proxy there?

Taylors response to all this was to research canon law, said Ms. Wickline, laughing.

They sought approval from the bishop of the Arlington Diocese in Virginia, who oversees Little Washington, as well as from the Rev. Kevin Beres, the priest who was scheduled to perform their original wedding and who conducted the new version as well.

The whole thing was rather moving, Father Beres said. It was actually the groom who did the research on his own to figure out this was a possibility. He clearly loved his bride and wanted to be married to her.

He remembered learning about marriage by proxy in his canon law classes from his days at the seminary. We seminarians all laughed wondering why this was even still in there, he said. I do believe that I am the only priest in the diocese that has ever done this. It is very rare today, and this is the only instance I know of it. (It was more common centuries ago, Mr. Barker said, noting that both Napoleon and Marie Antoinette were married by proxy.)

The groom was present at the ceremony over Zoom. (His proxy stand-in, who would have served as the best man, asked that he not be identified.) The bride, for her part, concentrated on the blessings and the words of the liturgy. I was mostly focused on saying what I had to say, she said. It felt very solemn, as if we were doing something substantial.
Deputy Information Minister, Pius Hadzide has dismissed claims that government shared different sets of macroeconomic data with Ghanaians and the International Monetary Fund.

Similar concerns have come from Isaac Adongo, the Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga Central, who Mr. Hadzide said was spewing misinformation.

He said the Minority, deliberately and mischievously selected the IMF projections and their own analysis as against what the state presented which was equally captured on that [World Bank] website.

Mr. Hadzide added that it was his understanding that there are no two sets of figures after assessing the information at hand.

It is not true that Ghana paints a different picture to the people of Ghana through Parliament and the presentation of budgets and paints another picture to the IMF. We presented the same data that was presented to Parliament to the IMF.

Fact-checking organisations have scrutinised and come to the conclusion that different sets of data were presented because of information coming from the IMF following the disbursement of a $1 billion credit facility upon a request for financial support to the government amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The disparities pointed out indicated that Ghana breached the Fiscal Responsibility Act because the GDP Deficit exceeded 5 percent.

In 2019 for example, fact-checkers indicated that the GDP deficit in the budget statement was 4.5 percent whilst the data from the IMF indicated that the deficit was 7.5 percent as sourced from the government.

Other indicators with disparities included the Primary Balance, Current Account Balance and Gross International Reserves.

Indications are that the disparities in the fiscal deficit are because the deficit is being declared on cash basis only and not overall deficits.

The World Bank, for example, makes such a distinction.

Mr. Adongo, speaking on Eyewitness News, said he was vindicated because he had made similar claims in the past and accused the government of cooking our fiscal and other data.

It [the Fiscal Responsibility Law] didn't describe the deficit target you are supposed to meet as a cash deficit. It describes it as an overall deficit.

---citinewsroom
US Tightens Visa Rules for Chinese Journalists Amid CCP Virus Tensions

WASHINGTONThe United States issued a new rule on May 8 tightening visa guidelines for Chinese journalists, saying it was in response to the treatment of U.S. journalists in China, a shift that comes amid tensions between the two nations over the CCP virus global pandemic.

The United States and the Chinese communist regime have been engaged in a series of retaliatory actions involving journalists in recent months.

In March, the Chinese regime expelled American journalists from three U.S. newspapers, a month after the United States said it would begin to treat five Chinese state-run media entities with U.S. operations the same as foreign embassies. One day after the U.S. verdict on the state-run entities, Beijing expelled three Wall Street Journal correspondents, two Americans and an Australian.

In issuing the new regulation on Friday, the Department of Homeland Security cited what it called the Chinese regimes suppression of independent journalism.

The regulation, which will take effect on Monday, will limit visas for Chinese reporters to a 90-day period, with the option for extension. Such visas are typically open-ended and do not need to be extended unless the employee moves to a different company or medium.

A senior DHS official, who requested anonymity to discuss the matter, said the new rules would allow the department to review Chinese journalist visa applications more frequently and would likely reduce the overall number of Chinese journalists in the United States.

Its going to create greater national security protections, the official said.

The new rules will not apply to journalists with passports from Hong Kong or Macau, Chinas two semi-autonomous territories, according to DHS.

Tensions between the United States and the Chinese regime have increased in recent months as the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus, has swept across the globe, killing tens of thousands of people worldwide.

By Ted Hesson. Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.
In continuation to the Companys Community and Social Initiatives during Ramadan, within the framework of its extensive efforts during the holy month of Ramadan, Orange Egypt announced its collaboration with the Egyptian Food Bank to provide and distribute 50,000 food boxes to the irregular daily workers across 6 governorates - that include Cairo, Giza, Qalyubia, Fayoum, Beheira, and Alexandria - with the aim of supporting the community as well as the states efforts amid the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic and hence contribute to alleviating the burden of citizens and their families.

In this initiative Orange Egypt in cooperation with Food Bank will deliver the 50,000 food boxes to the allocated governorates through the support of 562 charitable associations in 6 governorates.



The initiative is an affirmation of Oranges role to support the community in general and during such exceptional circumstances that the country is going through in specific; where it exerts all the needed efforts to support those in need through different ways and initiatives that better help the community where which it operates.

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Governor Cuomo, please reconsider your senseless decisions now. Surely, if people can safely shop at large chain stores, grocery stores and liquor stores, then, just as surely, they can be safe while getting a haircut, buying clothes or standing in line to vote. It is time to safely reopen businesses now. It is time for mom and pop shops on Main Street and every street to get back to work. It is time to reopen our malls and shopping centers.

Yes, every death is unfortunate, however, as everyone can see, people have learned to behave safely. We understand there are different accommodations that are needed for different risk categories - not everyone is the same risk.

It is time to support the local, small businesses that fund New York state and New York City. Stop forcing people to buy things from companies that do not support our local communities. This is no longer about a federal bailout  you dont deserve one.

This is about helping the very people that you claim to serve. This is about common sense, not nonsense.

Put New York back to work today.

(Sam Pirozzolo is a Castleton Corners resident.)
(Photo : Kai Wenzel/Unsplash) Google Logo (Photo : Charles Deluvio/Unsplash) Black Android smartphone showing Google site on white surface

Google has recently added a useful feature to Google Lens, which is a multipurpose object recognition tool. In a blog post, it announced that it now allows users to copy and paste their handwritten notes from their phone to their computer with Google Lens--but it works only if your handwriting is neat and clear enough to scan.

Google Lens uses artificial intelligence technology in a smartphone camera and deep machine learning to detect an object in front of the camera lens and understand it. It offers actions such as scanning, translation, and even shopping.

Google Lens was one of Google's biggest revelations in 2017, although it was an exclusive feature for Google Pixel when it was launched. Now, the app is available to download on Google Play or the App Store.

The Verge has discussed how to use the new feature: users need to have the latest version of Google Chrome, as well as the standalone Google Lens app on Android or iOS where the Lens can be opened using a button next to the search bar. This will require logging in on both devices to the same Google account.

Copy-paste text

Use Lens to quickly copy and paste text from paper notes and documents to the phone to save time. Simply aim the camera at any handwritten text, highlight it on-screen, and then select "Copy to Computer."

After this, go to any document in Google Docs, click on "Edit," and paste the text. Check the text if it was translated correctly as it would depend on the clarity of the handwriting.

The feature is a hit or miss. If the handwriting isn't neat enough, there will be some typographical errors. However, it is still an interesting feature that is especially useful at a time when a lot of people are now working from home and relying on endless to-do lists.

Listen and learn new words

Google is also launching a pronunciation tool to help learn new words. Highlight a word in Lens, then click on "Listen" to hear how it is pronounced. This is currently available on Android and soon on iOS devices.

The lens can also be used to search for concepts, phrases, and terms. This would come handy when doing tasks and schoolwork.

Instant translate

Google Lens can be used to translate words in Spanish, Chinese, and over 100 languages by pointing the camera at the text. Similarly, use Lens to practice words or phrases that are difficult to pronounce. Capture the text on Lens and tap the new Listen button to hear it read out loud.

These features are rolling out today, except for Listen. It is currently available on Android while it will be coming soon to iOS.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
There is some good news for all those wanting to make the pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar in future as Boarder Road Organisation (BRO) completed the 80 km stretch which will shorten the journey by a good few days.

BCCL

The new road connecting the Lipulekh pass at a height of 17,000 along the border with Tibet in Uttarakhand with Dharchula was thrown open by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday.



It is expected that the new stretch will help pilgrims visiting Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet as it is around 90 kms from the Lipulekh pass. The road originates at Ghatiabagarh and ends at Lipulekh pass, the gateway to Kailash-Mansarovar.

Agencies

"With the completion of this crucial road link, the decades old dreams and aspirations of the local people and pilgrims have been fulfilled," the Defence Minister said after inaugurating the road through video-conferencing.



He also expressed confidence that local trade and economic growth in the region would receive a boost with the operationalisation of the road.



According to PTI, Singh flagged off a caravan of nine vehicles from Pithoragarh to Gunji to mark the opening of the road.

Twitter

The caravan included four small vehicles and some loaded vehicles of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Chief Engineer of Project Hirak, Vimal Goswami, told the news agency.



The construction of the road began in 2008 and was scheduled to be completed in 2013, but it got delayed due to the tough terrain in the portion between Nazang to Bundi village.



Now after finally been thrown open, as and when the pilgrims visit the site after lockdown, the newly built road link will help cut down time by days and help aid the economy in the region.
Actor Elle Fanning says she would love to pursue direction if she gets a good story.

The actor said she "badly" wants to go behind the camera.

"It's something that I do want to do badly. You've just got to find the right story. What is it that you want to tell? Is it going to be personal? Is it not? Are you going to write it? Are you not? A lot of big questions. I will for sure one day," Fanning said in an interview with Variety.

She will next be seen as Catherine the Great in Hulu's 10-part satirical comedy series "The Great", which debuts on May 15.

Fanning is also looking forward to The Nightingale, which also features her sister Dakota.

The film, directed by actor Melanie Laurent, was scheduled to release in December but has been postponed by a year due to coronavirus pandemic.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Calethia Hodges wants the people in her community to know whats going on with their bodies. As the director of clinical operations for Infinite Clinical Trials, a 4,000-square-foot research facility in Morrow, Georgia, on the southeastern edge of the Atlanta metro area, Hodges spends a lot of time and resources attempting to recruit Black people for clinical medical trialsa demographic that is woefully underrepresented, even if the illness that researchers are attempting to treat disproportionately affects them.

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In general, people may be drawn to enroll in clinical trials for a chance at accessing an experimental treatment that could extend or improve their lives. For Black patients, it gets more complicated when the history of medical experimentation is considered. Theres a deep, understandable mistrust of medical institutions within the Black community and this is often compounded by informational and financial barriers.

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But the current coronavirus pandemic makes Black participation in such trials even more pressing. Evidence shows that drugs could produce different effects on different populations due to varying socioeconomic and environmental factors. And, across the nation, Black people are more likely to be infected with COVID-19 and are dying more frequently from complications of the virus. The pattern holds true in Georgia.

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Getting people to be part of a trial, Hodges said, could save a number of Black lives, while ensuring that a safe, effective treatment for COVID-19 hits the market. Im always trying to recruit people for studies because we see the data, we see really their results, she said. And its a lesson that we can help people in that way.

The patients served by Hodges clinic often dont always have insurance and thus arent accustomed to receiving routine medical care and testing, something her clinic provides during the course of a trial. So if an experimental treatment doesnt end up working, its an avenue toward something that couldeven if it just opens the door for patients to develop a stable treatment plan with a physician. The clinic hasnt started their clinical work against COVID-19 yet, but Hodges is working toward running two treatment studies and one vaccine trial.

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We chatted about the role of clinical trials in vaccine and treatment development, how she convinces skeptical Black folks to participate and how that participation can work toward a greater good.

What role do clinical trials play in the creation of a vaccine for COVID-19?

So, with clinical trials, the first step is that they have the animals in the labs and they will test the vaccine on them to determine if its safe and effective. Then the FDA will say, Okay, we will approve this drug so that it can move into human trials.

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Then from there there are three phases. Phase one includes less than 100 people. Phase two, is generally 100 plus people, and phase three involves 1,000 people. And they look at the results, usually for about 18 months, but with this pandemic everything is rushed. Thats where we are now. Were looking at about four to five months to be conducting a vaccine study.

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How do you get black people on board for clinical trials? Because, to be honest, I dont know if you could ever convince me to be a part of one. Im very skeptical.

Oh my goodness. If you look at the data, I mean God, theres so many people that benefit from clinical trials. Are you on any medications?

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No, not right now. I just take ibuprofen and sumatriptan for migraines.

Okay. Just think about a cancer patient who has done chemo and radiation. Then they tell the patient, theres nothing else we can do for you. Guess what they do? They often turn towards a clinical trial. Sometimes its peoples last hope when they have chronic illnesses. I mean, COVID-19, its like, would you rather try a drug or rely on the ventilator?

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I think, especially for Black folks, because we have this sordid history of being used as guinea pigsmost prominently Tuskegee, but also incidents like unwelcome plutonium testingits hard to lessen community skepticism. So how do you get Black folks who are aware of this history and, because of that, they would rather not participate, on board?

Thats why we are located where were located. I chose to be on this side of town to be around our people. I started off in Peachtree City where its predominantly white, where most people have insurance so they would rather just go get something thats already on the market. In this community, you have a lot of people who do not have medical insurance. So when they come into our clinics, not only are they getting education, but theyre getting free treatment.

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I mention drugs that they may currently be taking, or other drugs that are well-known just to let them know every drug thats on the market has been through a clinical trial. And the only way that it goes to market is if its proven to be safe and effective. So if they are seeing too many negative results from it, they pull it. And I give them examples of some of the studies that we do and that theyll likely see great results from it.

Theyre monitored more closely than they would be if they were going to their doctors office and we explain that to them. When you get into a clinical study, you have to be at your visits. Every four to six weeks, youre getting blood work.

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We got a hot flash study where women are coming in and are so thankful for getting pap smears, mammograms and DEXA to monitor their bone density. All of this is at no cost to them. They get a free medication that theyre seeing really good results from plus they get a payment.

We do health fairs and we have community-based speakers. We do doctor to doctor letters, e-newsletters, we do stuff on social media. We offer transportation for people who dont have cars. So when we contact the patients, we go over the benefits and the risks and tell them what all we offer them in return.

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Since COVID-19 is disproportionately affecting Black people, how will it benefit Black people to be a part of these vaccine trials? More explicitly, do you think that it would save more Black lives?

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Unfortunately, Black people may be disproportionately excluded from the initial vaccine trials because you cant have any underlying issues.

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But we still need more African Americans in these drug treatment studies because the data is crucial. That information, the safety assessmentswe need more African Americans to make sure that this data is fit for everyone and not just the white people.

I have family who are skeptical of vaccinations. But I had to explain to them that I understand the fear, but when you look at the landscape of who its killing, Black folks stand to benefit the most by being vaccinated. Is that something that you try to explain to people yourself?

Its either that or stay in the house. I mean, and we cant keep living like this. We just cannot hide behind our windows. You want some type of comfort. Would you rather go out and just wear a mask for the next however many months? Or know that youve done something as far as getting a vaccine and youre wearing a mask? Its another layer of protection.

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And when Black people are a part of clinical trials, how does that give us a more comprehensive view of the data? And whats the issue with mostly white people being part of clinical trials?

Because they dont have as many issues. Were in that higher risk group, and its not enough of that information being examined. White people are also more educated on clinical trials and theres more of a mistrust issue in the African American community. Even if you get placebo, or you get the medication and youre not seeing complete results, if it makes it to the market that data can help someone else.

The idea of helping other Black people can be really appealing. I think its fascinating that you explain it that way. And so, when Black people who suffer from comorbidities are a part of clinical trials, does that give researchers a better idea of how a drug will affect vulnerable communities?

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Yes, exactly. We have a wide age range, from 18 to 65, so that age range is there, and its for all people. But like I said, sometimes its just not enough African Americans involved.

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Right. Its interesting how it is a good thing for Black people to be involved in clinical trials and you have clinicians like yourself who want to make that happen. But youre butting heads with hundreds of years of medical racism.

I know several people that have flu-like symptoms, respiratory type issues, that went to the emergency room and they were turned away because it wasnt severe enough. So the treatment study that were getting is not for those who are really critical, its for those with milder symptoms. Instead of just going back home and just quarantining for 14 days, heres something you can take that might help. Your symptoms could be gone in three or four days versus going home, getting worse and then seven to eight days later youre in the hospital on a ventilator.

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Why is it important to improve the health of Black communities?

We need to be more aware of catching things early. So many people shy away from the doctor because they dont have insurance or feel fine or the history. But regular testing is important for treatment. And to be on a stable treatment plan could prevent other illnesses from occurring.

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And we share lab results with them that they can share with their doctors. For instance, you could come in for one study that you may not qualify for because of your lab results or some other type of tests. And one of those tests may show that you have something else going on. Weve had to notify people of cancer or STDs and things like that that they just didnt know about it.

The amount of people in my own life who Ive had to convince to get comprehensive blood work at least once a year is astounding. Because, like you said, so many folks dont understand why their doctor needs to run a full blood panel on them. And Im like, Because you need to know whats going on! You could have a B12 deficiency, thyroid issues or anything.

Right, even though you feel fine. Its always those underlying issues, you know?

Whats at stake for Black communities here?

Well, we all need to take our health more seriously. And if whats going on is not an eye opener, then I dont know what else is. COVID-19 can affect any of us, but its really affecting those with underlying conditions. Ive been losing a lot of people in my family in Chicago. Why? Because they didnt know about their underlying conditions.

The virus could attack any of us, but its going to attack all of us differently depending on whats going on internally. And it takes medicine a while to come to the market. But this is your chance to take this drug now because it could take years before its marketed. So even if you dont live to see that, at least itll help our next generation.
Everyone knows that Prince Charles and Princess Dianas marriage fell apart because of his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles. Charles and Camilla had wanted to get married long before Charles ever met Diana, but distance and royal status kept them apart.

Charles dated other women after he and Camilla broke up  and before he met Diana. But it might be lesser known that Charles reportedly got too close to Camilla at a party one night while he was dating Anna Wallace  and it caused a major fight between him and his girlfriend.

Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles | Rob Jefferies/Getty Images

Prince Charles and Camilla were always in love

From the time Charles and Camilla first met at a polo match in the 1970s, there was a connection. But only a few decades ago, royal marriage rules werent as flexible as they are today. Though Charles and Camilla wanted to date, she reportedly didnt get the seal of approval from the queen. Plus, Camilla had been involved with Andrew Parker Bowles for some time, and though their relationship was rocky, Camilla ultimately decided to wed Andrew once Charles left to serve in the Navy. But despite that Camilla wed someone else, the two never forgot about each other.

Camilla is responsible for the infamous split between Charles and Diana

Though Camilla has been Charles wife for 15 years, most know her as the woman at the center of the infamous affair that tore apart his marriage with Princess Diana in the 1980s. Charles and Diana were never truly in love; he proposed to her after only 12 dates upon increasing pressure to pop the question due to his age.

When Charles and Diana got married, there wasnt much between them. And Charles once said in an interview that both of them tried to remain faithful until it got to the point where they were so out of love that it no longer made sense. Charles and Camilla eventually started sneaking around, and once the news of the affair broke, Camilla instantly became one of the most disliked women in the United Kingdom.

Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles in 1979 | Tim Graham/Getty Images

It turns out Charles got too close with Camilla while he was dating Anna Wallace, too

Though Camilla is known for breaking up Charles and Dianas marriage (though the marriage was hardly ever fully together to begin with), she might have had a hand in breaking up another one of Charles relationships, too. Charles dated a woman named Anna Wallace prior to his relationship with Diana; he even reportedly proposed to Wallace twice during their relationship. But the two supposedly got into a heated fight when Charles got too close with Camilla at a party behind Wallaces back.

Royal biographer Howard Hodgson wrote in his Prince Charles biography back in 2007 that Charles had spent too much time with Camilla at a party, which prompted a major fight between the two. In the early summer of 1980, the Prince of Wales and Anna had a furious row at Stowell Park, which resulted in Anna borrowing her hostess car to leave in the middle of the night, Hogdson wrote, according to Express. Ultimately, Charles and Anna broke up.

There has been speculation that Charles and Camilla were having an affair before he even met Diana, though it hasnt bene confirmed. Either way, their love for each other clearly never died. The two wed in 2005 and recently celebrated 15 years of marriage.
Stopped by police from proceeding further, hundreds of migrant workers going home on foot created a ruckus at a Ganga bridge on the National Highway-24 in Uttar Pradesh's Amroha district, officials said on Saturday.

According to them, the workers started arriving at the bridge from the Delhi side on Friday afternoon and wanted to go home at the earliest.

Dhanoura Circle Officer Monica Yadav said they had assured them that buses would be arranged for their journey but they were adamant on going home on foot.

Amroha DM Umesh Mishra said they arranged buses for them but some of the workers on bicycles refused to go in these.

They wanted to proceed on their bicycles, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Australia should know whether it is hosting another Olympic Games by 2022, with John Coates urging governments to supercharge the 2032 bid with an economic blitz on the way out of the COVID-19 downturn.

The Australian Olympic Committee president told the annual general meeting on Saturday that the economic stall caused by the coronavirus should be seen as an opportunity for the 2032 bid to regather some steam by the Queensland and federal governments.

The Olympic rings could be back in Australia in 2032. Credit:AP

A South East Queensland bid, with Brisbane at its heart but venues throughout the region, remains the leading contender for 2032 and Coates said the chance had arrived to add the transport infrastructure needed to ensure the region could handle the influx of athletes and visitors.

Under the revised bidding process, Coates said there was "continuous dialogue" with the IOC's Future Host Commission, which tracks the progress of bidding cities and updates them along the way, rather than a grand reveal after a vote.
Kenyans Riot in Nairobi After Demolition of Homes

By VOA News May 08, 2020

Police in Nairobi on Friday reportedly used water cannons, tear gas and live ammunition on demonstrators after they took to the streets to protest the demolition of houses and shops earlier this week that left thousands homeless.

The protests erupted in the Korogocho slum and quickly spread to the ring road that connects it with the rest of the Nigerian capital. Demonstrators set fire to tires and built barricades in the streets, prompting the police response.

City officials Monday began bulldozing homes and shops in the Kariobangi neighborhood that the city says was illegally built on government land. The demolition reportedly left as many 7,000 people homeless.

Rights activists have criticized the government for the timing of the forced evictions, and they have criticized Kenyan police for allegedly using excessive force while enforcing government measures aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus.

The Kenyan government has ordered a nationwide curfew running from 7 p.m. until 5 a.m. because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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By Sofia Menchu

QUETZALTENANGO, Guatemala (Reuters) - Guatemala's indigenous Maya towns are spurning returned migrants, threatening some with burning their homes or lynching as fear spreads about more than 100 deportees from the United States who tested positive for the new coronavirus.

In one city in the Guatemalan highlands, home to a large indigenous population, residents tried to burn down a migrant shelter. In some villages, locals are rebuffing the recently returned and threatening relatives of the deportees with expulsion from their homes.

To date, Guatemalan health officials have said that nearly one fifth of the 585 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Central American country can be traced to people deported from the United States, most of them on two flights in a single day.

That has fueled an angry backlash against migrants as they make their way home.

Carlos Cumes, an 19-year-old whose American dream ended a few weeks ago with his deportation, saw his luck sour again when he returned to the village of Santa Catarina Palopo, hoping to reunite with his family. The village, on the shore of the volcanic Lake Atitlan, is a center for the Kaqchikel Maya whose women wear traditional blue and purple dress.

Walking the final leg to his parents' home, Cumes was confronted by an angry group of locals who had seen televised footage of him being transported toward the village in an ambulance earlier in the day.

He was showered with insults and accused of bringing the disease with him, despite having undergone four days of medical observations in the capital and carrying a document from the health ministry pronouncing him symptom-free of coronavirus.

But none of that allayed the mob's worst fears.

"They threatened to set my family on fire," said Cumes. "I was really afraid and I could only think about leaving the village so that I wouldn't cause any more trouble."

"If I had stayed, they would have burnt my house down and who knows what else," Cumes said in a telephone interview from Guatemala City, where he is observing a mandatory 15-day period of isolation.

Story continues

Some of his own relatives, he said, also turned their back on him.

Biting poverty has made Guatemala one of the main sources of migrants to the United States in recent years, along with neighboring El Salvador and Honduras.

The confirmation by President Alejandro Giammattei that 103 Guatemalans deported from the United States on three flights since late March have tested positive for the virus has fostered popular anxiety and the volatile mood in the impoverished highlands, home to many migrants.

Until recently Guatemalans looked favorably on migrants, due in part to the vital remittances they provide to many families, fear of them has grown dramatically in just a short time.

"Only a few months ago, most people were very happy (with migrants) because they came bringing remittance checks, but now they treat them like criminals," Giammattei said in a national broadcast on April 19.

Mob justice is not uncommon in the mostly indigenous region and although Guatemala suspended most flights from the United States in mid-April in response to the infections, deportations from Mexico continue apace, stoking residents' fears.

The U.S. Immigration and Enforcement Agency (ICE) has said deportees were screened before the flights for elevated temperatures and symptoms associated with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Yet migrants returned by the United States to Colombia, Mexico, Haiti and Jamaica have also tested positive for the virus in recent weeks, raising broader concerns over the deportation program.

Following reports of infected deportees, the agency said it would acquire 2,000 coronavirus tests per month to screen migrants on outgoing flights, even though it likely would not have enough tests for all deportees.

The United States has sent three "humanitarian" flights carrying children since Guatemala imposed its ban, as Central American countries are under pressure from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to continue receiving flights.

A plane with 89 Guatemalans, a dozen of them minors, arrived in the country on April 30, according to the Guatemalan government. An ICE spokeswoman said all the passengers on board were tested for COVID-19 prior to removal and all the tests were negative.

Two Democratic U.S. Senators, Richard Durbin from Illinois and Bob Menendez from New Jersey, said they would be sending a letter to the Trump administration on Friday demanding testing for all migrants before they are deported.

'MAKE THEM LEAVE!'

This month, in the highland capital of Quetzaltenango, a couple of buses carrying 80 migrants deported from Mexico had barely arrived at a make-shift shelter when a rumor began circulating that some sick migrants had fled the shelter and were at large in the community.

Upset residents descended upon the shelter demanding that the deportees be taken away, and the local governor rushed to the scene in an effort to ease the tension.

He publicly confirmed all the deportees had been accounted for and none were on the loose.

The crowd, nonetheless, continued to shout: "Make them leave!"

"'Mr. Governor, think about our kids,'" Governor Julio Queme recalled the residents pleading, speaking to Reuters in a later interview. He said some of the outraged locals were brandishing sticks.

Still others threatened to burn down the shelter, and only dispersed after Queme warned they could be detained for violating Guatemala's curfew, which starts at 6:00 p.m.

But the worry remains among many that returned migrants will infect more locals unless aggressive measures are taken.

"It's scary if any migrants were to escape (the shelter) or if the people who work there were to get infected and go back to their homes and infect everyone else," said Roberto Gomez, a 60-year-old local who says he rarely leaves home due to the risk of contracting the coronavirus.

In another nearby, mostly Maya town called Paxtoca, local officials have prohibited the entry of deported migrants, after a neighboring village last month saw two deportees returned from the United States who later tested positive for coronavirus.

"This decision was made to protect the health of all our neighbors," said Paxtoca Mayor Santiago Perez.

Prior to the pandemic, many deported Guatemalans could expect to be welcomed back home by balloon-toting family members at an air force base in the capital where most would arrive.

Today, that scene is a distant memory.

"I don't know if I should go back to my village or not," said Cumes, who celebrated his birthday on Friday and added that he has faithfully complied with his mandatory isolation.

"I'm really scared," he said. "I'm confused and I don't know what to do."

(Reporting by Sofia Menchu; Additional reporting by Diego Ore in Mexico City and Mica Rosenberg in New York; Writing by David Alire Garcia; Editing by Dan Flynn and Daniel Wallis)
The Punjab Police on Saturday arrested from Haryana a drug smuggler who was wanted in a 532 kg heroin seizure case, police said.

Ranjeet Singh Rana was arrested from a hideout in Sirsa in Haryana, Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta told PTI.

Rana was wanted in a narcotics haul case in which the Customs department last year had seized 532 kg of heroin worth Rs 2,700 crore in rock salt consignments at the Integrated Check Post at Attari in Amritsar.

He was the kingpin of the narcotics haul. Rana was nabbed following recent arrest of Hizbul Mujahideen operatives in Amritsar.

"Following up further on arrests of Hizbul operatives in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, the Punjab Police juggernaut moved further to nab Ranjeet of Amritsar, one of the biggest drug smugglers of India from Sirsa today. Cheeta was wanted in 532 kg heroin haul from Attari in June 2019," the DGP tweeted.

Along with Rana, his brother was also arrested in an operation conducted by the Punjab Police in Haryana.

"Ranjeet Rana & his brother Gagandeep@Bhola arrested from Begu village in Sirsa, Haryana. Ranjit Rana@Cheeta, suspected to have smuggled in heroin & other drugs from Pakistan, camouflaged in as many as 6 rock salt consignments through ICP Amritsar between 2018-2019," Gupta tweeted.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Trinamool Congress on Saturday responded to Union home minister Amit Shahs charge that the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government is not facilitating the movement of stranded migrant workers.

Amit Shah has written to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, saying her government is doing injustice to migrant workers by not allowing the special Shramik trains to reach the state.

Union home minister Amit Shah speaks after weeks of silence only to mislead people with lies, the TMCs Abhishek Banerjee was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

The Centre is lying West Bengal is running 711 camps for migrants in the state. We are taking good care of them, Abhishek Banerjee, who is also the chief ministers nephew, said.

Amit Shah had pointed out in his letter that the Centre was not receiving the expected support from the state government in helping stranded migrant workers from West Bengal.

West Bengal government is not allowing trains with migrants reaching the state. This is injustice with WB migrant labourers. This will create further hardship for them, Amit Shah had said in his letter to Mamata Banerjee.

The issue of migrant workers is the latest flashpoint between the Centre and the West Bengal government amid a row over the states efforts to control the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

The Centre and the state have exchanged allegations over the criteria for reporting deaths from the infection, and while While Bengal says the Centre is trying to politicise a public health crisis, the Union government maintains that state officials are ignoring repeated warnings to step up the fight against the disease.

Federal officials have said that the region has not conducted adequate tests and that there has been mismanagement over identifying hotspots and containing them.

Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla also slammed the state government for a very low rate of testing and high rate of mortality, 13.2%, by far the highest for any state.

The Centre has also accused the state government of not allowing cross-border movement of goods trucks to Bangladesh.

There are 1,678 Covid-19 cases and 160 deaths in West Bengal until Saturday morning.
Hollywood star Jake Gyllenhaal says he is ready to focus on his personal life and that includes having kids some day.

The 39-year-old actor said he has neglected his family a lot due to his commitment to his work but now he has "lightened up".

"I'm interested in my life, even more so than my work. I've reached a point in my career where I feel hungry in a different way. I've seen how much of my life I've neglected as a result of being committed to that work and that idea," Gyllenhaal told British Vogue in an interview.

"(I've) lightened up. Seeing life as something that is, you know, fleeting, and the world being as it is now. I've turned to my family, I've turned to my friends and I've turned to love. I'm a little less interested in the work, I would say, and more interested in that," he added.

Gyllenhaal, who is rumoured to be dating French model Jeanne Cadieu for the past two years,said that he "definitely" plans to have kids in future.

"Yes, of course I do. I definitely do. The act of making love to make a child... the real thing is life. You get to the end of the show and that's what it's about. Children. Children and art.

"I'm not someone who has ever existed in a space where I've really known what's coming next. But you do have to be open to it. And there has been no other time in my life that I can safely say...," the actor added.

He complimented his mother Naomi Foner and sister Maggie Gyllenhaal, calling them "some of the most extraordinary people I know".

"Our vulnerability with each other, our ability to communicate about how tough times can be is what I'm most proud of in my family. For everything I hope to pass on, that's the most important," Gyllenhaal added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A group of residents meditate outdoors in April at Meadowood, a senior living facility in Worcester. Such activities are an effort to reduce isolation. Read more

Brenda Flock and Susan Ellis dont know each other, but the two women, both 62, have been in the same level of coronavirus purgatory since early March. Thats when the senior facilities where their loved ones live stopped allowing visitors.

Flocks mother lives "independently with the help of round-the-clock private aides at the Watermark at Logan Square, a retirement community that offers multiple tiers of senior care. I couldnt see her on her  birthday, which broke my heart, Flock said. (Maxine Flock is in her 90s and would be horrified if her daughter said exactly which birthday it was.) The facility has told Brenda Flock that 57 residents have tested positive for COVID-19, but not how many have died.

Flocks mother, who had a stroke three years ago, doesnt understand FaceTime, so Flock, wearing a red Phillies cap, comes from Roxborough to wave at her from outside. Flock always phones her mother to say good night.

Ellis has called to calm her husband, Frank, who lives in ManorCare Health Services-Wallingford, a nursing home. At 59, he has multiple sclerosis and early-onset Alzheimers disease. At his home, 110 people either have the virus or, like Frank, are recovering from it. The 193-bed facility wont say how many have died, which is fine with Ellis.

Frank seems healthy now, but Susan Ellis was terrified shed lose him after the diagnosis. I wanted to be able to tell him it was OK. Now the Norwood woman wishes she could hold her husbands hand. Its just sad and lonely," she said, "and it breaks my heart and I know that I cant be there and we have no choice.

As much of society begins contemplating greater freedom from coronavirus restrictions, Flock and Ellis foresee continued lockdowns for their loved ones.

Until there are more and better tests available, Flock said, she doesnt see how senior facilities can open up again without running a huge, huge, huge risk.

I think nursing homes are going to be last, Ellis said.

I think we have several months of this

Flock and Ellis are not experts, but many experts agree with them. This sector, devastated by a virus that can spread without symptoms and is especially deadly to older, sicker people, will likely have to continue taking extreme precautions well after others have resumed more normal activities.

In fact, the more that people on the outside return to offices, restaurants, and stores, the greater the danger to frail elders who depend on the care of workers who travel between the two worlds. Adding families back to the mix before theres widespread, quick testing and effective treatments or a vaccine raises the risk of reigniting the wildfire of cases that has raced through some facilities.

 READ MORE: Coronavirus appears most dangerous to seniors. How can they be protected?

The virus has killed thousands of residents of long-term care nationally. More than half of the deaths in Pennsylvania and New Jersey have been among people connected to care homes.

The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine, which represents medical directors of nursing homes and other senior facilities, has explicitly said that government entities should stipulate such facilities will be the last to reopen.

We should not be looking to lift visitor restrictions in the immediate future, and I know thats going to be profoundly disappointing to a lot of people," said David Nace, the organizations president and clinical chief of geriatrics at the University of Pittsburgh.

I definitely feel for family members and I hope that this ends sooner rather than later, but sadly, I think we have several months of this, said Morgan Katz, an infectious-diseases specialist at Johns Hopkins University who is working with the State of Maryland to fight the virus in its nursing homes.

Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge, which represents nonprofit nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, said her members cant keep the virus out without the ability to test staff at the beginning of every shift. Her members, she said, will be slow-walking their process of reopening and being incredibly cautious and deliberate about it. They know whats at stake, because theyve been living it.

What the near future could hold

Some facilities, though, are beginning to imagine what the near future holds. Could family members see their loved ones in a dedicated room, with a tall wall of plexiglass between them? During the summer, could they visit outside?

Even if family visits remain unacceptable, maybe some socially distanced activities could come back in places where residents are healthy. Some already do exercises and hallway bingo. Nate Wardle, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Health, said the state is working on guidance for how care homes can return to more typical conditions.

Keeping seniors safe from this virus comes with a hefty price. Isolation, loneliness, and boredom can lead to depression and cognitive decline. Jason Karlawish, codirector of the Penn Memory Center, said family caregivers like Flock and Ellis know residents well enough to spot changes and advocate for good care. Jerold Rothkoff, an elder-law attorney with offices in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, said residents often get better care when families visit frequently. They bring food, do laundry. That is gone and the staff had to pick up the slack, and they cant do that, he said.

Karlawish and Rothkoff argue that key family members, outfitted with proper protective gear and trained to use it, should be able to visit homes without outbreaks soon. Rothkoff pointed out that the virus has obviously gotten into many care homes, largely through staff, even while families were held at bay.

Once we accept that caregivers have a role in care of their family, Karlawish said, "I think the next step is to work out the quotidian details of who and when and how instead of just saying no no no no. "

Flock wonders about that too. Her mothers aides go in and out of Watermark. Flock has offered to take some of their shifts, protected as they are. She was told no. Life doesnt go on forever, she said. I dont know what I should do.

Better prepared next time

The coronavirus likely entered many nursing homes before the nation realized how many people can be infected  and infectious  without having symptoms. Facilities thought they could protect residents by taking staff temperatures, not realizing how many people can have the disease without fevers. Testing was reserved for those with clear-cut symptoms, and it took days to get results. The disease could get a stubborn foothold before facilities knew they had a problem.

Staffing, funding, and infection-control problems predated the pandemic in some nursing homes. Staffing problems got worse as employees stayed home because of symptoms or fear. Crucial supplies like masks, gloves, and gowns were  and sometimes still are  in short supply. Many facilities cant procure enough tests to assess how big their coronavirus problem is.

 READ MORE: Assume coronavirus is already there, says a Philly nursing home doctor who learned the hard way

While early data from China made it clear the elderly were at very high risk, industry leaders complain that hospitals got the lions share of attention until nursing home cases mounted.

I absolutely think weve been slow at every stage in getting resources to nursing homes, said David Grabowski, a health-care policy professor at Harvard Medical School. Many facilities, he said, are still in crisis stage.

Reopening will require that homes be better prepared for future waves of COVID-19.

The federal government last week said it would send enough personal protective equipment (PPE) for a week to nursing homes, a step some advocates derided as too little too late.

Pennsylvanias health secretary, Rachel Levine, said the state is now sending the vast majority of its PPE to nursing and personal care homes. The state has also teamed with ECRI, a Plymouth Meeting nonprofit devoted to health-care quality, and the Patient Safety Authority to help nursing homes improve infection-control procedures and be better positioned for future outbreaks.

New Jerseys attorney general, Gurbir Grewal, is investigating what went wrong in his states nursing homes. For many of these facilities, this was the equivalent of a 500-year flood, he said during a briefing last week. The state has begun to test all nursing home residents. It also is delivering PPE and has brought in experts to improve procedures and oversight.

 FAQ: Your coronavirus questions, answered.

A possible silver lining of the case deluge in some facilities, Katz said, is that some may now have herd immunity  enough people who have had the disease to prevent easy spread. Scientists are still not sure, though, that people who have had COVID-19 cant get it again.

Katz thinks nursing homes will be better positioned if they start testing everybody now and then test again in a few days, as Maryland plans to do. At one Maryland facility, 63% of residents tested positive. (Almost three-quarters had no initial symptoms.) A week later, nearly a quarter of those who had tested negative had turned positive.

After that first round of tests, Katz thinks facilities should keep kits on hand to speed the testing process if new residents develop symptoms. Staff would need more frequent tests.

All that could help keep cases down in the facility, but visitors are still a problem, said Karen Schoelles, a geriatrician who is leading ECRIs Pennsylvania coronavirus team. We dont know how well masks protect against the virus. We dont even know what proper protective gear is for this virus, she said. We dont have a really good way to say its safe for you  you specific individual  to come into this building.

In the meantime, Mary Ersek, an elder-care expert at Penn Nursing, hopes facilities will beef up their efforts to maintain virtual connections between family members and residents. The community could help by donating iPads, offering to talk with lonely residents by phone or computer, or performing virtual concerts.

For now, Ellis is raising her husbands spirits by sending presents: a plant, Incredible Edibles and Tastykakes. Shes on the nursing homes list to FaceTime with him. Shes also started to prepare him for the possibility that she wont see him in person for a long time. She wants him safe and thinks everyone else should, too. It galls her that some seem ready to sacrifice nursing home residents for the economy.

We need to respect and honor these people because each one of them has a story," she said. "Each one of them had a life. Each one of them contributed to society. Theyre not disposable.
Minister of Defense of Ukraine Andriy Taran has informed the high-level group of foreign strategic advisors of the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of Ukraine (DRAB - Defense Reform Advisory Board) about the creation of the Department of International Defense Cooperation of the Ministry of Defense.

"A special unit will operate in the department that will be in charge of bringing the international activities of the Ministry to a new level and creating conditions for interaction with the DRAB," the press release of the Ministry of Defense said. Taran assured that the Department will be staffed on a competitive basis by the best experts in the field of international cooperation.

Taran's video conference with a group of high-level foreign strategic advisors was held on May 8.

The event was attended by senior representatives of the defense departments of partner countries of Ukraine, such as the United States, UK, Canada, Germany, the Republic of Poland and the Republic of Lithuania. DRAB was moderated by United States Chief Strategic Advisor, Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Keith Dayton.

Foreign advisors expressed hope for an early return to work directly in the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine after lifting the restrictions caused by the pandemic.
Gov. Phil Murphy on Friday warned that New Jersey is in a paradoxical period with the coronavirus outbreak -- the number of cases are falling and hospitalizations are down, but the deaths keep rising.

This is something that Anthony Fauci, the federal governments top infectious disease expert, warned about, Murphy said.

State officials reported 1,985 new positive cases and 162 deaths from the coronavirus. That brings the states totals to 135,454 cases and 8,952 deaths from the virus. Hospitalizations have fallen this week below 5,000 for the first time in 5 weeks. There were 4,628 people being treated in the states 71 hospitals for the illness as of 10 p.m. Friday.

Murphy is facing increasing pressure from lawmakers, business leaders and the growing number of unemployed residents to reopen the state or to give a more definitive reopening plan.

I hear you, Murphy said. But here is the reality: Public health creates economic health. It is not the other way around. And if we transpose those steps or if we jump the gun irresponsibly, we throw  based on any amount of evidence  gasoline on the fire and it gets a lot worse. Never mind from a public health standpoint, the economic health gets a lot worse, Murphy told MSNBC.

The governor also said Friday that asymptomatic residents will be able to get tested for the coronavirus beginning Sunday at the drive-thru testing site at Bergen Community College and starting Monday at the PNC Bank Arts Center testing site.

Expanded testing is one the keys to getting the state reopened. "By building-out our testing capacity, we can instill confidence among our residents that we are in front of the response and winning the fight against COVID-19, Murphy said.

Heres a roundup of coronavirus news:

4-year-old is first N.J. child to die from coronavirus. A 4-year-old with an underlying medical condition is the first child in New Jersey to die from complications related to the coronavirus, state officials announced Friday.

FDA approves home saliva coronavirus test developed by Rutgers. A much-heralded saliva test for the coronavirus developed at a Rutgers University lab has gained federal approval and will allow people to collect their own test samples at home and send them out to be processed.

5 nursing homes, 85 coronavirus deaths. State asked to intervene in South Jersey. Camden County officials on Friday sent a letter to Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli, asking her to assign a state monitor for five nursing homes.

A prison nurse died, and her union says N.J. fails to protect staff from coronavirus behind bars. Nurses in New Jersey prisons are working in horrific conditions that pose an imminent hazard" to their health amid the coronavirus pandemic, a union said this week in a workplace complaint against Rutgers University Correctional Health Care, the group that provides medical care in the states adult and juvenile systems.

N.J. National Air Guard to conduct flyover next week to honor coronavirus workers. The flyovers will feature three F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 177th Fighter Wing and a KC-135R Stratotanker from the 108th Wing.

Cory Booker calls for EMS responders to receive hazard pay in next stimulus package. At least 13 EMS responders across the state have died as a result of the coronavirus since March 31, Michael Bascom, the chief of the NJ EMS Task Force, said Friday. And hundreds of other EMS officers remain sick with COVID-19 symptoms, according to Bascom, who acknowledged that New Jerseys rescue squads have been pressed into duty like never before.

Vice President Mike Pences press secretary tests positive for coronavirus. Vice President Mike Pences press secretary has the coronavirus, the White House said Friday, making her the second person who works at the White House complex known to test positive for the virus this week.

Some N.J. Catholic churches will begin to reopen for private prayer amid coronavirus. Catholic churches within the Diocese of Trenton will begin to reopen for private prayer, but gatherings for Mass or other group liturgical celebrations still cannot be held until further notice due to the coronavirus.

Ted Sherman, Rebecca Everett, Brianna Kudisch, The Associated Press, Rebecca Panico, Blake Nelson, Brent Johnson, Bobby Olivier and Keith Sargeant contributed to this report.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com.
- The power outage in Uganda occurred on Saturday, May 9, at 6am, almost at the same time with Kenya's countrywide blackout

- The outage happened moments before President Yoweri Museveni's public address on CoVID-19

- Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited said it has dispatched a team of engineers to investigate the cause of the blackout

Uganda has suffered a nationwide power outage after an electric fault at its main national grid.

The blackout occurred at 600am on Saturday, May 9, almost the same time with Kenya's power outage which happened at 5:49, according to Kenya Power and Lighting Company.

READ ALSO: Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni says obesity is a sign of corruption

Electrician fixing an electric fault on a power pole. Photo: KPLC.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Maria actor Mr William proves his class while dancing with daughter during her wedding

Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited said it has dispatched a team of engineers to investigate the cause of the blackout.

We have lost transmission across the nation which has caused a nationwide blackout, please bear with us as we investigate the cause and work on restoration. said the company as quoted by Daily Monitor

The outage happened moments before President Yoweri Museveni's public address on CoVID-19.

The address was delayed for about an hour.

This is the second time Uganda is an experiencing a nationwide blackout in less than a month.

On Friday, May 8, the UETCL notified the country that some parts would experience power interruption on Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 9am to 5pm.

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

Eastleigh residents' plea to Uhuru | Tuko TV

Source: TUKO.co.ke
NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE W hen youve done your days viewing of government coronavirus briefings  Governor Cuomos, Governor Newsoms, President Trumps  spare a minute for Grand Ayatollah Khameneis. In a cozy fireside-chat format, Irans Supreme Leader has been taking the opportunity presented by this moment of shared global suffering to remind the world that the true enemy of mankind is not epidemic disease, but the vicious, lying, brazen, avaricious, cruel, merciless, terrorist United States, and atheist, materialist Western civilization.

Throughout the Middle East Khameneis clients provide a steady chorus for this kind of invective. One consequence is that the claim he is now broadcasting  that the U.S. government intentionally created the coronavirus  has become a commonplace among his adherents. A French historian once described the young Ali Khamenei as the Robespierre of the Iranian Revolution. We are living in the world in which Robespierre won  the one in which that most radical and bloodthirsty of revolutionaries lives on, in his dotage, to spread his message to millions over social media.

Laurence Louers new book is a reminder of quite how much the world has lost by not having a responsible regime in Iran. Sunnis and Shia is principally an exploration of that second great Islamic denomination, which revolves around the figure of Mohammeds son-in-law, Ali ibn Abu Talib, known as the first Shiite Imam. Louer shows how reason and the embrace of rationalism is central to Shia faith and theology, and explains the contextualism that allows its clergy to adapt to social and historical change  in ways denied to their majority Sunni counterparts. She emphasizes Shiisms historic role as a creed of social justice, a movement of the weak against the strong, and of the people against unjust rulers  alongside a Sunni orthodoxy that embraces hierarchy and established authority. It was Shiism that would have been the faith most naturally predisposed to bring about a reconciliation of Islam with Western scientific modernity  and yet it is everywhere submerged under the atavism of its political leaders, from Khamenei to Hezbollah to Iraqs rival sectarian warlords. The world has lost not just by the absence of a moderate Iran, but of a moderate Shia power.

Story continues

The early history is well known. Ali, who had married Mohammeds daughter Zaynab, became the fourth Muslim Caliph in 656, almost a quarter of a century after Mohammeds death in 632. But his reign coincided with deepening division in the growing Arab Caliphate and, amid a revolt led by a powerful rival in Syria, Ali was assassinated in 661. The Sunni Caliphate was continued from Damascus, but Alis followers broke away and recognized his descendants as a lineage of divinely appointed Imams who would lead a community of true Muslims. When the third Imam, Alis son Hussein, was killed in 680 in battle with the forces of the Caliph, his martyrdom became a focal point of Shiite belief commemorated in the festival of Ashura, and the site of his death in Karbala in southern Iraq became one of the main sites of Shiite pilgrimage  alongside Alis mausoleum in Najaf.

The story of the Shiite Imams to follow is almost a parody of factionalism  and its calcified remains still lie dotted across the map of the modern Middle East. A dispute over the succession to the fourth Imam (d. 713) produced a splinter group known as the Zaydis, who went on to dominate the politics and government of northern Yemen for over a thousand years. A dispute over the succession to the sixth Imam (d. 765) brought us the Ismailis, who now reside in the south of present-day Saudi Arabia, and the Lebanese Druze. The lack of charisma shown by the tenth and eleventh Imams allowed a pretender to arise in the 870s, bequeathing to us the Alawites, whose successors are still hanging on to power as the rulers of modern Syria.

These petty sects are better known as Alidism. Mainstream Shiism, by contrast, was the creation of the educated and prosperous clergy of southern Iraq in the ninth century. Frustrated by the proliferation of radical creeds, and impatient with ineffectual Imams, the Shia ulema hit upon a deus ex machina in the claim that the twelfth Imam  a minor, with no obvious successor, who presumably died  had miraculously disappeared in 874, and would remain hidden until his return on Judgement Day. In the meantime, they would be responsible for interpreting His will  and thus the will of God. As the architects and guardians of dogma, these Shiite clergy were able to consolidate Shiism into an organized faith with a sophisticated theology able to rival the established corpus of Sunnism.

The final piece in our contemporary puzzle fell into place in 1501, when a new Safavid king of Persia established Shiism as the official state religion. From that point on, geopolitical and ethnic rivalry was fused with religious schism, as Sunni Ottomans and Shiite Persians confronted one another along a frontier stretching thousands of miles, from the mountains of Kurdistan in the north to the Persian Gulf in the south. In the 20th century, it would be this divide, now separating Iran and Iraq, that would form the bloodiest international border outside Europe  one of the few, its worth recalling, that had nothing to do with Western colonialism.

Sunnis and Shia is also concerned with exploring how the sectarian divide has been managed in practice in a range of national contexts in the present day  including in Pakistan, Bahrain, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. It used to be said of the Washington, D.C., foreign-policy establishment that, having discovered the SunniShia split in the aftermath of the second Iraq war, they started to see its malign hand everywhere. Louers survey is an effective antidote. She makes the commonsense point that the pattern of SunniShia engagement throughout the Islamic world has as often been one of coexistence and cooperation as of sectarian conflict and war. We can find, for example, even in the puritanical Saudi Kingdom large Shiite populations free to apply their own religious law within their community, and whose leaders have served on the kings consultative council. In Bahrain, now a major flash-point, we can find a deep history of Sunni monarchs engaging closely with loyalist Shiite subjects, not least because they were valued by their Sunni rulers as allies against the Communists.

What can we learn from this? Well, one thing that seems emphatically not to be a good solution for managing sectarian difference may be the one that governments and international agencies have long pursued  to press Western-style democratic and open political systems upon Middle Eastern societies. Indeed, the main points of SunniShia dispute could hardly have been designed to be more potentially incendiary if freely aired in the public square. One Shia ritual Louer identifies involves the public insulting of Mohammeds earliest Companions and the first three Muslim Caliphs  that is, precisely those figures most sacred to Sunnis as models for true religious life. (They are known as the Salaf  hence Salafism.) Most modern Shiites have retreated from their early claims that the Koran itself is a Sunni-doctored falsification. But many continue to regard fundamental elements of Sunni worship as false, and do not regard Sunni mosques as real mosques. For their part, Sunnis give as good as they get. Louer tells us that there is a school of Sunni scholars today who maintain that Shiism tout court was created as part of an eighth-century Jewish conspiracy designed to sow discord in the Muslim community. One suspects that increased contact, freer debate, and better understanding, rather than building bridges, would simply make people hate one another more.

In a political world that requires tact and subtlety, where struggling factions reach for recognition and toleration, rather than radical equality, there can be nothing so dangerous as religious entrepreneurs promising political utopias  which brings us back to Ayatollah Khamenei. In each of Louers national audits, the story since 1979 is one of extremist violence and steady radicalization of sectarian difference, as Tehrans efforts to export revolution throughout the region transformed once-integrated Shiite communities into vectors for Iranian influence and interest. The Shiite pressure groups and civil-society organizations of the 1970s became the Islamic Liberation Fronts of the 1980s. Coup attempts replaced compromise, as in Bahrain in 1981.

Many of these national scenes have yet to recover  and so long as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards exist to freewheel around the region as gun-runners and king-makers, it is difficult to see how recovery begins. One doesnt have to admire John Bolton to share his hope that Irans current rulers will come to an unpleasant end, sooner rather than later. In the meantime, Sunnis and Shia is a reminder of all the reasons to be excited for what may come, once they do.

More from National Review
Rep. Joo Ho-young of the main opposition United Future Party speaks after being elected as the party's new floor leader at the National Assembly in Seoul, Friday. The four-term lawmaker who won an Assembly seat for Daegu's Suseong-A constituency in the April 15 general election, beat Kwon Young-se, a former three-term lawmaker. Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-geun
WASHINGTONVoters in the United States appear to be faced with a choice this year between two presidential candidates accused of sexual assault.

Thats a depressing situation, perhaps all the more so in the age of #MeToo. However, that is where things stand, with Donald Trump, the incumbent president, accused by at least 25 women of sexual assault, and Joe Biden, the presumed Democratic nominee, accused in recent months by former staffer Tara Reade of assaulting her in 1993.

What may be more sobering is that these allegations may not play much of a role in deciding the election itself. Lara Brown, a political scientist at George Washington University who wrote her dissertation on the effect of scandals on elections, says partisanship will likely be a bigger factor. She sees voters asking: Do I want the tarnished person who agrees with me, or do I want the tarnished person who disagrees with me?

As Reades account of Biden cornering her in a Capitol Hill hallway in 1993, pushing her up against a wall and digitally penetrating her against her will, have become public in the past several weeks high-profile advocates have been dealing with how to frame their thinking around how to confront the allegations against Biden, and how to approach a choice between him and Trump, given all the available evidence.

Times Up, the Hollywood organization founded to combat sexual harassment, issued a statement from its CEO Tina Tchen after Biden appeared on cable news recently to flatly deny the allegations and call for the release of any congressional personnel records related to it.

We have reached a pivotal moment in our nation when candidates for president are accused of sexual assault, the statement said. Like those of many other advocacy organizations, it balanced a demand for more thorough investigation into Bidens case with context placing them beside the accusations against Trump.

No longer can claims like this go ignored. Vice President Joe Biden needed to address Tara Reades allegation today. We call for complete transparency into this claim and the multiple claims against President Donald Trump. As we go forward, American voters are entitled to a full understanding of all allegations of this nature. Women should be heard, treated respectfully, and have their allegations taken seriously.

Facing a choice of leaders in the election, professor Brown of GWU said her research suggests issues of character may not be as much a factor in general elections as people may suppose. One of the things that was very evident in my analysis, which appears to translate at the presidential level, is that scandals are sort of viewed through a partisan lens, she says. Candidates with scandals, she says, If they were going to lose, tend to lose in their primary, not their general election.

Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, she says, Are looking at Joe Biden versus Donald Trump and they say, well, he may not be perfect, but hes certainly a heck of a lot better than Trump. And even if were talking about sexual assault allegations, Biden has one very serious allegation thats come against him. Trump has more than a dozen. You know, Trump was not too long ago, alleged to have raped a woman in a department store. And no one has really even taken that allegation seriously.

What might be more of a factor, Brown says, is that Republican voters have already considered and accepted Trumps history of being accused and the leak of his videotaped comments appearing to brag about sexual assault. Republicans, basically when they nominated Donald Trump back in 2016, they just accepted who he was, she says. He has admitted that he is kind of, you know  this is who I am, right? So hes authentically awful. And its like, OK, and nobody really cares.

Biden, by contrast, has been running on the strength of his character. Where this has been something of a problem for Biden is that, you know, Biden is somebody who says that hes a decent individual, and he cares deeply and hes fought for women. So where it becomes more problematic, is if it plays into a narrative that he is kind of being something of a hypocrite.

This was, directly, the tack taken by Reade when in an interview recently with former network news host Megyn Kelly. You should not be running on character for the president of the United States, Reade told Biden through the interview.

Still, Brown says her analysis of the coming election is that most voters inclined to vote against Trump  including the independents who typically decide elections  are far more motivated by ousting the current president than by any other factor. And nothing in Reades story is likely to change that. The thing Im most interested about is, will all this conversation about Tara Reade eventually boomerang onto the president? With regard to all of his sexual assault allegations? Because it hasnt yet.

Those depressed by the situation of uncertainty about whether the only credible choices for president are guilty of sexual assault may find little solace in Tchen of Times Up resolve in her statement that, By no means is the conversation about sexual assault and power in America over.

People are discussing this, and wrestling with it. The allegations remain scandalous.

Brown says she drew a conclusion writing her dissertation 20 years ago that freaks her out a bit when she reflects on it. I talked about the fact that scandal, in some ways, is a positive thing. It tells us that the public still can be shocked around moral issues. So, if there is no scandal, its because there is no surprise around what is typically a secret revelation that becomes public, she says.

If were at a place where there is no transgression that seems scandalous, that actually worries me much more about our polity and our society than that individual candidates have scandals.

Read more about:
Shell Midstream Partners LP (NYSE:SHLX)

Q1 2020 Earnings Call

, 1:00 p.m. ET

Contents:

Prepared Remarks

Questions and Answers

Call Participants

Prepared Remarks:

Operator

Good morning. My name is Shalon, and I'll be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to today's webcast for Shell Midstream Partners.

I would now like to turn the call over to Jamie Parker, Inventor Relations Officer. You may begin your conference.

Jamie Parker -- Investor Relations Officer

Thank you. Welcome to today's webcast for Shell Midstream Partners. With me today are Kevin Nichols, CEO; Shawn Carsten, CFO; and Steve Ledbetter, VP, Commercial and Business Development. Slide 2 contains our Safe Harbor statement. We will be making forward-looking statements related to future events and expectations during the presentation and Q&A session. Actual results may differ materially from such statements and factors that could cause actual results to be different are included here as well as in today's press release and under risk factors in our filings with the SEC. Today's call also contains certain non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to the earnings press release and Appendix 1 of this presentation for important disclosures regarding such measures including reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP financial measures. We will take questions at the end of the presentation.

With that, I'll turn the call over to Kevin Nichols.

Kevin M. Nichols -- Director, Chief Executive Officer and President

Hey. Thanks, Jamie, and good morning, everyone, and welcome to our first quarter webcast. These are extraordinary times both within our industry as well as worldwide. So before we begin, let me acknowledge the dynamic circumstances that we're all facing and tell you how Shell Midstream is responding, keeping care of our people and our assets top of mind. Our operational teams are all taking recommended precautions while keeping our facilities fully operational and running safely to ensure we keep America's energy moving. And I'm very proud of my team who continues to give their best under these difficult circumstances. Shell has a long history of caring, listening, responding to our customers, our colleagues and communities.

And we will do what is necessary to manage and recover from this unique time in our history. So with the current landscape serving as the backdrop for today's call, I'll focus my comments in three areas -- the impacts we're seeing across our business, the actions that we are taking in the short term, and ultimately how we're positioned for long-term resilience, something we have always demonstrated. So let me start with the impacts that we're seeing across our business from the unprecedented supply/demand volatility. The assets currently experiencing the most impact are those transporting refined products. The industry has seen demand reduction across the country of approximately 50% for gasoline, 80% for jet fuel, and around 10% for diesel.

And these reductions are impacting pipeline throughputs as well as causing refineries in the US to lower run rates and in some cases shut down. So with refineries consuming less crude, crude is finding its way to storage which is quickly filling up, and this is causing producers in some basins to reduce production. The situation remains dynamic and our systems will be impacted by varying degrees should the demand imbalance continue. I'll leave it to Shawn to talk more about the second quarter later in his section. So how are we taking action in the near term to navigate through the uncertainty? There are three distinct levers we are pulling real-time. First, we are maximizing opportunities to grow revenue, particularly with storage. As an example, we've secured additional storage in the Mars caverns to meet customers' needs for crude storage on our systems given the contango market environment.

Second, we are actively reducing our costs, focusing on must-have activities not only to reduce exposure in the near term, but ultimately to achieve sustainable cost reduction, something I will discuss more in future quarters. And third, we are selectively reducing discretionary project spend without sacrificing long-term growth aspirations. It's important to note that despite the difficult environment, we continue to progress discussions with producers for the Mars expansion project. We expect to sign definitive agreements by the end of the year and have the project online in 2021. So now, let me talk about how we're positioned for long-term resilience. In the offshore and in general as it relates to crude, there's been much talk about lower price environment and which areas of crude production will be affected.

We believe that the production basins we serve will fare better than others. Let me tell you more about this. It's been reported that certain onshore and shallow water producers have started to shut in production. However, it's important to note that the majority of the customers we serve in the Gulf of Mexico are large investment-grade companies with the ability to weather the current environment. On top of that, volumes that we transport are predominantly medium-sour crude grade, which the refining centers in the Gulf Coast need to maximize diesel production. And diesel is the refined product in the highest demand in today's environment. This advantage is supplemented by our corridor systems optionality with access to multiple refining centers and access to storage hubs like Luke, St. James and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, also with access to water.

To-date, the crudes being impacted the most both in terms of production as well as price are those that are landlocked with less access to water. With a unique optionality and crude-grade advantage along with a lower marginal cost of production, we feel strongly that the Gulf will retain its long-term strength, and as always, we believe we are well-positioned with one of the premier corridor networks to capture these benefits for the Partnership. Lastly, in our onshore portfolio, our assets span the commodity supply chain and possess unique advantages long term. Examples include Colonial and Explorer which are the most cost-efficient options to their respective demand centers and markets from the Gulf Coast, Zydeco, still one of the best connected systems onshore for crude in the Gulf Coast.

And in the case of our refinery gas pipelines and Norco Logistics assets, we transport and store the primary feed stocks to keep our affiliates running backed by long-term take or pay contracts. Like the offshore, we believe our onshore assets are well positioned and should ramp up once demand recovers. So before I turn the call over to Shawn, let me leave you with a few thoughts. While the entire country and our industry are dealing with difficult times, our portfolio is well positioned and is resilient. We are taking actions to manage the business in the short term, all the while progressing value-added long-term projects for the Partnership and Shell Midstream and our customers are well-positioned to weather the current macro environment. Clearly, there's uncertainty in the markets at this time. However, our forward outlook is more about U.S. demand recovery and less about commodity price, and I am confident in our ability to rebound with strength as demand in the U.S. moves toward recovery.

So with that, I'll turn it over to Shawn. Shawn?

Shawn Carsten -- Director, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Thanks, Kevin. Now, let me go over the full quarter results where we saw continued strength across our portfolio through the first quarter. For the quarter, the Partnership performed in line with our expectations earning $138 million in net income generating $196 million in adjusted EBITDA and delivering $170 million in cash available for distribution. Now when we look quarter-over-quarter, the primary drivers on an EBITDA and cash level basis were higher distributions from Colonial and Explorer and increased throughput on the Eastern Corridor, partially offset by not having the Mars reimbursement payment which was received last quarter. So now let me move quickly to our forward guidance. As Kevin discussed earlier, there are quite a few moving pieces that could affect the Partnership's earnings for the second quarter of 2020.

On April 1, we closed on the acquisition of the Mattox Pipeline and the Norco Logistics assets from Shell. And as previously discussed, the assets are backed by long-term fixed commitments and are expected to provide an estimated $125 million to $135 million of cash flow from operations, all this during the 12 months following the closing of the acquisition. Now in the capex space, we now plan to spend about $38 million for the year, of which around $6 million will be growth capital. Now, this is a reduction from prior guidance of $46 million of capex spend in 2020. This reduction is primarily related to maintenance capital as we have deferred projects to outer years and have slowed our Permian growth. And in the near term, we face headwinds related to reduced refined products demand across our finished product systems along with the subsequent impacts on crude storage and ultimately oil producers.

Now these challenges are primarily related to demand disruption, which backs up the value chain all the way to the crude. We anticipate our second quarter coverage ratio to be less than 1 times. But given the current levels of uncertainty, we're unable to provide a reliable range of outcomes at this time. The level of impact will be dependent on how long refined products demand remains low and if crude throughput on our systems is further curtailed. But let me remind everyone of our strong financial framework and a conservative balance sheet. We entered the current macro environment from a position of strength. We have over $1.2 billion of liquidity available to us and with very few facility covenants with our lender, Shell. And as highlighted earlier, we continue to hold a very positive long-term view on our onshore assets, which provide cost advantage transport to key demand centers along with access to export over the water.

We're also positive on our Gulf of Mexico where producers have already made their investment, and we believe the majority will continue to produce as long as they can place their barrels. Let there be no mistake, these are volatile times. So we'll update investors in future quarters as the market dynamics play out. Now, we currently intend to maintain our distribution rate of $0.46 per limited partner unit for the second quarter of 2020, and we'll utilize our balance sheet to cover any operational cash flow shortfalls where needed. Our board will monitor the current business environment and make decisions regarding future distributions on a quarter-by-quarter basis.

So with all that, we'll now take your questions. Operator?

Operator

[Operator Instructions] And your first question comes from the line of Shneur Gershuni.

Michelle -- Analyst

Hi. This is Michelle [Phonetic] on for Shneur. Just a quick question on the distribution policy. It seems the language in today's press release has changed on the distribution. And given the context that Shell cut its dividend, has the commitment changed and SHLX might follow the path of Shell or is it more a scenario that SHLX is closely following its own volume drivers for the virus and SHLX drivers are different than Shell?

Kevin M. Nichols -- Director, Chief Executive Officer and President

Yeah. Thanks a lot for that question. No, I wouldn't read anything through to that from Royal Dutch Shell and what's happening there. COVID-19 has introduced just a tremendous amount of uncertainty. And as Shawn and I have said on the call, we're more driven by demand and what happens with demand recovery. We've seen some early signs of recovery just within this last week, but it's very early days and very difficult for us to predict what's going to happen for the routes. So we think it's a responsible thing to do to review the business on a quarter-by-quarter basis with the board. We feel confident in quarter two or halfway through quarter two and that's why we gave you the guidance for quarter two.

Shawn Carsten -- Director, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Yeah, Michelle, it's Shawn. Just to add in to what Kevin said, let me remind you that the RDS portfolio of the cost is the global portfolio across a number of businesses. Now our business is less about price and more about demand as Kevin highlighted. And so we have very little commodity exposure, and we believe strongly in the basins that we work in and the assets that we have, but we're a very small portion of the RDS. So you shouldn't read through from what RDS might have done to our assets or to our distribution policy.

Michelle -- Analyst

Great. That's helpful.

Operator

Okay. Your next question comes from the line of Theresa Chen, Barclays.

Kevin M. Nichols -- Director, Chief Executive Officer and President

Hey, Theresa.

Theresa Chen -- Analyst

Good morning. Hi. Thank you for taking my questions. In addition to the Norco and Mattox assets, can you just remind us how much of our business as a whole is supported by volume commitments?

Kevin M. Nichols -- Director, Chief Executive Officer and President

Yeah. So let me -- we haven't given the exact breakdown of that. But let me -- we have three kind of areas that I break it down into. We have take or pay contracts and it's like the Norco Logistics, the terminal assets that we have, refinery gas assets that we have. Zydeco has a take or pay. Then we have traditionally talked about our fee-based but ratable cash flow with a life of lease or dedication of lease offshore. And there's a high-switching cost of almost an insurmountable barrier to switching offshore. So once people connect to our corridor systems, it's a very ratable, but it's about production and production flows.

I think Shawn in that bucket kind of gave you information about once the producers make that sizable investment in those offshore production hubs, they have a very low marginal cost of production from wells. And this basin has -- the Gulf of Mexico has held up, comparatively speaking, to onshore shales and such. So those are ratable flows as well. And then the fee exposure that we have is on kind of the refined product systems. But remember, Colonial and Explorer serve some of the more key market demand areas for the United States, and they are the premier assets as far as the most efficient, cost effective way to serve those demand centers. So we feel like they're very strong. And as demand recovers, they'll have a position of strength.

Theresa Chen -- Analyst

Got it. And on the topic of potential uptick in demand to your earlier comments. So, across the board, there has been data and other anecdotal evidence from market participants as well as the DOE staff that while the year-over-year change is still negative as far as gasoline demand goes, the pace of decline seems to have eased. Is that what you were referring to or can you just speak generally to what you're seeing in terms of demand in your assets to refinery utilization as well as that interest in Explorer and Colonial?

Kevin M. Nichols -- Director, Chief Executive Officer and President

Yes. So I'll probably let Steve talk to you. He is closer to what we're seeing on demand and plugged into the marketplace with regards to gasoline, diesel and such.

Steven C. Ledbetter -- Vice President, Commercial

Hey, Theresa. This is Steve. As Kevin mentioned earlier, this is a pretty volatile dynamic situation, but we have regular active conversations with at all ports of our business as well as inside of midstream as well as our affiliates and we're monitoring storage constraints as well as reduction in demand patterns or increasing demand patterns on gasoline. But those all inform and play into the levers that we pull and how we position the business to maneuver over the next several quarters.

Kevin M. Nichols -- Director, Chief Executive Officer and President

Yeah. So, Theresa, one thing we are seeing momentarily now is a move slightly back in the refining centers to gasoline, some early signs of gasoline picking up. But again, it's only been in the recent days and it's too early to draw conclusions from that.

Theresa Chen -- Analyst

Understood. And as you plan for the next call it 12 to 18 months and beyond, what underlies your fundamental assumptions? Is it a V-shaped recovery or U-shaped, are you baking contingency plans, should we see a second wave of the virus later this year? Can you share any color on your thinking around that?

Kevin M. Nichols -- Director, Chief Executive Officer and President

Yeah. So that's kind of that COVID-19 uncertainty and the high degree and range of uncertainty that exists out in the marketplace. U-shape, L-shape, V-shape, W, we do run scenarios to manage and predict our business and what we would do under the circumstances. But again, we're focused on making sure that our assets are positioned that when the recovery comes, we actually benefit from that strength. And I guess I would highlight, so far in the Gulf of Mexico, when you look at what's happened with production and the production cuts, we have not seen a material cut to production offshore like you have seen onshore. A couple of maybe points that I'll throw it over to Steve to talk about the Gulf of Mexico strength which drives our thinking.

Steven C. Ledbetter -- Vice President, Commercial

Yeah. Yeah, thanks, Kevin. We like our position in the Gulf for a few reasons. One, we believe we're favorable from geographic exposure perspective with concentration of assets to the Gulf Coast in Pad 3 which offers efficient and cost effective access to refinery systems, storage and export across the water. Second, I'd say, is really favorable crude exposure versus some of the basins. We predominantly transport medium sour grade barrels which match the demand patterns currently needed for refineries as well as into the future. We also have favorable producer exposure. As Kevin mentioned, these are large cost effective, lower breakeven costs than some of the other basins and what you're seeing in the marketplace. And then again, we have limited exposure from a creditworthiness perspective. Again, most of our shippers, producers are large investment-grade producers. And we think this helps us not only weather this storm, but we also believe these are key points that continue to make us believe in the strength longer term and our position in the Gulf of Mexico.

Theresa Chen -- Analyst

Great. Thank you very much. Hope you all stay safe and well.

Kevin M. Nichols -- Director, Chief Executive Officer and President

You as well. Hope everyone's safe.

Shawn Carsten -- Director, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Thanks, Theresa.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Derek Walker from Bank of America.

Kevin M. Nichols -- Director, Chief Executive Officer and President

Good morning, Derek. How are you?

Derek Walker -- Analyst

Good morning, guys. How are doing?

Kevin M. Nichols -- Director, Chief Executive Officer and President

Good.

Derek Walker -- Analyst

Thanks for taking my question. Just a couple for me. Maybe let's start with some of these short-term actions. Kevin, you mentioned maximizing the revenue opportunities with the Mars cavern. Can you just give us a little bit more background of how that came about, what are some of the rates that you're charging and some of the customers there and is that more of a sustainable revenue for the remainder of the year or how do these contracts unfold?

Kevin M. Nichols -- Director, Chief Executive Officer and President

Yeah. So, thanks, Derek. I'll turn it over to Steve. I don't know that we're going to give specifics on individual contracts. But he can talk to you more about the different storage opportunities that we've actually pulled the trigger on.

Steven C. Ledbetter -- Vice President, Commercial

Yeah. Thanks, Derek. I think what you're looking for is how we're leveraging our current assets and maximizing. We have various opportunities where we have storage assets across our systems, and we've several contracts we into leveraging some of the storage at and some water access across the docks, and then the second cavern in Mars provides available storage as well as ratability for the flows that are continuing to produce offshore. But in general, we'll continue to look for opportunities across our system and put those into our business.

Kevin M. Nichols -- Director, Chief Executive Officer and President

And our rates are competitive market rates with anybody that's out there looking to offer storage to folks.

Derek Walker -- Analyst

Yeah. I guess do you have a sense sort of like in the aggregate? What do you think the uplift is associated with that?

Kevin M. Nichols -- Director, Chief Executive Officer and President

Well, we're not going to give guidance now around the additional revenue that's coming other than just know that wherever we have a barrel of storage, we're pulling that because there's -- storage is a hot commodity right now.

Derek Walker -- Analyst

Okay. Thanks. Appreciate that. And maybe on the Mars expansion. It sounds like you're starting to wrap things up by the end of the year. How should we think about the cadence or expansion in 2021 and the in-service? Is that more of a year-end kind of 2021, mid-year? How should we think about the timing of that project?

Kevin M. Nichols -- Director, Chief Executive Officer and President

So the timing on when it will be executed to come online, I believe, is that the question?

Derek Walker -- Analyst

Yes.

Kevin M. Nichols -- Director, Chief Executive Officer and President

Yeah. So we're still in the midst of defining the commercial construct which will inform the final detailed design. The good thing is lots of conversations still progressing. The demand is still there. We anticipate final definitive agreements by the end of the year and we'll be online midyear timeframe in 2021.

Steven C. Ledbetter -- Vice President, Commercial

It's really in advance, Derek, ahead of Vito and Power Nap, which are still on the original schedule.

Derek Walker -- Analyst

Okay. Perfect. And then maybe just last one for me. I mean would you characterize -- since we have April under our belt, would you characterize that month as sort of -- particularly given that you've seen some uptick as sort of kind of the tougher month for 2Q? And if you were to kind of make April, sort of the May, June timeframe as well, do you have a sense of what the coverage ratio would be if April results will be kind of the full quarter?

Kevin M. Nichols -- Director, Chief Executive Officer and President

Yeah, so, again I think you're asking for us to be a little bit more definitive in that less than 1 times coverage ratio. And we're only halfway through the quarter. June is still out there. There's a lot of moving parts that still have to unfold. We've seen some positive recovery in gasoline and some demand. That is heading in the right direction. But what happens as states lift their restriction and whether or not they actually continue with that or they shut back down, there's just a lot of volatility for us to get exact with a range there.

Derek Walker -- Analyst

Okay, great. Thanks, guys. That's it for me. Appreciate it.

Kevin M. Nichols -- Director, Chief Executive Officer and President

Yeah, thank you. Stay safe, please.

Derek Walker -- Analyst

Likewise.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Robert Mosca.

Robert Mosca -- Analyst

Hi. Good morning, everyone.

Kevin M. Nichols -- Director, Chief Executive Officer and President

Hey, Rob. How are you?

Robert Mosca -- Analyst

So in regard to your sub-1 time coverage anticipation for the second quarter, just given the distribution waiver beginning next quarter and contributions and dropdown assets, is that coverage rate being calculated a little differently to reflect what coverage would be without the waiver? Just seems like you guys might have some breathing room before going sub-1 with some of those items coming up next quarter.

Shawn Carsten -- Director, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Officer

Yeah. So the guidance that we provided is really around what we're seeing with the market. So we were pretty optimistic, if you recall, from the early part of the year when we announced the deal being completed. But with the COVID-19 hitting us kind of late March, it's just too difficult for us to see given the volatility in our earnings for the assets to provide any kind of more guidance. So in a normal world, yes, we have been well above 1.0 coverage. But we'll see where Q2 lands us.

Robert Mosca -- Analyst

Right, understood. And then if I could just add an operational question particularly on what you're seeing offshore. And I know you already answered the first part of my question speaking to the demand for Gulf of Mexico barrels and the Gulf refinery system, but could you perhaps opine on the Eastern Corridor volume reductions and then just anything you're seeing as far as the timeline for longer term exploration projects offshore?

Kevin M. Nichols -- Director, Chief Executive Officer and President

Yeah. So, I'll start and then I'll turn it over to Steve. We've been talking about the Gulf of Mexico for a very long time, and it's gone through various different cycles around different crude price and that kind of thing. And with the funnel offshore that once people take their investment decision, those projects are pretty much committed. So the near term and the medium term is less likely to be affected with new projects coming on. As an example, Vito and Power Nap coming on next year, and there's a couple beyond that where they're well into construction. And so, what we -- if there was to be an impact, it would come and delays the new things coming into the funnel which have really more of that five, seven-year out time horizon. So we'll have to wait and see what happens. That will depend on volatility and how long we're in this kind of demand situation. With regards to the Eastern Corridor, I'll let Steve answer that.

Steven C. Ledbetter -- Vice President, Commercial

Yeah. Thanks. So I think the exposure on the East really is around concentration for smaller producers or higher cost to produce fields as well as some of the crude grades being more of an HLS-type exposed barrel that may not match up as well with the current demand patterns. We've seen very little impact to our business and impact to the Eastern Corridor to this point, but it's something we continue to monitor. Again, the majority of our crude that we transport through the Central Corridor and others is a medium sour, it matches up very, very well. And our exposure points that we mentioned earlier are relevant for this situation as well as the long term.

Robert Mosca -- Analyst

Okay, thanks. That's really helpful.

Kevin M. Nichols -- Director, Chief Executive Officer and President

Thanks. Be safe.

Operator

Your next question comes from T.J. Schultz from RBC Capital.

Kevin M. Nichols -- Director, Chief Executive Officer and President

Hey, T.J.

T.J. Schultz -- Analyst

Hey. Good morning. Just one follow-up on the distribution. So my understanding was that coverage would be tight this year in kind of a transition period and then grow over time, and you have the flexibility to withstand tighter coverage just given your asset mix and the balance sheet. So, has anything changed relative to your outlook on coverage improving beyond 2020? And if you're looking at the distribution on kind of a quarter-by-quarter basis now where you're keeping it flat in the second quarter in what might be a trough demand quarter? Just how you're thinking longer term for coverage improving?

Kevin M. Nichols -- Director, Chief Executive Officer and President

I think our story is still there with regards to the business that we see coming on board, the Mars expansion projects, some additional offshore production and some of the other projects that we see across our portfolio. That hasn't changed. What really has charged right now is just the level of uncertainty from COVID-19 and the demand destruction, and what really is going to happen with demand over the rest of the year. And so we'll have to watch and see what happens with demand. I think it's more of that refined product story. We think the basin in the Gulf of Mexico and crude holds up well. But we're going to have to wait and see what happens with demand. So I think that's really the big change.

T.J. Schultz -- Analyst

Okay. I appreciate it. Thank you.

Operator

Okay. Your next question comes on line of Joe Martoglio with J.P. Morgan.

Kevin M. Nichols -- Director, Chief Executive Officer and President

Good morning, Joe.

Joe Martoglio -- Analyst

Good morning. I just wanted to ask, maybe dive in a little more on, I guess, what you're seeing offshore and the [Indecipherable]. I think Murphy said this morning they're dialing back production a bit. I'm wondering if that flows on to your systems and then also a lot of the production from the majors, I guess how -- if they're dialing back as much or what you're seeing there?

Kevin M. Nichols -- Director, Chief Executive Officer and President

Yeah. And maybe I'll let Steve give you more detail. But overall, we have not seen a material impact to our systems offshore. And the other thing would be that I know people were focused on storage and it becoming physical that where you couldn't put your crude anywhere because there was more crude than there was needed to be refined and that would curtail. We have not seen that materialize. There are some players in shallow water and some of the smaller players for financial reasons that are either pulling their turnarounds forward to do it in this timeframe or for financial reasons they're choosing to do something. But it hasn't been material and it doesn't impact our large offshore production customers. Steve, anything you want to add here?

Steven C. Ledbetter -- Vice President, Commercial

No. I think you covered it well, Kevin.

Joe Martoglio -- Analyst

Okay. That makes sense. Thanks for that. And then also another one, appreciate the color you gave about kind of the overall refined product trends, but wanting to see I guess on your system, can you say, I guess, what you're seeing on kind of Colonial and Explorer quarter-to-date and is that consistent with the country's trends? And then maybe also on the crude side, I guess what you're seeing on Zydeco quarter-to-date?

Kevin M. Nichols -- Director, Chief Executive Officer and President

Yeah. I'll take the first part and I'll ask Steve to answer the Zydeco part. We don't talk on behalf of Colonial which is an independently run company that we're one owner of, but obviously Colonial is one of the large flagship finished product systems. And so it correlates to what you see demand happening across the country especially in the Northeast. It is the most cost efficient, most effective way to transport and meet demand in key market centers in New York Harbor and all those states in the Eastern Seaboard. So as demand returns, it would be the pipeline system that would recover with strength. On Zydeco, Steve, maybe you can comment.

Steven C. Ledbetter -- Vice President, Commercial

Yeah. So, on Zydeco, I mean, what we see is we still see strengths in volumes currently on the system and we believe that's again a testament to Zydeco remaining a strategic asset in the Gulf Coast that can compete, connects multiple trading hubs, refining centers, storage as well as export access across the water. So we're pleased with our position and Zydeco continued to perform well.

Joe Martoglio -- Analyst

Okay. Great. Thank you. I appreciate the color. That's all for me.

Kevin M. Nichols -- Director, Chief Executive Officer and President

Yeah. Thank you. Be safe.

Operator

Thank you. We have no further questions. I will now turn the call back over to Jamie Parker.

Jamie Parker -- Investor Relations Officer

All right. We thank everyone for their interest in Shell Midstream Partners. And if you have any additional follow-up questions following today's presentation, please feel free to give me a call directly. My contact information can be found on the presentation materials as well as on our website, shellmidstreampartners.com.

Operator

[Operator Closing Remarks]

Questions and Answers:

Duration: 32 minutes

Call participants:

Jamie Parker -- Investor Relations Officer

Kevin M. Nichols -- Director, Chief Executive Officer and President

Shawn Carsten -- Director, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Steven C. Ledbetter -- Vice President, Commercial

Michelle -- UBS -- Analyst

Theresa Chen -- Barclays Capital, Inc. -- Analyst

Derek Walker -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst

Robert Mosca -- Mizuho Securities -- Analyst

T.J. Schultz -- RBC Capital Markets LLC -- Analyst

Joe Martoglio -- J.P. Morgan Securities LLC -- Analyst

More SHLX analysis

All earnings call transcripts
T he daily coronavirus death toll in Spain has dropped to 179, raising hopes for the country as it finally begins lifting its lockdown.

The countrys Ministry of Health also recorded just 721 new confirmed cases on Friday, bringing total infections to 223,578.

At its peak, Spain saw more than 900 deaths per day and its total death toll currently stands at 26,478 - among the worst-hit in Europe.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will begin a phased easing of the lockdown on Monday, after almost two months of stay-at-home orders.

Spain has allowed some small businesses to reopen / Getty Images

It follows a seemingly successful exit strategy that has seen small businesses open by appointment-only, restaurants open for takeaway and construction sites reopened.

Phase one of the easing will see some churches and museums partially opened, along with terraces of bars and restaurants at 50 per cent capacity.

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Hotels, which have been closed since a state of emergency was declared on March 14, will also be allowed to open as long as they seal off communal areas.

The country hopes to reach phase four by the end of June, when the PM expects a new norm to begin.

The Spanish Government has deemed Madrid among the regions not yet ready to lift any lockdown curbs, affecting around half the population. It has prompted fury among the citys business leaders and led to the resignation of one politician.

Spain is the third worst-hit country in Europe behind Italy and Britain.
State-owned Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd on Saturday said it reported a 35 per cent increase in sales of complex fertilisers, marketed under Suphala brand, last month.

"Despite enormous logistic and other challenges posed by COVID-19 lockdown, Rashtriya Chemicals Fertilizers Ltd (RCF)...registered an increase of 35.47 per cent in sale of its NPK fertilizers SUPHALA in the month of April, 2020 as compared to April 2019," an official statement said.

Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister D V Sadananda Gowda congratulated the RCF for this sale performance.

He expressed satisfaction that different fertiliser PSUs under his ministry are working hard to assist Indian farmers in overcoming difficulties of the lockdown announced to curb COVID-19 spread, the statement said.

RCF chairman and managing director S C Mudgerikar said the company is ensuring continuous supply of fertilisers to the farmers, with adequate safety and hygiene.

RCF has contributed Rs 83.56 lakh to PM-CARES Fund and Rs 83.50 lakh to Maharashtra Chief Minister Relief Fund.

RCF a 'mini ratna', is a leading producer of fertilisers and chemicals in the country. It manufactures urea, complex fertilisers, bio-fertilisers, micro-nutrients,water soluble fertilisers, soil conditioners and a wide range of industrial chemicals.

The company's major brands are Ujjwala (urea) and Suphala (complex fertilisers).

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
TDT |Manama

Bahraini coast guard officers arrested three people for flouting a six-month ban in place on fishing and sale of shrimps in the territorial waters of the Kingdom. The Coast Guard commander said the patrolling team managed to catch the men, both Bahrainis and Asians, with about 150 kg of shrimps.

Legal measures are taken to refer the case to Public Prosecution. According to a ministerial decision, the ban came into effect in Bahrain from February 1 will continue until July 31.

The decision, according to the Minister of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning, Esam Khalaf, is to preserve marine wealth and to achieve sustainable development of marine resources.
Startup Clearview AI has built a facial recognition system that claims to be able to ID people in real-time, matching them with billions of images pulled from databases and scraped from social media. Earlier this year, a list containing the names of private companies using or possibly interested in using the technology leaked out as regulators began to scrutinize the outfit, and people filed lawsuits.

According to Buzzfeed News, Clearview AI said in a filing that Clearview is cancelling the accounts of every customer who was not either associated with law enforcement or some other federal, state, or local government department, office, or agency, and cancelling the accounts of all entities in Illinois. Its being sued for allegedly breaking a state law concerning the use of biometric information by scraping images from the plaintiffs social media accounts to train its algorithm.

The leak listed companies like Best Buy and Macys as clients, showing how far-reaching the surveillance tech could become. In public statements and blog posts Clearview AI has pushed back against the idea that its system is a consumer tool or for use by anyone other than law enforcement agencies and select security professionals, although thats not exactly reassuring.

In a statement, ACLU staff attorney Nathan Freed Wessler said These promises do little to address concerns about Clearviews reckless and dangerous business model. There is no guarantee these steps will actually protect Illinois residents. And, even if there were, making promises about one state does nothing to end Clearviews abusive exploitation of peoples faceprints across the country. Instead of taking real steps to address the harms of face recognition surveillance, Clearview is doubling down on the sale of its face surveillance system to law enforcement and continues to fuel large scale violations of Americans privacy and due process rights. The only good that Clearview has achieved here is demonstrate the vital importance of strong biometric privacy laws like the one in Illinois, and of laws adopted by cities nationwide banning police use of face recognition systems.
Two more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Himachal Pradesh on Saturday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 53, a senior health official said.

The fresh cases are from Hamirpur and Kangra districts, Additional Chief Secretary (Health) R D Dhiman said.

Of total 686 samples tested on Saturday at five laboratories of the state, two tested positive, 575 negative while the reports of the rest are awaited, he added.

Earlier in the day, Kangra Superintendent of Police Vimukt Ranjan said a person tested positive at Tanda's Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College.

The number of active cases in Himachal Pradesh now stands at 11 three each in Chamba and Kangra, two in Hamirpur and one each in Mandi, Una and Shimla districts.

While 35 patients have recovered from the infection in the state, three have died. Four people were shifted to other states for treatment.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Queensland's Deputy Premier Jackie Trad has stood down from ministerial duties over a probe into the appointment of a Brisbane principal.

The Crime and Corruption Commission is investigating the recruitment and selection process of the principal of the Inner City South Secondary College in Brisbane.

Opposition education spokesman Jarrod Bleijie complained to the CCC in December that Ms Trad interfered in the hunt for a principal at a new school in her South Brisbane seat.

Queensland's Deputy Premier Jackie Trad has stood down from ministerial duties over a probe into the appointment of a Brisbane principal

Ms Trad was told on Friday that the matter had progressed from an assessment to an investigation, and says she will stand down from ministerial duties

A foundation principal role was publicised in January and a five-person panel was set up to select a candidate.

An order of merit was established through that initial recruitment process, with the department setting up a meeting with Ms Trad and the highest-ranked candidate.

The panel signed off on the appointment, but new modelling then showed the school would be bigger and require an executive principal, so no job offer was made.

The position was advertised again, and the department once again arranged for Ms Trad to meet a candidate before they were then hired.

However, Mr Bleijie says it was inappropriate, and referred allegations Ms Trad interfered to the CCC.

Ms Trad was told on Friday that the matter had progressed from an assessment to an investigation, and says she will stand down from ministerial duties.

'I will co-operate fully with this investigation. It will provide me with the opportunity to set the record straight,' Ms Trad said on Saturday.

'Let me be clear, no applicant to the principal position was known to me in any capacity - personal, political or professional.

'Further I have never expressed a view to anyone on who should fill that role.'

Ms Trad refused to take questions but said she would still contest her seat of South Brisbane in the October state election.
Matt Hancock is living on borrowed time as Health Secretary following clashes with the three most powerful members of the Government over the Covid crisis, The Mail on Sunday has been told.

Mr Hancock is understood to have pleaded give me a break when Boris Johnson reprimanded him over the virus testing programme  leading to open questioning within Downing Street over Mr Hancocks long-term political future.

His run-in with Mr Johnson follows battles with both Rishi Sunak and Michael Gove over the best strategy for managing the pandemic.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock (back) is 'on borrowed time' after falling out with the three highest members of Government. Mr Hancock reportedly told Prime Minister Boris Johnson (front) to 'give him a break' after he was reprimanded over the virus testing programme

Mr Hancock's clash with the PM follows battles with Chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove (left) and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak (right)

Shortly after Mr Johnson returned to work at No 10 a fortnight ago, he and Mr Johnson had a tense exchange about the the Health Departments grip on the crisis, during which Mr Hancock said to the Prime Minister, in what has been described as a petulant tone: Thats not fair  give me a break.

He is also being blamed in some Government quarters  or scapegoated, according to his allies  for not moving quickly enough to do more to protect care homes from the epidemic.

Officials in Whitehall knew as early as the first week of March that the projected death rate among the over-90s was expected to be as high as 50 per cent, leading to discussions about cocooning the institutions from infection.

Mr Hancock has also been accused of not moving quickly enough to protect care-homes from the deadly virus

The UK has seen 31,587 deaths due to coronavirus, more than any other country in the world bar the United States

But as the infection rates started to climb later that month, care workers were still entering the homes  many of them having travelled in on public transport  without the necessary protective equipment.

With the reproduction rate of the virus now falling in the wider community, it is the continuing spread in residential care homes which has so far prevented Mr Johnson from lifting more of the lockdown measures.

And Mr Hancock has annoyed Downing Street with his tendency to come up with spur-of-the-moment policies  such as his threat last month to ban all outside exercise, which he had to climb down over almost immediately.

One No10 source expressed irritation at what they described as Hancocks insistence on playing the big man during the crisis.

It has led to the Health Secretary being likened by some to a school prefect  but one who never gets to be head boy.

The Health Secretary was also described as a prefect 'who never gets to be head boy' by a Downing Street source. (Cartoon by Henry Davies)

A senior Government source said: The feeling is that Hancock is on borrowed time. He has fallen out with the most powerful figures in the Government, from the Prime Minister down.

'Nothing will change immediately. But once we have beaten this thing, expect him to be moved.

As a Cabinet dove who opposes an early relaxation of the lockdown rules, Mr Hancock has been engaged in running ideological battles with Chancellor Mr Sunak, who leads the Cabinet hawks who are keen to pull the economy out of its Covid-inflicted nosedive as soon as possible.

Although allies of both men insist they share the same aim of saving lives while protecting the economy, there is little doubt that they differ about how to achieve it  and have had robust exchanges on the matter.

Mr Hancock is believed to have participated in several ideological battles with Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who is keen to quickly pull the economy out of its Covid-inflicted nosedive

The Health Secretary has also fallen out with Mr Gove (left) over the supply of ventilators and protective equipment across the country

Mr Hancock has also made the mistake of crossing swords with Mr Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

The two Cabinet ministers  who each chair one of the four committees set up to tackle the virus, as well as sitting on the daily C-19 super-committee chaired by the Prime Minister, and the Cobra emergency committee  have clashed over the supply of ventilators and protective equipment.

Mr Gove was described by one colleague as being much more across the detail than Mr Hancock  and not shy about displaying it.

Mr Hancock is also regarded with suspicion within Mr Johnsons pro-Brexit inner circle because of his previous closeness to George Osborne, the Remainer former Chancellor.

He ran for the leadership last year on a soft-Brexit ticket, only to pull out when he mustered just 20 votes. He switched to supporting Mr Johnson, the frontrunner, in the process shedding his soft Brexit views and dropping his opposition to Mr Johnsons plan to suspend Parliament to force through Brexit.

At one point during Mr Johnsons campaign, when Mr Hancock visited his Commons office to offer his support, Mr Johnson is said to have made an obscene hand gesture as Mr Hancock left.

Mr Hancock also attracted criticism last week for telling a female Labour MP to watch her tone after she grilled him on the Governments coronavirus testing strategy. His remark to Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, who also works as an A&E doctor, sparked uproar among MPs who accused him of sexism.

The Health Secretary was also accused of sexism after he told Labour MP and A&E doctor Rosena Allin-Khan (left) to 'watch her tone' in a House of Commons session

In a spur-of-the-moment policy, Mr Hancock threatened to ban all outdoor exercise across the UK in order the combat the virus but pressure from Downing Street forced him to abandon this idea

Mr Hancock was forced to abandon his threat to ban all outside exercise under intense pressure from Downing Street.

One official said at the time: If he doesnt dig himself out of this hole [at that days press conference] then we will do it for him. Mr Hancock duly performed a sharp U-turn at the briefing.

A source close to Mr Hancock said: Weve been working incredibly well with the PM and the whole No 10 team and have had nothing but total support from them.

The source added that Mr Johnson had praised Mr Hancock for doing an amazing job in hellishly difficult circumstances.
On the occasion of actor Sai Pallavis birthday, the makers of Virataparvam unveiled a special poster. In it, shes seen sitting under what looks like a giant pillar that has communist symbol mounted on it.

Being directed by Venu Udugala, Virataparvam also stars Rana Daggubati, Priyamani and Nandita Das in key role. The film sheds light on the Naxal movement, specifically the moral dilemma that prevailed during the last decade.

If the industry grapevine is anything to go by, Rana plays a cop in the film while Pallavi will be seen as a Naxal.

In her recent interview, Priyamani confirmed she plays a Naxalite in the movie. Yes, I am playing a Naxalite. Its going to be a different kind of film altogether. The only thing I can share at the moment is that its a true story, Priyamani said, confirming shes also part of Venkatesh starrer Naarappa, the Telugu remake of Tamil film Asuran, Priyamani said.

Also read: Jacqueline Fernandez shares video of life in lockdown at Salman Khans farmhouse, watch her wash a horse, climb a tree

The film marks Nandita Dass return to Telugu cinema after a decade. On joining the sets, Nandita had said that shes both nervous as well thrilled to be shooting in a language after a long gap. I am doing the film for the script, the directors vision and the role. Had no idea who I was replacing and how does it matter. In Hyderabad, started shooting for the film. Nervous about speaking Telugu, Nandita said in a statement.

Im shooting for a film, that too in a language I speak after over a decade! But once I was on set, the whole atmosphere brought back the joy of being part of strong stories without having the responsibilities of being the director, she said.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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Somebody call the 1-800 number and demand the inevitable buddy comedy. Were still not totally sure how Bill Murray and Guy Fieri became acquainted with each other before the quarantine era, but the duo decided to beam into The Tonight Show together and heckle Jimmy Fallon about how hes preparing his nachos. Raw cactus? Extra hot cheese sauce? In this economy? Whenever it comes to cooking I act like Im taking a bad fall, Murray, in his shitty Warren Beatty lighting, told Fieri. Maybe youre off your game, maybe all of those California lemons made you S-O-F-T. Guy, youre going to get work off this, its fantastic. Like he isnt the king of Flavortown already!

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Seventy thousand crew members in 102 ships are stranded in American waters amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Some of the ships have seen infections and deaths among the crew but most ships have had no confirmed cases.

Both national and local governments have stopped crews from disembarking in order to prevent new cases of COVID-19 in their territories.

Carolina Vasquez lost track of days and nights, unable to see the sunlight while stuck for two weeks in a windowless cruise ship cabin as a fever took hold of her body.

On the worst night of her encounter with COVID-19, the Chilean woman, a line cook on the Greg Mortimer ship, summoned the strength to take a cold shower fearing the worst: losing consciousness while isolated from others.

Vasquez, 36, and tens of thousands of other crew members have been trapped for weeks aboard dozens of cruise ships around the world - long after governments and cruise lines negotiated their passengers' disembarkation. Some have gotten ill and died; others have survived but are no longer getting paid.

The total number of crew members stranded worldwide was not immediately available.

Carolina Vasquez, she rides a tender in the Falkland Islands, as a crew member on board the Greg Mortimer, a ship operated by the Australian firm Aurora Expeditions and owned by a Miami company. Vasquez has been stuck in a cruise cabin with no windows and COVID-19. The ship is floating off the coast of Uruguay

'I never thought this would turn into a tragic and terrifying horror story,' Vasquez told The Associated Press in an interview through a cellphone app from the Greg Mortimer, an Antarctic cruise ship floating off Uruguay. Thirty-six crew members have fallen ill on the ship.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last month that about 80,000 crew members remained on board ships off the U.S. coast after most passengers had disembarked.

Dr. Mauricio Usme, he is on board the Greg Mortimer. Dr. Usme said he was pressured by the captain and other executives from the cruise operator and owners to change the health declaration to be admitted into ports. More than half of the passengers and crew tested positive for COVID-19, including Dr. Usme

As coronavirus cases and deaths have risen worldwide, the CDC and health officials in other countries have expanded the list of conditions that must be met before crews may disembark.

Cruise companies must take each crew member straight home via charter plane or private car without using rental vehicles or taxis. Complicating that mission, the CDC requires company executives to agree to criminal penalties if crew members fail to obey health authorities' orders to steer clear of public transportation and restaurants on their way home.

'The criminal penalties gave us (and our lawyers) pause,' Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley wrote in a letter to crew members earlier this week, but he added that company executives ultimately agreed to sign.

Melinda Mann shows the empty deck on board the Koningsdam, a Holland America cruise ship off the coast of Ensenada, Mexico. Mann, a youth program manager for the cruise line, has been stuck on board for 50 days as the CDC and the cruise ship companies negotiate terms to disembark crew and passengers in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic

Melinda Mann, 25, a youth program manager for Holland America, spent more than 50 days without stepping on dry land before finally disembarking from the Koningsdam ship Friday in Los Angeles. Before she was transferred to the Koningsdam, she tried to walk off another ship with other U.S. crew members last week but the ships security guards stopped them.

For 21 hours a day, Mann remained isolated in a 150-square-foot (14-square- meter) cruise cabin that is smaller than her bedroom in her Midland, Georgia, home. She read 30 books and was only able to leave her room three times a day to walk around the ship. Her contract ended April 18, so she was not paid for weeks.

'Keeping me in close captivity for so long is absolutely ridiculous,' Mann said in a telephone interview.

Earlier this week in Nassau, Bahamas, crew members from Canada aboard the Emerald Princess were told to prepare to be flown home in a charter plane. But the Bahamian government did not allow the ship to dock in the end.

Leah Prasads husband is among the stranded crew members. Prasad said she has spent hours tracking down government agencies to help her husband, a Maitre DHotel for Carnival.

'He is getting discouraged. He is stuck in a cabin,' Prasad said. 'It is not good for his mental health.'

A number of cruise ships are pictures waiting out at sea in the Philippines

Crew members are pictured aboard the Norwegian Epic cruise ship docked at the Port of Miami sitting on their balconies. Most crew members are stuck in ships with no confirmed cases but are rejected by governments because of new rules to avoid importing more virus cases

Angela Savard, a spokeswoman for Canada's foreign affairs, said the government was continuing to explore options to bring Canadians home.

For those aboard the Greg Mortimer in Montevideo, desperation is setting in, crew members told the AP.

The Antarctic cruise set sail from Argentina on March 15, after a pandemic had already been declared. The ship's physician, Dr. Mauricio Usme, said that when the first passenger fell ill, on March 22, he was pressured by the captain, the cruise operator and owners to modify the health conditions that had to be met for the ship to be admitted into ports.

Dr. Usme refused. The boat anchored in the port of Montevideo on March 27. More than half of its passengers and crew tested positive for COVID-19. Finally, on April 10, 127 passengers, including some who were infected, were allowed to disembark and fly home to Australia, New Zealand, the U.S., Canada and Europe. Crew members were told to stay on board.

The Grand Princess cruise is pictured docked at the Port of Oakland in California. Hundreds of passengers disembarked from the ship, including some who tested positive for the new coronavirus. Three cruise ships that have not carried passengers or crew members with the coronavirus will dock at the Port of Oakland for several months

The doctor was hospitalized in an intensive care unit in Montevideo, along with a Filipino crew member, who later died.

'People are exhausted and mentally drained,' said Dr. Usme, now recovered and back on the Greg Mortimer. 'It's a complex situation. You feel very vulnerable and at imminent risk of death.'

CMI, the Miami-based company that manages the boat, said it has been 'unable to get the necessary permissions' to let crew members of 22 nationalities go home, but said they were all still under contract receiving pay.

Marvin Paz Medina, a Honduran man who works as the ship's storekeeper, sent a video to the AP of his tiny cabin of about 70 square feet (6.5 square meters), where he has been confined for more than 35 days. 'It's hard being locked up all day, staring at the same four walls,' he said.

Paz Medina says his children keep asking him when he's coming home, but he doesn't have an answer.

'We are trapped, feeling this anxiety that at any moment we can get seriously ill,' said Paz Medina. 'We do not want this anymore. We want to go home.'

A passenger disembarks the Australian cruise ship the Greg Mortimer along with others to make their way to the international airport in Montevideo, Uruguay pictured last month. The ship had been anchored off Uruguay's coast since March 27 with more than half its passengers and crew infected with coronavirus

Satellite images reveal fleets of empty cruise ships huddled in the Caribbean and Philippines because they're unable to dock due to the coronavirus pandemic

Satellite images have revealed fleets of empty cruise liners clustering together at sea because they are unable to drop anchor at ports.

Since the coronavirus pandemic began, few industries have been hit hard harder than the cruise industry.

The ships are viewed as floating petri dishes and, while passengers are no longer on them, several crew members still are.

Now, with no incoming bookings and unable to dock, many have taken to huddling together in the Atlantic, the Caribbean and the South China Sea to get out of the way of major shipping lanes.

Satellite images have revealed empty cruise ships huddling together to get out of the way of major shipping lanes. Pictured: Cruise ships off the coast of the Bahamas, May 2

Three groups of cruise ships, with 15 in total, are clustered together off Coco Cay and Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas

Because there are not enough traditional berths to accommodate cruise ships, many have been forced out to sea.

Two ports, Coco Cay and Great Stirrup Cay, in the Bahamas where Royal Caribbean ship and Norwegian cruise liners, are storing vessels.

According to The Drive, the ships are in three groups - 15 in total - that are about 30 miles apart from each other.

They have names such as Harmony of the Seas, Celebrity Edge and Azamara Pursuit.

There are also at least 12 cruise ships, such as the MV Ruby Princess, that are sitting just off the coast of the Philippines.

The Philippines Coast Guard says the cruise liners have to wait for clearance from the Bureau of Quarantine before they dock in Manila.

There are currently no passengers aboard the cruise liners, but many crew members are still onboard.

As of May 5, CNN says there are more than 57,000 crew members aboard 74 cruise ships in and around US ports, the Bahamas and the Caribbean.

About a dozen cruise liners, such as the Ruby Princess, have been sitting off the coast of the Philippines (pictured)

Hundreds are more are stuck around the world and, because the ships can't dock, they are unable to get home.

Alex Adkins, a senior stage technician on Freedom of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean ship, says he has been at sea since mid-March when last guests disembarked

'Since then, we've had no guests and we've just been floating off the coast of Barbados,' Adkins, an American, told CNN.

Employees said they don't understand why they aren't free to leave ships if they've cleared 14-day quarantines.

'I'm hoping we don't get forgotten about, to be honest,' MaShawn Morton, an employee for Princess Cruises, told CNN.

'It seems like nobody cares what's happening to us out here.'

Carnival Cruise Line says it plans to resume some operations in August, but Norwegian Cruise Line says there is 'substantial doubt' about its future.

'We believe the ongoing effects of COVID-19 on our operations and global bookings have had, and will continue to have, a significant impact on our financial results and liquidity, and such negative impact may continue well beyond the containment of such an outbreak,' the company's filing on Tuesday.

This is not the first time cruise ships have been pictured cloistered together.

Last week, cruise liners and cargo ships were forced to drop anchor off the Isle of Wight, in England, to avoid busy shipping lanes.

A spokesman for the UK's Department for Transport confirmed that certain ships have been given higher priority due to the crisis and cruise liners are currently low priority as they are not carrying any passengers.
She welcomed her daughter Tullulah with AFL star husband Lance 'Buddy' Franklin in late February.

And Jesinta Franklin will celebrate her first Mother's Day on Sunday, following a 'challenging' pregnancy.

The model, 28, told Sunday Confidential that she never could have anticipated the love she would feel for her 'miracle' daughter after the many difficulties she faced on her journey to motherhood.

New mum: Jesinta Franklin has opened up about her 'challenging' pregnancy ahead of her first Mother's Day with two-month-old daughter Tallulah

'No one can ever explain to you the love you will feel for your baby until you have them in your arms and you look at them,' Jesinta said.

She went on to reveal that she had made amends with her long time struggle to conceive, explaining her gratefulness for Tullulah outweighed any 'hurt and pain' she went through along the way.

'She is an absolute miracle because it was so challenging for us. I have kind of, not forgotten about it, but the memory of what we went through has kind of disappeared,' she said.

Angel: 'No one can ever explain to you the love you will feel for your baby until you have them in your arms and you look at them,' Jesinta said

Speaking to WHO Magazine in April, Jesinta revealed how she would be spending her first Mother's Day.

'I'm looking forward to Buddy, Tullulah and I spending Mother's Day with my mum, who will be celebrating it for the first as a grandmother,' she explained.

The Australian model went on to tell the publication that since welcoming Tullulah, she has been keeping a low-key profile while she focused on self-healing.

'She is an absolute miracle because it was so challenging for us': Jesinta described Tallulah as a 'miracle' baby. (Pictured: Tallulah and dad Buddy Franklin)

'I have been enjoying the newborn bubble. I have placed a lot of importance on my healing and taking care of myself since giving birth,' she said.

'With everything going on at the moment in the world, it's made it easy for us to hang out at home'.

Jesinta and her AFL star husband Lance 'Buddy' Franklin welcomed their first child together in late February.
EDWARDSVILLE  Madison County officials appear ready to go against Gov. J.B. Pritzkers coronavirus reopening plan.

At a special meeting Friday of the Madison County Board of Health, committee members backed a resolution that would allow local businesses and churches to reopen after submitting a plan to the county board of health, contrary to Pritzkers executive order and recently announced five-phase Restore Illinois COVID-19 plan.

The county, however, delayed final action on the resolution until at least Tuesday so it may be reviewed and fine-tuned by the Madison County States Attorneys Office. The resolution is titled 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.

The resolution came at the end of the second meeting in as many days by the board, which includes all Madison County Board members. The group usually meets quarterly at the end of a county board meeting.

There was a unanimous consensus Friday that county board members want local businesses to reopen quickly, but in a safe manner. There was, however, disagreement on how to do that.

Announced Tuesday, Pritzkers Restore Illinois Plan has been criticized by members of both parties as taking too long and not recognizing unique local conditions. Pritzker has said the plan is an attempt to use a regional attempt to reopen Illinois economy using science and data.

Board of health members on Friday also discussed filing a lawsuit against the governor over the pandemic executive orders and business reopening plan. Multiple county board said Madison County is not like Chicago or the rest of the state and is, instead, more tied to the St. Louis region than Chicago. Local business owners and potential customers are capable of acting responsibly, they said.

People are ready to take this on in a responsible fashion, said Don Moore, R-Troy.

Madison County Health Department Director Toni Corona expressed concerns about the action sought by the resolution.

Ive never not followed the guidance of the Illinois Department of Public Health, she said. I dont know how to reopen the county outside of the guidelines of the state.

Similar concerns were expressed by Madison County Board Member Mike Parkinson, D-Granite City, who initially sought to amend the resolution and have Madison County States Attorney Tom Gibbons file a lawsuit against the state on behalf of local businesses. Parkinson, a police officer, said he could not vote for the resolution because it encouraged civil disobedience.

Dr. Loren Hughes, a Collinsville physician, opened Fridays meeting with a brief discussion about health-related issues. Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler then said each county board member would get a chance to speak, but first asked for a motion to consider the resolution to allow further discussion.

Once those resolutions were made, Parkinson motioned to amend the resolution and allow the lawsuit. Prenzler, however, delayed action on that until all the board members had a chance to speak.

All were supportive of having local businesses reopen, but there were differences of opinion on how to do it. Many questioned or criticized Pritzkers order and plan.

David Michael, R-Highland, said he was very disappointed in the Restore Illinois plan. He said the county health department could oversee local businesses in a reasonable way, terming the proposed arrangement a win-win.

We know our businesses, Michael said. We need to give them that freedom.

Michael Doc Holliday, D-Alton, said he was in favor of businesses opening up, but under the auspices of what the governor and the Illinois Department of Public Health have put forth. He said he didnt want businesses to be hurt if the state took action against them.

Pritzker has said businesses requiring state licenses could be penalized if they opened in defiance of the executive order.

Gibbons said he wanted a chance to look over the resolution which he had received a few hours earlier. At that point, all of the motions were withdrawn and it was decided to reconvene the board at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Several board members from both parties were appointed to a committee to fine-tune the resolution. Prenzler said that committee might be adjusted.
For weeks, San Francisco has been bleeding tens of thousands of dollars a day on empty hotel rooms intended for frontline health care workers, whom the city expected to need to house during a surge of COVID-19 patients. So far, the city has avoided a huge influx of cases in its hospitals.

Now, city officials are expanding access to the hotels, in hopes of filling up the empty rooms and allowing other vulnerable populations that need a safe place to isolate during the coronavirus pandemic to move in.

The city originally leased 936 hotel rooms for frontline workers. But, officials said they overestimated the need, with about 80% of the rooms regularly sitting vacant for the past several weeks  costing the city more than $30,000 a day.

According to a new contract finalized Thursday, other at-risk populations will also be allowed to move into the rooms. Trent Rhorer, director of the Human Services Agency, said the city will focus on areas like the Mission, where preliminary results from a UCSF study revealed low-wage workers who havent had the option of working from home and their families are particularly vulnerable to contracting the virus.

We over-projected the need for first responders, Rhorer said, adding that it took a few weeks to renegotiate the contracts. Now we can change to an emerging need that we didnt really know was there until the study showed that.

San Francisco decided to lease nearly 1,000 rooms for frontline workers after seeing how understaffed New York was when its surge hit, Rhorer said. Originally, officials thought they might have to fly in first responders to San Francisco from other areas in the state and country to help meet the demand. But, because San Franciscos hospitals have yet to be overwhelmed by an influx of cases, Rhorer said the city did not end up needing as many rooms for frontline workers as initially anticipated.

It has been a costly overestimation: Each room costs about $76 a day. On Friday, for example, there were 751 unoccupied rooms, 445 of which the city pays for based on its contract, Rhorer said. That equates to $33,820 spent in one day  about $237,000 in a week  on empty rooms. Meanwhile, the city is bracing for at least a $1.7 billion budget shortfall due to the pandemic.

If we were short of rooms and we didnt flatten the curve, then we would have been criticized for not having enough rooms, Rhorer said. So we went the other way and prepared for the worst-case scenario.

Supervisor Aaron Peskin said he is disappointed that so much money has been wasted, and that the expense was largely avoidable. But he is glad the city is able to repurpose the rooms for people who seem to need it more.

It is a bummer that we wasted some money, and I wish we were able to have repurposed or gotten out of the deal sooner, he said. But there are a lot of moving parts going on. ... Im disappointed, but Im not pointing fingers.

Supervisor Hillary Ronen, who represents the Mission, said it is fantastic more hotel rooms will be going to people in need in her district. But she is infuriated at how much money has been wasted over the past month. She said she has also heard from frontline workers that they didnt know the hotel rooms were available to them.

It is the epitome of poor management, she said. Every empty hotel room could save a life.

Meanwhile, the city also leases another 1,740 hotel rooms for vulnerable populations  like the homeless and those living in densely populated apartment buildings who need a place to isolate and quarantine. As of Friday, 659 of those rooms were vacant.

Rhorer was unable to immediately provide an exact number for how much was being spent on that lot of empty rooms, as the city does not pay for all of the empty rooms. Some contracts only charge the city for rooms that are used.

He said it is necessary for the city to always have a few hundred empty rooms, however, so that it can quickly move people from congregate living sites with outbreaks  like the MSC South homeless shelter  to isolated rooms.

The hotel rooms have been a point of contention among the city departments, Board of Supervisors and homeless advocates since the pandemic began. Mayor London Breed and the Human Services Agency say they are moving as fast as possible to place homeless people in hotels.

While more than 1,000 people have been moved into hotel rooms since the pandemic began, thousands more are still living on the street or in clusters of tents, where the virus can easily spread. The Tenderloin alone has seen a 285% increase in tents over the past month, city officials said this week.

Supervisor Matt Haney, whose district includes the Tenderloin, said the city needs to lease more hotel rooms for the homeless and move people into them faster.

But when it comes to the frontline-worker hotels, he said repurposing them was the right thing to do.

People who are homeless are uniquely vulnerable to the virus, Haney said. But there are also people living with large extended families still going out to work, who may be older and vulnerable and need access to the hotel rooms, too.

Trisha Thadani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 22:48:29|Editor: huaxia

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U.S. President Donald Trump attends a press conference on the COVID-19 at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on March 9, 2020. U.S. President Donald Trump on March 9 said that his administration will ask Congress to approve a possible payroll tax cut and provide "very substantial relief" for hourly workers and industries hit by the COVID-19 outbreak. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

"I know that at this moment, many Americans are suffering from the virus. Many American medical personnel are fighting on the frontline and many unknown people are caring for others in different ways. I salute them!" the respiratory nurse wrote.

BEIJING, May 8 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese nurse has written an open letter to U.S. President Donald Trump, sharing the story of her time in Wuhan and sending her best wishes to the American people battling COVID-19.

"I still remember the scenes of 42,000 medical workers from across the country working together with our local colleagues in Hubei to save lives day and night," said the nurse who also rushed to Wuhan to fight the virus.

"The day I left for Wuhan was Chinese Lunar New Year's Eve, China's most important day for family reunions, like Christmas Eve in the United States. But I'm a medical worker, and it's my duty and promise to save lives," she said in the letter.

"The 42,000 medical workers and I left our families without hesitation and rushed from all directions to Wuhan, where we began the fight against coronavirus to save lives."

The nurse recalled the initial difficulties due to the shortage of medical materials.

"The most difficult days passed. What delighted me most was seeing that more and more COVID-19 patients were cured and discharged from hospital, especially grey-haired patients," the nurse said.

"We took care of every old patient as if they were our parents. We have cured more than 3,600 patients aged 80 and above in Hubei Province without abandoning them or giving up. I am really happy and proud," the nurse wrote.

In Wuhan, medical workers have tried their best to treat all people, including a 108-year-old and a 30-hour baby, the nurse said.

"I know that at this moment, many Americans are suffering from the virus. Many American medical personnel are fighting on the frontline and many unknown people are caring for others in different ways. I salute them!" the respiratory nurse wrote. 
MADISON, Wis.  Outdoor enthusiasts overwhelmingly rejected Wisconsin wildlife officials' proposals to dramatically reshape the state's gun deer hunting structure to bolster the waning sport, a survey released Wednesday shows.

The state Department of Natural Resources has been working for years to rekindle interest in deer hunting as hunters age out of the sport and more young people ignore the outdoors. DNR records show that total gun deer license sales dropped nearly 16% between 1994 and last year. Sales to Wisconsin residents have dropped by nearly 20% over that span.

The DNR planned to submit questions about reforming the gun deer season to attendees at the Wisconsin Conservation Congress' statewide spring hearings April 13. The congress is an influential group of sportsmen who advise the DNR on policy decisions.

The congress ultimately canceled the hearings due to the coronavirus pandemic and conducted an online survey instead. The DNR released results on Wednesday.

The biggest change the DNR proposed was extending the nine-day gun season to 19 days. The congress included a separate question asking if people would support replacing the nine-day with a 16-day season that would start in mid-November. The nine-day season currently begins the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and hunters have complained that the late start misses the rut and that the deer have stopped moving by then, leading to weak harvests.

The proposal to extend the gun season to 19 days failed by nearly a three-to-one margin, 42,208 to 14,820, with 2,261 having no opinion. The 16-day idea failed by more than a two-to-one margin, 38,106 to 15,599.

The DNR included a number of other questions centered on reducing competition from additional deer seasons. Board members fear those seasons are diluting excitement about the traditional nine-day gun season.

Those proposals included eliminating the four-day antlerless-only December hunt; prohibiting any hunting for two or five days leading up to the gun season; limiting the crossbow season to the month of October and restarting it after the gun season ends; and closing the crossbow season in November and re-opening it after the gun season. The crossbow season currently runs from mid-September to early January, in concurrence with the archery season.

The department also asked how many would support invalidating crossbow and archery buck tags during the nine-day gun season. Hunters could still legally use crossbows and bows, but they would need a firearm tag for any kill.

Respondents supported eliminating the December hunt, with about 33,000 voting to get rid of it compared with about 20,500 voting to keep it. Nearly 5,700 had no opinion.

The proposal to ban hunting leading up to the gun season failed, with 31,055 respondents voting against. Nearly 12,875 respondents said they would support a five-day prohibition. About 11,235 said they would support a two-day ban. Nearly 3,300 had no opinion.

Nearly 28,000 respondents voted against limiting the crossbow season to October and reopening after the gun season, compared to about 25,690 in support. Nearly 5,300 had no opinion. The proposal to close the crossbow season in November fared even worse, with nearly 31,700 against, 20,816 in support and about 6,100 with no opinion.

Respondents also soundly rejected invalidating archery and crossbow tags during the gun season, 35,360 to 18,169, with 5,517 having no opinion.

They also rejected the congress' proposal to reinstate the DNR's contentious earn-a-buck program. Hunters in areas where the program was implemented had to kill a doe before they could take a buck. The requirement was intended as a herd-control measure, but hunters generally despised it because it forced them to pass up trophy bucks. Then-Gov. Scott Walker signed a bill in 2011 outlawing the program.

Respondents overwhelmingly approved the group's questions about whether the Legislature should raise the cost of deer and bear licenses for out-of-state residents. The questions did not propose any dollar amount.

Out-of-state residents currently pay $160 for a deer license and $251 for a bear license. Minnesota charges out-of-state hunters $186 for a deer license and $230 for a bear license. Illinois charges $411 for a deer bow license and $200 for a gun deer license; that state doesn't offer bear licenses. Wyoming charges out-of-staters $374 for a deer license and $373 for a bear license.

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The West Bengal government is arranging special trains to bring back over 30,000 residents of the state stranded in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka and Punjab due to the ongoing lockdown, a senior official said on Saturday.

The stranded people are mostly migrant workers, patients and their attendants, students, pilgrims and tourists from West Bengal, he said.

"Talks are on with officials of other state governments in this regard. Everything has been finalised.... Our nodal officers are monitoring developments," the official told PTI.

A total of 31,224 people are stranded in the four states, of whom more than half (17,000) are in Telangana, he said.

Three trains carrying around 7,500 people from West Bengal will start their journeys from Bengaluru in Karnataka on Saturday and reach their destinations -- Bankura, Purulia and New Jalpaiguri stations -- in the state on Sunday and Monday, the official said.

Two trains with around 2,418 people, mostly patients, will depart Vellore in Tamil Nadu on Monday and reach Kharagpur and Howrah railway stations in the state on Tuesday, he said.

The official said two trains have been arranged for bringing back the people stranded in Punjab.

"One train will leave the northern state for Bandel railway station in Hooghly district on Sunday and another will leave for Durgapur in West Burdwan district on Monday," he said.

The official said the 17,000 stranded people in Telangana are expected to board West Bengal-bound trains next week.

"The 17,000 people stranded in Telangana are mostly labourers from Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia, East and West Midnapore, North and South 24 Parganas and Bankura districts employed in the construction sector, mainly in sites in Hyderabad," he said.

The state government had last week facilitated the return of over 1,000 students from Rajasthan's Kota.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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View this post on Instagram End of our story aAAiAAaAAiAA A post shared by neetu Kapoor. Fightingfyt (@neetu54) on May 1, 2020 at 11:20pm PDT

Rishi Kapoors demise has put people across the country in a state of shock. The actor spent most of last year in New York undergoing cancer treatment and when he made his return to India, people felt that things were going back to normal. However, the sudden turn of events have left fans of cinema absolutely devastated.Neeetu Kapoor is someone whos always been by his side through the ups and downs in life. We cannot even imagine the pain shes going through right now but instead of being in a constant state of grief, the former is actress celebrating Rishi Kapoors life in typical Rishi Kapoor fashion. Earlier today, Neetu Kapoor took to social media and shared a picture of Rishi Kapoor where hes seen lifting a drink with a smile on his face. Neetu Kapoors caption for the picture read, End Of Our Story. Take a look at the picture below.Even though we might not see Rishi Kapoor on the big screen again, his contribution to Bollywood will always remain in our hearts. He was a true legend in every sense and shall never be forgotten.
National Theatre Live: National Theatre Live presents 'Jack Absolute Flies Again' on screen at Whale Theatre on Thursday, July 23, at 7 p.m.

Tickets are 17.50 at whaletheatre.ie.

The play, written by Richard Bean and Oliver Chris, is based on Richard Brinsley Sheridan's 'The Rivals', and is set in 1940s British summertime.

Bean and Chris transpose the wit of Sheridan's 18th-century comedy of manners to the year 1940, replacing aristocratic country gentlemen with RAF officers during the Battle of Britain. After an aerial dog fight, Pilot Officer Jack Absolute flies home to rejoin his fearless young Hurricane squadron at RAF Fontwell.

Once back on British soil, Jack is shocked to find his old flame, Lydia, on the base. Setting his sights on winning her heart, Jack's advances turn to anarchy when the young heiress demands to be loved on her own terms. With turbulence and hilarity never far away, his advances quickly turn to anarchy. Staged to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, this joyous farce is directed by Thea Sharrock ('Me Before You') and features a cast including Caroline Quentin and Richard Fleeshman.

Horticultural society

Delgany and District Horticultural Society will hold its rose show on Saturday, June 27.

The society's dahlia show will take place on Saturday, August 29.

Both events will take place at St Patrick's National School, Church Road, Greystones from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Delgany heritage

An appeal is being made for old photos, articles and documents for a website about the history and heritage of Delgany Village.

Wicklow County Council heritage department and the National Library of Ireland are developing the resource with Tommy MacMackin.

The site is due to go live soon and more material is needed to populate it in advance of the launch. The main headings are people, places and topics.

Anything provided needs to be suitable for publication on a website. Materials can be emailed to tommy.mackmackin@gmail.com.

Mass online

The Holy Rosary and St Kilian in Greystones is celebrating Mass online every day at 10 a.m. and 11.30 a.m. on Sundays, at greystonesparish.ie.

The Angelus and Rosary is recited via the webcam each weekday at midday and is offered for those working on the front line. The pastoral team of the combined parishes are continuing to find creative ways to support all who are seeking spiritual support

Dementia support

Wicklow Dementia Support usually holds a number of events in the Greystones area, which are cancelled for the moment.

'Musical memories' takes place each Friday morning at St Patrick's Church Hall from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

There are often visiting musicians and there's usually a turnout of around 30 people, including people with dementia, their family carers and volunteers.

A family carers support group meets on the third Friday of each month, also at St Patrick's, from 11.30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

This is a facilitator-led, peer-to-peer support group.

Contact Wicklow Dementia Support at 089 4286928 for more information or details about any of the events.

Alzheimer Cafe

The Alzheimer Cafe is facilitated by the HSE/St Columcille's Hospital and primary care nurses.

It meets at the Glenview Hotel on the last Thursday of each month, from 2.30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Events are cancelled for the moment.

Story time at the library

Children's story time takes place at 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday mornings at Greystones Library.

The session is suitable for babies up to children aged six years.

No booking is required for the event.

Events at the library are cancelled as the library is closed due to the coronavirus. Storytelling videos are being uploaded to the Facebook page of Wicklow County Library Service.

Policing clinic in Kilcoole

Kilcoole policing clinic usually takes place each Wednesday evening at Kilcoole Community Centre, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Clinics are on hold for now.

Garda Corbett and/or Garda Thompson are usually in attendance. Drop in for crime prevention advice, get a form stamped and obtain most other garda station services.

Language groups

A German conversation group meets each week in Greystones. The library is closed, so these sessions are suspended for the moment.

The group meets at the library on Saturday mornings at 11 a.m.

A French conversational group meets on Thursday mornings, also at the library, at 11 a.m.

Exercise for over-50s

Exercise programmes for the over-50s take place each Wednesday at Shoreline Leisure at 12.30 p.m.

The sessions help with flexibility, strength, confidence, balance, coordination and mobility. Classes will resume in a number of weeks after the health issues are resolved.

Admission is 5 per session.

Country market

North Wicklow Country Market takes place each Saturday morning at Newcastle Community Centre. The market is not taking place during the current crisis. It normally takes place from 10.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.

Badminton club

Bray-Greystones badminton club welcomes new players every Thursday night at 8 p.m. in BIFE, Novara Road, Bray.

Family badminton takes place every Sunday from 4 p.m. till 6 p.m. Adults and children are welcome. If interested, contact Mary at 089 4132070.

There are no classes for the time being.

Active retired activities

Greystones Active Retirement's events and classes are currently on hold.

The association, based at Kilian House, usually holds keep fit classes from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and art from 2.15 p.m. to 4.15 p.m. on Mondays.

It also holds aqua aerobics in the Shoreline from midday to 1 p.m. On Tuesdays, there is bowling from 10.45 a.m. to 12.45 p.m., followed by bingo from 2.15 p.m. to 4.15 p.m.

On Thursdays there's more bowling from 2.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m.

Greystones Active Retirement Association also holds a coffee morning from 10.30 a.m. to midday on the last Friday of each month.

The booking office is open at Kilian House Family Centre each Tuesday from 10.30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m.

People can book tickets for events, become a member or renew membership at 20, and learn about coming events, trips and outings.

No activities will take place for the next number of weeks.

Sundays at the Hot Spot

Every Sunday from September to June, the Hot Spot Music Club hosts a weekly Sunday jam session from 4 p.m.

To participate, perform or promote, email hotspotmusiclubg@gmail.com.

Events are cancelled for the time being.

Older persons register

Greystones Community Policing Unit has an older persons register in operation.

Gardai ask that if anyone knows of an older person living alone who might be vulnerable, they send details to greystones.community@garda.ie.

Cancer support

All classes and office opening hours are suspended until further notice but Greystones Cancer Support is still available to everyone via email on info@greystonescancersupport.com. They are providing classes via Zoom, relaxation audio files and mindfulness online.

There are also online support groups with Liz Gleeson and further supports. Email the organisation to register for supports as they arise.

Social dancing

There is social dancing to live music every Sunday night in Greystones. Dancing is cancelled for the moment.

The event starts each week at 8.3.0 p.m. in the Rugby Club.

Cancer support

Greystones Cancer Support's doors are closed but they are contactable via email at info@greystonescancersupport.com.

They continue to offer online counselling, meditation, lymphedema therapy, bereavement support and more.

Email the organisation to sign up for services.
FOX News anchor Dana Perino in the repurposed spare bedroom of her beach home in Bay Head at the Jersey Shore. She hosts the The Daily Briefing and co-hosts The Five, from the bedroom as well as Storytime with Dana  an online weekday program in which she reads books for children and their families. Read more

Fox News host Dana Perino took a look around a chaotic New York City in mid-March and, like a lot of people, headed for her beach house at the Jersey Shore.

And like a lot of people with Shore houses, from media personalities in the Hamptons to all those Pa.-platers in Margate and Avalon, Perino has found a sense of comfort hunkered down and working at the Shore, in her case, Bay Head  never mind what locals (or Gov. Murphy) have to say about it.

When the city was starting to lock down, and Fox gave us the option of where we wanted to be, we wrestled with it for just a little bit, said Perino in a recent telephone interview.

I thought it wouldnt be that long," she said (certainly she didnt anticipate celebrating her 48th birthday on May 9 still hosting live every day from Bay Head). "I started reading about Spain and Italy, and the difficulty of people even leaving their homes to take a walk.

And so Perino has been hosting two daily shows, The Daily Briefing at 2 p.m. and The Five at 5 p.m. (where she is a one-fifth cohost), plus a childrens story time in between at 3:30 p.m., all from the spare bedroom in the Ocean County Shore house where she spends most weekends anyway, her 8-year-old Vizsla, Jasper, lurking nearby.

You know the kind of room shes appropriated for a Fox News remote studio; its in every Shore house, with crisp beachy blue-and-green striped linens and twin beds against the wall  in fact, youve probably stayed in one. Just without the signature semi-abstracted White House backdrop.

For a regular Shore visitor like Perino, the unscheduled extended stay in the beach house has only deepened her appreciation for the charms and soothing qualities of a place like Bay Head, where she has owned a house near Twilight Lake with husband Peter McMahon.

What I found in Bay Head for me is the small-town feel of the way I grew up in Wyoming and Colorado, said Perino, who served as press secretary under President George W. Bush. I grew up in very rural areas. I do love it here. I have a great affection for this community."

Bay Head, located at the end of a NJ Transit train line from up north, is known for its ferocious fight against former Gov. Chris Christies effort to build sand dunes. Although the town is a bit north of traditionally Philly-centered Shore areas, Perino says some of its oldest families are from Philly, from which trains also used to arrive in Bay Head.

She says she and her husband routinely watch the train comings and goings from their porch: the giddy arrivers, the dejected departers. The sound of the train now makes an occasional cameo appearance on her segments, (cohost Greg Gutfeld was sure he could recognize that particular sound of a New Jersey train) but otherwise, you cannot tell shes at the Shore.

Except possibly for the reinvigorated outlook of someone hugging close to salt air and more room, and the clarity of mind that comes with a break from her regular routine of 15-hour days plus a busy schedule of nighttime obligations, she notes. (For now, its just the 15-hour days.)

I do appreciate the fresh air, especially the light, Perino said. The sunrise and the sunset and the colors of the sky are healing. I like to be up early so I can witness the morning light every day.

Shes tried to give back: She stocked shelves at Burkes, the local Bay Head market, in a coronavirus challenge, and took dinner to the ICU Emergency Room nurses at Hackensack University Medical Center Jersey Shore. She says she makes a practice of curating and lending books to locals from her extensive collection  mysteries, biographies, and the like. Shes scheduled the mayor of Point Pleasant Beach on her show to talk about how to safely reopen the beach.

She and McMahon get Italian takeout regularly from the Cole House Bistro in Point Pleasant Beach, and birthday cakes from Muellers (not that Mueller), the bakery on Bridge Avenue.

I have had a few people who know were here and watch the show, she said. Ive had people drop off chocolate chip cookies. One longtime resident here left a loaf of bread."

Shes a Fox News loyalist. She says Fox has maintained a uniform and professional look for its remote hosts with their backdrops and avoided the more, say, casual look of other networks. (Though surely a Twilight Lake backdrop would be hard to beat).

And she defends her coverage of the coronavirus against criticism that Fox hosts, particularly on The Five, downplayed the severity of the threat early on.

She says her coverage has been informed by an experience in 2005, as deputy press secretary, with a simulation exercise for a pandemic, and by the general ethos to be prepared for history to repeat itself. We went through this exercise for three days, she said.

Im very confident that The Five was talking about coronavirus early," she said. I can only speak for myself. Im very confident my words have been responsible.

(After Perino fielded the question about criticism of Fox coverage overall, the Fox News PR department sent over 11 examples of other media downplaying instances, including pieces from the Washington Post on Feb. 1  Get a grippe, America. The flu is a much bigger threat than coronavirus, for now"  the New York Times on Feb. 5  Who Says Its Not Safe to Travel to China and CNN).

Perino says she doesnt have an opinion about how and when to reopen Jersey Shore beaches and towns, or the rest of America for that matter. Bay Heads beaches are currently closed, leaving East Avenue, the main drag, as the focal point for pedestrians.

I dont try to second-guess the leadership, Perino said. I respect how difficult their decisions are. They dont want to shut them either. Im sure they would like to open, too.

And while Bay Head Mayor Bill Curtis told N.J. Monthly recently, I dont understand what people dont understand. Stay at home," Perino says she hasnt felt any cold shoulder from the locals shes come to know and feel close to (the second-grade teacher who is also a beach-tag checker, the neighbor who makes them all amazing dinners) about riding out the pandemic like so many other second-home owners.

(Around Bay Head, theyre called Bennies. What is a shoobie? I never heard of that, Perino says, perhaps establishing once and for all where in New Jersey the term switches.)

Besides, like a lot of second-home owners, she identifies as a (mostly) local. Especially these days.

I havent given it much thought to be honest, because I do live here, she said. Ive been here a long time. Ive been here. Im working here. I love this community.
On May 8, 1945, by arrangement of United States General Dwight D Eisenhower, the commanders in chief of the three branches of the German military were flown from Flensburg, the northern town where Adolf Hitlers successor and his allies had been attempting to form a new administration, to Berlin.

They were brought to the headquarters of the Soviet military administration in the suburb of Karlshorst. Just a month earlier, the building had been a German officers mess hall. Hitler had killed himself in his bunker eight days previously, and across Europe, pockets of the German army were waving the white flag and handing themselves over to the Allied forces.

The commanders were kept waiting until 10pm, when the Allied delegation arrived and presented them with the details of Germanys unconditional surrender. The document was signed in the hours that followed.

The defeat of Nazi Germany sparked celebrations across Europe and beyond. In central London, more than a million people packed the streets to hear Prime Minister Winston Churchill declare the end of the war in Europe. It was dubbed Victory in Europe Day  VE Day.





A full 75 years later, the United Kingdoms Queen Elizabeth II  who herself was moving through those crowds incognito that day  reminded her nation of the spirit from which to be drawn while facing todays global challenges, and how the outlook that seemed bleak at the start of the war may still resonate.

The end distant, the outcome uncertain, she said, in a rare televised address on Friday. Never give up, never despair  that was the message of VE Day.

Street parties

The 94-year-old monarch said those who had served during the conflict with Nazi Germany would admire how their descendants were coping with the lockdown imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus.

When I look at our country today and see what we are willing to do to protect and support one another, I say with pride, that we are still a nation those brave soldiers, sailors and airmen would recognise and admire, she said.

Elizabeth, a teenager when the war broke out, learned to drive military trucks and worked as a mechanic while serving in the womens Auxiliary Territorial Service. She was in Buckingham Palace when it was bombed in September 1940.

Another 626 people who had contracted coronavirus lost their lives in the UK in the 24 hours to Thursday, with the country having the highest death toll in Europe. But though the virus is far from beaten, Britons were encouraged on Friday to open their doors and enjoy the company of their neighbours in the streets outside their homes  albeit at a distance. Many took the opportunity to hang flags and bunting and bake massive cakes.

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After a week of mixed messaging about the likelihood of restrictions being lifted next week, social media was awash with images of people flouting lockdown rules.

Across the Channel

In France, where the daily coronavirus death toll rebounded to 243 on Friday after a previous days total of 178, President Emmanuel Macron held the traditional wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

He also visited the Paris statue of General Charles de Gaulle, who led the Free French Forces during the war from London after his country had been invaded by Germany in 1940.

Commemorations in France were scaled down, with the threat posed by coronavirus deemed too risky to gather veterans of the conflict together, reported France 24.

Frances President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Edouard Philippe attended a ceremony to commemorate the end of the war at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris [Charles Platiau/Pool/Reuters]

Russias President Vladimir Putin invoked the wartime Allies cooperation in telegrams to US President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, suggesting they should rekindle such togetherness for todays problems.

The Kremlin said on Friday that Johnson and Putin had also spoken by phone, congratulating each other on the anniversary of the allied victory and expressing a readiness for dialogue and cooperation on bilateral issues.

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Ties with London remain badly strained over the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in England.

Russia usually marks Victory Day on May 9, as the official time of the signing of Germanys surrender on that night 75 years ago was after midnight in Moscow.

In Germany  where Nazism, the Holocaust and the devastation of war still shape identity and politics  Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier laid wreaths at Berlins Memorial to the Victims of War and Dictatorship.

Merkel also had a phone call with Trump, a spokesperson said.

Both commemorated the millions of victims and the immeasurable suffering caused by the war unleashed by Nazi Germany, the spokesman said. They agreed that it was important to keep the memory of the war and its horrors alive.

Merkel emphasised the special importance of US support for Germany after the war, and the deep ties between the two countries that subsequently developed, the spokesman added.
It's the most talked about series to hit TV screens this year, not least because it's one of the very few, given current circumstances.

Normal People, the 12-part adaptation of Salley Rooney's award-winning novel of the same name, beamed into houses across Ireland, the UK and the US last week.

Set in the fictional Sligo town of Carricklea, the first six episodes of the series are directed by Academy Award nominee Lenny Abrahamson, while Hettie Mcdonald took up the mantle for the other six.

The series focuses on awkward wallflower Marianne (Daisie Edgar-Jones) and popular, school 'jock' Connell (Paul Mescal). The series sees the two Leaving Cert students and their navigation through their feelings for each other, fitting in, and later in the series, mental health issues.

To adapt a novel for the small or big screen is no mean feat, but such is the list of accolades for Rooney's second novel (Irish Book of the Year, Waterstones Book of the Year), there is always a fear that an adaptation will not do justice.

Shot over several months across locations in Sligo, Dublin, Sweden and Italy, viewers got a taste for the picturesque northwest with one shot showing the lovers on the dunes in Streedagh, with the backdrop of the Dartry Mountains in one of last week's episodes.

Eagle eyed Sligo Rovers fans also may have spotted a Raf Cretaro poster in Connell's bedroom during one scene, while Tubbercurry residents and pub goers will have noticed Mescal's character enjoying a pint in T.Brennan's in Tubbercurry.

A hostelry which location scouts fell in love with immediately, with The Sligo Champion being told on set last year that virtually no changes had to be made to the charming pub before filming.

Lenny Abrahamson's superb direction with cinematography is noticeable throughout, close shots of rain on a car window, brief shots of Marianne's glances at Connell all make for an enjoyable watch aesthetically.

In terms of casting, kudos has to be given. Edgar Jones is perfect as the socially awkward and highly intelligent Marianne, while Mescal comes into his own for his first TV appearance having proved himself on stage, most notably in the stage adaptation of Louise O'Neill's book, 'Asking For It'. And yes, he is the lad from the Denny 'Bali-haunis' ad!

Picking holes in the series so far, it would be remiss not to touch on the accents. Though Carricklea is a fictitious location in Sligo, the majority of the cast sound like they were born and reared near The Burren.

English born Edgar Jones falls between a range of accents and at some stages falls into Saoirse Ronan in Brooklyn, territory. Who knows, as the series progresses and the leads go off to study in Trinity College, perhaps that is the reason for the accent change throughout!

So far, the series is being heralded as a masterpiece adaptation, with social media alight with glowing reviews. The adaptation of The New York Times bestseller has been called a 'triumph'.

For those who have not read Rooney's book and are expecting a gripping view, you may not have got it in the first two episodes. The suspense may be more subtle, in the awkwardness of the encounters, the insecurities they both hold, and dialogue that hangs in the air between Connell and Marianne at times. It's intimate scenes, of which there are many, have been dealt with and portrayed sensitively.

Some viewers may find it a slow watch, and perhaps the hype of the series will leave people wondering what all the fuss is about. One thing is for sure though, Normal People has brought back the essential weekly viewing aspect of TV.

Normal People airs every Monday night on BBC1 at 9pm and Tuesday nights on RTE at 10.15pm.
Arise and take our stand for freedom as in the olden time. Winston Churchill

Proclaim Liberty throughout All the land unto All the Inhabitants Thereof. Inscription on the Liberty Bell
But the nervousness and concern among White House staffers became more palpable on Saturday, according to people familiar with the matter who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the tensions. Now that Redfield and Hahn are staying away, some officials said they dont know if they should keep going to work at the White House. Staffers who had potentially been in contact with Miller were still getting calls on Saturday from officials trying to gauge their exposure to the virus, according to one person who received a call.
Officials at some tourist destinations in the state -- from the Oregon Coast to the Columbia River Gorge -- are asking out-of-towners to continue to stay at home during this weekends warm weather to do their part in containing the spread of the new coronavirus.

The city of Cannon Beach closed its beaches 7 a.m. Saturday through 7 p.m. Tuesday, noting that Seasides beaches also are closed and Cannon Beach officials dont want visitors seeking sand to flock to their beaches.

The forecasted high for Portland is 87 degrees Saturday and Sunday. On the northern Oregon Coast, its expected to be about 70 degrees with no rain.

(I)t is extremely likely that such ideal beach weather will further entice visitors from the Portland metropolitan areas to visit the beaches adjacent the city, wrote Cannon Beach City Manager Bruce St. Denis.

Officials dont want a repeat of March 21 and March 22 -- the first weekend of spring break, when Oregonians streamed to the states beaches, Smith Rock and other popular outdoor areas and didnt physically distance themselves. That prompted Gov. Kate Brown not to just ask residents to stay-at-home, but to order it.

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

The governors March 23 order shuttered many businesses but allows Oregonians to go outside and exercise. It doesnt specify a limit to how far they can venture out, but state officials have advised residents not to go more than 50 miles from home.

The governors order still stands, although she announced Thursday that counties in Oregon can apply to reopen beginning May 15. Thirteen already have turned in their applications.

Federal, state and county recreational lands closed to the public in response to COVID-19, but some have re-opened for boating and hiking. More will follow if Oregonians can show that theyre staying a safe distance from others.

Hood River, where high temperatures are expected to reach almost 80 degrees this weekend, has been asking visitors to stay away for the past seven weeks.

Even as public lands begin to partially reopen there has been an interagency approach to maintaining closures @ sites that draw crowds too large to comply w/ health guidelines. @CRGNSA attracts millions of visitors & many sites in the Gorge remain closed: https://t.co/hYU93OpE5x pic.twitter.com/RJI3HFtkDd  ColumbiaRiverGorgeFS (@CRGNSA) May 8, 2020

On Thursday, officials overseeing the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area reminded visitors that the vast majority of hiking trails, waterfalls, and parks in the gorge are closed, and the Historic Columbia River Highway is still closed 24 hours a day from Bridal Veil to Ainsworth State Park. The section from Larch Mountain Road to Bridal Veil is closed from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Oregonian reporter Jamie Hale wrote on Friday about outdoor areas that either have opened or still remain closed. Some recreation sites are open at the Bonneville, The Dalles and John Day dams, Hale wrote. See a full list of open and partially-open sites in Oregon and Washington.

-- Aimee Green; agreen@oregonian.com; @o_aimee

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Customers wait in line to be seated at Nomads Canteen, which opened in defiance of Gov. Gavin Newsom's stay-at-home mandate, in San Clemente, Calif., on May 7, 2020. (Jamie Joseph/The Epoch Times)

Orange County Businesses Defy Governor, Reopen Early

ORANGE, Calif.As business owners across California struggle to stay afloat, a number in Orange County have defied Gov. Gavin Newsoms stay-at-home mandate by reopening their establishments to keep from going under.

The early reopenings were necessary to save their businesses, the owners told The Epoch Timesbut still might not be enough. And though many people approve of the reopenings, others remain firmly opposed.

Ive had threats of burning the building down, death threats on myself and my family, Jeff Gourley, owner of Nomads Canteen in San Clemente, told The Epoch Times. I mean, its insane.

The debate between whether to reopen quickly to help an ailing economy, or mind the stay-at-home order to stem the spread of COVID-19, has divided officials and residents throughout Orange County, the state, and the country.

Its 50-50, and its indicative of where the country is at right now, Gourley said.

Owner Jeff Gourley (L) checks on a customer at Nomads Canteen in San Clemente, Calif., on May 7, 2020. (Jamie Joseph/The Epoch Times)

Nomads Canteen Takes a Bold First Step

Gourley reopened Nomads Canteen to full-scale table service for the weekend of May 1, in harmony with the Reopen California protests across the state.

He picked that date early on, he explained, because he couldnt afford to stay closed beyond that point.

I feel like I picked that date, essentially, determining in my head that if were not back to business by then, were just gonna be in such an economic slowdown or catastrophe, itll be irrecoverable, Gourley said.

The response from the community has been so astounding that he had to close his doors again after reopening weekendbut this time, to restock.

Gourley said he took extra safety precautions when he reopened.

Tables on the sundeck have been placed 6 feet apart to maintain social-distancing guidelines, and extra sanitation measures are being taken. Waitresses must wear face coverings; frequent hand-washing and glove use are the new normal.

With only 25 of his 50 employees returning to work, Gourley has been busy bussing tables, running food orders, and buzzing between patrons to make sure theyre enjoying their meals.

Weve set our interior tables up with about 30 percent of our normal capacity, and have signs marking social distancing, said Gourley.

The first few days were a learning curve, he explained. People tend to congregate when theres too much open space, so hes had to implement extra signage to direct people.

Gourley, 50, said the March 19 Newsom-mandated shutdown was earth-shattering for his business. To stay afloat, he received funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) two weeks after he applied, but he said it simply wasnt enough.

Unfortunately, its based on payroll only, and my payroll doesnt include my waitresses tips, he said. So, its quite a low amount, which has already been gobbled up in the shutdown.

The funds were used to pay his employees while the restaurant was closed, and to help him clean the restaurant.

Nomads Canteen serves surfer soul food, according to its website, including a mix of poke bowls and Mexican cuisine. The location also doubles as a hotel, catering to guests anxious to experience the nearby beaches great waves.

The restaurant continues to open for business Thursdays through Sundays, from noon to 7 p.m.

Customers relax along the bar at Nomads Canteen in San Clemente, Calif., on May 7, 2020. (Jamie Joseph/The Epoch Times)

Some local officials support the decision to reopen.

If youre not convinced that the business is safe, just dont go, Orange County Supervisor Don Wagner told The Epoch Times.

On May 4, Wagner, along with Orange County Supervisor Michelle Steel, released a statement in support of Nomads Canteen, following an attempt by the countys Health Care Agency (HCA) to seize Gourleys food service permit.

We understand that HCA will be promptly rescinding all threats and will take no enforcement action against Nomads as long as it continues to comply with Orange Countys Guidelines, the statement reads.

The statement also said the county would leave disciplining measures up to city law enforcement.

The County of Orange seeks to have businesses comply voluntarily with the Governors order, Molly Nichelson, public information manager for Orange County, wrote in an email to The Epoch Times.

Regarding Nomads Canteen, she added: Our Environmental Health Inspector spoke with the owner last Sunday [May 3]. We will continue to monitor the situation.

Less than a week later, a long line of people was waiting to be seated at lunchtime, indicating Gouleys decision to reopen has been good for business.

Matt De Vaul stands with some of the collectibles found in MMD Antiques in Orange, Calif., on May 7, 2020. (Jamie Joseph/The Epoch Times)

A Fearless Antiques Dealer

Matt De Vaul began collecting antique items from swap meets and auctions seven years ago. He opened MMD Antiques, in the heart of Orange, soon after.

Since then, hes seen nearly 300 customers every weekend, when they entered his shop looking for trinkets, vinyl records, vintage wallets, boots, used books, jewelry, potted plants, street signs, and other rustic finds.

De Vaul said he could feel the strain in town two weeks before the shutdown. Not as many people were out and about, and hed been through slow times before.

He knew the COVID-19 pandemic would be something that would hurt his business, he explainedbut he wasnt afraid of catching the virus.

Ive only been scared of losing my business, De Vaul told The Epoch Times.

That fear worsened March 19, when Newsom issued his stay-at-home order. The measures soon became detrimental to his familys livelihood, forcing him to sell some of his items on eBay.

MMD Antiques is open for business in defiance of Gov. Gavin Newsoms stay-at-home mandate, in Orange, Calif., on May 7, 2020. (Jamie Joseph/The Epoch Times)

Items line the shelves inside MMD Antiques in Orange, Calif., on May 7, 2020. (Jamie Joseph/The Epoch Times)

Owner Matt De Vaul waits for customers at MMD Antiques in Orange, Calif., on May 7, 2020. (Jamie Joseph/The Epoch Times)

Then things got worse. Struggling to pay rent, he asked his landlords for help. Luckily, they deferred his payments until the end of the year.

Im in debt to that, and its  tiring, De Vaul said. Its high rent, so thats nerve-racking for me.

He added, Like everyone else, I have a mortgage. I have the rent here. I have two car payments. I have kids in private schools. I have bills.

De Vaulwho works alone, with occasional register assistance from a friendapplied for a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan, PPP, and unemployment benefits, but said the response has been slow.

Just two days ago32 days laterI received an email that the SBA received my application, and that it will be handled in the order in which it was received, De Vaul said. Thats all Ive received.

With bills mounting, debt climbing, and desperation growing, De Vaul reopened his shop on April 24, forsaking Newsoms mandate.

But since then, he said, the normal influx of weekend customers has dwindled, to no more than 20 people.

Every day Im not open, Im going deeper and deeper in debt, said De Vaul.

And the truth is, is that I dont even think Im going to be able to recover from it. And I feel like the longer this takes to get back rolling, the worse its going to be. You know, this is my train.

De Vaul said he has received support from the City Council, and law enforcement waves at me every day when they drive by, he said with a laugh.

But if the police tried to shut him down, De Vaul said, he has faith that the City Council would stand behind him.

Local Officials Join Call to Reopen

Orange County officials have dueled with Newsom in recent weeks, after photos of a crowded Newport Beach went viral over the April 25-26 weekend and he temporarily closed all county beaches.

On April 28, Wagner, along with Chairwoman Michelle Steel, released guidelines for businesses and the public to follow as Orange County reopens.

Now, the beaches are all open for active usebut the sparring over reopening continues.

Whats clear about this disease is that most people are not at any significant risk, Wagner said.

We know where the hotspots are, he added. The hotspots are not out on the beaches. The hotspots are not in the restaurants. We can work to ensure safety there.

Other Orange County officials have also called for a streamlined approach to reopening, as an increasing number of businessesincluding a barbershop in Laguna Hills, which opened on May 1defy the order to remain closed.

Rancho Santa Margarita Mayor Bradley McGirr shared his April 28 letter to the Board of Supervisors with The Epoch Times.

At the outset, the public was advised that these restrictions would be temporary in order to flatten the curve and to ensure that our hospital system could adequately care for those afflicted by COVID-19. Two weeks of sheltering in place has turned into two months, with no real end in sight, the letter says.

Meanwhile, the hospital and medical care system has been able to accommodate the spread of COVID-19 here in Orange County.

We recognize that there are new cases reported every day as testing has increased, but hospitalizations and ICU cases remain relatively stable.

Laguna Niguel Mayor Laurie Davies, who also wrote a letter, told The Epoch Times in an email that she finds the potential mental health effect of the virus to be worrisome.

As of now, our Governor has only taken into consideration the physical coronavirus cases when determining whether or not it is safe to reopen our state, she explained. Why isnt the mental and economic health of our community just as important?

Her April 28 letter to the Board of Supervisors warns, Our critical small businesses may not survive if restrictions remain in place for much longer.

Businesses will put in proper safety precautions to protect employees and customers, she said in her email. I believe it is time to safely reopen so that those that feel safe can venture out and start gaining some sense of normalcy.

Wagner said hes worried about the long-term effects of healthy people losing their jobs, their health insurance.

Their standard of living decreases when people lose their jobs, he said. We see increased calls to suicide hotlines.

He said the ripple effects are devastating economically, and in terms of quality of life.

On May 8, Newsom implemented stage two of his four-stage roadmap for reopening. The plan, which allows lower-risk workplaces to reopen, includes guidelines and regulations businesses must meet, such as paperless payment, proper protective gear for employees, available hand sanitizer, and curbside pick-up.

But Laguna Beach Councilman Peter Blake said not very many businesses have opened in his town yet, because most are confused how they can operate under the guidelines.

This is another directive from the governor that lacks specific details, and hardly takes into consideration how a retail business can operate by bringing items to the curb, Blake told The Epoch Times.

I am enthused nonetheless that we are attempting to return to some normalcy.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 07:32:21|Editor: Lu Hui

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URUMQI, May 9 (Xinhua) -- As the sun rose over the mountains, the village of Yaragiz woke up for a busy day. It was the day that some 90 families were due to undergo their annual health check-up.

Since 2016, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has invested more than 4 billion yuan (about 564 million U.S. dollars) in just one project under the "Healthy China" initiative. Today in this northwestern region of China, all residents are entitled to free annual health checks.

At Yaragiz health clinic, villagers formed orderly queues as they registered for blood tests, electrocardiograms, ultrasound scans, and X-rays. Medics from the township hospital were also on hand to explain available health services and disseminate healthcare advice.

Before the launch of this project, many elderly rural residents had never heard of health check-ups, let alone seen modern medical equipment. Today, they are living healthy, happier lives.

Eziz Hudaberdi, from the Xihxu township hospital health examination department, said that residents of remote areas like Yaragiz seldom ate vegetables and tended to lack vitamins. Just a cursory glance at the local greenhouses, bursting with potatoes, cabbages, chilies, and tomatoes shows that this situation is changing.

Xihxu Township is around 2,000 kilometers from Urumqi, the regional capital. It administers nine villages scattered across different valleys, the most remote village is 200 kilometers away from the township seat.

To ensure that all residents can have their annual health check-ups, teams from the township hospital have paid house calls in remote villages over the past five years.

To reach Yaragiz, which is 3,500 meters above sea level, Eziz and his colleagues have to navigate narrow, winding mountain roads as well as three mountain passes. Along the way are steep, barren slopes, where falling stones or landslides are a regular threat. The 72-kilometer trip takes even the most experienced driver three hours to finish.

A one-way bus trip to the town costs 100 yuan, so many Yaragiz residents choose to go by motorbike, even though they have to push the bikes up some of the steepest inclines.

"That's why we come to the villages every year. We hope to save them the trouble and money," said Eziz.

"It's much more convenient to get a health check-up here instead of in town," said one Yaragiz resident, "It's a huge task -- even for the young lads -- to get here."

Eziz and his team have not been home for a month. Unable to see his eight-month-old daughter, he makes the most of any free time to call home. But away from the community, the phone signal is non-existent, and the new father has to take consolation in photos on his phone.

"Despite the high mountains and long roads, we must take good care of the health of these villagers. No one should be left behind." Enditem
Chang Zheng-5B, China's Response to the US Lunar Project

Sputnik News

04:00 GMT 08.05.2020(updated 05:42 GMT 08.05.2020)

China is able to compete with the United States in the exploitation of moon resources. Successful testing of the Chang Zheng-5B heavy-lift rocket is an important step in this direction, Sergei Filipenkov, a Russian aviation and cosmonautics expert, said, commenting on the US Artemis Accords lunar project.

China's first successful launch of the new Chang Zheng-5B heavy-lift launch vehicle on 6 May took place at the same time as the United States announced the drafting of an international agreement on mineral resource extraction on the moon. According to Reuters, the US' potential partners for the Artemis Accords project are a number of EU states, Canada, Japan, and the UAE.

According to competent sources, at the initial stage, Russia, which is NASA's main partner in the ISS, allegedly won't be involved in negotiating the project. China is also not mentioned among the possible partners for a future international agreement on moon mineral resource extraction.

As NASA Watch explained, today, space is increasingly seen as a new area for military activity. The new project should symbolise NASA's growing role as a tool of American diplomacy and is expected to cause controversy between the United States and its space rivals, such as China, NASA Watch said.

Sputnik talked to Sergei Filipenkov, an MAI expert and Aviapanorama editor, to find out why China and Russia aren't mentioned among the partners in the Artemis Accords project. In his opinion, Trump wants to stake out certain sections of the moon to exploit its resources without China and Russia, since he understands that both China and Russia are potentially the US' strongest competitors:

"So far, China's space programme is repeating the Soviet Union's achievements. It's entirely possible that in the next ten years China will take advantage of Soviet developments, and after 2030 Chinese taikonauts will be able to safely land on the moon. They have all the technical capabilities to do that. According to Roscosmos, Russian cosmonauts will also land on the moon after 2030. If China has the financial capabilities, if it invests huge funds in such a programme, the country will be able to easily realise it. There are no other major technical and medical problems for Chinese taikonauts to land on the moon".

The expert stressed that China is able to compete with the United States on the moon after 2030. It will take China about 10 years to master a manned landing on the lunar surface and start mining. China will master its unmanned lunar programme by about 2025.

By this time, China will be able to create lunar testing grounds for natural resource research, as well as outline the astronauts' landing platform on the moon's surface, Sergei Filipenkov said. At the same time, the expert suggested that the Americans are unlikely to land on the moon in 2024-2025, as they are currently planning.

This plan is recorded in NASA's lunar programme, Artemis. This is where the Artemis Accords, a future international project for lunar mineral extraction, comes from. NASA wants to create a "stable presence" on the moon's south pole, as well as allow for the extraction by private companies of lunar rocks and groundwater that can be converted into rocket fuel.

According to the expert, yesterday's successful testing of China's Chang Zheng-5B heavy-lift rocket is a necessary step in the Chinese lunar programme's development:

"Obviously, Chang Zheng-5B is designed for this. It's needed to create a base on the moon and develop infrastructure there for further research. Chang Zheng-5B is a heavy-lift rocket, like the Russian Proton launch vehicle, which was once designed for unmanned moon exploration and a possible flyby of the moon without landing. China may well carry out its lunar programme with Chang Zheng-5B".

The US-proposed Moon Exploration Treaty provides for the creation of so-called "security zones" around future lunar bases. Their size will vary depending on the type of operation being carried out there. These zones will be needed to "prevent damage or interference from rival countries or companies operating in close proximity".

On 7 April, the US president signed a decree on the commercial extraction of resources on the moon and other celestial bodies. The document said that the United States didn't consider space a "public domain". The Russian Foreign Ministry criticised Donald Trump's decree, noting that when exploring and using outer space for peaceful purposes, Russia proceeds from the equality of all countries.

The views and opinions expressed in the article do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.

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It is no coincidence that the norms that have come to define the Presidents Club over the past half century were shaped in large part by several men who used to be governors: Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. Gov. Gavin Newsom is embracing that sacred tradition and leaning on his predecessors during this crisis. He is proving that while the Presidents Club may be temporarily out of order, the Governors Club is in full effect in California.

When I sat across from President Trump in the Oval Office and asked him whether being faced with difficult decisions that cross the famous Resolute desk had given him a new sense of empathy for the men who came before him, he replied without hesitation: No. When our interview was over and I was walking out of the Oval Office, he shouted, Say hi to President Bush for me! in a voice laden with sarcasm.

That was a year before the novel coronavirus, and he still has not sought their help. Former President George W. Bushs decision to release a video last weekend in which he uses the compassionate conservatism that helped define his presidency is proof of just how disconnected the former presidents are from Trump. In the moving video Bush says: We are not partisan combatants. We are human beings, equally vulnerable and equally wonderful in the sight of God. We rise or fall together, and we are determined to rise.

While it is not a direct takedown of Trump, anything referencing empathy and compassion seems to be these days. And Trump took it as such. In a Tweet Sunday morning he wrote: He (George W. Bush) was nowhere to be found speaking up against the greatest Hoax in American history! He was referring to the impeachment investigation.

Trumps dismissal of his predecessors is so remarkably different from Newsoms decision to include all of his living predecessors, from both parties, on the advisory council to help plan Californias reopening. In mid-April, Newsom announced an 80-member economic recovery task force with a diverse group of members, including all four living former California governors: Jerry Brown, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gray Davis and Pete Wilson. Schwarzenegger and Wilson are Republicans and Brown and Davis are Democrats.

I love the spirit of these ex-governors, because they get it, Newsom said. People like us, we come and go, but our state is what we revere beyond anything else. It reminded me of something President Dwight D. Eisenhower had once said about the presidency: The country is far more important than any of us. 

It is admirable that Newsom would reach out to the men who came before him and that they would agree to help, despite personal failings and negative associations. They each carry baggage: Schwarzeneggers personal life, Davis being ousted from office in the recall, Wilson being forever associated with Proposition 187 (blocking public programs to the undocumented, 1994), and the issues that come with Browns four decades in the public eye, including four terms as governor. But they have banded together in a time of crisis to show a united front.

That is what we need on a national scale from our former presidents. But Trump refuses to ask them.

When I interviewed Trump for my new book I was struck by the contempt he had for his predecessors. Presidents usually end up feeling a sense of empathy for one another, and they privately rally around each other in times of need, regardless of political party. If anything, Trumps opinion of the four living ex-presidents seems to have hardened over time. Just as we were beginning to face school closures and lockdowns, Trump unleashed his disdain for Obama, calling his administrations response to the H1N1 swine flu outbreak a full-scale disaster, with thousands dying, and nothing meaningful done to fix the testing problem, until now.

In California, things have been markedly different. Schwarzeneggers viral PSA at a key moment in mid-March presents such a stark contrast to the cold war between Trump and his predecessors. In his wacky tweet, which featured his mini donkey Lulu and mini horse Whiskey, Schwarzenegger urged people to stay home and by doing that he was helping amplify Newsoms request that Californians over 65 and people with underlying health conditions stay at home. Schwarzenegger, 72, is in the highest risk group if exposed to the virus. As he fed his pets, Schwarzenegger told his millions of Twitter followers: No more restaurants, forget all that.  We stay home, he said. It was humorous but it was also evidence of the power of the Governors Club.

Before Trump, this behavior was expected. Most people remember how the former presidents supported George W. Bush after 9/11, and how George H.W. Bush and Clinton traveled the world together, seeking help after the tsunami in Asia, and in their leadership roles raising money after Hurricane Katrina. After seeing how powerful the Clinton-Bush team was, President Obama dispatched George W. Bush and Clinton to Haiti to raise awareness and funds after the devastating 2010 earthquake. This kind of camaraderie seems quaint today. But what Bush and Clinton did was part of a long-held tradition that has nothing to do with political party. President Ronald Reagan sent former presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter to Anwar Sadats 1981 Cairo funeral. President John F. Kennedy asked for advice from all three of his living predecessors during the Cuban Missile Crisis: Herbert Hoover, a Republican, Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Republican, and Harry Truman, a Democrat.

Trump told me that has not asked anybody for advice and does not care about having subverted the long-standing club.

We all love our country, but we all have different visions and we have different ways of doing things, and in a way were competing with each other, he said with a shrug of his shoulders. Trump is missing an opportunity to unify and calm the country when we need it most.

Newsom was correct when he decided to bring together people who have had experience leading California.

We recognize, he said, that if were going to learn anything from the past, its not to repeat the mistakes of the past.

And the only way to learn sometimes is to ask for help.

Kate Andersen Brower is the author of the forthcoming book Team of Five: The Presidents Club in the Age of Trump.
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday reiterated his demand for an audit of the Prime Ministers Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-Cares) Fund, created in March to fund relief measures aimed at easing the distress caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown.

The #PmCares fund has received huge contributions from PSUs {public sector undertakings} & major public utilities like the Railways, Gandhi tweeted.

Its important that PM ensures the fund is audited & that the record of money received and spent is available to the public, added Gandhi, who voiced a similar demand at a news conference on Friday.

The PM-Cares Fund should be audited. We should know about the donors and the donations. We should know who gave how much. There is no problem in saying that, Gandhi had said.

Last week, he had hit out at the railways for charging fare to transport migrant workers returning to their home states and giving donation to the PM-Cares Fund.

In a tweet in Hindi, Gandhi had said, On one hand the Railways is extorting ticket fare from labourers stranded in different states, on the other hand the Rail Ministry is depositing donations of Rs 151 crore in PM Cares fund. Please solve this puzzle. 

Earlier in the day, the Congress accused both the Centre and the Delhi government of being non-transparent in reporting the coronavirus cases.

Senior Congress leader Ajay Maken told reporters that there was confusion within the Centre in its fight against the Covid-19, and asked how India would tackle the pandemic if officials continued to speak in different voices.

Maken referred to differing comments made by some officials on the Covid-19 situation in the country and urged the government to tell the people clearly about the exact state of the pandemic to enable them to prepare accordingly.

He also asked the Arvind Kejriwal-led government in Delhi to be more transparent in reporting the coronavirus cases.

Makens comments came as confusion prevailed over the number of deaths due to the coronavirus in the national capital, with data from four hospitals showing that 92 people succumbed to the infection as against 68 deaths reported by the Delhi government.

It is a matter of shame that the national capital is witnessing a sorry state of affairs n the fight against the pandemic, the Congress leader said.

He said there should be more coordination between states and the central government, and urged the Centre to spell out a clear exit strategy for the lockdown.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 14:27:14|Editor: huaxia

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A woman lays flowers in front of a statue of a Soviet soldier at the Soviet Memorial in Treptower Park in Berlin, capital of Germany, May 8, 2020. People gathered at memorials of World War II in Berlin on Friday to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, known as Victory in Europe Day. (Photo by Binh Truong/Xinhua)

BEIJING, May 9 (Xinhua) -- As Friday marked the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day (VE Day), a number of European leaders and heads of international organizations commemorated the anniversary and called for unity in the fight against the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Seventy-five years ago, at least 55 million people died during World War II (WWII) and around 6 million Jews fell victim to the Nazi Holocaust throughout Europe. Today, the world is hit by COVID-19, which has infected more than 3.8 million people with over 270,000 deaths globally, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally Friday.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, massive celebrations and street parties planned to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII had to be canceled in some countries.

Britain, locked down by COVID-19 restrictions, celebrated on Friday the anniversary by a mixture of social distancing and virtual gatherings, while the enormous public events planned for central London were unable to go ahead.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II made an address to the nation from Windsor Castle Friday night, saying "Today it may seem hard that we cannot mark this special anniversary as we would wish. Instead we remember from our homes and our doorsteps. But our streets are not empty; they are filled with the love and the care that we have for each other."

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson described in his VE Day message how people fought with courage, ingenuity and endurance on the frontline.

"This country triumphed thanks to the heroism of countless ordinary people, and because of this, hundreds of millions of people now live in peace and freedom today. Today we must celebrate their achievement, and we remember their sacrifice."

Referring to the virus outbreak, the prime minister said it demands the same spirit of national endeavour as shown during wartime.

"We can't hold the parades and street celebrations we enjoyed in the past, but all of us who were born since 1945 are acutely conscious that we owe everything we most value to the generation who won the Second World War," Johnson said.

Poland marked the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII with a handful of modest ceremonies organized at a local scale due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Poles fought on all fronts of WWII, Polish President Andrzej Duda said after a wreath-laying ceremony in Warsaw, adding that "We are not forgetting about the sacrifice of those who fought on the fronts of World War II, all Poles who died during World War II, who were killed and suffered during World War Two."

According to Germany's federal disease control agency, the Robert Koch Institute, COVID-19 cases in the country increased by 1,209 within one day to 167,300 on Friday, with the death toll from the disease increasing by 147 to 7,266. And the reproduction rate of COVID-19 in Germany picked up slightly from 0.65 to 0.71.

Faced with this situation, the originally planned state act commemorating the end of WWII and a related international meeting of young people were called off.

Instead, a wreath-laying ceremony was held at Berlin's Neue Wache, Germany's main memorial for the victims of war and tyranny, under strict hygiene rules and without an audience on site.

"Remembrance never ends. There can be no deliverance from our past," said German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the ceremony. "It is not professing responsibility that is shameful, it is denial that is shameful."

"Today, 75 years later, we are forced to commemorate alone, but we are not alone," stressed Steinmeier. "We live in a vigorous and well-established democracy, in a country that has been reunified for 30 years, at the heart of a peaceful and united Europe."

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday remembered the millions of people who lost their lives in WWII and called on the international community to work together to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Guterres asked the world to learn the lessons of 1945, "We must never forget the Holocaust and the other grave and horrendous crimes committed by the Nazis. The victory over fascism and tyranny in May 1945 marked the beginning of a new era."

The UN chief noted that the world is still suffering the impact of conflict. Even during the current COVID-19 crisis, there are new efforts to divide people and spread hatred, he noted.

"As we mark this 75th anniversary, let's remember the lessons of 1945 and work together to end the pandemic and build a future of peace, safety and dignity for all," said Guterres. Enditem
Were at the choose-your-own-adventure part of the book, said Claudia Sahm, a former Federal Reserve economist who is now the director of macroeconomic policy at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, a liberal think tank focused on inequality.

It is unconscionable to wait for the economy to reopen, she said. For a lot of American workers, there will not be a job to go back to. Those temporary layoffs will not be temporary.

Parts of the country are beginning to emerge from the deep freeze that has characterized the first months of a pandemic that has killed more than 75,000 Americans. Those efforts are happening in uneven fashion and often without the kind of precautions that health experts say will be needed to prevent another wave of infections that requires another lockdown.

Democrats and Republicans, eyeing a rapidly approaching election, are pushing opposing plans for what lawmakers should do next, with no quick agreement in sight. Democrats want to continue to spend trillions of dollars in additional aid to people, companies and local governments, and to keep the assistance flowing until economic data shows the country is well into recovery. Liberal voices like Ms. Sahm and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts say they are determined to avoid the mistakes of the last crisis and prevent lawmakers from cutting off assistance too early, dooming the economy to years of slow growth.

Mr. Trump and Republicans want to shift government efforts toward relaxing restrictions and financing efforts they say would invigorate a reopened economy, like tax cuts and new business deductions. The White House and Republicans in Congress have hit pause on more stimulus efforts, as they push states to reopen and voice renewed concerns about the ballooning federal deficit, which is now projected to hit $3.7 trillion for this fiscal year.

We put all this money in, which is fine, the director of the National Economic Council, Larry Kudlow, told reporters on Friday at the White House. Its well worth it. Lets see what happens. As we move into the reopening phase this month, maybe spillover to June, lets have a look at it before we decide who, what, where, when.
The Federal Government has evacuated some Nigerians who were stranded in the United Kingdom as a result of the coronavirus.

The Punch gathered that some of the Nigerians arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos on Friday about 01.43 pm.

Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, confirmed their arrival.

She said, The first evacuation from the Uk has landed in Lagos. The passengers will be proceeding to Abuja where they will be on 14-day compulsory isolation.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
Washington: The US Justice Department on Thursday abruptly asked a judge to drop criminal charges against Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn following mounting pressure from the Republican president and his political allies on the right.

The move drew furious criticism from congressional Democrats and others who accused the department and Attorney General William Barr of politicising the US criminal justice system by bending to Trump's wishes and improperly protecting his friends and associates in criminal cases.

Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general who served as an adviser to Trump during the 2016 campaign, had been seeking to withdraw his 2017 guilty plea in which he admitted to lying to the FBI about his interactions with Russia's US ambassador Sergey Kislyak in the weeks before Trump took office.

The Justice Department filed a motion to dismiss the charges with US 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."

Trump, who had publicly attacked the case against Flynn and has frequently castigated the FBI, said he was "very happy" for his former aide, adding: "Yes, he was a great warrior, and he still is a great warrior. Now in my book he's an even greater warrior." Trump said in March he was considering a full pardon and accused the FBI and Justice Department of having "destroyed" Flynn's life and that of his family.

Flynn was one of several former Trump aides charged under former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation that detailed Moscow's interference in the 2016 US election to boost Trump's candidacy and contacts between Trump's campaign and Russia. Trump's longtime friend and adviser Roger Stone and his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort both were convicted and sentenced to multi-year prison terms.

The Justice Department said in its filing it was no longer persuaded that the FBI's Jan. 24, 2017 Flynn interview that underpinned the charges was conducted with a "legitimate investigative basis" and did not think his statements were "material even if untrue."

"A crime has not been established here. They did not have the basis for a counterintelligence investigation against Flynn at that stage," Barr said in a CBS interview. Asked about the fact that Flynn lied to investigators, Barr said: "Well, people sometimes plead to things that turn out not to be crimes."

In a filing, Flynn's lawyers agreed with the department's motion to dismiss the charges.

It marked the latest instance of the department under Barr, a Trump political loyalist, changing course under public pressure from the president to go light on one of his allies. In February, Barr and other senior department officials abandoned a tough sentencing recommendation by their own career prosecutors in Stone's case after Trump publicly lashed out at the prosecution team. The prosecutors quit the case in protest.

Shortly before the Flynn motion was filed on Thursday, career prosecutor Brandon Van Grack withdrew from the case and other related legal matters. He remains a Justice Department employee, a department spokeswoman said.

'Without Precedent'

Trump critics have accused him of becoming emboldened after his February acquittal in his Senate impeachment trial and interfering in cases involving people close to him.

"Flynn PLEADED GUILTY to lying to investigators. The evidence against him is overwhelming," Jerrold Nadler, the Democratic chairman of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, wrote on Twitter. "The decision to overrule the special counsel is without precedent and warrants an immediate explanation."

"We have to be deeply skeptical that this is anything other than a further capturing of our criminal justice system for the benefit of the president," added Noah Bookbinder, a former prosecutor who now heads the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics advocacy group.

Seth Waxman, another former prosecutor now in private practice, added, "To have the case dismissed like this raises a lot of uncertainty for the institution of the Department of Justice."

Barr was appointed by Trump long after Flynn was charged. Barr three months ago named Jeffrey Jensen, a US attorney in Missouri, to review the case. Jensen said he "concluded the proper and just course was to dismiss the case."

Trump fired Flynn after only 24 days on the job when it emerged that Flynn had misled Vice President Mike Pence and the FBI about his Kislyak dealings.

According to the indictment, Flynn in December 2016 - after Trump won the election but before he took office - discussed US sanctions against Russia with Kislyak and asked him to help delay a U.N. vote seen as damaging to Israel, a move contrary to then-President Barack Obama's policies.

Flynn was supposed to cooperate with prosecutors under his plea deal. But he switched lawyers and said prosecutors had tricked him into lying about his Kislyak conversations.

Pressure from Trump allies to drop the charges intensified last week after partially redacted documents turned over to Flynn's defense showed more about the FBI's thinking before interviewing Flynn.

An unidentified FBI agent wrote: "What is our goal? Truth/admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?"

Flynn's allies have argued those documents show the FBI was out to get him.

"The government has concluded that the interview of Mr Flynn was untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBI's counterintelligence investigation into Mr Flynn - a no longer justifiably predicated investigation," the Justice Department wrote in Thursday's filing.

Prosecutors asked the judge in January to sentence Flynn to up to six months in prison, saying he "has not learned his lesson" and acts like "the law does not apply" to him.

His sentencing has been deferred several times.

Flynn previously headed the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency but he was forced out in 2014 in part due to his management style and opinions on how to combat Islamist militancy. He joined Trump's 2016 campaign and at the Republican National Convention led chants of "Lock her up," referring to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
All 42 inconclusive COVID-19 samples which were sent for retesting to the Centre-run National Institute of Biologicals have been found negative, Gautam Buddh Nagar officials said on Saturday.

The samples were collected at the Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) in Greater Noida and found inconclusive by experts there after which they sent these to the NIB on May 5, the officials said.

The development was followed by a controversy over low number of tests being done in Gautam Buddh Nagar even as some people took to social media to claim that the higher authorities were meddling in the result reports.

However, the GIMS, an ICMR-approved COVID-19 testing facility, had refuted the charges on May 7, saying that due to technical reasons, some lab reports tend to be inconclusive.

Forty-two COVID-19 test samples were found inconclusive during testing and were sent to the government-run NIB for retesting. The reports have been received. None of the 42 samples have been found positive, Chief Medical Officer Deepak Ohri said.

The senior doctor also assured that the medical workers are dedicated to the fight against the pandemic and urged people not to believe or spread rumours.

All doctors, medical and paramedical staff in the district are putting in all efforts with transparency to combat coronavirus. Some people are making unsubstantiated claims and creating a situation of confusion which is discouraging for 'corona warriors' and their energy is wasted in clarifying these doubts, the CMO said in a statement.

Gautam Buddh Nagar adjoining Delhi in western Uttar Pradesh has recorded 216 positive cases of coronavirus, including two deaths, till Saturday evening, even as 121 patients have got discharged after successful treatment, according to official figures.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Gwyneth Paltrow hosts a panel discussion at the JVP International Cyber Center grand opening on February 03, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images)

The internet was set ablaze last week by the news Elon Musk and Grimes decided give their newborn baby the name X  A-12 - and now Gwyneth Paltrow, herself no stranger to unusual monikers, has had her say.

The Hollywood star and ex-husband Chris Martin were perhaps the original Grimes and Musk when their decision to name their daughter Apple in 2004 made similar waves.

Now the 47-year-old has taken to social media to acknowledge her own controversial name choice for their daughter, but also admit Tesla CEO Musk and musician Grimes have beaten her and the Coldplay frontman.

Read more: Elon Musk and Grimes announce unique baby name

Posting on Instagram, Paltrow wrote: "#chrismartin I think we got beat for most controversial baby name."

Add the fact we all know how to pronounce Apple, it is safe to say X  A-12 far exceeds the Paltrow-Martin offspring in terms of controversy and uniqueness.

Elon Musk and Grimes attend the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 7, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/WireImage)

Both Musk and Grimes, real name Claire Boucher, have gone public to shed light on the pronunciation of their baby, but, as both appear to give differing explanations, we are still really none the wiser.

Speaking on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast Musk explained: "It's just the letter X and then the  is pronounced 'Ash.'

"A-12 is my contribution. Coolest plane ever. It's pretty great."

Meanwhile Grimes responded to a question from a follower on social media which seems different to his explanation.

She wrote: "its just X, like the letter X. Then A.I. Like how you said the letter A then I."

Well that clears that up.

Read more: Grimes explains how she and Elon Musk came up with their new son's unusual name

Musk did say the name wasnt his idea, saying he left it up to Grimes who he said is great at names.

The 48-year-old also when on to say how much he is enjoying being a dad to little X  A-12: "I think it's better being older and having a kid.

"I appreciate it more. Babies are awesome. They're little lovebugs, wonderful, it's great."
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday (May 9) stressed on the need to understand the "chemistry of corona while administering its treatment".

The chief minister chaired a high-level meeting of UP government officials at his residence here to review the situation arising out of the coronavirus outbreak in the state.

"The need is to understand the chemistry of corona, while administering its treatment," he said.

Asserting that increasing the immunity level of the body can prevent the infection, Adityanath said the 'Aayush Kavach COVID' app launched by the state government has a host of information on ayurveda, which can be adopted by people to boost their immunity.

He added that the application should be widely publicised and people encouraged to download it.

The UP chief minister also stressed on working on all possibilities for revenue generation, and directed officials to prepare a plan to identify alternate sources of revenue.

He said an elaborate work plan should be formulated to make employment available to migrant labourers, and women self-help groups should be trained on a large scale. The members of these self-help groups should be trained in making garments and sweaters, he added.

"Foodgrains have been made available to 18 crore people in three phases. This is a big job. The recovery rate of COVID-19 patients is 42 per cent, as compared to the national average of 29.2 per cent," Adityanath said.

The chief minister also stated that provisions have been made for 53,400 beds to enhance the capacity of the COVID hospitals in the state.

He also claimed that UP tops the tally in terms of pool testing.

The chief minister directed that a special campaign should be run for effective prevention of malaria, dengue and other diseases, a statement issued by the state government said.

Adityanath also directed that cow shelters should be linked to income generation and manure should be made from cow dung.

He added that the work of geo-tagging the quarantine centres in the state should be accelerated.

"People returning from foreign countries should be screened and given medical treatment as per need," Adityanath said, and asked senior officials to personally monitor the lockdown and ensure its strict adherence.
- As of Friday, May 8, Africa had registered over 53,000 cases of coronavirus and at least 2,000 deaths

- The World Health Organisation (WHO) said there had been a 47% increase in confirmed cases in the last one week

- South Africa, Algeria, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Guinea, Cote dIvoire and Senegal were most affected by the pandemic in terms of cumulative case numbers

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has predicted 44 million COVID-19 infections and 190,000 deaths in Africa in one year if countries in the region fail to control the pandemic.

As of Friday, May 8, the continent had registered over 53,000 cases of the disease and at least 2,000 deaths.

READ ALSO: MultiChoice, Trace partner to showcase Kenyas biggest online music concert

The novel coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan, China in December, 2019. Photo: BBC.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Nurses protest outside White House to honour colleagues who died of COVID-19

In a statement on Thursday, May 7, the United Nations (UN) health agency said up to 5.5 million people in Africa could be hospitalised due to the virus, out of which 82,000 to 167,000 would be severe cases requiring oxygen, and 52,000 to 107,000 would be critical, needing breathing support.

"Overall, looking at the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic, and especially now we are looking at community spread in some countries, we are estimating that this will peak in four to six weeks if nothing is done," Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa said.

WHO said there was a 47% increase in the number of confirmed cases of the respiratory disease in the African region in the past week.

In this, South Africa, Algeria, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Guinea, Cote dIvoire and Senegal were most affected by the pandemic in terms of cumulative case numbers.

The countries accounted for 76% of reported cases in the region.

Moeti said the agency was working with countries to leverage the assets they had in place already, built in preparedness for ebola, HIV, TB and polio programmes among others.

Health CAS Mercy Mwangangi confirmed 25 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, May 7, bringing national tally to 607. Photo: MoH.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Moto wawaka kati ya polisi na raia Kariobangi

They would also scale-up coordination, mobilise people and repair supply chains globally and locally.

Over 3.9 million cases of the virus have been confirmed with 270,000 deaths recorded in 212 countries and territories around the world and two international conveyances.

Kenya had registered 607 cases, 197 recoveries and 29 deaths as of Thursday, May 7.

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
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-07 22:07:19|Editor: huaxia

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People shop at a store in Rawalpindi of east Pakistan's Punjab province on May 9, 2020. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said in a recent televised address that the lockdown will be eased in several phases from Saturday, starting from the reopening of construction-related industries and small markets. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)

ISLAMABAD, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said here on Thursday that the government has decided to ease the COVID-19 lockdown starting from Saturday in the country, considering its impact on the economy.

Talking in a live televised public briefing along with cabinet members, the prime minister said he has approved the decision of easing the lockdown taken at a meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC), top body in the country's fight against COVID-19, which includes ministers, provincial chief ministers and military officials.

"We have decided to ease the lockdown partially in a phased manner from Saturday after analyzing the local situation and confirmed cases trend. It is now the responsibility of the businessmen and common people to follow the standard operating procedures (SOPs) otherwise we would be forced to reverse the decision," said the prime minister.

Khan said that the government is not sure when the coronavirus peak will come to Pakistan, but the concerned departments are observing the situation.

Khan added that the government needs to open industries because daily wage earners and laborers are suffering due to the lockdown and the closure of businesses, but he warned of an abrupt spike in infections if SOPs are not implemented strictly.

Earlier on Thursday, the NCC had proposed easing in the lockdown restrictions after the federal cabinet had approved a proposal in this regard.

According to the data released by the country's health ministry on Thursday morning, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pakistan has risen to 24,073, with 564 deaths.

On the occasion, Minister for Industries and Production Muhammad Hammad Azhar said the NCC has decided to open factories and their products shops related to paint, pipes, tiles, electric cables, steel, aluminum, and shops in rural areas and community centers five days a week from morning to 5:00 p.m. local time.

According to the decision, all educational institutes and other mass gathering venues will remain closed till July 15 and all scheduled examinations have been postponed till further decision.

The central government supported the opening of public transport but the provinces did not agree on it, leaving the issue for later consultations, said the prime minister.

Last month, the Pakistani government allowed the construction industry to open by providing it with a financial package to provide jobs to laborers and to mitigate the COVID-19 harsh impact on the country's fragile economy.
Durham, North Carolina, and San Jose, California, are among the U.S. cities that can expect to bounce back quicker from the coronavirus pandemic and the recession caused by its subsequent shutdowns, a new report states.

Low population density and educational attainment are the two key factors that will aid recovery in metro areas, leaving places such as Honolulu, Hawaii, and Miami, Florida, struggling in comparison, according to the report from Moody's Analytics.

More densely populated areas could be considered more at risky post-shutdown while a high reliance on the tourism and consumer industries left cities such as Las Vegas more exposed to the economic impact of the pandemic.

The report examined the top 100 metro areas in the U.S., Yahoo News reports, identifying San Jose and Durham as well as Washington D.C.; Austin, Texas; Seattle; and Minneapolis among the cities with the best conditions for recovery.

On the other end of the scale were Las Vegas, Nevada; Miami, Florida; and Honolulu, Hawaii.

Some of the U.S. cities that are in the best and worst positions for economic recovery following the coronavirus pandemic. Low population density and educational attainment are the two key factors that will aid recovery in metro areas leaving Las Vegas and Miami struggling

Durham in North Carolina with its low population density and an economy built around a large university is predicted to be among the U.S. cities that will recover the fastest from the recession sparked by the coronavirus pandemic and its subsequent shutdown, a report says

An empty Las Vegas Strip is seen amid the novel coronavirus pandemic on Friday. The tourist hotspot is predicted to be among the city's that will struggle to recover post-lockdown

'The most dynamic recoveries may well bypass traditional powerhouses and take place instead in areas that [weren't] poised to lead the way in 2020 before everything changed,' Adam Kamins, senior regional economist at Moody's Analytics, told Yahoo.

While educational attainment is a major factor, economic recovery will depend heavily on the population density of a city.

'A key difference between this recovery and the last recovery is the population density,' Kamins explained. 'It's going to have a different effect this time than it did last time.'

'Big densely populated cities  are going to be viewed as inherently risky,' he said, adding that this is the opposite to the fortunes of packed cities during the Great Depression where 'the first place is out of the recession were big densely populated global cities'.

The perfect combination for recovery, according to Moody's, is in Durham, North Carolina, where there is a low population density and an economy built around a large university  Duke - that heightens the city's educational attainment.

'Some of the places that we're really looking at now would be places that have high degrees of educational attainment but are lower density  [that] have grown very, very well over the last five or six years in particular, are pretty well positioned coming out of this whenever we do,' Kamins said.

Duke University, pictured, is considered a major factor in marking Durham, North Carolina, as one of the U.S. cities best positioned to recover for the recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic. An economy built around a large economy is considered a good factor

'You could see possibly where we get in a situation four or five years down the road where the pool of available first year workers that have recently graduated colleges is less than usual.

'There's just hope at that point you're in a recovery or expansion anyway, and it just creates more labor market tightness, especially at the entry level.'

Other more isolated cites such as Des Moines, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebraska could also come out on top.

'They're not places that you think of as sort of prestigious economies  they're somewhat isolated in terms of where they are relative to the rest of the U.S.,' Kamins said.

'But both of those actually have a pretty strong financial services sector, a fairly well educated population, especially compared to the kind of surrounding regions at lots of opportunity to kind of spread out.'

Many east coast cites are not set to fair as well as others in the recovery, apart from Washington D.C. which found itself high on the scale.

'That's one where I think that was more a function of just as population density being a lot lower than other kind of Northeastern cities,' Kamins said of the surprising emergence of the city.

Tourist favorites such as New York, Miami and Las Vegas are going to be confronted with the hardest path to recovery, according to the report.

'New York City's greatest asset is a large, skilled workforce that is drawn to the fast-paced and highly interactive nature of life in the Big Apple,' Kamins explained.

'But activities such as riding the subway, dining in crowded restaurants, and attending Broadway shows may be viewed as inherently risky for some time, consistent with the city's status as the single-most economically exposed metro area or division.'

Las Vegas, in particular, will suffer as the tourist hotspot's economy is 'is almost completely shuttered right now and will be for some time as both leisure travel and business travel dry out'.

Clients of the nonprofit organization The River Fund wait in line to receive free groceries on Saturday in New York City. The Big Apple is predicted to face a longer road to economic recovery after the coronavirus pandemic because of its high density population

Kamins believes that the effects of the recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic could affect the living patterns of the next generation as they may choose to opt for metro areas with less dense populations.

'The generation that is growing up today could remember the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,' he said, '[and eventually] opt for less densely packed pastures in the decades to come.'

The enormous magnitude of job cuts has plunged the US economy into the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression in the 1930s where the jobless rate reached 25 percent.

Nearly all the job growth achieved during the 11-year recovery from the Great Recession has now been lost in just one month.

The largest monthly job loss prior to April was about 2 million in September 1945 after WWII.

In March 2009, at the height of the Great Recession, 800,000 jobs were lost.

The collapse of the job market has occurred with stunning speed. As recently as February, the unemployment rate was a five-decade low of 3.5 percent. In March, the unemployment rate was just 4.4 percent with 870,000 jobs lost.

That March figure, however, did not account for the millions of jobs lost in the final two weeks of that month when the coronavirus pandemic forced states to go into lockdown.

The latest 14.7 percent rate comes a day after the Labor Department's report into weekly unemployment benefit claims showed nearly 3.2 million laid-off workers applied for aid in the week ending May 2.

At least 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, bringing the US economy to a near standstill.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 13:50:13|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 9 (Xinhua) -- General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday sent a verbal message of thanks to Kim Jong Un, chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), in reply to an earlier verbal message from the latter. Enditem
Mobile internet connectivity across all 10 districts in the Kashmir Valley has been suspended for four days amid coronavirus disease (Covid-19) lockdown restrictions, impeding the work-from-home (WFH) regimen of professionals and students attending online classes.

On Wednesday, the Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) Union Territory (UT) authorities suspended mobile services during an encounter in which security forces killed Hizbul Mujahideens chief operational commander Riyaz Ahmad Naikoo at Beighpora in south Kashmir.

Protests had erupted in Pulwama when the encounter was underway, prompting the authorities to suspend all mobile services -- except postpaid Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited connectivity  across the Valley. Although mobile call services were restored on Saturday,internet connectivity remained suspended.

Employees of software development companies, who have been struggling with slow internet speeds since January, are among the worst hit.

Most of my team members have been working from home due to the ongoing lockdown restrictions. But the suspension of mobile internet services has disrupted their work. How can they work from home? asked Majid Ahmad, a Srinagar-based administrator of a software development firm.

The J&K administration restored 2G mobile internet connectivity in January after a Supreme Court order, as normal life in the Kashmir Valley was paralysed after the Centre revoked the special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5 and split it into two Union territories -- J&K and Ladakh.

The administration has ignored growing demands for 4G mobile internet connectivity and only allowed 2G as a stop-gap arrangement.

I was out of Kashmir last time when the mobile internet connectivity was suspended. Now, Im stuck here for the past two months because of the lockdown. Im feeling helpless, said Gowhar Ahmad, who works for an international development agency.

The suspension of internet defeats the WFH concept ...{which is } being promoted across the world amid the Covid-19 outbreak, he added.

Mohammad Asim, an engineering student who returned home from Uttar Pradesh after his college closed due to Covid-19 outbreak, cannot attend online classes because of the suspension of mobile internet connectivity.

Earlier, slow connectivity was a challenge. Now, there is no connectivity at all. How can I attend my online classes with zero connectivity? he asked.

A resident of Srinagars Old City, who didnt wish to be named, said the UT administration should have suspended mobile internet connectivity only in areas such as Pulwama where protests erupted.

Why have the authorities put the entire population in Kashmir Valley at such an inconvenience amid the lockdown restrictions? he asked.

Pandurang K Pole, divisional commissioner, Kashmir, said the authorities had been compelled to suspend mobile internet connectivity because a spurt of violence in the valley. Mobile internet connectivity has been suspended as a precautionary measure for a temporary period. Well restore it soon, he said.

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Black and Hispanic people appear to be feeling the brunt of the NYPD's force when it comes to the enforcement of social distancing measures in New York City.

Data released by the police show that out of 374 social distancing-related summonses that have been issued since restrictions came into effect six weeks ago, some 81 percent, or 304 of them, were issued to Hispanic or African-American people.

Such statistics marry with figures released by police in Brooklyn, which noted that that 35 of 40 people arrested in that borough between March 17 and May 4 for social distancing violations were black.

A total of 193 summonses issued were to black residents and 111 were to Hispanic people, according to the NYPD. All told, 81% of people issued summonses were black or Latino

Information was released by the NYPD showing the number of summonses in each borough

More than 80 percent of those who were issued summonses for social distancing violations in New York City were people of color

A woman wearing a mask sits in Sheep Meadow, Central Park as temperatures rise amid the coronavirus pandemic on in New York City

Such social distancing enforcement disparity is also reflected in the figures in the borough of Queens.

Out of 20 arrests, two were Asian, two were white and the other 16 were black or Hispanic, or around 80 percent.

Citywide, there were 120 social distancing-related arrests. The numbers mirror those found in summonses with black people representing 68 percent of people arrested and 24 percent were Hispanic. Just 7 percent of those arrested were white.

'That's abysmal,' Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said during a news conference Friday. 'This is not the federal government. This is not Donald Trump.'

Videos have gone viral showing NYPD officers arresting black men for violating social distancing guidelines. Of the 40 arrests made in Brooklyn since mid-March for the violation, 35 of those have been black residents

The videos stand in sharp contrast to photos and video tweeted by the NYPD showing friendly officers handing out face masks

Williams says that New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo have been pushing for enforcement instead of education, leading to heavy-handedness and a 'business as usual' attitude within the NYPD which has long been accused of marginalizing communities of color.

'We were told we were getting a mayor who was going to change this,' Williams said. 'That's what makes some of this so difficult to swallow.'

The mayor claims that police have actually shown restraint during the lockdown period.

'We do not accept disparity, period,' de Blasio said during a coronavirus briefing. 'On the arrests and summonses, the thing to focus on first, is the sheer fact that we're looking at numbers across a city of 8.6 million people and across a time span I believe is six weeks, the numbers of arrests and summonses are extraordinarily low.

'So, I don't, for a moment, misunderstand folks who raise alarms and concerns, or project forward concerns,' said de Blasio. 'But I say, "Hey, start with these sheer facts, that we're talking about very few people have been arrested and very few people have been summonsed."

People can be seen relaxing near the Hudson River without masks as officers stand in the background

Many have pointed to photos captured in Brookyln's Domino Park taken last weekend, that showed predominantly white crowds packed on the lawn

'And there's been a huge amount of restraint by the NYPD. That's just factually obvious from the numbers, and we intend to keep it that way only using summons and arrest when needed.

'We're dealing with something absolutely unprecedented, and there's no way in hell we are going to be able to keep people safe if we don't use the strongest, best public safety organization in this country.'

Police Commissioner Dermot Shea also stressed that arrests are down 50 percent across the city and believes overall social distancing enforcement has gone smoothly.

'We have been doing it with an extremely light touch,' he said.

'We have been interacting with millions of people and given out only a handful of violations, summonses and arrests, and that's the way it should be,' Shea said. 'I don't want the NYPD to be the morality police.'

The viral videos of black people and other people of color getting violently arrested across the city stand in sharp contrast to photos and video tweeted by the NYPD showing friendly officers handing out face masks and gently reminding people to stay 6 feet apart.

One of the new videos shows an officer knocking a 32-year-old man to the ground with his arm Monday night in Brooklyn after police say he took a 'fighting stance' as officers wrestled his stepbrother against a squad car. Police say the men were part of a group that failed to disperse when told to comply with social distancing rules.

Another video, recorded Saturday, showed an officer throwing Adegoke Atunbi, 20, to the ground.

He was arrested at Brooklyn's Brower Park moments after shouting insults as officers hauled his friend away in handcuffs. Police said both men were gang members with a history of arrests.

'I thought police were meant to de-escalate a situation, not escalate it,' said Atunbi, who was cited for disorderly conduct. 'It's a scary thing to be put on the ground.

'You have six-seven people on top of you. You have no way to defend yourself, thinking you might die. It does something to your mind.'

A police officer distributes face masks in Domino Park in Brooklyn

Some officers in the videos weren't wearing protective masks.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez's office called the incidents in the videos 'disturbing' and said his office is reviewing them to determine if disciplinary recommendations or criminal charges for the officers are warranted.

Police watchdogs say the conduct shown in the videos suggests officers are using social distancing during the pandemic as a pretext to harass people of color along the lines of stop and frisk, a practice curtailed in recent years in which officers stop people on the streets and search them for weapons.

Many have pointed to photos captured in Brookyln's Domino Park taken over the weekend, that showed predominantly white crowds packed on the lawn. Many of the people there were not wearing masks. Others have pointed to similar images captured in the East Village.

An image at Domino Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, this weekend shows New Yorkers sprawled out on the grass and no police in sight

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.

De Blasio has had to go on the defensive for the police department after an increase in the disturbing videos.

Sharing a New York Times article that featured the unsettling statistics, the mayor said: 'Saving lives in this pandemic is job one. The NYPD uses summonses and arrests to do it. Most people practice social distancing, with only hundreds of summonses issued over 6 weeks. But the disparity in the numbers does NOT reflect our values. We HAVE TO do better and we WILL.'

However, prior to the tweet, de Blasio declared that he would not 'sideline the NYPD.'

'I am not making my decisions based on a very few interactions that were handled poorly or went bad,' de Blasio said earlier on Thursday. 'I'm making my decisions based on the millions of interactions that are going right.'

Responding to a New York Times article that revealed the number of arrests over the social distancing period, Mayor de Blasio said the force would do better

Joo-Hyun Kang, the director of Communities United for Police Reform, said it's time for de Blasio to 'step in and remove the NYPD immediately from all social distancing enforcement.'

'This certainly isnt the first time and this isnt even the first time in this pandemic that weve seen evidence of discriminatory policing by the NYPD,' added Jennvine Wong, a lawyer with the Legal Aid Societys Cop Accountability Project.

Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said the incidents should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and that 'a punch should not be assumed to be excessive force.' Officers are trained to punch someone when warranted as part of an escalating progression of force, he said.

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.'

A group of officers pin down Adegoke Atunbi in the video. He later described feeling terrified because he didn't know if he was going to die

Mr Atunbi, pictured as he was pinned down by police, was cited for disorderly conduct. He said six or seven officers held him

The methods used by the NYPD to apprehend violators of social distancing have been compared to 'stop and frisk', when officers stop people on the street and search them for weapons.

The searches stopped in 2013 when a federal judge in Manhattan ruled they amounted to a 'policy of indirect racial profiling' of black and Latino people.

Of those arrested in 2013, 88 per cent were found to be innocent. Fifty-six per cent of those detained were black while 29 per cent were Hispanic, according to the ACLU of New York website. Only 11 per cent of those arrested were white.

Mayor de Blasio refuted any comparison between enforcing social distancing measures and what he described as 'systematic, oppressive and unconstitutional' stop and frisk policies.

In his statement on Thursday he said: '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.

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

Officer Francisco Garcia (above) threatened the crowd with a stun gun and shouted 'Get back. Get the f**k back'

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

Garcia was seen putting his knees on Wright's head and neck during the brutal arrest. Wright was arrested for assault on a police officer and resisting arrest but the charges have been deferred pending further investigation

The incident is being investigated by the department's Internal Affairs Bureau and Garcia has been placed on modified duty

Mayor de Blasio condemned the incident saying: 'Saw the video from the Lower East Side and was really disturbed by it. The officer involved has been placed on modified duty and an investigation has begun'

Last month in Carnarsi, a black middle-class neighborhood in Brooklyn, officers issued nearly 60 summonses and arrested two people on gun charges at a birthday party in a barbershop, the newspaper reported.

But two days later, on April 20, no arrests were made at a marijuana party in Chelsea, a wealthy neighborhood in Manhattan, despite a duffel bag full of the drug being found.

Last week, officers twice interrupted crowded funerals in Brooklyn's Hasidic Jewish community to crack down on social distancing violators. De Blasio stoked divisions further with a series of tweets singling out Jews for ignoring a ban on large gatherings.

On Saturday, officer Francisco Garcia was caught on video slapping and punching a black man, 33-year-old Donni Wright, and dragging him to a sidewalk after leveling him in a crosswalk near a Manhattan public housing complex.

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

Garcia was stripped of his gun and badge and placed on desk duty pending an internal investigation.

On Sunday, police issued at least one social distancing summons at a small protest organized by an LGBT group outside a Manhattan hospital, pitting free speech and public health concerns. De Blasio and Shea defended the response, arguing people had no right to protest during a pandemic.

Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said stay-at-home and other orders Major de Blasio issued in response to the crisis don't give police 'unfettered  and unconstitutional  discretion to ban all protest activity.'

'The right to protest is a bedrock of our nation's principles, and it is never more important than in times of crisis,' Lieberman said. 'The government may not needlessly restrict protest activity that is in compliance with important public health guidelines.'
Katy Perry on MasterChef Australia. Credit:

MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA



7.30pm, Ten

Katy Perry is not known for her culinary achievements but why knock back a visit to a local reality show from an international pop star? Especially when theyve sung the theme tune. Her appearance tests whether the contestants can scream more hysterically than they do at the sight of a returning runner-up or Gordon Ramsay. Her other job is to judge an elimination dish, which  you guessed it  must be both Hot N Cold.
ANUSHA RAVI By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa met an all-party delegation comprising leaders of Congress, Janata Dal-Secular as well as representatives of farmer unions on Friday to discuss relief and containment measures over Covid-19. Fridays meeting was the second such instance of the government- opposition coordination on battling the coronavirus. Apart from the two all-party meetings held since March, Yediyurappa had met Congress leaders separately in April over the pandemic.

Opposition leaders, led by Congress Legislature Party chief Siddaramaiah, urged the state government to seek a Rs 50,000-crore package from the Union government to assuage losses caused by the lockdown. A host of topics from farmers to discrepancies in the distribution of relief were discussed. According to Siddaramaiah, considering the financial crunch, the state should urge the Union government to announce a financial package.

The state government should urge the Union government to declare the Covid-19 situation a national calamity and seek Rs 50,000-crore special economic package for Karnataka, he said, adding that the Rs 1,610-crore package announced by the state barely covers a fraction of people affected by the pandemic. The compensation is unscientific, he said. The opposition parties submitted a 24-point memorandum to the chief minister on immediate measures that need to be taken, including enhanced compensation for farmers and unorganised sector workers.

The JDS said ASHA workers and anganwadi staffers should be given a daily payment of Rs 200 for their works as frontline corona warriors. H K Kumaraswamy and H D Revanna of the JDS and S R Patil, Eshwar Khandre, D K Shivakumar, Krishna Byregowda and V S Ugrappa of the Congress were present at the meeting. The chief minister was accompanied by deputy chief ministers CN Ashwath Narayan and Govind Karjol along with ministers Suresh Kumar, BC Patil and Basavaraj Bommai.

The opposition also sought a special sitting of the Legislative Assembly to take up matters related to the lockdown impact. The Congress even agreed to do away with TA/DA for legislators for the session. We also raised the issue of BJP leaders siphoning off government aid for lactating mothers and rebranding it as their own relief material. We have also insisted that labourers should not be forced to work like bonded labourers. They have the dignity of life.

They are nation builders and all decisions need to be taken in consultation with them, said Shivakumar, president, KPCC. Yediyurappa, who gave the opposition a patient hearing, assured them that the Covid-19 containment strategy in Karnataka was better managed in comparison with other states. The government will consider more compensation to other sectors in the coming days, Yediyurappa is said to have told the opposition leaders while accepting their recommendations for consideration.
It is 8 pm and actor Sana Khan has just finished her Iftari and prayers. I dont know how my day goes by. I start by offering Namaz and then I read the Quran. The rest of my time is spent in organising food for distributing among the needy and then preparing the Iftari, says Sana.

The actor recently posted a video, sharing with fans how she is grateful that many put their faith in her and send her their zakat (alms) to help the needy this Ramzan. Khan has been sending out rations along with daily meals for about 400-500 people. She has also distributed items such as milk, bread, glucose and biscuits to the ones staying on the streets. Im also asking people to pitch in as much as they can as we need a lot of material to sustain this, says Sana.

In her video, Khan also narrated what happened when her helper went to distribute food. The boy saw a shelter home close by that had some 350 people, so we decided to send food there as well. However, when my helper went today wearing a skull cap, some asked him if the food was just for Muslims or if there were separate queue for Hindus and Muslims. At times like these, it is disturbing to hear such things. Food is for all and religion has no role to play in this, says Sana.

Sana also talks about a viral painting by Saudi Artist Nabila Abuljadayel that she has shared on Instagram recently. In the painting inspired by reality, a cleaner wearing a skull cap sits in front of the Kaaba praying. The images says, amongst 1.8 million people praying at the Kaaba every year, this year it was the cleaner who got the privilege. It is such a moving picture. When I saw it, tears welled in my eyes. It can move anyone. I planned to go to the Kaaba this year but because of the circumstances, I wasnt able to. I felt envious of the cleaners cleaning the Kaaba. They got a chance to stay close to God and clean the house of God. The underprivileged are the only privileged ones in the eyes of Allah, says Khan.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Prerna Gauba Prerna Gauba writes on fashion and food, for the daily Entertainment & Lifestyle supplement, HT City. ...view detail
Taliban Militants Kill Afghan Regional Police Chief In Latest Attack

May 08, 2020

Taliban militants have killed a provincial police chief and two others in a roadside bomb attack in Khost Province in Afghanistan's southeast, officials said on May 8.

Khost police chief Sayed Ahmad Babazai was leading an operation against the militants in the western part of the province when he was hit by the bomb late on May 7, Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said.

Babazai's secretary and one of his bodyguards were also killed in the explosion, local officials confirmed. Another policeman was severely wounded in the incident.

The Taliban militant group claimed responsibility for the attack.

It comes as the U.S. peace envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, said on May 7 that he had talked to Taliban leaders in Qatar about a "reduction in violence" and a range of other issues related to the U.S.-Taliban peace agreement signed in February.

The deal paves the way for the withdrawal of all international troops from Afghanistan within 14 months. In addition to an exchange of prisoners, it is intended to lead to peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

According to the quarterly report of the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, the Taliban has not launched any attacks on international troops since the agreement, but have increased attacks on Afghan government forces.

Based on reporting by dpa and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/taliban-militants -kill-afghan-regional-police-chief-in- latest-attack/30601246.html

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

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Transgender prisoners have carried out seven sex attacks on women in jail, it can be revealed today.

Official figures show for the first time the true scale of offending by criminals who were born male but were allowed to move into female jails after changing gender.

Yet despite the risks, prison governors are still allowing trans inmates to move into the jails. Male-born trans prisoners were first allowed to request a transfer to women's jails in England and Wales in 2016.

Just a year later the risks of the policy were made clear when a convicted rapist was moved to women's jail HMP New Hall and sexually assaulted two women inmates.

Convicted rapist Karen White (pictured) was moved to women's jail HMP New Hall and sexually assaulted two women inmates

Karen White dressed as a woman but was still legally a man and had not undergone surgery. She was jailed for life in 2018 by a judge who branded her a 'highly manipulative' predator.

Now the Ministry of Justice has admitted the case was not a one-off. In response to a Parliamentary question from former Labour Party General Secretary Baroness McDonagh, Ministers have revealed there have been several other sexual assaults by trans prisoners.

But incredibly, the initial response omitted the White case and was only corrected after The Mail on Sunday intervened.

The MoJ said: 'Since 2010, out of the 124 sexual assaults that occurred in the female estate a total of seven of those were sexual assaults against females in custody perpetrated by transgender individuals.'

Prison officers at work at the new HMP Bronzefield (womens prison) in Ashford, Middlesex, where at least one attack took place

It means that although trans women make up about one per cent of the 3,600 female jail population, they are to blame for 5.6 per cent of sexual assaults there. The attacks took place at HMP Low Newton, HMP Foston Hall, HMP Peterborough (Female) and HMP Bronzefield as well as HMP New Hall.

The MoJ said it did not know if the culprits had been punished, saying this information was 'not held centrally'. It also insisted there had been 'no reported incidents of any type of sexual assault against prison officers by trans prisoners', despite claims to the contrary.

As the MoS reported last month, former Prisons Minister Rory Stewart said in a recent interview there had been 'situations of male prisoners self-identifying as females then raping staff in prison'.

Attacks took place at HMP Low Newton, HMP Foston Hall, HMP Peterborough (Female) and HMP Bronzefield (pictured) as well as HMP New Hall

In the wake of the White case, a new policy was developed for considering transfer requests by trans prisoners, adding 'specific risk factors that must be considered where they might impact on other prisoners'.

Yet figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show increasing numbers of trans prisoners are being allowed to move to women's jails. In 2018, seven requests were made and fewer than five were granted. Yet last year 14 requests were made and, of those, seven were granted.

Last night Nicola Williams, director of campaign group Fair Play For Women, said: 'These new figures are another red flag warning us about something everyone knows: Allowing males into female prisons is dangerous for women.'
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 16:38:50|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 9 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Commerce announced on Saturday that it will extend anti-dumping duties on imports of alloy-steel seamless pipes for high temperature and pressure from the United States and the European Union for another five years.

Following an expiry review launched at the request of the domestic industry, the extension will take effect from May 10, the ministry said in a statement on its website.

China started to impose anti-dumping duties on imported alloy-steel seamless pipes for high temperature and pressure from the United States and the European Union in 2014. In June last year, the commerce ministry adjusted anti-dumping duty rates for producers of such products from these regions. Enditem
A new study by the University of Hong Kong has revealed that the eyes are the vulnerable route for the coronavirus to attack, with 100 time more infections than ever.

The comparison was made with severe acute respiratory syndrome and bird flu that only demonstrated how the coronavirus is more virulent than both combined. Test were done by public health experts to verify the hypothesis that was confirmed later.

Coronavirus became deadlier with this discovery

Lab testing to find out how the SARS-Cov-2 strain of the coronavirus which causes COVID-19 verify how this virus has become benchmark for coronavirus strains to beat. The study made the radical find which might be unique to it, when the virions have made contact with the upper respiratory airways and conjunctiva, an infection will take over the lining of the eyes.

Next is the hijacking of the cellular machinery. If the host has a weak immune system, complications follow which may cause respiratory failure.

Researcher Dr Michael Chan Chi-wai, from HKU's school of public health, conducted a study to find out evidence that the coronavirus is uncannily effective in entering the eyes and respiratory airways. This was published in the latest issue of The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

Also read: Coronavirus Weak Spot Discovered: Researchers Find Out That Virus is 'Low Shielding'

No one thought of the eyes as a target vector for COVID-19 entry

The researcher said in the lab used cultured cells from the human respiratory tract and eyes, and exposed it to COVID-19, then compard it to SARS and H5N1. Results revealed that 'SARS-Cov-2 is much more efficient in infecting the human conjunctiva and the upper respiratory airways than Sars, with virus level some 80 to 100 times higher'.

Dr Chan then mentioned that the virulence of COVID-19 is already off the charts, as it somehow targets eye lining as a sure way to sicken the host. Now, there are more aspects to the coronavirus that make it deadlier.

Prior studies now make the connection to preventing face touching and hand washing as the cheapest and the easiest way to prevent infectious transmission. Studies have also verified that the coronavirus could survive for a week on stainless steel surfaces and plastic.

He later added that even if the COVID-19 pandemic is reaching a stabilizing point in Hong Kong, other places are getting ravaged by the virus that seems to be indestructible. More cases are cropping up every day in Russia, Europe, and places that have not reigned in the contagion. It is imperative for Hong Kong to keep a step ahead or suffer.

Not everyone will accept the findings or agree with it 100%, with the idea in the 'earliest stages of the health crisis that medical staff would be adequately protected with N95 masks and protective clothing, without the need for specialist glasses.'

Late January, the respiratory specialist Wang Guangfa had a fever, he developed conjunctivitis when returning to Beijing coming from Wuhan. He was infected with COVID-19, and his complaints about his eyes might point to the infection route.

COVID-19 was detected in Wuhan, in December 31. Now, it is widely spread worldwide with 3,954,246 infected, a death toll of 275,160 (check updates) all over the globe. This data was compiled by the Johns Hopkins University, Thursday night.

Discovering the eyes' connection to COVID-19 has uncovered another deadly aspect of this virus. Eyes are the most vulnerable route for the coronavirus, and this is something that should not be overlooked.

Related article: Exposure to Sunlight Destroys Coronavirus, Study Says

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Graduation season is starting early in Southeast Texas, with Sabine Pass ISD graduating their class of 29 seniors in a hybrid ceremony today  less than one week after the Texas Education Agency released guidelines for how districts were allowed to conduct ceremonies with social distancing.

But not everyone is thrilled about the early release, with the original graduation slated for May 22.

The ceremony decision left the senior class feeling bereft and has caused myself, parents and community members to be upset that the Class of 2020 will not have a memorable occasion, Alejandra Cavazos, who has a graduating brother, told The Enterprise.

Cavazos also wrote a letter to the district and started a petition asking for a delay and a call for community input. There were 69 signatures as of Friday afternoon.

The event will be a hybrid ceremony, where each student will arrive in 15-minute intervals throughout the day and walk across the stage with only family present.

A video of the entire ceremony will be stitched together to present a cohesive graduation experience.

More Information At a glance What: Sabine Pass High School graduation When: 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. today Where: Sabine Pass High School auditorium Details: The hybrid ceremony will be filmed and presented online at 7 p.m. May 22, the original graduation date "so that everyone can watch and enjoy from the safety of their home. This will also act as the official certification of graduates." See More Collapse

Theyve worked hard to see this day come to fruition, Sarah Ticheli said on the petition. All theyre asking is to have the chance to finish this out together, even if that means postponing graduation until its safer for everyone.

Other districts, like Nederland ISD, announced they were reconsidering their option in light of the new guidelines, and would release new times and dates soon.

Some families feel that the 15-minute intervals are not enough to allow for safe social distancing, and will not attend the ceremony as a result.

Around January, my mother was seven months pregnant and got sick, Kaley Pitrey told The Enterprise. The doctors ran various tests, and couldnt figure out what was wrong. She was on a ventilator and in the hospital for two weeks.

Pitrey said any chance of exposure is enough to keep her mother at home as a precaution. Her grandfather, who is undergoing chemotherapy, also will not attend.

Other families The Enterprise spoke to said the district didnt collect community input, and did not return calls regarding concerns.

Emails and calls to the district by The Enterprise were not returned.

I dont think any of us really want to be there, Pitrey said. Most of us, and we are a small class, have been together since Pre-K, and all we want to do is have a chance to come back together one last time  even if that means a delay.

A similar display of disappointment and outrage met Beaumont ISD when they announced a diploma pick-up before their actual graduation day. That decision was reversed the following day with a ceremony planned for June.

Pitrey and other students said they will still attend the ceremony, and celebrate their accomplishments  even if it is not in the way they would have wanted.

Ive spent 12 long and dreadful years in school just for this one day to finally be able to sit on that stage with my friends for one last ride, one last time cheering each other on when we heard our friends name being said, she said.

When we got the word of their plan, it brought tears so quick. It felt like all my hard work, long nights of what felt like endless homework and all my accomplishes were for nothing.

isaac.windes@hearstnp.com

twitter.com/isaacdwindes
Granola bars, popcorn, and almonds dipped in chocolate.

Its not necessarily typical food youd find at a food pantry, but it is something you might find now at Rise Food Pantry in Hightstown, thanks to Alaska Airlines.

The airline recently launched its #MillionMealsChallenge as a way to help feed families affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Finding themselves with extra food following the suspension of inflight service last month, the airline worked with local food banks to provide food for families.

And in late April, the Alaska Airlines Foundation pledged $200,000 to provide meals to over a dozen food banks. So far, theyve donated more than one million meals.

The company donated some extra food to the pantry in Hightstown, after Stephanie Derr suggested it.

Derr is a station manager for the airline at Newark Liberty International Airport, and shes also a volunteer fire-police captain for the Hightstown Fire Department. She saw the amount of people Rise was feeding every weekendupwards of 500 peopleand was inspired to connect her company to it.

Well, theyre doing a drive-by food pantry on the weekends and the traffic in town, you just know thats where everybodys going and to see the amount of cars that are going that are really in need right now is just staggering to me, she told NJ Advance Media. Soon as my company announced this, they were my first thought.

So on this past Friday, Derr and her team donated five pallets of meals to Rise, representing close to 2,000 meals and snacks to the local community. And the help was greatly appreciated, Leslie Koppel, Rises executive director, said.

First we said, can we have the king crab legs, or you know, the smoked salmon or something? Koppel said with a laugh. But its just amazing...local people helping each other and bringing the resources right back into the community where they live.

Alaska Airlines employees deliver boxes of food to Rise, a food pantry in Hightstown as part of the airlines #MillionMealsChallenge. Friday, May 8, 2020. Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media

Other food donated by the airline included Minute Maid orange juice, potato chips, dark chocolate, KIND bars, and tapas snack boxes.

Rise has been serving more families during the pandemic, Koppel said. Before this, they served about 100-200 families on a weekly basis, but now theyre serving 300-400 families each week. They also did a drive-through pantry for the past five weeks, where anywhere from 300-900 families came through in a few hours.

The food pantry is in a large space, but moved there thinking it would conduct workshops and classes.

We didnt realize that with COVID, wed be serving three times as many people and we would need the space just for food, Koppel said. So were in a bigger space and were serving three times as many clients as we used to.

Open for the last 53 years, Rise services people from the neighboring area, including southern Middlesex County, Monroe, and Cranbury, but the primary service area is Hightstown and East Windsor. Before COVID-19, people could choose what they wanted inside the pantry, but thats no longer the case.

A lot of local, small pantries that were run out of churches, maybe run by a lot of elderly people, they all closed, so the support system for local families isnt in smaller towns, in these more suburban towns any more, she said. So were seeing a big influx of people from outside of the East Windsor, Hightstown area, which we usually serve.

Donors have been generous, she said, between restaurants closing their doors and donating perishable goods, to local farmers supplying unsold or slightly bruised produce. And the help from companies and people like Derr hasnt been forgotten, whether theyve helped because they live in town, or have seen the drive-throughs, or have experienced food insecurity themselves.

Theyve said, you know, we have to figure out a way to repurpose this food that was going somewhere else, Koppel said. 'We cannot throw it away. People need it and they need it now.'

Stephanie Derr, station manager Alaska Airlines helps deliver boxes of food to Rise, a food pantry in Hightstown as part of the airlines #MillionMealsChallenge. Friday, May 8, 2020. Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media

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Brianna Kudisch may be reached at bkudisch@njadvancemedia.com.
Former United States president Barack Obama has launched a scathing attack on Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, calling it an "absolute chaotic disaster".

In a leaked web call on Friday night with former members of his administration, Obama also said the Justice Department's decision to drop charges against Michael Flynn, the former Trump national security adviser who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in the Russia probe, endangers the rule of law in the US.

In the audio, first obtained by Yahoo News, Obama urges former staffers to join him in rallying behind Joe Biden as he prepares to take on Trump in the November presidential election.

The US by far leads the world in the number of coronavirus infections, at nearly 1.3 million, and deaths, with more than 77,000.

Trump has been criticised as essentially abdicating any leadership role in guiding the country through one of its worst crises in a century, leaving states on their own to grapple with the pandemic and even bid against each other to obtain critical medical equipment on the open market or abroad.

Critics say Trump, after first downplaying the threat posed by the virus, squandered precious time in February as the pathogen spread in America and his administration did little to stock up on testing kits and other medical gear or to develop a cohesive national strategy.

With an eye to re-election, Trump has also been blasted as putting his own political interests before human life by aggressively pushing states to reopen their devastated economies without a clear blueprint for how to do it safely.

'Being selfish, being tribal'

"What we're fighting against is these long-term trends in which being selfish, being tribal, being divided, and seeing others as an enemy -- that has become a stronger impulse in American life," Obama told his former staffers. "It's part of the reason why the response to this global crisis has been so anemic and spotty."

"It would have been bad even with the best of governments. It has been an absolute chaotic disaster when that mindset -- of 'what's in it for me' and 'to heck with everybody else' -- when that mindset is operationalised in our government," he said.

Obama said the dropping of charges against Flynn was ominous.

"Thats the kind of stuff where you begin to get worried that basic -- not just institutional norms -- but our basic understanding of rule of law is at risk," he said.

Obama endorsed Biden's candidacy last month and has said he would be deeply involved in his campaign against Trump. He told the Obama Alumni Association: "I am hoping that all of you feel the same sense of urgency that I do."
Knockbridge: The Alone organisation has launched a national support line for older people who have concerns or face difficulties relating to Coronavirus. Professional Staff are available to answer queries, give advice or reassurance if necessary. This support line is open 7 days a week from 8.00am to 8.00pm and the number to call is 0818222024.

Parish News

All Confirmations, First Communions, Baptisms, Wedding ceremonies are postponed until further notice. Attendance at funeral Masses should be limited to 10 people of immediate family but this may change to just committal services at graveside. A Live Streaming of Mass in the church takes place at 11.30am on Sundays. Log into: MCN Media, scroll to Rep. of Ireland then Co. Louth and then click on the image of St. Mary's Church, Knockbridge. This Mass will be offered for the anniversaries that have been booked for both Saturday and Sunday. Mass will also be celebrated at 9.30am via webcam, on Wednesdays and Fridays for all parishioners and for those nationally and internationally who have contracted the Coronavirus as well as for those who are caring for them at home or in hospital. If an elderly or vulnerable family member or neighbour would like Fr. Gerry or Fr. Brian to phone them for a chat or prayer please call the parish office, leave their name and number and Fr. Gerry or Fr. Brian will phone them. In keeping with data protection the phone number given will be used for this purpose only. Remember in your prayers Noreen Dooley (nee Atkinson), Coolderry, Inniskeen, Yvonne Dolan, Moynalty, who died recently.

St Brides GFC.

Due the COVID 19 situation, St Brides Healthy Club Project Team offer a service to anyone in our Community, Member or Non-Member, who needs help with collecting groceries, prescriptions, etc. All requests will be treated in confidence. Contact 085 7234668 or 086 4017098.

Bus Service

Flexibus Local Link is running a bus service from Knockbridge to Dundalk every Friday. The pick up time for this service is 9.00am and the return time is 12.30pm. For more information on this service or to book a seat ring 1800 303 707.

In need

From time to time families and individuals can find themselves in real need. It may be big or small, short or long term, so if you find yourself in that space why not contact St Vincent de Paul Society on 0873518684

Parish Centre

Those wishing to book the Parish Centre for Funerals and other occasions, must contact Jean Myers directly at 042 9338670.

CE Scheme

There are vacancies for environmental workers for Knockbridge Parish, 19.5 hours per week. Contact CE Supervisor Tommy Reilly on 042 9374926 at Old School Building, Tallanstown, or email - midlouthceltd@gmail.com

Medjugorje Pilgrimage

June 16, 2020, 7 Nights - Spiritual Director. Fr Gerry Campbell. September 8, 2020 - Fr Oliver Brennan. Full bonding Insurance with Joe Walsh Tours. Contact Phyllis. 0872028492

Kilkerley

Best Wishes

The very best of good wishes and good health to Mona Lynch from Milltown who turns 101 years of age on Monday next, also Jem O'Hare, Donaghmore who celebrated 91 years of age on Thursday last and to Aidan Curran, Allardstown who is recovering from major heart surgery.

Parish News

Weekly parish envelopes can be left in the Church Porch on Saturdays from 5.00pm to 6.00pm, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays 10.00am to 11.00am as Fr Gerry will be in the Church at those times. Anyone wishing to make their contributions on - line, please visit www.armagharchdiocese.org and locate 'Donate to our parish' button. All Confirmations, First Communions, Baptisms, Wedding ceremonies are postponed until further notice. . Attendance at funeral Masses should be limited to 10 people of immediate family but this may change to just committal services at graveside. A Live Streaming of Mass in the church takes place at 6.00pm on Saturdays. Log into: MCN Media, scroll to Rep. of Ireland then Co. Louth and then click on the image of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Kilkerley. This Mass will be offered for the anniversaries that have been booked for both Saturday and Sunday. Mass will also celebrated at 9.30am via webcam on Tuesdays and Thursdays for all parishioners and for those nationally and internationally who have contracted the Coronavirus as well as for those who are caring for them at home or in hospital. If an elderly or vulnerable family member or neighbour would like Fr. Gerry or Fr. Brian to phone them for a chat or prayer please call the parish office, leave their name and number and Fr. Gerry or Fr. Brian will phone them. In keeping with data protection the phone number given will be used for this purpose only. Remember in your prayers, Yvonne Dolan, Moynalty, nee Brennan, Cortial, Pat Callan, Donaghmoyne, Tommy Mulholland, Kilkerley, Mary Bellew, Rathmore, Maggie Murray, Milltown, Joe Faughey, Donaghmore, Lily McArdle, formerly Donaghmore. Best wishes to parishioners who are hospitalised or unwell at home presently.

Emmets GFC

Due the COVID 19 situation, the club men and ladies adult teams offer service to anyone in our Community, Member or Non-Member, who needs help with collecting groceries, prescriptions, etc. All requests will be treated in confidence. Contact 0858783433. .

Callans Restaurant

The Restaurant is providing Take Away orders each Wednesday, Thursday - Friday 5.00pm - 9.00pm; Saturday 3.00pm - 8.00pm; Sunday lunch 12.00 - 3.30pm and Sunday evenings 4.00pm - 8.00pm. Pre-order by calling 042 9377246

Recent Deaths

Condolences to Mary and Raymond Brennan and family, Cortial, on the death of their daughter Yvonne Dolan, Moynalty who was laid to rest on Friday last.

Medjugorje Pilgrimage

June 16, 2020, - 7 Nights Spiritual Director Fr Gerry Campbell. September 8, 2020 - Fr Oliver Brennan. Full bonding Insurance with Joe Walsh Tours. Contact Phyllis. 0872028492

Bus Service

LH 501 Kilkerley to Dundalk Local Link Bus Service runs each Friday with pick up points - The School 9.00am, Quigley's Cross 9.05am, Hackballscross 9.10am, Little Mills 9.30am, Carrick Road 9.35am, arriving in Dundalk at 9.40am. The return journey begins at 12.30pm in Dundalk. Travel Pass holders travel free. Contact number is 046 9074830. Check www.locallinklmf.ie

Text Alert

If you want to receive text messages from Kilkerley Community Alert 'Text Alert' then text your full name, address and mobile number to 089 472 5650

Louth

Special wishes

We send special wishes and congratulations to Bernadette Gilmore who celebrated a very special birthday during the week. Bernadette is the daughter of the late Owney and Anne Gilmore Mullacrew. Despite of all the current restrictions and obeying them Bernadette celebrated her birthday in style. We join with all who knew Bernadette especially all around Mullacrew and Louth on wishing her a happy belated birthday.

St Vincent de Paul

We have being asked to remind you that for anyone who needs it St. Vincent De Paul is still in operation. Their phone number is 0857802304 and they will be able to help you.

Girl Guides

Even though we mentioned it last week we have being asked to thank the girl guides and brownies for their kind gesture of making up gift parcels for St. Peters nursing home Castlebellingham . Even in these times of lock down the guides/brownies are still keeping active within the confines of their own homes.

Parish Council

The Parish Council would like to thank everyone who responded to the request to drop their weekly envelopes into the Parish House and particularly in the very generous manner they done so. They would ask all to continue. The envelopes can be dropped into the parish house at any time. Also please note the church remains open during normal hours each day.

Keeping fit

Even though all sport and training is closed down at the moment it is nice to see St. Mochtas players keeping fit by doing their own work outs be it running cycling or whatever. Let's hope football can resume shortly.
Chandigarh, May 9 : Asserting that the Punjab Police was on its toes and keeping a close watch on anti-national activities from across the border even amid the Covid crisis, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday warned Pakistan against its persistent attempts to spread narco-terrorism from across the border.

"Our eyes are open to what Pakistan is doing," the Chief Minister said in the wake of the arrest of a big fish in the drugs business by the police. He said no matter how much the force was busy in Covid duties, the police were keeping a close watch on the borders.

He congratulated the force, led by DGP Dinkar Gupta, for the latest arrests, as well as the important role played by them in the Kashmir operations against Hizbul Mujahideen.

He referred to the arrest of Hilal, an active worker of Hizbul Mujahideen and a close associate of the banned outfit's commander, Riyaz Naikoo, who was killed by security forces in Kashmir.

Pakistan is not letting up on its attempts to push drugs, weapons and drug money despite the Covid crisis, clearly in an attempt to destabilise the state and disturb its peace, "but we will not allow that to happen," said Amarinder Singh in a statement.

From Punjab Police to the BSF, everyone was on their toes to defeat the nefarious designs of Pakistan, said the Chief Minister, adding the state's police force was working in a sustained and active manner to ensure that such elements do not get away with their wicked plans.

Observing that terrorists and gangsters had probably thought they could use the gap created by the diversion of resources and police manpower to Covid duties to smuggle drugs and weapons to spread mayhem in Punjab, Amarinder Singh said despite half the Punjab Police force on curfew duties and humanitarian relief missions, they were keeping a close eye on what was happening along the borders.

"We will ensure that such anti-national elements are caught and put behind bars, where they belong," he said.
Mortician Cordarial O. Holloway, foreground left, funeral director Robert L. Albritten, foreground right, and funeral attendants Eddie Keith, background left, and Ronald Costello place a casket into a hearse on Saturday, April 18, 2020, in Dawson, Ga. Across the county, the latest Associated Press analysis of available state and local data shows that nearly one-third of those who have died from COVID-19 are African American, with black people representing about 14% of the population in the areas covered. Read more

Headlines over the past few weeks have repeated a glaring narrative: Black people are dying at disproportionate rates from COVID-19. These deaths are driven not by intrinsic racial difference, but material conditions that form disparities between black working people and other racial groups.

Both nationwide and in Philly, the coronavirus is the latest chapter in a long story. Consider black people in Greys Ferry who for years have confronted higher rates of cancer because of exposure to environmental toxins, or deeply impoverished black people in North and West Philly, who struggled to stay nourished before the pandemic and now may be dealing with increased hunger and starvation during the crisis.

What this pandemic has highlighted is the intersection of vulnerability posed by race and class. Many of the workers most exposed to the virus are low-wage. They are often framed as heroic, in a narrative that overlaps with the American romanticization of the working-class hero. But such a narrative dodges the reality that being this kind of hero, right now, means that youre someone this country is willing to sacrifice.

 READ MORE: Coronavirus, like past pandemics, shows how black bodies are political | Opinion

Rashad Shabazz, a professor and cultural geographer at Arizona State University, noted to me that this disease is taking black workers with ripple effects for their families: "When you take a working person out of the house, they are going to feel that for generations. In other words, the coronavirus will supercharge yet another cycle of intergenerational poverty.

Hard-hit low-income workers in Philly and nationwide are largely black and Latino. Many of these people are also heavily policed. On April 10, a SEPTA bus operator requested that a man get off the bus for not being compliant with a recently enacted requirement to wear face masks, prompted by CDC guidelines highlighting masks to help prevent infection from the coronavirus. The man apparently refused, and cops removed him from the bus, which was recorded on video and shared widely.

Even though plenty of white and other Philadelphians could be found outside not wearing masks, it was no surprise to see a black man specifically targeted for not complying. Black men are used to being unfairly perceived as threats  as weve seen yet again in the fatal February shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, pursued by white men with a gun when he was simply out jogging, that regained attention this month. For that reason, as Jenice Armstrong reported in the Inquirer, some of these men worry that wearing masks will subject them to more racist surveillance. That forces a choice between the desire to protect themselves from the coronavirus, and the desire not to be seen as criminal, says Shabazz.

Even U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, who is black himself, finger-wagged at people of color during an April press conference, calling on them specifically to follow national guidelines and avoid drugs and alcohol to fight the pandemic: if not for yourself then for your abuela, do it for your granddaddy, do it for your big mama.

What the actions of Philadelphia police and the comments of the Surgeon General have in common is a focus on personal responsibility and compliance that only gets directed at certain groups. Rather than lecturing the white protesters  some of whom were armed  who defied recommendations against forming large crowds to protest social distancing, for example, the Surgeon General said the protests bring up an important point of encouraging hope for society reopening. Beyond the racial bias underlying these different responses lies the hateful rhetoric to people of color that such targeted policing is for their own good.

 READ MORE: High rates of coronavirus among African Americans dont tell the whole story | Opinion

The COVID-19-related deaths among black and working-class people also mean the death of those individuals unique experiences and cultural memory. Disappearing Blackness, a campaign created by the Black and Brown Workers Cooperative, highlights loss of cultural memory caused when gentrification forces communities to disperse. This ongoing loss of space and stories for working class black people is now being accelerated by the virus.

As we endure and recover from this pandemic, we should look for more ways to protect the cultural memory of devastated communities. That means not only trying to save more black lives through, for example, reparations to address economic exploitation of low-wage black workers, universal healthcare that tackles a lack of health resources, and redress for environmental racism. It also means taking time now to document the experiences of the black and working people who America expected to be heroic, and die.

Abdul Aliy-Muhammad is an organizer and writer born and raised in West Philadelphia. @MxAbdulAliy

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.
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Linkedin Apriza Pinandita (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 9, 2020 14:31 620 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd6edc54 1 World Indonesian-sailors,human-trafficking,Chinese-fishing-vessel,lawyers,police-reports,migrant-workers,TKI,South-Korea Free

Indonesian lawyers have filed a report with the police alleging human trafficking of Indonesian crew members aboard Chinese fishing vessel Long Xin 629, following recent viral reports on alleged exploitation of sailors.

In a statement on Friday, lawyers from Indonesian law firm Margono-Surya and Partners (MSP) said they had received information on April 30 about the deaths of four Indonesians who had worked aboard the fishing ship from South Korean public defender Kim Jong-chul of the Seoul-based Advocates for Public Interest Law (APIL).

[Kim] was consulting with MSP regarding the case. He later sent [us] the Seafarers Employment Agreement belonging to one of the deceased crewmen, identified only by his initials EP, the law firm wrote in the statement.

Kim later gave a televised interview with the South Korean Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation. The interview went viral on social media and sparked an outcry in Indonesia.

In their report to the police, the lawyers demanded the National Police investigate the incident as they argued the Indonesian sailors employment aboard the fishing vessel had violated the 2007 Human Trafficking Law and the 2017 Migrant Worker Protection Law.

[EPs] employment agreement also violated a 2016 Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministerial Regulation [on crew member employment agreements], specifically Article 11, paragraph 1, the lawyers added.

The article requires Indonesian foreign missions to review the employment agreements of Indonesian crew members working aboard foreign vessels.

Read also: Indonesian sailors deaths on Chinese fishing vessel raise questions about working conditions

The lawyers also argued that EPs employment agreement was peculiar in terms of his wages. The contract stipulated that the sailor was supposed to receive monthly payments of US$300  half of which would be sent to his family, another $100 would be kept by the ships owner and the remaining $50 would be paid after the ship docked.

However, the agreement also required EP to pay $800 to the recruitment agency in Indonesia, as well as an additional $600 for document fees.

The agreement stipulated that EP had to pay $1,600 in fines if he decided to resign as well as $5,000 if he moved to another ship.

The Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that the Indonesian Embassy in Seoul had received information that two Chinese fishing vessels, identified as Long Xin 605 and Tian Yu 8, docked in Busan with 46 Indonesian crew members on April 14.

Of the total crew members, 15 had been transferred from the ship Long Xin 629, while 20 others came from Long Xin 606.

The two ships were eventually detained at port for carrying undocumented crew members. Some of the sailors were initially registered to work on Long Xin 629. Authorities allowed them to disembark and put the crewmen under a 14-day quarantine in line with COVID-19 health protocols.

EP was among the crew members who disembarked at the port. He was in critical condition when he arrived and was taken to a hospital in the city, where he eventually died of pneumonia.

Three other Indonesian crewmen  all of whom had worked aboard Long Xin 629  died aboard the ship between December of last year and late March of this year. They were buried at sea.

Read also: Indonesian sailor dies on board fishing vessel, body disposed of at sea

South Korea has launched an investigation into alleged illegal fishing and employment practices aboard the Chinese fishing vessels.

South Korean environmental activist Lee Yong-ki said Long Xin 629 was initially built as a tuna fishing boat but it occasionally also caught sharks to harvest their fins. The ship was allegedly reluctant to go to port in Busan because of allegations of illegal fishing, Lee said as quoted by tempo.co on Thursday.

Mas Achmad Santosa of the Indonesian Ocean Justice Initiative (IOJI) called Indonesian and Chinese authorities to launch a joint investigation into the alleged human rights violations against the Indonesian crew members.

[While] the Chinese government should ensure that the company that owns the vessels, Dalian Ocean Fishing Co. Ltd., fulfills Indonesian crew members rights, [] Indonesian authorities should also investigate the agencies that send the crew members off to work aboard foreign-flagged vessels, Achmad said in a statement.

The Indonesian government has demanded Chinese authorities investigate the working conditions aboard the fishing ships.

Most of the 46 crew members have returned to Indonesia. The latest 14 sailors returned to Indonesia on Friday. Two others are still completing immigration requirements. (kuk)
Walter Reuther is known as the man who gave birth to the UAW, helped create the middle class and fought for civil rights.

Walter Reuther in 1955

He often paid a price for it. He was beaten senseless by company thugs on an overpass near Ford's River Rouge Plant in 1937 for handing out flyers. He also survived two assassination attempts.

But he introduced the notion of profit-sharing to factory workers and he was a noted civil rights leader, even standing alongside Martin Luther King Jr. during the famous 1963 "I have a dream" speech in Washington, D.C.

His philosophy was I am my brothers keeper and were all here to help each other out, the goal is not to make a lot of money," Bruce Dickmeyer, Reuther's son-in-law, told the Free Press. "He never made more than $31,000 even when presidents of smaller unions were making over $100,000."

Dickmeyer is married to Reuther's daughter Elisabeth, who was born in 1947. Reuther's other daughter, Linda, was born in 1942. Dickmeyer said he never had the chance to meet Reuther in person because he married Elisabeth in 1976 after Reuther died. But he and his wife wrote the book: "Putting the World Together: My father Walter Reuther the Liberal Warrior."

Despite his struggles to help others, Reuther "never sold out," his family said.

"He never gave up his principles and even when he was shot or when he was beaten, it only strengthened his resolve to help the workers and the minorities and people who dont have a voice in our society," Dickmeyer said.

Reuther's squeaky clean reputation lent integrity to the union he helped establish, a sharp contrast to the sweeping corruption that has been uncovered in the UAW in recent times amid an ongoing federal investigation.

Reuther will have been dead 50 years on May 9. Here's a look back at the man and his extraordinary life.

Voice of working Americans

Most historians agree that in many ways Reuther was a man ahead of his time.

Story continues

He advocated for workers to have profit-sharing, which was a radical idea in the 1950s. He played a key role in the Allied victory in World War II by helping to retool factories to build bombers. He marched alongside Dr. King, supporting the civil rights movement long before other white leaders did.

Walter Reuther, vice president of the United Auto Workers union, speaks to pickets grouped around the sound truck in front of the Chevrolet Gear and Axle Plant in Detroit, Mich., Nov. 23, 1945.

"He's no doubt iconic," said Marick Masters, a professor at Wayne State University who specializes in labor. "He provided progressive leadership that showed the union not only as a bargaining organization, but a leader of social change too."

On May 9, 1970, at age 62, Reuther and his wife of 34 years, May, were killed in a plane crash near Pellston, Michigan. They were flying to the newly constructed UAW Walter and May Reuther Family Education Center in northern Michigan.

The untimely death cements his legacy with the UAW.

"From building the UAW into one of the most powerful unions in the country  essentially creating the middle class  from founding new methods of health care coverage, to establishing the United Way, and coordinating the very first Earth Day, the impact of Walter Reuthers passionate efforts on behalf of working Americans is immeasurable, said UAW President Rory Gamble.

The epicenter of the world

Reuther was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, on Sept. 1, 1907. He was the second of five children. His parents, Valentine Reuther and Anna Stocker, taught him the importance of unions, social justice and political action at a young age, the union said.

In the town, railroad cars would pass through taking people north to jobs in industrial cities such as Detroit. Young Reuther noticed black people were made to sit in the train's cattle cars, Dickmeyer said.

"One day, the three Reuther brothers told their father some of the white kids were throwing stones at those cars," Dickmeyer said. "His father gave the boys a tongue lashing, saying, 'If I ever see any of my sons do such a thing. ...' He felt it was an injustice to treat other human beings like that.

In 1927, Reuther carried those values to Detroit where he came to work in the booming automobile industry at Ford Motor Company. He oversaw a crew of tool and die makers, one of the most skilled sets of workers at Ford's River Rouge Plant. There, he got his first glimpse at working conditions inside the factories.

"They were beginning to tool-up the Model A Ford, which was going to replace the Model T. Reuther was at the epicenter of the industrial world, globally," said Harley Shaiken, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who specializes in labor and the global economy.

At the time, the Rouge Plant was considered "state of the art and the most highly integrated and advanced manufacturing facility" in the world, Shaiken said.

"But the conditions there were really tough and very brutal," Shaiken said. "Both the conditions of the job and the discipline that Henry Ford imposed on his workers. You weren't allowed to talk at Ford plants. You were being paid to work, not talk. The nature of the work, too, was dangerous."

'A deeply searing experience'

In the middle of Reuther's budding career, the U.S. stock market collapsed in October 1929, sending the auto industry into a free fall. Unemployment in Michigan soared, creating desperation for autoworkers, who were left with "no safety net," Shaiken said. It was common to see ex-autoworkers on street corners selling apples for spare change.

It was in this environment that Reuther chose to support the presidential campaign of Norman Thomas of the Socialist Party. Many of Thomas' ideas formed a basis for Franklin Roosevelt's initiatives later when Roosevelt became president, Shaiken said.

Around this time, Reuther also became active in civil rights. He was attending Detroit City College, which is now called Wayne State University. He'd swim in a hotel pool near the campus that allowed students. The problem was it allowed only white students.

He felt this was a great injustice," Dickmeyer said.

The march of the high command. Led by Walter Reuther, fifth from left and Mayor Jerome Cavanagh. A flying wedge of labor's chieftains strides down Woodward on September 5, 1966.

So Reuther organized students to form a picket line around the hotel protesting the segregation. It worked, sort of. The hotel shut down the pool to all students, Dickmeyer said.

"Walter felt all were equal, and we were all children of God," Dickmeyer said.

Meanwhile, Reuther's presidential campaign work for Norman Thomas cost him his job at Ford in the summer of 1932. But right before Reuther was fired, there was a dramatic incidence of violence at the plant.

Tens of thousands of autoworkers had been laid off. So in March 1932, a group led by the communist party that included autoworkers staged a hunger march. About 3,000 people showed up near the Rouge Plant, Shaiken said.

"You've got wives and children, this was a peaceful march to present a petition at the Ford Rouge Plant requesting that people be put to work," Shaiken said.

But Ford's head of security then, Harry Bennett, had about 1,500 Ford service men, "a small army," on hand at the plant, Shaiken said. A scuffle erupted and the Ford service men and the Dearborn police opened fire into the crowd. Four people were killed immediately; one died a week later. Many people were beaten severely, he said.

"It was a defining moment. Reuther was working at the Rouge Plant and would have been aware of this," Shaiken said. "He knew how tough the place could be, but I think when you hear of and see people killed, that would have been a deeply searing experience for a 25-year-old Walter Reuther."

Labor's Magna Carta

A year later, in 1933, Reuther and his brother, Victor, traveled to the Soviet Union to work and to train Russian workers at the Gorky auto factory, equipped by Henry Ford, the UAW's history said.

"You needed two things to get a job at Gorky: You needed to be breathing and having been in an auto factory," Shaiken said.

Reuther was a natural fit. His years at Ford's River Rouge Plant made him especially valuable at Gorky.

"The Reuther brothers wanted to see for themselves what the worker conditions were like in Russia because the ideology was that Russia was a worker's state," Shaiken said. "The reality they discovered was very different from that ideology."

Auto worker Union leaders leaving the White House in Washington on August 28, 1942, from left to right are Richard T. Farankensteen, Walter P. Reuther, R. J. Thomas and George F. Addes.

Reuther's experiences in Russia and seeing the Hitler-controlled fascist state of Germany inspired his determination to return to the states and start organizing unions in 1935, said Shaiken.

Around this time, the National Labor Relations Act was passed in Washington, D.C. Often dubbed, "labor's Magna Carta," the act gave workers the right to organize unions, Shaiken said.

So Reuther formed Westside Local 174 in Detroit, becoming its first president. From 1936 to 1941, he was instrumental in organizing the UAW at the Detroit Three.

Ford digs in

But the battle to win unionization at all three automakers was epic.

In 1936, Reuther first started organizing GM. The workers feared if they went on strike, they'd be fired. Most of GM's factory employees worked in Flint. So in December 1936, the union decided to have workers sit down on the job. The sit-down strike, which was settled in February 1937, resulted in GM acknowledging the UAW.

"That was a game changer," Shaiken said. "Quickly thereafter, Chrysler was unionized and then the union assumed Ford would be next. Ford dug in like a ton of bricks and held firm against the union."

Ford's resistance would turn bloody. On May 26,1937. Reuther and two other UAW organizers put on suits and ties and went to Ford's Rouge Plant. They walked on the bridge over Miller Road to hand out leaflets to workers.

"A group of thugs from the Ford service department started walking toward them in a very menacing way," Shaiken said. "The organizers were completely beaten up, one was thrown off the overpass, they had blood on them, it was ugly. One of them was Walter Reuther. That was defining for labor and for Reuther."

FILE - In this May 26, 1937 file photo, Richard Frankensteen, United Auto Workers organizational director, with coat pulled over his head, is pummeled by Ford Motor. Co. agents at the gate of the Ford River Rouge Complex in Dearborn, Mich. Ford security personnel were countering the UAWs efforts to organize employees at the factory complex.

The Battle of the Overpass is marked every May in Detroit.

Assassination attempts

In 1938, as Reuther continued to try to organize the union at Ford, he experienced his first assassination attempt when gunmen tried to kidnap and kill him. The gunmen were never caught.

"He had a vision of a society where workers made a living and had a decent life for their families," Shaiken said. "For some, that idea was profoundly threatening."

It would take years and pressure from President Roosevelt before Henry Ford recognized the UAW in 1941.

From this overpass, where fighting occurred between Ford Motor company employees and UAW who were attempting to distribute literature, Ford workers changing shifts Aug. 11, 1937, at the River Rouge plant in Dearborn, watch unionists pass out a "Ford" edition of their paper. Few accepted it. There was no violence.

Besides his union battles, Reuther was also pivotal in aiding the United States to victory in World War II.

Between 1939 to 1945 Reuther was director of the UAW General Motors Department, the union said. Reuther helped to retool auto factories to build 500 Allied planes a day, a cornerstone of the Arsenal of Democracy that wins the war.

Despite that, he was still hated by some and on April 20, 1948, Reuther was shot at his home in Detroit.

For Dickmeyer's wife, Elisabeth Reuther, the bullet blasts through the kitchen window are her first childhood memory of her father.

"She was 9- or- 10-months-old. He had gone to the refrigerator and Walter turned to answer his wife, and just as he turned, the blasts went off," Dickmeyer said. "Four of the slugs went through his arm and shattered the bone and others went into his back. Had he not turned, he would have died. She said she still remembers the sound of the blast.

A year later, his brother Victor was shot in his home too. He lost his eye.

Birth of the middle class

Some historians say Reuther's most important contribution came after the war.

"What came come out of Detroit in the post-World War II period is the middle class in the United States," Shaiken said. "Automotive was a very productive industry and what the UAW did was link the idea of growing productivity to rising wages and growing benefits. That was a huge achievement."

Reuther became president of the UAW in 1946 and transformed working in the auto industry from a low-wage, part-time job full of insecurity, to a job that paid a living wage. He achieved worker gains that were unheard of previously.

Enhanced job security

Vacations and benefits

Pensions and supplemental unemployment benefits

Profit-sharing

"Reuther's vision was dignity on the job and security off the job," Shaiken said. "He saw the UAW as representing its members, but fighting for workers across the world."

Yet, at the time, some of Reuther's ideas were seen as radical. For example, his advocacy of profit-sharing in the late 1950s.

UAW leader Walter Reuther took a few minutes off from negotiating to speak at Cadillac Square, Sept. 4, 1961.

"He was widely criticized by people on both the company side and union side saying profit-sharing was un-American," Masters said. "He said it was very American that workers share in the profits of the company. It will help workers have an alignment to the company."

Berkeley's Shaiken added that Reuther argued that if workers are paid more in a highly productive industry such as autos, "they would have high-velocity purchasing power. That would benefit the economy and benefits all Americans."

'I have a dream'

A few years older than Dr. King, Reuther was a close friend to the famous civil rights leader, Dickmeyer said. He put his money into his convictions too. Reuther committed the union financially to King's 1963 march in Detroit and he supported the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

In 1963, Walter, Dr. King and the Rev. C.L. Franklin led 125,000 marchers down Woodward Avenue," Dickmeyer said. "Dr. King had come to Detroit a week before and Walter gave him an office to use at Solidarity House. Thats where he penned most of the I have a dream speech, " which King delivered an early version of in Detroit in Cobo Hall the night of the march.

When Dr. King delivered the speech a few months later in August 1963, Reuther was on stage with him in Washington, D.C.

Before the most famous speech of the century, I have a dream, Walter Reuther gave a stirring speech to the crowd," Shaiken said. "He believed in it deeply, that civil rights would benefit all UAW members and he believed in the values behind the march and he was willing to do whatever he could to help it succeed.

Advocate for change

Up until his death in 1970, Reuther was a strong advocate of change.

In 1963, Reuther led the UAW to provide financial and logistic support for Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers in their struggle.

In the late 1960s, Reuther pushed for alignment with international trade unions.

He began his dream of a retreat center for worker education on workers rights and social justice near Black Lake in Northern Michigan.

An environmentalist, Reuther helped fund and organize the first Earth Day, which was held April 22, 1970, just weeks before he was killed.

In 1995, Reuther was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton, who said, "Walter Reuther was an American visionary so far ahead of his times that although he died a quarter of a century ago, our nation has yet to catch up to his dreams.

Right up to his death, Reuther was critical of the AFL-CIO for not organizing minorities and workers in the South, Wayne State's Masters said. He also disagreed with its support of the war in Vietnam.

Walter Reuther, President of the United Auto Workers Union (at podium) pledges the help of his union in the rebuilding of the ravaged arms of Detroit, July 27, 1967 to the applause of Gov. George Romney, right. Mayor Jerome Cavanagh, center, Cyrus Vance, next left, President Johnson's personal emissary and Lt. Gen. John Throckmorton, the military commander of the city, left.

At the time that Reuther passed away, the union was at the height of its power, Masters said. But there were the early signs of challenges.

"You saw the very beginnings of foreign auto companies, they were gaining some traction and he saw that as a call for alarm," Masters said. "I think if he'd have been alive, the way the unions and the companies responded to that threat would have been different."

Death of a visionary

Shaiken said he believes, had Reuther lived, the UAW might have had better success unionizing foreign automakers in the United States.

"He would have put a very high priority on organizing them. He would have made the automakers feel welcome, but he would have had a very central focus on that," Shaiken said. "I dont want to say it would have turned out any differently, but Reuther was particularly committed and visionary.

Quietly they came to say goodbye to their friend Walter Reuther on May 14, 1970.

Reuther never got to see his ultimate vision become a reality though. He and his wife died on his flight to Black Lake.

"It was his vision to have an educational center for workers, for union members and future leaders to learn, reflect and debate the ideas of the day," Shaiken said. "Black Lake was a vital part of that. He died on the way to the place that would build the future for the union.

More: Ruben Burks, voice of Flint and appointee of UAW's Walter Reuther, dies at 86

More: We will remember: Tributes to a few of the metro Detroiters who died of coronavirus

Contact Jamie L. LaReau: 313-222-2149 or jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: UAW Walter Reuther changed workers rights and pioneered civil rights
The Minister for Monitoring and Evaluation, Anthony Akoto Osei has been stranded in the United States for more than a month.

The Tafo MP, Citi News understands, was out on official assignment before the President ordered the closure of the airport making it impossible for him to return into the country.

The border closure, which is a result of measures to prevent the importation of the COVID-19 came into effect on March 22, 2020.

With the extension of the closure by the President, the Minister of State is set to remain shut out of the jurisdiction for at least, two months.

Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has been quoted as saying President Akufo Addo is not receptive of the possibility of bringing the Minister back through diplomatic flights.

The Chief of Staff had banned foreign travels by Ministers except under critical conditions.

It is unclear if Mr. Akoto Osei was out of the country before the Chief of Staff's directive which came 12 clear days before the closure of the borders.

There have been growing calls by some Ghanaian travellers affected the travel ban for the government to facilitate their return home.

One of such persons is rapper Michael Owusu Addo popularly referred to as Sarkodie.

---citinewsroom
Dealing with a loss in the family can be a stressful time, but Becky Sanford of Ware-Smith-Woolever Funeral Directors is making it her business to help people not be afraid of death. Last fall, Sanford became the first and only female funeral director practicing in Midland.

Sanford, who grew up in Saginaw, decided to pursue a career in mortuary sciences when her 15-year-old brother died. Sanford, who was 9 at the time, was a very quiet child, observing what was going on around her. She recalls listening to her parents discuss funeral arrangements and posing different questions, looking to the funeral directors for guidance.

"In the back of my head I thought, 'I want to help people like that someday,'" Sanford said.

The funeral directors advised Sanford's parents to not exclude Sanford and her sister in the preparations and discussions. One director asked Sanford if there was anything specific she wanted and Sanford expressed a wish for her brother to wear a ponytail in honor of the many times he had let her play with his hair.

"They did that just for me. It meant the world because it made me feel like I was included."

Sanford continued her education by taking a year of classes at Alma College before switching to Delta College, taking classes in biology and public speaking. The only university in Michigan which offers a bachelor's degree in mortuary science is Wayne State, but Sanford was unable to successfully transfer her credits there. Instead, she enrolled in an online program through Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science. Among its requirements, Sanford needed to work with a funeral home or a service affiliated with a funeral home under the direction of a licensed funeral director. Sanford began working for Ware-Smith-Woolever Funeral Directors in 2014, finishing school in 2016 before beginning her apprenticeship. Afterward, she applied and was approved for her state license before taking the state exam in 2019.

"Once you pass the state exam, you are basically instantly licensed," Sanford said.

Since Michigan provides an inclusive license that allows an individual to be both a funeral director and embalmer, Sanford was required to study science and arts. Studies in biology and cosmetology provided insight as to how to best preserve and present a body. Marketing courses proved useful when working with outside businesses and arranging a budget for services. Classes in public speaking have helped her to work with families as they navigate the planning process, often for the first time.

"A lot of it is very psychological. You are dealing with people on what is one of the worst days they will go through."

Although Sanford was initially fascinated with the biological aspect of mortuary science, she discovered that she also enjoyed working with family members and making their experience with the funeral home as easy and comforting as possible. When she is working with a family she knows, Sanford comes at the situation with the goal of helping them get through the process together. With a new family, she finds it easier to take on a more managerial role, slightly remove herself from the equation.

"You have to be careful not to do it too much because you can't come across as being cold or uncaring or having no feeling. That's not what we're about," Sanford stated.

A part of relieving clients' emotional burdens often happens behind the scenes. Some responsibilities that can fall on a funeral director include coordinating with the county to obtain a copy of the death certificate, scheduling service times with churches and cemeteries, submitting obituaries to news sources and making arrangements for floral deliveries. If the family is facing financial struggles, Sanford makes a point to provide multiple options and give clear communication about what is available and affordable.

"It's a learning experience for a lot of families when they come in and it's definitely our job to make sure that they understand everything by the time they're done and they're comfortable with everything and how it was handled."

Sanford did not consider the fact that she was the first female funeral director in Midland until she heard local directors talking about their funeral homes' histories. She instead is proud of the work that she is accomplishing with Ware-Smith-Woolever Funeral Directors and how they have kept her on.

"I never really thought about it and kept going," she said.
UN Security Council to address Israel's annexation plan later this month: Palestine UN envoy

Iran Press TV

Friday, 08 May 2020 5:34 AM

A high-ranking Palestinian official says the UN Security Council is scheduled to convene later this month to discuss Israel's controversial plan to annex much of the occupied West Bank, and to rally international pressure on the regime to abandon the decision.

Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour told the official Voice of Palestine radio station on Thursday that a meeting will be held on the 20th of this month, with the rotating President of the UN Security Council, Sven Jurgenson, and President of the UN General Assembly, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, in attendance, Palestine's official Wafa news agency reported.

Mansour highlighted that the State of Palestine is resolved to form "a powerful and broad international front of all components of the international community to confront the [Israeli] policies of annexation."

Moreover, Malta has expressed serious concerns over Israel's decision to annex parts of the West Bank.

The Southern European country's foreign ministry said in a statement the plan constitutes a violation of the international law and the existing global order, and undermines international efforts aimed at the so-called two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Separately, Turkey on Thursday strongly condemned Israel's plans to construct thousands of new housing units in the West Bank.

In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry described the move as a "continuation of Israel's policy of occupation and oppression."

It said the plan indicated "Israel's drive to continue usurping the rights of Palestinians through blatant illegal settlement activity."

The criticism came a day after the Israeli minister for military affairs, Naftali Bennett, granted the green light for the expansion of the Efrat settlement, located 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) south of Jerusalem al-Quds, by about 275 acres (1.11 square kilometers), when he endorsed the plan for some 7,000 new settler units in the 11,000-resident municipality, Israeli English-language daily newspaper the Jerusalem Post reported.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned the Israeli plan later in the day.

"Such Israeli decisions constitute an utter disregard for the international law and a flagrant defiance of the international outcry against Israeli settlement construction activities and the potential annexation plan," the ministry said in a statement.

It added, "Such settlement construction approvals also constitute an act of disrespect for international warnings that increased settlement construction activities and possible annexation of parts of the West Bank would gravely threaten regional stability, and would undermine the prospects for the [so-called] two-state solution."

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She does not begrudge other airport workers for benefiting from job protections under the Cares Act, but she does not understand why she and her colleagues were not included. She said she and others want assurances that when planes start flying again, they will have jobs to come back to and the protective equipment they need to do them safely.
Franco-Nevada Corporation (NYSE:FNV)

Q1 2020 Earnings Call

, 10:00 p.m. ET

Contents:

Prepared Remarks

Questions and Answers

Call Participants

Prepared Remarks:

Operator

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Franco-Nevada Corporation Q1 2020 Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Following the presentation, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] This call is being recorded on May 7, 2020.

I would now like to turn the conference over to Candida Hayden. Please go ahead.

Candida Hayden -- Investor Relations

Thank you, Chris. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today to discuss Franco Nevada's first quarter 2020 results. Accompanying this call is a presentation which is available on our website at Franco-Nevada.com where you will also find our full financial results. Paul Brink, our new President and CEO of Franco-Nevada will provide a company update and Sandy Brenna, CFO of Franco-Nevada will provide a brief review of our results and Eaun Gray, VP Business Development of Franco-Nevada will comment on business development. This will be followed by Q&A period. Representatives to my executive team are present in our boardroom to answer any questions.

We would like to remind participants that some of today's commentary may contain forward-looking information and we refer you to our detailed cautionary note on Slide 2 of this presentation. I will now turn over the call to Paul Brink President and CEO of Franco-Nevada.

Paul Brink -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you Candida and welcome to all on the line. Our succession planning has been well signaled and a number of the role changes took effect at our AGM yesterday. Today is the first day with Pierre as Chair Emeritus; David as Chair and myself as CEO. David and Pierre set a very high bar at Franco. I'm looking forward to the challenge of the new role, I'm delighted to have David's guidance as Chair and I'm confident the next chapter in the Franco-Nevada story will be a good one.

We're also pleased yesterday to welcome Maureen Jensen to the Board. Maureen's experienced both leading Ontario Securities Commission and working as a geo-scientist in the industry will be great assets to the Board. Franco-Nevada has been fortunate not to have any COVID-19 cases among our staff and they've been able to remain fully productive working from home.

We do have temporary closures at two of our core assets: Cobre Panama and Antamina. Candelaria and Antapaccay have continued to operate normally. First Quantum is placed Cobre Panama to care and maintenance until the health ministry satisfied with the quarantine conditions are appropriate. Antamina also been temporarily suspended to support Peruvian COVID response efforts and and facilitate the change in the workforce. They've safely demobilized the workforce, and while they are working toward a restart, the timing is still uncertain.

Of our other 52 cash flowing assets,11 have announced temporary reduced to curtail production although five of those have since resumed activities. Franco doesn't have any fixed cost related to these investments. So any temporary closures are effectively only a deferral of revenue. The energy side of our business has been impacted by a sharp downturn in oil prices, operators reduce capex plans and production curtailments. We have reviewed the carrying value for our energy assets and have a Quarter's impairments this quarter primarily related to the SCOOP STACK and waiver.

On a positive note, I'm pleased to announce our Board has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share. It's a 4% increase from the previous $0.25 per share and the 13th consecutive annual dividend increase. Canadian investors and Franco Nevada's 2017 IPO are now receiving more than a 9% effective yield.

Lastly, a brief reminder, in April, we released our 2020 asset Handbook and ESG report. The handbook books are annual staple with descriptions of our main assets. The ESG report details ISG efforts including new commitments to the World Gold Council's responsible gold mining principles and the UN Global Compact both reports are available on our website and also as hard copies by request.

With that, I'll hand it to Sandip for Q1 financials.

Sandip Rana -- Chief Financial Officer

Thanks, Paul. Good morning, everyone. As you will have seen from the press release issued yesterday, the Company reported strong results for our key financial metrics for the quarter ended March 31, 2020. Those metrics being gold equivalent ounces, revenue, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income. The Company did report a net loss of $98.8 million for the quarter. This was a result of recording impairments on some of our energy assets.

These are non-cash impairments and reflective of the current uncertainty within the energy market and impairment of $207.4 million after-tax was recorded on our STACK SCOOP and waiver investments. Revenue from our energy assets is forecast to be less than 10% of revenue for 2020.

Looking at the performance of our mining assets, during the quarter which is best reflected by the number of gold equivalent ounces sold, Slide 3 highlights the GEO sold for the last five quarters, Year-over-year the Company had a 10.6% increase in GEO sold. Company sold 134,941 GEOs in first quarter compared to 122,049 GEOs in first quarter 2019.

The main source of the increase was from Cobre Panama. This asset began delivering gold and silver ounces to Franco-Nevada in third quarter of 2019. The company sold approximately 25,000 GEOs from the mine during the quarter. First quantum has done a great job ramping up the mine but as Paul mentioned due to COVID-19 the mine is currently shut down but we look forward to continued ramp up once it restarts.

Hemlo and in particular the 50% NPI was also a strong contributor during the quarter. One of the benefits of net profit interest is the leverage it provides to rising commodity prices. Revenue generated from Hemlo was 11.6 million in Q1 2020. The company did recognized last year Sold from our silver PGM and other mining assets during the quarter compared to first quarter of 2018. This was in line with expectations.

Slide 4 highlights our gold and gold equivalent revenue for the last five quarters. The company's GEOs revenue has seen a sharp increase year-over-year as the company has benefited from the increase in gold equivalent ounces delivered in sold but also the rising commodity prices. When combining the higher GEO sold in Q1, 2020 with the higher average precious metals prices, the gold and gold equivalent revenue in first quarter was $214 million compared to $159 million last year, a 35% increase.

Energy revenue had a significant increase year-over-year, increasing from $20.8 million to $26.5 million due to increased production. However, with the decrease in oil prices, revenue was lower than Q4, 2019 and we expect it to be lower going forward.

As you turn to Slide 5, you will see the key financial results for the company. I won't get into the detailed numbers, but as mentioned previously, it was a strong quarter for the company. We have recorded significant increases in GEOs revenue, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income year-over-year.

For first quarter, adjusted EBITDA was $192.7 million, a 37% increase over Q1, 2019. As mentioned, we did record impairments on some of the energy assets resulting in a net loss for the quarter. When adjusting for this along with other unusual items, adjusted net income was 67% higher in first quarter compared to Q1, 2019 at $109.2 million compared to $65.2 million a year ago.

On Slide 6, we illustrate the diversification of our portfolio revenue generation. As shown 89% of our quarterly revenue was generated by gold and gold equivalents in the quarter with gold being 69%, silver 9%, PGMs 9% and other mining 2%. From a geographic revenue profile, revenue was sourced 87% from the Americas with Latin America being the largest.

The third chart highlights the asset diversification of the company. Cobre Panama is our largest revenue generator at 17% for the quarter, our top four core assets Cobre Panama, Candelaria, Antapaccay and Antamina generated 40% of the revenue for the company.

One area that our Board and management is very proud of is our focus on cost management. We like to stress the strength of our business model and the scalability. The chart on Slide 7 clearly illustrates our focus on being as cost efficient as possible in managing this business. Here we have highlighted our quarterly revenues and our quarterly G&A expenses since our IPO. Since 2008, our revenues have grown from approximately $1 million to just over $240 million this quarter. That is approximately a 10-fold increase. This while our G&A has remained fairly stable over this time period.

General and administrative costs have averaged $5 million to $8 million per quarter for the last 12-plus years. For first quarter of 2020, G&A was less than 3% of revenue at $6.2 million. Management believes we can continue to add to our portfolio and grow our business without adding significant overhead to the company.

And now, I'll pass it over to Eaun who will provide an update on available capital and business development.

Eaun Gray -- Vice President-Business Development

Thank you. Sandeep, and good morning to those on the line. Looking at Slide 8, we would like to highlight the Franco-Nevada is debt free, having repaid the drawn portion of the RCF. The RCF combined with marketable securities and working capital provides $1.5 billion of liquidity at the moment. This positions us very well in combination with cash flows which we expect to continue to be strong over the coming quarters to finance growth.

In terms of the pipeline, the pipeline is very healthy at the moment. The team is very busy. looking at precious metals opportunities. Some small, some large and some modest size. In addition to precious metals, there are some opportunities in non-precious findings. And in terms of size, we expect that perhaps some of the smart, more modest-sized deals are actionable in the near term.

With that I will turn it over to the operator for any questions.

Questions and Answers:

Operator

Thank you. [Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from Fahad Tariq, Credit Suisse. Fahad, please go ahead.

Fahad Tariq -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst

Hi, good morning. Thanks for taking my question. And just on the last thing you mentioned on deal pipeline, can you talk a little bit about in this commodity environment, whether you're seeing base metal producers more willing to engage in precious metal streams royalties? And also can you talk a bit about maybe any constraints you're seeing in terms of just being able to do due diligence in this environment. Thanks.

Paul Brink -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Fahad. You're right. One of the themes that we've seen emerged recently is base metals producers looking to monetize precious metals. In the current commodity price environment, you can see why this would be appealing. So much for our pipeline is comprised of that type of transaction.

In terms of actionability, you're right COVID-19 does impose some restrictions and so we're actively looking at various alternative to be creative and how we do due diligence to keep our team safe. So we're hopeful that we'll still be able to execute on transactions in this environment and as things improve with COVID-19, things will become increasingly more actionable.

Operator

Thank you. Your next question comes from Cosmos Chiu, CIBC. Cosmos, please go ahead.

Cosmos Chiu -- CIBC -- Analyst

Thanks. Thanks, Paul. Sandy, Ben, Eaun and congrats once again, Paul. Maybe my first question is on the impairment charge taken on the energy portfolio. I see that it is the oil assets being written down, not so much the gassy--more gassy assets. On that front, I'm just wondering, I'm sure you have scrubbed the entire portfolio to come out of this impairment charge but what assumptions have you made for gas and can you talk a bit more about those gas assets and where they stand today given the current commodity prices?

Jason O'Connell -- Vice President, Oil and Gas

Hi Cosmos it's Jason O'Connell here.

Cosmos Chiu -- CIBC -- Analyst

Hi, Jason.

Jason O'Connell -- Vice President, Oil and Gas

Hi there. You're right, we did conducting our impairment analysis we looked across all of our energy assets including the gas assets. The Marcellus royalty that we bought last year is highly dependent on gas and also natural gas liquids. We didn't conducted impairment analysis on that asset but it didn't result in us having to incur an impairment. And the reason there is the production levels at that asset are more stable than some of the oil assets in this environment where operators are cutting a lot of their capital costs. Range is the operator of the asset came out with their budget and in the most recent quarter maintain their production guidance and so volumes will continue to be fairly consistent in the near term.

And then with regard to gas prices, they are low at the moment and have been lower than at the time that we did that transaction, but we expect those prices will recover over the coming quarters and over the coming years. So we did look at it, but it did not result in us having to take an impairment.

Cosmos Chiu -- CIBC -- Analyst

For sure and maybe as a follow-up Jason, as we talked about there has been cutbacks in capex but I just want to confirm once again, it's got a bit of a lagging effect to us. So even if they cut the oil and gas producers even if they cut capex now the impact doesn't come later on right?

Jason O'Connell -- Vice President, Oil and Gas

Yeah, that's correct. So the nature of our royalties are that there is a deferral between when drilling happens when wells are completed, when production comes online and then we actually receive our check. And so we expect that drilling levels were reasonably strong in the latter half of 2019 and even into early 2020 So we will continue to receive the benefit of that drilling into Q2 here even into potentially early Q3, so the majority of the impact that we think we will see from the reduction in capital spend will occur in the latter half of this year and then into 2021.

Cosmos Chiu -- CIBC -- Analyst

And then maybe switching gears a little bit, touching on the Island Gold Royalty Interest that you acquired in Q1, I just want to make sure like where is the royalty? My understanding is that you know Ireland gold is currently undertaking a study for an expansion plan, is a royalty going to encompass, that potential expansion?

Jason O'Connell -- Vice President, Oil and Gas

Thanks Cosmos. Yes, and we're quite happy to add that royalty. That royalty covers the Boudreaux claims, so you can have a look at the disclosure by Alamos, and you should be able to see from that, that is the core of the mine. And so the preponderance of cash flow should be from those claims and accrue to the royalty.

Cosmos Chiu -- CIBC -- Analyst

And you know Eaun a follow-up here, as you mentioned given other travel restrictions, these days, it's hard to do due diligence. But clearly, you know the [Indecipherable] and gold royalty is a bit smaller. So I'm just trying to understand in terms of your due diligence process here of course, is going to be a lot more stringent when you're doing bigger deals, but would you still do due diligence on some of these smaller deals. And what's the magnitude of difference in terms of due diligence, when we're talking about $1 billion deal versus '18 today?

Eaun Gray -- Vice President-Business Development

So the level of due diligence obviously varies depending on the transaction. When you're buying a royalty like that on island from a third party, your access to information is inherently more limited. The larger deals we do tend to benefit from thorough due diligence, and one of the things we pride ourselves on is the strength of the technical team. There is a lot you can do these days evaluating and interrogating the data remotely. But we do like to put boots on the ground, whenever we can. And so we're thinking creatively about how we get people to site, and to the extent that we have resources already in some jurisdictions, how we may be able to leverage those. So we're working hard to continue to execute, despite the travel restrictions as best we can.

Cosmos Chiu -- CIBC -- Analyst

Of course. And then maybe one last question here, great to see that Franco-Nevada has increased the dividend once again, but that came along with the fact that, share price has been very good year-to-date. So far, as you mentioned, if someone that bought during the IPO would have a 9% effective yield. However, based on current share price today, it's more like a 0.7% dividend yield. I guess my question is in the past when you and I have talked, certain points in time Franco-Nevada had targeted a plus 1% sort of dividend yield. You're not there right now. Is there still a target that you look at?

Eaun Gray -- Vice President-Business Development

It's still is an important factor in that many of our shareholders are generalists and some of those funds 1% is the dividend yield that they're looking to include in their funds, so it is a level that we'd like to be at. But we've got also balance that in the board's minds with ensuring that the dividend is sustainable and progressive. So we can put all those things and setting the dividend.

Cosmos Chiu -- CIBC -- Analyst

Of course. Thanks once again, those are the questions I have.

Operator

Thank you. Your next question comes from Greg Barnes, TD Securities. Greg, please go ahead.

Greg Barnes -- TD Securities -- Analyst

Thank you. Sandy, can you give us some sense of what the energy revenue look like in April, for example, just to get some ideas at the lower oil prices, what we can expect from that business?

Sandip Rana -- Chief Financial Officer

And it was lower as I said on the call and off top my head, I don't know if I mean at that position to provide that number at this time.

Greg Barnes -- TD Securities -- Analyst

Okay. And the Hemlo revenue for Q1 was impressive. What kind of run rate can we expect obviously at a equal gold price going forward?

Sandip Rana -- Chief Financial Officer

So obviously, beacause it is an NPI, there is capital cost that get deducted against the amount. So it fluctuates quarter to quarter. We have seen positive growth in the NPI over the last number of quarters as the gold price has risen. But again it's all dependent on just in terms of how capital spending occurs going forward. I think at these commodity prices, Hemlo should be able to generate between $5 million to 10 million a quarter an NPI revenue. But again, it could change based upon what they decide to do with their capital spend.

Greg Barnes -- TD Securities -- Analyst

Sure. That's great. Thanks, Sandip.

Operator

Thank you. Your next question comes from Josh Wolfson, RBC Capital. Josh, please go ahead.

Josh Wolfson -- RBC Capital -- Analyst

I think you just back on the oil and gas assets, you mention having completed some of the impairment testing on the Marcellus assets? Was that testing also completed on I guess some of the other assets Midland and Delaware or the Orion project?

Jason O'Connell -- Vice President, Oil and Gas

Yeah, thanks Josh. This is Jason. Jason here again, we did do impairment testing across all of our energy assets and so we looked at the Texas assets, the Marcellus and are Canadian assets. As I talked about for the Marcellus, because production volumes are not at risk there at least at this point there wasn't an impairment. Given the prices we were using but when we looked at our Texas assets they had actually been outperforming up until the end of last year. They had had a significant amount of drilling activity on the land. And so while we expect we'll see reductions in those activity levels that we're starting from a higher base. And then with respect to Orion we looked at that asset up as well and we expect that in the near term, we will see a reduction in revenue. But over the long term because it is such a long life asset, we expect that the value is still there over the longer term and therefore an impairment wasn't required.

Josh Wolfson -- RBC Capital -- Analyst

Okay. And I'm not sure if this question's better suited for Paul or Sandip, when you look at the ATM program that's in place and I guess the increase going forward either the current rate of equity issuances is pretty similar to what the dividend is which from my perspective, kind of offsets, what the current shareholders are receiving. How do you see, obviously the dividend in something which will continue going forward, how do you see the ATM going forward, now the company is in the net sort of cash position and growing obviously on a steady state basis?

Sandip Rana -- Chief Financial Officer

Sure. So, the objective of the ATM when we did put it in place, middle of last year, was to be able to pay off the credit facility as we had debt on the balance sheet and we achieved that objective. But at the time, we also said that we look at the ATM as a tool for raising money just as having a credit facility, which is why we are putting in a new one slightly higher $300 million versus $200 million before, it is there as a tool, as we see fit for when we need to do to sell under it, but there is no mandate to sell the full $300 million. It's opportunistic for us.

Josh Wolfson -- RBC Capital -- Analyst

Okay. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. Your next question comes from George Topping, Industrial Alliance. George, please go ahead.

George Topping -- Industrial Alliance -- Analyst

Great, thank you operator. Hello everyone. See on Cobre Panama, if it's shut down for a while and if you need it as they needed more money which would you be amenable to increasing your exposure there, or is that bumping up against the limits ship to have a single asset exposure?

Paul Brink -- President and Chief Executive Officer

George, this is Paul. It's obviously an asset that we really like and have been so impressed with What First Quantum has done in building the asset. More the issue is the, the streaming that has been done relates to most of the precious metal that already comes out of the property. So there is not much more room that you could do in terms of precious metal streaming there.

George Topping -- Industrial Alliance -- Analyst

Got it. And just a follow-up on the oil. I see the forecast prices going up to $58, is $58 per barrel WTI given that, would you be willing to expand your royalties into the oil and gas sector?

Jason O'Connell -- Vice President, Oil and Gas

Thanks, George. It's Jason here again the pricing that we used in conducting our impairment analysis was an average blend of the engineering price decks, so it's not necessarily a call that we're making. It's just what we thought the most accurate way of looking at future value, given the uncertainty around the commodity price environment currently. We do expect there will be a rebound in prices and so for that purpose, if there are acquisitions that are very attractive in today's environment, we would certainly look at them. We're not seeing at this point a full sort of capitulation on the seller side, I think people are sort of waiting to see where prices settle out over the coming months. And so there are likely to be good opportunities toward the back half of the year but at this point, it's a bit early for sellers to kind of come to terms with the new price environment.

George Topping -- Industrial Alliance -- Analyst

Got it. Thank you.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Your next question comes from Tanya Jakusconek of Scotiabank. Tanya, please go ahead.

Tanya Jakusconek -- Scotiabank -- Analyst

I think that's me and congratulations, Paul, on the new role.

Paul Brink -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Tanya.

Tanya Jakusconek -- Scotiabank -- Analyst

Yeah. You're welcome. I came in a bit late on the call, so I apologize, maybe you address that some. I know you talked a little bit about the, on your M&A front on looking at the precious metal side and I think you said there were some small, modest deals and large deals to be done and modest to small more in the near term, would you classify modest to small under $500 million, would that be a fair assumption?

Paul Brink -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes, Tanya, that's what I would classify as kind of moderate-to-smaller transaction and as you know, we like to find optionality. Sometimes we get good optionality in smaller assets. So we'll continue to look at those and we believe that there are some good actionable opportunities there in the near term.

Tanya Jakusconek -- Scotiabank -- Analyst

Okay. And I think you. I think you mentioned most of your opportunities are on base metal companies stream from the precious -- precious. I just wanted to make sure I understood that that to be correct.

Paul Brink -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Right there. It's definitely the theme that's emerged as you can imagine, in the first base metals price environment. So those are the assets that we like on duration precious metals cash flow.

Tanya Jakusconek -- Scotiabank -- Analyst

Okay. and just on the non-precious side, I think you said you saw some opportunities there, with the non-precious metal side be mainly on base metals?

Paul Brink -- President and Chief Executive Officer

I think there are opportunities emerging in based and bulks.

Tanya Jakusconek -- Scotiabank -- Analyst

And bulk OK. Thank you on that. And then on your due diligence, I came on when you were talking about your due diligence, you're are looking at alternative ways of doing due diligence. I understand bit easier when you have an operating asset, you know, you've got the numbers behind that development are a bit different, but what are some of the innovative ways you're looking at due diligence or are we going to be looking at deals where you announced that pending due diligence maybe a little bit on that.

Paul Brink -- President and Chief Executive Officer

So Tanya it's Paul. A bit of both is the answer, I don't want to get into the details of how we're doing it but we are trying to be creative, looking at the individual risks related to assets and say, how do we can reach of those off individually so that we can be sure that we have done a good job before [Indecipherable].

Tanya Jakusconek -- Scotiabank -- Analyst

Okay. Okay, all right, thank you so much on that.

Operator

Thank you. Your next question comes from Brian MacArthur, Raymond James. Brian, please go ahead.

Brian MacArthur -- Raymond James -- Analyst

Good morning. My part question has to do with the counter party risk, because I know you spend a lot of time on this, but just in the oil and gas and not quite as familiar with it, have the cutbacks on the election to drilling with your partner has been more just price related or is there any counter party in there that sort of had lines pulled and therefore at great risk and that's why you know the, the production been cut back. Can you give me sort of a percentage just mostly elective as opposed to force does that a fair statement?

Jason O'Connell -- Vice President, Oil and Gas

Yeah, thanks for the question Brian. I think at this point, the vast majority of what we're seeing is cutbacks in capital spending, its elective cutback. There have been some insistence of bankruptcy but they've been minimal at this point. We'll see if that, if that increases down the road, but I think keep in mind the one of the reasons we were attracted to the asset class in the first place is that what we're buying here, for the most part is mineral title, which is effectively a perpetual interest in the land base and so to the extent that there are operators that do go into bankruptcy. We'll keep our interest in the land, it will survive that bankruptcy. And so it's a very secure form of title that we've invested in.

Brian MacArthur -- Raymond James -- Analyst

Great, thanks very much. Thank you.

Operator

Your next question comes from John Tumazos, Very Independent Research. John, please go ahead.

John Tumazos -- Very Independent Research -- Analyst

Thank you. Congratulations again. Thank you. Look, at the oil market is though it's an extreme temporary aberration reduction is going to shut down and maybe people drive when gas is free price is rebound to 50 or $100 in a couple of years and this epic buying opportunity or do you want to be conservative. I was concerned there is a longer structural adverse change electric cars and people stay at home and drive less?

Paul Brink -- President and Chief Executive Officer

John, it's Paul, I guess, first thing is the investing both in the gold and in other Resource Industries. The only thing we know for certain is they are highly cyclical industries. It's not to say that there isn't structural changes going on and they oil and gas markets are certainly are, but what, that's what we're very aware of is is prices and set by absolute demand prices set by the demand for the balance of supply and demand and what you're seeing in the oil space is a lot of capital that's been pulled out of the space and everybody impact supply. So we're price settles out like all cyclical markets we don't know. In the future. So we are obviously looking at what the changes are, but expect that there may still be opportunities down the line.

John Tumazos -- Very Independent Research -- Analyst

Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. Your next question comes from Ralph Profiti fom Eight Capital. Ralph?

Ralph Profiti -- Eight Capital -- Analyst

Good morning everyone, thanks for taking my question. And Paul, congratulations on the formal appointment. With respect to the good decision with Continental Resources to take that contribution down by 50%, I was wondering what was driving that particular number? Is that sort of on the ordinance of the capex budget that you're seeing in the industry across the board? Would that be a fair kind of relationship on how that spending profile was determined?

Paul Brink -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yeah. Thanks for the question. I think what's determining the level of spending for that partnership is what we tried to do there is acquire acreage that is essentially in front of the drill program for Continental the benefit of keeping up with Continental there is that they have a drill program that goes out 12 months or 18 months and we're trying to acquire acreage that sits directly in front of it, so that we get the benefit of near-term cash flow, what's happened in recent months as the oil prices kind of collapsed here is that Continental is reducing their capital spending and pulling back on the like activity and so at least in the near term. There are less areas to buy acreage is because their drill program has been reduced and so our pullback in capital spend for the joint venture vehicle is basically just related to how much acreage sits in front of their drill program that we can buy.

Ralph Profiti -- Eight Capital -- Analyst

I see, OK. Yeah, thanks for the clarity on that. I have a question on Cobre Panama, the precious metals deliveries are based on a ratio of gold to copper and I'm wondering if those ratios are fixed and thinking just about the relative performance between gold and copper, we've seen some other triggers and other streams and royalties that change with the price profile, but just wondering if that is fixed ratios?

Jason O'Connell -- Vice President, Oil and Gas

The ratios are fixed. There is a schedule that you are going to have a look at in our disclosure there, how those changed over time but the referenced off per million pounds of copper, you get tax ounces.

Ralph Profiti -- Eight Capital -- Analyst

Yeah.

Jason O'Connell -- Vice President, Oil and Gas

So I don't think you have the issue with that stream that perhaps you're worried about.

Ralph Profiti -- Eight Capital -- Analyst

Okay and in should maybe last one I'll come back to Continental, how does the performance thresholds work that we're to take you up to 75%. you know, we have a lower energy prices, we have an impairment. And we have a new spending profile there. has that changed at all? Can you tell me a little bit how that works?

Jason O'Connell -- Vice President, Oil and Gas

Yeah. What happens is we have volume performance targets the Continental has to hit in order for them to achieve their full sort of financial carry. At the front end of the those sort of volume targets go up sort of a decade in time, so it's a long-term target and what happens is in the early years, they have outperformed at least to date ahead of the volume targets and so there is a period of time here where even though activity levels are reduced and volumes are starting to fall short, there is a bit of a catch-up period. So we don't expect that they will actually fall short of the volume target until probably sometime in 2021 or so although even that is uncertain, it will depend heavily on levels of activity and the volumes that they actually achieve. So it will be a benefit to us. But again, it's sort of a period of then catching up right now.

Ralph Profiti -- Eight Capital -- Analyst

Yeah, understood. That's good clarity. Thank you so much.

Operator

Thank you. Your next question comes from Kip Keen, S&P Global. Kip, please go ahead.

Kip Keen -- S&P Global -- Analyst

Hi, thanks for taking my question. I had two. Just curious, given that you energy sector on the cost fuel side, was there any interest in battery related metals volume. Any other kinds of streams like that and also was there any update on the low line issue over COVID Panama, or has that been resolved? Thank you.

Paul Brink -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Kip, it's Paul. It is two things. In terms of commodities outside of gold, we're open to various commodities. With those base of bulk or battery metals or oil and gas, really what it's driven by is our ultimate objective is just to invest in good deposits. So that's the number one criteria and happy to have diversified exposure outside of precious metals, be in a multiple of commodities. So we are open. It's just finding deposits that we think will will be great deposits with good upside. Sorry, what you repeat the second of your questions there?

Kip Keen -- S&P Global -- Analyst

Yeah, no, I just wondered if there is any update on the lot number nine issue related to COVID Panama and its contract which came up in 2018, haven't seen any news flow about it and just curious, has that been put to bed or is that an ongoing conversation between First Quantum and the Panamanian government?

Paul Brink -- President and Chief Executive Officer

It still is ongoing. And I think you got to expect that in the current environment. I don't expect that it's at the front of the agenda, so it will take a bit more time. I think before it is resolved.

Kip Keen -- S&P Global -- Analyst

Okay. Thanks Paul.

Operator

Thank you. Your next question comes from Carey MacRury, Canaccord Genuity. Carey, please go ahead.

Carey MacRury -- Canaccord Genuity -- Analyst

Good morning, guys. Just a question on Cobare and Antamina now given their offline, just wondering if you have a sense on what you're revenue would look like in Q2, just given the timing differences between concentrate shipments and and when you get paid?

Sandip Rana -- Chief Financial Officer

Carey. It's very difficult to say. Obviously Cobre on a quarterly basis would provide us about 25,000 GEOs and and to Antamina anywhere between eight

To 10. And so we just based upon how long shutdowns will last, it's very difficult to determine at this time.

Carey MacRury -- Canaccord Genuity -- Analyst

And do you get paid quarterly or is a month later?

Sandip Rana -- Chief Financial Officer

Sorry Antamina makes a payment once a quarter and we will sell that silver during the quarter and Cobre Panama typically does two to three deliveries a month. So there is anywhere from four to six-week lag in terms of receiving ounces from when they were shipped.

Carey MacRury -- Canaccord Genuity -- Analyst

Okay, great. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. Please proceed.

Candida Hayden -- Investor Relations

Thank you, Chris. We expect to release our second quarter 2020 results after market close on August 5 with the conference call held the following morning. Thank you for your interest in Franco-Nevada.

Operator

[Operator Closing Remarks]

Duration: 40 minutes

Call participants:

Candida Hayden -- Investor Relations

Paul Brink -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Sandip Rana -- Chief Financial Officer

Eaun Gray -- Vice President-Business Development

Jason O'Connell -- Vice President, Oil and Gas

Fahad Tariq -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst

Cosmos Chiu -- CIBC -- Analyst

Greg Barnes -- TD Securities -- Analyst

Josh Wolfson -- RBC Capital -- Analyst

George Topping -- Industrial Alliance -- Analyst

Tanya Jakusconek -- Scotiabank -- Analyst

Brian MacArthur -- Raymond James -- Analyst

John Tumazos -- Very Independent Research -- Analyst

Ralph Profiti -- Eight Capital -- Analyst

Kip Keen -- S&P Global -- Analyst

Carey MacRury -- Canaccord Genuity -- Analyst

More FNV analysis

All earnings call transcripts
Stopped by police from proceeding further, hundreds of migrant workers going home on foot created a ruckus at a Ganga bridge on the National Highway-24 in Uttar Pradesh's Amroha district, officials said on Saturday.

According to them, the workers started arriving at the bridge from the Delhi side on Friday afternoon and wanted to go home at the earliest.

Dhanoura Circle Officer Monica Yadav said they had assured them that buses would be arranged for their journey but they were adamant on going home on foot.

Amroha DM Umesh Mishra said they arranged buses for them but some of the workers on bicycles refused to go in these.

They wanted to proceed on their bicycles, he said.
Caribbean Premier League side Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR), owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan has distributed one thousand food packets to the needy who are struggling in Trinidad and Tobago due to the coronavirus-forced lockdown.

SRK India

The TKR chose their local icons Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo, Lendl Simmons, and Sunil Narine , who along with the team's support staff personally distributed the hampers to various areas of the island nation.

#TKR & HADCO Ltd. came together earlier today to distribute 1000 Food Hampers to the needy during #Covid19 pandemic 



Players, along with support staff, Hadco Team, commissioner of Police, Rotary Club, and Living Waters personally distributed hampers in #TrinidadAndTobago  pic.twitter.com/waz9xO2wWr  TrinbagoKnightRiders (@TKRiders) May 7, 2020

SRK took to Twitter to pat his boys for this act of generosity!

Shah Rukh Khan

TKR has teamed up with HADCO Ltd, who have put the hampers together. In addition, they have added some items at no cost.



.@tkriders collaborated with HADCO Ltd. to 'Do the Knight thing' & distribute as many as 1k food hampers to the needy who are struggling because of the lockdown in Trinidad & Tobago. Proud of u my boys! pic.twitter.com/wHAYgSvnNv  Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) May 8, 2020





As one of the most powerful celebrities in the world, Shah Rukh has been fulfilling his duties as a good samaritan. He has been doing his bit to contribute to our fight against Covid-19.

Twitter

Recently, he participated in a digital concert I For India to raise funds for the frontliners working round-the-clock to contain the coronavirus pandemic in the country. Prior to that, the Bollywood star had opened his office for treating Covid-19 patients.

Twitter

SRK and his interior-designer and entrepreneur wife Gauri Khan had helped transform the superstars office into a 22-bed Covid-19 quarantine facility.

SRK

In April again, Shah Rukh had taken part in a Lady Gaga-curated virtual concert, One World: Together At Home, organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and international advocacy organization Global Citizen, in support healthcare workers who are battling it out against Covid-19.



Shah Rukh had also provided 25,000 PPE kits to the frontline medical staff in Maharashtra fighting to contain the novel coronavirus pandemic in the state.
California Republicans may be on the verge of something they havent done in more than two decades: capturing a congressional seat from Democrats in the nations most populous state.

Tuesdays special election runoff in the Los Angeles suburbs, which is taking place because of former Rep. Katie Hill's resignation last year, has Democrats bracing for defeat in a district they flipped by 9 points in the 2018 midterms. Armed with a highly touted recruit and an older, less diverse electorate than in general elections, Republicans feel they are on the verge of an upset.

Private polls show the race in the states 25th District is within just a few points, and Democrats are already downplaying expectations for their nominee, state Assemblywoman Christy Smith, citing depressed turnout in the midst of a pandemic and the negative impact of the scandal surrounding Hill, who resigned amid allegations that she had inappropriate sexual relationships with staffers.

Their battle plan: Hope for the best next week, then try again in six months in the rematch, when Democrats expect their voters will show up with the presidential election on the ballot.

We dont underestimate how much of a Republican-leaning district this could be in May, but that will be a different electorate in November, Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) said, noting that the winner will serve only a limited time in Congress. We dont get in this to lose a race, but I do think that in November, Christy will be successful.

Yet a victory by Republican Mike Garcia, a 44-year-old former Naval aviator and defense contractor, would provide a jolt of energy to the GOPs efforts to reclaim some of its lost suburban territory  even as the partys chances of recapturing the House majority appear to be dwindling.

The close race is remarkable, in part, because voters in the district, which spans the northern Los Angeles suburbs, backed Hillary Clinton by 7 points two years prior. And President Donald Trump is still highly unpopular there; one Democratic survey found his favorability ratings underwater by double digits. Those same conditions could be present in several key seats that Republicans hope to flip back.

Story continues

FILE - In this June 17, 2019, file photo, Assemblywoman Christy Smith, D-Santa Clarita, speaks in a session of the California Assembly in Sacramento, Calif. Smith is a candidate for the 25th Congressional District seat in the upcoming California Primary election. An ex-congressman, a state lawmaker, an online news personality and a former combat pilot are among the candidates hoping to fill a U.S. House seat north of Los Angeles  a race that's being watched nationally for hints about which party might control Congress next year. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

It is not a unique district. It is similar to many of the districts that we won in the fall, said one Democratic consultant who works on House races. This was an anti-Trump response district, and if were ebbing in those districts we need to find out why. We cant just brush it off.

Trump gave Garcia his "complete & total endorsement" in a series of tweets Saturday.

Because of the coronavirus outbreak, the election will be conducted almost entirely by mail, and ballot return tallies thus far  ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday and received by Friday in order to be counted  have only contributed to Democrats fears.

The electorate so far is older, less diverse and more likely to favor the GOP. Of more than 118,000 returned ballots counted as of Friday, 44 percent are from registered Republicans, and just 36 percent are from Democrats, according to Paul Mitchell, the vice president of Political Data Inc., a bipartisan company that analyzes voter data.

Look at the age breakdown, Mitchell said in an interview, pointing to turnout rates that showed that 15 percent of voters under 35 years old have returned their ballots thus far, compared to 49 percent of those 65 and older. "Thats a big deal. The Latino population is pretty significant here," he added, "but theyre turning out at half the rate of white voters.

Privately, Democrats are pessimistic about their odds. The DCCC has spent over $1 million on TV ads boosting Smith after the March 3 primary, but the cavalry of outside groups that typically drop millions in special elections has largely sat out the race.

Both House Majority PAC and EMILYs List, which endorsed Smith, concluded the May electorate skewed too heavily toward Republicans and the cost of running ads in the pricey Los Angeles market was too high to justify a major investment when the winner would serve for only a few months before facing voters again, according to sources with knowledge of their spending decisions.

Democrats maintain that the GOP advantage will evaporate in November, when turnout will return to normal levels. Democrats have a voter registration advantage of nearly 30,000 in the district.

I think thats why a lot of groups are kind of pushing the pause button, said Aguilar, who co-chairs the DCCCs program for top offensive targets. And I think its a realization that the dynamics in this race in November are going to just be very different and lean our way significantly.

Yet some worry a Republican victory in the suburbs could set a concerning narrative, spur a surge in donations and energy in other Clinton-won districts that the GOP needs if they have any chance of taking back the House. Plus, Garcia could get a boost from his win, offering him a limited power of incumbency and a solid fundraising perch.

I mean, it wouldnt be good, Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) said of a potential loss on Tuesday. This is the only election, and this is a seat we won. So any time you lose a seat thats concerning. You dont take that for granted.

But Bass said she believes Smith will win and predicted that polls trying to gauge an all-mail election during a global crisis were portraying the race to be closer than it is.

In an interview, Smith, a 50-year-old former school board member who flipped a red state Assembly seat in 2018, said she understood the need to allocate resources wisely and conceded her path to victory would be easier in November. But she also framed this election in dire terms.

The reason Im running is because my constituents cant afford to wait, especially in this Covid recovery moment, she said. We need a seat at the table for all of these decisions that are going to be made and someone who is there stridently fighting for what our community needs.

The race will be the first substantive test of how the pandemic affects federal elections. Both Smith and Garcia have been forced to wage largely virtual campaigns from their homes.

Garcia is running heavily on his bio as a former Naval aviator who returned to the district to work for Raytheon, a defense contractor.

He landed a Twitter endorsement from Trump but is also hoping to pick up independents turned off by the president. He has avoided many recent requests for media interviews, including for this story. And Democrats complain that has allowed him to avoid taking positions on key issues, including the administrations Covid-19 response.

Democrats dominate the congressional delegation in California, holding 46 of the state's 53 seats after netting 7 seats in 2018, including the 25th District. Republicans haven't flipped a House seat in California since 1998, when the GOP won two open seats that were held by Democrats.

After Hill resigned from the seat last fall, former Rep. Steve Knight (R-Calif.) announced a comeback bid. The DCCC and HMP, eager to face a foe they had easily dispatched, spent over $1 million to try and knock him into the runoff with Smith. But Knight (17 percent) finished a distant third place behind Smith (36 percent) and Garcia (25 percent) in the all-party election.

Privately, some Democrats have questioned the efficacy of expending precious resources trying to choose Smiths opponent in the runoff.

Republicans have hammered Smith as a Sacramento politician with a weak track record on education. And they seized on a gaffe she made on a livestream in which she appeared to mock Garcias time in the Navy. (She has since apologized.)

Christy Smith is a horribly flawed candidate who spit in the face of Mike Garcias military service and the public school teachers she voted to fire, NRCC Chairman Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) said in a statement. These issues are going to sink her campaign next Tuesday, and they will keep her sunk in November.

Democratic strategists believe the fall election will be more of a referendum on the president, and that the shadow of Hills resignation will have subsided. Private Democratic polling from December found Hill's unfavorable rating exceeded her favorable rating by double digits, according to a source familiar with the survey.

Hill waded into the race in April with her new PAC, cutting a direct-to-camera TV ad aimed at juicing Democratic turnout. Her $200,000 expenditure caught the DCCC by surprise, according to a source familiar with spending in the race.

In an interview late last month, Hill said she believed she was still popular with Democrats in the district and hoped her familiar face would boost turnout among her partys low-propensity voters.

I was hoping that the race would be much easier to win, right? she said. And we want to be smart about how we spend the money. Do you spend it now, or do you spend it in November?
It seems the animated Nostradamus has predicted the present yet again. In its 30-year-run on air, "The Simpsons" has attested to be a modern prophet, seemingly foreseeing major events from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, "Game of Thrones" finale, Greece defaulting on an IMF loan repayment, and to Donald Trump's presidency.

With 681 episodes so far, it made accurate anticipation of the biggest global crisis so far in this century, the COVID-19 outbreak.

In an episode of the series released in 1993 entitled "Marge in Chains" (season 4, episode 21), a bizarre virus originating from Asia appeared to be invading the town of Springfield in America.

A former writer on "The Simpsons," Bill Oakley, has conceded that the series did indeed predict 2020.

In Japan, a sick factory employee sneezes into several packages consisting of juices that practically everyone from Homer Simpson to Principal Skinner purchases in the United States, and eventually catches the contagious illness.

A Twitter user recently posted a clip from their season 4 episode and has since gone viral for its precise depiction of the (fictional) Japan-originated "Osaka flu", which numerous users claimed had prophesized the novel coronavirus pandemic.

While the major events (the flu and killer bees) in the show did not specifically foretell the coronavirus and murder hornets, the footage still had the internet buzzing.

In March, a writer for "The Simpsons" called out trolls for taking advantage of the episode for racist propaganda to be prevalent. But Twitter netizens are seemingly enjoying some grim humor.

The murder hornets which followed in 2020 was also reportedly foretold.

Also Read: Biggest Philippine TV Network Forced Off Air: Filipinos Call for Press Freedom as Country Fights Coronavirus

The symptoms of the virus turned out to be eerily identical to the present's coronavirus crisis - all symptoms of the common flu.

Springfield townsfolk in the clip clamor and yell at Dr. Hibbert for a cure for an illness, but the doctor remarks that bedrest is his only prescription. Also, despite the Gilead drug Remdesivir receiving FDA approval to serve as a treatment for coronavirus patients, Hibbert's proclamation that no cure exists alludes to the coronavirus.

The frantic townspeople then accidentally unleash a throng of killer bees through knocking over a truck with the belief that it contains a cure, a crate labeled "Killer Bees."

The murder hornets' invasion - invasive, predatory insects that have appeared in Washington state near the Canadian border - were shown to serve as a potential threat to humans and the beekeeping industry.

While the aforementioned killer bees are not exactly the same as the new threat of Asian giant hornets (nicknamed "murder hornets") initially detected in Washington state, they are eerily close to reality.

The clip has gone viral with more than 5.4 million views and beyond 80,000 retweets, alongside hundreds of stunned comments.

A Springfield resident even grabs the killer insect from the air and eats it, which alluded that murder hornets simultaneously make a great snack.

Twitter netizen @didgeridougrou posted the viral tweet on Tuesday.

Related Article: Covidiot Cuts Hole in Mask for Easier Breathing

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Construction has resumed on unfinished council housing estates in Laois after a special go-ahead to return to work by the Government during the Covid-19 restrictions.

There will be 51 brand new homes ready for families on the Laois council house waiting list within the next two months.

Work at three building sites has resumed after a go-ahead was given by the Department of Housing and Local Government to Covid-19 restrictions on the construction sites.

The estates are in Portlaoise, Portarlington and Stradbally.

An exception was made because they are only weeks from being ready for council tenants waiting for a home.

The CEO John Mulholland announced the news at the April meeting of Laois County Council, held for the second month by phone conference on Monday April 27.

Work has recommenced on the provision of social housing units, mainly through the Approved Housing Bodies. Those that will be ready within four to six weeks for occupation.

They are on the Borris Road in Portlaoise, Kilnacourt in Portarlington, and on Main Street in Stradbally behind Dunnes Pub which was in touching distance before the covid public health measures were put in, he said.

The 17 Portlaoise homes are Phase I of a scheme carried out by Tuath Housing Association to be ready by June. Phase II of another 19 units is to be ready in August.

The Portarlington development is an 18 apartment complex built by Co-Operative Housing Ireland.

The Stradbally scheme is 16 units by North & East Housing Association for older people and those with disabilities.

For some families that will be very positive news in the next month or so, Mr Mulholland said.

Another 28 homes were allocated to tenants between March 13 and April 17.

We are doing a significant amount of work as well in relation to contracts and briefs for other schemes, he said.

Contracts are being exchanged on 26 acres on the Stradbally Road in Portlaoise. Once restrictions relax, work will also start on new houses in Rathdowney.
Ranchi, May 9 : The leader of opposition in Jharkhand Assembly Babulal Marandi has lashed out at the Hemant Soren government for not doing enough to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the state.

He said if the government had acted swiftly, the virus could have been contained in a limited area.

"The Jharkhand government has failed on all fronts - be it the issue of migrant labourers or providing relief to the needy," Marandi said.

In an exclusive interview with IANS, Marandi said, "A large number of people in the state have no ration cards as a result of which the government machinery can't reach them." He said, "There are lakhs of people in the state, at least seven lakhs, who have applied for the ration card, but have not received them. It is sad to see these people are not getting the food grains provided by the central government." "The first infection of coronavirus was reported in Hindipiri area of Ranchi. If the government had acted swiftly, the infection could not have spread to other areas of the state. Now the government has deployed para military force there, but it is too late now as anybody could be a carrier of the virus," Marandi added.

Marandi said the Hemant Soren government does not seem interested in fighting the deadly virus. "See, a large number of migrant labourers are returning home by trains and the government's testing capacity is too low. There is no coordination with the state governments from where the migrant workers are returning." "Who is taking money from the migrant labourers who are returning home in trains? The Jharkhand government must find out," said Marandi.

Marandi stressed that the BJP's entire organization is engaged in providing relief to the needy. "All our MLAs, party office bearers and workers are providing relief to the people at this hour of crisis." "At least 10 lakh people of Jharkhand work outside the state. If half of them return home, there will be a crisis of unemployment, The government must take steps to contain this," Marandi added.

As a piece of advice to the government, Marandi said, "The government must provide immediate relief to the MSME sector to stop job losses. Creating employment opportunity should be the top priority of the government."
The State Bank of India has filed a complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against a Delhi-based basmati rice export firm, alleging its promoters, who cheated a consortium of six banks of Rs 414 crore, are missing and have fled the country.

Owners of Ram Dev International Limited are said to be missing since 2016 when an inspection was carried out by SBI.

The central agency registered a case on April 28 naming the ownersSuresh Kumar, Naresh Kumar and Sangitaand Look Out Circulars (LOCs) have been issued against them.

According to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) order in 2018, it was informed that the promoters have fled to Dubai.

The companys loans were classified as a non-performing asset (NPA) in 2016. The bank filed a complaint with the agency in February this year after a delay of four years.

A special audit revealed that the borrowers falsified the accounts, fudged the balance sheet and unauthorisedly removed the plant and machinery in order to gain unlawfully at the cost of bank funds.

The exposure of banks was at Rs 414 croreRs 173 crore from SBI, Canara Bank Rs 76 crore, Union Bank of India Rs 64 crore, Central Bank of India Rs 51 crore, Corporation Bank Rs 36 crore and IDBI Bank Rs 12 crore.
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By WestKyStar Staff

May. 08, 2020 | MURRAY

By WestKyStar Staff May. 08, 2020 | 09:30 PM | 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.
With two more resident doctors and one intern testing positive of Covid-19 at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Kalwa, nine resident doctors of the medicine department were quarantined while seven senior doctors have gone on sick leave, affecting the health services at the civic-run hospital.

Moreover, the intensive care unit (ICU) and the isolation ward at the hospital are also shut for two days for disinfection. Patients are being admitted only in the general ward.

On May 8, two resident doctors, aged 32 and 27, tested positive along with a 23-year-old woman intern. All of them had come in contact with the head of the medicine department and another 36-year-old intern, who had earlier tested positive at the hospital.

Dr. Pratibha Sawant, the newly-appointed dean of the hospital, said, Two resident doctors tested positive on May 8 along with one intern. One of the doctors was from the medicine department and other was from the chest department. Resident doctors refused to work and demanded quarantine, as they had worked with the infected doctors. All nine residents were quarantined and their swab samples were collected.

A senior doctor from the hospital informed, The ICU and isolation wards will be disinfected on Saturday and Sunday and no patient will be admitted to these wards. We will admit patients only in the general ward, unless it is an emergency, for which some arrangement can be made. Nine resident doctors are quarantined, while seven senior doctors have gone on sick leave making it difficult to manage the hospital.

A resident doctor requesting anonymity said, We had a meeting with the seniors, they were ready to quarantine us, however, they will put us in quarantine centres with other people and no separate provisions will be made.

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The private detective who conned Madeleine McCann's parents out of 300,000 claiming he could find her died in a fall before his body was found covered in blood, a coroner has ruled.

Kevin Halligen, 56, ran Oakley International, which received the publicly donated cash after Madeleine McCann vanished from Praia da Luz in Portugal aged three in 2007.

His home was said to have been 'bloodied' when he was found there on January 8 2018 and police first treated his death as 'unexplained'.

But at his inquest coroner Richard Travers heard he died from a brain haemorrhage and that detectives found 'no suspicious circumstances'.

Kevin Halligen, 56, (pictured) ran Oakley International, which received the publicly donated cash after Madeleine McCann vanished from Praia da Luz in Portugal aged three in 2007

Paramedics called to Mr Halligen's home in Normandy, Surrey, performed CPR on him but he could not be saved. A postmortem found he died of an acute subdural haemorrhage.

Despite being a convicted conman, the inquest recorded Mr Halligen as an 'intelligence and security officer', according to The Mirror.

Halligen - who is said to have presented himself as a 'cloak-and-dagger, James Bond-style spy' - denied claims the donated cash was used to pay for first-class travel, hotels and a chauffeur.

In 2012, Halligen was extradited from Britain to America, where he admitted conning millions of pounds from a company whose executives had been kidnapped in Africa. He was jailed for 42 months.

At the time of his death, a source who knew the Dublin-born debt-ridden private eye said he was 'a boozer' and 'drink was inevitably his downfall.'

Kate and Gerry McCann (pictured) were initially impressed by Dublin-born Halligen, believing he 'was in a different league' to other private investigators

Defence consultant Tim Craig-Harvey, a former associate of Halligen, said: 'The lies and alcohol finally caught up with him.'

The McCanns hired Halligen's firm in a bid to boost the search for Maddie after failing to come up with any plausible leads one year after she went missing.

They agreed a 500,000 fee with Oakley International, which was described by a source close to the family as 'extremely secretive' but 'absolutely the best'.

Kate and Gerry McCann were initially impressed by Halligen, believing he 'was in a different league' to other private investigators.

He boasted of employing ex-FBI, CIA and Special forces officers while offering undercover surveillance and intelligence gathering in Portugal.

The detective even said he could provide satellite imagery and details of telephone traffic from the night Madeleine disappeared.

The McCanns hired Halligen's firm in a bid to boost the search for Maddie (pictured) after failing to come up with any plausible leads one year after she went missing

But within a year, questions began to emerge about Oakley and Halligen in particular.

Researchers claimed that the firm had not looked into hundreds of calls made to a special hotline - while specialists found that their bills were unpaid.

The promised satellite images also allegedly turned out to have been grabbed from Google Earth.

Six months into the highly-paid assignment, the McCanns were growing increasingly concerned about Halligen.

It is believed Kevin Halligen was found at the home of his long-term girlfriend, which is among the private Henley Park gated community (pictured) in Guildford

A family friend said: 'He had this sense of cloak-and-dagger, acting as if he were a James Bond-style spy.

'The McCanns found him hard to deal with, because he was forever in another country and using different phones. He promised the earth but it came to nothing.'

The contract was terminated early after 300,000 had been paid to Halligen.

Kate said: 'We were upset that, although a lot of hard work had been done on Madeleine's behalf, it seemed money provided by her fund might not ever have reached the people who had earned it.'

Kate, 49, previously told how the family had suffered 'a particularly bad experience' with Halligen, who she knew as Richard. She described the ordeal he put them through in her best seller 2011 book 'Madeleine'.

Colleagues said that far from being an expert in undercover operations, Halligen was 'out of his depth' with 'no experience of such investigations.'

In 2014, Kevin Halligen made a rare public appearance, agreeing to be interviewed for a Channel 5 documentary - The McCanns and The Conman.

He denied that he misused money raised to find Madeleine. Answering claims that he spent the money on first class travel, luxury hotel suites and a chauffeur, he said: 'It is gross distortion of what was actually happening.'

The hunt for Madeleine McCann continues, more than 13 years after her disappearance. A team from Scotland Yard has been probing the case since 2011.
YEREVAN, MAY 9, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan issued a message on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the victory in the WWII, Shushi liberation and Artsakh Defense Army establishment day.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister, the message runs as follows,

Dear compatriots,

Congratulations to all of us on Victory Day. This very day 75 years ago, our people joined other peoples of the former Soviet Union to celebrate the victory over fascism, one of the greatest evils in human history. The victory was achieved through enormous human suffering, sacrifice, unprecedented courage and perseverance.

The Armenian nation played a significant role in bringing about that victory and, as a result, in liberating Europe from the scourge of fascism. More than half a million Armenians were involved in the war as part of the Soviet army. Thousands of Armenians fought in the squads of resistance movements in European countries.

The Armenian people sacrificed about 300,000 lives on the altar of victory. For a nation that had survived the Genocide just a quarter of a century ago, it was an incredibly large number comparable to the human losses suffered by the great powers. While no hostilities had taken place on our soil, the population of Soviet Armenia fell by more than 13 percent at the end of the war.

Today, as we bow to the memory of our martyrs, we are proud of our ancestors heroism.

During the war, 107 Armenians were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the highest award given for exceptional heroism. The significant contribution made to mankinds victory by the Armenians living in Armenia and the Diaspora and especially the valuable material contribution of the Armenian Apostolic Church deserve special praise.

We have fully paid off our debt for all the wars in the 20th century. And now we are well aware of the cost of peace more than anyone else. Our identity is best expressed through creative work we do in peacetime. At the same time, knowing the price of peace, we are ready to defend it at all costs and to stand up again for our freedom and dignity, where necessary.

Whether a coincidence, or perhaps a deed of Providence, on this very day we are celebrating the liberation of Shushi and the establishment of the Artsakh Defense Army, exceptional events that crowned Armenias modern history.

The liberation of Shushi ushered in the liberation of Artsakh. Followed up with a brilliant victory, it became the pledge for our peoples security and peace. We are firmly determined to ensure the security of the people of the Artsakh Republic: their right to self-determination is not subject to bargaining. Both are absolute values for us.

Let us commemorate and pay tribute to our heroes who died for the liberation of Shushi and Artsakh. They stood just as strong as their ancestors did about half a century ago in World War II.

Let us commemorate those brave guys who fell in the Four-Day April War - our modern-day heroes who sacrificed their lives to prove our peoples unbreakable will for freedom.

Glory to all our heroes who fought for the freedom of the Armenian people!

Long live Armenia and Artsakh!
In leaked call, former president also warns rule of law at risk in the US after justice department drops Flynn case.

Former United States President Barack Obama has reportedly described President Donald Trumps handling of the coronavirus pandemic as an absolute chaotic disaster.

Obama has largely kept out of the fray even as Trump has blamed him and his Democratic administration for a variety of problems related to having sufficient supplies to battle the pandemic.

But in his call on Friday with 3,000 members of the Obama Alumni Association, people who served in his administration, Obama reportedly urged his supporters to get behind Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, who is trying to unseat Trump in the November election.

This election thats coming up on every level is so important because what were going to be battling is not just a particular individual or a political party. What were fighting against is these long-term trends in which being selfish, being tribal, being divided and seeing others as an enemy  that has become a stronger impulse in American life. And by the way, were seeing that internationally as well, Obama was cited as saying in the private call according to Yahoo News, which said it obtained a tape of the call on Friday.

Its part of the reason why the response to this global crisis has been so anaemic and spotty. It would have been bad even with the best of governments. It has been an absolute chaotic disaster when that mindset  of whats in it for me and to heck with everybody else  when that mindset is operationalised in our government.

Thats why, I, by the way, am going to be spending as much time as necessary and campaigning as hard as I can for Joe Biden, he said.

The United States by far leads the world in the number of coronavirus infections, at nearly 1.3 million, and deaths, with more than 78,000.

Trump has been criticised as essentially abdicating any leadership role in guiding the country through one of its worst crises in a century, leaving states on their own to grapple with the pandemic and even bid against each other to obtain critical medical equipment on the open market or abroad.

Critics say Trump, after first downplaying the threat posed by the virus, squandered precious time in February as the pathogen spread in America and his administration did little to stock up on testing kits and other medical gear or to develop a cohesive national strategy.

With an eye to re-election, the president has also been blasted as putting his own political interests before human life by aggressively pushing states to reopen their devastated economies without a clear blueprint for how to do it safely.

White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said Trumps response to the coronavirus has been unprecedented and has saved American lives.

Warning on rule of law

Obama also warned during the call that the rule of law is at risk in the US after the justice department said it would drop the legal case against Michael Flynn, a former White House national security adviser.

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Flynn, a key target in the investigation into alleged Russian meddling the 2016 US election, pleaded guilty in 2017 to making false statements to the FBI in relation to conversations with the Russian ambassador.

Attorney General William Barrs declaration that there were never grounds to pursue Flynn and the FBI abused its powers drew fierce criticism from legal experts and civil society groups.

While President Donald Trump fired Flynn for lying to Vice President Mike Pence, Trump frequently tweeted about the former generals case, which became a rallying cry for his supporters in attacking the FBI investigation. Trump recently declared Flynn exonerated.

The news over the last 24 hours I think has been somewhat downplayed  about the Justice Department dropping charges against Michael Flynn, Obama reportedly said.

And the fact that there is no precedent that anybody can find for someone who has been charged with perjury just getting off scot-free. Thats the kind of stuff where you begin to get worried that basic  not just institutional norms  but our basic understanding of rule of law is at risk. And when you start moving in those directions, it can accelerate pretty quickly as weve seen in other places, he said, misstating the charges against Flynn.
Anil S By

Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: 100 days after it recorded the first COVID-19 case, Kerala has finally declared that the state has flattened the curve. Kerala has recorded 0.59 per cent case fatality rate and 92 per cent recovery rate, while the doubling rate is above 80 days. The state was gradually entering into the safe zone.

However fresh cases for the past two days indicate that the inflow of expats and people from other states pose new challenges in Kerala's fight against coronavirus. The state does not plan to opt for controlled spread as of now. Kerala will eventually get herd immunity through reverse quarantine, says Health Minister KK Shailaja. In a chat with The New Indian Express, KK Shailaja says if the virus attack slows down in the entire country, the state can hope to recover in 4-5 months time.

100 days have passed since the state recorded its first COVID-19 case. The government has now declared that Kerala has flattened the curve. So have we finally entered a safe zone?

In a way, we have achieved a lot when viewed holistically. In 100 days, only 503 cases and just 3 deaths - all from pre-existing co-morbid conditions. So a case fatality rate of 0.5 per cent.

Among the number of dead, why is the death of the patient from Mahe not included?



He was based in Mahe and had come to Kerala only for treatment. The Centre wants it to be added to the Kerala tally, but there's no reason why we should add a person who came only for treatment, due to lack of facilities at Mahe.

What are the factors that contributed to the flattening of the curve? And what's the next step?

Usually, case fatality rate is calculated based on closed cases; then Kerala would have a recovery rate of 99 per cent. But when live cases - those currently hospitalised are included - the state has a recovery rate of 92 per cent.

If we look at the doubling rate - the time taken for the number of cases to double - it's below seven days in several states, and in a few it's as less as two days. But in Kerala, it was 72 days earlier and now it's 80 days. Going by these trends, Kerala is for now in a safe zone.

On Friday, the sole positive case was of a person who had returned from Tamil Nadu. With more people returning from affected regions and abroad, there could be more positive cases in the near future. About ten of those who came from abroad were found symptomatic and isolated. So we need to keep a track of such people. It won't be easy, as the numbers of returnees are increasing day by day. We have included local self-government officials, volunteers and police to ensure that all such persons follow laid-down quarantine procedures.

But even in quarantine, they tend to move around inside the house. That's how in Koothuparambu, ten in a family tested positive. Luckily, they all had remained at home, unlike the family that returned from Italy. People have themselves become more vigilant now. Now in the case of institutional quarantine, the same danger persists. Even when confined to a room, they may go out and interact with others, since most are asymptomatic. But they may turn out to be positive later, and that could spell trouble.

The risk factor is always there, irrespective of whether it's house or institutional quarantine. We must maintain a strict vigil. The moment anyone exhibits symptoms, he or she would be tested and hospitalised.

Another major area of concern is age. The state accords a lot of importance to reverse quarantine, which can greatly reduce the number of deaths. If people are in quarantine at home, the elderly must not be allowed anywhere near them. If possible, they should be moved to relatives' homes. This is not always possible. So the next best option is to move the ones quarantined at home to institutional quarantine.

Now with more number of people in quarantine, one cannot expect five-star facilities. They will have to be content with limited available facilities.

The other day you said that the government is not considering private quarantine facilities. But the state government affidavit in the High Court mentions private quarantine

Initially no, but now, we are considering that possibility too. If someone want to opt for paid accommodation in a hotel, the entire hotel should be taken up for the purpose. We can't let them stay in one room, while the hotel carries on with its routine functioning. Health officials and volunteers would be deployed to oversee persons quarantined in such places.

Won't that be an additional burden on the government, as we will have to deploy more staff for the purpose?



Yes. That's why we didn't think about it at first. No final decision has however been taken in this regard, though it is under active consideration.

You mentioned about asymptomatic people testing positive, and reverse quarantine for the aged. Has the state started looking into possibilities for herd immunity through a controlled spread?



Herd immunity is a continuing process and is attained over a period of time. If more people are affected and there are no deaths, then herd immunity is a possible option. But with no vaccine in sight and a prognosis yet to be made, opting for herd immunity would then lead to a situation similar to the one in US. Our focus has always been to save lives. So restrictions will continue.

We cannot, however, continue with people being locked-in for long. So in places that do not fall under the red zone, people can gradually ease back into their normal routine. Like farming activities can resume, with social distancing norms in place.

So can we say that the state is banking on attaining herd immunity?

We are gradually moving in that direction but for now we are not planning for a controlled spread. A spike in cases can lead to an altogether different scenario. We used to think that only the aged and those with co-morbid conditions are vulnerable. But several youngsters have succumbed to the virus. This shows that the virus' activity in the body has not yet been fully assessed.

With the arrival of people from abroad, different strains of the virus could enter the state. In India, so far only three strains have been identified. How is Kerala planning to deal with it?



In India, virus strains from Wuhan, Italy and Iran has been found till date. The Italian strain proved by far the more dangerous variant. But with regard to other strains coming in, there are umpteen aspects to be looked into. After the consolidation of facts, we implement the ones that can be practically done so.



The state has been facing a shortage of antibody test kits. ICMR has already stopped using the ones sourced from China.



We haven't got sufficient antibody test kits. Though not the final confirmatory test, these help in sentinel surveillance. Once we get, Kerala will use them. As far as PCR tests are concerned, Kerala has done better than most states. Symptomatic testing is being done. Those asymptomatic in the high-risk category are tested in a random manner. All such random testing done here turned out negative. We tested samples of 40 unnatural/sudden deaths. The bodies were released only after PCR tests were done. That's why we are sure that at present, there's no community spread.



Any expected time-frame for the state to come out of Corona scare?

It's clearly unpredictable. This virus may last for a long time. But we will gradually become used to it and people will resume their normal lives. But this won't happen overnight. Some say it will come to an end by June-July. Others say it could last the entire year. Only if the virus attack slows down in the entire country, can we hope to recover in 4-5 months time from now.


Kochi, May 9 : The first evacuation flight from Kuwait carrying 177 passengers along with four kids landed here at 9.40 pm on Saturday.

This is the fifth flight that has landed in Kerala since the evacuation of Indian diaspora began on Thursday.

After arrival, the passengers would undergo thermal scanning and report at the health help desk to be told on how they should conduct themselves during the mandatory quarantine period.

As per the protocol, those showing corovirus-like symptoms will immediately be moved to a separate area and taken to nearby state-run hospital after initial formalities.

Since the pregnant women, kids and elderly people are allowed to be in quarantine at their home, they will be sent to their respective homes in taxis or their own vehicles.

Passengers will be sent to their respective districts by state road transport buses and stay in 14-day quarantine at state-run corona care centres.

The baggage of all the passengers will be disinfected before handing over to them.

Another aircraft from Muscat is also scheduled to arrive later in the night with 177 passengers along with four kids, while the one from Doha is scheduled to land past midnight with another 177 adult passengers and six kids.

Though Kerala has four international airports, so far evacuation flights have landed here and at Kozhikode.

Thiruvananthapuram will get its first flight from Doha on Sunday. Kannur is expected to receive flights in the second schedule.
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In the days and weeks after Ahmaud Arbery was shot and killed, multiple Glynn county law enforcement officials failed to thoroughly investigate his death and, in one case, refused to allow police officers to make arrests, the Guardian has learned.

Related: Ahmaud Arbery is dead because Americans think black men are criminals | Benjamin Dixon

Arbery, 25, was jogging through the neighborhood just outside Brunswick, Georgia, on 23 February when he was shot dead by two white men. Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son Travis, 34, were charged with murder and aggravated assault on Thursday evening, after graphic video footage of the killing was released publicly and sparked national outrage.

Lawyers for Arberys family have called the killing a modern lynching and decried the lack of action in the case prior to the release of the video, pointing to racial inequalities in the criminal justice system.

In the police report, Gregory McMichael claimed Arbery violently attacked his son, who shot Arbery in self defense.

Jackie Johnson, the Glynn county district attorney, refused to allow police officers who responded to arrest the two men, Glynn county commissioner Peter Murphy told the Guardian in a phone call on Friday.

The police department was put in touch with one of Johnsons assistant district attorneys after the shooting, but Johnson made the decision not to charge the father and son, the former having worked in her office for more than 20 years, Murphy said.

The police at the scene went to her, saying they were ready to arrest both of them, Allen Booker, the Glynn county district 5 commissioner, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday. These were the police at the scene who had done the investigation. She shut them down to protect her friend McMichael.

Days later, Johnson recused herself. Johnson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

By 27 February, George Barnhill, the Waycross judicial district attorney, and the second of three DAs on the case, took over. Less than 24 hours after seeing the video and evidence compiled by the police, Murphy said, Barnhill decided to not charge the McMichaels.

Story continues

And so within 24 hours the Glynn county police had been told by two separate DA offices not to make any arrests, Murphy said. And obviously, they want to assume no responsibility for their actions.

On 2 April, Barnhill sent an email to law enforcement authorities saying Arbery had an apparent aggressive nature and that his family were not strangers to the local criminal justice system.

Arberys mental health records & prior convictions help explain his apparent aggressive nature and his possible thought pattern to attack an armed man, Barnhill said in the email, which was first reported by the New York Times.

People protest outside the Glynn county courthouse in Brunswick, Georgia. Photograph: Dustin Chambers/Reuters

What it appears is he was purposely trying to assault the character of the victim and theres just no reason why, said Chris Stewart, one of the lawyers representing Arberys family.

The family have pointed to the McMichaels connection to local law enforcement both at the district attorneys office and police department as evidence of systemic flaws and roadblocks in their search for justice. It was only after the video of Arberys death was released this week that the third DAs office requested the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI) get involved.

On Friday, GBI director Vic Reynolds told reporters he could not answer what another agency did or didnt see in the first two months of the investigation.

But I can tell you that based on our involvement in this case and considering the fact we hit the ground running Wednesday morning and within 36 hours we had secured warrants for two individuals for felony murder, I think that speaks volumes for itself.

In a 7 April email sent to the office of Georgia attorney general Chris Carr, Barnhill recused himself because his son worked on a case involving Arbery while working in Johnsons office.

Lee Merritt, one of the lawyers who represents Arberys family, said Wanda Cooper-Jones, Arberys mother, found the connection between Barnhills son and her own on Facebook and brought it to the attention of his office.

She followed the links. Thats exactly how it happened, he said to the Guardian on Friday by phone.

According to a police report filed 23 February, Gregory and Travis McMichael grabbed their weapons, a .357 Magnum revolver and a shotgun, jumped into a truck and followed Arbery as he ran.

In the email to Carr from early April, Barnhill references a decent cell phone video of the entire shooting incident, an apparent reference to the one leaked this week.

Reynolds said on Friday that the investigation into the shooting, the video and the person who filmed it, would continue.

Every stone will be uncovered, Reynolds said.


Business has been anything but usual for the restaurant industry in Winnipeg and everywhere else in Canada since the middle of March. In response to the COVID-19 crisis, Canadians have been told to stay home by the countrys top public-health officials. This forced restaurants from coast-to-coast to abruptly close their dining rooms and rely exclusively on take-out and delivery orders.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 9/5/2020 (620 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

Business has been anything but usual for the restaurant industry in Winnipeg and everywhere else in Canada since the middle of March. In response to the COVID-19 crisis, Canadians have been told to stay home by the countrys top public-health officials. This forced restaurants from coast-to-coast to abruptly close their dining rooms and rely exclusively on take-out and delivery orders.

Almost overnight, restaurant food deliveries have gone from a convenience to a necessity for some.

This new reality has led to a barrage of uninformed commentary from the media regarding third-party delivery apps, specifically the burden their commissions place on restaurants. We certainly feel for the small number of restaurant owners who have been vocal in the media, and understand the tremendous challenges theyre facing; however, we strongly believe these examples only tell a portion of the story.

The food-delivery industry is growing quickly, fuelled by rapidly changing customer preferences and behaviour. SkipTheDishes offers restaurants of all sizes the opportunity to tap into this expanding market.

While I cant speak for other delivery apps, SkipTheDishes provides our partners with a dedicated platform that serves millions of hungry Canadians looking for local delivery options every day. We help our restaurant partners gain exposure to customers and increase their delivery orders so they can maximize the investment theyre already making in rent, utilities and other fixed overhead costs.

On a typical night, we have hundreds of live agents and engineers working to support our restaurant partners and couriers across the country who are standing by to deliver food to Canadians in a safe and timely manner.

SkipTheDishes employs more than 2,000 Winnipeggers in IT, engineering, operations, marketing, analytics and customer service jobs to ensure our network runs seamlessly 24-7. This allows our partners to focus on running their restaurants without worrying about delivery.

The proof of our concept is reflected in the strength of our business. More than 24,000 restaurants are part of the SkipTheDishes community, with very few ever choosing to leave. This is very telling, since we make it extremely easy to exit for businesses not seeing a return on investment. We have no mandatory term lengths or financial penalties for leaving the platform. A restaurant can join on a Monday and leave on Wednesday. Its that simple.

However, the logistics of restaurant food delivery are not simple, which is why many restaurants have opted to use delivery apps, even prior to the COVID-19 crisis. While weve been accused of being a bad player and charging unfair commissions, the truth is were working very closely with our partners every day to ensure were doing everything we can to help them through this crisis.

We quickly pivoted our business so all 2,400-plus team members could transition to work from home without impacting our restaurant partners, our customers or the integrity of our network.

As we realized the tremendous impact COVID-19 was having on our industry, we immediately began consulting thousands of restaurants and restaurant associations across the country to better understand how we could help. It was through these conversations that we developed our support packages, which will give over $15 million back to our restaurant partners at a time when they need it most.

Over the past eight weeks, our team has maintained three guiding principles to ensure SkipTheDishes is doing what we can to serve our industry through these difficult times.

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.

First, its important for us to put as much money as possible back into the pockets of our restaurant partners, as the restaurant sector has been severely impacted by COVID-19 restrictions.

Second, we need to ensure that while were assisting our partners, we remain commercially viable so that we can continue to employ our hard-working team that makes seamless delivery a possibility.

And last, we want to make sure food delivery remains accessible and affordable for our customers, not just for their benefit, but because our restaurant partners are relying on continued orders to get through this crisis and beyond.

SkipTheDishes is only successful if our restaurant partners are successful. We have no vested interest in seeing them struggle or fail.

For millions of Canadians, food delivery has become an essential service as a result of COVID-19, and thats not a responsibility we take lightly. No organization is better equipped or more focused on helping restaurants than SkipTheDishes.

Kevin Edwards is CEO of the food-delivery app SkipTheDishes, which is headquartered in Winnipeg.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: State-owned Coal India has turned down the request of power producers to extend the timelines for the third round of auction and the demand for reassessment of eligibility criteria for participation in the bidding for fuel supply contracts.

Also, the PSU miner said that its role is limited to making available the source-wise availability of coal.

The Association of Power Producers (APP) had requested Coal India Ltd (CIL) to extend the timelines for the auction as well as reassess the eligibility for participation in the third round of auction under the SHAKTI B (ii) scheme.

The third auction "is being undertaken by PFCCL (PFC Consulting) as per the IMC (Inter-Ministerial Committee) decision.

The CIL's role is limited to making available the source-wise availability of coal which it has already provided to PFCCL.

Therefore, other issues need to be taken up with PFCCL, being the agency responsible for conducting the auction," CIL told APP.

"Again it is pertinent to mention that the assessment of coal requirement has been made by the CEA (Central Electricity Authority) under the instance of PFCCL as per mechanism of the auction.

"As such CIL has no role in addressing the concerns raised by APP which may be taken up with the concerned agency," the PSU said.

Shakti B(ii) scheme is for power producers who have power purchase agreements with discoms but do not have coal supply contracts with CIL.

Recently, APP had brought to the notice of CIL that the participation of bidders in the SHAKTI B(ii) round 3 auction may be restricted due to stress factors arising from revenue inflows from distribution companies drying up entirely and many discoms serving notices to the power producers to back down their generation.

"Further, for the round three auction, it is noted that the maximum allocable quantity derived basis of the eligible capacity and coal quantum is not in line with the generation parameters as considered in prior rounds of auction (i.e.as per the provisions of scheme document)," APP said.

Both the above factors may result in loss of opportunity to bidders if the SHAKTI B(ii) round three auction is held as per schedule.

"Therefore, in view of the above, in order to avoid any litigations issues arising out of loss of opportunity to bidders it would be prudent to re-assess the eligibility for participation in SHAKTI B (ii) third round auction and till finalisation of same, the auction timelines may be extended," APP said.
: The 10th standard public



examination will be conducted in Tamil Nadu after the COVID- 19 attack wanes and the resultant lockdown goes, state Minister K Sengottaiyan said on Saturday.

A decision on the exam would be taken based on the recommendations of a high-level committee and getting concurrence from health officials, he said at Savakkatupalayam village near Gobichettipalayam where he distributed welfare schemes to 450 handloom weavers.

The Minister said candidates appearing for the board exams would be seated in line with social distancing norms stem the spread of coronavirus.

He said schools for the coming academic year would be re-opened only after the coronavirus attack blows over.

He further said 2,000 mathematics teachers would be roped in to provide online training to students.

Similarly, students keen on accountancy would be given online classes, he said.

Replying to a query, the Minister said a decision on increasing the retirement age for state government employees from 58 to 59 was taken after consulting experts.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
This is an opinion column.

The emails, DMs and text messages began in a trickle last week and this week grew into a flood. So many that, maybe, I should have set an auto-reply on my inbox.

Yes, I have seen ProPublicas story. We all knew Troy King would get mixed up in something else. I wont be back in the office until coronavirus has subsided, murder hornets have returned to Japan, but if you must speak with someone immediately 

But there is no break from this Bizarro World. And there was never going to be a break from King.

King once was Alabamas attorney general, and that bright point on his resume will always follow his name on the first reference in news stories, no matter how many years have passed since he lost that office. His attempts to return to public life  running again for attorney general and for Congress this year  all failed.

But now its Kings private business ventures that are drawing him the most attention.

Late last month, ProPublica reporter David McSwane shadowed a would-be government contractor, Robert Stewart Jr., who had recently won a no-bid contract to provide six million N95 protective masks to Veterans Affairs. McSwane accepted an invitation from Stewart to ride with him on a chartered private jet.

On that ride, it became horribly apparent that Stewart had no masks to sell the VA, and instead was trying to insert himself in a seat-of-the-pants game of arbitrage. Since he had no masks, he scrambled to find someone who did.

For a moment, that someone was King.

According to text messages King traded with Stewart, King had a connection with the masks Stewart needed at $4.90 per mask. Pre-coronavirus, 3M sold these masks for $1.27 each.

King sent Stewart a proof-of-life video of stacks of 3M boxes. The only thing missing from the video were a copy of todays newspaper, a POW blinking SOS in Morse code, or any sight of the actual masks.

Eventually, the deal went south when Stewart couldnt produce the money fast enough to buy the masks.

Other deals King has brokered have soured, too.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Kings company, Bear Mountain Development Company, had agreements with the State of California to provide $800 million worth of protective equipment, but those agreements were canceled on May 2.

California canceled those deals after Bear Mountain and its affiliates failed to fully fulfill its orders. Kings company was supposed to deliver 60 million face shields and 120 million surgical masks, the Times reported, but it only produced 489,000 shields and 9.7 million surgical masks. Officials there are now calling for an investigation.

When King last ran for attorney general, I asked him why his ethics filings didnt disclose more than 12 companies he served as an incorporator, officer or registered agent. The Alabama Secretary of States records showed his name tied to those companies, but not the disclosures King gave the Alabama Ethics Commission. One of those companies was Bear Mountain Development.

At the time, King insisted those werent his companies or that he owned less than 5 percent of them. Also, he said he didnt draw any income from those companies.

However, agreements with Stewart signed by King last month show him to be Bear Mountain Developments managing member.

According to the Times investigation, Bear Mountains supplier appears to be Mimish-PPE, a company incorporated in April. Mimish-PPE shares a New York address with Mimish Designs, a company that sells beanbags, pillows and other home decor.

Kings PPE brokerage isnt the only business dealing hes had that has made headlines. In 2017, King served as chief legal counsel for Textile Corp. for America, a company that received $3 million of state incentives to reopen a shuttered textile mill in Pikeville, Tennessee.

The mill never reopened, and two of the companys owners pleaded guilty to fraud. In their scheme, the owners bought plastic tarps from a prohibited Chinese supplier before reselling them to FEMA for hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico.

While King was front and center at TCAs ribbon cutting and spoke to the press on its behalf, he was never accused of a crime.

And that seems to be the story of Kings life  never charged with a crime, but often in orbit of someone else who got in trouble.

It was that way when he served as Alabamas top law enforcement official, when friends and political allies went to prison.

And it appears that way now, as he makes his way in the private sector.

Our world has changed so much its become unrecognizable. But Troy King is the same as ever.

Kyle Whitmire is the state political columnist for the Alabama Media Group.

You can follow his work on his Facebook page, The War on Dumb. And on Twitter. And on Instagram.

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If Alabama has to go back to work, so should the Legislature

In grief for normal life

The truth will tell itself
MADISON HEIGHTS (AP)  The owner of an industrial building that released green goo along a Detroit-area interstate is leaving prison early because of the risk of the coronavirus.

Gary Sayers, who is in his 70s, was sentenced to a year in prison last fall for illegally storing hazardous waste at Electro-Plating Services in Madison Heights.

Sayers, who is being held at a federal prison in West Virginia, will be placed on home confinement under a U.S. Justice Department policy thats being applied to certain older inmates during the virus pandemic, prosecutors in Detroit said.

Electro-Plating was shut down by state regulators in 2016 due to mismanagement of industrial waste, after nearly 50 years of operation.

In late December, drivers on Interstate 696 saw a brightly colored goo seeping through a concrete barrier along the shoulder. It apparently migrated through soil from Electro-Plating.

Separately, a judge on Thursday said the site can be demolished. Madison Heights City Manager Melissa Marsh said shell work with state and federal regulators on the next steps.

Madison Heights awaits EPA timeline for cleanup of contaminated site near I-696

Man blamed for green I-696 ooze left barrels on Thumb land

David Coulter calls green ooze situation a catastrophe in testimony to lawmakers

Testing for toxic waste from Madison Heights site expands to Hazel Park

State says green ooze not impacting drinking water

Oakland County identifies seven contaminated sites in need of assessment

EPA, other officials to brief area residents on toxic Madison Heights site Monday

Madison Heights toxic site was like a chemical hoarding situation

Andy Meisner: Seeping green ooze site subject to forfeiture
GLENS FALLS  The city of Glens Falls is dealing with an uptick in domestic violence cases, likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Victims right now are in need and weve got two individuals in the office right now that are very busy, said Warren County District Attorney Jason Carusone at a recent county Board of Supervisors Criminal Justice Committee meeting.

Warren County Sheriff Jim LaFarr had previously stated that he had not seen an increase in the county, but his officers do not handle cases in the city. Glens Falls Police and State Police would make those arrests.

I was talking to the domestic violence prosecutor. Shes feeling overwhelmed, Carusone said.

LaFarr told the county he is still not seeing any spikes elsewhere in the county.

Glens Falls Police Chief Tony Lydon did not return a message seeking comment.

Washington County last month had reported a similar increase in domestic violence calls because of the pandemic, with 364 from January through March of this year compared with 263 during the same period in 2019.

Wellspring, which provides domestic violence resources for Saratoga County residents, saw its calls increase 110% between February and March.

Domestic violence is on the rise  both in frequency and in intensity, said Executive Director Maggie Fronk.

Fronk said the COVID-19 pandemic has caused unique circumstances where people are under stress worrying about their job, health, finances and family. And victims and their abusers are forced to stay at home for an extended period of time.

Domestic violence is about a pattern of power and control. Its not something that pops up under stress. But as all these stressors increase, that is a perfect landscape for things to get worse, she said.

Fronk said the organization is not hearing so much from new clients, but people who they have worked with before.

She predicts that when life begins to return to normal, the organization will see a dramatic rise in people reaching out, saying they have been trying to weather the storm.

When asked if more of the calls seem to be coming from urban, suburban or rural areas, Fronk said she did not see any pattern. Domestic violence hits people from every region, race and socioeconomic status.

For more information, visit www.wellspringcares.org or call a 24-hour hot line at 518-584-8188.

Another resource is the Domestic Violence Project of Warren and Washington Counties. For more information, contact 518-793-9496. The Domestic Violence hot line is 1-800-942-6906 and the National Domestic Violence Hot Line is 1-800-799-7233.

Reach Michael Goot at 518-742-3320 or mgoot@poststar.com and follow his blog poststar.com/blogs/michael_goot/.

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Highlights:

Revenue and result in Q1 higher than in same period 2019

Cash position remains strong, credit facility as yet unused in 2020

Order book remains at a healthy level, at  2.0 billion

666 homes sold through April 2020 (479 in 2019), with 289 of these homes B2B sales

Impact Covid-19 limited to date



Ton Hillen, CEO Heijmans N.V

Heijmans revenue, result and cash position exceeded expectations in Q1 and that has laid a strong foundation for the 2020 full-year results. We made a strong start to the year on the back of a mild winter with high production levels. Our efforts to improve risk management and increase predictability are proving effective. Our current financial position and the composition of our order book mean we are in a solid position to weather challenging market conditions.

Thanks to the efforts of our people, the Covid-19 virus outbreak has had limited impact on the progress in projects. Safety of our people and our stakeholders, is always priority. In line with the Building safely together (Samen veilig bouwen) protocol, we have managed to get a lot of work done, while taking the one-and-a-half-metre society into account, and so far the financial damage has been limited.

We are disappointed with the specific measures the government has announced for the construction sector in the context of the nitrogen deposits. They are not enough. Our sector is disproportionately impacted by the demise of the Integrated Approach to Nitrogen (PAS), while the construction sector accounts for a minor portion of the nitrogen problem. The current measures could result in continued delays to the start of large Infra tenders. This will have a negative impact on the sector.

Despite the fact that we are facing challenges in the market, I remain confident. Thanks to the need to increase sustainability and the continued shortage of homes, there is continued high demand for Heijmans expertise and services.



Results per sector

Story continues

Heijmans Infra

The balanced composition of the current order book combined with the mild weather conditions resulted in good results at Infra in the first quarter of the year.

The Heijmans/Siemens Mobility combination won the contract for the renovations of the Piet Hein tunnel in Amsterdam. The contract from the Amsterdam municipality is worth around  70 million. The Piet Hein tunnel was opened in 1997 and is an important link in the Amsterdam road network. After 20 years of intensive use, with traffic of some 30,000 vehicles a day, the tunnel is ready for a thorough renovation.

The work on the Wilhelmina locks in Zaandam is progressing steadily. Heijmans successfully installed two bridge components in the past month. The project is on schedule for completion later this year.

The principals in the Zuidasdok project have decided on a different approach and the project is set to be divided up into smaller projects. Heijmans is pleased that we now have clarity on this project. The contract ( 140 million) will no longer be included in the order book. The principals will put out new tenders for the project and Heijmans can now decide whether to resubmit a bid for the new sub-projects.





Heijmans Building & Technology

Building & technology performed in line with expectations in Q1. The impact of the Covid-19 outbreak varies in this business unit. The residential building activities are largely organised on a local scale. Although we have to take specific measures for the one-and-a-half-metre society into account, especially in the final construction phase, we have been able to keep up with the planned production. This also applies to our Services activities. On the non-residential projects font, we are seeing projects affected by the closure of borders. We are seeing reduced availability of international employees and the delivery of materials has come under pressure in some instances. This is particularly noticeable in the construction of the new courthouse in Amsterdam (the NACH project), where some delays are to be expected.

The Central Government Building Agency (Rijksvastgoedbedrijf) and Heijmans signed an agreement in April for the renovation of the Binnenhof (the houses of parliament) in The Hague. This contract covers the buildings of the Upper House of Parliament and the Council of State. Heijmans is involved in this first phase as a consultant in the drawing up of a definitive plan for the renovations.

In line with our strategic theme Smarter, we had already launched a number of initiatives that are an excellent fit with the measures to be introduced for the one-and-a-half-metre society. Heijmans has noticed a growing demand for support for a healthy working and living climate. Ranging from our digital technologies for measuring use and occupancy - which simplify the monitoring of compliance with the measures - to climate technology in buildings and homes. Our data platform BeSense is a response to this growing demand.



Heijmans Property Development

Home sales were higher in the first quarter of 2020, compared with the same period of 2019, thanks to a single investment transaction involving 190 homes. Sales to private buyers remained at a comparable level to last year.

The commercial spaces at the Hart van Zuid swimming pool in Rotterdam were successfully sold in the first quarter, as were the retail units in the Plan Koningsoord shopping centre in Berkel Enschot. Thanks to this positive development, the new neighbourhood will now have a fully-fledged shopping centre.

In the Vertical project in Amsterdam-Sloterdijk, all the ground floor commercial units have been sold. Heijmans has started construction of the residential tower, which is expected to be completed in 2022.

For the Rotterdam municipality, we are developing 137 energy-efficient homes in the Hoogvliet area, with a value of  37 million. Realisation began in the first quarter. In Eindhoven, housing corporation Woonbedrijf has selected Heijmans as its partner for the new-build project in the Gestel neighbourhood, with 500 rental and owner-occupied homes and a value in excess of  100 million.



Outlook

The market developments currently make it impossible to provide a clear forecast at this time. The expected revenue for 2020 is largely in our portfolio. We will be able to realise this revenue if we can maintain current production levels.

In the coming year, our results will also depend on the economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. At the moment, it is not clear how the virus will impact the spending of public and private sector principals, and consumer confidence. In addition, the government will have to take measures to limit the impact of the nitrogen issue, especially on the infra sector. We consider the measures the government announced last week as insufficient.

Heijmans has a strong financial foundation, partly thanks to the good performance in the first quarter and a - to date unused - committed credit facility of  121 million. The Netherlands continues to face the huge task of increasing sustainability and dealing with housing shortages. Demand for our activities remains high and this provides us with a solid foundation for the future.





About Heijmans

Heijmans is a listed company that combines activities related to property development, building & technology, roads and civil engineering in the areas living, working and connecting. Our constant focus on quality improvements, innovation and integrated solutions enables us to generate added value for our clients. Heijmans realises projects for private consumers, companies and public sector bodies, and together we are building the spatial contours of tomorrow. You will find additional information at our website: www.heijmans.nl.

For more information / not for publication:





Media

Marjolein Boer

Head of corporate communications

+31 73 543 52 17

marjoleinboer@heijmans.nl





Analysts

Guido Peters

Investor Relations

+ 31 73 543 52 17

gpeters@heijmans.nl





Attachment
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.

Story continues

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
North Korea is forming another elite tech unit, this one for the SMC (Strategic Military Command), the unit that will control long-range ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons. The new SMC recruits were taken from recent graduates of one of the armys two year technical schools. In North Korea, young men are conscripted to serve up to ten years in the military. Given those long terms of service, the military can justify long training courses to provide an adequate supply of technical specialists. The troops recently moved to the SMC had received training in computer programming, communications and related technical subjects. So, rather than being assigned to headquarters and tech units throughout the army, they will be in the SMC. This is disappointing for some of these troops, who hoped to eventually qualify for further tech training courses. On the plus side, the SMC is one of supreme leader Kim Jong Uns pet projects. It is no secret that Kim believes SMC, armed with reliable ICBMs and nuclear warheads, is the key to the survival of his North Korean dictatorship.

The new recruits could tell that they were selected for a special unit because the screening process excluded any troops who had a family member in a labor camp (for any reason) or was missing (likely fled the country). Those who made it past the screening were given a promotion (from private E-2 to Lance Corporal E-3). Other benefits will include more food and better accommodations. That means electricity most of the time and adequate heat during the long cold weather season. SMC troops will not have to tend farms and livestock as most troops do. While they would have been spared much of that by being assigned to a headquarters or support unit, unless it was a very senior headquarters (corps and above), even tech troops are liable for occasional non-military agricultural or construction duty.

This SMC recruiting effort was unexpected and somewhat improvised. This indicates another impromptu Kim Jong Un decision, something he is noted for. There has been no official announcement about the SMC personnel effort. It was discovered via the chatter that regularly gets out of North Korea because of the continued presence of Chinese cell phones and internal Internet. The average North Korean does not consider all information about the military top secret as most families have at least one member in uniform. Then there is information like this that the government does want to be known to the outside world. The North Korean ICBM and nuclear weapons programs have always been long on bluster and short on performance. At the moment North Korea has some long-range ballistic missiles that could, if they were reliable enough, be considered ICBMs. But tests of these missiles, which cannot be hidden, have mostly been disappointing. Same with nuclear weapons development. The weapons developed so far generate a large explosion but apparently not a reliable one nor a weapon designed to survive the rigors of an ICBM launch.

Troops know that being in the SMC early on is beneficial for them. Some have heard about the American equivalent, called missileers and featured in numerous unclassified videos, some of which have made their way to North Korea. Being a North Korean missileer wont mean much unless North Korea gets its ICBMs and nuclear warheads working reliably. The SMC and its weapons have the highest priority in the military. But that can change in an instant if the government changes its mind, for any number of reasons, including leader Kim dying or being removed from power. The SMC gets a disproportionate share of the military budget which, in turn gets over 20 percent of GDP. About five percent of the adult population is in the military or some other uniformed service. All these generate a pervasive of dread and uncertainty about what comes next, even among the new North Korean missileers.
I was the only one who got one, he said.

Other friends planned to buy disco suits or ones with money printed on them.

What can I say that no one else has said? Im not very happy, but Im trying to see the bright side of things, Killian said about prom, graduation and, well, everything else.

Senior Ellie Maranda felt a little differently from her classmate.

Im not that sad about it, she said. Its sad, but Ive had four years.

Maranda said that after spring break, she figured they wouldnt be going back.

Her friend is a cosmetologist, and Maranda had planned on her doing her hair and makeup. Instead, she received instructions over the phone for how to complete the look she was going for.
Senate fails to override Trump veto of Iran war powers resolution

Iran Press TV

Friday, 08 May 2020 12:52 AM

The US Senate has failed in its bid to override President Donald Trump's veto of a war powers resolution aimed at reining in his authority to use military action against Iran without congressional approval.

On Wednesday, Trump vetoed the resolution, 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."

On Thursday, the Senate attempt was defeated with 49 senators voting in favor of the override and 44 opposing. The measure, however, needed two-thirds support to be approved.

The resolution called for "the President to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces for hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran or any part of its government or military, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force against Iran."

Its chief sponsor, Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, described the measure as an important reassertion of congressional power to declare war, saying it was not about Trump or even the presidency.

"It's not insulting. It's our job,'' he said ahead of Thursday's vote, adding the measure was introduced "to stop an unnecessary war.''

"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 a vote of Congress," said Kaine. "Congress has expressed what is the popular will."

Seven Republicans also joined Democrats to support the war powers measure.

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.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 20:16:36|Editor: huaxia

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A China-Europe freight train prepares to depart from Wujiashan railway container center station in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, May 9, 2020. A China-Europe freight train carrying anti-epidemic supplies on Saturday left Wuhan, once hit hard by COVID-19, heading for Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. The train departed Wujiashan railway container center station at 10 a.m., loaded with 294.42 tonnes of anti-epidemic supplies such as masks, protective suits, goggles and medical devices, according to the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

BEIJING, May 9 (Xinhua) -- A China-Europe freight train carrying anti-epidemic supplies on Saturday left Wuhan, once hit hard by COVID-19, heading for Belgrade, the capital of Serbia.

The train departed Wujiashan railway container center station at 10 a.m., loaded with 294.42 tonnes of anti-epidemic supplies such as masks, protective suits, goggles and medical devices, according to the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (China Railway).

The cargo will arrive in Belgrade in 18 days, leaving China from the Alataw Pass in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, said the China Railway.

In March and April, China sent 3,142 tonnes of anti-epidemic supplies via China-Europe freight trains to European countries, where the epidemic situation still remains grim.

From January to April, a total of 2,920 China-Europe freight trains transported a cargo of 262,000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units).

A total of 15 China-Europe freight trains carrying cargo of 1,366 TEUs have set off since their service resumed in Wuhan on March 28.

The resumption contributed to smoothing international industrial chains, fueling work resumption of foreign trade enterprises in Hubei Province and the neighboring regions, as well as supporting the global fight against the COVID-19. Enditem
Liam Kelly, Cllr Barbara Ann Murphy, Denis Finn, Jimmy Wickham from Wexford County Council, Claire Finn, Sgt Margo Kennedy and Garda Sharon Hanlon taking part in Bunclody Meals on Wheels deliveries, which are run in conjunction with Wexford County Council and Bunclody Gardai

There has been an incredible response to the coronavirus pandemic in the Bunclody area since lockdown measures were implemented across the country.

While Wexford County Council has been coordinating a community support initiative to assist the elderly and vulnerable in society the gardai has also been very much at the forefront of helping people.

Ferns based Sergeant Margo Kennedy spoke to this newspaper about what it means to be able to provide what some would regard as old style community policing.

'Since the outbreak of the corona virus at the end of March, gardai in the Enniscorthy District have been very active within the community,' she said.

'Gardai were involved in delivering prescriptions and essential supplies to those unable to leave their houses and are providing daily contact with vulnerable persons living in our community by phone and in person ,' she said.

The gardai are also addressing various concerns and questions that people have.

The gardai in conjunction with Wexford County Council are assisting in the essential meals-on-wheel service and liaised with the various agencies to identify the most vulnerable in society.

'I am observing at first hand the benefits of these services on a daily basis,' said Sgt Kennedy.

This interaction by gardai has enabled us to develop a rapport with the community and to strengthen relations which I've no doubt will continue far into the future.,' she added.

She also said 'crime prevention advice is also being given and people feel confident with the high level of patrols within the community'.

'I would like to especially thank everyone within the community for their continued commitment and compliance in adapting the HSE guidelines,' said Sgt Kennedy.

She also thank everyone for their kindness and support to the gardai through these difficult times: 'Go raibh mile maith agat agus Fannacht sabhailte.'

Cllr Barbara-Anne Murphy is very involved in the initiative in Bunclody and she said it's providing a direct contact link for people who might otherwise not have much social interaction at all.

'You see it at the door where people just want to talk and you know that they just like the social interaction,' said Cllr Murphy.

She said that in some instances people are living in relatively isolated areas and for them the meals-on-wheels delivery is vital.

'The gardai have been incredible and it's really brought old style community policing back and it would be great if that continues even after this,' she said.

She said the sense of security people are feeling is very evident.

'The community response has been incredible and we're oversubscribed for volunteers,' she said.

Cllr Murphy also praised local businesses like Slaney Foods and O'Neill's Bacon for giving their support to the initiative.
Ligia Betty Jones who celebrated her 100th birthday in Moorehall Lodge with staff members Shannon Bloore and Tina McKenna (background). Picture Ken Finegan/Newspics

There were wild celebrations - but maybe not too wild - around Moorehall Lodge in Ardee last weekend as Ligia Betty Jones celebrated her 100th birthday.

Ligia has had an extraordinary life, born in 1920 in Llandefeilog, Carmarthenshire in Wales on her grandparents farm. Her mother, Lubitza Cvetcovic, was Serbian and she married William Bowen Williams during WW1, having met in the Balkans.

Sadly William died and Lubitza returned to Serbia taking Ligia with her, but Ligia was very ill while there and it was decided to send her back to Llandefeilog.

Ligia went to Aberystwyth University where she read Botany and Bacteriology and met her future husband at university and they married on 28th December 1943.

He was an Agronomist and this fascinating career took them all over the world finally ending in Rome with the F.A.O. of the U.N.

While living in Cyprus, Ligia worked as a microbiologist developing and producing vaccines against Newcastle disease in poultry.

Most of her life was spent in Italy and the pair built a small villa in Tuscany. Her husband died in 1983 but Ligia continued to live in Italy until ill health brought her Ireland to live with the family.

Finally in July 2019, Ligia moved into Moorehall Lodge in Ardee and it has become a home from home for her in many ways.

'Everyone here was has been so kind. Her new friends made her feel very welcome. She couldn't be better cared for. All the staff go above and beyond simple caring and she has been made so 'at home,' her daughter Anna Swan states.

'These are the days in which we find ourselves, and we miss her dreadfully. Hopefully we'll be able to get together soon.'
A 47-year-old general manager and pharmacist of an Ayurvedic product company died in Chennai after consuming a drug he developed as a cure for coronavirus.

The pharmacist Sivanesan was hospitalised after he ingested the chemical component, according to a report by The New Indian Express. The deceased was working with Chennai-based Sujatha Biotech, a 30-year-old Ayurvedic and herbal products company.

The daily added that Sivanesan was staying with his family in Perundurai in Erode district. During the lockdown, he took permission and came to Chennai. In Chennai, he was staying with Dr Raj Kumar, the owner of Sujatha Biotech at T Nagar.

Also read: Coronavirus India Live Updates: Noida factories resume limited operations; country's cases-59,662; toll-1,981

Both Sivanesan and Raj Kumar were working together to find a cure for coronavirus. It was the first time Sivanesan was trying a new formula with chemicals used in general medicine. His Ayurveda company had never used any chemical in making drugs.

Several other company's staff also used to work with Raj Kumar's and were trying to create a cure.

On May 7, Sivanesan and the team created the drug, which was a solution containing sodium nitrate, for coronavirus. He first gave the drug to Dr Raj Kumar to test. Since Kumar consumed only a small portion of the drug, he first fell unconscious and recovered within ten minutes.

Sivanesan also consumed the solution and fell unconscious. However, he could not be revived. Sivanesan was rushed to a private hospital in T Nagar and declared dead by the doctors there. Later Sivanesan's body was shifted to Government Royapettah Hospital for post-mortem. Teynampet police registered a case under section 174 of Criminal Procedure Code for unnatural death.

Sujatha Biotech has a plant in Kashipur, Uttarakhand.

Also read: Coronavirus: Pregnant women struggle to access healthcare facilities amid lockdown

Also read: Does coronavirus also spread through sex? Chinese study makes worrisome find
Some Italians enjoyed swimming in the sea on Saturday for the first time since strict coronavirus restrictions were eased.

While many of the beaches in the Lazio region are still off limits under orders from local mayors determined to avoid large gatherings, in Ladispoli people could be seen strolling on the beach or plunging into the sea.

Surfers were back on their boards, paddling out to the waves, while fishermen cast their rods into the sea and one diver showed off a catch of octopuses.

Walkers and cyclists were out in force alongside the seafront, enjoying the sunshine and sea air, more than two months after the government imposed a national shutdown to counter the pandemic.

Officials have warned there is a risk infection rates could rise again if people let themselves get carried away and do not respect social distancing rules.

But those at the beach said it was a joy to be able to plunge once more into the sea.

(File Image)
Deputy Irish Premier Simon Coveney has said the Covid-19 pandemic has made the timeline for a UK-EU trade deal virtually impossible.

The UK Government has insisted the transition period will not be extended beyond 2020, despite officials in London and Brussels admitting there has been little progress in the two rounds of formal talks held so far.

December 31 is the deadline for the end of the transition period unless the UK agrees by June to extend it.

It surely makes sense to seek a bit more time to navigate our way through these very difficult waters Simon Coveney

Mr Coveney said the Covid-19 pandemic means the UK should seek an extension and progress so far this year has been much slower than the EU had hoped for.

Covid-19 has made what is already a very, very difficult timeline to get agreement virtually impossible, the Tanaiste said.

Given the added complications of Covid-19 it surely makes sense to seek a bit more time to navigate our way through these very difficult waters in the months ahead so that we can get a good outcome for the UK and EU.

Asked if the UK Government could be persuaded to extend the timeline, he said: I think anybody looking at this from the outside could only conclude it makes sense to look for more time but the British Government has decided thats not what they want and they have made that very clear both publicly and privately.

I wouldnt be raising expectations around the British Government agreeing to seeking more time.

If were going to have any chance of persuading them to take more time then we need to be careful about how we do that because demanding it from them  almost as a concession to the EU, is certainly not the way to do it.

Mr Coveney was speaking at a video-conferencing seminar on the EU hosted by the International Institute of European Affairs (IIEA) on Friday.

He said the UK wants to break free from the EU and forge its own future.

Talking about the UK being fully autonomous, protecting sovereignty  I get that language, that is what has driven Brexit in many ways, he said.

Breaking free from the European Union, not being a rule taker, thats fine from a political narrative perspective.

But you cant have quota-free, tariff-free trade unless there is a level playing field.

The EU can just never facilitate that and why would they  This is essentially the crux of the issue and if we cant resolve it, there isnt going to be a deal.

He warned the Covid-19 pandemic means the the path ahead is not clear for the future of the bloc.

This is a profound shock that has a direct impact on the life of every European, he said.

Even after the virus is defeated, its aftershocks and the new constraints it imposes will define what member states and the union do for the next decade.

Expand Close Michel Barnier has made it clear there will need to be better engagement from the UK in the next round of talks, Mr Coveney said (Liam McBurney/PA) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Michel Barnier has made it clear there will need to be better engagement from the UK in the next round of talks, Mr Coveney said (Liam McBurney/PA)

In terms of Brexit, he said June will be a key moment in the negotiations.

Two further negotiating rounds will take place in the coming weeks, he said.

Michel Barnier has been very clear that we need to see much better engagement from the UK in these rounds.

At a high level Conference, the EU and UK will jointly consider the progress made at that point and what this means for the period after. The end of June is also the last point at which the Joint Committee can decide to extend the transition period.

This would have to be a decision made by the EU and UK jointly.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Karnataka recorded its biggest ever single-day spike of 48 new Covid-19 cases, which includes 11 children. The total stands at 753 on Friday, including 376 discharges and 30 deaths. But the state government ruled out any link between the surge and relaxation in lockdown curbs. Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar said, It is unfortunate that the cases have increased. But we cannot attribute it to the lockdown relaxations as many cases are contacts of the previous positive patients. The discharged patients count in the state is more than active cases.

Davangere recorded the highest with 14 positive cases, followed by Bhatkal, Uttara Kannada, 12 cases, Belagavi with 11 cases, Bengaluru Urban 7, Chitradurga 3 and Ballari 1. On the cost per patient for treatment, the minister said according to a rough calculation shared by the Bangalore Medical College, `4.74 crore had been spent as of date which included capital expenditure of `1.40 crore for purchase of equipment and construction of Covid-19 wards.

Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar visited Padarayanapura in Bengaluru. He interacted with corporator Imran Pasha, a police officer and residents and urged them to strictly adhere to lockdown guidelines to prevent the spreading of the infection. More than 40,000 people are residing in 7,500 houses in this containment area. Responding to a residents query of the spread of infection in the area due to the high density of population, the minister instructed the officials to stop all unnecessary movements and strictly maintain social distancing, which is the only way to contain the virus.

He also instructed the officials to conduct tests on all senior citizens residing in this zone and asked them to deploy mobile kiosks to collect squabs in Padarayanapura to fast-track testing. He also gave spontaneous orders to utilize Kidwai laboratory for additional testing. Pankaj Kumar Pandey, Commissioner for Health and Family Welfare, said that the health department has carried out random sample testing in Kalaburagi, Bengaluru Urban and Mysuru districts and that the results are awaited.
A fight broke out when the suspect began fighting with the officers, one of whom injured his shoulder and knee and had to be taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital for treatment.
The railways on Saturday operated two special trains from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) to ferry around 1,200 migrants workers to Gonda railway station in Uttar Pradesh (UP). A third Shramik Special train departed from Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) to Gonda railway station later in the evening. On Saturday later at night, the railways operated a train for migrant workers from CSMT to Basti in Uttar Pradesh.

Trains towards Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are being operated from the city. The state government informs on the destination and the departing railway stations, following which we run the trains, said a senior Central Railway (CR) official.

Meanwhile, a train ferrying migrant workers to Barauni in Bihar left from Thane on Saturday at 2.50pm, while some labourers from Odisha left from Panvel railway station to Titlagarh station.

The train departed from Thane station with 1,200 passengers who followed all rules of social distancing and sanitisation, said a senior official from CR, Mumbai.

This is the second Shramik train from Thane to Bihar. On Thursday, a train had left with migrants to Bapudham Motihari.

The train on Saturday mostly had passengers from Mumbra and Daighar. The previous train had the passengers from Thane, said a railway official from Thane.

Meanwhile, some migrants in Navi Mumbai, who have opted to stay back, have alleged that they have not been getting any provisions or food as officials are busy in making arrangements to send labourers back home.

Our stock of food grains and other essential have got. We tried to contact the officials but could not reach them. We got an NGOs phone number and asked them to help us with grocery, said Bhola Prasad, 33, from Bihar.

He has decided to stay back in Panvel at the construction site where he used to work till the lockdown. He hopes to construction activity will start soon.

For a month, we survived on savings. But that soon dried up. The civic body was helping till now but off late they have stopped. Now, we are depending on the NGO, said Prasad, who lives with his wife and brother.

Pritima Husna, 29, from Bengal, who used to work as house help, lives in Kamothe with her husband, brother-in-law and parents-in-law.

We got some help from the government but we want to go back home. The long queue for application has put us off. We will wait for some time, said Husna.

Amol Nagkar, 40, an activist, said he gets around eight calls every day from people in need of food and ration.

It is true now officials are busy making arrangements to send migrants home. Most of the labourers got ration only once and after that nobody enquired if they needed anything. After the government started sending migrants home, more people are calling us for food and essentials, said Nagkar.

Some like Sonkar Lal, 36, from Jharkhand have decided to stay back, hoping the situation improves soon.

Going home is a hassle and staying back is also a problem. If officials stop looking at our needs, how will we survive? said Sonkar Lal, 36, who he used to work as an electrician.

He lives in Kamothe with his wife, five-year-old daughter and his younger brother.

Jamir Lengarekar, additional commissioner, Panvel City Municipal Corporation (PCMC), said that those who are staying back are not inconvenienced.

We have appointed an official to look after the requirement of the migrants and distribute essentials. We will look into the issue., said Lengarekar.
Ifeanyi Asiegbuelam

According to a report by The PUNCH, a suspect, Ifeanyi Asiegbuelam, has narrated how he helped the late billionaire kidnapper, Collins Ezenwa, popularly known as E-money, to kidnap many rich people from the South-East, especially in Imo and Abia states.

However, Asiegbuelam, 32, lamented that despite aiding Ezenwa to perpetrate the crimes, he did not make him rich.

Ezenwa, a dismissed police corporal, was killed in January 2018 during a gun duel with policemen attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Imo State Police Command when he attempted to kidnap a South-African-based Nigerian businessman in Owerri.

More than 13 buildings including a hotel, belonging to the late kidnapper were reportedly traced by operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team to Abia, Imo and Enugu states, while seven cars, two SUVs, one Hilux truck, a commercial bus, two tipper-lorries and a trailer belonging to him were also recovered from several locations within the South-East.

Asiegbuelam, who was arrested recently by policemen in Cross Rivers State and handed over to IRT operatives, claimed that he met E-money, who was killed alongside two other gang members, five years before he joined the Nigeria Police Force.

He said they were both motorcycle operators in Owerri before E-money joined the police.

Speaking to City Round during the week, Asiegbuelam, a primary school dropout from Atah town, Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State, said he lost his father while he was young and later had to live with his uncle in the North.

After some years, the suspect said he returned to Owerri to become a commercial motorcyclist.

He said, Few years into the trade, I met E-money in Owerri and he was also an okada rider at the time. E-money and I became very close friends.

We did the job for five years before he joined the police. He asked me to join him but I told him I had no school certificate. He went ahead to join the police and started driving police vehicles around Owerri.

Asiegbuelam said after a while, he stopped seeing E-money in town and that later in 2017, he heard that E-money had travelled out of the country.

He said, But a few weeks later in the same year, he showed up in my house in a dark-tinted Toyota Prado SUV, and there he invited me to join his kidnapping enterprise. On the first operation I went with him, we drove to Okigwe, where we kidnapped a man in his car.



We accosted the vehicle and dragged the man out of the vehicle and took him into our own vehicle; then we zoomed off. E-money then asked me to blindfold the victim and when we got close to my town, E-money asked to come down from his SUV and he gave me N50,000. I didnt question him and he drove the man away. I didnt know where he took the man to, number of days the man spent with him, how he negotiated and collected his ransom.

The suspect said he escaped to a bush on the day E-money was killed by the police, adding that he stayed in Owerri for two months after the incident.

He said, Then I got a call from Ugo, who kept one of E-moneys rifles and we formed a new gang. But on our first operation, we had trouble. Some policemen accosted us and a shootout ensued. Ugos friend was killed. Ugo escaped but Chimobi and I were arrested. Chimobi sustained a bullet wound in the process and we were kept in an open-cell in handcuffs. I wouldnt know how Chimobi got the keys to our handcuffs and we escaped again from police custody.

I ran to Port Harcourt and stayed there for more than one year; then I moved to Calabar when I felt the police were closing in on me in Port Harcourt. I lived in Calabar for seven months with a friend who I met in Port Harcourt and we worked on a farm. I was arrested in my friends house and taken to Owerri before I was brought back to Lagos and handed over to the IRT. It was after my last arrest that I realised that E-money made so much money from our business and left me a poor man begging for money.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 20:47:48|Editor: huaxia

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KUNMING, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Three people were killed and nearly 5 million affected by natural disasters in southwest China's Yunnan Province in the first four months of this year, local authorities said Saturday.

Since January, the province has been mainly hit by drought, hailstorms and disastrous snow, which have forced more than 500 people to relocate, said the provincial emergency management department.

Destroying houses and damaging crops, natural disasters caused Yunnan direct economic losses of 4.17 billion yuan (about 590 million U.S. dollars) during the period. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-10 04:12:00|Editor: huaxia

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CAIRO, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's COVID-19 cases on Saturday exceeded 137,000. Meanwhile, Iran witnessed a similar surge of coronavirus cases with the tally surpassing 106,000.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Turkey, the hardest-hit country in the Middle East, climbed to 137,115 after 1,546 new infections were reported, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted.

The death toll from the coronavirus in the country rose to 3,739 after 50 new fatalities were added in the past 24 hours, he said.

On the same day, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inspected the construction sites of two COVID-19 hospitals in Turkey's biggest city of Istanbul which are expected to be completed later in May.

In Iran, the tally of COVID-19 infections surged to 106,220 after 1,529 new cases were registered.

The country also reported 48 new deaths from the virus on Saturday, raising the death toll to 6,589. A total of 85,064 coronavirus patients have recovered, with 2,696 still in critical condition.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called for boosting production of homemade test kits for the diagnosis of the novel coronavirus in order to meet domestic needs and export them abroad.

Saudi Arabia announced 1,704 new cases and 10 more deaths, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 37,136 and the death toll to 239.

The kingdom also reported 1,024 more recovered patients, taking the total recoveries to 10,144.

In Qatar, 1,130 new cases of coronavirus infections were detected, bringing the total number to 21,313, of whom 13 have died and 2,499 recovered.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced 624 new COVID-19 cases and 11 more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 17,417 and the death toll to 185.

The total number of recoveries from the virus in the UAE increased to 4,295 after 458 more fully recovered.

Israel reported 18 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest single-day rise in the country since March 12, bringing the tally of coronavirus infections to 16,454.

The deaths from the virus in Israel increased from 245 to 247 while the recoveries rose by 147 to 11,376.

Egypt's coronavirus cases continued the surging trend to reach 8,964 after 488 new infections were added.

The Egyptian Health Ministry also reported 11 more deaths and 57 cases of recoveries, increasing the death toll to 514 and the total recoveries to 2,002.

Kuwait reported 415 new cases, bringing the country's total number of infections to 7,623, of whom 49 have died and 2,622 recovered.

In Morocco, the tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 5,910 after 199 new cases were added, which included 186 fatalities and 2,461 recoveries.

Algeria said that 189 new cases of infections were reported in the past 24 hours, taking the tally of infections to 5,558, while the death toll hit 494 and the recoveries reached 2,546.

Oman's Ministry of Health announced 112 new cases of infections, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country to 3,224, including 17 deaths and 1,068 recoveries.

Iraq confirmed 76 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of infections to 2,679, of whom 107 have died and 1,702 recovered.

On Saturday, some Iraqi officials suggested re-imposing the full curfew for 14 days to contain the disease during the last 10 days of the holy month of Ramadan and the days of Eid al-Fitr.

The country has received three batches of medical aid from China and the support from a team of Chinese medical experts during their 50-day stay.

In Lebanon, the number of COVID-19 infections increased by 13 to 809, while the death toll increased by one case to 26.

Jordan registered 14 more infections, bringing the total coronavirus cases to 522, including nine deaths and 387 recoveries.

The country will start the second phase of evacuating Jordanian students and citizens from abroad on May 15 after the first batch of 3,000 Jordanians stranded abroad returned home. Enditem
In Japan, people are being advised to stay home this weekend after the government extended a nationwide state of emergency until the end of the month.

In Tokyo, 36 more people were confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus on Saturday. It was the seventh straight day the number of new cases in the capital was below 100.

Tokyo and Osaka are among 13 prefectures still designated as "special alert" regions. Residents are urged to refrain from non-essential outings.

But some prefectures have eased or lifted requests for companies to suspend operations. That's prompting some establishments to reopen.

In the northeastern city of Morioka, outdoor stalls lined the downtown area. But the market was far smaller than usual with only one-tenth the normal number of vendors.

In the western prefecture of Tokushima, people headed for the prefectural library. It was just one of the many facilities that have reopened. Quite a few children made the most of it.

Economic Revitalization Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi, who is also in charge of anti-coronavirus measures, says more people are going out following the end of the spring holiday period.

Nishimura said, "If people become complacent, the number of coronavirus cases will start rising around the end of the month. So, please everyone -- especially in the 13 prefectures still with special-alert status -- continue staying home to help contain the outbreak."

Japan now has over 15,000 confirmed infections. The death toll is over 630, including 13 from the cruise ship that was quarantined in Yokohama.
Pocono Raceway is partnering with four Pocono Mountains-area high schools to host a graduation ceremony of sorts, as the coronavirus pandemic has forced schools across the country to shut down and cancel in-person events for the foreseeable future.

North Pocono High School, Pocono Mountain East High School, Pocono Mountain West High School and Jim Thorpe Area High School will all be holding their 2020 commencement ceremonies at the track in June.

But heres the catch: no one will be leaving their cars.

In order to comply with the states social distancing requirements, graduates and their families will be taking in the ceremony from the comfort of their own vehicles as names and speeches will be read on the racetracks internal FM radio station. Photos will be put on the tracks video boards.

So what will grads do when their name is called? Give a wave out of the sunroof? Nope. Theyll take a victory lap around the 2.5-mile Tricky Triangle racetrack to celebrate the end of their high school career. Probably not what they envisioned just a few months ago.

North Pocono High School announced their graduation partnership with the raceway earlier this week, which will be held on June 12, and the other schools followed suit with their participation announced in a news release on Friday. Pocono Mountain Easts ceremony will occur on June 19 and Pocono Mountain Wests will be on June 20. Jim Thorpe Area High School and the raceway are still working to finalize a date in early June.

The four counties represented by the school districts  Carbon, Monroe, Lackawanna and Wayne  currently arent within the guideline of 50 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 over two weeks that Governor Tom Wolf says must be met to move to an initial, yellow-phase reopening. While that could change by early-to-mid-June, the school districts and raceways plan has provided a way to celebrate graduation while also staying responsible.

The schools and students will be able to provide their own flair, as well. The video board and FM broadcast programming will come from each school in order to include typical graduation traditions that are still plausible, and students and their families are welcome to decorate their vehicle for its official victory lap.

While the graduations will be a tie, receiving a diploma after a four-year-race will be as sweet a checkered flag as possible.

As for racing at Pocono, the track last week noted NASCAR announced a return to its season with races scheduled May 17-27 at Darlington Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway.

As of today, Pocono Raceways NASCAR & ARCA dates remain unchanged and are scheduled to occur from June 25-28, the raceways announcement April 30 states. If a future decision is made by NASCAR or Pennsylvania state officials to change or update our events, we will share those details on our website and social media channels.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to Lehighvalleylive.com.

Connor Lagore may be reached at clagore@njadvancemedia.com.
West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday slammed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her misgovernance at this time of crisis. This comes amid a continuous tussle between the Centre and the Mamata government on handling of the deadly Coronavirus pandemic. While the State government claimed that they are transparent on their COVID data and accused Centre of 'playing politics', the Centre claimed that Mamata Banerjee administration is hiding the grave situation of the pandemic in the State.

Taking to Twitter, Dhankar termed Mamata's governance 'disturbing' and added that "Confrontational stance fraught with critical fall out that needs containment in the national interest." He further urged the Chief Minister to be on a sane path.

State of affairs @MamataOfficial governance-cause of deep concern. Disturbing in an unprecedented manner.



Confrontational stance fraught with critical fall out that needs containment in national interest.



Why create a state of internal disturbance !



Urge CM-be on sane path  Governor West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankhar (@jdhankhar1) May 9, 2020

READ: Mamata govt counters MHA's claim, lists 8 trains & draft schedule meant for migrants

READ: HM Amit Shah writes to Bengal CM Mamata over 'inaction' on proper movement of migrants

Centre claims Mamata govt blocked State borders

On Thursday, MHA Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla wrote to the Mamata-led government directing it to not block the movement of trucks across Bangladesh border after reports came on May 2 that trucks carrying essential goods were not allowed to move to Benapole, located on the other side of the border at Petrapol. Responding to it, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) denied charges levelled by Union home secretary and accused him of "trying to please his political bosses in Delhi".

The MHA also wrote to the Mamata government regarding the COVID situation in the State. On it, CM Mamata's party said that Centre has given '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 such as Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, where the number of such people is much higher," a senior TMC leader said.

READ: Coronavirus Live Updates: India's cases rise to 59,662; 17,846 recoveries, 1,981 deaths

READ: Adhir Ranjan slams West Bengal Govt for lacking prompt assistance to migrant workers
Mali's government said on Saturday it had lifted its nationwide curfew designed to stem coronavirus, while making mask wearing compulsory in public places in the West African state.

In a televised speech, Malian Prime Minister Boubou Cisse warned that the virus was now present "in practically all our administrative regions" and that more testing was needed.

He added that the "evil is raging among us" and that the capital Bamako had become the centre of the epidemic.

Malian authorities have recorded 668 cases of coronavirus to date, with 35 fatalities.

The number of official infections is low compared to virus-stricken Europe and the United States.

Still, there are fears that Mali is particularly at risk from a large outbreak because of endemic poverty and a conflict which has been raging for eight years in the country.

On Saturday, Cisse said that the government was lifting a night-time curfew declared at the end of March in order to curb the virus.

Schools will stay shut until June 2, he added, and the wearing of masks will be compulsory in public places.

The country's borders will remain shut, however, the prime minister said.

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Martha Stewart likes hot dogs. In 2017, she told Bon Apetit Magazine that a hot dog is her go-to late night meal. It's a treat she has relished (pun intended) since childhood, she said.

And one of her favorite hot dog joints is Rawley's in Fairfield, Conn.

"Once [she] moved to Connecticut, everything changed," the magazine article said. "You see, the CT-style dog has a unique version of 'the works': mustard, sauerkraut, bacon, and relish. Rawley's Drive-In in Fairfield is her all-time favorite."

She even featured Rawley's on her show, The Martha Stewart Show.

But on April 19, Stewart was left craving her favorite dog. She posted a photo of herself on Instagram posing in front of Rawley's with the caption "Rawleys hot dog stand on the post rd in Fairfield Best best best hot dogs! Closed!!"

Stewart, who was a longtime Westport resident, now lives in Westchester County N.Y., where she is neighbors with Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, according to another of her Instagram posts: "@vancityreynolds and @blakelively dropped off a smalll supply of @aviationgin last night (They are good neighbors) and they have gin!!! I have wine @marthawineco . Wine or gin? What do you think??????"

Stewart made headlines this month thanks to her Instagram activity. The Internet was excited when she left a tipsy, incoherent comment on a friend's photo of baby chicks that read: "M as me sure you feed and wAter them daily And keep the heat lss as no BK in s as Nd when you can finally come back to nyc who is going to care for them??"

Approaching the faux-pas with a sense of humor, she later commented back "What a mess, I have been drinking" with a laughing emoji.

Popular Instagram account Comments by Celebrities highlighted the post, and it was covered by multiple news outlets from Page Six to Cosmopolitan, The Daily Mail and Fox Business.
The President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Abiodun Ogunyemi, has advised members of the union to be prudent in spending their paid salaries, saying the payment was not an indication that the disagreement with the government was over.

In a short message addressed to the unions trustees, principal officers and zonal coordinators, a copy of which PREMIUM TIMES obtained, Mr. Ogunyemi noted that the advice became necessary following enquiries made by members from various universities.

He said members should not misconstrue the payment of withheld salaries as a favour done them by the federal government, adding that they were entitled to their wages as paid by their employers.

The president wrote; Trustees, POs (principal officers) and ZCs (zonal coordinators): Good evening comrades. A number of our colleagues have called or sent messages to make enquiries about payment of the withheld February and March 2020 salaries of our comrades in federal universities through the rejected IPPIS platform.

Its clear that what government paid was rightfully earned by our members, not anything special or doing us a favour. Therefore, ASUU members have no apologies withdrawing from their accounts as appropriate.

The federal government had on Friday paid the universities teachers withheld salaries for the months of February and March. But the April salary was not paid by the government, a development the union members described as an evidence that the government was yet to be committed to amicable resolution of the issues in contention.

Struggle continues

The president added in his message that the crisis was not yet over and that members should be prepared for continued opposition to the deployment of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) for the payment of their wages.

He also said the resolution of all outstanding issues in the 2019 FGN/ASUU memoranda of action will continue to be pursued to a logical conclusion.

However, our comrades are strongly advised to be prudent as the struggle for the rejection of IPPIS and resolution of outstanding issues in the February 2019 FGN/ASUU Memorandum of Action (MoA) is far from over. The struggle continues! Biodun Ogunyemi.

ASUU called the strike on March 23 after the government in February stopped its members salaries across the federal universities for their failure to enroll for the centralised payment platform for federal government workers, IPPIS.

But at a meeting with the minister of labour and employment, Chris Ngige, in April, President Buhari directed that the withheld salaries be paid urgently.

The minister also said vice-chancellors had been asked to revalidate the affected lecturers bank verification (BVN) numbers and forward them to the office of the accountant-general of the federation for the payments.

Background

ASUU has been locked in a protracted dispute with the Nigerian government over its opposition to the use of IPPIS for lecturers, saying it does not consider some of the peculiar operations of universities.

The lecturers union then developed a similar application to IPPIS, called University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), which it wants the government to adopt for universities.

The government, however, insisted on IPPIS.

ASUU then embarked on an indefinite strike, arguing that the implementation of the IPPIS was against the FGN-ASUU 2009 agreement.

Speaking earlier on the presidents directive that his members be paid, the National President of ASUU, Abiodun Ogunyemi, had told PREMIUM TIMES that the payment would pave way for meaningful engagement with government.
Indian Navy's Operation Samudra Setu - a Sea bridge to the Vande Bharat Mission

Operation Samudra Setu by Indian Navy, bridges the oceans to repatriate Indian citizens from overseas, as part of the historic Vande Bharat Mission in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the first phase of its evacuation missions, Operation Samudra Setu repatriated 698 Indian nationals to Kochi from Male in Maldives, onboard the INS Jalashwa and INS Magar.

Embarkation on board the ships commenced on completion of screening and issuing of IDs to all passengers, tweeted the Indian Navy.

The High Commission of India to Maldives commended and expressed gratitude to youth volunteers who lent a helping hand in the smooth running of the evacuation exercise.

Excellency, the youth volunteers of @MoYSCEmv did a fabulous job! We are most grateful to you and to them for lending a helping hand and being part of the evacuation exercise...@AhmedMahloof https://t.co/oaJ2fBCMQL  India in Maldives (@HCIMaldives) May 8, 2020

The massive evacuation exercise is testimony to India-Maldives friendship added the High Commission in its tweet.

The massive evacuation exercise is testimony to #MaldivesIndia friendship. We deeply appreciate the support of a large number of youth volunteers from @MoYSCEmv in this exercise !@AhmedMahloof pic.twitter.com/wd3peFYDi6  India in Maldives (@HCIMaldives) May 8, 2020

The embassy in Maldives shared some heartwarming moments from the zone of action while thanking the authorities and staff involved.

Heartwarming moments from the zone of action @VelanaAirport. We deeply appreciate @MACLmedia authorities & staff for providing their invaluable support to our efforts to repatriate Indians from the Maldives. #MissionVandeBharat

Operation #SamudraSetu@MEAIndia @DrSJaishankar pic.twitter.com/EV1eBNgyQJ  India in Maldives (@HCIMaldives) May 8, 2020

The High Commission further tweeted that the INS Jalashwa - an amphibious transport dock currently in service with the Indian Navy - lived up to its motto: "No land too far, No beach too hard"!

To witness and capture their happiness at being able to finally return home makes all our efforts worthwhile, tweeted the Indian consul while sharing thank you messages from passengers glad to be home again.

Indias Union Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs, Civil Aviation & Commerce & Industry, Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted that, Mission Vande Bharat had picked pace with 182 Indians from Bahrain, 234 from Singapore, 168 from Dhaka & 152 from Riyadh returning back on various flights yesterday.

Mission Vande Bharat is picking pace.



182 Indians from Bahrain, 234 from Singapore, 168 from Dhaka & 152 from Riyadh return back on various flights today.



Great effort by @airindiain, our missions abroad & @MEAIndia. pic.twitter.com/EjSQVZxIta  Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) May 8, 2020

"Great effort by our missions abroad", tweeted India's External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar as he commended the various embassies and consuls for their tireless efforts.

AI flight 1242 from Dhaka carrying Indian students just landed in Srinagar.



Thank @airindiain, @MOCA_GOI, Bureau of Immigration and J&K Government for cooperation and support.



Kudos to HC @rivagdas and her Team @ihcdhaka. #VandeBharatMisssion  Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) May 8, 2020
A chief in the village where the shrines of the two 'killer' fetish priests is located has admitted consulting them to acquire more money.

The Chief of Kwasi Nyarko, Barima Opoku Affi Nyarko, said he needed to raise funds to renovate his palace near Adeiso in the Upper West Akyem District of the Eastern Region, and after hearing about the money ritual activities of the fetish priests, he decided to consult them.

The two fetish priests  Christian Lawoe Gameli aka Power-One, 36, and Famous Adukonu aka Scorpion, 37, both from Afife in the Volta Region  have been operating a shrine called 'Power 1 Herbal & Spiritual Centre' located at Adu Kwadwo and Kofi Nyarko villages, near Maame Dede Junction on the Nsawam to Adeiso road.

Hit List

The chief made the admission when his name popped up in a purported list which contains the names of some prominent people, including politicians, who have allegedly visited the shrine to seek spiritual protection or had been sent there by their supposed adversaries to harm them spiritually.

I went to Power-One to help me raise some cash to renovate my palace because it was really in a bad state and needed a facelift, he said on Adom FM.

He claimed he paid GH3,000 to the rogue priests for them to double it for him, saying the GH30,000 I was promised by Power-One after the money ritual failed to materialize; it didn't work out and prior to the money ritual, he had charged me GH3,000 as payment for the ritual.

He said after paying the money, he was asked to go and come back after a week and in the process the priests asked him to fill a form, but he never heard from them again.

How They Settled

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.

Residents of the village claim the fetish priests came to the village claiming they needed land to build a school and apartments, but they ended up operating a shrine rather.

The chief confirmed that some elders of the town gave the rogue priests a piece of land for development and by the time they realized, they were doing spiritual stuff over there.

Fetish Priests Assembly

Barima Nyarko said at some point, 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.

Confession

According to COP Ken Yeboah, Director General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, both fetish priests confessed to killing two people and burying them at the shrine.

During a news conference last 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.

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'.

---Daily Guide
A major showdown between Punjab ministers and bureaucrats over the state excise policy resulted in postponement of a crucial cabinet meeting to be chaired by chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday.

The meeting was deferred to Monday after all senior Congress ministers walked out over abrupt remarks made by chief secretary Karan Avtar Singh , according to the sources privy to the proceedings of the pre-Cabinet meet that was held at Punjab Bhawan here.

The meeting that brought to the fore a simmering discord between the ruling party leaders and bureaucrats was a stormy affair from the word go.

Technical education minister Charanjit Channi was the first to fire the salvo. The new policy appears to be benefiting the contractors. While 70% of vends have been given to the existing contractors, there was no bidder for the remaining 30%. This could lead to decline in Rs 2,000 crore income from liquor this year. We are losing revenue every year. Who is responsible for this? Why cant the responsibility of officers, who make such flawed policies, be fixed, said Channi, as per a source who was present in the meeting.

To this, the chief secretary gave a curt reply that policies are implemented only after the approval of the cabinet ministers and certain suggestions cannot be incorporated in the new policy, said the source. This prompted a sharp reaction from Manpreet who said if the officers have already made up their mind on the policy, what was the fun of discussing the matter with the ministers?

Jails minister Sukhjinder Randhawa said the bureaucracy in Punjab was functioning as if there was a governors rule in the state, another source told HT.

Channi went on to say, Take me on record and register my comment that policies are being made by officers and you consult us only for the sake of approval. After this, the ministers walked out.

The unsavoury face-off sparked a flurry of reactions from Congress leaders, including known Amarinder-baiter and Rajya Sabha MP Partap Singh Bajwa.

Captain Amarinder Singh, I appreciate your efforts in trying to make the PM coordinate COVID activities with the CMs. It may help if you would offer the same courtesy to your own colleagues when it comes to affairs of Punjab, he said.

Amrinder Raja Warring, Congress MLA from Gidderbaha, said, Respected Captain Amarinder ji! This type of behaviour by chief secretary, time and again, is unacceptable. He has regularly disregarded our cabinet ministers and their decisions. I request you to remove him from this post immediately.

Ludhiana Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu said, Ministers walking out of pre-Cabinet meeting after argument with chief secretary is like judge walking out of court after an argument with advocate. If they found bureaucracy to be incompetent, they should have replaced the officers and not staged a walkout. Ministers walking out should resign for their incompetence as many others capable of handling work pressure are ready to replace them.

Besides the chief secretary, the meeting was attended by chief principal secretary to the chief minister,Suresh Kumar, and principal secretary to Amarinder, Tejvir Singh.

The officers tried to persuade the ministers to attend the meeting but they decided to leave, skipping the post-meeting lunch at the venue.

The others ministers present at the meeting were Vijay Inder Singhla, Balbir Sidhu, Tript Rajinder Bajwa, OP Soni, Brahm Mohindra and Aruna Chaudhary.

No minister was available for comments. Karan Avtar Singh did not respond to HTs text messages.

When contacted, media adviser to chief minister Raveen Thukral refused to comment on the developments saying that he was not aware about any such issue.

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The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed the responsibility of bombing a convoy of Pakistani Army vehicles and motorcycles at Kallag, in the Tigran area of Kech District on Friday. A vehicle in the convoy was completely destroyed when it was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED) installed by the BLA, resulting in eliminating six Pakistani Army personnel including an army major and injuring several others, according to the BLA's statement.

"The Pakistani military has advanced operations in Tigran and other areas of Turbat over the past several days, targeting Baloch civilians, including harassing women and children," said BLA release.

"Major Nadeem, who was killed in the attack, was directly involved in the formation and leading of so-called death squads of criminal gangs operated by Pakistan army in Kech district of Balochistan, including targeting civilians in military operations in the area. Major Nadeem was providing security to drug dealers in the area and was involved in arming them against Baloch freedom fighters," it added.

READ | Exiled Baloch Journalist Who Wrote About Human Rights Violations By Pakistan Found Dead

READ | Imran Khan Moves To Wind Down Pak's Covid Lockdown; Groans About Economy, Silent On Terror

"The BLA considers Baloch national independence and the protection of Baloch people as its first duty. The Pakistani army and its so-called death squads will not be spared under any circumstances. The Baloch Sarmachars are prepared to target the occupier and its mercenaries anytime and anywhere. The Baloch Liberation Army said they will continue its struggle till the establishment of an independent homeland and a free society," the BLA release concluded.

This comes as Pakistan's secret agency ISI had recently been involved in anti-Baloch activities allegedly eliminating a Baloch journalist in exile Sajid Hussain who was found dead in Sweden on May 2 after he went missing for a month. ISI hand was suspected in his death. A day after Hussain's death, Pashtun Rights Activist and leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) Arif Wazir was also shot dead by unidentified armed persons outside his home in Wana, South Waziristan.

READ | Imran Khan's 'Naya Pak' Omits Ahmadiyyas From Minorities Commission, Cites 'sensitivity'

READ | Imran Khan In Covid Scare Again As Pakistan Speaker Tests Positive; Met PM On April 24

The Pashtun Tahafuz Movement has been critical of Pakistan's policies in the tribal belt with the Pakistan Army holding them responsible for an "anti-national agenda." The death of Arif Wazir makes him the eighteenth adult male in Ali Wazirs family that has been killed in the last decade. The PTM has also actively raised its voice against the army's atrocities on the civilians in Pashtun dominated areas.

While sources have revealed that ISI is behind these coordinated attacks, it is seemingly obvious to see that the Pakistan intelligence agency is making full use of the pandemic to carry out targeted killings unfearful of the consequence as the world tries to come out of this global health crisis.
After standing empty for two months, Greeces ancient sites, including the Acropolis hill towering over Athens, will reopen to visitors on May 18, authorities said on Thursday.

The ancient monuments were closed along with museums in mid-March in Greeces lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Restrictions have gradually been eased this week.

Museums will open again in mid-June while open-air performances will resume in mid-July, Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said. Distance and safety rules will apply.

The many historical sites are one of the mainstays of Greeces vital tourism sector and efforts will now kick in to encourage visitors after travel restrictions and widespread closures caused a collapse in bookings.

Hundreds of musicians, actors and art workers rallied outside parliament to demand more support for their sector.

We are here, read a message drawn in chalk on the street. Protesters waved a giant theatre puppet. In the northern city of Thessaloniki, musicians performed tied up in a red and white cordon tape.

Many artists have performed live online for those staying home since Greece reported its first case of the new coronavirus in February.

We stayed home but we didnt stay silent, artists unions said in a statement.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed. )

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Opposition to President Donald Trump has consolidated Democratic Party support for Joe Biden, the presumptive party nominee, in the upcoming presidential election. However, pressure from for more expansive government assistance programs and other issues threaten to fracture that unified support.
When Porter Airlines and Air Canada pulled out of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport in March due to the global pandemic, that left just one tenant to keep the lights on.

ORNGE Air Ambulance, the provincial agency charged with transporting the sick and injured  including hundreds of COVID-19 patients  was alone at the island airport.

While Ontarios Ministry of Health has provided $5 million emergency funding to keep ORNGEs base on the island open, that money runs out at the end of May.

Our hope and our plan is to stay at Billy Bishop but we are looking at contingencies, said Dr. Homer Tien, president and chief executive officer of ORNGE. The major one we are looking at is Buttonville. A team of ORNGE managers toured Buttonville Airports hangars north of Toronto on Saturday. Costly renovations will be required if they move the helicopter teams and maintenance systems there.

Meanwhile, ORNGEs brightly coloured air ambulances continue to fly out of the Torontos island airport. ORNGE has moved 325 COVID-19 or suspected COVID-19 patients, along with hundreds of other patients who required emergency transport. ORNGE is also flying patient test samples to testing centres.

Tien was only three months into his job as ORNGE president (he was formerly its medical director) when the pandemic caused airlines that paid the majority of the Billy Bishop Airport bills to cease operations. Tien was taken aback when he learned that ORNGE was on the hook for roughly $1.7 million a month. Normally, ORNGEs monthly rent is roughly $200,000.

Tien, a surgeon, has worked for the Canadian Forces and Sunnybrook Hospital. He had just taken over the helm at the provincial air ambulance agency in December. Now it was March and the world around him seemed to be exploding. They didnt put COVID in my contract, Tien says wryly. Hes quite different than Dr. Chris Mazza, the first ORNGE CEO who lost his job in a financial and governmental scandal exposed by a series of Toronto Star stories almost a decade ago. Where Mazza was mercurial, Tien is calm.

I was initially caught off guard, said Tien. But when you watch the daily news and see what is happening economically, that is basically happening for all businesses. Aviation needs help particularly, said Tien. He, the Ministry of Health and Ports Toronto have been in discussions ever since.

Ports Toronto is a federal business enterprise that receives no public funding and must break even each year to survive. Billy Bishop Airport is one of Ports Torontos business operations.

Ontarios Ministry of Health has for years leased hangar space for ORNGE, paying Ports Toronto about $200,000 a month (no party will provide the exact amount). Now, ORNGE, an agency of the province of Ontario, receives $204 million annually to operate air and land ambulance services. But that does not cover a dramatic rent increase.

For Billy Bishop to stay open, its CEO Geoffrey Wilson explains that federal regulations meant they had to continue to run the ferry to the island airport, keep the tunnel open, provide security and other services.

We lost 95 per cent of our revenue overnight, said Wilson, who would not say if either Air Canada or Porter Airlines continues to pay any rent at all. Our overhead didnt go away but our revenues went away.

Wilson said the Ministry of Health acted swiftly and provided just under $5 million to cover March, April and May expenses for Billy Bishop.

In a letter written to ORNGE by Ontarios Minister of Health Christine Elliott, the minister sets out the terms. The Ministry of Health will provide ORNGE up to $4,950,000 in one-time funding so it can continue to deliver services out of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport for the period from March 1 to June 1, 2020, Elliott wrote.

After the letter was sent, the three parties continued to negotiate and agreed that the monthly payment would be reduced from the early estimate of just under $1.7 million a month to $1.4 million, meaning that $800,000 will be refunded to the province.

ORNGE operates two full-time helicopter crews out of Billy Bishop. It also flies fixed wing aircraft out of Billy Bishop  where helicopters do emergency pick ups, landing patients at hospital heli pads, fixed wing planes transport patients from smaller to larger hospitals.

Obviously, air ambulance in the time of COVID is of incredible importance for transporting all patients including COVID patients, said ORNGEs Tien. ORNGEs next closest air bases are in London, Ont., Sudbury and Ottawa. Billy Bishop has the highest volume of Ornge helicopter flights in Ontario. In the most recent one-year period, ORNGE had 1,460 helicopter arrivals and departures out of Billy Bishop, and 1,101 medivac flights.

Tien said his hope is that ORNGE stays at Billy Bishop, though a temporary base at Buttonville would be fine since most helicopter flights head north, pick up a patient and fly the patient to a Toronto hospital for emergency treatment.

We are talking to Ports Toronto again and they have been very good with us. Maintaining air ambulance is the prime directive here, said Tien. Commercial airlines are hoping to return to Billy Bishop by the summer but nothing is certain. No one knows how long this will continue.

From his viewpoint, Ports Torontos Wilson said he is pleased that ORNGE is still at Billy Bishop and he credits Ontario Ministry of Health for being proactive in March.

I think (the ministry) saw Billy Bishop as a vulnerability in their life saving system in the early days of COVID and were asking themselves the question, What if?  Wilson said.

They asked the hard question: Are you in a position where you are going to have to close? We said we dont know, but we dont know how we are going to pay the bills and stay open and we dont know how long it is going to last. And so they addressed it with 90-day emergency funding. And thats where we are.

Over at ORNGE, air crew and paramedics interviewed by the Star say that the already stressful work of air ambulance missions is more difficult, given the requirements of wearing personal protective equipment.

Tien said he is thankful that, to date, no ORNGE air crew or paramedics have tested positive.

I dont have any wood around here, said Tien. But I am very superstitious so I am going to tap on my head. But no, we have not had any (staff) who have tested positive.
Opening a new front, Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday accused the West Bengal government of not allowing trains to ferry stranded migrants to their home, but the state refuted the charge, saying 6,000 migrants have already returned and 10 trains carrying more labourers will arrive soon.

IMAGE: Migrants board a special train to Azamgarh in Jalandhar. Photograph: PTI Photo

In what is expected to escalate the ongoing Centre-state confrontation, Shah, in a letter to chief minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that the state was not allowing trains with migrant workers reach the state and termed it as an "injustice" towards these workers.

The state government, however, dismissed the charge by saying 6,000 stranded workers have already been brought back, and the state has given green signal to 10 trains carrying more such workers.

Meanwhile, the railway officials rejected the claim by the state government.

They said there was no proposal on record so far with the national transporter to run any more 'Shramik Special' trains to the state.

However, later the railways said it had received "clearance" from West Bengal for running eight special trains to the state to ferry people stranded outside due to the ongoing lockdown.

The tussle over the return of migrant workers fanned the ongoing political storm in the state over the COVID-19 crisis between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee accused Shah of spreading a bundle of lies and challenged him to prove his allegations or apologise, promoting the BJP to hit back by saying, the state government was only making arrangements to bring back people from a particular community.

Referring to the Shramik Special trains being run by the central government to facilitate transportation of held up workers from different parts of the country to various destinations, Shah said migrant workers from West Bengal are also eager to reach home, but the Centre was not getting expected support from the state government to run the train services.

"But we are not getting expected support from West Bengal. The state government of West Bengal is not allowing trains to reach West Bengal. This is injustice with West Bengal migrant labourers. This will create further hardship for them," Shah wrote.

Later in the evening, West Bengal home secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay said, So far, we have brought back 6,000 people stranded in other states. Ten trains carrying migrant labourers would be brought back to West Bengal soon.

"We have also arranged for special trains to bring the stranded pilgrims in other states. We have made all efforts to ensure safe and secure return of all those who are stranded, both in various districts and in other states, Bandopadhyay said.

"We have also taken steps to bring back people from our state stranded in other countries through special planes and have also spoken to the Union government regarding it," he said.

The railway officials said 47 trains have been planned for Saturday, none of them was bound for West Bengal.

One train from Ajmer in Rajasthan and another from Ernakulam in Kerala had brought around 2,500 stranded people and migrant labourers of Bengal on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

Meanwhile, endorsing Bandopadhyay's claim, the Trinamool Congress IT cell released three letters written by Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha and additional chief secretary to the states of Rajasthan, Karnataka and Kerala, regarding bringing back of migrant labourers and citizens held up outside the state following imposition of nationwide shutdown in March-end to check COVID-19 spread.

"A HM failing to discharge his duties during this crisis speaks after weeks of silence, only to mislead people with a bundle of lies! Ironically he's talking about the very ppl who've been literally left to fate by his own Govt. Mr @AmitShah, prove your fake allegations or apologise (sic)," Abhishek Banerjee, who is the nephew of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, tweeted.

Joining the Centre bashing, TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar accused the Union government of targeting West Bengal chief minister as he said they cannot tolerate her.

BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha said only two trains have arrived in Bengal so far and that too for a particular community.

The state government has spent Rs 1,300 crore for local clubs, but only Rs 200 crore for the coronavirus crisis, out of which most have been used for publicity.

"Two special trains for one particular community have arrived in Bengal from Ajmer Sharif and Kerala. The state government is only bothered about the suffering of the people from a particular community, Sinha alleged.

The Centre had earlier rapped the state government over its handling of the COVID-19 crisis in the state.
Tesla will move its headquarters and maybe its factory out of California, CEO Elon Musk tweeted Saturday.

The company also filed a lawsuit in federal court against Alameda County, accusing it of overstepping federal and state coronavirus restrictions when it stopped Tesla from restarting production at its factory in Fremont.

Frankly, this is the final straw, Musk said in a combative tweet thread, and added: If we even retain Fremont manufacturing activity at all, it will be dependen (sic) on how Tesla is treated in the future.

Musk said the company will move its headquarters, which is in Palo Alto, to Texas/Nevada immediately.

The Alameda County Public Health Department released a statement Saturday saying its staff has worked directly with Tesla at the Fremont plant to develop a safety plan that allows for reopening while protecting the health and well-being of thousands of employees who travel to and from work at Teslas factory.

It went on to praise residents and businesses for making tremendous sacrifices, while acknowledging that the regions responsibility is to loosen restrictions in the safest way possible, guided by data and science.

Teslas threat to move its headquarters, where up to 1,500 people work, dismayed Palo Alto Mayor Adrian Fine. In addition to the jobs, the tax dollars that Tesla contributes are crucial, particularly as Palo Alto braces for a $40 million hit to its budget caused by the economic shutdown.

Beyond the money thing, its cool to have a cutting-edge company building electric vehicles in Palo Alto, said Fine, whose father and Musk share the same alma mater, Pretoria Boys High School in South Africa.

Fremont Mayor Lily Mei also worries about the economic repercussions if Tesla were to flee. In a statement, she urged Alameda County to work with the company and other manufacturers to come up with safe social distancing practices that would allow these businesses to reopen.

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.

As the local shelter-in-place order continues without provisions for major manufacturing activity, such as Tesla, to resume, I am growing concerned about the potential implications for our regional economy, Mei wrote.

Tesla has a battery factory in Nevada known as the Gigafactory. Musk suggested on Twitter last month that Teslas planned electric truck, known as the Cybertruck, would be manufactured in Texas because the Fremont facility was at max capacity.

Teslas Fremont plant ceased operations in mid-March after the company tussled with regulators. Over the past few days the company has indicated it plans to start reopening, though the Alameda County shelter-in-place orders extend through the end of this month.

Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan
Home Minister Amit Shah on May 9 said that he was completely healthy and had no illness in a tweet posted to dispel the rumours about his health.

The former BJP President appealed people to stop circulating such rumours and let him serve his duties.

In his post, Shah shared a statement in Hindi saying that in the past few days many people circulated rumours about his health on social media platforms and even some prayed for his death.

However, at a time when the country is fighting against the coronavirus pandemic, as a home minister, he avoided such rumours and kept working, read the statement.

In the last two days, his party workers and well-wishers had also became worried about his health. Thus, he had to come out with a statement saying he was completely healthy and had no illness.

In the statement, Shah further said that as per the Hindu mythology, such rumours further strengthen the health of the person. So, he hoped that people will stop circulating such rumours and let him serve his duties.

Further, he expressed his gratitude to all his party workers and well-wishers for asking about his health.

I have no hard feelings for those who spread such rumours about my health. Thank you, said Shah.

After Shahs tweet, BJP President JP Nadda also tweeted slamming "inhuman" comments about the health of Home Minister Amit Shah.

"Making inhuman comments about the health of Home Minister Amit Shah is extremely condemnable. Spreading such misleading remarks about anyone's health shows the mindset of people doing so. I strongly condemn it and pray to God to grant them good sense," Nadda said in the tweet.
With inadequate healthcare infrastructure in place, Jharkhand is staring at an imminent crisis with a large number of returning migrant workers testing positive for coronavirus.

Even Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), the only state-run super-specialty medical institute in Jharkhand, does not have the required equipment to deal with the pandemic.

The integrated COVID-19 centre at RIMS has 30 ICU beds of which 12 are without ventilators. Most of the district hospitals in the state do not have a single ventilator. At present, there is one ventilator for every 70,000 people in the state.

State head of the National Health Mission, Shailesh Chaurasia, said most of the cases being registered here are so far asymptomatic or have mild symptoms and hence, ventilators have been rarely required. He, however, added the government has placed an order of 25 ventilators.

Garhwa, which may soon be declared a COVID-19 hotspot and is only after Hindpiri (in Ranchi) as far the number of cases are concerned, has a dearth of equipment as well as doctors.

With 23 confirmed and 15 suspected cases of coronavirus among returning migrants so far, the district has only four ventilators and 50 beds reserved for COVID-19 patients. Recently, three-four doctors were brought from Ranchi and Daltonganj after a lone doctor treated all the patients for days.

Besides, there is power disruption issues. Dr Dinesh Prasad of Garhwa Sadar Hospital said only one ventilator can be run on the available generator. We may not be able to provide ventilators to other patients even if the situation demands, Dr Prasad said.

The state registered its highest single-day surge in COVID-19 cases so far on Friday with 22 people testing positive, taking the total number of infections to 153, officials said.

Of the fresh cases, 21 were that of migrant labourers -- 20 from Garhwa district and one from Koderma. All of them had recently returned from Surat in Gujarat on a private bus.

On Saturday, two COVID-19 cases were registered in the state from Dhanbad and both were that of migrants who came from Maharashtra a few days ago.

While the administration has issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) to contain the spread of the virus from returning migrants, the states healthcare infrastructure is raising alarm among officials.

Health Secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni said the only thing that the government can do is to increase the number of testing and home quarantine all returnees.

Migrants testing positive is not in our hands and coronavirus cases are increasing all over the country. All that we can do is increase testing and ensure their home quarantine, Kulkarni said.

So far, 14,879 migrants have returned from different states to Jharkhand on 12 special trains, besides those coming back by buses and on foot.

Two days ago, five migrant workers who recently came back to their homes in Palamu from Chhattisgarh in an autorickshaw, tested positive for the virus.

While two of them had been quarantined for almost 30 days at two different locations on their way to Palamu from Maharashtra, three others had tested positive at Koriya in Chhattisgarh.

On their way to Palamu, the migrants were first stopped along the borders with Chhattisgarh. Sources said the migrants were dropped at Jharkhand border by officials of the neighbouring state as no administration now wants to the tally of cases to go up with patients of other states.

One of the workers said they were first quarantined at Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh. After staying there for almost 15 days, they shifted us to Koriya district. There too we were quarantined for 14 days in an Adivasi hostel. During my stay there, I developed virus-like symptoms. I had fever and cold. They took my samples, but did not inform me that I had tested positive for COVID-19, said the 28-year-old man.

There are several such reports of people being found positive for the virus after returning to the state. About 10 of the 1,175 labourers who came back from Kerala in a special train are suspected to have contracted the virus. Their test reports are awaited. Two men who returned to Dumka from Gurgaon have also been infected.

Meanwhile, a 33-year-old IT professional working in Maharashtra has reached out to the administration in Ranchi seeking help for his infection.

The man had gone for a test in Maharashtra. However, he and three of his friends were allowed to travel despite all of them showing symptoms of the virus and were only informed about the positive reports when they had already started the journey on a private vehicle.
The Spanish government is not contemplating there being international travel before the beginning of July, which would be more or less in line with the maximum time the government has identified for de-escalation to conclude and by when travel between provinces of Spain will be possible.

The government has informed the European Union of Spain's schedule and is wanting the reopening of Schengen borders to be based on common and non-discriminatory epidemiological criteria. Madrid does not therefore envisage certain regions of the country receiving foreign travellers before others. Its wish, in principle, is for the whole country to enter the situation of "new normal" at the same time. However, regions can raise the possibility of an earlier opening of borders with the national ministry of health, taking into account the possible risk of importing new infection.

The European Commission is due to present its recommendations regarding Schengen internal borders on Wednesday. The Spanish government accepts that not all countries will be able to open their borders at the same time, as they are at different stages of managing the pandemic. The view of the government is that its timetable for border reopening will not be very different to that of France and Italy.

By the beginning of July, the government wants there to be a series of agreed common protocols for tourism. These would cover, for example, hygiene and capacity at airports and the availability of health centres.

The government is meanwhile studying the conditions for international (Schengen) flights arriving in Spain and will shortly be setting these out in the Official Bulletin of State.
Is there anything to not like about how Canada is dealing with the coronavirus crisis? Probably, not. The government has being drafting out plans to help every citizen in the country.

Now to repay all the gratitude and the selfless acts of frontline workers risking their lives to deal the COVID-19, Canada is hiking wages for essential workers across the country.

AP

"If you are risking your health to keep this country moving and you're making minimum wage, you deserve a raise," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced this week, therefore coming good on his promise of increase salaries.



Trudeau's government has laid out an agreement with provinces and territories to spend more than $3 billion and raise wages for essential workers making less than about $1,800 a month.

Agencies

"I think one of the things that we're seeing through this pandemic is that there are people who are tremendously economically vulnerable, and vulnerable in other ways in our society, who are extremely important to the functioning of our society," Trudeau said.



It is a move that has garnered praise from many healthcare unions across the country and is seen as a step that had long been mooted, but has finally been set in motion.

Reuters

Meanwhile, Canada has recorded a total of 66,425 cases and 4,569 deaths as of Friday. Quebec remains the province with the most number of cases and deaths, as country added 1,514 new cases and 161 new deaths in last 24 hours.



A majority of cases and deaths are from Quebec and Ontario, the countrys most populous provinces. More than a million tests have been conducted nationally, and more than 30,000 people have recovered.




,



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Students will learn a stripped-back version of the NSW curriculum for the rest of term two, with educators given permission to factor learning disruptions from the last six weeks into their teaching plans and focus on the most essential content.

A staged return to school begins on Monday for NSW public schools, but Department of Education Secretary Mark Scott said it would be a while before regular calendar events such as assemblies, excursions and school sport resumed.

NSW Department of Education secretary Mark Scott. Credit:Edwina Pickles

Principals will spend this week closely monitoring attendance rates, school drop-offs and staff room distancing while teachers will also reconsider their original lesson plans for the second half of term two.

"There are a lot of requirements, particularly in the K-10 curriculum. Guidance has been given from the NSW Education Standards Authority that not all aspects of the curriculum are equally important at this point," Mr Scott told the Sun-Herald.
The WHO and the UN's postal agency have released a commemorative postage stamp on the 40th anniversary of the eradication of smallpox, with the head of the global health body expressing gratitude to a top Indian-origin UN official.

In May 1980, the 33rd World Health Assembly issued its official declaration that "the world and all its peoples have won freedom from smallpox."



It was ended on the back of a 10-year WHO-spearheaded global effort that involved thousands of health workers around the world to administer half a billion vaccinations to stamp out smallpox.

"When WHO's smallpox eradication campaign was launched in 1967, one of the ways countries raised awareness about smallpox was through postage stamps when social media like Twitter and Facebook was not even on the horizon," World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

"I especially want to thank my friend Mr Atul Khare, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support, for making this commemorative stamp possible," he said in Geneva on Friday during a virtual unveiling of the stamp.

Born in India, Khare is the Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Operational Support (DOS) and the UN Postal Administration is within the DOS Division of Administration.

"In light of these uncertain and challenging times, I must commend the creative skill and powerful visual storytelling achieved by the UN Postal Administration, especially designer of this commemorative stamp Sergio Baradat," Khare told PTI.

It is through these collaborative artistic projects that "we are reminded of our past hardships, but also our ability to overcome them through ingenuity, conviction, and the power of partnerships," the top UN official said.

"Even in the midst of this troubling pandemic, my spirits and pride are lifted to know that the Operational Support community continues to lean upon creativity and work alongside various entities such as the World Health Organization to elicit emotions of hope and unity when we need them most," Khare said.

Khare became the Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support in January 2019. He was previously appointed Under-Secretary-General for Field Support in 2015.

The stamp recognises the global solidarity in fighting smallpox and honours millions of people working together, from world leaders and international organisations to rural doctors and community health workers, to eradicate smallpox.

Ghebreyesus said that smallpox was the first and, to date, the only human disease to be eradicated globally. Until it was wiped out, smallpox had plagued humanity for at least 3,000 years, killing 300 million people in the 20th century alone.

"Its eradication stands as the greatest public health triumph in history. As the world confronts the COVID-19 pandemic, humanity's victory over smallpox is a reminder of what is possible when nations come together to fight a common health threat," the WHO chief said.

He said that many of the basic public health tools that were used successfully to eradicate smallpox are the same tools that have been used to respond to Ebola, and to COVID-19: disease surveillance, case finding, contact tracing, and mass communication campaigns to inform affected populations.

The WHO is now working with many partners to accelerate the development of a vaccine for COVID-19, which will be an essential tool for controlling transmission of the virus, he said.

The UN said that the successful smallpox eradication programme yielded vital knowledge and tools for the field of disease surveillance, the benefits of vaccination and the importance of health promotion in fighting other diseases.

It also laid the foundation for stronger national immunisation programmes worldwide, underpinning the establishment of primary health care in many countries and creating momentum toward Universal Health Coverage.

The USD 300 million price-tag to eradicate the virus has saved the world well over USD 1 billion every year since 1980, the UN said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The president arrived in Zakarpattia region on a working trip.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has honored the memory of fallen soldiers who liberated Ukraine from the Nazi invaders.

The president arrived in Zakarpattia region on a working trip, according to the press service.

He visited the "Hill of Glory" memorial complex with the graves of soldiers who died in the battles for the liberation of Ukraine from the Nazi invaders in World War II. The president laid flowers near the Eternal Flame and honored the memory of fallen soldiers.

Read alsoZelensky commemorates World War II victims on Remembrance Day

"The expulsion of invaders ended in Zakarpattia. We will never forget the terrible price of this victory. The main thing to honor the feat of everyone who brought the victory closer is not loudness, but sincerity. And our victory is in everyone's heart," Zelensky said.

UNIAN memo. On May 9, Ukraine marks the Day of Victory over Nazism in World War II of 1939-1945.

The memorable date was established by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on April 9, 2015, with the law on perpetuation of the victory over Nazism in the World War II of 1939-1945 voted for within the package of decommunization laws.

Now, May 9 is celebrated as the Day of Victory over Nazism in World War II, instead of the established Soviet-era Day of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. As is known, the term "Great Patriotic War" was used in the former USSR to emphasize that in the war of 1941-1945, the people defended the Soviet Union as common homeland.

The use of Soviet symbols, like St. George ribbons, is now restricted in ceremonies honoring the memory of those who perished in World War II. Instead, the official symbol of the celebration of the victory over Nazism in World War II, just as on the Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation, is a red poppy  common around the world on remembrance days of WWII.
US pulling Patriot missiles from Saudi oil facilities: Report

Iran Press TV

Friday, 08 May 2020 12:08 AM

The United States is pulling its Patriot missile systems from Saudi soil as part of broader curbs on its military support for the Arab kingdom, a report says.

Citing unnamed US officials, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that four Patriot surface-to-air missile batteries and dozens of military personnel will be removed from Saudi oil facilities.

The officials said the US will also reduce its Navy presence in the Persian Gulf soon, adding that two jet fighter squadrons have already left the region.

The US intensified its military presence in the region last year amid growing tensions with Iran. Part of the military hardware was deployed in September last year after a series of attacks on Saudi oil facilities.

The developments come over two week after President Donald Trump said his administration will review a proposal to block Saudi crude oil shipments to the US to try to save its struggling shale industry suffering from an unprecedented slump in demand and prices due to the novel coronavirus, and as fuel storage runs short.

In mid-April, Frank Fannon, the US assistant secretary of state for energy resources, said the country could also impose tariffs on Saudi oil.

Trump had also warned Saudi Arabia earlier that month that he would end American military support for the kingdom if Riyadh did not end its oil price war with Russia and cut production.

In a phone call on April 2, the US president told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that unless his country started cutting oil production, he would be unable to stop lawmakers from passing legislation to withdraw US troops from the kingdom.

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A 43-year-old Covid-19 patient was discharged from a hospital in Ulhasnagar on Thursday and welcomed by his housing society, only to be admitted to hospital again after five hours.

When Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC) let the patient go, he had not got his third test report.

After getting the report, which showed the man was positive, the civic body admitted him to the hospital again.

On April 23, the resident of Kalyan (East) tested positive. Since his test was done in Ulhasnagar, he was admitted to UMC Covid hospital.

When the UMC health department tested him again on April 29, the report was negative. Almost a week later, he was tested again. Before the report was given, he was discharged and UMC took him to his Kalyan house on Thursday.

His housing society welcomed him and clapped for him

But, four hours late, UMC officials returned to take him back to hospital after the third report showed him positive.

This also created panic among the residents of his building.

A resident said, Some people went down to welcome him. We were shocked that five hours later we was again taken away. The civic body should have not discharged him before his test report was out.

The hospital blamed the patient as he was restless.

He did not follow the hospitals instructions and used to roam around. He might have got infected again because of this. As soon as we got the result of the second test, we took him back to the hospital without delay, said Raja Rijhwani, medical officer, UMC.

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OWOSSO, MI  An Owosso barber who has defied the governors orders by reopening his business amid the COVID-19 crisis could face contempt of court if he doesnt close his shop.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services issued a Health Protection Order on Friday, May 8, against Karl Mankes Barber & Beauty Shop, 421 W. Main St. Manke, 77, opened his shop on Monday, May 4, and had kept it open since in spite of Gov. Gretchen Whitmers executive order mandating salons, barbershops, and other nonessential businesses to stay closed through at least May 28.

In a statement, the MDHHS said Director Robert Gordon acted under the authority granted to him by state law to issue an order that is necessary to correct conditions that pose an imminent threat to the health or lives of people in Michigan.

The order requires the barber shop to immediately close.

Michigan has had more than 45,000 cases of COVID-19 and more than 4,300 deaths, Gordon said. Shiawassee County alone had had 201 cases and 16 deaths. People continue to die in our state every day due to the coronavirus. It is critically important for businesses and the general public to follow the executive order to reduce further spread of COVID-19 and save lives.

Manke has told MLive that Michigan State Police troopers on Wednesday issued him two citations, for which he must appear in court on June 6. Regardless, he said he planned to remain open, adding he has no choice and needs the income.

Heavens yes, Im staying open unless they take me out in handcuffs or Taser me, Manke previously said.

On another occasion, Manke said hed stay open until Jesus walks in or until they arrest me.

Manke has also said customers have come from as far away as Saginaw, Milford, and Lansing and that he worked from 10 a.m. to midnight on Monday.

More than two dozen protesters from various counties gathered at Mankes business on Thursday.

Operation of the barbershop brings a large number of persons from different households into close proximity to one another, increasing the risk that COVID-19 will be transferred from person to person, the MDHHS statement reads. People from different parts of the state have gone to the barbershop, which further increases the chances of the spread of COVID-19.

If Manke does not comply with the governors order and shut down, the Michigan Attorney Generals Office on Monday will ask a Shiawassee County Circuit Court judge to issue a temporary restraining order. If a judge does issue such an order and Manke refused to comply with it, he could be held in contempt of court.

Ryan Jarvi, press secretary for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, on Friday issued a statement regarding the matter.

It is without question that we are in the middle of a public health crisis, Jarvi said. Both the governor, through her executive orders, and the DHHS Director, through his orders, are focused on protecting the public health of Michigan residents. Based upon our present knowledge of COVID-19, businesses that require close contact  like Mr. Mankes barbershop  present one of the highest risks for spreading the virus, not just to the city of Owosso, but to the state of Michigan as a whole.

Jarvi went on to say Manke has been given every opportunity to voluntarily comply with the governors Executive Order and the order of the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services Director. As a result of his continued operation, today his business was deemed an imminent danger to the public health and ordered to be shut down by the DHHS Director.

Mr. Mankes actions are not a display of harmless civil disobedience, Jarvi continued. His actions are counterproductive to the collective effort businesses and communities everywhere have made to slow the spread of COVID-19, and by opening the doors to his business, hes putting the lives of many more Michiganders at risk.

Related:

Owosso barber confirms he was ticketed by police for opening shop

Supporters rally around Owosso barber who refuses to close shop

Owosso barber says shop will stay open 'until Jesus walks in or until they arrest me
Fay Rendoth has been remembered as a loving, family woman by her relatives after she died with COVID-19 on Friday.

The 92-year-old was the latest death at the Sydney's troubled Newmarch House, where 16 people have died with the disease.

Fay Rendoth, pictured celebrating her 92nd birthday earlier this year.

Her granddaughter Savannah Robinson said Mrs Rendoth's family was everything to her.

"In my memories of her, she just gave a lot to family," Ms Robinson said.
Elon Musk in 2018. (Kiichiro Sato / Associated Press)

Tesla will move its headquarters out of California immediately to Nevada or Texas, Elon Musk said via tweet Saturday morning.

In the same Twitter message, he threatened to abandon the companys Fremont, Calif., auto assembly plant, depending on how Tesla is treated in the future. In another, he said he would sue the county authorities.

His ire was roused by Alameda County, which ordered him not to reopen the Tesla plant until county public health officials lifted restrictions. Current county stay-at-home orders addressing the COVID-19 pandemic run through May 31, although that date could change depending on infection data.

The Tesla chief executive had told staff to prepare for a Friday afternoon factory reopening, in defiance of the court order. Shortly after 1 p.m. Friday, the county issued a statement directed specifically at Tesla, stating the company must not reopen the plant.

The plant has been shut down since March 23. Shutdowns have caused financial stress at Tesla and other companies as public health authorities attempt to balance protecting people from spread of the disease with the deleterious economic effects of business closure.

Musk engaged in a series of tweets with Tesla fans Saturday morning, in which he called the county action the final straw.

Musk has tangled with county officials before. After a joint six-county San Francisco Bay Area stay at home order March 16, including Alameda, Musk kept the plant open for nearly another week, until Fremont police intervened. .

Frankly, this is the final straw. Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately. If we even retain Fremont manufacturing activity at all, it will be dependen on how Tesla is treated in the future. Tesla is the last carmaker left in CA.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2020

Musk tweeted Saturday morning that the unelected & ignorant Interim Health Officer of Alameda is acting contrary to the Governor, the President, our Constitutional freedoms & just plain common sense! The target of that tweet apparently was Erica Pan, interim head of the Alameda County Public Health Department, a physician with decades of experience in infectious disease.

Story continues

Neither Pan nor Tesla responded to requests for comment.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has eased statewide orders that had blocked manufacturing, but individual counties can set stricter standards. The Bay Area orders are among the strictest in the state.

Tesla employs about 20,000 workers in California, about half at its Fremont factory. Its headquarters are in Palo Alto, near Stanford University in the heart of Silicon Valley. Moving the entire headquarters with its executives and software programmers would be a major undertaking, although Musk himself could set up a new headquarters with a skeleton crew in short order.

Musk already has been planning new factories to supplement Fremont, although he hasnt identified where the money to build them will come from. Besides a China plant, Musk plans an auto assembly plant in Germany and has hinted hell build a new plant in Texas, perhaps to build an electric pickup truck. The company has a major battery factory in Nevada, outside Reno.

A business exodus has been underway from California to Texas for years, but the reasons tend to revolve around taxes, labor costs and housing prices rather than disputes over public health.

In his Saturday tweets, Musk said the company's experience setting up safety procedures in Shanghai during the coronavirus outbreak in China means it knows how to make Fremont safe, too.

Tesla knows far more about what needs to be done to be safe through our Tesla China factory experience than an (unelected) interim junior officer in Alameda County, he tweeted.

In a conference call with analysts on April 29, Musk referred to stay-at-home orders as fascist. As the virus began spreading through the U.S., Musk tweeted on March 6 that The coronavirus panic is dumb.

For the record:

4:03 PM, May. 09, 2020: A previous version of this article gave the first name of Erica Pan as Elaine.


DARIEN  The alarm froze everyone in their tracks.

Code blues were far more frequent, but this screeching sound suddenly had a far greater sense of urgency as it came over the public address system at Lenox Hill Hospital as the coronavirus crisis gripped New York.

It was the peak of patients being treated who couldnt breathe  and the alarm meant the hospital itself was running critically low on oxygen.

It was the scariest moment for everyone, said Darien native Emily Fawcett, a floating nurse at the hospital.

All of a sudden, all of those alarms meant those who were on oxygen had their oxygen not working, she said.

The hospital staff frantically switched these critically ill patients to manual oxygen tanks and operated the machines until the supply was replenished  it was about 30 minutes of pure panic, Fawcett said.

That was the worst, she said.

There were so many patients on oxygen, it overloaded the whole system. This was wartime nursing. It was a war zone. But we made it through.

Like most others on Sunday, Fawcett, 30, and her mother Sharon will use FaceTime to celebrate Mothers Day, unable to be together due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Fawcetts share a unique bond: Theyre both registered nurses on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis.

Sharon Fawcett, 62, has been a nurse for 40 years, and when shes not treating coronavirus patients at Norwalk Hospital, shes providing a support system for her daughter.

Being able to call her  she knows whats going on, she knows how hot our gear is, the masks we have to wear, the gowns we have to wear, Emily said. She knows what its like to have to intubate or put patients on ventilators. She knows what its like to constantly have to hear the code blues overhead.

Its been really nice to decompress with her. Of course, she was very worried about me in the beginning, she said.

Sharon said it would be an understatement to say shes proud of her daughter.

Shes given me so much strength, Sharon said.

Emily, a 2007 Darien High grad and former EMT with Post 53, has drawn national attention with her idea of hope huddles, as a way to keep hospital morale up during the pandemic. Shes been featured in the New York media and was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey for her magazine.

I was on a text thread late at night with some of my ER nurse friends and they were telling me how they were literally having mental breakdowns. That it was the first time they had ever cried at work. They just werent doing well, Emily said.

They just kept getting sick patient after sick patient  we were getting 20- and 30-year-olds on ventilators. It was just heartbreaking for them.

The idea for hope huddles is for the nurses to gather with their team every morning and hear the positive news around the hospital like the amount of discharges and how many patients have come off ventilators.

Just some good, positive stories to boost the morale a little bit, Emily said.

An absolute nightmare

With New York City as the hotbed of the coronavirus outbreak, Emily said it was an absolute nightmare when the crisis began two months ago.

The amount of patients coming in, and the amount of sick patients coming in, was insane, she said. They would need to get in rooms right away and on a breathing tube.

With about 400 coronavirus patients at the height of the pandemic, Lenox Hill converted about five units literally overnight to COVID wards, Emily said.

We were only COVID for about a month and a half, she said.

My whole nursing expertise became only how to treat these patients, which took a while to learn.

In her four decades as a nurse, a career that began in the early days of HIV, Sharon says shes never seen anything like the COVID pandemic.

All of us are totally new to this, the Darien resident said. Everything is changing and most of us hate change. It has been really, really tough and stressful. Im more physically and emotionally exhausted than I ever have been.

This is absolutely the most challenging thing for everyone. When has it ever been that a family member cant visit a family member in the hospital?

Sharon said patients are dying and cant have a family member hold their hand.

Theyre watching them taking their last breaths over Zoom, she said.

One couple stood out to Emily. During the early stages of the crisis, a woman brought in her husband who was very sick.

He was incredibly sick and had to be immediately put on a ventilator, Emily said. The next week, the wife shows up and she is my patient.

Knowing how sick her husband was, the woman prayed and cried with Emily each night.

The couple had no children, so Emily facilitated a call with the womans nephew to arrange for him to become their health care proxy.

One day, I came in and he had gotten better. He was off the ventilator and in the same room with her. I got to meet the man I had been praying for. And they ended up going home together, Emily said.

Sharon, who is typically a joint replacement center nurse, said her patients are usually healthy, optimistic and well prepared for their surgeries. But her days in Norwalk are much different now, including one difficult moment caring for a patient in her 80s.

She wasnt doing well. We had put her on comfort measures and a morphine drip, Sharon said. We called her daughter, so her daughters voice was the last thing shed hear.

That was hard, she said.

Emily said Lenox Hill is now down to about 150 coronavirus patients and has started treating other patients again. However, that slowdown has its own challenges.

It creates a whole new slew of emotions, she said. As the adrenaline winds down, it feels weird to be coming out of it. You really start to process things. We have anxiety about if theres a second surge, will it be as bad as the first one? I equate it to a soldier who comes home from war. My colleagues are having the same emotions.

Sharon said the patient influx in Norwalk is also easing up. However, she added that we cannot let our guard down.

We still need to be extremely cautious, she said. There is still so much we dont know. We need to continue to self quarantine and be really vigilant about social distancing. Im still really worried if we have a peak in the fall.

I dont know if we will ever return to normal, she said.

Call to service

Emily said her family has been very supportive of her career, which got its start as a member of the Post 53 EMS squad while she was in high school.

One could tell immediately that she had leadership qualities as she rose through the ranks and ultimately became an excellent EMT and crew chief, said Susan Warren, the former head of Post 53.

Warren said Emily enjoyed being a mentor for younger squad members and always set a good example for them.

All these characteristics, I feel sure, have helped her stay strong and again be a compassionate leader on the front lines during these incredibly challenging times, Warren said.

Janice Marzano, program director of The Depot Youth Center, said shed known Emily all her life, and she was always defined by compassion. Marzano said as a child on the playground, Emily would often respond to help a classmate who might have gotten hurt.

It has been a privilege to know her, Marzano said.

Sharon, who is widowed, has found strength through her daughter.

Shes my rock. She puts things in perspective. When I start to talk about something, she says, Mom, that doesnt matter right now. Were in a pandemic, Sharon said.

People ask me if Im worried about her being down there. Im not. She has so much support down there. Im so proud of her. Shes inspirational.

Sharons other daughter, Jessica, remains nearby  just a few houses away with her husband and three children, ages 5, 3 and 1.

Sharon said her grandchildren are learning a lot right now.

Emilys world is a bit different, surrounded by medical professionals and other nurses as roommates.

I was a lucky one going home to two other nurses in an apartment in Manhattan. I had no husband or kids to worry about, she said. I didnt think about getting sick at all. I never had any time to worry about it. I had to take care of patients.

Sharon said shes never been in this situation where work threatens her own health.

We have nurses out with it, and one nurse who just left who had been really sick. He was intubated, Sharon said. It is scary. It is a huge threat. But youve just got to take care of yourself, get rest, exercise and eat properly.

She said the pandemic has made her better at her job.

I feel like this has made me a stronger and more compassionate nurse, she said. Ive dug deep and found courage and resilience that I never thought I would have.

As she nears retirement age, Sharon says friends ask if shed consider walking away to avoid further risks.

Do it now? I couldnt retire now, she said.

Morally, I just couldnt do it.
(Natural News) The Case Fatality Rate (CFR) for the coronavirus is currently tracking at over 18% for France, over 16% for Belgium, 14% for Italy, nearly 12% for Spain, 10% for Mexico, about 7% for Canada and is currently at 6% for the USA, according to a comprehensive chart offered by OurWorldInData.org.

The chart, shown below, reveals how the coronavirus is orders of magnitude more deadly than the regular flu, which has a Case Fatality Rate (CFR) below 0.1%, meaning fewer than 1 in 1,000 people who are confirmed and diagnosed with the regular flu end up dying from it. This is confirmed by CDC statistics.

DEFINITIONS: The Case Fatality Rate (CFR) is the ratio of deaths to the number of people who are symptomatic and diagnosed with the illness. The Infection Fatality Rate (IFR) is the ratio of deaths to the number of people who have been infected, even if they never showed symptoms. The IFR for the coronavirus is unreliable because of all the false positives stemming from faulty antibody test kits manufactured in China, which are almost certainly intentionally designed to show high numbers of false positives in order to sow confusion and complacency across America. (Remember: Were in an actual war with China, and they launched the bioweapon against us. Why wouldnt they also try to confuse America with bad testing kits, too?)

The pro-Trump media has consistently tried to conflate the Infection Fatality Rate (IFR) of the coronavirus with the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of the regular flu, to try to dishonestly claim that the coronavirus is no more dangerous than the flu. Such claims are either the result of 1) Intellectually dishonest people who are trying to downplay the coronavirus for political reasons, or 2) Mathematically illiterate people who dont know how fractions work.

At Natural News, we have consistently and repeatedly warned that the coronavirus is far more dangerous than the regular flu, and weve warned about the complacency being pushed by conservative and independent media, which will result in a second wave of exploding coronavirus cases across the USA. Our warnings have been drowned out by mathematically illiterate (or intellectually dishonest) journalists who are mostly pro-Trump, conservative pundits who are right now inadvertently setting up President Trump to be utterly destroyed by the second wave of infections and deaths that are coming.

Heres the current tracking of Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of the coronavirus. Note that these numbers are all low because they assume every person confirmed to have the coronavirus is symptomatic, which isnt the case at all. In reality, for an accurate CFR analysis, we would have to multiply all the numbers shown here by a factor of something in the neighborhood of 1.4. Note that the horizontal axis on this chart is logarithmic. If youre not sure what logarithmic means, Fox News has a job opening for you in their science news division.

Source: OurWorldInData.org.

If the Case Fatality Rate for the regular flu were to be depicted on this chart, it would be shown almost touching the bottom line of the chart, at just 0.096% (not even 0.1%, but lower).

Thus, even based on the numbers shown here, the CFR of the coronavirus is at least two orders of magnitude higher than the reagular flu for many countries, including Spain, Italy, France, Hungary, Mexico, etc.

The Infection Fatality Rate (IFR) for the coronavirus is entirely unknown because of the problem of huge numbers of false positives from bogus antibody test kits. But the IFR for the regular flu is 0.025%, or about 1 in 4,000 people dying after getting infected.

We dont trust infection numbers for the coronavirus because there are way too many false positives from the bad testing kits that were all approved by the FDA in a mad rush, even when most of them were so bad they would flag false positives from testing papayas and other fresh fruit.

Global analysis of excess mortalities shows that coronavirus deaths are being significantly under-counted

The fact that global coronavirus deaths have been under counted by a substantial amount  as detailed in an exhaustive Financial Times review of excess mortalities  indicates the real death toll from covid-19 is at least 50% higher than official numbers (and may be up to 60% higher).

This the 6% Case Fatality Rate for the coronavirus in the United States is really more like 9-10%. The following FT chart shows the excess deaths from any cause for NYC. Note that its a nearly 300% increase in deaths from any cause, regardless of whats shown on death certificates. This obliterated the denialism argument that claims nobody is really dying from the coronavirus, and that its all just people who would have died anyway:

Weve separately analyzed the numbers over the last several months, confirming that the real CFR for the coronavirus in the United States really is closer to 10%, which means that 1 in 10 people who are diagnosed and symptomatic end up dying from the infection.

The upshot of all this is that as US states begin to reopen their economies and the American masses who have been lied to by Fox News, conservative media and pro-Trump independent media begin to spill into the restaurants, stores and barber shops, a second wave of infections and deaths will once again resume. And the results will be catastrophic for the simple reason that this isnt just the flu, and it never was.

Weve detailed the expected progression in this article covering the 10 Stage of Coronavirus.

Watch the full analysis here, in the form of a podcast along with accompanying slides:

Heres a graphic representation of the 10 stages, five at a time:

For the second half of 2020, and part of 2021:

As you can see from this global chart of confirmed covid-19 deaths, we havent stopped the pandemic, weve only paused it. The exponential explosion has simply been flattened but not crushed. Deaths are moving sideways during the lockdown, which means once the lockdowns are ended alongside widespread complacency, the coronavirus will simply resume its exponential growth once again. This chart shows daily deaths:

As anyone who can do math can readily see, unless something dramatically changes course soon, Trump will be utterly destroyed by October and have virtually no chance of winning re-election. Although this is not an official projection, I wouldnt be surprised at all if we see 300,000+ deaths in America by election day. And if all precautions are dropped across that country, that number would be in the millions.

Trumps own supporters are making sure he goes down in flames by spreading the coronavirus through complacency and stupidity

The mostly pro-Trump indy media outlets claiming the lockdowns were never necessary have now fatally misinformed their own readers, and the lockdowns will be lifted with complacency and denialism. Mark Cuban has already discovered that 96% of Texas businesses are failing to comply with the basic precautions mandated by the state. This means Texas will become a new hub of coronavirus spread, and it will devastate Houston, Dallas / Ft. Worth and San Antonio, not to mention Austin and other cities.

As we have repeatedly warned, mathematical illiteracy will lead to catastrophe when it comes to a genetically engineered bioweapon that spreads along an exponential model. Since very few human beings are able to grasp exponential events, the vast majority of people today are vastly underestimating the severity and danger of this virus, and they may be destroyed by it.

Theres no question that if the complacency continues, Trumps credibility will be destroyed long before the election. It turns out that the coronavirus is the one challenge that Trump cant talk his way out of. You can bullsh#t the world when it comes to celebrity status or claims of financial assets, but you cant bullsh#t the coronavirus.

To the coronavirus, Trump just looks like another piece of human tissue to feed upon.
New Delhi: The West Bengal government on Saturday said eight special trains to bring back migrant workers who wish to return to the state because of the coronavirus lockdown have been scheduled as the issue became a fresh flashpoint between the state and the Centre

The announcement was made after union home minister Amit Shah wrote a letter to CM Mamata Banerjee, saying that not allowing trains to reach Bengal was an "injustice" to workers from the state.

Shah said the West Bengal government is not allowing trains with migrant workers to reach the state and this may further create hardship for the labourers.

Referring to the 'Shramik Special' trains to facilitate transport of migrant workers from different parts of the country to their home states, Shah said in the letter that the Centre has facilitated more than two lakh migrant workers to reach home.

He said migrant workers from Bengal are also eager to reach home and the central government is also facilitating the train services.

"But we are not getting expected support from West Bengal. The state government of West Bengal is not allowing the trains reaching to West Bengal. This is injustice with West Bengal migrant labourers. This will create further hardship for them," Shah wrote.

The TMC, however, accused Shah of "lying" about the state government not allowing trains to reach, and said the eight trains to ferry migrants from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Telangana were already planned.

The first train will be leaving on Saturday from Hyderabad to Malda, the TMC said.

"The Centre is lying, eight trains ready to ferry passengers to Bengal from different states: It is not right to say CM Mamata Banerjee is not allowing migrants to come back. Sixteen migrants died on your watch, will rail minister take responsibility," asked TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar.

In a zoom meeting with several TMC MPs, including Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien, the TMC said the government is running 711 camps for migrants in the state and were taking good care of them.

According to the plan so far, 31,224 people will return to West Bengal, 17,211 among them from Hyderabad alone. "The Centre wants to embarrass our CM and gain politically in the state. They cannot tolerate her and that is why they are targeting us singularly," Dastidar said.

TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee also hit out at the home minister and accused him of misleading people. He also charged the Centre of failing to discharge its duties during this crisis.

"A HM failing to discharge his duties during this crisis speaks after weeks of silence, only to mislead people with bundle of lies! Ironically hes talking about the very ppl whove been literally left to fate by his own Govt. Mr @AmitShah, prove your fake allegations or apologise," he tweeted.

This comes after Leader of Congress party in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, on Thursday said that he requested to Amit Shah to take steps so that workers, students and migrant workers of West Bengal, who are now stranded in various states, can return home. Chowdhury also alleged that the Banerjee government in West Bengal was not keen on getting these people back.
Troy King in 2010 when he was Alabama attorney general. California has canceled a nearly $800-million purchase order for masks with King's firm, Bear Mountain Development Co., after it failed to deliver supplies on time, state officials said. (Jamie Martin / Associated Press)

A nearly $800-million deal California struck with a politically connected vendor of medical masks has collapsed after state officials said the company failed to deliver most of the supply, renewing questions over how the state is vetting vendors during the coronavirus crisis.

The scale of the contract with Bear Mountain Development Co. LLC came to light Friday when state officials, pressed by The Times, confirmed details of the deal, which is one of the largest made by California in its scramble for protective equipment. Former Alabama Atty. Gen. Troy King is listed on Bear Mountain's formation record as president of the Montgomery, Ala., company.

The state has been notifying federal authorities whenever contractors fail to deliver promised supplies. Among those vendors is Bear Mountain Development, according to two sources familiar with the issue. The state has not publicly accused the firm of wrongdoing.

Under one of its three contracts with California, Bear Mountain was supposed to deliver 400 million three-ply surgical masks and 200 million face shields, according to purchase order records the state provided to The Times.

Those records identify the company's local contact as Paul Bauer, a Sacramento lobbyist who works for the government relations firm Mercury Public Affairs.

"I was approached by the former attorney general of Alabama and agreed to be his local contact in Sacramento," Bauer said in a text message. "Bear Mountain is not a client of Mercury."

Bauer declined to provide details about his financial arrangement with Bear Mountain or why his Mercury email address is listed on the state purchase records.

State officials canceled the agreement May 2. By then, Bear Mountain was supposed to have delivered 60 million face shields and 120 million surgical masks, according to the records. By that point, the company had delivered only 489,000 face shields and fewer than 9.7 million surgical masks, said Monica Hassan, deputy director of the Department of General Services.

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State officials did not provide details about why the company didn't deliver. Calls to Bear Mountain representatives were not returned Friday.

Brian Ferguson, a spokesman for the Governors Office of Emergency Services, said the state did not pay any money upfront and would reimburse Bear Mountain for the masks that arrived.

It would be our hope that all suppliers would fully fulfill their commitments, Ferguson said. "For those that do not, that is why we have strong contracting rules in place to protect taxpayers and so the state gets the commodities desperately needed.

Ferguson said he could not comment on any communication the state may have had with federal authorities related to the deal.

Some lawmakers called for an investigation into how the deal collapsed.

This is unacceptable, said state Sen. Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber), who is asking a legislative committee to demand an audit of purchases of personal protective equipment. The public needs to know what their money is being spent on, and that in this crisis time that product that is supposed to be lifesaving is effective and that it arrives."

We have to figure out what is going on and why it looks so unprofessional, said state Sen. John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa).

State governments have been under immense pressure to secure medical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic, but spending watchdogs have called for greater transparency and accountability in how California decides which businesses to make deals with.

Bear Mountain is one of at least 80 vendors awarded noncompetitive contracts under California's coronavirus emergency order that had never done business with the state before, according to a Times analysis.

Another was Blue Flame Medical LLC, a company founded recently by two GOP operatives who jumped into the personal protective equipment supply trade. State officials abruptly canceled a deal with Blue Flame after wiring nearly $500 million to the firm, only to have to claw the money back.

A Times analysis of California procurement data found this week that the state has so far committed to spend more than $3.7 billion on no-bid contracts under Gov. Gavin Newsom's March 4 coronavirus emergency order.

In response, Newsom defended the states record on vetting companies, saying not a dime was lost in the state of California."

We were in the wild, Wild West period in the early part of this pandemic, Newsom said Wednesday.

The state's biggest contract for masks is a $1-billion agreement with a subsidiary of the Chinese electric-auto manufacturer BYD Co. to provide 200 million N95 respirators a month.

Newsom's office for weeks refused to release the document, even though government contracts are public under state law, but relented amid mounting pressure for the state to provide more details about the spending.

The contract showed that BYD owed the state $247 million for failing to secure federal certification of its masks in time for a May delivery. To date, BYD has sent the state 10 million surgical masks and none of the coveted N95 respirators.

Despite the issues, Newsom has stood by the BYD deal.

Mark Ghilarducci, director of the Office of Emergency Services, said this week that the worldwide shortage of protective equipment had created a marketplace rife with fraud. The state created a team to vet thousands of offers that poured in, but Ghilarducci said typical scrutiny had to be balanced with an immediate need for large quantities of the supplies.

He said the FBI, Department of Justice and Federal Emergency Management Agency have all been working with the state to ensure that all of the different commodities that we were obtaining and the people we were dealing with were legitimate.

It was Ghilarducci who publicly announced the state was working with Bear Mountain at a news conference April 8 when he held up the company as an example of California working with direct contracts with large vendors to obtain tens of millions of masks.

Records released Friday detail two other agreements the state made with the firm for face shields and masks, including one for $97,000 and another for $15.6 million. State officials said the firm delivered the promised supplies on those two deals.

Bear Mountain was formed in 2014 by King, who served as Alabamas attorney general from 2004 to 2011. Its unclear how and when King, 51, got into the medical supply business. He heads a small personal-injury law firm in Montgomery, Ala.

Bear Mountains supplier in the California deal appears to be Mimish PPE, a New York company formed late last month, according to its website and state business filings. Mimish said on its website that it was fulfilling a California order with Bear Mountain for 400 million masks and 200 million face shields. However, that claim was removed from the website after The Times reported on the deal this week.

Mimish PPE shares the same Brooklyn address as Mimish Designs, which sells craft beanbags, throw pillows and other stylish goods. Mimish representatives did not return phone calls and emails.
Close on the heels of former CJI Ranjan Gogoi accepting Rajya Sabha membership, once his colleague on the bench and outgoing Supreme Court judge Deepak Gupta said that people feel that a judge has got a political post because of some extraneous reasons.

Mincing no words, Justice Gupta, who hanged up his boots on Wednesday, admitted that the public perception towards judiciary has changed and they have doubts when a judge accepts a government assignment soon after his retirement.

He also emphasised the apex court must stand up for the rights of the deprived and underprivileged classes, including the minorities, who cannot be deprived of their rights just because they disagree with the Government on certain issues.

Here is Justice Gupta's full interview with CNN-News18:

Two former CJIs took up positions in Indian politics. Justice P Sathasivam became a Governor and Justice Ranjan Gogoi has now accepted membership of Rajya Sabha, but not before questions were raised. Have these instances dented the public perception about independence of judiciary?

In my view, public does not accept it very happily when judges take up government assignments soon after their retirement...in the back of their mind, they have certain doubts.

The public feels perhaps the judge has got this post because of some extraneous reasons. That is the perception large number of people have in todays world. It may or may not be right in many cases but thats the public perception.

I am not in favour of Supreme Court judges taking up political appointments. Normally, they should not accept such positions. I am not in favour of this. I wont do it. I wont accept any such position ever.

What are your views on judges of constitutional courts accepting post-retirement jobs by the Government?

What my late friend Arun Jaitley used to say that retirement age of the judges should go up but there should be no post-retirement jobs for them, especially by the government. It is my personal view that there should not be any post-retiral assignments for judges.

Even Justice Fazl Ali, one of the brilliant judges, was appointed as the Governor but times have changed. With the change in times, the perception towards judiciary has also changed.

However, there are certain posts which have to be filled up by the retired judges. And some of the judges have done exceptionally good work in the tribunals.

But personally I am not in favour of any post-retirement job and I wont take up any such position. I will however leave it to the person concerned to decide for himself or herself.

When the Supreme Court faces crisis such as 2018 judges press conference, medical admission scam case, sexual harassment charges against a CJI, do all the judges get together to chalk out future course of action?

Unfortunately, there is no such system in place. It is the CJI who mainly takes these decisions. He may consult some senior judges but in my three years as a judge, all the judges were never consulted. They never sat together. The only time all the judges were perhaps consulted was when a committee was to be to set up to examine the sexual harassment charges against a CJI (Justice Gogoi). Unfortunately, in my three years, there has been no full court meetings in the Supreme Court to deliberate upon anything, including these issues.

In the current times and the spate of incidents smacking of communal biases, do you feel minorities in this country need to be reassured by the Supreme Court about their fundamental rights and their right to dissent?

The Supreme Court must stand up for the rights of the deprived and underprivileged classes, including the minorities who should never get the feeling that they are being treated unfairly or being denied their right to equality guaranteed under the Constitution. All courts including the Supreme Court should ensure that they live a life of dignity. Merely because they disagree with the government on certain issues does not mean that they can be deprived of their life or liberty as long as the protest is peaceful and they do not violate the law.

Do judges keep a tab on social media? Does social media impact them?

Most judges are abreast with the social media. They may not be having their personal accounts on Twitter or Facebook but most of them do keep a tab on what is being said about them and about the cases they decide. At the same time, I think by the time, one reaches the Supreme Court, you can remain uninfluenced by what is being said on the social media. It has never affected me, at least. I wont say that I dont read it. I read it. Sometimes, I laugh about it. Sometimes, I get angry too. But I dont let it affect my decisions as a judge.

Why did it require a pandemic like Covid-19 for the Supreme Court to let cameras in?

I have always been in favour of live-steaming of cases. It is my personal view that live-steaming is the need of the hour. It was always required but with Covid-19, it became indispensable since social distancing has to be maintained and you must have very less number of people in court. That can only be done through live-streaming. Video-conferencing is not an open-court hearing but if these are recorded, there should not be any problem. I have said this not today but about four years back at a lecture that I envisage in the near future a system where a judge sits in his chamber, lawyers argue from their chambers and clients watch from their houses. And even public at large can watch proceedings that interest them. Except for certain prohibited category of cases, I am of the view that even if live-streaming is not possible, audio-recordings should be done.

What is it about the administration of the Supreme Court you would wish changed sooner than later?

I wish the registry of the Supreme Court is changed to become totally computerised with minimum human intervention. It must revamp itself in such a fashion that no questions are raised as to how the cases being registered; how fast or slow they are listed; if cases jump the queue etc. I want registry to change so that voices are not raised against the Supreme Court over how cases are being registered and listed by its registry.

What is it that is going to excite you post retirement?

The biggest excitement is that I will get enough time to read. I am very fond of reading but the case files wont let me follow my passion. I love to travel too but there cannot be much travelling due to Covid-19. So I am going to spend most of my time reading. I am quite a passionate photographer so I will do some photography too. I will finally get to spend the much-awaited time with my family. I will also do a bit of arbitration and other works that come my way.
Its a cliche to say that we live in turbulent political times. Never before have the institutions and norms that underpin US democracy seemed more vulnerable to the forces of demagoguery, corruption, and  maybe worst of all  apathy.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Staten Island is the only borough in New York City where police officers did not issue any social-distancing summons, data from the Police Department shows.

The NYPD released the data Friday afternoon and it includes the number of summonses issued from March 16 to May 5.

The New York City Police Department between March 16th and May 5th has had around or more than 1,000,000 contacts with the public in our awareness and educational visits across the five boroughs, the NYPD said in a press release.

During those visits, officers issued 374 summonses for acts likely to spread disease and to violate emergency measures.

The majority of those summonses were issued by the Patrol Borough Brooklyn North with a total of 123, the data shows.

Patrol Borough of the Bronx issued 99 summonses -- the second largest number overall, according to the department.

45 Photos of the pandemic in NYC: Our lives changed forever

The data was released after videos of officers conducting social-distancing arrests surfaced online, with some critics comparing the NYPDs tactics with those used during former Mayor Michael Bloombergs stop and frisk policy.

But Mayor Bill de Blasio pushed back on that assertion.

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, de Blasio said. This is the farthest thing from that. This is addressing a pandemic.
Shaheed Al-Hafed, 9 May 2020 (SPS) - President of the Republic, Secretary General of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, on Friday chaired a meeting of the Permanent Office of the National Secretariat of the Polisario Front.

President Brahim Ghali said that the meeting took place in an exceptional national and international context as a result of the rapid spread of the Coronavirus pandemic, noting that, thankfully, so far no cases of infection have been recorded either at the level of the refugee camps or at the level of the liberated territories.

The President of the Republic called on everyone to adhere to the procedures and instructions presented in this regard, calling on everyone to continue efforts and cooperation with the National Mechanism for Protection from Coronavirus and the Ministry of Public Health, to avoid the spread of this virus that is sweeping the world.

In the same context, President Brahim Ghali praised Algeria's great efforts in helping the Sahrawi people, especially in these exceptional circumstances, which the world is experiencing, pointing out that this support is not strange for Algeria, which is known for its firm positions and support to the oppressed peoples. (SPS)

062/SPS/T
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 9

By Elchin Mehdiyev  Trend:

The construction and use of Khudaferin and Giz Galasi hydro- junctions and hydropower plants are regulated on top level, and in this regard the Azerbaijani and Iranian governments signed an international agreement, the First Vice-Speaker of Azerbaijans Parliament Ali Huseynli told Trend.

The official made the remark in response to recent publications in the local media on the issue of building the forenamed water facilities.

"This agreement has reaffirmed Azerbaijans territorial integrity in accordance with the requirements of the UN resolutions, Huseynli stressed. The agreement also prohibits delegating the protection and operation of these hydropower facilities on a temporary or permanent basis to individuals or legal entities of a third country.

This means that only Azerbaijan and Iran can use these two hydro-junctions and hydropower plants. Moreover, after filling the hydropower facilities with water, the current border line between the states will be determined and fixed on the water surface. That is, using the hydropower plant by a third state is impossible," said Huseynli.

Touching upon the reasons for the construction of these facilities, and the impact of this issue on relations between Iran and Azerbaijan in the current geopolitical situation, the vice speaker said that the construction of hydropower facilities is not a new issue, and its roots go back to Soviet times.

"The construction history of the Khudaferin and Giz Galasi hydro-junctions and hydropower plants on the Araz river dates back to the times of the former USSR, he noted. In 1988, a long-term agreement was signed between the Soviet Union and Iran on economic, commercial, scientific and technical cooperation. According to that document, a bilateral agreement was reached on the construction and operation of the Khudaferin and Giz Galasi hydro-junctions and hydropower plants. Later, in connection with the outdated and decommissioned technological equipment, an independent expert group was created in 1992 on behalf of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the projects were re-developed, the official said.

After occupation of a part of Azerbaijans territories by Armenia, cooperation between Azerbaijan and Iran in this direction was suspended. In the subsequent period, the construction of the above hydro-junctions and hydropower plants was carried out only by Iran, Huseynli pointed out. In February 2016, the Azerbaijan and Iranian governments signed an Agreement to continue the construction, operation, use of energy and water resources of the Khudaferin and Giz Galasy hydro-junctions and hydropower plants on the Araz River. This was achieved owing to the friendly relations between the two countries."

According to him, the reason that the Agreement was highlighted by the media four years after the signing, apparently, is that the intensive work in this territory irritates Armenia and those who take hostile positions against Azerbaijan.

On the other hand, reading the local publications on the issue, I can say that certain opinions on this topic are ignorant and lack professionalism," he said. The issue is quite clear and unambiguous. The agreement, signed in February 2016, is an international document that refers to the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and recognizes it. This agreement is a document confirming the sovereign right and jurisdiction of Azerbaijan over the occupied territories.

Any opinions, statements, resolutions of international organizations, and in particular, agreements signed between the two states that affirm and accept the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan are a powerful blow to Armenias territorial claims against Azerbaijan," added Huseynli.
May 9 marks the 75th anniversary of historic victory over fascism in World War Two.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva visited the grave of twice Hero of the Soviet Union Hazi Aslanov, put flowers at his statue and paid tribute to all Azerbaijanis killed during the war.

---

Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
London, May 8, 2020 (AFP) - Major social advances have often emerged from the depths of disaster: the Black Death brought an end to serfdom, and Britains welfare state emerged from the ruins of World War II.

As the coronavirus outbreak took hold, many governments brought in policies previously dismissed as utopian, such as backing wages or housing the homeless.

But as emergency measures are eased, and the world tries to get back a semblance of normality, there is debate about which, if any, could -- or should -- be kept.

In Britain, as elsewhere, the crisis has shone a light on the plight of underpaid delivery drivers, teachers, nurses and other key workers who have been vital to the response.

The government has stepped in to guarantee salaries of the five million self-employed because of fears that without statutory sick pay they would continue to work while ill.

Finance minister Rishi Sunak has already begun talking about scaling back the measures, which back 80 percent of someones average monthly salary up to 2,500 ($3,100, 2,850 euros).

But David Napier, professor of medical anthropology at University College London, said withdrawal could prove problematic given the imbalances the virus has highlighted.

The strong have been depending on the weak for their survival, he told AFP.

- Magic money -

In the United States, 30 million people have already lost their jobs because of the pandemics economic impact.

To keep the economy afloat, President Donald Trumps Republican administration has included direct cash payments of up to $3,000 per family in its stimulus package.

Oxford University historian Timothy Garton Ash noted that a concept like basic universal income was considered radical, if not utopian not so long ago.

But a recent study from his university indicated that 71 percent of Europeans now supported the idea.

Doctors and nurses on the frontline of tackling the global pandemic have campaigned for years to get pay rises and more resources.

In France, President Emmanuel Macron initially said there was no magic money for the sector but later promised more investment.

In Britain, the state-run National Health Service has been hit by a decade of cuts in funding and staffing following the 2008 financial crisis.

But Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose Conservative party has been accused of wanting to privatise the free service, has become one of its staunchest defenders.

He was treated at an NHS hospital for COVID-19 and credits its doctors with saving his life.

But Mark Harrison, a professor of economic history at Warwick University, said even that has policy implications.

The simple story of the PM who got saved by the NHS is very powerful, it will be hard for the Conservatives to try to go back on that type of commitment.

Elsewhere, the British government moved to house homeless people in empty hotels and hostels, because of the risk of them contracting the virus.

Ministers have said some 5,400 people or 90 percent of those who usually sleep on the streets and are known to local authorities have been housed.

The charity Crisis puts the total number of homeless at 170,000, and said many more were on the verge of being evicted from rented accommodation because of the outbreak.

But Jasmine Basran, from Crisis, called the governments response incredible.

It shows what is possible if theres political will, she said.

- Goodwill limit -

As the full impact of the crisis becomes known, there are calls for the government to guide industrial policy, similar to the Marshall Plan for reconstruction after World War II.

The director of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, has urged world leaders to prioritise green energy as they try to kick-start their economies.

Germany has made state aid conditional on firms pledging climate targets and France has said a seven-billion-euro bailout of Air France is dependent on a cut in short-haul flights and emissions.

But business leaders are resisting attempts to introduce initiatives to cut waste and the use of plastic.

For Warwick professor Harrison, the crisis has the potential to change peoples perceptions for the better over the long term.

But Sankalp Chaturvedi, a professor of organisational behaviour and leadership at Imperial College Business School in London, said goodwill would only go so far.

This generosity will come with higher taxes, he said, predicting that short-term help would lead to anxiety and frustration.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed. )

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Prasanta Mazumdar By

Express News Service

GUWAHATI: Like the common man, the insurgents in Northeast too have been badly affected by the COVID-19 lockdown.

So, to help them in these tough times, some locals in Manipurs Senapati district came forward the other day. They offered rice, pulses, masks, hand sanitisers etc, to the members of major rebel group National Socialist Council of Nagalim or NSCN-IM.

The items were distributed under an outreach programme called A touch of goodwill on the pandemic watch.

To ensure that the rebels can gainfully utilise their time in the lockdown in farming, the locals distributed vegetable seeds and farming tools to them.

KS Pauleo, who is a former president of United Naga Council -- the largest social organisation of the Nagas in Manipur - said the villagers wanted to show solidarity with the group. He urged it to promote peace and harmony.

The NSCN-IM, which is active in Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and Myanmar, has been engaged in peace negotiations with the Central government for the past 23 years. However, solution to the vexed Naga political problem continues to elude both sides as they failed to come to an agreement on certain contentious issues.

There are several insurgent groups of the Nagas. Each runs a parallel government with different ministries including finance. They survive on myriad taxes collected from traders, truckers, government employees and households. Their economies have been badly hit by the COVID-19 lockdown.
A century-old family farms vegetables are finding new ways to get in the hands of West Michigan customers.

Zeeland-based Visser Farms is turning to online sales and distribution focused on several pick-up sites.

The Visser family needed to quickly develop a new business model this spring because of the coronavirus and ensuing state government restrictions. The pandemic eliminated much of the farms direct sales to local restaurants.

It has been a learning curve, but it is going well," said Cindy Visser, who operates Visser Farms with her husband and four sons.

West Michigans family farms are going digital for sales, reaching customers and reducing the contact for distribution.

If you are reading this in your Facebook app, use this link to view the entire gallery of photos.

Like Ada-based Green Wagon Farm and Visser Farms, these family-owned farms in Kent and Ottawa counties are providing pick-up spots at popular farmers markets, roadside stands and a new Finnish-style market with other family farms.

While this new way of selling has meant changing their routines, Green Wagon Farm has actually experienced growth in sales from last year. Green Wagon features about 18 acres of farmland.

Weve seen a tremendous gathering of support from our local community here, said Green Wagon owner Heather Anderson. Were really excited to see new faces and old faces return and join us this summer.

Even at Fulton Street Farmers Market in Grand Rapids, where both of these farms annually sell their produce, the pandemics effect is visible. The popular market has instituted a one-way flow for customers, and farms like Visser Farms are pre-packing bags of specific produce to limit contact time and handling of the produce.

An employee of Green Wagon Farm helps a customer check out at Fulton Street Farmers Market in Grand Rapids on Saturday, May 2, 2020. (Anntaninna Biondo | MLive.com) Anntaninna Biondo | MLive.com

West Michigan farms also have opened pop-up stands where customers can purchase produce, some pre-packed, or pick up their online orders.

Were grateful that we can do online orders and pop-up shops, said Cindy Visser, owner of Visser Farms. The restaurants we sell to virtually are doing nothing.

One of the newest efforts has been opening a REKO market, which is a farming model that allows customers and farmers to interact on platforms like Facebook to coordinate ordering. The idea comes from a similar practice used by Finnish farmers.

Vendors will meet for a short period of time so customers can pick up their orders, Anderson said.

Its a really simple, little, producer-run market, she said.

The West Michigan REKO, with sites in Holland and Ada, is designed for no-contact pickup, requiring social distancing and masks for all shoppers and producers. Online pre-payment options are available for most vendors.

Shelby Visser and daughter Elsa wait for customers to pick up their orders at a Reko Market in Holland on Thursday, May 7, 2020. (Anntaninna Biondo | MLive.com) Anntaninna Biondo | MLive.com

The REKO Markets, which currently feature more than 10 farms combined, are currently scheduled for 3-3:30 p.m. Thursdays at The Community Church, 7239 Thornapple River Drive SE, in Ada and noon-1 p.m. at the Holland Town Center, 12330 James St.

With all of the changes in selling food, Visser and Green Wagon have had to consider planting and harvesting practices as well. Masks are worn during much of the process.

The coronavirus pandemic has changed daily-life for family farms, but adapting is all they can do, Visser said.

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.

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Michigan restaurants to Gov. Whitmer: We want to reopen May 29

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CHICAGO - The coronavirus crisis has not only sent the hotel industry reeling by cratering occupancy rates. It's forcing hotels to ramp up their cleaning protocols and hygiene - things that will be more of a priority for consumers in a post-pandemic world, where safe is the new sexy.

"What would have been in the back of customers' minds is now front and center," said Phil Cordell, Hilton's global head of new brand development.

Hilton, Marriott and, as of Wednesday, Chicago-based Hyatt, have all announced plans for updated cleaning standards and other steps aimed at protecting the health of guests and staff at thousands of properties around the world. Home-rental companies such as Airbnb have made similar moves.

Demand for hotel rooms has tanked during the pandemic. Among the U.S. hotels that are still open, about 3 out of 4 rooms are vacant, according to data released Thursday by the hospitality research company STR. In Chicago's central business district, the occupancy rate is just shy of 14%.

When people start staying in hotels again, they'll notice some changes as new hygiene measures get rolled out in the coming weeks and months.

Expect less furniture to make way for more social distancing in lobbies and other public areas. Hand sanitizing stations will be highly visible. So will housekeepers, whose role moves from behind-the-scenes to center stage as they frequently and conspicuously wipe down railings, elevator buttons and door handles with hospital-grade disinfectants.

"You can't just tell people you're cleaning, you have to let them see people cleaning," said Jonathon Day, associate professor at Purdue University's School of Hospitality and Tourism Management in West Lafayette, Ind. "These companies need to be transparent about what they're doing and demonstrate it, so we have a sense of comfort. It's only when I feel safe about going back to hotels that I'm going to let my guard down enough to leave my house."

Some housekeeping teams will have high-tech tools at their disposal, such as germ-zapping robots that look straight off the set of "Star Wars" and electrostatic sprayers to rapidly disinfect guest rooms and fitness centers. The latter is part of Marriott's plan, which also involves testing ultraviolet light technology to sanitize guests' key cards.

The Westin Houston Medical Center hotel started using its pair of LightStrike Germ-Zapping Robots in March. Made by Xenex Disinfection Services and costing about $100,000 each, the machines emit broad-spectrum ultraviolet light to destroy viruses and bacteria within minutes. They've been used for infection control in hundreds of hospitals for several years. Now the hospitality industry is showing interest.

"We've been contacted by dozens and dozens of hotels in Europe, the Middle East, here in the U.S.," said company spokeswoman Melinda Hart. "They're all trying to find a way for travelers to feel safe again."

Hilton is working with health experts at Mayo Clinic and the makers of Lysol for its new "CleanStay" program at the company's 6,100-plus properties spread over 18 brands, including Waldorf Astoria, Embassy Suites and Hampton hotels.

The new measures mandate extra disinfection of the 10 most often touched parts of a hotel room - light switches, TV remotes, thermostats, toilet handles - and putting a seal on room doors to let guests know they're the first to enter their freshly cleaned quarters.

"I remember as a kid we'd travel on vacation, check into a motel and there's a seal around the toilet seat," Cordell said. "It harkens back to that. It's a confidence builder for guests."

Hilton is ditching some traditional guest room staples such notepads, pens and directories full of well-thumbed pages. Fitness centers will close periodically throughout the day for additional cleaning, and the number of guests exercising at the same time will be limited. Breakfasts will likely entail more grab-and-go options. Buffets, where they still exist, will have enhanced sanitation and be less hands-on.

"Maybe you scooped your own green beans before, but now someone will put them on your plate," Cordell said.

"Some of this is the new normal and some of it will vary over time," he added. "The visibility of housekeeping, the cleaning products ... that may be forever. Other elements like the distancing of tables in the restaurants, that will probably start to wane a bit at some point."

Marriott recently created a Global Cleanliness Council that's outlined multiple measures to reduce the spread of disease. Disinfecting wipes will be put in all guest rooms throughout the company's 7,300 properties. In nearly half of these hotels, guests can use their phone to check in, access their room with a digital key and order a meal that will be packaged and deposited outside the door.

Over at Hyatt, a new initiative requires that each of its 900-some properties has at least one specially trained hygiene manager by September. Hyatt also is the first hospitality brand to commit to getting all of its hotels accredited by the Global Biorisk Advisory Council, a division of the Northbrook, Ill.-based cleaning industry trade association, ISSA.

The new GBAC STAR certification is meant to ensure that a hotel - or restaurant, arena or convention center - has the proper chemicals, equipment and procedures to remove harmful pathogens. The concept of GBAC STAR certification predates the coronavirus crisis, but the pandemic fast-tracked the launch of the program, which starts accepting applications May 7.

"We had to hasten the development because the demand in the marketplace is mind-boggling," ISSA Executive Director John Barrett said. "People need this assurance, so we hustled to get it built."

The heightened emphasis on hygiene is happening across the lodging spectrum, from budget hotels and luxury resorts to vacation rental homes.

Housekeepers at the Red Roof chain now sanitize corridors, elevators, the front desk and other high-traffic areas up to four times a day with coronavirus-killing products approved by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Cloth towels have been replaced by disposables in the public restrooms of the high-end, Switzerland-headquartered Kempinski Hotels, where employees have donned white gloves and designer face masks.

When The Langham hotels in the U.S. start accepting new reservations, the luxury properties will be taking guests' and employees' temperatures. If they have a high enough fever, a security officer wearing personal protective equipment will escort them to a room set aside for quarantine so they can contact their doctor for guidance.

"If they cannot reach a doctor, we will find one for them," Langham spokeswoman Louise O'Brien responded in an email.

When Turks and Caicos ends its lockdown and hotels on its tropical islands reopen, breakfast buffets will be on hold at least until the end of the year at The Sands at Grace Bay and two other resorts owned by the Caribbean-based Hartling Group.

"Everything will be a la carte - for now, no more buffets," said Karen Whitt, vice president of sales and marketing. On the beaches and pool decks, lounge chairs will be spaced further apart, and dining rooms will operate at about half capacity, she added. "We're also enhancing room service, so guests have the option of having any meal they would have had at our restaurant in the comfort and privacy of their rooms."

Home-rental companies Airbnb and Turnkey Vacation Rentals also are enhancing their cleaning protocols in light of COVID-19.

Turnkey will soon debut a training and certification program for its new cleanliness and safety standards for all of its housekeepers, who will use an app to photo-validate their use of coronavirus-fighting products. To guard against the spread of disease through airborne particles, the vacation rental management company is requiring a 24-hour buffer between guest stays, lasting through June at the earliest.

Airbnb worked with former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy to craft guidelines that call for cleaners to wear masks and use certain disinfectants. Hosts also are supposed to wait at least 24 hours between check out and the arrival of the next guests.

Airbnb hosts are being encouraged, not required, to follow the new protocols. But customers will be able to see which ones do and which don't.

"Guests want assurances and some comfort that they are not walking into a petri dish," said Meighan Depke, an Airbnb host in Chicago's Logan Square section. "I'll be happy to complete (Airbnb's) certification to earn whatever star they might be awarding."

Depke moderates a 16,000-member private Facebook group called Airbnb's Finest Hosts.

"Some hosts in our group are screaming about overreach and the 24-hour pause between guests," she said. "But hey, it's a brand new world. Adapt or watch your business suffer."

Visit the Chicago Tribune at www.chicagotribune.com

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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. 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. 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."
An indicted financier accused by the U.S. of developing Venezuelas gold-for-food trade with Turkey is helping orchestrate a similar swap with Iran involving gold for gasoline products, according to seven people familiar with the matter.

Alex Nain Saab Moran, a Colombian whom U.S. authorities consider one of the most powerful men supporting Nicolas Maduros regime, traveled to Tehran with senior executives from the state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela last month, two of the people said. That was part of a deal in which Iran sends gasoline additives, parts and technicians to the South American nation in exchange for gold, they said.

Since then, as reported by Bloomberg, Venezuelan officials have loaded some 9 tons of gold  worth about $500 million  on jets owned by the Tehran-based carrier Mahan Air. Flight logs show more than a dozen trips from Iran to Venezuela over the past month.

Saab helped negotiate the Iran deal with Maduros new Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami, the people said. The two had previously worked together to strengthen Venezuelas relationship with Turkey, which included shipments of at least $900 million in gold to the nation in 2018. By then, U.S. officials already feared some of the metal had made its way to Tehran in violation of sanctions.

My client is a food business entrepreneur, Maria Dominguez, Saabs Miami-based lawyer, said by text message. We deny any participation in the events youre mentioning. Asked if hed visited Iran for his food business, she replied, We have no further comment.

Asked to comment, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Treasury Department didnt address Saabs role. She said only that the department will continue to use sanctions against Venezuela and Iran, adding, Entities that continue to provide services to U.S.-designated Iranian airlines like Mahan Air remain at risk of sanctions actions.

Officials at Venezuelas Oil Ministry, PDVSA, Mahan Air, and the Iranian foreign ministry didnt respond to requests for comment.

U.S. sanctions have severely restricted access by both Venezuela and Iran to the global financial network. Cash linked to Caracas often gets trapped in foreign accounts due to restrictions on money wiring. With Maduros allies in Moscow, Beijing, and Ankara refraining from any large financial deals at the moment, Iran is emerging as an important partner for the regime.

Last week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he was deeply concerned about the Venezuela-Iran flights. Some of them have made lengthy layovers in Algiers. U.S. officials have been urging Algeria, as well as neighbors Morocco and Tunisia, to deny Mahan Air the international flight corridor needed to reach Venezuela, people familiar with the matter said.

Drug Kingpin

As El Aissami and Saabs profiles rose in recent years, the Trump administration paid attention. In January 2017, Maduro tapped El Aissami to be vice president. A month later, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned him under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, alleging that he protected drug lords and oversaw a network of planes and ships exporting thousands of kilograms of cocaine. El Aissami denied the claims, calling them miserable provocations.

Last July, Saab was indicted on federal money-laundering charges that accuse him of bribing Venezuelan officials and funneling more than $350 million to overseas accounts as part of a food program intended to serve those going hungry in Venezuela.

At the time, Saab didnt respond to requests for comment or to written questions submitted to two of his lawyers. In a 2017 interview with El Tiempo newspaper, he denied being involved in corrupt contracts with Venezuela. I am an open book, and my accounts are clear and my conscience is clean, he said.

Today, the Maduro regimes only reliable sources of cash are oil and gold. Crude long accounted for more than 95% of the nations export revenue. The recent crash in prices coupled with U.S. sanctions and deteriorating facilities have made gold more valuable today. Last month, its price on the open market jumped to the highest in more than seven years.
Four policemen, including an assistant sub inspector, were injured when a group of men attacked them in Pratapgarh district of Rajasthan on Friday night.

The incident occurred in Chhoti Sadri area near the house of the state Cooperative Minister Udai Lal Anjana with the BJP alleging that Anjana too slapped a policeman, a charge denied by the minister.

A former up-sarpanch Kanhaiya Lal had a spat with some youths in Kesunda village over some petty issue. After some time, the youths caught Kanhaiya Lal and thrashed him, police said.

On information, a team of four policemen, led by ASI Shishupal Singh, rushed to the spot where the members from Kanhaiya Lal hit them. The policemen got injured. The ASI has received critical injuries, Chhoti Sadri police station's SHO Ravindra Pratap Singh said.

Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria wrote a letter to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday alleging that the minister, Udai Lal Anjana slapped a police constable after which the mob present there thrashed the police party.

He demanded from the chief minister to sack the minister.

When contacted, the minister rejected the allegation that he hit any policeman.

The incident occurred near my residence. I too rushed to the spot on information of attack on Kanhaiya Lal. I did not slap any policeman, the minister said.

The SHO said the accused, numbering eight to nine, were absconding and being searched.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Polarized is a weekly series featuring Americans from all 50 states sharing their views on the 2020 elections. Click here if you would like to be a part of this project

Like countless other couples across the country, Bryce LeBrun and his fiancee were forced to cancel their upcoming wedding.

We were going to get married in September, he tells The Independent in a recent interview. Were probably just going to get an officiant and go to a courthouse for now.

LeBrun, a 25-year-old voter, works for the local engineering department in Hastings, Minnesota, a city just south of Minneapolis. His soon-to-be wife works as a nurse for a major hospital in Minneapolis, where there are a lot of Covid patients, he notes.

She could catch it in August, and wed be screwed and not able to have any family members come to the wedding, he says. It wasnt worth trying to commit to that.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage the United States and forces society to virtually shutdown for the foreseeable future, Minnesotas governor Tim Walz is relaxing some restrictions while keeping his stay-at-home orders in place. His office has said the governor is taking cautious, strategic steps towards getting people safely back to work.

(Photo courtesy Bryce LeBrun (Photo courtesy Bryce LeBrun)

And yet many other states have already begun far broader reopening strategies of their own  potentially causing a spike in new Covid-19 cases over the weeks and months to come, health officials have warned.

LeBrun believes the outbreak has revealed that the US lacks a functional healthcare system, and will hopefully encourage more people to support demands for universal coverage in the November election.

I dont really think we even have a healthcare system, he says. All it takes is one accident or sickness, and people are out on the street.

Meanwhile, LeBruns fiance  who is working on the front lines of the pandemic  is nearly six figures in student debt. LeBrun notes that, while both of his parents worked and saved for him to go to college, he still worked two jobs during the summers while studying engineering and yet managed to graduate tens of thousands of dollars in debt.

Its almost becoming  or already is  a class issue, he says about accessing things like healthcare and an education in the US. You look at it and if youre not already privileged or one of the lucky few who receives a scholarship, thats basically it. Over these next five to ten years, students will not be able to get an education, or they will but be tied down for decades with student debt.

LeBrun doesnt consider himself a Democrat, though he largely votes for the partys candidates. He also votes in-line with the local Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party, which is associated with the national Democratic Party.

If there was a label to best describe LeBrun, it may be progressive  or a socialist, he says, though there isnt much of a home for that.

He supported Vermont senator Bernie Sanderss bid for the Democratic nomination before the senator suspended his campaign and endorsed former vice president Joe Biden, the now-presumptive Democratic nominee. LeBrun was inspired by Sanderss support for universal coverage, saying the issue of healthcare was a top priority for he and his fiance as she works in the field.

Click here to read more of The Independents series, Polarized: Voices From Across America

Our thing was Medicare-for-All, big time, he says. The employer-tied healthcare is not great for obvious reasons.

LeBrun says he wishes the US implemented actual support for people amid the pandemic: A guarantee theyd get care if they tested positive so they would stay out of society for however long it took for them to get better. Testing, contact tracing, the whole nine yards.

But all we got was a precursory check, he adds, referring to the relief payments taxpayers earning up to $75,000 (60,500) received as part of the sweeping $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (Cares) act.

When I ask LeBrun about Biden, he lets out a big sigh.

I struggle to find any real support for the guy other than opposing Trump, which is a bit concerning to me, he says. A lot of people know his name and associate him with [Barack] Obama, which is fine. But I just kind of feel the same way I did when Hillary Clinton defeated Bernie Sanders in 2016.

Though he ultimately cast a ballot for Clinton in 2016, he says hes since grown tired of having to vote for candidates the Democratic Party considers electable  whatever the heck that means.

Im not quite as far as some people who are never Biden, he says. At this point it is what it is, Biden vs Trump. Im just trying to focus locally for my sanity.
Auto production in Mexico and Brazil, Latin America's top producers, plunged by an unprecedented 99 per cent in April as a result of the coronavirus crisis, with the two countries building a total of just 5,569 vehicles. During normal times, Mexico and Brazil produce over half a million cars a month combined. The industry accounts for hundreds of thousands of jobs and several percentage points of their respective countries' gross domestic products. "The situation is difficult and dramatic," Luiz Carlos Moraes, president of Brazil's automakers association, told ...
- During the COVID-19 pandemic period, the Co-operative Bank of Kenya is offering support through an e-commerce solution that would enable businesses to receive card payments online

- For customers, there is the convenience and safety of transacting at any time from any location in the world, using multiple card types, and multiple currencies

- Through the MCo-op Cash app, customers can transfer money from their accounts into the merchants account, alternatively they can dial USSD *667# to do the same

In most parts of the country, businesses of all kinds, especially the small and medium-sized enterprises, have borne the brunt of the effects of COVID-19.

Liquidity has dried up, employees have either lost jobs or their salaries have been slashed, and entrepreneurs have either curtailed, or closed their businesses altogether  albeit temporarily.

READ ALSO: MultiChoice, Trace partner to showcase Kenyas biggest online music concert

The Co-operative Bank building, Nairobi. Photo: Co-op Bank.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Scientists in Kenya discover microbe that could stop Malaria transmission

Running a business during these troubling and stressful times can be challenging without the financial backbone to sail through.

While this is an unprecedented situation, it is important to ensure that businesses revert to their former state before the coronavirus crisis began.

In a rapid-response effort to help businesses struggling with the effects of COVID-19, the Co-operative Bank of Kenya is offering support through an e-commerce solution that would enable businesses to receive card payments online.

Business owners with cashless solutions for customers would find this e-commerce solution handy, which is why Co-op Bank has invested heavily in this and other cashless solutions so you and your customers can enjoy several advantages.

For your customers, there is the convenience and safety of transacting at any time from any location in the world, using multiple card types, and multiple currencies including KSh, USD, GBP and Euro.

As a business owner, you would get quick flow of payments straight into your bank account while enjoying outstanding real-time processing speeds with average authorization response times usually less than two seconds.

It also offers unparalleled processing scalability and security, seamless integration options, real-time reporting, and support for additional fraud prevention solutions that ensure your money is secure in the account.

As a merchant, you can also receive payments from card holders from other banks, not just from Co-op bank card holders.

The bank has gone further to offer several other cashless solutions for merchants such as:

 Lipa na M-pesa till number: Co-op bank will give you a till number so that your customers can deposit money directly into your Co-op bank account.

 Lipa Na M-pesa paybill number: Using the paybill number 400200, your customers can send money straight into your Co-op bank account.

 MCo-op Cash: This is a mobile banking app that Co-op bank customers can use to transfer money from their accounts into the merchants account. They can also use the USSD *667# to do the same.

 POS/PDQ terminals: These ensure your customers do not handle paper money. Instead, they can use their cards to make payments, and the money will go straight into your business Co-op bank account.

Keeping companies solvent is key to limiting economic damage while saving jobs.

If you are a business owner (merchant), and you would like to know more about the e-commerce solution or the other cashless options available for your business, get in touch with the Co-op Bank team for more information and assistance with any of these channels.

(Sponsored)

Source: TUKO.co.ke
I am fine, says Amit Shah amidst speculation about his health

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 09: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that he is in good health and is not suffering from any disease.

The clarification comes in the wake of speculations about his health on the social media.

Shah further said that in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, he has been working late into the night woth officials. I did not get the time to look into these other issues, he also said.

Howevef my well wishes and party workers have expressed immense concerns over this issue and I could not overlook the same, Shah also said.

Fake News Buster

Shah also appealed to those spreading rumours not to do so and instead allow him to do his work.

I thank all my well wishers for enquiring about my health. I hold no ill will against those spreading rumours about my health the Home Minister also said.
BANGKOK (AP)  Japanese officials said Wednesday that 33 crew members on a docked cruise ship tested positive for the coronavirus in one day of testing after the first case from the ship was reported.

The Italian-operated Costa Atlantica has been docked in Nagasaki since late January for repairs and maintenance by Mitsubishi Heavy Industry. The ship has 623 crew members but it is empty of passengers during the repair work.

The outbreak surfaced Tuesday when the first crew member, identified only as a foreign national, tested positive for the virus.

None of those infected had serious symptoms and all are isolated in single rooms on the ship, officials said.

Mitsubishi officials said no crew members have left the ship since mid-March. Before then, crew members were allowed to go to shore if they passed temperature checks and had not recently traveled to high-risk countries such as China and Italy.

Nagasaki officials are investigating how the crew members contracted the virus.

The outbreak adds to concerns about hospital capacity in Nagasaki, where only 102 beds are available.

All of Japan is under a coronavirus state of emergency as cases rise. Japan has about 11,500 confirmed infection, with 280 deaths. Those numbers are separate from an earlier outbreak on another cruise ship carrying more than 3,700 passengers and crew, where 712 were infected.

In other developments around the Asia-Pacific region:

 INDIA TO USE WRISTBANDS FOR MONITORING: India says it will use wristbands to monitor the movements and body temperature of quarantined patients and help people identify their risk of coronavirus infection. Officials said the wristbands will also help health workers by letting them know if people have contacted infected people or been to high-risk areas. Thousands of wristbands are expected to be deployed, but an exact figure has not been released.

 VIETNAM TO LOOSEN RESTRICTIONS: Vietnam will loosen travel restrictions as it lifts a nationwide shutdown after no new coronavirus cases were reported in the past week. The government said the restrictions will be eased in most cities and provinces, but not the capital, Hanoi, which has nearly half of the countrys 268 infections. Public gatherings of more than 20 people will remain banned along with dining inside restaurants, and nonessential businesses will remain closed.

Story continues

 SINGAPORE CASES SURGE PAST 10,000: Singapore reported 1,016 new cases on Wednesday, pushing its total to 10,141 and retaining its position as the worst-hit nation in Southeast Asia. It was the third straight day of more than 1,000 new cases, but the death toll remained at 11. The health ministry said the vast majority of the new cases are again linked to foreign workers dormitories. The dorms have been locked down and virus testing has been ramped up to curb transmission.

 INDIA TO PROTECT HEALTH WORKERS: India is planning a new law that would make attacks on health care professionals a serious offense with a jail terms of up to seven years. There will be absolutely no tolerance of attacks on doctors and health care professionals, federal minister Prakash Javadekar said Wednesday. Under the law, health care workers would also be provided insurance. Several health care workers have been attacked as they tried to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

 SOUTH KOREA TO CREATE $32B FUND: South Korea says it will create a 40 trillion won ($32 billion) fund to protect jobs in key industries as it scrambles to ease the economic shock from the coronavirus. The plan announced by President Moon Jae-in, which needs parliamentary approval, requires a state-run bank to issue bonds to create the fund, which will be used to help companies in industries such as airlines, automotive, shipbuilding and machinery. Officials said last week that South Korea lost nearly 200,000 jobs in March from a year earlier, its largest monthly decline since May 2009.

 EXPERT: CAN STILL TEST POSITIVE WITH ANTIBODIES: South Koreas top infectious disease expert says patients can still test positive for the coronavirus even after their bodies develop antibodies. The findings, based on a small sample of patients, came as officials explore why some patients relapse after their release from hospitals. Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of South Koreas Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Wednesday that officials tested 25 patients who developed antibodies to resist further infections, and that 12 still tested positive for the virus. However, virus samples collected from the 12 cases could not be cultivated in isolation, indicating a loss of infectiousness. Jeong stressed that the findings dont necessarily mean that a significant proportion of patients would be vulnerable to reinfections even after developing antibodies.

 TAIWAN NAVY SHIP CASES: Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said she bears responsibility for a virus cluster on a navy ship that infected 27 people. I want to present my apologies for letting Taiwanese people bear the risk of the epidemic, she said. Two admirals were removed from their posts pending an investigation into responsibility for the infections, the defense chief said. Taiwan has reported 425 cases and six deaths from the outbreak. The self-governing island has received praise for controlling the outbreak through case-tracing and social distancing despite being excluded from the World Health Organization.

 PAKISTAN DOCTORS URGE MOSQUE CLOSURE: The Pakistan Medical Association is pleading with the countrys clerics and prime minister to reverse a decision to leave mosques open during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, warning it could result in an explosion of coronavirus cases. Large gatherings will increase the number of infections and overwhelm the health care system, said Dr. Qaiser Sajjad, secretary general of the association. The country recorded 533 new confirmed cases on Wednesday, bringing its total to 9,749, including 209 deaths. The government has urged social distancing in mosques but has left it to local clerics to enforce the regulation. Some radical clerics have called for adherents to pack the mosques.
Details added, first version published on 12:58

BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 6

Trend:

The US supports independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within internationally recognized borders, Head of the Press Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Leyla Abdullayeva said, Trend reports on May 5.

Abdullayeva has made the remark commenting on the information disseminated in the Armenian media about the adoption of a resolution on the recognition of the fictitious regime created in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan by the Senate of the Minnesota state.

She said that according to the Senate office, this paper, presented as a resolution of the Minnesotas Senate, signed by Senator Mary Kiffmeyer, the Secretary of the Senate and the Chairman of the Senates Committee on Administration and Rules, is a personal statement of the senator and is symbolic.

No voting is required to accept such a paper, which can be submitted by any member of the Senate; that is, it was not adopted by the state of Minnesota as an official resolution. As seen, this paper, presented by the Minnesota Senate supposedly as recognition of the fictitious regime in the occupied Azerbaijani territories, is in fact a symbolic document signed by the senator, not reviewed and not put to a vote in the State Senate, Abdullayeva noted.

Leyla Abdullayeva pointed out hat the recognition of any structure as a state is outside the Minnesota state's legislative authority.

"As for the US position at the federal level, it is clear that the US supports independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan," she said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi has been admitted to a private hospital in Raipur after he suffered a cardiac arrest at his home around 12:30 pm today. His condition is serious and is on ventilator support.

Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi has been admitted to Naraina hospital in Raipur after he suffered a cardiac arrest this afternoon. Ajit Jogi was rushed to the hospital after he collapsed at his house at 12:30 pm. Reports reveal that the 74-year-old leader is currently on ventilator support and his breathing is irregular. Doctors say that his health condition is serious.

Reports reveal that wheelchair-bound politician was having a regular day at his place and had tamarind before the cardiac arrest. Reports reveal that his son Amit, a former legislator and his wife Renu Jogi, Janata Congress legislator representing Kota assembly, is with him at the hospital. Bureaucrat-turned politician Ajit Jogi has served as the Chief Minister after the new Chhattisgarh state was carved from Madhya Pradesh in November 2000.

Ajit Jogi left Congress party in 2016 when he with his son got involved in a controversy. Later, he also formed Janata Congress Chhattisgarh. Ajit Jogi has served as Chief Minister from 2000 to 2003. Ajit Jogis successor, Rama Singh from BJP, held the post for 15 years and then Congress partys Bhupesh Baghel took over in 2018.

Also Read: Vande Bharat Mission day 2: Two special flights from UAE with 356 Indians including three infants reach Chennai

Former Chhattisgarh CM Ajit Jogi has suffered a cardiac arrest at home and has been put on ventilator at the hospital. His condition is critical: Shree Narayana Hospital, Raipur (File pic) pic.twitter.com/yWvDUhhnOc  ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

The medical bulletin issued by the Narayana hospital said that he is currently on ventilator and a team of doctors is attending him. Though. ECG and his pulse rate are back to normal but respiration is not. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel also spoke to his son Amit and the hospital authorities to get updates about his health. Moreover, the chief minister also wished him speedy recovery.

For all the latest National News, download NewsX App
New Delhi: A Division Bench of Justice Manmohan and Justice Sanjeev Narula disposed off a petition asking for a COVID-19 relief package for Rohingya refugees. Petitioner Fazal Abdali had moved the petition seeking relief packages for Rohingya refugees amid the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.

The Delhi High Court told the petitioner to approach the nodal officers in this regard.

Court further said that the nodal officers will decide on the representation through a speaking order within 3 working days and disposed off the petition.

The petition claimed that Rohingyas in Khajuri Khas, Shram Vihar, and Madanpur Khadar were not getting packages announced by the Delhi Government during the pandemic.

Counsel appearing on behalf of the Delhi Government told the court that adequate ration is being provided to these families and that there were 4 hunger centers operational near the 3 camps mentioned by the petitioner.

The Delhi High Court after taking note of the interim direction of appointment of Nodal Officers by the Supreme Court observed that it would not be appropriate for this court to entertain a second writ petition considering that the matter is already pending in the apex court.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 9)  Community transmission of the coronavirus infection in Cebu province is limited to only four areas of Cebu City, local health authorities said Saturday.

Central Visayas Health Regional Director Jaime Bernadas said in a press statement that they have determined community transmission in four barangays in the city, and not the entire province.

These are Barangays Labangon, Luz, Mambaling, and Suba, which have over 100 cases of the viral illness, Bernadas said.

As of Saturday, Barangay Labangon has recorded 127 COVID-19 infections, which are all concentrated in Sitio Callejon. Sitio Zapatera in Barangay Luz has 194 cases, while Sitio Alaska in Barangay Mambaling has 556 infections. Meanwhile, 129 people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus disease in Barangay Suba.

Earlier, Sitio Alaska in Barangay Mambaling, and Sitio Zapatera in Barangay Luz, were placed under lockdown due to the continuous surge in infections.

Local jail and detention facilities have also reported cases of the dreaded disease. In Cebu City Jail, 311 inmates and 24 personnel have so far contracted COVID-19.

Likewise, four healthcare workers and 17 recently returned overseas Filipino workers have tested positive for the contagious infection.

Cebu City Mayor Edgar Labella previously told CNN Philippines that they are expecting the infected toll to spike further, as they start conducting rapid antibody tests in the cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu, and Mandaue.

Cebu City currently has 1,434 coronavirus cases. 94 have been infected in Mandaue City, while 48 people have caught COVID-19 in Lapu-Lapu City.

The entire province of Cebu now has 1,632 COVID-19 cases, including 28 recoveries and 17 deaths. It is second to Metro Manila among areas with the most number of infections nationwide.

Across the country, there are a total of 10,463 confirmed coronavirus cases, with 1,734 recoveries and 696 fatalities.

CNN Philippines' Stringer Dale Israel contributed to this report.
A second man has today been charged over the death of a father who was brutally stabbed by moped robbers for his 7,000 Rolex watch.

Danny Pearce, 31, was stabbed and allegedly shot at by two thugs on a scooter after he left a jazz club in Greenwich, south-east London, in 2017.

A man was jailed for his involvement in the death in July 2018.

Danny Pearce was with his girlfriend Stephanie Holland after a night out when he was attacked

Police have now confirmed another man, 23-year-old David Egan, of Ashmead Road, SE8, has been charged with murder.

He is further charged with possession of a firearm, robbery and possession of an offensive weapon in King William Walk.

He will appear in custody today at Bromley Magistrates' Court.

Another man was jailed for his involvement in the death in July 2018, after the victim was robbed of his 7,000 Rolex watch, pictured

A post-mortem examination gave the cause of Danny's death as multiple stab wounds, but police also found gunshot grazing and evidence of at least four shots fired in his direction.

After the earlier conviction in connection with the death, a second alleged assailant remained at large.

Speaking after the sentencing, Mr Pearce's mother Jan urged the public to help police.

She said: 'There is another offender out there. If anyone out there knows anything please contact the police.'

The victim and his girlfriend Stephanie Holland were returning to his car after a night out with friends when he was attacked.

Following her father's death, Mr Pearce's daughter, Gracie, left a heartbreaking a picture of herself and her father at the scene of the killing, with the message: 'To Daddy. Love Gracie xxx.'
A new sign and hundreds of flags have been placed at the Montgomery County Veterans Memorial Park in Conroe, to bring a new message to the community during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Montgomery resident and Senior Patrol Leader for Troop 776, Boy Scout James Custer, held a bundle of small white flags in his hands at the park located at 1 Freedom Blvd., just off Interstate 45 and Texas 105.

MORE FROM MEAGAN ELLSWORTH: Many Conroe businesses shift gears amid coronavirus

He joined the Montgomery County Veterans Memorial Commission and nearly a dozen boy scouts and girl scouts from the Lake Conroe area, who placed about 1,000 red, white and blue flags to represent the current count of those who have died in Texas from COVID-19. The flags will be changed daily to honor each person who has been lost across the state.

It is definitely important to do this because we need to show that this is actually something that is dangerous and that we should all be aware of it, Custer said. We need to slow the curve of the spread of coronavirus so that we can reduce its impact and hopefully we can remind everyone to stay safe.

Former Montgomery County Judge and retired United States Marine Cpl. Jimmie Edwards III, who was critically injured in the Vietnam War and has spearheaded the commissions effort to build a new $8-plus million memorial to honor veterans and first responders at the park, said the commission is the first to honor those who have fallen due to COVID-19 in Texas with this kind of tribute.

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Coronavirus live updates: Montgomery County partnering with Kroger for COVID-19 testing

In early April, the commission placed a sign in the park to lift the communitys spirits during the COVID-19 pandemic, that read: Hope is not cancelled. On Friday, the commission replaced it with a new sign displayed under 13 waving military flags on Victory Row to Pray for our Nation and Our Leaders.

Edwards wants to continue to update and change the message of the sign, which he believes can become repetitious. When the message is updated, people notice, he said explaining the reason behind the change.

Weve got to remember that we are dealing with human lives here, and its important, and that we dont get jaded, Edwards said. I think this reminds us of how devastating this virus is.

This is what it is all about. This park is educational. These boy scouts and girl scouts play a real important role here. They are the ones who put out the flags. Education, our youth, this is what this park is about.

MORNING REPORT: Get the top stories on HoustonChronicle.com sent directly to your inbox

Raven Rivero serves on the commission and leads youth and education.

I think it is impactful for the scouts to see just how many lives have been lost in Texas by putting these flags out, Rivero said. Theyve seen so much on the news, have been impacted by being out of school. Their lives have really been impacted so this is a great way to visualize the impact of COVID-19 on the community they live in and on the state.

The effort continues for the commissions memorial project. On Friday, TNT heavy movers set a new South bridge, which will help provide a safer, direct access across Alligator Creek for the parks visitors and programs. The nearly $600,000 bridge is funded by taxpayers of Conroe, he said.

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Remembering Lives Lost to COVID-19

Edwards said the next goal is to start the line with the names of all veterans and begin the work on the first responders memorial, which is expected to begin this year. A dedication ceremony is anticipated on Victory Row, however the date has not been set. The commission continues to monitor the pandemic while making those plans.

This is one more step as we move forward in creating a Memorial that will honor all our veterans and first responders. Edwards stated. The city of Conroe under the direction of Mayor Powell lent his complete support for the construction of the South Bridge to enhance the Montgomery County Veterans Memorial Park.

Troop 776 Scout Master Bryant Brown commended the bridge.

I think it is commemorable in regard to the veterans that they definitely deserve an enriched park that the community can come to and recognize their dedication and service and what they did for our freedoms and rights, Brown said.

While discussing the youths involvement, he described the adventure with a purpose model he has for the troop living in a different world.

We are definitely in a different time of adventure with a different type of purpose in recognizing the unfortunate situation that has passed here and taking that reverence moment to just pause, say a prayer for them, to be able to then see that our scouts are also taking that same pause, Brown said.

They are learning from this and seeing what it takes to step up as a community.

Those who are interested in making recommendations for the next message to be displayed at the park, which is selected by Edwards, are encouraged to visit www.mcvetmemorialpark.org or email jedwards@mcvetmemorialpark.org.

mellsworth@hcnonline.com
Caracas, May 9 : Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido did not address an agreement between one of his top advisers and US contractor Sillvercorp, which the government accuses of being linked to the two recent failed maritime incursions, but challenged President Nicolas Maduro to detain him if he was "brave enough", "They invent new excuses to continue the persecution, to stop me. But I am telling you something very clearly: Maduro, if you are brave enough, go ahead," Guaido said in messages on his social media late Friday after several days of silence.

Regarding the attempted maritime incursions that took place on Sunday and Monday, Guaido said that Maduro created a "false positive" and added that the regime "not just planted weapons and false evidence", while "killing Venezuelans and using their lifeless bodies to make up a story".

However, he did not comment on the government allegations that he signed a contract with Silvercorp to carry out the two failed attacks in which eight people were killed.

One of Guaido's most prominent advisers, Juan Jose Rendon revealed on Tuesday that he had signed an "exploratory" agreement with US contractor Silvercorp.

Rendon added that Guaido did not sign the agreement and that the firm did not receive the "green light" for the operation in Venezuela.

The opposition leader said that the government had acknowledged its infiltration of 'Operation Gideon' - the name given to the failed maritime incursions - and asked: "Why did they allow them to enter Venezuelan territory?" On Sunday, the Maduro government thwarted a maritime raid in the state of La Guaira, near Caracas, in which eight people were killed and another two were detained.

The next day the authorities stopped another attempt on the coast of the state of Aragua, about two hours from Caracas, in which 13 more were detained, including US Army veterans linked to Silvercorp, Luke Denman and Airan Berry.

On Friday, Venezuela's chief prosecutor Tarek Saab raised the number of detainees to 31 after several more arrests and subsequent raids.

Guaido, who is recognized by almost 60 countries as interim president, also called for "defending and demanding respect for human rights of the detainees".

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
New Delhi, May 9 : Wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan spoke about the first time he interacted with batting legend Sachin Tendulkar. Kishan had joined Mumbai Indians in 2018 from Gujarat Lions. He said that he met Tendulkar -- who captained the side in its early years in the Indian Premier League and has since stayed a part of the set-up after his retirement in 2013 -- during a practice session.

"I still remember the time when I first met Sachin paaji (Tendulkar)," Kishan told Cricbuzz. "He had come to see our practise session at Mumbai Indians. It was just after I got signed. I had been chatting with Rohit bhai (Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma) and told him about how I worshipped Sachin paaji all these years and now, suddenly he is in front of me." Kishan said Rohit told him to go have a chat. "Rohit bhai told me to go and have a chat. Fortunately, Sachin paaji himself came towards me to have a talk. I don't think I heard anything that he spoke, I was just watching him speak," he said.

Kishan's exploits in the domestic circuit has led to a lot of calls for him to be given a shot at the wicketkeeper's position in India's limited-overs squads. "From my childhood, I just loved to play shots. Never really liked to leave the ball or defend it. Always loved to attack and liked the sound the ball made off the bat. I never got ruffled by the bowler's height or pace. For me, it was always about where the bowler was going to land it, and how I would tackle that," he said.
A new study by the Imperial College London warns that mosquitos carrying diseases such as dengue, Zika, and yellow fever would likely colonize parts of southern Europe by 2030.

The changes in weather patterns and the rising temperatures will make many parts of the world viable homes for these insects. Scientifically known as Aedes aegypti, currently only thrives in the hottest regions of the world.

As global warming continues, the range of their habitat from Africa, the Amazon, and northern Australia could expand to other countries, including Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Turkey in the next ten years. More so, the invasion in China and southern continental America will also be accelerated by around four miles every year by 2050.

Mosquitos Thrive in Warmer Conditions

Researchers from the Imperial College London and Tel Aviv University looked at models of what will happen to the planet's temperature as the emission of greenhouse gases continue to rise.

They investigated different scenarios based on the current rates of emissions and a possible future where these emissions are prevented from rising. The researchers then looked at how these changes could possibly influence the life cycle of the mosquitos.

According to Dr. Kris Murray of the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis in the School of Public Health and the Grantham Institute - Climate Change and Environment at Imperial, the study helps reveal the potential long-term damages of unsuccessfully curbing emissions of greenhouse gases at present.

Their findings show that this species of mosquito has already benefited from the recent climate change across many countries in the world, and the increase in suitability is now also starting to speed up. They predicted that a significant decrease in greenhouse gas emissions could help slow it down.

Read Also: NASA Shared Image of Unexpected Superbloom of Orange Poppies In Southern California As Seen From Space

How Many Times Would Mosquitos Reproduce in the Next Decades?

The researchers looked at several lab-based studies that cultivated mosquitos at different temperatures to assess how these insects would thrive in different environments. They evaluated the effect of the temperature on the mosquito as an egg, larvae, pupae, and an adult.

They used modeling software to work out how many times mosquitos will reproduce and forecast its range in 2050. There are two potential scenarios projected, one is where gas emissions continue to rise, and another where it significantly drops.

Their results showed that the world became 1.5% per decade more suitable for mosquitos between 1950 and 2000. Moreover, future predictions show that in the next decades, if emissions decrease, the world would observe a 3.2% increase of suitability per decade, while a 4.4% increase per decade if temperatures continue to rise by 2050.

The study, which was published in the journal Nature Communications, revealed that the insects could survive for more extended periods each year because of warmer temperature. The higher peaks of growth and longer growing seasons would make them survive for a longer time.

This could mean that the usual areas afflicted by the mosquitos will be hit harder, which in turn increases the exposure of people to the potentially deadly diseases caused by the A. aegypti.

The lead author of the study, Dr. Takuya Iwamura of Tel Aviv University, said that translating their findings into maps of environmental suitability through time could help provide policy-relevant insights for mosquito and disease management under the changing climate.

Read More: Genetically Engineered Male Mosquitos to be Released in Florida and Other Parts of US to Curb Zika and Dengue Spread
Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times.

Delhi court rejects bail plea of accused in north-east Delhi riots

A Delhi court on Friday dismissed the bail application of Shahrukh Pathan, accused in the north-east Delhi riots, stating that the fundamental right to protest against government policies cannot extend to disturbing public order. Read more

4 Pak soldiers killed in retaliatory fire; 3 posts destroyed

At least four Pakistani soldiers were killed and as many injured in Indias retaliatory firing across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu & Kashmirs Poonch sector on Thursday, an Indian army officer said on Friday. Read more

Drunk e-rickshaw driver kills infant daughter in Bengal; lynched by villagers

A 32-year-old e-rickshaw driver in West Bengals Cooch Behar district stabbed his seven-month-old daughter to death in an inebriated state and grievously injured his wife on Friday, police said. Read more

Pence spokeswoman, married to top Trump adviser, diagnosed with coronavirus

US Vice President Mike Pences press secretary, the wife of one of President Donald Trumps senior advisers, has tested positive for the coronavirus, raising alarm about the virus potential spread within the White Houses inner most circle. Read more

Life in times of Covid-19: Hacks to help ease that boxed-in feeling

By now, even the introverts have had enough. Weeks of staying in, shuttling between the living and bedroom, the family constantly in your face, and no change of scene can take its toll on anyone. Read more

Voice commands for empowerment: How Amazon Alexa is helping people with disabilities live their lives better

Can you walk till the end of the room to turn off the light? Can you type a message to your friends to let them know how your day went? Can you read the morning newspaper with ease? If you can, you are among the 98% population of India that is fully capable of living their lives independently. Read more

Indias fuel demand nearly halves in April amid national lockdown

Indias fuel demand dipped 45.8% in April from a year earlier, as a nationwide lockdown and travel curbs to combat the spread of novel coronavirus eroded economic activity. Read more

Punjab Board class 10th exams cancelled, students promoted based on pre-Board marks

In view of the Covid-19 situation in the state, Punjab government has cancelled the class 10th exams saying that students will be promoted based on their performance in pre-Board exams. Read more

Salman Khan, Jacqueline Fernandez promote new song Tere Bina at his farmhouse: This is our cheapest production

Salman Khan has been accompanied by his industry friends Jacqueline Fernandez and Waluscha De Sousa during his more than a month-long stay at his Panvel farmhouse during lockdown. Read more

Watch| Reusable upto 50 times: IIT Delhi startup launches antimicrobial face mask
Texas Supreme Court orders release of mom jailed for reopening hair salon to feed family

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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.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-10 05:00:42|Editor: huaxia

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AMMAN, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Jordan will start the second phase of evacuating Jordanian students and citizens from abroad on May 15, Jordan's Minister of State for Media Affairs Amjad Adaileh said Saturday.

Adaileh said that the government would start immediately receiving applications for the second evacuation of Jordanians from abroad, adding that there will be 16 flights coming from several countries to Jordan as of May 15.

All arriving citizens will be placed in quarantine at the Dead Sea area, Adaileh said in a statement.

The minister added that the evacuation of the first group of around 3,000 Jordanians from abroad had finished.

Jordan's Health Minister Saad Jaber said that a total of 14 new cases of COVID-19 were registered in the country on Saturday, increasing the total number of confirmed cases to 522.

The new cases included six drivers coming from neighboring countries, a European diplomat who recently arrived in Jordan, and seven people who had contact with a lorry driver in Mafraq infected with the virus, Jaber said. Enditem
When more than 1,000 masked parishioners attended six reopening services at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in the Houston area last weekend, they arrived with tickets reserved in advance, lining up outside with their confirmation codes ready about half an hour before each Mass. For the services held Saturday and Sunday, parishioners were seated one by one, according to social distancing guidelines, with every other pew blocked off.

For those who showed up without a reservation, there was a standby line, just like at an airport.

That's likely what parishioners can expect this weekend, too, as Texas continues to allow churches to reopen at 25 percent capacity with certain social distancing restrictions.

We told our parishioners, We want you for the time to treat this like boarding and deboarding an airplane, said Stephen Lenahan, director of development and communications at the church.

With churches allowed to partially reopen in Texas as of May 1, the coronavirus pandemic has meant a new reality for many. Some houses of worship chose to open right away under Texas' plan, but others decided to wait and continue to provide services online in the interest of safety.

Governors in a number of states have included houses of worship in their reopening plans. Although, according to Pew Research Center, as of the end of April, only 10 states had outright banned in-person services altogether.

Church leaders at St. Anthony of Padua, for instance, are now looking to the airline industry for safety practices.

The church even created an instructional video for attendees, "just like an airline would," Lenahan said. "We sent that out to our parishioners, and it was really helpful for them to understand how it was going to work."

Image: St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church (Courtesy of Stephen Lenahan)

Other Texas church leaders described feeling hope again even as the partial reopenings dramatically transformed what in-person services look like for worshippers.

At St. Anthony of Padua, Lenahan said the biggest challenge was figuring out, if were going to reopen, how do we disinfect our church in between each Mass? The church worked with a local company that has government-approved cleaning supplies to disinfect all pews between every service.

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He said parishioners also had to adjust to changing ingrained church rituals, such as not shaking hands during exchanging the sign of peace and communion being placed in hands instead of mouths.

Still, parishioners were excited and emotional at being able to come back to worship after weeks of having to close down the church to in-person Mass, Lenahan said.

There were a lot of tears shed, he added. You're talking a lot of people, especially for Catholics, that have never missed a weekend of Mass.

Lenahan said the church is made up of more than 7,500 families, and, on a busy weekend, between 9,000 and 10,000 people would attend the six weekend services. Such a large parish meant varying comfort levels and different beliefs on where this is all at in regard to the coronavirus and reopening, he said.

Parishioners have been told to wear masks to services for now, and those who do not want to comply have been told to continue watching the Mass livestreams for the time being, he said.

You're trying to make everyone feel safe and comfortable and that's almost impossible, he said.

St. Anthony of Padua is part of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, which announced late last month it was giving its parishes the right to decide to resume in-person Mass in phases under the state's guidelines.

At St. Martha Catholic Church in Porter, the Rev. T.J. Dolce said reopening last weekend was like a family reunion.

"I was feeling a lot of pain for my people that have wanted to come to Mass," he said.

Being able to open their doors, he said, made parishioners "feel like there's hope again."

"People get so emotional when you give them communion for the first time in seven weeks," he said.

Dolce said the church was following all of the state's and archdiocese's guidelines, enacted social distancing and sanitizing measures and took out all of its hymnals and put its lyrics on a screen to avoid spreading the coronavirus.

The church would usually get between 1,200 and 1,400 people at its two busiest Sunday services before the pandemic, he said. This past Sunday, 200 and 230 people came to the services.

Dolce said they also streamed their services on their plaza, and he hoped more people would continue to come. If they hit their 25 percent capacity, they would encourage people to remain outside and watch the stream.

"Well tell people, Bring your lawn chair. Bring your umbrella. Weve got it on TV out in the plaza. We'll bring you communion,'" he said.

Meanwhile, Second Baptist Church, a megachurch with tens of thousands of members, announced on its website it would be reopening each of its six Texas locations on May 9 and 10.

The church declined to comment on its reopening and directed toward its website. H. Edwin Young, the senior pastor, told members in a message there, I want to reassure you that we are taking every recommended precaution and following every guideline to ensure an environment in which you are comfortable.

From masks to hand sanitizer to social distancing, we are implementing best practices on every campus! he wrote.

If you or someone you love is in a high-risk category, I encourage you to stay home and continue to worship online with us, Young wrote.

Image: Alamo Heights Baptist Church (Eric Gay / AP)

The church shared on its website its reopening guidelines, which included social distancing of at least 6 feet in seating and common areas, touchless thermometers for all staff and attendees prior to entry, no hand-to-hand passing of items between attendees, masks and sanitizing of surfaces.

But not every congregation has felt comfortable reopening its doors in-person just yet.

At the St. Luke United Methodist Church in Austin, Pastor Bonnie How said her congregation highly encouraged her to continue her online services over fears of the pandemic.

Prior to the outbreak, How said her church offered a 9:15 a.m. service to about 20 to 25 members, who were mostly college students, and another at 11 a.m. where about 50 to 55 people attended.

Download the NBC News app for full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

How said she worked with a college student to post prerecorded services on YouTube and Facebook and host a fellowship hour on the video platform Zoom that members could join after.

I said to everybody who was gathered on that Zoom call, What would it take for you to be comfortable coming to worship in person? she said. And the majority of them laughed and said, A vaccine.

How said she acknowledged the social context of her church  which is in an urban setting with congregants who are members of vulnerable populations  and how that contrasts with churches in counties that may not have any confirmed cases.

"My context is very different, and it's a not a one-size-fits-all," she said.

How said the sentiment her congregation expressed was, We would feel terrible if any one of us got sick and there's no reason to. We are gathering together even though we're doing it online.

Its more of a safety issue, she said.
A car belonging to a suspect in the murder of Adrian Donohoe was captured on camera driving by the scene hours before the fatal shooting, a court has heard.

The jury in the trial of Aaron Brady (29), who denies murder, has continued hearing mobile phone and CCTV evidence.

Yesterday afternoon, the court was shown footage from January 25, 2013, outside the Lordship Credit Union, where Detective Garda Donohoe was shot dead during a robbery shortly before 9.30pm that night.

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Detective Garda Gareth Kenna told the court that at 1.46pm a dark-toned saloon vehicle was observed driving past the credit union from the Carlingford direction.

He agreed with prosecuting counsel Lorcan Staines that the passenger window of the car was open and that a person's face appeared to be visible.

A number of seconds later a different camera at Lordship Credit Union captured the vehicle's window going up.

Mr Staines told the court it was accepted that the car was a BMW 5 series belonging to a man who, the prosecution alleges, was also involved in the credit union robbery later that day. This individual cannot be named for legal reasons.

The court had earlier been shown footage which captured a dark-toned saloon car passing by the credit union before pulling into the nearby Bellurgan Service Station.

Det Gda Kenna said that the suspect can then be seen going into the shop and buying two bottles of water before getting back into the car, which drove off in the direction of Lordship Credit Union.

The jury of six men and seven women will continue hearing evidence in the case on Monday.

Aaron Brady, of New Road in Crossmaglen, Co Armagh, is charged with the capital murder of Mr Donohoe, who was then a member of An Garda Siochana acting in the course of his duty, at Lordship Credit Union in Bellurgan, Co Louth, on January 25, 2013.

Robbery

He is also charged with the robbery of approximately 7,000 in cash and assorted cheques from Pat Bellew at the same location on the same date.

Mr Brady has pleaded not guilty to both charges.

Earlier, the court heard evidence of phone traffic between the accused and other mobile numbers.

This included several texts between a mobile referred to as "Aaron x", attributed to the accused, and his then girlfriend Jessica King.

The jury also heard evidence of calls between a "Brades 2" phone, belonging to the accused, and a number of other people on the morning of the January 25.
Meghan Markle quickly became the most-watched woman in the world after marrying Prince Harry. However, all the adulation turned into criticisms just as fast, as she became the most disliked and most hated royal family member.

Meghan has always dreamed of becoming a princess, and it came true when Prince Harry proposed to her and married her in 2018.

Unfortunately, it was not the fairytale Meghan was expecting. Not even close.

Royal Struggle

Even when they were dating, Meghan has been the subject of several criticisms.

In fact, in a statement released by the Communications Secretary to Prince Harry, it was revealed that Meghan received a wave of abuse and harassment.

"Prince Harry is worried about Ms. Markle's safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her," a part of the statement read. "It is not right that a few months into a relationship with him that Ms. Markle should be subjected to such a storm."

Meghan has been nicknamed a "gold-digger" and "user" since people theorized that she only wanted to use the royal family as her stepping stone to become more famous in Hollywood.

The hate intensified after she married Prince Harry in May 2018 -- a decision Prince William disapproved because he thought it was wrong for his younger brother to marry a woman he barely knew.

Why Is Meghan So Hated?

Since the royal wedding, Meghan received a massive backlash for demanding privacy multiple times even though she knew that being a member of the world's most famous royal family is a public-facing position.

What could have caused the Duchess to be hated even more were the reckless incidents that involved the U.K. taxpayers' money -- from the lavish baby shower issue to the high-priced renovations they made on their Frogmore Cottage home.

Celebrity journalists like Piers Morgan spoke out against Meghan as well, claiming that she was -- and she still is -- a social climber and a hypocrite.

However, her actions are just part of the problem since her attitude contributed more to everything that made her the most-disliked royal family member ever.

Royal watchers became the witnesses themselves of Meghan's horrifying attitude as she tried hard to be like Princess Diana.

For instance, she was called out by royal supporters after reports revealed that she yelled at Kate Middleton's staff when the Sussexes and Cambridges were still living together at the Kensington Palace.

Meghan, who gained the nicknames "Me-Gain" and the "Duchess of Difficulty," was reportedly the reason why the Sussexes moved out and relocated to Frogmore Cottage. This was also said to be the start of the rift between the once-close brothers, Prince William and Prince Harry.

Moreover, while Meghan wanted to be a "people's princess" like Princess Diana, her attitude never changed. She allegedly demanded royal staff to immediately accommodate her in just a click of her fingers, almost treating them like slaves.

Unlike the Princess of Wales, Meghan never received the same amount of love from people.

And when royal watchers thought that she has already revealed her dark side with all the scandals she got involved in through the years, it seems like she has more things to drop after Megxit.

Indeed, with all the problems and controversies she caused, it's not really surprising why members of the monarchy do not like her.
By Online Desk

MUMBAI: After 77 inmates of Mumbai's Arthur Road jail, now a doctor attached to Byculla Jail in the Maharashtra capital has tested positive for novel coronavirus, officials said on Friday.

It was being found out if any inmate came in contact with the doctor, an official said.

Earlier, 77 inmates of Arthur Road Jail and 26 staffers were detected with the infection.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said on Friday that those supplying vegetables and milk at the Arthur Road Jail might have been carriers of the deadly virus, leading to several inmates contracting the infection.

All of them have been quarantined.

The Uddhav Thackeray government locked down eight prisons in the state including Arthur Road jail last month to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

"The jail was already locked down. So those supplying vegetables and milk may have carried the disease there," Home Minister Deshmukh told PTI over the phone.

The minister also said that no fresh coronavirus cases were reported from the prison on Friday.

(With PTI Inputs)
Prince Faisal bin Abdullah was detained by Saudi authorities in late March, has not been heard from since, HRW says.

Prince Faisal bin Abdullah al-Saud, a son of Saudi Arabias late monarch King Abdullah, has been in incommunicado detention since the end of March, according to a prominent rights group.

Human Rights Watch (HRW), citing a source with ties to the royal family, said on Saturday the prince was arrested by security forces on March 27 while self-isolating because of the coronavirus pandemic at a family compound northeast of the capital, Riyadh.

In 2017, the prominent member of the royal family had been rounded up and detained at a luxury hotel in Riyadh, in what was billed as an attempt to combat corruption among the higher echelons of the kingdoms bureaucracy. Prince Faisal, a former head of the Saudi Red Crescent Society, was released later that year.

There was no immediate comment by Saudi authorities to the HRWs report.

Earlier in March, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) had launched a sweeping crackdown against senior royals and security officers, according to several reports, in what observers saw as the latest effort by the heir to the throne and de facto ruler to consolidate power in the kingdom.

Two of the royal familys most influential members, Prince Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz, the youngest brother of King Salman, and Mohammed bin Nayef, the former crown prince and interior minister, were targeted in the crackdown.

It was not clear if the reported detention of Prince Faisal was related to those in early March.

We look at who was detained in what is believed to be the latest crackdown by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). pic.twitter.com/BLY6DCyooG  Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) March 10, 2020

Rights groups have denounced the detention of hundreds of activists, including womens rights campaigners, amid growing criticism over the kingdoms human rights record, including the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by a team of Saudi agents, and the devastating war in Yemen.

Despite waves of criticism, the lawless behaviour of Saudi authorities during the de facto rule of Mohammed bin Salman continues unabated, said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at HRW.

Now we have to add Prince Faisal to the hundreds detained in Saudi Arabia without a clear legal basis, he added.

The kingdom has regularly denied allegations of unfair detention. Authorities said last year the government was winding down the anti-corruption campaign targeting many of royals, businessmen and government officials but would continue to go after corruption.

HRW said Prince Faisals whereabouts or status are not known.

The source said that Prince Faisal has not publicly criticised authorities since his December 2017 arrest and that family members are concerned about his health as he has a heart condition, it added.

The arrest and possible disappearance of Prince Faisal demonstrates again Saudi authorities blatant disrespect for the rule of law and the need for a full overhaul of the justice system, Page said.

In late December 2017, a senior Saudi official said Prince Faisal and another royal, Prince Meshaal bin Abdullah, were released from Riyadhs Ritz-Carlton hotel after reaching an undisclosed financial settlement with the government.
Migrant workers using the recreation room inside the temporary living quarters set up at the Havelock MRT station construction site. (PHOTO: Dhany Osman / Yahoo News Singapore)

SINGAPORE  Shamim Khan has been living in a construction site along Kim Seng Road since mid-April.

The 35-year-old Bangladeshi construction worker is one of 18 migrant workers who have been moved to temporary living quarters at the site where the Havelock MRT station is being built.

While all construction work in Singapore has been stopped since 22 April, Shamim and his colleagues have been tasked with carrying out essential services such as site maintenance and vector control.

The workers were brought in from the Kranji Lodge dormitory, which as of noon on Wednesday (6 May) has seen 425 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection. Over 19,000 migrant workers living in Singapores dormitories have also tested positive for the coronavirus.

The workers at the Havelock site currently stay in two rooms, which were converted into accommodations from the site offices, with their beds spaced apart for safe distancing.

I feel more safe here, said the married father of one, when asked during a media visit on Tuesday if he wished to return to the dormitory.

Honestly, Im not worried (about getting infected) because this is a very good country. The Singapore government announced... it would take care of us, he added.

Migrant workers' beds seen inside the temporary living quarters set up at the Havelock MRT station construction site. The site's 18 workers are split across two rooms. (PHOTO: Dhany Osman / Yahoo News Singapore)

News articles on foreign workers who have been penalised for flouting circuit breaker measures seen on a wall inside the temporary living quarters. (PHOTO: Dhany Osman / Yahoo News Singapore)

Safe distancing markers seen at the site's dining area, where catered meals are delivered to each day. (PHOTO: Dhany Osman / Yahoo News Singapore)

A migrant worker's bed seen inside the temporary living quarters. (PHOTO: Dhany Osman / Yahoo News Singapore)

Along with catered meals and air-conditioned rooms, Shamim said the workers have also been provided with free Wi-Fi connections to keep in touch with their friends and family, as well as a recreation room in which to relax after work.

According to the Land Transport Authority, there are currently 111 such temporary living quarters spread across its road and rail worksites. Together, they house over 900 workers.

The contractors building the Havelock station, Gammon Construction, began moving healthy workers out of the dormitory in February. Those brought to the site are first isolated in a separate room for two weeks before they are allowed to join their colleagues in the shared rooms.

None of the workers are allowed to leave the site, so as to minimise their exposure to others. Wearing face masks on-site is also mandatory at all times, except for when the workers are eating, bathing, exercising or sleeping.

Story continues

Besides work, Gammon has also been conducting twice weekly online training sessions for the workers  in areas such as basic English and workplace safety.

Construction worker Shamim Khan, who is currently staying at the Havelock MRT station construction site, speaking to the members of the media on 5 May 2020. (PHOTO: Dhany Osman / Yahoo News Singapore)

Missing friends, going out for food

Asked what he missed most during the circuit breaker period, Shamim said it was the simple things like going out to buy food with friends and sharing meals with them.

We can still talk  here are video calls  but we are missing the physical contact. Like physically we cannot say Hi, cannot shake hands, he said.

While Shamim said he knew fellow migrant workers who have been infected with the virus, none fell severely ill as a result. They never felt anything, but tested positive, he said, adding that these other workers were given some medicine, food and asked to rest as part of their recovery.

Shamim, who has worked in Singapore for 12 years, said he is looking forward to returning home for a few weeks once the pandemic situation is resolved and things have settled down. He was due to make the trip on 19 May but that plan has since been postponed.

From conversations with his family back home, Shamim said they have full confidence in Singapores ability to take care of its migrant workers at this time. Singapore is more developed than our country... what the Prime Minister says, they will implement, he said.

As for concerns over his continued employment, Shamim said he could only wait to see how things develop.

The economy (and) many things are seeing problems... My company is suffering many problems, Im also suffering problems... Im not worried about that. I just pass the time, he said.

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More Singapore stories:

COVID-19: Singapore sees 741 new cases, total now at 20,939

POFMA: Facebook pages of Singapore States Times, Alex Tan classified as Declared Online Locations

COVID-19 safeguards in foreign worker dorms 'not sufficient', says Lawrence Wong: report
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The property where Costco is set to be built in Midland, 4816 Bay City Road, was officially sold to Costco Wholesale Corporation this week  and activity is taking place on site.

According to the Midland County Register of Deeds, the property was sold by Fast Ice Development LLC, which according to the citys property tax records, acquired the property from Nicholas Rapanos in 2008.

However, the document does not detail the amount of money paid for the property, as the seller filed a Transfer Tax Valuation Affidavit, which allows them to suppress the sales price from the public.

At a Midland Zoning Board of Appeals meeting in October 2019, Costco had applied for a larger sign variance, at which time it was pointed out Costco didnt own the property on Bay City Road. At that meeting, Elaine Rapanos spoke representing the Elaine Rapanos Trust which she said owned the property.

Weve been working 12 years to get Costco to come to Midland, she had said. And its been a struggle and were competing against Saginaw and Bay City who are very anxious to get it, but I feel like weve got a good offer.

She said Costco had looked at the property on the other side of the interstate, which would have given them more direct exposure to the highway, however, due to wetlands, the property was unusable. She advocated for Costco to have larger signs.

They do have a problem  Midland is small community for them, very small; Saginaw fits better, she said about Costco. So, they feel like they need to tell people where they are so people will know how to get there, or that this is the interchange. And Midland really needs some retail.

Costco is a large wholesale box retailer that has generated buzz and excitement in the Midland community after the company applied to the City of Midland to build a 157,00-square-foot store and an eight-pump fuel station. The site plan was approved in December 2019 and building permit was applied for in February.

Grant Murschel, director of planning and community development for Midland, said Costco has been issued building permits by the city and they started minor site work this week.

"We anticipate to see construction trailers brought onto the site as early as next week," Murschel said in a statement to the Daily News. "We should see activity begin to ramp up on the site as the days progress."

The Midland Costco will be the only one located in mid-Michigan, and the farthest one north in Michigan aside from Traverse City.

However, a set timeline is still unknown. It is the company's policy not to comment on future developments, until they're ready to share details, typically just months before the store is set to open.
Leaders and activists from Jersey Citys black community condemned the police officers who used pepper spray and batons during a chaotic fight on Tuesday, and called for better treatment of African American residents.

The group released new footage of the chaotic incident on Bostwick Avenue in which an altercation between civilians ended with police using pepper spray and batons on the crowd.

Five people, including two juveniles were arrested.

Let me just say this about my beautiful black people, we are not animals," said Pamela Johnson, executive director of the Jersey City Anti-Violence Coalition Movement. "We are not savages. You just cant beat on us and take our life and tell us it was justified.

The new footage shows officers chasing a man and pinning him against a fence. The officers then shoot pepper spray and repeatedly strike people with batons, some of whom are seen lying on the ground. The video also shows a closer view of the aftermath of the fracas, with a man lying on the sidewalk, handcuffed and screaming in pain.

The incident, including and the officers use of force, is being investigated by the Internal Affairs division of the Jersey City Police Department. Earlier this week, Jersey City Police Chief Michael Kelly said the officers showed restraint and used appropriate force.

Of all of the video that Ive seen on social media, police video body cam, our police officers acted with great restraint and used exactly the force necessary to bring this situation to a close, Kelly said.

Johnson was joined by civic activists Chris Gadsden and Frank Gilmore at a press event Friday afternoon on the street where the fight occurred.

They urged Jersey City to let the legal process run its course before making conclusions about what transpired that day. They also requested that the city create a civilian review board for the police department, suspend or discipline the officers who used excessive force, and treat the black community with more respect.

Gadsden, a former Jersey City councilman, said the family of one of the individuals who was beaten has had loved ones die in street violence.

How much trauma and how much stress can a family take? he asked.

Police received three 911 calls around 5:16 p.m. Wednesday about a large street fight on Bostwick Avenue, city officials said Wednesday. Six officers responded and attempted to disburse the crowd.

Officials said officers only began using pepper spray and batons after a civilian appeared to reach for an officers duty belt. Video appears to show an officer continuing to strike that had been taken to the ground.

Carmine Disbrow, president of the Jersey City Police Officers Benevolent Association, said that his interpretation of the videos was that police lives were at risk.

"This confrontation was precipitated by individuals who are more committed to creating chaos than by abiding to even the most basic of community standards," he added. "I am proud of how my members handled themselves and showed restraint in one of the most dangerous circumstances any law enforcement officer can face."

In response, Gadsden said the way one of the officers used his baton was simply too aggressive.

Using that excessive force  he did not have to use that baton in that nature, Gadsden said.

A community rally in response to the incident is planned for Sunday.
Amazon is circling the troubled owner of Odeon Cinemas, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Sources said the online shopping and technology giant, run by billionaire Jeff Bezos, has run the rule over America's AMC Theatres, the world's largest cinema chain, which also owns Odeon in the UK.

The duo are thought to have held talks about a potential takeover of AMC by Amazon. However, it is not clear if the discussions are still active or if they will lead to a deal, sources said.

Amazon is circling AMC Theatres, the troubled owner of Odeon Cinemas, according to sources

A deal would mark a pivotal moment in the history of the film industry and would give the streaming giants an even tighter grip on Hollywood.

Amazon and Netflix have shaken up the film industry in recent years by offering subscriptions to watch films and television shows at home and on the go. However, they have not yet made a move into cinemas.

AMC is reportedly on the verge of bankruptcy, giving Amazon the opportunity to snap it up on the cheap.

The company is the latest target on Amazon's hit list as it looks to take advantage of the coronavirus crisis, which has left many major firms in need of rescue.

Amazon is understood to have held talks about running the National Lottery in recent months and is said to be eyeing a takeover of satellite company OneWeb, the British firm backed by Sir Richard Branson, which filed for bankruptcy in March in the US.

Bezos founded Amazon in 1994 as an online bookstore, but has since grown it into one of the world's largest companies, with a number of giant divisions.

It is now the world's best-known shopping site, it has a huge cloud computing business and a popular video service, and even produces its own films and television shows through Amazon Studios.

It became the first streaming service to win an Oscar in 2017 for its movie Manchester By The Sea, starring Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams.

Further expansion? Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in 1994 as an online bookstore

The company bought supermarket chain Whole Foods Market in 2017 in a sign that Bezos was willing to spend money buying non-web-based companies.

Buying a cinema chain would enable Amazon to control the screening of films, giving it greater dominance of the industry. Amazon's interest in cinemas is not new.

In 2018, it looked at buying American arthouse cinema chain Landmark Theatres, but lost out to the eventual buyer, Cohen Media Group. Netflix was also reportedly in the running to buy Landmark.

But a takeover of AMC would be on a different scale as Landmark only had about 250 screens in the US, while AMC has about 10,000 around the world.

Amazon certainly has the firepower to buy AMC, whose stock market value has collapsed in recent years to just $420million (339million).

Amazon generated profits, or net income, of $2.5billion in the first three months of this year.

AMC was bought by Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda for $2.6billion in 2012, but it bought back $600million worth of shares in 2018 after Beijing cracked down on overseas investments by Chinese companies.

Amazon bought supermarket chain Whole Foods Market in 2017 in a sign that Bezos was willing to spend money buying non-web-based companies

Under Wanda, AMC launched a major expansion plan, and in 2016 bought Odeon in the UK for 920million from British financier Guy Hands' private equity firm, Terra Firma, and US group Carmike Cinemas for $1.1billion.

The deals turned AMC into the world's largest cinema company, with 1,000 outlets and 10,000 screens around the world.

However, the expansion plan backfired and left AMC saddled with debts that are now close to $5billion. Last month, AMC raised $500 million from bond investors in an effort to stay afloat during the crisis.

However, investors still questioned whether AMC could avoid bankruptcy, given its parlous financial state.

A group of AMC's lenders reportedly hired lawyers to advise on restructuring options last month, underlining AMC's financial strife.

In 2019, it generated revenues of $5.5billion, but made a loss of $149million, with its net debt standing at $4.7billion.

Licence to kill: AMC will not show the new Bond film No Time To Die

Since the coronavirus crisis struck in early February, AMC's shares have halved. But even before the pandemic had shut down cinemas around the world, AMC's share price had slumped by 80 per cent since the end of 2016, shortly after it took over Odeon and Carmike.

Last month, AMC stunned the industry when it announced it would no longer screen films made by Universal Pictures, one of the largest studios in Hollywood and behind new Bond film No Time To Die.

This followed comments made by NBC Universal Media chief executive Jeff Shell, who suggested Universal could start releasing films on demand at the same time as in cinemas after the successful release of Trolls World Tour.

Amazon declined to comment on its interest in AMC. AMC did not respond to requests for comment.

Cinema operators in the UK are hoping to reopen outlets by mid-July, in time for the release of Tenet, the new blockbuster by director Christopher Nolan.

The industry has been lobbying the Government to allow them to operate, having drawn up detailed plans to allow for social distancing, including staggering showings to limit crowds and ensuring groups from different households are not sat close together.
The Supreme Court has nullified the judgment which convicted Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, the former Governor of Abia state governor, and Ude Udeogo, the former Director of Finance and Accounts during Kalus administration which lasted from May 29, 1999, to May 29, 2007.

Senator, Orji Uzor Kalu, and Ude Udeogo were arrested and jailed for diverting N7.6 billion belonging to Abia state government during their time in office.

Justice Idris Mohammed Liman of the Federal High Court in Lagos on December 12, 2019, sentenced Kalu to 12 years imprisonment after finding him guilty of N7.1bn fraud charges levelled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. Udeogo was also sentenced to 10 years.

Displeased with the judgement of the Federal High Court, Kalu and Udeogu filed an appeal to challenge their sentencing at the Supreme Court.

The apex court, in a unanimous verdict by a seven-man panel of Justices led by Justice Amina Augie, held that the Federal High Court in Lagos acted without jurisdiction when it convicted Kalu, his firm, Slok Nigeria Limited and former Director of Finance in Abia State, Jones Udeogu. It held that trial Justice Mohammed Liman was no longer a judge of the Federal High Court as at the time he sat and delivered the judgement that convicted the defendants for allegedly stealing about N7.1billion from Abia state treasury.

The apex court, therefore, ordered the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to reassign the case for trial.

Kalu served as the Governor of Abia State from May 29, 1999, to May 29, 2007.
MATTOON  Central Illinoisans waiting since March for non-urgent but, in many cases, medically necessary surgeries and procedures will experience relief beginning Monday.

"We are beginning with the cases that were canceled in March with the determining factors: the patient can go home following the procedure/surgery, patient has a driver and patient can have a COVID-19 test performed with a negative result," said Patty Peterson, public relations director for Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center in Coles County.

Those surgeries will be conducted in the new Sarah Bush Lincoln Surgery Center. The facility opened in February, but closed six weeks later when elective surgeries/procedures were canceled due to COVID-19, Peterson said.

Peterson added that Sarah Bush Lincoln suspended nearly 1,000 elective procedures.

The situation is much the same at hospitals throughout the region.

At Decatur Memorial Hospital, for example, the surgical backlog is 500 cases. At Advocate BroMenn Medical Center in Normal, it's 300 cases and at Advocate Eureka Hospital in Eureka, it's 40, said Trayce Bartley, director of perioperative services.

We have not offered non-emergent procedures because of the governors order for several weeks and there is quite a backlog of cases at each of our HSHS Illinois hospitals, said Allison Paul, HSHS Illinois Division Chief Nursing Executive. We encourage patients to contact their doctor for more information about when they can get their procedure scheduled in the coming weeks.

The HSHS hospital group includes St. Marys in Decatur and St. Anthonys in Effingham.

It will be weeks before all those patients are treated  a month and a half at DMH, guessed Dr. Ted Clark, chief medical officer for DMH and affiliate vice president for the Memorial Health System  as hospitals continue to treat other patients.

It will be longer if social distancing lets up too quickly and there's another wave of COVID cases, said Lynn Fulton, president of OSF HealthCare St. Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington, and Dr. James Nevin, BroMenn and Eureka chief medical officer.

"I am not expecting clear sailing," Nevin said. "It'll take time to slowly ramp up in a safe and prescriptive manner."

Staff and surgeons want patients to know that they are anxious to treat them. Hospitals and surgeons have taken a financial hit with the delays, and some surgical services staff were deployed elsewhere in hospitals or, in some cases, furloughed.

Paul Skowron, CEO of Warner Hospital & Health Services in Clinton, said surgical staff is "ready to resume surgical activities."

"In a rural community such as Clinton, the lack of elective surgery has been tough mentally on the staff and community because the service provides a vibrancy that a small hospital needs and a convenience close to home that the community appreciates," he said.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Illinois in March, surgeries continued when they addressed life-threatening conditions, such as open-heart and neuro-surgeries and orthopedic and other procedures that, if not performed immediately, would have caused permanent disability.

But procedures that could be delayed were deferred to conserve resources for COVID-19 patients and to reduce infection risk. Illinois Department of Public Health is allowing elective surgeries to resume as the spread of COVID-19 slows.

Examples of surgeries and procedures that have been postponed include non-urgent joint replacement, gallbladder and prostate surgery; hernia repair; gynecological procedures such as hysterectomies; cancer biopsies; endoscopies and colonoscopies; removal of moles and skin lesions; and pain management, ophthalmological, podiatric and ear, nose and throat procedures.

"For most hospitals, the bulk of what we do is elective surgeries," OSF's Fulton said. "The patient needs it but not immediately. There is only so long you can put off elective procedures before it affects the health and well being of the patient."

For example, delays in cancer screening biopsies may delay treatment and postponing orthopedic procedures may result in pain, Clark said.

"We think the benefit of elective surgeries outweighs the risk at this point because of the aggressive steps we're taking to protect the patients," Clark said.

Hospitals are not yet moving to 100 percent elective surgical capacity because non-COVID patients must be kept separate from COVID patients, because hospitals must be prepared for a possible second COVID surge and because hospitals must be ready for any medical emergency.

"We will be easing in," Fulton said. "We will not be flipping the switch on Monday and filling our ORs."

In a news release announcing the start of elective surgeries, Jerry Esker, president of Sarah Bush Lincolns President said he wants "assure" patients that the hospital is "a safe organization in which to seek care."

He said SBLHC follows federal and state recommendations, cleans rooms and equipment and ensures that staff members are monitored.

"If anybody knows how to manage infection, it's the hospital," Clark said.

How hospitals responded to COVID-19

Contact Paul Swiech at 309-820-3275. Follow him on Twitter: @pg_swiech.
A Colombian advertising company is pitching a novel if morbid solution to shortages of hospital beds and coffins during the coronavirus pandemic: combine them.

ABC Displays has created a cardboard bed with metal railings that designers say can double as a casket if a patient dies.

Company manager Rodolfo Gmez said he was inspired to find a way to help after watching events unfold recently in nearby Ecuador.

Families in the coastal city of Guayaquil waited with dead loved ones in their homes for days last month as COVID-19 cases surged.

Many could not find or were unable to afford a wood coffin, using donated cardboard ones instead.

Gmez said he plans to donate 10 of his new beds to Colombia's Amazonas department, where resources are in short supply. So far there is no indication whether the beds will be put to use and no orders have been placed.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
"We are determined to have a graduation ceremony for our seniors that appropriately honors them and the completion of their high school journey," said Col. David L. Coggins, the school's President.

Fork Union Military Academy announced this week that it would hold in person graduation exercises for seniors in the Class of 2020 on July 18, 2020. Founded in 1898, this will be the Academy's 121st commencement and is being planned to take place in the school's stadium where past graduations have been celebrated. School officials say that the July 18 date was chosen because it is expected to meet the schedule announced by Governor Northam for the lifting of restrictions on larger events. Additional protocols will be shared with families as the graduation date approaches.

"We will continue to monitor the changing circumstances," said Colonel David L. Coggins, USMC (Ret.), the President of Fork Union Military Academy, "and we are developing a comprehensive plan for our graduation and our phased return to school. We are determined to have a graduation ceremony for our seniors that appropriately honors them and the completion of their high school journey. They have done very well under extraordinary circumstances and I couldn't be prouder of each one of them."

Out of an abundance of caution and its commitment to hold a traditional, in person graduation, the Academy has asked seniors and their families to also hold the weekend of July 30-August 1 in the event circumstances change.

The senior class hails from more than a dozen states and several countries. Fork Union is a college preparatory, Christian school; each member of the senior class has been accepted to at least one college. The members of the Class of 2020 have been awarded college scholarship grants of more than $2.5 million.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused the closing of school campuses across Virginia, by order of Governor Ralph Northam. Many schools scrambled to put in place online learning alternatives. Fork Union Military Academy follows a unique curriculum plan called the One Subject Plan, in which students take just one class during each of the five grading terms of the school year. This simplified the school's conversion to distance learning for the final grading term. Term 5 is subject to standard grading requirements, so the Valedictorian and Salutatorian will be announced after Term 5 is complete.

"Because each teacher is only teaching one class with approximately five to fifteen students," explains COL Mike Goad, Fork Union's Academic Dean, "we were able to set up distance learning in a way that was really tailored to the needs of each class. It's worked very smoothly for us. We miss having our students on campus, though, and we are looking forward to having a graduation ceremony this summer."

"Graduation from high school is a true rite of passage for our seniors," Goad continued. "Even though we had to send our students home and finish the school year with distance learning, we have been looking forward to the day when we could be together and celebrate the accomplishments of our senior class in person."


An NGO from Indore in Madhya Pradesh has sent a letter petition to the Chief Justice of India seeking direction to authorities to ensure people with disabilities reach their homes safely amid coronavirus lockdown

Bhopal: An NGO from Indore in Madhya Pradesh has sent a letter petition to the Chief Justice of India seeking direction to government authorities to ensure people with disabilities, or Divyangjan, reach their homes safely amid the lockdown for the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The letter was sent to the CJI on Friday, Anand Service Society's directors Gyanendra and Monica Purohit told PTI.

"More than 150 Divyang persons are stuck in different parts of the country and waiting endlessly to go back to their homes. We have sent a letter petition to the c requesting him to issue necessary directions to the concern authorities," Purohit said.

"After our successful mission to rescue 23 speech and hearing impaired persons, a large number of people with disabilities have approached us to make arrangements for their safe return to their homes.

"We need government support for it and, therefore, requested the Chief Justice of India to give necessary directions to National Disaster Management Authority and the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to help these stranded persons," the petition said.

The petition contains details of these persons as well as sign language videos they have put out requesting for help.

The petition said these persons with disabilities tend to use touch to navigate and social distancing norms currently in place to contain the virus outbreak was causing hindrances in their lives.

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It contended that most do not have the wherewithals to procure e-passes for movement during lockdown, and, moreover, arranging a vehicle to travel is also beyond their financial means.
Two months apart, without knowing they were doing so, Ray and Barbara Dalio described how they helped each other understand poverty in Connecticut, the richest state, where they are comfortably the richest residents.

The questions the Greenwich couple asked each other go a long way toward explaining why they have not only stayed, but raised the Nutmeg flag ever-higher  at a time when other uber-wealthy state residents have exited for sunnier, lower-tax places.

Those questions also point to why the Dalios are stepping up their activities in Connecticut in the coronavirus crisis.

Barbara Dalio immigrated to New York from Madrid in her 20s, more than 40 years ago. She met Ray, who had grown up in a middle-class neighborhood in Queens, son of a jazz musician. They married, moved to Connecticut, raised four sons and he built the worlds largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates in Westport.

I would ask Ray, Whats going on, why do we have this poverty? she said in a conversation she and I had on March 2, just before the pandemic gripped Connecticut and the nation.

That led her, a dozen years ago, after their youngest son was grown, to launch a long effort to boost engagement by students in the lowest-income, lowest-performing schools. She dove in, hoping to help educators make a difference.

She would come home and describe it and I didnt have any window into it, Ray Dalio said in late April, when the three of us talked  over Zoom, not in person unfortunately  about her sense of place, his views on where the world is heading and why their values keep them in Connecticut.

He had that window growing up in New York. In recent times, Barbara was the conduit. Shes still at it, as the driving force behind the Partnership for Connecticut, with $100 million commitment from the Dalios over five years and an equal amount from the state, aimed at helping the 33 most challenged school systems.

And both of them have doubled down on Connecticut despite the states financial woes, or maybe because of that  all the more now that coronavirus has struck, now that were in a deep recession.

Barbara and I share similar values and the most important things for us are meaningful relationships and our community, Ray said, describing two topics central to his 2017 book, Principles: Life and Work.

Connecticut is our home

In all, donations through Dalio Philanthropies in Connecticut, mostly for education led by Barbara Dalio, now push $45 million a year  and a lot of legwork to go along with those checks. Theyve stepped up their in-state giving but they and their consultants peg the total at $166 million since 2004, to many causes.

The long list includes $2.3 million to the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence; $2.5 million to the Carver Foundation of Norwalk for middle school youth development; and $10.5 million for a project to strengthen youth organizations in Stamford and Hartford.

This years total includes their $20 million partnership installment, plus another $16 million for education programs not in the partnership, the Dalios told me.

For coronavirus, their giving includes $3 million for child care for first-responders through a Hartford area agency; and $1 million to two food banks. And it includes Rays help  in money and connections  in bringing supplies from China to fight COVID-19.

Later this month, just in time for schools to not reopen, the first 17,000 Dell laptops bought by the partnership will land in the hands of some of the states neediest and at-risk high school students. Another 43,000 laptops, loaded with software, should arrive by summer.

Outside of the partnership, theyre looking for online learning programs, which theyll pay for, to go along with the laptops  obviously a need with new urgency in the crisis.

This was the first time the Dalios have spoken in depth with a journalist about their roles in their financially troubled home state. Their message is that as global as Ray Dalios reach has been  and it has, from CNBC to China to Davos  Connecticut is the place they care the most about.

Giving in Connecticut represents nearly a third of the total amount they will donate worldwide this year.

We just feel a sense that Connecticut is our home and I think it has been very good with us, Barbara Dalio said in the recent conversation. We raised our kids here and we always felt that it was a great state and great community and we really felt a sense of appreciation and obligations towards it.

The machine and the community

In some ways of looking at it, conditions are in place for a couple of the Dalios age and means to move elsewhere.

Ray Dalio is transforming the ownership structure and management at Bridgewater, which he founded in 1975. Hes still co-chairman and co-chief investment officer but no longer holds the CEO title. That business has brought the Dalios a net worth of $18.7 billion as of last fall, according to a guess by Forbes.

He is 70, within a year of the age when two other Greenwich billionaires, Dean Metropoulos and Thomas Peterffy, both said farewell to Connecticut as residents four years ago, making their displeasure over the state of the state known to elected officials.

The Dalios arent weighing in publicly about Connecticut taxes, politics or debates such as tolls and public employee pension reform. They do talk about the states economic funk in a general way.

To me if youre part of a community with people you care about and theyre hurting, its important to help rather than leave, Ray Dalio said. When the conditions are worse for some in Connecticut, we want to step in and help rather than leave.

He described an esprit de corps in the states struggles, and said, I really believe that going through good and bad times together provides the greatest rewards. ... Relationships get tested by bad times.

That, too, is part of the philosophy Dalio has articulated in his writings, which often appear first on LinkedIn, and which grow out of the management methods he installed at Bridgewater. That includes a belief that reality, such as financial conditions, operates as a machine that can be understood; Ray Dalio has described himself as a mechanic but has also talked about humanitys power...to get to higher levels of well-being.

Most famously, the business axioms include radical transparency, in which dissent is not just allowed but required. Every participant in a meeting evaluates all the others, and those metrics form a database thats deployed to guide teams at Bridgewater.

Less transparent is whether the Dalios would accept and even welcome higher taxes on the highest income earners as a way of filling the states perpetual budget gaps, which were shrinking but now threaten to bounce back above the $2 billion-a-year level.

They signed The Giving Pledge, joining more than 200 super-rich, mostly billionaires, who promised to give away at least half their wealth in their lifetimes, or upon their deaths. And in making themselves leading philanthropists for in-state causes, and building up Bridgewater as an almost entirely Connecticut operation with 1,500 employees, many of them spectacularly paid, the Dalios have spoken.

We have the resources, we consider ourselves blessed and we consider ourselves part of this community, he said. In a good community everybody brings what they can. When we look at the other people and what theyre bringing  the teachers that Barbara works with and so on  we respect them a lotAnd we think its important to do what we can. Different people with different resources, so we bring what we have.

A fork in the road

Connecticut, global in finance, insurance, education, health care and manufacturing, sits as a fulcrum of what Ray Dalio calls, as the title of his new book, The Changing World Order. He places American prosperity and influence in the context of great empires of the past, with the question of where were heading.

Coronavirus adds punctuation.

I think were at a defining moment over the next three years, whether were going to have an attitude that were helping each other, pitching in and being understanding and empathetic with each other, or whether are going to fight each other for what we want or need, Dalio said.

By distilling the core problem to a human question of understanding and empathy, hes saying why he and Barbara have committed to their home state of four decades. At every level its about community and relationships.

Oh, and resources. Hes not predicting markets publicly but he is talking about the battles.

Theres the virus and there is the economy and its important not to confuse the two. I view this as an economic tsunami, and then as the virus recedes, you have the economic damage. With that economic damage there will be income and balance sheet holes....the government will not be able to rectify the balance sheets and the income statements of everyone.

The result: What will happen will be a much slower recovery than people expect, he said.

One reason: The established order of free-flowing goods and capital is breaking down.

Now were in transition from being interconnected to being self-sufficient in a still interconnected world. That adjustment process is going to be very painful. Its going to make everyone and everything less efficient, he said.

If he sounds pessimistic, hes not  at least when it comes to whether coronavirus makes us better or worse in the long run.

I cant tell you which fork in the road were going to take, he said. Ive seen fabulous stuff. Ive seen people contribute in all ways. Ive seen people run to the fire and help, and Ive seen enormous creativity and contributions by all different people. That has made me feel great....And then Ive also seen resentments and anger and even distortions in the media that fuels anger, so I honestly dont know.

Restructuring of debt and of the whole system is inevitable. My hope is that we do it in a bipartisan, mutually considerate way.

Im following Barbaras lead

The Dalio family came into my consciousness as a force of ideas in December 2007, when, as an editor, I asked a reporter to write about an odd advertisement they had produced in newspapers around the country.

The ad asked people to give gifts of charitable donations to friends and family, rather than more stuff that our loved ones might not want. The tagline: Lets redefine Christmas. By putting more Thanksgiving in it.

One of Ray and Barbara Dalios four sons, then 23, spoke about the familys commitment to charity. At that moment heading into the Great Recession, Bridgewater was already said to be the worlds largest hedge fund and his net worth was already in the billions, according to Forbes.

He anticipated the recession with warnings about the debt bubble. Bridgewater did well in the downturn, and Rays dispatches became Wall Street gospel in the way of an earlier Connecticut business titan, Harry J. Gray, who built United Technologies Corp. in the 70s and wrote op-eds in the New York Times titled Gray Matter.

Cut to the present; with so much philosophy of life floating around, and with thousands of impressionable youths in the picture through the couples educational philanthropy, I asked whether he wants his principles to be part of the school and community programs. He rebuffed that suggestion.

Barbara is the leader in most of these things in Connecticut, Im following Barbaras lead. People dont need to be preached at as to how they live their lives, he said. I only put it out there if people want to take it.Thats true around the world and especially in Connecticut.

That also applies to elections. Theyve made political donations in the past, but rarely and not recently. I am totally out of politics in Connecticut, he said.

Or anywhere, Barbara Dalio added.

Two state issues

The Dalios and the current and previous Connecticut governors have come under fire for two policy issues. The first was a 2016 state package of grants and loans for Bridgewater totaling $22 million under former Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, a Democrat, who made the hedge fund one of his First Five large employers with targeted aid.

The incentives were for hiring and training, and to support hundreds of millions of dollars in physical improvements at Bridgewaters wooded campus in Westport and other offices. Republicans howled that spending millions on a business that was, in essence, printing money made little sense for a teetering state.

It was the best money Malloy ever spent, I argued at the time and still believe. No one knows publicly what Bridgewater and the Dalios are worth to the state in tax revenues but even a low estimate makes that $22 million look tiny.

New York and New Jersey, not to mention Florida, undoubtedly offered many times that amount, unsolicited, and if the Dalios have stepped up their commitment to Connecticut, maybe that gesture by Malloy helped seal it. They arent commenting.

As a reminder, General Electric at the time was busy moving its headquarters from Fairfield to Boston and dismantling its GE Capital division, costing Connecticut thousands of jobs.

The second issue was that the Partnership for Connecticut, the $200 million joint effort, was created as exempt under Freedom of Information and state ethics rules under Gov. Ned Lamont, a fellow Greenwicher. Lawmakers in both parties fought to change that right up until coronavirus shut down the debate two months ago.

Since then, the partnership has ordered those laptops at a speed that no government agency could, and has run its board meetings and finances transparently.

Barbara Dalio explained to me in March that the structure was key for reaching out to families confidentially. When they come and were discussing the different issues they might have, it would be very difficult, especially when youre dealing with mental issues, she said, to operate under government rules.

The structure also makes outside fundraising possible. It certainly didnt resonate with the public as an issue in town hall-style meetings Barbara Dalio started to convene before the coronavirus hit.

Some people in public education believe the answers should come from a purely public system. Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona isnt one of them. Connecticuts glaring achievement disparities is a problem that we must confront boldly, he said in a written statement, calling the Dalios support critical as we look to equalize access and opportunity.

He added, I have seen firsthand how their contributions benefit students ability to thrive in school.

Billionaires are no different

No place in America highlights the divide between rich and poor as starkly as Connecticut. Barbara Dalio doesnt have to drive far from Greenwich to reach some of the poorest neighborhoods in the country.

And Ray Dalio calls income inequality a dire emergency that threatens growth and stability.

Wait, dont they exemplify the divide? His unimaginable wealth was made in financial transactions, not in, say, the invention of the smart phone or an online retail empire  so its harder to understand as a product or service.

He rejects the irony.

Most people that I know who are very wealthy became wealthy because they had a passion for something that they were good at and happened to pay well, so they ended up making a lot of money, he said. Its not good to stereotype any group of people as being bad whether they are rich or poor, or are of any race, nationality or gender. Billionaires are no different.

I ask Dalio, a Harvard Business School graduate, whether his complex thinking comes from his fathers jazz music on complex instruments. He had a jazz-like personality, and I was around creative improv, and I loved that, he said. He tried to teach me to play the clarinet and that didnt go well.

In a sense, it did go well. And it has gone well for Connecticut. Ray Dalio says he cant speak for Bridgewater anymore, but said, Im speaking for the majority of people at Bridgewater and saying that they love Connecticut and Id expect Bridgewater to stay here as long as Connecticut remains a good place to be.

What, for them, makes this a good place beyond proximity to New York and physical comfort?

My goal is meaningful work and meaningful relationships. So for me and for Barbara we think meaningful relationships are the greatest rewards in life.

dhaar@hearstmediact.com
Terry Smith is one of the shrewdest investors to come out of this country in a long, long time  although he now runs his successful investment operation Fundsmith from the sun-kissed island of Mauritius in the middle of the Indian Ocean rather than the UK (currently enjoying its own bit of sun-kissing).

What Smith doesn't know about company accounts and investing can be written on the back of a postage stamp. And his track record speaks for itself.

Since launching investment fund Fundsmith Equity in late 2010, it's generated average annual returns of 17.6 per cent from a tightly held portfolio of stocks  29 currently.

Circle of trust: Lord Rothschild owns 18 per cent of the shares in RIT Capital, originally set up for his family

Not even Covid-19 has knocked it off course: the fund is still up more than 7 per cent over the past year.

Smith has done nothing fancy with Fundsmith Equity  'just' identified good sustainable businesses (a scrupulous process that few managers master on a consistent basis) and then invested in them for the long term.

The fund's current mega size  a cool 18.6billion  reflects its popularity among many private investors. Only Nick Train at investment house Lindsell Train has adopted such a buy and long-term hold approach with a comparable degree of success.

So, when Smith opines on issues of investment importance, it's worth absorbing into your investment DNA and acting upon.

His latest view, expressed in a column for the Financial Times, is on equity income  and it's as strident and controversial as you would expect from someone who knows how money should be invested.

Namely, 'no one should invest in equities for income' arguing that if anyone had invested in the average UK equity income fund over the past five years, they would have lost 1.3 per cent a year.

Investors, he said, would have been far wiser investing for total return, and then generating 'income' by selling parcels of shares or units as and when required. Interesting. Very interesting.

But it was what he then went on to say about dividend income that was even more eyebrow-raising. Anyone hell bent on investing for dividend income, he said, should consider investing alongside a family which founded and has control of a public company.

Terry Smith says 'no one should invest in equities for income'

To prove his point, he said that of the 47 'family-influenced' stocks that are listed on the Stoxx 600  an index of 600 leading European companies  only three have so far cancelled or postponed dividends.

Family members tend to rely upon the dividend income and so boardrooms oblige by striving to maintain  or even better  increase it.

It's an argument that applies to a number of investment trusts listed on the UK stock market and whose shares can be readily bought by retail investors.

These trusts were originally formed to manage money on behalf of rich families such as the hugely wealthy Rothschilds  and still have family descendants as key shareholders.

It is no coincidence that a number of the funds have either longstanding records of dividend growth (Smith's point) or an emphasis on capital preservation.

James Carthew is co-founder of investment research company QuotedData. He has spent more than 35 years in the City working as an investment analyst and fund manager and agrees with Smith that investing in family-controlled companies  especially investment trusts  can make great sense.

He says: 'Many of us would like to build a nest egg that we can pass on to our families. A few of the UK's most prominent investment trusts started out that way. Family fortunes, often made in the 19th Century, were invested in stocks and shares for the benefit of future generations.

'Investing alongside these founding families can give investors a sense of security. It helps though to have a sense of what the family is after  income, capital preservation or capital growth  and ensure that their ambitions and attitude to risk are aligned with yours.'

Here, The Mail on Sunday gives you the lowdown on those investment trusts where family money still influences the way that they are managed.

THE TRUSTS DRIVEN BY DIVIDENDS

Caledonia Investments is a 1.3billion trust with an international remit. Its roots can be traced back to the shipping empire founded by Sir Charles Cayzer in 1878, although Caledonia did not become a vehicle for managing the family's wealth until much later on. Today, the Cayzer family owns some 44 per cent of the trust's shares.

The trust's investment mantra is 'conservative generational wealth management' and it is a long-term investor in both listed and unlisted companies (which are not everyone's cup of tea). So, among its top ten holdings are US giant Microsoft and unlisted business Seven Investment Management.

Although the trust has comfortably outperformed the FTSE All-Share Index over the past five years, generating a total return of 18.4 per cent compared to the market's 6 per cent, it is its dividend record that is most eye-catching.

Echoing Smith's thoughts, it has achieved 52 years of consecutive annual dividend increases, a record only surpassed by three other trusts  City of London, Bankers (both managed by Janus Henderson) and Alliance.

A reassuring record for income seekers against a backdrop of widespread dividend cuts across UK plc although future dividend increases are not guaranteed. The dividend is equivalent to an annual income of 2.4 per cent. The trust's share price currently does not reflect the underlying assets by a long distance  a result, probably, of its 33 per cent exposure to unlisted companies.

But as Rebecca O'Keeffe, head of investment at wealth manager Interactive Investor, says: 'Income seekers might not mind the large share price discount of 26 per cent if they are getting more assets working for them to produce a mix of capital and income return.'

Brunner is another trust originally formed in 1926 to run family money on behalf of the Brunners, one of the founding families behind Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI).

Although the trust is now managed by investment house Allianz, the family continues to hold at least a quarter of the shares and they have a representative  Jim Sharp  on the board to represent their interests.

Like Caledonia Investments, it is the trust's income bent that is most appealing.

It has 48 years of consecutive annual dividend increases and offers an income equivalent to around 2.5 per cent a year. Key holdings include Microsoft and Swiss healthcare company Roche.

Over the past five years, the trust has delivered overall returns of 63 per cent, impressive given the stock market carnage of the past three months.

The trust's annual charges are also competitive at a total of 0.45 per cent. Like Caledonia, it is globally invested although it invests only in listed companies.

Investment trust Witan also has wealthy family links  to the Hendersons, a name with strong links to the City of London to this day (for example, asset manager Janus Henderson).

The fund was set up in the early 1900s to manage the estate of Lord Faringdon  Alexander Henderson.

Until very recently, Harry Henderson  a family descendant  was chairman of the 1.4billion trust and had a shareholding at the end of last year that is now worth 6.7million. Other family members are also known to be shareholders.

Although the family link is weaker than at Caledonia and Brunner, the trust still has a record of dividend growth going back 45 years.

The trust is globally invested although slices of its assets are parcelled out to investment trusts to manage. The income it generates is equivalent to around 3.2 per cent a year.

Family affair... but with risks Other investment trusts where family money dominates include global fund Majedie. Its name stems from one of the rubber plantations that was owned by the Barlow family and who today own more than 44 per cent of the trust's shares. Manchester & London, another global trust, is majority controlled by Mark Sheppard whose father founded it in 1972. Its focus on US technology stocks, the likes of Alphabet, Facebook and Microsoft, means it has the best investment record among global funds over the past five years  with a total return of 174 per cent. A final word of caution from QuotedData's James Carthew. He says: 'Investing in an investment trust that is dominated by a single shareholder or group of shareholders can be risky. 'Some of the stringent checks and balances that are present in the vast majority of investment companies may be bypassed.' Words of advice that are worth taking on board.

ONES WHICH AIM TO PRESERVE CAPITAL

Rit Capital Partners is a 2.9billion investment trust originally set up to run family money for the Rothschilds.

Today, Lord (Jacob) Rothschild and his daughter Hannah Rothschild  an acclaimed film maker and philanthropist  between them own 21.2 per cent of the trust's shares.

The trust's key objective is capital preservation, although, like other investment funds, it has struggled in recent months against falling share prices worldwide. Its share price has dipped 10 per cent over the past three months, but its five-year overall returns of 29 per cent are more than respectable.

QuotedData's James Carthew is an investor in the trust. He says: 'I hold RIT Capital because I like the way that it is conservatively run and I trust them not to do anything too risky with my money.'

Interactive Investor's O'Keeffe says: 'The trust has a focus on managing investment risk and is very much focused on the long term, happy to provide capital to unlisted businesses and be a patient capital investor.'
By Express News Service

KOCHI: INS Jalashwa, the amphibious transport dock of Indian Navy, set sail for Kochi from the Maldives on Friday night with 698 Indian nationals who were stranded in the island nation due to the restrictions on international travel imposed in view of the Covid-19 outbreak. According to the Navy, the evacuees include 19 pregnant women and 14 children. The ship is expected to dock at Kochi port on Sunday. A sizeable number of the evacuees comprises Keralites.

I came to the Maldives two months ago and got stranded at a resort due to the lockdown. We were tensed as there were no flights to return home. We thank the India government for deploying the ship for evacuation. We started from the resort at 8.30 am and completed medical tests before boarding the ship, said Rejeena, a native of Pathanamthitta. The baggage we're disinfected and passengers were subjected to medical screening at the Port of Male before embarking the ship while following social distancing norms. Meanwhile, Cochin Port Trust chairperson M Beena reviewed the operational preparedness and infrastructural arrangements with senior officials in order to ensure hassle-free evacuation of the passengers on arrival.

The movement of passengers from the vessel to the terminal area, will be carried out under the administrative control of the officer representing the district administration. Before arriving at Kochi, the Navy will obtain self-declaration data from the passengers and check whether any passenger has symptoms. The symptomatic passengers will be allowed to disembark first, followed by other passengers in batches of 50. Ambulance for the transport of symptomatic passengers to quarantine centres will be arranged by the district administration.

A separate zone has been earmarked for the symptomatic patients.

The passengers will undergo verifications for clearances inside the Samudrika Cruise Terminal. Passengers will be asked to install Arogyasetu app in their mobile phones. This will be followed by immigration and customs check, baggage scanning, etc. The passengers will be transported to different districts in KSRTC buses. Visitors and relatives will not be permitted to enter the terminal area.
Bindi Irwin shared a touching tribute to her mother-in-law, Shannan, ahead of Mother's Day.

On Saturday, the 21-year-old shared a photo of herself on Instagram with new husband Chandler Powell and his parents, Shannan and Chris, next to a stunning lake.

She began her caption with a quote by American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, that said: 'Men are what their mothers made them.'

'You're a remarkable woman!' Bindi Irwin has paid tribute to her mother-in-law, Shannan (left with her husband Chris) ahead of Mother's Day

'With Mother's Day coming up I wanted to send love to my mother-in-law,' Bindi said.

She wrote to Shannan: 'Thank you for raising such an extraordinary man that I now get to call my husband.'

'You're a remarkable woman,' the wildlife warrior added.

Grateful: 'Thank you for raising such an extraordinary man that I now get to call my husband,' Bindi wrote online

Just married! Bindi and Chandler tied the knot in an intimate ceremony on March 25 at their home in Australia Zoo in Beerwah near the Queensland's Sunshine coast

Bindi and Chandler tied the knot in an intimate ceremony on March 25 at their home in Australia Zoo in Beerwah near the Queensland's Sunshine coast.

They tied the knot in a last minute ceremony at the zoo in March due to strict government lockdowns because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Her mother, Terri and 16-year-old brother Robert attended the small wedding, as Robert walked her down the aisle.

Intimate ceremony: Her mother, Terri and 16-year-old brother Robert attended the small wedding, as Robert walked her down the aisle (both pictured)

Just like mum's: Bindi paid tribute to her mother by choosing a wedding dress similar to hers on her wedding day to her late husband Steve when she married Crocodile Hunter Steve in 1992

Bindi paid tribute to her mother by choosing a wedding dress similar to hers on her wedding day to her late husband Steve when she married Crocodile Hunter Steve in 1992.

She told People magazine last month: 'I wanted something very similar because I've admired [my mum's] dress since I was tiny.'

When she tried on her gown - by Paddington Weddings - that resembled her mother's dress, she said it was 'perfect'.

Inspired: 'I wanted something very similar because I've admired [my mum's] dress since I was tiny,' Bindi told People magazine last month

Tribute: When she tried on her gown - by Paddington Weddings - that resembled her mother's dress, she said it was 'perfect'

The dress also featured sunflower lace sleeves which Bindi said reminded her family and her late father Steve.

'When we would go on projects and drives together, we'd often drive through these huge sunflower fields in the middle of nowhere and we always stopped to take them in,' she explained.

Steve was 44 when he tragically died tragically died on September 4, 2006 after, a stingray attack at Batt Reef, near Port Douglas, Queensland.
Russian President Vladimir Putin marked Victory Day, the anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War, in a ceremony shorn of its usual military parade and pomp by the coronavirus pandemic.

In neighbouring Belarus, however, the ceremonies went ahead in full, with tens of thousands of people in the sort of proximity that has been almost unseen in the world for months.

Putin on Saturday laid flowers at the tomb of the unknown soldier just outside the Kremlin walls and gave a short address honouring the valour and suffering of the Soviet army during the war.

Victory Day is Russias most important secular holiday and this years observance had been expected to be especially large because it is the 75th anniversary, but the Red Square military parade and a mass procession called The Immortal Regiment were postponed as part of measures to stifle the spread of the virus.

The only vestige of the conventional show of military might was a flyover of central Moscow by 75 warplanes and helicopters.

The ceremony was the first public appearance in about a month for Putin, who has worked remotely as the virus took hold.

In his speech, he did not mention the virus  Russia has nearly 200,000 confirmed cases  or how its spread had blocked the observances that were to be a prestige project for him.

But he promised that full commemorations would take place.

We will, as usual, widely and solemnly mark the anniversary date, do it with dignity, as our duty to those who have suffered, achieved and accomplished the victory tells us, he said. There will be our main parade on Red Square, and the national march of the Immortal Regiment  the march of our grateful memory and inextricable, vital, living communication between generations.

The sharply reduced observances this year left a hole in Russias civic and emotional calendar. The war, in which the Soviet Union lost an estimated 26 million people including 8.5 million soldiers, has become a fundamental piece of Russian national identity.

Beyond the stern formalities of the Red Square military parade and smaller parades in other cities, Russians in recent years have turned out in huge numbers for the Immortal Regiment processions, when civilians crowd the streets displaying photographs of relatives who died in the war or endured it. Russian officials routinely bristle at criticism of the Red Armys actions in the war, denouncing the comments as attempts to rewrite history.

An online substitute for the processions was taking place Saturday and many people are expected to display relatives photos from their balconies and windows in the evening.

A full military parade of some 3,000 soldiers was held Saturday in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, which has not imposed restrictions to block the virus spread despite sharply rising infection figures. Tens of thousands of spectators, few of them wearing masks, watched the event.

President Alexander Lukashenko, who has dismissed concerns about the virus as a psychosis, said at the parade that Belarus ordeal in the war is incomparable with any difficulties of the present day.

Belaruss more than 21,000 recorded infections is higher than in neighbouring Ukraine and Poland, both with populations about four times the size.

In the capitals of Latvia and Estonia, both former Soviet republics with large ethnic Russian populations, small groups were seen arriving throughout the day to lay flowers on Soviet war memorials.

 Yuras Karmanau in Minsk, Belarus, and Jari Tanner in Helsinki contributed to this report.

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MONTREAL, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Low-income workers considered essential in the fight against COVID-19 will see their wages increased as a result of a $4 billion federal-provincial agreement, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed today.



Wage premiums could be given to certain health care workers, but the provinces could also allot them to truck drivers or grocery store workers. The Teamsters Union, which represents tens of thousands of workers in these sectors, welcomes the federal governments initiative.

This premium will lighten the financial burden of many families across the country, noted Teamsters Canada president Francois Laporte. The various levels of government must now ensure that this money finds its way in these workers pockets.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted disparities in several types of employment, including in the retail sector. Yet these employees play a major part in the collective effort to ensure the well-being of the entire population.

I have a special message for our truckers criss-crossing North America carrying food and medical supplies, adds the Canadian labour leader.  We will do everything we can to press for benefits to thank you for your dedication and courage.

Your sacrifices do not go unnoticed.

Without truckers and grocery store workers, in particular, the last eight weeks would have been very difficult for many Canadians. These dedicated workers deserve our admiration and thanks.

The Teamsters Union represents the interests of 125,000 members in Canada. They are affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which has 1.4 million members in North America.

Information:

Stephane Lacroix

Director of Communications and Public Affairs

Teamsters Canada

Cell: 514-609-5101

slacroix@teamsters.ca
Panaji, May 9 : A day after 16 migrant workers were run over by a goods train near Maharashtra's Aurangabad region, Goa Police have upped monitoring of railway tracks in the state, especially rail tunnels, to prevent any potential mishap, a police official said on Saturday.

"We have formed a team. They are monitoring this with railway officials. Police officials are keeping track of tunnels and railway tracks. They are also provided with torches. They are continuously monitoring to ensure no one is on the tracks," Superintendent of Police (Special Branch) Shobhit Saxena told reporters here.

Two major railway lines run through the state, namely the South Western and Konkan Railway, whose tracks criss-cross through the Western Ghats, through a network of tunnels.

Police in Goa, along with railway officials had already increased vigilance along the railway tracks last month, after several groups of persons were reported entering and exiting the state via railway tracks and by hiding in goods trains which ferry essentials in and out of Goa.

Saxena also said, that the state government had also taken the migrant population in Goa into confidence and assured them of a passage home.

"We have taken our migrant population in confidence and told them that one by one in a staggered manner, they will be sent home. There is no none walking on tracks as of now, and hopefully we will never have such an incident," Saxena said.

More than 80,000 migrant workers have registered with the state government for a migrating back to their home states, primarily, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Bihar.
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As lakhs of migrant workers continue to return to Uttar Pradesh from different parts of the country by special Shramik trains, those coming from Surat in Gujarat have alleged that they were charged Rs 800 against a ticket with a printed cost of Rs 630. The labourers said they had no choice but to pay the money if they wanted to return.

A Shramik special train reached Deen Dayal Upadhyay railway station in eastern UP on Friday evening with migrants from the western state.

Contrary to the claims that the migrants were not asked to pay the train fares for travelling on these special trains, the labourers were not just made to pay for the tickets but were overcharged as well.

The tickets that the migrants were given carried a price of Rs 630 on them, however, they said that they were made to pay as high as Rs 800 per ticket. They said that since they were not left with any choice, they paid the money.

The Railways has maintained that in case of Shramik trains being run to ferry migrant labourers, it only bills the respective state governments and does not collect any fare from the passengers. In effect, the Railways just functions as a transporter and only bills the state government, its customer, and at a highly subsidised cost. And it is up to the state governments to either collect money from passengers or further subsidise the remaining amount.

Speaking to News18 at DDU railway station, a migrant, Sonika, said, "The price that I paid for the ticket is Rs 800, even the food that was served was just plain rice."

Another migrant, Subhash, said he was asked to pay Rs 750 for a ticket that clearly mentioned Rs 630 as the cost of travelling. "We had submitted the money in advance after which when our number came we were taken to the railway station from a bus. Before reaching the station, we were given the tickets in the bus, I think they were middlemen and not railway officials," the he said.

The central government had agreed to run special trains to ferry migrant workers home after 40 days of lockdown, but was criticised for charging fares from the workers already reeling because of job losses caused by the lockdown.

After Congress chief Sonia Gandhi said the party will pick up the tab for the ticket costs, the Centre defended itself and said the cost was being subsidised and the migrant workers were never asked to pay. The Union health ministrys joint secretary Lav Agarwal claimed that the Centre was bearing 85% of the ticket cost.

But the migrants' have a different story to tell. "When a few of us filled up the forms, our papers were rejected. At least 20 of us in that group were asked to pay Rs 800. When we asked for the reason, we were told that to travel we need to pay this amount or else we can move out of the queue. Those charging money looked like middlemen, they were not railway officials. They took our Aadhaar cards and money and then processed our tickets," Neeraj Kumar said.

Another migrant, Ram Lot Saroj, said, I am coming from Sachin Palogaon in Surat and I was made to pay Rs 750. The price of the ticket is Rs 630 but I was told that they will give me ticket earlier in tatkaal so I should pay extra money. We were a group of 27 people, our names and Aadhaar cards along with money were taken."

On Thursday, Congress's UP unit had said that it will reimburse the fare for migrants tickets charged by the Railways. Led by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the party demanded the list from the district magistrates of the migrants who had travelled back to the state.

However, UPCC Chief Ajay Kumar Lallu alleged that the government is not responding to their requests of providing the migrants' details.

As per the directions of our leader Sonia Gandhi, all the PCCs were directed to take care of the train fare of the migrants. We have been continuously asking the government for the list of migrants and a written request was also sent. However, two days have passed but no details have been provided by the government," he said.
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Bowen often carried PowerPoint slides from a 2007 presentation by BARDA and its parent division at HHS, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. One had a table showing that, in the event of a pandemic, the country would need 5.3 billion N95 respirator masks, 50 times more than the number in the stockpile. The presentation concluded: Industrial surge capacity of [respiratory protection devices] will not be able to meet need and supplies will be short during a pandemic.
- A cargo plane which was under the stewardship of two Kenyan pilots was brought down near Baidoa in Somalia on Monday, May 4

- The aircraft was ferrying medical equipment to Baidoa and had four passengers on board who died instantly

- Ethiopian Forces have admitted shooting down the plane after suspecting it was a potential suicide aircraft

Ethiopian Forces have admitted shooting down a Kenyan cargo plane that was supplying medical equipment to Baidoa in Somalia.

The cargo plane which was brought down by a rocket propeller on May 4, had six occupants including two Kenya pilots who all perished.

READ ALSO: Kenya Power apologises for nationwide power outage

A scene where the Kenyan cargo crashed after being hit by a rocket propeller.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Nairobi woman charged with murder after stabbing lover 11 times over dirty dishes

According to preliminary report filed by the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom), Ethiopian Forces guarding Bardelle airstrip in Baidoa admitted shooting the plane after suspecting it was a potential suicide aircraft.

The troops claimed they were not informed by the crew or security teams that there would an aircraft flying their way.

Kenya is yet to react to the preliminary reports.

The plane which had arrived from Ethiopia crashed after leaving Mogadishu for Baidoa to distribute medical supplies and other equipment.

Authorities established the African Express aircraft was being flown by captain Mabruk Sherman and Omar Chiraghdin both of whom hail from Mombasa.

Somalia's President Mohamed Farmajo called President Uhuru Kenyatta to express regret following an attack on the plane.

The Somalia leader asked for the cooperation of aviation agencies in the two countries to team up in conducting speedy investigations into the crash to establish the cause of the accident.

"In this regard, President Farmajo invited civil aviation authorities to team with their counterparts in Somalia with a view to completing investigations expeditiously," read the letter in part.

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.

Eastleigh residents' plea to Uhuru | Tuko TV

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The Director of the African Union Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (Africa CDC), Dr. John Nkengasong, denies the Tanzanian presidents accusations that the screening tests sent to his country are faulty. The tests that Tanzania and all African countries are using are tests that we have validated and we know they are very effective, he told a news conference on Wednesday.

Head of State John Magufuli said last weekend that samples from a goat and a papaya, which he had secretly sent to laboratories across the country, tested positive. The president thus questions the reliability of the kits imported from abroad, and thus the official balance sheet of the number of contaminations in Tanzania. The kits were delivered by Africa CDC and the Jack Ma Foundation.

Hassan Abbas, Tanzanias chief government spokesman, said the government had formed a team of experts to examine the lab that conducted the tests, and it would give the outcome of the results once completed.

Asked about Tanzanias questioning of the tests, WHO Africa head Matshidiso Moeti said on a teleconference with the media: We are convinced that the tests that have been provided  both through procurement through WHO and those that came through Jack Ma donations, were not contaminated with the virus.
A comedian impersonated Costco on Facebook to troll an irate customer who complained about the retailer requiring customers to wear face masks inside its stores amid the coronavirus pandemic  and the fake post went viral.

Ben Palmer, 33, from Los Angeles, created a fake Costco Wholesale account to respond to a woman named 'Sharon' who was frustrated over the corporation's mandatory face mask policy that was put in place last month in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.

'I will not shop at Costco until you remove your mandatory mask rule!' she allegedly wrote, prompting Ben to clap back under the guise of Costco.

Scroll down for video

Takedown: Comedian Ben Palmer created a fake Costco Facebook to troll an irate customer who complained about the retailer's mandatory face mask policy

Not having it: While posing as Costco, Ben hit back at a woman named 'Sharon' who claimed she would no longer shop at the retailer's stores

'Thank you for taking such a brave stand, Sharon. We look forward to the documentary they will make about you some day,' he wrote.

'Wow, not a very professional response Costco! Looks like I will be getting a membership refund myself! IT SHOULD BE A CHOICE!' someone named 'John' responded in Sharon's defense.

'We've chosen not to refund you,' Ben hit back.

The funnyman, who has a history of impersonating brands for this very purpose, posted a screenshot of the exchange on his fake customer service Facebook page 'Hope This Helps.'

He also shared a video of himself reading Costco's alleged responses.

Going viral: He posted a screenshot of the exchange on his fake customer service Facebook page 'Hope This Helps.' He also shared a video of himself reading Costco's alleged responses

From there, the fake clapback went viral, leading many people to believe that Ben's parody response actually came from the official Costco account.

Costco has been facing backlash over the policy, claiming it infringes on their rights. Some people who were fed up with the complaints praised the company over the fake messages and even vowed to renew their memberships to the brand's warehouse clubs.

'Way to put it, Costco. Keeping your employees and customers safe. Renewing my membership!! Emily Brickler wrote on Facebook.

Senator Bryan Townsend of Delaware tweeted the exchange, writing: 'Dear Costco, please let me know how I can buy your social media team a Costco-sized THANK YOU for the Costco-sized burn they just leveled on our good friends Sharon and Jack.'

Spreading: The fake clapback went viral, leading many people to believe that Ben's parody response actually came from the official Costco account

Loving it: Some people who were fed up with the complaints praised the company over the fake messages

Gotcha: The comedian has found the whole situation amusing, particularly the number of people who thought his trolling came from Costco

The fake post has become so popular that it has even gotten its own debunking on the popular fact-checking website Snopes.

Ben, who has created fake Facebook accounts for the City of Atlanta and Home Depot in the past, told BuzzFeed News that he got the idea from one of his fans.

'Someone on my TikTok account said you should go respond to people who are complaining about the mask policy that Costco made so I went over there and responded,' he explained.

The comedian has found the whole situation amusing, particularly the number of people who thought his trolling came from Costco.

'Usually theres a decent amount of people who know its not real but this time it seems like its a larger amount of people who think its real,' he said.
New Delhi, May 9 : Even as Aam Aadmi Party MLA Prakash Jarwal visited Delhi Police Special Cell office in Pushp Vihar on Saturday to join investigation in the suicide case of a doctor, the politician's legal team said he was ready to surrender if police wanted.

On April 18, Delhi Police had booked Jarwal and his supporter Kapil Nagar and others on charges of issuing death threats and abetment to suicide after Dr Rajinder Singh was found dead in his house and the names of both was allegedly found mentioned in his suicide note.

Speaking to IANS on phone, a senior member of Jarwal's legal team said: "If police asks my client to surrender, we are ready for it. A bail application will be filed soon." Earlier in the day, Jarwal visited the Special Cell office. "We have come here to cooperate in the investigation. A notice was given to my client," his legal team said.

On Friday, a Delhi court issued non-bailable arrest warrants against Jarwal and Kapil Nagar.

Though Jarwal's family was questioned on the matter, he along with Nagar allegedly didn't join the police probe, following which police approached the court with NBWs plea.

The lawmaker has moved an anticipatory bail application in Rouse Avenue court, which will hear the matter on May 11.

In his application for anticipatory bail, Jarwal submitted that he will cooperate with the police in the investigation of the case, as and when called. He also pleaded that there was no reason to subject him to custodial interrogation.

Dr Rajinder Singh, a private practitioner in Durgapuri area in south Delhi, was involved in supply of Delhi Jal Board water through tankers since 2007.

The bereaved family had claimed that the accused had got Dr Rajinder's tankers removed from water supply service and also prevented clearance of dues of a large sum of money from the Jal Board.
Actor Vijay Sethupathi recently got into trouble for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of many people. Popularly known as Makkal Selvan, Vijay's recently online interaction with Kamal Haasan caught everyone's attention and also landed Kamal Haasan in trouble. He had called the great poet-composer Thyagaraja a 'beggar'. But on the other hand, Vijay wouldn't have thought that his previous show will get him into trouble.

The All India Hindu Sabha from Trichy has lodged a complaint against Vijay Sethupathi. According to the petition filed against the actor, in an episode of reality show Namma Ooru Hero, Vijay had made a statement that in Hindu temples, the priests let people see when the idols of gods are being bathed, but when it's being dressed up, they close it to the devotees.

Makkal Selvan had also mentioned that a small girl asked her grandfather why they don't allow her to see the gods being dressed up, when they show them bathing. The secretary of All India Hindu Sabha, Manikandan B has stated that Vijay Sethupathi's speech hurt the sentiments of the Hindus, and is a direct attack on religious practices, which are being done for ages.

The secretary requested the police commissioner to take action against Vijay Sethupathi. He feels that severe action will work as a deterrent for actors and those belonging to other religions, who try to gain publicity by defaming Hindu gods.

Also Read : Vijay Sethupathi To Replace Kamal Haasan In This Prestigious Project?

On a related note, Vijay Sethupathi will next be seen in Vignesh Shivan's directorial venture Kaathu Vaakula Rendu Kadhal. In the film, Vijay will be paired opposite South sirens Nayanthara and Samantha Akkineni. Kaathu Vaakula Rendu Kadhal is going to be a Tamil romantic-comedy, which will refresh audiences' minds. The music of the film is composed by Anirudh Ravichander and it will be produced by Lalit Kumar.
DGAP-News: Mogo Finance S.A. / Key word(s): Annual Results



The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Mogo Finance: Publication of audited FY2019 annual accounts until end of May 2020 Riga, Latvia, 8 May 2020. Mogo Finance and its group companies (the "Group"), specialized in used car financing, expects a delay in the publication of the audited FY 2019 results until end of May 2020 instead of as planned at the end of April 2020 due to Covid-19 pandemic's impact on the financial statements preparation process. Mogo Finance has already published unaudited figures for the first quarter of 2020 on 14 April 2020 and an earnings call was held subsequently. Contact: Mogo Finance (CFO), Email: maris.kreics@mogofinance.com

Maris Kreics +371 66 900 900 About Mogo Finance: Mogo Finance is one of the largest and fastest-growing secured used car financing companies in Europe. Recognizing the niche in used car financing underserved by traditional lenders, Mogo Finance has expanded its operations to 17 countries issuing over EUR 550 million up to date and running a net loan and used car rent portfolio over EUR 196 million. Mogo offers secured loans up to EUR 15,000 with maximum tenor of 84 months making used car financing process convenient, both for its customers and partners. Wide geographical presence makes Mogo unique over its rivals and diversifies revenue streams. Mogo Finance operates through its own branch network, more than 2,000 partner locations and strong online presence. Physical footprint makes Mogo Finance top of mind brand in used car financing. Established in 2012, headquartered in Riga, Latvia Mogo Finance operates in: Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Georgia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Albania, Belarus, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kenya and Uganda. www.mogofinance.com IMPORTANT INFORMATION The information contained herein is not for release, publication or distribution, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa or any other countries or otherwise in such circumstances in which the release, publication or distribution would be unlawful. The information contained herein does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of, the bonds in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration, exemption from registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. Persons into whose possession this announcement may come are required to inform themselves of and observe all such restrictions. This announcement does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The bonds have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act or under the applicable securities laws of any state of the United States and may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons except pursuant to an applicable exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act. This announcement does not constitute a prospectus for the purposes of Directive 2003/71/EC, as amended (the "Prospectus Directive") and does not constitute a public offer of securities in any member state of the European Economic Area (the "EEA"). This announcement does not constitute an offer of bonds to the public in the United Kingdom. No prospectus has been or will be approved in the United Kingdom in respect of the bonds. Accordingly, this announcement is not being distributed to, and must not be passed on to, the general public in the United Kingdom. The communication of this announcement as a financial promotion may only be distributed to and is only directed at (i) persons who are outside the United Kingdom or (ii) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order") or (iii) high net worth companies, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons in (i), (ii) and (iii) above together being referred to as "Relevant Persons"). Any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire such securities will be engaged in only with, Relevant Persons. Any person who is not a Relevant Person should not act or rely on this announcement or any of its contents. PROFESSIONAL INVESTORS ONLY - Manufacturer target market (MIFID II product governance) is eligible counterparties and professional clients only (all distribution channels). No PRIIPs key information document (KID) has been prepared as the bonds do not constitute packaged products and will be offered to eligible counterparties and professional clients only.

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Four months after his arrest in Los Angeles and extradition to Jefferson Parish, rape charges have been dropped against an actor who had been accused of sexually abusing a 3-year-old boy while living in Metairie.

The Jefferson Parish District Attorney's Office on Friday refused the charges against Jean-Pierre Guy Gillain, 51, because of insufficient evidence, officials said.

21-year-old victim in Marrero homicide was stabbed to death, authorities say A man whose body was found lying on a Marrero road Thursday morning had been stabbed to death, according to an autopsy performed by the Jeffer

"He's an innocent man," Gillain's attorney, Steven Lemoine, said Friday following a video-conference hearing in Jefferson Parish Magistrate Court. "There was no corroboration for the things that the little boy said. There were so many contradictions."

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office booked Gillain Jan. 22 with first-degree rape and aggravated crime against nature after investigating allegations that he molested the victim over the course of about a year while Gillain was living at a residence in Metairie beginning in 2015.

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Gillain was in the New Orleans area at the time while his former wife, actress Zoe McLellan worked on "NCIS: New Orleans." She played special agent Meredith Brody for two seasons on the locally-shot CBS crime drama. McLellan left the show in 2016. The couple divorced that year.

Gillain has had a few roles in movies and television shows, including "The Informant" with Matt Damon and "Westworld," according to his IMDb biography.

Gillain had to endure four months in jail, Lemoine said, but it became clear that his client had not done what he'd been accused of.

Jefferson Parish Criminal Commissioner Patricia Joyce ordered Gillain released from jail during the hearing Friday morning.

"I hope he can get back on his feet and go on with his life," Lemoine said.
An analyst at Rosenblatt Securities analyst told the Orlando Sentinel Friday that Disney World could reopen for business in late July only if the theme park follows a similar trajectory as Shanghai Disneyland.

Because Shanghai Disneyland is scheduled to reopen Monday with restrictions, 3 months after it closed on Jan. 25, analyst Bernie McTernan suggests Disney World could reopen as early as July 22.

McTernans estimate came after Disney announced this week that some of its properties around the world are returning to business with strict safety guidelines in place.

McTernan also warned there are a lot of assumptions that went into the analysis.

On April 28, the Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force discussed initial guidelines for reopening industries, including hotels, bars, restaurants, and Orlandos theme parks.

There was a distinction set up between smaller theme parks and larger parks such as Disney World and Universal Orlando.

Some safety protocols include touch-less hand sanitizer at all entry points and on every restaurant table, increased sanitation and cleaning, and requiring all employees to wear face masks and be subject to temperature checks prior to their shifts.

PennLives complete coronavirus coverage

During what is being called Phase 1, theme parks may reopen at 50-percent capacity. Phase 2 will expand to 75-percent capacity.

Seniors ages 65 and older would still be encouraged to stay home through Phase 2 reopenings.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek told the Sentinel he couldnt publicly give a timeline for reopening.

While its too early to predict when well be able to begin resuming all of our operations, we are evaluating a number of different scenarios to ensure a cautious, sensible and deliberate approach to the eventual reopening of our parks, Chapek said Tuesday.

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Mayor says Disney World can reopen at their own discretion"

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Disney World gets reopening guidelines from Floridas Orange County Task Force
While competitors hoping to revitalize pandemic-stricken businesses were offering traditional incentives such as restaurant coupons, a Delaware County heating and cooling firm sold itself with ads that resembled safety tutorials.

Stuck-at-home customers were told by the chief executive of Oliver Heating & Cooling that their well-being was his companys primary concern. Workers who entered their residences, he vowed, would have their shoes sheathed, their hands gloved, and their faces masked before they touched an air-conditioning unit. All part of Olivers $69.95 spring tune-up special.

Right now, if Im letting someone into my home, I dont care about restaurants, said David Neff, the president of Neff, the Philadelphia agency that created the spot. I just want to make sure my family is safe.

Olivers ad is just one example of how, almost overnight, the COVID-19 outbreak has transformed advertising. As the number of shuttered manufacturers and idled workers has skyrocketed, the demand for conventional ads, those that, as humorist Will Rogers once noted, convince people to spend money they dont have for things they dont need, has dissipated.

Companies have to be thoughtful and considerate, Neff said. They have to make sure consumers understand theyre looking out for their best interests, that they understand CDC guidelines and follow them. Before you even talk about what you want them to buy, youve got to get that messaging out.

At large Philadelphia agencies such as Neff, Brownstein Group and Sagefrog Marketing Group, the bulk of work now is forging ads for the age of coronavirus, ads that mimic public-service announcements and emphasize safety, empathy and such ideals as unity and compassion.

If companies dont want to be perceived as tone deaf, theyve got to create this new kind of messaging, Neff said.

 FAQ: Your coronavirus questions, answered.

A survey of 200 Association of National Advertisers members found that since mid-March, 92% had altered their brand-messaging, half of them substantially. Many have cut back their ad spending significantly.

Bucking that trend has been Proctor & Gamble, the nations biggest advertiser and a company thats seen significant boosts in sales of its cleaning and health-related products during the outbreak. It has not only changed its ad campaigns but also increased them.

"This is not a time to retrench, Jon Moeller, P&Gs chief financial officer, told the advertising website the Drum. And really thats all in service to our consumers and service to our retail partners, and  we believe  in service to our society.

 READ MORE: Phillys tourism economy has already lost $1 billion because of coronavirus  and faces a long road back

One recent Ford TV ad never mentioned a car. Instead, with somber music in the background, the spot displayed black-and-white footage of the companys World War II production efforts. It ended with the words Built for America on a black screen. The pitch was less abstract in a new Hyundai commercial. Amid sunny family scenes, a narrator vowed that the car company would cut payments for up to six months for any buyer who lost a job due to COVID-19. And Popeyes, the fried-chicken chain, stripped down its ad even further, down to a simple Were Open.

These ads are being fashioned quickly and sometimes on the cheap with agencies utilizing stock footage or a talking head instead of investing in elaborate and costly production values. Theyre frequently low-key and inspirational, pushing the product into the shadows while they espouse a were all in this together sentiment or outline a business safety procedures.

Unsurprisingly, with 33 million Americans filing for unemployment over the last seven weeks, the same agencies busy crafting these new campaigns are also taking a hit.

Advertising is down across the board, especially among auto-related businesses, which comprise a significant portion of all agencies clients. Neff has had to reduce his staff from 23 to 18.

There are significantly less advertisers actively promoting their goods and services on television and radio than theres ever been, Neff said. Theyre telling us, `Hey, I still want my brand to be visible but I want to spend a lot less money than normally.

 READ MORE: America hasnt seen unemployment rise this sharply since 1948  and experts say its not over yet

Mark Schmukler, Sagefrogs CEO and founder, said it was difficult for companies that have laid off 40% of their workforce to justify giving money to Google for advertising.

Still, in some ways, its a very interesting time for agencies, said Schmukler. Were helping clients adjust their message to make it consistent with where the world is at right now.

The worlds new reality hasnt only stifled some areas of agency business and accelerated others, its also altered longstanding industry paradigms.

Marketing is usually about the four Ps: product, price, promotion and place, said Erin Allsman, managing director at Brownstein. Now weve shifted to the four Cs: caution, compassion, concern and change.

 READ MORE: Schools brace for budget cuts as the coronavirus wreaks havoc on the economy

Normally heavy spending on advertising and marketing has plummeted. An Interactive Advertising Bureau survey found that billboard spending was down 51% in March and April, radio down 45%, print down 43% and TV down 41%.

Basically all categories are down in a big way, Neff said. But if youre a local, national or regional brand, you can get more for the money now than probably any time in my lifetime. Its a buyers market.

Some companies have helped agencies fill the void. One Sagefrog client, ILC Dover, for example, manufactures personal protective equipment, masks and the like. Theyre going crazy, said Schmukler of the Delaware firm. They cant make it fast enough.

Cleaning firms, insurers, supermarkets and health-care companies also have ramped up advertising, some to push product, some merely to offer thanks.

Brownstein created an elaborate Blue Hearts for Heroes campaign for Inspira Health, in which the South Jersey hospital network urged the public to place blue hearts in windows to thank overtaxed health-care workers.

 READ MORE: Philly health-care workers are giving their all treating COVID patients. Wheres the love from their city?

If feel-good ads like that were the ad industrys first response to the pandemic, the second wave has arrived with safety-first efforts such as Olivers and those that offer direct support for anxious customers.

Consumers needed to hear supportive messages a month ago when our current situation arrived as a global shock, said an in-house article on Brownsteins website. Now, as the effects of this global economic shutdown are becoming apparent, consumers are looking for the direct help and resources that brands can offer.

No matter how thoughtfully businesses address the coronavirus impact, if they hope to emerge on a stable financial footing when its over, theyre going to need customers.

A brand thats going to come out of this successfully has demonstrated, or is in the process of demonstrating, what theyve done to change and adjust either their product, their pricing model, their delivery mechanism or their payment terms, said Allsman. Peoples circumstances have changed. The brands have to respond.

 READ MORE: Amtrak to require masks to protect against coronavirus

Whatever the response, the experts said, it has to be carefully crafted and placed. No company wants to see itself associated with the pandemics deadly toll.

Norwegian Cruise Lines learned that early in the outbreak when one of its ads, with an upbeat message, followed a CNN story on cruise-ship passengers stranded by the disease. After criticism, it pulled the commercial.

You dont want to be tone-deaf, Neff said. You want to address whats going on and respect it. Thats not to say that at some point humor cant factor into the mix. But now is definitely not the time.

When the disease and its aftershocks ebb, these same advertising agencies expect to help businesses make their way through what figures to be a drastically different landscape.

Thats where were doing most of our work now, the plan forward, said Allsman. Were calling it the path to a new normal. Were mapping out for clients whats changed, whats shifted in terms of consumer behavior. Were figuring out how each brand needs to make changes, not just to communications but in some cases to their business models.
This article was published originally in Manitoba Pageant by the Manitoba Historical Society in January 1958.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 9/5/2020 (620 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

This article was published originally in Manitoba Pageant by the Manitoba Historical Society in January 1958.

Northern Manitobas history is studded with the names of Scots who travelled from Hudson Bay on exploration trips to the Prairies or built the fur trade for the Hudsons Bay Company, but none was more colourful nor represented such rollicking adventures as that of Captain Horatio Hamilton Ross.

He was the son of Sir Charles and Lady Ross of Rossie Castle, Scotland, and he lived as he dreamed living should be, lavishly and happily, on northern Manitobas rivers with his fleet of stern-wheelers, tugs and barges.

His steamers were immaculate as they moved between forested banks to carry prospectors, trappers, traders and natives into isolation and hack. So was he, in white flannels, and as eager as a boy for each new sight from his bridge.

Even before 1909 when he became the founder of the Ross Navigation Company with headquarters at The Pas and mildly stepped into the affections of northerners, he had packed a lifetime of adventure into his forty years.

When little more than a boy he left his home to voyage "round the Horn" and landed at San Francisco. Then he trekked overland in a covered wagon into Alberta and built a palatial home in the Canadian Rockies which he referred to casually as the "lodge." He deserted it to become a cowpuncher on Mosquito Creek, later operated a ranch at nearby High River, staked placer prospectors along the South Saskatchewan River and then built a thirty-thousand-dollar hotel in the cow-town of Medicine Hat.

He was host to everyone and lived abundantly; he still craved the sea, but compromised with the waters of the Saskatchewan River. He constructed a seventy-foot stern-wheeler, the S. S. Assiniboia, in 1905 and introduced excursions on the prairie waterways. The venture was a social triumph, although not an economic one.

Captain Ross and a party of friends decided one day to travel to Winnipeg. At Cedar Lake, down the Saskatchewan toward Lake Winnipeg, his craft grounded on a sandbar. Winter was coming. Captain Ross gave the neighbouring Indians food from the galley, blankets from the beds and appointed two of them as watchmen.

The party bought and chartered dog teams to reach the railway where Captain Ross bought a ticket for Cairo and spent the winter in Egypt. He returned in the spring to find floodwaters had carried away the Assiniboia. His two watchmen still stood guard over the sunken boilers. He was touched by their loyalty and paid them well.

Then he returned to Medicine Hat to sell his hotel and build the S.S. City of Medicine Hat, a packet one hundred and thirty feet long. It was launched ceremoniously with the Captain in white flannels as a jovial host.

Once again, in June 1908, the Captain decided to take a party of friends to Lake Winnipeg. The palatial stern-wheeler ran afoul of the piers of the traffic bridge in Saskatoon and the City of Medicine Hat rolled over  wrecked.

Captain Ross went to Ottawa to claim damages and there met states-men, wanderers from the Laurentians, and explorers. Just as suddenly as he had arrived in Canadas capital, he left  this time as fisheries inspector for the north.

He needed a new boat and had a tug built, on yachting lines, at Collingwood, Ont., and named it the S.S. Sam Brisbin after a boats engineer. He sailed for the Lakehead and shipped the Brisbin to Selkirk, Manitoba, negotiated Lake Winnipeg, then had the 18-ton boat dragged over a four-mile portage at Grand Rapids at the mouth of the Saskatchewan River.

It was when he arrived in The Pas that he began the Ross Navigation Company Limited  truly a company of rovers and of good fellowship. It is probable that it also was unprofitable, but a new era of development was already introduced.

Mandy Mine, near the fabulous Flin Flon of today, was discovered, and boats were needed to bring the ore to the railway. The Ross Navigation Company stepped into the breach with "Cap" Ross, in his mild manner, ordering a whole fleet of river craft.

First the S.S. LePas was built in eastern Canada; then came the S.S. Minassin, the S.S. Notin; the S.S. O Hell; the S.S. Tobin, and the S.S. Nipawin. The Nipawin was flagship of the fleet, one hundred and ten feet long with twenty passenger cabins and deck space for a hundred.

Typical of the outlook of Horatio Hamilton Ross was the explanation for the naming of the O Hell. A craft was due to leave The Pas for prospecting camps when the Captain came along with a group of friends to whom he had promised an excursion trip. When he was advised that the schedule had been advertised and the regular passengers were on board, Captain Ross snorted, "O Hell, Ill get another boat." He knew of one down the Saskatchewan, and bought it on the spot, ran up the blue and white ensign of his company, and ordered it so named.

Whimsy seized him again when on a business trip to Saskatoon. He glanced at an advertisement for an excursion trip to the British Isles for the Christmas holidays  bought a ticket  missed the first train section, but caught the second made up of steerage passengers and enjoyed a hilarious trip to the coast. There he missed the boat but negotiated passage with the master of a tramp steamer. He landed in England too late for Yuletide celebrations, and later returned to Canada in the royal suite of the Mauretania.

During World War I he undertook special duties for the British Government. Later he visited China to investigate the possibilities of establishing a stern-wheeler fleet on the Yangtse River.

Yes, Horatio Hamilton Ross lived as he dreamed, actively and imaginatively; he foresaw opportunity, initiated action, then gave the cream of each venture to his friends while he launched yet another enterprise.

His impulsiveness would never be understood by stay-at-homes, and his extravagances would have prostrated economists, but his was the spirit of the Old West and the New North.

Tragically he died on February 11, 1925 at the age of fifty-five. He was cleaning a rifle in his office on the banks of the Pasquia River at The Pas when it discharged into his body.

His place in history is marked in historic Christ Church at The Pas with a stained-glass window. It also marks his place in the hearts of northerners for it was placed there by public subscriptions, none of which could be more than five dollars, yet the memorial window was almost instantly oversubscribed.

The theme of this window is the "Light of the World" and is flanked by two smaller panels, a font and a chalice. Below is inscribed:

"To the Memory of

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.

Captain Horatio Hamilton Ross

of Rossie Castle, Scotland.

Who Died in The Pas, February 11, 1925.

A Tribute from His Many Friends."

The Indian friends of Captain Ross also had their tribute, a grave high on the hill of their cemetery which looks over the Big Eddy in the Saskatchewan River.

For more information or to become a member of the Manitoba Historical Society, call 204-947-0559 or email: info@mhs.mb.ca. The MHS is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as manitoba-history.
/ Norwegian Cruise Line

Three cruise ships with no known cases of the coronavirus will dock this weekend at the Port of Oakland for a months-long stay, officials said.

The Norwegian Cruise Line vessels will dock for an estimated two to three months in areas not used for the Ports commercial shipping business, according to a statement from the Port of Oakland.
New Delhi, April 3 (IANS) The Central Public Sector Centre Enterprises (CPSEs) under the Ministry of Power and the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy have decided to contribute Rs 925 crore to the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Eme Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, May 9 : Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Saturday that the government's Covid contact tracing app Aarogya Setu has alerted the government about more than 650 hotspots across the country which could have been missed otherwise.

Kant also claimed that the app, which has now been made mandatory for all government employees, alerted about over 300 emerging hotspots which helped the government take swift action.

The app came under question after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that it can be used to snoop upon the citizen, a charge the government vehemently denied.

"The Aarogya Setu app is a sophisticated surveillance system, outsourced to a pvt operator, with no institutional oversight -- raising serious data security & privacy concerns. Technology can help keep us safe; but fear must not be leveraged to track citizens without their consent," he had tweeted.

The app alerts the user about how many Covid-19 positive cases are around, including symptomatic individuals. It also alerts about trends giving a sense of emerging hotspots.
A student of the Regional Dental



College in Guwahati tested positive for COVID-19, taking the total number of positive cases in Assam to 59, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday.

The student's test report came in on Friday night, following which the number of cases detected in Guwahati since Thursday rose to five. Only one person, a resident of a high- end apartment, was found to be COVID-19 positive in the city prior to that.

"These are difficult times. My duty is to give finest attention to all. Following social distancing guidelines of the government, met the girl who tested positive at Regional Dental College and assured her best care," Sarma said.

He urged other students of the college not to panic and ensure social distance.

The girl was tested after she came in contact with a post-graduate student of the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) who had tested positive on Thursday, an official said.

A 16-year old girl was found COVID-19 positive after she died at the B Barooah Cancer Hospital here on Thursday.

Sarma had said that her sample was taken after her death and was found to be positive, which is "very unfortunate as she did not get the necessary treatment".

"We will have to discuss with the Union Health Ministry whether we can declare her death due to COVID-19 as we did not treat her for the disease and she was found to be positive after her death," he said.

A 55-year old housewife and another person with a travel history to West Bengal are among the others who tested positive in the city.

The GMCH and the cancer hospital have closed admissions for new patients and the dental college will also remain closed, the official said.

There has been a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in Assam since Thursday with 15 new cases being reported, including 10 from Silchar.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
"It is not fair to take money from them (migrant labourers), they have been staying in shelter homes for the last two months. From where will they get money to pay for tickets, so the Delhi Government paid for it. One should not do politics over it," Jain told ANI.This comes after, Bihar Minister Sanjay Kumar Jha said that Delhi government is asking for the reimbursement of money spend on tickets of 1200 migrants who are travelling from Delhi to Muzaffarpur, from the Bihar government."I saw a tweet by a Delhi minister saying they are paying for the tickets of 1200 migrants who are travelling from Delhi to Muzaffarpur. I have a letter here sent by their government asking for the reimbursement of money from the Bihar government. On one hand, you are taking credit saying you are sending them back on your money & on the other hand you are asking Bihar government to return the money," said Sanjay Kumar.On Friday, A 'Shramik Special train carrying migrant labourers had left from Delhi for Muzaffarpur in Bihar.Delhi Labour Minister, Gopal Rai also tweeted: "Train departing from Delhi for Muzaffarpur, Bihar with labourers. @ArvindKejriwal Government will pay the fare of all 1200 people aboard the train.Earlier on May 7, Delhi government has asked to its counterpart to not to reimburse the fare of Shramik Special train to the passengers adding that reimburse may be made to Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD).PK Gupta, State Nodal Officer, GNCTD on had written a letter to Pratyaya Amrit, Principal Secretary, Disaster Management Department of Bihar government: "With reference to your letter dated May 6 for giving consent to run a Shramik Special train from Delhi to Muzaffarpur stating therein that fare will be reimbursed to the migrant labourers on their arrival.""In this regard, keeping in view of the logistics involved in collecting fare, capacity to pay in advance and buying tickets etc, while managing social distancing norms, it has been decided at this end that the Government of NCT of Delhi will make payment for buying bulk tickets for all of them, ensure boarding and seek reimbursement from the Government of Bihar. Therefore, you are requested not to reimburse the fare to the passenger but the same may be reimbursed to GNCTD," the letter reads.Approximately fare for one train to Muzaffarpur is Rs. 6.5 lakhs, the letter added.Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has granted permission for movement of the stranded people, including migrants labourers, workers, students, tourists, and provided the procedure for the same. (ANI)
The group that tried to strike down New Brunswick's limits on cross-border beer says it may now challenge the constitutionality of the Higgs government's decision to close provincial borders.

The Canadian Constitution Foundation says it is looking for a test case it could use to ask the courts to strike down the restrictions, just as it tried to open provincial borders to the free flow of beer.

"We're considering it because we're seeing state actors proceed under these patently unconstitutional laws, not just taking them up [but] as well as applying them arbitrarily," said Joanna Baron, the organization's executive director.

The province has restricted entry to the province as part of its efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19. Provincial enforcement officers are stationed at seven road crossings and two airports and are turning away anyone considered to be travelling for non-essential reasons.

Premier Blaine Higgs has said that the border restrictions will likely be among the last COVID-19 measures to be lifted.

Is restriction allowed or not?

Photo: Shane Magee/CBC News

The foundation may use the case of Daniel Arefi, a 19-year-old man who was sent back to Toronto this week, or the situation in Pointe-a-la-Croix, Que., where some residents have been allowed to cross to New Brunswick and others have not.

Baron says the province's restrictions violate two constitutional provisions.

Section 6.2 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the right of any Canadian "to move to and take up residence in any province."

While that is subject to Section 1 of the charter, which allows reasonable limits on some rights, Baron says there's an argument the restrictions are not reasonable.

Submitted

"We would say that if you look at what other provinces have done, which is impose a mandatory 14-day quarantine for travellers entering the province, that's clearly less impairing of the right than just an outright blanket ban."

Story continues

But she says another part of the Constitution is even more clear cut. Sections 91 and 92 prevent the province from regulating interprovincial borders at all.

Only the federal government can regulate anything moving between provinces, whether it's highways, pipelines or people, Baron said.

"Just invoking the Emergencies Act does not preempt that," she said. "It's certainly something that the federal government could do, but it's not something New Brunswick can do without violating the Constitution Act of 1867."

The division of powers outlined in Sections 91 and 92 are outside the charter and not subject to Section 1's "reasonable limits" clause.

Ideal test cases

Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press

Baron says both the Arefi and Pointe-a-la-Croix cases could make ideal test cases.

On Friday, Arefi pleaded guilty to violating the province's emergency measures order after he flew into Moncton and refused to obey provincial enforcement officers who told him he could not stay and had to fly home to Toronto.

Arefi told provincial enforcement officers he was arriving to visit his parents, but his father Hossein says his son was actually moving to Moncton after being laid off from a job in Toronto.

Daniel Arefi pleaded guilty and was fined $292 and driven to Fredericton to catch a flight back to Toronto.

Hossein Arefi said Friday his son's rights were violated and he was considering suing the province.

Daniel "was not in Mexico, he was not in Argentina, he was not in Australia. He was in Canada," Hossein Arefi said. "A Canadian can live and work anywhere he likes in Canada."

Meanwhile the mayor of Pointe-a-la-Croix, Que., says rules allowing residents of his town to cross to Campbellton for essentials are being applied arbitrarily and with no consistency.

The province's emergency order allows people to cross at Campbellton "to obtain groceries, prescription medication, and other necessities of life not available to them in their own community."

Rules need to be clarified

Isabelle Larose/Radio-Canada

Pascal Bujold says he's trying to clarify the rules with New Brunswick officials because some people are being prevented from entering for no apparent reason.

He said he was not aware of the foundation's offer to support a legal challenge. "You can give them my number and I'll talk to them," he said, adding he preferred to sort things out with the province informally.

The foundation funded the legal case of Tracadie-Sheila man Gerard Comeau, who was prosecuted for exceeding the provincial limit on bringing beer and liquor into the province for personal use.

Comeau argued the law violated a provision of the Constitution that allows goods to move freely between provinces.

But the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in 2018 that New Brunswick's Liquor Control Act didn't violate that provision because the law's goal wasn't to limit interprovincial trade but to "enable public supervision" of retail alcohol sales.

Not contested yet

So far the federal government hasn't contested New Brunswick's power to restrict entry to the province.

Last week federal cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc questioned the constitutionality of another Higgs government restriction, on temporary foreign workers.

But he said Ottawa "accepts that this is a decision that the New Brunswick government can make and did make."

Baron said that doesn't mean provincial border restrictions are legal.

"The federal government may be making a political or just pragmatic calculation," she said.

"It obviously has its hands very full right now and if it chooses not to act, that doesn't say anything about the constitutionality of the law and doesn't say anything about the rights that continue to be violated."
Tanzania on Friday received its first shipment of a herbal concoction that Madagascar's government claims cures COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Several African nations have expressed interest in the purported remedy, which is known as Covid-Organics.

"Tanzania today received the support of coronavirus medicine from Madagascar," government spokesman Hassan Abas said on Twitter.

The drink is derived from artemisia -- a plant with proven efficacy in malaria treatment -- and other indigenous herbs.

But the World Health Organization on Thursday warned against "adopting a product that has not been taken through tests to see its efficacy", and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has also said it should be "tested rigorously".

Tanzanian President John Magufuli has come under fire for repeatedly playing down the gravity of the coronavirus.

After Magufuli on April 22 accused the health ministry of stoking panic by releasing new figures, the country has only updated its numbers once, on April 29, at which date it had recorded 480 cases.

Health Minister Ummy Mwalimu said Friday the government would resume giving regular updates in a few days after completing improvements to the country's laboratory infrastructure.

"Coronavirus is there and it will continue for a couple of months. We have patients and others are dying," Mwalimu said.

"We need to learn how to live with it by taking precautionary measures."
Refuting Union Minister Anurag Thakur's claim that the Rajasthan government was hiding facts about the help received from the Centre, Health Minister Raghu Sharma on Saturday said the state is yet to receive any financial assistance to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It is the time to rise above political differences and protect people's lives and serve the humanity, Sharma said.

He said "most of the amount that the Centre has given to the state is a part of schemes which are already running or a regular grant."



The minister said the state government provided wheat at a market rate of Rs 21 per kg to nearly 54 lakh people who were deprived of food security scheme.

"The state's revenues have come down drastically due to the corona pandemic. In such a situation, the Centre should help the states with immediate effect, he said.

On Friday, Thakur had said that the central government is fully supporting Rajasthan in this time of crisis but the state is "hiding facts" about the help received from the Centre.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Move on WhatsApp forwards of PDF copies spurs print industry to take action

E-paper editions of newspapers kept the readers stay connected to their favourite publications in the absence of the physical editions. Now a new issue has arisen regarding PDF versions of newspapers being circulated on WhatsApp groups, which has galvanised print publishers into action.

Standpoint: Why publications must not act in haste against forwarding ePapers online

With pressures on margins and ad revenues dwindling  the story of businesses across the world currently print media is in a vulnerable place right now. Newspaper and magazine publishers have turned to the Government, seeking bailout packages to tide over the massive disruption caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

#TwitterChat: Safeguarding business continuity during COVID-19 times & beyond

With the economy under severe strain and businesses bracing for tough months ahead, effective planning for business continuity amid the COVID-19 crisis and nation-wide lockdown and beyond is the need of the hour. The narrative now shifts to Revival and Survival in the new normal of the post-lockdown world.

How video conferencing apps like Zoom exploded into consumer consciousness sans marketing?

The lockdown, social distancing and Work From Home scenario has seen an explosion of video conferencing apps. Corporates are now connecting using video conferencing software such as Zoom, while friends are connecting using apps like Houseparty. Amul recently released a topical post about Zoom, indicating how they have become a part of everyday conversations.

In-depth: SEO Masterclass Part 2  The evolving landscape of search

One of the oldest disciplines in digital marketing, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) has evolved a lot over the years. Vishal Shah, Associate Vice President  SEO, iProspect, and Asad Khan, Associate Vice President  SEO and Performance Content, iProspect, guide us through the shifts that SEO marketing has undergone in the past decade in Adgullys two-part in-depth look at the SEO space.

Experts share why the seed of purpose bears fruit in tough times

Adgully conducted a Webinar on Building a purpose driven communications strategy on May 5. In the age of hyper transparency and hyper connectedness, what is the purpose of brands in society and how are the brand narratives changing? Why do brands need to define their purpose? When we talk about purpose communications, it is only responsibility of earned media or does paid media have a role to play? These were some of the topics discussed at length by a panel of communications experts.

BARC revises TG classification for English, Lifestyle & Infotainment genres as All India

BARC India has made changes in the Target Groups for different TG cuts on the website. From Week 17 onwards, BARC India will release data on website and mobile with TG as 2+ for all genres and market as All India for English, Lifestyle and Infotainment genres.

VoiceBot, Moneyfy - Tata Capital strengthens its digital arsenal to combat COVID-19 crisis

With several lockdown restrictions being lifted in the country today after a 40-day period, businesses are gearing up to gain lost grounds. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused tremendous upheavals in the global economy, the reverberations of which will be felt over the next several months. Business shutting down, job losses, salary cuts are some of the harsh market realities that businesses have to face.

How hygiene has opened up new avenues for Kent RO Systems

Dr Mahesh Gupta, Chairman & Managing Director, Kent RO Systems Ltd, speaks at length to Adgully about the economic scenario in India, how businesses need to tread the ground carefully and with strategic even as lockdown restrictions are being eased in phases.

LF is not just a TV channel, but a 360-degree medium: Amit Nair

As Indians remain confined to their homes during the lockdown, News, Movies and Kids genres have seen a huge surge in viewership. While the viewership growth of the Lifestyle genre has not been as dramatic, the genre has still managed to garner a 28 per cent growth, as per BARC-Nielsens report on TV + Smartphone Consumption During Crisis for Week 16.

Clear all MRV 01/20 & MRV 02/20 print dues or face action: INS to ad agencies

The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) has once again written to advertising agencies, urging them to clear all print dues immediately. The newspaper body has earlier written to ad agencies in March 2020, stating, There appears to be pressure on agencies to divert Prints local retail ads to Radio and all the print budget of the corporate account is reportedly being diverted to TV.

#FightBackCorona: We will evolve with higher degree of resilience: Prabhtej Singh Bhatia

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.

When Piyush Pandey did VO from his walk-in closet: Neha Kaul on virtual direction

Asian Paints campaigns under the #StayHomeStaySafe series, titled Har Ghar Chup Chaap Se Kehta Hai, has been tracing the journey of creating beautiful memories at home during the COVID-19 lockdown phase. In its first instalment, the recreated version of the iconic commercial gave us a reason to smile and appreciate what we have during the current uncertain times. The second instalment, conceptualised by Ogilvy Mumbai, showcases individuals and families taking care of their homes in the current quarantine period.

Pharma is becoming mainstream in times of COVID-19 crisis

As India begins its lockdown exit strategy with easing of restrictions in a phased manner, the pharma industry is pulling out all stops to ensure that the production of medicines and essentials to fight the COVID-19 pandemic continues without much hindrance. In an unprecedented move, all major companies have come together to help one another with knowledge and sharing of resources. The industry will be facing new challenges once the lockdown is lifted.

Revival & Survival: Social distancing & technology - important pillars of new normal

Prepared or not, the 40-day stringent lockdown period is being gradually phased out. Its definitely a changed world that India is entering now, and will have to learn to live with the Coronavirus in our midst.

A lot has been written, debated and discussed over how much the economy and business operations have been hit. We, at Adgully, aim to look at the revival story. What does it take to jumpstart an economy? That is the great narrative that we are following up as part of our REVIVAL AND SURVIVAL series of industry opinions. In conversation with Sapna Desai, Head of marketing and communications, ManipalCigna Health Insurance.

Facebooks ad measurement strategy to determine business performance during Covid-19

As businesses seek to navigate these difficult times, adapt media strategies and determine which marketing activities are most worthwhile, gaining an accurate understanding of ad performance is more important than ever.

#TwitterChat: Adapt or Die - How startups are evolving to mitigate COVID-19 impact

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought some Indian start-ups to their knees. This has forced founders and CEOs to pivot their business strategies to address consumer concerns and problems in the new normal.

Sharpening Business Continuity Plan is new normal for insurance sector: Shefali Khalsa

In conversation with Adgully, Shefali Khalsa, Head  Brand & Corporate Communication, SBI General Insurance, speaks about how the insurance sector is operating amid the COVID-19 crisis and the long-term implications for this sector as well as the economy.

BARC Wk 17: News genres share stabilises; 166% growth recorded

News and Movies genres continued to drive viewership growth for TV in Week 17 as well. The News genre recorded 166 per cent growth during the week, even as its share has started to stabilise. As per the 7th edition of BARC-Nielsens report on TV + Smartphone Consumption During Crisis, Rajasthan and Gujarat have the highest proportion of news viewers, while South India has lower percentage of news viewers than HSM.
Afia Brewer was initially skeptical about the coronavirus pandemic.

Im not going to lie, said Brewer, a 32-year-old loan officer and mother of two. In the beginning, when it first started spreading, I questioned it. I was on Facebook asking if anyone knew anyone with this virus.

Then her mother, Arriejay Hopkins, got sick.

Hopkins, a lifelong Detroit resident, was recovering from knee surgery in mid-March. What initially appeared to be a cold turned out to be coronavirus that she caught from her husband, who works as a security guard.

Hopkins went to the Sinai Grace Hospital on March 29, Brewer said. Three days later, Hopkins was in the intensive-care unit. Brewer flew from her Atlanta-area home to Detroit, but no hospital visitors were allowed.

Hopkins died on April 6, at age 63. Because of the pandemic, Brewer never had a chance to say good-bye. Because of the pandemic, Hopkins was cremated and plans for a memorial service are still on hold.

Its been a staggering loss, Brewer said. Her mother was full of life, a very, very social person who never missed a party. A woman who loved traveling, going to casinos, card games with friends, fancy clothes and big hats. A matriarch who anchored a family that included three grown children and 12 grandchildren.

Mama was my best friend, my therapist, Brewer said. We spoke every day. Its still hard because Im so used to calling her and I cant. ... The tears come very day."

The quickness of Hopkins death made it even harder, she said. It seems we were just talking and laughing on the phone. How did this happen?

This weekend is especially difficult. Brewer, who has two young children herself, will be marking her first Mothers Day without her mom. I dont even want to think about it, she said Friday.

But she does want to send a messages to others: Coronavirus needs to be taken seriously, and for that reason, think twice about visiting your mother on Sunday.

You can love from afar, Brewer said. You can speak to your mom through a video chat or Facetime. But you cant speak to her when shes six feet under. So think about that when youre coming in and out of her house.

Its a message echoed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and medical professionals this Mothers Day.

The last thing you want to give your mother for Mothers Day is a case of COVID, said Dr. Russell Lampen, an infectious disease specialist for Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids.

He noted that COVID-19 has a 10% mortality rate for people age 70 and older. For this Mothers Day, my recommendation is that you give Mom a phone call, you do a FaceTime meeting, you do a drive-by and wave versus an in-person visit, he said.

I know its hard, but my wife and I arent going to get together with my mother -- were going to drive by, honk and wave and keeping going, he said. Knock on wood, hopefully we can do a combined Mothers Day and Fathers Day in June.

Whitmer said this the year to delay a big Mothers Day celebration for later. When we can start to safely engage, go big, she said.

Brewer said that shes learned the importance of the stay home, stay safe message in the hardest way possible.

Everybody really, really needs to respect social distancing, Brewer said. They need to respect this virus. Its real. I dont want them to have to become a believer the way I did.

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.

Related stories:

Michigans approach to reopening the economy: slow, steady and safe

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About 40 fire department officials from Vaishali fire station were sent to 14 days of home quarantine on April 27 after two of their personnel tested positive for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

Sunil Kumar Singh, chief fire officer, said, We are staying in home quarantine after one of our drivers and one fireman tested positive for Covid-19. The drivers wife also tested positive. So, on the advice of the health department officials, we are on 14-day quarantine since April 27. I and the other officers work from office nowadays and are not going home. All 40 staff members as well as their families who are living on the station premises are now in home quarantine.

The firefighters are involved in sanitisation work in different parts of the city, including those in hot spot areas.

Our administrative work is going on from Vaishali fire station but no personnel is going out to the field. We are still coordinating work over phone and the rest of the stations are engaged in sanitisation and firefighting activities. Besides the regular sanitisation work, our department has also attended to about 115 fire incidents, including seven major fires, during the period between March 16 and May 8. The vehicles at Vaishali station ave been completely sanitised, Singh said.

According to officials, the district has 127 fire personnel and officers and 40 of them are presently in home quarantine.

The officials said the Vaishali stations workload is being shared by the stations in Kotwali, Sahibabad, Modinagar and Loni. The sanitisation works include spraying of disinfectants with the help of fire tenders and officials said that so far, they have taken up sanitisation work in about 1,500 spots

35 persons brought back from Dhaka

On Saturday, 35 persons who landed at Delhis Indira Gandhi International Airport from Dhaka, Bangladesh, were brought to Ghaziabad by evening and were given the option of staying in a govt-run quarantine facility or paid quarantine at a hotel reserved for them in Bajaria.

The officials said the 35 persons are from different districts in Uttar Pradesh, including some from Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar.

The batch of 35 persons was handed over to us. If they opt for the hotel, they will have to bear the cost of boarding and lodging for the quarantine period of 14 days. The batch also includes two women, PM Dixit, the project director of district rural development authority, said.

He said the group comprises workers, professionals, students and exporters who were stranded in Bangladesh after the global outbreak of the Covid-19 and have now returned to India under the Vande Bharat Mission of the Union government to bring back citizens stranded abroad.

The first Air India flight under the mission from Bangladesh, carrying 167 passengers, had arrived in Srinagar on Friday.

All persons who arrived on Saturday were medically screened at the airport by our health department teams. They were ferried in batches of 12 to Ghaziabad, keeping in mind the social distancing norms, he said.

Meanwhile, the number of Covid-19 patients in Ghaziabad remained 133 (Saturday evening) as no new case was reported on Saturday.

The 18 reports which arrived on Saturday are the second negative report for many patients. Since their two successive reports have come negative, they will be discharged, chief medical officer Dr NK Gupta said.

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The Mizoram government on Saturday



sought the Centres assistance to bring back the people of the state, who are stranded abroad, an official said.

Mizoram Health minister Dr R Lalthangliana informed Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan during a video conference of health ministers of the north eastern states on Saturday that more than 500 people from Mizoram are currently stranded in different parts of the world due to the global pandemic.

Lalthanglians said that majority of the stranded residents are youths employed in different jobs.

The Mizoram Health minister said that no resident of Mizoram was included among 15,000 Indians, who have been brought back from abroad recently. He urged the Union Minister to take measures to facilitate the safe return of the Mizoram residents at the earliest, the official said.

Highlighting the measure undertaken by the state government to contain the spread of novel coronavirus, Lalthangliana informed the meeting that the state government, NGOs and villages are making collective efforts to prevent the spread.

He said Mizoram had imposed lockdown ahead of the nationwide lockdown and also began screening at airport ahead of other states.

Lalthangliana said that apart from the state level task force headed by state chief secretary and district level task force headed by district deputy commissioners, village or local level task forces involving local volunteers and NGOs were formed under the state government to fight Covid-19.

Lalthangliana also informed the meeting that the lone medical college in the state-Zoram Medical College (ZMC) was designated as dedicated hospital for Covid-19 treatment and Covid-19 care Centre (CCC) and Dedicated Covid-19 Health Centre (DCHC) have been set up in all the 11 districts.

He also informed the Union Minister that the state's lone Covid-19 patient was discharged on Saturday and the state also registered a 10 per cent drop in Infant Mortality Rate (IMR).

Vardhan assured the Mizoram health minister of all possible help to bring back the Mizos, who are stranded abroad.

He praised the Mizoram government for successfully installing virology lab in a week's time and congratulated the state for becoming Covid-19 free state and occupying the second rank among Indian states in reducing IMR.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2020 > Karl Marx versus official Marxists

by Sankar Ray

Two years elapsed since the 200th birth centenary of Karl Heinrich Marx (5 May 2018) but the official Marxist parties (OM) of India  CPI(M), CPI and variants of CPI(ML)- quietly ignored the co-founder of Scientific Socialism (with Friedrich Engels). Their mouthpieces, mass fronts etc did not bring out any special number on Marx, leave alone organising academic seminar, symposium and conference.

In contrast, Patna-based Asian Development Research Institute deserves praise for not only having a six-day conference in mid-June 2018 - Karl Marx  Life, Ideas, Influence: A Critical Examination on the Bicentenary. Palgrave Macmillan (New York) brought out a collection of papers in 2019, Karl Marx  Life, Ideas, Influence: A Critical Examination on the Bicentenary (ed Shaibal Gupta, Babak Amini and Marcello Musto).

In early November 2016, I wrote a piece in Asian Age, about An international conference in commemoration of 150th anniversary of publication of Das Kapital (September 18, 1867) at the York University, Toronto (25- 26, 2017. I apprehended that OMs in India might ignore the 150th anniversary. I thought I would prove wrong but it didnt happen. I wrote: Unfortunately, official Marxist (Leninist) parties like the Communist Party of India (Marxist) are apathetic to celebration of the 150th anniversary. On the contrary, they are preparing for centenary of Bolshevik Revolution or the Great October Socialist Revolution (GOSR), which has lost much of its sheen after the fall of Soviet Union and subsequent demise of the Communist Party of Soviet Union..

(https://www.asianage.com/international/marxian-renaissance-150th-anniversary-das-kapital-736) . But Kolkata-based Calcutta Research Group organised a two-day conference to commemorate the 150th it, focusing on the Capital in the East.

But the OMs alone should not be blamed for all this. Economic and Political Weekly too did not carry any special issue on Das Kapital in 2017 or thereafter. It decided to bring a special issue on Marx in May 2019 and got papers it commissioned from eminent Marx scholars. The scheme is yet to be implemented.

After the demise of Soviet Union and collapse of the Communist Party of Soviet Union in December 1991, Prof Randhir Singh, a doyen among Indian political theorists, wrote a paper,serialised in Mainstream, stating that official Marxism (OM) might have fallen, but not Marxism. Dr Singhs assertion is vouched by the positive gradients of sale curves of Das Kapital and Manifesto of Communist Party . A new group scholars who insulate themselves from party-dominated study of Marx or Marxism has evinced renewed interests in original texts, notes, drafts and correspondence of Marx and Engels, thanks to the de Marx-EngelsGesamtausgabe (MEGA) or Complete Works of Marx and Engels, including various manuscripts in original (MEGA-II, the first series ; MEGA-I, under the editorship of Soviet theoretician David Borisovich Riazanov, unquestionably the greatest Marx scholar of the 20th Century, in the 1920s and 1930s) . The relevance of Marxology and Marxologists, was stressed by . Nie Jinfang, a philosophy professor at Peking University in his paper History, Present and Future of Marxology at an international a symposium, at the Beijing Normal University on 7 June 2014. Chinese scholars evinced research interests in Marxology in the early 1980s, he revealed . Marxology is an academic approach, he said, and the motto of Marxology is to investigate, verify and compile classic writers original literature and documents.

The founder of Marxology Riazanov, He was born on 10March 1870.His 150th birth anniversary too remains neglected..Next to him was Maximilien Rubel, whose erudition and scholarship among new generation of scholars on Marx and Engels. Marxology, according to Rubel, comprises the study of Marx and his works, coalesced into a systematic research and is a distinct school. Lenin, who shunned factionalism in RSDLP(B) , picked up Riazanov in 1920 to head the new Marx-Engels Institute (rechristened as the Marx-Engels-Lenin Institute in 1931), despite his fundamental differences with him. Riazanov proved Lenins sagacity y discovering texts like German Ideology, Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, Grundrisse, Mathematical Manuscripts and Critique of Political Economy. Immediately after taking up his assignment he sent emissaries out to purchase whatever copies of Marx/Engels works and letters they could find. But he was executed by Josef Stalin on false charges. Riazanov was  destituted of his function , based on  false testimony by another great Marx scholar, Isaac Illich Rubin, arrested and condemned as a conspirator by the Stalinist show trial and executed, wrote Paresh Chattopadhyay, the most well-known Indian Marx scholar. In a brief 1973 introduction to Riazanov Dirk Struik wrote : By 1930, [the Institute] possessed hundreds of original documents, 55,000 pages of photostats, 32,000 pamphlets, and a library of 450,000 books and bound periodicals. Apart from the administrative offices, the archive, and the library, it had working rooms, a museum, and a publishing department.. Incredible as it may seem, between 1927 and 1941, 12 volumes of MEGA (first edition) were published, entirely due to that great scholar. The Communist International , described him in its official mouthpiece Inprecor on 19 March 1930 as  the most renowned and the most important of the Marxist scholars of our time", but he was kept in oblivion during the Stalin period. . Rubel discovered him in the early 1950s in the twilight years of the dictator.

Marxologists hyphenate themselves ideology-fetishism of OMs and most of them do not like to be called as Marxists . Marx blasted ideology and ideologues in GE. In all ideology, the human beings and their relations. Marx too wrote to Paul Lafargue in chaste French, Ce quil y a de certain cest que moi, je ne suis pas Marxiste. (If anything is certain, it is that I myself am not a Marxist). . He felt irritated with the prefix Marxist.

Marx was under attack in 1917, immediately after the GOSR. None other than Antonio Gramsci wrote in Avanti, organ of the Italian Socialist Party, on 24 December 1917: Its a revolution against Karl Marxs Capital. In Russia, Marxs Capital was the book of the bourgeoisie, more than of the proletariat. It was the crucial proof needed to show that, in Russia, there had to be a bourgeoisie, there had to be a capitalist era, there had to be a Western-style of progression, before the proletariat could even think about making a comeback, about their class demands, about revolution. Events overcame ideology. Events have blown out of the water all critical notions which stated Russia would have to develop according to the laws of historical materialism. The Bolsheviks renounce Karl Marx and they assert, through their clear statement of action, through what they have achieved, that the laws of historical materialism are not as set in stone, as one may think, or one may have thought previously. (The Revolution against Capital- https://www.marxists.org/archive/gramsci/1917/12/revolution-against-capital.htm). There was no rejoinder from RSDLP (B) leaders.
Mumbai, May 9 : Instead of releasing on big screen, actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui's comedy film, "Ghoomketu", is scheduled to stream on a digital platform.

Directed by Pushpendra Nath Misra, "Ghoomketu" is a comedy- drama from the viewpoint of a budding writer (played by Nawazuddin), struggling to make it big in the film industry in Mumbai. The film also features filmmaker Anurag Kashyap and actors Ila Arun, Raghubir Yadav, Swanand Kirkire and Ragini Khanna in pivotal roles.

Amitabh Bachchan, Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha have made special appearances in the project.

"'Ghoomketu' is a quirky, never-seen-before character and I thoroughly enjoyed playing him. Anurag, who is generally behind the camera, will be seen sharing screen space with us and it was a great experience to work with him as an actor. 'Ghoomketu' has a phenomenal storyline which will definitely entertain the audience," Nawazuddin said.

Produced by Phantom Films and Sony Pictures Networks (SPN), the movie will release on ZEE5 on May 22.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-10 03:08:31|Editor: huaxia

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ROME, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The number of recoveries from COVID-19 in Italy has exceeded 100,000, according to the latest tally posted by the country's Civil Protection Department on Saturday.

Recoveries jumped by 4,008 from 99,023 recoveries on Friday, bringing the nationwide total to 103,031.

Meanwhile, the number of active infections fell by 3,119 from Friday's 87,961 cases to 84,842.

Of those tested positive for the coronavirus, 13,834 are hospitalized with symptoms (down by 802 patients over the past 24 hours), while 1,034 are in intensive care (down by 134 patients compared to Friday).

The rest 69,974 people, or 82 percent of the positive, are quarantined at home because they are asymptomatic or with mild symptoms.

A total of 30,262 cases, the vast majority of current active cases, occurred in the Lombardy region whose capital is Milan, followed by 13,934 infections in its neighboring Piedmont region with Turin as capital.

In the rest of Italy's 20 regions, the number of infections ranged from a high of 7,401 in the northern Emilia-Romagna region to a low of 111 cases in the central Umbria region, according to the Civil Protection Department.

The single-day death toll on Saturday was 194, bringing the total to 30,395 since the outbreak was first recorded in Italy's northern Lombardy region on Feb. 21.

The total number of COVID-19 infections, fatalities, and recoveries since the pandemic began in Italy has risen to 218,268 cases against a total of 217,185 cases on Friday.

FATAL HEART ATTACKS RISE ON COVID-19 FEARS

Also on Saturday, the Italian Society of Cardiology (SIC) said that according to a new study published in the European Heart Journal, deaths from heart failure tripled in Italy in the week of March 12-19, 2020, compared to the same period last year.

This was due to the fact that people with heart conditions avoided hospitals in fear of contracting the coronavirus, according to the study.

"The increase was due in the majority of cases to heart attacks that went untreated or were treated too late," said Carmen Spaccarotella, co-author of the study conducted in 54 Italian hospitals.

"Our study found that mortality was three times higher compared to the same period in 2019, rising to 13.7 percent from 4.1 percent," she explained.

"We are very concerned about this data," said SIC President Ciro Indolfi.

"The great results achieved in terms of survival over the past 20 years... appear to be nullified," he said, adding that cardiovascular diseases kill about 260,000 people in Italy on a yearly basis.

CALL FOR COMMON DESTINY

In a statement on the occasion of Europe Day, Italian President Sergio Mattarella called on the European Union (EU) to come together in the face of the pandemic.

Italy has been pushing for the EU to come up with a multi-billion-euro "recovery fund" to help EU member states whose economies have been crippled by the negative fallout from the pandemic.

"We face an unprecedented challenge," said Mattarella.

"What is at stake is not only the response to the epidemiological crisis, but a key testing ground for the future of our peoples and the stability of our continent itself," the president said.

Mattarella added that "the European path has produced enormous progress over the past 70 years" and that "weaving the threads of our common destiny is a duty we cannot avoid".

Europe Day marks the anniversary of the historic Schuman Declaration, made by then French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman in Paris on May 9, 1950, which set out his idea for a new form of political cooperation in Europe. Enditem
The Costa del Sol and the rest of the province of Malaga remain for the time being in Phase Zero of the government's staged winding down of Covid-19 restrictions.

This means that the province will have to wait for a new assessment of conditions before it can move on to Phase One. For the time being therefore bars will not be able to open their terraces, social contact in groups will remain prohibited and local businesses will still only be able to serve customers by appointment.

The head of the government's health emergency committee, Fernando Simon, said on Friday that six of Andalucia's eight provinces would see their restrictions eased from Monday, however Malaga and Granada do not currently meet the necessary conditions.

He did state that both provinces left out of Phase One were very close to meeting the complex criteria laid down as a gauge of the area's progress in the fight against Covid-19 and its capacity to cope with a spike in cases.

The situation in both cases therefore would be reviewed over the coming days, said Simon, suggesting this could be on Monday 18 May.

Phase One conditions will be applied from Monday in the provinces of Cadiz, Seville, Huelva, Cordoba, Jaen and Almeria.

Around half of Spain's population is able to move into Phase One of the government's staged winding down of Covid-19 restrictions, said the Minister for health, Salvador Illa, on Friday.

The situation in Spain's different regions and provinces has been analysed by regional and central governments over the last few days.

In its feedback to central government on Wednesday, the Junta de Andalucia, expressed its doubts about meeting the conditions in Malaga province but had suggested keeping some restrictions in just the city's health district. The government however has kept the entire province back from Phase One for the time being.

Regions that will be going on to Phase One on Monday include Navarra, Cantabria, Galicia, Asturias, Basque Country, La Rioja, Aragon and the Balearics.

The region of Madrid remains in Phase Zero, while Castilla La Mancha, Castilla y Leon and Catalonia are divided.

Valencia stays mainly in Phase Zero, with some exceptions.
New Delhi: The Punjab Police on Saturday (May 9, 2020) arrested two brothers with alleged links to the Hizbul Mujahideen. The two were arrested from Haryana's Sirsa with drugs and some case.

According to the police, the brothers  Ranjeet Rana and Gagandeep Rana  work for Hizbul terrorist Hilal Ahmed, who is said to be a close aide of the slain Hizbul commander Riyaz Naikoo.

Since the killing of Naikoo by the Indian security forces, this arrest has been touted to be a major catch because these two acted as agents who collected and delivered money for the Hizbul militancy outfit.

The DGP of Punjab Police Dinkar Gupta broke the news of the capture of the two wanted brothers on microblogging site Twitter. He wrote, "Following up further on arrests of Hizbul operatives in J&K & Punjab, Punjab Police juggernaut moved further to nab Ranjeet Rana Cheeta of Amritsar, one of the biggest drug smugglers of India from Sirsa today. Cheeta was wanted in 532 kg heroin haul from Attari in June 2019."

Following up further on arrests of Hizbul operatives in J&K & Punjab, Punjab Police juggernaut moved further to nab Ranjeet @Rana @Cheeta of Amritsar, one of the biggest drug smugglers of India from Sirsa today. Cheeta was wanted in 532 kg heroin haul from Attari in June 2019. pic.twitter.com/tB9D01OtRa  DGP Punjab Police (@DGPPunjabPolice) May 9, 2020

In another tweet he informed that the two were suspected to have smuggled heroin and other drugs from Pakistan. They would camouflage the drugs and have brought in as many as six rock salt consignments through ICP Amritsar between 2018-2019.
"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it." This is a famous line from Joseph Goebbels, the Reich Minister of Propaganda of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. Unfortunately, it is exactly what the current US administration and a number of other Western politicians are trying to do. Blaming China for the spread of COVID-19 is such a lie. As all kinds of unscientific speculations, unfounded accusations and lies spread, the West is relinquishing its soft power. Here are four facts people need to know.

Fact No. 1: It should be the national government, rather than a foreign government, to take responsibility for the health of its own citizens

There have been numerous discussions about the roles and functions of governments, none of which say a national government should be responsible for a public health crisis in a foreign country. The basic functions of governments include safeguarding national security and providing well-being to their citizens. To this end, governments have the right to collect taxes, maintain armies and police forces and formulate laws and regulations citizens must not break. All of these can only take effect within the country's boundary and under the government's administration. Therefore, handling a public health crisis falls under the responsibilities of a national government.

Fact No. 2: Tracing the origin of a virus is a scientific work

Recently, a team at the French Groupe Hospitalier Paris Seine in Saint-Denis declared that they found evidence to show one patient admitted in December 2019 was infected with COVID-19. This shows the virus was already circulating in Europe in late December 2019. Earlier, autopsy results showed two Californians died of COVID-19 in early and mid-February, pushing the first US coronavirus death weeks before previously thought. Some Americans, including Michael Melham, mayor of Belleville, New Jersey, suspected that they were down with the virus in late November 2019, and Melham was recently tested positive for coronavirus antibodies. Data from Canada's largest provinces showed American travelers, rather than Chinese, brought the virus to the country. Furthermore, Japan's National Institute of Infectious Diseases said that judging from the mutation of the virus prevalent in Japan today, the second round of infections in this country was more likely brought by European and American travelers.

It will surely be a difficult and time-consuming job to trace the origin of the virus. The true meaning of such a job is to defend against similar outbreaks in the future. It is only scientific research, not political maneuvers, which will finally reduce health risks for mankind.

Fact No. 3: National debts are essentially international legal obligations, and breaching them will lead to fundamental harm to sovereign reputations.

China is the second-largest foreign holder of US government debt, which is an important form to fund US government spending and deficit. Throughout modern history, countries, especially those which consider themselves great powers, value their national reputation and credit. Whether a country can pay back its debts as agreed will determine the prospects of its further borrowing. Therefore, no country would easily venture the degrading of its national reputation by simply cancelling its national debt. Unilaterally cancelling one's own debt, no matter what excuse, will put the country's currency and financial market under heavy risk. The ensuing economic losses may be bigger than the originally cancelled debt.

Fact No. 4: The West will severely lose its appeal to Chinese society if it continues with the current blame game.

China has been learning from Western civilizations ever since the early 20th century. "Mr Democracy" and "Mr Science" were then regarded by Chinese revolutionary pioneers as the beacon of hope to lift the ancient civilization from backwardness. In recent years, more and more Chinese families have been sending their children to Western universities because they see Western education as a better choice. However, what ordinary Chinese see from the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak is not a "better" Western practice, but a West which is giving up its previous soft power and breaking the bottom lines of integrity, honesty, scientific thinking and rule of law. Some Chinese even compared the recent China-bashing offensive to the Eight-Nation Alliance invading China in 1900. If such a condition continues, it is almost certain that Chinese people will find the West less and less attractive.

People say COVID-19 will be a game-changer. The way Chinese people look at the West will probably be one. Lies told a thousand times remain lies. In the face of an unknown virus, no government is prepared enough. But the important thing is we admit our limits and faults, and join hands to fight the real enemy.

The author is Zhang Weiwei, associate research fellow at China Institute of International Studies.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 07:30:39|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, May 8 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Friday called for multilateralism on the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.

"Multilateralism is a collective choice made by humanity at the cost of a world war. Thanks to multilateralism, mankind has enjoyed 75 years of peace and development. No country can make itself great in isolation," said Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations.

"The United Nations is a product of World War II. We need to uphold the UN-centered international system, maintain international order based on international law, and safeguard the purposes and principles of the UN Charter," he told an Arria Formula virtual meeting of the Security Council.

He asked for adherence to a path of peaceful development.

The world is undergoing major development, transformation and readjustment, but peace and development remains the call of the times. It is the shared expectation and in the interests of all peoples. The international community should work for a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation, Zhang said.

"We need to adopt a people-centered approach in development, facilitate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, and promote lasting peace through sustainable development," he said.

He advocated the settlement of disputes through peaceful means.

The world today is an interconnected community. All countries should prioritize dialogue and consultation, build trust and promote cooperation, so as to resolve differences and disputes peacefully, he said. "We must oppose willful use or threat of use of force, power politics and all forms of hegemony and bullying practice."

The world is facing a war against COVID-19. The virus is a common enemy, and solidarity and multilateral cooperation is the most powerful weapon, said Zhang.

"To win this war, we must stand in solidarity, support the United Nations and the World Health Organization in playing a leading and central role, and form synergy in our efforts. Governments of all countries should shoulder responsibilities, put people first, respect science, and take all necessary measures to protect lives and health. We must firmly oppose politicizing the pandemic, spreading misinformation and lies, or shrugging off one's own responsibilities for political gains," he said.

Stronger and better multilateral cooperation is key to winning the war against COVID-19, said Zhang. "Now more than ever, it is a lesson that we cannot afford to ignore." Enditem
By Vivian Sequera and Luc Cohen

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's Chief Prosecutor Tarek Saab said on Friday his office had requested the detention and extradition of U.S. military veteran Jordan Goudreau and two Venezuelans accused of involvement in a failed armed incursion earlier this week.

Saab said Goudreau and the two opposition Venezuelan politicians, Miami-based political strategist Juan Rendon and exiled lawmaker Sergio Vergara, for involvement in the "design, financing, and execution" of the plan to invade and overthrow socialist President Nicolas Maduro.

The bungled operation has put pressure on opposition leader Juan Guaido, who has failed in his campaign to replace a president who has overseen a six-year economic collapse of the once prosperous OPEC nation and stands accused of human rights violations and rigging his 2018 re-election.

Goudreau, chief executive of Florida-based security company Silvercorp USA, has claimed responsibility for the plan, which left eight people dead and more than a dozen in custody, including two U.S. citizens who were captured alongside the dissident Venezuelan security forces.

Rendon has said that while he negotiated an agreement with Silvercorp late last year, he cut ties with Goudreau in November and that Goudreau went forward with the failed operation on his own. Vergara did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Guaido, the leader of the opposition-held National Assembly, has been recognized as Venezuela's interim president by dozens of countries, including the United States, since January 2019. Despite crippling U.S. sanctions and an attempted uprising by some within the military last April, Maduro remains in power.

Still, Guaido has largely held together a broad coalition of the anti-Maduro political parties that make up Venezuela's notoriously divided opposition. But on Friday, one of the largest opposition parties aligned with Guaido - Justice First - criticized him over the failed raid.

Story continues

"We radically reject the hiring of illegal groups," Justice First said in a statement, calling on Guaido to "immediately dismiss the officials who - in the name of the interim presidency of the republic - established links with these illegal groups."

Maduro dismisses Guaido as a U.S. puppet and has accused President Donald Trump's administration of backing Silvercorp's operation. Earlier on Friday, Trump said he knew nothing about the incursion, and other officials have denied U.S. involvement.

(Reporting by Vivian Sequera and Luc Cohen; Editing by Franklin Paul, Paul Simao and Daniel Wallis)
A vial of the investigational drug remdesivir is visually inspected at a Gilead manufacturing site in the United States in March 2020. (Gilead Sciences/AP)

Health Officials Ship Remdesivir to Hospitals for Use Against COVID-19

Federal health officials said some vials of remdesivir have already been sent to seven states, with plans to soon ship to five more.

The experimental drug has shown promise against COVID-19, the new disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

Indiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Virginia received between seven and 565 cases of the drug earlier this week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said Saturday. New York got the most because it has the most confirmed CCP virus cases and hospitalizations in the nation.

The process of shipping to five other states was finalized, the department said.

Iowa will receive 10 cases, Maryland and Connecticut will each get 30 cases, Michigan will receive 40 cases, New Jersey will receive another 110 cases, and Illinois will get 140 cases.

Each case contains 40 vials of the drug. Drugmaker Gilead Sciences recently announced plans to donate some 1.5 million doses to governments around the world, including approximately 607,000 vials to the United States.

A sign is posted in front of the Gilead Sciences headquarters in Foster City, Calif., on April 29, 2020. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

State health departments will distribute remdesivir vials from the federal government to hospitals.

Patients receiving the doses must have COVID-19 and be on ventilators or oxygenation or require supplemental oxygen, health officials said.

Shipments to other states are planned for the future but havent been finalized as of yet.

Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters on Friday that Dr. Deborah Birx, a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, would serve as one of the chief consultants on where remdesivir will be distributed.

Birx is the person whos constantly reviewing the numbers, constantly reviewing the data, McEnany said. And she really has the best grasp as to how that should be distributed.

Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a Coronavirus Task Force press briefing at the White House in Washington on April 18, 2020. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

Paul Abramowitz, CEO of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, said in a recent letter (pdf) to Vice President Mike Pence that the Trump administration should take immediate action to ensure transparent and orderly allocation of remdesivir to our nations hospitals.

The initial supply will be very limited, Abramowitz said, noting that the 1.5 million doses translate into a 5- or 10-day course of treatment for 140,000 patients.

Remdesivir acts by blocking an enzyme from the CCP virus. It was approved last week for emergency use against COVID-19 after researchers found it quickened recovery from the illness.

Gilead, based in California, said last month it was donating the 1.5 million doses. It also said teams have been ramping up production since January.

A separate study, run by the company itself, indicated a five-day regimen could be as effective as a 10-day regimen, which could significantly expand the number of patients who could be treated with our current supply of remdesivir, Gilead Chief Medical Officer Dr. Merdad Parsey said.

Medics intubate a gravely ill patient with COVID-19 symptoms at his home in Yonkers, New York, on April 6, 2020. (John Moore/Getty Images)

Fact Sheets

The suggested dose for adults and children on ventilators is a single dose of 200 milligrams infused intravenously over 30 to 120 minutes on the first day followed by daily doses of 100 milligrams for the next nine days, according to a fact sheet (pdf) distributed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for healthcare providers administering the drug.

Patients not on ventilators should get a similar regimen but only for five days total, the agency said. The treatment may be extended for up to five additional days if the patient doesnt show clinical improvement.

According to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, the optimal dosage and duration of treatment is not known.

In a separate fact sheet (pdf) for patients, parents, and caregivers, the FDA described remdesivir as an investigational antiviral medicine that is still being studied.

There is limited information known about the safety and effectiveness of using remdesivir to treat people in the hospital with COVID-19, the fact sheet stated. There are no treatments approved as safe and effective against COVID-19 but remdesivir received an emergency use authorization, they were told.

Possible side effects include low blood pressure, vomiting, nausea, sweating, and shivering. Patients could also see an increase in levels of liver enzymes.

These are not all the possible side effects of remdesivir. Remdesivir is still being studied so it is possible that all of the risks are not known at this time, the FDA stated. Not a lot of people have taken remdesivir. Serious and unexpected side effects may happen.

Patients mulling not taking the investigational drug were told, If you do not take remdesivir, you might get sicker or even die.

Even if they do take it, theres still a chance they may get sicker or die, the sheet added.
ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland will further ease curbs on migration from Europe while considering opening borders with neighbours, the government said on Friday as it detailed the latest, step-by-step easing of limits enacted to contain the new coronavirus. Bern also said it would test this month a voluntary contact tracing app for smartphones meant to alert people if they have been too near people who test positive for the coronavirus

ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland will further ease curbs on migration from Europe while considering opening borders with neighbours, the government said on Friday as it detailed the latest, step-by-step easing of limits enacted to contain the new coronavirus.

Bern also said it would test this month a voluntary contact tracing app for smartphones meant to alert people if they have been too near people who test positive for the coronavirus.

The system, part of the nation's long-term strategy to contain COVID-19 and avoid being overwhelmed by a second wave, could go live once parliament addresses the measure in June.

As migration resumes, the government said initial steps include processing a backlog of applications from people seeking work in Switzerland. For Swiss citizens as well as for those from the European Union, family reunification in Switzerland should also be possible again, Bern said.

"The controls at the border will continue," the government said. "Border crossings will be opened in consultation with the domestic and foreign partner authorities and communicated accordingly."

After previously announcing that restaurants could open starting on Monday, Switzerland laid out rules to ensure customer and employee safety.

Among other things, waiters and guests will not be required to wear masks, even as kitchen personnel may have to. Only four people or parents with children are allowed at tables, which must two metres (6.5 feet) apart or separated by dividing walls.

Restaurants must ask for contact details from guests, who are not required to give them.

The government also backed 65 million Swiss francs ($67 million) in aid for day care centres after parliament supported the move this week.

(Reporting by John Miller and Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi; Editing by Michael Shields)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Residential and commercial properties are seen from Sydney Harbour in Sydney on April 4, 2017. (Peter Parks/Getty Images)

Australian Business Chiefs Prepare for Virus Exit

Work has begun on a plan to not only reawaken Australian businesses following the COVID-19 slumber but accelerate the recovery and put in place long-term reform.

The Business Council of Australia has set up a series of expert working groups, headed by some of the countrys top executives, to identify practical and achievable solutions to create jobs and boost the economy.

The groups will not only look at how to restart business and industry but put in place structural reforms to drive growth and higher wages.

They will draw on the expertise of Port Jackson Partners, Professor Ian Harper, Dr. Ken Henry, and banking chief economists.

Business Council board member and group managing director of Coca-Cola Amatil, Alison Watkins says all sectors of the economy need to contribute to the recovery effort.

We are casting a wide net to develop the right policies to lift competitiveness, boost productivity and fire up our performance across the whole economy, she said.

Watkins will chair the overarching working group, supported by smaller sector-specific groups covering such areas as the digital economy, energy and climate, financial services, health, housing, tax, regional development, and workplace relations.

Business Council president Tim Reed said it was a once in a generation opportunity to recraft Australian society and the economy.

We dont have time to waste. We need a common-sense approach that will remove the obstacles standing in the way of quickly getting Australians back to work and putting more money back into their pockets.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and state and territory leaders agreed on May 8 to a three-step plan to restart business and community activities.

However, the states and territories are set to move through the three stages at different speeds, depending on their health situation and local conditions.

Treasury says it is possible to restore 851,000 jobs in the coming months if things go to plan.

By Paul Osborne
Asked about the secret to a long life, the veteran said it was 'the luck of the Irish'

John Hemingway, 100, is now last surviving pilot who fought in Battle of Britain

John 'Paddy' Hemingway, at age 100, is the last surviving member of The Few, a crew of RAF pilots who protected the UK from the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain

The last surviving pilot who fought the Nazis in the Battle of Britain has said he has 'luck of the Irish' after discovering his last comrade had died just hours before VE Day.

John 'Paddy' Hemingway, at age 100, is the last member of The Few, a crew of RAF pilots who protected the UK from the Luftwaffe over the English Channel in 1940.

It was announced on VE Day that Terry Clark had died aged 101 from natural causes at his care home on Thursday evening, just as the nation was preparing to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe.

He pair, although they never met, were among the 3,000 pilots who took to the skies in Spitfires and Hurricanes from July to October 1940 against Germany's air force to fight for control over the Channel, a turning point in the second world war.

More than 500 RAF pilots and aircrew were killed in the Battle of Britain, which led Prime Minister Winston Churchill to declare 'Never was so much owed by so many to so few'.

Mr Hemingway, a fighter pilot in 85 Squadron, 'sees himself as a symbol of everyone's heroism and commitment to the war', according to his son, Brian.

Mr Hemingway, a fighter pilot in 85 Squadron, 'sees himself as a symbol of everyone's heroism and commitment to the war', according to his son, Brian

The war hero, who now lives in a care home in Dublin, was shot down four times and was later awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery.

'They called him the lucky Irishman,' Brian told the Telegraph. 'One of the times he was shot down was in the English Channel, which was normally a death sentence, but he was rescued. He's just lucky to be alive.'

'He is very mindful of the thousands of other pilots that are not with us any more. If people feel proud to be British because of the part he played in the Battle for Britain, then he is proud.'

Terry Clark, who was one of only two surviving members of RAF pilots who defended Britain against the Luftwaffe, died at the age of 101 on Thursday

The 219 Squadron aircraftman died from natural causes at his care home just as the nation was preparing to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe

When he was previously asked about the secret to a long life, Mr Hemingway said: 'I can't say don't drink. I can't say don't fool about with people. I can't say don't fly and get shot at - I've done everything, and I'm an Irishman. The only advice I can give to people is to be Irish.'

He also paid tribute to late comrade Mr Clark, and said his thoughts are with his family.

Aviation artist Steve Teasdale, a Yorkshire resident and long-term friend of Mr Clark, said: 'He was a true gentleman and a wonderful man.

More than 500 RAF pilots and aircrew were killed in the Battle of Britain, which led Prime Minister Winston Churchill to declare 'Never was so much owed by so many to so few'

'It's mixed emotions currently. We have got the flags and bunting out, we are here grieving and yet we are celebrating at the moment.

'It's very difficult. All I can think about is Terry.'

Major Chris Chapman, branch secretary of the British Legion's York branch, said: 'It is sad to hear we have lost one of the Few, and perhaps even sadder that in the current circumstances we are not able to attend his funeral to pay our respects.

'Our thoughts are with his family.'

The flag at the Battle of Britain memorial will be flown at half past by the RAF Association to pay tribute to Mr Clark.
Kuwait imposes 3-week full curfew to curb rapid coronavirus spread

KUWAIT CITY, May 8 (Xinhua) The Kuwaiti government announced late Friday a full curfew in the country for three weeks to curb the rapid rise in coronavirus cases.

At a news conference, Tareq Al-Mezrem, government spokesman, said the curfew will be imposed from 4 p.m. Sunday and end on May 30.

But people are allowed to walk or exercise outdoors from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in their residential areas, without using their cars, he added.
U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on May 7, 2020.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he was "very torn" about whether to end the so-called Phase 1 U.S.-China trade deal, just hours after top trade officials from both countries pledged to press ahead with implementing it despite coronavirus economic wreckage.

In an overnight phone call, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He set aside rapidly deteriorating U.S.-China relations and discussed progress since the deal took effect in mid-February.

The two Trump cabinet officials said in a joint statement that both sides "agreed that in spite of the current global health emergency, both countries fully expect to meet their obligations under the agreement in a timely manner."

China's Commerce Ministry said the two sides agreed to improve the atmosphere for implementation of the Phase 1 deal, which calls for Beijing to boost its purchases of American farm and manufactured goods, energy and services by $200 billion over two years compared to a 2017 baseline.

The deal brought a partial truce to an 18-month trade war between the world's two largest economies that heaped U.S. tariffs on some $370 billion worth of Chinese imports.

Trump, who has blamed China's early handling of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan in late 2019 for causing thousands of deaths and millions of job losses in the United States, has threatened to terminate the trade deal if China fails to meet its purchase commitments. He said on Wednesday that he will assess that effort within the next week.

China has rejected the Trump administration's assertions that there was evidence the new coronavirus came from a Wuhan laboratory and scientists have said it appears to have developed in nature.
Syria violence 'a ticking time-bomb that must not be ignored': UN human rights chief

8 May 2020 - As civilian casualties mount across Syria and human rights violations continue unabated, the UN rights chief expressed serious concern on Friday that some parties to the conflict, including ISIL terrorist fighters, may be using the COVID-19 pandemic as "an opportunity to regroup and inflict violence on the population".

Calling the deteriorating situation "a ticking time-bomb that must not be ignored", UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet lamented: "We are receiving more reports every day of targeted killings and bombings from one end of the country to the other, with many such attacks taking place in populated areas".

Taking stock

Last month, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) took 35 civilian lives, according to the UN Human Rights Office, compared to seven the previous month.

And since the start of March, residential neighbourhoods and markets have been targeted.

Nearly all attacks have occurred in northern and eastern parts of the country under the control of Turkish armed forces and affiliated armed groups, or of the opposing Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces .

The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) office recapped an incident that occurred on 28 April in which a fuel truck exploded in a market in the northwestern city of Afrin, that killed 51 people, 29 of whom were civilians.

In most cases, no group has claimed responsibility for these attacks.

"Syria has been wracked by violence for nearly a decade resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, and displacement of millions", asserted Ms. Bachelet. "Countless families have been traumatized, and numerous cities, towns, villages and individual homes have been destroyed".

Government-controlled tally

And in southern Syria, the UN documented 52 incidents of targeted killings since early March that have left 17 civilians dead in the Government-controlled Dar'a Governorate.

OHCHR singled out a 4 April attack where a former armed group killed nine police officers in the town of al-Muzairib in western rural Dar'a. And in the past two weeks, ISIL has claimed responsibility for three attacks in the area.

The UN human rights chief also expressed alarm at the number of deaths and injuries caused by explosive remnants of war, such as landmines and other forms of unexploded ordnance, noting that since the start of March, 41 incidents have resulted in 29 civilian deaths.

"If the current patterns of violations and abuses continue to spread and escalate, there is a risk the country will enter another spiral of extreme and wide-spread violence committed with impunity by all parties to the conflict", maintained the UN rights chief.

Ceasefire mostly holding

Meanwhile, a ceasefire in the north-western province of Idlib, brokered by Turkey and Russia, who support opposing sides in the conflict, is mostly holding.

However, intermittent clashes and ground-based strikes between pro-Government forces and armed groups continue to be reported in western rural Aleppo and southern rural Idlib.

Ms. Bachelet echoed once again calls by the UN Secretary General for a global ceasefire which the world battles the common enemy of COVID-19, urging all parties to the various conflicts in Syria to silence the guns.

"The protection of civilian life is paramount, and the blatant disregard for civilian safety runs contrary to the obligations that all parties must uphold under international humanitarian law and international human rights law," concluded the UN High Commissioner for Human.

"I urge all those continuing to fight, kill and displace the battered and beleaguered Syrian people to step back, and give peace a chance."

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Federal officials stressed the dangers to long-term care residents and Indigenous communities if COVID-19 restrictions are lifted too quickly after projections in Quebec painted a dire picture of the potential cost.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 9/5/2020 (620 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responds to a question from the media during a daily briefing outside Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, Friday May 8, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Federal officials stressed the dangers to long-term care residents and Indigenous communities if COVID-19 restrictions are lifted too quickly after projections in Quebec painted a dire picture of the potential cost.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday he is "very worried" about residents of Montreal  the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada  where the province is preparing to loosen confinement measures despite a rash of fatal outbreaks at nursing homes.

"We must make sure that we are ensuring protection of our older citizens as an absolute priority," Trudeau told reporters.

"I understand the economic pressures we're all under and I understand people do want to go outside. But we need to do it in ways that we are sure are going to keep people safe, because the last thing that people want is a few weeks from now (is) being told, 'OK, we loosened the rules and now COVID's spreading again and you're all going to have go inside for the rest of the summer.'"

The comments came less than 24 hours after Quebec's public health institute said deaths could soar to 150 a day in the greater Montreal area if physical distancing measures are lifted. New cases could mushroom to 10,000 by June amid a potential surge in hospitalizations.

Premier Francois Legault said this week that elementary schools, daycares and retail stores with outdoor entrances in Montreal can reopen May 25  the second time he has pushed back the date, but ahead of other large cities.

Federal officials remain concerned about a rising death toll.

"I'm afraid of more people dying and more outbreaks," said Dr. Howard Njoo, the country's deputy chief public health officer.

Long-term care residents account for more than 80 per cent of deaths caused by the virus across Canada despite making up only one in five cases, chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam said Saturday.

Stricter measures "may have to be reinstated" if controls ease up too soon, she said, calling the impact on seniors "a national tragedy."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau listens to a reporter's question during his daily news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic outside his residence at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, on Saturday, May 9, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

"The virus has not disappeared from the face of the Earth," Tam said.

Questions about access to supplies are emerging among other vulnerable populations as health officials and community leaders work to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan's far north.

The region has seen a spike in cases in and around the remote Dene village of La Loche, a community of 2,800 about 600 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon where an outbreak has affected more than 100 residents.

Leonard Montgrand, the regional representative of Metis Nation-Saskatchewan, said Friday the situation is getting scary because infrastructure isn't set up to respond to the crisis.

Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said outbreaks of COVID-19 in First Nations communities may have been delayed because of their remoteness, but the government needs to remain vigilant in the future.

"You could see languages disappear," he said, referring to elders who make up the last generation to speak some Indigenous dialects.

Miller cited a need for more resources and better data collection to help protect the communities and understand the spread of the virus among Indigenous people, and called on provincial governments to help in that area.

The full scope of the outbreak among Indigenous populations remains unknown because federal data collection is carried out mainly among on-reserve and northern communities, he said.

NDP MP Niki Ashton criticized Miller after the government sent medical tents to the First Nations community of Pukatawagan in northern Manitoba that "weren't requested," calling the move "paternalistic."

"Rather than listening to the community and respecting their request to retrofit their youth centre into a temporary quarantine space, your department decided to impose an outside solution that was unwanted, unneeded, dangerous and simply wrong," Ashton said in a public letter Friday.

Canada's case count climbed past 67,000 on Saturday. Quebecers make up more than half of the total cases, with 36,986  about half of which are in Montreal.

On top of sustained community transmission in pockets of the city, long-term care homes have come under such strain that 1,350 Canadian Forces soldiers will be deployed to 25 facilities by mid-May to help residents, the federal government says.

"They're dying in indignity in vast numbers. And that will continue if there are measures that are relaxed too soon. That is the scientific conclusion," Miller said.

The news Saturday was a bit better in Ontario, where Premier Doug Ford announced provincial parks will reopen Monday after one of the lowest daily case counts in recent weeks  346 new confirmed cases for a total of 19,944, including 1,599 deaths.

Meanwhile, Trudeau said Canada will not pay the full price for medical masks that do not meet medical standards.

On Friday, the federal government suspended shipments of N95 respirators from a Montreal-based supplier after about eight million of the masks made in China failed to meet specifications.

"There are ongoing discussions ongoing with them about whether there are alternative uses for these masks, but we will not be paying for masks that do not hit the standards that we expect to give to our front-line workers," he said.

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.

Trudeau said the discovery speaks to the "rigorous verification system" administered by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

NDP procurement critic Mathew Green questioned the government's purchasing process for personal protective equipment, saying officials had "skirted the question of quality control and ultimately the bottom line cost" of PPE orders.

Trudeau declined to specify on Saturday the per-unit cost of N95 masks, which federal officials have previously pegged at anywhere from $1.20 to $6 apiece.

Last month the Public Health Agency of Canada announced the government had bought around one million faulty KN95 respirators from a China-based supplier, which Ottawa said has pledged to replace them.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 9, 2020.

With files from Stephanie Taylor and Teresa Wright
By Trend

Azerbaijan marks the Day of Victory in the Great Patriotic War on May 9  75th anniversary of victory over fascism.

Years of the World War II were the most difficult in the 20th century for all the mankind.

During the war, Azerbaijanis showed courage and heroism on the front line as well as on the home front. A battalion of 87 jet fighters and 1,224 self-defense groups were created in the country in a very short period of time. More than 600,000 Azerbaijanis were sent to the front between 1941 and 1945.

About 130 Azerbaijanis were named Hero of the Soviet Union, 30 more were awarded the Order of Honor. As many as 170,000 Azerbaijani soldiers and officers were awarded various USSR orders and medals.

Hazi Aslanov, twice the Hero of the Soviet Union, other heroes of the Soviet Union as Israfil Mammadov, Aslan Vazirov, Adil Guliyev, Ziya Bunyadov, Geray Asadov, Malik Maharramov and Mehdi Huseynzadeh, generals Mahmud Abilov, Akim Abbasov, Tarlan Aliyarbeyov, Hajibala Zeynalov and many others brought honor to the history of the Azerbaijani people.

Azerbaijan's economy was re-oriented to fit the needs of the front. Despite all the difficulties, Azerbaijani oilmen worked hard to supply the front line and the industry with fuel.

During the war years, a new aviation fuel producing technology was created under supervision of Academician Yusif Mammadaliyev.

With the hard work of the Azerbaijani oil workers, the oil production in Azerbaijan reached its peak in 1941 when 23.5 million tons of oil was produced, making up 71.4 percent of all the oil produced in the USSR. In total, the Azerbaijani oil workers gave the country 75 million tons of oil and 22 million tons of fuel during the years of war. Baku's oil was one of the main factors in gaining victory in the war. It should be noted that four of each five planes, tanks and cars ran on fuel from Baku.

After Azerbaijan gained independence, the participants of the WWII were not deprived of state care and attention. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signs orders every year to provide them with financial assistance.

--

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Padraic Halpin

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's unemployment rate shot up to 28.2% at the end of April including those receiving emergency jobless benefits due to the coronavirus pandemic, the highest rate on record and up from just 4.8% two months ago, the statistics office said on Friday.

Ireland introduced stay-home measures at the end of March, shutting down all but essential services such as supermarkets and petrol stations to slow the spread of the virus.

The government introduced a wage subsidy scheme on March 24, three days before the full lockdown but two weeks after it started gradually closing down the economy, so many companies had already begun laying off staff.

Dublin intends to ease the lockdown more gradually than many other European countries from May 18.

The new COVID-19 Adjusted Unemployment rate rose sharply from 15.5% in March after the number of people claiming the higher emergency payment more than doubled to 602,107, on top of a seasonally adjusted 216,900 on regular jobless benefits.

Excluding the pandemic payments, the jobless rate rose to 5.4% from 5.3% in March.

The highest previous jobless rate recorded since the series was first published 37 years ago was 17.3% in 1985. It hit a post-financial crisis high of 16% in 2012 when Ireland was midway through a three-year international bailout.

The adjusted unemployment rate does not include 427,400 more workers on a wage subsidy scheme for impacted companies. A call by government for struggling firms to sign staff up and even rehire some workers led to just 7,000 more people claiming the pandemic payment in the week to May 5, government figures show.

"Clearly, many of those laid off because of Covid-19 will return to work but how many and how quickly will depend in no small way on the actions the government takes," said Austin Hughes, chief economist at KBC Bank Ireland.

The central bank estimated in early April that the jobless rate could fall back to 12.6% by the end of the year from what it initially thought would be a peak of 25%. Central Bank Chief Gabriel Makhlouf said this week that the picture seems to have gotten even starker since those projections.

Story continues

While the government has committed more than 13 billion euros in fiscal stimulus so far - turning a budget surplus in 2019 into a an estimated deficit of 7.4% of GDP for this year - Hughes said "early and aggressive" further measures will be needed to minimise the ultimate cost to the state.

Hughes said such measures should support firms rather than households and that actions such as a possible cut in the Value Added Tax (VAT) rate for the hospitality sector, should have a clear expiry date.

Acting Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has said the wage subsidy - where the state agreed in March to pay 70% of pay up to a maximum of 410 euros a week - and the pandemic payment will need to be extended in some form beyond their mid-June expiry.

He has suggested the subsidy scheme could be more targeted and that the government intends to decide how by the end of May.

Varadkar laid out a roadmap last week for the gradual re-opening of the economy that could allow building sites and some retailers to reopen in 10 days, with restaurants following in June, hotels in July and finally pubs in August.

Ireland's pubs are among the sectors pushing to be allowed to open sooner but the country's chief medical officer, Tony Holohan, told national broadcaster RTE he did not see any realistic prospect of bars re-opening in June.

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Alison Williams and Hugh Lawson)
With increased global emissions due to human activities, sea-level rise will be much worse than what was predicted earlier. As per a new survey, more than a 100 specialists on the topic believe that this could be as bad as more than 1 metre of sea-level rise by 2100.

Led by scientists at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore with global support, the survey has been published in the journal Nature. It records the views of 106 specialists chosen on the basis of their experience in the field. The criteria for their selection for the survey was that they must have published at least six peer-reviewed papers on the subject in major academic journals.

It is easy to assume that if the best in the field are commonly suggesting an impending doom, the world should better listen to them.

The experts explain the estimated sea level rise through two scenarios. One, where increasing global emissions lead to 4.5 C of temperature above pre-industrial levels. In this case, the surface of the worlds oceans will rise by 0.6 to 1.3 metres by 2100 in comparison with their levels today. This is a potential threat to hundreds of millions of people living in coastal cities.

(Representative Image: Reuters)

A more optimistic approach is when humans manage to cut down on the global emissions to a temperature increase of only 2 C over the century. In this case, the sea-level rise will be 0.5 metre which will still be manageable to much extent.



Both the cases, however, widely deviate from what the UN intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) predicts - a 1.1-metre rise by 2100. The difference lies in the fact that the IPCC works through consensus among scientific working groups, leading to conservative results.

The impact

As per the experts cited in the survey, coastal cities around the world will be the hardest hit with this sea-rise. More notably, they will be adversely affected much before than what was earlier predicted by the United Nations. Going from bad to worse, the sea-level can potentially rise up to a height of 5 metres by 2300. Some of these cities may have to be abandoned altogether as they cannot be defended, said co-author Stefan Rahmstorf, from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany.

(Representative Image: Reuters)

The pessimistic evaluations of the situation arise from growing concerns around the worlds two biggest ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland. Satellite and on-the-ground data show these regions are melting faster than most computer models predicted, as per a report by The Guardian.



The only way out is to reduce the global emissions.

The lockdowns being experienced globally due to the COVID-19 pandemic have helped. As mobility and industrial activities come to a halt, global emissions have taken a massive hit and have been much under the desired threshold.

Experts believe that the situation might be temporary though. Till the time specific measures to tackle climate change are not taken head on, such temporary stops would not be of much use in the long run.
The beginning of the school year when you got to show off your new duds, new cars, new looks!

Sports! Playing, cheering, watching high school athletics.

The arts: Dramatic arts, musical groups and shows, graphic arts groups, debate, etc.

The prom! No dancing the night away or punch bowl antics.

The daily interactions. Just being with the group, hanging with friends and classmates.

Access to college recruiters and advisors  its harder to line up higher education.

Walking onstage to get a diploma while all the family is watching with everyone elses family.

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A man from California reportedly killed his one-year-old daughter after stabbing his pregnant wife in the stomach.

According to a report from the police, the man killed his daughter by throwing her off a cliff. In addition, the authorities said, Adam Slater, 49, and a registered sex offender, stabbed a bystander as well when he attempted to help the mother.

The series of attacks started at around 9 am when, according to the authorities and the family, Slater beat and stabbed Ashley Grome, his wife, at the Southwest Community Church parking lot, located in Indian Wells before escaping with his daughter, Madalyn Payton Slater, which he ultimately threw from a cliff.

On GoFundMe, 23-year-old Grome wrote that her daughter was the absolute love of her life, and "she meant everything and more to [her]."

The mourning mother also added everything she does, and all the things she will do for the rest of her life will be for her daughter. She said Madalyn was beautiful, and her smile was indeed, so contagious that even after a bad day, her daughter could always cheer her up.



What Transpired that Tragic Day

According to the police, the suspect drove off around 9 am, leaving Highway 74, south of Vista Point. Then, when a man suddenly tried to stop him and pull the little girl from the vehicle, Slater reportedly stabbed him as well, before he grabbed his daughter and took her to the edge of the cliff.

Momentarily, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said, the driver rushed to the vehicle's passenger side, where the man attempting to help was stabbed.

Several witnesses saw Slater take his daughter and throw her off a cliff into a ravine. Then, the witnesses said, the suspect "fled on foot into the canyon."

Following a short hunt, deputies apprehended the Palm Desert man before his daughter's body was recovered. In relation to the occurrence, Chris Chrome, Ashley's uncle, said in an interview that Slater tried stabbing his wife many times in the throat and stomach.

The wife, who was six months pregnant, fought back and tried to protect herself, said Mr. Grome, and continued, the wife sustained horrible stab wounds.

It was the family that confirmed that Slater was registered as a sex offender in 1995.



What Lies Ahead

Presently, Grome's family is mourning the loss of their beloved Madalyn who, Chris described as "a little joy to have." At present, he added, it is still excruciating, and everyone in the family is hurting.

After Slater's arrest, he was brought to a nearby hospital for treatment of his injuries. He was then booked after his release from the hospital. He has been charged with murder.

Slater's bail is set at $1 billion. He is scheduled for an appearance in court Monday morning.



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Kabul, May 9 : Afghanistans President Ashraf Ghani has tasked a 10-member team to probe reports that said Afghan migrants were "abused, tortured and drowned" by Iranian border guards to prevent their illegal entry.

Mohammad Hamid Tahmasbi will lead the probe team, TOLO News quoted Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman to Ashraf Ghani, as saying on Friday.

According to the Foreign Ministry, initial assessments suggested that at least 70 Afghans who were trying to enter Iran from bordering Herat province were beaten and pushed into the Harirud river.

The Harirud river basin is shared by Afghanistan, Iran and Turkmenistan.

An Afghan official on Wednesday said that so far 16 of the Afghan nationals have been rescued, 18 to 20 were missing, and 16 bodies have been found.

On Thursday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that he was "appalled" by the reports and called on the Afghan government to open a "full investigation".

But Iranian Foreign Affairs Ministry rejected Pompeo's remarks, saying some people were trying to disrupt Kabul-Tehran ties by making conspiracies.
Brothers Scott and Chris Evans Sibling Dynamic, Explained

The Thing About Siblings: A Look at Life While Growing Up as An Evans

Sibling relationships can be unpredictable.

With so many contributing factors as to how the dynamic can shift over time  age, gender, sexuality, and so forth  the best case is to start by honing in on earlier moments in life, looking at key moments during adolescence that might hint at the possibility of a strong bond, or conversely, something with not much meaning.

But whats to come after that? How much do your siblings impact your life as you continue into adulthood? If you find yourself on similar career paths, is conflict inevitable?

To understand this a little better, we took a closer look at the relationship between Chris Evans (as in, Captain America Chris Evans) and his brother, Scott Evans.

RELATED: Know Who You Are Before You Get Into a Relationship, Says Freddie Prinze Jr.

Boys Will Be Boys

Upon speaking with Scott, almost immediately, he notes their brotherly bond is more unique than what might be expected from most siblings.

At the end of a school day, it's like, why would I invite a friend over when I have built in friends here? he says. My brother and I always say we were each other's first friend, first and best friend. [And] I still remember where things start to separate, where he starts to make real friends and I'm like, Oh, we're not going to hang out forever all the time? But then it translated into our adult life. There's always some bumps in the road, but we just have always stayed super close  probably annoyingly close.

Same could be said of his feelings towards their sisters Carly and Shanna, crediting both them and Chris as the ones who schooled him on all those essential life lessons throughout his teen years.

Scott Evans

They taught me everything in terms of when I went to high school ... I think the first time I drank was with them, stuff like that, says Scott. I learned about sex from them. Just everything that older siblings should be teaching you, that's who I went to with my questions. I think my older sister bought me booze before I was 21. You know, breaking rules, but it's what a sibling is supposed to do.

Scotts experiences are in alignment with what clinical psychologist Joshua Klapow, Ph.D. believes will occur when there are age gaps in play as siblings start to define their roles growing up.

Siblings very close in age (less than 2 years apart) are often compatible in a friend-to-friend manner, explains Klapow. Siblings far apart in age (over five years) often have a parent-child relationship that can be fruitful. Siblings a few years apart can be challenging as the younger often see the older as having privileges that they deserve  this is where competition and entitlement typically comes into play.

Being just two years (and three months) apart from Chris is something Scott particularly reveled in growing up, calling their closeness in age the greatest. With a link as unique as theirs, theres a shared internal storage facility of memories, easily accessible with something as simple as a text.

It's just, it's nice to have those nostalgic moments built in for life, he explains. It's not just me that experienced them. I got to experience them with somebody else, which is now, we basically share a brain.

Veering Off Course

And as they grew older, although he didnt necessarily feel like he had anything to prove as he matured, something psychotherapist Dr. Gary Brown believes might be true within a younger-older sibling relationship, Scott does consider his decisions post-high school, compared to his brothers, to be a bit different for one very specific reason.

When I was 17, 18, the path in my brain wasn't necessarily, Oh, do I follow his path? The path I wanted to explore and follow myself is not one he was taking because I like boys, he says.

I graduated high school early, and I moved to New York before I even knew I was going to college or anything. I need to go do this on my own, and sort of come out of the closet in my own time. Going to college was a very necessary step in order to have my formative years, which for everybody kind of happens in their teens, but for gay men that don't necessarily come out until later in life, it kind of happens a little later.

But in the case of two brothers close in age, with one straight and one gay, how much does a specific factor like sexual orientation influence the relationship? Will that ultimately strengthen their brotherly bond or cause them to lose out on an opportunity to bond?

Siblings can be really important sources of support for sexual minority youth during the coming out process, says Sarah Killoren, Ph.D., associate professor at University of Missouri. A sibling is usually the first family member to know about their brothers or sisters sexual identity and are often a supportive presence when youth come out to their parents. Some research shows that disclosure of sexual orientation can lead to more closeness in the sibling relationship.

Scott saved coming out to Chris for last by almost a full year, not because he was fearful the relationship would be damaged, but more so that he thought being gay was somehow letting his brother down.

Looking back now is so ridiculous, and it sucks that our minds are conditioned to think that way growing up, not by any fault of anybody else, just how society is and how you grow up, he says. You didn't see yourself in movies or on TV, and it just felt wrong. It just was not as big a deal as I thought it was going to be. If anything it brought us closer because now we're not competing for anything if we go to bars together.

Headed to Hollywood

Sexuality aside, there is a common thread that ties most of the Evans children together into their adult years: a passion for the arts. While one might assume Scott was eager to join his brother on the big screen, he credits his mother, who grew up as a dancer, as the one who truly got him falling head over heels for the craft.

Thats not to say Chris didnt have any influence, of course, with Scott referring to his brothers journey as a success story thats unmatched by a lot of the percentage of actors in Hollywood.

But with any two people close in age with similar aspirations, are those goals driven by trying to be equals, jealousy, or is it something else entirely?

Conflict and competition are not guaranteed. Siblings who share similar interests may be more likely to spend time together and create a strong bond, says Killoren. When younger siblings have similar interests and follow in the same career path as their older siblings, it is usually because younger siblings admire their older siblings and want to be like them. Also, in terms of careers, older siblings are in a great position to give their younger siblings advice when younger siblings are starting their careers.

When speaking with Scott, its as if he and Killoren were in the same room, echoing her sentiments by noting there was less of a rivalry and more of a want to emulate throughout his relationship with his brother.

There are things he teaches me everyday or things I teach him everyday, he says. We still will check in with each other and we're there for each other. There's no time for any sense of rivalry or competitive spirit. We're in different categories. I don't think we'll ever be going into the same spot as they were in the biz  but it's the complete opposite of a rivalry. It's more of just support and love.

An Unbreakable Brotherly Bond

That support and love is clearly unmatched, as evidenced by just about every interview theyve done together, or by mere seconds of the at-home videos on social media that showcase Chris buzzing away at Scotts head. Being able to feel a connection thatll carry on for life isnt always the case for siblings, but for Scott, just when he felt the relationship with his brother couldnt get any better, it did.

Dont worry @itskatelambert, my brother helped me even it out. ? pic.twitter.com/a2s2vaEQ9a  Scott Evans (@thescottevans) March 24, 2020

Were always covering new ground. Every Christmas, we're drinking wine and beer all day, and then by the end of the night, we discovered new things about each other and we're crying and we're bonding, he explains. It's like there's never something we're not learning about each other, and there's never a fear of telling each other stuff. These are the people that you want to share your good news with, these are the people you want to share your sad days with.

Klapow points out that like any other relationship, the ability to change is always present. As the years go by, theres the possibility that relationships will shift in various directions as each individual gains life experience and evolves in their own way.

There is almost a pre-adulthood and post-adulthood relationship dynamic  each defining a very different relationship quality, he adds. Change is possible, but each interaction over time sets the stage for interactions later in life. [And] gay versus straight matters only in so much as the heterosexual brother embraces his brother as an equal and as a brother. The relationship there is critical for the overall compatibility.

Some arent as lucky to develop such a strong connection to their siblings, but as you can tell, the Evans siblings  especially Scott and Chris, in particular  are an inseparable pair in it for the long haul.

You reach a point where it's like, OK, this has got to be a solidified bond, says Scott. Some friends you're like, We're going to be best friends forever, [but] then they end. But with Chris, this is going to be a best friendship ... for forever.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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DeWitt, N.Y.  College graduates from Central New York wont get to walk the stage in person, thanks to the coronavirus.

So residents of a DeWitt neighborhood brought the celebration to their seven graduates.

Cars paraded around a neighborhood near Jamesville-DeWitt Middle School on Saturday morning, undeterred by an unseasonable snowstorm. Graduates watched as the cars coasted down Cooper Lane onto Hamilton Parkway.

Anna Skandalis, one of the graduates, was happily surprised to see so many people she loved drive by. Her boyfriend, Jimmy Boeheim, dropped off flowers and gave her a hug.

Skandalis, who majored in criminology, just graduated from the University of Tampa. Saddened by the underwhelming virtual commencement ceremony, the surprise neighborhood parade organized by her mom lifted Skandalis spirits.

It was just very thoughtful, she said. Ive never felt more loved.

The graduates celebrated in the parade are:

Anna Skandalis, University of Tampa

Meredith Wagner, Skidmore College

Nathan Wagner, Syracuse University College of Law

Matthew OConnor, Skidmore College

Cady Ridall, Fairfield University

Ajay Manshar, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Chelsea Colton, Nazareth College

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

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Onondaga Co. coronavirus: Hospitalizations at record levels, up 45% in one week; 5 more deaths

Inside Green Empire Farm: Upstate NYs biggest coronavirus outbreak slams migrant workers

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com
She will get a lot of attention this Mothers Day. But not the kind she is accustomed to. Not the sweet and earnest gestures from a loving son: a card, some flowers, maybe some lopsided pancakes on a breakfast-in-bed tray. Her day will be filled instead with grief and rage. A hole in her heart and an empty chair at the table. It will be filled with calls of condolence and questions about next steps after Gregory McMichael and Travis McMichael were arrested 74 days after grabbing their guns and chasing her unarmed 25-year-old son in their white pickup truck.
A former White House ethics director has claimed Donald Trump is laying the groundwork to interfere with the November election results after the president went on a Twitter rampage against California's voting process.

Walter Shaub was the director of the United States Office of Government Ethics in both the Obama and Trump administrations, but has lately been outspoken against Mr Trump and how he treats the presidency.

Mr Shaub said the president was preparing to ignore the upcoming presidential election results after a tweet storm on Saturday.

So in California, the Democrats, who fought like crazy to get all mail in only ballots, and succeeded, have just opened a voting booth in the most Democrat area in the State, Mr Trump tweeted. They are trying to steal another election. Its all rigged out there. These votes must not count. SCAM!

Mr Shaub responded to the tweet, writing: ... and right on cue, here he is laying the groundwork for a refusal to leave office.

Previous tweets from the former ethics director showed other examples that he believed proved Mr Trump was working to discredit the upcoming election in case he lost, including consistently tweeting about the rigged system.

The president turned his focus to the California election system after Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order on Friday allowing for the states registered voters to vote through mail-in ballots for the November general election. Under the executive order, election officials would be required to send mail-in ballots to every voter.

Elections and the right to vote are foundational to our democracy, Mr Newsom said in a statement. No Californian should be forced to risk their health in order to exercise their right to vote.

Californias 25th district was holding a congressional special election on Tuesday for an open House seat. Republican Mike Garcia, the president's pick, was running against Democrat Christy Smith.

Residents in the district were expected to mail-in ballots for the election, but safe voting locations were also opened to make sure everyone got the opportunity to cast their vote. Mr Trump, a tough critic against mail-in ballots, claimed it was all a ploy for the Democrats to steal the election.

Governor @GavinNewsom of California wont let restaurants, beaches and stores open, but he installs a voting booth system in a highly Democrat area (supposed to be mail in ballots only) because our great candidate, @MikeGarcia2020, is winning by a lot. CA25 Rigged Election, he wrote during his rant on Saturday.

Mayor Rex Parris, a Republican, actually assisted the district in creating a safe voting location for the special election on Tuesday, not the governor.

Republicans across the country, specifically the president, have pushed back against mail-in voting, claiming a widespread system would undermine election security, White House spokesperson Tim Murtaugh wrote on Twitter Friday.

Researchers have not found proof election security would be impacted, and a system of mail-in ballots has actually grown in popularity during the pandemic.

Most Americans, including a majority of Republicans, are in favour of a mail-in voting system for the general election to avoid gathering in public places, according to Reuters/Ipsos poll published in April. About 72 per cent of Americans wanted mail-in ballots.

Californias upcoming special election has taken centre stage in America, and it could face more accusations from the president depending on who wins the House seat.
I promised her I would see this to the end, Biel said in a telephone interview from Redondo Beach, Calif. I wasnt a big fan at first  I just wanted her to concentrate on getting better. But she was passionate about righting a wrong. I promised her at the end that I would see this through, all the way to the Supreme Court.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-10 03:53:18|Editor: huaxia

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Workers produce disinfection gates in a factory in Cairo, Egypt, on May 4, 2020. Inside a spacious plant of a military-run company in the Egyptian capital Cairo, workers are busy producing sterilization cabins and negative-pressure isolation rooms for the country's battle against COVID-19. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

by Mahmoud Fouly

CAIRO, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Inside a spacious plant of a military-run company in the Egyptian capital Cairo, workers are busy producing sterilization cabins and negative-pressure isolation rooms for the country's battle against COVID-19.

The Arab-British Dynamics Company (ABD), which belongs to Egypt's military-run Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI), started in early May the initial production of sterilization cabins to prevent COVID-19 spread and of portable isolation rooms for treating coronavirus patients.

The AOI has 11 companies that are specialized in different fields of manufacture, of which the ABD is in charge of producing medical supplies and equipment.

"Amid the COVID-19 global crisis that involves Egypt, the ABD as a manufacturing arm of the state works on meeting the demands of the local market," ABD chairman Mohsen Abdel-Rahman told Xinhua.

He noted that all the sterilization cabins and isolation rooms "are all created by Egyptian ideas, minds and hands."

Each of the newly produced isolation rooms is just like a mobile intensive care unit (ICU) that is equipped with everything for meeting the patient's needs, Abdel-Rahman said.

"We can produce from 2,000 to 3,000 isolation rooms per month. The price of any of our products is about 50 percent lower than that of the same imported product with the same quality," the company chief told Xinhua.

Abdel-Rahman pointed out that there are negotiations to export the new products to African and Gulf states while meeting the needs of the Egyptian local market.

On Saturday, the most populous Arab country reported 488 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total infections to 8,964, including 514 deaths and 2,002 recoveries.

With the growing number of infections, the newly produced portable ICU-like isolation rooms might be needed in case the government decides to build makeshift hospitals at schools, dormitories, stadiums or such facilities for isolating infected cases.

At one section of the ABD plant, workers were assembling white adjustable hospital beds as one of the main parts of the isolation rooms. All the workers were dressed in uniform and wearing face masks and gloves.

"The bed can be electronically adjusted in five positions by a remote control, such as raising or lowering the bed height, the headboard and the footboard," said Ramadan Younis, a 52-year-old supervisor who has been working for the ABD for over 25 years.

"We implement anti-coronavirus preventive measures such as keeping a distance between each two workers and wearing face masks and gloves. We are happy to be part of the country's frontlines like medics in fighting the novel coronavirus," Younis told Xinhua.

As for the sterilization cabins, which act as disinfection gates, each has a thermometer device in the first part to measure temperature and disinfectant sprayers in the second part to spray the disinfectant material.

The maximum time for a person to pass through the sterilization cabin is 10 seconds and the disinfectant is sprayed using the dry-fogging system for the first time in Egypt, which does not negatively affect the skin or the respiratory system as other cabins do.

Ayman Moussa, AOI chairman's advisor for medical technology, told Xinhua that the AOI started to manufacture the new products after consulting the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Higher Education, the Egyptian Drug Authority and the Unified Medical Procurement Authority to prioritize the urgently needed products to manufacture.

The military-run industrialization body also convened with experts in various fields and creative young people whose innovations haven't been brought to light to provide their ideas regarding the new products.

Manufacturing disinfection cabins and isolation rooms saves Egypt a lot of money, for the prices of their imported counterparts are more than double amid a price rise worldwide for such products due to the spread of COVID-19, said Moussa.

"While our products save money compared to the imported ones, their availability to meet the local needs is what matters the most. Availability is more important than saving money during the pandemic crisis," the AOI official said. Enditem
Sesa sen By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: All major states in the country are working on implementing home delivery of alcoholic beverages with at least 7-8 states to allow the service within the next two weeks. While Punjab, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh have already permitted, others including Delhi, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are also mulling on allowing home delivery of alcohol to shore up revenues.

For a country like India, which has the worlds second-largest population but also the lowest number of outlets, home delivery is the need of the hour to ensure social distancing. At least 7-8 states are expected to give the green signal in the next two weeks, Amrit Kiran Singh, chairman International Spirits and Wines Association of India (ISWAI) told TNIE.

ISWAI represents liquor companies such as Diageo-United Spirits Ltd, Pernod Ricard, Moet Hennessy, Bacardi, Remy Martin and Brown Forman that sell about 80 per cent of all spirits and wine in India.

On Friday, the Supreme Court has suggested that state governments should consider the indirect sale of liquor through online or home delivery modes. The same day Madras High Court too ordered that only online liquor sales be allowed in the state to maintain social distancing norms.

Industry observers say the move is good news for food aggregators lobbying hard to cash-in on the business.

Not just Zomato, states are in talks with Swiggy, Dunzo and HipBar as well and it is the onus of the state governments to decide who they want to work with to facilitate home delivery, Singh noted.

On the flip side, however, the range of price difference in states could give rise to a thriving grey market.

In Delhi, for instance, the 70 per cent corona cess levied can prove counterproductive. Delhi has a porous border with many states, where the prices are much lower. We are afraid this kind of price difference will give rise to smuggling of liquor from neighbouring states, thus defeating the objective of increasing revenues, said Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies director general Vinod Giri, hoping that trade is normalised at the earliest so that such unlawful activities stop.

Easing rules to shore up revenues

While Punjab, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh have already permitted online delivery of liquor, others such as Delhi, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are also mulling allowing the same, to shore up revenue.
Life in lockdown has been a mixed blessing for Australian families, causing stress and anxiety but also creating opportunities for togetherness and bonding.

A national survey of 1000 parents found one in five families are struggling to cope with the stress of COVID-19, the lockdown measures and the economic downturn, while 27 per cent of parents are worried about their familys mental health.

Caroline Willis and Lionel Bonnafous and their children, Emmanuelle, with home-made bow and arrow, and Theodore, who is learning to ride his new bike. Credit:Steven Siewert

But the same survey, conducted by Catalyst Research for family wellbeing charity Uplifting Australia, suggests 43 per cent of families are enjoying quality time together and using it to invest in emotional wellbeing. Meanwhile, 36 per cent of parents said the lockdown was a chance for the family to function better together.

Paige Williams, a lecturer at the Centre for Positive Psychology at the University of Melbourne and an Uplifting Australia board member, said many families were finding "struggling and thriving go hand in hand".
An anaesthetics of the Cape Coast Metropolitan Hospital (CCMH) Mr Nicholas Nyantakyi has said that the penchant on the part of some Ghanaians of disapproving and also trying to find out whether the increase in the coronavirus cases in Ghana are coming from new, old and or quarantined persons are very irrelevant. He said "what is important is that our case count in Ghana is going up and should serve as a guide for us to be careful in adhering to all safety protocols" as prescribed by the Ghana Health Service (GHS).

Contributing to the high numbers of the coronavirus cases in Ghana, the Medical Laboratory Scientist of the same facility Mr. Gideon Gyasi-Obodai said most of the new cases of COVID-19 are coming from patients who are asymptomatic and that makes it very serious. "The wearing of mask is of paramount importance now than before and protects us all. The wearing of mask would protect us all especially from asymptomatic Covid-19 clients since droplets from their sneezing, coughing or when talking would be contained in the mask so as not to infect other unsuspecting Ghanaians".

Mr Gyasi-Obodai, explained that surveillance in relation to COVID-19 deals with the investigation, gathering and analysis of necessary information about the disease; looking at the dynamics of the data in relation to which category of persons affected whether male or female, old or young etc and informing the MOH/GHS about what strategies to employ to deal with Coronavirus pandemic.

A Psychiatric Nurse of the CCMH, Mr Shadrack Otoo further explained that surveillance helps them to plan ahead and also change strategy in how to fight Covid-19 and also to develop appropriate strategies to help influence community behaviour in relation to how citizens can protect themselves against Covid-19. "Patients who are asymptomatic are very easy to treat of COVID-19 than those whose symptoms are very laud and pronounced" Mr Otoo added.

They were speaking to D. C. Kwame Kwakye of GBC Radio Central's Wonfr Yie show today Saturday 9th April 2020 on the topic "Surveillance, Stigmatisation and Support regarding Covid-19".

Also adding his voice to the discussion, Mr Nyantakyi, said medical surveillance is like a surveyor who is trying to map out a land in an area. In relating it to Covid-19, he said similar things are done to identify hotspots of the virus and that informs what can be done going forward. He added that "it is the data that is gathered from surveillance that informed the president's decision to lift the partial Lockdown in Greater Kumasi and Greater Accra". He added that "the novel properties of coronavirus is making it difficult to be real-time ahead of the virus retarding our efforts at going ahead of the virus. Yet, with time and hard work, we shall overcome" Mr. Nyantakyi said.

Mr Gyasi-Obodai added further that, routine surveillance is when an individual visits the hospital with complaints of symptoms similar to coronavirus and then advised staying at the hospital for further test but enhanced surveillance is when health professionals go to a particular place of the patient's abode, workplace or community to test other people who have had contact with a confirmed patient.

He gave an example that when his brother returned from Accra to visit him in Cape Coast, he made him go through the WHO/MOH/GHS approved protocols of handwashing, then took his bath before engaging him in any other familiar engagements. "I had to even sanitise some parts of his car for him" Mr Gyasi-Obodai averred.

He further added that "taxi drivers, market women, shop attendants, health officials are at high risk of contracting coronavirus than others, hence we all need to be careful. So as part of the enhanced surveillance strategies, these high-risk groups are also randomly sampled and tested".

Mr Otoo a Psychiatric Nurse of CCMH explained that stigma is a negative mark associated with a person or group of people. "Stigmatization would make the fight against coronavirus very difficult". He explained that "stigma is calling someone by the name 'Covid-19' patient other than his real name and this would compound our problems and make the work of health officials very difficult. It would debar people from seeking help and the second is that the virus would spread among us" he added.

He further said that, if an individual is confirmed to have Covid-19, all other people he has come into contact with are called primary contact and the secondary contacts are the other persons who have come into contact with the primary contact.

Responding to the mandatory 14-day quarantine of suspected coronavirus clients, the anaesthetics CCMH Mr Nyantakyi explained that the 14-day quarantine is the minimum days for the virus to manifest its symptoms in the patient but it could be 21 or 28 days. "The virus is novel and not all information about it is known so we all need to be careful and try very hard to adhere to all the GHS protocols concerning coronavirus".

In ending the discussion, Mr Otoo advised that when Covid-19 patients are admitted to the hospital, they need a lot of support and care. That he meant "we should call them, give them encouraging words and let them feel part of us and that can help them recover faster". Mr Gyasi-Obodai, on the other hand, said that there are over 415 million diabetic patients across the world but we don't stigmatise against them so why do that to coronavirus patients who contract the disease not deliberately and mostly through no fault of theirs?
Hundreds or several thousand future deaths in Wales depending on R number  that is why stay at home regulations remain in place

This article is old - Published: Saturday, May 9th, 2020

The First Minister has warned Wales faces hundreds of coronavirus deaths in the coming months, however he said if stay at home regulations were loosened that figure could head to several thousand dead.

The letter R played a prominent part of the announcement that lockdown will be extending, with it representing a reproduction rating of the diseases ability to spread. The figure is the number of people that one infected person will pass it on to, and therefore slowing, carrying on or snowballing the number of people infected.

The First Minister opened the briefing by stating, The evidence shows that the harm from Coronavirus is stabilising, thanks in very large part to the actions of everyone in all parts of Wales. But, the expert advice we have received from the Chief Medical Officer is that it is too soon to lift these restrictions that if we did, we would see a return of the virus.

We use something called the R rate to measure how the virus is circulating in Wales.

Citing the above graph the First Minister said, The bottom line shows where we think we are in Wales today, with a level at around R 0.8 If we sustain that level, you will see that we are on a path to successfully dealing with the virus.

The margins are so small. If we simply moved to a small number of percentage fractions above where we are today, if we went from R 0.8 to R 1.1, you will see how hospital admissions take off.

The coronavirus continues to be present in Wales, even with everything we have done to bring the rate down to 0.8 in the community.

We anticipate 800 more people will join that very sad and somber list of people who have lost their lives to coronavirus over the next three months. But, if we were to take actions that allow the virus to spiral back to where it was weeks ago, if it crept back up simply to 1.1, then we would not see 800 deaths in Wales, we would see 7200.

It is because of that picture, that here in Wales, your government has decided that the stay at home regulations must remain in place until the next review date in three weeks time.

We must not lose the progress we have made. All of us must continue to work from home whenever we can. All of us must travel only when absolutely necessary. All of us must continue to observe the two meters social distancing, and to wash our hands and take those basic hygiene precautions. These are the measures that will continue to protect us all from coronavirus and go on saving lives.

Later the First Minister was asked by WalesOnline if there were different values for the R number in the community compared to closed settings, and was told The R level is measured in three different locations. Its measured in hospitals where it is lower in the community and its measured in care homes where we believe, although the evidence in care homes is theres less of a volume of it so its harder to be so precise, but we think its above where it is in the community.

We will watch the level in the community like a hawk. So if it is heading again to the sort of 1.1 levels then we will re-impose some of the restrictions that we already see. It is not a matter, even in the very modest things we said today, of putting those things into practice and then saying theres nothing we can do about them. If they have unintended consequences, if they dont operate in the way that we expect, we will intervene again.

We pointed to the hawk-like observation of the data and that it is measured in geographically spread locations such as hospitals and enquired if such information will be made public at such a local level.

The First Minister replied, The R number I think is best expressed at an all Wales level. Once you get below a certain population base, then the reliability of R becomes more fragmented.

SAGE receives R numbers at English regions, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland levels and thats the right level to have a sensible sense of what R might be.

That isnt to say, we know that the virus has taken a different course in some parts of Wales. It runs in a different way in urban and rural places. Its likely to be higher where people live closer together, its likely to be a bit lower where people are more dispersed across Wales.

We act in this way as a single nation. We believe the 0.7 is the best we can offer people.

You can view the full stream of yesterdays briefing  along with the Q&A session after on the below video link:
Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday spoke on the phone to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, Anadolu agency reports.

The two leaders stressed that for Russia and Germany this date carries particular importance, and vowed to preserve the historical memory of the tragic events of those years to avoid any recurrence, the Kremlin said in a statement posted on its website.



Putin and Merkel called Russia and Germany "partners in resolving many international problems" and confirmed their intention to further build constructive relations.



Turning to the coronavirus pandemic, both leaders expressed the intention to continue the already established close cooperation in countering the virus spread.

In a separate phone conversation with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Putin thanked Great Britain for its contribution in the victory over the Nazi Germany.



In turn, Boris Johnson expressed gratitude on behalf of the British people for the decisive contribution of the Soviet Union and its armed forces in achieving victory over the common enemy.



"The military community of those years reminds of the importance of consolidating efforts to counter modern challenges and threats, one of which is the coronavirus pandemic," Johnson said.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Twenty-one hospitals across the country have been granted permission to conduct stage 2 clinical trials to assess the safety and efficacy of convalescent plasma therapy, which has shown some promise in treating moderate to severe COVID-19 cases across the world.

These include five hospitals in Maharashtra; four in Gujarat, two each in Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, and one each in Punjab, Karnataka, Telangana and Chandigarh.

The trials, to be carried out on 452 patients, however, will not have a placebo arm  which means there cannot be a comparison made between two groups of patients for the efficacy of therapy.

Project PLACID  phase-2 open-label, randomized controlled trial of convalescent plasma by ICMR has received the approval of COVID-19 national ethics committee, said Lav Agarwal, joint secretary, the health ministry in a briefing on COVID-19 status in the country on Friday.

In convalescent plasma therapy, a dose of anti-body-containing plasma obtained from the blood of recovered individuals is transfused to persons with the disease to treat it.

Its an experimental therapy, going back a hundred years, has found useful in many diseases and conditions.

It was tested in case of viral outbreaks during the treatment of the infamous 1918 Spanish flu as well as, more recently, during the 2009 H1N1 influenza, SARS and MERS virus outbreaks.

The Central Drug Controller of India had last month finalised protocol for the therapy saying that those recovered can donate blood after 28 days of recovery and cannot be asked to donate more than 1,000 ml of blood within a month.
What happened

Shares of Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) surged on Friday, after a trade publication reported that the company has reopened over 100 of its stores in states that have loosened coronavirus-related restrictions.

Signet's shares ended Friday's session at $11.09, up 26.9% from Thursday's close. But despite Friday's gain, they're still down by over half since the beginning of March.

So what

It seems only fair to say this up front: It's not entirely clear, to me at least, what was driving Signet's huge gain on Friday. But we do know that the company has begun reopening its jewelry stores, and that news broke on Friday morning.

Jewelry trade publication JCK reported on Friday that Bill Luth, Signet's executive vice president of store operations, said that Signet had reopened 114 stores to customers as of Friday, with another 55 open for curbside pickup. The reopened stores are in states that have loosened restrictions meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus, including Colorado, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Texas, Luth told JCK.

News that stores are reopening is obviously good news for Signet and its shareholders. But given that Signet has over 2,600 stores in the United States -- it owns the Zales, Kay Jewelers, and Jared chains, among others -- that have been closed since mid-March, it doesn't seem like the kind of news that would drive a nearly 27% jump in the company's stock price.

Now what

As most stock investors know, there are times when stocks jump for no good reason. But there are also times when stocks jump (or crash) on rumors of pending news.

I spent some time looking into this on Friday and didn't turn up anything worth reporting (except for the JCK report above). But investors in Signet might want to keep an eye out for interesting news next week, just in case.
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Linkedin Moch. Fiqih Prawira Adjie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 9, 2020 15:51 620 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd6efa81 1 National COVID-19,Syahrul-Yasin-Limpo,Agriculture-Ministry,agriculture,eucalyptus,innovation,Research-and-Development,herbal-medicines Free

The Agriculture Ministry has developed a eucalyptus-based treatment that it claims has been shown to reduce the transmission of COVID-19. The ministry expects it to play a role in the fight against the virus.

The ministry announced the treatment on Friday, saying it was based on lab tests conducted by agricultural researchers.

Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo said the treatment had been tested on influenza as well as beta and gamma coronaviruses and was able to kill 80 to 100 percent of the viruses.

The Ministrys Health Research and Development Agency (Balitbangtan) has developed a few prototypes of the medication in the form of inhalers, roll-ons, ointment, balms and diffusers.

We will keep developing it for COVID-19 patients as the main target," Syahrul said in a statement on Friday.

"God willing, this could be successful. [...] I hope that this innovation can be distributed to the public soon.

The ministrys Health Research and Development Agency head Fajry Jufry said the product had shown very good results after being tested on COVID-19 patients, adding that the ministry was waiting for approval from related parties to distribute it.

Fajry said the antiviral medication was identified through agency research on various herbs and remedies, such as ginger, guava, temulawak (Curcuma) and essential oils.

Read also: Researchers face uphill battle to help with COVID-19 fight

There are about 700 species eucalyptus. Most are native to Australia. Its main component, eucalyptol, has been shown to have anti-inflammatory and antiviral effects, according to the US National Library of Medicine.

Fajry said that eucalyptus-based treatment could also be used to relieve respiratory tracts, eliminate mucus, disinfect wounds, relieve nausea and prevent mouth disease.

In April, South Sumatran scientists also claimed to have discovered a glucose-based snack that was effective at breaking down several major components of the novel coronavirus and inhibit its incubation.

The Ministry of Research and Technologys COVID-19 research consortium, consisting of research institutes, universities, private companies and state-owned enterprises, is participating in global research efforts to find a vaccine or cure for COVID-19.
Pakistani troops engaged in firing and mortar shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday in violation of the ceasefire, a defence spokesman said.

The ceasefire violation was reported from Degwar sector. The Indian Army is retaliating befittingly, the spokesman said.

"At about 7.30 pm, Pakistan initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing with small arms and shelling with mortars in Degwar. Indian Army is retaliating befittingly," he said.

The cross-border shelling is going on but there is no report of any casualty on the Indian side so far, the spokesman said.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany.

Evan Vucci/AP Photo

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany blamed CNN for somehow convincing her to call President Donald Trump's rhetoric about immigrants "racist" and "hateful" in 2015.

"For about the first four weeks of the election, I was watching CNN, and I was naively believing some of the headlines that I saw on CNN," she said.

In newly unearthed footage, McEnany passionately and repeatedly attacked then-candidate Trump, calling him "a showman" who didn't deserve a place in the Republican Party.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

During her press conference at the White House on Friday, Kayleigh McEnany, President Donald Trump's newly installed White House press secretary, blamed CNN and he own naivete for convincing her to call Trump's rhetoric about immigrants "racist" and "hateful" in 2015.

McEnany added that she "very quickly" moved to Trump's side as he began to dominate the 2016 Republican primary election and effusively praised the president.

"For about the first four weeks of the election, I was watching CNN, and I was naively believing some of the headlines that I saw on CNN," she said. "I very quickly came around and supported the president. In fact, CNN hired me."

She added, "I proudly supported this president, who I believe is one of the best presidents, if not the best president, this country will ever have."

McEnany then quickly pivoted to attacking other CNN contributors and guests.

The press secretary's defense flies in the face of the repeated attacks she leveled against Trump in 2015, when she called him "a showman" who didn't deserve a place in the Republican Party.

In television segments on CNN and Fox Business in 2015, unearthed and published by CNN on Thursday, McEnany passionately made the case that Trump wasn't a Republican and he intentionally used inflammatory rhetoric to rile up the right wing.

Story continues

Shortly after Trump officially joined the presidential race in June 2015, McEnany said Trump's allegation that Mexican immigrants are "rapists" was "racist."

"To me, a racist statement is a racist statement. I don't like what Donald Trump said," she said during an appearance on CNN, adding that the remarks were "derogatory" and "hateful."

McEnany said "mainstream" Republicans didn't want to deport undocumented immigrants, a process she said was "not the American way," and that they instead supported "some path to citizenship."

Cornerstones of Trump's presidency and rhetoric include deporting unauthorized immigrants, building a border wall, and making a pathway to citizenship more difficult.

Read the original article on Business Insider
On Friday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a 80-km strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh pass and Dharchula, a town in Uttarakhands Pithoragarh. The link road constructed at a height of 17,000 feet along the border with Tibet in Uttarakhand will now provide an option for faster access to reach Kailash Mansarovar, a pilgrimage site nestled in the Himalayas in Tibet.

After inaugurating the road through video-conferencing, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said pilgrims going to Kailash Mansarovar will now be able to complete their journey in one week instead of up to three weeks. The Minister also flagged off a convoy of vehicles from Pithoragarh to Gunji.

The road originates at Ghatiabagarh and ends at Lipulekh pass, the gateway to Kailash-Mansarovar. Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet is just around 90 km from the Lipulekh pass. Kailash Parbat which is located in the vicinity of Mansarovar Lake is considered sacred in four religions  Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Bon.

Delighted to inaugurate the Link Road to Mansarovar Yatra today. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) achieved road connectivity from Dharchula to Lipulekh (China Border) known as Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra Route, Singh tweeted.

Delighted to inaugurate the Link Road to Mansarovar Yatra today. The BRO achieved road connectivity from Dharchula to Lipulekh (China Border) known as Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra Route. Also flagged off a convoy of vehicles from Pithoragarh to Gunji through video conferencing. pic.twitter.com/S8yNeansJW  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) May 8, 2020

The new link road provides strategic advantage to Armed Forces

According to the Military officials, the new road connectivity will also help in the speedy movement of troops in the strategically key region bordering China. The opening up of the strategically vital road, over 80-km of tough Himalayan terrain, between the Mangti camp near Tawaghat and Gunji in the Vyas valley, and the security posts on the Indian side of the border, has become accessible.

The Defence Ministry has said the BRO in Uttarakhand has connected Kailash Mansarovar route to Lipulekh pass, which will provide connectivity to border villages and security forces.

The construction of the road began in 2008 and was scheduled to be completed in 2013, but it got delayed due to the tough terrain in the portion between Nazang to Bundi village.

The 15-km long most challenging portion of the road from Nazang to Bundi was outsourced in 2015 to a private company under the technical guidance of BRO engineers, which completed the portion despite all odds before the set date by the minister last year, Hindustan Times quoted a BRO officer.

Reduction in travel time

Shalu Datal, a social worker based in Dharchula said that the new road is a boon for residents of all seven villages in Vyans valley. The new road has reduced the travel time from five days to four hours to reach the high altitude villages from Dharchula and vice versa.

Earlier, after reaching Ghatiabgarh via Pitharogarh, it was 79 km or five days of foot trek to Lipulekh Pass. Pithoragarh is 490 km from Delhi. Lipulekh pass at 17,000 feet is close to the tri-junction of India, China and Nepal.

According to Datal, the new infrastructure will also help the winter and summer migration of tribal people to the upper Himalayan region. Overall it will strengthen border security and boost the economy in the bordering villages, said Shalu Datal.

At present, there are two more routes available to undertake the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. The first one is through Sikkim and second option is to travel via Kathmandu. The Sikkim route involves taking a flight to Bagdogra, which is 1115 km from Delhi, thereafter 1665 km of road travel and 43 km of parikrama on foot. Out of total 1665 km from Bagdogra, only 175 km travel is in India.

The other route to Kailash Mansarovar involves taking a flight to Kathmandu and thereafter a combination of two flights with road travel of 1940 km from Nepal. The distance excludes 43 km of the foot to Parikarma in China.

The new road to Mansarovar is also the shortest and cheapest route and also one-fifth distance of road travel as compared to the other routes.
The victim was driving when someone in a passing silver SUV fired shots, striking him in a leg. He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was listed in fair condition, police said.
In view of the Eid festival on May 25, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has sought early return of all students of the Union territory stranded in Bangladesh under the 'Vande Bharat Mission' launched to bring back Indians stuck abroad amid the coronavirus crisis.

The first batch of 168 students of Jammu and Kashmir studying in Bangladesh has been airlifted to Srinagar on May 8. According to the Union Territory administration, 230-240 students are still stranded in the neighbouring country.

A spokesperson said Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary B V R Subrahmanyam has written to Union Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla over the matter.

"Their early return attains significance in view of the ongoing holy month of Ramzan and the approaching Eid festival on May 25," Subrahmanyam has written to the Foreign Secretary.

The chief secretary has pointed out that with the present plan of evacuating these students in a staggered manner, there is every apprehension that such students, who have to take flights at later dates would get anxious.

Seeking personal intervention of the foreign secretary, Subrahmanyam has called for arranging for return of these students to Srinagar in a single flight so that they reach home well before Eid.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 21:02:33|Editor: huaxia

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ISTANBUL, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday said Turkey and the European Union are on the same boat in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a message to the delegation of EU to Turkey on the occasion of Europe Day, Erdogan noted that the common enemy of the two sides is a virus that knows no borders and threatens not only the health but also the welfare, social order, and humane ties.

"Ahead of us lie tough days: we will focus heavily on combatting the pandemic, economic recovery in the post-pandemic period, steering the developments as well as fighting irregular migration and terror," Erdogan continued.

He noted that his country and EU should make good use of the opportunities these "tough days" would present to revitalize their relations.

Erdogan added that Turkey and EU should unite their forces in every area, adding that the full membership of his country would bring a more participative and a more embracing vision to the block.

Turkey has been conducting membership talks with the EU since 2005, but the progress has stalled several times.

Europe Day, held on May 9 every year, marks peace and unity in Europe. Enditem
Midland County saw a slight increase in COVID-19 cases on Friday, with three new confirmed reports.

Midland County's total count currently stands at 66 cases and eight deaths.

On Friday, the Midland County Health Department announced 29 probable cases, which represents individuals who have symptoms of COVID-19 but have not been tested, meet the case definition, and have had close contact with a lab-confirmed positive COVID-19 case. These are often household members of positive cases.

The health department also reported 45 recovered cases in Midland County, which include individuals who have a lab-confirmed positive COVID-19 result and have completed their isolation and are symptom-free. This differs from the state definition of individuals who are 30 days from symptom onset. Both Midland County's probable and recovered case numbers will be updated weekly every Friday, according to Fred Yanoski, Midland County Public Health director/health officer.

Bay County recorded six new cases, bringing its total up to 185. Gladwin County reported one additional case from Thursday, totaling 16 cases, while Isabella had no new cases, with a total of 61. Bay, Gladwin and Isabella counties reported no new deaths, holding steady with nine, one and seven reported COVID-19 deaths, respectively. Saginaw County reported seven new cases and one death, resulting in 779 total cases and 79 deaths.

The state added 680 new cases on Friday, May 8, and 50 deaths. Overall, Michigan is at 46,326 cases and 4,393 deaths.

The average death age is 75, according to the state website, mich.gov, with the deceased ranging in age from 20 to 107. The state lists 41% of the deceased as 80-plus and 27% age 70-79. State statistics show 53% of coronavirus deaths are male and 47% are female.

The state lists the total recovered at 15,659 cases, as of Saturday, May 1, which represents COVID-19 confirmed individuals with an onset date on or prior to March 11, 2020, according to the state website, mich.gov.

During this response, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is reviewing vital records statistics to identify any laboratory confirmed COVID-19 cases who are 30 days out from their onset of illness to represent recovery status, according to the state website. The numbers will be updated every Saturday.

The state lists the majority of races in positive cases as 32% Black/African American; 35% Caucasian and 18% unknown, and the top three races in deaths as 41% Black/African American; 49% Caucasian and 5% unknown.

The total positive cases are 46% men, 53% women and 1% unknown.

Midland County Department of Public Health continues to encourage residents to take precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19:

 Continue to practice social distancing as recommended by federal, state and local officials.

 Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.

 Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.

 Disinfect commonly touched surfaces.

 Stay home when you are sick.

 Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.

We cannot stress enough how important it is for our community to be diligent in their community mitigation efforts," Yanoski previously stated. "We know that COVID-19 is in our community, and our residents can make a huge impact on slowing the spread of disease by following the recommended precautions."

If you think you've been exposed to COVID-19 and develop a fever and symptoms such as cough or difficulty breathing, call your health care provider for medical advice. If he/she isn't available, call MidMichigan Urgent Care in Midland at 989- 633-1350 or MidMichigan Medical Center's Emergency Department in Midland at 989-839-3100.

MidMichigan Health has a COVID-19 informational hotline with a reminder of CDC guidelines and recommendations. The hotline can be reached toll-free at 800-445-7356 or 989-794-7600. Michigan Department of Health and Human Services also has a hotline number for Michigan residents for questions about COVID-19. The number is 1-888-535-6136 and is available seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Residents can also e-mail COVID19@michigan.gov. E-mails will be answered seven days a week between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

If you are feeling anxious, stressed, depressed and feel you need to talk to someone, reach out to Community Mental Health for Central Michigan by calling 800-317-0708.
Shah Rukh Khan has decided to promote his upcoming production, Betaal, in a fun way. The Badshah of Bollywood is asking fans to channel their inner filmmakers during the lockdown and shoot scary films at home. He announced that winners of the contest will get to video call him, director Patrick Graham, actors Vineet Kumar and Aahana Kumra, and producer Gaurav Verma.

Announcing the contest, Shah Rukh Khan wrote on Twitter, "Who doesn't enjoy a good horror film or series? I know that I do! Since we all have a bit of time on our hands and have binged a lot of shows and films, how about we channel the inner filmmaking ghost in us to make a scary indoor film with an element of horror in it."

He continued, "Any camera that you can shoot with. - A prop readily available at home that can be used spookily - And you. (You can choose to make it with multiple people as well, as long as the rules of social distancing are followed)," he added. "The selected three will be getting on a video call with me and these four awesome people!"

Shah Rukh added that he will be sending in his entry as well, and even ghosts are welcome to send their entries.

Shah Rukh's tweet read, "Since we've all got a bit of time on our hands in quarantine, thought I can get us all to work a bit... in a fun, creative and... spooky way! #SpookSRK," (sic).

Since weve all got a bit of time on our hands in quarantine, thought I can get us all to work a bit... in a fun, creative and... spooky way! #SpookSRK

Read on for more details. pic.twitter.com/MNh8Osq3ND  Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) May 9, 2020

Betaal is an upcoming web series on Netflix, all set for release on May 24, 2020. The series stars Aahana Kumra and Vineet Kumar in lead roles.

ALSO READ: When Shah Rukh Khan Became A Victim Of Depression In 2008; The Reason Is Actually Very Disturbing!

ALSO READ: Shah Rukh Khan Reacts To Paulo Coelho Lauding Him For Backing Sanjay Mishra's Kaamyaab


The majority of admitted COVID-19 patients in New York are residents who have submitted to the precaution of staying home, according to Governor Andrew Cuomo.

The governor was stunned that 66% of novel coronavirus hospitalizations are residents who are either unemployed, retired, or not commuting to work regularly.

On Wednesday, Cuomo demonstrated the results of recent hospitalization data that was procured from hospitals in a new targeted attempt to further diminish the total of new hospitalizations per day.

The state of New York obtained 1,269 survey responses from 113 hospitals over 3 days and discovered that the majority of citizens hospitalized were not traveling or working. They were predominately in residence in downstate New York and were predominately minorities, non-essential employees, older individuals, and people who were staying at home.

Numbers show that 96% of the surveyed coronavirus patients had co-morbidities, meaning that they had an underlying chronic medical condition before contracting the virus.

Also, according to the survey, COVID-19 disproportionately impacts African Americans and Hispanics residing in the NYC area.

New York is reportedly the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States. The state has been undertaking lockdown for 6 weeks, yet more than 20,000 people are still acquiring positive test results weekly, according to official counts.

The next largest source of admissions to hospitals was from nursing homes, totaling 18%.

According to Cuomo, "If you notice, 18% of the people came from nursing homes, less than 1% came from jail or prison, 2% came from the homeless population, 2% from other congregate facilities, but 66% of the people were at home, which is shocking to us."

Also Read: Did 'The Simpsons' Episode Predicted COVID-19, Murder Hornets?

During a briefing on Long Island, Cuomo said that they initially believed that they were perhaps riding public transportation and they have implemented special advisories on public transportation, but they later found out that "these people were literally at home."

According to statistics, 6% of new confirmed cases that sprung up were unemployed and 37% were retired from work.

Cuomo said that they initially believed that they were going to discover a larger percentage of essential employees who were contracting the coronavirus because they were employed; that these may be doctors, nurses, and transit workers.

Of the new confirmed cases, 6% were unemployed, while 37% among them were retired. Age played a factor with the data showing that 73% of people admitted to the hospital were 51 and older, according to the survey.

"Disproportionately older, but, by the way, older starts at 51 years old. I'm a little sensitive on this point, but if older starts at 51 years old, then that's a large number of us old folk in this state, in this country," said Cuomo.

The New York governor said they underscore the requirement for citizens and their families to double-down on protection with crucial things including masks, hand washing, and staying away from high-risk or vulnerable people.

The tally of coronavirus patients has declined but not as steeply as anticipated.

Cuomo added that most of the hospitalizations have been concentrated in New York City and surrounding suburbs, which have been remarkably affected by the pandemic.

Related Article: Biggest Philippine TV Network Forced Off Air: Filipinos Call for Press Freedom as Country Fights Coronavirus

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Ex-Afghan Taliban chief's properties seized in Pakistan

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, May 8, IRNA -- A Pakistani anti-terrorism court has seized five properties of former Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour, who was killed in a US drone strike in Balochistan in 2016, local media reported.

The properties including plots and houses worth US $ 201,000 purchased by ex-Taliban chief in Karachi by using fake identities have been taken over by the anti-terrorism court for auction.

This revelation came in a report submitted by the Federal Investigation Agency to the ATC-II in July last year regarding an investigation into a case related to alleged fundraising by the slain Afghan Taliban leader and his accomplices through the purchase of properties on the back of forged identities.

Since January, the court had been directing the investigation officer (IO) to complete the process of attachment of Mullah Mansour's properties and proclamation of his two alleged absconding accomplices  Akhtar Mohammad and Amaar  under sections 87 and 88 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The court had already called for reports from the commissioners of Peshawar and Quetta regarding the process of proclamation of Mullah Mansour's alleged absconding accomplices and attachment of their properties.

272**1430

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China's support for the United Nations (UN) is concrete as it has fully paid its membership and peacekeeping assessments this year, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said Friday.

Catherine Pollard, Under-Secretary-General of the UN for Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance, recently briefed the General Assembly on the financial situation of the UN. According to her report, 43 member states, including China, have paid their 2020 annual and peacekeeping assessments in full. Meanwhile, the UN is faced with difficulties including insufficient liquidity and arrears of some member states.

As the second-largest contributor to the UN regular budget and a responsible country, China has always earnestly fulfilled its financial obligations to the UN, Hua said at a press briefing.

"China's full payment of its membership dues demonstrates its support for the UN with concrete actions," she stressed.

The timely and full payment of assessments is a legal obligation that all UN member states should fulfill, and major countries should particularly play an exemplary role in addressing financial difficulties of the UN, she said.

As the international community is confronted with many global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, safeguarding multilateralism and the international system with the UN at the core is in the interest of all parties, the spokesperson said, adding that China will continue to support the work of the UN and promote world peace and development with other countries.
A composite image of staff at Shanghai Disneytown on May 4, 2020.

Getty Images

Shanghai Disneyland will become the first Disney theme park to open its doors to visitors after it was forced to shut down in January because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Disney has announced it will reopen the main theme park on May 11, after the "successful reopening" of a few shopping areas in the park earlier in March.

But park authorities have put in place new rules to ensure the safety of guests and staff, including limited attendance, social-distancing measures, and increased disinfection.

Visitors must also present a government-issued Health QR code before entering the park, and are required to wear face masks at all times, except when dining.

Staff will be given personal protective equipment (PPE) during work and will be trained on "contactless guest interaction."

Photos show how it plans to reopen its facilities to thousands of visitors every day.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Shanghai Disneyland announced this week that it will reopen its main theme park, three months after it closed its doors due to the coronavirus outbreak.

But the park's reopening is accompanied by a new set of strict measures, that include limited attendance, social distancing measures, and an "increased frequency of sanitization and disinfection," according to a press release.

The park announced earlier this week it would reopen on May 11, and tickets for the opening day went on sale Friday at 8 a.m. local time before quickly selling out.

As one of the first theme parks to reopen around the world, Disneyland Shanghai will likely serve as an example for Disney's and others' parks as they plan reopenings.

Scroll down to see how Disney's biggest international park plans to reopen its doors during the coronavirus pandemic.

Three months after Shanghai Disneyland closed its gates to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, the theme park announced it will be reopening on May 11.

Story continues

Front gate of Shanghai Disneyland, which in January amid the spread of the new coronavirus on January 25, 2020.

Kyodo News via Getty Images

Disney announced on January 24 that it would temporarily close its Shanghai attraction to control the COVID-19 outbreak.

CEO of The Walt Disney Company, Bob Chapek, said in a press release cited in CNN: "We know how much our guests have been looking forward to returning to Shanghai Disneyland, and our cast is excited to begin welcoming them back."

"As the park reopens with significantly enhanced health and safety measures, our guests will find Shanghai Disneyland as magical and memorable as ever," Chapek added.

Source: CNN

The opening of Shanghai Disneyland's main theme park comes after it already allowed visitors to enter certain shopping and dining attractions at a limited capacity in March.

Tourists observe social distancing measures at Disney town on May 5, 2020 in Shanghai.

Hu Chengwei/Getty Images

According to the company website, the decision to open the main part of the theme park which includes all the rollercoasters  came after the "successful reopening" of a few shopping areas including Disneytown, Wishing Star Park, and Shanghai Disneyland Hotel on March 10.

Source: Shanghai Disneyland

But the reopening will come with a new set of rules for both guests and staff, with the company ensuring its visitors that it will only run under "enhanced safety measures."

Tourists at Disney town on May 5, 2020 in Shanghai, China.

Hu Chengwei/Getty Images

Source: CNN

One of the new measures will include limited and "pulsed" attendance that will be controlled with an advanced online reservation system.

Tourists at Disney town as Disneyland imposes social distancing measures on May 5, 2020.

Hu Chengwei/Getty Images

"Guests are required to purchase admission tickets valid on a selected date only and Annual Pass holders must make a reservation prior to arrival," Disney said on its website.

Source: Shanghai Disneyland

Under government regulations, the park  which has a capacity of 80,000  will be forced to first operate at 30% capacity, or 24,000 visitors.

Tourists walk on a pedestrian footbridge in Shanghai Disneyland Park on March 10, 2020.

Yifan Ding/Getty Images

But Chapek said the park will first operate below 24,000 visitors and then slowly ramp-up attendance over the next few weeks, according to CNBC.

Source: CNBC

Social distancing measures have also been put in place and crowd sizes will be monitored at restaurants, shops, and elsewhere. Rides will also "be loaded to promote social distancing," the company said.

Sanghai Disneyland sets up "social distancing" queues for imminent reopening on May 4, 2020.

Hu Chengwei/Getty Images

Source: CNN

Before entering the park, visitors must present a government-issued Health QR code, which is used as part of a contact tracing system across China.

Shanghai Disneyland sets up "social distancing" queues for imminent reopening on May 4, 2020.

Hu Chengwei/Getty Images

The "health code" service was developed for the Chinese government to keep track of people as they start moving around freely. It includes peoples' health status and can be scanned by authorities. This is how it works.

Source: CNBC

Guests will also have their temperatures screened and are required to wear face masks or coverings during the entirety of their visit, except when dining.

A security man checks a tourist's body temperature with a temperature gun by an entrance of Shanghai Disneyland Park on March 10, 2020.

Yifan Ding/Getty Images

Source: CNN

The theme park will also increase disinfection measures, distributing hand sanitizers at ride entrances and exits and cleaning high-touch locations as much as possible.

Staff at Disney town as Disneyland imposes social distancing measures on May 5, 2020 in Shanghai, China.

Hu Chengwei/Getty Images

Source: BBC

Disney's staff members will receive personal protective equipment (PPE) during work. They will also be trained on "contactless guest interaction," which includes cleaning and social distancing.

A tourist at Disney town as Disneyland imposes social distancing measures on May 5, 2020 in Shanghai, China. in Shanghai, China.

Hu Chengwei/Getty Images

Source: CNN

The park will become the first Disney venue to reopen again  possibly providing an insight into how theme parks can restart their operations after worldwide lockdowns.

A tourist and a toddler wear protective masks by a closed gate of the main theme park of Shanghai Disneyland Park on March 10, 2020.

Yifan Ding/Getty Images

Theme parks remain closed in Disney's US locations along with venues in Hong Kong and Tokyo.

CEO Bob Chapek said on Tuesday that while a plan of how to reopen Shanghai Disneyland has been well underway, it is still "too early to predict" when the company will open its other theme parks, including major venues in Central Florida and Southern California, The Washington Post reported.

Source: BBC

Read the original article on Business Insider
As the battle against COVID-19 rages, veterans of other wars are benefiting from the generosity of others.

Many people have been making face masks for the Grand Island VA Medical Center.

One of them is Melissa Ellingson of Grand Island, who has made and donated 501 masks to the VA.

Ellingson knows all about military life. She has two sons in the Marines. They are Dylan, 24, and Devin Gilliland. 22. Her father, Douglas Rash, is an Army veteran. Two uncles and her father-in-law also served in the military. A cousin was in the National Guard.

The stars aligned for Ellingson when she heard the VA needed face masks. It was a chance to provide something to people whove been protecting us, she said.

Weve been getting a lot of donations from the public, and its all appreciated a lot. It definitely lets us know that folks are out there thinking about us, said Kevin Hynes, public affairs officer for the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System.

The VA refers to the masks as face coverings. In Grand Island, the coverings are distributed to the nonclinical staff as well as veterans who arrive at the Medical Center without a mask.
Gardai on checkcpoint duty at Carrickarnon just south of the border. Picture Ken Finegan/Newspics

A spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in the border counties was highlighted in the Dail this week.

New figures showed the incidence of COVID-19 has soared by over 800% per cent in the North East counties bordering the north in the past three weeks.

Such a rise has led to further calls for an all-island approach towards dealing with the pandemic.

That was the view of Dundalk based lecturer Philip McGuinness, who told the Argus last week that there is a risk the border 'could become a place where the virus exposes the lack of co-operation between Dublin and Belfast.'

The DkIT lecturer, who is tracking data emerging from the border counties, highlighted how problems have emerged with health services on both sides of the border recording COVID-19-related deaths differently and, both jurisdictions are following very different paths regarding testing and contact tracing.

A leading medic in the north, Dr. Gabriel Scally also said the high incidence rates of coronavirus in border counties was an issue that had to be addressed

The medic, who is President of the Epidemiology and Public Health section of the Royal Society of Medicine, said widespread community testing needed to be prioritised, particularly in border regions in Northern Ireland.

He said the alarming figures needed to be investigated 'as a matter of urgency', adding that this could be done within the framework of the Covid-19 memorandum of understanding between departments of health north and south.

Meanwhile Dundalk TD, Peter Fitzpatrick highlighted the spike in cases of COVID-19 in the border areas during a Dail debate last week.

He said: 'Recent newspaper reports have highlighted the spike in cases of COVID-19 in the border counties, with figures reaching those of the Dublin Region.'

He went on to say 'Many people are suggesting that a cause may be the fact that Northern Ireland and the Republic are not following the same course of action.'

In questions to Minister Harris he stated: 'I know in my own hometown of Dundalk it is quite obvious that the number of northern registered cars is on a par with southern registered cars over the past number of weeks,'

He asked the Minister 'can he confirm if he has discussed this directly with his northern counterpart.'

Minister Harris confirmed to the deputy that this issue will be raised with his Northern counterpart at their next meeting.

Deputy Fitzpatrick stated that while he is 'not in favour of closing the border', it must be clear that citizens on both sides are aware of the regulations and adhere to them.
Some residents frustrated over a strict coronavirus lockdown in Ahmedabad, the largest city in Gujarat, hurled stones and were met with teargas in clashes with paramilitary forces

Ahmedabad: Some residents frustrated over a strict coronavirus lockdown in Ahmedabad, the largest city in Gujarat, hurled stones and were met with teargas in clashes with paramilitary forces on Friday.

Authorities in the city ordered all shops, except those selling milk and medicines, to close on midnight Wednesday until 15 May, implementing a stricter lockdown than the national one in place since 25 March, in an effort to curb a rise in infections.

Clashes erupted in the Shahpur locality of Ahmedabad when police and paramilitary forces tried to enforce the lockdown, asking people to stay indoors. Some people got agitated, and started pelting stones on the forces, city police commissioner Ashish Bhatia told Reuters. The police fired teargas shells to disperse the crowd. The situation is under control now, he said.

Local television channels showed crowds chasing away the police and paramilitary teams. Bhatia said one policeman was injured and eight people had been detained.

Ahmedabad is one of the worst-hit cities in India. The city has reported more than 5,000 cases of coronavirus, accounting for about 70 percent of the total cases in Prime Minister Narendra Modis home state. The city has also accounted for more than three quarters of the deaths in Gujarat.

Overall, India has reported 56,342 cases, of whom at least 1,886 people have died.
Colleges and universities around the country are proving to be easy prey to hackers with ransom demands. In Massachusetts, Cape Cod Community College was defrauded of $800,000 last year, while Colorado's Regis University paid an undisclosed amount to regain access to their files after a ransomware attack-and still did not get access back.Ransomware is a type of malicious software that, once it infects a computer system, allows attackers to lock out victims until they pay a ransom to regain access. With budgets getting tighter for public and private colleges in the wake of the coronavirus, funding IT security could slip through the cracks.In many ways, a college is an ideal target for hackers. Even a small one has hundreds of people connecting to its network, and many campuses have old machines with out-of-date software used by students and the public. It only takes one person clicking on the wrong email to compromise the entire system. Colleges are "a prime environment for these attacks," Jared Phipps, a cybersecurity expert , told Inside Higher Ed.When a college's IT system gets compromised, the ransom amount can vary considerably. When the admissions-tracking system at Grinnell, Oberlin, and Hamilton Colleges (which they share) was hacked , aspiring freshmen were offered the chance to see their files for around $4,000, which was later discounted to $60.In contrast, when for-profit Monroe College was the victim of a ransomware attack, hackers demanded $2 million. Crowder College in Missouri saw a similarly high price tag of $1.6 million to regain control of its system. The University of Calgary and Carleton University in Canada and Los Angeles Valley College paid ransomware demands that cost the schools up to $35,000, according to the cybersecurity company Acronis.Not all schools that get attacked are naive about the threat of hackers, either. The Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey is known for the strength of its cybersecurity courses , but hackers still attempted to infiltrate its system. Stevens, however, was able to stop their system from being compromised.When a college gets attacked, it can attract a lot of media attention, but post-secondary institutions are not the only targets. Around 500 K-12 schools in the United States, Zdnet noted , were affected by cyberattacks through September of last year, including 15 public school districts comprising over 100 schools. After three public school districts in Louisiana were victimized, Governor John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency so the state could access federal funds and resources to shore up their IT security.When a school succumbs to an attack, cybersecurity experts recommend not paying ransoms, according to the University of California-Berkeley Information Security Office. If schools do pay, experts worry that successful attacks will encourage hackers to target more places with vulnerable IT systems. The hard lesson of experience also cautions colleges not to cave: as Regis University showed, even if a school pays, they don't always get access restored.What college leaders need to do, according to UC-Berkeley, is to create a contingency plan in case a ransomware attack succeeds.Schools should maintain separate file backups and have a recovery plan in place. They also need to keep operating systems and antivirus software up-to-date and restrict users' permissions to install software. Multifactor authentication, where someone logging in needs to enter a code sent to another email or their phone after entering their password, can also reduce a system's vulnerability to attacks, as Inside Higher Ed noted. Colleges need to take steps to make a successful attack less likely, but they can't count on prevention to always work.The number of attacks appears to increase over the year and cluster around the beginning of the school year, Zdnet noted. However, determining the number of attacks that target educational institutions is almost impossible, as no one tracks the number of attempted or failed attacks (if they're even detected), and the number of attacks often depends on who is doing the counting.For example, one cybersecurity firm counted 500 attacks while another reported over 1,000. For example, Armor reported 72 attacks affecting 1,039 schools in 2019 while Emsisoft reported 89 attacks affecting 1,233 schools.Though difficult to track, the federal government is taking cybersecurity increasingly seriously. Last year, Congress passed a bill requiring the Department of Homeland Security to establish Cyber Incident Response Teams , which became law in December. It created "a permanent group of security specialists that agencies and industry could call on when their IT infrastructure gets compromised," journalist Jack Corrigan noted. The CIR teams have the potential to help colleges who face IT attacks they can't weather on their own, though Congress won't have any data on the teams' effectiveness for four years (when the Department of Homeland Security is required to provide a report).While the federal government is taking cybersecurity seriously and requesting $18.8 billion for it for 2021, including $2.6 billion for the Department of Homeland Security. State and local governments and affected schools are putting less money into this critical area.Many state and local governments don't have dedicated cybersecurity budgets , and the news isn't much better at colleges or universities. According to the 2019 Campus Computing Survey , 67 percent of college IT directors said that their budgets haven't recovered from cuts made after the 2008 recession. Without increased budgets, government and college IT departments can't retain employees for long, resulting in lost productivity from constantly training replacements.Some schools that have been affected by cyberattacks and ransomware have learned from their mistakes and taken action. Regis University not only rebuilt its computer systems but merged its Anderson College of Business with the College of Computer and Information Sciences because the process revealed that students could benefit from understanding how a large organization is managed and relies on information technology, according to a Regis press release Their ransomware attack has also given them the opportunity to turn media attention into a marketing opportunity. Earlier this year, it hosted a cybersecurity conference called "Stronger Together" that focused on prevention strategies to stop cyberattacks. The conference's main theme was that it's only a matter of time before a business, institution, or government agency is affected by a cyberattack.As colleges become ever more reliant on the internet and the number of devices on campus increases, providing more ways for malevolent actors to cause chaos, college leaders need to consider how they'll react in a crisis.
Long-simmering tensions between New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell and Stephen Perry, the head of the citys tax-funded tourism marketing organization, New Orleans & Co., erupted Friday after Perry ripped what he views as a restrictive approach to reopening businesses and a failure to consult with top executives in the tourism industry.

Cantrell fired back, calling Perrys contacts with City Hall during the coronavirus crisis unprofessional, adversarial and baldly counter-productive. Her administration also shared profanity-laced texts Perry sent in mid-March to John Pourciau, the mayors chief of staff, just after Cantrell announced the cancellation of St. Patricks Day festivities on March 11 amid the initial outbreak of coronavirus in New Orleans.

Perry, in an interview Thursday with The Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate, had blasted Cantrell and her staff for not collaborating with tourism leaders, making announcements about potential cancellations without coordinating and consulting with Perry and others beforehand.

He said Cantrell had taken a demagogue approach and tried to make it a battle between safety and business  something Perry called so untrue because the businesses are the ones that want to create safety standards.

Perry also suggested that Cantrell was moving too slowly to let restaurants and some other businesses open back up and considering too many restrictions, saying hed supported extending the stay-at-home order until May 15 but that some restrictions now needed to be lifted by May 16, with cultural attractions such as museums allowed to open under new protocols no later than June 1.

+2 Proposed customer logs raise privacy, logistical concerns, New Orleans business group says After initially expressing support, GNO Inc. officials on Thursday said they have "real" concerns about a city mandate that businesses keep a 

Gov. John Bel Edwards and Cantrell are both scheduled to announce on Monday whether theyll lift the current stay-at-home orders and to outline conditions for certain businesses to reopen.

Perry contrasted Cantrells leadership style during the crisis with that of Gov. John Bel Edwards, whom he praised for carefully coordinating announcements with industry leaders.

The problem that we have here is that the mayor is, while we applaud her commitment to hygiene and personal health, we believe theyre taking an approach that is so restrictive that it has the possibility of destroying the fabric of the city, culturally and economically, Perry said. So were talking to her office constantly  we know her heart is in the right place  and what were urging her to do is to realize that personal health and reopening the economy can go hand-in-hand in a safe matter for all.

Despite the bitter disagreements about style and communication, it wasn't completely clear where Perry believes Cantrell has erred in terms of policy decisions. He repeatedly praised her handling of the public-health crisis but said "the manner in which it's done without collaborating with us" left his group unable to smooth things over with big tourism customers.

Asked to respond to Perry's criticisms, Cantrell bristled in particular at Perrys comments about the potential cost to the cultural fabric of our city, saying that Perry ignores the voices that create that culture. Cantrell cited an unnamed Mardi Gras Indian who she said had been upset over her decision to cancel Super Sunday events back in March.

That Indian recently reached out to me personally to thank me for saving his life once he understood the potential impact and the danger to his own family and to our community, Cantrell said.

Cantrell also defended her decisions to cancel events and enact emergency stay-at-home orders  which she credited with saving hundreds of lives in New Orleans  and blamed Perry himself for the lack of cooperation and coordination between the corporate tourism establishment and City Hall.

When I made the tough call early on to cancel St. Patricks Day events, Mr. Perry took it upon himself to personally attack my staff in a demeaning, unhinged rant, said Cantrell, alluding to the angry text exchange with Pourciau. Perry made it clear hes not interested in or capable of the desperately needed collaboration and community effort that is required of leaders in this moment.

Perrys criticism of Cantrell wasnt the first time a handful of prominent, wealthy figures in the citys tourism industry criticized her handling of the crisis. Four prominent business owners took out a full-page ad in The Times-Picayune | New Orleans ADvocate in mid-April demanding she move quicker to lift restrictions on some businesses.

Cantrell responded that her decisions were driven by public health concerns and the health of the people  not by a dollar  and vowing that she would not be bullied.

+2 'I will not be bullied': LaToya Cantrell firm in decisions about coronavirus stay-home orders Mayor LaToya Cantrell on Monday offered the strongest defense yet of her decisions last week to extend stay-home restrictions in New Orleans t

Perry referenced that response in the interview Thursday when he suggested the mayor had taken a demagogue approach.

A spokesman for Cantrell included screenshots of Perrys text exchange with Pourciau, in which Perry berated Pourciau for not having been consulted before Cantrell made the decision to pull the plug on the festivities.

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In the texts, Perry claimed City Hall left New Orleans & Co. in the dark and that the announcement undercut negotiations over convention deals worth millions.

Pourciau responded in part by saying the first call I made after the decision to cancel events was made was to former state Rep. Walt Leger III, New Orleans & Co.s general counsel, so that people could begin to be looped in.

You have no f--king idea what you have done, Perry wrote in one message. We spent all morning in a prudent table top with the Governor planning so much out. I would count on massive budget cuts, failure of hundreds of small businesses, and yall have f--ked the lives of thousands of New Orleans workers. I am speechless. Good luck. Your ship is now sinking.

There was a way to do this that involved customer conversations. You just told us and our 90,000 employees to drop dead, Perry added, an apparent allusion to the approximate number of people who work in the hospitality industry  including at hotels, restaurants and tour companies  in the city.

Steve you need to calm down, Pourciau responded. This is super unprofessional and inappropriate.

Blowing up the largest industry in your city was unprofessional, Perry replied. We wont have to speak again soon. No problem. The damage is done, John.

Perry on Friday evening apologized for his language and tone in the text exchange and said he fully agreed with Cantrells stay-at-home orders and decision to cancel St. Patricks Day parades as well as other events. Perry said he owes Pourciau a real apology for lashing out, calling him the finest person in the mayors office.

But Perry said he still has grievances with Cantrells handling of the announcement that he feels should be heard.

What I was upset about that night was that we had a major citywide convention checking in in the next 48 hours that we needed to communicate with and several others we were in multiple major negotiations with, said Perry, noting that hed met that morning with the governor to discuss responses and coordinate announcements. Our biggest criticism of City Hall is not their orders to protect people or their commitment to lives saved. We share that with her. It is the fact that they do not collaborate with anyone well, especially the largest industry in the city upon which their budget depends.

Perry blamed his tirade toward Pourciau on a flare-up of his passion to protect our companies and workers but suggested Cantrell is equally prone to passionate and profane outbursts. He said that she yells and comes unhinged toward our leadership during thrice-weekly conference calls with New Orleans & Co. and added that he hoped Fridays recriminations mightve cleared the air.

True passion can make that happen for anyone who really cares deeply. Both sides can do better, Perry said.

Cantrell and Perry have clashed on a number of prior occasions, particularly over Cantrells demands in 2019 that the city get a larger share of hotel and lodging taxes  which largely fund Perrys organization  to pay for drainage improvements.

Perry responded by painting city government as incompetent in an interview published by the online news outlet The Lens. A Cantrell-supporting PAC lambasted Perrys remarks as unhinged  the same word Cantrell used Friday to describe his texts with Pourciau  and painted them as attacks on the French Quarter and New Orleans Police.

Cantrell and Perry ultimately negotiated a deal with the Legislature to raise taxes and steer more money to the citys beleaguered Sewerage & Water Board.

Perry on Thursday expressed continued displeasure over that deal, saying his organization was now hamstrung as it plans advertising campaigns to draw tourists and conventions back to New Orleans once businesses begin to reopen.
India coronavirus news and lockdown highlights: The total COVID-19 cases in the country spiked to 59,662, including 39,834 active cases, 17,846 recoveries, 1 migrated patient and 1,981 deaths, with 3,320 new cases and 95 deaths in 24 hours. The Union Health Ministry in its daily briefing on coronavirus in the country, said that around 216 districts in India have not recorded any COVID-19 positive case till date. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has said that the doubling rate of COVID-19 cases has risen from 11 days from 9.9 days. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray refuted rumours that the Army will take over Mumbai to tackle the coronavirus crisis. Although, Thackeray acknowledged that the virus "chain" has not been broken in the state yet, but he also assured that adequate medical infrastructure was made available by his government, especially in Mumbai.

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9.30 pm: Delhi coronavirus latest updates

Delhi government has issued orders to all Deputy Commissioners, government of Delhi on the release and inter-state movement of stranded persons related to Tablighi Jamaat from Delhi.

Government of Delhi issues orders to all Deputy Commissioners, Govt of Delhi on the release and inter-state movement of stranded persons related to Tablighi Jamaat from Delhi.#COVID19 pic.twitter.com/O0GEh3nsqz ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020 9.28 pm: Kerala coronavirus latest updates Kerala Government has issued Standard Operating Protocol (SOP) to observe complete shut down across the state on Sundays until further notice. Kerala Government has issued Standard Operating Protocol to observe complete shut down across the State on Sundays until further notice. pic.twitter.com/C9iRmTTGVw ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020 8.57 pm: Shimla Police has booked a person for sharing a false post on social media claiming that a chemist at Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital in Shimla had tested positive for COVID-19, informed Deputy Commissioner Amit Kashyap. 8.30 pm: Madhya Pradesh coronavirus cases Madhya Pradesh Health Department reported 116 new COVID-19 cases in the state today. With this, the total number of coronavirus cases in Madhya Pradesh has reached 3,457. Out of the total cases, 1,480 patients have recovered while 211 others succumbed to the virus. There are 625 containment areas in the state, the Health Department said. 8.21 pm: Coronavirus cases in India 62 CRPF personnel tested positve for coronavirus today. The total number of infected CRPF officials has reached 234, of which 231 are active cases. 8.13 pm: Gujarat coronavirus latest updates: 394 fresh coronavirus cases in Gujarat, state's tally rises to 7,797 In last 24 hours, Gujarat has reported 394 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, said the State Health Department. This takes the total number of COVID-19 cases in the state to 7,797 including 2,091 recoveries and 472 deaths. 7.51 pm: Haryana coroanvirus cases Number of coroanvirus cases in Haryana reached 675, including 376 active cases, 290 recoveries and 9 deaths. Doubling rate of cases in the state is 9 days said Haryana Health Department. 7.38 pm: Coroanvirus prevention Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba will hold a video conference over containing COVID-19 with all states and union territories tomorrow at 10 am. Chief Secretaries and Principal Secretaries (Health) from states will join the meeting. Niti Aayog Member, Health Secretary, I&B Secretary, Member Secretary of NDMA will also be present. 7.28 pm: Tamil Nadu coronavirus latest updates: With 526 new cases, Tamil Nadu's coronavirus count reaches 6,535 Tamul Nadu reported 526 new cases of coronavirus and 4 deaths today, taking the total number of cases to 6,535 and death toll to 44. Number of active cases in the state stands at 4,664 in the state. Of total cases, 1,867 cases are linked to Koyambedu market. Number of #COVID19 cases reaches 675 Haryana, including 290 recoveries & 9 deaths. Number of active cases stands at 376. Doubling rate of cases in the state is 9 days: Haryana Health Department pic.twitter.com/DidJDHLLbE ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020 7.19 pm: Coronavirus lockdown A special flight under Vande Bharat Mission carrying 177 Indians takes off from Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur for Trichy, Tamil Nadu. 526 new cases of #Coronavirus & 4 deaths have been reported in Tamil Nadu today, taking total number of cases to 6535 & death toll to 44. Of total cases, 1867 cases are linked to Koyambedu market. Number of active cases stands at 4,664 in the state: Tamil Nadu Health Department pic.twitter.com/AtX5DMJ4jD ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020 7.10 pm: Coronavirus vaccine Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) partners with Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) for developing indigenous COVID-19 vaccine. #VandeBharatMission: A special flight carrying 177 Indians takes off from Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur for Trichy, Tamil Nadu.#COVID19lockdown pic.twitter.com/WI86ly0TnL ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020 6.04 pm: Karnataka total cases, deaths Karnataka Health Department reported 41 new coronavirus cases today. The total number of cases now stands at 794 including, 377 active cases, 30 deaths and 386 discharges. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) partners with Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) for developing indigenous COVID-19 vaccine. pic.twitter.com/exLP7p0sTB ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020 5.48 pm: Coronavirus Mumbai updates Vicky Nagpal, a car accessories shop owner in Mumbai has started manufacturing 'isolation covers' for taxis as a precautionary measure against the spread of COVID-19. He says it takes 2 hours to make and they are making 25 pieces everyday. 5.45 pm: CBSE board exams: Copy evaluation in 3,000 centres to take 50 days 3,000 CBSE schools in the country have been selected as evaluation centres, informed HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal. From these centres, more than 1.5 crore answer sheets will be sent for evaluation to the homes of teachers. This process will be completed in approx 50 days. 5.37 pm: Mumbai coronavirus lockdown Migrant workers queue outside Samta Nagar Police Station in Mumbai for submitting their applications to return to their home states. 41 new cases of #COVID19 have been reported in Karnataka today, taking total number of cases to 794 including 30 deaths & 386 discharges. Number of active cases stands at 377: Karnataka Health Department pic.twitter.com/wVwINZz6EH ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020 5.28 pm: Kerala COVID-19 cases Two foreign returnees have tested positive for coronavirus in Kerala today, informed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. This takes total number of active cases in the state to 17. 5.04 pm: West Bengal coronavirus updates West Bengal government has given green signal to 10 trains carrying migrant workers to enter the state, said State Home Secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay. A train will reach Malda from Telangana tomorrow. Government has also approved 6,000 inbound passes for small cars, he added. 5.02 pm: Andhra Pradesh coronavirus cases Number of COVID-19 cases in Andhra Pradesh rose to 1,930, even as number of active cases declined below the 1,000-mark to 999. The death toll in Andhra Pradesh stands at 44. The state saw 43 new cases and 3 deaths in the past 24 hours. 4.52 pm: West Bengal coronavirus cases West Bengal reported 108 COVID-19 cases and 11 deaths in the last 24 hours. This takes the total number of cases in the state to 1,786 and death toll to 99 in the state. Number of active COVID-19 cases stands at 1,243. 4.48 pm: Delhi coronavirus cases Delhi High Court extends the interim bails granted to 2,177 under trial prisoners by another 45 days from the date of expiry of their interim bail period, in view of the prevailing coronavirus pandemic. 4.44 pm: Coronavirus lockdown Since March 2020, 9.13 crore farmers have been paid Rs 18,253 crore under PM-KISAN during the coroanvirius lockdown, stated Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. About 3 crore farmers with agri loans amounting to Rs 4.22 lakh crore availed the benefit of the 3-month loan moratorium, the FM further said. Maharashtra: Migrant workers were seen queuing up outside Samta Nagar Police Station in Mumbai for submitting their applications to return to their home states, earlier today. #lockdown pic.twitter.com/SK9NOxUUZu ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020 4.41 pm: Odisha coroanvirus cases Odisha Health Department reported 2 new cases in Ganjam and Nayagarh. This takes the total number of coronavirus cases in Odisha to 289. 4.33 pm: Coronavirus updates: Vande Bharat flight ready to leave Muskat All 177 passengers and 4 infants have checked in and are ready to fly back home in the Vande Bharat Mission flight, informed Embassy of India in Muscat, Oman. Three mortal remains are also being sent back in today's repatriation flight to Kochi, the Embassy added. Since March 2020, 9.13 crore farmers have been paid Rs 18,253 crore under PM-KISAN during the #lockdown. About three crore farmers with agri loans totaling Rs 4,22,113 crore availed the benefit of the 3-month loan moratorium. @RBI @FinMinIndia @DFS_India @PIB_India NSitharamanOffice (@nsitharamanoffc) May 9, 2020 4.18 pm: Delhi coronavirus news Delhi government declares Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh; Saroj Medical Institute, Rohini Sector-19; and Khushi Hospital, Dwarka as dedicated COVID-19 hospitals. The government roped in these hospitals due to shortage of isolation beds in private hospitals in Delhi. All 177 passengers & 4 infants checked in and ready to fly back home. Three mortal remains are also being sent back in today's repatriation flight to Kochi: Embassy of India in Muscat, Oman#VandeBharatMission pic.twitter.com/pTM3ZSTEts ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020 4.12 pm: Bengaluru lockdown updates Migrant workers reach Chikkabanavara Railway Station in Bengaluru to take a Shramik train for Darbhanga in Bihar. Delhi Government declares Fortis hospital, Shalimar Bagh, Saroj Medical Institute, Rohini Sector-19 and Khushi Hospital, Dwarka as COVID19 hospitals, in view of shortage of isolation beds in private hospitals in Delhi. pic.twitter.com/vLhDmXHXAq ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020 4.06 pm: Uttar Pradesh coronavirus cases, total recoveries Uttar Pradesh reported the total number of active coroanvirus cases in the state, as of today, at 1,800 and 1,399 recoveries. Our average recovery rate stands at around 43 per cent as against national average of 30 per cent, said Principal Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad. 4.01 pm: Amit Shah clarifies on rumours about his health Karnataka: Migrant workers reach Chikkabanavara Railway Station in Bengaluru to board a 'Shramik Special' train for Darbhanga in Bihar. #lockdown pic.twitter.com/DkSgVnHJvk ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020 3.58 pm: Nodia coronavirus updates Oppo's manufacturing facility in Greater Noida resumed operations today with around 200 workers who were brought to factory in buses. Maintenance work has begun before resuming complete operations. Government has allowed factories to operate with reduced workforce. pic.twitter.com/F72Xtoqmg9 Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 9, 2020 3.47 pm: Coronavirus treatment Government will conduct a clinical trial to assess the efficacy of Ayurvedic drug Ashwagandha as a preventive drug among healthcare professionals and high-risk coronavirus individuals in comparison to hydroxychloroquine. This will undertaken as a joint initiative by 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). 3.45 pm: Vande Bharat Mission: Air India flight from Dhaka lands in Delhi An Air India flight from Dhaka, Bangladesh under the Vande Bharat Mission has landed at the Delhi airport. The flight brought back 129 Indians. #VandeBharatMission: An Air India flight carrying 129 passengers from Dhaka, Bangladesh has landed at Delhi airport pic.twitter.com/jMvGMpXlV1 ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020 3.42 pm: Coronavirus news Two software engineers in Patan, Gujarat have developed 'Dhar-Bot', a mechanised trolley. It has been deployed at GMERS Medical College and Hospital as a precautionary measure to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 to the hospital staff. 3.33 pm: Coronavirus cases in India Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) reported 13 fresh cases of novel coronavirus among its personnel on Saturday, taking the number of infected CISF personnel to 48. Of them, 31 CISF personnel were working in Delhi Metro protection unit. 3.28 pm: Coronavirus news: No proposal to run Shramik trains to West Bengal Amid a slugfest over transportation of stranded migrants to West Bengal, Indian Railways on Saturday said there was no proposal on record so far with it to run any more 'Shramik Special' trains to the state. The reaction came shortly after the TMC said they have already planned to run eight trains to ferry migrants from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Telangana. The party had claimed that the trains will run from Hyderabad to Malda on Saturday at 3 pm. 3.25 pm: Coroanvirus Lockdown: West Bengal circle higest grosser in small savings West Bengal circle has emerged as the highest grosser in small savings mobilisation during the coroanvirus lockdown, acting Chief Post Master General (CPMG) Niraj Kumar said. The West Bengal circle also includes Sikkim and Andaman and Nicobar. 3.18 pm: Liquor home delivery in Punjab "Home delivery of liquor will create a bad impact on women, elderly people and children. We fought our 2017 elections on the promise that we will make a 'Nasha Mukt' Punjab. I believe that CM will also look into it," Mamta Ashu, Congress Councillor and wife of Punjab Minister BB Ashu, told ANI. 3.16 pm: Coroanvirus Lockdown: Crime rate goes down in Goa Crime rate has gone down as much as 67 per cent in Goa during the coronavirus lockdown, Shobit Saxena, SP Special Branch, told ANI. During the lockdown period, drug seizure has also gone down completely as tourists have gone out and there is no demand, he added. 3.10 pm: Kerala coroanvirus latest updates We have arranged institutional quarantine facilities for 5,000 people who will be repatriated and come from red zone areas of other states, said Thiruvanathapuram District Collector K Gopalakrishnan. People returning to the state will be kept in quarantine for 14 days, he added. We have arranged institutional quarantine facilities for 5,000 people who will come from abroad and red zone areas of other states. They will be kept in quarantine for 14 days: K. Gopalakrishnan, Thiruvanathapuram District Collector #Kerala pic.twitter.com/BjDANhsO9F ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

2.51 pm: Liquor sales in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu government has filed moved the Supreme Court challenging Madras High Court's order that directed the closure of all state-run liquor shops. In its order yesterday, the Madras High Court had directed all liquor shops in the state to close and recommended online sale during coronavirus lockdown.

2.35 pm: India coronavirus

Air India's first evacuation flight to bring back stranded Indians from abroad will take off from London for Mumbai on Saturday. Screening of passengers underway.

Air India's first evacuation flight from London will be taking off for Mumbai today. Screening of passengers underway.#VandeBharatMission pic.twitter.com/U6km8IKvmK - ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

2.25 pm: Uttarakhand coronavirus cases: 4 more people infected

Uttarakhand recorded 4 fresh COVID-19 positive cases on Saturday, taking the total count of positive cases to 67, the state health department said.

4 new #COVID19 positive cases have been reported in Uttarakhand today; taking the total number of positive cases to 67: State Health Department pic.twitter.com/5VAQ4detIk - ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

2.18 pm: Coronavirus latest updates

13 more CISF personnel test COVID-19 positive in the last 24 hours, taking the total count to 48, CISF said on Saturday. (ANI reports)

2.13 pm: Punjab coronavirus latest updates

Restaurants and eateries opened in Ludhiana on Saturday after district magistrate allowed the opening of restaurants, eateries, ice cream shops, sweet shops and juice shops in the district from 7am to 7pm only for home delivery.

Punjab: Restaurants and eateries opened in Ludhiana today after district magistrate allowed the opening of restaurants, eateries, ice cream shops, sweet shops and juice shops in the district from 7am to 7pm only for home delivery. pic.twitter.com/PbRZevo7xR - ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

1.58 pm: Coronavirus live updates: Indigo announces pay cuts beginning May

Indigo CEO Ronojoy Dutta said in a mail to the airline's employees that their salaries will be cut under a "limited, graded leave without pay programme" for 3 months beginning May.

1.49 pm: Coronavirus in India: COVID-19 cases to peak inJune-July, says AIIMS Director

AIIMS Director Dr. Randeep Gulleria said on Thursday thatthe coronavirus cases will likely peak in the months of June and July adding that the rise in cases will come because of more testing across states.

1.39 pm: Coronavirus vaccine: Italian scientists claim to have developed world's first COVID-19 vaccine

A team of Italian scientists has claimed to have developed world's first vaccine to treat coronavirus patients. The scientists at Rome's Spallanzani Hospital have claimed that they are the first in the world to neutralise the virus with the drug they have developed and that the initial results were "encouraging and beyond expectations." The vaccine is currently in is an advanced stage of testing and the human trials will begin after the summer gets over

1.26 pm: Coronavirus live updates: Doubling rate of corona cases jump to 11 days against 9.9 days last week, says Harsh Vardhan

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Saturday that India's doubling rate of COVID-19 cases has risen to 11 days against 9.9 days last week. He added that the country's recovery rate has jumped to 29.9%, while fatality rate is at 3.3%, which are good indicators.

1.16 pm: Delhi coronavirus updates

COVID-19 positive Delhi government officials and their families will get "exclusive" treatment at the Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital (RGHHS), as per a notice issued by hospital.

1.08 pm: Coronavirus deaths in Delhi

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Saturday that the total death toll in the national capital stands at 68 so far. He added that there is no point of fudging or hiding data related to coronavirus.

1.03 pm: Assam Coronavirus cases: 15 more people test COVID-19 positive in last 48 hours

Assam registered 15 fresh coronavirus cases in last 48 hours, taking the total count of positive cases in the state to 59. Out of these 15 new cases, 10 are reported from Cachar district and 5 from Guwahati.

12.55 pm: Bengaluru coronavirus lockdown update: Karnataka allows liquor sale

Karnataka government has allowed restaurants, pubs & bars to sell liquor at retail prices, only in takeaway form till May 17. Venkatesh Babu, a bar owner says, "We welcome this move, from last 2 months our shop was closed due to #coronavirus & we were suffering losses".

Bengaluru: Karnataka government has allowed restaurants, pubs & bars to sell liquor at retail prices, only in takeaway form till May 17. Venkatesh Babu, a bar owner says,"We welcome this move, from last 2 months our shop was closed due to #coronavirus & we were suffering losses". pic.twitter.com/Ifkku8LdHJ - ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

12.45 pm: Chandigarh coronavirus news

11 fresh COVID-19 cases reported in Chandigarh on Saturday, taking the total count of positive cases to 159.

12.39 pm: Coronavirus cases latest updates

Nearly 500 Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) officials tested COVID-19 positive.

12.29 pm: Rajasthan coronavirus cases

57 fresh infection cases reported in the state till 9 am on Saturday

Here is the city wise tally list:-

Jaipur: 15

Udaipur: 20

Pali: 3

Kota: 1

Ajmer: 11

Churu: 2

Barmer: 1

Rajsamand: 2

Jalore: 1

Dausa: 1

12.17 pm: Coronavirus live updates

Day-3 of Vande Bharat Mission, see full schedule

Dubai to Chennai

Chennai arrival: 12:25 am

London to Mumbai

Mumbai arrival: 1:30 am (10th May)

Dhaka to Delhi

Delhi arrival: 3 pm

Kuwait to Hyderabad

Hyderabad arrival: 6:30 pm

Kuwait to Cochin

Cochin arrival: 9:15 pm

Kaula Lampur to Trichy

Trichy arrival: 9:40 pm.

Muscat to Cochin

Cochin arrival: 8:50 pm

Doha to Cochin

Cochin arrival: 1:40 am (10th May)

Sharjah to Lucknow

Lucknow arrival: 8:50 pm

12.09 am: Coronavirus cases worldwide

The total count of COVID-19 cases has crossed the 4 million-mark, while the death toll stands at 2.76 lakh.

12.03 pm: Kanpur coronavirus update

Construction work for Kanpur Metro Project has resumed amid corona lockdown. Jaidi, Kanpur Joint Metro Manager says, "For now work has started only inside our barricaded casting yard. All precautions are being taken".

Kanpur: Construction work for Kanpur Metro Project has resumed amid #CoronaLockdown. Jaidi, Kanpur Joint Metro Manager says, "For now work has started only inside our barricaded casting yard. All precautions are being taken". pic.twitter.com/2we7uiwWuD - ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 9, 2020

11.59: Coronavirus India cases live updates: Check state-wise tally here:

Maharashtra is the worst-affected state in India with 19,063 COVID-19 cases and 731 deaths

Gujarat follows suit with 7,402 cases and 449 deaths

Delhi is the third worst-hit state with 6,318 cases and 68 deaths.

Madhya Pradesh with 3,341 cases, 200 deaths

Rajasthan 3,579 cases, 101 deaths

Tamil Nadu-6,009 cases, 40 deaths

Uttar Pradesh (UP)-3,214 cases, 66 deaths

Andhra Pradesh-1,887 cases, 41 deaths

Telangana 1,133 cases, 29 deaths

West Bengal-1,678 cases, 160 deaths

Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)- 823 cases, 9 deaths

Karnataka- 753 cases, 30 deaths

Kerala- 503 cases, 4 deaths

Bihar-571 cases, 5 deaths

Punjab-1,731 cases, 29 deaths

Haryana-647 cases, 8 deaths

11.49 am: Maharashtra coronavirus latest updates: 714 cops test positive

Maharashtra Police said on Saturday that 714 police personnel have tested positive for COVID-19 in the state, of which 648 are active cases, 61 recovered & 5 deaths. There have been 194 incidents of assault on police personnel during the lockdown period and 689 accused have been arrested for the same.

714 police personnel have tested positive for #COVID19 in the state, of which 648 are active cases, 61 recovered & 5 deaths. There have been 194 incidents of assault on police personnel during the lockdown period & 689 accused have been arrested for the same: Maharashtra Police pic.twitter.com/1xcxfUiXze - ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

11.39 am: Coronavirus in India: State-wise status

Top 5 states in the country by recovery:

Maharashtra (3,470)

Delhi (2,020)

Gujarat (1,872)

Rajasthan (1,916)

Tamil Nadu (1,605)

11.28 am: India coronavirus updates

High Commission of India in Bangladesh said on Saturday the citizens bound for Delhi have reached the airport in Dhaka to board the Air India flight to return home. 129 passengers are booked for the flight.

Our citizens bound for Delhi have reached the airport in Dhaka. #VandeBharatMission will be taking them home today. 129 Passengers are booked for the Air India flight: High Commission of India in Bangladesh pic.twitter.com/YkppZo0Zi5 - ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

11.18 am: Jharkhand coronavirus updates: 21 cases reported on Friday; highest 1-day jump

Jharkhand recorded 21 fresh COVID-19 cases on Friday, the biggest single-day spike in its coronavirus infections. Out of the 455f swab samples tested during the day, 21 came out positive for the COVID-19 infection, Dr. D K Singh, Director, Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) said. The total count of positive cases now stands at 153 in the state, officials said. (PTI)

11.08 am: India coronavirus live updates: State-wise status

Five worst-affected states in India by deaths:

Maharashtra (731)

Gujarat (449)

Madhya Pradesh (200)

West Bengal (160)

Rajasthan (101)

10.59 am: Gujrat coronavirus latest updates: AIIMS director heads for Ahmedabad following jump in COVID-19 cases

With the mounting number of novel coronavirus cases and deaths in Gujarat, AIIMS Director, Dr. Randeep Guleria along with medical experts from the facility have rushed to Ahmedabad to provide expert guidance to medicos there on COVID-19 management.

Read more here: Coronavirus in Gujarat: AIIMS director heads for Ahmedabad following sharp spike in COVID-19 cases, deaths

10.49 am: 600 new coronavirus cases, 3 deaths in Tamil Nadu in 24 hours

The total count of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state now stand at 6,009 along with 40 deaths, as per the latest data by the Union Health Ministry.

10.39 am: Gujarat coronavirus cases

390 new cases, 24 deaths reported in 24 hours in Gujarat. Total count of confirmed cases jumps to 7,402, with death toll at 449, as per the latest data by the Union Health Ministry.

10.28 am: Coronavirus in India: Learn to live with COVID-19, says Health Ministry

The Union Health Ministry said on Friday that people have to learn to live with coronavirus infection. Addressing the media at the government's routine daily briefing, Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry said that the preventive guidelines against the COVID-19 pandemic "need to be implemented as behaviroal changes." He added, "If we follow the dos and don'ts, we may not reach peak in number of COVID-19 cases and our curve may remain flat."

10.22 am: Delhi lockdown news

Police personnel check IDs and passes of people as they commute through Delhi-Ghazipur border, amid coronavirus lockdown.

Delhi: Police personnel check IDs and passes of people as they commute through Delhi-Ghazipur border, amid #CoronavirusLockdown. pic.twitter.com/lWL85t12al - ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

10.14 am: Mumbai coronavirus cases: 748 more people test positive

Mumbai which is the worst-affected city not only in Maharashtra, but in India recorded 748 fresh COVID-19 cases and 25 deaths in the last 24 hours. Out of the 25 deaths, 18 coronavirus patients had co-morbidities, 13 are male, 12 female.

10.09 am: Maharashtra coronavirus cases

With 1,089 new COVID-19 cases and 37 deaths, Maharashtra's total count of confirmed cases jumped to 19,063 on Saturday, while the death toll climbed to 731 in the state, according to latest update by the Union Health Ministry.

9.59: Noida coronavirus lockdown: 800 factories reopen, but with limited operations

Noida authority has allowed 800 factories to begin operations but with limited operations in line with strict guidelines by the state government. Samsung said on Friday that it has been allowed to open its Noida Sector 81 factory.

9.49 am: Rajasthan coronavirus cases

Rajasthan recorded 57 fresh COVID-19 cases on Saturday taking the total count of positive cases to 3,636, while death toll stands at 101, said the state health department.

57 new #COVID19 positive cases have been reported today taking the total number of positive cases to 3636. Death toll is at 103: Rajasthan Health Department pic.twitter.com/AOjNLT7H7q - ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

9.39 am: Coronavirus live updates

Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) issues revised discharge policy for #COVID19 patients.

Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) issues revised discharge policy for #COVID19 patients. pic.twitter.com/6GpWbnAFFB - ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

9.29 am: Delhi coronavirus cases jump to 6,318 on Saturday along with 68 deaths,

Delhi recorded 338 fresh COVID-19 cases and 2 deaths in 24 hours taking the total count to 6,318 in the national capital, according to latest update by the Union Health Ministry. 448 new COVID-19 cases were recorded in the national capital on Thursday, the single spike in one day.

Also Read: Delhi's coronavirus tally jumps to 6,318; 338 new cases reported in 24 hours

9.19 am: Coronavirus in India: Cases will peak in June-July, says AIIMS Director

The COVID-19 cases will peak between June and July, AIIMS Director Dr. Randeep Gulleria said on Thursday adding that the rise in the number of cases will come due to more testing across states

9.10 am: Liquor shops i.n Assam: Alcohol to get costlier as state govt hikes excise duty by 25%

The Assam government has taken the decision to hike the excise duty on Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) by 25%, state Industry Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said after a cabinet meet on Friday. The decision has been taken to increase the state government's revenues in the wake of economic crisis due to COVID-19 induced lockdown. This will help the Assam government mop up an addition income of Rs 1,000 crore.

Read more here: Lockdown 3.0: Alcohol to cost more in Assam; state govt hikes excise duty by 25 per cent

9.02 am: Totola coronavirus deaths in India

The country reported 95 new deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 1,981. Maharashtra is the worst-hit state with 731 deaths.

8.55 am: Total coronavirus cases in India in 24 hours

India recorded 3,320 fresh COVID-19 cases and 95 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the total count of confirmed cases to 59,662 on Saturday, according to latest update by the Union Health Ministry.

8.45 am: Coronavirus cases in India approach 60,000-mark

The total COVID-19 cases in the country spiked to 59,662, including 39,834 active cases, 17,846 recoveries, 1 migrated and 1,981 deaths. The Union Health Ministry in its daily briefing on coronavirus in the country, said that around 216 districts in India have not recorded any COVID-19 positive case till date.

8.30 am: Maharashtra coronavirus latest updates: CM Uddhav Thackeray refutes rumours of Army taking over Mumbai

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray refuted rumours that the Army will take over Mumbai to tackle the coronavirus crisis. Although, Thackeray acknowledged that the virus "chain" has not been broken in the state yet, but he also assured that adequate medical infrastructure was made available by his government, especially in Mumbai.
Mrs. Rudin (second from right) with her daughter Marion (left), son-in-law Vincenzo Sanguineti (standing), great-grandson Elijah Rhyne (second from left), step-great-grandson Nicholas Roach, great-grandson Benjamin Rhyne and granddaughter Jillian Frank (standing). Read more

People Weve Lost Eve Rudin

103 years old

Lived in Philadelphia

She believed in equal opportunity and was a vocal political activist More Memorials

How would you describe a most fulfilling life in Philadelphia? Eve Rudins may provide the answer.

A native of the Strawberry Mansion section, Mrs. Rudin was born in 1916 and spent her childhood exploring the secrets of the Wissahickon Creek and taking dips in the Schuylkill on hot summer days. As she grew, she planned special day trips to city museums, spent summers at the New Jersey Shore teaching her nieces and nephews to swim, and marveled at the Pennsylvania Ballet  as recently as last fall.

She wanted to feel cultured, said her daughter, Marion Rudin Frank. And she was fiercely independent.

Mrs. Rudin lost herself in opera, and played competitive bridge until she could no longer see the cards. She sewed beautiful matching mother/daughter dresses and went out of her way to be around people, especially enjoying her large family at her many birthday parties.

She said she always wanted to teach children, and was living alone and driving at age 96.

Mrs. Rudin, 103, died on Saturday, April 25, of the coronavirus at the Watermark retirement community.

Always a pioneer, Mrs. Rudin was the first in her family to be born in America, her mother coming from Russia. She was married to her late husband, Bernard Rudin, for 70 years, and they worked together to create the successful Arrow Fuel Oil Co., for which she not only kept the books but pumped heating oil into delivery trucks.

After moving to Florida about 50 years ago with her husband, who died in 2008, Mrs. Rudin returned to Philadelphia a few years ago to be close to her daughter, who wrote of her mother in a tribute:

Born before women had the right to vote, she became a supporter of womens rights and one of the first women of her generation to drive a car. She was a talented seamstress, and an early liberal political activist, working for Adlai Stevenson and against Joe McCarthy, and she adamantly believed in equal opportunity for all."

In addition to her daughter and son-in-law Vincenzo Sanguineti, Mrs. Rudin is survived by a granddaughter, two step-grandchildren, and many other family members.

Services are to be later.

 Gary Miles
New Delhi, May 9 : A major terror-financing module of the banned terror group Hizbul Mujahideen has been busted after the prime accused was arrested from Sirsa, Haryana, by the National Investigating Agency (NIA) on Saturday. The module was being run through narcotics smuggled into India along with rock salt imported from Pakistan.

Official sources said on the basis of specific intelligence generated by NIA, the prime accused Ranjit Singh (also known as Rana or Cheeta) was arrested along with his father Harbhajan Singh and brother Gagandeep Singh in a joint operation by NIA, Punjab Police and Haryana Police.

Ranjit, according to official sources, was involved in the the Hizbul terror-financing module run by Hilal Ahmad Wagay, a resident of Nowgam, Awantipora in south Kashmir. Wagay who carried Rs 29 lakh for terror activities was arrested in Amritsar on April 25, sources said.

During the subsequent investigation, Bikram Singh (alias Vicky) from Guru Amardas Avenue, Amritsar, was identified as the person who delivered the money to Hilal. Bikram was arrested along with his brother Maninder Singh (Mani) earlier this week on May 5.

Sources said during their interrogation, they revealed that the money delivered to Hilal Ahmad Wagay was given by Iqbal Singh (Shera) and Ranjit Singh, both chargesheeted absconders in an NIA case related to the seizure of 532 kg heroin from the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari international border last year.

"This clearly exposed the narco-terror financing angle in the case," an official who did not want to be named, told the IANS. The NIA has been at the forefront of investigations into terror funding in Jammu and Kashmir.

The narcotics were hidden in a consignment of rock salt imported from Pakistan. The seizure was made by customs authorities at Attari last year on June 29, when contraband was discovered during the inspection.

Sources said the investigation established that the seized consignment was part of five consignments of drugs, out of which four have been successfully smuggled into India, sources said. Investigations also revealed that Pakistan-based entities are smuggling narcotics into the Indian territory by hiding it in sacks of rock salt imported from Pakistan.

"This is done through an elaborate network of importers, customs house agents, transporters and the operation is financed through illegal channels like hawala," an official said. The involvement of Pakistan and Afghanistan based entities in this case gave an indication that the entire operation is to generate finance for terror networks operating in and out of Af-Pak region, he said.

The first charge sheet in the case was submitted by NIA last year on December 27 in a special court at Mohali against 15 accused, including Ranjit and four companies.

A notorious drug trafficker, Ranjit, originally a resident of village Havelian, district Tarn Taran, has been living at Darshan Avenue, Ram Tirath Road, Amritsar, sources said. As per the NIA chargesheet, he along with his five brothers, is involved in smuggling and drugs trade.

His two brothers Kuldeep Singh (Babbu) and Balwinder Singh (Billa) are also in jail in connection with Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act cases. His other three brothers, Mandeep Singh (Makka), Swaran Singh (Bhola) and Gagandeep Singh (Nona) were absconding along with Ranjit.
Thiruvananthapuram, May 9 : Opposition leaders slammed the Kerala government, here on Saturday, over poor arrangements for arrival of Keralites stranded in neighbouring states, like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

According to the state-owned Norka-Roots web portal, around 200,000 people have registered to return and the majority is from neighbouring states and Maharashtra.

The Kerala government has set up six entry points for Keralites, stranded in these states due to the lockdown.

During the day, Congress Lok Sabha member V.K. Sreekandan rushed to Walayar on the border of Coimbatore on hearing that hundreds were stuck at the check-post for want of proper passes, and provided them food.

"It's unfortunate. The Kerala government is taking so much pain to take care of migrant labourers, but is not showing the same enthusiasm to receive own people, waiting to enter their home state," said Sreekandan.

In Thrissur, three Congress lawmakers -- T.N. Prathapan, Remya Haridas (both MPs) and Anil Akkara (MLA) -- staged a sit-in at the district headquarters. "People from Thrissur are stuck at various check-posts. It's total chaos in allocation of passes. This has to end as the people are suffering," said Haridas.

Prathapan said it could have easily been managed online. "It's surprising when Minister for Local Self-Government A.C. Moideen intervenes, passes get issued. It's unfortunate. There seems to be a political play," said Akkara.

A Kerala resident, waiting on the border near Mangalore in Karnataka, said five of them had applied for passes together, but only one got the permission.

At the Walayar border check-post, many waiting to enter are yet to get passes.

"In Tamil Nadu, we got the pass quickly. Now we are waiting to enter our home state. We applied for passes on May 6, but are yet to get it," said another.

A lady stranded in Erode, Tamil Nadu, told a television news channel she was waiting for an entry pass from Kerala and had run out of money. "We came to attend a marriage and the lockdown was announced. We are staying in one room. It's tough for our relatives with whom we are staying," she said.

State Revenue Minister E. Chandrasekheran, however, said they were doing their best and all the district authorities had been asked to step up operations.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
She is known for portraying Trixie Franklin on BBC drama Call the Midwife.

And Helen George proved she has a hidden talent for singing when appearing on the BBC special for the 75th VE day anniversary in Buckingham Palace on Friday.

The actress, 35, looked sensational in a blue floral dress as she sang White Cliffs of Dover and left viewers stunned with her vocals.

Incredible: Helen George, 35, proved she has a hidden talent for singing on the BBC special for the 75th VE day anniversary held at Buckingham Palace on Friday

Following her spellbinding performance many took to Twitter to share their praise of the star, one viewer wrote: 'That was absolutely beautiful'

Another shared: 'Fantastic vocals from Helen George singing White Cliffs of Dover on VE Day: A Musical Celebration. A true highlight. #BBC1'

One penned: 'Helen George you have a fabulous voice and looked beautiful. Well done you!!'

Another impressed viewer wrote: 'Amazing Helen, was really beautiful'

Beautiful: The actress looked sensational in a blue floral dress as she sang White Cliffs of Dover and left viewers stunned with her vocals

One shared: 'Helen George I loved you singing tonight on the VE Day celebrations'

While another praised her talent: 'Amazing! Gorgeous singing voice x'

And another said: 'She was brilliant! She should do more singing with a voice like that!'

Impressed: Following her spellbinding performance many took to Twitter to share their praise of the star, one viewer wrote: 'That was absolutely beautiful'

The one hour special featured performances from Katherine Jenkins and Strictly's Anton Du Beke to honour World War Two veterans on the historic occasion, ahead of a nationwide address from Her Majesty the Queen.

Katherine was a vision in a stunning midnight blue ballgown as she stood in the palace courtyard to perform a rendition of the 1939 classic Over The Rainbow, accompanied by music from the Royal British Legion.

The entire show adhered to social distancing guidelines, with even the musicians spread across the palace courtyard.

Another shared: 'Fantastic vocals from Helen George singing White Cliffs of Dover on VE Day: A Musical Celebration. A true highlight. #BBC1'

Hosted by Sophie Raworth, the special saw a slew of WWII veterans reflect on the historic conflict, which came to an end in Europe on May 8, 1945.

Donning a top hat and tails, Anton kicked off proceedings with a stellar rendition of the Fred Astaire hit Puttin' On The Ritz.

The performance was accompanied by dancing from Aljaz and his wife Janette, who dazzled in a taupe sequinned gown.

During the show, viewers listened the accounts of WWII veterans who survived the conflict, whether that be fighting overseas or home in the UK.

Spellbinding: The one hour special featured a performance from Katherine Jenkins, ahead of a nationwide address from Her Majesty the Queen

Stars including Sir Tom Jones, Sir David Jason and Joanna Lumley spoke to veterans on video chat about living through the war, and how it's compared to life in lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

EastEnders' Shane Richie and Emma Barton also offered a fun rendition of the East End anthem The Lambeth Walk, which could be heard from Clapham from Streatham when the war's end was announced.

Beverley Knight also referenced the moment London's blackout was brought to an end by the victory, by performing a rendition of Vera Lynn's When The Lights Go On Again.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge also made an appearance to speak with members of the Royal British Legion, who were keeping spirited despite the nationwide lockdown.

Touching: Stars including Joanna Lumley spoke to veterans on video chat about living through the war, and how it's compared to life in lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic
Expressing grief over the death of 16 migrant workers from Madhya Pradesh in a train accident in Maharashtras Aurangabad district, senior BJP leader and former Union minister Shanta Kumar said that the incident reflects the chinks in Indias economy, also dubbed as a fastest growing nation in the world.

In a press statement issued here on Saturday, the 85-year-old said that impatience of people returning home on foot has opened the eyes of the entire nation.

He said that labourers tired after walking 40km distance on foot were sleeping on the rail track and were crushed on death by a train in Aurangabad.

He said that before Covid-19 it was being claimed that India is the fastest-growing economy in the world and figures among the top five richest countries and crores of people have been brought out of poverty but now coronavirus pandemic has brought out the truth.

The former two-term chief minister of Himachal Pradesh said that though the Modi government launched various schemes for the welfare of the poor the system that is responsible for implementation is dishonest and inefficient.

Implementation of those schemes was not proper. The statistics that are presented as our success are damned lies, he alleged adding that development happened but it did not help the poor.

The benefit did not reach the targeted population and inequality increased so exponentially that India today is the country with highest economic disparity, he said.

He said that Indias population increases by approximately 1.60 crores every year; an army of 1 crore unemployed are added. India is at the top of the hunger index and the number of deaths due to malnutrition.

The ever-increasing population will never let poverty elimination become a reality in our country and tough laws are needed to be implemented. Otherwise, Aurangabad like incident will be just the normal, he said.
BEIJING (AP)  China on Wednesday slammed a lawsuit brought against it by the U.S. state of Missouri over the coronavirus pandemic as very absurd."

Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the legal action has no factual and legal basis at all" and repeated China's defense of its response to the outbreak, which has largely subsided in the country where it was first detected.

The ministry and other Chinese government departments have strenuously denied accusations that officials delayed reporting on the extent of the outbreak in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, despite reports that worries over political stability were placed above public health concerns. Medical staff who reported the outbreak were silenced under threat of legal retaliation and Wuhan went several days without reporting cases during the holding of an annual provincial government conference.

This so-called lawsuit is very absurd and has no factual and legal basis at all," Geng said at a daily briefing. Since the outbreak began, China has proceeded in an open, transparent, and responsible manner" and the U.S. government should dismiss such vexatious litigation," he said.

Missouri's top state prosecutor on Tuesday announced the lawsuit, which alleges that Chinese officials are to blame for the pandemic that has sickened around 2.5 million worldwide, thrown tens of millions out of work and devastated local economies, including in China.

Attorney General Eric Schmitt said the Chinese government lied about the dangers of the virus and didnt do enough to slow its spread.

Missouri's action is likely to be largely symbolic, however, since lawsuits against other countries typically dont go anywhere because U.S. law generally prohibits them.

According to Johns Hopkins Universitys Center for Systems Science and Engineering, the number of Missouri deaths from the virus rose by 16 Tuesday to 215.
Washington: Three members of the White House coronavirus task force, including Dr Anthony Fauci, have placed themselves in quarantine after contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.

It's another stark reminder that not even one of the nation's most secure buildings is immune from the virus.

Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and two other members of the White House coronavirus task force, have placed themselves in quarantine after contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Credit:AP

Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a leading member of the task force, has become nationally known for his simple and direct explanations to the public about the coronavirus and COVID-19, the disease it causes.

Also quarantining are Dr Robert Redfield, director of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Stephen Hahn.

Read the full story here.
Harris County Clerk Diane Trautman will resign May 31 due to health concerns, she announced Saturday afternoon.

Trautman, 70, is stepping down just 16 months into her first term. She defeated incumbent clerk Stan Stanart in 2018.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, my age, and underlying health issues, I do not feel I can safely continue to carry out my duties, Trautman said in a statement. She declined to answer questions.

Commissioners Court will appoint an interim clerk to serve until November, when a new clerk is elected. The Democratic and Republican parties will each put forth a nominee.

Harris County Democratic Party Chair Lillie Schechter thanked Trautman for her work to make voting more accessible to residents, adding her confidence that another Democrat would succeed her.

From the beginning of her term, Dr. Trautman has been committed to protecting and expanding the fundamental right to vote for all Harris County residents by making it easier for citizens to participate in elections, Schechter said. These achievements removed impediments to voting rights and will have an enduring impact in protecting our democracy.

The Democrat-majority Commissioners Court will probably pick another Democrat for the post, said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston. While the vacancy gives Republicans a chance to take back the clerks seat, he said, a GOP candidate would likely be chosen only if theyre willing to concede on certain policies, such as broader voter registration efforts and expanded mail-in voting.

Youd have to be the right Republican, Rottinghaus said. I could imagine a Republican that has a more expansive view of voting could be a dark horse candidate.

The local GOP on Saturday night also offered its well wishes to Trautman. Genevieve Carter, communications director for the Harris County Republican Party, said she hoped the next clerk would be opposed to wider spread mail-in voting efforts.

We are devastated to hear that the County Clerk is facing health issues and we wish her the very best, Carter said. It would be great if they appointed someone similar to Clerk Trautman who followed the law and refused to send absentee ballots to everyone in Harris County.

The state law on mail-in voting is ambiguous in places, however. Trautman did persuade Commissioners Court to invest $12 million to allow the county to provide mail ballots to every voter in the July primary runoff and November general elections. Trautman said her office would allow any resident concerned about contracting coronavirus at a polling place to vote by mail.

During her brief tenure, Trautmans signature success was the implementation of county voting centers, which for the first time allowed residents to visit any polling place on Election Day. County Judge Lina Hidalgo praised that effort and Trautmans dedication to the job.

Dr. Trautman embodies the spirit of the community she has served, Hidalgo said in a statement. In her brief time as County Clerk, Dr. Trautman has fought to make it easier for citizens to participate in elections and make their voices heard.

Both major elections Trautman oversaw had problems. A full tally of votes in this past Novembers Houston municipal elections was not available for nearly 12 hours, a headache Trautman blamed on inconsistent guidance from the Texas secretary of state.

Some Democratic voters waited in hours-long lines during the March primary election. A Houston Chronicle analysis found that Trautman had signed off on a plan to place two-thirds of polling sites in Republican commissioner precincts, despite accurate predictions that Democratic turnout would be far higher.

Trautman began her career in banking and later spent two decades as a Houston ISD teacher and principal. She earned a doctorate in education and taught at Stephen F. Austin State University.

She ran unsuccessfully for Texas House of Representatives District 127 in 2006, as well as Harris County tax assessor-collector in 2008 and 2010. Trautman in 2012 narrowly won an at-large seat on the Harris County Board of Education.

zach.despart@chron.com

samantha.ketterer@chron.com
NATO Secretary General restresses NATO's continued cooperation with Iraq in phone call with new Iraq Prime Minister

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

08 May. 2020

Today (8 May 2020), NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg held a phone call with new Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi. The Secretary General congratulated him on his appointment and parliamentary confirmation.

"I want to thank you, Mr. Prime Minister, for your unwavering commitment to the fight against terrorism; this is important for Iraq and for all NATO Allies; NATO will never forget the sacrifices made by the Iraqi forces and people," the NATO Secretary General said. "NATO remains fully committed to continue its efforts to strengthen the Iraqi security forces and institutions and to step up our cooperation with the Iraqi government in the fight against terrorism," he added. The NATO Secretary General pointed out that he would direct NATO staff in Baghdad to reach out to the Iraqi authorities to this effect.

Mr. Stoltenberg expressed solidarity with the Iraqi people in light of the global COVID-19 pandemic. He highlighted that NATO stands ready to consider assistance, upon request from the Iraqi authorities.

The NATO Secretary General also wished Prime Minister Al-Kadhimi and the Iraqi people a peaceful Holy Month of Ramadan.

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By Lucia Mutikani and Maria Caspani WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The coronavirus pandemic triggered the steepest monthly loss of U.S. jobs since the Great Depression, data showed on Friday, and a second White House aide tested positive, raising questions over measures to protect President Donald Trump

By Lucia Mutikani and Maria Caspani

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The coronavirus pandemic triggered the steepest monthly loss of U.S. jobs since the Great Depression, data showed on Friday, and a second White House aide tested positive, raising questions over measures to protect President Donald Trump.

A day after the White House confirmed the Republican president's personal valet had tested positive for the virus, Trump told reporters it had also infected Katie Miller, the press secretary to Vice President Mike Pence. She is married to senior Trump aide and immigration policy hard-liner Stephen Miller and travels frequently with Pence.

"We've taken every single precaution to protect the president," White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany told reporters.

Labor Department data showed U.S. unemployment rose 14.7% last month - up from 3.5% in February - demonstrating the speed at which the U.S. economy collapsed after stay-at-home policies were imposed in much of the country to try to curb the spread of the outbreak.

Even worse economic news may come yet. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said the unemployment rate was likely to move up to around 20% this month.

The economic devastation has put a sense of urgency into efforts by U.S. states to get their economies moving again, even though infection rates and deaths are still climbing in some parts of the country.

Underscoring the wide-ranging threat from the pathogen, a 5-year-old boy has died in New York from a rare inflammatory syndrome believed to be linked to the coronavirus, Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

The virus has killed nearly 76,000 Americans with more than 1.26 million confirmed cases, according to a Reuters tally.

One of the fatalities was a 5-year old boy who died in New York from a rare inflammatory syndrome believed to be linked to the novel coronavirus, highlighting a potential new risk for children in the pandemic, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Friday.

The condition, first reported in Britain, Italy and Spain, can attack multiple organs, impair heart function and weaken heart arteries.

Just as the pathogen itself has hit black and Hispanic Americans especially hard - they are overrepresented in the U.S. death toll relative to their population size - minorities also have suffered greater job losses during the crisis.

The April unemployment rate was 14.2% for white Americans, but the rate reached 16.7% among African Americans and 18.9% among Hispanic Americans, the data showed. There also was a gender disparity, with the jobless rate at 13% for men and 15.5% for women.

Overall, an astounding 20.5 million U.S. jobs were lost in April - the steepest loss since the Great Depression some 90 years ago - and the jobless rate broke the post-World War Two record of 10.8% in November 1982, the government said.

Adding to the pain, millions of Americans have been unable to register for unemployment benefits due to bureaucratic hurdles, with the problem worse in some states than others.

Trump, seeking re-election in November, initially played down the threat posed by the coronavirus and has given inconsistent messages about how long the economic shutdown would last and the conditions under which states should reopen businesses.

"Those jobs will all be back, and they'll be back very soon," Trump told Fox News on Friday.

'JUST SO TENSE'

Rita Trivedi, 63, of Hudson, Florida, was furloughed as an analyst at Nielsen Media Research on April 23 and has struggled to secure benefits from the state's troubled unemployment system. Trivedi worries that she does not have enough money to cover her husband's medical bills and other expenses.

"I'm more than anxious, I'm more than worried - it's 'can't sleep' kind of anxious," Trivedi said in an interview. "I'm just so tense thinking about these things and how to manage."

California, where the first statewide stay-at-home orders were issued on March 19, moved forward with a partial reopening plan on Friday, allowing manufacturing facilities that meet certain infection-control criteria to resume operations and permitting some retail workplaces, such as bookstores, jewelry stores, clothing stores, sporting goods stores and florists, to offer curbside pick-up and delivery services.

In Los Angeles, few of those stores were open in the downtown area. In-store shopping is not permitted.

Tesla Inc was aiming to restart production in its U.S. car plant in Fremont, California, on Friday afternoon, according to an email sent by Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk to staff.

But a health official in Alameda County, where the assembly plant is located, said local lockdown measures remain in effect there and supersede Governor Gavin Newsom's relaxation of statewide restrictions. "We've been working with them, but we have not given the green light," Alameda County health officer Erica Pan said of Tesla.

At least 40 of the 50 U.S. states - including states where cases and deaths are on the upswing - are taking steps to lift restrictions that had affected all but essential businesses. For example, Arizona, Mississippi and South Dakota on Friday all reported record numbers of cases.

Public health experts said reopening prematurely risks fueling fresh outbreaks. They also have raised concerns that a state-by-state hodgepodge of differing policies confuses the public and undermines social distancing efforts.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani, Jeff Mason, Mari Caspani, Andy Sullivan, Lisa Shumaker, Rajesh Kumar Singh, Lisa Lambert, Tim Ahmann and Susan Heavey; Writing by Will Dunham, Editing by Howard Goller)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
A youth was arrested in connection with the rape of a 15-year-old girl in Muzaffarnagar's Kidwai Nagar on Saturday, police said.

He was arrested after almost four months of the incident.

Police said the girl was raped by the accused, identified as Nadeem, on January 16. He has been on the run since then, they said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Brad Pitt has been spending a lot of time with Alia Shawkat, but how does Jennifer Aniston really feel about all of this?

According to InTouch Weekly, Alia Shawkat, who is reportedly Brad Pitt's current girlfriend had a secret sleepover at the "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" actor's Los Angeles mansion.

The online tabloid reported that she was spotted entering Brad's home and didn't leave the house that same night.

A source close to Brad and Alia told the magazine, "Brad and Alia have been practically inseparable in recent weeks - they're more serious than anyone realizes."

Initially, the duo were just friends that bonded over a love of art, but after spending so much time together, their alleged relationship has blossomed into something more.

The "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" actor is rumored to be so intrigued by Alia.

News of the reported couple's growing closeness has allegedly broken the heart of Jennifer Aniston.

An insider close to the "Friends" star said, "Of course she's aware that he's been spending time with Alia.She may be the perfect girl next door, but those close to Brad know edgy, cool girls like Alia and Angelina are more his type."

The insider went on to compare the actor's relationship with Alia and Jennifer, saying there's so much baggage between Brad and Jenifer, while his relationship with Alia is just starting.

"There's a lot of history between them, but also comes with a lot of baggage. He's not sure they can go the distance, and he can't help but feel torn."

InTouch Weekly further claims that the "Murder Mystery" actress is giving Brad time to sort his feelings out.

Jennifer Aniston reportedly wants Brad Pitt to figure out who he really wants to be with, although she is allegedly hopeful that the actor would come back to him because she doesn't want to lose him once more, but is already expecting of the worse.

"She's steeling herself because she doesn't want to lose him again, but she knows from experience that she easily could."

In another report by the magazine, the "Ocean's 11" actor reportedly couldn't believe he found someone so "smart, down-to-earth, normal, quirky, and funny" to date.

According to the tabloid's source, Alia has a lot of surprises up her sleeve and really enjoys making Brad laugh.

More importantly, the magazine claims that Brad has already introduced Alia to a bunch of important people in his life.

If Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt ended up together again, it would be no problem for the Jolie-Pitt children, especially to Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, who is reportedly close to Jen.

Despite previous reports that said Angelina Jolie stopped her kids from meeting the blonde beauty, it seemed like Jennifer and Shiloh are the best of friends.

A source revealed to Mirror UK, "They've been spending so much time together and been bonding. It felt like a natural step for Shiloh."

It was even reported that Shiloh wanted to start calling Jennifer "mommy," but a representative for Jennifer has spoken out about the claim.

"This is just another complete fabrication and has no relationship to reality."

READ MORE: Kevin Hart $60 Million Sex Tape Lawsuit Dismissed.. But There's a CATCH!
Face masks are delivered across dividing lines in Ireland and Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates sends medical supplies to rival Iran, and China and Japan exchange rare warm words. The coronavirus pandemic may have exacerbated global tensions, especially between the United States and China. But in some cases it has also sparked cooperation between longtime rivals. In one ray of light amid the gloom, Northern Ireland's unionist Orange Order last month secured a shipment of personal protective equipment for distribution both north and south of the border with the Republic of Ireland. That was highly unusual as unionists, who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom, are usually wary of cross-border cooperation, seeing it as a gateway to Irish unification. But the Belfast executive, which includes unionists, also signed a non-binding deal with Dublin to beef up cooperation. "We face a common challenge," said Northern Ireland's health minister Robin Swann, from the hardline Democratic Unionist Party. "Facing that challenge will test us as never before." His comment echoed the words of Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari, who argued in March that "both the epidemic itself and the resulting economic crisis are global problems (requiring) global cooperation". Writing in the Financial Times, Harari warned that "a collective paralysis has gripped the international community" as the world faces a choice between "nationalist isolation and global solidarity". - Reaching across borders - Calls by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in March for a "global ceasefire" also appear to have fallen on deaf ears, with fighting continuing in battlefields from Libya to Yemen. Yet in some cases, the need to fight the virus has trumped old rivalries. On the divided island of Cyprus, the government last month sent 4,000 items of protective equipment and 2,000 chloroquine tablets across the UN-guarded ceasefire line to help the breakaway north. It was a rare act of goodwill between the EU member and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognised only by Ankara. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded the northern third of the island in response to a Greek-backed coup. But the delivery, nearly three years after peace talks collapsed, came under fire from nationalist politicians. Prime minister Ersin Tatar accused TRNC president Mustafa Akinci of breaking customs regulations and argued that "if we need something, we request it from Turkey". The health minister in the north, Ali Pilli, begged to differ, telling news channel BRT TV that "no matter where (the aid) comes from, we accept it". - Generosity and pragmatism - Earlier in the year, as the COVID-19 illness ravaged China, Japanese businesses and the government donated thousands of protective garments. Chinese social media users hailed the gifts, and Beijing's foreign ministry said it was "extremely touched" -- a far cry from the bitterness often overshadowing their relations since before World War II. As in other cases, this generosity may have been partly motivated by pragmatism. As regional expert Victor Teo told AFP, "it is definitely in Japan's national interest that the health threat remains contained." Broader geopolitical trends may also have played a role. Richard McGregor, a senior fellow at the Lowy Institute, pointed out that China was "always more solicitous to Japan" when tensions rise with Washington. The pandemic has also inspired unusual gestures in the Middle East. The United Arab Emirates evoked the virus as part of its outreach to the president of war-torn Syria, Bashar al-Assad, for years shunned by Arab governments. Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan called Assad late last month for the first time since Syria's civil war began in 2011, pledging his country's "willingness to help the Syrian people". No aid deliveries to Syria have yet been reported. But the UAE did dispatch a military plane in March carrying UN medical experts and aid to Assad's ally Iran -- despite the fact the Emirates are allied with Washington against Tehran. - 'In the firing line too' - The help for Iran, hit by the Middle East's deadliest outbreak, was all the more remarkable as it followed heightened tensions in the Gulf. Recent months saw attacks on shipping, the downing of a US drone and the American killing of a top Iranian commander that had sparked fears of regional war. But senior Emirati aid official Sultan Mohammed al-Shamsi said that "aid should reach all people regardless of their background." Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif thanked the UAE, calling the pandemic a "global issue that requires the combined will of all countries to be defeated". Michael Stephens, of the RUSI think tank in London, noted that "aid diplomacy is a big thing in the Islamic world". But he also pointed at self-interest. Despite their disagreements, the UAE and neighbouring Iran have close trading links, and tens of thousands of Iranians live in Dubai. "I think the deliveries were pragmatic more than anything else -- if your neighbours get the virus, you're in the firing line too," he said. Moreover, he added, "anything that lowers tensions is a good thing."
Nach Baliye 10: Bigg Boss 13 contestant Himanshi Khurana is among the most talked-about celebrity on social media. From her Punjabi songs, social media posts to her bond with Asim Riaz, Himanshi Khurana knows how to win hearts. Asim Riaz showcased his new side to his fans during Bigg Boss when he confessed about his love for the diva. Even after the show came to an end, both of them continued with the same bond and are among the most loved duos of the industry.

After Bigg Boss, both Asim Riaz and Himanshi Khurana also collaborated for their first song Kalla Sohna Nai sung by Neha Kakkar. The song showcased the cute chemistry of the duo and also garnered massive views on YouTube. Recently, there were reports that the duo was being approached for the show Nach Baliye 10. While interacting with a media portal, Himanshi Khurana opened up about the same subject and said that there is no confirmation about the project due to the ongoing lockdown.

Himanshi Khurana said that she doesnt know how will the things be taken forward after the lockdown. Further, there are also reports that Himanshi Khurana might also collaborate with beau Asim Riaz for two more love songs, but nothing has been announced officially.

Also Read: Keh Gayi Sorry teaser: Shehnaaz Gill, Jassie Gill share undeniable chemistry; song to release on this date

On the work front, Himanshi Khurana last appeared in song O Jaanwaale with Akhil Sachdeva, who is best known for Kabir Singh songs. The song showcases the problems that a married couple faces in a long-distance relationship. Watch O Jaanwale here-

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Telangana reported a death and



31 fresh coronavirus cases on Saturday, taking the number of positive cases in the state to 1,163.

The number of deaths rose to 30 after one person succumbed to the virus, according to a COVID-19 bulletin.

It said 24 people were discharged on Saturday.

The number of people cured/discharged till date stood at 751.

The number of people who are undergoing treatment (active cases) as on date was 382.

Out of the 31 fresh cases, 30 are from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) area, while one is a migrant (who returned to Telangana from other states).

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The CARES Act provided for payments to all state governments and to municipalities and counties of at least 500,000. In Oklahoma, that includes Oklahoma County, Oklahoma City and Tulsa County.

The money can only be used for expenses directly incurred as the result of the COVID-19 outbreak but cannot be used to offset lost tax revenue caused by the epidemic or the response to it.

Peters said the county is talking to organizations such as the United Way and chambers of commerce to find ways to help non-profit agencies and businesses.

An example, he said, might be providing money and expertise to help small businesses obtain masks and other equipment needed to reopen during the epidemic.

It might also involve covering the cost of additional services provided by nonprofits because of COVID-19.

Tulsa County has asked municipalities and other eligible entities to submit requests to County Clerk Michael Willis, whose office will organize them for consideration by the county commissioners.

The requests include not only expenditures already made but expected needs through Dec. 30, when the CARES Act funds expire.
Hollywood actor, Idris Elba has been seen in London for the first time since recovering from his battle with coronavirus.

Idris along with his wife Sabrina Dhowre Elba, 30, tested positive for a very mild strain of the coronavirus in March but has now fully recovered.

The actor was spotted enjoying a walk near his home on Saturday, after he and wife Sabrina returned from self-isolating in New Mexico last month, where Elba was filming when he became ill.

Putting on a casual display for the outing, the Luther star looked relaxed as he strolled through his neighbourhood as part of his daily exercise during lockdown.

Idris wore a simple black logo T-shirt that fit loosely on his torso, and which he paired with faded denim jeans.

The post Idris Elba strolls solo in his neighborhood after recovering from Coronavirus appeared first on .

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Light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will face no discipline from the UFC as a result of his March 31 drunk-driving arrest in Downtown Albuquerque, UFC President Dana White said this week.

White, in an interview with the Brazilian MMA website Combate, said he expects the Albuquerque resident to be back in the Octagon to defend his title sometime this year.

The UFC boss said he has not spoken with Jones since his arrest. Asked if Jones should expect to face disciplinary action, White said, not from me.

In 2015, Jones was suspended by the UFC and stripped of his light heavyweight title after his involvement in a hit-and-run accident in southeast Albuquerque.

He twice has been suspended, not by the UFC but by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, after testing positive for banned substances.

CERRONE-PETTIS: Donald Cowboy Cerrone has lost three fights in a row, the last of the three an admittedly embarrassing performance against Conor McGregor.

How badly do I need a win? (Bleep), Ive lost three, that sucks, he said on Thursday in Jacksonville, Florida, wheres hes scheduled to face Anthony Pettis on UFC 249 on Saturday. Four would be (bleeping) miserable.

But, the Edgewood resident added, not fighting is worse than losing. And you cant win if you dont fight.

Winning or losing is just what happens in this sport, Cerrone said. But I love every bit of it. The training, getting ready and going out there and fight. I look forward to it.

So, Cerrone (36-14) didnt hesitate, coronavirus or no coronavirus, when he was offered the fight against Pettis (22-10) three weeks ago. Taking fights on short notice has been a Cowboy specialty over the course of his 14-year pro career.

Those long camps are grueling, you know, he said. All the media obligations, all the 12 weeks to get ready. This, you dont even have time to think about it. You just get ready and go. I enjoy it. I love it. Thats why Im the short-notice guy.

Saturdays fight is a rematch of a January 2013 fight, won by Pettis via first-round TKO (body kicks).

The two men are well-acquainted. Pettis and his brother, MMA bantamweight Sergio Pettis, are from Milwaukee but in the past have trained in Albuquerque at Jackson-Wink. That was Cerrones training home until he left under less than amicable circumstances in 2018. He now trains at his BMF Gym in Edgewood.

Far from bearing a grudge, Cerrone calls Pettis a good dude. This should be a lot of fun.

Saturdays card in Jacksonville will be staged without fans, a concession to COVID-19 concerns. That bothers Cerrone not at all, he said.

It will be good, he said. It will be perfect for me. No hesitations, no distractions, just go out there and fight. I came down to Jacksonville to get a backyard fight. Here I am.

THE WEIGH-IN: Cerrone weighed in Friday at 171 pounds, a permissible one pound over the welterweight limit. Pettis weighed in at 170.5.

Albuquerques Michelle Waterson (17-7) weighed in at 115 pounds, the strawweight limit, for her scheduled fight against Carla Esparza (15-6) of Redondo Beach, California. Esparza weighed in at 115.5.

Oddsmakers have made Pettis and Esparza slight betting favorites.

NO GRANDMA: Cerrone had hoped his grandmother, a fixture at his fights in the past, would be able to attend Saturdays card. White, however, said no.

I tried. She tried, Cerrone said. She said, Im gonna come. Ill drive down (to Florida) with you.

Then Dana called me and said, Im not gonna be responsible for grandma getting sick.  This is the first fight she hasnt come to.

Saturday

UFC 249, Jacksonville, Florida: Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje, Donald Cowboy Cerrone vs. Anthony Pettis, Michelle Waterson vs. Carla Esparza. Main card: 8 p.m., espn+ PPV. Prelims (Cerrone-Pettis, Waterson-Esparza), 6 p.m., ESPN, espn+
New Delhi, May 10 : Indian Youth Congress (IYC) president Srinivas BV has filed a complaint with the Delhi Police against BJP leader Sambit Patra for "defaming the party and two former Prime Ministers".

In a complaint to Delhi Police Commissioner S.N. Shrivatsava, the Youth Congress leader accused Patra of spreading false and fake information about two former Prime Ministers -- Late Jawaharlal Nehru and Late Rajiv Gandhi.

The IYC leader said in his complaint said that Patra in his tweet specifically uses picture with the defamatory statement in Hindi which is as follows: "Agar Corona Virus Congress ke waqt aaya hota: Rs 5,000 crore Mask Ghotala; Rs 7,000 crore Corona Test Kit Ghotala; Rs 20,000 crore Jawahar Sanitizer Ghotala and Rs 26,000 crore Rajiv Gandhi Virus Research Ghotala." He further alleged that Patra has not only used the name of the Congress or its leaders but has used the photograph of two former Prime Ministers in order to defame the party and its leaders.

Srinivas BV in his complaint also said that none of the defamatory content posted by Patra's account is based on facts so as to qualify as a fair comment in the eyes of law.

"The accused has chosen to tweet the picture with the sole intention of defaming the party and its leaders and painting a bad picture of them before the public at large," he said in his complaint letter adding that as the complainant is also a CWC (Congress Working Committee) member, his reputation has also been damaged beyond repair, as a result.

He further said that the alarming and wide scale attack on the party and its leaders is "intentionally" targeted to defame them before the public at large, thereby intentionally creating an unamiable atmosphere.

He said these posts are made without any scruple and thought as to the consequences of such derogatory remarks for the reputation and respect of the leaders amongst the public.

He said that the post is meant to humiliate the Congress and its leaders and to render them an object of contempt, ridicule and hostility by the society does not and cannot promote public good in any manner.

Similarly, knowingly, deliberately and intentionally fabricating stories, spreading lies are acts of falsehood that cannot, by any stretch of imagination, be considered to be in public good and thus I request your good self to take prompt and necessary action by lodging an FIR against the accused under relevant section of the Indian Penal Code, the letter stated.
It was not another cremation that took place at Bidhmira in Hisar district of Haryana when Phooli Devi, 80, was cremated as per her wishes. Being cremated following Hindu rituals would be like going back to where she belonged, said her son Satbir.

With this, about 250 members of 40 Muslim families, all of them related, embraced Hinduism in entirety on Friday. The families are said to have adopted Islam to save themselves from atrocities during the Mughal period of Aurangzeb, Satbir said.

Since Independence, they have been slowly returning to their original faith by adopting Hindu rituals and customs, but only the last rites had remained Islamic, he added.

On Friday, when his mother died a natural death, the family members thought of giving in to her last wish and declaring themselves as Hindus completely. That last straw has been broken now with my mothers cremation. She became the first member in the entire clan to embrace Hinduism fully, he said.

The decision was welcomed with open arms by fellow villagers all of whom joined in the last rites of Phooli Devi.

We celebrated all Hindu festivals and followed all rituals, but only continued to bury our dead. We belong to the Doom caste and all the villagers have supported us in our endeavour. It was only when some one of our own died that we looked different, as otherwise we led a Hindu way of life, Satbir said.

According to a report in Times of India, about 35 Muslim families had earlier converted to Hinduism at Jinds Danoda Kalan village on April 18.
When an Australian woman found a whimpering and injured small animal in her backyard, she assumed it was either a fox or a dog. After he was taken to the vet and got his DNA tested, the cub proved to be a pure-bred dingo.

Such animals are in danger of extinction in the country, and this little one could prove to be an invaluable asset toward a conservation and breeding project.

It was an August day when Jayne Guiney found the little pup as he was hiding in her backyard in Wandiligong, Victoria. I woke up and went outside and heard a whimpering behind the house, I looked up to the back of the house and saw a small animal right on the edge of my three-meter cliff, Guiney recalled, The Dodo reported.

The woman said that as soon as she picked him up, the frightened creature cuddled inside her arms. She presumed he was either a fox or a dog. Due to wounds on the pups back, Guiney believes an eagle or bird of prey might have dropped him where she found him, according to ABC Australia.

After spending a day caring for the little animal, Guiney took him to Alpine Animal Hospital. He was a puppy when he was brought to us, so about eight to ten weeks, veterinarian Dr. Bec Day explained. The resident hadnt heard any [other dingos] calling. So he was just a lonely little soul sitting in a backyard.

In her own words, the vet added that the pup, now named Wandi, was adorable, serious puppy cuteness. Even more outstanding was the fact that when the hospital DNA-tested the baby animal, he turned out to be a pure-breed dingo, which the vet said was incredible.

Wandi had been moved to the Australian Dingo Foundations sanctuary, where he seems to be fitting in perfectly. He even made some friends. Wandi has a little playmate his same age because he has been born at the perfectly right time for dingos in winter, Lyn Watson, director of the foundation, explained.

Kevin Newman, a volunteer with the dingo foundation, said Wandi was showing all the signs of adjusting to his new environment. Sadly, his species seems to have a bit of a bad reputation amongst Australian farmers who seem them as dangerous. Many Australians see them as a threat to agriculture, even though they dont really like sheep as they cant process fat, and they are definitely too small to take on cattle, Newman told The Dodo.

Lyn Watson sits with two dingoes at her Dingo Discovery and Research Centre at the Toolern Vale in rural Victoria. (WILLIAM WEST/AFP via Getty Images)

According to Watson, dingoes are an endangered species in Australia. So not only is the habitat of the alpine dingo dwindling to nothing but our persecution of this animalbecause it sadly looks like a doghas pushed this beautiful alpine dingo very close to extinction, she explained.

Which is why Wandi is such an essential addition to the foundations breeding and conservation program. For us, he is going to be a very valuable little thing, Watson added, depending on his eventual development and the way he continues to get along with everybody else in the sanctuary, he has all of the features we demand before we do breed anything.
Weve been living here for years, May 4

On July 31, 20 artists will be forced to leave their homes at 17 Paton Rd. The tenants have been working hard to save their building and much-needed affordable rental housing in downtown Toronto.

The Parkdale Neighbourhood Land Trust has expressed interest in purchasing the building, but needs additional financial support to make an offer that can compete against large developers with deep pockets.

Why is the local city councillor, Ana Bailao, not going to bat for these residents in her ward to help save this building and affordable housing in her community?

Without some kind of government support, it will inevitably be sold to yet another developer wanting to build more condos.

Is this what we need in the city?
The Government has announced the launch of a 40 million package of supports for community and voluntary organisations, charities and social enterprises.

Mr Michael Ring TD, the Minister for Rural and Community Development and Mr Sean Canney TD, Minister of State with responsibility for Community Development announced the package yesterday, which has been welcomed by the Wheel, the national association of charities, community and voluntary organisations, and social enterprises.

A large number of these organisations are providing critical services to vulnerable individuals and groups in society arising from the Covid-19 crisis. Many of these organisations now find themselves in financial difficulty as fundraising efforts, commercial activities and other services they rely on have been curtailed due to the ongoing crisis.

The 40 million funding package is being made available through the Dormant Accounts Fund, which is specifically set aside to support initiatives which will benefit the most disadvantaged groups in society.

The package will comprise of a 35 million Covid-19 Stability Fund which will provide a level of support to qualifying organisations who are most in need and have seen their trading and/or fundraising income drop significantly during the crisis; and a 5m Government commitment to a Philanthropy Fund which will focus on supporting responses to the Covid-19 crisis that require innovative and adaptive solutions to existing and emerging challenges.

Deirdre Garvey, CEO of The Wheel, said that the announcement is an essential lifeline" for the charity sector. We welcome recognition by Government of the contribution that the sector is playing countrywide in the battle against COVID-19, and the role it will continue to play as our society emerges from the devastation of the pandemic, she added.

She noted that charities and community groups in every part of the country have strongly supported government initiatives during the current emergency and will continue to do so: In tackling the COVID-19 crisis, charities are working alongside statutory bodies and agencies to deliver essential services to the most vulnerable in society, including older people, those with underlying medical conditions, homeless families and those requiring psychological, social and material supports."

The unprecedented mobilization of volunteers and resources to provide these services is being made possible by the expertise and collective effort of our long-existing community, voluntary and charity sector. Surveys conducted by The Wheel over the last few weeks show the significantly increased demand for the work that our sector does in communities and within families. However, this has occurred at a time when charity fundraising and the possibility of earning income through service fees, for example, has been completely decimated, she continued.

Many charities have seen their income collapse, and a shortfall of up to 400 million in generated income is being forecast this year. The funds announced today will go some way to protecting the vital services provided by charities, social enterprises and community & voluntary groups at a time when they are most needed, and we will continue to work with government towards supporting the medium to long term needs of the sector.

In this regard, we note that Minister Ring recognises that significant challenges remain for community and voluntary groups and charities during this time and that government will continue to work closely with the sector in managing through these challenges over the coming months.

I would like to thank Minister Michael Ring and the Department of Rural and Community Development for their ongoing commitment to see a vibrant and sustainable community and voluntary sector in Ireland. The Wheel will continue to work closely with the Government and the Department of Rural and Community Development to further incorporate planning for our sector in ongoing and future strategies and funding mechanisms as we move beyond the peak of this crisis, she concluded.

Speaking about the funding package unveiled today, Minister Ring said:

I am acutely aware of the impact of the current restrictions on the funding of charities, social enterprises and community and voluntary organisations and on the services they deliver to those most in need. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their contribution to the inspiring community response to the current crisis.

This significant funding package for the sector will help to assist these key organisations to weather the crisis and allow them to maintain their valuable services.

Todays announcement shows that Government has heard the concerns of the sector and, despite the significant financial constraints we now face, we have worked creatively to deliver this significant response. The Stability Fund will be administered by Pobal in conjunction with my Department. However, it should be said that while the funding provided will be very welcome, Minister Canney and I recognise that significant challenges remain for community and voluntary groups and charities during this time. Government Departments and Agencies will continue to work closely with the sector in managing through these challenges over the coming months.

Community and voluntary organisations, charities and social enterprises have played a very significant role in supporting vulnerable people in our communities over recent weeks, particularly in the context of the Government Community Call. I would like to commend them on that work, which I know is continuing," he concluded.

This new funding is being provided in addition to the more than 45 million in funding, announced last November, for the Dormant Accounts Action Plan 2020. That funding was allocated for 43 separate measures to be delivered across 9 Government Departments to benefit disadvantaged groups.
JAKARTA, May 8 (Reuters) - An Indonesian court on Friday jailed Emirsyah Satar, a former chief executive of Garuda Indonesia, for bribery and money laundering related to procurement of planes and engines from Airbus and Rolls-Royce, his laywer said. Satar's lawyer Luhut Pangaribuan said his client had been given an eight-year sentence and fined S$2 million ($1.4 million) by the country's corruption court.

Indonesias Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) had indicted Satar, CEO of Garuda from 2005 to 2014, over payments from a businessman via a third party for the procurement by Garuda Indonesia of Roll-Royce Trent 700 engines and Airbus A320 and A330 planes.

The indictment also related to the procurement of Airbus planes for PT Citilink Indonesia, a unit of Garuda.

In 2017 Rolls-Royce agreed to pay authorities more than $800 million to settle charges after an investigation by the U.S. Justice Department and Britains Serious Fraud Office into alleged bribery of officials in six countries in schemes that lasted more than a decade.

Airbus in February this year agreed to pay a record $4 billion in fines after reaching a plea bargain with prosecutors in Britain, France and United States over alleged bribery and corruption stretching back at least 15 years.

Satar, who had previously denied wrongdoing, will decide next week whether to appeal against his sentence, said Pangaribuan. ($1 = 1.4139 Singapore dollars) (Reporting by Agustinus Beo Da Costa Writing by Ed Davies Editing by David Goodman)
A man trying to evade police arrest in Harworth, Nottinghamshire, England, reportedly gave up himself when he farted thereby attractin...





A man trying to evade police arrest in Harworth, Nottinghamshire, England, reportedly gave up himself when he farted thereby attracting the attention of the officers.





The officers from Nottinghamshire police were said to have gone to the mans house to effect his arrest after obtaining a warrant.





But on getting to his residence, the man had fled into into a woodland near Brookside Walk, with the officers launching a manhunt after him.





The officers were said to have lost track of him after chasing him for a while. The search, however, came to a halt when they heard a noise believed to be the sound of someone breaking wind, according to the force spokesman.





The police officers had traced where the noise emanated from and eventually arrested the fleeing man alongside another suspect also found hiding behind a fireplace at the address.





I was almost out of wind running but luckily [the suspect] still had some. I heard him letting rip and followed the noises to a bush, BBC quoted one of the officers to have said.





According Nottinghamshire police, a 35-year-old man was arrested during the search exercise for failing to appear at the court. It added that another 30-year-old man was also arrested in connection to other matters.
Ifeanyi Asiegbuelam, 32, a suspect has narrated how he helped the late billionaire kidnapper, Collins Ezenwa , popularly known as E-Money , to kidnap many rich people from the South-East, especially in Imo and Abia states.

Ifeanyi Asiegbuelam, 32, a suspect has narrated how he helped the late billionaire kidnapper, Collins Ezenwa, popularly known as E-Money, to kidnap many rich people from the South-East, especially in Imo and Abia states.

In January 2018, a dismissed police corporal, Ezenwa was killed in a gun battle with the operatives of the inspector General Of Police Response Team, (IRT) alongside two other gang members after he attempted kidnapping a South-African-based Nigerian businessman in Owerri.

Asiegbuelam , who has been handed over to IRT operatives, claimed he met E-money, five years before he joined the Nigeria Police Force. He said they were both motorcycle operators in Owerri before E-money joined the police.

He said, Few years into the trade, I met E-money in Owerri and he was also an okada rider at the time. E-money and I became very close friends.

We did the job for five years before he joined the police. He asked me to join him but I told him I had no school certificate. He went ahead to join the police and started driving police vehicles around Owerri.

Asiegbuelam said after a while, he stopped seeing E-money in town and that later in 2017, he heard that E-money had travelled out of the country.

He said, But a few weeks later in the same year, he showed up in my house in a dark-tinted Toyota Prado SUV, and there he invited me to join his kidnapping enterprise. On the first operation I went with him, we drove to Okigwe, where we kidnapped a man in his car.

We accosted the vehicle and dragged the man out of the vehicle and took him into our own vehicle; then we zoomed off. E-money then asked me to blindfold the victim and when we got close to my town, E-money asked to come down from his SUV and he gave me N50,000. I didnt question him and he drove the man away. I didnt know where he took the man to, number of days the man spent with him, how he negotiated and collected his ransom.

Asiegbuelam said he escaped to a bush on the day E-money was killed by the police, adding that he stayed in Owerri for two months after the incident.

After the death of Ezenwa, more than 13 buildings including a hotel, belonging to him were reportedly traced by operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team to Abia, Imo and Enugu states, while seven cars, two SUVs, one Hilux truck, a commercial bus, two tipper-lorries and a trailer belonging to him were also recovered from several locations within the South-East.
An Indian teenager here has recorded songs in over 20 languages, including Arabic, to spread awareness on the COVID-19, saying music has always been her choice for effective communication, according to a media report on Saturday.

Suchetha Satish's songs advise the people to keep distance, maintain cleanliness and practice hand washing regularly, the Khaleej Times reported on Saturday.

Satish, who hails from Kerala, released her first coronavirus awareness song on March 16 in English, titled 'Say No To Panic', the daily reported.

Since then, 14-year-old Satish, who holds the world record for singing in most number of languages in a concert, has recorded the awareness songs in Malayalam, Bengali, Arabic, Kannada, Tulu, Konkani, Marathi, Gujrati, Rajasthani, Sindhi, Himachali, Odiya, Manipuri, Nepali, Urdu, Punjabi, Bhojpuri, Telugu, Kashmiri and Sanskrit.

Her songs in Malayalam, Hindi, Bengali, Tamil and Assamese were used by the Kerala government in its 'Break the Chain' campaign, the newspaper reported.

Satish, who also holds the world record for the longest live concert by a child, calls herself a COVID-19 warrior.

"Music has always been my language of effective communication. With help from my mother Sumitha, I did the lyrics and composed the whole song. My mum helped me with the editing of the video. I took inputs from my father to give authentic information and thus the song was made. The recording was done in my home studio," said Satish, a standard X student of Dubai Indian High School.

The lyrics for the songs were penned by her mother, the music was composed by Prashanti Chopra and the orchestration by Denzil Tom, her father told the newspaper.

Emirati poet Dr Shihab Ghanem translated the lyrics in Arabic. She said the entire process of making the song took about four days.

She said one of the first few songs on COIVD-19 was recorded in Malayalam, which was well appreciated. This inspired her to record the song in other Indian languages.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Jeremy Corbyn's conspiracy theorist brother was issued a penalty notice today after he left isolation to appear at an anti-lockdown protest in Central London - the second time police have fined him since the pandemic-preventing measures were introduced.

Piers Corbyn, 73, called the fine an 'abomination' and an 'attack on human rights' after he refused on numerous occasions to heed the police's polite requests outside St Thomas's Hospital in Central London today.

His fellow protesters called for the arrest of Bill Gates and chanted 'we want freedom' as they angrily marched along the Thames.

Piers, who was carrying a sign with the slogan 'end lockdown now', said: 'I'm here today to support the protests to end the lockdown, now. And allow the NHS to save the people it's currently being prevented from saving.'

He then goes on to say that the 'lockdown is killing more people than it's saving'.

Pictured: Piers Corbyn, left, can be seen arguing with a police officer after he was caught outside during lockdown in Central London today

A police officer asks him what he's doing outside and he begins to rant about the warrants of protesting, saying the police 'should' also be protesting the 'undemocratic lockdown'.

The police politely ask Piers to leave the area, reminding him that lockdown means he shouldn't even be outside his home.

After he defies their request he goes on to pick up a placard and the police issue him with the fixed penalty notice.

When asked how he felt about the fine, Piers said: 'Well, it's an abomination and an attack on human rights.'

'This thing is aimed at preventing freedom of association.'

After Piers refuses to leave, the police issue him with a penalty fine notice in Central London today

Pictured: Police tell Piers they don't want to have to take him in to custody after he repeatedly refused to leave the area outside St Thomas's today

'You see it's not affecting peoples' health either way this thing. In Sweden, they didn't have a lockdown and they didn't get much Covid. Y'know, we know it's about something else.'

The police then come and tell him to move again for speaking to the media, which he says he can do because of 'freedom of expression'.

The officer advises him to move on before he is arrested, and he leaves.

This is the second time Piers has been in trouble with the police for being outside during lockdown.

During a 40-person strong protest in the centre of Glastonbury, Somerset last Sunday, Piers touted chloroquine - an anti-malaria drug backed by Donald Trump - as a Covid-19 cure.

Piers was filmed saying: 'In all probability no one has died of this virus alone, because it is curable. You can cure it by chloroquine.

'The drug companies are suppressing this information because they want to impose on us all a vaccine and force people to take a vaccine, which is against human rights.'

Immediately after the comments an incredulous cameraman at the scene told Mr Corbyn youre talking f****** s***,' adding: you are spreading that.

Jeremy Corbyn's conspiracy theorist brother Piers Corbyn (pictured) spearheaded an anti-lockdown protest in Glastonbury, Somerset, on Sunday

Mr Corbyn, 73, was seen carrying a sign which included the slogan 'end lockdown now' during the 40 person strong protest

Donald Trump hailed the anti-malaria drug as a 'game changer,' last month as White House aides led a huge push to push it as a treatment for coronanvirus.

Results of a New York state Health Department trial suggest patients treated with hydroxychloroquine are no better off than those who don't receive it.

Police were forced to break up the protest and say two men have been arrested, and since released under investigation, while three others were slapped with fixed penalty notices.

Two men were arrested and three were handed fixed penalty notices by officers, Avon and Somerset police say

Video filmed by a fellow protester shows several police officers telling the crowd to disperse, warning them they are 'in contravention of the regulations'.

Mr Corbyn was filmed giving his name, address and date of birth to an officer, who advised him of his rights before issuing him with a fixed penalty notice in the post.

He announces: 'I do not recognise this walking regulation, or this anti-association regulation. I believe it is illegal and unlawful and I believe the whole operation of lockdown is actually against natural justice and also was enacted unlawfully."

The officer responds: 'What I'd like you to do now is I'd like you to leave the area, please. Thank you very much.'

As Mr Corbyn turns to walk away, one of his followers asks 'Did you get a ticket, Piers?' He replies 'yes' and is told: 'Well done, man.'

It is the third demonstration Mr Corbyn, whose brother is former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, has spearheaded in a matter of weeks. Pictured: Police speak to a man at the protest

Mr Corbyn later posed for a selfie with a bystander who was wearing a dust mask.

It is the third demonstration the weather forecaster, whose brother is former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, has spearheaded in a matter of weeks.

At a previous demonstration, videos showed Piers Corbyn giving a speech claiming there was no pandemic.

So far there have been almost 250,000 coronavirus deaths recorded worldwide, including more than 28,000 in the UK, while there have been more than 3.5million recorded cases across the planet.

At previous demonstrations, Mr Corbyn also claimed that the government's rules to keep two metres apart from others was to allow GPS and 5G satellites to more easily identify individuals.

At a previous demonstration (pictured), videos showed Piers Corbyn (right) giving a speech claiming there was no pandemic.

In the previous demonstrations he has claimed vaccinations for coronavirus will be used to injected Britons with microchips, according to the Sun.

During his speech at a previous demonstration, Mr Corbyn can be heard saying: 'We all know the lockdown has failed us. It has caused misery.

'We know there is no pandemic...We'll have more deaths from loneliness, suicide and people being kept out of hospital.'

Piers Corbyn is the brother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (pictured)

The latest demonstration spearheaded by Piers Corbyn was broken up by police on Sunday.

In a post on Twitter, Avon and Somerset police said: 'Officers have dispersed the small protest in Glastonbury which took place at lunchtime today.

'Two men have been arrested and taken into custody and three further people have been given fixed penalty notices, all under COVID-19 legislation.'

Public gatherings are banned under the current lockdown measures, introduced in March as a way to slow the spread of coronavirus.

Mr Corbyn hit headlines in April last year, while brother Jeremy was still Labour leader, when he called Greta Thunberg an 'ignorant, brainwashed child'.

Mr Corbyn tweeted an image of the 17-year-old, who is from Sweden, alongside a swastika.

It came a day after brother Jeremy had met Ms Thunberg in London as she showed her support for climate change group Extinction Rebellion.

The then-Labour leader later described the meeting as 'absolutely fascinating', saying they had discussed issues around pollution, emissions and agriculture.
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has disclosed that one of the two cases that absconded before they could be treated for coronavirus is a 10-year-old boy.

According to him, the boy and one other escaped before being admitted to the isolation centre.

We also have a further update on the two absconded cases reported earlier today. They absconded before being admitted to any of our isolation centres.

After intensive contact tracing, one of them has been found and admitted to the Infectious Diseases Centre, Olodo, Ibadan.



The other is a 10-year-old boy who, eyewitnesses claimed, boarded a north-bound vehicle. His details had been sent to the Sokoto State PHEOC. Contact tracing is still ongoing.

Meanwhile, the Oyo State COVID-19 Task Force has confirmed eight new COVID-19 positive cases in the state. This brings the number of positive cases in the state to 52.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
Thirty more Border Security Force personnel, including two posted at its headquarters in Delhi, have tested positive for COVID-19, taking the overall infections in the force to 223, officials said on Friday.

The border guarding force has the maximum confirmed cases of the disease among the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), also known as paramilitary forces.

The CAPFs have over 500 active COVID-19 cases at present.

"Thirty new cases of COVID-19 (six from Delhi and 24 from Tripura) have been reported from different establishments. All of them are under the best available medical care at AIIMS-Jhajjar and G B Pant Hospital, Agartala," BSF spokesperson Shubhendu Bhardwaj said in a statement.

Out of the six fresh cases from Delhi, two were posted at the BSF's headquarters in the national capital and four were posted at other units in the city.

One more floor in the eight-storeyed headquarters of the force in CGO complex on the Lodhi Road has been shut, the officials said.

Two other floors were sealed earlier after a personal staff of an additional director general (ADG) rank officer and a head constable posted in the personnel affairs wing tested positive for coronavirus, they said.

An assistant sub inspector rank officer, also working at the head office, had succumbed to the disease recently.

The officials expressed concern over the increasing number of COVID-19 cases at the forces' headquarters, which is functioning on a reduced strength.

The total number of cases in the BSF now stands at 223. Two jawans have recovered, while two have died.

Among the infected cases, over 80 per cent of the BSF troops of a company deployed in Jamia and Chandni Mahal areas of the national capital have tested positive for the dreaded virus till now.

Out of the 94 personnel in that company, more than 75 have contracted the infection, a senior official said.

The other major cases are from a single BSF unit based in Tripura.

"All instructions and directions of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare are being strictly followed. Frequencies of sanitisation efforts of workplaces/barracks have been increased," the spokesperson said.

"In addition to existing apparatus of sanitisation, water cannons are being used for quick disinfection of buildings and establishments, and BSF personnel are being repeatedly sensitized to firmly adhere to preventive measures," he added.
Days after Hizbul Mujahideen chief Riyaz Naikoo was killed in an encounter in Kashmir, a video of the outfits supreme commander Syed Salahuddin has surfaced on the internet where he appears disturbed over security forces eliminating terrors foot soldiers.

Salahuddin also heads the United Jihad Council, a Pakistan-based conglomeration of various terror groups sponsored by Pakistans ISI.

In the 52-second video, Salahuddin is seen addressing a thinly attended condolence meet somewhere in Pakistan.

Watch | Hizbul Mujahideen chief holds condolence meet for terrorist Riyaz Naikoo

Speaking Urdu with a Kashmiri accent, he could be heard saying, Its a shock for all of us (killing of Riyaz Naikoo) but these shahadats (sacrifices) are going on in Kashmir since long. Since January this year, 80 Mujahideens (terrorists) have given their Shahadat (eliminated by the security forces) and all of them were highly educated and trained.

He continued, Mujahideens (terrorists) also broke the back of enemy (security forces) in Handwara Rajwar recently but the enemy (India) has the upper edge.

Hindustan Times cannot vouch for the veracity of the video.

A day after security forces eliminated Naikoo in a joint operation, Salahuddin had said the sacrifice would help them achieve the mission that they had set out to achieve.

Naikoo along with his associate Adil Ahmed were killed in Wednesdays operation carried out by Jammu and Kashmir police and troopers from the 21 Rashtriya Rifles.

A top army officer said that despite losing eight men in two encounters recently in Handwara, security forces have maintained a constant pressure on the militants across Kashmir.

We are already into hot pursuit mode, he added.

Security forces suspect that there are nearly 250 militants including 100 Pakistanis who are active in Kashmir.
Press Release

May 8, 2020 Pilot testing of "Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa Program" underway; Bong Go emphasizes importance of readiness of LGUs to support the program Senator Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go commended concerned national agencies and local government units for their preparations for the implementation of the Balik Probinsya Bagong Pag-asa Program. He said that through the efforts of these agencies and local government units, the Balik Probinsya Program can be ready for its pilot testing. He stressed that the BPP is an important initiative as the country prepares itself for the "new normal" after the country overcomes the COVID-19 pandemic. The Senator said that the BPP is being prioritized after President Rodrigo Duterte signed Executive Order 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 instructs concerned agencies to prepare and implement the "Balik Probinsya" program. "Ngayon ay isa sa priorities na ang BPP, natutuwa ako na may mga provinces na po na nagsabing handa na para sa pilot testing. May na-identify na rin daw ang Department of Social Welfare and Development na around 3,000 individuals na pasok sa basic criteria ng programa," Go said. Senator Go was informed by National Housing Authority General Manager Jun Escalada and Mindanao Development Authority Secretary Manny Pinol that six provinces are ready to participate in the testing phase. These provinces who have expressed their readiness include Leyte, Zamboanga del Norte, Lanao del Norte, Bukidnon, North Cotabato, and Camarines Sur. "Nagpapasalamat ako sa mga gobernador ng mga probinsya sa paghanda ng kanilang mga lugar upang magtanggap ng kanilang mga kababayan na gusto nang umuwi. Ang mga ahensya ng gobyerno ay nakikipag-coordinate sa LGUs para malatag na ang mga protocols at proseso sa pagbalik nila," Go said. According to the DSWD, the agency has identified more than 3,000 individuals living in Metro Manila who want to go home to their respective provinces. The agency added that workers stranded in Metro Manila will also be assisted for their return to their home provinces. "Para sa mga gustong umuwi na ngayon, may nakahanda nang protocols daw ang gobyerno para siguraduhin na ligtas ang pagbyahe at hindi ito magdudulot ng lalong pagkalat ng sakit. May transportation assistance at transitory package na ipapamahagi," Go said, reiterating that agencies will conduct necessary quarantine measures, COVID-19 testing and health certifications prior to travel of these identified individuals and families. The DSWD will be doing a rapid assessment of these individuals as they make travel arrangements and provide transportation, transitory assistance packages as well as livelihood assistance upon their return to the region. "Doon sa mga identified individuals natin, i-verify ng DSWD kung taga saan sila originally para mabigyan agad ng tulong at makakauwi na sila," Go said, adding that national agencies will check the readiness of provinces to accept the returnees. In an online interview with Anthony Taberna, on May 7, Thursday, Senator Go said that it is important for local governments to be fully prepared to accept returning locals. Go also said that he was pleased that more provinces expressed their interest in joining the pilot testing and were offering resources, such as land and organic farming to complement the BPP's sustainable livelihood and housing components. "Marami pa pong probinsya ang gustong sumali sa pilot testing. Hindi lang ito national government. Dapat 'yung local government maghanda rin sila," Go said. "Mabuti na merong BPP para malaman ng ating mga mamamayan na may tulong ang pamahalaan sa kanila para maayos ang kanilang pagbalik at makapagsimula sila ng maayos at mas mabuting buhay," he added. Based on a virtual meeting conducted this Friday, the DSWD will extend help to identified beneficiary families by providing transportation assistance, food packs, hygiene kits, family kits, and other non-food items for the immediate phase of the program. The Department of Labor and Employment will also aid grantees through the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged or Displaced Workers Program and Government Internship Program or TUPAD-GIP to help those who have lost their jobs upon their return to their provinces. DOLE will also be conducting job fairs to match individuals with potential employers. The Department of Trade and Industry will continue generating businesses and employment opportunities in the countryside. DTI's Negosyo sa Barangay will assist grantees in setting up and sustaining their own businesses in their respective hometowns. The National Housing Authority and the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development will soon be working out a housing development plan to create affordable housing for the beneficiaries. "Lahat ng agencies po mag-aalign ng kanilang mga programs, activities and projects na pwedeng makatulong sa mga kababayan nating nais umuwi at para rin ma-encourage ang iba na mag-relocate sa mga probinsya sa tamang panahon," Go said. "Right now, our priority is to address and overcome this health crisis first. Kino-complement ng BPP ang ating mga existing health measures upang labanan ang COVID-19 para sa future, mas empowered ang ating bansa, lalo na ang mga probinsya, pagdating sa paglutas ng mga problema tulad ng pandemic at mas maging handa sa anumang krisis na darating," he added. According to NHA GM Jun Escalada, those who wish to avail of the program may already apply online through the official website of the program (balikprobinsya.ph). In the website, applicants can fill up the form which will inquire about their personal details, technical skills, and their intended provincial destination. Filipinos may also manually sign application forms to be distributed throughout Metro Manila, or through an SMS system that is being set up by the Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa inter-agency council.
Toxic soil dug up to make way for the West Gate Tunnel will likely be dumped 400 metres away from Bob and Christine Levys bedroom window.

The couple lives in Maddingley, west of Melbourne, right by the Maddingley Brown Coal landfill site. They are deeply concerned about tip's plans to receive 1.2 million cubic metres of soil from the West Gate Tunnel project, including material contaminated with potential carcinogens, PFAS.

Bob and Christine Levy live very close to Maddingley Brown Coal, a landfill where soil contaminated with PFAS from the West Gate Tunnel will likely get dumped. Credit:Jason South

A special-use zone applied to their property about 20 years ago to protect the coal mine already limits how they can develop their land, and they fear the value of their property will nosedive if the dump takes the toll road's contaminated soil.

"The reduction in the value of our property has made our life difficult," Mr Levy said. "The banks are hesitant to loan on properties in this zone ... this is only going to make it worse."
TOKYO  To explain the pressure felt by women in Japanese society, the novelist Mieko Kawakami recalls a playground prank from elementary school.

The boys would run around and flip up the skirts of certain girls to catch a glimpse of their underwear. That was mortifying enough. Yet it was just as shameful for the girls whose skirts didnt get flipped.

It meant you werent popular, said Kawakami, 43, the author of Breasts and Eggs, a best-selling novel in Japan that was published in English in April. Its a humiliation among women not to be desired by men. Thats a very strong code in Japanese society.

Its a code she knows well, but one that she  and her characters  have gone about transcending. Breasts and Eggs, which won one of Japans most coveted literary prizes in 2008, helped establish her as one of the countrys brightest young stars.
In February 1995, President Mary Robinson exercised her constitutional right to address both Houses of the Oireachtas on "a matter of national or public importance". The title of her speech was 'Cherishing the Irish Diaspora', which some advisers in Aras an Uachtarain thought sounded too obscure. "I sounded out my father," Robinson recalled in her autobiography Everybody Matters. "'Definitely use the word diaspora Mary,' he said, 'the Irish love new words'."

A quarter of a century later, it's clear that Dr Aubrey Bourke's judgement was right. The Irish diaspora is now widely recognised as a constituency of about 70 million people to be honoured, memorialised and occasionally milked for hard cash. Leo Varadkar did his career no harm at all when, as Minister for Tourism, he invited anyone with Irish ancestry home for The Gathering in 2013 - even if the actor Gabriel Byrne dubbed the initiative "a scam" and "a shakedown". As John Gibney writes in his introduction to this impressively diverse collection of essays first published in History Ireland magazine, Irish people have been leaving these shores ever since boats were invented. To quote just some of the more startling statistics, about eight million departed between the Act of Union in 1801 and the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921.

When Queen Victoria came to the throne, almost 43pc of her army was Irish, while by the end of the Great Famine, New York had more Irish residents than Dublin. Independence did not stem the tide and in 1931 one out of every four people born here was living abroad.

"There are as many reasons for emigrating as there are emigrants," Gibney argues, something borne out by the sheer variety of subjects here. He includes articles about Irish people who went away to join monasteries, set up farms and become international slave traders. Some fought in South America's wars of independence, others signed up for the French Foreign Legion. Most readers will be familiar with the Fenian leaders exiled in the United States, but how many of us knew that the Orange Order founded several branches in west Africa that survive to this day?

"To be born English," the imperialist Cecil Rhodes once declared, "is to win first prize in the lottery of life." Sadly, these historical sketches show that the Irish have often been regarded very differently. At a 1617 military procession in Stuttgart, the actors playing Irish soldiers were dressed to reflect what Hiram Morgan calls our alleged "penchant for violence, incivility and popery". Reviewing the works of trainee priests at Irish colleges in 17th century Spain, Oscar Recio Morales notes: "[They] attempted to erase a negative image promoted by English chroniclers of an isolated island occupied by 'savages'."

Edmundo Murray's piece on Latin America notes that Irish railroad workers were condemned by the Cuban royal council in 1835 as "worthless, lazy, disease-ridden drunkards".

Emigrants often sent back advice to anyone thinking of following in their footsteps. Kerby A Miller details the career of Reverend James MacSparran, a Derry-born clergyman who wrote three letters home from Rhode Island in 1752 that were later published as an effective guidebook. The Irish were "less esteemed than they ought to be", he warned".

John Dunlap, however, a Co Tyrone man who became famous for printing the United States' Declaration of Independence in 1776, had no such qualms. "The young men of Ireland who wish to be free and happy should leave it and come here as quick as possible," he declared. "There is no place in the world where a man meets so rich a reward for good conduct and industry as in America."

Two chapters concern republicans who decided to strike a blow for Irish freedom in Canada. Two years after the 1798 Rebellion, a group of about 80 British army soldiers joined the United Irishmen and staged a mutiny in Newfoundland - a place so Irish that the Colonial Office dubbed it "a Transatlantic Tipperary". As recounted by Aidan O'Hara, the uprising failed and eight prisoners were hanged, including one called Garret Fitzgerald (apparently no relation to the late Taoiseach).

Undaunted, a Fenian faction of roughly 600 Irish veterans from the US Civil War calling themselves the 'Right wing IRA' invaded Canada in 1866. "For the first time in well-nigh 70 years," The Nation newspaper crowed back in Dublin, "the red flag of England has gone down before the Irish green." Once again, such celebrations were wildly premature, partly because as David A Wilson explains, the Washington government offered no support at all.

Video of the Day

In fact, Irish nationalists have constantly felt let down by their sentimental but ineffectual relations Stateside, with Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington once complaining: "The Irish (mainly comfortable, elderly gentlemen) come and talk about old times and the days of the Kerry dances but the moment I talk about 1918 and what could be done now, they close up!"

Like many academic books, The Irish Diaspora is full of interesting information presented in dull and lifeless prose. Still, it's an erudite and eye-opening anthology that perfectly illustrates a line from Mary Robinson's groundbreaking speech: "We cannot want a complex present and still yearn for a simple past."
China urged to expand nuclear arsenal to deter US warmongers

Global Times

By Liu Xuanzun Source:Global Times Published: 2020/5/8 16:23:40

Nuke-equipped bomber and missile development important to safeguard national security: experts

Facing rising strategic threats from the US, China needs to increase its number of nuclear warheads and complete a technologically advanced nuclear triad by developing the H-20 strategic stealth bomber and JL-3 submarine-launched ballistic missiles to deter potential impulsive military action by US warmongers, experts said on Friday.

Having a nuclear arsenal appropriate to China's position will help establish a more stable and peaceful world order, which will be beneficial for the whole world, they said.

This year, the US has been applying amplified military pressure on China, sending all manner of warships and warplanes at an increasing frequency to areas including the South China Sea, East China Sea and Taiwan Straits.

The Pentagon is also planning to deploy ground-launched Tomahawk cruise missile installations to the first island chain to contain China's military development, which would not have been possible had the US not quit the INF Treaty, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Since May 1, the US has sent B-1B strategic bombers to the East China Sea on at least three occasions, edging near the island of Taiwan.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt nuclear-powered aircraft carrier strike group and the USS America amphibious assault ship carried out exercises on March 15 in the South China Sea. After COVID-19 broke out on the aircraft carrier, even more frequent military provocations were made by the US in an attempt to show the US' military strength had not been hindered.

Making matters worse, the US has been advocating the development and actual use of low-yield nuclear weapons, claiming they are "safer" than more destructive ones.

Chinese military experts urged the country to expand its nuclear arsenal to deter the US from its ambition to contain China through military means and dispel thoughts of irrational military action by US warmongers.

China needs to expand the number of its nuclear warheads to 1,000 in a relatively short time and have at least 100 DF-41 strategic missiles to curb US strategic ambitions and impulses toward China, said Global Times Editor-in-Chief Hu Xijin on Friday.

Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Friday that the US is pressuring and threatening China in all fields. Since the US no longer sees nuclear weapons as a mere deterrence - now viewing them as deployable on the battlefield - China will have to expand its nuclear arsenal in response to this huge threat.

When asked to comment on whether China will build more nuclear warheads and DF-41 missiles and if China will join an arms treaty with the US, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a regular press conference on Friday that major countries should have prioritized responsibility and an obligation to reduce strategic nuclear weapons.

China always operates under a "no first use" policy when it comes to nuclear weapons, and China's related policy is moderate and responsible, Hua said.

China views nuclear weapons only as a strategic deterrence, but any deterrence needs to be strong enough to halt military aggression toward China, analysts said. If a nuclear weapon is dropped on China, Chinese nuclear weapons must be sufficient to wipe out the enemy in retaliation, experts said.

China revealed its most advanced nuclear weapon at the National Day military parade held in Beijing on October 1, 2019. The road-launched DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is capable of striking the US homeland with multiple nuclear warheads.

China is reportedly testing the JL-3 nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) and developing the Type 096 nuclear-powered strategic submarine to launch the missile. Also in development is the H-20 strategic stealth bomber, comparable to the US' B-2.

Beijing-based military expert Wei Dongxu told the Global Times on Friday that China's next-generation SLBM will have a longer range and carry more nuclear warheads, providing more powerful deterrent and counterattack capabilities. The rumored H-20 bomber can carry both nuclear and conventional weapons, fly across continents and conduct strategic deterrent missions, making it a trump card for the Chinese Air Force.

Song said the complete development of a nuclear triad - nuclear weapon launch capabilities from sea, land and air - is necessary for China as the US' strategic weapons are a threat to China, and China needs to continuously upgrade its nuclear arsenal.

Military experts said that it is possible that China and the US might engage in a regional conflict.

For instance, this may become a reality if the US continues to challenge China's bottom line on the Taiwan question, Song said, noting that China must keep its bottom lines on its core interests. The source of China-US confrontation would come from the US' continued provocation using China's core interests, he said.

Developing nuclear weapons can deter wars, but they can also be used in wars, and this is why future conflict can be unpredictable, Song said.

China has held only a small number of nuclear weapons, far fewer than the US in both quantity and quality, but the US is asking China to join strategic arms reduction talks. That is a treaty China will not join unless it comes into possession of the same level of nuclear weapons as the US, Song said.

China has no intention of launching a nuclear arms race with the US, but moderately expanding its nuclear arsenal in both quantity and quality is in line with the demands of national security, Song said.

Wei said, "China's development of new strategic weapons does not mean it will actively attack or threaten any country. Instead, it wants to increase its own strategic defense capabilities, deterring other major powers from taking reckless action."

China, as a responsible major country in the world, should have nuclear deterrence capabilities appropriate to its position and strategic interests, Wei asserted.

China's upgrading of its nuclear weapons will also contribute to the establishment of a new strategic balance, Wei said, noting that if China has stronger strategic deterrence capabilities, countries that tend to wage wars will be less likely to start one. "This will be good for the whole world," he said.

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Linkedin Dyaning Pangestika (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 9, 2020 12:30 620 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd6e6781 1 National sexual-abuse-on-campus,Indonesia,UII,University-of-Melbourne,Australian-Awards-Scholarship,Ibrahim-Malik,Ibrahim-Malik-UII,DFAT Free

Activists have put pressure on the Australian government and the University of Melbourne to revoke a prestigious scholarship awarded to Ibrahim Malik, a high-achieving Indonesian student who has been accused of sexual abuse.

At least 30 female students from the Indonesian Islamic University (UII), where Ibrahim completed his undergraduate degree, have come forward to report him to the Yogyakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Yogyakarta) for alleged sexual abuse.

A petition on change.org, created on Thursday by four Indonesian recipients of the Australia Awards scholarship  the scholarship on which Ibrahim is currently studying in Melbourne  had garnered 4,700 signatures as of Saturday. "We ask the Australia Awards Scholarship to have zero tolerance for sexual abusers by revoking the perpetrator's scholarship," the petition said. It added that sexual abuse was not in line with the values of Australias Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which was committed to preventing sexual exploitation, sexual harassment and violence.

The creators of the petition said the accused had been studying for a master's degree in urban planning at the University of Melbourne since 2018. The perpetrator is a high-achieving student and was selected for the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative [YSEALI]. He had a pious image, gave motivational speeches at many events and delivered sermons in mosques. He was also referred to as an ustaz [cleric].

The students alleged that Ibrahim had committed acts of sexual violence, including verbal harassment and forced sexual acts, during his time as a student at UII. He allegedly continued his actions while he was studying in Australia on the Australia Awards scholarship.

The survivors reported that they experienced sexual abuse between 2016 and 2020, said LBH Yogyakarta deputy director Meila Nurul Fajriah on Wednesday.

Fajriah said the victims did not report the abuse immediately because the accused was a popular student at UII.

Read also: High-achieving student to be stripped of honors after 30 women report him for alleged sexual abuse

Ibrahim responded to the accusations on Instagram on April 29, saying he had been wrongly accused and that he forgave those who accused him.

Ibrahim, who was granted an honorary title by UII for his academic achievements, will be stripped of the accolade as a result of the allegations, a UII spokesperson said on Wednesday.

A spokesman from the Australian Embassy said the embassy had been notified of Ibrahims alleged sexual misconduct.

We are aware of allegations of sexual misconduct by an Australia Awards scholar. The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and its programs have a zero-tolerance approach to sexual misconduct claims, he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

We take all allegations of this nature seriously and manage them in accordance with our policies and Australian law, he continued, adding that the embassy was unable to provide further details because of privacy constraints.

The Australia Awards Scholarship also replied to The Jakarta Posts request for comment.

"The Australia Awards in Indonesia, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the University of Melbourne are fully aware of the allegations against Ibrahim Malik. All further action relating to this matter will be taken by the University of Melbourne and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on behalf of the Australian Government as sponsor of Mr. Maliks Australia Awards scholarship," the Australia Global Alumni team in Indonesia said on Thursday.
Schools in western Quebec are getting ready to welcome students back next week, but things will look a lot different  and classrooms will likely be far from full.

It's estimated that 60 per cent of the province's students will return May 11, according to the Quebec Federation of Educational Establishment Administrators.

Numbers in the Outaouais, however, are expected to be lower than that.

In the French-language schools, between 35 and 50 per cent of students will likely return depending on the board, according to numbers compiled by Radio-Canada.

Registration data from the English-language Western Quebec School Board, meanwhile, shows that 14.3 per cent of their elementary students will be returning when schools open Tuesday.

Letha Henry

Taped-out areas

Quebec's Ministry of Education is requiring schools to limit classrooms to 15 students at a time and to keep students two metres apart from each other.

For Letha Henry, who teaches Grades 1 and 2 at Queen Elizabeth Elementary School in Kazabazua, Que., that's meant taping out an area on the floor for each child that will contain their desk and all their personal belongings.

[We've] needed to really shift our thinking. - Letha Henry, teacher

Common spaces and outdoor time will also be restricted, Henry said, and staff at her school are still working out how to best conduct play and exercise time.

"[We've] needed to really shift our thinking and understand the requirements set up for us, and then do our best to make them happen,' Henry said.

Henry thinks the low registration numbers will make the transition more manageable. But if more parents eventually decide to send their children back, it may be difficult to figure out where to put them.

"That's something that we'll have to work toward," Henry said. "With the current spacing requirements at 100 per cent capacity, it would be tricky."

Jean Delisle/CBC

Buses ready to roll

Also tricky: how to fit students on school buses.

Story continues

Chez Autobus Campeau, the transportation company that runs school buses throughout western Quebec, is prepared to welcome students on board  if they stay one to a seat, and leave an empty seat between them.

Older students will be responsible for enforcing the rules, the company said.

Children will also have to get used to seeing their driver seated behind a plastic shield, wearing goggles and gloves.

"For drivers, that's a big change. Because when the children come to the bus, they say 'Hi', and they are happy to see the drivers. And now that's different." said Martine Poirier, administrator for the transportation company.

WATCH: Here's how one Gatineau school bus company is getting ready to transport students again

The company offered a bonus to compete with the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), and Poirier said 40 of their 100 drivers have decided to come back to work.

Instead of getting $500 through CERB, drivers will get $680 per week, plus vacation pay.
- Tomas Carlovic was attacked by a thug who made away with his bike

- Diego Maradona has paid tributes to the late player

- Carlovich died at the age of 74 after slipping into a coma due to the attack

Argentine legend Tomas Carlovich tragically passed away on Friday May 8 after suffering an attack from a thug.

Carlovich died from the complications barely 48 hours after the attack which occurred in Sante Fe, New Mexico.

READ ALSO: Liverpool return to training as they aim to wrap-up first-ever league title

READ ALSO: Barcelona set to make first major signing as Juventus star agrees to join club

Prior to his death, the 74-year-old was a friend to the legendary Diego Maradona.

READ ALSO: Juventus striker Dybala admits he wants to reunite with Paul Pogba

Maradona took to Instagram to mourn the Carlovich who he descried as a humble chap.

"With your humility you danced us all, Trinche, Maradona wrote on his Instagram handle with a picture of the former player. I can't believe it, I met you a while ago, and you're gone. My deepest condolences to your family and I hope justice is done. May you rest in peace, master."

READ ALSO: Hilarious moment as Premier League title winners wife interrupts hubbys live interview

READ ALSO: Fateme Hamami: Iranian artist paints portrait of Lionel Messi using her toes

Maradona who openly claimed Carlovich was a better player than him reportedly gave the 74-year-old a signed Gimnasia shirt.

"He started speaking into my ear and wouldn't stop. He even signed a shirt for me and wrote, 'Trinche, you were better than me'. The only thing I could answer was 'Diego, now I can leave this world in peace, you were the greatest I ever saw in my lifetime'." Carlovich told reporters one time after meeting with Maradona.

READ ALSO: Teams now allowed 5 substitutions as FIFA proposal accepted by IFAB

Carlovich only played a handful of games in Argentina's top division, but it was not his ability that held him back.

As a central midfielder he featured for local Argentina clubs including Rosario Central, Flandria, Independente Rivadavia, Central Cordoba during his career.

He was a player in which Maradona regarded as the best in the world during his playing days.

Following his move to Newell's in 1993, Maradona was asked by reporters what it felt like to be the best player in the world.

The former Napoli star replied: "The best player in the world has already played in Rosario, his name was Carlovich."

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

Eastleigh residents' plea to Uhuru | Tuko TV(opens in new tab):

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Shah writes to Mamata, says Bengal not allowing trains with migrants

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 09: Union Home Minister, Amit Shah has written to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urging her to allow trains with migrants to reach the state.

Shah in his letter pointed out that Bengal was not allowing the entry of trains with migrants into the state.

While Mamata Banerjee had said that she would initiate all help to bring back people Bengal who are stuck in different parts of the country, in reality, many continue to remain stuck.

In Haryana, scores of migrants register to return

Following the April 29 order of the Government of India, which allowed states to take back their migrants, Bengal has done little to abide by the order in letter and spirit. While 100s of trains are running across the country, carrying migrants, in Bengal until Thursday only two trains with around 2,500 migrants had arrived. Both these trains were run based on the request of the origin states, Kerala and Rajasthan.

On May 4, Karnataka had complained that Bengal was refusing to give consent for trains.

A similar complaint was made by Maharashtra on May 6. States cannot send trains unless the other state agrees.
Delhis ruling Aam Aadmi Party lawmaker Prakash Jarwal and his aide, Kapil Nagar, were arrested on Saturday in connection with a case of alleged extortion and abetment to suicide of a 52-year-old doctor last month. A Delhi court had issued non-bailable warrants against the two on Friday.

After questioning, Prakash Jarwal and Kapil Nagar have been arrested in the case, said deputy police commissioner (south) Atul Kumar Thakur.

A case was registered against the two after the doctors son blamed them for his fathers death on April 18. The doctor also supplied water tankers to the Delhi Jal Board. The family had accused Jarwal of extortion, an allegation denied by the MLA.

A police officer said notices were sent to Jarwal and Nagar to join the investigation. But they never turned up. Jarwals lawyer Mohammad Irshaad had applied for an anticipatory bail. Later he said his client was arrested when he went for routine questioning. We will move court for a regular bail on Monday, he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 21:39:29|Editor: huaxia

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Su-25 attack aircraft are seen during the Victory Day Air Parade in Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2020. (Xinhua/Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr)



Putin promised to hold a "broad and solemn" celebration after the pandemic ends, describing this as a duty to those who suffered and won during the war era.



MOSCOW, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Russia on Saturday briefly celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Soviet victory against the Nazis in World War II, amid its intensified battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The country has indefinitely postponed the traditional parade of ground troops and military equipment on Red Square and other mass events this year, for the first time since 1995 when May 9 was declared a national holiday.

President Vladimir Putin laid flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier outside the Kremlin wall and delivered a televised address to the nation congratulating veterans and all people on the 75th anniversary of the great victory.

In his speech, Putin promised to hold a "broad and solemn" celebration after the pandemic ends, describing this as a duty to those who suffered and won during the war era.

"The spiritual and moral significance of the Victory Day remains invariably great and our attitude to it is sacred. This is our memory and pride; the history of our country, the history of each family," he said.

A refueling aircraft Il-78 and a strategic bomber Tu-160 are seen during the Victory Day Air Parade in Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2020. (Xinhua/Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr)

The Russian leader later attended the march of foot and horse guards of the Presidential Regiment in the Kremlin.

A total of 75 aircraft and helicopters of the Russian Aerospace Forces, including Tu-160, Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3 bombers, as well as fifth-generation Su-57 fighters, flew over Red Square.

The aerobatic teams the Russian Knights and the Swifts also took part in the air show, with their planes painting the sky with the three colors of the Russian national flag.

Helicopters are seen during the Victory Day Air Parade in Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2020. (Xinhua/Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr)

A naval parade was also carried out in Russia's second largest city of St. Petersburg, in a smaller form than usual.

In Sevastopol Bay, Crimea, ships belonging to the Russian Black Sea Fleet lined up and fired salute shots. The fleet is also featured in video tours of its battleships, which are being broadcast on TV.

The national and naval flags were raised on all warships, submarines and support vessels of the Russian Northern Fleet.

The Immortal Regiment, a tradition in which millions of people across Russia parade with portraits of relatives who fought in World War II, is taking place online.

People watch the Victory Day Air Parade on their balconies at home in Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2020. (Xinhua/Bai Xueqi)

The legal document marking the extinction of Nazi Germany was signed and became effective on the night of May 8, 1945, Berlin time, which was already the early hours of May 9 Moscow time.

This marked the end of the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union, an integral part of World War II lasting from 1939 to 1945.

The catastrophic war claimed about 27 million lives of people from the Soviet Union, according to official statistics.

More than seven decades later, Russia is facing another war -- this time, against COVID-19.

The country has tallied a total of 198,676 COVID-19 cases so far. The single-day increase has been over 10,000 for seven consecutive days. 
A disagreement about the politics of confrontation was at the heart of the first conversation that Kelly Witwicki Faddegon and Jacy Reese Anthis had when they met, at the beginning of summer in 2014.

She was living in a house in Oakland, Calif., as an employee of a small animal-rights organization. He was in the Bay Area for a summer internship researching the effectiveness of activism strategies, before his final year of college at the University of Texas. He had become acquainted with members of the animal-rights group through his internship and met Ms. Witwicki Faddegon at a dinner party.

I was quite critical of the approach they took, and she was defending it, so our first encounter was a debate, he said, referring to the group members tactics. But I saw her as someone who had a lot of alignment with myself, who was more open-minded than some of the other people.

Both recognized that the spark between them was about more than politics.

We just hit it off really quickly, said Ms. Witwicki Faddegon, 28. I really loved what he brought out in me. He made me more thoughtful about things I cared about. He challenged me and I challenged him back as well.
Mayor Andy Berke said Friday that a third party vendor had vetted the background of a Guernsey, Wyoming woman who was chosen as Chattanooga city treasurer out of 60 applicants. Kate Farmer was placed on administrative leave after it was disclosed that she was named in three federal lawsuits.

I dont know that I have the exact details of how she was vetted, said Mayor Berke. I do know a background check was performed and I dont know every other step.

The mayor said that the background check was conducted by a third-party vendor.

He said the background check occurred around April 1. He said no person in the city was aware of Ms. Farmers involvement in the lawsuit.

The most important thing for me is whether she committed any acts of misconduct, said the mayor. The reasons she is on administrative leave is so we can find out whether she did commit any of those acts. If so, we will take appropriate action..

When asked if he believed there is a connection behind reopening and the increase in COVID-19 cases during the last few days, the Mayor did not confirm there is a connection. However, he did say that may be a factor in the increasing numbers.

When you reopen and circulate more, then that increases the chance of more exposure, said the mayor. So part of what we know is that as you start to see more cases and there are reopenings, that means more of these individuals are going to be at work, at restaurants, and various locations.

As he has said multiple times, the mayor asks all citizens to wear a mask, social distance, and to repeatedly wash their hands. And perhaps most crucially, to stay home unless they absolutely need to go out.

We have to keep watching these cases, because we cant let us get to the point where there is exponential growth in the cases, said the mayor. When they start doubling on a regular basis, you can really see a problem in your community.

Mayor Berke said, Businesses cannot survive a second round of closures. That would be devastating. So we have to be really careful about how we conduct ourselves and whether we expand the businesses.

The mayor said he is focused on working with the governor during the reopening of Chattanooga.
Sydney, April 24, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Just released, this edition of Paul Budde Communications focus report on Netherlands outlines the major developments and key aspects in the telecoms markets.

Read the full report: https://www.budde.com.au/Research/Netherlands-Telecoms-Mobile-and-Broadband-Statistics-and-Analyses





This report provides a comprehensive overview of trends and developments in the Netherlands telecommunications market. The report analyses the fixed-line, mobile and broadband sectors. Subjects include:

Market and industry analyses, trends and developments;

Facts, figures and statistics;

Industry and regulatory issues;

Infrastructure developments;

Major Players, Revenues, Subscribers, ARPU, MoU;

Mobile Voice and Data Markets;

Broadband (FttP, DSL, cable, wireless);

Mobile subscribers and ARPU;

Broadband market forecasts;

Government policies affecting the telecoms industry;

Market liberalisation and industry issues;

Telecoms operators  privatisation, IPOs, acquisitions, new licences;

Mobile technologies (GSM; 3G, HSPA, LTE, 5G).

Researcher:- Henry Lancaster

Current publication date:- November 2019 (17th Edition)

Executive Summary

Netherlands preparing for 5G network sharing scheme

In common with other telecom markets in the region, the Dutch market is seeing a continuing decline in the fixed-line voice market as customers migrate to VoIP and mobile platforms for voice calls. In addition, the physical copper infrastructure is being replaced with fibre. KPN planned to stop marketing PSTN lines during 2020 and focus on IP connectivity. As part of this process, some customers in rural areas, where the cost of deploying fibre is prohibitive, are being served with hybrid DSL/LTE services while for a number of customers 5G will replace fixed-line connectivity for voice and data services in coming years.

The country has one of the highest fixed broadband penetration rates in the world, with effective cross-platform competition between DSL and HFC networks further stimulated by numerous fibre deployments. By early 2019 about 44% of fixed broadband connections provided data above 100Mb/s. Under regulatory measures main telcos KPN and VodafoneZiggo are obliged to offer wholesale access to competitors: VodafoneZiggos wholesale offer was published in March 2019.

Growth in the number of mobile subscribers in the Dutch market recovered in 2018 following a few years of stagnation. Operators are concentrating investment on 5G, while KPN is also closing 3G infrastructure with a view to refarming spectrum and other assets for LTE and 5G services.

This report details the key aspects of the Dutch telecom market, providing data on fixed network services, profiles of the major operators, and a review of the key regulatory issues including interconnection, local loop unbundling, number portability, carrier preselection, and the provisions for competitor access to cable and fibre infrastructure. In addition, the report covers the fixed and wireless broadband markets, including statistics and analyses on technology deployments. The report also assesses the mobile voice and data segments, detailing the strategies of the MNOs, the deployment of emerging technologies, and a range of regulatory issues. A range of subscriber forecasts to 2024 are also provided.

BuddeComm notes that the outbreak of the Coronavirus in 2020 is having a significant impact on production and supply chains globally. During the coming year the telecoms sector to various degrees is likely to experience a downturn in mobile device production, while it may also be difficult for network operators to manage workflows when maintaining and upgrading existing infrastructure. Overall progress towards 5G may be postponed or slowed down in some countries.

On the consumer side, spending on telecoms services and devices is under pressure from the financial effect of large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes. However, the crucial nature of telecom services, both for general communication as well as a tool for home-working, will offset such pressures. In many markets the net effect should be a steady though reduced increased in subscriber growth.

Although it is challenging to predict and interpret the long-term impacts of the crisis as it develops, these have been acknowledged in the industry forecasts contained in this report.

The report also covers the responses of the telecom operators as well as government agencies and regulators as they react to the crisis to ensure that citizens can continue to make optimum use of telecom services. This can be reflected in subsidy schemes and the promotion of tele-health and tele-education, among other solutions.

Key developments:

KPN to stop offering ISDN2/PSTN services;

VodafoneZiggo publishes wholesale reference offer;

Government invests 90 million in smart infrastructure project;

Netherlands Telecom Agency given oversight for smart meter deployments;

KPN reports recovery in revenue for 9M 2019;

Regulator to issue guidelines on infrastructure sharing to promote 5G rollouts, aims to recall unused mobile numbers;

T-Mobile Netherlands trials 5G using spectrum in the 700MHz band;

KPN preps for 5G trials, plans 3G network shutdown in 2022, closes down four sub-brands;

MNOs join with banks to launch m-payments system;

Report update includes the regulator's market data to Q4 2018, telcos' operating and financial data to Q3 2019, Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, assessment of the global impact of COVID-19 on the telecoms sector, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

KPN, UPC Netherlands, Tele2 Netherlands, Stipte (Scarlet Telecom), Ziggo, VodafoneZiggo, Orange Netherlands, Versatel, T-Mobile Netherlands, Reggefiber

Key statistics

Regional European Market Comparison Europe Telecom Maturity Index by tier Market Leaders Market Challengers Market Emergents TMI versus GDP Mobile and mobile broadband penetration Fixed versus mobile broadband penetration

Country overview

COVID-19 and its impact on the telecom sector Economic considerations and responses Mobile devices Subscribers Infrastructure

Telecommunications market Market analysis

Regulatory environment Historical overview Regulatory authority Telecom sector liberalisation Interconnect Access Cable access Fibre access Number Portability (NP) Carrier PreSelection (CPS) Wholesale Line Rental (WLR)

Fixed network operators Royal Koninklijke PTT Nederland (KPN) Scarlet Telecom (Stipte) Tele2 Netherlands Versatel Telecom International VodafoneZiggo

Telecommunications infrastructure National telecom network International infrastructure Smart infrastructure Amsterdam Wholesale Wholesale broadband access

Broadband market Introduction and statistical overview Market analysis Government support Broadband statistics Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) networks Introduction VodafoneZiggo Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) networks Introduction VDSL Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP) networks Regulating fibre KPN Government, councils and telcos involved Other fixed broadband services Wireless Local Loop (WLL) Wireless LANS/Wi-Fi WiMAX Internet via satellite

Mobile communications Market analysis Mobile statistics General statistics Mobile infrastructure Digital networks Internet of Things (IoT) Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Mobile voice Mobile data Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS) Mobile broadband Regulatory issues Spectrum regulations and spectrum auctions Mobile Termination Rates (MTRs) Mobile Number Portability (MNP) Roaming Network sharing Major mobile operators KPN VodafoneZiggo T-Mobile Netherlands Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) Mobile content and applications M-payments Satellite mobile

Appendix  Historic data

Glossary of abbreviations

Related reports

List of Tables

Table 1  Top Level Country Statistics and Telco Authorities - Netherlands  2019 (e)

Table 2  Change in telecom infrastructure investment by sector  2012  2018

Table 3  Change in the number of wholesale unbundled connections  2014  2018

Table 4  Wholesale fibre active unbundled connections  2014  2018

Table 5  Decline in the number of WLR lines  2008  2019

Table 6  Decline in fixed-line revenue (PSTN, VoB)  2006  2018

Table 7  Decline in VoIP and PSTN traffic  2016  2018

Table 8  Decline in fixed-line traffic revenue  2006  2018

Table 9  Change in fixed-line service revenue by retail, wholesale  2013  2018

Table 10  Development of KPNs annual net line loss (consumer)  2005  2019

Table 11  Decline in the number of KPNs connected PSTN households (consumer)  2005  2019

Table 12  Change in the number of KPNs RGUs by platform (consumer)  2015  2019

Table 13  Development of KPN Groups financial data  2009  2019

Table 14  KPN financial data by sector (Netherlands)  2005  2019

Table 15  Development of VodafoneZiggos financial data  2006  2019

Table 16  Change in VodafoneZiggos subscriber base by platform  2007  2019

Table 17  Fixed lines in services by type (retail)  2008  2018

Table 18  Proportion of fixed-lines churned and disconnected  2015  2018

Table 19  Decline in the number of fixed lines in service and teledensity  2009  2024

Table 20  Growth in international internet bandwidth  2009  2016

Table 21  Development of KPNs wholesale connections by type  2015  2019

Table 22  Proportion of retail broadband service connections with bundle types  2015  2018

Table 23  Change in the number of fixed broadband retail subscribers by platform  2010  2018

Table 24  Change in fixed-line broadband market share by technology  2008  2018

Table 25  Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers and penetration  2009  2024

Table 26  Change in the proportion of broadband connections by speed  2010  2018

Table 27  Development of broadband penetration by technology  2007  2018

Table 28  Increase in the number of retail cable broadband subscribers  2009  2018

Table 29  Development of cable broadband connections by speed  2010  2018

Table 30  Development of VodafoneZiggos cable broadband financial data  2006  2019

Table 31  Growth in VodafoneZiggos broadband subscriber base  2007  2019

Table 32  Change in KPNs consumer retail broadband subscriber base  2007  2019

Table 33  Decline in the number of DSL subscribers  2000  2018

Table 34  Development of DSL broadband connections by speed  2010  2018

Table 35  Increase in the number of premises connected and passed with upgraded copper  2014  2018

Table 36  Increase in the number of FttP premises connected and passed  2006  2018

Table 37  Growth in the number of FttP subscribers  2006  2018

Table 38  Change in the number of FttP retail and wholesale business connections  2015  2018

Table 39  Unbundled fibre broadband connections from KPN, by platform  2015  2018

Table 40  Development of fibre broadband connections by speed  2013  2018

Table 41  Decline in mobile retail and wholesale revenue  2013  2018

Table 42  Change in mobile services revenue by sector 2008  2018

Table 43  Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration rate  2009  2024

Table 44  Change in mobile subscriber market share of subscribers by operator  2006  2018

Table 45  Change in prepaid and contract subscribers by market share (MNOS)  2008  2018

Table 46  Change in the number of prepaid and contract subscribers (retail, MNOs)  2007  2018

Table 47  Growth in the number of mobile antennae in service by technology  2014  2019

Table 48  Investment in mobile infrastructure  2012  2018

Table 49  Increase in the number of M2M connections  2010  2018

Table 50  Growth in mobile voice traffic  2007  2018

Table 51  Growth in mobile data traffic  2008  2018

Table 52  Growth in mobile data traffic, quarterly change  2016  2018

Table 53  Decline in SMS traffic  2008  2018

Table 54  Growth in the number of active mobile broadband subscribers and penetration  2009  2024

Table 55  Change in the number of mobile broadband subscribers by type  2009  2018

Table 56  3G licence awards (spectrum, spectrum fees and admin fees)  July 2000

Table 57  Decline in wholesale termination revenue  2007  2018

Table 58  Increase in wholesale terminated traffic  2010  2018

Table 59  Change in the number of KPN Mobiles consumer retail and wholesale subscribers  2006  2019

Table 60  Development of KPN Mobiles revenue by type  2015  2019

Table 61  KPN Mobile revenue by quarter  2015  2019

Table 62  KPN mobile monthly ARPU  2006  2019

Table 63  Development of VodafoneZiggos mobile revenue  2016  2019

Table 64  Change in the number of VodafoneZiggo mobile subscribers  2009  2019

Table 65  VodafoneZiggo ARPU  2009  2019

Table 66  Change in the number of T-Mobile Netherlands subscribers by type 2006  2019

Table 67  Development of T-Mobile Netherlands financial data  2006  2019

Table 68  Growth in the number of MVNO subscribers and market share  2005  2018

Table 69  Historic - Fixed lines in service and teledensity  1999  2009

Table 70  Historic - KPN Group financial data  2004  2009

Table 71  Historic - UPC Nederland subscribers  2005  2014

Table 72  Historic - KPN consumer market share by sector  2007  2017

Table 73  Historic  International internet bandwidth  1998  2009

Table 74  Historic - CPS connections  2008  2014

Table 75  Historic - Fixed-line traffic by type  2008  2015

Table 76  Historic - Tele2 Netherlands residential subscribers by type  2007  2018

Table 77  Historic - Tele2 Netherlands revenue by sector  2007  2018

Table 78  Historic - Unbundled MDF connections by type  2008  2015

Table 79  Historic - Broadband retail subscribers (cable modem, DSL, fibre)  1999  2009

Table 80  Historic - KPN/Reggefiber FttP activated premises  2009  2015

Table 81  Historic - UPC Nederland subscribers  2005  2014

Table 82  Historic - UPC Netherlands revenue ()  2007  2014

Table 83  Historic - UPC Netherlands revenue by segment ()  2012  2014

Table 84  Historic - Tele2 Netherlands DSL subscribers  2006  2018

Table 85  Historic - Mobile (SIM) subscribers and penetration rate (regulator data)  1999  2009

Table 86  Historic - Vodafone Netherlands financial data  2007  2017

Table 87  Historic - VodafoneZiggo mobile subscribers  2004  2019

Table 88  Historic - T-Mobile Netherlands mobile service revenue  2007  2016

Table 89  Historic - T-Mobile Netherlands blended ARPU  2006  2016

Table 90  Historic - Mobile services market revenue (MNOs)  2006  2015

Table 91  Historic - KPN LTE subscribers  2013  2015

Table 92  Historic - Cumulative mobile numbers ported  2003  2009

Table 93  Historic - Vodafone Netherlands ARPU  2004  2009

Table 94  Historic - Vodafone Netherlands voice traffic  2004  2016

Table 95  Historic - Tele2 mobile subscribers  2007  2018

Table 96  Historic - Tele2 mobile revenue  2012  2018

List of Charts

Chart 1  Europe Telecoms Maturity Index  Market Leaders (top tier)

Chart 2  Europe Telecoms Maturity Index  Market Challengers (middle tier)

Chart 3  Europe Telecoms Maturity Index  Market Emergents (bottom tier)

Chart 4  Overall view - Telecoms Maturity Index vs GDP per Capita

Chart 5  Europe - mobile subscriber penetration vs mobile broadband penetration

Chart 6  Scandinavia and Baltics: mobile subscriber penetration vs mobile broadband penetration

Chart 7  Northern Europe mobile subscriber penetration vs mobile broadband penetration

Chart 8  Southern Europe mobile subscriber penetration vs mobile broadband penetration

Chart 9  Eastern Europe mobile subscriber penetration vs mobile broadband penetration

Chart 10  Scandinavia and Baltics fixed and mobile broadband penetration

Chart 11  Northern Europe fixed and mobile broadband penetration

Chart 12  Southern Europe fixed and mobile broadband penetration

Chart 13  Eastern Europe fixed and mobile broadband penetration

Chart 14  Change in telecom infrastructure investment by sector  2012  2018

Chart 15  Change in the number of wholesale unbundled connections  2014  2018

Chart 16  Decline in the number of WLR lines  2008  2019

Chart 17  Decline in fixed-line revenue (PSTN, VoB)  2006  2018

Chart 18  Decline in VoIP and PSTN traffic  2016  2018

Chart 19  Decline in fixed-line traffic revenue  2006  2018

Chart 20  Change in fixed-line service revenue by retail, wholesale  2013  2017

Chart 21  Decline in the number of KPNs connected PSTN households (consumer)  2005  2019

Chart 22  Change in the number of KPNs RGUs by platform (consumer)  2015  2019

Chart 23  Development of KPN Groups financial data  2009  2019

Chart 24  KPN consumer and business financial data (Netherlands)  2005  2019

Chart 25  Development of VodafoneZiggos financial data  2006  2019

Chart 26  Change in VodafoneZiggos subscriber base by platform  2007  2019

Chart 27  Fixed lines in services by type  2008  2018

Chart 28  Decline in the number of fixed lines in service and teledensity  2009  2024

Chart 29  Development of KPNs wholesale connections by type  2015  2019

Chart 30  Proportion of retail broadband service connections with bundle types  2015  2018

Chart 31  Change in the number of fixed broadband retail subscribers by platform  2010  2018

Chart 32  Change in fixed-line broadband market share by technology  2008  2018

Chart 33  Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers and penetration  2009  2024

Chart 34  Change in the proportion of broadband connections by speed  2010  2018

Chart 35  Development of broadband penetration by technology  2007  2018

Chart 36  Increase in the number of retail cable broadband subscribers  2009  2018

Chart 37  Development of cable broadband connections by speed  2010  2018

Chart 38  Development of VodafoneZiggos cable broadband financial data  2006  2019

Chart 39  Growth in VodafoneZiggos broadband subscriber base  2007  2019

Chart 40  Change in KPNs consumer retail broadband subscriber base  2007  2019

Chart 41  Decline in the number of DSL subscribers  2000  2018

Chart 42  Development of DSL broadband connections by speed  2010  2018

Chart 43  Increase in the number of premises connected and passed with upgraded copper  2014  2018

Chart 44  Increase in the number of FttP premises connected and passed  2006  2018

Chart 45  Growth in the number of FttP subscribers  2006  2018

Chart 46  Change in the number of FttP retail and wholesale business connections  2015  2018

Chart 47  Unbundled fibre broadband connections from KPN, by platform  2015  2018

Chart 48  Development of fibre broadband connections by speed  2013  2018

Chart 49  Decline in mobile retail and wholesale revenue  2013  2018

Chart 50  Change in mobile services revenue by sector 2008  2018

Chart 51  Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration rate  2009  2024

Chart 52  Change in mobile subscriber market share of subscribers by operator  2006  2018

Chart 53  Change in prepaid and contract subscribers by market share (MNOS)  2008  2018

Chart 54  Change in the number of prepaid and contract subscribers  2007  2018

Chart 55  Growth in the number of mobile antennae in service by technology  2014  2019

Chart 56  Investment in mobile infrastructure  2012  2018

Chart 57  Increase in the number of M2M connections  2010  2018

Chart 58  Growth in mobile voice traffic  2007  2018

Chart 59  Growth in mobile data traffic  2008  2018

Chart 60  Growth in mobile data traffic, quarterly change  2016  2018

Chart 61  Decline in SMS traffic  2008  2018

Chart 62  Growth in the number of active mobile broadband subscribers and penetration  2009  2024

Chart 63  Change in the number of mobile broadband subscribers by type  2009  2018

Chart 64  Decline in wholesale termination revenue  2007  2018

Chart 65  Increase in wholesale terminated traffic  2010  2018

Chart 66  Change in the number of KPN Mobiles consumer retail and wholesale subscribers  2006  2019

Chart 67  Development of KPN Mobiles revenue by type  2015  2019

Chart 68  KPN Mobile revenue by quarter  2015  2019

Chart 69  Development of VodafoneZiggos mobile revenue  2016  2019

Chart 70  Change in the number of VodafoneZiggo mobile subscribers  2009  2019

Chart 71  Change in the number of T-Mobile Netherlands subscribers by type 2009  2019

Chart 72  Development of T-Mobile Netherlands financial data  2006  2019

Chart 73  Growth in the number of MVNO subscribers and market share  2005  2019

List of Exhibits

Exhibit 1  Generalised Market Characteristics by Market Segment

Exhibit 2  Access and the local loop

Exhibit 3  2.6GHz spectrum auction  April 2010

Exhibit 4  Spectrum auction  October 2012

Exhibit 5  Historic - Fixed-to-mobile interconnections tariffs  2007  2009





Read the full report: https://www.budde.com.au/Research/Netherlands-Telecoms-Mobile-and-Broadband-Statistics-and-Analyses
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Sixteen of Japan's 47 prefectures will reopen public high schools before the end of May following weeks of shutdowns over the coronavirus outbreak, Nikkei has learned.

The move could push elementary and junior high schools, which are overseen by local towns and cities, to reopen as well. But with the remaining 31 prefectures still unable to make concrete plans for children to return to school, there is concern that some students could end up significantly behind their peers academically.

Three prefectures, including coronavirus-free Iwate, reopened senior high schools Thursday. Another 13 planned to reopen schools between Monday and May 25, according to a Nikkei survey of prefectural boards of education.

None of the 13 prefectures officially designated hot spots for the outbreak, including Tokyo, Osaka and Hokkaido, has plans to reopen schools this month.

There is concern that this could put students in hard-hit prefectures at a disadvantage for university entrance exams in the spring. For example, Tokyo high schools will have been closed for nearly three months at the end of May. Meanwhile, Iwate schools were closed only on and off for about a month.
Plans to ease lockdown restrictions will cause chaos if police are forced to deal with new gaps between government guidance and the law, it has been warned.

All but the most senior national leaders have been left in the dark about changes to be announced by the prime minister on Sunday.

He is expected to change government guidance, but The Independent understands the coronavirus laws that allow police to enforce restrictions will not immediately be updated.

Any gap creates the risk that members of the public could commit crimes by following the new official instructions, such as by gathering in groups of more than two or being outside without reasonable excuse.

Senior police officers were angered by media reports of plans to relax some rules on Monday, which prompted a flurry of messages urging people to abide by restrictions over the bank holiday weekend.

The president of the Police Superintendents Association (PSA) said the government needed to learn the lessons of what went wrong when the regulations were brought in at the start of lockdown.

The clarity and consistency of the message is very important for both the police and the public, Chief Superintendent Paul Griffiths told The Independent.

If there are changes, we need to have as much opportunity as possible to have a really strong communication strategy.

Were hopeful that there wont be any instantaneous changes on Sunday evening, because that would cause some challenges for us.

The government advice is currently stricter than the Health Protection Regulations that allow police to enforce the lockdown.

While people are advised to exercise outside only once a day, for example, there is no legal limit to the number of excursions anywhere  apart from in Wales, which is changing this law on 11 May.

Officers patrol Primrose Hill in London, where sunbathers are relaxing (AFP/Getty) (AFP)

Ministers have talked of essential travel, but it is not defined by the law, and police guidance has made clear that people are able to drive into the countryside or have picnics.

Widespread confusion over the differences was partly blamed for initial over-enforcement by police, who were reprimanded by MPs.

Ch Supt Griffiths said enforcement had become more calm and consistent following updated guidance for officers, but added: If theres a change in position from the government thats where we start to get inconsistency and risk of the public not understanding what they need to do.

During Wednesdays prime ministers questions, Boris Johnson told MPs he wanted to get going with some of these measures on Monday.

Media reports that the changes would include allowing social gatherings and day trips forced the foreign secretary to play down the possibilities.

Any changes in the short term will be modest, small, incremental and very carefully monitored, Dominic Raab told the Downing Street press conference on Thursday.

Thomas Sherrington, a barrister who specialises in crime and regulatory work, told The Independent that the government could change the law to bring it in line with new guidance without parliaments approval.

But with the way its been going so far, I wouldnt expect anything other than chaos, he added.

If they do what theyve been doing this entire time in terms of not giving clear instructions as to what you can and cant do, were going to have the same problems multiplied.

Several police forces issued messages telling people to continue abiding by the existing restrictions over the VE Day bank holiday weekend.

Assistant Chief Constable Julie Wvendth, of Norfolk Constabulary, acknowledged much speculation of what lockdown will look like as we await the prime ministers announcement on Sunday.

 Covid-19: Key questions on lifting lockdown restrictions

No one knows for certain at this time what he will say, she added. We will all be watching closely and will then assess and consider any implications for our organisation and communities.

The chief constable of Wiltshire Police, Kier Pritchard, urged people to disregard media reports, adding: It is important to note that the government restrictions around social distancing remain in place at this time further to any official announcement which states otherwise.

Lancashire Police issued a blunt message telling the public: Our advice has not changed. The legislation has not changed.

In Cumbria, Assistant Chief Constable Andrew Slattery urged people not to become complacent and risk a second wave of infection.

The danger has not passed, he said. There are still people suffering and dying in our hospitals and care homes.

Several police forces have monitored increases in foot and road traffic in recent weeks, and worry that the falling daily death count and long lockdown  combined with warm weather  will encourage more people to violate the lockdown.

More than 9,000 fines have been issued under the Health Protection Regulations by police in England and Wales, and forces have vowed to continue enforcing the law where necessary.

But confusion over the law continues to play out in Britains courts, following several miscarriages of justice.

The Independent has recorded several cases in recent days where coronavirus legislation appears to have been misused.

On Wednesday, a man appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates Court accused of violating the Welsh regulations  over an incident in London.

Recommended Coronavirus lockdown laws changed to allow people to visit graveyards

A woman appeared at the same court accused of making a non-essential journey away from [her] property in a time of pandemic in violation of the Coronavirus Act 2020.

But that law does not prohibit non-essential travel, and only applies to potentially infectious people.

On Thursday, an alleged burglar appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court charged under the Coronavirus Act for being out of [his] dwelling in defiance of the instruction to stay home without a reasonable excuse, which is not illegal under that law.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is currently reviewing all charges brought under both the Coronavirus Act and Health Protection Regulations.

The unprecedented step was taken after several miscarriages of justice were highlighted by the media, including a case that saw a woman wrongly fined 660 after loitering at a railway station.

A CPS spokesperson said: Unlawful charges are being withdrawn by prosecutors in court and we are asking for any wrongful convictions to be overturned.
Portugal is to take up to 60 unaccompanied children from Greek refugee camps, according to Socialist Party lawmaker Isabel Santos, as concern mounts over the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the vulnerable group.

The children are expected to arrive in Portugal within the next few weeks, Santos was cited by local news agency Lusa as saying during an online conference to celebrate Europe Day. The member of the European Parliament did not specify a date.

At least 5,200 unaccompanied minors live in Greece, many of them under harsh conditions in camps on islands in the Aegean.

Human Rights Watch said the Greek authorities had not done enough to address the "overcrowding and lack of health care, access to adequate water, sanitation, and hygiene products" in the camps to limit the spread of coronavirus.

Portugal, which has reported 27,406 cases of the virus, with 1,126 deaths, said it was willing to take in some children as part of a voluntary European scheme to relocate around 1,600. Other countries, including Germany, Ireland, France and Luxembourg, are also involved in the initiative.

The first relocations took place last month when 12 minors were transferred to Luxembourg, since when Germany has received around 50 children.

Santos, who said Portugal was the first country to offer assistance to Greece, was critical of the European response to the issue, saying the relocation scheme "had failed" since its introduction.

"These children live under bad conditions," she said. "They live in refugee camps with the triple, quadruple and in many cases up to five times the population they are able to accommodate."

Hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees fleeing conflicts and poverty in countries such as Syria have used Greece as a springboard to gain entry to other European countries.

In February, tens of thousands of migrants tried to enter Greece after Turkey said it would no longer prevent them from doing so.

Turkey now hosts about 3.4 million refugees and migrants, while Greece has about 120,000 who are waiting for asylum applications to be processed.

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Pakistan on Saturday began easing the month-long lockdown despite a steady rise in the number of the coronavirus cases which rose to 27,474 after health authorities reported a big jump of 1,637 infections and 24 deaths in a single day.

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that Pakistan would begin easing its nationwide lockdown in a phase-wise manner by allowing various businesses to open up from Saturday, citing the economic crisis due to the shutdown, which was enforced in the country in March end.

The first phase of easing lockdown began as the government announced removing restrictions by allowing more business to open and operate from dawn to 5pm.

The federal government was trying to provide maximum relief to the people but due to the current economic conditions of the country, the lockdown must be eased, the Express Tribune quoted Khan as saying.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Adviser to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Ajmal Wazir said the provincial government is on board with Khan's plan.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Friday announced the easing of lockdown enforced on March 21. According to it, shops and selected businesses will open four days a week and that all businesses will be closed at 4pm.

Also, the government has allowed congregational prayers in mosques during the month of Ramzan after the clerics agreed to follow the government guidelines on social distancing while praying in mosques.

However, doctors and the Opposition expressed reservations about the decisions. Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said "this government has no policy on lockdown or coronavirus."



Although several economic sectors and business activities are allowed to reopen, schools in Pakistan will remain closed until July 15.

According to the Ministry of National Health Services, Pakistan reported a total of 27,474 coronavirus cases after 1,637 new patients were diagnosed in one day. Another 24 patients died taking the death toll to 618.

The Punjab province reported 10,471 cases, Sindh 9,691, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 4,327, Balochistan 1,876, Islamabad 609, Gilgit-Baltistan 421 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 79 cases.

So far 7,756 patients have recovered. The authorities have conducted 270,025 tests including 12,982 in the last 24 hours.

Separately, Prime Minister Khan appreciated the 'Made in Pakistan' initiative of the Ministry of Science and Technology focusing on boosting indigenous productivity in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New safety protocols to help people return to work when the Covid-19 pandemic eases must be complied with, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) has said.

The Government will launch a health and safety protocol on Saturday that includes information for employers and workers relating to social distancing, hand hygiene, first aid and mental health.

The Return to Work Safely Protocol was put together by Ictu, employers, the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), the Health Services Executive (HSE) and the Department of Health.

Speaking ahead of the launch, Ictu general-secretary Patricia King said every employer has an absolute duty to adhere to the rules.

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The battle against Covid-19 demands an unambiguous policy in relation to health and safety, she added.

There can be no shortcuts or opt-outs when it comes to matters of life and death. Covid-19 does not discriminate and every worker in every sector is entitled to the protection of this protocol.

This pandemic has impacted severely on every part of our society and economy, and this document represents an important milestone.

On Friday, 27 deaths from Covid-19 were reported, taking the total to 1,429.

An additional 156 new cases were confirmed, to make a total of 22,541.

Chief medical officer Tony Holohan said on Friday night that as the country moves into the next stage of coping with the virus, particular attention must be paid to how people behave in public spaces.

As we prepare for the next stages of living with this virus, we are learning new norms and behaviours, particularly how we interact in public spaces, he said.

Physical distancing, hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette, safe interactions apply to all if we are to keep Covid-19 suppressed in Ireland.

Meanwhile, the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (Asti) will meet on Saturday to discuss changes to the Leaving Certificate exam.

The written exams, due to start at the end of July, will not go ahead. Students will instead be given a predicted grade by their school and the Department of Education will finalise their results.

The Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) accepted the plan but said it needed clarification on some issues.
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

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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.

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FLINT, MI -- Two men suspected in the slaying of a Family Dollar security guard have been taken into custody following a week-long search, Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton announced late Friday, May 8.

Ramonyea Travon Bishop, 23, and his stepfather, Larry Edward Teague, 44 -- suspects in the the shooting death of Calvin James Munerlyn -- have been taken into custody. The U.S. Marshals on Wednesday offered a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to their arrest.

Leyton is seeking murder and felony firearm charges against Ramonyea Bishop and Larry Teague Jr. They also face a charge for violating the governors order which calls for people to wear masks while inside an enclosed building.

Bishop was found in a three-unit house in Bay City, Prosecutor David Leyton said during a Friday news conference. He was taken into custody without incident and is charged with first-degree premeditated murder, felony firearm and carrying a concealed weapon.

Larry Teague is charged with first-degree premeditated murder, two counts of felony firearm, felon possession of a firearm and carrying a concealed weapon.

Flint Family Dollar security guard remembered as a gift to life at visitation

Larry Teague was arrested near the Studio Six Hotel in West Houston early Thursday, May 7, when he was returning to his room. Flint police officers developed information locally that Larry Teague had fled to Texas with two individuals.

He is currently in custody at Harris County Jail.

Two people who drove Larry Teague to Texas, a 44-year-old woman and 43-year-old man, have been taken into custody on charges of obstruction of justice, a five-year felony, lying to police during the investigation of a violent crime, a four-year felony, harboring a felon, a four-year felony and accessory after the fact to a felony, a five-year felony.

The District Attorneys in Harris County also charged the two with hindering apprehension of a murder suspect. They are believed to have rented a vehicle in Michigan to drive Larry Teague to Texas, Leyton said. Once in Texas, it is believed they bought him clothing at a Houston-area Walmart and rented him a room.

Leyton said his office has sent detainer letters and started the extradition process for all three charged in Texas.

A court appearance in regard to the extradition is scheduled for Monday, May 11.

I have not seen such an effort in our community since the Abuelazam serial stabber homicides back in 2010," Leyton said. "We literally have pulled together a great team of men and women from all the agencies... everybody played a critical role in this with respect to finding these individuals. It was a real team effort. Flint police developed the information, the U.S. Marshals were able to get information the Michigan State Police and its fugitive team were dogged in the pursuit. Im very very proud to be a part of the law enforcement community here.

Elias Abuelazam was accused of 14 Flint area stabbings, five of them deadly, part of a spree of attacks that spread to Ohio and Virginia that captivated the nation. On June 25, 2012, Abuelazam was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Catching a serial killer: How they got Elias Abuelazam

Munerlyn, 43, of Flint was shot at the Family Dollar store off East Fifth Avenue following an alleged verbal altercation with 45-year-old Sharmel Teague. Munerlyn reportedly told the womans daughter, Brya Bishop, she needed to wear a mask while inside.

On the day of the shooting, Munerlyn told Sharmel Teague to leave the store and instructed a cashier not to serve her, according to Leyton.

Sharmel Teague fled in a red GMC Envoy, but Leyton said she returned 20 minutes later with her husband, 44-year-old Larry Teague Jr., who accused Munerlyn of disrespecting his wife. Their son Ramonyea Bishop also traveled to the store, where he allegedly shot Munerlyn.

Sister of man accused of fatally shooting Flint security guard arraigned on charges

Following the altercation, Larry Teague Jr. and Ramonyea Bishop, Teagues husband and their son, returned to the store and were in an altercation with Munerlyn.

Bishop and Larry Teague managed to make a getaway from the store on foot after the shooting.

Sharmel Teague was arraigned Tuesday, May 5 in Genesee District Court on first-degree murder and felony firearm charges. She is being held in the Genesee County Jail without bond and faces life in prison on the murder charge. She has a court hearing date set for May 14.

Brya Shatonia Bishop, 24, was arraigned Friday, May 8, on three felonies related to her actions following the shooting.

According to the police, Brya Bishop engaged in activities that interfered with ongoing efforts to locate and apprehend Larry Teague Jr. and Ramonyea Bishop. She is charged with tampering with evidence, a 10-year felony, lying to police investigating a violent crime, a 4-year felony and accessory after the fact to a felony, a 5-year felony.

Read more:

Woman arraigned in fatal shooting of Flint security guard over face mask

Gov. Whitmer offers condolences to family of Flint security guard killed over mask dispute

Slain Family Dollar security guard mourned at candlelight vigil

U.S. Marshals offer $5k reward for tips leading to arrest of suspects in Flint security guard shooting

3 charged in fatal shooting of guard enforcing mask use at Flint store
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-08 22:22:20|Editor: huaxia

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WUHAN, May 8 (Xinhua) -- A middle school student in the central Chinese city of Wuhan has written a letter to Dr. Gauden Galea, WHO representative in China, hoping to call on teenagers all over the world to work together to help those in need.

"The world is large, but no one is an isolated island, and the virus is the common enemy of mankind," wrote the student at Wuhan Xuguang School. "My classmates and I have a common wish to make some contributions to the world."

"We are the future of the world, and we are supposed to protect the world's future," the student wrote in the letter.

She recalled going out with her mum for a bicycle ride on the East Lake Greenway a few days ago as Wuhan gradually gets back to normal life.

"It was my first time to go outside after COVID-19 hit Wuhan and I got close to the blue sky, white clouds and greenery. I know how hard it has been to get back to this seemingly ordinary life," she wrote.

The student said with a habit of garbage sorting, she and her classmates usually raise money for class activities through selling collected recyclable items such as drink bottles.

She said they are willing to donate the money to the WHO and promise to donate the money they raise in this way to the WHO every year. Enditem
Rev Mark Harvey has been rector of Shankill Church of Ireland Parish in Lurgan since 2017. He is married to Joanne and they have a daughter, Lydia.

Q. Can you tell us something about your background?

A. I'm 55 years old, I was born in the Woodvale area of Belfast, I've been married to Joanne for nearly 26 years and we have a 16-year-old daughter, Lydia. I have two older sisters, Carolyn and Pauline.

I was ordained in 1993 in St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh and I have served in Portadown, Monaghan, Dundonald and Lurgan, where I've been rector of Shankill parish since June 2017. I also spent four years on the staff of the Church Mission Society (Ireland), an overseas agency of the Church of Ireland.

I was educated at Lurgan College and Stranmillis College, where I trained as a primary school teacher.

I taught in Bangor for three years before being accepted for ordination training at the Church of Ireland Theological College in September 1993.

Q. How and when did you come to faith?

A. My late father was a Church of Ireland rector, so my faith was woven into our family life. I made a personal commitment to Christ at the age of 15 through the work of Scripture Union in Lurgan College.

My faith in Jesus shapes how I live my life every day and, by the nature of my vocation, how I do my job.

Q. Have you ever had a crisis of faith, or a gnawing doubt about your faith?

A. I would have to say "no", but I have doubted my own worthiness to serve God on occasion. I've come back to the fact that my calling is founded on the grace of God and not my innate goodness, or otherwise.

Q. Have you ever been angry with God? And, if so, why?

A. Yes. My mum died from cancer at the age of 52. I was 19 and angry. I couldn't understand why God would allow someone who loved Him so evidently to suffer so much.

Also, in the early years of our marriage, Joanne and I suffered recurrent miscarriages. I was angry with God - why was this happening to us when we were serving Him?

Sometimes, we believe that it's not right to be angry with God. However, even a cursory reading of the Psalms assures us that this isn't true, but rather a natural part of the struggle of growing in faith.

Q. Do you ever get criticised for your faith? And are you able to live with that criticism?

A. Not often, but when it has happened, I've examined myself to see if the criticism is warranted. If it is, then I make the necessary amendments. If not, I just live with it. Criticism is part of life, part of following Christ and it is also a very real part of Christian ministry.

Q. Are you ever ashamed of your own Church, or denomination?

A. Ashamed? I don't think so, no. Frustrated? Yes. I think that too often we are acquiescing to the cultural voices of our generation and allowing them to shape who we are as the Church, rather than the other way around.

We then find ourselves unable to speak out clearly on issues that have moral and social implications.

Q. Are you afraid to die? Or can you look beyond death?

A. I'm not afraid to die, because my faith is in Jesus, who has overcome death. That said, however, I don't relish the process of dying and parting from my loved ones.

Q. Are you afraid of hell?

A. If my standing on the Day of Judgement depended on me, then yes. However, Jesus is my confidence and my hope is built on what He has done for me.

Q. Do you believe in a resurrection? And, if so, what will it be like?

A. My faith is founded on the fact that Christ is risen. Scripture tells us that, post-resurrection, we will all be changed.

Our physical bodies will be sown in their weakness. Our resurrection bodies will be raised in power. That's as much as we can know, I think.

Q. What do you think about people of other denominations and other faiths?

A. I love to work with the other Churches and denominations in Lurgan and beyond. Unity in Christ is such a powerful witness. I respect those of other faiths, but when Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except thought me", I believe Him.

Q. Would you be comfortable in stepping out from your own faith and trying to learn something from other people?

A. There are things that we can learn from each other, but, as I've already stated, I believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to a true relationship with God.

That may sound exclusivist, but I think that Christianity is an exclusive faith.

I don't think Jesus, or the Bible, leave any room for another conclusion.

Q. Do you think that the Churches here are fulfilling their mission?

A. If Matthew 28 is our commission, then we are called to "make disciples". We in the Church of Ireland aren't intentional enough about this. This current crisis we're living through is a wonderful opportunity for the Church to really take its mission seriously.

Q. Why are so many people turning their backs on organised religion?

A. There are several reasons, I think. First, we aren't adaptable enough to deal with the changes that are occurring around us.

We're having to re-imagine Church at present and, in Shankill, we've certainly discovered a whole new world in reaching out to people through social media.

Second, we are too backward-looking and not sufficiently concerned about passing on the faith to the next generation.

Thirdly, we are too inward-looking and concerned about the needs of those within our Churches being met, becoming distracted and unable to look beyond ourselves.

Q. Has religion helped, or hindered, the people of Northern Ireland?

A. I think that it has done both. There are great Churches in every community that are proclaiming Christ effectively through words and actions.

Historically, though, the Church hasn't been prophetic enough in calling people to a discipleship that has the potential to transform our lives, our homes and families, our places of work, our communities and, ultimately, our nation.

Q. What is your favourite film, book and music, and why?

A. The film is The Shawshank Redemption, the book is the Bible and a good autobiography. I have an eclectic taste in music: I love choral music (listening to it and also singing), but also Queen, U2, the Eagles and many contemporary Christian artists.

Q. Where do you feel closest to God?

A. In the quietness of my own heart. But, for a physical place, in an empty church building.

Q. What inscription would you like on your gravestone?

A. The same as that on my mum's - simply "Redeemed".

Q. Finally, do you have any major regrets?

A. There are many things I could have done better, but, honestly, there is nothing that keeps me awake at night.
- Romano was one of the people who was attacked on Tuesday, November 20, 2018, by suspected al-Shabaab militants who wounded five residents

- In December 2018, the police said the then 23 years old, was alive and was being held in Kenya but did not mention the specific region

- Al-Shabab fighters have been blamed for a series of kidnappings of both foreigners and Kenyan citizens along the country's coastal region

Silvia Romano, the Italian aid volunteer who was kidnapped in 2018 in Kilifi county has been released.

Romano, a manager of a non-governmental organisation (African Milele Onlus) was kidnapped by unknown gunmen from Chakama area and her whereabouts were unknown since then.

READ ALSO: Kilifi woman gifted new house by Governor Amason Kingi after she delivered quadruplets

Silvia Romano, an Italian aid worker who was kidnapped in 2018 in Kilifi has secured her freedom. Photo: UGC

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: MP Ndindi Nyoro claims Moses Kuria is undisputed Mt Kenya spokesperson

The good news was announced by Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on his Twitter page on Saturday, May 9.

"Silvia Romano has been freed! I thank the women and men of the external intelligence services. Silvia, we are waiting for you in Italy," he tweeted.

Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, also announced Romanos liberation on Twitter as he thanked the country's intelligence department.

"I wanted to give you good news. Silvia Romano is free. The state leaves no one behind. A hug to your family. And thanks to our intelligence, the Aise in particular, the Farnesina and all those who worked on it," he posted.

Romano was one of the people who was attacked on Tuesday, November 20, 2018, by suspected al-Shabaab militants who wounded five residents.

In December 2018, police said the then 23 years old, was alive and was being held in Kenya but did not mention the specific region.

In January 2019, the police denied reports she had been taken to the neighbouring country - Somalia.

Al-Shabaab fighters have been blamed for a series of kidnappings of foreigners and Kenyans along the country's coastal region.

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.

Eastleigh residents' plea to Uhuru | Tuko TV

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Senior lawyers have warned the lack of PPE for NHS and care workers could result in corporate manslaughter charges.

This comes separately after more than 54 coronavirus-related healthcare deaths were reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The deaths follow weeks of appeals from front line health and care workers who said they need more protective gear.

Nurses at Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow were forced to wear bin bags last month after their stores of PPE ran low.

Senior lawyers have said failure to provide PPE could lead to corporate manslaughter charges. Pictured: The three nurses from Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow who wore bin bags and later tested positive for coronavirus

The Guardian reported that corporate manslaughter law expert Alex Bailin QC said the deaths were avoidable with proper PPE.

He said: 'Had there not been organisational and management failures, those deaths could have been avoided, and that could be corporate manslaughter.

'Legally, there may well be enough for the police to open a criminal investigation, even if there is not the appetite do so in the current crisis. There is reason to suspect serious high-level failures.'

He also said that the need for more PPE was common knowledge from an early stage but that not enough was ordered which led to the current shortage.

More than 54 coronavirus-related healthcare deaths were reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Pictured: A nurse at the coronavirus ward of West Cumberland Hospital

Both the police and the Health and Safety Executive would be responsible for any investigation into allegations of corporate manslaughter.

The former chief crown prosecutor for north-west England Nazir Azfal said that an investigation into whether PPE shortages caused some of the healthcare deaths ought to be carried out by either the HSE of police.

More than 54 formal reports of healthcare deaths relating to Covid-19 were received by the HSE through the Riddor: Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences process.

The HSE said that all deaths reported to them that meet the investigation criteria are being processed and investigations are launched.

The former chief crown prosecutor for north-west England Nazir Azfal said that an investigation into PPE shortages is needed

Employers must report any deaths related to coronavirus to the HSE within ten days if it is confirmed by a registered medical practitioner.

Responding to claims that criminal investigations could be launched, the National Police Chiefs Council said: 'If criminal offences are alleged in relation to a death, the police will consider the available information and make an informed decision whether a criminal investigation is required.'

They also said that no police force in England or Wales had begun investigations into corporate manslaughter or gross negligence in coronavirus-related deaths.

Last month three nurses at Northwick Park Hospital were pictured wearing bin bags to cope with the lack of PPE.

Police said that no force in England or Wales has opened any investigation into corporate mansluaghter

All three later tested positive for coronavirus.

A spokesman for London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs Northwick Park Hospital, said: 'We can confirm that a number of staff members working in our Covid-19 positive areas have tested positive for the coronavirus.

'This is unfortunate but not unexpected, as it corresponds with the experience of healthcare workers across the world.

'We are providing full support to those of our staff members who become unwell and wish them a swift recovery.'

96,000 people signed an open letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson demanding a public enquiry into the deaths of NHS staff throughout the coronavirus pandemic and into the shortage of PPE

Last night 96,000 people signed an open letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson demanding a public enquiry into the deaths of NHS staff and the shortage of PPE, The Mirror said.

The letter, compiled by The Doctors' Association UK, said: 'Doctors are dying. Nurses are dying. This is unforgivable. We need a commitment to this now, with a full judge-led inquiry once the Covid-19 crisis is over. It is also crucial coroners open inquests into each healthcare worker death in addition to a public inquiry. This will ensure evidence is preserved and each death is properly investigated.'

Theo Huckle QC, who signed the letter, said: 'Undoubtedly, a public inquiry will be required at the end of this pandemic.

'But as we can see from the ongoing Grenfell Tower and child abuse enquiries, these can be extremely slow and most importantly they do not permit the families their own representation and the ability to ask the questions they need answered. That is what the coroner's inquest so successfully achieves and we only have to look at the success of the full Hillsborough inquest to see that.'
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday dismissed recent allegations of his ill-health. The veteran BJP leader took to Twitter to clarify those were just rumours and that as the country's home minister he has been working as the country grapples with the coronavirus pandemic.

I am completely healthy and not suffering from any disease," Shah said in a tweet in Hindi.

Several social media users have recently speculated about Shah's health.

"Over the last few days, rumours have been spread through social media about my health," said Shah in his message. "Some users went so far as to ask for wishes after tweeting about my death."

Shah said since the country is currently busy fighting a public health crisis like the coronavirus, he initially did not take cognizance of such rumours since he has been busy working till late at night.

Shah further said when he found out about the rumours, he initially refused to clarify but was forced to clear the air when party workers and well-wishers, over the last two days, inquired about his health.

"This is why I want to clarify today: I am completely healthy and not suffering from any disease," said Shah.

The senior BJP leader expressed gratitude towards his well-wishers and the party who had inquired about his health.

Meanwhile, four persons were detained by Ahmedabad police on Saturday for allegedly spreading misinformation about Shah's health by creating a fake Twitter account in his name.

Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ajay Tomar said a screenshot of a fake Twitter account in Shah's name with his photo, claiming he was suffering from a serious ailment, had gone viral on social media platforms. The suspects were detained from Ahmedabad and Bhavnagar and were being questioned.

A case has been registered under sections 66(c) (punishment for identity theft) and 66(d) (cheating by personation using computer resource) of the Information Technology Act, he said.

BJP leaders condemn rumours

Minutes after the tweet, party president JP Nadda said that making "inhuman" comments about Shah's health is "extremely condemnable".

"Spreading such misleading remarks about anyone's health shows the mindset of people doing so. I strongly condemn it and pray to God to grant them good sense," Nadda said in a tweet.

BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said spreading such rumours could be a "political ploy" of those who are rattled by Shah's working style and decisions.

Party spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain claimed that people behind them are "enemies of the nation".

Hussain tweeted, "It's really shameful how a handful of people are spreading rumours about the health of India's Home Minister Amit Shah. These people are enemies of the nation who dislike leaders devoted to the motherland."

Senior party leader and Union minister Prakash Javadekar said the comments about Shah's health shows the "distorted mindset" of people making them.

Another Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "Amit Shah Ji you are safe and sound and will remain so because you have to serve Maa Bharati with courage and conviction for a long time."

(With inputs from PTI)
Mumbai: At least 714 police personnel have so far tested positive for coronavirus COVID-19 in Maharashtra, the state which has the highest number of over 19,000 cases, a data presented by Maharashtra Police said on Saturday (May 9). The 714 cases include 648 active cases, 61 recovery and 5 deaths.

The data added that nearly 194 incidents of assault on police personnel during the lockdown period have been reported at various police stations in the state and 689 accused have been arrested in these cases.

On May 8, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had stated that as many as 98,774 cases were registered and 19,082 persons were arrested for violating prohibitory orders during the COVID-19 lockdown in the state. At least 98,774 offences were registered under section 188 (disobeying an order passed by a public servant) of the Indian Penal Code, the minister said.

The police department had issued over 3 lakh passes to people working for emergency services during the lockdown, Deshmukh said, while urging citizens to cooperate with health workers and the police in the fight against COVID-19

The authorities had quarantined 2,26,236 persons in the state and 653 were nabbed for violating quarantine norms, he said. A total of 86,246 calls were made to the police helpline 100 during the lockdown, the minister said.

At least 1,286 offences of illegal transport were registered, while 55,148 vehicles were seized for violating the lockdown, he said.

The police had collected fines to the tune of over Rs 3.66 crore for various offences ever since the lockdown was imposed prohibitory orders came into force in March.

The Maharashtra government had set up 4,729 relief camps, where 4,28,734 migrants, labourers and needy were housed, he added.
WATERLOO REGION  While murder hornets are dominating the headlines these days, theyre merely a distraction from the lurking, bigger invasive threat that has been quietly and systematically taking down honeybee populations across North America.

Meet the Varroa destructor mite. The name destructor says it all, for these mites have decimated bee populations everywhere. First documented in Asia in 1904, they were found in North America as early as the 1950s.

These mites are in the same family as ticks and spiders. Theyre only about the size of a sesame seed but the fact that they can be seen without a microscope means theyre really big when compared to the size of their host, Apis mellifera, the common European honeybee. In human terms, a Varroa mite infestation would be like having a tick the size of a rat feeding on your back.

The Varroa mites are found everywhere in Canada except Thunder Bay and Newfoundland and Labrador. The Ontario Ministry of Agricultures website warns that if bees are kept anywhere outside these areas, they will be infested with Varroa mites.

The mites feed on the bees hemolymph (basically its blood) and fat tissue. The hemolymph transports a bees nutrients throughout its body, and the fat tissue contains its immune cells. In the process of removing bees natural immunity, Varroa mites also transmit deadly diseases. This includes deformed wing virus which results in shrivelled wings, bloated abdomen, learning problems and shortened life.

If left untreated, Varroa destructor mites destroy entire hives.

Paul Kozak, the provincial apiarist for Ontario, says the Varroa destructor mite is the main killer for honeybee colonies in all of North America. This one mite is having devastating impacts throughout the world. Theyve changed beekeeping forever.

An adult fertilized female mite enters a bee larvae cell just before its capped with wax. She then begins feeding on the larvae and lays eggs: first a male egg, then female eggs. Once the eggs hatch, the male mates with the females, and all the fertilized female mites emerge with the matured larvae. This bee is weakened and has a shorter lifespan. The mites move quickly from bee to bee. Once the queen stops laying larvae for the winter, the Varroa destructor mites then concentrate entirely on the adult bee population.

Ernesto Guzman, a professor of apiculture and the director of the honeybee research centre at the University of Guelph, says the mites were most likely introduced by importation of infested honeybee queens, either legally or illegally.

The mites continue to spread from colony to colony when infested worker bees share a flower with a noninfested worker bee from another hive, when an infested worker bee accidentally enters a foreign hive or when healthy bee populations attack infested hives for their honey, and in the process become infested. When a bee colony divides itself in to two colonies, a process called swarming, this also spreads the Varroa mites.

Although Varroa destructor mites have become resistant to many synthetically made miticides, Guzman said that without treatment, colonies have only a 50 per cent chance of survival through the winter when the infestation rate is higher than 6 per cent. That means only six mites per 100 bees are needed to reduce survival rates by half. Healthy colonies that are treated correctly and at the right time have an 80 to 90 per cent chance of survival.

The objective is not to eradicate the mites. They will be here long after humans are gone, said Guzman. The objective is to keep their populations low.

Guzman said there is some hope as research is demonstrating naturally occurring compounds, specifically essential oils including oregano, clove and thyme, are effective in controlling mite populations. So far, there is no evidence of the mites developing resistance. Research is still ongoing for the best application method.

Another area of research is in selective breeding for natural resistance. Bees have two different kinds of behaviours that are natural defences against the mites. The first is hygienic practices, meaning the worker bees can smell infected larvae under its wax cap. They uncap the larvae and remove it, and this way disrupt the mites life cycle. The other habit is grooming. Some bees can scratch off the mites and kill them.

Not all bees are born with these behaviours. Guzmans lab is researching how to breed bees that have these traits.

Its important to keep populations of bees alive because one third of our food supply comes from the pollination work of bees, said Guzman. There are thousands of bee species in the world, and they all pollinate, but the most important pollinator in the world is the Western honeybee.

Guzman cited a new generation of pesticides, other pests and diseases, the Varroa destructor mite, as well as the now common practice of transporting and renting bee colonies to pollinate crops, as new stressors that bee colonies and beekeepers werent dealing with 50 years ago.

Weve been losing colonies at a rate of over 30 per cent, said Guzman. Standards of living would be lower without modern practices, but they come with a price. Losing bees is one of those prices.

Consume local honey. You are supporting local beekeepers, and they are the ones who can keep bee populations alive. But they need to be able to make a business out of it.
There was drama in Kano state on Thursday as some COVID-19 patients had held health workers hostage at the Kwanar Dawaki Isolation Centre in the state.

Aminu Mohammed, former chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Kano branch, disclosed this when he featured on a radio programme on Friday.

He said the aggrieved patients held the health workers  two medical doctors and one nurse hostage while they were going round the wards for routine checks.

He said the patients locked them up in a room for hours.



Mohammed said health workers who are battling with inadequate personal protective equipment (PPEs) still have challenges managing hostile patients.

He appealed to the public to cooperate with doctors and nurses and not discourage them in the line of duty.

When contacted, Tijjani Husaini, head of Kano COVID-19 technical response team, said he was not aware of the incident.

Kano has 482 COVID-19 cases, the second highest in the country.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 9

By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:

Forty more coronavirus cases were reported in Kazakhstan on May 9, 2020, Trend reports with reference to Kazakhstans Ministry of Healthcare.

New coronavirus cases were confirmed in Zhambyl region (1 case), East Kazakhstan region (10 cases), West Kazakhstan region (1 case), Atyrau region (3 cases), Almaty city (20 cases), Almaty region (1 case), Nur-Sultan city (2 cases), Pavlodar region (2 cases) and Kyzylorda region (1 case).

The total number of coronavirus cases confirmed in Kazakhstan since the virus was first confirmed in the country amounted to 4,834 cases. This includes 1,631 people who recovered from the coronavirus, and 31 patients who passed away.

Distribution of overall coronavirus cases in Kazakhstans regions:

Total infected Total recovered Total deaths Nur-Sultan city 962 361 3 Almaty city 1 537 362 9 Shymkent city 226 97 5 Akmola region 106 89 4 Aktobe region 172 34 Almaty region 182 48 Atyrau region 272 86 East Kazakhstan region 43 12 1 Zhambyl region 177 73 1 West Kazakhstan region 218 72 Karaganda region 186 91 3 Kostanay region 61 23 1 Kyzylorda region 226 150 Mangystau region 109 12 1 Pavlodar region 154 29 2 North Kazakhstan region 34 28 Turkestan region 169 64 1 TOTAL 4 834 1 631 31

The first two cases of coronavirus infection were detected in Kazakhstan among those who arrived in Almaty city from Germany on March 13, 2020.

The outbreak of the coronavirus began in the Chinese city of Wuhan (an international transport hub), at a fish market in late December 2019.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11. Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019.

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Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh
Its become the litmus test for U.S. presidents seeking a second term.

For Ronald Reagan, it was simply a way of shifting the conversation away from questions about whether Americans could trust his finger on the nuclear button.

So Reagan used the closing statement of his lone 1980 debate with then-President Jimmy Carter to ask the viewing audience, Are you better off than you were four years ago?

Its not necessarily a fair question. After all, there are countless outside forces that collide with the best-laid plans of any president.

If you asked voters in 1944  with 16 million Americans fighting in a world war and folks back home subjected to rationing  whether they were better off than theyd been four years before, a majority probably would have said no. But enough of them understood that their sacrifices had a higher purpose.

Reagans question, however, was effective because it tapped into the way voters generally decide whether to renew someones lease on the White House.

Over the past 100 years, only three elected U.S. presidents have been voted out of office, and all of them were saddled with bad economies: Herbert Hoover had the Great Depression, Carter had stagflation and an off-the-charts misery index and George H.W. Bush had a downturn that deepened over the course of an election year.

Three months ago, Donald Trump had the economic winds at his back. Unemployment was down to 3.5 percent, growth was steady and the stock market was booming.

You could easily see Trump, in the fall of this year, pulling out some variation on Reagans old question, secure in the knowledge that it was a winning card for him.

Everythings different now. The COVID-19 pandemic has not only taken the lives of nearly 80,000 Americans, it has forced the U.S. economy into hibernation.

On Friday, we learned that unemployment had reached 14.7 percent, its highest level since the Great Depression. The U.S. economy lost a record 20.5 million jobs in April, nearly wiping out a full decades worth of job creation in the span of 30 days.

Are you better off than you were four years ago?

Thats not a question Trump wants to ask voters right now.

While much can change in the next six months, its almost certain that in November, our businesses will still be hobbling, well still be grappling with COVID-19 and well still be anxiously waiting for a vaccine.

Consequently, Reagans 1980 question now works to the advantage of presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

A Monmouth University nationwide poll released Wednesday had Biden ahead of Trump by 9 points (50 percent to 41 percent). Two months earlier, Biden led by only 3 points in the Monmouth poll.

A new Hart Research Associates poll found Biden leading Trump in six Senate battleground states  four of which Trump won in 2016  by 9 points.

One of the most troublesome signs for Trump came from a Dallas Morning News/University of Texas at Tyler poll released a week ago. This poll found Biden and Trump tied in Texas, with each garnering 43 percent support.

Texas Democrats have been deluded by promising poll numbers before, and its hard to imagine Trump actually losing Texas, but this poll is still some seriously bad news for him.

Texas is the GOP electoral vote firewall; a state that has not gone Democratic since 1976; a state that Mitt Romney carried over Barack Obama by nearly 16 percentage points only eight years ago.

A month ago, Democrats worried that Trumps daily televised coronavirus briefings were pushing Biden out of the national political conversation. There was open frustration among some Democrats that Biden wasnt doing much to get his message out.

Keeping a low profile and letting Trump punch himself out, however, might be Bidens best strategy at the moment.

Ultimately, this election will be a referendum on Trump and theres little that Biden can say at the moment that could be more damaging to the president than the daily litany of public health and economic news.

Our politics is so tribal these days, and our consumption of news so polarized, its difficult for any politician to pierce that armor of partisanship. But a national crisis, and the pain that it produces, can cut through anything.

By nature, we want to rally behind our leaders in times of crisis, and Trump got a small boost in public support in the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak. But his deceptions (falsely blaming Obama for the slow rollout of COVID-19 testing kits), defensiveness and wildly inaccurate promises (saying two months ago that wed soon drop from 15 COVID-19 cases down to zero) are hard for even his most ardent supporters to deny.

Trump won in 2016 by swaying just enough voters who found him personally obnoxious and crass but believed that hed get things done. At least some of those voters are up for grabs now, and they could decide this election.

Gilbert Garcia is a columnist covering the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Gilbert, become a subscriber. ggarcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @gilgamesh470
Crushing fatigue. Lung and heart damage. Strokes. Even brain damage. These are just a few of the frightening complications of coronavirus that indicate infection could, in some cases, lead to long-lasting, debilitating illness in those who survive it, a growing number of doctors are claiming.

Data gathered by UK researchers suggests primary symptoms themselves can come and go, or endure for 30 days or more, far beyond the official two-week period suggested by the World Health Organisation.

And for certain patients, the disease itself may be just the beginning of a long, hard battle  with one recent report warning of the looming threat of post-Covid disability.

Kirstin Coutney, pictured with her daughter Tilly, contracted Covid-19. The 49-year-old mother of two from Bath never reached the threshold which required hospital treatment, but she is still battling crippling fatigue, dizziness, breathlessness and panic attacks  even six weeks after coming down with the virus

Professor Paul Garner, an expert in tropical diseases was also infected with Covid-19, which left the fit and healthy 64-year-old clinician facing extreme fatigue

One 48-year-old mother-of-three from East London has revealed how the virus left her with a deadly heart condition  quite possibly for life. Almost nine weeks after her cold symptoms struck, doctors diagnosed dilated cardiomyopathy  Covid-19 had caused severe inflammation of the heart muscles, making it harder for it to pump blood around the body.

Doctors also found severe scarring to both of her lungs. The woman, who did not want to be named, says: Ive been told that most cases improve gradually, but some require a pacemaker in future  and occasionally, a heart transplant. I still fight for breath and I get nausea and dizziness so severe that if I sit up, I have to lie back down again. I can only sleep on my right side, to relieve pressure on the heart.

Other lingering repercussions include chronic memory loss, a swollen left eye and a strange, stabbing pain in her left leg.

The lung doctor who treated Boris Johnson, Professor Nicholas Hart, has claimed coronavirus could end up becoming this generations polio and lead to a wave of further debilitating problems for patients many months, or years, after their symptoms begin.

This will scare anyone who can recall the polio epidemics of the 1950s, which killed thousands, and left a generation with life-long mobility problems. The virus, spread via bodily fluids, infected up to 8,000 a year in the UK between 1947 and 1956  when a vaccine was finally found.

As has been seen in the current pandemic, large numbers of those with polio suffered few, if any symptoms. Yet one in ten of those who contracted the disease died. And in many more, the virus, which attacks the brain, led to permanent paralysis of one or more limbs, muscle-wasting and joint problems. Worse still, symptoms could return with a vengeance, years, or even decades later.

Posting on his Twitter page during the first week of lockdown, Prof Hart, critical care specialist at Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust wrote: Covid-19 is this generations polio. Patients have mild, moderate and severe illness. Large numbers of patients will have physical, cognitive and psychological disability post-critical illness that will require long-term management.

This newspaper has now spoken to a number of coronavirus victims who have been suffering from symptoms for months, in some cases.

In the seven weeks since he contracted the disease, Prof Garner said: 'There was something new each day. A muggy head; acutely painful calf; upset stomach; tinnitus; pins and needles; aching all over; breathlessness; dizziness; arthritis in my hands'

One of them is Prof Paul Garner, an expert in tropical medicine at the renowned Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. He spoke of a rollercoaster of ill health, extreme emotions and utter exhaustion which has lasted seven weeks.

Prof Garner, 64, has travelled the world investigating viruses. After developing coronavirus seven weeks ago, Prof Garner says he suffered a heaviness and malaise, tightness in the chest  [at times I have] been so unwell I felt I was dying.

He says that he does not believe this to be some post-viral syndrome, it is the disease.

Every day there has been extreme fatigue although the other symptoms have varied. There was something new each day. A muggy head; acutely painful calf; upset stomach; tinnitus; pins and needles; aching all over; breathlessness; dizziness; arthritis in my hands. He admits, despite his age, that he believed years of running and military fitness would protect him from the worst of Covid-19.

But at times the illness left him struggling to even walk.

Boris Johnson, pictured in Downing Street on Friday is preparing to address the nation on his government's plan for the next stage of battling the Covid 19 outbreak

While there is no evidence that coronavirus will cause the same cruel and devastating after-effects as polio, doctors are concerned it has the potential to lead to long-term damage in large numbers.

Carmine Pariante, professor of biological psychiatry at Kings College London, says: We dont have the data yet, but we are concerned that some people will be affected long-term. There is, particularly for patients in intensive care, a perfect storm of potential damage to the body and the brain.

But we also need to see whether even those with milder forms who werent treated in hospital have some consequences such as long term physical or mental fatigue. We dont know  but it might well be possible.

Azeem Majeed, professor of primary care at Imperial College London, adds: Because this is a new disease, no one is sure of the long-term complications. Many will have a lot of lung disease in particular, and also some strain on the heart. These patients need to be followed to see what effect there is.

The emerging problem is two-fold. The most seriously affected patients, of whom there are many thousands, have spent weeks in intensive care.

Before a polio vaccine was developed, public information campaigns warned people about how to reduce the risk of contracting the disease which blighted communities in the 1950s

It is already known from extensive research that being on life support can cause long-term complications including muscle weakness, lung problems and fatigue even five years later. Rehabilitation services are already gearing up to face ever-greater numbers coming through the system needing physiotherapy, psychological support and cardio-pulmonary rehab, according to Professor Lynne Turner-Stokes, chair of rehabilitation at Kings College London.

But there is another unexpected element: a growing number of reports that even people with mild illness, who didnt go to hospital, are experiencing long-lasting symptoms. Some people infected in February or March are still being ambushed by extreme fatigue, headaches, sudden breathlessness and problems concentrating or doing even light exercise.

Despite not being unwell enough for hospitalisation, 49-year-old Kirstin Courtney, from Bath, is still battling crippling fatigue, dizziness, breathlessness and panic attacks  even six weeks after coming down with the virus.

Over 40 days later Im still being hit by this virus in waves of hideousness, says the HR adviser, who believes her husband James and daughters, Tilly, 11, and Olive, 14, also had the virus, but with milder effects.

Kirstin says: It can take me two hours to get ready and downstairs in the morning.

The issue is that we dont know how many of these patients there are, as we are not routinely testing suspected Covid-19 cases in the community. That also means their symptoms cannot be tracked.

A report co-authored by Prof Turner-Stokes for the British Society of Rehabilitation Medicine recognised the significant challenges ahead because of an as-yet unquantifiable additional caseload of patients with post-Covid disability.

These problems are being seen even in those who did not require hospital admission, it added. One way of attempting to gather information is via the Covid-19 Symptom Study app, run by a team of researchers at Kings College London, in a bid to identify virus hotspots. It is already suggesting that there are longer-than-expected recovery times.

Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at Kings, who leads the team, says that while the average time for recovery was 12 days, we are also seeing a significant number of people reporting symptoms that can go on much longer than this, for 30 days or more.

Prof Nick Hart, who was part of the clinical team that treated Boris Johnson, has warned Covid-19 could become this generation's polio

Prof Majeed, who is also a GP in Clapham, South London, says he is seeing ongoing problems among those who had either had or were suspected of having Covid-19. Some people might recover for a few days and then develop a temperature and cough, and this might go on for weeks. This relapsing and remitting illness appears to be common.

The virus itself attacks the lungs. But it also causes viral pneumonia  inflammation and a build-up of fluid in the lungs, which is the result of the immune systems response to the infection.

There are likely to be lingering lung problems and many of those coming into Prof Majeeds practice are suffering ongoing breathlessness. The changes on lung X-rays are quite unique, he explains, and much more severe than wed see with flu. So there are concerns about whether people will still have reduced lung function after several years.

This was certainly the case with SARS, another coronavirus, which infected around 8,000 people in 2002 and 2003.

A study by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, five years after the SARS outbreak, found more than one quarter of 110 survivors had abnormal lung function after a year. Their overall health, and ability to exercise, was markedly diminished compared to the general population, particularly among those who had been admitted to ICU.

Faisal Azam-Qureshi, a 45-year-old TV producer from Stockport, says his capacity for cardiovascular exercise now pales in comparison to his pre-Covid-19 ability. In the gym, I can only do about 50 per cent of what I used to do, says Faisal, who was hospitalised in mid-March and given oxygen support.

A quarter of patients in intensive care for Covid-19 need dialysis for kidney failure. Others have problems with liver function. Both could require longer term support. Long-term damage to the heart is another possibility. Prof Majeed says: Chest pains that go on for quite a long time are common among those coming into the clinic, probably because of the inflammation of the chest wall during the infection. Will we see a rise in cardiovascular disease as a result?

And there are questions about the impact on the brain  even in patients with mild disease. Prof Turner-Stokes explains: Evidence from China and Italy reveals around one-third of Covid-19 patients have neurological symptoms that can be quite devastating: from inflammation of the brain and nerve damage to delirium, neuralgia and headaches. Some are quite mild but we know Covid-19 causes damage to the little blood vessels that supply various organs.

Thats why there are these widespread problems that can affect the heart, the lungs, the liver, the kidneys, the nerves and pretty much everything.

Prof Pariante, from Kings College London, says even patients with mild to moderate coronavirus report some form of brain symptoms such as dizziness or headaches. This rings true for Faisal, who first developed a raging temperature seven weeks ago. I still have disturbing hallucinations which seem to be brought on by reading books or watching certain things on television, he says.I have to just switch off or try and watch something else.

A recognised symptom of Covid-19, frequently reported by those managing the disease at home, is loss of smell and taste  both neurological symptoms  which Prof Pariente says could indicate some damage to brain cells.

Its all speculation and theres no data, he cautions. But scientists are talking about whether the virus can enter the olfactory bulb  which carries information about smells to the brain  and could potentially enter the brain itself this way.

The most severe neurological risk from the coronavirus appears to be from stroke, however. Case reports from around the world indicate stroke  an interruption of the blood supply to the brain  can even be one of the first signs of the virus in patients with no other symptoms.

A study by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, five years after the SARS outbreak, found more than one quarter of 110 survivors had abnormal lung function after a year. Their overall health, and ability to exercise, was markedly diminished compared to the general population, particularly among those who had been admitted to ICU

A US report suggests those affected are, on average, 15 years younger than non-Covid stroke victims. Patients in hospital with coronavirus are also reported to be more likely to develop clots as the immune system responds to the infection by making blood stickier.

Prof Philip Bath, Stroke Association Professor of Stroke Medicine at the University of Nottingham, says it is a relatively common finding that stroke patients also had a recent infection. Infections in general will lead to bone marrow stimulation producing not just more white cells to fight the infection but also more-sticky platelets  cell fragments that cause clots to form in blood vessels.

There are significant mental health effects too, and ongoing fatigue. Prof Majeed says many patients attending his clinic after battling the virus are suffering from anxiety. They considered themselves healthy before their illness and its been a big shock. Flashbacks to their hospital care, and fluctuating levels of mood are quite common.

Dr Philip Gothard, at Londons Hospital for Tropical Diseases, says some patients experience profound fatigue and exhaustion for up to six weeks. In many patients with other diseases who are recovering from an acute illness you tend to see this kind of waxing and waning effect as you are slowly getting better, he says.

The challenge now, according to Prof Turner-Stokes, is making sure there is enough rehabilitation support.

Were likely to have several more surges of Covid-19 before were done, she adds.

For Paul Garner, the situation is ongoing. There was a pattern in that period from two weeks to six weeks: feeling absolutely dreadful during the day, sleeping heavily, waking with the bed drenched in sweat, getting up with a blinding headache which receded during the day, turning me into a battered ragdoll in the evening.

It prompted him to write about his experience in the British Medical Journal last week, in a bid to normalise the strange and frightening path of the virus.

People are isolated, scared and these weird things happen to them. I have had people say, I cried when I read your article, its just what I have been feeling and no one understood.

We need to recognise that for some people the illness goes on. The exhaustion is severe, and real. I think it is much more common than many imagine.
As several state governments initiate steps to amend labour laws to help revive industries, trade bodies in Karnataka have also sought relaxation in norms in view of the coronavirus pandemic and consequent nationwide lockdown.

In an interaction of various industry bodies, including Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), with state labour secretary Captain Manivannan, stakeholders raised the issues of non-payment of salaries to employees as well as inevitable layoffs and what action would that lead to.

Manivannan assured the industry heads that his department would not be issuing notices to organisations that are unable to pay salaries for April.

"No action will be taken against such companies. In case, there is a complaint, we will inquire if the company has the capital to make payments, if they do, through industry associations, we will ask them to pay their employees. If they are unable to do so, the matter ends there," Manivannan said.

Representatives from the food processing industry also asked if working hours could be increased to over 72 hours per week or 12 hours per day, in order to make up for the time lost during the pandemic, besides the increasing manufacturing cost for working with half labour force.

The department said it would consider these suggestions as it would help revive the economy. The secretary also said there would be a re-think on which other industries could be added to the list of essential services so that more industries could start functioning.

With regards to the migrant labourers crisis, the department said the "wishes of the migrants must be met". It also requested the various industries to dig into the funds of the building and construction workers welfare association.

"There is Rs 8,000 crore in this fund that can be accessed by the association and any worker who has worked for minimum three months is eligible for grants from this. The companies can avail this corpus," Manivannan said.

The Labour Fepartment also said that if industries can maintain and prove 100 per cent social distancing measures, they would be considered to work with full force, a letter with a recommendation would be sent to the commerce ministry to facilitate the same.

A request was also made for tweaking benefits under Employees' State Insurance (ESI) and Provident Fund (PF). However, as both fall under the central government, the state authorities have reportedly expressed it inability to make any amendments to the norms.

Several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, have relaxed labour laws and have come under several criticism for giving in to further exploitation of labourers and their rights.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka government allowed garment units in red zone districts, but outside containment zones, to resume operations with one third of the workforce.

Chief Secretary TM Vijay Bhaskar in the May 8 order, said all recognised garment factories having an Importer-Exporter Code (IEC) and those registered with the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) can start operations with one third of the total workforce in red zone districts, but outside containment zones.

It said the permission is subject to following of the Standard Operating Procedures. At present, Bengaluru urban, Bengaluru rural and Mysuru are the red zone districts in the state.

(With inputs from PTI)
The Greater Accra Regional Police Command says more inmates in cells have contracted the novel coronavirus but have been isolated.

Ghana, as of May 8, has recorded over 4,000 COVID-19 cases with 323 recoveries and 18 deaths.

Speaking to journalists on Saturday during a disinfection exercise by Zoomlion Ghana Limited, the Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Fred Adu Anim, said though he is unable to give out the number of infected inmates, measures are in place to contain the spread.

Some of the inmates have already contracted the disease so we have separated them from the fresh suspects who would come into our custody. I cant mention the number off-head but they have been taken to isolation centres.

If you listened to the news carefully, you will hear that two Nigeriens who were in our custody have been discharged having testing negative. I cannot talk about the others, he noted.

Prisons overcrowded in coronavirus times

In recent times, attention has been drawn to the challenges prison facilities are facing in Ghana following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the country.

There have been complaints on the inability of the inmates to practise the safety protocols issued to prevent the disease such as practising social distancing, maintaining good personal hygiene and washing hands frequently.

The Ghana Prisons Service had earlier said practising social distancing among inmates in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak will be challenging especially at night due to the congestion.

Superintendent Courage Atsem who is Chief Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Prisons Service told Citi News that the Service had suspended all contact visits as part of efforts to prevent the spread of the disease.

Social distancing can only be practised within the day. Where they are open and they are able to move about but at night where they are supposed to sleep, their cells are usually congested and that is why our concern is to ensure that we do not record any case, he said.

It is for reasons as such that the Prisons Service is calling for the swift passage of the Non-Custodial Sentencing Bill to help decongest Ghana's prisons as COVID-19 is still spreading.

COVID-19 in Ghana

Ghana's case count of the novel Coronavirus has shot up from 3,091 to 4,012, with 18 deaths and 323 recoveries.

This was captured by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) website on Friday, May 8, 2020.

According to GHS, over 50% of these [new] cases were as a result of an outbreak in an industrial facility with 1,300 workers of which 533 have been confirmed positive.

The website, however, did not give the name of the industrial facility.

---citinewsroom
Life in isolation for Prime Minister Scott Morrison's wife Jenny has been "challenging" but at least one good thing came out of it for her family.

"I haven't seen Scott as much as I have in past six weeks for 13 years really," she said.

Jenny Morrison says she's seen more of her husband in the last six weeks than in 12 years.

That's because Mrs Morrison and daughters, Abbey, 12, and Lily, 10, have spent the last six weeks in isolation at The Lodge in Canberra while Mr Morrison oversees the nation's response to the coronavirus pandemic from nearby Parliament House.

However that family time is about to end, as Mrs Morrison heads back to Sydney in time for the girls to return to school on Monday.
Blazes in Florida and California force around 1,600 people from their homes.

Several fires burning through northwestern Florida in the United States have scorched thousands of acres of woods in recent days, razing dozens of structures, including homes, and forcing some hundreds of people to evacuate from their neighbourhoods.

The 809-hectare (2,000-acre) fire in Santa Rosa County, located just east of Pensacola, prompted the evacuation of 1,100 homes on Wednesday.

Officials said a few residents in areas south of Interstate 10, northern Floridas main transportation artery, had been allowed to return to their homes, although others were told to stay away.

There have been no reports of injuries or deaths but officials said at least 13 homes have so far been destroyed in the blaze, dubbed the Five Mile Swamp Fire.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, some evacuees were sent to nearby hotels to avoid potential problems with crowding.

Firefighters continued battling the erratic fire late into Thursday evening, and officials said it could be days before the situation was brought under control.

A stretch of Interstate 10 remained closed in both directions near Pensacola because of smoke.

The fire was feeding on stands of pines in forests strewn with dry needles.

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried said in a news conference on Thursday afternoon that fire officials had reported the blaze as a type of fire that they have never seen in relation to its magnitude and speed.

Fried and Florida forest service spokeswoman Ludie Bond said dry weather and gusty winds created dangerous fire conditions and allowed the blaze to quickly spread.

Help does appear to be on hand from the weather. There is a band of much-needed and useful rain currently moving across the Florida Panhandle.

On the other side of the country, winds have spread a brush fire over more than 61 hectares (150 acres) on the south Santa Barbara County coast, northwest of Los Angeles, amid a spell of hot and dry weather.

The fire erupted on a ridge near Hollister Ranch shortly on Thursday as offshore winds swept the area, said county fire Captain Daniel Bertucelli.

Containment was estimated at 50 percent by late afternoon. Voluntary evacuations of several houses on the ranch were requested.

A water-dropping helicopter helped 120 firefighters battling the flames about 56km (35 miles) west of the city of Santa Barbara.
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Linkedin Andi Hajramurni (The Jakarta Post) Makassar, South Sulawesi  Sat, May 9, 2020 15:13 620 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd6eeacb 1 National Unhas,belajar-dari-rumah,Universitas-Hasanuddin,South-Sulawesi,digital-divide,Sinjai,study-from-home Free

Rudi Salam, 25, a student from Hasanuddin University in Makassar, South Sulawesi, died after falling off a two-story mosque in his hometown of Sinjai while searching for internet connection.

The local police said he was trying to connect to the internet to look for material to finish his undergraduate thesis.

Rudi fell off the Baburrahman mosque in his village in Saotengah, Tellulimpoe, on Wednesday night and died in a local hospital in Sinjai on Thursday early in the morning.

He fell from the first floor to the ground floor of the mosque, which was about 4 meters. The right side of his head was fractured, Sinjai Police chief, Adj. Sr. Comr. Iwan Irmawan said on Saturday.

Read also: Life without internet: Bornean students learn by radio during pandemic

Iwan said Rudi was on the first floor of the mosque, which was undergoing a renovation, with four other young villagers. They were looking for an internet connection. Because of the renovation, right at the top of the cleric pulpit on the ground floor, the floor was fashioned from some wooden planks and thin plywood. Rudi stepped on the planks and fell through them.

Many places in Indonesia have what locals call blank spots, areas without an internet signal. Many people would have to find a spot that has a steady internet connection. Often times in villages, especially in remote areas, this means traveling far and high. Rudis village was about 30 kilometers from the town center and the village only has certain places for a good internet connection.

Rudi, a student at the Agrotechnology Department of Hasanuddin University's School of Agriculture, had returned to his hometown because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He was close to finishing his thesis, said Mintang, Rudis mother.

Read also: Digital divide causes disparities in COVID-19 relief distribution: Experts

Universitas Hasanuddin spokesperson Ishaq Rahman confirmed that Rudi was a student at the state university.

We are saddened that we lost one of our students. He was finishing his thesis, due this semester, Ishaq said.

Since March 15, the government has ordered millions of students in Indonesia to study from home and this policy made students rely heavily on internet connection. Reports have shown that the country's digital divide has put many students without an affordable or existing internet connection at a disadvantage. (evi)
Simple life style relaxation with Asian working business woman healthy lifestyle take it easy resting in comfort hotel or home living room having free time with peace of mind and self health balance

Hello, Fools! Im back to highlight three high-yield dividend stocks. As a reminder, I do this because high-yield dividend stocks:

provide a healthy income stream in both good and bad markets;

usually come from stable industries; and

tend to outperform the market over the long run.

So, if youre looking to pounce on the recent market crash with an extra $5,000 lying around, this might be a good place to start.

Without further ado, lets get to it.

Bank on it

Kicking things off is financial services giant Bank of Montreal (TSX:BMO)(NYSE:BMO), which currently boasts a dividend yield of roughly 6%.

After rallying nicely in late April, BMO shares have come back down to earth in recent days, providing Fools with a second chance to bargain hunt. Over the long run, BMOs massive scale advantages, diversified operations, and ever-increasing presence in the U.S. will continue to drive solid dividend growth.

Over the past five years, BMO has grown its revenue, EPS, and dividend payout 37%, 39%, and 29%, respectively.

In the most recent quarter, EPS of $2.41 easily topped estimates.

Our commitment to growing our business, improving efficiency and building a stronger BMO for our customers, employees and communities will continue to drive our focus on delivering consistently strong relative performance and long-term shareholder value, said CEO Darryl White.

BMO shares are down about 32% so far in 2020.

Roger that

With a dividend yield of 3.5%, telecom gorilla Rogers Communications (TSX:RCI.B)(NYSE:RCI) is next on our list of high-yielders.

Rogers shares have held up relatively well during this downturn, suggesting that its an ideal way to play defense. Over the long haul, Rogers steady dividends should continue to be backed by strong wireline leadership, continued wireless growth, and a rock-solid balance sheet.

In the most recent quarter, free cash flow climbed 14% over the year-ago period to $462 million. Moreover, the company ended the quarter with liquidity of $3.8 billion.

Story continues

Our strong balance sheet positions us well to manage through this crisis. Our networks are seeing unprecedented levels of activity and demand, said CEO Joe Natale. They continue to provide a resilient foundation for our customers now, and into the future, as our nation recovers and rebuilds.

Rogers shares are down about 11% so far in 2020.

High energy

Rounding out our list is pipeline company TC Energy (TSX:TRP)(NYSE:TRP), which currently offers a solid dividend yield of 5.1%.

TC shares have also held up quite well over the past few months, giving risk-averse Fools some peace of mind. Specifically, the companys massive economies of scale, attractive development pipeline, and long-term contracts should continue to support sustained dividend growth over the long haul. In Q1, the company posted earnings of $1.15 billion.

On that strength, management declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, or $3.24 on an annualized basis.

The availability of our infrastructure has remained largely unimpacted by recent events with utilization levels robust and in line with historical norms, said CEO Russ Girling. With approximately 95 per cent of our comparable EBITDA generated from regulated assets and/or long-term contracts, we are largely insulated from short-term volatility associated with volume throughput and commodity prices.

TC shares are down about 4% so far in 2020.

The bottom line

There you have it, Fools: three top high-yield stocks worth checking out.

As always, dont view them as formal recommendations. Instead, look at them as a starting point for more research. A dividend cut (or halt) can be especially painful, so youll still need to do plenty of due diligence.

Fool on.

The post Have $5,000 to Invest? Here Are 3 High-Yield Stocks to Buy Now appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.

More reading

Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned.

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
Houston Transtar

A major, five-car crash has closed all outbound lanes on the Gulf Freeway, according to Houston police.

TranStar cameras showed emergency personnel siphoning off traffic at the exist for Clearwood Drive, near Hobby Airport.
From resounding applause to ostracization and isolation.

That's essentially the journey Lt. Cmdr. Robert Embleton, who served 34 years in Britain's Royal Navy, took by ambulance when discharged from Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, southwestern England, on April 8 following his near-month sickness with COVID-19.

Arriving at his retirement home, he immediately went into self-isolation with his wife of 55 years, Jean, who has shown no symptoms of the virus. Soon after, Embleton realized he was carrying some new baggage the stigma of the virus. He even considered buying a bell to warn of his presence.

I was regarded as a sort of leper, a plague carrier. Some people when they spotted me, they recoiled, the 79-year-old told The Associated Press. I was particularly regarded as a menace. That's some contrast to his final moments at Derriford Hospital, when the somewhat embarrassed Embleton received a round of applause from all the front-line staff from the cleaners to the doctors.

Embleton received an MBE honor from Queen Elizabeth II in 1993 for outstanding service to the Royal Navy. He understands the need to shield those elderly people with underlying conditions, but says those without serious health issues should be treated with much more "common sense."



The prospect of this type of stigmatization was something he had discussed in Derriford with the 57-year-old Poorna Gunasekera when they were in a ward together recovering from the virus.

Gunasekera, who unbeknownst to Embleton was a doctor and had been treated by three of his former students, thanks the former naval officer for single-handedly lifting his spirits. The fact that Embleton had visited Gunasekera's hometown of Kandy, Sri Lanka, forged a connection, and the two have reconnected on Facebook since their brushes with death.

I've always been a morale officer, Embleton explains. Gunasekera remembers that all four in the ward shared the same anxiety of becoming fresh sources of outbreaks after leaving the hospital.

It is a dreadful fear and we expected to be somewhat stigmatized, and that would be normal because I suppose I would do the same if the roles were reversed, he said.

Time is a great healer and the stigma slowly abates. On a gloriously sunny early spring Sunday afternoon, there was a breakthrough.

As is his wont for a traditional Sunday lunch, Embleton decided to open one of his finest bottles of wine a Chteauneuf-du-Pape and offered a glass to the lady next door, who is also 79.

Then, blinking in the sunshine, all along the top floor, the others came out with their glasses filled and gave all a wave and a smile, he said. Cheer and optimism.

British charities for the elderly, like Age U.K., have heard similar tales and hope that a ramped-up testing program will provide some reassurance.

It just adds another layer of tragedy to the situation that residents who recover something that should be celebrated as a much-needed piece of good are feeling isolated and ostracized as a result, said Ruthe Isden, head of health influencing at Age U.K.

The ostracization may now have gone, but the isolation may be in its infancy, especially if social distancing restrictions on the elderly remain in place for longer, until a vaccine is, if ever, produced. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has also recovered from COVID-19, is set to extend the lockdown restrictions on Sunday, bar a couple of minor tweaks.

Embleton says the lockdown is sapping the equanimity and self-confidence" of most elderly people and is increasingly intolerable for those like him who have no underlying health conditions and who are hugely active members of their local communities.

It is not right to treat all old people as children, incapable of assessing risk, he said.

Luckily, both he and Jean have the upheavals and separation of the naval years to help them get through the weeks and months ahead. Embleton said the isolation reminds him of the time he spent aboard the HMS



Galatea, a Leander-class frigate, near the Arctic Circle, during the Cod War of 1976 confrontations between Britain and Iceland over North Atlantic fishing rights.

Doing things like a best part of the year in the Arctic, just you and your ship, it's rather like being in the over-70s lockdown for COVID-19, he said.

You start thinking differently, you've got to get on with it, you won't be going home, you won't be seeing your family. The same applies for Jean, who endured her husband's brush with death in self-isolation at home.

It's not pleasant but as a serviceman's wife, particularly a naval wife, then you get used to these periods of time that you are on your own so I probably weathered it rather better than some people," she said.

"I was brought up to think that husbands went away and that they came back. Well, Lt. Cmdr. Robert Embleton did come back and he's planning a lot more long walks, gym workouts and drinking fine wines. And hopefully before he turns 80 in November.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Mr Dennis Amfo-Sefah, Tema West NPP chairman has described as cheap propaganda, claims by the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrissu, that President Akufo-Addo and his government are not giving adequate care to people who tested positive for Coronavirus.



In a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, Mr. Amfo-Sefah, who is popularly called Nana Boakye, especially took offense that said aspects of the Minority Leaders claim said that the government mostly provided such patients with vitamin C and abandoned them to their fate.



That definitely is cheap. Anybody who has followed the Covid-19 trend in Ghana knows that the government has been providing some of the best care for not only patients, but even foreigners who were put in mandatory quarantine.



Were we not in this country, when even Nigerians and other nationals on quarantine at 5 Star hotels, shot videos of rich food and luxury accommodation that have been provided to them and lamented that even their own home countries cannot provide even a fraction of the same level of care? So how are we supposed to believe Haruna Iddrissu when he says President Akufo-Addo only provides vitamin C patients and abandons them? Nana Boakye asked.



According to him, the Minority Leaders claim is the result of desperation in the face of the fact that President Akufo-Addo had become more popular because of his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.



Mr Haruna Iddrissu on Thursday addressed a press conference in Parliament, where he claimed that the spike in Ghanas Covid-19 cases was due to President Akufo-Addos poor handling of the pandemic.



According to him, Ghanas caseload which quickly spiked to 3,091 with 18 deaths was the fault of the President because he acted slowly in locking down the country, rushed to lift the partial lockdown over Greater Kumasi and Greater Accra, and has also been providing very shoddy care for sick people.



Fielding questions after his press conference, Mr Haruna Iddrissu claimed the Akufo-Addo Government in some cases was providing only vitamin C to patients and then abandoning them to their fate.



If this were the case, why is our recovery numbers over 300? Those over 300 patients who have recovered, was it only vitamin C that helped them to recover? And what of those who were put on ventilators, are ventilators also vitamin C?



Nana Boakye urged the public to ignore the Minority Leader and give maximum support to President Akufo-Addo to guide the country out of the Covid-19 crisis.



He rejected claims that President Akufo-Addo was to blame for the spike in cases, saying evidence around the world shows clearly that no country was prepared for the pandemic and everybody has been trying to bring the disease under control.



From the United States to Germany to South Africa, everybody is struggling and nobody is blaming their President for being the cause of the spike, only in Ghana, Nana Boakye said.

Source: GNA









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Shaheed Al-Hafed, 9 May 2020 (SPS) - The Algerian authorities have placed a field hospital at the disposal of the Sahrawi people in the Sahrawi refugee camps, as part of support and solidarity and strengthening of ties the brotherly Algerian and Sahrawi peoples, especially in light of the outbreak of Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).



The Military field hospital is equipped with all necessary medical facilities, including includes a special section for the follow-up on patients of Coronavirus "Covid 19".



On 30 April, Algeria sent to the Sahrawi people humanitarian aids composed of food products and medicines by military aircrafts from Boufarik Airbase (1st Military Region). (SPS)



062/SPS/T
courtesy of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office

A search for drugs Wednesday at a recreation vehicle home in Magnolia led to the arrest of two convicted felons after the discovery of methamphetamine and a loaded rifle.

Ariana Hope Boyd, 23, and Jack Daniel Hargett, 27, are being charged with manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance more than 4 grams and less than 200 grams, a first-degree felony, and unlawful possession of firearm by a felon, a third-degree felony.
Nichole Missino (left), owner of Giovanni's Barbershop, and Felicia Stella address the crowd during a rally outside the shop in Media on Saturday. Read more

For a week, Nichole Missino made her intentions clear.

She was going to open Giovannis, her barbershop in Media named after her son, on Saturday, in defiance of Gov. Tom Wolfs stay-at-home order. She posted the plan on social media, gave interviews to local newspapers, and made appearances on radio and television.

But when Saturday came, her plans were dashed by threats she said she received from the state board that licenses her and her business, and the local police, whom she said promised to take action to have her occupancy license revoked.

She didnt waste the day, however. Missino held an impromptu rally on her salons front steps. Her message, she said, wasnt just an endorsement of civil disobedience. It was intended to be a reality check for people who dont understand what she and other small business owners are going through.

What happened to Home of the free'?" she said at Saturdays rally, her words carried by a bullhorn. I dont know where I live anymore.

 READ MORE: Car-bound protesters call for a plan to reopen As a rural Pennsylvania town reopens for business, shoppers turn out for socks, toasters, toys, and some catching-upPhiladelphia

About 30 people stood in the middle of Olive Street, facing her four-year-old business and absorbing her words. Some held signs chiding Wolf or calling for the state to reopen. One man wearing a Philadelphia Fire Department hoodie waved a Trump 2020 campaign flag attached to a length of PVC pipe.

If there was money coming in for my employees, I wouldnt do this, Missino said. If the government wants to drag their feet, my hands are forced to do this.

Missino said her six-member staff, all independent contractors, have not received the unemployment benefits they applied for from the state. The delay is what gave her the idea to reopen, and she ate into her own savings to purchase hand sanitizer and masks and build partitions out of shrink-wrap to separate barbers stalls.

Her idea picked up traction online, and about 70 people booked appointments for what would have been the shops reopening weekend. She made a last-minute decision Friday afternoon to reverse course, and had to call each customer back, canceling their appointments.

We wanted to go against this, today, but theres too much pressure; this is bigger than our small shop, Chris Cifelli, the shops manager, said at the rally. If this continues, there wont be a Media; this town is all small businesses.

 READ MORE: Local barbers say the mandatory corona shutdowns have only created Prohibition 2.0 | Helen Ubinas

Missino first announced her intentions to open around the same time that a like-minded hairdresser was arrested in Texas for defying her states order closing small businesses. Shelley Luther became a conservative icon after opening her Dallas salon, with supporters from across the country rallying behind her. And on Thursday, just two days into her weeklong jail sentence, she was freed on the orders of the Texas Supreme Court and the governor, whose order she flouted in the first place.

The Media rally Saturday also came about 24 hours after a similar, larger effort in Philadelphia. A group calling itself ReOpen Philadelphia organized a drive-by protest around City Hall early Friday, featuring several dozen cars honking and calling for Wolf to reopen the state.

 READ MORE: Car-bound protesters call for a plan to reopen Philadelphia

In the beginning of all of this, I was totally against people keeping their businesses open. I swore not to leave my house for two weeks, Missino said. But the government is promising business owners and independent contractors all this money, and no one has seen anything."

Wanda Murren, a spokesperson for the Department of State, said Saturday that she could not comment on individual businesses licensed by the state. However, she confirmed that the state has not revoked any licenses as a result of Wolfs shutdown order and is referring complaints about businesses trying to reopen to local law enforcement agencies.

While the process to permanently revoke a license can take many months to play out because of due process considerations, the Departments licensing boards have the authority to immediately suspend a license temporarily as disciplinary action is pending, Murren said in a statement. Licensees should be aware that continuing their practice or opening a business contrary to the emergency order does put their license in jeopardy.

Medias chief of police, Martin Wusinich, did not respond to a request for comment. In an interview with the Delaware County Times, he denied threatening Missinos occupancy license, and said he instead had a cordial conversation with her.

Im not a doctor nor a scientist. But I am concerned about my own employees and this virus," Wusinich told the Times. She said, Were taking all kinds of precautions. And I understand that. I agree with all that. But not as chief, but my layman term would be Youre not really in compliance with certain things. 
Switzerland is preparing to take the next step in lifting restrictions in place to slow the spread of coronavirus.

Swiss citizens will soon once again be able to host their family members who live in the European Union, as the Alpine nation continues to ease restrictions imposed to reduce the spread of coronavirus.

And Switzerlands borders may soon be reopened, Bern hinted on Friday, with migration resuming and officials working to process a backlog of applications from people seeking employment in the country.

The controls at the border will continue, the government said. Border crossings will be opened in consultation with the domestic and foreign partner authorities and communicated accordingly.

There have been more than 1,500 deaths from coronavirus in Switzerland, but the number of new cases has been on a downward trend for more than a month, with daily new cases in the past week numbering between 28 and 119.

Among more than 30,000 registered cases in total, fewer than 23 percent were among the over-70s, which may help account for the relatively low death toll.





With restaurants due to reopen from Monday, strict rules are in place to ensure customer and employee safety.

Waiters and guests will not be required to wear masks, though kitchen personnel may have to. Tables will have a maximum of four people allowed at each, and they must be two metres (6.5 feet) apart or separated by dividing walls.

Restaurants must ask for contact details from guests, though they are not obliged to provide them.

But the government has not won over everybody with its schedule for reopening. A survey of more than 32,000 people across Switzerland carried out in the past week revealed only 36 percent supported the timetable for lifting lockdown.

The study, carried out by the Sotomo Institute, said 23 percent of respondents thought the government was moving too slowly, while 42 percent said it was fast or too fast, reported local media website Le News. However, a majority  60 percent  said they had confidence in the government.

The Swiss government also said it would test a voluntary contact tracing app for smartphones meant to alert people if they have been too near people who later test positive for the coronavirus.

The system, part of the nations long-term strategy to contain COVID-19 and avoid being overwhelmed by a second wave, could go live once Parliament addresses the measure in June.

The government also announced 65 million Swiss francs ($67 million) in aid for daycare centres after Parliament supported the move this week.

Last month, Switzerland began fining shopping tourists  those who hopped the border to buy cheaper groceries, for example  for hindering the work of border guards. Those caught travelling internationally without good reason have been made to pay 100 francs ($104).
President Vladimir Putin told Russians they are "invincible" when they stand together as the country on Saturday marked the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in lockdown from the coronavirus. With cases surging and authorities urging Russians to stay in their homes, celebrations of this year's Victory Day were muted after the Kremlin grudgingly postponed plans for a grand parade with world leaders. Instead of columns of military hardware and thousands of troops marching through Red Square as planned, Putin walked alone to lay flowers at the Eternal Flame outside the red brick walls of the Kremlin. In a solemn televised speech, he made no mention of the virus, despite Russia having the fifth-highest number of confirmed infections in the world. Putin instead highlighted the sacrifices made by the Soviet Union in what Russians call the Great Patriotic War and hinted at the threat now facing the country. "Our veterans fought for life, against death. And we will always be equal to their unity and endurance," Putin said. "We know and firmly believe that we are invincible when we stand together." An honour guard marched past Putin after his speech, as Russian television showed images of Red Square empty under cloudy skies. Military helicopters, bombers and fighter jets flew over the city, releasing smoke in the red, white and blue of the Russian flag. State television counted down a minute of silence later in the evening, to commemorate the millions who perished in the war. - Surge in virus cases - The pandemic hit Russia later than western Europe but the country has seen a major increase in cases, with more than 10,000 new infections registered every day this week. On Saturday officials said the number of confirmed infections had risen by another 10,817 to reach a total of 198,676, putting Russia behind only the United States, Spain, Italy and Britain in total cases. Russia says the increase is due in part to a huge testing campaign, with more than 5.2 million tests carried out so far. The country's reported mortality rate is much lower than in many countries, with 1,827 dead from the coronavirus as of Saturday. Critics have cast doubt on the numbers and accused authorities of under-reporting deaths. The pandemic has been a major blow to Putin's political plans for this spring. The postponed Victory Day parade, which was due to be attended by world leaders including China's Xi Jinping and Emmanuel Macron of France, had been meant as a showcase of Russia's increased global prestige under Putin. He was also forced to postpone a vote last month on constitutional reforms that would have paved his way, after being in power for more than 20 years, to potentially stay in the Kremlin until 2036. - Political trouble for Putin - Officials are hoping both events can still be held in 2020 and Putin said Saturday that Victory Day celebrations would take place this year "properly and on a grand scale." But no dates have been set and much will depend on when the outbreak comes under control. As with others around the world, Russians are deeply worried about the long-term economic impact of the pandemic and polls show many are increasingly frustrated with the government's handling of the crisis. One survey by independent pollster Levada this week showed Putin's approval rating falling to a historic low of 59 percent in April. Authorities across the vast country have ordered a range of quarantine measures with Moscow, the epicentre of the epidemic, in a strict lockdown until the end of May. Several Communist politicians were detained in central Moscow while trying to stage a small rally by unfurling red Soviet flags and playing the accordion. They were released after several hours. The capital's streets were largely empty on Saturday, although a few residents wandered out under the grey skies and drizzle. Pensioner Vladimir Trofimov told AFP it was important to mark the anniversary despite the pandemic. "This holiday is not only about the parade on Red Square," he said. "It's about victory, every person feels victory in their own heart." While most other ex-Soviet countries also remain under lockdown, Belarus went ahead with its traditional military display. President Alexander Lukashenko has dismissed the dangers of the coronavirus and some 4,000 troops paraded in Minsk before crowds of spectators, many not wearing face masks. Despite a plea from the World Health Organization, Lukashenko said Belarus had no choice but to hold the parade as "the eyes of those Soviet soldiers who perished for our freedom are watching." A man wearing a face mask against the spread of the coronavirus walks past a banner for the now much reduced 75th anniversary celebrations in Moscow marking the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II
They fled after two of her brothers were tortured by members of an organized crime group that wanted to take over their ranch and force the family to work with them.

But we decided to stay honest and not collaborate with criminals, she wrote. For that reason, we had to leave our country and our lives. If I could be in Mexico, I would be there.

She was given a cloth mask for the first time on April 21, which she washes herself, she wrote. She buys soap, but many other detainees cannot afford to buy soap to supplement the soap provided by CoreCivic, the private prison company that runs the facility. She also washes her own bed sheets and clothes because the clothes never come back clean from the laundromat.

An ICE employee at the Eloy Detention Center tested positive for the coronavirus, as did an ICE employee at the Florence Detention Center, according to ICE. As of Friday afternoon, ICE reported 10 coronavirus cases among detainees at the Florence Detention Center and 52 cases at the La Palma Correctional Facility in Eloy.

The complaint also included testimonials from detainees in New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, and California.
Creative's Questionnaire is an interview series where artists, writers, filmmakers, and other creatives talk about their work, the challenges that they face, and their inspirations.

Manila (CNN Philippines Life)  Ever since the novel coronavirus pandemic broke out and governments implemented strict orders for non-essential workers to stay at home, the film industry has been reeling to stay afloat. The shutdown of cinemas and productions has made filmmakers everywhere face a possible future where both producing and enjoying a film can be considered dangerous. In the seven weeks of enhanced community quarantine in the Philippines, hundreds of crew members have been left jobless, with various community-led initiatives attempting to pick up the pieces and extend a hand in one way or another.

Producer Bianca Balbuena believes that securing funding for films will be even harder than it already is after the pandemic, as private funders must factor in the cost of additional safety measures, while public grants and state funding could suffer in the name of prioritizing health and infrastructure. Distribution, too, will suffer, as attitudes towards cinema-going change.

"Will the theater owners prioritize the big films all the more?" she asks. "Will the people be excited to go back to the theaters, or will they be used to staying home and watching from their screens? The need for content on streaming sites will be one of our advantages, but is it really?"

Balbuena is an award-winning producer, with projects like Antoinette Jadaone's cult classic "That Thing Called Tadhana" and Lav Diaz' Berlinale Silver Bear winner "Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis" under her belt. She's also the youngest person to receive the Asia Pacific Screen Awards FIAPF Award for her contribution to Asia Pacific cinema.

Balbuena is also the co-founder of Epicmedia, the production company behind Dwein Baltazar's "Oda sa Wala," Victor Villanueva's "Patay na si Hesus," Lav Diaz' "Ang Panahon ng Halimaw," and most recently, Bradley Liew's horror outfit "Motel Acacia."

JC Santos and Agot Isidro star in the horror outfit "Motel Acacia." Photo by JL JAVIER

With seemingly more questions than answers, it's hard to be hopeful. But there seems to be a glimmer of hope in streaming  albeit one to be taken with a healthy dose of skepticism.

"I also think [content] will change greatly," she says. "Writers will be our pillar. Creative development will be done online and from home. I hope people will give it more importance. I also hope this will strengthen our need to collaborate with other countries to tell stories."

In April, Balbuena, along with Liew (who happens to be her husband) and writer Dodo Dayao, released "The Tapes" on iWant. The mystery-thriller features Sam Milby and Yassi Pressman as cops leading a murder investigation in a provincial town haunted by secrets and otherworldly forces. The promising trailer gives a peek into a film unlike anything I've seen released by iWant.

As part of CNN Philippines Lifes series of Q&As with creatives, we spoke to Balbuena about The Tapes, why she always chooses projects that make her heart "jump," and the biggest myths about film producers. The interview has been edited for clarity.

What do you think are the essential traits of a creative person, especially in your field?

Open to risks and unafraid to trail on unfamiliar paths and bet on uncertain emotions. A lot like love.

What is the core philosophy that guides your work?

When picking my projects, I always go for something that makes my heart jump. It has to scare me. And then Ill be on my toes the whole time to make it work. When dealing with people, I always tell my staff to be a good person first and foremost before becoming a good producer. Every person on set is as important.

And how does that relate to your current project?

"The Tapes" was a crazy story thought by Bradley Liew (who also directed it). He approached his writer friend Dodo Dayao to pen it. They really jive well. They agree and disagree, and it makes the project more interesting. When I heard about the idea, I was so intrigued that I wanted them to already tell me how it will unfold  not from the point of view of a producer but as an audience. It did make me jump. I approached Dreamscape and iWant, and without much questions and doubts, they green-lit it. Although they admitted its not their usual core material, they are also excited to try something new. Im happy it worked out. Its streaming on iWant and it deals with the '90s, patriarchy, cops and alcohol, ghost earthquakes in Baguio, time traveling, mysterious video tapes, and a lot more thrill.

What does a typical day look like for you?

Making breakfast excites me. Ive also learned recently the delight of AeroPress coffee. I wake up at 7 or 8 a.m. to play, feed, and bathe my child. I make her sleep after a few hours and when she does, I watch shows on iWant, Netflix, or Viu, with her beside me. At night, I have a glass of single malt or gin tonic. A few chats with my husband on our projects also make my day interesting!

How important is social media in your work?

A lot of times, I wanted to disappear and deactivate Facebook as it is very taxing, but work is there. Some of my colleagues are from different parts of the world and social media really connects (or disconnects) you to each other. You also learn about the new works of your old friends and emerging artists.

What skills do you wish you had?

Baking, playing a musical instrument or doing musical score in films, painting.

What do you think are the biggest challenges faced by people in your field today? How do you overcome them?

Raising financing for an arthouse project (from both private and public funding) and doing sales and distribution when the options now have become limited.

You try to overcome them by studying, being open to new things, attending film markets, and meeting people from around the world who you will want to work with in the future. Thats our job.

What myth(s) about your field of work would you like to debunk?

Producers are not banks. Producers do not equate to money. We are creative people who raise financing and make sure the film is seen by people and that the film somehow sells.

What have you learned from work that you've applied to other areas of your life?

Patience  Ive learned a part of motherhood from producing. Collaboration  that I cannot live alone, both in filmmaking and in my personal life. Risk-taking  some are worth it, some are not, but youll never know if you dont try.
Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday (May 9) requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to talk to Chief Ministers of states to allow migrant workers to return home.

Pawar spoke over the phone to Railways Minister Piyush Goyal and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on the issue of repatriation of migrant workers to their home states during the coronavirus-induced lokdown period.

"I humbly request our @PMOIndia Shri. Narendra Modi ji to intervene in this matter by talking to the CMs of the respective states who are not allowing these people to come back home," the NCP chief shared a post on Twitter, without naming any state.

"Had a telephonic conversation with Shri @OfficeofUT - Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Shri @PiyushGoyal - the Union Railway Minister regarding the issue of migrant workers," Pawar twitted. He said Thackeray has assured him of making arrangements for the transportation of workers desirous of returning to their home states. "State Transport buses will be used for their travel," Pawar added.

On his part, Goyal also assured of making arrangements for the journeys of the workers by trains, Pawar said.

NCP's Nawab Malik, who is a minister in Maharashtra, had recently accused the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka of of adopting an uncooperative apporach in taking back migrant workers hailing from these two states. He said that such issues had not arisen from other states like Bihar, Rajasthan or Madhya Pradesh.

Hundreds of migrant workers have undertaken journey on foot to their home state in view of the loss of livelihood amidst the lockdown.
The Bengal Imams Association, a body of Islamic clerics in the state, has urged chief minister Mamata Banerjee not to lift the lockdown before Eid Ul Fitr scheduled on May 25, under any circumstances.

The Union government has announced lockdown till May 17. In our state, it has already been extended till May 21. The holy Eid Ul Fitr is on May 25. The government may consider relaxing the lockdown due to Eid. But, we request the Bengal government to extend the lockdown for a few more days. Let people live first, celebrations can take place later, Md. Yahiya, chairman of the Bengal Imams Association wrote in a letter to the chief minister on Saturday.

Yahiya proposed that the lockdown be extended till May 30.

We request you to raise this demand before the Centre as well. The Muslim leadership will stand by the government, Yahiya wrote.

No one from the government or the ruling party, Trinamool Congress, agreed to speak on record. The chief minister herself will take a call considering all aspects, said a senior minister of the state government who did not want to be identified.

Incidentally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on April 26 urged people to pray during the month of Ramzaan to get rid of coronavirus before Eid.

The clerics call came at a time when the Covid-19 graph in Bengal is steadily rising, reporting 527 cases over the past five days.

Earlier, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the principal opposition in the state, had accused the Mamata Banerjee government of turning a blind eye to the violation of lockdown measures in areas dominated by minorities in Kolkata and Howrah, the epicenters of the coronavirus infection in the state.

Mamata Banerjee continued with her politics of appeasement during this fight against the virus. She did not reveal details about Delhis Nizamuddin Markaz-returnees and everyone could see how the administration is turning a blind eye to lockdown violations in areas dominated by members of a special community, BJP state unit president Dilip Ghosh said earlier this week.

Muslims comprise 27.01% of the states population, according to the Census of 2011, and are a majority in three of Bengals 23 districts  Murshidabad, Malda and Uttar Dinajpur. Incidentally, Uttar Dinajpur has not recorded any case yet, while Malda has reported 3 and Murshidabad has reported 1 Covid-19 case.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has demanded an audit of the PM CARES fund set up by the Central government for receiving donations to aid in governments fight against the coronavirus pandemic outbreak in the country and other crises of similar magnitude in the future.

PM CARES fund was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March and it invites donations from individuals and institutions. Rahul says it has received huge contributions even from public sector units like the Railways and should, therefore, be open for audits and a public disclosure for the sake of transparency.

The #PmCares fund has received huge contributions from PSUs & major public utilities like the Railways. Its important that PM ensures the fund is audited & that the record of money received and spent is available to the public, Rahul said on Saturday.

Railways minister Piyush Goyal was quoted in reports pledging Rs 151 crore to the PM CARES fund in the last week of March this year. The fund has also received several hundred crores of rupees in donation from other contributorsboth in the public and the private sector. All BJP MPs have also donated Rs 1 crore each from their annual development fund along with a months salary.

For Coronavirus Live Updates

PM-CARES or Prime Ministers Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund was announced in the month of March and the PM said it is meant to further strengthen Indias disaster management capacities and encourage research on technologies to protect citizens from disasters such as the one brought upon by the coronavirus pandemic.

Prime Minister has been made the Chairman of this trust and its members include the Defence Minister, Home Minister and Finance Minister.

The HT Guide to Coronavirus COVID-19

The Congress party raised questions over setting up of the fund in the past as well and has demanded to know why it could not be merged with the PM National Relief Fund.

Earlier this month, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had demanded an audit of the fund alleging an official circular in Uttar Pradesh was asking everyone to donate Rs 100 towards it.

 A suggestion: When the common people are distressed, there is a shortage of ration, water and money and the government machinery is extracting Rs 100 from everyone for donations to PM CARES, then it would be appropriate from every perspective to have the fund audited, Priyanka tweeted on May 2, while referring to an alleged order from the district administration in Bhadohi, Uttar Pradesh to collect Rs 100 from individuals as donations to the PM CARES fund
The US Department of Justice is digging into how hedge funds tap into research and set up their bets.
Friday, May 8, 2020 at 9:13PM

Chris Evans' first limited series after his Marvel Cinematic Universe run seems to be doing really well. While Applelike other streaming serviceshasn't divulged viewership data, sources claim that Defending Jacob is Apple TV+ service's biggest debut since its launch in November 2019. Deadline reports that it's one of the top three series premieres for the service, with a big opening weekend and viewership numbers that continued growing by five times in its first 10 days. If this is true, it'll rank Defending Jacob among the two fastest-growing series premieres on Apple TV+.

The show is also reportedly setting Apple TV+ records for viewer engagement. A substantial number of the viewers watching the first three episodes that were released on April 24 went on to watch the fourth episode released on May 1. The show just dropped Episode 5 this weekend, with J.K. Simmons' making his appearance as Billy Barber, the estranged father of Evans' Andy Barber. Defending Jacob also stars Michelle Dockery as Andy's wife, Laurie, and Jaeden Martell, as Andy's 14-year-old son Jacob, who is accused of murdering his classmate.
In 1983, Valley Girl captured the class divide between the residents of the San Fernando Valley and Hollywood. The musical remake  now available on-demand  follows the same plot and setting. But remake director Rachel Lee Goldenberg and production designer Theresa Guleserian had a challenge the original crew didnt: creating an accurate and cohesive 80s look nearly 40 years removed from the decade.

Finding the locations was half the battle, Goldenberg told TheWrap. Shot entirely in Southern California, some of the locales didnt need too much work: beach scenes were shot at Newports Balboa Pier, and a dreamy sequence between Valley good girl Julie (Jessica Rothe) and Hollywood bad boy Randy (Josh Whitehouse) took place at the classic Griffith Park merry-go-round.

But what about that 80s institution: the shopping mall? Sure, malls still exist, but with the proliferation of online shopping, brick and mortar malls are no longer the social and commercial hubs they once were. Location manager Kristi Frankenheimer found a shopping mall in Woodland Hills slated for demolition for the films big opening scene and musical number. It was then up to Guleserian and set decorator Shauna Aronson to turn back the clock to a time when stores like Esprit and The Limited (both name-dropped in Valley Girl) were go-tos.

Setting the color palette was the first step.

No matter what project I do, I use the color palette to tell the story and to keep the narrative clear for the audience, Gulesarian explained. With something like this, where you have two extremely distinct environments and two very different characters and thats the crux of everything  how much theyre different and how much they love each other  it was really fun to do a color palette for each of them and keep the whole crew committed to them.

Valley Girl Jessica Rothe Josh Whitehouse

Rothes color palette was light and airy, while Whitehouses was dark (Photo credit: Orion Classics)

Randys world was all blacks, greys, rust and red. And then for Julies world, we had lilacs, dusty rose pink, a lot of pinks and a little bit of turquoise.

Story continues

Since wardrobe really established the time and setting, the production team spent a lot of time researching clothing. We did a deep dive into family photo albums you can find online, like Flickr pages from random strangers from Missouri that are labeled 1984. And you look through entire familys years of the era, Guleserian explained. You start pulling all that stuff and see those trends. Everyones family had the kid whos wearing the turquoise tank and youre like, OK great, we know thats right. Thats how we built it up.

As for the stores themselves, Guleserian reached out to retailers, who provided images of their logos and sometimes even store interiors. Aronson then painstakingly re-created them, down to the plastic hangers and teeny-bopper posters. Many of the clothes on the mannequins were created because she wanted to get them right and multiples were needed for the racks.

Valley Girl shopping mall

A look at the big opening musical number (Photo credit: Orion Classics)

While the store interiors were important during close-ups, the exterior storefronts served as a backdrop for the big musical number, complete with background dancers on multiple levels and yes, an 80s balloon drop.

We had to be really specific with our angles, director Goldenberg explained, as only five stores had been redecorated. The idea was to make it as shootable as possible.

The dance was extremely choreographed  like inch by inch, Guleserian recalled. We built the fountain exactly to the specs so they could dance up the steps and not hurt themselves. Was the spray in the fountain going to affect their dancing? We needed to make it didnt spray too much but still was effective on camera. Was the balloon drop centered on camera? Even the dance down the escalator; knowing how many steps it would take for [the extras] to get to their marks and map out what facades theyd dance in front of.

Its that attention to detail that added to the authenticity, not just for the mall scene but every musical number in the movie.

Check out the trailer below for a sneak peek at big Valley Girl shopping mall scene. Valley Girl is available on-demand now.

Read original story How Valley Girl Re-Created the Iconic 80s Shopping Mall for Musical Remake At TheWrap
As life is returning to normalcy in some parts of the world amid coronavirus outbreak, Bangkoks famous Caturday Cafe has reopened with its furry employees. According to reports, a few dozen of friendly cats were lounging in the cafe as its human customers snuggled with them. Making up for a much-needed outing for the residents in Thailands capital as the drastic spread of COVID-19 disease continues to scare people. Bangkok-based people were confined to their homes during the time the government had imposed semi-lockdown and shut down non-essential businesses.

According to an international news agency, a regular customer of the Caturday Cafe said that having nowhere to go amid a pandemic was making people stressed out. However, she added, now that the cafe has reopened people feel more at ease and relaxed. Meanwhile, as of May 9, Thailand has publicly reported 3,004 cases of coronavirus with 56 fatalities. Before entering the recently reopened cafes in the country, the customers have to get their temperatures checked and are required to wash their hands and wear a mask at all times.

Read - Actor Judi Dench Reveals Why She Did Not Like Her Look In 'Cats'

Read - Taylor Swift's Loves Her Cats Dearly And These Pics Are Proof

Cats are susceptible to coronavirus

Meanwhile, in an unprecedented revelation, Worl Health Organisation scientists Dr Peter Ben Embarek has said in the press briefing on May 8 that cats are likely to be impacted by the coronavirus and that the furry animals can even transmit the disease among them. He also briefed that even though pigs and poultry are not affected by novel virus, dogs are susceptible to a limited extent.

"So far research has shown that felines such as cats and tigers are susceptible to the virus. Study has also shown that cats can also transmit the disease to other cats. So it is this group of animals that is interesting to look at. Dogs to some extent but not as efficiently, and other domestic species like pigs and poultry, chicken, and turkey does not seem to be susceptible to the disease which is good news because we are producing these animals in a very large scale," he said.

Read - WHO Confirms 'cats Are Susceptible To Coronavirus', Says Poultry, Pigs Not Affected

Read - 'Wife Said No': Milind Soman Reveals He Wanted To Take 'cats' Home From Bali, See Pic

(Image Source: Unsplash/Representative)
The CBI had recently booked the company engaged in the export of basmati rice to the West Asian and European countries and its directors Naresh Kumar, Suresh Kumar and Sangita on the basis of complaint from the State Bank of India (SBI).

New Delhi: Three promoters of Ram Dev International, who were recently booked by CBI for allegedly cheating six banks to the tune of Rs 411 crore, have already fled the country before SBI could reach the agency, officials said on Saturday.

The CBI had recently booked the company engaged in the export of basmati rice to the West Asian and European countries and its directors Naresh Kumar, Suresh Kumar and Sangita on the basis of complaint from the State Bank of India (SBI), which suffered the loss of more than Rs 173 crore, they said.

The company had three rice milling plants, besides eight sorting and grading units in Karnal district with offices in Saudi Arabia and Dubai for trading purposes, the SBI complaint said.

Besides SBI, the other members of the consortium are Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, IDBI, Central Bank of India and Corporation Bank.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) did not carry out any searches in the matter because of the coronavirus-induced lockdown, the officials said.

The agency will start the process of summoning the accused, in case they do not join the investigation, appropriate legal action will be initiated, they said.

According to the complaint filed by SBI, the account had become non-performing asset (NPA) on January 27, 2016.

The banks conducted a joint inspection of properties in August and October, nearly 7-9 months later only to find Haryana Police security guards deployed there, they said.

"On inquiry, it has been come to notice that borrowers are absconding and have left the country," the complaint filed on February 25, 2020, after over a year of account becoming NPA, the officials said.

The complaint alleged that borrowers had removed entire machinery from old plant and fudged the balance sheets in order to unlawfully gain at the cost of banks' funds, it said.
A plea seeking linking of a metro card or token with a commuter's address proof was not entertained by the Delhi High Court as no representation about the issue had been made to the DMRC before moving the court.

A bench of justices Manmohan and Sanjeev Narula disposed of the plea, but gave petitioners liberty to move a representation before the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on the issues raised in the plea.

In case the petitioners move a representation to the DMRC, it is supposed to dispose of the plea within four weeks by a reasoned order after taking inputs from authorities concerned.

The petitioners had contended in their plea that it should be mandatory for metro travellers to provide proof of their identity and address while purchasing metro cards or tokens to establish ownership in case such items are lost.

They also contended that in the prevalent situation of coronavirus pandemic, the DMRC should be aware about the details of commuters as it will help in preventing COVID-19 patients from travelling in metro.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
>>> Vietnam presents medical supplies to Russia, Japan, and US

The gift, the new batch of medical supplies, was made in accordance with an agreement between Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his Japanese counterpart Abe Shinzo during their May 4 phone talks.

Before the hand-over ceremony, Deputy FM Trung received new Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Yamada Takio.

Trung emphasised that as strategic partners of each other, Vietnam and Japan have actively shared information and cooperated closely in fighting COVID-19 within both bilateral and multilateral frameworks, including ASEAN 3.

He spoke highly of measures taken by the Japanese government to cope with the disease, while sharing his sympathy over losses caused by COVID-19 in Japan.

He thanked the Japanese government for supporting Vietnam in combating the disease as well as its assistance for the Vietnamese community in Japan, while expressing his belief that Japan will soon defeat the epidemic.

Deputy FM Trung called for the ambassadors close coordination to promote the extensive strategic partnership in all fields between Vietnam and Japan.

For his part, Ambassador Yamada conveyed deep thanks to the Government and people of Vietnam for their valuable assistance, saying that the Japanese side will effectively use the gift.

He expressed his admiration for Vietnam's response to the pandemic, saying that Vietnam is a model in preventing and controlling the disease.

Japan will continue to closely work with Vietnam in the fight, support Vietnam in promoting socioeconomic development, as well as strengthen cooperation at international and regional forums, especially in the context that Vietnam serves as ASEAN Chair in 2020 and a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2020-2021 tenure, he said.

He promised to do his best to contribute to promoting friendship and cooperation between the two nations.
Reviews of Bad Education, the movie starring Hugh Jackman that recently premiered on HBO, have pointed out that the film is more than just the story of school administrators who fleeced a Long Island district for millions: Its also an indictment of the American education system and its poisonous focus on prestige and test scores above all else. Dont get me wrongtheyre correct. But I dont want another important aspect of the movie to be forgotten while everyone is busy indicting education in America: Bad Education is also a great journalism movie.

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No respectable journalism movie would be complete without a scrappy reporter, and in Bad Education, that role is filled by Rachel Bhargava, played charmingly and with an often-furrowed brow by Geraldine Viswanathan. The Roslyn High School student who eventually exposes the superintendent for embezzling is still a newbie at the school newspaper when we meet her. Because of her lack of experience, shes originally assigned the seemingly boring job of writing about the districts plan to build a skywalk, a fancy-sounding bridge that will connect the high school from end to endand cost millions of dollars. Rachels reporting gets off to an inauspicious start when she tells superintendent Frank Tassone (Jackman), mid-interview, that the article is just a puff piece. Tassone doesnt know hes dooming himself when he encourages Rachel to think bigger, because a real journalist ought to be able to turn any assignment into a story. Rachel takes his advice.

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When we next see Rachel, shes interviewing Pam Gluckin (Allison Janney), an administrator who works under Tassone, and who, unbeknownst to Rachel at the time, is his accomplice in secretly charging lavish personal expenses to the district. Rachel inquires about the contractors who were in the running to work on the skywalk, and Pam bristles at her nosiness. Watching this, it was hard not to think of the times sources have reacted the same way to my questions. Gluckin thinks she can get one over on Rachel and offers her a canned quote instead of answers, but Rachel stands her ground and asks again about those bids. Its classic follow the money stuff. Rachel may be a rookie, but she displays a real knack for journalism. Shes persistent and doesnt let a source intimidate her, but she does use the sources underestimation of her to her advantage.

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When Rachel brings her reporting to the editor of the newspaper, she is dismayed to find that he, too, doubts her new angle. On a desktop computer thats open to page layout software that will look familiar to anyone who worked on a student paper in the 00s, he rewrites her hard-hitting headline into something bland and inoffensive. Its an educational glimpse behind the scenes: Editors arent always right, sometimes reporters have to defy the higher-ups to follow their instincts (Ahem. Hi editors!), and reporters are often not the ones writing the headlines.

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As Rachel continues to be drawn more deeply into the story, we see her enlisting the help of her father to make calls, using baked goods to get on sources good sides, knocking on doors: This is good old-fashioned shoe leather, people. Despite threats from Tassone and pressure from that editor who doesnt want to upset the powers that be, Rachel holds firm, and by the end of the movie her story lands on the Hilltop Beacons front page. Tassone and Gluckin are toast, and the movies final shot of Rachel has her sitting behind a desk in the newspaper room that bears the nameplate editor-in-chief.

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Weve seen slick portrayals of journalists before, but one thing thats great about Viswanathans performance is the way she plays Rachel as a kind of slightly awkward every-teenager. Shes not a preternaturally skilled professional in the body of a 16-year-old but a kid who stumbles onto a good story and is willing to work hard to figure it out. Wearing an early-2000s wardrobe of mall-obtained overalls, hoodies, striped tops, and a green Jansport, shes not aspirationally dressed like a character on on Gossip Girl. Instead, shes the high school equivalent of Rachel McAdams dowdified, khakis-wearing reporter in Spotlight. I for one would love if this dorky Long Island teenager became a cult figure. Viswanathans friends are doing their part to make this a reality: On Twitter, she posted a photo of a Zoom call where a few of them surprised her by dressing up as Rachel.

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POV u join the zoom and your friends (twisted) are COSPLAYING RACHEL pic.twitter.com/6KPjj0ZMJv  Geraldine Viswanatha (@yoyogeraldinev) April 29, 2020

I would be remiss not to mention that, though Bad Education is based on a true story, the real-life version of the school newspapers part in Tassones fall from grace isnt quite as dramatic. The Hilltop Beacon was early to the story, but the students didnt stumble upon it; instead they followed up on tips theyd received about an already-brewing scandal within the administration. This is opposed to the more proactive painstaking investigative reporting Rachel does in the movie. And the character of Rachel herself is, as screenwriter Mike Makowsky put it, part composite, part invention, though her story most closely resembles that of Rebekah Rombom, who was co-editor of the Beacon during the period in which the film is set. She told the Island Now, a publication based in Long Island, that she spoke to Viswanathan as well as Makowsky about her experience.

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I dont think either of those caveats should make Rachel any less inspirational, though. Either way, Tassone feared the bad press the story would bring, and whether from the school newspaper or professional outfits, bad press is exactly what he got. The system worked. Besides, scores of the most famous movie journalists were whole cloth inventions, as are many of our favorite fictional characters, and that doesnt mean we cant admire them.

Cheering on Rachel as she stands up to older students, school administrators, and the secret lovers and shell companies she encounters along the way is both fun and civic-minded. Shes an exemplar of how journalism, at its best, can act as a watchdog for the publics interest, rooting out corruption and holding power to account. The movie also makes a strong argument for supporting local journalism, which happens to be in crisis right now. We would all be wise to look at the Hilltop Beacon as, well, a beacon. Personally, I know that next time Im struggling with a story, Im going to ask myself: What would Rachel Bhargava do?
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Odisha govt cancels 3 trains, migrants workers hit roads in Surat



For Odia migrant workers in Surat, the road back home is fraught with uncertainty. With Supreme Court staying Orissa High Court order that directed migrant workers be allowed entry to Odisha only after testing negative for COVID-19, the ball is now in the State Governments court. Defying lockdown norms, hundreds of migrant workers from Odisha 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.



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An appeals court should let a 23 June primary election in New York state proceed without voters and poll workers being forced to risk exposure to the coronavirus to vote for a Democratic candidate for president when the race is essentially over, lawyers for the state said

New York: An appeals court should let a 23 June primary election in New York state proceed without voters and poll workers being forced to risk exposure to the coronavirus to vote for a Democratic candidate for president when the race is essentially over, lawyers for the state said Friday.

The written arguments were filed by Attorney General Letitia James and Senior Assistant Solicitor Judith N Vale after a judge ordered the state to include the presidential race on the ballot even though former Vice President Joe Biden is essentially running unopposed.

The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan has scheduled oral arguments for next Friday.

On Tuesday, US District Judge Analisa Torres said it was unconstitutional to eliminate the Democratic presidential primary after delegates for withdrawn candidates Bernie Sanders and Andrew Yang complained that doing so weakens their standing at the Democratic Convention.

She noted that a primary for contested races across New York state was occurring 23 June anyway and said the state had enough time to figure out how to safely carry out the election.

But James and Vale said in their papers filed late Friday that more than 4,600 additional election workers will have to work the presidential primary in a state where three elections employees have already died from the coronavirus. They said many election workers also have health issues that make them vulnerable to the sometimes deadly illness.

They said county election boards are already severely understaffed because of workers with COVID-19 related issues and the boards also face significant challenges in creating sufficiently safe polling sites and in hiring, retaining, and protecting poll workers.

They said eliminating the presidential primary was not unconstitutional because the state legislature switched rules several weeks ago to allow the change.

They also noted that Sanders and Biden were negotiating the issue of delegates, and they said Sanders or Yang could have remained in the race if they wanted to be in the primary.

In the papers, the lawyers said 18 of New Yorks 62 counties contain subdivisions, such as cities, towns, or election districts where no election will be necessary without the Democratic presidential primary. And seven counties would require no election at all.

Messages seeking comment were left with lawyers for delegates for Sanders and Yang.
When Emily LaCosse gave birth to twins, she knew her world had changed. What she didnt expect was that at the same time, the coronavirus pandemic would alter everyone elses, too.

LaCosse, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, had her babies March 9. When she went to the hospital to deliver them, the coronavirus still felt like a vague threat: A nurse downplayed the health risks of it, and her hospital had no restrictions on visitors.

But during the five days that LaCosse and her newborns were in the hospital, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency to fight the growing outbreak. Schools shuttered and grocery stores began running low on essentials.

Soon, there was a statewide lockdown, too.

When Emily LaCosse went into the hospital to deliver her twins, Cecelia and Theo, few people were wearing face masks. When she left five days later,

We went into the hospital while everything was normal. When we got home, everything changed: No toilet paper, no visitors, no help, LaCosse said. All of our plans went out the window.

Bringing home a newborn is always an adjustment. But the pandemic has made it unusually complex, and has new parents wondering when they can safely introduce their babies to family, friends and life beyond their own four walls.

LaCosse was one of 14 parents who spoke to NBC News about the challenges of welcoming a baby during the coronavirus crisis. For most, it has been bittersweet: Their joy has been tinged with the sadness of not being able to share their excitement with others in person.

While there have been some benefits, including unexpected time with both parents home in many households, the pandemic has complicated even the most routine activities  which can already feel intimidating for sleep-deprived mothers and fathers.

I stand at the patio door with him and we just peer outside like a sad puppy, waiting for our owner to come home.

I want to take him to the park. I want him to smell things, I want him to hear the birds and feel the sun, said Jamal Gathers Sr., of Newton, Massachusetts, whose second son, Henry, was born March 14. With social distancing, its just not the same. I stand at the patio door with him and we just peer outside like a sad puppy, waiting for our owner to come home.

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Even errands and appointments, instead of being an excuse to get out of the house, feel risky.

I had all these plans to take my child everywhere, and you cant take her anywhere, said Farrah Kokkosis, of Ronkonkoma, New York, whose daughter, Ridley, was born March 4. Now, its like life is on hold  everything is on hold.

A lot of unknowns  and a lot of anxiety

While children, including infants, generally appear to have more mild symptoms of the coronavirus, there have been severe or fatal pediatric cases. Researchers do not have a clear answer why.

With so many unknowns and no vaccine or cure, some parents of newborns are wrestling with depression and anxiety  even if they did not experience that after prior pregnancies.

Kristen, a mother of three in the Tacoma, Washington, area who asked that her last name not be used to protect her family's privacy, was diagnosed with the coronavirus in March, three weeks after she had her son, Valentine.

She isolated in her bedroom with the baby, wearing a mask whenever she breastfed him, while her husband took care of their two older children. When Kristen's fever spiked, she panicked.

Oh man, am I going to be around for my kids? Is Valentine going to catch this? Is he going to have to be hospitalized, are we going to be separated? she recalled thinking.

She recovered and no other family members got sick. But the experience, plus other difficulties such as not being able to meet up with close friends during the pandemic, prompted her to start antidepressants.

Its been hard to pinpoint: Is it postpartum depression? Or is it just because everything is insane right now? she said.

She is far from the only mom asking herself that question.

In the first two weeks after Brittany Culbertson of Beaufort, South Carolina, had her daughter, Gwen, she found herself crying often.

While filling out a postpartum depression screening from Gwens pediatrician, she said she was stumped by a question that asked whether she had been anxious or worried for no reason.

I was like, well, I have been extremely anxious, but I dont know that its for no reason. I think its heightened because of the very real fear of coronavirus, Culbertson, who gave birth on March 27, said.

While the pandemic could have mental health ramifications for anyone, experts say exhausted new parents may be particularly vulnerable to depression and anxiety, especially with no one around to give them a break.

If you are anxious for a very good reason, you are still in distress.

Dr. Kimberly Yonkers, a professor of psychiatry, epidemiology and obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the Yale School of Medicine, urged overwhelmed parents to find help through virtual therapy, online support groups or medication. She said overpowering anxiety or depression  whether its for seemingly no reason or because of the pandemic  is a reason to get support.

If you are anxious for a very good reason, you are still in distress, she said.

Some second-time parents say life with a newborn now has highlighted how easy they had it the first time around, even if it did not feel that way then.

Andrea Foran, of Long Island, New York, has a 2-year-old and an infant, born March 3. Her husband is an officer with the New York City Police Department who has been self-isolating in a hotel since mid-April to avoid bringing home the virus, should he get exposed through work. Her mother is helping out with the kids, but Foran said it is hard not having her husband home.

Atticus Svoboda holds his sister, Violet.

With the first one, I had a lot of anxiety because it was my first time, and now, thinking back, Im like, Wow, you idiot! Everything was fine, you worried about nothing, she said. We had visitors. We had people who could help. I wish I savored the peacefulness of the first time now.

Leann Svoboda, of Nashville, Tennessee, has the same mindset. She used to take her first child, now 6, to playdates with other new moms and to baby exercise classes. Now, with her daughter Violet, who was born March 6, even a walk down the street feels frightening.

Were holed up, waiting for it to pass, she said. I just dont trust other people to stay away from me. Its terrifying for me.

The doctor is in (via telemedicine in some cases)

Sometimes, going out with a newborn is unavoidable.

Visits to the pediatrician have been the only outings that Mariel Prince of Sellersburg, Indiana, has made since she came home after giving birth to her son, Declan, on March 20.

Mariel and Josh Prince with their son, Declan. Josh's father personally delivers roses whenever there is a new baby in the family, a tradition started by his father; because of social distancing, he could not do that to welcome Declan, and had to order some from a local florist instead. (Courtesy Mariel Prince)

The appointments are anything but ordinary: Instead of going into the waiting room, she checks in at a drive-through out front, then waits with Declan in her car until the pediatricians office calls her on her cellphone. Newborns are only seen in the morning, and every single persons temperature is taken at the door, she said.

Theres so many more steps involved in everything now, and all the steps involved in taking him anywhere  its a lot, she said. I joked with my husband, if we do decide to have a second, were kind of prepared for everything at this point.

Princes husband, Josh, said besides not being able to have his parents meet his son, his biggest issue since Declan arrived has been trying to help his wife cope with cabin fever.

She was planning on going to a zoo and all these other things where she could go out, he said. But those places are all closed, or she just doesnt feel safe going.

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Elsewhere, parents are being told to stay at home, even for some doctor appointments.

Lindsay Preseau lives in Cincinnati and gave birth to her son, Ludo, on March 16. Right after Ludo was born, she took him to the pediatrician twice to check if he was gaining enough weight. But his one-month well-visit was canceled to avoid unnecessarily exposing him to any illnesses, and the pediatricians office said the two-month one might be, too.

Lindsay Preseau with her husband, Ritwik Banerji, and son, Ludo. When she went into labor, lockdowns and other measures were being implemented.

I wasnt upset about the one-month visit because I know not much happens, but Im nervous about the two-month, because I want him to get the vaccinations, she said.

In Cleveland, Sierra Heiskell had a virtual pediatrician visit for her daughter, Gianna, who was born April 10. A nurse came to her house to weigh Gianna a few days before and then Heiskell did a telemedicine consultation with the pediatrician for the rest of the appointment. While the doctor watched through the phone, Heiskell did things the pediatrician normally would  like pressing on Giannas belly to make sure it felt soft.

Sierra Heiskell had hoped to have her partner, her mother and a close friend with her when she gave birth to Gianna. But hospital restrictions put into place due to COVID-19 meant she could only have one person, Gianna's father, there. (Sierra Heiskell)

Heiskell was also told by her obstetrician-gynecologist that her own six-week postpartum follow-up appointment will be virtual. Such appointments typically involve a physical exam to see how a woman is healing after birth and a discussion of how she is feeling, physically and mentally. Others who have had their OB-GYN follow-ups via telemedicine said the virtual meetings omitted exams and just consisted of questions.

I have no idea how thats going to go, Heiskell said. I dont like it.

Great that we all got stuck together

Despite the obstacles, new parents say there have been some unexpected silver linings.

Gathers wife, Sarah Cohan, was excited to be a part of a new mom support group. The group cant meet face-to-face, so it meets over Zoom. While its not the same as sitting in a room with other new moms, Cohan found another member whom she could relate with, and the two exchanged numbers so they could text one-on-one.

Between that and a couple mom groups on Facebook, including one of about 400 women who were all due in March, Cohan has found a community  even if its not the one she pictured.

Its been so nice to have a bunch of women from across the world who can commiserate, and post funny things, and who I can ask for recommendations, she said.

"There was all this excitement  and now she cant hold the babies, hold her grandchildren.

LaCosse, the Michigan mother of twins, has figured out a way to have relatives see the babies, even though she does not feel comfortable having visitors over. Family comes  but only as far as her front porch. Her in-laws have stopped by a few times to say hi to the twins from the safety of outside, gazing at the twins through the living room window.

Randy LaCosse normally would be back at work now. Because of the lockdowns, he is working from home and able to see his twins much more  an unexpected silver lining. (Courtesy Emily LaCosse)

Their reaction is, I think, bittersweet, LaCosse said, adding that because it was hard for her to get pregnant, relatives, especially her mother-in-law, were extra eager to spend time with the twins. There was all this excitement  and now she cant hold the babies, hold her grandchildren.

On the other hand, LaCosses husband, Randy, is getting much more time with the babies: Had the pandemic not happened, he would have been in his office, working up to 12-hour days as a project manager. With shelter-in-place orders, he is working from home instead.

Its kind of great that we all got stuck together, LaCosse said. Were spending time together like we never have before, and he gets to have an insane amount of time with them.
The coronavirus has resulted in millions of people staying inside, quarantining themselves, and keeping socially distant. While this will certainly help flatten the curve, it also means that many will find themselves deprived of their normal activities and missing the outdoors.

But fear not! With Hulu and Amazon Prime Video, there are plenty of great shows you can stream on demand if you need a quick fix of the natural world. Between the two streaming services is a ton of entertaining, informative content out there that you wouldnt be able to watch with just a Netflix subscription.

Heres a look at some of the best nature-related content out there just waiting for you to binge-watch.

1) Naked and Afraid

Naked and Afraid is an attempt to push the wilderness survival genre to a new extreme, following two strangers (usually a man and a woman) as they attempt to survive in an isolated location for 21 days while naked. The idea is as ridiculous as the name would lead you to believe, and there is certainly a lot of high drama and over-exaggeration, but thats the point. The locales are exciting, and the struggle to survive (however real it is) takes the usual narcissism of reality TV and turns it into a convincing statement about human willpower. 11 seasons are currently streaming on Hulu, along with spinoffs like Naked and Afraid XL and Naked and Afraid: Tough as a Mother.

2) Wildest Islands

Wildest Islands begins in the translucent waters of the Zanzibar Archipelago and concludes among huddled penguins in the bleak, secretive Falkland Islands. Each episode of this series examines a wildly different setting, isolated by water, as its inhabitants thrive or struggle in the face of challenges only an island can present. The cinematography is breathtaking, never failing to capture exactly what makes each location beautiful and unique. All in all, few nature series have ever been this binge-worthy. If youre looking to have an adventure without leaving your couch, this is the perfect pick. All 10 episodes are available on Amazon Prime Video.

3) River Monsters

There are plenty of shows on Animal Planet or Discovery Channel that follow a gruff male adventurer in search of some exotic, dangerous beast. However, beside River Monsters," each of these feels cheap and fake, especially when their hosts are matched up against the quiet, raw charisma of Jeremy Wade. In each episode, Wade travels around the globe, uncovering the culprits behind underwater attacks on humans in the hope of deepening mankinds understanding of their river-dwelling neighbors. With its keen insight into local cultures and its focus on the importance of conservation, River Monsters is often imitated but has never been duplicated. 9 seasons of the series are available on Hulu.

4) Nordic Wild

When it comes to nature series, most end up pigeonholed by lush greenery and tropical climates. Whats great about Nordic Wild is that it avoids that stereotype completely but still manages to bring its subject to life with beauty, color, and grandeur. The northernmost areas of Europe are little explored by these kinds of documentaries, and watching this one, it becomes challenging to figure out why that is. Its stories of wildlife are as rich and compelling as any Peak TV drama, with each of its four episodes focusing on a different group of animals. If you want something a bit off the beaten path, you cant do better than Nordic Wild. The first season of the series is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

5) Coyote Peterson: Brave the Wild

Contrary to what he might have you believe, Coyote Peterson doesnt have any expertise with animals, at least in an academic sense. What he does have is a colorful personality, and a willingness to subject himself to situations most biologists would rather avoid, such as the time he allowed a Murder Hornet to sting his arm on YouTube. His Animal Planet series is a little less sensationalist than that, with a much deeper focus on uncovering the secrets of widely misunderstood animals around the world. Theres no replacement for the earnestness and empathy of Steve Irwin, but if you miss The Crocodile Hunter, Coyote Peterson and Brave the Wild are as close as it gets. The first season is available on Hulu.

RELATED COVERAGE ABOUT STREAMING TV SERVICES:

5 hidden gems on Disney Plus (for when you get tired of Netflix)

The best streaming services for binge-watching TV shows while stuck at home

7 classic TV shows you can stream on Hulu to help pass the time

5 hidden gems on Hulu (for when you get tired of Netflix)

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.

Joseph Rejent may be reached at jrejent@njadvancemedia.com. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Governments around the world say theyre engaged in a war against the coronavirus. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi invoked the legend of the Mahabharata, fought over 18 days, as he declared, with little warning, a devastating national lockdown.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who always seems to be mentally screening a film of Winston Churchill in World War II, said that we must act like any wartime government.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, who has long deployed bellicose language, most notoriously in his violent war on drugs, went further, advising the military and police that if quarantine violators become unruly and they fight you and your lives are endangered, shoot them dead!

This kill-or-die idiom is more than casual rhetorical overkill. Many governments are symbolically but very deliberately calling, in this time of fear and uncertainty, for general conscription along military lines.

This is so they can, while pointing to an insidious foreign enemy, aim their firepower against some of the most valuable institutions of domestic public life. They have been very successful so far. Last week, Dutertes government shut down ABS-CBN television and radio, his countrys largest broadcasting service.

Things are not much better in countries with sturdier democratic institutions. Johnsons Conservative government accused the British Broadcasting Corporation of bias after its flagship investigative program, Panorama, exposed shortages of personal protective equipment among healthcare workers.

The public broadcasters critique of the government was stinging in part because Johnson enjoys a high degree of support among Britains privately owned, overwhelmingly pro-Tory press. Nor does Modi, assured of craven public broadcasters, expect much criticism from the Indian media, which has been described, only semi-humorously, as veritably North Korean in its devotion to the supreme leader.

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Modi held a virtual meeting with media editors and owners just before imposing his lockdown. According to his website, the attendees committed to work on the suggestions of the prime minister to publish inspiring and positive stories about Covid-19.

In addition to economic and military mobilization, wartime measures typically encourage a high degree of political, social and intellectual conformity. The general idea is that, in the face of an existential challenge from a vicious enemy, criticism of the government ought to cease.

The media tends to become more patriotic, as do former political partisans. Such was the case in the United States during the early stages of its wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, when most journalists and even Democratic politicians rallied around the Republican George W. Bush administration.

The trouble is that the war against Covid-19 is actually not a war at all. And no one should feel obliged to sign up for it.

The loss of, and separation from, loved ones, and the fear and anxiety that is devastating many lives is not an opportunity to fantasize about heroism in battle. The pandemic is, primarily, a global public health emergency; it is made potentially lethal as much by long neglected and underfunded social welfare systems as by a highly contagious virus.

A plain description like this is not as stirring as a call to arms  and doesnt justify the more extreme actions governments have taken against critics during the crisis. It does, however, open up a line of inquiry that journalists ought to pursue, now as well as in the future.

According to the Indian governments own statistics, its public spending on health before the pandemic measured just 1.17% of GDP, lower than Nepal and nowhere near comparable to South Koreas 8.1%. Duterte no doubt wants his citizens to forget that as late as March 11, he told an audience: Ive been told, You folks are too scared of this coronavirus epidemic and Fools, dont believe it.

Johnson, whose Conservative party presided over harsh cuts to health services, boasted, on the same day in early March that the U.K. governments Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies warned against shaking hands, I shook hands with everybody, you will be pleased to know, and I continue to shake hands.

Awakening late to the pandemic, authoritarian or authoritarian-minded leaders have turned it into an opportunity both to shore up their power and to conceal their stunning ineptitude. To fail to see through their manufactured fog of war, as many in the media are doing, can only further endanger the long-term moral and political health of their societies.

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.

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LG Polymers said today said the tragedy at Vishakhapatnam occurred due to leaking vapor from the styrene monomer (SM) gas storage tank at its facility. As many as 11 people died and around 1,000 were affected by styrene gas leak at the plant on Thursday early morning. The incident is one of the deadliest industrial accidents since the Bhopal Gas tragedy of 1984. Police have registered a first information report, or FIR, against LG Polymers India Pvt. Ltd.

"Our initial investigations suggest that the cause of the incident is prima facie by the leaking vapor from the Styrene Monomer (SM) storage tank near the GPPS (General Purpose Poly Styrene) factory on Thursday, May 7," a Livemint report cited LG Polymers as saying.

Initially reports suggested maintenance failures, operating errors, and improper storage of the toxic styrene gas, might have led to the incident.

Coronavirus India Live Updates: No proposal to run more Shramik trains to West Bengal; total COVID cases-59,662

A day after the Andhra Pradesh government constituted a five-member team to probe the Visakhapatnam gas leak incident, TDP chief N Chandrababu Nadu today urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to set up a scientific experts' committee to investigate the matter.

In a letter to Modi, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief also commended the "quick response" of the central government in controlling the styrene vapour leak from the plastics manufacturing plant on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam.

The company on Friday clarified that the situation at the plant was under control and media reports of a second leak were incorrect.

It also said that all necessary measures were being used to keep the temperatures under control.

Vizag gas leak: NGT asks LG Polymers to pay Rs 50 cr as interim damages

"We have requested authorities for evacuation of residents as a precautionary measure," LG Polymers said.

The National Green Tribunal on Friday imposed fine of Rs 50 crore for the damage caused dut to gas leak. The tribunal also issued notices and ordered the firm to form a fact-finding panel.

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 Vishakhapatnam in the early hours on May 7 while people were still fast asleep. LG Polymers is a part of South Korea-based firm LG Chemicals.
Jammu, May 9 : Pakistan continued to breach the bilateral ceasefire on the Line of Control (LOC) on Saturday as it resorted to unprovoked firing and shelling at Indian positions in Jammu and Kashmirs Poonch district.

Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Devender Anand told IANS, "At around 6.30 p.m. today, Pakistan initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing with small arms and shelling with mortars along the LoC in Degwar sector of Poonch district. Indian army is retaliating befittingly." Pakistan has so far this year violated ceasefire around 1,560 times on the LoC.

Senior army officers say that this is done to provide fire cover to the terrorists so that they can sneak into the Indian side of the LoC.

India and Pakistan signed a bilateral ceasefire agreement in November 2003 fire on the borders between the two nations in J&K.

The agreement held well for nearly six years, which brought a modicum of normalcy in the lives of thousands of people living close to the LoC in J&K.

Experts believe the agreement was breached by Pakistan after six years to address the internal instability within the country.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-10 00:09:57|Editor: huaxia

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MOGADISHU, May 9 (Xinhua) -- At least two militants were on Saturday killed and another one injured in clashes between Somali forces and militants in Bosaso town in Somalia's northern region of Beri, a military officer confirmed.

Hussein Ali Mohamed, commander of Somali forces in Beri region, told journalists that members of Islamic States (ISIS) launched an attack on police forces in the town.

"As the police patrolling in the town, militants ambushed them, prompting an exchange of fire between the army and the militants, we killed two of the militants and injured another one," Mohamed said.

He noted that one of their soldiers was killed while another one sustained injury during the confrontation.

The so-called ISIS wing in Somalia has its main base in the Puntland region and has occasionally clashed with Puntland forces and al-Shabab. Enditem
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a joint operation with the Punjab and Haryana police arrested alleged narco-terrorist Ranjit Singh alias Rana, the prime accused in the smuggling of 532 kg of heroin in Attari last year.

Rana who was arrested in Haryanas Sirsa town, was allegedly also working closely with Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) as well as Pakistans spy agency  ISI, the NIA said.

The NIA said that there is a direct link between the narco trade in Punjab and terrorist groups in Kashmir.

According to a statement by the NIA, Ranjit Singh alias Rana alias Cheeta is the prime accused in a 2019 case related to 532 kgs of heroin hidden in a consignment of rock salt imported from Pakistan.

Investigation revealed that Pakistan based entities are smuggling narcotics from Pakistan into the Indian territory by hiding it in sacks of rock salt which is imported from Pakistan. This is done through an elaborate network of importers, customs house agents, transporters and the operation is financed through illegal international hawala channels, it said.

Investigation also established that the seized consignment was a part of a total of five consignments of drugs, out of which four had been successfully smuggled into India, it added.

Ranjit Singh is also prime accused in the recent Hizbul Mujahideen terror funding module which was busted with the arrest of Hilal Ahmad Wagay, a resident of Nowgam, Awantipora, Jammu and Kashmir with 29 lakh cash in Amritsar by Punjab Police on April 25.

This money was being transported to the Kashmir valley to be handed over to Riyaz Naikoo (now killed), chief operational commander of Hizbul Mujahideen. This case has been taken over by NIA, the agency said.

Ranjit Singh along with his five brothers has been involved in smuggling and trade of drugs for the past many years, it added.

Pakistan based terrorist organisations are using narcotic trade to generate funds for terror activities in India. The proceeds of narcotic trade are transferred to Kashmir valley through couriers and hawala channel for terrorist purposes, it added.
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That is rare in the world of coronavirus-altered learning. The Center on Reinventing Public Education, a think tank, examined the remote learning policies of 100 public school districts and charter networks nationwide. It found that just 22 of them are requiring real-time teaching  and just 10 of those systems are teaching live in all grades, including early elementary school.

The countrys three largest districts, in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago, are not requiring teachers to do any live video instruction, though some individual schools are choosing to do so.

It is a different story in many private schools, both independent and parochial. Although associations said they did not have any hard data on the average number of hours that students in their networks were receiving live instruction, examples from around the country typically show a gap with public schools.

The reasons are clear: Private school students are more likely to live in homes with good internet access, computers and physical space for children to focus on academics. Parents are less likely to be working outside the home and are more available to guide young children through getting online and staying logged in  entering user names and passwords, navigating between windows and programs.

And unlike their public-school counterparts, private schoolteachers are generally not unionized, giving their employers more leverage in laying out demands for remote work. Some public school unions have won strict limits on video-teaching requirements, arguing that it can be difficult for educators to teach live from home when many are also taking care of their own children, whose schools and day cares are also closed.

In Philadelphia, Ms. Morris, a 42-year veteran, is in her last semester before retirement, and it looks nothing like the farewell she expected. Nevertheless, she has thrown herself into learning the technology to teach remotely. Often, she is texting and emailing with parents while simultaneously interacting with her students via Google Classroom.

A recent Monday morning was devoted to a phonics lesson on the sound oy. Ms. Morris used Google Classroom to display vocabulary words on slides  enjoy, soil, annoy  and Jacobs mother, Ms. Rios, helped him complete an online activity identifying the various spellings of the sound.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Advocacy group Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) has approached the Standing Committee on Information Technology, a parliamentary panel headed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, against mandatory use of Aarogya Setu and other contact-tracing apps on privacy concerns.

The Centre has made the installation of Aarogya Setu mandatory across several segments amid rising COVID-19 cases.

Some states are even imposing a penalty or taking legal action against people who have not installed the app.

"We wrote to the Standing Committee for Information Technology which is actively considering the issue of 'citizens data security and privacy' on the lack of any clear legal basis or legislative framework for contact tracing apps such as Aarogya Setu," IFF said on its website.

In its letter to Tharoor, IFF has sought urgent hearing against the mandatory deployment of Aarogya Setu and other such apps.

The digital rights advocacy group said that states and Centre have launched several contact-tracing smartphone applications without any underlying legal legislative framework and they suffer from issues of transparency.

According to IFF, the source code of the apps is not open-sourced and there is lack of clarity on contract conditions and service rules for the app developers.

ALSO READ | Plea in HC against making Aarogya Setu app mandatory

"This is in direct violation of the fundamental right to privacy as analysed with respect to the flagship application, Aarogya Setu which is being developed by the National Informatics Center (NIC)," the letter said.

It said that the installation of such contact tracing applications "which cause mass surveillance" is now being made mandatory under threat of criminal penalties.

"We urge that the Committee on IT may consider the suitability of a legislative framework given the feasibility of Contact Tracing itself is under growing doubt as the mass surveillance and exclusion it will result in is certain," IFF said.

Over 9 crore people have downloaded the Aarogya Setu app across the country.

The mobile application 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 must for people living in COVID-19 containment zones.

Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said Aarogya Setu app 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.
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Boris Johnson was forced to defend his 'exit plan' before it has even been fully unveiled today amid a furious backlash at dropping the powerful 'stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives' slogan.

Ahead of his address to the nation at 7pm, the PM took to Twitter to clarify the new advice after Nicola Sturgeon condemn ditching the mantra that has brought the country to an effective standstill since March 23.

The First Minister said she had not been informed about the change, and insisted the simple guidance would stay in force in Scotland whatever the PM says. Wales also indicated it would still tell people to stay at home.

In the face of accusations about mixed messaging, Mr Johnson posted a fuller version this afternoon spelling out that people are still being urged to 'stay at home where possible' and 'stay alert' when they do go out.

Earlier, the premier tried to play down expectations for his statement, telling the Sun on Sunday that mountaineers know that coming down from the peak is 'the most dangerous bit', as it is easy to 'run too fast, lose control and stumble'.

The first steps towards easing the curbs strangling the economy are set to be very tentative, after ministers were told that 18,000 new infections are still being recorded every day - far above the target of 4,000 for a wide-scale loosening. Scientists have warned 100,000 Britons could die by the end of the year if he gets it wrong.

A DefCon-style five stage system will be introduced to describe the country's outbreak condition, with the UK currently being at the second most serious rating of four - meaning most of the lockdown must be maintained.

With evidence increasingly suggesting the virus spreads far less readily in the open air, the once-a-day limit on outdoor exercise will be dropped.

The focus will also shift to getting businesses up and running where possible, with detailed guidance for firms on how they should operate, and garden centres allowed to open from Wednesday where two-metre 'social distancing' rules can be put in place. Travellers and shoppers could be urged to wear face coverings, as has already happened in Scotland.

Breaches of the more nuanced rules could be enforced with harsher fines, amid complaints from police that the enforcement so far has been 'wishy washy. Plans are being drawn up to use 'peer pressure' to get people to self-isolate, as those who test positive will be told to get in touch with anyone they might have infected.

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick told Sky News this morning that the announcements will be 'cautious' and there will be no 'grand reopening' of the economy, but the premier will lay out a plan that 'encourages people to go to work'. He insisted 'stay at home' will still be an important part of the government's approach - and suggested controls could be targeted at specific neighbourhoods in future.

How the government's DefCon style five stage alert system for the UK's coronavirus outbreak could work

Boris Johnson will tell the British public to 'stay alert, control the virus and save lives' as the government drops the 'stay at home' message in the next phase of the war against coronavirus (pictured walking in St James' Park yesterday)

Mr Johnson is already scrambling to defend the decision to ditch the blanket 'stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives' slogan, amid furious opposition from Nicola Sturgeon

A further 346 coronavirus deaths were announced on Saturday, bringing the country's official death toll to 31,587

Nicola Sturgeon tweeted this morning that she had still not been formally told the PM was changing the 'stay at home' mantra - and made clear she has no intention of doing so

The PM is expected to drop the slogan 'stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives' in a televised address to the UK tonight at 7pm in an effort to reopen parts of the economy (pictured, new government pandemic slogan)

On another pivotal day in the all-consuming crisis:

Mr Johnson is expected to confirm that garden centres will be allowed to open from Wednesday and publish guidance for safer working in offices - but tougher fines of up to 3,000 for breaches of the rules;

Airports and travel companies reacted with fury to plans to impose two weeks' quarantine on anyone arriving in the country, including UK citizens returning from holiday;

The UK death toll rose by 346 to 31,587, including more than 200 healthcare workers. Globally there have been almost 4million cases with more than 276,000 lives lost so far;

Ministers voiced suspicion that political opponents and union barons were colluding to block schools reopening until pay demands were met, in a group they described as 'The Blob';

A poll has found Britons believe the government has handled the crisis worse than other major countries apart from the US;

Mr Jenrick revealed that 40 per cent of Isle of Wight residents, around 50,000 people, have downloaded the NHS coronavirus tracking app in the first week;

Statistician Professor David Speigelhalter has branded the government's use of figures 'embarrassing', saying test numbers were being misrepresented and the public was not being treated with 'respect'.

China's Xi Jinping 'personally asked WHO to hold back information about human-to-human transmission and delayed the global response by four to six WEEKS' A bombshell report claims Chinese President Xi Jinping personally asked World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom to 'delay a global warning' about the threat of COVID-19 during a conversation back in January. Germany's Der Spiegel published the allegations this weekend, citing intelligence from the country's Federal Intelligence Service, known as the 'Bundesnachrichtendienst' (BND). According to the BND: 'On January 21, China's leader Xi Jinping asked WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to hold back information about a human-to-human transmission and to delay a pandemic warning. 'The BND estimates that China's information policy lost four to six weeks to fight the virus worldwide'. The WHO released a statement shortly after the publication of the shock claims, calling them 'unfounded and untrue'. 'Dr Tedros and President Xi did not speak on January 21 and they have never spoken by phone. Such inaccurate reports distract and detract from WHO's and the world's efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic,' the statement read. It continued: 'China confirmed human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus on January 20 [prior to the alleged phone conversation]. 'The WHO publicly declared on January 22 that "data collected  suggests that human-to-human transmission is taking place in Wuhan."' Advertisement

Mr Johnson has tried to play down expectations for the speech, telling the Sun on Sunday the 'descent' from a mountain was always the riskiest bit.

'That's when you're liable to be overconfident and make mistakes,' he said.

'You have very few options on the climb up  but it's on the descent you have to make sure you don't run too fast, lose control and stumble.'

The updated 'stay alert' slogan has already attracted a backlash for being much too soft to guard against a deadly and very contagious disease.

Ms Sturgeon, who will attend a Cobra meeting later to sign off the changes, has previously warned that ditching the clear and simple advice will be 'potentially catastrophic'.

She tweeted this morning that she had still not been formally told the PM was changing the mantra. 'It is of course for him to decide what's most appropriate for England, but given the critical point we are at in tackling the virus, #StayHomeSaveLives remains my clear message to Scotland at this stage,' she said.

She added pointedly: 'STAY HOME. PROTECT THE NHS. SAVE LIVES.'

Union chiefs have also threatened that members will be told not return to work unless it is safe to do so, while many Labour figures have criticised the government for its change of policy.

Mr Jenrick shrugged off criticism that the message is confusing, saying: 'Stay alert will mean stay alert by staying home as much as possible.'

'But stay alert when you do go out by maintaining social distancing, washing your hands, respecting others in the workplace and the other settings that you will go to,' ,' he told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.

Mr Jenrick told Sky's Sophy Ridge On Sunday it was the right time to 'update and broaden' the message to the public.

'I think that's what the public want and that they will be able to understand this message, which is that we should be staying home as much as possible but when we do go to work and go about our business we need to remain vigilant, we need to stay alert,' he said.

'And that means things like respecting others, remaining two meters apart, washing your hands, following the social distancing guidelines because the virus continues to be prevalent, too many people are still dying of this and we're going to have to live with it for a long time.'

Pressed if there is a danger the message is too woolly, Mr Jenrick said: 'Well I hope not. 'We need to have a broader message because we want to slowly and cautiously restart the economy and the country.'

Mr Jenrick went on: 'We're not going to take risks with the public. I understand people are anxious about the future but we want now to have a message which encourages people to go to work.

'Staying home will still be an important part of the message but you will be able to go to work and you will in time be able to do some other activities that you're not able to do today.'

As the backlash gathered pace this afternoon, a No10 spokesman intervened to try to explain the government's position more clearly.

Setting out the full guidance, the spokesman said: 'We can help control the virus if we all Stay Alert: Stay Alert by staying at home as much as possible; Stay Alert by working from home if you can; Stay Alert by limiting contact with other people; Stay Alert by keeping distance if you go out (2 metres apart where possible); Stay Alert by washing your hands regularly.'

They added: 'And if you or anyone in your household has symptoms, you all need to self-isolate.'

Mr Jenrick said measures could be strengthened or relaxed locally to control the virus.

Matt Hancock 'told PM to ''give me a break'' over criticism of response Health Secretary Matt Hancock urged Boris Johnson to give me a break in a furious bust-up over the coronavirus crisis. Pressure intensified on Mr Hancock over his handling of the crisis last night after more than 25 million goggles were found to offer frontline NHS workers inadequate defence against the deadly virus. The latest in a string of embarrassing Government failures over Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) came as senior sources suggested to The Mail on Sunday that Mr Hancock was now living on borrowed time in the Cabinet. One source claimed Boris Johnson had raised questions with Mr Hancock about his departments grip on the crisis, only for the Minister to plead: Thats not fair  give me a break. The 25.6 million pairs of Tiger Eye goggles bought for the NHS are not fit for purpose, according to the British Standards Institute: 15.9 million of them have already been distributed, with hospitals now being told to withdraw the remaining 9.7 million from use. Advertisement

'The evidence behind it will also be able to inform what we do at a local level and if we see there are outbreaks in particular localities, neighbourhoods, schools, towns, then we may be able to take particular measures in those places as we build up a more sophisticated and longer-term response to controlling the virus.'

There were signs early last week that the government was putting together major moves towards easing the lockdown.

However, the ambitions have been scaled back, with Mr Johnson his most senior ministers - Dominic Raab, Michael Gove, Rishi Sunak and Matt Hancock - having thrashed out a limited strategy on Wednesday night, fearing that the country's infection rate is still too high.

The real figure is reported to be around 14,000 people a day, while the government's target is said to be around 4,000, according to the Sunday Times.

It has emerged the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) received warnings that there could be 100,00 deaths by the end of the year if measures are relaxed too far and too fast.

A study by experts from the London School of Tropical Hygiene and College London modelled different approaches to 'evaluate which were viable and which were not' and reportedly concluded there was 'very limited room for manoeuvre'.

Policies such as allowing more than one household to mix in social 'bubbles', and reopening schools for more pupils have been put on hold.

A No 10 source said that Mr Johnson, who is facing calls from Tory MPs to steer Britain clear of an economic recession, is 'proceeding with maximum caution and maximum conditionality' (pictured, people by Tower Bridge, London)

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick shrugged off criticism that the new message is confusing, saying: 'Stay alert will mean stay alert by staying home as much as possible.'

Ministers' claims on testing and death toll are 'embarrassing', says eminent statistician Prof David Spiegelhalter said the public was not being treated with 'respect' because the government was not laying out figures in a 'trustworthy' way Ministers' claims on coronavirus testing and the death toll are 'embarrassing', an eminent statistician said today. Prof David Spiegelhalter said the public was not being treated with 'respect' because the government was not laying out figures in a 'trustworthy' way. The expert has been cited by Boris Johnson and other senior figures for his doubts about making international comparisons of death rates - but recently told them to stop claiming his views in support, as broad trends can be identified between countries. Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, Prof Spiegelhalter said he watched the most recent daily Downing Street press briefing and 'found it completely embarrassing'. 'We got lots of big numbers, precise numbers of tests done... well that's not how many were done yesterday, it includes tests that were posted out,' he said on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show. 'We are told 31,587 people have died  no they haven't, it is far more than that. 'So I think this is not trustworthy communication of statistics, and it is such a missed opportunity. There is a public out there who are broadly very supportive of the measures, they are hungry for details, for facts, for genuine information. And yet they get fed what I call number theatre, which seems to be coordinated much more by a No10 communications team rather than genuinely trying to inform people about what is going on. 'I just wish that the data was being brought together and presented by people who really know its strengths and limitations and could treat the audience with some respect.' Advertisement

'The view is that the public will forgive us for mistakes made when going into the lockdown but they won't forgive us for mistakes made coming out of it,' an official told the Sunday Times.

Evidence of 'coronaphobia' among the public will have played a role in the decisions, with a poll for the Sun on Sunday showing 90 per cent of Britons oppose lifting restrictions this week.

Even so, the tweaks being unveiled by Mr Johnson are set to provoke splits in the UK's approach, with each nation having devolved powers.

Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford made clear his concerns about the 'stay at home' slogan being dropped this morning. He said he would be telling people in the principality that 'if you are not out of your house for an essential purpose... staying at home remains the best way you can prtect yourself and others'.

Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said she had 'no idea' what the new guidance meant.

'That is not a change that we would agree with. I think the First Minister was really clear last week that the ''stay at home'' message was the right message and if I'm perfectly frank, I have no idea what 'stay alert' actually means,' she told the BBC's Sunday Politics Scotland.

She added: 'We're asking the public to do a very great deal here and the least we can do is be consistent and clear in the message that we're sending and stay at home is the right message.'

Professor Peter Horby, chair of the government's New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag) told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show the PM must be 'incredibly cautious'.

'We have to be clear that this is not like a storm where we batten down the hatches and then it passes by and we walk out into the sunshine and it's gone,' he said.

'It's still out there. Most of us have not had this virus. So if we get this wrong it will very quickly increase across the population and we will be back in a situation of crisis.'So we have to be incredibly cautious about relaxing the measures.'

Mr Johnson will also announce a five-tier warning system, administered by a Joint Biosecurity Centre, to monitor the virus risk around the country and encourage public adherence to the new measures.

The alerts will range from Level One (green) to Level Five (red), with Britain currently on Level Four.

It will be administered by a Joint Biosecurity Centre, which will be responsible for detecting local spikes of Covid-19 so ministers can increase restrictions where necessary to help reduce the infection rates.

Andy Burnham, the Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester, tweeted that it 'feels to me like a mistake to me to drop the clear' stay at home message.

Dave Ward, general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, said: 'The messaging from this Government throughout this crisis has been a total joke, but their new slogan takes it to a new level. Stay alert? It's a deadly virus not a zebra crossing.'

However, there was praise for the new message from the Bruges Group think tank. It tweeted: 'The Government's new slogan is good.

'Green replaces red for a calmer feel. 'Stay Alert' replaces 'Stay Home' and underlines individual responsibility. 'Control the Virus' is a positive message.

'It's within our power to achieve.'

Mr Johnson is expected to announce tomorrow that England is on the verge of moving down to Level Three from its Level Four grading, in a sign that there is no significant increase in the Covid-19 infection rate.

A No 10 source said that Mr Johnson, who is facing growing calls from Tory MPs to steer Britain clear of a severe economic recession, is 'proceeding with maximum caution and maximum conditionality'.

The government's road map for bringing the country out of lockdown will be published in a 50-page document tomorrow. It is understood that MPs will be briefed on the so-called 'exit strategy'.

The PM is also expected to say that social distancing rules will save livelihoods as well as lives. The change in messaging reflects concerns that Britain faces an economic contraction not felt in 300 years.

Matt Hancock (right ) has asked Prime Minister Boris Johnson (left) to 'give him a break' after a recent bust-up between the pair over the Health Secretary's handling of the coronavirus outbreak

An Opinium poll released today suggests the public thinks the UK's response has been worse than other major countries - apart from the US

'School prefect Hancock is living on borrowed time' after clashes with Michael Gove, Rishi Sunak AND PM Matt Hancock is living on 'borrowed time' as Health Secretary following clashes with the three most powerful members of the Government over the Covid crisis, the Mail on Sunday has been told. Mr Hancock is understood to have pleaded 'give me a break' when Boris Johnson reprimanded him over the virus testing programme - leading to open questioning within Downing Street over Mr Hancock's long-term political future. His run-in with Mr Johnson follows battles with both Rishi Sunak and Michael Gove over the best strategy for managing the pandemic. Shortly after Mr Johnson returned to work at No 10, he and Mr Johnson had a tense exchange about the the Health Department's 'grip' on the crisis, during which Mr Hancock said to the PM, in what has been described as a 'petulant' tone: 'That's not fair - give me a break.' He is also being blamed in some government quarters - or scapegoated, according to his allies - for not moving quickly enough to do more to protect care homes. Whitehall officials knew as early as the first week of March that the projected death rate among the over-90s was expected to be as high as 50 per cent. Advertisement

His broadcast will be his second national address of the crisis, and the first since he was hospitalised. Beforehand his televised address, he will chair a Cobra meeting with leaders of the devolved administrations and London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

The change in messaging comes as the Johnson government's united front cracks under the pressures of handling the coronavirus crisis, with Health Secretary Matt Hancock now at blows with the PM, Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove, and Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

Mr Hancock urged the PM to 'give me a break' in a bust-up raising questions over the Minister's Cabinet future.

Mr Hancock's spokesman said Ministers were 'furious' about the mistake with the goggles, which they said had been ordered by Labour in 2009.

A Health Department source dubbed them 'Gordon's goggles' and added they were bought against 2001 standards of protection which were superseded by the time they were purchased. 'Even a decade on, we are still having to clear up Labour's mess', they added.

The latest PPE fiasco will be damaging to the Health Secretary, coming days after it emerged that surgical gowns ordered from Turkey and flown into the UK amid great fanfare did not all meet British safety standards.

A source said tensions had run high in the run-up to the deadline for hitting the 100,00 tests a day target, but said 'the PM was full of praise for his performance'.

A No 10 source said: 'This is a critical moment so, having assessed the evidence carefully, the Prime Minister will ask for the public resolve as we continue to do whatever is needed to defeat this devastating virus.'

Yesterday Mr Johnson begged the British public to stay indoors during the last days of full lockdown.

Taking to Twitter, the PM told his followers: 'Thank you for all you are doing to protect our NHS and save lives. This bank holiday weekend, please stay at home, so we don't undo everything we've done so far.'

Yet people still poured into the nation's beauty spots to soak up some bank holiday sunshine - including the PM who this morning strolled through St James's Park, where he was accosted by a finger-jabbing passer-by.

A member of the public stopped to give British Prime Minister Boris Johnson a talking to as he took a morning walk through St James's Park in London yesterday. He was carrying a reusable Costa coffee cup

Mr Johnson warned Britons that venturing out over the bank holiday weekend could 'undo everything that's been done so far'

Visitors walk through a busy Broadway Market in London despite Mr Johnson urging Britons to stay at home this weekend

Parliament Square in Westminster witnessed huge crowds of cyclists as people enjoyed the hottest day of the year so far

A further 346 coronavirus deaths were announced on Saturday, bringing the country's official death toll to 31,587

Ministers fear that 'The Blob' - made up of political opponents, union barons and local government administrations - is colluding to sabotage the reopening of schools Ministers believe 'The Blob' - an army made up of political opponents and union barons - is colluding to politicise the coronavirus outbreak. The accusation comes amid outrage over a threat by unions to block schools reopening unless their demands for extra money are met by Whitehall. Last night the news sparked a furious backlash from academic experts and MPs. And inside Downing Street there is mounting concern that Labour under Keir Starmer working with the party's union allies and the devolved administrations, are co-ordinating their response to lifting the lockdown. Advertisement

It compounded existing accusations that the government has been sending mixed messages following a flurry of reports it is preparing to ditch its 'stay at home' slogan in the Sunday broadcast.

And further casting a cloud of a confusion, a second tweet from the official Downing Street account said: 'If you are leaving the house this weekend you need to keep two metres apart from others.'

Mr Johnson was pictured swigging from a reusable Costa coffee cup on his daily walk through the park.

As he marched to work, Mr Johnson was confronted by a man who appeared give him a piece of his mind, pointing a finger at the startled PM as a smiling woman looked on. It is unclear what the man said and MailOnline has contacted No 10 for comment.

Thousands of Britons joined Mr Johnson in hitting the country's green spaces, but unlike the premier some were pictured sprawled out in groups sunbathing on what is expected to be the hottest day of the year so far.

Police in Brighton stopped cars on the A23 to prevent sun-worshipping covidiots away from the seaside, with locals cheering as tourists were turned away.

And the Coastguard said that on Friday it had the highest number of call-outs since lockdown began, with 97 incidents, 54 per cent more than the average of 63 recorded for the previous month.

Residents jog and walk along the the Regents canal in London, where hundreds of people were out getting their exercise

Cyclists were out in their droves on the Mall in London amid signs some lockdown restrictions could be softened

Cyclists queuing at traffic lights entering Parliament Square as thousands of Britons enjoyed the sweltering temperatures

Visitors enjoying views of the skyscrapers in the City of London from a closed off viewing area in Greenwich Park, London

Travellers to UK face two weeks in self-isolation From June, all arrivals in the UK - including returning Britons - will be quarantined for 14 days and face 1,000 fines or deportation if they fail to do so. The announcement of the new travel measures comes seven weeks into the nation-wide coronavirus lockdown. Government officials are working to avoid a second wave of the bug, which has killed more than 31,000 people in the UK alone. The regulations mean Britons hoping for a week in the sun in the summer months will have to book three-weeks off work to ensure they can isolate on their return. Key workers and travellers from Ireland will be exempt from the quarantine, MailOnline understands. Travellers will have to fill in a digital form giving the address of where they will be in quarantine. This will then be checked at airports, ports and Eurostar stations, although it is not clear which agency will provide staff to do this or on what database the forms will be stored on. The scheme will be enforced by spot checks on the addresses but ministers have not said whether this will involve the police, Border Force or NHS. Advertisement

Although the rule-breaking signals compliance with lockdown is fraying, Mr Johnson has told Cabinet he will be proceeding with 'maximum caution' in order to avoid a second wave of deadly infections.

Transport unions have threatened to derail any move to get too many people back onto trains and buses as chiefs have said they 'will not compromise on the health, safety and livelihoods of our members'.

Teaching unions have sounded a similar warning relating to the phased return of schools.

Ministers have been urging the UK to stick with social distancing rules this weekend despite the sunny weather and to wait for the PM to set out his plan tomorrow. Mr Johnson tweeted: 'Thank you for all you are doing to protect our NHS and save lives. This bank holiday weekend, please stay at home, so we don't undo everything that's been done so far.'

The PM also acknowledged the strain the lockdown has put on people's mental health as he said it 'has been a difficult time for many'. He told anyone who is struggling that 'there is help available'.

Ministers are thought to want to start sending primary schoolchildren back to classrooms in June. However, unions have said they will not sign off on the plans until a test and tracing system is fully operational.

The return of schools and childcare services will be key to restoring much of the economy because many workers with children will be unable to go back to work until education settings are up and running.

MoS LAUNCHES 3MILLION FUND TO HELP SMALL FIRMS BEAT THE VIRUS The Mail on Sunday today launches a 3 million support package to help small firms battle the coronavirus crisis. The owner of the MoS, Daily Mail, Metro and the i is giving away 3,000 of advertising in its newspapers - and on Mail Online and metro.co.uk - to 1,000 small businesses. The groundbreaking giveaway, launched in collaboration with the Federation of Small Businesses, will open for applications from Wednesday at grants.fsb.org.uk. It is The Mail on Sunday's way of doing our bit to help firms that provide incomes for more than 17 million people and comes hot on the heels of the hugely successful Mail Force initiative. That charity, set up by MoS owner Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) and its partners, has already raised over 6 million to fly in millions of items of vital protective equipment for NHS staff and care workers. Today, a survey by accountancy software giant Sage finds one in three firms expect sales to be 50 per cent lower after lockdown is eased. Separate research from legal firm Buckworths found a quarter of small firms do not think the Government's existing support measures will be enough for them to survive. Mike Cherry, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: 'Our members will be hugely grateful to The Mail on Sunday for this generous support. It's fantastic. 'The pandemic is likely to have an impact on businesses for months - if not years - to come and they'll need a lot of help to get back on their feet. It won't be enough to rely on word of mouth to attract new customers. 'We urge every eligible member to apply for this advertising giveaway. Advertisement

Police hit out at 'wishy-washy' government lockdown messages after sun-worshippers pack out parks and beaches on 'hottest day of the year so far'

Police today lashed out at 'wishy-washy' enforcement of social distancing rules after sun-worshipping 'covidiots' packed out parks and beaches on the hottest day of the year so far.

The Metropolitan Police Federation (MPF) complained the Government is sending out mixed messages after people basked in sunshine yesterday, when temperatures hit 26C (78.8F) on the south coast, making it hotter than Ibiza and St Tropez.

Chair Ken Marsh told BBC Radio 4 that authorities 'needed to be firmer right from the beginning'.

He said: 'It's been quite wishy-washy how we've gone about it.

'Had we been very stringent from the off - it is painful, but it's not overly painful in terms of what you're actually being asked to do - then I think we would have a better result now.'

Hackney police says it is 'fighting a losing battle' as hundreds of people flock to London parks, including London Fields (pictured), to eat pizza, drink wine and eat ice cream on Saturday

Hundreds flocked to London Fields where Hackney police said they were powerless to stop those out enjoying the sun from drinking and eating pizza.

In scenes replicated around the country, the Coastguard said that on Friday it had the highest number of call-outs since lockdown began, with 97 incidents, 54 per cent more than the average of 63 for the month.

Traffic police in Brighton were stopping cars at the end of the A23 which leads to the south coast seaside mecca and officers have fined visitors trying to visit for the bank holiday.

Hackney Police tweeted a picture of London Fields adding: 'Sadly we're fighting a losing battle in the parks today. Literally hundreds of people sitting having pizza, beers, wines.

'As always a big thank you to those that are observing the guidelines.'

Health officials have said they fear Britons are starting to get complacent about the Covid-19 lockdown after traffic and mobile phone data revealed more people are on the roads and looking for directions.

Professor Stephen Powis, national medical director of NHS England, said on Saturday that 'there was a little bit of concern' after the unseasonably warm weather drew big crowds to public spaces.

A police checkpoint turns away cars trying to get into Brighton as bored families break coronavirus lockdown rules

Covidiots flock to Burgess Park in South London, ignoring social distancing advice and packing out pathways and benches

Families with young children queue for ice cream near Greenwich Park in London on Saturday as the ice cream seller dons a face mask despite customers lining up shoulder-to-shoulder

Police officers on patrol in a South London park are exasperated as they ask sunbathers and people enjoying picnics to leave

An ice cream seller takes orders from behind a plastic screen while wearing a face mask as crowds line up behind customers

Police had to clear beaches at Southend-on-Sea, Essex, after sun-seekers flocked to the coast to enjoy the warm water

A man is stopped by police officers on the beach in Essex after ignoring the government's guidelines to stay at home

Lockdown flouters are removed from the beach in Southend-on-Sea after ignoring the government's advice to stay indoors
Uttar Pradesh MSME Minister Sidharth Nath Singh on Friday spoke to members of the European Business Group Federation and ambassadors from Belgium, Denmark, Italy, among other countries in an attempt to attract more investors to the state.

Singh informed the participants, through video conferencing, about the developmental projects being undertaken in the state; including the Jewar Airport, said to be key to improving the state's airways connectivity.

He also informed the delegates about the expressways in UP, which have resulted in better road connectivity.

They, in turn, gave suggestions and feedback for further projects. Singh assured them that these would be implemented.

One of these suggestions is to set-up a dedicated European Union helpdesk to aid business efforts.

The setting-up of a Japanese helpdesk has already been announced by the UP government, for companies looking to relocate to the state.

Other efforts are ongoing to attract investors and revive the pandemic-hit economy of UP. The state government is also formulating policies and altering some of its previous ones to woo investors.

On the lines of Japan, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had earlier proposed the idea of attracting those investors pulling out of China amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Adityanath had floated this idea during a high-level key meeting with MSME Minister Sidharth Nath Singh and Industrial Development Minister Satish Mahana.

At present, companies from Japan, the United States, Korea, and other European nations with huge investments in China are thinking of moving out after the Covid-19 situation gets better.

Japan has already begun to try and woo such investors by announcing an economic package for the companies moving out of China.

Sources say that the state government is especially interested in the food processing companies which were abundantly present in the Chinese city of Wuhan before the Covid-19 outbreak.
A Dubai-based businessman from Kerala has offered a Rs 10-lakh bounty to anyone, who will help his wife and two sons reunite in his home state, as they are stranded in neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

They are stranded because of lockdown restrictions enforced to contain the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak.

Earlier, a desperate KR Sreekumar, who is into chemical business in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was all set to hire a chopper and airlift them. He had almost struck a deal with an aviation firm, but was denied permission by the authorities concerned. Then, he put out a post on Facebook on May 5.

Anyone, who helps bring back my family to Kerala, can claim a reward of Rs 10 lakh. This offer is valid till May 12 midnight, he told HT from Dubai.

But he insisted that the repatriation must happen through a legal route.

My eldest son is aspiring to become a chartered accountant. He is pursuing his course in Tiruchirapally in Tamil Nadu, while my wife and youngest son are stuck in Mangaluru in neighbouring Karnataka. I want them to come back and stay together in our house in Alappuzha, Kerala. I tried my best to help them reunite amid these trying times. But, I dont want to grease anybodys palms. If anyone can safely bring them back, I am ready to part with Rs 10 lakh in cash, he said.

His eldest son unsuccessfully tried to book a cab from Tiruchirapally for Rs 15,000, but he lost the money, as the car driver never showed up, Sreekumar said.

I have reached out to several government officials and politicians in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. All of them promised help, but nothing has come of it so far. Now, Ive put out my offer on social media, he added.

He claimed that the bounty offer was not a publicity stunt, but a desperate bid to help his family members reunite.

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Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, about 30 different quotes attributed to public figures including French infectious disease expert Didier Raoult, French president Emmanuel Macron and Madagascar president Andry Rajoelina have been making the rounds on Congolese Facebook pages. But it turns out all of them were made up. The FRANCE 24 Observers team tracked down the source of these widely circulated fake quotes and discovered a 20-year-old keen to generate a buzz.



Many Africans or members of the African diaspora have seen the same posts popping up non-stop on their Facebook newsfeeds since March. Many reported the posts to the France 24 Observers team.



These posts always have the same format. They include one or two photos of a famous person, alongside a quote - often provocative - about the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the earliest quotes that our team came across in March was attributed to Raoult, the French epidemiologist, who supposedly called on "Africans to not take Bill Gates vaccine against coronavirus. Turns out, the quote was entirely made up.





The Facebook page "B R O W N S", which has since been deleted, shared a fake quote attributed to Raoult. The FRANCE 24 Observers team investigated and found no record that the epidemiologist, who hails from Marseille, said any such thing.



In the weeks since then, lots of other fake posts, written in the same format, have also appeared on social media. One claimed that US President Donald Trump was opening an investigation into billionaire Bill Gates over the vaccine he aims to create. Another described a meeting supposedly held between French President Emmanuel Macron and Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina to discuss Covid-Organics, a Madagascar-made herbal tea that Rajoelina says can cure the virus. Another included a fake declaration attriuted to the head of the World Health Organization endorsing Covid-Organics (the WHO has in fact advised against using such untested remedies). None of these stories are true.



Story continues

Three examples of fake posts that went viral that were shared on the "V E R I T E" Facebook page. The posts were deleted May 9 but the page was still online as of that date.



At least five Facebook pages run by administrators in DR Congo



The fake posts that we identified were all shared on at least five Facebook pages with similar formats, called "V E R I T E", "Grassd-Verite. ", "Grassd-Verite 2.", "Browns-Liberte." and "B R O W N S". The last page was deleted from Facebook but the four others are still active and have between 36,000 and 150,000 followers each. They all have the same three administrators, who are based in the Democratic Republic of Congo. All of the pages were created between July 2019 and January 2020.



Numerous fact-checking outlets have called out these pages for sharing fake posts. Journalists at CongoCheck debunked a quote falsely attributed to Congolese doctor Jean-Jacques Muyembe in which he questioned Covid-Organics. AFP Factuel investigated a quote falsely attributed to WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recommending Covid-Organics.



The photos posted alongside these fake quotes are taken out of context. The post that talked about a meeting between French President Macron and Madagascar President Rajoelina is illustrated with a photo taken in March 2019 at the One Planet Summit in Kenya, more than a year before the Covid-19 pandemic.



Scroll through the images to check out the post, and the origin of each of the photos featured.



A photo supposedly showing French epidemiologist Didier Raoult in Madagascar was actually taken in August 2019 during a visit Raoult made to a research institute in Senegal.



Scroll through these photos to see the initial post and the origin of the photo.



"Our page can get up to 5,000 new followers a day



The FRANCE 24 Observers team wanted to know who the three administrators behind the five similar pages re. We identified two of them and managed to contact one.





The administrator we contacted is a 20-year-old student at the University of Kinshasa. We decided not to reveal his identity. He created these pages with two of his friends to share, in his words, information thats possible or not. He explains:



We make up stories to get followers, like, for example, for Macrons visit to Madagascar. Our goal is to share news so that it actually happens. For example, we wrote an item about students getting a year off in the DRC. At the time we posted it we thought it was likely to happen. [Editors note: The post was later dismissed by the DRC's minister of education, according to this article by AFP Fact Check].



Our strategy is to share these posts in several different groups like RDC News 24h/24 [Editors note: Which has 504,000 members] or Radio Okapi [Editors note: the open discussion forum has 300,000 members]. We give our social media users new information, which they havent read elsewhere. Thats why our posts are shared so much. Thanks to that, one of our pages can get up to 5,000 new followers in a day. For example, in just one month, weve gathered more than 60,000 followers on "V E R I T E".



The young man acknowledges fabricating quotes and says he does so for strategic reasons. His personal Facebook page suggests that he doesnt believe that the Covid-19 is really affecting the DRC. He also advocates a year off for students in the DRC. These are personal views that he transforms into news that he shares on the pages that he administers.



This is an example of a post on the personal Facebook page of one of the administrators of the page "Verite". He seems to be arguing for a year off for Congolese students and questions whether Covid-19 is actually affecting the DRC, even though at least 36 people have died and 863 people have been infected, according to official statistics.



Not alone



This trend is not new. We found other pages, including "Falyala Wilondja", which was created in June 2019 and which uses the same method to spread fake news. For example, this page recently shared a fake quote attributed to Macron: "Any African country that doesnt want its population to use the European vaccine against Covid-19, its citizens will no longer be able to travel to Europe. Once again, this quote was completely made up.





It turns out that the administrator of the page "Falyala Wilondja" and the administrator of "V E R I T E" know each other. We found conversations between the two on Instagram and found a video on Youtube that showed the two singing Congolese rap in a school in Kinshasa. Even though they run their own pages independently, they seem to be trying to one up each other in terms of how much fake news they can post.



The FRANCE 24 Observers team asked the administrator of "V E R I T E" about his long-term goals and he gave a this answer:



There are a lot of cyber criminals in Africa, especially in the DRC and that scares me. There arent laws that punish cyber criminals. So the best way to carry out this fight is to get to know them and then trick them. When a page gets a lot of followers, cyber criminals reach out to us and suggest that we join forces with them. We want to be spies.



Amongst this flood of false information, there are a few pieces of actual news, often about what is happening in Congo. For example, this post talks about a Congolese pastor, who claimed that the Covid-19 epidemic was over. While the statement itself is false, the pastor did make that claim in a video posted online in April.



This post is one of the very few correct news items shared on "V E R I T E". Congolese pastor Walesa did say that Covid-19 was over in mid-April, without any proof for that statement.



"V E R I T E", which is by far the most active page in this network, has shared at least 37 news items about Covid-19 since its first post on April 3, generating at least 206,000 shares as of May 6. On May 9 the posts were deleted, but the page remained online.



Article written by Alexandre Capron (@alexcapron)
The sun made an appearance over Melbourne after a deluge of rain on Saturday. But don't be fooled, gloomy weather is set to return for Mother's Day with the potential for more hail.

As if to reinforce the Victorian government's message to stay at home for the Mother's Day weekend, Melbourne woke to a heavy burst of rain on Saturday. Seven millimetres of rain fell in the city and 15 millimetres in Coldstream, before blue skies emerged.

The sun's presence didn't do much to move the mercury, though. The city reached its maximum of 15 degrees at 6am, the high point of the day, before dropping back to 13 degrees at 1pm.

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Christie Johnson said the afternoon's patchy clouds were a "tell-tale sign of very cold air", and it was cold enough that afternoon showers came with light hail at times.
Actor Rishi Kapoors final film, Sharmaji Namkeen, will be completed with the help of advance visual effects. The film had a few days of shooting remaining when Rishi died at the age of 67 last week.

Producer Honey Trehan told Mid-Day that director Hitesh Bhatia and his crew are now faced with the challenge of completing the film without its lead actor. He said, We will be using advanced technology, an amalgamation of VFX and some special technique, to finish the film without compromising on the quality. We are in discussion with a few [VFX studios] and are figuring out the way forward.

The film, which also stars Juhi Chawla, had begun production in December, and had just four days of filming left when the nationwide coronavirus lockdown was enforced. We shot a major portion of the film in Delhi during January. Only a four-day schedule was pending, Trehan said, assuring everyone that the film will be released theatrically.

Also read: Ranbir Kapoor, Riddhima ask mother Neetu Kapoor to stay strong after Rishi Kapoors death: Got your back Ma

We want to take this film to the theatres for his friends, family and fans. We all owe this to Rishiji, one of the silver screen legends. I am grateful to Ritesh (Sidhwani, producer) and Farhan (Akhtar, producer) for investing in the movie not just monetarily, but also emotionally, he said.

In an earlier interview, Trehan had said that the Delhi schedule of the film began days after the death of Rishis sister, Ritu Nanda. But the actor insisted on returning to work. Trehan told Mumbai Mirror, We were looking to reschedule but in answer to my condolence message he asked, What is the call time tomorrow? Honey said that he told the actor to take a couple of days off. But Rishi replied, Bakwas maat karo, what happened is personal, but work is my is my profession. I am equally responsible for both. The show must go on.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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Italy said a near-record 4,008 people were released from hospitals in the past day after testing negative for COVID-19 as the country continues its cautious reopening after a two-month national lockdown.

Another 1,083 people tested positive, half of them in hard-hit Lombardy, bringing Italy's confirmed number of cases to 218,268.

Officials said the real number is as much as 10 times that.

Another 194 people died, one of the lowest day-to-day death tolls in recent weeks. The confirmed COVID-19 toll in the onetime European epicenter is 30,395.

Another 134 intensive care beds were freed up, bringing the total number close to 1,000. At the height of the outbreak, there were more than 4,000 people in ICUs, and the wards in Lombardy were nearly saturated.

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

As we begin the seventh week of lockdown, the rate of COVID-19 infections just doesn't seem to be slowing down. Every day, the graph just looks like a trekker ascending Mount Everest, with the summit nowhere in sight. With a majority of the 1.3 billion people confined to their homes and under lockdown, things dont look like they will change any time soon. The government announced new measures from 3 May onwards regarding new changes in the recently defined red, orange, and green zones.

One way that the government of India hopes to keep a track of the COVID-19 trends is via its Aarogya Setu app. Launched on 2 April, and developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), the Aarogya Setu app crossed 90 million downloads as of 4 May, according to NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had himself appealed to the citizens to download this app in his address to the nation.

Aarogya Setu 101

It is safe to assume that most of us have heard of the Aarogya Setu app, as it has been in the news for all sorts of reasons, good and bad. But for those of you who have taken a hiatus from news to maintain your sanity, the Aarogya Setu app is a contact tracing app that uses your smartphones GPS and Bluetooth and alerts you if you have been in contact with a COVID-19 positive patient as you go about your life.

Before we go on, if you want a lowdown on what contact tracing means, Nandini has explained it quite well in this video.

Contact tracing explained in under 3-minutes Apple and Google are working on a contact tracing tool; the Indian government has a contact tracing app called Aarogya Setu. But what does contact tracing mean and how does it work? pic.twitter.com/Ia8tggdKnS  Firstpost (@firstpost) April 24, 2020

Contact tracing is a physical method of tracking down infected people, then finding everyone who has been near them and encouraging those people to stay home until it is clear they are not sick. Given the shortage of medical professionals and the rapid growth of COVID-19 cases, a lot of countries are switching to mobile phone-based contact tracing. To give an overview, the smartphones which you carry on you all the time will have an app that communicates with surrounding phones and create a log of virtual IDs. If you test positive, then everyone in the log of virtual IDs on your device would be informed. Ideally, this will be limited to the region where you encountered the infected person. Now lets see how this method is implemented in the Aarogya Setu app.

After getting the right permissions during app download, it poses a bunch of questions to you during the registration phase. The app is available in 11 languages and requires you to enter details such as your name, gender, age, location, mobile phone number, and whether you've travelled to any foreign country in the last 30 days. You are also requested to enable your Bluetooth and GPS for tracking to be enabled. If anyone has been in your proximity, your phone will store the anonymous Bluetooth digital ID generated by that device (provided the Aarogya Setu app is installed on that phone as well) and your phones ID will be stored on the devices around you. Additionally, every 15 minutes, the latitude and longitude of the user are stored on the device.

Apart from information packed PDFs about COVID-19, the app also has a feature called Self Assessment, which lets you take an online test determine if there's a chance you've been exposed. You have to answer a bunch of questions and basis the guidelines from the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), the app lets you know your risk level. Every time you take a self-assessment test, your location data is sent to a central government server managed by the NIC.

On 2 May, the government made downloading of the app mandatory for all its employees and has requested private organisations to ensure all their employees also have the Aarogya Setu app on their phones. It shall be the responsibility of the head of the respective organisations to ensure 100 percent coverage of this app among the employees," the ministry said. This mandate attracted a lot of flak from privacy activists.

via GIPHY

Advantages of contact tracing apps

Countries such as Taiwan, Singapore, and South Korea have used contact tracing apps in their fight to stop the spread of Coronavirus. There is no hard evidence on whether these contact-tracing apps by themselves have been effective in containing the spread. But the apps in Singapore and Taiwan have been open to scrutiny by the public. In fact, in Taiwan, hactivists, developers, and citizens worked with the government to develop newer functionality and it has been both, a bottom up as well as a top down approach. In Singapores case, the TraceTogether app only needs your mobile number and does not need anything else, and its use is voluntary.

We need to understand that Taiwan and South Korea  the two countries apart from China that have managed to flatten the curve quickly  have had SARS and MERS outbreaks before, so their health authorities are equipped to handle virus outbreaks, or at least have the right systems in place. An Indian example of that would be the state of Kerala, which had the right systems in place after the state was affected by the Nipah virus and has been impressive in containing the spread of Coronavirus as compared to the rest of the country.

Contact tracing apps are a measure over and above the on-ground responses.

To put things in context, we need as many users of contact tracing apps as there are WhatsApp users in the country.

If you ask me whether any Bluetooth contact tracing system deployed or under development, anywhere in the world, is ready to replace manual contact tracing, I will say without qualification that the answer is, 'no'. Not now and, even with the benefit of AI/ML and  God forbid  blockchain, not for the foreseeable future, said Jason Bay, the product lead on Singapores TraceTogether app in a Medium post.

Are contact-tracing apps effective? According to an Oxford study, contact tracing can be highly effective if around 60 percent of the population is actively using the apps. Thats a huge number of people. To put things in context, we need as many users of contact tracing apps as there are WhatsApp users in the country. Getting to that kind of voluntary app adoption takes years. Considering there are around 500 million smartphone users in India, and Aarogya Setu app has reached a base of 90 million, that still constitutes around 18 percent users. What about feature phone users who cannot download the Aarogya Setu app? We will discuss that later in the article.

Although the government order mandates the download of the Aarogya Setu app, I spoke to around 15 friends who work in the private sector and have yet to come across anyone who has heard from their management about downloading the app. But there are cases such as Zomato chief Devinder Goyal mandating the use of this app amongst his employees.

Today, weve started mandating each of our delivery partners to install and use @SetuAarogya. The idea is to keep individuals as well as the authorities informed in case they have crossed paths with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus  to prevent further spread.[6/n] pic.twitter.com/tTok9LyTBA  Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) April 22, 2020

For now, general inertia aside, the major deterrents are the privacy issues being raised about the Aarogya Setu app.

Concerns galore

The fact that the app is made by the government, which doesnt really have the best track record for privacy  one just has to look at how Aadhaar has been misused  has raised a lot of concerns. The act of making the download mandatory for the whole smartphone using population is another thorny issue. Lets take a look at each of the concerns.

Assuming everyone owns a smartphone is wrong

Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), one of the leading think tanks on digital privacy, claims that in the absence of a comprehensive data protection law, the chances of misusing a contact tracing app for systems that control people's movement are high. It has also sent a representation to the government against the Aarogya Setu app.

One of the arguments IFF makes against mandating the download of the Aarogya Setu app is that it will result in discrimination against certain regions that have fewer concentration of smartphones. Specifically, it can lead to harmful outcomes for people residing in economically weaker areas, says IFF. Come to think of it, theres data to back this claim.

While the smartphone user base in India may have crossed 500 million users, IDC says that there are still around 550 million feature phone users, and around 45 percent of feature phone users have a device under Rs 1,000. The Aarogya Setu app will not work on these feature phones  so what then happens to that portion of the populace? We have seen discrimination against some people who were being denied entry into a pharmacy because they didnt have the Aarogya Setu app on their smartphones.

What would happen to people who dont have a smartphone to begin with?

MyGov, which is the government arm behind the Aarogya Setu app, has plans to include non-smartphone users as well. MyGov CEO Abhishek Singh in an interview with HT has confirmed that the government is working on developing a KaiOS version of the Aarogya Setu app for the close to 110 million JioPhone users. For those on feature phones, the government has started an IVRS call service for the number 1921.

Those with feature phones can give a missed call on this number. We will then call them back and go through the same questions that are asked in the Aarogya Setu app. Based on the responses the caller will get information on his health condition, said Singh.

On what basis is the government mandating the download of the Aarogya Setu app?

Enforcing the download of an app without any legal basis is another area for concern.

According to privacy laws expert Asheeta Regidi, there is no law that expressly allows a government to mandate the downloading of an app.

The Ministry of Home Affairs order which mandates the use of Aarogya Setu has been issued under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. Section 6(2) and Section 35 grant the National Disaster Management Authority and the Central government broad powers to lay out policies and take all such measures deemed necessary to manage the disaster. The use of this power to mandate the download of an app is similar to the use of Section144 CrPC to issue internet shutdown orders. The issues that arise are also thus similar, said Regidi in an email interaction with Tech2.

Transparency is missing

Apart from the front-end of the system and a bare-bones privacy policy, nothing much is known about the app. One is expected to take the governments terms of services at face value, and trust that they wont do anything wrong. Inspite of a line saying that there are chances of false positives within the apps terms of services. Needless to say, the consequences of being falsely diagnosed with COVID-19 just by the app would unnecessarily cause its users a lot of hassle.

There are already reports which confirm that this server is being linked with other government datasets. Such linking increases risks of permanent systems of mass surveillance, claims an IFF report.

The terms of service and privacy policy of the Aarogya Setu app are just filled with general statements around security. So while the privacy policy mentions standard security features, encryption for storage and transfer of data, use of encrypted servers, the terms of service disclaim liability for any unauthorised access or modification of data. Now the liability disclaimer may be seen on regular apps, but if you are mandating an app download, it is strange to see the app maker putting their hands up.

The laws in use today like the IT Act/DMA, were enacted 15-20 years ago, and do not envisage the ways in which technology can be used today. Activities like open sourcing, white-hat hacking, etc. also fall into a legally grey area. Given that the app is supposedly voluntary and for the public benefit, there is no reason why the government should not invite public participation in ensuring its security, particularly as it can entail a mass invasion of peoples rights, says Regidi.

Data minimisation is questionable

As explained earlier, the number of details you have to fill in before you can start using the app include many personally identifiable pieces of information. IFF compared Arogya Setu with Singapores Trace Together and MITs Private Kits: Safe Paths.

According to IFF, Other apps just collect one data point which is subsequently replaced with a scrubbed device identifier. Indias Aarogya Setu collects multiple data points for personal and sensitive personal information, which increases privacy risks.

While there is no set definition of what comprises minimum data, there has to be justification for every piece of information being used. According to Regidi, with respect to the Aarogya Setu app, the purposes its enlists are quite broad:

use of anonymised and aggregated data for generating reports and heat maps

to provide persons carrying out medical interventions with the info they need on you to do their job

use of the information to calculate the probability of your being infected with the disease, among others

Collection of sensitive data like health data needs to meet the purpose limitation principle first, and then meet the criteria of data minimisation. The absence of a law here is a big concern, opines Regidi.

The code isnt open to the public

One of the major objections by a lot of privacy activists is the fact that the source code is not open to scrutiny as the government hasnt opened it to the public. Prasanth Sugathan of SFLC.in, a privacy think tank that has done a detailed analysis of every version of the Aarogya Setu app, feels his teams findings were limited because reverse engineering the app isnt allowed. As the apps source code isnt known, SFLC was able to do an analysis only using the apps front end and from the client-side.

If the government makes the source code open and lets people know what happens at the server-side, that information will be quite useful. I dont see any reason to hide the source code, because you are not helping the security in any manner by doing that. If there are any vulnerabilities, developers can flag them and it will help you patch them quicker, said Sugathan in a phone interaction with tech2.

But, according to the government there is a reason behind not making the apps source code known. According to MyGovs Singh, the app was developed in two weeks, so there are changes being made to the code regularly as the team is getting new user insights. Unless the app is stable, Singh said releasing the source code would not help much as there would always be someone raising false alarms. He also mentioned that it could lead to the app's misuse by non-state actors.

How long is data held in the NIC servers?

The duration of holding the data in NIC servers depends on the cases. Singh claims that data is sent to the servers only if an app user tests positive for COVID-19, and that at all other times, data is always on the users device.

At the time of registration, data sent to the servers includes name, phone number, age, sex, profession and countries visited in the last 30 days. Location details are also uploaded to the server. This data will be hashed with a unique digital ID (DiD) which is pushed to the app on your phone. Any app related transaction or queries will be associated with this DiD. This data will remain as long as your account remains in existence and for such period thereafter as required under any law for the time being in force, a statement that is as vague as possible and doesnt instill much confidence.

Apart from this, there are three instances when data exchange happens.

When two registered users come in contact, anonymised Bluetooth data will be stored on both phones. Every time you complete a self-assessment test, your location data along with DiD will be uploaded to the NIC server. The app is constantly collecting your location data every 15 mins and stores it locally on your device. This information log will be uploaded to NIC servers along with your DiD only if you test positive for COVID-19 or if your self-declared symptoms indicate that you are likely to be infected or if your self-assessment test result is either Yellow or Orange. If the self-assessment returns Green, then no data is sent to the servers.

Data in all three cases will be present on the mobile phone for 30 days at the very least. If you have not tested positive for COVID-19 then the data is flushed after 45 days. If you have tested positive for COVID-19, then the data will be purged 60 days after you have been cured. But what happens if someone testing positive for COVID-19 deletes the app? Moreover, does deleting the app from your device purge the data or does that need to be done separately? There is no clarity on this.

According to Section 43A of the IT Act, the primary data protection provision in India, applies to sensitive personal data collected by a body corporate. While this can include governmental bodies (the UIDAI is a body corporate), the Aarogya Setu app merely mentions the Government of India without specifying the department/body. It is thus unclear if Section 43 applies here, or who can be held liable for any breach of data, says Regidi.

But all things considered, Section 43A and the IT SPDI rules do contain provisions requiring deletion of data once its purpose is accomplished. However, it does not provide persons with a right to such information. This does, however, form a part of the upcoming Personal Data Protection Bill, according to Regidi.

What if I dont want to use the app? What are the ramifications?

While there hasnt been a nation-wide punishment announced if you dont download the Aarogya Setu app, in Noida things are different. Those of you who are living in Noida and Greater Noida are likely to be fined (Rs 1,000) or jailed (6 months) if they do not have the Aarogya Setu app on your phone.

All those with smartphones who do not have the application can be booked under Section 188 of the IPC. After that, a judicial magistrate will either decide if the person will be tried, fined, or left with a warning, said Akhilesh Kumar, DCP Law, and Order to Indian Express.

This even applies to those who are coming into Noida. But there is no clarity on how those who arent using smartphones are to comply with this order. The Noida Police order isnt in line with the government order which only mandates public and private sector employees to have the app downloaded. The Noida Police order seems to go much beyond that and even involves cops calling residents to check if they have downloaded the app in containment zones.

The IFF has legally challenged this order by the Noida Police. According to the filing, the main grounds for challenge include arguments that the order is contrary to law, contrary to fact and violates privacy and personal liberty.

How can the situation be improved?

So far, only Noida has taken the extreme step of announcing measures against those who dont download the app. But as lockdowns start lifting (hopefully after 17 May), there will be an increasing push to get private organisations to mandate use of the app. The government has also floated the idea of allowing this app to be used an e-Pass in the post-lockdown phase, so there could be an increased push for everyone to have this app installed.

Bottom line: We may have to live with this app eventually.

How then do you convince those who are still wary about using the app?

The best way to allay fears is to go for technologies which are privacy-first, then try to open-source the app and make people understand what the app does, and finally, be clear on a sunset clause  How long are you going to keep the information? This not just includes the information collected when you are using the app, but also your personal information. Since we dont have a data protection law, there should be assurances from the tech side as well as the legal side. This should not be the start of a surveillance regime as such, said Sugathan.

Addressing the issue of whether Aarogya Setu could become a surveillance app, Singh said that that wasnt the objective. He claimed that data on only 0.5 percent of the app's users is sent to the central servers, which is because the data is only sent when certain conditions are met. Moreover, according to Singh, there will be a limited time within which the pandemic will be contained, post which there wont be any need for the app.

Anyone who thinks this is a surveillance tool is wrong. Only the data of those who are suspected to be tested positive are sent to the servers with the objective of alerting those with whom you have come in contact in the last 14 days... It also helps us keep track of the places the suspected patient has visited, said Singh, stating that even before anyone starts using the app, an informed consent is taken. According to Singh, using this app is the only way we can help flatten the curve and reduce the number of cases.

We cant always be under lockdown. So when we are opening up, and we realise that the cases may still continue to rise, how do you ensure that you reduce the impact of the virus? So this app becomes an important technological tool to limit this pandemic to only those who are affected, said Singh.

Unlike in the past, this time around, the government has engaged with French security researcher Baptiste Robert who goes by the moniker @fs0c131ty after he reported issues with the Aarogya Setu app. While Baptiste in his Medium post claims that the government responded within 49 mins, the govt doesn't properly address the concerns he raised.

Hi @SetuAarogya, A security issue has been found in your app. The privacy of 90 million Indians is at stake. Can you contact me in private? Regards, PS: @RahulGandhi was right  Elliot Alderson (@fs0c131y) May 5, 2020

Aarogya Setus Twitter handle had released a statement addressing Baptistes objections and Singh in the interview with HT assured that every claim made by any ethical hacker would be taken seriously and worked upon.

Statement from Team #AarogyaSetu on data security of the App. pic.twitter.com/JS9ow82Hom  Aarogya Setu (@SetuAarogya) May 5, 2020

Is this the only way forward when it comes to digital contact tracing? Thankfully, no.

In the next part of this two-part series we will look at how contact tracing apps are working around the world and how the Google-Apples decentralised approach is different from that used by the Aarogya Setu app.
Fordlover88 BHPian



Join Date: Dec 2019 Location: WB-08 Posts: 146 Thanked: 820 Times

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Road-trip to South Sikkim



The beauty of Sikkim is very hard to be penned down. Still i will try my level best to do justice to it. Sikkim has been in my must visit list for a long time now. I was even more excited as it was going to be my first hill drive. Shared the idea with few of my friends and they agreed instantly. South & West Sikkim(Ravangla & Pelling) were the destination decided & hotel bookings were done in advance. Two cars will be going- My Beast(Ford Ecosport Trend TDCI) & Dhritiman's Creta(1.6 CRDI). Shantanu will be travelling in my car, Souvik & Dhritiman's acquaintances will be in his Creta. Our machine's were thoroughly checked up and thus the wait for D Day started.



Day 1:Kolkata to Siliguri- I left home at about 4 a.m,picked up shantanu and waited at nivedita toll for dhritiman, who was supposed to pick up souvik & meet us here. They arrived after sometime and we departed at about 5 a.m from nivedita toll. The route followed would be NH2, Burdwan, SH7, Moregram, Malda, raigunj, Botolbari Dhantola, islampur, Siliguri. Encountered local traffic at SH7 as it was early morning. Road Condition between kuli & moregram was in bad shape for approx 15 kms. But it was quite manageable in high ground clearance cars. We halted for breakfast at BPCL COCO Moregram. Malda as usual was mess. So took the yet to be completed malda bypass. But to our disappointment, we were reverted to town halfway through the bypass. After negotiating narrow by-lanes of malda, we had to rejoin NH34 in malda itself, thus losing quite sometime there. We had late lunch at raigunj tourist lodge and then proceeded towards siliguri via botolbari-dhantola route. Encountered traffic snarls at islampur & conventional city jam at siliguri. Reached our hotel in sevoke road at about 8 p.m.



Myself at nivedita toll





The gang at SH7





SH7 at early morning





At BPCL Moregram





Yet to be complete malda bypass





Raigunj Tourist Lodge





Our Beast's at tourist lodge









Day 2:Siliguri to ravangla- I was very excited today as i would by having my first experience on mountain roads.We left our hotel at about 7 a.m. Our plan was to cover all sight seeings enroute and then check into our hotel at ravangla. Decided to take the longer route via rangpo as the conventional route via melli was in bad shape.We halted for breakfast at rangpo and then proceeded towards Temi Tea Garden. It was a thrilling experience driving through the serene surroundings through curvy mountain roads and hairpin bends. Reached temi in 1.5 hours time.The tea gardens are breathtakingly beautiful and so is the view from here. Since very few tourists come here, it's absolutely peaceful and serene. Here we had our first clear view of The Mighty Kanchenjunga & it was truly mesmerizing. We had tea, did some photo sessions & explored the surroundings there.



At rangpo





Temi tea garden





The Mighty Kanchenjungha at background





At tea garden





At tea garden





Our Beast's





Kanchenjungha clearly visible





My beast





My Beast









Next destination was samdruptse. But dhritiman was not feeling well, so he decided to go to ravangla directly and have some rest in hotel. Me, shantanu & souvik proceeded towards samdruptse. Samdruptse Hill-the 'wish fulfilling hill' is situated at an altitude of 2134 m (7000 ft). This epic hill is ornamented with a giant statue of the Guru Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche)- the patron saint of Sikkim who has been showering its blessings since more than 1,200 years. It is a 45 m tall statue, overlooking the whole city. The hill offers the vista of the magnificent Mt. Kangchenjunga amongst the richly forested hills under the blue painted sky. Don't have words to describe the pristine beauty of this place & it's surroundings. So i will let my clicks do the talking.



The beast at samdruptse parking





Entrance gate





The idol





The idol





Inside





View from Samdruptse





View from Samdruptse





View from Samdruptse





View from Samdruptse





Food joint & souvenirs stores









Had an awesome lunch here(Maggi & Momo). Next Destination was Char Dham, but i was skeptical of visiting it today as sun was about to set. Ravangla via char dham was 35 odd kms from here. Didn't want to take the risk of driving in dark in mountain roads. But finally gathered enough courage and proceeded towards char dham. It is situated at Solophok hill which is 5 km away from namchi town. The 108 feet statue of Lord Shiva is encircled and supported by a girdle of twelve Jyotirlingams Chardam, which is situated in India in four different places like East as Jagannath, West as Dwarika, South as Rameshawaram, North as Badrinath Dham.





Entrance of Char Dham





Guide map





Gigantic statue of Lord Shiva from entrance





Inside Char Dham

In my previous travelogue( https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ilk-route.html (To the Old Silk Route) ) i had mentioned about our incomplete trip to the foothill's of himalayas. This is the travelogue of that trip.The beauty of Sikkim is very hard to be penned down. Still i will try my level best to do justice to it. Sikkim has been in my must visit list for a long time now. I was even more excited as it was going to be my first hill drive. Shared the idea with few of my friends and they agreed instantly. South & West Sikkim(Ravangla & Pelling) were the destination decided & hotel bookings were done in advance. Two cars will be going- My Beast(Ford Ecosport Trend TDCI) & Dhritiman's Creta(1.6 CRDI). Shantanu will be travelling in my car, Souvik & Dhritiman's acquaintances will be in his Creta. Our machine's were thoroughly checked up and thus the wait for D Day started.- I left home at about 4 a.m,picked up shantanu and waited at nivedita toll for dhritiman, who was supposed to pick up souvik & meet us here. They arrived after sometime and we departed at about 5 a.m from nivedita toll. The route followed would be NH2, Burdwan, SH7, Moregram, Malda, raigunj, Botolbari Dhantola, islampur, Siliguri. Encountered local traffic at SH7 as it was early morning. Road Condition between kuli & moregram was in bad shape for approx 15 kms. But it was quite manageable in high ground clearance cars. We halted for breakfast at BPCL COCO Moregram. Malda as usual was mess. So took the yet to be completed malda bypass. But to our disappointment, we were reverted to town halfway through the bypass. After negotiating narrow by-lanes of malda, we had to rejoin NH34 in malda itself, thus losing quite sometime there. We had late lunch at raigunj tourist lodge and then proceeded towards siliguri via botolbari-dhantola route. Encountered traffic snarls at islampur & conventional city jam at siliguri. Reached our hotel in sevoke road at about 8 p.m.Myself at nivedita tollThe gang at SH7SH7 at early morningAt BPCL MoregramYet to be complete malda bypassRaigunj Tourist LodgeOur Beast's at tourist lodge- I was very excited today as i would by having my first experience on mountain roads.We left our hotel at about 7 a.m. Our plan was to cover all sight seeings enroute and then check into our hotel at ravangla. Decided to take the longer route via rangpo as the conventional route via melli was in bad shape.We halted for breakfast at rangpo and then proceeded towards Temi Tea Garden. It was a thrilling experience driving through the serene surroundings through curvy mountain roads and hairpin bends. Reached temi in 1.5 hours time.The tea gardens are breathtakingly beautiful and so is the view from here. Since very few tourists come here, it's absolutely peaceful and serene. Here we had our first clear view of The Mighty Kanchenjunga & it was truly mesmerizing. We had tea, did some photo sessions & explored the surroundings there.At rangpoTemi tea gardenThe Mighty Kanchenjungha at backgroundAt tea gardenAt tea gardenOur Beast'sKanchenjungha clearly visibleMy beastMy BeastNext destination was samdruptse. But dhritiman was not feeling well, so he decided to go to ravangla directly and have some rest in hotel. Me, shantanu & souvik proceeded towards samdruptse. Samdruptse Hill-the 'wish fulfilling hill' is situated at an altitude of 2134 m (7000 ft). This epic hill is ornamented with a giant statue of the Guru Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche)- the patron saint of Sikkim who has been showering its blessings since more than 1,200 years. It is a 45 m tall statue, overlooking the whole city. The hill offers the vista of the magnificent Mt. Kangchenjunga amongst the richly forested hills under the blue painted sky. Don't have words to describe the pristine beauty of this place & it's surroundings. So i will let my clicks do the talking.The beast at samdruptse parkingEntrance gateThe idolThe idolInsideView from SamdruptseView from SamdruptseView from SamdruptseView from SamdruptseFood joint & souvenirs storesHad an awesome lunch here(Maggi & Momo). Next Destination was Char Dham, but i was skeptical of visiting it today as sun was about to set. Ravangla via char dham was 35 odd kms from here. Didn't want to take the risk of driving in dark in mountain roads. But finally gathered enough courage and proceeded towards char dham. It is situated at Solophok hill which is 5 km away from namchi town. The 108 feet statue of Lord Shiva is encircled and supported by a girdle of twelve Jyotirlingams Chardam, which is situated in India in four different places like East as Jagannath, West as Dwarika, South as Rameshawaram, North as Badrinath Dham.Entrance of Char DhamGuide mapGigantic statue of Lord Shiva from entranceInside Char Dham Last edited by Fordlover88 : 8th May 2020 at 21:57 .
The PSNI has been in contact with journalists concerned

Loyalist terrorists in the North have issued threats against journalists working for the Sunday Life and Sunday World newspapers.

A number of reporters were visited by police officers yesterday and warned of imminent attacks.

At least one journalist was told of a planned under-car booby trap, while staff at the two Sunday titles - both owned by Independent News and Media (INM), publishers of the Herald - were warned they are at risk of immediate attack.

The development comes just weeks after the first anniversary of the New IRA murder of journalist Lyra McKee in Derry.

The PSNI is taking the threats seriously and officers have been in contact with the journalists concerned.

Murder

It is understood the threats emanate from the breakaway South East Antrim UDA.

Members of the South East Antrim UDA have been linked to the murder in January of Glenn Quinn (47), who was found in his flat in Carrickfergus, Co Antrim.

Police have confirmed they are "in receipt" of information that indicates a planned and co-ordinated campaign of intimidation.

Peter Vandermeersch, publisher at INM, said: "We will, of course, work with the police to ensure our staff's safety.

"Threats against journalists should not be tolerated in any free society. As we mark the 75th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany, an important element in that victory was ensuring freedom of speech for subsequent generations. It is depressing that thugs still believe they can silence the press through intimidation."
An angry group of people stormed into a Mexican hospital to "rescue" a patient with the coronavirus, claiming that this pandemic was a lie and a conspiracy by the government, NYP reported.

A crowd of about 300 people headed toward a hospital in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas demanding to examine an anonymous patient.

"Coronavirus is a lie," one of the protesters wrote on Mercado Libre de Motozintla's Facebook page.

The crowd also demanded the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions claiming that this virus did not actually exist, El Universal writes.

The patients family members, who were also in the crowd, said they were concerned for his safety.

The man is the third resident of the city to be hospitalized with COVID-19.

Hospital staff blocked the entrance and called the national guard, which guarded the scene and cordoned off the hospital building and part of a nearby park.
You may already know Zalando, the fashion and lifestyle online platform founded in Berlin in 2008. Over 31 million customers flock to the site, which carries more than 2,000 brands, ranging from Adidas to Zadig & Voltaire.

It's also increasingly making its mark as a sustainable fashion destination, with recent campaign A Collaborative Effort featuring seven employees highlighting the company's efforts in this area. There are 30,000 items flagged with 'sustainability', as well as various edits pointing customers in the direction of more conscious fashion choices.

BUY: See zalando.ie





Witness the fitness

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Health and fitness festival Wellfest goes virtual this weekend and the event is free of charge, with an option to donate to Barretstown Children's Charity. Originally scheduled to take place at Royal Hospital Kilmainham, the online line-up includes sessions with positive-mental-attitude trainer Faisal Abdalla, a cook along with Roz Purcell (above) and a Crunch and Burn class with Maeve Madden. It concludes tomorrow night with a dancefit closing party.

DETAILS: See wellfest.ie





Art appreciation

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Young artists are being asked to 'Draw Our Heroes' in a new national art competition judged by a panel including broadcaster Joe Duffy and artist Graham Knuttel. The drawings will be put online, with a public exhibition planned for later in the year and a prize pool of just under 5,000 awarded to the top 12 entries across four age categories and the hero subjects will also receive a matched prize.

DETAILS: See drawourheroes.ie





Fresh prints

Irish printmaking company JANDO, founded by husband and wife Julie and Owen McLoughlin, has launched a nationwide campaign to keep Irish people connected during lockdown. Love Where You Live wants JANDO social-media followers to select the places in Ireland they miss most. The winners will receive a special bespoke print, with the closing date for entries on May 17. It's business as usual for JANDO at the moment, but with 20pc off. Prints come in 100pc biodegradable clear protective sleeves while frames are made of wood from sustainably managed forests.

BUY: See @jandodesign on social media or jandodesign.com





Licence to grill

The current circumstances have led Dublin barbecue restaurants Asador on Haddington Road and Prado in Clontarf to move up their plans to introduce Asador | Prado at Home this summer, to the joy of grill-seekers. There's a choice of a BBQ Box (59) or Deluxe Box (75) with generous portions of dry-aged beef burgers, chicken wings, sticky glazed ribs and premium steaks plus an assortment of sides and sauces. It's all designed to make barbecuing easy and can be cooked indoors if the weather isn't playing ball. DETAILS: See asador.ie





Spice it up

Named after Ireland's favourite guilty pleasure, food podcast Spice Bags explores Ireland's relationship to the world. Hosts Mei Chin, Blanca Valencia and Julia Langbein delve into edible issues with secretary-general of Euro-Toques Ireland Manuela Spinelli (above) on the May 13 episode.

DETAILS: See headstuff.org and @spicebagspod





On the map

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A new major research project by 100 Archive, which highlights the best of Irish communication design, has been launched. Map Irish Design (below) looks at the impact that design has had on culture, business, society and life in Ireland over the past decade, and features more than 2,300 projects from designers based in Ireland and abroad.

DETAILS: See map.100archive.com





Getting quizzy

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Dublin company Creative Events is running a virtual quiz show for family and friends with 20pc of profits going to Breast Cancer Ireland. Each Saturday at 8pm, quizmaster and broadcaster Shay Byrne presents The Big Interactive Quiz Show, which costs 12 per household and allows you to have as many players as you like.

DETAILS: See creativeevents.ie/events/big-interactive-quiz





The green buy

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Whether to make dinner more of an event or to mark a birthday, OVO Things' porcelain candlestick holder and candles will add an element of joy to proceedings. Available from eco-friendly online Irish store The Kind, these are handmade by small producers and artists in Lithuania using natural materials like clay, porcelain, oak, bronze and beeswax. BUY: Holder, 15; birthday candle pack, from 13. See thekind.co

Onwards

Barbecue bust-ups

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Emotions are already running high without adding some burnt burgers into the mix.

Office life after lockdown

How will we maintain civilised and socially distanced water-cooler chat when we're currently at 97pc feral?

Twi-hard mania

The fandom is set to get out of control now that Stephanie Meyers has announced a new Twilight book is coming in August.

Channing Tatum's pants choices

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In theory, there's nothing wrong with taking out the rubbish wearing gold lame pants but it's never wise to go full MC Hammer.

Love Island's cancellation

Perhaps for the best. The proposed location switch from Mallorca to Cornwall was never going to work.

Upwards

Connell's chain from Normal People

It has become such an object of lust, it now has its own Instagram fan account.

Steak, chips and cheese

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Apparently, Europe needs to eat more of these during lockdown to clear excess stock and we are happy to oblige.

Turbans ...

or giant hairbands or a knotted headscarf. Anything to get us to July 20, when the hairdresser will hopefully open.

Vitalising viewing

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The just-landed Michelle Obama Netflix documentary Becoming is all kinds of uplifting.

Perfect casting

It doesn't get any better than Nicolas Cage playing Joe Exotic in a new Tiger King TV series.
Not quite right. Thats the best way Dr Paul Trafford can find to describe how he began to feel one evening, two weeks ago, as he relaxed on the sofa after another gruelling day at work. His heart was beating quite hard in his chest. Nothing else specific, but overwhelmingly, just not quite right.

He was in fairly good health, or so he thought. In fact, as he would soon discover, a major artery supplying his heart had become almost completely blocked.

But there was no crushing pain, no problems breathing and few obvious clues that he was on the verge of a life-threatening medical emergency. And certainly no reason to be dashing off to hospital  particularly at a time when the NHS was struggling to cope with the burden of a Covid-19 outbreak.

Consultant anaesthetist Dr Paul Trafford, pictured with his consultant breast surgeon wife, Dr Julie Doughty and their nieces Emily, 17, left and Libby, 17, right, returned home after work two weeks ago when he felt his heart thumping in his chest

Now the consultant anaesthetist is sharing his experience in the hope it will encourage others not to be deterred from seeking emergency NHS treatment because of the pandemic.

I was sitting chatting to my wife Julie and the TV was on in the background, says Paul, 63, from Glasgow. I just became very aware that I could feel my heart thumping in my chest.

It wasnt racing, and I had no chest pain, sweating or breathlessness  the classic signs of a heart attack  so I genuinely wasnt worried.

In fact, I didnt even think it was worth mentioning to Julie at first. I fully expected it to pass.

While Julie, a breast cancer surgeon at Glasgows Gartnavel General Hospital and president of the Association of Breast Surgery, went off to do some baking, Paul decided to check his blood pressure, using a monitor they had in the house.

It was sky high, he says. I still wasnt worried but decided I had better tell Julie I wasnt feeling quite right.

After discussing it, the couple jumped in the car and drove to nearby Queen Elizabeth University Hospital to be on the safe side, says Paul.

It proved to be a decision that almost certainly saved his life. Within minutes, he was undergoing an electrocardiogram that found his hearts electrical activity was haywire  a clear warning sign that problems were brewing.

Dr Trafford, pictured, was not suffering classic heart attack symptoms such as chest pain. Luckily, Dr Trafford sought NHS help because he was on the verge of a massive cardiac event and required an emergency angioplasty

An ambulance  with blue lights flashing  was ordered to rush him to Glasgows Golden Jubilee National Hospital, a centre of excellence which handles the citys cardiac emergencies.

X-rays revealed a serious blockage in a major artery that was almost certainly about to trigger a massive heart attack. It was the left anterior descending artery, which supplies blood to the front part of the heart, says Paul. Apparently cardiologists call this kind of blockage a widow-maker, because its so often fatal.

Heart specialists at the state- of-the-art cardiac care centre leapt into action.

They performed an emergency angioplasty, where a thin tube was fed into an artery in his right wrist and manoeuvred up into his chest to clear the blockage.

Through this, they then inserted a tiny metal device called a stent, to prop open the artery to ensure healthy blood flow in future. Astonishingly, from leaving the house at 6.30pm to beginning his recovery in the coronary care unit took just three hours.

And after being monitored for 48 hours, he was sent home with instructions to lose weight and take a daily cocktail of pills to control his blood pressure, keep his cholesterol low and stop his blood clotting too easily.

Why a pain in the chest isn't the only sign you need to get to A&E The most common warning sign of a heart attack is sudden chest pain  a pressing or squeezing of the chest which spreads to the arms, neck and throat, coupled with a feeling of breathlessness. However, many heart attack victims report neither of these sensations. Women having a heart attack are more likely to feel a mild pressure on the chest, neck or even stomach. This can often be mistaken for indigestion, which is why women are less likely to seek medical treatment quickly  and any delay can dramatically reduce a victims chances of surviving a heart attack. Other lesser-known signs include severe sweating and extreme nausea, excessive coughing or wheezing. Less common is a feeling of overwhelming anxiety, similar to a panic attack. In most cases, sufferers notice a combination of these signs  but not always. If you feel the sudden onset of any of the above, seek medical help immediately. Advertisement

Paul says: I was incredibly lucky and the standard of care I received was outstanding. But the truth is, if Julie had not been there to urge me to go to hospital, I would probably have just gone to bed for a few hours to see if the discomfort passed. And theres every chance I would have had a massive heart attack and died. Even if it didnt kill me, it would probably have caused so much damage that I would have ended up disabled.

I hate to think of anyone else in a similar position to me, sitting on these symptoms at home instead of getting the help they need.

And Julie admits: I dont even want to think about what would have happened if he had ignored his symptoms that night and just gone to bed.

Paul never worries or makes a fuss about his health and never moans about feeling unwell. But he looked quite anxious  so I knew it was serious.

Julie added: I could have lost him. And when I saw him being blue-lighted to the Golden Jubilee Hospital, I felt physically sick with worry  even though I knew it was the best possible place for him to be.

My father died from a heart attack when I was 18  he was just 56  so I know what its like to lose somebody very close to heart disease. I dont want to go through that again.

However, Pauls story may not be unique  a steep drop in A&E attendance since the pandemic began has left health chiefs deeply concerned. They fear it could mean that thousands of people showing signs of an approaching heart attack are risking death by opting to stay away from hospital, either because they are worried about overloading the hard-pressed NHS or because they fear they might catch Covid-19 from other patients.

Figures released last month by NHS England showed the number of people attending casualty with symptoms of a possible heart attack halved during March, from an average of 300 a day to just 150. Thats the equivalent of more than 1,000 possible heart attacks every week going unchecked.

Dr Trafford required an emergency angioplasty to unblock a major artery in to his heart

The British Heart Foundation, which has expressed alarm at the drop-off in attendance, recently surveyed cardiologists across London, where Covid-19 rates have been highest. It found the number of emergency treatments, such as inserting stents, dropped by 38 per cent in the second half of March compared with the first.

More than 70 per cent of those surveyed blamed patients fears of catching Covid-19 in hospital. But 46 per cent were also convinced that many stayed away due to worries about putting pressure on an already overburdened NHS.

Professor Naveed Sattar, from Glasgow Universitys Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, fears in many cases this will end in tragedy.

He says: Someone who delays coming to A&E might find that, instead of being treatable, they have instead suffered severe heart-muscle loss due to their blocked artery.

This can lead to death or, even if they survive, increased risk of heart failure, irreversible scarring of the cardiac muscle that causes severe breathlessness, exhaustion and swollen feet and ankles.

I work mainly in the area of heart-disease prevention, says Prof Sattar.

Some of my high-risk patients, for example, those who are obese or have type 2 diabetes, who really should be coming in for check-ups, say they dont want to in case they expose themselves to Covid-19, while others fall through the net because they dont want to bother the busy NHS.

BHF associate medical director Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan says: Heart attacks dont stop for a global pandemic  they are still a top priority. Patients should not delay because they think hospitals are too busy.

And consultant cardiologist Dr Ramzi Khamis, from West Londons Hammersmith Hospital, says: We are quite anxious about the patients we are not seeing, as well as those who delay attendance.

Although Paul has been on pills for high blood pressure for several years and admits he is overweight, he had little reason to be concerned before his heart scare. I saw a cardiologist last year for a complete check-up and was told there were no other problems.

My cholesterol was very healthy, my blood sugar was normal and a treadmill test, where doctors do an electrocardiogram to check your heart while you walk, was all clear.

But his workload as a consultant anaesthetist has increased significantly due to the coronavirus pandemic. Due to retire from his part-time NHS post at the end of April, instead he has been working 11-hour shifts up to five days a week as hospitals try to clear the backlog of cancelled operations triggered by the outbreak  such as patients in urgent need of breast-cancer surgery.

Stress, due to its body-wide effects, can in the long term raise the risk of heart problems.

Now, though, Paul says: I feel better than I have done in years.

I hate to think of anyone else in a similar position to me, sitting on these symptoms at home and ignoring them.

Figures released last month by NHS England showed the number of people attending casualty with symptoms of a possible heart attack halved during March, from an average of 300 a day to just 150. Thats the equivalent of more than 1,000 possible heart attacks every week going unchecked

The message from my experience is clear  the NHS is still there for you, so ask for help if you need it.

Julie adds that fears of catching Covid-19 in hospital are mostly unfounded, since the majority cordon off treatment areas for coronavirus patients from those suffering with other ailments.

And while many coronavirus sufferers make a full recovery, the chances of surviving a heart attack unscathed are significantly lower.

If just one person reads this and decides not to stay away from hospital when they have even the slightest symptoms of a heart attack, it will be worth it because it could save their life, she says.
David Baker shot a man in the chest at close range, leading a Thompson jury to convict him of attempted murder.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 8/5/2020 (620 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

David Baker shot a man in the chest at close range, leading a Thompson jury to convict him of attempted murder.

That Baker didnt kill his target makes him lucky, but no less responsible than if he had been successful in his mission, a judge in Winnipeg was told Friday.

"The act was clearly premeditated," said Crown attorney Mike Himmelman, who recommended Justice Gerald Chartier sentence the 21-year-old Winnipeg man to 15 years in prison.

"The fact Mr. Baker was lucky and didnt kill (the victim) doesnt mean he didnt intend to," Himmelman said.

A jury heard evidence that last fall Baker had been at a party at his aunts home when he learned the 23-year-old victim was on his way to pick up his girlfriend. Baker, who witnesses testified had been flirting with the victims girlfriend, said the victim "better come strapped (armed)," before reaching into a bag and pulling out a .22-calibre handgun and a bullet-proof vest.

"The obvious inference is that the accused was preparing for a deadly confrontation," Himmelman said.

The victim arrived and forcefully pulled his girlfriend outside. Baker, already outside, told the man to leave her alone before shooting him in the chest from a distance of about eight feet.

Baker fled the scene and hours later sent a text to a friend saying: "LMAO, I had nowhere to go. I just blasted some s----y guy at my auntys."

First responders found the victim stumbling on the street with a bloody rag clutched to his chest. He was taken to Thompson hospital and then transferred to Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg with a collapsed lung but no other life-threatening injuries.

A bullet is still lodged in the victims rear chest wall, Himmelman said.

Defence lawyer David Gray said Baker only armed himself after other partygoers told him the victim was angry and he "better watch out."

"Clearly, Mr. Baker should not have pointed the gun and clearly he should not have pulled the trigger, but he knows that," Gray said.

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Court heard Baker had a troubled upbringing that included exposure to gangs, violence and substance abuse and lengthy periods in foster care, a personal history that Gray tied to the displacement of the once-thriving South Indian Lake community by Manitoba Hydro 50 years ago.

"Families were effectively displaced and fell into a welfare cycle that was previously unimaginable," Gray said.

Baker offered a brief apology to his victim, who attended the sentencing by teleconference.

"Im not a bad person," he said. "I dont think of myself as a monster Im sick of being a loser and want to move on from this."

Chartier will sentence Baker on May 22.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mbca
US vice-presidents press secretary became Friday the second White House official to test positive for Covid-19 in recent days raising questions about protection from the virus at the countrys safest workplace as American businesses seek to reopen and pick up from where they left off before the lockdown.

President Donald Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence were tested agin after press secretary Katie Millers diagnosis and both were negative. A personal military valet to the president, who and other valets work closely with the president and the first family, had tested positive on Thursday.

A personal aide to Ivanka Trump, the presidents daughter and adviser, has also tested positive, according to news reports that pointed out said she has been teleworking from home and not been around the first daughter for weeks. Both Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, a senior adviser to the president, were tested on Friday and they were both negative.

Coronavirus outbreak: Full coverage

The president and the vice-president are now being tested for the virus every day and the White House sought assure Americans every precaution is being taken to prevent the virus from spreading. This is the safest place you can come to, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters.

The White House has sad that every staff member working in close proximity to the president and the vice-president is being tested daily, in addition to the enforcement of social distancing, daily temperature checks and symptom histories, and the use of hand sanitizers and regular deep cleaning of all work spaces.

Nearly 1.3 million people have contracted the coronavirus in the the United States with 26,960 new infections in the last 24 hours only and the 77,180 hav died of it, up by 1,518.

President Trump is optimistic it will be over soon. He told reporters at a meeting with Republican lawmakers that the virus This is going to go away without a vaccine. Its going to go away, and its -- were not going to see it again, hopefully, after a period of time.

You may have some -- some flare-ups and I guess, you know, I would expect that, he added. Sometime in the fall, youll have flare-ups maybe.

The American president has previously said a vaccine is likely by the end of the year, though medical experts on his coronavirus task force have been a little more circumspect and suggested January or later.

But the presidents optimism is in line with his earlier remarks that the epidemic will be gone like a miracle, which were attributed initially to his reluctance to acknowledge the gravity of the crisis and, then, once he finally did, with mounting infections and fatalities, his eagerness to reopen the country.

The infections at the White House, have however, raised questions about the workplace safety around the country as businesses reopen. The White House may have added to these uncertainties by blocking the release of reopening guidelines put together by the governments top medical experts.

(For print) And amid rising tensions with China on the coronavirus outbreak, the United States on Friday cut visa period for Chinese journalists to 90 days, with the option of extending it. The two countries have been engaged in a series of retaliatory actions against journalists in recent months.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Wyoming rose by seven on Friday.

Five of the newly confirmed cases come from Fremont County, and the other two come from Goshen and Uinta counties.

Another two new probable cases were also reported, both from Fremont County, the site of the state's largest outbreak.

Five new confirmed coronavirus recoveries were also announced, alongside five probable recoveries.

Between Thursday and Friday's updates from the Wyoming Department of Health, 448 new tests were conducted.

Probable cases are defined by officials as close contacts of lab-confirmed cases with symptoms consistent with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

A patient is considered fully recovered "when there is resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and there is improvement in respiratory symptoms (e.g. cough, shortness of breath) for 72 hours AND at least 7 days have passed since symptoms first appeared," according to the Wyoming Department of Health.
In the beginning, I tried for some semblance of maternal control. It was in March  has it really only been a couple of months?  that I sent him the N95 masks a prescient friend had urged me to buy for myself in January; I was worried that Sams hospital wouldnt have enough. (All my patients have coronavirus, he texted me on the 19th of that month.)

Things got worse seemingly overnight. Those were the days when Sam told my husband and me that he was seeing more intubated patients in a day than he had in the previous nine months. He said that he sought counsel from a supervisor because he couldnt give his patients the attention they deserved  there were just so many of them, and they were all so ill. Sam told me he missed the days when he had time to wheel a cranky patient outside for a bit of air.

My Texas kid used to entertain us with perfect imitations of New York accents, but not anymore. Instead, he was holding cellphones for frightened, lonely patients desperate to FaceTime their families.

If the ensuing time has been surreal for Sam, it has been for my husband and me, too. Mimis son is on the front lines, I overheard a friend say, with a mixture of admiration and pity, before we all went into lockdown here in Houston. The first question people ask when calling to check in is How is Sam? They send him mail-order tamales and homemade chocolate chip bars, and they tell me he is a hero, which is all very kind but also rends the blanket of denial I keep trying to wrap myself in. Sam tells me to tell people that really, he doesnt need anything, and I tell him to take the gifts that are offered, that other people need to feel like they are doing something, even if it is helping the helpers. Few can resist military metaphors: Hes probably having the time of his life, another friend suggested. This is what he signed up for.
Thirty Six new COVID-19 positive



cases have been confirmed in Karnataka, taking the total number of infections in the state to 789, health department said on Saturday.

"36 new positive cases have been reported from last evening to this noon....Till date 789 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed. This includes 30 deaths and 379 discharges," the department said in its mid day situation report.

The 36 new cases include- 12 from Bengaluru urban, seven from Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada, five from Davangere, three each from- Bantawal in Dakshina Kannada, Chitradurga and Bidar, and one each from Tumakuru, Davangere and Vijayapura.

While most cases are contacts of patients already tested positive, three are with travel history to Ahmedabad, two are from a containment zone in Bengaluru, and one person's contact is under tracing.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A woman recently wanted to know if it was bad of her to get a secret tattooand she has a really sad reason behind her ink.

She also doesnt want to explain that reason to her moms friends.

Background: I had a very tumultuous childhood due to my mothers mental illness, she starts out by saying.

At 15 my mother kicked me out for the last time because I chose to never come back.

She begged, but I told her my reasons and she had no interest in fixing them. I got a job and my own place.

I got my equivalency and put myself through college.

The issue: I am now in my late 20s and we still have a pretty awful relationship.

I am in and out of no contact. I havent been able to maintain it, unfortunately. Separating yourself from your abuser is a lot harder then I anticipated.

I had a really bad anxiety attack and called her immediately. It makes nosense to me why I would call someone that destroyed my life but my therapist said its a normal reaction. Obviously I still have a lot of work to do on myself.

A couple of years ago, before I went back to school, I got a tattoo of the number 15 on the back of my arm right below my elbow.

Heres the meaning behind her tattoo choice.

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Ysanne Louise Peach, 34, (pictured) has been jailed for three years after police found her with meth

A mother who turned to selling meth to pay the bills became addicted to the drug while trying to escape the trauma of an abusive relationship.

Ysanne Louise Peach, 34, has been jailed for three years after police found her with a traffickable quantity of meth and $11,000 in cash at Boulder, in Western Australia's Eastern Goldfields region.

The single mother had been working three jobs to pay off her mortgage and support her daughter, 17 and informally adopted 'son', according to the West Australian.

Police uncovered a 8.38 grams of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and $11,000 after raiding her home on July 16 last year.

Most of the contraband was hidden beneath the floor of the family home.

Peach was released on bail but arrested only months later after police found her out on the streets after midnight on October 23 behaving erratically.

Police had to restrain the single mum after she became aggressive, and uncovered another 54.8g of meth hidden inside her purse.

When they took her to the police station they found another 1.72 grams stashed inside her bra.

The 34-year-old was sentenced to three years in jail after appearing at the Perth Magistrates Court on Monday via videolink from the Eastern Goldfields Regional Prison.

She pleaded guilty to possessing a traffickable quantity of meth with intent to sell, and possession of cash suspected of being lawfully obtained.

Defence Lawyer Ashley Watson revealed Peach had fallen off the tracks after ramping up her drug use while experiencing violence at the hands of a former partner.

Mr Watson argued the mum had turned her life around since being imprisoned as she had gotten clean and was hoping to train to become a counsellor.

He claimed the money was the result of of cash saved from cleaning jobs and selling furniture, and the drugs found on Peach belonged to his client and her housemates.

Peach had lodgers living at the Boulder home when police raided the property on July 16.
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.
Prince Charles and his wife Camilla have written to Britain's postal workers to thank them for the vital role they are playing during the crisis.

Addressed to 'Everyone at Royal Mail,' the letter from the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall commends their 'dedication, resilience and hard work'.

It says: 'In recent weeks, we have heard that many people have taken the time to write a letter, or a card, to those from whom they are separated.

Postman Neil Martin talking at a distance to the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall after receiving a letter addressed to postal workers from them at Birkhall, Aberdeenshire

'Postmen and postwomen are trusted figures in our local communities.

Today, as many people  ourselves included  are obliged to stay at home, Royal Mail plays an absolutely vital role in keeping family and friends in touch with one another.

For that, we can only say how deeply grateful we are and send you our kindest wishes.'

The letter was left on a bench outside the royal couple's front door at Birkhall, Aberdeenshire, where it was collected by their local postman Neil Martin when he delivered their mail.

Postman Daniel Edwards holding a letter from the Prince of Wales,who has hailed the 'dedication, resilience and hard work' of Britain's postal workers

Mr Martin, who has been a postman for 36 years, collected it on Tuesday.

It stressed that the value of Royal Mail workers 'has never been more important'.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall laugh with their postman

The royal couple said: 'Receiving such a personal message at this difficult and anxious time can mean an enormous amount.

'We feel sure that a very large number of these special greetings will be treasured for years to come. They may even become a valuable resource for social historians in the future.

'Postmen and postwomen are trusted figures in our local communities. They are a constant presence in an ever-changing world. For some people, they are a point of daily human contact; a friendly, familiar face.'

The employment challenges, personal fears and new look to the way that postal workers are now having to do their jobs was also praised.

The couple wrote: 'Many of you, we know, have gone above and beyond what is normally expected of you. We have heard wonderful stories of postmen and postwomen checking on older and vulnerable residents, raising funds for good causes, even wearing fancy dress costumes to raise a smile...'

Charles addressed the letter to 'Everyone at Royal Mail' and ended it with 'heartfelt thanks - and a big thumbs up' from himself and the Duchess of Cornwall.

Royal Mail's Director of Public Affairs & Policy David Gold holding a letter from the Prince of Wales

Postman Neil Martin with a letter from the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall after being left it on their doorstep in Birkhall, Aberdeenshire

The Royal Mail has launched a Thumbs Up For Your Postie campaign to encourage customers to show their appreciation for their postie.

The public is being urged to give them a 'thumbs up' - from a safe two-metre distance, which is just over the height of a Royal Mail postbox - as a way to stay connected with their local postie while respecting the social distancing rules.

Giving a thumbs up is also a handy reminder for people not to reach out to try and take parcels direct from postmen and women to ensure the delivery is contact-free, the Royal Mail said.
The Punjab Police on Saturday arrested from neighbouring Haryana Ranjeet Singh Rana, an alleged drug smuggler who was wanted in connection with a 532-kg heroin haul from Attari last year, officials said.

He was arrested from a hideout in Haryana's Sirsa district, the police officials said.

Facing over 10 criminal cases, Rana alias Cheeta was one of the key links in the network engaged in smuggling a large number of consignments of drugs and illegal weapons through the Indo-Pak border, the police said.

Among other cases, Rana was wanted in the narcotics haul case in which the Customs department seized 532 kg of heroin worth Rs 2,700 crore on June 29, 2019 from 600 bags of rock salt at the Integrated Check Post in Amritsar's Attari.

Rana was said to be the kingpin of the narcotics haul.

"We have nabbed him (Ranjeet) from Sirsa," Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta told PTI.

His brother Gagandeep Singh was also arrested, the state police chief said.

Giving details of the operation, Gupta said he spoke to his Haryana counterpart Manoj Yadav around 9 pm on Friday. Thereafter, coordination was established by Amritsar police with Sirsa Superintendent of Police Arun Nehra.

A team of Amritsar police reached Sirsa at 3:30 am. The outer cordon of the area was laid jointly by Haryana and Punjab police, he said.

After not finding Rana at the first location, a Punjab Police team reached the second location, he said.

Gupta said after police knocked on the door, Rana slowly opened the door. As soon as he saw the police party, he tried to close the door and grab an axe lying near his bed. But the police kicked open the door and caught him.

His brother Gagandeep Singh, who was sleeping in another room, was also arrested, the officer added.

The arrest of Rana and his brother marks the first time the police have been able to unravel international drug networks on such a massive scale and expose a major racket of proceeds of narcotic trade being routed to terrorist outfits operating in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and other parts of the country, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said.

He recalled his promise to the people of Punjab that he would go after the "big fish" involved in the drug trade and save the youth of Punjab from the drug trap.

Rana's arrest comes after the state police recently nabbed Hizbul Mujahideen operatives in Amritsar.

The Punjab Police had last month arrested Hilal Ahmed Wagay, a close associate of slain Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo, the police said.

Later on May 5, Wagay's two accomplices -- Bikram Singh and Maninder Singh -- were arrested from Amritsar, they said.

Their interrogation revealed that Bikram and Maninder along with their cousins Rana, Iqbal Singh alias Shera and Sarwan Singh were dealing in drugs smuggled from across the border. Bikram had gone to deliver Rs 29 lakh of the drug money to Wagay on the instructions of Rana, Iqbal and Sarwan, DGP Gupta said in a statement here.

Bikram and Maninder told police about the activities of Rana and his brother, he said.

Further analysis of data along with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) led to the identification of Rana's Sirsa location. Subsequently, in coordination with the Haryana Police, the hideout was busted and he was arrested with his brother in the early hours of Saturday, the chief minister said in a statement.

Rana was one of the most active nodes of the extensive and common network of drug smugglers or couriers set up by Pakistan intelligence agency ISI to push composite consignments of drugs, weapons, fake currency from Pakistan into Punjab through various means, including drones, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sweden has gone against the norm by not imposing a lockdown. Image credit: By Kabelleger / David Gubler - Own work: Also available at http://www.bahnbilder.ch/picture/16065, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36256992

In January, this year, a friend shifted to Sweden with her husband, who works with an IT major. Then, the pandemic was still remote, localised in China. A couple of months later, India went into lockdown. As my friend kept getting updates about her friends and family members back home during what is being called the worlds most stringent lockdown, she realised how things were different in Sweden. While she, and some of the other Indian families she knows there, have been self-quarantining at home, on the streets of Stockholm and other parts of the country, it has been business as usual, albeit with some restrictions.

For, Sweden is one of the only countries in the world to not impose an official lockdown. In Sweden, as opposed to its neighbouring countries, and most of Europe, there is no ban on moving outdoors, nor are bars, restaurants, offices or even primary schools shut. While some offices have adopted work from home policies, many people still travel to work. Rather, the country has been relying on trust, common sense and recommendations of social distancing, led by the state epidemiologist, Anders Tegnell, who has said that locking people at home will not work in the long term.

It is not that life is completely normal. Sweden has imposed four rules to counter the pandemic  no visiting elderly care homes or retirement homes, no public gatherings of over 50 people, restaurants and bars need to make sure they are not crowded, and all guests need to be seated. It has also closed high schools and universities; though primary schools are still open.

So, why is Sweden not following the rest of the world in locking down completely? For one, the country considers personal freedom a top priority, by locking down the society, peoples freedom of movement would be curtailed. It is also amongst the most egalitarian countries in the world - by shutting down schools, the younger children would have to stay at home, which would be difficult for working parents, especially if they are single/low earning. Further, the trust factor between the Swedish government and its people is high, and, according to data, many people have been voluntarily self-quarantining, while public transport usage has dropped significantly.

Story continues

Further, more than half of homes in Sweden are single individual households, while most of the elderly live in care homes. Surveys have also found that three-fourths of Swedes maintain the recommended minimum one-metre distance from each other  something that is pretty common in a country that takes personal space seriously. Even before the pandemic, the Swedes have maintained a minimum of an arms length from each other.

A gamble

However, another, approach that Sweden is relying on, though it has not confirmed the same officially, is that of getting herd immunity  a highly debated term. This happens when a large proportion (around 80 per cent) of the population develops immunity to a virus. This could either be through mass immunisation or by having people infected with the virus, recovering from it and developing immunity to it.

In Swedens case, Tegnell has estimated that 40 per cent of the population will develop immunity to the virus by May end, and, as opposed to its neighbours such as Finland, in case a second wave happens in autumn, most Swedes would already be immune to it.

This move has caused much controversy - some have called it reckless and dangerous  the country has a total of 25,265 cases and 3,175 deaths - others, especially many Swedes, believe that this is the right move. Swedens death rate is nearly six times that of its neighbouring countries, Norway and Finland. A large number of deaths are among the older population. Sweden also recently had to crack down on a few bars and restaurants in Stockholm where social distancing rules were being flouted.

Sweden is not the only country to try this approach - in early March, there were reports that the United Kingdom was hoping to reduce the impact of the virus by allowing more people to get infected and develop immunity to the virus. However, projections showed that the countrys health services would not be able keep up with the rapidly rising number of infected people, deaths were also increasing. By end-March, the country ordered all schools, pubs, restaurants shut and banned large gathering. The countrys Chief Scientific Advisor, Patrick Vallance, later clarified that herd immunity was never the goal, rather it was to try and suppress the peak and keep it at a level at which the countrys medical services could cope.

The herd immunity debate and India

With cases rising, and the severe economic fallout of the pandemic and lockdown, some commentators are debating whether herd immunity would be a better approach for a developing country like India. According to experts in favour of such an approach, Indias young population, which require less intense hospitalisation and could have a lower fatality rate, could make the country an option for trying out the herd immunity way. However, this would have to be reached in a way that it does not affect the most vulnerable  the elderly population and those with co-morbidities.

As per a team of researchers from Princeton University and Washington, New Delhi based public health advocacy group, Centre for Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy, by controlling the way the virus is released in the next seven months, 60 per cent of the population could get immune to it by November. The experts believe that the approach adopted could be to allow most of Indias under-60 population to get back to normal life while restricting large gatherings encouraging social distancing and making masks compulsory.

However, critics of the policy maintain that allowing more people to get infected would mean stretching the countrys already-strained healthcare system in order to be able to accommodate the critically ill who need hospitalisation. India also has a high proportion of people with diabetes, cardiac illnesses and other comorbidities, hence increasing the risk factor. Many Indians also live in multi-generational families, hence, protecting the elderly from the virus may be difficult if people are allowed to mingle freely.

Further, considering the COVID-19, which emerged late last year, is still understudied, it would be difficult to predict how protective the antibody response would be and for how long. In the absence of a vaccine, herd immunity may be a risky experiment, which could prove dangerous if things go wrong in a country like India. As the health ministry said on Friday, with no early tapering off in sight, Indians would have to learn to live with the virus and adjust to new social distancing norms.
Australia will suffer a population slowdown as the coronavirus crisis discourages women from having children, leading to a slump in the birth rate that will drag down the economy.

New figures show the nation's fertility rate will fall short of the Morrison government's ambitious budget forecasts amid an escalating political row over a steep dive in migration during the crisis.

Pregnancies are expected to drop as couples remain wary of the crisis. Credit:

The number of births was already falling in NSW, Victoria and Queensland before the pandemic forced millions of Australians out of work, leading experts to forecast bigger declines in the recession.

Births fell by 2 per cent to 91,376 in NSW, by 0.2 per cent to 79,597 in Victoria and by 0.1 per cent to 62,184 in Queensland last calendar year.
Dead to Me

Impromptu use of Death Metal? Check. Creepy kid Shandy? Check. Judy's impossibly cute outfits and impeccable grooming despite being of no fixed abode? Check. So, is there anything new in Season 2? You know, apart from a new body that needs covering up?

Twenty four hours ago, Season 2 of Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini's candid ode to Thelma & Louise dropped and it's business as usual, complete with Jen and Judy's increasing need for sedation. I'm okay with that - consistency is appreciated in the current climate.

While still prone to the PMI (pointless musical interlude) and drunk-dance montage, there are fine additions to the cast including the alluring Natalie Morales, Six Feet Under's Frances Conroy, plus an appearance from Applegate's on-screen mother of yore. What viewers can expect from our increasingly inebriated protagonists is a welcomed vacation in the confines of our living rooms.

Fans are here for the glistening seascapes, the interiors, the trackie-clad Holy Harmonisers, and Jen's acerbic bouts of profanity, including such zingers as "Christ, Karen, you snuck up on me like a f***ing Prius."

Yes, it's absurd. Yes, you'll find yourself cringing, especially if isolating with someone who keeps audibly tutting. However, the sooner everyone accepts that it's Wysteria Lane with added F-bombs, the sooner you can settle in for this sun-drenched roller-coaster ride.

Hunters

Amazon Prime, available now

Amazons streaming platform has much more than a flurry of films you never knew you needed (such as both Paddington movies). Its also produced works of op-art, like Jordan Peeles Hunters, a wildly insensitive fever dream set in the 1970s featuring the Fourth Reich. Sublime in its visual execution, the contrasts of lurid limes and sombre sepias  while arguably obvious  add to the overall pulp-comic vibe. With Logan Lerman (if Paul Rudd and Cillian Murphy procreated) and Al Pacino as leads, this obscene creation is worth a watch. Not for the faint hearted...

Trying

Apple TV+, available now

Behold another streaming platform available for well under a tenner a month, boasting a week-long free trial  and now its first ever British production. Trying is Apples antithesis to Sky-produced comedy Breeders, and attempts to glean humour from the plight of would-be parents. If this isnt your bag, its worth remembering that Apple TV+ has the exceptional The Morning Show among its original portfolio.

Trial By Media

Netflix, May 11

In association with George Clooneys Smokehouse Pictures, and directed by Skye Borgman (Abducted in Plain Sight), this new Netflix docuseries looks at how the introduction of televised coverage brought a new emphasis on creative storytelling and showmanship into the legal system. This six-parter explores the many ways in which the media has contributed to reshaping public perception before, during, and after a trial.

Nailed It

Netflix, available now

Of all the premieres of late (Michelle Obamas Becoming, Jerry Seinfelds 23 Hours To Kill to name but a few), why am I highlighting Season 4 of Nailed It? Well, youve obviously never seen Nicole Byer in action. Given its bite-sized 30 minute shows, packed with jeopardy, debacles and general joie de vivre  plus a $10k prize per episode  avid fans of GBBO will wonder where this has been all their lives. Lockdown binging perfection.

The Last Narc

Amazon, May 15

Docu-series following the 1985 murder of DEA agent Enrique Kiki Camarena.




There are many things I love about my country. But rugged individualism, when taken to its extreme, does not make my list. Nor does religious zealotry, when its practice threatens the welfare of other people.

For instance, heres Nino Vitale, a Republican state representative in Ohio, explaining why he refuses to wear a face mask during the pandemic: I will not wear a mask. Thats the image of God right there, and I want to see it in my brothers and sistersNo one is stopping anybody from wearing a face mask. But quite frankly everyone elses freedom ends at the tip of my nose. Youre not going to tell me what to do.

And heres Cheryl K. Chumley, the online opinion editor at the conservative Washington Times: Mask requirements are a blatant violation of an individuals right to choose  of an individuals right to self-govern. Mask requirements are fine in a socialist country. In an authoritarian society. In a communist, dictatorial, tyrannical kind of country. But this is America.
Montreal, CA (H4T1V6)

Today

Snow this morning will taper off to light snow this afternoon. Some sleet may mix in. High around -4C. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 90%. Snow accumulating 1 to 3 inches..

Tonight

Snow showers this evening. Becoming partly cloudy later. Low -16C. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 60%.
NEW ORLEANS, May 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a partner at the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF"), announces that KSF has commenced an investigation into CURO Group Holdings Corp. (NYSE: CURO).

As a result of new payday lending regulations passed in Canada in 2016 and 2017, the Company began implementing a strategy to transition its Canadian business from single-pay loans to installment and "open-end" loan products, assuring investors that the transition would be slow and the negative effects minimal. Then, on October 24, 2018, the Company announced dismal 3Q2018 financial results, later revealing that it had greatly accelerated the pace of the transition, despite the known operational risks, which had greatly impacted its financial performance.

Thereafter, the Company and certain of its executives were sued in a securities class action lawsuit for failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws. The court in that case has denied the Company's motion to dismiss, allowing the case to move forward.

KSF's investigation is focusing on whether CURO's officers and/or directors breached their fiduciary duties to CURO's shareholders or otherwise violated state or federal laws.

If you have information that would assist KSF in its investigation, or have been a long-term holder of CURO shares and would like to discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-curo/ to learn more.

About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients  including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors  in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, California and Louisiana.

To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com.

Contact:

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

Lewis Kahn, Managing Partner

[email protected]

1-877-515-1850

1100 Poydras St., Suite 3200

New Orleans, LA 70163

SOURCE Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

Related Links

http://www.ksfcounsel.com


The Philippine government shuts down ABS-CBN, the countrys 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)

By Pankaj Mishra

Governments around the world say theyre engaged in a war against the coronavirus. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi invoked the legend of the Mahabharata, fought over 18 days, as he declared, with little warning, a devastating national lockdown.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who always seems to be mentally screening a film of Winston Churchill in World War II, said that we must act like any wartime government.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, who has long deployed bellicose language, most notoriously in his violent war on drugs, went further, advising the military and police that if quarantine violators become unruly and they fight you and your lives are endangered, shoot them dead!

This kill-or-die idiom is more than casual rhetorical overkill. Many governments are symbolically but very deliberately calling, in this time of fear and uncertainty, for general conscription along military lines.

This is so they can, while pointing to an insidious foreign enemy, aim their firepower against some of the most valuable institutions of domestic public life. They have been very successful so far. Last week, Dutertes government shut down ABS-CBN television and radio, his countrys largest broadcasting service.

Things are not much better in countries with sturdier democratic institutions. Johnsons Conservative government accused the British Broadcasting Corporation of bias after its flagship investigative program, Panorama, exposed shortages of personal protective equipment among healthcare workers.

The public broadcasters critique of the government was stinging in part because Johnson enjoys a high degree of support among Britains privately owned, overwhelmingly pro-Tory press. Nor does Modi, assured of craven public broadcasters, expect much criticism from the Indian media, which has been described, only semi-humorously, as veritably North Korean in its devotion to the supreme leader.

Modi held a virtual meeting with media editors and owners just before imposing his lockdown. According to his website, the attendees committed to work on the suggestions of the prime minister to publish inspiring and positive stories about COVID-19.

Story continues

In addition to economic and military mobilization, wartime measures typically encourage a high degree of political, social and intellectual conformity. The general idea is that, in the face of an existential challenge from a vicious enemy, criticism of the government ought to cease.

The media tends to become more patriotic, as do former political partisans. Such was the case in the United States during the early stages of its wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, when most journalists and even Democratic politicians rallied around the Republican George W. Bush administration.

The trouble is that the war against COVID-19 is actually not a war at all. And no one should feel obliged to sign up for it.

The loss of, and separation from, loved ones, and the fear and anxiety that is devastating many lives is not an opportunity to fantasize about heroism in battle. The pandemic is, primarily, a global public health emergency; it is made potentially lethal as much by long neglected and underfunded social welfare systems as by a highly contagious virus.

A plain description like this is not as stirring as a call to arms  and doesnt justify the more extreme actions governments have taken against critics during the crisis. It does, however, open up a line of inquiry that journalists ought to pursue, now as well as in the future.

According to the Indian governments own statistics, its public spending on health before the pandemic measured just 1.17% of GDP, lower than Nepal and nowhere near comparable to South Koreas 8.1%. Duterte no doubt wants his citizens to forget that as late as March 11, he told an audience: Ive been told, You folks are too scared of this coronavirus epidemic and Fools, dont believe it.

Johnson, whose Conservative party presided over harsh cuts to health services, boasted, on the same day in early March that the U.K. governments Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies warned against shaking hands, I shook hands with everybody, you will be pleased to know, and I continue to shake hands.

Awakening late to the pandemic, authoritarian or authoritarian-minded leaders have turned it into an opportunity both to shore up their power and to conceal their stunning ineptitude. To fail to see through their manufactured fog of war, as many in the media are doing, can only further endanger the long-term moral and political health of their societies.

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.

 2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Gandhinagar, May 9 : With an addition of almost 400 positive cases on Saturday, Gujarats Covid-19 tally went up to 7,797, while 23 new deaths took the states death toll to 472. Over 200 patients were discharged from various hospitals across the state in the last 24 hours.

Gujarat is reporting around 400 cases daily for the past five days with Ahmedabad contributing over 73 per cent of the positive cases. Almost 2,000 positive cases have been detected in the last five days, taking the total to 7,797 from 5,804 on May 4.

On Saturday, 394 new cases were detected by the health authorities, of which Ahmedabad reported 280 cases, followed by Surat (30), Vadodara (28), Gandhinagar (22), Bhavnagar (10), Jamnagar (7), Aravalli (4), Rajkot, Banaskantha, Panchmahals, Kheda and Botad (2 each), and Mahisagar, Bharuch and Dahod (1 each).

Since May 1, the state has been reporting over 20 deaths daily, with 258 people falling prey to the deadly virus in these nine days, taking the state's death toll to 472. On Saturday, 23 persons died of Covid-19, of which 20 people died in Ahmedabad alone. One patient each from Jamnagar, Panchmahals and Banaskantha also succumbed to the dreaded virus. Out of the 23 deceased, 8 patients did not have any comorbidity.

Ahmedabad has so far reported 363 deaths (nearly 77 per cent of the state's tally), followed by Surat (38), Vadodara (31), Anand and Bhavnagar (6 each) and Gandhinagar (5).

On Saturday, a total of 219 patients were discharged -- Ahmedabad 106, followed by Vadodara (52), Surat (46), Bhavnagar (4), Panchmahals (3), Aravalli, Botad and Navsari (2 each), and Kheda and Mahisagar (1 each). Till now, 2,091 patients have been discharged in the state.

The health authorities have so far carried out 1,09,650 tests in the state, out of which 7,797 have returned positive and 1,01,853 have returned negative.

The number of active cases in the state stands at 5,234, out of which the condition of 5,210 is stable, whereas 24 critical patients are on ventilator support.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
COVID-19 spreads quickly in crowds. The average prison facility in Nebraska is functioning at 160% capacity. Previous deadly prison riots (such as those at the Tecumseh facility in 2015 and 2017) illustrate the dangers of overcrowding. Overcrowding is directly due to the massive rates of incarceration in Nebraska as well as the U.S. Nebraskas rate of incarceration, at approximately 0.577 per 1,000 people, although less than other states, is much higher than multiple other countries. Nebraska with a population of about 2 million has more people behind bars than entire countries such as Denmark, Norway and Finland.

The protective steps taken are commendable. However, we are concerned that access to soap is insufficient. Furthermore, inmates should be able to utilize some of the hand sanitizer that they are making. Small amounts of this are unlikely to result in contraband alcohol. We are grateful to learn of the increase in free phone time to 10 minutes per week. However, this remains woefully inadequate for individuals to contact family, friends and legal representation.
Recently, it has been found that some Islamic extremists and Hindupobes of the Aligarh Muslim University are now brazenly threatening to kill Hindu students by posting intimidating messages along with screenshots of their social media posts.

The administrative team of the varsity has stepped in and planning to take strict action against these Islamist fundamentalists. It is being said that the university administration is planning to expel such students from the University.

This decision comes in view of the complaint filed against one such extremist by a research student of the varsity, Nikhil Maheshwari. Nikhil has filed a case with the civil police station against an AMU student for harassing him and sending death threats to him and his family through social media. Nikhil also demanded the University administration to take action against the accused.

Speaking to OpIndia, Nikhil Maheswari said that the badgering began when he took to Twitter on May 4 to post a satirical post. From then on, the AMU Hinduphobes have been targeting him and his family on social media. Taking screenshots of his post, these varsity students have threatened Nikhil and his family with dire consequences.

Arif Bobby, an alumnus of AMU living in Saudi Arabia, allegedly sent Nikhil a personal message through the messenger app where he threatened the latter of dire consequences when he returned to the University post lockdown. Bobby furthered: havent you inculcated anything from the AMU students, or is the RSS influence so strong that you have forgotten whatever you learnt? After this, AMU PhD scholar Nikhil Maheshwari has filed a case with the civil police station and also demanded the administration to take action in the case.

However, Nikhil is just one of the example. Another Hindu lady emplyed as the assistant Professor in AMU was also targeted by some AMU Hinduphobes. Due to constant threats and intimidation, she has disassociated herself from her social media posts. Due to the fear, she has also refused to give any statement.

It is being alleged that the AMU students against whom the district administration had taken action for creating a ruckus and inciting people against CAA and NRC are now taking out their revenge by harassing Hindu students of the varsity. Basically, the Hindus who dare to expose those involved in any kind of anti-national activities or who dare to call out the leftists on social media are being targeted by these Hinduphobes. These extremists are hellbent on jeopardising the future of the Hindu students by trying to get them expelled from the University.

Former student Dr Nishit Sharma speaks to OpIndia

AMU alumnus Dr Nishit Sharma told OpIndia: Hindu students have been targeted at the AMU in the past as well. Earlier they were ragged and tortured, now the Hinduphobes have gone a step ahead to threaten the Hindu students with death. All this is being done at the behest of the higher-ups who along with the AMU Islamists had spread violence in Aligarh in the name of CAA and NRC. The strings of these people are connected to Delhi, revealed Sharma.

Notably, Dr Nishit Sharma is the same person who had last month filed a complaint against varsitys present and ex-students with the Aligarh police, for their alleged role in running a vile campaign against the Hindus domiciled in the Gulf countries through various social media posts.

Dr Sharma furthered: A few days ago these people tried to spread Hinduphobia in Arab countries. Now the same work is being done inside the AMU campus. The issue will be placed before the Ministry of Human Resource Development. We want a high-level inquiry into it so that the faces of those who commit such acts can be revealed. Sharma said that the district administration has taken cognizance of this case and the case that had been registered by Nikhil Maheshwari at the concerned police station.

Taking to Twitter, another former AMU student Rajeshwar Singh, expressed pain and said that this was a typical pattern which these Hinduphobes at AMU have been following for years. He said that he had been associated with the university for 10 years. During those days also the Hindus were only allowed to listen. Whenever we tried to put forward our opinion we were made to shut up. Whenever we expressed our views, we were either called traitors or namak haram or ehsaan faramosh. Today our juniors are being targeted for expressing their views, said Singh expressing concern over the long hauling issue.

Hindus in Gulf being targeted by AMU Hinduphobes

It is pertinent to note here, that for the last few days, Hindu domiciled in the Gulf countries have been under attack by these extremists through fake social media accounts. Last month, former Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) student Dr Nishit Sharma had filed a complaint against varsitys present and ex-students with the Aligarh police on April 23, for their alleged role in running a vile campaign against the Hindus domiciled in the Gulf countries through various social media posts.

AMU students colluding with PFI to attack Hindus in the Gulf

In the letter addressed to the Aligarh police, the AMU Alumni has attached screenshots of some social media posts as proof, saying that the witch hunt against Indians in the Gulf Countries, quite possibly backed by the ISI, is being pioneered by a group of Islamic extremists and Hindupobes of the university, who are brazenly colluding with Pakistani terrorist organisations and the PFI to run the vile campaign against the Indian Hindus in the gulf countries. Because of this, the Hindus there have been facing discrimination and eviction in workplaces and being denied medical help amidst the Coronavirus pandemic, he wrote.

Presenting screenshots as evidence, Nishit Sharma has demanded appropriate action against all these Hinduphobes. He wrote in his complaint, There is an organized class behind the atrocities on Indian Hindus living in Arab countries. It is being brazenly operated through various social media accounts in Pakistan and India.

He reiterated that former and current students of AMU are continuously campaigning against Hindus living in Arab countries on social media. These are the same elements who indulged in violent activities in the anti-citizenship amendment law movement.

The letter, written to Aligarhs Senior Superintendent of Police, claimed that all this was a well-planned conspiracy by the people associated with the Aligarh Muslim University, to tarnish Indias image internationally, spread international hatred and incite violence against Hindu.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is all set to start a study in about 75 districts of the country that have the maximum number of COVID-19 cases to check whether community transmission in India has started. This study was planned to be conducted through rapid antibody test kits. However, it was postponed when these kits showed variations in results. Now, it has been planned to conduct this study through ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) test kits.

According to a senior scientist at ICMR, "Residents from red, green and orange zones would randomly be tested for COVID-19 to see whether they have developed antibodies against the disease or not."

Another scientist from ICMR, requesting anonymity, told ANI: "We had planned to conduct a study through rapid antibody test. Since these rapid test kits failed, we postponed our plan. Now, we are likely to use the ELISA kit to do the study. This will let us know whether the individual has developed antibodies against the virus." He further said that by next week ICMR will be able to give full details of this particular study.

READ: Coronavirus Live Updates: India's cases rise to 56,342, with 16,539 recoveries, 1,886 dead

Earlier in the day, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has received approval from Drug Controller General of India (DGCI) for its two clinical trial drugs - 'favipiravir' and 'phytopharmaceutical'. Favipiravir is a drug which is commonly used in Japan, China and some other countries, to treat influenza that has a very broad spectrum of RNA polymerase.

The CSIR is exploring a native herb as a biological medicine or phytopharmaceutical, which is already being tested as medicine for dengue for its efficacy to combat COVID-19. CSIR Director General Shekhar Mande said that they will start the clinical trial within a week.

"The CSIR is working with multiple renowned pharmaceutical companies and trying to see whether we can bring a certain solution to the market as an intervention against COVID-19. In this regard, few clinical trials have already been initiated in partnership with certain companies last night. The DCGI has given us approval for clinical trials of two drugs so we will soon begin with it," he said.

READ: India's COVID count at 56,342 from 14.4 lakh tests, with 1,886 deaths & 16,540 recoveries

India's COVID Count At 56,342 From 14.4 Lakh Tests

The country has seen 3,390 new cases and 103 new deaths in the last 24 hours. Along with it, 1,273 people have recovered. According to the latest update from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the number of total Coronavirus cases in the country has climbed to 56,342, including 37,916 active cases. While 1,886 deaths have been reported overall, around 16,540 people have been cured/discharged/migrated. Meanwhile, Maharashtra and Gujarat have the highest number of cases in the country with 17,974 and 7,012 cases respectively.

READ: Rahul Gandhi says COVID-19 'is not completely dangerous'; suggests to change mindset

READ: ICMR won't study 'Ganga water's ability to treat COVID-19' due to lack of scientific data

(With Inputs from ANI)
Vizag gas leak: Residents and the victims of the Visakhapatnam gas leak demand shutting down of LG Polymers. Agitated locals also exchange a heated argument with police.

Victims of the Visakhapatnam gas leak have demanded the shutting down of LG Polymers from which gas leaked killing 12 people early on Thursday. Though they have been promised compensation and LGs letter of apology, the protesters staged a demonstration with the bodies of three gas leak victims. They shouted slogans against the company demanding complete shutdown of LG Polymers.

Poli Naidu, a youth of RR Venkatapuram village, said, We dont want this company here. We will fight till its shifted from here. We are not protesting for compensation, we want the company to be shut down.

When Andhra Pradesh DGP Gautam Sawang visited LG Polymers, some locals entered the company and protested against it. The agitated locals exchanged heated arguments with police. The DGP met some South Korean officials at LG Polymers and left. As he drove past, the residents tried to stop the vehicle, but the DGP left. Sawang said, The matter is under investigation. We will wait for the committee report. The gas leak has stopped.

Also Read: Amit Shah dismisses rumours about his health, says not suffering from any disease

#WATCH Andhra Pradesh: Locals protest at the chemical plant in R R Venkatapuram, Visakhapatnam where #VizagGasLeak happened. Protesters are demanding relocation of the factory from the area & arrest of those responsible for the incident. pic.twitter.com/KIbBL4I2Ne  ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2020

Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the incident and thanked him for the quick response of Central teams. He requested the PM to rope in national and international experts for health assessment and accordingly take immediate and long-term measures. This assessment would also be helpful in giving compensation. Thorough monitoring of each patient on a long-term basis, while generating electronic health records, may help build confidence among the victims and reinforce trust in your efforts, Naidu said in his letter.

BJP leader Lanka Dinakar said, YSRCP government in Andhra Pradesh is trying to bury the facts and truth on LG Polymers hazardous styrene gas leak which caused the death of 12 innocent humans and number of animals and birds around the Unit

Dinakar said the government is attempting to safeguard LG Polymers owners by not imposing stringent provisions though the case is of culpable homicide due to the gross negligence by the company and state government. Whether compensation for Rs 1 crore to each deceased can suppress the illegitimate acts of the company, he wanted to know, adding how could LG Polymers enhance production capacity without government approval. Further, he queried how could the company try to operate during the lockdown period when their product is not an essential commodity?

State minister Avanthi Srinivas stated that some self-seeking politicians have provoked the locals to agitate. This statement seemed to add fuel to the fire. Meanwhile, LG Polymers issued a statement that its going to help victims in all manner and tendered an apology for the gas leak. But these words have not satisfied the locals.

The gas leak from LG Polymers claimed the lives of 12 people, including two children. More than 350 people, including 50 children, have been hospitalised. Dr Srinubabu Gedela, an industrialist from the area, advised people to be careful for another 48 hours since styrene is a very hazardous gas.

Meanwhile, Telugu Desam leaders visited the victims in King George Hospital and demanded 10 times more ex-gratia for the deceased and the injured.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 9)  For Mother's Day, some moms may have enough time to be with their families amid the COVID-19 quarantine but there are others whose work beckons them to the frontlines.

Dr. Thania Salazar-Fajardo is a cardiologist at St. Luke's Medical Center. Although she said days have been easier at the hospital, Fajardo recalled the struggle at the beginning of the pandemic when she was required to undergo self-quarantine, which she had to explain to her three-year-old daughter.

"We were on quarantine so that was the time we explained to her that there would be less hugging, no kissing, nothing near her face and she would be asked to even wear her mask," Fajardo told CNN Philippines' Not Politics As Usual on Friday.

With her line of work, she said preventive measures like social distancing are also practiced at home.

"The process of disinfecting or decontaminating at home is really tedious and we even wear masks and practice social distancing," Fajardo added. "She knows we can only kiss her on the foot, on her tummy, that's about it."

Fajardo's daily routine consists of online meetings, seeing patients at the hospital and undergoing decontamination. Upon arriving home, she continues to talk to her patients online and read updates on COVID-19.

"[There are] less emotions now. You just really have to be more logical about this and then eventually COVID will pass and you get to go back to your norm," she said.

PCol Portia Manalad, a police official and mother of three, faces a similar situation.

Manalad admitted that as the Philippine National Police chief of the Directorate for Logistics Division, being away from her family was no longer new to her after having been assigned to different places. She was recently sent to Cotabato City, far from her children residing in Metro Manila.

"For almost three months, I was not able to go home," she shared to CNN Philippines.

But her wait would still have to stretch for another 14 days since she is required to undergo self-quarantine. However, she said she was glad that her kids  21-year-old Tricia, 19-year-old Jonah and 16-year-old Third  understood the situation and supported her as she went through isolation.

"They were the ones na nagsabi sa akin (who told me) I can go home and they prepared the house and a room for me...because they are much aware na pagkagaling ka sa malayo (when you've come from somewhere far) you have to self-quarantine and natuwa naman po ako kasi (I was glad because) at least they are aware and mayroon sila sinusunod na (they are following) protocols," she said.

As for Natalia Moran  a chef for several restaurants in Boracay and Manila such as The Sunny Side Cafe, Spicebird Grill and PizzaExpress  she chose to be active during the pandemic. Moran volunteered to provide meals to other frontliners to become an example to her nine-year-old son, Rafa.

"I couldn't just stay put. I wanted to help in anyway that I could," she shared in an online interview. "I think at a pretty young age it's good to instill these values because we can't just think of ourselves all the time."

Moran said her son helps her with cooking and preparing the meals.

"He helps out by counting the boxes, putting labels on the food packs and then sometimes he ties the boxes and helps bring them out," she described.

Moran makes around 100 to 400 meals per day, three days a week and sends them to Makati Medical Center, Veterans Memorial Medical Center, Cardinal Santos Medical Center, Philippine General Hospital and San Juan Medical Center.

Rafa also spoke to CNN Philippines during the interview.

Asked what he thought of his mother, Rafa answered "She is a hero to me."

All three mothers received Mother's Day messages from their loved ones.

Watch here:




A WOMAN who was allegedly used as a bait to lure a married Gweru man into the hands of his murderers, has been arrested.





Precious Moyo, the court heard, was allegedly used to make a phone call to Mr Walter Mutombwera pretending to be Ms Nyaradzo Chigagure, his girlfriend based in South Africa.





Mr Mutombwera allegedly fell into the trap and went to a house in Gweru at round 11PM thinking that his girlfriend was back in town and wanted to spend some quality time with him.





Brandy Sifanjani, Ms Chigagures husband and Darlington Chigagure, her brother lay in ambush at the house where they allegedly assaulted Mr Mutombwera for five hours leading to his death.





Chigazuze (26) of Mkoba 17 suburb is already in custody following his arrest last month while Moyo appeared yesterday before Gweru magistrate Mr Edwin Marecha.





Sifanjani is on the run. Chigazuze and Moyo are both facing charges of murdering Mutombwera (36) popularly known as Japan.





Moyo was remanded in custody to May 28.





The court heard that Moyo went into hiding following the murder before she was later arrested. Police are now looking for Sifanjani.





Prosecutor Ms Connie Madzudzu told the court that on March 11 Chigagure, Sifanjani and Moyo allegedly connived to lure Mr Mutombwera to visit their place of residence in Mkoba 17 suburb.





The court heard that Moyo pretended to be Sifanjanis wife who was allegedly having an affair with Mr Mutombwera.





When Mr Mutombwera got into the house, Sifanjani allegedly struck him with a wooden hoe handle but he fought back and the fight continued outside the house.





Mr Mutombwera allegedly tried to escape but Chigagure blocked him by the gate where Sifanjani hit him on the head and legs with the hoe handle and he fell down.





Mr Mutombwera allegedly cried for help but no one came to his rescue. The court heard that Chigagure and Sifanjani took electrical codes which they used to tie Mr Mutombweras hands from the back and continued assaulting him with the wooden hoe handle and a knife.





At around 3AM, Mr Mutombwera was now groaning in pain as he had sustained serious injuries all over his body.





In a bid to conceal the matter, Chigagure and Sifanjani allegedly bundled Mr Mutombwera into their vehicle and drove off for about 500m before dumping him.




Clara Thompson Ann McNellis, adjunct professor of public relations Jake Power The distance learning classroom takes on a new look. Clara Thompson's virtual workspace.

Students and Professors Adapt and Thrive While Distance Learning May 5, 2020

Over the last seven weeks, students and professors at universities around the world have made the switch to online learning due to the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, many have transformed their homes or offices into classrooms and workspaces.

Students and professors at OBU have likewise experienced that transition. For Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, native and senior cross-cultural ministry major Lauren Martin, this has been a huge shift for her and her learning experience.

"Working on school work online and from home has been a huge change, she said. However, my incredible professors have made the transition so easy. Im especially thankful for technology that allows me to continue communicating and interacting with my classmates and professors from home."

Ben Baxter, assistant professor of animation and motion graphics, has been attempting to bring variety to his Zoom meetings for class by changing up where he is every time he meets with students.

I have been conducting most of my teaching from my office at OBU, he said. We have three young kids at the house, and it would be very difficult to work from home. Most of what I teach is very hands on and requires lots of interaction with others, which has been my biggest hurdle. The students and I are finding creative ways to clear those obstacles and I have to hand it to my students, they come prepared and are engaged in our live classes, happy and smilingpossibly because of zoom virtual background shenanigans. I also appreciate seeing their faces. They inspire me. That makes it worth the mountain of work getting everything online.

Jake Power, business management major and junior from Edmond, Oklahoma, has enjoyed spending time with his family that he usually wouldnt have.

These past couple of weeks have been challenging and different, but I think I can only learn and grow from this experience, he said. Being home has pushed me to create a new schedule and be responsible with time management. On the bright side, it has allowed me to enjoy family time and given me opportunities to step outside of my normal routine and have fun in other areas.

Dr. David Gambo, Reverend A.E. and Dora Hughes Chair of Christian Ministry and assistant professor of Christian ministry, has been working from home and taking care of his family all in one.

Work and family have merged as one, Gambo said. My office at home now moves depending on where my children are napping. However, I am adjusting to the new normal with a thankful heart that we have technology to help bridge the gap.

Clara Thompson, a sophomore English major from Colorado Springs, is thankful for her professors ability to help motivate her while she is learning from home.

Working from home has definitely been a total 180 switch as I have had to find ways to motivate myself and make my own routine, she said. Being distanced has been hard, but I am thankful for OBUs professors because they foster intentional communication even when we are displaced. Even from far off, they still express they care deeply for us and that means the world. We are all in this together.

Ann McNellis, adjunct professor of public relations, has been teaching her classes all while homeschooling her children.

This is definitely not my ideal way of teaching, she said, but I am so thankful for Zoom and all the other online platforms we have been using that have made this transition smoother. My days have been spent with teaching, my husband who has been working from home and homeschooling my three children.

Isabel Price, senior communication studies major from Bakersfield, California, has been making the most of being cozy while doing her online work.

Working from home definitely comes with its struggles to say the least, she said. But also, it comes with some perks. I get to wear blankets, take in the birds chirping outside my window, and schedule out my own routines for the most part. Im just trying to count my blessings in this season where it feels like everything is so different. Im learning to have grace because were all learning how to navigate this transition together.

The University has offered an array of virtual services to students during this time of distance learning. View the list.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 21:07:58|Editor: huaxia

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MINSK, May 9 (Xinhua) -- A military parade celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Soviet people's victory in the Great Patriotic War took place in the Belarusian captial Minsk on Saturday.

Around 3,000 members of the military, over 150 vehicles and 36 aircraft took part in the parade in downtown Minsk.

Speaking to defense officials and attendees, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said the military parade in Minsk is the only one in the post-Soviet region this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lukashenko said the parade was dedicated not only to the Soviet Armed Forces, but also to its fellow Allied powers, including the United States, the UK and China, which collectively liberated the world from Nazism.

Lukashenko stressed that "the festive parade dedicated to the Victory Day is not a demonstration of strength, but a tribute to the memory of our heroic history."

On May 9, Belarus, Russia and a number of other post-Soviet countries celebrated the 75th anniversary of the victory of World War II. Enditem
US Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary has the coronavirus, the White House said on Friday, making her the second person who works at the White House complex known to test positive for the virus this week. President Donald Trump, who publicly identified the affected Pence aide, said he was "not worried" about the virus spreading in the White House. Nonetheless, officials said they were stepping up safety protocols for the complex.

Pence spokeswoman Katie Miller, who tested positive on Friday, had been in recent contact with Pence but not with the president. She is married to Stephen Miller, a top Trump adviser. The White House had no immediate comment on whether Stephen Miller had been tested or if he was still working out of the White House.

Katie Miller had tested negative on Thursday, a day before her positive result.

"This is why the whole concept of tests are not necessarily great," Trump said. "The tests are perfect but something can happen between a test where it is good and then something happens."

The positive test for the senior Pence aide came one day after White House officials confirmed that a member of the military serving as one of Trump's valets had tested positive for COVID-19.

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

Six people who had been in contact with Miller were scheduled to fly with Pence on Friday to Des Moines, Iowa, on Air Force Two. They were removed from the flight just before it took off, according to a senior administration official.

None of those people were exhibiting symptoms, but were asked to deplane so they could be tested "out of an abundance of caution", a senior administration official told reporters traveling with Pence. All six later tested negative, the White House said.

The official said staff in the West Wing are tested regularly but much of Pence's staff -- which works next door in the Executive Office Building -- are tested less frequently. Katie Miller was not on the plane and had not been scheduled to be on the trip.

Pence, who is tested on a regular basis, was tested on Friday.

Miller tweeted she was "doing well" and looked forward to getting back to work.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said the administration was stepping up mitigation efforts already recommended by public health experts and taking other unspecified precautions to ensure the safety of the president.

Meadows said the White House was "probably the safest place that you can come", but he was reviewing further steps to keep Trump and Pence safe.

The White House requires daily temperature checks of anyone who enters the White House complex and has encouraged social distancing among those working in the building. The administration has also directed regular deep cleaning of all work spaces. Anyone who comes in close proximity to the president and vice president is tested daily for COVID-19.

"We have already put in a few protocols that we are looking at, obviously, to make sure that the president and his immediate staff stay safe. But it is not just the president, it is all the workers that are here ... on a daily basis," Meadows said.

Trump's valet's case marked the first known instance where a person who has come in close proximity to the president has tested positive since several people present at his private Florida club were diagnosed with COVID-19 in early March. The valet tested positive on Wednesday.

The White House was moving to shore up its protection protocols to protect the nation's political leaders. Trump said some staffers who interact with him closely would now be tested daily. Pence told reporters on Thursday that both he and Trump would now be tested daily as well.
The nationwide tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases crossed 62,700 on Saturday and the death toll topped the 2,000 mark after hundreds more tested positive for the deadly virus infection in several states, while worries mounted globally about re-emergence of the outbreak after reopening of locked down economies.

Adding to the concerns, the fresh cases included at least two foreign returnees who had reached Kerala on May 7 in two separate first-day flights -- one from Dubai and another from Abu Dhabi -- under a massive ongoing evacuation plan of the central government to bring back stranded Indians abroad.

While large numbers of cases continued to get detected in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Delhi, among other places, experts have warned the numbers may rise further in the coming days due to the ongoing movement of lakhs of migrant workers being facilitated by trains and buses to help them reach their native places and because of a large number of Indians stranded abroad, along with expatriates, being brought back in special flights.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the two new cases in his state is a warning for all states to be on an alert to strengthen their "mitigation efforts and preventive measures." Many more similar flights from abroad are reaching Kerala and several other states over the next few days under what is being called the 'Vande Bharat' mission.

In its daily update, the Union Health Ministry said the COVID-19 death toll has risen to 1,981 and the number of cases has climbed to 59,662, registering an increase of 95 deaths and 3,320 cases in 24 hours till Saturday morning.

The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 39,834, while 17,846 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, it said.

However, a PTI tally of numbers reported by different states and UTs, as of 10.45 PM, showed at least 62,761 confirmed cases across the country, nearly 19,000 recoveries and 2,028 deaths. This showed an increase of over 6,000 confirmed cases since Friday morning.

On Saturday, fresh cases were also reported from Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Punjab, Bihar and Assam, among other places.

The health ministry said it has decided to deploy central teams in 10 states that have witnessed or are witnessing high COVID-19 cases to assist their health departments to facilitate management of the outbreak.

Earlier, 20 central teams of public health experts were earlier sent to highly-affected districts on May 3, while a high-level team was recently deputed in Mumbai to support Maharashtra's efforts in COVID-19 response and management.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the testing capacity for COVID-19 has been ramped up to around 95,000 tests per day and a total of over 15 lakh tests have been conducted so far across hundreds of government and private labs.

Globally, nearly 40 lakh people have tested positive for the deadly virus since its emergence in China last December, while approximately 2.75 lakh people have lost their lives. However, nearly 13 lakh people have recovered too, including nearly 2 lakh in the US and over 1.4 lakh in Germany.

Germany and South Korea are among those countries that have been seen as having successfully avoided large number of deaths by their extensive testing and contact tracing measures. But, worries mounted on Saturday about fresh outbreaks in both the countries following various lockdown relaxations, thus raising the risks associated with reopening of economies.

In India also, some relaxations have been given from the nationwide lockdown, which has been in place since March 25 and is scheduled to end on May 17 as of now.

The Goa government may allow holding of music classes and reopening of some state-run libraries in a phased manner on the condition of maintaining strict social distancing norms, the state's Art and Culture Minister Govind Gawade said on Saturday. Goa is classified as a green zone with no coronavirus positive case as of now.

But the ongoing lockdown is also estimated to have hit the economies hard with several experts forecasting zero to very low GDP growth for the current fiscal, while a few have even forecast a decline in the GDP if the lockdown restrictions continue longer.

While fuel prices have already been hiked, an industry body of real estate developers said cement and steel rates have increased by 40-50 per cent in the last few weeks and alleged price cartelisation and unfair trade practices by their manufacturers.

Some industrial establishments have begun opening their facilities as per the available relaxations. Among other companies, Hyundai Motor India said its Chennai-based manufacturing facility rolled out 200 cars on the first day of resuming production on Friday.

Tamil Nadu reported four more deaths during the day, taking its death toll to 44, while 526 more people tested positive for the virus to take its tally to over 6,500.

In Maharashtra, 1,165 new cases were reported to take the state tally to 20,228, while the death toll rose to 779 after 48 more patients succumbed to COVID-19. Mumbai alone reported 27 more deaths, taking its count of fatalities to 489, while the count of confirmed cases in the country's financial capital has risen to 12,864.

Gujarat reported 394 new cases, taking its tally to 7,797, while 23 more patients died to take the death toll to 472. Ahmedabad alone reported 280 new cases and 20 more deaths, taking its own case count to 5,540 and fatalities to 363.

In the national capital also, 224 new COVID-19 cases were recorded to take its tally to 6,542.

In Delhi, there was also confusion over the death toll as the data from the four hospitals showed more fatalities than the number reported by the Delhi government, but Delhi's Health Minister Satyendar Jain said there is no reason to hide anything and not a single case will go unaccounted for.

He said the hospitals have not sent detailed death reports of patients with information such as reason of death, name and age etc, on the basis of which the COVID-19 health bulletin is updated. The health department has asked the hospitals to send the death reports and summaries at the earliest, so that the data can be promptly added to the bulletin.

There has been a mismatch in the numbers of West Bengal also for several days with the state government's figures being lower than that of the Union Health Ministry.

The country's largest paramilitary force CRPF also reported 62 fresh coronavirus infections on Saturday from a single Delhi-based unit, officials said.

The total number of active cases in the 3.25 lakh-strong force now stands at 231. While two personnel have recovered, one has succumbed to the infection.

Across all central paramilitary forces, at least 116 fresh coronavirus infections were reported on Saturday, taking the total number of positive personnel in these uniformed organisations to over 650, officials said.

The five Central Armed Police Forces also issued directions for strict physical or social distancing measures, sanitisation and quarantine in their camps and offices after a concerned Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed these rising cases on Friday with the force chiefs.

On the outskirts of the national capital, Noida reported its second COVID-19 death while its total cases rose to 216. The overall figure for Uttar Pradesh also rose with at least 163 new cases and eight fresh deaths.

Rajasthan recorded 129 more cases and three more fatalities, while 41 new cases were detected in Karnataka too.

In Bihar, five Bihar Military Police (BMP) personnel tested positive, taking the total number of COVID-19 cases in the state to 579. In Assam, a dental college student's test came positive.

The Union Health Ministry has also revised its policy for discharge of COVID-19 patients under which only those developing severe illness or having compromised immunity will have to test negative through RT-PCR test before being discharged by a hospital.

Moderate cases of COVID-19 and pre-symptomatic, mild and very mild cases need not undergo tests before being discharged after resolution of their symptoms.

According to the rules till now, a patient was considered fit to be discharged if he or she tested negative on day 14 and then again in a span of 24 hours.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
(CNN)  The European Union has acknowledged it allowed the Chinese government to censor an opinion piece published in the country, removing a reference to the origin of the coronavirus outbreak and its subsequent spread worldwide.

The piece was jointly authored by the EU's ambassador Nicolas Chapuis along with the ambassadors to China for the EU's 27 member states to mark 45 years of EU-China diplomatic relations.

In the original piece published on the EU delegation's website, the ambassadors wrote that "the outbreak of the coronavirus in China, and its subsequent spread to the rest of the world over the past three months" had side-tracked pre-existing diplomatic plans.

But in the version that appears on the website of China Daily, a state-owned newspaper, the reference to the origin of coronavirus in China and its spread is removed.

While the EU Delegation to China said it "strongly regrets" the change, it also admitted that it ultimately agreed for the censored piece to be published because it still contained "key messages on a number of our priority areas."

"The EU Delegation was informed by the media in question that the publication of the Op-Ed would only be allowed by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the condition that a part of a sentence related to the origins and spread of the coronavirus was removed," the Delegation said in a statement. "The EU Delegation to China made known its objections to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in no uncertain terms."

"As the Op-Ed states, while the EU and China have differences, notably on human rights, our partnership has become mature enough to allow frank discussions on these issues. This is what makes this incident even more regrettable," the Delegation's statement adds.

CNN has asked China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a response.

This story was first published on CNN.com "The EU has admitted it let China censor an op-ed by the bloc's ambassadors"
MUMBAI: Giving a big relief to parents during the coronavirus COVID-19 crisis, the Maharashtra Education Department has announced that there will be no hike in school fees in the academic year 2020-21.

The State Education Department also stated that schools should not force parents to pay the remaining fees of the academic year 2019-20 and the fee for 2020-21 in one go.

It added that the parents should be given more payment options for depositing the school fees.

There will be no hike in school fees for this academic year 2020-21. Parents should not be forced to pay the remaining fee of the academic year 2019-20 & the fee for 2020-21 in one go, they must be given monthly/quarterly payment options, the Maharashtra Education Department said in its order.

The department has also asked the executive committee of the Parent Teachers Association to review and reduce fees if some resources remained unused during the lockdown.

In a government resolution issued on Friday, the state School Education Secretary, Vandana Krishna said, We have received complaints from parents that some schools are forcing them to pay fees during the COVD-19 lockdown. Schools must not make it mandatory for parents to pay fees during the lockdown.

School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad had earlier hinted that the Maharashtra government will soon issue a notification urging schools not to hike fees for the academic year beginning from June 2020, in view of the current coronavirus crisis.

This decision will provide considerable relief to parents as the pandemic has impacted earnings, led to a loss of employment, and meant steep salary cuts for a large number of people, she added.
FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen M. Hahn speaks as President Donald Trump listens during a briefing on the CCP virus at the White House in Washington on April 21, 2020. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

FDA Commissioner Enters Self-Quarantine After CCP Virus Exposure

The commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has entered self-quarantine after coming in contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19.

Dr. Stephen Hahn tested negative for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus., which causes COVID-19, after he learned of the contact, a FDA spokeswoman said.

Hahn wrote a note to staff on Friday to alert them to the contact.

The person he came into contact with wasnt identified.

Hell be in isolation for two weeks.

Hahn was scheduled to testify before a Senate panel on Tuesday, along with infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci and CDC Director Robert Redfield. The three officials are all part of the White House Coronavirus Task Force.

Katie Miller, Vice President Mike Pences press secretary, tested positive for COVID-19, the administration said Friday.

The White House has put into place guidelines including tracing contacts of people who test positive for the new illness, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters Friday.

Neither Pence nor President Donald Trump had recent contact with Miller, an administration official told reporters.

A member of the military who works on the White House campus, who has been described in some reports as one of Trumps valets, also tested positive for COVID-19 in recent days.

Trump and Pence have since tested negative for the virus and they remain in great health, spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement.

Trump and Pence will be tested on a daily basis going forward, officials said. They were previously tested on a weekly basis.

People who come into contact with Trump will also be tested every day, Pence said.

No member of Trumps cabinet has tested positive for the CCP virus, which originated in China last year.

Some close to the president have previously entered isolation after exposure to a person who later tested positive, including his daughter, Ivanka Trump.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Disorderly Woman Detained by Off-Duty Cop in Alabama Walmart, Police Say

An unidentified woman was forcibly arrested by an off-duty police officer in an Alabama Walmart on May 5, and faces multiple charges, police say.

In a video circulating on the internet, the off-duty police officer appears to be attempting to detain her, and she is seen arguing with him. The officer was working an extra job as a security guard inside the Walmart in Roebuck, Ala.

A video statement by the Birmingham Police Department revealed that the woman began yelling obscenities at customers and employees when she was asked to wear a facemask.

Police said the woman was asked to leave the store, but she refused. When the officer moved to detain her, she resisted, leading him to use the takedown method, the department said.

Though the video shows the woman fall to the ground, police said she was unharmed. Subsequent videos posted to Facebook show the woman with no apparent injuries. She also refused medical evaluation, the department said.

The woman has been charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, third-degree criminal trespassing, possession of marijuana and unlawful possession of a controlled substance, the department said in the video.

It wasnt clear if she was jailed, or if she has representation.

An eyewitness who posted the videos of the incident to Facebook said in comments beneath the post that the woman was asked to put on a mask by a store employee and refused, cursing out the employee after she was asked to leave.

She said the officer intervened later.

Though employees at Walmart are required to wear face masks, customers are only encouraged to do so, according to the companys website.

The City of Birmingham instituted a face-covering ordinance (pdf) effective May 1, requiring anyone interacting with persons who are not part of your household to cover their nose and mouth. Its punishable by a fine of $500 or 30 days in jail, but police said they simply hoped to educate people.

The CNN Wire and Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.
The Delhi Police on Saturday arrested a 22-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman for allegedly committing a series of snatchings in the national capital in the last three months.

The police said the two suspects were addicted to drugs and would snatch mobile phones from people before selling them to buy narcotics.

The police identified the suspects as Arjun alias Chhanga, who is from Paharganj, and Vaishali Kaushal, who is a tattoo artist. They had first met in December at Kaushals tatto studio in Karolbagh where Arjun, who has several criminal cases against his name, had come to get inked, the police said. They added that the two suspects soon realised they had a lot in common, and moved in together three months later.

After moving in together, the couple began snatching mobile phones for money they needed to buy drugs, the police said. However, the nationwide lockdown had forced them to stop their criminal activities, they added.

The couple allegedly resumed snatchings last week, soon after the government eased the lockdown norms allowing people to step out of their homes and open standalone shops and run offices with one-third staff members.

Deputy commissioner of police (central) Sanjay Bhatia, said within a week, the couple targeted six pedestrians, in central, north and west Delhi. They used to ride a scooter and snatch mobile phones and bags of their victims, he said. However, the couple ran out of luck on Saturday, when a team from the Desh Bandhu Gupta (DBG) Road police station intercepted them near Kishanganj railway colony near north Delhis Sarai Rohilla. The two suspects had gone there to allegedly sell the stolen phones. The couple had already committed two snatchings in Khyala and Subzi Mandi in less than three hours, before being caught around noon, said a police officer involved in the operation.

 We seized four stolen mobile phones and a stolen scooter from the couple. Arjun, who was previously involved in over 31 crimes, used to ride the scooter, while Vaishali rode pillion and snatched mobile phones from pedestrians, said DCP Bhatia.

The police officer added that several teams were formed to nab the suspects after snatchings were reported from central Delhi areas. Statements of a few victims of snatchings and the footage from CCTV cameras installed around the crime scenes had pointed towards the involvement of a couple riding a white scooter in the snatchings.

Our teams activated the criminal intelligence network that helped them zero in on the young couple living in Paharganj area. The couples movements were tracked and they were caught from Kishanganj railway colony, a police officer said.

The officer said that the couple used to live on rent in a room in Shalimar Bagh area in northwest Delhi, where they used to keep the stolen property. The couple told the police that they had committed more than a dozen snatchings before the lockdown was announced on March 24. They used to sell the stolen phones to a shopkeeper in Karol Bagh.

We have identified the man who used to buy the stolen property. He will be arrested soon, the officer added.
Vietnams Ministry of Health is considering offering a lung transplant as a last resort to save a British man in Ho Chi Minh City infected with the novel coronavirus that causes the respiratory disease called COVID-19.

The man, a Vietnam Airlines pilot, went down with the viral disease in mid-March and has been treated at the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases for 52 days.

He has been in a critical condition for weeks, requiring life support from a ventilator and an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine, which is used when a persons heart or lungs are unable to function fully.

The infirmary has had to import the best available drugs from overseas to treat his blood-clotting disorders.

The total cost for the Briton's treatment since his hospitalization has amounted to around VND5 billion (US$216,500) so far, according to information acquired by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

Despite these efforts, his pulmonary consolidation has been worsening, affecting both of his lungs and making the use of a ventilator no longer effective, according to Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Kinh, head of the health ministrys professional council for COVID-19 treatment.

Consolidated lungs will eventually become a breeding ground for bacteria to develop and multiply, Kinh said at a meeting on Friday focused on new COVID-19 treatment and testing strategies, adding doctors were considering the option of performing a lung transplant on the British patient.

According to Dr. Pham Van Phuc of the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases who also attended Fridays meeting, the British patient is a severe case of COVID-19 infection.

If ECMO does not work [for the patient], a lung transplant is almost the last resort, Phuc said, adding that a number of COVID-19 patients in China are also reported to have received successful lung transplants.

However, he admitted medical reports on lung transplants on COVID-19 patients remain scarce.

The lungs needed for the transplantation can come from a brain-dead donor or a living family member of the British patient.

However, the complicated surgery can only be carried out if the patients condition is ready, the donors lungs are compatible with his blood type, and the donor and recipients differences in height, weight, and lung size do not exceed 20 percent.

An expert was not optimistic when talking with Tuoi Tre about the success rate of a lung transplant on the Briton.

The expert was concerned that the man has required intensive care for too long and is at a high risk of suffering from surgical site infections.

There is little chance of success for the British pilots receiving a lung transplant, the expert said.

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When the doorbell rang, Julian Farnsdale looked up. The first decision he always had to make was whether to engage a potential customer in conversation, or simply leave them to browse.

There were several golden rules that you adopted after so many years in the trade. If the customer looked as if he needed some assistance, Julian would rise from behind his desk and say either, Can I help you? or, Would you prefer just to browse?

If they only wanted to browse, he would sit back down, and although he would keep an eye on them, he wouldnt speak again until they began a conversation. Julian wasnt in any doubt that this customer was a browser, so he remained seated and said nothing.

Big-ticket item: Antiques shop owner Julian is hoping to sell Gloria Gaynor a Faberge egg

Browsers fall into three categories: those simply passing the time of day who stroll around for a few minutes before leaving without saying anything; dealers who know exactly what they are looking for but dont want you to know theyre in the trade; and, finally, genuine enthusiasts hoping to come across something a little special to add to their collections.

This particular customer unquestionably fell into the third category. Julian studied him out of the corner of one eye, an art he had perfected over the years. He decided he was probably an American  the tailored blazer, neatly pressed chinos and striped, preppy tie.

The man may have been a browser but he was a browser with real knowledge and taste because he only stopped to consider the finest pieces: the Adam fireplace, the Chippendale rocking chair and the Delft plate. Julian wondered if he would spot the one real treasure in his shop.

A few moments later, the customer came to a halt in front of the egg. He studied the piece for some time before looking across at Julian.

Has it been signed by the master? Julian rose slowly from his chair. Another golden rule: dont appear to be in a hurry when youre hoping to sell something very expensive.

Yes, sir, said Julian as he walked towards him. Youll find Carl Faberges signature on the base. And of course the piece is listed in the catalogue raisonne.

Date and description? enquired the customer, continuing to study the egg.

1910, said Julian. It was made to celebrate the Tsarinas 38th birthday, and is one of a series of Easter eggs commissioned by Tsar Nicholas the Second.

Its magnificent, said the customer. Quite magnificent. But probably out of my price range.

Julian immediately recognised the bargaining ploy, so he mentally added 20 per cent to the asking price to allow a little room for manoeuvre.

Six hundred and eighty thousand, he said calmly. Pounds? asked the man, raising an eyebrow.

Yes, said Julian without further comment.

So, about a million dollars, said the customer, confirming that he was American.

Julian didnt reply. He was distracted by a screeching sound outside, as if a car was trying to avoid a collision.

Both men glanced out of the window to see a black stretch limousine that had come to a halt on the double yellow line outside the shop.

Julian immediately recognised the bargaining ploy, so he mentally added 20 per cent to the asking price to allow a little room for manoeuvre. Six hundred and eighty thousand, he said calmly. Pounds? asked the man, raising an eyebrow [File photo]

A woman dressed in a stylish red coat and wearing a diamond necklace, matching earrings and dark glasses stepped out of the back of the car.

Is that who I think it is? asked Julian.

Looks like it is, said the customer, as the woman stopped to sign an autograph.

Gloria Gaynor. Julian sighed as she disappeared into the jewellery shop next door.

Lucky Millie, he added without explanation.

I think shes doing a gig in town this week, said the customer.

Shes performing at the Albert Hall on Saturday, said Julian. I tried to get a ticket but its completely sold out.

The customer was clearly more interested in the jewel-encrusted egg than the jewel-covered pop star so Julian snapped back into antique-dealer mode.

Whats the lowest price youd consider? asked the American.

I suppose I could come down to six hundred and fifty thousand.

My bet is that youd come down to five hundred thousand, said the American.

Six hundred and twenty-five thousand, said Julian. I couldnt consider a penny less.

The American nodded. Thats a fair price. But my partner will need to see it before I can make a final decision. Julian tried not to look disappointed. Would it be possible to reserve the piece at six twenty-five?

Yes, of course, sir. Julian pulled open a drawer in his desk, removed a small green sticker and placed it on the little description card fixed to the wall. And when might we expect to see you again, sir?

My partner flies in from the States on Friday, so possibly Friday afternoon. But as he suffers badly from jetlag its more likely to be Saturday afternoon. What time do you close on Saturdays?

Around five, sir, said Julian.

Ill make sure were with you before then, said the American.

Julian opened the door to allow his customer to leave just as Miss Gaynor walked out of the jewellery shop.

Once again she stopped to sign autographs for a little group that had gathered on the pavement outside. The chauffeur ran to open the door of the limousine and she disappeared inside.

As the car slipped out into the traffic, Julian found himself waving, which was silly because he couldnt see a thing through the smoked-glass windows.

He was about to return to his shop when he noticed that his next-door neighbour was also waving. What was she like, Millie? he asked, trying not to sound too much like an adoring fan.

Charming. And so natural, Millie replied, considering all that shes been through. A real star.

Did you learn anything interesting? asked Julian.

Shes staying at the Park Lane Hotel, and shes off to Paris on Sunday for the next leg of her tour.

I already knew that, said Julian. Read it in Londoners Diary last night. Tell me something I dont know.

On the day of a concert she never leaves her room and wont speak to anyone, even her manager. She likes to rest her voice before going on stage.

The air conditioning in her room has to be turned off, because shes paranoid about catching a cold and not being able to perform. She once missed a concert in Dallas when she came off the street at a hundred degrees straight into an air- conditioned room, and ended up coughing and sneezing for a week.

Whys she staying at the Park Lane, asked Julian, and not Claridges or the Ritz where all the big stars stay?

Its only a five-minute drive from the Albert Hall and she has a dread of being held up in a traffic jam and being late for a concert. Youre beginning to sound like an old friend, said Julian. Well, she was very chatty, said Millie.

But did she buy anything? asked Julian, ignoring a man carrying a large package who strolled past him and through the open door of his antique shop.

No, but she did put a deposit down on a pair of earrings and a watch. She said shed be back tomorrow. Millie gave her next-door neighbour a warm smile. And if you buy me a coffee, Ill tell her about your Faberge egg.

I think I may already have a buyer for that, said Julian.

Julian was bargaining with a lady over a small ceramic figure of the Duke of Wellington in the shape of a boot (circa 1817).

He wanted 350 for the piece but she was refusing to pay more than 320, when the black stretch limousine drew up outside. Julian left his customer and hurried over to the window just in time to see Miss Gaynor step out on to the pavement and walk into the jewellery shop without glancing in his direction.

He sighed and turned to find that his customer had gone, and so had the Duke of Wellington.

Julian spent the next hour standing by the door so he wouldnt miss his idol when she left the jewellery shop. He was well aware that he was breaking one of his golden rules: you should never stand by the door. It frightens off the customers and, worse, it makes you look desperate. Julian was desperate.

Miss Gaynor finally strolled out of the jewellery shop clutching a small red bag which she handed to her chauffeur. She stopped to sign an autograph, then walked straight past the antique shop and into Art Pimlico, on the other side of Julians shop.

She was in there for such a long time that Julian began to wonder if hed missed her. But she couldnt have left the gallery because the limousine was still parked on the double yellow lines, the chauffeur seated behind the wheel.

When Miss Gaynor finally emerged she was followed by the gallery owner, who was carrying a large Warhol silk-screen print of Chairman Mao. Lucky Susan, thought Julian, to have had a whole hour with Gloria.

The chauffeur leapt out, took the print from Susan and placed it in the boot of the limousine. Miss Gaynor paused to sign a few more autographs before taking the opportunity to escape. Julian stared out of the window and didnt move until shed climbed into the back of the car and had been whisked away.

Once the car was out of sight, Julian joined Millie and Susan on the pavement. I see you sold the great lady a Warhol, he said to Susan, trying not to sound envious.

No, she only took it on appro, said Susan. She wants to live with it for a couple of days before she makes up her mind.

Isnt that a bit of a risk? asked Julian.

Hardly, said Susan. I can just see the headline in the Sun: Gloria Gaynor steals Warhol from London gallery. I dont think thats the kind of publicity shell be hoping for on the first leg of her European tour.

Did you manage to sell her anything, Millie? asked Julian, trying to deflect the barb.

The earrings and the watch, said Millie, but far more important, she gave me a couple of tickets for her concert on Saturday night.

Me too, said Susan, waving her tickets in triumph.

Ill give you two hundred pounds for them, said Julian. Not a chance, said Millie. Even if you offered double, I wouldnt part with them.

How about you, Susan? Julian asked desperately.

You must be joking.

You may change your mind when she doesnt return your Chairman Mao, said Julian, before flouncing back into his shop.

The following morning, Julian hovered by the door of his shop, but there was no sign of the stretch limousine.

He didnt have a single customer all day, just three browsers and a visit from the VAT inspector. When he locked up for the night, he had to admit to himself that it hadnt been a good week so far. But all that could change if the American returned on Saturday with his partner.

On Thursday morning the stretch limousine drove up and parked outside Susans gallery. The chauffeur stepped out, removed Chairman Mao from the boot and carried the Chinese leader inside.

A few minutes later he ran back on to the street, slammed the boot shut, jumped behind the steering wheel and drove off, but not before a parking ticket had been placed on his windscreen. Julian laughed.

The next morning, while Julian was discussing the Adam fireplace with an old customer who was showing some interest in the piece, the doorbell rang and a woman entered the shop.

Dont worry about me, she said in a gravelly voice. I just want to look around. Im not in any hurry.

Where did you say you found it, Julian?

Buckley Manor in Hertfordshire, Sir Peter, said Julian without adding the usual details of its provenance.

And youre asking eighty thousand?

Yes, said Julian, not looking at him.

Well, Ill think about it over the weekend, said the customer, and let you know on Monday.

Whatever suits you, Sir Peter, said Julian, and without another word he strode off towards the front of the shop, opened the door and remained standing by it until the customer had stepped back out on to the pavement, a puzzled look on his face.

Jeffrey Archer is pictured above

If Sir Peter had looked round, he would have seen Julian close the door and switch the OPEN sign to CLOSED.

Stay cool, Julian, stay cool, he murmured to himself as he walked slowly towards the lady hed been hoping to serve all week.

I was in the area a couple of days ago, she said, her voice husky and unmistakable.

I know you were, Gloria, Julian wanted to say. Indeed, madam, was all he managed.

Millie told me all about your wonderful shop, but I just didnt have enough time.

I understand, madam.

Actually, I havent come across anything I really like this week. I was hoping I might be luckier today.

Lets hope so, madam.

You see, I try to take home some little memento from every city I perform in. It always brings back so many happy memories. What a charming idea, said Julian, beginning to relax.

Of course, I could hardly fail to admire the Adam fireplace, she said, running a hand over the marble nymphs, but I cant see it fitting into my New York condo.

Im sure youre right, madam, said Julian.

The Chippendale rocking chair is unquestionably a masterpiece, but sadly it would look somewhat out of place in a Beverly Hills mansion. And Delft isnt to my taste.

She continued to look around the room, until her eyes came to rest on the egg. But I do love your Faberge egg. Julian smiled ingratiatingly. What does the green dot mean? she asked innocently.

That its reserved for another customer, madam; an American gentleman Im expecting tomorrow.

What a pity, she said, staring lovingly at the egg. Im working tomorrow, and flying to Paris the following day. She smiled sweetly at Julian and said: It clearly wasnt meant to be. Thank you. She began walking slowly towards the door.

Julian hurried after her. Its possible, of course, that the customer wont come back. They often dont, you know.

She paused by the door. And how much did he agree to pay for the egg? she asked.

Six hundred and twenty-five thousand, said Julian. Pounds?

Yes, madam.

She walked back and took an even longer look at the egg.

Would six hundred and fifty thousand convince you that he wont be returning? she asked, giving him that same sweet smile.

Julian beamed as she sat down at his desk and took a chequebook out of her bag. Whom shall I make it out to? she asked.

Julian Farnsdale Fine Arts Ltd, he said, placing one of his cards in front of her.

She wrote out the name and the amount slowly, and double-checked them before signing Gloria Gaynor with a flourish. She handed the cheque to Julian who tried to stop his hand from shaking.

If youre not doing anything special tomorrow night, she said as she rose from her chair, perhaps youd like to come to my concert?

How kind of you, said Julian.

She took two tickets out of her bag and passed them across to him. And perhaps youd care to join me backstage for a drink after the show?

Julian was speechless.

Good, she said. Ill leave your name at the stage door. Please dont tell Millie or Susan. There just isnt enough room for everyone. Im sure you understand.

Of course, Miss Gaynor. You can rely on me. I wont say a word.

And if I could ask you for one small favour? she said as she closed her bag.

Anything, said Julian. Anything.

I wonder if youd be kind enough to deliver the egg to the Park Lane Hotel, and ask a porter to send it up to my room.

You could take it with you now if you wish, Miss Gaynor.

How kind of you, she said, but Im lunching with Mick... She hesitated. Id prefer if it could be delivered to the hotel.

Of course, said Julian. He accompanied her out of the shop to the waiting car, where the chauffeur was holding open the back door.

How silly of me to forget, she said just before stepping into the car. She turned back to Julian and whispered into his ear: For security reasons, my room is booked in the name of Miss Hampton. She smiled flirtatiously. Otherwise Id never get a moments peace.

I quite understand, said Julian. He couldnt believe it when she bent down and kissed him on the cheek.

Thank you, Julian, she said. I look forward to seeing you after the show, she added as she climbed into the back seat.

Julian stood there shaking as Millie and Susan joined him on the pavement.

Did she give you any tickets for her show? asked Millie as the car drove away.

Im not at liberty to say, said Julian, then walked back into his shop and closed the door.

The smartly dressed young man writing down some figures in a little black book reminded her of the rent collector from her youth. How much did it cost us this time? she asked quietly.

Five days at the Park Lane came to three thousand three hundred, including tips, the stretch limo was two hundred pounds an hour, sixteen hundred in all. His forefinger continued down the handwritten inventory. The two items you purchased from the jewellery shop came to fifteen hundred.

She touched a pearl earring and smiled. Meals along with other expenses, including five extras from the casting agency, five autograph books and a parking fine, came to another nine hundred and twenty-two pounds.

Six tickets for tonights concert purchased from a tout, a further nine hundred pounds, making eight thousand, two hundred and twenty-two pounds in all, which, at todays exchange rate, comes to about thirteen thousand three hundred and sixty-nine dollars. Not a bad return, he concluded as he smiled across at her.

She glanced at her watch. Dear sweet Julian should be arriving at the Albert Hall about now, she said. Lets at least hope he enjoys the show.

I would have liked to go with him.

Behave yourself, Gregory, she teased.

When do you think hell find out?

When he turns up at the stage door after the show and finds his name isnt on the guest list, would be my guess. Neither of them spoke while Gregory went over the figures a second time, then finally closed his little book and placed it in an inside pocket.

I must congratulate you on your research this time, she said. I must admit Id never heard of Robert Adam, Delft or Chippendale before you briefed me.

Gregory smiled. Napoleon once said that time spent on reconnaissance is rarely wasted.

So where does Napoleon stay when hes in Paris?

The Ritz Carlton, Gregory replied matter-of-factly.

That sounds expensive.

We dont have much choice, he replied. Miss Gaynor has booked a suite at the Ritz because its convenient for the Pleyel concert hall. In any case, it gives the right image for someone whos planning to steal a Modigliani.

This is your captain speaking, said a voice over the intercom. Weve been cleared for landing at Charles de Gaulle airport, and should be on the ground in around twenty minutes. All of us at British Airways hope youve had a pleasant flight and that you enjoy your stay in Paris, whether it be for business or pleasure.

A flight attendant leaned over and said: Would you be kind enough to fasten your seat belt, madam? Well be beginning our descent very shortly.

Yes, of course, she said smiling up at the flight attendant.

The attendant took a second look at the passenger and said, Has anyone ever told you that you look just like Gloria Gaynor?

n I Will Survive is taken from the collection And Thereby Hangs A Tale by Jeffrey Archer, published by Pan, 8.99.  Jeffrey Archer 2010.
MOSCOW/WASHINGTON  Russian President Vladimir Putin sent telegrams on Friday to U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, suggesting the need to rekindle their nations cooperation during World War Two to solve todays problems.

Putins overture was the latest in a series of contacts with Washington, and Moscow is keen to rebuild relations frayed over issues ranging from election hacking allegations to Syria and Ukraine.

Putin and Trump say they worked closely together to clinch a global oil production cut and spoke by phone on Thursday, when Trump offered to supply Russia with medical equipment to help fight the new coronavirus.

The Kremlin said on Friday that Johnson and Putin had also spoken by phone, congratulating each other on the 75th anniversary of the allied victory in World War Two and expressing a readiness for dialogue and cooperation on bilateral issues.

Ties with London remain badly strained over the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in England.

Both sides expressed readiness to establish dialogue and cooperation on issues on the agenda of Russian-British relations, as well as in solving pressing international problems, the Kremlin said.

The telegrams were among many that Putin dispatched to the Soviet Unions World War Two allies on the anniversary of the end of the conflict in Europe.

Russia, which marks the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany on May 9, the day after Victory in Europe Day, has been forced to scale back commemorations due to the coronavirus.

In his message to Trump, Putin said Russia and the United States stood at the forefront of confronting global challenges.

Our countries could do a lot to ensure international security and stability, he said.

Putins message came a day after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke to his Ukrainian counterpart in a phone call which suggested Washington and Moscow remain far apart on some issues.

A statement from the U.S. State Department about the call said Pompeo had condemned Russias intransigence and continued aggressive behavior and had spoken of continuing to impose costs on Russia, including sanctions.

Specifically, Washington wants Russia to hand Crimea, a region it annexed in 2014, back to Ukraine, and to fulfill the terms of a peace deal covering eastern Ukraine which is controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

Moscow says Crimea is not up for discussion and that it is Ukraine which is not implementing the peace deal that covers the east of the country.
PITTSBURGH, May 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Congratulations to the winners of the 14th Annual Bob Fryer Memorial Scholarship and the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania Scholarship.

Sarah Donaldson, 19 of Cranberry Township, won the $5,000 Bob Fryer Memorial Scholarship awarded in honor of the late Bob Fryer, longtime editor of the Tribune Review. Donaldson is pursuing a B.S. in journalism with a minor in political science and a certificate in social media at Ohio University. She has recently been appointed editor-in-chief of The New Political, an independent and student-run publication that covers campus, city and state politics.

Jordyn Hronec, 20, of Ross Township, won the $2,500 Press Club Scholarship. Hronec studies multimedia at Point Park University, is in the Honors Program and has been elected editor-in-chief of The Globe, Point Park University's student-run newspaper.

The winners will be recognized at the 56th Golden Quill Awards dinner at the Rivers Casino on Pittsburgh's North Shore. Due to concerns regarding COVID-19, the dinner, which is normally held in May, has been rescheduled for Thursday, Sept. 3.

The Press Club of Western Pennsylvania is a nonprofit organization of journalists and other communications professionals from a 29-county area of Western Pennsylvania. It sponsors forums on current events and educational programs and presents the annual Golden Quill Awards contest and ceremony, honoring the best of journalism and communications in Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio and Northern West Virginia. Membership in The Press Club includes discounts on fees for programs and Golden Quill entries, use of dining facilities at the Engineers' Building, Downtown Pittsburgh, and access to The National Press Club in Washington, D.C., and 15 other press clubs around the country.

For more information, please contact scholarship committee chairman Rick Monti at [email protected].

PR Newswire is the official wire of The Press Club of Western Pennsylvania.

SOURCE The Press Club of Western Pennsylvania
India Builds Strategic Route Connecting China Border for Better Accessibility to Security Forces

Sputnik News

10:01 GMT 08.05.2020

New Delhi (Sputnik): Devout believers take an annual holy pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar through Uttarakhand's Lipulekh Pass, connecting India to China. While the pilgrimage is now shrouded in uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the new route will give easy access to troops in the region.

India has completed the construction of a key route in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China at Lipulekh Pass, which connects the state to the Tibet region of China.

India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday sent off a convoy of vehicles on the newly constructed Link Road via videoconferencing.

The route constructed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) along the 17,060-foot high Lipulekh Pass will provide connectivity to the last villages of India on the LAC with China, access to security forces and a shorter distance for pilgrims. The Line of Actual Control is a loosely demarcated boundary between India and China.

The 80 km road has been constructed from Ghatiabgarh to Lipulekh, the pass near the tri-junction of India-China-Nepal and also the lowest point in this Himalayan range.

However, the last five km close to Lipulekh Pass will be constructed by the end of the year by BRO after getting the required approval.

China has been asking India to adopt a cautious and restrained attitude on infrastructure development in border areas as there are disputes over demarcation.

India has been constructing 61 roads ranging from Arunachal Pradesh to Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir. A parliamentary report tabled this March claimed that the Border Road Organisation had completed 75 percent of the work on 3,323 kilometres of approved roads.

Besides this, 17 highways along eastern border areas are being converted to double lanes and for use as airstrips for fighter jets in war-like situations, these highways will have weapons storage dumps, landing lights, fuel, and firefighting equipment.

A Sputnik

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By PTI

NEW DELHI: The northeastern region, which has traditionally been disciplined, has emerged as the model of coronavirus management and the rest of the country should emulate it, Union minister Jitendra Singh said on Saturday.

He said people in the eight northeastern states - Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and Assam - have been following the lockdown-related guidelines in letter and spirit.

"By tradition and by lifestyle, people of northeastern region are civilised and disciplined. That is why they could very easily follow the lockdown guidelines. There has been no problem in ensuring implementation of the lockdown-related guidelines there," Singh told PTI.

He said within six years of the Modi government, the northeastern region has emerged as the model for development for the entire country.

"Similarly, during the lockdown due to COVID-19, entire northeast has become model for the whole country to emulate it," he said, adding that the way people are adhering to these guidelines is commendable.

ALSO READ | Northeast students in Delhi University asked to vacate hostel amid COVID-19 lockdown

Singh said five out of eight northeastern states are free from this deadly virus now and Sikkim never had a single case throughout.

"The spread of the deadly virus in the northeastern region by far has been contained by the support of people and the administration.

"There has been day-to-day monitoring of the situation at the micro and macro level both by the state government and by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER)," the minister said.

Singh, who holds multiple portfolios, including the Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office and in DoNER, praised the work being done by women self-help groups in the northeastern region.

"There has been a rich tradition of women self-help groups in the northeastern region. These women help groups have been making masks for people.

"These masks are such creative and filled with colours that they can go with almost all kinds of clothes," he said.

Singh said there is no shortage of essential commodities and medical equipment in the entire northeastern region.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi's scientific approach towards managing difficult situations guided us to ensure that there is no shortage of essential goods in the northeast, which is geographically important to the nation," he said.

He said 350 tonnes of necessary goods have been delivered so far in the northeastern region via air cargo.

Singh said the first flight carrying such goods landed there as early as March 30 to ensure that people living in the remote corner of the country do not face any shortage of daily needs.

"I can say very confidently that the whole northeastern region is guiding the entire nation in the efficient ways to contain the pandemic," he said.

To a question on reports that the Centre was considering reduction in pension, he said these were "manufactured news".

"Why would the central government think to take such a step that too with pensioners? It is all manufactured news.

People with vested interest are using it.

There has been no thinking by the government on either stoppage or reduction of pension," he clarified.

Singh said there also has been manufactured news about the Centre's move to reduce the age of retirement of central government employees from the existing 60 years, which is "entirely incorrect".

"There is no move to reduce the retirement age of the central government employees," said the minister of state for personnel.

There are 48.34 lakh central government employees and 65.26 lakh pensioners.
Ted Cruz Gets Haircut at Salon Whose Owner Flouted Orders

DALLASSen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on May 8 got his hair cut at a Dallas salon that became a rallying cry for conservative protests against lockdown orders in Texas after the owner refused to shut down and ultimately went to jail.

Cruz, who spent two weeks in self-isolation in March after saying he came into contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19, said he flew up from Houston to get his first haircut in three months at Salon a la Mode. He did so one day after its owner, Shelley Luther, walked out of jail after a court ordered her to be released.

Hair salons & barbershops are open in TX today. Just got my hair cut for first time in 3 months at Salon ALa Mode to support Shelley Luther, who was wrongly imprisoned when she refused to apologize for trying to earn a living. Glad Shelley is out of jail & her business is open! pic.twitter.com/yJD8fWb84W  Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 8, 2020

Luther spent less than 48 hours behind bars after a Dallas judge sentenced her to a week in jail for defying Republican Gov. Greg Abbotts emergency orders that did not allow hair salons to reopen yet. Abbott had said violators of his CCP virus orders could face up to 180 days in jail. But he rushed to Luthers defense Thursday and removed the possibility of jail-time from his order.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at Dallass City Hall in Dallas, Texas, on July 8, 2016. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Cruz called Luthers punishment ridiculous but sidestepped questions about what might have been an appropriate penalty for her for violating an order, The Dallas Morning News reported. The judge only sent her to jail after she refused to apologize for disobeying the order and said she would continue to do so.

Salon owner Shelley Luther (center right), walks with her boyfriend Tim Georgeff, left, and lawyer Warren Norred after she was released from jail in Dallas on May 7, 2020. (LM Otero/AP Photo)

Friday was the first day barbershops and hair salons could reopen in Texas.

President Donald Trump also came to Luthers defense Friday on Fox & Friends and called her an incredible representative for a large group of people that want to do the same thing.

Abbott said that people who had spent their life building up a business should not be put behind bars.

Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 09:31:59|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, May 9 (Xinhua) -- After seeing heartening results of months of containment measures, many countries have started relaxing their measures and resuming work, which makes individual protection even more important.

Italy, France, Spain and Australia have all announced phase-by-phase plans to lift their lockdowns. Germany has given the green light to stores and schools to reopen. And for Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will unveil a lockdown exit roadmap on Sunday.

Countries must ease lockdowns gradually, while still being "on the look-out" for COVID-19 and ready to restore restrictions if the coronavirus jumps back, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on May 1.

So, what should individuals do to better protect themselves after their countries lift restrictive measures before the pandemic is over?

Current information suggests that the two main routes of transmission of the coronavirus are respiratory droplets and contact, according to the WHO. Therefore, keeping wearing personal protective equipment helps.

"Wearing a medical mask is one of the prevention measures that can limit the spread of certain respiratory viral diseases, including COVID-19," the WHO said in an interim guidance published in April.

But the WHO said on its website that "masks are effective only when used in combination with frequent hand-cleaning with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water."

Besides, measures like covering the mouth and nose with a tissue or a bent elbow while coughing or sneezing and cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces including tables, doorknobs, phones, and keyboards are all good habits, as suggested by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

As more countries allow outdoor activities, the U.S. CDC suggests not to visit parks that were recently exposed to COVID-19 or crowded ones.

The WHO also discourages going to crowded places as people are more likely to come into close contact with someone that has COIVD-19 and it is more difficult to maintain a proper physical distance.

Indian think tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF) on Friday discussed in a report how to overcome post-lockdown mass mobility challenges and incorporate social distancing as the "new normal."

"Since this crisis is 'novel,' we need to come up with solutions which weren't thought of before, or were rejected for being too futuristic or impractical for a developing and densely populated nation like India," said Paresh Rawal from the ORF.

To date, over 3.7 million people have been infected with the coronavirus, and about 260,000 people have died globally from COVID-19, according to the WHO situation report on Friday. Enditem




Haiti - News : Zapping...





23,500 Haitians back to Haiti in April

Nearly 23,500 Haitian nationals including 1,101 minors who lived in the Dominican Republic returned voluntarily to Haiti during the month of April, informs the Support Group for Returnees and Refugees (GARR).



3-day work stoppage of the Clerks

The National Association of Haitian Clerks (ANAGH) and the Syndicate of Clerks of Haiti (SYGH) inform that the clerks of the 18 jurisdictions of the country will be on strike on May 11, 12 and 13 to demand that the authorities of the judiciary respect of a memorandum of understanding signed in 2017, in particular on continuing education, access to the competition for the renewal of magistrates, a salary increase and a debit card. If they do not get satisfaction, ANAGH and SYGH threaten to go on strike indefinitely.



Chancellor Joseph refutes Dominican allegations

Claude Joseph, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said he did not understand the statements of the Dominican Minister of Health, Rafael Sanchez, who questions the number of cases of Covid-19 declared that he considers underestimated in Haiti hhttps://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30709-haiti-flash-haitians-think-that-the-covid-19-is-a-political-trick.html . Chancellor Joseph refuted these allegations and reiterated that the Haitian Government was managing the health crisis caused by the pandemic in a transparent manner "There is a misunderstanding on the part of the Dominican Republic that we must clarify, it is extremely important to harmonize our relationships, because we share the same island."



Distribution of new medical equipment

The Jouthe-Moise Government has mobilized emergency funds to combat the spread of Covid-19 across the country. The distribution of the first batch of sanitary materials and equipment landed Thursday at Toussaint Louverture International Airport https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30721-haiti-china-first-arrival-of-equipment-and-materials-to-fight-covid-19.html will be done across the country, in particular in the various care centers for the patients of the Covid-19, informed Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe.



Covid-19 : Haiti cancels 2 meeting with the Dominicans

Friday, the Dominican Minister of Health Rafael Sanchez Cardenas informed that the Haitian authorities had canceled without explanation two bilateral meetings planned to discuss the situation of the coronavirus Covid-19, one in Jimani and the other in Dajabon with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Rafael Sanchez Cardenas said he was awaiting this meeting with his Haitian counterpart and that his country was in the best position to meet him.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Ahead of the arrival of a Naval ship here with stranded Indians from Maldives, a top police officer on Saturday said all arrangements were in place in the southern state to facilitate safe stay of those repatriated comprising over 400 Keralites and people from other parts of the country.

INS Jalashwa, participating in Indian Navy's "Operation Samudra Setu" to bring home Indians stuck in foreign countries due to COVID-19 pandemic, has departed from Male port for Kochi with 698 Indian nationals on board on Friday night.

This is the Indian Navy's first massive evacuation exercise during the COVID-19 lockdown.

The ship is expected to arrive at the Cruise Terminal of the Cochin Port Trust on Sunday between 9.30-10 am, a Defence source said here.

Inspector General of Police Vijay Sakhare said 440 people traveling via ship are from Kerala.

Rest of the passengers are from other parts of the country including Tamil Nadu (187 people), Goa (1), Haryana (3), Andhra Pradesh (8), Assam (1), Karnataka (8), Himachal Pradesh (3), Maharashtra (3), Rajasthan (3), Telangana (9), Lakshadweep (4) are also traveling in the ship.

People from the states including Delhi (4), Puducherry (3), Uttar Pradesh (2), Uttarakhand (7), West Bengal (7), Madhya Pradesh (2) and Jharkhand (2) are also traveling in the vessel.

"All these people, after being disembarked from the ship, will be sent to Institutional Quarantine facilities for 14 days," Sakhare, who is also the commissioner of the Kochi City police, told P T I.

The Keralite passengers, once cleared by all statutory organisations, would be transported to different districts in KSRTC buses (30 per bus).

Police would escort them till their quarantine facilities in every single district, he said.

"The people from other states, they will stay in the quarantine facilities in Ernakulam for 14 days," said Sakhare who is the in-charge of the operations.

Asked about the transportation of the people from other states after completion of their 14 days quarantine, Sakhare said a decision in this regard would be taken after consultations with the Central and their state governments.

About the steps taken by the state government to ensure safe quarantine of the symptomatic people, the top official said such passengers would be segregated and disembarked first, followed by other passengers (district wise) in batches of 50 persons.

"We have a thermal scanning system at the entry itself. When they get down from the ship, they will be subjected to thermal scanning. If somebody has heightened temperature he or she will be segregated and sent to the hospitals for formal check-up. The hospital will decide if they need to be isolated or sent to the Institutional Quarantines set up by the state government," Sakhare said.

Ambulance for transporting symptomatic passengers to quarantine centres are ready, he added.

Majority of the passengers coming via ship from Maldives are migrant labourers.

The number of tourists and professionals travelling in the ship are very few, official sources said.

Before arrival in Cochin, on board the vessel, the Navy would get the self e-declaration data filled by all passengers and also identify the passengers symptomatic of COVID-19.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A 27-year-old unemployed man attacked three policemen with a chopper at Marine Drive on Saturday early hours during a police nakabandi (blockade). The injured policemen have received multiple injuries. The accused, who is an architect living in south Mumbais plush Cumbala Hill area, has been arrested by the police.

According to the Marine Drive police officials, the accused Karan Pradip Nair is a resident of Silver Oaks in Cumbala Hill. On Saturday, at around 1.30 am, he was walking on the footpath from Chowpatty to Marine Drive with a big chopper in his hand.

The Marine Drive police personnel, who were doing a nakabandi duty near the Pransukhlal Mafatlal Hindu Swimming Bath and Boat Club, spotted him with a chopper in his hand and asked him to stop. Nair didnt stop and started running towards Marine Drive following which cops ran after him.

Also read: Mumbai Polices take on card against humanity game is on point

As he stopped, our men tried to overpower him but he started to randomly wave the chopper towards them and tried to kill an officer by attacking on his neck. Luckily, the officer dodged him and sustained an injury on his shoulder. He attacked other two cops who sustained injuries on their hands, Mrityunjay Hiremath, senior police inspector of Marine Drive police station told HT.

Night round police inspector Jitendra Kadam, sub-inspector Sachin Shelke and constable Sagar Shelke were taken to JJ hospital and after primary medication, they were taken to Marine Drive police station and given a separate room for recovery and rest. They were not admitted at the hospital fearing they may be at a risk of getting infected by Covid-19 patients at the hospital, Hiremath added.

The accused is an architecture graduate and is unemployed. He lives with his mother and a younger sister at a house in Cumbala Hill which he owns on a pagdi system under.

Preliminary probe so far has revealed that before leaving the home on Saturday early hours, Nair had a heated argument with his mother. He was so angry that while leaving the house he told her that he would kill someone today and left the home with a big chopper, which is generally used for cutting trees, said Hiremath.

The senior inspector added that the investigations are on and the exact reason behind the incident is yet not known. The police have seized the chopper.

The police are investigating if the lockdown is anywhere connected with the incident, another officer said.

Nair has been charged with sections 307, 324, 332, 353, 188 and 269 of Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Arms Act and the Maharashtra Police Act. He would be produced in court on Saturday.
Coronavirus outbreak: Odisha records highest single-day surge of COVID-19

India

oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P

New Delhi, May 09: With the number of coronavirus cases reaching towards 60,000-mark, Odisha has witnessed its highest single-day surge of COVID-19 cases so far. The state has reported as many as 78 new cases on Friday to take its tally to 287.

Earlier, Odisha was seen reporting low numbers of COVID-19 cases, but in the past two days, 107 cases have been discovered, mainly amongst the migrant workers returning from other states.

Coronavirus crisis: In 24 hours, India reports 3,320 COVID-19 positive cases

It is reportedly said that more than 80 per cent of cases in Odisha, are concentrated in the five districts of Bhadrak, Baleshwar, Ganjam, Khurda and Jajpur. These are the areas that have received maximum number of returning migrant workers.

As many as 8,000 workers have returned to Ganjam in the last few days, and with no time, the district's COVID-19 count has increased. Ganjam, the worst-affected district in Odisha, discovered 79 of the 83 cases in the last three days.

Coronavirus outbreak: Eight flights from several countries to fly back stranded Indians today

Also, it can be seen that Kerala discovered its first case in three days, just one patient in Ernakulam. According to the Health Ministry, the state now has 503 confirmed cases, of which 484 have already recovered.

On Friday, as many as 95 deaths were reported from the country, 39 of them from Maharashtra and 24 from Gujarat. The Health Ministry report suggests that the death toll in the country has now crossed 1,950.
The Governing Board of the National Film Authority chaired by David Dontoh will on Thursday 14th May 2020 inaugurate the Film Classification Committee into office.

The twelve-member [12] Film Classification Committee is set by the Governing Board of the National Film Authority to regulates the Exhibition of films in the country.

Socrate Safo has been appointed by the Minister of Tourism, Arts & Culture, Hon. Barbara Oteng Gyasi, in accordance with the Development & Classification of Film Act 2016, to serve as Chairman of the Film Classification Committee of the National Film Authority.

Mr. Safos role, among others, is to spearhead the Committee in ensuring an effective classification of films and audio-visual content that comes into the Ghanaian market and in our media landscape.

The inaugural ceremony of the committee would be held at the Accra Tourism Information Center, Accra at 10 am.

The members of the committee include a representative of the various organizations:

1. The minister or representative  Chair

2. Information Service Department

3. National Commission on Culture

4. National Film and Television Institute

5. Film Producers Association

6. Ghana Police Service, not below the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police

7. Copyright office

8. Christian Council

9. Federation of Muslim Council

10. Traditional Religious Authority

11. Ministry of Gender and Children and social protection

12. National House of Chiefs
Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar on Saturday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak to chief ministers of states who are not willing to allow migrants to return home. He did not name any state.

I humbly request our @PMOIndia Shri. Narendra Modi ji to intervene in this matter by talking to the CMs of the respective states who are not allowing these people to come back home, Pawar said in a tweet.

He did not name any state but Bengal and Union home minister Amit Shah have had a war of words over transportation of migrant workers. Shah had said the Centre was not receiving expected support from her government in helping migrant workers reach home. The ruling Trinamool Congress in Bengal hit back at Shah and accused him of misleading people with lies.

The transportation of migrant workers has become a touchy issue. In Maharashtras Aurangabad, 16 migrant workers were run over by a goods train on Friday morning as they slept on the tracks after a long journey on foot in a desperate attempt to find transport to go back to their hometowns hundreds of kilometres away in Madhya Pradesh.

In another tweet, Pawar said Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and Railways minister Piyush Goyal have assured him that arrangements are in place for sending migrant workers back to their homes.

The CM of Maharashtra has assured me of arrangements for the transportation of these workers wanting to go back to their home states. State Transport buses will be used for their travel. The Union Railway Minister has also assured of arrangements of travel by trains for the same, Pawar said in another tweet.

The NCP chief said he had spoken to Goyal about the migrant workers.

Had a telephonic conversation with Shri @OfficeofUT - Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Shri @PiyushGoyal - the Union Railway Minister regarding the issue of migrant workers, he tweeted.
The Times Union has lifted the paywall on this developing coverage to provide critical information to our community. To support our journalists work, consider a digital subscription.

Total COVID-19 cases:

 333,122 in New York state, including 26,612 deaths. 57,180 recovered. 1,153,768 total tested.

 1,309,159 in U.S., including 78,794 deaths. 212,534 recovered. 8,709,630 total tested.

 4,023,539 worldwide, including 279,307 deaths. 1,375,618 recovered.

Note: The figures include presumed COVID-19 deaths. The number of positive confirmed cases is cumulative and includes people who have recovered as well as those who died.

Additional resources:

 Where to get tested for COVID-19.

 If you were in charge, tell us how you would reopen New York.

 Here are the latest cancellations and postponements.

 For a detailed map, check out the Times Unions New York Coronavirus Tracker

 To get regular updates on our coverage, sign up for our coronavirus newsletter.

 Share stories about people helping others in our Facebook Group.

Saturday's updates:

2:04p.m.: 3 employees at Halfmoon assisted living facility test positive

There are 397 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Saratoga County and 4 of those individuals are hospitalized as of Saturday, according to The Saratoga County Department of Public Health Services.

As reported yesterday, 10 of the 12 residents at Cook Adult Home, an assisted living facility in Halfmoon, have tested positive for COVID-19. One of the residents is in the hospital, another is in a rehabilitation center and the remaining eight who have tested positive are in isolation at their residences. One resident tested negative and one resident refused a test.

Additionally, all eight of the employees at Cook Adult Home were tested and three have tested positive.

___

12:15 p.m.: Shaker Place resident dies at VA Hospital

A man in his 80s with multiple underlying health issues has died due to COVID-19, Albany County Executive Dan McCoy said Saturday. The death toll for the county now stands at 59. The man has been a resident at Shaker Place but died at the VA Hospital.

McCoy said there are now 1,336 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in the county. Additionally, there are now 966 people under mandatory quarantine and 15 people under precautionary quarantine.

To date, 3,083 individuals have completed quarantine, with 799 of them having tested positive and recovered.

___

11:30 a.m.: Deaths statewide rise slightly

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said 226 deaths were reported since Friday morning's update, of which 53 were in nursing homes and 173 were in hospitals. That's up from 216 the previous day.

The governor, during his Saturday briefing, took note of the disturbing number of young people being affected by the illness. The Department of Health will be doing more research and testing on that aspect of the outbreak, he said. "This is the last thing we need at this time," Cuomo said.

___

8:16 a.m.: Look to the sky for worker tribute

The state Division on Military and Naval Affairs said today an LC-130 "Skibird" assigned to the New York Air National Guard's 109th Airlift Wing will conduct a 12-city regional flyover on Tuesday to salute medical professionals, first responders, and essential workers during the pandemic.

Beginning at 11 a.m., "Skier 95" will pass over Amsterdam, Fonda, Johnstown, Gloversville, Utica, Rome, Lake George, Glens Falls, Saratoga, Troy, Albany and Schenectady. The plane, which is equipped with skies to land on ice and snow, will dip down to 500 feet as it passes over area hospitals.

The flight is being conducted as part of the U.S. Air Force's nationwide salute to medical professionals, first responders, and essential workers.

___

Friday: Saratoga County reports outbreak at Cook Adult Home in Halfmoon

The county Department of Public Health Services said it learned Friday that 10 residents of the Cook Adult Home, an assisted living facility in Halfmoon, have tested positive for COVID-19.

One of the residents is in the hospital, another is in a rehabilitation center, and the remaining eight are in isolation at their residences.

The county said it's working closely with the administration at Cook Adult Home to mitigate any further spread at the facility.

___

Friday: Memorial Day ceremony canceled

American Legion Mohawk Post 1450 (Halfmoon) Commander John Lepine said the legion's Memorial Day ceremony has been canceled this year due to circumstances surrounding COVID-19.

Although the Post's ceremony will not be held this year, "it is hoped that we will all take the time on Memorial Day to reflect upon and honor those men and women who have lost their lives in service to our country," the Legion said in a statement.

___

Friday: Columbia County nursing home sees huge spike

The number of residents at The Grand Rehabilitation and Nursing at Barnwell facility in Valatie who've tested positive for the novel coronavirus shot up by 80 in just one week to 117 as of Friday, newly released county data show.

According to public health director Jack Mabb, the home has also had 28 staff test positive for the virus. Three residents have died, including one reported Friday.

___

Friday: Warren County loses another nursing home resident

County officials reported Friday that a 24th resident of the county has died after becoming infected with the novel coronavirus.

The victim was a resident of a nursing home in the southern part of the county, they said.

Of the countys 24 deaths to date, 22 have been residents of a nursing home or assisted living facility.

The Glens Falls Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing in Queensbury and the Pines at Glens Falls Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation are currently battling outbreaks of the virus. According to state Department of Health data released on Friday, 14 residents of the Glens Falls Center and four residents of the Pines have died in the facilities after becoming infected with the virus.

Nursing home residents across the state and nation have become particularly vulnerable to the virus.

___

Read more updates from Friday
For the past 11 years, anganwadi worker Pushpa Devi of Dablain village in Haryanas Jind district leaves her home at 10 am for a few days each month. Along with 10 other women, she distributes sanitary napkins to the women of the village, free of cost. All the women are members of a self help group formed in 2004 and make these napkins with cloth. Like Devi, many of the women who accompany her on her rounds are anganwadi workers who have been tasked by the state government to distribute ration from the local Integrated Child Development Services centre to beneficiaries. This has proved to be a boon for them, as their sanitary napkin rounds continue unaffected.

Womens menstrual care in India is an area of concern: most rural women are unable to use hygiene products either due to lack of awareness of products like sanitary napkins and safe practises during menstruation, or due to their inability to purchase these products. According to the 2015-2016 family health survey, 51.8% women in rural areas used unhygienic methods of protection or none at all during their menstrual cycles. The government terms sanitary napkins, including homemade ones, and tampons, hygienic methods of protection.

Poonam Muttreja of the Population Fund, a non governmental organisation working in the area of gender sensitive policies on population and health said that cloth, if not used hygienically, can lead to lots of infections. Urinary tract infections can happen if cloth is not used properly. Soap and sun, which are needed to keep the cloth hygienic, are sometimes not availed by women, as reproductive health is a private issue and women tend to hide the clothes, Muttreja said. Lack of clean water compounds womens health issues.

The group was trained to make sanitary napkins in 2009 after a bureaucrat in the local administration initiated the effort. We bring the material from Delhi, and unlike commercial napkins, our pads are biodegradable, Devi said over the phone from her village. We have even trained women in other villages to make them and even how to use them. We tell them that reusing cloth is unhygienic and can lead to infections.

The group now has a facility in the village where women can make these napkins; there, the women have uninterrupted power supply, required to operate some of the sewing machines needed to stitch the pads. During the lockdown, the women have distributed over 500 packets in their village of 5000 residents, Devi said. The group also sells napkins  each packet has six, and costs Rs 12  to women from other villages who want to sell them in their communities.

Though the work that they do is vital, anganwadi workers continue to remain at high risk as they are required to do their work without much protection.

There are no protective gear at all provided to these women, and anganwadi workers either buy or make the masks that they wear. The need for protective gear have been echoed by several anganwadi associations. Concerns mounted in Jind in the last few days, as four women tested positive for Covid-19 earlier this week.

Suman, secretary of Jinds Anganwadi Association, said that the women were on duty at Nidani village, and their samples were collected. They tested positive, and were moved to Rohtak. Though we were told later that they are not positive, without protective gear, the women [anganwadi workers] are scared to move around in the village, she said.
The UK may be rethinking its decision to shun Apple and Google's API for its national coronavirus contacts tracing app, according to the Financial Times, which reported yesterday that the government is paying an IT supplier to investigate whether it can integrate the tech giants' approach after all.

As we've reported before coronavirus contacts tracing apps are a new technology which aims to repurpose smartphones' Bluetooth signals and device proximity to try to estimate individuals' infection risk.

The UK's forthcoming app, called NHS COVID-19, has faced controversy because it's being designed to use a centralized app architecture. This means developers are having to come up with workarounds for platform limitations on background access to Bluetooth as the Apple-Google cross-platform API only works with decentralized systems.

The choice of a centralized app architecture has also raised concerns about the impact of such an unprecedented state data grab on citizens' privacy and human rights, and the risk of state 'mission creep'.

The UK also looks increasingly isolated in its choice in Europe after the German government opted to switch to a decentralized model, joining several other European countries that have said they will opt for a p2p approach, including Estonia, Ireland and Switzerland.

In the region, France remains the other major backer of a centralized system for its forthcoming coronavirus contacts tracing app, StopCovid.

Apple and Google, meanwhile, are collaborating on a so-called "exposure notification" API for national coronavirus contacts tracing apps. The API is slated to launch this month and is designed to remove restrictions that could interfere with how contact events are logged. However it's only available for apps that don't hold users' personal data on central servers and prohibits location tracking, with the pair emphasizing that their system is designed to put privacy at the core.

Story continues

Yesterday the FT reported that NHSX, the digital transformation branch of UK's National Health Service, has awarded a 3.8M contract to the London office of Zuhlke Engineering, a Switzerland-based IT development firm which was involved in developing the initial version of the NHS COVID-19 app.

The contract includes a requirement to investigate the complexity, performance and feasibility of implementing native Apple and Google contact tracing APIs within the existing proximity mobile application and platform, per the newspaper's report.

The work is also described as a two week timeboxed technical spike, which the FT suggests means it's still at a preliminary phase -- thought it also notes the contract includes a deadline of mid-May.

The contracted work was due to begin yesterday, per the report.

We've reached out to Zuhlke for comment. Its website describes the company as "a strong solutions partner" that's focused on projects related to digital product delivery; cloud migration; scaling digital platforms; and the Internet of Things.

We also put questions arising from the FT report to NHSX.

At the time of writing the unit had not responded but yesterday a spokesperson told the newspaper: 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.

The specific technical issue that appears to be causing concern relates to a workaround the developers have devised to try to circumvent platform limitations on Bluetooth that's intended to wake up phones when the app itself is not being actively used in order that the proximity handshakes can still be carried out (and contacts events properly logged).

Thing is, if any of the devices fail to wake up and emit their identifiers so other nearby devices can log their presence there will be gaps in the data. Which, in plainer language, means the app might miss some close encounters between users -- and therefore fail to notify some people of potential infection risk.

Recent reports have suggested the NHSX workaround has a particular problem with iPhones not being able to wake up other iPhones. And while Google's Android OS is the more dominant platform in the UK (running on circa ~60% of smartphones, per Kantar) there will still be plenty of instances of two or more iPhone users passing near each other. So if their apps fail to wake up they won't exchange data and those encounters won't be logged.

On this, the FT quotes one person familiar with the NHS testing process who told it the app was able to work in the background in most cases, except when two iPhones were locked and left unused for around 30 minutes, and without any Android devices coming within 60m of the devices. The source also told it that bringing an Android device running the app close to the iPhone would wake up its Bluetooth connection.

Clearly, the government having to tell everyone in the UK to use an Android smartphone not an iPhone wouldn't be a particularly palatable political message.

This is effectively a form of Android Herd Immunity: for the good of Britain, vaccinate your friends by giving them Androids!  Michael Veale (@mikarv) May 5, 2020

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

One source with information about the NHSX testing process told us the unit has this week been asking IT suppliers for facilities or input on testing environments with "50-100 Bluetooth devices of mixed origin", to help with challenges in testing the Bluetooth exchanges -- which raises questions about how extensively this core functionality has been tested up to now. (Again, we've put questions to the NHSX about testing and will update this report with any response.)

Work on planning and developing the NHS COVID-19 app began March 7, according to evidence given to a UK parliamentary committee by the NHSX CEO's, Matthew Gould, last month.

Gould has also previously suggested that the app could be "technically" ready to launch in as little as two or three weeks time from now. While a limited geographical trial of the app kicked off this week in the Isle of Wight. Prior to that, an alpha version of the app was tested at an RAF base involving staff carrying out simulations of people going shopping, per a BBC report last month.

Gould faced questions over the choice of centralized vs decentralized app architecture from the human rights committee earlier this week. He suggested then that the government is not "locked" to the choice -- telling the committee: "We are constantly reassessing which approach is the right one  and if it becomes clear that the balance of advantage lies in a different approach then we will take that different approach. Were not irredeemably wedded to one approach; if we need to shift then we will Its a very pragmatic decision about what approach is likely to get the results that we need to get.

However it's unclear how quickly such a major change to app architecture could be implemented, given centralized vs decentralized systems work in very different ways.

Additionally, such a big shift -- more than two months into the NHSX's project -- seems, at such a late stage, as if it would be more closely characterized as a rebuild, rather than a little finessing (as suggested by the NHSX spokesperson's remark to the FT vis-a-vis 'refining' the app).

In related news today, Reuters reports that Colombia has pulled its own coronavirus contacts tracing app after experiencing glitches and inaccuracies. The app had used alternative technology to power contacts logging via Bluetooth and wi-fi. A government official told the news agency it aims to rebuild the system and may now use the Apple-Google API.

Australia has also reported Bluetooth related problems with its national coronavirus app. And has also been reported to be moving towards adopting the Apple-Google API.

While, Singapore, the first country to launch a Bluetooth app for coronavirus contacts tracing, was also the first to run into technical hitches related to platform limits on background access -- likely contributing to low download rates for the app (reportedly below 20%).
Technavio has been monitoring the meat substitutes market and it is poised to grow by USD 3113.47 million during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of almost 16% 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/20200508005396/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Meat Substitutes 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. Beyond Meat Inc., Ecozone UK Ltd., Gathered Foods Corp., Impossible Foods Inc., Maple Leaf Foods Inc., Monde Nissin Corp., The Kraft Heinz Co., The Tofurky Co. Inc., Tyson Foods Inc., and Unilever Group. are some of the major market participants. The new product launches 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.

New product launches have been instrumental in driving the growth of the market.

Meat Substitutes Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

Meat Substitutes Market is segmented as below:

Type Soy-based Wheat-based Mycoprotein-based Others

Geography North America Europe APAC 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=IRTNTR43310

Meat Substitutes 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 meat substitutes market report covers the following areas:

Meat Substitutes Market Size

Meat Substitutes Market Trends

Meat Substitutes Market Industry Analysis

This study identifies continuous R&D and product development as one of the prime reasons driving the meat substitutes market growth during the next few years.

Meat Substitutes Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the meat substitutes market, including some of the vendors such as Beyond Meat Inc., Ecozone UK Ltd., Gathered Foods Corp., Impossible Foods Inc., Maple Leaf Foods Inc., Monde Nissin Corp., The Kraft Heinz Co., The Tofurky Co. Inc., Tyson Foods Inc., and Unilever Group. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the meat substitutes market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

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Meat Substitutes Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist meat substitutes market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the meat substitutes market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the meat substitutes market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of meat substitutes market vendors

Table Of Contents:

Executive Summary

Market Overview

Market Landscape

Market ecosystem

Market characteristics

Value chain analysis

Market Sizing

Market definition

Market segment analysis

Market size 2019

Market outlook

Market size and 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 Type

Market segments

Comparison by Type

Soy-based Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Wheat-based Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Mycoprotein-based Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Others Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by Type

Customer landscape

Overview

Geographic Landscape

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

North America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Europe Market size and forecast 2019-2024

APAC Market size and forecast 2019-2024

South America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

MEA Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Key leading countries

Market opportunity by geography

Market drivers

Market Driver, Challenges and Trends

Vendor Landscape

Overview

Landscape disruption

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

Beyond Meat Inc.

Ecozone UK Ltd.

Gathered Foods Corp.

Impossible Foods Inc.

Maple Leaf Foods Inc.

Monde Nissin Corp.

The Kraft Heinz Co.

The Tofurky Co. Inc.

Tyson Foods Inc.

Unilever Group

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.

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DALLAS, May 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Neiman Marcus Group LTD LLC (the "Company") today announced that it has received interim approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division for all of the first day motions related to its voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings filed on May 7, 2020.

The Court has approved Neiman Marcus Group's access to debtor-in-possession ("DIP") financing of $675 million from creditors, which will enable business continuity during proceedings. The Court has also approved motions that support continued operations, including authorizing the Company to continue to pay employee wages and benefits and maintain various customer-related programs, including honoring its loyalty programs, gift cards, credit cards, and return policies. With the access to additional financing approved by the Court, the Company will honor its commitments with vendors and be well-positioned to pay invoices for goods and services after the Company's filing date under normal payment terms.

Geoffroy van Raemdonck, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Neiman Marcus Group stated, "We are pleased to receive court approvals of our first day motions, which provide us with ample liquidity to operate the business and allow our dedicated associates, together with our brand partners, to continue providing magical experiences to our loyal luxury customers. This will ensure both our short-term and long-term success as a relationship and digital leader in luxury retail."

"We thank all our extraordinary associates for their unwavering commitment to Neiman Marcus Group during these unprecedented times. Every day I am inspired by their continued efforts to go above and beyond to delight our customers, our communities, and each other with the love and care that is unique to us," continued Mr. van Raemdonck.

On May 7, 2020, the Company announced that it entered into a binding Restructuring Support Agreement ("RSA") with holders representing over two-thirds of the Company's outstanding debt. The RSA includes commitments from holders of over 77% of the Debtors' Extended Term Loans, over 99% of the Debtors' Second Lien Notes, and over 69% of the Debtors' Third Lien Notes to equitize their debt and to backstop the full amount of the proposed $675 million DIP financing facility and a $750 million exit financing facility.

Upon emergence, the Company's planned capital structure is anticipated to be long-dated with no near-term maturities and to eliminate approximately $4 billion of its existing debt. To implement the RSA, the Company has commenced voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal counsel to the Company, Lazard Ltd. is serving as the Company's investment banker, and Berkeley Research Group is serving as the Company's financial advisor.

The Extended Term Loan Lenders are represented by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz as legal counsel and Ducera Partners LLC as investment banker.

The Noteholders are represented by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP as legal counsel and Houlihan Lokey as investment banker.

Court filings and other documents related to the Chapter 11 proceedings are available on a separate website administered by the Company's claims agent, Stretto. For inquiries regarding the restructuring, please visit https://cases.stretto.com/NMG.

About Neiman Marcus Group

Neiman Marcus Group is a luxury, multi-branded, omni-channel fashion retailer conducting integrated store and online operations under the Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus Last Call, and Horchow brand names. For more information, visit http://www.neimanmarcusgroup.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Neiman Marcus Group has included statements in this press release that constitute "forwardlooking statements. As a general matter, forwardlooking statements are those focused on future or anticipated events or trends, expectations, and beliefs including, among other things, the Company's expectations with respect to its Chapter 11 proceedings. Such statements are intended to be identified by using words such as "believe," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "will," "project," "plan" and similar expressions in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance. Any forwardlooking statements are and will be based upon the Company's thencurrent expectations, estimates and assumptions regarding future events and are applicable only as of the dates of such statements. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such forwardlooking statements. Such forwardlooking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those projected in this press release for numerous reasons, including factors outside the Company's control. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forwardlooking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE The Neiman Marcus Group, Inc.
- Tomas Carlovic was attacked by a thug who made away with his bike

- Diego Maradona has paid tributes to the late player

- Carlovich died at the age of 74 after slipping into a coma due to the attack

The Argentine legend reportedly suffered stroke and then slipped into a coma moments after he was attacked by a thug who made away with his bike.

Carlovich died from the complications barely 48 hours after the attack which occurred in Sante Fe, New Mexico.

It was gathered that until his death, the 74-year-old was a friend to the legendary Diego Maradona.

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"With your humility you danced us all, Trinche, Maradona wrote on his Instagram handle with a picture of the former player.

"I can't believe it, I met you a while ago, and you're gone. My deepest condolences to your family and I hope justice is done. May you rest in peace, master."

Maradona who openly claimed Carlovich was a better player than him reportedly gave the 74-year-old a signed Gimnasia shirt.

After they met up, Carlovich told reporters: "He started speaking into my ear and wouldn't stop.

"He even signed a shirt for me and wrote, 'Trinche, you were better than me'.

"The only thing I could answer was 'Diego, now I can leave this world in peace, you were the greatest I ever saw in my lifetime'."

Carlovich only played a handful of games in Argentina's top division, but it was not his ability that held him back.

As a central midfielder he featured for local Argentina clubs including Rosario Central, Flandria, Independente Rivadavia, Central Cordoba during his career.

He was a player in which Maradona regarded as the best in the world during his playing days.

Following his move to Newell's in 1993, Maradona was asked by reporters what it felt like to be the best player in the world.

The former Napoli star replied: "The best player in the world has already played in Rosario, his name was Carlovich."

Meanewhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Diego Maradona has described Ronaldinhos arrest in Paraguay as a sad one saying the Brazilian legend is not a criminal.

The Barcelona legend was arrested alongside his brother by Paraguayan authorities for allegedly entering the country with fake passports.

In his recent interview, Maradona stated that the Ronaldinho case is one that hurts him, adding that the former player is being treated like that because he is an idol.

"What happened to Ronaldinho made me sad," he told Argentine outlet El Dia de La Plata. "He is not a criminal; he only went to work (in Paraguay)."

What Messi told me at the World Cup - Vincent Enyeama | Legit TV

Source: Legit.ng
HSBC has so far taken the biggest loss provision as a result of COVID-19. (Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images)

The COVID-19 pandemic could end up costing UK banks 25bn ($31bn) in 2020, a top rating agency has forecast.

Fitch Ratings said this week that UK banks may have set aside between 17bn and 25bn in 2020 to cover ballooning losses caused by the pandemic.

Fitch based its forecasts on first quarter results published by UK lenders over the last two weeks. In the first three months of the year the UKs biggest banks set aside a combined 7bn to cover rising losses  more than the sector provisioned for losses in the whole of 2019.

READ MORE: UK banks brace for 6.7bn COVID-19 hit

Fitchs forecast covers Lloyds (LLOY.L), Barclays (BARC.L), HSBC (HSBA.L), RBS (RBS.L), and Santander (SAN.MC). HSBC has made the biggest loss provision so far, setting aside $3bn, while Santander UK took the smallest hit, provisioning just 122m for expected losses.

Given uncertainty around the economic and health crisis, there is a wide range of possible outcomes, as indicated by some of the banks' guidance and model assumptions, Fitch analysts wrote.

All banks expect that the UK economy will deteriorate sharply in 2020, but the assumed depth of the downturn and shape of the recovery varies.

The Bank of England said on Thursday (7 May) the UKs financial system had more than sufficient capital to withstand a severe downturn. The central bank said a stress test modelling a 30% drop in second quarter GDP showed UK banks losing 80bn but would only eat up 45% of capital buffers.

However, the central banks said banks must keep lending or face an even sharper economic downturn as more businesses go bust and set off a chain reaction of defaults.

The Bank of England said GDP could decline by 14% across 2020, marking the worst downturn in 300 years.
WASHINGTON - The Trump administration is tightening visa guidelines for Chinese journalists in response to the treatment of U.S. journalists in China, as tensions flare between the two nations over the coronavirus.

The Department of Homeland Security has issued new regulations, set to take effect Monday, that will limit visas for Chinese reporters to 90 days. There is a potential to extend the visa. Those visas previously didnt have to be extended unless the employee switched companies, and they were considered open-ended.

The regulations dont apply to journalists from Hong Kong or Macau, two territories considered semiautonomous, according to the regulations published Friday in the Federal Register.

The agency noted what it called Chinas suppression of independent journalism ,  including an increasing lack of transparency.

It was the latest strike in a tit-for-tat over media rights between the countries. In March, China said it would revoke credentials of all American journalists at three major U.S. news organizations, in effect expelling them from the country, in response to U.S. restrictions on Chinese state-controlled media.

Tensions between the two nations have only increased in recent months as leaders trade barbs over handling of the pandemic that has crippled economies worldwide and killed more than 275,000 people, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.

President Donald Trump has said the Chinese governments response was slow and inadequate. His administration has lashed out at its geopolitical foe and critical U.S. trade partner, pushing beyond the bounds of established evidence.

Trump and allies repeat and express confidence in an unsubstantiated theory linking the origin of the outbreak to a possible accident at a Chinese virology laboratory. 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.

U.S. officials also believe China covered up the extent of the coronavirus outbreak  and how contagious the disease is  to stock up on medical supplies needed to respond to it, according to U.S. intelligence documents.

China strongly rejects the U.S. version of events.

Chinas official Global Times newspaper has said leaders were making groundless accusations against Beijing by suggesting the coronavirus was released from a Chinese laboratory.

The populist tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party mouthpiece Peoples Daily said the claims were a politically motivated attempt to preserve Trumps presidency and divert attention from the U.S. administrations own failures in dealing with the outbreak.

While the virus is believed to have originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, most scientists say it was most likely transmitted from bats to humans via an intermediary animal such as the armadillo-like pangolin. That has placed the focus on a wet market in the city where wildlife was sold for food.
Labours new Shadow Foreign Secretary has accused Dominic Raab and the Foreign Office of unforgivable failings over their handling of the tragic death of Harry Dunn.

Lisa Nandy said meeting the grieving parents of the teenage motorcyclist killed in a crash with US car driver Anne Sacoolas, who has since fled the country, was a heartbreaking reminder of the consequences of a system that protects itself first and puts a grieving family second.

In an article for the MoS published online today, she writes: Like them, I am deeply troubled by leaked communications reported by The Mail on Sunday that cast serious doubt on the accuracy of the Governments timeline of events. I will be reaching out to leading MPs from other political parties to build support for a parliamentary inquiry.

Harry Dunn, 19, was killed when his motorbike crashed into a car outside a US military base in Northamptonshire on August 27 last year and now his family are urging the shadow foreign secretary to call for a parliamentary inquiry into the handling of their son's death

The Dunn family had a virtual meeting with Lisa Nandy on Friday after his alleged killer, 42-year-old Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a US intelligence official, claimed diplomatic immunity following the crash outside RAF Croughton and was able to return to her home country, sparking an international controversy

It is understood Ms Nandy also used her first meeting with US Ambassador Woody Johnson to raise the case.

Last night Harrys mum Charlotte said: We could see in Lisas eyes how awful she felt about what has happened.

Read Ms Nandys article at mailonsunday.co.uk/harrynandy

Charlotte Charles, Harry Dunn's mother, wipes away tears after leaving the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, where she met Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on October 9 last year

Harry's alleged killer, 42-year-old Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a US intelligence official, claimed diplomatic immunity following the crash outside RAF Croughton and was able to return to her home country

Harry Dunne's family said: 'To lose our son was bad enough but to be abandoned and mistreated the way we have been by the British Government, who were clearly trying to sweep us under the carpet, is inhumane'

Harry Dunn (left) with his mother Charlotte Charles (centre) and twin brother Niall Dunn (right)



'Harry Dunn's life mattered and we will honour it', writes Shadow Home Secretary Lisa Nandy as she plans to build support for a Parliamentary inquiry into the 19-year-old's death

Almost nine months since 19-year-old Harry Dunn tragically lost his life, his family wake every day with the knowledge that justice has not been served.

Two loving parents who need the privacy to mourn his loss and celebrate his life have been forced to set that aside in the pursuit of justice. Their campaign has already highlighted a string of unforgivable failings by a government they rightly believed should have been there to support them.

Our meeting on Friday was a moment I will never forget. With the rest of the country, I have watched their dignified battle play out in the public spotlight. It has been a nightmare that no family should ever have to experience and now as the new Shadow Foreign Secretary, I am determined that part of Harry's legacy will be to spare other families this ordeal in the future.

The Zoom call was a heartbreaking reminder of the consequences of a system that protects itself first and puts a grieving family second. They told me of a series of encounters with ministers and officials that have left them with little faith in the system or those charged with upholding it. It is devastating for all of us who believe that the first job of any government is to defend the rights of the people it represents.

Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn said they felt 'uplifted' and believed Lisa Nandy (above) would 'take things forward on our and the nation's behalf'

Like them, I am deeply troubled by leaked communications reported by the Mail on Sunday in recent weeks that cast serious doubt on the accuracy of the Government's own timeline of events.

The Foreign Secretary's account of how the person later charged with causing Harry's death was able to leave the country, even while the police and the Crown Prosecution Service were pursuing prosecution, just does not add up.

Left with little option, Harry's family has turned to the courts for help. While the Government is straining every sinew to defeat them, there is still the hope that a judgment next month will finally force ministers to be honest about the mistakes that were made and start to set this right.

This week I raised this case at the highest diplomatic levels to ensure we finally achieve truth and accountability for Harry's death. In the days to come I will be reaching out to leading MPs from other political parties to build support for a Parliamentary inquiry.

Harry's family told me this week that many families have also reached out to them to share their own stories of injustice. Behind every single story is a person whose loss has shattered many lives. We must put this right.

On Friday, I glimpsed the pain of a family coming to terms with the absence of a son who was the beating heart of their family. While nothing can diminish the agony, their love and resilience left me determined to help. This is a battle that will never be theirs alone.

Starting today we redouble our efforts for truth and for justice. Harry's life mattered and we will honour it.
NEW YORK: New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has paid his heartfelt tribute to two Indian-origin doctors, a father and daughter, who died recently after contracting the deadly coronavirus disease while treating COVID-19 infected patients.

Paying his tribute to the father-daughter duo, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy praised them for their selfless dedication to caring for others.

In his message, Murphy said that Dr Satyender Dev Khanna and his daughter Dr Priya Khanna "dedicated their lives to helping others and we lost both of them to COVID-19".

They were part of a family of five doctors and I hope that our entire state mourns for them, Murphy said while referring to the three survivors.

A pioneering doctor, Satyender Khanna was among the first surgeons to perform laparoscopic surgery in New Jersey, the Governor added.

He had worked as head of surgical departments for decades at several hospitals and died at Clara Msass Medical Center where he had worked for more than 35 years, the Governor said.

Dr Satyender Khannas colleagues remember him as "a gentle and caring physician".

Satyendra Khanna, 78, graduated from Maulana Azad Medical College in New Delhi in 1964, according to WebMD

Priya Khanna's sister had reportedly put out an appeal on Twitter: "Plasma donor needed urgently for my beautiful young sister who dedicated her life to helping others."

Interestingly, a donor was found within a day. However, she died on April 13 at Clara Maass Medical Center and her father followed her on April 21.

Priya Khanna, 43, was a nephrologist, who had received her medical degree from Kansas City School of Medicine in 2003. Talking about her, Governor Murphy said that she was the medical director at two dialysis centers and also trained doctors.

He said she was "taking pride in teaching the next generation of doctors. And it should be noted that the ICU (intensive care unit) physician who cared for her was trained and taught by her as well. Priya will be remembered as a caring and selfless person who put others first."

Murphy also spoke to Komlish Khanna, the wife of Satyender Khanna, and expressed his condolences over their deaths.

He said that two other daughters of Komlish and Satyender Khanna are also doctors. Sugandha Khanna is an emergency doctor, and Anisha Khanna is a pediatrician.
JSC RZD Logistics, a subsidiary of Russian Railways, has said it will organize freight trains from Russia to Vietnams Yen Vien Station in Hanoi through China, the Vietnam News Agency reported late Friday.

The state-run news agency quoted a company press release as saying the demand for rail transportation of exports from Russia to Vietnam has begun to increase since 2019 while rail service has further thrived with the cancellation of flights due to COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

The demand for the transportation of milk power and food expanded by four times as compared with the previous time, it noted.

RZD Logistics Director General Dmitry Murev said transportation services on the route between Vietnam and Russia proposed by the company have drawn the attention of producers.

Exports will be transported by train from Vorsino Station in Russias Kaluga Province through Zabaikalsk, Siberia and China to Yen Vien Station in Hanoi, from where they are transported on road to shops around the country.

The average transportation time from Vorsino to Yen Vien, located in Hanoi's Gia Lam District, is 24 days.

RZD Logistics is responsible for organizing the entire supply chain, while FELB, its subsidiary, forwards freight across China.

The quality of logistics in Vietnam is ensured by logistics company Ratraco. The rail route between Vietnam and Russia was launched in December 2017 in accordance with the bilateral cooperation agreement signed between Vietnam Railways and its Russian counterpart.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
CARLINVILLE  In many ways small, private colleges are like small towns where everybody knows your name and you see many of the same people every day in classrooms, dormitories and at school activities.

But the coronavirus pandemic has physically scattered those small collegiate communities like Blackburn College in Carlinville and Principia College in Elsah, replacing face-to-face interaction with a distant face on a computer screen or a voice on a mobile phone.

The sudden switch to all-remote learning has been doubly difficult at Blackburn, a federally-recognized Work College that requires all resident students to have jobs. So until recently, Blackburn students and faculty saw each other at school and at work.

To facilitate the move to remote learning, Blackburn provided students with Chromebooks and internet access if needed. Both students and faculty say they are trying to make the best of the situation.

We all have started educating ourselves on how to better use the virtual tools we have because we basically have no other choice, said Noelia Martinez-Voigt, a Blackburn senior and general manager of the colleges student-managed Work Program.

As an art major, I have been engaging more with digital tools to create artwork than what I had before, she said. I have also discovered that being able to adapt has been a useful skill.

Blackburn Political Science Professor Laura Wiedlocher said the remote learning experience has made her appreciate the work by the colleges technical staff to connect students and teachers  but she still prefers in-person higher education.

Normal feels like it has been turned upside down and gone sideways to now be teaching and learning remotely, Wiedlocher said. I now think of in-person learning as a privileged experience and, even though I value it deeply, I think we have to embrace more flexible learning environments.

Blackburn Communications Professor Natasha Casey discovered many of her students also must take care of family members or have taken temporary front-line jobs to help make ends meet while they try to stay current with virtual classes.

A colleague shared an email where someone described what we are doing as remote emergency teaching and I would qualify this even further and use the term pandemic pedagogy. It is part crisis management, part amateur counselor, part project/assignment management, Casey said. I feel as though my top priority as an educator is to be human and demonstrate empathy for what students are going through. So yes, Ive extended deadlines, accepted late work, reduced or cut assignments and checked up on students more than Ive ever done.

Blackburn Interim President John McClusky noted that, as a federally recognized Work College, Blackburns transition to remote learning was not like other colleges and universities.

We are very focused on developing close mentoring relationships between students and their faculty and work supervisors, and face-to-face interactions have always been a vital part of carrying out our mission, McClusky said. In addition to their classes, students also work closely with faculty and staff members in every department across campus to make significant work contributions, develop important career and leadership skills, and earn a large tuition credit.

Blackburn has planned a virtual commencement ceremony for Saturday, May 16 and a special in-person graduation for this years seniors during next years commencement on May 15, 2021.

Principia College has moved its in-person commencement ceremony to Homecoming Weekend, Oct. 1617, 2020. Virtual coverage of certain remote commencement activities will be live-streamed between May 14 and 16.

Meanwhile, Principia students like Dana Cadey, a resident of Houston, Texas, are doing the best they can to complete the school year primarily from their home towns.

Ive associated being home with being on break. So I need to constantly remind myself that Im still enrolled in classes and I still need to operate like a student, just as I would if I was in my dorm on campus, Cadey said. It can be really tempting to just play video games all day with my little brother, though.

Cadey likes the flexibility of being able to tune in to class via computer or phone wherever she happens to be. But she said that has its downside as well.

Its hard having all your classes on a screen because its so easy to just open a new tab and distract yourself with some other activity or assignment, and your professor would never know what you were doing, Cadey said. Of course, you can turn your camera off and basically do whatever you want while still being in class.

John OHagan, head of Principias Creative Arts and Communication Division, said holding class via Zoom and Google Hangouts remains a pale substitute to that vibrant, immediate exchange of the classroom.

A significant portion of the learning environment is built upon the proximity and immediacy of those participating in it, OHagan said. The vibrant exchange of ideas in real time, in real space with a minimum of additional distractions is of tremendous value in taking theory to practical application and understanding.

OHagan said fine arts faculty and students have risen to the challenge with innovative uses of remote technology. Principia has produced a video-based dance concert, the cast and crew of the spring theater production has produced a radio version of the play, senior directing students recently presented one-act projects over Zoom and the music department has organized an Alumni Concert that was live streamed.

Principia Dean of Academics Meggan Madden said this type of innovation is typical of the small, close-knit Elsah campus, regardless of where faculty and students happen to be.

The faculty rose to the challenge in tremendous ways as they rapidly shifted from face-to-face instruction to remote learning, Madden said. Its taken a herculean effort to make this shift, which they did with tremendous energy and dedication.
A man walks past a dance club at Itaewon in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap



South Korea went on alert Saturday as more than a dozen people infected with the coronavirus from clubs in Seoul could spread the virus across the country amid eased social distancing.



The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 17 out of 18 new COVID-19 cases were linked to a person who visited clubs and bars in Seoul's popular multicultural neighborhood of Itaewon last weekend.



The 29-year-old patient, whom health authorities consider to be the first patient in the infection cluster, visited five clubs and bars in Itaewon from the night of May 1 to the early hours of the following morning.



Vice Health Minister Kim Ganglip said the health authorities are in the process of identifying people who visited the clubs, and family members and acquaintances of those who have been infected with the coronavirus from the clubs, to make sure it does not spread to local communities.



Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun instructed officials to find those who visited clubs in Itaewon last week and test them for the novel coronavirus.



He also told officials to ensure that the clubbers, estimated to be 1,510 people, can receive tests while keeping their names and other personal information confidential in a move to encourage them not to go into hiding.






On Friday, 64 Haryana residents, who were stranded abroad due to the Covid-19 pandemic reached Gurugram and were quarantined in hotels and community centres. The district administration said that the passengers are from Singapore. They arrived at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Friday as part of the countrys biggest repatriation exerciseVande Bharat Missionto bring back Indian citizens stranded abroad due to the international lockdown in the wake of Covid-19. According to state government officials, 5,000 people will arrive in Haryana in the next week.

In a press statement issued on Friday, the district administration said that these overseas travellers are from Gurugram and other districts of Haryana. They were screened at the airport to detect signs or symptoms of the Influenza-like-illness (ILI) before being shifted to quarantine facilities in different parts of the city.

Accommodation arrangements for them have been made at three hotelsHilton Double Tree Sector 56, Best Western Skycity Civil Lines, Oyo Dolphin near Bus depotofficials said. A senior district administration official said that they will book the hotel rooms based on the daily arrival of passenger list issued by the bureau of immigration. The activity is likely to continue for the next eight days.

We cannot book the hotel rooms before their visit. Based on their preference, paid and free quarantine services will be arranged. For paid hotels, the price slab has been fixed 1,000 and 2,500 per day. For people who want to avail of the free quarantine facility, we have made arrangements at the community centres, the official said.

Of the 64, 16 are in Hilton Double Tree, three in Best Western Skycity and four in Oyo Dolphin. Twenty-two people have been taken to the Sukhrali community centre and 19 to the Dundahera community centre, which are free quarantine facilities. Free services are mostly availed by students and labourers, according to the official.

Dr Jaswant Singh Punia, chief medical officer, said, None of the international passengers had ILI symptoms, but as per the protocol, they will be quarantined for 14 days before they leave for their homes. Our medical teams will once again inspect them to check for symptomatic cases. Also, on the last day of the quarantine, we will take swabs of each one of them for the RT-PCR test.
May 9, Ukraine marks the Day of Victory over Nazism in World War II.

The Day of Victory over Nazism in World War II was established as a public holiday by the Law of Ukraine On the Immortalization of Victory over Nazism in World War II of 1939-1945. Marking the Day of Victory over Nazism implies rethinking the World War II events, dispelling the Soviet historical myths, conducting an honest dialogue on the complicated pages of the past.

World War II began for Ukraine on September 1, 1939, with the Nazi German invasion of Poland. On that day, German military aircraft bombed Lviv and other cities. On September 17, the Soviet Union entered World War II by attacking Poland and occupying part of its territory, according to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact secret protocol.

It should be noted that Ukraine suffered the greatest losses during World War II among all the world countries, not only the former Soviet republics. According to various estimates, from 8 to 10 million people, including about 5 million civilians, were killed in Ukraine during World War II. Moreover, 2.2 million people were taken to the forced labor camps in Nazi Germany. About ten million people lost their shelter. Over 700 towns and urban-type settlements and nearly 30,000 villages were completely ruined.

The natives of Ukraine made a significant contribution to the victory over Nazism. About 45,000 people fought in the armies of the United Kingdom and Canada, 120,000 people  in the army of Poland, about 6 million people  the army of the USSR, 80,000 people  the US army, 6,000  the army of France, and up to 100,000 people were in the ranks of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.

Today, the people, who fought against the Nazism, are commemorated, and the solidarity and combat brotherhood of all the United Nations, both states and stateless peoples, is honored. At the same time, the emphasis is shifted from the military hostilities to the stories of specific people, and, therefore, it is proposed to honor the memory, not celebrate.

Remembrance poppy has been the official symbol to mark the Day of Victory over Nazism in World War II for several years now in Ukraine as the generally accepted symbol of commemorative days around the globe. Its graphic image presents a kind of allusion: a poppy flower and a bloody gunshot wound.

Verkhovna Rada Speaker Dmytro Razumkov addressed Ukrainians on the occasion of the Day of Victory over Nazism.

"After the losses inflicted by World War II, it seemed that humanity changed forever and learned the real price to be paid for the war. Unfortunately, our state must fight for freedom even today," he said.

On this day, we honor the heroes who ended the war, went through inhuman trials, and gave their lives and health with the belief in the victory of justice, the official noted.

"We express boundless gratitude to the veterans of World War II and cherish the memory of the victims. Happy Victory Day, Ukraine!" Razumkov said.

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The Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) has invited application for 260 posts of Assistant Engineer (Civil) in the public works department (PWD)

The Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) has invited application for 260 posts of Assistant Engineer (Civil) in the public works department (PWD). The commission had earlier put out a notification for 156 posts, but later added 104. There are also 307 vacancies of Junior Engineer (Civil) in PWD.

Those who want to apply should visit the official website of APSC at http://apsc.nic.in/ . You are required to submit the application in the prescribed format.

The last date for submission of application is 16 June. Those who applied after first notification was put out need not apply again.

APSC has also postponed the multiple choice objective type screening test (OMR based) for the post of Assistant Engineer (Civil) in view of the coronavirus outbreak. The test was scheduled to be held on 5 April.

The new exam date would be announced later by the commission.

Eligibility criteria for Assistant Engineer

A Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering from a recognized university is required. If you have passed Part A and B of the Associate Membership Examination of the Institution of Engineers (India) and possess a certificate to that effect, you are eligible too.

Knowing one official language of the state, besides English is a must.

For Junior Engineer

Applicants must have passed three years Diploma course (regular) in Civil Engineering. Adequate knowledge of at least one official language of the state of Assam, apart from English is mandatory.

Age

Candidates should also have attained 21 years of age. The maximum age limit is 38 years. The age relaxation for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe is five years, while that for other backward class is three years. Persons with disability will get a relaxation of 10 years.

Candidates are required to send applications attaching the required documents to the Deputy Secretary, APSC, Jawaharnagar, Khanapara, Guwahati-781022 before the deadline.

The commission has also put out a notification for one post of Assistant Engineer (Civil) in the Directorate of Sericulture under Handloom Textiles and Sericulture Department. The last date for submission of application for this post has been extended till 4 June.
Friday marked the first day Oregons 36 counties could submit plans demonstrating they can meet seven public health criteria required by Gov. Kate Brown to reopen.

Thirteen counties had applied by 6 p.m., and the governors staffers expect more to apply over the weekend.

The criteria that counties must meet include: declining levels of COVID-19 hospital admissions over a 14-day period; minimum levels of testing and contact tracing capacity; adequate hospital surge capacity, quarantine facilities and personal protection equipment; and finalized sector guidelines from the state to communicate to individual businesses.

Here are more developments to know this weekend:

REOPENING: Gov. Kate Browns 10 p.m. curfew for restaurants and bars has emerged as the biggest flash point for restaurant and bar owners seeking to reopen under Oregons Phase 1 guidance.

CASES: The states COVID-19 death toll now stands at 124, after public health officials disclosed three more deaths. The three who died were a 51-year-old man and an 80-year-old woman from Marion County and a 71-year-old Multnomah County woman.

CARE: After being celebrated as heroes, health care workers now face a new reality. Cash-strapped hospitals are cutting their pay and their hours, in response to sweeping revenue declines.

HOUSING: Despite the continued economic devastation from the COVID-19 crisis, the vast majority of renters in Oregon and nationwide paid their May rent within the first six days of the month, data from housing groups show.

RESPONSE: The regional transit agency TriMet will start requiring employees to wear face masks.

BUSINESS: Tillamook County Creamery will roll out a $4 million relief package to help workers, charities and small businesses. In Lincoln City, Rusty Truck Brewing is giving away beer rather than dumping it.

ECONOMY:

HELP:

LIFE TODAY:

SPORTS: The Portland Trail Blazers and Portland Timbers will resume voluntary workouts, taking a small step toward normalcy during coronavirus crisis.

CANCELED: Fairs, rodeos and arts organizations are readjusting as Oregon moves to reopen without them. The list of cancellations includes the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which called off its fall season.

#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.
Hundreds of migrant workers came



onto the streets and clashed with the police at a village in Surat district of Gujarat on Saturday to demand that they either be sent back to their home states or allowed to resume work at local industrial units to earn money, police said.

The police resorted to lathicharge and fired tear gas to disperse the mob. Over a 100 workers were detained in this connection, an official said.

The incident took place at Mora village near industrial town of Hazira.

"Over 100 workers were detained after they took to the streets, demanding that they either be sent back home or allowed to work at the industrial units they were employed at in Hazira and paid salaries," joint commissioner of police (Sector 2) D N Patel said.

Protesting workers came out of their homes in the workers' colony at Mora village and started walking in a large group towards Hazira industrial area, he said.

The migrants demanded that the district administration should arrange for their return to their hometowns in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and other states, Patel said.

"Some workers hurled stones at the police, after which four tear gas shells were lobbed and we had to resort to baton charge to control the unruly mob," Patel said.

Cases were being registered on the basis on CCTV footage from the area, the senior official said, adding that the situation was currently under control.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan on Saturday violated ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. At about 7.30 pm, the Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked firing with small arms and shelling with mortars along LoC in Degwar sector.

The Indian Army is retaliating befittingly. This is a developing story. More details are awaited.

On May 8, the Indian Army gave a befitting reply in response to the firing by Pakistani forces in the Poonch district. At least 3-4 soldiers of Pakistani forces were reportedly killed and five others were said to have been injured in the retaliatory firing by Indian Army. The Indian troops also inflicted heavy firing on Pakistan Army posts and damaged them.

On May 7, a civilian was injured and two houses suffered damage when the Pakistan Army shelled forward posts and villages along the Line of Control (LoC) in three sectors of Poonch, drawing retaliation from the Indian Army, a defence spokesperson said. One civilian, Nisar Ali, a resident of Qasba village, was injured in the shelling by Pakistan and was hospitalised, officials said.
A second stimulus package is in the making, but it has to match a long list of expectants. Coronavirus lockdown around the world have not stopped Reliance Industries to bag yet another deal for Reliance Industries.

Read for more top stories from the world of business and economy

1. What to spend Rs 4.8 lakh crore on? Modi govt has long list of the desperate

Another round of fiscal stimulus could include package for MSMEs, bank recapitalisation, DBT for poor among other expenditures.

2. Govt to borrow Rs 4.2 lakh crore more; FY21 fiscal deficit to be 5.5%

Nominal GDP will be around Rs 215 lakh crore instead of the budgeted Rs 225 lakh crore. Fiscal deficit will be 5.5-5.7 per cent against the budgeted target of 3.5 per cent.

3. Jio Platforms bags Rs 11,367 crore investment from Vista

The investment will translate into a 2.32 per cent equity stake in Jio Platforms, making Vista largest investor in Jio Platforms behind RIL and Facebook; in total, Jio Platforms has raised Rs 60,596.37 crore from leading technology investors in less than three weeks.

4. 'Debt monetisation should not constrain govt spending,' says Raghuram Rajan

Raghuram Rajan says there is a lot of concern in some quarters about central banks printing money to finance large budget deficits. And in other quarters there is concern that central banks are doing too little of it.

5. Coronavirus fallout: Moody's forecasts 0% GDP growth for India in FY21

India has so far outlined a Rs 1.7 lakh crore, or $22.53 billion, stimulus plan providing direct cash transfers and food security measures to give relief to millions of poor and a second package focussing on help for small and medium businesses.
Two migrants returning to Uttar Pradesh from Gujarat in two different Sharmik Special trains died on way in separate incidents on Saturday.

Railways Superintendent of Police Soumitra Yadav said in the first incident a 29-year-old migrant worker from Sitapur, identified as Kanhaiya Lal, died in a Shramik Special returning from Bhavnagar in Gujarat to Basti in Uttar Pradesh.

Yadav said Kanhaiya Lal suddenly collapsed on his seat in the train, prompting his co-passengers to rush to his help.

As the man did not respond, the passengers informed the railway staff, who, in turn, conveyed the message to the Lucknow station master.

When the train reached Lucknow , the doctors examined the man and found him dead, the SP said, adding the victim's family members in Sitapur have been informed about the incident.

Kanhaiya Lal's body would be handed over to his family members after the postmortem, he said.

In the other incident, a 34-year-old man was found dead in a train returning from Dhola in Gujarat, the SP said.

The victim was identified as Hiralal Bind, who was found lying unconscious during the checking of the train after all its passengers had deboarded it at Lucknow.

He was rushed to Balrampur Hospital where doctors declared him brought dead, the SP said, adding his family members have been informed.

Asked about the incidents, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi said he that he is aware of them.

The government is taking a call on what help could be provided to their family members, he said.
JERUSALEM  Even as Israel is collaborating with West Bank officials to fight the coronavirus, a new Israeli military order taking effect on Saturday forbids banks in the occupied territory from processing payments that the Palestinian Authority distributes to the families of thousands of Palestinians who have spent time in Israeli jails.

The Palestinians defend the funds as vital welfare that compensate for an unfair military-run justice system, provide income for families who have lost their primary breadwinners and enable released prisoners to reintegrate into society. But the Israelis denounce the practice as rewarding terrorism.

The decree apparently also bans financial institutions from dealing with stipends that the Palestine Liberation Organization gives to the families of slain assailants, whom the Palestinians refer to as martyrs.

The order threatens imprisonment for bank workers who refuse to comply, and prompted at least three banks to require recipients of the payments to close their accounts this past week, prompting intense outrage.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2020 > The State of Indian News Media in the Times of Covid 19

by Naren Singh Rao

In a democratic set-up how should news media function in the times of crisis such as Covid 19? Should it function as the watchdog, functioning as the fourth estate, as conceptualised over the course of the maturation of the idea of democracy? Or should it function in coordination with governments claiming to be waging a war against national/humanitarian crisis, which, interestingly, all governments howsoever oppressive they are always claim to do without fail? Surely, the latter can never be an option for any truthful, self-respecting news media anywhere in the world. Indeed, editorial independence is the backbone of news media. No matter whatever the circumstances are, editorial independence is absolutely sacrosanct and non-negotiable, come what may. The moment any news media start functioning in coordination with any government it ceases to be news media. In fact, it ends up becoming an agent of governmental propaganda and therefore must be recognised as such.

In the times of post-truth operating in the realm of neo-liberal economic and post-modern philosophic order, free-floating capital globally roams amok and naked nexus of politics, business and media is the new normal, as it turns out. The scientific, critical-rational thought system has been labelled as incredulous and, in the name of subjective and open-ended reality reactionary notions rooted in the worst of retrograde ideologies are sought to be humanely theorised. All visible television anchors, corporate lobbyists and status quoist technocrats posing as public intellectuals indeed try hard to justify the media platforms functioning in coordination with government in the name of waging a war against national crisis.

In this context it is pertinent to ask how the Indian news media has been functioning in the times of the prevailing Covid 19 crisis. During the entire crisis period, the majority of the mainstream Indian news media has become part of the governments propaganda ecosystem. In the name of waging a war against the corona virus, the media ended up playing around with the narratives set by the government and ruling partys propaganda machinery. As a matter of fact, only a few media outlets covered the plight of the migrant workers in the face of the uncertainties and anxieties looming large amidst nationwide lockdown. Even these stories remained inadequately researched, de-contextualised and incomprehensive. More importantly, no substantial follow-up was pursued, whatsoever.

It is a matter of public record that just prior to the announcement of the nationwide lockdown, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked scores of prominent print media houses owners and editors to abstain from negative coverage pertaining to Covid 19. It included even those media houses which are widely known for not pursuing the current dispensations ideological agenda per se. Indeed, it is a colossal journalistic tragedy wherein the Prime Minister of a democratic country calls the independent medias owners and editors for the meeting and then asks them to abide by the governments official information and avoid negative coverage; and, in turn, the media owners and editors faithfully oblige him by meticulously doing so. Not just this, these media owners and editors were so proud of their achievement of being called by the Prime Minister for the meeting that they even published their own photographs (of the meeting with the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi) on the front pages of their newspapers!

More worryingly, a large section of the mainstream news media, which is already quite infamous for brazenly propagating the communal and divisive agenda of the ruling regime of the RSS-BJP formation, shamelessly communalised Covid 19. They selectively picked up the cases of Muslim individuals who were suspected of corona virus infection. And by spinning this, television anchors started targeting and vilifying the entire Muslim community by running a high-octane, poisonous media trial with the choicest of lies and manufactured narratives such as Corona Jihad, Tableegh-Pak conspiracy and Tableeghistan. A mere civic negligence or wrong, inadvertently committed by some individuals associated with the Tablighi Jamaat was sensationally blown out of proportion in the most grotesque manner. The impact of such vicious, Islamophobic propaganda was catastrophic. In no time, it paved the way for an all-out propaganda against the Muslim citizens on social media platforms which, in turn, created mayhem across the country. It has been widely reported that due to the fear created by the news media and social media propaganda amidst the lockdown, Muslim citizens across the country were shunned, shamed, abused and physically attacked in varied spheres of everyday life by various social actors including police personnel.

The scores of media platforms planted umpteen number of fake news stories rooted in the dangerous narratives such as superstition and magic remedy. For instance, a couple of leading Hindi news channels have gone to the extent of claiming that Hindu sadhus in Ayodhya have found a remedy for the corona virus. The so called remedy was: To chant Jai Shri Ram for 15 times each hour and wear Tika and Choti ! Some other channels covered the BJP lawmakers and leaders audaciously advocating for totally unscientific remedy ranging from hawans, yagna and aahuti, to cows dung and urine!

Likewise, several channels propagated totally baseless, jingoistic narratives while suggesting that corona virus is a conspiracy hatched by China against countries like India. Such conspiracy theories-based stories pointed to the unfounded assumption that corona virus was developed in a laboratory in China in a bid to attack its enemy countries. It is important to note that such conspiracy theories had already been debunked by the internationally renowned scientific and fact-checking organisations; yet a larger section of the Indian news media kept on spreading such blatant lies unabashedly and unabatedly.

Indeed, it is quite disheartening to witness such precipitous downfall of the news media which was born in the womb of Indian freedom struggle. Moreover, this has been unfolding at a time when it could have played a stellar role in stemming the tide of the pandemic by honestly functioning as the watchdog rather than fomenting communal frenzy with an eye on profits and petty political gains.

(Naren Singh Rao is a Delhi-based media critic.)
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Belgrade, Serbia  Sat, May 9, 2020 11:36 620 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd6e41ce 2 Science & Tech Nikola-Tesla,Serbia,citizenship,inventor Free

Serbia's culture minister on Friday called for an apology over the European Union's "fake" description of Nikola Tesla, the famous pioneer of modern electrical engineering, as a Croatian on the bloc's official website.

A source of pride in both countries, Tesla was an ethnic Serb born in a Croatian village in 1856, when the country was a part of the old Austro-Hungarian empire.

He won fame in the United States as one of the world's greatest inventors and remains especially beloved in Serbia, where his ashes are housed.

A webpage about Croatia in the EU's Learning Corner for children, however, writes that: "Famous Croatian Nikola Tesla was one of the first people to discover X-ray imaging".

Responding in a statement, Serbia's Culture Minister Vladan Vukosavljevic said he was appalled to see "that the virus of this fake information has found its place on an official EU website."

The minister said he hoped that the "inappropriate error would be corrected without delay" and called for an "apology to the Serbian people".

Tesla's origins and ethnicity are one of many topics that can ruffle feathers between Croatia and Serbia, whose relations are still tense decades after Yugoslavia's bloody collapse in the 1990s.

Read also: Edison, Morse ... Watson? AI poses test of whos an inventor

Officially Zagreb stresses Tesla was born in Croatia but does not contest his Serb origins.

Tesla, meanwhile, saw himself as a citizen of the world, having spent most of his professional career in the US and eventually becoming a naturalized American.

He patented more than 700 inventions in his lifetime, including wireless communication, remote control and fluorescent lighting.

Though he made the cover of Time magazine in 1931, the great inventor died alone in a New York hotel 12 years later at the age of 86.

His ashes are in a Belgrade museum dedicated to his life and works.
Around 4000 wild brumbies will be killed or rehomed while pigs, goats and deer will be shot from helicopters.

The horses will be removed from Kosciuszko National Park, in the Australian Alps, next month to help the native wildlife recover from the summer bushfires.

The decision came just as the New South Wales state government implemented a massive pest management program that will see pigs and deer shot to aid bushfire recovery, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Over the summer three separate bushfires burned more than one-third of the park, where about a quarter of the area is occupied by horses.

Around 4000 wild brumbies will be killed or rehomed while pigs, goats and deer will be shot from helicopters

The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service said: 'NPWS has commenced the largest pest management program in its history.'

'An aerial shooting program, targeting feral pigs, goats and deer has begun across the NPWS estate. Between 1700 and 2000 hours of shooting will be conducted in the first 12 months. This represents a five-fold increase in aerial shooting effort.

'Horse removal will start in June 2020 and continue throughout the year. The priority is to rehome horses. Those horses that cannot be rehomed will be euthanised in trap yards, or sent to a knackery.

The Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Act 2018 allows for the removal of brumbies as long as a 'sustainable' population is maintained.

Three areas in the park will be targeted and all horses in the Nungar Plan region will be removed, while those on the Cooleman Plain and Kiandra Plain will be reduced to a sustainable population.

The Federal Court ruled to remove the brumbies in a bid to protect the environment.

'Retaining the current population of brumbies in the Bogong High Plains and Eastern Alps would not be an appropriate control of the threat they present to ecosystems, habitats and species in those alpine areas,' Justice Michael O'Bryan ruled on Friday.

The horses will be removed from Kosciuszko National Park, in the Australian Alps, next month to help the native wildlife recover from the summer bushfires

Brumby numbers have boomed with about 25,000 recorded across the Australian Alps National Parks in 2019, according to Parks Victoria analysis.

The animals caused 'great damage' to the national park because their hard hooves damaged moss beds, fens, high altitude wetlands and peatlands which are classed as threatened, the government body said.

'Since the abolition of cattle grazing in the Alpine National Park, these wetlands have been slowly recovering, only to be impacted now by a growing number of feral horses,' Parks Victoria protection advocate Phil Ingamells said.

But the culling and removal of the animals was met with fierce opposition from the Australian Brumby Alliance, which launched legal action to stop the plan.

The group argued the plan to remove the horses should have been referred to the federal environment minister because they were part of the cultural heritage of the Australian Alps.

They argued brumbies had a significant connection to myths, stories and legends of the alps, particularly with their role in Banjo Patterson's famed poem and Elyne Mitchell's Silver Brumby novels.

'The brumbies are not directly referred to in the National Heritage values and are only indirectly referenced through the literary works of Banjo Paterson and Elyne Mitchell and other references to the pastoral history of the Australian Alps,' Justice O'Bryan said.

They had also claimed some of the animals should be protected as a special horse breed because they had distinct features.

'We'll continue fighting for the brumbies. Their small populations in Victoria's eastern alps are an irreplaceable part of Australia's cultural heritage,' Australian Brumby Alliance president Jill Pickering said.

'Brumbies are a significant part of Australia's history that is vital to preserve for future generations to experience. We will not rest until we have done everything to save sustainable populations.'

The organisation was ordered to pay the costs for Parks Victoria and the application was dismissed.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 10:12:26|Editor: huaxia

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MEXICO CITY, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Mexico reported 1,906 new COVID-19 cases and 199 more deaths during the last 24 hours, bringing the total cases in the country to 31,522 cases and the death toll to 3,160, the country's health ministry said on Friday.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that he will receive a proposal on Monday from his cabinet on reopening the country, including the economy.

Mexico reported on Thursday 1,982 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 257 fatalities.

On April 16, the government extended a nationwide lockdown until May 30 to halt the spread of the disease. Enditem
- A barangay captain was arrested in Laguna after he bought alcohol amid the imposition of liquor ban

- However, Lucio Trecesito, captain of San Roque in San Pablo, said he only bought pineapple juice to quench his thirst due to the hot weather

- According to authorities, Lucio was nabbed after coming out of a mini mart in Alaminos carrying an eco bag containing liquors

- The barangay chairman was charged for violating the liquor ban and the Bayanihan As One Act

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Police nabbed a barangay captain in Laguna after he bought alcohol amid the imposition of liquor ban.

In a report by GMA News, authorities said they caught Lucio Trecesito, chairman of Barangay San Roque in San Pablo, carrying bottles of liquors he purchased in a mini mart.

However, the suspect said he crossed San Roques border only to buy pineapple juice in Alaminos to quench his thirst due to the hot weather.

"Ang nabili ko po ay pineapple juice, gawa ng mainit, bumili ako ng juice," the chairman explained.

According to Police Captain Jollymar Seloterio, Chief of Police, Alaminos, Lucio came out of the store carrying an eco bag containing liquors and there he was arrested.

The store staff admitted that the store still sells liquors despite a liquor ban but held that it was the captain's fault if he bought it.

"Sa amin talaga 'yan, aaminin ko, ayaw kong magsinungaling sa inyo. Ayun ang kasalanan niya na bumili siya ng alak, alam niyang kapitan siya eh. Kargo niya 'yon," the staff said.

The barangay chairman was charged for violating the liquor ban and the Bayanihan As One Act.

In a report by Rappler, local government units banned stores from selling liquor, as people tend to converge on streets and fail to practice physical distancing.

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KAMI previously reported that a woman in San Jose City reported her 47-year-old partner after he stole from her the P6,500 cash aid she received from the government. The suspect was then found drinking alcohol.

At present, the Philippines is under a state of calamity while the entire Luzon is under an ECQ to contain the spread of coronavirus disease 2019.

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The number of people evaluated for signs of stroke at U.S. hospitals has dropped by nearly 40% during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study led by researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis who analyzed stroke evaluations at more than 800 hospitals across 49 states and the District of Columbia. The findings, published May 8 in the New England Journal of Medicine, are a troubling indication that many people who experience strokes may not be seeking potentially life-saving medical care.

Our stroke team has maintained full capacity to provide emergency stroke treatment at all times, even during the height of the pandemic. Nevertheless, we have seen a smaller number of stroke patients coming to the hospital and some patients arriving at the hospital after a considerable delay. It is absolutely heartbreaking to meet a patient who might have recovered from a stroke but, for whatever reason, waited too long to seek treatment." Akash Kansagra, MD, lead author, assistant professor of radiology at Washington University's Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (MIR). Kansagra sees stroke patients at Barnes-Jewish Hospital

Nearly 800,000 people in the U.S. experience a stroke every year. It is the fifth leading cause of death and the leading cause of long-term disability. With advances in stroke care such as better diagnostic tools, surgeries to remove blood clots or repair broken blood vessels, and clot-busting drugs, people have a better chance of recovering from a stroke today than ever before - as long as they receive treatment promptly. Clot-busting drugs are generally safe only within 4 hours of symptom onset, and surgeries are only possible within 24 hours of symptom onset. The earlier the treatment is started, the more successful it is likely to be.

Worried by the low numbers of stroke patients being evaluated at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and hearing similar reports from colleagues at other institutions, Kansagra - along with co-authors Manu Goyal, MD, a Washington University assistant professor of radiology and neurology, and statistician Scott Hamilton, PhD, and neurologist Gregory Albers, MD, both of Stanford University - set out to determine how pervasive the problem was.

When patients arrive at a hospital and are showing signs of a stroke, they often get a brain scan so doctors can identify what kind of stroke has occurred and choose the most effective treatment. Many hospitals, including Barnes-Jewish Hospital, use software known as RAPID to analyze such brain scans. Kansagra and colleagues assessed how often the software was used in February, before the pandemic, and during a two-week period from March 26 to April 8, when much of the country was under shelter-in-place orders.

In total, the software was used for 231,753 patients at 856 hospitals representing the District of Columbia and all 50 states except New Hampshire. During February, the software was used for an average of 1.18 patients per day per hospital. During the pandemic period, software use per hospital averaged 0.72 patients per day, a drop of 39%.

"Across the board, everybody is affected by this decrease," said Kansagra, who is also an assistant professor of neurosurgery and of neurology. "It is not limited to just hospitals in urban settings or rural communities, small hospitals or large hospitals. It is not just the old or the young or the people with minor strokes who aren't showing up. Even patients with really severe strokes are seeking care at reduced rates. This is a widespread and very scary phenomenon."

There's no reason to believe people suddenly stopped having strokes. And the drop was large even in places where COVID-19 cases were few and hospitals were not overwhelmed, so patients should not have found it unusually difficult to obtain treatment.

"I suspect we are witnessing a combination of patients being reluctant to seek care out of fear that they might contract COVID-19, and the effects of social distancing," Kansagra said. "The response of family and friends is really important when a loved one is experiencing stroke symptoms. Oftentimes, the patients themselves are not in a position to call 911, but family and friends recognize the stroke symptoms and make the call. In an era when we are all isolating at home, it may be that patients who have strokes aren't discovered quickly enough."

Common signs of a stroke include the sudden onset of numbness or weakness in the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body; speech difficulty; confusion; difficulty seeing or walking; and severe headache.

Even during a pandemic, it is critically important for people who may be experiencing a stroke to receive care immediately, Kansagra said. The risk of delaying care for a stroke is much greater than the risk of contracting COVID-19.

"The effect of coming in too late is the same in many respects as not coming in at all," Kansagra said. "When patients come in too late, they may no longer be candidates for treatments that they would have qualified for just hours before. And as a result, they may not have access to treatments that are extremely effective in reducing death and disability."
Manish Kumar Tyagi, a ward boy at a government hospital treating Covid-19 patients in Lucknow, is still coming to terms with the harsh reality that he couldnt even hug his three-year-old son, his only child, before he was lowered into his final resting place this week.

After 14 days of work, Manish, like the rest of the staff at Lucknows Lokbandhu Hospital, where coronavirus patients are being treated, was quarantined in a nearby hotel. This is a mandatory drill for all hospital staff treating Covid-19 patients.

It was around 9 pm that my wife called up to say that our son was sick. He was vomiting and apparently down with some gastric infection. I could do little, but the family with the help of a neighbour, who drives a taxi, took the child to the nearest hospital in Chinhat. The hospital refused to admit my child after which the family was informed about another hospital in Alambagh. That hospital too refused to admit my son, says Manish.

My wife then rushed him to King Georges Medical University (KGMU). By this time, I had called up my seniors in the hospital, who had dialled KGMU where the doctors immediately attended to him but a lot of time had been lost by then, he recalls.

He said his son tested negative for coronavirus. He suspects that it was the fear of infection because of which the private hospitals refused to attend to his child.

How can one deny treatment to a child in an emergency? he asks.

Main ladke ko galey bhi nahi laga paya (I couldnt even embrace my dear son as I was quarantined). With special permission, I did go to KGMU in an ambulance after wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) kit. Yet, I didnt go near my family or for that near anyone. I could only watch my son from a distance as he left us, he says.

In the morning, the child was buried in the familys village on the outskirts of Lucknow.

I am still unable to get over the fact that he might have been alive if the private hospitals had attended to him, he said.

Manishs quarantine has ended but he hasnt resumed his duties while his wife is still inconsolable.

My wife continues to sob uncontrollably. I put duty over my family responsibilities first. I had lost my father sometime back and now this. Dont know how life will shape up now, he said.

The hospital authorities say they are in regular touch with the ward boy who was employed on a contractual basis four years back. He had been on Covid duty since February.
by Vladimir Rozanskij

No Victory Day parades to mark defeat of Nazism, due to the coronavirus. The only ex-Soviet country to celebrate solemnly is Belarus. President Lukashenko is dismissive of the epidemic. He is called "the suicidal president". The death of monks, bishops and deacons continues in the Russian Orthodox Church.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - May 9, marks Victory Day in Russia, the day when Soviet soldiers entered Berlin, one day after the Americans. Already under the Soviet regime the events of 1945 were solemnly remembered; but Putins Russia has exalted them as the foundation of national ideology.

One of the most important metropolitans who "survived" the epochal changes, the 90-year-old vicar for the Moscow province Juvenalij (Pojarkov) recalled: "Victories are the way we understand our history".

This year, the tragedy of the coronavirus prevented Russians from great displays of this national cult. There is not much beyond the virtual manifestations of the "Immortal Regiment" which shows photos of war veterans. Some underwater activists also brought the images to the bottom of the rivers and lakes of Russia. The total number of people infected with the virus is now almost 200,000, making Russia one of the first countries in the world affected by the pandemic, with a rate of 10,000 people infected and over 100 deaths a day, at least according to official reports.

The only ex-Soviet country where the military parade takes place today is Belarus. President Lukashenko continues to show total contempt for the danger of the pandemic, so much so that some call him the "suicidal president".

In truth, the Belarusians intend to show their strength right in front of Russia, in the face of the repeated political-diplomatic attempts of the last few years to "incorporate" the country, which the Russians consider their own "western territory". Lukashenko is also garnering support for his election campaign in this way. In the elections of August 9, he intends to surpass thirty years of domination of the country. The electoral committee, setting the date, promised "free and democratic" elections to which "western observers need not come".

Meanwhile in Russia the crisis of the Orthodox Church is getting deeper, grappling with continuous deaths due to the coronavirus. A physics student, Dmitrij Pelipenko, had left his studies in 2018 to devote himself to monastic life, entering the large Lavra of St. Sergius near Moscow, and the virus took him; hospitalized for the disease, he threw himself from the hospital window.

In the same Lavra, in the last few days four other ecclesiastics have died from the virus: the archimandrite Nikodim, the hygeneum Ignatij, the hierodeacon Kallist and the archimandrite Lavrentij (Postnikov), one of the oldest and most authoritative members of the monastic community, believed a "seer starets". The symptoms of the epidemic were found in 150 of the 170 monks residing in the Lavra. The monastery's chief physician who in turn became a monk also died on 5 May, and an Igumen Tikhon (Barsukov), 66 years old (photo 2). On May 7, Bishop Tikhon (Emeljanov) celebrated a funeral vigil of prayer for the dead on the territory of the monastery, buried without public participation (photo 1).

In Ivanovo, 300 km east of Moscow, the archimandrite Amvrosij died (Jurasov, photo 2). He served at the female convent of the Presentation, and was a very active priest in social communication for pastoral dissemination of Russian traditional spirituality and had been spiritual director of the Radonezh association, one of the most active Orthodox publishing groups, and among the first to open in the "religious revival" of the 1990s.

On May 7, the 55-year-old hierodeacon Dimitrij died in the patriarchal monastery of St. Daniel in Moscow; two other members of the monastery have been hospitalized for the virus, the monk Serafim and the hierodeacon Varakhiil, and two monks are in solitary confinement in their monastic cell. On May 8, three other well-known priests from Moscow were transferred to ICU, the protoierej Dmitry Smirnov (one of the most active in "denial" propaganda against the coronavirus), and the fathers Vladimir Sveshnikov and Nikolaj Krechetov. The loudest "denialist" preacher, protoierej Aleksandr Zakharov of the Tikhvinsk eparchy, has now deleted all his messages and videos on YouTube.
As Gov. Greg Abbott began Phase 2 of his reopening of the Texas economy Friday with strict regulations on businesses, questions persisted about how those rules will be enforced.

Court challenges are exposing weaknesses in the patchwork of state and local restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Abbotts decision Thursday to eliminate all criminal penalties for violating his executive orders related to COVID-19 drew complaints from some law enforcement officials.

Before the governors revision, people who violated the orders could be jailed for up to 180 days and fined up to $1,000.

Authorities across Texas had made only three arrests that drew wide media attention.

The Texas District and County Attorneys Association, in its weekly guidance to the states prosecutors, took exception to Abbotts deletion of criminal penalties.

If the governor is going to keep changing the tune he plays as he leads the state out of this pandemic, there is little incentive to put your own necks on the line to enforce an order that could be invalidated the next day, the association said.

At the current rate this news cycle is going, next week another order could make haircuts mandatory and then three days later the punishment will be reversed, the guidance said. Who knows anymore?

On Friday, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo lambasted Abbott for being hypocritical in criticizing the way local governments enforced his orders.

Acevedo was angered by comments the governor made during a Fox News interview Wednesday night.

Respectfully, @GregAbbott_TX, you shouldnt issue orders that include the jailing of violators to cover the science, just to turnaround & excoriate those who enforce YOUR executive order to cover the political backlash, Acevedo wrote on Twitter. Your actions are hypocritical.

Abbotts turnabout on criminal penalties was sparked by publicity over the arrest and jailing of Shelley Luther, a Dallas hair salon owner who refused to close her business when salons still were subject to lockdown  a restriction not eased until Friday. Shelley ripped up a cease-and-desist order.

On Tuesday, a state district judge sentenced her to seven days in jail and imposed a $7,000 fine for contempt of court.

On Thursday, Abbott blasted the judge and Dallas authorities for going overboard, and called Luthers jailing nonsensical.

After Abbott revised his executive order to retroactively eliminate criminal penalties, the Texas Supreme Court freed Luther on Thursday.

Abbott cited Luthers case and his intervention during a White House meeting with President Donald Trump on Thursday.

Appearing on Fox News the night before, the governor faulted officials in Dallas and Houston for being heavy-handed in enforcing coronavirus restrictions.

Abbott said  incorrectly  that Harris County had threatened to jail violators of a county order requiring the wearing of masks in public. The order calls for fining violators but not for jailing them.

Abbotts change of heart on criminal penalties frustrated some law enforcement officials whod relied on those sanctions as a deterrent as they manage the rollout of the governors plan to reopen the economy.

But top Republicans and a few law enforcement leaders praised the governors move as a victory for civil rights.

Jailing or fining our citizens for noncompliance with these orders was always a last resort, Montgomery County Sheriff Rand Henderson said. Safeguards and precautions were taken to ensure the freedoms and liberties of our citizens were not infringed upon.

Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, who along with Mayor Ron Nirenberg acted early and forcefully to impose social distancing and close businesses in response to the pandemic, said putting Luther behind bars was a terrible mistake.

Putting her in jail has probably hurt our cause as much as anything has, because now shes trotted out as a hero, that she believes in civil rights, Wolff said. So thats going to be a powerful signal  to a lot of people to ignore what were saying and even ignore what the governor said.

Wolff said he knew of no arrests in Bexar County for violations of coronavirus restrictions.

Weve told (authorities) to take a light touch  to give out warnings or to talk with (violators) to get them to change their behavior or, in the worst case scenario, give them a citation, he said.

To make something work like this, youve got to have voluntary compliance by your citizens and a willingness to do what you ask them to do.  You need to really persuade them, the county judge added.

State agencies such as the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation have said consistently that enforcement of the governors coronavirus rules would emphasize education and warnings.

That hasnt changed as a result of Abbotts recent changes to the orders.

We are still opening complaints and reviewing cases for violations of TDLR rules and cosmetology/barbering/massage therapy laws during the executive order, the agency said in response to questions Friday. We are continuing to investigate the consumer complaints that were lodged against Ms. Luther for violations of TDLR rules.

Shannon Emonds, a spokesman for the Texas District and County Attorneys Association, said the organization has recommended from early on that criminal enforcement of coronavirus orders be a last resort.

Theres a lot of good reasons for why weve been doing that the last two months and among those are that the rules can change at any time, and were seeing that firsthand here, Edmonds said.

Edmonds noted that Luther wasnt jailed for violating the governors orders but rather for contempt of court for ignoring a restraining order.

When people persist in refusing to comply, you eventually run out of alternatives, so thats where perhaps the absence of a jail sentence upon conviction might bring problems, Edmonds said.

Luther was among several businesspeople who filed suit last month to overturn stay-at-home orders.

This week, the Texas Supreme Court declined to take the case, saying lower courts should consider the plaintiffs claims first.

However, the justices hinted they were sympathetic to arguments challenging the constitutionality of coronavirus rules

When the present crisis began, perhaps not enough was known about the virus to second-guess the worst-case projections motivating the lockdowns, Justice James Blacklock. As more becomes known about the threat and about the less restrictive, more targeted ways to respond to it, continued burdens on constitutional liberties may not survive judicial scrutiny.

Staff Writer Catherine Dominguez contributed to this report.
Director general of police (DGP) SR Mardi on Saturday warned people who had returned from other states to strictly obey home quarantine orders.

In a video, Mardi said those found violating home or institutional quarantine can also be punished. The people of the state have suffered a lot during the last two months to protect themselves from the coronavirus and now people who have returning from other states should not undo their efforts by violating home quarantine, he said, maintaining that the people who had come from other states also had some responsibilities.

Mardi said multiple complaints had been received, including a couple who came to Una from Moga and some people who had come to Bilaspur from Delhi. These complaints have been forwarded to the concerned superintendent of police (SP) for further action.

As many as 18 cases of home quarantine violation have been registered in Shimla and 36 cases have been registered in Kangra district.

The DGP has advised people who have entered the state from other states to practice social distancing and also take precautionary measures such as wearing masks, using hand sanitisers and using separate utensils. He has also advised people to download the Aarogya Setu app.
Today is Europe Day, marking the Schuman Declaration of May 9, 1950, in which the idea of a European Union was first floated.

Five years after the end of World War II and the destructive results of nationalism, French foreign minister Robert Schuman proposed merging European economic interests so that war would become impossible, leading eventually to a united Europe.

Schuman noted "Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity".

There will be no public gatherings of EU citizens to mark Europe Day this year. An invisible enemy, the coronavirus, has been testing the EU in many different ways.

A united Europe has not always been on display but concrete measures to increase solidarity among European countries, and a willingness to see opportunity in the depths of this extraordinary crisis, can help lead us out of it and to a better place.

The lesser known of the EU agencies, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), is monitoring member states' levels of infection and their roadmaps to very gradually unwind the restrictions.

In only one member state is the situation deteriorating. In three member states infection rates are static. In the others, progress is being made as countries apply varying degrees of lockdown, limiting movement and shutting down all but essential services.

The Covid-19 crisis is now also a grave economic and social issue. Shutting down economic activity has meant member states need to support employees and employers through this crisis at huge cost to budgets. Much of the rule book has been torn up, if not shredded.

The EU has limited powers in health under existing EU treaties. Nonetheless, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has taken the reins in unfolding a series of measures. The EU has helped repatriate citizens, jointly procured ventilators and protective equipment for healthcare workers, built up a common reserve of ventilators and masks that are sent where most needed, and tackled export restrictions by some member states, including establishing priority lanes for the movement of goods.

Money has been provided for research into vaccines, testing and treatments, and also to small businesses and startups with innovative responses to the pandemic.

This past Monday, the EU and partners hosted a global conference to get countries to pledge funding for the development of a vaccine and treatments. Here we see the power of the EU: acting in the EU interest but also on a global basis. The focus is not just developing a vaccine but also to ensure such a vaccine will be available to all.

The financial arm of the union has also responded. Any available cash in the budget has been freed up. For example, regional development funding can be re-purposed for healthcare systems. The European Investment Bank is providing a 40bn emergency package to provide much-needed liquidity to small business.

The European Central Bank has launched a 750bn pandemic emergency programme, buying up public and private bonds to back up the euro. But the response to the Covid-19 crisis, which has resulted in an economic shutdown globally and in the EU, must not result in a fracturing of the EU single market or unbalanced state aids.

There is a worrying return to nationalism, first seen when member states tried initially to restrict exports of some products essential in the fight against Covid-19. It is also seen in the economic nationalism of a few member states urging companies to use or sell only locally produced food.

Some of the commentary around seasonal workers coming to Ireland to pick fruit smacked of "keeping the foreigners out", without awareness that without those skilled seasonal workers, fruit would rot on the plants.

A key response of the EU was to free up state-aid rules, to make it easier for countries to support their industries. Since that decision, over 1.8trn has been provided by member states to different sectors of their economies. Half of that significant sum was given by just one member state to assist its business community.

It is understandable that countries want to shore up companies and the people they employ in the face of a pandemic. But this has implications for the level playing field within the EU, when other EU countries cannot afford this rate of investment. This is why a co-ordinated EU recovery plan is so necessary.

The EU is at its best when countries help each other with concrete actions rather than compete. Germany has airlifted Italian Covid-19 patients for treatment. Teams of doctors from Romania and Norway have deployed to Italy through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. The EU Commission's Emergency Response Co-ordination Centre has facilitated the delivery of masks donated by Taiwan to Spain and Italy.

In 10 days' time we expect a massive financial package from the European Commission aiming to help the EU economy to recover.

This will mean using the EU budget to leverage massive funding from financial markets to use for loans and grants to member states hardest hit. The basis of the plan centres on the EU's multi-annual budget, the MFF. Before the crisis hit, a few frugal member states had blocked progress and were refusing to give additional money for new challenges, including climate change and the Just Transition (so that people are not left behind in the move to a greener economy). We will soon know if they have softened their cough in light of the need for a massive financial recovery plan.

The EU can help us recover from this crisis. But member states must be prepared to give the EU the necessary power and resources so it can act effectively.

The EU can do more - a lot more - if European citizens so desire: deeper co-operation on health; stronger solidarity in the eurozone; quicker and more effective responses to crises.

The European Parliament intended for a Conference on the Future of Europe to start on May 9, 2020.

This was to be an opportunity for citizens from across the continent, of all ages and backgrounds, to come together to discuss how the EU should develop over the coming years. The Irish example, the Citizens' Assembly, was often mentioned as a possible model for the conference. For obvious reasons, the conference has been put on hold.

Seventy years after the Schuman Declaration and its call for a united Europe, the need for a conference is now more urgent than ever.
In a press communique issued on the 9th may 2020. the Government of Mauritius has taken note of the list of High Risk Third Countries issued by the European Commission on 07 May 2020 and reiterates its commitment to implement the FATF Action Plan at the earliest.

The Government of Mauritius has taken note of the list of High Risk Third Countries issued by the European Commission on 07 May 2020. It must be highlighted that the list is not yet final and needs to be submitted to the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers for approval, following which it will then become effective on 1 October 2020.

It must be highlighted that the list is not yet final and needs to be submitted to the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers for approval, following which it will then become effective on 1 October 2020.

Unlike in the past when there were always fruitful consultations in line with EU practice prior to any major decision being taken, the present decision is contrary to the spirit of dialogue and partnership which binds Mauritius and the EU. As soon as we took cognizance of the proposed listing of Mauritius through a press article published on 05 May 2020, Mauritius initiated actions to open a dialogue with the European Commission.

We understand that the EU listing is a direct consequence of the listing of Mauritius by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on its list of Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring. It must be recalled that the Government of Mauritius has, in February 2020, given a high level political commitment to the FATF to implement the Action Plan within agreed timelines and is taking all necessary measures to honour its commitment.

It must be highlighted that under the FATF Action Plan, Mauritius does not have technical compliance issues. The Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) legal framework has been extensively revamped and as at date, Mauritius is largely compliant or compliant with 35 out of the 40 Recommendations as compared to 14 largely compliant or compliant ratings at the time of the publication of its Mutual Evaluation Report in September 2018. More importantly, Mauritius has achieved the FATF expectations with respect to what the FATF has termed the Big Six Recommendations that is, the criminalization of the money laundering offence, the criminalization of the terrorism financing offence, the implementation of a framework for targeted financial sanctions, customer due diligence, record keeping and the reporting of suspicious transactions.

In its public statement the FATF, has identified the areas in which Mauritius has to demonstrate an increase in the level of effectiveness of its AML/CFT system. This situation is not unique to Mauritius. Other countries including FATF members, which have been assessed so far have yet to achieve a high or substantial level of effectiveness in the same areas.

Mauritius reiterates its commitment to implement the FATF Action Plan at the earliest. In fact, despite the sanitary curfew prevailing in Mauritius since 20 March 2020, the Mauritian Authorities delivered on their commitment and a first progress report was sent to the FATF on the agreed date. Regrettably, the FATF process has been halted due to the Covid 19 situation and the progress report could not be assessed.

Mauritius has obtained technical assistance from the EU funded AML/CFT Global Facility and the German Government through the German Development Agency, the GIZ to support the implementation of the FATF Action Plan. Even during the sanitary curfew, Mauritius has continued to work extensively with the technical assistance providers. The Government of Mauritius reiterates its high level political commitment to implement the action plan of the FATF at the earliest so as to exit the FATF and the EU lists and reassures the global investment community that Mauritius remains a credible and trusted jurisdiction.
The methodology behind testing in huge numbers is clear -- it allows for governments to grasp the reality of how many people have COVID-19 and work to isolate and reduce spread. However, as the two month mark approaches since the start of the pandemic, the province of Ontario is still struggling to hit its testing goals of 16,000 tests per day. The disappointing results led to Premier Doug Ford taking aim at local medical health officers for not doing their parts.

Im calling them out right now, youve got to pick up the pace, Ford said on Tuesday afternoon during his daily news conference. "Some just aren't performing...We need to hold these people accountable."

Last week, Ontarios chief medical officer, Dr. David Williams indicated that through the amalgamation of labs which can test, the province could process up to 19,525 tests per day. However, the average amount of testing in the province lingered just near 14,000, and took a significant dip to just over 10K earlier this week.

The buck stops with the person in charge

The pointed shots by Ford at local officials did not sit well with Ontario Liberal leader, Steven Del Duca who said regardless of where and why the failures are occurring, the person at the top needs to take accountability.

Ultimately the buck stops with the person in charge and thats the Premier of Ontario, and it would have been far more responsible to acknowledge the issue and explain it and accept responsibility, said Del Duca.

Of the 34 medical health officers, many are being regarded as heroes within their community as theyve been flung into a tough position, and Del Duca notes that targeting those same people is a bad look for the Premier.

I thought the remarks were really disappointing, its exactly what you dont expect to hear from a leader in the midst of a crisis, he said.

Ford had said that at least half of the 34 chief medical officers were knocking it out of the park, but then you see the other 17, the tier that looks ski slope going down. Ford indicated he was going to personally call the 17 officers and hold them to account.

Story continues

Del Duca along with his counterpart at the NDP, Andrea Horwath have both pressed the government on delays in testing in comparison to other provinces.

Ive expressed concern about Ontario's seemingly lack of inability to hit our daily capacity of testing, but the way to deal with that is to show leadership, not to complain about others, not to throw them under the bus, he said.

Ive expressed concern about Ontario's seemingly lack of inability to hit our daily capacity of testing, but the way to deal with that is to show leadership, not to complain about others, not to throw them under the bus." Ontario Liberal leader Steven Del Duca

Through increased testing, Ontario has been able to significantly reduce the amount of tests backlogged to only 6,000. Originally, the lack of supplies, lack of trained bodies and were all problems for Ontario, but now entering week eight, Dr. Williams said the province needs to figure it out.

The problem that we have identified has still not been rectified by the laboratory network system, where there was the community labs have received many of the samples being taken by the health units, but they have stayed out in those community labs, like last week, because theres no system for moving those around on the weekend so then they come in all on Tuesday and Wednesday and then our numbers go back up again, he said. "We don't need excuses ... we need solutions," Williams said.

Explaining his comments

While Ford didn't openly name anyone one person or region, his office said he was explicitly referring to testing at long-term care homes. While the province is in charge of testing, they dont actually conduct who gets the testing, and that is determined by the regional health authorities.

Ill tell you right now, Im disappointed in the chief medical officers in some regions, said Ford. Start picking up your socks and start doing testing.

On Thursday afternoon, Ford offered a different explanation of his comments, indicating that he was trying to stress how important cohesion is at the time.

What I was getting at on Tuesday was that all of us need to work together, and everyone has to be rolling in the same direction, and some werent performing the numbers others were, he said.

TORONTO, ON- MARCH 9 - After winning the Liberal leadership convention over the weekend Steven Del Duca sits in the members gallery as Question Period begins at Queen's Park in Toronto. March 9, 2020. (Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

The criticism of Ford for a lack of testing is warranted, according to Del Duca, who noted that when things are good, the Premier is the first person to take credit, but when things go awry he has a tendency to point the finger.

You cant afford that kind of cherry picking, you cant afford passing the puck, theres obviously an issue and weve been lagging behind testing per capita since late March, said Del Duca.

But, Ford was insistent that he didnt want to single any one individual out to make them feel responsible for the lag in testing.

I dont want to point out anyone one individual, the system has to keep going, and as Ive mentioned before the people want us to keep pushing the system, he said. Im the number one person that is being held accountable.

Most of the provinces and countries around the world that have been able to flatten the curve have ramped up their testing numbers, which along with contract tracing has helped reduce spread.

We have to make sure the whole team keeps pushing to get these tests done, the only way we can get a handle on this is to have a very strong testing program along with contract tracing, as well, said Ford.

No one knows why Ontario is behind

Del Duca agrees with Ford on the importance of widespread testing and having contact tracing systems in place, but without either in place, the venture of reopening society is one he sees as a frightening proposition at this time.

Nobody knows the exact reason why Ontario is lagging behind, but it is particularly scary given the fact were talking about reopening society and the economy and society, he said.

Instead of pointing and trying to assign blame, Del Duca wished that Ford had been more transparent about why testing is delayed, especially given the fact its a provincial jurisdiction.

Its really important to provide clear and transparent data to the public, but Doug Ford chose not to do that, said Del Duca.

During the pandemic, Del Duca doesnt have to look far for strong leadership as he admits hes paid close attention to how New York Governor Andrew Cuomos has been able to take responsibility when things go awry, and explain transparently why things are going poorly.

Weve seen other leaders in nearby places like New York where Governor Cuomo, who throughout this pandemic has provided exemplary leadership for his state, and when they havent hit their marks, I have yet to hear Andrew Cuomo throw anyone under the bus, said Del Duca.

Instead of targeting health officials, Del Duca thinks Ford could have played his cards a little better had he been honest with Ontarians about whats causing the testing lag and how he intends to fix it.

I think there would be a lot of support and understanding from the people of Ontario if he just leveled with us about the challenges and indicated how he planned to deal with it, he said.

Putting partisanship aside for the greater good

A variety of polling numbers indicate Fords favourability numbers are on the rise during the pandemic, which Del Duca believes is large in part due to a disastrous first two years which included the Buck-A-Beer fiasco and #PlateGate.

Given the performance he had demonstrated for the first two years expectations of Premier Ford were probably pretty low amongst most Ontarians given his cuts and decisions that seemed reckless, he said.

Other than trying to be a virulent opposition to Ford during this time, Del Duca said hes had multiple conversations with the Premier, and at times even offered suggestions on what to do. While at the federal level partisanship between Liberal and Conservatives seems to be never ending, Del Duca is opting to bring a collaborative spirit into politics during the pandemic.

People dont want to see crass partisanship, and when youre Premier, Prime Minister or Mayor the entirety of the attention is yours anyways, I just want to try to make it better for Ontarians he said.

While there is still a lot of concern on Del Ducas end regarding testing numbers and how resources were deployed to long-term care homes, he feels at this time his voice is better served trying to create positive dialogue during the pandemic.

At the end of this day, this is still a moment where we as political people need to find a way to work together because its what the people of Ontario expect us to do, said Del Duca.
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Many American states have begun to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic, but shopping malls all across the country still resemble ghost towns.

Known for being thriving social hubs and a key part of the American economy, dozens of malls remained abandoned this week, despite opening back up for businesses.

In Florida, Georgia and Texas, there were empty parking lots, deserted food courts and roped-off play areas as people continue to stay at home during the COVID-19 outbreak.

While both President Donald Trump and state governors have been talking about the importance of reopening the economy, it seems many are still fearful of heading out to shop.

As of Friday afternoon, more than 1.3 million Americans have tested positive to COVID-19, and 78,318 have died.

Anxiety about the virus is coupled with soaring unemployment numbers, with many people now without the disposable income required to shop at the mall.

The unemployment rate currently stands at 14.7 percent, the worst since the Depression era. More than 20 million people lost their jobs in the month of April alone.

Larry Kudlow, the White House's national economic council director, on Friday even suggested employment figures could get worse as the pandemic wears on.

'I don't think this pandemic contraction has yet fully run its course,' he stated. 'This is a number full of heartbreak and hardship. There's no way to get around it.'

Scroll down for video

NAPLES, FLORIDA: Many American states have begun to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic, but shopping malls all across the country still resemble ghost towns. A near empty parking lot at the Coastland Center is pictured on Friday. Only a handful of the 4,500 spaces were taken

NAPLES, FLORIDA: While both President Trump and state governors have been talking about the importance of reopening the economy, it seems many are still fearful of heading out to shop. Coastland Center (pictured) has 122 retail stores, and can usually accommodate thousands of shoppers

ATLANTA, GEORGIA: Shopping centers have largely reopened in Georgia, but many shops inside remain closed. Lennox Square (pictured) boasts 188 stores - but few are currently open

AUSTIN, TEXAS: A lone man at a kiosk is seen inside the Barton Creek Square Mall on Wednesday. The mall boasts over 100 stores and has been operating since 1981

YUBA, CALIFORNIA: On Wednesday, Yuba County in Northern California defied Gov. Gavin Newsom's orders to remain closed, opening Yuba-Sutter Mall. However, only a handful of shoppers ventured inside, and many stores inside were still closed

FRANKLIN, TENNESSEE: The CoolSprings Galleria shopping mall reopened with new protective measures on Monday - but many of the 165 stores inside, including Apple, remain closed

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA: Many malls in Arizona were opened Friday. Pictured: a handful of brave shoppers make their way through a near-deserted outdoor mall in Scottsdale

In Florida on Friday, the Coastland Center shopping mall in Naples was eerily quiet, despite being open to the public.

Gov Ron DeSantis allowed most malls in the state to reopen on Monday, as long as they operated at a 25 per cent capacity.

But it seems most stores won't be turning people away for fear of overcrowding, with only a handful of shoppers seen inside.

Many stores inside the facility remained shuttered, and play areas for children were blocked off.

Coastland Center had spaced out seats in its food court to respect social distancing, but given how quiet is was, there was no risk of coming within six foot of a fellow shopper.

NAPLES, FLORIDA: In Florida on Friday, the Coastland Center shopping mall in Naples was eerily quiet, despite being open to the public

NAPLES, FLORIDA: Coastland Center had spaced out seats in its food court to respect social distancing, but given how quiet is was, there was no risk of coming within six foot of a fellow shopper

NAPLES, FLORIDA: Some sinks were blocked off in public bathrooms

NAPLES, FLORIDA: Play areas for children have been shut off and many stores were still closed

NAPLES, FLORIDA: One young shopper appeared disappointed to see that play areas

There were 3.2 million new claims for unemployment benefits filed in the week ending May 2, according to a Labor Department report released on Thursday

FACT BOX TITLE President Donald Trump says the US economy losing a staggering 20.5 million jobs in April - the steepest plunge since the 1930s Great Depression - was 'fully expected'. The Labor Department's closely watched monthly employment report released on Friday showed the unemployment rate spiked to 14.7 percent last month. 'It's fully expected, there's no surprise,' Trump told Fox & Friends just moments after the report was released. 'Somebody said: "Oh, look at this". Even the Democrats aren't blaming me for that. What I can do is I can bring it back. Those jobs will all be back, and they'll be back very soon. And next year we'll have a phenomenal year.' Larry Kudlow, the White House's national economic council director, suggested employment figures could get worse as the pandemic wears on. 'I don't know if it's as bad as it gets,' Kudlow told Fox Business Network's Varney & Co on Friday. 'I don't think this pandemic contraction has yet fully run its course. Advertisement

Meanwhile, many shopping centers in Georgia reopened on Thursday, but there appeared to be tepid interest from the public.

Only a few shoppers were seen inside the Lennox Square Mall in Atlanta. They sensibly donned masks and gloves as they headed out to stock up,

The mall's owners had also closed off some seating and tables with blue tape so that consumers would be able to maintain a safe social distance.

Scenes of desertion inside the once thriving malls come as the nation becomes increasingly divided in its response to the pandemic.

Anti-lockdown protesters have been marching on capitol buildings in recent weeks to demand an end to lockdowns, which they say quashes their liberty and irreparably damages businesses, jobs and the economy

They have been met by counter-protesters and the pleas of medical experts who insist social distancing is working and that returning to business as usual too soon will trigger a renewed spike in deaths and infections.

White House guidelines recommend states can begin easing lockdown restrictions when they have seen a 14-day trajectory in new cases or positive test rates.

But at least 17 reopening states including Alabama, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah have not seen this downward trend, according to analysis by the Associated Press.

Some states have even reopened while daily cases and positive test rates for the deadly virus have continued to climb.

NAPLES, FLORIDA: Seating areas were deserted inside the Coastland Center

NAPLES, FLORIDA: While some stores, including Verizon, were opened back up, many remained shuttered. Game areas were also blocked off

NAPLES, FLORIDA: Clorox wipes and hand sanitizer could be seen set up at the front of this game center

NAPLES, FLORIDA: With many people now out of work, they are without the disposable income needed

NAPLES, FLORIDA: Anxiety about the virus is coupled with soaring unemployment numbers, leaving many shopping malls all-but-empty

States are reopening but not everyone is going out: Americans are spending the majority of their time at home, eating take-away Mexican and shopping at Home Depot, new cell phone data shows

The majority of Americans appear to still be adhering to COVID-19 stay-at-home orders even though lockdown measures have been lifted in most US states, new cell phone data shows.

The GPS data, compiled by SafeGraph, shows that the number of people staying home nearly doubled from March 1 when the first COVID-19 deaths were recorded compared to mid-April when the US experienced its peak week of fatalities.

Since then, the data shows that the number of people staying home has only decreased slightly - even as the majority of states started lifting restrictions to allow businesses to reopen.

More than 90 percent of people on average stayed home in mid-April when the US recorded its peak week of COVID-19 deaths. As of April 30 when the White House's social distancing guidelines expired, an average of 89 percent of Americans were still staying home.

While Americans are spending the majority of their time at home, data shows that when they do venture outside they're predominantly visiting just parks, supermarkets and pharmacies.

Data specific to foot traffic shows that while there was a steep decline in mid-March when stay-at-home orders went into effect, there has since been a spike in visits to certain stores like Home Depot.

Visits to other stores like McDonald's, Walmart and Target are now slowly increasing to levels not seen since before the outbreak in March.

The data shows that people are still steering clear of movie theaters, airports, bars and shopping malls.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA: Many shopping centers in Georgia reopened on Thursday, but there appeared to be tepid interest from the public

ATLANTA, GEORGIA: Shoppers could safely space out as they strolled through the near-empty Lennox Square Mall

ATLANTA, GEORGIA: As in many other malls across the country, some stores inside Lennox Square chose to stay closed

ATLANTA, GEORGIA: Shoppers sensibly donned masks while out at the mall

ATLANTA, GEORGIA: The mall's owners had also closed off some seating and tables with blue tape so that consumers would be able to maintain a safe social distance

DOUGLASVILLE, GEORGIA: Many stores were back open in Arbor Place Mall on Monday, but there few patrons

TAMPA, FLORIDA: A handful of shoppers are seen inside the International Mall on Wednesday

TAMPA, FLORIDA: Sensible shoppers donned masks as they made their way through International Mall
Still looking for masks?

Roof4Roof might have you covered, as the residential and commercial remodeling contractor is planning on giving away 10,000 masks on Saturday to Stop the Spread of the coronavirus.

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," Roof4Roof founder Chuck Anania said in a press release. "We realize that we still have months of uncertainty and sacrifices ahead, but we will remain safe, vigilant and Jersey Strong.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Businesses that are open | Homepage

The Carlstadt-based contractor has already given away 3,000 masks since Wednesday, and will be giving the additional 10,000 away on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at five different locations along Route 17.

The stations will be at the Roof4Roof main office at 520 Route 17 South, Lowes East Rutherford at 150 Route 17 North, as well as Steves Steakhouse, Allied Building Supply and a strip mall at 95 Route 17 South.

Anania said Roof4Roof also has 15,000 more masks on the way to be distributed in two to three weeks.

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

Evan Slavit may be reached at eslavit@njadvancemedia.com.
ZANZIBAR  Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous island to Tanzania has reported 29 new Covid-19 cases, bringing total to 134.

For Zanzibar alone, confirmed cases of the pandemic has now reached 134, an addition of twenty-nine new patients from 105 confirmed cases announced on April 26, Health Minister Hamad Rashid Mohammed told reporters.

Muhammad also reported the Island has discharged ten people who had gained full recovery from coronavirus raising the total recoveries to 16.

Meanwhile, World Health Organization (WHO) has chided Tanzania for its ongoing lack of cooperation and transparency in the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

After days of silence, officials released its latest update on the number of COVID-19 infections on Wednesday last week.

Almost all African countries release daily reports, including their current number of infections, fatalities and recoveries.

In the last update ten days ago, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said the country of 56 million people had now recorded 480 cases of COVID-19 and 16 deaths.

The tally at the time represented a 69% jump in just five days.

Majaliwa offered no explanation for the governments silence on coronavirus numbers, though he cautioned against the tendency of some people to issue false statistics which leads to unnecessary unrest in society.

Tanzania recorded its first coronavirus case on March 16. President John Magufuli has been increasingly criticized at home and abroad for his response to the pandemic after the number of confirmed cases rose sharply within a month.

Meanwhile, Tanzania says it has received its first shipment of Madagascars self-proclaimed, plant-based cure for coronavirus, despite warnings from the World Health Organization that its efficacy is unproven.

The announcement on Friday came days after Madagascar said it would begin selling the herbal concoction  known as Covid-Organics  and that several African countries had already put in orders.

Related
Under such orders, she said, my client could write a nasty letter to everyone he knows, but hes not allowed to put it up on social media. You can whisper in your synagogue, make nasty remarks about your ex-wife, but you cant put it up on Facebook.

Ms. Shaks attorney, Richard M. Novitch, said the ruling had an immediate, negative effect, prompting Mr. Shak to resume his postings on social media. Within the last 24 hours of the Shak case being issued by the S.J.C., hes right back at it, blowing up on social media, he said. Theres nothing that stops him.

While Mr. Novitch called the decision constitutionally sound, he said that common sense would suggest that children should be insulated from the combat between parents.

It will give license to a lot of bad actors to say what they want, regardless of where and when and the circumstances, he said.

The case underscored the role social media can play in modern divorce, as dueling parties try to win support from their circle of acquaintances.

Shortly after filing for divorce and seeking to remove Mr. Shak from their shared home, Ms. Shak filed a motion to prohibit him from posting disparaging remarks about her on social media. Two family court judges complied, with the second, George F. Phelan, issuing an order preventing both Mr. and Ms. Shak from posting any disparagement of the other party on social media until their son reached the age of 14.

Judge Phelans ruling prevented both spouses from using four specific expletives, as well as other pejoratives involving any gender, noting that the Court acknowledges the impossibility of listing herein all of the opprobrious vitriol and their permutations within the human lexicon.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

After returning from a trip to Colorado in mid-March, University of New Mexico Hospital nurse Marie Sparks had to be tested for the coronavirus before going back to work in the hospitals intensive care unit.

Sparks didnt have the coronavirus. But something else took her breath away.

A $1,500 bill.

While patients shouldnt have to share the cost of COVID-19 tests and treatments under state and federal orders, several UNMH employees have recently received bills after taking tests that were mandatory in order for them to return to work.

I feel like theyre taking advantage and capitalizing on the system in place, Sparks said earlier this week after initially being told that they could put her on a payment plan. I feel like UNM is making money off us.

Hospital officials reversed course Friday.

They acknowledged that the bills were sent out, but said they will be adjusted so employees dont have to pay anything out of pocket.

Mark Rudi, a hospital spokesman, said COVID-related bills have only been sent to hospital employees, and not other patients.

The response to COVID-19 has been very swift and fluid with updates in guidelines to lab testing, diagnostic coding and benefit coding. We are working with Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico to identify impacted members and adjust claims for members being billed for visits related to a COVID-19 test, Rudi said in a statement. UNMH remains committed to covering the cost of COVID-19 testing and related treatment for our members who are covered by the UNMH health plan.

Mandatory test

Sparks quarantined herself in her home for days after returning from a trip in the early days of the pandemic. After reporting the trip to her supervisors, she was told that she would also need to be tested for COVID before returning to work. Her current assignment is to care for COVID patients who are in intensive care.

She was tested on March 21. Recently, she received a bill for a little more than $1,500.

After getting the bill, she checked with her supervisors and UNMH Patient Financial Services. Sparks said she was initially told that while she isnt being charged for the COVID portion of the test, the hospital also tested her for respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, and possibly other viruses.

Sparks said she didnt know that she was going to be tested for any viruses other than COVID when she gave her sample.

She said she was initially told she would have to pay for the additional tests and the hospital asked if she wanted to go on a payment plan.

No charges for tests, treatments

Russell Toal, the superintendent of insurance in New Mexico, on March 12 issued an order that prohibited patients from having to share any costs for COVID tests and treatment. Toals order also applies to health services for influenza and pneumonia.

Part of the reason, Toal said in the order, was that such costs could discourage patients from seeking testing or treatment, potentially causing additional public health problems in the state.

Melissa Gutierrez, a spokeswoman for Toals office, said since that time the office has been in communication with health insurers to make sure patients dont receive bills in violation of the orders.

The office has set up a hotline to try to resolve complaints about billing problems, she said.

Jodi McGinnis-Porter, a state government spokeswoman, said the hotline has fielded several calls surrounding COVID billing issues but so far state officials have been able to resolve the problems.

While patients dont have to share the cost, hospitals are creating unique bills for every patient who is tested or treated for the coronavirus, said Brad Cook, the chief revenue officer for Presbyterian Healthcare Services.

There might be some misconceptions out there that health care providers arent billing insurance companies for this. We absolutely are, Cook said. Insurance companies are required to pay for the services and waive the cost share.

Cook said at Presbyterian, if an insurance company incorrectly sends a bill back to a patient for a COVID test or treatment, the hospital is intervening on behalf of the patient and not sending the bill along.
: Four COVID-19 deaths were reported in Tamil Nadu on Saturday with the state recording 526 more positive cases, including a five day old baby, taking the total number to 6,535, the health department said.

The deceased were all women, with three hailing from the city and one from Ramanathapuram.

With this, the death toll has gone up to 44, a health department bulletin said.

A 58-year-old woman from the city passed away on May 8 while a 67-year-old with co-morbid conditions breathed her last late Friday.

Another 73-year-old woman from the city died on May 8 while a 70-year-old from Ramanathapuram died on Saturday at Sivagangai Medical College.

Of the total of 526 positive cases, Chennai continued to lead the numbers with 279, followed by Villupuram 67 and Chengalpattu at 40.

The bulletin also said none of the 526 COVID-19 positive patients were primary cases and all were contacts of these people.

Of this number 360 were men and 166 women.

The baby was among 18 children aged below 10 years who tested positive for COVID-19, the bulletin said.

In stepped up screening on Saturday, a total of 13,254 people were tested in 53 centres across the state.

The bulletin said 1,867 positive cases are linked to Chennai's Koyambedu market, identified as a hotspot.

While Chennai has 3,330 cases till date, 10 districts saw the number of positive cases crossing the three digit mark.

According to the bulletin, 1,824 patients have been discharged after treatment.

The department advised people to strictly adhere to health and travel advisories issued by the government.

"Public should follow the cough etiquette by covering their faces with handkerchiefs or towels and frequently wash their hands with soap and water", the department said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Photo: (Photo : From Piedmont Healthcare Facebook Account)

The global pandemic changed things for Monique Cook and her family as she welcomes her twins.

In her eighth month of pregnancy, Cook started to feel like she cannot breathe. She was sitting at her home when her contraction came two minutes apart. "I knew something was wrong," she said.

Due to the contractions and difficulty in breathing, she decided to rush to the Piedmont Atlanta Hospital. What shocked Cook and her family was that she tested positive for the coronavirus.

She was advised that she will undergo a cesarean section. During the entire period that things were being explained to her by medical staff, all Cook remembered was she was only trying to breathe. She was asked to count down from ten; then everything went black.

Waking up from a coma

Cook was in a coma for five days.

When she woke up, she looked down, and she no longer has a big stomach, meaning there were no babies. Cook described this as the worst part of waking up for her.

She kept on asking nurses where her babies are. A young nurse responded to cook that Cook's twins are fine.

Carrying the baby inside the womb is the essence of the waiting game for mom. However, Monique was not able to do that when she woke up. She was also not allowed to see her husband, Andre, because she was still recovering from the coronavirus.

Through Baby Pictures

While lying in a hospital bed, Cook had to make do of baby pictures to ease her sadness. Her husband sent photos of her nine-day-old babies to one of the nurses. This nurse even went the extra mile by printing the photos of Cook's baby girls.

The initial reaction of Cook was, "These are my babies." She was also emotional when she saw the photos of her lovely girls, August Sky and Angel Renee, and started crying.

Mom is Back Home With Her Family

After recovering from the coronavirus, Cook is now spending time at home with her four children.

She has two other children named Isis, seventeen years old, and Winter, four years old.

Cook and her family are very thankful for all the support that they got from the medical staff at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital.

For Cook, this is a wonderful blessing, especially since her story could have ended up differently. The number of deaths from the COVID-19 keeps on increasing every day, and Cook is one of those who survived.

Mom shares hope

Cook went through an extraordinary phase in her life. Giving birth could have been the highlight of her year, but surviving the coronavirus twisted it.

Amid this pandemic, Cook believes that everyone should hear a message of hope from someone who went through it all. She said that despite everything that is happening, people should remember that "this is going to be okay."

She also reminded everyone that we should all look forward to life after this pandemic.
The Lagos State Government, on Saturday, announced that Lagos Mainland has the highest coronavirus cases in the State. The list of...

The Lagos State Government, on Saturday, announced that Lagos Mainland has the highest coronavirus cases in the State.









The list of areas with the highest number of confirmed cases were released by Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi.





According to him, Lagos mainland tops the list, followed by Alimosho, Oshodi, Mushin, Ikeja, Kosofe and Isolo LGA.





Abayomi said the State was using the data to plan its strategies and where to place increased surveillance and isolation capacity.

Recall that Lagos on Friday confirmed 176 cases as the country recorded 386 COVID-19 cases.




WASHINGTON  Vice President Mike Pences press secretary has the coronavirus, the White House said Friday, making her the second person who works at the White House complex known to test positive for the virus this week.

President Donald Trump, who publicly identified the affected Pence aide, said he was not worried about the virus spreading in the White House. Nonetheless, officials said they were stepping up safety protocols for the complex.

Pence spokeswoman Katie Miller, who tested positive Friday, had been in recent contact with Pence but not with the president. She is married to Stephen Miller, a top Trump adviser. The White House had no immediate comment on whether Stephen Miller had been tested or if he was still working out of the White House.

Katie Miller had tested negative Thursday, a day before her positive result.

This is why the whole concept of tests arent necessarily great, Trump said. The tests are perfect but something can happen between a test where its good and then something happens.

The positive test for the senior Pence aide came one day after White House officials confirmed that a member of the military serving as one of Trumps valets had tested positive for COVID-19.

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

Six people who had been in contact with Miller were scheduled to fly with Pence on Friday to Des Moines, Iowa, on Air Force Two. They were removed from the flight just before it took off, according to a senior administration official.

None of those people were exhibiting symptoms, but were asked to deplane so they could be tested out of an abundance of caution, a senior administration official told reporters traveling with Pence. All six later tested negative, the White House said.

The official said staff in the West Wing are tested regularly but much of Pence's staff  which works next door in the Executive Office Building  are tested less frequently. Katie Miller was not on the plane and had not been scheduled to be on the trip.

Pence, who is tested on a regular basis, was tested Friday.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said the administration was stepping up mitigation efforts already recommended by public health experts and taking other unspecified precautions to ensure the safety of the president.

Meadows said the White House was probably the safest place that you can come, but he was reviewing further steps to keep Trump and Pence safe.

The White House requires daily temperature checks of anyone who enters the White House complex and has encouraged social distancing among those working in the building. The administration has also directed regular deep cleaning of all work spaces. Anyone who comes in close proximity to the president and vice president is tested daily for COVID-19.

Weve already put in a few protocols that were looking at, obviously, to make sure that the president and his immediate staff stay safe. But its not just the president, its all the workers that are here ... on a daily basis," Meadows said.

Trump's valet's case marked the first known instance where a person who has come in close proximity to the president has tested positive since several people present at his private Florida club were diagnosed with COVID-19 in early March. The valet tested positive Wednesday.

The White House was moving to shore up its protection protocols to protect the nations political leaders. Trump said some staffers who interact with him closely would now be tested daily. Pence told reporters Thursday that both he and Trump would now be tested daily as well.

--The Associated Press

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A viral video of a cat has surfaced on social media and it is "saddened to see India's migrants stranded in the cities and desperate to return to their villages".

With a 'heavy heart', Billooji's open letter on the recent migrant crisis is actually a 2-minute long video.

The video starts with the cat 'meowing' at humans. "These are the most uncertain times of life," Billooji says. Talking about the plight faced by these migrant labourers at large, the cat says with the lockdown they have been left without jobs, wages and will soon run out of ration.

The cat also takes a jibe at the government for doing little to help better the condition of the hundreds of the stranded migrants. The feline then says, "The governing and the non-governing hoomans (humans) have also had a catfight about who is going to pay for your journey home."

At the end Billooji says, "I am an atheist so I can't pray for you." However, the feline assures that every migrant is in its "meows, my growls, my yowls, my breath and my spirit." It signs off in its avatar: "Yours Billoji."

The video that has been uploaded on YouTube reads, "A Letter for the Moving Hoomans or 'Migrants'".

Meanwhile, one of the survivors of the Aurangabad train accident on Friday said the group of migrant workers had applied for e-transit passes a week ago but decided to walk towards their home state after not receiving any response from authorities.

Sixteen workers were killed on Friday morning after they stopped for rest on the railway tracks in Aurangabad. They had walked 45 km from Jalna to Aurangabad, and were going towards Bhusawal, another 120 km, on foot in hopes of catching a train.
A sky-high tribute is coming to the Capital Region area Tuesday.

An LC-130 "Skibird" assigned to the New York Air National Guard's 109th Airlift Wing will conduct a 12-city regional flyover May 12 to salute medical professionals, first responders, and essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the state Division of Military and Naval Affairs, "Skier 95" will take flight beginning at 11 a.m. and then pass over Amsterdam, Fonda, Johnstown, Gloversville, Utica, Rome, Lake George, Glens Falls, Saratoga, Troy, Albany and Schenectady. The plane will dip down to 500 feet as it passes over the hospitals, the division said.

The flight is part of the U.S. Air Force's nationwide salute. Air Force Salutes involves local Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve units. The overall effort is called Operational American Resolve. The flight also demonstrates that the Air Force "maintains the readiness required to defend the United States."

"This flyover is a way for the men and women of the 109th Airlift Wing, and the New York Air National Guard, to say 'thanks' to the essential workers, medical personnel and first responders who are there for all New Yorkers during this time," said Col. Michele Kilgore, commander of the 109th Airlift Wing, in a statement. "We live in the communities they serve and we deeply respect the work they do for all of us every day. "

The ski-equipped aircraft are designed for operations in the Arctic and Antarctic and are marked with orange wings and tails so they can be located if they are forced to land on a white ice field.

Skier 95 will take off from Stratton Air National Guard Base at 11 a.m. and head west at a speed of 241 mph. The flight path will take the aircraft over these locations:

St. Mary's Hospital, Amsterdam, at 11:04 a.m.;

Fonda, at 11:06;

Johnstown, at 11:07

Nathan Littauer Hospital, Gloversville, at 11:08

St. Elizabeth Hospital, Utica, at 11:25

Griffiss International Airport, Rome (the site of the Eastern Air Defense Sector) at 11:27;

Lake George, at 11:49;

Glens Falls Hospital, at 11:51;

Saratoga Hospital at 11:55;

St. Mary's Hospital and Samaritan Hospital, Troy, at 12:02;

The State Capitol ,Albany Medical Center, St. Peters Hospital, Stratton Veterans Administration Medical Center, Albany, at 12:06;

Ellis Hospital, Schenectady, at 12:13.

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

Six Airmen will crew the aircraft:

Maj. Brandon Caldwell, from Broadalbin, aircraft commander;

Lt. Col. Matthew Sala, from Halfmoon, copilot;

Maj. Jefferson Wood, from Burnt Hills, navigator;

Senior Master Sgt. Christopher Collins, from Stillwater, flight engineer;

Chief Master Sgt. Raymond Morgan, from Galway, the loadmaster;

Lt. Col. Kimberly Peregrim, from Latham, flight surgeon.

"Our crew is honored and humbled to have an opportunity to show our support and respect for the people on the frontline," Caldwell said. "We are very grateful for our first responders, medical professionals, and the essential workers that are getting us through this difficult time. They are the best of America."
Michigan is one of six states getting a shipment of remdesivir, a drug that has shown to help coronavirus patients recover faster in preliminary trials.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is shipping 40 cases of the drug  each case containing 40 vials  to Michigan, it announced in a Saturday, May 9 news release. Gilead Sciences donated 607,000 vials of remdesivir to the United States and 1.5 million vials worldwide.

The vials have arrived in Michigan, although the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is working on a strategy for how to distribute the drug, MDHHS spokesman Bob Wheaton said in an email. Its enough for 145 patients, he said.

Its up to the states on how to distribute it, per the HHS, but the drugs must go to COVID-19 patients in greatest need  like people on ventilators.

Health care providers interested in administering the donated experimental drug should contact their state health department, according to the HHS news release.

Preliminary trials of remdesivir on coronavirus patients suggest the drug can lead to a faster recovery, per HHS. However, theres not enough data to determine if the drug decreases the likelihood of dying.

Gilead Sciences and the National Institutes of Health led a randomized, controlled clinical trial of the drug on COVID-19 patients.

Other states getting the drug include New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Maryland, Iowa and Virginia.

The drug is being sent to states hit hardest by the pandemic, per the HHS news release. As of Saturday, Michigan has the fourth-most deaths in the United States with 4,526 and has the seventh-most cases with 46,756.

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.

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Crowds gathered Tuesday afternoon in parking lots surrounding Huntsville Hospital. Parents and kids, grandparents and teens sat on tailgates and waited for a promised military flyover honoring hospital workers.

Few were wearing masks, but none were crowded together, keeping mostly to their cars.

James Styles of Huntsville leaned against the bumper of his van, the trunk open so that his grandkids could climb in and out. Styles wasnt wearing a mask but said he absolutely wears one when he goes into grocery stores and other enclosed areas.

They say it doesnt help a lot, but I figure anything is a help, he said. He and his wife keep wipes and sanitizer with them any time they go out, he said.

He used to see more people in the grocery store wearing masks too, he said, but not as many in the past day or so, which kind of bothers me. Its like theres a feeling (coronavirus) is going away, but Im afraid there could be another bout.

As Alabama slowly reopens after a weeks-long statewide shutdown, masks have become a recommended, though not required, part of daily life. The new statewide health order, announced Friday, encourages mask-wearing in public, while requiring it only for employees in certain close-contact businesses like hair salons, tattoo shops, restaurants and gyms.

But even the health order isnt exhaustive. Around the state, many other businesses, workplaces and even the City of Birmingham have chosen to go further. Birmingham requires masks in public. Mobile debated doing the same, but dropped the idea.

In the end, the decision across much of Alabama is left up to each individual. And Alabamians appear divided over whether to comply. That division crosses political and cultural convictions about personal responsibility, the role of government and who to trust.

A mask, or the lack of one, signals to every person you encounter what you believe about the coronavirus.

Masks as politics?

Its tempting to line up mask-wearing on a political spectrum, but thats not entirely the case, said Dr. Matt Barnidge, assistant professor at the University of Alabama who specializes in the intersection of politics and media.

Health and science issues dont always map cleanly onto partisan divisions, he said. I do think theres a certain politicization on mask-wearing at this point. But its not entirely a political thing and I dont think it maps super cleanly on the partisan divide.

Masks impact daily life in a way that few decisions do. And they impact individuals on a more personal level than death rates or public health orders. Theyre uncomfortable physically and emotionally, a vivid sign that we arent living in normal times.

Politicians send a certain signal when they appear in public  or dont  wearing a mask, Barnidge said.

Any time a politician communicates through that kind of signaling or cuing, he said, it can trigger partisan responses based on who that politician is and which party theyre affiliated with.

Gov. Kay Ivey has not worn a mask at any recent press conferences, though other members of her cabinet, including State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris, have worn masks before stepping up to the podium to speak. On Friday, Ivey encouraged Alabamians to wear face coverings, saying that the coronavirus was still active and it is deadly.

Around the state, most Republican leaders have encouraged mask-wearing while stopping short of requiring it. State legislators wore masks when the Alabama Legislature reconvened this week. Alabama Republican Party Chair Terry Lathan tweeted a picture of Sen. Richard Shelby, a Republican, wearing a mask.

Members of the Alabama House of Representatives wear masks during their meeting on May 6, 2020. The House is passing local bills today and is expected to take up state budgets on Thursday. (Mike Cason/mcason@al.com)

In Mobile, Alabamas latest coronavirus hotspot, city leaders backed away from requiring masks in public this week, even though Mobile County now has the states largest number of cases and deaths. The city council opted instead for a resolution urging all citizens to wear masks at businesses, which was supported by Mobile Mayor Randy Stimpson.

But it was a robust debate, with extreme warnings on both sides. I do believe this virus will get worse and worse," said Councilman Fred Richardson, who pushed for a mask requirement. Councilman John Williams said it comes down to personal choice. "There is a long list of things that we must protect ourselves from that government just simply cannot do.

At the other end of the state, up in Huntsville, Madison County Commission Chairman Dale Strong gave his county a C when it comes to wearing masks and following public health recommendations.

I believe that we need to do better, he said at a press conference on Monday. Probably 20% of the people are wearing masks when they go to the grocery store.

Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle appeared in a TikTok video to promote the citys pro-mask social media campaign, #ShowYourCoverHSV.

Alabamas largest and bluest city is the only one with a mask ordinance. The Birmingham City Council voted last week to require masks or face coverings in all public places for anyone age 2 and older. Failure to comply is punishable by a $500 fine or up to 30 days in municipal jail. Although, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall quickly muddied the waters when he sent a letter suggesting Birmingham shouldn't enforce its mask rule.

Business decisions

Fleet Feet, a sporting goods store in Huntsville, was busy Tuesday, its second day open since the statewide shutdown of non-essential businesses was lifted last week. Store employees wore masks and all customers were required to wear a mask upon entering. The store provides a mask to those who dont have one.

We havent had any customer not want to wear a mask, said Suzanne Taylor, who owns the store with her husband. Monday, the store served around 80 customers, she said, about half of whom arrived wearing masks.

Sanitizing stations dotted the store, while bright blue circles on the ground reminded customers where to safely stand while maintaining a six-foot distance from others.

One customer told an employee that everything felt different but that he didnt mind, Taylor said.

For most businesses, masks arent about politics; theyre a smart business decision. Requiring employees or customers to wear them is one way to show customers its safe to shop again.

As stores gradually reopen around the state, their health and safety measures could determine whether theyre able to remain open. Even a barber in Mobile wore a face covering when attempting to reopen against the state health order last month.

Its a hard decision to open, so we wanted to be as vigilant as possible, said Taylor. After her store closed on March 16, she said, even offering curbside pickup of products didnt prevent a 75% loss of revenue over the following weeks.

I think its going to become the new normal, said Taylor of the increased safety measures. If we do this now, we hopefully prevent (an increase in infection) from happening in the future.

Employees at Fleet Feet, a sporting goods store in Huntsville, Ala., wear masks on the second day the store was open after Alabama allowed businesses to begin reopening. The store also asks customers to wear masks while inside, and provides masks to those who don't have them. (Anna Claire Vollers / avollers@AL.com)

Mixed messages

Mixed messages early on from public health officials about whether masks help prevent transmission of coronavirus have clouded the public perception about how useful masks are in curbing infections. Initially, most public health officials discouraged mask-wearing, but in April the CDC issued recommendations about wearing cloth face coverings.

Its an uncertain time, so its hard to know what information to trust, whats valid, said Barnidge. On top of that, the official wisdom seems to change.

Course corrections on a national level may have created the space for political interpretations.

Where you fall on the political spectrum will likely dictate how much patience you have with (safety) measures, said Dr. Ryan Williamson, an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at Auburn University.

Its not necessarily an argument about right or wrong, said Williamson. Its about what needs to be prioritized. We see Democrats saying we need to prioritize healthcare, whereas Republicans say healthcare is important but we dont want to overburden the government with this expense and dont want to damage the economy.

He believes opinions on coronavirus response  including mask-wearing  will become more politically polarized as the months wear on.

The people protesting these measures are a small subset, but as the quarantining gets longer, as the death toll goes up, people are going to increasingly say, were staying at home and people are still dying; should I really stay at home when I have bills to pay?

Fewer precautions

Tiatianna White stood along Whitesburg Drive with her son, waiting for the military flyover.

She has to wear a mask for her job at Burger King, and said it bothers her when she sees people not wearing them.

I wear them whenever Im out shopping, she said.

Shed just come from Hobby Lobby, where she estimated only about 50% of customers were wearing masks. We had our masks on, but half the people there didnt, she said Id say they werent being cautious.

I do wish there was a better way to protect yourself when you go out.
<! Nicki Minaj and Kenneth Petty >

Following his arrest last week, Nicki Minajs husband Kenneth Petty has eventually registered as a sex offender in California.

He was arrested for failing to do so.

He pleaded not guilty to charges at the Los Angeles Superior Court.

Few hours after his appearance in court, he registered as a sex offender in the state.

According to the New York States Sex Offender Registry, an offender must notify the Division of Criminal Justice Services within 10 days of any change of address.

Pettys status is recalled from 1995 when he was convicted of first-degree attempted rape. Petty was 16 years old at the time of the crime and served time in prison for the offence.

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A Michigan lawmaker returned to the state Capitol on Wednesday with an armed security detail following a coronavirus lockdown protest at the building last week attended by white supremacists and militia groups.

Rep. Sarah Anthony, a Democrat whose district is in the capital city, Lansing, told Yahoo News in an interview that her security detail, made up of local black and Latino activists, came together because the armed protesters bearing white supremacist symbols represented a different level of terror.

According to Anthony, the April 30 protest was different from prior coronavirus protests that have occurred at the Capitol in recent weeks because many of the demonstrators stormed inside the building and were armed. Anthony also said some of the protesters had Confederate flags and swastikas, which she found extraordinarily triggering for me as an African-American woman.

Activists prepare to escort Rep. Sarah Anthony into the Michigan state Capitol on Wednesday; Rep. Sarah Anthony. (Courtesy of Michael Lynn Jr.; votesarahanthony.com)

It was a very intimidating environment, Anthony said. Ive just never experienced being so frightened and so intimidated in my life.

Anthony posted a video to Facebook, which she filmed as the protests raged outside. Members of her community responded and, when Anthony returned to the Capitol on Wednesday for the first time since the demonstration, she was escorted by a group of six black and Latino activists who carried their own guns.

Large conservative organizations have helped back the anti-lockdown demonstrations, which have taken place in at least 18 states around the country. Though the demonstrations are focused on pressing to lift coronavirus safety measures in order to boost economic activity, they have also attracted a wide variety of groups dedicated to other causes, including militia members, gun-rights activists and white supremacists.

Even as the White House has issued social distancing guidelines and described the measures as necessary, President Trump has expressed support for the protests, calling the demonstrators very good people and urging Michigans Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to make a deal with them.

Story continues

Anthony said one of her fellow lawmakers wore a bulletproof vest due to their fear of the armed protesters, many of whom streamed into the Capitol and angrily confronted officials. Dayna Polehanki, a Democratic Michigan state senator, similarly claimed that scared colleagues were wearing bulletproof vests in a tweet posted during the protests on April 30.

Directly above me, men with rifles yelling at us. Some of my colleagues who own bullet proof vests are wearing them, Polehanki wrote.

For Anthony, the guns and hate symbols werent the only dangerous elements of the protests. She said many of the demonstrators ignored the social distancing and mask guidelines, getting extremely close to her and yelling and screaming in her face, raising concerns of potential coronavirus spread.

A militia group with no political affiliation from Michigan stands in front of the governor's office on April 30 after protesters occupied the state Capitol during a vote to approve the extension of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's stay-at-home order due to the coronavirus outbreak. (Seth Herald/Reuters)

I am a woman and, you know, heavy, large men yelling and kind of approaching, it really is frightening, said Anthony, adding, As an elected official ... I have pretty thick skin. You kind of have to in this job, but were in the middle of a pandemic and I am particularly ... unnerved by it because I have seen the impact up close of this coronavirus.

Michigan has been a coronavirus hot spot, and Anthony said she knows multiple people in her Lansing district who have died from the outbreak.

Anthony said she was disturbed that the Michigan State Police did not do more to separate lawmakers from the armed protests. She also said some officers were posing in photos with the protesters.

Shanon Banner, a spokesperson for the Michigan State Police, told Yahoo News, that the department was aware of legislators concerns about the demonstration and hosted a conference call on Monday to discuss options for security that are available to them.

Upon learning that some representatives were fearful for their safety during the constitutionally protected demonstrations that took place on April 30, we hosted a conference call with legislators on May 4 to ensure they were aware of the security services available to them from the MSP, which include escorting legislators to and from their offices to the Capitol, Banner wrote in an email.

Banner also said the Michigan State Police has received a citizens complaint about troopers posing in a photo with some of the armed protesters and they are looking into the matter.

The activists who accompanied Anthony on Wednesday included local Lansing firefighter and activist Michael Lynn Jr. along with multiple members of his family. Lynn told Yahoo News that Anthonys video of the protests inspired him to offer her protection.

My thing is, you know, we elected her and we elevated her to that level to represent us in that Capitol. I dont want her going in there with a fear or worry about doing anything.  I dont think thats right, that they would try to intimidate her that way, Lynn said.

He said seeing the armed protesters challenging Anthony enraged him and reminded him of the darker days of white supremacist opposition to the civil rights movement.

Protesters trying to enter the Michigan House of Representatives chamber are kept out by Michigan State Police on April 30. (Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images)

It takes a lot to get a black woman elected into the House of Representatives, Lynn said. Theres not that many of them, and we did that. We got her elected in there, and were going to make sure shes protected to go do her job.

Critics and civil rights activists have argued that the protests highlight a double standard, contrasting the response to the armed anti-lockdown protesters with violent crackdowns on black militant groups.

Lynn said he believes African-American protesters would indeed have been treated differently.

You know, if we did that, wed be killed, he said.

Challenging the perceptions of people of color and guns was one of Lynns goals in providing security for Anthony.

Anytime somebody sees a minority with a gun, its got a negative connotation to it, and I dont like that, said Lynn. We were able today to provide some sort of protection but also just the feeling of being protected. I think that was great.

Anthony said she is somewhat sympathetic to the economic concerns raised by protesters who view the lockdowns as driving record job losses and claimed earlier protests in Michigan were focused on this issue. But, she said, the April 30 demonstration had a pronounced white supremacist element. She said she was very confused to see Confederate flags and swastikas flying at an event supposedly dedicated to criticizing the coronavirus lockdown.

Hows that connect to the stay-at-home order? Anthony asked.

Whitmer has denounced the racist symbols used at the protests and defended stay-at-home orders as a necessary step to prevent deaths from the coronavirus.

Some of the outrageousness of what happened in our Capitol this week depicted some of the worst racism and awful parts of our history in this country, Whitmer said in a CNN interview on Sunday. The Confederate flags and nooses, the swastikas, the behavior that youve seen in all of the clips, is not representative of who we are in Michigan. And the fact of the matter is, I mean, were in a global pandemic.

A protester holds a sign with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer depicted as Adolf Hitler at a rally on the steps of the state Capitol in Lansing on April 30. (Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images)

Whitmer has also responded to the protest by pushing to change the law to ban guns at Michigans state Capitol.

There are legislators who are wearing bulletproof vests to go to work, she said in an interview with NBC on Wednesday. No one should be intimidated by someone whos bringing in an assault rifle into their workplace. And so there is conversation about changing that law. I think its long overdue, and I absolutely support that change.

Anthony, who is a gun owner, is among the Michigan lawmakers who are working to enact a gun ban for the state Capitol. Ultimately, she said, she doesnt want to see anyone  whether they support her or are protesting  carrying firearms in the building. The moment that we are successful in eliminating guns from their state Capitol, they should adhere to that as well, Anthony said of her supporters.

For now, Lynn said he will come back anytime Anthony asks.

We will be available whenever theres going to be opposition up there that shes going to have to deal with, he said.

And he had a message for anyone who wants to return to the Capitol building with swastikas and Confederate flags.

Dont, Lynn said. Its as simple as that. Dont come here with that.

Updated, May 8, 9:50 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with a statement from the Michigan State Police.

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Click here for the latest coronavirus news and updates. According to experts, people over 60 and those who are immunocompromised continue to be the most at risk. If you have questions, please refer to the CDCs and WHOs resource guides.

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Now that many states are opening back up, the cable news channels are finally making some time available for non-COVID-19 programming. A new hour-long documentary premiering this weekend on two Fox cable channels promises to explore a vital topic that is partly inspired by but much broader than the coronavirus panic: America vs. China.

Until recently, when the origins and spread of COVID-19 began to expose Communist China for what it really is  a brutal, lying, authoritarian dictatorship that is potentially the most existential foreign threat to the United States  most Americans were oblivious to the rise of China and how vulnerable we in the U.S. now are. Many Americans have tended to look the other way as our manufacturing capacity has been hollowed out and shipped to Communist China, as long as cheap products made in that country have been available in Walmarts and everywhere else. But now the COVID-19 coverage has exposed other serious vulnerabilities including the incredible fact, according to a Commerce Department study, that 97% of the antibiotics we use are manufactured in China.

Not only antibiotics, but surgical masks, ventilators, most other vaccines and pharmaceutical drugs, nutritional supplements, and a plethora of other supplies needed in the medical war against the virus come from China.



Maria Bartiromo on the set of Mornings with Maria. Photo courtesy of Fox Business Network.

These and other topics will be explored in the new Fox documentary America vs. China, reported by veteran financial journalist and TV program host Maria Bartiromo and set for broadcast on the Fox Business Network (FBN) tonight at 7 P.M. E.T. and tomorrow, Sunday, at 10 P.M. E.T. on the Fox News Channel. Bartiromo joined the Fox Business Network in 2014 and is FBN's global markets editor. She anchors a daily program on FBN, Mornings with Maria (69 A.M. E.T.), and a Sunday-morning political talk show, Sunday Morning Futures (1011 A.M. E.T.), on the Fox News Channel. The latter program has recently featured regular appearances by former political strategist to candidate and president Donald Trump Steve Bannon, whose opinions on China seem to fit nicely into the America vs. China theme.

According to Fox News, America vs. China:

... will provide an in-depth look into China's initial handling of COVID-19 as well as the country's push to become an economic and military superpower. Pulling from her expansive reporting on the Chinese economy over three decades, the documentary will feature Bartiromo's interviews with top business executives and political leaders, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Peter Navarro, billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel, Revolution Chairman Steve Case and Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), among others.

The brief program preview video clips provided by Fox Media Relations (featuring Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton here and retired four-star general Jack Keane here) suggest that the documentary will be hard-hitting in its reporting on China's track record and future plans for world hegemony.

The critical importance of this topic was taken note of during an appearance by foreign affairs journalist and the author of The Coming Collapse of China Gordon Chang on Hannity last Tuesday. According to an article at Fox News by Charles Creitz, "Chang told Hannity Tuesday that the Chinese Communist government is very concerned about the possible exposure of their wrongdoing and incompetence in the handling of the coronavirus." As Chang said (emphasis added):

[T]hey [the Chinese communist government] know that something really wrong is going to be exposed. ... Their actions have been malicious in terms of deliberately taking actions that would inevitably lead to the spread of the virus outside of China's borders, so this is the crime of the century.

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.
Winnipeg will begin testing small cell technology this year, with devices that support a future transition to 5G service.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 8/5/2020 (620 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg will begin testing "small cell" technology this year, with devices that support a future transition to 5G service.

Small cells are meant to improve cellular reception throughout the city, augmenting traditional "macro cell" towers that serve existing 4G networks, according to a public service report.

Small cells are meant to improve cellular reception throughout the city, augmenting traditional cell towers, such as the one above, that serve existing 4G networks. (Boris Minkevich / Winnipeg Free Press files)

The devices can come in the shape of a small box that can be placed at a building or atop a traffic signal or other pole, Doug Hamm, City of Winnipeg manager of connectivity, wrote in the report.

"The economic benefit for the city is quite compelling we really need to help that (technology) industry move forward," said Coun. John Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry), chairman of councils innovation committee.

The city should try to make money in the process, by charging cell carriers who use city land and infrastructure to post the devices, he said.

"If they use public space, they should be charged."

In an email, city spokesman Adam Campbell said no exact start dates or locations have been set for the trials, which are expected to continue into 2021. Campbell noted cellphone carriers could also conduct separate trials that dont involve city property.

The city is still determining what, if any, fee carriers could be charged during the trials, he said.

The report says small cell sites appear similar to Wi-Fi hotspots and would help support a 5G system, which is expected to provide data speeds that are up to 100 times faster than current levels and offer more reliable connections.

The report states the relatively small devices could "transparently blend into any neighbourhood."

Hamm estimates 16 to 25 5G small cells could be required to match the coverage of one cell tower.

The new technology isnt being welcomed by everyone, though. Some Winnipeggers are lobbying the city to delay the trials, alleging the technology lacks enough testing to determine its effects on human health.

"None of these frequencies with 5G have been tested for long-term health consequences. Theyre basically deploying (supporting devices for) widely untested technology," said Margaret Friesen, a spokesperson for the 5G Winnipeg Awareness advocacy group.

It is also petitioning federal regulators to suspend all 5G development, arguing the small devices could easily be placed near homes without residents knowledge.

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Friesen said some studies have linked current cellular technology to cancer, while some Winnipeggers blame it for headaches, sleep disturbances, nausea and anxiety.

By contrast, Health Canadas website states the "vast majority" of scientific research doesnt support a suspected link between the radiofrequency from cellphones and human cancers.

Orlikow said hes confident federal regulations will ensure the safety of cellular communications, including those related to the new trials and other 5G developments.

"We hear peoples concerns, but we are going to be following Canadas guidelines. I have confidence in the federal government," he said.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga
Apple Inc said Friday it will reopen a handful of stores in four US states starting next week, in the first resumption of physical retail operations since the iPhone maker shuttered all US stores in mid-March.

The company said it will open "some" stores in Alabama, Alaska, Idaho and South Carolina. Apple has two stores in both South Carolina and Alabama but did not say which would open. Its Boise, Idaho location will open Monday, with others to follow later in the week.

Apple executives have said they are examining local health data at the county and city level in each community where the company has physical stores to determine when to reopen. Apple has locations in several US states, such as Texas and Georgia, where state rules would in theory allow it to reopen stores, but it has not yet announced plans to do so.

"Our team is constantly monitoring local heath data and government guidance, and as soon as we can safely open our stores, we will," Apple said in a statement.

In the four states where Apple stores will reopen, new procedures will be in place similar to those in countries such as South Korea, Australia and Austria, where stores have already reopened.

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

Customers and employees will be required to undergo temperature checks and wear masks before entering the stores, and Apple will provide a mask if customers do not have their own. Social-distancing rules will limit the number of customers in the store at one time, which Apple said could create delays for walk-in customers.

"With many working and learning from home, our primary focus will be providing service and support," Apple said. "We recommend, where possible, customers buy online for contactless delivery or in-store pick-up."

Apple will still have demonstration devices for customers to handle in the store, but staff will clean them often, and hand sanitizer dispensers will be placed in stores.

Apple earlier on Friday said it would reopen stores in Germany. The company started shuttering its China stores in January and reopened them by mid-March. Days later, Apple closed all stores outside mainland China as the virus moved around the globe. Stores began reopening outside the Greater China region in mid-April with its store in South Korea.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge dial in to Mais House care home - Kensington Palace

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been playing Dame Vera Lynn's "We'll Meet Again" every day at home so their children can learn the words ahead of the national VE Day singalong, they have told veterans.

Prince George and Princess Charlotte have been set a "challenge" by their school to become word-perfect for VE Day, the Duchess said, adding that it had been "really lovely" to hear the song playing each day.

"We'll Meet Again", referenced by the Queen during an address to the nation about the coronavirus crisis, was an anthem of the Second World War and the focus of commemorations on the 75th anniversary of victory in Europe last night.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge dialled in to a care home via video link to hear first hand the stories of veterans who served in the Second World War and remember VE Day vividly.

The Duke told them that, despite the anniversary happening in lockdown conditions, "everyone's still thinking of you all and are very proud of everything you've achieved".

Veterans Charles Ward and Jean Hull, alongside Susan Barnes, from Mais House, a Royal British Legion Care Home - BBC

The couple appeared on a laptop screen during a party at Mais House, a Royal British Legion Care Home in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex. where residents drank champagne to mark VE Day.

They spoke to four veterans including 101-year-old Charles Ward, who served in the Special Operations Executive and passed on encrypted messages from Winston Churchill, as well as staff.

Explaining how he ended the war as a sergeant stationed in Greece, Mr Ward said: "VE Day was very good  I had to go round and give all the men a drink of rum."

"I bet you were the hero of the time there," the Duke told him, laughing.

Asking after the residents' well-being and how they were coping in lockdown, the Duchess said: "It must be really hard not being able to see your families."

Speaking of her own grandmother, who served at Bletchley Park, she said: "It's so sad that she's not here today  I'd love to speak to her more about it."

Story continues

Saying that Prince George has just started learning about the Second World War and would be "honoured" to hear the veterans' stories, the Duchess added of her own children: "The school has set all the children a challenge, and they're currently trying to learn the lyrics and the song to 'We'll Meet Again', hopefully putting that all together.

"So it's been really lovely having that playing every day."

Describing the conversation, James Pyett, 95, said: "When William and Kate were talking to us, they asked about the end of this period we said we'd celebrate it like VE Day, but we'll call it VC Day  Victory over Coronavirus."

"Exactly James, I quite agree," the Duke told him.
Senior Congress leader and All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary Sudhir Sharma on Saturday said that the wrong decisions of the state government may prove harmful to people of the state during Covid-19 pandemic.

In a press statement issued here, Sharma said that the state government must empower deputy commissioners of each district to make decisions related to restrictions and relaxations keeping in view the situation in their jurisdiction.

However, the opposite is happening in the state where the district administration issues an order and the state government issues a contradictory one, he alleged.

Sharma said that the opening of the state borders without scanning those entering the state reflected mismanagement on part of the government due to which the state is witnessing a spurt in Covid-19 cases.

He said that the government is misusing the Covid fund by providing costly mobile phones to the officers. He said that sanitiser scam of the state secretariat is also a matter of concern.

The state government is receiving liberal donations but still, neither doctors nor the administrative officials have been provided PPE kits, he said.

He said that the lack of coordination among different departments during the cremation of coronavirus positive youth from Sarkaghat also exposed the poor preparedness of the state government.

The Congress leader said that the government should also clear its position with regard to quarantine and isolation centres as these are being opened within the populated areas.

Speaking on the isolation centre in Baijnath which was set up in the densely populated area, he suggested that the state government should consider setting up paid quarantine centres because there are many people who want to return from outside and are ready to pay for the quarantine facility.

The government should talk to hotel and guest house owners to convert their properties into paid quarantine centres, said Sharma.
A team of health workers of Radha Krishnan Medical College, Hamirpur, which treated six COVID-19 patients, received a warm welcome by their colleagues on Saturday.

The 20-member team was showered with flower petals when it reached the medical college.

The COVID-19 patients which the team looked after at RCH, Bhota have fully recovered, officials said.

Four of the patients were from Una and two from Hamirpur district. They returned home after recovery, the officials said.

Anil Chauhan, principal of the medical college and Anil Verma, its medical superintendent were also present during the occasion.

The team members, including its in-charge Sanjeev Kumar, thanked the entire hospital staff for the warm welcome and greetings.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Meritorious students hailing



from poor sections of the society in Odisha have been provided smartphones to help them attend online classes during coronavirus-induced lockdown to sustain their focus on the NEET exam scheduled on July 26 for admission in medical colleges.

These wards of humble vegetable sellers, fishermen and marginal farmers are students of "Zindagi foundation" run by a non-governmental organisation for talented students of Odisha, to help them give wings to their dreams.

The man behind the initiative is academician Ajay Bahadur Singh, who was forced to quit medical studies due to his father's kidney ailment in 1990 and had to sell tea and sherbet to help his family survive.

There are 19 medical aspirants, both boys and girls, at present under the project from remote corners of Odisha who will be undertaking the national level undergraduate medical entrance exam on July 26 next to qualify for admission in medical colleges.

The lockdown caused by the spread of coronavirus forced them to return home to be with the family in the hour of crisis.

Shattered that their dreams of becoming a medico would not be fulfilled under the disturbing condition, the foundation reached out to them by making available smartphones to many whom they could reach meeting the lockdown regulations, while some others walked to homes of relatives and acquaintances to avail smartphone for attending the online classes held by the qualified teachers.

"On the insistence of the students, we let them go home to be with their family in this hour of crisis, but within days of the imposition of the lockdown, we made arrangements for running online classes so that their studies are not disturbed at the last hour of preparation for NEET exam," Foundation chairman Ajay Bahadur Singh told PTI on Saturday.

A student Manjit Bala, whose father catches fish in east Malkangiri as a living, stayed with a kin in Koraput instead of going to his village in the interior where mobile phone network is a problem to attend the online classes regularly, Singh said.

Kshirodini Saho, daughter of a marginal farmer of Angul district, walks three km to a neighbouring village to avail smartphone of a kin to join the classes regularly.

The syllabus was completed before the lockdown came into force, "now we are regularly conducting doubts and concept building classes for three hours thrice a week by competent teachers to fine-tune their preparations for the big day (NEET exam)," Singh said.

Mock tests are held twice a week to further horn their preparations, he said, adding this will continue till the exam in the prevailing condition.

"I keep talking to these students as well as to their parents to keep their energy and motivation high," Singh said.

"I really feel proud when these young medicos say had they been a qualified doctor by now they would have joined hands with health workers to wedge work against the deadly virus," the foundation chairman said.

The Zindagi foundation project for medical in Odisha has a parallel in the 'Super 30' experiment of mathematician Anand Kumar who helps students from deprived classes crack JEE exam to qualify for admission in IITs.

About the inspiration for launching the programme, Singh said, he had encountered a girl selling garlands outside Lord Jagannath temple at Puri, who made a fervent request to people buy them so that she can finance her studies.

In 2016 he launched the 'Zindagi Foundation' in Bhubaneswar to help students who share his plight.

Under the programme, talented students from poor financial backgrounds are selected through a statewide screening test are provided free food, lodging and teaching to help them become a doctor.

Fourteen of its students had cracked NEET in 2018 and 12 of them got their admission in government medical colleges of Odisha. They were hosted by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in July last year to appreciate their achievements.

The initiative to mentor aspiring medicos from financially downtrodden families has drawn effusive praise from Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan, who played the role of mathematician Anand Kumar in the biopic "Super 30."



Anand Kumar is also a great fan of the Odisha project and has talked to the students at Bhubaneswar several times.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Former Bachelor star Lisa Hyde has issued a warning to aspiring fashion designers hoping to use reality TV as an overnight springboard to success.

The 33-year-old, who runs the successful eyewear brand Shevoke, told Daily Mail Australia that appearing on reality television will most likely hurt a budding brand rather than help it.

'This question makes me laugh as I see this happen all the time,' she said. 'Ex reality contestants think it's easy to start a business after being on TV.

'Ex reality contestants think it's easy to start a business after being on TV': Former Bachelor star and Shevoke founder Lisa Hyde says reality television isn't a pathway to business success

'The truth is, reality TV wont give you business success. These days it's more likely that you'll come out worse off due to the way its produced.'

She continued: 'I think the only way you can ever come out of a reality show and be perceived in a positive way that will help what you are already working towards is by doing it for the right reasons.

'Not trying to get famous or advertise your business in any way. Its obvious and the producers are smart, if they can make a fool of you they most definitely will.'

'If they can make a fool of you they most definitely will': The 33-year-old says wannabe designers risk ruining their reputation by going on reality TV for the wrong reasons

Lisa, who is currently partnered with Essano for the beauty brand's Mother's Day promotion, said that she had started building her eyewear brand long before she ever appeared on The Bachelor.

'Ive had many people say how lucky I am to have started a business after being on The Bachelor. The truth is I was designing and building my business many years before I went on the show.

'Trying to make a business happen because you have a few extra followers is not authentic and people see through it.'

'I was designing and building my business many years before I went on the show': Lisa already had her Shevoke eyewear brand in the works long before she appeared on The Bachelor

Lisa first shot to fame back in 2014 on the controversial second season of The Bachelor with Blake Garvey and Sam Frost.

After placing second on the series, she bowed out of the spotlight and spent the next few years building her brand.

She briefly returned to reality TV in 2018 on the first season of Bachelor In Paradise, where she had a brief romance with Luke McLeod.

Flashback: Lisa first shot to fame back in 2014 on the controversial second season of The Bachelor with Blake Garvey and Sam Frost

Shortly after her split with Luke, Lisa found love with general manager Damon Collina.

The couple welcomed their first child, a daughter named Myja-Jae, in July, 2019.

Speaking to Daily Mail Auystralia, Lisa also opened up about balancing motherhood with being a businesswoman.

'I used to think I was busy before I became a mum [laughs]. I had no idea!' she said.

Lisa's simple skincare must-haves Essano Certified Organic Rosehip Oil Essano Rosehip Moisture Restorative Night Creme Essano Rosehip Detoxifying Pink Clay Mask Advertisement

'In the first three months of having MJ, I was lucky enough to find time in the day to shower or do anything for myself really - that part they dont tell you.

'For me, the key to juggling mum-life and running a business is having a good routine and surrounding yourself with people you can trust and rely on,' she added.

The former reality star has also tried to make time for self-care at home, especially now with most beauty spas and salons closed due to coronavirus restrictions.

'I tend to have more breakouts when using moisturisers on my face so I stick with rosehip oil after I cleanse my face at night and before I put make-up on each day,' she said.

'Whilst in isolation the Essano mini skincare pack has been a real treat and Ive been loving their pink clay detoxifying mask too.'
Shares of Bausch Health Companies Inc. BHC were down 7.3% on disappointing results for the first quarter of 2020. The company lowered its revenue guidance for 2020.

Bauschs stock has plunged 45.2% in the year so far compared with the industrys decline of 3.7%.

The companys adjusted earnings per share of 89 cents were a penny short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 90 cents and down from $1.02 reported in the year-ago quarter.

Bausch Health Cos Inc Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Bausch Health Cos Inc Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Bausch Health Cos Inc price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Bausch Health Cos Inc Quote

Total revenues of $2.01 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.68% and marginally declined from $2.02 billion a year ago. Revenues were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to the tune of approximately $35 million.

Quarter in Detail

Revenues in the Bausch + Lomb/International segment (comprised 55.3% of the total revenues) were $1.1 billion, roughly flat year over year. Excluding the impact of discontinuations and divestitures, the segment organically improved approximately 2%, driven by growth in the Global Consumer and International business.

The Salix segment revenues rose 7% year over year to $477 million, primarily driven by 23% growth in Xifaxan.

The company announced top-line results from a phase II study evaluating an investigative soluble solid dispersion (SSD) formulation of immediate release (IR) rifaximin in combination with the current standard-of-care therapy for the treatment of Overt Hepatic Encephalopathy. Results showed that the 40 mg BID of rifaximin SSD IR plus standard-of-care therapy arm met its primary endpoint with statistically significantly superior results compared with the placebo plus standard-of-care therapy arm.

The Ortho Dermatologics segment revenues were $133 million, down 4% year over year due to lower volumes resulting from the loss of exclusivity of Elidel, Zovirax and Solodyn. This was partially offset by 34% growth in the Global Solta business, driven by continued strong demand for ThermageFLX following its launch in the Asia-Pacific region.

Story continues

Diversified Products segment revenues were $288 million, down 9% from the year-ago quarter, primarily due to the loss of exclusivity of certain products.

During the quarter, the company repaid debt by approximately $220 million with cash generated from operations.

2020 Guidance Lowered

The company lowered its revenue guidance range for 2020 primarily due to the actual and anticipated impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Revenues are now projected to be $7.80-$8.20 billion compared with the previous guidance of $8.65-$8.85 billion.

Our Take

Bausch missed on earnings and sales in the first quarter as the COVID-19 pandemic wreaks havoc worldwide. The company also lowered its annual guidance amid the uncertainty. Postponement of elective medical procedures until the situation stabilizes will continue to affect the surgical business.

Nevertheless, the Salix business continues to grow as Xifaxan maintains momentum. The company has resolved the outstanding Xifaxan IP litigation with Sandoz, the generic unit of Novartis NVS. The company now holds market exclusivity for the drug until 2028.

Meanwhile, Bausch initiated a clinical study on Virazole (ribavirin for inhalation solution, USP) in combination with standard-of-care therapy to treat hospitalized adult patients having respiratory distress due to the deadly coronavirus in Canada.

We note that Mallinckrodt MNK too warned that the next few quarters will be challenging due to the impact of COVID-19, while Endo International ENDP withdrew its guidance due to the uncertain environment.

Bausch currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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A church in Pakistan's Punjab province was allegedly vandalised by a group of armed men over a land dispute on Saturday, police said.

The incident came at a time when the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) in its latest report has pointed out that religious minorities in Pakistan, including the Hindu and Christian communities, continued to suffer in 2019, facing forced conversions and persecution under blasphemy laws.

The minorities remained unable to enjoy the freedom of religion or belief guaranteed to them under the country's Constitution, the HRCP had said in its annual report -- State of Human Rights 2019 -- released recently in Islamabad.

Local Christian leader Aslam Parvez Sahotra told PTI that a group of armed men led by a person named Malik Aun Abbas demolished the gate and boundary wall of the church in Kalashah Kaku, some 40 km from Lahore, over a land dispute.

Following the incident, community leaders lodged a police complaint.

Ferozwala Station House Office (SHO) Aamir Mahmood told PTI that police reached the spot following the complaint and recorded the statements of the local Christians.

An FIR will be registered and raids will be conducted at the whereabouts of the culprits, he said.

Sahotra, who is also the chairman of the Massiha Milat Party -- a local political outfit for safeguarding Christians' rights, said, "Abbas and his armed men stormed into the church on Saturday morning and asked the devotees present there to vacate the land, claiming that it belongs to them."



"They demolished the main gate and the boundary wall of the church. The Cross was also desecrated," he said, adding that Abbas claimed that he has bought the land and Christians cannot either live there nor have a church on it.

Christians constitute around 2 per cent of the population in Muslim-dominated Pakistan. Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad have a large Christian population. There are many Christian villages in the Punjab heartland, while there is also a sizable population in the deeply conservative north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, particularly in Peshawar city.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Heiko Maas said Britain's position was "simply not on" - GETTY IMAGES

A hard Brexit is more likely due to the coronavirus crisis because Britain and the European Union have made so little progress in talks, Germany's foreign minister has said.

Heiko Maas said that negotiations between Britain and the EU so far on the future trade relationship had yielded few gains with the UK disregarding the political declaration, which he said was "simply not on".

Britain left the EU in January, and talks with the bloc are now focused on setting new trading terms from 2021, when London's status-quo transition period ends. However, the talks quickly hit an impasse when negotiations resumed last month, according to diplomats and officials.

"It's worrying that Britain is moving further away from our jointly agreed political declaration on key issues in the negotiations," Mr Maas told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper.

"It's simply not on, because the negotiations are a complete package as it's laid out in the political declaration."

Mr Maas said there was currently neither common ground on how to shape a comprehensive trade deal or on whether to extend the negotiation period beyond the end of the year.

"The British government is still refusing to extend the deadline," Mr Maas said. "If it stays that way, we will have to deal with Brexit in addition to the coronavirus at the turn of the year."

Simon Coveney, Ireland's foreign minister, said on Friday that the coronavirus pandemic had made an already difficult timeline for a British-European Union trade deal "virtually impossible" and that it would make sense to seek more time.
China is willing to offer support to North Korea within its ability against the coronavirus pandemic, state television said on Saturday, quoting President Xi Jinping as saying in a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Xi said he was very concerned about the situation in North Korea and the health of its people, and said he was pleased that its efforts to control the respiratory illness had achieved positive results, state television said.
With its establishment in 1857, the St. Louis Fire Department has seen more than 150 deaths in the line of duty. The biggest killer? Heart att
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 9

By Elnur Baghishov - Trend:

As many as 1,529 people have been infected with 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, 48 people have been died from the coronavirus over the past day.

Jahanpur added that the condition of 2,696 people is critical.

According to recent reports from the Iranian officials, over 106,200 people have been infected 6,589 people have already died. Meanwhile, over 85,000 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.
Trips to trot the globe  Guatemala to Gulmarg  are now history of the #OldNormal. So, which trips are the #NewNormal? Guilt trips, of course!

In #lockdowns zero travel, many a compulsive traveller is doing the next best thing  laying the guilt trip. Safest on the pulmonary socket, lightest on the pocket.

What were witnessing is a new breed of business travellers  those making it their business to take you on a guilt trip, to kill time in #quarantine. India Quarantining could thus be in the throes of three types of guilt trips.

OF PLANET WA & PANDEMICS

Why look far  not that India Quarantining can goggle farther than the laundry or lolling legs on neighbouring terraces or, for the luckier lawn-lounging ones, farther than the shrubbery or snobbery of their sprawling greens  Yours Truly was propelled on a guilt trip just the other day.

Now, in a New Normal where the virtual is the only place for clubbing, pubbing or social shoulder rubbing, any netizen not navigating the social media mindlessly, WhatsApp (WA) in particular, is thought out of his or her mind.

Now, certain Tweeple whore good with the mind  how to mind others business better than their own  took it upon themselves to chide Yours Truly for no longer populating Planet WhatsApp.

To put things in perspective, it may be recalled, dear readers, that one fine day upon finding my membership of WA group chats outnumbering my membership of clubs or credit cards, Yours Truly downsized  to Zero WA.

Lo Behold, Biradri, BFFs & Co unlocked their guilt trip, left right and epicentre. How on Earth can you survive Lockdown if youre not on WA?

This compelled Yours Truly to apply the mind in a manner smacking of pondering profundity that can come only from having to don the thinking cap at a time when pyjamas, not caps, are New Normals National Dress and when the only caps consuming contemplative activity are Closedowns caps on incomes, expenditures etc. Rolling my eyes heavenwards, not that in quarantine there were substantial spectators to savour my pupillary histrionics, save scoffing Brats and a couple of cats, I resorted to my sole serious exercise in ages  jogging my rusting grey cells for a repartee. Bingo, the way out-of-the world wisecracks are wont to hit Donald Trump like a truant tonne of a truck tearing into Lockdowns barricades, Enlightenment embraced me, in utter violation of social distancing protocol.

Hey, well Im surviving without WhatsApp the way William (Shakespeare) and Isaac (Newton) survived the plague ... Or the way, without WA, Walt Disney and Mahatma Gandhi survived the Spanish Flu!

Disclaimer  Evacuating from Planet WA in pandemics can be hilarious to health.

OF #WFH MUMS & (S)MOTHERING

The Mother of Guilt Trips may be of the parenting kind. For many a man or woman of the house whove earlier been at the receiving end of guilt trips for non-availability of quality-time parenting, #WorkFromHome seems a blessing in disguise. Ah, except where its seeing New Normals New Business Travel take off  Reverse Guilt Trips.

Lockdowns first Mothers Day might find many a #wfh mum, whos working overtime on her (s)mothering too, inviting free tickets for business guilt trips from piqued progeny, Mind your business, mum Gimme space!

Seeing the scarcity of space for Middle Class Quarantining India, packed onto Planet Puny Living Room 24x7, this politely translates into a reverse guilt trip with a not-so-exotic destination  Go to Hell!

Disclaimer  New Normals guilt trips are injurious to mommyhoods health.

OF QUARANTINES CALL OF THE HOUR

Just when youre falling in love with Lockdowns long silence  no pesky phone calls or constant trilling of the doorbell as noisy as Arnab & Cos lubricated lungs  there come calling n caterwauling Tweeple whose idea of social distancing doesnt constitute telephonic distancing.

Voila, you land in the throes of the third guilt trip  contacts you havent heard from since the Tsunami or their Great Depression (emotional not economic), call out of the blue to drive away their blues. Why havent you called in ages? calls Guilt Trip Three, as you mumble or fumble for retorts to the effect that but for Lockdown, theyd not have called in this century.

Its like a bored Trump, thirsting for a tete-a-tete, dialling for a chummy hi-bye not just the Queen but even the Chinese Premier.

Disclaimer  Call of the Guilt Trips can be contagious to bye-lateral health!
A total of 23,974 stranded migrants have been brought back to Uttarakhand so far from other states, the state government said on Saturday.

As many as 1,79,615 migrants belonging to Uttarakhand, who are stranded in other states due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown, have registered online to come back to the hill state, Secretary Shailesh Bagoli told reporters.

Out of these, 23,794 have been brought back so far from neighbouring states, including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat, Bagoli said.

He said the exercise is being carried out in a planned way to ensure the safety of people by strictly taking all precautions like medical screening, social distancing, sanitisation and quarantine of those returning.

Trains will also be run to bring back stranded migrants from Surat, Ahmedabad, Pune and Bangalore for which talks are on, the official said.

An advance of Rs 50 lakh has also been deposited by the state government with the railways for the purpose, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Jemison man was killed in a single-vehicle crash Saturday morning when his 1991 Jeep Wrangler left the road and hit a ditch.

According to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, 66-year-old Allen C. Jiles was killed at about 5 a.m. Saturday. The crash occurred on Ala. 145 near the 7-mile marker, about three miles south of Jemision.

According to information released by ALEA, Jiles was not using a seat belt and was pronounced dead at the scene. Troopers with ALEAs Highway Patrol Division are investigating the accident.
The combined forces of the trade union bureaucracy, pseudo-left, Green and nominally left pro-Labour groups were deployed on Thursday in an online Fight for Our Lives rally called by the Peoples Assembly (PA).

Introduced as a platform for campaigns to voice their demands to meet this emergency [the coronavirus pandemic] and for a better life after the crisis, the event was backed by over 60 different unions, parties, campaign groups and media outlets. These included the Trades Union Congress (TUC), nine individual left-talking unions, Counterfire, the Communist Party of Britain, the Green Party, Stand Up to Racism, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Stop the War Coalition, Left Unity, UK Uncut, Extinction Rebellion, and Keep Our NHS Public.

The Communist Partys Morning Star, and news outlets supportive of former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, Skwawkbox and the Canary, rounded out the list. Between them they provided a near-complete roll call of the Labour left and its political apologists.

The event was organised at a critical moment for the British and international ruling class. With Prime Minister Boris Johnson joining world leaders in preparing a return to work while the UK coronavirus epidemic still rages, the Labour Party and the trade unions are being increasingly exposed as loyal adjuncts of the Conservative government. While Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer works constructively with a murderous Tory government, the TUC and leading unions are in talks with the government, the Confederation of British Industry and British Chamber of Commerce in preparing a smooth return to profit-making.

Given Johnsons intention to allow businesses free rein to risk the lives of their employees and the utter collapse of the Corbyn project of pushing Labour to the left, the political apologists for the labour bureaucracies are worried the governments actions will unleash a tidal wave of opposition in the working class that they will be unable to control. Union News reported at the start of this week: Unions warn of mass walkouts over government return-to-work guidelines.

In response, the official and semi-official left abandoned their nominal differences and closed ranks under the banner of the PA to demand that workers and young people show solidarity and unity. Ramona McCartney, national organiser for PA and a member of Counterfire, a breakaway from the Socialist Workers Party, told the Canary, We wanted to pull everyone together to show that there is resistance to whats happening and to unite. Theres a unity across these left-wing organisations.

These organisationseach with its own long history of betrayalswere not seeking to unify workers but to organise themselves against the working class. What is meant by unity and solidarity is in fact an effort to subordinate the working class to Labour and the trade unions by mounting a concerted campaign to conceal their rotten dealings with employers and the government.

The 120,000 people who tuned in to watch on 55 platforms had at their core a relatively small but politically significant groupingthe leftwhose members serve as ideologues, frontline organisers and, above all, firefighters whenever a demand for industrial action or anger at the innumerable betrayals by Labour and the trade unions threatens the grip of the bureaucracy. These are the voices who caution against abandoning the Labour Party, who rail against sectarianism in relation to the mass organisations of the working class, and who insist that the only role for left-leaning workers is to put pressure on the officially sanctified leaders of the movement.

From its first announcement, the rally pushed a demoralising and indeed demobilising perspective, summed up in McCartneys comment to The Canary that the biggest hope for the event was hope itself.

Contributions proceeded in the same anodyne, Obama-esque spirit. Each speaker delivered a series of homilies before coupling a few wished-for reforms with empty phrases about the need to fight and take action.

Counterfire member John Rees offered up the stunning political strategy that the principle on which any social movement has to be founded is the fact that people arent dispensable.

Amelia Womack, Deputy Leader of the Green Party, urged people to lay the foundations for solutions in the form of a universal basic income and a Green New Deal.

Alex Gordon, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Britain, told viewers that there should be no return to neoliberal normality and that people can make a new political realitybefore raising the beacon of socialist Cuba.

Kevin Courtney of the National Education Union (NEU) and Mark Serwotka of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) insisted on the need to resist an unsafe return to work and for pay rises and a New Deal. They trusted those watching to pass over their records in enforcing a collapse in pay and conditions, and not to ask questions about when the joint union action and joint campaigning they referred to would ever materialise.

Dave Ward, the general secretary of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), had the gall to stretch his rhetoric to the point of insisting, We have to have action, just one week after cancelling a threat to strike against Royal Mail, which his union has sat on for nearly two months as he offered his members up as a fifth emergency service.

The real policy of the trade unions in this crisis was underscored by the day of action organised over the 24-hours prior to the PA rally by the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) through the People Before Profit: Health Worker Covid Activists group.

The day of action was meant as the SWPs specific contribution to concealing the total inaction of the trade unions in defending their members during the COVID-19 lockdown. On Wednesday night, People Before Profit organised its own livestreamed meeting with Courtney, Serwotka, Sarah Wooley of the British Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU), former Shadow Chancellor and Corbyn ally John McDonnell and Unison, Unite and University and College Union representativesto plan a day of demonstrations to precede the Peoples Assembly online event.

But this only produced a handful of protests, made up of a few dozen union bureaucrats and pseudo-left activists in a few major cities with no participation by workers. Participants in the Fight for Our Lives rally were left with nothing with which to conceal their exposed backsides.

An hour-and-a-half of hot-air was brought to a fitting end by Corbyn and his acolyte Laura Pidcock, national secretary of the Peoples Assembly. Like a vicar from some sleepy country parish, Corbyn declared that people should support each other during this crisis, before concluding with the complacent declaration that Together, when Covid is done, we will be demanding investment, fairness, justice and no more austerity.

Pidcock declared that the Peoples Assembly would channel the energy and all of the suffering of workers during the pandemic into productive, positive pressure to change the system, before hurriedly closing proceedings so that everyone could participate in a national clap for key workers.

The most striking element of Corbyns remarks is that even his wish-list for fairness, justice and an end to austerity implied no struggle against the government and the employersand would only begin when Covid is done. This is said as millions of workers face mass unemployment and a brutal ramping up of exploitation once the ruling class succeeds in engineering a return to work.

Workers and young people should reject with contempt the hydra-headed apologists for the labour bureaucracy that collectively make up the left. Overcoming the public health crisis and preventing the imposition of yet more savage austerity means overcoming the political crisis facing the working class. Taking on and defeating a barbaric ruling class and its state apparatus, not just in the UK but internationally, means breaking once and for all with the rotten leadership of the Labour Party and the trade unions and waging an independent struggle for socialism.
Wuhan, once hit hard by COVID-19, has seen its urban life gradually return to normal since its lockdown was lifted one month ago.



LIFE HEADING BACK TO NORMAL

Taking a subway early in the morning to a breakfast store about 7 km from home, Yang Jing gobbled a bowl of noodles with sliced beef and took away five fried stuffed buns.

"Life returns with my favorite breakfast," said the man in his 20s.

The 100-meter-long street Yang just visited was filled with breakfast vendors peddling all kinds of food with different flavors -- a typical sight in Wuhan, a city fussy about food.

Hubu Alley, a famous snack street that tourists usually mark on their itinerary, reopened for business from May. The aroma of sesame sauce emitted from Wuhan's signature hot dry noodles filled the alley again after over 100 days.

According to Liu Guoliang, president of the Wuhan Dining Industry Association, among the over 50,000 restaurants in the city, 13.3 percent have resumed eat-in service and 45.6 percent restarted takeout service. The daily number of food delivery orders has exceeded 100,000 in the city.

Meanwhile, traffic flow in the city returned to the same level as that before the epidemic, and all subways and buses have resumed operation.

Convenient public transportation has whetted citizens' willingness to go out. Setting up four tents, Zeng Lingling and her family enjoyed a picnic by the lakeside.

"After a long time at home, this is our first family trip. The blue sky, clear water, flowers and beautiful scenery remain the same, but our mentality has changed," said Zeng.

About 57,800 students in their final year from 121 high and vocational schools returned to campus on Wednesday in Wuhan.

At 7:30 a.m., Zong Zheng carried a box of books while walking into Wuhan No. 17 High School.

"I gained some weight at home, so I'm worried that my classmates might not be able to recognize me. I'll have my first exam of the semester on Friday, hopefully my grades won't drop too harshly," said Zong.

Chen Shufei, a senior student at Hubei Wuchang Experimental High School, changed the number of days left in the countdown to the national college entrance examination at the front of the classroom from 138 to 62.

When Chen began her winter holiday on Jan. 20, the 18-year-old did not expect it would be for so long.

"I'm both excited and nervous to be back on campus, and I hope I can re-adjust as soon as possible and enter my dream university," said Chen. She aspires to study at Wuhan University.

On May 20, another 73,000 students in their final year of junior high school in Wuhan will also return to campus to start their postponed new semester.

A COMEBACK AT "CHINA SPEED"

As Wuhan people's lives gradually come back to normal, the city is accelerating the resumption of work and production.

A labor skills competition was launched Friday at the Wuhan Optics Valley, one of the most economically active areas in Hubei and home to more than 100,000 tech companies, with some 300 migrant construction workers in safety helmets and reflective vests attending an oath-taking rally.

The valley saw the settlement of U.S. industrial conglomerate Honeywell's newly registered wholly owned subsidiary Huosheng Industrial Technology Co., Ltd. last month, as its headquarters for the company's mass-mid segment business in China.

It was the first Fortune 500 company to set up an independent legal entity in Wuhan since the epidemic outbreak.

The city held its first "cloud investment fair" on April 8, with 69 key projects worth a total of 245.1 billion yuan (about 34.6 billion U.S. dollars) signed. A hundred major projects started two days later.

As the main pillar industry in Hubei, the revival of the automotive industry is key to stabilizing the province's economy and promoting its development.

Dongfeng Honda Automobile Co., Ltd., a joint venture between China's Dongfeng Motor Corp. and Japan's Honda Motor Co., resumed production on March 11 and has so far restored its production capacity to the peak level of more than 3,000 vehicles per day, with one new car rolled off the production line every 50 seconds.

The automaker also announced in mid-April that its third factory had gone into operation in Wuhan, which will initially be capable of producing 120,000 cars a year and its annual capacity will reach 240,000 in the future.

The rebooting of the leading enterprise has spurred the whole industrial chain, driving more than 500 auto-parts suppliers back to work.

ANTI-VIRUS A NEW NORMAL

Though the emergency response level has been lowered in Wuhan, its anti-virus measures have remained. Nearly 20,000 community workers, over 50,000 volunteers and 50,000 officials and police officers were sent to prevent infection in over 1,400 residential communities across the city.

"Everyone, no matter how familiar, has to show me their pass card in or out," said a security guard at a community in Wuchang District. In addition to the pass, one has to take temperature, scan a QR code and register to pass the gate.

During rush hours, more community workers will be sent to take temperature and register residents and vehicles in and out.

Residents in Wuhan use automatic sterilizer to disinfect their packages taken from delivery lockers, and keep some distance at shop entrances while waiting for body temperature measurement and code scanning. Everybody behaves.
09.05.2020 LISTEN

A combined team of the Birim Central Municipal Health Directorate, the Oda police and the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) has recaptured a 27-year-old covid-19 patient who escaped from his confinement at Akwatia in the Denkyembuor District in the Eastern Region last week.

Kwame Oduro was recaptured last Saturday at Apam in the Central Region where he had taken refuge.

He has since been taken to the Kasoa Treatment Centre for quarantine and medication.

Briefing

Briefing the Daily Graphic at Oda yesterday, the Birim Central Municipal Director of Health Services, Mr James Avoka, said the Denkyembuor District Taskforce on covid-19 spotted Oduro at a check point at Akwatia.

He said his temperature was found to be far above normal, so he was referred to the hospital where his sample was taken and later confirmed by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research to be coronavirus positive.

Lockdown

Mr Avoka said Oduro was among a number of people who fled Accra to Akwatia when the President announced the restrictions on movement in the city.

He said Oduro was confined to Akwatia by the Denkyembuor District Assembly under police supervision, while steps were being taken to send him to Accra for quarantine and medical treatment.

Mr Avoka said on April 28, 2020, the policeman guarding him sought shelter at the nearby barracks when it threatened to rain, but on his return he realised that Oduro had escaped.

He said through investigations, the police tracked him to a village near Akwatia and later Oda and Akyem Aboabo.

They caused announcements to be made on radio stations in Oda that whoever was harbouring the suspect should send him to the BNI Divisional Office at Oda.

He said Oduro escaped to Apam when he heard the announcements.

He said the Oda BNI collaborated with its counterpart at Apam and that led to Oduro being recaptured at his hideout in the community last Saturday.

---graphic.com.gh
Namita Bajpai By

Express News Service

LUCKNOW: The crucial case of Agra witnessing an unprecedented spurt in COVID-19 cases breaching the 700-mark with 36 more people testing positive for the deadly virus on Saturday is a major cause of concern not only for the state authorities but Centre as well.

The merciless march of the deadly virus in the City of Taj has made the Centre to get a direct feedback from residents of the worst-hit district of Uttar Pradesh rather than relying on district administration and state machinery.

Taking the initiative, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri called up vice president of Tourism Guild of Agra, Rajeev Saxena on Friday evening. As per sources, Puri took a first-hand account from Saxena about the situation of the spread of coronavirus in Agra, which contributes a major chunk of revenue through tourism.

Moreover, the Agra model, which had drawn all-round appreciation in the initial days of the first lockdown for containing the number of coronavirus-positive case effectively by sealing the affected areas and enforcing the lockdown, is not yielding desired results now.

The district, with 706 cases on Saturday, has so far seen 23 deaths due to COVID-19 and at least 303 people have recovered after getting infected with the deadly disease, said district magistrate PN Singh. he added that sampling in hotspots was continuing at a brisk pace and currently, 380 active cases were

convalescing in the hospitals.

However, such a huge spurt in the cases is being attributed to non-cooperation by the members of Tablighi Jamat who had returned from Markaz at Nizamuddin in a large number to Agra and hid inside the city mosques.

The new cases were mostly from the 44 hotspots and those who had come in contact with some infected persons. The district health department has so far collected 8,835 samples.

Agra had reported its first case of the shoe merchant with a foreign travel history on March 2. It was followed by his five family members but after that, the rate of infliction in the Taj city declined and the curve had nearly flattened when the Jamatis started testing positive in large numbers.

Moreover, the casual approach of a few private hospitals also contributed to the spike by hiding the information of inflictions among doctors, nurses and other apra medical staff in big number.

Now the virus has made its way to district jail as well where an inmate serving a life term had tested positive on Thursday. Owing to the sealing of a number of COIVD hospitals with health staff testing positive in Agra, the district was left with limited options to cater to the COVID-19 patients and the infliction started spreading to 10-11 adjoining districts in the division.

In Firozabad, the tally has climbed to 174, while in Mathura two new cases have been admitted to the district hospital. The number of cases has gone up to 38 in the holy city which continues to see a drought of pilgrims as a result of the lockdown.

The Agra administration on Saturday announced new quarantine centres for the incoming migrant labourers who will be required to spend 14 days before entering villages.
Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad has sought Pakistan's support for reducing violence in Afghanistan and accelerate the intra-Afghan dialogue, the US Embassy here said on Saturday.

Khalilzad discussed the Afghanistan peace process with Pakistan Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Friday.

During the discussion, he also asked for help to secure the release of American navy veteran-turned contractor Mark Frerichs, who went missing in Afghanistan.

The embassy said Khalilzad discussed the ongoing efforts by the US to advance the Afghan peace process.

He "sought Pakistan's support in pressing for a reduction in violence, the immediate start of intra-Afghan negotiations, and assistance in helping obtain the freedom of American Mark Frerichs", it said.

The embassy noted that Pakistan's military leaders reaffirmed their support for the US efforts.

Earlier, the Pakistan Army in a statement on Friday said during the meeting between Khalilzad and General Bajwa, issues of mutual interest and overall regional security situation, including Afghan reconciliation process, were discussed.

Khalilzad appreciated Pakistan's continuous efforts for peace and stability in the region, according to the Army statement.

The US and Taliban representatives signed a historic peace deal on February 29 in Doha and since then efforts were being made to start the intra-Afghan dialogue.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Tesla told employees it would restart its factory in Fremont, Calif., on Friday. But the electric car companys plans do not comply with a local government order that has not cleared large manufacturers to resume operations. The company informed employees of the plan in companywide emails sent late Thursday and early Friday. The emails were sent after Gov. Gavin Newsom said manufacturing companies could restart operations even as other businesses were to stay closed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The governor also said that local governments could impose tougher ...
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) moved Thursday to drop all charges against retired Gen. Michael Flynn, a one-time national security advisor to President Trump, even though he had pleaded guilty more than two years ago to charges of lying to the FBI.

The action, in response to nonstop pressure from the White House, was a significant step in the transformation of the DOJ into a direct instrument of the president, indicting those whom Trump regards as political enemies and exonerating those he regards as friends and allies, and in the process dropping any pretense that the agency is an impartial and nonpartisan legal arbiter.

Attorney General William Barr defended the action and denied that it was taken in response to Trumps repeated demands that charges against Flynn be dropped, or to spare the president the necessity of using his pardon power in the Flynn case, as he has repeatedly threatened to do.

Flynn was Trumps top national security aide during the 2016 presidential campaign and became national security advisor on January 20, 2017, when Trump was inaugurated. He resigned 23 days later, after admitting that he had lied to other officials, including the FBI and Vice President Mike Pence, about his contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak in the months between the election and Trumps taking office.

In January 2017, Flynn spoke several times to Kislyak, reassuring him that measures taken by the outgoing Obama administration penalizing Russia for alleged interference in the US election would be revisited by Trump once he entered the White House. As a result of these assurances, Russia did not retaliate for US actions, such as the expulsion of 35 Russian embassy and consular officials, ordered by Obama to punish Moscow for its alleged role in supporting the Trump campaign.

The Flynn case became one of the building blocks of the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into claims that Russia had interfered in the presidential election with the goal of helping Trump against his Democratic opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and that the Trump campaign had colluded with Moscow.

In December 2017, Flynn pled guilty to two counts of lying to the FBI, but his sentencing was repeatedly postponed as he continued to cooperate with Mueller in his two-year-long investigation. According to press reports, one of his main motives for cooperating was the threat that federal prosecutors would indict his son, Michael Flynn Jr., in an unrelated case involving Flynns lobbying business.

The charges against Flynn, like those against nearly all those indicted as a result of the Mueller investigation, stemmed not from actual involvement in a plot with Russia to influence the 2016 electionno such plot existedbut from lying to federal agents who were engaged in the investigation of the alleged plot when their questions threatened to embarrass the Trump administration or uncover other unrelated misconduct.

Except for Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign manager convicted of tax fraud in connection with his previous employment as a high-level fixer and election operative for Ukrainian politicians, all those Trump aides, advisers and associates indicted by the special counsel were charged with perjury in one form or another. None was charged with any Russia-related offense.

While Mueller claimed there was substantial evidence of Russian intervention in the electionfor which he relied entirely on assurances from US intelligence agencieshe found no evidence of direct collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow, despite the incessant claims of Democrats, such as Representative Adam Schiff, that such evidence existed and he had seen it.

The Democrats and their media allies were doing the bidding of the military-intelligence apparatus in fomenting the Russia investigation and using it to pressure Trump to adopt a more belligerent stance towards Russia than he had promised during the campaign. After the failure of the Mueller probe, the foreign policy issues were raised again in a thinly altered form in the impeachment drive against Trump over his efforts to pressure the Ukrainian government to open an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden, then his likely Democratic challenger now the presumptive Democratic nominee.

While the anti-Russia campaign was bogus from start to finish, Trumps response to this escalating conflict within the US ruling elite has been increasingly authoritarian. He arguably engaged in obstruction of justice in his efforts to sabotage the Mueller investigation. After the Democrats regained control of the House of Representatives in the 2018 elections, Trump installed Barr as attorney general to spearhead a policy of total refusal to accept congressional subpoenas of witnesses or documents.

Barrs handpicked choice as US attorney for the District of Columbia, Timothy Shea, intervened into the prosecution of Trump crony Roger Stone, indicted on seven counts of lying to Congress, to urge the judge to impose a much lighter sentence than called for by federal guidelines. This led to 2,000 former Justice Department officials signing a petition urging Barr to resign.

The intervention in the case of General Flynn is even more provocative, since Flynn has already admitted in court, under questioning by a federal judge, that he deliberately lied to the FBI about the subject of his discussions with Kislyak, denying that the question of the sanctions imposed by Obama had been raised, when that was the main topic.

The argument presented by the DOJ in seeking dismissal of the charges against Flynn was so flimsy from a legal standpoint that it was obviously constructed for the sole purpose of meeting Trumps demands for a whitewash of his former aide.

The court filing argues that Flynns interview on January 24, 2017 was not conducted with a legitimate investigative basis and therefore [the DOJ] does not believe Mr. Flynns statements were material even if untrue. In other words, Flynn lied in response to questions the FBI had no legal basis for asking. There is, of course, no possibility that anyone not a Trump crony who was caught lying to the FBI would get off scot-free on such a basis.

At the same time, the internal FBI documents made public over the past several weeks relating to the Flynn probe demonstrate the intensely political atmosphere inside the federal policy agency, in which, in 2016 and 2017, rival factions aligned with Trump and Clinton were bitterly at war.

One email from FBI counterintelligence chief E.W. Priestap asked his colleagues, who included Peter Strzok, the lead agent in the Russia probe dubbed Crossfire Hurricane, What is our goal? in interrogating General Flynn. Truth/admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?

The FBI played a particularly critical role in the manipulation of the 2016 election. First, it conducted an investigation into Clintons use of a private email server while she was secretary of state, generating a flood of negative publicity. FBI Director James Comey then held a highly unusual press conference to announce that no charges would be brought, although he condemned Clinton for carelessness.

While the FBI was conducting its Crossfire Hurricane investigation, opened in July 2016, into allegations of a Trump-Russia connection, sections of the bureau, particularly its New York office, linked to former Mayor Rudolf Giuliani, were seeking to revive the charges against Clinton.

This conflict led to two interventions in October. Early in the month, US intelligence agencies declared that Russia was intervening in the US elections in support of Trump. Then, only a week before the election, Comey announced that a new trove of Clinton emails had been uncovered, and the investigation into her email account was being reopened, an action that may well have contributed to Trumps narrow victory in the Electoral College.

The response to the decision on Flynn suggests that the political warfare in Washington will continue and even escalate. Trump boasted about the whitewash and then declared that he now wanted prosecutions to go the other way, against those who organized the campaign against him. I hope a lot of people are going to pay a big price because theyre dishonest, crooked people, he added. Theyre scum.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler denounced the decision to drop charges against Flynn. Nadler said, The decision to overrule the special counsel is without precedent and warrants an immediate explanation.

Others pointed out that unless US District Judge Emmet Sullivan agrees to dismiss the charges with prejudice, Flynn could still be prosecuted under a future Democratic administration. Sullivan has not yet responded to the DOJ filing, and he could reject it and insist on sentencing Flynn on the charges to which he pleaded guilty.

The Justice Department staff is also in turmoil. Brandon Van Grack, the lead prosecutor in the Flynn case, filed a one-line withdrawal from the case before US Attorney Shea urged that the charges be dismissed. His assistant prosecutor, Jocelyn Ballentine, did not sign the dismissal motion.
Every week, Vogue will be spotlighting the medical workers, teachers, and Good Samaritans who are giving back to those in need during the coronavirus crisis.

Mackenzie Davis, an ambassador for One Girl Cana Kenyan-based organization dedicated to empowering local girls through mentorships and scholarshipsknows the vital importance of education. Now as schools across the world are shuttered in the wake of the coronavirus, accessible education is more important than ever. We want to make sure that when people go back to work and go back to school that these girls are not left completely without support or infrastructure or a foundation to continue pursuing their ambitions, Davis told Vogue.

Since the organization's inception in 2008, 9,600 girls have been mentored and 863 scholarships have been awarded to support their education throughout Kenya. While One Girl Can has made meaningful progress in these local communities, Davis emphasized that their work is still very much on-going. In order to sustain the operations of One Girl Can, a virtual silent auction and gala titled Alone, Together: A No-Gala, Gala will be livestreamed on June 4th to raise funds for scholarships and school construction.

Vogue spoke with Davis about the inspiring girls enrolled and current ongoing fundraising efforts for One Girl Can amid the coronavirus crisis.

How did you become involved with One Girl Can?

My mother started it in 2008 when I was in university. It didn't start as a fully formed organization, she was working with, Amref, which is a Kenyan based education organization and through that process, she became really invested in girls education and started One Girl Can to help build schools and create not just boxes to read in but beautiful dormitories for these girls to go to school and be proud of the environment that they were in; beautiful bathrooms and science labs and really investing in giving them a space to feel proud of.

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Where is the program based in Kenya and how many girls are there currently?

I mean it's all overthe Kibera slums are in the center of Nairobi and there's a couple of schools that we work with there. A lot of the girls live in the Kibera slums. I went on a work trip with them last September and that was the first time I traveled all around the country. And the [program] works with 10 schools all over Kenya. But a lot of the girls are from Nairobi and then go to boarding schools in other parts of the countryit's pretty widespread.

There are currently 500 girls in the program that are under scholarship for both your university and high school. There have been many girls that have already gone through the program, but we're supporting 500 girls right now that are in the middle of their education. I know a number of these girls very well, but I've known a lot of them for years and years and seeing them grow up and they are the most ambitious, intelligent, hungry to learn and to build a profession. They work extremely hard and they're so deserving of this, they're really special.

Are there virtual classes they can attend? Or has their education completely halted for the moment?

Their education has been completely halted for the moment. Obviously, there's a fire going on in the house and we all are paying attention to Covid-19, but there are other less immediate consequences from the crisis that we're going through right now. And as always, I think girls and women in the global South are the ones that pay the fine for whatever the crisis isthey get the most disenfranchised from whatever local or global trauma exists. There was supposed to be a fundraiser on April 23rd that had to be canceled because of the times we're living in. But that fundraiser provides over half a million dollars for the support for the program, which is all of the scholarships, all of the materials to build schools.

The upcoming virtual event is a fundraiser, could you talk a bit about that?

It's taking the place of the live fundraiser, which was supposed to happen. It's going to be half an hour. There'll be a silent auction and I'm gonna get to speak to two of the girls, Millie and Roy Ashley who are in Nairobi right now. And discuss their life in shutdown and we can hear what they're doing, but they're both amazing girls. One of them is working in broadcast journalism, she's already graduated from university. And Roy Ashley is a 15-year-old wunderkind going into her final year of high school and it's just absolutely brilliant. So I'm looking forward to talking to them and the fundraiser will have a musical performance, but ultimately we're just trying to help wherever we can to replace the canceled fundraiser and to pique people's interest in girls' education.

Would you be able to expand on how the funds will be allocated to the girls during Covid-19 beyond the mission of building the new school?

All donations made towards scholarships are allocated towards restricted funds and held in reserve in our Kenyan bank account for when the lockdown restrictions are lifted. 221 university students are hoping to start school in September, along with 250 high school students. Our goal is to ensure that the funds for tuition and room and board will be fully in place to ensure these girls dont miss another day of school.

Will you all be providing laptops, PPE or other necessities in the wake of the pandemic in order to continue their education?

All 331 university students graduated and have been given laptops as part of their scholarship. In the beginning, some girls tried to continue with online education, however the cost of buying internet for girls living in remote rural communities or in the slums is prohibitive and most students have no option but to wait until physical classes resume.

Are there any fundraising efforts or projects within One Girl Can that have been affected?

There was an elementary school in the middle of Nairobi that collapsed about a year ago and was this tragedy. So we partnered with the principal of one of those schools and agreed to help him build. Initially it was going to be dormitories for the girls so that they would have a safe place to study late and they wouldn't have to walk home through the streets because there's very high rates of sexual assault and danger for these girls walking home at night. So we were trying to give them a space to sleep. But first, we have to build the school. We're in the middle of building the school to replace the one that collapsed and that can keep going. But if people want to donate and they want to support a girl, they can donate money, and then it will go into a fund for scholarships that we won't use until they're back in school.

I know that in the time that all the schools have been shut down, Kenya has quite a strict curfew right now. They've managed to stem what was thought to be a really rapid spread and it's been managed quite well so far. But, we've just been focusing on continuing our building project so at least the things that we can do with the money that we do have can be applied to that. And then all of the scholarship money, any money that's donated that is intentionally donated for a scholarship we're putting aside - we're not using it for anything until the girls can go back to school. But our concern is just mostly planning and making sure that they have somewhere to land when all this is over and they just haven't been abandoned by anybody.

What personal message do you have to share with those in our community?

I think we all are living through an incredible emergency right now. And of course that's our focus, but always people living in the global South and in particular girls will be the hardest hit from this and it will resonate the longest for them. And I think also like as a way of sort of justifying why donate to this right now when the girls are not in school right now is because that I think in light of this tragedy, in light of the variety of data that has been handled and mishandled around the world, now is the time to be even more invested in amplifying voices that have been historically and symptomatically ignored and to give opportunities to people who could change the world and the way the world is run. I think we should invest in people whose perspectives haven't been prioritized to all others. And I think we should be investing in these girls and hopefully this next phase of our earth can have them leading it more than they've been given the opportunity to in the past.

Originally Appeared on Vogue
US chief trade negotiators invited Chinas Vice Premier Liu He to speak on Friday, and also vowed to create conditions for a trade deal. The US sharp shift in attitude toward China indicates some in the US have realized they need China to save their risky economy,while also revealing the US inability to supply relevant products to China due to failures in COVID-19 management, experts close to the trade talks said.

Liu was invited to talk with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin by phone on Friday. The two vowed to create favorable conditions for the implementation of the phase one trade deal, while cooperating on the economy and public health, according to a report from the Xinhua News Agency.

They also agreed to maintain communications during the phone call, Xinhua said.

The planned phone call was the first conversation about the agreement between the two countries chief negotiators since it was signed in January. It came after US President Donald Trump threatened to terminate the trade deal if China fails in its promise to purchase specific goods and services from the US.

The US has been wracking its brains seeking ways to redirect its own mismanagement of the coronavirus toward China. The contrast in attitude indicates a worse-than-expected domestic economic situation has caused some in the country to realize that only cooperation with China can save the US economy from the brink of disaster, Sang Baichuan, director of the Institute of International Business at the University of International Business and Economics, told the Global Times on Friday.

Nearly 3.2 million US workers have sought unemployment aid, with total layoffs since the virus hit the country rising to 33 million as business shutdowns deepen the worst US economic catastrophe in decades, the Associated Press reported on Thursday.

On the other side, the Chinese economy has been showing a steady recovery over recent months. Thursday's customs data showed China's yuan-denominated exports increased 8.2 percent year-on-year to 1.41 trillion yuan ($200 billion) in April, beating market expectations of double-digit negative growth. Imports were recorded at 1.09 trillion yuan, down 10.2 percent on a yearly basis.

[The US] now hopes Chinas expanding imports can alleviate its domestic situation, Sang said.

However, Gao Lingyun, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences who advises the government on trade issues, said the US may now face another problem: it is unable to provide the quantity of products China now needs as the virus has undercut its production ability.

So its now on the US to determine whether or not the two can smoothly carry out the deal, Gao said, noting that improving bilateral ties between the worlds two largest economies will be the fastest way to rescue the global economy from the pandemic blow.

But faced with mounting pressure to handle the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the upcoming presidential election, the US will not relinquish its China card and will continue in its capricious attitude in the future, Sang said.

China has shown sincerity and played its part in the phase one trade pact. Its attitude has not been altered by the pandemic, but an agreement can only be implemented through efforts from both sides, experts said.

Chinas trade with the US continued to drop from January to April amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with the total value of China-US trade down 12.8 percent to 958.46 billion yuan. China's imports from the US have slid 3 percent, while exports have plunged 15.9 percent, official data showed on Thursday.
Syed Shah usually buys and sells stocks and currencies through his Interactive Brokers account, but he couldnt resist trying his hand at some oil trading on April 20, the day prices plunged below zero for the first time ever. The day trader, working from his house in a Toronto suburb, figured he couldnt lose as he spent $2,400 snapping up crude at $3.30 a barrel, and then 50 cents. Then came what looked like the deal of a lifetime: buying 212 futures contracts on West Texas Intermediate for an astonishing penny each.

What he didnt know was oils first trip into negative pricing had broken Interactive Brokers Group Inc. Its software couldnt cope with that pesky minus sign, even though it was always technically possible -- though this was an outlandish idea before the pandemic -- for the crude market to go upside down. Crude was actually around negative $3.70 a barrel when Shahs screen had it at 1 cent. Interactive Brokers never displayed a subzero price to him as oil kept diving to end the day at minus $37.63 a barrel.

At midnight, Shah got the devastating news: He owed Interactive Brokers $9 million. Hed started the day with $77,000 in his account.

I was in shock, the 30-year-old said in a phone interview. I felt like everything was going to be taken from me, all my assets.

To be clear, investors who were long those oil contracts had a brutal day, regardless of what brokerage they had their account in. What set Interactive Brokers apart, though, is that its customers were flying blind, unable to see that prices had turned negative, or in other cases locked into their investments and blocked from trading. Compounding the problem, and a big reason why Shah lost an unbelievable amount in a few hours, is that the negative numbers also blew up the model Interactive Brokers used to calculate the amount of margin -- aka collateral -- that customers needed to secure their accounts.

Thomas Peterffy, the chairman and founder of Interactive Brokers, says the journey into negative territory exposed bugs in the companys software. Its a $113 million mistake on our part, the 75-year-old billionaire said in an interview Wednesday. Since then, his firm revised its maximum loss estimate to $109.3 million. Its been a moving target from the start; on April 21, Interactive Brokers figured it was down $88 million from the incident.

Customers will be made whole, Peterffy said. We will rebate from our own funds to our customers who were locked in with a long position during the time the price was negative any losses they suffered below zero.

That could help Shah. The day trader in Mississauga, Canada, bought his first five contracts for $3.30 each at 1:19 p.m. that historic Monday. Over the next 40 minutes or so he bought 21 more, the last for 50 cents. He tried to put an order in for a negative price, but the Interactive Brokers system rejected it, so he became more convinced that it wasnt possible for oil to go below zero. At 2:11 p.m., he placed that dream-turned-nightmare trade at a penny.

It was only later that night that he saw on the news that oil had plunged to the never-before-seen price of negative $37.63 per barrel. What did that mean for the hundreds of contracts hed bought? He frantically tried to contact support at the firm, but no one could help him. Then that late-night statement arrived with a loss so big it was expressed with an exponent.

The problem wasnt confined to North America. Thousands of miles away, Interactive Brokers customer Manfred Koller ran into trouble similar to what Shah faced. Koller, who lives near Frankfurt and trades from his home computer on behalf of two friends, also didnt realize oil prices could go negative.

Hed bought contracts for his friends on Interactive Brokers that day at $11 and between $4 and $5. Just after 2 p.m. New York time, his trading screen froze. The price feed went black, there were no bids or offers anymore, he said in an interview. Yet as far as he knew at this point, according to his Interactive Brokers account, he didnt have anything to worry about as trading closed for the day.

Following the carnage, Interactive Brokers sent him notice that he owed $110,000. His friends were completely wiped out. This is definitely not what you want to do, lose all your money in 20 minutes, Koller said.

Besides locking up because of negative prices, a second issue concerned the amount of money Interactive Brokers required its customers to have on hand in order to trade. Known as margin, its a vital risk measure to ensure traders dont lose more than they can afford. For the 212 oil contracts Shah bought for 1 cent each, the broker only required his account to have $30 of margin per contract. It was as if Interactive Brokers thought the potential loss of buying at one cent was one cent, rather than the almost unlimited downside that negative prices imply, he said.

It seems like they didnt know it could happen, Shah said.

But it was known industrywide that CME Group Inc.s benchmark oil contracts could go negative. Five days before the mayhem, the owner of the New York Mercantile Exchange, where the trading took place, sent a notice to all its clearing-member firms advising them that they could test their systems using negative prices. Effective immediately, firms wishing to test such negative futures and/or strike prices in their systems may utilize CMEs New Release testing environments for crude oil, the exchange said.

Interactive Brokers got that notice, Peterffy said. But he doesnt feel five days was enough time to upgrade his companys trading platform.

Five days, including the weekend, with the coronavirus going on and a complex system where we have to make many changes, was not a sufficient amount of time, he said. The idea we could have bugs is not, in my mind, a surprise. He also acknowledged the error in the margin model Interactive Brokers used that day.

According to Peterffy, its customers were long 563 oil contracts on Nymex, as well as 2,448 related contracts listed at another company, Intercontinental Exchange Inc. Interactive Brokers foresees refunding $18,815 for the Nymex ones and $37,630 for ICEs, according to a spokesman.

To give a sense of how far off the Interactive Brokers margin model was that day, similar trades to what Shah placed would have required $6,930 per trade in margin if he placed them at Intercontinental Exchange. Thats 231 times the $30 Interactive Brokers charged.

I realized after the fact the margin for those contracts is very high and these trades should never have been processed, he said. He didnt sleep for three nights after getting the $9 million margin call, he said.

Peterffy accepted blame, but said there was little market liquidity after prices went negative, which couldve prevented customers from exiting their trades anyway. He also laid responsibility on the exchanges and said the company had been in touch with the industrys regulator, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

We have called the CFTC and complained bitterly, Peterffy said. It appears the exchanges are going scot-free.

Representatives of CME and Intercontinental Exchange declined to comment. A CFTC spokesman didnt immediately return a request for comment.

Peterffy said theres a problem with how exchanges design their contracts because the trading dries up as they near expiration. The May oil futures contract -- the one that went negative -- expired the day after the historic plunge, so most of the market had moved to trading the June contract, which expires May 19 and currently trades around $24 a barrel.

Thats how its possible for these contracts to go absolutely crazy and close at a price that has no economic justification, Peterffy said. The issue is whose responsibility is this?
First they wandered the empty city streets, then they partied in North Beach, one even took a beach day at Kirby Cove in Marin to enjoy the view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Now they've taken to the rooftops.

Increased coyote sightings have been an unexpected consequence of San Francisco's two-month coronavirus shutdown. With less people on the streets and more space to roam, the native wild dogs have enjoyed the opportunity to reclaim the city.
People walk along Broadway as the coronavirus keeps financial markets and businesses mostly closed on May 08, 2020 in New York City. Spencer Platt | Getty Images

Americans have lost jobs by the millions as the coronavirus pandemic continues to bludgeon the U.S. economy. However, many jobless workers stand to reap a financial benefit from their layoffs. Some could more than double their prior salaries. The distortion results from the $2.2 trillion economic relief bill enacted in March, which boosted jobless benefits to a level unseen since the unemployment insurance program was created in the 1930s. Around 40% of all workers could theoretically earn more while unemployed than going back to work, according to an analysis by Noah Williams, director of the Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Stats are through May 21's weekly jobless claims report.

Critics say the policy serves as a disincentive to return to work as states start re-opening their economies  in turn limiting the country's economic rebound, according to critics. Labor economists generally agree the situation isn't ideal. However, it's necessary given the extraordinary health and economic crises at hand, they said. "This is definitely a second- or third-best solution to a very serious problem," said Stephen Wandner, senior fellow at the National Academy of Social Insurance. "But I'm not sure they had a much better way of dealing with this."

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The relief law, known as the CARES Act, enhanced unemployment benefits in several ways. It boosted weekly benefits, increased their duration and extended jobless pay to previously ineligible groups like the self-employed. The law offered an extra $600 per week, funded by the federal government, to unemployment recipients. That infusion supplements the unemployment benefits typically doled out by a worker's state. While unemployment insurance is a joint federal-state program, states control key aspects like benefit levels and vary significantly in generosity. The average worker in more than half of states stands to collect more from unemployment than from their prior job, according to an analysis conducted by Ernie Tedeschi, an economist at Evercore ISI.

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States cap their maximum weekly unemployment pay, meaning the financial benefits of unemployment dissipate after a certain point for those making higher salaries. Take the accommodation and food services industry, for example. This industry category includes restaurant and hotel workers  among the worst-hit sectors of the U.S. economy as state lockdown orders led to mass layoffs in the hospitality sector.

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The average worker in this industry, which employs 14 million people, makes $13.45 an hour  the lowest compared with other industries. These workers would benefit most under the unemployment system when compared to others  collecting 182% of their previous wages, according to a CNBC analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics and Labor Department data.

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The dynamic could be especially lucrative for the typical fast-food worker, who would collect 219% of prior pay from unemployment, among the occupations that stands to benefit most. That wage replacement rate means the average worker would earn more than twice as much as from their regular job, which pays just $11 an hour.

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In normal times, state unemployment benefits replace less than half of prior wages for out-of-work Americans. That's meant to incentivize individuals to find a new job and provide financial support until they do. The $600-a-week infusion aimed to boost that ratio to 100%  or, full wage replacement  for the average American. That makes sense when U.S. and state officials are urging people to stay home, forcing businesses to close and preventing huge swaths of people from looking for work, economists said.

Workers in New Mexico, for example, would replace 129% of their prior salaries on average from unemployment  the largest "wage replacement rate" among any state. In Kansas and Montana, more than half their respective state workforces could make more on unemployment than by working  the largest shares of any other states, according to Williams.

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"I think it's a good compromise with the situation we're in," Jesse Rothstein, director of the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment at the University of California, Berkeley, and former chief economist of the U.S. Department of Labor, said of the $600 payments. "We needed to support families, and dramatically scale up the amount of benefits," he added. "It would have been much, much worse without something like this." Absent a significant infusion, the economy would have suffered from even greater spending pullbacks as more people curtailed purchases and delayed rent payments to make ends meet, economists said. "Giving extra income payments to people who make less than $20 an hour is pretty much getting money in the hands of people who need it to pay utility bills, buy groceries, and help [the economy] right now," said Betsey Stevenson, a professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan.

That was the case for one Amazon warehouse worker in Kentucky. The worker, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of company reprisal, has been collecting unemployment benefits in the state since the end of April after the warehouse temporarily closed. The individual makes nearly double his typical pay from a 40-hour work week pre-pandemic  $1,150 a week from unemployment benefits compared with $600 a week from a $15-an-hour wage. (The company recently instituted a $2-per-hour temporary raise and increased overtime pay from 1.5 times to 2 times hourly pay, the worker said.)

This is definitely a second- or third-best solution to a very serious problem. But I'm not sure they had a much better way of dealing with this. Stephen Wandner senior fellow at the National Academy of Social Insurance

The worker's warehouse has since re-opened, but the individual plans to take unpaid time off and collect unemployment benefits through July due to a risk of contracting the Covid-19 by returning to work  an especially fraught idea given that the worker is caring for high-risk family members due to health conditions. The $600-a-week additional payments are a "relief," the person said. "It eased financial strains in an already strained situation," the worker said. "The [state benefit] would've kept the four walls up and everything else on. But it would be tight." Absent the $600-a-week payments, the worker would still opt to collect unemployment due to health concerns.

The beefed-up unemployment benefits was also an issue of expediency. State unemployment systems are clunky and outdated even in the best of times, economists said. Instating a more-complicated formula would have delayed benefits for months  a potentially devastating outcome for families in dire straits, they said. However, some critics believe taking additional time to ensure workers couldn't make more from the unemployment system than their previous job would have been worthwhile, even if it resulted in delays.

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"I understand it could have added a little time," said Rachel Greszler, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. "But I don't think it's a good argument for incentivizing unemployment." The Heritage Foundation believes the CARES Act enhanced benefits could increase unemployment by nearly 14 million people and reduce U.S. gross domestic product by up to $1.49 trillion. The $600 weekly payments are ending after July 31, however, after which point Congress would have to extend them. Economists don't believe that's likely.

But there are mechanisms that will blunt any adverse impacts of people choosing not to return to work, economists said. For one, if workers refuse a work offer  say, from a prior boss who'd furloughed them or laid them off  they generally won't be able to continue collecting unemployment. Because more than 33 million Americans have filed for unemployment over the past seven weeks, state unemployment funds are being drained quickly, giving states an incentive not to be lenient in their interpretations of who can continue to collect benefits, Stevenson said. States may also try to claw back some unemployment pay in certain circumstances like fraud.
Many people have asked me: Are there still going to be regular Political Power Rankings even though theres a pandemic?

OK, nobody has actually asked me that, but I am taking Zoom courses in developing my Jedi powers. Hence, I can sense a tremendous interest in this question.

Before we plunge back in, let me go over the methodology for newcomers. No registered voters were sampled. All numbers are made up. The margin of error is 100 percent. If a politicians name does not appear on this list, it means that I did not have anything interesting to say about that person. Therefore, Bob Duff does not appear on this list.

Sign up to get Colins newsletter delivered to your inbox, for free

Ned Lamont, 104.1. Ned Lamont is like Spinal Tap. Im pretty sure the rankings top out at 100, but he can go higher, because governors are magic. Ordinarily, governor and mayor are the worst jobs in politics because people actually expect things from you. Now, its as if the Blue Fairy cast a spell on all of us, and we love governors so much. (The Red Fairy maybe didnt do such a great job.) How much do we love governors? In the expanded PPRs, which are available by mailing me $10, Dan Malloy has been sucked back onto the list, even though he is no longer a governor and lives in Maine, which Im pretty sure is just a territory.

Chris Murphy, 98.1. Murphy is sort of like Friday Night Lights. Clear eyes, full heart, cant lose. The national online publication Vox recently ran an adulatory profile accompanied by a picture in which Murphy appeared to be using his political clout to advance the leggings for men movement. People keep asking me if Murphy is going to be Bidens secretary of state or run for governor in 2022 so he can more plausibly run for president. And I keep saying, He has a Senate seat he cannot possibly lose. He can say whatever is on his mind 24/7. I mean, its like asking Mickey Mouse if he wants to run the National Institutes of Health. Hes already Mickey Mouse. I guess at NIH he could green-light more experiments on ducks, but, like Murphy, he has a job where he can do whatever he wants and never has to wait in line.

Richard Blumenthal and Themis Klarides, tied at 77.1. We have as complete an idea as is possible to have of the policies and approaches to governance of Richard Blumenthal, but we will never find him particularly exciting. In the case of Themis Klarides, it is exactly the opposite.

Susan Bysiewicz, 72.3. The German mathematician Georg Cantor proposed three realms of infinity: the infinity of God, the infinity of nature and the infinity of press releases Bysiewicz can generate about essentially nothing. Here is the heading of a real press release I received Wednesday. I cannot stress enough: this is merely the heading. TOMORROW: LT. GOVERNOR BYSIEWICZ VISITS ROCKY HILL FARM TO PROMOTE AVAILABILITY OF CT-GROWN PRODUCTS FOR MOTHERS DAY CELEBRATIONS; PARTICIPATES IN VIRTUAL TOWN HALL MEETING TO SUPPORT VETERANS; JOINS VIRTUAL TOWN HALL MEETING TO SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES. Sigh. The time between now and November 2022 is going to seem like an eternity.

Chris Dodd, 2.3. Is it not a bitter political irony that the uxorious Joe Biden, who was famous and unique among senators for boarding Amtrak at the end of every working day to be with his beloved Jill, now stands accused of backing a woman against a wall and interfering with her person? Is it not bizarre that Biden has chosen this moment to appoint to his running mate selection committee, a man who, during the multiple decades of his misspent youth, developed a reputation for that kind of thing?

Generic Connecticut Libertarian, minus 13.0. In Tristram Shandy, the title character has an Uncle Toby, who is much devoted to reenacting historic battles with miniature soldiers, but the narrator opines: So long as a man rides his Hobby-Horse peaceably and quietly along the Kings highway, and neither compels you or me to get up behind him, pray, Sir, what have either you or I to do with it?

That is how I used to feel about libertarians. I dont want to talk to them at barbecues, and their ideas dont make any sense, and its a little annoying that they are not mollified by already having a president who hates government, doesnt know how to do anything and cant point out countries on a map.

I mean, we know what its like when government steps away from the peoples business. Its like the present moment, when people are being tested for antibodies with Ronco Serology Kits.

Like Uncle Toby, they were no real trouble. But now Connecticut libertarians find it necessary to demonstrate every Monday against reasonable pandemic measures because they apparently believe the disease would simply go away if people drove around all day honking their horns. Honk honk honk.

Stop doing that or I will punish you with my new Jedi powers.

Colin McEnroes column appears every Sunday, his newsletter comes out every Thursday and you can hear his radio show every weekday on WNPR 90.5. Email him at colin@ctpublic.org. Sign up for his newsletter at http://bit.ly/colinmcenroe.
FLINT, MI -- The Flint security guard shot and killed last week was remembered for his impact on the community by family and loved ones during a visitation Friday.

Only 10 visitors were allowed in Sheldon T. Banks Funeral Chapel at a time between 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Calvin Duper James Munerlyn, was shot and killed Friday, May 1, at the Family Dollar off East Fifth Avenue just north of downtown Flint. He was 43 years old.

Seeing James Munerlyn in his casket was unbelievable, said his brother Terry Gray, 44, who now lives in Jacksonville, Fla.

Im older, but hes always been my protector, Grey said. Whenever he had an issue, hes always been my protector. It was kind of weird, especially us being 300 plus miles (away). It was very odd feeling helpless because I couldnt get here right then to see what was going on or to get here and pay my last respects before he actually passed. All of that was just a bad feeling in itself.

Slain Family Dollar security guard mourned at candlelight vigil

Grey is hoping the people who killed his brother get due justice and time behind bars to think about their actions.

He knew I loved him. He knows Id do anything for him. He knows Im going to miss him," Grey said. "On the outside its hard to tell how broken I am on the inside because I really dont have the ability most people got to cry and stuff like that. I just dont possess those capabilities. You really cant tell how hurt I am, but this one is real. It was real bad on me. It was real bad on me.

Grey said his brother was his best friend and an amazing father to his kids and other peoples kids. He had a sense of humor, and was always laughing, even though hard times.

"How could someone kill somebody who only does things to look out for someone? Hed always give somebody the shirt off his back, Grey said.

There was no reasoning he could find for his brothers death, Grey said.

He was trying to save you and himself and everyone else in this town, he said.

Ramon Munerlyn, Calvin Munerlyns uncle, called his nephews killing senseless.

This destroyed his mama, his kids, his wife, and all the rest of the family, he said. His kids were his world. Well never get over it.

Buhda Nicholas, Munerlyns cousin, said he remembered when the two were kids growing up together and how Munerlyn got his nickname Duper for having endless energy.

He was just a gift to life, man, Nicholas said. Everybody loved him. Theres no words to explain. When you walked in the room, the room got brighter. Thats who he was. There were no dark clouds around him.

Many knew Munerlyn from his work as a security guard. He also frequently worked out at Berston Field House and was involved in many areas of Flint, Nicholas said.

Hes going to be missed, he said. It affects everybody. It affects the city because everyone knew him. He was a good dude.

Munerlyn was loved by his family deeply, his son Maalik Mitchell said of his father at a vigil held Sunday, May 3.

When he heard about his fathers death, Mitchell said he was in denial.

It aint true. It aint true. I dont think its true. I dont think its true. Its not real. Its not real," he said were the thoughts that ran through his head.

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'All the animals -- buffaloes and dogs -- in the proximity of the factory are dead.'

'he situation is so serious that almost one lakh people from nearby localities have moved to safer places fearing the after-effects of the gas leak.'

'There is lot of panic.'

IMAGE: Firefighters outside the LG Polymers factory after a major chemical gas leak, May 7, 2020. Photograph: PTI Photo

While Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy has constituted a special committee to find the lapses in LG Polymers's safety protocols, the causes of leakage of styrene vapour gas from the plant in Vishakhapatnam on Thursday, May 7, the Telugu Desam Party, the principal Opposition party in the state, has demanded that the factory be moved to a special economic zone outside the city limits.

TDP MLA Gana Venkata Reddy Naidu Pethakamsetti tells Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com about the situation a day after the gas leak killed 12 people, put 1,000 people in hospital, and caused panic even 20 kilometres away from where the factory is located.

What is the situation in Vishakhapatnam right now?

When I spoke to the company management they told me the situation was under control in the morning by six o'clock today (May 8; styrene gas leaked out from LG Polymers on the intervening night of May 6 and 7).

While the (styrene gas) leak was already controlled (by Thursday morning), the only thing is that the tanker (in which styrene gas was stored) had produced some heat.

At 1 o'clock (on the intervening night of May 7 and 8) the temperature inside the tank had reached 156 (degree Celsius).

There was a 2 to 3 per cent chance of an explosion and so they (the LG Polymers management) immediately took action.

By early morning the temperature had cooled down to 115 (degree Celsius; considered safe).

What was the situation soon after the gas leak on Thursday?

Styrene gas leaked out from one of the tankers and spread to nearby villages.

Just adjacent to the wall (the complex compound) there is Venkataprabhu village, which was severely affected.

Almost 1,000 people have been hospitalised and 12 people have died.

All the animals -- buffaloes and dogs -- in the proximity of the factory are dead.

More than 10,000 people from three nearby villages have been shifted (to a safer place by the administration).

But the situation is so serious that almost one lakh people from nearby localities have moved to safer places on their own fearing the after-effects of the gas leak.

There is lot of panic and people have voluntarily moved to other places, but the state and district administration did not stop them leaving their homes.

This (LG Polymer factory) is in the heart of the city and just about six kilometres from Vishakhapatnam airport. That (that the factory is within the geographical boundaries of the city) is the problem.

Soon after the NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) came, the (state) government appointed a committee, but the management is saying something and the committee members are saying something else.

As an elected representative from the area, I am not getting credible information about what the real situation inside the company and surrounding areas is like.

Till yesterday, the state administration was transparent with the information sought, but since this (May 8) morning they are being over cautious now that the Centre has intervened and taken charge.

What the state administration is saying is that they will give more information only after another day of observation.

Only then they will be able to announce a clear picture of the situation.

But they have told everybody, including myself, that there is no leakage happening right now, no blast-like situation inside the factory and everything is under control (The MLA spoke with Rediff.com around 4.35 pm on Friday).

What kind of information were you not able to get from state government officials or the NDRF team?

(Information) regarding the technical issues.

They are reluctant to tell us if the air in the vicinity is clean and whether people can come back to their homes.

We need information that is in public interest and which my constituents are asking me.

The people want to know how the gas leaked, why the company couldn't prevent it, what measures were adopted by the company before they started the factory (it was shut for 40 days on account of the national lockdown), and if they could come back to their homes.

How much time will the authorities take to give permission to the residents to come back to their homes. This is not too huge a problem that the state government cannot address. I don't know why the state government is not addressing this issue.

The state government, district collector, is responsible for addressing the concerns of the people and revealing facts. That is the problem here.

No one is taking any responsibility to quell the rumours that have been floating in the town. This night (the intervening night of May 7 and 8) there were rumours there the entire city will get affected because of the gas leak and lot of people moved out of their houses during the night.

They travelled more than 25 kilometres towards the beach in the middle of the night on the national highway.

Someone (from the state administration) must take the initiative to quell such rumours and assure the people of the town that their lives are safe here.

People are panicking and asking me if they should move far away from the city.

An atmosphere of fear hangs over the city like the deadly gas. I request the state administration to address these concerns quickly.

Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy came yesterday, announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore to the families of the deceased and left the city. He appointed a committee headed by the chief secretary and some ministers.

Many ministers are coming here and addressing the press, but nobody is answering what the people want to hear.

People expect to know when it will become safe to come back home. That is the people's topmost priority, but nobody's answering it.

What is the situation right now in Vishakhapatnam?

You have to ask the company management and state government.

I visited the place this morning (May 8). There is no pollution and everything is under control.

I don't know why the state government is not yet declaring it to be safe. They must assure people that this is a pollution-free area, you can live here, but that kind of information or that kind of messaging is not coming forth.

Even people who stay 20 to 25 kilometres from the LG Polymers factory call me to ask if it is safe to stay where they are or will it be sae to travel hundred kilometres more. That is the situation in the city.

They have to tell the people that only three villages in the near vicinity are affected and other villagers can go back home.

What is the TDP's main demand? Did you speak with the chief minister or the chief secretary about it?

I spoke with the chief minister yesterday during the review meeting. Our main demand is that the industry (LG Polymers) is within the city (limits) amid residential area.

It is one and the only industry in this area within the city limits. It is closer to the Simhachalam railway station, a famous Varavara Laxmi temple, a famous temple revered by the people of Odisha and Andhra people and near the airport.

This factory is located within a densely populated area and this being a hazardous industry, as this dangerous gas leak has shown, is polluting the area and affecting the health of the people.

The people in this area have been raising this issue since many years.

Our main demand to the chief minister is to shift this industry to a special economic zone that is far away from residential areas. That is also the main demand of the people of Vishakhapatnam city.
Newspaper articles have long proved to be inspirational for scores of musicians. The Beatles' 'A Day in the Life' was written after John Lennon perused the paper on a January day in 1967 and came across an article about the aristocratic Irish playboy Tara Browne, who was killed in a London car crash.

The Human League's 'Don't You Want Me' was inspired by a feature in a women's magazine that Phil Oakey had happened upon, while AC/DC's 'Jailbreak' was inspired by a newspaper story Bon Scott read about the notorious Australian criminal Mark 'Chopper' Read.

And it was an article that inspired Joe Chester to pen a new song 'The Heart of Saint Laurence O'Toole' - a standout track on his impressive, just-released album Jupiter's Wife.

"His heart is kept at St Patrick's Cathedral and, one day, someone broke in and stole it," he says of the remains of the 12th century Archbishop of Dublin. "They left all the expensive ornaments, all those gold altar objects, and went straight for the relic. That person ended up burying his heart in the Phoenix Park, but it seemed to bring them and their family nothing but bad luck. So eventually they tipped off the authorities about where it had been buried - in the hope that their luck would change."

Expand Close Alt-folk: Anton Hegarty, Joe Chester, Brian Brannigan and Julie Bienvenu as A Lazarus Soul / Facebook

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It's typical of Chester's approach to songwriting. Not for him the sort of cliched fare that pockmarks the work of so many of his peers. Through his early work with the bands Sunbear and 10 Speed Racer, and on to his own solo output, he has amassed more than quarter of a century of high-quality music - songs that take their inspiration from many places. He should be a household name, yet his profile remains frustratingly low among the music-buying public.

Chances are, they are far more likely to know some of the acts he has helped to produce, such as Gemma Hayes and, more recently, the Coronas and Kodaline.

"I realised early on that if you want to make a living from music, you have to do several different things," he says, "and it helps if you know your way around a recording studio."

Chester has earned a reputation as not just a good producer, but the sort of studio boffin that artists love to work with. It's knowledge that comes in handy when the business of making his own albums comes up.

Although he has assembled a recording studio at the home in the south of France that he shares with his French musician wife Julie Bienvenu, he got the opportunity to part-record Jupiter's Wife in Sun Studios in Memphis. This self-styled 'birthplace of rock 'n' roll' was where Elvis recorded between 1953 and 1955 and where legendary producer Sam Phillips recorded the likes of Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison.

"You sense the weight of history when you're there," he says, "knowing that so much amazing work happened in those four walls. But you know you're against the clock too and you have to work hard and hopefully be inspired by the thought of people that have gone before."

Expand Close Singer: Gemma Hayes is one of the acts Chester has produced / Facebook

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When Chester began work on what would become Jupiter's Wife, he imagined a launch show and plenty of tour dates. It is his first album of new music in three years and a concert at Dublin's Lost Lane venue was booked. It had been due to take place last weekend.

Then, in mid-March, all future gigs were in effect declared null and void. Covid-19 was on nobody's radar at the start of the year; now it's all-encompassing.

Chester's plans to visit family and friends in Dublin have been put on hold. Lockdown has been especially stringent in France; President Emmanuel Macron introduced tough measures to counter the spread of the virus. Even venturing outside your home for a walk was not a possibility for many under the tough rules.

"Like everyone, you just have to adapt to it," he says, via video call. "It's not ideal, but then it's hardly ideal for anyone."

Unlike others, he had no intention of delaying the release of his album. He quips that he has released albums to largely indifferent audiences in the past, so why change the habit of a lifetime.

Jupiter's Wife is a double album, and a substantial piece of work it is too. "You hear people say that the album is dead, but nothing could be further from the truth," he says. "Every artist I know wants to make albums and it's still the best way to get your music out there."

Together with wife Julie, Chester made a short film to mark the release of Jupiter's Wife. "I was saying to her the other day that it wouldn't have happened had coronavirus not happened because we would just have played shows as normal. But now, there's something tangible to show for it." The film, The Candle from the Shadow, can be viewed on his YouTube page.

The pair are members of A Lazarus Soul, the Dublin alt-folk band that, by stealth and over the course of five albums, has become something of a national treasure. Chester plays guitar; Bienvenu the drums.

When they decided to emigrate from Dublin - partly pushed out due to the high cost of living - A Lazarus Soul's main man Brian Brannigan was worried that it was the end of the band. "Half of the band were leaving the country," Chester recalls, "but we were sure that the band could go on."

Last year, their latest album, The D they Put Between the R & L, was released to high praise. Mystifyingly, it wasn't nominated for the Choice Music Prize - quite an omission for what was one of the very best Irish albums of the 2010s.

"When Brian first played me 'Lemon 7s' and 'No Hope Road', I knew it was going to be special," he says. Chester's guitar playing on the latter song is a reminder of how good he is on that instrument.

There are several songs that resonate powerfully on his new album too, including 'Staying Together for the Children'. "It was a phrase you'd hear growing up, about some unhappy couple who couldn't split because they had kids. It's a phrase that lingered in my mind and I just ran with it."

Chester may no longer be living in Dublin, but his childhood there has played an important part in his songs. His last album proper, 2017's The Easter Vigil, is suffused with religious imagery and is a study of a person who loses their belief in God. It's loosely based on Chester's own feelings about Christianity - he had a deep-rooted faith and in his teens, he gave serious consideration to becoming a priest.

One aspect of his life that has never wavered is his belief in his songs. His debut solo album A Murder of Crows got lots of people excited on its 2005 release and it was nominated for the Choice Music Prize for Irish Album of the Year. But his career didn't take off in the way that he might have hoped.

Anyone who heard the power-pop single 'How You Wish, You Feel' might have imagined Chester was destined for the big time. Today, there isn't a hint of bitterness when he talks of that time: "It gave me the belief to keep making music and although there have been tough times, it's something I'm still getting to do." There is, he adds, contentment in that.

Record company woes ensured that a follow-up album, She Darks Me, didn't get a proper release. Chester put it out online before finally - rights secured - he released a remastered version last year. "I'm glad to have it out properly," he says. "I'd always been proud of that album and now it officially exists."

Now, he has to rethink how to fulfil a love of playing live. He's not yet convinced about online shows. "You end up playing songs into a phone and then someone gets to listen to it on their phone," he says. "The sound quality diminishes. It's not how you'd want the songs to have been heard. But we'll see - depends on how long this goes on for, I suppose. Like any musician, I want my songs to be heard and I want to reach people. It's just a question about how best to do that."

'Jupiter's Wife' is out now
Solving the mystery of how the coronavirus affects children has gained steam, as doctors try to determine if there's a link between COVID-19 and kids with a severe inflammatory illness, and researchers try to pin down their contagiousness before schools reopen.

Driving the news: New York state's health department is investigating 161 cases of the illness in children. Three youths in the state have died: an 18-year-old girl, a 5-year-old boy and a 7-year-old boy, per Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Symptoms for patients up to 21 years old, experiencing what doctors are calling "pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome" (PMIS), include:

Persistent fever and inflammation

Abnormal, sudden or rapid heart rhythm

Rash

Diarrhea and vomiting

Weak pulse and rapid breathing

Dizziness or loss of consciousness

Doctors have described children "screaming from stomach pain," Jane Newburger of Boston Children's Hospital told the Washington Post.

In some, arteries in the heart swelled, similar to Kawasaki disease  a rare condition most often seen in infants and small children that causes blood vessel inflammation, Newburger said.

Some affected children have tested positive for coronavirus antibodies, suggesting the inflammation is "delayed," Nancy Fliesler of Boston Children's Hospital wrote in early May.

What's happening: World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said last week that initial reports suggest the illness affecting some children in Europe and North America "may be related to COVID-19."

Im thinking of it kind of like the tip of the iceberg, Jane Burns, a professor of pediatrics at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, told the WashPost. Theres this very small number of patients, thankfully, who are presenting with this shock syndrome."

The big picture: Early studies from China and the U.S. show that while children of all ages are at risk for the coronavirus, they are experiencing milder complications from the disease than adults, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Adults over 65 are most frequently hospitalized compared to other age groups, the CDC's latest surveillance report shows.

are most frequently hospitalized compared to other age groups, the CDC's latest surveillance report shows. Children with the virus are less likely to be hospitalized or show symptoms, such as fever, cough or shortness of breath, the CDC found last month.

But, but, but: Two recent papers, while not definitive, offer evidence that children can transmit the virus.

A report published in the journal Science found that while children have lower infection rates, they have three times as many contacts as adults and about as many opportunities to become infected.

A study in Germany, which was not yet peer-reviewed, found that infected children carry at least as much virus as adults, and in some instances, more.

What's next: The CDC is funding a $2.1 million study of 800 children who have been hospitalized after testing positive for the coronavirus through Boston Children's Hospital. The study aims to understand why some children are more vulnerable to the disease.

Go deeper: The coronavirus is a moving target for efforts to tackle it
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 08:06:23|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on April 27, 2020 shows boxes containing face masks donated by China's Fujian Province in Oregon, the United States. Governor of the U.S. state of Oregon Kate Brown on Tuesday expressed her heartfelt thanks to China for its donation of 50,000 medical face masks from Oregon's sister province Fujian. (Xinhua)

"If we want to win this war against the coronavirus, we must work together globally and not be misled by the misinformation of all kinds."



SAN FRANCISCO, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Leading health experts from China and the United States have agreed during a webinar to act together and follow scientific guidance in the fight against COVID-19, the event's organizer said Friday.

"They exchanged opinions and reached a very positive conclusion in the end, as Professor Barry Bloom from Harvard said that health care is local, but health research is global. The world must rely on scientific methods to deal with the pandemic. We must also use scientific methods to find the origin of the virus," said Florence Fang, co-founder of the newly-established, non-profit Global Alliance to Combat COVID-19 (GACC).

"If we want to win this war against the coronavirus, we must work together globally and not be misled by the misinformation of all kinds. We must listen to scientific information and let science tell us what to do. This is the consensus that we have reached at this webinar," Fang said.

Photo taken on March 18, 2020, shows Zhong Nanshan, renowned Chinese respiratory specialist, attending a press conference on epidemic prevention and control work in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Lu Hanxin)

Chinese keynote speakers at the webinar included Zhong Nanshan, a renowned respiratory specialist and an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering; Qiao Jie, president of the Peking University Third Hospital and also an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering; and Zhang Wenhong, head of Shanghai's COVID-19 clinical experts team.

They were joined by Barry Bloom, former dean of Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health; Sten Vermund, dean of the Yale School of Public Health; and Brian Bosworth, chief of medicine at New York University Langone Health's Tisch Hospital.

According to Fang, the webinar received a lot of feedback from some U.S. officials. "I had a call with California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis. She expressed her support and thanks for this activity," Fang told Xinhua in an online interview.

"One of the purposes to organize this webinar is to promote Sino-U.S. relations and understanding. We should join our forces to act against common threats. We cannot fight separately, not to mention fighting each other," Fang added.



Photo taken on March 28, 2017, shows Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong (R) meeting with Florence Fang, an overseas Chinese leader in the United States, in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Gao Jie)

Fang said she is already planning another online forum for Chinese and American experts to focus on vaccine development against the coronavirus.

The GACC, which aims at building a collaborative environment for top health care experts around the world to share experience and offer technical support, will organize a series of online forums and seminars in the near future. The target audience of the events will mainly be health care professionals and policymakers, with selected events open to the public, according to Fang.

"This pandemic will pass, but human health will remain a global issue," said Fang, who is also co-founder and vice chairwoman of the George H.W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations.

The foundation launched the U.S.-China Coronavirus Action Network in January, with Fang as chair, to join the world in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, and to bolster U.S.-China friendship and cooperation. 
Actor Sara Ali Khan has said that joining Bollywood is definitely something her brother, Ibrahim, is interested in, but he first has to complete his education before he can become a professional actor. Sara and Ibrahim are the children of actors Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh.

In an interview to Bollywood Hungama, Sara said, He has not even gone to college as yet. And I think acting is a while away. Its definitely something he is interested in, something he is passionate about. And hes gonna study in LA and hes gonna study film in LA, and if he wants to do something hell do it.

Sara, who most recently appeared in Imtiaz Alis Love Aaj Kal, continued, Theres a lot of hard work, as we all know, that goes into it, a lot of prep that goes into it. But at his age, before even going to college, just the desire is enough right now and then, hell work towards it. And if he works towards it and people like what he does, then sure. Its a dream right now, making it a reality is on him.

Ibrahim has been putting himself out there more often recently, with regular appearances on Saras Instagram and his own TikTok videos. In an earlier interview, Saif had also spoken about the possibility of Ibrahim joining the film industry.

Also read: Saif Ali Khan says launching son Ibrahim in Bollywood an option: I would tell him to be well prepared, choose films carefully

Saif told Mumbai Mirror in an interview, I dont know if I will launch him. Its an option and films are certainly a viable career choice for him. Hes sporty and likes the idea of being in the movies rather than pursuing an academic job. No one in the family, with the exception of his sister (Sara Ali Khan), have been interested in the latter anyway.

Sharing his advice for Ibrahim, Saif added, Its a different universe now, with different benchmarks. I would tell him to be well prepared and choose his films carefully.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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The positioning of the Global Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic Market vendors in FPNV Positioning Matrix are determined by Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) and placed into four quadrants (F: Forefront, P: Pathfinders, N: Niche, and V: Vital).

New York, May 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic Market - Premium Insight, Competitive News Feed Analysis, Company Usability Profiles, Market Sizing & Forecasts to 2025" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05871418/?utm_source=GNW





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The report provides insights on the following pointers:

1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on sulfuric acid offered by the key players in the Global Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic Market

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Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2020 > How the Poor Survive?

In an interview in 2014, the eminent political philosopher of our time, Giorgio Agamben argued: Public power is losing legitimacy. A mutual suspicion has developed between the authorities and the citizen.

This is very much evident in contemporary India in the wake of coronavirus-induced national lockdown. Thousands of migrant workers thronged Anand Vihar bus terminus on the Delhi-U.P. border with their families, including children, at the end of March, 2020, in a desperate bid to return to their distant villages in other states, for survival. The same thing was found to happen in Mumbai. Over a thousand migrant workers gathered outside Bandra railway station in mid-April, demanding that they be sent home at the earliest as they are unable to sustain themselves during the lockdown. The police reportedly resorted to lathi charge to disperse them.

Why so many migrant workers and daily wage-earners are leaving the cities and walking with their families without any provision of food and shelter during the journey, for reaching their far-off villages? According to Pronob Sen, the present chairman of the Standing Committee on Economic Statistics, the footloose daily-wage workers are walking back to their distant villages in thousands as they have lost trust in the system, and have greater trust in their village social kinship networks than the governments ability to look after them. (See The Wire, March 27, 2020)

The footloose poor people not only depend on the village social networks for their survival, they often survive in the cities, depending on the welfare measures of the community networks/organisations, particularly in moments of crisis. Several social organisations and NGOs came forward to provide food to daily wagers, homeless and other people affected by the curfew imposed in Maharashtra in March, 2020, in view of the coronavirus pandemic. Some Sikh community members had been organising langar (free kitchen) at a gurudwara in suburban Mumbai. The Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Students Islamic Organisation of India and some other organisations were found to distribute food packets to people in Madanpura, Jogeshwari, Andheri, Oshiwara, Kurla and Vikhroli areas of Mumbai, and Mumbra and Kalyan in Thane.(See The Economic Times, March 24, 2020)

In contemporary India, we find that, for many poor people, some kind of community support is important not only for their economic survival, but also for their survivals as members of the minority community/communities.
Police on Corfu launched a manhunt today after a man jailed in 2012 for 53 years for raping six women including tourists allegedly raped an Albanian woman.

The 'Beast of Kavos', who was previously named as 47-year-old Dimitris Aspiotis, was given early release in August 2019, but police are now hunting him after an Albanian woman said he kidnapped and raped her last week.

A British victim of Aspiotis, Kayleigh Morgan, 32, waived her right to anonymity last year to raise awareness and to slam the Greek government's decision to release him.

The British Airways stewardess from Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, told The Sunday People in September: 'I want to know why he's out. I don't believe he's changed.

'BEAST OF KAVOS': Dimitris Aspiotis, 47, who was released last year despite being sentenced for a string of sex offences against foreign tourists, is wanted by police after another woman reported rape today

Air stewardess Kayleigh Morgan, 32, was devastated when her Greek rapist was freed from prison 45 years early. Dimitris Aspiotis - dubbed the 'Beast of Kavos' - was convicted of raping Kayleigh in a 14-hour ordeal in 2012.

Homeless Aspiotis calmly told one victim not to resist, before raping her six times, Kayleigh Morgan told the court

'A person like that can never change and now I'm in the face terrified he'll do what he did to me again to more victims.

'When I heard he was out I was in complete shock.

'I burst into tears and felt sick to my stomach and disgusted.'

Homeless Aspiotis was seized and sentenced to 52 years in prison for six counts of rape on six women, but was released back to the resort where he repeatedly pounced in August last year.

The 'beast' would party on a Kavos beach before raping woman on a woodland path. He claimed he was forced to rape because he was too 'ugly' for women

Police today said they found the victim - who is said to be Albanian - in a hut today after she was reported missing by her partner two days earlier.

Her girlfriend who reported the disappearance told police they had met the convicted rapist the night before.

She told police she had been kidnapped and repeatedly raped by him, Athens News Agency reported.

The serial sex offender is believed to have preyed on over 100 women visiting the island before being arrested in 2012.

Without prior warning to any of the women he had assaulted Aspiotis was taken out of prison to live again in Kavos, Corfu - despite Greek authorities claiming that the rapist wouldn't be released on parole until he was aged 92.

Kayleigh Morgan, 32, who has waived her anonymity to speak out, endured a 14-hour ordeal by Dimitris Aspiotis on the party island of Corfu

Kayleigh, who was working as a holiday rep in 2010 when she was raped by Aspiotis, was told to put the incident behind her and enjoy her life by a judge after she gave evidence against him at his trial - she was not informed of his release.

The attack happened as she was taking an afternoon walk along the beach, leaving her partially sighted and scarred after Aspiotis punched her in the face and stole 1,000 she had collected from her customers before dragging her by her hair into the woods to rape her five times at knife point.

She told People: 'He had raped one of my guests a few days before me and she described his tattoos to me. He has one that says 'F*** the police.' 'As soon as I saw those tattoos I knew what was going to happen to me.'

Kayleigh, was working as a holiday rep in Kavos, Corfu, in 2010 when she was raped by Aspiotis

She was not told that Aspiotis would be released early and has suffered PTSD since the rape

Aspiotis made the holiday rep lie next to him as he slept, holding a knife to her throat, before she was able to escape hours later at around 4am when he handed her 10 and brazenly told her to go to hospital.

Speaking on his release she told the website: 'I thought he would rot in prison but he's back sitting in cocktail bars in Kavos.'

Following the rape Kayleigh suffered with PTSD and could not leave the house for months on end.

The beast was caught 18 days later in the woods where he had been living after he rang into a TV station to surrender.

Grave offences: Aspiotis is sent back to prison to complete his previous six-year sentence for robbery and rape in 2010. Today the 39-year-old was told he would not be released until the age of 91

Aspiotis attacked Kayleigh and four other British women age 18 to 47 during a stint of offences within a 46-day period.

The attacks came just six weeks after the dangerous rapist was released early after raping three other British woman between the years of 1997 and 2005 - although local authorities claim the real number is higher.

Florent Kavadas, a lawyer who represented Aspiotis before his trial in 2012 told The Mirror that the release was due to 'a horrible law'.

It is believed Aspiotis was released for good behaviour under a controversial law which allows criminals to be released early if they follow prison rules.
Eleven year old Ryley Maher from Station Road, Castlebellingham, is parting with his beloved locks to raise funds for Irish Guide Dogs. Ryley will have his head shaved by his mum Caz live on Facebook on Friday at 8.30pm

The Irish Guide Dogs is a charity close to family's heart as younger son, seven year old Oren, who is visually impaired, has an intellectual disability and Autism, has benefited greatly from his assistance dog Cookie, which came to live with them two years ago.

'Cookie is Oren's best friend and has changed his life,' says Caz. 'He won't leave the house without her.'

She explains that getting the Cookie means Oren can now go for walks, as he doesn't understand danger, and Cookie keeps him safe as they cross roads.

'Ryley is a very protective big brother and the two of them are very very close,'she continues. 'Friday is Irish Guide Dogs Day this yea rwe can't go out to shops with buckets to collect money. We came up with the idea of Ryley having his head shaved and it didn't take a second for him to say he would do it.'

Now Caz says she is 'going to get great pleasure' out of his cutting his hair!

Ryley, who is in fifth class at Kilsaran National School, is very proud of his hair and has been growing it for the past year, only getting it trimmed from time to time.

The family have set up a GoFundMe page called Chop the Mop for Irish Guidedogs, and are hoping to raise 500 for the training of guide dogs and assistance dogs. The charity badly needs money as all community fundraising cancelled since March, against a background where it costs 5 million per annum to run the charity and 53,000 to train one guide dog.
FAIRFIELD, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2020 / Jerash Holdings (US), Inc. (JRSH) (the "Company" or "Jerash"), a producer of high-quality textile goods for leading global brands, today announced that its factories have resumed production in the country of Jordan. Jordan previously announced a nationwide shutdown of non-essential activities as part of its proactive national efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19. The country is now advancing controlled re-opening plans within certain industries.

In addition to resuming the production of garments for its existing customers, Jerash announced that it is coordinating efforts with both existing and prospective new customers to produce face masks, protective clothing, and other personal protective equipment, such as hospital gowns. These initial production runs may result in larger or longer-term order activity. Prior to the nationwide shutdown, Jerash produced face masks for the Jordanian government to support the medical community.

"Jerash has maintained close contact with government officials during the national shutdown, an action we fully supported in the interest of the safety of our workers, their families, and all Jordanians," said Samuel Choi, Chairman and CEO of Jerash Holdings. "We believe that early and aggressive action by the government has proven effective in slowing the progression of COVID-19 cases in Jordan and saved many lives."

"We are excited to resume manufacturing operations as our global brand customers prepare for the fall and winter seasons, which we hope to be periods of recovery for countries around the world," said Gilbert Lee, Chief Financial Officer. "While we know economies and consumers worldwide will be affected by the economic impact of COVID-19, we believe it is more important than ever that our customers be able to source from Jerash and take advantage of high-quality garment manufacturing and duty free imports to the U.S. and EU from our facilities in Jordan."

Story continues

Choi continued, "The approval to resume production at our facilities is in part due to our dormitory housed workforce, which requires no commute from outside of the industrial zone to our factories. We have also implemented additional health and hygiene measures in coordination with the government's guidance. These include temperature checks, face masks, additional handwashing, social distancing, limiting the number of workers in the factory daily, dedicated sanitation teams, and many other measures to protect our workers."

Jerash's main factories in the Qualified Industrial Zone in Amman have resumed operations, as has the satellite sewing factory south of the city. These factories are producing orders to major global brand customers worldwide across a growing range of garment categories.

About Jerash Holdings (US), Inc.

Jerash Holdings (US), Inc. (JRSH) is a manufacturer utilized by many well-known brands and retailers, such as Walmart, Costco, Hanes, Columbia, VF Corporation (which owns brands such as The North Face, Timberland, JanSport, etc.), and PVH Corp. (which owns brands such as Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, IZOD, etc.). Its production facilities comprise five factory units and three warehouses and it currently employs approximately 4,000 people. The total annual capacity at its facilities was approximately 8.0 million pieces as of the end of calendar year 2019. Additional information is available at http://www.jerashholdings.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. When used in this document, the words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "seek", "potential," "outlook" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect Jerash's current views with respect to future events and are subject to such risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made, including those risks described from time to time in filings made by Jerash with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, there is uncertainty about the spread of the COVID-19 virus and the impact it may have on the Company's operations, the demand for the Company's products, global supply chains and economic activity in general. These and other risks and uncertainties are detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated or expected. Statements contained in this news release regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. Jerash does not intend and does not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements, other than as required by law.

Contact Information:

Matt Kreps, Darrow Associates Investor Relations

(214) 597-8200

mkreps@darrowir.com

SOURCE: Jerash Holdings (US), Inc.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/587927/Jerash-Holdings-Announces-Reopening-of-Factories-in-Jordan




CORRECTION APPENDED

Portland police are investigating the death of a man with a stab wound who was found dead in the St. Johns neighborhood Friday night.

Police responded to the 9500 block of North Lombard Street at 11:39 p.m. after receiving reports that someone had been stabbed. Officers discovered the victim, who was determined to be dead.

Police offered no other details about the case, but are asking for the publics help. Anyone with information is asked to contact Det. Todd Gradwahl at 503-823-0991, todd.gradwahl@portlandoregon.gov or Det. Travis Law at 503-823-0395, travis.law@portlandoregon.gov.

-- Aimee Green; agreen@oregonian.com; @o_aimee

This post has been updated to reflect the following correction: Police didnt describe the physical location the man was found in, other than the general address.
The Muslim Community is deeply distressed with the continued cremation of Muslims affected by the Corona virus.





Following article based on a letter to the President Rajapaksa





by Rishad Bathiudeen





I thank you for your strong leadership in coordinating the challenges faced by the COVID 19 pandemic. We grateful appreciate the yeomen service rendered by frontline Medical, Nursing, Armed services and government staff who are risking their lives to save lives. He who saves a life is as if he has saved all of mankind  Al-Quran 5:32





The Muslim Community is deeply distressed with the continued cremation of Muslims affected by the Corona virus.













Your Excellency, needless to say, more than 180 countries around the world and the World Health Organization as per their interim guidelines dated 24.03.2020 on 'Infection Prevention and Control for the Safe Management of a Dead Body in the Context of COVID 19' that recommends burial and cremation of the Corona dead. Thousands of Corona dead are buried in mass graves in countries like the USA. UK, Italy, Spain, Australia, Singapore Hong Kong etc. Sri Lanka through a Gazette notification on April 11th, 2020 has banned the burial of Muslims affected by COVID 19.





It should be noted that at the party leaders meeting held with the Hon. Prime Minister, we requested for the appointment of an expert committee of medical professionals to study the burial option from a scientific and ethical point of view. We would be pleased to nominate any number of well-recognized medical professionals to this committee. The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) too in writing requested the Director General, Health Services to set up such a committee.





Your Excellency, it is incumbent upon the living Muslims to dispose the body of a dead Muslim as per our religious rites. Among them, burial is the only option prescribed in Islam.. It is forbidden for us to cremate our dead. We are expected to take utmost care and sensitivity in even bathing the dead.





''Breaking A Muslim's Bones When He Is Dead Is Tantamount To Breaking Them When He Is Alive'' This Hadeeth is authentic and has been ascribed both to the Prophet (PBUH) and to one of the Companions. As such there is no permissibility to burn the corpse of a dead Muslim.





Many including me have brought this to the attention of Your Excellency and the government during the earlier stages of Covid-19. The government continues to cremate Muslims who die without any regard to the objections of the family and Muslim religious leaders.





As Your Excellency is aware, the bidy of a Muslim Lady, aged 52 from Modara was cremated yesterday by the Government Officials claiming it to be a COVID 19 death but later evidence proved otherwise. The Muslims are greatly traumatized and worried about the fate of our sick.





Honouring the dead and disposing their bodies as per the beliefs and traditions is the least respect and honour that can be bestowed upon the deceased. The Gazette notification of 11/4/2020 banning burials is scientifically and ethically flawed. This forms of discriminatory action by the government has no basis as the entire world is permitting burials.





Hence, I humbly request Your Excellency to amend the Gazette and guidelines incorporating burial also as an approved form of disposal.





Rishad Bathiudeen is the leader  All Ceylon Makkal Congress
Maharashtra Revenue Minister



Balasaheb Thorat on Saturday expressed concern over the stand taken by several states to not take in migrant workers who were stranded in Maharashtra due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

In a statement, Thorat, who is also the state Congress president, alleged that arbitrary decisions taken by many states regarding migrant workers had worsened the situation.

The Maharashtra government was making every possible attempt to send stranded migrants back to their hometowns, but several states were not willing to take in their own citizens, the minister claimed.

Thorat demanded that the Centre intervene in the matter and give clear guidelines to all states before the situation worsens.

There were nearly 10 lakh migrants in Maharashtra who wished to return to their home states and so far, 32 trains had been operated from the state, he said.

Thorat further claimed that there were several workers from West Bengal and Odisha who wanted to return to their hometowns, but these states were unwilling to take them back.

The Odisha government had decided to accept only those who had tested negative for COVID-19, while the process laid out by the Tamil Nadu government to take back their workers was complicated and time consuming, he said.

"Initially, Uttar Pradesh had also refused to take back its citizens, but now they have revised their decision and we have started sending them back," he said, claiming that the Gujarat and Karnataka governments had also refused to take in their workers.

The Bihar government, who was cooperating until a few days ago, has now stopped entry to migrants, despite the fact that the Congress was willing to bear travel expenses of these workers, the minister alleged.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Elon Musk has threatened to close Teslas factory and headquarters in California and move to Nevada or Texas in a row with local authorities over when the company can reopen its facilities.

Mr Musk has been a vocal opponent of stay-at-home orders introduced across the country to prevent the spread of Covid-19, the deadly virus has killed more than 78,000 Americans.

Frankly, this is the final straw, the CEO wrote on Twitter, seemingly in response to the news that the Tesla factory in Alameda County would not be allowed to reopen yet. Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately.

Authorities in California said on Friday that Teslas main US plant, which employs some 10,000 people, would not be allowed to open for now. Alameda County, where the factory is based, has issued its own criteria for when businesses can reopen.

Tesla has been informed that they do not meet those criteria and must not reopen, Alameda County said in a statement. We welcome Teslas proactive work on a reopening plan, so that once they fit the criteria to reopen, they can do so in a way that protects their employees and the community at large.

Mr Musk said Tesla would sue Alameda County, where the factory is based, and added that whether the company keeps any manufacturing there depends on how Tesla is treated in the future.

Tesla is filing a lawsuit against Alameda County immediately. The unelected & ignorant Interim Health Officer of Alameda is acting contrary to the Governor, the President, our Constitutional freedoms & just plain common sense!

Public health experts argue stay-at-home measures slow the spread of the coronavirus and prevent medical facilities from becoming overwhelmed. But Mr Musk has described the orders as fascist.

The billionaire tweeted FREE AMERICA NOW! last month, in another apparent reference to the lockdown.

Health officials in Alameda County said this week that the total number of Covid-19 cases reached 1,863, and at least 66 people have died from the virus.

Additional reporting by agencies
Broadway actress Ruthie Ann Miles, who tragically lost her daughter and unborn child two years ago, has given birth to a baby girl.

The Tony Award winner together with her husband Jonathan Blumenstein, shared the good news on her Instagram account on Saturday.

'Welcome to the world, Hope Elizabeth,' the 37-year-old Tony-winning Broadway star wrote along with a photo of the newborn's tiny feet.

Miles captioned her posting: '3 generations of April Babies' followed by yellow heart emojis.

Hope Elizabeth: Broadway star Ruthie Ann Miles, 37, took to Instagram on Saturday to reveal that she welcomed a baby girl in April with husband Jonathan Blumenstein

The Tony Award-winning actress Ruthie Ann Miles lost her daughter Abigail after they were mowed down by a car in Brooklyn, New York City. Miles lost her unborn baby as a result of her severe injuries

The news of Hope's birth comes just over two years after the couple suffered the tragic loss of their daughter Abigail Joy, who was four, and their unborn daughter.

In 2018, Miles and Abigail were struck by a vehicle on a New York street that killed her and a friend's one-year-old son.

Miles was pregnant at the time of the crash and lost her unborn daughter, whom she planned to name Sophia as a result of her severe injuries.

The crash took place when 44-year-old Dorothy Bruns, who had multiple sclerosis, suffered a seizure behind the wheel and lost control of her car.

She plowed through a red light and struck Miles, her friend Lauren Lew and their young children in the middle of a pedestrian crosswalk on 9th Street and Fifth Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Meet the parents: Ruthie and husband Jonathan Blumenstein pictured together at the 2016 New York City Center Gala at the Plaza Hotel

The news of Hope's birth came a little over two-years after the couple suffered the tragic loss of, both, their daughter Abigail Joy, four, and their unborn daughter Sophia

One-year-old Joshua Lew and Abigail were both killed.

Bruns was found dead of an apparent suicide in November 2018

The two children and their mothers had just stepped off a bus and were crossing the street when Bruns, who was driving a white Volvo sped through the intersection hitting the families.

The couple announced that they were expecting a child in March in a post that has received almost 10,000 likes.

Back in March, Miles along with her husband used Instagram to announced the 'very happy news' that they were expecting a child; statement shared to Ruthie's Instagram on March 21

It gave fans, friends, and followers some information regarding the baby's due date.

At the time, Miles post read: 'You all have continually lifted us up in prayer, doused us with Love, encouraged us, let us be and grieve these two years...and now rejoice with us in this new life.'

'We know Abigail Joy and Sophia would have loved being big sisters and are loving watching their family grow,' she concluded.

Miles' friend Lauren Lew and her son Joshua were also struck in the tragic crash, which killed the one-year-old boy

The two children and their mothers had just got off a bus and were crossing the street when Bruns, who was driving a white Volvo sped through the intersection, struck the families

Two months after the crash, Miles miscarried the daughter she planned to name Sophia. Pictured, a statement shared to the actress' Instagram in May 2018

Both mothers were pictured leaving a Brooklyn courtroom in November 2018 after the charges against Bruns were dropped three weeks after the driver committed suicide in Staten Island

Bruns, 44, was found dead in her Staten Island home by a friend on November 6 in 2018

Bruns was charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, reckless endangerment, assault and reckless driving because she was not supposed to drive due to her history of seizures and heart problems.

'She took the lives of two innocent babies, injured three pedestrians, their mothers,' Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said at the time.

'And it was tragic, but it was solely due to her selfish decision to drive.'

Bruns was facing 15 years behind bars and was released on $75,000 bond in September 2018 after entering a tearful plea of not guilty.

The case was dismissed three weeks after she was found dead. A suicide note and prescription pills were found at the scene.
WASHINGTON - In a week when the novel coronavirus ravaged new communities across the country and the number of dead soared past 78,000, President Donald Trump and his advisers shifted from hour-by-hour crisis management to what they characterize as a long-term strategy aimed at reviving the decimated economy and preparing for additional outbreaks this fall.

But in doing so, the administration is effectively bowing to - and asking Americans to accept - a devastating proposition: that a steady, daily accumulation of lonely deaths is the grim cost of reopening the nation.

Inside the West Wing, some officials talk about the federal government's mitigation mission as largely accomplished because they believe the nation's hospitals are now equipped to meet anticipated demand - even as health officials warn the number of coronavirus cases could increase considerably in May and June as more states and localities loosen restrictions, and some mitigation efforts are still recommended as states begin to reopen.

The administration is struggling to expand the scale of testing to what experts say is necessary to reopen businesses safely, and officials have not announced any national plan for contact tracing. Trump and some of his advisers are prioritizing the psychology of the pandemic as much as, if not more than, plans to combat the virus, some aides and outside advisers said - striving to instill confidence that people can comfortably return to daily life despite the rising death toll.

On Friday, as the unemployment rate reached a historically high 14.7 percent, Trump urged Americans to think of this period as a "transition to greatness," adding during a meeting with Republican members of Congress: "We're going to do something very fast, and we're going to have a phenomenal year next year." The president predicted the virus eventually would disappear even without a vaccine - a prediction at odds with his own science officials.

A White House spokesman defended the status of testing by pointing to comments in mid-April by two of the medical professionals on the task force, Anthony Fauci and Adm. Brett Giroir, saying there have been enough tests to safely reopen the country.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany also backed the administration's response, saying, "President Trump is committed to a data-driven approach to safely reopening the country. His steadfast leadership has saved American lives, and the American people recognize his leadership."

Some of Trump's advisers described the president as glum and shellshocked by his declining popularity. In private conversations, he has struggled to process how his fortunes suddenly changed from believing he was on a glide path to reelection to realizing that he is losing to the likely Democratic nominee, former vice president Joe Biden, in virtually every poll, including his own campaign's internal surveys, advisers said. He also has been fretting about the possibility that a bad outbreak of the virus this fall could damage his standing in the November election, said the advisers, who along with other aides and allies requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

The president is also eager to resume political travel in June, including holding his signature rallies by the end of the summer in areas where there are few cases, advisers said. Trump's political team has begun discussions about organizing a high-dollar, in-person fundraiser next month, as well as preliminary planning about staging rallies and what sort of screenings might be necessary, according to Republican National Committee officials and outsider advisers. One option being considered is holding rallies outdoors, rather than in enclosed arenas, a senior administration official said.

Officials also are forging ahead with the Republican National Convention planned for late August in Charlotte, North Carolina, albeit a potentially scaled-back version.

But Trump's outward projections of assurance and hope masked the more sober acknowledgments of some outside advisers and experts who worry the number of deaths will either stabilize around 2,000 per day or continue to climb over the next month.

"The question is, will people become anesthetized to it? Are they willing to accept that?" said one adviser to the White House coronavirus task force who, like many others interviewed for this story, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters or offer candid assessments.

Stephen Moore, a conservative economist who has been informally advising Trump and his team, said making people comfortable returning to work and resuming normal activities will take a long time.

"I'm the biggest advocate for getting the economy up and running there is, but I have two relatives who think I'm crazy, and they're not going out of their house no matter what," Moore said. "Just because the president and governors open up a state doesn't mean that commerce is going to instantly resume. It's not."

Inside the administration last week, there were roiling disputes over the data used by the government to track the virus as well as over possible therapeutics. The debates underscored the administration's chronic challenges in managing the crisis, even as Trump pushes to reopen the economy.

During a task force meeting Wednesday, a heated discussion broke out between Deborah Birx, the physician who oversees the administration's coronavirus response, and Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Birx and others were frustrated with the CDC's antiquated system for tracking virus data, which they worried was inflating some statistics - such as mortality rate and case count - by as much as 25 percent, according to four people present for the discussion or later briefed on it. Two senior administration officials said the discussion was not heated.

"There is nothing from the CDC that I can trust," Birx said, according to two of the people.

The flare-up came two days after it was reported that an internal government model, based on data from the CDC and other agencies, projected the daily death count would rise to 3,000 by June 1.

Redfield defended his agency, but there was general agreement that the CDC is in need of a digital upgrade.

Birx said in a statement: "Mortality is slowly declining each day. To keep with this trend, it is essential that seniors and those with comorbidities shelter in place and that we continue to protect vulnerable communities."

That assertion is contrary to Johns Hopkins data, which shows U.S. daily deaths hovering close to 2,000 most days for several weeks now, and climbing higher some days last week. Many experts also believe coronavirus deaths are actually being undercounted, with mortality data showing that U.S. deaths soared in the early weeks of pandemic, far beyond the number attributed to covid-19.

During the same meeting, the group also found itself in a robust debate over remdesivir, an experimental drug some administration officials are optimistic could help treat patients with covid-19. Robert Kadlec, assistant health secretary for preparedness and response, said the government had shipped remdesivir to seven states - an announcement that surprised Birx and others, who felt it was premature because they had not yet determined which states needed the drug most.

"Why would you do that?" Birx asked, referring to the supply of the drug donated by its manufacturer, Gilead Sciences, according to someone with direct knowledge of the meeting.

The next day, Vice President Mike Pence, who oversees the administration's coronavirus task force, grew frustrated when he asked for an update on distributing the drug and no one - including Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar - was able to provide one, saying discussions were still ongoing. On Saturday, HHS announced that another allocation of the drug would be sent to six states.

The task force's new strategy came amid broader internal debate about the future of the Pence-led group. On Tuesday, the New York Times first reported that the administration was talking about dismantling the task force, which Pence confirmed to reporters shortly thereafter. The next morning, however, Trump announced on Twitter that the group would "continue on indefinitely with its focus on SAFETY & OPENING UP OUR COUNTRY AGAIN."

Administration officials stressed that the public may have an outsized impression of the task force. Its purpose was largely to provide a centralized forum for analyzing virus data and crafting response plans, through daily Situation Room meetings, as well as to share information with the public through daily White House press briefings, while much of the government's substantive work took place at various agencies. The goal behind disbanding the task force, officials argued, was simply to center all coronavirus efforts in the agencies where they could be handled more efficiently.

Whereas initially the task force found itself scrambling to deploy a whack-a-mole management effort, dealing with regular crises as they emerged - from coronavirus-infected cruise ships to the urgent need for ventilators - the administration now intends to shift its focus to what is says is more strategic longer-term planning.

"I think we're in a really good position now to be able to look around the corner and set ourselves up for the fall," said Katie Miller, Pence's press secretary.

However, White House officials declined to provide any specifics as to what the long-term strategy is, what the different plans will look like, and who is leading the various efforts.

The task force had already begun to curtail briefings, following a disastrous performance last month when Trump suggested the idea of injecting disinfectants, such as bleach, to treat the virus.

Although Trump and his aides have boasted that the number of Americans tested continues to rise - the total was 8.4 million as of Saturday - allies and other public health experts bemoan the slow pace. They argue that the country could have tested far more people and initiated a contact tracing plan had the president and his team focused more strategically on that in recent weeks.

"It's incredibly sad and it shouldn't be the case," a former senior administration official said. "We should have testing and contact tracing and we don't. That's a concern." The official added, "You can't have just whatever the shiny ball is today. You have to be able to do more than one thing at a time and deal with more than one crisis point at a time."

More than anything, three advisers said, Trump is focused on how to turn the economy around and reopen the country, seeing a nascent recovery as key to getting reelected and his handling of the economy as one of his only strengths in the polls over Joe Biden.

"Given that we're going to be at 15 or 20 percent unemployment, it is the direction of the economy, rather than the raw numbers of the economy, that I think voters will judge him on," said Neil Newhouse, a prominent GOP pollster.

The president and senior White House advisers have begun holding meetings on a range of topics other than the coronavirus, such as a session Friday on the thrift savings plan in the Oval Office and a Monday session on health care.

Trump son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, who has been running his own coronavirus effort, has begun interviewing candidates for a new position focused on finding vaccines and therapeutics, but some administration officials say it is another instance of Kushner stepping into territory he knows little about.

On Thursday afternoon, Trump huddled in the Oval Office with a mix of campaign aides and White House officials. No one wore masks, though campaign manager Brad Parscale did tweet a photo of himself in the West Wing sporting sunglasses and a white mask with red "Trump Pence 2020" lettering. Parscale brought five prototype campaign masks to show the president and is planning to send out 50,000 to supporters across the country.

As the president was updated on the Republican convention, various lawsuits the Republican Party and Trump campaign have launched against states over voting rules, and political ads attacking Biden over China, he appeared to be in a good mood, said three people familiar with the meeting.

But reality kept intruding. The same day, news broke that one of Trump's personal valets, a Navy chief petty officer, had tested positive for coronavirus. And on Friday, Trump himself revealed the name of another White House staffer who had just tested positive for the virus: Miller, the vice president's press secretary.

During McEnany's press briefing Friday, Associated Press reporter Zeke Miller asked about the coronavirus cases that had infiltrated the White House, which for weeks has implemented temperature checks and virus testing for those close to the president.

"Why should the average American, whose workplace doesn't have access to these rapid tests, feel comfortable going to work if the White House isn't even safe?" Miller asked.

"As America reopens safely, the White House is continuing to operate safely," McEnany said.
With Chandigarh administration extending quarantine facilities to hotels and schools to deal with mounting cases, residents living close to these facilities are protesting the move. They allege that by setting up isolation facilities in densely populated parts of the sectors, the administration is exposing them to danger.

Residents of Sectors 10 and 46 have written to the UT administration to mark their protest.

Recently, the UT administration opted for Hotel Mountview to quarantine patients, while milder and asymptomatic cases will be sent to the Sector-46 Dhanwantari Ayurvedic Hospital. The move has prompted residents of both sectors to point out to the administration that the places are uncomfortably close to residential areas, thus a source of threat to them.

Hotel Mountview, in Sector 10, is situated in the midst of a residential area. Protesting this, president of the resident welfare association (RWA), Col Kulwinder Singh (retd), has written to UT administration asking them opt for some other hotel for quarantine. Mountview is in the heart of the sector with houses of senior citizens all around it. The government only wants to make money for CITCO by charging exorbitant rates. What about the safety of residents? he asked.

Singh has asked UT adviser Manoj Parida to opt for another hotel or face retaliation from citizens. We residents will form a chain around Mount View and stop their buses from entering if needed, he said.

The local area councillor here, Maheshinder Singh Sidhu, said that rather than bring people to a centrally situated hotel, such as The Mountview, the administration could consider using hotels situated in Sector 17, or the Industrial area, or even the outskirts of the city for the safety of residents.

Residents of Sector 46 also claim a similar problem with Dhanwantari Ayurvedic Hospital in the sector, being chosen as quarantine facility. Situated right next to the busy Sector 46 market and the residential area, the move has not gone down well with residents.

President of Sector 46-D RWA, Kedarnath Sharma, said, The hospital is situated adjacent to a temple and a school. A 24/7 supervision may not be possible. Patients may even roam around as they are mostly asymptomatic which is a cause of worry to residents. He also said that a quarantine facility had been set up at Government Model Senior Secondary School in Sector 46-D on Saturday which provoked a sense of panic. He said he had written to administration officials about the unsuitability of both places.

The local area councillor here, Gurpreet Singh, said, The city doesnt have many hospitals, and I agreed with the administration after being assured that all precautions would be taken. I had even recorded a video for residents to pacify them. However, making a Covid quarantine in Sector 46-D government school is a bad idea as it is a crowded area. I have reached out to the deputy commissioner (DC) and the local MP as well, asking them to reconsider and opt for a building on the outskirts of the sector or another sector for this.
Its hard to know where to begin in such a time. Life has been upended. What was, is no longer, and human services organizations have had to rethink the way they provide services. Its been hectic, with no way to anticipate what life might look like even a week from now.

The purpose of the MDN Community Connections segment is to speak to Midlanders about what is happening at various non-profits and other human service organizations. At West Midland Family Center, the past week has been a flurry of due diligence to preserve critical services while remaining vigilant to the governors orders.

WMFC has landed on maintaining vital services. Childcare for children of essential personnel across the community and food distribution for pre-registered patrons (to maximize social distancing.) Due diligence has led to the temporary closure of remaining WMFC programs. Essential personnel remain on site, and it is to these folks and the essential workers across our community, the state, and nation that I dedicate further thoughts.

These are the essential workers, without whom the rest of us would be lost. Thousands of people, whose work cannot be done from the safety of their own home, now risk exposure to COVID-19, in addition to the daily hazards of their job. Doctors, nurses and other health professionals attend to health care needs under dire circumstances. Police officers, firefighters and EMTs protect our safety, while others keep us fed, stock shelves, care for our children and our elderly parents. We are indebted to each of them and to so many others on the frontlines of this epidemic. These are the first responders in this crisis and we are grateful for their sacrifice.

Those of us who have relocated from workplace to shelter-in-place can do our part from the sidelines. Simply staying home is valuable in curtailing the virus.

Other ways you can help include buying take-out or gift certificates to support local restaurants; donating to sources seeking to sustain individuals in need or seeking supplies for health care workers; and/or giving blood, as donations are increasingly called for. And, another thought; The next time you are at the store, leave enough for someone else!

In the midst of this crisis, there remains the very real and important necessity of filing the 2020 Census. While it may seem an insignificant detail, as Michiganders move forward in a post COVID-19 world, it is more important than ever that each and every one of us are counted in the census. For every person not counted in the 2020 Census, Midland County could lose up to $1,466 per person for a total of up to $122 million annually.

At a time when our community will be recovering from pandemic upheaval, a population undercount means millions of dollars lost in federal funding, resulting in less money for hospitals, schools, housing, road repair and vital programs for our community. Its a big way to do your part while honoring social distancing. Go to www.2020census.gov It only takes a moment! Stay Home, Stay Safe.

Susan Love, New Initiatives Director at the West Midland Family Center, authored this column as part of the Daily News Community Connections initiative.
Its no secret that Meghan, Duchess of Sussex endured a lot of senseless hate and criticism from the British press and public. In fact, things became so dire for the former actress that she and her husband, Prince Harry decided to step away from their roles as senior members of the British royal family.

Following Megxit, the Sussexes have been living in Los Angeles, California, the duchess hometown at Tyler Perrys $18 million Beverly Hills home. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the pair have been laying low, volunteering at various charity organizations, and spending time with their one-year-old-son, Archie Harrison.

For Archies birthday, the pair posted the sweetest video of the duchess reading to the little one. Unfortunately, one famous romance novelist, Emily Giffin, used the video as an opportunity to viciously bully the duchess and say hateful things about her.

Emily Giffin viciously mom-shamed and bullied Meghan Markle

In celebration of Archies first year of life, the Sussexes shared a video of Meghan reading Duck! Rabbit! to her baby boy for the charity organization, Save The Children UK. While the majority of the comments on the video were about how perfect the video was how much Archie looks like Prince Harry, some people were just mean and nasty.

The Something Borrowed and All We Ever Want author, thought it was appropriate to post, Happy birthday, Archie. Go away, Meghan, on her Instagram stories. And that was just the beginning. She continued on her tirade saying, Adorable child and book. But . Holy me first. This is the Meghan show. Why didnt she film and let Harry read? And why didnt she take the moment at the end to say he said daddy! Because that would make it about Harry for a split second, God forbid.

She also took the time amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic to post a chat of her calling the duchess, phony and unmaternal. Griffins obsession with Meghan is odd. Now amid backlash, she has deleted the posts.

Man oh man does Something Borrowed author Emily Giffin hate Meghan Markle pic.twitter.com/bjnoDNTY9p  Kaitlin Menza (@heykmenz) May 6, 2020

Emily Griffin posted a non-apology to Meghan Markle

Fans were quick to clap back at Griffin for her nasty remarks. One fan tweeted, Nice to see everyone dragging @emilygiffin on Instagram. Its what she deserves! Another added, @emilygiffin imagine using a childs birthday to abuse his mother. What a sick excuse of a person you are. Your day will come. Karen. Royal expert Omid Scobie tweeted, Imagine being this hateful and pathetic.

Amid the backlash, Griffin (who has made her social media accounts private) has tried to walk back her remarks. Over recent months my feelings about BOTH Harry and Meghan changed, she wrote according to Us Weekly. But I can say from the bottom of my heart that my criticism of Meghan has never had anything to do with her race. Further, I understood why she wanted to leave the monarchy and carve out her own path. I do, however, find fault with the way BOTH she and Harry handled things, and those feelings bled over in later posts, including the ones today.

Honestly, if its not Meghans race that is getting under Griffins skin then we dont know what is.

Look at the videos she put up on her IG stories obsessing and hating on Archies name! Shes an evil woman who follows Meghan hate pages and laughs with Meghan bullies. She cant even sleep without thinking about Archies name! pic.twitter.com/xoG2nCtx8e  (@fartherkelss) May 6, 2020

Emily Giffins career could be in jeopardy following her hateful remarks about Meghan Markle

Griffin has written over a dozen books. However, the 48-year-old mother of three still found time amid a pandemic to belittle another mother. Griffin has a new book slated for release this year, but fans wanted to make sure her publisher, Macmillan USA knows about her nasty behavior.

How do you guys feel about one of your authors @emilygiffin using her social media to cyber bully a stranger?@MacmillanUSA is this behavior normal? one fan asked. Another said, @MacmillanUSA this is the kind of person you guys choose to work with? Just know that Meghan and Harry fans will NEVER purchase another book published by your company as long as your affiliated by a racist person like @emilygiffin. Yet another person added, @MacmillanUSA You should really take a look to see what your author, Emily Giffin, posts her social media. I doubt that you want someone who seems to be very irrational being a reflection of your brand. Just check around on twitter to see her nasty attacks against Meghan Markle.

Griffin has continued to insist that she isnt racist, but were sure this will have some adverse effects on her book sales and possibly her relationship with Macmillan USA.




The minister expressed his confidence at a conference on May 8, which gathered seafood firms from eight coastal provinces in the Mekong Delta.

He said that aside from the coronavirus outbreak, Vietnams shrimp farming sector is facing other challenges such as drought, saltwater intrusion and disease affecting shrimp, but noted that there are also many opportunities for the industry in 2020.

Minister Cuong emphasised the soon-to-be-ratified EU-Vietnam free trade agreement, which will significantly slash tariffs on Vietnamese farming produce, including shrimp.

He stated that EU countries are currently focusing on containing Covid-19 but there are good prospects for Vietnams shrimp industry when the outbreak is brought under control.

Vietnam plans to raise shrimp in 730,000 hectares of brackish water this year, with an estimated output of 830,000 tonnes and a projected export revenue of US$3.5 billion.

As of the end of April, the total shrimp farming area of coastal provinces had reached 480,000 hectares, of which Asian tiger shrimp accounted for more than 95%, with the rest dedicated to white-leg shrimp.

Vietnam exported nearly US$600 million worth of shrimp in the first quarter of 2020.
From his lockdown redoubt, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden gave a "virtual" campaign rally another go  and it was a disaster.

Here's Tucker Carlson on Fox News, with some eye-rolling disgust not so much at Biden's general leftwingery, but at his failure to muster any basic technical prowess:

We see Biden flopping around, wondering if he was on camera, and generally not getting the gist of how Zoom, or whatever program it was he was using, works.

"They introduced me? Am I on?" Biden asked someone off-screen as he approached the camera, taking off a pair of dark aviator sunglasses. "Good evening, thanks so much for tuning in. I wish we could have done this together and it [had] gone a little more smoothly but I'm grateful we're able to connect virtually and thank you..." Biden continued before his audio feed became unintelligible mid-sentence. The audio and video problems continued through Biden's speech, with the former vice president's lips moving out of sync with the sound and a significant amount of his talk impossible to understand through the tech problems.

Via Fox, someone at Vice described it as "[s]o plagued by technological problems it looked like it was being run by local seniors attempting Zoom for the first time."

Bear in mind that millions of Americans on lockdown have gotten the hang of Zoom and now use it for every sort of thing that used to be done in person  from family gatherings to school courses to investment talk to project meetings to work meetings to political briefings to news reports on television. This isn't to say it's easy for everyone, but anyone who focuses on learning how to do it can get it right. Thousands of people older than 70-something Joe most certainly have mastered it.

But not Joe Biden.

It suggests that learning new technical things is for little people. Biden can't learn or won't learn or is too lazy to learn.

Carlson points out that that isn't necessarily a problem, given that Biden's campaign has plenty of money and plenty of willing helpers from Hollywood, Silicon Valley, the media, and other tech-savvy redoubts that would gladly lend a hand for his campaign and get the tech set up and done right. Somehow, the Bidenites haven't availed themselves of such resources and opted instead to do it themselves, which in a national presidential campaign signals that Biden isn't ready for prime time.

But it definitely suggests a certain kind of arrogance. Biden, who vowed to put coal miners out of business, blithely insisted that those kinds of layoffs aren't a problem and that anyone laid off in his proposed new green economy could easily learn to code: "Anybody who can throw coal into a furnace can learn how to program, for God's sake!" he exclaimed.

He can't even figure out Zoom.

It also calls to mind that there seems to be a management problem for the campaign led by Biden. This isn't their first technical glitch, and obviously, it won't be their last.

Remember the strange statements from Biden earlier about not having the right ceiling heights at his residence to get the lighting right for televised appearances as the lockdown began, even though he'd done such camera performances from the same place before. Remember this? Here was my blog post at the time:

Where's Joe Biden? After promising us he'd play pretend-president with daily briefings about the coronavirus crisis, blasting yet also plagiarizing President Trump, who's showing himself to be a stellar crisis president, Biden's now weirdly missing from any public appearances. Which doesn't exactly sound like the captain you'd want in a storm. The latest excuse coming from his team is that it's all due to "lighting issues" which presumably might make his Hollywood smile look less bright to voters on camera. Biden's team has leaked to reporters that their man was back home in Wilmington trying to get the lighting right for his big cavalcade of upcoming play-president events, and well, they're still working on it. He didn't have any problems with lighting before, the twitterati pointed out, and the argument has brought out tweets of his luxury digs in Delaware, highlighting that public office has made Biden a very rich man indeed. Biden's last lost-in-space speech came against a black backdrop and two flags, and was, according to some reports, in any case done at his house.

It's the same old idiocy, continuing away, and apparently Biden isn't even alarmed. Sound like a guy who's ready to run the country? One can only shudder with dread at the idea of Joe Biden learning to code. And a Biden at the helm of the presidency is exponentially worse.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-09 13:55:47|Editor: huaxia

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TRIPOLI, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Friday condemned the indiscriminate shelling on the center of the capital Tripoli, which killed two policemen and one civilian on Thursday.

"UNSMIL is deeply alarmed by the intensification of indiscriminate attacks at a moment when Libyans deserve to peacefully observe the holy month of Ramadan and a time when they are battling the COVID-19 pandemic," UNSMIL said.

"These despicable actions are a direct challenge to calls by some Libyan leaders for an end to the protracted fighting and for the resumption of the political dialogue," it said.

UNSMIL demanded all parties to the conflict in Libya respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, including complying with the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attacks to prevent civilian casualties.

UNSMIL reiterated that those guilty of crimes under international law will be held to account.

The UN-backed government and the east-based army exchanged accusations for the deadly shelling.

For more than a year, the east-based army has been fighting with the UN-backed government in an attempt to seize the control of Tripoli. Many civilians have been killed and injured and more than 150,000 others displaced as a result. Enditem
- A microbe discovered by researchers in Kenya may provide a safe biological way of fighting malaria

- It is believed the microbe, or bug, which is found in mosquitoes, can stop the transmission of the diseases that kills thousands annually

- They studied mosquitoes infected with the microbe and found that none of them carried the parasite responsible for malaria

- Microsporidia MB is a single-cell bug that lives in a mosquito's gut and genitals, where it produces spores

- It is found in 5% of mosquitoes in a high-risk region around Kenya's Lake Victoria, where the researchers focused their work

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A team of scientists in Kenya has discovered a novel method with significant potential to completely stop mosquitos from transmitting the parasites which cause malaria in humans.

The scientists, most of whom are from Kenya, the UK and one from South Africa were biologists at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) in Nairobi.

Mosquitoes inject their saliva into the skin to facilitate blood-feeding. Their saliva contains plasmodium, which is injected together with the saliva resulting in malaria transmission. Photo: CNN

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Kelly Khumalo opens up on divorce from sis Zandile: Its gone legal

Briefly.co.za learned that they discovered Microsporidia MB, a microorganism that lives in a mosquitos reproductive tract and gut and completely protects the mosquito from being infected with plasmodium, the parasite that causes malaria.

According to a report by Quartz Africa, the study showed the Microsporidia MB reduces the establishment of the Plasmodium falciparum parasite in the guts of the mosquitoes.

The researchers published their findings in the science journal, Nature Communications showing the microbe also impairs the colonization of the salivary glands by the parasite.

Microsporidia are fungi, or at least closely related to them. Like plasmodium, which is protozoans, they are also known to live inside mosquitoes as parasites.

Mosquitoes inject their saliva into the skin to facilitate blood-feeding. Their saliva contains plasmodium, which is usually injected together with the saliva resulting in malaria transmission.

Scientists believe this makes the Microsporidia MB a realistic candidate as an eco-friendly and sustainable strategy to replace harmful mosquito populations with harmless ones.

The hope is that by infecting mosquitoes in a region with Microsporidia they will no longer be able to infect humans with malaria parasites.

"Step two is increasing the levels of the microbe in mosquitoes, which will be the hard part, but it is very encouraging to see how infectious this microbe is," one of the researchers Jeremy Herren said

"Its ability to be spread from a mother mosquito to her offspring is an incredibly powerful feature,' he added.

Herren said the scientists are studying other ways the microbe could spread through the mosquito population, such as releasing spores.

The team of scientists had been studying mosquitoes on the shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya.

This strategy has been demonstrated before in a city in northern Australia where mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia, a bacterium, were deployed on a large scale.

That effectively stopped all outbreaks of dengue fever for more than four years.

In April 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that progress in the fight against malaria, which kills 400,000 people annually, had stalled.

There had been reports of drug resistance, such as Artemisinin resistance, in several regions and insecticide resistance in 73 countries in 2019.

The new RTS,S malaria vaccine approved in 2015 has low efficacy and only decreased malaria cases by 39% and severe cases by 29% in clinical trials.

The vaccine could only decrease malaria cases by 39% and severe cases by 29% in clinical trials.

This efficacy of the vaccine is low compared to 85% to 95% for most routine vaccines for children. There has been no significant reduction in the annual numbers of malaria cases since 2014.

These have led to concerns that if better methods are not developed to control the disease, the progress that has been achieved so far may be revered.

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Source: Briefly News
Ottawa says it won't pay for defective masks as feds move to cut ties with Montreal supplier

The federal government says it won't pay for masks that fail to meet national standards and is looking into using faulty equipment for non-medical purposes, as Ottawa moves to cut ties with a Montreal-based supplier after millions of N95 respirators contained in a shipment from the company were deemed defective.

A government source, who is not authorized to publicly discuss the matter, told CBC News on Saturday that the government is now working out the details to permanently end its relationship with the distributor. The source said there were no plans to solicit future orders from the company, whose name hasn't been disclosed.

On Friday, it was revealed that Ottawa had suspended shipments from the supplier after approximately eight million masks out of an 11-million shipment made in China didn't meet federal specifications.

"There are discussions ongoing with [the supplier] because we will not be burdened with masks that do not fit our stringent requirements," Trudeau said Saturday following his daily address to Canadians. "But we will not be paying for masks that do not hit the standards that we expect to give our front-line workers."

WATCH | Trudeau talks suspending PPE shipments:

Only one million masks met the requirements, while another 1.6 million are still undergoing testing, an email from Procurement Minister Anita Anand's office said.

The prime minister declined to state how much Canada paid for the masks, but said that the federal government was in talks with the supplier about whether "alternative uses" for the masks would be possible.

The source said that discussions are now focused on the government getting all or part of its money back from the botched deal.

More federal support coming next week

On Friday, the prime minister said that there will be more support from the federal government to help certain sectors of the economy reeling from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Story continues

Trudeau made the promise, without getting into specifics, as he announced an extension to Ottawa's emergency wage-subsidy program beyond its early-June endpoint. He said he'd have more to say about that next week.

The pledges followed the unsettling news that nearly two million jobs were lost in April, adding to the one million lost in March, pushing Canada's unemployment rate to a staggering 13 per cent.

Some new signs of both economic and social life appeared in many parts of the country this week as various provinces took more tentative steps to loosen lockdown restrictions.

But Trudeau warned the reopening of the economy and the lifting of restrictions will happen "very, very gradually," and transmission of the disease will have to be carefully monitored.
New Delhi, May 9 : Through an online fundraiser gala, the Akshaya Patra Foundation USA - an Indian-origin organisation that has served 40 million meals to migrant workers since India's lockdown began.

The foundation which serves meals to 1.8 million Indian children every day during the school year - has raised a million dollars for feeding migrant families in India. The Boston Virtual Gala, held in early May, was attended by over 1,000 businesses, non-profits, government officials, and philanthropic leaders from around the world.

The gala showcased Paresh Rawal, celebrated Indian actor and supporter of Akshaya Patra, with a surprise visit from his wife Swaroop Sampat. Rawal presented a beautiful poem by prominent Indian Hindi and Urdu poet Nida Fazli that portrayed the simple joys of a child going to school each morning. The Bollywood-themed evening celebrated the beneficiaries, chapter teams, and volunteers who continue to work to alleviate classroom hunger.

Paresh Rawal During the virtual event, Prof. Ashish Jha from the Harvard Chan School of Public Health, a much sought-after global expert on COVID-19, spoke about the short- and long-term implications of COVID-19 and how the world can mitigate some of those devastating effects. He pointed to the underestimation of people infected and deaths globally, noting that the pandemic will continue until the world has a vaccine, estimated to be in about 12-18 months, or develops herd immunity.